Introductory material (continued 2)
Reading edition
The king of spades He kiss’d the maids, Which vex’d the queen full sore; The queen of spades She beat those maids, And turned them out of door: The knave of spades Grieved for those jades, And did for them implore; The queen so gent, She did relent, And vow’d she’d ne’er strike more.
The king of clubs He often drubs His loving queen and wife; The queen of clubs Returns him snubs, And all is noise and strife: The knave of clubs Gives winks and rubs, And swears he’ll take her part; For when our kings Will do such things, They should be made to smart.
The diamond king I fain would sing, And likewise his fair queen; But that the knave, A haughty slave, Must needs step in between: “Good diamond king, With hempen string This haughty knave destroy; Then may your queen, With mind serene, Your royal love enjoy.”
To market, to market, a gallop, a trot, To buy some meat to put in the pot; Five cents a quarter, ten cents a side, If it hadn’t been killed, it must have died.
The North Wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will poor Robin do then?
He will hop to a barn, And to keep himself warm, Will hide his head under his wing, Poor thing!
Away, pretty Robin, fly home to your nest, To make you my captive I still should like best, And feed you with worms and with bread: Your eyes are so sparkling, your feathers so soft, Your little wings flutter so pretty aloft, And your breast is all cover’d with red.
When I was a little boy, my mother kept me in, Now I am a great boy and fit to serve the king; I can handle a musket, I can smoke a pipe, I can kiss a pretty girl at ten o’clock at night.
Mary had a pretty bird, Feathers bright and yellow, Slender legs, upon my word He was a pretty fellow.
The sweetest notes he always sung, Which much delighted Mary, And often where the cage was hung, She stood to hear Canary.
Miss Jane had a bag, and a mouse was in it, She opened the bag, he was out in a minute, The Cat saw him jump, and run under the table, And the dog said, catch him, puss, soon as you’re able.
MAJA’S ALPHABET.
A is for Ann, who is milking a cow; B is for Benjamin, making a bow. C is for Charlotte, gathering flowers; D ’s for Dick, who is one of the mowers. E is for Eliza, feeding a hen; F is for Frank, who is mending his pen. G ’s for Georgiana, shooting an arrow; H is for Harry, wheeling a barrow. I ’s for Isabella, gathering fruit; J is for John, who is playing the flute. K ’s for Kate, who is nursing her dolly; L is for Lawrence, feeding Poor Polly. M is for Maja, learning to draw; N is for Nicholas, with a jackdaw. O ’s for Octavius, riding a goat; P ’s for Penelope, sailing a boat. Q is for Quintus, armed with a lance; R is for Rachel, learning to dance. S ’s for Sarah, talking to the cook; T is for Thomas, reading a book. U ’s for Urban, rolling on the green; V ’s named Victoria, after the Queen. W is for Walter, flying a kite; X is for Xerxes, a boy of great might. Y ’s for Miss Youthful, eating her bread; AND
Z ’s for Zouave, gone to the War.
