ETCETERA.
HE stars were out on the lake,
The silk sail stirr'd the skiff;
And faint on the billow, and fresh on the breeze,
The summer came up thro' the cinnamon trees
With an odoriferous sniff.
There was song in the scented air,
And a light in the listening leaves,—
The light of the myriad myrtle fly,
When young Fo-Fum and little Fe-Fi
Came forth to gaze upon the sky—&c.!
Oh! little Fe-Fi was fair,
With the rose in her raven hair!
From her almond eyes, and celestial nose,
To the tips of her imperceptible toes &c.
Fo-Fum stood tall I wis,
(May his shadow never be less!)
A highly irresistible male,
The ladies turn'd pale
At the length of his nail
And the twirl of his unapproachable tail &c.
"Now listen, Mooo-mine, my Star!
My life! my little Fe-Fi;
For over the blossom and under the bough
There's a soft little word that is whispering now
Which I think you can guess if you try!
In the bosom of faithful Fum,
There's a monosyllabic hum,—
A little wee word Fe-Fi can spell,
Concluding with 'E,' and beginning with 'L,' &c."
"Oh! dear, now what can it be?
That little wee word Fo-Fum?
That funny wee word that sounds so absurd
With an 'E' and an 'L' and a 'Hum!'
A something that ends with an E?—
It must be my cousin So-Sle?
"Or pretty Pe-Pale
Who admired your tail?—
I shall never guess what it can be
I can see
That is spelt with an L and an El
I never shall guess, if I die—
Fo-Fum, sir, I'm going to cry!—
Oh, dear how my heart is beginning to beat!
Why there's silly Fo-Fum on his knees at my feet," &c.
Deponent knoweth not,
History showeth not,
If the lady read the riddle;
And whether she found
It hard to expound—
As the story ends in the middle.
Was gallant Fo-Fum
Constrain'd to succumb
To the "thrall of delicious fetters,"—
Or pretty Fe-Fi
Induced to supply
The text of the missing letters?
Oh, no one can tell!
But this extract looks well,
Faute de mieux (e. g. "want of a betterer")—
"Received: by Hang-Hi,
"From Fo-Fum, for Fe-Fi,
"A thousand dollars" &c!