THE PRIVATE VIEW.
(By a Visitor, Small but not Early.)
Irony about this View
Is, I fear, more true than new,
Still the crowd's a great 'un;
Heads and bodies hide from me
Pictures that I wish to see;
Smooth, fair maids by Leighton;
If I seek a work by Wells,
Can I see through beaux and belles?
I can but survey 'em.
Hid the masterpiece of Brock
By some girl's wide-shouldered frock,
So the bulls of Graham.
If my eyes seek breezy Hooks,
Hooks and eyes obstruct my looks;
Pity me, dear reader!
Cobalt Cornish seas by Brett
Hid by chignons in a net,
Likewise views by Leader!
See, instead of groups by Crowe,
Coats, black like him, in a row;
Also, quite as thick, see
Backs, not sculptured ones by Bates,
Hide the pretty pinkish pates
Done to death by Dicksee!
If I strive to see a Sant,
My large neighbours make me pant,
For they push so coarsely;
Or the evergreens of Stone,
Then they nip my funnybone;
And I lose what Horsley
Drapes so decently—the Marks
Are on me; these tall young sparks
Squeeze enough to kill a
Little man, who sees no Watts
Past their lofty chimney-pots,
Nor a single Millais.
Good Start For The Academical Year.—Mr. Stanhope Forbes, A.R.A., is a clever Painter, as everyone knows, but he is cleverer than was thought, as he has sold his Academy Picture to the Manchester Corporation for 1,200 guineas. Stanhope Forbes will change his name to Stan'up-for-your-Price Forbes, A.R.A.
From One of the Wise Men in the East.—A traveller, doing a walking tour in Egypt, from Cairo and back again, describes himself as a "Cairopedist," and adds that it's just the place for Members of that profession to prosper, as "Corn in Egypt" is proverbial.
The Premier at the Haymarket Last Wednesday.—This does not mean that Mr. Gladstone visited this theatre, but simply that Mr. Tree produced a new piece, written by the O'Wilde. "Whatever be its merit or want of merit," says Joseph Miller, Q.C., "Wilde can't be tame."