"MRS. HENNIKER," my Baronite writes, "dedicates to her brother, Lord
HOUGHTON, her first essay in fiction, on the ground that he will be
the most kindly critic. _Bid me Good-bye_ (BENTLEY) does not stand in
need of the adventitious aid of fraternal kindliness to recommend it
to the reader. The story of woman's sacrifice to a sense of duty has
been told before; but Mrs. HENNIKER endows her version with a charm
of simplicity under which, here and there, glows the fire of passion.
Moreover, she writes excellent English, which ladies who make books do
sometimes. It is a pity the story is so sad. _Colonel St. Aubyn_ might
just as well have married _Mary Giffard_, and lived ever after in that
charming Brereton Royal which Mrs. HENNIKER doubtless sketches from
life. If she had insisted on his being a cripple for life, her dictum
could not have been disputed. But there ought to have been a union
between _William_ and _Mary_."
* * * * *
Why are the Obstructives like last Season's Walnuts?--Because they are
troublesome to PEEL.
* * * * *
[Illustration: VOLO EPISCOPARI.
_Festive Middy_. "I SAY, GUV'NOR! I THINK YOU MUST RATHER LIKE BEING
BISHOP HERE!"
_His Lordship_. "WELL, MY BOY, I HOPE I DO! BUT WHY DO YOU ASK?"
_Festive Middy_. "OH, I'VE JUST BEEN TAKING A WALK THROUGH THE CITY,
AND--I _SAY_!--THERE _IS_ AN UNCOMMONLY GOOD-LOOKING LOT O' GIRLS
ABOUT, AND _NO_ MISTAKE!"]
* * * * *