The fun of the farce differed from that of most farces in depending less upon situations than upon dialogue.  The First Act, with the situations still to come, was the best.  I have not had the good fortune to read Miss EDGINGTON’S novel, but one might be permitted to assume, from the excellence of much of the wit, that, whatever the play may in other respects have lacked of subtlety or refinement, such defect was no fault of hers.  What Mr. CHARLES HAWTREY himself thought of it all I cannot say, but the play did not begin to compare, either for irony or singleness of motive, with the last two in which he figured, The Naughty Wife and Home and Beauty. He clearly enjoyed his own part, but it was rather noticeable that in his brief speech at the fall of the curtain he confined himself to a personal acknowledgment of the public’s sympathy with him in his illness and their loyalty throughout his career, and made no reference to the play or its authors.

O.S.

* * * * *

A SUPER-SURPRISE.

  I have not seen the stalking
    By a rabbit of a bear,
  Nor yet an oyster walking
    Sedately up the stair;
  But a marvel as amazing
    Inspires these doggerel rhymes,
  For I’ve read a leader praising
    The PREMIER in The Times.

* * * * *

A HOUSE-WARMING.

    “Considerable damage was done by fire at ——­ Cottage on Wednesday
    evening.  The stairs, part of the floor, doors, furniture, etc., were
    destroyed.

    ——­ presided at the piano, and Mrs. ——­ presided over the
    refreshments.  ‘God save the King’ was sung at the close of the
    enjoyable day.”—­Local Paper.

* * * * *

The Labour “Council of Action” have kindly stated that they are “content to leave the French Government to the French people.”  They are however reserving the right to leave the British Government to the Bolshevists.

* * * * *

    “We must repeat the Scots proverb that—­’Delays are dangerous.’”—­
    Sunday Paper.

Or, as DRYDEN says in his Address to a Haggis, “De’il tak’ the hindmost.”

* * * * *

    “The proportion of sane to insane persons in civilized countries is
    about one to 300.”—­Canadian Paper.

Surely Carlyle said something very like this years ago.

* * * * *

COMMERCIAL CANDOUR.

    “RAINCOATS AT LESS THAN COST PRICE LAST 3 DAYS.”—­Advert. in
    Provincial Paper.

* * * * *

    “Lady has Left-off Clothing; privately.”—­Provincial Paper.

Of course.  That goes without saying.

* * * * *