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TABLE-TALK AND VARIETIES. 



they lay, almost in eqnilibrio, the 

 two pieces of wood, at one end of 

 which the chair hangs just over 

 the water ; they place the woman 

 in this chair, and so plunge her 

 into the water as often as the sen- 

 tence directs, in order to cool her 

 immoderate heat." 



Cole, the antiquary already men- 

 tioned, in one of his manuscript 

 volumes in the British Museum, 

 says, " In my time, when I was a 

 boy and lived with my grand- 

 mother in the great corner-house 

 at the bridge-foot, next to Mag- 

 dalen College, Cambridge, and re- 

 built since by my uncle, Joseph 

 Cock, I remember to have seen a 

 woman ducked for scolding. The 

 chair hung by a pulley fastened to 

 a beam about the middle of the 

 bridge, in which the woman was 

 confined, and let down under the 

 water three times, and then taken 

 out. The bridge was then of tim- 

 ber, before the present stone bridge 

 of one arch was builded. The 

 ducking-stool was constantly hang- 

 ing in its place, and on the back 

 panel of it was engraved devils 

 laying hold of scolds, &c. Some 

 time after, a new chair was erected 

 in the place of the old one, having 

 the same devices carved on it, and 

 well painted and ornamented. 

 When the new bridge of stone was 

 erected in 1754, this was taken 

 away ; and I lately saw the carved 

 and gilt back of it nailed up by the 

 shop of one Mr. Jackson, a white- 

 smith in the Butcher Kow, behind 

 the town-hall, who offered it to me, 

 but I did not know what to do 

 with it. In October, 1776, 1 saw 

 in the old town-hall a third duck- 

 ing-stool, of plain oak, with an iron 

 bar before it to confine the person 

 in the seat; but I made no in- 

 quiries about it. I mention these 

 things, as the practice seems now 

 to be totally laid aside." Mr. 

 Cole died in the year 1782. 



The custom of the ducking-stool 



was not confined to England. In 

 the Regiam Majestatem of Sir John 

 Skene it occurs as an ancient 

 punishment in Scotland, under 

 "Burrow Lawes," chap. 69, notic- 

 ing Browsters, that is, " Wemen 

 quka brewes aitt to be sauld" it is 

 said, " gif she makes gude Ail, that 

 is sufficient ; bot gif she makes 

 evill Ail, contrair to the use and 

 consuetude of the Burgh, and is 

 convict thereof, she sail pay ane 

 unlaw of aucht shillinges, or sail 

 suffer the justioa of the Burg] 1 ., 

 that is, she sail be put upon the 

 COCK-STULE, and the Ail sail be 

 distributed to the pure folke." 



Gay mentions the ducking-stool, 

 in his Pastorals, as a punishment 

 in use in his time : 



" I'll speed mo to the pond, where 

 the high stool 



On the long plank hangs o'er the 

 muddy pool. 



That stool, the dread of every scold- 

 ing quean." 



(The Shepherd's Week. Pastoral iii.) 



BOTANICAL SATIRE. 



Some of the systematic names of 

 plants are very pretty little lam- 

 poons. Thus Sauvages having 

 given the name Buffonia, in hon- 

 our of Buffon, Linmeus added the 

 epithet tenuifolia, which suits tho 

 slender leaves of the plant, and the 

 slender pretensions of Buffon to 

 the character of a botanist. 



Another plant he named Brow- 

 allia, after Browal, a scholar of his ; 

 and as Browal was of humble 

 fortune, he called one of its species 

 Browattia, dcpressa ; but when 

 Browal rose in the world, and for- 

 got his old friends, Linna3us gave 

 another species the name of Brout- 

 allia elata. 



Thus, too, the Petiveria, a2liacea, 

 while it commemorates the botani- 

 cal zeal of Petiver, who a century 

 ago was apothecary to the Charter- 

 house, at the same time points out 

 by its acridity the defect of hia 

 temper. 



