A pair of scissors and a comb in verse.—Ben Jonson. On their fair standards by the wind displayed, Eggs, altars, wings, pipes, axes, were portrayed.—Scribleriad. The quaint conceit of making verses assume grotesque shapes and devices, expressive of the theme selected by the writer, appears to have been most fashionable during the seventeenth century. Writers tortured their brains in order to torture their verses into all sorts of fantastic forms, from a flowerpot to an obelisk, from a pin to a pyramid. Hearts and fans and knots were chosen for love-songs; wineglasses, bottles, and casks for Bacchanalian songs; pulpits, altars, and monuments for religious verses and epitaphs. Tom Nash, according to Disraeli, says of Gabriel Harvey, that “he had writ verses in all kinds: in form of a pair of gloves, a pair of spectacles, a pair of pot-hooks, &c.” Puttenham, in his Art of Poesie, gives several odd specimens of poems in the form of lozenges, pillars, triangles, &c. Butler says of Benlowes, “the excellently learned,” who was much renowned for his literary freaks, “As for temples and pyramids in poetry, he has outdone all men that way; for he has made a grid-iron and a frying-pan in verse, that, besides the likeness in shape, the very tone and sound of the words did perfectly represent the noise made by these utensils! When he was a captain, he made all the furniture of his horse, from the bit to the crupper, the beaten poetry, every verse being fitted to the proportion of the thing, with a moral allusion to the sense of the thing: as the bridle of moderation, the saddle of content, and the crupper of constancy; so that the same thing was the epigram and emblem, even as a mule is both horse and ass.” Mr. Alger tells us that the Oriental poets are fond of arranging their poems in the form of drums, swords, circles, crescents, trees, &c., and that the Alexandrian rhetoricians used to amuse themselves by writing their satires and invectives in the shape of an axe or a O lovely maid, thou art the fairest slave in all God’s mart! Those charms to win, with all my empire I would gladly part. One kiss I send, to pierce, like fire, thy too reluctant heart. THE WINE GLASS.Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine! They that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the CUP; when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. RHOMBOIDAL DIRGE.Farewell, Sweet groves, to you! You hills that highest dwell, And all you humble vales, adieu! You wanton brooks and solitary rocks, My dear companions all, and you my tender flocks! Farewell, my pipe! and all those pleasing songs whose moving strains Delighted once the fairest nymphs that dance upon the plains. You discontents, whose deep and over-deadly smart Have without pity broke the truest heart, Sighs, tears, and every sad annoy, That erst did with me dwell, And others joy, Farewell! The Christian monks of the Middle Ages, who amused themselves similarly, preferred for their hymns the form of THE CROSS.Blest they who seek, While in their youth, With spirit meek, The way of truth. To them the Sacred Scriptures now display, Christ as the only true and living way: His precious blood on Calvary was given To make them heirs of endless bliss in heaven. And e’en on earth the child of God can trace The glorious blessings of his Saviour’s face. For them He bore His Father’s frown, For them He wore The thorny crown; Nailed to the cross, Endured its pain, That his life’s loss Might be their gain. Then haste to choose That better part— Nor dare refuse The Lord your heart, Lest He declare,— “I know you not;” And deep despair Shall be your lot. Now look to Jesus who on Calvary died, And trust on Him alone who there was crucified. A CURIOUS PIECE OF ANTIQUITY, ON THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR SAVIOUR AND THE TWO THIEVES. ???????? ? INRI ? ??????????????????? ???????????????????? ? My God! My God! vers of my tears ? ??????????????????? ???????????????????? I come to Thee; ? ? bow down thy blessed ears To hear me wretch, oh, ? ? let thine eyes, which sleep Did never close, ? ? behold a sinner weep. Let not, O God! ? ? my God! my faults, though great And numberless, bet ? w ? een thy mercy-seat And my poor soul be t ? h ? rown, since we are taught, ?????? ? ? ??????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??????? ??????? ? ? ?????? ??????? Thou, ? Lord! remember ? est th ? y ? ne, ? if thou beest ? sought. ??????? ??????? ? ? ?????? ??????? I co ? me ? not, Lord wit ? h ? any o ? the ? r merit Then ? wh ? at I by my S ? a ? viour ? Ch ? rist inherit; Be th ? en ? his wound ? s ? my balm, his st ? ri ? pes my bliss, My crown his ? th ? orns, my dea ? t ? h be lo ? st ? in his, And th ? ou ? my bles ? t ? Redeemer, ? Sa ? viour God! Quit my ac ? co ? unts, with ? h ? old thy ? v ? engeful rod; O beg for ? me ? my h ? o ? pes on the ? e ? are set, Thou Chri ? st ? forgi ? v ? e, as well as pay ? th ? e debt. The liv ? in ? g fount, the li ? f ? e, the wa ? y ? I know; And but ? to ? thee ? o ? whither ? s ? hould I go? All o ? th ? er helps a ? r ? e vain, giv ? e ? thine to me; For by th ? y ? cross my ? s ? aving hea ? l ? th must be. Oh hear ? k ? en then, wh ? a ? t I with ? f ? aith implore, Lest s ? in ? and death sin ? k ? me forev ? e ? r more. Oh Lord! my ? G ? od! my way ? e ? s direct ? a ? nd keep, In ? d ? eath defe ? n ? d that from thee I ? n ? e’er slip; And at the do ? om ? let ? m ? e be raise ? d ? then, To liv ? e ? with the ? e. ? Sweet Jes ? us ? say, Amen! ?????? ???????? ??????? EXPLANATION.The middle cross represents our Saviour; those on either side, the two thieves. On the top and down the middle cross are our Saviour’s expression, “My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken me?” and on the top of the cross is the Latin inscription, “INRI”—Jesus Nazarenus Rex JudÆorum, i.e. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Upon the cross on the right-hand is the prayer of one of the thieves:—“Lord! remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” On the left-hand cross is the saying, or reproach, of the other:—“If thou beest the Christ, save thyself and us.” The whole, comprised together, makes a piece of excellent poetry, which is to be read across all the columns, and makes as many lines as there are letters in the alphabet. It is perhaps one of the most curious pieces of composition to be found on record. INGENIOUS CYPHERThe following was written by Prof. Whewell at the request of a young lady:— U 0 a 0 but I 0 U, O 0 no 0 but O 0 me; O let not my 0 a 0 go. But give 0 0 I 0 U so. Thus de-cyphered: (You sigh for a cypher, but I sigh for you; O sigh for no cypher, but O sigh for me: O let not my sigh for a cypher go, But give sigh for sigh, for I sigh for you so.) TYPOGRAPHICAL.We once saw a young man gazing at the *ry heavens, with a † in 1 ? and a ? of pistols in the other. We endeavored to attract his attention by .ing to a ¶ in a paper we held in our ?, relating 2 a young man in that § of the country, who had left home in a state of mental derangement. He dropped the † and pistols from his ?? with the ! “It is I of whom U read. I left home be4 my friends knew of my design. I had s0 the ? of a girl who refused 2 lis10 2 me, but smiled b9nly on another. I ——ed madly from the house, uttering a wild ’ 2 the god of love, and without replying 2 the ??? of my friends, came here with this † & ? of pistols, 2 put a . 2 my existence. My case has no "" in this §.” OXFORD JOKE.A gentleman entered the room of Dr. Barton, Warden of Merton College, and told him that Dr. Vowel was dead. “What!” said he, “Dr. Vowel dead! well, thank heaven it was neither U nor I.” In an old church in Westchester county, N. Y., the following consonants are written beside the altar, under the Ten Commandments. What vowel is to be placed between them, to make sense and rhyme of the couplet? P. R. S. V. R. Y. P. R. F. C. T. M. N. V. R. K. P. T. H. S. P. R. C. P. T. S. T. N. ESSAY TO MISS CATHARINE JAY.An S A now I mean 2 write 2 U sweet K T J, The girl without a "", The belle of U T K. I 1 der if U got that 1 I wrote 2 U B 4 I sailed in the R K D A, And sent by L N Moore. My M T head will scarce contain A calm I D A bright But A T miles from U I must M? this chance 2 write. And 1st, should N E N V U, B E Z, mind it not, Should N E friendship show, B true; They should not B forgot From virt U nev R D V 8; Her influence B 9 A like induces 10 dern S, Or 40 tude D vine. And if U cannot cut a —— Or cut an ! I hope U’ll put a . 2 1 ?. R U for an X ation 2, My cous N?—heart and ? He off R’s in a ¶ A § 2 of land. He says he loves U 2 X S, U R virtuous and Y’s, In X L N C U X L All others in his i’s. This S A, until U I C, I pray U 2 X Q’s, And do not burn in F E G My young and wayward muse. Now fare U well, dear K T J, I trust that U R true— When this U C, then you can say, An S A I O U. |