away, for the lack of aught better to do;
Whilst my time and my money I recklessly squandered
In a hunt for big game--she was doing it too!
And I am not surprised he has fallen a prey to
The graces and wiles of a maiden so fair;
I must take a back seat as I humbly give way to
The Earl and the Countess of Hanover Square.

What a stroke of good luck! For, like little Jack Horner,
She put in her finger and pulled out a plum;
Yet there once was a time when _we_ sat in a corner--
AMARYLLIS and I--though her mother looked glum.
If I do not forget, it took place in December,
But I recollect better one evening in June,
And, for all that has happened, I like to remember
What we whispered and said by the light of the moon.

But a truce to such thoughts, she has married another,
I must tidy away all the memories of yore.
There's a smile on the face of her match-making mother,
And her family rejoice as they ne'er have before.
It has happened. Her mother, I know, always said it
Would prove to be so with her beautiful girl,
And the fair AMARYLLIS has done herself credit
Now she's married the catch of the season--an Earl.

What she did, after all, was perhaps for the best meant.
She may even be fond of her Earl--who can tell?
In the business of Life she has made her investment,
Which I trust most sincerely she will find pay her well.
And as for myself my ambition just _nil_ is,
With my pipe and my dog I shall stay on the shelf,
Though allow me to tell you, my dear AMARYLLIS,
I'd have made you an excellent husband myself.

* * * * *

[Illustration: What will he do with it?]

A PUZZLER, FOR EVEN SIR ANDR-W CL-RK, BART. M.D.--Case of dyspepsia.
What ought to be prescribed for a patient suffering from severe
indigestion, caused _by having eaten his own words?_ Perhaps one of
the most distinguished members of the Medical Congress, possessing
a great experience among Cabinet Ministers and other Parliamentary
celebrities, will oblige with "a solution"? And this is a perfectly
serious question, although it certainly sounds as if it were only
intended for a Roose.

* * * * *

MR. CLIP'S APPEAL.

[The Hairdressers' Early Closing Association of London
(whose Central Office is at 6, Swallow Street, Piccadilly,
W., and whose President is Mr. W.J. REED, and Hon. Sec., M