Nye and Riley's Wit and Humor — The Boy Friend

[Illustration] Clarence, my boy-friend, hale and strong, O, he is as jolly as he is young;

And all of the laughs of the lyre belong To the boy all unsung: So I want to sing something in his behalf-- To clang some chords, of the good it is To know he is near, and to have the laugh Of that wholesome voice of his.

I want to tell him in gentler ways Than prose may do, that the arms of rhyme, Warm and tender with tuneful praise, Are about him all the time.

I want him to know that the quietest nights We have passed together are yet with me Roistering over the old delights That were born of his company.

I want him to know how my soul esteems The fairy stories of Andersen, And the glad translations of all the themes Of the hearts of boyish men.

Want him to know that my fancy flows, With the lilt of a dear old-fashioned tune, Through "Lewis Carroll's" poemly prose, And the tale of "The Bold Dragoon."

O, this is the Prince that I would sing-- Would drape and garnish in velvet line Since courtlier far than any king Is this brave boy-friend of mine!