[15] Notes and Queries, First Series, iii 347.
When it was known that Louis XVIII. was to be restored to the throne of France, a report was circulated that the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.) would take the command of the vessel which was to convey the king to Calais. The people of that town were in a fever of expectation, and having decided to sing God save the King in honour of their English visitor, they thought that it would be an additional compliment if they supplemented it with an entirely new verse, which ran as follows:—
``God save noble Clar<e'>nce,
Who brings our King to France,
God save Clar<e'>nce;
He maintains the glor<y'>
Of the British nav<y'>,
Oh God, make him happ<y'>,
God save Clar<e'>nce.''[16]
[16] Ibid., iv. 131.
In continuation of the story, it may be said that the Duke did not go to Calais, <p 212>and that therefore the anthem was not sung.
The composer of this strange verse succeeded in making pretty fair English, even if his rhymes were somewhat deficient in correctness. This was not the case with a rather famous inscription made by a Frenchman. Monsieur Girardin, who inscribed a stone at Ermenonville in memory of our once famous poet Shenstone, was not stupid, but rather preternaturally clever. This inscription is above all praise for the remarkable manner in which the rhymes appeal to the eye instead of the ear; and moreover it shows how world-famous was that charming garden at Leasowes, near Halesowen, which is now only remembered by the few:—
``This plain stone
To William Shenstone.
In his writings he display's
A mind natural.
At Leasowes he laid
Arcadian greens rural.''
Dr. Moore, having on a certain occasion excused himself to a Frenchman for using <p 213>an expression which he feared was not French, received the reply, ``Bon monsieur, mais il m<e'>rite bien de l'<e^>tre.'' Of these lines it is impossible to paraphrase this polite answer, for we cannot say that they deserve to be English.
INDEX.
Adder for nadder, 7.
Afghan for Anglican, 148.
Agassiz, Zoological Biography, blunder in, 64.
Alison's (Sir Archibald) blunder, 34.
Ampulle (Sainte), 35
Amsterdam, Guide to, 210.
Anderson (Andrew), his disgraceful printing of the Bible, 141.
Apostrophe, importance of an, 121.
Apron for napron, 7.
Arabian Nights, translations of, 45.
Arden (Pepper), 60.
Arlington (Lord), his title taken from the village of Harlington, 8.
Artaxerxes, 54.
Ash's Dictionary, 9, 10.
Averrhoes, 54.