(TO TEE EDITOR OF THE " Srecraros."1 Sm.—In your issue
dated September 16th you quote "The Old Man of St. Bees" (it should be Tralec) as having been composed by the late W. S. Gilbert. Several years ago I wrote to the author and asked him, if he admitted the authorship, to be good enough to let me know which was the original version. His reply may interest your readers. This is what he said : "I fancy the 'Limerick' you refer to is as I hays set out in the accompanying MS. I bars jotted down • few others
'which I have made at odd times—though Tam afraid that some of them may be a little too strong." The first of the eight he kindly sent me was as follows :— "There was a young man of Tralee Who was stung on the arm by a wasp. When they said, Does it hurt ?' He replied, Not a bit, Be shall de it again if he likes."
Though the other seven are in my humble opinion equally suitable either for the drawing-room or the smoking-room, your space is limited, and I will not trespass farther on your hospitality.—I am, Sir, he., A. D. Powint.
[We regret that our correspondent has not given us further specimena of these Gilbertian Limericks. We cannot help tuinving, however, that the alitio princeps of the blank-verse Limerick has been immeneely Improved by misquotation.—En. Spectator.]
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