196 



READING. 



Not having the fear of orthography 

 before their eyes, they have at least 

 one restraint less upon their fancy 

 in this sort of exercise. 



PUNNING IN LATIN. 



Thomas Moore notes in his diary, 

 that dining at Bowles's, his host 

 mentioned that at some celebration 

 at Reading school, when the pa- 

 trons or governors of it (beer and 

 brandy merchants), were to be wel- 

 comed with a Latin address, the 

 boy appointed to the task, thus 

 bespoke them, " Salvete, hospites 

 eet&Q&rimi," and then turning to 

 the otkers, "Salvete, hospites cde- 

 brandi." 



Among our collection of ingenious 

 literary productions, Dean Swift's 

 celebrated Latin puns deserve a 

 place ; they will live with the lan- 

 guage, for they have never been 

 excelled. This species of composi- 



tion consists of Latin words, r.'id 

 allowing for false spelling, and the 

 running the words into each other, 

 contain good sense in English as 

 well as Latin. For example : 



" Apud in is almi do si re, 

 Mimis tres I ne ver re qui re, 

 Alo veri findit a gestis, 

 ' His miseri ne ver at restis." 



" A pudding is all my desire, 

 My mistress I never require, 

 A lover I find it a jest is, 

 His misery never at rest is." 



" Mollis abuti, 

 Has an acuti, 

 No lasso finis, 

 Omni de armistrcss. 

 Cantu disco ver, 

 Meas alo ver ? " 



" Moll is a beauty, 

 Has an acute eye, 

 No lass so fine is, 

 O my dear mistress, 

 Can't you discover 

 Me as a lover ? " 



READING, 



ALFRED THE GREAT LEARNING 

 TO READ. 



Alfred the Great ascended the 

 throne in 872. Born when his 

 country was involved in the most 

 profound darkness and deplorable 

 condition, and when learning was 

 considered rather as a reproach 

 than an honour to a prince, he was 

 not taught to know one letter from 

 another till he was above twelve 

 years of age, when a book was put 

 into his hand, by accident more 

 than by previous design. Judith, 

 his step-mother, was sitting one 

 day, surrounded by her family, 

 with a book of Saxon poetry in 

 her hands. With a happy judg- 

 ment, she proposed it as a gift to 

 him who would first learn to read 

 it. The elder princes thought the 

 reward inadequate to the task, and 

 retired from the field of emulation. 

 But the mind of Alfred, captivated 



by the prospect of information, and 

 pleased with the neatness of the 

 writing and the beauty of the illu- 

 minations, inquired if she actually 

 intended to give it to the person 

 who Avould soonest learn to read it. 

 His mother repeating the promise, 

 with a smile of joy at the question, 

 he took the book, found out an in- 

 structor, and learned to read it, re- 

 cited it to her, and received it for his 

 reward. It is said that he imbibed 

 such a passion for reading that he 

 never stirred abroad without a book 

 in his bosom. He founded and en- 

 dowed schools (among others Ox- 

 ford), and brought teachers of 

 learning from all parts of the world, 

 purchased books, ordered the Bible 

 to be translated into the Anglo- 

 Saxon, undertaking the version of 

 the Psalms himself, but did not live 

 to complete it ; and, in short, en- 

 couraged education and learning 

 equally by precept and example. 



