Imprimis, then, for tallness, I Am five feet four inches high; A black-a-vic'd, snod, dapper fallow, Nor lean, nor overlaid wi' tallow; Wi' phiz of a Morocco cut, Resembling a late man of wit, Auld gabbet Spec, wha was sae cunning, To be a dummie ten years running. Then for the fabric of my mind, 'Tis mair to mirth than grief inclin'd: I rather choose to laugh at folly, Than shew dislike by melancholy; Weel judging a sour heavy face Is not the truest mark of grace. I hate a drunkard or a glutton, Yet I'm nae fae to wine and mutton: Great tables ne'er engaged my wishes When crowded with o'er mony dishes; A healthfu' stomach sharply set Prefers a back-sey pipin het. I never could imagine 't vicious Of a fair fame to be ambitious: Proud to be thought a comic poet, } And let a judge of numbers know it, } I court occasion thus to show it. } Second of thirdly--Pray take heed, Ye's get a short swatch of my creed. To follow method negatively, Ye ken takes place of positively: Weel then, I'm neither Whig nor Tory, Nor credit give to purgatory. Frae twenty-four to five-and-forty, My muse was neither sweer nor dorty, My Pegasus would break his tether, E'en at the shagging of a feather, And through ideas scour like drift, Streaking his wings up to the lift; Then, then my soul was in a low, That gart my members safely row; But eild and judgment 'gin to say, Let be your sangs, and learn to pray. I.S.W. * * * * * ESPRIT DE CORPS. Old Captain Humdrum, Being sent home in rum, The tars as they brought him on shore, Got drunk with the pickle: "'Tis natural," says Jekyll, "They should all feel the _Esprit de Corps_." _Weekly Review._ * * * * * LIMBIRD'S EDITION OF THE _Following Novels are already Published_: