business, till I have finished my dinner; for then will I hear everybody, and content them, if reason and justice can."

*

After this, the King, rising from table, went to meet the Queen, who was leaving her chamber to go to her cabinet. As soon as he saw her at a distance, he called out, "Well, m'amie, did not I send you excellent melons, excellent partridges, excellent quails? If you had as good an appetite as I, you must have done them justice, for I never ate so much, nor for a long time have I been in such good-humour as to-day. Ask Sully; he will tell you the reason, and will repeat to you all the news I have received, and the conversation that passed between him and me, and three or four others."

"Indeed, Sire," answered the Queen, ❝ then we are all well met to-day, for I never was more gay, nor in better health, nor dined with better appetite. And to prolong your joy and gladness, and mine too, I have prepared for you a ballet and comedy of my invention; but I will not deny that I have been assisted, for Duret and La Clarelle have not stirred from my side all this morning, while you were at the chase. The ballet will represent, as they have told me, the happiness of the golden age; and the comedy the most amusing pastimes of the four seasons of the year."

"M'amie," replied the King, "I am delighted to see you in such good-humour; pray let us always live thus. But that your ballet and comedy may be well danced, and well seen, they must be performed at Sully's, in the great hall, which I desired him to build expressly for such purposes;

and he shall see that none are admitted, except those who bring orders to that effect. At present I wish to show you the patterns of tapestry that Fourcy has brought, that you may tell me your opinion."

XCIV. SWIFT.

Swift was a good writer, but had a bad heart. Even to the last he was devoured by ambition, which he pretended to despise. Would you believe that, after finding his opposition to the ministry fruitless, and, what galled him still more, contemned, he summoned up resolution to wait on Sir Robert Walpole? Sir Robert, seeing Swift look pale and ill, inquired the state of his health, with his usual old English good-humour and urbanity. They were standing by a window that looked into the court-yard, where was an ancient ivy dropping towards the ground. "Sir," said Swift, with an emphatic look, "I am like that ivy; I want support." Sir Robert answered, "Why, then, doctor, did you attach yourself to a falling wall ?” Swift took the hint, made his bow, and retired.

XCV. SYMPTOMS OF INSANITY.

My poor nephew, Lord ***, was deranged. The first symptom that appeared was, his sending a chaldron of coals as a present to the Prince of Wales, on learning that he was loaded with debts. He delighted in what he called book-hunting. This notable diversion consisted in taking a volume of a book, and hiding it in some secret part of the-library, among volumes of similar binding and size. When he had forgot where the game lay, he hunted till he found it.

XCVI. TRAGEDY AND COMEDY.

The critics generally consider a tragedy as the

next effort of the mind to an epic poem. For my part, I estimate the difficulty of writing a good comedy to be greater than that of composing a good tragedy. Not only equal genius is required, but a comedy demands a more uncommon assemblage of qualities-knowledge of the world, wit, good sense, &c.; and these qualities superadded to those requisite for tragical composition.

Congreve is said to have written a comedy at eighteen. It may be-for I cannot say that he has any characteristic of a comic writer, except wit, which may sparkle bright at that age. His charac ters are seldom genuine-and his plots are sometimes fitter for tragedy. Mr Sheridan is one of the most perfect comic writers I know, and unites the most uncommon qualities-his plots are sufficiently deep, without the clumsy entanglement and muddy profundity of Congreve-characters strictly in nature-wit without affectation. What talents! -The complete orator in the senate, or in Westminster-hall--and the excellent dramatist in the most difficult province of the drama !

XCVII. TIGRE NATIONAL.

After the French Revolution, Lord Orford was particularly delighted with the story of the Tigre National. A man who showed wild beasts at Paris had a tiger from Bengal of the largest species, commonly called The Royal Tiger. But when royalty, and everything royal, was abolished, he was afraid of a charge of incivism; and, instead of Tigre Royal, put on his sign-board Tigre National.

The symbol was excellent, as depicting those atrocities which have disgraced the cause of freedom, as much as the massacre of St Bartholomew

did that of religion. Mob of Paris, what a debt thou owest to humanity!

XCVIII. VALUE OF AN OATH.

A Norman was telling another a great absurdity as a matter of fact. "You are jesting," said the hearer. "Not I, on the faith of a Christian.""Will you wager?”'-"No, I won't wager; but I am ready to swear to it."

XCIX. VOLTAIRE.

Soon after I had published my "Historic Doubts on the Reign of Richard III.," Voltaire, happening to see and like the book, sent me a letter, mentioning how much the work answered his ideas concerning the uncertainty of history, as expressed in his Histoire Generale. He added many praises of my book; and concluded with entreating my

amitié.

As I had, in the preface to the Castle of Otranto, ridiculed Voltaire's conduct towards Shakspeare, I thought it proper first to send Voltaire that book; and let him understand, that if, after perusing it, he persisted in offering me his amitié, I had no objections, but should esteem myself honoured by the friendship of so great a man.

Some time after, I received, from my acquaintance the Duchess of Choiseul, at Paris, a letter, enclosing one from Voltaire to her, wherein he said that I had sent him a book, in the preface of which he was loaded with reproaches, and all on account de son bouffon de Shakspeare. He stated nothing of the real transaction, but only mentioned the sending of the Castle of Otranto, as if this 'had been the very first step.

C. PATRIOTISM OF WILKES.

Depend upon it, my dear sir, that Wilkes was

U

in the pay of France, during the Wilkes and liberty days. Calling one day on the French minister, I observed a book on his table, with Wilkes's name in the first leaf. This led to a conversation, which convinced me. Other circumstances, too

long and minute to be repeated, strengthened, if necessary, that conviction. I am as sure of it, as of any fact I know.

Wilkes at first cringed to Lord Bute. The embassy to Constantinople was the object of his ambition. It was refused-and you know what followed.