A Book of Nonsense

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Title: A Book of Nonsense
Author: Edward Lear
Release Date: October 8, 2004 [eBook #13646]
Language: English
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A BOOK OF NONSENSE
by
EDWARD LEAR
With All the Original Pictures and Verses
[Illustration]

There was an Old Derry down Derry, who loved to see little folks
merry;
So he made them a Book, and with laughter they shook
At
the fun of that Derry down Derry.
Original Dedication.
TO THE
GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN, GRAND-NEPHEWS,
AND GRAND-NIECES
OF EDWARD, 13TH EARL OF DERBY,
THIS BOOK OF
DRAWINGS AND VERSES
(The greater part of which were originally
made and composed for their parents.)
Is Dedicated by the Author,
EDWARD LEAR.

London, 1862.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man with a nose,
Who said, "If you choose to
suppose
That my nose is too long, you are certainly wrong!"
That
remarkable Man with a nose.
[Illustration]
There was a Young Person of Smyrna,
Whose Grandmother
threatened to burn her;
But she seized on the Cat, and said, "Granny,
burn that! You incongruous Old Woman of Smyrna!"
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man on a hill,
Who seldom, if ever, stood still;

He ran up and down in his Grandmother's gown,
Which adorned that
Old Man on a hill.

[Illustration]
There was an Old Person of Chili,
Whose conduct was painful and
silly;
He sate on the stairs, eating apples and pears,
That imprudent
Old Person of Chili.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man with a gong,
Who bumped at it all the day
long;
But they called out, "Oh, law! you're a horrid old bore!" So they
smashed that Old Man with a gong.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,
Who never had more than a
penny;
He spent all that money in onions and honey,
That wayward
Old Man of Kilkenny.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man of Columbia,
Who was thirsty, and called out
for some beer;
But they brought it quite hot, in a small copper pot,

Which disgusted that man of Columbia.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;

When they said, "Does it buzz?" he replied, "Yes, it does! It's a regular
brute of a Bee."
[Illustration]
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
Who made a remarkable curtsey;

She twirled round and round, till she sank underground, Which
distressed all the people of Chertsey.
[Illustration]

There was a Young Lady whose chin
Resembled the point of a pin;

So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp,
And played several
tunes with her chin.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man with a flute,--
A "sarpint" ran into his boot!

But he played day and night, till the "sarpint" took flight, And avoided
that Man with a flute.
[Illustration]
There was a Young Lady of Portugal,
Whose ideas were excessively
nautical;
She climbed up a tree to examine the sea,
But declared she
would never leave Portugal.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Person of Ischia,
Whose conduct grew friskier and
friskier;
He danced hornpipes and jigs, and ate thousands of figs, That
lively Old Person of Ischia
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man of Vienna,
Who lived upon Tincture of Senna;

When that did not agree, he took Camomile Tea,
That nasty Old
Man of Vienna.
[Illustraion]
There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, "I'm afloat! I'm afloat!"

When they said, "No, you ain't!" he was ready to faint, That unhappy
Old Man in a boat.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Person of Buda,
Whose conduct grew ruder and

ruder,
Till at last with a hammer they silenced his clamor.
By
smashing that Person of Buda.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man of Moldavia,
Who had the most curious
behavior;
For while he was able, he slept on a table,
That funny Old
Man of Moldavia.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Person of Hurst,
Who drank when he was not
athirst;
When they said, "You'll grow fatter!" he answered "What
matter?" That globular Person of Hurst.
[Illustration]
There was an Old Man of Madras,
Who rode on a cream-colored Ass;

But the length of its ears