The Sun.
London, England, 1825-09-09 00:00:00

ANECDOTES, &c.

DuELLtraV—ln the year 1751. two military officers, who
were stationed in the garrison of Dublin, quarrelled over their
glass about some ladies, and one of them sent a challage the
following morning' to his companion', to which the latter re
turned the following sensible answer :—" Sir I reckon it my
peculiar happiness, that I can produce the officers and soldiers
who witnessed my behaviour at Fontenny, as evidences of My
courage. You may endeavour, if you please, to propagate my
refusing your challenge, and brand me with cowardice ; but -I
am fully convinced that nobody will believe rue guilty,. and
every body will see that you are maliciouS, The cause in
which we quarrelled was a trifle; the blood of a soldier should
be reserved for a nobler purpose. Love is blind, resentment
mean, and taste capricious ; and it ought to be consid,ffed that
murder, though palliated by a false show of honour, is murder
still, and calls for vengeance."
• Rlcumt» I was in the Greyfriars' Church at Lei-
cester that the body of Richard 111. was interred, after he was
slain in Bosworth field. The body was meanly interred in an
old stone chest. The church became in the course of time di-
lapidated • and it is a curious fact, that the Stone chest hi
which "the crooked-back" tyrant had once lain, served cen-
turies afterwards in an inn for a drinking-trough for horses.
PRESENCE OF Mixn.—A person well acquainted with
Anecdotes relating to the Russian Court; gave me (M. Du-
mont) while I was at Saint PetersbUrgh. the following anecdote
of the origin athe success of the High Chancellor, Besborodko
—Being still in a subordinate office, belonging to the Chancery,
one day, when be had presented various Ukases to. the Empress
(Catherine Il.,) he perceived that he had forgotten to compose
one that he,had been particularly commanded to prepare. His
first alarm being over, he determined how to act, and pretended
to read the Ukase in question, though he only held in his hand
a sheet of blank paper. The Empress was so well satisfied
with the perforMance, that she desired to sign it immediately.
The disconcerted Clerk was compelled to acknowledge his neg-
lect. The Empress, less offended with the imposition than
struck by the
.presence of mind which it displayed, forthwith
placed lion at the head of the department in which before he
had held only a subordinate situation.—(Benthanes Rationale
of Reward.)

EARL Pt TzwILLIAM—The present Representative of the
Noble House of Wentworth, devotes a considerable portion of
a princely fortune in diffusing blessings around him. His hos-
pitality is proverbial, whether considered in the splendid ban-
quets, which have frequently been held at his mansions, or in
the welcome which the humble peasant or the poor stranger
always receives. The we.try traveller never need despair of ac-
commodation. if he can but reach Wentworth Castle ; there,
without enquiring " whence he cometh or whither he goeth,"
he has refreshment in abundance; and never quits the mansion
without,an invitation always to call when he passes that way.
A pother trait of hospitality and of delicate beneficence must not,
be omitted, in speaking of this ornament to the British Peerage.
His Lordship, on more than one of his estates, has a number
of peasants who pay but one shilling per annum for a cottage
and garden, and yet they are always invited on the Rent-day ;
when they are regaled with a plentiful dinner, and in a way
which partakes largely of that genuine-hospitality which is now
somewhat on the decline in England.---(Percy Anecdotes of
110:1itality.)
DAMNING A PLAY.—The following curious account of the
cause of damning a play is given in an old Dramatic Re-
gister :—" The Wary Widow. or Sir Noisy Parrot, a co-
medy, by Henry Higden, in 1693.—This is very far from
being the worst of our English comedies, being ushered into
the world by several complimentary verses, and a prologue
written by Sir Charles Sedley : yet it was damned the first
night, owing to a very extraordinary circumstance, which
was, that the author had introduced so much drinking of punch
into the play, that the performers got drunk during the acting
of it, and were unable to go through with their parts; on which
account, and the treatment the audience gave them by hisses
and cat-calls in consequence of it, the house was obliged to be
dismissed at the end of the third act."

MunnEa' AND SUICIDE.—An assassination.and
a suicide were committed at Perpignan' during
the night of the 28th of August. The following
are the deplorable circumstances, which led to
these events :—The servant of a Field Officer of
the division of the Eastern Pyrenees went, in the
evening, to ask for a lodging at the abode of a
servant of the Colonel Commandant of the Artil-
lery, on the pretext that he was too late to
obtain admittance at his master's. About two
o'clock in the morning the latter felt him-
self struck a violent .blow on the head. lie
instantly seized the hand of his murderer,
crying loudly,, " An assassin!" A struggle
ensued between them, but, overcome by se-
veral blows from u knife, and exhausted by
the loss of blood, the wounded 'man fell sense-
less upon a bench. Several persons living in the
house almost Immediately came to his assistance.
The murderer then threw himself on the bed, and
wrapping himself up in the quilt, he fell out on
the opposite side. He was observed to strike
himself with such violence, that, nobody dared to
approach him, while he no longer moved, but
then he had ceased to live. The wretch had cut
his throat. His victim survived him only a few
instants, but long enough to make known a part
of this relation.—(Courier _Francais.)
FIST;-AND Fowr..—On.Friday last, a,salmott,
a wild duck,. and an owl were taken in a net in
the river Wye, near the Hay.. Mr. JAMES, of
the Rose and Crown, in that town, having placed
his salmon net in the river, proceeded with his as-
sistants to beat the water in the usual manner,
to cause the fish to strike ; on drawing the net,
the first thing that attracted their attention, was
a large owl, with its head fast between the cork
line and the net; :Atte salmon next appeared, a
welcome captive, and after they had drawn up a
considerable portion of the net, a wild duck was
perceived to be entangled in it. How the bird
of wisdom contrived to get into its perilous situ-
ation, it is impossible even to conjecture, as none
of the men saw it until they 'commenced draw-
ing the net ; but the duck, it is supposed, on be-
ing disturbed by the beating of the water, dived,
tul in doing so, got its head fast in the meshes.
- SMALL Pox.—The Bury Gazette contains the
following paragraph :—" Alarming as this disease called the
small-pox has been in this town, we are sorry (query, glad), to
find that the fatality and extent of it have been very much
exaggerated. After the Most strict inquiry, we can assure the
public, that the !limber of deaths occurring ftom, that disease,
in this town, within the last three months, has not exceeded
fourteen—and that there are at this time, twenty cases of small-
pox within our boundary. It is also satisfactory to find, that
of those who have died from the disease, not one had been
vaccinated !"

On Tuesday evening Mr. CURTIS, of Hamp-
stead, dined with a friend at Smithfield Bars ; he
quitted betwee❑ eight and nine o'clock to proceed
home by one of the Hampstead coaches, and
passed along Saffron-hill, when two ruffians seiz-
ed hold of him, and dragged him up an alley.
The fellows carried him into a house, forced him
up one pair of stairs into the front room, where
two women were sitting, threw him upon a mat-
trass, and while the men held him down the women
rifled his pockets of nine sovereigns ; from the
resistance and noise he made, the party became
irritated, dragged !din from the room, and threw
him down stairs. He was so much injured by the
treatment and stunned by the fall, that he became
insensible, and was conveyed back to his friend's
house, where a surgeon was procured, who ac-
companied him home to his family, and remained
all night with him. Apprehensions are enter-
tained that the spine of the back is seriously
affected. He had a valuable lady's watch in his
fob, without any chain attached to it, which the
robbers overlooked,