[Illustration: On his Hobby.]
Baffled by official prudery in the production of his poetic episode
from Holy Writ, yet resolved that the names of SARAH and OSCAR shall
be bracketted together on the muster-roll of genius, Mr. WILDE has
undertaken to re-write RACINE's _Phèdre_ for that distinguished
actress. In his version the smoothly-chaste and insipidly-correct
verses which our grandmothers learnt to recite, and our grandfathers
pretended to admire on the lips of the classic RACHEL, will give place
to the school of BAUDELAIRE and VALLES. We have been fortunate in
obtaining an _échantillon_ of this great work.