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A happy anagram on a person's name might have a moral effect on the feelings, as there is reason to believe that certain celebrated names have had some influence on the moral character. When one Martha Nicholson was found out to be soon calm in heart, the anagram, in becoming familiar to her, might afford an opportune admonition. Perhaps the happiest anagram of this sort was that produced on Lady Eleanor Davies, the wife of the celebrated Sir John Davies, the poet, She was the Cassandra of the age; and several of her predictions encouraged her to conceive she was a prophetess. As her prophecies in the troubled times of Charles I. were usually against the government, she was at length brought by them into the high court of commission. The prophetess was not a little mad, and fancied the spirit of Daniel was in her, from an anagram she had formed of her name:

Eleanor Davies :-Reveal, O Daniel!

The anagram had too much by an 7 and too little by an s; yet Daniel and Reveal were in it, and that was sufficient to satisfy her inspirations. The court attempted to expel the spirit from the lady; but the bishops reasoned the point with her out of the scriptures, to no purpose, she poising text against text, until one of the deans of the arches, says Heylin, "shot her through and through with an arrow borrowed from her own quiver." Taking up a pen, he hit upon this excellent anagram:

Dame Eleanor Davies: Never so mad a ladie!

:

This happy fancy put the solemn court into a laughter, and Cassandra into the utmost dejection of spirits. Foiled by her own weapons, her energy suddenly forsook her; and either she never afterwards ventured on prophecying, or the anagram perpetually reminded her hearers of her state-for we hear no more of this prophetess.

Addison relates a humourous account of an anagrammatist, who after shutting himself up for half a year, and taking many liberties with the name of his mistress, discovered, on presenting his anagram, that he had mis-spelt her surname. He was so thunderstruck with his misfortune, that in a little time after he lost his senses, which, indeed, had been very much impaired by the continual application he had given to his anagram.

The selection of anagrams here made might have been considerably extended, but they will be sufficient to show the ingenuity of the writers in former times in this art, and it may now only be necessary to transcribe a few of the best anagrams of the present day, made by those who, as Camden says, have

"bestowed some idle hours in distilling their wits herein." In the following French words will be found an extraordinary anagram-" La Revolution Française." Take from these the word "Veto," known as the first prerogative of Louis XIV. opposed to the revolutionists, and the remaining letters will form the words "Un Corse la finira," in English, "A Corsican shall end it." Bonaparte was rather a fertile subject for anagrams, as will appear from the following examples:

Napoleon Bonaparte:--No: appear not at Elba. Napoleon Bonaparte :- -Bona rapta, leno, pone. Lucius Napoleon Bonaparte:-O! subaltero Nerone arma Imperator. capiunt populi.

The great rival with Bonaparte in the military glories of the age furnishes a no less appropriate anagram:

Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington-
Let well foil'd Gaul secure thy renown.

That on the hero of the Nile was still better, and perhaps one of the happiest of modern anagrams :

Horatio Nelson :- -Honor est à Nilo.

The following one is very descriptive of the melancholy event which it records. The letters P. C. must here be taken to stand for Princess Charlotte.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales

P.C.

Her august race is lost!

O! fatal news!

The following are amusing, and, generally, very appro

priate :

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When, at the General Peace of 1814, Prussia became enriched with a portion of Saxony, the king of Prussia issued a new coinage of rix dollars with the name of that coin, which, in German, is Reichstahler, impressed on them. These circulate in the Prussian part of Saxony; and the Saxons, by thus dividing the word Ein-Reich-stahl-er, make out a sentence, of which the literal translation is, "He stole a kingdom." The French, who are very fond of making anagrams, have discovered that La Sainte Alliance is nothing more than La Sainte Canaille.

PROCLAMATION AGAINST MILTON.

THE biographers of Milton speak highly of the lenity of Charles II. to the immortal bard, but mention an order which was issued to seize two of his political works. It was not, however, until 1797, that a copy of the royal proclamation for that purpose was discovered, when it was found to be much more severe than was generally believed. The following is a copy of this royal order for seizing and burning the works of a man, whose talents have been the admiration of ages.

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"A Proclamation for calling in and suppressing two books, written by John Milton, the one intituled, Johannis Miltoni, Angli pro Populo Anglicano Defensio contra Claudii Anonymi, alias Salmasii, Defensionem Regiam ; and the other, in answer to a book intituled, The Portraiture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings; and also to a third book, intituled, The Obstructors of Justice, written by John Goodwin.

"CHARLES R.

"Whereas John Milton, late of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, hath published in print two several books, the one intituled, Johannis Miltoni Angli pro Populo Anglicano Defensio, contra Claudii Anonymi, alias Salmasii, Defensionem Regiam; and the other, in answer to a book intituled, The Portraiture of His Sacred Majeste in his Solitudes and Sufferings. In both which are contained sundry treasonable passages against vs and our government, and impious endeavours to justifie the horrid and unmatchable murder of our late dear father of glorious memory.

"And whereas John Goodwin, late of Coleman-street, London, clerk, hath also published in print a book, intitled, The Obstructors of Justice, written in defence of the traitorous sentence against his late Majesty. And whereas the said John Milton and John Goodwin are both fled, or so obscure themselves, that no endeavours used for their apprehension can take effect, whereby they might be brought to legal trial, and deservedly receive condign punishment for their treasons and offences: now to the end that our good subjects may not be corrupted in their judgments with such wicked and traitorous principles as are dispersed and scattered throughout the before-mentioned books: we, upon the motion of the Commons in Parliament now assembled, do hereby strictly charge and command all and every person and persons what

soever, who live in any city, borough, or town incorporate, within this our kingdom of England, the dominion of Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in whose hands any of those books are or hereafter shall be, that they, upon pain of our high displeasure, and the consequence thereof, do forthwith, upon publication of this our command, or within ten days immediately following, deliver, or cause the same to be delivered, to the mayor, bailiff, or other chief officer or magistrate in any of the said cities, boroughs, or towns incorporate, where such person or persons so live; or if living out of any city, borough, or town incorporate, then to the next justice of peace adjoining to his or their dwelling or place of abode or if living in either of our universities, then to the vice-chancellor of that university where he or they do reside.

"And in default of such voluntary delivery, which we expect in observance of our said command, that then and after the time before limited is expired, the said chief magistrate of all the said cities, boroughs, or towns incorporate, and the justices of the peace in their several counties, and the vice-chancellors of our said universities respectively, are hereby commanded to seize and take all and every the books aforesaid, in whose hands or possession soever they shall be found, and certifie the names of the offenders unto our privy council.

"And we do hereby also give special charge and command to the said chief magistrates, justices of the peace, and vice-chancellors, respectively, that they cause the said books which shall be so brought unto any of their hands, or seized, or taken as aforesaid, by virtue of this our proclamation, to be delivered to the respective sheriffs of those counties where they respectively live, the first and next assizes that shall after happen. And the said sheriffs are hereby also required, in time of holding such assizes, to cause the same to be publicly burnt by the hands of the common hangman.

"And we do further strictly charge and command, that no man hereafter presume to print, vend, sell, or disperse any of the aforesaid books, upon pain of our heavy displeasure, and of such further punishment, as for their presumption in that behalf may any way be inflicted upon them by the laws of this realm."

"Given at our court at Whitehall, the 13th of August, in the twelfth year of our reign, 1672.”

THE FIRE OF LONDON.

THE following lines on the fire of London in 1666 were found written on a blank leaf of an early edition of one of the classics. They are entitled,

On the unhappy Conflagration of England's Metropolis.

Let teares distill to quenche those fiery flames;
Let eyes be engines to extoll the names
Of weeping poets; let Parnassus' hill
Drop doleful elegies into my quill.

Were Ovid now alive, free from his hearse,
He'd prove our friend in making English verse;
Would God! Melpomene (that weeping muse,)
Would England's fair metropolis peruse;
Now clad in ashes, she would be content
T'engrave black fancy on its monument.
But stay, her children now their summons have
To usher this, their mother, to her grave;
Now England's clad in black at th' obsequie,
As sore displeas'd at London's livery.

O! that our wits could make this dame survive,
Whose death of joy did English heart deprive;
Then might this fire be but to refine her,
And make her lustre to appear diviner;
But, if that cannot be, we all may rue it,
And say, Nunc seges ubi Troja fuit.

I WOULD AND I WOULD NOT:

Supposed to be written by Nicholas Breton, a Native of Staffordshire, who distinguished himself in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth by writing Pastorals, Sonnets, and Madrigals.

I would I were a man of greatest power,

That sways a scepter on this world's great masse,
That I might sit on toppe of pleasure's tower,
And make my will my way, where'er I passe;

That Law might have her being from my breath,
My smile might be a life, my frowne a death.

And yet I would not; for then doe I feare
Envy or malice would betray my trust;
And some vile spirit, though against the heire,
Would seeke to lay mine honor in the dust:
Treason or murther would beset me so,

I should not know who were my friend or foe.

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