At half-past ten came rapture--then Of all those men was I most happy, For wine and things and food for kings And tete-a-tetes were on the tapis. Did you forget, my fair soubrette, Those suppers in the Cafe Rector-- The cozy nook where we partook Of sweeter draughts than fabled nectar? Oh, happy days, when youth's wild ways Knew every phase of harmless folly! Oh, blissful nights whose fierce delights Defied gaunt-featured Melancholy! Gone are they all beyond recall, And I, a shade--a mere reflection-- Am forced to feed my spirits' greed Upon the husks of retrospection. And lo! to-night the phantom light That as a sprite flits on the fender Reveals a face whose girlish grace Brings back the feeling, warm and tender; And all the while the old time smile Plays on my visage, grim and wrinkled, As though, soubrette, your footfalls yet Upon my rusty heart-strings tinkled. THE MONSTROUS PLEASANT BALLAD OF THE TAYLOR PUP. Now lithe and listen, gentles all, Now lithe ye all and hark Unto a ballad I shall sing About Buena Park. Of all the wonders happening there The strangest hap befell Upon a famous April morn, As you I now shall tell. It is about the Taylor pup And of his mistress eke, And of the pranking time they had That I would fain to speak. FITTE THE FIRST. The pup was of a noble mein As e'er you gazed upon; They called his mother Lady And his father was a Don. And both his mother and his sire Were of the race Bernard-- The family famed in histories And hymned of every bard. His form was of exuberant mold, Long, slim and loose of joints; There never was a pointer-dog So full as he of points. His hair was like a yellow fleece, His eyes were black and kind, And like a nodding, gilded plume His tail stuck up behind. His bark was very, very fierce And fierce his appetite, Yet was it only things to eat That he was prone to bite. But in that one particular He was so passing true That never did he quit a meal Until he had got through. Potatoes, biscuits, mush or hash, Joint, chop, or chicken limb-- So long as it was edible, 'Twas all the same to him! And frequently when Hunger's pangs Assailed that callow pup, He masticated boots and gloves Or chewed a door-mat up. So was he much beholden of The folk that him did keep; They loved him when he was awake And better still asleep. FITTE THE SECOND. Now once his master lingering o'er His breakfast coffee-cup, Observed unto his doting spouse: "You ought to wash the pup!" "That shall I do this very day," His doting spouse replied; "You will not know the pretty thing When he is washed and dried. "But tell me, dear, before you go Unto your daily work, Shall I use Ivory soap on him, Or Colgate, Pears' or Kirk?"