It was during this arid period that there appeared in Shanghai a (theoretically) Comic Paper" called "The Quiz." This event stirred a pessimistic correspondent at the north to send to one of the editors the following' squib. which was admitted to be (some distance)
After Dryden."
There were two papers in one city born; One bloomed at night, the other blushed morn, For itugrant dulness each of these prevails Above all journals sent us through the A third appears—but here description fails!
The force of Nature could no further go—To make this third she joined the other two. (September 14, 1881).
It is probably needless to remark that this poem' has never before seen the light of publicity.
The mails of that era in human history were of the most casual and sporadic description. Most, perhaps all, of the coast or river steamers kindly allowed bags of mail from anywhere to be pitched on board at late hours of the night when there was no one to give a receipt for
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.