posed a "musical parody" entitled Ruddy George, which was produced at Toole's Theatre. Much talent for mimicry was displayed by the principal performers, and especially by Mr. E. D. Ward, as Robin Redbreast (after George Grossmith) and Mr. Skelton, as Sir Gaspard, in a droll imitation of Rutlind Barrington's portentious manner. The burlesque was, however, most successful in so far as it caricatured the idiosyncracies and eccentricities of Sir Arthur Sullivan's music. In imitation of the scene in Act II. of the original, where the portraits of Sir Ruthven's forefathers descend from their frames, kitcat panel likenesses of Mr. Gilbert, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and Mr. D'Oyly Carte suddenly become endowed with life, and utter some mild, and rather pointless jests. :0: Ko-Ko ON "THE COW AND THREE ACRES." THE Rads all the yokels to gain, tra la ! Gave promise of land and a cow. They argued, "They're all half-insane, tra la ! "Majority we shall obtain, tra la ! By the help of the sons of the plough." And that's what they meant, as you'll quite understand, They've voted for them, and so now, tra la ! A jocular guide to the Edinburgh Exhibition of 1886 was compiled by Mr. George Stronach, and published by Robert Mitchell, of Edinburgh. It was entitled "Our Own-eries; or, The Show in the Meadows; a dog-gerel cat-alogue," and was profusely and humourously illustrated. It contained several amusing parodies on The Mikado, and one on Tennyson's Brook, but as they related only to the Exhibition they were of purely local interest, and are now out of date. In The Bab Ballads, which originally appeared in Fun (London), may be found the germs of several of Mr. Gilbert's plays and operas, sketches of plots afterwards amplified, and snatches of song which were, later on, to be linked to Arthur Sullivan's music, and so made famous. The following, which appeared in Fun twenty years ago, contains part of the plot of H. M. S. Pinafore : — JOE GOLIGHTLY; OR, THE FIRST LORD'S Daughter, Long, shambling, and unsightly, He bore a workhouse brand, The Board of Guardians named him. His skipper (Captain Joyce) "Lay out, you lubber, do! What's come to that young man, Jue? Belay!-'vast heaving! you! Do kindly stop that banjo!" "I wish, I do—oh, lor! You'd shipped aboard a trader : Are you a sailor, or A negro serenader?" But still the stricken cad, Aloft or on his pillow, Howled forth in accents sad His aggravating "Willow!" Stern love of duty had Been Joyce's chiefest beautySays he, "I love that lad, But duty, damme! duty! "Twelve years blackhole, I say, Where daylight never flashes; And always twice a day Five hundred thousand lashes!" But Joseph had a mate. A sailor stout and lusty, A man of low estate, But singularly trusty. Says he, "Cheer hup, young Joe! I'll tell you what I'm arter, To that Fust Lord I'll go "To that Fust Lord I'll go And say you love her dearly." And Joe said (weeping low), "I wish you would, sincerely!" That sailor to that Lord Went, soon as he had landed, And of his own accord An interview demanded. (Model: "Sir Guy the Crusader.") To put foreign armies to flight he John Bull was his special objection, Not a single celestial connection, Yet this snob, with the coolest assurance, To the court of Theebaw Says Theebaw, "Shall this prig of a Briton Be allowed to object Such a want of respect ! When I've got a man-torturing fit on? It's hard lines if my fun be thus checked!" So he tried of that prying external Having scared him to death; but a colonel Now Theebaw, it is right here to mention, On the subject of shoes; At an afternoon call their retention The colonel thought this very cruel, Put his feet in hot water, supped gruel, Thus exposed to catarrh, With a colonel you shall not be trusted." So St. Barbe was left there to be worried, In a manner less pleasant than hurried ; So Theebaw was alone in his glory. In the deep Irrawaddy, And then, as an end to the story, He finished himself with rum-toddy. SECOND PRIZE. The Tale of King Theebaw. ODD FISH. THEEBAW was the King of the golden toe, And he laughingly said, as he got out of bed, "I'm tired of my dozens of uncles and cousins; I'll polish off all the sons of my pa, But smother my nieces, and cut into pieces "No, really you mustn't, august Theebaw," "Pray think of it twice, for it wouldn't be nice, You exceedingly naughty boy!" Tis plainly my duty to warn you that weThough we'd rather not say, 'You shan't!'Shouldn't like it at all, if you cut up quite small Your grandmother's aged aunt." Then up rose the King of the golden toe, Now listen, you ugly preposterous man, I'll make you regret that you got in a pet, I'll cut every one of my brothers in half; O yes, you may threaten; I don't care a d— For you and your silly You shan't!' For am I not King of the golden toe, And I laugh in my sleeve, for I'm led to believe Was plagued with a throat so excessively dry, 'Twas useless to try To wet t'other eye,' Because he was perfectly, perfectly dry. 'Twas shocking in one of exalted degree, With his 'Pour a drop more, Encore and encore,' 'Twas painfully sad for the monarch of B., As thirsty was he As a fish from the sea, As thirsty, as thirsty, as thirsty could be. His ministers tried to relieve him at first But couldn't relieve his insatiable thirst; For the King, who was curst Of each kind of tipple they brought a supply (With whisky and brandy, And other drinks handy), published by Sampson Low & Co., London, in 1885. But a much more amusing imitation of a Bab ballad is that on page 456 of the same volume, which, by Mr. Doveton's kind permission, is here given : THE BISHOP AND THE BALLET. POSTURES antic Drove him frantic Seized he pen and paper- Folly set your faces; Though they charm ye, More than wine or races!" They replying, Hawing, hemming, humming- Short skirts are becoming! Is entrancing, We enjoy it-rather!" But stern "London" The April number of Macmillan's Magazine contained the Poet Laureate's contribution to Jubilee literature. As usual, portions of the Ode were quoted in the Lordon papers almost before the magazine was published, and The Daily News went so far as to reprint the whole of the Ode, an infringement of Messrs. Macmillan's rights, for which an apology had to be made. As to the poetical merits of the Ode public opinion has been tolerably well expressed by the parodies on it which have appeared. A few verses of the original are here given, to lead up to the parodies. CARMEN SECULARE. AN ODE IN HONOUR OF The Jubilee of Queen Victoria. I. FIFTY times the rose has flower'd and faded, Since our Queen assumed the globe, the sceptre. II. She beloved for a kindliness Rare in Fable or History, Queen, and Empress of India, Crown'd so long with a diadem VI. You, that wanton in affluence, Spare not now to be bountiful, Let the maim'd in his heart rejoice VIII. You, the Patriot Architect, Rich in symbol, in ornament, Which may speak to the centuries, All the centuries after us, Of this year of her Jubilee. IX. Fifty years of ever-broadening Commerce! Fifty years of ever-brightening Science ! Fifty years of ever-widening Empire! X. You, the Mighty, the Fortunate, You, the Lord-territorial, You, the Lord-manufacturer, You, the hardy, laborious, Patient children of Albion, All your hearts be in harmony, All your voices in unison, Singing "Hail to the glorious Are there thunders moaning in the distance? The Globe remarked : "It is to be feared that the Laureate's Jubilee Ode will sadly disappoint all his admirers. It has a certain rhetorical neatness, no doubt; but it cannot be regarded as adequate to the occasion. The poet has chosen, for the most part, very prosaic rhythms, and the Ode, trite and even common in ideas, is not even endowed with occasional felicities of expression, On the contrary, it is sometimes positively unlucky in its phraseology, as when the world is most unnecessarily assured that Her Majesty has about her 'Nothing of the lawless, of the Despot, "By no means happy are the references to those who wanton in affluence' (why 'wanton?') to the 'Lord manufacturers,' and to the Imperial Institute,' which latter surely savours a little of bathos? The six concluding lines have more inspiration, perhaps, than most; but they do not harmonise very well in their allusion to thunders moaning in the distance,' with the Laureate's allusion elsewhere to the prosperous auguries' of the Jubilee. On the whole, Lord Rosslyn, Mr. Morris, and Lord Tennyson having all spoken, it must be confessed that the Jubilee still lacks a vales sacer." ANOTHER Ode. FIFTY times the Laureate sharpened his pencil : After Walt Whitman's pattern, Rich in blackness, in dullness, Which might speak to the centuries Through the Magazine Macmillan, HOW THEY WERE WRITTEN TO ORDER. (Leaf from a Laureate's Diary.) 9 A. M.-Bother the Jubilee ! What in the name of fortune, can one do with such a rubbishing subject? But here's Macmillan waiting, and I haven't done a single line yet. Must get something put on to paper, if only to quiet him. But how on earth to begin! Get in "fifty" somehow. Want fifty somethings that come but once a year. Christmas? Good. That suggests Clown. I have it. Fifty times the Clown has grinned and tumbled. No. That won't do. It's too shoppy, stagey. Has a soupçon of the Promise of May about it. Wants something Ha! The Row, suggesting the Season, of course, Fifty times the Row has filled and emptied. No, Don't like it. Reads as if I was talking of a cistern. Too heavy. Try something lighter. Pastry? Feathers? Flowers? Ha! that's it. Flowers, of course. Here, I've got it! wider I want Fifty times the Rose has flowered and faded. Anyhow, that'll do to go off with. Let's see. fifty something elses to follow it up with. What shall it be? Cartloads? Handfuls? Armfuls? Autumns ? Harvests? Good again. Not that there's any precise connection between them; but one must stick down something. How'll this do? Fifty times the golden harvest fallen. Yes, that reads all right. Is there any other way of putting "fifty?" Yes, "twice twenty-five." But that won't come in. Then there's four times twelve and a half." No; that |