During the preparation of Sir ARTHUR SULLIVAN’s new Opera, Ivanhoe, a grave objection to the subject occurred to him, which was, that one of the chief personages in the dramatis personae must be “Gilbert”—­i.e., Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert.  True, that Sir Brian is the villain of the piece, but this, to Sir ARTHUR’s generous disposition, only made matters worse.  It was evident that he couldn’t change the character’s name to Sir Brian de Bois-Sullivan, and Mr. D’OYLEY CARTE refused to allow his name to appear in the bill except as Lessee.  “I can’t put him in simply as Sir Brian,” said the puzzled Composer, “unless I make him an Irishman, and I don’t think my librettist will consent to take this liberty with SCOTT’s novel.”  “But the name in the Opera isn’t pronounced the same as W.S.G.’s,” objected D’OYLEY.  “It will be outside the Opera by ninety out of a hundred,” answered Sir ARTHUR.  “But,” continued D’OYLEY, persistently, “it isn’t spelt the same.”  “No,” replied Sir ARTHUR, “that’s the worst of it; there’s ‘u’ and ‘i’ in it; we’re both mixed up with this Guilbert.”  Fortunately, the Composer and the Author made up their quarrel, and as a memento of the happy termination to the temporary misunderstanding, Sir ARTHUR, in a truly generous mood, designed to call the character “Sir Brian de Bois-Gilbert-and-Sullivan.”  Whether the mysterious librettist, whose name has only lately been breathed in the public ear, insisted on SCOTT’s original name being retained or not, it is now pretty certain that there will be no departure from the great novelist’s original nomenclature.

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A BREACH OF VERACITY.—­According to the papers, the Chief Secretary’s Lodge in Dublin is blocked with parcels of clothing designed for the poor in the West of Ireland, sent in response to the request of Lord ZETLAND and Mr. ARTHUR BALFOUR.  We understand there is no truth in the report, that amongst the first arrivals was a parcel containing Mr. O’BRIEN’s br—­s, with a note explaining, that as he was about to go to prison again, he had no further use for the article.

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NEW IRISH DRINK.—­The Parnellite “Split.”

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A REMINISCENCE OF C.K.

The excellent article in the Times on the 6th inst. upon CHARLES KEENE was worthy of its subject.  The writer in the P.M.G. of a day earlier performed his self-imposed task with a judicious and loving hand, and, as far as I can judge, his account of our lamented colleague seems to be correct.  As to our CARLO’s Mastership in his Black-and-White Art, there can be but one opinion among Artists.  Those who possess the whole of the Once a Week series will there find admirable specimens of CHARLES KEENE in a more serious vein.  His most striking effects were made as if by sudden inspiration.  I remember a story which exactly illustrates my meaning.