The Twentieth Century Gets Through by E. B. White
The Twentieth Century Limited, first time it has reached city this winter covered with icicles. It forged its way through the blizzards upstate and in the west. Mae Murray is pictured standing beside the train. — Caption of photograph in The World
The snow blew strong through the long, long night,
And settled on objects left and right,
But the Twentieth Century ploughed on through,
As a limited train is supposed to do,
With Buffalo, Syracuse, Canastota,
Beneath more snow than their usual quota,
And a hey nonny nonny.
From the chilly blast and the raging gale,
The Century gathered a coat of mail,
And through the blizzard it plunged and reared
With ice for whiskers, snow for a beard,
Through miles of sleet and hours of snowing,
There was one bright thought that kept it going:
“If I get to New York in great big hurry
They'll take my picture with sweet Mae Murray,
With a hey nonny nonny,
And a mae murray murray."
That was the trend of the Century's thought,
As on through the fearful night it fought:
"I couldn't keep on through the Mohawk Valley
For Lillian Gish or Marion Talley,
But a blizzard to me is the veriest flurry,
If it leads to a photo with Mistress Murray,
With a mae murray murray."
So the Century train, with a sob and a shiver,
Continued its course down the Hudson River,
And weary from battling in storm and stress,
Pulled in and was met by the daily press,
And there, sure enough, looking warm and furry,
Was the dear little figure of Mistress Murray
Who, laying a hand on the Century's ice,
Appeared in all papers in less than a trice.
With a mae murray murray.
Now here is a thing that I'm anxious to know,
In the matter of pictures of ice and snow:
Assuming that turnabout is fair play,
Would photographs work in the opposite way?
Suppose Mae Murray came out of the West
With snow in her hair and ice on her chest,
With frost on her eyelid, sleet on her nose,
Could she make the Twentieth Century pose?
Would they take a picture of just those two,
Miss Murray's face all chapped and blue?
With the caption: "Girl Comes Grimly Through"?
Would the New York Central be quick to send
The cream of its trains to the side of a friend
Arriving in town all cold and shaken
And ready to have her picture taken?
With a hey nonny nonny?
And unless they would, which I gravely doubt,
Why, what are these pictures all about?
With a mae murray murray?
