I844-54- HUMOROUS VERSES. 2 25 



letters. Of the lighter effusions we may name, " A Naughty 

 Graph;" "Valentine to S. D/s donkey, Flora;" and a 

 series of Valentines from Redivivo, his terrier, to Lady 

 Fanny, a pet squirrel, in which both these animals show a 

 power of versification highly creditable to them. 



A specimen of the more humorous will not be unwel- 

 come : 



ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF NOT BEING ABLE TO 

 WRITE YOUR NAME. 



I'VE heard a story of a country wight, 



Whether 'tis true or not I cannot tell, 

 W 7 ho never had been taught to write, 



And very likely could not spell. 

 He kept a sort of shop of shops 



Dealing in blacking, boots, and teas, 

 In Epsom salts, and humming tops, 



And cotton handkerchiefs, and Stilton cheese. 

 His windows were so full they cut a dash, 



And he displayed his goods, and people wanted them ; 

 And if they could not pay in cash, 



And asked for credit, why, 'twas granted them. 

 But how was 't possible to keep his books 



When he was ignorant as any nigger, 

 And never learned to make pot hooks, 



Or found in early life the way to figure ? 

 Why, this he did : he used his pen, 



But not to mark the money due him ; 

 When he sold any goods, why, then 



He pulled his ledger out and drew 'em. 

 If hats were bought, he painted hats, 



If China ware, he sketched the dishes ; 

 If mats were sold, he drew the mats ; 



Or herrings, portraits of the fishes ; 

 And so, with some mysterious signs 



That made his pictures clearer, 

 He marked beside his quaint outlines 



Whether his goods were cheap or dearer. 



G. W. Q 



