Notes of the Mont k on [DEC. 



on dits, which the multitude of newspaper readers look upon as the most 

 serious pieces of intelligence ; for instance 



" The report in circulation that his Royal Highness the Duke of 

 Sussex had declined becoming a candidate for the Presidential Chair of 

 the Royal Society (in the room of Mr. Gilbert) is not true ; the Royal 

 Duke not only continues to aspire to the honour, and to offer himself as 

 a candidate,, but he is the only Fellow of the Society who has, up to the 

 present moment, declared such to be his intention." 



Here the jest is, that his Royal Highness of Sussex is a jovial fat 

 fellow who knows more about a bottle of claret than all the science 

 under the sun, and who must sit mum-chance in the Royal Society if ever 

 they shall put him in their chair. 



Another of the facetiae is the following : 



" During the discussion in the House of Peers last week, several 

 Peeresses were present. On Monday evening her Grace the Dowager 

 Duchess of Richmond was in the House, to hear the speech of the Lord 

 Chancellor, on opening the regency question ; on the succeeding night 

 Lady Holland sat in the same place, to hear the Duke of Wellington's 

 announcement of his resignation." 



Here the point is rather an impudent one, but an excellent joke 

 nevertheless. Lady Holland is saucily represented as a fussing, forward 

 woman, pushing herself into prominence on all occasions, when mere 

 common delicacy would have made her avoid the scene. Indeed the 

 idea of women thrusting themselves into the House of Lords, to listen 

 to debates of which they of course cannot comprehend a syllable, is so 

 masculine, that we think nothing more should be necessary, to convict 

 them of beards. Mrs. Arbuthnot, we acknowledge, used to exhibit on 

 those occasions, but then it was to prompt the faltering periods of his 

 Grace of Wellington. 



Another : 



" Northumberland house is in a state of preparation to receive the 

 noble Duke, who is, we understand, already on his return from his 

 government of Ireland." 



This is almost cruel. The fact is, that the preparation of this noble 

 mansion for the reception of its noble proprietor, notoriously consists in 

 putting out all the fires, discharging the cook, and nailing up the hall 

 door. The taste is hereditary. When the noble Duke's father was 

 quartered in Ireland with his regiment many years ago, he was com- 

 pelled to give them a dinner at a tavern. Some of them accidentally 

 discovered that their gallant colonel had been dexterous enough to con- 

 tract with the landlord for their dinner at five shillings a head ! The 

 officers not liking this lenten entertainment, privately ordered the land- 

 lord to enlarge his bill of fare at the rate of a couple of guineas a 

 head. The dinner was superb ; and the noble colonel was delighted 

 with his bargain. The appearance of the bill however cleared his con- 

 ceptions on the subject. None spoke, all laughed, the money was 

 wrung out in agony, and the officers were never asked again. 



Another : 



" The King of Holland is said to be the richest personage in Europe. 

 Whilst he was King of the Netherlands his income was enormous, and 

 his domestic expenses ever since the general peace have been extremely 

 circumscribed." 



Here the jest is, that he is the most notorious prodigal. Under the 

 affectation of saving a few pounds a year, to please Dutch parsimony, 



