CHAPTER IX.
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." "Boys," said Mr.Burrows, one Monday afternoon, "you may lay aside your books; I want to have a talk with you." Books were hurriedly gathered and piled in their places, and the boys sat up with folded arms, ready for whatever their teacher had to offer.
Mr.Burrows drew out his arm-chair from behind the desk, and sat down for a chat.
"Who will tell me what an acrostic is ?" Several hands were raised.
"Well, Howard, let us hear what you think about it." "It's a piece of poetry, sir, where the first letter of every line spells another word." "Do you mean the first letter alone spells a word ?" The boys laughed, and Howard explained promptly.

"No, sir; I mean the first letters of each line taken together form a name." "Must an acrostic always be written in poetry ?" This question called forth several answers, and made a good deal of talk; but it was finally decided that there could be acrostics in prose as well as in rhyme; and Mr.Burrows asked,-- "How many understand now what an acrostic is ?" A few more hands were raised, but many of the boys did not understand yet; it must be made plainer.
"Howard," said Mr.Burrows, "come to the board and give us an acrostic on the word boy." Howard sprang up.

"Must it be a sensible one, sir ?" "Sense or nonsense, just as you please, so as it shows us what an acrostic is." "I can take my parsing-book and give you one, I think, sir." And Howard came forward and wrote rapidly,-- "B But you shall hear an odd affair, indeed, O Of which all Europe rings from side to side"-- Then he paused, turning the leaves of his parsing-book eagerly.
"I can't find anything in Y to finish this up with," he said at last.
"Can't you give us a line from your own brain ?" And at this Howard's eye brightened with fun, and, turning to the board after a moment of thought, he dashed off the closing line,-- "Y You who can finish this may have the job;"-- then took his seat amid bursts of laughter from the boys, who all began to understand what an acrostic was.
Ellis Holbrook's hand was up, and his eyes were full of questions.
"Mr.Burrows, why is that called by such a queer name as acrostic ?" His teacher smiled.
"You must study Greek, Ellis.

We get it from two words in the Greek, or from one word made up of two others, which mean _extreme_, or _beginning_ and _order_.

In an acrostic the beginnings of the lines are arranged in order.