Humour
BOIL IT DOWN. ■Whatever you have to say, my friend, Whether witty, or grave, or gay, Condense as much as ever you can, And say in the readiest way; And whether you write of rural affairs Or particular things in town, Just take a word of friendly advice — Boil it down. Bor if you go spluttering over the page When a couple of lines would do, Your butter is spread so much, you see, That the bread looks plainly through. So when you have a story to tell, And would like a little renown. To make quite sure of your wish, my friend, Boil it down. When writing an article for the press, Whether prose or verse, just try To utter your thoughts in the fewest of words, And let them be crisp and dry. And when it is finished, and you suppose It’s done exactly brown, Just look it over again, and then Boil it down. Bor editors do not like to print An article lazy and long, And the general reader does not care For a couple of yards of a 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. —Selected.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SOCR18940915.2.24
Bibliographic details
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Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 25, 15 September 1894, Page 10
Word count
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210Humour Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 25, 15 September 1894, Page 10
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