last Act, the celebrated "_Willow Song_"--which of course no cricketer
ought to miss hearing--was most beautifully and touchingly rendered.
Those persons suffering from the heat of a crowded house, and dreading
the difficulty of finding their "keb or kerridge" in good time, and
who therefore quitted their seats before ALBANI sang the "_Willow
Song_," must, perforce, sing the old refrain, "_O Willow, we have
missed you!_" and go back for it whenever this Opera is played again.
M. JEAN DE RESZKÉ was not, perhaps, quite up to his usual form, or his
usual former self; but, for all that, he justified his responsibility
as one of the largest shareholders in the Grand Otello Company,
Limited. All things considered, and the last best thing being
invariably quite the best, _Otello, or Symphonies in Black and White_,
is about the biggest success of the season.


* * * * *

TO AMANDA.

[Illustration]

(_ACCOMPANYING A SET OF VERSES WHICH SHE BADE ME WRITE._)

Only a trifle, though, i' faith, 'tis smart,
A _jeu d'esprit_, not art concealing art,
Fruition of a moment's fantasy,
Mere mental bubbles, verbal filagree.

But, though thy lightest wish I would not thwart,
I prithee bid me play some other part