She lived, this prophetess, too late, And plied an art that's out of date, Another age had seen her gain Her reputation not in vain, Had seen a crowd respectful wait Upon the arbiter of fate, While kings and rulers brought her gold To have futurity unrolled! In some Greek court where fountains play, Or dwelling by the Appian way, The prophetess would surely be Besought by each Leuconoe, And if for these she sometimes drew A future pleasanter than true, At least she gave them, you'll confess, Anticipated happiness! Ah! times are changed, and nowadays Such divination hardly pays; There comes no more the crowds that used, The fees are terribly reduced! And if our policemen caught the Sphinx Propounding "Missing Words," one thinks Our British justice could not fail To send her speedily to gaol! * * * * * IMPY AND GARRY.--Colonel SAUNDERSON, "speaking as an Irishman" (did anyone ever hear the gallant Colonel speak as an Englishman?), didn't object to being classed among his countrymen, whom Mr. BRODRICK had styled "impecunious and garrulous." He might have quoted the name of one of their own national airs as emphasizing, by descriptively []abreviating, these two epithets, namely, "_Garryowen_." "_Garry_" is clearly the short for "_garrulous_," and "_owen_" is the oldest form of _"not payin'_." * * * * * [Illustration: A "TURKISH OCCUPATION;" OR, VISIONS IN SMOKE. ["The KHEDIVE has been the object of numerous marks of personal friendship on the SULTAN'S part."--_Times Correspondent at Constantinople._ ] _Sultan (amicably)._ Welcome, dear ABBAS! Take a seat, and a pipe--take anything you have a mind to, and "make yourself at home," as the accursed Giaours say. _Khedive (squatting)._ Thanks, my dear--Suzerain! Yildiz Kiosk feels, indeed, very home-like. More than my own Cairo does--when CROMER'S there. This Nichan-i-Imtiaz Order is really very becoming. Pity you and I, ABDUL, have to take "orders" from anybody west of Alexandria! _Sultan (sotto voce)._ And why _should_ we? _Khedive (sulkily)._ Well, the sons of burnt fathers _have_ got the upper hand of the Faithful, somehow--confound them! _Sultan (reading)._ "Intelligence received here of late, from trustworthy quarters in Egypt, indicates that the KHEDIVE'S journey is to be made the point of departure for a _grande action diplomatique_ against British influence in the Valley of the Nile." That's from the _Times_, my ABBAS! _Khedive (moodily)._ Humph! Wish the Egyptian quarters _were_ "trustworthy." _Grande action diplomatique?_ Quite makes one's mouth water!