The Poetry Corner

The Beaconsfield Alphabet.

By Edward Woodley Bowling

A's my new policy called Annexation; B is the Bother it causes the nation. C is Lord Chelmsford, engaged with Zulus; D the Disasters which give me 'the blues.' E is the Effort I make to look merry; F is my Failure - deplorable very! G is Sir Garnett, alas, not ubiquitous! H stands for H -- t, an M.P. iniquitous. I stands for India, a source of vexation: J are the Jews, a most excellent nation. K is the Khedive, whose plan is to borrow L L. s. d. - I'll annex him to-morrow! M's the Majority, which I much prize; N are the Non-contents whom I despise. O's the Opposition, so often defeated; P is P -- ll, that Home-ruler conceited. Q are the Questions put by noble Lords; R my Responses, more cutting than swords. S is the Sultan, my friend true and warm; T are the Turks, whom I hope to reform. U's my Utopia - Cyprus, I mean: V is Victoria, my Empress and Queen. W's the World, which ere long I shall own; X is the sign of my power unknown. Y is the Yacht I shall keep in the Red Sea: Z the Zulus, whom I wish in the Dead Sea. (1879).