POPE INNOCENT XI. 



Pope Innocent XI. wag the son 

 of a banker. He was elected on 

 St. Matthew's day, and in the even- 

 ing a pasquinade appeared on the 

 statue: "They found a man sit- 

 ting at the receipt of custom." 



QUANTITY AND QUALITY. 



A marquis said to a financier, "I 

 would have you to know that I am 

 a man of quality." " And I," replied 

 the financier, " am a man of quan- 

 tity." 



BOSSUET. 



M. Bossuct, Bishop of Meaux, at 

 eight years of age, preached with 

 grace; he delivered a sermon at 

 that age at the Hotel de Rambouil- 

 let. It was nearly midnight when 

 he closed, and Voiture, who was 

 present, remarked as he rose to go, 

 " I have never heard a sermon so 

 early or so late." 



CANDOUR. 



The first president of the par- 

 liament of Paris, asked M. Montau- 

 ban, one day as he rose to speak, 

 whether he would be long. "Very," 

 replied the advocate coolly. "At 

 least," replied the magistrate, "you 

 are candid." 



SANTEUIL. 



Santeuil was crossing the court 

 of the College of Cardinal le Morne, 

 when he met a scholar who was 

 walking up and down, composing 

 his theme which he helclinhis hand. 

 Santeuil, guessing what he was em- 

 ployed about, pulled the paper out 

 of his hand with a tremendous ex- 

 pression of countenance, translated 

 it instantly into elegant Latin, and 

 returned it to him, saying, " If your 

 regent asks you who composed this 

 theme, tell him it was the devil." 

 He then hurried off, making his 

 cloak fly about him, and raising a 

 cloud of dust all about. The terri- 



SHAKSPEAKF. 267 



fied student retreated instantly into 

 college, and repeated to the regent 

 the history of the apparition of the 

 devil. The Jesuit, who saw that 

 the theme was composed in the most 

 elegant Latin, and that the student 

 told the story with perfect sincerity 

 and good faith, was puzzled what 

 to think of the matter. Soon after, 

 Santeuil was present at a public 

 discussion which took place in the 

 hall of the Jesuits. The scholar 

 recognized his old acquaintance, 

 and immediately called out in an 

 agony of fear, "The devil! the 

 devil!" Santeuil, perceiving that 

 he was detected, related the story, 

 to the infinite amusement of the 

 audience, who found this explana- 

 tion much more interesting than 

 the former subject of discussion. 



BREVITY. 



Henry IV. liked a brief reply. 

 He once met an ecclesiastic, to whom 

 he said, "Whence do you come? , 

 Where are you going 1 ? What do 

 you want?" The ecclesiastic re- 

 plied instantly, " From Bourges 

 to Paris a benefice." " You shall 

 have it," replied the monarch. 



THE SUN. 



Some astronomers, who had been 

 making observations, thought they 

 perceived several spots in the sun. 

 Voitiere happened shortly after- 

 wards to be in a company, where 

 he was asked if there were any 

 news. " None," said he ; "but that 

 I hear very bad reports of the sun." 



SIIAKSPEARB. 



"Foreigners cannot enjoy our 

 Shakspeare," said Sherlock to Vol- 

 taire. " That is true," replied he ; 

 " they are acquainted with his plays 

 only through translations, which 

 retain slight faults, while the great 

 beauties are lost: a blind man can- 

 not be persuaded of the beauty of 

 the rose, when his fingers are 

 pricked by the thorns." 



