260 



TABLE-TALK AXD VARIETIES. 



of Fabius Pictor, about 250 years 

 before Augustus, have the letters 

 better formed than those of an 

 older date. Those of the time of 

 Augustus, and of the following 

 age, show characters of perfect 

 beauty. Those of Diocletian, and 

 Maximian are worse formed than 

 those of the Antonines ; and again, 

 those of the Justins and Justinians 

 degenerate into a Gothic taste. But 

 it is not to medals only that these 

 remarks are applicable ; we see the 

 same inferiority of written cha- 

 racters generally following in the 

 train of barbarism and ignorance. 

 During the first race of our kings, 

 we find no writing which is not a 

 mixture of Eoman and other cha- 

 racters. Under the empire of 

 Charlemagne and of Louis le De- 

 bonnaire, the characters returned 

 almost to the same point of perfec- 

 tion which characterized them in the 

 time of Augustus, but in the follow- 

 ing age there was a relapse to the 

 former barbarism ; so that for four 

 or five centuries we find only the 

 Gothic characters in manuscripts ; 

 for it is not worthwhile making an 

 exception for some short periods, 

 which were somewhat more po- 

 lished, and when there was less 

 inelegance in the formation of the 

 letters. (Melange, d'Histoire et 

 de Litterature.) 



HOW TO CIRCULATE A SATIRE. 

 Mignot, the famous pastry-cook, 

 having learned that he had been 

 ill-treated by Despreaux, in his 

 third satire, brought an action 

 against him ; but finding that he 

 was merely laughed at, he deter- 

 mined to be more effectually re- 

 venged. As he was celebrated for 

 the excellence of his biscuits, and 

 all Paiis used to send for them to 

 his shop, he caused to be printed, 

 at his own expense, a great many 

 copies of the Abbe Cotin's satire 

 against Despreaux, and wrapped 

 them round the biscuits he sold, in 



order to give them circulation ; 

 thus associating his own talents 

 with those of the Abbe. His in- 

 dignation, however, abated, when 

 he found that Boileau's satire, far 

 from being injurious to him, had 

 completely brought him into, fa- 

 shion. 



DEODATI AND DUUIOULIN. 



Deodati, professor at Geneva, 

 was one day asked what he thought 

 of the preaching of Dumoulin ; to 

 which he answered sneeringly, 

 " Clear waters are never deep. " 

 Shortly afterwards, Deodati him- 

 self delivered a sermon, and Du- 

 moulin was asked his opinion. Du- 

 moulin, who had learned the re- 

 mark of the critic, parodied the 

 expression, and answered, " Deep 

 waters are never clear." 



ERASMUS' "COLLOQUIES." 

 Simon Colinet, a bookseller in 

 Paris, in printing the Colloquies of 

 Erasmus, threw off an impression 

 of 80,000 copies. This number 

 appears sin-prising ; but we must 

 recollect, that books were then 

 more rare than they are now, and 

 were consequently sought after with 

 more avidity. The bookseller, also, 

 had the address to circulate a re- 

 port, that the Colloquies had been 

 prohibited, in order to increase the 

 demand a device which was suc- 

 cessful. 



DON CARLOS. 



Don Carlos, son of Philip H. of 

 Spain, had composed a book on the 

 subject of his father's travels, with 

 the title, The Great and Won- 

 drous Travels of King Philip. As 

 these travels consisted merely of 

 excursions from Madrid to the Es- 

 curial, and from the Escurial to 

 Madrid, Philip caused Don Carlos 

 to be tried by the Inquisition. The 

 cause of this unfortunate prince's 

 death is not exactly known. Some 

 say that his father put him to 



