Part 22
No--they moved with stately grace, Everything in proper place; Gliding slowly forward, then Slowly courtesying back again, Long ago. Modern ways are quite alarming, Grandma says; but boys were charming-- Girls and boys, I mean, of course-- Long ago.
Bravely modest, grandly shy-- Now she sits there rocking, rocking, Always knitting grandpa's stocking, Every girl was taught to knit, Long ago. Yet her figure is so neat, And her smile so staid and sweet, I can almost see her now Bending to her partner's bow, Long ago.
Grandma says our modern jumping, Hopping, rushing, whirling, bumping Would have shocked the gentlefolk, Long ago. What if all of us should try Just to feel like those who met In the graceful minuet, Long ago?
With the minuet in fashion, Who could fly into a passion? All would wear the calm they wore, Long ago. In time to come, if I perchance Should tell my grandchild of our dance I should really like to say: "We did, dear, in some such way, Long ago."
AUNT JAN
BY NORMAN GALE
When Aunt Jan's coming there's such romping in the house, She's sweeter than a daffodil and softer than a mouse! She sings about the passages, and never wants to rest, And father says it's all because a bird is in her breast.
When Aunt Jan's kissing there's such a crowding round her knees, Such clambers to her bosom, and such battles for a squeeze! We dirty both her snowy cuffs, we trample on her gown, And sometimes all her yellow hair comes tumbling, tumbling down.
When Aunt Jan's dancing we all watch her as she goes, With in-and-out and round-about upon her shiny toes; And when her merry breath is tired she stops the fun and stands To curtsy saucily to us, or kiss her pretty hands.
When Aunt Jan's playing, the piano seems alive, With all the notes as busy as the bees are in a hive; And when it's time for Bedfordshire, as sweetly as a lark She sings that God is waiting to protect us in the dark.
When Aunt Jan's leaving we are not ashamed to cry, A-kissing at the station and a-waving her good-by; But springtime brings the crocus after winter, rain and frost So dear Aunt Jan will come again. She isn't really lost.
AFTER TEA
Very often in the evening, Shortly after tea, Father, when he's read the paper, Takes me on his knee.
There I fix myself "quite comfy," In his arms so strong, While he makes up lovely stories As he goes along.
Mother near us with her sewing, Rocking to and fro, Smiles and listens to the stories, Likes them too, I know.
And I'm sure that she is thinking, What perhaps you've guessed, That the stories Father tells us Are the very best.
#AMUSING ALPHABETS#
TINGLE, TANGLE TITMOUSE
"Come hither, little puppy-dog, I'll give you a new collar, If you will learn to read your book, And be a clever scholar."
"No! no!" replied the puppy-dog, "I've other fish to fry; For I must learn to guard your house, And bark when thieves come nigh."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse, Robin knows great A, And B, and C, and D, and E, F, G, H, I, J, K.
"Come hither, pretty cockatoo, Come and learn your letters; And you shall have a knife and fork To eat with, like your betters."
"No! no!" the cockatoo replied, "My beak will do as well; I'd rather eat my victuals thus Than go and learn to spell."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse, Robin knows great A, And B, and C, and D, and E, F, G, H, I, J, K.
"Come hither, little pussy-cat, If you'll your grammar study, I'll give you silver clogs to wear, Whene'er the gutter's muddy."
"No! whilst I grammar learn," says puss, "Your house will in a trice Be overrun from top to toe With flocks of rats and mice."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse, Robin knows great A, And B, and C, and D, and E, F, G, H, I, J, K.
"Come hither, then, good little boy, And learn your alphabet, And you a pair of boots and spurs, Like your papa's, shall get."
"Oh, yes! I'll learn my alphabet, And when I've learned to read, Perhaps papa will give me, too, A pretty, long-tailed steed."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse, Robin knows great A, And B, and C, and D, and E, F, G, H, I, J, K.
AN ENGLISH ALPHABET
Ale, A is for Apple, Artichoke, and Ann;
Brown Bear, B is for Black Bear, and Bran;
Chestnut, C is for Clay, Coke, and Coal,
Dear, D is for Dray, Dick, Duck, and Droll,
Eve, E is for Eagle, Eel, East, and Ear;
Fan, F is for Feather, Furrow, Fox, and Fear;
Goose, G is for Gander, Green, Grub, and Gray;
Horse, H is for Hound, Hip, Haw, and Hay;
Ice, I is for Idler, Ink, If, and Ill;
James, J is for Jane, for Jack, and Jill;
Kiss, K is for Kitten, King, Kitchen, and Kite;
Lamb, L is for Lady, Lace, Luck, and Light;
Moon, M is for Mitten, Mist, Moth, and Mote;
Ned, N is for Nurse, for Nose, Nut, and Note;
Oil, O is for Order, Oat, Orange, Oak;
Pin, P is for Pan, and Pig in a Poke;
Queen, Q is for Question, Quarter, and Quack;
Reel, R is for Radish, Ruff, Reeve, and Rack;
Skate, S is for Salmon, Sprat, Saw, and School;
Tin, T is for Teapot, Tar, Torch, and Tool;
Urn, U is for Usher, Umpire, and Use;
Vegetables, V is for Varnish, and Views;
Want, W is for War, Water, and Wing;
Xenophon, X is for and Xerxes, the King;
Yam, Y is for Yacht, Yellow, and Yawl;
Zeal, Z is for Zebra, Zany--
That's all!
NONSENSE ALPHABET
BY EDWARD LEAR
A was an ant Who seldom stood still, And who made a nice house In the side of a hill. _a_ Nice little ant!
B was a book With a binding of blue, And pictures and stories For me and for you. _b_ Nice little book!
C was a camel; You rode on his hump; And if you fell off, You came down such a bump! _c_ What a high camel!
D was a duck With spots on his back, Who lived in the water, And always said "Quack!" _d_ Dear little duck!
E was an elephant, Stately and wise: He had tusks and a trunk, And two queer little eyes. _e_ Oh, what funny small eyes!
F was a fish Who was caught in a net; But he got out again, And is quite alive yet. _f_ Lively young fish!
G was a goat Who was spotted with brown; When he did not lie still He walked up and down. _g_ Good little goat!
H was a hat Which was all on one side; Its crown was too high, And its brim was too wide. _h_ Oh, what a hat!
I was some ice So white and so nice, But which nobody tasted; And so it was wasted. _i_ All that good ice!
J was a jackdaw Who hopped up and down In the principal street Of a neighboring town. _j_ All through the town!
K was a kite Which flew out of sight, Above houses so high, Quite into the sky. _k_ Fly away, kite!
L was a light Which burned all the night, And lighted the gloom Of a very dark room. _l_ Useful nice light!
M was a man, Who walked round and round; And he wore a long coat That came down to the ground. _m_ Funny old man!
N was a net Which was thrown in the sea To catch fish for dinner For you and for me. _n_ Nice little net!
O was an orange So yellow and round; When it fell off the tree, It fell down to the ground. _o_ Down to the ground!
P was a pig, Who was not very big, But his tail was too curly, And that made him surly. _p_ Cross little pig!
Q was a quail With a very short tail; And he fed upon corn In the evening and morn. _q_ Quaint little quail!
R was a rabbit, Who had a bad habit Of eating the flowers In gardens and bowers. _r_ Naughty fat rabbit!
S was the sugar-tongs, Nippity-nee, To take up the sugar To put in our tea. _s_ Nippity-nee!
T was a tortoise, All yellow and black: He walked slowly away, And he never came back. _t_ Torty never came back!
U was an urn All polished and bright, And full of hot water At noon and at night. _u_ Useful old urn!
V was a veil With a border upon it, And a ribbon to tie it All round a pink bonnet. _v_ Pretty green veil!
W was a whale With a very long tail, Whose movements were frantic Across the Atlantic. _w_ Monstrous old whale!
X was King Xerxes, Who, more than all Turks, is Renowned for his fashion Of fury and passion. _x_ Angry old Xerxes.
Y was a yew, Which flourished and grew By a quiet abode Near the side of a road. _y_ Dark little yew!
Z was a zebra, All striped white and black; And if he were tame, You might ride on his back. _z_ Pretty striped zebra!
PAST HISTORY
BY EDWARD LEAR
_a_ A was once an apple-pie, Pidy, Widy, Tidy, Pidy, Nice insidy, Apple-pie!
_b_ B was once a little bear, Beary, Wary, Hairy, Beary, Take cary, Little bear!
_c_ C was once a little cake, Caky, Baky, Maky, Caky, Taky caky, Little cake!
_d_ D was once a little doll, Dolly, Molly, Polly, Nolly, Nursy dolly, Little doll!
_e_ E was once a little eel, Eely, Weely, Peely, Eely, Twirly, tweely, Little eel!
_f_ F was once a little fish, Fishy, Wishy, Squishy, Fishy, In a dishy, Little fish!
_g_ G was once a little goose, Goosey, Moosy, Boosey, Goosey, Waddly-woosy, Little goose!
_h_ H was once a little hen, Henny, Chenny, Tenny, Henny, Eggsy-any, Little hen?
_i_ I was once a bottle of ink, Inky, Dinky, Thinky, Inky, Black minky, Bottle of ink!
_j_ J was once a jar of jam, Jammy, Mammy, Clammy, Jammy, Sweety, swammy, Jar of jam!
_k_ K was once a little kite, Kity, Whity, Flighty, Kity, Out of sighty, Little kite!
_l_ L was once a little lark, Larky, Marky, Harky, Larky, In the parky, Little lark!
_m_ M was once a little mouse, Mousy, Bousy, Sousy, Mousy, In the housy, Little mouse!
_n_ N was once a little needle, Needly, Tweedly, Threedly, Needly, Wisky, wheedly, Little needle!
_o_ O was once a little owl, Owly, Prowly, Howly, Owly, Browny fowly, Little owl!
_p_ P was once a little pump, Pumpy, Slumpy, Flumpy, Pumpy, Dumpy, thumpy, Little pump!
_q_ Q was once a little quail, Quaily, Faily, Daily, Quaily, Stumpy-taily, Little quail!
_r_ R was once a little rose, Rosy, Posy, Nosy, Rosy, Blows-y, grows-y, Little rose!
_s_ S was once a little shrimp, Shrimpy, Nimpy, Flimpy, Shrimpy, Jumpy, jimpy, Little shrimp!
_t_ T was once a little thrush, Thrushy, Hushy, Bushy, Thrushy, Flitty, flushy, Little thrush!
_u_ U was once a little urn, Urny, Burny, Turny, Urny, Bubbly, burny, Little urn!
_v_ V was once a little vine, Viny, Winy, Twiny, Viny, Twisty-twiny, Little vine!
_w_ W was once a whale, Whaly, Scaly, Shaly, Whaly, Tumbly-taily, Mighty whale!
_x_ X was once a great king Xerxes, Xerxy, Perxy, Turxy, Xerxy, Linxy, lurxy, Great King Xerxes!
_y_ Y was once a little yew Yewdy, Fewdy, Crudy, Yewdy, Growdy, grewdy, Little yew!
_z_ Z was once a piece of zinc, Tinky, Winky, Blinky, Tinky, Tinkly minky, Piece of zinc!
THE APPLE PIE
A was an apple pie, B bit it; C cut it; D dealt it; E ate it; F fought for it; G got it; H had it; I inquired about it; J joined it; K kept it; L longed for it; M mourned for it; N nodded at it; O opened it; P peeped in it; Q quartered it; R ran for it; S stole it; T took it; U upset it; V viewed it; W wanted it; X, Y, Z, and amper-sand, All hoped for a piece in hand.
WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO?
BY CAROLYN WELLS.
A is for the Antelope, A beast that I have never met; They say he jumps the skipping-rope And makes a charming household pet.
Well, as to that I cannot say; But A is for him, anyway.
B stands for Bajjerkeit; maybe You've never chanced this beast to see; So I'll describe him to you. Well, There isn't very much to tell. One day I idly chanced to look Within a Natural History book, And there I saw his funny name, And thought I'd hand him down to fame.
C is for Codfish. He must be The saltest fish that swims the sea. And, oh! He has a secret woe! You see, he thinks it's all his fault The ocean is so very salt! And so, In hopeless grief and woe, The Codfish has, for many years, Shed quarts of salty, briny tears! And, oh! His tears still flow-- So great his grief and woe!
D stands for Dodo. He's a bird That isn't known to many; And this the reason, I have heard-- Because there aren't any! The Dodo, who once blithely blinked, Is now exceedingly extinct, And doesn't it seem rather nice To think that D stands for him twice?
E is for Elephant. I know He isn't natty, trim, or trig; His eyes are rather small, and, oh, I fear his ears are far too big! But there's a well-attested rumor That he has quite a sense of humor; So crack a joke whene'er you meet An Elephant upon the street.
F is Flamingo. All please note His wondrous height and girth; He has the longest legs and throat Of anything on earth. Such throats are trying, are they not? In case one catches cold; Ah, yes! but just think what a lot His Christmas stockings hold!
G stands for Gnu. Of course that's right, but then, It seems as if it _should_ begin with N. I could select some other beast as well-- Say, Goose or Grampus, Gadfly or Gazelle; But seems to me the Gnu is more attractive, He is so merry, frivolous, and active.
H is for Hippopotamus. If you desire a pet, He is, it really seems to us, The best that you can get. Train him to follow at your heels Whene'er you walk abroad, And note with what delighted squeals The lookers-on applaud!
I is for Ibex. This fine creature Is favored well in form and feature. And I is for Ichneumon, too-- But what is that to me or you? But Ibex answers just as well, And isn't near so hard to spell.
J stands for Jay. This little fellow Is blue. Sometimes I think I'd like him better were he yellow, Or even reddish pink. I know, of course, it is absurd To mind the color of a bird; And, now I think of it, I've seen Some Jays that were exceeding green.
K stands for Kangaroo. I've looked all round: A better beast for K cannot be found. The Kangaroo can hop and hop and hop; Somehow he never seems to want to stop. What more could one desire of him, I pray, Than just to hop around and stand for K?
L is for Leopard. Do you know He's very, very vain? And sometimes quite dejectedly He mopes along the plain. At these sad times the Leopard's heart Is filled with angry passion, Because his spots are out of date, And Zebra stripes in fashion! But other years, when fashion-books Say spots are all the style, The Leopard proudly stalks abroad With most complacent smile.
M is for Microbe. This bad beast Is very, very small; Some people say--or think, at least-- He isn't there at all! He's smaller than the mitiest mite; The only way he comes in sight Is when he's pictured in a book, Or through a microbescope you look.
N is for Nautilus, and he's A pirate, bold and gay; He dashes madly through the seas, A-searching of his prey. He's just a sort of silvery mass, All spotted blue and pink; And with his eye, which looks like glass, He winks a wicked wink.
O stands for the obsequious Ounce, Who weighs full many a pound; At you he playfully would bounce, If you were walking round. Approach him and the Ounce you'll see Spring like a catapult; Just try it once, and you will be Surprised at the result.
P stands for Puma. His sleek paws Go softly pit-a-pat; His teeth are sharp, and sharp his claws; He's just a great big cat. There were some Pumas in the ark; There are some also in the park: But, strange to say, in Montezuma They do not raise a single Puma!
Q stands for Quagga. We've been taught Nothing was ever made in vain; But even after serious thought The Quagga's use is not quite plain. Though, stay!--ah, yes! at last I see Why the queer Quagga has to be: Were there no Quaggas, how would you Find any beast to stand for Q?
R's for Rhinoceros. You see His clothing does not fit; Yet so indifferent is he, He doesn't care a bit. Although it does not seem to us The unconcerned Rhinoceros Has any claim to wit or grace, We must admire his earnest face.
S stands for Sponge. You'd scarce suppose This could be called a creature; It hasn't any eyes or nose-- Indeed, it has no feature. And, though this may cause some surprise, The mermaids, I dare say, Will set a Sponge at night to rise, And make sponge-cake next day.
T stands for Tiger. In the south He roams his native heath. He has a wide, capacious mouth, And long and glistening teeth. 'Tis not worth while your time to spend To cultivate him as a friend; But to your house, so warm and snug, Invite the Tiger as a rug.
U is for the Unicorn, The dearest little thing; Though he has but a single horn, And not a single wing. A Unicorn of any age Is nicer, so I've heard, To keep within a gilded cage Than a canary-bird.
V is for Vervet. From his name You'd be inclined to think This creature rather mild and tame, In color somewhat pink. But not at all; the Vervet's green, And very cross and spunky; In fact, it's plainly to be seen The Vervet's just a monkey!
W is for Whale. He's in The oceans, north and south. He doesn't have a dimpled chin, Nor yet a rosebud mouth. Yet he is very fond of fun, And has wide smiles for every one.
X stands for Xiphias; he's a fish. If you a Xiphias should wish, Don't let him roam around the grass, But keep him in a globe of glass. His name, as everybody knows, Is _Xiphias Gladius_. I suppose That means the Xiphias is glad Because he wasn't born a Shad.
Y is for Yak, Who is not very tidy; And he's lazy, alack! He sleeps all day Friday. About a yard wide The Yak is, precisely; With fringe on each side He's trimmed very nicely.
Z stands for Zibet. I've been told This beast was much esteemed of old; But, latterly, most people think They'd rather have a moose or mink. In a museum that's in Tibet They have one stuffed--he's an Ex-Zibet!
A WAS AN ARCHER
A was an Archer, who shot at a frog; B was a Butcher, and had a great dog.
C was a Captain, all covered with lace; D was a drunkard, and had a red face.
E was an Esquire, with pride on his brow; F was a Farmer, and followed the plough.
G was a gamester, who had but ill-luck; H was a Hunter, who hunted a buck.
I was an Innkeeper, who loved to carouse; J was a Joiner, and built up a house.
K is the King, who governs England; L was a Lady, who had a white hand.
M was a Miser, and hoarded up gold; N was a Nobleman, gallant and bold.
O was an Oyster-Girl, who went about town; P was a Parson, and wore a black gown.
Q was a Queen, who wore a silk slip; R was a Robber, and wanted a whip.
S was a Sailor, and spent all he got; T was a Tinker, and mended a pot.
U was an Usurer, a miserable elf; V was a Vintner, who drank all himself.
W was a Watchman, and guarded the door; X was expensive, and so became poor.
Y was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.
A LITTLE FOLKS' ALPHABET
BY CAROLYN WELLS
Affable Andy Ate sugar candy.
Boisterous Ben Shot at a hen.
Careless Corinne Lost her gold pin.
Dear little Davy Liked chicken gravy.
Elegant Ed Had a new sled.
Fair little Fanny Wrote to her Granny.
Gay little Guy Thought he could fly.