Page:Famous Single Poems (1924).djvu/216

 At home and up stairs, in my own easy-chair;
 * Poked my feet into slippers, my fire into blaze,

And said to myself, as I lit my cigar, Supposing a man had the wealth of the Czar
 * Of the Russias to boot, for the rest of his days,

On the whole, do you think he would have much to spare, If he married a woman with nothing to wear?

Since that night, taking pains that it should not be bruited Abroad in society, I’ve instituted A course of inquiry, extensive and thorough On this vital subject, and find, to my horror, That the fair Flora’s case is by no means surprising,
 * But that there exists the greatest distress

In our female community, solely arising
 * From this unsupplied destitution of dress,

Whose unfortunate victims are filling the air With the pitiful wail of “Nothing to Wear.” Researches in some of the “Upper Ten” districts Reveal the most painful and startling statistics, Of which let me mention only a few: In one single house, on Fifth Avenue, Three young ladies were found, all below twenty-two,