Reader, if such be term'd a Puritan,

God made me wise, and thee an honest man.

Extracted From "A Dialogue, wherein is plainly layd open the tyrannicall dealing of Lord Bishops against Gods Children, Published by the worthy Gentleman, Dr. Martin Mar-Prelat, Doctor in all the Faculties, Primat and Metropolitan, Reprinted in the Time of the Parliament, A. D. 1640. 4to."

CXXI. A SERMON ON THE WORD "MALT" PREACHED

IN AN HOLLOW TREE.

The Reverend Mr Dodd, a very worthy minister who lived a few miles from Cambridge, had rendered himself obnoxious to many Cantabs by frequently preaching against drunkenness : several of whom meeting him on a journey determined to make him preach in an hollow tree, which was near the road side.

Accordingly, addressing him with great apparent politeness, they asked him if he had not lately preached much against drunkenness. On his replying in the affirmative, they insisted that he should now preach from a text of their choosing. In vain did he remonstrate on the unreasonableness of expecting him to preach without study, and in such a place: they were determined to take no denial, and the word Malt was given him by way of text, on which he immediately delivered himself as follows.

BELOVED! Let me crave your attention. I am a little man, come at a short warning to preach a short sermon, from a short subject, in an unworthy pulpit, to a small congregation.

BELOVED, my text is Malt: I cannot divide it into words, it being but one, nor into syllables, it being but one; I must of necessity therefore divide it into letters, which I find to be these four, MA L T.

My beloved, M is Moral; A is Allegorical; L Litteral; T Theological. The Moral is set forth to teach you drunkards good manners: therefore M Masters, A All of you, L Listen, T To my text. The Allegorical is when one thing is spoken and another meant. Th thing spoken of is Malt, the thing meant is the juice of Malt, which you Cantabs make your M Master, A your Apparel, L your Liberty, and T your Trust. The Theological is according to the effects that it works, and these I find to be of two kinds: first in this world, Secondly in the world to come. The effects, that it works in this world, are in some M Murder, in others A Adultery, in all L looseness of manners, in some T Treason. The effects it works in the world to come, are M Misery, A Anguish, L Lamentation, and T Torment, and so much for this time and text.

I shall improve this first by way of exhortation. M Masters A All of you, L Leave off, T Tippling. Or secondly, by way of excommunication: M Masters, A All of you, L Look for T Torment. Thirdly by way of caution. Take this: a drunkard is the annoyance of modesty, the spoil of civility, the destruction of reason, the brewer's agent, the alehouse's benefactor, his wife's sorrow, his children's trouble, his own shame, his neighbour's scoff, a walking swill bowl, the picture of a beast, and the monster of a man. Now to God, &c.

He then concluded in the usual form, and the young men, pleased with his ingenuity, not only sincerely thanked him, but absolutely profited more by his short and whimsical sermon than by any serious discourse they had ever heard.

CXXII. EPIGRAM ON ELPHINSTONE'S TRANSLATION OF MARTIAL'S EPIGRAMS:

O Thou, whom poetry abhors,

Whom prose has turned out of doors,

Poems ascribed to R. Burns, the Ayrshire Bard, Not contained in any Edition of his Works hitherto published, Glasgow, 1801, 8vo. p. 54.

CXXIII. Suetonius.

Dr Philemon Holland, the translator of Livy, Pliny, and Suetonius, had this epigram written on him,

Philemon with's Translations doth so fill us,

He will not let SUETONIUS be TRANQUILLUS.

JOHN AUBREY'S Letters written by Eminent Persons, LOND. 1813. V. 2. P. 2. p. 397.

CXXIV. Erskine-Buckles.

One of the happiest hits ever made at the Bar was made at ERSKINE in the days of his renown. He was arguing on a patent right relative to some new kind of buckles; his opponent, MINGAY, strongly contended that the invention was worth nothing. Erskine started up, and said in a solemn tone:—′ I said, and say again, that our ancestors would have looked on this invention as singularly ingenious,-they would have been astonished at these buckles.' Gentlemen of the Jury,' said MINGAY, with equal solemnity, 'I say nothing of my ancestors; but I am convinced that my learned friend's ancestors would have been much more astonished at his shoes and stockings.' The Court burst into a roar. May 28, 1837.

CXXV. Percival-Shepherd, &c.

KING'S BENCH May 27, 1837. I had much conversation with MR MOORE. EDWARD PERCIVAL, I believe the Clerical son of Dr Percival of Manchester, was a pupil of Dr Shepherd of Liverpool, who was a very strict disciplinarian; Edward had received too many proofs of it not to harbour with his disposition a thought of revenge. He heard that the "Life of Poggio" was forthcoming; got possession of a copy as soon as it appeared, wrote a Critique for the Edinburgh, of which a No. was just coming out, and to the great surprise and annoyance of Shepherd sent to him a Manuscript copy of the Critique in his own hand, and with his name attached; a few days afterwards the Critique itself appeared. Shepherd's book was shelved, he lost £1500,- and was sorely grieved.

He told a pleasant story of a gentleman at LIVERPOOL, who was observed to pocket a silver-spoon; another gentleman, who observed it, immediately took a spoon, and put it in the front-button-holes of his coat; a third gentleman asked the latter why he did that? when he replied that he had as much right to do that, as the gentleman had to put a spoon in his pocket.

TAYLOR, the WHITWORTH-Doctor, was a Farrier, or Veterinary Surgeon,-not a Blacksmith.

MR DAVIES, a Clerical prisoner in the BENCH, told to me that MAJOR AUBREY wrote the little book on Whist, advertised as written by Major A-, and also wrote the little book on Politeness or Good-breeding, (some such title,) by 'Aywyós. He was a very good-natured man; one night at Graham's he lost £35,000, went to see a friend in OXFORDSHIRE, told his friend that he must not expect to see him again for 12 months. However, he reappeared in a week, driving up in a carriage and four; when his friend expressed surprise. It is all right,

says he, now, I won £40,000 the other night. He died some time ago.

MR DAVIES Succeeded to Mr Heber's rooms at Oxford.

He intimated that there were other matters against him. besides that of Hartshorne.

COPLESTONE was travelling in a Coach, and had with him. a Portmanteau or Trunk with his name on it; a fellow passenger observed this, and began talking to him about his Sermons on Predestination. Coplestone saw the nature of the man, and tried in vain to stop the conversation by saying that a Stage-coach was not the right place for theological discussion. The man persevered, and declared that he quite agreed with the BISHOP. But, said the Bp., I omitted one argument, which I ought to have introduced: - What was that? Tov &'añaμeißóδ ̓ ἀπαμειβό μɛvos, x. 7. λ. replied the Bp.— Aye, very true, says the fellowtraveller. MR DAVIES learnt the story from MR. DEANE, Head of one of the Colleges in OXFORD.

He mentioned the case of GREY BENNETT. The man who made the charge, wanted to proceed against him on the Sunday; there was just time for the Magistrate to give a hint to him; he treated the charge with great levity, but the Magistrate said that it was a serious charge, must be dealt with accordingly, and if MR G. B. were not perfectly conscious of innocence, he had better bolt before 10 of the clock next morning. Accordingly he did dissappear.

He says that JAMES WHITE, a Scotchman, wrote part of the "Noctes Ambrosiana" in Blackwood's Magazine.

MR MOORE says that Old ANTHONY HINTON is still living, aged 94 or 95, and his brother, a Clergyman, is with him. He is the very person, who is mentioned in the Notices of EUGENE ARAM, and he has promised to apply for information.