The Ballad of Any Old Thing.

The Ballad of Any Old Thing.
527.6

Old Chippendale and Sheraton,
Old Delft and willow-pattern ware,
Point-lace and ancient Honiton,
And grandsire’s clock upon the stair,
A Watteau fan that waved in air
As Beauty’s shield and sceptre, too,
Which beckoned joy, or waved despair-
In days when these old things were new.

Old folios we sometimes con,
Laid open under glass, with care;
An autograph we gaze upon –
Perchance Pope’s hand had traced it there-
These treasures-all, alas, too rare!
With eager search we bring to view –
They had a plenty, and to spare,
In days when these old things were new.

Then maid and man would doff and don
Calash, cocked hat, the daily wear;
The Blucher and the Wellington,
Each sort was once a proper pair;
At church, at rout, at country fair,
They wore them, with the hair in queue,
At Vauxhall, in the fireworks’ glare,
In days when these old things were new.

Euroy

Collector, think ! Sometime, somewhere,
Your derby hat, of sombre hue,
May stand with what was once the wear
In days when these old things were new!
-Arthur Chamberlain,