She spoilt my soup; but, when I chid,

She thus once more my work undid,

"Perfection comes from Practice."

Thus, out of every adage hit,

And, finding that ancestral wit

As changeful as the clime is:

From Proverbs, turning on my heel,

I now cull Wisdom from my seal,

Who's motto's "Ne quid nimis."

New Monthly Magazine.