y to so ill-constructed a fabric, was impossible; Richelieu found
it necessary to raze all at once to the ground, except the central
donjon of despotism, which he left standing. Had Richelieu, with all
his genius and sagacity, undertaken for liberty what he achieved for
royalty, his age would have rejected or misunderstood him, as it did
Bacon and Galileo. He might, indeed, as a man of letters, have consigned
such a political dream to the volume of an Utopia, but from action or
administration he would have been soon discarded as a dreamer. Liberty
must come of the claim of the mass; of the general enlightenment,
firmness, and probity. It is no great physical secret, which a single
brain, finding, may announce and so establish: it is a moral truth,
which, like a gem, hides its ray and its preciousness in obscurity, nor
becomes refulgent till all around it is beaming with light.--_Cabinet
Cyclopaedia--History of France._

* * * * *

THE GATHERER.

A snapper up of unconsidered trifles.
SHAKSPEARE.

* * * * *

From what town in England does all the butter come in the London
market?--Cowes.

Which is the closest town in Ireland, and is the best when drawn?--Cork.

_A Dirty Member._--A member of a certain house was noticed the
other night to be very dirty in his appearance, which a wit accounted
for by saying he supposed the gentleman had been assisting the
Chancellor of the Exchequer in taking the duty off coals!--_From "the
Age."_

* * * * *

LUXURY

Was once restricted by an English law, wherein the prelates and nobility
were confined to two courses at every meal, and two kinds of food in
every course, except on great festivals: it also prohibited all who did
not enjoy a free estate of L100. per annum, from wearing furs, skins,
or silk, and the use of foreign cloth was confined to the royal family
alone, to all others it was prohibited, 1337. In 1340, an edict was
issued by Charles VI. of France, which says, "Let no one presume to
treat with more than a soup and two dishes."

T. GILL.

* * * * *

KNAVE

Formerly signified valet or servant as appears from Wickliffe's New
Testament, kept in Westminster Library, and where we read--"_Paul the
knave of Jesus Christ_." Hence the introduction of the knave in the
pack of cards.

* * * * *