n the Cornhill
I'll promise my love his own.

The ear of the Corn, the rustling Corn,
The ear of the Corn is grown;
When the ear is grown on the Cornhill
My love shall have his own.

The sheaf of the Corn, the rustling Corn,
The sheaf of the Corn is mown;
When the sheaf is mown on the Cornhill
My love will leave his own.

* * * * *

ONE OF OUR OPTIMISTS.

"WANTED, few cwt. White Sugar, cart self; pay cash; state
price."--_Manchester Guardian_.

* * * * *

"M. Trepoff accepted the leadership of the Right in the Council of
Empire after the party had pledged itself to eschew a retrograd
course."--_Manchester Evening Chronicle_.

Preferring a Petrograd one, of course.

* * * * *

"His Majesty's Government has declared that it is ready to grant
sage-conducts to Count Bernstorff and the Embassy and Consular
personnel."--_Daily Mail_.

Hitherto his Excellency has been sadly lacking in this hyphenated article.

* * * * *

THE HARDSHIPS OF BILLETS.

II.

Nobody knows the misery of bein' lapped in luxury in a billet better than
me and Jim. Mrs. Dawkins, as I told you, give us the best of everything in
the 'ouse and our lives wasn't worth livin' owin' to Mr. Dawkins and the
little Dawkinses and a young man lodger takin' against us in consekence.
Seein' that they 'adn't a bed between 'em while we was given one apiece and
their end of the table had next to nothin' on when ours was weighed down
with sausages and suchlike, it were not surprisin' that Mr. Dawkins and the
lodger swore at us and the little Dawkinses put their tongues out. But it
were upsettin', and Jim and me did 'ope when we was moved to Mrs. Larkins's
that we had a better time in store.

"Just goin' to the Front, ain't they, poor fellows?" she said to the
billetin' orficer. "I'll do my best by 'em. Nobody wouldn't like to coddle
'em better than I should, but 'twould be crule kindness to 'em, I knows. If
'ardships are in store for 'em let 'em 'ave a taste before they goes, I
says, and it won't fall so 'eavy on 'em when they gets there."

"There's as comfortable a feather bed as you could wish to sleep on ready
and waitin' for you," she said to us, "but who with a woman's heart in her
could put you on a feather bed knowin' you'll be sleepin' on the bare earth
before