NAN'S ADVENTURES UP TO DATE There once was a man from Nantucket, But his daughter, named Nan, But he followed the pair to Pawtucket The man and the girl with the bucket; And he said to the man But as for the bucket, Pawtucket. CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Then the pair followed Pa to Manhasset, Where he still held the cash as an asset; But Nan and the man Stole the money and ran, So they beat their way up to Woonsocket, Where the judge found their names on the docket; When 'twas over, the man Remarked sadly to Nan: "Gee! Didn't the legal Woonsocket!" CHICAGO RECORD-HERALD. But they came to the river Shetucket, And they still had the cash in the bucket; 'Twas a sad, sad affair; Nan left the man there, Pa followed Nan to Jamaica, "Anxious" inquires whether the lines "There was once an old man of Key West Who could never quite button his vest" are anacrustic amphibrachic trimeter catalectic or anapestic trimeter acatalectic, and whether it makes any difference which way they are scanned. The lines seem to be part of a mutilated strophe which in its entirety was a limerick. The third, fourth and fifth lines of the pentastich are missing. Without the third and fourth lines it is impossible to say whether the poet desired to have his work regarded as amphibrachic or as anapestic. In limericks similar in metre to the lines quoted above some poets plainly show their preference for the anapestic by making the distich consist of simple anapestic dipodies. Other poets adopt for these important lines metrical schemes that would make it impossible to scan the strophe as anapestic without regarding one or both of these lines as anacrustic, acephalous or catalectic, or perhaps brachycatalectic or even |