A STORY--OUT OF SEASON.

[Illustration]

So she's married to _him_! Whilst I travelled and wandered

Far away, for the lack of aught better to do;

Whilst my time and my money I recklessly squandered

In a hunt for big game--she was doing it too!

And I am not surprised he has fallen a prey to

The graces and wiles of a maiden so fair;

I must take a back seat as I humbly give way to

The Earl and the Countess of Hanover Square.

What a stroke of good luck! For, like little Jack Horner,

She put in her finger and pulled out a plum;

Yet there once was a time when _we_ sat in a corner--

AMARYLLIS and I--though her mother looked glum.

If I do not forget, it took place in December,

But I recollect better one evening in June,

And, for all that has happened, I like to remember

What we whispered and said by the light of the moon.

But a truce to such thoughts, she has married another,

I must tidy away all the memories of yore.

There's a smile on the face of her match-making mother,

And her family rejoice as they ne'er have before.

It has happened. Her mother, I know, always said it

Would prove to be so with her beautiful girl,

And the fair AMARYLLIS has done herself credit

Now she's married the catch of the season--an Earl.

What she did, after all, was perhaps for the best meant.

She may even be fond of her Earl--who can tell?

In the business of Life she has made her investment,

Which I trust most sincerely she will find pay her well.

And as for myself my ambition just _nil_ is,

With my pipe and my dog I shall stay on the shelf,

Though allow me to tell you, my dear AMARYLLIS,

I'd have made you an excellent husband myself.

* * * * *

[Illustration: What will he do with it?]

A PUZZLER, FOR EVEN SIR ANDR-W CL-RK, BART. M.D.--Case of dyspepsia.

What ought to be prescribed for a patient suffering from severe

indigestion, caused _by having eaten his own words?_ Perhaps one of

the most distinguished members of the Medical Congress, possessing

a great experience among Cabinet Ministers and other Parliamentary

celebrities, will oblige with "a solution"? And this is a perfectly

serious question, although it certainly sounds as if it were only

intended for a Roose.

* * * * *

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, August 29, 1891 · 第 12 / 29 题