Misrepresentative Men

Misrepresentative Men

MY verses in Your path I lay,[6] And do not deem me indiscreet, If I should say that surely they Could find no haven half so sweet As at Your feet. Unworthy little rhymes are these, Tread tenderly upon them, please! One single favour do I crave, Which is that You regard my pen As Your devoted humble slave. Most fortunate shall I be then[7] Of mortal men; For what more happiness ensures Than work in service such as Yours? Should You be pleased, at any time, To dip into this shallow brook Of simple, unpretentious rhyme, Or chance with fav'ring smile to look Upon my book; Don't mention such a fact out loud, Or haply I shall grow too proud! Accept these verses then, I pray, Disarming press and public too, For what can hostile critics say?[8] What else is left for them to do, Because of You, But view with kindness this collection, Which bears the seal of Your protection? ALL great biographers possess, Besides a thirst for information, That talent which commands success, I mean of course Imagination; Combining with excessive Tact A total disregard for Fact. Boswell and Froude, and all the rest,[12] With just sufficient grounds to go on, Could only tell the world, at best, What Great Men did, and thoughtand so on. But I, of course, can speak to you About the things they didn't do. I don't rely on breadth of mind, On wit or pow'rs of observation; Carnegie's libraries I find A fruitful source of inspiration; The new Encyclopdia Brit. Has helped me, too, a little bit. In any case I cannot fail,[13] With such a range of mental vision, So deep a passion for detail, And such meticulous precision. I pity men like Sidney Lee; How jealous they must be of me! 'Tis easy work to be exact, (I have no fear of contradiction), Since it has been allowed that Fact Is stranger far than any Fiction; But what demands the truest wit Is knowing what one should omit. Carlyle, for instance, finds no place[14] Among my list of lucubrations; Because I have no wish to face The righteous wrath of his relations. Whatever feud they have with Froude, No one can say that I was rude. This work is written to supply A long-felt want among Beginners; A handbook where the student's eye May read the lives of saints and sinners, And learn, without undue expense, The fruits of their experience. A book to buy and give away,[15] To fill the youthful with ambition, For even they may hope, some day, To share the Author's erudition; So not in vain, nor void of gain, The work of his colossal brain. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 36321
Author: Graham, Harry
Release Date: Jun 3, 2011
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Illustrator: Strothmann, F. (Frederick), 1872-