Rhymes Old and New Part 12

LADY-BIRD--IN SCOTLAND LADY LANNERS

LANARK

Lady, Lady Lanners!

Lady, Lady Lanners!

Tak up your clowk about your head, An' flee awa' to Flanners.

Flee owre firth, an' flee owre fell, Flee owre pule, an' rinnan well, Flee owre muir, an' flee owre mead, Flee owre livan, flee owre dead, Flee owre corn, an' flee owre lea, Flee owre river, flee owre sea, Flee ye east, or flee ye west, Flee till him that lo'es me best.

Lady-bird! lady-bird! pretty one stay!

Come sit on my finger, so happy and gay, With me shall no mischief betide thee; No harm would I do thee, no foeman is near, I only would gaze on thy beauties so dear, Those beautiful winglets beside thee.

Lady-bird! lady-bird! fly away home!

Thy house is a-fire, thy children will roam, List! list to their cry and bewailing!

The pitiless spider is weaving their doom, Then lady-bird! lady-bird! fly away home!

Hark! hark to thy children's bewailing!

Fly back again, back again, lady-bird dear!

Thy neighbours will merrily welcome thee here, With them shall no perils attend thee.

They'll guard thee so safely from danger or care, They'll gaze on thy beautiful winglets so fair, And comfort, and love, and befriend thee!

THE SELFISH SNAILS

It happened that a little snail Came crawling, with his s.h.i.+ny tail, Upon a cabbage-stalk; But two more little snails were there, Both feasting on this dainty fare, Engaged in friendly talk.

"No, no, you shall not dine with us; How dare you interrupt us thus?"

The greedy snails declare; So their poor brother they discard, Who really thinks it very hard He may not have his share.

But selfish folks are sure to know They get no good by being so In earnest or in play; Which those two snails confess'd, no doubt, When soon the gardener spied them out, And threw them both away.

ALPHABETS

QUARREL OF THE ALPHABET

Great A was alarmed at B's bad behaviour, Because C, D, E, and F denied G a favour.

H got a husband, with I, J, K, and L, M married Mary, and taught scholars how to spell.

It went hard at first with N, O, P, and Q, With R, S, T, with single and double U, The X and the Y it stuck in their gizzards, Till they were made friends by the two crooked izzards.

This A, B, C, so little is it thought about, Although by its aid great knowledge is brought about; 'Tis the groundwork of science, of wisdom the key, sir, For what does a man know that knows not A, B, C, sir?

He is a blockhead, take it from me, sir, That does not know his A, B, C, sir, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

A stands for Apple Pie, B for Balloon, C a nice custard To eat with a spoon.

D for my doll, When from lessons released, E sister Ellen, and F for a Feast.

G for the Garden, Where oft-time we play.

H you will find In a field of sweet Hay.

I was an Inkstand, Thrown over for fun.

J brother Joseph, By whom it was done.

K is our Kitten, Who plays with her tail, L our maid Lucy With milk in her pail.

M my kind Mother, I love her so well.

N Mr n.o.body Nothing can tell.

O is an Ostrich, So fine and so tall.

P a fine Peac.o.c.k, That sat on a wall.

Q was the Quarrel 'Tween Pompey and Pug.

R is the Rose In our small china jug.

S stands for Syllabub, T for my Toys.

U my kind Uncle, Who loves good girls and boys.

V is the Vulture, Whom little birds dread.

W a Watch That hangs ticking o'erhead.

X you may make By two keys when they're crossed.

Y is a Youth Whose time should not be lost.

The Alphabet now I nearly have said, Zoological Gardens begin with a Z.

A stands for Age, and for Adam, and All.

B stands for Bullfinch, and Billy, and Ball.

C stands for Cat, and for Cherry, and Crumb.

D stands for Dog, and for David, and Drum.

E stands for Elephant, Edward, and East.

F stands for Fox, and for f.a.n.n.y, and Feast.

G stands for Goat, and for George, and for Gold.

H stands for House, and for Henry, and Hold.

I stands for Indian, and Isaac, and Ill.

J stands for Jay, and for Jenny, and Jill.

K stands for Kissing, and Kitty, and Kine.

L stands for Lion, and Lucy, and Line.

M stands for Morning, for Mary, and Mote.

N stands for Nightingale, Noah, and Note.

O stands for Owl, and for Ox, and for Ounce.

P stands for Parson, and Peter, and Pounce.

Q stands for Quail, and Quarrel, and Quake.

R stands for Reading, for Rule, and for Rake.

S stands for s.h.i.+p, and for Sam, and for Shop.

T stands for Tiger, for Thomas and Top.

U stands for Unicorn, Uncle, and Use.

V stands for Vulture, for Venice, and Views.

W stands for Waggon, for Wilful, and We.

X stands for Xiphias, the sword-fish, you see.

Y stands for Youth, for You, and for Year.

Z stands for Zany, that brings up the rear.