For instance-in Seraglio matters— Your Turk, whom girlish fondness flatters, With tittering, red-cheek'd things from school- Where Love and Age went hand in hand; This rule's for fav'rites-nothing more- * * The learned Colonel must allude here to a description of the Mysterious Isle, in the History of Abdalla, Son of Hanif, where such inversions of the order of nature are said to have taken place." A score of old women and the same number of old men played here and there in the court, some at chuckfarthing, others at tip-cat or at cockles.”—And again, “There is nothing, believe me, more engaging than those lovely wrinkles,” etc. etc.-See Tales of the East, vol. iii. pp. 607, 608. LETTER III. FROM G. R. TO THE E-- OF Y- en WE miss'd you last night at the "hoary old sinner's," And exclaim'd, between mouthfuls, "a He-cook, of course! "While you live-(what's there under that cover? pray, look)— "While you live-(I'll just taste it)-ne'er keep a She cook. ""Tis a sound Salic law-(a small bit of that toast)— "Which ordains that a female shall ne'er rule the roast; "For Cookery's a secret-(this turtle's uncommon)— “Like Masonry, never found out by a woman!" * This letter, as the reader will perceive, was written the day after a dinner, given by the M- of H-d-t. The dinner, you know, was in gay celebration Of my brilliant triumph and H-nt's condemnation ; A compliment too to his Lordship the J-e For his speech to the J-y,—and zounds! who would grudge Turtle-soup, though it came to five guineas a bowl, We were all in high gig-Roman Punch and Tokay way, And we cared not for Juries or Libels-no-dam'me! nor Even for the threats of last Sunday's Examiner! More good things were eaten than said-but Toм In quoting Joe Miller, you know, has some merit, Say-sated with turtle-" I'll now try the beef"— TOMMY whisper'd him (giving his Lordship a sly hit) "I fear 'twill be hung-beef, my Lord, if you try it!” And G-MD-N was there, who, that morning, had gone To fit his new Marquis's coronet on; VOL. III. 2 And the dish set before him-oh dish well-devised !— Was, what old Mother GLASSE calls, "a calf's head sur prised!" The brains were near ; and once they'd been fine, But of late they had lain so long soaking in wine When the dinner was over, we drank, every one Our next round of toasts was a fancy quite new, Old H-D-T gave M- -Y, In short, not a soul till this morning would budge- And through the whole night was not once in a passion! I write this in bed, while my whiskers are airing, And M-c has a sly dose of jalup preparing For T-MMY poor T—RR—T at breakfast to quaff— As I feel I want something to give me a laugh, And there's nothing so good as old T-MмY, kept close To his Cornwall accounts, after taking a dose! LETTER IV. FROM THE RIGHT HON. P-TR-CK D-G-N-N TO THE RIGHT HON. SIR J-HN N-CH-L. Dublin.* LAST week, dear N-CH-L, making merry At dinner with our Secretary, When all were drunk, or pretty near * This letter, which contained some very heavy inclosures, seems to have been sent to London by a private hand, and then put into the Twopenny Post-Office, to save trouble. See the Appendix. |