"The Proposed Commons Preservation Bill."—Seeing this heading to an article, an eminently well-informed Conservative politician, whose zeal was in excess of his knowledge, exclaimed, "Ah! I thought it would come to this! The Ultra-Radicals are not going straight for the abolition of the Upper House, but have decided on undermining it, by doing away with the Lower One to begin with. Fancy its being necessary for the Commons to bring in a Bill for their own self-preservation!!"
VADE MECUM FOR A CERTAIN COURT OFFICIAL.
Question. Your duty, I believe, is to protect the public from receiving impressions—from your point of view—of a pernicious character?
Answer. Certainly; and this I accomplish by reading and rejecting what I think the public should avoid.
Q. How long has the office been in existence?
A. About a century or so.
Q. How did the public get on before your office came into existence?
A. Fairly well, especially in the days of Shakspeare.
Q. Had the Bard of Avon to obtain a licence for the production of his plays?