HE stars were out on the lake,

The silk sail stirr'd the skiff;

And faint on the billow, and fresh on the breeze,

The summer came up thro' the cinnamon trees

With an odoriferous sniff.

There was song in the scented air,

And a light in the listening leaves,—

The light of the myriad myrtle fly,

When young Fo-Fum and little Fe-Fi

Came forth to gaze upon the sky—&c.!

Oh! little Fe-Fi was fair,

With the rose in her raven hair!

From her almond eyes, and celestial nose,

To the tips of her imperceptible toes &c.

Fo-Fum stood tall I wis,

(May his shadow never be less!)

A highly irresistible male,

The ladies turn'd pale

At the length of his nail

And the twirl of his unapproachable tail &c.

"Now listen, Mooo-mine, my Star!

My life! my little Fe-Fi;

For over the blossom and under the bough

There's a soft little word that is whispering now

Which I think you can guess if you try!

In the bosom of faithful Fum,

There's a monosyllabic hum,—

A little wee word Fe-Fi can spell,

Concluding with 'E,' and beginning with 'L,' &c."

"Oh! dear, now what can it be?

That little wee word Fo-Fum?

That funny wee word that sounds so absurd

With an 'E' and an 'L' and a 'Hum!'

A something that ends with an E?—

It must be my cousin So-Sle?

"Or pretty Pe-Pale

Who admired your tail?—

I shall never guess what it can be

I can see

That is spelt with an L and an El

I never shall guess, if I die—

Fo-Fum, sir, I'm going to cry!—

Oh, dear how my heart is beginning to beat!

Why there's silly Fo-Fum on his knees at my feet," &c.

Deponent knoweth not,

History showeth not,

If the lady read the riddle;

And whether she found

It hard to expound—

As the story ends in the middle.

Was gallant Fo-Fum

Constrain'd to succumb

To the "thrall of delicious fetters,"—

Or pretty Fe-Fi

Induced to supply

The text of the missing letters?

Oh, no one can tell!

But this extract looks well,

Faute de mieux (e. g. "want of a betterer")—

"Received: by Hang-Hi,

"From Fo-Fum, for Fe-Fi,

"A thousand dollars" &c!