CDXXIV.—RINGING THE CHANGES.

At a tavern one night,
Messrs. More, Strange, and Wright
Met to drink, and good thoughts to exchange:
Says More, "Of us three,
The whole town will agree,
There is only one knave, and that's Strange."
"Yes," says Strange (rather sore),
"I'm sure there's one More,
A most terrible knave and a bite,
Who cheated his mother,
His sister and brother."—
"O yes," replied More, "that is Wright."

CDXXV.—KNOWING HIS MAN.

A man was brought before Lord Mansfield, charged with stealing a silver ladle, and the counsel for the crown was rather severe upon the prisoner for being an attorney. "Come, come," said his lordship, "don't exaggerate matters; if the fellow had been an attorney, he would have stolen the bowl as well as the ladle."

CDXXVI.—A SMALL GLASS.

The manager of a Scotch theatre, at which F.G. Cooke was playing Macbeth, seeing him greatly exhausted towards the close of the performance, offered him some whiskey in a very small thistle-glass, saying at the same time, by way of encouragement, "Take that, Mr. Cooke; take that, sir; it is the real mountain dew; that will never hurt you, sir!"—"Not if it was vitriol!" was the rejoinder.

CDXXVII.—DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

The following bill of fare (which consists of a dish of fish, a joint of meat, a couple of fowls, vegetables, and a pudding, being in all seven dishes for sevenpence!) had its rise in an invitation which a young lady of forty-seven sent to her lover to dine with her on Christmas Day. To unite taste and economy is no easy thing; but to show her lover she had learned that difficult art, she gave him the following dinner:—

£s.d.
At top, fish, two herrings001
Middle, one ounce and a half of butter, melted000-3/4
Bottom, a mutton chop, divided002
On one side, one pound of small potatoes000-1/2
On the other side, pickled cabbage000-1/2
First remove, two larks, plenty of crumbs001-1/2
Mutton removed, French-roll boiled for a pudding000-1/2
Parsley for garnish000-1/4
——————
£007
——————

—Seven dishes for sevenpence!