A Ballade of Dismay.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVI, Issue 23, 9 June 1906, Page 16

A Ballade of Dismay.

BY

CAROLYN WELLS.

Ballades I’ve written many times Tv Gladys, Rosabel, or Fay; I’ve sung in merry little rhymes Their radiant charms and raiment gay. But hoops. 1 hear, are on the way (See •'Fitter’s Fashion Magazine”), And h*ij\ can 1 indite a lay To Ptiyllis in a crinoline? I might ring out my Muse’s chimes About a summer girl's array; Even a coat like poor old Grimes* My fertile fancy might portray; A k'rtle or a negligee, Tunic, pelisse., or gaberdine; But I look forwerd with dismay To Phyllis in a crinoline. •Twill surely be the worst of crimes! Against the fashion I inveigh! They are Unfit for Christian climes. Those tilings that swish and swirl and sway; They make a ludicrous display, They pitch and sidle and careen, A sonnet i will ne'er essay To Phyllis in a crinoline. ENVOY. Fame Fashion, save ns! Pause. I pray! Reflect on this impending scene; The Flat-iron on a breezy day. And Phyllis in a crinoline! ft ft ft ft ft