The Baron not having read a three-volume novel for some considerable time, may safely affirm, instead of taking his oath, that Mrs. OLIPHANT’s The Cuckoo in the Nest is one of the best he has come across for quite two months.  It opens well, and if it drops a bit about the middle, there are all sorts of surprises yet in store for the reader, who, the Baron assures him or her, will be rewarded for his, or her, perseverance.

The Baron begs to recommend the latest volume of the Whitefriars Library, called King Zub, by W.H.  POLLOCK. Zub is a wise poodle, and the waggish tale of the dog gives the name to the collection. The Fleeting Show is quite on a par with The Green Lady in a former collection by the same author, and such other stories as Sir Jocelyn’s Cap and A Phantom Fish will delight those who, like the Baron, love the mixture as before of the weird and the humorous.  In the Phantom Fish there is much local dialect, and The Baron coming across the expression, “a proper bender,” is inclined to ask if this is not Zummerzetsheer for, and only applicable to, a running hare?  The Baron remembers the expression well, though ’tis years since he heard it, and owns to being uncertain as to whether it is not Devonian or Cornish.  That he heard it applied to a hare apparent he is prepared to make oath and say; but he is not in the least prepared to assert that it is not generally applied as an expression of admiration for adroitness in avoiding pursuit.  “Be that as it may, give me King Zub and the other stories, a good fire, a glass of spiritual comfort, a cosy chair, and a soothing pipe, and I am prepared to spend a pleasant evening,” says

THE BARON DE BOOK-WORMS.

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[Illustration:  MR. PUNCH’S DEER-STALKING PARTY.]

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CONVERSATIONAL HINTS FOR YOUNG SHOOTERS.

(BY MR. PUNCH’S OWN GROUSE IN THE GUN-ROOM.)

In our last (it is Mr. Punch who speaks), we indicated very briefly the conversational possibilities of the Gun.  It must be observed, that this treatise makes no pretensions to be exhaustive.  Something must, after all, be left to the ingenuity of the young shooter who desires to talk of sport.  All that these hints profess, is to put him in the way of shining, if there is a certain amount of natural brightness to begin upon.  The next subject will be—­

CARTRIDGES.

[Illustration]

To a real talker, this subject offers an infinite variety of opportunities.  First, you can begin to fight the battle of the powders, as thus:—­

“What powder are you shooting with this year, CHALMERS?”

“Schultze.”

“How do you find it kill?”

“Deadly—­absolutely-deadly:  best lot I’ve ever had.”