IDYLETTES OF THE QUEEN

I.—SHE

I FAIN would write on pleasant themes;
So let me prate
Awhile of Kate;
And if my rhyming effort seems
Uncouth or rough,
At any rate,
She's Kate,
And that's enough.

II.—HER EYES

Her eyes are bright—
I cannot say "like stars at night,"
Nor can I say
"Like the Orb of Day,"
Because such phrases are archaic.
And if I swear
That they compare
With diamonds rare,
That's too prosaic.
I've hunted my thesaurus through,
"The Century" and "Webster," too,
But all in vain;
'Tis therefore plain
That they who made these books so wise
Had never seen her eyes!

III.—HER GOWN

When Kate puts on her Sunday gown
And goes to church all in her best,
The watchful gargoyles looking down
Relax their most forbidding frown,
And smile with kindly interest.
Discerning gargoyles! could I be
One of your number looking down,
With you I surely would agree
And share your amiability
At sight of Kate and Sunday gown.

IV.—HER KNOWLEDGE

How much she knows no one can tell;
But she can read and write and spell,
Divide and multiply and add,
And name the apples Thomas had
When John enticed him five to sell.
For "jelly" she does not say "jell,"
Nor horrify us with "umbrell,"
For all of which we're very glad—
How much she knows!
She knows the oyster by his shell,
Detects the newsboy by his yell,
Enumerates the bones in shad,
And thinks my poetry is bad.
Well! well! well! well! well! well! well! well!
How much she knows!