find, in the course of our reading, some who are so devout, that their tears wash the floors. There are others, whose knees become horny, by genuflexion overmuch, as we find in Lyson's Britannia, vol. 1.-How Dr. Richard Sandy, alias Napier, was a physician and astrologer, and had considerable practice, in consequence of the report that he held conversations with the angel Raphael. It was said of this empirical divine, that he was so devout, that his knees grew horny by much praying, and that he died (1634) in that posture, at a great age.—Others are bent upon saving time in their devotions, for upon no other principle can we account, than the above, for the following anecdote of two queens: While Queen Caroline dressed, prayers used to be read in the outward room, where hung a naked Venus. Mrs. Selwyn, bed-chamber-woman in waiting, was one day ordered to bid the chaplain, Doctor Madox, (afterwards bishop of Worcester,) begin the service. He said, archly, "And a very proper altar-piece is here!" Queen Anne had the same custom and once ordering the door to be shut, while she dressed, the chaplain stopped. The queen sent to ask, why he did not proceed? He replied, "He would not whistle the word of God through a key-hole."—(Walpole's Reminiscences.) Lloyd, in his State Worthies, page 194, gives us an instance of the efficacy of a royal prayer for Sir John Cheeke, king EDWARD the Sixth's tutor, being once desperately sick, the king enquiring after his health every day, the physician frankly told him there was no hope of life, and that he looked upon him as a dead man. No," said the king, "he will not die at this time; for this morning I begged his life from God in my prayers, and obtained it :" which accordingly came to pass; for, contrary to all expectation, he speedily recovered. This, says Dr. Fuller, was attested by the old Earl of Huntingdon, bred up in his childhood with King Edward, to Sir Thomas Cheeke, who was alive anno 1654, and eighty years of age. King Edward the Sixth was young and innocent!

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Sir THOMAS MORE had, for some time, but two daughters; one of whom, it will be recollected, shewed remarkable piety towards him. Lady More, however, was for ever praying for a boy. At length, she obtained her wish. The boy, coming to man's estate, proved but simple: Sir Thomas thereupon said to his wife, Thou prayedst so long for a boy, that he will be a boy as long as he lives.

St. AUGUSTINE had a singular mode of praying. In his younger life he was exceedingly incontinent. He reports of himself that he prayed for continency, but was not willing to be heard too soon; for, saith he, "I had rather have my desires satisfied than extinguished."—(Chetwynd's Hist. Collections.)

When a Highland party of robbers was formed for an expedition against their neighbour's property, they and their friends prayed as earnestly to Heaven for success, as if they were engaged in the most laudable design. The constant petition of grace of the old Highland chieftains was delivered with great fervour, in these terms: "Lord! turn the world upside down, that Christians may make bread out of it." The plain English of this pious request was, that the world might become, for their benefit, a scene of rapine and confusion.-( Pennant's Scotland, vol. 2, p. 400.)

Mr. Warner (Miscellanies, p. 38) has been pleased to inform the world, "that the late right honourable C. J. Fox never omitted saying the Lord's Prayer whenever he went to bed, whether early or late, whether under the influence of wine, or in his sober senses." Birmingham Hutton has, like Mr. Warner, been as careful to record a similar thing. "Looking into my father's pocket-book, I found this resolution, written a month before O Lord, by thy assistance, I will not enter a publichouse on this side Easter.'"-(Life, p. 30.) The old gentleman, according to his son's account, was amazingly fond of a cup of ale.

Other nations pray for rain, as we do. In a season of great drought, in Persia, a schoolmaster, at the head of his pupils, marched out of Schiraz, in procession, to pray for rain; when a wag asked where they were going? The tutor told him, and said, "He doubted not but God would listen to the prayers of innocent children." "My honest friend," said the humourist, "if that were the case, I fear there would be no schoolmasters left alive."

Let us also take a view of some short prayers, said in the midst of bustle and hurry.

Dr. William King, formerly principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford, relates the following anecdote:-"In 1715, I dined with the Duke of Ormond, at Richmond; we were fourteen at table. There was my Lord Marr, my Lord Jersey, my Lord Arran, my Lord Lansdown, Sir William Wyndham, Sir Edmond Everard, and Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester. The rest of the company I do not remember. During dinner, there was a jocular dispute, (I forget how it was introduced,) concerning short prayers. Sir William Wyndham told us, that the shortest prayer he had ever heard was the prayer of a common soldier, just before the battle of Blenheim-‘O God! if there be a God, save my soul, if I have a soul!” This was followed by a general laugh. I immediately reflected that such a treatment of the subject was too ludicrous, at least very

improper, where a learned and religious prelate was one of the company. But I had soon an opportunity of making a different reflection. Atterbury seeming to join in the conversation, and applying himself to Sir William Wyndham, said, "Your prayer, Sir William, is indeed very short; but I remember another, as short, but much better, offered up likewise by a poor soldier, in the same circumstances- O God! if, in the day of battle, I forget thee, do thou not forget me!""" This, as Atterbury pronounced it, with his usual grace and dignity, was immediately felt by the whole company; and the Duke of Ormond, who was the best-bred man of his age, suddenly turned the discourse to another subject.-(King's Anecdotes of his own Times, p. 7-9.) But David Hume, the historian, makes out this second prayer to have been pronounced by Lord Astley, a distinguished cavalier, before he charged at the battle of Edgehill, as, "O Lord! thou knowest how busy I must be this day; if I forget thee, do thou not forget me. And Hume adds, there were certainly much longer prayers in the parliamentary army, but I doubt if there was so good a

one.

It is said of La Hire, who lived in the reign of Charles VII., that, just as he was going to attack the enemy, he fell on his knees, folded his hands, and preferred the following supplication:-" O God! I beseech thee this day to perform for La Hire as much as thou wouldst wish La Hire to perform for thee, if he were God, and thou wert La Hire!" He fancied that he had prayed very devoutly.—(St. Foix, vol. 1, p. 232.)

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King Clovis, of France, hitherto a pagan, but almost persuaded to be a Christian, like another Agrippa, by his wife Clotildis, who was no idolater, on being invaded by the Allemans, and seeing his army put into disorder at the onset, put this prayer:-"O God of Clotildis, if you will now interpose, and grant me this victory, I will renounce idolatry for ever, and be a Christian." We will not say his prayer was heard, because it would not be decorous to make conditions with our Creator, depending upon the particle if; but Clovis did gain a victory, and, remembering his vow, was baptized.(Ranken's History of France.)

The monks used to pray heartily, or rather say their prayers, no less than seven times in the twenty-four hours. We will give their names :—

1st. Nocturnal, at cock-crowing, or two o'clock in the morning.

2d. Matins, at six o'clock in the morning.

3d. Tierce, at nine o'clock in the morning.

4th. Sext, at twelve o'clock, noon.

5th. None, at three o'clock in the afternoon. 6th. Vespers, at six o'clock in the afternoon. 7th. Compline, soon after seven.

Quarles has a neat epigram on the subject

In all our pray'rs, th' Almighty does regard
The judgment of the balance not the yard:
He loves not words, but matter: 'tis his pleasure
To buy his wares by weight, and not by measure.

PRECISION.

Dr. ANDERSON says, "The mathematician can demonstrate, with the most decisive certainty, that no fly can alight on this globe which we inhabit, without communicating motion to it; and he can ascertain, with the most accurate precision, (if he choose to do,) what must be the exact amount of the motion so produced."—(Recreations in Agriculture, vol. 2, p. 350.)

BURTON, in his History of Ireland, page 4, says, "It is recorded, in the ancient chronicles of this kingdom, that when the patriarch Noah threatened the people of the old world that vengeance would follow their wickedness, and thereupon built an ark, to convince them that the whole earth would be overflown in a few years, the generality disregarded his admonitions; only Cesarea, Noah's niece, believing her uncle's prophecy, got a ship, and, accompanied with three men and fifty women, resolved to find out some country never yet inhabited, but unspotted with vice; and, after sailing, and many dangers, they at length arrived in Ireland; but, within forty days after their landing, the Deluge came, and swept away all these new inhabitants at once. This, they say, happened in the year after the creation of the world 1556, which was very wonderful, being long before the art of navigation was invented."

In the American war, it appears, by the Parliamentary Register, that, by the Hessian treaty, three wounded men shall be reckoned as one killed, and paid for accordingly, i. e. at the rate of £50, for the supposititious killed, or £13..6..8. if only wounded. This is computing by the scale of nine tailors making a man. A French scalp also cost £10. in the American war; but, by General Burgoyne's economy, the price was reduced to three dollars.-(Vide Gates's Letter.)

ANNE CLIFFORD tells us, that, in Channel Row, Westminster, on the 1st of May, 1589, she was begotten, by her most

valiant father, George, Earl of Cumberland, on the body of her most virtuous mother, Margaret, daughter of Francis, Earl of Bedford! Astonishing accuracy!—(Memoirs.)

CHEVREAU, in his History of the World, tells us, that it was created the 6th of September, on a Friday, a little after four o'clock in the afternoon.

Dr. CAIUS makes out, in a quarto tract, printed 1574, that the University of Cambridge had, for its founder, Cantaber, 394 years before Christ, and in the year of the world 4300 and odd; and therefore that the University of Cambridge was 1267 years more ancient than Oxford.

Mr. COLEBROOKE tells us, that the four sacred Vedas have been reverenced by the Hindoos for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.-(Asiatic Researches.)

Mr. HALHEAD, in his preface to the Gentoo Laws, says, "What shall we say to a work composed four thousand years ago, and from thence tracing mankind upwards through several millions of years?"

Sir W. JONES says, If it were worth while to calculate the age of Menu's Institutes, according to the Brahmins, we must multiply 4,320,000 by six times seventy-one, and add to the product the number of years already past in the seventh Manwaniara!--(Asiatic Res. vol. 2, p. 116.)

LETI (Gregorio) boasted that he had been the father of a book, and the father of a child, for twenty years successively. -Even SWIFT counted the number of steps he took from London to Chelsea.-Bishop WREN calculated that he walked round the earth while a prisoner in the Tower of London.

Honest MANTON wrote one hundred and nineteen sermons on the 119th Psalm!

PETRARCH, the Italian poet, is equally accurate and precise about his Laura. These are his own words :--" Laura, illustrious by the virtues she possessed, and celebrated during many years by my verses, appeared to my eyes, for the first time, on the 6th day of April, in the year 1327, at Avignon, in the church of St. Clare, at six o'clock in the morning. I was then in my early youth. In the same town, on the same day, and at the same hour, in the year 1348, this light, this sun, withdrew from the world."

A Scottish pound is but twenty pence; so that a girl's fortune of some thousand pounds sinks wonderfully after so fine a