_Thursday, April 26th._--Major BAIRD made a modest and candid defence of the Air Board against its many critics. He did not pretend that they were yet satisfied--in the case of so new a service there could be no finality-- but he claimed that the departments had worked much more harmoniously since they were all housed under the hospitable roof of the Hotel Cecil, a statement which Lord HUGH of that ilk subsequently endorsed. Major BAIRD, despite the general mildness of his voice and demeanour, can deliver a good hard knock on occasion. He warned the House against indulging in a certain class of criticism, on the ground that there was no surer way of killing an airman than to destroy his confidence in the machine he was flying; and he asserted that the "mastery of the air" was a meaningless phrase impossible of realization. I think Mr. PEMBERTON-HICKS and Mr. JOYNSON-BILLING took the rebuke to heart, for they were much less aggressive than usual. * * * * * [Illustration: "BE A GOOD BOY AND STOP YOUR 'OLLERIN, AND I'LL LET YER SEE THE OLD GENT FALL ORF THE BUS."] * * * * * SICK. Dear MR. PUNCH,--Excuse this tosh, But I've succumbed to measles (Bosch), And all my dreary hours are spent Inside a vast and gloomy tent. So, as I'm feeling rather blue, I thought I'd better write to you. All known diseases here you'll find (This letter's steamed, you needn't mind); But in my tent there's only one, I'm glad to say, viz., measles (Hun). The Nurses all are Scotch and stout, So are the drinks I do without; I don't complain of lack of fruit-- At least we don't get arrowroot-- Nor have I even ever seen a Single plate of semolina. So life is not so bad, you see, Except for chlorine in the tea. I think that's all, so now will end, Hoping this finds you, dearest friend, Just as it leaves me, in the pink (My rash is not quite gone, I think). * * * * * "Now those precious divisions have to be hurled into the furnace to avert a veritable landslide."--_Sunday Paper._ The shortage of men in the German Army has evidently been exaggerated. This confirms the evidence from other sources that they have troops to burn. * * * * * AT THE PLAY. "HAMLET."