Poetical Ingenuities and Eccentricities Part 23

When, at the General Peace of 1814, Prussia absorbed a portion of Saxony, the king issued a new coinage of rix dollars, with their German name, _Ein Reichstahler_, impressed on them. The Saxons, by dividing the word, _Ein Reich stahl er_, made a sentence of which the meaning is, "He stole a kingdom!"

A good one is--

Henry John Templeton, Viscount Palmerston, _Only the Tiverton M.P. can help in our mess_.

If we take from the words, _La Revolution Francaise_, the word _veto_, known as the first prerogative of Louis XIV., the remaining letters will form "_Un Corse la finira_"--_A Corsican shall end it_, and this may be regarded as an extraordinary coincidence, if nothing more. Many anagrams were made upon the name of Napoleon by superst.i.tious persons, as--

Napoleon Bonaparte {_Bona rapta, leno, pone._ {_No, appear not at Elba._

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.

_Arouse, Albion, an open plot._

A very apt anagram is the one founded upon--Sir Edmundbury G.o.dfrey, _I find murdered by rogues_.

EVIL.

"If you transpose what ladies wear, _Veil._ 'Twill plainly show what bad folks are; _Vile._ Again if you transpose the same, You'll see an ancient Hebrew name; _Levi._ Change it again, and it will show What all on earth desire to do; _Live._ Transpose the letters yet once more, What bad men do you'll then explore." _Evil._

The following are very apposite--

Sir Robert Peel, _Terrible Poser_.

Christianity, _It's in charity_.

Poorhouse, _O sour hope_.

Soldiers, _Lo! I dress_.

Notes and Queries, _A question sender_.

Solemnity, _Yes, Milton_.

Determination, _I mean to rend it_.

Elegant, _Neat leg_.

Matrimony, _Into my arm_.

Misanthrope, _Spare him not_.

Radical reform, _Rare mad frolic_.

Melodrama, _Made moral_.

Arthur Wellesley, _Truly he'll see war_.

The Field Marshall the Duke, _The Duke shall arm the field_.

Monarch, _March on_.

Charades, _Hard case_.

David Livingstone, _Go (D. V.) and visit the Nile_.

Stones, _Notes_.

_THE ACROSTIC._

Acrostic is the Greek name given to a poem the first letters of the lines in which taken together form a complete word or sentence, but most frequently a name. The invention of this kind of composition cannot be traced to any particular individual, but it is believed to have originated on the decline of pure cla.s.sic literature. The early French poets, from the time of Francis I. to that of Louis XIV., practised it, but it was carried to its greatest perfection by the Elizabethan poets. Sir John Davies has no fewer than twenty-six poems ent.i.tled "Hymns to Astraea,"

every one of which is an acrostic on the words, "Elizabetha Regina."

Traces of something akin are to be found in the poetry of the Jews,--for example, the 119th Psalm,--and also in the Greek "Anthology." Here it may be noted that in Greek the word _Adam_ is compounded of the initial letters of the four cardinal points:

Arktos = north, Dusis = west, Anatole = east, Mesembria = south;

and that the Hebrew word, ADM forms the acrostic of A[dam], D[avid], M[essiah].

It is hardly necessary to give many specimens of this kind of literary composition in these days, since there are so many periodicals continually giving acrostics and relative verses, and a very few instances may suffice. The following old verses were originally written in a copy of Parkhurst's poems presented by the author to Thomas b.u.t.tes, who himself wrote this acrostic on his own name:

"_T_he longer lyfe that man on earth enjoyes, _H_is G.o.d so much the more hee dooth offende; _O_ffending G.o.d, no doubt, mannes soule destroyes; _M_annes soule destroyed, his torments have no ende; _A_nd endles torments sinners must endure, _S_ith synne G.o.ds wrath agaynst us doth procure.

_B_eware, therefore, O wretched sinfull Wight, _U_se well thy toongue, doo well, think not amysse; _T_o G.o.d praye thou to guyde thee by his spright, _T_hat thou mayest treade the path of perfect blisse.

_E_mbrace thou Christe, by faythe and fervent love, _S_o shalt thou reyne with hym in heaven above.

Thomas b.u.t.tes havying the first letter of everie lyne begynnyng with a letter of his name."

A SONG OF REJOYSING FOR THE PROSPEROUS REIGNE OF OUR MOST GRATIOUS SOVERAIGNE LADY, QUEENE ELIZABETH.

"G Geve laude unto the Lorde, And prayse His holy name O O let us all with one accorde Now magnifie the same D Due thanks unto Him yeeld Who evermore hath beene

S So strong defence buckler and s.h.i.+elde To our most Royall Queene.

A And as for her this daie Each where about us rounde V Up to the skie right solemnelie The bells doe make a sounde E Even so let us rejoice Before the Lord our King

T To him let us now frame our voyce With chearefull hearts to sing.

H Her Majesties intent By thy good grace and will E Ever O Lorde hath bene most bent Thy lawe for to fulfil

Q Quite Thou that loving minde With love to her agayne U Unto her as Thou hast beene kinde O Lord so still remaine.

E Extende Thy mightie hand Against her mortall foes E Expresse and shewe that Thou wilt stand With her against all those N Nigh unto her abide Upholde her scepter strong E Eke graunt us with a joyfull guide She may continue long.

Amen."

The next is from Planche's "Songs and Poems:"

TO BEATRICE.

"_B_eauty to claim, amongst the fairest place, _E_nchanting manner, unaffected grace, _A_rch without malice, merry but still wise, _T_ruth ever on her lips as in her eyes; _R_eticent not from sullenness or pride, _I_ntensity of feeling but to hide; _C_an any doubt such being there may be?

_E_ach line I pen, points, matchless maid, to thee!"

Mdlle. Rachel was the recipient of the most delicate compliment the acrostic has ever been employed to convey. A diadem was presented to her, so arranged that the initial of the name of each stone was also the initial of one of her princ.i.p.al _roles_, and in their order formed her name--

_R_uby, _R_oxana, _A_methyst, _A_menaide, _C_ornelian, _C_amille, _H_emat.i.te, _H_ermione, _E_merald, _E_milie, _L_apis lazuli, _L_aodice.

The following is an ingenious combination of acrostic and telestic combined:

"_U_nite and untie are the same--so say yo_u_ _N_ot in wedlock, I ween, has the unity bee_n_ _I_n the drama of marriage, each wandering gou_t_ _T_o a new face would fly--all except you and _I_ _E_ach seeking to alter the _spell_ in their scen_e_."

Edgar A. Poe was the author of a complicated poem of this cla.s.s, in which the first letter in the lady's name is the first in the first line; the second, second in the second line; the third, third in the third line, and so on--

A VALENTINE.

(_Frances Sargent Osgood._)

"For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes, Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda, Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.