volumes, duodecimo, 1608; the other of Rouen, in the same form; the date, 1615; the third, which is inferior to these, at Lyons, in 1614, in three volumes, octavo, bound together. They are all extremely rare, in this country.

That Sterne had seen this book in the SKELTON Library, I have strong reason to believe; he must have been much gratified with its grotesque wit, and its laboured discussions of trifles; but I cannot perceive that he has made much use of it. The art of transplanting teeth, which has been considered as a recent invention, is mentioned by Bouchet, in his twenty-seventh Séreé. "J'ai vu aussi une jeune Dame, qui se fit arracher une dent, ou parce qu'elle estoit gateé, ou mal situeé, puis s'en fit remettre une autre, quélle fit arracher a une sienne Damoiselle, laquelle reprit, et servit comme les autres."

II. The Apres-Diners, or Afternoons, of the Count D'Arete, ought perhaps to

have preceded Bouchet. This was one of the league-libels against Henry IV, and contains, like many other political satires, more venom than wit. My copy of it was published in 1614, at Paris.

III. The Epidorpides, or After Supper-times, of Caspar Ens, is a collection of apophthegms, and serious stories, intermixed with some ludicrous matter. The copy in my possession was published at Cologne, 1624, in duodecimo. The introduction contains an uncommon display of learning, respecting the suppers of the Romans: their furniture, their dishes, their mode of decubitus at table, and particularly their different kinds of bread, are discussed with the diligence of an Apicius: the author must certainly have talked with some old Roman ghost.'

IV. The Eseraignes Dijonnoises, or Booths of Dijon, by Tabourot, were published at Paris, in 1595. They contain

night-dialogues, among the young people of the lower class, in Dijon, who were accustomed to erect booths, in different quarters of that city, during the severity of winter, in which the women assembled to knit or spin; and where they were attended by the young men, who vied with them in telling stories, It does not appear that Sterne was acquainted with this author, but I find that Swift has poached deeply in his BIGARRubes. The Art of Punning was in great part extracted from this whimsical production of Tabourot, which contains an extraordinary number of puns and clenches. The Rebus de Picardie seem to have chiefly attracted Swift's attention: they combine both the powers of engraving and description, to produce a conceit. Such is the instance referred to by Swift. An abbot is represented lying prone, with a lilly growing out of his body: in French, this must be read;

Abbe mort en pré; au cul lis:

in Latin;

Habe mortem præ oculis.

Tabourot asserts, that he copied this rebus from the gate of a monastery. Such was the wit of the sixteenth century.

I have a beautiful edition of the Bigarrures, in two volumes, duodecimo, printed at Paris, in 1586. thegmes du Sieur Gaulard,

The Apophcontained in

this book, have laid the foundation of some of our jest-books. It seems to have escaped the notice of the ingenious author of an Essay on Irish Bulls, that most of the stories, commonly quoted as such, are either of Greek, or French origin. The Aseía of Hierocles contain many of those blunders, which are reckoned standard Irish jokes; and in the ridiculous mistakes of the Sieur Gaulard, as recorded by Tabourot, many others may be found. The defender of Ireland may therefore triumphantly send back these aliens, which have been so unjustly

quartered on her country, to their native soil of Athens, Paris, and Dijon.*

V. A more sober compilation appeared in 1585, under the title of Les Neuf Matineès du Seigneur de Cholieres. It consists of conversations between a convalescent and his friends, on various

* It is remarkable, that Swift, who piqued himself on his accuracy, and who could not bear to be thought an Irishman, has published a bull, in his first Drapier's Letter. "Therefore I do most earnestly exhort you, as men, as christians, as parents, and as lovers of your country, to read this paper with the utmost attention, or get it read to you by others:" this is an exemplification of the old story in the jest books, where a templar leaves a note in the key-hole, directing the finder, if he cannot read it, to carry it to the stationer at the gate, who will read it for him.

But the most extraordinary of all blunders, and one undoubtedly of Irish production, is a fact mentioned. by Ralph, in his history of England. During King William's campaigns in Ireland, a party of the natives, in King James's interest, undertook to fortify a pass against the English army. They were, of course, employed for some time on this design; but when the work was completed, it was found, says Ralph, that they had turned the palisades the wrong way," so that they had secured the pass in favour of the enemy. and against themselves.