The Sun.
London, England, 1821-01-04 00:00:00

TERARYamtiSCIENI`IFIG INTELLIGENCE

[FROIi irA lOUS SOURCES]
kNo. IL)

ANECDOTAL LITERATURE.-The first collec-
tion of Anecdotes of English Composition is,
Shakspeare's Jest Book," 'an elegant reprint
by Samuel Weller Singer, Esq, of three tracts,
containing--

Y. " The Hundred Merry Tales," 1557. II is to this Book
that Bratrif e alludes, when ,he asks Item-diet,

•ME pati tell me s.vhow tol,l van f that t was dis

dainful—and that t had my good wit out of the liarrefrer,
Merry Tales al out
.Notkiag, Act ii. s. I.)

4. " Tales and Quirk,: Answeres, very niery, and pkasms.

to retie?' 1556. It contains I iti Cates, of which the follow

jug is the 35th.

tit:fres, the ,istroxnmer,'Mtre fell into a ditek
titti wr3teth, that '!'hales Milecius went Date of his 11., ~us

upon a tyatc to tenable the stores of a certayri cattcr : and

anti so tong!! he went liachward ; that he fal plucupe into a

d;tchr acct the cares.

Wherfore an vide wo, an. that In.

kept in his house laughed, and sayde to him in deri‘illtl ; 0
Thates, how sholdest Il►nn hare knowledge in hevenly thingi

aborr, avid knorrest not n-tuit i 9 here brisethe thy feet ?'
‘• M. rc Tat. 5, Wittie Qitt ttiuns, viz l (laickr AT:wen4,
rcry plea ant to be rea;hlr. 17,67. This coilcvtion is alluded
to by Sir !John Itarington in his Ulysses upon :Ajax,' where
Lege the hare of Met -i Tales.' ..The general design

be sAys,

of the tviok is tu expose- the Friars, who preached against

Erasmus as an licrctic, including however snitte ►►f no !cacti-

eft! ar tient.

ANTI ENT .1g tNusearrr. Baron Niebuhr,
,Prua,ian Ambassador to the Holy See, has again
discovered and published several manuscript
works hithetto unknown. They are chiefly
fragments of Cicero's Orations, Pro M. Foniere
and Pro C. Rabirio, a fragment of the 91st book
of LivA and two works of Seneca. He has de-
dicated the publication to the Pope, by whose fa-
vour he was enabled to discover these literary
treasures In the Vatican.
Profes,:or Goelier, of Cologne, has discovered
in the Royal Library at Bamberg,
_U. MS. of
Livy.

ANTIQUE STATITES.—A cultivator or farmer in
the commune of Donnemarie, Seine and Marne,
lately found, while at work in his field, two an-
tique statues of bronze, about six inches in
height, one representing a Mercury, entirely
.nakQd, with the winged peosus on his head ;
:and the other Fortune, in drapery, with her
usual attributes. He has also found a cock and
.she-goat, both of bronze, and two copper minia-
ture medals, one representing the Empress Se-
, verina, wife of Aurelian, and .the other the head
or the Emperor Probus.
ROMAN EAGLE DISCOVERED.—It is well known
to the studious in classical history and antiquities,
that at the defeat of the Roman legions in Fran-
conia, in the days of Augustus, one of their en-
s,ign bearers, Aquitfer, buried the eagle that
was confided to his charge in a ditch, lest it
should fall into the enemy's hands; and that
afterwards, when the victors were compelled to
.reshln their trophies, one of the captured eagles
-could not be procured. Time and chance has at
-length Drought it to light. Count Francis, of Err-
bach who has a country seat at Eulhach, and
who has found a magnificent collection of Ro-
man antiquities, has formed, in the vicinity of his
residence, a Roman Eagle, in a good state of
preservation. It was. discovered in a ditch, not
far from some remains of a Roman entrenchment.
It is of bronze, thirteen inches hi height, and
'weighs seven pounds. It is not very easy to
say, that this is the very eagle formerly missing,
bat the presumption is strong in its favour, and
therefore it may now be appropriated to the 22d
Legion, or the Britannic Legion, which was sta-
'tioned in the lines of the foreSt of-Odenwald.
HatnaAuLtc Godin, of Paris; has
invented an hydraulic Rum, of a construction so
simple, that it may be easily worked by
.any vil-
lace labourer. This invention applies to the wa-
•teiing- of meadows., to the draining of marshes,
and drawing water out of the earth, and raising
it to considerable elevations. To those who wish
to Construct the machine on the spot,-M. Godin
transmits instructions, accompanied with engrav-
ings, and also a small model in -relievo, if
desired.

AFRICAN T.ll.O)E.—An account of Timbuctoo
and Housa, .by En. RAGE ARDSALAM,SHABEENY,
a Massalmam-, has been lately published. We
extract the following quotations, as conveying
information respecting the commodities in greatest
demand in that qtiarter of the word:—'".Tim-
. buctoo is .the great 'emporium for all the
country. of the.l3lacks, even for Morocco. and
• AleXandria. The principal articles of merchan-
dise are tobacco, plattilia,. beads of •all kinds,
• Cowries, small Dutch looking-glasses, called in
• Holland yea spiegels, &a. In the Desert, they
buy rock-salt of the Arabs, who.bring.it to them
in camel-loadsi'ready packed, which sells" to
great advantage at l'imbuctOo, and in the seve-
ral markets of-Sudan. The returns are .made-in
gold dust, slaves, ivory, gum sudan, and' other
things of lesser consideration. The gold•dust is
brought to. Timburtoo - from Housa in small lea-
ther bags. Cowri.e's and gold dust are the me-
diuth of ~traffic..; The (Shereefs) M.uhamedail
Princes and other merchants generally sell their
gOods to some of the principal native merchantS,
.taking their gold dust with them into other coun-
tries. The merchants •residing- at TirribUctoo
have agents or correspondents in other co,untr.ies,
dod'are themselves agents in return, Timbuctoo
is visited by merchants from all the Negro coun-
tries. Some of its. inhabitants are extremely rich ;
tcprincipa.l soUrceor their wealth 13 lending gold
dust and ..sfayes .at high interest to foreign mer-
chants,, which:is' repaid .by goods from Morocco;
al:d Other; countries, to which the gold dust and •
s!avesAre conve.yd. . Gold
.is. found'. abotii 16 •
!l'el from. Housa." • • •

,
Cott.vis, the Port, -was much attached to a
young Lady who was horn h day.liefore him, and who did not
Worn his passion. Yoor's is a hard case," said a friend ;
"Ii so indeed," said Cullitts, -" fur I came into the world
day after the fair."