228 



TABLE-TALK AND VARIETIES. 



COLERIDGE'S " WATCHMAN." 



Coleridge, among his many spe- 

 culations, started a periodical, in 

 prose and verse, entitled The Watch- 

 man, with the motto, "that all 

 might know the truth, and that the 

 truth might make us free." He 

 watched in vain! Coleridge's in- 

 curable want of order and punctu- 

 ality, and his philosophical theories, 

 tired out and disgusted his readers, 

 and the work was discontinued after 

 the ninth number. Of the unsale- 

 able nature of this publication, he 

 related an amusing illustration. 

 Happening one morning to rise at 

 an earlier hour than usual, he ob- 

 .served his servant-girl putting an 

 extravagant quantity of paper into 

 the grate, in order to light the fire, 

 when he mildly checked her for her 

 wastefulness: "La! sir," replied 

 Nanny; "why, it's only Watchmen" 



FUSELI ON SMALL TALK. 



Fuseli had a great dislike to com- 

 mon-place observations. After sit- 

 ting perfectly silent for a long time 

 in his own room, during " the bald, 

 disjointed chat" of some idle callers- 

 in, who were gabbling with one 

 another about the weather, and 

 other topics of as interesting a 

 nature, he suddenly exclaimed, " We 

 had pork for dinner to-day ! " " Dear 

 Mr. Fuseli, what an odd remark ! " 

 " Why, it is as good as anything 

 you have been saying for the last 

 hour." 



SIR W. SCOTT SIR H. DAVY SPECK- 

 BACKER THE TTROLESE PATRIOT. 



Speaking of Sir H. Davy, Sir 

 Walter Scott, in his kind manner, 

 mentioned to Mrs. Davy, wife of 

 Dr. Davy, his brother's biographer, 

 the following circumstance respec- 

 ting Sir Humphry : 



" There was one very good thing 

 about him, he never forgot a friend ; 

 and I'll tell you a thing he did to 

 me that makes me particularly say 



so. When he was travelling in the 

 Tyrol, the old patriot leader, Speck- 

 backer, was very ill, suffering from 

 rheumatism, or something of that 

 sort : and when he heard there was 

 a great philosopher in the neigh- 

 bourhood, he thought of course he 

 must be a doctor, and sent to beg 

 some advice about his complaint. 

 Sir Humphry did not profess to 

 know much of medicine, but he 

 gave him something, which luckily 

 relieved his pain ; and then the 



fratitude of the old chief made him 

 jel quite unhappy because he re- 

 fused to take any fee. So Sir 

 Humphry said, ' Well, that you 

 may not feel unhappy about not 

 making me any return for my ad- 

 vice, I'll ask if you have any old 

 pistol, or rusty bit of a sword, that 

 was used in your Tyrolese war of 

 defence, for I have a friend that 

 would be delighted to have any 

 such article ; and you may depend 

 on its being hung up in his hall, 

 and the story of it told for many a 

 year to come.' Speckbacker struck 

 his hands together, much pleased 

 with the request, and said, ' Oh, I 

 have the very thing ! you shall 

 have the gun that I used myself 

 when I shot thirty Bavarians in 

 one day.' The illustrious gun was 

 given accordingly to Sir Humphry, 

 who brought it with him on his 

 next visit, to Scotland, and de- 

 posited it with me, at Abbotsford, 

 himself." 



GRAY AND THE DUCHESS OF NOR- 

 TH DMBERL AND. 



Gray, the elegant author of tho 

 Elegy in a Country Churchyard, 

 being in London, before his promo- 

 tion to the chair of modern history 

 in the University of Cambridge, 

 and when his circumstances were 

 so cramped that he could indulge 

 himself in very few gratifications, 

 went with a friend to a private 

 sale of books, in which the lots 

 were very large. Amongst the 



