Page:Carroll - Rhyme and Reason.djvu/230

214 Deck your dull talk with pilfered shreds
 * Of learning from a nobler time,

And oil each other's little heads
 * With mutual Flattery’s golden slime:

And when the topmost height ye gain,
 * And stand in Glory's ether clear,

And grasp the prize of all your pain–
 * So many hundred pounds a year–

Then let Fame's banner be unfurled!
 * Sing Pæans for a victory won!

Ye tapers, that would light the world,
 * And cast a shadow on the Sun–

Who still shall pour His rays sublime,
 * One crystal flood, from East to West,

When ye have burned your little time
 * And feebly flickered into rest!