Frank Chapman Bliss

“ As the great living bombasts of the age;
In the great sermons they do daily preach,
In the great lessons they do daily teach,
They ring the faults of others—not their own,
They growl and snarl like a dog with his bone; [Pg 21]
They villify others—glorify self,
Ofttimes they do it for mere worldly pelf;
They weep and groan with apparent sorrow,
At things they will do themselves on the morrow.
Like crested snake in Afric’s sunny vales,
Which shifts its skin, throws off its tarnished scales,
So will they change their colors—seem more young,
But carry poisonous venom in each tongue. ”

“ How much was reserved, it is needless to state.
Unselfish act! Such acts are never seen
Performed by men controll’d by hate, or spleen,
Which, like the adder’s venom—viper’s breath—
Are but the obnoxious messengers of death. ”

“ Delusions, fictions, foibles, glittering lies,
Frescoed with truth, seem real as the skies.
At the same table, sitting side by side,
Oft we do see Humility and Pride,
Wit, Genius, Learning, the great man of law,
In social converse with the man of straw.
Extremes oft meet around the festive board,
An honest beggar and a thieving lord;
[Pg 8]
Jew, Gentile, Greek, will with the Christian sit,
Say grace, or not—it matters not a whit;
They pass the time most pleasantly away,
But cheat each other on the coming day. ”