ONCE, when a lad, it was my hap To gain my mother's kind permission To go and see a foreign chap Who called himself "The Great Magician"; I recollect his wondrous skill In divers mystic conjurations, And how the fellow wrought at will The most prodigious transformations I recollect the nervous man Within whose hat the great deceiver Broke eggs, as in a frying-pan, And took 'em, smoking, from the beaver! I recollect the lady's shawl Which the magician rent asunder, And then restored; but, best of all, I recollect the Ribbon-Wonder! I mean, of course, the funny freak In which the wizard, at his pleasure, Spins lots of ribbons from his cheek (Where he had hid 'em, at his leisure). Yard after yard, of every hue, Comes blazing out, and still the fellow Keeps spinning ribbons, red and blue, And black and white, and green and yellow! I ne'er shall see another show To rank with the immortal "Potter's"; He's dead and buried long ago, And others charm our sons and daughters; Years -- years have fled -- alas! how quick, Since I beheld the Great Magician, And yet I've seen the Ribbon-Trick In many a curious repetition! Thus, when an author I have read Who much amazed the world of letters With gems his fluent pen has shed (All nicely pilfered from his betters), Presto! -- 't is done! -- and all complete, As in my youth's enraptured vision, I've seen again the Ribbon-Feat, And thought about the Great Magician! So, when a sermon I have heard Made up of bits of borrowed learning, Some cheap mosaic which has stirred The wonder of the undiscerning, Swift as a flash has memory then Recalled the ancient exhibition; I saw the Ribbon-Trick again, And thought about the Great Magician! So when some flippant man-o'-jokes, Though in himself no dunce was duller, Has dazzled all the simple folks With brilliant jests of every color, I've whispered thus (while fast and thick The changes flashed across my vision): -- "How well he plays the Ribbon-Trick! By Jove! he beats the Great Magician." I ne'er shall see another show To rank with the immortal "Potter's"; He's dead and buried long ago, And others charm our sons and daughters; Years -- years have fled -- alas! how quick, Since I beheld the Great Magician, And yet I've seen the Ribbon-Trick In many a curious repetition! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A LITTLE DUTCH GARDEN by HARRIET WHITNEY DURBIN CHILD OF THE ROMANS by CARL SANDBURG THE EAGLE; A FRAGMENT by ALFRED TENNYSON LINES COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH DRESSING THE BRIDE (A FRAGMENT) by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |