The Republican journal., 1903-09-03
WILLIE ON CLASSIC FICTION.


suppose that Aunt Clarrissa thought she'd
when she brought me this old nova, nv that
| Ielier Walter Scott,
~ . name like that;
Ana father an says to read them, and has laid
the law down fiat -'o -'''"
And that all my dear old storv-hooLs foro,,or
must quit ioi c'oi
So here I'm tackling s'Ivanhoe." and don't
like it a bit; anu JUL
For though ;ghs I'm at the thirteenth page, to my
There's not sign Of Indians and M oro,s
killed as yet. 'io ono
Fathers told me quite lot about this "rvan-
hoe,"
And says the whole things simply grand
but oh, its dreadful slow.
He said that Richard Sour" de Loin was
handy in fight,
But with Pawnee Jim and Buckskin Rill ha
wouldn't be bite;
And as for Mr.. Robin Hood and that old six.
foot bow,
Why, with Buckskin Williams Winchester
he wouldn'y have show.
So, Mr. Scott and Dickens, if Willies heart
Just rewrite all your stories and put lots of
Indians in. ,
But Johnny Jones he tells me (and he's
That in some of these old stories by Dick
ems and by Scott
! He says they make one murder do to last
clean through the book
(And when young Johnny told me, oh!
laughed until l shook.
So I've started to investigate; not an Indian
have met,
For here am at Chapter Two and no ones
killed as yet.
Well, don't know how it happened, but
I've read through "IvanhOe,'
And first the thing seemed dull old stuff,
but in an hour or so
My eyes were glued close to the book
didn't skip page.
And my! | had the greatest treat I've had
for quite an age.
My hair it stood straight up on end! l must
have looked a fright
When father walked right in and said;
''Not going to bed tonight?
You cut your dinner short, but now don't
rob yourself of Sleep
| tell you, it was hard to stop. | was cross
enough to weep.
Well, | never would have thought it, but
that Richard Lion-Heart
Beats Buskin Bill all hollow and can give
'em all start
He didn't hide behind some rocks and shoot
mile away,
But got right down into the hgnt, ana there,
sir, he would stay.
And while tiny hole is made by modern
ritle-ball,
This Richard sliced 'em clean in halves,
head, body, legs and all.
He didn't kill as many, p'Taps, as II he'd
had a gun,
But he hit EN- twice as hard a whack, and
had heap more fun
| tell you, this old fellow Scott can hold
chap III thrall.
And the way that Mr.. Dickens does jest
makes the rest look small.
And when of Fagin, Nancy, and that VII
liam Skies I'd read
Pa said my eyes looked Just as if they'd
jump right out my head.
found that Dickens simply steals the
heart right out Of you,
And he doesn't need to murder folkS TO thrill
fellow through.
All he makes them lndian-fghters an TOM
ahawks look tame;
| don't know how he does it, but he does it
just the same.
It's strange, but pa he seems to know by
juSt the way | look
The very part I've got to in readin through
the book.
guess my eyes at supper-tlme was lookln
awful red,
For pa he winked at aunt and says: 81 see
that NancyS dead
Now, Mr. Scott and Dickens, if you ever
pass this way,
You're invited round to Willes house,
and right there you can stay.
And tell me stories by the year, and never
stop for breath
'Cept when | have to boo awhile about poor
NancyS death.
And when a boy forgets his lunch for sto-
ries, you can state
That Scott and Dickens beat the world,
and-my but amt they great
Charles Noel Douglas in the September st.
Nicholas.