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was published in 1731, by virtue of which, not only every abuse was to be remedied, but the custom of keep ing Blue Monday abolished entirely. The edict was but little attended to, except in Brandenburg. In many places it was not even promulgated. The emperor Francis renewed it in 1764, and a decree of the empire was paffed to abolish Blue Monday in 1771-2; but notwithstanding this, the old cuftom prevails, and every Monday throughout the year, in most of the German territories, is ftill Blue. In the hereditary dominions of Auf

tria, not only laws have been enfor-
ced, but various other means have been
adopted, for this falutary purpose.
Even in the Univerfity of Gottingen,
in the Hanoverian dominions, where
there is more Aufklarung,
as the
Germans admirably exprefs them
felves, or a higher ftate of refine-
ment, this cuftom is still fo preva-
lent, that I believe I may venture to
affirm, that no journeyman tailor can
be prevailed upon to work on Monday.
by any profpect of reward, but gene-
rally devotes that day to the joys of
Bacchus.

CAR

Anecdotes by Dr Jortin*:

NARDINAL RETZ, as I remember, fays, that going once with the Pope to view a very fine ftatue, his Holinefs fixed his attention entirely upon the fringe at the bottom of the robe: From this the Cardinal concluded, that the Pope was a poor creature. The remark was fhrewd. When you fee an ecclefiaftic in an high station, very zeal ous, and very troublesome about trifles, expect from him nothing great, and nothing good.

Joannes Scotus Erigena was a man of confiderable parts and learning in the ninth century. The emperor Charles the Bald had great esteem for him, and used to invite him to dinner. As they fat together at table, one on each fide, the emperor faid to him, Quid intereft inter Scotum et fotum? In English,-Between a Scot and a fool? Scotus bold replied, Merfa tantum and Charles took it

not amifs.

A man feeing a king's horfe making water in a river, "This creature," faid he," is like his master: he gives

where it is not wanted."

VOL. XII. No. 70.

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Somebody faid to the learned Bignon, "Rome is the feat of faith.""It is true," replied he; "but this faith is like thofe people who are never to be found at home."

Ambrofe Philips, the paftoral writer, was folemn and pompous in converfation. At a coffee-house he was difcourfing upon pictures, and pitying the painters, who in their hiftorical pieces always draw the fame fort of fky. They fhould travel," faid he,

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and then they would fee, that there is a different fky in every country— in England, France, Italy, and fo forth."- "Your remark is just," said a grave gentleman, who fat by:. "I have been a traveller, and can teftify that what you obferve is true: But the greatest variety of skies that I found was in Poland."—" In Poland, Sir?" faid Philips." Yes, in Poland: for there is Sobiefky, and Sarbieufky, and Jablonsky, and Podebrafky, and many more fkies, Sir."

Pope Urban VIII. having received "ill treatment, as he thought, from fome confiderable perfons at Rome, faid, "How ungrateful is this fami

* From "Tracts Philological, Critical, and Miscellaneous."

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I was told many years ago by a friend, that a certain divine of quarrelfome memory, being charged with fomewhat in the Convocation, rofe up to juftify himself, and laying his hand upon his breaft, began thus: "I call God to witness, &c." A brother dig nitary faid to his next neighbour, "Now do I know that this man is going to tell a lie; for this is his ufual preface on all fuch occafions." Afchines (contra Ctefiph.) faid the very fame thing of Demofthenes, who was perpetually embellifhing his orations with oaths. “This man," said he, "never calls the gods to witnefs with more confidence and effrontery, than when he is affirming what is notorioufly falfe."

One of Pere Simon's favourite paradoxes, was his hypothefis of the Rouleaux. He fuppofed that the Hebrews wrote their facred books upon finall sheets of paper, or fomething that ferved for paper; and rolled them up one over another, upon a ftick; and that these fheets, not being faftened together, it came to pass, in procefs of time, that fome of them were loft, and others difplaced. We might as well fuppofe, that the artist, who invented a pair of breeches, had not the wit to find fome method to faften them up; and that men walked for feveral centuries, with their breeches about their heels; till, at length, a genius arofe, who contrived buttons and button-holes.

About the year 1414, Brikman, abbot of St. Michael, being at the council of Conftance, was pitched upon by the prelates to fay mafs, beaufe he was a man of quality. He performed it fo well, that an Italian Cardinal fancied that he must be a Doctor of Divinity, or of Canon Law, and acfired to get acquainted with

hm. He approached, and addrefed himself to him in Latin. The abbot, who knew no Latin, could not anfwer; but, without fhewing any concern, he turned to his own chaplain, and faid, "What fhall I do ? Can you not recollect," faid the chaplain, "the names of the towns and villages in your neighbourhood? Name them to him, and he will think that you talk Greek, and he will leave you." Immediately the abbot anfwered the Cardinal," Starwolt, Hafe, Gifen, BoerfcheRavenftede, Drifpenflede, Itzem." The Cardinal afked if he was a Greek, and the chaplain anfwered, "Yes;"-and then the Italian prelate withdrew.

An old woman, who had fore eyes purchased an amulet, or charm, written upon a bit of parchment, and wore it about her neck,-and was cured. A female neighbour, labouring under the fame diforder, came to beg the charm of her. She would by no means part with it, but permitted her to get it copied out. A poor fchool-boy was hired to do it for a few pence. He looked it over very attentively, and found it to confift of characters which he could not make out: but, not being willing to lose his pay, he wrote thus: "The devil pick out this old woman's eyes, and stuff up the holes.” -The patient wore it about her neck, and was cured also.

Ligniere was a wit, and apt to be rather rough and blunt in converfation. One day a nobleman boafted before him, that he could tofs up cherries in the air, and catch them, as they came down, in his mouth; and accordingly, he began to fhew his fkill. Ligniere had not the patience to ftay for the fecond cherry; but faid to him "What dog taught you that trick?"

The Lacedæmonians were remarkable for concife fpeeches: but after their defeat at Leuctra, their deputies, in an affembly of the Greeks, made a very long and warm invective against Epaminondas, who had beaten them.

He

He stood up, and only replied, "Gen- bibles in the Vatican, if they ad tlemen, I am glad we have brought them to give, for a Bishoprick. you to your fpeech."

Charles II. faid one day to Gregorio Leti," When shall we have your hiftory of the present times ?"—"I know not, Sir," faid he, "what to do about it. A man would find it an hard matter to tell the truth without offending kings and great men, tho' he were as wife as Solomon."- Why then, Signior Gregorio," faid Charles, "be as wife as Solomon, and write proverbs."

66

In former days, a certain Bishop of Ely, heartily hated in his diocefe, had a tranflation to Canterbury. Upon which a Monk fuck up this dif. tich, on the doors of his cathedral of Ely, in Leonine verfes,-the best of the kind that I ever met with :

Exultant Cæli, tranfit quod Simon ab Eli :
Cujus ob adventum flent in Kent millia cen-

tum.

On the deceafe of a certain great man, not much beloved, the following was found, infcribed in chalk, upon the valves of his coach-houfe door: "He that giveth unto the poor, lendeth unto the Lord. N. B. The Lord oweth this man nothing."

Sixtus the Fourth, having a great efteem for John Weffel, of Groeningen, one of the most learned men of the age, fent for him, and faid to him, "Son, afk of us what you will; nothing fhall be refufed, that becomes our character to beftow, and your condition to receive."-" Molt holy father," faid he, "and my generous patron, I fhall not be troublesome to your Holinefs. You know that I never fought after great things. The only fayour I have to beg, is, that you would give me out of your Vatican library, a Greek and a Hebrew bible." "You fhall have them," faid Sixtus, "but what a fimple man are you! Why do you not afk a bishoprick?" Weffel replied, "Becaufe I do not want one !" The happier man was he happier than they, who would give all the

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The Cappadocians refuled liberty, when offered to them by the Romans, and obliged the Senate to give them a king; faying, as the Ifraelites of old did to Samuel, Nay, but we will have a king over us. Such are the peafants of Livonia; they are flaves to the cobility, who drub them without mercy. Stephen Batori, King of Poland, commiferating their wretched fate, offered to deliver them from this cruel tyrrany, and to change their baftinadoes into flight fines. The peafants could not bear a propofition tending to deftroy fo ancient and venerable a cuftom, and most humbly befought the king, that he would pleafe to make no innovations." See Bibl. Univ. IV. 161.

Pylades, the comedian, being re primanded by the Emperor Augaitus, becaufe tumults and factions were railed in Rome upon his account, by thofe who favoured him, in oppofition to other actors, replied, "It is your intereft, Caefar, that the people fhould bufythemfelves and fquabble about."

Father Morinus, as Simon tells us, had made a collection of all the rude and fcurrilous language to be found in ancient and claffical anthors, to ierve him upon occafion. There is a lidicrous curfe in Plautus: Tu ut oculos emungaris ex capite per nafum tuos !” "I wish you may blow your eyes out at your nose."

That rhetoric, fays Selden, is beft, which is most seasonable and catching. We have an instance in that old blunt commander at Cadiz, who showed himfelf a good orator. Being to fay fomething to his foldiers (which he was not ufed to do) he made them "What a a fpeech to this purpose: fhame will it be to you, Englishmen, who feed upon good beef, to let thofe Spaniards beat you, that live upon oranges and lemons !"

Dr. B. once wanted to fell a good. for-nothing horfe; and mounted him,

to

to fhew him to the beft advantage: but he performed his part fo very for rily, that the perfon with whom he was driving the bargain, faid, "My dear friend, when you want to impofe upon me, do not get up on horfeback: get up into the pulpit.'

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Bayle, enumerating the new taxes invented by Louis XIV and the uncouth names by which they went, fays, "Here are words, admirably fuited to impoverish fubjects, and to enrich dictionaries."

When Charles V. (fays a Spanish hiftorian) fled before Maurice of Saxony, and hurried from Infpruck on foot, he walked after his retinue, to teftify his courage; and bade them double their pace, faying, "Haften away, and be not afraid of a traitor, who hath wickedly rebelled against his prince." If it be true that Charles

faid thus, to hearten his men, and encourage them to run for it, he followed the maxim of Sandoval, his Cronicador, who puts at the head of one of his chapters,

"Los Spanoles vittoriofos fe ne fuyeron.The victorious Spaniards ran away, &c.

We are informed by Rabelais, B. IV. Ch. VIII. that Panurge, in a voyage at fea, had a quarrel with a merchant, who carried a flock of sheep to fell. The paffengers interpofed, and made them shake hands and drink together. Panurge, ftill meditating revenge, fo contrives it by a ftratagem, as to drown all the theep, and the merchant along with them and, rejoicing over his exploit, fays to his companion, Friar John, "Hear this from me: No man ever did me a difpleasure, without repenting of it, cither in this world, or in the next."

SIR,

To the Publisher.

N private life, I have often obferved, that afking advice is become a mere matter of form, and fignifies no more than asking pardon, or faying, How do you do? to a perfon paffing fo rapidly along, as not to be able to give an anfwer. It is a genteel way of letting your friends know, that although you are perfectly well-bred, and will ask advice as far as politenefs requires, yet you have more sense than to be fo unftable or unrefolved, as not to know of your felf what is proper to be done. And hence it is, that fo many people afk advice about a matter which is already decided, and propofe a queftion to which they have already given an irrevocable answer. Such are many of those grave confolations about marriage, when one party waits upon his friend, tells him he has thoughts of marriage, and begs to know what his

The friend,

opinion is of Mifs thinking this a proper time to fpeak his mind freely, informs the enquirer, that Mifs

is not the fort of woman he could recommend, that the has too much levity to make a prudent wife; that she has been brought up in notions above her fortune; and that her extravagance and coquetry in the fingle ftate have been pretty notorious; and that he therefore would diffuade the Inquirer from all thoughts of fuch a match-But what is all this to the purpofe? The Inquirer has been married a fortnight!

Billy Teazem is one of thofe who act with fuch extreme caution as to advife with every man, woman, and child, they fee. But Billy is fo fond of a good bargain in his purchases, that he makes the bargain firft, and confults about it afterwards. His friends now know his difpofition fo

well,

well, that when he afks them their advice about fuch a fcheme, they know for certain he has already embarked in it, and amufe him accordingly. When he has a large fum of money at his banker's, he goes and confults one friend about the purchase of an estate, another about the purchase of fome houfes, a third about a venture in trade, a fourth about buying Navy Bilis, a fifth about a dafh at the Lottery-and when he has heard all, gravely depofits the whole in the three per cent. confolidated funds. — Billy has, indeed, now tried out the patience of every friend he knows; and the other day, when he expreffed his very high opinion of a lady he had been in company with, and hinted that he would make an excelent wife, I wished him joy of his marriage!

Mr Doubtful is another of thofe gentlemen who afk advice with the moft perfect deference to their own opinion. He is a deep thinker, and what is very fingular, never feems to waver in his opinion, until he is fully determined. He has two fons, whole progrefs in life he has watched with due parental anxiety. Long puzzled what trade to put the eldest to, he confulted a bookfeller, a printer, a merchant, a grocer, a broker, a banker, and a painter-they al gave him their best advice, and he bound the lad an apprentice to a linen-draper !

for the navy, army, Jamaica, or the Company's fervice at Bengal. His father confulted befides with everyperfon he could meet with who had been in any of the above fervices, and when every body thought the boy was ready to go abroad, and the only doubt was whether he was to wear a red or a blue coat, his father fent him to Cambridge, to be brought up to the Church!

With regard to the advice on matrimony, it has long been the practice to delay afking that, until it is too late to take it. Indeed the man who afks a friend whether he ought to pay his addreffes to a certain lady, may be confidered as already more than half refolved on the match; for, as an old humourist of my acquaintance often remarks, Matrimony is one of thofe plans which does not admit of coolnefs in the execution."

Thefe inftances of an anxiety for afking advice, and a determination not to take it, are very common in our days, particularly among the yours. With them, indeed, giving advice is ranked among thofe infults which a man of honour cannot put up with; indeed what greater infult can be offered to a man of honour, who is just about to do fome dirty action, than to whisper in his ear-" Sir, let me advife you to confider what you are about.”—Such an infult would as certainly produce a duel, as giving the The fecond fon puzzled him yet lie, of which, in fact, it is a ipecics.more; the boy was rather wild, and So intemperate and hally are most untractable. He had thus far a fpice young men in the actions of their lives, of the father in him, that he heard a that their paffions irrevocably fix the great deal of good advice without decifion which prudence would have taking any. What to do with him prevented. To fuch young men, how Mr Doubtful knew not-He took the ever, it may be hinted, that prudence opinion of a Captain of the navy, of a is a neceffry ingredient in all actions Lieutenant of the army, of a Weft that are great and good, and that inIndia Planter, and a Director of the finite wifdom only can be confidered Eaft India Company, who all pro- fuperior to the inftructions of experi mifed their affiftance to fit out the lad ence.

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