The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 583 by Various
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Various >> The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 583
J.E.J.
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_Punctuality_.--The late hospitable Colonel Bosville had his
dinner on the table exactly two minutes before five o'clock, and no
guest was admitted after that hour; for he was such a determined
observer of punctuality, that when the clock struck five, his
porter locked the street-door, and laid the key at the head of the
dinner-table. The time kept by the clock in the kitchen, the parlour,
and the drawing-room, and the watch of the master, were minutely the
same. That the dinner was ready, was not announced to the guests in
the usual way; but when the clock struck, this superlative time-keeper
himself declared to his guests, "Dinner waits." Boileau, the French
satirist, has a shrewd observation on this subject: "I have always been
_punctual at the hour of dinner_," says the bard, "for I knew that
all those whom I kept waiting at that provoking interval would employ
those unpleasant moments to sum up all my faults."
THOMAS GILL.
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_Volcanoes_.--According to Dr. Ure, there were, in 1830, 205
burning volcanoes on the globe. Of these, 107 occur in islands, and 98
on continents, but ranged mostly along their shores.
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_Former Junction of England and France_.--From the correspondence
pointed out by Mr. William Phillips, the geologist, between the strata
of Dover and the hills west of Calais; and by M. de la Beche, between
the strata of the coast of Dorset and Devon, and those of Normandy, it
may be inferred that the English Channel is a submarine valley, which
owes its origin in a great measure to diluvial excavation, the opposite
sides having as much correspondence as those of ordinary valleys on the
land.
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_Soldiers_.--English soldiers were at one period distinguished
by badges, like those worn by watermen. The general colour of their
dresses appears to have been white; though, in 1544, a part of the
forces of Henry VIII. were ordered to be dressed in blue coats, guarded
with red, without badges, the right hose red, and the left blue. In
1584, Elizabeth ordered the cassocks of the soldiers sent to Ireland
to be a sad green, or russet; though the cloaks of the cavalry were
red. In 1693, the dresses of the soldiers were grey, and those of the
drummers purple; but the red uniform was probably adopted when the
House of Hanover acceded to the throne.
In the time of Cromwell and Charles II. ordinary hats were lined with
iron plates, to prevent assassination.
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_Choristers_.--The singing boys are, probably, the only officers
of the Catholic Church retained to this day by the Royal Family; for
at the Reformation, when masses, &c., had wholly ceased, Queen Elizabeth
retained on her establishment four sets of singing-boys, attached to
St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and that
of the Royal Household. For the support of these bands, she issued out
warrants, like the other English sovereigns, for taking up "suche apt
and meete children as are fitt to be instructed and framed in the art
and science of musicke and singing."
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_A Ha! ha! Fence_.--Bridgman, a landscape gardener, early in the
last century, is supposed to have introduced in the Royal Gardens at
Richmond, the sunk fence for boundaries, instead of walls: an attempt
considered so astonishing, that the common people called them Ha! has!
to express their surprise at the sudden termination of their walk.
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_Sheridan's Funeral_.--Mr. Moore has omitted one of the most
touching and heart-stirring anecdotes connected with the funeral of
Sheridan. The noble and select company had assembled to pay the last
tribute of respect to departed genius, and the coffin was about to be
placed in the hearse, when an elegantly-dressed personage, who pretended
to be distantly related to the deceased, entered the chamber of death.
At his urgent entreaties to view the face of his friend, the coffin lid
was unscrewed; and, to the horror and surprise of the bystanders, he
pulled out a warrant, and arrested the body! Mr. Canning and Lord
Sidmouth went into an adjoining room, and paid the debt, which (it is
said) amounted to 500l.
THOMAS GILL.
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_Dr. Walcot, to Shield the Composer_.--The following was sent to
Shield, the ingenious composer, for his ivory ticket for admission to
a concert, by his friend Peter Pindar:--
Son of the _string_ (I do not mean Jack Ketch,
Though Jack, like _thee_, produceth _dying tones_;)
Oh! yield thy pity to a starving wretch,
And for to-morrow's _treat_, pray send thy _bones_.
THOMAS GILL.
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_Epitaph on Mr. Death, the Actor_.
Death levels all, both high and low.
Without regard to stations;
Yet why complain,
If _we_ are slain?
For here lies one, at least, to show
He kills his own relations.
J.E.J.
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THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH-BOOK.
VOL, XX. of THE MIRROR, with a Steel-plate Portrait of
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