The following specimen of this affectation was written by George Wither, who lived from 1588 to 1677. It is called by

Mr. Ellis a

RHOMBOIDAL DIRGE.

Farewell,

Sweet groves, to you!

You hills that highest dwell,

And all you humble vales, adieu!

You wanton brooks and solitary rocks,

My dear companions all, and you my tender flocks!

Farewell, my pipe! and all those pleasing songs whose moving strains
Delighted once the fairest nymphs that dance upon the plains.
You discontents, whose deep and over-deadly smart
Have without pity broke the truest heart,

Sighs, tears, and every sad annoy,

That erst did with me dwell,

And others joy,
Farewell!

The Christian monks of the Middle Ages, who amused them selves similarly, preferred for their hymns the form of

THE CROSS.

Blest they who seek,
While in their youth,
With spirit meck,
The way of truth.

To them the Sacred Scriptures now display,
Christ as the only true and living way:
His precious blood on Calvary was given
To make them heirs of endless bliss in heaven.
And e'en on earth the child of God can trace
The glorious blessings of his Saviour's face.
For them He bore
His Father's frown,
For them He wore
The thorny crown;
Nailed to the cross,
Endured its pain,
That his life's loss
Might be their gain.
Then haste to choose
That better part-
Nor dare refuse
The Lord your heart,
Lest He declare,-
"I know you not;"
And deep despair
Shall be your lot.

Now look to Jesus who on Calvary died,
And trust on Him alone who there was crucified

A CURIOUS PIECE OF ANTIQUITY, ON THE CRUCIFIXION
OUR SAVIOUR AND THE TWO THIEVES.

OF

The middle cross represents our Saviour; those on either side, the two thieves. On the top and down the middle cross are our Saviour's expression, "My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken me?" and on the top of the cross is the Latin inscription, "INRI"-Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judæorum, Le. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Upon the cross on the right hand s the prayer of one of the thieves :-"Lord! remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." On the left-hand cross is the saying, or reproach, of the other:-"If thou beest the Christ, save thyself and us." The whole, comprised together, makes a piece of excellent poetry, which is to be read across all the columns, and makes as many lines as there are letters in the alphabet. It is perhaps one of the most curious pieces of composition to be found on record.

INGENIOUS CYPHER

The following was written by Prof. Whewell at the request of a young lady :—

U 0 a 0 but I 0 U,

0 0 no 0 but 0 0 me;
O let not my 0 a 0 go,
But give 0 0 IO U 80.
Thus de-cyphered:

(You sigh for a cypher, but I sigh for you;
O sigh for no cypher, but 0 sigh for me:
O let not my sigh for a cypher go,

But give sigh for sigh, for I sigh for you so.)

TYPOGRAPHICAL.

We once saw a young man gazing at the *ry heavens, with a † in 1 and a of pistols in the other. We endeavored to attract his attention by .ing to a ¶ in a paper we held in our , relating 2 a young man in that § of the country, who had left home in a state of mental derangement. He dropped the † and pistols from his with the !

"It is I of whom U read. I left home be4 my friends knew of my design. I had so the of a girl who refused 2 lis10 2 me, but smiled b9nly on another. Ied madly from the house, uttering a wild' 2 the god of love, and without replying 2 the ??? of my friends, came here with this † & of pistols, 2 put a . 2 my existence. My case has no || in this §."

OXFORD JOKE.

A gentleman entered the room of Dr. Barton, Warden of Merton College, and told him that Dr. Vowel was dead. "What!" said he, "Dr. Vowel dead! well, thank heaven it was neither U nor I."

In an old church in Westchester county, N. Y., the following consonants are written beside the altar, under the Ten Commandments. What vowel is to be placed between them, to make sense and rhyme of the couplet?

P. R. S. V. R. Y. P. R. F. C. T. M. N.
V. R. K. P. T. H. S. P. R. C. P. T. S. T. N.

G

My cous N?-heart and

He off R's in a ¶

A ? 2 of land.

He says he loves U 2 X 8,

U R virtuous and Y's,

In X LNCUX L

All others in his i's.

This S A, until UI C,

I pray U 2 X Q's,

And do not burn in F E G

My young and wayward muse.

Now fare U well, dear K T J,

I trust that U R true

When this U C, then you can say,
An SAIO U.

Monosyllables.

"And ten low words oft creep in one dull line."

SOME of our best writers have very properly taken exception to the above line in Pope's Essay on Criticism, and have shown, by reference to abundant examples, that many of the finest passages in our language are nearly, if not altogether, monosyllabic. Indeed, it could not well be otherwise, if it be true that, as Dean Swift has remarked, the English language is "overstocked with monosyllables." It contains more than five hundred formed by the vowel a alone; four hundred and fifty by the vowel e; nearly four hundred by the vowel i; more than four hundred by the vowel o; and two hundred and sixty by the vowel u; besides a large number formed by diphthongs. Floy has written a lengthy and very ingenious article, entirely in monosyllables, in which he undertakes, as he says, to "prove that short words, in spite of the sneer in the text, need not creep, nor be dull, but that they give strength, and life, and fire to the verse of those who know how to use them."

Pope himself, however, has confuted his own words by his admirable writings more effectively than could be done by labored argument. Many of the best lines in the Essay above referred to, as well as in the Essay on Man,-and there are few "dull" or "creeping" verses to be found in either,—are made up entirely of monosyllables, or contain but one word of greater length, or a contracted word pronounced as one syllable. The Universal Prayer-one of the most beautiful and elaborate pieces, both in sentiment and versification, ever produced in any language-contains three hundred and four words, of which there are two hundred and forty-nine monosyllables to fifty-five polysyllables, thus averaging but one of the latter to every line. A single stanza is appended as a specimen :

If I am right, thy grace impart

Still in the right to stay;

If I am wrong, oh, teach my heart

To find that better way!