mond with a flaw in it, if it appeared blemished with the wrong letter." In No. 63, Addison has again introduced Tryphiodorus, in his Vision of the Region of False Wit, where he sees the phantom of this poet pursued through the intricacies of a dance by four-and-twenty persons, (representatives of the alphabet,) who are unable to overtake him.. Addison should, however, have mentioned that Tryphiodorus is kept in countenance by no less an authority than Pindar, who, according to Athenæus, wrote an ode from which the letter sigma was carefully excluded. This caprice of Tryphiodorus has not been without its imitators. Peter de Riga, a canon of Rheims, wrote a summary of the Bible in twenty-three sections, and throughout each section omitted, successively, some particular letter. Gordianus Fulgentius, who wrote "De Etatibus Mundi et Hominis," has styled his book a wonderful work, chiefly, it may be presumed, from a similar reason; as from the chapter on Adam he has excluded the letter A; from that on Abel, the B; from that on Cain, the C; and so on through twentythree chapters. Gregorio Letti presented a discourse to the Academy of Humorists at Rome, throughout which he had purposely omitted the letter R, and he entitled it the exiled R. A friend having requested a copy as a literary curiosity, (for so he considered. this idle performance,) Letti, to show it was not so difficult a matter, replied by a copious answer of seven pages, in which he observed the same severe ostracism against the letter R. Du Chat, in the "Ducatiana," says "there are five novels in prose, of Lope de Vega, similarly avoiding the vowels; the first without A, the second without E, the third without I, the fourth without O, and the fifth without U." The Orientalists are not without this literary folly. A Persian poet read to the celebrated Jami a gazel of his own composition, which Jami did not like; but the writer replied it was, notwithstanding, a very curious sonnet, for the letter Aliff was not to be found in any of the words! Jami sarcastically answered, "You can do a better thing yet; take away all the letters from every word you have written." This alphabetical whim has assumed other shapes, sometimes taking the form of a fondness for a particular letter. In the Ecloga de Calvis of Hugbald the Monk, all the words begin with a C. In the Nuga Venales there is a Poem by Petrus Placentius, entitled Pugna Porcorum, in which every word begins with a P. In another performance in the same work, entitled Canum cum cattis certamen, in which "apt alliteration's artful aid" is similarly summoned, every word begins with a C. Lord North, one of the finest gentlemen in the Court of James I., has written a set of sonnets, each of which begins with a successive letter of the alphabet. The Earl of Rivers, in the reign of Edward IV., translated the Moral Proverbs of Christiana of Pisa, a poem of about two hundred lines, almost all the words of which he contrived to conclude with the letter E. The Pangrammatists contrive to crowd all the letters of the alphabet into every single verse. The prophet Ezra may be regarded as the father of them, as may be seen by reference to ch. vii., v. 21, of his Book of Prophecies. Ausonius, a Roman poet of the fourth century, whose verses are characterized by great mechanical ingenuity, is fullest of these fancies. The following sentence of only 48 letters, contains every letter of the alphabet:-John P. Brady, give me a black walnut box of quite a small size. The stanza subjoined is a specimen of both lipogrammatic and pangrammatic ingenuity, containing every letter of the alphabet except e. Those who remember that e is the most indispensable letter, being much more frequently used than any other,* will perceive the difficulty of such composition. The relative proportions of the letters, in the formation of words, have been pretty accurately determined, as follows: A 85 E 120 I 80 M 30 Q 5 U 34 Y 20 J 4 N 80 K 8 0 80 A jovial swain may rack his brain, To quiz in vain, for 'tis most plain, The Fate of Nassan affords another example, each stanza containing the entire alphabet except e, and composed, as the writer says, with ease without e's. Bold Nassan quits his caravan, Not work of man, nor sport of child, Vainly for succor Nassan calls. Know, Zillah, that thy Nassan falls: ALPHABETICAL TRAITS OF CHARACTER. A MAN should be Affectionate, Bold, Candid, Daring, Enterprising, Faithful, Grateful, Honorable, Indefatigable, Just, Kind, Loving, Moral, Noble, Obliging, Polite, Quick, Religious, Social, Truthful, Upright, Valiant, Watchful, 'Xemplary, Y's, and Zealous. A woman should be Amiable, Benevolent, Charitable, Domestic, Economical, Forgiving, Generous, Honest, Industrious, Judicious, Kind, Loving, Modest, Neat, Obedient, Pleasant, Quiet, Reflecting, Sober, Tender, Urbane, Virtuous, Worthy, 'Xemplary, Zealous. ALPHABETICAL ADVERTISEMENT. TO WIDOWERS AND SINGLE GENTLEMEN.WANTED by a lady, a SITUATION to superintend the household and preside at table. She is Agreeable, Becoming, Careful, Desirable, English, Facetious, Generous, Honest, In dustrious, Judicious, Keen, Lively, Merry, Natty, Obedient, Philosophic, Quiet, Regular, Sociable, Tasteful, Useful, Vivacious, Womanish, Xantippish, Youthful, Zealous, &c. Address X. Y. Z., Simmond's Library, Edgeware-road.—London Times, 1842. SINGULAR TOAST. THE following remarkable toast is ascribed to Lord Duff, and was presented on some public occasion in the year 1645. THE following couplet, in which initials are so aptly used, was written on the alleged intended marriage of the Duke of Wellington, at a very advanced age, with Miss Angelina Burdett Coutts, the rich heiress : : The Duke must in his second childhood be, ENIGMAS. THE letter E is thus enigmatically described: The beginning of eternity, The end of time and space, The beginning of every end, The letter M is concealed in the following Latin enigma by an unknown author of very ancient date: Ego sum principium mundi et finis seculorum; Ego sum trinus et unus, et tamen non sum Deus. THE LETTER H. THE celebrated enigma on the letter H, commonly attributed to Lord Byron, is well known. The following amusing petition is addressed by this letter to the inhabitants of Kidderminster, England-Protesting: Whereas by you I have been driven From 'ouse, from 'ome, from 'ope, from 'eaven, And beg you'll mend your Helocution. Rowland Hill, when at college, was remarkable for the frequent wittiness of his observations. In a conversation on the powers of the letter H, in which it was contended that it was no letter, but a simple aspiration or breathing, Rowland took the opposite side of the question, and insisted on its being, to all intents and purposes, a letter; and concluded by observing that, if it were not, it was a very serious affair to him, as it would occasion his being ILL all the days of his life. When Kohl, the traveller, visited the Church of St. Alexander Nevskoi, at St. Petersburg, his guide, pointing to a corner of the building, said, “There lies a Cannibal." Attracted to the tomb by this strange announcement, Kohl found from the inscription that it was the Russian general Hannibal; but as the Russians have no H, they change the letter into K; and hence the extraordinary misnomer given to the deceased warrior. * The Sandwich Island alphabet has twelve letters; the Burmese, nineteen; the Italian, twenty; the Bengalese, twenty-one; the Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, and Samaritan, twenty-two each; the French, twenty-three; the Greek, twenty-four; the Latin, twenty-five; the German, Dutch, and English, twentysix each; the Spanish and Sclavonic, twenty-seven each; the Arabic, twenty-eight; the Persian and Coptic, thirty-two; the Georgian, thirty-five; the Armenian, thirty-eight; the Russian, forty-one; the Muscovite, fortythree; the Sanscrit and Japanese, fifty; the Ethiopic and Tartarian, two hundred and two each. |