Original-
"You are old Father William, "the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessently stand on your head-
Do you think at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm prefectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
"You are old," said the youth," as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back summersault in at the door-
Pray, what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, "I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment-one shilling the box-
Allow me to sell you a couple."
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak- Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw
Has lasted the rest of my life."
"You are old," said the youth; "one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," Said his father; "don't give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to this stuff? Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!"
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Revised
"You are old, Father William, and though one would think All the veins in your body were dry, Yet the end of your nose is red as a pink; I beg your indulgence, but why?"
"You see," Father William replied, "in my youth-
'Tis a thing I must ever regret--
It worried me so to keep up with the truth
That my nose has a flush on it yet."
"You are old," said the youth, "and I grieve to detect A feverish gleam in your eye;
Yet I'm willing to give you full time to reflect-
Now, pray, can you answer me why?"
"Alas," said the sage, "I was tempted to choose
Me a wife in my earlier years,
And the grief, when I think that she didn't refuse, Has reddened my eyelids with tears."
"You are old Father William," the young man said,
"And you never touch wine, you delcare,
Yet you sleep with your feet at the head of the bed; Now answer me that if you dare."
"In my youth," said the sage, " I was told it was true, That the world turned around in the night;
I cherished the lesson, my boy, and I knew-
That at morning my feet would be right."
"You are old," said the youth, "and it grieved me to note, As you recently fell through the door,
That 'full as a goose' had been chalked on your coat; Now answer me that I implore.
"My boy," said the sage, "I have answered you fair, While you stuck to the point in dispute,
But this is a personal matter and there-
Is my answer--the toe of my boot."
