THE melancholy days have come, the saddest of the year;
There ’s not a flower on all the hills because my first is here.
And through the keen and wintry air I watch the leaves my last;
I shall not see my whole again until the winter ’s past.
There ’s not a flower on all the hills because my first is here.
And through the keen and wintry air I watch the leaves my last;
I shall not see my whole again until the winter ’s past.
97
THE jolly old farmer was my last;
As he went to my first, o’er my total he passed.
As he went to my first, o’er my total he passed.
98
AN artist stepped into an office one day,
And held up my first for the clerk to survey;
“It ’s a good black and white,
But it is n’t quite right,
For I just drew it off in a hurry last night.
It ’s not very fine,
Nor of novel design,
But I hope ’t will be taken and hung on the line.”
He had scarcely gone out when a lady came by,
And she stopped in to ask if my second was dry.
“ ’T was a canvas,” she said,
“And it fills me with dread,
To think that the colors have faded or spread.”
Well, I sat there all day,
In that very same way,
Amazed at the endless and changing array
Of my whole that appeared in a motley display;
Percale and piqué,
Some green and some gray,
Worn in all colors and worn in all shades,
Worn by the ladies and worn by the maids,
By large and by small,
By short and by tall,
Till I ran away home to get out of it all.
And held up my first for the clerk to survey;
“It ’s a good black and white,
But it is n’t quite right,
For I just drew it off in a hurry last night.
It ’s not very fine,
Nor of novel design,
But I hope ’t will be taken and hung on the line.”
He had scarcely gone out when a lady came by,
And she stopped in to ask if my second was dry.
“ ’T was a canvas,” she said,
“And it fills me with dread,
To think that the colors have faded or spread.”
Well, I sat there all day,
In that very same way,
Amazed at the endless and changing array
Of my whole that appeared in a motley display;
Percale and piqué,
Some green and some gray,
Worn in all colors and worn in all shades,
Worn by the ladies and worn by the maids,
By large and by small,
By short and by tall,
Till I ran away home to get out of it all.
99
AS my first was walking with weary step, on a drear and lonely road,
With a heavy heart and a downcast glance, of my second be bore a load;
He saw my third, he was soon my third, he had reached his welcome goal,
And with song and dance and merry jest, he listened to my whole.
With a heavy heart and a downcast glance, of my second be bore a load;
He saw my third, he was soon my third, he had reached his welcome goal,
And with song and dance and merry jest, he listened to my whole.
100
BENEATH the gaslight’s brilliant glare
The feast was spread with dainties rare.
My whole was set with silver fine,
And shining glass and sparkling wine.
A wise professor, old and staid,
Was talking to a chattering maid.
In ancient lore she was not versed,
She was my last, and he my first;
While I across the table sat,
Wishing I could enjoy her chat.
The feast was spread with dainties rare.
My whole was set with silver fine,
And shining glass and sparkling wine.
A wise professor, old and staid,
Was talking to a chattering maid.
In ancient lore she was not versed,
She was my last, and he my first;
While I across the table sat,
Wishing I could enjoy her chat.
101
OLD Deacon Griggs made money fast;
His greatest virtue was my last.
But his son John turned out my whole,
Which grieved the deacon’s sordid soul;
For hast’ning to my first, the son
Disbursed the gold that Griggs had won.
His greatest virtue was my last.
But his son John turned out my whole,
Which grieved the deacon’s sordid soul;
For hast’ning to my first, the son
Disbursed the gold that Griggs had won.
102
AN ancient family of Chaldee
Went from my first to Canaan’s land.
My second I can never see,
But I can hold it in my hand.
My whole is found on the ocean’s bed,
Though often on pillows he rests his head.
Went from my first to Canaan’s land.
My second I can never see,
But I can hold it in my hand.
My whole is found on the ocean’s bed,
Though often on pillows he rests his head.
103
UPON my last I saw a yacht;
My last is smooth, my first is not.
My first felt Alexander’s blade,
My last has formed a strong blockade;
Both can be broken, cut or made;
And when you see my whole displayed
Upon my last, oh, then beware!
To venture near it do not dare.
My last is smooth, my first is not.
My first felt Alexander’s blade,
My last has formed a strong blockade;
Both can be broken, cut or made;
And when you see my whole displayed
Upon my last, oh, then beware!
To venture near it do not dare.
104
MY first is often broken, ’t is so frail;
Sometimes it has a head, sometimes a tail;
Lives in the water, worn upon the hand,
Dooms the offender, represents a land.
My last is found on mankind and on brute,
Possessed alike by fish and fowl and fruit.
The daring mariner who seeks the pole,
Failing to find it, may secure my whole.
Sometimes it has a head, sometimes a tail;
Lives in the water, worn upon the hand,
Dooms the offender, represents a land.
My last is found on mankind and on brute,
Possessed alike by fish and fowl and fruit.
The daring mariner who seeks the pole,
Failing to find it, may secure my whole.
105
A SOLDIER and a sailor met
One day upon the shore;
And one was my first with a coat of my last,
And my whole the other wore.
One day upon the shore;
And one was my first with a coat of my last,
And my whole the other wore.
106
MAID of Athens, ere we part,
Hear my first with tender heart;
Ere another hour is past,
Let me be of thee my last.
Then behold my very soul
Filled o’erflowing with my whole.
Hear my first with tender heart;
Ere another hour is past,
Let me be of thee my last.
Then behold my very soul
Filled o’erflowing with my whole.
107
THE yacht was flying fast; the day was fair;
The sky was clear and blue; and my first, white
Upon the sailors and upon the sea.
I stood upon the deck, and with my last
I saw the distant shores of Barnegat,
I watched the heaving billows roll and toss,
I thought that we were going to my whole.
The sky was clear and blue; and my first, white
Upon the sailors and upon the sea.
I stood upon the deck, and with my last
I saw the distant shores of Barnegat,
I watched the heaving billows roll and toss,
I thought that we were going to my whole.
108
IT was my whole, a thunder-storm had burst;
My last was fierce, and filled us with my first.
My last was fierce, and filled us with my first.
109
A COLLEGE youth toward magic yearned,
And all the wizard’s arts he learned.
He had the mumbo-jumbo pat,
And made my first in his silk hat,
And all the wizard’s arts he learned.
He had the mumbo-jumbo pat,
And made my first in his silk hat,
Sorcery, black art, and all the rest
He could accomplish with the best;
And when, as wizard, he fell flat,
He made my last in his silk hat.
He could accomplish with the best;
And when, as wizard, he fell flat,
He made my last in his silk hat.
Dressed for the street, he chanced to pass
One day, before his cheval-glass;
With faultless garb and new cravat,
He saw my whole in his silk hat.
One day, before his cheval-glass;
With faultless garb and new cravat,
He saw my whole in his silk hat.
110
WHEN Pope remarked, “Whatever is, is right,”
His words were half my first. When Hamlet said,
“To be or not to be,” my first was part
Of his great speech, and even now
My first is plain before your eyes. My last,
Provides a home and sustenance for all;
A welcome shout; an exclamation used
By country folk or those of little wit.
My whole my first my last.
His words were half my first. When Hamlet said,
“To be or not to be,” my first was part
Of his great speech, and even now
My first is plain before your eyes. My last,
Provides a home and sustenance for all;
A welcome shout; an exclamation used
By country folk or those of little wit.
My whole my first my last.
111
NO one can work as fast
As my first my last.
My whole presents at will
An enormous bill.
As my first my last.
My whole presents at will
An enormous bill.
112
WHEN from my ivied casement I look down
Upon the garden bathed in sunset glow
I see my first ranged in imposing rows
Yet distant as the poles,
I hear the noise
Of merry children romping in their glee;
I hear their laughter and I hear my last.
Upon the garden bathed in sunset glow
I see my first ranged in imposing rows
Yet distant as the poles,
I hear the noise
Of merry children romping in their glee;
I hear their laughter and I hear my last.
A hero of my youthful days there was,
Who, with inquiring mind and hatchet sharp,
Upon my whole reached everlasting fame.
Who, with inquiring mind and hatchet sharp,
Upon my whole reached everlasting fame.
113
MY first was ground beneath the oppressor’s wheel,
Subjected unto barbarous tyrannies;
With ears cut off, encaged in netted wire
Into a burning fiery furnace thrust.
My first take from my second, and my whole
Remains.
My second is a faithful friend.
Gaily with him across the moors I go
From morn to dewy eve.
I went one day
To visit an old man. Beside the fire
He sate. His well-loved pipe, made of my whole,
He smoked in calm and undisturbed content.
Subjected unto barbarous tyrannies;
With ears cut off, encaged in netted wire
Into a burning fiery furnace thrust.
My first take from my second, and my whole
Remains.
My second is a faithful friend.
Gaily with him across the moors I go
From morn to dewy eve.
I went one day
To visit an old man. Beside the fire
He sate. His well-loved pipe, made of my whole,
He smoked in calm and undisturbed content.
114
MY first ’s a very common thing,—
It has been worn by cat and king;
Part of my lady’s fine attire,
The soldier’s pride, the tramp’s desire.
It has been worn by cat and king;
Part of my lady’s fine attire,
The soldier’s pride, the tramp’s desire.
My second, with a vacant stare,
Jaunty red cap and curling hair,
Once at a gay and festive scene,
Captured a bright and smiling queen.
My whole is very often used
To hit a beast that ’s much abused.
Jaunty red cap and curling hair,
Once at a gay and festive scene,
Captured a bright and smiling queen.
My whole is very often used
To hit a beast that ’s much abused.
115
MY dogs I love, my horses I adore;
They ’re much to me, and yet my last is more.
And though my first is less, my whole I know,
Has ever been my last’s unconquered foe.
They ’re much to me, and yet my last is more.
And though my first is less, my whole I know,
Has ever been my last’s unconquered foe.
116
A BRAVE man looked forth and a figure he saw;
’T was bound to my first—he surveyed it with awe.
And as it was fast disappearing from sight,
He began to my second with furious might.
An often-fought foe, very hard to control,
In the Scriptures we read of the fall of my whole.
’T was bound to my first—he surveyed it with awe.
And as it was fast disappearing from sight,
He began to my second with furious might.
An often-fought foe, very hard to control,
In the Scriptures we read of the fall of my whole.
117
IN certain realms men have to bring
My first to earth before their king;
In others, they are only bound
To make my second touch the ground.
My whole ’s a curious little man—
One of a most amusing clan.
My first to earth before their king;
In others, they are only bound
To make my second touch the ground.
My whole ’s a curious little man—
One of a most amusing clan.
118
THOUGH some one spoke this truthful word,
“The pen is mightier than the sword,”
Without my first, you ’ll all agree,
Of little use the pen would be.
“The pen is mightier than the sword,”
Without my first, you ’ll all agree,
Of little use the pen would be.
Deep in my second, long ago,
Young Mr. Green was said to throw
A victim innocent of wrong,
The hero of a well-known song.
Young Mr. Green was said to throw
A victim innocent of wrong,
The hero of a well-known song.
What products of what mighty brains!
What wond’rous books my whole contains!
What reams of prose and verse! Yet all
Tinged with the bitterness of gall!
What wond’rous books my whole contains!
What reams of prose and verse! Yet all
Tinged with the bitterness of gall!
119
EAGERLY I my first the pack
So that we might pursue the game;
I made a good deal, but the lack
Of interest made the sport seem tame.
So that we might pursue the game;
I made a good deal, but the lack
Of interest made the sport seem tame.
My second ladies richly gowned
May see in patterns of their silk,
My second also may be found
In terrapin and buttermilk.
May see in patterns of their silk,
My second also may be found
In terrapin and buttermilk.
My whole will fly right merrily
O’er many a cold and chilly mile;
’T is only one, yet verily
’T would equally describe a file.
O’er many a cold and chilly mile;
’T is only one, yet verily
’T would equally describe a file.
120
MY first bears many a noble name,
Two letters add, ’t is still the same.
Two letters add, ’t is still the same.
I saw my second in dark waters
It was the last of noble daughters.
It was the last of noble daughters.
My whole, though very picturesque,
May be quite ugly and grotesque;
And Shakespeare used the word to mean
The witches in a ghastly scene.
May be quite ugly and grotesque;
And Shakespeare used the word to mean
The witches in a ghastly scene.
ANSWERS
AT
THE SIGN OF THE SPHINX
———
ANSWERS TO SECOND SERIES
| 1. | Cornice |
| 2. | Farewell |
| 3. | Nowhere |
| 4. | Daybreak |
| 5. | Dolphin |
| 6. | Expense |
| 7. | Scrutiny |
| 8. | Expediency (X pd n c) |
| 9. | Ancestor |
| 10. | Palfrey |
| 11. | Bookplate |
| 12. | Massacre |
| 13. | Palace |
| 14. | Corkage |
| 15. | Digit |
| 16. | Animate |
| 17. | Rubric |
| 18. | Nectar |
| 19. | Crosswise |
| 20. | Mermaid |
| 21. | Skylark |
| 22. | Mandates |
| 23. | Hemisphere |
| 24. | Handspring |
| 25. | Backward |
| 26. | Hatter |
| 27. | Mildew |
| 28. | To-day |
| 29. | Nameless |
| 30. | Cognac |
| 31. | Together |
| 32. | Kingdom |
| 33. | Punchbowl |
| 34. | Childhood |
| 35. | Hundred |
| 36. | Hammock |
| 37. | Obey |
| 38. | Willow |
| 39. | Humorist (Hume o wrist) |
| 40. | Sidewalk |
| 41. | Maiden |
| 42. | Firedog |
| 43. | Couplet |
| 44. | Nosegay |
| 45. | Escape |
| 46. | Helpmeet |
| 47. | Cattail |
| 48. | Heathen |
| 49. | Crabbéd |
| 50. | Kindred |
| 51. | Arcady |
| 52. | Apron |
| 53. | Decade |
| 54. | Cowslip |
| 55. | Lamppost |
| 56. | Sinking |
| 57. | Cathay |
| 58. | Belfry |
| 59. | Welfare |
| 60. | Nomad |
| 61. | Aching |
| 62. | Worsted |
| 63. | Pennant |
| 64. | Handled |
| 65. | Elbow |
| 66. | Earnest |
| 67. | Tendril |
| 68. | Dido |
| 69. | Syntax |
| 70. | Shoehorn |
| 71. | Sundry |
| 72. | Codfish |
| 73. | Ceres (Series) |
| 74. | Annex |
| 75. | Pastime |
| 76. | Forethought |
| 77. | Frontispiece |
| 78. | Pipestem |
| 79. | Poetry |
| 80. | Dustpan |
| 81. | Hairbreadth |
| 82. | Direct |
| 83. | Donkey |
| 84. | Saltcellar |
| 85. | Sediment |
| 86. | Sackbut |
| 87. | Centaur |
| 88. | Figure |
| 89. | Thinking |
| 90. | Sleeper |
| 91. | Farthing |
| 92. | Ivy |
| 93. | Flagstaff |
| 94. | Windfall |
| 95. | Seaweed |
| 96. | Snowdrop |
| 97. | Threshold |
| 98. | Shirtwaist |
| 99. | Mandolin |
| 100. | Sideboard |
| 101. | Spendthrift |
| 102. | Urchin |
| 103. | Notice |
| 104. | Sealskin |
| 105. | Tartan |
| 106. | Pleasure |
| 107. | Capsize |
| 108. | August |
| 109. | Student |
| 110. | Island |
| 111. | Toucan |
| 112. | Beanstalk |
| 113. | Corncob |
| 114. | Bootjack |
| 115. | Lesson |
| 116. | Sparrow |
| 117. | Brownie |
| 118. | Inkwell |
| 119. | Cutter |
| 120. | Posters |