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the imprint runs thus: "Imprime en Anvers par moy Martin Lempereur

THE DREAM OF A BOOKWORM. Lan de Nostre Seigneur Mil,' cinq cens

BY J. Y. AN. For the Olio.

In one of my rambles a few weeks since, I chanced to stumble on a curious volume, exposed for sale in the window of a book-shop in Drurylane. Its beautiful type and curiously illuminated capitals, its antique binding and brass clasps, won my heart, and for a few shillings I became possessed of this, to me, valuable and interesting relic of other days. Reader, if, like myself, thou art afflicted with that which some call a disease, and which unhallowed scoffers name "bibliomania," I can readily conceive that thy eye is searching for the title of the volume in question. Know, then it is as follows: Les Ouvres de Messire Henri Cornielle Agrippa, Docteur en deux Droictz et Conseillier Judiciare du tres victorieux Empereur Charles cinquiesme, translate du Latin en Francois ;" and VOL. VI

C

et trente." This, of course, does not comprise all the works of that wonderful inan, as he lived many years afterwards, but it was sufficient for me. The volume being small, was quickly transferred from the window to my coat pocket, and I trudged home with my treasure. Upon reaching my lodgings, I at once proceeded to explore this mine of learning, which cost me some labour, for, besides the old French, which puzzled me much, I had to decypher the multitudinous contractions which met my eye in every page; however, after persevering for sometime, these difficulties were surmounted, and I read, admired and wondered. It was a sultry afternoon, and after an hour's application, I became tired and drowsy, and leaning back in my chair, I soon fell fast asleep. Pleasant visions crowded upon me. Missals of many centuries since,-deeds bearing the signs manual of kings and princes, warriors and statesmen,--black letter volumes of ex

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treme scarcity, each worth their weight in gold to the bibliopolist,-all floated before my enraptured gaze. Suddenly a voice, which seemed to issue from the oak cover of the book I had been perusing, spoke as follows:

"Listen, and I will narrate to thee my adventures since the day I was put forth and published by that honest man Martin Lempereur, in the goodly city of Antwerp!" My astonishment caused my tongue to cleave to the roof of my mouth, which was, I suppose, interpreted as an assent, and the voice rejoined:-"Many and great have been the perils which I have encountered since the year which thou seest imprinted on my title-page. Many an owner have I had, and many a checquered scene of ambition, folly, happiness and misfortune have I been witness to. The sharp grey eye of the philosopher has often been intently fixed upon my pages; many have read and wondered; ay, I have been exposed alike to the purblind gate of the aged and the mild blue eye of the young and the beautiful. But they are gone like the mists of morning, and I have survived them all. The spectacled monk, the crafty statesman, the soldier and the student, the flaunting cavalier and the blithsome damsel, have been acquainted with me; and all but I have passed down that stream whose tide hath never ebbed. In the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and thirty I issued from the press of Martin Lempereur, and was exposed for sale in his shop, together with many curious volumes printed and manuscript. I had not lain there long when a good monk coming in one morning, took me up, and after some little haggling purchased me and placed me carefully in his wallet, whence I did not emerge until my possessor had reached his convent, which stood about a league from the city. The monk was a holy man, and fasted and prayed with true devotion; but he worshipped not his Creator alone, there was another God to whom he sacrificed-gold. He had a considerable hoard of money in his cell, and I often beheld his eye wander from the crucifix, at the foot of which he nightly knelt, to the chest which contained his treasure. I might have remained in that convent until this hour, but for a sad event which befel my possessor. But one person only suspected that he was rich; this was a young man who had been employed in various menial offices by the monks. He it was who watched and discovered

But

the treasure of the old ecclesiastic, and determined to possess himself of it. Accordingly, he laid his plans to escape with the treasure, and one night, just as the bell had sounded twelve, he entered the cell, and with repeated strokes of a knife laid the old man dead upon the floor. The few moveables of which the murdered priest was possessed were soon tied up in a bundle, to gether with the small chest which had cost him his life; when the murderer stole out of the convent, and scaling the high wall which surrounded it by means of a rope-ladder, fled across the country, in company with a desperado of about his own age, who had prompted him to the commission of the murder. It will be needless to tell you that I formed a portion of the plunder. The ruffians in a few days arrived in Paris, and soon mixed with all the vile and desperate of that pestilent city. justice cut short their career of crime, for, not more than a month after, they committed a murder upon a gentleman, for which they were, at the Place de Greve, broken alive upon the wheel I was bequeathed by the ruffian who had purloined me, with several other valuables, to a damsel with whom he had formed a liaison, and who had assisted him in his various schemes of fraud and plunder. In this lady's possession I remained but a short time, for a learned doctor, who sometimes did her the honour to look in at her lodgings, espied me one day, and for a trifling sum became my owner. I remained in his possession several years, without meeting with any adventure worth relating. At length the doctor died, and I came into the hands of his nephew, as wild and riotous a blade as ever scoured the streets of Paris, or kicked up a row in the faux bourgs. He was a true gallant of that day, he danced, drank, swore, and-but I forget that I was speaking in another age, and was about to offend you by my plainess of speech. To resume:-My young master scon run himself out of the money which his old uncle had left him, and entirely lost that stock of robust health which nature had blessed him with,-he died neglected and despised in one of the prisons of Paris. Having been carefully used, I had been scarcely soiled, so that I was readily purchased by a bookseller of one of my former master's creditors; and here begins the most interesting portion of my adventures. I had not been many days in the possession of this good man, when a gentleman of

sober mein, dressed in a somewhat antique fashion, entered the shop, and purchased me, together with some other books. A porter carried me home to the gentleman's lodgings, where I was deposited upon a table with my companions. Judge, sir, of my surprise and pleasure, when I first heard the name of my new owner pronounced. Know that I was in the possession of that learned and quaint philosopher, Michael de Montaigne. Ah, never shall I forget his high, pale forehead, his calm and dignified aspect, his spade beard, and the penetrating glance of his large and expressive eye. He had the wit and vivacity of his countrymen, added to the profundity of the ancient sages. Long will it be ere France shall look upon such another man. You have your translations of this wonderful author, but those who are unacquainted with the language in which his works are penned, can form but a faint idea of the beauties with which they abound. In the following month I was conveyed to his chateau in Perigord and placed in his library, which you will find minutely described in his Essays. Many years did I live in close intimacy with this excellent man, whose death was the death of the righteous. As the period of his dissolution came, so calmly ebbed his life, that he seemed to have fallen into a profound slumber. Pardon me, if I do not dwell upon this painful subject. The undisturbed tranquillity which I enjoyed in the society of that philosopher, forms a striking contrast to the scenes of violence and licentiousness to which I have often been a witness.

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AN OUTLINE OF CHARACTER.

ETCHED FROM LIFE.
(For the Olio.)

JUSTLY has the great lexicographer of our language defined Britain's vast metropolis

The common sewer of Paris and of Rome.

Hither repairs the gay votary of pleasure and conviviality; here the literary hack, and the gifted son of genius, "whose words are sparks of immortality," strive to procure a chaplet of glory--a niche in the temple of Fame. In short, some particular circumstance or other renders London an object of interest to all. In it are found the wealthy, the poor and wretched, from every part of earth's fair surface; but little did I think that Dame Fortune, "thou mischief-making quean," had destined that I should meet this morning, on turning into one of the public tho roughfares, a worthy wight of the west of England. We stopped and hesitated. "Why, captain, ah, whoever expected to see you in town?" following my ejacu lation by a friendly, hearty shake, which was returned with equal cordiality.→ "Nothing has happene I hope, to bring you up?" No; I have mastered the journey for the sole purpose of seeing the Thames Tunnel, and I assure you a shilling cannot be better spent than in viewing the undertaking.” Such was his whim. After mutual congratulations, explanations, and such et ceteras, my friend, being disengaged, agreed to share la fortune du poi. Considering many would be pleased with an introduction to such an unique character, I, after his departure, drew my chair nearer to the cheerful blaze, trimmed the candles, replenished my glass, took a new pen, and throwing my features in a thoughtful yet somewhat merry mood, I essayed the present sketch; attempting neither a narration of every petit foible, a prosing memoir, nor rough notes for flaming quarto.

After a lapse of some years, I find my friend still the same, except that time has somewhat furrowed his brow. He retains his usual peculiarities, and possesses the same inclination to repeat his favourite anecdotes and maxims, to which a handful of days back I listened with wonder-with almost veneration. The Sir Oracle of my youth (for so 1 may term him) is a short, dapper, mer curial personage; a batchelor, of course, though, unlike many of the seventyfours of the present times, he keeps pace with the fashions and amusements

of the day; always merry, he has nothing indeed to embitter the sweets of life. In due historic order, I ought to notice his birth, parentage, and education. These points may be dismissed with ease:-Devon, emphatically styled the Garden of England, was the place of my friend's nativity. His parents, of humble grade, were called to that "bourne whence no traveller returns," before he could write himself a man. His school was the world. Oft has he proudly exclaimed that to himself alone is he indebted for the ease, comfort, and independence he now enjoys. At one time he performed the menial duties of a cabin boy. Early stood he the brunt of the world, and bore "the proud man's contumely." By dint of diligence, by plodding industry, he worked his way to wealth, before life loses its relish, before man arrives at the seventh age, and appears as "the lean and slippered pantaloon." Neatness in dress forms a material point, and without broaching any peculiar opinion, I may venture to assert it, strongly indicative of disposition and character. His locks were neatly powdered, and "each particular hair" duly arranged, implying the order within; for his anecdotes, bon-mots, and long stories on deeds of former days, are given out with the exactitude of clockwork. His neckcloth is adjusted with surprising tact, with all the primness of his petit ledger, in which every outlay is rigidly noted. In fine, his tout ensemble presents an original, an inimitable specimen of precision, affording ample topics for gossip and remark at all the select tea parties in the vicinity of his abode. A tea party his very soul abhors; but after tea the captain, true to time, forms an indispensable at a sound game."Whist," exclaims he, "too much thinking, give me a game at which we may talk and enjoy ourselves. What say you, madam?" The lady, of course, assents, and speculation is the amusement fixed on. Here is he in his element kings and queens are disposed of the game displayed the richness of the pool descanted upon, with a grace, eloquence, and luxuriance of puff, rivalling even Christie, Robinson, or other great knights of the hammer. According to his own account, he invariably comes off minus. The veracity of this was often questioned; had it been true, his wit and humour would not have been dealt out so profusely. I have seen him lead off the sprightly dance with all the vivacity of youth.

Well, too, do I remember the consequences that resulted from this boyish desire of ranking among the scions of Terpsicore; severely did he suffer for his feat-a sprained ankle confined him to his room; he has never since (I speak advisedly) attempted a similar juvenile exploit. My friend, I have lately heard, still continues his usual routine, but adheres with greater pertinacity to old whims and customs. He now occasionally exceeds his usual hour of rising, and is never called into account by his worthy housekeeper for encroaching on the hours claimed by the leaden god. The fact must be owned, he is not so young as he was twenty years ago. A desire to see how the world and its motley group are moving, induces him to wrap up at nights, indulge in Kitchener's Tewadiddle, and such minutiæ, luxuries which at one time warmly excited his wrathful indignation. HENRY INCE.

RECOLLECTIONS OF ROYALTY.

LETTER

WRITTEN BY HIS LATE MA-
JESTY GEORGE IV.

When Eight Years of Age. THE interesting document was written on the occasion of a loyal address being brought up by Sir Richard Perrott, from the borough of Flint, with the view of counteracting the effects of the numerous factious petitions that were got up at the same period, calling upon the King to dismiss his ministers. Sir Richard Perrott had long been attached to the court in a military and civil capacity, and had rendered many eminent services to his country abroad as well as at home. He was in the whole of the seven years war with Frederick the Great, and was created his Lord High Admiral, and he received a baronial rank from Louis XV., with the distinguished privilege of Tabouret for his Lady, and those of his successors in his English honours.

"Sir Richard Perrot may assure the Barony of Flint that I have delivered the Petition to the King, and am much pleased with the Loyalty and Affection to the King, and to myself, expressed by the ancient Britons on this occasion. "George Prince of Wales." "January 9th, 1770."

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conceived the object of this day's dinner, which has succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations; it has almost, if not entirely, annihilated every coolness that has for a short time past appeared to exist between the Duke of Norfolk and his old friends, and brought Erskine back also. Ask only the Duke of Leinster and Guildford what passed. I believe you never heard such an eulogium from the lips of man, pronounced, as I this day have pronounced upon Fox, and so complete a refutation of all the absurd doctrines and foolish distinctions which they have grounded their late conduct upon. This was most honourably, distinctly, and zealously supported by Sheridan, by which they were most completely driven to the wall, and positively pledged themselves hereafter to follow no other line of politics than what Fox and myself would hold out to them, and with a certain degree of contrition expressed by them, at their ever having ventured to express a doubt either respecting Charles or myself. Harry Howard, who never has varied in his sentiments, was overjoyed, and said he never knew any thing so well done, or so well timed, and that he should to-night retire to his bed the happiest of men, as his mind was now at ease, which it had not been for some time past. In short, what fell from both Sheridan as well as myself was received with rapture by the company, and I consider this as one of the luckiest and most useful days I have spent for ages. As to particulars, I must ask your patience till to-morrow, when I will relate every incident, with which I am confident you will be most completely satisfied. Pray, my ever dearest Duchess, whenever you bestow a thought upon me, have rather a better opinion of my steadiness and firmness. I really think, without being very romantic, I may claim this of you; at the same time, I am most grateful to you for your candour, and the affectionate warmth, if I may be allowed so to call it, which dictates the contents of your letter; ; you may depend upon its being seen by no one else but myself. pend upon my coming to you to-morrow. I am delighted with your goodness to me, and ever

Most devotedly your's, Carlton House, Friday Night.

G. P.

De-

Dramatic Anecdote of George IV. -The late King, some years ago, meeting Frederick Reynolds on the Steyne, at Brighton, approached him, and said,

"Well, young author, why have my father and myself so frequently attended Covent Garden Theatre on the nights your comedy of the Dram tist has been performed?"" I cannot guess, your Royal Highness," replied the astonished bard." Why, to be frank, then, because, in the whole range of the English drama, your play is the shortest." Since Reynolds is now about to appear in (to him) the novel character of novelist, (and in which, from his original and satirical observations, he will most probably meet with success,) we hope he will not forget this jocose remark of his late Majesty.

During the illness of Fox, the prince was a constant visitor. There was no affectation in his visits. A face full of good-natured concern, a voice softened by emotion, showed the feeling of an uncorrupted heart; not even the flatteries of a court, nor the seductions of pleasure, could attract him from the sick bed of his dying friend.

Prince Leopold incurred the temporary displeasure of the king, and its expression called forth two traits of the heart. His Majesty was surprised that the prince had not visited his motherin-law on her arrival in England; but astonishment and indignation succeeded to surprise when he saw the prince swelling the tide of her triumph, and increasing the number of her visitors, when she became the idol of the mob, and the source of odium and annoyance to his majesty.

His majesty had all the antipathy of a Virginia nigger-driver to blacks, and would not even admit persons slightly tinged with India-ink into his royal presence. A certain naval peer, Lord T-n, incurred irretrievable disgrace by an attempt to smuggle a wealthy half-breed from Calcutta, of the name of Bi, through the formalities of presentation; and Kramer, the musi cian, nearly lost his situation of leader of the royal band by a similar piece of imprudence. The story, as regards Kramer, runs thus:--The fiddling generalissimo was bent on having a black man to beat the kettle-drum; but, aware of his majesty's antipathy to the sable tribe, he was in despair of ever being able to accomplish his wishes, when he met by chance with a native Englishman of so dark a hue, that at a short distance he might easily be mistaken for an importation from the coast of Guinea. Kramer had the man forthwith installed in the office of kettledrummer; and now came the trying

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