["The custom of dancing, I am informed on good authority,
has of late years lost its popularity with our gilded
youth!"--_Mr. James Payn._]
A SINGING-BIRD which will not sing, a watch that will not go,
A working-man who scorns to work, a needle that won't sew,
Are things whose inutility are obvious at a glance,
But what _are_ they compared with "gilded youth" who do not dance?
* * * * *
MYSTIFIED.--Somebody at Mrs. R.'s was saying that a certain friend of
theirs, a well-known Queen's Counsel, was a first-rate pianist. "By
the way," inquired a young barrister, "doesn't he usually practice in
Mr. Justice ROMER'S court?" Mrs. R. held up her hands in amazement.
"Well," she exclaimed; "I had no idea that music was allowed in a
law court. But I suppose it's in the interval, while the Judge is at
luncheon."
* * * * *
An Expostulation.
(_On the recent revision of "The Tempter."_)
MR. TREE, what _have_ you done?
Hang it all! there's no exempting
You from blame for risks we run
With _The Tempter_ yet more tempting.
* * * * *
QUERY.--Has the want of rain this summer, and consequent failure of
the hay crops, affected the market for Grass Widows?
* * * * *