We'd done the latest picture-shows,

Had honoured some with our approval,

Expressed a cultured scorn for those

That merited a prompt removal.

And then, to pass the time away,

Disliking melodramas tragic,

We chanced to go—oh, hapless day!—

To see some "feats of modern magic."

I don't deny the tricks were good,

Nor could you easily see through them,