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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE PARVENU'S OPINION; SONNET by JOHN GODFREY SAXE

First Line: NOVUS, WHOSE SILLY CLAIM TO 'HIGH POSITION'
Last Line: "WHO CARES A FIG ABOUT THE FELLOW'S AGE!"

NOVUS, whose silly claim to "high position"
Is genuine, if wealth can make it true;
A youth whose stock -- petrolean, not patrician --
Shines none the less for being fresh and new, --
Standing before a flaming placard sees,
Announcing thus the lecture of the night,
By Everett, -- "The Age of Pericles!"
Novus, half doubting if he reads aright,
Repeats the words (soliloquizing loud)
"The Age of Pericles! -- I wonder now
Why such a theme should gather all this crowd
That throngs the door with such a mighty row;
There is n't one among'em, I'll engage,
Who cares a fig about the fellow's age!"



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