* * * * *

"This is the anniversary of the death of Robert Southey in 1843.
Perhaps his most celebrated poem is the delightful 'Ode to a
Skylark,' the beginning of which 'Hail to thee, blithe spirit,' is
known to every school child."--_New York Evening Journal_.

It seems that Truth still stands in need of propaganda in America.

* * * * *

[Illustration: _Amateur Photographer (on a conducted tour in
France)._"CHARMING SPOT; BUT RATHER DISAPPOINTING. I _QUITE_ HOPED IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL SMASHED UP."]

* * * * *

FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

The decision of _The Westminster Gazette_ to return to its old figure
of a penny must not be taken as a sign that prices generally are
coming down. On the contrary there is every indication that they are
rising and will still rise, as the following symptomatic scraps of
news, gathered from all parts of the country, go to prove:--

The First Commissioner of Oaths states that "twopenny damns" will,
until further notice, be eight-pence each.

* * * * *