291. WHERE we translate it, "the Lord set a mark upon Cain," the original signifies a token; and in the Hebrew, to set a token upon anything, and to preserve it, are equivalent expressions.• Lockyer. 292. IN consequence of their patronage of Gay and his "Beggar's Opera," the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry had a message brought them by the Vice-Chamberlain to desire their absence from 、 court. The Duke threw up his employments; and the noble-spirited Duchess wrote the following note to the King and Queen : "The Duchess of Queensberry is surprised and well pleased that the King has given her so agreeable a command as forbidding her the court, where she never came for diversion, but to bestow a very great civility on the King and Queen. She hopes that by so unprecedented an order as this the King will see as few as he wishes at court, particularly such as dare to think or speak the truth. I dare not do otherwise, and ought not ; nor could I have imagined but that it would have been the highest compliment I could possibly pay the King and Queen, to support truth and innocence in their house. C. QUEENSBERRY. "P.S.-Particularly when the King and Queen told me they had not read Mr Gay's play. I have certainly done them right to justify my own behaviour, rather than act like his Grace of who has neither made use of truth, honour, or judgment in this whole affair, either for himself or his friends." WHEN 293. HEN Garrick was performing at Arras one evening in the character of Hamlet, in the fifth scene where he is about to stab his mother, a military officer was so overcome by his masterly representation of it that he was carried out of the theatre. His first words on recovering were, "Has he killed his mother?" 294. DURING one of the seasons when George Frederick Cooke was delighting some of our northern neighbours in "the Land of Cakes" with his inimitable performances, the night being very hot, and the tragedian having acted his best, towards the close of the evening, as might be guessed, he felt not a little fatigued. The managerial monarch perceived this, and, between one of the scenes in Bosworth Field, he took the mimic hunchback into his dressing-room, and, unlocking a corner cupboard, he selected a wee thistle-glass, and filling it with native whisky, presented it to George Frederick, exclaiming, "Here, Maister Kuke, I dinna think this will hurt ye." "No," says George, glancing at the size of the glass, "no, my friend, not if it was vitriol." 295. ALDERMAN ATKINS, a member of the Long Parliament, made a motion that such scan dalous members as slept, and minded not the business of the House, should be put out. Harry Marten, who was wont to sleep much in the House (at least, dog-sleep), starts up: "Mr Speaker, a motion has been made to turn out the nodders; I desire the noddees may also be turned out." 296. MR KIRKTON, a Scottish divine, preaching on hymns and spiritual songs, told the people, "There be four kinds of songs-profane songs, malignant, allowable, and spiritual songs. Profane songs 6 'My mother sent me to the well; But kind Robin loves me.' Malignant songs, such as 'He ho Gilliecrankie,' and The King enjoys his own again,' against which I have not much to say. Thirdly, allowable songs, like 'Once I lay with another man's wife.' Ye may be allowed, sirs, to sing this; but I do not say that ye are allowed to do this, for that's a great deal of danger indeed. Lastly, spiritual songs, which are the Psalms of David; but the godless prelates add to these, 'Glory to the Father,' the worst of all I have yet spoken of." 297. BURTON, in his "Anatomy of Melancholy," gives the following anecdote of James I.:"King James, in 1605, when he came to see our University of Oxford, and amongst other edifices went to view that famous library renewed by Sir Thomas Bodley, in imitation of Alexander, at his departure, broke out into that noble speech: 'If I were not a king I would be a University man. And if it were so that I must be a prisoner, if I might have my wish, I would desire to have no other prison than that library, and to be chained together with so many good authors et mortuis magistris." WHEN 298. HEN Miss Pulteney was created Baroness Bath, there being a Marquis of Bath of another family existing, Lord Radnor made a motion in the House of Lords against the patent, contending that it was unconstitutional and illegal to create two peers with the same title, and that great inconvenience would arise from it; as in their Lordships' proceedings "Bath" might often appear opposed to "Bath." Lord Loughborough thereupon said, "My Lords, in this case there is a sure way of preventing the future antagonism which haunts the imagination of the noble Earl; for the heir-apparent of the Marquis being a bachelor, he may marry the young and beautiful Baroness, and then Bath will be merged in Bath!" 299. THE 'HE term mosaic work, though common, is wrong. It should be spelled "musaic," as the Greek word whence it originates requires. The Greeks called this kind of work musaic, from the very exact junction of the various parts. An arrangement so contrived appeared analogous to the sounds in musical compositions which, though various in themselves, were rendered harmonious by the art of the musician.-Scaligerana. 300. A FRIEND of Boileau, who had been invited to a grand dinner by some rich Jews, wished very much to carry Boileau with him. The poet at length, tired with his importunities, exclaimed, "What! dine with a set of scoundrels, who crucified their Lord and Master!" 66 My dear sir," replied his epicurean friend, "how could you put such things into my head at this time, when such an excellent dinner is just ready, and these honest people are now waiting for me?" 301. BONNEL THORNTON, whose turn for wit and humour was only equalled by the strength of his understanding, used frequently to entertain himself and his friends at the expense of the College of Physicians, conceiving he had a right, as he was himself bred to the profession of physic. The formal wig worn by his fraternity was fre |