Erring In Company

"If I have erred, I err in company with Abraham Lincoln."                     - Theodore Roosevelt.     If e'er my rhyming be at fault,         If e'er I chance to scribble dope,     If that my metre ever halt,         I err in company with Pope.     An that my grammar go awry,         An that my English be askew,     Sooth, I can prove an alibi -         The Bard of Avon did it too.     If often toward the bottled grape         My errant fancy fondly turns,     Remember, leering jackanape,         I err in company with Burns.     If now and then I sigh "Mine own!"         Unto another's wedded wife,     Remember, I am not alone -         Hast ever read Lord Byron's Life?     If frequently I fret and fume,         And absolutely will not smile,     I err in company with Hume,         Old Socrates and T. Carlyle.     If e'er I fail in etiquette,         And foozle on The Proper Stuff     Regarding manners, don't forget         A. Tennyson's were pretty tough.     Eke if I err upon the side         Of talking overmuch of Me,     I err, it cannot be denied,         In most illustrious company.                         Franklin P. Adams.