220 



TABLE-TALK AND VARIETIES. 



JUDGE BURNET. 



Judge Burnet, son of the famous 

 Bishop of Salisbury, when young, 

 is said to have been of a wild and 

 dissipated turn. Being one day 

 found by his father in a very serious 

 humour, " What is the matter with 

 you, Tom?" said the bishop: "what 

 are you ruminating on ? " "A 

 greater work than your lordship's 

 History of the Reformation" an- 

 swered the son. " Ay ! what is 

 that?" asked the father. "The 

 reformation of myself, my lord," 

 replied the son. 



FALSTAFF'S BUCKRAM-MEN. 



Sir John Falstaff was a benefac- 

 tor to Magdalen College. He be- 

 queathed estates to that society, 

 part of which were appropriated 

 to buy liveries for some of the 

 senior demies. But this benefac- 

 tion, in time, yielding no more 

 than a penny a week to those who 

 received the liveries, they were 

 called by way of contempt, Fal- 

 stafps Buckram-men. 



The proper name of this knight 

 was Fastolif. He was a celebrated 

 general and nobleman in France 

 during our conquests in that king- 

 dom, and intimate with the founder 

 of Magdalen College. It is thought 

 that the name which Shakspeare 

 gave to his humorous knight was 

 merely accidental ; and that he did 

 not intend the least allusion to this 

 great warrior, under the name of 

 Sir John Falstaff. It is evident, 

 indeed, that although their names 

 are somewhat similar, their cha- 

 racters are very different. (War- 

 ton.) 



CARDINAL WOLSEY. 



"King Henry," says Fuller, "took 

 just offence that the cardinal set his 

 own arms above the king's, on the 

 gate-house, at the entrance into the 



verbal but a real Ego et Rex mem, 

 excusable by no plea in manners 

 or grammar, except only 'by that 

 (which is rather fault than figure) 

 a harsh downright Hysterosis ; but 

 to humble the cardinal's pride, some 

 afterwards set up on a window a 

 painted mastiff dog, gnawing the 

 spate-bone of a shoulder of mutton, 

 to minde the cardinal of his extrac- 

 tion, being the son of a butcher, it 

 being utterly improbable (as some 

 have fancied) that that picture was 

 placed there by the cardinal's own 

 appointment, to be to him a moni- 

 tour of humility." 



SUGAR PLUMS. 



We meet with extravagances in 

 the world, which we must endure, 

 and, indeed adopt, while they last. 

 Their absurdity does not com- 

 pletely appear till after they are 

 over. During the reign of Henry 

 III. there was a time when it was 

 thought impossible to exist without 

 sugar plums. Every one carried 

 his box of sugar plums in his 

 pocket, as he now does his snuff- 

 box. It is related in the history 

 of the Duke de Guise, that when 

 he was killed at Bio is, he had his 

 comfit-box in his hand. 



MRS. HANNAH MORE TRUE AND 

 FALSE SYMPATHY. 



The author of this anecdote (Mrs. 

 Hannah More), many years ago, 

 made one in a party of friends. 

 An unexpected guest, who was ra- 

 ther late, at length came in; she 

 was in great agitation, having been 

 detained on the road by a dreadful 

 fire in the neighbourhood. The 

 poor family, who were gone to bed, 

 had been with difficulty awakened ; 

 the mother had escaped by throw- 

 ing herself from a two pair of stairs 

 window into the street: she then 

 recollected that, in her extreme 

 terror, she had left her child in 



colledg (at Oxford). This was no j bed. To the astonishment of all 



