Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-01-16
Secretary Evarts and Mary's Little
Lamb.

Few poems have been more generally
admired or paraphrased in the various
tongues of earth than that commencing
with the lines
Mary had little lamb,
Its fleece was white O. snow;
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb WAS sure to 60.
Well, the story il now current at the
national capital, that the distinguished
Secretary OF State, when recently in q
jocular crowd of his friends, was
desired to condense into prose these
immortal verses. Urgently solicited,
Mr.. Evarts yielded and wrote as
follows:
MARY, q female judged to be Of the
race of man, whose family uame is
unknown, whether of native or foreign
birth, of lofty or lowly Lineage, and
whose appearance, manners and mental
cultivation are involved in the most
profound mystery, which probably
never will be fully ascertained, unless
through the most profound researches
of o historian admirably trained in his
profession, who shall devote the ablest
eifoits of his life to the investigation of
the subject, uninffdenced by either
passion or prejudice 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 fisher
men have frequently been involved in
difficulties with the authorities of her
Majesty, Queen Victoria, Queen of
Great Britain and Empress of the
Indies, whose domains extend over o
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 arc many
millions Of various stocks and qualities
now in our country, constantly adding
wealth and prosperity to our republic
and lenabling US to be entirely indie
pendent of all other nations for our
supply of wool, now ample for the use
of factories already busily 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 whatever direction the
said Mary travelled. this animal, whose
fleece was snow-white, even as the lofty
mountain regions in the silent solitudes
of eternal winter, as the ethereal vapors
which oft float over On autumnal sky,
darby, deeply, beautifully blue, or as
the tactical fluid, covered with masses
OF delicate froth, found in the buckets
of the rosy dairymaid, whether mean.
dering in the meadows in midsummer
gathering the luscious strawb berry,
strolling in the woodland paths in
search Of wild flowers, visiting the
church with her uncles. cousins and
aunts to listen to the inspired words
which came from the lips Of the minis.
ter of the sanctuary, or when retiring
to her blissful couch to seek rest and
onioy sweet repose after the cares and (
labors Of the day, in fact, everywhere
that Mary went, this youthful sheep,
Influenced, doubtless. by that affection
which is oft SO conspicuously manifest
ed by the lower animals in their associ-
atoms with human beings. was ever
observed to accompany her..
1t is stated that when the pause in
the sentence came, the Secretary, who
had read il without an inspiration,
resumed his stolid diplomatic counte-
nance, and all mirthfulness had depart.
ed from the faces of that once happy
company. Q. II.