But now the old house is no dwelling for me, The home of the stranger henceforth it shall be; And ne’er will I view it, nor rove as a guest, O’er the ever-green fields which my father possessed; Yet still, in my slumbers, sweet visions will come Of the days that are pass’d, and the old house at home! THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY. ―――― A CONTRAST. Oh! the old house at home where my forefathers dwelt, Was a tumble-down place, where most dismal I felt; For my friends kept few servants, and taught me the page Could not wait upon me, for I was not of age. Oh! my heart ’midst all changes, from London to Rome, Finds each place more gay than the old house at home! ’Twas not for its rent that the dwelling was dear, But it wanted no end of repairs every year. From the roof had been stolen the coating of lead, And the rain pelted through till it dripped on your head; And a dark narrow passage, with no space to roam, Was the hall of my father,――the old house at home. But now the old house is no dwelling for me; I’m settled in London, where sooner I’d be; And ne’er will return there, except as a guest, Just for two or three days,――if I do, I am blest! The dulness would kill me, and slumber would come, In the small dingy rooms of the old house at home. From _A Bowl of Punch_, by ALBERT SMITH, London: D. Bogue, 1848. [Illustration] PARODIES OF LEWIS CARROLL. “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” and “Through the Looking-Glass, and what Alice found there” have so long been familiar, and are so universally popular, that their recent production on the Stage at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre only causes a feeling of surprise that they have not been dramatised hitherto. It is true, that Colonel Lynes, of the Royal Artillery, selected the subject of “Alice in Wonderland” for the Soldiers’ pantomime at Woolwich, more than six months ago, and at his suggestion Mr. J. Addison wrote a very ingenious play, which was produced in the Theatre of the Royal Artillery Barracks at Christmas 1886. But this was far less complete as a representation of Alice’s adventures, than the Musical Dream Play, in two acts by H. Savile Clarke, produced at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre in December, 1886. All who have read Alice’s Adventures (and who has not read them?) should see how admirably they have been realised on the boards, and recognise in Miss Phœbe Carlo the charming little heroine of Mr. Carroll’s invention. Mr. H. Savile Clarke thus introduces the subject of his play:―― A Nursery Magician took All little children by the hand; And led them laughing through the book, Where Alice walks in Wonderland: