The City of Bristol presenting Lord Chief Justice Pratt

with the Freedom in a Gold Box.
When London, mistress of our isle,
On famous persons deigns to smile,
And, to embellish more their fame,
In her records enrols each name;
Such noble acts of public praise,
A glorious emulation raise,
And kindred cities catch the blaze.
Hence Bristol charm’d, just reason saw,
To gratify our Chief of Law,
And offers Pratt her golden frank,
A jewel of the highest rank !
Distinguish'd freedom he deserves
Who liberty to all preserves ;
A slave may perch more near the sky,
And downward cast his livid eye;
Or else oblique direct the ray,
And arrogance by looks betray ;
With subtle verbage juries brave,
Command what verdicts he would have,
And, like a dogmatist, may teach,
That law is far beyond their reach;
Such men from Lords to Earls may rise,
And all beneath such state despise,
But ne'er will see one golden box,
Because they are not orthodox.

The Chat of the Day.—So, Sir, as I was saying, the report of a pistol was heard on a sudden by her Ladyship, who ran frightened into his Lordship’s apartment, whom she had left not long before sitting in his chair dosing ; when lo! she

found his Lordship sprawling on the floor, with his face all over blood : alarmed at this horrid spectacle, as you know, any body, as well as her Ladyship, would have been, she threw up the window, and called out murder. This of course brought a number of people together, and a great bustle it occasioned; however a very little time happily unravelled this mystery which wore so frightful an aspect: for as soon as fear would allow time for enquiry, it was discovered, that as one of the servants was cleaning the fire-arms below stairs, a pistol among them, which happened to be loaded, accidentally went off, but nobody was hurt ; at this instant it chanced that his Lordship, either suddenly surprised as the explosion, or from some other cause, fell out of his chair, and falling on his face, his nose bled: this gave occasion to the false report of a great person's shooting himself; for which the above is all the foundation, and his Lordship is as well, Sir, as either you or me.

Epitaph on a Sea-Officer in Torryburn Church-yard, in

the County of Fife, in Scotland.
At anchor fast, in Death's dark hold,

Lies honest Captain Hill,
Who serv'd his country and his God,

With upright heart and will.
In social life, sincere and just,

To vice of no kind given;
So that his better part, we trust,

Has made the port of Heaven.

To a Gentleman, who sent the Author some writing

Paper.

You gave what no man could refuse,
The fairest daughter of the Muse;
Paper as white as lo's milk,
All edged with gold, and soft as silk;
But if we reason on your gift,
Perhaps it was some lady's shift-
So fair, it never had been soiled ;
So pure, it never had been spoiled;
And, metamorphos'd in the mill,
Retains its virgin pureness still.
You cannot, sure, think me so vain,
These white unblemish'd sheets to stain,
By forced attempt to shew my wit,
Who ne'er had power to shew it yet,
Except by dining with my betters,
With men of sense and men of letters:
Yet take two verses from my pen,
To which the world will say, Amen-
“ May Heav'n, in favour to your merits,
“ Indulge you long with health and spirits.”

Moschos.

The following curious address lately appeared as an advertisement in the Birmingham Gazette :“ Morgan Davis, of the Beaufort Arms, at Petty France, Gloucestershire, finding his activity daily falling off, and his corpulency increasing so as to prevent his waiting upon his customers in a manner equal to his wishes, has (to take example from other great men) retired from his public station, to enjoy in a private one what he flatters himself

rass

he has acquired with honour to himself, and satisfaction to the world. He therefore begs leave in this manner to express his gratitude to the nobility, gentry, and public in general, for the favours he has received; but his real unaffected embarrassment is so great as to prevent his doing it in words, adequate to the feeling of his heart—he can only say to them collectively, as he has often done individually,– You are welcome-I am obliged to you—I wish you safe and happy through life, good landlords, and agreeable accommodations. .

Mr. Davis is not of a dwarfish size, and by arithmetical calculation it appears that it will require no small quantity of meat, drink, and cloathing, to maintain his greatness, and as these things cannot be procured without a certain article, called by the wise man the Root of Evil-he hopes all persons who are any ways indebted to him will immediately settle their accounts; and he assures those to whom he is debtor that he will directly discharge their demands; but his gratitude to the public must and always will remain a debt.

The following very simple process will produce an ink equal to the best Indian ink, in all its properties and effects :--Boil parchment shavings, or cuttings of glove leather, in water till it becomes a size, which when cool, forms a jelly :-then

*

having blackened an earthen plate or dish, by holding it over the flame of a candle, mix up with a camel-hair pencil, the fine lamp-black thus obtained, with some of the size while the plate is warm.-Good common carpenters' glue may be used instead of size, and lamp-black may be procured in any required quantity from the smoke of oil, tallow, &c. that sold in the shops is, however, too coarse :-a little musk may be added to give it the smell of Indian ink, from which this composition differs only in the circumstance, that the Chinese infuse ox-gall, or some similar substance, which gives it a yellowish metallic lustre when dry, in no degree, however, essential to the artist.

m

The Vidette Eaters.--Some time since, when the Dublin Yeomanry were on permanent duty, the main guard of a certain Fusileer Corps, being stationed in Stephen's Green, near the residence of their Captain, Sir John W— , a very fine pair of leverets, which were intended as a present for the Knight, by the blundering of a drunken higgler, were left at the guard-house. Without any very minute inquiries after the owner of the leverets, they were ordered to be dressed for supper, and, in addition to the contents of their haversacks, afforded a very comfortable regale to the men on duty. Scarcely was supper ended, when the guard was ordered to be turned out, and two videttes, or orderly men, havin notified