... I._A SNOW- MAN. BY CLO GRAVES. [Alt Rights Rescrvid by the Authoress.] Scene The courtyard of an old country manor-house. A frozen fish pond, a sea', and a sun-dial. It is a hriyht 2fth of December with Heaps of snow. Discovered, Gerty, ayed twelve, a vision of golden curls, bright eyes, and rosy cheeks, in combination with a Tam-o'-Shanter, a brass-buttoned pea-jacket, a short serge frock, ...

... Scene The courtyard of the same old country manor-house. A starlit night in July. Sir Robert, aged twenty-five, bare-headed and in Cavalry mess-uniform, kicking his heels impatiently by the sun-dial. Sir Robert [savagely knocking the ash from his cigar). How many more hours must I kick my heels round this beastly old sun-dial, I wonder? They must have finished dinner ages ago. She vowed to be ...

... TIIE LIFE OF THACKERAY. If there was one thing Thackeray hated more than he hated sentimentality, it was a biography. Let there be none of this when I go, he said to his daughters, as he threw down the fulsome memoir he was reading. That is the reason perhaps no official Life has appeared of him by any of his real intimates, if we except those tantalising glimpses which occur in the ...

... MR. BEERBOHM TREE'S superb production of Rip Van Winkle, at Her Majesty's, a production again illustrated in the present Sketch, is going so well that there will he no need to change the hill this season. Indeed, it is not unlikely that, owing to the interest manifested by the public in this venture, Mr. Tree may elect even to start his next season at Her Majesty's with this play-- whether ...

... THEATKE GOSSIP. Closure. THE HAYMARKET and Her Majesty's closed last Saturday, the 21st inst., and the Garrick will do ditto next Saturday. Zaza, however, will reappear on tour anon, with Mrs. Lewis Waller in the naughty name-part. Whether so unwholesome a play is really necessary either in town or country is not particularly clear to some of us. On the other hand, a last night that all ...

... THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. POLITICIAN AND SPORTSMAN* THERE are people who will tell you that they cannot find an adequate reason for Lord Rosebery's undoubted popularity. This arises, it is to be supposed, from their inability to understand the broader side of British character. The Englishman, we know, dearly loves a lord, but he loves that blue-blooded personage far more when he happens to be ...

... T H E II AY M A R IC E T THEATRE ITS PR h SENT AND FUTURE. IN connection with Messrs. Harrison and Maude's recent commence ment of their new Haymarket season with their splendidly cast and sumptuously mounted revival of The School for Scandal, Sketch readers will, no doubt be interested to learn something concerning the future plans of these popular managers. The present writer, therefore, ...

... . Purcell's Dido and ./Eneas, revived at the Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill, on March 25, is a choice example of a musician described by an eminent German critic as the greatest composer England has produced. He was undoubtedly far in advance of his time, being the first composer to introduce recitative instead of spoken dialogue. Dido was produced in 1680, and was written for the ...

... MUSICAL AND THEATEICAL GOSSIP. Sir Henpy Irving';; Lyceum Revivals. SIR HENRY RVING'S new series of grand Lyceum revivals is an even more interesting one than hitherto, so varied is the selection. The said series started with Robespierre, which will be repeated nightly till June 7, excepting to-night (Wednesday), when Sir Henry will give his wonderful impersonations of the murderous Mathias ...

... . BY AN EXPERT OF THE ROW. IT is always a pleasure to welcome a new work that has some phase or characteristic in literature as its subject; especially is this so when it comes from the pen of one who loves literature and knows how to write it. Such a book is Men and Letters, by Herbert Paul (published by J. Lane). The work consists of a series of essays embodying such interesting subjects ...

... THE LITERAKY LOUNGER. THE Bookman for August contains an article on Mr. Hall Caine which at the present time is sure to attract wide attention. The writer gives many interesting particulars of The Eternal City, and an explanation of the author's purpose and plans in writing it. He is authorised to state that it will be published exactly as written. Among the pictures which accompany the ...

... . MR. RALPH HALL CAINE, who has just purchased Dickens's old paper, Household Words, is not, as is generally supposed, a brother of the famous novelist, but his son. Mr. Ralph Caine is scarcely eighteen years of age. His attempt to resuscitate the famous old magazine is certainly one of the pluckiest things in recent journalism. Needless to say, Mr. Hall Caine is watching the venture with the ...