Answer: Peerless (Peer-Less).
Charles James Fox, amidst all the cares and anxieties surrounding a great Parliamentary leader, found time to indulge his vein of pleasant humour in this fascinating pastime. The following was his composition:—
My first is expressive of no disrespect,
But I never call you by it when you are by;
If my second you still are resolved to reject,
As dead as my whole I shall presently lie.
Answer: Herring (Her-Ring).
The following miscellaneous charades will further explain the great variety of these puzzles, may in themselves afford amusement, and will be useful as models on which other charades may be formed. If, unlike the preceding, they can claim no particular literary merit, it is to be hoped that, as helping forward "Fireside Fun," they will be none the less welcome.
Ride on, ride on, thou traveller bold,
And cast thy looks on first;