d soon."{1}

1 Whether the following lines are from the same hand or not,
we are unable to ascertain; at least they wear a great
similarity of character:

I give you the three glorious C's.

Our Church, Constitution, and King;
Then fill up three bumpers to three noble Vs.
Wine, Women, and Whale fish-ing.

~~215~~~ "Egad," said Bob, "if this be true, he appears to knock up
rhymes almost as well as he could bake biscuits" (smothering a laugh.)

"Why," replied Dashall, "I believe that it has not been positively
ascertained that these lines, which unlike other poetry, contain no
fiction, but plain and undeniable matter of fact, were wholly indicated
by the worthy Alderman; indeed it is not impossible but that his
worship's barber might have had a hand in their composition. It would
be hard indeed, if in his operations upon the Alderman's pericranium,
he should not have absorbed some of the effluvia of the wit and genius
contained therein; and in justice to this operator on his chin and
caput, I ought to give you a specimen which was produced by him upon the
election of his Lordship to the Mayoralty--

"Our present Mayor is William Curtis,
A man of weight and that your sort is."

"This epigrammatic distich, which cannot be said to be destitute of
point, upon being read at table, received, as it deserved, a large share
of commendation; and his Lordship declared to the company present, that
it had not taken his barber above three hours to produce it extempore."

Tallyho laughed heartily at these satirical touches upon the poor
Alderman.

"However," continued Tom, "a man with plenty of money can bear laughing
at, and sometimes laughs at himself, though I suspect he will hardly
laugh or produce a laugh in others, by what he stated in his seat in
the House of Commons, on the subject of the riots{1} at Knightsbridge.
I suspect his wit and good humour will hardly protect him in that
instance."

1 On a motion made by Mr. Favell in the Court of Common
Council, on the 21st of March, the following resolution was
passed, indicative of the opinion that Court entertained of
the conduct of Alderman Curtis on the occasion here alluded
to:

"That Sir William Curtis, Bart, having acknowledged in his
place in this Court, that a certain speech now read was
delivered by him in the House of Commons, in which, among