Newspaper History presents media sourced from a United States newspaper dating back 108 years.

  • Her Last Leaps

    From the Rock Island Argus, March 31, 1914. By Henry Howland.

    I saw her once before
    In the short skirt she wore,
        And again
    She went dancing round and round,
    With a wince at every bound,
        As in pain.

    They say that in her prime,
    Ere the cruel hand of Time
        Hurt her so,
    She possessed a pretty face
    And could hop from place to place
        On one toe.

    But now her look is sad,
    And she moves as if she had
        Aching feet;
    Every bald head’s look is grim
    As she glances down at him
        In his seat.

    My old grandad oft has said—
    Poor old grandpa, he is dead,
        Long ago—
    That she once was all the rage
    As she skipped upon the stage,
        To and fro.

    But she’s fat and flabby now
    And as graceful as a cow
        On the trot;
    I know it is a sin
    For me to sit and grin,
        So I’ll not.

    In the chorus let her stay;
    It may be her only way
        To survive.
    You may cease to be a peach
    Too, young lady, when you reach
        Sixty-five.