Name: Ventures Into Verse
Author: H. L. Mencken

Quotes from Ventures Into Verse (H. L. Mencken)

H. L. Mencken, Ventures Into Verse

“ We've tried to induce to be dead;
And while we have shot at their shadows,
They've done the same favor for us—
But, by George, she's so sweet
That we'd rather be beat
Than to have her mixed up in the fuss.
Oh! isn't her blush like the roses?
And aren't her eyes like the stars?
And whenever she smiles
Don't you think you are miles
From the rattle and roar of the wars?
Would you take the three stars of a general
If she'd say “Leave the stars and take me?”
Oh! we've stolen sweet kisses from thousands of misses,
But hers are the sweetest that be. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

H. L. Mencken, Ventures Into Verse

“ The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she travels up and down,
A-haulin' rookies to and from the war;
Outward-bound they sweat in Kharki; homeward bound they come in lead
And they wonder what they've got to do it for.
The transport Gen'ral Ferguson, she's owned by Uncle Sam,
An' maybe Uncle Sam could tell 'em why,
But he don't—and so he takes 'em out to fight, and sweat, and swear,
An' brings them home for plantin' when they die. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

H. L. Mencken, Ventures Into Verse

“ Their rudders are always on strike,
Their displacement is thirty-two tons,
They are armored with tin—to the dishpan they're kin—
But their Maxims are A number ones,
(Ask Aggie!)
Their Maxims are murderous guns!
When from out the towns and villages, and out the jungle, too,
We have chased the Filipinos on the run,
Toward the river swamps they foot it—towards the swamps we can't go through—
And we're doubtful if we've lost the fight or won;
Then when all are safe in hiding in the slimy mud and reeds,
From the river 'cross the swamp we hear a sound ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

H. L. Mencken, Ventures Into Verse

“ On the tin-protected cruisers—how they pound—
(Sweet sound!)
They that save us being losers—Rah! the tin-protected cruisers!
Hear their rattling Maxims pound, pound, pound!
19When the guns have done their work, and the Tagals come our way,
(I admit they much prefer us to the guns,)
Why, we finish up what's left—ten in every dozen lay
Dead as Noah, in the swampy pools and runs;
Then the Maxims stop their rattle and we know that midst the reeds,
Half a hundred Filipinos on the ground
Are a-looking at the sky, with a glassy, sightless eye,
And the other half—or most of them—are drowned. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

H. L. Mencken, Ventures Into Verse

“ I've stolen sweet kisses from thousands of misses,
But her's are the sweetest for me!
THE VIOLET
As in the first pale flush of coming dawn
We see a promise of the glorious sun,
So in the violet's misty blue is drawn
A shadowy likeness of the days to be,
The days of cloudless skies and poesie,
When Winter's done.
18 THE TIN-CLADS [3] The small gunboats captured from the Spaniards and facetiously called “tin-clads” by the men of the land forces, are of great value in the offensive operations against the insurgents along the coast.— [Manilla Dispatch] ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

H. L. Mencken, Ventures Into Verse

“ You'd a-knowed 'e was a' orf'cer hof the Queen!
There's a dozen of the enemy
That ain't forgot 'im yet—
For 'e run 'is sword clean through 'em for the Queen!
Oh, 'e aren't much on whiskers an' 'e aren't much on 'eight,
An' a year or two ago 'e was a-learnin' for to write,
But you bet your soldier's shillin' 'e's the devil in a fight—
An' 'ed die to serve 'Er Majesty the Queen! ”

H. L. Mencken

Summary

Quotes from Ventures Into Verse (H. L. Mencken)

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature

H. L. Mencken

Summary

Quotes from Ventures Into Verse (H. L. Mencken)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature