I was now losing heart, when, to my great joy, I came upon "the White Kangaroo, the Laughing Jackasses, &c.," all of which were to be seen "free gratis and for nothing." It is right, however, that I should add that I found some difficulty in distinguishing "the White Kangaroo" from "the Laughing Jackasses," and both from "&c." I now made for Mlle. PAULA's Crocodiles, but here, again, alas! I was doomed to disappointment. As I approached the Reptile-House, in which the fair dame was disporting herself (no doubt) amongst "Indian Pythons and Boa Constrictors," I was warned off by the legend, "Admission, Sixpence." It was then I remembered that, after all, I was in an Aquarium, and, consequently, had no right to expect anything but fish. So I approached the tanks, and, to my great delight, found in one of them some floating bodies, that I am almost sure must have been herrings. Having thus gratified my curiosity for the strange and the curious, I returned, well satisfied, to the country, where I purpose remaining a further term of next twenty years. In the meanwhile, believe me, Dear _Mr. Punch_, Yours sincerely, ONE EASILY PLEASED. * * * * * Something very big.--"The principal _rôle (Falstaff_), in VERDI's new comic Opera is amplified and enlarged," writes a special Correspondent to _The Standard_, "from the _Falstaff_ of the other plays (besides the _Merry Wives_) in which he takes a part." "Takes a part!" Good Heavens! _Falstaff_ "amplified and enlarged" will be something more than a part. It will be that mathematical impossibility, "a part greater than the whole." Surely, with such a _rôle_ in it, this can't be a light Opera. * * * * * OUR BOOKING-OFFICE. _Golden Bells_, rung by DEAN AND SON,--quite appropriately ecclesiastical this,--and edited by Mrs. ELIZABETH DAY, will ring forth peals of delight in the nursery, it being the Christmas number of _The Little One's Own Paper_. [Illustration] _Arrowsmith's Christmas Annual_, by WALTER BESANT, bears the cheerful and seasonable title of "_The Demoniac_." Mr. HYNE's _Four Red Nightcaps_ is somewhat in the style of _Three Men in a Boat_, only there are "Four men in a Yacht." Most of the Magazines have their special numbers of these. _The English Illustrated Harper's_, _The Century_, are got up with the most charming illustrations. _The Gentlewoman_ has her first Christmas Number, and,--so like her!--a coloured satin picture! _The Pictorial World_ has two good pictures for framing.