from what
I was offered for my three sketches when I showed 'em about, after he
was gone, I thinks, that upon the whole, I got a werry good share of
the larf on my own side of the mouth.

ROBERT.

* * * * *

[Illustration: TRYING POSITION OF AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN.

HE DETERMINES TO TRY THE AUTOMATIC PHOTOGRAPHING MACHINE, THE STATION
BEING EMPTY. TO HIS DISMAY A CROWD HAS GATHERED, AND WATCHES THE
OPERATION.]

* * * * *

AN IDEAL INTERVIEWER.

SCENE--_Den of latest Lion._

_Latest Lion (perusing card with no visible signs of gratification.)_
Confound it! don't remember telling the Editor of _Park Lane_ I'd
let myself be interviewed. Suppose I must have, though. (_Aloud to_
Servant, _who is waiting_.) You can show the Gentleman up.

_Servant (returning)._ Mr. WALSINGHAM JERMYN!

[_A youthful Gentleman is shown in; he wears a pink-striped
shirt-front, an enormous button-hole, and a woolly frock-coat, and is
altogether most expensively and fashionably attired, which, however,
does not prevent him from appearing somewhat out of countenance after
taking a seat._

_The L. L. (encouragingly)._ I presume, Mr. JERMYN, you're here to
ask me some questions about the future of the British East African
Company, and the duty of the Government in the matter?

_Mr. Jermyn (gratefully)._ Er--yes, that's what I've come about, don't
you know--that sort of thing. Fact is (_with a burst of confidence_),
this isn't exactly my line--I've been rather let in for this. You see,
I've not been by way of doin' this long--but what's a fellow to do
when he's stony-broke? Got to do _somethin_', don't you know. So I
thought I'd go in for journalism--I don't mean the drudgery of it,
leader-writin' and that--but the light part of it, _Society_, you
know. But the other day, man who does the interviews for _Park Lane_
(that's the paper I'm on) jacked up all of a sudden, and my Editor
said I'd better take on his work for a bit, and see what I made of it.
I wasn't particular. You see, I've always been rather a dead hand at
drawin' fellows out, leadin' them on, you know, and all that, so I
knew it would come easy enough to me, for all you've got to do is
to sit tight and let the other chap--I mean to say, the man
you're interviewin'--do all the talking, while you--I mean to say,
myself--keep, keeps--hullo, I'm getting my grammar a bit mixed;
however, it don't signify--_I_ keep quie