In a Piece attributed to LIDGATE, entitled, "a lytell Treatyse of the Horse, the Shepe, and the Goos," the Enjoyment of two ELEMENTS, is described, as a matter of Superiority, by the Goose; also the nutritive Virtue of the Body; while a dead HORSE, is but Carrion; the fat GoosE, "in a dysshe of Golde," is a Morsel, “served upon a KYNG's Table," and, says the MONK,

Swymmynge alyve in water chrystalyne, Tenderly rosted requyreth to have Wyne," and that

"Fethers of Gees, whan they fall or moute,
To gather them vp herdes them delyte,
To sell to Fletchers the graye with the whyte.

Men plucke stalkes out of my wynges tweyne,
Some to portray, some to note, or wryte;
Whan rethoryens haue do theyr besy payne,
Fresshe epystles, lettres to endyte,
Without wrytynge auayleth not a myte;
For yf pennes and wrytynge were awaye,

Of Remembraunce then were loste the keye."

This modern Thought, upon the Origin of a PEN, is happily expressed.

LOVE begg'd and pray'd old TIME to stay,
Whilst he and PSYCHE toy'd together
LOVE held his Wings, TIME tore away,
But in the Scuffle dropp'd a Feather!

LOVE seized the Prize, and with his Dart,
Adroitly work'd to trim and shape it;—
"O PSYCHE! though 'tis Pain to part,

This Charm shall make us half escape it!

"TIME need not fear to fly too slow

When he this useful Loss discovers;
A Pen's the only Plume I know,

That wings his Pace for absent LOVERS!"

And for the Introduction of these Lines, on TIME and LOVE, ascribed to Madame BEAUHARNOIS, when EMPRESS of the FRENCH Nation, the Compiler, hopes to be pardoned by all, who have felt the Influence of either.

Destin'd, with restless Foot, to roam,

Old TIME, a venerable Sage,
Reaches a River's brink, and-" Come,"
He cries" have Pity on my Age.
"What! on these Banks forgotten I,

"Who mark each Moment with my Glass!
"Hear, DAMSELS, hear my suppliant Cry,
"And courteously help TIME to pass."

Disporting on the farther Shore,

Full many a gentle Nymph look'd on; And, fain to speed his Passage o'er,

Bade LovE, their Boatman, fetch the Crone:

But one, of all the Group, most staid,

Still warn'd her vent'rous Mates-"Alas! "How oft has Shipwreck whelm'd the MAID, "Whose PITY, would help TIME, to pass?"

Lightly his Boat across the Stream

LOVE guides, his hoary Freight receives, And, flutt'ring 'mid the sunny Gleam,

His Canvas to the Breezes gives:

And, plying light his little Oars

In Treble now, and now in Bass"See, Girls," th' enraptur'd Urchin roars, "How gaily LOVE, makes TIME, to pass!"

But, soon-'tis Love's proverbial Crime—
Exhausted, he his Oars lets fall;

And, soon, these Oars are snatch'd by TIME,
And-heard ye not the Rallier's call?—
"What! tir'd so soon of thy sweet Toil,
"Poor Child! thou sleepest! I, alas!
"In graver Strain repeat the while

My Song 'Tis TIME, makes Love, to pass!"

The having no more Recollection than a Goose, is a common, though by what is here stated, an unjust Reflection on, this Animal's want of MEMORY.

At the York Lent Assizes, Two Men were charged with stealing Geese, the Property of Mr. BLANCHARD, of Bulmer. On the first of November, sixteen Geese were missing, part of which he found alive at YORK, the same Day, in the Possession of the Prisoners, who had been offering them for Sale. The Prosecutor, on examining, said, he was almost sure they were his Geese; but in order to attain perfect Satisfaction, he took this Method:-The Geese stolen, had been taken from their Companions, Parents, and Relatives, of course; when brought together, he imagined, if they were the Geese he had lost, they would recognise each other. He took with him the Constable, and another Person, whose united Testimony would not only satisfy the COURT, but also his Neighbours, whom he thought rather incredulous on the Subject.-A Chaise was accordingly provided, and the Geese, thus respectably at

tended, returned in Triumph to their native Place. - These Witnesses proceeded with sober Sadness, to detail the Particulars of this interesting Interview. On the Arrival of the Carriage, the ancient Gander came out on the Road, to welcome the approach of his lost Family: the Cackling of the other Geese, was heard at a Distance, and as soon as the captive ones were released, they hastened to their Companions, and here a most interesting Scene ensued; the mutual Congratulations on this Occasion, were so loud and sincere, as to leave no Doubt in the Minds of the Witnesses, that these Geese, were indisputably of the same Family. The Effect which this Description had on the COURT and Audience, may be easier conceived than described; repeated Bursts of Laughter, discomposed the Bench, the Bar, and all that heard it, and it was a considerable time, before Gravity could be restored.-The Jury found the Prisoners-Guilty.

The Sapience of the Verdict here given, is an Argument in favour of the Faculties and Memory, of Geese. At the ASSIZES for one of the midland Counties, a Woman was tried for the Murder of her bastard Child, and after the JUDGE had taken great pains, in explaining the Provisions of Lord ELLEN BOROUGH'S Act, the Jury acquitted her of the Murder, and found her guilty, of concealing the Birth of the Child. The Prisoner next tried, was charged with stealing a Goose, and the same Jury, thinking that the Law applied equally to both Cases, acquitted the Prisoner of the Felony, but found him guilty of concealing the Goose!

MICHAELMAS DAY, is one of the regular Periods of settling Rents, &c. in this COUNTRY, but no longer peculiar for that Hospitality, when the Landlords used to en

tertain their Tenants, in their great Halls upon GEESE, then kept only by Persons of Opulence, and considered as a singular Treat, as before was the Case on MARTINMAS, which was the Old regular Quarterly Day. Few Families however totally neglect the antient Custom, of having a Goose, on the Festival of ST. MICHAEL. There is a current, but erroneous Tale, assigning to Queen ELIZABETH, the Introduction of this Custom: Being on her Way to TILBURY FORT, on the Twenty-ninth of September, 1588, she is alleged to have dined with Sir NEVILLE UMFREVILLE, at his Seat near that Place, and to have partaken of a GOOSE, which the Knight, knowing her Taste for high-seasoned and substantial Dishes, had provided ;—that after Dinner, she drank a half-pint bumper of Burgundy, to the Destruction of the SPANISH ARMADA, soon after which, she received the joyful Tidings, that her Wishes had been fulfilled; that being delighted with the Event, she commemorated the Day, annually, by having a GOOSE for Dinner, in imitation of Sir NEVILLE'S Entertainment; —and that, consequently, the COURT adopted the like Custom, which soon became general, throughout the KINGDOM. That Queen ELIZABETH did dine with this gallant Knight, is not to be disputed; and the Currency of the Story, renders it more than probable, that a GOOSE was part of the Provision, but the Custom is of much older Date, and equally observed on the CONTINENT, as in ENGLAND, though by the opulent alone, who could sustain the Expence; and among other Testimonies of its having been a very long-established Luxury, may be adduced a well-known and feeling Wish, expressed by CHRISTIERN, KING of DENMARK, who reigned from 1455 to 1492, "that he hoped to see the Time, when not only NOBLES, but GOOD BURGHERS through his Land, should feed on a FAT GOOSE, every ST. MARTIN'S DAY."