286 



TABLE-TALK AND VARIETIES. 



ing the invitation out of his pocket. 

 A jury was summoned, and it was 

 decided nem. con^ 'that for once 

 the professor waa in the wrong,' 

 which he instantly admitted. ' Your 

 blunder,' I replied, ' my friend, will 

 cost me a beef-steak and a bottle of 

 your favourite Trinity ale, so that 

 you will be the gainer.' 



" He sat on, ' as was his custom 

 in the afternoon,' till past midnight, 

 emptying every flask and decanter 

 that came to his way. As I knew 

 there was no end to his bacchanalia 

 when fairly seated with plenty of 

 drink and a listener, I retired, 

 leaving him to finish the remains 

 of some half-dozen of bottles ; for 

 it was immaterial to the professor 

 the quality of the stuff, provided he 

 had quantity. 



" On my descending, the following 

 morning, to breakfast, I was sur- 

 prised to find my friend lounging 

 on a sofa, and perusing with great 

 attention a curious volume of Ita- 

 lian tales, which I had picked up 

 in my travels. I learned that, 

 having found the liquor so choice, 

 and the Novelle Antiche so interest- 

 ing, he had trimmed his lamp and 

 remained on th e premises. ' I think,' 

 said he, 'that with the aid of a 

 razor, and a light-coloured neck- 

 cloth, and a brush, I shall be smart 

 enough for your fine party.' 



" A pretty large company assem- 

 bled in the evening, and Porson 

 treated them with a translation 

 (without book) of the curious tale 

 which had excited his notice. So 

 extraordinary was his memory 

 that although' there were above 

 forty names introduced into th 

 story, he had only forgotten one 

 This annoyed him so much, that h 

 started from the table, and after 

 pacing about the room for ten mi 

 nutes, he stopped short, exclaim 

 ing, ' Eureka ! The count's nann 

 is Don Francesco Averani.' Th 

 party sat till three o'clock in th 

 morning, but Porson would no 



tir, and it was with no small diffi- 

 ulty that my brother could prevail 

 m him to take his departure at 

 ive ; having favoured me with his 

 company exactly thirty-six hours, 

 during this time, I calculated he 

 inished a bottle of alcohol, two of 

 Trinity ale, six of claret, besides 

 ,he lighter sort of wines, of which 

 ! could take no account ; he also 

 emptied a half-pound canister of 

 snuff, and, during the first night^ 

 smoked a bundle of cigars. 



" Professor Porson, most unhap- 

 pily, gave way to his inclination to- 

 Irinking, and died of apoplexy at 

 ;he age of forty-nine years. At a 

 post-mortem examination, it was 

 ascertained that his skull was one 

 of the thickest that had ever been 

 observed. And this, too, notwith- 

 standing the fact that he was one 

 of the most remarkable scholars of" 

 the age in which he lived." 



THE SON OF BUFFON. 



The son of Buffon one day sur- 

 prised his father by the sight of a 

 column, which he had raised to the 

 memory of his father's eloquent 

 genius. " It will do you honour," 

 observed the Gallic sage. And 

 when that son, in the revolution, 

 was led to the guillotine, he as- 

 cended in silence, so impressed with 

 his father's fame, that he only told 

 the people, " I am the son of Buffon.'* 



PORSON AT SCBOOL. 



Professor Porson, when a boy at 

 Eton school, discovered the most 

 astonishing powers of memory. In 

 going up to a lesson one day, he 

 was accosted by a boy in the same 

 form " Porsou, what have you got 

 there ?" " Horace:' " Let me look 

 at it." Porson handed the book to 

 the boy, who, pretending to return 

 it, dexterously substituted another 

 in its place, with which Porson 

 proceeded. Being called on by the 

 master, he read and construed 

 Carm. 1, x. very regularly. Ob- 



