SIGNIFICANT CRITICISM. 



2G9 



posed him. Voltaire told her the 

 particulars, continuing to repeat : 

 "Lean! lean! So then I must be 

 killed too ." At length he in- 

 sisted that Madeline should be dis- 

 missed. His niece feigned compli- 

 ance, and ordered the poor girl to 

 keep herself out of sight in the cha- 

 teau. And it was only after two 

 months that Voltaire asked about 

 her. "She is very unfortunate," 

 said Madame Denis, "she has not 

 sticeeeded in getting a place at 

 Geneva ; which happens from its 

 being known that she was turned 

 off from the chateau." " It is all 

 her own fault. Why laugh at the 

 death of my eagle because it was 

 lean? However, she must not be 

 allowed to starve ; let her come 

 back, but let her beware of present- 

 ing herself before me, do you hear?" 

 Madame Denis promised she should 

 not, and upon this Madeline came 

 forth from her concealment, but 

 carefully kept out of the way of her 

 master. One day, however, Vol- 

 taire rising from table, found her 

 standing opposite to him ; Madeline 

 coloured, and, with downcast eyes, 

 wished to stammer out some ex- 

 cuses: "Not a word more of it," 

 said he ; "but mind you at least, 

 that it is not necessary tokill every- 

 thing which happens to be lean." 



JOHNSON AND THE POETESS. 



"When last in Lichfield," says 

 Anna Sewarcl, "Johnson told me 

 that a lady in London once sent 

 him a poem which she had written, 

 and afterwaixls desired to know his 

 opinion of it. ' Madam, I have not 

 cut the leaves. I did not even peep 

 between them.' He met her again 

 in company, and she again asked 

 him after the 'trash.' He made no 

 reply, and began talking to another 

 person. The next time they met, 

 she asked him if he had yet read 

 her poem. He answered, ' No, 

 madam, nor never intend to ! ' 

 Shocked at the unfeeling rudeness 



he thus recorded of himself, I re- 

 plied, that I was surprised any per- 

 son should obtrude their writings 

 upon his attention ; adding, that if 

 I could write as well as Milton or 

 Gray, I should think the best fate 

 to be desired for my compositions 

 was exemption from his notice. I 

 expected a sharp sarcasm in return, 

 but he only rolled his large head in 

 silence. 



"Johnson told me once, he 'would 

 hang a dog that read the Lycidas 

 of Milton twice.' 'What, then,' 

 replied I, 'must become of me, who 

 can say it by heart, and who often 

 repeat it to myself with a delight 

 which grows by what it feeds upon ?' 

 ' Die ! ' returned the growler, ' in a 

 surfeit of bad taste.' Thus it was 

 that the wit and aweless impolite- 

 ness of the stupendous creature bore 

 down by storm every barrier which 

 reason attempted to rear against 

 his injustice." 



CRITICISM OF A HATTER'S SIGN. 



A journeyman hatter, a com- 

 panion of Dr. Franklin, on com- 

 mencing business for himself, was 

 anxious to get a handsome sign- 

 board, with a proper inscription. 

 This he composed himself, as fol- 

 lows: "John Thompson, hatter, 

 makes and sells hats for ready 

 money" with the figure of a hat 

 subjoined. But he thought he 

 would submit it to his friends for 

 their amendments. The first ho 

 showed it to thought the word hat- 

 ter tautologous, because followed 

 by the words "makes hats," which 

 showed he was a hatter. It wa 

 struck out. The next observed, 

 that the word "makes" might as 

 well bo omitted, because his cus- 

 tomers would not care who madu 

 the hats ; if good, and to their mind, 

 they would buy, by whomsoever 

 made. He struck that out also. 

 A third said, lie thought the words 

 "for ready money" were useless; 

 as it was not the custom of the place 



