ust_ make himself lame,
And not a soul ever could find out his aim,
In keeping up such a ridiculous game,
As his hippety-hoppety-plop.

Some said he was mad, tho' as mild as a dove,
Hippety hop--Flippety flop,
And as the result of a push or a shove,
Was a little bit cracked in the storey above,
_But I fancy myself the old boy was in love_,
With his hippety-hoppety-plop.

"There! What do you think of it?" he asked when he had finished.

"Well, candidly, I'm afraid not very much," I replied; "and what on
earth do you call it an ode for?"

"Why, you see, ode went so well with the word toad. I was going to
call it 'Ode to a Toad,' but it isn't _to_ a toad at all, though it's
about a toad. Ah! by the bye, I might call it 'A Toad's Ode,' mightn't
I? I think that sounds very jolly." He altered the title in pencil.

[Illustration: "I LOVE BUT THEE"]

"I have another which I think you will say is very touching." And
after getting his handkerchief out in case he should be moved to
tears, he began:

THE BALLADE OF A BUN.

Don't talk to me of "Sally Lunn,"
Or toasted tea-cake nice and hot,
I do not care for either one
A single solitary jot;
My heart is fixed and changeth not,
In all the world--whate'er I see,
And rich or poor--whate'er my lot--
Oh! penny bun, I love but thee.

For thy dear sake all cakes I shun
Smeared o'er with jam. No apricot
Or greengage tart my heart hath won;
Their sweetness doth but cloy and clot.
What marmalade in fancy pot
Or cream meringue, though fair it be,
Thine image e'er can mar or blot?
Oh! penny bun, I love but thee.

I vowed to cherish thee, or none
(Such love thy simple charms begot),
When first I saw thee, precious one;
And now to some sweet lonely spot,
Some shady dell or mossy grot,
Come let us hasten, you and me,
And I will eat you like a shot;
Oh! penny bun, I love but thee.

_Envoy._

Small boys or girls that homeward trot
From school in time for early tea,
This moral ne'er must be forgot:
"Love penny buns, and they'll love thee."

"Isn't it affecting?" he inquired, wiping his eyes when he had
finished.

"Well, perhaps I didn't quite appreciate the pathos of it as I might
have done," I answered, trying hard not to laugh. "You see I was
paying s