There was a young fellow named Hyde,
At a funeral once who was spied;
When asked, Who is dead?

He smilingly said,

I don't know. I just came for the ride.

Following up with Limericks. - Newspapers often "set the ball rolling" with a good limerick, expecting another newspaper to take it up, and print the two in its next issue. Some third paper then accepts the challenge and printing these two, adds one of its own, and so on, until there is a fine series thus produced. The limericks quoted below were thus written :

There once was a man from Nantucket,
Who kept all his cash in a bucket;

But his daughter named Nan
Eloped with a man,

And as for the bucket, Nan-tuck-et!

-Princeton Tiger.

Dad followed the pair to Pawtucket,

The man and the girl with the bucket;
He said to the man:

You are welcome to Nan,

But as for the bucket, Paw-tuck-et!

Chicago Tribune.

Then the pair followed Pa to Manhasset,

Where he still held the cash as an asset;
But Nan and the man

Grabbed the bucket and ran,

And as for the money, Man-has-set!

New York Press.

EXERCISES BASED ON PICTURES

In the Chimney Corner. The kittens asleep in front of the hearth enjoy the comfort of home as if it were made for them.

(a) A Limerick or Light Verse. How long would this placid quiet last if a romping crowd of your schoolmates or companions were to break in on it, to help you celebrate your birthday, or some such occasion? Put into a limerick or piece of light verse the description of the arrival of such a crowd. Limit your work to not more than four or five stanzas.

(b) Interesting References. Edgar Allan Poe's Raven opens with the description of a quiet hearthstone, whose quiet is invaded by the coming of the raven.

Try two or more of the following exercises in writing limericks or light verse:

1. Responding to Roll Call. Club programs often call for responses to roll call with an original limerick. Try this in class.

2. Limericks" as per Sample." Write a limerick on the blackboard to serve as a sample, and let each member of the English class produce a limerick in something of the same form. Select any limerick, or, if you prefer, use the following as a sample:

A genius who once did aspire
To invent an aërial flyer,
When asked, Does it go?
Replied, I don't know;

I am waiting for some fool to try her.

3. An Evening of Limericks. Arrange a contest in limericks for an entertainment, or for a class meeting. Try it out in class.

4. A Book of Limericks. You will find it interesting to prepare a neat book of limericks, original and selected. Use your own, and some of the best limericks of your classmates.

5. Rhyming Alphabets. Prepare a rhyming alphabet for some child of your acquaintance. Get it up neatly, and clip some neat pictures to use for illustrations.

6. A Book of Light Rhymes. Prepare a book of light rhymes and jingles, original and selected, suitable as a gift for some one of your acquaintance who is convalescing from sickness.

The Ballad. The ballad is a poetical narrative told briefly but strikingly.

Some of the richest treasures in English are found in the traditional ballads that have come down to us from the singers of earlier times. These ballads are noted for their

idiomatic English.

A Fortunate Discovery. These wonderful ballads had been almost forgotten by English-speaking people until rescued from oblivion by a lucky chance. Thomas Percy, while on a visit to an ancient mansion, discovered a curious old manuscript, unbound, mutilated, and sadly torn, which the servants had been using to light the fires with. At his urgent request it was given to him and found to contain almost two hundred genuine old ballads, collected by some unknown ballad lover, and transcribed by him from the lips of the peasantry who still remembered and sang them to him.

Percy published these ballads in a book which immediately became famous, known as Percy's Reliques. Sidney Lanier has put these ballads in an attractive book, The Boy's Percy.

Famous Ballads. Among these traditional ballads are The Ballad of Chevy Chace, Lord Lovel, the Robin Hood ballads, The Heir of Lynne, the Nut-Brown Maid, Sir Patrick Spens, Johnie Armstrong, and Sir Andrew Barton.

Many ballads not named in this list are equally fine.

The Ballad Form. - The ballad form is simple but effective for story telling. The usual ballad stanza consists of four lines, the first and third of four iambic feet, the second and fourth of three feet.

Characteristics of the Traditional Ballads. The traditional ballads are remarkable for their simple and vivid speech. They say things compactly.

It will help you to appreciate the rhythm of the old ballads if you remember that they were sung and danced to by the peasantry.

the

Illustrations of Ballad Forms. The following are a few of many ballad forms:

The king sits in Dumferline toun,

Drinking the blude-red wine;

O where will I get a gude sailor

To sail this ship of mine?

Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.

High upon Highlands

And low upon Tay,

Bonnie George Campbell

Rode out on a day.

He saddled, he bridled,

And gallant rode he,

And home came his good horse,

But never came he.

Ballad of Bonnie George Campbell.