but it was finally decided that there could be acrostics in prose as well
as in rhyme; and Mr. Burrows asked,--

"How many understand now what an acrostic is?"

A few more hands were raised, but many of the boys did not understand
yet; it must be made plainer.

"Howard," said Mr. Burrows, "come to the board and give us an acrostic on
the word boy."

Howard sprang up. "Must it be a sensible one, sir?"

"Sense or nonsense, just as you please, so as it shows us what an
acrostic is."

"I can take my parsing-book and give you one, I think, sir."

And Howard came forward and wrote rapidly,--

"B But you shall hear an odd affair, indeed,
O Of which all Europe rings from side to side"--

Then he paused, turning the leaves of his parsing-book eagerly.

"I can't find anything in Y to finish this up with," he said at last.

"Can't you give us a line from your own brain?"

And at this Howard's eye brightened with fun, and, turning to the board