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Lucius Atherton

Topics: classic

When my moustache curled,         And my hair was black,         And I wore tight trousers         And a diamond stud,         I was an excellent knave of hearts and took many a trick.         But when the gray hairs began to appear -         Lo! a new generation of girls         Laughed at me, not fearing me,         And I had no more exciting adventures         Wherein I was all but shot for a heartless devil,         But only drabby affairs, warmed-over affairs         Of other days and other men.         And time went on until I lived at         Mayer's restaurant,         Partaking of short-orders, a gray, untidy,         Toothless, discarded, rural Don Juan. . . .         There is a mighty shade here who sings         Of one named Beatrice;         And I see now that the force that made him great         Drove me to the dregs of life.

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"When my moustache curled,..."

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