The Sun.
London, England, 1825-11-23 00:00:00

ANECDOTES, &c.

CRIR.LEs H. once going to the theatre, before
his time, to see a tragedy, found the actors not
ready to begin, when his Niajesty, losing pa-
tience, sent to inquire the cause of the delay,
upon which the manager came to the King's box,
-and rightly judging that the best excuse for their
default would be the true one, fairly told his
Aira.Hty that the Queen was not shaved yet—the
custom of these clays being for men to perform
the female characters. 'l'l►e King took the ex-
cuse in good part. and waited till the male Queen
could he effeminated.
I.,kw is Paau.—There was an old law in
Peru, which made the heir to the crown marry
his own sister, if he had not a more distant fe-
toale relation. The policy of this law was to
prtoerve the blood of the sun in the Royal Fa-
mily. The moon, rather than the sun, must
have been the influential planet in these royal
marriage acts.

A Al ENITIER of the [twit HousE of COMMONS,
who always voted with Government, and when he spoke con-
stantly insulted the opposition on account of the thinness of
their ranks, was observed one night during a division, when the
minority was going into the lobby, to stand near a friend of his;
who composed part of that minority, and to exclaim with great
earnestness —" The Lord increase your questions—the Lord
increase your numbers : I shall never be a Commissioner of
the Revenue, or any thing else, at this rate."
THE COURT OF CI'iANCERY seems to date its
rise at the close of the fourteenth century. It was highly ob-
noxious to the professors of the common law, who, by their in-
terests in the House of Commons procured a petition against
it from the Parliament to Edward the Fourth. in 1474. The
influence of the prelates (who were certain of guiding that Court)
defeated this attempt, and its cstablishtnent encountered no
further difficulties.

T E LATE EA 11T, or CIIARLEMONT Used to re:—
la:e that he and some travelling friends were once nearly ship-
wrecked in a tempest in the Archipelago : when at the expected
crisis of their fate, the ship's carpenter, who was a favourite
with the passengers, entered the cabin to give the following
hopeful conseintion :—" Masters," said he, " the captain has
I find, been with you ; but never fear, the ship is a tight one ;
I have examined her throughly. There is not an inch in her
carcass with which I am unacquainted—she is strong and good.
There is, indeed, one rotten plonk, and that a principal one—
let that but hold, and we are all safe." Frank Burton (after-
wards Lord Conyughatm) who is described as being a man of
excellent mirth, and a bon vivant, immediately exclaimed—
" So here I have been pampering this Bread body of mine, for
more than 20 years, and all to be a prey to some cursed shark,
and be d—d to him."

DR. MAINE, an eccentric, character, who was
ejec:ed by Cromwell from ecclesiastical livings which he held
from Charles 1., preserved, in making his will, the a hinisi-
c tlities of his life. lie had an old servant, to whom he be.
(located an ancient family trunk, telling him, that he would
find something there which would make him drink after his
death." The servant, full of expectation that his master,
under this familiar expression, had left him a fair competency,
as soon as decency allowed, flew to the trunk, when to his
reat mortification he found, that the boasted legacy was no-
thing more than—a red herring !

AloTusQuiru was remarkable notwithstanding
his great constitutional sprightliness, for one quality not un-
common with philosophers—absence of mind. Dining one
day at Lord Albemarle's, the British Ambassador in Paris,
he gave away to the servant, who stood behind him, seven
clean plates in succession, supposing he had used them all.
A Love MA itca.--In eccentric fellow, a
soldier in a Scots Fencible Regiment, was in the practice of
hying his Captain, with whom he was rather a favourite,
under frequent contributions. The Captain, however, was not
always in humour to comply with the demands thus made on
his purse ; and one morning, when the soldier tapped at his
door, he was received in a very unceremonious manner, and
ordered to turn to the right about, and march oil. The soldier,
without saying a word, obeyed, and was not heard of for nearly
half a year ; when a detachment belonging to the Regiment,
fell in with him, about 100 miles front the place flout whence
he had deserted. Being, of course, brought before a Court
Martial, and found guilty of a breach of the Articles of War,
he was asked what he bad to say against the infliction of the
penalty which he had incurred. " May it please your Ho-
nours," said the deserter, " I have to say a great deal. Do
not the Articles of War impose a similar punishment on any
soldier who refuses to obey his Officer?" Being answered in
the affirmative, " Well then," continued he, addressing Capt.
" did not your Honour, when 1 last saw you, order me
'to face to the right about, and move off in quick time." The
Captain said, he had some recollection of the circumstance.
" Well, your Honours," added the Scapegrace, " you hear
that, and may believe me when I say that I never heard him
cry Halt."

THE MARCHIONESS WELLESLEY.—TIIIS lady's
grandfather, Mr. Carroll, of Carrollton, is the descendant and
representative of a highly respectable Irish family who accom-
panied Lord Baltimore to Maryland in the first settlement of
that province. Ile finished his education, as most young men
of family and great expectations at that period usually did, in
Europe. Returning to America while yet a youth, he espous-
ed the cause of independence. With other illustrious mile-
viduals he signed the " Declaration of Independence," by
which act, in a time of awful uncertainty and fright-
ful peril, he devoted his life and fortune to his country.
Of the great characters associated on that occasion • only
three are living, viz. the ex-presidents Adams and 'Jefferson
and Mr. Carroll. Although upwards of eighty, Mr. C. pos-
sesses all the vivacity and activity of the prime of life ; at once
an accomplished scholar and a polished gentleman, less known
for his large estates and great wealth than for his noble hospi-
tality, his simplicity and warmth of heart, his beneficence and
active charity, crowned with a spotless honmir, and all the
chivalry and gallantry of a successful patriot. Free from
bigotry himself, he does not appear to suspect it in others,
and at his board arc always found the most intelligent
Americans, as well as strangers, whatever their faith may
be. Of two daughters, one married the late amiable and
excellent General Harper, of Maryland, and the other
(Lady Wellesley's mother), Mr. Caton, an Engish gen-
tleman, who possesses a good estate in the immediate
neighbourhood of Baltimore : he is a very handsome, elegant
man, and his kindness can never be forgotten by the stranger
reared at his feet. Mrs. Paterson was every way worthy of her
noble grandfather, beautiful, amiable, and accomplished ; pos-
sessing all the refinements and fascinations of her charming sex,
with a noble and generous heart—adored by her own family,
and esteemed and respected by the state of Maryland, the noble
Viceroy may well glory in his bride, and Ireland be proud of
his choice.—(Glasgow Herald.) •

MELANCHOLY CATA STROPH E.-A melancholy
and distressing occurrence took place on board
one of the packet ships, on her recent voyage
from Liverpool to New York. Whilst on her
way thither, she met with another packet vessel
coming from New York to Liverpool. The in-
quiries usually made on such occasions were in.
terchanged ; and, amongst other intelligence, the
failure of a mercantile house of some eminence in
America was mentioned. The communication
was observed to produce a sensible and instanta-
neous effect on a gentleman who was going out to
New York as a passenger, and it afterwards ap-
peared that he was one of the partners of the house
in question. So afflicting a circumstance could
not fail to excite a deep feeling of commiseration-
in the breasts of his fellow-passengers, who en-
deavoured, as far as possihre, to soften and alle-
viate the anguish occasioned by a communication
so abrupt and distressing. The next morning,
when the cabin.party assembled to breakfast, the
gentleman did not appear amongst them as usual ;
and, on the steward's entering his state-room to
call him, he was not to be found, but a short note
-woo left on the dressing-table, requesting the
captain not to persevere in an unavailing search
for him. We need not add that the unfortunate
gentleman had, under the influence of paroxysm,
consigned himself and his sorrows to a premature
grave.