Oh, better far to ride a bike Through the air on a frosty night, And catch the breezes as they blow Till cheeks all ruddy and a glow, You feel as though you’re a man of might, And fly through the air as a thing of light, Than stay at home and mope away The length’ning night of a winter’s day. For I am the wheeling king. I am the wheeling king, And it is, it is a glorious thing To be the wheeling king. Oh, better far the path to ride Of cinders, merrily side by side, And rank as a racing man of might, Than dwindle away a summer’s night. For honour is due to racer brave, And scoff the reward of the moping slave; So still I’ll ride, and the song I’ll sing Will be that I’m the wheeling king. For I am the wheeling king, I am the wheeling king, And it is, it is a glorious thing To be the wheeling king. A. GIBBONS. _Wheeling Annual._ 1885. ――――:o:―――― PATIENCE; OR, BUNTHORNE’S BRIDE! This delightful opera was produced on Saturday, 23rd April, 1881, at a time when the Æsthetic movement was the talk of London, and Mr. Burnand’s vamped-up old play, with the new and meaningless title, _The Colonel_, was drawing crowded houses. The plot of _The Colonel_ was taken from Mr. Morris Barnett’s _The Serious Family_, produced in 1849, whereas Mr. Gilbert’s plot was entirely original, and although it was not performed until April, 1881, the libretto of _Patience_ was completed in November, 1880. In both pieces the main idea was to ridicule Æstheticism and the Æsthetes; in _The Colonel_ this was effected by representing the movement as a sham, and its votaries as humbugs and swindlers; in _Patience_ the style, manners, and conversation of the extreme Æsthetes were so gently and gracefully exaggerated, that even the most Utter and Intense amongst them could scarcely take offence at its lively sarcasms. The excitement about Æstheticism has now subsided, but the beneficial results of this artistic movement are to be seen on every side. In house building, furniture, and decoration; in china, pottery, and glass, even in ladies costumes, far more taste and skill are now displayed than prior to this much ridiculed Renaissance of Art and Culture, which was inaugurated by the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, consisting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti; W. M. Rossetti; William Morris; John Ruskin; Holman Hunt; and Thomas Woolner. Further details on this subject would be out of place in this collection, but a full account will be found in _The Æsthetic Movement in England_, published by Messrs. Reeves and Turner, London, 1882. THE COLONEL’S SONG. (_Patience._)