and mournful Member,
And who will stand upon the House's floor
After, say, next November.
That's why the M.P.'s sit in silent doubt,
Why spirits flag, and cheeks are pale and livid,
And why the DISSOLUTION SPOOK stands out
So ominously vivid.
Some key to the result of the appeal
They yearn for vainly, all their nerves a-quiver;
The presence of the Shadow they all feel,
And sit, and brood, and shiver.
There is a sombre rumour in the air,
The shadow of a Presence dim, atrocious;
No human creature can be festive there,
Even the most ferocious.
An Omen in the place there seems to be,
Both sides with spectral perturbation covering.
The straining eyeballs are prepared to see
The Apparition hovering.
With doubt, with fear, their features are o'ercast;
SALISBURY at Covent Garden might have spoken,
But, save for Rumour's whispers on the blast,
The silence is unbroken.
And over all there hangs a cloud of fear,
The Spook of Dissolution all has daunted,
And says as plain as whisper in the ear,
The House is Haunted!

* * * * *

[Illustration: SOCIAL PROBLEMS NOT HAPPILY SOLVED.

_Husband._ "OH, SIR JOHN, SO GLAD YOU HAVE CALLED!--AND SO KIND OF
LADY DASHWOOD TO HAVE ASKED us TO HER PARTY!--BUT WE ARE QUITE IN A
FIX WHEN TO COME, BECAUSE THE CARD SAYS 'EARLY AND LATE.'"

_Sir John._ "OH, I THINK I CAN TELL YOU. SEND YOUR WIFE VERY EARLY
INDEED, AND YOU CAN COME AS LATE AS YOU LIKE!"

_Husband_ (_who does not quite see it_). "THANKS! THANKS! VERY MANY
THANKS!"]

* * * * *

OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.

"Upon what principle," one of my Baronites writes, "do people
collecting a number of short stories for publication in one volume,
select that which shall give the book its title?" Of course I know,
but shan't say; am not here to answer conundrums. After interval of
chilling silence, my Baronite continues, "Lady LINDSAY has brought
together ten stories which A. & C. BLACK publish in a comely volume.
She calls it _A Philosopher's Window_, that being the title of the
first in the procession. I have looked through the _Philosopher's
Window_, and don't see much, except perhaps a reminiscence of
_A Christmas Carol_. There are others, far better, notably 'Miss
Dairsie's Diary.' This is a gem of simple narrative, set in charming
Scottish scenery, which Lady LINDSAY evidently knows and loves. There
is much e