FOETRY.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2217, 4 April 1881, Page 3

FOETRY.

THE SONG OF THE CLASSIC,

[A Rei-ly.J

Air—Sir Joseph Porter's Song in "Pinafore." When I was a lad I went to school, And I learnt Latin grammar rule by rule, And I construed Crcsar with the help of a Die'. And I did a little at arithmetic. But arithmetic never suited me, For I had the bump of classicalitee. Chorus of boys—For arithmetic it never suited he, For he had the bump of classicalitee.

Of Julius Ccesar I soon had enough, For I found it was history, and that sort o

stnff; For, though at construing my power was

immense, I never could exactly follow the sense. But sense and reason never seemed to me i'o have much to do with clasalcalitee. Chorus—Sense and reason never seemed to he, To have anything to do with clasalcalitee.

Next came Virgil, Horace, and Cicero, I worked at them for the Llttle-Go, I learnt whole pages off by rote, And on every kind of subject waß ready to

quote. And when in my quotations I mixed all

three, It showed tho wealth of my classicalitee. Chorus—Yes i In his quotations he mixed all three, But that showed tho wealth of hid claosicalitee.

In Latin verse I acquired much power, And could do one line per quarter of an

hour. To colleot ideas I thought a great bore, And each line was unrelated to the line before ; But 'tis not ideas, but a long spondee That shows the trne spirit of claßsicalitee. Chorus—'lis not ideas, but a long spondee That shows the true spirit of classicalitee.

My Greek was fluent and the accents true, And the rules for their position I thoroughly

knew; And those same rules, if you read them you'll find Are based on logic of the strictest kind. I did mathematics with the help of a "key," Without spoiling the tone of my classi. calitee. Chorus—He did mathematics with the help of a key, And spoilt not the tone of his classicalitee.

The only thing else that I learned at school Was that science was the surest mark of a feol; And inventors men of "dusky little

souls " KnowlDg nothing but telephones and magnetic poles. And I hate such men as I hate the rule of three, Because they offend my classicalitee. Chorus—He hates such men as he hates the rule of three, Because they offend his classicalitee. In later years, to get my degree, I had to submit to a little Chemistree; But in the lab'ratory I always felt unwell, And the sulphuretted hydrogen never f riled to smell. It smelt so much tbat it sickened me, And I gave it up for Classicalitee. Chorus —It smelt so much that it sickened he, And he gave it up for Classicalitee. Now students all, whoever you may be, If you want to rise to the top of the tree, If your souls aren't bottled in a big retort, And yon don't read Shakespeare and books of that sort; Stick close to your latin and be ruled by me, And Boon you'll be Professors of Classicalitee. Chorus —We'll stick close to our Latin and be ruled by he, And soon we'll all be Professors of Classicalitee. Tkiste Lupus.