The Queer, the Quaint and the Quizzical: A Cabinet for the Curious

is merely a creature of the imagination; in plain words, that the Cleopatra of history never existed, though there were two or three women who bore the name.

Abelard and Heloise.

Though they may have lived about the same time, the romance of their love is now gravely denied by scholars and antiquarians.

Odd Titles of Old Books.

In "Gleanings for the Curious" we find the following list of odd titles to books, most of which were published in the time of Cromwell:—

A Shot aimed at the Devil's Head-Quarters through the Tube of the Cannon of the Covenant.

Crumbs of Comfort for the Chickens of the Covenant.

Eggs of Charity, layed by the Chickens of the Covenant, and boiled with the Water of Divine Love. Take Ye and eat.

High-heeled Shoes for Dwarfs in Holiness.

Hooks and Eyes for Believers' Breeches.

Matches lighted by the Divine Fire.

Seven Sobs of a Sorrowful Soul for Sin; or, the Seven Penitential Psalms of the Princely Prophet David; whereunto are also added William Humius' Handful of Honeysuckles, and Divers Godly and Pithy Ditties, now newly augmented.

Spiritual Milk for Babes, drawn out of the Breasts of both Testaments for their Souls' Nourishment: a catechism.

The Bank of Faith.

The Christian Sodality; or, Catholic Hive of Bees, sucking the Honey of the Churches' Prayer from the Blossoms of the Word of God, blowne out of the Epistles and Gospels of the Divine Service throughout the yeare. Collected by the Puny Bee of all the Hive not worthy to be named otherwise than by these elements of his Name, F. P.

The Gun of Penitence.

The Innocent Love; or, the Holy Knight: a description of the ardors of a saint for the Virgin.

The Shop of the Spiritual Apothecary; or, a collection of passages from the fathers.

The Sixpennyworth of Divine Spirit.

The Snuffers of Divine Love.

The Sound of the Trumpet: a work on the day of judgment.

The Spiritual Mustard Pot, to make the Soul Sneeze with Devotion.

The Three Daughters of Job: a treatise on patience, fortitude and pain.

Tobacco battered, and the Pipes shattered about their Ears that idly idolize so loathsome a Vanity, by a Volley of holy shot thundered from Mount Helicon: a poem against the use of tobacco, by Joshua Sylvester.

A Fan to drive away Flies: a theological treatise on Purgatory.

A most Delectable Sweet Perfumed Nosegay for God's Saints to Smell at.

A Pair of Bellows to blow off the Dust cast upon John Fry.

A Proper Project to Startle Fools: Printed in a Land where Self's cry'd up and Zeal's cry'd down.

A Reaping-Hook, well tempered, for the Stubborn Ears of the coming Crop; or, Biscuit baked in the Oven of Charity, carefully conserved for the Chickens of the Church, the Sparrows of the Spirit, and the sweet Swallows of Salvation.

A Sigh of Sorrow for the Sinners of Zion, breathed out of a Hole in the Wall of an Earthly Vessel, known among Men by the Name of Samuel Fish (a Quaker who had been imprisoned).

Title-Pages which Mislead.

The title-page is not always a distinct intimation of what is to follow. "The Diversions of Purley" is one of the toughest books in existence. "Apes Urbanæ" (Urban bees), by the great scholar, Leo Allatius, is not about bees, but is devoted to the great men who nourished during the Pontificate of Urban VIII., whose family carried bees on their coat-armorial. "Marmontel's Moral Tales" has been found to give disappointment to parents in search of the absolutely correct and improving; and Edgeworth's "Essay on Irish Bulls" has been counted money absolutely thrown away by eminent breeders. "MacEwen on the Types" is not a book for printers, but for theologians. Ruskin's treatise "On the Construction of Sheepfolds" treats about Popery and Protestantism.—The Book Hunter.

A Carmelite Friar's Poem.

In the seventeenth century a carmelite friar named Jean Louis Barthelemi, but who always called himself Pierre de St. Louis, composed (in twelve books) a poem entitled, "The Magdaleneide; or, Mary Magdalen at the Desert of the Sainte Beaume in Provence, a Spiritual and Christian Poem." Some idea of it may be obtained from a literally translated extract. Having treated at large of the Magdelen's irregular conduct in the early part of her life, and of her subsequent conversion, he says:—

"But God at length changed this coal into a ruby, this crow into a dove, this wolf into a sheep, this hell into a heaven, this nothing into something, this thistle into a lily, this thorn into a rose, this impotence into power, this vice into virtue, this caldron into a mirror."

The poem cost him five years of close application, and he concludes it by egotistically saying: "If you desire grace and sweetness in verses, in mine will you find them."

Striking Parallel Passages between Shakspeare and the Bible.

Curious Play Bill.

The following remarkable theatrical announcement is worthy of preservation for its effusion of vanity and poverty, in the shape of an appeal to the inhabitants of a town in Sussex:—

"At the old theatre in East Grimstead, on Saturday, May 5th, 1758, will be represented (by particular desire, and for the benefit of Mrs. P.) the deep and affecting tragedy of Theodosius; or, the Force of Love, with magnificent dresses, scenery, &c.

"Varanes, by Mr. P., who will strive, as far as possible, to support the character of this fiery Persian Prince, in which he was so much admired and applauded at Hastings, Arundel, Petworth, Lewes, &c.

"Theodosius, by a young gentleman from the University of Oxford, who never appeared on any stage.

"Athenais, by Mrs. P. Though her present condition will not permit her to wait on gentlemen and ladies out of the town with tickets, she hopes, as upon former occasions, for their liberality and support.

"Nothing in Italy can exceed the altar, in the first scene of the play. Nevertheless, should any of the nobility or gentry wish to see it ornamented with flowers, the bearer will bring away as many as they choose to favour him with.

"As the coronation of Athenias, to be introduced in the fifth act, contains a number of personages, more than sufficient to fill all the dressing room, &c., it is to be hoped no gentlemen and ladies will be offended at being refused admission behind the scenes.

"N. B.—The great yard dog that made so much noise on Thursday night during the last act of King Richard the Third, will be sent to a neighbor's over the way; and on account of the prodigious demand for places, part of the stable will be laid into the boxes on one side, and the granary be open for the same purpose on the other. Vivat Rex."

Boone's Spelling.

An old letter written by Daniel Boone, furnishes this specimen of original spelling:—

"I hope you Will Wright me By the Bearer, Mr. goe, how you Com on with my Horsis—I Hear the Indians have Killed Some pepel near Limstone."

Vagaries of Spelling.

Queen Elizabeth spelt the word sovereign in seven different ways. The Earl of Leicester, her favorite, spelt his own name in eight different ways. Sir Walter Raleigh spelt his own name in more than eight different ways. In the deeds of the Villars family their name is spelt in fourteen different ways. In the family documents of the Percy family their name is spelt in fifteen different ways.

Singular Specimen of Orthography in the Sixteenth Century.

The following letter was written by the Duchess of Norfolk to Cromwell, Earl of Essex. It exhibits a curious instance of the monstrous anomalies of our orthography in the infancy of our literature:—

"My ffary gode lord,—her I sand you in tokyn hoff the neweyer, a glasse hoff setyl set in sellfer gyld. I pra you tak hit in wort. An hy wer habel het showlde be bater. I woll hit war wort a m crone."

Translated.—"My very good lord. Here I send you, in token of the new year, a glass of setyll set in silver gilt. I pray you take it in worth. An I were able it should be better. I would it were worth a thousand crowns."

High-Sounding Prologue.

In a medical work entitled "The Breviarie of Health," published in 1547, by Andrew Borde, a physician of that period, is a prologue to physicians, beginning thus—

"Egregious doctors and masters of the eximious and arcane science of physic, of your urbanity exasperate not yourselves against me for making this little volume."

Inducements to Subscribers.

For journals to offer inducements to subscribers is not a modern feature. A book was published in 1764, entitled "A New History of England, Manchester, printed by Joseph Harrop, opposite the Exchange." At the end of this octavo volume, which consists of 778 pages, is the following:—

"To the PUBLIC.

"The History of England being now brought down to that period which was at first proposed, the Publisher takes this opportunity of returning his thanks to his friends and subscribers for the kind encouragement they have given his News Paper; and hopes that as he has steadily persevered in going through with, and given gratis, The History of England, at the Expence of upwards of One Hundred Pounds, they will still continue their Subscription to his paper, which he will spare neither pains nor assiduity to render worthy their perusal.

Jos. Harrop."

Composition During Sleep.

Condorcet is said to have attained the conclusion of some of his most abstruse, unfinished calculations in his dreams. Franklin makes a similar admission concerning some of his political projects which, in his waking moments, sorely puzzled him. Sir J. Herschel is said to have composed the following lines in a dream:—

Goethe says in his "Memoirs," "The objects which had occupied my attention during the day often reappeared at night in connected dreams. On awakening, a new composition, or a portion of one I had already commenced, presented itself to my mind. In the morning I was accustomed to record my ideas on paper." Coleridge composed his poem of the "Abyssinian Maid" during a dream. Something analogous to this is what Lord Cockburn says in his "Life of Lord Jeffrey." "He had a fancy that though he went to bed with his head stuffed with the names, dates and other details of various causes, they were all in order in the morning; which he accounted for by saying that during sleep 'they all crystallized round their proper centres.'"

A Bill of Particulars.

A certain gentleman of Worcester (Mass.) sent a very fine French clock to a well-known jeweler to be repaired, saying that he wished each item of repairing specified. The following is a copy of the bill as rendered:—

Lilly's Predictions.

While Lilly is ridiculed for his absurdities, let him have credit for as lucky a guess as ever blessed the pages even of "Francis Moore, Physician." In Lilly's "Astrological Predictions for 1648," there occurs the following passage, in which we must allow that he attained to "something like prophetic strain," when we call to mind that the Great Plague of London occurred in 1665, and the Great Fire in the year following:—

"In the year 1656, the aphelium of Mars, who is the general signification of England, will be in Virgo, which is assuredly the ascendant of the English monarchy, but Aries of the kingdom. When this absis, therefore, of Mars shall appear in Virgo, who shall expect less than a strange catastrophe of human affairs in the commonwealth, monarchy and kingdom of England? There will then, either in or about these times, or within ten years, more or less, of that time, appear in this kingdom so strange a revolution of fate, so grand a catastrophe, and great mutation unto this monarchy and government as never yet appeared; of which, as the times now stand, I have no liberty or encouragement to deliver any opinion. Only, it will be ominous to London, unto her merchants at sea, to her traffique at land, to her poor, to her rich, to all sorts of people inhabiting in her or her liberties, by reason of sundry Fires and a Plague."

This is the prediction which, in 1666, led to Lilly's being examined by a committee of the House of Commons; not, as has been supposed, that he might "discover by the stars who were the authors of the Fire of London," but because the precision with which he was thought to have foretold the events gave birth to a suspicion that he was already acquainted with them, and privy to the (supposed) machinations which had brought about the catastrophe. Curran says there are two kinds of prophets—those who are really inspired and those who prophecy events which they themselves intend to bring about. Upon this occasion poor Lilly had the ill-luck to be deemed of the latter class.

Puritan Surnames.

The following names are given in Lower's English Surnames, as specimens of the names of the old Puritans in England about the year 1658. They are taken from a jury list in Sussex county:—

Faint-not Hewett.
Redeemed Compton.
God-reward Smart.
Earth Adams.
Meek Brewer.
Repentance Avis.
Kill-sin Pimple.
Be-faithful Joiner.
More-fruit Flower.
Grace-ful Harding.
Seek-wisdom Wood.
Fight-the-good-fight of Faith.
Accepted Trevor.
Stand-fast-on-high Stringer.
Called Lower.
Be-courteous Cole.
Search-the-Scriptures Morton.
Return Spelman.
Fly-debate Roberts.
Hope-for Bending.
Weep-not Billing.
Elected Mitchell.
The-peace-of-God Knight.
Make-peace Heaton.

Curious Old Memorandum.

We have supposed that no record of our Saviour's life older than the New Testament was known to exist; but it seems that a venerable journal is carefully preserved in Nablous (ancient Samaria), in which the following item appears in the handwriting of one of the Samaritan high priests:—

"In the year from Adam 4281, in the nineteenth year of my pontificate, Jesus, the Son of Mary, was crucified at Jerusalem."

This curious and interesting record was shown by the present high priest, who keeps it among the archives of his church, to Dr. El Kary, a Protestant missionary of Jewish descent and a native of Nablous. The doctor learned that the old journals of the priests of the Samaritan synagogue are still in existence, dating back to fifty or sixty years before Christ was born. It was the custom, he says, of all the high priests to set down in their books any notable events that happened during their term of office. He also learned that the tenth Samaritan high priest was named Shaboth, who lived in the days of our Saviour, and it was this Shaboth who wrote the record quoted above.

It will be remembered that Jesus visited Samaria in the early part of His ministry, where He first talked with the woman at Jacob's well, and afterwards stayed two days in the city, where He attracted public attention to His preaching, and won many followers. During those days Shaboth may have become personally acquainted with Him, and, though far from being His disciple, he would naturally follow Jesus' after-history and movements with considerable interest.

We gather the above account from the letter of an Eastern correspondent to the Advance (Chicago), who spent some time in Nablous, and received the statements from Dr. El Kary.

Double-Entendre.

This double-entendre was originally published in a Philadelphia newspaper a hundred years ago. It may be read three different ways: First, let the whole be read in the order in which it is written; second, read the lines downward on the left of each comma in every line; third, in the same manner on the right of each comma. In the first reading the Revolutionary cause is condemned, and by the others it is encouraged and lauded—

Changes of Signification.

The meaning of the word wretch is one not generally understood. It was originally, and is now, in some parts of England, used as a term of fondest tenderness. This is not the only instance in which words in their present general acceptation bear a very opposite meaning to what they did in other times. The word wench, formerly, was not used in the low and vulgar acceptation that it now is.

Don Quixote's Sheep.

Don Quixote's mistaking two flocks of sheep for two armies is not without parallel. In Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, written 1516, the hero, in his madness, falls foul of a flock of sheep.

Still more ancient is "Ajax Mad," a tragedy founded on the madness of Ajax, because of the armor of Hector being awarded to Ulysses instead of himself. In his insanity, Ajax fell upon a flock of sheep, driven at night into the camp, supposing it to be an army led by Ulysses and the sons of Atreus. On discovering his mistake he stabs himself.

The Oldest Ballad.

The earliest English ballad is supposed to be the "Cuckoo Song," which commences in the following style:—

Two Certificates of Gretna-Green Marriages.

"This is to sartfay all persons that may be consern'd, that A. B., from the parish of C. in the county of D., and E. F., from the parish of G., in the county of H., and both comes before me and declares themselves both to be single persons, and now mayried by the form of the Kirk of Scotland, and agreible to the Church of England, and givine ondre my hand, this 18th day of March 1793."

"Kingdom of Scotland,
"County of Dumfries,
"Parish of Gretna:

"These are to certify, to all whom it may concern, that John N——, from the parish of Chatham, in the County of Kent, and Rosa H——, from the parish of St. Maries, in the County of Nottingham, being both here now present, and having declared to me that they are single persons, but having now been married conformable to the Laws of the Church of England, and agreeable to the Kirk of Scotland. As witness our hands at Springfield, this 4th day of October, 1822.

Swift's Latin Puns.

Among the nugæ of Dean Swift are his celebrated Latin puns. They consist entirely of Latin words, but, by allowing for false spelling, and running the words into each other, the sentences make good sense in English. The subjoined is one of his best—

Rhyming Charter.

The following grant of William the Conqueror may be found in Stowe's Chronicle and in Blount's Ancient Tenures:

HOPTON, IN THE COUNTY OF SALOP.

To the Heyrs Male of the Hopton, lawfully begotten.

Accidental Rhymes.

In President Lincoln's last inaugural address occurs the following instance of involuntary rhyme:—

And here the rhyme ceases. Cicero's prose shows, in places, similar instances of involuntary rhyme.

Cæsar's Wife must be above Suspicion.

No doubt this proverb originated from a passage in Suetonius, which says that "the name of Pompeia, the wife of Julius Cæsar, having been mixed up with an accusation against P. Clodius, her husband divorced her; not, as he said, because he believed the charge against her, but because he would have those belonging to him as free from suspicion as from crime."

Oddly Addressed Letters.

On one occasion a letter arrived by post in London, directed to "Sromfridevi, Angleterre." No such person had ever been heard of; but, on a little consideration, and judging from the sound, it was obvious that the foreign writer of the letter meant Sir Humphrey Davy, and such proved to be the case. Some years since there was returned to the French Dead Letter Office a letter which had gone the round of every seaport in the Levant, and the ambiguity of whose superscription had baffled a legion of postmasters. It was addressed, "J. Dubois, Sultan Crete," and was intended for J. Dubois Surle Tancrede, a quartermaster on board of the ship Tancrede. The name and address had been written just as they had sounded to the ear. A letter addressed as follows arrived safely at its destination:—

Wood,
John,
Mass.

It was for John Underwood, Andover, Massachusetts.

Amusements of some Learned Men.

Tycho Brahe polished glass for spectacles, and made mathematical instruments; D'Andilly delighted in forest trees; Balzac, in manufacturing crayons; Pieresc, in his medals and antiques; the Abbé de Marolles, in engravings. Rohault's greatest recreation was in watching different mechanics at their labor; Arnauld and Warburton read trashy novels for recreation; Montaigne fondled his cat; Cardinal Richelieu enjoyed leaping.

Kant's Eccentricity.

Kant was probably the profoundest of metaphysicians that the world has yet seen. It was his custom, when deeply engaged upon some abstruse topic, to walk backward and forward, upon a moonlight evening, along the avenue (bordered on each side with magnificent trees) approaching his house. He was observed, on one occasion, as he slowly, in deep meditation, moved backward and forward along the avenue, to leap over the shadows of the trees as they cast themselves before him in his meditative walk. The delusion was strong upon him that these same shadows were ditches, and that it was incumbent upon him that he should clear them, and that precisely in the way he did. Such are the occasional abberrations of true genius.

Death Warrant of the Saviour.

Of the many interesting relics brought to light by the researches of antiquarians, none could be more interesting to Christians than the following, which is faithfully transcribed—

"Sentence by Pontius Pilate, acting
Governor of Lower Galilee, stating that
Jesus of Nazareth shall suffer death
On the cross.

In the year seventeen of the Emperor Tiberius Cæsar, and the 27th day of March, the city of the holy Jerusalem—Annas and Caiaphas being priests, sacrificators of the people of God—Pontius Pilate, Governor of Lower Galilee, sitting in the presidential chair of the prætory, condemns Jesus of Nazareth to die on the cross between two thieves, the great and notorious evidence of the people saying—

1. Jesus is a seducer.
2. He is seditious.
3. He is the enemy of the law.
4. He calls himself falsely the Son of God.
5. He calls himself falsely the King of Israel.
6. He entered into the temple followed by a multitude bearing palm branches in their hands.

Orders the first centurian, Quilius Cornelius, to lead him to the place of execution.

Forbids any person whatsoever, either poor or rich, to oppose the death of Jesus Christ.

The witnesses who signed the condemnation of Jesus are—

1. Daniel Robani, a Pharisee.
2. Joannus Robani.
3. Raphael Robani.
4. Capet, a citizen.

Jesus shall go out of the city of Jerusalem by the gate of Struenus."

The foregoing is engraved on a copper plate, on the reverse of which is written, "A similar plate is sent to each tribe." It was found in an antique marble vase, while excavating in the ancient city of Aquilla, in the kingdom of Naples, in 1810, and was discovered by the Commissioners of Arts of the French Army. At the expedition of Naples, it was enclosed in a box of ebony and preserved in the sacristy of the Carthusians. The French translation was made by the Commissioners of Arts. The original is in the Hebrew language.

Quaint Recipes.

The following recipes are taken from a work entitled "New Curiosities in Art and Nature, or a collection of the most valuable Secrets in all Arts and Sciences. Composed and Experimented by Sieur Lemery, Apothecary to the French King. London, 1711."

To Make one Wake or Sleep.—You must cut off, dexterously, the head of a toad alive, and at once, and let it dry, observing that one eye be shut and the other open; that which is found open makes one wake, and that shut causes sleep, by carrying it about one.

Preservative against the Plague.—Take three or four great toads, seven or eight spiders, and as many scorpions, put them into a pot well stopp'd, and let them lye some time; then add virgin-wax, make a good fire till all become a liquor; then mingle them all with a spatula, and make an ointment, and put it into a silver box well stopp'd, being well assured that while you carry it about you, you will never be infected with the plague.

These recipes indicate the delusion which prevailed with respect to certain nostrums as late as 1711.

Chronological Table of Remarkable Events.

The following curious table is taken from Arthur Hopton'a "Concordancie of Years," 1615:—

1077—A blazing star on Palm Sunday, near the sun.

1100—The yard (measure) made by Henry I.

1116—The moone seemed turned into bloud.

1128—Men wore haire like women.

1180—Paris in France, and London in Englande, paued, and thatching in both left, because all Luberick was spoiled thereby with fire.

1189—Robin Hood and Little John lived. This yeare London obtained to be gouerned by Sheriffes and Maiors.

1205—By reason of a frost from January to March wheate was sold for a marke the quarter, which before was at twelve pence.—Anno Regni 6. John.

1209—London bridge builded with stone; and this yeare the citizens of London had a grant to choose them a maior.

1227—The citizens of London had libertie to hunt a certain distance about the citie, and to pass toll-free through England.

1231—Thunder lasted fifteen daies; beginning the morrow after St. Martin's day.

1233—Four sunnes appeared, beside the true sunne, of a red colour.

1235—The Jews of Norwich stole a boy and circumcised him, minding to have him crucified at Easter.

1247—The king farmed Queene-hiue for fifty pounds per annum, to the citizens.

1252—Great tempests upon the sea, and fearful; and this year the king (Henry III.) granted, that wheretofore the citizens of London were to present the maior before the king, wheresoeuer he were, that now barons of the exchequer should serue (serve).

1292—The Jews corrupting England with vsury, had first a badge giuen them to weare, that they might be knowne, and after were banished to the number of 150,00 persons.

1313—This yeare the king of France burned all his leporous and pocky people, as well men as women; for that he supposed they had poysoned the waters, which caused his leprosie. About this time, also, the Jews had a purpose to poyson all the Christians, by poysoning all their springs.

1361—Men and beasts perished in diuers places with thunder and lightning, and fiends were seene speake unto men as they trauelled.

1386—The making of gunnes found; and rebels in Kent and Essex, who entered London, beheaded all lawyers, and burnt houses and all bookes of law.

1388—Picked shoes, tyed to their knees with siluer chains, were vsed. And women with long gownes rode in side-saddles, like the queen, that brought side-saddles first to England; for before they rode astrid.

1401—Pride exceeding in monstrous apparrell.

1411—Guildhall in London begun.

1417—A decree for lantherne and candle-light in London.

1427—Rain from the 1st of Aprill to Hollontide.

Hymn in the Form of a Cross.

The following hymn was composed by a Christian monk during the middle ages:—

THE CROSS.

Curious Piece of Antiquity, on the Crucifixion of our Saviour and the two Thieves.

EXPLANATION.

The middle cross represents our Saviour; those on either side, the two thieves. On the top and down the middle cross are our Saviour's expression, "My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken me?" and on the top of the cross is the Latin inscription "INRI"—Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judæorum, i. e. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Upon the cross on the right-hand is the prayer of one of the thieves:—"Lord! remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." On the left-hand cross is the saying, or reproach, of the other: "If thou beest the Christ, save thyself and us." The whole, comprised together, makes a piece of excellent poetry, which is to be read across all the columns, and makes as many lines as there are letters in the alphabet. It is perhaps one of the most curious pieces of composition to be found on record.

Copy of a Letter written by Cardinal Richelieu to the French Ambassador at Rome.

First read the letter across, then double it in the middle, and read the first column.

Passage through the Isthmus of Panama, Suggested Three Hundred Years Ago.

In the Town Library (Stadt Bibliothek) of Nuremberg is preserved an interesting globe, made by John Schoner, professor of mathematics in the gymnasium there, A. D. 1520. It is very remarkable that the passage through the Isthmus of Panama, so much sought after in later times, is, on this old globe, carefully delineated.

A False Conclusion.

Amongst the deliramenta of the learned, which have amused mankind, the following deserves a place:—

In 1815 a noted London professor occupied a window which overlooked the college garden. Amid the trees in the latter a number of rooks had taken up their abode. A young gentleman, who lodged in an attic opposite, frequently amused himself by shooting the rooks with a cross-bow. The professor noticed that the birds frequently dropped senseless from their perches, no sound being heard, no person being visible. It was a strange phenomenon, and he set his wits to work to account for the cause of it. At length he became fully satisfied that he had made a great ornithological discovery which would add vastly to his fame. He actually wrote a learned treatise, stating what he had seen, and declaring that it was a settled conviction in his mind that rooks were subject to falling sickness.

Posies from Wedding Rings.

Hamlet.—Is this a prologue, or a posy of a ring?

The following posies were transcribed by an indefatigable collector, from old wedding rings, chiefly of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The orthography is, in most cases, altered:—