They tied a ribbon round his neck,
Another round his tail.
With all his learning, his education was not finished, for he had
missed the "delectable ballad of the Waller lot" and Eugene Field's
account of the dignities that were "heaped upon Clow's noble yellow
pup," else he would have understood. The pigeonhole contained most
of the "honors" that have come to me of late years,--the nominations
to membership in societies, guilds, and committees, in conventions
at home and abroad,--most of them declined, as I declined Governor
Roosevelt's request that I should serve on the last Tenement-House
Commission, for the reason which I have given heretofore, that to
represent is not my business. To write is; I can do it much better
and back up the other; so we are two for one. Not that I would be
understood as being insensible of the real honor intended to be
conferred by such tokens. I do not hold them lightly. I value the
good opinion of my fellow-men, for with it comes increased power
to do things. But I would reserve the honors for those who have
fairly earned them, and on whom they sit easy.
Pages:
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469