Classic Poem

The Drag Net, or, " High, Low, Jack and the Game. "

To ignominous oblivion
My small-fry enemies I now consign.
Minnows too small to flesh a hook upon.
Too small to name, I net within this rhyme.
As 'round the mouths o' sewers minnows swim,
And batten on the ordure there expell'd,
So 'round the vent o' vile-mouth'd gossip's whim,
These filthy creatures are by taste compell'd.
Whene'er, good reader, thou dost scandal hear,
When aught 'gainst my good name is whisper'd low,
Say to thyself: " A minnow I see here! "
" " As sure as eggs is eggs" 'tis a foul minnow. "
Within this drag-net I all gossips get,
High, low, now and to come — and it's dragging yet.