from a convent in Lisle, by the person they met alone in the canoe, and carried to America; that the cause of his occupying the island was his extreme jealousy; that he rigorously restrained her from going anywhere from it, and had refused to allow her to visit a wife of one of the settlers, who had made a request to that purpose. How strange that such feelings should pervade a man among the wilds of the forest; that he should not think the being on whom he has placed his earthly affection, secure in a solitary isle, which holds but her and himself for its inhabitants !-(From an old memorandum book of one of the party.) THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM's VISIT TO CAMBRIDGE. Letter from Mr. Mead to Sir M. Stuteville. Worthy Sir, Christ College, 10, 1626-7. OUR Chancellor sat on Saturday in the Regent House, in a master of arts' gown and habit, cap and hood; spoke two words of Latin, placet and admittitur. Bishop Lond was incorporated. The earl of Denbigh, lord Imbercourt, lord Rochefort, (Miles de Malta) Mr. Edward Somerset, nephew to the earl of Worcester, Mr. Craven, and Mr. Walter Montague, were made masters of art; though I think my lord Imbercourt needed no more but to be incorporated. His grace dined at Trinity College, had banquets at divers colleges, King's, St. John's, Clare-Hall, &c. He was on the tops of King's College chapel, but refused to have his foot imprinted there, as too high for him. He was wonderful courteous to all scholars of any condition, both in the Regent House, where every one that came in had his grace's congée, and in the town as he walked, if a man did but stir his hat, he should not lose his labour. He professed himself our humble servant; that coming down to do his duty to his master, he could not but come to do his service to us; but he could not stay long, because the watch stood still till he returned to wind it up; and so he went back that night. Dr. Paske, out of his familiarity, must needs carry him to see a new library they are building at Clare-Hall, notwithstanding it was not yet furnished with books; but by good chance, being an open room, two women were gotten thither to see his grace out of the windows; but when the duke came thither were unexpectedly surprised. "Mr. Doctor," quoth the duke when he saw them, you have here a fair library, but here are two books not very well bound." I think I have told you enough. 66 Harleian MSS. 293. EASTERN HYPERBOLE. THE hyperbolical compliments of the Orientals have long been matter of derision to the more cool and calculating nations of Europe; and that which would be considered as bombast with us, passes in the East as ordinary phraseology. Nothing but a sense of deference to the genius of the climate could have dictated the following advertisement, which appeared in the Madras Gazette of May 23, 1807. "Advertisement.-To that lady on whom nature has been lavish in her gifts; whose amiable person and beauteous form receive redoubled lustre from the infinitely more estimable endowments of a truly noble and generous soul. To her, whose personal accomplishments are embellished and adorned with a disposition of mind that is loveliness intermingled with real dignity; and to her whose every talent leads to fortune, teaches her to know its value only as it ought to be known, and affixes her in that sphere of being, whose every movement discovers and places her above it. You will, perhaps, conclude, noble fair, that the youth whose mind searches after and aspires to an alliance of this nature, will regard wealth and rank as but of secondary consideration; if so, madam, your inference is pronounced right, is just; the native grandeur of your soul, and its favour (with that of her God) will ever be his first and great concern to deserve; do not, therefore, consider this as held for their idle sport, or view it in any light than that of the most honourable; for every information respecting the gentleman will be made known, on application, through whatever channel she will do him the honour to adopt, and that in a manner frank and unreserved; his miniature will not be denied. He trusts and doubts not from his character, but she will be equally ingenuous on her part. He also begs that mere punctilios, or a too nice notion of female delicacy, will not cause her to remain silent to this public call; but that (as may be expected) she will shew herself above the generality of the sex, neither (as is sure to be the case with a mind thus endowed, amiable and liberal) persuade herself that she is not the one he is in quest of; that she can make but a pitiful comparison with a character of such perfection, as he would be most ready to tell such she certainly must! The gentleman, rather than say any thing of himself, will refer the lady to whomsoever she will please to name, as it may better become such to speak on the subject. All unmeaning applications, &c. will be treated with marked contempt. The lady may address her letter to the gentleman, sealing and directing it to be left at the office of this paper. P. S. A stranger begs leave to say, the gentleman is handsome in person, unexceptionable in mind, and a man of birth and fortune." DRAWING INFERENCES. GREECE claimed for herself the honour of being the birthplace of legislation, while Rome was equally ambitious to have the credit of a greater obedience to laws than any of the surrounding nations. The ambition of the latter was better founded than the pretensions of the former. For what are the value of laws without their observance? The Romans resorted for a copy of the laws of Solon, to make a selection from them for their own government; but they did them even more honour than the Athenians, for what they adopted from them they rigidly observed. In the "Specho delle Scienza," a book written by L. Fioravant, a very curious anecdote is recorded concerning this request of the Romans. On their arrival, the Roman ambassadors, having explained the cause of their journey to Athens, the great council was convened to consider of their request. After mature deliberation, the Areopagus determined to send a person to Rome, of known abilities and wisdom, to ascertain whether the Romans merited the honour of the laws of Solon, on account of their intellectual abilities. If the enquiry should establish the negative, the ambassador was to bring the laws back again without communicating them to any one. This resolution of the Athenian court was soon known at Rome, notwithstanding the secresy with which it was attended. The Romans were greatly embarrassed, because they had no person qualified to encounter a wise man of Greece. The senate resolved in their wisdom to oppose a fool to the wise man of Greece, rightly judging, that if the fool should happen to get the better, the glory of Rome would receive no small enhancement, when it should be discovered that an idiot of Rome had confounded a philosopher of Greece; and if the latter should get the better, the Athenians would acquire small fame in having confounded an idiot at Rome. The Athenian ambassador, on arriving at Rome, was immediately conducted to the capitol, and introduced into an apartment very splendidly furnished, where the fool was seated upon a sofa, attired in the dress of a senator. He had in the meanwhile been enjoined silence, in the most authoritative manner. The Grecian philosopher was informed, that the person to whom he was to be introduced was a senator remarkable for his wisdom, but at the same time very reserved, and a man of few words. The Athenian, therefore, upon his entrance, held up one of his fingers, without speaking a single word. The idiot, thinking that this implied a threat from the philosopher that he would put out one of his eyes, and recollecting that he must not speak, held up his three fingers, intimating, that if the Greek threatened to put out one of his eyes, he would put out both of the Greek's, and would choak him with the third finger. The philosopher, who intended, by holding up one finger, to shew the unity of the Supreme Being, thought that the three fingers intimated that the past, present, and future, are the same to the Deity, and concluded from hence that the man who was really a fool was a man of consummate knowledge. He next opened his hand and shewed it to the simple fellow, thereby intending to shew, that nothing was hidden from God; but the fool, taking this for an offer to give him a box upon the ear, presented his fist, clenched, to the philosopher, signifying, that if he persisted in putting his threats in execution, he would give him a Rowland for an Oliver. The Greek, upon the other hand, prejudiced in favour of the fool, interpreted it in a manner quite different, and imagined that the Roman meant, by his attitude, that God holds the universe in his hand. Judging from hence of the profound wisdom of the Romans, he, without any farther enquiry, granted them a copy of the laws of Solon, as they had requested.* "JOCKIE IS GROWNE A GENTLEMAN." AMONG the most rare ballads in the English language, is one entitled, "Jockie is growne a Gentleman." It is a satire levelled against the numerous train of Scotch adventurers who emigrated to England in the reign of James the first, in the full expectation of being distinguished by the particular favour and patronage of their native sovereign. So much, indeed, was the king annoyed with these supplicants, that he issued a proclamation at Edinburgh, dated 10th of May, 1610, stating, that the daily resort of idle persons, of base sort and condition, was not only very unpleasant and offensive to his majesty, since he was daily importuned with their suits and begging, and his royal court almost filled with them, (they being, in the conceit of all beholders, but "idle rascals and poor miserable bodies,") but their country was heavily disgraced by it, and many slanderous imputations given out against the same, as if there were no persons" of good rank, comeliness, or credit, within it;" therefore it was ordered, that no captains of ships should transport any passenger to England without license of the Privy Council. The following song of "Jockie is growne a Gentleman," is not only humorous, but gives an interesting picture of the national prejudices, as well as the costume of our ancestors. Well met, Jockie, whither away? Ha, ha, ha, by sweet St. Ann, This is the original, doubtless, of an amusing story, under the title of "the Professor of Signs," in Mr. M'Diarmid's Scrap Book. The Grecian sage is there converted into a learned traveller, in the reign of James the first; the senate of Rome into the senatus academicus of Aberdeen; the three fingers into a symbol of the Trinity, &c. Such is the course of local appropriation to which all good stories are subjected.-EDITOR. |