When Nell, given o'er by the doctor, was dying, <br />And John at the chimney stood decently crying, <br />'Tis in vain said the woman to make such ado, <br />For to our long home we must all of us go. <br /> <br />True, Nell, replied John; but what yet is the worst <br />For us that remain, the best always go first; <br />Remember, dear wife, that I said so last year, <br />When you lost your white heifer, and I my brown mare.<br /><br />Matthew Prior<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nell-and-john/
