cidentally
gives a description of the service of Mass in the good _Abbe Leroux's_
parish church, which is a triumph of imagination and subtle humour. No
wonder "the _Abbe Leroux_ was scandalised," when the service had been
turned topsy-turvy, the _credo_ put before the _gloria_, and a young
person among his congregation, topping all other voices, was singing a
solo! Where was the Beadle? or a Churchwarden? or an Aggrieved
Parishioner? Three cheers for Facile PRINSEP'S novel!

In _Plain Tales from the Hills_, by Mr. RUDYARD KIPLING, the jaded
palate of the "General Reader" will recognise a new and piquant flavour.
In places the manner suggests an Anglo-Indian BRET HARTE, and there is
perhaps too great an abundance of phrases and local allusions which will
be dark sayings to the uninitiated. But the stories show a quite
surprising knowledge of life, a familiarity with military, civil, and
native society, and a command of pathos and humour, which have already
won a reputation for the author. Few can read _Beyond the Pale_, _The
Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly_, _The Story of Muhammed Din_, _The Germ
Destroyer_, and _The Madness of Private Ortheris_, for example, without
admiration for the versatility which can cover so wide a range, and
impress, amuse, or touch with the same ease and epigrammatic
conciseness.

BARON DE BOOK-WORMS & CO.

* * * * *

THE ROOT OF THE MATTER.

(_The Sporting M.P.'s Straight Tip to Trevelyan._)

In the intervals of Sport
M.P.'s vamp the country's work,
Therefore cut the Sessions short,
Supplementary Sessions shirk.
_Must_ have time to pot the grouse,
_Must_ have time to hook the salmon,
Spoil our Sport to help the House?
Gammon!!!

* * * * *

LOST, somewhere between Land's End and John O'Groat's, a
highly-treasured heir-loom, known as the "British Sense of Fair Play."
It disappeared immediately after the issuing of the Report of the
Parnell Commission, and has never been seen or heard of since. Many
applicants have claimed to have re-discovered it; but, from Sir R-CH-RD
W-BST-R and Sir W-LL-M H-RC-RT, to L-RD D-NR-V-N, and (last and least)
Sir W. M-RR-TT, all have absolutely failed to substantiate their claims.
Any Public Man, of whatever party, who can prove his possession of the
lost treasure, by making a speech embodying a judicial survey of the
Judges' Report, without party-feelin