tyle, rich," is, of course, obvious. It applies to more
than one of my Victorian uncles. "Medium rich" to a cousin or so. More
subtle is "medium body." This must be Uncle Hilary; he takes little
exercise nowadays and his figure is suffering. Soon he will be
"full-bodied" or "full and round." "Elegant, high class" is my Cousin
Isabel. "Pretty flavour" also is hers. "Fresh and brisk" is Aunt
Hannah. And could anything be more descriptive of Aunt Geraldine than
"delicate and generous"?

For "great breed and style" (used, I see, of a claret) I should,
I fear, be obliged to go outside the family; and "recommended for
present consumption and for laying down" I only mention because it
leaves me wondering to what other uses a fine fruity Burgundy could be
put. But here is a noble one: "Of very high class, stylish, good body
and fine character." I have tried this on several relations without
being entirely satisfied about it, and I have finally decided that
I shall keep it for myself.

* * * * *

"Only a few visitors braved the first fall of the snow yesterday
and adventured as far as the Zoological Gardens. They found there
a depressed-looking collection of animals in the open-air cages,
but a perfect holocaust of sparrows."--_Sunday Paper_.

The sparrows must have been warm enough, anyway.

* * * * *

[Illustration: VERDUN.

LONDON (_to her adopted daughter_). "YOU WILL LET _ME_ PASS--TO YOUR
HEART?"]

* * * * *

[Illustration: _The Lord Chancellor._ "AND TO THINK IT WAS THE BEST
IRISH LINEN!"]

ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

_Monday, December 13th._--Since the House of Lords took the bit in
its teeth and bolted with the Government of Ireland Bill the LORD
CHANCELLOR has practically thrown the reins on the creature's neck and
confined himself to occasional mild remonstrance when it kicked over
the Government traces. The most he could do when rival amendments were
put forward was to secure the passage of the less objectionable. Thus
when Lord SHANDON, for purely sentimental reasons--Ireland knew him as
"a most susceptible Chancellor"--desired that the unifying body should
be called a Senate Lord BIRKENHEAD laughed the proposal out of court
with the remark that "a man might as well purchase a mule with the
object of founding a stud," and persuaded the Peers to accept the word
"Council." He was at first inclined to