sts, who include my nearest and
dearest, and abused them from the standpoint of a "visitor." In the first
case he was absurd, in the second, common-place; but he made ample
compensation for both by his memorable chapter of "Conclusions," in which
he gave me clearly to understand why East, being East, will never be joined
to West, always West, but yet how the twain have got within measurable
distance of one another.

* * * * *

There must have been moments when NAPOLEON found St. Helena a little quiet
for a man of his temperament; when the monotony of his life there pressed
somewhat hardly upon him. On these occasions I like to think of him saying
philosophically to himself, as he remembered what Mr. RUDOLF PICKTHALL
calls "the last phase but two," "Well, after all, this isn't Elba. I've got
that much to be thankful for." In _The Comic Kingdom_ (LANE) Mr. PICKTHALL
shows how everybody on the island struggles to make a bit out of their
visitors. Little children rallied round with posies of wild flowers,
demanding large sums in payment. Bogus monks waved crosses at him, and, if
he pretended not to notice them, rolled in the dust under his carriage
wheels. There was never a moment when somebody was not calling with a bust
of the Emperor or Empress, price three hundred francs. And itinerant bands
played under his windows into the small hours of the morning. I can imagine
him saying, in the words of ORESTES, "Dis is a dam country." ORESTES was
the guide who conducted Mr. PICKTHALL through the island. It revolted him,
but he did it. "I tink we better leave to-morrow," was a sort of refrain
with ORESTES. He had a poor opinion of Elba, which I for one do not share.
After reading _The Comic Kingdom_ I feel that one of my coming holidays
must be spent climbing its hills and supplying its thirsty inhabitants with
wine. The scenery is apparently worth while, and the natives appear a
friendly lot. I like their enthusiasm for literature. They turned out in
their hundreds and insisted on Mr. PICKTHALL'S standing treat, just because
they mistook him for a great historian. When I tell them I write for
_Punch_ they will be all over me.

* * * * *

[Illustration: A WORLD'S WORKER.

LADY OF TITLE TAKING LESSONS IN BUILDING-CONSTRUCTION PRIOR TO PERFORMING
THE CEREMONY OF LAYING A FOUNDATION-STONE.]

* * * * *

From a notice of "The New Standa