_Heidelberg_.--Magnificent view from the Castle, _but_ too many Cooks spoil the prospect. _Interlaken_.--Jungfrau splendid, _but_ not free from 'ARRIES and 'ARRIETTS. _Jerusalem_.--Interesting associations, _but_ travelling on mule-back is a trial to born pedestrians. _Kissingen_.--Out of the beaten track, _but_ query rather too much so. _Lucerne_.--Lovely; _but_ comfort takes a back seat if the Schweitzerhoff is full. _Madrid_.--Plenty of pictures, _but_ cholera in the neighbourhood. _Naples_.--Famous Bay never off, _but_ scarcely the place to face an epidemic. _Ouchy_.--Beau Rivage beyond all praise, _but_ environs uninteresting. _Paris_.--Always pleasant--_save_ in August. _Quebec_.--Possibly attractive to the wildly adventurous, _but_ scarcely worthy of a jaunt across the Atlantic. _Rome_.--The City of the Popes and the Cæsars, _but_ not to be thought of before the early winter. _St. Malo_.--Quaint old Breton port, _but_ journey from Southampton frequently dangerous, and always disagreeable. _Turin_.--Typical Italian town; _but_ why go here when other places are equally accessible? _Utrecht_.--Suggestive of cheap velvet, _but_ suggestive of nothing else. _Vevey_.--Pleasantly situated, _but_ _triste_ to the last degree. _Wiesbaden_.--Kept its popularity, in spite of its loss of _roulette_ and _trente et quarante_; _but_ Baden-Baden is preferable. _X les Bains_.--Beautiful scenery, _but_ population chiefly invalids. _Zurich_.--Might do worse than go there; _but_, on the other hand, why not stay at home? * * * * * [Illustration: AN OBJECT OF COMPASSION. PITY AN UNFORTUNATE MAN, DETAINED IN LONDON BY UNINTERESTING CIRCUMSTANCES OVER WHICH HE HAS NO CONTROL, WHOSE FAMILY ARE ALL OUT OF TOWN, WHOSE ESTABLISHMENT IS REPRESENTED BY A CARETAKER, AND WHOSE CLUB IS CLOSED FOR ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS.] * * * * * VOCES POPULI. COCKNEY COQUETRY: A STUDY IN REGENT'S PARK. SCENE--_NEAR THE BAND-STAND. TIME--7 P.M. ON A SUNDAY IN AUGUST._ CHARACTERS. _Polly_ (_about 22; a tall brunette, of the respectable lower middle-class, with a flow of light badinage, and a taste for tormenting._) _Flo_ (_18; her friend; shorter, somewhat less pronounced in manner; rather pretty, simply and tastefully dressed; milliner or bonnet-maker's apprentice._) _Mr. Ernest Hawkins_ (_otherwise known as "ERNIE 'ORKINS"; 19 or 20; _short, sallow, spectacled; draper's assistant; a respectable and industrious young fellow, who chooses to pass in his hours of ease as a blasé misogynist_). _Alfred_ (_his friend; shorter and sallower; a person with a talent for silence, which he cultivates assiduously_). _POLLY and FLO are seated upon chairs by the path, watching the crowd promenading around the enclosure where the Band is playing._