56 



Of pure contempt ; he thinks he's always wrong ; 



Just tie a cord around his leg, and try 



To drive or coax him to or from his sty; 



You pull the cord one way with all your might, 



That proves to him the other way is right. 



But that which most delights our heart to see 



Nobly and well developed, Pig, in thee, 



Is that great principle, abhorred of kings, 



But prized by men above all other things, — 



Democracy ! — in all its grandeur, finds 



A fitting home' within thy breast, and shines, 



Or seems to shine, more brightly as we see 



Its noblest representative in thee. 



Not that fanatic species here is meant 



Which gave to us Old Buck for President,— 



But noble, genuine, pure democracy — 



The absence of all aristocracy — 



Which prompts to generous actions, fellow feelings, 



To cordial interchange of grunts and squealings— 



Which lets you, when you're eating, put your feet 



Within your trough — and teaches you to meet 



Your fellow pig with kindness, and to love him, 



And not turn up your nose and feel above him ; 



To welcome him with kindness at the trough, 



And not because you're stronger, drive him off — 



To feel, in short, beyond a doubt or cavil, 



That all well-mannered pigs are on a level. 



Thy wisdom is by far too widely known 



To need from us here, kneeling at thy throne, 



More than the briefest passing recognition — 



A simple tribute to thy erudition. 



Even in earliest pigdom, blithe and gay, 



When running round and getting in the way 



Of coach and carriage wheels and horses' feet, 



Is the idea of happiness complete. 



'Neath all this seeming carelessness we find 



Sagacity and prudence so combined, 



That even at this early, tender age 



We have rich promise of the future sage ; 



But when at length these follies all abjured, 



We see thy mind and body both matured, * . 



Each stuffed and crammed e'en to their utmost fill. 



