hnson forlorn and distressed,
In that perilous posture still holding the beast;
And how she besought the kind gentleman's help,
And how he'd have nothing to do with the whelp;
And how he and Johnson soon got by the ears,
And fought on the question of 'freedom for bears;'
And how, _inter alia_, the beast got away
And took himself off in the midst of the fray;
And how Tommy Johnson at last came to grief:
All which I omit, as I wish to be brief.
The story's too lengthy--it must not be sent all
To cumber your pages, my dear CONTINENTAL.
At present my purpose, my object, my mission is
To show how the woodman became 'Abolitionist.'
Introductions, you know, like 'original sin,'
Hang on, while you long for some sign of repentance
In shape of the last and the welcomest sentence,
So, in short, I'll cut short, draw a line, and begin.

* * * * *

The woodman one night was aroused by a clatter,
Each one in the house crying, 'Ho! what's the matter?'
All jumped out of bed and ran hither and thither,
Scarce knowing amid their alarm why or whither;
But soon it was found 'mid the tumult and din
That burglars were making attempts to break in.
And now there arose o'er the turmoil and noise
The woodman's loud summons addressed to 'the boys.'
'The boys' quickly came, and on looking around,
At one of the windows a ladder was found,
And on it a burglar, who, plying his trade,
A burglarious opening already had made.

Now the woodman, though making this nocturnal sortie
All armed and equipped, at the rate of 'two-forty,'
Called a halt, and proposed, before firing a gun,
To question with care what had better be done.
Forthwith he assembled a council of war,
To gravely consider how fast and how far
In a case of this kind it was lawful to go.
Some said, 'Smash the ladder,' but others said, 'No,
There were many objections to that, and the chief
Was the constitutional rights of the thief;
That the ladder was property all men agreed,
And as such was protected, secured, guaranteed;
And if 'twas destroyed, our greatest of laws
Could not be upheld and maintained 'as it was.''
But others replied, 'That ladder's the chief
Supporter, as all men may see, of the thief;
Let's aim at the ladder, and if it should fall,
Let the burglar fall with it, or hang by the wall
As well as he can; and by the same token,
Whos