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.

* * * * *

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