9. A Pedant, having occasion to sell his house, took a stone from the wall, and carried it about with him as a specimen of the premises.

10. A Pedant, willing to find out whether he looked handsome while asleep, placed himself before a lookingglass with his eyes closed.*

11. A Pedant, who had purchased a house, was ac customed to stand at the window, and enquire of those who passed by, whether the mansion became him?

12. A Pedant, having dreamt one night that a nail had run into his foot, and given him great pain, put a bandage round the part. A friend accidentally met him, and learning the cause of his limb being swathed, enquired how he could think of sleeping without shoes?

13. A Pedant, lighting by accident on a Physician, endeavoured to conceal himself behind a wall. The Doctor asked the reason of such strange behaviour. “Why, "truly," replied the pedant, "'tis so long since I have "been sick, that I was ashamed to appear in the presence "of a Physician."

14. A Pedant, being informed by a merchant that the flood had carried away his field, replied, "and pray what "shall I say on the occasion ?"

15. A Pedant had carefully sealed the head of a cask* of excellent wine which belonged to him, in order to * This Pedant of Hierocles was not the only coxcomb whose vanity assumed such a singular form. Prince Potemkin fancying that sleep (#gεTH AUтov) became him, used to feign slumber, and receive (while stretched on his couch) visits from the first personages of Ruffia, who waited on him to admire him during his affected repose.

* It was customary with the ancients to seal the covers of their wine vessels, to prevent their slaves from stealing the wine; olim (says ·Cicero) matrem memini lagenas etiam inanes obsignare, ne dirurentur furtim exsiccatæ fuisse. lib. 16. epist. 26, xvi.—And Persius makes it a characteristic of parsimony.

Et signum in vapida naso tetigisse lagena. Sat. vi. 17. "To examine the seal of his cask so closely, as to touch it with nose, lest any of his dead wine should be stolen."

❝ his

B

secure its contents from being purloined.

One of his

slaves, however, perforated the vessel at the bottom, and drew off part of the wine. The pedant, expressing his surprise at the decrease of the liquor, a friend recommended him to examine the lower part of the cask? "Blockhead," replied the pedant, "it is not the bottom "but the top of my wine which I have lost."

16. A Pedant, observing a crowd of sparrows on a tree, quietly opened his waistcoat, and shook the tree, that the birds might fall into his bosom.

17. A Pedant, walking in one of his fields, was desirous of quenching his thirst from a well on the premises. Enquiring if it were good, the peasants assured him, that their forefathers had drank out of it from time immemorial. "Bless me," cried he," what prodigiously long necks they must have had, to reach the water at such a depth." 18. One Pedant meeting another, said to him, "why "I heard that you were dead." His friend replied, ‘ yoù see, however, that I am alive.' "So you say," returned he, but the man who gave me the account was more "worthy of credit than yourself.”

19. A Pedant hearing that a crow would live 200 years, in order to determine the fact by experiment, bought and kept one.

20. A Pedant, being on a voyage, was in danger of shipwreck, and seeing that the other passengers caught hold of the various articles on deck to keep them afloat, he immediately embraced one of the anchors.

21. One of two twins happened to die. A Pedant meeting the survivor begged to be informed, whether it were him or his brother who was departed.

22. A Pedant, who was about to undertake a voyage, called for pen and paper, in order to make his will. Observing that his slaves were very much concerned at the danger which awaited him. "Do not be distressed, my "good fellows," said he," for if I die, I will make you free.”

23. A Pedant, wishing to cross a ferry, entered the boat on horseback. On being asked his reason for so doing?

"That I may make haste," said he.*

24. A Pedant, in want of common necessaries, having sold his books for a maintenance, wrote to his father as follows: "Congratulate your son, my dear sir, for at last "his books support him."

25. The infant child of a pedant having died, a considerable number of people met together to attend the funeral. "Pardon me, my friends," said the Pedant," but "I am really ashamed to bring my little one before so "large a company."

26. A Pedant sending his son into the army, the young man promised his father that he would bring him one of the heads of the enemy. "Ah, my dear lad," replied he, "would that you were come back without your own head, "so that I might receive you safe and sound.”

27. The friend of a Pedant, who was staying in Greece, requested, in a letter to him, that he would purchase certain books for him there. The Pedant, however, neglected the commission; and meeting his friend some time afterwards, exclaimed, "I sincerely beg your pardon, my dear sir, "but the letter which you sent me respecting the books, "I never received."

23. A Pedant, a bald man, and a barber, being on a journey together, agreed that during the night each should watch in his turn four hours, while the other two slept. The lot for the first watch fell upon the barber. As soon as he saw that his companions were sound asleep, gently raising up the Pedant, he shaved his head, and then awakened him. The Pedant, roused from his slumber, yawned, scratched his head, and finding a smooth crown, exclaimed, "what a stupid dog is this barber, he "has waked the bald man instead of me."

* This puts us in mind of an anecdote told of George the IId.; who, being overtaken by a violent tempest on his passage to Holland, exclaimed, with great agitation, " Doble my Guard."

ORIGINAL ANECDOTES.

A

Short time after the late Dr. HURD had been translated into the see of Worcester, it was reported to him, that a clergyman in his diocese, the rector of a parish near Worcester, had turned his own wife out of doors, and received in her stead a woman of loose character, who presided at his table as the lawful mistress of the house. The Bishop, a man of great delicacy, and strict morality, was exceedingly shocked at the information; and determined to remove so foul a stain on the character of the cloth, and the credit of his diocese. He accordingly ordered his horses one morning, and rode to the rectory in question. The servant rang at the gate, and delivered in his master's name. A moment afterwards, the Rev. Mr. appeared, paid his respects to the Bishop, expressed himself as highly honoured by the visit, and requested his Lordship to alight and walk in. Being seated in the parlour, after a short pause, the Bishop observed, that it gave him the greatest pain to be under the necessity of remonstrating with a gentleman and a clergyman, on such a subject as had occasioned his present call. May I crave your Lordship's pardon," said Mr. interrupting him, “ for a single moment?" And immediately rang the bell. The servant appeared, "John,” said Mr. ——, “ the Bishop of Worcester has some little 66 matter of business to communicate to me; stand there, " and attend carefully to what is said." The Bishop perceived in a moment the drift of this manœuvre; took his hat, ordered his horses, and returned. "And pray," said a friend of Mr.

to him afterwards, "what "could be your meaning in such extraordinary beha

"viour?" Why,' replied he, had the bishop charged me with either adultery, or looseness of living, I should * have had a witness, and would have prosecuted him for defamation.'

The above anecdote will be an apology for those charges which have sometimes (though for the honour of the established Priesthood but rarely) been alleged against our Prelates, of unjustifiable lenity towards beneficed ministers in their dioceses, who have degraded themselves, and polluted their cloth, by an impure and scandalous life. The law of the land, which can alone deprive a man of his freehold, (of the nature of which a living partakes,) requires, with equal wisdom and mercy, full proof of the specific crime, previously to the infliction of the appropriate punishment; the difficulty of obtaining which, in cases like the above, is sufficiently obvious. While, on the other hand, the same law, by its jealous provisions against injury from libel and defamation, renders it highly dangerous to make a charge, in any way, against an individual, that might affect his life or his property, his fair fame, or probable success in the world. In instances, however, similar to that in question, where presumption of guilt amounts to moral certainty, though not to legal evidence, a moral means of punishment may still be resorted to. Let every good, and wise, and virtuous man discountenance and avoid the flagitious incumbent, out of his ministry; and he will soon be stripped, if not of his living, at least of his character, his influence, and power of injuring by his example: the obduracy of guilt will be melted by the sense of degradation; and, cut off from intercourse with all that is worthy, honourable, and respectable, he will be at length compelled (if not to repent and reform) to hide his dishonoured head, and acknowledge, in cheerless solitude, with Cain," my pu "nishment is greater than I can bear.”