life had been
acquired from the ordinary penny newspaper which he had read day by
day." No doubt this rather humiliating fact accounts for the florid
style of the proclamations "Our Only General" used to publish in Egypt
and elsewhere--proclamations at the time recognised as having the tone
of Astley's in the good old days of the _Battle of Waterloo_ and other
military melodramas. However, if it pleases Lord WOLSELEY to give
materials for a future biography, that is no one's concern but his own.
Unfortunately he touched upon another matter, about which he knows
evidently very little, if anything at all. His Lordship spoke in very
disrespectful terms of what he called the "Shilling Dreadful," which, he
declared (in this instance accurately enough), was "prized by many
people." Certainly the novelette is more popular than _The Soldier's
Pocket-book_, although both _brochures_ are equally works of
imagination. So it should be, considering that amongst the authors who
have produced it have been WILKIE COLLINS, HUGH CONWAY, F. ANSTEY,
ROBERT BUCHANAN, GRANT ALLEN, WALTER BESANT, RHODA BROUGHTON, and others
equally well known to fame. He concluded by remarking, "that if men of
all politics were to be shaken up in a bag, he believed there would be
very little difference between them." Quite true, if the bag were shaken
sufficiently long to complete the transformation--but it would be rather
a brutal experiment!

* * * * *

A PAGE FROM A DIARY.

(_Purely Imaginary._)

_First Week._--Now let me see what I have to do. I will leave out of
consideration my extra-parliamentary utterances--they will take care of
themselves. Shan't forget _them_. But other matters. Well, I have to
turn the works of my dear old friend ALF TENNYSON into Greek--of course,
omitting certain highly injudicious lines of a reactionary character.
Then I must read through the last edition of the _Encyclopaedia
Britannica_. No skipping, but go through _every_ article thoroughly and
conscientiously. Then, of course, there is Grand Day at Gray's Inn. Must
_not_ forget that. Should like, above all things, to be present. Now let
me see that I have got the date all right. Yes, I remember. Grand Day,
Hilary Term. Falls on a Thursday. I shan't forget.

_Second Week._--Translation of TENNYSON into Greek going on famously.
Not had time to cut down any trees, so busy have I been. Got as far as
"Foghorn" in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. N