a ludicrous species of metrical composition, in which the words of a modern language are Latinized. The name is said to be derived from the Italian maccheroni, a mixture of paste, butter, spice, and grated cheese. The ostensible originator of this kind of verse was Theophile Folengo, or, as he called himself, Merlino Cocceius, a monk of Casino, in Italy, born in 1512. He wrote a burlesque Latin poem, chequered with Italian, Tuscan, and plebeian words, entitled Phantasie Macaronica; and in the apologistica to that work, the author describes this new species of poetry as follows:—“Ars ista poetica nuncupatur Ars Macaronica, a Macaronibus derivata: qui Macarones sunt quoddam pulmentum, farina, caseo, huytro compaginatum, grossum, rude, et rusticum. Ideo Macaronica nil nisi grossedinem, ruditatem, et Vocobulazzos debet in se continere.” Antonius de Arena of Avignon wrote in this style of verse as early, some say, as 1519. At all events, it soon after became highly fashionable in England, France, and Italy. John Skelton introduced it into England in the reign of Henry VII, and Rabelais, who so often refers to “Merlin the Cook” (Coccaise), first employed this style in French prose. Perhaps the best known form of macaronics in this country is the Polemo-Middinia, a Scottish burlesque in hexameters, by Drummond of Hawthornden. Some of the most successful macarons of modern times have appeared in the pages of Punch.