2

Ah me! It makes pathetically [illegible - covered by hexagonal tab]
"Twas ever thus from childhood's hour
I've seen my fondest hopes decay
I never loved a tree or flower
But twas the first to fade away
I never nursed a dear gazelle
To glad me with its soft black eye
But when it came to know me well
and love me, it was sure to die.
I never had a piece of bread
Particularly long and wide
But it fell on the sanded floor
and always on the buttered side.
Seriously - I did feel very sorry. I should
have taken the nicest possible care of
it, and I had a glass vase ready for
it reception. I shall never forgive Uncle Sam
for the injury it sustained. It seemed to
have been crushed. Wicked wasnt it?
I told Will of your exploit in shooting
the deer. "Pooh!" he replied, ^{"That's nothing!} tell him
I shot four - (woodchucks) awhile
ago."