I KNOW another gentleman, whose name I have forgotten; His line of merchandise was wool—or maybe it was cotton. I overheard his partner and himself at conversation Regarding the emoluments of cloth adulteration. "Now, larger dividends accrue from mixing wool with shoddy; We have to stick 'em somehow. Ain't it done by everybody? Besides," he argued clearly as a Mannie Kant magician, "In business, you must do a lot to meet the competition." That night I heard him make a speech—a sturdy and sincere one, If it has ever been my pleasant privilege to hear one, Replete with ringing words it was, and this is how it ended: "The honor of the Stars and Stripes [Applause] must be defended." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CAT OF CATS by WILLIAM BRIGHTY RANDS JOHN MAYNARD by HORATIO ALGER JR. WILD PLUM BLOSSOMS by EVA K. ANGLESBURG SONNET TO THE KYNGE by THEODORE AGRIPPA D' AUBIGNE SONG FOR THE LONDON VOLUNTEERS by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE CAMPUS IN VACATION by ANNE MILLAY BREMER THE DAY-DREAM; FROM AN EMIGRANT TO HIS ABSENT WIFE by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE |