When we went out with Grandmamma

When we went out with Grandmamma—

Mamma said for a treat—

Oh, dear, how stiff we had to walk

As we went down the street.

One on each side we had to go,

And never laugh or loll;

I carried Prim, her Spaniard dog,

And Tom—her parasol.

If I looked right—if Tom looked left—

"Tom—Susan—I'm ashamed;

And little Prim, I'm sure, is shocked,

To hear such naughties named."

She said we had no manners,

If we ever talked or sung;

"You should have seen," said Grandmamma,

"Me walk, when I was young."

She told us—oh, so often—

How little girls and boys,

In the good days when she was young,

Never made any noise.

She said they never wished then

To play—oh, indeed!

They learnt to sew and needlework,

Or else to write and read.

She said her mother never let

Her speak a word at meals;

"But now," said Grandmamma, "you'd think

That children's tongues had wheels

"So fast they go—clack, clack, clack, clack;

Now listen well, I pray,

And let me see you both improve

From what I've said to-day."