University of Virginia Library

TWO LITTLE RIDDLES IN RHYME[1]

There's a garden that I ken,
Full of little gentlemen;
Little caps of blue they wear,
And green ribbons, very fair.
(Flax.)
From house to house he goes,
A messenger small and slight,
And whether it rains or snows,
He sleeps outside in the night.
(The path.)
[[1]]

These riddles were taken from the Gaelic, and are charming examples of the naïve beauty of the old Irish, and of Dr. Hyde's accurate and sympathetic modern rendering. From "Beside the Fire'' (David Nutt, London).