* * *
There was a Young Person of Smyrna,
Whose Grandmother threatened to burn her;
But she seized on the cat,
And said, 'Granny, burn that! ...
There was an Old Derry down Derry,
Who loved to see little folks merry;
So he made them a Book,
And with laughter they shook
At the fun of that Derry down Derry.
* * *
There was an Old Lady of Prague,
Whose language was horribly vague;
When they said, 'Are these caps?'
She answered, 'Perhaps!'
That oracular Lady of Prague.
<Publ. 1846>
* * *
There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, 'I'm afloat, I'm afloat!'
When they said, 'No! you ain't!'
He was ready to faint,
That unhappy Old Man in a boat.
<Publ. 1846>
* * *
There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;
...
* * *
There was an Old Man of Apulia,
Whose conduct was very peculiar
He fed twenty sons,
Upon nothing but buns,
That whimsical Man of Apulia.
Pub. 1846
* * *
There was an Old Man of Aôsta,
Who possessed a large cow, but he lost her;
But they said, 'Don't you see
She has rushed up a tree?
You invidious Old Man of Aôsta!'
<Publ. 1846>
* * *
That dolorous Man of Cape Horn.
There was an Old Man of Cape Horn,
Who wished he had never been born;
So he sat on a chair,
Till he died of despair.
Pub. 1846
...
* * *
There was an Old Man of Kamschatka,
Who possessed a remarkable fat cur;
His gait and his waddle
Were held as a model
To all the fat dogs in Kamschatka.
Pub. 1846
...
* * *
There was an Old Man of Kildare,
Who climbed into a very old chair;
When he said, — "Here I stays, —
Till the end of my days,"
That immovable Man of Kildare.
<Publ. 1846>