THE SAFE SIDE.

(Problem set:—To flatter a Poet's vanity and do no violence to your conscience.)

Pownceby (a minor poet). "Es, have you seen my last volume, Lady Vera—Throbs and Throes?"

Lady Vera. "Oh, yes, I have."

Pownceby. "And what did you think?"

Lady Vera. "Oh, I thought—that you had never done anything better."