for Jemima to hurrah with her heels than to drum them against the winder, which any one could do:— 'HERE was a little girl, who had a little curl THERE Right in the middle of her forehead, And when she was good she was very, very good, She stood on her head, on her little truckle-bed, With nobody by for to hinder; She screamed and she squalled, she yelled and she bawled, And drummed her little heels against the winder. Her mother heard the noise, and thought it was the boys Playing in the empty attic, She rushed upstairs, and caught her unawares, And spanked her, most emphatic. I have tried in vain to discover the author of these verses. According to an American writer, Miss Roosevelt, the first stanza was claimed by Longfellow; but there is no proof that it was he who finished it. This is the Song of the Gardener in Sylvie and Bruno, by Lewis Carroll, published by Messrs. Macmillan and Co. "The Walrus and the Carpenter" (p. 130), it is unnecessary to state, is from the same author's Through the Looking-Glass, Mr. A. T. Quiller Couch has kindly given me leave to use these verses, which have not been published before. "The Elephant" and "The Lion" (p. 126), "The Frog' and "The Ode to a Rhinoceros" (p. 127), are from The Bad Child's Book of Beasts, the Introduction to which is printed on p. 155. The Bad Child's Book of Beasts was written by H. B., and illustrated by B. T. B., and is published by Messrs. Alden of Oxford. The verses and pictures go so perfectly together that it is almost a pity to divide them: I hope that these extracts may send readers to the book. Another writer, Mr. Ashby Sterry, has gone farther than the author of "The Frog" as a friend of dumb creatures. Here are two stanzas from a warm-hearted appeal which he once made in Punch : PEAK gently to the herring, and kindly to the calf, SPEA Be blithesome with the bunny, at barnacles don't laugh! Give nuts unto the monkey, and buns unto the bear, Ne'er hint at currant jelly if you chance to see a hare! O, little girls, pray hide your combs when tortoises draw nigh, And never in the hearing of a pigeon whisper Pie! But give the stranded jelly-fish a shove into the sea— O, make not game of sparrows, nor faces at the ram, crimp, Don't cheat the pike or ever try to pot the playful shrimp. Tread lightly on the turning worm, don't bruise the butterfly, Don't ridicule the wry-neck, nor sneer at salmon-fry; O, ne'er delight to make dogs fight, nor bantams disagreeBe always kind to animals wherever you may be ! Page 134. "The Pobble Who Has No Toes" I should like also to have printed other of Edward Lear's Nonsense Songs, published by Messrs. Warne and Co., but copyright prevented. By those who know that volume, and also The Book of Nonsense and More Nonsense, the following examination paper, which was drawn up some years ago by Mr. C. L. Graves, and printed in the Spectator, should be worth attempting: 1. What do you gather from a study of Mr. Lear's works to have been the prevalent characteristics of the inhabitants of Gretna, Prague, Thermopyla, Wick, and Hong-Kong? 2. State briefly what historical events are connected with Ischia, Chertsey, Whitehaven, Boulak, and Jellibolee. 3. Comment, with illustrations, upon Mr. Lear's use of the following words :-Runcible, propitious, dolomphious, borascible, fizzgiggious, himmeltanious, tumble-dum-down, spongetaneous. 4. Enumerate accurately all the animals who lived on the Quangle Wangle's Hat, and explain how the Quangle Wangle was enabled at once to enlighten his five travelling companions as to the true nature of the Co-operative Cauliflower. 5. What were the names of the five daughters of the Old Person of China, and what was the purpose for which the Old Man of the Dargle purchased six barrels of Gargle ? 6. Collect notices of King Xerxes in Mr. Lear's works, and state your theory, if you have any, as to the character and appearance of Nupiter Piffkin. 7. Draw pictures of the Plum-pudding Flea and the Moppsikon Floppsikon Bear, and state by whom waterproof tubs were first used. Page 137. "The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb I have borrowed this piece from Struwwelpeter because I wanted to include something of Dr. Hoffmann's in this book; but it is, of course, a little unfair to separate the verse from the pictures. The following lines are taken from an ode in memory of Dr. Hoffmann which appeared in the Spectator soon after his death in 1894: --- 'HY pencil, too, with what a force THY It shadowed Nemesis, her course! Who that once saw, can e'er forget, The cats which mourned for Harriet, With eyes so grievously attacked Thy Peter was a beacon-light Befalling Arthur, Ned, and Will? This wish for thee, then, Mentor rare Of little people everywhere : May the earth lightly on thee lie, May Struwwelpeter never die! |