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Which, doubtless, from th' inscription, held his Rhenish wine,

Because Shaksperian Steevens carv'd himself the line.

caused a cup to be constructed of stone, on which he en graved some rude Saxon characters, apparently intimating, from broken syllables, that it was the vessel, out of which Hardi Knute used to drink to his knights at his round table. This vessel, by the manœuvres of Mr. Steevens, was conveyed to Somerset House, for the inspection of the learned body of antiquaries, after undergoing every necessary transfiguration, to give it the appearance of having imbibed the mould of age, the solemn hue of antiquity. Upon this cup the erudite Mr. Pegge wrote a very elaborate and learned disquisition, stamping it, indelibly, the vessel of Knute; after which it was returned to Mr. Steevens, through the channel which he had made use of in order to pass off his hoax. When that gentleman, having thus gained his end, most inhumanly published the whole transaction to the world; still augmenting his barbarity, by properly construing the lines engraven on the vessel, which proved no other than a most biting satire on the Society he had thus imposed upon. Among the impostors of this nature should not be omitted the Rowleian Chatterton, and the Shaksperian Ireland, whose memories will live as long as old chests and old manuscripts stand on record.

Old stones, bones, coffins, without number,
Pots, pipkins, pans, such kitchen lumber;

Old chain, mail, armour, weapons rusty,

*

Coins, medals, parchment, writings musty:

Yet, after all antiques, not one compare I can
To that most rare of all, an antiquarian.

* A very curious story is related of a collector of old coins, who, after displaying his valuable store to some amateurs, suddenly missed a rare gold piece, of the Emperor Carusius, which had peculiarly attracted the attention of his visitors, when, instantly securing the door of the apart ment, he made the fact known, and requested that the gentlemen would turn their pockets inside out, in order to satisfy him that it was not in either of their possessions. Each of the visitors, anxious to vindicate himself from the charge of theft, instantly acquiesced with the desire of the collector, who, not finding his coin by this means, proceeded to acquaint the company that he must be under the necessity of administering a strong purgative to each party, which was accordingly ordered, notwithstanding the most vehement opposition on all sides; when wrought upon by this vigorous mode of attack, one of the amateurs, at length, confessed that he had been unable to resist the powerful temptation: and, as he wanted that coin only to render his series complete, he had literally taken the opportunity of swallowing it, in the hope of bearing away the prize; so

L'ENVOY OF THE POET.

O! let me counsel, friend-For modern art,
And British genius should not be forgot.
'Twere hard if Wedgewood could not act his part,
And vie with Greek or Roman ch-mb-r p-t.

that after evacuation he might be enabled to place it in his own repository. It is almost needless to add, that the injured collector did not suffer this swallower of emperors to quit his mansion, until Carusius had passed the great ordeal, and once more tasted the joys of light and liberty.

By way of sequel to the above, the reader should be informed, that shortly after the fact here related had taken place, an old acquaintance of this purging collector demanded the cause which had instigated him to adopt so extraordinary a method; when he confessed, that upon a former occasion he had himself pursued a similar expedient, in order to become possessed of a scarce coin, which was deficient in his assortment; and that, well knowing from experience that nothing less than a smart dose would have immediately brought forth the hidden treasure from his own bowels, he had consequently pursued that plan, on finding that his lost treasure was not concealed in the external accoutrements of his visitors..

THE POET'S CHORUS TO FOOLS.

Come, trim the boat, row on each Rara Avis, Crowds flock to man my Stultifera Navis.

SECTION XXXII.

OF FOOLS WHO DELIGHT IN THE CHASE.

L'asino si cognosce all' orecchie.

MOUNTED on horse an ass now see,
That puts his life in jeopardy,
Because his only care

Is o'er pale, ditch, and gate to leap;
And gallop down the hill that's steep:
And all for what?-A hare.

Tis nobly done: with hounds a score,
And horsemen too as many more,
To chase the timid deer:*

* In the Lives of the Saints, we are informed that Hubert, the hunter, became a convert to fasting and prayer, from a stag's appearing before him, while following the sports of the field, with a crucifix between his antlers. As to the truth of this legend the writer knows nothing; but,

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