Her answer came. He thought of it,
It haunted him for long years after,
She simply burst into a fit
Of ribald laughter.

And certainly it was absurd,
She laughed till she could laugh no more;
She'd heard the same thing, to a word,
The day before.

Two tyros in the Art of Love,
Each ARABELLA's ardent suitor,
Unluckily were pupils of
The self-same tutor!

So, should you fail to understand
A maiden's answer, this may show
Why sometimes Man proposes and
The Girl says "No!"

* * * * *

SKIRTS AND FIGURES.--M. JACOBI, of the Alhambra, has composed a
"Skirt-dance," which has recently appeared in the _Figaro_. That the
skirts for which the Composer has written are brand-new, and require
no mending, is evident from the fact that, from first to last, there
is no "Skirt-sew"--in Italian, _Scherzo_--movement.

* * * * *