DO WE NEED A SPELLING REFORM?

Ere yet the whole cup of youths' pleasure was full How well do I mind when a laddia at schull That the master insisted and made it a rull,

Which we had to obey, That we must weigh our words, be alert and keep cull, And just spt'll the old wey. Ah ehool day 9 of yore! ever dear to the he»rt! At nine every morning the lessons. would steart, And ere noon not a few on the britches would smeart For a something spelled wrong. For the cane and the tawae they each played a big peart When the master was wßtrong.

Since then I've oft thought the whole thing quite absurd To have useless letters crammed into a wurd

Till soma were disfigured, distorted and blurd, And perhaps you'll agree That if docked of their letters by neany a thurd All the better they'd bee.

It'a all very well to be able, although There's one or two things I'd give something to knough, Thus the question arises why should we spell sough, Nor a remedy Beek For a style that's pedantic, old-fash-ioned and slough, A.nd a fraud so to speek?

Why don't our professors just open their eyes . And confer with our teachers so able and weyes? Perhaps in tueir wisdom a plan they'd deveyes, But alas it would seem That nobody bothers and nobody treyes To evolve a new scheem.

And so here we are in our present king's reign Just a wee bit behind, bo must ask you ageign If for fun one should write that a horse has a meign? Pray answer me would, In our present-day style, such a statement be pleign, Or the spelling hold gould? ,

Its a queer sort of mixture our old mother tongue, Just a jargon of sounds not harmoniously strongue, And a kind of hotch-potch which together's been flongue In confusion and haste: For the point and the meaning too often is hongue On a letter bo plaste.

If we'd sDell as we should, and our sentences weigh, Quite a different impression we'd often conveigh, For our meaning would then be as perfect as deigh, And the blindest may see That if all useless letters were once swept aweigh What a boon it would bee.

If it's right we should say that a . seamstrea may sew Then a baker for certain may mix up ' hia dew, * While the match referee on his whistle 1 may blew, ' And that without doubt, Yet one may be pardoned for wishing '' to knew How it all comes aboubt. It's easy to count say our fingers and toes, Or talk of the pride of the lilly and roes, But to set down our thoughts quite correctly in proes And just keep well in touch Is an effort which costs us—well, nobody knoes Just exactly how mouch. We swallow tfee camel yet strain at a gnat In our efforts to say what we want I to get gat, For with words spelled in this way and some spelled in gthat We are often at sea To say which is which or to tell What is gwhat / As occasion may bea. Why bow to old customs which cling like a leech? Will no onu arise a new method to teech — A new-fashioned doctrine in spelling to preech. For badly we need it — A something quite easy and well within reech That the humblest may reed it.

Sir, one may go on with his jingling of rhymes Till he'd writ enough nonsense to fill the whole thymes, But a hanlt must be called as Parnassus he clhymes ' So just pass this along; And mind Mr Ed.'not for dollars nor dhymes Must you spell a word rong. : j.s. ■ ■ Spec Gully.