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Literary
December 8, 1846
Alexandria Gazette
Alexandria, Alexandria County, District Of Columbia
What is this article about?
A satirical poem cautioning against excessive economy, which can foster meanness, laziness, and crime. It illustrates with a narrative of a Jewish mother, Mrs. Levi, who demands a theater refund after her son Moses falls to his death from the gallery.
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OCR Quality
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Full Text
MISCELLANEOUS.
ECONOMY.
Economy’s a very useful broom,
Yet should not crassly hunt about the room
To catch each straggling pin to make a pound:
Too oft economy’s an iron vice.
That squeezes e’en the little gifts of mice,
That peep with fearful eyes and ask a crumb.
Proper economy’s a comely thing
Good in a subject—better in a king:
Yet, push’d too far it gives each fine feeling—
Most easily inclin’d to make folks mean;
Laziness then, too, to villainy to lean,
To overreaching, perjury, and stealing.
E’n when the heart should only think of grief,
It creeps into the bosom like a thief:
And swallows up th’affections, all so mild—
Witness the Jewess and her only child.
Poor Mistress Levi had a luckless son,
Who, rushing to obtain the foremost seat
In imitation of the ambitious great,
High from the gallery, ere the play begun,
He fell all plump into the pit,
Dead in a minute as a nit:
In short, he broke his pretty Hebrew neck;
Indeed, and very dreadful was the wreck!
The mother was distracted, raving, wild—
Shriek’d, tore her hair, embraced and kissed her
child;
Afflicted every heart with grief around:
Soon as the shower of tears was somewhat past,
And moderated calm th’ hysteric blast.
She cast about her eyes in thought profound,
And being with a saving knowledge bless’d,
She thus the play-house manager addressed:
"Sher, I am de moder of de poor Chew lad,
Dat meet misforten here so bad:
Sher, I must haf de shilling back, you know,
As Moses haf not see de show."
ECONOMY.
Economy’s a very useful broom,
Yet should not crassly hunt about the room
To catch each straggling pin to make a pound:
Too oft economy’s an iron vice.
That squeezes e’en the little gifts of mice,
That peep with fearful eyes and ask a crumb.
Proper economy’s a comely thing
Good in a subject—better in a king:
Yet, push’d too far it gives each fine feeling—
Most easily inclin’d to make folks mean;
Laziness then, too, to villainy to lean,
To overreaching, perjury, and stealing.
E’n when the heart should only think of grief,
It creeps into the bosom like a thief:
And swallows up th’affections, all so mild—
Witness the Jewess and her only child.
Poor Mistress Levi had a luckless son,
Who, rushing to obtain the foremost seat
In imitation of the ambitious great,
High from the gallery, ere the play begun,
He fell all plump into the pit,
Dead in a minute as a nit:
In short, he broke his pretty Hebrew neck;
Indeed, and very dreadful was the wreck!
The mother was distracted, raving, wild—
Shriek’d, tore her hair, embraced and kissed her
child;
Afflicted every heart with grief around:
Soon as the shower of tears was somewhat past,
And moderated calm th’ hysteric blast.
She cast about her eyes in thought profound,
And being with a saving knowledge bless’d,
She thus the play-house manager addressed:
"Sher, I am de moder of de poor Chew lad,
Dat meet misforten here so bad:
Sher, I must haf de shilling back, you know,
As Moses haf not see de show."
What sub-type of article is it?
Poem
Satire
Fable
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Temperance
What keywords are associated?
Economy
Frugality
Satire
Moral Tale
Theater Accident
Jewish Mother
Literary Details
Title
Economy
Key Lines
"Sher, I Am De Moder Of De Poor Chew Lad,
Dat Meet Misforten Here So Bad:
Sher, I Must Haf De Shilling Back, You Know,
As Moses Haf Not See De Show."