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THE ABC OF IBSENITY.

  A is the ARCHER who booms in the World,
  B is the Banner of IBSEN unfurled. 
  C the Commotion it makes for the minute,
  D is the Doll’s House, and all there is in it. 
  E is the Eagerness shown in the fray,
  F the Fanatics, who will have their way. 
  G is a Ghost, and oh! there are lots of ’em,
  H is Heredity, making pot-shots of ’em. 
  I is the Ibsenite so analytic,
  J is the Jeer of the Philistine critic. 
  K is a Kroll, and a Pastor is he,
  L is a Lady, who comes from the Sea. 
  M is the Master, speak soft as you name him,
  N stands for Norway, so eager to claim him. 
  O his Opponents, who speak out their mind,
  P stands for Punch, where his dramas you’ll find. 
  Q is the Question, should Rosmer have wed her? 
  R is Rebecca, who took such a header. 
  S is the Speaker, which gets quite excited,
  T is the Temper, it shows uninvited. 
  U the Unquestioning Faith of the some,
  V is the Vaudeville, where they all come. 
  W stands for the Worshipping Few,
  X their Xtreme disproportionate view. 
  Y ends Ibsenity, and, as everyone knows,
  Z brings an alphabet rhyme to a close.

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OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.

The Diary of a Pilgrimage occupies 175 pages of one of ARROWSMITH’s three-and-sixpenny books, and no doubt the admirers of its author, Mr. JEROME K. JEROME, may possibly not grudge this amount when gauging its value by its attractive cover.  It is “’ARRY Abroad,” that’s all.  ’ARRY Abroad laughs and talks loudly in foreign churches, sneers and jeers at everything he does not understand—­and this includes the greater portion of all he sees and hears—­chaffs puzzled officials, and everywhere makes himself highly and exceptionally popular.  In this Diary ’ARRY is occasionally rather amusing when he is endeavouring to be either serious or sentimental, or both.  ’ARRY serious or ’ARRY sentimental, or ’ARRY sentimentally serious and expecting to be taken at his own valuation, is of course delightful, only a little of it goes a great way, and this Cockney pilgrim goes too far, especially when giving us his valuable opinion on the Passion Play.  ’ARRY on the Passion Play, and the character of JUDAS ISCARIOT!  As Hedda Gabler’s husband observes on every possible opportunity—­“Fancy that!” Only once the Baron finds himself in agreement with the travelling ’ARRY, and this happens when he says, “I must candidly confess that the English-speaking people one meets with on the Continent are, taken as a whole, a most disagreeable contingent.”  Yes, certainly, when they are all ’Arries.  Set an ’ARRY to catch an ’ARRY, and of course to the regular right-down ’ARRY all other ’ARRIES, not ‘appnin’ to ’ave the honour of being ’is own par_tics_, are detestably vulgar cads.  The remainder of the book, i.e., 131 pages, is padded with essays, a fact not mentioned on the outside of the work, which, like charity, covers a multitude of sins.  Whether this is quite a fair way of stating contents, is a question which the Baron supposes both Publishers and Author have thoroughly considered.