IN 1887, Alfred Cathie Became the private clerk of Samuel Butler; And Butler made a wise choice, for (i'faith!) he Could ne'er have found a faithfuller or subtler. For Butler, lord of satire and of whim, Was not (we guess) the kind of man whom all Would understand; but Alfred worshipped him, And smiled at his @3O God! O Montreal!@1 O Cathie, liv'st thou still? Or art thou gone @3The Way of All Flesh@1 to @3The Haven Fair?@1 If so, we know that in some @3Erewhon@1 Thou find'st thy waggish master waiting there -- (For he who every mortal foible mocks Would ask not Paradise, but Paradox.) Cathie, the author of that deathless @3mot:@1 "Yes, there's tobacco in it -- you may go!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TIE-DOWN OF A BONSAI by MARVIN BELL LUNCH AT A CLUB by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET EVENING IN A SUGAR ORCHARD by ROBERT FROST LOVE BEING ALL ONE by ROBERT FROST A BIRTHDAY SONG by SIDNEY LANIER THE ARABIAN SHAWL by KATHERINE MANSFIELD NOTHING WILL CURE THE SICK LION BUT TO EAT AN APE' by MARIANNE MOORE |