Deportmental ditties : and other verses . No. XIV.—DISCRIMINATION If some accommodating FateWould teach us to discriminate,Or if, instinctively, we hadThe gift of telling good from bad,How much less often would we makeThe unforgiveable mistake! Appearances deceive, alas ! And persons whom we proudly pass As villains of the deepest dyes May be archdeacons in disguise; Even a bishop can insist On looking like a pugilist! Each passer-by, for aught we know,.May be a King incognito ;The brains of Prince or PlutocratMay lurk beneath a seedy hat,A witty tongue lie hid withinThe contours of a feeble c
Deportmental ditties : and other verses . No. XIV.—DISCRIMINATION If some accommodating FateWould teach us to discriminate,Or if, instinctively, we hadThe gift of telling good from bad,How much less often would we makeThe unforgiveable mistake! Appearances deceive, alas ! And persons whom we proudly pass As villains of the deepest dyes May be archdeacons in disguise; Even a bishop can insist On looking like a pugilist! Each passer-by, for aught we know,.May be a King incognito ;The brains of Prince or PlutocratMay lurk beneath a seedy hat,A witty tongue lie hid withinThe contours of a feeble chin!66 Discrimination A butcher may b€ Bweet and kind,A sage appear fco have qo mind;An operatic fcenor can Be more a monkey than a man !What false impressions one deriveWhen single men Lead double lives. While staying in New York, one day, I met two brothers, William J. And Jawn D. Bilge. They looked unkempt, And so I viewed them with contempt. Conceive my subsequent despair On finding each a millionaire!. For William, by a life of toil,Had cornered all his countrys oil,While Jawn supplied the poor with iceAt nearly twice the proper price;Till each had finally been thrustInto a post of (so-called) Trust. Had I but known how rich they were,And tried to cultivate the pair,Who knows ? I might perhaps to-dayBe quite as affluent as they,And dress as badly as I chose,And talk entirely through my nose!67 Deportmental Ditties MORAL. Oh, let us not acquire too lateThe talent to discriminate;
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