I find likewise among the Ancients that ingenious kind of Conceit, which the Moderns diftinguish by the Name of a Rebus, that does not fink a Letter but a whole Word, by fubftituting a Picture in its place. When Cafar was one of the Mafters of the Roman Mint, he placed the Figure of an Elephant upon the Reverse of the Publick Money: the Word Cafar fignifying an Elephant in the Punick Language. This was artificially contrived by Cafar, because it was not lawful for a private Man to ftamp his own Figure upon the Coin of the Common-wealth. Cicero, who was fo called from the Founder of his Family, that was marked on the Nofe with a little Wenn like a Vetch (which is Cicer in Latin) instead of Marcus Tullius Cicero, ordered the Words Marcus Tullius with the Figure of a Vetch at the end of 'em to be infcribed on a Publick Monument. This was done probably to fhew that he was neither afhamed of his Name or Family, not-withstanding the Envy of his Competitors had often reproached him with both. In the fame manner we read of a famous Building that was marked in feveral Parts of it with the Figures of a Frog and a Lizard: Thofe Words in Greek having been the Names of the Architects, who by the Laws of their Country were never permitted to infcribe their own Names upon their Works. For the fame Reafon it is thought, that the Forelock of the Horfe in the Antique-Equeftrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, reprefents at a diftance the Shape of an Owl, to intimate the Country of the Statuary, who, in all probability, was an Athenian. This kind of Wit was very much in Vogue among our own Countrymen about an Age or two ago, who did not practise it for any oblique Reafon, as the Ancients above mentioned, but purely for the fake of being Witty. Among innumerable Inftances that may be given of this Nature, I fhall produce the Device of one Mr. Newberry, as I find it mentioned by our learned Camden in his Remains. Mr. Newberry, to reprefent his Name by a Picture, hung up at his Door the Sign of a Yewtree, that had feveral Berries upon it; and in the midst of them a great golden N hung upon a Bough of the Tree, which by the help of a little falfe Spelling made up the Word N-ew-berry.

I

I fhall conclude this Topick with a Rebus, which has been lately hewn out in Free-ftone, and erected over two of the Portals of Blenheim Houfe, being the Figure of a monftrous Lion tearing to Pieces a little Cock. For the better understanding of which Device, I muft acquaint my English Reader that a Cock has the Misfortune to be called in Latin by the fame Word that fignifies a Frenchman, as a Lion is the Emblem of the English Nation. Such a Device in fo noble a Pile of Building looks like a Punn in an Heroick Poem; and I am very forry the truly ingenious Architect would fuffer the Statuary to blemish his excellent Plan with so poor a Conceit: But I hope what I have faid will gain Quarter for the Cock, and deliver him out of the Lion's Paw.

The

I find likewise in ancient Times the Conceit of making an Eccho talk fenfibly, and give rational Answers. If this could be excufable in any Writer it would be in Ovid, where he introduces the Eccho as a Nymph, before fhe was worn away into nothing but a Voice. learned Erafmus, tho' a Man of Wit and Genius, has compofed a Dialogue upon this filly kind of Device, and made ufe of an Eccho who feems to have been a very extraordinary Linguift, for fhe anfwers the Perfon fhe talks with in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, according as fhe found the Syllables which he was to repeat in any of thofe learned Languages. Hudibras, in Ridicule of this falfe kind of Wit, has defcribed Bruin bewailing the Lofs of his Bear to a folitary Eccho, who is of great ufe to the Poet in feveral Difticks, as she does not only repeat after him, but helps out his Verfe, and furnishes him with Rhymes.

He rag'd, and kept as heavy a Coil as
Stout Hercules for lofs of Hylas:
Forcing the Vallies to repeat

The Accents of his fad Regret;

He beat his Breaft, and tore his Hair,

For Lofs of his dear Crony Bear,
That Eccho from the hollow Ground
His doleful Wailings did refound
More wiftfully, by many times,
Than in fmall Poets Splay-foot Rhymes,

That

That make her, in their rueful Stories,
To answer to Int'rogatories,
And most unconscionably depofe
Things of which She nothing knows :
And when he has faid all she can say,
'Tis wrefted to the Lover's Fancy.
Quoth he, O whither, wicked Bruin,
Art thou fled to my - Ecche, Ruin?
I thought th' hadft fcorn'd to budge a Step
For Fear. (Quoth Eccho) Marry guep.
Am not I here to take thy Part!
Then what has quell'd thy stubborn Heart?
Have thefe Bones ratled, and this Head
So often in thy Quarrel bled?

Nor did I ever winch or grudge it,

For thy dear Sake? (Quoth fhe) Mum budget.
Think'st thou 'twill not be laid i'th' Dish
Thou turn'dft thy Back? Quoth Eccho, Pish.
To run from those th' hadft overcome
Thus cowardly? Quoth Eccho, Mum.
But what a-vengeance makes thee fly
From me too, as thine Enemy?
Or if thou hadst no thought of me,
Nor what I have endur'd for Thee,
Yet Shame and Honour might prevail
To keep thee thus from turning Tail:
For who wou'd grudge to spend his Blood in
His Honour's Caufe? Quoth fhe, A Pudding.

C

1

Wednesday, May 9.

Hoc eft quod palles? Cur quis non prandeas, Hoc eft? Per. Stat. 3.

EVERAL kinds of falfe Wit that vanished in the refined Ages of the World, difcovered themselves again in the Times of Monkish Ignorance.

AS the Monks were the Mafters of all that little Learning which was then extant, and had their whole Lives entirely

י

entirely difengaged from Bufinefs, it is no wonder that feveral of them, who wanted Genius for higher Perfor mances, employed many Hours in the Compofition of fuch Tricks in Writing as required much Time and little Capacity. I have seen half the Eneid turned into Latin Rhymes by one of the Beaux Efprits of that dark Age; who fays in his Preface to it, that the Eneid wanted nothing but the Sweets of Rhyme to make it the most per-fect Work in its kind. I have likewife feen an Hymn in Hexameters to the Virgin Mary, which filled a whole Book, tho' it confifted but of the eight following Words 3

Tot, tibi, funt, Virgo, dotes, quot, fidera, Cœlo.

Thou haft as many Virtues, O Virgin, as there are Stars in Heaven.

The Poet rung the Changes upon thefe eight feveral Words, and by that Means made his Verfes almoft as numerous as the Virtues and the Stars which they celebrated. It is no Wonder that Men who had fo much Time upon their Hands, did not only reftore all the antiquated Pieces of falfe Wit, but enriched the World with Inventions of their own. It was to this Age that we owe the Production of Anagrams, which is nothing else but a Tranfmutation of one Word into another, or the turning of the fame Set of Letters into different Words; which may change Night into Day, or Black into White, if Chance, who is the Goddess that prefides over thefe Sorts of Compofition, fhall fo direct. I remember a witty Author, in Al lufion to this Kind of Writing, calls his Rival, who (it feems) was distorted, and had his Limbs fet in Places that did not properly belong to them, The Anagram of

a Man.

WHEN the Anagrammatist takes a Name to work upon, he confiders it at first as a Mine not broken up, which will not fhew the Treasure it contains till he fhall have spent many Hours in the Search of it: For it is his Bufinefs to find out one Word that conceals it self in another, and to examine the Letters in all the Variety of Stations in which they can poffibly be ranged. I have heard of a Gentleman who, when this Kind of Wit was in fashion, endeavoured to gain his Miftrefs's Heart by it. She was one of the finest Women of her Age, and known

by

by the Name of the Lady Mary Boon. The Lover not being able to make any thing of Mary, by certain Liberties indulged to this kind of Writing converted it into Moll; and after having fhut himself up for half a Year, with indefatigable Induftry produced an Anagram. Upon the prefenting it to his Mistress, who was a little vexed in her Heart to fee her felf degraded into Moll Boon, she told him, to his infinite Surprize, that he had mistaken her Sirname, for that it was not Boon but Bohun.

Effufus labor

Ibi omnis

The Lover was thunder-ftruck with his Misfortune, info much that in a little Time after he loft his Senfes, which indeed had been very much impaired by that continual Application he had given to his Anagram.

THE Acroftick was probably invented about the fame time with the Anagram, tho' it is impoffible to decide whether the Inventor of the one or the other were the greater Blockead. The Simple Acroftick is nothing but the Name or Title of a Perfon or Thing made out of the initial Letters of feveral Verfes, and by that Means written, after the Manner of the Chinese, in a perpendicular Line. But befides these there are Compound Acrofticks, when the principal Letters ftand two or three deep. I have feen fome of them where the Verfes have not only been edged by a Name at each Extremity, but have had the fame Name running down like a Seam through the Middle of the Poem.

THERE is another near Relation of the Anagrams and Acrofticks, which is commonly called a Chronogram. This kind of Wit appears very often on many modern Medals, especially thofe of Germany, when they represent in the Infcription the Year in which they were coined. Thus we fee on a Medal of Gustaphus Adolphus the following Words, CHRISTVS DUX ERGO TRIVM PHVS. If you take the Pains to pick the Figures out of the feveral Words, and range them in their proper Order, you will find they amount to MDCXVVVII, or 1627, the Year in which the Medal was ftamped: For as fome of the Letters diftinguish themselves from the reft, and overtop their Fellows, they are to be considered in a double Capacity,