not a village Fly, nor meadow Bee, That trafficks daily on the neighbour plain, But will report, how all the Winged Train Have sued to me for Love; when we have flown In swarms out to discover fields new blown, Happy was he could find the forward'st tree, And cull the choicest blossoms out for me; Of all their labours they allow'd me some, And (like my champions) mann'd me out, and home: Yet loved I none of them. Philon, a Bee Well-skill'd in verse and amorous poetry, As we have sate at work, both of one Rose,* Has humm'd sweet Canzons, both in verse and prose, Yet in his full invention quick and ripe, Upon a woodbine blossom in the sun, (Our hive being clean-swept, and our day's work done), Then there's Amniter, for whose love fair Leade To drink May dews and mead in. Yet none of these, He labours and toils, Than twenty lazy Drones. I have heard my Father, A wing or leg against a twig; alive, • Prettily pilfered from the sweet passage in the Midsummer Night's Dream, where Helena recounts to Hermia their school-days' friendship: We, Hermia, like two artificial Gods, Betwixt the Wasps and us; the wind grew high, And a rough storm raged so impetuously, Our Bees could scarce keep wing; then fell such rain, On damask roses, and the leaves of pines, I have seen him write such amorous moving lines Has, when I read them, envied her desert; Porrex, Vice Roy of Bees under King Oberon, describes his large prerogative. To Us (who, warranted by Oberon's love, Biographical Memoranda. JOHN SCOT, A FASTING FANATIC. In the year 1539, there lived in Scotland one John Scot, no way commended for his learning, for he had none, nor for his good qualities, which were as few. This man, being overthrown in a suit of law, and knowing himself unable to pay that wherein he was adjudged, took sanctuary in the abbey of Holyrood-house; where, out o discontent, he abstained from all meat and drink, by the space of thirty or forty days together. Fame having spread this abroad, the king would have it put to trial, and to that effect shut him up in a private room within the castle of Edinburgh, whereunto no man had access. He caused a little water and bread to be set by him, which he was found not to have diminished in the end of thirty days and two. Upon this he was dismissed, and, after a short time, he went to Rome, where he gave the like proof of his fasting to pope Clement VII.; from whence he went to Venice, carrying with him a testimony of his long fasting under the pope's seal and there also he gave the like proof thereof. After long time, returning into England, he went up into the pulpit in St. Paul's Church-yard, where he gave forth many speeches against the divorce of king Henry VIII. from his queen Katherine, inveighing bitterly against him for his defection from the see of Rome; whereupon he was thrust into prison, where he continued fasting for the space of fifty days what his end was I read not.-Spotswood, &c. HART THE ASTROLOGER. There lived in Houndsditch, about the year 1632, one Alexander Hart, who had been a soldier formerly, a comely old man, of good aspect, he professed questionary astrology and a little of physic; his greatest skill was to elect young gentlemen fit times to play at dice, that they might win or get money. Lilly relates that "he went unto him for resolutions for three questions at several times, and he erred in every one." He says, that to speak soberly of him he was but a cheat, as appeared suddenly after; for a rustical fellow of the city, desirous of knowledge, contracted with Hart, to assist for a conference with a spirit, and paid him twenty pounds of thirty pounds the contract. At last, after many delays, and no spirit appearing, nor money returned, the young man indicted him for a cheat at the Old Bailey in London. The jury found the bill, and at the hearing of the cause this jest happened: some of the bench inquired what Hart did?" He sat like an alderman in his gown," quoth the fellow; at which the court fell into a laughter, most of the court being aldermen. He was to have been set upon the pillory for this cheat; but John Taylor the water poet being his great friend, got the lord chief justice Richardson to bail him, ere he stood upon the pillory, and so Hart fled presently into Holland, where he ended his days.* Autobiography, vol. ii. Lilly's Life. REV. THOMAS COOKE. letter may excuse the insertion of a query, The verses at the end of the following which would otherwise be out of place in a publication not designed to be a channel of inquiry. To the Editor. Sir, I should feel much obliged, if the Table Book can supply some account of a clergyman of the name of Thomas Cooke, who, it is supposed, resided in Shropshire, and was the author of a very beautiful poem, in folio, (published by subscription, about ninety years since,) entitled The Immortality of the Soul." I have a very imperfect copy of this work, and am desirous of ascertaining, from any of your multifarious readers, whether or not the poem ever became public, and where it is probable I could obtain a glimpse of a perfect impression. Mine has no title-page, and about one moiety of the work has been destroyed by the sacrilegious hands of some worthless animal on two legs! The list of subscribers plainly proves that Mr. Cooke must have been a man of good family, and exalted conections. On one of the blank leaves in my copy, the following lines appear, written by Mr. Cooke himself; and, considering the trammels by which he was confined, I think the verses are not without merit; at any rate, the subject of them appears to have been a beautiful creature. By giving this article a place in the Table Book, you will much oblige Your subscriber and admirer, G. J. D. Islington-green. AN ACROSTIC On a most beautiful and accomplished young Lady. London, 1748. Meekness-good-humour-each transcendent grace, Can aught compare successfully with those (Copy.) At the old theatre in East Grinstead, on Saturday, May, 1758, will be represented (by particular desire, and for the benefit of Mrs. P.) the deep and affecting Tragedy of Theodosius, or the Force of Love, with magnificent scenes, dresses, &c. Varanes, by Mr. P., who will strive, as far as possible, to support the character of this fiery Persian Prince, in which he was so much admired and applauded at Hastings, Arundel, Petworth, Midworth, Lewes, &c. Theodosius, by a young gentleman from the University of Oxford, who never appeared on any stage. Athenais, by Mrs. P. Though her present condition will not permit her to wait on gentlemen and ladies out of the town with tickets, she hopes, as on former occasions, for their liberality and support. Nothing in Italy can exceed the altar, in the first scene of the play. Nevertheless, should any of the Nobility or Gentry wish to see it ornamented with flowers, the bearer will bring away as many as they choose to favour him with. As the coronation of Athenais, to be introduced in the fifth act, contains a number of personages, more than sufficient to fill all the dressing-rooms, &c., it is hoped no gentlemen and ladies will be offended at being refused admission behind the scenes. N. B. The great yard dog, that made so much noise on Thursday night, during the last act of King Richard the Third, will be sent to a neighbour's over the way; and on account of the prodigious demand for places, part of the stable will be laid into the boxes on one side, and the granary be open for the same purpose on the other. Vivat Rex.* * Boaden's Life of Mrs. Siddons. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND. At Chester, in the beginning of the year 1790, a reputable farmer, on the evening of a market-day, called at the shop of Mr. Poole, bookseller, and, desiring to speak with him at the door, put a shilling into his hand, telling him, "he had owed it to him many years," The latter asked, for what? To which the farmer replied, that "When a boy, in buying a book-almanac at his shop, he had stolen another-the reflection of which had frequently given him much uneasiness." "If any one who sees this ever wronged his neighbour, let him be encouraged by the courage of the farmer of Chester, to make reparation in like manner, and so make clean his conscience. CONSCIENCE. There is no power in holy men, Would make a hell of heaven-can-exorcise Byron. A goose-herd in the fen-lands; next, he Be-doctor'd Norfolk cows; much vext, he Turn'd bookseller, and poetaster, And was a tolerable master Of title-pages, but his rhymes Were shocking, at the best of times. However, he was very honest, And now, poor fellow, he is-" non cst." For the Table Book. WILLIAM HALL, or as he used to style himself, "Antiquarian Hall," "Will. Willbe-so," and "Low-Fen-Bill-Hall," or, as he was more generally termed by the public, "Old Hall," died at Lynn, in Norfolk, on the 24th of January, 1825. From some curious autobiographical sketches in rhyme, published by himself, in the decline of life, it appears that he was born on June 1, O.S. 1748, at Willow Booth, a small island in the fens of Lincolnshire, near Heckington Ease, in the parish of South Kyme. "Kyme, God knows, Where no corn grows, Nothing but a little hay; And the water comes, And takes it all away." "overstretching took a slip, And popp'd beneath a merchant's ship;* Nor could I call for one or other." She, however, at the hazard of her own life, A catching fish, to make a groat, Before he arrived at man's estate, he lost his mother, and soon afterwards his father A coal-lighter. married again. Will. himself, on arriving at man's estate, married "Suke Holmes," and became a "gozzard," or gooseherd; that is, a keeper and breeder of geese, for which the fens were, at that time, famous throughout the kingdom, supplying the London markets with fowls, and the warehouses with feathers and quills. In these parts, the small feathers are plucked from the live geese five times a year, at Lady-tide, Midsummer, Lammas, Michaelmas, and Martinmas, and the larger feathers and quills are pulled twice. Goslings even are not spared, for it is thought that early plucking tends to increase the succeeding feathers. It is said that the mere plucking hurts the fowl very little, as the owners are careful not to pull until the feathers are ripe those plucked after the geese are dead, are affirmed not to be so good. The number of geese kept by Will. must have been very great, for his "brood geese,' alone, required five coombs of corn for daily consumption. : " The inundations to which the fens were then liable, from breaches, or overflowing of the banks, overwhelmed him with difficulties, and ruined his prospects. "The poor old geese away were floated, Till some high lands got lit'rally coated; Nor did most peasants think it duty Them to preserve, but made their booty; And those who were not worth a goose,' On other people's liv'd profuse." After many vicissitudes and changes of residence, he settled at Marshland, in Norfolk, where his wife practised phlebotomy and midwifery, while he officiated as an auctioneeer, cowleech, &c. &c. Indeed he appeared to have been almost bred to the doctoring profession, for his own mother was "a good cow-doctor, And always doctor'd all her own, Being cowleech both in flesh and bone." His mother-in-law was no less skilful, for in Will.'s words "She in live stock had took her care, And of recipes had ample share, Which I retain unto this day." His father-in-law was an equally eminent practitioner; when, says Will., "I married Sukey Holmes, her father Farrier, cowleech, and surgery, "The rheumatism, (dreadful charm,) So violent throbb'd, that without stroke Thus disqualified, he removed to Lynn, and opening a shop in Ferry-street, commenced his operations as a purchaser and vender of old books, odds and ends, and old articles of various descriptions; from whence he obtained the popular appellation of "Old Hall." On a board over the door, he designated this shop the "Antiquarian Library," and thus quaintly announced his establish ment to the public: "In Lynn, Ferry-street, He would turn out somewhat the wiser." He had great opportunity to indulge in "Bibliomania," for he acquired an extensive collection of scarce, curious, and valuable books, and became, in fact, the only dealer in old literature" at Lynn. He versified on almost every occasion that seemed opportune for giving himself and his verses publicity; and, in one of his rhyming advertisements, he alphabetised the names of ancient and modern authors, by way of catalogue. In addition to his bookselling business, he continued to practise as an auctioneer. He regularly kept a book-stall, &c. in Lynn Tuesday-market, from whence he occasionally knocked down his articles to the best bidder; and he announced his sales in his usual whimsical style. His hand-bill, on one of these occasions, runs thus : LYNN, 19th SEPTEMBER, 1810. AN AUCTION, At the stall That's occupied by WILLIAM HALL. So best way is to come and see; “About one hundred books, in due lots, And pretty near the same in shoe-lasts; |