A POET AND HIS TECHNIQUE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1500, 14 August 1880, Page 27

A POET AND HIS TECHNIQUE.

He waß a long slim man, with claretcoloured hair and a superabundance of Moody and Sankey expression. He meandered into the office with a free-and-easy swagger, and said : " Are you the editor V "I am," responded a grey-headed man, " Well, I want you to listen for a minute while I sling you an ode :—: — The leaves are turning 1 scarlet, The leaves are turning yellow, The leaves are turning " "Help ! watch !" yelled the editor lustily, but the fiend kept on :—: — The rose is kind of lovely The phlox is kind of lovely, The pansie's "Great suffering Horaspoon !" screamed the editor, bo loud that the carpet raised itself and trembled like the head of an Ohio editor after he has been out all night in the company of New York paragraphers. But the tiend was not to be squelched bo easily. He raised hia finger, and, in response, the editor became silent, and he went on :—: — The cow is rather dappled, The hop-toad's rather dappled, The Autumn leaf is dappled, The

" Stop !" yelled the editor, drawing a piafcol from his pocket and levelling it at him, " or I'll rip the top of your head off." " Don't you want to hear my poem ?" enquired the poet, fiß he folded the manuscript. " You had better put your poem up. Did I ever run you down in my paper ?" " No." "Did I ever say your grandfather was a howo thief ? " "No. not that I know of," .

" Did I ever injure you in any way ? " I don't think you ever did." " Then why do you attempt to raad that poetry to me ? Don't you know that I'm square ?" il Yes; but I don't want you to publish it. I merely want you to know that lam a poet, and that I write poetry, so that you can tostify if I ever murder a man, and then I can prove insane. I don't know that I'll ever commit murder, but it's always best to look ahead and be on the safe side," The editor promised to testify, and the poet walked smilingly out. — Printer's Circular.