Max and Maurice

Max and Maurice is a Juvenile Fiction story book. Ah, how oft we read or hear of Boys we almost stand in fear of! For example, take these stories Of two youths, named Max and Maurice, Who, instead of early turning Their young minds to useful learning, Often leered with horrid features At their lessons and their teachers. Look now at the empty head: he Is for mischief always ready. Teasing creatures, climbing fences, Stealing apples, pears, and quinces, Is, of course, a deal more pleasant, And far easier for the present, Than to sit in schools or churches, Fixed like roosters on their perches. But O dear, O dear, O deary, When the end comes sad and dreary! 'Tis a dreadful thing to tell That on Max and Maurice fell! All they did this book rehearses, Both in pictures and in verses. Hens were hers in number three, And a c**k of majesty. Max and Maurice took a view; Fell to thinking what to do. One, two, three! as soon as said, They have sliced a loaf of bread, Cut each piece again in four, Each a finger thick, no more. These to two cross threads they tie, Like a letter X they lie In the widow's yard, with care Stretched by those two rascals there.