The shortage of whisky and brandy for medicinal purposes was the subject of many indignant questions.  Mr. MCCURDY, for the FOOD-CONTROLLER, stated that it had been found impracticable to allot supplies of spirits for this purpose, but, perhaps wisely, did not give any reasons.  Can it be that the Government, contemplating the extension of the “all-dry” principle to this country, are anxious to give no encouragement to the “drug-store habit”?

* * * * *

THE LIMIT.

(THE JAZZ IS REPORTED TO HAVE ABOUT SEVENTY DIFFERENT STEPS.)

    I have waltzed for half a day
    In Milwaukee (U.S.A.),
  I have danced at village “hops” in Transylvania;
    I have can-canned all alone
    In a fever-stricken zone,
  And I’ve done the kitchen-lancers in Albania.

    I’ve performed the “tickle-toe”
    With its forty steps or so,
  I have learnt a native dance in Costa Rica;
    I’ve fox-trotted in Stranraer,
    Irish-jigged in Mullingar,
  And I’ve danced the Dance of Death at Tanganyika.

    I have “bostoned” with the best
    At a ball in Bukharest,
  I’ve reversed with Congo pigmies, dark and hairy;
    I have one-stepped in Sing-Sing
    And performed the Highland Fling,
  I have razzled in the reel at Inveraray.

    I have tangoed in Koran,
    Danced quadrilles in Ispahan
  (Though I haven’t done the polka in Shiraz yet);
    But I’ve followed in the train
    Of Terpsichore in vain,
  For I haven’t mastered one step of the Jazz yet.

* * * * *

    “THE LEXICOGRAPHER’S EASY CHAIR.

    “In this column, to decide questions concerning the current use
    of words, ——­’s Dictionary is consulted as arbiter.

    “‘N.H.R.,’ Starkville, Miss.—­’What is the meaning of the word
    Eothen, and what is its derivation?’

    “Eoethen is Greek for ‘it is used’ or ‘accustomed,’ and is the
    title of a celebrated work by Alexander Kinglake.”—­American
    Magazine.

We fear that the lexicographer found his easy chair so easy that he did not take the trouble to get out of it to consult the dictionary.

* * * * *

THE MIDGET.

As a result of the competition in cheap miniature two-seater cars we anticipate several interesting developments and take the liberty of extracting the following items from the newspapers of the future:—­

FOR SALE.—­Small two-seater car, fit gentleman five feet eleven inches in height.  Forty-two inches round the chest.  Only been worn a few times.

Why pay a thousand pounds for a large car when you can get the same result with one of our hundred-pound Midget Cars?  Our Midgets are trained to make a noise like a six-seater touring car.  We undertake that you shall get the Park Lane feeling at suburban rates.  Write for a free sample, enclosing six penny stamps for postage.