Strange Experience of a Hermit.
Dear Sir,—My grandfather, who died in the 'fifties, used to tell a story of a hermit who lived in Savernake Forest, an extraordinarily absent-minded man with a beard of such colossal dimensions that several of the feathered denizens of the forest took up their abode in its recesses. This curious phenomenon was, I believe, commemorated in verse by an early-Victorian poet, but I have not been able after considerable research to trace the reference. I have the honour to remain,
Yours faithfully, Isidore Tufton
(Author of The Growth of the Moustache Movement, The Topiary Art as applied to Whiskers, and the article on "Pogonotrophy" in The Hairdressers' Encyclopædia).
Presence of Mind in a Porbeagle.
Dear Sir,—The following verses, though not strictly relevant to the crocodile incident, commemorate an occurrence illustrating the extent to which piscine intelligence can be developed in favourable circumstances:—
"There was an unlucky porbeagle
Who was picked up at sea by an eagle;
On reaching the nest
It began to protest