with fasting,
As oft as you've nothing to eat.
Yet, in honour of fasting, one lean face
Among you I'll always require,
If the Abbot should please he may wear it--
If not, let it come to the Prior.

The last two lines hit off the appearance of the Abbot, a Mr. Doyle, and
of the Prior, J. P. Curran. The former was a big burly man with a fat,
jovial face, while Curran was a short and particularly spare man whose
"lean face" always attracted attention.

On a Lent Circuit, one of the Assize towns happened to be a place, of
which one of Lord Avonmore's college contemporaries held a living: at
his own request, the Chief Baron's reverend friend preached the Assize
sermon. The time being the month of March the weather was cold, the
judge was chilled, and unhappily the sermon was long, and the preacher
tedious. After the discourse was over, the preacher descended from the
pulpit and approached the judge, smirking and smiling, looking fully
satisfied with his own exertions, and expecting to receive the
compliments and congratulations of his quondam chum. "Well, my lord,"
he asked, "and how did you like the sermon?"--"Oh! most wonderfully,"
replied Avonmore. "It was like the peace of God--it passed all
understanding; and--like his mercy--I thought it would have endured for
ever."

* * * * *

When Plunket was at the Bar his great friend and rival was C. K. Bushe.
The former was Attorney-General at the same time as the latter was
Solicitor-General, and it caused him much dissatisfaction when Plunket
learned that on a change of Government Solicitor-General Bushe had not
followed his example and resigned office. At the time this occurred both
barristers happened to be engaged in a case at which, when it was
called, Bushe only appeared. On the judge inquiring of Mr. Bushe if he
knew the reason of Mr. Plunket's absence his friend jocosely remarked,
"I suppose, my lord, he is Cabinet-making." This pleasantry, at his
expense, was told to Plunket by a friend, when he arrived in Court, on
which, turning to the judge, the ex-Attorney-General proudly said, "I
assure your lordship I am not so well qualified for Cabinet-making as my
learned friend. I never was either a _turner_ or a _joiner_."

Two eminent Irish astronomers differed in an argument on the parallax of
a lyrae--the one maintaining that it was three seconds, and the other
that it was only two seconds. On being told of this di