the sale-room; his grace had retired to one end of the room, coolly to view the result of the contest. The biddings rose quickly to twenty guineas-a great sum in former times, when collecting was not quite so fashionable as it has since become; but the duke was not to be daunted or defeated. A slip of paper was handed to him, upon which the impropriety of continuing the contest was suggested. His grace took out his pencil; and, with a coolness which would have done credit to Prince Eugene, he wrote on the same slip of paper, by way of reply,

"Lay on, Macduff!

And d- -d be he who first cries 'hold, enough!" Such a spirit was irresistible; it bore down all opposition, and was worthy of the cause in which it was engaged. The duke was of course declared victor, and he marched off triumphantly, with the volume under his arm.

DEPTH OF THE AMERICAN LAKES.

Lake Erie has about thirty-five fathoms of water above its lowest bed, though it is not often more than twenty-five in depth. Lake St. Clair is shallow, scarce exceeding four fathoms. Lake Huron, Michigan, and Superior, are, in places, nine hundred feet deep, sinking about three hundred below the level of the ocean.

HAYDN THE COMPOSER.

The poet Carpani once asked his friend Haydn "how it happened that his church music was almost always of an animating, cheerful, and even gay description." To this, Haydn's answer was, "I cannot make it otherwise: I write according to the thoughts which I feel:-when I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy, that the notes dance and leap as it were from my pen; and since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be easily forgiven me that I serve him with a cheerful spirit."

CONFIRMATION.

The dean of Ely was excellent at sharp jests, and once called a clergyman "a fool," who indeed was little better. The clergyman said he would complain of this usage to the bishop. "Do," said Perne, "and my lord bishop will confirm you."

SLENDER REPAST.

"Have you dined?" said a lounger to his friend. "I have, upon my honor," replied he. "Then," rejoined the first, "if you have dined upon your honor, I fear you have made a scanty meal."

DUKE OF CUMBERLAND.

When any one told to the duke of Cumberland a very improbable story, he heard him with politeness and attention: "Can you believe," was said to him, "what this man has told you?" "The gentleman," said the duke, "may believe what he pleases; but I hope he will indulge me in the same liberty."

REPARTEE.

A British naval officer, a prisoner of Commodore Macdonough, said to a woman in Burlington, that the only way the d- -d Yankees gained victories, was by skulking behind every stump and tree; that they were afraid to come out in open fight: to which the woman observed," Were there stumps and trees on the lakes ?"

PALPABLE HIT.

At a meeting of a Bible association, in the north of England, a clergyman assigned as his reason for supporting the Bible society, his belief that it was not endangering the church; "for," said he, "if I thought

it dangerous to the church, I would not support it a moment longer." A Quaker present, rose to seccond the motion which the clergyman had thus put, and said, "I am a Quaker, and if I thought that the Bible society would endanger Quakerism, why, then I would not be a Quaker one moment longer.”

MORTARS.

During the time that martial law was in force in Ireland, and the people were prohibited from having fire-arms in their possession, some mischievous varlets gave info:mation that a Mr. Scanlon, of Dublin, had three mortars in his house. A magistrate, with a party of dragoons in his train, surrounded the house, and demanded, in the king's name, that the mortars should be delivered to him. Mr. Scanlon, a respectable apothecary, immediately produced them, adding, that as they were useless without the pestles, they also were at his majesty's service.

HENRY CLAY.

A Mr. Henry Clay, a Virginia dancing master, happening to alight at a public house for refreshment, in a neighboring town, a few days since, it was immediately rumored that Mr. Henry Clay, Secretary of State, had arrived; the rumor, of course, spread with great rapidity; and a great many people flocked to the tavern to see the secretary, and among the rest an honest countryman, who observed to the dancing master, "that he had been taken to be the Secretary of State;" who promptly replied, "No, my dear fellow, I am not the man; although we have the same name, and are about the same height, yet there is about six feet difference in our talents-his talents are in his head, and mine are in my heels."

INNOCENCE.

While we can easily defend our character, we are no more disturbed by an accusation, than we are alarm

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