the familiarity, but nowadays age doesn't count, does it? Everybody's
young. One of the best _Juliets_ I ever knew had turned sixty, and
played to a _Romeo_ who was twenty years her senior. Nothing like that
down below, I suppose?"

"Nothing," returned _Mr. Punch_.

"So I have always understood. Well, where shall we go first?"

"Anywhere you like," said the Sage of Fleet Street. "But are you sure
that we are not unduly trespassing on your time?"

[Illustration]

"Not at all--only too delighted. It's all in the day's work. We have
a lot of distinguished visitors that we have to take round. I like it
myself, but some of our fellows kick against it. Of course it doesn't
refer to you two; but you can fancy what a nuisance it must be for
all our fellows to have to get up in full rig, and bow and scrape,
and march and countermarch, and go through the whole bag of tricks, to
some third-rate Royalty? Ah! they are happier off at Aldershot, aren't
they?"

"No doubt," was the prompt reply.

_Mr. Punch_ and Father TIME had now entered a barrack square, wherein
a number of trembling recruits were standing in front of a sergeant.

"I am just putting them through their paces, Sir," said he: "they are
a bit rusty in bowing drill."