275 



trusty sei*vant, suddenly turned 

 round, and with his usual pleasantry 



John, John, this Kyl.ind. 

 Alas ! once was my land. 



To whom John, as merrily and 

 truly replied, 



If you had had more wit, fir, 



It might, have been yours yet, sir. 



THE BRISTOL MILKWOMAN's POETRY. 



The anecdote of Mason is well 

 known, when solicited to subscribe 

 five guineas in support of Ann 

 Yearsley, the Bristol milkwonian 

 and poetess. He observed to his 

 friend, who was rather hyperbolical 

 in his praises " Here are five 

 pounds for her book, and five shil- 

 lings for her heaven-born genius." 

 Perhaps this was illiberal ; but the 

 force of its reasoning may be applied 

 and rendered even poetically just 

 by analogy. 



CONVERSATION. 



Gibbon, one of the most fasti- 

 dious of men, and disposed by 

 neither party nor personal recol- 

 lections to be enamoured of Fox, 

 describes his conversation as admir- 

 able. They met at Lausanne, spent 

 a day without other company, "and 

 talked the whole day." The test 

 \s sufficiently long under any 

 cii'cumstances, but Gibbon declares 

 that Fox never flagged; his anima- 

 tion and variety of topic were in- 

 exhaustible. 



Dr. Bentley was loquacious. Dr 

 Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester 

 to whom this talented man was 

 chaplain, said that if Bentley hac 

 been a little more diffident, ho 

 would have been the most extra- 

 ordinary man in Europe. 



Grotius was very talkative, but 

 he was thoughtful, and richly 

 stored with learning. 



Of Goldsmith, it was said, "IT< 

 wrote like an angel, and talked lib 

 poor Poll." 



James Smith says, " I don't 



cy painters. General Phippa 



used to hav<5 them much at his 



able. He once asked me if I liked 



o meet them. I answered, 'No; 



know nothing in their way, and 



hey know nothing out of it.' " 



MADAME DE BOURDONNE. 



Madame de Bourdonne, Canoness 

 Eemiremont, had been present 

 it a discourse full of fire and elo- 

 quence, but deficient in solidity 

 ind arrangement. One of her 

 riends, who felt an interest in the 

 )reacher, asked her, as she came 

 out of church, how she liked it I 

 ' Is it not full of spirit ?" said she. 

 ' So full," replied Madame de Bour- 

 donne, " that I could not perceive- 

 any body" 



THE ARCHBISHOP OF LYONS. 



The Archbishop of Lyons had 

 lis hands completely distorted and 

 disfigured by the gout. He was 

 once engaged in play at cards, and 

 had gained a thousand pistoles. 

 ' I should not mind it," said the 

 losing party, " if my money had 

 not got into the ugliest hand in the 

 kingdom." " That is falss," said 

 the Archbishop ; " I know one that 

 is still uglier." " I'll wager thirty 

 pistoles you don't," said the other. 

 The Archbishop immediately drew 

 off the glove which covered his left 

 hand, and the gamester acknow- 

 ledged he had lost his wager. 



ART CRITICISM. 



Ambrose Philips, the poet, was 

 very solemn and pompous in conver- 

 sation. At a coffee-house he was 

 discoursingupon pictures, and pity- 

 ing the painters who in their his- 

 torical pieces always draw the same 

 sort of sky. " They should travel," 

 said he, " and then they would see 

 that there is a different sky in every 

 country, in England, France, Hol- 

 land, Italy, and so forth." " Your 

 remark is just," said a grave gentle- 



