exhibited in the variation of this simple type. Here, to begin with, is a
favorite verse, which we are very glad to have an opportunity of giving, as
it is often incorrectly quoted, "cocks" being substituted for "owls" in the
third line:

"There was an Old 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!'"

With the kindly fatalism which is the distinctive note of the foregoing
stanza, the sentiment of our next extract is in vivid contrast:--


"There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was terribly bored by a bee;
When they said, 'Does it buzz?' he replied, 'Yes, it does!
It's a regular brute of a Bee.'"

To the foregoing verse an historic interest attaches, if, that is, we are
right in supposing it to have inspired Mr. Gilbert with his famous
"Nonsense-Rhyme in Blank Verse." We quote from memory:--

"There was an Old Man of St. Bees,
Who was stung in the arm by a wasp.
When they asked, 'Does it hurt?' he replied, 'No, it doesn't,
But I thought all the while 'twas a Hornet!'"

Passing over the lines referring to the "Young Person" of Crete to whom the
epithet "ombliferous" is applied, we may be pardoned--on the ground of the