A NEW VERSION BY LEE O. HARRIS AND JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

" YOU are old, Father William, and though one would think
All the veins in your body were dry,
Yet the end of your nose is red as a pink;
I beg your indulgence, but why? "

" You see, " Father William replied, " in my youth —
'Tis a thing I must ever regret —
It worried me so to keep up with the truth
That my nose has a flush on it yet. "

" You are old, " said the youth, " and I grieve to detect
A feverish gleam in your eye;
Yet I'm willing to give you full time to reflect.
Now, pray, can you answer me why? "

" Alas, " said the sage, " I was tempted to choose
Me a wife in my earlier years,
And the grief, when I think that she didn't refuse,
Has reddened my eyelids with tears. "

" You are old, Father William, " the young man said,
" And you never touch wine, you declare,
Yet you sleep with your feet at the head of the bed;
Now answer me that if you dare. "

" In my youth, " said the sage, " I was told it was true,
That the world turned around in the night;
I cherished the lesson, my boy, and I knew
That at morning my feet would be right. "

" You are old, " said the youth, " and it grieved me to note,
As you recently fell through the door,
That " full as a goose" had been chalked on your coat;
Now answer me that I implore. "

" My boy, " said the sage, " I have answered you fair,
While you stuck to the point in dispute,
But this is a personal matter, and there
Is my answer — the toe of my boot. "