W.S. Gilbert's The Bab Ballads

Policeman Peter Forth I drag
From his obscure retreat:
He was a merry, genial wag,
Who loved a mad conceit.
If he was asked the time of day
By country bumpkins green,
He not unfrequently would say,
"A quarter past thirteen."





He smoked, but in a modest way
Because he thought he needed it:
he drank a pot of beer a day,
And sometimes he exceeded it.

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Edward Lear's The Scroobious Pip

"At last they said to the fox, 'By far
You're the wisest beast. You know you are!
Go close to the Scroobious Pip and say,
Tell us all about yourself we pray--
For as yet we can't make out in the least
If you're fish or insect, or bird or beast.'
The Scroobious Pip looked vaguely round
and sang these words with a rumbling sound,
'Chippetty flip! Flippety Chip!
My only name is the Scroobious Pip!'"


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