SIR JOHN and Sir bevis were knights of old,

Who went to the Holy Land;
Each had a spirit free and bold,

Each had a firm, strong hand;
Each showed, by the cross upon his vest,
He had chosen the Christian's part-
'Tis one thing to wear it upon the breast,
Another, within the heart.

Wise in counsel, and bold in fight,
Tell me which was the Christian knight?

Sir John, he prized the wine-cup well,
And sat at the banquet long,
He loved the boastful tale to tell,

And to sing the boisterous song.
He slew the foe who for mercy cried,
And burned his castle down.

He wasted the country, far and wide,
And won what he called renown;

But his deeds were hateful in Heaven's sight,
Let no one call him a Christian knight.

So, rising from her nest, she said,
"Now, children, look at me :
A well-bred duck should waddle so,
From side to side--d' ye see?"

"Yes," said the little ones, and then
She went on to explain:

"A well-bred duck turns in its toes As I do try again."

"Yes," said the Ducklings, waddling on: "That's better," said their mother; "But well-bred ducks walk in a row, Straight-one behind another."

"Yes," said the little Ducks again, All waddling in a row.

"Now to the pond," said old Dame Duck : Splash, splash! and in they go.

"Let me swim first," said old Dame Duck, "To this side, now to that:

There, snap at those great brown-winged flies, They make young ducklings fat.

"Now, when you reach the poultry-yard, The hen-wife, Molly Head,

Will feed you with the other fowls,
On bran and mashed-up bread.