to wash off the blackness, when she got into the water, into which she immediately jumped up to her chin. On coming out of the water she found her bosom, her neck, and part of her ohin metamorphosed into those of a negress. This dreadful event occasioned the greatest consternation in her mind, and she called in the assistance of her friends, but it was many days before they could succeed perfectly in washing the BLACK A MOOR white. The cause of the phenomenon is well known to all chemists to be the property of the Baden waters of blackening all metals, and the lady had been employing cosmetics, into the composition of which metallic substances had entered.

Animal Life.—The following is a scale of the average duration of animal life, from the most celebrated writers on Natural History-A hare will live 10 years; a cat, 10; a goat, 8; an ass, 30; a sheep, 10; a ram, 15; a dog, from 14 to 20, and sometimés more; a bull, 15; an ox (a curious fact) 20; swine,25; a pigeon,8; a turtle dove,25; a partridge,25; a raven, 100; an eagle, 100; a goose, 100.

SINGULAR DONATION.-In the year 1720, celebrated for the bursting of the South Sea bubble, a gentleman called late in the evening at the banking-house of Messrs. Hankies and Co. He was in a coach, but refused to get out, and desired that one of the partners of the house might come to him. Having ascertained that it was really one of the principals, and not a clerk, who appeared, he put into his hands a parcel, very carefully sealed up, and desired that it might be laid by till he should call again, which would be in the course of a few days. A few days passed away-a few weeks, a few months, but the stranger never returned At the end of the second or third year, the partners agreed to open this mysterious parcel in the presence of each other. They found it to contain thirty thousand pounds, with a letter, stating that it was obtained by the South Sea speculation, and directing that it should be vested in the

hands of three trustees, whose names were mentioned, and the interest appropriated to the relief of the poor; which was accordingly done.

A LAWYER OUTWITTED -A gentleman of the American Bar, in easy circumstances and pretty good practice, had rendered himself somewhat remarkable by attempts in the way of matrimonial speculation. A maiden, rather advanced in years, residing in the neighbourhood, hearing of this lawyer's speculating propensity, that his character was unexceptionable, and his life tolerably good, resolved upon making him her husband. She hit upon the following expedient :-She pretended suddenly to be taken very ill, and sent for the man of the law to draw her will. He attended for that purpose. By her will she de vised 10,0001. in the bank stock, to be divided among her three cousins, some thousands in bonds and notes to a niece—and vast landed estates to a favourite nephew.-The will being finished, she gave the lawyer a very liberal fee, and enjoined secrecy of him for some pretended purposethus precluding him from an enquiry into her real circumstances. Need we mention the result? In a fortnight, the lady thought proper to be again restored to health. The lawyer called to congratulate her on her res toration-begged permission to visit her, which was politely given. After a short courtship, the desired offer was made. The bargain was concluded, and ratified by the priest. The lawyer's whole estate by his wife consisted of an annuity of sixty-five dollars.

FATALITY.-The year 88 was for several centuries fatal to the House of STUART:-James III. on June the 11th, 1488, lost a battle to his subjects, by whom he was pursued and assassinated Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded the 8th February, 1588. James II. of England, abdicated the Throne of Great Britain on the 12th December, 1688; and in the year 1788, Cardinal Stuart, the last legi. timate make of the family expired.

PUNCTUALITY.-Mr. Scott, of Exeter, who died a few years ago, travelled on business till about fourscore years old, and was one of the most celebrated characters in the kingdom, for punctuality. For a series of years the proprietor of every inn he frequented in Devon and Cornwall, knew the very week, the day, and the very hour he would arrive. A gen tleman on a journey in Cornwall once stopped at a small inn at Port Isaac to dine, when the waiter presented him with a bill of fare, which he disliked, but observing a fine duck on the spit, said, "I'll have that.""You cannot, sir," replied the landlord. "Why not?"- ""Tis for Mr. Scott, of Exeter." "There is no such person in the house," said the gentleman: the landlord affirmed that he would appear at two o'clock, though he had not heard of him for six months; and to the no little astonishment and admiration of the traveller, he saw the old gentleman, on his Rozinante, jogging into the inn-yard about five minutes before two o'clock.

LOUIS XIV. succeded to the throne of France at five years of age; and his education was neglected, to favour the intrigues of State, under the regency of his mother, Anne of Austria, and of the administration of Cardinal Mazarin,during a long minority. We have been well assured that the illiterature of this Grand Monarque went so far, that, to the last, he could hardly write his name. He formed it out of six strait strokes, and a line of beauty, which first stood thus, | | | | | |S; these he afterwards perfected, as well as he was able, and the result was LOUIS.

TRAFALGAR -In the month of Dec. 1820, a singular occurrence excited considerable interest at Cadiz. After a long succession of stormy weather, which had strewed the coast with wrecks, the hull of a large ship was discovered on shore in Catalina Bay, Port Mary's, without any pre-appearance of the approach of a vessel in that direction, or any indication of one

having been recently lost. It was, at first, supposed, that the vessel might have foundered in the vicinity of the Bay, and had been driven in by the violence of the weather; but, on examining her, to the general surprize, she was ascertained to be one of the French ships of war sunk in the battle of Trafalgar, so long back as the year 1805, and must, since the period of her immersion, have drifted beneath the sea, a distance of more than thirty miles.

care,

Her tender regard,her attention and I have felt from a child, but want words to declare;

O let me then pay, ere it yet be too late, Due honor to her, and to seventy-andeight.

Contented I'd live in the lowest degree, To see her from care and anxiety free, And while some court the rich, others flatter the great,

I bow to my mother of seventy-and-eight.

Might I live to behold her an hundred years older,

In the arms of affection I still would uphold her ;

No distance of time would my ardour abate,

I'm so fond of my mother at seventyand-eight.

QUEER COMBINATIONS; or, Cross Readings on an extended plan.-It is with the utmost concern we state, that his lordship is seriously indisposed, owing to his having swallowed by mistake--the dome of Saint Paul's instead of the Monument, the latter of which is recommended by the faculty, as an excellent remedy for the headache, lowness of spirits, vapours-want of principle and dereliction of party-such are the surprising cures that have been accomplished by this specific, that we do not hesitate to assert it would enable us to liquidate our national debt-if melted with a piece of sugar in a tea-cup full of

water.

What renders this unhappy man so great an object of compassion is, that he has the misfortune to be married to-one of the most charming amiable and accomplished women-from the filthy purlieus of St. Giles's and blasphemous obscenity-as taught at Drury, addicted to swearing and the celebrated academies of this Metropolis, where young ladies-not less then seventy years of age, and upwards, daily exhibit their beautiful persons to immense crowds of some thousands of spectators,-in a little room not eight feet square

On Friday morning the bodies of three men and a boy were found drowned in the tears of the unfortunate women-who laughed so immoderately at the facetious replies of his lordship that-the sound was heard upwards of six miles round.One of the men was dressed in-a large and elegant assortment of win

ACCURATE LANGUAGE.—A foreigner, who wished to purchase an edition of a book with wood-cuts, forgetting the proper term, asked for an edition of the work "wid de tings you eat off" The bookseller stared at first, but after considering a minute, said "Oh! I suppose, sir, you mean plates." "No, by Gar; no; dat is not exactly vat Ì vou'd say, sare; vat you call dem plates of vood? oh! de trenchers by Gar! wid de trenchers; a book wid de trenchers."

MOMUS.

AN OLD SAYING MISAPPLIed.

ONE, who when ask'd,could not comply,
Exclaim'd-" I've other fish to fry."
A Frenchman, who o'erheard the saying,
Soon misapplied it this odd way in ;—
"I vou'd do dat vitch you do vish,
But I must go and fry some fish."

MOMUS.

EPITAPH ON A DRUNKARD.

HERE lies poor Dick,depriv'd of breath,
A jolly tippling sot,
Whose acts agreed in life and death,
For now he's gone to pot.

MOMUS.

A WAGGISH fellow was taken before a Justice who was rather crooked. After the witnesses were examined"What have you to say?" enquired the Justice. "Oh," exclaimed the spark, "nothing at all, sir; for I see you are all on one side."

MOMUS.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

THE lines on Riego, forwarded by F. M. L. possess much merit, but, for obvious reasons, we must decline printing them-whatever may be our political opinions, we never trouble our readers with them, and expect them, in return, to display the same courtesy towards us. It is our aim to render the Nic-Nac a miscellany entirely free from offensive matter, so that in the perusal of it the purchaser may for a time forget the turmoils, asperities, and harassing conflicting passions which are too generally suffered to mar the comfort of men's existence. George R. questions the accuracy of our VIEW OF CANTON, given in No. 33, but we pledge our selves as to its fidelity: we wish George R. would take the trouble to compare our cut with a large coloured plate of the Fire, which is sold in the print-shops for 7s. "Salmagundi" is come to

hand.

The following articles shall not be much longer delayed :-" The Poet in Distress"-"Epitaphs," etc. by F. M. L.

"Origin of Bill Jones."-" Notices of Nixon."" Poems" by G. S. W."Answer to O, Nannie.'" — Vito's "Fragment."-"The Cottage-Hearth" and other pieces, by Curiosus. And a Valentine," by Alphus.

*We are compelled to solicit the indulgence of our readers for the omission of a cut this week :-two will be given in our next number.

LONDON--Printed and Published by T. Wallis, Camden Town; and also Published by C. Harris, Bow Street, Covent Garden.;