A peroration full of flowers,
A moisture in his other eye,
And then a pause—­it seemed of hours—­
For her reply.

Her answer came.  He thought of it,
It haunted him for long years after,
She simply burst into a fit
Of ribald laughter.

And certainly it was absurd,
She laughed till she could laugh no more;
She’d heard the same thing, to a word,
The day before.

Two tyros in the Art of Love,
Each ARABELLA’s ardent suitor,
Unluckily were pupils of
The self-same tutor!

So, should you fail to understand
A maiden’s answer, this may show
Why sometimes Man proposes and
The Girl says “No!”

* * * * *

SKIRTS AND FIGURES.—­M.  JACOBI, of the Alhambra, has composed a “Skirt-dance,” which has recently appeared in the Figaro.  That the skirts for which the Composer has written are brand-new, and require no mending, is evident from the fact that, from first to last, there is no “Skirt-sew”—­in Italian, Scherzo—­movement.

* * * * *

A ROLLICKING SHOW.

In the International Horticultural Exhibition is, as advertised, “the Kiosk of the Australian Irrigation Colonies (CHAFFEY Bros.).”  What fun the CHAFFEY Brothers must make of everything in the Exhibition!  As long as the other exhibitors don’t mind the chaff of the CHAFFEY Brothers, all will be harmonious.  No doubt, round their Kiosk there are crowds all day, in roars of laughter, at the chaffing perpetually going on.  The travelling Cheap Jack, were he in the building, would have some difficulty to hold his own against even one of the CHAFFEY Brothers, but pitted against an unlimited number of CHAFFEY Brothers, for their number is not stated in the advertisement, the unfortunate Cheap Jack would not be let, off cheaply.  Apart from BUFFALO BILL, whose Show with a variety of novelties, is still a very big attraction, and the other amusements, this exhibit of CHAFFEY Brothers engaged in chaff-cutting, must be about one of the most attractive things in the Horticultural.  By the way, in this same advertisement, there is a mysterious announcement “Stand 48.”  Of course, if in addition to their entertainment, they “stand 48 “—­though with this vintage we are not acquainted; perhaps it should be ’84 Pommery,—­then the Brothers are simply hors de concours, and competition would be hopeless.

* * * * *

THE VERY PLACE FOR THE NEXT SPARRING MATCH.—­“Box Hill.”

* * * * *

ON THE SANDS.

(A SKETCH AT MARGATE.)