Cut off my head, and singular I seem;
Cut off my tail, and plural I appear;
Cut off both head and tail, and—wondrous to relate!—
Although my middle’s left, there’s nothing there.
What is my first? It is a sounding sea,
What is my last? It is a noble river,
And in their mingling depths I sportive play,
Parent of sweetest sounds, though mute for ever.
145.
Cato and Chloe, combined well together,