be burned with his writings," of which we have had several,
eminent for the worthlessness and magnitude of their labours.

It was the literary humour of a certain Maecenas, who cheered the lustre
of his patronage with the steams of a good dinner, to place his guests
according to the size and thickness of the books they had printed. At
the head of the table sat those who had published in _folio,
foliissimo_; next the authors in _quarto_; then those in _octavo_. At
that table Blackmore would have had the precedence of Gray. Addison, who
found this anecdote in one of the Anas, has seized this idea, and
applied it with his felicity of humour in No. 529 of the Spectator.

Montaigne's Works have been called by a Cardinal, "The Breviary of
Idlers." It is therefore the book for many men. Francis Osborne has a
ludicrous image in favour of such opuscula. "Huge volumes, like the ox
roasted whole at Bartholomew fair, may proclaim plenty of labour, but
afford less of what is _delicate_, _savoury_, and _well-concocted_, than
SMALLER PIECES."

In the list of titles of minor works, which Aulus Gellius has preserved,
the lightness and beauty of such compositions are charmingly expressed.
Among these we find--a Basket of Flowers; an Embroidered Mantle; and a
Variegated Meadow.

A CATHOLIC'S REFUTATION.

In a religious book published by a fellow of the Society of Jesus,
entitled, "The Faith of a Catholic," the author examines what concerns
the incredulous Jews and other infidels. He would show that Jesus
Christ, author of the religion which bears his name, did not impose on
or deceive the Apostles whom he taught; that the Apostles who preached
it did not deceive those who were converted; and that those who were
converted did not deceive us. In proving these three not difficult
propositions, he says, he confounds "the _Atheist_, who does not believe
in God; the _Pagan_, who adores several; the _Deist_, who believes in
one God, but who rejects a particular Providence; the _Freethinker_, who
presumes to serve God according to his fancy, without being attached to
any religion; the _Philosopher_, who takes reason and not revelation for
the rule of his belief; the _Gentile_, who, never having regarded the
Jewish people as a chosen nation, does not believe God promised them a
Messiah; and finally, the _Jew_, who refuses to adore the Messiah in the
person of Christ."

I have given this sketch, as it serves for a singular Catalogue