lorous--for the moment. Yap! yap! yap! _Meles-Taxus_ takes little
notice of him, however. His eyes are on that sturdy specimen of _Canis
familiaris_ there, whose bold eyes in turn are on _him_. Both, perhaps,
experience--

That stern joy which warriors feel
In foemen worthy of their steel."

"Drawn by those two tiny yelpers? Not a bit of it! But _you_, my complacent
canine Colossus--come on if you dare!" And he _does_ dare, evidently.
Whether he'll regret his daring remains to be seen.

* * * * *

The Memory of Milton.

MILTON forgotten? Nay, my BESANT, nay;
Not wholly, even in this petty day,
When learning snips, when criticism snaps,
And the great bulk of readers feed on scraps.
Still, still he finds his "audience fit, though few,"
The rest _forget_ not since they never knew.

* * * * *

The Off-Portsmouth Phrase-Book.

Have you caught a fish?

No, but I have bagged a cannon-ball.

Is the sea too rough for your boat?

No, the sea is not too rough, but the Torpedoes are decidedly embarrassing.

Is that a pretty shell that you are going to carry home to your children?

No, it is a live one, that, if it bursts a yard nearer, will blow us into
smithereens.

Do you propose returning to your lodging to-night?

That is a matter that will be decided by the Commander of the nearest
practising gun-boat.

* * * * *

[Illustration: THE RESULT OF TOO MUCH GREEK.

_First Classic_. "BY THE WAY, HADN'T DANTE GOT ANOTHER NAME?"

_Second Classic_. "YES; ALFIERI, I THINK--OR ELSE ALIGHIERI."

_First Classic_. "AH, PERHAPS YOU'RE RIGHT. I HAD A NOTION IT WAS GABRIEL
ROSSETTI, OR SOMETHING!"]

* * * * *

CUTTING REMARKS.

[Illustration: Tied to Time.]

Mr. HENRY AUTHOR JONES has taken a theatre wherein to play his own plays to
his own taste. On the first night of _The Crusaders_ this taste was not
exactly the taste of the audience. Mr. HENRY AUTHOR JONES seemed to object
to be tied to time, and the result was the prompt appearance of that
terrible conqueror of things terrestrial, General Boredom. Since the
initial performance, it is reported that matters have gone on more
smoothly. According to the "usual sources of information" the dramatist has
been cheered on leaving his theatre, and heartily congratulated. On one
occasion he actually supplemented his piece with a s