"Water, water everywhere" in the _Times_ recently, except when Messrs.
GILBEY wrote their annual, and this time hopeful, account of the
Claret vintage, and when subsequently Messrs. "P. and G."--(who on
earth are "P. and G."?)--with a few modest lines at the foot of a
page, last Wednesday, enlivened our drooping spirits with a brief but
satisfactory account of Champagne Prospects. If the vintages of '86
and '87 are good, and those of '90 and '91 poor, why not make a blend?
and why not sell it as such? Let "P. and G."--[confound it! who on
earth can P. and G. be? "P. and J." would be "Punch and Judy"--and,
by the way, in the choice _Lingua Tuscana_, "P. and G." would stand
for "_Poncio è Giulia_." But, on the other hand, who, unauthorised,
would dare to use this signature? No matter--where were we?--ah!--to
resume.] Let "P. and G.," whoe'er they be--which is rhyme, though not
so intended--(but why this masquerade in initials?)--let them exploit
a "Blend of '90-cum-'86 and '91-cum-'87," sell it as such--viz., The
"P. and G. Blend," or "The Punchius and Giulia Blend"--at a reasonable
figure, and thus the Not-quite-up-to-the-mark vintages will be saved.
Have we not seen in City partnerships how a strong house saves a
failing one, and then the Blends go on successfully? Let "P. and G."
give us a first-rate Champagne, call it, say, The "G.B.," or "Golden
Blend," at a reasonable price, and, to drop once again into poetry, No
matter what their name may be, We'll ever bless our P. and G.![2]
[Footnote 2: "P. and G." might stand for "Pay-for-it and Get-it," or
"Pour-it and Guzzle-it." A Correspondent has suggested that solution
of the initial problem might possibly be found in the names of Pommery
and Gre'--No! So common-place a suggestion is evidently, and on the
face of it, absurd. Not in this spirit did the Pickwick Club treat the
celebrated inscription on the stone that so puzzled the antiquarians.]
* * * * *
[Illustration: SPORT!
_Cockney Sportsman_ (_eager, but disappointed_). "I SAY, MY BOY, SEEN
ANY BIRDS THIS WAY?"
'_Cute Rustic (likewise anxious to make a bag)._ "OH, A RARE LOT,
GUV'NOR--A RARE LOT--JUST FLEW OVER THIS 'ERE 'EDGE, AND SETTLED IN
THAT 'ERE FIELD, CLOSE TO SQUIRE BLANK'S RICKS."
[_Grateful Cockney Sportsman tips boy a shilling, and goes hopefully
after ... a flock of Starlings!_]
* * * * *