News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-06-15

Lets have some of the poetry"
every good" said the Comet
"Here goes. It's about an animal
named the speeler, and it's called
The Speeler's Lament:
Oh, many years ago.
When Jack and Jill were young,
There wandered to and fro
Along the glstening snow
A Speeler, much unstrung.
| asked the Speeler why
He looked SO mortal sad.
He gazed into my eye,
And then he made reply
In language very bad.
Pm sad, said he. because
A Speeler true | be,
And vet despite my jaws,
My wings, and beak, and claws,
Despite my manners free.
Despite my feathers fine,
My voice so soft and sweet,
My truly fair outline,
My very handsome spine,
And massive pair of feet.
In all this world of space,
On foot, on fin, on wing,
From natures top to base
There never was a trace
Of any such strange thing.
And it does seem to me
Indeed it truly does
'Tis dreadful, sir, to be,
As you can plainly see,
A thing that never wasl"
"What's Speeler?" said Jimmie
boy.
at isn't anything. There isn't
any such thing as a Speeler and
that's what made this particular
Speeler feel so badly" said the Com
ct. "I know I'd feel that way myself.
1t must be dreadful to be something
that isn't. was very sorry after l
had written that poem and created
the poor Speeler, because it doesn't
seem right to create thing just foI
the sake of making it unhappy tc
please people who like poetry of that
kind. -
"I'm afraid it was a sensible poem,
said Jimmieboy. Because, really
Mr.. Comet, | can't understand it"
"Well let me try you on another
then, and take away the taste ofthat
one. How do you like this? It's call
ed 'Wobble Doc, The Squaller:'
"The Wobble Doc was fond of pie.
He also loved peach jam,
But what most pleased his eagle eye
Was picked cakes and ham.
But when, perchance, he got no cake,
Jam, ham, or pie at all,
He'd sit upon the garden rake,
And squall and squall and squall.
And as these never came his way,
This hero of my rhyme,
| really do regret to say,
Was squalling all the time
"Your poems are all sad. aren't
they?" said Jimmieboy "Couldn't t
you have let Wobble Doc have just a
little Bit of cake and iam?"
"No. 1t was impossible" replied
the Comet, sadly. 81 couldn't afford
it. [ did all | could for him in writ
ing the poem. Seems to me that was
enough. 1t brought him glory, and
glory is harder to get than cakes and
peach jam ever thought of being.
Perhaps you'll like this better:
Absadee, sollaker, hollaker moo,
Carraway, sarraway, mollaker doc
Hobbbedy, gobbledy, sassafras Sam,
Taramy, faramy, aramy jam"
81 don't understand it at all.
What language is in it?'' asked jim
miebOy.
Zone | made up myself" said tie
Comet, gleefully. And it's simply
fine. | call it the COmetoo language
Nobody knows anything about il
except myself, and | haven't master.
ed it yet-but my! It's the easiest
language in the world to write poet.
ry in. All you have to do is to &c
right ahead and make up the words
to suit yourself, and finding rhyme is
no trouble at all when you do that. -
But what's the good of it?' asked
Jimmieboy.
ooh, it has plenty of advantages. y
said the Comet, shaking his head
wisely. "In the first place you have
IL language all your own that nobody
else knows, nobody else can write a
poem in it. You have the whole
field to yourself. Just think how
great a man would be if he was the
only one to understand the English
language and write poetry in it
He'd get all the money that ever was
paid for English poetry, which would
be q fortune. It would come to at
least $500, which is IA good deal oi
money, considering.
considering what?" asked Jimmie,
boy.
Considering what it would bring il
wisely invested" said the Comet
"Did YOU ever think of what $500
was worth in peanuts for instance?
JimmiebOy laughed at the idea oi
spending $500 in peanuts, and then
said: mo | never thought tanything
about it. What is it worth in pea
nuts?'
"Well, said the Comet, scratching
his head with his tail, cts a very
hard bit of arithmetic, but I'll try to
write it out for you. Peanuts you
know cost ten cents quart"
"Do they?" asked JimmiebOy. 81
never bought a quart at once. I've
only paid five cents a pint"
"Well five cents pint is English
for ten cents quart" said the Com
ct, land in $500 there are eight
thousand ten centses, so that you
could get 5000 quarts of peanuts for
$500. Now every quart of peanuts
! holds about nlJy peanut Sllells-lull
Each peanut shell holds two small
nuts: so that in 10000 of them
there are 10000 nuts"
Phe-e-ewl' whistled Jimmieboy
"What II feast!'
"Yes," said the Comet, "but just
you wait. Suppose you ate one o
these nuts minute, do you know
how long it would take you, eating
eight hours IA day, to eat up the
whole LOTT"
mo" said Jimmieboy, beginning