BOIL IT DOWN.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 435, 21 September 1880, Page 3

BOIL IT DOWN.

* Whatever you have to say, my friend, I Whether witty, or grave, or gay, Condense as much as ever you can, And say in the readiest way ; And, whether you write on rural attaira Or particular things in town, _ Just take a word of friendly advice— Boil it down. For, if you go spluttering over a page When a couple of lines would do, Your butter is spread so much, you sic, That the bread looks plainly through. ' So, when you have a story to tell, 1 And would like a little renown, _ J To make quite sure of your wish, my friend, j Bcil it down. \ When writing an article for the press, I Whether prose or verse, just try . To utter your thoughts in the fewest words, And let it be crisp and dry ; And when it is finished, and you suppose It is done exactly brown, Just look it over again, and thenBoil It down. For editors do not like to print An articlo lazily long, ■ And the general reader does not caro For a couple of yards of song. So gather your wits in the smallest space If you'd win the author's crown, And every time you write, my friend, Boil it down. —Philadelphia Printers' Circular.