nd with truth, that had he
originally "written with the grave decorum of a secluded moralist,
he would" by this time "have gone down into the limbo of forgotten
bores."

Into that limbo A.A. will never descend. It is delightful to find
him dedicating his book to Lord LYTTON, to whom--when L.L. was
OWEN MEREDITH, ALFREDO _mio_ had pointed out that, "in one serious
particular, he had overlooked parental admonition," and observing on
that occasion that, "had OWEN MEREDITH even a glimpse of the truth,
we" (A.A. himself, in 1861, much "we"-er then than now--"_et alors, il
grandira, il grandira!_") "should have been spared the final _tableau_
of repentance and forgiveness which concludes _Lucile_." But, thank
goodness, we (the Baron, and his literary friends) have _not_ been
spared the touching picture of repentance and forgiveness in ALFRED
AUSTIN's dedicating his latest poem to Lord LYTTON. _Sic transit ira
poetarum!_

In _The Season_ ALFREDO sang--

"I claim the precious privilege of youth,
Never to speak except to speak the truth."

But those lines were not written the day before yesterday, and as he
can no longer "claim" the aforesaid "precious privilege," he can in
his more mature years "go as he pleases." And there is so much "go"
in him that he always pleases; so the Baron anticipates the sequel to
_The Tower of Babel_ on the lines already suggested, presumptuous as
it may seem to suggest lines to a poet.

_Phra the Phoenician_, a very clever idea, with which BULWER would
have performed mysteriously thrilling wonders, but which Mr. ARNOLD
has written at once too heavily and treated too lightly, in too much
of a "so-called nineteenth century style;" which is a pity, as it is
full of dramatic incident, and the interest well kept up through some
two thousand years or so, more or less. He is a wonder is _Mister
Phra_, and might well be called _Phra Diavolo_ instead of _Phra the
Phoenician_. Sir EDWIN ARNOLD has written a preface to the volume,
and seems to express a wish that the wonders here recorded could be
possibilities of everyday life. But, if so, as _Mr. Weller, Senior_,
observed, _a propos_ of "there being a Providence in it," "O' course
there is, SAMMY; or what 'ud become o' the undertakers?" And as to
cremation--well, such an utter corporeal extinction would be the
only way of putting an end to the terrestrial existence of _Phra the
Phoenician_, who, however, "might rise," as _Mrs. Malaprop_ would say