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...FREDERICKSBURG by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH AUGURIES OF INNOCENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE MY GARDEN by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN HE'D BE NOTHING BUT HIS VIOLIN by MARY KYLE DALLAS THE VANISHING BOAT by EDMUND WILLIAM GOSSE |