the members for the county of Buckingham. Speaking of the naturalization, he said, "Let us not join murderers, thieves, and the roguish Scots, with the well-deserving Scots. There is as much difference between them as between a judge and a thief. He would speak his conscience, without flattery of any creature whatsoever. They have not suffered above two kings to die in their beds these two hundred years. Our king James hath hardly escaped them; they have attempted him.* Now he is come from among them, let us free him from such attempts hereafter." Although this speech excited much surprise in the house, yet it passed without censure, until, in consequence of a message from the king, blaming the neglect of. the house, Sir Christopher Piggott was expelled the house and committed to the tower, where he remained some time.

"WE HAVE A DOUGLAS YET."

A Dialogue.

THE following lively effusion on the result of the famous Douglas, cause appeared immediately after that event in several of the Scottish newspapers. It has strong claims to preservation, not only for its natural simplicity and humour, but as a picture of the general exultation with which the success of "The Douglas" was hailed by the Scottish nation at large. The author is unknown. It was introduced by the following extract from a letter dated, Lochwinoch, April 17, 1769.

-his

And we too, the inhabitants of this village, rejoiced exceedingly to hear that Mr. Douglas wasmother's son! Our sayings and doings upon this occasion, A modern quarto could not were many, great, and various. contain the half of them. I send you only one scene betwixt two of our old women. It was taken down with care by an able hand who was ear-witness of the confabulation.

(Elspeth sola, looking through a broken pane of her window.)

What can a' this mean? The bells fa'n a ringen! the drums fa'n a beatten! the pipes fa'n a playen! the colours flyen! and a' the folk, young and auld, rinnen wi' their guns! What can it be? I hae seen nae sic sight, nae sic hurly-burly,

* Alluding to the Gowry conspiracy.

sin Marr's year!* It canna be the king o' France and the Pretender landed again, for the folks are a' in a joyfu' mood. It maun be some rejoicing about the King of Prussia. It canna be that neither, for its lang sin we heard aught aboot him. Pauli may hae beat the French, or eablens Wilks, that sinfu' fallow, hang'd himsel. It maun surely be some kind o' news frae our laird at parliament. Wives, weans, lads, lasses, auld and young, a' o' fit!

Enter Janet.

Jan. (To herself as she enters.) That was ane and a half wi' a witness! Awa' wi' my whiskey! Awa' wi' the tow frae my very rock! The very carded tow frae my rock! But heal be his heart, he is ay for his kintry. (To Elspeth.) I'm e'en, Elspeth, comen hirplen ben wi' my cards to clawt the knaps out o' a pickle mair o't. What a souple trick, trow ye, has that loon, Rab-myoye,+ played me? Is he nae aff wi' my tow for colfin, and to the cross wi' my graybeard o' whiskey.

Els. Wi' your graybeard o' whiskey, say ye?

Jan. Ay, wi' my three-pint graybeard o' whiskey, and in a guid hour to drink the parliament and Douglas, wha has win his plea.

Els. Say ye me sae? Say ye me sae, woman? Has Douglas win his plea? Has the parliament at London gi'en Douglas his plea! Fair fa' them! Fair fa' them, Janet! Oh, Janet, Janet, fair fa' them! (Weeps.) Oh Janet, Janet, Janet!

Jan. O Elspeth, yes! O dear ay, yes! Douglas has e'en at last got the better o' them! Ah Elspeth! Poor man! Ay, aye! (both weep.)

Els. O Janet!

Jan. O Elspeth!

Els. Janet, Janet, ay, ay!

Jan. Yes, Elspeth! O ay woman! ay ay! you and I ha'e seen auld times! Monny monny changes! monny changes! Els. Ay, changes, woman! But Ŏ ye ha'e gi'en me a glad heart! Is it true? Can it be true? I fear it meikle!

Jan. True! As true's the sin's in the lift. It's in black and white frae Edinburgh.

Els. Black and white frae Edinburgh! frae Edinburgh, say ye? We manna think a's gospel that comes now frae Edinburgh. Baith his father and mither war ta'en fra him, woman, at Edinburgh !+

*Rebellion of 1715.

+ Grandson.

The Court of Session had decided against his legitimacy.

Jan. That's o'er true, Elspeth; but there's guid and ill in Edinburgh, as well's in ither spats. I hae some liking yet for Edinburgh, for a' that's happened, tho' I ne'er saw it. Our kings lived there, woman; and our John's plea about the maillen is there, ye ken. He has win it, woman, nae fewer than nine times! But was na't droll, that ere it had been there twa months, his ain man o' law threeped his name was Andrew! Andrew was Arthur's second son. The land, ye ken was neither conquest nor purchase, but heretage; for it came by Arthur's step-father's brither Thomas, and sae fa's to the auld son, and had our John been Andrew, he would ne'er ha'e seen a hair o't.

Els. Gin ye lose as aft's ye ha'e win, ye'll rue that e'er ye tried it. But O, Janet, are ye sure Douglas has win?

Jan. Scripture, Elspeth! downright scripture! (a volley at the cross) Do ye hear that? Do ye hear them now?

Els. The guns! Huzza! huzza! huzza! The drums! Thank heaven there's still a Douglas in our land. O how I like the king, the parliament, and the gallant name of Douglas! But was na't a filthy trick to take awa' the eleven days?* That was a wicked thing, Janet; that was a wicked thing, to change our terms, our fairs, our markets; to change the very Sunday to anither day! I wish the land may be forgi'en. I now heartily forgi'e them. Douglas, Douglas, makes up for a'! Jan. But, Elspeth, what shall I tell ye? Was nae Piercie his steeve friend?

Els. Piercie, quothye? Piercie his friend? Eh! woman, was na that brave, gallant, o' noble Piercie? Let it ne'er be heard that Piercie proved his friend, when Scotland proved his fae! But come, cast awa' your cards, and lets ha'e a pint to the king, parliament, and noble name o' Douglas; nor shall we forget Piercie, his gallant friend. (A cheer at the cross.) Huzza! huzza! huzza! (Elspeth repeats after them.) Three huzzas, Janet. Bless their honest sauls! A's right now; this kintry will yet stand! I now forgi'e the very Union itsel! But, Janet, let's first hirple out and see the fun, then we shall ha'e a warm bicker o' the best o't. (In going out, both sing in turn.)

* Alluding to the alteration from the old to the new style.

66

MARRIAGE VOW.

THE matrimonial ceremony, like many others, has undergone some variation in the progress of time. Upwards of three centuries ago, the husband, on taking his wife, as now, by the right hand, thus addressed her; "I. N. undersygne the Ñ. for my wedded wyfe, for beter, for worse, for richer, for porer, yn sekness, and in helthe, tyl dethe us departe, (not "do part,' as we have erroneously rendered it, the ancient meaning of departe," even in Wickliffe's time, being "separate") as holy churche hath ordeyned, and thereto I plygth the my trowthe. The wife replies in the same form, with an additional clause, "to be buxom to the, tyl dethe us departe." So it appears in the first edition of the "Missals for the use of the famous and celebrated Church of Hereford, 1502," fol. In what is called the Salisbury Missal, the lady pronounced a more general obedience," to be bonere* and buxom in bedde and at the borde." Edit. Wayland, 1554. 4to. Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron.

MONOPOLY OF THE LIONS.

THE custom of going to see the lions at the Tower, prevailed more than a hundred years ago; when the following intimation was issued: "All persons whom it may concern are desired to take notice, that the master keeper of his majesty's lion office, in the Tower of London, is informed, that several persons do expose to publick view several wild beasts" against his majesty's prerogative royal, and a prohibition given and published to the contrary is in the words following, That no person whatsoever (except Thomas Dymocke, and the keeper of his majesty's lions for the time being) do, for the future, carry abroad, or expose to publick view, for their own private gain, any lions, lionesses, leopards, or any other beasts which are fera natura, as they will answer the contrary at their perils.""

Malcolm's Manners of London.

* Bonair, French, whence our English "debonair," which sometimes means genteel, but at others cheerful, agreeable, good-tempered:

"Buxom, blythe, and debonair."

WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

TOWARDS the bottom of Highgate Hill, on the south side of the road, stands an upright stone, inscribed" Whitting'ton's stone." This marks the situation of another stone on which Richard Whittington is traditionally said to have sat, when, having run away from his master, he rested to ruminate on his hard fate, and was urged to return back by a peal from Bow-bells, in the following distich:

"Turn again, Whittington,

Thrice lord mayor of London."

Certain it is, that Whittington served the office of lord mayor three times, viz. in the years 1398, 1406, and 1419. He also founded several public edifices and charitable institutions. Some idea of his wealth may be formed from the circumstance of his destroying bonds which he held of the king (Henry V.) to the amount of £60,000 sterling, in a fire of cinnamon, cloves, and other spices, which he had made, at an entertainment given to that monarch at Guildhall.

A similar anecdote to that of the destruction of the bonds, is related of a merchant, to whom Charles V. of Spain was indebted in a much larger sum; but, as Whittington lived long before that time, it is fair to suppose, that, if true at all, the story belongs to the London citizen.

The fable of the cat, by which Whittington is much better known than by his generosity to Henry V., is, however, borrowed from the East. Sir William Gore Ouseley, in his Travels, speaking of the origin of the name of an island in the Persian Gulf, relates, on the authority of a Persian MS. that, in the tenth century, one Keis, the son of a poor widow in Siráf, embarked for India, with his sole property, a cat: "There he fortunately arrived, at a time when the palace was so infested by mice or rats, that they invaded the king's food, and persons were employed to drive them from the royal banquet. Keis produced his cat, the noxious animals soon disappeared, and magnificent rewards were bestowed on the adventurer of Siráf, who returned to that city, and afterwards, with his mother and brothers, settled in the island, which, from him, has been denominated Keis, or, according to the Persians, Keish.".