"Think to make the river-mouth by the single-A Captain? A Lieutenant? A Mate narrow way, "Trust to enter where 't is ticklish for a craft of twenty tons, "And with flow at full beside ? "Now, 't is slackest ebb of tide. "Reach the mooring? Rather say, "While rock stands or water runs, "Not a ship will leave the bay!" IV. Then was called a council straight. Brief and bitter the debate: But a simple Breton sailor pressed by Tourville for the fleet, A poor coasting pilot he, Hervé Riel the Croisickese. A LITERARY DINNER. WISH the public was as sorry to part It's imposbill for me to continyow, however, a-writin, as I have done-violetting the rules of authography, and trampling upon the fust princepills of English grammar. When I began, I knew no better: when I'd carrid on these papers a little further, and grew accustmd to writin, I began to smel out somethink quear in my style. Within the last sex weaks I have been learning to spell : and when all the world was rejoicing at the festivvates of our youthful Quean-when all i's were fixt upon her long sweet of ambasdors and princes, following the splendid carridge of Marshle the Duke of Damlatiar, and blinking at the pearls and dimince of Prince Oystereasy-Yellowplush was in his loanly pantry-his eyes were fixt upon the spelling-book-his heart was bent upon mastring the diffickleties of the littery professhn. I have been, in fact, convertid. You shall hear how. Ours, you know, is a Wig house; and ever sins his third son has got a place in the Treasury, his secnd a captingsy in the Guards, his fust the secretary of embasy at Pekin with a prospick of being appinted ambasdor at Loo Choo-ever sins master's sons have reseaved these attentions, and master himself has had the promise of a pearitch, he has been the most reglar, consistnt, honrabble Libbaral, in or out of the Hoose of Commins. Well, being a Whig, it's the fashn, as you know, to reseave littery pipple; and accordingly, at dinner, tother day, whose name do you think I had to hollar out on the fust landing-place about a wick ago? After several dukes and markises had been enounced, a very gentell fly drives up to our doar, and out steps two gentlemen. One was pail, and wor spekticles, a wig, and a white neckcloth. The other was slim with a hook nose, a pail fase, a small waist, a pare of falling shoulders, a tight coat, and a catarack of black satting tumbling out of his busin, and falling into a gilt velvet weskit. The little genlmn settled his wigg and pulled out his ribbins; the younger one fluffed the dust off his shoos, looked at his wiskers in a little pockit-glass, settled his crevatt; and they both mounted upstairs. "What name, sir?" says I, to the old genlmn. says he, "do you pretind nat to know me? Say it's the Cabinet Cyclopa - no, I mane the Litheray Chran-psha !-bluthanowns !-say it's DOCTHOR DIOCLESIAN LARNER-I think he'll know me now-ay, Nid?" But the genlmn called Nid was at the botm of the stare, an pretended to be very busy with his shoo-string. So the little genlmn went upstares alone. 66 DOCTOR DIOLESIUS LARNER!" says I. "DOCTOR ATHANASIUS LARDNER!" says Greville Fitz-Roy, our secknd footman, on the fust landing place. "Doctor Egnatius Lopola!" says the groom of the chambers, who pretends to be a schollar; and in the little genlmn went. When safely housed, the other chap came; and when I asked him his name, said in a thick, gobbling kind of voice"Sawedwadgeorgeearllittnbulwig." "Sir whot?" says I, quite agast at the name. "Sawedwad-no, I mean Mistawedwad Lyttn Bulwig." My neas trembled under me, my i's fild with tiers, my voize shook, as I past up the venrabble name to the other footman, and saw this fust of English writers go up to the drawing-room! It's needless to mention the names of the rest of the compny, or to dixcribe the suckmstansies of the dinner. Suffiz to say that the two littery genlmn behaved very well, and seamed to have good appytights; igspecially the little Irishman in the whig, who et, drunk, and talked as much as a duzn. He told how he'd been presented at cort by his friend, Mr. Bulwig, and how the Quean had received em both with a dignity undigscribable; and how her blessed Majisty asked what was the bony fidy sale of the Cabinet Cyclopædy, and how he (Doctor Larner) told her that, on his honner, it was under ten thowsnd. You may guess that the Doctor, when he made this speach, was pretty far gone. The fact is, that whether it was the coronation, or the goodness of the wine (capittle it is in our house, I can tell you), or the natral propensaties of the gests assembled, which made them so igspecially jolly, I don't know; but they had kep up the meating pretty late, and our poar butler was quite tired with the perpechual baskits of claret which he had been called upon to bring up. So that about 11 o'clock, if I were to say they were merry, I should use a mild term; if I were to say they were intawsicated I should use an igspresshn more near to the truth, but less rispeckful in one of my situashn. The cumpany reseaved this annountsmint with mute astonishment. |