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Prynne's writings did indeed cost him his ears, and something more; but the punishments so barbarously heaped upon him, and Burton and Bastwick, became burning coals on the head of Laud, and contributed more than any other single circumstance to the execution of that prelate, and the march of the revolution which brought his royal master also to the scaffold.

LXXXVII. THE TRIPARTITE EMPIRE.

JEAN PAUL RICHTER said, that the French had the dominion of the land, the English of the sea, and the Germans of the air.

LXXXVIII. AS RICH AS A JEW.

"WE are apt to say in a proverbial way, 'as rich as a Jew;' but the Jews, take them in general, are not a rich people. There have been always some few among them that were immensely wealthy, and it was from the observation of these that the observation arose."-Pegge.

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The learned antiquary is probably mistaken in his explanation; for had the reason been the one which he assigns, namely, the great wealth of a few, it would have been far more natural to say 66 as rich as a lord," or, 66 rich as a duke." The truth seems to be, that as the Jews long monopolised the trades of bill-broker, moneychanger, &c., the vulgar, dazzled by the large quantity of specie possessed by such persons, by a very natural mistake confounded capital with income; and because a Jew usurer had more ready money than the first nobleman in the land, they imagined him to be more opulent; though the money constituted the whole capital of the former, and only a part of the revenue of the latter.

LXXXIX. SISTER LANGUAGES.

We do not recollect where we met with the following antithesis, but it seems just as well as elegant :

"Ce sont deux sœurs que la langue Italienne et l'Espagnole; celle-ci est la prude, et l'autre la coquette."

XC. OLD BARBERS.

A DIALOGUE IN 1583.

The Speakers are Theodorus and Amphilogus.

Theod.-WHAT say you of the barbers and trimmers of men? are they so neate, and so fine fellowes as they are said to be?

Amphil.-There are no finer fellowes under the sunne, nor experter in their noble science of barbing than they be; and therefore, in the fulness of their overflowing knowledge, (oh! ingenious heads, and worthie to be dignified with the diademe of follie and vain curiositie !) they have invented such strange fashions and monstrous manners of cuttings, trimmings, shavings, and washings, that you would wonder to see. They have one maner of cut called the French cut, another the Spanish cut; one the Dutch cut, another the Italian; one the newe cut, another the old; one the bravado fashion, another of the meane fashion; one a gentleman's cut, another the common cut; one cut of the court, another of the country; with infinite the like vanities, which I overpasse. They have also other kinds of cuts innumerable; and therefore when you come to be trimed they will aske you whether you will be cut to looke terrible to your enemie, or amiable to your freend; grime and sterne in countenance, or pleasant and demure (for they have divers kinds of cuts for all these purposes, or else they lie). Then when they have done all their feats, it is a world to consider how their mowchatowes must be preserved and laid out, from one

cheke to another, yea almost from one eare to another, and turned up like two hornes towards the forehead. Besides that, when they come to the cutting of the haire, what snipping and snapping of the cycers is there; what tricking and trimming, what rubbing, what scratching, what combing and clawing, what trickling and toying, and all to tawe out money, you may be sure. And

when they come to washing, oh! how gingerly they behave themselves therein; for then shall your mouth be bossed with the lather or fome that riseth of the balles (for they have their sweete balles wherewithall they use to washe); your eyes closed must be anointed therewith also. Then snap go the fingers; ful bravely, God wot. Thus, this tragedy ended, comes me warme clothes to wipe and dry him withall; next the eares must be picked, and closed togither againe artificially forsooth; the hair of nostrils cut away, and every thing done in order comely to behold. The last action in this tragedie is the paiment of monie. And least these cunning barbers might seeme unconscionable in asking much for their paines, they are of such a shamefast modestie, as they will aske nothing at all, but, standing to the curtesie and liberaltie of the giver, they will receive all that comes, how much soever it be, not giving anie againe, I warrant you; for take a barber with that fault, and strike off his head. No, no, such fellowes are Rare in terris, nigrisque simillimi cygnis,-Rare birds upon the earth, and as geason as black swans. You shall have also your Orient perfumes for your nose, your fragrant waters for your face, wherewith you shall bee all to besprinkled: your musicke againe, and pleasant harmonie shall sound in your eares, and all to tickle the same with vaine delight. And in the end your cloke shall be brushed, and, God be with you, gentleman!

Theod.-All these curious conceits, in my judgement, are rather done for to allure and provoke the minds of men to be bountifull and liberall towards them, than for any good else which they bring either to the bodie or health of man.

Amphil.-True it is that you say; and therefore you

must needes thinke they are maisters of their science that can invent all these knacks to get money withall. But yet I must needs say (these nisities set apart) barbers are verie necessarie, for otherwise men should grow verie ougglisom and deformed, and their haire would in processe of time overgrowe their faces, rather like monsters, than comlie sober Christians. And if it be said that any man may cut off the haire one of another, I answer, they may so, but yet not in such comlie and decent manner as these barbers exercised therein can doe; and besides, they knowe that a decorum in everie thing is to be observed. And therefore I cannot but marvell at the beastliness of some ruffians (for they are no sober Christians) that will have their haire to grow over their faces like monsters and savage people, nay, rather like madmen than otherwise, hanging downe over their shoulders, as women's haire doth; which indeed is an ornament to them, being given as a sign of subjection, but in man it is a shame and reproach, as the Apostle proveth. And thus much of barbers and their science." —Anatomie of Abuses, &c. made dialoguewise by Phillip Stubbes. Mr. d'Israeli calls Stubbes a 66 morose puritan ;" but in good truth Master Phill is a very amusing fellow.

XCI. USE OF GLASS IN THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH AND JAMES I.

WITH A BIT OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

"Ir is a world to see in these our days, wherein gold and silver most aboundeth, how that our gentilitie, as lothing those mettals (because of the plenty) do now rather choose Venice glass. The poorest also will have glass if they may, but sith the Venetian is somewhat too deer for them, they content themselves with such as are made at home of ferne and burned stone; but in fine all go one way, that is, to shards, at the last; so that our great expenses in glasses (beside that they breed much

strife toward such as have the charge of them) are worst of all bestowed in mine opinion, because their peeces do turn unto no profit. If the philosopher's stone were once found, and one part hereof mixed with forty of molten glass, it would induce such a metallicall toughness thereunto, that a fall should nothing hurt in such manner: yet it might peradventure bunch or batter it; nevertheless that inconvenience were quickelie to be redressed by the hammer. But whither am I slipped?"-Holinshed, Description of England.

During the reign of the sapient James, the use of glass vessels became still more extensive; but the art of making them still remained matter of wonderment to Englishmen. In a letter written to his brother from Venice, and dated June, 1621, James Howell saith,

"The art of glass-making here is very highly valued, for whosoever be of that profession are gentlemen ipso facto; and it is not without reason, it being a rare kind of knowledge and chymistry to transmute dust and sand (for they are the only main ingredients) to such a diaphonous pellucid dainty body as you see a crystal glass is, which hath this property above gold, or silver, or any other mineral, to admit no poison;* as also, that it never wastes or loses a whit of its first weight, tho' you use it never so long. When I saw so many sorts of curious glasses made here, I thought upon the compliment which a gentleman put upon a lady in England, who, having five or six comely daughters, said, He never saw in his life such a dainty cupboard of crystal glasses. The compliment proceeds, it seems, from a saying they have here, That the first handsome woman that ever was made, was made of Venice glass; which implies beauty, but brittleness withal (and Venice is not unfurnished with some of that mould, for no place abounds more with lasses and glasses). * * But when I pry'd into the materials,

*

*A superstitious notion long prevailed that a pure Venetian glass would crack or burst to pieces if poison were put into it. This was a good way of keeping up their price when poisoning was common.

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