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phisboena, such as, we can at least venture to assert, is not common in our southern climate; or of the glee, where three or four voices sing in concert,

"Grave on my tomb, when there I'm laid,

Here lies one who lov'd but one dear maid."

Finally, (for we have reached the last page) we would remind the author that the world in general cares, but little for the Glasgow magistrates or their civic feasts, which seem such a greedy subject of local allusion on the opposite bank of the Tweed. That the corporation in question is a most respectable body of men, and equal or superior in good taste to their university, we make no doubt, but confess ourselves totally uninterested in their lime punch, their turtle, and their indigestions; nor do we conceive that they will feel themselves much obliged to the author for dragging such matters to light, or to a dying them in a strain so dubiously worded between compliment and banter, as, though closing with the puff direct, must leave somewhat of an aigre-doux flavour on their palates, as bad as a surfeit of the said boasted punch. We trust that Mr. G. will avoid in future faults of this description, which, though excusable in his earlier productions, are misplaced and offensive in a work like the present, destined, as we may pretty confidently predict, to rank as an English classic.

ART. X. Relics of Literature. By Stephen Collet, A.M. 8vo. pp 418. 15s. Boys. 1823.

FEW Compilers of Adversaria, it might be imagined, could transcribe their common place-book for the press, without producing a volume in which the entertaining should predominate over the dull. It would be harsh to say that Mr. Collet must be content to take his stand among these few; but certainly, in spite of his decorated title and sharp-typed pages (two merits in which we shall be glad to see him often imitated), we do not meet with much in his collections with which we have not met before; and we do meet with some things with which we never wish to meet again. We shall proceed to make free with a few, which we think can amuse our readers; who therefore must expect us to be as

desultory, rambling, and discursive as is the theme which we have taken in hand.

We begin with a very beautiful madrigal by Lodge, printed, as is believed, from an "unique edition" (though we do not quite know what these words mean) of his poems.

"Love in my bosom, like a bee,
Doth sucke his sweete;

Now with his wings he plays with me,
Now with his feete.

"Within mine eyes he makes his nest,
His bed amid my tender breast;
My kisses are his daily feast,
And yet he robs me of my rest.

"Strike I my lute-he tunes the string,
He music plays, if I do sing;
He lends me every living thing,
Yet cruel he my heart doth sting.

"What, if I beat the wanton boy
With many a rod,

He will repay me with annoy,
Because a god.

"Then sit thou safely on my knee,
And let thy bower my bosom be;
O Cupid! so thou pity me,

I will not wish to part from thee."

P. 7.

In the Lansdowne Library, to which Mr. Collet is much indebted, is a copy of Burnet's History of his own Times, with marginal notes in Swift's hand writing. Those given below are sufficiently characteristic.

"P. 28. Burnet. The earl of Argyle was a more solemn sort of man, grave and sober, and free of all scandalous vices.'-Swift. 'As a man is free of a corporation, he means.'

"P. 49. Burnet. I will not enter farther into the military part; for I remember an advice of Marshal Schomberg, never to meddle in military matters. His observation was, 'Some affected to relate those affairs in all the terms of war, in which they committed great errors, that exposed them to the scorn of all commanders, whomust despise relations that pretend to exactness, when there were blunders in every part of them.'-Swift. Very foolish advice, for soldiers cannot write."

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"P. 5. Burnet. Upon the king's death, the Scots proclaimed his son king, and sent over Sir George Wincan, that married my great aunt, to treat with him while he was in the Isle of Jersey.— Swift. 'Was that the reason why he was sent ?'

"P. 63. Burnet. (Speaking of the Scotch preachers in the time of the civil wars.) The crowds were far beyond the capacity of their churches or the reach of their voices.'-Swift. And the preaching beyond the capacity of the crowd. I believe the church had as much capacity as the minister.'

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"P. 163. Burnet. (Speaking of Paradise Lost.) It was esteemed the beautifullest and perfectest poem that ever was writ, at least in our language.'-Swift. A mistake! for it is in English.' "P. 189. Burnet. Patrick was esteemed a great preacher, **but a little too severe against those who differed from him*He became afterwards more moderate.'-Swift. Yes, for he turned a rank whig.'

"P. 263. Burnet. And yet, after all, he (K. Charles II.) never treated her (Nell Gwyn) with the decencies of a mistress.'-Swift. Pray what decencies are those?'

"P. 327. Burnet. It seems, the French made no great account of their prisoners, for they released 25,000 Dutch for 50,000 crowns.'-Swift. 'What! ten shillings a-piece! By much too dear for a Dutchman.'

"P. 483. Burnet. I laid open the cruelties of the church of Rome in queen Mary's time, which were not then known; and I aggravated, though very truly, the danger of falling under the power of that religion.'-Swift. A BULL!'

"P. 525. Burnet. Home was convicted on the credit of one evidence. Applications, 'tis true, were made to the duke of York for saving his life: but he was not born under a pardoning planet.' Swift. Silly fop!'

"P. 586. Burnet. Baille suffered several hardships and fines, for being supposed to be in the Rye-house plot; yet during this he seemed so composed, and ever so cheerful, that his behaviour looked like the revival of the spirit of the noblest Greeks and Romans.'-Swift. Take notice, he was our cousin.'

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"P. 727. Burnet. I come now to the year 1688, which proved memorable, and produced an extraordinary and unheard of revolution.'-Swift. The devil's in that! Sure all Europe heard

of it.'

"P. 752. Burnet. (Doubting the legitimacy of the pretender, and describing the queen's manner of lying-in.) All this while the queen lay in bed; and in order, to the warming one side of it, a warming pan was brought; but it was not opened, that it might be seen whether there was any fire in it.'-Swift. This, the ladies say, is very foolish."

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"P. 799. Burnet. When I had the first account of king James's flight, I was affected with this dismal reverse of fortune in

a great prince, more than I think fit to express.'-Swift. Or than I will believe." P. 113.

The following are said to be extracts from a few mutilated leaves of manuscript, which fell accidentally into Mr. Collet's hands. They are fragments of a diary, kept by a resident in London, about half a century back. "One line on the spot," says Burns, when writing to a friend, " is worth a cart-load of recollection;" there is an air of life and reality about the hasty memorandum, put down by an observant man at the moment of a transaction, which is never to be transferred to the more elaborate portraiture of the after-historian: and such is eminently the case with the unknown journalist.

"1771, June 27.-Went to see the Maid of Bath performed for the first time, at the Haymarket theatre. Saw there lord Lyttleton, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Doctor Johnson, Garrick, and Goldsmith. In that part of the play, where the friends of old Sir Solomon Flint are endeavouring to disabuse him of his passion for the heroine, and warning him of the expences that will attend his wedding, 'you must have,' says Billy Button, (who, by-the-bye, is intended to represent a Mr. Ga taylor, at Bath,) new liveries, and a new wardrobe, if you go with your bride to London; for every body there judges of people according to their appearance.' 'Aye! Aye!' replies Sir Solomon, I don't mind that: I can have a wardrobe at a very reasonable rate; for you must know, the parson who is come down here to marry us, is a great patriot, a profound politician; he was some time ago a fine gentleman; but having met with some misfortunes at Paris, was obliged to leave several laced suits of cloaths in pawn, at that metropolis, which he has promised to let me have upon the most moderate terms. So that I shall make a figure very cheaply with the parson's finery.'

"This smart allusion to parson Horne, and his Parisian follies, was so well taken by the audience, that after several loud bursts of applause, they would not suffer the piece to go on 'till the passage was repeated.'

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1771, July. The lord mayor, aldermen, &c. went to St. James's, to present their new address, remonstrance, and petition to the king. One of the noblemen in attendance asked one of the aldermen, what the citizens meant by their present visit? The alderman answered, 'To open the king's eyes, and let him see who are his enemies. Why then,' replied the lord, have you left Mr. Wilkes behind you?''

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"August 15.-Much talk of a proposition, which one of the ministers is said to have made to the king, to assemble the parliament next winter, at Oxford, should there be any likelihood of a repetition of the late popular disturbances. His majesty was very

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angry with the author of this advice, and replied warmly, that a rabble should never drive him from the metropolis of his kingdom."

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September. A ship, arrived from Davis's Straits this season, brings advice that she sailed so far up the Pole, that the magnetic compass had no power; and that she then came to an open broad calm sea, where there was not the least appearance of ice or land.”

"January 22.-Died in Emanuel hospital, Mrs. Wyndymore, cousin of Mary, queen of William III. as well as of queen Anne. Strange revolution of fortune! that the cousin of two queens should, for fifty years, be supported by charity!

"January 31.-Died, Henry Cromwell, esq. great grandson of Oliver Cromwell, of illustrious memory."

"April 28.-Died, at Mile End, the goat which had been twice round the world; first in the Dolphin, Capt. Wallis, then in the Endeavour, Capt. Cook. She was shortly to have been removed to Greenwich Hospital, to have spent the remainder of her days under the protection of those worthy veterans, who there enjoy an honourable retirement. She wore on her neck a splendid collar, on which was engraved the following distich, said to have been written by the ingenious and learned Dr. Samuel Johnson :

"Perpetui ambita bis terra præmia lactis
Hæc habet, altrici capra secunda Jovis."

P. 304.

Our short notice of this volume must be concluded by a few remarkable and amusing blunders which Mr. Collet has treasured up in the course of his reading. There is a " Treatise on the Signs of the Ancients," published by a writer named Nicolai, in the year 1706. One of the learned scribes in Dr. Rees' Cyclopoedia, under the article Stenography, observes that this art was first introduced "at Nicolai." He had probably somewhere seen, that in Nicolai the whole art was to be found, and without enquiring further he naturally enough created a place out of a man; even as he afterwards speaks of a book (Ars Scribendi Characteres)" printed about the year 1412," that is nearly forty good years before the discovery of the black art, whether the praise of its invention belong to Fust, Mentel, Koster, or Guttemburgh.

Moreri, from whom we should not expect the mistake, speaks of one Dorus Basilicus, as a well-known author. Another French writer, having observed the dearth of police intelligence in our newspapers, when the report of Parliamentary debates prevents it from finding room, draws the following sapient deduction : "Such is the respect of the English for their Parliament, that when it is sitting, crimes

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