The Garb of Future Success

The Garb of Future Success.
207.6

Hark! A shout in the hail, and a bat and & ball
Sent at random to clutter the floor:
Then a flushed little face full of sweet boyish grace
Peeping in at the half open door.
What a scarecrow divine is this laddie of mine
With the brim of his cap pulled aske.
With his jacket in rags, and his trousers
In tags And the pink of his flesh showing through!

Ah, those trousers! I fear you might search far and near,
And their likes you would never once find;
There’s a hole in each knee and another I see
Where the garment fits snuggest be- hind.
But I grieve not a mite at the pitiful aight,
For i firmly believe that the chance
Of a youngster’s success is improved by such dress-
By a hole in the seat of his panta!

Many men have I met who were worthy and yet
Not a one of the lot but in youth
Roamed the woodlands and fields, for the treasure God yields
To the ragged lad seeking the truth:
And our heroes of old, all such men of pure gold
As the Washingtons. Lincolns and Grants,
Every one as a boy showed a shade of alloy-
Had a hole in the seat of his pants.

If you aim and aspire if you truly desire
That your boy should be blessed with success,
If you wish him the wealth that belongs to good health,
Seorn the style and the state of his dress. with the fays down the
Let him romand far ways,
With the folk of the fields let him dance;
He’ll come back with a store of their mystical lore-
And a hole in the seat of his pants!
-James Ball Naylor