31 OCTOBER 1891, Page 21

The Parachute, and other Bad Shots. Written by J. R.

Johnson ; pictured by C. E. Brock. (Routledge and Sons.)—This is one of the cleverest books of the kind that we have seen for some time. The verse is fairly good, the drawing excellent, especially in the first piece, " The Parachute," though we may observe that the young hero as he is pictured on p. 6, is older than he appears on p. 16. Among the shorter pieces, mostly in the style invented by Mr. Lear, perhaps the best is " Ancestral Descent." We can only give the words :— " There was an eccentric old gent Who boasted his ancient descent, In fact you could trace

From the cast of his face How far back his pedigree went."

The two monkeys who look on from above are certainly like relatives.