Gladly would I pursue this glowing dream, To sing of deeds of chivalry and sport, Of cushioned dalliance in the soft hareem (A really splendid theme), The pundits and tame poets at your court, And all such pride, but I must keep it short.

He could endure hard work; he was a good civil engineer and comprehended the theory upon which his superiors were working, and above all, he was an enthusiast in the thing they were undertaking, and had independent devices of his own, to be submitted at the proper time, for the attainment of certain mechanical ends which had puzzled the pundits at Washington.

The vassals of your fathers were but few Compared with yours, who move the whole world wide; You still can splash an oriental hue, Red, yellow, green or blue, Upon a fresh and various outside; While you supportperhaps your greatest pride High pundits for your intellectual feast, And some tame bards, of whom I am the least.