Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-10-25

DelrOlt flee fIose.I
Few poems have been more gener-
ally admired or paraphrased in the va
rious tongues Of earth than that COM
mencing with the lines
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went
This lamb was sure to go.
Well, the story is current, at the
national capital, that the distinguished
secretary Of state, when recently in a
jocular crowd of his friends, was de-
sired to condense into prose these i'm
mortal verses. Urgently solicited,
Mr.. Evarts yielded and wrote as fol-
lows:
Mary, female judged to be of the
race of man, whose family name is
unknown, whether of native or foreign
birth, Of lofty or lowly lineage, and
whose appearance, manners and men
tai cultivation are involved in the
most profound mystery, which proba-
bly, will never be fully ascertained
unless through the most profound re-
searches of historian admirably
trained in his profession, who shall
devote the best efforts of his life to
the Investigation of the subject unin-
huenced by either passion or preju-
dice, and having only in view the
sacred truth, at the same time being
utterly regardless Of the plaudits or
censures Of the world, we are informed
by one who, it has been stated, at one
time while living in that part of the
United States of America known as
Massachusetts,, whose fishermen have
frequently been involved in difficulties
with the authorities of her Majesty
Queen Victoria, Queen of Great
Britain and Empress of the In
dies, whose domains extend over a
large share Of the habitable globe,
thereby endangering the peace which
should so happily exist between nations
of the same blood and language, had
an infant sheep, Of which there are
many millions, of various stocks and
qualities, now in our country, con
stantly adding wealth and prosperity
to our republic and enabling us to be
entirely independent of all other ma
tions for our supply of wool, now ample
for the use of factories already bus
lily employed, and for those which
ere long will be constructed in all
parts Of our land, working both by
water and steam power, and in what
ever direction the said Mary travelled,
this animal, whose fleece was snow
white, even as the lofty mountain re-
gions in the silent solitudcs Of eternal
winter, as the ethereal vapors which
oft float over an autumnal sky, "darkly
deeply, beautifully blue" or as the
lacteal fluid, covered with masses OF
delicate iroth, found in the buckets OF
the rosy dairy. maid, whether mean.
dering through the meadows in mid
summer, gathering the luscious straw.
berry, strolling in the woodland paths
insearch of wild flowers, visiting the
church with her uncles, cousins and
aunts, to listen to tho inspired words
which came from the lips Of the min
lister of the sanctuary, or when retir-
ing to her blissful couch, to seek rest
and enjoy sweet repose after the cares
and labors of the day; in fact, every
where that Mary went" this youthful
sheep, Influenced, doubtless, by thai
affection which is oft so conspieuously
manifested by the lower animals in
their association With human beings
was ever observed 10 accompany her
1t is stated that, when the pause Ia
the sentence came, the secretary, who
had read IL without any inspiration
resumed his stolid diplomatic copnte.
tenance and all mirthfulness had de-
parted from the faces of that once
happy company.