Exciting the fears
Of the sweet little dears

In the veils, as it danced on the brass chandeliers ;
The parson ran off, though a stout-hearted Saxon,
When he found that a flash had set fire to his caxon.

Though all the rest trembled, as might be expected,
Sir Rupert was perfectly cool and collected,

And endeavour'd to cheer

His bride, in her ear

Whisp'ring tenderly, "Pray don't be frighten'd, my dear ; Should it even set fire to the castle, and burn it, you're Amply insured, both for buildings and furniture."

But now, from without,
A trustworthy scout
Rush'd hurriedly in,
Wet through to the skin,

Informing his master "the river was rising,
And flooding the grounds in a way quite surprising."

He'd no time to say more,

For already the roar

Of the waters was heard as they reach'd the church-door,
While, high on the first wave that roll'd in, was seen,
Riding proudly, the form of the angry Lurline;
And all might observe, by her glance fierce and stormy,
She was stung by the spretæ injuria formæ.

What she said to the Knight, what she said to the bride,
What she said to the ladies who stood by her side,
What she said to the nice little boys in white clothes,
Oh, nobody mentions, -for nobody knows;
For the roof tumbled in, and the walls tumbled out,
And the folks tumbled down, all confusion and rout,

The rain kept on pouring,

The flood kept on roaring,

The billows and water-nymphs roll'd more and more in;

Ere the close of the day

All was clean wash'd away

One only survived who could hand down the news,

A little old woman that open'd the pews;

She was borne off, but stuck,

By the greatest good luck,

In an oak-tree, and there she hung, crying and screaming,

And saw all the rest swallow'd up the wild stream in;

In vain, all the week,

Did the fishermen seek

For the bodies, and poke in each cranny and creek;

In vain was their search

After aught in the church,

They caught nothing but weeds, and perhaps a few perch;

The Humane Society

Tried a variety

Of methods, and brought down, to drag for the wreck, tackles,

But they only fish'd up the clerk's tortoise-shell spectacles.

MORAL.

This tale has a moral. Ye youths, oh, beware
Of liquor, and how you run after the fair!

Shun playing at shorts-avoid quarrels and jars-
And don't take to smoking those nasty cigars !

-Let no run of bad-luck, or despair for some Jewess-eyed
Damsel, induce you to contemplate suicide !
Don't sit up much later than ten or eleven ! -
Be up in the morning by half after seven !

Keep from flirting-nor risk, warn'd by Rupert's miscarriage,

An action for breach of a promise of marriage ;

Don't fancy odd fishes !

Don't prig silver dishes!

And to sum up the whole, in the shortest phrase I know, BEWARE OF THE RHINE, AND TAKE CARE OF THE RHINO!

AND now for "Sunny Italy," the "Land of the unforgotten brave," -the land of blue skies and black-eyed Signoras. - I cannot discover from any recorded memoranda that "Uncle Perry" was ever in Venice, even in Carnival time-that he ever saw Garrick in Shylock I do not believe, and am satisfied that he knew nothing of Shakspeare, a circumstance that would by no means disqualify him from publishing an edition of that Poet's works. I can only conclude that, in the course of his Continental wanderings, Sir Peregrine had either read, or heard of the following history, especially as he furnishes us with some particulars of the eventual destination of his dramatis persone which the Bard of Avon has omitted. If this solution be not accepted, I can only say, with Mr. Puff, that probably "two men hit upon the same idea, and Shakspeare made use of it first."