Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Fuess and Stearns, comps. The Little Book of Society Verse. 1922.

By. Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Portrait of “A Gentleman”

IT may be so,—perhaps thou hast

A warm and loving heart;

I will not blame thee for thy face,

Poor devil as thou art.

That thing, thou fondly deem’st a nose,

Unsightly though it be,—

In spite of all the cold world’s scorn,

It may be much to thee.

Those eyes,—among thine elder friends

Perhaps they pass for blue;—

No matter,—if a man can see,

What more have eyes to do?

Thy mouth,—that fissure in thy face

By something like a chin,—

May be a very useful place

To put thy victual in.

I know thou hast a wife at home,

I know thou hast a child,

By that subdued, domestic smile

Upon thy features mild.

That wife sits fearless by thy side,

That cherub on thy knee;

They do not shudder at thy looks,

They do not shrink from thee.

Above thy mantel is a hook,—

A portrait once was there;

It was thine only ornament,—

Alas! that hook is bare.

She begged thee not to let it go,

She begged thee all in vain;

She wept,—and breathed a trembling prayer

To meet it safe again.

It was a bitter sight to see

That picture torn away;

It was a solemn thought to think

What all her friends would say!

And often in her calmer hours,

And in her happy dreams,

Upon its long-deserted hook

The absent portrait seems.

Thy wretched infant turns his head

In melancholy wise,

And looks to meet the placid stare

Of those unbending eyes.

I never saw thee, lovely one,—

Perhaps I never may;

It is not often that we cross

Such people in our way;

But if we meet in distant years,

Or on some foreign shore,

Sure I can take my Bible oath,

I’ve seen that face before.