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A LITERARY DINNER.
[From "The Yellowplush Papers." By W. M. THACKERAY.]

WISH the public was as sorry to part
with me as I am with the public;
becaws I fansy reely that we've
become frends, and feal for my
part a becoming grief at saying
ajew.

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 busm, 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.
"Name!-a! now, you thief o' the wurrld,'

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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.

"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."

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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.

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Keeps the pissige as its inch of way were the wide, Those frank eyes of Breton blue :

sea's profound!

See, safe through shoal and rock,

How they follow in a flock,

Not a ship that misbehaves, not a keel that grates the ground,

Not a spar that comes to grief!

The peril, see, is past,

All are harboured to the last,

And just as Hervé Riel hollas" Anchor!"-sure as

fate.

Up the English come, too late!

VIII.

So, the storm subsides to calm,

They On the heights o'erlooking Grève. Hearts that bled are stanched with balm.

see the green trees wave

“Just our rapture to enhance,

"Let the English rake the bay, "Gnash their teeth and glare askance "As they cannonade away!

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All that France saved from the fight whence
England bore the bell.

Neath rampired Solidor pleasant riding on the Go to Paris: rank on rank
Rance!"

Search the heroes flung pell-mell

Now hope succeeds despair on each Captain's On the Louvre, face and flank!

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You shall look long enough ere you come to

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199

A LITERARY DINNER.
[From "The Yellowplush Papers." By W. M. THACKERAY.]

WISH the public was as sorry to part
with me as I am with the public;
becaws I fansy reely that we've
become frends, and feal for my
part a becoming grief at saying
ajew.

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 neck-
cloth. 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.
"Name!-a! now, you thief o' the wurrld,'

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says he, "do you pretind nat to know me? Say it's the Cabinet Cyclopa Litheray Chran-psha!-bluthanowns !-say it's DOCTHOR DIOCLESIAN LARNER-I think he'll no, I mane the know me now-ay, Nid?" But the genlmn called be very busy with his shoo-string. So the little Nid was at the botm of the stare, an pretended to genlmn went upstares alone.

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"DOCTOR DIOLESIUS LARNER!'
Fitz-Roy, our secknd footman, on the fust landing
"DOCTOR ATHANASIUS LARDNER!" says Greville
says I.
place.

chambers, who pretends to be a schollar; and in
"Doctor Egnatius Lopola!" says the groom of the
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."

tiers, my voize shook, as I past up the venrabble My neas trembled under me, my i's fild with name to the other footman, and saw this fust of English writers go up to the drawing-room!

of the compny, or to dixcribe the suckmstansies It's needless to mention the names of the rest 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 undigscribthe bony fidy sale of the Cabinet Cyclopædy, and able; and how her blessed Majisty asked what was how he (Doctor Larner) told her that, on his honner, it was under ten thowsnd.

You may guess that the Doctor, when he made that whether it was the coronation, or the goodthis speach, was pretty far gone. The fact is, tell you), or the natral propensaties of the gests ness of the wine (capittle it is in our house, I can 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 sicated I should use an igspresshn more near to the use a mild term; if I were to say they were intawtruth, but less rispeckful in one of my situashn.

The cumpany reseaved this annountsmint with

mute astonishment.

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"Why, Doctor Larner, I was going to tell at once the name of the periodical-it is FRASER'S MAGAZINE."

"FRESER!" says the Doctor. "O thunder and turf!"

"FWASER!" says Bullwig. "O-ah-humhaw-yes-no-why-that is, weally-no, weally, upon my weputation, I never before heard the name of the pewiodical. By the by, Sir John, what wemarkable good clawet this is! Is it Lawose or Laff--"

Laff, indeed! he cooden git beyond laff; and I'm blest if I could kip it neither-for hearing him pretend ignurnts, and being behind the

name of the "Yellowplush Correspondence"). "Ha, ha! why, to tell twuth, I have wead the cowespondence to which you allude: it's a gweat favowite at Court. I was talking with Spwing Wice and John Wussell about it the other day." "Well, and what do you think of it?" says Sir John, looking mity waggish-for he knew it was me who roat it.

"Why, weally and twuly, there's considewable cleaverness about the cweature; but it's low, disgustingly low: it violates pwobability, and the orthography is so carefully inaccuwate, that it requires a possitive study to compwehend it." "Yes, faith," says Larner; "the arthagraphy is

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skreend, settlin sumthink for the genlmn, I bust into such a raw of laffing as never was igseeded. "Hullo!" says Bullwig, turning red. "Have I said anything impwobable, aw widiculous? for weally, I never befaw wecollect to have heard in society such a twemendous peal of cachinnationthat which the twagic bard who fought at Mawathon has called an anewithmon gelasma."

"Why, be the holy piper," says Larder, "I think you are dthrawing a little on your imagination. Not read Fraser! Don't believe him, my lord duke; he reads every word of it, the rogue! The boys about that magazine baste him as if he was a sack of oatmale. My reason for crying out, Sir Jan, was because you mintioned Fraser at all. Bullwig has every syllable of it by heart-from the paillitix down to the 'Yellowplush Correspondence.'"

"Ha, ha!" says Bullwig, affecting to laff (you may be sure my ears prickt up when I heard the

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detestible; it's as bad for a man to write bad spillin as it is for em to speak wid a brogue. Iducation furst, and ganius afterwards. Your health, my lord, and good luck to you."

"Yaw wemark," says Bullwig, "is vewy appwopwiate. You will wecollect, Sir John, in Hewodotus (as for you, Doctor, you know more about Iwish than about Gweek)-you will wecollect, without doubt, a stowy nawwated by that cwedulous though fascinating chwonicler, of a certain kind of sheep which is known only in a certain distwict of Awabia, and of which the tail is so enormous, that it either dwaggles on the gwound, or is bound up by the shepherds of the country into a small wheelbawwow, or cart, which makes the chwonicler sneewingly wemark that thus 'the sheep of Awabia have their own chawiots.' I have often thought, sir (this clawet is weally nectaweous)-I have often, I say, thought that the wace of man may be compawed to these

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