Amusing and Instructive.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 7, Issue 356, 8 March 1866, Page 1

Amusing and Instructive.

Loud Palmerston and English Grammer. —A writer iu the present number of Fraser’s Magazine records numerous anecdotes illustrative of Lord Palmerston’s character, from which we make the following extracts : —Everyone has heard the story of Sheridan’s dinner-party, at which the sheriff’s-officers acted as waiters. On its being mentioned as apocryphal at Brocket!, “ Not at all,” exclaimed Lord Palmerston; “I was at it, Sheridan, Canning, Frere, and some others, including myself, had agreed to form a society (projected, you may remember, by Swift) for the improvement of the English language. We were to give dinners in turn ; Sheridan gave the first; and my attention was attracted to the peculiarity of the attendance, by the frequent appeals on the part of the improvised servants to *Mr Sheridan.’ ” “ And did you improve the language ?” “ Not certainly at that dinner ; for Sheridan got drunk, and a good many words of doubtful propriety were employed.” He was a purist in language, grammar, and orthography, and some curious illustrations of his zeal for their reformation are preserved in the Foreign Office. Ho had a confirmed dislike to “ that that ” and “ had hadns in a sentence thus constructed : u it was said that that general had had a check.” In the last speech from the throne her Majesty is made to say that she had great satisfaction iu recurring again to her Parliament. Some of the literary men objected, and their objection was stated to Lord Palmerston one evening (February 10), when he had been unexpectedly detained in the House of Commons, and had only just risen from an eleven o’clock dinner. He defended the expression, and maintained the argument with unabated spirits till the subject was dropped. The next morning, before ten, the objector received the following memorandum, written in the Premier’s clear, bold, well-known band: '‘Johnson’s Dictionary. In this Life the Thoughts of God and a future State often offer themselves to us. They often spring up in our Minds, and when expelled recur again. — Calamy. One moaning of ‘ recur,’ is ‘ to have recourse to,’ and it is perfectly good English to say ‘ I have recourse to you again.’ Etymologically, ‘to recur ’ is ‘ to run back,’ and one may with propriety say I run back, or I come back, to you again. The Queen recurs or comes back to her Parliament at the end of every recess, and she does again that which she has done often before.” The Man who couldn’t Spell.— The Melbourne Spectator tells a good story iu connection with the recent election for West Melbourne. One of the popular candidates happening to meet in the street a gentleman believed to have some influence in the district, asked him for his vole, which the elector promised to give on one condition. Would the candidate do something for the elector iu return. The promise was eagerly given, provided that the request was reasonable, and in the power of the candidate to grant. “Then spell cauliflower on the spot 1” The ministerialist made frantic attempts to perform the feat, but at “koll —” broke down hopelessly, and gave up the job. What wild he do with Them? —The following are the twenty-seven names of the young Prince of Portugal, for whom Napoleon lately stood godfather : —Don Alphnso Henriquez Maria Luis Pedro d’ Alcantara Carlos Humbert Amede Fernando Antonio Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gouzagues Xavier Francisco d’ Assises Auguste Julio Wolfar, Ignacio de Bragancs y Save.; a y Bourbon y Saxo Coburg Gotha, due d’ Oporto. A Sentiment tor an Agricultural Dinnee.The game of fortune —shuffle the cards as you will, spades must win. Afa old pauper discharged himself from Beth-nal-green Workhouse recently, tied his hands together, and, jumping into the Thames, was drowned. President Johnson lias announced that the passage of the Constitmional amendment is necessary for the full restoration of the Southern Sut-a to the Union.