30 SEPTEMBER 2000, Page 83

No. 2158: Alphabetics

`An Austrian army, awfully arrayed,/Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade. . . . ' Most of you will know this 26-line poem which con- tinues in this mode through the alphabet. You are invited to supply a similar poem of eight lines, using consecutive letters. As this is beastly difficult, you are allowed to use octosyllabic lines if you like. Entries to `Competition No. 2158' by 12 October.