When Hogarth first set up his carriage, he paid a visit to the Lord Mayor, and having protracted his stay till a heavy shower of rain came on, he was let out of a different door from that which he entered, and not thinking of his carriage, set off on foot, and got home dripping wet. When Mrs. Hogarth asked him where he had left his carriage, he said he had forgot it! When Oliver Cromwell first coined his money, an old cavalier looking on one of the new pieces, read this in scription on one side, God with us: on the other, The Commonwealth of England. "I see," said he, "God and the Commonwealth are on different sides." An honest Hibernian, whose bank (his pocket, to use his own phrase) had stopt payment, was forced to the sad necessity of perambulating the streets of Edinburgh two nights together, for want of a few pence to pay his lodgings; when accidently hearing a person talk of the Lying-in hospital, he exclaimed, "That's the place for me! where is it, honey? for I have been lying out these two nights past." THE POWER OF INTEREST. Interest at court, a minister can save; Interest in camps, can make a coward brave. Interest at church, can make a bishop rave; Interest at 'change, can make a fool a knave. Interest can make a patriot a slave; Interest can teach ill manners to behave. Interest can raise, and interest can de prave, Interest the passage to preferment pave Who, if he could, then, would not interest have? ALL WEATHERS. In England, if two are conversing toge ther, The subject begins with the state of the weather; And ever the same, both with young and with old, 'Tis either too hot, or either too cold— 'Tis either too wet, or either too dryThe glass is too low, or else 'tis too high. But, if all had their wishes once jumbled together, The devil himself could not live in such weather. TO CORRESPONDENTS. We feel much pleased with the encomium which W. E. Chatterton has so kindly bestowed on our taste, but beg leave to differ from his opinion as regards doubling the price and contents of "The Nic-Nac," for judging, from the observations of numerous friends, that the greatest part of the collection is of standing worth, we think its economical plan will be the more worthy of encouragement. TRUTH is particularly entitled to our most sincere thanks for his very kind assistance. His signature to his first packet put us in mind of an old Correspondent, from whom, a few years back, we received many favors-a vivid recollection of which our gratitude will ever retain. No communications will be received unless post paid. Printed and Published by T. WALLIS, Camden Town; and Sold by all Booksellers and Newsmen, in Town and Country.---Price One Penny. ! 66 who had the command for the night, In the effort he very severely cut hie and were engaged in the confederacy. hand with the glass; and as they drew An hussar, whom the emperor had him back he grasped a chair, with particularly honored by his notice and which he felled one of the assailants, attention, always at night slept at his and a desperate resistance took place. bed-room door, in the anti-room. It So great was the noise, that, notwas impossible to remove this faithful withstanding the massy walls, and soldier by any fair means. At this thick double-folding doors, which dimomentous period, silence reigned . vided. the apartments, the empress was throughout the palace, except where disturbed, and began to cry for help, it was disturbed by the pacing of the when a voice whispered in her ear, and centinels, or at a distance by the mur imperatively told her to remain quiet, murs of the Neva, and only a few otherwise, if she uttered another word, lights were to be seen distantly and she should be put to instant death. irregularly gleaming through the win- Whilst the emperor was thus making dows of the dark colossal abode. In a last struggle, the prince Y-struck. the dead of the night, Z- and his him on one of his temples with his friends, amounting to eight or nine fist, and laid him upon the floor persons, passed the draw-bridge, easily Paul, recovering from the blow, again ascended the staircase which led to implored his life; at this moment the Paul's chamber, and met with no re- heart of PZ-relented, and upon sistance till they reached the anti-room, being observed to tremble and hesitate, when the faithful hussar, awakened a young Hanoverian resolutely exby the noise, challenged them, and claimed, We have passed the Rubipresented his fusee: much as they con: if we spare his life, before the must have all admired the brave fidelity setting of to-morrow's sun, we shall of the guard, neither time nor cir- be his victims ! Upon which he took cumstances would admit of an act of off his sash, turned it twice round the generosity, which might have endan- naked neck of the emperor, and giving gered the whole plan. Z- drew his one end to Z-, and holding the other sabre and cut the poor fellow down. himself, they pulled for a considerable Paul, awakened by the noise, sprung time with all their force, until their from his sofa at this moment the miserable sovereign was no more; whole party rushed into his room; they then retired from the palace. the unhappy sovereign, anticipating without the least molestation, and retheir design, at first endeavoured to turned to their respective homes. entrench himself in the chairs and What occurred after their departure tables; then recovering, he assumed a can be better conceived than depicted: high tone, told them they were his medical aid was resorted to, but in prisoners, and called upon them to vain, and upon the breathless body of surrender. Finding that they fixed the emperor fell the tears of his their eyes steadily and fiercely upon widowed empress and children, and him, and continued advancing towards domestics; nor was genuine grief ever him, he implored them to spare his more forcibly or feelingly displayed life, declared his consent instantly to than by him on whose brow this merelinquish the sceptre, and to accept lancholy event had planted the crown. of any terms which they would dictate. In his raving, he offered to make them princes, and to give them estates, and titles, and orders, without end. They now began to press upon him, when he made a convulsive effort to reach the window in the attempt he failed, and indeed so high was it from the ground, that had he succeeded, the expedient would only have put a more instantaneous period to his misery. : The English Traveller. LOCAL SINGULARITIES OF A UPON the middle of Braham Moor a to be as large as London within the walls)-within those ten miles is as much good oak timber as would build those ten cities;-within those ten miles is as much lime-stone, and coals to burn into lime, as would build those ten cities;-there is also as much clay and sand, and coals to burn them into bricks and tiles, as would build those ten cities;-within those ten miles there are two iron forges, sufficient to furnish iron to build those ten cities, and 10,000 tons to spare; within those ten miles there is lead sufficient, and 10,000 fodder to spare; within those ten miles there is a good coal seam, sufficient to furnish those cities with firing for 10,000 years; within those ten miles are three navigable rivers, Ouse, Ware, and Wharfe, at the foot of which a man may take shipping, and sail to any part of the world; within those ten miles are seventy gentlemen's houses, all keep ing coaches, and the least of them an esquire; and ten parks and forests, well stocked with deer;-and within those ten miles are ten market-towns, each of which is supposed to return 10,0001. per week.-(From a manuscript of John Watson, Esq who, about the year 1730, resided at Malton, in Yorkshire.) Interesting Varieties. EREAL COMBATS. In a pamphlet published, as it imports, for B. B. London, in 1622, we read, that in the 12th of Richard II. a battle was fought between gnats, at Shene, now called Richmond; their multitudes were so great, that the air was darkened by them. It was com puted that two parts of them were killed, and the remaining third suddenly vanished. This account is inserted as preliminary to one of an engagement between the starlings, at Cork, in Ireland, on the 12th of October, 1621 they mustered four or five days previously, every day in ereasing in number. Some came from the east, others from the west, and, as it were, encamped themselves eastward and westward of the city. Dur : ing the time of their assembling, those who came from the east, sought their meat eastward, and those from the west, sought theirs westward; no one flying in the circuits of the other. On Saturday, the 12th of October, they fought, and on Sunday none were to be seen. Upon this Sunday a similar battle was seen between Gravesend and Woolwich, and a raven flying between the combatants. On Monday, the 14th, they again appeared at Cork, and fought with as much violence as before, the dead and wounded falling on the houses, into the streets, and the river, After this battle there were found dead a kite, a raven, and a crow. Another pamphlet, printed at Ox, ford, for J. Colley, 1676, and purporting to be a translation of one published at Lisle, on the 17th of March, in the same year, relates a prodigious battle of birds, between Dole and Salines, in the Franche Compte, on the 26th of February, 1676. The most numerous of the warriors were of a description not very much unlike our scare-crows, but there were above a hundred kinds. After fighting several hours, those who were not disabled, retired no man knew whither. Bushes as high as men were hidden, and the earth covered with heaps of them for above five hundred paces in length, and the screams of the wounded and dying terrified the inhabitants of Burgundy, This extraordinary engagement had been predicted by Nostradamus, about the end of the first century, in his 100th article. The above pamphlets are now extremely scarce; they are, however, still extant in the British Museum and the libraries of the curious. TURKISH JUSTICE, The Turkish ambassador, who was at Paris, in 1798, bought a diamond of a jeweller in that city. While the bargain was concluding, one of his people stole a ring. A little child saw this and told his father, after the Turk was gone. The jeweller immediately wrote to the ambassador, who sent him word that he should wait twen ty four hours. After the expiration of this time, the jeweller received a box, directed to him, which he opened, and found in it the head of the thief, with the ring between his teeth! ATTACHMENT TO ANIMALS. SOME years since, two persons died in Paris, who had been all their lives remarkable for attachment to animals. One was a person of property; he inhabited a small house; on the first floor he kept guinea pigs, on the second, pigeons: during thirty years he had been celebrated for having the finest animals of those species. His house was deserted by all his friends, in consequence of the intolerable stench arising from his menagerie. His property would have been sufficient to have supported him with respectability, but he had expended so much in food for his favourites, and in the improvement of his stock, that when he died not a shilling was left. His relations were obliged to sell off all the guinea pigs and pigeons to defray his funeral expences. The other singular character was a person who constantly carried dogs in his pockets. He was, in every sense, the friend and supporter of that valuable quadruped. His bread and soup he always shared with his favourites: they were his constant companions, and he watched over them with the care of a nurse, He had terriers, poodles, spaniels, and, in short, one of almost every breed. As they increased in number and size, he found himself at a loss to carry them in his usual way; however, he at last contrived to keep one under each arm, two in his pockets, and one on his shoulder, Thus engaged, he frequently enjoyed a promenade on the Boulevard, followed by the rest of his companions. The ridicule of the passengers had no effect. He preferred the comfort of his canine favorites to his own, and the pleasure he derived from his management of them more than compensated for the jokes and satire of the public. About two years before his death he had the misfortune to lose his sight, and in that situation his dogs returned the kindness received from their master. Determined not to part from them, he fastened the whole to a cord, and his faithful companions led him occasionally to the favourite walk on which he had led them. At his death the howling of the animals was dreadful, but the person who inherited his property, having less sensibility than the deceased, applied a horse-whip, and forced them into the street, where they remained about the house until the body was laid into the grave. What became of the dogs after I did not learn. This, however, was on the whole a most striking instance of mutual attach ment between man and the most grateful of all animals. THE GOOSE AND DOG. THE following story of a goose and a dog, is from a provincial paper :"At Little Grove, in Hertfordshire, was a goose of the species called Canada geese, which are fond of roaming at large, and do not like confinement. This goose, however, had contracted such a friendship for the yard dog, that she continually kept near his house, in which he was chained, 'quitting it only when she went for food, and the moment she had eaten it, returning to her post. Thus she sat all day by the house of her favourite, though she never attempted to go into it, unless it rained. If the dog barked, she immediately began to cackle, flew at the person with whom she supposed the dog to be offended, and endeavoured to bite his legs. Sometimes she attempted to partake of the dog's food, but this the dog, who repaid the warmth of her friendship with apparent indifference, would not permit. When the rest of the poultry retired to rest, she would not quit her dog without compulsion. In the morning, when driven to the field with the others, there was no getting her away from the gate of the courtyard where she could at least have a sight of the dog, and before which she would sit the whole day. At length the owner of the goose resolved to leave her to follow her own inclinations. Being thus at liberty to obey |