Then what pleasure to see Albani-Elizabeth receiving the guests in Act II., varying the courtesies with an affectionate embrace whenever a particular friend among the ladies-of-the-court-chorus came in view.  My LORD CHAMBERLAIN, viewing the scene from his private box, must have picked up many a hint for Court etiquette from studying this remarkable scene.  Then how familiar to us all is the arrangement of the bards all in a row, like our old friends the Christy Minstrels, Tannhaeuser being the Tambourine, and Wolfram the Bones!  Charming.  Great success.  Repeat it by all means.

* * * * *

[Illustration:  CHIVALRY AT THE BREAKFAST-TABLE.

“NOW, COOK, JUST YOU LOOK HERE!  LOOK AT THAT PIECE OF BACON I’VE JUST GIVEN YOUR MISTRESS!  IT’S THE THICKEST AND WORST CUT I EVER SAW IN MY LIFE!—­AND THIS PIECE I’M JUST GOING TO TAKE MYSELF IS ONLY A LITTLE BETTER!”]

* * * * *

“PLEASE GIVE ME A PENNY, SIR!”

A NEW SONG TO AN OLD TUNE.

Poor Income-Tax Payer, loquitur:—­

Please give me a Penny, Sir! 
My hope is almost dead;
You hold the swag in that black bag,
And high you lift your head. 
Some years I have been asking this,
But no one heeds my plea. 
Will you not give me something then,
This year, good Mister G.? 
Oh! please give me a Penny!

Please give me a Penny, Sir!
You won’t say “no” to me,
Because I’m poor, and feel the pinch
Of dreadful “Schedule D”! 
You’re so high-dried, and so correct,
So honest and austere! 
Remember the full “Tanner,” Sir,
I’ve stumped up year by year,
And please give me a Penny!

Please give me a Penny, Sir! 
My Income is but small,
And the hard Tax laid on our backs
I should not pay at all. 
But I’m too feeble to resist,
And do not like to lie;
And Sixpence, under Schedule D,
Torments me till I cry,
Do please give me a Penny, Sir!

Consols, or Dividends, or Rents
Don’t interest me much;
“Goschens,” reduced or otherwise,
Are things I may not touch,
Two hundred pounds per year, all told,
Leaves little room for “exes;”
And ’tisn’t only public men
That “lack of pence” much vexes. 
So please give me a Penny, Sir!

The mysteries of High Finance
I don’t presume to plumb;
So year by year my back they shear,
Sure that they’ll find me dumb. 
But the oft-trodden worm will turn;
“Demand Notes” never slack;
And “Schedule D” fast at twice three,
Breaks the wage-earner’s back. 
So please give me a Penny, Sir!

The moneyed swells who make “returns,”
Much at their own sweet will,
Don’t gauge the poor clerk’s scanty purse,
The small shopkeeper’s till,
How hard ’tis to make both ends meet,
When hard times tightly nip;
Or how small incomes sorely feel
The annual sixpenny dip. 
So please give me a Penny, Sir!