There was a young Person of Crete,
Whose toilette was far from complete;
She dressed in a sack,
Spickle-speckled
with black
That ombliferous person of Crete.
There was an Old Person of Rhodes,
Who strongly objected to toads;
He paid
several cousins,
To catch
them by dozens,
That futile Old Person of Rhodes.
There was an Old Man of Corfu,
Who never knew what he should do;
So he
rushed up and down,
Till the
sun made him brown,
That bewildered Old Man of Corfu.
There was an Old Person of Troy,
Whose drink was warm brandy and soy;
Which he
took with a spoon,
By the
light of the moon,
In sight of the city of Troy.
There was a Young Lady of Troy,
Whom several large flies did annoy;
Some she
killed with a thump,
Some she
drowned at the pump,
And some she took with her to Troy.
There was an Old Person of Sparta,
Who had twenty-five sons and one daughter;
He fed them
on snails,
And weighed
them in scales,
That wonderful person of Sparta.
EDWARD LEAR (1812-88) was born in London, the twentieth
of twenty-one children. His passion for painting led to a commission from
the Eral of Derby to paint landscapes in Italy and Greece. At one time he
even was art-master of Queen Victoria. Although he exhibited in the Royal
Academy from 1859 to 1873, he had to rely on the benevolence of friends for
his work, and worries over money continued up to his death in San Remo, Italy,
where he spent his last years. His paintings are now much sought after, although
it is The Book of Nonsense, written for the grandchildren of the Earl of Derby,
for which he is best remembered.