—His father was a dyer.

As I look'd out o' my chamber window,

I heard something fall;

I sent my maid to pick it up.

But she couldn't pick it all.

—Snuff. From Yorkshire.

Black within, and red without,

Four corners round about.

—A chimney. From Yorkshire.

As I was going o'er London bridge,

I met a drove of guinea pigs;

They were nick'd and they were nack'd,

And they were all yellow back'd.

—A swarm of bees; not a very likely family to meet in that neighbourhood, at least nowadays, but some of the authors of these poems seem to have been continually traversing London bridge.

Higher than a house, higher than a tree;

Oh! whatever can that be?

—A star. From Yorkshire.

Which weighs heavier—

A stone of lead

Or a stone of feather?