Guy Wetmore Carryl,
The Preposterous Performance of an Old Lady of Banbury
(1900)
“ You’ve hurt your solar plexus, we’re afraid. We hope your martyrdom’ll let you notice what an omelette You’ve made in half a jiffy. It is great!” She only clutched her bonnet (she had fallen flat upon it) , And answered: “Will you tell me if it’s straight?” The moral’s rather curious: for often the penurious Are apt to think old horses of account If you would ride, then seek fine examples of the equine, And don’t look on a molehill as a mount. ”
