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Taylor, the Water Poet, says, that Edward the Sixth's shillings are for the most part used at shooveboard, and makes one of them thus complain;"You see my face is beardlesse, smooth and plain, Because my soveraigne was a child 'tis knowne When as he did put on the English crowne; But had my stamp been bearded as with haire, Long before this it had been worne out bare; For why? with me the unthrifts every day With my face downwards do at shoveboard play, That had I had a beard you may suppose Th' had worn it off as they have done my nose." SHOVELBOARD, according to Douce, seems only to have been a variation of shovegroat on a larger scale. It was formerly in great repute among the nobility and gentry. Strutt remarks, that few of their mansions were without a shovelboard, which was a fashionable piece of furniture. Dr. Plott in his Natural History of Staffordshire mentions a remarkable one in the hall at Chartley, and another at Madeley Manor. Fynes Moryson in his Itinerary, describing the person and accomplishments of Charles Lord Mountjoy, Regent of Ireland, says, He delighted in study, in gardens, in riding on a pad, to take the air, in playing at shovelboard, at cards, and in reading of play books for recreation, and especially in fishing and fish ponds. A curious anecdote is recorded of Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I. "Once when the Prince was playing at Shoofleboard, and in his play changed sundry pieces, his tutor being desirous that he should not be new fangled, said to him that he did ill to change so oft, and therewith took a piece in his hand, and saying that he would play well enough therewith without changing, threw the piece on the board, yet not so well but the Prince smiling thereat said, Well thrown, Sir!' whereupon Master Newton telling him that he would not strive with a prince at Shoofle-board, he answered, "You gownsmen should be best at such exercises, being not meet for those that are more stirring.' 'Yes,' quoth Master Newton, I am meet for whipping of boys.' And hereupon the prince answered, 'You need not vaunt of that which a ploughman or cart driver can do better than you.' 'Yet can I do more,' said Master Newton, for I can govern foolish children.' The prince respecting him, even in jesting, came from the other end of the table, and smiling, said, while he passed by him, He had need be a wise man himself that could do that.""

In the Inventory of Goods taken at Ludlow Castle belonging to Charles I. 1650, we have not only the "shovel board" room, but one large shovell board table, seven little joined forms, one side table, and a court cupboard were sold to Mr. Bass for the sum of £2. 10s. Dryden thus alludes to this "royal" game:

"So have I seen in hall of Lord

A weak arm throw on a long shovelboard;
He barely lays his piece."

And again in the Wild Gallant: "He might have passed his time at nine pins or shovelboard; that had been fit sport for such as he."

The game is graphically described in a poem entitled, "Mensa Lubrica," written both in Latin and English by Thomas Master. The English poem is cited at large

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SULLIVAN, THE WHISPERER.--Crofton Croker in the Fairy Legends of Ireland, giving an account of this noted horsebreaker, says, "How his art was acquired, and in what it consisted, is likely to be for ever unknown." The following receipt for horse taming occurs in Thomas Lupton's Thousand Notable Things, 1675, and may, perhaps, tend to elucidate this "knotty point."

"Beasts that be stubborn and wild, and also horses that will wince or kiek, or otherwise be unruly, will not suffer themselves to be drest or to be shod, if you put into one of their ears a little round flint stone, and then hold the ear hard with your hand, and it will make them quiet, though they be fierce. But if you put into either ear one you shall have them as mild as a sheep. Mizaldus had this as proved." A YORKSHIREMAN.

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He nine ways looks, and needs must learned be That all the Muses at one view can see.

British Museum.

It is curious to trace the pedigree of a joke and the antiquity of an epigram. Sallies of wit, like jewels, descend as a family heir-loom, and only require resetting for each succeeding generation. Sparkling jests and pointed satire, which fall from the lips of Martial in the Courts of Verus and Domitian, flash bright amongst the wits who clustered round the throne of Elizabeth; outlive the sombre days of Puritan starch-rous ness, to enliven the gay hours of the Merry Monarch, again to shine in the pages of a modern Joe Miller.

appears

The curious "Metrical Olio" I have quoted, was popular with our ancestors. It contains some rude woodcuts, and a frontispiece by Marshall; and to be only an enlarged edition of " Wits' Recreations," which was first published in 1641. Most of the Epigrams may be traced to the earlier collections of Thomas Freeman, Henry Fitzgeffery, and Henry Parrot.

5 When man and woman dies as poets sung,

His heart's the last that stirs, of her's the tongue. 26 Thou still art muttering, Aulus, in mine ear, Love me and love my dog, I will I swear; Thou ask'st but right, and, Aulus, truth to tell, I think thy dog deserves my love as well. 43 Sextus doth wish his wife in heaven were;

Where can she have more happiness than there? 67 The burnt child dreads the fire, if this be true, Who first invented tongs its fury knew. 91 Neat barber trim I must commend thy care, Which dost all things exactly to a hair. 105 Jack Cutpurse is and hath been patient long, For he's content to pocket up much wrong. 163 Dracus his head is highly by him borne,

And so by straws are empty heads of corn. 164 A courtier proud walking along the street

Happen'd by chance a scholar for to meet;

The courtier said, minding nought more than place,
Unto the scholar (meeting face to face),
To take the wall base men I'll not permit ;
The scholar said, I will, and gave him it.
278 Tusser! they tell me when thou wert alive,

Thou teaching thrift thyself could'st never thrive,
So like the whetstone many men are wont
To sharpen others when themselves are blunt.
356 Celsus doth love himself, Celsus is wise,
For now no rival e'er can claim his prize.
453 A pedant ask'd a puny right and bold
In an hard frost the Latin word for cold;
I'll tell you out of hand, quoth he, for lo,
I have it at my fingers' ends you know.

A BOOKWORM.

MS. NOTES UPON POPE BY WILKES.-The Grenville Library contains a copy of Pope's Works, with numeMS. notes by Wilkes. These volumes are now before me, and illustrate a passage in Nichols' Literary Anecdotes, which may not be generally known. It is stated, that Wilkes "strongly recommended Dr. Warton to engage with him jointly in a new edition of Pope's Although, for some reason I have been unable to ascertain, he did not continue this project, yet, that he furnished considerable assistance to Warton, is evident from the subjoined :—

Works.'

"January 22, 1792.

"You will greatly oblige me if you will let me have a sight of the volumes of Pope you mentioned last night, of which you may depend the greatest care shall be taken; and I will return them to you before I leave town, and no soul shall see them. "Jos WARTON."

Upon comparing these volumes with the edition shortly afterwards published by Warton, I find that most of the MS. notes were made use of by him, and that he acknowledges, that to the taste and erudition of Mr. Wilkes he was indebted for many remarks in illustration of his favourite writer.

Those which Warton has omitted to publish, I forward for insertion in the Current Notes. E.

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To Sir Godfrey Kneller on his painting for me the Statues of Apollo, Venus and Hercules.

What god, what genius did the pencil move

When Kneller painted these,

'Twas Friendship warm as Phabus, kind as Love,
And strong as Hercules.

Inscription on a punch bowl bought in the South Sea Year for a club, chas'd with Jupiter placing Callisto in the Skies, and Europa and the Bull:

Come fill the South Sea goblet full,

The gods shall of our stock take care;
Europa pleas'd accepts her Bull,

And Jove with joy puts off his Bear.

"This modest stone, what few vain marbles can,
May truly say here lies an honest man."
Epitaph on Mr. Elizah Fenton:
This plain floor,

Believe me, reader, can say more
Than many a braver marble can,
Here lies a truly honest man.

Crashan

Lord Bolingbroke's wife. Madame de Villette, the niece of Maintenon. This lady had very superior abilities, and Lord B. had a silly jealousy of her that his friends admired her more than himself. He used frequently to say to her in company," Allons, Madame, avec vos episodes." She came to England, privately to solicit Lord B.'s return, and made interest so effectually with the Duchess of Kendall, that George I. gave his promise before Walpole or any of the ministers knew that any such thing was in agitation. Yet Walpole afterwards supported the measure in Parliament, and that first broke him with Lord Cobham, who had vowed never to forgive Bolingbroke.

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The residence of this inveterate" enemy of soap and towels" is thus described in an Ode in the European Magazine, 1801.

Who but has seen (if he can see at all)

'Twixt Aldgate's well-known pump and Leadenhall,

A curious hardware shop, in general full

Of wares from Birmingham and Pontipool.
Begrim'd with dirt behold its ample front,
With thirty years collected filth upon't;
See festoon'd cobwebs pendant o'er the door,
While boxes, bales, and trunks are strew'd around the floor.
Behold, how whistling winds and driving rain
Gain free admission at each broken pane,
Save where the dingy tenant keeps them out
With urn or tray, knifecase or dirty clout.
There castors, cardracks, cheese-trays, knives and forks.
Here snuffers, waiters, patent screws for corks;
Here empty cases pil'd in heaps on high;
There packthread, papers, rope, in wild disorder lie.

GRAMMATICAL INFLECTIONS IN LANGUAGE. WILL you allow me to set before the learned readers of "Current Notes," the earliest instances I am able to produce on this subject? This I do, in the hope that those who have access to a public library, may pursue the subject, if possible, to its origin.

The Ape, in the foregoing portion, represents Eblis. See the Dendera ceiling, near the centre; and picture of the last judgment, in Spineto's Hieroglyphs, tab. 5. Brick in British Museum. "House of land of Ava, conquered by Wakham; lord of authority in the land (is) he."

Every one knows that one of the most ancient lan-place-love destroyed-daylight far beyond-pardon guages, viz. the Chinese, is without inflections, and may there none-beauty, beauty destroyed-the abode of therefore really be said to be without an instituted and famine, and woe, and blasphemy (there)-the good particular grammar. The Hebrew, till some time after tongue, lastly, not there." the Exodus, seems to have had only prefixes, affixes, participial forms, distinctions of number, and a very few inflections of the substantive verb. The Babylonian, Nineveh, Persian, and Behistan cuneiforms, together with the Phoenician, Punic, Scandinavian and Egyptian dialects, were, for the most part, almost bare of inflections. The Egyptian on the Rosetta Stone, relating the deeds, &c. of Ptolemy (Lagus?), and the Wady Elmukatteb inscriptions, even up to the time of our Saviour's birth, are also of this description. They all may be compared to the simple speech of an untutored African of the present day. I will adduce two remarkable instances in the Scandinavian from Henselii Synopsis Universæ Philologiæ," p. 84. tab. 2; one in the Egyptian cursive, from the Rosetta Stone; one in the Cuneiform, from a brick I copied in the British Museum; and one from the same tab. in Henselius, called "Literaturæ Hetruscation is the same as in modern works. The conclusion to Specimen," written in Scandinavian characters, but composed in the Sanscrit language.

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Henselius. Wende Runee Salmungensis.-"Wonderful Abram, touch at, on wave, in ship, Brata. Father of him, priest to the spirits on the bull, Asiatic god," i. e. The illustrious Abram, whose father was a priest to the spirits Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, whose type was the sacred bull, came by sea, in a ship, to Brata (situated near the bay, the Sinus Syrticus.)

Henselius. Lapis Rocstadensis in Helsingia."Adam Brusai, great grandfather Noah, long distance in ship, travelling safely; a promiscuous multitude of people, all with spears, into this haven, now the name minor haven, sea-port, sea-girt Meninx, go southward, rest for sons to find. Go the journey ten newly married women. From the town, fathers, virgins, companions of the voyage, hasten sailing to find in neighbouring province rest near;" i. e.

Adam Brusai, the great grandson of Noah, after a long voyage, arrived in safety at Meninx in the Syrtis Minor, accompanied with a promiscuous multitude armed with spears, and intending to go southward, to find a quiet abode for their families. After having married ten virgins of the city, they, with fathers and their families accompanying them, hasten their departure, to obtain a peaceful abode in the province of the Syrtis Major.

To these two might be added the Phoenician account of the Atlantic (or universal) deluge, engraved on stone 700 years after the event, and also the Caucasian account of the same, written on the north side of the pillar of Alahabad.

Rosetta Stone. "He (Horus) coming to unfold the mouth-promise (given) before, took the water the extremities of Egypt, in the month Phamenoth. (His) glory (shall) rise, and become the sepulchre of the Ape. (In his dominion, hell) punishment, punishment (shall) consume for ever.-The mercy of heaven flee away from the

Literaturæ Hetrusca Specimen. "The multitude lived on horses; the youths, with accompanying females; the loving wife, the delight of a good husband; the young ox and cow with their own calf, were all around.”

This last specimen, probably as old as the others, if not older than some, is the only one written with inflections such as we find in the polished Sanscrit of the present day. The Bhagavad Gita is supposed to have been written in the eighteenth century of the world. See Maurice, Indian Antiquities, vol. i. p.7; and the construc

be drawn is therefore this; that the Hindoo seems to be
the first, by many centuries, who formed what Wilkins
calls an "Instituted and Particular Grammar;" and
formed it, in all probability, for the purpose of transmit-
ting to writing an accurate and compact view of his
thoughts and sentiments.
T. R. BROWne.
Southwick, near Oundle.

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No. XXXII.]

FOR THE MONTH.

"I will make a prief of it in my Note-Book."-SHAKSPERE.

[AUGUST, 1853.

FACETIE.- -"The Eccentricities of John Edwin, Comedian, collected from his MSS., and enriched with several hundred original Anecdotes by Anthony Pasquin. 8vo., London.”

THE NEW LITANY, 1659.-Parodies were very fashionable during the civil wars and subsequent reign of "the Merry Monarch." A crop-headed puritan knave, with demure face, and long-winded pourings forth of the spirit, was a capital subject for the Cavalier wits of the day, who accordingly employed all the keenness of their satirical talents in ridiculing his hy-bons-mots pocritical cant and fondness for spiritual text and hymn of nasal twang.

The New Litany commences with the following invo

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The eighteenth century presents to our notice a brilGeorge Selwyn's liant galaxy of professed wits. Foote's were repeated at "the club." and Bannister's repartees enlivened the "Green-room," The work I have and "set the table in a roar." 66 some good things," worthy of quoted contains remembrance, even at the present day, when Punch publishes an exuberance of jokes; and its rival Diogenes is fast struggling into favour.

The efficacy of dress, in every class of society, has been universally admitted. The following anecdote proves how even the passions may be subjugated by apt alterations to the exterior, and produce, agreeably to the wish, either delight or disgust. Garrick, in the early part of his life, performed Ranger with most uncommon spirit, and so well dressed and looked the part, that a young lady of great family, fortune, and high expectations fell violently in love with him. Her friends finding it in vain to reason with her, and dreading her forming a matrimonial connection with a player, took her to see him enact Scrubb. The very contemptible appearance he made in that part wrought a perfect cure. Garrick, when a wooer, was, himself, so conscious of the pitiful figure he made in that character that he gave directions to his box-keeper that if any of Lord Burlington's servants applied for places he should say, they were all taken. Charles Fox told an insolent fellow he would kick him to h-ll. If you do, said the other, I'll tell your father how you are squandering his money.

When Theatric Performers intend to abridge an act or play, they are accustomed to say we will John Audley it. It originated thus:- In the year 1749 Shuter was master of a droll at Bartholomew fair, in West Smithfield, and it was his mode to lengthen the exhibition, until a sufficient number of persons were gathered at the door to fill the house. This event was signified by a fellow popping his head in at the gallery door, and bellowing out John Audley! as if in an act of inquiry, though the intention was to let Shuter know that a fresh audience were in high expectation below. The consequence of this notification was that the entertainments were instantly concluded, and the gates of the booth thrown open for a new auditory.

"Be

When Theophilus Cibber made his dramatic essay, the newspapers of the day reviled him for his improprieties. Theophilus ran immediately to his father, Colley Cibber, and with tears in his eyes exhibited the paragraph. pacified, you idiot," said Colley, angrily, "if you wish to be noticed you must be scandalized; and d'ye hear, when your enemies cease to abuse you in the public prints, do you abuse yourself."

When that prodigy of musical excellence, Charles Incledon, was at Salisbury, a singular manoeuvre was practised

I

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