of pictorial genius, after which Phiz and Cruikshank must hide their diminished heads, for they can hardly be deemed worthy now of the inferior grade of associates and aspirants for Academic honours." All this is excessively funny, and enables us to smile; but if the grounds of condemnation were of no more solid kind, we might venture the suggestion that the envelopes had hardly a fair trial at the bar of serious public judgment. _Lines on the Penny Postage._ The following lines were popular about the year 1840, when Sir Rowland Hill introduced the uniform penny rate of postage. The scheme was not looked upon hopefully in all quarters, and some persons predicted an early failure for it, while others only saw in the new departure grounds for ridicule or jest. These lines, which are certainly amusing, are said to be the production of Mr James Beaton:-- Something I want to write upon, to scare away each vapour-- The "Penny Postage" shall I try? Why, yes, I'll write on paper. Thy great invention, Rowland Hill, each person loudly hails; The females they are full of it, and so are all the mails. This may be called the "Penny Age," and those who are not mulish, Are daily growing "penny wise," though not, I hope, pound foolish. We've penny blacking, penny plays, penny mags, for information, And now a "Penny Post," which proves we've lots of penetration. Their love-sick thoughts by this new act may Lucy, Jane, or Mary, Array in airy-diction from Johnson's dictionary. Each maid will for the postman watch the keyhole like a cat, And spring towards the door whene'er there comes a big rat-tat. And lots of paper will be used by every scribbling elf, That each should be a paper manufacturer himself. To serve all with ink enough they must have different plans; They must start an "Ink walk" just like milk, and serve it round in cans. The letters in St Valentine so vastly will amount, Postmen may judge them by the lot, they won't have time to count; They must bring round spades and measures, to poor love-sick souls Deliver them by bushels, the same as they do coals. As billet-doux will so augment, the mails will be too small, So omnibuses they must use, or they can't carry all; And ladies pleasure will evince, instead of any fuss, To have their lovers' letters all delivered with a 'bus! Mail-coachmen are improving much in knowledge of the head, For like the letter which they take, they're themselves all over red. Postmen are "men of letters" too; each one's a learned talker, And 'cause he reads the diction'ry, the people call him "Walker." Handwriting now of every sort the connoisseur may meet; Though a running hand, I think, does most give postmen running feet. They who can't write will make their mark when they a line are dropping, And where orthography is lame, of course it will "come hopping." Invention is progressing so, and soon it will be seen, That conveyance will be quicker done than it has ever been;