A Fable for Critics

by James Russell Lowell

Footnotes

[C] To demonstrate quickly and easily how per- -versely absurd 'tis to sound this name Cowper,

As people in general call him named super,

I just add that he rhymes it himself with horse-trooper.

[D] (If you call Snooks an owl, he will show by his looks That he's morally certain you're jealous of Snooks.)

[E] (Cuts rightly called wooden, as all must admit.)

[F] That is in most cases we do, but not all, Past a doubt, there are men who are innately small,

Such as Blank, who, without being 'minished a tittle,

Might stand for a type of the Absolute Little.

[G] (And at this just conclusion will surely arrive, That the goodness of earth is more dead than alive.)

[H] Not forgetting their tea and their toast, though, the while.

[I] Turn back now to page—goodness only knows what, And take a fresh hold on the thread of my plot.