“I reeled, and then plunged headlong down from my lofty place,
And next I was out in the dooryard with water on my face,
And Kate was bending over me, fanning, to give me air,
And mother was gently bathing that wound near the edge of my hair.
“And that was how I got the scar; but, boys, I didn’t give in,
I resolved as old Demosthenes, sooner or later to win.
I resolved to be an orator, then and there, that day,
And so I never faltered, though to me ’twas a thorny way.
“But, let me tell you one thing, here: whatever you aim to do
You’ll be pretty sure to do it, if you will to carry it through.”