Genre:

Poetry, Drollery

Subjects:

Human Species, Aeronautics, Creativity

    The old year warns the new to 'mind' humankind, and offers to demonstrate how to distinguish humans from 'other brutes'. After misidentifying various species as human, the new year sees what appears to be a moon, but which proves to be an 'air balloon'. The balloon rips, 'It falls down and the man's dashed to pieces'. The old year observes that these events are distinguishing 'symptoms' of the human species. He relates: 'man has got most kindly given by fate, / A little nob he calls his pate, / And in that nob such whimseys and such schemes, / Such wild ideas and visionary dreams' as will make the new year laugh. (38)