The Sun.
London, England, 1825-10-24 00:00:00

ANECDOTEI, kc.

RHEARIABLE DAYS.--Yesterday was the an-
niversary of the Irish massacre, 1641 ; of the
battle of Edge Hill, 1642; and of an earthquake
in flunEr,ary, which reversed the position of a
mountain in 1786 ; and this day is the anniver-
sary of the deaths of Tycho Brahe, the mathema-
tician, in 1601, and of William Prynne, cele-
brated for his writings against the immorality of
the stage,- and his persecutions by the Star
Charnber 1669.

PARLIAMENTARY ETIQUETTE.—WIIPTI a Peer
. examined before the House of Commons, a chair is provided
for him " to repo.e himself in ;" but when a judge is called for,
the SpJsker announces to him, that there is a chair for him to
repose himself " upon." The usage is for a peer to sit, and
then be covered i but a judge is only permitted " to rest with
his hand on the back of it."

When JAMES the FIRST stopped at Lumley
Castle, in his progress from Scotland to London, he was shewn
by the ostentatious owner, a pompous genealogical table of the
ancient pedigree of the family, which carried it very far beyond
what he thouy,ht credible, said to the Bishop of Durham, who
was making historical remarks on it, " I did not know before
that Adam's sirname was Lumley."
A MERCHANT of AMSTERDAM- advanced two
millions of florins to the Prince of Orange, (afterwards William
the Third) for his expedition to England, with this accompani-
ment—" The ceeseesie, in which you embark, is humane and
glorious ; if you succeed, I am confident you will pay me; if
otherwise, the loss be mine." •
CURIOUS PAILAORAPIISI.—The following are
extracts from a newspaper, Parker's Penny Post, published
about a hundred years back:—
" bait week Thomas Peart was. committed to Newgate by
Sir William Billers, for robbing it gentleman on the highway
of his wig*.
"On Wednesday last Mr. Downs, a barber in the Old Bailey,
was attacked in St. Paul's Church-yard, by three footpads, who
presented a pistol to his breast, and robbed him of seven half-
crowns, &c. ; also a lady was attacked in her chair in New
Bond-street by three street-robbers; two of them secured the
chairmen with their pistols, while the other rifled the lady of
her gold watch and seven guineas.
" His Majesty has been pleased to grant his Royal licence
of leave to the Right lion. Humphrey Parsons, Lord Mayor
of London, that he may reside out of the city during his
Mayoralty.
" Last Tuesday a shoemaker's apprentice hanged himself
because his sweetheart refused to promise him marriage next
Christmas, and reflected on him that he was born illegitimate.
He was buried last Tuesday, and a stake driven through his
body.
"4 A wager is laid of ten guineas between two gardeners in
the neighbourhood of Chelsea, one of them undertaking to raise
a sidled while a shoulder of mutton is a roasting, which is to
be done in an hour and three quarters."
CowAnDICE or LORD ROCHESTER.-The fol-
lowing anecdote is taken from the Memoirs of Sheffield Duke
of Buctene &NAM, the friend of Dryden and Pope :—" I was
informed that the Earl of Rochester lied said something of me,"
observes the writer," which, according to his custom, was very
malicious. I therefore sent Colonel Aston, a very mettled
friend of mine, to call him to account for it. He denied the
Words, and indeed I was soon convinced he had never said them;
but the mere report, though I found it to be false, obliged Im—
es I then foolishly thought—to go on with the quarrel ; and
the next day was appointed for us td fight on horseback—a way
in England a little unusual, bet it was his part to choose. Ac-
cordingly, I and my second lay the night before at Knights-
bridge privately, to avoid being secured at London upon
any suspicion, which yet we found ourselves more in danger
of there, because we had all the appearance of highwaymen
that had a mind to lie skulking about in an odd inn for one
night ; but this, I suppose, the people of that house were
used to, and so took no notice of us, but liked us the better. In
the morning we met the Lord Rochester at the places appoint-
Ed, who, instead of James Porter whom he assured Aston he
would make his second, brought an
„errant Lifeguardman,
' whom nobody knew. To this Mr. Aston took exception, upon
the account of his being no suitable adversary; especially con-
sidering bow extremely well he was mountal, Whereas we had
only a couple of pads. Upon which we all agreed to fight on
foot. But as my Lord Rochester and I were riding into the
next field, in order to it, he told roe that he had at first chosen
to fight on horseback, because he was so weak from an illness
which he had, that he found himself unfit to fight at all any
way, much less a-foot, I was extremely surprised, because at
that time no man had a better reputation for courage ; and
my anger against bins being quite over, because I was satis-
fied that he never spoke those words I resented, I took
the liberty of representing what a ridiculous story it would
make, if we returned without fighting; and therefore advised
him for both our sakes, especially for his own, to consider bet-
ter of it ; since I must be obliged in my own defence to lay
the fault on him, by telling the truth of the matter. ' His an-
swer Was, that he submitted to it, and hoped that I would
not desire the advantage of having to do with any man in so
weak a condition. I replied, that by such an argument he had
sufficiently tied up my hands, upon condition that we might call
our seconds to be witnesses of the whole business; which he
consented to, and so we parted. When we returned to London,
we found it full of this quarrel, upon our being absent so long ;
and therefore Mr. Aston thought himself obliged to write down
word and circamstance of this whole matter, in order to spread
every where the true reason of our returning without having
fought ; which being never in the least either contradicted or
resented by Lord Rochester, entirely ruined his reputation as
to courage—of which I was really sorry to be the occasion—though
nobody had still a greater as to wit, which supported him pretty
well in the world, notwithstanding some more accidents of the
same kind, that never fail to succeed one another when once
people know a man's weakness."

COMET.—The head of the comet is now
invisible, but the whole length of the tail may be
seen, near south, at half-past one o'clock, if the
horizon be clear.