The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1905-12-06
sr write a single verse q poetry Z

'ih. boWStf WIS uuiy cfusueu anu
turned to her book. Mr.. Bowser reluc-
family acknowledged to himself that
he might have got things a trife mix
ed, and he scratched out the incomplet-
ed verse; and tried again. He did not
intend to give her another chance, but
at the end of the third line again he
found himself stuck. It wouldn't do to
admit II, and so he said:
80 many beautiful thoughts come
rushing In on me that I hardly know
which to use. Just for the fun of the
thing let me ask how you would end
this verse:
II wander alone. with my soul at peace:
muse in the truculent dell;
My lubricant soul. like a golden BOWL
II should end IT," REPLIED Mrs. Bow
ser, with making deli rhyme with
the bad place"
by thunder, woman, but do you
mean to insult me to my faceT'
'Of course not. You asked me how I
would end II. and told you. There are
one or two other things l want to
speak Of. You refer to a truculent
dell DO you mean peaceful oneT
"Any idiot could tell that do"
well, II you will turn to the die
tionary, you will find that truculent'
means wild-fierce-savage."
What In the name of seven bobtail-
ed cats do care for what the dicton-
airy says? Was old Webster a poet?
Did he know poetry from pumpkns?"
Perhaps not, but he tells us how to
pronounce words and gives us the
meaning Of them. What do you mean
when you speak Of your lubricant
soulT"
"None Of your business"
"a lubricant is an oil, you know
You lubricate the machinery of saw
mill. When you grease bucksaw
with pork rind you lubricate It, That
verse would read beautifully as:
81 wander alone. with my soul at peace;
! muse in the truculent dell:
My lubricant soul, like a golden bowl.
IL slips on its way with a YELL
by John" gasped Mr. Bowser as he
sat and stared at her while the red
flushed his face.
III l am disturbing you 1 beg par
don," she answered.
"By John. by John, but the idea Of
your talking to me like that! Am
awake or di canning? Woman
II don't see anything to get excited
about" she interrupted. II simply re-
ferred you to the dictionary to show
you that you had misused word or
two. If your lubricant soul had gone
into the Burns club 1t might have af
fected your standing there. should
change 1t to innocent SOUL for you
have an innocent soul, Mr.. Bowser."
Mr. Bowser got up and choked and
gasped and coughed, but the words he
was fishing for would not come. The
cat had returned after his victorious
scrap; but, though he offered fair
mark, he was not kicked at There was
a long minute of direst suspense. and
then Mr.. Bowser flung himself down
the hall and out of doors, taking his
two incompleted verses with him. He
didn't know who to 90 10, but he was
determined to find out about that ''lu-
bricant soul" Fortune favored him.
He met his coal -man almost at the
gate, and. after salutations had passed,
he asked:
Say, Jones, did you ever write any
poetryT"
lions and tons Of II, but / never
gave more than 1880 pounds for a
tom
"And you are up on words7"
"Clear TO the top"
"Well, what is the meaning Of lu-
bricant ssulT'
"A lubricant soul? That's dead easy.
II means a soul that has just been
creased up with lardT'
"You are an internal old lierw shout
ed Mr.. Bowser.
"And you are jackass! Good night!'
Half an hour later Mrs. Bowser went
to the front window and saw Mr.. Bow
ser huddled up on the steps. Two old
tramps stood at the gate looking at him
and wondering whether he was drunk
or asleep, but his lubricant soul needed
them not-heeded not the March winds,
the cold stone steps, the truculent peo-
pie who hurried on their turgid way.
He had come down with a thud.
NJ. QUAD.