replied, "But canna the
French say their prayers as weel?" The reply was most characteristic,
"Hoot! jabbering bodies, wha could _understan'_ them?"

CLXXIV.--DUNNING AND LORD MANSFIELD.

WHILST the celebrated Mr. Dunning, afterwards Lord Ashburton, was at the
bar, he by his conduct did much to support the character and dignity of
a barrister, which was frequently disregarded by Lord Mansfield, at that
time Chief Justice. The attempts of the Chief Justice to brow-beat the
counsel were on many occasions kept in check by the manly and dignified
conduct of Mr. Dunning. Lord Mansfield possessed great quickness in
discovering the gist of a cause, and having done so, used to amuse
himself by taking up a book or a newspaper, whilst counsel was
addressing the court. Whenever Mr. Dunning was speaking, and his
Lordship seemed thus to hold his argument as of no consequence, the
advocate would stop suddenly in his address, and on his Lordship
observing, "Pray go on, Mr. Dunning," he would reply, "I beg your
pardon, my Lord, but I fear I shall interrupt your Lordship's _more
important_ occupations. I will wait until your Lordship has leisure to
attend to my client and his humble advocate."

CLXXV.--EPIGRAM.

(A good word for Ministers.)

THE Whigs 'tis said have often broke
Their promises which end in smoke;
Thus their defence I build;
Granted in office they have slept,
Yet sure those _promises_ are _kept_
Which never are fulfilled.

CLXXVI.--CHANGING HIS LINE.

A GENTLEMAN, inquiring of Jack Bannister respecting a man who had been
hanged, was told that he was dead. "And did he continue in the _grocery
line_?" said the former. "Oh no," replied Jack; "he was quite in a
_different line_ when he died."

CLXXVII.--TALL AND SHORT.

AT an evening party, Jerrold was looking at the dancers. Seeing a very
tall gentleman waltzing with a remarkably short lady, he said to a
friend at hand, "Humph! there's the mile dancing with the mile-stone."

CLXXVIII.--AN ODD COMPARISON.

SIR WILLIAM B---- being at a parish meeting, made some proposals, which
were objected to by a farmer. Highly enraged, "Sir," says he to the
farmer, "do you know, sir, that I have been at the two universities, and
at two colleges in each university?"--"Well, sir," said the farmer,
"what of that? I had a calf that sucked two cows, and the observation I
made was, the more he sucked,