" THE WAYS OF MEN ARE STRANGE."

Close to a wood, on the slope of a hill,
A little brown rabbit sat ;
His eyes were bright and his coat was sleek,
His body both round and fat;
But he scanned the hill with a searching look,
Ere he dared to creep from his hidden nook—
For the ways of men are strange.

The hill was deserted, no danger in sight,
No man with a gun in his hand ;
Wee birdies were nowhere preparing for flight,
But sang in a happy band ;
The scent of flowers was filling the air,
The sky was blue and the day was fair—
But the ways of men are strange.

At the foot of the hill, in a field there grew,
Some lettuce so juicy and green ;
And near to his feast our little friend drew,
Such lettuce he never had seen.
The wrath of the farmer he now would dare,
In spite of the warning board, " Beware ! "-—
But the ways of men are strange.

At home, his mother the tea had spread
In the shade of their snug retreat;
Carrots and parsley on brown bread,
All laid on a cloth so neat.
But her mother-heart now, it filled with fear,
As the hours sped by and the night drew near—
For the ways of men are strange.

And now the story will soon be told,
Of a Bunny kin caught m a trap;
His love of lettuce that made him bold,
Had led to this sad mishap;
And before his terrified Bunny eyes,
Floated visions of stews and rabbit pies—
For the ways of men are strange.

But a kind little elf who had passed just then
Opened the trap-door wide;
He bade little Bunny run back to his glen,
And safely there to hide.
So home to his mother wee Bunnykin flies
Deep thoughts in his heart, and joy in his eyes—
For the ways of men are strange.

 

HOW TO BECOME AN ARTIST,  or
The Rules of Drawing in Verse.

The first and second Drawing Rules,
You very soon may know ;
Just twist them right round from the way
It seems that they should go.

A line an upward course will take,
If it's below the eye,
And nearest to the spectator—
It sometimes runs quite high.

But if that lines above the eye,
Then downward it must go,
From that same point near spectator,
Until it runs quite low.

If on the level of the eye,
That line must be quite straight;
Woe be to those who let it curve—
They meet a dreadful fate.

Now, all lines that are parallel,
To the same point must go ;
And there they vanish out of sight—
Where to, I do not know.

Now, if an object has three sides—
Observe this carefully—
No line in any part of it
Can horizontal be.

And now we come to some object,
Which has four sides or more ;
Start with the nearest vertical line,
Or point, upon the floor.

When drawing things symmetrical,
This fact is brought to light,
A line drawn down the centre first,
Will help you to go right.

'Tis easy now, as you may see,
To recollect each rule ;
A great assistance, you'll admit,
To genius or fool.

 

DOBBIN'S SONG.

Clippety-clop, clippety-clop !
Down the street, past the grocer's shop.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack !
All the way to market and back.

Jiggety-jig, jiggety-jig !
We may buy apples or else a pig.
Trottety-trot, trottety-trot !
I wish I could tell you, and yet I cannot.

Cloppety-clop, cloppety-clop !
The sun's growing warmer—I wish we could stop!
Clumpety-clump, clumpety-clump!
How I would love a good rest by the pump !

Plunkety-plun, plunkety-plun !
Now market is over, our journey is done.
Clinkety-clain, clinkety-clain !
And soon I'll be home in my stable again.

 

 

MY TEDDY-BEAR.

Our baby has a wooden horse,
With black spots painted on it ;
While Micky has a trumpet gay,
And Susy a new bonnet.
But I have just the lovliest toy,
Which no one else may share ;
I'll tell you what it is—my ownest
Darling Teddy-Bear !

I know he's lost some stuffing,
And he only has one eye ;
But we are just the best of friends,
My Teddy-Bear and I.
Each night when I am tucked in bed,
And Nurse puts out the light,
I take old Teddy in my arms,
And hug him—oh, so tight !

One day I had been very bad,
And so my Nursie said,
" Now in the corner you must stand,
With hands upon your head."
So then I scowled, and, with a frown,
I whispered, " I don't care !—
Because, if you don't love me, Nurse,
There's still my Teddy-Bear"

 

THEODORE MICHAEL AUGUSTE.

Theodore Michael Auguste
Hated the sentence, " You must"
He daily grew thinner,
Would not eat his dinner,
'Cos Mother said, " Yes, dear, you must."

Theodore Michael Augus'
Went out for a ride on a bus :
" Come we must get down,"
Mother said—What a frown !—
Oh, fie, Michael Theo. Augus' !

The Mother of Theodore Mike,
And his Nurse, were both worried alike,
Till they thought of a plan
To cure this young man—
You see they knew Theodore Mike.

For dinner next day, Theo. Guste,
Had plum pie with a very thick crust ;
He said, " Eat it I won't ! "—
Nurse replied " Well, dear, don't ! "—
Oh, how that surprised Theo. Guste !

Now Theodore Michael Auguste,
Is cured, and when he hears, " you must,"
He replies, " Yes, I will ; "
And he's doing it still,
Is Theodore Michael Auguste.