Poems by the late Hon. William R. Spencer A New Edition with Corrections and Additions; To Which is Prefixed A Biographical Memoir by the Editor |
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TO MY
GRAMMATICAL NIECE. |
 | Poems by the late Hon. William R. Spencer |  |
182
TO MY GRAMMATICAL NIECE.
The
Nom'native case which I study's—“A Niece,”
Who is Genitive ever of kindness to me;
When I'm sad, she's so Dative of comfort and peace,
That I scarce against fate can Accusative be!
O Friendship (this Vocative most I prefer),
Make my case always Ablative—“by and with her.”
Who is Genitive ever of kindness to me;
When I'm sad, she's so Dative of comfort and peace,
That I scarce against fate can Accusative be!
O Friendship (this Vocative most I prefer),
Make my case always Ablative—“by and with her.”
Your Mother's a Verb from Anomaly free,
Though Indicative always of learning and sense,
In all of her moods she's Potential o'er me,
And the Perfect is still her invariable Tense!
Though Passive in temper, most Active in spirit,
And we are Deponents—who swear to her merit!
Though Indicative always of learning and sense,
In all of her moods she's Potential o'er me,
And the Perfect is still her invariable Tense!
Though Passive in temper, most Active in spirit,
And we are Deponents—who swear to her merit!
183
For a Syntax like that which unites her and you,
Through folios of Grammar in vain we may seek;
As in Gender, in Number, your Concord's most true,
For as Mother and Daughter, you both are—Unique!
And in goodness to all, as in kindness to me,
You both, in all cases, are sure to agree!
Through folios of Grammar in vain we may seek;
As in Gender, in Number, your Concord's most true,
For as Mother and Daughter, you both are—Unique!
And in goodness to all, as in kindness to me,
You both, in all cases, are sure to agree!
From Prosodia, perhaps, I might learn (if I tried)
“To scan my own many defects,” (vide Gray);
But vain are all metrical rules when applied
To charms which both Mother and Daughter display!
For who could e'er learn, with all labour and leisure,
To scan what are quite without number and measure!
“To scan my own many defects,” (vide Gray);
But vain are all metrical rules when applied
To charms which both Mother and Daughter display!
For who could e'er learn, with all labour and leisure,
To scan what are quite without number and measure!
| Poems by the late Hon. William R. Spencer | |