"No," sez I honestly, "I never did."

"Ardelia, read the poem on Little Ardelia Cordelia; give Miss
Allen the treat of hearin' that beautiful thing."

I sort a sithed low to myself; it wuz more of a groan than a
common sithe, but Miss Tutt didn't heed it, she kep' right on --

"I have always brought up my children to make other folks happy,
all they can, and in rehearsin' this lovely and remarkable poem,
Ardelia will be not only makin' you perfectly happy, givin' you a
rich intellectual feast, that you can't often have, way out here
in the country, fur from Tuttville; but she will also be attendin'
to the business that brought us here. I have always fetched my
children up to combine joy and business; weld 'em together like
brass and steel. Ardelia, begin!"

So Ardelia commenced agin'. It wuz wrote on a big sheet of paper
and a runnin' vine wuz a runnin' all 'round the edge of the paper,
made with a pen.

Jest as soon as Ardelia stopped rehearsin' the verses, Miss Tutt
sez agin to me:

"Haint that a most remarkable poem?"

And agin I sez calmly, and trutbfully, "Yes, it is a very
remarkable one!"