Part 46 (1/2)

Man never is, but always to be bless'd; The tenth transmitter of a foolish face, Like Aaron's serpent, swallows up the rest, And makes a suns.h.i.+ne in the shady place.

For man the hermit sigh'd, till woman smiled, To waft a feather or to drown a fly, (In wit a man, simplicity a child,) With silent finger pointing to the sky.

But fools rush in where angels fear to tread, Far out amid the melancholy main; As when a vulture on Imaus bred, Dies of a rose in aromatic pain.

_Laman Blanchard_.

IMERICKS

There was an old person of Ware Who rode on the back of a bear; When they said, ”Does it trot?”

He said: ”Certainly not, It's a Moppsikon Floppsikon bear.”

There was an old person of Wick, Who said, ”Tick-a-Tick, Tick-a-Tick, Chickabee, Chickabaw,”

And he said nothing more, This laconic old person of Wick.

There was an old person of Woking, Whose mind was perverse and provoking; He sate on a rail, With his head in a pail, That illusive old person of Woking.

There was once a man with a beard Who said, ”It is just as I feared!-- Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren Have all built their nests in my beard.”

There was an old man of Thermopylae, Who never did anything properly; But they said: ”If you choose To boil eggs in your shoes, You cannot remain in Thermopylae.”

There was an Old Man who said, ”Hus.h.!.+

I perceive a young bird in this bus.h.!.+”

When they said, ”Is it small?”

He replied, ”Not at all; It is four times as big as the bus.h.!.+”

There was an Old Man who supposed That the street door was partially closed; But some very large Rats Ate his coats and his hats, While that futile Old Gentleman dozed.

There was an Old Man of Leghorn, The smallest that ever was born; But quickly snapt up he Was once by a Puppy, Who devoured that Old Man of Leghorn.

There was an Old Man of Kamschatka Who possessed a remarkably fat Cur; His gait and his waddle Were held as a model To all the fat dogs in Kamschatka.

_Edward Lear_.

[_From books printed for the benefit of the New York Fair in aid of the Sanitary Commission_, 1864]

There was a gay damsel of Lynn, Whose waist was so charmingly thin, The dressmaker needed A microscope--she did-- To fit this slim person of Lynn.