Watertown Republican

My Old Straw Hat.
A PARODY.

I love it. I love it, and what of that—
Who'll chide me for loving that old straw hat?
I've gazed on it oft with unspeakable pleasure;
I've preserved it long as a sacred treasure;
I've guarded it long with tender care;
'Twas the gift of a maiden so loved and fair—
Her fingers have woven each delicate plait
And a sacred thing is that old straw hat.

I love it, I love it, and who will say
That I should now cast that old hat away?
It hath circled my head where the sea-winds blow,
It hath shielded my hair from the mountain snow;
From the noonday sun it hath sheltered my brow,
And think ye when old I'll desert it now?
In sunshine and storm, and in wintry weather,
That old hat and I have been friends together.
I'll cling to it fondly yet many a day,
Till my eyes grow dim and my locks are gray;
And when death's cold shaft to my bosom hath sped
It shall moulder, unseen, in my earth-bound bed.
It tells me that life's parting sands run fast,
That earth's choicest gifts not long can last;
And I joy that a lesson so pure as that
May be gleaned from the fate of my old straw hat.