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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15413-8.txt b/15413-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..98e7701 --- /dev/null +++ b/15413-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5921 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes + Historical, Literary, and Humorous--A New Selection + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 19, 2005 [EBook #15413] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES *** + + + + +Produced by Elaine Walker and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES. + + +HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND HUMOROUS. + +A NEW SELECTION. + +BURNS & OATES. +LONDON: GRANVILLE MANSIONS. +NEW YORK: BARCLAY STREET. + + + + +INDEX. + + +Abernethy, 26 + +Abon Hannifah, 39 + +ACTORS, 27-33 + +Adam, Dr., and the Schoolboy, 106 + +AFFECTION, 1-5 + +Aguesseau, D', Chancellor of France, 115 + +Alban's, Duchess of, and the Sailor, 28 + +Algerine Captain, 119 + +Alphonsus, King of Naples, 39 + +American Heroines, 135 + +Amour, St., General, 1 + +André, St., Marquis de, 90 + +ARTISTS, 5-9 + +Astley Cooper, 26 + +Atterbury, in the House of Peers, 113 + + +Bakers, The, of Lyons, 18 + +Bailly, Miss--Escape of the Pretender, 94 + +Bannister, 19 + +Bautru and the Spanish Librarian, 77 + +Bayard, The Chevalier, 80 + +Beauvais, Ladies of, 118 + +BEGGING, 10 + +Belmont, Countess de, 45 + +Benbow and the Wounded Sailor, 101 + +BENEVOLENCE, 11-13 + +Ben Jonson at Dinner, 21 + +Bernard, Father, 88 + +Bishop and Clerks, 104 + +BOOKS, 13-16 + +Boufflers, Marshal, 120 + +Bouille, Marquis de, 121 + +Boutteville, Count de, and the Soldier, 81 + +Boutibonne, M., Imaginary Accident, 58 + +Breton Peasants, 48 + +Brougham, Lord--Examination of a Witness, 70 + +Budæus, 76 + +Buffon and his Servant, 115 + +Busby, Dr., and the Scholar, 106 + + +Cajeta, Siege of, 51 + +Camden, Lord, in the Stocks, 73 + +Camerons and Christians, 117 + +Campo, Marquess del, and George III., 93 + +Candle Light, War by, 120 + +Canning and the Preacher, 125 + +Carteret, Lady, and Dean Swift, 132 + +Carving Accident, 90 + +Catalogue Making, 15 + +Chamillart the French Lawyer, 70 + +Chantrey--First sculpture, 9 + +CHARITY, 18 + +Charles II. and Killigrew, 63 + +Charles V. of France, 64 + +Charles VI. of Austria, 122 + +Charles XII. and his Secretary, 119 + +Charlotte, Princess, 54 + +Chatillon, Admiral, and the Beggar, 10 + +Cherin, General, 109 + +Child and Goat, 103 + +China Ware, 129 + +Christmas Pudding Extraordinary, 20 + +Clerambault and La Fontaine, 126 + +Cobbler of Leyden, The, 114 + +Cochrane, Sir John, 46 + +Cochrane, Lord, 56 + +Coleridge's "Watchman", 107 + +Coleridge and his Dinner Companion, 126 + +Conjugal Affection--French Troops in Italy, 4 + +Cornwallis, Admiral, and the Mutineers, 105 + +Crimean Captain, 111 + +Curran + and Dr. Boyse, 40 + and the Jockey, 67 + and the Farmer, 69 + his Witty Replies, 70 + +Cuvier and his Visitors, 116 + + +Day, Thomas, and Sir W. Jones, 72 + +Deaf and Dumb Mother, 1 + +Denon and Defoe, 16 + +Dey of Algiers and Admiral Keppel, 104 + +Dickens--Origin of "Boz", 15 + +Dictionaries, 14 + +Dieppe Pilot, 43 + +DINNERS, 19-22 + +DOCTORS, 22-27 + +Domat, Judge, and the Poor Widow, 11 + +Douglas, The, 47 + +DRAMA, The, 27-33 + +Dreaming, 129 + +Drummond, Provost, 52 + +Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pitt--a Dispute in Bed, 86 + +Duncan, Admiral, 121 + +DUTY, 34 + +Duval, the Librarian, 77 + + +Edinburgh--Spoiled Street, 130 + +Erskine and Lord Kellie, 126 + +Erskine, Legal Anecdotes of, 67-68 + +Eveillan, Archdeacon of Angers, 57 + + +Faithful Depositary, 37 + +Faithful Domestic, 36 + +Falkland, Lord, and the House of Commons, 86 + +Family Sacrifice--French Revolution, 4 + +Fear of Death, 58 + +Fenelon, Archbishop--his Humanity, 56 + +FIDELITY, 35-37 + +Fielding, Sir J., and the Irishman, 71 + +Filial Affection--French Boy, 2 + +Fletcher, of Saltown, and his Footman, 113 + +Fontenelle, 37, 38 + +Fools, 38 + +Foote, the Actor, 33 + +FORGIVENESS, 39 + +Fouché and Napoleon, 91 + +Francis I. and his Fool, 38 + +Frederick the Great + and the Page, 61 + and the Soldier, 62 + and the Deserter, 62 + his Arguments, 62 + +French + Curate--Forgiveness, 39 + Peasant Girl, 45 + Officer in Flanders, 77 + Officer in Spain, 77 + Servant + at Noyon, 95 + of La Vendée, 91 + +FRIENDS, 40 + + +Gainsborough--Picture of the Pigs, 6 + +Garrick and Rich, 33 + +Garrick and Sir J. Reynolds, 115 + +Gendarmes and Priest, 91 + +George + I. and the Lieutenant, 121 + II. + and the Dutch-Innkeeper, 64 + and the Court Martial, 122 + III. + --Punctuality, 64 + Carbonel the Wine Merchant, 65 + The Horse Dealer, 66 + Memorial to a Servant, 66 + Treatment of a Caricature, 66 + and Lord Lothian, 102 + +Ghosts, 42 + +Gibbet, Sight of a, 117 + +Gin _versus_ Drugs, 25 + +Glynn, Dr., and the Magpie, 12 + +Gonsalvo de Cordova, 119 + +Goldsmith's Marlow, 32 + +Gooch, Sir W., and the Negro, 90 + +GRATITUDE, 40 + +Gregory, Dr., a Militiaman, 38 + +Granby, Marquis of, and the Lord-in-Waiting, 108 + +Grancé, Count de, and the Cannon Ball, 112 + +Grenadier, French, 121 + +Grog, 103 + +Guise, Colonel, 24 + + +H., Letter, Use of, 14 + +Haddock, Admiral, 102 + +Handel, 82 + +Hanging Judge, The, 73 + +Hanway, Jonas, and the Coachman, 107 + +Hawker, Colonel, and the French Officer, 77 + +Haydn, 84 + +Heavy Play, A, 28 + +Heber's Palestine, 14 + +Henderson and the Actor, 113 + +Henri IV. and D'Aubigné, 40 + +HEROISM, 43 + +Hill, + Sergeant, 75 + Rowland, 101 + +Hogarth--Picture of the Red Sea, 9 + +Hood, Sir S., 57 + +HOSPITALITY, 48 + +Hough, Dr., and the Barometer, 114 + +Housemaid, Presence of mind of a, 92 + +Hulet, the Comedian, 31 + +HUMANITY, 51-57 + +Hume's Speeches, 86 + +Huntly, Marquis of, and James VI., 95 + +Ice, Custom-house doubt, 70 + +IMAGINATION, 58 + + +James I. + and the Courtier, 38 + in Westminster Hall, 60 + and the Earl of Scarborough, 96 + +James IV. of Scotland and the Robbers, 92 + +John Gilpin, Origin of, 14 + +Johnson, Dr., + and the Hare, 49 + and Wilkes, 60 + and Lord Elibank, 60 + reply to Miller, 60 + +Judge, A Benevolent, 11 + + +Kaimes, Lord, and the Sheepstealer, 75 + +Kean, Charles, 29 + +Kennedies, The, 36 + +Keppel, Admiral, at Algiers, 104 + +KINGS, 60 + +Kirwan, Dr., 20 + +Kosciusko, 19 + + +Labat, Mons. of Bayonne, 47 + +Lady and Highwayman, 100 + +Lamb, Counsellor, 72 + +Lamb, Charles, and the Farmer, 116 + +LAW AND LAWYERS, 66-75 + +Lely the Painter, and the Alderman, 6 + +Lessing, 130 + +Lettsom, Dr., and the Highwayman, 101 + +LIBRARIANS, 76 + +Lisieux, Bishop of, 53 + +Liston, 27 + +Long and Short Barristers, 74 + +Longueville, Duke of, 40 + +Louis, + St., 78 + XII. and the Composer, 63 + XIV. and the Comte de Grammont, 62 + and Lord Stair, 63 + and the Eddystone Workmen, 63 + +Lyndhurst, Lord,--Retirement from Office, 87 + + +Mackenzie, General, 34 + +Maclaurin and his Pupils, 130 + +MAGNANIMITY, 77-81 + +Mariè Antoinette, 40 + +Maximilian I. and the Beggar, 11 + +Mayor, + An English, 89 + A French, 89 + +Memory, Artificial, 127 + +Mimicry, 30 + +Miner, Swedish, 3 + +Molière and the Doctors, 23 + +Monkey, A Grenadier, 123 + +Montaigne on Doctors, 23 + +Montesquieu, M. de, 55 + +Morand and the Critics, 33 + +Morland the Painter, 6 + +Morvilliers and Charles IX., 34 + +Motte, M. de la, and the Critics, 28 + +Mozart, 84 + +Mungo Park and the African Woman, 50 + +MUSICIANS, 82-85 + +Mysterious Benefactor, 19 + + +Napoleon Bonaparte, 17, 18, 91, 110 + +Nash and the Doctor, 25 + +Navy Chaplains, 104 + +Neckar and the Corporation of Paris, 51 + +Nelson, Lord--Punctuality, 98 + +Nena Sahib and the Devil, 107 + +Nevailles, Marshal de, 48 + +Norton, Sir F. and Lord Mansfield, 72 + + +O'Brien, Lieutenant, 102 + +Old Age secured--the Irish Beggar, 11 + +Old Ambrose, 35 + +O'Neil, Sir Phelim, 78 + +Orkney, Countess of, 1 + +Orleans, Duke of, 39 + +Ossuna, Duke of, and the Felon, 100 + + +Parisian Stockbroker, 128 + +Parisian Ragman, 127 + +PARLIAMENT, 86-88 + +PATIENCE, 88 + +Pepusch, Dr., 116 + +Peterborough, Lord, and the Mob, 91 + +Peter the Great, 71, 113 + +Philadelphian Lady, 128 + +Philip II. of Spain, 88 + +Physicians in China, 23 + +Pitt, and the Duke of Newcastle, 86 + +Pius IX., and the Attorney, 12 + +POETS, 89 + +Polignac, Compte de, 17 + +Politeness, 89 + +Poor-man-of-mutton, 21 + +Pope the Poet, 125 + +Presence of Mind, 90-95 + +Prideaux--Life of Mahomet, 13 + +PUNCTUALITY, 98 + + +Quartering upon the Enemy, 111 + +Quick the Actor, 32 + + +Racine and his Family, 3 + +Ragged Regiment, 118 + +RANK AND ANCESTRY, 95 + +Reclaimed Robbers, 101 + +Rejected Addresses, The, 125 + +Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 5 + +Richardson--opinion of a Picture, 5 + +Rivardes and the Wooden Leg, 111 + +ROBBERS, 100 + +Robert, King of France, 114 + +Ross, Lord, 124 + + +SAILORS, 101-105 + +Savage Dr., and the Pope, 132 + +Savoie, Magdeline De, 110 + +Schaumbourg, Count, 117 + +SCHOOLS, 105 + +Scott, Sir W. + --Punctuality, 99 + and the Beggar, 11 + and the Inn-keeper, 109 + +Scott, Mr., of Exeter, 98 + +Selwyn, G., and the Traveller, 116 + +Senesino and Farinelli, 30 + +Sentinel on the Stage, 31 + +SERVANTS, 107 + +Shaving a Queen, 27 + +Sheridan, Dr., and the Scholar, 105 + +Sheridan, 88, 132, 133 + +Sidney, Sir Philip, 53 + +Signboards, 109 + +Sion College, and George III., 131 + +Sir and Sire, 17 + +Sisters of Charity, 129 + +Smith, Sydney, Charity Sermon, 125 + +Smiths, The Two, 126 + +SOLDIERS, 109-112 + +Sporting, 134 + +Stackelberg, Baron Von, 54 + +Steele and Addison, 124 + +Sterne and the Old Woman, 134 + +Strasburgh Lawyer, A, 68 + +Suwarrow, Marshall, 110 + +Swift, Dean, 10, 21, 22, 109, 131 + + +Talleyrand, Madame de, 16 + +Tantara, and the Landscape, 9 + +TEMPER, 113 + +Tenterden, Lord, 74 + +Thelwall and Erskine, 71 + +"They're all Out", 87 + +Thomson the Poet, and Quin, 15 + +Thurot, Admiral, 79 + +TIME, Value of, 115 + +TRAVELLING, 116 + +Turenne, Marshal, 112 + +Turner, The Painter, 6 + +Tyrolese Heroine, 136 + + +Van Dyke, 40 + +Vendean Servant, 91 + +Vernet--Picture of St. Jerome, 8 + +Villars, Marshal, 110 + +Villecerf, Madame de, 22 + +Voisin, Chancellor of Louis XIX., 34 + + +Wager, Sir C., and the Doctors, 25 + +WAR, 117-124 + +Wardlaw, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, 49 + +Weeping at a Play, 31 + +Welch Dispute, A, 97 + +West, the Painter, 7 + +William III., and St. Evremond, 131 + +Willie Law, 22 + +Wise, Dr., and the Parliament, 131 + + +Ximenes, Cardinal, 123 + + +"Yellow Cabriolet," The, 28 + +York, Duke of, and the Housekeeper, 108 + + +Zimmerman, 23 + + + + +ANECDOTES. + + + + +AFFECTION. + + +General St. Amour.--This officer, who distinguished himself in the Imperial +service, was the son of a poor Piedmontese peasant, but he never forgot his +humble extraction. While the army was in Piedmont, he invited his principal +officers to an entertainment, when his father happened to arrive just as +they were sitting down to table. This being announced to the general, he +immediately rose, and stated to his guests his father's arrival. He said he +knew the respect he owed to them, but at the same time he hoped they would +excuse him if he withdrew, and dined with his father in another room. The +guests begged that the father might be introduced, assuring him that they +should be happy to see one so nearly related to him; but he replied, "Ah, +no, gentlemen; my father would find himself so embarrassed in company so +unsuited to his rank, that it would deprive us both of the only pleasure of +the interview--the unrestrained intercourse of a parent and his son." He +then retired, and passed the evening with his father. + + +The Deaf and Dumb Mother.--The late Countess of Orkney, who died at an +advanced age, was deaf and dumb, and was married in 1753 by signs. She +resided with her husband at his seat, Rostellan, near Cork. Shortly after +the birth of her first child, the nurse saw the mother cautiously approach +the cradle in which the infant lay asleep, evidently full of some deep +design. The Countess, having first assured herself that her babe was fast +asleep, took from under her shawl a large stone, which had purposely been +concealed there, and, to the utter horror of the nurse, who largely shared +the popular notion that all dumb persons are possessed of peculiar cunning +and malignity, raised it up, as if to enable her to dash it down with +greater force. Before the nurse could interpose to prevent what she +believed would bring certain death to the sleeping and unconscious child, +the dreadful stone was flung, not at the cradle, however, but upon the +ground, and fell with great violence. The noise awakened the child. The +Countess was overjoyed, and, in the fulness of a mother's heart, she fell +upon her knees to express her thankfulness that her beloved infant +possessed a blessing denied to herself--the sense of hearing. This lady +often gave similar indications of superior intelligence, though we can +believe that few of them equalled the present in interest. + + +Filial Affection.--A veteran, worn out in the service of France, was left +without a pension, although he had a wife and three children to share his +wretchedness. His son was placed at _L'Ecole militaire_, where he might +have enjoyed every comfort, but the strongest persuasion could not induce +him to taste anything but coarse bread and water. The Duke de Choiseul +being informed of the circumstance, ordered the boy before him, and +enquired the reason of his abstemiousness. The boy, with a manly fortitude, +replied, "Sir, when I had the honour of being admitted to this royal +foundation, my father conducted me hither. We came on foot: on our journey +the demands of nature were relieved by bread and water. I was received. My +father blessed me, and returned to the protection of a helpless wife and +family. As long as I can remember, bread of the blackest kind, with water, +has been their daily subsistence, and even that is earned by every species +of labour that honour does not forbid. To this fare, sir, my father is +reduced; and while he, my mother, and my sisters, are compelled to endure +such wretchedness, is it possible that I can enjoy the plenty which my +sovereign has provided for me?" The duke felt this tale of nature, gave the +boy three louis d'ors for pocket-money, and promised to procure the father +a pension. The boy begged the louis d'ors might be sent to his father, +which, with the patent of his pension, was immediately done. The boy was +patronised by the duke, and became one of the best officers in the service +of France. + + +Racine.--The celebrated French poet, Racine, having one day returned from +Versailles, where he had been on a visit, was waited upon by a gentleman +with an invitation to dine at the Hotel de Condé. "I cannot possibly do +myself that honour," said the poet; "it is some time since I have been with +my family; they are overjoyed to see me again, and have provided a fine +carp; so that I must dine with my dear wife and children." "But my good +sir," replied the gentleman, "several of the most distinguished characters +in the kingdom expect your company, and will be anxious to see you." On +this, Racine brought out the carp and showed it to his visitor, saying, +"Here, sir, is our little meal; then say, having provided such a treat for +me, what apology could I make for not dining with my poor children? Neither +they nor my wife could have any pleasure in eating a bit of it without me; +then pray be so obliging as to mention my excuse to the Prince of Condé and +my other illustrious friends." The gentleman did so; and not only His +Serene Highness, but all the company present, professed themselves +infinitely more charmed with this proof of the poet's affection as a +husband and a father, than they possibly could have been with his +delightful conversation. + + +Touching Recognition.--Some years ago, in making a new communication +between two shafts of a mine at Fahkin, the capital of Delecarlia, the body +of a miner was discovered by the workmen in a state of perfect +preservation, and impregnated with vitriolic water. It was quite soft, but +hardened on being exposed to the air. No one could identify the body: it +was merely remembered that the accident, by which he had thus been buried +in the bosom of the earth, had taken place above fifty years ago. All +enquiries about the name of the sufferer had already ceased, when a +decrepid old woman, supported on crutches, slowly advanced towards the +corpse, and knew it to be that of a young man to whom she had been +promised in marriage more than half a century ago. She threw herself on the +corpse, which had all the appearance of a bronze statue, bathed it with her +tears, and fainted with joy at having once more beheld the object of her +affections. One can with difficulty realize the singular contrast afforded +by that couple--the one buried above fifty years ago, still retaining the +appearance of youth; while the other, weighed down by age, evinced all the +fervency of youthful affections. + + +Family Sacrifice.--During the French revolution, Madame Saintmaraule, with +her daughter, and a youth, her son, not yet of age, were confined in prison +and brought to trial. The mother and daughter behaved with resolution, and +were sentenced to die; but of the youth no notice was taken, and he was +remanded to prison. "What!" exclaimed the boy, "am I then to be separated +from my mother? It cannot be!" and immediately he cried out, "_Vive le +Roi!_" In consequence of this, he was condemned to death, and, with his +mother and his sister, was led out to execution. + + +Expedient of Conjugal Affection.--Napoleon used to relate an anecdote +shewing the conjugal affection of some women who accompanied his troops +when he was at Col de Tende. To enter this mountainous and difficult +country, it was necessary for the soldiers to pass over a narrow bridge, +and, as the enterprise was a hazardous one, Napoleon had given orders that +no women should be permitted to cross it with them. To enforce this order, +two captains were stationed on the bridge with instructions, on pain of +death, not to suffer a woman to pass. The passage was effected, and the +troops continued their march. When some miles beyond the bridge, the +Emperor was greatly astonished at the appearance of a considerable number +of women with the soldiers. He immediately ordered the two captains to be +put under arrest, intending to have them tried for a breach of duty. The +prisoners protested their innocence, and stoutly asserted that no women had +crossed the bridge. Napoleon, on hearing this, commanded that some of the +women should be brought before him, when he interrogated them on the +subject. To his utter surprise they readily acknowledged that the captains +had not betrayed their trust, but that a contrivance of their own had +brought them into their present situation. They informed Napoleon, that +having taken the provisions, which had been prepared for the support of the +army, out of some of the casks, they had concealed themselves in them, and +by this stratagem succeeded in passing the bridge without discovery. + + + + +ARTISTS. + + +Sir Joshua Reynolds.--"What do you ask for this sketch?" said Sir Joshua to +an old picture-dealer, whose portfolio he was looking over. "Twenty +guineas, your honour." "Twenty pence, I suppose you mean?" "No, sir; it is +true I would have taken twenty pence for it this morning, but if _you_ +think it worth looking at, all the world will think it worth buying." Sir +Joshua ordered him to send the sketch home, and gave him the money. + + +Ditto.--Two gentlemen were at a coffee-house, when the discourse fell upon +Sir Joshua Reynold's painting; one of them said that "his tints were +admirable, but the colours _flew_." It happened that Sir Joshua was in the +next box, who taking up his hat, accosted them thus, with a low +bow--"Gentlemen, I return you many thanks for bringing me off with _flying +colours_." + + +Richardson, in his anecdotes of painting, says, a gentleman came to me to +invite me to his house: "I have," says he, "a picture of Rubens, and it is +a rare good one. There is little H. the other day came to see it, and says +it is _a copy_. If any one says so again, I'll _break his head_. Pray, Mr. +Richardson, will you do me the favour to come, and give me _your real +opinion of it?_" + + +Gainsborough.--A countryman was shown Gainsborough's celebrated picture of +"The Pigs." "To be sure," said he, "they be deadly like pigs; but there is +one fault; nobody ever saw three pigs feeding together but what one on 'em +had a foot in the trough." + + +Turner.--Once, at a dinner, where several artists, amateurs and literary +men were convened, a poet, by way of being facetious, proposed as a toast +the health of the _painters and glaziers_ of Great Britain. The toast was +drunk, and Turner, after returning thanks for it, proposed the health of +the British _paper-stainers_. + + +Lely and the Alderman.--Sir Peter Lely, a famous painter in the reign of +Charles I., agreed for the price of a full-length, which he was to draw for +a rich alderman of London, who was not indebted to nature either for shape +or face. When the picture was finished, the alderman endeavoured to beat +down the price; alleging that if he did not purchase it, it would lie on +the painter's hands. "That's a mistake," replied Sir Peter, "for I can sell +it at double the price I demand."--"How can that be?" says the alderman; +"for it is like nobody but myself."--"But I will draw a tail to it, and +then it will be an excellent monkey." The alderman, to prevent exposure, +paid the sum agreed for, and carried off the picture. + + +Morland.--It is well known that Morland the painter used to go on an +expedition with a companion sometimes without a guinea, or perhaps scarcely +a shilling, to defray the expenses of their journey; and thus they were +often reduced to an unpleasant and ludicrous dilemma. On one occasion the +painter was travelling in Kent, in company with a relative, and finding +their cash exhausted, while at a distance from their destination, they were +compelled to exert their wits, for the purpose of recruiting themselves +after a long and fatiguing march. As they approached Canterbury, a homely +village ale-house caught their eye; and the itinerant artists hailed, with +delight, the sign of the Black Bull, which indicated abundance of home-made +bread and generous ale. They entered, and soon made considerable havoc +among the good things of mine host, who, on reckoning up, found that they +had consumed as much bread, cheese and ale, as amounted to _12s. 6d._ +Morland now candidly informed his host that they were two poor painters +going in search of employment, and that they had spent all their money. He, +however, added that, as the sign of the Bull was a disgraceful daub for so +respectable a house, he would have no objection to repaint it, as a set-off +for what he and his companion had received. The landlord, who had long been +wishing for a new sign (the one in question having passed through two +generations), gladly accepted his terms, and Morland immediately went to +work. The next day the Bull was sketched in such a masterly manner that the +landlord was enraptured; he supplied his guests with more provisions, and +generously gave them money for their subsequent expenses. About three +months after a gentleman well acquainted with Morland's works, accidentally +passing through the village, recognised it instantly to be the production +of that inimitable painter: he stopped, and was confirmed in his opinion, +by the history which the landlord gave of the transaction. In short, he +purchased the sign of him for twenty pounds; the landlord was struck with +admiration at his liberality; but this identical painting was some time +afterwards sold at a public auction for the sum of _one hundred guineas!_ + + +When Benjamin West was seven years old, he was left, one summer day, with +the charge of an infant niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was engaged +in fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased the child, and +caused it to smile. Attracted by the charms thus created, young West felt +his instinctive passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen and some red and +black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and made his first attempt at +portrait painting. Just as he had finished his maiden task, his mother and +sister entered. He tried to conceal what he had done, but his confusion +arrested his mother's attention, and she asked him what he had been doing. +With reluctance and timidity, he handed her the paper, begging, at the same +time, that she would not be offended. Examining the drawing for a short +time, she turned to her daughter, and, with a smile, said, "I declare he +has made a likeness of Sally." She then gave him a fond kiss, which so +encouraged him that he promised her some drawings of the flowers which she +was then holding, if she wished to have them. The next year a cousin sent +him a box of colours and pencils, with large quantities of canvas prepared +for the easel, and half a dozen engravings. Early the next morning he took +his materials into the garret, and for several days forgot all about +school. His mother suspected that the box was the cause of his neglect of +his books, and going into the garret and finding him busy at a picture, she +was about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of his compositions, +and her anger cooled at once. She was so pleased with them that she loaded +him with kisses, and promised to secure his father's pardon for his neglect +of school. The world is much indebted to Mrs. West for her early and +constant encouragement of the talent of her son. He often used to say, +after his reputation was established, "_My mothers kiss made me a +painter!_" + + +Vernet relates, that he was once employed to paint a landscape, with a +cave, and St. Jerome in it; he accordingly painted the landscape with St. +Jerome at the entrance of the cave. When he delivered the picture, the +purchaser, who understood nothing of perspective, said, "the landscape and +the cave are well made, but St. Jerome is not _in_ the cave."--"I +understand you, sir," replied Vernet, "I will alter it." He therefore took +the painting, and made the shade darker, so that the saint seemed to sit +farther in. The gentleman took the painting; but it again appeared to him +that the saint was not actually in the cave. Vernet then wiped out the +figure, and gave it to the gentleman, who seemed perfectly satisfied. +Whenever he saw strangers to whom he showed the picture, he said, "Here you +see a picture by Vernet, with St. Jerome in the cave." "But we cannot see +the saint," replied the visitors. "Excuse me, gentlemen," answered the +possessor, "he is there; for I saw him standing at the entrance, and +afterwards farther back; and am therefore quite sure that he is in it." + + +Hogarth.--A nobleman, not remarkable for generosity, sent for Hogarth and +desired that he would represent on one of the compartments of his +staircase, Pharoah and his host drowned in the Red Sea. At the same time he +hinted that no great price would be given for the performance. Hogarth +however agreed. Soon afterwards he applied for payment to his employer, who +seeing that the space allotted for the picture had only been daubed over +with red, declared he had no idea of paying a painter when he had proceeded +no farther than to lay his ground. "Ground!" exclaimed Hogarth, "there is +no _ground_ in the case, my lord, it is all sea. The red you perceive is +the Red Sea. Pharoah and his host are drowned as you desired, and cannot be +made objects of sight, for the sea covers them all." + + +Tantara, the celebrated landscape painter, was a man of ready wit, but he +once met his match. An amateur had ordered a landscape for his gallery, in +which there was to be a church. Our painter did not know how to draw +figures well, so he put none in the landscape. The amateur was astonished +at the truthfulness and colouring of the picture, but he missed the +figures. "You have forgotten to put in any figures," said he, laughingly. +"Sir," replied the painter, "_the people are gone to mass_." "Oh, well," +replied the amateur, "I will wait and take your picture _when they come +out_." + + +Chantrey's First Sculpture.--Chantrey, when a boy, used to take milk to +Sheffield on an ass. To those not used to seeing and observing such things, +it may be necessary to state that the boys generally carry a good thick +stick, with a hooked or knobbed end, with which they belabour their asses +sometimes unmercifully. On a certain day, when returning home, riding on +his ass, Chantrey was observed by a gentleman to be intently engaged in +cutting a stick with his penknife, and, excited by curiosity, he asked the +lad what he was doing, when, with great simplicity of manner, but with +courtesy, he replied, "I am cutting _old Fox's head_." Fox was the +schoolmaster of the village. On this, the gentleman asked to see what he +had done, pronounced it to be an excellent likeness, and presented the +youth with _sixpence_. This may, perhaps, be reckoned the first money +Chantry ever obtained in the way of his _art_. + + + + +BEGGING. + + +Admiral Chatillon had gone one day to hear mass in the Dominican Friars' +chapel; a poor fellow came and begged his charity. He was at the moment +occupied with his devotions, and he gave him several pieces of gold from +his pocket, without counting them, or thinking what they were. The large +amount astonished the beggar, and as M. Chatillon was going out of the +church-door, the poor man waited for him: "Sir," said he, showing him what +he had given him, "I cannot think that you intended to give me so large a +sum, and am very ready to return it." The admiral, admiring the honesty of +the man, said, "I did not, indeed, my good man, intend to have given you so +much; but, since you have the generosity to offer to return it, I will have +the generosity to desire you to keep it; and here are five pieces more for +you." + + +A Beggar's Wedding.--Dean Swift being in the country, on a visit to Dr. +Sheridan, they were informed that a beggar's wedding was about to be +celebrated. Sheridan played well upon the violin; Swift therefore proposed +that he should go to the place where the ceremony was to be performed, +disguised as a blind fiddler, while he attended him as his man. Thus +accoutred they set out, and were received by the jovial crew with great +acclamation. They had plenty of good cheer, and never was a more joyous +wedding seen. All was mirth and frolic; the beggars told stories, played +tricks, cracked jokes, sung and danced, in a manner which afforded high +amusement to the fiddler and his man, who were well rewarded when they +departed, which was not till late in the evening. The next day the Dean and +Sheridan walked out in their usual dress, and found many of their late +companions, hopping about upon crutches, or pretending to be blind, pouring +forth melancholy complaints and supplications for charity. Sheridan +distributed among them the money he had received; but the Dean, who hated +all mendicants, fell into a violent passion, telling them of his adventure +of the preceding day, and threatening to send every one of them to prison. +This had such an effect, that the blind opened their eyes, and the lame +threw away their crutches, running away as fast as their legs could carry +them. + + +Old Age Secured.--As Sir Walter Scott was riding once with a friend in the +neighbourhood of Abbotsford, he came to a field gate, which an Irish beggar +who happened to be near hastened to open for him. Sir Walter was desirous +of rewarding his civility by the present of sixpence, but found that he had +not so small a coin in his purse. "Here, my good fellow," said the baronet, +"here is a shilling for you; but mind, you owe me sixpence." "God bless +your honour!" exclaimed Pat: "may your honour live till I pay you." + + +Maximilian I.--A beggar once asked alms of the Emperor Maximilian I., who +bestowed upon him a small coin. The beggar appeared dissatisfied with the +smallness of the gift, and on being asked why, he replied that it was a +very little sum for an emperor, and that his highness should remember that +we were all descended from one father, and were therefore all _brothers_. +Maximilian smiled good-humouredly, and replied: "Go--go, my good man: if +each of your brothers gives you as much as I have done, you will very soon +be far richer than me." + + + + +BENEVOLENCE. + + +A Benevolent Judge.--The celebrated Anthony Domat, author of a treatise on +the civil laws, was promoted to the office of judge of the provincial court +of Clermont, in the territory of Auvergne, in the south of France. In this +court he presided, with general applause, for twenty-four years. One day a +poor widow brought an action against the Baron de Nairac, her landlord, +for turning her out of her mill, which was the poor creature's sole +dependence. M. Domat heard the cause, and finding by the evidence that she +had ignorantly broken a covenant in the lease which gave her landlord the +power of re-entry, he recommended mercy to the baron for a poor but honest +tenant, who had not wilfully transgressed, or done him any material injury. +Nairac being inexorable, the judge was compelled to pronounce an ejectment, +with the penalty mentioned in the lease and costs of suit; but he could not +pronounce the decree without tears. When an order of seizure, both of +person and effects was added, the poor widow exclaimed, "O merciful and +righteous God, be thou a friend to the widow and her helpless orphans!" and +immediately fainted away. The compassionate judge assisted in raising the +unfortunate woman, and after enquiring into her character, number of +children, and other circumstances, generously presented her with one +hundred louis d'ors, the amount of the damages and costs, which he +prevailed upon the baron to accept as a full compensation, and to let the +widow again enter upon her mill. The poor widow anxiously enquired of M. +Domat when he would require payment, that she might lay up accordingly. +"When my conscience (he replied) shall tell me that I have done an improper +act." + + +Pope Pius IX.--An advocate, the father of a large family, fell into ill +health, and soon afterwards into want. Pius IX., hearing of this, sent a +messenger with a letter to the advocate, but he was at first refused +admittance, on the ground that the physician had enjoined the utmost quiet. +On the messenger explaining from whom he came he was admitted, and, on the +letter being opened, what was the surprise of the family on finding within +300 scudi (£62), with the words, "For the advocate ...--Pius IX.," in the +pontiff's own handwriting. + + +Dr. Glynn was remarkable for many acts of kindness to poor persons. He had +attended a sick family in the fens near Cambridge for a considerable time, +and had never thought of any recompense for his skill and trouble but the +satisfaction of being able to do good. One day he heard a noise on the +college staircase, and his servant brought him word that the poor woman +from the fens waited upon him with a _magpie_, of which she begged his +acceptance. This at first a little discomposed the doctor. Of all presents, +a magpie was the least acceptable to him, as he had a hundred loose things +about his rooms, which the bird, if admitted, was likely to make free with. +However, his good nature soon returned: he considered the woman's +intention, and ordered her to be shown in. "I am obliged to you for +thinking of me, good woman," said he, "but you must excuse my not taking +your bird, as it would occasion me a great deal of trouble." "Pray, +doctor," answered the woman, "do, pray, be pleased to have it. My husband, +my son, and myself have been long consulting together in what way we could +show our thankfulness to you, and we could think of nothing better than to +give you our favourite bird. We would not part with it to any other person +upon earth. We shall be sadly hurt if you refuse our present." "Well, well, +my good woman," said Dr. Glynn, "if that is the case, I must have the bird; +but do you, as you say you are so fond of it, take it back again, and keep +it for me, and I will allow you eighteenpence a week for the care of it. I +shall have the pleasure of seeing it every time I come." This allowance Dr. +G. punctually paid as long as the bird lived. + + + + +BOOKS. + + +An Odd Fault.--It is said that when the learned Humphrey Prideaux offered +his Life of Mahomet to the bookseller, he was desired to leave the copy +with him for a few days, for his perusal. The bookseller said to the doctor +at his return, "Well, Mr. What's your Name, I have perused your manuscript; +I don't know what to say of it; I believe I shall venture to print it; the +thing is well enough; but I could wish there were a little more _humour_ in +it." This story is otherwise told in a note in Swift's works, where the +book is said to have been Prideaux's "Connexion of the History of the Old +and New Testament," in which, it must be confessed, the difficulty of +introducing _humour_ is more striking. + + +Dictionaries.--Dr. Johnson, while compiling his dictionary, sent a note to +the _Gentleman's Magazine_, to inquire the etymology of the word +CURMUDGEON. Having obtained the desired information, he thus recorded in +his work his obligation to an anonymous writer: "CURMUDGEON, _s._ a vicious +way of pronouncing _coeur mechant_. An unknown correspondent." Ash copied +the word into his dictionary, in the following manner: CURMUDGEON, from the +French, _coeur_, "unknown," and _mechant_, "correspondent!" + + +Heber's Palestine.--When Reginald Heber read his prize poem, "Palestine," +to Sir Walter Scott, the latter observed that, in the verses on Solomon's +Temple, one striking circumstance had escaped him, namely, that no tools +were used in its erection. Reginald retired for a few minutes to the corner +of the room, and returned with the beautiful lines:-- + + "No hammer fell, no ponderous axes rung; + Like some tall palm, the mystic fabric sprung. + Majestic silence," &c. + + +Use of H.--"What has become of your famous General _Eel?_" said the Count +d'Erleon to Mr. Campbell. "Eel," said a bystander, "that is a military fish +I never heard of;" but another at once enlightened his mind by saying to +the count, "General Lord _Hill_ is now Commander-in-Chief of the British +forces!" + + +Cowper's "John Gilpin."--It happened one afternoon, in those years when +Cowper's accomplished friend, Lady Austen, made a part of his little +evening circle, that she observed him sinking into increased dejection. It +was her custom, on these occasions, to try all the resources of her +sprightly powers for his immediate relief, and at this time it occurred to +her to tell him the story of John Gilpin, (which had been treasured in her +memory from her childhood), in order to dissipate the gloom of the passing +hour. Its effects on the fancy of Cowper had the air of enchantment. He +informed her the next morning that convulsions of laughter, brought on by +his recollection of her story, had kept him waking during the greatest part +of the night! and that he had turned it into a ballad. So arose the +pleasant poem of "John Gilpin." + + +Catalogue Making.--Mr. Nichols, in the fourth vol. of his _Literary +Anecdotes_, mentions that Dr. Taylor, who was librarian at Cambridge, about +the year 1732, used to relate of himself that one day throwing books in +heaps for the purpose of classing and arranging them, he put one among +works on _Mensuration_, because his eye caught the word _height_ in the +title-page; and another which had the word _salt_ conspicuous, he threw +among books on Chemistry or Cookery. But when he began a regular +classification, it appeared that the former was "Longinus on the Sublime," +and the other a "Theological Discourse on the _Salt_ of the World, that +good Christians ought to be seasoned with." Thus, too, in a catalogue +published about twenty years ago, the "Flowers of Ancient Literature" are +found among books on Gardening and Botany, and "Burton's Anatomy of +Melancholy" is placed among works on Medicine and Surgery. + + +Dickens' Origin of "Boz."--A fellow passenger with Mr. Dickens, in the +_Britannia_ steam-ship, across the Atlantic, inquired of the author the +origin of his signature "Boz." Mr. Dickens replied that he had a little +brother who resembled so much the Moses in the _Vicar of Wakefield_, that +he used to call him Moses also; but a younger girl, who could not then +articulate plainly, was in the habit of calling him Bozie or Boz. This +simple circumstance made him assume that name in the first article he +risked before the public, and as the first effort was approved of he +continued the name. + + +Thomson and Quin.--Thomson the poet, when he first came to London, was in +very narrow circumstances, and was many times put to shifts even for a +dinner. Upon the publication of his Seasons one of his creditors arrested +him, thinking that a proper opportunity to get his money. The report of +this misfortune reached the ears of Quin, who had read the Seasons, but +never seen their author; and he was told that Thompson was in a +spunging-house in Holborn. Thither Quin went, and being admitted into his +chamber, "Sir," said he, "you don't know me, but my name is Quin." Thomson +said, "That, though he could not boast of the honour of a personal +acquaintance, he was no stranger either to his name or his merit;" and +invited him to sit down. Quin then told him he was come to sup with him, +and that he had already ordered the cook to provide supper, which he hoped +he would excuse. When supper was over, and the glass had gone briskly +about, Mr. Quin told him, "It was now time to enter upon business." Thomson +declared he was ready to serve him as far as his capacity would reach, in +anything he should command, (thinking he was come about some affair +relating to the drama). "Sir," says Quin, "you mistake me. I am in your +debt. I owe you a hundred pounds, and I am come to pay you." Thomson, with +a disconsolate air, replied, that, as he was a gentleman whom he had never +offended, he wondered he should seek an opportunity to jest with his +misfortunes. "No," said Quin, raising his voice, "I say I owe you a hundred +pounds, and there it is," (laying a bank note of that value before him). +Thomson, astonished, begged he would explain himself. "Why," says Quin, +"I'll tell you; soon after I had read your Seasons, I took it into my head, +that as I had something to leave behind me when I died, I would make my +will; and among the rest of my legatees I set down the author of the +Seasons for a hundred pounds; and, this day hearing that you were in this +house, I thought I might as well have the pleasure of paying the money +myself, as order my executors to pay it, when, perhaps, you might have less +need of it; and this, Mr. Thomson, is my business." Of course Thomson left +the house in company with his benefactor. + + +Denon and De Foe.--M. de Talleyrand, having one day invited M. Denon, the +celebrated traveller, to dine with him, told his wife to read the work of +his guest, which she would find in the library, in order that she might be +the better able to converse with him. Madame Talleyrand, unluckily, got +hold, by mistake, of the "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," by De Foe, which +she ran over in great haste; and, at dinner, she began to question Denon +about his shipwreck, his island, &c., and, finally, about his man Friday! + + + + +BONAPARTE. + + +Possibility.--Bonaparte was passing along the dreadful road across the +Echelles de Savoie, with his engineer, when he stopped, and pointing to the +mountain, said, "Is it not possible to cut a tunnel through yonder rock, +and to form a more safe and commodious route beneath it?" "It is +_possible_, certainly, sire," replied his scientific companion, "but"--"No +buts;--let it be done, and immediately," replied the Emperor. + + +Sir and Sire.--A petition from the English _deténus_ at Valenciennes was +left for signature at the house of the colonel of gendarmerie, addressed in +a fulsome manner to Bonaparte, under his title of Emperor of the French, +and beginning with "_Sire_." Some unlucky wag took an opportunity of +altering this word into "_Dear Sir_," and nearly caused the whole party to +be imprisoned. + + +Polignac.--Monsieur le Compte de Polignac had been raised to honour by +Bonaparte; but, from some unaccountable motive, betrayed the trust his +patron reposed in him. As soon as Bonaparte discovered the perfidy, he +ordered Polignac to be put under arrest. Next day he was to have been +tried, and in all probability would have been condemned, as his guilt was +undoubted. In the meantime, Madame Polignac solicited and obtained an +audience of the Emperor. "I am sorry, madam, for your sake," said he, "that +your husband has been implicated in an affair which is marked throughout +with such deep ingratitude." "He may not have been so guilty as your +majesty supposes," said the countess. "Do you know your husband's +signature?" asked the Emperor, as he took a letter from his pocket and +presented it to her. Madame de Polignac hastily glanced over the letter, +recognised the writing, and fainted. As soon as she recovered, Bonaparte, +offering her the letter, said, "Take it; it is the only legal evidence +against your husband: there is a fire beside you." Madame de P. eagerly +seized the important document, and in an instant committed it to the +flames. The life of Polignac was saved: his honour it was beyond the power +even of the generosity of an emperor to redeem. + + + + +CHARITY. + + +The Price of Bread.--Some years ago, the bakers of Lyons thought they could +prevail on M. Dugas, the provost of the merchants in that city, to befriend +them at the expense of the public. They waited upon him in a body, and +begged leave to raise the price of bread, which could not be done without +the sanction of the chief magistrate. M. Dugas told them that he would +examine their petition, and give them an early answer. The bakers retired, +having first left upon the table a purse of two hundred louis d'ors. In a +few days the bakers called upon the magistrate for an answer, not in the +least doubting but that the money had effectually pleaded their cause. +"Gentlemen," said M. Dugas, "I have weighed your reasons in the balance of +justice, and I find them light. I do not think that the people ought to +suffer under a pretence of the dearness of corn, which I know to be +unfounded; and as to the purse of money that you left with me, I am sure +that I have made such a generous and noble use of it as you yourself +intended. I have distributed it among the poor objects of charity in our +two hospitals. As you are opulent enough to make such large donations, I +cannot possibly think that you can incur any loss in your business; and I +shall, therefore, continue the price of bread as it was." + + +Kosciusko.--The hero of Poland once wished to send some bottles of good +wine to a clergyman at Solothurn; and as he hesitated to trust them by his +servant, lest he should smuggle a part, he gave the commission to a young +man of the name of Zeltner, and desired him to take the horse which he +himself usually rode. On his return, young Zeltner said that he never would +ride his horse again unless he gave him his purse at the same time. +Kosciusko enquiring what he meant, he answered, "As soon as a poor man on +the road takes off his hat and asks charity, the horse immediately stands +still, and will not stir till something is given to the petitioner; and as +I had no money about me, I was obliged to feign giving something, in order +to satisfy the horse." + + +Mysterious Benefactor.--In the year 1720, celebrated for the bursting of +the South Sea Bubble, a gentleman called late in the evening at the banking +house of Messrs. Hankey and Co. He was in a coach, but refused to get out, +and desired that one of the partners of the house would come to him, into +whose hands, when he appeared, he put a parcel, very carefully sealed up, +and desired that it might be taken care of till he should call again. A few +days passed away--a few weeks--a few months--but the stranger never +returned. At the end of the second or third year the partners agreed to +open this mysterious parcel, when they found it to contain £30,000, with a +letter, stating that it had been obtained by the South Sea speculation, and +directing that it should be vested in the hands of three trustees, whose +names were mentioned, and the interest appropriated to the relief of the +poor. + + + + +DINNERS. + + +Bannister.--Charles Bannister dining one day at the Turk's Head Tavern, was +much annoyed by a gentleman in the adjoining box, who had just ordered fish +for dinner, and was calling on the waiter for every species of fish sauce +known to the most refined epicure. "Waiter," said he, "bring me anchovy +sauce, and soy; and have you got Harvey's? and be sure you bring me +Burgess's;--and waiter--do you hear?--don't omit the sauce _epicurienne_." +How many more he would have enumerated it is difficult to say, had not +Bannister stepped up to him, and bowing very politely, said, "Sir, I beg +your pardon for thus interrupting you, but I see you are advertised for in +the newspaper of this morning." "Me, sir, advertised for!" exclaimed the +gentleman, half petrified with surprise; "pray, sir, what do you mean?" +Bannister, taking the paper, pointed to an advertisement addressed to "The +Curious in Fish Sauces." The gentleman felt the rebuke, sat down, and ate +his dinner without further ceremony. + + +A Christmas Pudding Extraordinary.--When the late Lord Paget was ambassador +at Constantinople, he, with the rest of the gentlemen who were in a public +capacity at the same court, determined one day when there was to be a grand +banquet, to have each of them a dish dressed after the manner of their +respective countries; and Lord Paget, for the honour of England, ordered a +piece of _roast beef and a plum pudding_. The beef was easily cooked, but +the court cooks not knowing how to make a plum pudding, he gave them a +receipt:--"So many eggs, so much milk, so much flour, and a given quantity +of raisins; to be beaten up together, and boiled so many hours in so many +gallons of water." When dinner was served up, first came the French +ambassador's dish--then that of the Spanish ambassador--and next, two +fellows bearing an immense pan, and bawling, "_Room for the English +ambassador's dish!_" "Confound my stupidity!" cried his lordship; "I forgot +to tell them of the bag, and these stupid scoundrels have boiled it without +one; and in five gallons of water too. It will be good plum broth, +however!" + + +Dr. Kirwan, the celebrated Irish chemist, having one day at dinner with him +a party of friends, was descanting upon the antiseptic qualities of +charcoal, and added, that if a quantity of pulverised charcoal were boiled +together with tainted meat, it would remove all symptoms of putrescence, +and render it perfectly sweet. Shortly afterwards, the doctor helped a +gentleman to a slice of boiled leg of mutton, which was so far gone as to +shed an odour not very agreeable to the noses of the company. The gentleman +repeatedly turned it upon his plate, without venturing to taste it; and the +doctor observing him, said, "Sir, perhaps you don't like mutton?" "Oh, yes, +doctor," he replied, "I am very fond of mutton, but I do not think the cook +has boiled charcoal enough with it." + + +When the Archbishop of York sent Ben Jonson an excellent dish of fish from +his dinner table, but without drink, he said,-- + + "In a dish came fish + From the arch-bis- + Hop was not there, + Because there was no _beer_." + + +Poor-Man-of-Mutton is a term applied to a shoulder of mutton in Scotland +after it has been served as a roast at dinner, and appears as a broiled +bone at supper, or at the dinner next day. The late Earl of B., popularly +known as "Old Rag," being indisposed at a hotel in London, one morning the +landlord came to enumerate the good things in his larder, in order to +prevail on his guest to eat something, when his lordship replied, +"Landlord, I think I _could_ eat a morsel of a poor man;" which, with the +extreme ugliness of his lordship's countenance, so terrified the landlord, +that he fled from the room and tumbled down stairs, supposing the earl, +when at home, was in the habit of eating a joint of a vassal, or tenant +when his appetite was dainty. + + +Swift.--A gentleman, at whose house Swift was dining in Ireland, after +dinner introduced remarkably small hock glasses, and at length, turning to +Swift, addressed him,--"Mr. Dean, I shall be happy to take a glass of hic, +hæc, hoc, with you." "Sir," rejoined the doctor, "I shall be happy to +comply, but it must be out of a _hujus_ glass." + + +Swift, having a shoulder of mutton too much done brought up for his dinner, +sent for the cook, and told her to take the mutton down, and do it less. +"Please your honour, I cannot do it less." "But," said the dean, "if it had +not been done enough, you could have done it more, could you not?" "Oh, +yes, sir, very easily." "Why, then," said the dean, "for the future, when +you commit a fault, let it be such a one as can be mended." + + + + +DOCTORS. + + +Making Things Better.--A rich man sent to call a physician for a slight +disorder. The physician felt his pulse, and said, "Do you eat well?" "Yes," +said the patient. "Do you sleep well?" "I do." "Oh, then," said the +physician, "I must give you something to take away all that." + + +Madame de Villecerf, who was brought to death in the flower of her age by +the unskilfulness of her surgeon, comforted him thus: "I do not look upon +you," she said, in dying, "as a person whose error has cost me my life, but +as a benefactor, who hastens my entry into a happy immortality. As the +world may judge otherwise, I have put you in a situation, by my will, to +quit your profession." + + +Willie Law, a half-witted man, was the descendant of an ancient family, +nearly related to the famous John Law, of Lauriston, the celebrated +financier of France. Willie on that account was often spoken to and taken +notice of by gentlemen of distinction. Posting one day through Kirkaldy, +with more than ordinary speed, he was met by Mr. Oswald, of Dunnikier, who +asked him where he was going in such a hurry. "Going!" says Willie, with +apparent surprise, "I'm gaen to my cousin Lord Elgin's burial." "Your +cousin Lord Elgin's burial, you fool! Lord Elgin's not dead," replied Mr. +Oswald. "Oh, never mind," quoth Willie; "there's six doctors out o' +Edinbro' at him, and they'll hae him dead afore I get there." + + +Physicians in China.--Caleb Colton, nephew of the late Sir George Staunton, +gives in a recent publication the following anecdote:--"My late uncle, Sir +G. Staunton, related to me a curious anecdote of old Kien Long, Emperor of +China. He was inquiring of Sir George the manner in which physicians were +paid in England. When, after some difficulty, his majesty was made to +comprehend the system, he exclaimed, 'Is any man well in England that can +afford to be ill? Now, I will inform you,' said he, 'how I manage my +physicians. I have four, to whom the care of my health is committed: a +certain weekly salary is allowed them; but the moment I am ill the salary +stops till I am well again. I need not tell you that my illnesses are +usually short.'" + + +Zimmerman, who was very eminent as a physician, went from Hanover to attend +Frederick the Great in his last illness. One day the king said to him, "You +have, I presume, sir, helped many a man into another world?" This was +rather a bitter pill for the doctor; but the dose he gave the king in +return was a judicious mixture of truth and flattery: "Not so many as your +majesty, nor with so much honour to myself." + + +Montaigne, who is great upon doctors, used to beseech his friends that if +he felt ill they would let him get a little stronger before sending for the +doctor. + + +Molière, when once travelling through Auvergne, was taken very ill at a +distance from any place where he could procure respectable medical aid. It +was proposed to him to send for a celebrated physician at Clermont. "No, +no," said he, "he is too great a man for me: go and bring me the village +surgeon; he will not, perhaps, have the hardihood to kill me so soon." + + +Louis XIV., who was a slave to his physicians, asked Molière one day what +he did with his doctor. "Oh, sire," said he, "when I am ill I send for him. +He comes; we have a chat, and enjoy ourselves. He prescribes;--I don't take +it, and I am cured." + + +General Guise going over one campaign to Flanders, observed a raw young +officer, who was in the same vessel with him, and with his usual humanity +told him that he would take care of him, and conduct him to Antwerp, where +they were both going, which he accordingly did, and then took leave of him. +The young fellow was soon told by some arch rogues, whom he happened to +fall in with, that he must signalise himself by fighting some man of known +courage, or else he would soon be despised in the regiment. The young man +said he knew no one but Colonel Guise, and he had received great +obligations from him. "It is all one for that," said they, "in these cases. +The Colonel is the fittest man in the world, as everybody knows his +bravery." Soon afterwards the young officer accosted Colonel Guise, as he +was walking up and down the coffee room, and began, in a hesitating manner, +to tell him how much obliged he had been to him, and how sensible he was of +his obligations. "Sir," replied Colonel Guise, "I have done my duty by you, +and no more." "But Colonel," added the young officer, faltering, "I am told +that I must fight some gentleman of known courage, and who has killed +several persons, and that nobody"--"Oh, sir," interrupted the Colonel, +"your friends do me too much honour; but there is a gentleman (pointing to +a fierce-looking black fellow that was sitting at one of the tables) who +has killed half the regiment, and who will suit you much better." The +officer went up to him, and told him he had heard of his bravery, and that +for that reason he must fight him. "Who?--I, sir?" said the gentleman; +"why, I am the _apothecary_." + + +Dr. Moore, author of "Zeluco," used to say that at least two-thirds of a +physician's fees were for imaginary complaints. Among several instances of +this nature, he mentions one of a clothier, who, after drinking the Bath +waters, took it into his head to try Bristol hot wells. Previous, however, +to his setting off, he requested his physician to favour him with a letter, +stating his case to any brother doctor. This done, the patient got into a +chaise and started. After proceeding half way, he felt curious to see the +contents of the letter, and on opening it, read as follows:--"Dear +Sir,--The bearer is a fat Wiltshire clothier: _make the most of him_." It +is almost unnecessary to add that his cure was from that moment effected, +as he ordered the chaise to turn, and immediately proceeded _home_. + + +Sir Charles Wager had a sovereign contempt for physicians, though he +believed a surgeon, in some cases, _might_ be of service. It happened that +Sir Charles was seized with a fever while he was out upon a cruise, and the +surgeon, without much difficulty, prevailed upon him to lose a little +blood, and suffer a blister to be laid on his back. By-and-bye it was +thought necessary to lay on another blister, and repeat the bleeding, to +which Sir Charles also consented. The symptoms then abated, and the surgeon +told him that he must now swallow a few bolusses, and take a draught. "No, +no, doctor," says Sir Charles, "you shall batter my hulk as long as you +will, but depend on it, you shan't _board_ me." + + +Nash and the Doctor.--When the celebrated Beau Nash was ill, Dr. Cheyne +wrote a prescription for him. The next day, the doctor coming to see his +patient, inquired if he had followed his prescription? "No, truly, doctor," +said Nash; "if I had, I should have broken my neck, for I threw it out of a +two-pair-of-stairs window." + + +Gin _versus_ Medicine.--The celebrated Dr. Ward was not more remarkable for +humanity and skill than for wit and humour. An old woman, to whom he had +administered some medicines proper for a disorder under which she laboured, +applied to him, with a complaint that she had not experienced any kind of +effect from taking them. "No effect at all?" said the doctor. "None in the +least," replied the woman. "Why, then you should have taken a bumping glass +of gin." "So I did, sir." "Well, but when you found that did not succeed, +you should have taken another." "So I did, sir; and another after that." +"Oh, you did?" said the doctor; "aye, aye, it is just as I imagined: you +complain that you found no effect from my prescription, and you confess +yourself that you swallowed gin enough to counteract any medicine in the +whole system of physic." + + +Abernethy.--A Chancery barrister having been for a long while annoyed by an +irritable ulcer on one of his legs, called upon Mr. Abernethy for the +purpose of obtaining that gentleman's advice. The counsellor judging of an +ulcer as of a brief, that it must be seen before its nature could be +understood, was busily employed in removing his stocking and bandages, when +Mr. Abernethy abruptly advanced towards him, and exclaimed in a stentorian +voice, "Halloo! what are you about there? Put out your tongue, man! Aye, +there 'tis--I see it--I'm satisfied. Quite enough;--shut up your leg, +man--shut it up--shut it up! Go home and read my book, p.--, and take one +of the pills there mentioned every night on going to bed." The lawyer +handed over the fee, and was about to leave the room, when Mr. A. thus +accosted him: "Why, look here;--this is but a shilling!" The barrister +sarcastically replied, "Aye, there 'tis--I see it--I'm satisfied. Quite +enough, man;--shut it up--shut it up!" and hastily decamped from the room. + + +A lady, who had received a severe bite in her arm from a dog, went to Mr. +Abernethy, but knowing his aversion to hearing any statement of +particulars, she merely uncovered the injured part, and held it before him +in silence. After looking at it an instant, he said in an inquiring tone, +"Scratch?" "Bite," replied the lady. "Cat?" asked the doctor. "Dog," +rejoined the patient. So delighted was Mr. A. with the brevity and +promptness of her answers, that he exclaimed, "Zounds, madam! you are the +most sensible woman I ever met with in my life." + + +Astley Cooper.--Probably no surgeon of ancient or modern times enjoyed a +greater share of reputation during his life than fell to the lot of Sir +Astley, and that in all parts of the world. We cannot give a better example +of this than the fact of his signature being received as a passport among +the mountains of Biscay by the wild followers of Don Carlos. A young +English surgeon, seeking for employment, was carried as a prisoner before +Zumalacarrequi, who demanded what testimonials he had of his calling or his +qualifications. Our countryman presented his diploma of the College of +Surgeons, and the name of Astley Paston Cooper, which was attached to it, +no sooner struck the eye of the Carlist leader, than he at once received +his prisoner with friendship, and appointed him a surgeon in his army. + + + + +THE DRAMA--ACTORS, ETC. + + +Shaving a Queen.--For some time after the restoration of Charles the +Second, young smooth-faced men performed the women's parts on the stage. +That monarch, coming before his usual time to hear Shakspeare's Hamlet, +sent the Earl of Rochester to know the reason of the delay; who brought +word back, that the queen was not quite shaved. "Ods fish" (his usual +expression), "I beg her majesty's pardon! we will wait till her barber is +done with her." + + +Liston, in his early career, was a favourite at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and +having applied to the manager for a remuneration equal to the increased +value of his services, he refused the request, adding, "If you are +dissatisfied you are welcome to leave me; such actors as you, sir, are to +be found in every bush." On the evening of the day when this colloquy +occurred, the manager was driving to another town, where he intended "to +carry on the war," when he perceived Liston standing in the middle of a +hedge by the road-side. "Good heavens! Liston," cried the manager, "what +are you doing there?" "Only looking for some of the actors you told me of +this morning," was the reply. + + +Good-natured Author.--The late M. Segur, among other literary productions, +supplied the French theatres with a number of pleasing trifles. If he was +not always successful, he was at least always gay in his reverses. When his +works were ill received by the public, he consoled himself for a failure by +a bon-mot; he made even a point of consoling his companions in misfortune. +A piece of his was once brought forward called the _Yellow Cabriolet_, +which happened to be condemned on the first representation. Some days +afterwards a piece, by another author, was presented, which was equally +unfortunate. The author, petrified at his failure, stood for a moment +immoveable. "Come, come, my dear sir," said M. Segur, "don't be cast down, +I will give you a seat in my _Yellow Cabriolet_." + + +A Heavy Play.--When Sir Charles Sedley's comedy of "Bellamira" was +performed, the roof of the theatre fell down, by which, however, few people +were hurt except the author. This occasioned Sir Fleetwood Shepherd to say, +"There was so much fire in his play, that it blew up the poet, house and +all." "No," replied the good-natured author, "the play was so heavy, that +it broke down the house, and buried the poor poet in his own rubbish." + + +Monsieur de la Motte, soon after the representation of his "Ines de +Castro," which was very successful, although much censured by the press, +was sitting one day in a coffee-house, when he heard several of the critics +abusing his play. Finding that he was unknown to them, he joined heartily +in abusing it himself. At length, after a great many sarcastic remarks, one +of them, yawning, said, "Well, what shall we do with ourselves this +evening?" "Why, suppose," said de la Motte, "we go to the _seventy-second_ +representation of this bad play." + + +The Sailor and the Actress.--"When I was a poor girl," said the Duchess of +St. Albans, "working very hard for my thirty shillings a week, I went down +to Liverpool during the holidays, where I was always kindly received. I was +to perform in a new piece, something like those pretty little dramas they +get up now at our minor theatres; and in my character I represented a poor, +friendless orphan girl, reduced to the most wretched poverty. A heartless +tradesman prosecutes the sad heroine for a heavy debt, and insists on +putting her in prison unless some one will be bail for her. The girl +replies, 'Then I have no hope, I have not a friend in the world.' 'What? +will no one be bail for you, to save you from prison?' asks the stern +creditor. 'I have told you I have not a friend on earth,' is the reply. But +just as I was uttering the words, I saw a sailor in the upper gallery +springing over the railing, letting himself down from one tier to another, +until he bounded clear over the orchestra and footlights, and placed +himself beside me in a moment.' Yes, you shall have _one_ friend at least, +my poor young woman,' said he, with the greatest expression in his honest, +sunburnt countenance; 'I will go bail for you to any amount. And as for +_you_ (turning to the frightened actor), if you don't bear a hand, and +shift your moorings, you lubber, it will be worse for you when I come +athwart your bows.' Every creature in the house rose; the uproar was +perfectly indescribable; peals of laughter, screams of terror, cheers from +his tawny messmates in the gallery, preparatory scrapings of violins from +the orchestra, were mingled together; and amidst the universal din there +stood the unconscious cause of it, sheltering me, 'the poor, distressed +young woman,' and breathing defiance and destruction against my mimic +persecutor. He was only persuaded to relinquish his care of me by the +manager pretending to arrive and rescue me, with a profusion of theatrical +banknotes." + + +Kean.--In the second year of Kean's London triumph, an elderly lady, whose +sympathy had been excited by his forlorn condition in boyhood, but who had +lost sight of him in his wanderings till his sudden starting into fame +astonished the world, was induced, on renewing their acquaintance, to pay a +visit of some days to him and Mrs. Kean, at their residence in +Clarges-street. She made no secret of her intention to evince the interest +she felt in his welfare by a considerable bequest in her will; but, on +accompanying Mrs. K. to the theatre to see Kean perform _Luke_, she was so +appalled by the cold-blooded villany of the character, that, attributing +the skill of the actor to the actual possession of the fiendlike +attributes, her regard was turned into suspicion and distrust. She left +London the next day, and dying soon afterwards, it appeared that she had +altered her testamentary disposition of her property, which had once been +made in Kean's favour, and bequeathed the sum originally destined for him +to a distant relative, of whom she knew nothing but by name. + + +Mimic Reclaimed.--In the beginning of the last century, a comedian of the +name of Griffin, celebrated for his talents as a mimic, was employed by a +comic author to imitate the personal peculiarities of the celebrated Dr. +Woodward, whom he intended to be introduced in a comedy as _Dr. Fossil_. +The mimic, dressed as a countryman, waited on the doctor with a long +catalogue of complaints with which he said his wife was afflicted. The +physician heard with amazement diseases and pains of the most opposite +nature, repeated and redoubled on the wretched patient. The actor having +thus detained the doctor until he thought himself completely master of his +errand, presented him with a guinea as his fee. "Put up thy money, poor +fellow," cried the doctor, "thou hast need of all thy cash, and all thy +patience, too, with such a bundle of diseases tied to thy back." The mimic +returned to his employer, who was in raptures at his success, until he told +him that he would sooner die than prostitute his talents to render such +genuine humanity food for diversion. + + +Senesino and Farinelli, when in England together, being engaged at +different theatres on the same night, had not an opportunity of hearing +each other, till, by one of those sudden revolutions which frequently +happen, yet are always unexpected, they were both employed to sing on the +same stage. Senesino had the part of a furious tyrant to represent and +Farinelli that of an unfortunate hero in chains; but in the course of the +very first song, the latter so softened the heart of the enraged tyrant, +that Senesino, forgetting his assumed character, ran to Farinelli and +embraced him. + + +Weeping at a Play.--It is a prevailing folly to be ashamed to shed a tear +at any part of a tragedy, however affecting. "The reason," says the +Spectator, "is, that persons think it makes them look ridiculous, by +betraying the weakness of their nature. But why may not nature show itself +in tragedy, as well as in comedy or farce? We see persons not ashamed to +laugh loudly at the humour of a Falstaff,--or the tricks of a harlequin; +and why should not the tear be equally allowed to flow for the misfortunes +of a Juliet, or the forlornness of an Ophelia?" Sir Richard Steele records +on this subject a saying of Mr. Wilks the actor, as just as it was polite. +Being told in the green-room that there was a general in the boxes weeping +for Juliana, he observed with a smile, "_And I warrant you, sir, he'll +fight ne'er the worse for that_." + + +Dramatic Effect.--It is related in the annals of the stage, as a remarkable +instance of the force of imagination, that when Banks's play of the _Earl +of Essex_ was performed, a soldier, who stood sentinel on the stage, +entered so deeply into the distress of the scene, that in the delusion of +his imagination, upon the Countess of Nottingham's denying the receipt of +the ring which Essex had sent by her to the queen to claim a promise of +favour, he exclaimed, "'Tis false! she has it in her bosom;" and +immediately seized the mock countess to make her deliver it up. + + +Charles Hulet, a comedian of some celebrity in the early part of the last +century, was an apprentice to a bookseller. After reading plays in his +master's shop, he used to repeat the speeches in the kitchen, in the +evening, to the destruction of many a chair, which he substituted in the +room of the real persons in the drama. One night, as he was repeating the +part of Alexander, with his wooden representative of Clitus, (an elbow +chair), and coming to the speech where the old general is to be killed, +this young mock Alexander snatched a poker, instead of a javelin, and threw +it with such strength, against poor Clitus, that the chair was killed upon +the spot, and lay mangled on the floor. The death of Clitus made a +monstrous noise, which disturbed the master in the parlour, who called out +to know the reason; and was answered by the cook below, "Nothing, sir, but +that Alexander has killed Clitus." + + +Goldsmith's Marlow.--Mr. Lewis Grummit, an eminent grazier of Lincolnshire, +met late one night a commercial traveller who had mistaken his road, and +inquired the way to the nearest inn or public house. Mr. G. replied, that +as he was a stranger, he would show him the way to a quiet respectable +house of public entertainment for man and horse; and took him to his own +residence. The traveller, by the perfect ease and confidence of his manner, +shewed the success of his host's stratagem; and every thing that he called +for, was instantly provided for himself and his horse. In the morning he +called, in an authoritative tone, for his bill, and the hospitable landlord +had all the recompense he desired in the surprise and altered manners of +his guest. It was from this incident that Dr. Goldsmith took the hint of +Marlow mistaking the house of Mr. Hardcastle for an inn, in the comedy of +"_She Stoops to Conquer_." + + +Mr. Quick, while performing the part of Romeo, was seized with an +involuntary fit of laughter, which subjected him to the severe rebuke of +his auditors. It happened in the scene of Romeo and the apothecary, who, +going for the phial of poison, found it broken; not to detain the scene, he +snatched, in a hurry, a pot of soft pomatum. Quick was no sooner presented +with it, than he fell into a convulsive fit of laughter. But, being soon +recalled to a sense of his duty by the reproofs of the audience, he came +forward and made the following whimsical apology:--"Ladies and gentlemen, I +could not resist the idea that struck me when the pot of pomatum, instead +of the phial of poison, was presented. Had he at the same time given me a +tea-spoon, it would not have been so improper; for the poison might have +been made up as a lenitive electuary. But, if you please, ladies and +gentlemen, we will begin the scene again without laughing." + + +Garrick and Rich.--Soon after the appearance of Garrick at the theatre of +Drury Lane, to which he, by his astonishing powers, brought all the world, +while Mr. Rich was playing his pantomimes at Covent Garden to empty +benches, he and Mr. Garrick happened to meet one morning at the Bedford +coffee-house. Having fallen into conversation, Garrick asked the Covent +Garden manager, how much his house would hold, when crowded with company. +"Why, master," said Rich, "I cannot well tell; but if you will come and +play Richard for one night, I shall be able to give an account." + + +Morand, author of _Le Capricieuse_, was in a box of the theatre during the +first representation of that comedy; the pit loudly expressing +disapprobation at the extravagance and improbability of some traits in this +character, the author became impatient; he put his head out of the box, and +called, "Know, gentlemen, that this is the very picture of my +mother-in-law. What do you say now?" + + +Foote, on his last journey to France for the recovery of his health, while +waiting for the packet, entered the kitchen of the Ship tavern at Dover, +and, addressing the cook, who prided herself in never having been ten miles +out of town, exclaimed, "Why, cookee, I understand you have been a great +traveller." She denying the charge, Foote replied, "Why, they tell me up +stairs that you have been all over _Grease_, and I am sure I have seen you +myself at _Spithead_." + + +A person talking to Foote of an acquaintance of his, who was so avaricious +as even to lament the prospect of his funeral expences, though a short time +before he had been censuring one of his own relations for his parsimonious +temper--"Now is it not strange," continued he, "that this man would not +remove the beam from his own eye, before he attempted to take the mote out +of other peoples?" "Why, so I dare say he would," cried Foote, "if he were +sure of selling the timber." + + + + +DUTY. + + +General Mackenzie, when commander-in-chief of the Chatham division of +marines, during the late war, was very rigid as to duty; and, among other +regulations, would suffer no officer to be saluted on guard if out of his +uniform. It one day happened that the general observed a lieutenant of +marines in a plain dress, and, though he knew the young officer quite +intimately, he called to the sentinel to turn him out. The officer appealed +to the general, saying who he was; "I know you not," said the general; +"turn him out." A short time after, the general had been at a small +distance from Chatham, to pay a visit, and returning in the evening in a +blue coat, claimed entrance at the yard gate. The sentinel demanded the +countersign, which the general not knowing, desired the officer of the +guard to be sent for, who proved to be the lieutenant whom the general had +treated so cavalierly.--"Who are you?" inquired the officer.--"I am General +Mackenzie," was the reply.--"What, without an uniform?" rejoined the +lieutenant; "oh, get back, get back, impostor; the general would break your +bones if he knew you assumed his name." The general on this made his +retreat; and the next day, inviting the young officer to breakfast, told +him--"He had done his duty with very commendable exactness." + + +Morvilliers, keeper of the seals to Charles the Ninth of France, was one +day ordered by his sovereign to put the seals to the pardon of a nobleman +who had committed murder. He refused. The king then took the seals out of +his hands, and having put them himself to the instrument of remission, +returned them immediately to Morvilliers, who refused to take them again, +saying, "The seals have twice put me in a situation of great honour: once +when I received them, and again when I resigned them." + + +Louis the Fourteenth had granted a pardon to a nobleman who had committed +some very great crime. M. Voisin, the chancellor, ran to him in his +closet, and exclaimed, "Sire, you cannot pardon a person in the situation +of Mr. ----." "I have promised him," replied the king, who was always +impatient of contradiction; "go and fetch the great seal." "But sire--." +"Pray, sir, do as I order you." The chancellor returned with the seals; +Louis applied them himself to the instrument containing the pardon, and +gives them again to the chancellor. "They are polluted, now, sire," +exclaimed the intrepid and excellent magistrate, pushing them from him on +the table, "I cannot take them again." "What an impracticable man!" cried +the monarch, and threw the pardon into the fire. "I will now, sire, take +them again," said the chancellor; "fire purifies all things." + + + + +FIDELITY. + + +Old Ambrose.--Among the few individuals who accompanied James II. to +France, when he was dethroned, was Madame de Varonne, a lady of good +family, but of ruined fortune. She was compelled to part with all her +servants successively, until she came to her footman, Ambrose, who had +lived with her twenty years; and who, although of an austere deportment, +was a faithful and valuable servant. At length her resources would not +permit her to retain even Ambrose, and she told him he must seek another +place. "Another place!" exclaimed the astonished servant; "No; I will never +quit you, let what will happen; I will live and die in your service." In +vain was Ambrose told by his mistress that she was totally ruined; that she +had sold every thing she had, and that she had no other means of +subsistence than by seeking some employment for herself. Ambrose protested +he would not quit his mistress; he brought her his scanty savings of twenty +years, and engaged himself to a brazier for tenpence a day and his board. +The money he brought every evening to his mistress, whom he thus supported +for four years; at the end of which time she received a pension from the +French king, which enabled her to reward the remarkable fidelity of her old +servant. + + +The Kennedies.--Mr. Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, relates the following +circumstance, which shows that a sense of honour may prevail in those who +have little regard to moral obligation:--After the battle of Culloden, in +the year 1745, a reward of thirty thousand pounds was offered to any one +who should discover or deliver up the young Pretender. He had taken refuge +with the Kennedies, two common thieves, who protected him with the greatest +fidelity, robbed for his support, and often went in disguise to Inverness +to purchase provisions for him. A considerable time afterwards one of these +men, who had resisted the temptation of thirty thousand pounds from a +regard to his honour, was hanged for stealing a cow of the value of thirty +shillings. + + +A young woman, named La Blonde, was in the service of M. Migeon, a furrier, +in the Rue St. Honoré, in Paris; this tradesman, though embarrassed in his +affairs, was not deserted by his faithful domestic, who remained at his +house without receiving any salary. Migeon, some years afterwards died, +leaving a wife and two young children without the means of support. The +cares of La Blonde were now transferred to the assistance of the distressed +family of her deceased master, for whose support she expended fifteen +hundred francs, the fruit of her labour, as well as the produce of rent +from her small patrimony. From time to time this worthy servant was offered +other situations, but to all such offers she replied by the inquiry, "Who +will take care of this family if I desert them?" At length the widow +Migeon, overcome with grief, became seriously ill. La Blonde passed her +days in comforting her dying mistress, and at night went to take care of +the sick, in order to have the means of relieving her wants. The widow +Migeon died on the 28th of April, 1787. Some persons then proposed to La +Blonde to send the two little orphans to the poor house; but the generous +girl, indignant at this proposition, replied, "that at Ruel, her native +country, her two hundred livres of rent would suffice for their subsistence +and her own." + + +A Faithful Depositary.--Under the ministry of Neckar in France, the +receiver of taxes at Roye, in Picardy, had the misfortune to have his +premises burnt,--cattle, furniture, and every thing became the prey of the +flames, except two thousand livres of the king's money, the produce of the +taxes which he had collected. These the courageous man rescued from the +flames, and the next day lodged them in the hands of the provincial +director. When Neckar was apprised of the fact, he laid it before the king, +and afterwards wrote to the receiver with his own hand as follows: "His +Majesty having been informed of the circumstance of your loss, and being +pleased with the conduct you have displayed, returns you the 2000 livres, +which he desires you will keep as a testimony of his esteem." + + + + +FONTENELLE. + + +A Reproof.--Two youngsters once asked Fontenelle whether it was more +correct to say, _donnez-nous à boire_, (give us to drink), or +_apportez-nous à boire_, (bring us drink). The academician replied, "That +both were unappropriate in their mouths; and that the proper term for such +fellows as they was _menez-nous à boire_, lead us to drink." + + +Fontenelle was once staying with his nephew, M. Aube, and had the +misfortune to let a spark fall upon his clothes, which set fire to the bed, +and eventually to the room. M. Aube was extremely angry with his uncle, and +shewed him what precautions he ought to have taken to prevent such an +accident. "My dear nephew," replied Fontenelle, calmly, "when I set fire to +your house again, depend upon it I will act differently." + + +Fontenelle, being praised for the clearness of his style on the deepest +subjects, said, "If I have any merit, it is that I have always endeavoured +to understand myself." + + +The conversation turning one day, in the presence of Fontenelle, on the +marks of originality in the works of Father Castel, well known to the +scientific world for his "Vrai Systeme de Physique generale de Newton;" +some person observed, "but he is mad." "I know it," returned Fontenelle, +"and I am very sorry for it, for it is a great pity. But I like him better +for being original and a little mad, than I should if he were in his senses +without being original." + + + + +FOOLS. + + +Triboulet, the fool of Francis the First, was threatened with death by a +man in power, of whom he had been speaking disrespectfully; and he applied +to the king for protection. "Be satisfied," said the king: "if any man +should put you to death, I will order him to be hanged a quarter of an hour +after." "Ah, sir!" replied Triboulet, "I should be much obliged if your +majesty would order him to be hanged a quarter of an hour before!" + + +Dr. Gregory, professor of the practice of physic at Edinburgh, was one of +the first to enrol himself in the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, when that +corps was raised. So anxious was he to make himself master of military +tactics, that he not only paid the most punctual attendance on all the +regimental field-days, but studied at home for several hours a day, under +the serjeant-major of the regiment. On one of these occasions the serjeant, +out of all temper at the awkwardness of his learned pupil, exclaimed in a +rage, "Why, sir, I would rather teach ten fools than one philosopher." + + +James I. gave all manner of liberty and encouragement to the exercise of +buffoonery, and took great delight in it himself. Happening once to bear +somewhat hard on one of his Scotch courtiers, "By my saul," returns the +peer, "he that made your majesty a king, spoiled the best fool in +Christendom." + + + + +FORGIVENESS. + + +French Curate.--During the French revolution, the inhabitants of a village +in Dauphiné had determined on sacrificing their lord to their revenge, and +were only dissuaded from it by the eloquence of the curé, who thus +addressed them:--"My friends," said he, "the day of vengeance is arrived; +the individual who has so long tyrannized over you must now suffer his +merited punishment. As the care of this flock has been entrusted to me, it +behoves me to watch over their best interests, nor will I forsake their +righteous cause. Suffer me only to be your leader, and swear to me that in +all circumstances you will follow my example." All the villagers swore they +would. "And," continues he, "you will further solemnly promise to enter +into any engagement which I may now make, and to remain faithful to this +your oath." All the villagers exclaimed, "We do." "Well then," said he, +solemnly taking the oath, "I swear to forgive our lord." Unexpected as this +was, the villagers kept their word and forgave him. + + +The Duke of Orleans, on being appointed Regent of France, insisted on +possessing the power of pardoning. "I have no objection," said he, "to have +my hands tied from doing harm, but I will have them left free to do good." + + +Abon Hannifah, chief of a Turkish sect, once received a blow in the face +from a ruffian, and rebuked him in these terms, not unworthy of Christian +imitation: "If I were vindictive, I should return you outrage for outrage; +if I were an informer, I should accuse you before the caliph: but I prefer +putting up a prayer to God, that in the day of judgment he will cause me to +enter paradise with you." + + +Alphonsus, King of Naples and Sicily, so celebrated in history for his +clemency, was once asked why he was so forgiving to all men, even to those +most notoriously wicked? "Because," answered he, "good men are won by +justice; the bad by clemency." When some of his ministers complained to him +on another occasion of his lenity, which they were pleased to say was more +than became a prince: "What, then," exclaimed he, "would you have lions and +tigers to reign over you? It is for wild beasts to scourge; but for man to +forgive." + + +Van Dyke.--"When any one commits an offence against me," this painter used +to say, "I try to raise my soul so high that the offence shall not be able +to reach up to it." + + +Mariè Antoinette.--On the elevation of this princess to the throne after +the death of Louis XV., an officer of the body-guard, who had given her +offence on some former occasion, expressed his intention of resigning his +commission; but the queen forbade him. "Remain," said she, "forget the past +as I forgive it. Far be it from the Queen of France to revenge the injuries +of the Dauphiness." + + + + +FRIENDS. + + +Friends and Hares.--The Duke of Longueville's reply, when it was observed +to him that the gentlemen bordering on his estates were continually hunting +upon them, and that he ought not to suffer it, is worthy of imitation: "I +had much rather," answered the duke, "have friends than hares." + + +Henri IV. once reproached M. d'Aubigné for continuing his friendship for M. +de la Trémouille, who had recently been banished from court. D'Aubigné +replied--"As M. de la Trémouille is so unfortunate as to have lost the +confidence of his master, he may well be allowed to retain that of his +friend." + + + + +GRATITUDE. + + +Curran says, "when a boy, I was one morning playing at marbles in the +village ball alley, with a light heart and lighter pocket. The gibe and +the jest went gaily round, when suddenly there appeared amongst us a +stranger, of a very remarkable and very cheerful aspect; his intrusion was +not the least restraint upon our merry little assemblage, on the contrary, +he seemed pleased, and even delighted; he was a benevolent creature, and +the days of infancy (after all the happiest we shall ever see), perhaps +rose upon his memory. God bless him! I see his fine form, at the distance +of half a century, just as he stood before me in the little ball-alley in +the days of my childhood. His name was Dr. Boyse. He took a particular +fancy to me. I was winning, and was full of waggery, thinking every thing +that was eccentric, and by no means a miser of my eccentricities; every one +was welcome to a share of them, and I had plenty to spare after having +freighted the company. Some sweetmeats easily bribed me home with him. I +learned from poor Boyse my alphabet and my grammar, and the rudiments of +the classics. He taught me all he could, and then sent me to the school at +Middleton. In short, he made a man of me. I recollect it was about five and +thirty years afterwards, when I had risen to some eminence at the bar, and +when I had a seat in parliament, on my return one day from court, I found +an old gentleman seated alone in my drawing-room, his feet familiarly +placed, on each side of the Italian marble chimney-piece, and his whole air +bespeaking the consciousness of one quite at home. He turned round--_it was +my friend of the ball-alley_. I rushed instinctively into his arms, and +burst into tears. Words cannot describe the scene which followed:--"You are +right, sir; you are right. The chimney-piece is your's--the pictures are +your's--the house is your's. You gave me all I have--my friend--my +father--my benefactor!" He dined with me; and in the evening I caught the +tear glistening in his fine blue eye, when he saw poor little Jack, the +creature of his bounty, rising in the House of Commons, to reply to a +_Right_ Honourable. Poor Boyse! he is now gone; and no suitor had a larger +deposit of practical benevolence in the Court above. This is his wine--let +us drink to his memory." + + + + +GHOSTS. + + +Bishop Fowler, of Gloucester, and Justice Powell, had frequent altercations +on the subject of ghosts. The bishop was a zealous defender of the reality +of them; the justice was somewhat sceptical. The bishop one day met his +friend, and the justice told him that since their last conference on the +subject, he had had ocular demonstration, which had convinced him of the +existence of ghosts. "I rejoice at your conversion," replied the bishop; +"give me the circumstance which produced it, with all the particulars:-- +ocular demonstration, you say?"--"Yes, my lord; as I lay last night in my +bed, about the twelfth hour, I was awakened by an extraordinary noise, and +heard something coming up stairs!"--"Go on, sir."--"Fearfully alarmed at +the noise, I drew my curtain--." "Proceed."--"And saw a faint glimmering +light enter my chamber."--"Of a blue colour, was it not?" interrogated the +doctor.--"Of a pale blue! and this pale blue light was followed by a tall, +meagre, stern figure, who appeared as an old man of seventy years of age, +arrayed in a long light coloured rug gown, bound with a leathern girdle: +his beard thick and grisly; his hair scant and straight; his face of a dark +sable hue; upon his head a large fur cap; and in his hand a long staff. +Terror seized my whole frame. I trembled till the bed shook, and cold drops +hung upon every limb. The figure advanced with a slow and solemn +step."--"Did you not speak to it? there was money hid, or murder committed, +without doubt," said the bishop.--"My lord, I did speak to it; I adjured it +by all that was holy to tell me whence, and for what purpose it thus +appeared."--"And in heaven's name what was the reply?"--"Before he deigned +to speak, he lifted up his staff three several times, my lord, and smote +the floor, even so loudly that verily the strokes caused the room to +reverberate the thundering sound. He then waved the pale blue light which +he bore in what is called a lantern, he waved it even to my eyes; and he +told me, my lord, he told me that he was--yes, my lord--that he was--not +more nor less than--_the watchman!_ who had come to give me notice that my +street-door was open, and that unless I rose and shut it, I might be robbed +before morning." The justice had no sooner concluded, than the bishop +disappeared. + + + + +HEROISM. + + +A Dieppe Pilot.--In August, 1777, a vessel from Rochelle, laden with salt, +and manned by eight hands, with two passengers on board, was discovered +making for the pier of Dieppe. The wind was at the time so high, and the +sea so boisterous, that a coasting pilot made four fruitless attempts to +get out, and conduct the vessel into port. Boussard, a bold and intrepid +pilot, perceiving that the helmsman was ignorant of his dangerous position, +endeavoured to direct him by a speaking trumpet and signals; but the +captain could neither see nor hear, on account of the darkness of the +night, the roaring of the winds, and the tremendous swell of the sea. The +vessel in the meantime grounded on a flinty bottom, at a short distance +from the advanced jetty. Boussard, touched with the cries of the +unfortunate crew, resolved to spring to their assistance, in spite of every +remonstrance, and the apparent impossibility of success. Having tied one +end of a rope round his waist, and fastened the other to the jetty, he +plunged headlong into the raging deep. When he had got very near the ship, +a wave carried him off, and dashed him on shore. Several times was he thus +repulsed, rolled upon flinty stones, and covered with the wreck of the +vessel, which the fury of the waves was tearing rapidly to pieces. He did +not however give up his attempt. A wave now threw him under the vessel, and +he was given up for lost, but he quickly emerged, holding in his arms a +sailor, who had been washed overboard. He brought him on shore motionless +and just expiring. In short, after an infinity of efforts and struggles, he +reached the wreck, and threw the rope on board. All who had strength enough +to avail themselves of this assistance, were successively dragged to land. +Boussard, who imagined he had now saved all the crew, worn down by +fatigue, and smarting from his wounds and bruises, walked with great +difficulty to the light-house, where he fainted through exhaustion. +Assistance being procured, he quickly recovered. On hearing that cries +still issued from the wreck, he once more collected the little strength he +had left, rushed from the arms of his friends, plunged again into the sea, +and had the good fortune to save the life of one of the passengers, who was +lashed to the wreck, and who had been unable before to profit by the means +of escape. + +Mons. de Crosne, the Intendant of Rouen, having stated these circumstances +to M. Neckar, then director-general of the finances, he immediately +addressed the following letter to Boussard, in his own hand-writing:-- +"Brave man, I was not apprized by the Intendant till the day before +yesterday, of the gallant deed achieved by you on the 31st of August. +Yesterday I reported it to his majesty, who was pleased to enjoin me to +communicate to you his satisfaction, and to acquaint you, that he presents +you with one thousand livres, by way of present, and an annual pension of +three hundred livres. Continue to succour others when you have it in your +power; and pray for your king, who loves and recompenses the brave." + + +Italian Peasant.--A great inundation having taken place in the north of +Italy, owing to an excessive fall of snow in the Alps, followed by a speedy +thaw, the river Adige carried off a bridge near Verona, all except the +middle part, on which was the house of the toll-gatherer, who thus, with +his whole family, remained imprisoned by the waves, and in momentary danger +of destruction. They were discovered from the bank, stretching forth their +hands, screaming, and imploring succour, while fragments of the only +remaining arch were continually dropping into the water. In this extreme +danger, a nobleman who was present, a Count of Pulverino, held out a purse +of a hundred sequins, as a reward to any adventurer who would take a boat +and deliver this unhappy family. But the danger of being borne down by the +rapidity of the current, or of being dashed against a fragment of the +bridge, was so great, that no one in the vast number of spectators had +courage enough to attempt the exploit. A peasant passing along enquired +what was going on, and was informed of the circumstances. Immediately +jumping into a boat, he, by strength of oars, gained the middle of the +river, brought his boat under the pile, and the whole family safely +descended by means of a rope. By a still more strenuous effort, and great +strength of arm, he brought the boat and family to shore. "Brave fellow!" +exclaimed the count, handing the purse to him, "here is your recompense." +"I shall never expose my life for money," answered the peasant; "my labour +is a sufficient livelihood for myself, my wife, and children. Give the +purse to this poor family, who have lost their all." + +This incident has been admirably worked up in a German ballad by Bürger +(see the "Song of the Brave Man," in "Popular Ballads.") + + +Countess de St. Belmont.--When M. de St. Belmont, who defended a feeble +fortress against the arms of Louis XIV., was taken prisoner, his wife, the +Comtesse de St. Belmont, who was of a most heroic disposition, still +remained upon the estates to take care of them. An officer of cavalry +having taken up his quarters there without invitation, Madame de St. +Belmont sent him a very civil letter of complaint on his ill behaviour, +which he treated with contempt. Piqued at this, she resolved he should give +her satisfaction, and sent him a challenge, which she signed "Le Chevalier +de St. Belmont." The officer accepted it, and repaired to the place +appointed. Madame de St. Belmont met him, dressed in men's clothes. They +immediately drew their swords, and the heroine had the advantage of him; +when, after disarming him, she said, with a gracious smile, "You thought, +sir, I doubt not, that you were fighting with the Chevalier de St. Belmont; +it is, however, Madame de St. Belmont, who returns you your sword, and begs +you in future to pay more regard to the requests of ladies." She then left +him, covered with shame and confusion. + + +French Peasant Girl.--One evening early in 1858, Melanie Robert, daughter +of a small farmer, near Corbeil, was proceeding to Essonnes, when a man +armed with a stout stick suddenly presented himself, and summoned her to +give up her money. Pretending to be greatly alarmed, she hastily searched +her pocket, and collecting some small pieces of coin held them out to the +man, who without distrust approached to take them. But the moment he took +the money, Melanie made a sudden snatch at the stick, and wresting it from +his hand, dealt him so violent a blow with it across the head that she +felled him to the ground. She then gave him a sound thrashing, and, in +spite of his resistance, forced him to accompany her to the office of the +commissary of police, by whom he was committed for trial. + + +Gallant Daughter.--Sir John Cochrane, who was engaged in Argyle's rebellion +against James II., was taken prisoner, after a desperate resistance, and +condemned to be executed. His daughter, having notice that the +death-warrant was expected from London, attired herself in men's clothes, +and twice attacked and robbed the mails between Belford and Berwick. The +execution was by this means delayed, till Sir John Cochrane's father, the +Earl of Dundonald, succeeded in making interest with the king for his +release. + + +A Gamekeeper's Daughter.--The Gazette of Augsburg for January, 1820, +contained a singular account of the heroism and presence of mind displayed +by the daughter of a gamekeeper, residing in a solitary house near Welheim. +Her father and the rest of the family had gone to church, when there +appeared at the door an old man apparently half dead with cold. Feeling for +his situation, she let him in, and went into the kitchen to prepare him +some soup. Through a window which communicated from the kitchen to the room +in which she had left him, she perceived that he had dropped the beard he +wore when he entered; that he now appeared a robust man; and that he was +pacing the chamber with a poignard in his hand. Finding no mode of escape, +she armed herself with a chopper in one hand and the boiling soup in the +other, and entering the room where he was, first threw the soup in his +face, and then struck him a blow with the hatchet on his neck, which +brought him to the ground senseless. At this moment a fresh knock at the +door occasioned her to look out of an upper window, when she saw a strange +hunter, who demanded admittance, and on her refusal, threatened to break +open the door. She immediately got her father's gun, and as he was +proceeding to put his threat in execution, she shot him through the right +shoulder, on which he made his way back to the forest. Half an hour after a +third person came, and asked after an old man who must have passed that +way. She said she knew nothing of him; and after useless endeavours to make +her open the door, he also proceeded to break it in, when she shot him dead +on the spot. The excitement of her courage being now at an end, her spirits +began to sink, and she fired shots, and screamed from the windows, until +some gendarmes were attracted to the house; but nothing would induce her to +open the door until the return of her father from church. + + +Reward of Heroism.--M. Labat, a merchant of Bayonne, ill in health, had +retired in the beginning of the winter, 1803, to a country house on the +banks of the Adour. One morning, when promenading in his robe-de-chambre, +on a terrace elevated a little above the river, he saw a traveller thrown +by a furious horse, from the opposite bank, into the midst of the torrent. +M. Labat was a good swimmer: he did not stop a moment to reflect on the +danger of the attempt, but, ill as he was, threw off his robe-de-chambre, +leaped into the flood, and caught the drowning stranger at the moment when, +having lost all sensation, he must have otherwise inevitably perished. "Oh, +God!" exclaimed M. Labat, clasping him in his arms, and recognizing with a +transport of joy the individual he had rescued, "I have saved my son!" + + +The Douglas.--When King Robert I. died he exacted a promise from Sir James +Douglas to convey his heart to the Holy Land, where he had been on the +point of going when death arrested him. The party had reached Sluys, so far +on their way to Jerusalem, when Alonzo, King of Leon and Castile, at that +time engaged in war with the Moorish governor of Granada, Osmyn, sent to +demand the aid of Douglas; and by his oath as a knight, which forbade him +ever to turn a deaf ear to a call in aid of the Church of Christ, he was +obliged to attend to the summons. He fought with his usual heroism, till +the Moslems believed he bore a charmed life when they saw him rush into the +thickest of the fight and escape unwounded. But the Christian ranks +nevertheless began to give way; and to stem the flight the Douglas threw +the casket containing the king's heart into the _melée_, and rushed after +it, exclaiming, "Now pass onward as thou wert wont, and Douglas will follow +thee or die!" The day after the battle the body of the hero and the casket +were found by his surviving companions; and the squire of Douglas finding +it was impossible to convey it to Jerusalem, brought back the king's heart +to Scotland, and it was interred in Melrose Abbey. + + +Marshal de Nevailles.--At the battle of Senef, the Prince of Condé sent +word to Marshal de Nevailles to be ready to engage the enemy. The messenger +found him hearing mass, at which the prince being enraged, muttered +something in abuse of over-pious persons. But the marquis having evinced +the greatest heroism during the engagement, said after it to the prince, +"Your highness, I fancy, now sees that those who pray to God behave as well +in battle as their neighbours." + + + + +HOSPITALITY. + + +Breton Peasants.--At the conclusion of the war in 1814, three hundred +British sailors, who had been prisoners, were assembled on the coast of +Britanny to embark for England. Being severally billetted on the +inhabitants for some days before they embarked, one of them requested +permission to see the superintendant, Monsieur Kearnie, which being +granted, the British tar thus addressed him: "An please your honour, I +don't come to trouble you with any bother about ourselves: we are all as +well treated as Christians can be; but there is one thing that makes my +food sit heavy on my stomach, and that of my two messmates." "What is it, +my brave fellow?" replied the superintendent;--"the persons on whom you are +quartered don't grudge it you?" "No, your honour;--if they did, that would +not vex us." "What, then, do you complain of?" "Only this, your +honour--that the poor folk cheerfully lay their scanty allowance before us +for our mess, and we have just found out that they have hardly touched a +mouthful themselves, or their six babes, for the last two days; and this we +take to be a greater hardship than any we found in prison." M. Kearnie told +them that from this hardship they should all be relieved. He instantly +ordered the billets to be withdrawn, and rewarded all parties for their +kindness, so compassionately exercised and interchanged. + + +An Archbishop.--Henry Wardlaw, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, at the beginning +of the fifteenth century was a prelate of such unbounded liberality, that +the masters of his household, apprehensive that his revenues might be +exhausted by the expense of entertaining the great numbers who resorted to +his palace, solicited him to make out a list of persons to whom the +hospitality of his board might be confined. "Well," said the archbishop to +his secretary, "take a pen and begin. First put down Fife and Angus"--two +large counties, containing several hundred thousands of people. His +servants hearing this, retired abashed; "for," says the historian, "they +said he would have no man refused that came to his house." + + +Rights of Hospitality.--Dr. Johnson, in his tour through North Wales, +passed two days at the seat of Colonel Middleton, of Gwynnagag. While he +remained there, the gardener found a hare amidst some potatoe plants, and +brought it to his master, then engaged in conversation with the doctor. An +order was given to carry it to the cook. As soon as Johnson heard this +sentence, he begged to have the animal placed in his arms, which was no +sooner done, than approaching the open window, he restored the hare to her +liberty, shouting after her to accelerate her speed. "What have you done, +doctor?" cried the colonel. "Why you have robbed my table of a +delicacy--perhaps deprived us of a dinner." "So much the better, sir," +replied the humane champion of a condemned hare; "for if your table is to +be supplied at the expense of the laws of hospitality, I envy not the +appetite of him who eats it. This, sir, is not a hare taken in war, but one +which had voluntarily placed itself under your protection; and savage +indeed must be that man who does not make his hearth an asylum for the +confiding stranger." + + +Mungo Park.--While Park was waiting on the banks of the Niger for a +passage, the king of the country was informed that a white man intended to +visit him. On this intelligence, a messenger was instantly dispatched to +tell the stranger that his majesty could not possibly admit him to his +presence till he understood the cause of his arrival, and also to warn him +not to cross the river without the royal permission. The message was +accordingly delivered by one of the chief natives, who advised Mr. Park to +seek a lodging in an adjacent village, and promised to give him some +requisite instructions in the morning. Mr. Park immediately complied with +this counsel; but on entering the village he had the mortification to find +every door closed against him. He was, therefore, obliged to remain all the +day without food, beneath the shade of a tree. About sunset, as he was +turning his horse loose to graze, and expected to pass the night in this +lonely situation, a woman returning from her employment in the fields +stopped to gaze at him, and observing his dejected looks, enquired from +what cause they proceeded? Mr. P. endeavoured, as well as he could, to make +known his destitute situation. The woman immediately took up his saddle and +bridle, and desired him to follow her to her residence, where, after +lighting a lamp, she presented him with some broiled fish, spread a mat for +him to lie upon, and gave him permission to continue under her roof till +morning. Having performed this humane action, she summoned her female +companions to their spinning, which occupied the chief part of the night, +while their labour was beguiled by a variety of songs--one of which was +observed by Mr. Park to be an extemporaneous effusion, created by his own +adventure. The air was remarkably sweet and plaintive, and the words were +literally the following:-- + + "The winds roared, and the rain fell. + The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree. + He has no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind him corn. + + _Chorus._ Let us pity the white man: no mother has he to bring him + milk, no wife to grind his corn." + + + + +HUMANITY. + + +M. Neckar.--The six companies, or bodies corporate, of the City of Paris, +set on foot in the month of October, 1788, a subscription for the relief of +the sufferers by a dreadful hail-storm, which had ravaged a part of the +country, and totally destroyed all the hopes of the husbandmen. To the +honour of these companies, no less than 50,000 livres were collected in a +short time, and placed in the hands of M. Neckar, in order to be applied to +the purpose for which they were subscribed. M. Neckar, on receiving the +money, directed it to be sent to the Treasury. "To the Treasury, my lord!" +exclaimed the bearer. "Yes, sir," replied M. Neckar; "50,000 livres will do +well for the Treasury, from which I drew yesterday 150,000 livres, to be +distributed among the same husbandmen whom it is your object to relieve, +feeling assured that the Treasury could never suffer from an advance made +on the credit of the humanity of Frenchmen." + + +Siege of Cajeta.--The City of Cajeta having rebelled against Alphonsus, was +invested by that monarch with a powerful army. Being sorely distressed for +want of provisions, the citizens put forth all their old men, women, and +children, and shut the gates upon them. The king's ministers advised his +majesty not to permit them to pass, but to force them back into the city; +by which means he would speedily become master of it. Alphonsus, however, +had too humane a disposition to hearken to counsel, the policy of which +rested on driving a helpless multitude into the jaws of famine. He suffered +them to pass unmolested; and when afterwards reproached with the delay +which this produced in the siege, he feelingly said, "I had rather be the +preserver of one innocent person, than be the master of a hundred Cajetas." + + +Provost Drummond.--About the middle of last century, George Drummond was +provost or chief magistrate of Edinburgh, and renowned for his humane +disposition. He was one day coming into the town by the suburb called the +West Port, when he saw a funeral procession leaving the door of a humble +dwelling, and setting out for the churchyard. The only persons composing +the funeral company were four poor-looking old men, seemingly common +beggars, one at each end of a pole carrying the coffin, and none to relieve +them; there was not a single attendant. The provost at once saw that it +must be a beggar's funeral, and he went forward to the old men, saying to +them, "Since this poor creature now deceased has no friends to follow his +remains to the grave, I will perform that melancholy office myself." He +then took his place at the head of the coffin. They had not gone far, till +they met two gentlemen who were acquainted with the provost, and they asked +him what he was doing there. He told them that he was going to the +interment of a poor friendless mendicant, as there were none else to do it; +so they turned and accompanied him. Others joined in the same manner, and +at last there was a respectable company at the grave. "Now," said the +kind-hearted provost, "I will lay the old man's head in the grave," which +he accordingly did, and afterwards saw the burial completed in a decent +manner. When the solemnity was over, he asked if the deceased had left a +wife or family, and learned that he had left a wife, an old woman, in a +state of perfect destitution. "Well, then, gentlemen," said the provost, +addressing those around him, "we met in rather a singular manner, and we +cannot part without doing something creditable for the benefit of the +helpless widow; let each give a trifle, and I will take it upon me to see +it administered to the best advantage." All immediately contributed some +money, which made up a respectable sum, and was afterwards given in a +fitting way to the poor woman; the provost also afterwards placed her in an +industrious occupation, by which she was able to support herself without +depending on public relief. + + +Sir Philip Sidney was a gallant soldier, a poet, and the most accomplished +gentleman of his time. At the battle of Zutphen, in the Netherlands, after +having two horses killed under him, he received a wound while in the act of +mounting a third, and was carried bleeding, faint, and thirsty to the camp. +A small quantity of water was brought to allay the thirst of Sir Philip; +but as he was raising it to his lips, he observed that a poor wounded +soldier, who was carried past at the moment, looked at the cup with wistful +eyes. The generous Sidney instantly withdrew it untasted from his mouth, +and gave it to the soldier, saying, "Thy necessity is yet greater than +mine." He died of his wound, aged only thirty-three; but his kindness to +the poor soldier has caused his name to be remembered ever since with +admiration, and it will probably never be forgotten while humane and +generous actions are appreciated among men. + + +Bishop of St. Lisieux.--The massacre of St. Bartholomew was not confined to +Paris; orders were sent to the most distant provinces to commence the work +of destruction. When the governor of the province brought the order to +Hennuyer, Bishop of Lisieux, he opposed it with all his power, and caused a +formal act of his opposition to be entered on the registers of the +province. Charles IX., when remorse had taken place of cruelty, was so far +from disapproving of what this excellent prelate had done, that he gave him +the greatest praise for his humanity; and Protestants flocked in numbers to +adjure their religion at the feet of this good and kind shepherd, whose +gentleness affected them more than either the commands of the sovereign, +or the violence of the soldiery. + + +On the same occasion, Viscount d'Orthe had the courage to write from +Bayonne to Charles IX., that he found many good soldiers in his garrison, +but not one executioner; and begged him to command their lives in any +service that was possible to men of honor. + + +Baron Von Stackelberg, in going from Athens to Thessalonica in an armed +vessel, was taken by some Albanian pirates, who immediately sent the +captain of the vessel to the former place, demanding 60,000 piastres for +the baron's ransom, and threatening that if it was not paid, they would +tear his body to pieces. They obliged him, at the same time, to write to +Baron Haller and another friend, to acquaint them with the demand. The time +fixed by the pirates had elapsed, and Baron Stackelberg, who had become +extremely ill, was expecting a cruel death, when the humane and generous +Haller, who had borrowed 14,500 Turkish piastres, at 30 per cent., +appeared. The pirates refused to take less than the sum demanded. Haller +offered himself as a hostage instead of his friend, if they would prolong +his life, and suffer him to recover from his sickness. This noble deed +contributed to convince the pirates, that no larger sum could be obtained; +they accepted it, and Haller returned to Athens with the friend whom his +humanity had preserved. + + +The Princess Charlotte.--During the residence of Her Royal Highness at +Bognor, where she had gone for the recovery of her health, an officer of +long standing in the army was arrested for a small sum, and being at a +distance from his friends, and unable to procure bail, he was on the point +of being torn from his family to be conveyed to Arundel gaol. The +circumstance came to the knowledge of the princess, who, in the momentary +impulse of generous feeling, exclaimed, "I will be his bail!" Then, +suddenly recollecting herself, she inquired the amount of the debt; which +being told her, "There," said she, handing a purse with more than the sum, +"take this to him; it is hard that he who has exposed his life in the +field of battle should ever experience the rigours of a prison."--During +the last illness of an old female attendant, formerly nurse to the Princess +Charlotte, she visited her every day, sat by her bedside, and with her own +hand administered the medicine prescribed. When death had closed the eyes +of this poor woman, instead of fleeing in haste from an object so appalling +to the young and gay in general, the princess remained and gave utterance +to the compassion she felt on viewing the remains in that state from which +majesty itself cannot be exempt. A friend of the deceased, seeing Her Royal +Highness was much affected, said, "If your Royal Highness would condescend +to touch her, perhaps you would not dream of her." "Touch her," replied the +amiable princess, "yes, poor thing! and kiss her, too; almost the only one +I ever kissed, except my poor mother!" Then bending her head over the +coffin of her humble friend, she pressed her lips to the cold cheeks, while +tears flowed from her eyes. + + +M. de Montesquieu being at Marseilles, hired a boat with the intention of +sailing for pleasure; the boat was rowed by two young men, with whom he +entered into conversation, and learnt that they were not watermen by trade, +but silversmiths, and that when they could be spared from their usual +business, they employed themselves in that way to increase their earnings. +On expressing his surprise at their conduct, and imputing it to an +avaricious disposition; "Oh! sir," said the young men, "if you knew our +reasons, you would ascribe it to a better motive.--Our father, anxious to +assist his family, devoted the produce of a life of industry to the +purchase of a vessel, for the purpose of trading to the coast of Barbary, +but was unfortunately taken by a pirate, carried to Tripoli, and sold as a +slave. In a letter we have received from him, he informs that he has +luckily fallen into the hands of a master who treats him with great +humanity; but the sum demanded for the ransom is so exorbitant, that it +will be impossible for him ever to raise it. He adds, that we must +therefore relinquish all hope of ever seeing him again. With the hopes of +restoring to his family a beloved father, we are striving by every honest +means in our power to collect the sum necessary for his ransom, and we are +not ashamed to employ ourselves for such a purpose in the occupation of +watermen." M. de Montesquieu was struck with this account, and on his +departure made them a handsome present. Some months afterwards, the young +men being at work in their shop, were greatly surprised at the sudden +arrival of their father, who threw himself into their arms; exclaiming at +the same time, that he feared they had taken some unjust method to raise +the money for his ransom, for it was too great for them to have gained by +their ordinary occupation. They professed their ignorance of the whole +affair; and could only suspect they owed their father's release to that +stranger to whose generosity they had before been so much obliged. Such, +indeed, was the case; but it was not till after Montesquieu's death that +the fact was known, when an account of the affair, with the sum remitted to +Tripoli for the old man's ransom, was found among his papers. + + +Fenelon.--The venerable Archbishop of Cambray, whose humanity was +unbounded, was in the constant habit of visiting the cottages of the +peasants, and administering consolation and relief in their distress. When +they were driven from their habitations by the alarms of war, he received +them into his house, and served them at his table. During the war, his +house was always open to the sick and wounded, whom he lodged and provided +with every thing necessary for their relief. Besides his constant +hospitalities to the military, he performed a most munificent act of +patriotism and humanity after the disastrous winter of 1709, by opening his +granaries and distributing gratuitously corn to the value of 100,000 +livres. And when his palace at Cambray, and all his books and furniture, +were destroyed by fire, he bore it with the utmost firmness, saying, "It is +better all these should be burned, than the cottage of one poor family." + + +Lord Cochrane.--When this gallant officer was entrusted with the perilous +duty of conducting the fire-ships in the attack upon the French fleet in +Basque Roads, he had lighted the fusee which was to explode one of these +terrific engines of destruction, and had rowed off to some distance, when +it was discovered that a dog had been left on board. Lord C. instantly +ordered the men to row back, assuring them that there was yet time enough, +_if they pulled hard_, to save the poor animal. They got back to the +fire-ship just a few minutes before it would have been too late to save the +animal; and when the dreadful explosion took place, were still so near the +floating volcano, that the fragments fell in heaps around them. + + +Sir Samuel Hood.--This gallant officer, when commanding the "Juno" on the +Jamaica station, in 1791, exhibited a noble instance of intrepid humanity. +The ship was lying in St. Anne's harbour, when a raft, with three persons +upon it, was discovered at a great distance. The weather was exceedingly +stormy; and the waves broke with such violence, as to leave little hope +that the unfortunate men upon it could long survive. Captain Hood instantly +ordered out one of his ship's boats to endeavour to rescue them; but the +sea ran so high, that the crew declared the attempt impracticable, and +refused to expose themselves to what they considered certain destruction. +The captain immediately leaped into the boat, declaring that he would never +order them on any service on which he would not himself venture. The effect +was such as might be expected: there is no danger that a British sailor +will not share with his captain; all now were eager to offer themselves. +The boat pushed off, and reached the raft with much difficulty, and saved +the exhausted men, who still clung to it. The House of Assembly of Jamaica, +to testify their sense of this undaunted exertion in the cause of humanity, +presented Captain Hood with a sword of the value of two hundred guineas. + + +An Uncarpeted House.--M. Eveillan, formerly Archdeacon of Angers, was noted +for his humane and charitable disposition towards the poor. On one +occasion, when a friend expressed surprise that none of his rooms were +carpeted, he replied, "When I enter my house in the winter, I do not hear +any complaints of cold from the furniture of my rooms; but the poor who +stand shivering at my doors tell me but too plainly that they have need of +clothing." + + + + +IMAGINATION AND FEAR. + + +Fear of Death.--It is recorded of a person who had been sentenced to be +bled to death, that, instead of the punishment being actually inflicted, he +was made to believe that it was so, merely by causing water, when his eyes +were blinded, to trickle down his arm. This mimicry, however, of an +operation, stopped as completely the movements of the animated machine as +if an entire exhaustion had been effected of the vivifying mud. The man +lost his life, although not his blood, by this imaginary venesection. + + +We read of another unfortunate being who had been condemned to lose his +head, but the moment after it had been laid upon the block, a reprieve +arrived; the victim was, however, already sacrificed. The living principle +had been extinguished by the fear of the axe, as effectually as it would +have been by its fall. + + +The Editor of the _Philosophical Magazine_ relates a remarkable instance +which came within his own knowledge many years ago in Scotland. Some silver +spoons having been mislaid, were supposed to have been stolen; and an +expression fell from one of the family, which was either intended, or was +so understood by a young lady who acted as governess to the female +children, that she had taken them. When the young lady rose next morning, +her hair, which before was dark, was found to have changed to a pure white +during the night. The spoons were afterwards found where the mistress of +the family had herself deposited them. + + +Mons. Boutibonne, a man of literary attainments, a native of Paris, served +in Napoleon's army, and was present at a number of engagements during the +early part of the present century. At the battle of Wagram, which resulted +in a treaty of peace with Austria, in November 1809, Mons. Boutibonne was +actively engaged during the whole of the fray, which lasted, if I rightly +remember, from soon after mid-day until dark. The ranks around him had +been terribly thinned by the enemy's shot, so that his position at sunset +was nearly isolated; and while in the act of reloading his musket, he was +shot down by a cannon-ball. The impression produced upon his mind was, that +the ball had passed from left to right, through his legs below the knees, +separating them from his thighs, as he suddenly sank down, shortened, as he +believed, to the extent of about a foot in measurement, the trunk of the +body falling backwards on the ground, and the senses being completely +paralysed by the shock. In this posture he lay motionless during the +remainder of the night, not daring to move a muscle for fear of fatal +consequences. He experienced no severe suffering; but this immunity from +pain he attributed to the stunning effect produced upon the brain and +nervous system. "My wounded companions," said he, "lay groaning in agony on +every side, but I uttered not a word, nor ventured to move, lest the torn +vessels should be roused into action, and produce fatal hæmorrhage, for I +had been made acquainted with the fact that the blood-vessels, wounded in +this way, did not usually bleed profusely until reaction took place. At +early dawn, on the following morning, I was aroused from a troubled slumber +by one of the medical staff, who came round to succour the wounded. 'What's +the matter with you my good fellow?' said he. 'Ah! touch me softly, I +beseech you,' I replied, 'a cannon-ball has carried off my legs.' He +proceeded at once to examine my legs and thighs, and giving me a good +shake, with a cry of joy he exclaimed 'Get up at once, there is nothing the +matter with you.' Whereupon I sprung up in utter astonishment, and stood +firmly on the legs which I believed had been lost to me for ever. I felt +more thankful than I had ever done in the whole course of my life before. I +had not a wound about me. I had indeed been shot down by an immense +cannon-ball, but instead of passing through my legs, as I firmly believed +it to have done, the ball had passed under my feet, and had ploughed away a +cavity in the earth beneath, at least a foot in depth, into which my feet +suddenly sank, giving me the idea that I had been thus shattered by the +separation of my legs. Such is the power of imagination." + + + + +JOHNSON. + + +Johnson and Millar.--When Dr. Johnson had completed his Dictionary, which +had quite exhausted the patience of Mr. Andrew Millar, his bookseller, the +latter acknowledged the receipt of the last sheet in the following +note:--"Andrew Millar sends his compliments to Mr. Samuel Johnson, with the +money for the last sheet of the copy of the Dictionary, and thanks God he +has done with him." To this rude note the doctor returned the following +smart answer:--"Samuel Johnson returns his compliments to Mr. Andrew +Millar, and is very glad to find (as he does by his note) that Andrew +Millar has the grace to thank God for anything." + + +Johnson and Wilkes.--In his English Grammar, prefixed to his Dictionary, +Johnson had written--"_He_ seldom, perhaps never, begins any but the first +syllable." Wilkes published some remarks upon this dictum, commencing: "The +author of this observation must be a man of quick appre-_he_nsion, and of a +most compre-_he_nsive genius." + + +Johnson and Lord Elibank.--"Lord Elibank," says Sir W. Scott, "made a happy +retort on Dr. Johnson's definition of oats, as the food of horses in +England, and men in Scotland." "Yes," said he, "and where else will you see +_such horses_, and _such men?_" + + + + +KINGS. + + +James the First.--Soon after that would-be _Solomon_ came to the throne of +England, he went one day to hear the causes in Westminster Hall, in order +to show his learning and wisdom, of which he had no mean opinion. +Accordingly, being seated on the bench, a cause came on, which the counsel, +learned in the law, set forth to such advantage on the part of the +plaintiff, that the Royal Judge thought he saw the justice of it so +clearly, that he frequently cried out, "The gude man is i' the richt! the +gude man is i' the richt! He mun hae it! he mun hae it!" And when the +counsel had concluded, he took it as a high affront that the judges of the +court should presume to remonstrate to him, that it was the rule to hear +the other side before they gave judgment. Curiosity to know what could be +said in so clear a case, rather than any respect to their rules, made him +defer his decision; but the defendant's counsel had scarcely begun to open +his cause, when his majesty appeared greatly discomposed, and was so +puzzled as they proceeded, that he had no patience to hear them out, but +starting up in a passion, cried, "I'll hear nae mair! I'll hear nae mair! +ye are a' knaves aleeke! Ye gi' each other the lee (lie), and neither's i' +the richt!" + + +Frederick the Great.--Frederick the Great rang the bell one day, and nobody +answered. He opened the door, and found the page sleeping on a sofa. About +to wake him, he perceived the end of a billet out of his pocket, and had +the curiosity to know the contents: Frederick carefully drew it out, and +read it; it was a letter from the mother of the young man, who thanked him +for having sent her part of his wages, to assist her in her distress; and +it concluded by beseeching God to bless him for his filial goodness. The +king returned softly to his room, took a roller of ducats, and slid them, +with the letter, into the page's pocket; and then returning to his +apartment, rung so violently, that the page came running breathlessly to +know what had happened. "You have slept well," said the king. The page made +an apology, and, in his embarrassment, he happened to put his hand into his +pocket, and felt with astonishment the roller. He drew it out, turned pale, +and looking at the king, burst into tears, without being able to speak a +word. "What is the matter?" said the king, "what ails you?" "Ah, sire," +answered the youth, throwing himself at his feet, "somebody would wish to +ruin me; I know not how I came by this money in my pocket." "My friend," +said Frederick, "God often sends us good in our sleep. Send this to your +mother. Salute her in my name, and assure her I shall take care of her and +of you." + + +Frederick, conqueror as he was, sustained a severe defeat at Coslin in the +war of 1755. Some time after, at a review, he jocosely asked a soldier, who +had got a deep cut in his cheek, "Friend, at what alehouse did you get that +scratch?" "I got it," said the soldier, "at Coslin, _where your majesty +paid the reckoning_." + + +Frederick was very fond of disputation; but as he generally terminated the +discussion by collaring his antagonist and kicking his shins, few of his +guests were disposed to enter the arena against him. One day, when he was +particularly disposed for an argument, he asked one of his suite why he did +not venture to give his opinion on a particular question. "It is +impossible, your majesty," was the reply, "to express an opinion before a +sovereign who has such very strong convictions, and who _wears such very +thick boots_." + + +Desertion.--Frederick, in surveying one evening some of the advanced posts +of his camp, discovered a soldier endeavouring to pass the sentinel. His +majesty stopped him, and insisted on knowing where he was going. "To tell +you the truth," answered the soldier, "your majesty has been so worsted in +all your attempts, that I was going to _desert_." "Were you?" answered the +monarch. "Remain here but one week longer, and if fortune does not mend in +that time, I'll desert with you too." + + +Louis XIV., playing at backgammon, had a doubtful throw; a dispute arose, +and all the courtiers remained silent. The Count de Grammont came in at +that instant. "Decide the matter," said the king to him. "Sire," said the +count, "your Majesty is in the wrong."--"How so," replied the king; "can +you decide without knowing the question?"--"Yes," said the count, "because, +had the matter been doubtful, all these gentlemen present would have given +it for your majesty." + + +Louis was told that Lord Stair was the best bred man in Europe. "I shall +soon put that to the test," said the king, and asking Lord Stair to take an +airing with him, as soon as the door of the coach was opened he bade him +pass and go in, the other bowed and obeyed. The king said, "The world was +right in the character it gave of Lord Stair--another person would have +troubled me with ceremony." + + +While the Eddystone light-house was erecting, a French privateer took the +men upon the rock, together with their tools, and carried them to France; +and the captain was in expectation of a reward for the achievement. While +the captives lay in prison, the transaction reached the ears of Louis XIV., +when he immediately ordered them to be released, and the captors put in +their places, declaring, that "Though he was at war with England, he was +not so with all mankind." He directed the men to be sent back to their +work, with presents--observing, "That the Eddystone light-house was so +situated as to be of equal service to all nations having occasion to +navigate the channel between England and France." + + +Charles II. was reputed a great connoisseur in naval architecture. Being +once at Chatham, to view a ship just finished on the stocks, he asked the +famous Killigrew, "If he did not think he should make an excellent +shipwright?" He replied, "That he always thought his majesty would have +done better at any trade than his own." No favourable compliment, but as +true a one, perhaps, as ever was paid. + + +Louis XII.--Josquin, a celebrated composer, was appointed master of the +chapel to Louis XII. of France, who promised him a benefice, but contrary +to his usual custom, forgot him. Josquin, after suffering great +inconvenience from the shortness of his majesty's memory, ventured, by a +singular expedient, publicly to remind him of his promise, without giving +offence. Being commanded to compose a motet for the chapel royal, he chose +the verse of the Psalm, "Oh, think of thy servant as concerning thy word," +&c., which he set in so supplicating and exquisite a manner, that it was +universally admired, particularly by the king, who was not only charmed +with the music, but felt the force of the words so effectually, that he +soon after granted his petition, by conferring on him the promised +appointment. + + +George the Second, when returning from his German dominions, on the way +between the Brill and Helvoetsluys, was obliged to stay at an obscure +public house on the road, while some of his servants went forward to obtain +another carriage, that in which he had travelled having broken down. The +king ordered refreshment, but all he could get was a pot of coffee for +himself and Lord Delawar, and two bottles of gin made into punch for his +footmen; however, when the bill was called for, the conscientious Dutchman, +knowing his customer, presented it as follows: "To refreshments for His +Sacred Majesty, King George the Second, and his household, £91." Lord +Delawar was so provoked at this imposition, that the king overheard his +altercation with the landlord, and demanded the cause of it. His lordship +immediately told him; when his majesty good humouredly replied, "My lord, +the fellow is a great knave, but pay him. Kings seldom pass this way." + +A similar anecdote is related of another monarch, who, passing through a +town in Holland, was charged thirty dollars for two eggs. On this, he said, +that "Eggs were surely scarce in that town." "No, your majesty," replied +the landlord, "but kings are." + + +Charles V. of France.--The last words of this patriotic monarch are +memorable for the noble moral for kings which they contain. "I have aimed +at justice," said he to those around him; "but what king can be certain +that he has always followed it? Perhaps I have done much evil of which I am +ignorant. Frenchmen! who now hear me, I address myself in the presence of +the Supreme Being to you. _I find that kings are happy but in this--that +they have the power of doing good_." + + +George III. on Punctuality.--The celebrated mathematical instrument maker, +Mr. Ramsden, was frequently deficient in punctuality, and would delay for +months, nay, for years, the delivery of instruments bespoken from him. His +majesty, who had more than once experienced this dilatory disposition, once +ordered an instrument, which he made Ramsden positively promise to deliver +on a certain day. The day, however, came, but not the instrument. At length +Ramsden sent word to the king that it was finished; on which a message was +sent him, desiring that he would bring it himself to the palace. He, +however, answered, that he would not come, unless his majesty would promise +not to be angry with him. "Well, well," said the king, "let him come: as he +confesses his fault, it would be hard to punish him for it." On this +assurance he went to the palace, where he was graciously received; the +king, after expressing his entire satisfaction with the instrument, only +adding, with a good-natured smile, "You have been uncommonly punctual this +time, Mr. Ramsden, having brought the instrument on the very day of the +month you promised it; you have only made a small mistake in the date of +the year." It was, in fact, exactly a year after the stipulated time. + + +Doing Homage.--Mr. Carbonel, the wine merchant who served George III., was +a great favourite with the king, and used to be admitted to the royal +hunts. Returning from the chase one day, his majesty entered affably into +conversation with him, and rode with him side by side a considerable way. +Lord Walsingham was in attendance; and watching an opportunity, took Mr. +Carbonel aside, and whispered something to him. "What's that, what's that +Walsingham has been saying to you?" inquired the good-humoured monarch. "I +find, sire, I have been unintentionally guilty of disrespect; my lord +informed me, that, I ought to have taken off my hat whenever I addressed +your majesty; but your majesty will please to observe, that whenever I +hunt, my hat is fastened to my wig, and my wig is fastened to my head, and +I am on the back of a very high-spirited horse; so that if any thing _goes +off_, we _all go off together!_" The king accepted, and laughed heartily +at, the whimsical apology. + + +The Horse Dealer.--The king having purchased a horse, the dealer put into +his hands a large sheet of paper, completely written over. "What's this?" +said his majesty. "The pedigree of the horse, sire, which you have just +bought," was the answer. "Take it back, take it back," said the king, +laughing; "it will do very well for the next horse you sell." + + +The following affords a pleasing trait in the character of George the +Third, as well as an instance of that feeling which ought to subsist +between masters of all ranks and circumstances and their domestics:-- + +_Inscription in the Cloisters of St. George's Chapel, Windsor._ + +King George III. +caused to be interred near this place the body of +MARY GASKOIN, +Servant to the late Princess Amelia; and this tablet to be +erected in testimony of his grateful sense of the faithful +services and attachment of an amiable young woman to +his beloved daughter, whom she survived only three +months. She died the 19th February, 1811, aged 31 +years. + + +A very bold caricature was one day shown to his majesty, in which Warren +Hastings was represented wheeling the king and the lord chancellor in a +wheelbarrow for sale, and crying, "What a man buys, he may sell." The +inference intended was, that his majesty and Lord Thurlow had used improper +influence in favour of Hastings. The king smiled at the caricature, and +observed, "Well, this is something new; I have been in all sorts of +carriages, but was never put into a wheel-barrow before." + + + + +LAWS AND LAWYERS. + + +A Bold Trick.--The following anecdote serves to exemplify how necessary it +is upon any important occasion to scrutinise the accuracy of a statement +before it is taken upon trust. A fellow was tried at the Old Bailey for +highway robbery, and the prosecutor swore positively that he had seen his +face distinctly, for it was a bright moonlight night. The counsel for the +prisoner cross-questioned the man so as to make him repeat that assertion, +and insist upon it. He then affirmed that this was a most important +circumstance, and a most fortunate one for the prisoner at the bar: because +the night on which the alleged robbery was said to have been committed was +one in which there had been no moon: it was then during the dark quarter! +In proof of this he handed an almanack to the bench,--and the prisoner was +acquitted accordingly. The prosecutor, however, had stated every thing +truly; and it was known afterwards that the almanack with which the counsel +came provided, had actually been prepared and printed for the occasion! + + +Horse Trials.--In the art of cross-examining a witness, Curran was +pre-eminent. A clever repartee is recorded of him in a horse cause. He had +asked the jockey's servant his master's age, and the man had retorted, with +ready gibe, "I never put my hand into his mouth to try!" The laugh was +against the lawyer till he made the bitter reply,--"You did perfectly +right, friend; for your master is said to be a great bite." + + +Erskine displayed similar readiness in a case of breach of warranty. The +horse taken on trial had become dead lame, but the witness to prove it said +he had a cataract in his eye. "A singular proof of lameness," suggested the +Court. "It is cause and effect," remarked Erskine; "for what is a cataract +but a fall?" + + +Erskine.--On Mr. Erskine's receiving his appointment to succeed Mr. Dundas, +as justiciary in Scotland, he exclaimed that he must go and order his silk +robe. "Never mind," said Mr. Dundas, "for the short time you will want it +you had better borrow mine!"--"No!" replied Erskine, "how short a time +soever I may need it, heaven forbid that I commence my career by adopting +the _abandoned habits_ of my predecessor!" + + +Erskine is said to have once forgotten for which party, in a particular +cause, he had been retained; and, to the amazement of the agent who had +retained him, and the horror of the poor client behind, he made a most +eloquent speech in direct opposition to the interests he had been hired to +defend. Such was the zeal of his eloquence, that no whispered remonstrance +from the rear, no tugging at his elbow could stop him. But just as he was +about to sit down, the trembling attorney put a slip of paper into his +hands. "You have pleaded for the wrong party!" whereupon, with an air of +infinite composure, he resumed the thread of his oration, saying, "Such, my +lord, is the statement you will probably hear from my brother, on the +opposite side of this cause. I shall now beg leave, in a very few words, to +show your lordship how utterly untenable are the principles, and how +distorted are the facts, upon which this very specious statement has +proceeded." He then went once more over the same ground, and did not take +his seat till he had most energetically refuted himself, and destroyed the +effect of his former pleading. He gained the cause. + + +A similar circumstance happened in the Rolls Court, in 1788. Mr. A., an +eminent counsel, received a brief in court a short time before the cause +was called on, for the purpose of opposing the prayer of a petition. Mr. +A., conceiving himself to be the petitioner, spoke very ably in support of +the petition, and was followed by a counsel on the same side. The Master of +the Rolls then inquired who opposed the petition? Mr. A. having by this +time discovered his mistake, rose in much confusion, and said, that he felt +really much ashamed for a blunder into which he had fallen, for that, +instead of supporting the petition, it was his business to have opposed it. +The Master of the Rolls, with great good humour, desired him to proceed now +on the other side, observing, that he knew no counsel who could answer his +arguments half so well as himself. + + +Fools.--A lawyer of Strasburgh being in a dying state sent for a brother +lawyer to make his will, by which he bequeathed nearly the whole of his +estate to the Hospital for Idiots. The other expressed his surprise at this +bequest. "Why not bestow it upon them," said the dying man; "you know I got +the most of my money by fools, and therefore to fools it ought to return." + + +Curran.--A farmer, attending a fair with a hundred pounds in his pocket, +took the precaution of depositing it in the hands of the landlord of the +public-house at which he stopped. Having occasion for it shortly +afterwards, he repaired to mine host for the amount, but the landlord, too +deep for the countryman, wondered what hundred was meant, and was quite +sure no such sum had ever been lodged in his hands. After many ineffectual +appeals to the recollection, and finally to the honour of Bardolph, the +farmer applied to Curran for advice. "Have patience, my friend," said +Curran; "speak to the landlord civilly, and tell him you are convinced you +must have left your money with some other person. Take a friend with you, +and lodge with him another hundred in the presence of your friend, and then +come to me." We may imagine the vociferations of the honest rustic at such +advice; however, moved by the rhetoric of the worthy counsel, he followed +it, and returned to his legal friend. "And now, sir, I don't see as I'm to +be better off for this, if I get my second hundred again--but how is that +to be done?" "Go and ask him for it when he is alone," said the counsel. +"Aye, sir; but asking won't do I'm afraid, and not without my witness, at +any rate." "Never mind, take my advice," said the counsel; "do as I bid +you, and return to me." The farmer returned with the hundred, glad at any +rate to find that safe again his possession. "Now I suppose I must be +content, though I don't see as I'm much better off." "Well, then," said the +counsel, "now take your friend with you, and ask the landlord for the +hundred pounds your friend saw you leave with him." We need not add, that +the wily landlord found that he had been taken off his guard, while our +honest friend returned to thank his counsel exultingly, with both of his +hundreds in his pocket. + + +Mr. Curran was once engaged in a legal argument; behind him stood his +colleague, a gentleman whose person was remarkably tall and slender, and +who had originally intended to take orders. The judge observing that the +case under discussion involved a question of ecclesiastical law; "Then," +said Curran, "I can refer your lordship to a _high_ authority behind me, +who was once intended for the church, though in my opinion he was fitter +for the steeple." + + +There is a celebrated reply of Mr. Curran to a remark of Lord Clare, who +curtly exclaimed at one of his legal positions, "O! if that be law, Mr. +Curran, I may burn my law books!" "Better _read_ them, my lord," was the +sarcastic and appropriate rejoinder. + + +A Good Example.--Chamillart, comptroller-general of the finances in the +reign of Louis XIV., had been a celebrated pleader. He once lost a cause in +which he was concerned, through his excessive fondness for billiards. His +client called on him the day after in extreme affliction, and told him +that, if he had made use of a document which had been put into his hands, +but which he had neglected to examine, a verdict must have been given in +his favour. Chamillart read it, and found it of decisive importance to his +cause. "You sued the defendant," said he, "for 20,000 livres. You have +failed by my inadvertence. It is my duty to do you justice. Call on me in +two days." In the meantime Chamillart procured the money, and paid it to +his client, on no other condition than that he should keep the transaction +secret. + + +Legal Point.--A few years ago it happened that a cargo of ice was imported +into this country from Norway. Not having such an article in the Custom +house schedules, application was made to the Treasury and to the Board of +Trade; and, after some little delay, it was decided that the ice should be +entered as "_dry_ goods;" but the whole cargo had melted before the doubt +was cleared up! + + +Lord Brougham tells the following story. It is a curious instance of the +elucidation of facts in court.--During the assizes, in a case of assault +and battery, where a stone had been thrown by the defendant, the following +clear and conclusive evidence was drawn out of a Yorkshireman.--"Did you +see the defendant throw the stone?" "I saw a stone, and I'ze pretty sure +the defendant throwed it." "Was it a large stone?" "I should say it wur a +largeish stone." "What was its size?" "I should say a sizeable stone." +"Can't you answer definitely how big it was?" "I should say it wur a stone +of some bigness." "Can't you give the jury some idea of the stone?" "Why, +as near as I recollect, it wur something of a stone." "Can't you compare it +to some other object?" "Why, if I wur to compare it, so as to give some +notion of the stone, I should say it wur as large as a lump of chalk!" + + +Questioning.--Sir John Fielding gave a curious instance in the case of an +Irish fellow who was brought before him when sitting as a magistrate at +Bow-street. He was desired to give some account of himself, and where he +came from. Wishing to pass for an Englishman, he said he came from Chester. +This he pronounced with a very rich brogue, which caught the ears of Sir +John. "Why, were you ever in Chester?" says he. "To be sure I was," said +Pat, "_wasn't I born there?_" "How dare you," said Sir John Fielding, "with +that brogue, which shows that you are an Irishman, pretend to have been +born in Chester?" "I didn't say I was born there, sure; I only asked your +honour whether I was or not." + + +Thelwall, when on his trial at the Old Bailey for high treason, during the +evidence for the prosecution, wrote the following note, and sent it to his +counsel, Mr. Erskine: "I am determined to plead my cause myself." Mr. +Erskine wrote under it: "If you do, you'll be hang'd:" to which Thelwall +immediately returned this reply: "I'll be hang'd, then, if I do." + + +Peter the Great, being at Westminster Hall in term time, and seeing +multitudes of people swarming about the courts of law, is reported to have +asked some about him, what all those busy people were, and what they were +about? and being answered, "They are lawyers." "Lawyers!" returned he, with +great vivacity, "why I have but four in my whole kingdom, and I design to +hang two of them as soon as I get home." + + +A Sheepish Lamb.--Counsellor Lamb (an old man, at the time the late Lord +Erskine was in the height of his reputation) was a man of timid manners and +nervous disposition, and usually prefaced his pleadings with an apology to +that effect; and on one occasion, when opposed to Erskine, he happened to +remark that "he felt himself growing more and more timid as he grew older." +"No wonder," replied the witty but relentless barrister, "every one knows +the older a _lamb_ grows the more _sheepish_ he becomes." + + +A learned serjeant, since a judge, being once asked what he would do if a +man owed him £10, and refused to pay him. "Rather than bring an action, +with its costs and uncertainty," said he, "I would send him a receipt in +full of all demands." "Aye," said he, recollecting himself, "and I would +moreover send him five pounds to cover possible costs." + + +Sir William Jones and Thomas Day.--One day, upon removing some books at the +chambers of the former, a large spider dropped upon the floor, upon which +Sir William, with some warmth, said, "Kill that spider, Day; kill that +spider!" "No," said Mr. Day, with coolness, "I will not kill that spider, +Jones: I do not know that I have a right to kill that spider. Suppose, when +you are going in your coach to Westminster Hall, a superior Being, who +perhaps may have as much power over you as you have over this insect, +should say to his companion, 'Kill that lawyer, kill that lawyer!' how +should you like that, Jones? and I am sure, to most people, a lawyer is a +more noxious animal than a spider." + + +Sir Fletcher Norton was noted for his want of courtesy. When pleading +before Lord Mansfield, on some question of manorial right, he chanced +unfortunately to say, "My lord, I can illustrate the point in an instant in +my own person: I myself have two little manors." The judge immediately +interposed, with one of his blandest smiles, "We all know that, Sir +Fletcher." + + +The Stocks.--Lord Camden once presided at a trial in which a charge was +brought against a magistrate for false imprisonment, and for putting the +plaintiff in the stocks. The counsel for the magistrate, in his reply, +said, the charges were trifling, particularly that of putting in the +stocks, which everybody knew was no punishment at all. The chief justice +rose, and leaning over the bench, said, in a half whisper, "Brother, were +you ever in the stocks?" "In the stocks, my lord! no, never." "Then I +have," said his lordship, "and I assure you, brother, it is no such trifle +as you represent." His lordship's knowledge of the stocks arose from the +following circumstance. When he was on a visit to Lord Dacre, his +brother-in-law, at Alveley in Essex, he walked out one day with a gentleman +remarkable for his absence of mind. When they had reached a hill, at some +distance from the house, his lordship sat down on the parish stocks, which +stood by the road side; and after some time, asked his companion to open +them, as he wished to know what kind of punishment it was; this being done, +the absent gentleman took a book from his pocket, and sauntered about, +until he forgot both the judge and his situation, and returned to Lord +Dacre's house. When the judge was tired of the experiment he had so rashly +made, he found himself unable to open the stocks, and asked a countryman +who passed by to assist him. "No, no, old gentleman," replied Hodge, "you +was not set there for nothing, I'll be bound!" Lord C. protested his +innocence, but in vain; the countryman walked on, and left his lordship to +meditate for some time longer in his foolish situation, until some of Lord +Dacre's servants, chancing to pass that way, released him. + + +Hanging Judge.--Counsellor Grady, in a late trial in Ireland, said, he +recollected to have heard of a relentless judge; he was known by the name +of the Hanging Judge, and was never seen to shed a tear but once, and that +was during the representation of _The Beggar's Opera_, when Macheath got a +_reprieve!_ + + +It was the same judge, we believe, between whom and Mr. Curran the +following pass of wit once took place at table. "Pray, Mr. Curran," said +the judge, "is that hung beef beside you? If it is, I will try it." "If +_you_ try it, my lord," replied Mr. Curran, "it is sure to be hung." + + +Keep to the Point.--Lord Tenterden contracted such an inveterate habit of +keeping himself and everybody else to the precise matter in hand, that +once, during a circuit dinner, having asked a country magistrate if he +would take venison, and receiving what he deemed an evasive reply, "Thank +you, my lord, I am going to take boiled chicken," his lordship sharply +retorted, "That, sir, is no answer to my question; I ask you again if you +will take venison, and I will trouble you to say yes or no, without further +prevarication." + + +Longs and Shorts.--There were two barristers at the Irish bar who formed a +singular contrast in their statures. Ninian Mahaffy, Esq., was as much +above the middle size as Mr. Collis was below it. When Lord Redesdale was +Lord Chancellor of Ireland, these two gentlemen chanced to be retained in +the same cause, a short time after his lordship's elevation, and before he +was personally acquainted with the Irish bar. Mr. Collis was opening the +motion, when the lord chancellor observed, "Mr. Collis, when a barrister +addresses the court, he must stand." "I am standing on the bench, my lord," +said Collis. "I beg a thousand pardons," said his lordship, somewhat +confused. "Sit down, Mr. Mahaffy." "I am sitting, my lord," was the reply +to the confounded chancellor. + + +The Scotch bar had once to boast in Mr. Erskine, of Cardross, of a pleader +quite as diminutive as Mr. Collis. He had usually a stool brought to him to +stand upon when addressing the court, which gave occasion for a witty +rival once to observe, that "that was one way of rising at the bar." + + +Lord Kaimes used to relate a story of a man who claimed the honour of his +acquaintance on rather singular grounds. His lordship, when one of the +justiciary judges, returning from the north circuit to Perth, happened one +night to sleep at Dunkeld. The next morning, walking towards the ferry, but +apprehending he had missed his way, he asked a man whom he met to conduct +him. The other answered, with much cordiality, "That I will do with all my +heart, my lord. Does not your lordship remember me? My name's John ----, I +have had the _honour_ to be before your lordship for stealing sheep!" "Oh, +John! I remember you well; and how is your wife? She had the honour to be +before me too, for receiving them, knowing them to be stolen." "At your +lordship's service. We were very lucky; we got off for want of evidence; +and I am still going on in the butcher trade." "Then," replied his +lordship, "we may have the _honour_ of meeting again." + + +Sergeant Hill, who was much celebrated as a lawyer, and eminently qualified +to find out a case in point on any disputed question, was somewhat +remarkable for absence of mind, the result of that earnestness with which +he devoted himself to his professional duties. On the very day when he was +married, he had an intricate case in his mind, and forgot his engagement, +until reminded of his waiting bride, and that the legal time of performing +the ceremony had nearly elapsed. Being once on circuit, and having occasion +to refer to a law authority, he had recourse as usual to his bag; but, to +the astonishment of the court, instead of a volume of Viner's abridgment, +he took out a specimen candlestick, the property of a Birmingham traveller, +whose bag the learned sergeant had brought into court by mistake. + + +During the long vacation, the sergeant usually retired to his country seat +at Rowell in Northamptonshire. It happened, during one autumn, that some of +the neighbouring sportsmen, among whom was the present Earl Spencer, being +in pursuit of a fox, Reynard, who was hard pressed, took refuge in the +court-yard of this venerable sage. At this moment the sergeant was reading +a _case in point_, which decided that in a trespass of this kind the owners +of the ground had a right to inflict the punishment of death. Mr. Hill +accordingly gave orders for punishing the fox, as an original trespasser, +which was done instantly. The hunters now arrived with the hounds in full +cry, and the foremost horseman, who anticipated the glory of possessing the +brush, was the first to behold his victim stretched lifeless on the ground, +pinioned to the earth by plebeian pitchforks. The hunters were very anxious +to discover the daring culprit who had presumed to deprive the field and +the pack of their prey; when the venerable sergeant made his appearance, +with his book in his hand, and offered to convince them that execution had +taken place according to legal authority. The sportsmen got outrageous, but +the learned sergeant was not intimidated; he knew the force of his +authorities, and gravely invited the attention of his auditory to a case +from one of the old reporters, that would have puzzled a whole bar of +modern practitioners to controvert. The effect was ludicrous; the +extraordinary appearance of the worthy sergeant, not in his bargown, but in +what these adventurous mortals called a mere bedgown; the quaintness of his +manner, the singularity of the occurrence, and the novelty of the incident, +threw them completely out. + + + + +LIBRARIANS. + + +Budæus, a very learned man, librarian to Francis the First of France, was +one day engaged in deep study, when his servant came running to him in a +great fright, to tell him that the house was on fire. "Go," said he, with +perfect calmness, and hardly raising his eyes from his book, "and inform +your mistress, 'tis her concern, you know I never interfere in domestic +matters." + + +Knowledge.--The famous Duval, librarian to the Emperor Francis the First, +often used to reply to questions that were put to him, "I do not know." An +ignoramus one day said to him, "But the emperor pays you for _knowing_." +"The emperor," he replied, "pays me for what I know; if he were to pay me +for what I am ignorant of, all the treasures of his empire would not be +sufficient." + + +Bautru, a celebrated French wit, being in Spain, went to visit the famous +library of the Escurial, where he found a very ignorant librarian. The King +of Spain asked him his opinion of it. "It is an admirable one, indeed," +said he; "but your majesty should give the man who has the care of it the +administration of your finances."--"Wherefore?" asked the king. "Because," +replied Bautru, "the man never touches the treasure that is confided to +him." + + + + +MAGNANIMITY. + + +At the siege of one of the strong towns in Flanders, during the wars of +Louis XIV., it was necessary to reconnoitre the point of attack. The danger +was great, and a hundred louis were promised to any one who would undertake +it. Several of the bravest of the soldiers appeared indifferent to the +offer, when a young man stepped forward to undertake the task; he left the +detachment, and remained absent a long time; he was thought killed. While +the officers were deploring his fate, he returned, and gained their +admiration no less by the precision than the _sang froid_ of his recital. +The hundred louis were immediately presented to him. "_Vous vous moquez de +moi, mon général_," was his reply; "_va-t-on là pour de l'argent_."--[You +are jesting with me, general; one does not perform such actions for money.] + + +Colonel Hawker, who commanded the 14th Light Dragoons in most of the +serious engagements in the Peninsula, having formerly lost an arm in +action, was attended by an orderly man, who held a guiding rein to the +bridle of the colonel's charger; this attendant being slain by his side, +just as the enemy's cavalry had broken the line of the 14th, by a heavy +charge of superior numbers, great slaughter ensued on both sides, when a +French officer immediately opposed to Colonel Hawker, lifted up his sabre, +and was in the act of cutting him down, but observing the loss of his arm, +he instantly dropped the point on the colonel's shoulder, and, bending his +head, passed on. A truly noble adversary! + + +St. Louis.--Louis IX., after his captivity among the Saracens, was, with +his queen and children, nearly shipwrecked on his return to France, some of +the planks of the vessel having started. He was pressed to go on board +another ship, and so escape the danger, but he refused, saying, "Those that +are with me, most assuredly are as fond of their lives as I can be of mine. +If I quit the ship, they will likewise quit it; and the vessel not being +large enough to receive them, they will all perish. I had rather entrust my +life, and the lives of my wife and children, in the hands of God, than be +the occasion of making so many of my brave subjects suffer." + + +Magnanimous Rebel.--Sir Phelim O'Neil, one of the leaders in the Irish +rebellion of 1641, while in prison, previous to his trial, was frequently +solicited, by promises of a free pardon, and large rewards, to bear +testimony that the king (Charles the First) had been actively instrumental +in stirring up that rebellion. It was one of the arts of the factions of +that period to throw the odium of the massacre which followed the Irish +rebellion upon Charles; but whatever may have been the political sins of +that unhappy prince, impartial history has not ranked this among the +number. Sir Phelim declared, that he could not, in conscience, charge the +king with any thing of the kind. His trial was drawn out to the length of +several days, that he might be worked upon in that time; but he persisted +with constancy and firmness in rejecting every offer made to him by the +commissioners. Even at the place of execution, the most splendid advantages +were pressed upon him, upon the condition of falsely accusing King Charles +in that point. Men saw with admiration this unfortunate chieftain under all +the terrors of death, and the strongest temptations man could be under, +bravely attesting the king's innocence, and sealing the truth of his +testimony with his blood. When on the ladder, and ready to be thrown off, +two marshals came riding in great haste, and cried aloud, "Stop a little." +Having passed through the, crowd of spectators and guards, one of them +whispered something into the ear of Sir Phelim, who made answer in so loud +a voice, as to be heard by several hundreds of the people. "I thank the +lieutenant-general for the intended mercy; but I declare, good people, +before God and his holy angels, and all of you that hear me, that I never +had any commission from the king for what I have done, in levying, or in +prosecuting this war; and do heartily beg your prayers, all good Catholics +and Christians! that God may be merciful unto me, and forgive me my sins." +On this the guards beat off those that stood near the place of execution, +and in a few minutes Sir Phelim was no more. + + +Admiral Thurot.--It has been said of the French naval commander Thurot, +that he was strictly honest in circumstances that made the exertion of +common honesty an act of the highest magnanimity. When this officer +appeared on the coast of Scotland, and landed in order to supply his three +vessels with provisions, he paid a liberal price for every thing he wanted, +and behaved with so much affability, that a countryman ventured to complain +to him of an officer, who had taken 50 or 60 guineas from him. The officer, +on being called on to vindicate himself against the charge, acknowledged +the fact, but said, that he had divided the money among his men. Thurot +immediately ordered the officer to give his bill for the money, which he +said should be stopped out of his pay, if they were so fortunate as to +return to France. On another occasion, one of Thurot's officers gave a bill +upon a merchant in France, for some provisions that he had purchased. +Thurot hearing of the circumstance, informed the countryman that the bill +was of no value; and reprimanding the officer severely for the cheat, +compelled him to give another on a merchant, whom he knew would pay the +money. What makes this act of integrity still more striking and +praiseworthy, is, that Thurot's men at this time were so dissatisfied, as +to be ready to break out in open mutiny. + + +The Chevalier Bayard.--The town of Bresse having revolted against the +French, was attacked, taken, and sacked, with an almost unexampled fury. +The chevalier Bayard, who was wounded at the beginning of the action, was +carried to the house of a person of quality, whom he protected from the +fury of the conquerors, by placing at the door two soldiers, whom he +indemnified with a gift of eight hundred crowns, in lieu of the plunder +they might have lost by their attendance at the door. The impatience of +Bayard to join the army without considering the state of his wound, which +was by no means well, determined him to depart. The mistress of the house +then threw herself at his feet, saying, "The rights of war make you master +of our lives and our possessions, and you have saved our honour. We hope, +however, from your accustomed generosity that you will not treat us with +severity, and that you will be pleased to content yourself with a present +more adapted to our circumstances, than to our inclinations." At the same +time, she presented him with a small box full of ducats. + +Bayard, smiling, asked her how many ducats the box contained. "Two thousand +five hundred, my lord," answered the lady, with much emotion; "but if these +will not satisfy you, we will employ all our means to raise more."--"No, +madam," replied the chevalier, "I do not want money: the care you have +taken of me more than repays the services I have done you. I ask nothing +but your friendship; and I conjure you to accept of mine." + +So singular an instance of generosity gave the lady more surprise than joy. +She again threw herself at the feet of the chevalier, and protested that +she would never rise until he had accepted of that mark of her gratitude. +"Since you will have it so," replied Bayard, "I will not refuse it; but may +I not have the honour to salute your amiable daughters?" The young ladies +soon entered, and Bayard thanked them for their kindness in enlivening him +with their company. "I should be glad," said he, "to have it in my power +to convince you of my gratitude; but we soldiers are seldom possessed of +jewels worthy the acceptance of your sex. Your amiable mother has presented +me with two thousand five hundred ducats; I make a present to each of you +of one thousand, for a part of your marriage portion. The remaining five +hundred I give to the poor sufferers of this town, and I beg you will take +on yourselves the distribution." + + +One of the finest actions of a soldier of which history makes mention, is +related in the history of the Marechal de Luxemburg. The marechal, then +Count de Boutteville, served in the army of Flanders in 1675, under the +command of the Prince of Condé. He perceived in a march some soldiers that +were separated from the main body, and he sent one of his aides-de-camp to +bring them back to their colours. All obeyed, except one, who continued his +road. The count, highly offended at such disobedience, threatened to strike +him with his stick. "That you may do," said the soldier, with great +coolness, "but you will repent of it." Irritated by this answer, +Boutteville struck him, and forced him to rejoin his corps. Fifteen days +after, the army besieged Furnes; and Boutteville commanded the colonel of a +regiment to find a man steady and intrepid for a coup-de-main, which he +wanted, promising a hundred pistoles as a reward. The soldier in question, +who had the character of being the bravest man in the regiment, presented +himself, and taking thirty of his comrades, of whom he had the choice, he +executed his commission, which was of the most hazardous nature, with a +courage and success beyond all praise. On his return, Boutteville, after +having praised him highly, counted out the hundred pistoles he had +promised. The soldier immediately distributed them to his comrades, saying, +that he had no occasion for money; and requested that if what he had done +merited any recompense, he might be made an officer. Then addressing +himself to the count, he asked if he recognised him? and on Boutteville +replying in the negative, "Well," said he, "I am the soldier whom you +struck on our march fifteen days ago. Was I not right when I said that you +would repent of it?" The Count de Boutteville, filled with admiration, and +affected almost to tears, embraced the soldier, created him an officer on +the spot, and soon made him one of his aides-de-camp. + + + + +MUSICIANS. + + +Handel had such a remarkable irritation of nerves, that he could not bear +to hear the tuning of instruments, and therefore at a performance this was +always done before he arrived. A musical wag, who knew how to extract some +mirth from Handel's irascibility of temper, stole into the orchestra, on a +night when the Prince of Wales was to be present, and untuned all the +instruments. As soon as the prince arrived, Handel gave the signal for +beginning, _con spirito;_ but such was the horrible discord, that the +enraged musician started up from his seat, and having overturned a double +bass, which stood in his way, he seized a kettle-drum, which he threw with +such violence at the leader of the band, that he lost his full-bottomed wig +in the effort. Without waiting to replace it, he advanced bare-headed to +the front of the orchestra, breathing vengeance, but so much choked with +passion, that utterance was denied him. In this ridiculous attitude he +stood staring and stamping for some moments, amidst a convulsion of +laughter; nor could he be prevailed upon to resume his seat, until the +prince went in person, and with much difficulty appeased his wrath. + +Handel being only a musician, was obliged to employ some person to write +his operas and oratorios, which accounts for their being so very defective +as poetical compositions. One of those versifiers employed by him, once +ventured to suggest, in the most respectful manner, that the music he had +composed to some lines of his, was quite contrary to the sense of the +passage. Instead of taking this friendly hint as he ought to have done, +from one who (although not a Pindar) was at least a better judge of poetry +than himself, he looked upon the advice as injurious to his talents, and +cried out, with all the violence of affronted pride, "What! you teach me +music? The music is good music: confound your words! Here," said he, +thrumming his harpsichord, "are my ideas; go and make words to them." + +Handel became afterwards the proprietor of the Opera House, London; and +presided at the harpsichord in the orchestra (piano-fortes not being then +known). His embellishments were so masterly, that the attention of the +audience was frequently diverted from the singing to the accompaniment, to +the frequent mortification of the vocal professors. A pompous Italian +singer was, on a certain occasion, so chagrined at the marked attention +paid to the harpsichord, in preference to his own singing, that he swore, +that if ever Handel played him a similar trick, he would jump down upon his +instrument, and put a stop to the interruption. Handel, who had a +considerable turn for humour, replied: "Oh! oh! you vill jump, vill you? +very vell, sare; be so kind, and tell me de night ven you vill jump, and I +vill advertishe it in de bills; and I shall get grate dale more money by +your jumping, than I shall get by your singing." + +Although he lived much with the great, Handel was no flatterer. He once +told a member of the royal family, who asked him how he liked his playing +on the violoncello? "Vy, sir, your highness _plays like a prince_." When +the same prince had prevailed on him to hear a minuet of his own +composition, which he played himself on the violoncello, Handel heard him +out very quietly; but when the prince told him, that he would call in his +band to play it to him, that he might hear the full effect of his +composition, Handel could contain himself no longer, and ran out of the +room, crying, "Worsher and worsher, upon mine honour." + +One Sunday, having attended divine worship at a country church, Handel +asked the organist to permit him to play the people out; to which, with a +politeness characteristic of the profession, the organist consented. Handel +accordingly sat down to the organ, and began to play in such a masterly +manner, as instantly to attract the attention of the whole congregation, +who, instead of vacating their seats as usual, remained for a considerable +space of time, fixed in silent admiration. The organist began to be +impatient (perhaps his wife was waiting dinner); and at length addressing +the performer, told him that he was convinced that _he_ could not play the +people out, and advised him to relinquish the attempt; which being done, +they were played out in the usual manner. + + +In 1741, Handel, who was then proceeding to Ireland, was detained for some +days at Chester, in consequence of the weather. During this time he applied +to Mr. Baker, the organist, to know whether there were any choir men in the +cathedral who could sing _at sight_, as he wished to prove some books that +had been hastily transcribed, by trying the choruses. Mr. Baker mentioned +some of the best singers in Chester, and among the rest, a printer of the +name of Janson, who had a good bass voice, and was one of the best +musicians in the choir. A time was fixed for this private rehearsal at the +Golden Falcon, where Handel had taken up his residence; when, on trial of a +chorus in the Messiah, poor Janson, after repeated attempts, failed +completely, Handel got enraged, and after abusing him in five or six +different languages, exclaimed in broken English, "You schauntrel, tit not +you dell me dat you could sing at soite?" "Yes sir," said the printer, "so +I can, but not at _first sight_." + + +Mozart, walking in the suburbs of Vienna, was accosted by a mendicant of a +very prepossessing appearance and manner, who told his tale of woe with +such effect, as to interest the musician strongly in his favour; but the +state of his purse not corresponding with the impulse of his humanity, he +desired the applicant to follow him to a coffee-house. Here Mozart, drawing +some paper from his pocket, in a few minutes composed a minuet, which with +a letter he gave to the distressed man, desiring him to take it to his +publisher. A composition from Mozart was a bill payable at sight; and to +his great surprise the now happy mendicant was immediately presented with +five double ducats. + + +When Haydn was in England, one of the princes commissioned Sir Joshua +Reynolds to take his portrait. Haydn went to the painter's house, and sat +to him, but soon grew tired. Sir Joshua, careful of his reputation, would +not paint a man of acknowledged genius, with a stupid countenance; and +deferred the sitting till another day. The same weariness and want of +expression occurring at the next attempt, Reynolds went and communicated +the circumstance to his royal highness, who contrived the following +stratagem. He sent to the painter's house a German girl, in the service of +the queen. Haydn took his seat for the third time, and as soon as the +conversation began to flag, a curtain rose, and the fair German addressed +him in his native language, with a most elegant compliment. Haydn, +delighted, overwhelmed the enchantress with questions; his countenance +recovered its animation, and Sir Joshua rapidly seized its traits. + + +Haydn could be comic as well as serious; and he has left a remarkable +instance of the former, in the well known symphony, during which all the +instruments disappear, one after the other, so that, at the conclusion, the +first violin is left playing by himself. The origin of this singular piece +is thus accounted for. It is said that Haydn, perceiving his innovations +were ill received by the performers of Prince Esterhazy, determined to play +a joke upon them. He caused his symphony to be performed, without a +previous rehearsal, before his highness, who was in the secret. The +embarrassment of the performers, who all thought they had made a mistake, +and especially the confusion of the first violin, when, at the end, he +found he was playing alone, diverted the court of Eisenstadt. Others +assert, that the prince having determined to dismiss all his band, except +Haydn, the latter imagined this ingenious way of representing the general +departure, and the dejection of spirits consequently upon it. Each +performer left the concert room as soon as his part was finished. + + + + +PARLIAMENT. + + +Hume.--At a parliamentary dinner, Mr. Plunkett was asked if Mr. Hume did +not annoy him by his broad speeches. "No," replied he, "it is the _length_ +of the speeches, not their _breadth_, that we complain of in the House." + + +Henry Lord Falkland having been brought into the House of Commons at a very +early age, a grave senator objected to his youth, remarked that "he did not +look as if he had sown his wild oats." His lordship replied with great +quickness, "Then I am come to the fittest place, where there are so many +old geese to gobble them up." + + +The Duke of Newcastle, who was at the head of the Treasury, frequently +differed with his colleague in office, Mr. Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, +though the latter, by his firmness, usually prevailed. A curious scene +occurred at one of their interviews. It had been proposed to send Admiral +Hawke to sea, in pursuit of M. Conflans. The season was unfavourable, and +almost dangerous for a fleet to sail, being the end of the month of +November, and very stormy. Mr. Pitt was at that time confined to his bed by +gout, and was obliged to receive visitors in his chamber, in which he could +not bear to have a fire. The Duke of Newcastle waited upon him one very raw +day, to discuss the affair of the fleet, but scarcely had he entered the +chamber, when shivering with cold, he said, "What, have you no fire?" "No," +replied Mr. Pitt, "I can never bear a fire when I have the gout." The duke +sat down by the side of the invalid, wrapt up in his cloak, and began to +enter upon the subject of his visit. There was a second bed in the room, +and the duke, unable longer to endure the cold, said, "With your leave, +I'll warm myself in this other bed;" and without taking off his cloak, he +actually got into the bed, and resumed the debate. The duke began to argue +against exposing the fleet to hazard in such weather, and Mr. Pitt was as +determined it should put to sea. "The fleet must absolutely sail," said Mr. +Pitt, accompanying his words with the most expressive gesture. "It is +impossible," said the duke, with equal animation, "it will certainly be +lost." Sir Charles Frederick, of the ordnance department, arrived just at +this time, and finding them both in this laughable posture, had the +greatest difficulty to preserve his gravity, at seeing two ministers of +state deliberating on the affairs of the country in so ludicrous a +situation. + + +"They're all Out."--At the time when the unfortunate ministry, known as +"All the Talents," was ousted in 1807, there stood upon the Earthen Mound +in Edinburgh many caravans of wild beasts belonging to the famous Mr. +Wombwell, around which there clustered a large crowd of idle folks +listening to the dulcet strains of his most harmonious brass band. The news +of the Tory victory was first made known in the parliament house, and, as +can well be believed, the excitement that ensued was intense. Under its +influence that eager and eccentric judge, Lord Hermand, making for his +home, espied a friend among the Wombwell crowd, and shouted aloud in his +glee across the street, "They're out! they're out! they're all out!" In +half a second there was the wildest distribution of the mob--down to +Prince's-street, up the Castle-hill, into the gardens, and up the vennels. +The people picturing the horrors of a tiger-chase did not stop to hear +more, and Hermand found himself, to his amazement, monarch of all he +surveyed, and sole auditor of the last terrified shriek of the band. + + +Lord Lyndhurst, it is said, tells this story of his surrender of the great +seal in 1846. "When I went to the palace," says his lordship, "I alighted +at the grand staircase; I was received by the sticks gold and silver, and +other officers of the household, who called in sonorous tones from landing +to landing, and apartment to apartment, 'Room for the Lord High Chancellor +of England.' I entered the presence chamber; I gave the seals to her +Majesty; I had the honour of kissing her hand; I left the apartment by +another door and found myself on a back staircase, down which I descended +without any one taking any notice of me, until, as I was looking for my +carriage at the outer door, a lackey bustled up, and with a patronising +air, said, 'Lord Lyndhurst, can I do anything for you?'" + + +The Slave Trade.--In one of the last discussions on the slave trade, Sir +Charles Pole said, "while he deprecated the motion (for the abolition), he +rejoiced that it had been brought forward thus early, because it showed the +cloven foot which had been attempted to be concealed." To this remark Mr. +Sheridan very spiritedly replied, "An honourable baronet," said he, "has +talked of a cloven foot; I plead guilty to that cloven foot; but this I +will say, that the man who expresses pleasure at the hope of seeing so +large a portion of the human race freed from the shackles of tyranny rather +displays the pinions of an angel than the cloven foot of a demon." + + + + +PATIENCE. + + +Father Bernard.--His patience was such as no circumstances, however +offensive, could subdue. One day he presented a petition in favour of an +unfortunate person, to a nobleman in place; the latter being of a hasty +temper, flew into a violent passion, said many injurious things of the +person for whom the priest interested himself. Father Bernard, however, +still persisted in his request; and the nobleman was at last so irritated, +that he gave him a box on the ear. Bernard immediately fell at his feet, +and presenting the other, said, "Give me a blow on this also, my lord, and +grant me my petition." The nobleman was so affected by this humility, that +he granted his request. + + +Philip, the second King of Spain, had once spent several hours of the night +in writing a long letter to the Pope, and having finished it, gave it to +his secretary to fold it up and seal it. The secretary was half asleep, and +instead of shaking the sand-bottle over it in order to dry it, he emptied +that which contained the ink by mistake, so that all the ink ran out upon +the letter and completely spoiled it; perceiving the accident, he was +ready to drop with confusion, upon which the King quietly said: "Well, +give me another sheet of paper;" and then began to write the letter over +again with great tranquillity. + + + + +POETS. + + +An Italian poet presented some verses to the Pope, who had not gone far +before he met with a line too short in quantity, which he remarked upon. +The poet submissively entreated his holiness to read on, and he would +probably meet with a line that was a syllable too long, so that the account +would soon be balanced! + + +A certain Italian having written a book on the Art of making gold, +dedicated it to Pope Leo X., in hopes of a good reward. His holiness +finding the man constantly followed him, at length gave him a large empty +purse, saying, "Sir, since you know how to make gold, you can have no need +of anything but a purse to put it in." + + + + +POLITENESS. + + +A Polite Mayor.--At the time when Queen Elizabeth was making one of her +progresses through the kingdom, a mayor of Coventry, attended by a large +cavalcade, went out to meet her Majesty, and usher her into the city with +due formality. On their return they passed through a wide brook, when Mr. +Mayor's horse several times attempted to drink, and each time his worship +checked him; which the Queen observing, called out to him, "Mr. Mayor, let +your horse drink, Mr. Mayor;" but the magistrate, bowing very low, modestly +answered, "Nay, nay, may it please your Majesty's horse to drink first." + + +A French Mayor.--A mayor of a small village in France, having occasion to +give a passport to a distinguished personage in his neighbourhood who was +blind of one eye, was in great embarrassment on coming to the description +of his person. Fearful of offending the great man, he adopted the following +ingenious expedient of avoiding the mention of his deformity, and wrote +"Black eyes--one of which is absent." + + +Sir Wm. Gooch being engaged in conversation with a gentleman in a street of +the city of Williamsburgh, returned the salute of a negro, who was passing +by about his master's business. "Sir William," said the gentleman, "do you +descend so far as to salute a slave?"--"Why, yes," replied the governor; "I +cannot suffer a man of his condition to exceed me in good manners." + + + + +PRESENCE OF MIND. + + +The Marquis St. André applied to Louvois, the war-minister of Louis XIV., +for a place then vacant. Louvois having received some complaints against +the marquis, refused to comply. The nobleman, somewhat nettled, said, +rather hastily, "If I were to enter again into the service, I know what I +would do."--"And pray what would you do?" inquired the minister in a +furious tone. St. André recollected himself, and had the presence of mind +to say, "I would take care to behave in such a manner, that your excellency +should have nothing to reproach me with." Louvois, agreeably surprised at +this reply, immediately granted his request. + + +Carving.--An accomplished gentleman, when carving a tough goose, had the +misfortune to send it entirely out of the dish, and into the lap of the +lady next to him; on which he very coolly looked her full in the face, and +with admirable gravity and calmness, said, "Madam, may I trouble you for +that goose." In a case like this, a person must, necessarily, suffer so +much, and be such an object of compassion to the company, that the kindest +thing he can do is to appear as unmoved as possible. + + +Lord Peterborough was once taken by the mob for the duke of Marlborough +(who was then in disgrace with them), and being about to be roughly treated +by these friends to summary justice, he told them, "Gentlemen, I can +convince you, by two reasons, that I am not the duke of Marlborough. In the +first place, I have only five guineas in my pocket; and, in the second, +they are heartily at your service." So throwing his purse amongst them, he +got out of their hands, with loud huzzas and acclamations. + + +Fouché.--Napoleon sent for Fouché one day, in a great rage, told him that +he was a fool, and not fit to be at the head of the police, as he was quite +ignorant of what was passing. "Pardon me, Sire," said Fouché; "I know that +your Majesty has my dismissal ready signed in your pocket." Napoleon +changed his mind, and kept his Minister. + + +Vendean Servant.--An unexampled instance of self-devotion and presence of +mind was manifested by a maidservant, during the war in La Vendée. "The +wife of Lepinai, a general in the Vendean army, was imprisoned at Nantes, +and attended by a young girl, a native of Chatellerault, so faithfully +attached to the service of her mistress that she had followed her to +prison. One day the soldiers arrived to summon the prisoners who were +destined to death: this faithful girl heard Madame Lepinai called, who had +but an instant before retired to her chamber. Glad of the opportunity of +saving the life of her beloved mistress, she presented herself, and +answered to the name. The affectionate creature was instantly led away with +the other prisoners, and precipitated among the waves of the Loire, in +place of Madame Lepinai." + + +The Gendarmes and the Priest.--During the Revolution a priest took refuge +in the house of a farmer. Some gendarmes having heard of it came one +evening to the house. The whole family were gathered round the hearth, and +among them was the priest, disguised as a servant. When the soldiers +entered every one grew pale; they asked the farmer if there was not a +priest concealed in the house. "Gentlemen," returned he, without losing his +presence of mind, "you see very well there is no priest here; but one might +conceal himself in the house without my knowledge; so I will not prevent +you from doing your duty; search the house from cellar to garret." Then he +said to the priest, "I say, Jacques, take your lantern and show these +gentlemen everywhere; let them see every corner of the farm." The gendarmes +made a minute inspection of the house, uttering many imprecations and many +menaces against the priest, promising themselves to pay him well for the +trouble he had cost them, if they succeeded in discovering him. Seeing +their search was useless, they prepared to leave. As they were going the +farmer said, "Pray gentlemen, remember the boy." They gave the disguised +priest a small coin, and thanking him for his civility took their leave. + + +A housemaid in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, going to the cellar for a +draught of ale, after the family had retired to bed, glided silently in +without a candle. As she was feeling about for the cask, she put her hand +upon something which she immediately perceived to be the head of a man. The +girl, with great fortitude and presence of mind, forebore to cry out, but +said, in a tone of impatience, "That stupid creature, Betty, is always +putting the mops in the way." She then went on to the cask, quietly drew +her beer, retired from the cellar, fastened the door, and then alarmed the +house. The man was taken; and afterwards declared, that the maid was +entirely indebted to her presence of mind for her life, for had she cried +out, he would instantly have murdered her: but as he firmly believed she +mistook his head for a mop, particularly as she had drawn the beer after +she had felt it, he let her go without injury. + + +King James the Fourth of Scotland, who used often to amuse himself in +wandering about the country in different disguises, was once overtaken by a +violent storm in a dark night, and obliged to take shelter in a cavern near +Wemys. Having advanced some way in it, the king discovered a number of men +and women ready to begin to roast a sheep, by way of supper. From their +appearance, he began to suspect that he had not fallen into the best of +company; but, as it was too late to retreat, he asked hospitality from them +till the tempest was over. They granted it, and invited the king, whom they +did not know, to sit down, and take part with them. They were a band of +robbers and cut-throats. As soon as they had finished their supper, one of +them presented a plate, upon which two daggers were laid in form of a St. +Andrew's cross, telling the king, at the same time, that this was the +dessert which they always served to strangers; that he must choose one of +the daggers, and fight him whom the company should appoint to attack him. +The king did not lose his presence of mind, but instantly seized the two +daggers, one in each hand, and plunged them into the hearts of the two +robbers who were next him; and running full speed to the mouth of the +cavern, he escaped from their pursuit, through the obscurity of the night. +The rest of the band were seized next morning and hanged. + + +The Marquess del Campo.--When the attempt was made upon the life of George +III., by Margaret Nicholson, who attempted to stab him as he was going to +St. James's to hold a levee, a council was ordered to be held as soon as +the levee was over. The Marquess del Campo, the Spanish ambassador, being +apprised of that circumstance, and knowing that the council would detain +the king in town three or four hours beyond the usual time, took post +horses, and set off for Windsor. Alighting at the castle, he called upon a +lady there with whom he was acquainted. The queen, finding that the king +did not return at the usual time, and understanding that the marquess was +in the palace, sent to ask him if he had been at the levee. He replied that +he had, and that he had left his majesty in perfect health, going to +council. When the king arrived, he, of course, told her majesty the +extraordinary occurrence of the morning. The queen expressed great surprise +that the Marquess del Campo, who had been nearly three hours in the palace, +had not mentioned the subject to her; he was then sent for, when he told +their majesties, that finding upon his arrival at the castle, that no +rumour of the attempt upon the life of his majesty had reached the queen, +he did not think it expedient to apprise her of it till his majesty's +arrival gave full assurance of his safety; but, at the same time, fearing +that some incorrect and alarming reports might be brought down, he deemed +it right to remain in the palace, in order in that case, to be able to +remove all apprehensions from her majesty's mind, by acquainting her with +the real facts. The king, taking the ambassador graciously by the hand, +complimented him on his presence of mind, and assured him, that he scarcely +knew a man in the world to whom he was so much obliged. + + +Miss Bailly.--A few days before the battle of Falkirk, so disastrous to the +English army, Lord Loudon made a bold attempt to seize the Pretender at +Moy, a castle belonging to the chief of the clan of Mackintosh, about six +miles from Inverness, where he was then staying, and where he conceived +himself in perfect security. His lordship would probably have succeeded in +this design, but for the singular courage and presence of mind of a young +girl. While some English officers were drinking in the house of Mrs. +Bailly, an innkeeper in Inverness, and passing the time till the hour of +setting out for the intended capture, her daughter, a girl of about +thirteen or fourteen years of age, who happened to wait on them, paid great +attention to their conversation, and from certain expressions which they +dropped she discovered their design. As soon as she could do so unobserved, +she left the house, escaped from the town, notwithstanding the vigilance of +the sentinels, and took the road to Moy, running as fast as she was able, +without shoes or stockings, which to accelerate her progress she had taken +off, in order to inform the Prince of the danger which menaced him. She +reached Moy, quite out of breath, before Lord Loudon and his troops; and +the Prince had just time to escape, in his robe-de-chambre, nightcap, and +slippers, to the neighbouring mountains, where he passed the night in +concealment. This girl, to whom the Prince owed his life, was in great +danger of losing her own, from the excessive fatigue and excitement; but by +care and attention she eventually recovered. + + +Servant at Noyon.--Some years ago, an instance of humanity and presence of +mind occurred at a place called Noyon, in France, which well deserves to be +commemorated. Four men, who were employed in cleansing a sewer, were so +affected by the foetid vapours, that they were unable to ascend. The +lateness of the hour (for it was eleven at night) rendered it difficult to +procure assistance, and the delay must have been fatal, had not a young +girl, a servant in the family, at the hazard of her own life, attempted +their deliverance. This generous girl, who was only seventeen years of age, +was, at her own request, let down several times to the poor men by a rope: +she was so fortunate as to save two of them, but, in tying the third to the +cord, which was let down to her for that purpose, she found her breath +failing, and was so much affected by the vapour as to be in danger of +suffocation. In this dreadful situation, she had the presence of mind to +tie herself by her hair to the rope, and was drawn up almost expiring, with +the poor man in whose behalf she had so humanely exerted herself. The +corporation of the town of Noyon, as a small token of their approbation, +presented the generous girl with six hundred livres, and conferred on her +the civic crown, with a medal engraved with the arms of the town, her name, +and a narrative of the action. The Duke of Orleans also sent her five +hundred livres, and settled two hundred yearly on her for life. + + + + +PRIDE OF RANK AND ANCESTRY. + + +The anecdote is well known of the celebrated Dr. Busby keeping on his hat +when visited by King Charles II., and apologizing for his apparent want of +respect, by saying, that he should never be able to keep his scholars in +subjection, if they thought that there was a greater man in the world than +himself. The same feeling seems to have actuated the Gaelic chiefs, who +were excessively proud of their rank and prerogatives. When the first +Marquess of Huntly, then the chief of the clan Gordon, was presented at the +court of James VI., he did not so much as incline his head before his +sovereign. Being asked why he failed in this point of etiquette? he +replied, that he had no intention whatever of showing any disrespect to his +king, but that he came from a country where all the world were accustomed +to bow down before him. A similar instance occurred with the head of +another family. When George II. offered a patent of nobility to the chief +of the Grants, the proud Celt refused it, saying, "Wha would then be Laird +of Grant?" + + +James I. in his progress into England, was entertained at Lumley Castle, +the seat of the Earl of Scarborough. A relation of the noble earl was very +proud in showing and explaining to his majesty an immense genealogical +chart of the family, the pedigree of which he carried back rather farther +than the greatest strength of credulity would allow. "I gude faith, man," +says the king, "it may be they are very true, but I did na ken before that +Adam's name was Lumley." + + +An anecdote is told of a gentleman in Monmouthshire, which exhibits the +pride of ancestry in a curious point of view. His house was in such a state +of dilapidation that the proprietor was in danger of perishing under the +ruins of the ancient mansion, which he venerated even in decay. A stranger, +whom he accidentally met at the foot of the Skyrrid, made various enquiries +respecting the country, the prospects, and the neighbouring houses, and, +among others, asked--"Whose is this antique mansion before us?" "That, sir, +is Werndee, a very ancient house; for out of it came the Earls of Pembroke +of the first line, and the Earls of Pembroke of the second line; the Lord +Herberts of Cherbury, the Herberts of Coldbrook, Ramsay, Cardiff, and York; +the Morgans of Acton; the Earl of Hunsdon; the houses of Ircowm and +Lanarth, and all the Powells. Out of this house also, by the female line, +came the Duke of Beaufort." "And pray, sir, who lives there now?" "I do, +sir." "Then pardon me, and accept a piece of advice; come out of it +yourself, or you'll soon be buried in the ruins of it." + + +A curious anecdote is related respecting a contest for precedence, between +the rival Welch Houses of Perthir and Werndee, which, though less bloody, +was not less obstinate than that between the Houses of York and Lancaster. +Mr. Proger, of Werndee, dining with a friend at Monmouth, proposed riding +home in the evening; but his friend objecting because it was late and +likely to rain, Mr. Proger replied, "With regard to the lateness of the +hour, we shall have moonlight; and should it happen to rain, Perthir is not +far from the road, and my cousin Powell will, I am sure, give us a night's +lodging." They accordingly mounted their horses; but being soon overtaken +by a violent shower, rode to Perthir, and found all the family retired to +rest. Mr. Proger, however, calling to his cousin, Mr. Powell opened the +window, and looking out, asked, "In the name of wonder, what means all this +noise? Who is there?" "It is only I, your cousin Proger of Werndee, who am +come to your hospitable door for shelter from the inclemency of the +weather, and hope you will be so kind as to give my friend and me a +lodging." "What! Is it you, cousin Proger? You and your friend shall be +instantly admitted, but upon one condition, that you will allow, and never +hereafter dispute, that I am the head of the family." "What did you say?" +returned Mr. Proger. "Why, I say, if you expect to pass the night in my +house, you must allow that I am the head of the family." "No, sir, I never +will admit that; were it to rain swords and daggers, I would ride this +night to Werndee, rather than lower the consequence of my family. Come up, +Bold, come up." "Stop a moment, cousin Proger; have you not often confessed +that the first Earl of Pembroke (of the name of Herbert) was the youngest +son of Perthir; and will you set yourself above the Earls of Pembroke?" +"True, I must give place to the Earl of Pembroke, because he is a peer of +the realm; but still, though a peer, he is of the youngest branch of my +family, being descended from the fourth son of Werndee, who was your +ancestor, and settled at Perthir; whereas I am descended from the eldest +son. Indeed, my cousin Jones of Lanarth is of an older branch than you, and +yet he never disputes that I am the head of the family." "Why, cousin +Proger, I have nothing more to say; so, good night to you." "Stop a moment, +Mr. Powell," said the stranger, "you see how it pours; do admit me at +least; I will not dispute with you about our families." "Pray, sir, what is +your name, and where do you come from?" "My name is * * *, and I come from +the county of * * *." "A Saxon of course; it would be very curious indeed, +sir, should I dispute with a Saxon about families; no, sir, you must suffer +for the obstinacy of your friend, and so a pleasant ride to you both." + + + + +PUNCTUALITY. + + +A Quarter of an Hour.--When Lord Nelson was leaving London, on his last, +but glorious, expedition against the enemy, a quantity of cabin furniture +was ordered to be sent on board his ship. He had a farewell dinner party at +his house; and the upholsterer having waited upon his lordship, with an +account of the completion of the goods, was brought into the dining-room, +in a corner of which his lordship spoke with him. The upholsterer stated to +his employer, that everything was finished, and packed, and would go in the +wagon, from a certain inn, at _six o'clock_. "And you go to the inn, Mr. +A., and see them off?" "I shall, my lord; I shall be there _punctually at +six_." "_A quarter before six_, Mr. A.," returned Lord Nelson, "be there _a +quarter before six_. To that _quarter of an hour_ I owe everything in +life." + + +Mr. Scott, of Exeter, travelled on business till about eighty years of age. +He was one of the most celebrated characters in the kingdom for +punctuality, and by his methodical conduct, joined to uniform diligence, he +gradually amassed a fortune. For a long series of years, the proprietor of +every inn he frequented in Devon and Cornwall knew the day, and the very +hour, he would arrive. A short time before he died, a gentleman on a +journey in Cornwall stopped at a small inn at Port Isaac to dine. The +waiter presented him with a bill of fare, which he did not approve of; but +observing a fine duck roasting, "I'll have that," said the traveller. "You +cannot, sir," said the landlord; "it is for Mr. Scott of Exeter." "I know +Mr. Scott very well," rejoined the gentlemen; "he is not in your house." +"True, sir," said the landlord, "but _six months ago, when he was here +last, he ordered a duck to be ready for him this day, precisely at two +o'clock;_" and, to the astonishment of the traveller, he saw the old +gentleman, on his Rosinante, jogging into the inn-yard about five minutes +before the appointed time. + + +Sir W. Scott.--A gentleman who, in the year 1826, travelled with Sir Walter +Scott in the coach from Edinburgh to Jedburgh, relates the following +anecdote illustrative of his regard for punctuality, and his willingness to +serve all who placed confidence in him, particularly those engaged in +literary pursuits.--"We had performed half the journey," writes our +informant, "when Sir Walter started as from a dream, exclaiming: 'Oh, my +friend G----, I have forgotten you till this moment!' A short mile brought +us to a small town, where Sir Walter ordered a post-chaise, in which he +deposited his luggage, consisting of a well-worn short hazel stick, and a +paper parcel containing a few books; then, much to my regret, he changed +his route, and returned to the Scottish capital. The following month I was +again in Edinburgh, and curiosity induced me to wait on the friend G---- +apostrophised by Sir Walter, and whose friendship I had the honour to +possess. The cause of Sir Walter's return, I was informed, was this:--He +had engaged to furnish an article for a periodical conducted by my friend, +but the promise had slipped from his memory--a most uncommon occurrence, +for Sir Walter was gifted with the best of memories--until the moment of +his exclamation. His instant return was the only means of retrieving the +error. Retrieved, however, it was; and the following morning Mr. G---- +received several sheets of closely-written manuscript, the transcribing of +which alone must have occupied half the night." + + + + +ROBBERS. + + +Candid Robber.--The duke of Ossuna, viceroy of Naples, once visited the +galleys, and passing through the prisoners, he asked several of them what +their offences were. All of them excused themselves upon various pretences; +one said he was put in out of malice, another by bribery of the judge; but +all of them declared they were punished unjustly. The duke came at last to +a little black man, whom he questioned as to what he was there for. "My +lord," said he, "I cannot deny but I am justly put in here; for I wanted +money, and my family was starving, so I robbed a passenger near Tarragona +of his purse." The duke, on hearing this, gave him a blow on the shoulder +with his stick, saying, "You rogue, what are you doing here among so many +honest, innocent men? Get you out of their company." The poor fellow was +then set at liberty, while the rest were left to tug at the oar. + + +Ingenious Contrivance.--Many years ago, when stagecoaches were not +unfrequently attacked by highwaymen, a party was once travelling on a +lonely road, when one of the gentlemen mentioned to the company that he had +ten guineas with him, which he was afraid of losing. Upon this an elderly +lady who sat next to him, advised him to take his money from his pocket, +and slip it into his boot, which he did. Not long after the coach was +attacked, when a highwayman rode up to the window, on the lady's side, and +demanded her money; upon which she immediately whispered to him that if he +would examine that gentleman's boot, he would find ten guineas. The man +took the hint, and the gentleman was obliged to submit patiently; but when +the robber had gone, he loaded his fellow-traveller with abuse, declaring +her to be in confederacy with the highwayman. She replied that certainly +appearances were against her; but if the company in the stage would sup at +her house the following evening, she would explain a conduct which appeared +so mysterious. After a debate among themselves, they consented to go the +next evening according to her invitation. They were ushered into a +magnificent room, where an elegant supper was served, after which, the lady +taking a pocket-book from her pocket, showed that it contained various +notes to the amount of several hundred pounds, and addressing herself to +the gentleman who had been robbed: "I thought, sir," said she, "it was +better to lose ten guineas, than all this valuable property, which I had +about me last night; and I have now the pleasure of returning what you so +kindly lent me." + + +Reclaimed Felons.--The late Dr. Lettsom says, "I have been so happy as to +reform two highwaymen who had robbed me; and from this I think that few of +our fellow-creatures are so hardened, as to be impenetrable to repentance. +One of these men has since been twice in the Gazette promotions, as a +military officer. The other married, and became a respectable farmer in +Surrey." + + +A similar story is told by the celebrated Rowland Hill. He was attacked by +a highwayman, whom he succeeded in convincing of the evil of his way of +life, and who afterwards became a most faithful servant to him. The secret +was never revealed by Mr. Hill until the death of the servant. + + + + +SAILORS. + + +The Wounded Sailor.--When Admiral Benbow was a common sailor, his messmate, +who was stationed with him at the same gun, lost his leg by a cannon shot. +The poor fellow instantly called out to his friend, who immediately took +him up on his shoulder, and began with great care to descend with him into +the cockpit; but it happened that just as the poor fellow's head came upon +a level with the deck, another ball carried that off also. Benbow, +however, knew nothing of the matter, but carried the body down to the +surgeon, and when he came to the bottom of the ladder, called out that he +had brought him a patient, desiring some one to bear a hand, and help him +easily down. The surgeon turned about, but instead of giving any +assistance, exclaimed, "You blockhead, what do you do here with a man that +has lost his head?" "Lost his head!" says Benbow; "the lying fellow, why he +told me it was his leg; but I never in my life believed what he said +without being sorry for it afterwards." + + +When Lieutenant O'Brien (who was called Skyrocket Jack) was blown up at +Spithead, in the _Edgar_, he was on the carriage of a gun, and when brought +to the admiral, all black and wet, he said with pleasantry, "I hope, sir, +you will excuse my dirty appearance, for I came out of the ship in so great +a hurry, that I had not time to shift myself." + + +A painter was employed in painting a West India ship in the river, +suspended on a stage under the ship's stern. The captain, who had just got +into the boat alongside, for the purpose of going ashore, ordered the boy +to let go the painter (the rope which makes fast the boat); the boy +instantly went aft, and let go the rope by which the painter's stage was +held. The captain, surprised at the boy's delay, cried out, "Heigh-ho, +there, you lazy lubber, why don't you let go the painter?" The boy replied, +"He's gone, sir, pots and all." + + +Precedence.--At a grand review of the fleet at Portsmouth by George III., +in 1789, there was a boy who mounted the shrouds with so much agility, as +to surprise every spectator. The king particularly noticed it, and said to +Lord Lothian, "Lothian, I have heard much of your agility, let us see you +run up after that boy." "Sire," replied Lord Lothian, "it is my duty to +_follow your majesty_." + + +Admiral Haddock, when on his death-bed, called his son, and thus addressed +him: "Considering my rank in life, and public services for so many years, +I shall leave you but a small fortune; but, my boy, it is honestly got, and +will wear well; there are no seamen's wages or provisions, nor one single +penny of dirty money, in it." + + +An Odd Shot.--An English frigate was obliged to strike to a French vessel +of superior force. The English captain, on resigning his sword, was +reproached by the French commander for having, contrary to the usages of +war, shot pieces of glass from his guns. The English officer, conscious +that no such thing had been done, made inquiry into the matter among his +men, and found the fact to be this. An Irish seaman, just before the vessel +struck, took a parcel of shillings out of his pocket, and swearing the +French should have none of them, wrapped them in a piece of rag, and thrust +them into his gun, exclaiming, "Let us see what a _bribe_ can do!" These +shillings, flying about the vessel, were mistaken by the French for glass. +The above explanation not only satisfied them, but put them in great good +humour with their captives. + + +A Child on Board.--A child of one of the crew of His Majesty's ship +_Peacock_, during the action with the American vessel _Hornet_, occupied +himself in chasing a goat between decks. Not in the least terrified by the +destruction and death which was going on all around him, he continued his +amusement till a cannon-ball came and took off both the hind legs of the +goat; when seeing her disabled, he jumped astride her, crying, "Now I've +caught you." This singular anecdote is related in a work called "Visits of +Mercy," (New York.) + + +Grog.--The British sailors had always been accustomed to drink their +allowance of brandy or rum pure, until Admiral Vernon ordered those under +his command to mix it with water. The innovation gave great offence to the +sailors, and, for a time, rendered the commander very unpopular among them. +The admiral, at that time, wore a grogram coat, for which reason they +nick-named him "Old Grog," hence, by degrees, the mixed liquor he +introduced universally obtained the name of "_Grog_." + + +Navy Chaplains.--When the Earl of Clancarty was captain of a man-of-war, +and was cruising on the coast of Guinea, he happened to lose his chaplain +by a fever, on which the lieutenant, who was a Scotchman, gave him notice +of it, saying, at the same time, "that he was sorry to inform him that he +died in the Roman Catholic religion." "Well, so much the better," said his +lordship. "Oot, oot, my lord, how can you say so of a British clergyman?" +"Why," said his lordship, "because I believe I am the first captain of a +man-of-war that could boast of having a chaplain _who had any religion at +all_." + + +Bishop and his Clerks.--A fleet of merchant ships, on their return from +Spain, about three hundred years ago, were shipwrecked on the fatal rocks +on which Sir Cloudsley Shovel was cast away: among these unfortunate men +none were saved but three, viz. _Miles Bishop_, and _James_ and _Henry +Clerk_, who were miraculously preserved on a broken mast. From this +accident the rocks took the name they bear, "The Bishop and his Clerks." + + +Dey of Algiers.--When Admiral Keppel was sent to the Dey of Algiers, to +demand restitution of two ships which the pirates had taken, he sailed with +his squadron into the bay of Algiers, and cast anchor in front of the Dey's +palace. He then landed, and, attended only by his captain and barge's crew, +demanded an immediate audience of the Dey; this being granted, he claimed +full satisfaction for the injuries done to the subjects of his Britannic +Majesty. Surprised and enraged at the boldness of the admiral's +remonstrance, the Dey exclaimed, "That he wondered at the king's insolence +in sending him a foolish beardless boy." To this the admiral made a +spirited reply, which caused the Dey to forget the laws of all nations in +respect to ambassadors, and he ordered his mutes to attend with the +bowstring, at the same time telling the admiral he should pay for his +audacity with his life. Unmoved by this menace, the admiral took the Dey to +a window facing the bay, and showed him the English fleet riding at +anchor, and told him, that if he dared to put him to death, there were +Englishmen enough in that fleet to make him a glorious funeral pile. The +Dey was wise enough to take the hint. The admiral obtained ample +restitution, and came off in safety. + + +A Timely Answer.--When Admiral Cornwallis commanded the _Canada_, a mutiny +broke out in the ship, on account of some unavoidable delay in the clerks +paying some of the crew, in consequence of which they signed what is termed +a round robin, in which they declared, to a man, that they would not fire a +gun till they were paid. Cornwallis, on receiving this declaration, caused +all hands to be called on deck, and thus addressed them: "My lads, the +money cannot be paid till we return to port, and as to your not fighting, +that is mere nonsense:--I'll clap you alongside the first large ship of the +enemy I see, and I know that the devil himself will not be able to keep you +from it." The tars were so pleased with this compliment that they all +returned to their duty, better satisfied than if they had been paid the +money ten times over. + + + + +SCHOOLS. + + +Dr. Sheridan had a custom of ringing his scholars to prayers, in the +school-room, at a certain hour every day. The boys were one day very +attentively at prayers, except one, who was stifling a laugh as well as he +could, which arose from seeing a rat descending from the bell-rope into the +room. The poor boy could hold out no longer, but burst into an immoderate +fit of laughter, which set the others off as soon as he pointed out to them +the cause. Sheridan was so provoked that he declared he would whip them all +if the principal culprit was not pointed out to him, which was immediately +done. When this poor boy was hoisted up, and made ready for flogging, the +witty school-master told him that if he said any thing tolerable on the +occasion, as he looked on him as the greatest dunce in his school, he would +forgive him. The trembling culprit, immediately addressed his master in the +following lines. + + There was a rat, for want of stairs, + Came down a rope--to go to prayers. + +Sheridan instantly dropped the rod, and, instead of a good whipping, gave +him half-a-crown. + + +Dr. Busby.--A scholar of Dr. Busby went into a parlour where the Doctor had +laid down a fine bunch of grapes for his own eating, took it up, and said +aloud, "I publish the banns between these grapes and my mouth; if any one +knows any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined +together, let him declare it." The Doctor, being in the next room, +overheard all that was said, and going into the school, ordered the boy who +had eaten his grapes to be _horsed_ on another boy's back; but, before he +proceeded to the usual discipline, he cried out aloud, as the delinquent +had done: "I publish the banns between my rod and this boy's back; if any +one knows any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined +together, let him declare it."--"I forbid the banns." said the boy--"Why +so?" said the Doctor. "Because the parties are not agreed," replied the +boy. This answer so pleased the Doctor, that he ordered the offender to be +set free. + + +An Appropriate Version.--The late Dr. Adam, Rector of the Grammar School, +Edinburgh, was supposed by his scholars to exercise a strong partiality for +such as were of patrician descent; and on one occasion was very smartly +reminded of it by a boy of mean parentage, whom he was reprehending rather +severely for his ignorance--much more so than the boy thought he would have +done, had he been the son of a _right honourable_, or even less. "You +dunce," exclaimed the rector, "I don't think you can even translate the +motto of your own native place, of the _gude_ town of Edinburgh. What, +sir, does '_Nisi Dominus frustra_,' mean?" "It means, sir," rejoined the +boy, "that unless we are lords' sons, it is in vain to come here." + + +A Choice.--At a recent examination at Marlborough House Grammar School, a +piece written for the occasion, entitled "Satan's Address to Nena Sahib," +was to have been recited by two pupils. Only one of the pupils came +forward, Mr. Barrett stating that he could not prevail upon any pupil to +take the part of Nena Sahib, they having such an abhorrence to the +character, though several had offered to take the part of the Devil. + + + + +SERVANTS. + + +Jonas Hanway having once advertised for a coachman, he had a great number +of applicants. One of them he approved of, and told him, if his character +answered, he would take him on the terms agreed on: "But," said he, "my +good fellow, as I am rather a particular man, it may be proper to inform +you, that every evening, after the business of the stable is done, I expect +you to come to my house for a quarter of an hour to attend family prayers. +To this I suppose you can have no objection."--"Why as to that, sir," +replied the fellow, "I doesn't see much to say against it; but I hope +you'll consider it in my wages!" + + +Coleridge, among his other speculations, started a periodical, in prose and +verse, entitled _The Watchman_, with the motto, "that all might know the +truth, and that the truth might make us free." He watched in vain! His +incurable want of order and punctuality, and his philosophical theories, +tired out his readers, and the work was discontinued after the ninth +number. Of the unsaleable nature of this publication, he himself relates an +amusing illustration. Happening one morning to rise at an earlier hour than +usual, he observed his servant girl putting an extravagant quantity of +paper into the grate in order to light the fire, and mildly checked her for +her wastefulness: "La! sir," replied Nanny; "it's only _Watchmen_." + + +The Marquis of Granby having returned from the army in Germany, travelled +with all possible expedition from the English port at which he landed to +London, and finding on his arrival that the king was at Windsor, he +proceeded there in his travelling-dress; where desiring to be instantly +introduced to his majesty, a certain lord came forward, who said he hoped +the noble marquis did not mean to go into the presence of his majesty in so +improper a habit, adding, "'Pon my honour, my lord, you look more like a +_groom_ than a gentleman."--"Perhaps I may," replied the marquis, "and I +give you my word, if you do not introduce me to the king this instant, I +will _act_ like a groom, and _curry_ you in a way you won't like." + + +The Schoolmaster Abroad.--A young woman meeting her former fellow-servant, +was asked how she liked her place. "Very well."--"Then you have nothing to +complain of?"--"Nothing; only master and missis talk such very bad grammar, +and don't pronounce their H's." + + +A Soldier's Wife.--The late Duchess of York having desired her housekeeper +to seek out for a new laundress, a decent-looking woman was recommended to +the situation. "But, (said the housekeeper) I am afraid that she will not +suit your royal highness, as she is a soldier's wife, and these people are +generally loose characters." "What is that you say, said the duke, who had +just entered the room. A soldier's wife! Pray, madam, _what is your +mistress?_ If that is all her fault, I desire that the woman may be +immediately engaged." + + + + +SIGNS. + + +A Scotch Innkeeper, who had determined on adopting the sign of Flodden +Well, was much puzzled for a suitable inscription. At length he waited on +Sir Walter Scott, and asked his aid, observing, that "as he had written so +much about it in _Marmion_, he might know something that would do for an +inscription." The poet immediately replied, "Why, man, I think ye cannot do +better than take a verse from the poem itself." The innkeeper expressed his +willingness to do this, when Sir Walter said to him, "Well, then, you have +nothing to do, but just to leave out one letter from the line + + 'Drink, weary traveller--drink and pray;' + +and say instead + + 'Drink, weary traveller--drink and pay!'" + + +Dean Swift's barber one day told him that he had taken a public-house. "And +what's your sign?" said the dean. "Oh, the pole and bason; and if your +worship would just write me a few lines to put upon it, by way of motto, I +have no doubt but it would draw me plenty of customers." The dean took out +his pencil, and wrote the following couplet, which long graced the barber's +sign: + + "Rove not from _pole_ to _pole_, but step in here, + Where nought excels the _shaving_, but the _beer_." + + + + +SOLDIERS. + + +Equality in Danger.--The French General, Cherin, was once conducting a +detachment through a very difficult defile. He exhorted his soldiers to +endure patiently the fatigues of the march. "It is easy for you to talk," +said one of the soldiers near him; "you who are mounted on a fine +horse--but we poor devils!"--On hearing these words, Cherin dismounted, and +quickly proposed to the discontented soldier to take his place. The latter +did so; but scarcely had he mounted, when a shot from the adjoining +heights struck and killed him. "You see," says Cherin, addressing his +troops, "that the most elevated place is not the least dangerous." After +which he remounted his horse, and continued the march. + + +Marshal Suwarrow in his march to the attack of Ockzakow, proceeded with +such rapidity at the head of his advanced guard, that his men began to +murmur at the fatigues they endured. The Marshal, apprized of this +circumstance, after a long day's march, drew his men up in a hollow square, +and addressing them, said, "that his legs had that day discovered some +symptoms of mutiny, as they refused to second the impulses of his mind, +which urged him forward to the attack of the enemy's fortress." He then +ordered his boots to be taken off, and some of the drummers to advance with +their cats, and flog his legs, which ceremony was continued till they bled +considerably. He put on his boots again very coolly, expressing a hope that +his legs would in future better know how to discharge their duty. The +soldiers after that marched on without a murmur, struck at once with the +magnanimity of their commander, and the ingenuity of his device to remind +them of their duty. + + +Brief Explanation.--A French colonel, in taking a redoubt from the Russians +on the Moskwa, lost twelve hundred of his men, more than one half of whom +remained dead in the entrenchment which they had so energetically carried. +When Bonaparte the next morning reviewed this regiment, he asked the +colonel what he had done with one of his battalions? "Sire," replied he, +"it is in the redoubt." + + +Death of a Hero.--At the battle of Malplaquet, in 1709, Marshal Villars was +dangerously wounded, and desired to receive the Holy Sacrament. Being +advised to receive in private, he said, "No, if the army cannot see me die +like a hero, they shall see me die as a Christian." + + +Magdeline de Savoie.--Anne Duc de Montmorenci, who was prime minister and +great constable of France during the reigns of Francis I., Henry II., +Francis II., and Charles IX., was very unwilling to take up arms against +the Prince of Condé and the Coligny's, to whom he was endeared by the ties +of friendship, as well as those of consanguinity. He was however induced to +give way by the following animated and forcible speech of his wife, +Magdeline de Savoie: "It is then in vain, sir, that you have taken as a +motto to your escutcheon, the word of command that your ancestors always +gave at the outset of every battle in which they were engaged (_Dieu aide +du premier Chretien_). If you do not fight with all your energy in defence +of that religion which is now attempted to be destroyed, who then is to +give an example of respect and of veneration for the Holy See, if not he +who takes his very name, his arms, his nobility, from the first baron of +France who professed the holy religion of Christ?" + + +A Relay of Legs.--Rivardes, a Piedmontese, had attached himself to the +house of France, and was much esteemed as a soldier. He had lost one of his +legs, and had worn a wooden one for some time, when in an engagement a ball +carried off the latter, leaving him the other safe and sound. On being +raised up, he exclaimed laughingly, "What fools these fellows are! They +would have saved their shot had they known that I had two others equally +good among my baggage." + + +Present!--During the Crimean war a French captain wrote to the Curé of his +native place in these words: "I endeavour to regulate my affairs in such +sort, that if God should address to me the call, I may be able to answer, +_Present!_" Not long after this the brave captain met his death under the +walls of Sebastopol. + + +Quartering.--At an election for Shrewsbury, in the reign of George I., a +half-pay officer, who was a nonresident burgess, was, with some other +voters, brought down from London at the expense of Mr. Kynaston, one of the +candidates. The old campaigner regularly attended and feasted at the houses +which were opened for the electors in Mr. Kynaston's interest until the +last day of the polling, when, to the astonishment of the party, he gave +his vote to his opponent. For this strange conduct he was reproached by his +quondam companions, and asked what could have induced him to act so +dishonourable a part as to become an apostate. "An apostate," answered the +old soldier, "an apostate! by no means--I made up my mind about whom I +would vote for before I set out upon this campaign, but I remembered +Marlborough's constant advice to us when I served with the army in +Flanders, 'Always quarter upon the enemy, my lads--always quarter upon the +enemy.'" + + +Seeking for a Ball.--The Count de Grancé being wounded in the knee with a +musket ball, the surgeons made many incisions. At last, losing patience, he +asked them why they treated him so unmercifully? "We are seeking for the +ball," said they. "Why then did you not speak before?" said the Count, "I +could have saved you the trouble, for I have it in my pocket." + + +Turenne.--In the year 1675, the Council of Vienna sent Montecuculi to +oppose Turenne, as the only officer that was thought to be a match for him. +Both generals were perfect masters of the art of war. They passed four +months in watching each other, and in marches and counter-marches; at +length Turenne thought he had got his rival into such a situation as he +wanted, near Saltsbach, when, going to choose a place to erect a battery, +he was unfortunately struck by a cannon shot, which killed him on the spot. +The same ball having carried away the arm of St. Hilaire, +lieutenant-general of the artillery, his son, who was near, could not +forbear weeping. "Weep not for me," said Hilaire, "but for the brave man +who lies there, whose loss to his country nothing can repair." + + +Generosity of Turenne.--The deputies of a great metropolis in Germany, once +offered the great Turenne one hundred thousand crowns not to pass with his +army through their city. "Gentlemen," said he, "I cannot in conscience +accept your money, as I had no intention to pass that way." + + + + +TEMPER. + + +Henderson, the actor, was seldom known to be in a passion. When at Oxford, +he was one day debating with a fellow student, who, not keeping his temper, +threw a glass of wine in the actor's face; upon which Henderson took out +his handkerchief, wiped his face, and coolly said, "That, sir, was a +digression; now for the argument." + + +Peter the Great made a law in 1722, that if any nobleman beat or ill-treat +his slaves he should be looked upon as insane, and a guard should be +appointed to take care of his person and his estate. This great monarch +once struck his gardener, who being a man of great sensibility, took to his +bed, and died in a few days. Peter, hearing of this, exclaimed, with tears +in his eyes, "Alas! I have civilized my own subjects; I have conquered +other nations; yet I have not been able to civilize or conquer myself." + + +Fletcher, of Saltown, is well known to have possessed a most irritable +temper. His footman desired to be dismissed. "Why do you leave me?" said +he. "Because, sir," to speak the truth, "I cannot bear your temper." "To be +sure, I am passionate, but my passion is no sooner on than it is off." +"Yes, sir," replied the servant, "but then it is no sooner off than it is +on." + + +A Neat Reply.--In certain debates in the House of Lords, in 1718, the bills +proposed were opposed by Bishop Atterbury, who said, "he had prophesied +last winter, that this bill would be attempted in the present session, and +he was sorry to find he had proved a true prophet." Lord Coningsby, who +usually spoke in a passion, rose, and remarked, that "one of the right +reverends had set himself forth as a prophet; but for his part, he did not +know what prophet to liken him to, unless to that famous prophet Balaam, +who was reproved by his own ass." The bishop, in reply, with great +readiness and temper exposed this rude attack, concluding in these words: +"Since the noble lord hath discovered in our manners such a similitude, I +must be content to be compared to the prophet Balaam; but, my lords, I am +at a loss how to make out the other part of the parallel. I am sure that I +have been reproved by nobody but his lordship." From that day forth, Lord +Coningsby was called "Atterbury's Pad." + + +Dr. Hough, of Worcester, was remarkable for evenness of temper, of which +the following story affords a proof. A young gentleman, whose family had +been well acquainted with the doctor, in making the tour of England before +he went abroad, called to pay his respects to him as he passed by his seat +in the country. It happened to be at dinner-time, and the room full of +company. The bishop, however, received him with much familiarity; but the +servant in reaching him a chair, threw down a curious weather-glass that +had cost twenty guineas, and broke it. The gentleman was under infinite +concern, and began to make an apology for being the occasion of the +accident, when the bishop with great good nature interrupted him. "Be under +no concern, sir," said his lordship, smiling, "for I am much beholden to +you for it. We have had a very dry season; and now I hope we shall have +rain. I never saw the glass so _low_ in my life." Every one was pleased +with the humour and pleasantry of the turn; and the more so, as the Doctor +was then more than eighty, a time of life when the infirmities of old age +make most men peevish and hasty. + + +A Test.--A cobbler at Leyden, who used to attend the public disputations +held at the academy, was once asked if he understood Latin? "No," replied +the mechanic, "but it is easy to know who is wrong in the argument." "How?" +enquired his friend. "Why, by seeing who is first angry." + + +Casaubon, in his "Treatise on the Passions," relates the following pleasing +anecdote of Robert, one of the greatest monarchs that ever swayed the +sceptre of France. Having once surprised a rogue who had cut away the half +of his mantle, he took no other notice of the offence than by saying +mildly to him, "Save thyself, sinner, and leave the rest for another who +may have need of it." + + +Garrick once complained to Sir Joshua Reynolds of the abuse with which he +was loaded by Foote, when Sir Joshua answered, that Foote, in so doing, +gave the strongest possible proof of being in the wrong; as it was always +the man who had the worst side who became violent and abusive. + + + + +TIME, VALUE OF. + + +Spare Moments.--The great French Chancellor D'Aguesseau carefully employed +every moment of his time. Observing that Madame D'Aguesseau always delayed +ten or twelve minutes before she came down to dinner, he began to compose a +work to which he intended to devote these few minutes, which would +otherwise have been lost. The result was, at the end of fifteen years, a +work in three large quarto volumes, which went through several editions. + + +Buffon thus relates the manner in which he acquired a habit of early +rising. "In my youth," says he, "I was excessively fond of sleep, and that +indolence robbed me of much time. My poor Joseph (a domestic who served him +for sixty-five years) was of the greatest benefit to me in overcoming it. I +promised him a crown for every time he should make me get up at six +o'clock. He failed not the next day to rouse me, but I only abused and +threatened him. He tried the day following, and I did the same, which made +him desist. 'Friend Joseph,' said I to him at last, 'I have lost my time +and you have gained nothing. You do not know how to manage the matter. +Think only of my promise, and do not regard my threatenings.' The day +following he accomplished his point. At first I begged, then entreated and +abused, and would have discharged him; but he disregarded me, and raised me +up by absolute force. He had his reward every day for my ill-humour at the +moment of waking, by thanks, and a crown an hour after. I owe to poor +Joseph at least ten or twelve volumes of my works." + + +Cuvier, the celebrated naturalist, was singularly careful of his time, and +did not like those who entered his house to deprive him of it. "I know," +said he, "that Monsieur l'Abbé Hauy comes to see _me_; our conversation is +an exchange; but I do not want a man to come and tell me whether it is hot +or cold, raining or sunshine. My barometer and thermometer know more than +all possible visitors; and in my studies in natural history," added he, "I +have not found in the whole animal kingdom a species, or class, or family, +who frighten me so much as the numerous family of _idlers_" + + +Dr. Pepusch.--"In one of my visits, very early in life, to that venerable +master, Dr. Pepusch," says Dr. Burney, "he gave me a short lesson, which +made so deep an impression that I long endeavoured to practise it. 'When I +was a young man,' said he, 'I determined never to go to bed at night, till +I knew something that I did not know in the morning.'" + + + + +TRAVELLING. + + +A Tiresome Companion.--The celebrated George Selwyn was once travelling, +and was interrupted by the frequent impertinence of a companion, who was +constantly teasing him with questions, and asking him how he did. "How are +you now, sir?" said the impertinent. George, in order to get rid of his +importunity, replied, "Very well: and I intend to continue so all the rest +of the journey." + + +Charles Lamb.--A farmer, by chance a companion in a coach with Charles +Lamb, kept boring him to death with questions, in the jargon of +agriculturists, about crops. At length he put a poser--"And pray, sir, how +are turnips this year?" "Why that, sir," stammered out Lamb, "will depend +upon the boiled legs of mutton." + + +Clans.--An English gentleman travelling through the Highlands, came to the +inn of Letter Finlay, in the braes of Lochaber. He saw no person near the +inn, and knocked at the door. No answer. He knocked repeatedly with as +little success; he then opened the door, and walked in. On looking about, +he saw a man lying on a bed, whom he hailed thus: "Are there any Christians +in this house?" "No," was the reply, "we are all Camerons." + + +Welcome Sight.--A writer of a modern book of travels, relating the +particulars of his being cast away, thus concludes: "After having walked +eleven hours without having traced the print of human foot, to my great +comfort and delight, I saw a man hanging upon a gibbet; my pleasure at the +cheering prospect was inexpressible; for it convinced me that I was in a +civilized country!" + + + + +WAR. + + +Camp Dinner.--During the war, in which the eccentric Count Schaumbourg +Lippe commanded the artillery in the army of Prince Frederick of Brunswick, +against the French, he one day invited several Hanoverian officers to dine +with him in his tent. When the company were in high spirits, and full of +gaiety, several cannon balls flew in different directions about the tent. +"The French," exclaimed the officers, "are not far off." "No, no," replied +the Count, "the enemy, I assure you, are at a great distance; keep your +seats." The firing soon afterwards recommenced; when one of the balls +carrying away the top of the tent, the officers suddenly rose from their +chairs, exclaiming, "The French are here!" "No," replied the Count, "the +French are not here; and, therefore, gentlemen, I desire you will again sit +down, and rely upon my word." The balls continued to fly about; the +officers, however, continued to eat and drink without apprehension, though +not without whispering their conjectures to each other upon the singularity +of their entertainment. The Count, at length, rose from the table, and +addressing himself to the company, said, "Gentlemen, I was willing to +convince you how well I can rely upon the officers of my artillery; for I +ordered them to fire during the time we continued at dinner, at the +pinnacle of the tent, and they have executed my orders with great +punctuality." + + +A Ragged Regiment.--In 1690, the French attacked and defeated the Prince of +Waldeck at Fleurus. During this action, a lieutenant-colonel of a French +regiment was on the point of charging. Not knowing how to animate his men, +who were discontented at having commenced the campaign without being fresh +clothed, he said to them, "My friends, I congratulate you, that you have +the good fortune to be in presence of a regiment newly clothed. Charge them +vigorously, and we will clothe ourselves." This pleasantry so inspired the +soldiers, that they rushed on, and speedily defeated the regiment. + + +The Ladies of Beauvais.--Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, laid siege to +the City of Beauvais in the year 1472. After investing it closely for +twenty-one days, his troops made a general assault, and were on the point +of carrying the place, when a band of women, headed by a lady of the name +of Jeanne Hachette, rushing to the walls, opposed such a resistance, with +showers of stones, and other missiles, that the tide of fortune was +instantaneously turned. A Burgundian officer, who attempted to plant the +duke's standard on the walls, was fiercely attacked by Jeanne Hachette, +who, snatching the standard from his hands, threw him headlong over the +wall. The assailants, in short, were completely repulsed; nor was the +distaff, once thrown aside, resumed, till the ladies of Beauvais had forced +the Duke of Burgundy to retire in shame from their walls. In memory of this +gallant achievement, the Municipality of Beauvais ordered a general +procession of the inhabitants to take place every year, on the 10th of +July, the day on which the siege was raised, in which the ladies were to +have the privilege of preceding the men. As long as Jeanne Hachette lived, +she marched in this annual procession, at the head of the women, bearing +the standard which she had captured from the Burgundian officer; and at +her death this standard was deposited in the church of the Dominicans, and +a portrait of the heroine placed in the Town-Hall of Beauvais. + + +Charles XII. was dictating a letter to his secretary during the siege of +Stralsund, when a bomb fell through the roof into the next room of the +house where they were sitting. The terrified secretary let the pen drop +from his hand. "What is the matter?" said Charles, calmly. The secretary +replied, "Ah, sire, the bomb!" "But what has the bomb to do," said Charles, +"with what I am dictating to you?--go on." + + +Gonsalvo of Cordova.--In an engagement which the Spaniards fought under +Gonsalvo of Cordova, their powder-magazine was blown up by the first +discharge of the enemy; but so far was this from discouraging the general, +that he immediately cried out to his soldiers, "My brave boys, the victory +is ours! Heaven tells us by this signal that we shall have no further +occasion for our artillery." This confidence of the general passed on to +the soldiers; they rushed to the contest, and gained a complete victory. + + +Algerine Captain.--Louis XIV., who had once bombarded Algiers, ordered the +Marquess du Quesne to bombard it a second time, in order to punish the +treachery and insolence of the Moors. The despair in which the Corsairs +found themselves at not being able to beat the fleet off their coasts, +caused them to bring all the French slaves, and fasten them to the mouths +of their cannon, where they were blown to pieces, the different limbs of +their bodies falling even among the French ships. An Algerine captain, who +had been taken on a cruize, and well treated by the French while he had +been their prisoner, one day perceived, among those unfortunate Frenchmen +who were doomed to the cruel fate just mentioned, an officer named +Choiseul, from whom he had received the most signal acts of kindness. The +Algerine immediately begged, entreated, and solicited in the most pressing +manner, to save the life of the generous Frenchman; but all in vain. At +last, when they were going to fire the cannon to which Choiseul was fixed, +the captain threw himself on the body of his friend, and closely embracing +him in his arms, said to the cannonier, "Fire! since I cannot serve my +benefactor, I shall at least have the consolation of dying with him." The +Dey, in whose presence this scene passed, was so affected with it, that he +commanded the French officer to be set free. + + +Marshal Boufflers.--A few days previous to the battle of Malplaquet, it was +publicly talked of at Versailles, that a very important battle would soon +take place between the French army commanded by Marshal Villars, and the +allied army under Prince Eugene and Marlborough. Louis XIV., who for some +years had met with many mortifying repulses, seemed to be very uneasy about +the event. Marshal Boufflers, in order to quiet in some degree the +perturbation of his sovereign's mind, offered, though a senior officer to +Villars, to go and serve under him, sacrificing all personal considerations +to the glory of his country. His proposal was accepted, and he repaired to +the camp. On his arrival, a very singular contest took place between the +two commanders. Villars desired to have Boufflers for his leader; but the +latter persisted in yielding him all the glory, while he shared the danger. +No event in the life of Boufflers ever contributed more to render his name +illustrious. Marshal Villars, who commanded the left wing at the battle, +being obliged to retire on account of a wound he had received, Marshal +Boufflers charged the enemy six times after this accident; but finding they +had made themselves master of a wood through which they penetrated into the +centre of the French army, he yielded them the field of battle, and made a +retreat in such good order, that the allies declined pursuing him. + + +War by Candle Light.--Shortly after the commencement of the last Peninsular +war, a tax was laid on candles, which, as a political economist would +prove, made them dearer. A Scotch wife, in Greenock, remarked to her +chandler that the price was raised, and asked why. "It's a' owin' to the +war," said he. "The war!" said the astonished matron, "gracious me! are +they gaun to fight by candle licht?" + + +Admiral Duncan's address to the officers of his fleet, when they came on +board his ship for his final instructions, previous to the memorable +engagement with Admiral De Winter, was couched in the following laconic and +humorous words:--"Gentlemen of my Fleet, you see a very severe WINTER fast +approaching; and I have only to advise you to keep up a good FIRE!" + + +A Noble Enemy.--When the _Laura_ and _Andromeda_ frigates were wrecked in a +violent hurricane in the West Indies, on the coast of the Martinique, +thirty-five men were thrown ashore alive. The Marquess de Bouille, on +hearing of the circumstance, took them to his house, where he treated them +most hospitably. After he had cured them of their bruises and sickness, and +had clothed them from head to foot, he sent them with a flag of truce to +the commanding officer of St. Lucia, with a letter, stating that these men +having experienced the horrors of shipwreck, he would not add those of war, +and had therefore set them free, and at liberty again to serve their +country. + + +French Grenadier.--During the assault of Thurot on the town of +Carrickfergus in 1760, an incident took place, reflecting at once the +highest lustre on the soldier concerned, and evincing the union of +consummate courage with noble humanity. Whilst the combatants were opposed +to each other in the streets, and every inch was pertinaciously disputed by +the British forces, a child by some accident escaped from a house in the +midst of the scene of action, and ran, unawed by the danger, into the +narrow interval between the hostile fronts. One of the French grenadiers +seeing the imminent danger of the child, grounded his piece; left the ranks +in the hottest fire; took the child in his arms, and placed it in safety in +the house from which it had come, and then with all possible haste returned +to resume his part in the fight. + + +George I.--During the siege of Fort St. Philip, a young lieutenant of +marines was so unfortunate as to lose both his legs by a chain-shot. In +this miserable and helpless condition he was conveyed to England, and a +memorial of his case presented to a board; but nothing more than half-pay +could be obtained. Major Manson had the poor lieutenant conducted to court +on a public day, in his uniform; where, posted in the ante-room, and +supported by two of his brother officers, he cried out, as the king was +passing to the drawing-room, "Behold, sire, a man who refuses to bend his +knee to you; he has lost both in your service." The king, struck no less by +the singularity of his address, than by the melancholy object before him, +stopped, and hastily demanded what had been done for him. "Half-pay," +replied the lieutenant, "and please your majesty." "Fye, fye on't," said +the king, shaking his head; "but let me see you again next levee-day." The +lieutenant did not fail to appear, when he received from the immediate hand +of royalty a present of five hundred pounds, and an annuity of two hundred +pounds a-year for life. + + +Charles VI.--At the breaking out of the war against the Turks, in the year +1717, the Emperor Charles VI. of Austria took leave of his general, Prince +Eugene, with the following words: "Prince, I have set over you a general, +who is always to be called to your council, and in whose name all your +operations are to be undertaken." With this he put into his hand a +crucifix, richly set with diamonds, at the foot of which was the following +inscription, 'Jesus Christus Generalissimus.'--"Forget not," added the +Emperor, "that you are fighting his battles who shed his blood for man upon +the Cross. Under his supreme guidance, attack and overwhelm the enemies of +Christ and Christianity." + + +George the Second.--It was once found an impracticable task to make George +the Second acquiesce in a judgment passed by a court-martial on the conduct +of two officers high in the army. One of the officers had made himself +amenable to military law, by fighting in opposition to the orders of his +commander in chief, instead of retreating; by which act of disobedience, +the general's plans were frustrated. On these circumstances being detailed +to the king, his majesty exclaimed, "Oh! the one fight, the other run +away." "Your majesty will have the goodness to understand, that General +---- did not run away; it was necessary for the accomplishment of his +schemes, that he should cause the army to retreat at that critical moment; +this he would have conducted with his wonted skill, but for the breach of +duty in the officer under the sentence of the court-martial." "I +understand," impatiently returned the king; "one fight, he was right; the +other run away, he was wrong." It was in vain that ministers renewed their +arguments and explanations; his majesty could not, or would not, understand +the difference between a disgraceful flight and a politic retreat; they +were therefore obliged to end a discussion which merely drew forth the +repetition of the same judgment--"The one face the enemy and fight, he +right; the other turn his back and not fight, he wrong." + + +Ximenes.--At the siege of Oran, in Africa, Cardinal Ximenes led the Spanish +troops to the breach, mounted on a charger, dressed in his pontifical +robes, and preceded by a monk on horseback, who bore his archiepiscopal +cross. "Go on, go on, my children," exclaimed he to the soldiers, "I am at +your head. A priest should think it an honour to expose his life for his +religion. I have an example in my predecessors, in the archbishopric of +Toledo. Go on to victory." When his victorious troops took possession of +the town, he burst into tears on seeing the number of the dead that were +lying on the ground; and was heard to say to himself, "They were indeed +infidels, but they might have become Christians. By their death, they have +deprived us of the principal advantage of the victory we have gained over +them." + + +An Odd Grenadier.--During the famous siege of Gibraltar, in the absence of +the fleet, and when an attack was daily expected, one dark night, a +sentinel, whose post was near a tower facing the Spanish lines, was +standing at the end of his walk, looking towards them, his head filled +with nothing but fire and sword, miners, breaching, storming, and +bloodshed, while by the side of his box stood a deep narrow-necked earthen +jug, in which was the remainder of his supper, consisting of boiled pease. +A large monkey (of which there were plenty at the top of the rock), +encouraged by the man's absence, and allured by the smell of the pease, +ventured to the jug; and, in endeavouring to get at its contents, thrust +his neck so far into the jug, as to be unable to withdraw it. At this +instant, the soldier approaching, the monkey started up to escape, with the +jug on his head. This terrible monster no sooner saluted the eyes of the +sentry, than his frantic imagination converted poor pug into a +blood-thirsty Spanish grenadier, with a tremendous cap on his head. Full of +this dreadful idea, he instantly fired his piece, roaring out that the +enemy had scaled the walls. The guards took the alarm; the drums were beat; +signal-guns fired; and in less than ten minutes, the governor and his whole +garrison were under arms. The supposed grenadier, being very much +incommoded by his cap, and almost blinded by the pease, was soon overtaken +and seized; and by this capture, the tranquillity of the garrison was soon +restored, without that slaughter and bloodshed which every man had +prognosticated at the beginning of this dire alarm. + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS. + + +Dunning.--The witty Lord Ross, having spent all his money in London, set +out for Ireland, in order to recruit his purse. On his way, he happened to +meet with Sir Murrough O'Brien, driving for the capital in a handsome +phaëton, with six prime dun-coloured horses. "Sir Murrough," exclaimed his +lordship, "what a contrast there is betwixt you and me! You are driving +your _duns_ before you, but my _duns_ are driving me before them." + + +Steele & Addison.--A gentleman who was dining with another, praised the +meat very much, and asked who was the butcher? "His name is +Addison."--"Addison!" echoed the guest, "pray is he any relation to the +essayist?"--"In all probability he is, for he is seldom without his steel +(_Steele_) by his side." + + +A Tedious Preacher.--Mr. Canning was once asked by an English clergyman how +he liked the sermon he had preached before him. "Why, it was a short +sermon," quoth Canning. "Oh yes," said the preacher; "you know I avoid +being tedious." "Ah, but," replied Canning, "you _were_ tedious." + + +Charity sermon.--Sydney Smith, preaching a charity sermon, frequently +repeated the assertion that, of all nations, Englishmen were most +distinguished for generosity and the love of their species. The collection +happened to be inferior to his expectations, and he said that he had +evidently made a great mistake, for that his expression should have been, +that they were distinguished for the love of their _specie_. + + +Pope the Poet.--This celebrated poet is said to have been once severely +retorted upon. A question arose in company respecting the reading of a +passage with or without a note of interrogation. Pope rather arrogantly +asked one gentleman if he knew what a note of interrogation was. "Yes, sir: +it is _a little crooked thing that asks questions_." Pope was little and +deformed. + + +Estimate of Greatness.--Pope was with Sir Godfrey Kneller one day, when his +nephew, a Guinea trader, came in. "Nephew," said Sir Godfrey, "you have the +honour of seeing the two greatest men in the world."--"I don't know how +great you may be," said the Guinea-man, "but I don't like your looks: I +have often bought a man much better than both of you together, all muscles +and bones, for ten guineas." + + +"Rejected Addresses."--The fame of the brothers James and Horatio Smith was +confined to a limited circle, until the publication of "The Rejected +Addresses." James used to dwell with much pleasure on the criticism of a +Leicestershire clergyman: "I do not see why they ('The Addresses') should +have been rejected: I think some of them very good." This, he would add, is +almost as good as the avowal of the Irish Bishop, that there were some +things in "Gulliver's Travels" which he could not believe. + + +The Two Smith's.--A gentleman took lodgings in the same house with James +Smith, one of the celebrated authors of the "Rejected Addresses." His name +was also James Smith. The consequence was an eternal confusion of calls and +letters, and the postman had no alternative but to share the letters +equally between the two. "This is intolerable, sir," said our author, "you +must quit." "Why am I to quit more than you?" "Because you came last, and +being James the Second you must _abdicate_." + + +Coleridge, the Poet, once dined in company with a person who listened to +the conversation and said nothing for a long time; but occasionally nodded +his head, and Coleridge concluded him a thoughtful and intelligent man. At +length, towards the end of the dinner, some apple dumplings were placed on +the table, and the listener had no sooner seen them than he burst forth, +"Them's the fellows for me!" Coleridge adds: "I wish Spurzheim could have +examined the fellow's head." + + +An Appropriate Successor.--Clerambault, who was deformed, was elected to +succeed La Fontaine in the French Academy. On that occasion it was said +that "La Fontaine was very properly succeeded by Esop." + + +Erskine.--Lord Kellie was amusing the company with an account of a sermon +he had heard in Italy, in which the preacher related the miracle of St. +Anthony preaching to the fishes, who, in order to listen to his pious +discourse, held their heads out of the water. "I can credit the miracle," +said Erskine, "if your lordship was at church." "I certainly was there," +said the peer. "Then, rejoined Erskine, there was at least _one fish out of +water_." + + +Memory.--A humorous comment on this system of artificial memory was made by +a waiter at an hotel where Feinaigle dined, after having given his lecture +on that subject. A few minutes after the Professor left the table, the +waiter entered, with uplifted hands and eyes, exclaiming, "Well, I declare, +the _memory man_ has forgotten his umbrella!" + + +Parisian rag-picker.--An old chiffonnier (or rag picker) died in Paris in a +state apparently of the most abject poverty. His only relation was a niece, +who lived as servant with a greengrocer. This girl always assisted her +uncle as far as her slender means would permit. When she heard of his +death, which took place suddenly, she was upon the point of marriage with a +journeyman baker, to whom she had been long attached. The nuptial day was +fixed, but Suzette had not yet bought her wedding clothes. She hastened to +tell her lover that their marriage must be deferred, as she wanted the +price of her bridal finery to lay her uncle decently in the grave. Her +mistress ridiculed the idea, and exhorted her to leave the old man to be +buried by charity. Suzette refused. The consequence was a quarrel, in which +the young woman lost at once her place and her lover, who sided with her +mistress. She hastened to the miserable garret where her uncle had expired, +and by the sacrifice not only of her wedding attire, but of nearly all the +rest of her slender wardrobe, she had the old man decently interred. Her +pious task fulfilled, she sat alone in her uncle's room weeping bitterly, +when the master of her faithless lover, a young good-looking man, entered. +"So, my good Suzette, I find you have lost your place!" cried he, "I am +come to offer you one for life--will you marry me?" "I, Sir? you are +joking." "No, indeed, I want a wife, and I am sure I can't find a better." +"But everybody will laugh at you for marrying a poor girl like me," "Oh! if +that is your only objection we shall soon get over it; come, come along; my +mother is prepared to receive you." Suzette hesitated no longer; but she +wished to take with her a memorial of her deceased uncle: it was a cat +that he had kept for many years. The old man was so fond of the animal +that he was determined even death should not separate them, and he had +caused her to be stuffed and placed near his bed. As Suzette took puss +down, she uttered an exclamation of surprise at finding her so heavy. The +lover hastened to open the animal, when out fell a shower of gold. There +were a thousand louis concealed in the body of the cat, and this sum, which +the old man had contrived to amass, became the just reward of the worthy +girl and her disinterested lover. + + +Integrity.--A Parisian stock-broker, just before his death, laid a wager on +parole with a rich capitalist; and a few weeks after his death, the latter +visited the widow and gave her to understand that her late husband had lost +a wager of sixteen thousand francs. She went to her secretary, took out her +pocket-book, and counted bank notes to the stated amount, when the +capitalist thus addressed her: "Madame, as you give such convincing proof +that you consider the wager binding, _I_ have to pay you sixteen thousand +francs. Here is the sum, for _I_ am the loser, and not your husband." + + +During the speculations of 1837-38, Mr. C., a young merchant of +Philadelphia, possessed of a handsome fortune, caught the mania, entered +largely into its operations, and for a time was considered immensely rich. +But when the great revulsion occurred he was suddenly reduced to +bankruptcy. His young wife immediately withdrew from the circles of wealth +and fashion, and adapted her expenses, family and personal, to her altered +circumstances. At the time of Mr. C.'s failure, his wife was in debt to +Messrs. Stewart and Company, merchants of Philadelphia, about two hundred +dollars for articles which she had used personally. This debt, she had no +means of liquidating. However after the lapse of twelve years, and when the +creditors had of course looked upon the debt as lost, Mrs. C. was able to +take the principal, add to it twelve years' interest, enclose the whole in +a note and address it to Messrs. Stewart and Company. Messrs. Stewart and +Company, upon the receipt of the money, addressed a note in reply to Mrs. +C., in which they requested her acceptance of the accompanying gift, as a +slight testimonial of their high appreciation of an act so honourable and +so rare as to call forth unqualified admiration. Accompanying the letter +was sent a superb brocade silk dress, and some laces of exquisite texture +and great value. + + +Costume of the Sisters of Charity.--The Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, at +the time of their re-establishment in their house, in the _Rue du Vieux +Colombier_, after the Revolution, wore black dresses and caps. On the +fourth Sunday in Advent, 1804, Pope Pius the Seventh visited the community. +He seemed surprised that the Sisters had not resumed the habit of their +order; but he was told that no community had dared to show the religious +habit abroad. He then spoke to the emperor, saying to him that the good +daughters of charity "_looked like widows_." The emperor, at his request, +gave authority to the Sisters to wear their habit, and they resumed it in +the spring of 1805. + + +China-ware.--An English gentleman wanting a dessert-service of porcelain +made after a particular pattern, sent over to China a specimen dish, +ordering that it should be exactly copied for the whole service. It +unfortunately happened that in the dish so sent over the Chinese +manufacturer discovered a crack; the consequence was, that the entire +service sent over to the party ordering it had a crack in each article, +carefully copied from the original. + + +Dreaming.--It is a custom among the Canadian Indians, that when one dreams +that another has rendered him any service, the person dreamed of thinks it +a duty to fulfil the dream, if possible. A chief one morning came to the +governor, Sir William Johnstone, and told him that he had last night +dreamed that Sir William had made him a present of the suit of regimentals +he wore. The governor readily presented them to him; but as the Indian was +going out, "Stop," said Sir William, "I had almost forgot, but I dreamed +about you last night; I dreamed that you gave me such a piece of land," +describing a large tract. "You shall have it," said he, "but if you please, +Sir William, we will _not dream any more_." + + +Lessing was remarkable for a frequent absence of mind. Having missed money +at different times, without being able to discover who took it, he +determined to put the honesty of his servant to a trial, and left a handful +of gold on the table. "Of course you counted it?" said one of his friends. +"Count it!" said Leasing, rather embarrassed; "no, I forgot that." + + +At a public sale, there was a book which Lessing was very desirous of +possessing. He gave three of his friends at different times a commission to +buy it at any price. They accordingly bid against each other till they had +got as far as ninety crowns, there having been no other bidder after it had +reached ten crowns. Happily one of them thought it best to speak to the +others; when it appeared they had all been bidding for Lessing, whose +forgetfulness in this instance cost him eighty crowns. + + +Edinburgh.--In a debate upon some projected improvement of the streets of +Edinburgh, the Dean of Faculty wittily said that the _forwardness_ of the +clergy, and the _backwardness_ of the medical faculty, had spoiled the +finest street in Europe, alluding to the projection of the colonnade of St. +Andrew's church and the recession of the Medical Hall in George's-street. + + +Maclaurin.--This celebrated Professor of Mathematics in Edinburgh College, +and the able expounder of Newton's _Principia_, always dislocated his jaw, +and was unable to shut his mouth, when he yawned. At the same time his +instinct of imitation was so strong, that he could not resist yawning when +he witnessed that act in others. His pupils were not slow in discovering, +and taking advantage of this physical weakness. When tired of his lecture, +they either began to yawn, or open their mouths in imitation of that act, +and the prelection was interrupted. The Professor stood before them with +his mouth wide open, and could not proceed till he rang for his servant to +come and shut it. In the meantime the mischievous disciples of Euclid had +effected their escape. + + +William III. and St. Evremond.--William was so little of a man of letters, +that on the celebrated French writer, St. Evremond, being presented to him +at St. James's, his majesty had nothing more _àpropos_ to say than this, +"You are, I believe, sir, a major-general in your master's service." + + +Music and Politics.--Dr. Wise, the musician, being requested to subscribe +his name to a petition against an expected prorogation of Parliament in the +reign of Charles II., wittily answered, "No, gentlemen, it is not my +business to meddle with state affairs; _but I'll set a tune to it, if you +like_." + + +Sion College.--Upon the recovery of George III. in 1789, the librarian and +others connected with Sion College were at a loss what device or motto to +select for the illumination of the building; when the following happy +choice was made by a worthy divine, from the book of Psalms; "_Sion_ heard +of it and was glad." + + +Dean Swift having preached an assize sermon in Ireland, was invited to dine +with the judges; and having in his sermon considered the use and abuse of +the law, he pressed somewhat hard upon those counsellors, who plead causes, +which they knew in their consciences to be wrong. When dinner was over, and +the glass began to go round, a young barrister retorted upon the dean; and +after several altercations, the counsellor asked him, "If the devil was to +die, whether a _parson_ might not be found, who, for money, would preach +his funeral?" "Yes," said Swift, "I would gladly be the man, and I would +then give the _devil_ his due, as I have this day done his _children_." + + +Swift disliked nothing so much as being troubled with applications from +authors to correct their works. A poor poet having written a very +indifferent tragedy, got himself introduced to the dean in order to have +his opinion of it; and in about a fortnight after, called at the deanery. +Swift returned the play, carefully folded up, telling him he had read it, +and taken some pains with it, and he believed the author would not find +above half the number of faults that it had when it came into his hands. +The poor author, after a thousand acknowledgments, retired in company with +the gentleman who had introduced him, and was so impatient to see the +corrections, that he stopped under the first gateway they came to, when to +his utter astonishment and confusion, he saw that the dean had taken the +pains to blot out every second line throughout the whole play, so carefully +as to render them quite illegible. + + +Lady Carteret, wife of the Lord Lieutenant, said to Swift one day, "The air +of Ireland is excellent and healthy." "For God's sake, madam," said Swift, +falling down before her, "don't say so in England, for if you do they will +tax it." + + +Dr Savage, who died in 1747, travelled in his younger days, with the Earl +of Salisbury, to whom he was indebted for a considerable living in +Hertfordshire. One day at the levee, the King (George I.) asked him how +long he had resided at Rome with Lord Salisbury. Upon his answering him how +long,--"Why," said the king, "you staid there long enough; how is it you +did not convert the pope?"--"Because, sir," replied the doctor, "I had +nothing better to offer him." + + +Sheridan.--This distinguished wit, upon being asked by a young member of +parliament how he first succeeded in establishing his fame as an orator, +replied, "Why, sir, it was easily effected. After I had been in St. +Stephen's Chapel a few days, I found that four-fifths of the house were +composed of country squires, and great fools; my first effort, therefore, +was by a lively sally, or an ironical remark, to make them laugh; that +laugh effaced from their stupid pates the recollection of what had been +urged in opposition to my view of the subject, and then I whipped in an +argument, and had all the way clear before me." + + +Sheridan.--The father of the celebrated Sheridan was one day descanting on +the pedigree of his family, regretting that they were no longer styled +O'Sheridan, as they were formerly. "Indeed, father," replied Sheridan, then +a boy, "we have more right to the O than any one else; for we _owe_ +everybody." + + +Sheridan inquiring of his son what side of politics he should espouse on +his inauguration to St. Stephen's chapel; the son replied, that he intended +to vote for those who offered best, and that in consequence he should wear +on his forehead a label, "To let;" to which the facetious critic rejoined, +"I suppose, Tom, you mean to add, _unfurnished_." + + +Sheridan was once travelling to town in one of the public coaches, for the +purpose of canvassing Westminster, at the time that Mr. Paull was his +opponent, when he found himself in company with two Westminster electors. +In the course of conversation, one of them asked his friend to whom he +meant to give his vote? The other replied, "to Paull, certainly; for, +though I think him but a shabby sort of a fellow, I would vote for anyone +rather than that rascal Sheridan!" "Do you know Sheridan?" inquired the +stranger. "Not I, sir," was the answer, "nor should I wish to know him." +The conversation dropped here; but when the party alighted to breakfast, +Sheridan called aside the other gentleman and said, "Pray who is that very +agreeable friend of your's? He is one of the pleasantest fellows I ever met +with; I should be glad to know his name?" "His name is Mr. T.; he is an +eminent lawyer, and resides in Lincoln's Inn Fields." Breakfast being over, +the party resumed their seats in the coach; soon after which, Sheridan +turned the discourse to the law. "It is," said he, "a fine profession. Men +may rise from it to the highest eminence in the state, and it gives vast +scope to the display of talent; many of the most virtuous and noble +characters recorded in our history have been lawyers. I am sorry, however, +to add, that some of the greatest rascals have also been lawyers; but of +all the rascals of lawyers I ever heard of, the greatest is one T., who +lives in Lincoln's Inn Fields." The gentleman fired up at the charge, and +said very angrily, "I am Mr. T., sir." "And I am Mr. Sheridan," was the +reply. The jest was instantly seen; they shook hands, and instead of voting +against the facetious orator, the lawyer exerted himself warmly in +promoting his election. + + +Sterne.--Sterne used to relate a circumstance which happened to him at +York. After preaching at the cathedral, an old woman whom he observed +sitting on the pulpit stairs, stopped him as he came down, and begged to +know where she should have the honour of hearing him preach the following +Sunday. On leaving the pulpit the next Sunday he found her placed as +before, when she put the same question to him. The following Sunday he was +to preach four miles out of York, which he told her; and to his great +surprise, he found her there too, and the same question was put to him as +he descended from the pulpit. "On which," added he "I took for my text +these words, expecting to find my old woman as before: 'I will grant the +request of this poor widow, lest by her often coming, she weary me,'" One +of the company immediately replied, "Why, Sterne, you omitted the most +applicable part of the passage, which is, 'Though I neither fear God nor +regard man.'" + + +Sporting.--Burton, in his "Anatomie of Melancholy," tells us of a physician +in Milan, who kept a house for the reception of lunatics, and by way of +cure, used to make his patients stand for a length of time in a pit of +water, some up to the knees, some up to the girdle, and others as high as +the chin, according as they were more or less affected. An inmate of this +establishment, who happened, for the time to be pretty well recovered, was +standing at the door of the house, and seeing a gallant cavalier ride past +with a hawk on his fist, and his spaniels after him, asked, "What all these +preparations meant?" The cavalier answered, "To kill game." "What may the +game be worth which you kill in the course of a year?" rejoined the +patient. "About five or ten crowns." "And what may your horse, dogs, and +hawks, cost you for a year?" "Four hundred crowns." On hearing this, the +patient, with great earnestness of manner, bade the cavalier instantly +begone, as he valued his life and welfare; "for" said he, "if our master +come and find you here, he will put you into his pit up to the very chin." + + +An American heroine.--During the summer of 1787, writes Mr. McClung, in his +Sketches of Western Adventure, "The house of Mr. John Merrill, of Nelson +County, Kentucky, was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular +address and good fortune. Merrill was alarmed by the barking of a dog about +midnight, and on opening the door in order to ascertain the cause of the +disturbance, he received the fire of six or seven Indians, by which one arm +and one thigh were broken. He instantly sank upon the floor, and called +upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely been done when it was +violently assailed by the tomahawks of the enemy, and a large breach soon +effected. Mrs. Merrill, however, being a perfect amazon, both in strength +and courage, guarded it with an axe, and successively killed or wounded +four of the enemy as they attempted to force their way into the cabin. The +Indians ascended the roof, and attempted to enter by way of the chimney; +but here again they were met by the same determined enemy. Mrs. Merrill +seized the only feather bed which the cabin afforded, and hastily ripping +it open, poured its contents upon the fire. A furious blaze and stifling +smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and brought down two of the enemy, +who lay at her mercy. Seizing the axe she quickly despatched them, and was +instantly afterwards summoned to the door, where the only remaining savage +now appeared, endeavoring to effect an entrance. He soon received a gash in +the cheek, which compelled him, with a loud yell, to relinquish his +purpose, and return hastily to Chillicothe, where, he gave an exaggerated +account of the fierceness, strength, and courage of the 'long knife +squaw!'" + + +Another.--The subject of this anecdote was a sister of General Isaac +Worrell. She died two or three years since in Philadelphia. The following +tribute to her patriotism and humanity, was paid by a New Jersey newspaper, +in July, 1849.--"The deceased was one of those devoted women who aided to +relieve the horrible sufferings of Washington's army at Valley +Forge--cooking and carrying provisions to them alone, through the depth of +winter, even passing through the outposts of the British army in the +disguise of a market woman. And when Washington was compelled to retreat +before a superior force, she concealed her brother, General Worrell--when +the British set a price on his head--in a cider hogshead in the cellar for +three days, and fed him through the bung-hole; the house being ransacked +four different times by the troops in search of him, without success. She +was above ninety years of age at the time of her death." + + +Tyrolese peasant.--During a conflict at the farm of Rainerhof, in the +Tyrolese war, in 1809, a young woman, who resided at the house, brought out +a small cask of wine, with which to encourage and refresh the peasants: she +had advanced to the scene of action, regardless of the tremendous fire of +the Bavarians, carrying the wine upon her head, when a bullet struck the +cask, and compelled her to let it go. Undaunted by this accident, she +endeavoured to repair the mischief, by placing her thumb upon the orifice +caused by the ball; and then encouraged those nearest her to refresh +themselves quickly, that she might not remain in her dangerous situation, +and suffer for her humane generosity to them. + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES *** + +***** This file should be named 15413-8.txt or 15413-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/1/15413/ + +Produced by Elaine Walker and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes + Historical, Literary, and Humorous--A New Selection + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 19, 2005 [EBook #15413] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES *** + + + + +Produced by Elaine Walker and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<div class="center"> +<table summary="Frontispiece"><tr><td> +<div class="frontis"> + +<h1 class="down1">The<br /> Book<br /> of<br />Three Hundred<br /> Anecdotes.</h1> + + +<h2 class="down2">HISTORICAL,<br /> +LITERARY, AND<br /> +HUMOROUS.</h2> + +<h2 class="down2">A NEW SELECTION.</h2> + +<h4 class="down3"> +BURNS & OATES.<br /> +<span class="smcap">London: Granville Mansions.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">New York: Barclay Street.</span></h4> +</div> +</td></tr></table> +</div> +<hr /> + + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> + <a href="#INDEX"><b>INDEX.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#AFFECTION"><b>AFFECTION.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#ARTISTS"><b>ARTISTS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#BEGGING"><b>BEGGING.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#BENEVOLENCE"><b>BENEVOLENCE.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#BOOKS"><b>BOOKS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#BONAPARTE"><b>BONAPARTE.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHARITY"><b>CHARITY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#DINNERS"><b>DINNERS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#DOCTORS"><b>DOCTORS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#THE_DRAMA_ACTORS_ETC"><b>THE DRAMA—ACTORS, ETC.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#DUTY"><b>DUTY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#FIDELITY"><b>FIDELITY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#FONTENELLE"><b>FONTENELLE.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#FOOLS"><b>FOOLS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#FORGIVENESS"><b>FORGIVENESS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#FRIENDS"><b>FRIENDS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#GRATITUDE"><b>GRATITUDE.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#GHOSTS"><b>GHOSTS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#HEROISM"><b>HEROISM.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#HOSPITALITY"><b>HOSPITALITY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#HUMANITY"><b>HUMANITY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#IMAGINATION_AND_FEAR"><b>IMAGINATION AND FEAR.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#JOHNSON"><b>JOHNSON.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#KINGS"><b>KINGS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#LAWS_AND_LAWYERS"><b>LAWS AND LAWYERS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#LIBRARIANS"><b>LIBRARIANS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#MAGNANIMITY"><b>MAGNANIMITY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#MUSICIANS"><b>MUSICIANS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#PARLIAMENT"><b>PARLIAMENT.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#PATIENCE"><b>PATIENCE.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#POETS"><b>POETS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#POLITENESS"><b>POLITENESS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#PRESENCE_OF_MIND"><b>PRESENCE OF MIND.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#PRIDE_OF_RANK_AND_ANCESTRY"><b>PRIDE OF RANK AND ANCESTRY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#PUNCTUALITY"><b>PUNCTUALITY.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#ROBBERS"><b>ROBBERS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#SAILORS"><b>SAILORS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#SCHOOLS"><b>SCHOOLS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#SERVANTS"><b>SERVANTS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#SIGNS"><b>SIGNS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#SOLDIERS"><b>SOLDIERS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#TEMPER"><b>TEMPER.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#TIME_VALUE_OF"><b>TIME, VALUE OF.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#TRAVELLING"><b>TRAVELLING.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#WAR"><b>WAR.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#MISCELLANEOUS"><b>MISCELLANEOUS.</b></a><br /> + </p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX">INDEX.</a></h2> + + +<p class="index">Abernethy, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></p> +<p class="index">Abon Hannifah, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Actors</span>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>-<a href="#Page_33">33</a></p> +<p class="index">Adam, Dr., and the Schoolboy, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Affection</span>, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>-<a href="#Page_5">5</a></p> +<p class="index">Aguesseau, D', Chancellor of France, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></p> +<p class="index">Alban's, Duchess of, and the Sailor, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></p> +<p class="index">Algerine Captain, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></p> +<p class="index">Alphonsus, King of Naples, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></p> +<p class="index">American Heroines, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></p> +<p class="index">Amour, St., General, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></p> +<p class="index">André, St., Marquis de, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Artists</span>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>-<a href="#Page_9">9</a></p> +<p class="index">Astley Cooper, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></p> +<p class="index">Atterbury, in the House of Peers, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Bakers, The, of Lyons, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></p> +<p class="index">Bailly, Miss—Escape of the Pretender, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></p> +<p class="index">Bannister, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></p> +<p class="index">Bautru and the Spanish Librarian, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></p> +<p class="index">Bayard, The Chevalier, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></p> +<p class="index">Beauvais, Ladies of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Begging</span>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></p> +<p class="index">Belmont, Countess de, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></p> +<p class="index">Benbow and the Wounded Sailor, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Benevolence</span>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>-<a href="#Page_13">13</a></p> +<p class="index">Ben Jonson at Dinner, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></p> +<p class="index">Bernard, Father, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></p> +<p class="index">Bishop and Clerks, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Books</span>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>-<a href="#Page_16">16</a></p> +<p class="index">Boufflers, Marshal, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></p> +<p class="index">Bouille, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></p> +<p class="index">Boutteville, Count de, and the Soldier, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></p> +<p class="index">Boutibonne, M., Imaginary Accident, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></p> +<p class="index">Breton Peasants, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></p> +<p class="index">Brougham, Lord—Examination of a Witness, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></p> +<p class="index">Budæus, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></p> +<p class="index">Buffon and his Servant, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></p> +<p class="index">Busby, Dr., and the Scholar, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Cajeta, Siege of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></p> +<p class="index">Camden, Lord, in the Stocks, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></p> +<p class="index">Camerons and Christians, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></p> +<p class="index">Campo, Marquess del, and George III., <a href="#Page_93">93</a></p> +<p class="index">Candle Light, War by, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></p> +<p class="index">Canning and the Preacher, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></p> +<p class="index">Carteret, Lady, and Dean Swift, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></p> +<p class="index">Carving Accident, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></p> +<p class="index">Catalogue Making, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></p> +<p class="index">Chamillart the French Lawyer, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></p> +<p class="index">Chantrey—First sculpture, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Charity</span>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></p> +<p class="index">Charles II. and Killigrew, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></p> +<p class="index">Charles V. of France, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></p> +<p class="index">Charles VI. of Austria, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></p> +<p class="index">Charles XII. and his Secretary, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></p> +<p class="index">Charlotte, Princess, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></p> +<p class="index">Chatillon, Admiral, and the Beggar, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></p> +<p class="index">Cherin, General, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></p> +<p class="index">Child and Goat, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></p> +<p class="index">China Ware, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></p> +<p class="index">Christmas Pudding Extraordinary, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></p> +<p class="index">Clerambault and La Fontaine, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></p> +<p class="index">Cobbler of Leyden, The, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></p> +<p class="index">Cochrane, Sir John, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></p> +<p class="index">Cochrane, Lord, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></p> +<p class="index">Coleridge's "Watchman", <a href="#Page_107">107</a></p> +<p class="index">Coleridge and his Dinner Companion, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></p> +<p class="index">Conjugal Affection—French Troops in Italy, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></p> +<p class="index">Cornwallis, Admiral, and the Mutineers, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></p> +<p class="index">Crimean Captain, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></p> +<p class="index">Curran<br /> +and Dr. Boyse, <a href="#Page_40">40</a><br /> +and the Jockey, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br /> +and the Farmer, <a href="#Page_69">69</a><br /> +his Witty Replies, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></p> +<p class="index">Cuvier and his Visitors, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Day, Thomas, and Sir W. Jones, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></p> +<p class="index">Deaf and Dumb Mother, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></p> +<p class="index">Denon and Defoe, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></p> +<p class="index">Dey of Algiers and Admiral Keppel, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></p> +<p class="index">Dickens—Origin of "Boz", <a href="#Page_15">15</a></p> +<p class="index">Dictionaries, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></p> +<p class="index">Dieppe Pilot, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Dinners</span>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>-<a href="#Page_22">22</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Doctors</span>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>-<a href="#Page_27">27</a></p> +<p class="index">Domat, Judge, and the Poor Widow, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></p> +<p class="index">Douglas, The, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Drama</span>, The, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>-<a href="#Page_33">33</a></p> +<p class="index">Dreaming, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></p> +<p class="index">Drummond, Provost, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></p> +<p class="index">Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pitt—a Dispute in Bed, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></p> +<p class="index">Duncan, Admiral, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Duty</span>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></p> +<p class="index">Duval, the Librarian, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Edinburgh—Spoiled Street, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></p> +<p class="index">Erskine and Lord Kellie, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></p> +<p class="index">Erskine, Legal Anecdotes of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>-<a href="#Page_68">68</a></p> +<p class="index">Eveillan, Archdeacon of Angers, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Faithful Depositary, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></p> +<p class="index">Faithful Domestic, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></p> +<p class="index">Falkland, Lord, and the House of Commons, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></p> +<p class="index">Family Sacrifice—French Revolution, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></p> +<p class="index">Fear of Death, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></p> +<p class="index">Fenelon, Archbishop—his Humanity, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Fidelity</span>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>-<a href="#Page_37">37</a></p> +<p class="index">Fielding, Sir J., and the Irishman, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></p> +<p class="index">Filial Affection—French Boy, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></p> +<p class="index">Fletcher, of Saltown, and his Footman, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></p> +<p class="index">Fontenelle, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></p> +<p class="index">Fools, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></p> +<p class="index">Foote, the Actor, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Forgiveness</span>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></p> +<p class="index">Fouché and Napoleon, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></p> +<p class="index">Francis I. and his Fool, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></p> +<p class="index">Frederick the Great<br /> +and the Page, <a href="#Page_61">61</a><br /> +and the Soldier, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br /> +and the Deserter, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br /> +his Arguments, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></p> +<p class="index">French<br /> +Curate—Forgiveness, <a href="#Page_39">39</a><br /> +Peasant Girl, <a href="#Page_45">45</a><br /> +Officer in Flanders, <a href="#Page_77">77</a><br /> +Officer in Spain, <a href="#Page_77">77</a><br /> +Servant<br /> +<span class="in">at Noyon, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">of La Vendée, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></span></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Friends</span>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Gainsborough—Picture of the Pigs, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></p> +<p class="index">Garrick and Rich, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></p> +<p class="index">Garrick and Sir J. Reynolds, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></p> +<p class="index">Gendarmes and Priest, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></p> +<p class="index">George<br /> + I. and the Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br /> + II.<br /> +<span class="in">and the Dutch-Innkeeper, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">and the Court Martial, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></span><br /> + III.<br /> +<span class="in">—Punctuality, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">Carbonel the Wine Merchant, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">The Horse Dealer, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">Memorial to a Servant, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">Treatment of a Caricature, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></span><br /> +<span class="in">and Lord Lothian, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></span></p> +<p class="index">Ghosts, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></p> +<p class="index">Gibbet, Sight of a, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></p> +<p class="index">Gin <i>versus</i> Drugs, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></p> +<p class="index">Glynn, Dr., and the Magpie, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></p> +<p class="index">Gonsalvo de Cordova, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></p> +<p class="index">Goldsmith's Marlow, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></p> +<p class="index">Gooch, Sir W., and the Negro, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Gratitude</span>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></p> +<p class="index">Gregory, Dr., a Militiaman, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></p> +<p class="index">Granby, Marquis of, and the Lord-in-Waiting, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></p> +<p class="index">Grancé, Count de, and the Cannon Ball, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></p> +<p class="index">Grenadier, French, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></p> +<p class="index">Grog, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></p> +<p class="index">Guise, Colonel, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">H., Letter, Use of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></p> +<p class="index">Haddock, Admiral, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></p> +<p class="index">Handel, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></p> +<p class="index">Hanging Judge, The, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></p> +<p class="index">Hanway, Jonas, and the Coachman, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></p> +<p class="index">Hawker, Colonel, and the French Officer, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></p> +<p class="index">Haydn, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></p> +<p class="index">Heavy Play, A, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></p> +<p class="index">Heber's Palestine, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></p> +<p class="index">Henderson and the Actor, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></p> +<p class="index">Henri IV. and D'Aubigné, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Heroism</span>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></p> +<p class="index">Hill,<br /> +Sergeant, <a href="#Page_75">75</a><br /> +Rowland, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> +<p class="index">Hogarth—Picture of the Red Sea, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></p> +<p class="index">Hood, Sir S., <a href="#Page_57">57</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Hospitality</span>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></p> +<p class="index">Hough, Dr., and the Barometer, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></p> +<p class="index">Housemaid, Presence of mind of a, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></p> +<p class="index">Hulet, the Comedian, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Humanity</span>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>-<a href="#Page_57">57</a></p> +<p class="index">Hume's Speeches, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></p> +<p class="index">Huntly, Marquis of, and James VI., <a href="#Page_95">95</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Ice, Custom-house doubt, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Imagination</span>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">James I.<br /> +and the Courtier, <a href="#Page_38">38</a><br /> +in Westminster Hall, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br /> +and the Earl of Scarborough, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></p> +<p class="index">James IV. of Scotland and the Robbers, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></p> +<p class="index">John Gilpin, Origin of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></p> +<p class="index">Johnson, Dr.,<br /> +and the Hare, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /> +and Wilkes, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br /> +and Lord Elibank, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br /> +reply to Miller, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></p> +<p class="index">Judge, A Benevolent, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Kaimes, Lord, and the Sheepstealer, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></p> +<p class="index">Kean, Charles, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></p> +<p class="index">Kennedies, The, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></p> +<p class="index">Keppel, Admiral, at Algiers, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Kings</span>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></p> +<p class="index">Kirwan, Dr., <a href="#Page_20">20</a></p> +<p class="index">Kosciusko, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Labat, Mons. of Bayonne, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></p> +<p class="index">Lady and Highwayman, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></p> +<p class="index">Lamb, Counsellor, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></p> +<p class="index">Lamb, Charles, and the Farmer, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Law and Lawyers</span>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>-<a href="#Page_75">75</a></p> +<p class="index">Lely the Painter, and the Alderman, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></p> +<p class="index">Lessing, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></p> +<p class="index">Lettsom, Dr., and the Highwayman, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Librarians</span>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></p> +<p class="index">Lisieux, Bishop of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></p> +<p class="index">Liston, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></p> +<p class="index">Long and Short Barristers, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></p> +<p class="index">Longueville, Duke of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></p> +<p class="index">Louis,<br /> +St., <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br /> +XII. and the Composer, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br /> +XIV. and the Comte de Grammont, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br /> +and Lord Stair, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br /> +and the Eddystone Workmen, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></p> +<p class="index">Lyndhurst, Lord,—Retirement from Office, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Mackenzie, General, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></p> +<p class="index">Maclaurin and his Pupils, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Magnanimity</span>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-<a href="#Page_81">81</a></p> +<p class="index">Mariè Antoinette, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></p> +<p class="index">Maximilian I. and the Beggar, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></p> +<p class="index">Mayor,<br /> +An English, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br /> +A French, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></p> +<p class="index">Memory, Artificial, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></p> +<p class="index">Mimicry, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></p> +<p class="index">Miner, Swedish, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></p> +<p class="index">Molière and the Doctors, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></p> +<p class="index">Monkey, A Grenadier, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></p> +<p class="index">Montaigne on Doctors, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></p> +<p class="index">Montesquieu, M. de, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></p> +<p class="index">Morand and the Critics, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></p> +<p class="index">Morland the Painter, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></p> +<p class="index">Morvilliers and Charles IX., <a href="#Page_34">34</a></p> +<p class="index">Motte, M. de la, and the Critics, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></p> +<p class="index">Mozart, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></p> +<p class="index">Mungo Park and the African Woman, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Musicians</span>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>-<a href="#Page_85">85</a></p> +<p class="index">Mysterious Benefactor, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Napoleon Bonaparte, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></p> +<p class="index">Nash and the Doctor, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></p> +<p class="index">Navy Chaplains, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></p> +<p class="index">Neckar and the Corporation of Paris, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></p> +<p class="index">Nelson, Lord—Punctuality, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></p> +<p class="index">Nena Sahib and the Devil, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></p> +<p class="index">Nevailles, Marshal de, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></p> +<p class="index">Norton, Sir F. and Lord Mansfield, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">O'Brien, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></p> +<p class="index">Old Age secured—the Irish Beggar, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></p> +<p class="index">Old Ambrose, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></p> +<p class="index">O'Neil, Sir Phelim, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></p> +<p class="index">Orkney, Countess of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></p> +<p class="index">Orleans, Duke of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></p> +<p class="index">Ossuna, Duke of, and the Felon, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Parisian Stockbroker, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></p> +<p class="index">Parisian Ragman, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Parliament</span>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>-<a href="#Page_88">88</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Patience</span>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></p> +<p class="index">Pepusch, Dr., <a href="#Page_116">116</a></p> +<p class="index">Peterborough, Lord, and the Mob, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></p> +<p class="index">Peter the Great, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></p> +<p class="index">Philadelphian Lady, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></p> +<p class="index">Philip II. of Spain, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></p> +<p class="index">Physicians in China, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></p> +<p class="index">Pitt, and the Duke of Newcastle, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></p> +<p class="index">Pius IX., and the Attorney, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Poets</span>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></p> +<p class="index">Polignac, Compte de, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></p> +<p class="index">Politeness, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></p> +<p class="index">Poor-man-of-mutton, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></p> +<p class="index">Pope the Poet, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></p> +<p class="index">Presence of Mind, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>-<a href="#Page_95">95</a></p> +<p class="index">Prideaux—Life of Mahomet, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Punctuality</span>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Quartering upon the Enemy, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></p> +<p class="index">Quick the Actor, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Racine and his Family, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></p> +<p class="index">Ragged Regiment, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Rank and Ancestry</span>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></p> +<p class="index">Reclaimed Robbers, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> +<p class="index">Rejected Addresses, The, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></p> +<p class="index">Reynolds, Sir Joshua, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></p> +<p class="index">Richardson—opinion of a Picture, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></p> +<p class="index">Rivardes and the Wooden Leg, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Robbers</span>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></p> +<p class="index">Robert, King of France, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></p> +<p class="index">Ross, Lord, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></p> +<p class="indexalp"><span class="smcap">Sailors</span>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>-<a href="#Page_105">105</a></p> +<p class="index">Savage Dr., and the Pope, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></p> +<p class="index">Savoie, Magdeline De, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></p> +<p class="index">Schaumbourg, Count, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Schools</span>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></p> +<p class="index">Scott, Sir W.<br /> +—Punctuality, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /> +and the Beggar, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> +and the Inn-keeper, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></p> +<p class="index">Scott, Mr., of Exeter, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></p> +<p class="index">Selwyn, G., and the Traveller, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></p> +<p class="index">Senesino and Farinelli, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></p> +<p class="index">Sentinel on the Stage, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Servants</span>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></p> +<p class="index">Shaving a Queen, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></p> +<p class="index">Sheridan, Dr., and the Scholar, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></p> +<p class="index">Sheridan, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></p> +<p class="index">Sidney, Sir Philip, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></p> +<p class="index">Signboards, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></p> +<p class="index">Sion College, and George III., <a href="#Page_131">131</a></p> +<p class="index">Sir and Sire, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></p> +<p class="index">Sisters of Charity, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></p> +<p class="index">Smith, Sydney, Charity Sermon, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></p> +<p class="index">Smiths, The Two, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Soldiers</span>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="#Page_112">112</a></p> +<p class="index">Sporting, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></p> +<p class="index">Stackelberg, Baron Von, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></p> +<p class="index">Steele and Addison, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></p> +<p class="index">Sterne and the Old Woman, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></p> +<p class="index">Strasburgh Lawyer, A, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></p> +<p class="index">Suwarrow, Marshall, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></p> +<p class="index">Swift, Dean, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Talleyrand, Madame de, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></p> +<p class="index">Tantara, and the Landscape, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Temper</span>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></p> +<p class="index">Tenterden, Lord, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></p> +<p class="index">Thelwall and Erskine, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></p> +<p class="index">"They're all Out", <a href="#Page_87">87</a></p> +<p class="index">Thomson the Poet, and Quin, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></p> +<p class="index">Thurot, Admiral, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Time</span>, Value of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">Travelling</span>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></p> +<p class="index">Turenne, Marshal, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></p> +<p class="index">Turner, The Painter, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></p> +<p class="index">Tyrolese Heroine, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Van Dyke, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></p> +<p class="index">Vendean Servant, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></p> +<p class="index">Vernet—Picture of St. Jerome, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></p> +<p class="index">Villars, Marshal, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></p> +<p class="index">Villecerf, Madame de, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></p> +<p class="index">Voisin, Chancellor of Louis XIX., <a href="#Page_34">34</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Wager, Sir C., and the Doctors, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></p> +<p class="index"><span class="smcap">War</span>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>-<a href="#Page_124">124</a></p> +<p class="index">Wardlaw, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></p> +<p class="index">Weeping at a Play, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></p> +<p class="index">Welch Dispute, A, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></p> +<p class="index">West, the Painter, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></p> +<p class="index">William III., and St. Evremond, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></p> +<p class="index">Willie Law, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></p> +<p class="index">Wise, Dr., and the Parliament, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Ximenes, Cardinal, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">"Yellow Cabriolet," The, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></p> +<p class="index">York, Duke of, and the Housekeeper, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></p> +<p class="indexalp">Zimmerman, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></p> + + +<hr /> +<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">Pg 1</a></span>ANECDOTES.</h2> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="AFFECTION" id="AFFECTION">AFFECTION.</a></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">General St. Amour.</span>—This officer, who distinguished himself in the Imperial +service, was the son of a poor Piedmontese peasant, but he never forgot his +humble extraction. While the army was in Piedmont, he invited his principal +officers to an entertainment, when his father happened to arrive just as +they were sitting down to table. This being announced to the general, he +immediately rose, and stated to his guests his father's arrival. He said he +knew the respect he owed to them, but at the same time he hoped they would +excuse him if he withdrew, and dined with his father in another room. The +guests begged that the father might be introduced, assuring him that they +should be happy to see one so nearly related to him; but he replied, "Ah, +no, gentlemen; my father would find himself so embarrassed in company so +unsuited to his rank, that it would deprive us both of the only pleasure of +the interview—the unrestrained intercourse of a parent and his son." He +then retired, and passed the evening with his father.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Deaf and Dumb Mother.</span>—The late Countess of Orkney, who died at an +advanced age, was deaf and dumb, and was married in 1753 by signs. She +resided with her husband at his seat, Rostellan, near Cork. Shortly after +the birth of her first child, the nurse saw the mother cautiously approach +the cradle in which the infant lay asleep, evidently full of some deep +design. The Countess, having first assured herself that her babe was fast +asleep, took from under her shawl a large stone, which had pur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">Pg 2</a></span>posely been +concealed there, and, to the utter horror of the nurse, who largely shared +the popular notion that all dumb persons are possessed of peculiar cunning +and malignity, raised it up, as if to enable her to dash it down with +greater force. Before the nurse could interpose to prevent what she +believed would bring certain death to the sleeping and unconscious child, +the dreadful stone was flung, not at the cradle, however, but upon the +ground, and fell with great violence. The noise awakened the child. The +Countess was overjoyed, and, in the fulness of a mother's heart, she fell +upon her knees to express her thankfulness that her beloved infant +possessed a blessing denied to herself—the sense of hearing. This lady +often gave similar indications of superior intelligence, though we can +believe that few of them equalled the present in interest.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Filial Affection.</span>—A veteran, worn out in the service of France, was left +without a pension, although he had a wife and three children to share his +wretchedness. His son was placed at <i>L'Ecole militaire</i>, where he might +have enjoyed every comfort, but the strongest persuasion could not induce +him to taste anything but coarse bread and water. The Duke de Choiseul +being informed of the circumstance, ordered the boy before him, and +enquired the reason of his abstemiousness. The boy, with a manly fortitude, +replied, "Sir, when I had the honour of being admitted to this royal +foundation, my father conducted me hither. We came on foot: on our journey +the demands of nature were relieved by bread and water. I was received. My +father blessed me, and returned to the protection of a helpless wife and +family. As long as I can remember, bread of the blackest kind, with water, +has been their daily subsistence, and even that is earned by every species +of labour that honour does not forbid. To this fare, sir, my father is +reduced; and while he, my mother, and my sisters, are compelled to endure +such wretchedness, is it possible that I can enjoy the plenty which my +sovereign has provided for me?" The duke felt this tale of nature, gave the +boy three louis d'ors for pocket-money, and promised to procure the father +a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">Pg 3</a></span>pension. The boy begged the louis d'ors might be sent to his father, +which, with the patent of his pension, was immediately done. The boy was +patronised by the duke, and became one of the best officers in the service +of France.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Racine.</span>—The celebrated French poet, Racine, having one day returned from +Versailles, where he had been on a visit, was waited upon by a gentleman +with an invitation to dine at the Hotel de Condé. "I cannot possibly do +myself that honour," said the poet; "it is some time since I have been with +my family; they are overjoyed to see me again, and have provided a fine +carp; so that I must dine with my dear wife and children." "But my good +sir," replied the gentleman, "several of the most distinguished characters +in the kingdom expect your company, and will be anxious to see you." On +this, Racine brought out the carp and showed it to his visitor, saying, +"Here, sir, is our little meal; then say, having provided such a treat for +me, what apology could I make for not dining with my poor children? Neither +they nor my wife could have any pleasure in eating a bit of it without me; +then pray be so obliging as to mention my excuse to the Prince of Condé and +my other illustrious friends." The gentleman did so; and not only His +Serene Highness, but all the company present, professed themselves +infinitely more charmed with this proof of the poet's affection as a +husband and a father, than they possibly could have been with his +delightful conversation.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Touching Recognition.</span>—Some years ago, in making a new communication +between two shafts of a mine at Fahkin, the capital of Delecarlia, the body +of a miner was discovered by the workmen in a state of perfect +preservation, and impregnated with vitriolic water. It was quite soft, but +hardened on being exposed to the air. No one could identify the body: it +was merely remembered that the accident, by which he had thus been buried +in the bosom of the earth, had taken place above fifty years ago. All +enquiries about the name of the sufferer had already ceased, when a +decrepid old woman, supported on crutches, slowly advanced towards the +corpse, and knew it to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">Pg 4</a></span> that of a young man to whom she had been +promised in marriage more than half a century ago. She threw herself on the +corpse, which had all the appearance of a bronze statue, bathed it with her +tears, and fainted with joy at having once more beheld the object of her +affections. One can with difficulty realize the singular contrast afforded +by that couple—the one buried above fifty years ago, still retaining the +appearance of youth; while the other, weighed down by age, evinced all the +fervency of youthful affections.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Family Sacrifice.</span>—During the French revolution, Madame Saintmaraule, with +her daughter, and a youth, her son, not yet of age, were confined in prison +and brought to trial. The mother and daughter behaved with resolution, and +were sentenced to die; but of the youth no notice was taken, and he was +remanded to prison. "What!" exclaimed the boy, "am I then to be separated +from my mother? It cannot be!" and immediately he cried out, "<i>Vive le +Roi!</i>" In consequence of this, he was condemned to death, and, with his +mother and his sister, was led out to execution.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Expedient of Conjugal Affection.</span>—Napoleon used to relate an anecdote +shewing the conjugal affection of some women who accompanied his troops +when he was at Col de Tende. To enter this mountainous and difficult +country, it was necessary for the soldiers to pass over a narrow bridge, +and, as the enterprise was a hazardous one, Napoleon had given orders that +no women should be permitted to cross it with them. To enforce this order, +two captains were stationed on the bridge with instructions, on pain of +death, not to suffer a woman to pass. The passage was effected, and the +troops continued their march. When some miles beyond the bridge, the +Emperor was greatly astonished at the appearance of a considerable number +of women with the soldiers. He immediately ordered the two captains to be +put under arrest, intending to have them tried for a breach of duty. The +prisoners protested their innocence, and stoutly asserted that no women had +crossed the bridge. Napoleon, on hearing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">Pg 5</a></span> this, commanded that some of the +women should be brought before him, when he interrogated them on the +subject. To his utter surprise they readily acknowledged that the captains +had not betrayed their trust, but that a contrivance of their own had +brought them into their present situation. They informed Napoleon, that +having taken the provisions, which had been prepared for the support of the +army, out of some of the casks, they had concealed themselves in them, and +by this stratagem succeeded in passing the bridge without discovery.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="ARTISTS" id="ARTISTS">ARTISTS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Joshua Reynolds.</span>—"What do you ask for this sketch?" said Sir Joshua to +an old picture-dealer, whose portfolio he was looking over. "Twenty +guineas, your honour." "Twenty pence, I suppose you mean?" "No, sir; it is +true I would have taken twenty pence for it this morning, but if <i>you</i> +think it worth looking at, all the world will think it worth buying." Sir +Joshua ordered him to send the sketch home, and gave him the money.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Ditto.</span>—Two gentlemen were at a coffee-house, when the discourse fell upon +Sir Joshua Reynold's painting; one of them said that "his tints were +admirable, but the colours <i>flew</i>." It happened that Sir Joshua was in the +next box, who taking up his hat, accosted them thus, with a low +bow—"Gentlemen, I return you many thanks for bringing me off with <i>flying +colours</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Richardson</span>, in his anecdotes of painting, says, a gentleman came to me to +invite me to his house: "I have," says he, "a picture of Rubens, and it is +a rare good one. There is little H. the other day came to see it, and says +it is <i>a copy</i>. If any one says so again, I'll <i>break his head</i>. Pray, Mr. +Richardson, will you do me the favour to come, and give me <i>your real +opinion of it?</i>"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Gainsborough.</span>—A countryman was shown Gains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">Pg 6</a></span>borough's celebrated picture of +"The Pigs." "To be sure," said he, "they be deadly like pigs; but there is +one fault; nobody ever saw three pigs feeding together but what one on 'em +had a foot in the trough."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Turner.</span>—Once, at a dinner, where several artists, amateurs and literary +men were convened, a poet, by way of being facetious, proposed as a toast +the health of the <i>painters and glaziers</i> of Great Britain. The toast was +drunk, and Turner, after returning thanks for it, proposed the health of +the British <i>paper-stainers</i>.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lely and the Alderman.</span>—Sir Peter Lely, a famous painter in the reign of +Charles I., agreed for the price of a full-length, which he was to draw for +a rich alderman of London, who was not indebted to nature either for shape +or face. When the picture was finished, the alderman endeavoured to beat +down the price; alleging that if he did not purchase it, it would lie on +the painter's hands. "That's a mistake," replied Sir Peter, "for I can sell +it at double the price I demand."—"How can that be?" says the alderman; +"for it is like nobody but myself."—"But I will draw a tail to it, and +then it will be an excellent monkey." The alderman, to prevent exposure, +paid the sum agreed for, and carried off the picture.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Morland.</span>—It is well known that Morland the painter used to go on an +expedition with a companion sometimes without a guinea, or perhaps scarcely +a shilling, to defray the expenses of their journey; and thus they were +often reduced to an unpleasant and ludicrous dilemma. On one occasion the +painter was travelling in Kent, in company with a relative, and finding +their cash exhausted, while at a distance from their destination, they were +compelled to exert their wits, for the purpose of recruiting themselves +after a long and fatiguing march. As they approached Canterbury, a homely +village ale-house caught their eye; and the itinerant artists hailed, with +delight, the sign of the Black Bull, which indicated abundance of home-made +bread and generous ale. They entered, and soon made considerable havoc +among the good things of mine host,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">Pg 7</a></span> who, on reckoning up, found that they +had consumed as much bread, cheese and ale, as amounted to <i>12s. 6d.</i> +Morland now candidly informed his host that they were two poor painters +going in search of employment, and that they had spent all their money. He, +however, added that, as the sign of the Bull was a disgraceful daub for so +respectable a house, he would have no objection to repaint it, as a set-off +for what he and his companion had received. The landlord, who had long been +wishing for a new sign (the one in question having passed through two +generations), gladly accepted his terms, and Morland immediately went to +work. The next day the Bull was sketched in such a masterly manner that the +landlord was enraptured; he supplied his guests with more provisions, and +generously gave them money for their subsequent expenses. About three +months after a gentleman well acquainted with Morland's works, accidentally +passing through the village, recognised it instantly to be the production +of that inimitable painter: he stopped, and was confirmed in his opinion, +by the history which the landlord gave of the transaction. In short, he +purchased the sign of him for twenty pounds; the landlord was struck with +admiration at his liberality; but this identical painting was some time +afterwards sold at a public auction for the sum of <i>one hundred guineas!</i></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">When Benjamin West</span> was seven years old, he was left, one summer day, with +the charge of an infant niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was engaged +in fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased the child, and +caused it to smile. Attracted by the charms thus created, young West felt +his instinctive passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen and some red and +black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and made his first attempt at +portrait painting. Just as he had finished his maiden task, his mother and +sister entered. He tried to conceal what he had done, but his confusion +arrested his mother's attention, and she asked him what he had been doing. +With reluctance and timidity, he handed her the paper, begging, at the same +time, that she would not be offended. Examining the drawing for a short +time, she turned to her daughter, and, with a smile, said, "I declare he +has made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">Pg 8</a></span> a likeness of Sally." She then gave him a fond kiss, which so +encouraged him that he promised her some drawings of the flowers which she +was then holding, if she wished to have them. The next year a cousin sent +him a box of colours and pencils, with large quantities of canvas prepared +for the easel, and half a dozen engravings. Early the next morning he took +his materials into the garret, and for several days forgot all about +school. His mother suspected that the box was the cause of his neglect of +his books, and going into the garret and finding him busy at a picture, she +was about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of his compositions, +and her anger cooled at once. She was so pleased with them that she loaded +him with kisses, and promised to secure his father's pardon for his neglect +of school. The world is much indebted to Mrs. West for her early and +constant encouragement of the talent of her son. He often used to say, +after his reputation was established, "<i>My mothers kiss made me a +painter!</i>"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Vernet</span> relates, that he was once employed to paint a landscape, with a +cave, and St. Jerome in it; he accordingly painted the landscape with St. +Jerome at the entrance of the cave. When he delivered the picture, the +purchaser, who understood nothing of perspective, said, "the landscape and +the cave are well made, but St. Jerome is not <i>in</i> the cave."—"I +understand you, sir," replied Vernet, "I will alter it." He therefore took +the painting, and made the shade darker, so that the saint seemed to sit +farther in. The gentleman took the painting; but it again appeared to him +that the saint was not actually in the cave. Vernet then wiped out the +figure, and gave it to the gentleman, who seemed perfectly satisfied. +Whenever he saw strangers to whom he showed the picture, he said, "Here you +see a picture by Vernet, with St. Jerome in the cave." "But we cannot see +the saint," replied the visitors. "Excuse me, gentlemen," answered the +possessor, "he is there; for I saw him standing at the entrance, and +afterwards farther back; and am therefore quite sure that he is in it."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">Pg 9</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Hogarth.</span>—A nobleman, not remarkable for generosity, sent for Hogarth and +desired that he would represent on one of the compartments of his +staircase, Pharoah and his host drowned in the Red Sea. At the same time he +hinted that no great price would be given for the performance. Hogarth +however agreed. Soon afterwards he applied for payment to his employer, who +seeing that the space allotted for the picture had only been daubed over +with red, declared he had no idea of paying a painter when he had proceeded +no farther than to lay his ground. "Ground!" exclaimed Hogarth, "there is +no <i>ground</i> in the case, my lord, it is all sea. The red you perceive is +the Red Sea. Pharoah and his host are drowned as you desired, and cannot be +made objects of sight, for the sea covers them all."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Tantara</span>, the celebrated landscape painter, was a man of ready wit, but he +once met his match. An amateur had ordered a landscape for his gallery, in +which there was to be a church. Our painter did not know how to draw +figures well, so he put none in the landscape. The amateur was astonished +at the truthfulness and colouring of the picture, but he missed the +figures. "You have forgotten to put in any figures," said he, laughingly. +"Sir," replied the painter, "<i>the people are gone to mass</i>." "Oh, well," +replied the amateur, "I will wait and take your picture <i>when they come +out</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Chantrey's First Sculpture.</span>—Chantrey, when a boy, used to take milk to +Sheffield on an ass. To those not used to seeing and observing such things, +it may be necessary to state that the boys generally carry a good thick +stick, with a hooked or knobbed end, with which they belabour their asses +sometimes unmercifully. On a certain day, when returning home, riding on +his ass, Chantrey was observed by a gentleman to be intently engaged in +cutting a stick with his penknife, and, excited by curiosity, he asked the +lad what he was doing, when, with great simplicity of manner, but with +courtesy, he replied, "I am cutting <i>old Fox's head</i>." Fox was the +schoolmaster of the village. On this, the gentleman asked to see what he +had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">Pg 10</a></span> done, pronounced it to be an excellent likeness, and presented the +youth with <i>sixpence</i>. This may, perhaps, be reckoned the first money +Chantry ever obtained in the way of his <i>art</i>.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="BEGGING" id="BEGGING">BEGGING</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Admiral Chatillon</span> had gone one day to hear mass in the Dominican Friars' +chapel; a poor fellow came and begged his charity. He was at the moment +occupied with his devotions, and he gave him several pieces of gold from +his pocket, without counting them, or thinking what they were. The large +amount astonished the beggar, and as M. Chatillon was going out of the +church-door, the poor man waited for him: "Sir," said he, showing him what +he had given him, "I cannot think that you intended to give me so large a +sum, and am very ready to return it." The admiral, admiring the honesty of +the man, said, "I did not, indeed, my good man, intend to have given you so +much; but, since you have the generosity to offer to return it, I will have +the generosity to desire you to keep it; and here are five pieces more for +you."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Beggar's Wedding.</span>—Dean Swift being in the country, on a visit to Dr. +Sheridan, they were informed that a beggar's wedding was about to be +celebrated. Sheridan played well upon the violin; Swift therefore proposed +that he should go to the place where the ceremony was to be performed, +disguised as a blind fiddler, while he attended him as his man. Thus +accoutred they set out, and were received by the jovial crew with great +acclamation. They had plenty of good cheer, and never was a more joyous +wedding seen. All was mirth and frolic; the beggars told stories, played +tricks, cracked jokes, sung and danced, in a manner which afforded high +amusement to the fiddler and his man, who were well rewarded when they +departed, which was not till late in the evening. The next day the Dean and +Sheridan walked out in their usual dress, and found many of their late +companions, hopping about upon crutches, or pretending to be blind, pouring +forth melan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">Pg 11</a></span>choly complaints and supplications for charity. Sheridan +distributed among them the money he had received; but the Dean, who hated +all mendicants, fell into a violent passion, telling them of his adventure +of the preceding day, and threatening to send every one of them to prison. +This had such an effect, that the blind opened their eyes, and the lame +threw away their crutches, running away as fast as their legs could carry +them.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Old Age Secured.</span>—As Sir Walter Scott was riding once with a friend in the +neighbourhood of Abbotsford, he came to a field gate, which an Irish beggar +who happened to be near hastened to open for him. Sir Walter was desirous +of rewarding his civility by the present of sixpence, but found that he had +not so small a coin in his purse. "Here, my good fellow," said the baronet, +"here is a shilling for you; but mind, you owe me sixpence." "God bless +your honour!" exclaimed Pat: "may your honour live till I pay you."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Maximilian I.</span>—A beggar once asked alms of the Emperor Maximilian I., who +bestowed upon him a small coin. The beggar appeared dissatisfied with the +smallness of the gift, and on being asked why, he replied that it was a +very little sum for an emperor, and that his highness should remember that +we were all descended from one father, and were therefore all <i>brothers</i>. +Maximilian smiled good-humouredly, and replied: "Go—go, my good man: if +each of your brothers gives you as much as I have done, you will very soon +be far richer than me."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="BENEVOLENCE" id="BENEVOLENCE">BENEVOLENCE</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Benevolent Judge.</span>—The celebrated Anthony Domat, author of a treatise on +the civil laws, was promoted to the office of judge of the provincial court +of Clermont, in the territory of Auvergne, in the south of France. In this +court he presided, with general applause, for twenty-four years. One day a +poor widow brought an action<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">Pg 12</a></span> against the Baron de Nairac, her landlord, +for turning her out of her mill, which was the poor creature's sole +dependence. M. Domat heard the cause, and finding by the evidence that she +had ignorantly broken a covenant in the lease which gave her landlord the +power of re-entry, he recommended mercy to the baron for a poor but honest +tenant, who had not wilfully transgressed, or done him any material injury. +Nairac being inexorable, the judge was compelled to pronounce an ejectment, +with the penalty mentioned in the lease and costs of suit; but he could not +pronounce the decree without tears. When an order of seizure, both of +person and effects was added, the poor widow exclaimed, "O merciful and +righteous God, be thou a friend to the widow and her helpless orphans!" and +immediately fainted away. The compassionate judge assisted in raising the +unfortunate woman, and after enquiring into her character, number of +children, and other circumstances, generously presented her with one +hundred louis d'ors, the amount of the damages and costs, which he +prevailed upon the baron to accept as a full compensation, and to let the +widow again enter upon her mill. The poor widow anxiously enquired of M. +Domat when he would require payment, that she might lay up accordingly. +"When my conscience (he replied) shall tell me that I have done an improper +act."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Pope Pius IX.</span>—An advocate, the father of a large family, fell into ill +health, and soon afterwards into want. Pius IX., hearing of this, sent a +messenger with a letter to the advocate, but he was at first refused +admittance, on the ground that the physician had enjoined the utmost quiet. +On the messenger explaining from whom he came he was admitted, and, on the +letter being opened, what was the surprise of the family on finding within +300 scudi (£62), with the words, "For the advocate ...—Pius IX.," in the +pontiff's own handwriting.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Glynn</span> was remarkable for many acts of kindness to poor persons. He had +attended a sick family in the fens near Cambridge for a considerable time, +and had never thought of any recompense for his skill and trouble but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">Pg 13</a></span> the +satisfaction of being able to do good. One day he heard a noise on the +college staircase, and his servant brought him word that the poor woman +from the fens waited upon him with a <i>magpie</i>, of which she begged his +acceptance. This at first a little discomposed the doctor. Of all presents, +a magpie was the least acceptable to him, as he had a hundred loose things +about his rooms, which the bird, if admitted, was likely to make free with. +However, his good nature soon returned: he considered the woman's +intention, and ordered her to be shown in. "I am obliged to you for +thinking of me, good woman," said he, "but you must excuse my not taking +your bird, as it would occasion me a great deal of trouble." "Pray, +doctor," answered the woman, "do, pray, be pleased to have it. My husband, +my son, and myself have been long consulting together in what way we could +show our thankfulness to you, and we could think of nothing better than to +give you our favourite bird. We would not part with it to any other person +upon earth. We shall be sadly hurt if you refuse our present." "Well, well, +my good woman," said Dr. Glynn, "if that is the case, I must have the bird; +but do you, as you say you are so fond of it, take it back again, and keep +it for me, and I will allow you eighteenpence a week for the care of it. I +shall have the pleasure of seeing it every time I come." This allowance Dr. +G. punctually paid as long as the bird lived.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="BOOKS" id="BOOKS">BOOKS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Odd Fault.</span>—It is said that when the learned Humphrey Prideaux offered +his Life of Mahomet to the bookseller, he was desired to leave the copy +with him for a few days, for his perusal. The bookseller said to the doctor +at his return, "Well, Mr. What's your Name, I have perused your manuscript; +I don't know what to say of it; I believe I shall venture to print it; the +thing is well enough; but I could wish there were a little more <i>humour</i> in +it." This story is otherwise told in a note in Swift's works, where the +book is said to have been Prideaux's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">Pg 14</a></span> "Connexion of the History of the Old +and New Testament," in which, it must be confessed, the difficulty of +introducing <i>humour</i> is more striking.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dictionaries.</span>—Dr. Johnson, while compiling his dictionary, sent a note to +the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, to inquire the etymology of the word +<span class="smcap">curmudgeon</span>. Having obtained the desired information, he thus recorded in +his work his obligation to an anonymous writer: "<span class="smcap">Curmudgeon</span>, <i>s.</i> a vicious +way of pronouncing <i>cœur mechant</i>. An unknown correspondent." Ash copied +the word into his dictionary, in the following manner: <span class="smcap">Curmudgeon</span>, from the +French, <i>cœur</i>, "unknown," and <i>mechant</i>, "correspondent!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Heber's Palestine.</span>—When Reginald Heber read his prize poem, "Palestine," +to Sir Walter Scott, the latter observed that, in the verses on Solomon's +Temple, one striking circumstance had escaped him, namely, that no tools +were used in its erection. Reginald retired for a few minutes to the corner +of the room, and returned with the beautiful lines:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>"No hammer fell, no ponderous axes rung;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Like some tall palm, the mystic fabric sprung.<br /></span> +<span>Majestic silence," &c.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Use of H.</span>—"What has become of your famous General <i>Eel?</i>" said the Count +d'Erleon to Mr. Campbell. "Eel," said a bystander, "that is a military fish +I never heard of;" but another at once enlightened his mind by saying to +the count, "General Lord <i>Hill</i> is now Commander-in-Chief of the British +forces!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Cowper's "John Gilpin."</span>—It happened one afternoon, in those years when +Cowper's accomplished friend, Lady Austen, made a part of his little +evening circle, that she observed him sinking into increased dejection. It +was her custom, on these occasions, to try all the resources of her +sprightly powers for his immediate relief, and at this time it occurred to +her to tell him the story of John Gilpin, (which had been treasured in her +memory from her child<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">Pg 15</a></span>hood), in order to dissipate the gloom of the passing +hour. Its effects on the fancy of Cowper had the air of enchantment. He +informed her the next morning that convulsions of laughter, brought on by +his recollection of her story, had kept him waking during the greatest part +of the night! and that he had turned it into a ballad. So arose the +pleasant poem of "John Gilpin."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Catalogue Making.</span>—Mr. Nichols, in the fourth vol. of his <i>Literary +Anecdotes</i>, mentions that Dr. Taylor, who was librarian at Cambridge, about +the year 1732, used to relate of himself that one day throwing books in +heaps for the purpose of classing and arranging them, he put one among +works on <i>Mensuration</i>, because his eye caught the word <i>height</i> in the +title-page; and another which had the word <i>salt</i> conspicuous, he threw +among books on Chemistry or Cookery. But when he began a regular +classification, it appeared that the former was "Longinus on the Sublime," +and the other a "Theological Discourse on the <i>Salt</i> of the World, that +good Christians ought to be seasoned with." Thus, too, in a catalogue +published about twenty years ago, the "Flowers of Ancient Literature" are +found among books on Gardening and Botany, and "Burton's Anatomy of +Melancholy" is placed among works on Medicine and Surgery.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dickens' Origin of "Boz."</span>—A fellow passenger with Mr. Dickens, in the +<i>Britannia</i> steam-ship, across the Atlantic, inquired of the author the +origin of his signature "Boz." Mr. Dickens replied that he had a little +brother who resembled so much the Moses in the <i>Vicar of Wakefield</i>, that +he used to call him Moses also; but a younger girl, who could not then +articulate plainly, was in the habit of calling him Bozie or Boz. This +simple circumstance made him assume that name in the first article he +risked before the public, and as the first effort was approved of he +continued the name.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Thomson and Quin.</span>—Thomson the poet, when he first came to London, was in +very narrow circumstances, and was many times put to shifts even for a +dinner. Upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">Pg 16</a></span> the publication of his Seasons one of his creditors arrested +him, thinking that a proper opportunity to get his money. The report of +this misfortune reached the ears of Quin, who had read the Seasons, but +never seen their author; and he was told that Thompson was in a +spunging-house in Holborn. Thither Quin went, and being admitted into his +chamber, "Sir," said he, "you don't know me, but my name is Quin." Thomson +said, "That, though he could not boast of the honour of a personal +acquaintance, he was no stranger either to his name or his merit;" and +invited him to sit down. Quin then told him he was come to sup with him, +and that he had already ordered the cook to provide supper, which he hoped +he would excuse. When supper was over, and the glass had gone briskly +about, Mr. Quin told him, "It was now time to enter upon business." Thomson +declared he was ready to serve him as far as his capacity would reach, in +anything he should command, (thinking he was come about some affair +relating to the drama). "Sir," says Quin, "you mistake me. I am in your +debt. I owe you a hundred pounds, and I am come to pay you." Thomson, with +a disconsolate air, replied, that, as he was a gentleman whom he had never +offended, he wondered he should seek an opportunity to jest with his +misfortunes. "No," said Quin, raising his voice, "I say I owe you a hundred +pounds, and there it is," (laying a bank note of that value before him). +Thomson, astonished, begged he would explain himself. "Why," says Quin, +"I'll tell you; soon after I had read your Seasons, I took it into my head, +that as I had something to leave behind me when I died, I would make my +will; and among the rest of my legatees I set down the author of the +Seasons for a hundred pounds; and, this day hearing that you were in this +house, I thought I might as well have the pleasure of paying the money +myself, as order my executors to pay it, when, perhaps, you might have less +need of it; and this, Mr. Thomson, is my business." Of course Thomson left +the house in company with his benefactor.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Denon and De Foe.</span>—M. de Talleyrand, having one day invited M. Denon, the +celebrated traveller, to dine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">Pg 17</a></span> with him, told his wife to read the work of +his guest, which she would find in the library, in order that she might be +the better able to converse with him. Madame Talleyrand, unluckily, got +hold, by mistake, of the "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," by De Foe, which +she ran over in great haste; and, at dinner, she began to question Denon +about his shipwreck, his island, &c., and, finally, about his man Friday!</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="BONAPARTE" id="BONAPARTE">BONAPARTE</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Possibility.</span>—Bonaparte was passing along the dreadful road across the +Echelles de Savoie, with his engineer, when he stopped, and pointing to the +mountain, said, "Is it not possible to cut a tunnel through yonder rock, +and to form a more safe and commodious route beneath it?" "It is +<i>possible</i>, certainly, sire," replied his scientific companion, "but"—"No +buts;—let it be done, and immediately," replied the Emperor.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir and Sire.</span>—A petition from the English <i>deténus</i> at Valenciennes was +left for signature at the house of the colonel of gendarmerie, addressed in +a fulsome manner to Bonaparte, under his title of Emperor of the French, +and beginning with "<i>Sire</i>." Some unlucky wag took an opportunity of +altering this word into "<i>Dear Sir</i>," and nearly caused the whole party to +be imprisoned.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Polignac.</span>—Monsieur le Compte de Polignac had been raised to honour by +Bonaparte; but, from some unaccountable motive, betrayed the trust his +patron reposed in him. As soon as Bonaparte discovered the perfidy, he +ordered Polignac to be put under arrest. Next day he was to have been +tried, and in all probability would have been condemned, as his guilt was +undoubted. In the meantime, Madame Polignac solicited and obtained an +audience of the Emperor. "I am sorry, madam, for your sake," said he, "that +your husband has been implicated in an affair which is marked throughout +with such deep ingratitude."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">Pg 18</a></span> "He may not have been so guilty as your +majesty supposes," said the countess. "Do you know your husband's +signature?" asked the Emperor, as he took a letter from his pocket and +presented it to her. Madame de Polignac hastily glanced over the letter, +recognised the writing, and fainted. As soon as she recovered, Bonaparte, +offering her the letter, said, "Take it; it is the only legal evidence +against your husband: there is a fire beside you." Madame de P. eagerly +seized the important document, and in an instant committed it to the +flames. The life of Polignac was saved: his honour it was beyond the power +even of the generosity of an emperor to redeem.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHARITY" id="CHARITY">CHARITY</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Price of Bread.</span>—Some years ago, the bakers of Lyons thought they could +prevail on M. Dugas, the provost of the merchants in that city, to befriend +them at the expense of the public. They waited upon him in a body, and +begged leave to raise the price of bread, which could not be done without +the sanction of the chief magistrate. M. Dugas told them that he would +examine their petition, and give them an early answer. The bakers retired, +having first left upon the table a purse of two hundred louis d'ors. In a +few days the bakers called upon the magistrate for an answer, not in the +least doubting but that the money had effectually pleaded their cause. +"Gentlemen," said M. Dugas, "I have weighed your reasons in the balance of +justice, and I find them light. I do not think that the people ought to +suffer under a pretence of the dearness of corn, which I know to be +unfounded; and as to the purse of money that you left with me, I am sure +that I have made such a generous and noble use of it as you yourself +intended. I have distributed it among the poor objects of charity in our +two hospitals. As you are opulent enough to make such large donations, I +cannot possibly think that you can incur any loss in your business; and I +shall, therefore, continue the price of bread as it was."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">Pg 19</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Kosciusko.</span>—The hero of Poland once wished to send some bottles of good +wine to a clergyman at Solothurn; and as he hesitated to trust them by his +servant, lest he should smuggle a part, he gave the commission to a young +man of the name of Zeltner, and desired him to take the horse which he +himself usually rode. On his return, young Zeltner said that he never would +ride his horse again unless he gave him his purse at the same time. +Kosciusko enquiring what he meant, he answered, "As soon as a poor man on +the road takes off his hat and asks charity, the horse immediately stands +still, and will not stir till something is given to the petitioner; and as +I had no money about me, I was obliged to feign giving something, in order +to satisfy the horse."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mysterious Benefactor.</span>—In the year 1720, celebrated for the bursting of +the South Sea Bubble, a gentleman called late in the evening at the banking +house of Messrs. Hankey and Co. He was in a coach, but refused to get out, +and desired that one of the partners of the house would come to him, into +whose hands, when he appeared, he put a parcel, very carefully sealed up, +and desired that it might be taken care of till he should call again. A few +days passed away—a few weeks—a few months—but the stranger never +returned. At the end of the second or third year the partners agreed to +open this mysterious parcel, when they found it to contain £30,000, with a +letter, stating that it had been obtained by the South Sea speculation, and +directing that it should be vested in the hands of three trustees, whose +names were mentioned, and the interest appropriated to the relief of the +poor.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="DINNERS" id="DINNERS">DINNERS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Bannister.</span>—Charles Bannister dining one day at the Turk's Head Tavern, was +much annoyed by a gentleman in the adjoining box, who had just ordered fish +for dinner, and was calling on the waiter for every species of fish sauce +known to the most refined epicure. "Waiter," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">Pg 20</a></span> he, "bring me anchovy +sauce, and soy; and have you got Harvey's? and be sure you bring me +Burgess's;—and waiter—do you hear?—don't omit the sauce <i>epicurienne</i>." +How many more he would have enumerated it is difficult to say, had not +Bannister stepped up to him, and bowing very politely, said, "Sir, I beg +your pardon for thus interrupting you, but I see you are advertised for in +the newspaper of this morning." "Me, sir, advertised for!" exclaimed the +gentleman, half petrified with surprise; "pray, sir, what do you mean?" +Bannister, taking the paper, pointed to an advertisement addressed to "The +Curious in Fish Sauces." The gentleman felt the rebuke, sat down, and ate +his dinner without further ceremony.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Christmas Pudding Extraordinary.</span>—When the late Lord Paget was ambassador +at Constantinople, he, with the rest of the gentlemen who were in a public +capacity at the same court, determined one day when there was to be a grand +banquet, to have each of them a dish dressed after the manner of their +respective countries; and Lord Paget, for the honour of England, ordered a +piece of <i>roast beef and a plum pudding</i>. The beef was easily cooked, but +the court cooks not knowing how to make a plum pudding, he gave them a +receipt:—"So many eggs, so much milk, so much flour, and a given quantity +of raisins; to be beaten up together, and boiled so many hours in so many +gallons of water." When dinner was served up, first came the French +ambassador's dish—then that of the Spanish ambassador—and next, two +fellows bearing an immense pan, and bawling, "<i>Room for the English +ambassador's dish!</i>" "Confound my stupidity!" cried his lordship; "I forgot +to tell them of the bag, and these stupid scoundrels have boiled it without +one; and in five gallons of water too. It will be good plum broth, +however!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Kirwan</span>, the celebrated Irish chemist, having one day at dinner with him +a party of friends, was descanting upon the antiseptic qualities of +charcoal, and added, that if a quantity of pulverised charcoal were boiled +together with tainted meat, it would remove all symptoms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">Pg 21</a></span> putrescence, +and render it perfectly sweet. Shortly afterwards, the doctor helped a +gentleman to a slice of boiled leg of mutton, which was so far gone as to +shed an odour not very agreeable to the noses of the company. The gentleman +repeatedly turned it upon his plate, without venturing to taste it; and the +doctor observing him, said, "Sir, perhaps you don't like mutton?" "Oh, yes, +doctor," he replied, "I am very fond of mutton, but I do not think the cook +has boiled charcoal enough with it."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">When</span> the Archbishop of York sent Ben Jonson an excellent dish of fish from +his dinner table, but without drink, he said,—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>"In a dish came fish<br /></span> +<span>From the arch-bis-<br /></span> +<span>Hop was not there,<br /></span> +<span>Because there was no <i>beer</i>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Poor-Man-of-Mutton</span> is a term applied to a shoulder of mutton in Scotland +after it has been served as a roast at dinner, and appears as a broiled +bone at supper, or at the dinner next day. The late Earl of B., popularly +known as "Old Rag," being indisposed at a hotel in London, one morning the +landlord came to enumerate the good things in his larder, in order to +prevail on his guest to eat something, when his lordship replied, +"Landlord, I think I <i>could</i> eat a morsel of a poor man;" which, with the +extreme ugliness of his lordship's countenance, so terrified the landlord, +that he fled from the room and tumbled down stairs, supposing the earl, +when at home, was in the habit of eating a joint of a vassal, or tenant +when his appetite was dainty.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Swift.</span>—A gentleman, at whose house Swift was dining in Ireland, after +dinner introduced remarkably small hock glasses, and at length, turning to +Swift, addressed him,—"Mr. Dean, I shall be happy to take a glass of hic, +hæc, hoc, with you." "Sir," rejoined the doctor, "I shall be happy to +comply, but it must be out of a <i>hujus</i> glass."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">Pg 22</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Swift</span>, having a shoulder of mutton too much done brought up for his dinner, +sent for the cook, and told her to take the mutton down, and do it less. +"Please your honour, I cannot do it less." "But," said the dean, "if it had +not been done enough, you could have done it more, could you not?" "Oh, +yes, sir, very easily." "Why, then," said the dean, "for the future, when +you commit a fault, let it be such a one as can be mended."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="DOCTORS" id="DOCTORS">DOCTORS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Making Things Better.</span>—A rich man sent to call a physician for a slight +disorder. The physician felt his pulse, and said, "Do you eat well?" "Yes," +said the patient. "Do you sleep well?" "I do." "Oh, then," said the +physician, "I must give you something to take away all that."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Madame de Villecerf</span>, who was brought to death in the flower of her age by +the unskilfulness of her surgeon, comforted him thus: "I do not look upon +you," she said, in dying, "as a person whose error has cost me my life, but +as a benefactor, who hastens my entry into a happy immortality. As the +world may judge otherwise, I have put you in a situation, by my will, to +quit your profession."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Willie Law</span>, a half-witted man, was the descendant of an ancient family, +nearly related to the famous John Law, of Lauriston, the celebrated +financier of France. Willie on that account was often spoken to and taken +notice of by gentlemen of distinction. Posting one day through Kirkaldy, +with more than ordinary speed, he was met by Mr. Oswald, of Dunnikier, who +asked him where he was going in such a hurry. "Going!" says Willie, with +apparent surprise, "I'm gaen to my cousin Lord Elgin's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">Pg 23</a></span> burial." "Your +cousin Lord Elgin's burial, you fool! Lord Elgin's not dead," replied Mr. +Oswald. "Oh, never mind," quoth Willie; "there's six doctors out o' +Edinbro' at him, and they'll hae him dead afore I get there."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Physicians in China.</span>—Caleb Colton, nephew of the late Sir George Staunton, +gives in a recent publication the following anecdote:—"My late uncle, Sir +G. Staunton, related to me a curious anecdote of old Kien Long, Emperor of +China. He was inquiring of Sir George the manner in which physicians were +paid in England. When, after some difficulty, his majesty was made to +comprehend the system, he exclaimed, 'Is any man well in England that can +afford to be ill? Now, I will inform you,' said he, 'how I manage my +physicians. I have four, to whom the care of my health is committed: a +certain weekly salary is allowed them; but the moment I am ill the salary +stops till I am well again. I need not tell you that my illnesses are +usually short.'"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Zimmerman</span>, who was very eminent as a physician, went from Hanover to attend +Frederick the Great in his last illness. One day the king said to him, "You +have, I presume, sir, helped many a man into another world?" This was +rather a bitter pill for the doctor; but the dose he gave the king in +return was a judicious mixture of truth and flattery: "Not so many as your +majesty, nor with so much honour to myself."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Montaigne</span>, who is great upon doctors, used to beseech his friends that if +he felt ill they would let him get a little stronger before sending for the +doctor.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Molière</span>, when once travelling through Auvergne, was taken very ill at a +distance from any place where he could procure respectable medical aid. It +was proposed to him to send for a celebrated physician at Clermont. "No, +no," said he, "he is too great a man for me: go and bring me the village +surgeon; he will not, perhaps, have the hardihood to kill me so soon."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Louis XIV.</span>, who was a slave to his physicians, asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">Pg 24</a></span> Molière one day what +he did with his doctor. "Oh, sire," said he, "when I am ill I send for him. +He comes; we have a chat, and enjoy ourselves. He prescribes;—I don't take +it, and I am cured."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">General Guise</span> going over one campaign to Flanders, observed a raw young +officer, who was in the same vessel with him, and with his usual humanity +told him that he would take care of him, and conduct him to Antwerp, where +they were both going, which he accordingly did, and then took leave of him. +The young fellow was soon told by some arch rogues, whom he happened to +fall in with, that he must signalise himself by fighting some man of known +courage, or else he would soon be despised in the regiment. The young man +said he knew no one but Colonel Guise, and he had received great +obligations from him. "It is all one for that," said they, "in these cases. +The Colonel is the fittest man in the world, as everybody knows his +bravery." Soon afterwards the young officer accosted Colonel Guise, as he +was walking up and down the coffee room, and began, in a hesitating manner, +to tell him how much obliged he had been to him, and how sensible he was of +his obligations. "Sir," replied Colonel Guise, "I have done my duty by you, +and no more." "But Colonel," added the young officer, faltering, "I am told +that I must fight some gentleman of known courage, and who has killed +several persons, and that nobody"—"Oh, sir," interrupted the Colonel, +"your friends do me too much honour; but there is a gentleman (pointing to +a fierce-looking black fellow that was sitting at one of the tables) who +has killed half the regiment, and who will suit you much better." The +officer went up to him, and told him he had heard of his bravery, and that +for that reason he must fight him. "Who?—I, sir?" said the gentleman; +"why, I am the <i>apothecary</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Moore</span>, author of "Zeluco," used to say that at least two-thirds of a +physician's fees were for imaginary complaints. Among several instances of +this nature, he mentions one of a clothier, who, after drinking the Bath +waters, took it into his head to try Bristol hot wells.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">Pg 25</a></span> Previous, however, +to his setting off, he requested his physician to favour him with a letter, +stating his case to any brother doctor. This done, the patient got into a +chaise and started. After proceeding half way, he felt curious to see the +contents of the letter, and on opening it, read as follows:—"Dear +Sir,—The bearer is a fat Wiltshire clothier: <i>make the most of him</i>." It +is almost unnecessary to add that his cure was from that moment effected, +as he ordered the chaise to turn, and immediately proceeded <i>home</i>.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Charles Wager</span> had a sovereign contempt for physicians, though he +believed a surgeon, in some cases, <i>might</i> be of service. It happened that +Sir Charles was seized with a fever while he was out upon a cruise, and the +surgeon, without much difficulty, prevailed upon him to lose a little +blood, and suffer a blister to be laid on his back. By-and-bye it was +thought necessary to lay on another blister, and repeat the bleeding, to +which Sir Charles also consented. The symptoms then abated, and the surgeon +told him that he must now swallow a few bolusses, and take a draught. "No, +no, doctor," says Sir Charles, "you shall batter my hulk as long as you +will, but depend on it, you shan't <i>board</i> me."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Nash and the Doctor.</span>—When the celebrated Beau Nash was ill, Dr. Cheyne +wrote a prescription for him. The next day, the doctor coming to see his +patient, inquired if he had followed his prescription? "No, truly, doctor," +said Nash; "if I had, I should have broken my neck, for I threw it out of a +two-pair-of-stairs window."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Gin</span> <i>versus</i> <span class="smcap">Medicine.</span>—The celebrated Dr. Ward was not more remarkable for +humanity and skill than for wit and humour. An old woman, to whom he had +administered some medicines proper for a disorder under which she laboured, +applied to him, with a complaint that she had not experienced any kind of +effect from taking them. "No effect at all?" said the doctor. "None in the +least," replied the woman. "Why, then you should have taken a bumping glass +of gin." "So I did, sir." "Well, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">Pg 26</a></span> when you found that did not succeed, +you should have taken another." "So I did, sir; and another after that." +"Oh, you did?" said the doctor; "aye, aye, it is just as I imagined: you +complain that you found no effect from my prescription, and you confess +yourself that you swallowed gin enough to counteract any medicine in the +whole system of physic."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Abernethy.</span>—A Chancery barrister having been for a long while annoyed by an +irritable ulcer on one of his legs, called upon Mr. Abernethy for the +purpose of obtaining that gentleman's advice. The counsellor judging of an +ulcer as of a brief, that it must be seen before its nature could be +understood, was busily employed in removing his stocking and bandages, when +Mr. Abernethy abruptly advanced towards him, and exclaimed in a stentorian +voice, "Halloo! what are you about there? Put out your tongue, man! Aye, +there 'tis—I see it—I'm satisfied. Quite enough;—shut up your leg, +man—shut it up—shut it up! Go home and read my book, p.—, and take one +of the pills there mentioned every night on going to bed." The lawyer +handed over the fee, and was about to leave the room, when Mr. A. thus +accosted him: "Why, look here;—this is but a shilling!" The barrister +sarcastically replied, "Aye, there 'tis—I see it—I'm satisfied. Quite +enough, man;—shut it up—shut it up!" and hastily decamped from the room.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A lady</span>, who had received a severe bite in her arm from a dog, went to Mr. +Abernethy, but knowing his aversion to hearing any statement of +particulars, she merely uncovered the injured part, and held it before him +in silence. After looking at it an instant, he said in an inquiring tone, +"Scratch?" "Bite," replied the lady. "Cat?" asked the doctor. "Dog," +rejoined the patient. So delighted was Mr. A. with the brevity and +promptness of her answers, that he exclaimed, "Zounds, madam! you are the +most sensible woman I ever met with in my life."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Astley Cooper.</span>—Probably no surgeon of ancient or modern times enjoyed a +greater share of reputation during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">Pg 27</a></span> his life than fell to the lot of Sir +Astley, and that in all parts of the world. We cannot give a better example +of this than the fact of his signature being received as a passport among +the mountains of Biscay by the wild followers of Don Carlos. A young +English surgeon, seeking for employment, was carried as a prisoner before +Zumalacarrequi, who demanded what testimonials he had of his calling or his +qualifications. Our countryman presented his diploma of the College of +Surgeons, and the name of Astley Paston Cooper, which was attached to it, +no sooner struck the eye of the Carlist leader, than he at once received +his prisoner with friendship, and appointed him a surgeon in his army.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="THE_DRAMA_ACTORS_ETC" id="THE_DRAMA_ACTORS_ETC">THE DRAMA—ACTORS, ETC.</a></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Shaving a Queen.</span>—For some time after the restoration of Charles the +Second, young smooth-faced men performed the women's parts on the stage. +That monarch, coming before his usual time to hear Shakspeare's Hamlet, +sent the Earl of Rochester to know the reason of the delay; who brought +word back, that the queen was not quite shaved. "Ods fish" (his usual +expression), "I beg her majesty's pardon! we will wait till her barber is +done with her."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Liston</span>, in his early career, was a favourite at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and +having applied to the manager for a remuneration equal to the increased +value of his services, he refused the request, adding, "If you are +dissatisfied you are welcome to leave me; such actors as you, sir, are to +be found in every bush." On the evening of the day when this colloquy +occurred, the manager was driving to another town, where he intended "to +carry on the war," when he perceived Liston standing in the middle of a +hedge by the road-side. "Good heavens! Liston," cried the manager, "what +are you doing there?" "Only looking for some of the actors you told me of +this morning," was the reply.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">Pg 28</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Good-natured Author.</span>—The late M. Segur, among other literary productions, +supplied the French theatres with a number of pleasing trifles. If he was +not always successful, he was at least always gay in his reverses. When his +works were ill received by the public, he consoled himself for a failure by +a bon-mot; he made even a point of consoling his companions in misfortune. +A piece of his was once brought forward called the <i>Yellow Cabriolet</i>, +which happened to be condemned on the first representation. Some days +afterwards a piece, by another author, was presented, which was equally +unfortunate. The author, petrified at his failure, stood for a moment +immoveable. "Come, come, my dear sir," said M. Segur, "don't be cast down, +I will give you a seat in my <i>Yellow Cabriolet</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Heavy Play.</span>—When Sir Charles Sedley's comedy of "Bellamira" was +performed, the roof of the theatre fell down, by which, however, few people +were hurt except the author. This occasioned Sir Fleetwood Shepherd to say, +"There was so much fire in his play, that it blew up the poet, house and +all." "No," replied the good-natured author, "the play was so heavy, that +it broke down the house, and buried the poor poet in his own rubbish."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Monsieur de la Motte</span>, soon after the representation of his "Ines de +Castro," which was very successful, although much censured by the press, +was sitting one day in a coffee-house, when he heard several of the critics +abusing his play. Finding that he was unknown to them, he joined heartily +in abusing it himself. At length, after a great many sarcastic remarks, one +of them, yawning, said, "Well, what shall we do with ourselves this +evening?" "Why, suppose," said de la Motte, "we go to the <i>seventy-second</i> +representation of this bad play."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Sailor and the Actress.</span>—"When I was a poor girl," said the Duchess of +St. Albans, "working very hard for my thirty shillings a week, I went down +to Liverpool during the holidays, where I was always kindly received. I was +to perform in a new piece, something like those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">Pg 29</a></span> pretty little dramas they +get up now at our minor theatres; and in my character I represented a poor, +friendless orphan girl, reduced to the most wretched poverty. A heartless +tradesman prosecutes the sad heroine for a heavy debt, and insists on +putting her in prison unless some one will be bail for her. The girl +replies, 'Then I have no hope, I have not a friend in the world.' 'What? +will no one be bail for you, to save you from prison?' asks the stern +creditor. 'I have told you I have not a friend on earth,' is the reply. But +just as I was uttering the words, I saw a sailor in the upper gallery +springing over the railing, letting himself down from one tier to another, +until he bounded clear over the orchestra and footlights, and placed +himself beside me in a moment.' Yes, you shall have <i>one</i> friend at least, +my poor young woman,' said he, with the greatest expression in his honest, +sunburnt countenance; 'I will go bail for you to any amount. And as for +<i>you</i> (turning to the frightened actor), if you don't bear a hand, and +shift your moorings, you lubber, it will be worse for you when I come +athwart your bows.' Every creature in the house rose; the uproar was +perfectly indescribable; peals of laughter, screams of terror, cheers from +his tawny messmates in the gallery, preparatory scrapings of violins from +the orchestra, were mingled together; and amidst the universal din there +stood the unconscious cause of it, sheltering me, 'the poor, distressed +young woman,' and breathing defiance and destruction against my mimic +persecutor. He was only persuaded to relinquish his care of me by the +manager pretending to arrive and rescue me, with a profusion of theatrical +banknotes."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Kean.</span>—In the second year of Kean's London triumph, an elderly lady, whose +sympathy had been excited by his forlorn condition in boyhood, but who had +lost sight of him in his wanderings till his sudden starting into fame +astonished the world, was induced, on renewing their acquaintance, to pay a +visit of some days to him and Mrs. Kean, at their residence in +Clarges-street. She made no secret of her intention to evince the interest +she felt in his welfare by a considerable bequest in her will; but,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">Pg 30</a></span> on +accompanying Mrs. K. to the theatre to see Kean perform <i>Luke</i>, she was so +appalled by the cold-blooded villany of the character, that, attributing +the skill of the actor to the actual possession of the fiendlike +attributes, her regard was turned into suspicion and distrust. She left +London the next day, and dying soon afterwards, it appeared that she had +altered her testamentary disposition of her property, which had once been +made in Kean's favour, and bequeathed the sum originally destined for him +to a distant relative, of whom she knew nothing but by name.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mimic Reclaimed.</span>—In the beginning of the last century, a comedian of the +name of Griffin, celebrated for his talents as a mimic, was employed by a +comic author to imitate the personal peculiarities of the celebrated Dr. +Woodward, whom he intended to be introduced in a comedy as <i>Dr. Fossil</i>. +The mimic, dressed as a countryman, waited on the doctor with a long +catalogue of complaints with which he said his wife was afflicted. The +physician heard with amazement diseases and pains of the most opposite +nature, repeated and redoubled on the wretched patient. The actor having +thus detained the doctor until he thought himself completely master of his +errand, presented him with a guinea as his fee. "Put up thy money, poor +fellow," cried the doctor, "thou hast need of all thy cash, and all thy +patience, too, with such a bundle of diseases tied to thy back." The mimic +returned to his employer, who was in raptures at his success, until he told +him that he would sooner die than prostitute his talents to render such +genuine humanity food for diversion.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Senesino and Farinelli</span>, when in England together, being engaged at +different theatres on the same night, had not an opportunity of hearing +each other, till, by one of those sudden revolutions which frequently +happen, yet are always unexpected, they were both employed to sing on the +same stage. Senesino had the part of a furious tyrant to represent and +Farinelli that of an unfortunate hero in chains; but in the course of the +very first song, the latter so softened the heart of the enraged tyrant, +that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">Pg 31</a></span> Senesino, forgetting his assumed character, ran to Farinelli and +embraced him.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Weeping at a Play.</span>—It is a prevailing folly to be ashamed to shed a tear +at any part of a tragedy, however affecting. "The reason," says the +Spectator, "is, that persons think it makes them look ridiculous, by +betraying the weakness of their nature. But why may not nature show itself +in tragedy, as well as in comedy or farce? We see persons not ashamed to +laugh loudly at the humour of a Falstaff,—or the tricks of a harlequin; +and why should not the tear be equally allowed to flow for the misfortunes +of a Juliet, or the forlornness of an Ophelia?" Sir Richard Steele records +on this subject a saying of Mr. Wilks the actor, as just as it was polite. +Being told in the green-room that there was a general in the boxes weeping +for Juliana, he observed with a smile, "<i>And I warrant you, sir, he'll +fight ne'er the worse for that</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dramatic Effect.</span>—It is related in the annals of the stage, as a remarkable +instance of the force of imagination, that when Banks's play of the <i>Earl +of Essex</i> was performed, a soldier, who stood sentinel on the stage, +entered so deeply into the distress of the scene, that in the delusion of +his imagination, upon the Countess of Nottingham's denying the receipt of +the ring which Essex had sent by her to the queen to claim a promise of +favour, he exclaimed, "'Tis false! she has it in her bosom;" and +immediately seized the mock countess to make her deliver it up.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charles Hulet</span>, a comedian of some celebrity in the early part of the last +century, was an apprentice to a bookseller. After reading plays in his +master's shop, he used to repeat the speeches in the kitchen, in the +evening, to the destruction of many a chair, which he substituted in the +room of the real persons in the drama. One night, as he was repeating the +part of Alexander, with his wooden representative of Clitus, (an elbow +chair), and coming to the speech where the old general is to be killed, +this young mock Alexander snatched a poker, instead of a javelin, and threw +it with such strength, against poor Clitus, that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">Pg 32</a></span> chair was killed upon +the spot, and lay mangled on the floor. The death of Clitus made a +monstrous noise, which disturbed the master in the parlour, who called out +to know the reason; and was answered by the cook below, "Nothing, sir, but +that Alexander has killed Clitus."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Goldsmith's Marlow.</span>—Mr. Lewis Grummit, an eminent grazier of Lincolnshire, +met late one night a commercial traveller who had mistaken his road, and +inquired the way to the nearest inn or public house. Mr. G. replied, that +as he was a stranger, he would show him the way to a quiet respectable +house of public entertainment for man and horse; and took him to his own +residence. The traveller, by the perfect ease and confidence of his manner, +shewed the success of his host's stratagem; and every thing that he called +for, was instantly provided for himself and his horse. In the morning he +called, in an authoritative tone, for his bill, and the hospitable landlord +had all the recompense he desired in the surprise and altered manners of +his guest. It was from this incident that Dr. Goldsmith took the hint of +Marlow mistaking the house of Mr. Hardcastle for an inn, in the comedy of +"<i>She Stoops to Conquer</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Quick</span>, while performing the part of Romeo, was seized with an +involuntary fit of laughter, which subjected him to the severe rebuke of +his auditors. It happened in the scene of Romeo and the apothecary, who, +going for the phial of poison, found it broken; not to detain the scene, he +snatched, in a hurry, a pot of soft pomatum. Quick was no sooner presented +with it, than he fell into a convulsive fit of laughter. But, being soon +recalled to a sense of his duty by the reproofs of the audience, he came +forward and made the following whimsical apology:—"Ladies and gentlemen, I +could not resist the idea that struck me when the pot of pomatum, instead +of the phial of poison, was presented. Had he at the same time given me a +tea-spoon, it would not have been so improper; for the poison might have +been made up as a lenitive electuary. But, if you please, ladies and +gentlemen, we will begin the scene again without laughing."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">Pg 33</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Garrick and Rich.</span>—Soon after the appearance of Garrick at the theatre of +Drury Lane, to which he, by his astonishing powers, brought all the world, +while Mr. Rich was playing his pantomimes at Covent Garden to empty +benches, he and Mr. Garrick happened to meet one morning at the Bedford +coffee-house. Having fallen into conversation, Garrick asked the Covent +Garden manager, how much his house would hold, when crowded with company. +"Why, master," said Rich, "I cannot well tell; but if you will come and +play Richard for one night, I shall be able to give an account."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Morand</span>, author of <i>Le Capricieuse</i>, was in a box of the theatre during the +first representation of that comedy; the pit loudly expressing +disapprobation at the extravagance and improbability of some traits in this +character, the author became impatient; he put his head out of the box, and +called, "Know, gentlemen, that this is the very picture of my +mother-in-law. What do you say now?"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Foote</span>, on his last journey to France for the recovery of his health, while +waiting for the packet, entered the kitchen of the Ship tavern at Dover, +and, addressing the cook, who prided herself in never having been ten miles +out of town, exclaimed, "Why, cookee, I understand you have been a great +traveller." She denying the charge, Foote replied, "Why, they tell me up +stairs that you have been all over <i>Grease</i>, and I am sure I have seen you +myself at <i>Spithead</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A person</span> talking to Foote of an acquaintance of his, who was so avaricious +as even to lament the prospect of his funeral expences, though a short time +before he had been censuring one of his own relations for his parsimonious +temper—"Now is it not strange," continued he, "that this man would not +remove the beam from his own eye, before he attempted to take the mote out +of other peoples?" "Why, so I dare say he would," cried Foote, "if he were +sure of selling the timber."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="DUTY" id="DUTY">DUTY</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">Pg 34</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">General Mackenzie</span>, when commander-in-chief of the Chatham division of +marines, during the late war, was very rigid as to duty; and, among other +regulations, would suffer no officer to be saluted on guard if out of his +uniform. It one day happened that the general observed a lieutenant of +marines in a plain dress, and, though he knew the young officer quite +intimately, he called to the sentinel to turn him out. The officer appealed +to the general, saying who he was; "I know you not," said the general; +"turn him out." A short time after, the general had been at a small +distance from Chatham, to pay a visit, and returning in the evening in a +blue coat, claimed entrance at the yard gate. The sentinel demanded the +countersign, which the general not knowing, desired the officer of the +guard to be sent for, who proved to be the lieutenant whom the general had +treated so cavalierly.—"Who are you?" inquired the officer.—"I am General +Mackenzie," was the reply.—"What, without an uniform?" rejoined the +lieutenant; "oh, get back, get back, impostor; the general would break your +bones if he knew you assumed his name." The general on this made his +retreat; and the next day, inviting the young officer to breakfast, told +him—"He had done his duty with very commendable exactness."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Morvilliers</span>, keeper of the seals to Charles the Ninth of France, was one +day ordered by his sovereign to put the seals to the pardon of a nobleman +who had committed murder. He refused. The king then took the seals out of +his hands, and having put them himself to the instrument of remission, +returned them immediately to Morvilliers, who refused to take them again, +saying, "The seals have twice put me in a situation of great honour: once +when I received them, and again when I resigned them."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Louis the Fourteenth</span> had granted a pardon to a nobleman who had committed +some very great crime.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">Pg 35</a></span> M. Voisin, the chancellor, ran to him in his +closet, and exclaimed, "Sire, you cannot pardon a person in the situation +of Mr. ——." "I have promised him," replied the king, who was always +impatient of contradiction; "go and fetch the great seal." "But sire—." +"Pray, sir, do as I order you." The chancellor returned with the seals; +Louis applied them himself to the instrument containing the pardon, and +gives them again to the chancellor. "They are polluted, now, sire," +exclaimed the intrepid and excellent magistrate, pushing them from him on +the table, "I cannot take them again." "What an impracticable man!" cried +the monarch, and threw the pardon into the fire. "I will now, sire, take +them again," said the chancellor; "fire purifies all things."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="FIDELITY" id="FIDELITY">FIDELITY</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Old Ambrose.</span>—Among the few individuals who accompanied James II. to +France, when he was dethroned, was Madame de Varonne, a lady of good +family, but of ruined fortune. She was compelled to part with all her +servants successively, until she came to her footman, Ambrose, who had +lived with her twenty years; and who, although of an austere deportment, +was a faithful and valuable servant. At length her resources would not +permit her to retain even Ambrose, and she told him he must seek another +place. "Another place!" exclaimed the astonished servant; "No; I will never +quit you, let what will happen; I will live and die in your service." In +vain was Ambrose told by his mistress that she was totally ruined; that she +had sold every thing she had, and that she had no other means of +subsistence than by seeking some employment for herself. Ambrose protested +he would not quit his mistress; he brought her his scanty savings of twenty +years, and engaged himself to a brazier for tenpence a day and his board. +The money he brought every evening to his mistress, whom he thus supported +for four years; at the end of which time she received a pension from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">Pg 36</a></span> +French king, which enabled her to reward the remarkable fidelity of her old +servant.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Kennedies.</span>—Mr. Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, relates the following +circumstance, which shows that a sense of honour may prevail in those who +have little regard to moral obligation:—After the battle of Culloden, in +the year 1745, a reward of thirty thousand pounds was offered to any one +who should discover or deliver up the young Pretender. He had taken refuge +with the Kennedies, two common thieves, who protected him with the greatest +fidelity, robbed for his support, and often went in disguise to Inverness +to purchase provisions for him. A considerable time afterwards one of these +men, who had resisted the temptation of thirty thousand pounds from a +regard to his honour, was hanged for stealing a cow of the value of thirty +shillings.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A young</span> woman, named La Blonde, was in the service of M. Migeon, a furrier, +in the Rue St. Honoré, in Paris; this tradesman, though embarrassed in his +affairs, was not deserted by his faithful domestic, who remained at his +house without receiving any salary. Migeon, some years afterwards died, +leaving a wife and two young children without the means of support. The +cares of La Blonde were now transferred to the assistance of the distressed +family of her deceased master, for whose support she expended fifteen +hundred francs, the fruit of her labour, as well as the produce of rent +from her small patrimony. From time to time this worthy servant was offered +other situations, but to all such offers she replied by the inquiry, "Who +will take care of this family if I desert them?" At length the widow +Migeon, overcome with grief, became seriously ill. La Blonde passed her +days in comforting her dying mistress, and at night went to take care of +the sick, in order to have the means of relieving her wants. The widow +Migeon died on the 28th of April, 1787. Some persons then proposed to La +Blonde to send the two little orphans to the poor house; but the generous +girl, indignant at this proposition, replied, "that at Ruel, her native<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">Pg 37</a></span> +country, her two hundred livres of rent would suffice for their subsistence +and her own."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Faithful Depositary.</span>—Under the ministry of Neckar in France, the +receiver of taxes at Roye, in Picardy, had the misfortune to have his +premises burnt,—cattle, furniture, and every thing became the prey of the +flames, except two thousand livres of the king's money, the produce of the +taxes which he had collected. These the courageous man rescued from the +flames, and the next day lodged them in the hands of the provincial +director. When Neckar was apprised of the fact, he laid it before the king, +and afterwards wrote to the receiver with his own hand as follows: "His +Majesty having been informed of the circumstance of your loss, and being +pleased with the conduct you have displayed, returns you the 2000 livres, +which he desires you will keep as a testimony of his esteem."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="FONTENELLE" id="FONTENELLE">FONTENELLE</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Reproof.</span>—Two youngsters once asked Fontenelle whether it was more +correct to say, <i>donnez-nous à boire</i>, (give us to drink), or +<i>apportez-nous à boire</i>, (bring us drink). The academician replied, "That +both were unappropriate in their mouths; and that the proper term for such +fellows as they was <i>menez-nous à boire</i>, lead us to drink."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fontenelle</span> was once staying with his nephew, M. Aube, and had the +misfortune to let a spark fall upon his clothes, which set fire to the bed, +and eventually to the room. M. Aube was extremely angry with his uncle, and +shewed him what precautions he ought to have taken to prevent such an +accident. "My dear nephew," replied Fontenelle, calmly, "when I set fire to +your house again, depend upon it I will act differently."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fontenelle</span>, being praised for the clearness of his style on the deepest +subjects, said, "If I have any merit, it is that I have always endeavoured +to understand myself."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">Pg 38</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> conversation turning one day, in the presence of Fontenelle, on the +marks of originality in the works of Father Castel, well known to the +scientific world for his "Vrai Systeme de Physique generale de Newton;" +some person observed, "but he is mad." "I know it," returned Fontenelle, +"and I am very sorry for it, for it is a great pity. But I like him better +for being original and a little mad, than I should if he were in his senses +without being original."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="FOOLS" id="FOOLS">FOOLS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Triboulet</span>, the fool of Francis the First, was threatened with death by a +man in power, of whom he had been speaking disrespectfully; and he applied +to the king for protection. "Be satisfied," said the king: "if any man +should put you to death, I will order him to be hanged a quarter of an hour +after." "Ah, sir!" replied Triboulet, "I should be much obliged if your +majesty would order him to be hanged a quarter of an hour before!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Gregory</span>, professor of the practice of physic at Edinburgh, was one of +the first to enrol himself in the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, when that +corps was raised. So anxious was he to make himself master of military +tactics, that he not only paid the most punctual attendance on all the +regimental field-days, but studied at home for several hours a day, under +the serjeant-major of the regiment. On one of these occasions the serjeant, +out of all temper at the awkwardness of his learned pupil, exclaimed in a +rage, "Why, sir, I would rather teach ten fools than one philosopher."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">James I.</span> gave all manner of liberty and encouragement to the exercise of +buffoonery, and took great delight in it himself. Happening once to bear +somewhat hard on one of his Scotch courtiers, "By my saul," returns the +peer, "he that made your majesty a king, spoiled the best fool in +Christendom."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="FORGIVENESS" id="FORGIVENESS">FORGIVENESS</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">Pg 39</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">French Curate.</span>—During the French revolution, the inhabitants of a village +in Dauphiné had determined on sacrificing their lord to their revenge, and +were only dissuaded from it by the eloquence of the curé, who thus +addressed them:—"My friends," said he, "the day of vengeance is arrived; +the individual who has so long tyrannized over you must now suffer his +merited punishment. As the care of this flock has been entrusted to me, it +behoves me to watch over their best interests, nor will I forsake their +righteous cause. Suffer me only to be your leader, and swear to me that in +all circumstances you will follow my example." All the villagers swore they +would. "And," continues he, "you will further solemnly promise to enter +into any engagement which I may now make, and to remain faithful to this +your oath." All the villagers exclaimed, "We do." "Well then," said he, +solemnly taking the oath, "I swear to forgive our lord." Unexpected as this +was, the villagers kept their word and forgave him.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Duke of Orleans</span>, on being appointed Regent of France, insisted on +possessing the power of pardoning. "I have no objection," said he, "to have +my hands tied from doing harm, but I will have them left free to do good."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Abon Hannifah</span>, chief of a Turkish sect, once received a blow in the face +from a ruffian, and rebuked him in these terms, not unworthy of Christian +imitation: "If I were vindictive, I should return you outrage for outrage; +if I were an informer, I should accuse you before the caliph: but I prefer +putting up a prayer to God, that in the day of judgment he will cause me to +enter paradise with you."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Alphonsus</span>, King of Naples and Sicily, so celebrated in history for his +clemency, was once asked why he was so forgiving to all men, even to those +most notoriously wicked? "Because," answered he, "good men are won by +justice; the bad by clemency." When some of his ministers complained to him +on another occasion of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">Pg 40</a></span> lenity, which they were pleased to say was more +than became a prince: "What, then," exclaimed he, "would you have lions and +tigers to reign over you? It is for wild beasts to scourge; but for man to +forgive."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Van Dyke.</span>—"When any one commits an offence against me," this painter used +to say, "I try to raise my soul so high that the offence shall not be able +to reach up to it."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mariè Antoinette.</span>—On the elevation of this princess to the throne after +the death of Louis XV., an officer of the body-guard, who had given her +offence on some former occasion, expressed his intention of resigning his +commission; but the queen forbade him. "Remain," said she, "forget the past +as I forgive it. Far be it from the Queen of France to revenge the injuries +of the Dauphiness."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="FRIENDS" id="FRIENDS">FRIENDS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Friends and Hares.</span>—The Duke of Longueville's reply, when it was observed +to him that the gentlemen bordering on his estates were continually hunting +upon them, and that he ought not to suffer it, is worthy of imitation: "I +had much rather," answered the duke, "have friends than hares."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Henri IV.</span> once reproached M. d'Aubigné for continuing his friendship for M. +de la Trémouille, who had recently been banished from court. D'Aubigné +replied—"As M. de la Trémouille is so unfortunate as to have lost the +confidence of his master, he may well be allowed to retain that of his +friend."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="GRATITUDE" id="GRATITUDE">GRATITUDE</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Curran</span> says, "when a boy, I was one morning playing at marbles in the +village ball alley, with a light heart and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">Pg 41</a></span> lighter pocket. The gibe and +the jest went gaily round, when suddenly there appeared amongst us a +stranger, of a very remarkable and very cheerful aspect; his intrusion was +not the least restraint upon our merry little assemblage, on the contrary, +he seemed pleased, and even delighted; he was a benevolent creature, and +the days of infancy (after all the happiest we shall ever see), perhaps +rose upon his memory. God bless him! I see his fine form, at the distance +of half a century, just as he stood before me in the little ball-alley in +the days of my childhood. His name was Dr. Boyse. He took a particular +fancy to me. I was winning, and was full of waggery, thinking every thing +that was eccentric, and by no means a miser of my eccentricities; every one +was welcome to a share of them, and I had plenty to spare after having +freighted the company. Some sweetmeats easily bribed me home with him. I +learned from poor Boyse my alphabet and my grammar, and the rudiments of +the classics. He taught me all he could, and then sent me to the school at +Middleton. In short, he made a man of me. I recollect it was about five and +thirty years afterwards, when I had risen to some eminence at the bar, and +when I had a seat in parliament, on my return one day from court, I found +an old gentleman seated alone in my drawing-room, his feet familiarly +placed, on each side of the Italian marble chimney-piece, and his whole air +bespeaking the consciousness of one quite at home. He turned round—<i>it was +my friend of the ball-alley</i>. I rushed instinctively into his arms, and +burst into tears. Words cannot describe the scene which followed:—"You are +right, sir; you are right. The chimney-piece is your's—the pictures are +your's—the house is your's. You gave me all I have—my friend—my +father—my benefactor!" He dined with me; and in the evening I caught the +tear glistening in his fine blue eye, when he saw poor little Jack, the +creature of his bounty, rising in the House of Commons, to reply to a +<i>Right</i> Honourable. Poor Boyse! he is now gone; and no suitor had a larger +deposit of practical benevolence in the Court above. This is his wine—let +us drink to his memory."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="GHOSTS" id="GHOSTS">GHOSTS</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">Pg 42</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Bishop Fowler</span>, of Gloucester, and Justice Powell, had frequent altercations +on the subject of ghosts. The bishop was a zealous defender of the reality +of them; the justice was somewhat sceptical. The bishop one day met his +friend, and the justice told him that since their last conference on the +subject, he had had ocular demonstration, which had convinced him of the +existence of ghosts. "I rejoice at your conversion," replied the bishop; +"give me the circumstance which produced it, with all the particulars:— +ocular demonstration, you say?"—"Yes, my lord; as I lay last night in my +bed, about the twelfth hour, I was awakened by an extraordinary noise, and +heard something coming up stairs!"—"Go on, sir."—"Fearfully alarmed at +the noise, I drew my curtain—." "Proceed."—"And saw a faint glimmering +light enter my chamber."—"Of a blue colour, was it not?" interrogated the +doctor.—"Of a pale blue! and this pale blue light was followed by a tall, +meagre, stern figure, who appeared as an old man of seventy years of age, +arrayed in a long light coloured rug gown, bound with a leathern girdle: +his beard thick and grisly; his hair scant and straight; his face of a dark +sable hue; upon his head a large fur cap; and in his hand a long staff. +Terror seized my whole frame. I trembled till the bed shook, and cold drops +hung upon every limb. The figure advanced with a slow and solemn +step."—"Did you not speak to it? there was money hid, or murder committed, +without doubt," said the bishop.—"My lord, I did speak to it; I adjured it +by all that was holy to tell me whence, and for what purpose it thus +appeared."—"And in heaven's name what was the reply?"—"Before he deigned +to speak, he lifted up his staff three several times, my lord, and smote +the floor, even so loudly that verily the strokes caused the room to +reverberate the thundering sound. He then waved the pale blue light which +he bore in what is called a lantern, he waved it even to my eyes; and he +told me, my lord, he told me that he was—yes, my lord—that he was—not +more nor less than—<i>the watchman!</i> who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">Pg 43</a></span> had come to give me notice that my +street-door was open, and that unless I rose and shut it, I might be robbed +before morning." The justice had no sooner concluded, than the bishop +disappeared.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="HEROISM" id="HEROISM">HEROISM</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Dieppe Pilot.</span>—In August, 1777, a vessel from Rochelle, laden with salt, +and manned by eight hands, with two passengers on board, was discovered +making for the pier of Dieppe. The wind was at the time so high, and the +sea so boisterous, that a coasting pilot made four fruitless attempts to +get out, and conduct the vessel into port. Boussard, a bold and intrepid +pilot, perceiving that the helmsman was ignorant of his dangerous position, +endeavoured to direct him by a speaking trumpet and signals; but the +captain could neither see nor hear, on account of the darkness of the +night, the roaring of the winds, and the tremendous swell of the sea. The +vessel in the meantime grounded on a flinty bottom, at a short distance +from the advanced jetty. Boussard, touched with the cries of the +unfortunate crew, resolved to spring to their assistance, in spite of every +remonstrance, and the apparent impossibility of success. Having tied one +end of a rope round his waist, and fastened the other to the jetty, he +plunged headlong into the raging deep. When he had got very near the ship, +a wave carried him off, and dashed him on shore. Several times was he thus +repulsed, rolled upon flinty stones, and covered with the wreck of the +vessel, which the fury of the waves was tearing rapidly to pieces. He did +not however give up his attempt. A wave now threw him under the vessel, and +he was given up for lost, but he quickly emerged, holding in his arms a +sailor, who had been washed overboard. He brought him on shore motionless +and just expiring. In short, after an infinity of efforts and struggles, he +reached the wreck, and threw the rope on board. All who had strength enough +to avail themselves of this assistance, were successively dragged to land. +Boussard, who imagined he had now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">Pg 44</a></span> saved all the crew, worn down by +fatigue, and smarting from his wounds and bruises, walked with great +difficulty to the light-house, where he fainted through exhaustion. +Assistance being procured, he quickly recovered. On hearing that cries +still issued from the wreck, he once more collected the little strength he +had left, rushed from the arms of his friends, plunged again into the sea, +and had the good fortune to save the life of one of the passengers, who was +lashed to the wreck, and who had been unable before to profit by the means +of escape.</p> + +<p>Mons. de Crosne, the Intendant of Rouen, having stated these circumstances +to M. Neckar, then director-general of the finances, he immediately +addressed the following letter to Boussard, in his own hand-writing:— +"Brave man, I was not apprized by the Intendant till the day before +yesterday, of the gallant deed achieved by you on the 31st of August. +Yesterday I reported it to his majesty, who was pleased to enjoin me to +communicate to you his satisfaction, and to acquaint you, that he presents +you with one thousand livres, by way of present, and an annual pension of +three hundred livres. Continue to succour others when you have it in your +power; and pray for your king, who loves and recompenses the brave."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Italian Peasant.</span>—A great inundation having taken place in the north of +Italy, owing to an excessive fall of snow in the Alps, followed by a speedy +thaw, the river Adige carried off a bridge near Verona, all except the +middle part, on which was the house of the toll-gatherer, who thus, with +his whole family, remained imprisoned by the waves, and in momentary danger +of destruction. They were discovered from the bank, stretching forth their +hands, screaming, and imploring succour, while fragments of the only +remaining arch were continually dropping into the water. In this extreme +danger, a nobleman who was present, a Count of Pulverino, held out a purse +of a hundred sequins, as a reward to any adventurer who would take a boat +and deliver this unhappy family. But the danger of being borne down by the +rapidity of the current, or of being dashed against a fragment of the +bridge, was so great, that no one in the vast number of spectators had +courage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">Pg 45</a></span> enough to attempt the exploit. A peasant passing along enquired +what was going on, and was informed of the circumstances. Immediately +jumping into a boat, he, by strength of oars, gained the middle of the +river, brought his boat under the pile, and the whole family safely +descended by means of a rope. By a still more strenuous effort, and great +strength of arm, he brought the boat and family to shore. "Brave fellow!" +exclaimed the count, handing the purse to him, "here is your recompense." +"I shall never expose my life for money," answered the peasant; "my labour +is a sufficient livelihood for myself, my wife, and children. Give the +purse to this poor family, who have lost their all."</p> + +<p>This incident has been admirably worked up in a German ballad by Bürger +(see the "Song of the Brave Man," in "Popular Ballads.")</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Countess de St. Belmont.</span>—When M. de St. Belmont, who defended a feeble +fortress against the arms of Louis XIV., was taken prisoner, his wife, the +Comtesse de St. Belmont, who was of a most heroic disposition, still +remained upon the estates to take care of them. An officer of cavalry +having taken up his quarters there without invitation, Madame de St. +Belmont sent him a very civil letter of complaint on his ill behaviour, +which he treated with contempt. Piqued at this, she resolved he should give +her satisfaction, and sent him a challenge, which she signed "Le Chevalier +de St. Belmont." The officer accepted it, and repaired to the place +appointed. Madame de St. Belmont met him, dressed in men's clothes. They +immediately drew their swords, and the heroine had the advantage of him; +when, after disarming him, she said, with a gracious smile, "You thought, +sir, I doubt not, that you were fighting with the Chevalier de St. Belmont; +it is, however, Madame de St. Belmont, who returns you your sword, and begs +you in future to pay more regard to the requests of ladies." She then left +him, covered with shame and confusion.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">French Peasant Girl.</span>—One evening early in 1858, Melanie Robert, daughter +of a small farmer, near Corbeil,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">Pg 46</a></span> was proceeding to Essonnes, when a man +armed with a stout stick suddenly presented himself, and summoned her to +give up her money. Pretending to be greatly alarmed, she hastily searched +her pocket, and collecting some small pieces of coin held them out to the +man, who without distrust approached to take them. But the moment he took +the money, Melanie made a sudden snatch at the stick, and wresting it from +his hand, dealt him so violent a blow with it across the head that she +felled him to the ground. She then gave him a sound thrashing, and, in +spite of his resistance, forced him to accompany her to the office of the +commissary of police, by whom he was committed for trial.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Gallant Daughter.</span>—Sir John Cochrane, who was engaged in Argyle's rebellion +against James II., was taken prisoner, after a desperate resistance, and +condemned to be executed. His daughter, having notice that the +death-warrant was expected from London, attired herself in men's clothes, +and twice attacked and robbed the mails between Belford and Berwick. The +execution was by this means delayed, till Sir John Cochrane's father, the +Earl of Dundonald, succeeded in making interest with the king for his +release.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Gamekeeper's Daughter.</span>—The Gazette of Augsburg for January, 1820, +contained a singular account of the heroism and presence of mind displayed +by the daughter of a gamekeeper, residing in a solitary house near Welheim. +Her father and the rest of the family had gone to church, when there +appeared at the door an old man apparently half dead with cold. Feeling for +his situation, she let him in, and went into the kitchen to prepare him +some soup. Through a window which communicated from the kitchen to the room +in which she had left him, she perceived that he had dropped the beard he +wore when he entered; that he now appeared a robust man; and that he was +pacing the chamber with a poignard in his hand. Finding no mode of escape, +she armed herself with a chopper in one hand and the boiling soup in the +other, and entering the room where he was, first threw the soup in his +face, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">Pg 47</a></span> then struck him a blow with the hatchet on his neck, which +brought him to the ground senseless. At this moment a fresh knock at the +door occasioned her to look out of an upper window, when she saw a strange +hunter, who demanded admittance, and on her refusal, threatened to break +open the door. She immediately got her father's gun, and as he was +proceeding to put his threat in execution, she shot him through the right +shoulder, on which he made his way back to the forest. Half an hour after a +third person came, and asked after an old man who must have passed that +way. She said she knew nothing of him; and after useless endeavours to make +her open the door, he also proceeded to break it in, when she shot him dead +on the spot. The excitement of her courage being now at an end, her spirits +began to sink, and she fired shots, and screamed from the windows, until +some gendarmes were attracted to the house; but nothing would induce her to +open the door until the return of her father from church.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Reward of Heroism.</span>—M. Labat, a merchant of Bayonne, ill in health, had +retired in the beginning of the winter, 1803, to a country house on the +banks of the Adour. One morning, when promenading in his robe-de-chambre, +on a terrace elevated a little above the river, he saw a traveller thrown +by a furious horse, from the opposite bank, into the midst of the torrent. +M. Labat was a good swimmer: he did not stop a moment to reflect on the +danger of the attempt, but, ill as he was, threw off his robe-de-chambre, +leaped into the flood, and caught the drowning stranger at the moment when, +having lost all sensation, he must have otherwise inevitably perished. "Oh, +God!" exclaimed M. Labat, clasping him in his arms, and recognizing with a +transport of joy the individual he had rescued, "I have saved my son!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Douglas.</span>—When King Robert I. died he exacted a promise from Sir James +Douglas to convey his heart to the Holy Land, where he had been on the +point of going when death arrested him. The party had reached Sluys, so far +on their way to Jerusalem, when Alonzo, King of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">Pg 48</a></span> Leon and Castile, at that +time engaged in war with the Moorish governor of Granada, Osmyn, sent to +demand the aid of Douglas; and by his oath as a knight, which forbade him +ever to turn a deaf ear to a call in aid of the Church of Christ, he was +obliged to attend to the summons. He fought with his usual heroism, till +the Moslems believed he bore a charmed life when they saw him rush into the +thickest of the fight and escape unwounded. But the Christian ranks +nevertheless began to give way; and to stem the flight the Douglas threw +the casket containing the king's heart into the <i>melée</i>, and rushed after +it, exclaiming, "Now pass onward as thou wert wont, and Douglas will follow +thee or die!" The day after the battle the body of the hero and the casket +were found by his surviving companions; and the squire of Douglas finding +it was impossible to convey it to Jerusalem, brought back the king's heart +to Scotland, and it was interred in Melrose Abbey.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Marshal de Nevailles.</span>—At the battle of Senef, the Prince of Condé sent +word to Marshal de Nevailles to be ready to engage the enemy. The messenger +found him hearing mass, at which the prince being enraged, muttered +something in abuse of over-pious persons. But the marquis having evinced +the greatest heroism during the engagement, said after it to the prince, +"Your highness, I fancy, now sees that those who pray to God behave as well +in battle as their neighbours."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="HOSPITALITY" id="HOSPITALITY">HOSPITALITY</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Breton Peasants.</span>—At the conclusion of the war in 1814, three hundred +British sailors, who had been prisoners, were assembled on the coast of +Britanny to embark for England. Being severally billetted on the +inhabitants for some days before they embarked, one of them requested +permission to see the superintendant, Monsieur Kearnie, which being +granted, the British tar thus addressed him: "An please your honour, I +don't come to trouble you with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">Pg 49</a></span> any bother about ourselves: we are all as +well treated as Christians can be; but there is one thing that makes my +food sit heavy on my stomach, and that of my two messmates." "What is it, +my brave fellow?" replied the superintendent;—"the persons on whom you are +quartered don't grudge it you?" "No, your honour;—if they did, that would +not vex us." "What, then, do you complain of?" "Only this, your +honour—that the poor folk cheerfully lay their scanty allowance before us +for our mess, and we have just found out that they have hardly touched a +mouthful themselves, or their six babes, for the last two days; and this we +take to be a greater hardship than any we found in prison." M. Kearnie told +them that from this hardship they should all be relieved. He instantly +ordered the billets to be withdrawn, and rewarded all parties for their +kindness, so compassionately exercised and interchanged.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Archbishop.</span>—Henry Wardlaw, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, at the beginning +of the fifteenth century was a prelate of such unbounded liberality, that +the masters of his household, apprehensive that his revenues might be +exhausted by the expense of entertaining the great numbers who resorted to +his palace, solicited him to make out a list of persons to whom the +hospitality of his board might be confined. "Well," said the archbishop to +his secretary, "take a pen and begin. First put down Fife and Angus"—two +large counties, containing several hundred thousands of people. His +servants hearing this, retired abashed; "for," says the historian, "they +said he would have no man refused that came to his house."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Rights of Hospitality.</span>—Dr. Johnson, in his tour through North Wales, +passed two days at the seat of Colonel Middleton, of Gwynnagag. While he +remained there, the gardener found a hare amidst some potatoe plants, and +brought it to his master, then engaged in conversation with the doctor. An +order was given to carry it to the cook. As soon as Johnson heard this +sentence, he begged to have the animal placed in his arms, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">Pg 50</a></span> was no +sooner done, than approaching the open window, he restored the hare to her +liberty, shouting after her to accelerate her speed. "What have you done, +doctor?" cried the colonel. "Why you have robbed my table of a +delicacy—perhaps deprived us of a dinner." "So much the better, sir," +replied the humane champion of a condemned hare; "for if your table is to +be supplied at the expense of the laws of hospitality, I envy not the +appetite of him who eats it. This, sir, is not a hare taken in war, but one +which had voluntarily placed itself under your protection; and savage +indeed must be that man who does not make his hearth an asylum for the +confiding stranger."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mungo Park.</span>—While Park was waiting on the banks of the Niger for a +passage, the king of the country was informed that a white man intended to +visit him. On this intelligence, a messenger was instantly dispatched to +tell the stranger that his majesty could not possibly admit him to his +presence till he understood the cause of his arrival, and also to warn him +not to cross the river without the royal permission. The message was +accordingly delivered by one of the chief natives, who advised Mr. Park to +seek a lodging in an adjacent village, and promised to give him some +requisite instructions in the morning. Mr. Park immediately complied with +this counsel; but on entering the village he had the mortification to find +every door closed against him. He was, therefore, obliged to remain all the +day without food, beneath the shade of a tree. About sunset, as he was +turning his horse loose to graze, and expected to pass the night in this +lonely situation, a woman returning from her employment in the fields +stopped to gaze at him, and observing his dejected looks, enquired from +what cause they proceeded? Mr. P. endeavoured, as well as he could, to make +known his destitute situation. The woman immediately took up his saddle and +bridle, and desired him to follow her to her residence, where, after +lighting a lamp, she presented him with some broiled fish, spread a mat for +him to lie upon, and gave him permission to continue under her roof till +morning. Having performed this humane action, she summoned her female +companions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">Pg 51</a></span> to their spinning, which occupied the chief part of the night, +while their labour was beguiled by a variety of songs—one of which was +observed by Mr. Park to be an extemporaneous effusion, created by his own +adventure. The air was remarkably sweet and plaintive, and the words were +literally the following:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>"The winds roared, and the rain fell.<br /></span> +<span>The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree.<br /></span> +<span>He has no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind him corn.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span><i>Chorus.</i> Let us pity the white man: no mother has he to bring him milk, no wife to grind his corn."<br /></span> +</div></div> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="HUMANITY" id="HUMANITY">HUMANITY</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">M. Neckar.</span>—The six companies, or bodies corporate, of the City of Paris, +set on foot in the month of October, 1788, a subscription for the relief of +the sufferers by a dreadful hail-storm, which had ravaged a part of the +country, and totally destroyed all the hopes of the husbandmen. To the +honour of these companies, no less than 50,000 livres were collected in a +short time, and placed in the hands of M. Neckar, in order to be applied to +the purpose for which they were subscribed. M. Neckar, on receiving the +money, directed it to be sent to the Treasury. "To the Treasury, my lord!" +exclaimed the bearer. "Yes, sir," replied M. Neckar; "50,000 livres will do +well for the Treasury, from which I drew yesterday 150,000 livres, to be +distributed among the same husbandmen whom it is your object to relieve, +feeling assured that the Treasury could never suffer from an advance made +on the credit of the humanity of Frenchmen."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Siege of Cajeta.</span>—The City of Cajeta having rebelled against Alphonsus, was +invested by that monarch with a powerful army. Being sorely distressed for +want of provisions, the citizens put forth all their old men, women,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">Pg 52</a></span> and +children, and shut the gates upon them. The king's ministers advised his +majesty not to permit them to pass, but to force them back into the city; +by which means he would speedily become master of it. Alphonsus, however, +had too humane a disposition to hearken to counsel, the policy of which +rested on driving a helpless multitude into the jaws of famine. He suffered +them to pass unmolested; and when afterwards reproached with the delay +which this produced in the siege, he feelingly said, "I had rather be the +preserver of one innocent person, than be the master of a hundred Cajetas."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Provost Drummond.</span>—About the middle of last century, George Drummond was +provost or chief magistrate of Edinburgh, and renowned for his humane +disposition. He was one day coming into the town by the suburb called the +West Port, when he saw a funeral procession leaving the door of a humble +dwelling, and setting out for the churchyard. The only persons composing +the funeral company were four poor-looking old men, seemingly common +beggars, one at each end of a pole carrying the coffin, and none to relieve +them; there was not a single attendant. The provost at once saw that it +must be a beggar's funeral, and he went forward to the old men, saying to +them, "Since this poor creature now deceased has no friends to follow his +remains to the grave, I will perform that melancholy office myself." He +then took his place at the head of the coffin. They had not gone far, till +they met two gentlemen who were acquainted with the provost, and they asked +him what he was doing there. He told them that he was going to the +interment of a poor friendless mendicant, as there were none else to do it; +so they turned and accompanied him. Others joined in the same manner, and +at last there was a respectable company at the grave. "Now," said the +kind-hearted provost, "I will lay the old man's head in the grave," which +he accordingly did, and afterwards saw the burial completed in a decent +manner. When the solemnity was over, he asked if the deceased had left a +wife or family, and learned that he had left a wife, an old woman, in a +state of perfect destitution. "Well, then, gentlemen,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">Pg 53</a></span> said the provost, +addressing those around him, "we met in rather a singular manner, and we +cannot part without doing something creditable for the benefit of the +helpless widow; let each give a trifle, and I will take it upon me to see +it administered to the best advantage." All immediately contributed some +money, which made up a respectable sum, and was afterwards given in a +fitting way to the poor woman; the provost also afterwards placed her in an +industrious occupation, by which she was able to support herself without +depending on public relief.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Philip Sidney</span> was a gallant soldier, a poet, and the most accomplished +gentleman of his time. At the battle of Zutphen, in the Netherlands, after +having two horses killed under him, he received a wound while in the act of +mounting a third, and was carried bleeding, faint, and thirsty to the camp. +A small quantity of water was brought to allay the thirst of Sir Philip; +but as he was raising it to his lips, he observed that a poor wounded +soldier, who was carried past at the moment, looked at the cup with wistful +eyes. The generous Sidney instantly withdrew it untasted from his mouth, +and gave it to the soldier, saying, "Thy necessity is yet greater than +mine." He died of his wound, aged only thirty-three; but his kindness to +the poor soldier has caused his name to be remembered ever since with +admiration, and it will probably never be forgotten while humane and +generous actions are appreciated among men.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Bishop of St. Lisieux.</span>—The massacre of St. Bartholomew was not confined to +Paris; orders were sent to the most distant provinces to commence the work +of destruction. When the governor of the province brought the order to +Hennuyer, Bishop of Lisieux, he opposed it with all his power, and caused a +formal act of his opposition to be entered on the registers of the +province. Charles IX., when remorse had taken place of cruelty, was so far +from disapproving of what this excellent prelate had done, that he gave him +the greatest praise for his humanity; and Protestants flocked in numbers to +adjure their religion at the feet of this good and kind shepherd, whose +gentleness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">Pg 54</a></span> affected them more than either the commands of the sovereign, +or the violence of the soldiery.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">On</span> the same occasion, Viscount d'Orthe had the courage to write from +Bayonne to Charles IX., that he found many good soldiers in his garrison, +but not one executioner; and begged him to command their lives in any +service that was possible to men of honor.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Baron Von Stackelberg</span>, in going from Athens to Thessalonica in an armed +vessel, was taken by some Albanian pirates, who immediately sent the +captain of the vessel to the former place, demanding 60,000 piastres for +the baron's ransom, and threatening that if it was not paid, they would +tear his body to pieces. They obliged him, at the same time, to write to +Baron Haller and another friend, to acquaint them with the demand. The time +fixed by the pirates had elapsed, and Baron Stackelberg, who had become +extremely ill, was expecting a cruel death, when the humane and generous +Haller, who had borrowed 14,500 Turkish piastres, at 30 per cent., +appeared. The pirates refused to take less than the sum demanded. Haller +offered himself as a hostage instead of his friend, if they would prolong +his life, and suffer him to recover from his sickness. This noble deed +contributed to convince the pirates, that no larger sum could be obtained; +they accepted it, and Haller returned to Athens with the friend whom his +humanity had preserved.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Princess Charlotte.</span>—During the residence of Her Royal Highness at +Bognor, where she had gone for the recovery of her health, an officer of +long standing in the army was arrested for a small sum, and being at a +distance from his friends, and unable to procure bail, he was on the point +of being torn from his family to be conveyed to Arundel gaol. The +circumstance came to the knowledge of the princess, who, in the momentary +impulse of generous feeling, exclaimed, "I will be his bail!" Then, +suddenly recollecting herself, she inquired the amount of the debt; which +being told her, "There," said she, handing a purse with more than the sum, +"take this to him;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">Pg 55</a></span> it is hard that he who has exposed his life in the +field of battle should ever experience the rigours of a prison."—During +the last illness of an old female attendant, formerly nurse to the Princess +Charlotte, she visited her every day, sat by her bedside, and with her own +hand administered the medicine prescribed. When death had closed the eyes +of this poor woman, instead of fleeing in haste from an object so appalling +to the young and gay in general, the princess remained and gave utterance +to the compassion she felt on viewing the remains in that state from which +majesty itself cannot be exempt. A friend of the deceased, seeing Her Royal +Highness was much affected, said, "If your Royal Highness would condescend +to touch her, perhaps you would not dream of her." "Touch her," replied the +amiable princess, "yes, poor thing! and kiss her, too; almost the only one +I ever kissed, except my poor mother!" Then bending her head over the +coffin of her humble friend, she pressed her lips to the cold cheeks, while +tears flowed from her eyes.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">M. de Montesquieu</span> being at Marseilles, hired a boat with the intention of +sailing for pleasure; the boat was rowed by two young men, with whom he +entered into conversation, and learnt that they were not watermen by trade, +but silversmiths, and that when they could be spared from their usual +business, they employed themselves in that way to increase their earnings. +On expressing his surprise at their conduct, and imputing it to an +avaricious disposition; "Oh! sir," said the young men, "if you knew our +reasons, you would ascribe it to a better motive.—Our father, anxious to +assist his family, devoted the produce of a life of industry to the +purchase of a vessel, for the purpose of trading to the coast of Barbary, +but was unfortunately taken by a pirate, carried to Tripoli, and sold as a +slave. In a letter we have received from him, he informs that he has +luckily fallen into the hands of a master who treats him with great +humanity; but the sum demanded for the ransom is so exorbitant, that it +will be impossible for him ever to raise it. He adds, that we must +therefore relinquish all hope of ever seeing him again. With the hopes of +restoring to his family a beloved father, we are striving by every honest +means in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">Pg 56</a></span> power to collect the sum necessary for his ransom, and we are +not ashamed to employ ourselves for such a purpose in the occupation of +watermen." M. de Montesquieu was struck with this account, and on his +departure made them a handsome present. Some months afterwards, the young +men being at work in their shop, were greatly surprised at the sudden +arrival of their father, who threw himself into their arms; exclaiming at +the same time, that he feared they had taken some unjust method to raise +the money for his ransom, for it was too great for them to have gained by +their ordinary occupation. They professed their ignorance of the whole +affair; and could only suspect they owed their father's release to that +stranger to whose generosity they had before been so much obliged. Such, +indeed, was the case; but it was not till after Montesquieu's death that +the fact was known, when an account of the affair, with the sum remitted to +Tripoli for the old man's ransom, was found among his papers.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fenelon.</span>—The venerable Archbishop of Cambray, whose humanity was +unbounded, was in the constant habit of visiting the cottages of the +peasants, and administering consolation and relief in their distress. When +they were driven from their habitations by the alarms of war, he received +them into his house, and served them at his table. During the war, his +house was always open to the sick and wounded, whom he lodged and provided +with every thing necessary for their relief. Besides his constant +hospitalities to the military, he performed a most munificent act of +patriotism and humanity after the disastrous winter of 1709, by opening his +granaries and distributing gratuitously corn to the value of 100,000 +livres. And when his palace at Cambray, and all his books and furniture, +were destroyed by fire, he bore it with the utmost firmness, saying, "It is +better all these should be burned, than the cottage of one poor family."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lord Cochrane.</span>—When this gallant officer was entrusted with the perilous +duty of conducting the fire-ships in the attack upon the French fleet in +Basque Roads, he had lighted the fusee which was to explode one of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">Pg 57</a></span> +terrific engines of destruction, and had rowed off to some distance, when +it was discovered that a dog had been left on board. Lord C. instantly +ordered the men to row back, assuring them that there was yet time enough, +<i>if they pulled hard</i>, to save the poor animal. They got back to the +fire-ship just a few minutes before it would have been too late to save the +animal; and when the dreadful explosion took place, were still so near the +floating volcano, that the fragments fell in heaps around them.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Samuel Hood.</span>—This gallant officer, when commanding the "Juno" on the +Jamaica station, in 1791, exhibited a noble instance of intrepid humanity. +The ship was lying in St. Anne's harbour, when a raft, with three persons +upon it, was discovered at a great distance. The weather was exceedingly +stormy; and the waves broke with such violence, as to leave little hope +that the unfortunate men upon it could long survive. Captain Hood instantly +ordered out one of his ship's boats to endeavour to rescue them; but the +sea ran so high, that the crew declared the attempt impracticable, and +refused to expose themselves to what they considered certain destruction. +The captain immediately leaped into the boat, declaring that he would never +order them on any service on which he would not himself venture. The effect +was such as might be expected: there is no danger that a British sailor +will not share with his captain; all now were eager to offer themselves. +The boat pushed off, and reached the raft with much difficulty, and saved +the exhausted men, who still clung to it. The House of Assembly of Jamaica, +to testify their sense of this undaunted exertion in the cause of humanity, +presented Captain Hood with a sword of the value of two hundred guineas.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Uncarpeted House.</span>—M. Eveillan, formerly Archdeacon of Angers, was noted +for his humane and charitable disposition towards the poor. On one +occasion, when a friend expressed surprise that none of his rooms were +carpeted, he replied, "When I enter my house in the winter, I do not hear +any complaints of cold from the furniture of my rooms; but the poor who +stand shivering at my doors tell me but too plainly that they have need of +clothing."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="IMAGINATION_AND_FEAR" id="IMAGINATION_AND_FEAR">IMAGINATION AND FEAR.</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">Pg 58</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fear of Death.</span>—It is recorded of a person who had been sentenced to be +bled to death, that, instead of the punishment being actually inflicted, he +was made to believe that it was so, merely by causing water, when his eyes +were blinded, to trickle down his arm. This mimicry, however, of an +operation, stopped as completely the movements of the animated machine as +if an entire exhaustion had been effected of the vivifying mud. The man +lost his life, although not his blood, by this imaginary venesection.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">We</span> read of another unfortunate being who had been condemned to lose his +head, but the moment after it had been laid upon the block, a reprieve +arrived; the victim was, however, already sacrificed. The living principle +had been extinguished by the fear of the axe, as effectually as it would +have been by its fall.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Editor of the <i>Philosophical Magazine</i> relates a remarkable instance +which came within his own knowledge many years ago in Scotland. Some silver +spoons having been mislaid, were supposed to have been stolen; and an +expression fell from one of the family, which was either intended, or was +so understood by a young lady who acted as governess to the female +children, that she had taken them. When the young lady rose next morning, +her hair, which before was dark, was found to have changed to a pure white +during the night. The spoons were afterwards found where the mistress of +the family had herself deposited them.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mons. Boutibonne</span>, a man of literary attainments, a native of Paris, served +in Napoleon's army, and was present at a number of engagements during the +early part of the present century. At the battle of Wagram, which resulted +in a treaty of peace with Austria, in November 1809, Mons. Boutibonne was +actively engaged during the whole of the fray, which lasted, if I rightly +remember, from soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">Pg 59</a></span> after mid-day until dark. The ranks around him had +been terribly thinned by the enemy's shot, so that his position at sunset +was nearly isolated; and while in the act of reloading his musket, he was +shot down by a cannon-ball. The impression produced upon his mind was, that +the ball had passed from left to right, through his legs below the knees, +separating them from his thighs, as he suddenly sank down, shortened, as he +believed, to the extent of about a foot in measurement, the trunk of the +body falling backwards on the ground, and the senses being completely +paralysed by the shock. In this posture he lay motionless during the +remainder of the night, not daring to move a muscle for fear of fatal +consequences. He experienced no severe suffering; but this immunity from +pain he attributed to the stunning effect produced upon the brain and +nervous system. "My wounded companions," said he, "lay groaning in agony on +every side, but I uttered not a word, nor ventured to move, lest the torn +vessels should be roused into action, and produce fatal hæmorrhage, for I +had been made acquainted with the fact that the blood-vessels, wounded in +this way, did not usually bleed profusely until reaction took place. At +early dawn, on the following morning, I was aroused from a troubled slumber +by one of the medical staff, who came round to succour the wounded. 'What's +the matter with you my good fellow?' said he. 'Ah! touch me softly, I +beseech you,' I replied, 'a cannon-ball has carried off my legs.' He +proceeded at once to examine my legs and thighs, and giving me a good +shake, with a cry of joy he exclaimed 'Get up at once, there is nothing the +matter with you.' Whereupon I sprung up in utter astonishment, and stood +firmly on the legs which I believed had been lost to me for ever. I felt +more thankful than I had ever done in the whole course of my life before. I +had not a wound about me. I had indeed been shot down by an immense +cannon-ball, but instead of passing through my legs, as I firmly believed +it to have done, the ball had passed under my feet, and had ploughed away a +cavity in the earth beneath, at least a foot in depth, into which my feet +suddenly sank, giving me the idea that I had been thus shattered by the +separation of my legs. Such is the power of imagination."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="JOHNSON" id="JOHNSON">JOHNSON.</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">Pg 60</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Johnson and Millar.</span>—When Dr. Johnson had completed his Dictionary, which +had quite exhausted the patience of Mr. Andrew Millar, his bookseller, the +latter acknowledged the receipt of the last sheet in the following +note:—"Andrew Millar sends his compliments to Mr. Samuel Johnson, with the +money for the last sheet of the copy of the Dictionary, and thanks God he +has done with him." To this rude note the doctor returned the following +smart answer:—"Samuel Johnson returns his compliments to Mr. Andrew +Millar, and is very glad to find (as he does by his note) that Andrew +Millar has the grace to thank God for anything."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Johnson and Wilkes.</span>—In his English Grammar, prefixed to his Dictionary, +Johnson had written—"<i>He</i> seldom, perhaps never, begins any but the first +syllable." Wilkes published some remarks upon this dictum, commencing: "The +author of this observation must be a man of quick appre-<i>he</i>nsion, and of a +most compre-<i>he</i>nsive genius."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Johnson and Lord Elibank.</span>—"Lord Elibank," says Sir W. Scott, "made a happy +retort on Dr. Johnson's definition of oats, as the food of horses in +England, and men in Scotland." "Yes," said he, "and where else will you see +<i>such horses</i>, and <i>such men?</i>"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="KINGS" id="KINGS">KINGS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">James the First.</span>—Soon after that would-be <i>Solomon</i> came to the throne of +England, he went one day to hear the causes in Westminster Hall, in order +to show his learning and wisdom, of which he had no mean opinion. +Accordingly, being seated on the bench, a cause came on, which the counsel, +learned in the law, set forth to such advantage on the part of the +plaintiff, that the Royal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">Pg 61</a></span> Judge thought he saw the justice of it so +clearly, that he frequently cried out, "The gude man is i' the richt! the +gude man is i' the richt! He mun hae it! he mun hae it!" And when the +counsel had concluded, he took it as a high affront that the judges of the +court should presume to remonstrate to him, that it was the rule to hear +the other side before they gave judgment. Curiosity to know what could be +said in so clear a case, rather than any respect to their rules, made him +defer his decision; but the defendant's counsel had scarcely begun to open +his cause, when his majesty appeared greatly discomposed, and was so +puzzled as they proceeded, that he had no patience to hear them out, but +starting up in a passion, cried, "I'll hear nae mair! I'll hear nae mair! +ye are a' knaves aleeke! Ye gi' each other the lee (lie), and neither's i' +the richt!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Frederick the Great.</span>—Frederick the Great rang the bell one day, and nobody +answered. He opened the door, and found the page sleeping on a sofa. About +to wake him, he perceived the end of a billet out of his pocket, and had +the curiosity to know the contents: Frederick carefully drew it out, and +read it; it was a letter from the mother of the young man, who thanked him +for having sent her part of his wages, to assist her in her distress; and +it concluded by beseeching God to bless him for his filial goodness. The +king returned softly to his room, took a roller of ducats, and slid them, +with the letter, into the page's pocket; and then returning to his +apartment, rung so violently, that the page came running breathlessly to +know what had happened. "You have slept well," said the king. The page made +an apology, and, in his embarrassment, he happened to put his hand into his +pocket, and felt with astonishment the roller. He drew it out, turned pale, +and looking at the king, burst into tears, without being able to speak a +word. "What is the matter?" said the king, "what ails you?" "Ah, sire," +answered the youth, throwing himself at his feet, "somebody would wish to +ruin me; I know not how I came by this money in my pocket." "My friend," +said Frederick, "God often sends us good in our sleep. Send this to your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">Pg 62</a></span> +mother. Salute her in my name, and assure her I shall take care of her and +of you."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Frederick</span>, conqueror as he was, sustained a severe defeat at Coslin in the +war of 1755. Some time after, at a review, he jocosely asked a soldier, who +had got a deep cut in his cheek, "Friend, at what alehouse did you get that +scratch?" "I got it," said the soldier, "at Coslin, <i>where your majesty +paid the reckoning</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Frederick</span> was very fond of disputation; but as he generally terminated the +discussion by collaring his antagonist and kicking his shins, few of his +guests were disposed to enter the arena against him. One day, when he was +particularly disposed for an argument, he asked one of his suite why he did +not venture to give his opinion on a particular question. "It is +impossible, your majesty," was the reply, "to express an opinion before a +sovereign who has such very strong convictions, and who <i>wears such very +thick boots</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Desertion.</span>—Frederick, in surveying one evening some of the advanced posts +of his camp, discovered a soldier endeavouring to pass the sentinel. His +majesty stopped him, and insisted on knowing where he was going. "To tell +you the truth," answered the soldier, "your majesty has been so worsted in +all your attempts, that I was going to <i>desert</i>." "Were you?" answered the +monarch. "Remain here but one week longer, and if fortune does not mend in +that time, I'll desert with you too."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Louis XIV.</span>, playing at backgammon, had a doubtful throw; a dispute arose, +and all the courtiers remained silent. The Count de Grammont came in at +that instant. "Decide the matter," said the king to him. "Sire," said the +count, "your Majesty is in the wrong."—"How so," replied the king; "can +you decide without knowing the question?"—"Yes," said the count, "because, +had the matter been doubtful, all these gentlemen present would have given +it for your majesty."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">Pg 63</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Louis</span> was told that Lord Stair was the best bred man in Europe. "I shall +soon put that to the test," said the king, and asking Lord Stair to take an +airing with him, as soon as the door of the coach was opened he bade him +pass and go in, the other bowed and obeyed. The king said, "The world was +right in the character it gave of Lord Stair—another person would have +troubled me with ceremony."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">While</span> the Eddystone light-house was erecting, a French privateer took the +men upon the rock, together with their tools, and carried them to France; +and the captain was in expectation of a reward for the achievement. While +the captives lay in prison, the transaction reached the ears of Louis XIV., +when he immediately ordered them to be released, and the captors put in +their places, declaring, that "Though he was at war with England, he was +not so with all mankind." He directed the men to be sent back to their +work, with presents—observing, "That the Eddystone light-house was so +situated as to be of equal service to all nations having occasion to +navigate the channel between England and France."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charles II.</span> was reputed a great connoisseur in naval architecture. Being +once at Chatham, to view a ship just finished on the stocks, he asked the +famous Killigrew, "If he did not think he should make an excellent +shipwright?" He replied, "That he always thought his majesty would have +done better at any trade than his own." No favourable compliment, but as +true a one, perhaps, as ever was paid.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Louis XII.</span>—Josquin, a celebrated composer, was appointed master of the +chapel to Louis XII. of France, who promised him a benefice, but contrary +to his usual custom, forgot him. Josquin, after suffering great +inconvenience from the shortness of his majesty's memory, ventured, by a +singular expedient, publicly to remind him of his promise, without giving +offence. Being commanded to compose a motet for the chapel royal, he chose +the verse of the Psalm, "Oh, think of thy servant as concerning thy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">Pg 64</a></span> word," +&c., which he set in so supplicating and exquisite a manner, that it was +universally admired, particularly by the king, who was not only charmed +with the music, but felt the force of the words so effectually, that he +soon after granted his petition, by conferring on him the promised +appointment.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">George the Second</span>, when returning from his German dominions, on the way +between the Brill and Helvoetsluys, was obliged to stay at an obscure +public house on the road, while some of his servants went forward to obtain +another carriage, that in which he had travelled having broken down. The +king ordered refreshment, but all he could get was a pot of coffee for +himself and Lord Delawar, and two bottles of gin made into punch for his +footmen; however, when the bill was called for, the conscientious Dutchman, +knowing his customer, presented it as follows: "To refreshments for His +Sacred Majesty, King George the Second, and his household, £91." Lord +Delawar was so provoked at this imposition, that the king overheard his +altercation with the landlord, and demanded the cause of it. His lordship +immediately told him; when his majesty good humouredly replied, "My lord, +the fellow is a great knave, but pay him. Kings seldom pass this way."</p> + +<p>A similar anecdote is related of another monarch, who, passing through a +town in Holland, was charged thirty dollars for two eggs. On this, he said, +that "Eggs were surely scarce in that town." "No, your majesty," replied +the landlord, "but kings are."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charles V. of France.</span>—The last words of this patriotic monarch are +memorable for the noble moral for kings which they contain. "I have aimed +at justice," said he to those around him; "but what king can be certain +that he has always followed it? Perhaps I have done much evil of which I am +ignorant. Frenchmen! who now hear me, I address myself in the presence of +the Supreme Being to you. <i>I find that kings are happy but in this—that +they have the power of doing good</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">George III. on Punctuality.</span>—The celebrated mathe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">Pg 65</a></span>matical instrument maker, +Mr. Ramsden, was frequently deficient in punctuality, and would delay for +months, nay, for years, the delivery of instruments bespoken from him. His +majesty, who had more than once experienced this dilatory disposition, once +ordered an instrument, which he made Ramsden positively promise to deliver +on a certain day. The day, however, came, but not the instrument. At length +Ramsden sent word to the king that it was finished; on which a message was +sent him, desiring that he would bring it himself to the palace. He, +however, answered, that he would not come, unless his majesty would promise +not to be angry with him. "Well, well," said the king, "let him come: as he +confesses his fault, it would be hard to punish him for it." On this +assurance he went to the palace, where he was graciously received; the +king, after expressing his entire satisfaction with the instrument, only +adding, with a good-natured smile, "You have been uncommonly punctual this +time, Mr. Ramsden, having brought the instrument on the very day of the +month you promised it; you have only made a small mistake in the date of +the year." It was, in fact, exactly a year after the stipulated time.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Doing Homage.</span>—Mr. Carbonel, the wine merchant who served George III., was +a great favourite with the king, and used to be admitted to the royal +hunts. Returning from the chase one day, his majesty entered affably into +conversation with him, and rode with him side by side a considerable way. +Lord Walsingham was in attendance; and watching an opportunity, took Mr. +Carbonel aside, and whispered something to him. "What's that, what's that +Walsingham has been saying to you?" inquired the good-humoured monarch. "I +find, sire, I have been unintentionally guilty of disrespect; my lord +informed me, that, I ought to have taken off my hat whenever I addressed +your majesty; but your majesty will please to observe, that whenever I +hunt, my hat is fastened to my wig, and my wig is fastened to my head, and +I am on the back of a very high-spirited horse; so that if any thing <i>goes +off</i>, we <i>all go off together!</i>" The king accepted, and laughed heartily +at, the whimsical apology.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">Pg 66</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Horse Dealer.</span>—The king having purchased a horse, the dealer put into +his hands a large sheet of paper, completely written over. "What's this?" +said his majesty. "The pedigree of the horse, sire, which you have just +bought," was the answer. "Take it back, take it back," said the king, +laughing; "it will do very well for the next horse you sell."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> following affords a pleasing trait in the character of George the +Third, as well as an instance of that feeling which ought to subsist +between masters of all ranks and circumstances and their domestics:—</p> + +<p><i>Inscription in the Cloisters of St. George's Chapel, Windsor.</i></p> + +<p class="center">King George III.<br /> +caused to be interred near this place the body of<br /> +MARY GASKOIN,<br /> +Servant to the late Princess Amelia; and this tablet to be<br /> +erected in testimony of his grateful sense of the faithful<br /> +services and attachment of an amiable young woman to<br /> +his beloved daughter, whom she survived only three<br /> +months. She died the 19th February, 1811, aged 31<br /> +years. +</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A very</span> bold caricature was one day shown to his majesty, in which Warren +Hastings was represented wheeling the king and the lord chancellor in a +wheelbarrow for sale, and crying, "What a man buys, he may sell." The +inference intended was, that his majesty and Lord Thurlow had used improper +influence in favour of Hastings. The king smiled at the caricature, and +observed, "Well, this is something new; I have been in all sorts of +carriages, but was never put into a wheel-barrow before."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="LAWS_AND_LAWYERS" id="LAWS_AND_LAWYERS">LAWS AND LAWYERS.</a></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Bold Trick.</span>—The following anecdote serves to exemplify how necessary it +is upon any important occasion to scrutinise the accuracy of a statement +before it is taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">Pg 67</a></span> upon trust. A fellow was tried at the Old Bailey for +highway robbery, and the prosecutor swore positively that he had seen his +face distinctly, for it was a bright moonlight night. The counsel for the +prisoner cross-questioned the man so as to make him repeat that assertion, +and insist upon it. He then affirmed that this was a most important +circumstance, and a most fortunate one for the prisoner at the bar: because +the night on which the alleged robbery was said to have been committed was +one in which there had been no moon: it was then during the dark quarter! +In proof of this he handed an almanack to the bench,—and the prisoner was +acquitted accordingly. The prosecutor, however, had stated every thing +truly; and it was known afterwards that the almanack with which the counsel +came provided, had actually been prepared and printed for the occasion!</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Horse Trials.</span>—In the art of cross-examining a witness, Curran was +pre-eminent. A clever repartee is recorded of him in a horse cause. He had +asked the jockey's servant his master's age, and the man had retorted, with +ready gibe, "I never put my hand into his mouth to try!" The laugh was +against the lawyer till he made the bitter reply,—"You did perfectly +right, friend; for your master is said to be a great bite."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Erskine</span> displayed similar readiness in a case of breach of warranty. The +horse taken on trial had become dead lame, but the witness to prove it said +he had a cataract in his eye. "A singular proof of lameness," suggested the +Court. "It is cause and effect," remarked Erskine; "for what is a cataract +but a fall?"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Erskine.</span>—On Mr. Erskine's receiving his appointment to succeed Mr. Dundas, +as justiciary in Scotland, he exclaimed that he must go and order his silk +robe. "Never mind," said Mr. Dundas, "for the short time you will want it +you had better borrow mine!"—"No!" replied Erskine, "how short a time +soever I may need it, heaven forbid that I commence my career by adopting +the <i>abandoned habits</i> of my predecessor!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">Pg 68</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Erskine</span> is said to have once forgotten for which party, in a particular +cause, he had been retained; and, to the amazement of the agent who had +retained him, and the horror of the poor client behind, he made a most +eloquent speech in direct opposition to the interests he had been hired to +defend. Such was the zeal of his eloquence, that no whispered remonstrance +from the rear, no tugging at his elbow could stop him. But just as he was +about to sit down, the trembling attorney put a slip of paper into his +hands. "You have pleaded for the wrong party!" whereupon, with an air of +infinite composure, he resumed the thread of his oration, saying, "Such, my +lord, is the statement you will probably hear from my brother, on the +opposite side of this cause. I shall now beg leave, in a very few words, to +show your lordship how utterly untenable are the principles, and how +distorted are the facts, upon which this very specious statement has +proceeded." He then went once more over the same ground, and did not take +his seat till he had most energetically refuted himself, and destroyed the +effect of his former pleading. He gained the cause.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A similar</span> circumstance happened in the Rolls Court, in 1788. Mr. A., an +eminent counsel, received a brief in court a short time before the cause +was called on, for the purpose of opposing the prayer of a petition. Mr. +A., conceiving himself to be the petitioner, spoke very ably in support of +the petition, and was followed by a counsel on the same side. The Master of +the Rolls then inquired who opposed the petition? Mr. A. having by this +time discovered his mistake, rose in much confusion, and said, that he felt +really much ashamed for a blunder into which he had fallen, for that, +instead of supporting the petition, it was his business to have opposed it. +The Master of the Rolls, with great good humour, desired him to proceed now +on the other side, observing, that he knew no counsel who could answer his +arguments half so well as himself.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fools.</span>—A lawyer of Strasburgh being in a dying state<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">Pg 69</a></span> sent for a brother +lawyer to make his will, by which he bequeathed nearly the whole of his +estate to the Hospital for Idiots. The other expressed his surprise at this +bequest. "Why not bestow it upon them," said the dying man; "you know I got +the most of my money by fools, and therefore to fools it ought to return."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Curran.</span>—A farmer, attending a fair with a hundred pounds in his pocket, +took the precaution of depositing it in the hands of the landlord of the +public-house at which he stopped. Having occasion for it shortly +afterwards, he repaired to mine host for the amount, but the landlord, too +deep for the countryman, wondered what hundred was meant, and was quite +sure no such sum had ever been lodged in his hands. After many ineffectual +appeals to the recollection, and finally to the honour of Bardolph, the +farmer applied to Curran for advice. "Have patience, my friend," said +Curran; "speak to the landlord civilly, and tell him you are convinced you +must have left your money with some other person. Take a friend with you, +and lodge with him another hundred in the presence of your friend, and then +come to me." We may imagine the vociferations of the honest rustic at such +advice; however, moved by the rhetoric of the worthy counsel, he followed +it, and returned to his legal friend. "And now, sir, I don't see as I'm to +be better off for this, if I get my second hundred again—but how is that +to be done?" "Go and ask him for it when he is alone," said the counsel. +"Aye, sir; but asking won't do I'm afraid, and not without my witness, at +any rate." "Never mind, take my advice," said the counsel; "do as I bid +you, and return to me." The farmer returned with the hundred, glad at any +rate to find that safe again his possession. "Now I suppose I must be +content, though I don't see as I'm much better off." "Well, then," said the +counsel, "now take your friend with you, and ask the landlord for the +hundred pounds your friend saw you leave with him." We need not add, that +the wily landlord found that he had been taken off his guard, while our +honest friend returned to thank his counsel exultingly, with both of his +hundreds in his pocket.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">Pg 70</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Curran</span> was once engaged in a legal argument; behind him stood his +colleague, a gentleman whose person was remarkably tall and slender, and +who had originally intended to take orders. The judge observing that the +case under discussion involved a question of ecclesiastical law; "Then," +said Curran, "I can refer your lordship to a <i>high</i> authority behind me, +who was once intended for the church, though in my opinion he was fitter +for the steeple."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">There</span> is a celebrated reply of Mr. Curran to a remark of Lord Clare, who +curtly exclaimed at one of his legal positions, "O! if that be law, Mr. +Curran, I may burn my law books!" "Better <i>read</i> them, my lord," was the +sarcastic and appropriate rejoinder.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Good Example.</span>—Chamillart, comptroller-general of the finances in the +reign of Louis XIV., had been a celebrated pleader. He once lost a cause in +which he was concerned, through his excessive fondness for billiards. His +client called on him the day after in extreme affliction, and told him +that, if he had made use of a document which had been put into his hands, +but which he had neglected to examine, a verdict must have been given in +his favour. Chamillart read it, and found it of decisive importance to his +cause. "You sued the defendant," said he, "for 20,000 livres. You have +failed by my inadvertence. It is my duty to do you justice. Call on me in +two days." In the meantime Chamillart procured the money, and paid it to +his client, on no other condition than that he should keep the transaction +secret.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Legal Point.</span>—A few years ago it happened that a cargo of ice was imported +into this country from Norway. Not having such an article in the Custom +house schedules, application was made to the Treasury and to the Board of +Trade; and, after some little delay, it was decided that the ice should be +entered as "<i>dry</i> goods;" but the whole cargo had melted before the doubt +was cleared up!</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lord Brougham</span> tells the following story. It is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">Pg 71</a></span> curious instance of the +elucidation of facts in court.—During the assizes, in a case of assault +and battery, where a stone had been thrown by the defendant, the following +clear and conclusive evidence was drawn out of a Yorkshireman.—"Did you +see the defendant throw the stone?" "I saw a stone, and I'ze pretty sure +the defendant throwed it." "Was it a large stone?" "I should say it wur a +largeish stone." "What was its size?" "I should say a sizeable stone." +"Can't you answer definitely how big it was?" "I should say it wur a stone +of some bigness." "Can't you give the jury some idea of the stone?" "Why, +as near as I recollect, it wur something of a stone." "Can't you compare it +to some other object?" "Why, if I wur to compare it, so as to give some +notion of the stone, I should say it wur as large as a lump of chalk!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Questioning.</span>—Sir John Fielding gave a curious instance in the case of an +Irish fellow who was brought before him when sitting as a magistrate at +Bow-street. He was desired to give some account of himself, and where he +came from. Wishing to pass for an Englishman, he said he came from Chester. +This he pronounced with a very rich brogue, which caught the ears of Sir +John. "Why, were you ever in Chester?" says he. "To be sure I was," said +Pat, "<i>wasn't I born there?</i>" "How dare you," said Sir John Fielding, "with +that brogue, which shows that you are an Irishman, pretend to have been +born in Chester?" "I didn't say I was born there, sure; I only asked your +honour whether I was or not."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Thelwall</span>, when on his trial at the Old Bailey for high treason, during the +evidence for the prosecution, wrote the following note, and sent it to his +counsel, Mr. Erskine: "I am determined to plead my cause myself." Mr. +Erskine wrote under it: "If you do, you'll be hang'd:" to which Thelwall +immediately returned this reply: "I'll be hang'd, then, if I do."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Peter the Great</span>, being at Westminster Hall in term time, and seeing +multitudes of people swarming about the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">Pg 72</a></span> courts of law, is reported to have +asked some about him, what all those busy people were, and what they were +about? and being answered, "They are lawyers." "Lawyers!" returned he, with +great vivacity, "why I have but four in my whole kingdom, and I design to +hang two of them as soon as I get home."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Sheepish Lamb.</span>—Counsellor Lamb (an old man, at the time the late Lord +Erskine was in the height of his reputation) was a man of timid manners and +nervous disposition, and usually prefaced his pleadings with an apology to +that effect; and on one occasion, when opposed to Erskine, he happened to +remark that "he felt himself growing more and more timid as he grew older." +"No wonder," replied the witty but relentless barrister, "every one knows +the older a <i>lamb</i> grows the more <i>sheepish</i> he becomes."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A learned</span> serjeant, since a judge, being once asked what he would do if a +man owed him £10, and refused to pay him. "Rather than bring an action, +with its costs and uncertainty," said he, "I would send him a receipt in +full of all demands." "Aye," said he, recollecting himself, "and I would +moreover send him five pounds to cover possible costs."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir William Jones and Thomas Day.</span>—One day, upon removing some books at the +chambers of the former, a large spider dropped upon the floor, upon which +Sir William, with some warmth, said, "Kill that spider, Day; kill that +spider!" "No," said Mr. Day, with coolness, "I will not kill that spider, +Jones: I do not know that I have a right to kill that spider. Suppose, when +you are going in your coach to Westminster Hall, a superior Being, who +perhaps may have as much power over you as you have over this insect, +should say to his companion, 'Kill that lawyer, kill that lawyer!' how +should you like that, Jones? and I am sure, to most people, a lawyer is a +more noxious animal than a spider."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Fletcher Norton</span> was noted for his want of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">Pg 73</a></span> courtesy. When pleading +before Lord Mansfield, on some question of manorial right, he chanced +unfortunately to say, "My lord, I can illustrate the point in an instant in +my own person: I myself have two little manors." The judge immediately +interposed, with one of his blandest smiles, "We all know that, Sir +Fletcher."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Stocks.</span>—Lord Camden once presided at a trial in which a charge was +brought against a magistrate for false imprisonment, and for putting the +plaintiff in the stocks. The counsel for the magistrate, in his reply, +said, the charges were trifling, particularly that of putting in the +stocks, which everybody knew was no punishment at all. The chief justice +rose, and leaning over the bench, said, in a half whisper, "Brother, were +you ever in the stocks?" "In the stocks, my lord! no, never." "Then I +have," said his lordship, "and I assure you, brother, it is no such trifle +as you represent." His lordship's knowledge of the stocks arose from the +following circumstance. When he was on a visit to Lord Dacre, his +brother-in-law, at Alveley in Essex, he walked out one day with a gentleman +remarkable for his absence of mind. When they had reached a hill, at some +distance from the house, his lordship sat down on the parish stocks, which +stood by the road side; and after some time, asked his companion to open +them, as he wished to know what kind of punishment it was; this being done, +the absent gentleman took a book from his pocket, and sauntered about, +until he forgot both the judge and his situation, and returned to Lord +Dacre's house. When the judge was tired of the experiment he had so rashly +made, he found himself unable to open the stocks, and asked a countryman +who passed by to assist him. "No, no, old gentleman," replied Hodge, "you +was not set there for nothing, I'll be bound!" Lord C. protested his +innocence, but in vain; the countryman walked on, and left his lordship to +meditate for some time longer in his foolish situation, until some of Lord +Dacre's servants, chancing to pass that way, released him.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Hanging Judge.</span>—Counsellor Grady, in a late trial in Ireland, said, he +recollected to have heard of a relentless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">Pg 74</a></span> judge; he was known by the name +of the Hanging Judge, and was never seen to shed a tear but once, and that +was during the representation of <i>The Beggar's Opera</i>, when Macheath got a +<i>reprieve!</i></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was the same judge, we believe, between whom and Mr. Curran the +following pass of wit once took place at table. "Pray, Mr. Curran," said +the judge, "is that hung beef beside you? If it is, I will try it." "If +<i>you</i> try it, my lord," replied Mr. Curran, "it is sure to be hung."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Keep to the Point.</span>—Lord Tenterden contracted such an inveterate habit of +keeping himself and everybody else to the precise matter in hand, that +once, during a circuit dinner, having asked a country magistrate if he +would take venison, and receiving what he deemed an evasive reply, "Thank +you, my lord, I am going to take boiled chicken," his lordship sharply +retorted, "That, sir, is no answer to my question; I ask you again if you +will take venison, and I will trouble you to say yes or no, without further +prevarication."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Longs and Shorts.</span>—There were two barristers at the Irish bar who formed a +singular contrast in their statures. Ninian Mahaffy, Esq., was as much +above the middle size as Mr. Collis was below it. When Lord Redesdale was +Lord Chancellor of Ireland, these two gentlemen chanced to be retained in +the same cause, a short time after his lordship's elevation, and before he +was personally acquainted with the Irish bar. Mr. Collis was opening the +motion, when the lord chancellor observed, "Mr. Collis, when a barrister +addresses the court, he must stand." "I am standing on the bench, my lord," +said Collis. "I beg a thousand pardons," said his lordship, somewhat +confused. "Sit down, Mr. Mahaffy." "I am sitting, my lord," was the reply +to the confounded chancellor.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Scotch bar had once to boast in Mr. Erskine, of Cardross, of a pleader +quite as diminutive as Mr. Collis. He had usually a stool brought to him to +stand upon when addressing the court, which gave occasion for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">Pg 75</a></span> witty +rival once to observe, that "that was one way of rising at the bar."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lord Kaimes</span> used to relate a story of a man who claimed the honour of his +acquaintance on rather singular grounds. His lordship, when one of the +justiciary judges, returning from the north circuit to Perth, happened one +night to sleep at Dunkeld. The next morning, walking towards the ferry, but +apprehending he had missed his way, he asked a man whom he met to conduct +him. The other answered, with much cordiality, "That I will do with all my +heart, my lord. Does not your lordship remember me? My name's John ——, I +have had the <i>honour</i> to be before your lordship for stealing sheep!" "Oh, +John! I remember you well; and how is your wife? She had the honour to be +before me too, for receiving them, knowing them to be stolen." "At your +lordship's service. We were very lucky; we got off for want of evidence; +and I am still going on in the butcher trade." "Then," replied his +lordship, "we may have the <i>honour</i> of meeting again."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sergeant Hill</span>, who was much celebrated as a lawyer, and eminently qualified +to find out a case in point on any disputed question, was somewhat +remarkable for absence of mind, the result of that earnestness with which +he devoted himself to his professional duties. On the very day when he was +married, he had an intricate case in his mind, and forgot his engagement, +until reminded of his waiting bride, and that the legal time of performing +the ceremony had nearly elapsed. Being once on circuit, and having occasion +to refer to a law authority, he had recourse as usual to his bag; but, to +the astonishment of the court, instead of a volume of Viner's abridgment, +he took out a specimen candlestick, the property of a Birmingham traveller, +whose bag the learned sergeant had brought into court by mistake.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the long vacation, the sergeant usually retired to his country seat +at Rowell in Northamptonshire. It happened, during one autumn, that some of +the neighbour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">Pg 76</a></span>ing sportsmen, among whom was the present Earl Spencer, being +in pursuit of a fox, Reynard, who was hard pressed, took refuge in the +court-yard of this venerable sage. At this moment the sergeant was reading +a <i>case in point</i>, which decided that in a trespass of this kind the owners +of the ground had a right to inflict the punishment of death. Mr. Hill +accordingly gave orders for punishing the fox, as an original trespasser, +which was done instantly. The hunters now arrived with the hounds in full +cry, and the foremost horseman, who anticipated the glory of possessing the +brush, was the first to behold his victim stretched lifeless on the ground, +pinioned to the earth by plebeian pitchforks. The hunters were very anxious +to discover the daring culprit who had presumed to deprive the field and +the pack of their prey; when the venerable sergeant made his appearance, +with his book in his hand, and offered to convince them that execution had +taken place according to legal authority. The sportsmen got outrageous, but +the learned sergeant was not intimidated; he knew the force of his +authorities, and gravely invited the attention of his auditory to a case +from one of the old reporters, that would have puzzled a whole bar of +modern practitioners to controvert. The effect was ludicrous; the +extraordinary appearance of the worthy sergeant, not in his bargown, but in +what these adventurous mortals called a mere bedgown; the quaintness of his +manner, the singularity of the occurrence, and the novelty of the incident, +threw them completely out.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="LIBRARIANS" id="LIBRARIANS">LIBRARIANS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Budæus</span>, a very learned man, librarian to Francis the First of France, was +one day engaged in deep study, when his servant came running to him in a +great fright, to tell him that the house was on fire. "Go," said he, with +perfect calmness, and hardly raising his eyes from his book, "and inform +your mistress, 'tis her concern, you know I never interfere in domestic +matters."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">Pg 77</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Knowledge.</span>—The famous Duval, librarian to the Emperor Francis the First, +often used to reply to questions that were put to him, "I do not know." An +ignoramus one day said to him, "But the emperor pays you for <i>knowing</i>." +"The emperor," he replied, "pays me for what I know; if he were to pay me +for what I am ignorant of, all the treasures of his empire would not be +sufficient."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Bautru</span>, a celebrated French wit, being in Spain, went to visit the famous +library of the Escurial, where he found a very ignorant librarian. The King +of Spain asked him his opinion of it. "It is an admirable one, indeed," +said he; "but your majesty should give the man who has the care of it the +administration of your finances."—"Wherefore?" asked the king. "Because," +replied Bautru, "the man never touches the treasure that is confided to +him."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="MAGNANIMITY" id="MAGNANIMITY">MAGNANIMITY</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">At</span> the siege of one of the strong towns in Flanders, during the wars of +Louis XIV., it was necessary to reconnoitre the point of attack. The danger +was great, and a hundred louis were promised to any one who would undertake +it. Several of the bravest of the soldiers appeared indifferent to the +offer, when a young man stepped forward to undertake the task; he left the +detachment, and remained absent a long time; he was thought killed. While +the officers were deploring his fate, he returned, and gained their +admiration no less by the precision than the <i>sang froid</i> of his recital. +The hundred louis were immediately presented to him. "<i>Vous vous moquez de +moi, mon général</i>," was his reply; "<i>va-t-on là pour de l'argent</i>."—[You +are jesting with me, general; one does not perform such actions for money.]</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Colonel Hawker</span>, who commanded the 14th Light Dragoons in most of the +serious engagements in the Peninsula, having formerly lost an arm in +action, was attended by an orderly man, who held a guiding rein to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">Pg 78</a></span> the +bridle of the colonel's charger; this attendant being slain by his side, +just as the enemy's cavalry had broken the line of the 14th, by a heavy +charge of superior numbers, great slaughter ensued on both sides, when a +French officer immediately opposed to Colonel Hawker, lifted up his sabre, +and was in the act of cutting him down, but observing the loss of his arm, +he instantly dropped the point on the colonel's shoulder, and, bending his +head, passed on. A truly noble adversary!</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">St. Louis.</span>—Louis IX., after his captivity among the Saracens, was, with +his queen and children, nearly shipwrecked on his return to France, some of +the planks of the vessel having started. He was pressed to go on board +another ship, and so escape the danger, but he refused, saying, "Those that +are with me, most assuredly are as fond of their lives as I can be of mine. +If I quit the ship, they will likewise quit it; and the vessel not being +large enough to receive them, they will all perish. I had rather entrust my +life, and the lives of my wife and children, in the hands of God, than be +the occasion of making so many of my brave subjects suffer."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Magnanimous Rebel.</span>—Sir Phelim O'Neil, one of the leaders in the Irish +rebellion of 1641, while in prison, previous to his trial, was frequently +solicited, by promises of a free pardon, and large rewards, to bear +testimony that the king (Charles the First) had been actively instrumental +in stirring up that rebellion. It was one of the arts of the factions of +that period to throw the odium of the massacre which followed the Irish +rebellion upon Charles; but whatever may have been the political sins of +that unhappy prince, impartial history has not ranked this among the +number. Sir Phelim declared, that he could not, in conscience, charge the +king with any thing of the kind. His trial was drawn out to the length of +several days, that he might be worked upon in that time; but he persisted +with constancy and firmness in rejecting every offer made to him by the +commissioners. Even at the place of execution, the most splendid advantages +were pressed upon him, upon the condition of falsely accusing King Charles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">Pg 79</a></span> +in that point. Men saw with admiration this unfortunate chieftain under all +the terrors of death, and the strongest temptations man could be under, +bravely attesting the king's innocence, and sealing the truth of his +testimony with his blood. When on the ladder, and ready to be thrown off, +two marshals came riding in great haste, and cried aloud, "Stop a little." +Having passed through the, crowd of spectators and guards, one of them +whispered something into the ear of Sir Phelim, who made answer in so loud +a voice, as to be heard by several hundreds of the people. "I thank the +lieutenant-general for the intended mercy; but I declare, good people, +before God and his holy angels, and all of you that hear me, that I never +had any commission from the king for what I have done, in levying, or in +prosecuting this war; and do heartily beg your prayers, all good Catholics +and Christians! that God may be merciful unto me, and forgive me my sins." +On this the guards beat off those that stood near the place of execution, +and in a few minutes Sir Phelim was no more.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Admiral Thurot.</span>—It has been said of the French naval commander Thurot, +that he was strictly honest in circumstances that made the exertion of +common honesty an act of the highest magnanimity. When this officer +appeared on the coast of Scotland, and landed in order to supply his three +vessels with provisions, he paid a liberal price for every thing he wanted, +and behaved with so much affability, that a countryman ventured to complain +to him of an officer, who had taken 50 or 60 guineas from him. The officer, +on being called on to vindicate himself against the charge, acknowledged +the fact, but said, that he had divided the money among his men. Thurot +immediately ordered the officer to give his bill for the money, which he +said should be stopped out of his pay, if they were so fortunate as to +return to France. On another occasion, one of Thurot's officers gave a bill +upon a merchant in France, for some provisions that he had purchased. +Thurot hearing of the circumstance, informed the countryman that the bill +was of no value; and reprimanding the officer severely for the cheat, +compelled him to give another on a merchant, whom he knew would pay the +money. What makes this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">Pg 80</a></span> act of integrity still more striking and +praiseworthy, is, that Thurot's men at this time were so dissatisfied, as +to be ready to break out in open mutiny.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Chevalier Bayard.</span>—The town of Bresse having revolted against the +French, was attacked, taken, and sacked, with an almost unexampled fury. +The chevalier Bayard, who was wounded at the beginning of the action, was +carried to the house of a person of quality, whom he protected from the +fury of the conquerors, by placing at the door two soldiers, whom he +indemnified with a gift of eight hundred crowns, in lieu of the plunder +they might have lost by their attendance at the door. The impatience of +Bayard to join the army without considering the state of his wound, which +was by no means well, determined him to depart. The mistress of the house +then threw herself at his feet, saying, "The rights of war make you master +of our lives and our possessions, and you have saved our honour. We hope, +however, from your accustomed generosity that you will not treat us with +severity, and that you will be pleased to content yourself with a present +more adapted to our circumstances, than to our inclinations." At the same +time, she presented him with a small box full of ducats.</p> + +<p>Bayard, smiling, asked her how many ducats the box contained. "Two thousand +five hundred, my lord," answered the lady, with much emotion; "but if these +will not satisfy you, we will employ all our means to raise more."—"No, +madam," replied the chevalier, "I do not want money: the care you have +taken of me more than repays the services I have done you. I ask nothing +but your friendship; and I conjure you to accept of mine."</p> + +<p>So singular an instance of generosity gave the lady more surprise than joy. +She again threw herself at the feet of the chevalier, and protested that +she would never rise until he had accepted of that mark of her gratitude. +"Since you will have it so," replied Bayard, "I will not refuse it; but may +I not have the honour to salute your amiable daughters?" The young ladies +soon entered, and Bayard thanked them for their kindness in enlivening him +with their company. "I should be glad," said he, "to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">Pg 81</a></span> have it in my power +to convince you of my gratitude; but we soldiers are seldom possessed of +jewels worthy the acceptance of your sex. Your amiable mother has presented +me with two thousand five hundred ducats; I make a present to each of you +of one thousand, for a part of your marriage portion. The remaining five +hundred I give to the poor sufferers of this town, and I beg you will take +on yourselves the distribution."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">One</span> of the finest actions of a soldier of which history makes mention, is +related in the history of the Marechal de Luxemburg. The marechal, then +Count de Boutteville, served in the army of Flanders in 1675, under the +command of the Prince of Condé. He perceived in a march some soldiers that +were separated from the main body, and he sent one of his aides-de-camp to +bring them back to their colours. All obeyed, except one, who continued his +road. The count, highly offended at such disobedience, threatened to strike +him with his stick. "That you may do," said the soldier, with great +coolness, "but you will repent of it." Irritated by this answer, +Boutteville struck him, and forced him to rejoin his corps. Fifteen days +after, the army besieged Furnes; and Boutteville commanded the colonel of a +regiment to find a man steady and intrepid for a coup-de-main, which he +wanted, promising a hundred pistoles as a reward. The soldier in question, +who had the character of being the bravest man in the regiment, presented +himself, and taking thirty of his comrades, of whom he had the choice, he +executed his commission, which was of the most hazardous nature, with a +courage and success beyond all praise. On his return, Boutteville, after +having praised him highly, counted out the hundred pistoles he had +promised. The soldier immediately distributed them to his comrades, saying, +that he had no occasion for money; and requested that if what he had done +merited any recompense, he might be made an officer. Then addressing +himself to the count, he asked if he recognised him? and on Boutteville +replying in the negative, "Well," said he, "I am the soldier whom you +struck on our march fifteen days ago. Was I not right when I said that you +would repent of it?" The Count de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">Pg 82</a></span> Boutteville, filled with admiration, and +affected almost to tears, embraced the soldier, created him an officer on +the spot, and soon made him one of his aides-de-camp.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="MUSICIANS" id="MUSICIANS">MUSICIANS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Handel</span> had such a remarkable irritation of nerves, that he could not bear +to hear the tuning of instruments, and therefore at a performance this was +always done before he arrived. A musical wag, who knew how to extract some +mirth from Handel's irascibility of temper, stole into the orchestra, on a +night when the Prince of Wales was to be present, and untuned all the +instruments. As soon as the prince arrived, Handel gave the signal for +beginning, <i>con spirito;</i> but such was the horrible discord, that the +enraged musician started up from his seat, and having overturned a double +bass, which stood in his way, he seized a kettle-drum, which he threw with +such violence at the leader of the band, that he lost his full-bottomed wig +in the effort. Without waiting to replace it, he advanced bare-headed to +the front of the orchestra, breathing vengeance, but so much choked with +passion, that utterance was denied him. In this ridiculous attitude he +stood staring and stamping for some moments, amidst a convulsion of +laughter; nor could he be prevailed upon to resume his seat, until the +prince went in person, and with much difficulty appeased his wrath.</p> + +<p>Handel being only a musician, was obliged to employ some person to write +his operas and oratorios, which accounts for their being so very defective +as poetical compositions. One of those versifiers employed by him, once +ventured to suggest, in the most respectful manner, that the music he had +composed to some lines of his, was quite contrary to the sense of the +passage. Instead of taking this friendly hint as he ought to have done, +from one who (although not a Pindar) was at least a better judge of poetry +than himself, he looked upon the advice as injurious to his talents, and +cried out, with all the violence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">Pg 83</a></span> affronted pride, "What! you teach me +music? The music is good music: confound your words! Here," said he, +thrumming his harpsichord, "are my ideas; go and make words to them."</p> + +<p>Handel became afterwards the proprietor of the Opera House, London; and +presided at the harpsichord in the orchestra (piano-fortes not being then +known). His embellishments were so masterly, that the attention of the +audience was frequently diverted from the singing to the accompaniment, to +the frequent mortification of the vocal professors. A pompous Italian +singer was, on a certain occasion, so chagrined at the marked attention +paid to the harpsichord, in preference to his own singing, that he swore, +that if ever Handel played him a similar trick, he would jump down upon his +instrument, and put a stop to the interruption. Handel, who had a +considerable turn for humour, replied: "Oh! oh! you vill jump, vill you? +very vell, sare; be so kind, and tell me de night ven you vill jump, and I +vill advertishe it in de bills; and I shall get grate dale more money by +your jumping, than I shall get by your singing."</p> + +<p>Although he lived much with the great, Handel was no flatterer. He once +told a member of the royal family, who asked him how he liked his playing +on the violoncello? "Vy, sir, your highness <i>plays like a prince</i>." When +the same prince had prevailed on him to hear a minuet of his own +composition, which he played himself on the violoncello, Handel heard him +out very quietly; but when the prince told him, that he would call in his +band to play it to him, that he might hear the full effect of his +composition, Handel could contain himself no longer, and ran out of the +room, crying, "Worsher and worsher, upon mine honour."</p> + +<p>One Sunday, having attended divine worship at a country church, Handel +asked the organist to permit him to play the people out; to which, with a +politeness characteristic of the profession, the organist consented. Handel +accordingly sat down to the organ, and began to play in such a masterly +manner, as instantly to attract the attention of the whole congregation, +who, instead of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">Pg 84</a></span> vacating their seats as usual, remained for a considerable +space of time, fixed in silent admiration. The organist began to be +impatient (perhaps his wife was waiting dinner); and at length addressing +the performer, told him that he was convinced that <i>he</i> could not play the +people out, and advised him to relinquish the attempt; which being done, +they were played out in the usual manner.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">In</span> 1741, Handel, who was then proceeding to Ireland, was detained for some +days at Chester, in consequence of the weather. During this time he applied +to Mr. Baker, the organist, to know whether there were any choir men in the +cathedral who could sing <i>at sight</i>, as he wished to prove some books that +had been hastily transcribed, by trying the choruses. Mr. Baker mentioned +some of the best singers in Chester, and among the rest, a printer of the +name of Janson, who had a good bass voice, and was one of the best +musicians in the choir. A time was fixed for this private rehearsal at the +Golden Falcon, where Handel had taken up his residence; when, on trial of a +chorus in the Messiah, poor Janson, after repeated attempts, failed +completely, Handel got enraged, and after abusing him in five or six +different languages, exclaimed in broken English, "You schauntrel, tit not +you dell me dat you could sing at soite?" "Yes sir," said the printer, "so +I can, but not at <i>first sight</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mozart</span>, walking in the suburbs of Vienna, was accosted by a mendicant of a +very prepossessing appearance and manner, who told his tale of woe with +such effect, as to interest the musician strongly in his favour; but the +state of his purse not corresponding with the impulse of his humanity, he +desired the applicant to follow him to a coffee-house. Here Mozart, drawing +some paper from his pocket, in a few minutes composed a minuet, which with +a letter he gave to the distressed man, desiring him to take it to his +publisher. A composition from Mozart was a bill payable at sight; and to +his great surprise the now happy mendicant was immediately presented with +five double ducats.</p> + + +<p>When <span class="smcap">Haydn</span> was in England, one of the princes com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">Pg 85</a></span>missioned Sir Joshua +Reynolds to take his portrait. Haydn went to the painter's house, and sat +to him, but soon grew tired. Sir Joshua, careful of his reputation, would +not paint a man of acknowledged genius, with a stupid countenance; and +deferred the sitting till another day. The same weariness and want of +expression occurring at the next attempt, Reynolds went and communicated +the circumstance to his royal highness, who contrived the following +stratagem. He sent to the painter's house a German girl, in the service of +the queen. Haydn took his seat for the third time, and as soon as the +conversation began to flag, a curtain rose, and the fair German addressed +him in his native language, with a most elegant compliment. Haydn, +delighted, overwhelmed the enchantress with questions; his countenance +recovered its animation, and Sir Joshua rapidly seized its traits.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Haydn</span> could be comic as well as serious; and he has left a remarkable +instance of the former, in the well known symphony, during which all the +instruments disappear, one after the other, so that, at the conclusion, the +first violin is left playing by himself. The origin of this singular piece +is thus accounted for. It is said that Haydn, perceiving his innovations +were ill received by the performers of Prince Esterhazy, determined to play +a joke upon them. He caused his symphony to be performed, without a +previous rehearsal, before his highness, who was in the secret. The +embarrassment of the performers, who all thought they had made a mistake, +and especially the confusion of the first violin, when, at the end, he +found he was playing alone, diverted the court of Eisenstadt. Others +assert, that the prince having determined to dismiss all his band, except +Haydn, the latter imagined this ingenious way of representing the general +departure, and the dejection of spirits consequently upon it. Each +performer left the concert room as soon as his part was finished.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="PARLIAMENT" id="PARLIAMENT">PARLIAMENT.</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">Pg 86</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Hume.</span>—At a parliamentary dinner, Mr. Plunkett was asked if Mr. Hume did +not annoy him by his broad speeches. "No," replied he, "it is the <i>length</i> +of the speeches, not their <i>breadth</i>, that we complain of in the House."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Henry Lord Falkland</span> having been brought into the House of Commons at a very +early age, a grave senator objected to his youth, remarked that "he did not +look as if he had sown his wild oats." His lordship replied with great +quickness, "Then I am come to the fittest place, where there are so many +old geese to gobble them up."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Duke of Newcastle, who was at the head of the Treasury, frequently +differed with his colleague in office, Mr. Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, +though the latter, by his firmness, usually prevailed. A curious scene +occurred at one of their interviews. It had been proposed to send Admiral +Hawke to sea, in pursuit of M. Conflans. The season was unfavourable, and +almost dangerous for a fleet to sail, being the end of the month of +November, and very stormy. Mr. Pitt was at that time confined to his bed by +gout, and was obliged to receive visitors in his chamber, in which he could +not bear to have a fire. The Duke of Newcastle waited upon him one very raw +day, to discuss the affair of the fleet, but scarcely had he entered the +chamber, when shivering with cold, he said, "What, have you no fire?" "No," +replied Mr. Pitt, "I can never bear a fire when I have the gout." The duke +sat down by the side of the invalid, wrapt up in his cloak, and began to +enter upon the subject of his visit. There was a second bed in the room, +and the duke, unable longer to endure the cold, said, "With your leave, +I'll warm myself in this other bed;" and without taking off his cloak, he +actually got into the bed, and resumed the debate. The duke began to argue +against exposing the fleet to hazard in such weather, and Mr. Pitt was as +determined it should put to sea. "The fleet must absolutely sail," said Mr. +Pitt, accompanying his words with the most expressive gesture.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">Pg 87</a></span> "It is +impossible," said the duke, with equal animation, "it will certainly be +lost." Sir Charles Frederick, of the ordnance department, arrived just at +this time, and finding them both in this laughable posture, had the +greatest difficulty to preserve his gravity, at seeing two ministers of +state deliberating on the affairs of the country in so ludicrous a +situation.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">"They're all Out."</span>—At the time when the unfortunate ministry, known as +"All the Talents," was ousted in 1807, there stood upon the Earthen Mound +in Edinburgh many caravans of wild beasts belonging to the famous Mr. +Wombwell, around which there clustered a large crowd of idle folks +listening to the dulcet strains of his most harmonious brass band. The news +of the Tory victory was first made known in the parliament house, and, as +can well be believed, the excitement that ensued was intense. Under its +influence that eager and eccentric judge, Lord Hermand, making for his +home, espied a friend among the Wombwell crowd, and shouted aloud in his +glee across the street, "They're out! they're out! they're all out!" In +half a second there was the wildest distribution of the mob—down to +Prince's-street, up the Castle-hill, into the gardens, and up the vennels. +The people picturing the horrors of a tiger-chase did not stop to hear +more, and Hermand found himself, to his amazement, monarch of all he +surveyed, and sole auditor of the last terrified shriek of the band.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lord Lyndhurst</span>, it is said, tells this story of his surrender of the great +seal in 1846. "When I went to the palace," says his lordship, "I alighted +at the grand staircase; I was received by the sticks gold and silver, and +other officers of the household, who called in sonorous tones from landing +to landing, and apartment to apartment, 'Room for the Lord High Chancellor +of England.' I entered the presence chamber; I gave the seals to her +Majesty; I had the honour of kissing her hand; I left the apartment by +another door and found myself on a back staircase, down which I descended +without any one taking any notice of me, until, as I was looking for my +carriage at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">Pg 88</a></span> the outer door, a lackey bustled up, and with a patronising +air, said, 'Lord Lyndhurst, can I do anything for you?'"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Slave Trade.</span>—In one of the last discussions on the slave trade, Sir +Charles Pole said, "while he deprecated the motion (for the abolition), he +rejoiced that it had been brought forward thus early, because it showed the +cloven foot which had been attempted to be concealed." To this remark Mr. +Sheridan very spiritedly replied, "An honourable baronet," said he, "has +talked of a cloven foot; I plead guilty to that cloven foot; but this I +will say, that the man who expresses pleasure at the hope of seeing so +large a portion of the human race freed from the shackles of tyranny rather +displays the pinions of an angel than the cloven foot of a demon."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="PATIENCE" id="PATIENCE">PATIENCE</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Father Bernard.</span>—His patience was such as no circumstances, however +offensive, could subdue. One day he presented a petition in favour of an +unfortunate person, to a nobleman in place; the latter being of a hasty +temper, flew into a violent passion, said many injurious things of the +person for whom the priest interested himself. Father Bernard, however, +still persisted in his request; and the nobleman was at last so irritated, +that he gave him a box on the ear. Bernard immediately fell at his feet, +and presenting the other, said, "Give me a blow on this also, my lord, and +grant me my petition." The nobleman was so affected by this humility, that +he granted his request.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Philip</span>, the second King of Spain, had once spent several hours of the night +in writing a long letter to the Pope, and having finished it, gave it to +his secretary to fold it up and seal it. The secretary was half asleep, and +instead of shaking the sand-bottle over it in order to dry it, he emptied +that which contained the ink by mistake, so that all the ink ran out upon +the letter and completely spoiled it; perceiving the accident, he was +ready<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">Pg 89</a></span> to drop with confusion, upon which the King quietly said: "Well, +give me another sheet of paper;" and then began to write the letter over +again with great tranquillity.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="POETS" id="POETS">POETS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An</span> Italian poet presented some verses to the Pope, who had not gone far +before he met with a line too short in quantity, which he remarked upon. +The poet submissively entreated his holiness to read on, and he would +probably meet with a line that was a syllable too long, so that the account +would soon be balanced!</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A certain</span> Italian having written a book on the Art of making gold, +dedicated it to Pope Leo X., in hopes of a good reward. His holiness +finding the man constantly followed him, at length gave him a large empty +purse, saying, "Sir, since you know how to make gold, you can have no need +of anything but a purse to put it in."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="POLITENESS" id="POLITENESS">POLITENESS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Polite Mayor.</span>—At the time when Queen Elizabeth was making one of her +progresses through the kingdom, a mayor of Coventry, attended by a large +cavalcade, went out to meet her Majesty, and usher her into the city with +due formality. On their return they passed through a wide brook, when Mr. +Mayor's horse several times attempted to drink, and each time his worship +checked him; which the Queen observing, called out to him, "Mr. Mayor, let +your horse drink, Mr. Mayor;" but the magistrate, bowing very low, modestly +answered, "Nay, nay, may it please your Majesty's horse to drink first."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A French Mayor.</span>—A mayor of a small village in France, having occasion to +give a passport to a distinguished personage in his neighbourhood who was +blind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">Pg 90</a></span> of one eye, was in great embarrassment on coming to the description +of his person. Fearful of offending the great man, he adopted the following +ingenious expedient of avoiding the mention of his deformity, and wrote +"Black eyes—one of which is absent."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Wm. Gooch</span> being engaged in conversation with a gentleman in a street of +the city of Williamsburgh, returned the salute of a negro, who was passing +by about his master's business. "Sir William," said the gentleman, "do you +descend so far as to salute a slave?"—"Why, yes," replied the governor; "I +cannot suffer a man of his condition to exceed me in good manners."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="PRESENCE_OF_MIND" id="PRESENCE_OF_MIND">PRESENCE OF MIND.</a></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Marquis St. André applied to Louvois, the war-minister of Louis XIV., +for a place then vacant. Louvois having received some complaints against +the marquis, refused to comply. The nobleman, somewhat nettled, said, +rather hastily, "If I were to enter again into the service, I know what I +would do."—"And pray what would you do?" inquired the minister in a +furious tone. St. André recollected himself, and had the presence of mind +to say, "I would take care to behave in such a manner, that your excellency +should have nothing to reproach me with." Louvois, agreeably surprised at +this reply, immediately granted his request.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Carving.</span>—An accomplished gentleman, when carving a tough goose, had the +misfortune to send it entirely out of the dish, and into the lap of the +lady next to him; on which he very coolly looked her full in the face, and +with admirable gravity and calmness, said, "Madam, may I trouble you for +that goose." In a case like this, a person must, necessarily, suffer so +much, and be such an object of compassion to the company, that the kindest +thing he can do is to appear as unmoved as possible.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">Pg 91</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lord Peterborough</span> was once taken by the mob for the duke of Marlborough +(who was then in disgrace with them), and being about to be roughly treated +by these friends to summary justice, he told them, "Gentlemen, I can +convince you, by two reasons, that I am not the duke of Marlborough. In the +first place, I have only five guineas in my pocket; and, in the second, +they are heartily at your service." So throwing his purse amongst them, he +got out of their hands, with loud huzzas and acclamations.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fouché.</span>—Napoleon sent for Fouché one day, in a great rage, told him that +he was a fool, and not fit to be at the head of the police, as he was quite +ignorant of what was passing. "Pardon me, Sire," said Fouché; "I know that +your Majesty has my dismissal ready signed in your pocket." Napoleon +changed his mind, and kept his Minister.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Vendean Servant.</span>—An unexampled instance of self-devotion and presence of +mind was manifested by a maidservant, during the war in La Vendée. "The +wife of Lepinai, a general in the Vendean army, was imprisoned at Nantes, +and attended by a young girl, a native of Chatellerault, so faithfully +attached to the service of her mistress that she had followed her to +prison. One day the soldiers arrived to summon the prisoners who were +destined to death: this faithful girl heard Madame Lepinai called, who had +but an instant before retired to her chamber. Glad of the opportunity of +saving the life of her beloved mistress, she presented herself, and +answered to the name. The affectionate creature was instantly led away with +the other prisoners, and precipitated among the waves of the Loire, in +place of Madame Lepinai."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Gendarmes and the Priest.</span>—During the Revolution a priest took refuge +in the house of a farmer. Some gendarmes having heard of it came one +evening to the house. The whole family were gathered round the hearth, and +among them was the priest, disguised as a servant. When the soldiers +entered every one grew pale; they asked the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">Pg 92</a></span> farmer if there was not a +priest concealed in the house. "Gentlemen," returned he, without losing his +presence of mind, "you see very well there is no priest here; but one might +conceal himself in the house without my knowledge; so I will not prevent +you from doing your duty; search the house from cellar to garret." Then he +said to the priest, "I say, Jacques, take your lantern and show these +gentlemen everywhere; let them see every corner of the farm." The gendarmes +made a minute inspection of the house, uttering many imprecations and many +menaces against the priest, promising themselves to pay him well for the +trouble he had cost them, if they succeeded in discovering him. Seeing +their search was useless, they prepared to leave. As they were going the +farmer said, "Pray gentlemen, remember the boy." They gave the disguised +priest a small coin, and thanking him for his civility took their leave.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A housemaid</span> in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, going to the cellar for a +draught of ale, after the family had retired to bed, glided silently in +without a candle. As she was feeling about for the cask, she put her hand +upon something which she immediately perceived to be the head of a man. The +girl, with great fortitude and presence of mind, forebore to cry out, but +said, in a tone of impatience, "That stupid creature, Betty, is always +putting the mops in the way." She then went on to the cask, quietly drew +her beer, retired from the cellar, fastened the door, and then alarmed the +house. The man was taken; and afterwards declared, that the maid was +entirely indebted to her presence of mind for her life, for had she cried +out, he would instantly have murdered her: but as he firmly believed she +mistook his head for a mop, particularly as she had drawn the beer after +she had felt it, he let her go without injury.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">King</span> James the Fourth of Scotland, who used often to amuse himself in +wandering about the country in different disguises, was once overtaken by a +violent storm in a dark night, and obliged to take shelter in a cavern near +Wemys. Having advanced some way in it, the king discovered a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">Pg 93</a></span> number of men +and women ready to begin to roast a sheep, by way of supper. From their +appearance, he began to suspect that he had not fallen into the best of +company; but, as it was too late to retreat, he asked hospitality from them +till the tempest was over. They granted it, and invited the king, whom they +did not know, to sit down, and take part with them. They were a band of +robbers and cut-throats. As soon as they had finished their supper, one of +them presented a plate, upon which two daggers were laid in form of a St. +Andrew's cross, telling the king, at the same time, that this was the +dessert which they always served to strangers; that he must choose one of +the daggers, and fight him whom the company should appoint to attack him. +The king did not lose his presence of mind, but instantly seized the two +daggers, one in each hand, and plunged them into the hearts of the two +robbers who were next him; and running full speed to the mouth of the +cavern, he escaped from their pursuit, through the obscurity of the night. +The rest of the band were seized next morning and hanged.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Marquess del Campo.</span>—When the attempt was made upon the life of George +III., by Margaret Nicholson, who attempted to stab him as he was going to +St. James's to hold a levee, a council was ordered to be held as soon as +the levee was over. The Marquess del Campo, the Spanish ambassador, being +apprised of that circumstance, and knowing that the council would detain +the king in town three or four hours beyond the usual time, took post +horses, and set off for Windsor. Alighting at the castle, he called upon a +lady there with whom he was acquainted. The queen, finding that the king +did not return at the usual time, and understanding that the marquess was +in the palace, sent to ask him if he had been at the levee. He replied that +he had, and that he had left his majesty in perfect health, going to +council. When the king arrived, he, of course, told her majesty the +extraordinary occurrence of the morning. The queen expressed great surprise +that the Marquess del Campo, who had been nearly three hours in the palace, +had not mentioned the subject to her; he was then sent for, when he told +their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">Pg 94</a></span> majesties, that finding upon his arrival at the castle, that no +rumour of the attempt upon the life of his majesty had reached the queen, +he did not think it expedient to apprise her of it till his majesty's +arrival gave full assurance of his safety; but, at the same time, fearing +that some incorrect and alarming reports might be brought down, he deemed +it right to remain in the palace, in order in that case, to be able to +remove all apprehensions from her majesty's mind, by acquainting her with +the real facts. The king, taking the ambassador graciously by the hand, +complimented him on his presence of mind, and assured him, that he scarcely +knew a man in the world to whom he was so much obliged.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Miss Bailly.</span>—A few days before the battle of Falkirk, so disastrous to the +English army, Lord Loudon made a bold attempt to seize the Pretender at +Moy, a castle belonging to the chief of the clan of Mackintosh, about six +miles from Inverness, where he was then staying, and where he conceived +himself in perfect security. His lordship would probably have succeeded in +this design, but for the singular courage and presence of mind of a young +girl. While some English officers were drinking in the house of Mrs. +Bailly, an innkeeper in Inverness, and passing the time till the hour of +setting out for the intended capture, her daughter, a girl of about +thirteen or fourteen years of age, who happened to wait on them, paid great +attention to their conversation, and from certain expressions which they +dropped she discovered their design. As soon as she could do so unobserved, +she left the house, escaped from the town, notwithstanding the vigilance of +the sentinels, and took the road to Moy, running as fast as she was able, +without shoes or stockings, which to accelerate her progress she had taken +off, in order to inform the Prince of the danger which menaced him. She +reached Moy, quite out of breath, before Lord Loudon and his troops; and +the Prince had just time to escape, in his robe-de-chambre, nightcap, and +slippers, to the neighbouring mountains, where he passed the night in +concealment. This girl, to whom the Prince owed his life,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">Pg 95</a></span> was in great +danger of losing her own, from the excessive fatigue and excitement; but by +care and attention she eventually recovered.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Servant at Noyon.</span>—Some years ago, an instance of humanity and presence of +mind occurred at a place called Noyon, in France, which well deserves to be +commemorated. Four men, who were employed in cleansing a sewer, were so +affected by the fœtid vapours, that they were unable to ascend. The +lateness of the hour (for it was eleven at night) rendered it difficult to +procure assistance, and the delay must have been fatal, had not a young +girl, a servant in the family, at the hazard of her own life, attempted +their deliverance. This generous girl, who was only seventeen years of age, +was, at her own request, let down several times to the poor men by a rope: +she was so fortunate as to save two of them, but, in tying the third to the +cord, which was let down to her for that purpose, she found her breath +failing, and was so much affected by the vapour as to be in danger of +suffocation. In this dreadful situation, she had the presence of mind to +tie herself by her hair to the rope, and was drawn up almost expiring, with +the poor man in whose behalf she had so humanely exerted herself. The +corporation of the town of Noyon, as a small token of their approbation, +presented the generous girl with six hundred livres, and conferred on her +the civic crown, with a medal engraved with the arms of the town, her name, +and a narrative of the action. The Duke of Orleans also sent her five +hundred livres, and settled two hundred yearly on her for life.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="PRIDE_OF_RANK_AND_ANCESTRY" id="PRIDE_OF_RANK_AND_ANCESTRY">PRIDE OF RANK AND ANCESTRY.</a></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> anecdote is well known of the celebrated Dr. Busby keeping on his hat +when visited by King Charles II., and apologizing for his apparent want of +respect, by saying, that he should never be able to keep his scholars in +subjection, if they thought that there was a greater man in the world than +himself. The same feeling seems to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">Pg 96</a></span> actuated the Gaelic chiefs, who +were excessively proud of their rank and prerogatives. When the first +Marquess of Huntly, then the chief of the clan Gordon, was presented at the +court of James VI., he did not so much as incline his head before his +sovereign. Being asked why he failed in this point of etiquette? he +replied, that he had no intention whatever of showing any disrespect to his +king, but that he came from a country where all the world were accustomed +to bow down before him. A similar instance occurred with the head of +another family. When George II. offered a patent of nobility to the chief +of the Grants, the proud Celt refused it, saying, "Wha would then be Laird +of Grant?"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">James I.</span> in his progress into England, was entertained at Lumley Castle, +the seat of the Earl of Scarborough. A relation of the noble earl was very +proud in showing and explaining to his majesty an immense genealogical +chart of the family, the pedigree of which he carried back rather farther +than the greatest strength of credulity would allow. "I gude faith, man," +says the king, "it may be they are very true, but I did na ken before that +Adam's name was Lumley."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An</span> anecdote is told of a gentleman in Monmouthshire, which exhibits the +pride of ancestry in a curious point of view. His house was in such a state +of dilapidation that the proprietor was in danger of perishing under the +ruins of the ancient mansion, which he venerated even in decay. A stranger, +whom he accidentally met at the foot of the Skyrrid, made various enquiries +respecting the country, the prospects, and the neighbouring houses, and, +among others, asked—"Whose is this antique mansion before us?" "That, sir, +is Werndee, a very ancient house; for out of it came the Earls of Pembroke +of the first line, and the Earls of Pembroke of the second line; the Lord +Herberts of Cherbury, the Herberts of Coldbrook, Ramsay, Cardiff, and York; +the Morgans of Acton; the Earl of Hunsdon; the houses of Ircowm and +Lanarth, and all the Powells. Out of this house also, by the female line, +came the Duke of Beaufort." "And pray, sir, who lives there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">Pg 97</a></span> now?" "I do, +sir." "Then pardon me, and accept a piece of advice; come out of it +yourself, or you'll soon be buried in the ruins of it."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A curious</span> anecdote is related respecting a contest for precedence, between +the rival Welch Houses of Perthir and Werndee, which, though less bloody, +was not less obstinate than that between the Houses of York and Lancaster. +Mr. Proger, of Werndee, dining with a friend at Monmouth, proposed riding +home in the evening; but his friend objecting because it was late and +likely to rain, Mr. Proger replied, "With regard to the lateness of the +hour, we shall have moonlight; and should it happen to rain, Perthir is not +far from the road, and my cousin Powell will, I am sure, give us a night's +lodging." They accordingly mounted their horses; but being soon overtaken +by a violent shower, rode to Perthir, and found all the family retired to +rest. Mr. Proger, however, calling to his cousin, Mr. Powell opened the +window, and looking out, asked, "In the name of wonder, what means all this +noise? Who is there?" "It is only I, your cousin Proger of Werndee, who am +come to your hospitable door for shelter from the inclemency of the +weather, and hope you will be so kind as to give my friend and me a +lodging." "What! Is it you, cousin Proger? You and your friend shall be +instantly admitted, but upon one condition, that you will allow, and never +hereafter dispute, that I am the head of the family." "What did you say?" +returned Mr. Proger. "Why, I say, if you expect to pass the night in my +house, you must allow that I am the head of the family." "No, sir, I never +will admit that; were it to rain swords and daggers, I would ride this +night to Werndee, rather than lower the consequence of my family. Come up, +Bold, come up." "Stop a moment, cousin Proger; have you not often confessed +that the first Earl of Pembroke (of the name of Herbert) was the youngest +son of Perthir; and will you set yourself above the Earls of Pembroke?" +"True, I must give place to the Earl of Pembroke, because he is a peer of +the realm; but still, though a peer, he is of the youngest branch of my +family, being descended from the fourth son of Werndee, who was your +ancestor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">Pg 98</a></span> and settled at Perthir; whereas I am descended from the eldest +son. Indeed, my cousin Jones of Lanarth is of an older branch than you, and +yet he never disputes that I am the head of the family." "Why, cousin +Proger, I have nothing more to say; so, good night to you." "Stop a moment, +Mr. Powell," said the stranger, "you see how it pours; do admit me at +least; I will not dispute with you about our families." "Pray, sir, what is +your name, and where do you come from?" "My name is * * *, and I come from +the county of * * *." "A Saxon of course; it would be very curious indeed, +sir, should I dispute with a Saxon about families; no, sir, you must suffer +for the obstinacy of your friend, and so a pleasant ride to you both."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="PUNCTUALITY" id="PUNCTUALITY">PUNCTUALITY</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Quarter of an Hour.</span>—When Lord Nelson was leaving London, on his last, +but glorious, expedition against the enemy, a quantity of cabin furniture +was ordered to be sent on board his ship. He had a farewell dinner party at +his house; and the upholsterer having waited upon his lordship, with an +account of the completion of the goods, was brought into the dining-room, +in a corner of which his lordship spoke with him. The upholsterer stated to +his employer, that everything was finished, and packed, and would go in the +wagon, from a certain inn, at <i>six o'clock</i>. "And you go to the inn, Mr. +A., and see them off?" "I shall, my lord; I shall be there <i>punctually at +six</i>." "<i>A quarter before six</i>, Mr. A.," returned Lord Nelson, "be there <i>a +quarter before six</i>. To that <i>quarter of an hour</i> I owe everything in +life."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Scott</span>, of Exeter, travelled on business till about eighty years of age. +He was one of the most celebrated characters in the kingdom for +punctuality, and by his methodical conduct, joined to uniform diligence, he +gradually amassed a fortune. For a long series of years, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">Pg 99</a></span> proprietor of +every inn he frequented in Devon and Cornwall knew the day, and the very +hour, he would arrive. A short time before he died, a gentleman on a +journey in Cornwall stopped at a small inn at Port Isaac to dine. The +waiter presented him with a bill of fare, which he did not approve of; but +observing a fine duck roasting, "I'll have that," said the traveller. "You +cannot, sir," said the landlord; "it is for Mr. Scott of Exeter." "I know +Mr. Scott very well," rejoined the gentlemen; "he is not in your house." +"True, sir," said the landlord, "but <i>six months ago, when he was here +last, he ordered a duck to be ready for him this day, precisely at two +o'clock;</i>" and, to the astonishment of the traveller, he saw the old +gentleman, on his Rosinante, jogging into the inn-yard about five minutes +before the appointed time.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir W. Scott.</span>—A gentleman who, in the year 1826, travelled with Sir Walter +Scott in the coach from Edinburgh to Jedburgh, relates the following +anecdote illustrative of his regard for punctuality, and his willingness to +serve all who placed confidence in him, particularly those engaged in +literary pursuits.—"We had performed half the journey," writes our +informant, "when Sir Walter started as from a dream, exclaiming: 'Oh, my +friend G——, I have forgotten you till this moment!' A short mile brought +us to a small town, where Sir Walter ordered a post-chaise, in which he +deposited his luggage, consisting of a well-worn short hazel stick, and a +paper parcel containing a few books; then, much to my regret, he changed +his route, and returned to the Scottish capital. The following month I was +again in Edinburgh, and curiosity induced me to wait on the friend G—— +apostrophised by Sir Walter, and whose friendship I had the honour to +possess. The cause of Sir Walter's return, I was informed, was this:—He +had engaged to furnish an article for a periodical conducted by my friend, +but the promise had slipped from his memory—a most uncommon occurrence, +for Sir Walter was gifted with the best of memories—until the moment of +his exclamation. His instant return was the only means of retrieving the +error. Retrieved, however, it was; and the following morning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">Pg 100</a></span> Mr. G—— +received several sheets of closely-written manuscript, the transcribing of +which alone must have occupied half the night."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="ROBBERS" id="ROBBERS">ROBBERS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Candid Robber.</span>—The duke of Ossuna, viceroy of Naples, once visited the +galleys, and passing through the prisoners, he asked several of them what +their offences were. All of them excused themselves upon various pretences; +one said he was put in out of malice, another by bribery of the judge; but +all of them declared they were punished unjustly. The duke came at last to +a little black man, whom he questioned as to what he was there for. "My +lord," said he, "I cannot deny but I am justly put in here; for I wanted +money, and my family was starving, so I robbed a passenger near Tarragona +of his purse." The duke, on hearing this, gave him a blow on the shoulder +with his stick, saying, "You rogue, what are you doing here among so many +honest, innocent men? Get you out of their company." The poor fellow was +then set at liberty, while the rest were left to tug at the oar.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Ingenious Contrivance.</span>—Many years ago, when stagecoaches were not +unfrequently attacked by highwaymen, a party was once travelling on a +lonely road, when one of the gentlemen mentioned to the company that he had +ten guineas with him, which he was afraid of losing. Upon this an elderly +lady who sat next to him, advised him to take his money from his pocket, +and slip it into his boot, which he did. Not long after the coach was +attacked, when a highwayman rode up to the window, on the lady's side, and +demanded her money; upon which she immediately whispered to him that if he +would examine that gentleman's boot, he would find ten guineas. The man +took the hint, and the gentleman was obliged to submit patiently; but when +the robber had gone, he loaded his fellow-traveller with abuse, declaring +her to be in confederacy with the highwayman. She replied that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">Pg 101</a></span> certainly +appearances were against her; but if the company in the stage would sup at +her house the following evening, she would explain a conduct which appeared +so mysterious. After a debate among themselves, they consented to go the +next evening according to her invitation. They were ushered into a +magnificent room, where an elegant supper was served, after which, the lady +taking a pocket-book from her pocket, showed that it contained various +notes to the amount of several hundred pounds, and addressing herself to +the gentleman who had been robbed: "I thought, sir," said she, "it was +better to lose ten guineas, than all this valuable property, which I had +about me last night; and I have now the pleasure of returning what you so +kindly lent me."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Reclaimed Felons.</span>—The late Dr. Lettsom says, "I have been so happy as to +reform two highwaymen who had robbed me; and from this I think that few of +our fellow-creatures are so hardened, as to be impenetrable to repentance. +One of these men has since been twice in the Gazette promotions, as a +military officer. The other married, and became a respectable farmer in +Surrey."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A similar</span> story is told by the celebrated Rowland Hill. He was attacked by +a highwayman, whom he succeeded in convincing of the evil of his way of +life, and who afterwards became a most faithful servant to him. The secret +was never revealed by Mr. Hill until the death of the servant.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="SAILORS" id="SAILORS">SAILORS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Wounded Sailor.</span>—When Admiral Benbow was a common sailor, his messmate, +who was stationed with him at the same gun, lost his leg by a cannon shot. +The poor fellow instantly called out to his friend, who immediately took +him up on his shoulder, and began with great care to descend with him into +the cockpit; but it happened that just as the poor fellow's head came upon +a level with the deck, another ball carried that off also.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">Pg 102</a></span> Benbow, +however, knew nothing of the matter, but carried the body down to the +surgeon, and when he came to the bottom of the ladder, called out that he +had brought him a patient, desiring some one to bear a hand, and help him +easily down. The surgeon turned about, but instead of giving any +assistance, exclaimed, "You blockhead, what do you do here with a man that +has lost his head?" "Lost his head!" says Benbow; "the lying fellow, why he +told me it was his leg; but I never in my life believed what he said +without being sorry for it afterwards."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">When</span> Lieutenant O'Brien (who was called Skyrocket Jack) was blown up at +Spithead, in the <i>Edgar</i>, he was on the carriage of a gun, and when brought +to the admiral, all black and wet, he said with pleasantry, "I hope, sir, +you will excuse my dirty appearance, for I came out of the ship in so great +a hurry, that I had not time to shift myself."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A painter</span> was employed in painting a West India ship in the river, +suspended on a stage under the ship's stern. The captain, who had just got +into the boat alongside, for the purpose of going ashore, ordered the boy +to let go the painter (the rope which makes fast the boat); the boy +instantly went aft, and let go the rope by which the painter's stage was +held. The captain, surprised at the boy's delay, cried out, "Heigh-ho, +there, you lazy lubber, why don't you let go the painter?" The boy replied, +"He's gone, sir, pots and all."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Precedence.</span>—At a grand review of the fleet at Portsmouth by George III., +in 1789, there was a boy who mounted the shrouds with so much agility, as +to surprise every spectator. The king particularly noticed it, and said to +Lord Lothian, "Lothian, I have heard much of your agility, let us see you +run up after that boy." "Sire," replied Lord Lothian, "it is my duty to +<i>follow your majesty</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Admiral Haddock</span>, when on his death-bed, called his son, and thus addressed +him: "Considering my rank in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">Pg 103</a></span> life, and public services for so many years, +I shall leave you but a small fortune; but, my boy, it is honestly got, and +will wear well; there are no seamen's wages or provisions, nor one single +penny of dirty money, in it."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Odd Shot.</span>—An English frigate was obliged to strike to a French vessel +of superior force. The English captain, on resigning his sword, was +reproached by the French commander for having, contrary to the usages of +war, shot pieces of glass from his guns. The English officer, conscious +that no such thing had been done, made inquiry into the matter among his +men, and found the fact to be this. An Irish seaman, just before the vessel +struck, took a parcel of shillings out of his pocket, and swearing the +French should have none of them, wrapped them in a piece of rag, and thrust +them into his gun, exclaiming, "Let us see what a <i>bribe</i> can do!" These +shillings, flying about the vessel, were mistaken by the French for glass. +The above explanation not only satisfied them, but put them in great good +humour with their captives.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Child on Board.</span>—A child of one of the crew of His Majesty's ship +<i>Peacock</i>, during the action with the American vessel <i>Hornet</i>, occupied +himself in chasing a goat between decks. Not in the least terrified by the +destruction and death which was going on all around him, he continued his +amusement till a cannon-ball came and took off both the hind legs of the +goat; when seeing her disabled, he jumped astride her, crying, "Now I've +caught you." This singular anecdote is related in a work called "Visits of +Mercy," (New York.)</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Grog.</span>—The British sailors had always been accustomed to drink their +allowance of brandy or rum pure, until Admiral Vernon ordered those under +his command to mix it with water. The innovation gave great offence to the +sailors, and, for a time, rendered the commander very unpopular among them. +The admiral, at that time, wore a grogram coat, for which reason they +nick-named him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">Pg 104</a></span> "Old Grog," hence, by degrees, the mixed liquor he +introduced universally obtained the name of "<i>Grog</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Navy Chaplains.</span>—When the Earl of Clancarty was captain of a man-of-war, +and was cruising on the coast of Guinea, he happened to lose his chaplain +by a fever, on which the lieutenant, who was a Scotchman, gave him notice +of it, saying, at the same time, "that he was sorry to inform him that he +died in the Roman Catholic religion." "Well, so much the better," said his +lordship. "Oot, oot, my lord, how can you say so of a British clergyman?" +"Why," said his lordship, "because I believe I am the first captain of a +man-of-war that could boast of having a chaplain <i>who had any religion at +all</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Bishop and his Clerks.</span>—A fleet of merchant ships, on their return from +Spain, about three hundred years ago, were shipwrecked on the fatal rocks +on which Sir Cloudsley Shovel was cast away: among these unfortunate men +none were saved but three, viz. <i>Miles Bishop</i>, and <i>James</i> and <i>Henry +Clerk</i>, who were miraculously preserved on a broken mast. From this +accident the rocks took the name they bear, "The Bishop and his Clerks."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dey of Algiers.</span>—When Admiral Keppel was sent to the Dey of Algiers, to +demand restitution of two ships which the pirates had taken, he sailed with +his squadron into the bay of Algiers, and cast anchor in front of the Dey's +palace. He then landed, and, attended only by his captain and barge's crew, +demanded an immediate audience of the Dey; this being granted, he claimed +full satisfaction for the injuries done to the subjects of his Britannic +Majesty. Surprised and enraged at the boldness of the admiral's +remonstrance, the Dey exclaimed, "That he wondered at the king's insolence +in sending him a foolish beardless boy." To this the admiral made a +spirited reply, which caused the Dey to forget the laws of all nations in +respect to ambassadors, and he ordered his mutes to attend with the +bowstring, at the same time telling the admiral he should pay for his +audacity with his life. Unmoved by this menace, the admiral took the Dey to +a window facing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">Pg 105</a></span> the bay, and showed him the English fleet riding at +anchor, and told him, that if he dared to put him to death, there were +Englishmen enough in that fleet to make him a glorious funeral pile. The +Dey was wise enough to take the hint. The admiral obtained ample +restitution, and came off in safety.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Timely Answer.</span>—When Admiral Cornwallis commanded the <i>Canada</i>, a mutiny +broke out in the ship, on account of some unavoidable delay in the clerks +paying some of the crew, in consequence of which they signed what is termed +a round robin, in which they declared, to a man, that they would not fire a +gun till they were paid. Cornwallis, on receiving this declaration, caused +all hands to be called on deck, and thus addressed them: "My lads, the +money cannot be paid till we return to port, and as to your not fighting, +that is mere nonsense:—I'll clap you alongside the first large ship of the +enemy I see, and I know that the devil himself will not be able to keep you +from it." The tars were so pleased with this compliment that they all +returned to their duty, better satisfied than if they had been paid the +money ten times over.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="SCHOOLS" id="SCHOOLS">SCHOOLS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Sheridan</span> had a custom of ringing his scholars to prayers, in the +school-room, at a certain hour every day. The boys were one day very +attentively at prayers, except one, who was stifling a laugh as well as he +could, which arose from seeing a rat descending from the bell-rope into the +room. The poor boy could hold out no longer, but burst into an immoderate +fit of laughter, which set the others off as soon as he pointed out to them +the cause. Sheridan was so provoked that he declared he would whip them all +if the principal culprit was not pointed out to him, which was immediately +done. When this poor boy was hoisted up, and made ready for flogging, the +witty school-master told him that if he said any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">Pg 106</a></span> thing tolerable on the +occasion, as he looked on him as the greatest dunce in his school, he would +forgive him. The trembling culprit, immediately addressed his master in the +following lines.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>There was a rat, for want of stairs,<br /></span> +<span>Came down a rope—to go to prayers.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Sheridan instantly dropped the rod, and, instead of a good whipping, gave +him half-a-crown.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Busby.</span>—A scholar of Dr. Busby went into a parlour where the Doctor had +laid down a fine bunch of grapes for his own eating, took it up, and said +aloud, "I publish the banns between these grapes and my mouth; if any one +knows any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined +together, let him declare it." The Doctor, being in the next room, +overheard all that was said, and going into the school, ordered the boy who +had eaten his grapes to be <i>horsed</i> on another boy's back; but, before he +proceeded to the usual discipline, he cried out aloud, as the delinquent +had done: "I publish the banns between my rod and this boy's back; if any +one knows any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined +together, let him declare it."—"I forbid the banns." said the boy—"Why +so?" said the Doctor. "Because the parties are not agreed," replied the +boy. This answer so pleased the Doctor, that he ordered the offender to be +set free.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Appropriate Version.</span>—The late Dr. Adam, Rector of the Grammar School, +Edinburgh, was supposed by his scholars to exercise a strong partiality for +such as were of patrician descent; and on one occasion was very smartly +reminded of it by a boy of mean parentage, whom he was reprehending rather +severely for his ignorance—much more so than the boy thought he would have +done, had he been the son of a <i>right honourable</i>, or even less. "You +dunce," exclaimed the rector, "I don't think you can even translate the +motto of your own native place, of the <i>gude</i> town of Edinburgh. What,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">Pg 107</a></span> +sir, does '<i>Nisi Dominus frustra</i>,' mean?" "It means, sir," rejoined the +boy, "that unless we are lords' sons, it is in vain to come here."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Choice.</span>—At a recent examination at Marlborough House Grammar School, a +piece written for the occasion, entitled "Satan's Address to Nena Sahib," +was to have been recited by two pupils. Only one of the pupils came +forward, Mr. Barrett stating that he could not prevail upon any pupil to +take the part of Nena Sahib, they having such an abhorrence to the +character, though several had offered to take the part of the Devil.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="SERVANTS" id="SERVANTS">SERVANTS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Jonas Hanway</span> having once advertised for a coachman, he had a great number +of applicants. One of them he approved of, and told him, if his character +answered, he would take him on the terms agreed on: "But," said he, "my +good fellow, as I am rather a particular man, it may be proper to inform +you, that every evening, after the business of the stable is done, I expect +you to come to my house for a quarter of an hour to attend family prayers. +To this I suppose you can have no objection."—"Why as to that, sir," +replied the fellow, "I doesn't see much to say against it; but I hope +you'll consider it in my wages!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Coleridge</span>, among his other speculations, started a periodical, in prose and +verse, entitled <i>The Watchman</i>, with the motto, "that all might know the +truth, and that the truth might make us free." He watched in vain! His +incurable want of order and punctuality, and his philosophical theories, +tired out his readers, and the work was discontinued after the ninth +number. Of the unsaleable nature of this publication, he himself relates an +amusing illustration. Happening one morning to rise at an earlier hour than +usual, he observed his servant girl<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">Pg 108</a></span> putting an extravagant quantity of +paper into the grate in order to light the fire, and mildly checked her for +her wastefulness: "La! sir," replied Nanny; "it's only <i>Watchmen</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Marquis of Granby having returned from the army in Germany, travelled +with all possible expedition from the English port at which he landed to +London, and finding on his arrival that the king was at Windsor, he +proceeded there in his travelling-dress; where desiring to be instantly +introduced to his majesty, a certain lord came forward, who said he hoped +the noble marquis did not mean to go into the presence of his majesty in so +improper a habit, adding, "'Pon my honour, my lord, you look more like a +<i>groom</i> than a gentleman."—"Perhaps I may," replied the marquis, "and I +give you my word, if you do not introduce me to the king this instant, I +will <i>act</i> like a groom, and <i>curry</i> you in a way you won't like."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Schoolmaster Abroad.</span>—A young woman meeting her former fellow-servant, +was asked how she liked her place. "Very well."—"Then you have nothing to +complain of?"—"Nothing; only master and missis talk such very bad grammar, +and don't pronounce their H's."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Soldier's Wife.</span>—The late Duchess of York having desired her housekeeper +to seek out for a new laundress, a decent-looking woman was recommended to +the situation. "But, (said the housekeeper) I am afraid that she will not +suit your royal highness, as she is a soldier's wife, and these people are +generally loose characters." "What is that you say, said the duke, who had +just entered the room. A soldier's wife! Pray, madam, <i>what is your +mistress?</i> If that is all her fault, I desire that the woman may be +immediately engaged."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="SIGNS" id="SIGNS">SIGNS.</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">Pg 109</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Scotch Innkeeper</span>, who had determined on adopting the sign of Flodden +Well, was much puzzled for a suitable inscription. At length he waited on +Sir Walter Scott, and asked his aid, observing, that "as he had written so +much about it in <i>Marmion</i>, he might know something that would do for an +inscription." The poet immediately replied, "Why, man, I think ye cannot do +better than take a verse from the poem itself." The innkeeper expressed his +willingness to do this, when Sir Walter said to him, "Well, then, you have +nothing to do, but just to leave out one letter from the line</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>'Drink, weary traveller—drink and pray;'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>and say instead</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>'Drink, weary traveller—drink and pay!'"<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dean Swift's</span> barber one day told him that he had taken a public-house. "And +what's your sign?" said the dean. "Oh, the pole and bason; and if your +worship would just write me a few lines to put upon it, by way of motto, I +have no doubt but it would draw me plenty of customers." The dean took out +his pencil, and wrote the following couplet, which long graced the barber's +sign:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span>"Rove not from <i>pole</i> to <i>pole</i>, but step in here,<br /></span> +<span>Where nought excels the <i>shaving</i>, but the <i>beer</i>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="SOLDIERS" id="SOLDIERS">SOLDIERS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Equality in Danger.</span>—The French General, Cherin, was once conducting a +detachment through a very difficult defile. He exhorted his soldiers to +endure patiently the fatigues of the march. "It is easy for you to talk," +said one of the soldiers near him; "you who are mounted on a fine +horse—but we poor devils!"—On hearing these words, Cherin dismounted, and +quickly proposed to the discontented soldier to take his place. The latter +did so; but scarcely had he mounted, when a shot from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">Pg 110</a></span> adjoining +heights struck and killed him. "You see," says Cherin, addressing his +troops, "that the most elevated place is not the least dangerous." After +which he remounted his horse, and continued the march.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Marshal Suwarrow</span> in his march to the attack of Ockzakow, proceeded with +such rapidity at the head of his advanced guard, that his men began to +murmur at the fatigues they endured. The Marshal, apprized of this +circumstance, after a long day's march, drew his men up in a hollow square, +and addressing them, said, "that his legs had that day discovered some +symptoms of mutiny, as they refused to second the impulses of his mind, +which urged him forward to the attack of the enemy's fortress." He then +ordered his boots to be taken off, and some of the drummers to advance with +their cats, and flog his legs, which ceremony was continued till they bled +considerably. He put on his boots again very coolly, expressing a hope that +his legs would in future better know how to discharge their duty. The +soldiers after that marched on without a murmur, struck at once with the +magnanimity of their commander, and the ingenuity of his device to remind +them of their duty.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Brief Explanation.</span>—A French colonel, in taking a redoubt from the Russians +on the Moskwa, lost twelve hundred of his men, more than one half of whom +remained dead in the entrenchment which they had so energetically carried. +When Bonaparte the next morning reviewed this regiment, he asked the +colonel what he had done with one of his battalions? "Sire," replied he, +"it is in the redoubt."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Death of a Hero.</span>—At the battle of Malplaquet, in 1709, Marshal Villars was +dangerously wounded, and desired to receive the Holy Sacrament. Being +advised to receive in private, he said, "No, if the army cannot see me die +like a hero, they shall see me die as a Christian."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Magdeline de Savoie.</span>—Anne Duc de Montmorenci, who was prime minister and +great constable of France<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">Pg 111</a></span> during the reigns of Francis I., Henry II., +Francis II., and Charles IX., was very unwilling to take up arms against +the Prince of Condé and the Coligny's, to whom he was endeared by the ties +of friendship, as well as those of consanguinity. He was however induced to +give way by the following animated and forcible speech of his wife, +Magdeline de Savoie: "It is then in vain, sir, that you have taken as a +motto to your escutcheon, the word of command that your ancestors always +gave at the outset of every battle in which they were engaged (<i>Dieu aide +du premier Chretien</i>). If you do not fight with all your energy in defence +of that religion which is now attempted to be destroyed, who then is to +give an example of respect and of veneration for the Holy See, if not he +who takes his very name, his arms, his nobility, from the first baron of +France who professed the holy religion of Christ?"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Relay of Legs.</span>—Rivardes, a Piedmontese, had attached himself to the +house of France, and was much esteemed as a soldier. He had lost one of his +legs, and had worn a wooden one for some time, when in an engagement a ball +carried off the latter, leaving him the other safe and sound. On being +raised up, he exclaimed laughingly, "What fools these fellows are! They +would have saved their shot had they known that I had two others equally +good among my baggage."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Present</span>!—During the Crimean war a French captain wrote to the Curé of his +native place in these words: "I endeavour to regulate my affairs in such +sort, that if God should address to me the call, I may be able to answer, +<i>Present!</i>" Not long after this the brave captain met his death under the +walls of Sebastopol.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Quartering.</span>—At an election for Shrewsbury, in the reign of George I., a +half-pay officer, who was a nonresident burgess, was, with some other +voters, brought down from London at the expense of Mr. Kynaston, one of the +candidates. The old campaigner regularly attended and feasted at the houses +which were opened for the electors in Mr. Kynaston's interest until the +last day of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">Pg 112</a></span> the polling, when, to the astonishment of the party, he gave +his vote to his opponent. For this strange conduct he was reproached by his +quondam companions, and asked what could have induced him to act so +dishonourable a part as to become an apostate. "An apostate," answered the +old soldier, "an apostate! by no means—I made up my mind about whom I +would vote for before I set out upon this campaign, but I remembered +Marlborough's constant advice to us when I served with the army in +Flanders, 'Always quarter upon the enemy, my lads—always quarter upon the +enemy.'"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Seeking for a Ball.</span>—The Count de Grancé being wounded in the knee with a +musket ball, the surgeons made many incisions. At last, losing patience, he +asked them why they treated him so unmercifully? "We are seeking for the +ball," said they. "Why then did you not speak before?" said the Count, "I +could have saved you the trouble, for I have it in my pocket."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Turenne.</span>—In the year 1675, the Council of Vienna sent Montecuculi to +oppose Turenne, as the only officer that was thought to be a match for him. +Both generals were perfect masters of the art of war. They passed four +months in watching each other, and in marches and counter-marches; at +length Turenne thought he had got his rival into such a situation as he +wanted, near Saltsbach, when, going to choose a place to erect a battery, +he was unfortunately struck by a cannon shot, which killed him on the spot. +The same ball having carried away the arm of St. Hilaire, +lieutenant-general of the artillery, his son, who was near, could not +forbear weeping. "Weep not for me," said Hilaire, "but for the brave man +who lies there, whose loss to his country nothing can repair."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Generosity of Turenne.</span>—The deputies of a great metropolis in Germany, once +offered the great Turenne one hundred thousand crowns not to pass with his +army through their city. "Gentlemen," said he, "I cannot in conscience +accept your money, as I had no intention to pass that way."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="TEMPER" id="TEMPER">TEMPER.</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">Pg 113</a></span></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Henderson</span>, the actor, was seldom known to be in a passion. When at Oxford, +he was one day debating with a fellow student, who, not keeping his temper, +threw a glass of wine in the actor's face; upon which Henderson took out +his handkerchief, wiped his face, and coolly said, "That, sir, was a +digression; now for the argument."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Peter the Great</span> made a law in 1722, that if any nobleman beat or ill-treat +his slaves he should be looked upon as insane, and a guard should be +appointed to take care of his person and his estate. This great monarch +once struck his gardener, who being a man of great sensibility, took to his +bed, and died in a few days. Peter, hearing of this, exclaimed, with tears +in his eyes, "Alas! I have civilized my own subjects; I have conquered +other nations; yet I have not been able to civilize or conquer myself."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Fletcher</span>, of Saltown, is well known to have possessed a most irritable +temper. His footman desired to be dismissed. "Why do you leave me?" said +he. "Because, sir," to speak the truth, "I cannot bear your temper." "To be +sure, I am passionate, but my passion is no sooner on than it is off." +"Yes, sir," replied the servant, "but then it is no sooner off than it is +on."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Neat Reply.</span>—In certain debates in the House of Lords, in 1718, the bills +proposed were opposed by Bishop Atterbury, who said, "he had prophesied +last winter, that this bill would be attempted in the present session, and +he was sorry to find he had proved a true prophet." Lord Coningsby, who +usually spoke in a passion, rose, and remarked, that "one of the right +reverends had set himself forth as a prophet; but for his part, he did not +know what prophet to liken him to, unless to that famous prophet Balaam, +who was reproved by his own ass." The bishop, in reply, with great +readiness and temper exposed this rude attack, concluding in these words: +"Since the noble lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">Pg 114</a></span> hath discovered in our manners such a similitude, I +must be content to be compared to the prophet Balaam; but, my lords, I am +at a loss how to make out the other part of the parallel. I am sure that I +have been reproved by nobody but his lordship." From that day forth, Lord +Coningsby was called "Atterbury's Pad."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Hough</span>, of Worcester, was remarkable for evenness of temper, of which +the following story affords a proof. A young gentleman, whose family had +been well acquainted with the doctor, in making the tour of England before +he went abroad, called to pay his respects to him as he passed by his seat +in the country. It happened to be at dinner-time, and the room full of +company. The bishop, however, received him with much familiarity; but the +servant in reaching him a chair, threw down a curious weather-glass that +had cost twenty guineas, and broke it. The gentleman was under infinite +concern, and began to make an apology for being the occasion of the +accident, when the bishop with great good nature interrupted him. "Be under +no concern, sir," said his lordship, smiling, "for I am much beholden to +you for it. We have had a very dry season; and now I hope we shall have +rain. I never saw the glass so <i>low</i> in my life." Every one was pleased +with the humour and pleasantry of the turn; and the more so, as the Doctor +was then more than eighty, a time of life when the infirmities of old age +make most men peevish and hasty.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Test.</span>—A cobbler at Leyden, who used to attend the public disputations +held at the academy, was once asked if he understood Latin? "No," replied +the mechanic, "but it is easy to know who is wrong in the argument." "How?" +enquired his friend. "Why, by seeing who is first angry."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Casaubon</span>, in his "Treatise on the Passions," relates the following pleasing +anecdote of Robert, one of the greatest monarchs that ever swayed the +sceptre of France. Having once surprised a rogue who had cut away the half +of his mantle, he took no other notice of the offence than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">Pg 115</a></span> by saying +mildly to him, "Save thyself, sinner, and leave the rest for another who +may have need of it."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Garrick</span> once complained to Sir Joshua Reynolds of the abuse with which he +was loaded by Foote, when Sir Joshua answered, that Foote, in so doing, +gave the strongest possible proof of being in the wrong; as it was always +the man who had the worst side who became violent and abusive.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="TIME_VALUE_OF" id="TIME_VALUE_OF">TIME, VALUE OF.</a></h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Spare Moments.</span>—The great French Chancellor D'Aguesseau carefully employed +every moment of his time. Observing that Madame D'Aguesseau always delayed +ten or twelve minutes before she came down to dinner, he began to compose a +work to which he intended to devote these few minutes, which would +otherwise have been lost. The result was, at the end of fifteen years, a +work in three large quarto volumes, which went through several editions.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Buffon</span> thus relates the manner in which he acquired a habit of early +rising. "In my youth," says he, "I was excessively fond of sleep, and that +indolence robbed me of much time. My poor Joseph (a domestic who served him +for sixty-five years) was of the greatest benefit to me in overcoming it. I +promised him a crown for every time he should make me get up at six +o'clock. He failed not the next day to rouse me, but I only abused and +threatened him. He tried the day following, and I did the same, which made +him desist. 'Friend Joseph,' said I to him at last, 'I have lost my time +and you have gained nothing. You do not know how to manage the matter. +Think only of my promise, and do not regard my threatenings.' The day +following he accomplished his point. At first I begged, then entreated and +abused, and would have discharged him; but he disregarded me, and raised me +up by absolute force. He had his reward every day for my ill-humour at the +moment of waking, by thanks, and a crown an hour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">Pg 116</a></span> after. I owe to poor +Joseph at least ten or twelve volumes of my works."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Cuvier</span>, the celebrated naturalist, was singularly careful of his time, and +did not like those who entered his house to deprive him of it. "I know," +said he, "that Monsieur l'Abbé Hauy comes to see <i>me</i>; our conversation is +an exchange; but I do not want a man to come and tell me whether it is hot +or cold, raining or sunshine. My barometer and thermometer know more than +all possible visitors; and in my studies in natural history," added he, "I +have not found in the whole animal kingdom a species, or class, or family, +who frighten me so much as the numerous family of <i>idlers</i>"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Pepusch.</span>—"In one of my visits, very early in life, to that venerable +master, Dr. Pepusch," says Dr. Burney, "he gave me a short lesson, which +made so deep an impression that I long endeavoured to practise it. 'When I +was a young man,' said he, 'I determined never to go to bed at night, till +I knew something that I did not know in the morning.'"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="TRAVELLING" id="TRAVELLING">TRAVELLING</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Tiresome Companion.</span>—The celebrated George Selwyn was once travelling, +and was interrupted by the frequent impertinence of a companion, who was +constantly teasing him with questions, and asking him how he did. "How are +you now, sir?" said the impertinent. George, in order to get rid of his +importunity, replied, "Very well: and I intend to continue so all the rest +of the journey."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charles Lamb.</span>—A farmer, by chance a companion in a coach with Charles +Lamb, kept boring him to death with questions, in the jargon of +agriculturists, about crops. At length he put a poser—"And pray, sir, how +are turnips this year?" "Why that, sir," stammered out Lamb, "will depend +upon the boiled legs of mutton."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">Pg 117</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Clans.</span>—An English gentleman travelling through the Highlands, came to the +inn of Letter Finlay, in the braes of Lochaber. He saw no person near the +inn, and knocked at the door. No answer. He knocked repeatedly with as +little success; he then opened the door, and walked in. On looking about, +he saw a man lying on a bed, whom he hailed thus: "Are there any Christians +in this house?" "No," was the reply, "we are all Camerons."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Welcome Sight.</span>—A writer of a modern book of travels, relating the +particulars of his being cast away, thus concludes: "After having walked +eleven hours without having traced the print of human foot, to my great +comfort and delight, I saw a man hanging upon a gibbet; my pleasure at the +cheering prospect was inexpressible; for it convinced me that I was in a +civilized country!"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="WAR" id="WAR">WAR</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Camp Dinner.</span>—During the war, in which the eccentric Count Schaumbourg +Lippe commanded the artillery in the army of Prince Frederick of Brunswick, +against the French, he one day invited several Hanoverian officers to dine +with him in his tent. When the company were in high spirits, and full of +gaiety, several cannon balls flew in different directions about the tent. +"The French," exclaimed the officers, "are not far off." "No, no," replied +the Count, "the enemy, I assure you, are at a great distance; keep your +seats." The firing soon afterwards recommenced; when one of the balls +carrying away the top of the tent, the officers suddenly rose from their +chairs, exclaiming, "The French are here!" "No," replied the Count, "the +French are not here; and, therefore, gentlemen, I desire you will again sit +down, and rely upon my word." The balls continued to fly about; the +officers, however, continued to eat and drink without apprehension, though +not without whispering their conjectures to each other upon the singularity +of their entertainment. The Count, at length, rose from the table, and +addressing him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">Pg 118</a></span>self to the company, said, "Gentlemen, I was willing to +convince you how well I can rely upon the officers of my artillery; for I +ordered them to fire during the time we continued at dinner, at the +pinnacle of the tent, and they have executed my orders with great +punctuality."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Ragged Regiment.</span>—In 1690, the French attacked and defeated the Prince of +Waldeck at Fleurus. During this action, a lieutenant-colonel of a French +regiment was on the point of charging. Not knowing how to animate his men, +who were discontented at having commenced the campaign without being fresh +clothed, he said to them, "My friends, I congratulate you, that you have +the good fortune to be in presence of a regiment newly clothed. Charge them +vigorously, and we will clothe ourselves." This pleasantry so inspired the +soldiers, that they rushed on, and speedily defeated the regiment.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Ladies of Beauvais.</span>—Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, laid siege to +the City of Beauvais in the year 1472. After investing it closely for +twenty-one days, his troops made a general assault, and were on the point +of carrying the place, when a band of women, headed by a lady of the name +of Jeanne Hachette, rushing to the walls, opposed such a resistance, with +showers of stones, and other missiles, that the tide of fortune was +instantaneously turned. A Burgundian officer, who attempted to plant the +duke's standard on the walls, was fiercely attacked by Jeanne Hachette, +who, snatching the standard from his hands, threw him headlong over the +wall. The assailants, in short, were completely repulsed; nor was the +distaff, once thrown aside, resumed, till the ladies of Beauvais had forced +the Duke of Burgundy to retire in shame from their walls. In memory of this +gallant achievement, the Municipality of Beauvais ordered a general +procession of the inhabitants to take place every year, on the 10th of +July, the day on which the siege was raised, in which the ladies were to +have the privilege of preceding the men. As long as Jeanne Hachette lived, +she marched in this annual procession, at the head of the women, bearing +the standard which she had captured from the Burgundian officer; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">Pg 119</a></span> at +her death this standard was deposited in the church of the Dominicans, and +a portrait of the heroine placed in the Town-Hall of Beauvais.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charles XII.</span> was dictating a letter to his secretary during the siege of +Stralsund, when a bomb fell through the roof into the next room of the +house where they were sitting. The terrified secretary let the pen drop +from his hand. "What is the matter?" said Charles, calmly. The secretary +replied, "Ah, sire, the bomb!" "But what has the bomb to do," said Charles, +"with what I am dictating to you?—go on."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Gonsalvo of Cordova.</span>—In an engagement which the Spaniards fought under +Gonsalvo of Cordova, their powder-magazine was blown up by the first +discharge of the enemy; but so far was this from discouraging the general, +that he immediately cried out to his soldiers, "My brave boys, the victory +is ours! Heaven tells us by this signal that we shall have no further +occasion for our artillery." This confidence of the general passed on to +the soldiers; they rushed to the contest, and gained a complete victory.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Algerine Captain.</span>—Louis XIV., who had once bombarded Algiers, ordered the +Marquess du Quesne to bombard it a second time, in order to punish the +treachery and insolence of the Moors. The despair in which the Corsairs +found themselves at not being able to beat the fleet off their coasts, +caused them to bring all the French slaves, and fasten them to the mouths +of their cannon, where they were blown to pieces, the different limbs of +their bodies falling even among the French ships. An Algerine captain, who +had been taken on a cruize, and well treated by the French while he had +been their prisoner, one day perceived, among those unfortunate Frenchmen +who were doomed to the cruel fate just mentioned, an officer named +Choiseul, from whom he had received the most signal acts of kindness. The +Algerine immediately begged, entreated, and solicited in the most pressing +manner, to save the life of the generous Frenchman; but all in vain. At +last, when they were going to fire the cannon to which Choiseul<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">Pg 120</a></span> was fixed, +the captain threw himself on the body of his friend, and closely embracing +him in his arms, said to the cannonier, "Fire! since I cannot serve my +benefactor, I shall at least have the consolation of dying with him." The +Dey, in whose presence this scene passed, was so affected with it, that he +commanded the French officer to be set free.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Marshal Boufflers.</span>—A few days previous to the battle of Malplaquet, it was +publicly talked of at Versailles, that a very important battle would soon +take place between the French army commanded by Marshal Villars, and the +allied army under Prince Eugene and Marlborough. Louis XIV., who for some +years had met with many mortifying repulses, seemed to be very uneasy about +the event. Marshal Boufflers, in order to quiet in some degree the +perturbation of his sovereign's mind, offered, though a senior officer to +Villars, to go and serve under him, sacrificing all personal considerations +to the glory of his country. His proposal was accepted, and he repaired to +the camp. On his arrival, a very singular contest took place between the +two commanders. Villars desired to have Boufflers for his leader; but the +latter persisted in yielding him all the glory, while he shared the danger. +No event in the life of Boufflers ever contributed more to render his name +illustrious. Marshal Villars, who commanded the left wing at the battle, +being obliged to retire on account of a wound he had received, Marshal +Boufflers charged the enemy six times after this accident; but finding they +had made themselves master of a wood through which they penetrated into the +centre of the French army, he yielded them the field of battle, and made a +retreat in such good order, that the allies declined pursuing him.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">War by Candle Light.</span>—Shortly after the commencement of the last Peninsular +war, a tax was laid on candles, which, as a political economist would +prove, made them dearer. A Scotch wife, in Greenock, remarked to her +chandler that the price was raised, and asked why. "It's a' owin' to the +war," said he. "The war!" said the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">Pg 121</a></span> astonished matron, "gracious me! are +they gaun to fight by candle licht?"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Admiral Duncan's</span> address to the officers of his fleet, when they came on +board his ship for his final instructions, previous to the memorable +engagement with Admiral De Winter, was couched in the following laconic and +humorous words:—"Gentlemen of my Fleet, you see a very severe <span class="smcap">Winter</span> fast +approaching; and I have only to advise you to keep up a good <span class="smcap">fire</span>!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Noble Enemy.</span>—When the <i>Laura</i> and <i>Andromeda</i> frigates were wrecked in a +violent hurricane in the West Indies, on the coast of the Martinique, +thirty-five men were thrown ashore alive. The Marquess de Bouille, on +hearing of the circumstance, took them to his house, where he treated them +most hospitably. After he had cured them of their bruises and sickness, and +had clothed them from head to foot, he sent them with a flag of truce to +the commanding officer of St. Lucia, with a letter, stating that these men +having experienced the horrors of shipwreck, he would not add those of war, +and had therefore set them free, and at liberty again to serve their +country.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">French Grenadier.</span>—During the assault of Thurot on the town of +Carrickfergus in 1760, an incident took place, reflecting at once the +highest lustre on the soldier concerned, and evincing the union of +consummate courage with noble humanity. Whilst the combatants were opposed +to each other in the streets, and every inch was pertinaciously disputed by +the British forces, a child by some accident escaped from a house in the +midst of the scene of action, and ran, unawed by the danger, into the +narrow interval between the hostile fronts. One of the French grenadiers +seeing the imminent danger of the child, grounded his piece; left the ranks +in the hottest fire; took the child in his arms, and placed it in safety in +the house from which it had come, and then with all possible haste returned +to resume his part in the fight.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">George I.</span>—During the siege of Fort St. Philip, a young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">Pg 122</a></span> lieutenant of +marines was so unfortunate as to lose both his legs by a chain-shot. In +this miserable and helpless condition he was conveyed to England, and a +memorial of his case presented to a board; but nothing more than half-pay +could be obtained. Major Manson had the poor lieutenant conducted to court +on a public day, in his uniform; where, posted in the ante-room, and +supported by two of his brother officers, he cried out, as the king was +passing to the drawing-room, "Behold, sire, a man who refuses to bend his +knee to you; he has lost both in your service." The king, struck no less by +the singularity of his address, than by the melancholy object before him, +stopped, and hastily demanded what had been done for him. "Half-pay," +replied the lieutenant, "and please your majesty." "Fye, fye on't," said +the king, shaking his head; "but let me see you again next levee-day." The +lieutenant did not fail to appear, when he received from the immediate hand +of royalty a present of five hundred pounds, and an annuity of two hundred +pounds a-year for life.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charles VI.</span>—At the breaking out of the war against the Turks, in the year +1717, the Emperor Charles VI. of Austria took leave of his general, Prince +Eugene, with the following words: "Prince, I have set over you a general, +who is always to be called to your council, and in whose name all your +operations are to be undertaken." With this he put into his hand a +crucifix, richly set with diamonds, at the foot of which was the following +inscription, 'Jesus Christus Generalissimus.'—"Forget not," added the +Emperor, "that you are fighting his battles who shed his blood for man upon +the Cross. Under his supreme guidance, attack and overwhelm the enemies of +Christ and Christianity."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">George the Second.</span>—It was once found an impracticable task to make George +the Second acquiesce in a judgment passed by a court-martial on the conduct +of two officers high in the army. One of the officers had made himself +amenable to military law, by fighting in opposition to the orders of his +commander in chief, instead of retreat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">Pg 123</a></span>ing; by which act of disobedience, +the general's plans were frustrated. On these circumstances being detailed +to the king, his majesty exclaimed, "Oh! the one fight, the other run +away." "Your majesty will have the goodness to understand, that General +---- did not run away; it was necessary for the accomplishment of his +schemes, that he should cause the army to retreat at that critical moment; +this he would have conducted with his wonted skill, but for the breach of +duty in the officer under the sentence of the court-martial." "I +understand," impatiently returned the king; "one fight, he was right; the +other run away, he was wrong." It was in vain that ministers renewed their +arguments and explanations; his majesty could not, or would not, understand +the difference between a disgraceful flight and a politic retreat; they +were therefore obliged to end a discussion which merely drew forth the +repetition of the same judgment—"The one face the enemy and fight, he +right; the other turn his back and not fight, he wrong."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Ximenes.</span>—At the siege of Oran, in Africa, Cardinal Ximenes led the Spanish +troops to the breach, mounted on a charger, dressed in his pontifical +robes, and preceded by a monk on horseback, who bore his archiepiscopal +cross. "Go on, go on, my children," exclaimed he to the soldiers, "I am at +your head. A priest should think it an honour to expose his life for his +religion. I have an example in my predecessors, in the archbishopric of +Toledo. Go on to victory." When his victorious troops took possession of +the town, he burst into tears on seeing the number of the dead that were +lying on the ground; and was heard to say to himself, "They were indeed +infidels, but they might have become Christians. By their death, they have +deprived us of the principal advantage of the victory we have gained over +them."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Odd Grenadier.</span>—During the famous siege of Gibraltar, in the absence of +the fleet, and when an attack was daily expected, one dark night, a +sentinel, whose post was near a tower facing the Spanish lines, was +standing at the end of his walk, looking towards them, his head filled +with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">Pg 124</a></span> nothing but fire and sword, miners, breaching, storming, and +bloodshed, while by the side of his box stood a deep narrow-necked earthen +jug, in which was the remainder of his supper, consisting of boiled pease. +A large monkey (of which there were plenty at the top of the rock), +encouraged by the man's absence, and allured by the smell of the pease, +ventured to the jug; and, in endeavouring to get at its contents, thrust +his neck so far into the jug, as to be unable to withdraw it. At this +instant, the soldier approaching, the monkey started up to escape, with the +jug on his head. This terrible monster no sooner saluted the eyes of the +sentry, than his frantic imagination converted poor pug into a +blood-thirsty Spanish grenadier, with a tremendous cap on his head. Full of +this dreadful idea, he instantly fired his piece, roaring out that the +enemy had scaled the walls. The guards took the alarm; the drums were beat; +signal-guns fired; and in less than ten minutes, the governor and his whole +garrison were under arms. The supposed grenadier, being very much +incommoded by his cap, and almost blinded by the pease, was soon overtaken +and seized; and by this capture, the tranquillity of the garrison was soon +restored, without that slaughter and bloodshed which every man had +prognosticated at the beginning of this dire alarm.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="MISCELLANEOUS" id="MISCELLANEOUS">MISCELLANEOUS</a>.</h2> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dunning.</span>—The witty Lord Ross, having spent all his money in London, set +out for Ireland, in order to recruit his purse. On his way, he happened to +meet with Sir Murrough O'Brien, driving for the capital in a handsome +phaëton, with six prime dun-coloured horses. "Sir Murrough," exclaimed his +lordship, "what a contrast there is betwixt you and me! You are driving +your <i>duns</i> before you, but my <i>duns</i> are driving me before them."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Steele & Addison.</span>—A gentleman who was dining with another, praised the +meat very much, and asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">Pg 125</a></span> who was the butcher? "His name is +Addison."—"Addison!" echoed the guest, "pray is he any relation to the +essayist?"—"In all probability he is, for he is seldom without his steel +(<i>Steele</i>) by his side."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">A Tedious Preacher.</span>—Mr. Canning was once asked by an English clergyman how +he liked the sermon he had preached before him. "Why, it was a short +sermon," quoth Canning. "Oh yes," said the preacher; "you know I avoid +being tedious." "Ah, but," replied Canning, "you <i>were</i> tedious."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Charity sermon.</span>—Sydney Smith, preaching a charity sermon, frequently +repeated the assertion that, of all nations, Englishmen were most +distinguished for generosity and the love of their species. The collection +happened to be inferior to his expectations, and he said that he had +evidently made a great mistake, for that his expression should have been, +that they were distinguished for the love of their <i>specie</i>.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Pope the Poet.</span>—This celebrated poet is said to have been once severely +retorted upon. A question arose in company respecting the reading of a +passage with or without a note of interrogation. Pope rather arrogantly +asked one gentleman if he knew what a note of interrogation was. "Yes, sir: +it is <i>a little crooked thing that asks questions</i>." Pope was little and +deformed.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Estimate of Greatness.</span>—Pope was with Sir Godfrey Kneller one day, when his +nephew, a Guinea trader, came in. "Nephew," said Sir Godfrey, "you have the +honour of seeing the two greatest men in the world."—"I don't know how +great you may be," said the Guinea-man, "but I don't like your looks: I +have often bought a man much better than both of you together, all muscles +and bones, for ten guineas."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">"Rejected Addresses."</span>—The fame of the brothers James and Horatio Smith was +confined to a limited circle, until the publication of "The Rejected +Addresses." James<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">Pg 126</a></span> used to dwell with much pleasure on the criticism of a +Leicestershire clergyman: "I do not see why they ('The Addresses') should +have been rejected: I think some of them very good." This, he would add, is +almost as good as the avowal of the Irish Bishop, that there were some +things in "Gulliver's Travels" which he could not believe.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Two Smith's.</span>—A gentleman took lodgings in the same house with James +Smith, one of the celebrated authors of the "Rejected Addresses." His name +was also James Smith. The consequence was an eternal confusion of calls and +letters, and the postman had no alternative but to share the letters +equally between the two. "This is intolerable, sir," said our author, "you +must quit." "Why am I to quit more than you?" "Because you came last, and +being James the Second you must <i>abdicate</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Coleridge</span>, the Poet, once dined in company with a person who listened to +the conversation and said nothing for a long time; but occasionally nodded +his head, and Coleridge concluded him a thoughtful and intelligent man. At +length, towards the end of the dinner, some apple dumplings were placed on +the table, and the listener had no sooner seen them than he burst forth, +"Them's the fellows for me!" Coleridge adds: "I wish Spurzheim could have +examined the fellow's head."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An Appropriate Successor.</span>—Clerambault, who was deformed, was elected to +succeed La Fontaine in the French Academy. On that occasion it was said +that "La Fontaine was very properly succeeded by Esop."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Erskine.</span>—Lord Kellie was amusing the company with an account of a sermon +he had heard in Italy, in which the preacher related the miracle of St. +Anthony preaching to the fishes, who, in order to listen to his pious +discourse, held their heads out of the water. "I can credit the miracle," +said Erskine, "if your lordship was at church." "I certainly was there," +said the peer. "Then, rejoined Erskine, there was at least <i>one fish out of +water</i>."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">Pg 127</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Memory.</span>—A humorous comment on this system of artificial memory was made by +a waiter at an hotel where Feinaigle dined, after having given his lecture +on that subject. A few minutes after the Professor left the table, the +waiter entered, with uplifted hands and eyes, exclaiming, "Well, I declare, +the <i>memory man</i> has forgotten his umbrella!"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Parisian rag-picker.</span>—An old chiffonnier (or rag picker) died in Paris in a +state apparently of the most abject poverty. His only relation was a niece, +who lived as servant with a greengrocer. This girl always assisted her +uncle as far as her slender means would permit. When she heard of his +death, which took place suddenly, she was upon the point of marriage with a +journeyman baker, to whom she had been long attached. The nuptial day was +fixed, but Suzette had not yet bought her wedding clothes. She hastened to +tell her lover that their marriage must be deferred, as she wanted the +price of her bridal finery to lay her uncle decently in the grave. Her +mistress ridiculed the idea, and exhorted her to leave the old man to be +buried by charity. Suzette refused. The consequence was a quarrel, in which +the young woman lost at once her place and her lover, who sided with her +mistress. She hastened to the miserable garret where her uncle had expired, +and by the sacrifice not only of her wedding attire, but of nearly all the +rest of her slender wardrobe, she had the old man decently interred. Her +pious task fulfilled, she sat alone in her uncle's room weeping bitterly, +when the master of her faithless lover, a young good-looking man, entered. +"So, my good Suzette, I find you have lost your place!" cried he, "I am +come to offer you one for life—will you marry me?" "I, Sir? you are +joking." "No, indeed, I want a wife, and I am sure I can't find a better." +"But everybody will laugh at you for marrying a poor girl like me," "Oh! if +that is your only objection we shall soon get over it; come, come along; my +mother is prepared to receive you." Suzette hesitated no longer; but she +wished to take with her a memorial of her deceased uncle: it was a cat +that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">Pg 128</a></span> he had kept for many years. The old man was so fond of the animal +that he was determined even death should not separate them, and he had +caused her to be stuffed and placed near his bed. As Suzette took puss +down, she uttered an exclamation of surprise at finding her so heavy. The +lover hastened to open the animal, when out fell a shower of gold. There +were a thousand louis concealed in the body of the cat, and this sum, which +the old man had contrived to amass, became the just reward of the worthy +girl and her disinterested lover.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Integrity.</span>—A Parisian stock-broker, just before his death, laid a wager on +parole with a rich capitalist; and a few weeks after his death, the latter +visited the widow and gave her to understand that her late husband had lost +a wager of sixteen thousand francs. She went to her secretary, took out her +pocket-book, and counted bank notes to the stated amount, when the +capitalist thus addressed her: "Madame, as you give such convincing proof +that you consider the wager binding, <i>I</i> have to pay you sixteen thousand +francs. Here is the sum, for <i>I</i> am the loser, and not your husband."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the speculations of 1837-38, Mr. C., a young merchant of +Philadelphia, possessed of a handsome fortune, caught the mania, entered +largely into its operations, and for a time was considered immensely rich. +But when the great revulsion occurred he was suddenly reduced to +bankruptcy. His young wife immediately withdrew from the circles of wealth +and fashion, and adapted her expenses, family and personal, to her altered +circumstances. At the time of Mr. C.'s failure, his wife was in debt to +Messrs. Stewart and Company, merchants of Philadelphia, about two hundred +dollars for articles which she had used personally. This debt, she had no +means of liquidating. However after the lapse of twelve years, and when the +creditors had of course looked upon the debt as lost, Mrs. C. was able to +take the principal, add to it twelve years' interest, enclose the whole in +a note and address it to Messrs. Stewart and Company. Messrs. Stewart and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">Pg 129</a></span> +Company, upon the receipt of the money, addressed a note in reply to Mrs. +C., in which they requested her acceptance of the accompanying gift, as a +slight testimonial of their high appreciation of an act so honourable and +so rare as to call forth unqualified admiration. Accompanying the letter +was sent a superb brocade silk dress, and some laces of exquisite texture +and great value.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Costume of the Sisters of Charity.</span>—The Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, at +the time of their re-establishment in their house, in the <i>Rue du Vieux +Colombier</i>, after the Revolution, wore black dresses and caps. On the +fourth Sunday in Advent, 1804, Pope Pius the Seventh visited the community. +He seemed surprised that the Sisters had not resumed the habit of their +order; but he was told that no community had dared to show the religious +habit abroad. He then spoke to the emperor, saying to him that the good +daughters of charity "<i>looked like widows</i>." The emperor, at his request, +gave authority to the Sisters to wear their habit, and they resumed it in +the spring of 1805.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">China-ware.</span>—An English gentleman wanting a dessert-service of porcelain +made after a particular pattern, sent over to China a specimen dish, +ordering that it should be exactly copied for the whole service. It +unfortunately happened that in the dish so sent over the Chinese +manufacturer discovered a crack; the consequence was, that the entire +service sent over to the party ordering it had a crack in each article, +carefully copied from the original.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dreaming.</span>—It is a custom among the Canadian Indians, that when one dreams +that another has rendered him any service, the person dreamed of thinks it +a duty to fulfil the dream, if possible. A chief one morning came to the +governor, Sir William Johnstone, and told him that he had last night +dreamed that Sir William had made him a present of the suit of regimentals +he wore. The governor readily presented them to him; but as the Indian was +going out, "Stop," said Sir William, "I had almost forgot, but I dreamed +about you last night; I dreamed that you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">Pg 130</a></span> gave me such a piece of land," +describing a large tract. "You shall have it," said he, "but if you please, +Sir William, we will <i>not dream any more</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lessing</span> was remarkable for a frequent absence of mind. Having missed money +at different times, without being able to discover who took it, he +determined to put the honesty of his servant to a trial, and left a handful +of gold on the table. "Of course you counted it?" said one of his friends. +"Count it!" said Leasing, rather embarrassed; "no, I forgot that."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">At</span> a public sale, there was a book which Lessing was very desirous of +possessing. He gave three of his friends at different times a commission to +buy it at any price. They accordingly bid against each other till they had +got as far as ninety crowns, there having been no other bidder after it had +reached ten crowns. Happily one of them thought it best to speak to the +others; when it appeared they had all been bidding for Lessing, whose +forgetfulness in this instance cost him eighty crowns.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Edinburgh.</span>—In a debate upon some projected improvement of the streets of +Edinburgh, the Dean of Faculty wittily said that the <i>forwardness</i> of the +clergy, and the <i>backwardness</i> of the medical faculty, had spoiled the +finest street in Europe, alluding to the projection of the colonnade of St. +Andrew's church and the recession of the Medical Hall in George's-street.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Maclaurin.</span>—This celebrated Professor of Mathematics in Edinburgh College, +and the able expounder of Newton's <i>Principia</i>, always dislocated his jaw, +and was unable to shut his mouth, when he yawned. At the same time his +instinct of imitation was so strong, that he could not resist yawning when +he witnessed that act in others. His pupils were not slow in discovering, +and taking advantage of this physical weakness. When tired of his lecture, +they either began to yawn, or open their mouths in imitation of that act, +and the prelection was interrupted. The Professor stood before them with +his mouth wide open,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">Pg 131</a></span> and could not proceed till he rang for his servant to +come and shut it. In the meantime the mischievous disciples of Euclid had +effected their escape.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">William III. and St. Evremond.</span>—William was so little of a man of letters, +that on the celebrated French writer, St. Evremond, being presented to him +at St. James's, his majesty had nothing more <i>àpropos</i> to say than this, +"You are, I believe, sir, a major-general in your master's service."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Music and Politics.</span>—Dr. Wise, the musician, being requested to subscribe +his name to a petition against an expected prorogation of Parliament in the +reign of Charles II., wittily answered, "No, gentlemen, it is not my +business to meddle with state affairs; <i>but I'll set a tune to it, if you +like</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sion College.</span>—Upon the recovery of George III. in 1789, the librarian and +others connected with Sion College were at a loss what device or motto to +select for the illumination of the building; when the following happy +choice was made by a worthy divine, from the book of Psalms; "<i>Sion</i> heard +of it and was glad."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dean Swift</span> having preached an assize sermon in Ireland, was invited to dine +with the judges; and having in his sermon considered the use and abuse of +the law, he pressed somewhat hard upon those counsellors, who plead causes, +which they knew in their consciences to be wrong. When dinner was over, and +the glass began to go round, a young barrister retorted upon the dean; and +after several altercations, the counsellor asked him, "If the devil was to +die, whether a <i>parson</i> might not be found, who, for money, would preach +his funeral?" "Yes," said Swift, "I would gladly be the man, and I would +then give the <i>devil</i> his due, as I have this day done his <i>children</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Swift</span> disliked nothing so much as being troubled with applications from +authors to correct their works. A poor poet having written a very +indifferent tragedy, got him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">Pg 132</a></span>self introduced to the dean in order to have +his opinion of it; and in about a fortnight after, called at the deanery. +Swift returned the play, carefully folded up, telling him he had read it, +and taken some pains with it, and he believed the author would not find +above half the number of faults that it had when it came into his hands. +The poor author, after a thousand acknowledgments, retired in company with +the gentleman who had introduced him, and was so impatient to see the +corrections, that he stopped under the first gateway they came to, when to +his utter astonishment and confusion, he saw that the dean had taken the +pains to blot out every second line throughout the whole play, so carefully +as to render them quite illegible.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Lady Carteret</span>, wife of the Lord Lieutenant, said to Swift one day, "The air +of Ireland is excellent and healthy." "For God's sake, madam," said Swift, +falling down before her, "don't say so in England, for if you do they will +tax it."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dr Savage</span>, who died in 1747, travelled in his younger days, with the Earl +of Salisbury, to whom he was indebted for a considerable living in +Hertfordshire. One day at the levee, the King (George I.) asked him how +long he had resided at Rome with Lord Salisbury. Upon his answering him how +long,—"Why," said the king, "you staid there long enough; how is it you +did not convert the pope?"—"Because, sir," replied the doctor, "I had +nothing better to offer him."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sheridan.</span>—This distinguished wit, upon being asked by a young member of +parliament how he first succeeded in establishing his fame as an orator, +replied, "Why, sir, it was easily effected. After I had been in St. +Stephen's Chapel a few days, I found that four-fifths of the house were +composed of country squires, and great fools; my first effort, therefore, +was by a lively sally, or an ironical remark, to make them laugh; that +laugh effaced from their stupid pates the recollection of what had been +urged in opposition to my view of the subject, and then I whipped in an +argument, and had all the way clear before me."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">Pg 133</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sheridan.</span>—The father of the celebrated Sheridan was one day descanting on +the pedigree of his family, regretting that they were no longer styled +O'Sheridan, as they were formerly. "Indeed, father," replied Sheridan, then +a boy, "we have more right to the O than any one else; for we <i>owe</i> +everybody."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sheridan</span> inquiring of his son what side of politics he should espouse on +his inauguration to St. Stephen's chapel; the son replied, that he intended +to vote for those who offered best, and that in consequence he should wear +on his forehead a label, "To let;" to which the facetious critic rejoined, +"I suppose, Tom, you mean to add, <i>unfurnished</i>."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sheridan</span> was once travelling to town in one of the public coaches, for the +purpose of canvassing Westminster, at the time that Mr. Paull was his +opponent, when he found himself in company with two Westminster electors. +In the course of conversation, one of them asked his friend to whom he +meant to give his vote? The other replied, "to Paull, certainly; for, +though I think him but a shabby sort of a fellow, I would vote for anyone +rather than that rascal Sheridan!" "Do you know Sheridan?" inquired the +stranger. "Not I, sir," was the answer, "nor should I wish to know him." +The conversation dropped here; but when the party alighted to breakfast, +Sheridan called aside the other gentleman and said, "Pray who is that very +agreeable friend of your's? He is one of the pleasantest fellows I ever met +with; I should be glad to know his name?" "His name is Mr. T.; he is an +eminent lawyer, and resides in Lincoln's Inn Fields." Breakfast being over, +the party resumed their seats in the coach; soon after which, Sheridan +turned the discourse to the law. "It is," said he, "a fine profession. Men +may rise from it to the highest eminence in the state, and it gives vast +scope to the display of talent; many of the most virtuous and noble +characters recorded in our history have been lawyers. I am sorry, however, +to add, that some of the greatest rascals have also been lawyers; but of +all the rascals of lawyers I ever heard of, the greatest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">Pg 134</a></span> is one T., who +lives in Lincoln's Inn Fields." The gentleman fired up at the charge, and +said very angrily, "I am Mr. T., sir." "And I am Mr. Sheridan," was the +reply. The jest was instantly seen; they shook hands, and instead of voting +against the facetious orator, the lawyer exerted himself warmly in +promoting his election.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sterne.</span>—Sterne used to relate a circumstance which happened to him at +York. After preaching at the cathedral, an old woman whom he observed +sitting on the pulpit stairs, stopped him as he came down, and begged to +know where she should have the honour of hearing him preach the following +Sunday. On leaving the pulpit the next Sunday he found her placed as +before, when she put the same question to him. The following Sunday he was +to preach four miles out of York, which he told her; and to his great +surprise, he found her there too, and the same question was put to him as +he descended from the pulpit. "On which," added he "I took for my text +these words, expecting to find my old woman as before: 'I will grant the +request of this poor widow, lest by her often coming, she weary me,'" One +of the company immediately replied, "Why, Sterne, you omitted the most +applicable part of the passage, which is, 'Though I neither fear God nor +regard man.'"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Sporting.</span>—Burton, in his "Anatomie of Melancholy," tells us of a physician +in Milan, who kept a house for the reception of lunatics, and by way of +cure, used to make his patients stand for a length of time in a pit of +water, some up to the knees, some up to the girdle, and others as high as +the chin, according as they were more or less affected. An inmate of this +establishment, who happened, for the time to be pretty well recovered, was +standing at the door of the house, and seeing a gallant cavalier ride past +with a hawk on his fist, and his spaniels after him, asked, "What all these +preparations meant?" The cavalier answered, "To kill game." "What may the +game be worth which you kill in the course of a year?" rejoined the +patient. "About five or ten crowns." "And what may your horse, dogs, and +hawks, cost you for a year?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">Pg 135</a></span> "Four hundred crowns." On hearing this, the +patient, with great earnestness of manner, bade the cavalier instantly +begone, as he valued his life and welfare; "for" said he, "if our master +come and find you here, he will put you into his pit up to the very chin."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">An American heroine.</span>—During the summer of 1787, writes Mr. McClung, in his +Sketches of Western Adventure, "The house of Mr. John Merrill, of Nelson +County, Kentucky, was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular +address and good fortune. Merrill was alarmed by the barking of a dog about +midnight, and on opening the door in order to ascertain the cause of the +disturbance, he received the fire of six or seven Indians, by which one arm +and one thigh were broken. He instantly sank upon the floor, and called +upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely been done when it was +violently assailed by the tomahawks of the enemy, and a large breach soon +effected. Mrs. Merrill, however, being a perfect amazon, both in strength +and courage, guarded it with an axe, and successively killed or wounded +four of the enemy as they attempted to force their way into the cabin. The +Indians ascended the roof, and attempted to enter by way of the chimney; +but here again they were met by the same determined enemy. Mrs. Merrill +seized the only feather bed which the cabin afforded, and hastily ripping +it open, poured its contents upon the fire. A furious blaze and stifling +smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and brought down two of the enemy, +who lay at her mercy. Seizing the axe she quickly despatched them, and was +instantly afterwards summoned to the door, where the only remaining savage +now appeared, endeavoring to effect an entrance. He soon received a gash in +the cheek, which compelled him, with a loud yell, to relinquish his +purpose, and return hastily to Chillicothe, where, he gave an exaggerated +account of the fierceness, strength, and courage of the 'long knife +squaw!'"</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Another.</span>—The subject of this anecdote was a sister of General Isaac +Worrell. She died two or three years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">Pg 136</a></span> since in Philadelphia. The following +tribute to her patriotism and humanity, was paid by a New Jersey newspaper, +in July, 1849.—"The deceased was one of those devoted women who aided to +relieve the horrible sufferings of Washington's army at Valley +Forge—cooking and carrying provisions to them alone, through the depth of +winter, even passing through the outposts of the British army in the +disguise of a market woman. And when Washington was compelled to retreat +before a superior force, she concealed her brother, General Worrell—when +the British set a price on his head—in a cider hogshead in the cellar for +three days, and fed him through the bung-hole; the house being ransacked +four different times by the troops in search of him, without success. She +was above ninety years of age at the time of her death."</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Tyrolese peasant.</span>—During a conflict at the farm of Rainerhof, in the +Tyrolese war, in 1809, a young woman, who resided at the house, brought out +a small cask of wine, with which to encourage and refresh the peasants: she +had advanced to the scene of action, regardless of the tremendous fire of +the Bavarians, carrying the wine upon her head, when a bullet struck the +cask, and compelled her to let it go. Undaunted by this accident, she +endeavoured to repair the mischief, by placing her thumb upon the orifice +caused by the ball; and then encouraged those nearest her to refresh +themselves quickly, that she might not remain in her dangerous situation, +and suffer for her humane generosity to them.</p> + + +<h4>THE END.</h4> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES *** + +***** This file should be named 15413-h.htm or 15413-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/1/15413/ + +Produced by Elaine Walker and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes + Historical, Literary, and Humorous--A New Selection + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 19, 2005 [EBook #15413] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES *** + + + + +Produced by Elaine Walker and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES. + + +HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND HUMOROUS. + +A NEW SELECTION. + +BURNS & OATES. +LONDON: GRANVILLE MANSIONS. +NEW YORK: BARCLAY STREET. + + + + +INDEX. + + +Abernethy, 26 + +Abon Hannifah, 39 + +ACTORS, 27-33 + +Adam, Dr., and the Schoolboy, 106 + +AFFECTION, 1-5 + +Aguesseau, D', Chancellor of France, 115 + +Alban's, Duchess of, and the Sailor, 28 + +Algerine Captain, 119 + +Alphonsus, King of Naples, 39 + +American Heroines, 135 + +Amour, St., General, 1 + +Andre, St., Marquis de, 90 + +ARTISTS, 5-9 + +Astley Cooper, 26 + +Atterbury, in the House of Peers, 113 + + +Bakers, The, of Lyons, 18 + +Bailly, Miss--Escape of the Pretender, 94 + +Bannister, 19 + +Bautru and the Spanish Librarian, 77 + +Bayard, The Chevalier, 80 + +Beauvais, Ladies of, 118 + +BEGGING, 10 + +Belmont, Countess de, 45 + +Benbow and the Wounded Sailor, 101 + +BENEVOLENCE, 11-13 + +Ben Jonson at Dinner, 21 + +Bernard, Father, 88 + +Bishop and Clerks, 104 + +BOOKS, 13-16 + +Boufflers, Marshal, 120 + +Bouille, Marquis de, 121 + +Boutteville, Count de, and the Soldier, 81 + +Boutibonne, M., Imaginary Accident, 58 + +Breton Peasants, 48 + +Brougham, Lord--Examination of a Witness, 70 + +Budaeus, 76 + +Buffon and his Servant, 115 + +Busby, Dr., and the Scholar, 106 + + +Cajeta, Siege of, 51 + +Camden, Lord, in the Stocks, 73 + +Camerons and Christians, 117 + +Campo, Marquess del, and George III., 93 + +Candle Light, War by, 120 + +Canning and the Preacher, 125 + +Carteret, Lady, and Dean Swift, 132 + +Carving Accident, 90 + +Catalogue Making, 15 + +Chamillart the French Lawyer, 70 + +Chantrey--First sculpture, 9 + +CHARITY, 18 + +Charles II. and Killigrew, 63 + +Charles V. of France, 64 + +Charles VI. of Austria, 122 + +Charles XII. and his Secretary, 119 + +Charlotte, Princess, 54 + +Chatillon, Admiral, and the Beggar, 10 + +Cherin, General, 109 + +Child and Goat, 103 + +China Ware, 129 + +Christmas Pudding Extraordinary, 20 + +Clerambault and La Fontaine, 126 + +Cobbler of Leyden, The, 114 + +Cochrane, Sir John, 46 + +Cochrane, Lord, 56 + +Coleridge's "Watchman", 107 + +Coleridge and his Dinner Companion, 126 + +Conjugal Affection--French Troops in Italy, 4 + +Cornwallis, Admiral, and the Mutineers, 105 + +Crimean Captain, 111 + +Curran + and Dr. Boyse, 40 + and the Jockey, 67 + and the Farmer, 69 + his Witty Replies, 70 + +Cuvier and his Visitors, 116 + + +Day, Thomas, and Sir W. Jones, 72 + +Deaf and Dumb Mother, 1 + +Denon and Defoe, 16 + +Dey of Algiers and Admiral Keppel, 104 + +Dickens--Origin of "Boz", 15 + +Dictionaries, 14 + +Dieppe Pilot, 43 + +DINNERS, 19-22 + +DOCTORS, 22-27 + +Domat, Judge, and the Poor Widow, 11 + +Douglas, The, 47 + +DRAMA, The, 27-33 + +Dreaming, 129 + +Drummond, Provost, 52 + +Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pitt--a Dispute in Bed, 86 + +Duncan, Admiral, 121 + +DUTY, 34 + +Duval, the Librarian, 77 + + +Edinburgh--Spoiled Street, 130 + +Erskine and Lord Kellie, 126 + +Erskine, Legal Anecdotes of, 67-68 + +Eveillan, Archdeacon of Angers, 57 + + +Faithful Depositary, 37 + +Faithful Domestic, 36 + +Falkland, Lord, and the House of Commons, 86 + +Family Sacrifice--French Revolution, 4 + +Fear of Death, 58 + +Fenelon, Archbishop--his Humanity, 56 + +FIDELITY, 35-37 + +Fielding, Sir J., and the Irishman, 71 + +Filial Affection--French Boy, 2 + +Fletcher, of Saltown, and his Footman, 113 + +Fontenelle, 37, 38 + +Fools, 38 + +Foote, the Actor, 33 + +FORGIVENESS, 39 + +Fouche and Napoleon, 91 + +Francis I. and his Fool, 38 + +Frederick the Great + and the Page, 61 + and the Soldier, 62 + and the Deserter, 62 + his Arguments, 62 + +French + Curate--Forgiveness, 39 + Peasant Girl, 45 + Officer in Flanders, 77 + Officer in Spain, 77 + Servant + at Noyon, 95 + of La Vendee, 91 + +FRIENDS, 40 + + +Gainsborough--Picture of the Pigs, 6 + +Garrick and Rich, 33 + +Garrick and Sir J. Reynolds, 115 + +Gendarmes and Priest, 91 + +George + I. and the Lieutenant, 121 + II. + and the Dutch-Innkeeper, 64 + and the Court Martial, 122 + III. + --Punctuality, 64 + Carbonel the Wine Merchant, 65 + The Horse Dealer, 66 + Memorial to a Servant, 66 + Treatment of a Caricature, 66 + and Lord Lothian, 102 + +Ghosts, 42 + +Gibbet, Sight of a, 117 + +Gin _versus_ Drugs, 25 + +Glynn, Dr., and the Magpie, 12 + +Gonsalvo de Cordova, 119 + +Goldsmith's Marlow, 32 + +Gooch, Sir W., and the Negro, 90 + +GRATITUDE, 40 + +Gregory, Dr., a Militiaman, 38 + +Granby, Marquis of, and the Lord-in-Waiting, 108 + +Grance, Count de, and the Cannon Ball, 112 + +Grenadier, French, 121 + +Grog, 103 + +Guise, Colonel, 24 + + +H., Letter, Use of, 14 + +Haddock, Admiral, 102 + +Handel, 82 + +Hanging Judge, The, 73 + +Hanway, Jonas, and the Coachman, 107 + +Hawker, Colonel, and the French Officer, 77 + +Haydn, 84 + +Heavy Play, A, 28 + +Heber's Palestine, 14 + +Henderson and the Actor, 113 + +Henri IV. and D'Aubigne, 40 + +HEROISM, 43 + +Hill, + Sergeant, 75 + Rowland, 101 + +Hogarth--Picture of the Red Sea, 9 + +Hood, Sir S., 57 + +HOSPITALITY, 48 + +Hough, Dr., and the Barometer, 114 + +Housemaid, Presence of mind of a, 92 + +Hulet, the Comedian, 31 + +HUMANITY, 51-57 + +Hume's Speeches, 86 + +Huntly, Marquis of, and James VI., 95 + +Ice, Custom-house doubt, 70 + +IMAGINATION, 58 + + +James I. + and the Courtier, 38 + in Westminster Hall, 60 + and the Earl of Scarborough, 96 + +James IV. of Scotland and the Robbers, 92 + +John Gilpin, Origin of, 14 + +Johnson, Dr., + and the Hare, 49 + and Wilkes, 60 + and Lord Elibank, 60 + reply to Miller, 60 + +Judge, A Benevolent, 11 + + +Kaimes, Lord, and the Sheepstealer, 75 + +Kean, Charles, 29 + +Kennedies, The, 36 + +Keppel, Admiral, at Algiers, 104 + +KINGS, 60 + +Kirwan, Dr., 20 + +Kosciusko, 19 + + +Labat, Mons. of Bayonne, 47 + +Lady and Highwayman, 100 + +Lamb, Counsellor, 72 + +Lamb, Charles, and the Farmer, 116 + +LAW AND LAWYERS, 66-75 + +Lely the Painter, and the Alderman, 6 + +Lessing, 130 + +Lettsom, Dr., and the Highwayman, 101 + +LIBRARIANS, 76 + +Lisieux, Bishop of, 53 + +Liston, 27 + +Long and Short Barristers, 74 + +Longueville, Duke of, 40 + +Louis, + St., 78 + XII. and the Composer, 63 + XIV. and the Comte de Grammont, 62 + and Lord Stair, 63 + and the Eddystone Workmen, 63 + +Lyndhurst, Lord,--Retirement from Office, 87 + + +Mackenzie, General, 34 + +Maclaurin and his Pupils, 130 + +MAGNANIMITY, 77-81 + +Marie Antoinette, 40 + +Maximilian I. and the Beggar, 11 + +Mayor, + An English, 89 + A French, 89 + +Memory, Artificial, 127 + +Mimicry, 30 + +Miner, Swedish, 3 + +Moliere and the Doctors, 23 + +Monkey, A Grenadier, 123 + +Montaigne on Doctors, 23 + +Montesquieu, M. de, 55 + +Morand and the Critics, 33 + +Morland the Painter, 6 + +Morvilliers and Charles IX., 34 + +Motte, M. de la, and the Critics, 28 + +Mozart, 84 + +Mungo Park and the African Woman, 50 + +MUSICIANS, 82-85 + +Mysterious Benefactor, 19 + + +Napoleon Bonaparte, 17, 18, 91, 110 + +Nash and the Doctor, 25 + +Navy Chaplains, 104 + +Neckar and the Corporation of Paris, 51 + +Nelson, Lord--Punctuality, 98 + +Nena Sahib and the Devil, 107 + +Nevailles, Marshal de, 48 + +Norton, Sir F. and Lord Mansfield, 72 + + +O'Brien, Lieutenant, 102 + +Old Age secured--the Irish Beggar, 11 + +Old Ambrose, 35 + +O'Neil, Sir Phelim, 78 + +Orkney, Countess of, 1 + +Orleans, Duke of, 39 + +Ossuna, Duke of, and the Felon, 100 + + +Parisian Stockbroker, 128 + +Parisian Ragman, 127 + +PARLIAMENT, 86-88 + +PATIENCE, 88 + +Pepusch, Dr., 116 + +Peterborough, Lord, and the Mob, 91 + +Peter the Great, 71, 113 + +Philadelphian Lady, 128 + +Philip II. of Spain, 88 + +Physicians in China, 23 + +Pitt, and the Duke of Newcastle, 86 + +Pius IX., and the Attorney, 12 + +POETS, 89 + +Polignac, Compte de, 17 + +Politeness, 89 + +Poor-man-of-mutton, 21 + +Pope the Poet, 125 + +Presence of Mind, 90-95 + +Prideaux--Life of Mahomet, 13 + +PUNCTUALITY, 98 + + +Quartering upon the Enemy, 111 + +Quick the Actor, 32 + + +Racine and his Family, 3 + +Ragged Regiment, 118 + +RANK AND ANCESTRY, 95 + +Reclaimed Robbers, 101 + +Rejected Addresses, The, 125 + +Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 5 + +Richardson--opinion of a Picture, 5 + +Rivardes and the Wooden Leg, 111 + +ROBBERS, 100 + +Robert, King of France, 114 + +Ross, Lord, 124 + + +SAILORS, 101-105 + +Savage Dr., and the Pope, 132 + +Savoie, Magdeline De, 110 + +Schaumbourg, Count, 117 + +SCHOOLS, 105 + +Scott, Sir W. + --Punctuality, 99 + and the Beggar, 11 + and the Inn-keeper, 109 + +Scott, Mr., of Exeter, 98 + +Selwyn, G., and the Traveller, 116 + +Senesino and Farinelli, 30 + +Sentinel on the Stage, 31 + +SERVANTS, 107 + +Shaving a Queen, 27 + +Sheridan, Dr., and the Scholar, 105 + +Sheridan, 88, 132, 133 + +Sidney, Sir Philip, 53 + +Signboards, 109 + +Sion College, and George III., 131 + +Sir and Sire, 17 + +Sisters of Charity, 129 + +Smith, Sydney, Charity Sermon, 125 + +Smiths, The Two, 126 + +SOLDIERS, 109-112 + +Sporting, 134 + +Stackelberg, Baron Von, 54 + +Steele and Addison, 124 + +Sterne and the Old Woman, 134 + +Strasburgh Lawyer, A, 68 + +Suwarrow, Marshall, 110 + +Swift, Dean, 10, 21, 22, 109, 131 + + +Talleyrand, Madame de, 16 + +Tantara, and the Landscape, 9 + +TEMPER, 113 + +Tenterden, Lord, 74 + +Thelwall and Erskine, 71 + +"They're all Out", 87 + +Thomson the Poet, and Quin, 15 + +Thurot, Admiral, 79 + +TIME, Value of, 115 + +TRAVELLING, 116 + +Turenne, Marshal, 112 + +Turner, The Painter, 6 + +Tyrolese Heroine, 136 + + +Van Dyke, 40 + +Vendean Servant, 91 + +Vernet--Picture of St. Jerome, 8 + +Villars, Marshal, 110 + +Villecerf, Madame de, 22 + +Voisin, Chancellor of Louis XIX., 34 + + +Wager, Sir C., and the Doctors, 25 + +WAR, 117-124 + +Wardlaw, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, 49 + +Weeping at a Play, 31 + +Welch Dispute, A, 97 + +West, the Painter, 7 + +William III., and St. Evremond, 131 + +Willie Law, 22 + +Wise, Dr., and the Parliament, 131 + + +Ximenes, Cardinal, 123 + + +"Yellow Cabriolet," The, 28 + +York, Duke of, and the Housekeeper, 108 + + +Zimmerman, 23 + + + + +ANECDOTES. + + + + +AFFECTION. + + +General St. Amour.--This officer, who distinguished himself in the Imperial +service, was the son of a poor Piedmontese peasant, but he never forgot his +humble extraction. While the army was in Piedmont, he invited his principal +officers to an entertainment, when his father happened to arrive just as +they were sitting down to table. This being announced to the general, he +immediately rose, and stated to his guests his father's arrival. He said he +knew the respect he owed to them, but at the same time he hoped they would +excuse him if he withdrew, and dined with his father in another room. The +guests begged that the father might be introduced, assuring him that they +should be happy to see one so nearly related to him; but he replied, "Ah, +no, gentlemen; my father would find himself so embarrassed in company so +unsuited to his rank, that it would deprive us both of the only pleasure of +the interview--the unrestrained intercourse of a parent and his son." He +then retired, and passed the evening with his father. + + +The Deaf and Dumb Mother.--The late Countess of Orkney, who died at an +advanced age, was deaf and dumb, and was married in 1753 by signs. She +resided with her husband at his seat, Rostellan, near Cork. Shortly after +the birth of her first child, the nurse saw the mother cautiously approach +the cradle in which the infant lay asleep, evidently full of some deep +design. The Countess, having first assured herself that her babe was fast +asleep, took from under her shawl a large stone, which had purposely been +concealed there, and, to the utter horror of the nurse, who largely shared +the popular notion that all dumb persons are possessed of peculiar cunning +and malignity, raised it up, as if to enable her to dash it down with +greater force. Before the nurse could interpose to prevent what she +believed would bring certain death to the sleeping and unconscious child, +the dreadful stone was flung, not at the cradle, however, but upon the +ground, and fell with great violence. The noise awakened the child. The +Countess was overjoyed, and, in the fulness of a mother's heart, she fell +upon her knees to express her thankfulness that her beloved infant +possessed a blessing denied to herself--the sense of hearing. This lady +often gave similar indications of superior intelligence, though we can +believe that few of them equalled the present in interest. + + +Filial Affection.--A veteran, worn out in the service of France, was left +without a pension, although he had a wife and three children to share his +wretchedness. His son was placed at _L'Ecole militaire_, where he might +have enjoyed every comfort, but the strongest persuasion could not induce +him to taste anything but coarse bread and water. The Duke de Choiseul +being informed of the circumstance, ordered the boy before him, and +enquired the reason of his abstemiousness. The boy, with a manly fortitude, +replied, "Sir, when I had the honour of being admitted to this royal +foundation, my father conducted me hither. We came on foot: on our journey +the demands of nature were relieved by bread and water. I was received. My +father blessed me, and returned to the protection of a helpless wife and +family. As long as I can remember, bread of the blackest kind, with water, +has been their daily subsistence, and even that is earned by every species +of labour that honour does not forbid. To this fare, sir, my father is +reduced; and while he, my mother, and my sisters, are compelled to endure +such wretchedness, is it possible that I can enjoy the plenty which my +sovereign has provided for me?" The duke felt this tale of nature, gave the +boy three louis d'ors for pocket-money, and promised to procure the father +a pension. The boy begged the louis d'ors might be sent to his father, +which, with the patent of his pension, was immediately done. The boy was +patronised by the duke, and became one of the best officers in the service +of France. + + +Racine.--The celebrated French poet, Racine, having one day returned from +Versailles, where he had been on a visit, was waited upon by a gentleman +with an invitation to dine at the Hotel de Conde. "I cannot possibly do +myself that honour," said the poet; "it is some time since I have been with +my family; they are overjoyed to see me again, and have provided a fine +carp; so that I must dine with my dear wife and children." "But my good +sir," replied the gentleman, "several of the most distinguished characters +in the kingdom expect your company, and will be anxious to see you." On +this, Racine brought out the carp and showed it to his visitor, saying, +"Here, sir, is our little meal; then say, having provided such a treat for +me, what apology could I make for not dining with my poor children? Neither +they nor my wife could have any pleasure in eating a bit of it without me; +then pray be so obliging as to mention my excuse to the Prince of Conde and +my other illustrious friends." The gentleman did so; and not only His +Serene Highness, but all the company present, professed themselves +infinitely more charmed with this proof of the poet's affection as a +husband and a father, than they possibly could have been with his +delightful conversation. + + +Touching Recognition.--Some years ago, in making a new communication +between two shafts of a mine at Fahkin, the capital of Delecarlia, the body +of a miner was discovered by the workmen in a state of perfect +preservation, and impregnated with vitriolic water. It was quite soft, but +hardened on being exposed to the air. No one could identify the body: it +was merely remembered that the accident, by which he had thus been buried +in the bosom of the earth, had taken place above fifty years ago. All +enquiries about the name of the sufferer had already ceased, when a +decrepid old woman, supported on crutches, slowly advanced towards the +corpse, and knew it to be that of a young man to whom she had been +promised in marriage more than half a century ago. She threw herself on the +corpse, which had all the appearance of a bronze statue, bathed it with her +tears, and fainted with joy at having once more beheld the object of her +affections. One can with difficulty realize the singular contrast afforded +by that couple--the one buried above fifty years ago, still retaining the +appearance of youth; while the other, weighed down by age, evinced all the +fervency of youthful affections. + + +Family Sacrifice.--During the French revolution, Madame Saintmaraule, with +her daughter, and a youth, her son, not yet of age, were confined in prison +and brought to trial. The mother and daughter behaved with resolution, and +were sentenced to die; but of the youth no notice was taken, and he was +remanded to prison. "What!" exclaimed the boy, "am I then to be separated +from my mother? It cannot be!" and immediately he cried out, "_Vive le +Roi!_" In consequence of this, he was condemned to death, and, with his +mother and his sister, was led out to execution. + + +Expedient of Conjugal Affection.--Napoleon used to relate an anecdote +shewing the conjugal affection of some women who accompanied his troops +when he was at Col de Tende. To enter this mountainous and difficult +country, it was necessary for the soldiers to pass over a narrow bridge, +and, as the enterprise was a hazardous one, Napoleon had given orders that +no women should be permitted to cross it with them. To enforce this order, +two captains were stationed on the bridge with instructions, on pain of +death, not to suffer a woman to pass. The passage was effected, and the +troops continued their march. When some miles beyond the bridge, the +Emperor was greatly astonished at the appearance of a considerable number +of women with the soldiers. He immediately ordered the two captains to be +put under arrest, intending to have them tried for a breach of duty. The +prisoners protested their innocence, and stoutly asserted that no women had +crossed the bridge. Napoleon, on hearing this, commanded that some of the +women should be brought before him, when he interrogated them on the +subject. To his utter surprise they readily acknowledged that the captains +had not betrayed their trust, but that a contrivance of their own had +brought them into their present situation. They informed Napoleon, that +having taken the provisions, which had been prepared for the support of the +army, out of some of the casks, they had concealed themselves in them, and +by this stratagem succeeded in passing the bridge without discovery. + + + + +ARTISTS. + + +Sir Joshua Reynolds.--"What do you ask for this sketch?" said Sir Joshua to +an old picture-dealer, whose portfolio he was looking over. "Twenty +guineas, your honour." "Twenty pence, I suppose you mean?" "No, sir; it is +true I would have taken twenty pence for it this morning, but if _you_ +think it worth looking at, all the world will think it worth buying." Sir +Joshua ordered him to send the sketch home, and gave him the money. + + +Ditto.--Two gentlemen were at a coffee-house, when the discourse fell upon +Sir Joshua Reynold's painting; one of them said that "his tints were +admirable, but the colours _flew_." It happened that Sir Joshua was in the +next box, who taking up his hat, accosted them thus, with a low +bow--"Gentlemen, I return you many thanks for bringing me off with _flying +colours_." + + +Richardson, in his anecdotes of painting, says, a gentleman came to me to +invite me to his house: "I have," says he, "a picture of Rubens, and it is +a rare good one. There is little H. the other day came to see it, and says +it is _a copy_. If any one says so again, I'll _break his head_. Pray, Mr. +Richardson, will you do me the favour to come, and give me _your real +opinion of it?_" + + +Gainsborough.--A countryman was shown Gainsborough's celebrated picture of +"The Pigs." "To be sure," said he, "they be deadly like pigs; but there is +one fault; nobody ever saw three pigs feeding together but what one on 'em +had a foot in the trough." + + +Turner.--Once, at a dinner, where several artists, amateurs and literary +men were convened, a poet, by way of being facetious, proposed as a toast +the health of the _painters and glaziers_ of Great Britain. The toast was +drunk, and Turner, after returning thanks for it, proposed the health of +the British _paper-stainers_. + + +Lely and the Alderman.--Sir Peter Lely, a famous painter in the reign of +Charles I., agreed for the price of a full-length, which he was to draw for +a rich alderman of London, who was not indebted to nature either for shape +or face. When the picture was finished, the alderman endeavoured to beat +down the price; alleging that if he did not purchase it, it would lie on +the painter's hands. "That's a mistake," replied Sir Peter, "for I can sell +it at double the price I demand."--"How can that be?" says the alderman; +"for it is like nobody but myself."--"But I will draw a tail to it, and +then it will be an excellent monkey." The alderman, to prevent exposure, +paid the sum agreed for, and carried off the picture. + + +Morland.--It is well known that Morland the painter used to go on an +expedition with a companion sometimes without a guinea, or perhaps scarcely +a shilling, to defray the expenses of their journey; and thus they were +often reduced to an unpleasant and ludicrous dilemma. On one occasion the +painter was travelling in Kent, in company with a relative, and finding +their cash exhausted, while at a distance from their destination, they were +compelled to exert their wits, for the purpose of recruiting themselves +after a long and fatiguing march. As they approached Canterbury, a homely +village ale-house caught their eye; and the itinerant artists hailed, with +delight, the sign of the Black Bull, which indicated abundance of home-made +bread and generous ale. They entered, and soon made considerable havoc +among the good things of mine host, who, on reckoning up, found that they +had consumed as much bread, cheese and ale, as amounted to _12s. 6d._ +Morland now candidly informed his host that they were two poor painters +going in search of employment, and that they had spent all their money. He, +however, added that, as the sign of the Bull was a disgraceful daub for so +respectable a house, he would have no objection to repaint it, as a set-off +for what he and his companion had received. The landlord, who had long been +wishing for a new sign (the one in question having passed through two +generations), gladly accepted his terms, and Morland immediately went to +work. The next day the Bull was sketched in such a masterly manner that the +landlord was enraptured; he supplied his guests with more provisions, and +generously gave them money for their subsequent expenses. About three +months after a gentleman well acquainted with Morland's works, accidentally +passing through the village, recognised it instantly to be the production +of that inimitable painter: he stopped, and was confirmed in his opinion, +by the history which the landlord gave of the transaction. In short, he +purchased the sign of him for twenty pounds; the landlord was struck with +admiration at his liberality; but this identical painting was some time +afterwards sold at a public auction for the sum of _one hundred guineas!_ + + +When Benjamin West was seven years old, he was left, one summer day, with +the charge of an infant niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was engaged +in fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased the child, and +caused it to smile. Attracted by the charms thus created, young West felt +his instinctive passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen and some red and +black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and made his first attempt at +portrait painting. Just as he had finished his maiden task, his mother and +sister entered. He tried to conceal what he had done, but his confusion +arrested his mother's attention, and she asked him what he had been doing. +With reluctance and timidity, he handed her the paper, begging, at the same +time, that she would not be offended. Examining the drawing for a short +time, she turned to her daughter, and, with a smile, said, "I declare he +has made a likeness of Sally." She then gave him a fond kiss, which so +encouraged him that he promised her some drawings of the flowers which she +was then holding, if she wished to have them. The next year a cousin sent +him a box of colours and pencils, with large quantities of canvas prepared +for the easel, and half a dozen engravings. Early the next morning he took +his materials into the garret, and for several days forgot all about +school. His mother suspected that the box was the cause of his neglect of +his books, and going into the garret and finding him busy at a picture, she +was about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of his compositions, +and her anger cooled at once. She was so pleased with them that she loaded +him with kisses, and promised to secure his father's pardon for his neglect +of school. The world is much indebted to Mrs. West for her early and +constant encouragement of the talent of her son. He often used to say, +after his reputation was established, "_My mothers kiss made me a +painter!_" + + +Vernet relates, that he was once employed to paint a landscape, with a +cave, and St. Jerome in it; he accordingly painted the landscape with St. +Jerome at the entrance of the cave. When he delivered the picture, the +purchaser, who understood nothing of perspective, said, "the landscape and +the cave are well made, but St. Jerome is not _in_ the cave."--"I +understand you, sir," replied Vernet, "I will alter it." He therefore took +the painting, and made the shade darker, so that the saint seemed to sit +farther in. The gentleman took the painting; but it again appeared to him +that the saint was not actually in the cave. Vernet then wiped out the +figure, and gave it to the gentleman, who seemed perfectly satisfied. +Whenever he saw strangers to whom he showed the picture, he said, "Here you +see a picture by Vernet, with St. Jerome in the cave." "But we cannot see +the saint," replied the visitors. "Excuse me, gentlemen," answered the +possessor, "he is there; for I saw him standing at the entrance, and +afterwards farther back; and am therefore quite sure that he is in it." + + +Hogarth.--A nobleman, not remarkable for generosity, sent for Hogarth and +desired that he would represent on one of the compartments of his +staircase, Pharoah and his host drowned in the Red Sea. At the same time he +hinted that no great price would be given for the performance. Hogarth +however agreed. Soon afterwards he applied for payment to his employer, who +seeing that the space allotted for the picture had only been daubed over +with red, declared he had no idea of paying a painter when he had proceeded +no farther than to lay his ground. "Ground!" exclaimed Hogarth, "there is +no _ground_ in the case, my lord, it is all sea. The red you perceive is +the Red Sea. Pharoah and his host are drowned as you desired, and cannot be +made objects of sight, for the sea covers them all." + + +Tantara, the celebrated landscape painter, was a man of ready wit, but he +once met his match. An amateur had ordered a landscape for his gallery, in +which there was to be a church. Our painter did not know how to draw +figures well, so he put none in the landscape. The amateur was astonished +at the truthfulness and colouring of the picture, but he missed the +figures. "You have forgotten to put in any figures," said he, laughingly. +"Sir," replied the painter, "_the people are gone to mass_." "Oh, well," +replied the amateur, "I will wait and take your picture _when they come +out_." + + +Chantrey's First Sculpture.--Chantrey, when a boy, used to take milk to +Sheffield on an ass. To those not used to seeing and observing such things, +it may be necessary to state that the boys generally carry a good thick +stick, with a hooked or knobbed end, with which they belabour their asses +sometimes unmercifully. On a certain day, when returning home, riding on +his ass, Chantrey was observed by a gentleman to be intently engaged in +cutting a stick with his penknife, and, excited by curiosity, he asked the +lad what he was doing, when, with great simplicity of manner, but with +courtesy, he replied, "I am cutting _old Fox's head_." Fox was the +schoolmaster of the village. On this, the gentleman asked to see what he +had done, pronounced it to be an excellent likeness, and presented the +youth with _sixpence_. This may, perhaps, be reckoned the first money +Chantry ever obtained in the way of his _art_. + + + + +BEGGING. + + +Admiral Chatillon had gone one day to hear mass in the Dominican Friars' +chapel; a poor fellow came and begged his charity. He was at the moment +occupied with his devotions, and he gave him several pieces of gold from +his pocket, without counting them, or thinking what they were. The large +amount astonished the beggar, and as M. Chatillon was going out of the +church-door, the poor man waited for him: "Sir," said he, showing him what +he had given him, "I cannot think that you intended to give me so large a +sum, and am very ready to return it." The admiral, admiring the honesty of +the man, said, "I did not, indeed, my good man, intend to have given you so +much; but, since you have the generosity to offer to return it, I will have +the generosity to desire you to keep it; and here are five pieces more for +you." + + +A Beggar's Wedding.--Dean Swift being in the country, on a visit to Dr. +Sheridan, they were informed that a beggar's wedding was about to be +celebrated. Sheridan played well upon the violin; Swift therefore proposed +that he should go to the place where the ceremony was to be performed, +disguised as a blind fiddler, while he attended him as his man. Thus +accoutred they set out, and were received by the jovial crew with great +acclamation. They had plenty of good cheer, and never was a more joyous +wedding seen. All was mirth and frolic; the beggars told stories, played +tricks, cracked jokes, sung and danced, in a manner which afforded high +amusement to the fiddler and his man, who were well rewarded when they +departed, which was not till late in the evening. The next day the Dean and +Sheridan walked out in their usual dress, and found many of their late +companions, hopping about upon crutches, or pretending to be blind, pouring +forth melancholy complaints and supplications for charity. Sheridan +distributed among them the money he had received; but the Dean, who hated +all mendicants, fell into a violent passion, telling them of his adventure +of the preceding day, and threatening to send every one of them to prison. +This had such an effect, that the blind opened their eyes, and the lame +threw away their crutches, running away as fast as their legs could carry +them. + + +Old Age Secured.--As Sir Walter Scott was riding once with a friend in the +neighbourhood of Abbotsford, he came to a field gate, which an Irish beggar +who happened to be near hastened to open for him. Sir Walter was desirous +of rewarding his civility by the present of sixpence, but found that he had +not so small a coin in his purse. "Here, my good fellow," said the baronet, +"here is a shilling for you; but mind, you owe me sixpence." "God bless +your honour!" exclaimed Pat: "may your honour live till I pay you." + + +Maximilian I.--A beggar once asked alms of the Emperor Maximilian I., who +bestowed upon him a small coin. The beggar appeared dissatisfied with the +smallness of the gift, and on being asked why, he replied that it was a +very little sum for an emperor, and that his highness should remember that +we were all descended from one father, and were therefore all _brothers_. +Maximilian smiled good-humouredly, and replied: "Go--go, my good man: if +each of your brothers gives you as much as I have done, you will very soon +be far richer than me." + + + + +BENEVOLENCE. + + +A Benevolent Judge.--The celebrated Anthony Domat, author of a treatise on +the civil laws, was promoted to the office of judge of the provincial court +of Clermont, in the territory of Auvergne, in the south of France. In this +court he presided, with general applause, for twenty-four years. One day a +poor widow brought an action against the Baron de Nairac, her landlord, +for turning her out of her mill, which was the poor creature's sole +dependence. M. Domat heard the cause, and finding by the evidence that she +had ignorantly broken a covenant in the lease which gave her landlord the +power of re-entry, he recommended mercy to the baron for a poor but honest +tenant, who had not wilfully transgressed, or done him any material injury. +Nairac being inexorable, the judge was compelled to pronounce an ejectment, +with the penalty mentioned in the lease and costs of suit; but he could not +pronounce the decree without tears. When an order of seizure, both of +person and effects was added, the poor widow exclaimed, "O merciful and +righteous God, be thou a friend to the widow and her helpless orphans!" and +immediately fainted away. The compassionate judge assisted in raising the +unfortunate woman, and after enquiring into her character, number of +children, and other circumstances, generously presented her with one +hundred louis d'ors, the amount of the damages and costs, which he +prevailed upon the baron to accept as a full compensation, and to let the +widow again enter upon her mill. The poor widow anxiously enquired of M. +Domat when he would require payment, that she might lay up accordingly. +"When my conscience (he replied) shall tell me that I have done an improper +act." + + +Pope Pius IX.--An advocate, the father of a large family, fell into ill +health, and soon afterwards into want. Pius IX., hearing of this, sent a +messenger with a letter to the advocate, but he was at first refused +admittance, on the ground that the physician had enjoined the utmost quiet. +On the messenger explaining from whom he came he was admitted, and, on the +letter being opened, what was the surprise of the family on finding within +300 scudi (L62), with the words, "For the advocate ...--Pius IX.," in the +pontiff's own handwriting. + + +Dr. Glynn was remarkable for many acts of kindness to poor persons. He had +attended a sick family in the fens near Cambridge for a considerable time, +and had never thought of any recompense for his skill and trouble but the +satisfaction of being able to do good. One day he heard a noise on the +college staircase, and his servant brought him word that the poor woman +from the fens waited upon him with a _magpie_, of which she begged his +acceptance. This at first a little discomposed the doctor. Of all presents, +a magpie was the least acceptable to him, as he had a hundred loose things +about his rooms, which the bird, if admitted, was likely to make free with. +However, his good nature soon returned: he considered the woman's +intention, and ordered her to be shown in. "I am obliged to you for +thinking of me, good woman," said he, "but you must excuse my not taking +your bird, as it would occasion me a great deal of trouble." "Pray, +doctor," answered the woman, "do, pray, be pleased to have it. My husband, +my son, and myself have been long consulting together in what way we could +show our thankfulness to you, and we could think of nothing better than to +give you our favourite bird. We would not part with it to any other person +upon earth. We shall be sadly hurt if you refuse our present." "Well, well, +my good woman," said Dr. Glynn, "if that is the case, I must have the bird; +but do you, as you say you are so fond of it, take it back again, and keep +it for me, and I will allow you eighteenpence a week for the care of it. I +shall have the pleasure of seeing it every time I come." This allowance Dr. +G. punctually paid as long as the bird lived. + + + + +BOOKS. + + +An Odd Fault.--It is said that when the learned Humphrey Prideaux offered +his Life of Mahomet to the bookseller, he was desired to leave the copy +with him for a few days, for his perusal. The bookseller said to the doctor +at his return, "Well, Mr. What's your Name, I have perused your manuscript; +I don't know what to say of it; I believe I shall venture to print it; the +thing is well enough; but I could wish there were a little more _humour_ in +it." This story is otherwise told in a note in Swift's works, where the +book is said to have been Prideaux's "Connexion of the History of the Old +and New Testament," in which, it must be confessed, the difficulty of +introducing _humour_ is more striking. + + +Dictionaries.--Dr. Johnson, while compiling his dictionary, sent a note to +the _Gentleman's Magazine_, to inquire the etymology of the word +CURMUDGEON. Having obtained the desired information, he thus recorded in +his work his obligation to an anonymous writer: "CURMUDGEON, _s._ a vicious +way of pronouncing _coeur mechant_. An unknown correspondent." Ash copied +the word into his dictionary, in the following manner: CURMUDGEON, from the +French, _coeur_, "unknown," and _mechant_, "correspondent!" + + +Heber's Palestine.--When Reginald Heber read his prize poem, "Palestine," +to Sir Walter Scott, the latter observed that, in the verses on Solomon's +Temple, one striking circumstance had escaped him, namely, that no tools +were used in its erection. Reginald retired for a few minutes to the corner +of the room, and returned with the beautiful lines:-- + + "No hammer fell, no ponderous axes rung; + Like some tall palm, the mystic fabric sprung. + Majestic silence," &c. + + +Use of H.--"What has become of your famous General _Eel?_" said the Count +d'Erleon to Mr. Campbell. "Eel," said a bystander, "that is a military fish +I never heard of;" but another at once enlightened his mind by saying to +the count, "General Lord _Hill_ is now Commander-in-Chief of the British +forces!" + + +Cowper's "John Gilpin."--It happened one afternoon, in those years when +Cowper's accomplished friend, Lady Austen, made a part of his little +evening circle, that she observed him sinking into increased dejection. It +was her custom, on these occasions, to try all the resources of her +sprightly powers for his immediate relief, and at this time it occurred to +her to tell him the story of John Gilpin, (which had been treasured in her +memory from her childhood), in order to dissipate the gloom of the passing +hour. Its effects on the fancy of Cowper had the air of enchantment. He +informed her the next morning that convulsions of laughter, brought on by +his recollection of her story, had kept him waking during the greatest part +of the night! and that he had turned it into a ballad. So arose the +pleasant poem of "John Gilpin." + + +Catalogue Making.--Mr. Nichols, in the fourth vol. of his _Literary +Anecdotes_, mentions that Dr. Taylor, who was librarian at Cambridge, about +the year 1732, used to relate of himself that one day throwing books in +heaps for the purpose of classing and arranging them, he put one among +works on _Mensuration_, because his eye caught the word _height_ in the +title-page; and another which had the word _salt_ conspicuous, he threw +among books on Chemistry or Cookery. But when he began a regular +classification, it appeared that the former was "Longinus on the Sublime," +and the other a "Theological Discourse on the _Salt_ of the World, that +good Christians ought to be seasoned with." Thus, too, in a catalogue +published about twenty years ago, the "Flowers of Ancient Literature" are +found among books on Gardening and Botany, and "Burton's Anatomy of +Melancholy" is placed among works on Medicine and Surgery. + + +Dickens' Origin of "Boz."--A fellow passenger with Mr. Dickens, in the +_Britannia_ steam-ship, across the Atlantic, inquired of the author the +origin of his signature "Boz." Mr. Dickens replied that he had a little +brother who resembled so much the Moses in the _Vicar of Wakefield_, that +he used to call him Moses also; but a younger girl, who could not then +articulate plainly, was in the habit of calling him Bozie or Boz. This +simple circumstance made him assume that name in the first article he +risked before the public, and as the first effort was approved of he +continued the name. + + +Thomson and Quin.--Thomson the poet, when he first came to London, was in +very narrow circumstances, and was many times put to shifts even for a +dinner. Upon the publication of his Seasons one of his creditors arrested +him, thinking that a proper opportunity to get his money. The report of +this misfortune reached the ears of Quin, who had read the Seasons, but +never seen their author; and he was told that Thompson was in a +spunging-house in Holborn. Thither Quin went, and being admitted into his +chamber, "Sir," said he, "you don't know me, but my name is Quin." Thomson +said, "That, though he could not boast of the honour of a personal +acquaintance, he was no stranger either to his name or his merit;" and +invited him to sit down. Quin then told him he was come to sup with him, +and that he had already ordered the cook to provide supper, which he hoped +he would excuse. When supper was over, and the glass had gone briskly +about, Mr. Quin told him, "It was now time to enter upon business." Thomson +declared he was ready to serve him as far as his capacity would reach, in +anything he should command, (thinking he was come about some affair +relating to the drama). "Sir," says Quin, "you mistake me. I am in your +debt. I owe you a hundred pounds, and I am come to pay you." Thomson, with +a disconsolate air, replied, that, as he was a gentleman whom he had never +offended, he wondered he should seek an opportunity to jest with his +misfortunes. "No," said Quin, raising his voice, "I say I owe you a hundred +pounds, and there it is," (laying a bank note of that value before him). +Thomson, astonished, begged he would explain himself. "Why," says Quin, +"I'll tell you; soon after I had read your Seasons, I took it into my head, +that as I had something to leave behind me when I died, I would make my +will; and among the rest of my legatees I set down the author of the +Seasons for a hundred pounds; and, this day hearing that you were in this +house, I thought I might as well have the pleasure of paying the money +myself, as order my executors to pay it, when, perhaps, you might have less +need of it; and this, Mr. Thomson, is my business." Of course Thomson left +the house in company with his benefactor. + + +Denon and De Foe.--M. de Talleyrand, having one day invited M. Denon, the +celebrated traveller, to dine with him, told his wife to read the work of +his guest, which she would find in the library, in order that she might be +the better able to converse with him. Madame Talleyrand, unluckily, got +hold, by mistake, of the "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," by De Foe, which +she ran over in great haste; and, at dinner, she began to question Denon +about his shipwreck, his island, &c., and, finally, about his man Friday! + + + + +BONAPARTE. + + +Possibility.--Bonaparte was passing along the dreadful road across the +Echelles de Savoie, with his engineer, when he stopped, and pointing to the +mountain, said, "Is it not possible to cut a tunnel through yonder rock, +and to form a more safe and commodious route beneath it?" "It is +_possible_, certainly, sire," replied his scientific companion, "but"--"No +buts;--let it be done, and immediately," replied the Emperor. + + +Sir and Sire.--A petition from the English _detenus_ at Valenciennes was +left for signature at the house of the colonel of gendarmerie, addressed in +a fulsome manner to Bonaparte, under his title of Emperor of the French, +and beginning with "_Sire_." Some unlucky wag took an opportunity of +altering this word into "_Dear Sir_," and nearly caused the whole party to +be imprisoned. + + +Polignac.--Monsieur le Compte de Polignac had been raised to honour by +Bonaparte; but, from some unaccountable motive, betrayed the trust his +patron reposed in him. As soon as Bonaparte discovered the perfidy, he +ordered Polignac to be put under arrest. Next day he was to have been +tried, and in all probability would have been condemned, as his guilt was +undoubted. In the meantime, Madame Polignac solicited and obtained an +audience of the Emperor. "I am sorry, madam, for your sake," said he, "that +your husband has been implicated in an affair which is marked throughout +with such deep ingratitude." "He may not have been so guilty as your +majesty supposes," said the countess. "Do you know your husband's +signature?" asked the Emperor, as he took a letter from his pocket and +presented it to her. Madame de Polignac hastily glanced over the letter, +recognised the writing, and fainted. As soon as she recovered, Bonaparte, +offering her the letter, said, "Take it; it is the only legal evidence +against your husband: there is a fire beside you." Madame de P. eagerly +seized the important document, and in an instant committed it to the +flames. The life of Polignac was saved: his honour it was beyond the power +even of the generosity of an emperor to redeem. + + + + +CHARITY. + + +The Price of Bread.--Some years ago, the bakers of Lyons thought they could +prevail on M. Dugas, the provost of the merchants in that city, to befriend +them at the expense of the public. They waited upon him in a body, and +begged leave to raise the price of bread, which could not be done without +the sanction of the chief magistrate. M. Dugas told them that he would +examine their petition, and give them an early answer. The bakers retired, +having first left upon the table a purse of two hundred louis d'ors. In a +few days the bakers called upon the magistrate for an answer, not in the +least doubting but that the money had effectually pleaded their cause. +"Gentlemen," said M. Dugas, "I have weighed your reasons in the balance of +justice, and I find them light. I do not think that the people ought to +suffer under a pretence of the dearness of corn, which I know to be +unfounded; and as to the purse of money that you left with me, I am sure +that I have made such a generous and noble use of it as you yourself +intended. I have distributed it among the poor objects of charity in our +two hospitals. As you are opulent enough to make such large donations, I +cannot possibly think that you can incur any loss in your business; and I +shall, therefore, continue the price of bread as it was." + + +Kosciusko.--The hero of Poland once wished to send some bottles of good +wine to a clergyman at Solothurn; and as he hesitated to trust them by his +servant, lest he should smuggle a part, he gave the commission to a young +man of the name of Zeltner, and desired him to take the horse which he +himself usually rode. On his return, young Zeltner said that he never would +ride his horse again unless he gave him his purse at the same time. +Kosciusko enquiring what he meant, he answered, "As soon as a poor man on +the road takes off his hat and asks charity, the horse immediately stands +still, and will not stir till something is given to the petitioner; and as +I had no money about me, I was obliged to feign giving something, in order +to satisfy the horse." + + +Mysterious Benefactor.--In the year 1720, celebrated for the bursting of +the South Sea Bubble, a gentleman called late in the evening at the banking +house of Messrs. Hankey and Co. He was in a coach, but refused to get out, +and desired that one of the partners of the house would come to him, into +whose hands, when he appeared, he put a parcel, very carefully sealed up, +and desired that it might be taken care of till he should call again. A few +days passed away--a few weeks--a few months--but the stranger never +returned. At the end of the second or third year the partners agreed to +open this mysterious parcel, when they found it to contain L30,000, with a +letter, stating that it had been obtained by the South Sea speculation, and +directing that it should be vested in the hands of three trustees, whose +names were mentioned, and the interest appropriated to the relief of the +poor. + + + + +DINNERS. + + +Bannister.--Charles Bannister dining one day at the Turk's Head Tavern, was +much annoyed by a gentleman in the adjoining box, who had just ordered fish +for dinner, and was calling on the waiter for every species of fish sauce +known to the most refined epicure. "Waiter," said he, "bring me anchovy +sauce, and soy; and have you got Harvey's? and be sure you bring me +Burgess's;--and waiter--do you hear?--don't omit the sauce _epicurienne_." +How many more he would have enumerated it is difficult to say, had not +Bannister stepped up to him, and bowing very politely, said, "Sir, I beg +your pardon for thus interrupting you, but I see you are advertised for in +the newspaper of this morning." "Me, sir, advertised for!" exclaimed the +gentleman, half petrified with surprise; "pray, sir, what do you mean?" +Bannister, taking the paper, pointed to an advertisement addressed to "The +Curious in Fish Sauces." The gentleman felt the rebuke, sat down, and ate +his dinner without further ceremony. + + +A Christmas Pudding Extraordinary.--When the late Lord Paget was ambassador +at Constantinople, he, with the rest of the gentlemen who were in a public +capacity at the same court, determined one day when there was to be a grand +banquet, to have each of them a dish dressed after the manner of their +respective countries; and Lord Paget, for the honour of England, ordered a +piece of _roast beef and a plum pudding_. The beef was easily cooked, but +the court cooks not knowing how to make a plum pudding, he gave them a +receipt:--"So many eggs, so much milk, so much flour, and a given quantity +of raisins; to be beaten up together, and boiled so many hours in so many +gallons of water." When dinner was served up, first came the French +ambassador's dish--then that of the Spanish ambassador--and next, two +fellows bearing an immense pan, and bawling, "_Room for the English +ambassador's dish!_" "Confound my stupidity!" cried his lordship; "I forgot +to tell them of the bag, and these stupid scoundrels have boiled it without +one; and in five gallons of water too. It will be good plum broth, +however!" + + +Dr. Kirwan, the celebrated Irish chemist, having one day at dinner with him +a party of friends, was descanting upon the antiseptic qualities of +charcoal, and added, that if a quantity of pulverised charcoal were boiled +together with tainted meat, it would remove all symptoms of putrescence, +and render it perfectly sweet. Shortly afterwards, the doctor helped a +gentleman to a slice of boiled leg of mutton, which was so far gone as to +shed an odour not very agreeable to the noses of the company. The gentleman +repeatedly turned it upon his plate, without venturing to taste it; and the +doctor observing him, said, "Sir, perhaps you don't like mutton?" "Oh, yes, +doctor," he replied, "I am very fond of mutton, but I do not think the cook +has boiled charcoal enough with it." + + +When the Archbishop of York sent Ben Jonson an excellent dish of fish from +his dinner table, but without drink, he said,-- + + "In a dish came fish + From the arch-bis- + Hop was not there, + Because there was no _beer_." + + +Poor-Man-of-Mutton is a term applied to a shoulder of mutton in Scotland +after it has been served as a roast at dinner, and appears as a broiled +bone at supper, or at the dinner next day. The late Earl of B., popularly +known as "Old Rag," being indisposed at a hotel in London, one morning the +landlord came to enumerate the good things in his larder, in order to +prevail on his guest to eat something, when his lordship replied, +"Landlord, I think I _could_ eat a morsel of a poor man;" which, with the +extreme ugliness of his lordship's countenance, so terrified the landlord, +that he fled from the room and tumbled down stairs, supposing the earl, +when at home, was in the habit of eating a joint of a vassal, or tenant +when his appetite was dainty. + + +Swift.--A gentleman, at whose house Swift was dining in Ireland, after +dinner introduced remarkably small hock glasses, and at length, turning to +Swift, addressed him,--"Mr. Dean, I shall be happy to take a glass of hic, +haec, hoc, with you." "Sir," rejoined the doctor, "I shall be happy to +comply, but it must be out of a _hujus_ glass." + + +Swift, having a shoulder of mutton too much done brought up for his dinner, +sent for the cook, and told her to take the mutton down, and do it less. +"Please your honour, I cannot do it less." "But," said the dean, "if it had +not been done enough, you could have done it more, could you not?" "Oh, +yes, sir, very easily." "Why, then," said the dean, "for the future, when +you commit a fault, let it be such a one as can be mended." + + + + +DOCTORS. + + +Making Things Better.--A rich man sent to call a physician for a slight +disorder. The physician felt his pulse, and said, "Do you eat well?" "Yes," +said the patient. "Do you sleep well?" "I do." "Oh, then," said the +physician, "I must give you something to take away all that." + + +Madame de Villecerf, who was brought to death in the flower of her age by +the unskilfulness of her surgeon, comforted him thus: "I do not look upon +you," she said, in dying, "as a person whose error has cost me my life, but +as a benefactor, who hastens my entry into a happy immortality. As the +world may judge otherwise, I have put you in a situation, by my will, to +quit your profession." + + +Willie Law, a half-witted man, was the descendant of an ancient family, +nearly related to the famous John Law, of Lauriston, the celebrated +financier of France. Willie on that account was often spoken to and taken +notice of by gentlemen of distinction. Posting one day through Kirkaldy, +with more than ordinary speed, he was met by Mr. Oswald, of Dunnikier, who +asked him where he was going in such a hurry. "Going!" says Willie, with +apparent surprise, "I'm gaen to my cousin Lord Elgin's burial." "Your +cousin Lord Elgin's burial, you fool! Lord Elgin's not dead," replied Mr. +Oswald. "Oh, never mind," quoth Willie; "there's six doctors out o' +Edinbro' at him, and they'll hae him dead afore I get there." + + +Physicians in China.--Caleb Colton, nephew of the late Sir George Staunton, +gives in a recent publication the following anecdote:--"My late uncle, Sir +G. Staunton, related to me a curious anecdote of old Kien Long, Emperor of +China. He was inquiring of Sir George the manner in which physicians were +paid in England. When, after some difficulty, his majesty was made to +comprehend the system, he exclaimed, 'Is any man well in England that can +afford to be ill? Now, I will inform you,' said he, 'how I manage my +physicians. I have four, to whom the care of my health is committed: a +certain weekly salary is allowed them; but the moment I am ill the salary +stops till I am well again. I need not tell you that my illnesses are +usually short.'" + + +Zimmerman, who was very eminent as a physician, went from Hanover to attend +Frederick the Great in his last illness. One day the king said to him, "You +have, I presume, sir, helped many a man into another world?" This was +rather a bitter pill for the doctor; but the dose he gave the king in +return was a judicious mixture of truth and flattery: "Not so many as your +majesty, nor with so much honour to myself." + + +Montaigne, who is great upon doctors, used to beseech his friends that if +he felt ill they would let him get a little stronger before sending for the +doctor. + + +Moliere, when once travelling through Auvergne, was taken very ill at a +distance from any place where he could procure respectable medical aid. It +was proposed to him to send for a celebrated physician at Clermont. "No, +no," said he, "he is too great a man for me: go and bring me the village +surgeon; he will not, perhaps, have the hardihood to kill me so soon." + + +Louis XIV., who was a slave to his physicians, asked Moliere one day what +he did with his doctor. "Oh, sire," said he, "when I am ill I send for him. +He comes; we have a chat, and enjoy ourselves. He prescribes;--I don't take +it, and I am cured." + + +General Guise going over one campaign to Flanders, observed a raw young +officer, who was in the same vessel with him, and with his usual humanity +told him that he would take care of him, and conduct him to Antwerp, where +they were both going, which he accordingly did, and then took leave of him. +The young fellow was soon told by some arch rogues, whom he happened to +fall in with, that he must signalise himself by fighting some man of known +courage, or else he would soon be despised in the regiment. The young man +said he knew no one but Colonel Guise, and he had received great +obligations from him. "It is all one for that," said they, "in these cases. +The Colonel is the fittest man in the world, as everybody knows his +bravery." Soon afterwards the young officer accosted Colonel Guise, as he +was walking up and down the coffee room, and began, in a hesitating manner, +to tell him how much obliged he had been to him, and how sensible he was of +his obligations. "Sir," replied Colonel Guise, "I have done my duty by you, +and no more." "But Colonel," added the young officer, faltering, "I am told +that I must fight some gentleman of known courage, and who has killed +several persons, and that nobody"--"Oh, sir," interrupted the Colonel, +"your friends do me too much honour; but there is a gentleman (pointing to +a fierce-looking black fellow that was sitting at one of the tables) who +has killed half the regiment, and who will suit you much better." The +officer went up to him, and told him he had heard of his bravery, and that +for that reason he must fight him. "Who?--I, sir?" said the gentleman; +"why, I am the _apothecary_." + + +Dr. Moore, author of "Zeluco," used to say that at least two-thirds of a +physician's fees were for imaginary complaints. Among several instances of +this nature, he mentions one of a clothier, who, after drinking the Bath +waters, took it into his head to try Bristol hot wells. Previous, however, +to his setting off, he requested his physician to favour him with a letter, +stating his case to any brother doctor. This done, the patient got into a +chaise and started. After proceeding half way, he felt curious to see the +contents of the letter, and on opening it, read as follows:--"Dear +Sir,--The bearer is a fat Wiltshire clothier: _make the most of him_." It +is almost unnecessary to add that his cure was from that moment effected, +as he ordered the chaise to turn, and immediately proceeded _home_. + + +Sir Charles Wager had a sovereign contempt for physicians, though he +believed a surgeon, in some cases, _might_ be of service. It happened that +Sir Charles was seized with a fever while he was out upon a cruise, and the +surgeon, without much difficulty, prevailed upon him to lose a little +blood, and suffer a blister to be laid on his back. By-and-bye it was +thought necessary to lay on another blister, and repeat the bleeding, to +which Sir Charles also consented. The symptoms then abated, and the surgeon +told him that he must now swallow a few bolusses, and take a draught. "No, +no, doctor," says Sir Charles, "you shall batter my hulk as long as you +will, but depend on it, you shan't _board_ me." + + +Nash and the Doctor.--When the celebrated Beau Nash was ill, Dr. Cheyne +wrote a prescription for him. The next day, the doctor coming to see his +patient, inquired if he had followed his prescription? "No, truly, doctor," +said Nash; "if I had, I should have broken my neck, for I threw it out of a +two-pair-of-stairs window." + + +Gin _versus_ Medicine.--The celebrated Dr. Ward was not more remarkable for +humanity and skill than for wit and humour. An old woman, to whom he had +administered some medicines proper for a disorder under which she laboured, +applied to him, with a complaint that she had not experienced any kind of +effect from taking them. "No effect at all?" said the doctor. "None in the +least," replied the woman. "Why, then you should have taken a bumping glass +of gin." "So I did, sir." "Well, but when you found that did not succeed, +you should have taken another." "So I did, sir; and another after that." +"Oh, you did?" said the doctor; "aye, aye, it is just as I imagined: you +complain that you found no effect from my prescription, and you confess +yourself that you swallowed gin enough to counteract any medicine in the +whole system of physic." + + +Abernethy.--A Chancery barrister having been for a long while annoyed by an +irritable ulcer on one of his legs, called upon Mr. Abernethy for the +purpose of obtaining that gentleman's advice. The counsellor judging of an +ulcer as of a brief, that it must be seen before its nature could be +understood, was busily employed in removing his stocking and bandages, when +Mr. Abernethy abruptly advanced towards him, and exclaimed in a stentorian +voice, "Halloo! what are you about there? Put out your tongue, man! Aye, +there 'tis--I see it--I'm satisfied. Quite enough;--shut up your leg, +man--shut it up--shut it up! Go home and read my book, p.--, and take one +of the pills there mentioned every night on going to bed." The lawyer +handed over the fee, and was about to leave the room, when Mr. A. thus +accosted him: "Why, look here;--this is but a shilling!" The barrister +sarcastically replied, "Aye, there 'tis--I see it--I'm satisfied. Quite +enough, man;--shut it up--shut it up!" and hastily decamped from the room. + + +A lady, who had received a severe bite in her arm from a dog, went to Mr. +Abernethy, but knowing his aversion to hearing any statement of +particulars, she merely uncovered the injured part, and held it before him +in silence. After looking at it an instant, he said in an inquiring tone, +"Scratch?" "Bite," replied the lady. "Cat?" asked the doctor. "Dog," +rejoined the patient. So delighted was Mr. A. with the brevity and +promptness of her answers, that he exclaimed, "Zounds, madam! you are the +most sensible woman I ever met with in my life." + + +Astley Cooper.--Probably no surgeon of ancient or modern times enjoyed a +greater share of reputation during his life than fell to the lot of Sir +Astley, and that in all parts of the world. We cannot give a better example +of this than the fact of his signature being received as a passport among +the mountains of Biscay by the wild followers of Don Carlos. A young +English surgeon, seeking for employment, was carried as a prisoner before +Zumalacarrequi, who demanded what testimonials he had of his calling or his +qualifications. Our countryman presented his diploma of the College of +Surgeons, and the name of Astley Paston Cooper, which was attached to it, +no sooner struck the eye of the Carlist leader, than he at once received +his prisoner with friendship, and appointed him a surgeon in his army. + + + + +THE DRAMA--ACTORS, ETC. + + +Shaving a Queen.--For some time after the restoration of Charles the +Second, young smooth-faced men performed the women's parts on the stage. +That monarch, coming before his usual time to hear Shakspeare's Hamlet, +sent the Earl of Rochester to know the reason of the delay; who brought +word back, that the queen was not quite shaved. "Ods fish" (his usual +expression), "I beg her majesty's pardon! we will wait till her barber is +done with her." + + +Liston, in his early career, was a favourite at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and +having applied to the manager for a remuneration equal to the increased +value of his services, he refused the request, adding, "If you are +dissatisfied you are welcome to leave me; such actors as you, sir, are to +be found in every bush." On the evening of the day when this colloquy +occurred, the manager was driving to another town, where he intended "to +carry on the war," when he perceived Liston standing in the middle of a +hedge by the road-side. "Good heavens! Liston," cried the manager, "what +are you doing there?" "Only looking for some of the actors you told me of +this morning," was the reply. + + +Good-natured Author.--The late M. Segur, among other literary productions, +supplied the French theatres with a number of pleasing trifles. If he was +not always successful, he was at least always gay in his reverses. When his +works were ill received by the public, he consoled himself for a failure by +a bon-mot; he made even a point of consoling his companions in misfortune. +A piece of his was once brought forward called the _Yellow Cabriolet_, +which happened to be condemned on the first representation. Some days +afterwards a piece, by another author, was presented, which was equally +unfortunate. The author, petrified at his failure, stood for a moment +immoveable. "Come, come, my dear sir," said M. Segur, "don't be cast down, +I will give you a seat in my _Yellow Cabriolet_." + + +A Heavy Play.--When Sir Charles Sedley's comedy of "Bellamira" was +performed, the roof of the theatre fell down, by which, however, few people +were hurt except the author. This occasioned Sir Fleetwood Shepherd to say, +"There was so much fire in his play, that it blew up the poet, house and +all." "No," replied the good-natured author, "the play was so heavy, that +it broke down the house, and buried the poor poet in his own rubbish." + + +Monsieur de la Motte, soon after the representation of his "Ines de +Castro," which was very successful, although much censured by the press, +was sitting one day in a coffee-house, when he heard several of the critics +abusing his play. Finding that he was unknown to them, he joined heartily +in abusing it himself. At length, after a great many sarcastic remarks, one +of them, yawning, said, "Well, what shall we do with ourselves this +evening?" "Why, suppose," said de la Motte, "we go to the _seventy-second_ +representation of this bad play." + + +The Sailor and the Actress.--"When I was a poor girl," said the Duchess of +St. Albans, "working very hard for my thirty shillings a week, I went down +to Liverpool during the holidays, where I was always kindly received. I was +to perform in a new piece, something like those pretty little dramas they +get up now at our minor theatres; and in my character I represented a poor, +friendless orphan girl, reduced to the most wretched poverty. A heartless +tradesman prosecutes the sad heroine for a heavy debt, and insists on +putting her in prison unless some one will be bail for her. The girl +replies, 'Then I have no hope, I have not a friend in the world.' 'What? +will no one be bail for you, to save you from prison?' asks the stern +creditor. 'I have told you I have not a friend on earth,' is the reply. But +just as I was uttering the words, I saw a sailor in the upper gallery +springing over the railing, letting himself down from one tier to another, +until he bounded clear over the orchestra and footlights, and placed +himself beside me in a moment.' Yes, you shall have _one_ friend at least, +my poor young woman,' said he, with the greatest expression in his honest, +sunburnt countenance; 'I will go bail for you to any amount. And as for +_you_ (turning to the frightened actor), if you don't bear a hand, and +shift your moorings, you lubber, it will be worse for you when I come +athwart your bows.' Every creature in the house rose; the uproar was +perfectly indescribable; peals of laughter, screams of terror, cheers from +his tawny messmates in the gallery, preparatory scrapings of violins from +the orchestra, were mingled together; and amidst the universal din there +stood the unconscious cause of it, sheltering me, 'the poor, distressed +young woman,' and breathing defiance and destruction against my mimic +persecutor. He was only persuaded to relinquish his care of me by the +manager pretending to arrive and rescue me, with a profusion of theatrical +banknotes." + + +Kean.--In the second year of Kean's London triumph, an elderly lady, whose +sympathy had been excited by his forlorn condition in boyhood, but who had +lost sight of him in his wanderings till his sudden starting into fame +astonished the world, was induced, on renewing their acquaintance, to pay a +visit of some days to him and Mrs. Kean, at their residence in +Clarges-street. She made no secret of her intention to evince the interest +she felt in his welfare by a considerable bequest in her will; but, on +accompanying Mrs. K. to the theatre to see Kean perform _Luke_, she was so +appalled by the cold-blooded villany of the character, that, attributing +the skill of the actor to the actual possession of the fiendlike +attributes, her regard was turned into suspicion and distrust. She left +London the next day, and dying soon afterwards, it appeared that she had +altered her testamentary disposition of her property, which had once been +made in Kean's favour, and bequeathed the sum originally destined for him +to a distant relative, of whom she knew nothing but by name. + + +Mimic Reclaimed.--In the beginning of the last century, a comedian of the +name of Griffin, celebrated for his talents as a mimic, was employed by a +comic author to imitate the personal peculiarities of the celebrated Dr. +Woodward, whom he intended to be introduced in a comedy as _Dr. Fossil_. +The mimic, dressed as a countryman, waited on the doctor with a long +catalogue of complaints with which he said his wife was afflicted. The +physician heard with amazement diseases and pains of the most opposite +nature, repeated and redoubled on the wretched patient. The actor having +thus detained the doctor until he thought himself completely master of his +errand, presented him with a guinea as his fee. "Put up thy money, poor +fellow," cried the doctor, "thou hast need of all thy cash, and all thy +patience, too, with such a bundle of diseases tied to thy back." The mimic +returned to his employer, who was in raptures at his success, until he told +him that he would sooner die than prostitute his talents to render such +genuine humanity food for diversion. + + +Senesino and Farinelli, when in England together, being engaged at +different theatres on the same night, had not an opportunity of hearing +each other, till, by one of those sudden revolutions which frequently +happen, yet are always unexpected, they were both employed to sing on the +same stage. Senesino had the part of a furious tyrant to represent and +Farinelli that of an unfortunate hero in chains; but in the course of the +very first song, the latter so softened the heart of the enraged tyrant, +that Senesino, forgetting his assumed character, ran to Farinelli and +embraced him. + + +Weeping at a Play.--It is a prevailing folly to be ashamed to shed a tear +at any part of a tragedy, however affecting. "The reason," says the +Spectator, "is, that persons think it makes them look ridiculous, by +betraying the weakness of their nature. But why may not nature show itself +in tragedy, as well as in comedy or farce? We see persons not ashamed to +laugh loudly at the humour of a Falstaff,--or the tricks of a harlequin; +and why should not the tear be equally allowed to flow for the misfortunes +of a Juliet, or the forlornness of an Ophelia?" Sir Richard Steele records +on this subject a saying of Mr. Wilks the actor, as just as it was polite. +Being told in the green-room that there was a general in the boxes weeping +for Juliana, he observed with a smile, "_And I warrant you, sir, he'll +fight ne'er the worse for that_." + + +Dramatic Effect.--It is related in the annals of the stage, as a remarkable +instance of the force of imagination, that when Banks's play of the _Earl +of Essex_ was performed, a soldier, who stood sentinel on the stage, +entered so deeply into the distress of the scene, that in the delusion of +his imagination, upon the Countess of Nottingham's denying the receipt of +the ring which Essex had sent by her to the queen to claim a promise of +favour, he exclaimed, "'Tis false! she has it in her bosom;" and +immediately seized the mock countess to make her deliver it up. + + +Charles Hulet, a comedian of some celebrity in the early part of the last +century, was an apprentice to a bookseller. After reading plays in his +master's shop, he used to repeat the speeches in the kitchen, in the +evening, to the destruction of many a chair, which he substituted in the +room of the real persons in the drama. One night, as he was repeating the +part of Alexander, with his wooden representative of Clitus, (an elbow +chair), and coming to the speech where the old general is to be killed, +this young mock Alexander snatched a poker, instead of a javelin, and threw +it with such strength, against poor Clitus, that the chair was killed upon +the spot, and lay mangled on the floor. The death of Clitus made a +monstrous noise, which disturbed the master in the parlour, who called out +to know the reason; and was answered by the cook below, "Nothing, sir, but +that Alexander has killed Clitus." + + +Goldsmith's Marlow.--Mr. Lewis Grummit, an eminent grazier of Lincolnshire, +met late one night a commercial traveller who had mistaken his road, and +inquired the way to the nearest inn or public house. Mr. G. replied, that +as he was a stranger, he would show him the way to a quiet respectable +house of public entertainment for man and horse; and took him to his own +residence. The traveller, by the perfect ease and confidence of his manner, +shewed the success of his host's stratagem; and every thing that he called +for, was instantly provided for himself and his horse. In the morning he +called, in an authoritative tone, for his bill, and the hospitable landlord +had all the recompense he desired in the surprise and altered manners of +his guest. It was from this incident that Dr. Goldsmith took the hint of +Marlow mistaking the house of Mr. Hardcastle for an inn, in the comedy of +"_She Stoops to Conquer_." + + +Mr. Quick, while performing the part of Romeo, was seized with an +involuntary fit of laughter, which subjected him to the severe rebuke of +his auditors. It happened in the scene of Romeo and the apothecary, who, +going for the phial of poison, found it broken; not to detain the scene, he +snatched, in a hurry, a pot of soft pomatum. Quick was no sooner presented +with it, than he fell into a convulsive fit of laughter. But, being soon +recalled to a sense of his duty by the reproofs of the audience, he came +forward and made the following whimsical apology:--"Ladies and gentlemen, I +could not resist the idea that struck me when the pot of pomatum, instead +of the phial of poison, was presented. Had he at the same time given me a +tea-spoon, it would not have been so improper; for the poison might have +been made up as a lenitive electuary. But, if you please, ladies and +gentlemen, we will begin the scene again without laughing." + + +Garrick and Rich.--Soon after the appearance of Garrick at the theatre of +Drury Lane, to which he, by his astonishing powers, brought all the world, +while Mr. Rich was playing his pantomimes at Covent Garden to empty +benches, he and Mr. Garrick happened to meet one morning at the Bedford +coffee-house. Having fallen into conversation, Garrick asked the Covent +Garden manager, how much his house would hold, when crowded with company. +"Why, master," said Rich, "I cannot well tell; but if you will come and +play Richard for one night, I shall be able to give an account." + + +Morand, author of _Le Capricieuse_, was in a box of the theatre during the +first representation of that comedy; the pit loudly expressing +disapprobation at the extravagance and improbability of some traits in this +character, the author became impatient; he put his head out of the box, and +called, "Know, gentlemen, that this is the very picture of my +mother-in-law. What do you say now?" + + +Foote, on his last journey to France for the recovery of his health, while +waiting for the packet, entered the kitchen of the Ship tavern at Dover, +and, addressing the cook, who prided herself in never having been ten miles +out of town, exclaimed, "Why, cookee, I understand you have been a great +traveller." She denying the charge, Foote replied, "Why, they tell me up +stairs that you have been all over _Grease_, and I am sure I have seen you +myself at _Spithead_." + + +A person talking to Foote of an acquaintance of his, who was so avaricious +as even to lament the prospect of his funeral expences, though a short time +before he had been censuring one of his own relations for his parsimonious +temper--"Now is it not strange," continued he, "that this man would not +remove the beam from his own eye, before he attempted to take the mote out +of other peoples?" "Why, so I dare say he would," cried Foote, "if he were +sure of selling the timber." + + + + +DUTY. + + +General Mackenzie, when commander-in-chief of the Chatham division of +marines, during the late war, was very rigid as to duty; and, among other +regulations, would suffer no officer to be saluted on guard if out of his +uniform. It one day happened that the general observed a lieutenant of +marines in a plain dress, and, though he knew the young officer quite +intimately, he called to the sentinel to turn him out. The officer appealed +to the general, saying who he was; "I know you not," said the general; +"turn him out." A short time after, the general had been at a small +distance from Chatham, to pay a visit, and returning in the evening in a +blue coat, claimed entrance at the yard gate. The sentinel demanded the +countersign, which the general not knowing, desired the officer of the +guard to be sent for, who proved to be the lieutenant whom the general had +treated so cavalierly.--"Who are you?" inquired the officer.--"I am General +Mackenzie," was the reply.--"What, without an uniform?" rejoined the +lieutenant; "oh, get back, get back, impostor; the general would break your +bones if he knew you assumed his name." The general on this made his +retreat; and the next day, inviting the young officer to breakfast, told +him--"He had done his duty with very commendable exactness." + + +Morvilliers, keeper of the seals to Charles the Ninth of France, was one +day ordered by his sovereign to put the seals to the pardon of a nobleman +who had committed murder. He refused. The king then took the seals out of +his hands, and having put them himself to the instrument of remission, +returned them immediately to Morvilliers, who refused to take them again, +saying, "The seals have twice put me in a situation of great honour: once +when I received them, and again when I resigned them." + + +Louis the Fourteenth had granted a pardon to a nobleman who had committed +some very great crime. M. Voisin, the chancellor, ran to him in his +closet, and exclaimed, "Sire, you cannot pardon a person in the situation +of Mr. ----." "I have promised him," replied the king, who was always +impatient of contradiction; "go and fetch the great seal." "But sire--." +"Pray, sir, do as I order you." The chancellor returned with the seals; +Louis applied them himself to the instrument containing the pardon, and +gives them again to the chancellor. "They are polluted, now, sire," +exclaimed the intrepid and excellent magistrate, pushing them from him on +the table, "I cannot take them again." "What an impracticable man!" cried +the monarch, and threw the pardon into the fire. "I will now, sire, take +them again," said the chancellor; "fire purifies all things." + + + + +FIDELITY. + + +Old Ambrose.--Among the few individuals who accompanied James II. to +France, when he was dethroned, was Madame de Varonne, a lady of good +family, but of ruined fortune. She was compelled to part with all her +servants successively, until she came to her footman, Ambrose, who had +lived with her twenty years; and who, although of an austere deportment, +was a faithful and valuable servant. At length her resources would not +permit her to retain even Ambrose, and she told him he must seek another +place. "Another place!" exclaimed the astonished servant; "No; I will never +quit you, let what will happen; I will live and die in your service." In +vain was Ambrose told by his mistress that she was totally ruined; that she +had sold every thing she had, and that she had no other means of +subsistence than by seeking some employment for herself. Ambrose protested +he would not quit his mistress; he brought her his scanty savings of twenty +years, and engaged himself to a brazier for tenpence a day and his board. +The money he brought every evening to his mistress, whom he thus supported +for four years; at the end of which time she received a pension from the +French king, which enabled her to reward the remarkable fidelity of her old +servant. + + +The Kennedies.--Mr. Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, relates the following +circumstance, which shows that a sense of honour may prevail in those who +have little regard to moral obligation:--After the battle of Culloden, in +the year 1745, a reward of thirty thousand pounds was offered to any one +who should discover or deliver up the young Pretender. He had taken refuge +with the Kennedies, two common thieves, who protected him with the greatest +fidelity, robbed for his support, and often went in disguise to Inverness +to purchase provisions for him. A considerable time afterwards one of these +men, who had resisted the temptation of thirty thousand pounds from a +regard to his honour, was hanged for stealing a cow of the value of thirty +shillings. + + +A young woman, named La Blonde, was in the service of M. Migeon, a furrier, +in the Rue St. Honore, in Paris; this tradesman, though embarrassed in his +affairs, was not deserted by his faithful domestic, who remained at his +house without receiving any salary. Migeon, some years afterwards died, +leaving a wife and two young children without the means of support. The +cares of La Blonde were now transferred to the assistance of the distressed +family of her deceased master, for whose support she expended fifteen +hundred francs, the fruit of her labour, as well as the produce of rent +from her small patrimony. From time to time this worthy servant was offered +other situations, but to all such offers she replied by the inquiry, "Who +will take care of this family if I desert them?" At length the widow +Migeon, overcome with grief, became seriously ill. La Blonde passed her +days in comforting her dying mistress, and at night went to take care of +the sick, in order to have the means of relieving her wants. The widow +Migeon died on the 28th of April, 1787. Some persons then proposed to La +Blonde to send the two little orphans to the poor house; but the generous +girl, indignant at this proposition, replied, "that at Ruel, her native +country, her two hundred livres of rent would suffice for their subsistence +and her own." + + +A Faithful Depositary.--Under the ministry of Neckar in France, the +receiver of taxes at Roye, in Picardy, had the misfortune to have his +premises burnt,--cattle, furniture, and every thing became the prey of the +flames, except two thousand livres of the king's money, the produce of the +taxes which he had collected. These the courageous man rescued from the +flames, and the next day lodged them in the hands of the provincial +director. When Neckar was apprised of the fact, he laid it before the king, +and afterwards wrote to the receiver with his own hand as follows: "His +Majesty having been informed of the circumstance of your loss, and being +pleased with the conduct you have displayed, returns you the 2000 livres, +which he desires you will keep as a testimony of his esteem." + + + + +FONTENELLE. + + +A Reproof.--Two youngsters once asked Fontenelle whether it was more +correct to say, _donnez-nous a boire_, (give us to drink), or +_apportez-nous a boire_, (bring us drink). The academician replied, "That +both were unappropriate in their mouths; and that the proper term for such +fellows as they was _menez-nous a boire_, lead us to drink." + + +Fontenelle was once staying with his nephew, M. Aube, and had the +misfortune to let a spark fall upon his clothes, which set fire to the bed, +and eventually to the room. M. Aube was extremely angry with his uncle, and +shewed him what precautions he ought to have taken to prevent such an +accident. "My dear nephew," replied Fontenelle, calmly, "when I set fire to +your house again, depend upon it I will act differently." + + +Fontenelle, being praised for the clearness of his style on the deepest +subjects, said, "If I have any merit, it is that I have always endeavoured +to understand myself." + + +The conversation turning one day, in the presence of Fontenelle, on the +marks of originality in the works of Father Castel, well known to the +scientific world for his "Vrai Systeme de Physique generale de Newton;" +some person observed, "but he is mad." "I know it," returned Fontenelle, +"and I am very sorry for it, for it is a great pity. But I like him better +for being original and a little mad, than I should if he were in his senses +without being original." + + + + +FOOLS. + + +Triboulet, the fool of Francis the First, was threatened with death by a +man in power, of whom he had been speaking disrespectfully; and he applied +to the king for protection. "Be satisfied," said the king: "if any man +should put you to death, I will order him to be hanged a quarter of an hour +after." "Ah, sir!" replied Triboulet, "I should be much obliged if your +majesty would order him to be hanged a quarter of an hour before!" + + +Dr. Gregory, professor of the practice of physic at Edinburgh, was one of +the first to enrol himself in the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, when that +corps was raised. So anxious was he to make himself master of military +tactics, that he not only paid the most punctual attendance on all the +regimental field-days, but studied at home for several hours a day, under +the serjeant-major of the regiment. On one of these occasions the serjeant, +out of all temper at the awkwardness of his learned pupil, exclaimed in a +rage, "Why, sir, I would rather teach ten fools than one philosopher." + + +James I. gave all manner of liberty and encouragement to the exercise of +buffoonery, and took great delight in it himself. Happening once to bear +somewhat hard on one of his Scotch courtiers, "By my saul," returns the +peer, "he that made your majesty a king, spoiled the best fool in +Christendom." + + + + +FORGIVENESS. + + +French Curate.--During the French revolution, the inhabitants of a village +in Dauphine had determined on sacrificing their lord to their revenge, and +were only dissuaded from it by the eloquence of the cure, who thus +addressed them:--"My friends," said he, "the day of vengeance is arrived; +the individual who has so long tyrannized over you must now suffer his +merited punishment. As the care of this flock has been entrusted to me, it +behoves me to watch over their best interests, nor will I forsake their +righteous cause. Suffer me only to be your leader, and swear to me that in +all circumstances you will follow my example." All the villagers swore they +would. "And," continues he, "you will further solemnly promise to enter +into any engagement which I may now make, and to remain faithful to this +your oath." All the villagers exclaimed, "We do." "Well then," said he, +solemnly taking the oath, "I swear to forgive our lord." Unexpected as this +was, the villagers kept their word and forgave him. + + +The Duke of Orleans, on being appointed Regent of France, insisted on +possessing the power of pardoning. "I have no objection," said he, "to have +my hands tied from doing harm, but I will have them left free to do good." + + +Abon Hannifah, chief of a Turkish sect, once received a blow in the face +from a ruffian, and rebuked him in these terms, not unworthy of Christian +imitation: "If I were vindictive, I should return you outrage for outrage; +if I were an informer, I should accuse you before the caliph: but I prefer +putting up a prayer to God, that in the day of judgment he will cause me to +enter paradise with you." + + +Alphonsus, King of Naples and Sicily, so celebrated in history for his +clemency, was once asked why he was so forgiving to all men, even to those +most notoriously wicked? "Because," answered he, "good men are won by +justice; the bad by clemency." When some of his ministers complained to him +on another occasion of his lenity, which they were pleased to say was more +than became a prince: "What, then," exclaimed he, "would you have lions and +tigers to reign over you? It is for wild beasts to scourge; but for man to +forgive." + + +Van Dyke.--"When any one commits an offence against me," this painter used +to say, "I try to raise my soul so high that the offence shall not be able +to reach up to it." + + +Marie Antoinette.--On the elevation of this princess to the throne after +the death of Louis XV., an officer of the body-guard, who had given her +offence on some former occasion, expressed his intention of resigning his +commission; but the queen forbade him. "Remain," said she, "forget the past +as I forgive it. Far be it from the Queen of France to revenge the injuries +of the Dauphiness." + + + + +FRIENDS. + + +Friends and Hares.--The Duke of Longueville's reply, when it was observed +to him that the gentlemen bordering on his estates were continually hunting +upon them, and that he ought not to suffer it, is worthy of imitation: "I +had much rather," answered the duke, "have friends than hares." + + +Henri IV. once reproached M. d'Aubigne for continuing his friendship for M. +de la Tremouille, who had recently been banished from court. D'Aubigne +replied--"As M. de la Tremouille is so unfortunate as to have lost the +confidence of his master, he may well be allowed to retain that of his +friend." + + + + +GRATITUDE. + + +Curran says, "when a boy, I was one morning playing at marbles in the +village ball alley, with a light heart and lighter pocket. The gibe and +the jest went gaily round, when suddenly there appeared amongst us a +stranger, of a very remarkable and very cheerful aspect; his intrusion was +not the least restraint upon our merry little assemblage, on the contrary, +he seemed pleased, and even delighted; he was a benevolent creature, and +the days of infancy (after all the happiest we shall ever see), perhaps +rose upon his memory. God bless him! I see his fine form, at the distance +of half a century, just as he stood before me in the little ball-alley in +the days of my childhood. His name was Dr. Boyse. He took a particular +fancy to me. I was winning, and was full of waggery, thinking every thing +that was eccentric, and by no means a miser of my eccentricities; every one +was welcome to a share of them, and I had plenty to spare after having +freighted the company. Some sweetmeats easily bribed me home with him. I +learned from poor Boyse my alphabet and my grammar, and the rudiments of +the classics. He taught me all he could, and then sent me to the school at +Middleton. In short, he made a man of me. I recollect it was about five and +thirty years afterwards, when I had risen to some eminence at the bar, and +when I had a seat in parliament, on my return one day from court, I found +an old gentleman seated alone in my drawing-room, his feet familiarly +placed, on each side of the Italian marble chimney-piece, and his whole air +bespeaking the consciousness of one quite at home. He turned round--_it was +my friend of the ball-alley_. I rushed instinctively into his arms, and +burst into tears. Words cannot describe the scene which followed:--"You are +right, sir; you are right. The chimney-piece is your's--the pictures are +your's--the house is your's. You gave me all I have--my friend--my +father--my benefactor!" He dined with me; and in the evening I caught the +tear glistening in his fine blue eye, when he saw poor little Jack, the +creature of his bounty, rising in the House of Commons, to reply to a +_Right_ Honourable. Poor Boyse! he is now gone; and no suitor had a larger +deposit of practical benevolence in the Court above. This is his wine--let +us drink to his memory." + + + + +GHOSTS. + + +Bishop Fowler, of Gloucester, and Justice Powell, had frequent altercations +on the subject of ghosts. The bishop was a zealous defender of the reality +of them; the justice was somewhat sceptical. The bishop one day met his +friend, and the justice told him that since their last conference on the +subject, he had had ocular demonstration, which had convinced him of the +existence of ghosts. "I rejoice at your conversion," replied the bishop; +"give me the circumstance which produced it, with all the particulars:-- +ocular demonstration, you say?"--"Yes, my lord; as I lay last night in my +bed, about the twelfth hour, I was awakened by an extraordinary noise, and +heard something coming up stairs!"--"Go on, sir."--"Fearfully alarmed at +the noise, I drew my curtain--." "Proceed."--"And saw a faint glimmering +light enter my chamber."--"Of a blue colour, was it not?" interrogated the +doctor.--"Of a pale blue! and this pale blue light was followed by a tall, +meagre, stern figure, who appeared as an old man of seventy years of age, +arrayed in a long light coloured rug gown, bound with a leathern girdle: +his beard thick and grisly; his hair scant and straight; his face of a dark +sable hue; upon his head a large fur cap; and in his hand a long staff. +Terror seized my whole frame. I trembled till the bed shook, and cold drops +hung upon every limb. The figure advanced with a slow and solemn +step."--"Did you not speak to it? there was money hid, or murder committed, +without doubt," said the bishop.--"My lord, I did speak to it; I adjured it +by all that was holy to tell me whence, and for what purpose it thus +appeared."--"And in heaven's name what was the reply?"--"Before he deigned +to speak, he lifted up his staff three several times, my lord, and smote +the floor, even so loudly that verily the strokes caused the room to +reverberate the thundering sound. He then waved the pale blue light which +he bore in what is called a lantern, he waved it even to my eyes; and he +told me, my lord, he told me that he was--yes, my lord--that he was--not +more nor less than--_the watchman!_ who had come to give me notice that my +street-door was open, and that unless I rose and shut it, I might be robbed +before morning." The justice had no sooner concluded, than the bishop +disappeared. + + + + +HEROISM. + + +A Dieppe Pilot.--In August, 1777, a vessel from Rochelle, laden with salt, +and manned by eight hands, with two passengers on board, was discovered +making for the pier of Dieppe. The wind was at the time so high, and the +sea so boisterous, that a coasting pilot made four fruitless attempts to +get out, and conduct the vessel into port. Boussard, a bold and intrepid +pilot, perceiving that the helmsman was ignorant of his dangerous position, +endeavoured to direct him by a speaking trumpet and signals; but the +captain could neither see nor hear, on account of the darkness of the +night, the roaring of the winds, and the tremendous swell of the sea. The +vessel in the meantime grounded on a flinty bottom, at a short distance +from the advanced jetty. Boussard, touched with the cries of the +unfortunate crew, resolved to spring to their assistance, in spite of every +remonstrance, and the apparent impossibility of success. Having tied one +end of a rope round his waist, and fastened the other to the jetty, he +plunged headlong into the raging deep. When he had got very near the ship, +a wave carried him off, and dashed him on shore. Several times was he thus +repulsed, rolled upon flinty stones, and covered with the wreck of the +vessel, which the fury of the waves was tearing rapidly to pieces. He did +not however give up his attempt. A wave now threw him under the vessel, and +he was given up for lost, but he quickly emerged, holding in his arms a +sailor, who had been washed overboard. He brought him on shore motionless +and just expiring. In short, after an infinity of efforts and struggles, he +reached the wreck, and threw the rope on board. All who had strength enough +to avail themselves of this assistance, were successively dragged to land. +Boussard, who imagined he had now saved all the crew, worn down by +fatigue, and smarting from his wounds and bruises, walked with great +difficulty to the light-house, where he fainted through exhaustion. +Assistance being procured, he quickly recovered. On hearing that cries +still issued from the wreck, he once more collected the little strength he +had left, rushed from the arms of his friends, plunged again into the sea, +and had the good fortune to save the life of one of the passengers, who was +lashed to the wreck, and who had been unable before to profit by the means +of escape. + +Mons. de Crosne, the Intendant of Rouen, having stated these circumstances +to M. Neckar, then director-general of the finances, he immediately +addressed the following letter to Boussard, in his own hand-writing:-- +"Brave man, I was not apprized by the Intendant till the day before +yesterday, of the gallant deed achieved by you on the 31st of August. +Yesterday I reported it to his majesty, who was pleased to enjoin me to +communicate to you his satisfaction, and to acquaint you, that he presents +you with one thousand livres, by way of present, and an annual pension of +three hundred livres. Continue to succour others when you have it in your +power; and pray for your king, who loves and recompenses the brave." + + +Italian Peasant.--A great inundation having taken place in the north of +Italy, owing to an excessive fall of snow in the Alps, followed by a speedy +thaw, the river Adige carried off a bridge near Verona, all except the +middle part, on which was the house of the toll-gatherer, who thus, with +his whole family, remained imprisoned by the waves, and in momentary danger +of destruction. They were discovered from the bank, stretching forth their +hands, screaming, and imploring succour, while fragments of the only +remaining arch were continually dropping into the water. In this extreme +danger, a nobleman who was present, a Count of Pulverino, held out a purse +of a hundred sequins, as a reward to any adventurer who would take a boat +and deliver this unhappy family. But the danger of being borne down by the +rapidity of the current, or of being dashed against a fragment of the +bridge, was so great, that no one in the vast number of spectators had +courage enough to attempt the exploit. A peasant passing along enquired +what was going on, and was informed of the circumstances. Immediately +jumping into a boat, he, by strength of oars, gained the middle of the +river, brought his boat under the pile, and the whole family safely +descended by means of a rope. By a still more strenuous effort, and great +strength of arm, he brought the boat and family to shore. "Brave fellow!" +exclaimed the count, handing the purse to him, "here is your recompense." +"I shall never expose my life for money," answered the peasant; "my labour +is a sufficient livelihood for myself, my wife, and children. Give the +purse to this poor family, who have lost their all." + +This incident has been admirably worked up in a German ballad by Buerger +(see the "Song of the Brave Man," in "Popular Ballads.") + + +Countess de St. Belmont.--When M. de St. Belmont, who defended a feeble +fortress against the arms of Louis XIV., was taken prisoner, his wife, the +Comtesse de St. Belmont, who was of a most heroic disposition, still +remained upon the estates to take care of them. An officer of cavalry +having taken up his quarters there without invitation, Madame de St. +Belmont sent him a very civil letter of complaint on his ill behaviour, +which he treated with contempt. Piqued at this, she resolved he should give +her satisfaction, and sent him a challenge, which she signed "Le Chevalier +de St. Belmont." The officer accepted it, and repaired to the place +appointed. Madame de St. Belmont met him, dressed in men's clothes. They +immediately drew their swords, and the heroine had the advantage of him; +when, after disarming him, she said, with a gracious smile, "You thought, +sir, I doubt not, that you were fighting with the Chevalier de St. Belmont; +it is, however, Madame de St. Belmont, who returns you your sword, and begs +you in future to pay more regard to the requests of ladies." She then left +him, covered with shame and confusion. + + +French Peasant Girl.--One evening early in 1858, Melanie Robert, daughter +of a small farmer, near Corbeil, was proceeding to Essonnes, when a man +armed with a stout stick suddenly presented himself, and summoned her to +give up her money. Pretending to be greatly alarmed, she hastily searched +her pocket, and collecting some small pieces of coin held them out to the +man, who without distrust approached to take them. But the moment he took +the money, Melanie made a sudden snatch at the stick, and wresting it from +his hand, dealt him so violent a blow with it across the head that she +felled him to the ground. She then gave him a sound thrashing, and, in +spite of his resistance, forced him to accompany her to the office of the +commissary of police, by whom he was committed for trial. + + +Gallant Daughter.--Sir John Cochrane, who was engaged in Argyle's rebellion +against James II., was taken prisoner, after a desperate resistance, and +condemned to be executed. His daughter, having notice that the +death-warrant was expected from London, attired herself in men's clothes, +and twice attacked and robbed the mails between Belford and Berwick. The +execution was by this means delayed, till Sir John Cochrane's father, the +Earl of Dundonald, succeeded in making interest with the king for his +release. + + +A Gamekeeper's Daughter.--The Gazette of Augsburg for January, 1820, +contained a singular account of the heroism and presence of mind displayed +by the daughter of a gamekeeper, residing in a solitary house near Welheim. +Her father and the rest of the family had gone to church, when there +appeared at the door an old man apparently half dead with cold. Feeling for +his situation, she let him in, and went into the kitchen to prepare him +some soup. Through a window which communicated from the kitchen to the room +in which she had left him, she perceived that he had dropped the beard he +wore when he entered; that he now appeared a robust man; and that he was +pacing the chamber with a poignard in his hand. Finding no mode of escape, +she armed herself with a chopper in one hand and the boiling soup in the +other, and entering the room where he was, first threw the soup in his +face, and then struck him a blow with the hatchet on his neck, which +brought him to the ground senseless. At this moment a fresh knock at the +door occasioned her to look out of an upper window, when she saw a strange +hunter, who demanded admittance, and on her refusal, threatened to break +open the door. She immediately got her father's gun, and as he was +proceeding to put his threat in execution, she shot him through the right +shoulder, on which he made his way back to the forest. Half an hour after a +third person came, and asked after an old man who must have passed that +way. She said she knew nothing of him; and after useless endeavours to make +her open the door, he also proceeded to break it in, when she shot him dead +on the spot. The excitement of her courage being now at an end, her spirits +began to sink, and she fired shots, and screamed from the windows, until +some gendarmes were attracted to the house; but nothing would induce her to +open the door until the return of her father from church. + + +Reward of Heroism.--M. Labat, a merchant of Bayonne, ill in health, had +retired in the beginning of the winter, 1803, to a country house on the +banks of the Adour. One morning, when promenading in his robe-de-chambre, +on a terrace elevated a little above the river, he saw a traveller thrown +by a furious horse, from the opposite bank, into the midst of the torrent. +M. Labat was a good swimmer: he did not stop a moment to reflect on the +danger of the attempt, but, ill as he was, threw off his robe-de-chambre, +leaped into the flood, and caught the drowning stranger at the moment when, +having lost all sensation, he must have otherwise inevitably perished. "Oh, +God!" exclaimed M. Labat, clasping him in his arms, and recognizing with a +transport of joy the individual he had rescued, "I have saved my son!" + + +The Douglas.--When King Robert I. died he exacted a promise from Sir James +Douglas to convey his heart to the Holy Land, where he had been on the +point of going when death arrested him. The party had reached Sluys, so far +on their way to Jerusalem, when Alonzo, King of Leon and Castile, at that +time engaged in war with the Moorish governor of Granada, Osmyn, sent to +demand the aid of Douglas; and by his oath as a knight, which forbade him +ever to turn a deaf ear to a call in aid of the Church of Christ, he was +obliged to attend to the summons. He fought with his usual heroism, till +the Moslems believed he bore a charmed life when they saw him rush into the +thickest of the fight and escape unwounded. But the Christian ranks +nevertheless began to give way; and to stem the flight the Douglas threw +the casket containing the king's heart into the _melee_, and rushed after +it, exclaiming, "Now pass onward as thou wert wont, and Douglas will follow +thee or die!" The day after the battle the body of the hero and the casket +were found by his surviving companions; and the squire of Douglas finding +it was impossible to convey it to Jerusalem, brought back the king's heart +to Scotland, and it was interred in Melrose Abbey. + + +Marshal de Nevailles.--At the battle of Senef, the Prince of Conde sent +word to Marshal de Nevailles to be ready to engage the enemy. The messenger +found him hearing mass, at which the prince being enraged, muttered +something in abuse of over-pious persons. But the marquis having evinced +the greatest heroism during the engagement, said after it to the prince, +"Your highness, I fancy, now sees that those who pray to God behave as well +in battle as their neighbours." + + + + +HOSPITALITY. + + +Breton Peasants.--At the conclusion of the war in 1814, three hundred +British sailors, who had been prisoners, were assembled on the coast of +Britanny to embark for England. Being severally billetted on the +inhabitants for some days before they embarked, one of them requested +permission to see the superintendant, Monsieur Kearnie, which being +granted, the British tar thus addressed him: "An please your honour, I +don't come to trouble you with any bother about ourselves: we are all as +well treated as Christians can be; but there is one thing that makes my +food sit heavy on my stomach, and that of my two messmates." "What is it, +my brave fellow?" replied the superintendent;--"the persons on whom you are +quartered don't grudge it you?" "No, your honour;--if they did, that would +not vex us." "What, then, do you complain of?" "Only this, your +honour--that the poor folk cheerfully lay their scanty allowance before us +for our mess, and we have just found out that they have hardly touched a +mouthful themselves, or their six babes, for the last two days; and this we +take to be a greater hardship than any we found in prison." M. Kearnie told +them that from this hardship they should all be relieved. He instantly +ordered the billets to be withdrawn, and rewarded all parties for their +kindness, so compassionately exercised and interchanged. + + +An Archbishop.--Henry Wardlaw, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, at the beginning +of the fifteenth century was a prelate of such unbounded liberality, that +the masters of his household, apprehensive that his revenues might be +exhausted by the expense of entertaining the great numbers who resorted to +his palace, solicited him to make out a list of persons to whom the +hospitality of his board might be confined. "Well," said the archbishop to +his secretary, "take a pen and begin. First put down Fife and Angus"--two +large counties, containing several hundred thousands of people. His +servants hearing this, retired abashed; "for," says the historian, "they +said he would have no man refused that came to his house." + + +Rights of Hospitality.--Dr. Johnson, in his tour through North Wales, +passed two days at the seat of Colonel Middleton, of Gwynnagag. While he +remained there, the gardener found a hare amidst some potatoe plants, and +brought it to his master, then engaged in conversation with the doctor. An +order was given to carry it to the cook. As soon as Johnson heard this +sentence, he begged to have the animal placed in his arms, which was no +sooner done, than approaching the open window, he restored the hare to her +liberty, shouting after her to accelerate her speed. "What have you done, +doctor?" cried the colonel. "Why you have robbed my table of a +delicacy--perhaps deprived us of a dinner." "So much the better, sir," +replied the humane champion of a condemned hare; "for if your table is to +be supplied at the expense of the laws of hospitality, I envy not the +appetite of him who eats it. This, sir, is not a hare taken in war, but one +which had voluntarily placed itself under your protection; and savage +indeed must be that man who does not make his hearth an asylum for the +confiding stranger." + + +Mungo Park.--While Park was waiting on the banks of the Niger for a +passage, the king of the country was informed that a white man intended to +visit him. On this intelligence, a messenger was instantly dispatched to +tell the stranger that his majesty could not possibly admit him to his +presence till he understood the cause of his arrival, and also to warn him +not to cross the river without the royal permission. The message was +accordingly delivered by one of the chief natives, who advised Mr. Park to +seek a lodging in an adjacent village, and promised to give him some +requisite instructions in the morning. Mr. Park immediately complied with +this counsel; but on entering the village he had the mortification to find +every door closed against him. He was, therefore, obliged to remain all the +day without food, beneath the shade of a tree. About sunset, as he was +turning his horse loose to graze, and expected to pass the night in this +lonely situation, a woman returning from her employment in the fields +stopped to gaze at him, and observing his dejected looks, enquired from +what cause they proceeded? Mr. P. endeavoured, as well as he could, to make +known his destitute situation. The woman immediately took up his saddle and +bridle, and desired him to follow her to her residence, where, after +lighting a lamp, she presented him with some broiled fish, spread a mat for +him to lie upon, and gave him permission to continue under her roof till +morning. Having performed this humane action, she summoned her female +companions to their spinning, which occupied the chief part of the night, +while their labour was beguiled by a variety of songs--one of which was +observed by Mr. Park to be an extemporaneous effusion, created by his own +adventure. The air was remarkably sweet and plaintive, and the words were +literally the following:-- + + "The winds roared, and the rain fell. + The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree. + He has no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind him corn. + + _Chorus._ Let us pity the white man: no mother has he to bring him + milk, no wife to grind his corn." + + + + +HUMANITY. + + +M. Neckar.--The six companies, or bodies corporate, of the City of Paris, +set on foot in the month of October, 1788, a subscription for the relief of +the sufferers by a dreadful hail-storm, which had ravaged a part of the +country, and totally destroyed all the hopes of the husbandmen. To the +honour of these companies, no less than 50,000 livres were collected in a +short time, and placed in the hands of M. Neckar, in order to be applied to +the purpose for which they were subscribed. M. Neckar, on receiving the +money, directed it to be sent to the Treasury. "To the Treasury, my lord!" +exclaimed the bearer. "Yes, sir," replied M. Neckar; "50,000 livres will do +well for the Treasury, from which I drew yesterday 150,000 livres, to be +distributed among the same husbandmen whom it is your object to relieve, +feeling assured that the Treasury could never suffer from an advance made +on the credit of the humanity of Frenchmen." + + +Siege of Cajeta.--The City of Cajeta having rebelled against Alphonsus, was +invested by that monarch with a powerful army. Being sorely distressed for +want of provisions, the citizens put forth all their old men, women, and +children, and shut the gates upon them. The king's ministers advised his +majesty not to permit them to pass, but to force them back into the city; +by which means he would speedily become master of it. Alphonsus, however, +had too humane a disposition to hearken to counsel, the policy of which +rested on driving a helpless multitude into the jaws of famine. He suffered +them to pass unmolested; and when afterwards reproached with the delay +which this produced in the siege, he feelingly said, "I had rather be the +preserver of one innocent person, than be the master of a hundred Cajetas." + + +Provost Drummond.--About the middle of last century, George Drummond was +provost or chief magistrate of Edinburgh, and renowned for his humane +disposition. He was one day coming into the town by the suburb called the +West Port, when he saw a funeral procession leaving the door of a humble +dwelling, and setting out for the churchyard. The only persons composing +the funeral company were four poor-looking old men, seemingly common +beggars, one at each end of a pole carrying the coffin, and none to relieve +them; there was not a single attendant. The provost at once saw that it +must be a beggar's funeral, and he went forward to the old men, saying to +them, "Since this poor creature now deceased has no friends to follow his +remains to the grave, I will perform that melancholy office myself." He +then took his place at the head of the coffin. They had not gone far, till +they met two gentlemen who were acquainted with the provost, and they asked +him what he was doing there. He told them that he was going to the +interment of a poor friendless mendicant, as there were none else to do it; +so they turned and accompanied him. Others joined in the same manner, and +at last there was a respectable company at the grave. "Now," said the +kind-hearted provost, "I will lay the old man's head in the grave," which +he accordingly did, and afterwards saw the burial completed in a decent +manner. When the solemnity was over, he asked if the deceased had left a +wife or family, and learned that he had left a wife, an old woman, in a +state of perfect destitution. "Well, then, gentlemen," said the provost, +addressing those around him, "we met in rather a singular manner, and we +cannot part without doing something creditable for the benefit of the +helpless widow; let each give a trifle, and I will take it upon me to see +it administered to the best advantage." All immediately contributed some +money, which made up a respectable sum, and was afterwards given in a +fitting way to the poor woman; the provost also afterwards placed her in an +industrious occupation, by which she was able to support herself without +depending on public relief. + + +Sir Philip Sidney was a gallant soldier, a poet, and the most accomplished +gentleman of his time. At the battle of Zutphen, in the Netherlands, after +having two horses killed under him, he received a wound while in the act of +mounting a third, and was carried bleeding, faint, and thirsty to the camp. +A small quantity of water was brought to allay the thirst of Sir Philip; +but as he was raising it to his lips, he observed that a poor wounded +soldier, who was carried past at the moment, looked at the cup with wistful +eyes. The generous Sidney instantly withdrew it untasted from his mouth, +and gave it to the soldier, saying, "Thy necessity is yet greater than +mine." He died of his wound, aged only thirty-three; but his kindness to +the poor soldier has caused his name to be remembered ever since with +admiration, and it will probably never be forgotten while humane and +generous actions are appreciated among men. + + +Bishop of St. Lisieux.--The massacre of St. Bartholomew was not confined to +Paris; orders were sent to the most distant provinces to commence the work +of destruction. When the governor of the province brought the order to +Hennuyer, Bishop of Lisieux, he opposed it with all his power, and caused a +formal act of his opposition to be entered on the registers of the +province. Charles IX., when remorse had taken place of cruelty, was so far +from disapproving of what this excellent prelate had done, that he gave him +the greatest praise for his humanity; and Protestants flocked in numbers to +adjure their religion at the feet of this good and kind shepherd, whose +gentleness affected them more than either the commands of the sovereign, +or the violence of the soldiery. + + +On the same occasion, Viscount d'Orthe had the courage to write from +Bayonne to Charles IX., that he found many good soldiers in his garrison, +but not one executioner; and begged him to command their lives in any +service that was possible to men of honor. + + +Baron Von Stackelberg, in going from Athens to Thessalonica in an armed +vessel, was taken by some Albanian pirates, who immediately sent the +captain of the vessel to the former place, demanding 60,000 piastres for +the baron's ransom, and threatening that if it was not paid, they would +tear his body to pieces. They obliged him, at the same time, to write to +Baron Haller and another friend, to acquaint them with the demand. The time +fixed by the pirates had elapsed, and Baron Stackelberg, who had become +extremely ill, was expecting a cruel death, when the humane and generous +Haller, who had borrowed 14,500 Turkish piastres, at 30 per cent., +appeared. The pirates refused to take less than the sum demanded. Haller +offered himself as a hostage instead of his friend, if they would prolong +his life, and suffer him to recover from his sickness. This noble deed +contributed to convince the pirates, that no larger sum could be obtained; +they accepted it, and Haller returned to Athens with the friend whom his +humanity had preserved. + + +The Princess Charlotte.--During the residence of Her Royal Highness at +Bognor, where she had gone for the recovery of her health, an officer of +long standing in the army was arrested for a small sum, and being at a +distance from his friends, and unable to procure bail, he was on the point +of being torn from his family to be conveyed to Arundel gaol. The +circumstance came to the knowledge of the princess, who, in the momentary +impulse of generous feeling, exclaimed, "I will be his bail!" Then, +suddenly recollecting herself, she inquired the amount of the debt; which +being told her, "There," said she, handing a purse with more than the sum, +"take this to him; it is hard that he who has exposed his life in the +field of battle should ever experience the rigours of a prison."--During +the last illness of an old female attendant, formerly nurse to the Princess +Charlotte, she visited her every day, sat by her bedside, and with her own +hand administered the medicine prescribed. When death had closed the eyes +of this poor woman, instead of fleeing in haste from an object so appalling +to the young and gay in general, the princess remained and gave utterance +to the compassion she felt on viewing the remains in that state from which +majesty itself cannot be exempt. A friend of the deceased, seeing Her Royal +Highness was much affected, said, "If your Royal Highness would condescend +to touch her, perhaps you would not dream of her." "Touch her," replied the +amiable princess, "yes, poor thing! and kiss her, too; almost the only one +I ever kissed, except my poor mother!" Then bending her head over the +coffin of her humble friend, she pressed her lips to the cold cheeks, while +tears flowed from her eyes. + + +M. de Montesquieu being at Marseilles, hired a boat with the intention of +sailing for pleasure; the boat was rowed by two young men, with whom he +entered into conversation, and learnt that they were not watermen by trade, +but silversmiths, and that when they could be spared from their usual +business, they employed themselves in that way to increase their earnings. +On expressing his surprise at their conduct, and imputing it to an +avaricious disposition; "Oh! sir," said the young men, "if you knew our +reasons, you would ascribe it to a better motive.--Our father, anxious to +assist his family, devoted the produce of a life of industry to the +purchase of a vessel, for the purpose of trading to the coast of Barbary, +but was unfortunately taken by a pirate, carried to Tripoli, and sold as a +slave. In a letter we have received from him, he informs that he has +luckily fallen into the hands of a master who treats him with great +humanity; but the sum demanded for the ransom is so exorbitant, that it +will be impossible for him ever to raise it. He adds, that we must +therefore relinquish all hope of ever seeing him again. With the hopes of +restoring to his family a beloved father, we are striving by every honest +means in our power to collect the sum necessary for his ransom, and we are +not ashamed to employ ourselves for such a purpose in the occupation of +watermen." M. de Montesquieu was struck with this account, and on his +departure made them a handsome present. Some months afterwards, the young +men being at work in their shop, were greatly surprised at the sudden +arrival of their father, who threw himself into their arms; exclaiming at +the same time, that he feared they had taken some unjust method to raise +the money for his ransom, for it was too great for them to have gained by +their ordinary occupation. They professed their ignorance of the whole +affair; and could only suspect they owed their father's release to that +stranger to whose generosity they had before been so much obliged. Such, +indeed, was the case; but it was not till after Montesquieu's death that +the fact was known, when an account of the affair, with the sum remitted to +Tripoli for the old man's ransom, was found among his papers. + + +Fenelon.--The venerable Archbishop of Cambray, whose humanity was +unbounded, was in the constant habit of visiting the cottages of the +peasants, and administering consolation and relief in their distress. When +they were driven from their habitations by the alarms of war, he received +them into his house, and served them at his table. During the war, his +house was always open to the sick and wounded, whom he lodged and provided +with every thing necessary for their relief. Besides his constant +hospitalities to the military, he performed a most munificent act of +patriotism and humanity after the disastrous winter of 1709, by opening his +granaries and distributing gratuitously corn to the value of 100,000 +livres. And when his palace at Cambray, and all his books and furniture, +were destroyed by fire, he bore it with the utmost firmness, saying, "It is +better all these should be burned, than the cottage of one poor family." + + +Lord Cochrane.--When this gallant officer was entrusted with the perilous +duty of conducting the fire-ships in the attack upon the French fleet in +Basque Roads, he had lighted the fusee which was to explode one of these +terrific engines of destruction, and had rowed off to some distance, when +it was discovered that a dog had been left on board. Lord C. instantly +ordered the men to row back, assuring them that there was yet time enough, +_if they pulled hard_, to save the poor animal. They got back to the +fire-ship just a few minutes before it would have been too late to save the +animal; and when the dreadful explosion took place, were still so near the +floating volcano, that the fragments fell in heaps around them. + + +Sir Samuel Hood.--This gallant officer, when commanding the "Juno" on the +Jamaica station, in 1791, exhibited a noble instance of intrepid humanity. +The ship was lying in St. Anne's harbour, when a raft, with three persons +upon it, was discovered at a great distance. The weather was exceedingly +stormy; and the waves broke with such violence, as to leave little hope +that the unfortunate men upon it could long survive. Captain Hood instantly +ordered out one of his ship's boats to endeavour to rescue them; but the +sea ran so high, that the crew declared the attempt impracticable, and +refused to expose themselves to what they considered certain destruction. +The captain immediately leaped into the boat, declaring that he would never +order them on any service on which he would not himself venture. The effect +was such as might be expected: there is no danger that a British sailor +will not share with his captain; all now were eager to offer themselves. +The boat pushed off, and reached the raft with much difficulty, and saved +the exhausted men, who still clung to it. The House of Assembly of Jamaica, +to testify their sense of this undaunted exertion in the cause of humanity, +presented Captain Hood with a sword of the value of two hundred guineas. + + +An Uncarpeted House.--M. Eveillan, formerly Archdeacon of Angers, was noted +for his humane and charitable disposition towards the poor. On one +occasion, when a friend expressed surprise that none of his rooms were +carpeted, he replied, "When I enter my house in the winter, I do not hear +any complaints of cold from the furniture of my rooms; but the poor who +stand shivering at my doors tell me but too plainly that they have need of +clothing." + + + + +IMAGINATION AND FEAR. + + +Fear of Death.--It is recorded of a person who had been sentenced to be +bled to death, that, instead of the punishment being actually inflicted, he +was made to believe that it was so, merely by causing water, when his eyes +were blinded, to trickle down his arm. This mimicry, however, of an +operation, stopped as completely the movements of the animated machine as +if an entire exhaustion had been effected of the vivifying mud. The man +lost his life, although not his blood, by this imaginary venesection. + + +We read of another unfortunate being who had been condemned to lose his +head, but the moment after it had been laid upon the block, a reprieve +arrived; the victim was, however, already sacrificed. The living principle +had been extinguished by the fear of the axe, as effectually as it would +have been by its fall. + + +The Editor of the _Philosophical Magazine_ relates a remarkable instance +which came within his own knowledge many years ago in Scotland. Some silver +spoons having been mislaid, were supposed to have been stolen; and an +expression fell from one of the family, which was either intended, or was +so understood by a young lady who acted as governess to the female +children, that she had taken them. When the young lady rose next morning, +her hair, which before was dark, was found to have changed to a pure white +during the night. The spoons were afterwards found where the mistress of +the family had herself deposited them. + + +Mons. Boutibonne, a man of literary attainments, a native of Paris, served +in Napoleon's army, and was present at a number of engagements during the +early part of the present century. At the battle of Wagram, which resulted +in a treaty of peace with Austria, in November 1809, Mons. Boutibonne was +actively engaged during the whole of the fray, which lasted, if I rightly +remember, from soon after mid-day until dark. The ranks around him had +been terribly thinned by the enemy's shot, so that his position at sunset +was nearly isolated; and while in the act of reloading his musket, he was +shot down by a cannon-ball. The impression produced upon his mind was, that +the ball had passed from left to right, through his legs below the knees, +separating them from his thighs, as he suddenly sank down, shortened, as he +believed, to the extent of about a foot in measurement, the trunk of the +body falling backwards on the ground, and the senses being completely +paralysed by the shock. In this posture he lay motionless during the +remainder of the night, not daring to move a muscle for fear of fatal +consequences. He experienced no severe suffering; but this immunity from +pain he attributed to the stunning effect produced upon the brain and +nervous system. "My wounded companions," said he, "lay groaning in agony on +every side, but I uttered not a word, nor ventured to move, lest the torn +vessels should be roused into action, and produce fatal haemorrhage, for I +had been made acquainted with the fact that the blood-vessels, wounded in +this way, did not usually bleed profusely until reaction took place. At +early dawn, on the following morning, I was aroused from a troubled slumber +by one of the medical staff, who came round to succour the wounded. 'What's +the matter with you my good fellow?' said he. 'Ah! touch me softly, I +beseech you,' I replied, 'a cannon-ball has carried off my legs.' He +proceeded at once to examine my legs and thighs, and giving me a good +shake, with a cry of joy he exclaimed 'Get up at once, there is nothing the +matter with you.' Whereupon I sprung up in utter astonishment, and stood +firmly on the legs which I believed had been lost to me for ever. I felt +more thankful than I had ever done in the whole course of my life before. I +had not a wound about me. I had indeed been shot down by an immense +cannon-ball, but instead of passing through my legs, as I firmly believed +it to have done, the ball had passed under my feet, and had ploughed away a +cavity in the earth beneath, at least a foot in depth, into which my feet +suddenly sank, giving me the idea that I had been thus shattered by the +separation of my legs. Such is the power of imagination." + + + + +JOHNSON. + + +Johnson and Millar.--When Dr. Johnson had completed his Dictionary, which +had quite exhausted the patience of Mr. Andrew Millar, his bookseller, the +latter acknowledged the receipt of the last sheet in the following +note:--"Andrew Millar sends his compliments to Mr. Samuel Johnson, with the +money for the last sheet of the copy of the Dictionary, and thanks God he +has done with him." To this rude note the doctor returned the following +smart answer:--"Samuel Johnson returns his compliments to Mr. Andrew +Millar, and is very glad to find (as he does by his note) that Andrew +Millar has the grace to thank God for anything." + + +Johnson and Wilkes.--In his English Grammar, prefixed to his Dictionary, +Johnson had written--"_He_ seldom, perhaps never, begins any but the first +syllable." Wilkes published some remarks upon this dictum, commencing: "The +author of this observation must be a man of quick appre-_he_nsion, and of a +most compre-_he_nsive genius." + + +Johnson and Lord Elibank.--"Lord Elibank," says Sir W. Scott, "made a happy +retort on Dr. Johnson's definition of oats, as the food of horses in +England, and men in Scotland." "Yes," said he, "and where else will you see +_such horses_, and _such men?_" + + + + +KINGS. + + +James the First.--Soon after that would-be _Solomon_ came to the throne of +England, he went one day to hear the causes in Westminster Hall, in order +to show his learning and wisdom, of which he had no mean opinion. +Accordingly, being seated on the bench, a cause came on, which the counsel, +learned in the law, set forth to such advantage on the part of the +plaintiff, that the Royal Judge thought he saw the justice of it so +clearly, that he frequently cried out, "The gude man is i' the richt! the +gude man is i' the richt! He mun hae it! he mun hae it!" And when the +counsel had concluded, he took it as a high affront that the judges of the +court should presume to remonstrate to him, that it was the rule to hear +the other side before they gave judgment. Curiosity to know what could be +said in so clear a case, rather than any respect to their rules, made him +defer his decision; but the defendant's counsel had scarcely begun to open +his cause, when his majesty appeared greatly discomposed, and was so +puzzled as they proceeded, that he had no patience to hear them out, but +starting up in a passion, cried, "I'll hear nae mair! I'll hear nae mair! +ye are a' knaves aleeke! Ye gi' each other the lee (lie), and neither's i' +the richt!" + + +Frederick the Great.--Frederick the Great rang the bell one day, and nobody +answered. He opened the door, and found the page sleeping on a sofa. About +to wake him, he perceived the end of a billet out of his pocket, and had +the curiosity to know the contents: Frederick carefully drew it out, and +read it; it was a letter from the mother of the young man, who thanked him +for having sent her part of his wages, to assist her in her distress; and +it concluded by beseeching God to bless him for his filial goodness. The +king returned softly to his room, took a roller of ducats, and slid them, +with the letter, into the page's pocket; and then returning to his +apartment, rung so violently, that the page came running breathlessly to +know what had happened. "You have slept well," said the king. The page made +an apology, and, in his embarrassment, he happened to put his hand into his +pocket, and felt with astonishment the roller. He drew it out, turned pale, +and looking at the king, burst into tears, without being able to speak a +word. "What is the matter?" said the king, "what ails you?" "Ah, sire," +answered the youth, throwing himself at his feet, "somebody would wish to +ruin me; I know not how I came by this money in my pocket." "My friend," +said Frederick, "God often sends us good in our sleep. Send this to your +mother. Salute her in my name, and assure her I shall take care of her and +of you." + + +Frederick, conqueror as he was, sustained a severe defeat at Coslin in the +war of 1755. Some time after, at a review, he jocosely asked a soldier, who +had got a deep cut in his cheek, "Friend, at what alehouse did you get that +scratch?" "I got it," said the soldier, "at Coslin, _where your majesty +paid the reckoning_." + + +Frederick was very fond of disputation; but as he generally terminated the +discussion by collaring his antagonist and kicking his shins, few of his +guests were disposed to enter the arena against him. One day, when he was +particularly disposed for an argument, he asked one of his suite why he did +not venture to give his opinion on a particular question. "It is +impossible, your majesty," was the reply, "to express an opinion before a +sovereign who has such very strong convictions, and who _wears such very +thick boots_." + + +Desertion.--Frederick, in surveying one evening some of the advanced posts +of his camp, discovered a soldier endeavouring to pass the sentinel. His +majesty stopped him, and insisted on knowing where he was going. "To tell +you the truth," answered the soldier, "your majesty has been so worsted in +all your attempts, that I was going to _desert_." "Were you?" answered the +monarch. "Remain here but one week longer, and if fortune does not mend in +that time, I'll desert with you too." + + +Louis XIV., playing at backgammon, had a doubtful throw; a dispute arose, +and all the courtiers remained silent. The Count de Grammont came in at +that instant. "Decide the matter," said the king to him. "Sire," said the +count, "your Majesty is in the wrong."--"How so," replied the king; "can +you decide without knowing the question?"--"Yes," said the count, "because, +had the matter been doubtful, all these gentlemen present would have given +it for your majesty." + + +Louis was told that Lord Stair was the best bred man in Europe. "I shall +soon put that to the test," said the king, and asking Lord Stair to take an +airing with him, as soon as the door of the coach was opened he bade him +pass and go in, the other bowed and obeyed. The king said, "The world was +right in the character it gave of Lord Stair--another person would have +troubled me with ceremony." + + +While the Eddystone light-house was erecting, a French privateer took the +men upon the rock, together with their tools, and carried them to France; +and the captain was in expectation of a reward for the achievement. While +the captives lay in prison, the transaction reached the ears of Louis XIV., +when he immediately ordered them to be released, and the captors put in +their places, declaring, that "Though he was at war with England, he was +not so with all mankind." He directed the men to be sent back to their +work, with presents--observing, "That the Eddystone light-house was so +situated as to be of equal service to all nations having occasion to +navigate the channel between England and France." + + +Charles II. was reputed a great connoisseur in naval architecture. Being +once at Chatham, to view a ship just finished on the stocks, he asked the +famous Killigrew, "If he did not think he should make an excellent +shipwright?" He replied, "That he always thought his majesty would have +done better at any trade than his own." No favourable compliment, but as +true a one, perhaps, as ever was paid. + + +Louis XII.--Josquin, a celebrated composer, was appointed master of the +chapel to Louis XII. of France, who promised him a benefice, but contrary +to his usual custom, forgot him. Josquin, after suffering great +inconvenience from the shortness of his majesty's memory, ventured, by a +singular expedient, publicly to remind him of his promise, without giving +offence. Being commanded to compose a motet for the chapel royal, he chose +the verse of the Psalm, "Oh, think of thy servant as concerning thy word," +&c., which he set in so supplicating and exquisite a manner, that it was +universally admired, particularly by the king, who was not only charmed +with the music, but felt the force of the words so effectually, that he +soon after granted his petition, by conferring on him the promised +appointment. + + +George the Second, when returning from his German dominions, on the way +between the Brill and Helvoetsluys, was obliged to stay at an obscure +public house on the road, while some of his servants went forward to obtain +another carriage, that in which he had travelled having broken down. The +king ordered refreshment, but all he could get was a pot of coffee for +himself and Lord Delawar, and two bottles of gin made into punch for his +footmen; however, when the bill was called for, the conscientious Dutchman, +knowing his customer, presented it as follows: "To refreshments for His +Sacred Majesty, King George the Second, and his household, L91." Lord +Delawar was so provoked at this imposition, that the king overheard his +altercation with the landlord, and demanded the cause of it. His lordship +immediately told him; when his majesty good humouredly replied, "My lord, +the fellow is a great knave, but pay him. Kings seldom pass this way." + +A similar anecdote is related of another monarch, who, passing through a +town in Holland, was charged thirty dollars for two eggs. On this, he said, +that "Eggs were surely scarce in that town." "No, your majesty," replied +the landlord, "but kings are." + + +Charles V. of France.--The last words of this patriotic monarch are +memorable for the noble moral for kings which they contain. "I have aimed +at justice," said he to those around him; "but what king can be certain +that he has always followed it? Perhaps I have done much evil of which I am +ignorant. Frenchmen! who now hear me, I address myself in the presence of +the Supreme Being to you. _I find that kings are happy but in this--that +they have the power of doing good_." + + +George III. on Punctuality.--The celebrated mathematical instrument maker, +Mr. Ramsden, was frequently deficient in punctuality, and would delay for +months, nay, for years, the delivery of instruments bespoken from him. His +majesty, who had more than once experienced this dilatory disposition, once +ordered an instrument, which he made Ramsden positively promise to deliver +on a certain day. The day, however, came, but not the instrument. At length +Ramsden sent word to the king that it was finished; on which a message was +sent him, desiring that he would bring it himself to the palace. He, +however, answered, that he would not come, unless his majesty would promise +not to be angry with him. "Well, well," said the king, "let him come: as he +confesses his fault, it would be hard to punish him for it." On this +assurance he went to the palace, where he was graciously received; the +king, after expressing his entire satisfaction with the instrument, only +adding, with a good-natured smile, "You have been uncommonly punctual this +time, Mr. Ramsden, having brought the instrument on the very day of the +month you promised it; you have only made a small mistake in the date of +the year." It was, in fact, exactly a year after the stipulated time. + + +Doing Homage.--Mr. Carbonel, the wine merchant who served George III., was +a great favourite with the king, and used to be admitted to the royal +hunts. Returning from the chase one day, his majesty entered affably into +conversation with him, and rode with him side by side a considerable way. +Lord Walsingham was in attendance; and watching an opportunity, took Mr. +Carbonel aside, and whispered something to him. "What's that, what's that +Walsingham has been saying to you?" inquired the good-humoured monarch. "I +find, sire, I have been unintentionally guilty of disrespect; my lord +informed me, that, I ought to have taken off my hat whenever I addressed +your majesty; but your majesty will please to observe, that whenever I +hunt, my hat is fastened to my wig, and my wig is fastened to my head, and +I am on the back of a very high-spirited horse; so that if any thing _goes +off_, we _all go off together!_" The king accepted, and laughed heartily +at, the whimsical apology. + + +The Horse Dealer.--The king having purchased a horse, the dealer put into +his hands a large sheet of paper, completely written over. "What's this?" +said his majesty. "The pedigree of the horse, sire, which you have just +bought," was the answer. "Take it back, take it back," said the king, +laughing; "it will do very well for the next horse you sell." + + +The following affords a pleasing trait in the character of George the +Third, as well as an instance of that feeling which ought to subsist +between masters of all ranks and circumstances and their domestics:-- + +_Inscription in the Cloisters of St. George's Chapel, Windsor._ + +King George III. +caused to be interred near this place the body of +MARY GASKOIN, +Servant to the late Princess Amelia; and this tablet to be +erected in testimony of his grateful sense of the faithful +services and attachment of an amiable young woman to +his beloved daughter, whom she survived only three +months. She died the 19th February, 1811, aged 31 +years. + + +A very bold caricature was one day shown to his majesty, in which Warren +Hastings was represented wheeling the king and the lord chancellor in a +wheelbarrow for sale, and crying, "What a man buys, he may sell." The +inference intended was, that his majesty and Lord Thurlow had used improper +influence in favour of Hastings. The king smiled at the caricature, and +observed, "Well, this is something new; I have been in all sorts of +carriages, but was never put into a wheel-barrow before." + + + + +LAWS AND LAWYERS. + + +A Bold Trick.--The following anecdote serves to exemplify how necessary it +is upon any important occasion to scrutinise the accuracy of a statement +before it is taken upon trust. A fellow was tried at the Old Bailey for +highway robbery, and the prosecutor swore positively that he had seen his +face distinctly, for it was a bright moonlight night. The counsel for the +prisoner cross-questioned the man so as to make him repeat that assertion, +and insist upon it. He then affirmed that this was a most important +circumstance, and a most fortunate one for the prisoner at the bar: because +the night on which the alleged robbery was said to have been committed was +one in which there had been no moon: it was then during the dark quarter! +In proof of this he handed an almanack to the bench,--and the prisoner was +acquitted accordingly. The prosecutor, however, had stated every thing +truly; and it was known afterwards that the almanack with which the counsel +came provided, had actually been prepared and printed for the occasion! + + +Horse Trials.--In the art of cross-examining a witness, Curran was +pre-eminent. A clever repartee is recorded of him in a horse cause. He had +asked the jockey's servant his master's age, and the man had retorted, with +ready gibe, "I never put my hand into his mouth to try!" The laugh was +against the lawyer till he made the bitter reply,--"You did perfectly +right, friend; for your master is said to be a great bite." + + +Erskine displayed similar readiness in a case of breach of warranty. The +horse taken on trial had become dead lame, but the witness to prove it said +he had a cataract in his eye. "A singular proof of lameness," suggested the +Court. "It is cause and effect," remarked Erskine; "for what is a cataract +but a fall?" + + +Erskine.--On Mr. Erskine's receiving his appointment to succeed Mr. Dundas, +as justiciary in Scotland, he exclaimed that he must go and order his silk +robe. "Never mind," said Mr. Dundas, "for the short time you will want it +you had better borrow mine!"--"No!" replied Erskine, "how short a time +soever I may need it, heaven forbid that I commence my career by adopting +the _abandoned habits_ of my predecessor!" + + +Erskine is said to have once forgotten for which party, in a particular +cause, he had been retained; and, to the amazement of the agent who had +retained him, and the horror of the poor client behind, he made a most +eloquent speech in direct opposition to the interests he had been hired to +defend. Such was the zeal of his eloquence, that no whispered remonstrance +from the rear, no tugging at his elbow could stop him. But just as he was +about to sit down, the trembling attorney put a slip of paper into his +hands. "You have pleaded for the wrong party!" whereupon, with an air of +infinite composure, he resumed the thread of his oration, saying, "Such, my +lord, is the statement you will probably hear from my brother, on the +opposite side of this cause. I shall now beg leave, in a very few words, to +show your lordship how utterly untenable are the principles, and how +distorted are the facts, upon which this very specious statement has +proceeded." He then went once more over the same ground, and did not take +his seat till he had most energetically refuted himself, and destroyed the +effect of his former pleading. He gained the cause. + + +A similar circumstance happened in the Rolls Court, in 1788. Mr. A., an +eminent counsel, received a brief in court a short time before the cause +was called on, for the purpose of opposing the prayer of a petition. Mr. +A., conceiving himself to be the petitioner, spoke very ably in support of +the petition, and was followed by a counsel on the same side. The Master of +the Rolls then inquired who opposed the petition? Mr. A. having by this +time discovered his mistake, rose in much confusion, and said, that he felt +really much ashamed for a blunder into which he had fallen, for that, +instead of supporting the petition, it was his business to have opposed it. +The Master of the Rolls, with great good humour, desired him to proceed now +on the other side, observing, that he knew no counsel who could answer his +arguments half so well as himself. + + +Fools.--A lawyer of Strasburgh being in a dying state sent for a brother +lawyer to make his will, by which he bequeathed nearly the whole of his +estate to the Hospital for Idiots. The other expressed his surprise at this +bequest. "Why not bestow it upon them," said the dying man; "you know I got +the most of my money by fools, and therefore to fools it ought to return." + + +Curran.--A farmer, attending a fair with a hundred pounds in his pocket, +took the precaution of depositing it in the hands of the landlord of the +public-house at which he stopped. Having occasion for it shortly +afterwards, he repaired to mine host for the amount, but the landlord, too +deep for the countryman, wondered what hundred was meant, and was quite +sure no such sum had ever been lodged in his hands. After many ineffectual +appeals to the recollection, and finally to the honour of Bardolph, the +farmer applied to Curran for advice. "Have patience, my friend," said +Curran; "speak to the landlord civilly, and tell him you are convinced you +must have left your money with some other person. Take a friend with you, +and lodge with him another hundred in the presence of your friend, and then +come to me." We may imagine the vociferations of the honest rustic at such +advice; however, moved by the rhetoric of the worthy counsel, he followed +it, and returned to his legal friend. "And now, sir, I don't see as I'm to +be better off for this, if I get my second hundred again--but how is that +to be done?" "Go and ask him for it when he is alone," said the counsel. +"Aye, sir; but asking won't do I'm afraid, and not without my witness, at +any rate." "Never mind, take my advice," said the counsel; "do as I bid +you, and return to me." The farmer returned with the hundred, glad at any +rate to find that safe again his possession. "Now I suppose I must be +content, though I don't see as I'm much better off." "Well, then," said the +counsel, "now take your friend with you, and ask the landlord for the +hundred pounds your friend saw you leave with him." We need not add, that +the wily landlord found that he had been taken off his guard, while our +honest friend returned to thank his counsel exultingly, with both of his +hundreds in his pocket. + + +Mr. Curran was once engaged in a legal argument; behind him stood his +colleague, a gentleman whose person was remarkably tall and slender, and +who had originally intended to take orders. The judge observing that the +case under discussion involved a question of ecclesiastical law; "Then," +said Curran, "I can refer your lordship to a _high_ authority behind me, +who was once intended for the church, though in my opinion he was fitter +for the steeple." + + +There is a celebrated reply of Mr. Curran to a remark of Lord Clare, who +curtly exclaimed at one of his legal positions, "O! if that be law, Mr. +Curran, I may burn my law books!" "Better _read_ them, my lord," was the +sarcastic and appropriate rejoinder. + + +A Good Example.--Chamillart, comptroller-general of the finances in the +reign of Louis XIV., had been a celebrated pleader. He once lost a cause in +which he was concerned, through his excessive fondness for billiards. His +client called on him the day after in extreme affliction, and told him +that, if he had made use of a document which had been put into his hands, +but which he had neglected to examine, a verdict must have been given in +his favour. Chamillart read it, and found it of decisive importance to his +cause. "You sued the defendant," said he, "for 20,000 livres. You have +failed by my inadvertence. It is my duty to do you justice. Call on me in +two days." In the meantime Chamillart procured the money, and paid it to +his client, on no other condition than that he should keep the transaction +secret. + + +Legal Point.--A few years ago it happened that a cargo of ice was imported +into this country from Norway. Not having such an article in the Custom +house schedules, application was made to the Treasury and to the Board of +Trade; and, after some little delay, it was decided that the ice should be +entered as "_dry_ goods;" but the whole cargo had melted before the doubt +was cleared up! + + +Lord Brougham tells the following story. It is a curious instance of the +elucidation of facts in court.--During the assizes, in a case of assault +and battery, where a stone had been thrown by the defendant, the following +clear and conclusive evidence was drawn out of a Yorkshireman.--"Did you +see the defendant throw the stone?" "I saw a stone, and I'ze pretty sure +the defendant throwed it." "Was it a large stone?" "I should say it wur a +largeish stone." "What was its size?" "I should say a sizeable stone." +"Can't you answer definitely how big it was?" "I should say it wur a stone +of some bigness." "Can't you give the jury some idea of the stone?" "Why, +as near as I recollect, it wur something of a stone." "Can't you compare it +to some other object?" "Why, if I wur to compare it, so as to give some +notion of the stone, I should say it wur as large as a lump of chalk!" + + +Questioning.--Sir John Fielding gave a curious instance in the case of an +Irish fellow who was brought before him when sitting as a magistrate at +Bow-street. He was desired to give some account of himself, and where he +came from. Wishing to pass for an Englishman, he said he came from Chester. +This he pronounced with a very rich brogue, which caught the ears of Sir +John. "Why, were you ever in Chester?" says he. "To be sure I was," said +Pat, "_wasn't I born there?_" "How dare you," said Sir John Fielding, "with +that brogue, which shows that you are an Irishman, pretend to have been +born in Chester?" "I didn't say I was born there, sure; I only asked your +honour whether I was or not." + + +Thelwall, when on his trial at the Old Bailey for high treason, during the +evidence for the prosecution, wrote the following note, and sent it to his +counsel, Mr. Erskine: "I am determined to plead my cause myself." Mr. +Erskine wrote under it: "If you do, you'll be hang'd:" to which Thelwall +immediately returned this reply: "I'll be hang'd, then, if I do." + + +Peter the Great, being at Westminster Hall in term time, and seeing +multitudes of people swarming about the courts of law, is reported to have +asked some about him, what all those busy people were, and what they were +about? and being answered, "They are lawyers." "Lawyers!" returned he, with +great vivacity, "why I have but four in my whole kingdom, and I design to +hang two of them as soon as I get home." + + +A Sheepish Lamb.--Counsellor Lamb (an old man, at the time the late Lord +Erskine was in the height of his reputation) was a man of timid manners and +nervous disposition, and usually prefaced his pleadings with an apology to +that effect; and on one occasion, when opposed to Erskine, he happened to +remark that "he felt himself growing more and more timid as he grew older." +"No wonder," replied the witty but relentless barrister, "every one knows +the older a _lamb_ grows the more _sheepish_ he becomes." + + +A learned serjeant, since a judge, being once asked what he would do if a +man owed him L10, and refused to pay him. "Rather than bring an action, +with its costs and uncertainty," said he, "I would send him a receipt in +full of all demands." "Aye," said he, recollecting himself, "and I would +moreover send him five pounds to cover possible costs." + + +Sir William Jones and Thomas Day.--One day, upon removing some books at the +chambers of the former, a large spider dropped upon the floor, upon which +Sir William, with some warmth, said, "Kill that spider, Day; kill that +spider!" "No," said Mr. Day, with coolness, "I will not kill that spider, +Jones: I do not know that I have a right to kill that spider. Suppose, when +you are going in your coach to Westminster Hall, a superior Being, who +perhaps may have as much power over you as you have over this insect, +should say to his companion, 'Kill that lawyer, kill that lawyer!' how +should you like that, Jones? and I am sure, to most people, a lawyer is a +more noxious animal than a spider." + + +Sir Fletcher Norton was noted for his want of courtesy. When pleading +before Lord Mansfield, on some question of manorial right, he chanced +unfortunately to say, "My lord, I can illustrate the point in an instant in +my own person: I myself have two little manors." The judge immediately +interposed, with one of his blandest smiles, "We all know that, Sir +Fletcher." + + +The Stocks.--Lord Camden once presided at a trial in which a charge was +brought against a magistrate for false imprisonment, and for putting the +plaintiff in the stocks. The counsel for the magistrate, in his reply, +said, the charges were trifling, particularly that of putting in the +stocks, which everybody knew was no punishment at all. The chief justice +rose, and leaning over the bench, said, in a half whisper, "Brother, were +you ever in the stocks?" "In the stocks, my lord! no, never." "Then I +have," said his lordship, "and I assure you, brother, it is no such trifle +as you represent." His lordship's knowledge of the stocks arose from the +following circumstance. When he was on a visit to Lord Dacre, his +brother-in-law, at Alveley in Essex, he walked out one day with a gentleman +remarkable for his absence of mind. When they had reached a hill, at some +distance from the house, his lordship sat down on the parish stocks, which +stood by the road side; and after some time, asked his companion to open +them, as he wished to know what kind of punishment it was; this being done, +the absent gentleman took a book from his pocket, and sauntered about, +until he forgot both the judge and his situation, and returned to Lord +Dacre's house. When the judge was tired of the experiment he had so rashly +made, he found himself unable to open the stocks, and asked a countryman +who passed by to assist him. "No, no, old gentleman," replied Hodge, "you +was not set there for nothing, I'll be bound!" Lord C. protested his +innocence, but in vain; the countryman walked on, and left his lordship to +meditate for some time longer in his foolish situation, until some of Lord +Dacre's servants, chancing to pass that way, released him. + + +Hanging Judge.--Counsellor Grady, in a late trial in Ireland, said, he +recollected to have heard of a relentless judge; he was known by the name +of the Hanging Judge, and was never seen to shed a tear but once, and that +was during the representation of _The Beggar's Opera_, when Macheath got a +_reprieve!_ + + +It was the same judge, we believe, between whom and Mr. Curran the +following pass of wit once took place at table. "Pray, Mr. Curran," said +the judge, "is that hung beef beside you? If it is, I will try it." "If +_you_ try it, my lord," replied Mr. Curran, "it is sure to be hung." + + +Keep to the Point.--Lord Tenterden contracted such an inveterate habit of +keeping himself and everybody else to the precise matter in hand, that +once, during a circuit dinner, having asked a country magistrate if he +would take venison, and receiving what he deemed an evasive reply, "Thank +you, my lord, I am going to take boiled chicken," his lordship sharply +retorted, "That, sir, is no answer to my question; I ask you again if you +will take venison, and I will trouble you to say yes or no, without further +prevarication." + + +Longs and Shorts.--There were two barristers at the Irish bar who formed a +singular contrast in their statures. Ninian Mahaffy, Esq., was as much +above the middle size as Mr. Collis was below it. When Lord Redesdale was +Lord Chancellor of Ireland, these two gentlemen chanced to be retained in +the same cause, a short time after his lordship's elevation, and before he +was personally acquainted with the Irish bar. Mr. Collis was opening the +motion, when the lord chancellor observed, "Mr. Collis, when a barrister +addresses the court, he must stand." "I am standing on the bench, my lord," +said Collis. "I beg a thousand pardons," said his lordship, somewhat +confused. "Sit down, Mr. Mahaffy." "I am sitting, my lord," was the reply +to the confounded chancellor. + + +The Scotch bar had once to boast in Mr. Erskine, of Cardross, of a pleader +quite as diminutive as Mr. Collis. He had usually a stool brought to him to +stand upon when addressing the court, which gave occasion for a witty +rival once to observe, that "that was one way of rising at the bar." + + +Lord Kaimes used to relate a story of a man who claimed the honour of his +acquaintance on rather singular grounds. His lordship, when one of the +justiciary judges, returning from the north circuit to Perth, happened one +night to sleep at Dunkeld. The next morning, walking towards the ferry, but +apprehending he had missed his way, he asked a man whom he met to conduct +him. The other answered, with much cordiality, "That I will do with all my +heart, my lord. Does not your lordship remember me? My name's John ----, I +have had the _honour_ to be before your lordship for stealing sheep!" "Oh, +John! I remember you well; and how is your wife? She had the honour to be +before me too, for receiving them, knowing them to be stolen." "At your +lordship's service. We were very lucky; we got off for want of evidence; +and I am still going on in the butcher trade." "Then," replied his +lordship, "we may have the _honour_ of meeting again." + + +Sergeant Hill, who was much celebrated as a lawyer, and eminently qualified +to find out a case in point on any disputed question, was somewhat +remarkable for absence of mind, the result of that earnestness with which +he devoted himself to his professional duties. On the very day when he was +married, he had an intricate case in his mind, and forgot his engagement, +until reminded of his waiting bride, and that the legal time of performing +the ceremony had nearly elapsed. Being once on circuit, and having occasion +to refer to a law authority, he had recourse as usual to his bag; but, to +the astonishment of the court, instead of a volume of Viner's abridgment, +he took out a specimen candlestick, the property of a Birmingham traveller, +whose bag the learned sergeant had brought into court by mistake. + + +During the long vacation, the sergeant usually retired to his country seat +at Rowell in Northamptonshire. It happened, during one autumn, that some of +the neighbouring sportsmen, among whom was the present Earl Spencer, being +in pursuit of a fox, Reynard, who was hard pressed, took refuge in the +court-yard of this venerable sage. At this moment the sergeant was reading +a _case in point_, which decided that in a trespass of this kind the owners +of the ground had a right to inflict the punishment of death. Mr. Hill +accordingly gave orders for punishing the fox, as an original trespasser, +which was done instantly. The hunters now arrived with the hounds in full +cry, and the foremost horseman, who anticipated the glory of possessing the +brush, was the first to behold his victim stretched lifeless on the ground, +pinioned to the earth by plebeian pitchforks. The hunters were very anxious +to discover the daring culprit who had presumed to deprive the field and +the pack of their prey; when the venerable sergeant made his appearance, +with his book in his hand, and offered to convince them that execution had +taken place according to legal authority. The sportsmen got outrageous, but +the learned sergeant was not intimidated; he knew the force of his +authorities, and gravely invited the attention of his auditory to a case +from one of the old reporters, that would have puzzled a whole bar of +modern practitioners to controvert. The effect was ludicrous; the +extraordinary appearance of the worthy sergeant, not in his bargown, but in +what these adventurous mortals called a mere bedgown; the quaintness of his +manner, the singularity of the occurrence, and the novelty of the incident, +threw them completely out. + + + + +LIBRARIANS. + + +Budaeus, a very learned man, librarian to Francis the First of France, was +one day engaged in deep study, when his servant came running to him in a +great fright, to tell him that the house was on fire. "Go," said he, with +perfect calmness, and hardly raising his eyes from his book, "and inform +your mistress, 'tis her concern, you know I never interfere in domestic +matters." + + +Knowledge.--The famous Duval, librarian to the Emperor Francis the First, +often used to reply to questions that were put to him, "I do not know." An +ignoramus one day said to him, "But the emperor pays you for _knowing_." +"The emperor," he replied, "pays me for what I know; if he were to pay me +for what I am ignorant of, all the treasures of his empire would not be +sufficient." + + +Bautru, a celebrated French wit, being in Spain, went to visit the famous +library of the Escurial, where he found a very ignorant librarian. The King +of Spain asked him his opinion of it. "It is an admirable one, indeed," +said he; "but your majesty should give the man who has the care of it the +administration of your finances."--"Wherefore?" asked the king. "Because," +replied Bautru, "the man never touches the treasure that is confided to +him." + + + + +MAGNANIMITY. + + +At the siege of one of the strong towns in Flanders, during the wars of +Louis XIV., it was necessary to reconnoitre the point of attack. The danger +was great, and a hundred louis were promised to any one who would undertake +it. Several of the bravest of the soldiers appeared indifferent to the +offer, when a young man stepped forward to undertake the task; he left the +detachment, and remained absent a long time; he was thought killed. While +the officers were deploring his fate, he returned, and gained their +admiration no less by the precision than the _sang froid_ of his recital. +The hundred louis were immediately presented to him. "_Vous vous moquez de +moi, mon general_," was his reply; "_va-t-on la pour de l'argent_."--[You +are jesting with me, general; one does not perform such actions for money.] + + +Colonel Hawker, who commanded the 14th Light Dragoons in most of the +serious engagements in the Peninsula, having formerly lost an arm in +action, was attended by an orderly man, who held a guiding rein to the +bridle of the colonel's charger; this attendant being slain by his side, +just as the enemy's cavalry had broken the line of the 14th, by a heavy +charge of superior numbers, great slaughter ensued on both sides, when a +French officer immediately opposed to Colonel Hawker, lifted up his sabre, +and was in the act of cutting him down, but observing the loss of his arm, +he instantly dropped the point on the colonel's shoulder, and, bending his +head, passed on. A truly noble adversary! + + +St. Louis.--Louis IX., after his captivity among the Saracens, was, with +his queen and children, nearly shipwrecked on his return to France, some of +the planks of the vessel having started. He was pressed to go on board +another ship, and so escape the danger, but he refused, saying, "Those that +are with me, most assuredly are as fond of their lives as I can be of mine. +If I quit the ship, they will likewise quit it; and the vessel not being +large enough to receive them, they will all perish. I had rather entrust my +life, and the lives of my wife and children, in the hands of God, than be +the occasion of making so many of my brave subjects suffer." + + +Magnanimous Rebel.--Sir Phelim O'Neil, one of the leaders in the Irish +rebellion of 1641, while in prison, previous to his trial, was frequently +solicited, by promises of a free pardon, and large rewards, to bear +testimony that the king (Charles the First) had been actively instrumental +in stirring up that rebellion. It was one of the arts of the factions of +that period to throw the odium of the massacre which followed the Irish +rebellion upon Charles; but whatever may have been the political sins of +that unhappy prince, impartial history has not ranked this among the +number. Sir Phelim declared, that he could not, in conscience, charge the +king with any thing of the kind. His trial was drawn out to the length of +several days, that he might be worked upon in that time; but he persisted +with constancy and firmness in rejecting every offer made to him by the +commissioners. Even at the place of execution, the most splendid advantages +were pressed upon him, upon the condition of falsely accusing King Charles +in that point. Men saw with admiration this unfortunate chieftain under all +the terrors of death, and the strongest temptations man could be under, +bravely attesting the king's innocence, and sealing the truth of his +testimony with his blood. When on the ladder, and ready to be thrown off, +two marshals came riding in great haste, and cried aloud, "Stop a little." +Having passed through the, crowd of spectators and guards, one of them +whispered something into the ear of Sir Phelim, who made answer in so loud +a voice, as to be heard by several hundreds of the people. "I thank the +lieutenant-general for the intended mercy; but I declare, good people, +before God and his holy angels, and all of you that hear me, that I never +had any commission from the king for what I have done, in levying, or in +prosecuting this war; and do heartily beg your prayers, all good Catholics +and Christians! that God may be merciful unto me, and forgive me my sins." +On this the guards beat off those that stood near the place of execution, +and in a few minutes Sir Phelim was no more. + + +Admiral Thurot.--It has been said of the French naval commander Thurot, +that he was strictly honest in circumstances that made the exertion of +common honesty an act of the highest magnanimity. When this officer +appeared on the coast of Scotland, and landed in order to supply his three +vessels with provisions, he paid a liberal price for every thing he wanted, +and behaved with so much affability, that a countryman ventured to complain +to him of an officer, who had taken 50 or 60 guineas from him. The officer, +on being called on to vindicate himself against the charge, acknowledged +the fact, but said, that he had divided the money among his men. Thurot +immediately ordered the officer to give his bill for the money, which he +said should be stopped out of his pay, if they were so fortunate as to +return to France. On another occasion, one of Thurot's officers gave a bill +upon a merchant in France, for some provisions that he had purchased. +Thurot hearing of the circumstance, informed the countryman that the bill +was of no value; and reprimanding the officer severely for the cheat, +compelled him to give another on a merchant, whom he knew would pay the +money. What makes this act of integrity still more striking and +praiseworthy, is, that Thurot's men at this time were so dissatisfied, as +to be ready to break out in open mutiny. + + +The Chevalier Bayard.--The town of Bresse having revolted against the +French, was attacked, taken, and sacked, with an almost unexampled fury. +The chevalier Bayard, who was wounded at the beginning of the action, was +carried to the house of a person of quality, whom he protected from the +fury of the conquerors, by placing at the door two soldiers, whom he +indemnified with a gift of eight hundred crowns, in lieu of the plunder +they might have lost by their attendance at the door. The impatience of +Bayard to join the army without considering the state of his wound, which +was by no means well, determined him to depart. The mistress of the house +then threw herself at his feet, saying, "The rights of war make you master +of our lives and our possessions, and you have saved our honour. We hope, +however, from your accustomed generosity that you will not treat us with +severity, and that you will be pleased to content yourself with a present +more adapted to our circumstances, than to our inclinations." At the same +time, she presented him with a small box full of ducats. + +Bayard, smiling, asked her how many ducats the box contained. "Two thousand +five hundred, my lord," answered the lady, with much emotion; "but if these +will not satisfy you, we will employ all our means to raise more."--"No, +madam," replied the chevalier, "I do not want money: the care you have +taken of me more than repays the services I have done you. I ask nothing +but your friendship; and I conjure you to accept of mine." + +So singular an instance of generosity gave the lady more surprise than joy. +She again threw herself at the feet of the chevalier, and protested that +she would never rise until he had accepted of that mark of her gratitude. +"Since you will have it so," replied Bayard, "I will not refuse it; but may +I not have the honour to salute your amiable daughters?" The young ladies +soon entered, and Bayard thanked them for their kindness in enlivening him +with their company. "I should be glad," said he, "to have it in my power +to convince you of my gratitude; but we soldiers are seldom possessed of +jewels worthy the acceptance of your sex. Your amiable mother has presented +me with two thousand five hundred ducats; I make a present to each of you +of one thousand, for a part of your marriage portion. The remaining five +hundred I give to the poor sufferers of this town, and I beg you will take +on yourselves the distribution." + + +One of the finest actions of a soldier of which history makes mention, is +related in the history of the Marechal de Luxemburg. The marechal, then +Count de Boutteville, served in the army of Flanders in 1675, under the +command of the Prince of Conde. He perceived in a march some soldiers that +were separated from the main body, and he sent one of his aides-de-camp to +bring them back to their colours. All obeyed, except one, who continued his +road. The count, highly offended at such disobedience, threatened to strike +him with his stick. "That you may do," said the soldier, with great +coolness, "but you will repent of it." Irritated by this answer, +Boutteville struck him, and forced him to rejoin his corps. Fifteen days +after, the army besieged Furnes; and Boutteville commanded the colonel of a +regiment to find a man steady and intrepid for a coup-de-main, which he +wanted, promising a hundred pistoles as a reward. The soldier in question, +who had the character of being the bravest man in the regiment, presented +himself, and taking thirty of his comrades, of whom he had the choice, he +executed his commission, which was of the most hazardous nature, with a +courage and success beyond all praise. On his return, Boutteville, after +having praised him highly, counted out the hundred pistoles he had +promised. The soldier immediately distributed them to his comrades, saying, +that he had no occasion for money; and requested that if what he had done +merited any recompense, he might be made an officer. Then addressing +himself to the count, he asked if he recognised him? and on Boutteville +replying in the negative, "Well," said he, "I am the soldier whom you +struck on our march fifteen days ago. Was I not right when I said that you +would repent of it?" The Count de Boutteville, filled with admiration, and +affected almost to tears, embraced the soldier, created him an officer on +the spot, and soon made him one of his aides-de-camp. + + + + +MUSICIANS. + + +Handel had such a remarkable irritation of nerves, that he could not bear +to hear the tuning of instruments, and therefore at a performance this was +always done before he arrived. A musical wag, who knew how to extract some +mirth from Handel's irascibility of temper, stole into the orchestra, on a +night when the Prince of Wales was to be present, and untuned all the +instruments. As soon as the prince arrived, Handel gave the signal for +beginning, _con spirito;_ but such was the horrible discord, that the +enraged musician started up from his seat, and having overturned a double +bass, which stood in his way, he seized a kettle-drum, which he threw with +such violence at the leader of the band, that he lost his full-bottomed wig +in the effort. Without waiting to replace it, he advanced bare-headed to +the front of the orchestra, breathing vengeance, but so much choked with +passion, that utterance was denied him. In this ridiculous attitude he +stood staring and stamping for some moments, amidst a convulsion of +laughter; nor could he be prevailed upon to resume his seat, until the +prince went in person, and with much difficulty appeased his wrath. + +Handel being only a musician, was obliged to employ some person to write +his operas and oratorios, which accounts for their being so very defective +as poetical compositions. One of those versifiers employed by him, once +ventured to suggest, in the most respectful manner, that the music he had +composed to some lines of his, was quite contrary to the sense of the +passage. Instead of taking this friendly hint as he ought to have done, +from one who (although not a Pindar) was at least a better judge of poetry +than himself, he looked upon the advice as injurious to his talents, and +cried out, with all the violence of affronted pride, "What! you teach me +music? The music is good music: confound your words! Here," said he, +thrumming his harpsichord, "are my ideas; go and make words to them." + +Handel became afterwards the proprietor of the Opera House, London; and +presided at the harpsichord in the orchestra (piano-fortes not being then +known). His embellishments were so masterly, that the attention of the +audience was frequently diverted from the singing to the accompaniment, to +the frequent mortification of the vocal professors. A pompous Italian +singer was, on a certain occasion, so chagrined at the marked attention +paid to the harpsichord, in preference to his own singing, that he swore, +that if ever Handel played him a similar trick, he would jump down upon his +instrument, and put a stop to the interruption. Handel, who had a +considerable turn for humour, replied: "Oh! oh! you vill jump, vill you? +very vell, sare; be so kind, and tell me de night ven you vill jump, and I +vill advertishe it in de bills; and I shall get grate dale more money by +your jumping, than I shall get by your singing." + +Although he lived much with the great, Handel was no flatterer. He once +told a member of the royal family, who asked him how he liked his playing +on the violoncello? "Vy, sir, your highness _plays like a prince_." When +the same prince had prevailed on him to hear a minuet of his own +composition, which he played himself on the violoncello, Handel heard him +out very quietly; but when the prince told him, that he would call in his +band to play it to him, that he might hear the full effect of his +composition, Handel could contain himself no longer, and ran out of the +room, crying, "Worsher and worsher, upon mine honour." + +One Sunday, having attended divine worship at a country church, Handel +asked the organist to permit him to play the people out; to which, with a +politeness characteristic of the profession, the organist consented. Handel +accordingly sat down to the organ, and began to play in such a masterly +manner, as instantly to attract the attention of the whole congregation, +who, instead of vacating their seats as usual, remained for a considerable +space of time, fixed in silent admiration. The organist began to be +impatient (perhaps his wife was waiting dinner); and at length addressing +the performer, told him that he was convinced that _he_ could not play the +people out, and advised him to relinquish the attempt; which being done, +they were played out in the usual manner. + + +In 1741, Handel, who was then proceeding to Ireland, was detained for some +days at Chester, in consequence of the weather. During this time he applied +to Mr. Baker, the organist, to know whether there were any choir men in the +cathedral who could sing _at sight_, as he wished to prove some books that +had been hastily transcribed, by trying the choruses. Mr. Baker mentioned +some of the best singers in Chester, and among the rest, a printer of the +name of Janson, who had a good bass voice, and was one of the best +musicians in the choir. A time was fixed for this private rehearsal at the +Golden Falcon, where Handel had taken up his residence; when, on trial of a +chorus in the Messiah, poor Janson, after repeated attempts, failed +completely, Handel got enraged, and after abusing him in five or six +different languages, exclaimed in broken English, "You schauntrel, tit not +you dell me dat you could sing at soite?" "Yes sir," said the printer, "so +I can, but not at _first sight_." + + +Mozart, walking in the suburbs of Vienna, was accosted by a mendicant of a +very prepossessing appearance and manner, who told his tale of woe with +such effect, as to interest the musician strongly in his favour; but the +state of his purse not corresponding with the impulse of his humanity, he +desired the applicant to follow him to a coffee-house. Here Mozart, drawing +some paper from his pocket, in a few minutes composed a minuet, which with +a letter he gave to the distressed man, desiring him to take it to his +publisher. A composition from Mozart was a bill payable at sight; and to +his great surprise the now happy mendicant was immediately presented with +five double ducats. + + +When Haydn was in England, one of the princes commissioned Sir Joshua +Reynolds to take his portrait. Haydn went to the painter's house, and sat +to him, but soon grew tired. Sir Joshua, careful of his reputation, would +not paint a man of acknowledged genius, with a stupid countenance; and +deferred the sitting till another day. The same weariness and want of +expression occurring at the next attempt, Reynolds went and communicated +the circumstance to his royal highness, who contrived the following +stratagem. He sent to the painter's house a German girl, in the service of +the queen. Haydn took his seat for the third time, and as soon as the +conversation began to flag, a curtain rose, and the fair German addressed +him in his native language, with a most elegant compliment. Haydn, +delighted, overwhelmed the enchantress with questions; his countenance +recovered its animation, and Sir Joshua rapidly seized its traits. + + +Haydn could be comic as well as serious; and he has left a remarkable +instance of the former, in the well known symphony, during which all the +instruments disappear, one after the other, so that, at the conclusion, the +first violin is left playing by himself. The origin of this singular piece +is thus accounted for. It is said that Haydn, perceiving his innovations +were ill received by the performers of Prince Esterhazy, determined to play +a joke upon them. He caused his symphony to be performed, without a +previous rehearsal, before his highness, who was in the secret. The +embarrassment of the performers, who all thought they had made a mistake, +and especially the confusion of the first violin, when, at the end, he +found he was playing alone, diverted the court of Eisenstadt. Others +assert, that the prince having determined to dismiss all his band, except +Haydn, the latter imagined this ingenious way of representing the general +departure, and the dejection of spirits consequently upon it. Each +performer left the concert room as soon as his part was finished. + + + + +PARLIAMENT. + + +Hume.--At a parliamentary dinner, Mr. Plunkett was asked if Mr. Hume did +not annoy him by his broad speeches. "No," replied he, "it is the _length_ +of the speeches, not their _breadth_, that we complain of in the House." + + +Henry Lord Falkland having been brought into the House of Commons at a very +early age, a grave senator objected to his youth, remarked that "he did not +look as if he had sown his wild oats." His lordship replied with great +quickness, "Then I am come to the fittest place, where there are so many +old geese to gobble them up." + + +The Duke of Newcastle, who was at the head of the Treasury, frequently +differed with his colleague in office, Mr. Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, +though the latter, by his firmness, usually prevailed. A curious scene +occurred at one of their interviews. It had been proposed to send Admiral +Hawke to sea, in pursuit of M. Conflans. The season was unfavourable, and +almost dangerous for a fleet to sail, being the end of the month of +November, and very stormy. Mr. Pitt was at that time confined to his bed by +gout, and was obliged to receive visitors in his chamber, in which he could +not bear to have a fire. The Duke of Newcastle waited upon him one very raw +day, to discuss the affair of the fleet, but scarcely had he entered the +chamber, when shivering with cold, he said, "What, have you no fire?" "No," +replied Mr. Pitt, "I can never bear a fire when I have the gout." The duke +sat down by the side of the invalid, wrapt up in his cloak, and began to +enter upon the subject of his visit. There was a second bed in the room, +and the duke, unable longer to endure the cold, said, "With your leave, +I'll warm myself in this other bed;" and without taking off his cloak, he +actually got into the bed, and resumed the debate. The duke began to argue +against exposing the fleet to hazard in such weather, and Mr. Pitt was as +determined it should put to sea. "The fleet must absolutely sail," said Mr. +Pitt, accompanying his words with the most expressive gesture. "It is +impossible," said the duke, with equal animation, "it will certainly be +lost." Sir Charles Frederick, of the ordnance department, arrived just at +this time, and finding them both in this laughable posture, had the +greatest difficulty to preserve his gravity, at seeing two ministers of +state deliberating on the affairs of the country in so ludicrous a +situation. + + +"They're all Out."--At the time when the unfortunate ministry, known as +"All the Talents," was ousted in 1807, there stood upon the Earthen Mound +in Edinburgh many caravans of wild beasts belonging to the famous Mr. +Wombwell, around which there clustered a large crowd of idle folks +listening to the dulcet strains of his most harmonious brass band. The news +of the Tory victory was first made known in the parliament house, and, as +can well be believed, the excitement that ensued was intense. Under its +influence that eager and eccentric judge, Lord Hermand, making for his +home, espied a friend among the Wombwell crowd, and shouted aloud in his +glee across the street, "They're out! they're out! they're all out!" In +half a second there was the wildest distribution of the mob--down to +Prince's-street, up the Castle-hill, into the gardens, and up the vennels. +The people picturing the horrors of a tiger-chase did not stop to hear +more, and Hermand found himself, to his amazement, monarch of all he +surveyed, and sole auditor of the last terrified shriek of the band. + + +Lord Lyndhurst, it is said, tells this story of his surrender of the great +seal in 1846. "When I went to the palace," says his lordship, "I alighted +at the grand staircase; I was received by the sticks gold and silver, and +other officers of the household, who called in sonorous tones from landing +to landing, and apartment to apartment, 'Room for the Lord High Chancellor +of England.' I entered the presence chamber; I gave the seals to her +Majesty; I had the honour of kissing her hand; I left the apartment by +another door and found myself on a back staircase, down which I descended +without any one taking any notice of me, until, as I was looking for my +carriage at the outer door, a lackey bustled up, and with a patronising +air, said, 'Lord Lyndhurst, can I do anything for you?'" + + +The Slave Trade.--In one of the last discussions on the slave trade, Sir +Charles Pole said, "while he deprecated the motion (for the abolition), he +rejoiced that it had been brought forward thus early, because it showed the +cloven foot which had been attempted to be concealed." To this remark Mr. +Sheridan very spiritedly replied, "An honourable baronet," said he, "has +talked of a cloven foot; I plead guilty to that cloven foot; but this I +will say, that the man who expresses pleasure at the hope of seeing so +large a portion of the human race freed from the shackles of tyranny rather +displays the pinions of an angel than the cloven foot of a demon." + + + + +PATIENCE. + + +Father Bernard.--His patience was such as no circumstances, however +offensive, could subdue. One day he presented a petition in favour of an +unfortunate person, to a nobleman in place; the latter being of a hasty +temper, flew into a violent passion, said many injurious things of the +person for whom the priest interested himself. Father Bernard, however, +still persisted in his request; and the nobleman was at last so irritated, +that he gave him a box on the ear. Bernard immediately fell at his feet, +and presenting the other, said, "Give me a blow on this also, my lord, and +grant me my petition." The nobleman was so affected by this humility, that +he granted his request. + + +Philip, the second King of Spain, had once spent several hours of the night +in writing a long letter to the Pope, and having finished it, gave it to +his secretary to fold it up and seal it. The secretary was half asleep, and +instead of shaking the sand-bottle over it in order to dry it, he emptied +that which contained the ink by mistake, so that all the ink ran out upon +the letter and completely spoiled it; perceiving the accident, he was +ready to drop with confusion, upon which the King quietly said: "Well, +give me another sheet of paper;" and then began to write the letter over +again with great tranquillity. + + + + +POETS. + + +An Italian poet presented some verses to the Pope, who had not gone far +before he met with a line too short in quantity, which he remarked upon. +The poet submissively entreated his holiness to read on, and he would +probably meet with a line that was a syllable too long, so that the account +would soon be balanced! + + +A certain Italian having written a book on the Art of making gold, +dedicated it to Pope Leo X., in hopes of a good reward. His holiness +finding the man constantly followed him, at length gave him a large empty +purse, saying, "Sir, since you know how to make gold, you can have no need +of anything but a purse to put it in." + + + + +POLITENESS. + + +A Polite Mayor.--At the time when Queen Elizabeth was making one of her +progresses through the kingdom, a mayor of Coventry, attended by a large +cavalcade, went out to meet her Majesty, and usher her into the city with +due formality. On their return they passed through a wide brook, when Mr. +Mayor's horse several times attempted to drink, and each time his worship +checked him; which the Queen observing, called out to him, "Mr. Mayor, let +your horse drink, Mr. Mayor;" but the magistrate, bowing very low, modestly +answered, "Nay, nay, may it please your Majesty's horse to drink first." + + +A French Mayor.--A mayor of a small village in France, having occasion to +give a passport to a distinguished personage in his neighbourhood who was +blind of one eye, was in great embarrassment on coming to the description +of his person. Fearful of offending the great man, he adopted the following +ingenious expedient of avoiding the mention of his deformity, and wrote +"Black eyes--one of which is absent." + + +Sir Wm. Gooch being engaged in conversation with a gentleman in a street of +the city of Williamsburgh, returned the salute of a negro, who was passing +by about his master's business. "Sir William," said the gentleman, "do you +descend so far as to salute a slave?"--"Why, yes," replied the governor; "I +cannot suffer a man of his condition to exceed me in good manners." + + + + +PRESENCE OF MIND. + + +The Marquis St. Andre applied to Louvois, the war-minister of Louis XIV., +for a place then vacant. Louvois having received some complaints against +the marquis, refused to comply. The nobleman, somewhat nettled, said, +rather hastily, "If I were to enter again into the service, I know what I +would do."--"And pray what would you do?" inquired the minister in a +furious tone. St. Andre recollected himself, and had the presence of mind +to say, "I would take care to behave in such a manner, that your excellency +should have nothing to reproach me with." Louvois, agreeably surprised at +this reply, immediately granted his request. + + +Carving.--An accomplished gentleman, when carving a tough goose, had the +misfortune to send it entirely out of the dish, and into the lap of the +lady next to him; on which he very coolly looked her full in the face, and +with admirable gravity and calmness, said, "Madam, may I trouble you for +that goose." In a case like this, a person must, necessarily, suffer so +much, and be such an object of compassion to the company, that the kindest +thing he can do is to appear as unmoved as possible. + + +Lord Peterborough was once taken by the mob for the duke of Marlborough +(who was then in disgrace with them), and being about to be roughly treated +by these friends to summary justice, he told them, "Gentlemen, I can +convince you, by two reasons, that I am not the duke of Marlborough. In the +first place, I have only five guineas in my pocket; and, in the second, +they are heartily at your service." So throwing his purse amongst them, he +got out of their hands, with loud huzzas and acclamations. + + +Fouche.--Napoleon sent for Fouche one day, in a great rage, told him that +he was a fool, and not fit to be at the head of the police, as he was quite +ignorant of what was passing. "Pardon me, Sire," said Fouche; "I know that +your Majesty has my dismissal ready signed in your pocket." Napoleon +changed his mind, and kept his Minister. + + +Vendean Servant.--An unexampled instance of self-devotion and presence of +mind was manifested by a maidservant, during the war in La Vendee. "The +wife of Lepinai, a general in the Vendean army, was imprisoned at Nantes, +and attended by a young girl, a native of Chatellerault, so faithfully +attached to the service of her mistress that she had followed her to +prison. One day the soldiers arrived to summon the prisoners who were +destined to death: this faithful girl heard Madame Lepinai called, who had +but an instant before retired to her chamber. Glad of the opportunity of +saving the life of her beloved mistress, she presented herself, and +answered to the name. The affectionate creature was instantly led away with +the other prisoners, and precipitated among the waves of the Loire, in +place of Madame Lepinai." + + +The Gendarmes and the Priest.--During the Revolution a priest took refuge +in the house of a farmer. Some gendarmes having heard of it came one +evening to the house. The whole family were gathered round the hearth, and +among them was the priest, disguised as a servant. When the soldiers +entered every one grew pale; they asked the farmer if there was not a +priest concealed in the house. "Gentlemen," returned he, without losing his +presence of mind, "you see very well there is no priest here; but one might +conceal himself in the house without my knowledge; so I will not prevent +you from doing your duty; search the house from cellar to garret." Then he +said to the priest, "I say, Jacques, take your lantern and show these +gentlemen everywhere; let them see every corner of the farm." The gendarmes +made a minute inspection of the house, uttering many imprecations and many +menaces against the priest, promising themselves to pay him well for the +trouble he had cost them, if they succeeded in discovering him. Seeing +their search was useless, they prepared to leave. As they were going the +farmer said, "Pray gentlemen, remember the boy." They gave the disguised +priest a small coin, and thanking him for his civility took their leave. + + +A housemaid in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, going to the cellar for a +draught of ale, after the family had retired to bed, glided silently in +without a candle. As she was feeling about for the cask, she put her hand +upon something which she immediately perceived to be the head of a man. The +girl, with great fortitude and presence of mind, forebore to cry out, but +said, in a tone of impatience, "That stupid creature, Betty, is always +putting the mops in the way." She then went on to the cask, quietly drew +her beer, retired from the cellar, fastened the door, and then alarmed the +house. The man was taken; and afterwards declared, that the maid was +entirely indebted to her presence of mind for her life, for had she cried +out, he would instantly have murdered her: but as he firmly believed she +mistook his head for a mop, particularly as she had drawn the beer after +she had felt it, he let her go without injury. + + +King James the Fourth of Scotland, who used often to amuse himself in +wandering about the country in different disguises, was once overtaken by a +violent storm in a dark night, and obliged to take shelter in a cavern near +Wemys. Having advanced some way in it, the king discovered a number of men +and women ready to begin to roast a sheep, by way of supper. From their +appearance, he began to suspect that he had not fallen into the best of +company; but, as it was too late to retreat, he asked hospitality from them +till the tempest was over. They granted it, and invited the king, whom they +did not know, to sit down, and take part with them. They were a band of +robbers and cut-throats. As soon as they had finished their supper, one of +them presented a plate, upon which two daggers were laid in form of a St. +Andrew's cross, telling the king, at the same time, that this was the +dessert which they always served to strangers; that he must choose one of +the daggers, and fight him whom the company should appoint to attack him. +The king did not lose his presence of mind, but instantly seized the two +daggers, one in each hand, and plunged them into the hearts of the two +robbers who were next him; and running full speed to the mouth of the +cavern, he escaped from their pursuit, through the obscurity of the night. +The rest of the band were seized next morning and hanged. + + +The Marquess del Campo.--When the attempt was made upon the life of George +III., by Margaret Nicholson, who attempted to stab him as he was going to +St. James's to hold a levee, a council was ordered to be held as soon as +the levee was over. The Marquess del Campo, the Spanish ambassador, being +apprised of that circumstance, and knowing that the council would detain +the king in town three or four hours beyond the usual time, took post +horses, and set off for Windsor. Alighting at the castle, he called upon a +lady there with whom he was acquainted. The queen, finding that the king +did not return at the usual time, and understanding that the marquess was +in the palace, sent to ask him if he had been at the levee. He replied that +he had, and that he had left his majesty in perfect health, going to +council. When the king arrived, he, of course, told her majesty the +extraordinary occurrence of the morning. The queen expressed great surprise +that the Marquess del Campo, who had been nearly three hours in the palace, +had not mentioned the subject to her; he was then sent for, when he told +their majesties, that finding upon his arrival at the castle, that no +rumour of the attempt upon the life of his majesty had reached the queen, +he did not think it expedient to apprise her of it till his majesty's +arrival gave full assurance of his safety; but, at the same time, fearing +that some incorrect and alarming reports might be brought down, he deemed +it right to remain in the palace, in order in that case, to be able to +remove all apprehensions from her majesty's mind, by acquainting her with +the real facts. The king, taking the ambassador graciously by the hand, +complimented him on his presence of mind, and assured him, that he scarcely +knew a man in the world to whom he was so much obliged. + + +Miss Bailly.--A few days before the battle of Falkirk, so disastrous to the +English army, Lord Loudon made a bold attempt to seize the Pretender at +Moy, a castle belonging to the chief of the clan of Mackintosh, about six +miles from Inverness, where he was then staying, and where he conceived +himself in perfect security. His lordship would probably have succeeded in +this design, but for the singular courage and presence of mind of a young +girl. While some English officers were drinking in the house of Mrs. +Bailly, an innkeeper in Inverness, and passing the time till the hour of +setting out for the intended capture, her daughter, a girl of about +thirteen or fourteen years of age, who happened to wait on them, paid great +attention to their conversation, and from certain expressions which they +dropped she discovered their design. As soon as she could do so unobserved, +she left the house, escaped from the town, notwithstanding the vigilance of +the sentinels, and took the road to Moy, running as fast as she was able, +without shoes or stockings, which to accelerate her progress she had taken +off, in order to inform the Prince of the danger which menaced him. She +reached Moy, quite out of breath, before Lord Loudon and his troops; and +the Prince had just time to escape, in his robe-de-chambre, nightcap, and +slippers, to the neighbouring mountains, where he passed the night in +concealment. This girl, to whom the Prince owed his life, was in great +danger of losing her own, from the excessive fatigue and excitement; but by +care and attention she eventually recovered. + + +Servant at Noyon.--Some years ago, an instance of humanity and presence of +mind occurred at a place called Noyon, in France, which well deserves to be +commemorated. Four men, who were employed in cleansing a sewer, were so +affected by the foetid vapours, that they were unable to ascend. The +lateness of the hour (for it was eleven at night) rendered it difficult to +procure assistance, and the delay must have been fatal, had not a young +girl, a servant in the family, at the hazard of her own life, attempted +their deliverance. This generous girl, who was only seventeen years of age, +was, at her own request, let down several times to the poor men by a rope: +she was so fortunate as to save two of them, but, in tying the third to the +cord, which was let down to her for that purpose, she found her breath +failing, and was so much affected by the vapour as to be in danger of +suffocation. In this dreadful situation, she had the presence of mind to +tie herself by her hair to the rope, and was drawn up almost expiring, with +the poor man in whose behalf she had so humanely exerted herself. The +corporation of the town of Noyon, as a small token of their approbation, +presented the generous girl with six hundred livres, and conferred on her +the civic crown, with a medal engraved with the arms of the town, her name, +and a narrative of the action. The Duke of Orleans also sent her five +hundred livres, and settled two hundred yearly on her for life. + + + + +PRIDE OF RANK AND ANCESTRY. + + +The anecdote is well known of the celebrated Dr. Busby keeping on his hat +when visited by King Charles II., and apologizing for his apparent want of +respect, by saying, that he should never be able to keep his scholars in +subjection, if they thought that there was a greater man in the world than +himself. The same feeling seems to have actuated the Gaelic chiefs, who +were excessively proud of their rank and prerogatives. When the first +Marquess of Huntly, then the chief of the clan Gordon, was presented at the +court of James VI., he did not so much as incline his head before his +sovereign. Being asked why he failed in this point of etiquette? he +replied, that he had no intention whatever of showing any disrespect to his +king, but that he came from a country where all the world were accustomed +to bow down before him. A similar instance occurred with the head of +another family. When George II. offered a patent of nobility to the chief +of the Grants, the proud Celt refused it, saying, "Wha would then be Laird +of Grant?" + + +James I. in his progress into England, was entertained at Lumley Castle, +the seat of the Earl of Scarborough. A relation of the noble earl was very +proud in showing and explaining to his majesty an immense genealogical +chart of the family, the pedigree of which he carried back rather farther +than the greatest strength of credulity would allow. "I gude faith, man," +says the king, "it may be they are very true, but I did na ken before that +Adam's name was Lumley." + + +An anecdote is told of a gentleman in Monmouthshire, which exhibits the +pride of ancestry in a curious point of view. His house was in such a state +of dilapidation that the proprietor was in danger of perishing under the +ruins of the ancient mansion, which he venerated even in decay. A stranger, +whom he accidentally met at the foot of the Skyrrid, made various enquiries +respecting the country, the prospects, and the neighbouring houses, and, +among others, asked--"Whose is this antique mansion before us?" "That, sir, +is Werndee, a very ancient house; for out of it came the Earls of Pembroke +of the first line, and the Earls of Pembroke of the second line; the Lord +Herberts of Cherbury, the Herberts of Coldbrook, Ramsay, Cardiff, and York; +the Morgans of Acton; the Earl of Hunsdon; the houses of Ircowm and +Lanarth, and all the Powells. Out of this house also, by the female line, +came the Duke of Beaufort." "And pray, sir, who lives there now?" "I do, +sir." "Then pardon me, and accept a piece of advice; come out of it +yourself, or you'll soon be buried in the ruins of it." + + +A curious anecdote is related respecting a contest for precedence, between +the rival Welch Houses of Perthir and Werndee, which, though less bloody, +was not less obstinate than that between the Houses of York and Lancaster. +Mr. Proger, of Werndee, dining with a friend at Monmouth, proposed riding +home in the evening; but his friend objecting because it was late and +likely to rain, Mr. Proger replied, "With regard to the lateness of the +hour, we shall have moonlight; and should it happen to rain, Perthir is not +far from the road, and my cousin Powell will, I am sure, give us a night's +lodging." They accordingly mounted their horses; but being soon overtaken +by a violent shower, rode to Perthir, and found all the family retired to +rest. Mr. Proger, however, calling to his cousin, Mr. Powell opened the +window, and looking out, asked, "In the name of wonder, what means all this +noise? Who is there?" "It is only I, your cousin Proger of Werndee, who am +come to your hospitable door for shelter from the inclemency of the +weather, and hope you will be so kind as to give my friend and me a +lodging." "What! Is it you, cousin Proger? You and your friend shall be +instantly admitted, but upon one condition, that you will allow, and never +hereafter dispute, that I am the head of the family." "What did you say?" +returned Mr. Proger. "Why, I say, if you expect to pass the night in my +house, you must allow that I am the head of the family." "No, sir, I never +will admit that; were it to rain swords and daggers, I would ride this +night to Werndee, rather than lower the consequence of my family. Come up, +Bold, come up." "Stop a moment, cousin Proger; have you not often confessed +that the first Earl of Pembroke (of the name of Herbert) was the youngest +son of Perthir; and will you set yourself above the Earls of Pembroke?" +"True, I must give place to the Earl of Pembroke, because he is a peer of +the realm; but still, though a peer, he is of the youngest branch of my +family, being descended from the fourth son of Werndee, who was your +ancestor, and settled at Perthir; whereas I am descended from the eldest +son. Indeed, my cousin Jones of Lanarth is of an older branch than you, and +yet he never disputes that I am the head of the family." "Why, cousin +Proger, I have nothing more to say; so, good night to you." "Stop a moment, +Mr. Powell," said the stranger, "you see how it pours; do admit me at +least; I will not dispute with you about our families." "Pray, sir, what is +your name, and where do you come from?" "My name is * * *, and I come from +the county of * * *." "A Saxon of course; it would be very curious indeed, +sir, should I dispute with a Saxon about families; no, sir, you must suffer +for the obstinacy of your friend, and so a pleasant ride to you both." + + + + +PUNCTUALITY. + + +A Quarter of an Hour.--When Lord Nelson was leaving London, on his last, +but glorious, expedition against the enemy, a quantity of cabin furniture +was ordered to be sent on board his ship. He had a farewell dinner party at +his house; and the upholsterer having waited upon his lordship, with an +account of the completion of the goods, was brought into the dining-room, +in a corner of which his lordship spoke with him. The upholsterer stated to +his employer, that everything was finished, and packed, and would go in the +wagon, from a certain inn, at _six o'clock_. "And you go to the inn, Mr. +A., and see them off?" "I shall, my lord; I shall be there _punctually at +six_." "_A quarter before six_, Mr. A.," returned Lord Nelson, "be there _a +quarter before six_. To that _quarter of an hour_ I owe everything in +life." + + +Mr. Scott, of Exeter, travelled on business till about eighty years of age. +He was one of the most celebrated characters in the kingdom for +punctuality, and by his methodical conduct, joined to uniform diligence, he +gradually amassed a fortune. For a long series of years, the proprietor of +every inn he frequented in Devon and Cornwall knew the day, and the very +hour, he would arrive. A short time before he died, a gentleman on a +journey in Cornwall stopped at a small inn at Port Isaac to dine. The +waiter presented him with a bill of fare, which he did not approve of; but +observing a fine duck roasting, "I'll have that," said the traveller. "You +cannot, sir," said the landlord; "it is for Mr. Scott of Exeter." "I know +Mr. Scott very well," rejoined the gentlemen; "he is not in your house." +"True, sir," said the landlord, "but _six months ago, when he was here +last, he ordered a duck to be ready for him this day, precisely at two +o'clock;_" and, to the astonishment of the traveller, he saw the old +gentleman, on his Rosinante, jogging into the inn-yard about five minutes +before the appointed time. + + +Sir W. Scott.--A gentleman who, in the year 1826, travelled with Sir Walter +Scott in the coach from Edinburgh to Jedburgh, relates the following +anecdote illustrative of his regard for punctuality, and his willingness to +serve all who placed confidence in him, particularly those engaged in +literary pursuits.--"We had performed half the journey," writes our +informant, "when Sir Walter started as from a dream, exclaiming: 'Oh, my +friend G----, I have forgotten you till this moment!' A short mile brought +us to a small town, where Sir Walter ordered a post-chaise, in which he +deposited his luggage, consisting of a well-worn short hazel stick, and a +paper parcel containing a few books; then, much to my regret, he changed +his route, and returned to the Scottish capital. The following month I was +again in Edinburgh, and curiosity induced me to wait on the friend G---- +apostrophised by Sir Walter, and whose friendship I had the honour to +possess. The cause of Sir Walter's return, I was informed, was this:--He +had engaged to furnish an article for a periodical conducted by my friend, +but the promise had slipped from his memory--a most uncommon occurrence, +for Sir Walter was gifted with the best of memories--until the moment of +his exclamation. His instant return was the only means of retrieving the +error. Retrieved, however, it was; and the following morning Mr. G---- +received several sheets of closely-written manuscript, the transcribing of +which alone must have occupied half the night." + + + + +ROBBERS. + + +Candid Robber.--The duke of Ossuna, viceroy of Naples, once visited the +galleys, and passing through the prisoners, he asked several of them what +their offences were. All of them excused themselves upon various pretences; +one said he was put in out of malice, another by bribery of the judge; but +all of them declared they were punished unjustly. The duke came at last to +a little black man, whom he questioned as to what he was there for. "My +lord," said he, "I cannot deny but I am justly put in here; for I wanted +money, and my family was starving, so I robbed a passenger near Tarragona +of his purse." The duke, on hearing this, gave him a blow on the shoulder +with his stick, saying, "You rogue, what are you doing here among so many +honest, innocent men? Get you out of their company." The poor fellow was +then set at liberty, while the rest were left to tug at the oar. + + +Ingenious Contrivance.--Many years ago, when stagecoaches were not +unfrequently attacked by highwaymen, a party was once travelling on a +lonely road, when one of the gentlemen mentioned to the company that he had +ten guineas with him, which he was afraid of losing. Upon this an elderly +lady who sat next to him, advised him to take his money from his pocket, +and slip it into his boot, which he did. Not long after the coach was +attacked, when a highwayman rode up to the window, on the lady's side, and +demanded her money; upon which she immediately whispered to him that if he +would examine that gentleman's boot, he would find ten guineas. The man +took the hint, and the gentleman was obliged to submit patiently; but when +the robber had gone, he loaded his fellow-traveller with abuse, declaring +her to be in confederacy with the highwayman. She replied that certainly +appearances were against her; but if the company in the stage would sup at +her house the following evening, she would explain a conduct which appeared +so mysterious. After a debate among themselves, they consented to go the +next evening according to her invitation. They were ushered into a +magnificent room, where an elegant supper was served, after which, the lady +taking a pocket-book from her pocket, showed that it contained various +notes to the amount of several hundred pounds, and addressing herself to +the gentleman who had been robbed: "I thought, sir," said she, "it was +better to lose ten guineas, than all this valuable property, which I had +about me last night; and I have now the pleasure of returning what you so +kindly lent me." + + +Reclaimed Felons.--The late Dr. Lettsom says, "I have been so happy as to +reform two highwaymen who had robbed me; and from this I think that few of +our fellow-creatures are so hardened, as to be impenetrable to repentance. +One of these men has since been twice in the Gazette promotions, as a +military officer. The other married, and became a respectable farmer in +Surrey." + + +A similar story is told by the celebrated Rowland Hill. He was attacked by +a highwayman, whom he succeeded in convincing of the evil of his way of +life, and who afterwards became a most faithful servant to him. The secret +was never revealed by Mr. Hill until the death of the servant. + + + + +SAILORS. + + +The Wounded Sailor.--When Admiral Benbow was a common sailor, his messmate, +who was stationed with him at the same gun, lost his leg by a cannon shot. +The poor fellow instantly called out to his friend, who immediately took +him up on his shoulder, and began with great care to descend with him into +the cockpit; but it happened that just as the poor fellow's head came upon +a level with the deck, another ball carried that off also. Benbow, +however, knew nothing of the matter, but carried the body down to the +surgeon, and when he came to the bottom of the ladder, called out that he +had brought him a patient, desiring some one to bear a hand, and help him +easily down. The surgeon turned about, but instead of giving any +assistance, exclaimed, "You blockhead, what do you do here with a man that +has lost his head?" "Lost his head!" says Benbow; "the lying fellow, why he +told me it was his leg; but I never in my life believed what he said +without being sorry for it afterwards." + + +When Lieutenant O'Brien (who was called Skyrocket Jack) was blown up at +Spithead, in the _Edgar_, he was on the carriage of a gun, and when brought +to the admiral, all black and wet, he said with pleasantry, "I hope, sir, +you will excuse my dirty appearance, for I came out of the ship in so great +a hurry, that I had not time to shift myself." + + +A painter was employed in painting a West India ship in the river, +suspended on a stage under the ship's stern. The captain, who had just got +into the boat alongside, for the purpose of going ashore, ordered the boy +to let go the painter (the rope which makes fast the boat); the boy +instantly went aft, and let go the rope by which the painter's stage was +held. The captain, surprised at the boy's delay, cried out, "Heigh-ho, +there, you lazy lubber, why don't you let go the painter?" The boy replied, +"He's gone, sir, pots and all." + + +Precedence.--At a grand review of the fleet at Portsmouth by George III., +in 1789, there was a boy who mounted the shrouds with so much agility, as +to surprise every spectator. The king particularly noticed it, and said to +Lord Lothian, "Lothian, I have heard much of your agility, let us see you +run up after that boy." "Sire," replied Lord Lothian, "it is my duty to +_follow your majesty_." + + +Admiral Haddock, when on his death-bed, called his son, and thus addressed +him: "Considering my rank in life, and public services for so many years, +I shall leave you but a small fortune; but, my boy, it is honestly got, and +will wear well; there are no seamen's wages or provisions, nor one single +penny of dirty money, in it." + + +An Odd Shot.--An English frigate was obliged to strike to a French vessel +of superior force. The English captain, on resigning his sword, was +reproached by the French commander for having, contrary to the usages of +war, shot pieces of glass from his guns. The English officer, conscious +that no such thing had been done, made inquiry into the matter among his +men, and found the fact to be this. An Irish seaman, just before the vessel +struck, took a parcel of shillings out of his pocket, and swearing the +French should have none of them, wrapped them in a piece of rag, and thrust +them into his gun, exclaiming, "Let us see what a _bribe_ can do!" These +shillings, flying about the vessel, were mistaken by the French for glass. +The above explanation not only satisfied them, but put them in great good +humour with their captives. + + +A Child on Board.--A child of one of the crew of His Majesty's ship +_Peacock_, during the action with the American vessel _Hornet_, occupied +himself in chasing a goat between decks. Not in the least terrified by the +destruction and death which was going on all around him, he continued his +amusement till a cannon-ball came and took off both the hind legs of the +goat; when seeing her disabled, he jumped astride her, crying, "Now I've +caught you." This singular anecdote is related in a work called "Visits of +Mercy," (New York.) + + +Grog.--The British sailors had always been accustomed to drink their +allowance of brandy or rum pure, until Admiral Vernon ordered those under +his command to mix it with water. The innovation gave great offence to the +sailors, and, for a time, rendered the commander very unpopular among them. +The admiral, at that time, wore a grogram coat, for which reason they +nick-named him "Old Grog," hence, by degrees, the mixed liquor he +introduced universally obtained the name of "_Grog_." + + +Navy Chaplains.--When the Earl of Clancarty was captain of a man-of-war, +and was cruising on the coast of Guinea, he happened to lose his chaplain +by a fever, on which the lieutenant, who was a Scotchman, gave him notice +of it, saying, at the same time, "that he was sorry to inform him that he +died in the Roman Catholic religion." "Well, so much the better," said his +lordship. "Oot, oot, my lord, how can you say so of a British clergyman?" +"Why," said his lordship, "because I believe I am the first captain of a +man-of-war that could boast of having a chaplain _who had any religion at +all_." + + +Bishop and his Clerks.--A fleet of merchant ships, on their return from +Spain, about three hundred years ago, were shipwrecked on the fatal rocks +on which Sir Cloudsley Shovel was cast away: among these unfortunate men +none were saved but three, viz. _Miles Bishop_, and _James_ and _Henry +Clerk_, who were miraculously preserved on a broken mast. From this +accident the rocks took the name they bear, "The Bishop and his Clerks." + + +Dey of Algiers.--When Admiral Keppel was sent to the Dey of Algiers, to +demand restitution of two ships which the pirates had taken, he sailed with +his squadron into the bay of Algiers, and cast anchor in front of the Dey's +palace. He then landed, and, attended only by his captain and barge's crew, +demanded an immediate audience of the Dey; this being granted, he claimed +full satisfaction for the injuries done to the subjects of his Britannic +Majesty. Surprised and enraged at the boldness of the admiral's +remonstrance, the Dey exclaimed, "That he wondered at the king's insolence +in sending him a foolish beardless boy." To this the admiral made a +spirited reply, which caused the Dey to forget the laws of all nations in +respect to ambassadors, and he ordered his mutes to attend with the +bowstring, at the same time telling the admiral he should pay for his +audacity with his life. Unmoved by this menace, the admiral took the Dey to +a window facing the bay, and showed him the English fleet riding at +anchor, and told him, that if he dared to put him to death, there were +Englishmen enough in that fleet to make him a glorious funeral pile. The +Dey was wise enough to take the hint. The admiral obtained ample +restitution, and came off in safety. + + +A Timely Answer.--When Admiral Cornwallis commanded the _Canada_, a mutiny +broke out in the ship, on account of some unavoidable delay in the clerks +paying some of the crew, in consequence of which they signed what is termed +a round robin, in which they declared, to a man, that they would not fire a +gun till they were paid. Cornwallis, on receiving this declaration, caused +all hands to be called on deck, and thus addressed them: "My lads, the +money cannot be paid till we return to port, and as to your not fighting, +that is mere nonsense:--I'll clap you alongside the first large ship of the +enemy I see, and I know that the devil himself will not be able to keep you +from it." The tars were so pleased with this compliment that they all +returned to their duty, better satisfied than if they had been paid the +money ten times over. + + + + +SCHOOLS. + + +Dr. Sheridan had a custom of ringing his scholars to prayers, in the +school-room, at a certain hour every day. The boys were one day very +attentively at prayers, except one, who was stifling a laugh as well as he +could, which arose from seeing a rat descending from the bell-rope into the +room. The poor boy could hold out no longer, but burst into an immoderate +fit of laughter, which set the others off as soon as he pointed out to them +the cause. Sheridan was so provoked that he declared he would whip them all +if the principal culprit was not pointed out to him, which was immediately +done. When this poor boy was hoisted up, and made ready for flogging, the +witty school-master told him that if he said any thing tolerable on the +occasion, as he looked on him as the greatest dunce in his school, he would +forgive him. The trembling culprit, immediately addressed his master in the +following lines. + + There was a rat, for want of stairs, + Came down a rope--to go to prayers. + +Sheridan instantly dropped the rod, and, instead of a good whipping, gave +him half-a-crown. + + +Dr. Busby.--A scholar of Dr. Busby went into a parlour where the Doctor had +laid down a fine bunch of grapes for his own eating, took it up, and said +aloud, "I publish the banns between these grapes and my mouth; if any one +knows any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined +together, let him declare it." The Doctor, being in the next room, +overheard all that was said, and going into the school, ordered the boy who +had eaten his grapes to be _horsed_ on another boy's back; but, before he +proceeded to the usual discipline, he cried out aloud, as the delinquent +had done: "I publish the banns between my rod and this boy's back; if any +one knows any just cause or impediment why these two should not be joined +together, let him declare it."--"I forbid the banns." said the boy--"Why +so?" said the Doctor. "Because the parties are not agreed," replied the +boy. This answer so pleased the Doctor, that he ordered the offender to be +set free. + + +An Appropriate Version.--The late Dr. Adam, Rector of the Grammar School, +Edinburgh, was supposed by his scholars to exercise a strong partiality for +such as were of patrician descent; and on one occasion was very smartly +reminded of it by a boy of mean parentage, whom he was reprehending rather +severely for his ignorance--much more so than the boy thought he would have +done, had he been the son of a _right honourable_, or even less. "You +dunce," exclaimed the rector, "I don't think you can even translate the +motto of your own native place, of the _gude_ town of Edinburgh. What, +sir, does '_Nisi Dominus frustra_,' mean?" "It means, sir," rejoined the +boy, "that unless we are lords' sons, it is in vain to come here." + + +A Choice.--At a recent examination at Marlborough House Grammar School, a +piece written for the occasion, entitled "Satan's Address to Nena Sahib," +was to have been recited by two pupils. Only one of the pupils came +forward, Mr. Barrett stating that he could not prevail upon any pupil to +take the part of Nena Sahib, they having such an abhorrence to the +character, though several had offered to take the part of the Devil. + + + + +SERVANTS. + + +Jonas Hanway having once advertised for a coachman, he had a great number +of applicants. One of them he approved of, and told him, if his character +answered, he would take him on the terms agreed on: "But," said he, "my +good fellow, as I am rather a particular man, it may be proper to inform +you, that every evening, after the business of the stable is done, I expect +you to come to my house for a quarter of an hour to attend family prayers. +To this I suppose you can have no objection."--"Why as to that, sir," +replied the fellow, "I doesn't see much to say against it; but I hope +you'll consider it in my wages!" + + +Coleridge, among his other speculations, started a periodical, in prose and +verse, entitled _The Watchman_, with the motto, "that all might know the +truth, and that the truth might make us free." He watched in vain! His +incurable want of order and punctuality, and his philosophical theories, +tired out his readers, and the work was discontinued after the ninth +number. Of the unsaleable nature of this publication, he himself relates an +amusing illustration. Happening one morning to rise at an earlier hour than +usual, he observed his servant girl putting an extravagant quantity of +paper into the grate in order to light the fire, and mildly checked her for +her wastefulness: "La! sir," replied Nanny; "it's only _Watchmen_." + + +The Marquis of Granby having returned from the army in Germany, travelled +with all possible expedition from the English port at which he landed to +London, and finding on his arrival that the king was at Windsor, he +proceeded there in his travelling-dress; where desiring to be instantly +introduced to his majesty, a certain lord came forward, who said he hoped +the noble marquis did not mean to go into the presence of his majesty in so +improper a habit, adding, "'Pon my honour, my lord, you look more like a +_groom_ than a gentleman."--"Perhaps I may," replied the marquis, "and I +give you my word, if you do not introduce me to the king this instant, I +will _act_ like a groom, and _curry_ you in a way you won't like." + + +The Schoolmaster Abroad.--A young woman meeting her former fellow-servant, +was asked how she liked her place. "Very well."--"Then you have nothing to +complain of?"--"Nothing; only master and missis talk such very bad grammar, +and don't pronounce their H's." + + +A Soldier's Wife.--The late Duchess of York having desired her housekeeper +to seek out for a new laundress, a decent-looking woman was recommended to +the situation. "But, (said the housekeeper) I am afraid that she will not +suit your royal highness, as she is a soldier's wife, and these people are +generally loose characters." "What is that you say, said the duke, who had +just entered the room. A soldier's wife! Pray, madam, _what is your +mistress?_ If that is all her fault, I desire that the woman may be +immediately engaged." + + + + +SIGNS. + + +A Scotch Innkeeper, who had determined on adopting the sign of Flodden +Well, was much puzzled for a suitable inscription. At length he waited on +Sir Walter Scott, and asked his aid, observing, that "as he had written so +much about it in _Marmion_, he might know something that would do for an +inscription." The poet immediately replied, "Why, man, I think ye cannot do +better than take a verse from the poem itself." The innkeeper expressed his +willingness to do this, when Sir Walter said to him, "Well, then, you have +nothing to do, but just to leave out one letter from the line + + 'Drink, weary traveller--drink and pray;' + +and say instead + + 'Drink, weary traveller--drink and pay!'" + + +Dean Swift's barber one day told him that he had taken a public-house. "And +what's your sign?" said the dean. "Oh, the pole and bason; and if your +worship would just write me a few lines to put upon it, by way of motto, I +have no doubt but it would draw me plenty of customers." The dean took out +his pencil, and wrote the following couplet, which long graced the barber's +sign: + + "Rove not from _pole_ to _pole_, but step in here, + Where nought excels the _shaving_, but the _beer_." + + + + +SOLDIERS. + + +Equality in Danger.--The French General, Cherin, was once conducting a +detachment through a very difficult defile. He exhorted his soldiers to +endure patiently the fatigues of the march. "It is easy for you to talk," +said one of the soldiers near him; "you who are mounted on a fine +horse--but we poor devils!"--On hearing these words, Cherin dismounted, and +quickly proposed to the discontented soldier to take his place. The latter +did so; but scarcely had he mounted, when a shot from the adjoining +heights struck and killed him. "You see," says Cherin, addressing his +troops, "that the most elevated place is not the least dangerous." After +which he remounted his horse, and continued the march. + + +Marshal Suwarrow in his march to the attack of Ockzakow, proceeded with +such rapidity at the head of his advanced guard, that his men began to +murmur at the fatigues they endured. The Marshal, apprized of this +circumstance, after a long day's march, drew his men up in a hollow square, +and addressing them, said, "that his legs had that day discovered some +symptoms of mutiny, as they refused to second the impulses of his mind, +which urged him forward to the attack of the enemy's fortress." He then +ordered his boots to be taken off, and some of the drummers to advance with +their cats, and flog his legs, which ceremony was continued till they bled +considerably. He put on his boots again very coolly, expressing a hope that +his legs would in future better know how to discharge their duty. The +soldiers after that marched on without a murmur, struck at once with the +magnanimity of their commander, and the ingenuity of his device to remind +them of their duty. + + +Brief Explanation.--A French colonel, in taking a redoubt from the Russians +on the Moskwa, lost twelve hundred of his men, more than one half of whom +remained dead in the entrenchment which they had so energetically carried. +When Bonaparte the next morning reviewed this regiment, he asked the +colonel what he had done with one of his battalions? "Sire," replied he, +"it is in the redoubt." + + +Death of a Hero.--At the battle of Malplaquet, in 1709, Marshal Villars was +dangerously wounded, and desired to receive the Holy Sacrament. Being +advised to receive in private, he said, "No, if the army cannot see me die +like a hero, they shall see me die as a Christian." + + +Magdeline de Savoie.--Anne Duc de Montmorenci, who was prime minister and +great constable of France during the reigns of Francis I., Henry II., +Francis II., and Charles IX., was very unwilling to take up arms against +the Prince of Conde and the Coligny's, to whom he was endeared by the ties +of friendship, as well as those of consanguinity. He was however induced to +give way by the following animated and forcible speech of his wife, +Magdeline de Savoie: "It is then in vain, sir, that you have taken as a +motto to your escutcheon, the word of command that your ancestors always +gave at the outset of every battle in which they were engaged (_Dieu aide +du premier Chretien_). If you do not fight with all your energy in defence +of that religion which is now attempted to be destroyed, who then is to +give an example of respect and of veneration for the Holy See, if not he +who takes his very name, his arms, his nobility, from the first baron of +France who professed the holy religion of Christ?" + + +A Relay of Legs.--Rivardes, a Piedmontese, had attached himself to the +house of France, and was much esteemed as a soldier. He had lost one of his +legs, and had worn a wooden one for some time, when in an engagement a ball +carried off the latter, leaving him the other safe and sound. On being +raised up, he exclaimed laughingly, "What fools these fellows are! They +would have saved their shot had they known that I had two others equally +good among my baggage." + + +Present!--During the Crimean war a French captain wrote to the Cure of his +native place in these words: "I endeavour to regulate my affairs in such +sort, that if God should address to me the call, I may be able to answer, +_Present!_" Not long after this the brave captain met his death under the +walls of Sebastopol. + + +Quartering.--At an election for Shrewsbury, in the reign of George I., a +half-pay officer, who was a nonresident burgess, was, with some other +voters, brought down from London at the expense of Mr. Kynaston, one of the +candidates. The old campaigner regularly attended and feasted at the houses +which were opened for the electors in Mr. Kynaston's interest until the +last day of the polling, when, to the astonishment of the party, he gave +his vote to his opponent. For this strange conduct he was reproached by his +quondam companions, and asked what could have induced him to act so +dishonourable a part as to become an apostate. "An apostate," answered the +old soldier, "an apostate! by no means--I made up my mind about whom I +would vote for before I set out upon this campaign, but I remembered +Marlborough's constant advice to us when I served with the army in +Flanders, 'Always quarter upon the enemy, my lads--always quarter upon the +enemy.'" + + +Seeking for a Ball.--The Count de Grance being wounded in the knee with a +musket ball, the surgeons made many incisions. At last, losing patience, he +asked them why they treated him so unmercifully? "We are seeking for the +ball," said they. "Why then did you not speak before?" said the Count, "I +could have saved you the trouble, for I have it in my pocket." + + +Turenne.--In the year 1675, the Council of Vienna sent Montecuculi to +oppose Turenne, as the only officer that was thought to be a match for him. +Both generals were perfect masters of the art of war. They passed four +months in watching each other, and in marches and counter-marches; at +length Turenne thought he had got his rival into such a situation as he +wanted, near Saltsbach, when, going to choose a place to erect a battery, +he was unfortunately struck by a cannon shot, which killed him on the spot. +The same ball having carried away the arm of St. Hilaire, +lieutenant-general of the artillery, his son, who was near, could not +forbear weeping. "Weep not for me," said Hilaire, "but for the brave man +who lies there, whose loss to his country nothing can repair." + + +Generosity of Turenne.--The deputies of a great metropolis in Germany, once +offered the great Turenne one hundred thousand crowns not to pass with his +army through their city. "Gentlemen," said he, "I cannot in conscience +accept your money, as I had no intention to pass that way." + + + + +TEMPER. + + +Henderson, the actor, was seldom known to be in a passion. When at Oxford, +he was one day debating with a fellow student, who, not keeping his temper, +threw a glass of wine in the actor's face; upon which Henderson took out +his handkerchief, wiped his face, and coolly said, "That, sir, was a +digression; now for the argument." + + +Peter the Great made a law in 1722, that if any nobleman beat or ill-treat +his slaves he should be looked upon as insane, and a guard should be +appointed to take care of his person and his estate. This great monarch +once struck his gardener, who being a man of great sensibility, took to his +bed, and died in a few days. Peter, hearing of this, exclaimed, with tears +in his eyes, "Alas! I have civilized my own subjects; I have conquered +other nations; yet I have not been able to civilize or conquer myself." + + +Fletcher, of Saltown, is well known to have possessed a most irritable +temper. His footman desired to be dismissed. "Why do you leave me?" said +he. "Because, sir," to speak the truth, "I cannot bear your temper." "To be +sure, I am passionate, but my passion is no sooner on than it is off." +"Yes, sir," replied the servant, "but then it is no sooner off than it is +on." + + +A Neat Reply.--In certain debates in the House of Lords, in 1718, the bills +proposed were opposed by Bishop Atterbury, who said, "he had prophesied +last winter, that this bill would be attempted in the present session, and +he was sorry to find he had proved a true prophet." Lord Coningsby, who +usually spoke in a passion, rose, and remarked, that "one of the right +reverends had set himself forth as a prophet; but for his part, he did not +know what prophet to liken him to, unless to that famous prophet Balaam, +who was reproved by his own ass." The bishop, in reply, with great +readiness and temper exposed this rude attack, concluding in these words: +"Since the noble lord hath discovered in our manners such a similitude, I +must be content to be compared to the prophet Balaam; but, my lords, I am +at a loss how to make out the other part of the parallel. I am sure that I +have been reproved by nobody but his lordship." From that day forth, Lord +Coningsby was called "Atterbury's Pad." + + +Dr. Hough, of Worcester, was remarkable for evenness of temper, of which +the following story affords a proof. A young gentleman, whose family had +been well acquainted with the doctor, in making the tour of England before +he went abroad, called to pay his respects to him as he passed by his seat +in the country. It happened to be at dinner-time, and the room full of +company. The bishop, however, received him with much familiarity; but the +servant in reaching him a chair, threw down a curious weather-glass that +had cost twenty guineas, and broke it. The gentleman was under infinite +concern, and began to make an apology for being the occasion of the +accident, when the bishop with great good nature interrupted him. "Be under +no concern, sir," said his lordship, smiling, "for I am much beholden to +you for it. We have had a very dry season; and now I hope we shall have +rain. I never saw the glass so _low_ in my life." Every one was pleased +with the humour and pleasantry of the turn; and the more so, as the Doctor +was then more than eighty, a time of life when the infirmities of old age +make most men peevish and hasty. + + +A Test.--A cobbler at Leyden, who used to attend the public disputations +held at the academy, was once asked if he understood Latin? "No," replied +the mechanic, "but it is easy to know who is wrong in the argument." "How?" +enquired his friend. "Why, by seeing who is first angry." + + +Casaubon, in his "Treatise on the Passions," relates the following pleasing +anecdote of Robert, one of the greatest monarchs that ever swayed the +sceptre of France. Having once surprised a rogue who had cut away the half +of his mantle, he took no other notice of the offence than by saying +mildly to him, "Save thyself, sinner, and leave the rest for another who +may have need of it." + + +Garrick once complained to Sir Joshua Reynolds of the abuse with which he +was loaded by Foote, when Sir Joshua answered, that Foote, in so doing, +gave the strongest possible proof of being in the wrong; as it was always +the man who had the worst side who became violent and abusive. + + + + +TIME, VALUE OF. + + +Spare Moments.--The great French Chancellor D'Aguesseau carefully employed +every moment of his time. Observing that Madame D'Aguesseau always delayed +ten or twelve minutes before she came down to dinner, he began to compose a +work to which he intended to devote these few minutes, which would +otherwise have been lost. The result was, at the end of fifteen years, a +work in three large quarto volumes, which went through several editions. + + +Buffon thus relates the manner in which he acquired a habit of early +rising. "In my youth," says he, "I was excessively fond of sleep, and that +indolence robbed me of much time. My poor Joseph (a domestic who served him +for sixty-five years) was of the greatest benefit to me in overcoming it. I +promised him a crown for every time he should make me get up at six +o'clock. He failed not the next day to rouse me, but I only abused and +threatened him. He tried the day following, and I did the same, which made +him desist. 'Friend Joseph,' said I to him at last, 'I have lost my time +and you have gained nothing. You do not know how to manage the matter. +Think only of my promise, and do not regard my threatenings.' The day +following he accomplished his point. At first I begged, then entreated and +abused, and would have discharged him; but he disregarded me, and raised me +up by absolute force. He had his reward every day for my ill-humour at the +moment of waking, by thanks, and a crown an hour after. I owe to poor +Joseph at least ten or twelve volumes of my works." + + +Cuvier, the celebrated naturalist, was singularly careful of his time, and +did not like those who entered his house to deprive him of it. "I know," +said he, "that Monsieur l'Abbe Hauy comes to see _me_; our conversation is +an exchange; but I do not want a man to come and tell me whether it is hot +or cold, raining or sunshine. My barometer and thermometer know more than +all possible visitors; and in my studies in natural history," added he, "I +have not found in the whole animal kingdom a species, or class, or family, +who frighten me so much as the numerous family of _idlers_" + + +Dr. Pepusch.--"In one of my visits, very early in life, to that venerable +master, Dr. Pepusch," says Dr. Burney, "he gave me a short lesson, which +made so deep an impression that I long endeavoured to practise it. 'When I +was a young man,' said he, 'I determined never to go to bed at night, till +I knew something that I did not know in the morning.'" + + + + +TRAVELLING. + + +A Tiresome Companion.--The celebrated George Selwyn was once travelling, +and was interrupted by the frequent impertinence of a companion, who was +constantly teasing him with questions, and asking him how he did. "How are +you now, sir?" said the impertinent. George, in order to get rid of his +importunity, replied, "Very well: and I intend to continue so all the rest +of the journey." + + +Charles Lamb.--A farmer, by chance a companion in a coach with Charles +Lamb, kept boring him to death with questions, in the jargon of +agriculturists, about crops. At length he put a poser--"And pray, sir, how +are turnips this year?" "Why that, sir," stammered out Lamb, "will depend +upon the boiled legs of mutton." + + +Clans.--An English gentleman travelling through the Highlands, came to the +inn of Letter Finlay, in the braes of Lochaber. He saw no person near the +inn, and knocked at the door. No answer. He knocked repeatedly with as +little success; he then opened the door, and walked in. On looking about, +he saw a man lying on a bed, whom he hailed thus: "Are there any Christians +in this house?" "No," was the reply, "we are all Camerons." + + +Welcome Sight.--A writer of a modern book of travels, relating the +particulars of his being cast away, thus concludes: "After having walked +eleven hours without having traced the print of human foot, to my great +comfort and delight, I saw a man hanging upon a gibbet; my pleasure at the +cheering prospect was inexpressible; for it convinced me that I was in a +civilized country!" + + + + +WAR. + + +Camp Dinner.--During the war, in which the eccentric Count Schaumbourg +Lippe commanded the artillery in the army of Prince Frederick of Brunswick, +against the French, he one day invited several Hanoverian officers to dine +with him in his tent. When the company were in high spirits, and full of +gaiety, several cannon balls flew in different directions about the tent. +"The French," exclaimed the officers, "are not far off." "No, no," replied +the Count, "the enemy, I assure you, are at a great distance; keep your +seats." The firing soon afterwards recommenced; when one of the balls +carrying away the top of the tent, the officers suddenly rose from their +chairs, exclaiming, "The French are here!" "No," replied the Count, "the +French are not here; and, therefore, gentlemen, I desire you will again sit +down, and rely upon my word." The balls continued to fly about; the +officers, however, continued to eat and drink without apprehension, though +not without whispering their conjectures to each other upon the singularity +of their entertainment. The Count, at length, rose from the table, and +addressing himself to the company, said, "Gentlemen, I was willing to +convince you how well I can rely upon the officers of my artillery; for I +ordered them to fire during the time we continued at dinner, at the +pinnacle of the tent, and they have executed my orders with great +punctuality." + + +A Ragged Regiment.--In 1690, the French attacked and defeated the Prince of +Waldeck at Fleurus. During this action, a lieutenant-colonel of a French +regiment was on the point of charging. Not knowing how to animate his men, +who were discontented at having commenced the campaign without being fresh +clothed, he said to them, "My friends, I congratulate you, that you have +the good fortune to be in presence of a regiment newly clothed. Charge them +vigorously, and we will clothe ourselves." This pleasantry so inspired the +soldiers, that they rushed on, and speedily defeated the regiment. + + +The Ladies of Beauvais.--Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, laid siege to +the City of Beauvais in the year 1472. After investing it closely for +twenty-one days, his troops made a general assault, and were on the point +of carrying the place, when a band of women, headed by a lady of the name +of Jeanne Hachette, rushing to the walls, opposed such a resistance, with +showers of stones, and other missiles, that the tide of fortune was +instantaneously turned. A Burgundian officer, who attempted to plant the +duke's standard on the walls, was fiercely attacked by Jeanne Hachette, +who, snatching the standard from his hands, threw him headlong over the +wall. The assailants, in short, were completely repulsed; nor was the +distaff, once thrown aside, resumed, till the ladies of Beauvais had forced +the Duke of Burgundy to retire in shame from their walls. In memory of this +gallant achievement, the Municipality of Beauvais ordered a general +procession of the inhabitants to take place every year, on the 10th of +July, the day on which the siege was raised, in which the ladies were to +have the privilege of preceding the men. As long as Jeanne Hachette lived, +she marched in this annual procession, at the head of the women, bearing +the standard which she had captured from the Burgundian officer; and at +her death this standard was deposited in the church of the Dominicans, and +a portrait of the heroine placed in the Town-Hall of Beauvais. + + +Charles XII. was dictating a letter to his secretary during the siege of +Stralsund, when a bomb fell through the roof into the next room of the +house where they were sitting. The terrified secretary let the pen drop +from his hand. "What is the matter?" said Charles, calmly. The secretary +replied, "Ah, sire, the bomb!" "But what has the bomb to do," said Charles, +"with what I am dictating to you?--go on." + + +Gonsalvo of Cordova.--In an engagement which the Spaniards fought under +Gonsalvo of Cordova, their powder-magazine was blown up by the first +discharge of the enemy; but so far was this from discouraging the general, +that he immediately cried out to his soldiers, "My brave boys, the victory +is ours! Heaven tells us by this signal that we shall have no further +occasion for our artillery." This confidence of the general passed on to +the soldiers; they rushed to the contest, and gained a complete victory. + + +Algerine Captain.--Louis XIV., who had once bombarded Algiers, ordered the +Marquess du Quesne to bombard it a second time, in order to punish the +treachery and insolence of the Moors. The despair in which the Corsairs +found themselves at not being able to beat the fleet off their coasts, +caused them to bring all the French slaves, and fasten them to the mouths +of their cannon, where they were blown to pieces, the different limbs of +their bodies falling even among the French ships. An Algerine captain, who +had been taken on a cruize, and well treated by the French while he had +been their prisoner, one day perceived, among those unfortunate Frenchmen +who were doomed to the cruel fate just mentioned, an officer named +Choiseul, from whom he had received the most signal acts of kindness. The +Algerine immediately begged, entreated, and solicited in the most pressing +manner, to save the life of the generous Frenchman; but all in vain. At +last, when they were going to fire the cannon to which Choiseul was fixed, +the captain threw himself on the body of his friend, and closely embracing +him in his arms, said to the cannonier, "Fire! since I cannot serve my +benefactor, I shall at least have the consolation of dying with him." The +Dey, in whose presence this scene passed, was so affected with it, that he +commanded the French officer to be set free. + + +Marshal Boufflers.--A few days previous to the battle of Malplaquet, it was +publicly talked of at Versailles, that a very important battle would soon +take place between the French army commanded by Marshal Villars, and the +allied army under Prince Eugene and Marlborough. Louis XIV., who for some +years had met with many mortifying repulses, seemed to be very uneasy about +the event. Marshal Boufflers, in order to quiet in some degree the +perturbation of his sovereign's mind, offered, though a senior officer to +Villars, to go and serve under him, sacrificing all personal considerations +to the glory of his country. His proposal was accepted, and he repaired to +the camp. On his arrival, a very singular contest took place between the +two commanders. Villars desired to have Boufflers for his leader; but the +latter persisted in yielding him all the glory, while he shared the danger. +No event in the life of Boufflers ever contributed more to render his name +illustrious. Marshal Villars, who commanded the left wing at the battle, +being obliged to retire on account of a wound he had received, Marshal +Boufflers charged the enemy six times after this accident; but finding they +had made themselves master of a wood through which they penetrated into the +centre of the French army, he yielded them the field of battle, and made a +retreat in such good order, that the allies declined pursuing him. + + +War by Candle Light.--Shortly after the commencement of the last Peninsular +war, a tax was laid on candles, which, as a political economist would +prove, made them dearer. A Scotch wife, in Greenock, remarked to her +chandler that the price was raised, and asked why. "It's a' owin' to the +war," said he. "The war!" said the astonished matron, "gracious me! are +they gaun to fight by candle licht?" + + +Admiral Duncan's address to the officers of his fleet, when they came on +board his ship for his final instructions, previous to the memorable +engagement with Admiral De Winter, was couched in the following laconic and +humorous words:--"Gentlemen of my Fleet, you see a very severe WINTER fast +approaching; and I have only to advise you to keep up a good FIRE!" + + +A Noble Enemy.--When the _Laura_ and _Andromeda_ frigates were wrecked in a +violent hurricane in the West Indies, on the coast of the Martinique, +thirty-five men were thrown ashore alive. The Marquess de Bouille, on +hearing of the circumstance, took them to his house, where he treated them +most hospitably. After he had cured them of their bruises and sickness, and +had clothed them from head to foot, he sent them with a flag of truce to +the commanding officer of St. Lucia, with a letter, stating that these men +having experienced the horrors of shipwreck, he would not add those of war, +and had therefore set them free, and at liberty again to serve their +country. + + +French Grenadier.--During the assault of Thurot on the town of +Carrickfergus in 1760, an incident took place, reflecting at once the +highest lustre on the soldier concerned, and evincing the union of +consummate courage with noble humanity. Whilst the combatants were opposed +to each other in the streets, and every inch was pertinaciously disputed by +the British forces, a child by some accident escaped from a house in the +midst of the scene of action, and ran, unawed by the danger, into the +narrow interval between the hostile fronts. One of the French grenadiers +seeing the imminent danger of the child, grounded his piece; left the ranks +in the hottest fire; took the child in his arms, and placed it in safety in +the house from which it had come, and then with all possible haste returned +to resume his part in the fight. + + +George I.--During the siege of Fort St. Philip, a young lieutenant of +marines was so unfortunate as to lose both his legs by a chain-shot. In +this miserable and helpless condition he was conveyed to England, and a +memorial of his case presented to a board; but nothing more than half-pay +could be obtained. Major Manson had the poor lieutenant conducted to court +on a public day, in his uniform; where, posted in the ante-room, and +supported by two of his brother officers, he cried out, as the king was +passing to the drawing-room, "Behold, sire, a man who refuses to bend his +knee to you; he has lost both in your service." The king, struck no less by +the singularity of his address, than by the melancholy object before him, +stopped, and hastily demanded what had been done for him. "Half-pay," +replied the lieutenant, "and please your majesty." "Fye, fye on't," said +the king, shaking his head; "but let me see you again next levee-day." The +lieutenant did not fail to appear, when he received from the immediate hand +of royalty a present of five hundred pounds, and an annuity of two hundred +pounds a-year for life. + + +Charles VI.--At the breaking out of the war against the Turks, in the year +1717, the Emperor Charles VI. of Austria took leave of his general, Prince +Eugene, with the following words: "Prince, I have set over you a general, +who is always to be called to your council, and in whose name all your +operations are to be undertaken." With this he put into his hand a +crucifix, richly set with diamonds, at the foot of which was the following +inscription, 'Jesus Christus Generalissimus.'--"Forget not," added the +Emperor, "that you are fighting his battles who shed his blood for man upon +the Cross. Under his supreme guidance, attack and overwhelm the enemies of +Christ and Christianity." + + +George the Second.--It was once found an impracticable task to make George +the Second acquiesce in a judgment passed by a court-martial on the conduct +of two officers high in the army. One of the officers had made himself +amenable to military law, by fighting in opposition to the orders of his +commander in chief, instead of retreating; by which act of disobedience, +the general's plans were frustrated. On these circumstances being detailed +to the king, his majesty exclaimed, "Oh! the one fight, the other run +away." "Your majesty will have the goodness to understand, that General +---- did not run away; it was necessary for the accomplishment of his +schemes, that he should cause the army to retreat at that critical moment; +this he would have conducted with his wonted skill, but for the breach of +duty in the officer under the sentence of the court-martial." "I +understand," impatiently returned the king; "one fight, he was right; the +other run away, he was wrong." It was in vain that ministers renewed their +arguments and explanations; his majesty could not, or would not, understand +the difference between a disgraceful flight and a politic retreat; they +were therefore obliged to end a discussion which merely drew forth the +repetition of the same judgment--"The one face the enemy and fight, he +right; the other turn his back and not fight, he wrong." + + +Ximenes.--At the siege of Oran, in Africa, Cardinal Ximenes led the Spanish +troops to the breach, mounted on a charger, dressed in his pontifical +robes, and preceded by a monk on horseback, who bore his archiepiscopal +cross. "Go on, go on, my children," exclaimed he to the soldiers, "I am at +your head. A priest should think it an honour to expose his life for his +religion. I have an example in my predecessors, in the archbishopric of +Toledo. Go on to victory." When his victorious troops took possession of +the town, he burst into tears on seeing the number of the dead that were +lying on the ground; and was heard to say to himself, "They were indeed +infidels, but they might have become Christians. By their death, they have +deprived us of the principal advantage of the victory we have gained over +them." + + +An Odd Grenadier.--During the famous siege of Gibraltar, in the absence of +the fleet, and when an attack was daily expected, one dark night, a +sentinel, whose post was near a tower facing the Spanish lines, was +standing at the end of his walk, looking towards them, his head filled +with nothing but fire and sword, miners, breaching, storming, and +bloodshed, while by the side of his box stood a deep narrow-necked earthen +jug, in which was the remainder of his supper, consisting of boiled pease. +A large monkey (of which there were plenty at the top of the rock), +encouraged by the man's absence, and allured by the smell of the pease, +ventured to the jug; and, in endeavouring to get at its contents, thrust +his neck so far into the jug, as to be unable to withdraw it. At this +instant, the soldier approaching, the monkey started up to escape, with the +jug on his head. This terrible monster no sooner saluted the eyes of the +sentry, than his frantic imagination converted poor pug into a +blood-thirsty Spanish grenadier, with a tremendous cap on his head. Full of +this dreadful idea, he instantly fired his piece, roaring out that the +enemy had scaled the walls. The guards took the alarm; the drums were beat; +signal-guns fired; and in less than ten minutes, the governor and his whole +garrison were under arms. The supposed grenadier, being very much +incommoded by his cap, and almost blinded by the pease, was soon overtaken +and seized; and by this capture, the tranquillity of the garrison was soon +restored, without that slaughter and bloodshed which every man had +prognosticated at the beginning of this dire alarm. + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS. + + +Dunning.--The witty Lord Ross, having spent all his money in London, set +out for Ireland, in order to recruit his purse. On his way, he happened to +meet with Sir Murrough O'Brien, driving for the capital in a handsome +phaeton, with six prime dun-coloured horses. "Sir Murrough," exclaimed his +lordship, "what a contrast there is betwixt you and me! You are driving +your _duns_ before you, but my _duns_ are driving me before them." + + +Steele & Addison.--A gentleman who was dining with another, praised the +meat very much, and asked who was the butcher? "His name is +Addison."--"Addison!" echoed the guest, "pray is he any relation to the +essayist?"--"In all probability he is, for he is seldom without his steel +(_Steele_) by his side." + + +A Tedious Preacher.--Mr. Canning was once asked by an English clergyman how +he liked the sermon he had preached before him. "Why, it was a short +sermon," quoth Canning. "Oh yes," said the preacher; "you know I avoid +being tedious." "Ah, but," replied Canning, "you _were_ tedious." + + +Charity sermon.--Sydney Smith, preaching a charity sermon, frequently +repeated the assertion that, of all nations, Englishmen were most +distinguished for generosity and the love of their species. The collection +happened to be inferior to his expectations, and he said that he had +evidently made a great mistake, for that his expression should have been, +that they were distinguished for the love of their _specie_. + + +Pope the Poet.--This celebrated poet is said to have been once severely +retorted upon. A question arose in company respecting the reading of a +passage with or without a note of interrogation. Pope rather arrogantly +asked one gentleman if he knew what a note of interrogation was. "Yes, sir: +it is _a little crooked thing that asks questions_." Pope was little and +deformed. + + +Estimate of Greatness.--Pope was with Sir Godfrey Kneller one day, when his +nephew, a Guinea trader, came in. "Nephew," said Sir Godfrey, "you have the +honour of seeing the two greatest men in the world."--"I don't know how +great you may be," said the Guinea-man, "but I don't like your looks: I +have often bought a man much better than both of you together, all muscles +and bones, for ten guineas." + + +"Rejected Addresses."--The fame of the brothers James and Horatio Smith was +confined to a limited circle, until the publication of "The Rejected +Addresses." James used to dwell with much pleasure on the criticism of a +Leicestershire clergyman: "I do not see why they ('The Addresses') should +have been rejected: I think some of them very good." This, he would add, is +almost as good as the avowal of the Irish Bishop, that there were some +things in "Gulliver's Travels" which he could not believe. + + +The Two Smith's.--A gentleman took lodgings in the same house with James +Smith, one of the celebrated authors of the "Rejected Addresses." His name +was also James Smith. The consequence was an eternal confusion of calls and +letters, and the postman had no alternative but to share the letters +equally between the two. "This is intolerable, sir," said our author, "you +must quit." "Why am I to quit more than you?" "Because you came last, and +being James the Second you must _abdicate_." + + +Coleridge, the Poet, once dined in company with a person who listened to +the conversation and said nothing for a long time; but occasionally nodded +his head, and Coleridge concluded him a thoughtful and intelligent man. At +length, towards the end of the dinner, some apple dumplings were placed on +the table, and the listener had no sooner seen them than he burst forth, +"Them's the fellows for me!" Coleridge adds: "I wish Spurzheim could have +examined the fellow's head." + + +An Appropriate Successor.--Clerambault, who was deformed, was elected to +succeed La Fontaine in the French Academy. On that occasion it was said +that "La Fontaine was very properly succeeded by Esop." + + +Erskine.--Lord Kellie was amusing the company with an account of a sermon +he had heard in Italy, in which the preacher related the miracle of St. +Anthony preaching to the fishes, who, in order to listen to his pious +discourse, held their heads out of the water. "I can credit the miracle," +said Erskine, "if your lordship was at church." "I certainly was there," +said the peer. "Then, rejoined Erskine, there was at least _one fish out of +water_." + + +Memory.--A humorous comment on this system of artificial memory was made by +a waiter at an hotel where Feinaigle dined, after having given his lecture +on that subject. A few minutes after the Professor left the table, the +waiter entered, with uplifted hands and eyes, exclaiming, "Well, I declare, +the _memory man_ has forgotten his umbrella!" + + +Parisian rag-picker.--An old chiffonnier (or rag picker) died in Paris in a +state apparently of the most abject poverty. His only relation was a niece, +who lived as servant with a greengrocer. This girl always assisted her +uncle as far as her slender means would permit. When she heard of his +death, which took place suddenly, she was upon the point of marriage with a +journeyman baker, to whom she had been long attached. The nuptial day was +fixed, but Suzette had not yet bought her wedding clothes. She hastened to +tell her lover that their marriage must be deferred, as she wanted the +price of her bridal finery to lay her uncle decently in the grave. Her +mistress ridiculed the idea, and exhorted her to leave the old man to be +buried by charity. Suzette refused. The consequence was a quarrel, in which +the young woman lost at once her place and her lover, who sided with her +mistress. She hastened to the miserable garret where her uncle had expired, +and by the sacrifice not only of her wedding attire, but of nearly all the +rest of her slender wardrobe, she had the old man decently interred. Her +pious task fulfilled, she sat alone in her uncle's room weeping bitterly, +when the master of her faithless lover, a young good-looking man, entered. +"So, my good Suzette, I find you have lost your place!" cried he, "I am +come to offer you one for life--will you marry me?" "I, Sir? you are +joking." "No, indeed, I want a wife, and I am sure I can't find a better." +"But everybody will laugh at you for marrying a poor girl like me," "Oh! if +that is your only objection we shall soon get over it; come, come along; my +mother is prepared to receive you." Suzette hesitated no longer; but she +wished to take with her a memorial of her deceased uncle: it was a cat +that he had kept for many years. The old man was so fond of the animal +that he was determined even death should not separate them, and he had +caused her to be stuffed and placed near his bed. As Suzette took puss +down, she uttered an exclamation of surprise at finding her so heavy. The +lover hastened to open the animal, when out fell a shower of gold. There +were a thousand louis concealed in the body of the cat, and this sum, which +the old man had contrived to amass, became the just reward of the worthy +girl and her disinterested lover. + + +Integrity.--A Parisian stock-broker, just before his death, laid a wager on +parole with a rich capitalist; and a few weeks after his death, the latter +visited the widow and gave her to understand that her late husband had lost +a wager of sixteen thousand francs. She went to her secretary, took out her +pocket-book, and counted bank notes to the stated amount, when the +capitalist thus addressed her: "Madame, as you give such convincing proof +that you consider the wager binding, _I_ have to pay you sixteen thousand +francs. Here is the sum, for _I_ am the loser, and not your husband." + + +During the speculations of 1837-38, Mr. C., a young merchant of +Philadelphia, possessed of a handsome fortune, caught the mania, entered +largely into its operations, and for a time was considered immensely rich. +But when the great revulsion occurred he was suddenly reduced to +bankruptcy. His young wife immediately withdrew from the circles of wealth +and fashion, and adapted her expenses, family and personal, to her altered +circumstances. At the time of Mr. C.'s failure, his wife was in debt to +Messrs. Stewart and Company, merchants of Philadelphia, about two hundred +dollars for articles which she had used personally. This debt, she had no +means of liquidating. However after the lapse of twelve years, and when the +creditors had of course looked upon the debt as lost, Mrs. C. was able to +take the principal, add to it twelve years' interest, enclose the whole in +a note and address it to Messrs. Stewart and Company. Messrs. Stewart and +Company, upon the receipt of the money, addressed a note in reply to Mrs. +C., in which they requested her acceptance of the accompanying gift, as a +slight testimonial of their high appreciation of an act so honourable and +so rare as to call forth unqualified admiration. Accompanying the letter +was sent a superb brocade silk dress, and some laces of exquisite texture +and great value. + + +Costume of the Sisters of Charity.--The Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, at +the time of their re-establishment in their house, in the _Rue du Vieux +Colombier_, after the Revolution, wore black dresses and caps. On the +fourth Sunday in Advent, 1804, Pope Pius the Seventh visited the community. +He seemed surprised that the Sisters had not resumed the habit of their +order; but he was told that no community had dared to show the religious +habit abroad. He then spoke to the emperor, saying to him that the good +daughters of charity "_looked like widows_." The emperor, at his request, +gave authority to the Sisters to wear their habit, and they resumed it in +the spring of 1805. + + +China-ware.--An English gentleman wanting a dessert-service of porcelain +made after a particular pattern, sent over to China a specimen dish, +ordering that it should be exactly copied for the whole service. It +unfortunately happened that in the dish so sent over the Chinese +manufacturer discovered a crack; the consequence was, that the entire +service sent over to the party ordering it had a crack in each article, +carefully copied from the original. + + +Dreaming.--It is a custom among the Canadian Indians, that when one dreams +that another has rendered him any service, the person dreamed of thinks it +a duty to fulfil the dream, if possible. A chief one morning came to the +governor, Sir William Johnstone, and told him that he had last night +dreamed that Sir William had made him a present of the suit of regimentals +he wore. The governor readily presented them to him; but as the Indian was +going out, "Stop," said Sir William, "I had almost forgot, but I dreamed +about you last night; I dreamed that you gave me such a piece of land," +describing a large tract. "You shall have it," said he, "but if you please, +Sir William, we will _not dream any more_." + + +Lessing was remarkable for a frequent absence of mind. Having missed money +at different times, without being able to discover who took it, he +determined to put the honesty of his servant to a trial, and left a handful +of gold on the table. "Of course you counted it?" said one of his friends. +"Count it!" said Leasing, rather embarrassed; "no, I forgot that." + + +At a public sale, there was a book which Lessing was very desirous of +possessing. He gave three of his friends at different times a commission to +buy it at any price. They accordingly bid against each other till they had +got as far as ninety crowns, there having been no other bidder after it had +reached ten crowns. Happily one of them thought it best to speak to the +others; when it appeared they had all been bidding for Lessing, whose +forgetfulness in this instance cost him eighty crowns. + + +Edinburgh.--In a debate upon some projected improvement of the streets of +Edinburgh, the Dean of Faculty wittily said that the _forwardness_ of the +clergy, and the _backwardness_ of the medical faculty, had spoiled the +finest street in Europe, alluding to the projection of the colonnade of St. +Andrew's church and the recession of the Medical Hall in George's-street. + + +Maclaurin.--This celebrated Professor of Mathematics in Edinburgh College, +and the able expounder of Newton's _Principia_, always dislocated his jaw, +and was unable to shut his mouth, when he yawned. At the same time his +instinct of imitation was so strong, that he could not resist yawning when +he witnessed that act in others. His pupils were not slow in discovering, +and taking advantage of this physical weakness. When tired of his lecture, +they either began to yawn, or open their mouths in imitation of that act, +and the prelection was interrupted. The Professor stood before them with +his mouth wide open, and could not proceed till he rang for his servant to +come and shut it. In the meantime the mischievous disciples of Euclid had +effected their escape. + + +William III. and St. Evremond.--William was so little of a man of letters, +that on the celebrated French writer, St. Evremond, being presented to him +at St. James's, his majesty had nothing more _apropos_ to say than this, +"You are, I believe, sir, a major-general in your master's service." + + +Music and Politics.--Dr. Wise, the musician, being requested to subscribe +his name to a petition against an expected prorogation of Parliament in the +reign of Charles II., wittily answered, "No, gentlemen, it is not my +business to meddle with state affairs; _but I'll set a tune to it, if you +like_." + + +Sion College.--Upon the recovery of George III. in 1789, the librarian and +others connected with Sion College were at a loss what device or motto to +select for the illumination of the building; when the following happy +choice was made by a worthy divine, from the book of Psalms; "_Sion_ heard +of it and was glad." + + +Dean Swift having preached an assize sermon in Ireland, was invited to dine +with the judges; and having in his sermon considered the use and abuse of +the law, he pressed somewhat hard upon those counsellors, who plead causes, +which they knew in their consciences to be wrong. When dinner was over, and +the glass began to go round, a young barrister retorted upon the dean; and +after several altercations, the counsellor asked him, "If the devil was to +die, whether a _parson_ might not be found, who, for money, would preach +his funeral?" "Yes," said Swift, "I would gladly be the man, and I would +then give the _devil_ his due, as I have this day done his _children_." + + +Swift disliked nothing so much as being troubled with applications from +authors to correct their works. A poor poet having written a very +indifferent tragedy, got himself introduced to the dean in order to have +his opinion of it; and in about a fortnight after, called at the deanery. +Swift returned the play, carefully folded up, telling him he had read it, +and taken some pains with it, and he believed the author would not find +above half the number of faults that it had when it came into his hands. +The poor author, after a thousand acknowledgments, retired in company with +the gentleman who had introduced him, and was so impatient to see the +corrections, that he stopped under the first gateway they came to, when to +his utter astonishment and confusion, he saw that the dean had taken the +pains to blot out every second line throughout the whole play, so carefully +as to render them quite illegible. + + +Lady Carteret, wife of the Lord Lieutenant, said to Swift one day, "The air +of Ireland is excellent and healthy." "For God's sake, madam," said Swift, +falling down before her, "don't say so in England, for if you do they will +tax it." + + +Dr Savage, who died in 1747, travelled in his younger days, with the Earl +of Salisbury, to whom he was indebted for a considerable living in +Hertfordshire. One day at the levee, the King (George I.) asked him how +long he had resided at Rome with Lord Salisbury. Upon his answering him how +long,--"Why," said the king, "you staid there long enough; how is it you +did not convert the pope?"--"Because, sir," replied the doctor, "I had +nothing better to offer him." + + +Sheridan.--This distinguished wit, upon being asked by a young member of +parliament how he first succeeded in establishing his fame as an orator, +replied, "Why, sir, it was easily effected. After I had been in St. +Stephen's Chapel a few days, I found that four-fifths of the house were +composed of country squires, and great fools; my first effort, therefore, +was by a lively sally, or an ironical remark, to make them laugh; that +laugh effaced from their stupid pates the recollection of what had been +urged in opposition to my view of the subject, and then I whipped in an +argument, and had all the way clear before me." + + +Sheridan.--The father of the celebrated Sheridan was one day descanting on +the pedigree of his family, regretting that they were no longer styled +O'Sheridan, as they were formerly. "Indeed, father," replied Sheridan, then +a boy, "we have more right to the O than any one else; for we _owe_ +everybody." + + +Sheridan inquiring of his son what side of politics he should espouse on +his inauguration to St. Stephen's chapel; the son replied, that he intended +to vote for those who offered best, and that in consequence he should wear +on his forehead a label, "To let;" to which the facetious critic rejoined, +"I suppose, Tom, you mean to add, _unfurnished_." + + +Sheridan was once travelling to town in one of the public coaches, for the +purpose of canvassing Westminster, at the time that Mr. Paull was his +opponent, when he found himself in company with two Westminster electors. +In the course of conversation, one of them asked his friend to whom he +meant to give his vote? The other replied, "to Paull, certainly; for, +though I think him but a shabby sort of a fellow, I would vote for anyone +rather than that rascal Sheridan!" "Do you know Sheridan?" inquired the +stranger. "Not I, sir," was the answer, "nor should I wish to know him." +The conversation dropped here; but when the party alighted to breakfast, +Sheridan called aside the other gentleman and said, "Pray who is that very +agreeable friend of your's? He is one of the pleasantest fellows I ever met +with; I should be glad to know his name?" "His name is Mr. T.; he is an +eminent lawyer, and resides in Lincoln's Inn Fields." Breakfast being over, +the party resumed their seats in the coach; soon after which, Sheridan +turned the discourse to the law. "It is," said he, "a fine profession. Men +may rise from it to the highest eminence in the state, and it gives vast +scope to the display of talent; many of the most virtuous and noble +characters recorded in our history have been lawyers. I am sorry, however, +to add, that some of the greatest rascals have also been lawyers; but of +all the rascals of lawyers I ever heard of, the greatest is one T., who +lives in Lincoln's Inn Fields." The gentleman fired up at the charge, and +said very angrily, "I am Mr. T., sir." "And I am Mr. Sheridan," was the +reply. The jest was instantly seen; they shook hands, and instead of voting +against the facetious orator, the lawyer exerted himself warmly in +promoting his election. + + +Sterne.--Sterne used to relate a circumstance which happened to him at +York. After preaching at the cathedral, an old woman whom he observed +sitting on the pulpit stairs, stopped him as he came down, and begged to +know where she should have the honour of hearing him preach the following +Sunday. On leaving the pulpit the next Sunday he found her placed as +before, when she put the same question to him. The following Sunday he was +to preach four miles out of York, which he told her; and to his great +surprise, he found her there too, and the same question was put to him as +he descended from the pulpit. "On which," added he "I took for my text +these words, expecting to find my old woman as before: 'I will grant the +request of this poor widow, lest by her often coming, she weary me,'" One +of the company immediately replied, "Why, Sterne, you omitted the most +applicable part of the passage, which is, 'Though I neither fear God nor +regard man.'" + + +Sporting.--Burton, in his "Anatomie of Melancholy," tells us of a physician +in Milan, who kept a house for the reception of lunatics, and by way of +cure, used to make his patients stand for a length of time in a pit of +water, some up to the knees, some up to the girdle, and others as high as +the chin, according as they were more or less affected. An inmate of this +establishment, who happened, for the time to be pretty well recovered, was +standing at the door of the house, and seeing a gallant cavalier ride past +with a hawk on his fist, and his spaniels after him, asked, "What all these +preparations meant?" The cavalier answered, "To kill game." "What may the +game be worth which you kill in the course of a year?" rejoined the +patient. "About five or ten crowns." "And what may your horse, dogs, and +hawks, cost you for a year?" "Four hundred crowns." On hearing this, the +patient, with great earnestness of manner, bade the cavalier instantly +begone, as he valued his life and welfare; "for" said he, "if our master +come and find you here, he will put you into his pit up to the very chin." + + +An American heroine.--During the summer of 1787, writes Mr. McClung, in his +Sketches of Western Adventure, "The house of Mr. John Merrill, of Nelson +County, Kentucky, was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular +address and good fortune. Merrill was alarmed by the barking of a dog about +midnight, and on opening the door in order to ascertain the cause of the +disturbance, he received the fire of six or seven Indians, by which one arm +and one thigh were broken. He instantly sank upon the floor, and called +upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely been done when it was +violently assailed by the tomahawks of the enemy, and a large breach soon +effected. Mrs. Merrill, however, being a perfect amazon, both in strength +and courage, guarded it with an axe, and successively killed or wounded +four of the enemy as they attempted to force their way into the cabin. The +Indians ascended the roof, and attempted to enter by way of the chimney; +but here again they were met by the same determined enemy. Mrs. Merrill +seized the only feather bed which the cabin afforded, and hastily ripping +it open, poured its contents upon the fire. A furious blaze and stifling +smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and brought down two of the enemy, +who lay at her mercy. Seizing the axe she quickly despatched them, and was +instantly afterwards summoned to the door, where the only remaining savage +now appeared, endeavoring to effect an entrance. He soon received a gash in +the cheek, which compelled him, with a loud yell, to relinquish his +purpose, and return hastily to Chillicothe, where, he gave an exaggerated +account of the fierceness, strength, and courage of the 'long knife +squaw!'" + + +Another.--The subject of this anecdote was a sister of General Isaac +Worrell. She died two or three years since in Philadelphia. The following +tribute to her patriotism and humanity, was paid by a New Jersey newspaper, +in July, 1849.--"The deceased was one of those devoted women who aided to +relieve the horrible sufferings of Washington's army at Valley +Forge--cooking and carrying provisions to them alone, through the depth of +winter, even passing through the outposts of the British army in the +disguise of a market woman. And when Washington was compelled to retreat +before a superior force, she concealed her brother, General Worrell--when +the British set a price on his head--in a cider hogshead in the cellar for +three days, and fed him through the bung-hole; the house being ransacked +four different times by the troops in search of him, without success. She +was above ninety years of age at the time of her death." + + +Tyrolese peasant.--During a conflict at the farm of Rainerhof, in the +Tyrolese war, in 1809, a young woman, who resided at the house, brought out +a small cask of wine, with which to encourage and refresh the peasants: she +had advanced to the scene of action, regardless of the tremendous fire of +the Bavarians, carrying the wine upon her head, when a bullet struck the +cask, and compelled her to let it go. Undaunted by this accident, she +endeavoured to repair the mischief, by placing her thumb upon the orifice +caused by the ball; and then encouraged those nearest her to refresh +themselves quickly, that she might not remain in her dangerous situation, +and suffer for her humane generosity to them. + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES *** + +***** This file should be named 15413.txt or 15413.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/1/15413/ + +Produced by Elaine Walker and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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