TO THE VISCOUNTESS
WOLSELEY
Madame, it is no modish thing, The bookman\'s tribute that I bring; A
talk of antiquaries grey, Dust unto dust this many a day, Gossip of texts
and bindings old, Of faded type, and tarnish\'d gold!
Can ladies care for this to-do With Payne, Derome, and Padeloup? Can
they resign the rout, the ball, For lonely joys of shelf and stall?
The critic thus, serenely wise; But you can read with other eyes,
Whose books and bindings treasured are \'Midst mingled spoils of peace
and war; Shields from the fights the Mahdi lost, And trinkets from the
Golden Coast, And many things divinely done By Chippendale and
Sheraton, And trophies of Egyptian deeds, And fans, and plates, and
Aggrey beads, Pomander boxes, assegais, And sword-hilts worn in
Marlbro\'s days.