THE CONTRARINESS OF THINGS.
He. "That little Trip of ours to Boulogne never came off, after all!"
She. "Nothing ever does come off—except Buttons!"
STRICTLY ACCORDING TO PRECEDENT.
(Fragment of a Romance found between Fleet Street and the Kaatskill Mountains.)
Rip Van Winkle had slept (thanks to a hypnotic trance) for a considerable time. On opening his eyes he called for a paper. He eagerly glanced through the columns, and was absolutely baffled by the nature of their contents.