His eye begets occasion for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest,
Which his fair tongue, conceit's expositor,
Delivers in such apt and gracious words,
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished,
So sweet and voluble is his discourse.
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And what so tedious as a twice-told tale.
And what so tedious as a twice-told tale.
Soft as some song divine, thy story flows.
Soft as some song divine, thy story flows.
A story, in which native humour reigns,
Is often useful, always entertains;
A graver fact, enlisted on read more
A story, in which native humour reigns,
Is often useful, always entertains;
A graver fact, enlisted on your side,
May furnish illustration, well applied;
But sedentary weavers of long tales
Give me the fidgets, and my patience fails.
I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as 'twas said to me.
I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as 'twas said to me.
With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which
holdeth children from play, and old men read more
With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which
holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner.
In after-dinner talk,
Across the walnuts and the wine.
In after-dinner talk,
Across the walnuts and the wine.
For seldom shall she hear a tale
So said, so tender, yet so true.
For seldom shall she hear a tale
So said, so tender, yet so true.
If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.
If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.
This story will never go down.
This story will never go down.
