reupon God caused him
to die, and he remained dead a hundred years, but was then restored to
life. He found the basket of figs and cruse of wine as fresh as when he
died, but his ass was a mass of bones. While he still looked, the dry
bones came together, received life, and the resuscitated ass began to
bray. The prophet no longer doubted the power of God to raise up
Jerusalem from its ruins.--_Al Kor[^a]n_, ii. (Sale's notes).

[Asterism] This legend is based on _Neh._ ii. 12-20.

=P= Placenticus, the Dominican, wrote a poem of 253 Latin hexameters,
called _Pugna Porcorum_, every word of which begins with the letter _p_
(died 1548). It begins thus:

Plaudite, Porcelli, porcorum pigra propago
Progreditur ... etc.

There was one composed in honor of Charles le Chauve, every word of
which began with _c_.

The best known alliterative poem in English is the following:--

An Austrian army, awfully arrayed,
Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade.
Cossack commanders, cannonading, come,
Dealing destruction's devastating doom;
Every endeavor engineers essay
For fame, for fortune, forming furious fray.
Gaunt gunners grapple, giving gashes good;
Heaves high his head heroic hardihood.
Ibraham, Islam, Ismael, imps in ill,
Jostle John, Jarovlitz, Jem, Joe, Jack, Jill;
Kick kindling Kutusoff, kings' kinsmen kill;
Labor low levels loftiest, longest lines;
Men march 'mid moles, 'mid mounds, 'mid murderous mines.
Now nightfall's nigh, now needful nature nods,
Opposed, opposing, overcoming odds.
Poor peasants, partly purchased, partly pressed,
Quite quaking, "Quarter! Quarter!" quickly quest.
Reason returns, recalls redundant rage,
Saves sinking soldiers, softens signiors sage.
Truce, Turkey, truce! truce, treacherous Tartar train!
Unwise, unjust, unmerciful Ukraine!
Vanish, vile vengeance! vanish, victory vain!
Wisdom walls war--wails warring words. What were
Xerxes, Xantipp[^e], Ximen[^e]s, Xavier?
Yet Yassy's youth, ye yield your youthful yest
Zealously, zanies, zealously, zeal's zest.

From H. Southgate, _Many Thoughts on Many Things_.

Tusser has a poem of twelve lines, in rhyme, every word of which begins
with _t_. The subject is on _Thriftiness_ (died 1580).

=P's= (_The Five_), William Oxberry, printer, poet, publisher, publican
and player (1784-1824).

=Pache= (_J. Nicolas_), a Swiss by bi