1828.] Notes for the Month. 295 



clearly convicted of this disorder, as of many others : and, if that which 

 I say appear a matter of doubt to you, put on the garb of a poor 

 woman, walk through the city, and hear what is the discourse, and the 

 complaints of all societies." SismondL 



The facility with which the lower classes in all countries, have of 

 speaking languages which they do'nt understand, must have been 

 observed by all travellers. Nothing was more common, during the war 

 in the Peninsula, than to hear a private soldier, who could not utter one 

 word of Portuguese or Spanish, undertaking to interpret for his less 

 intuitively instructed master; and actually going on to pronounce a 

 long discourse, in very pure English, to some postilion or muleteer- 

 every word of which, by some strange gramarye, the party addressed 

 seemed to understand ! The same faculty is occasionally found about 

 town, in certain of the agents employed for packet boats and coach 

 offices ; and one man in particular, was retained at Hatchett's in Picca- 

 dilly, for several years, as a linguist : no person ever appearing to be aware 

 that he was guiltless of all tongues but his vernacular. On one occasion, 

 when this person distinguished himself, a Frenchman, just as the mails 

 were leaving Piccadilly, made a mistake, and got into the wrong vehicle : 

 an error not very uncommon among Englishmen, who commonly avoid 

 asking a question if the ceremony can be in any way dispensed with. 

 He got into the Portsmouth mail or some coach of equally opposite 

 destination being " booked" to go to Bath. No one was at hand, who 

 spoke French ; and the erroneous stranger spoke no language but his 

 own ; and great confusion and difficulty ensued, until ( Jack White,' 

 hearing the uproar, came up. " I say, Jack !" said the coachman, " you 



speak French ! I wish you'd tell this d d Frenchman that I don't go to 



Bath, he can't go along with me !' White opened the door, thrust his head 

 into the vehicle, and laying his hand upon the Frenchman's arm, exclaim- 

 ed simply, f I say, Mounseer ! I'm d d if you haven't got into the 

 wrong coach !' The Frenchman understood immediately. The authoress 

 of a very odd and pious work, called ' Three years in Italy,' describing 

 her voyage from England to Leghorn, gives another example of this sort 

 of readiness of expression, " A pilot," the lady says, (this was off some 

 port in the Mediterranean) " came to our assistance at early dawn, to 

 whom I tried to speak Italian, but failed. He (the pilot,) made nearly 

 as unsuccessful an attempt to speak English, which also failed. Our 

 Captain then ordered breakfast to be prepared ; but, as it consisted of 

 nothing but salt herrings, and mouldy biscuit, the pilot would not par- 

 take of it. The Captain, however, (these are the people never at a loss) 

 supposing that he could object to the fare, thought it was modesty 

 that kept him back, and frequently cried out ' munge, munge,' by way 

 of speaking French to him, to encourage him to eat." 



We omitted to include in our above estimate of considerable new works, 

 the publication of the late Mr. Canning's speeches, which has been 

 undertaken in a very splendid style by Ridgway. This work, a con- 

 siderable portion of which had the advantage of Mr. Canning's personal 

 revision, should not be mixed up with any of the hasty and unauthorised 

 collections which have before appeared to the same purpose. The 

 recueil itself forms a valuable adjunct to the collected speeches of Burke, 

 Fox, and Sheridan, and various other leading parliamentary orators. 

 It is remarkably well got up ; with a portrait of Mr. Canning, from a 

 bust by Chantrey ; and a curious example, in typo-lithography, of the 

 right hon. gentleman's M.S. corrections of the report of one of his 



