71 

 DEFINITION OF POETRY. 



MY DEAR MR. EDITOR, 



Your number for January has just reached 

 me, wherein I find a most affectionate and pathetic 

 notice of my death which, however, I beg to assure you, 

 is a mistake, as I never was more healthy in my life 

 than I am at present, and I am not at all aware of hav- 

 ing broken my neck lately. 



I am exceedingly sorry that the remainder of my 

 observations on West Barbary cannot have the honour 

 of publication in your Museum : I lent them for peru- 

 sal to a friend, who accompanied me in a shooting 

 excursion for a few days, and he, not having the due 

 consideration for such things before his eyes, used my 

 manuscripts as envelopes for the constituents of his 

 luncheon, and subsequently handed them over to our 

 landlady (who was scarce of white paper) to singe the 

 birds she was about to cook for our supper ; after all, 

 perhaps, this was the fate they best deserved. 



One evening when I was wending my way to the inn 

 with four dozen slung in the basket, behind me, (not a 

 fish was under three pounds weight) I cogitated on a lec- 

 ture which I heard last winter at the Athenaeum, in 

 your loyal town, wherein a great deal of skill and inge- 

 nuity were expended in order to define poetry the 

 definition however did not seem to give satisfaction to 

 any one of the gentlemen who joined in the discussion, 

 each one had an emendation of his own, and before any 

 definition suited to all was arrived at, the meeting was 

 adjourned. 



I think, however, that I have hit upon a definition 

 of poetry, which is not liable to be called in question 

 by any individual, viz. " Poetry is a series of serious 

 or humourous lies told in a pleasing way. " This defi- 

 nition will hold good though it be applied to the results 

 of various inspirations. Lord Byron's poetry was writ- 

 ten under the influence of gin and water ; Tom Moore 

 sought the stimulus of Claret, Burns drank parliament 

 whiskey, and Wilson imbibed Glenlivet of the sma' 



