Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, Jan. 1, 1919   By: Various

VOL. 156.

JANUARY 1, 1919.

TO AN UNKNOWN COLLEAGUE.

(Inspired by the exchange of Minutes in Government Departments.)

He was my friend if friendship's proof Be sympathy profound and sweet; Eight months we toiled beneath one roof, Yet somehow never chanced to meet.

So near and yet so far! I own We may have passed upon the stair; Yet, if we did, we passed unknown; No tremor told me he was there.

He knew not it was I. Alas! With such community of souls That he and I should blindly pass And live as sundered as the poles!

For I, when darkness sealed my eyes, Would place my judgment in his hands, Would ask him humbly to advise And yield myself to his commands;

Just hinting what my view might be (If asked) on this or that affair, But never in undue degree And with a deprecating air.

And he, thus modestly addressed, Would wield an amicable pen And say he thought my view was best In full nine cases out of ten.

And so in deep harmonious flood Our friendship flowed, and proved, I think, Though water be less dense than blood, Yet blood is far less dense than ink. And now, when things are somewhat slow, My leisure moments I beguile By reading o'er with heart aglow A certain old and dusty file