III. OUR PASTIMES.

FOR shows, rare and otherwise, we are
tolerably well favoured. That yellow ring on the
lonely field shows where, only a week ago,
"Spolieni, pupil to the celebrated Franconi," had
pitched what he called the "Monster Camps
Elysées Circus" in the gigantic pavilion. This
was, alas, before my coming, or I might have seen
Mr. Arthur Bridges, the " star" rider, and the
"four great clowns," who were to " enliven the
arena" with " their inimitable Shakespearean
quips" and " chaste" humour. The bills are still
pasted on the walls, so I can read of what I have
lost. One of the " great" clowns is " little"
Dubosq, the " laughing-moving French mime,"
between whom and his English " great" brother I
know—as well as I know my catechism—that
there rages a furious international jealousy.
Most of all, I regret the elegant performance
of Miss Ada Jacobs in Mazeppa, or the Wild
Horse of the Desert, and admire the surprising
good fortune of Spolieni in securing a lady with
a name so nearly resembling that of the beautiful
Ada Isaacs Menken. I should like, too,
to have seen the whole party enter the town " at
twelve, with the band sitting in the gorgeous
gilded Car of Peace," and with Spolieni himself
sitting aloft, and driving no less than six of his
"unparalleled steeds." They were gone—
there was no use repining—and they would not
be here again for at least two " circuits" more.

So with the magician and ventriloquist, Mr.
W. C. Darby, who, as we all must know, was
"world famed," and had, of course, had the
honour of performing before Her Most Gracious
Majesty at Balmoral, and before His Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge. That Scottish
fastness seems to be preyed upon by magicians.
I was fortunate enough to be in time for Mr.
W. C. Darby. Stalls were three shillings;
second seats two; amphitheatre one; and gallery
sixpence. Carriages, Mr. Darby said cautiously,
might be ordered at ten. A little van stood in
the yard, which had brought the tin cups, the
bowls, the balls, and that delicate woman with
the baby, who took the money for the stalls,
amphitheatre, first seats, and everything; not
alone took the money, but was ticket-taker also,
and place shower. By eight, I was the only
occupant of the stalls; by the same hour there
was no one in the "first seats;" there were
two or three persons in the amphitheatre,
and there were about a dozen boys in the
gallery. The sickly woman came in several
times looking wistfully at the barren benches,
the magician's head was thrust out now and
again, to satisfy himself; but it was a quarter-past
eight, and those who had paid, with an
arrogance arising from the knowledge of the
value of their patronage, began to clamour
noisily. Never did magician put a better face
on so discouraging a prospect. He said he
preferred (" it would be more convenient" was
his expression) having all his audience near him,
and in an instant had gathered together all his
company in an indiscriminate mass close to him:
a proceeding, I must say, a little unfair towards
the solitary tenant of the stalls, who had rallied
round him so handsomely. Not that he showed
himself, in other respects, ungrateful for this
mark of sympathy; for I remarked that, through
the night, he always selected him as the person
to hold the cup, or ball, or fish, or to draw a
card, or even to lend him half-a-crown. Poor
W. C. Darby! He went through it with
wonderful spirit, and did not abridge us of a
single trick, even of that plum-pudding made in
a hat, whose ingredients must have swept away
at least all the stall money; and only pleaded,
with great humility, to be let off the grand
distribution of toys, which was to come out of the
hat after the pudding had been given away in
small pieces to the audience. " For," said he,
"our audience to-night is not so large as I
anticipated." The first morsel of the pudding
was handed to the stalls, and he really seemed to
accept it as a genuine tribute to his powers of
necromancy, when I said heartily, and in a loud
voice, " that it was one of the best I had ever
tasted;" a declaration received, too, with cheers
by the expectant boys, to whom it was thrown to
be devoured. Poor Darby! Carriages, of course,
might have been ordered at ten, but they never
came at ten, or at any other hour; and the first
thing I saw the next morning was the magician
driving away in his little one-horse or one-pony
van, with his sickly wife sitting beside him. He
recognised his single " stall " at once, and with
some cheerfulness raised his hat as he passed.

Nor let me forget the grand national cantata
—"The Siege of Beaumaris," or some such
place—written by Ap Griffith, who is kindly
allowed to teach the rudiments of music to the
great Colonel Slater's younger children, and
who is to be assisted by " the Amateur Union;"
but how much more by the " kind patronage" of
the great Slater himself. Very likely he will
not go, having my Lord Bishop, with Lord
Penmenmawr, to dinner, but will send the
housekeeper and the children, and, better still, a
cheque. For all of which blessings Ap Griffith
will be very grateful, and ready, if required, to
lay the Slater's heel upon his head.

In this way Welsh holidays glide by. What
with walks, and drives in the little carriages,
and boating—and there has been many a pleasant
expedition to Beaumaris from THE GEORGE,
with cheerful company aboard—the time is filled
up very pleasantly.

AT LA GUAIRA.

ANCHORING in a harbour usually implies rest.
It is not so at La Guaira. In fact, La Guaira is
no port, but an open roadstead, where, though it
seldom blows very heavily, there is ever a high
swell, so high that landing is always difficult, and
often dangerous. With the wind at north, the
shore is directly to leeward, and a general smash
among the shipping is then inevitable. Luckily,
such winds are most rare; but some time before
the arrival of the Yñez there was one, and every
vessel at La Guaira stranded. Even with other