Example III.—Umbrellas.
"The late George Canning, of whom Byron said that 'it was his happiness to be at once a wit, poet, orator, and statesman, and excellent in all,' is the author of the following clever jeu d' esprit:" [except three lines here added in brackets:]
"I saw | a man | with two | umbrellas,
(One of | the lon |—gest kind | of fellows,)
When it rained,
M=eet =a | l=ady
On the | shady
Side of | thirty |-three,
Minus | one of | these rain |-dispellers.
'I see,'
Says she,
'Your qual | -ity | of mer | -cy is | not strained.'
[Not slow | to comprehend | an inkling,
His eye | with wag |-gish hu |-mour twinkling.]
Replied | he, 'Ma'am,
Be calm;
This one | under | my arm
Is rotten,
[And can |-not save | you from | a sprinkling.]
Besides | to keep | you dry,
'Tis plain | that you | as well | as I,
'Can lift | your cotton.'"
See The Essex County Freeman, Vol. i, No. 1.
Example IV.—Shreds of a Song.
I. SPRING.
"The cuck |—oo then, | on ev |—ery tree,
Mocks mar |—ried men, | for thus | sings he, Cuckoo';
Cuckoo', | cuckoo',— | O word | of fear,
Unpleas |-ing to | a mar |-ried ear!"
II. WINTER.
"When blood | is nipp'd, | and ways | be foul,
Then night | -ly sings | the star |-ing owl, To-who;
To-whit, | to-who, | a mer | -ry note,
While greas | -y Joan | doth keel | the pot."
—SHAKSPEARE: Love's Labour's Lost, Act v, Sc. 2.
Example V.—Puck's Charm.
[When he has uttered the fifth line, he squeezes a juice on Lysander's eyes.]