Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

at us”
“Here either” was his reply.
             Tuesday Dec. 13 1910
Well; two events transpired to-day. or rather three, the third the outcome of the second. The first one was about the poetry. Miss R. told Bill that his iambic pentameter was the best she had shown it to Mr. Johnson who liked it very much. Bill was always good at poetry especially impromptu effects. The best one of his that I ever read was a parody on a passage from Shakespeare, - Portias speech on “Mercy” in the court-room. It ran thus:
The quality of milkman’s milk is bum:
It falleth as the gentle rain from heaven
upon the farm beneath,
It is twice grafted upon, by the cow who gives
and the farmer who takes
It is thinnest among the thin,
It causes the customers to swear more
than enough!