MISCELLANIES.
Tale of a Tub.—It is generally supposed that the title of Swift's Tale of a Tub was a jest originally levelled at the Puritan pulpit. It probably had served a more ancient purpose. In Bale's Comedye concerning Three Laws, compiled in 1538, Infidelitas says:
"Ye say they follow your law,
And vary not a shaw,
Which is a tale of a tub."
J.O.W.H.