| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 299. Common Sense |
| | | By James Thomas Fields |
| |
| |
| SHE came among the gathering crowd, | |
| A maiden fair, without pretence, | |
| And when they asked her humble name, | |
| She whispered mildly, “Common Sense.” | |
| |
| Her modest garb drew every eye, | 5 |
| Her ample cloak, her shoes of leather; | |
| And, when they sneered, she simply said, | |
| “I dress according to the weather.” | |
| |
| They argued long, and reasoned loud, | |
| In dubious Hindoo phrase mysterious, | 10 |
| While she, poor child, could not divine | |
| Why girls so young should be so serious. | |
| |
| They knew the length of Plato’s beard, | |
| And how the scholars wrote in Saturn; | |
| She studied authors not so deep, | 15 |
| And took the Bible for her pattern. | |
| |
| And so she said, “Excuse me, friends, | |
| I find all have their proper places, | |
| And Common Sense should stay at home | |
| With cheerful hearts and smiling faces.” | 20 |
| |
|
|
|
