M. Salverte says with respect to that fairest of the heroines in
that poem for all spring time, "Lalla Rookh." Everybody, in his
happy turn, has been in love with that lady of the peerless
enchantments: perhaps they will be taken a little aback when they
hear that before the lord of the East gave her the name of
Nourmahal, 'Light of the Harem,' or, in the later excess of his
love, Nourdjihan, 'Light of the World,' she was known to her family
and friends as Mher-ul-Nica, or, in equivalent Saxon, the
'Strapping Wench;' and that this 'tallest of women,' of whom it is
said her lover, Djihanguyr,

----preferred in his heart the least ringlet that curl'd
Down her exquisite neck, to the throne of the world,

only became the light of his harem by the process of cutting the
throat of her first husband. If this annotation, to be made in all
copies of the poem, do not wring all charm out of the names by
which the poet's lady is known to fame, then fiction again will
prove stronger than fact.'

'And _that_ isn't all, either.' For _Noor-Mahal_, albeit conventionally
used as Light of the Harem, _does_ mean Light of the Workshop in Arabic.
We shouldn't in the least wonder if the lady in question, in her earlier
and better-behaved days, had been chief engineer of a sewing machine at
two shillings a day. However, we set that down to her credit side.

* * * * *

READER--you have travelled? If so, did you ever suffer from too much
landlord?

The last time we were at Mackinaw, we had our boots blackened, our
clothes 'swept,' and our cigars diminished by a very funny halfbreed
named Pierre, and noticed that when more cigars than usual were taken,
we were always sure of receiving an extra amount of attention from him
in the way of sweeping, brushing, and small talk.

'Mossu, how you lak Detroit?'

'I like it very well.'

'Zat fust-rate 'otel, ze Fiddle House; ze landlord he maks var' big fuss
over ze grand persons as come zere--var' big fuss. Mamselle GRANDROSE
she var splendid danseuse, she 'ave ze grande attentions: Madame COLSON
she grande _chanteuse_ 'ave ze grand care. Ah, bote zere comes zere
oncet ze MARQUIS DE CHOUXFLEURS, zen you should see zat landlord; he
bows and he smiles, and he rons round all ze time, viz, 'Musshoe ze
Markiss, vat you lak for to eat, for to drink, for to sleeps? can I do
somesings fore you. A