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Though sometimes, as both great and small aver,
He gave them Rowland for their Oliver.

The guests all met, and dinner spread,
Dobson first tipp'd the wink, then said,

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Well, now, my lads, we'll all draw lots,
To settle which of us shall go

Into the cellarage below,
To fill the pots."

So saying, he adroitly wriggled
The shortest into Tibbs's
paw,
Whereat the others hugely giggled,
And Tibbs, obedient to the law,
Went down, the beverage to draw.
Now, Farmer Dobson, wicked wag!
Over the cellar-door had slung
A water-bowl, so slyly hung
That whoso gave the door a drag
Was sure to tumble down at once
A quart of liquid on his sconce.

Our host and all his brother wits,

Soon as they heard their victim's tramp,
Who look'd half-drown'd, burst into fits,
Which in fresh peals of laughter flamed,
When Tibbs, in drawling tone, exclaim'd :
"Isn't your cellar rather damp?"

Grace being said, quick havoc follow'd ;
Many good things were said and swallow'd ;-
Joking, laughing, stuffing, and quaffing,
For a full hour they push'd about

The canns, and when there came a pause,
From mere exhaustion of their jaws,
Tibbs, with his nasal twang, drawl'd out-

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Why, zounds!"-the farmer roar'd amain,—

"The spiggot back !-come, come, you're funning, You hav'n't left the liquor running ?”—

"I did as I was order'd, Jack,"

Quoth Tibbs, " and if it was intention'd That I should put the spiggot back, It's a great pity 'twasn't mention'd :You've lost a cask of precious stuff, But I for one have drunk enough.""Ass! numscull! fool!" the farmer cried,"What can one get, confound their souls! By asking such half-witted lubbers ?” "This lesson, neighbour," Tibbs replied,→ "That those who choose to play at bowls, Must expect rubbers !”

The Parson at Fault.

A COUNTRY parson took a notion
Into his head, one Whitsuntide,
That it was more like true devotion
To preach extempore ;-he tried :-
Succeeded once twice thrice-but, lo!

His fourth discourse was not forthcoming ;-
Spite of his hawing and his humming,

Not a word farther could he go;
So that the worthy man perforce

Was fain to leave them in the lurch,
And say, that, since he came to church,
He'd lost the thread of his discourse.

Whereat a man below exclaim'd,
"Lock the doors, beadle-search us round,
All, every one, until it's found:
The thief should really be ashamed.-
Here are my pockets,- -ransack both;
I have it not, I'll take my oath."

THE STATUE OF THESEUS,

AND THE SCULPTURE ROOM OF PHIDIAS.

MUTILATED and disfigured as it is, I never approach this majestic statue without feeling an indescribable awe leading me, almost unconsciously, to take off my hat, and look up to it with silent reverence, as if I stood in the presence of some superior being. This impression is probably compounded of the thrilling delight with which minds of any susceptibility usually contemplate the beauty of exquisite proportion---of the vague apprehension inspired by gigantic bulk--and of that lingering homage still attaching itself to whatever has been once associated with the noblest and most solemn affections of the human heart, and contemplated as the figure of a divinity by the most civilized nations of the world. Whatever be the elements of the sensation, never did I feel it so intensely as yesterday, when I pored upon every limb and muscle of this masterpiece of antiquity, until I fell into a reverie, or waking dream; wherein, with all the inconsistency of those mental delusions, I imagined myself to be at Athens, under the administration of the celebrated Pericles. In vain did I endeavour to account for that contemporaneous burst of human genius, under his patronage, which enabled Athens to leap suddenly to the very pinnacle

of

renown, producing those miracles of art and science, to which, whether emerging from barbarism, or at

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tempting improvement in the most refined state of civilization, the world has been invariably compelled to turn back, as to the sole, immutable, and eternal standards of purity and perfection. Fancy transported me to the period when the Parthenon was not yet completed; and methought that a ticket presented to me by Pananus, the kinsman of Phidias, gave me admittance to the sculpture room of that immortal artist, where all the glorious statues, for the two pediments of the building, were to be exhibited to some of the most distinguished citizens, previously to the indiscriminate admission of the people.

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Never did so awful, so majestic a vision overwhelm my faculties. My spirit felt rebuked---my heart sank within me--I seemed endeavouring to shrink into myself, as if I had intruded upon Olympus, and sacrilegiously thrust myself into the presence of the immortal gods. Some time elapsed before I was sufficiently recovered to lift up my eyes, and fix them on the prodigies by which I was surrounded, when I observed that all the figures were arranged in the exact positions which they were to occupy in the respective pediments. Those intended for the front, which faces the Propylæa, and the long walls to the Piræus, represented the presentation of Minerva, by Jupiter, to the goddesses of Olympus. The sublime countenance and stupendous symmetry of the thunderer, who occupied the centre of the group, contrasted admirably with the milder majesty of the yirgin Minerva; who, seated in her car, appeared to be slowly ascending Olympus. The figures for the

posterior pediment exhibited the dispute between Neptune and Minerva, to determine which of them should give a name to Attica; but before I could distinctly examine the blaze and glory of art which they displayed, I heard footsteps approaching; and, retiring to the extremity of the group, I seated myself in speechless admiration, behind the recumbent statue of Theseus.

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Phidias, the superintendant of the works under Pericles, and author of the wonders with which I was surrounded, slowly advanced to the front of the principal group, and kneeling down with an expression of deep reverence, I heard him return thanks to the gods that life and health had been granted him for the completion of his work; while he implored their forgiveness, if the imperfect conception of his mind, or inadequate execution of his hand, had disabled him from doing full justice to the divine originals.Ah! said I to myself, here is the true secret of the inimitable sublimity of the Greek sculptors! That holy enthusiasm--that utter concentration of all the faculties necessary for the production of such masterpieces, can only be elicited by combining the stimulants of both worlds; by believing that heaven as well as earth are waiting to shower down rewards upon the successful artist ;---that the gods, as well as men, are to sit in judgment upon every effort of his chisel. Religious feelings only can create such prodigies of art, and religion only, by dedicating them to the sacred edifices and public buildings, can adequately reward their creators. Hence the eminence

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