"Now, William!"

"I don't know any," he said.

"Oh, you _do_," said his mother. "Say the one you learnt at school
last term. Stand up, dear, and speak clearly."

Slowly William rose to his feet.

"_It was the schooner Hesperus that sailed the wintry sea_,"

he began.

Here he stopped, coughed, cleared his throat, and began again.

"_It was the schooner Hesperus that sailed the wintry sea._"

"Oh, get _on_!" muttered his brother, irritably.

[Illustration: "IT WAS THE HESPER SCHOONERUS THAT SAILED THE WINTRY
SEA AN' I'M NOT GOIN' ON IF ETHEL'S GOIN' TO KEEP GIGGLIN'."]

"I can't get on if you keep talkin' to me," said William, sternly.
"How can I get on if you keep takin' all the time up _sayin'_ get on?
I can't get on if you're talkin', can I?"

"It was the Hesper Schoonerus that sailed the wintry sea an' I'm not
goin' on if Ethel's goin' to keep gigglin'. It's not a funny piece,
an' if she's goin' on gigglin' like that I'm not sayin' any more of