Potpourri

There are many more Maxims to whichI would like to accord a front place,But alas! I have gotTo omit a whole lot,For the lack of available space;And the rest I am forced to boil down and condenseTo the following Essence of Sound without Sense:

Now the Pitcher that journeys too oftTo the Well will get broken at last.But you'll find it a factThat, by using some tact,Such a danger as this can be past.(There's an obvious way, and a simple, you'll own,Which is, if you're a Pitcher, to Let Well alone.)

Half a loafer is never well-bred,And Self-Praise is a Dangerous Thing.And the mice are at playWhen the Cat is away,For a moment, inspecting a King.(Tho' if Care kills a Cat, as the Proverbs declare,It is right to suppose that the King will take care.)

Don't Halloo till you're out of the Wood,When a Stitch in Good Time will save Nine,While a Bird in the HandIs worth Two, understand,In the Bush that Needs no Good Wine.(Tho' the two, if they Can sing but Won't, have been known,By an accurate aim to be killed with one Stone.)

Never Harness the Cart to the Horse;Since the latter should be a la carte.Also, Birds of a FeatherCome Flocking Together,--Because they can't well Flock Apart.(You may cast any Bread on the Waters, I think,But, unless I'm mistaken, you can't make it Sink.)

It is only the Fool who remarksThat there Can't be a Fire without Smoke;Has he never yet learnedHow the gas can be turnedOn the best incombustible coke?(Would you value a man by the checks on his suits,And forget 'que c'est le premier passbook qui Coutts?')

Now 'De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum,'Is Latin, as ev'ry one owns;If your domicile beNear a Mortuaree,You should always avoid throwing bones.(I would further remark, if I could,--but I couldn't--That People Residing in Glasshouses shouldn't.)

You have heard of the Punctual Bird,Who was First in presenting his Bill;But I pray you'll be firm,And remember the WormHad to get up much earlier still;(So that, if you can't rise in the morning, then Don't;And be certain that Where there's a Will there's a Won't.)

You can give a bad name to a Dog,And hang him by way of excuse;Whereas Hunger, of course;Is by far the Best SauceFor the Gander as well as the Goose.(But you shouldn't judge any one just by his looks,For a Surfeit of Broth ruins too many Cooks.)

With the fact that Necessity knowsNine Points of the Law, you'll agree.There are just as Good FishTo be found on a DishAs you ever could catch in the Sea.(You should Look ere you Leap on a Weasel Asleep,And I've also remarked that Still Daughters Run Cheap.)

The much trodden-on Lane will Turn,And a Friend is in Need of a Friend;But the Wisest of Saws,Like the Camel's Last Straws,Or the Longest of Worms, have an end.So, before out of Patience a Virtue you make,A decisive farewell of these maxims we'll take.