More Nonsense |
INTRODUCTION.

In offering this little book—the third of its kind—to
the public, I am glad to take the opportunity
of recording the pleasure I have received at the appreciation
its predecessors have met with, as attested
by their wide circulation, and by the universally kind
notices of them from the Press. To have been the
means of administering innocent mirth to thousands,
may surely be a just motive for satisfaction, and an
excuse for grateful expression.
At the same time, I am desirous of adding a few
words as to the history of the two previously published
volumes, and more particularly of the first or
original “Book of Nonsense,” relating to which many
absurd reports have crept into circulation, such as that
it was the composition of the late Lord Brougham, the
late Earl of Derby, etc.; that the rhymes and pictures
are by different persons; or that the whole have a
symbolical meaning, etc.; whereas, every one of the
Rhymes was composed by myself, and every one of
the Illustrations drawn by my own hand at the time
the verses were made. Moreover, in no portion of
these Nonsense drawings have I ever allowed any caricature
of private or public persons to appear, and
throughout, more care than might be supposed has
been given to make the subjects incapable of misinterpretation:
“Nonsense,” pure and absolute, having
been my aim throughout.
As for the persistently absurd report of the late Earl
of Derby being the author of the “First Book of Nonsense,”
I may relate an incident which occurred to me
four summers ago, the first that gave me any insight
into the origin of the rumor.
I was on my way from London to Guildford, in a
railway carriage, containing, besides myself, one passenger,
an elderly gentleman: presently, however, two
ladies entered, accompanied by two little boys. These,
who had just had a copy of the “Book of Nonsense”
given them, were loud in their delight, and by degrees
infected the whole party with their mirth.
“How grateful,” said the old gentleman to the two
ladies, “all children, and parents too, ought to be to
the statesman who has given his time to composing
that charming book!”
(The ladies looked puzzled, as indeed was I, the
author.)
“Do you not know who is the writer of it?” asked
the gentleman.
“The name is ‘Edward Lear,'” said one of the
ladies.
“Ah!” said the first speaker, “so it is printed; but
that is only a whim of the real author, the Earl of
Derby. ‘Edward’ is his Christian name, and, as you
may see, LEAR is only EARL transposed.”
“But,” said the lady, doubtingly, “here is a dedication
to the great-grandchildren, grand-nephews, and
grand-nieces of Edward, thirteenth Earl of Derby, by
the author, Edward Lear.”
“That,” replied the other, “is simply a piece of
mystification; I am in a position to know that the
whole book was composed and illustrated by Lord
Derby himself. In fact, there is no such a person at
all as Edward Lear.”
“Yet,” said the other lady, “some friends of mine
tell me they know Mr. Lear.”
“Quite a mistake! completely a mistake!” said the
old gentleman, becoming rather angry at the contradiction;
“I am well aware of what I am saying: I
can inform you, no such a person as ‘Edward Lear’
exists!”
Hitherto I had kept silence; but as my hat was, as
well as my handkerchief and stick, largely marked inside
with my name, and as I happened to have in my
pocket several letters addressed to me, the temptation
was too great to resist; so, flashing all these articles at
once on my would-be extinguisher’s attention, I speedily
reduced him to silence.
The second volume of Nonsense, commencing with
the verses, “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” was written
at different times, and for different sets of children:
the whole being collected in the course of last year,
were then illustrated, and published in a single volume,
by Mr. R.J. Bush, of 32 Charing Cross.
The contents of the third or present volume were
made also at different intervals in the last two years.
Long years ago, in days when much of my time
was passed in a country house, where children and
mirth abounded, the lines beginning, “There was an
old man of Tobago,” were suggested to me by a valued
friend, as a form of verse lending itself to limitless
variety for rhymes and pictures; and thenceforth the
greater part of the original drawings and verses for
the first “Book of Nonsense” were struck off with
a pen, no assistance ever having been given me in any
way but that of uproarious delight and welcome at the
appearance of every new absurdity.
Most of these Drawings and Rhymes were transferred
to lithographic stones in the year 1846, and
were then first published by Mr. Thomas McLean, of
the Haymarket. But that edition having been soon
exhausted, and the call for the “Book of Nonsense”
continuing, I added a considerable number of subjects
to those previously-published, and having caused the
whole to be carefully reproduced in woodcuts by
Messrs. Dalzell, I disposed of the copyright to Messrs.
Routledge and Warne, by whom the volume was
published in 1843.
EDWARD LEAR.
VILLA EMILY, SAN REMO,
August, 1871.
NONSENSE BOTANY.
ONE HUNDRED NONSENSE PICTURES AND RHYMES.
TWENTY-SIX NONSENSE RHYMES
AND PICTURES.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z | |
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The Absolutely Abstemious Ass, |
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The Bountiful Beetle, |
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The Comfortable Confidential Cow, |
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The Dolomphious Duck, |
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The Enthusiastic Elephant, |
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The Fizzgiggious Fish, |
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The Good-natured Grey Gull, |
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The Hasty Higgeldipiggledy Hen, |
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The Inventive Indian, |
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The Judicious Jubilant Jay, |
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The Kicking Kangaroo, |
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The Lively Learned Lobster, |
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The Melodious Meritorious Mouse, |
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The Nutritious Newt, |
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The Obsequious Ornamental Ostrich, |
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The Perpendicular Purple Polly, |
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The Queer Querulous Quail, |
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The Rural Runcible Raven, |
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The Scroobious Snake, |
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The Tumultuous Tom-tommy Tortoise, |
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The Umbrageous Umbrella-maker, |
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The Visibly Vicious Vulture, |
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The Worrying Whizzing Wasp, |
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The Excellent Double-extra XX |
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The Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo, |
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The Zigzag Zealous Zebra, |











































































































































