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lord steward; a roast pig is a master of the horse; a pair of ducks, grooms of the bedchamber; a gooseberry tart, a gentleman usher of the black rod; and so on." The unsophisticated lady was taken in, when she actually saw the maids of honour make their appearance in the shape of cheesecakes; she convulsed the whole party by turning to the waiter, and desiring him, in a sweet, but decided tone, to bring her a gentleman usher of the black rod, if they had one in the house quite cold!

SCOTTISH SERVANTS.

Dean Ramsay, in his very characteristic Reminiscences, illustrating the habits of old Scottish domestic servants, relates several amusing traits of their eccentricity, telling of simpler times than the present.

An instance of fixedness is afforded by an old coachman long in the service of a noble lady, and who gave all the trouble and annoyance which he conceived were the privileges of his position in the family. At last, the lady fairly gave him notice to quit, and told him he must go. The only satisfaction she got was the quiet answer, "Na, na, my lady; I druve ye to your marriage, and I shall stay to drive ye to your burial."

A gentlewoman's praise of English mutton was a great annoyance to the Scottish prejudices of Sandy, who had been fifty years domesticated in the family. One day, however, he had a real triumph upon the subject. The smell of the joint roasting had become very offensive through the house. The lady called out to Sandy to have the doors closed, adding, "That must be some horrid Scotch mutton you have got." To his delight, this was a leg of English mutton his mistress had expressly chosen. She significantly told a friend, "Sandy never let that down upon me."

Boaty, who long acted as Charon of the Dee at Banchory, was a first-rate salmon-fisher, and was much sought for by amateurs. One day he was in attendance with his boat on a sportsman, who caught salmon after salmon, and between each fish-catching took a pull at his flask, without offering Boaty any participation in the refreshment. Boaty got annoyed, and seeing no prospect of amendment, deliberately pulled the boat to shore, shouldered the oars, rods, landing-nets, and fishing apparatus, which he had provided, and set off homeward. His

companion, keen for more sport, was amazed, and peremptorily ordered him to come back. But all the answer made by the offended Boaty was, "No, no; them 'at drink by themsells may just fish by themsells."

At a large dinner-party, one of the family noticed that a guest-Mrs. Murray-was looking for the proper spoon to help herself with salt. The old servant, Thomas, was appealed to; he took no notice, and was appealed to more peremptorily, "Thomas, Mrs. Murray has not a salt-spoon," to which he replied most emphatically, "Last time Mrs. Murray dined here, we lost a salt-spoon."

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An old servant, who took a similar charge of everything that went on in the family, having observed that his master thought he had drank wine with every lady at the table, but had overlooked one, jogged his memory with the question, "What ails ye at her wi' the green gown?"

An old servant was standing at a sideboard, and attending to the wants of a pretty large dinner-party; when the calls grew so numerous and frequent, that the attendant got bewildered, lost his temper, and at length, he gave vent to his indignation in this remonstrance, addressed to the whole company, "Cry a' thegither, that's the way to be served."

An aged Forfarshire lady, knowing the habits of her old and spoilt servant, when she wished a note to be taken without loss of time, held it open, and read it over to him, saying, "There, noo, Andrew, ye ken a' that's in't; noo dinna stop to open it, but jast send it aff."

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A nursery-maid was leading a little child up and down a garden. "Is't a laddie or a lassie?" asked the gardener. "A laddie," said the maid. "Weel," said he, "I'm glad o' that, for there's ower mony women in the world." "Heck, man," said Jess, "did ye no ken there's aye maist sawn o' the best

crap?"

POWER OF THE EYE.

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When Thomas Grenville was a young man he one day dined with Lord Spencer at Wimbledon. Among the company was George Pitt (afterwards Lord Rivers), who declared that he could tame the most furious animal by looking at it steadily. Lord Spencer said, "Well, there is a mastiff in the courtyard here which is the terror of the neighbourhood, will you try your powers on him?" Pitt agreed to do so; and

the company descended into the courtyard. A servant held the mastiff by a chain. Pitt knelt down at a short distance from the animal, and stared him sternly in the face. They all shuddered. At a signal given, the mastiff was let loose, and rushed furiously towards Pitt-then suddenly checked his pace, seemed confounded, and, leaping over Pitt's head, ran away, and was not seen for many hours afterwards.

Mr. Rogers, who relates this story, tells us also how he profited by Pitt's experience, as follows:-"During one of my visits to Italy, while I was walking a little before my carriage, on the road, not far from Vicenza, I perceived two huge dogs nearly as tall as myself, bounding towards me from out a gateway, though there was no house in sight. I recollected what Pitt had done; and, trembling from head to foot, I yet had resolution enough to stand quite still and eye them with a fixed look. They gradually relaxed their speed from a gallop to a trot, came up to me, stopped for a moment, and then went back again."

RUINOUS EPICURISM.

A gentleman of Gloucestershire had one son, whom he sent abroad, to make the grand tour of the Continent, where he paid more attention to the cookery of nations and luxurious living, than anything else. Before his return, his father died, and left him a large fortune. He now looked over his notebook to discover where the most exquisite dishes were to be had, and the best cooks obtained. Every servant in his house was a cook; his butler, footman, housekeeper, coachman, and grooms-all were cooks. He had also three Italian cooks-one from Florence, another from Sienna, and a third from Viterbo-for dressing one Florentine dish! He had a messenger constantly on the road between Brittany and London, to bring the eggs of a certain sort of plover found in the former country. He was known to eat a single dinner at the expense of 50%., though there were but two dishes. nine years, he found himself getting poor, and this made him melancholy. When totally ruined, having spent 150,000%., a friend one day gave him a guinea to keep him from starving; and he was found in a garret next day broiling an ortolan, for which he had paid a portion of the guinea!

In

POLITICAL LIFE.

INTEGRITY OF EARL STANHOPE.

THIS eminent soldier, who carried arms under King William III. in Flanders, and under the Duke of Schomberg and Earl of Peterborough, at the close of his military career, became an active Whig leader in Parliament, took office under Sunderland, and was soon after raised to the peerage. His death was very sudden. He was of a constitutionally warm and sensitive temper. In the course of the discussion of the South Sea Company's affairs, which so unhappily involved some of the leading members of the Government, the Duke of Wharton (Feb. 4, 1721) made some severe remarks in the House of Lords, comparing the conduct of ministers to that of Sejanus, who had made the reign of Tiberius hateful to the old Romans. Stanhope, in rising to reply, spoke with such vehemence in vindication of himself and his colleagues, that he burst a blood-vessel, and died the next day. "May it be eternally remembered," says the British Merchant, "to the honour of Earl Stanhope, that he died poorer in the King's service than when he came into it. Walsingham, the great Walsingham, died poor; but the great Stanhope lived in the time of the South Sea temptations!"

PHILIP, EARL OF CHESTERFIELD.

When the independent Philip, 2d Earl of Chesterfield, made one of his occasional visits to the House of Lords (from Geneva), a new doorkeeper, seeing him about to press into the House in a dress of extreme simplicity, impeded his entrance with this remark, "Now then, honest man, go back! you can have no business in such a place as this, honest man!"

ANECDOTES OF POLITICAL LIFE.

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EXECUTION OF LORDS KILMARNOCK AND BALMERINO. Walpole relates many eccentric traits of these Rebel Lords, on their trial and execution. When they were to be brought from the Tower in separate coaches, there was some dispute in which the axe must go-old Balmerino cried, "Come, come, put it with me." At the bar, he played with his fingers upon the axe, while he talked to the gentleman-gaoler; and one day, somebody coming up to listen, he took the blade, and held it like a fan between their faces. During the trial, a little boy was near him, but not tall enough to see; he made room for the child, and placed him near himself. He said that one of his reasons for pleading not guilty was, that so many ladies might not be disappointed of their show.

At the trial, Lord Leicester went up to the Duke of Newcastle, and said, "Never heard so great an orator as Lord Kilmarnock! if I was your Grace, I would pardon him, and make him paymaster;" alluding to Mr. Pitt, who had lately been preferred to that post, from the fear the ministry had of his abusive eloquence.

George Selwyn begged Sir William Saunderson to get him the High Steward's wand, after it was broke, as a curiosity; but that he behaved so like an attorney the first day, and so like a pettifogger the second, that he would not take it to light his fire with.

Lady Cromartie, who is said to have drawn her husband into the Rebellion, went to Leicester House, with four of her children, to bespeak the interest of the Princess of Wales for her lord. The Princess saw her, and made no other answer than by bringing in her own children, and placing them by her; "which," says Gray, "if true, is one of the prettiest things I ever heard." Lord Cromartie was reprieved.

Balmerino kept up his spirits to the same pitch of gaiety. In the cell at Westminister, he showed Lord Kilmarnock how he must lay his head; bid him not wince, lest the stroke should cut his skull or his shoulders, and advised him to bite his lips. As they were to return, he begged they might have another bottle together, as they should never meet any more till- then pointed to his neck. At getting into the coach, he said to the gaoler, "Take care, or you'll break my shins with this damned axe."

Lord Kilmarnock was extremely poor: he had been known

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