_Quebec_.--Possibly attractive to the wildly adventurous, _but_
scarcely worthy of a jaunt across the Atlantic.

_Rome_.--The City of the Popes and the Caesars, _but_ not to be thought
of before the early winter.

_St. Malo_.--Quaint old Breton port, _but_ journey from Southampton
frequently dangerous, and always disagreeable.

_Turin_.--Typical Italian town; _but_ why go here when other places
are equally accessible?

_Utrecht_.--Suggestive of cheap velvet, _but_ suggestive of nothing
else.

_Vevey_.--Pleasantly situated, _but_ _triste_ to the last degree.

_Wiesbaden_.--Kept its popularity, in spite of its loss of _roulette_
and _trente et quarante_; _but_ Baden-Baden is preferable.

_X les Bains_.--Beautiful scenery, _but_ population chiefly invalids.

_Zurich_.--Might do worse than go there; _but_, on the other hand, why
not stay at home?

* * * * *

[Illustration: AN OBJECT OF COMPASSION.

PITY AN UNFORTUNATE MAN, DETAINED IN LONDON BY UNINTERESTING
CIRCUMSTANCES OVER WHICH HE HAS NO CONTROL, WHOSE FAMILY ARE ALL OUT
OF TOWN, WHOSE ESTABLISHMENT IS REPRESENTED BY A CARETAKER, AND WHOSE
CLUB IS CLOSED FOR ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS.]

* * * * *

VOCES POPULI.

COCKNEY COQUETRY: A STUDY IN REGENT'S PARK.

SCENE--_NEAR THE BAND-STAND. TIME--7 P.M. ON A SUNDAY IN AUGUST._

CHARACTERS.

_Polly_ (_about 22; a tall brunette, of the respectable lower
middle-class, with a flow of light badinage, and a taste for
tormenting._)

_Flo_ (_18; her friend; shorter, somewhat less pronounced in
manner; rather pretty, simply and tastefully dressed; milliner
or bonnet-maker's apprentice._)

_Mr. Ernest Hawkins_ (_otherwise known as "ERNIE 'ORKINS";
19 or 20; _short, sallow, spectacled; draper's assistant; a
respectable and industrious young fellow, who chooses to pass
in his hours of ease as a blase misogynist_).

_Alfred_ (_his friend; shorter and sallower; a person with a
talent for silence, which he cultivates assiduously_).

_POLLY and FLO are seated upon chairs by the path, watching
the crowd promenading around the enclosure where the Band is
playing._

_Polly_ (_to FLO_). There's ERNIE 'ORKINS;--he doesn't see us yet.
'Ullo, ERNIE, come 'ere and talk to us, won't you?

_Flo_. Don't, POLLY. I'm sure _I_ don't want to talk to him!

_Polly_. Now you know you _do_, FLO,--more than