" First families " are very fine,
If one believes in caste.
'Tis very well to have a line
Of Ancestors for eons nine —
Fair Eve and Adam started mine —
But, take it first and last,
There's little in a family tree
Whose fruit has gone to seed;
'Tis better far for one to be
A mushroom minus pedigree,
But of the best variety
In character and deed.

My boast is not of how I trace
My line to noble Guelph,
Or other leaders in the race,
But how I'm going to win a place,
However fast or hot the pace,
As Ancestor myself:
So that, when all is over here,
Up in that realm of bliss,
My forebears back to Adam's year
When I arrive will loudly cheer,
And whisper in their neighbors' ear:
" W E'RE RELATIVES OF HIS ! "