Spider barometers, 291.
Spider's web, wonderful, 294.
Spilling salt, 336.
Spirit of Dundee, 242.
Spitting for luck's sake, 343.
Spontaneous combustion, 203.
Sportsman, royal, 215.
Stamp, Roman, 91.
Statue of Memnon, 103.
Strained politeness, 210.
Strange instance of sympathy, 241.
Strange legend, 229.
Strasburg, curious custom in, 59.
Stanching blood, 346.
Striking parallel passages, 32.
Watches, 89.
With nettles, 236.
Stomachs, hundred, 293.
Stones, alligators swallowing, 282.
Barometer, 157.
Black, of Mecca, 92.
Hell, 226.
Magic rain, 203.
Musical, 199.
Perforated, 328.
Salagrama, 334.
Sleeping on, 336.
Talismanic, in birds, 249.
Stork, 265.
Story of the dodo, 268.
Strychnia, bitterness of, 303.
St. Agnes eve, 234.
St. Anthony's fire, 179.
St. Cuthbert's beads, 193.
St. Fillan's bell, 119.
St. George's cavern, 165.
St. Helena coins, 328.
St. John's wort, 306.
St. Patrick's day, 234.
St. Sepulchre's bell, 121.
Stumbling unlucky, 311.
Stupid critic, 24.
Subscribers, inducements to, 34.
Subterranean Christmas bells, 120.
Sugar, whitening, 134.
Supernatural appearance at Holland House, 243.
Superscription to a letter, 70.
Superstitions, beard, 214.
Bees, 239.
Breton, 347.
Birds, (see birds).
Camel, 284.
Caul, 312.
Children, 345.
Coral and bells, 190.
Croaking of a raven, 250.
Death-watch, 330.
Cutting timber, 213.
Eggs, 274.
Geranium, 302.
Hidden treasure, 164.
House crickets, 330.
Letiche, 226.
Letter M, 161.
Lily, 311.
May dew, 231.
Moon, 168.
Number one, 323.
Number seven, 325.
Number six, 324.
Patagonian, 312.
Pin, 345.
Pontius Pilate, 149.
Rose of Jericho, 303.
Rose at midsummer, 307.
Rubbing with a gold ring, 341.
Satanic, 231.
Seventh son of the seventh son, 324.
Spilling salt, 336.
St. John's wort, 306.
Whistling, 247.
Wolf, 346.
Supposed to be a genuine island, 18.
Sundry rural charms, 331.
Sun, temple of the, 105.
Surnames, Puritan, 38.
Swearing on the book, 172.
Swift's Latin puns, 42.
Swallowed by an earthquake and thrown up again, 175.
Swallow drinks the king's health, 258.
Sword, executioner's, 101.
Symbol, physician's, 162.
Talismanic stones in birds, 249.
Talisman of Charlemagne, 91.
Smuggler's, 341.
Treacherous, 219.
Tankard, Martin Luther's, 94.
Tarring and feathering, antiquity of, 183.
Tavern screens, 71.
Tavern signs, primitive, 78.
Tea, eating, 208.
Temple of the sun, 105.
Museums, first, 107.
Tradition of the, 230.
Tenacity of odors, 202.
Tenacity of life in an elephant, 276.
Tenant, good, 209.
Thackeray's geographical blunders, 23.
Thirty years in blossoming, 305.
Thomas the Rhymer, 148.
Thorn, Glastonbury, 219.
Three borrowed days, 209.
Throwing an old shoe, 319.
Thunder and lightning, 323.
Time-piece, miniature, 88.
Time-piece, curious, 85.
Time, royal dinner, 318.
Timber, cutting by the moon, 213.
Tinkers, roving, 168.
Title pages which mislead, 31.
Toad-stone rings, 317.
Magpie, stoning a, 278.
Whipping, to produce rain, 349.
To disappoint his wife, 192.
Toilet, absurdities of the, 160.
Toilet box, Carara's, 100.
Tomb of Darius, 106.
Toppling flower pots, 62.
Too many watches, 89.
Toothache, preservative against, 338.
Tooth, golden, 226.
Tooth-picks, 60.
Tooth-picks, magnetic, 231.
Tortoises afraid of heat and rain, 288.
Touch, ordeal of, 310.
Traders, earliest, 197.
Tradition, Abysynnian, 213.
Artist, 213.
Temple, 230.
Trains in the fourteenth century, 158.
Treasure, fairy, 220.
Digging, 164.
Normandy, 201.
Treatment of lepers in England, 237.
Trees, oysters growing on, 301.
Planting in Java, 302.
Shirts growing on, 300.
Whistling, 301.
Trifoliated plants considered sacred, 304.
True-lover's knot, 187.
Trumpet, Kircher's speaking, 198.
Trying land titles in Hindostan, 163.
Tub, Diogenes and his, 27.
Turban in Arabia, 159.
Turkish superstition about the geranium, 302.
Twelfth-night omens, 244.
Twins in Africa, 197.
Twofold apparition, 244.
Twopence, drunk for, 66.
Tyrian purple, 139.
Unicorn's horn, 319.
Unique library, 13.
Unlucky, stumbling, 311.
The hinder well-spout, 247.
May marriages, 344.
Umbrellas, 185.
Vagaries of spelling, 33.
Value of a long Psalm, 210.
Vascillating newspapers, 22.
Vase, Portland, 93.
Vegetable fungus, 306.
Veneered diamonds, 141.
Veneration for the lily, 311.
Very long word, 178.
Vermin, exterminating, 327.
Verse, echo, 78.
Victory, cock-crowing an omen of, 319.
Vienne, Pontius Pilate at, 149.
Vinegar Bible, 11.
Virtue in the number seven, 325.
Vicious horses, curing, 211.
Visions of destiny, 342.
Vision, Captain Kidd's, 242.
Vocal clock, 83.
Voracity of the mole, 285.
Vow, Hindoo, singular, 231.
Vow, Queen's, 171.
Wager, curious, 184.
Bating for a, 184.
Grinning for a, 183.
Waggery, ancient bit of, 191.
Walking apothecary shop, 192.
Wall paper pattern, 176.
Wandering Jew, 145.
Warlike bantam, 201.
Washing but once in a lifetime, 317.
Wassailing the orchards, 235.
Watches, borrowing, 88.
Book-shaped, 87.
Cruciform, 88.
Death, 330.
Papers, 78.
Resurrection, 88.
Skull, 86.
Striking, 89.
Too many, 89.
Wearing two, 89.
Watchman imitating the clock at Hernhuth, 55.
Water, digging for, 346.
Water, Hungary, 141.
Waterloo medals, 212.
Weather rhymes, 127.
Weather, signs of foul, 129.
Wedding rings, 206.
Wedding rings, posies for, 52.
Welcoming the new moon, 240.
Wesley's plate, 107.
Westminster clock, 82.
Whalebone, 177.
Whims, alliterative, 21.
Whipping toads to produce rain, 349.
Whistling, sailors, 247.
Whistling trees, 301.
White elephants, 276.
Whitening sugar, 134.
White-breasted birds, 262.
Whittington and his cat, 153.
Why the cuckoo builds no nest, 256.
Why the magpie builds half a nest, 257.
Wierix's Bible, 9.
Wife, returned, 224.
Wife, to disappoint his, 192.
Will, eccentric, 59.
Will, John O'Gaunt's, 58.
William the Conqueror, 155.
Will-with-a-wisp, 313.
Wine at two millions a bottle, 194.
Winning a pair of gloves, 237.
Wisdom, mob, 173.
Witchcraft charms, 320.
Witch-ridden horses, 340.
Witch, weighing a, 328.
Wolf superstitions, 346.
Woman's cleverness, 221.
Wonderful automata, 104.
Clock, 83.
Exhibition with bees, 217.
Lock, 91.
Spider's web, 294.
Wren, 261.
Worms, book, 291.
Worshipful cranes, 263.
Yearly food of one man, 207.
Zoological cabinet, immense, 298.
[Transcriber's Notes:
Minor punctuation and apparent printing errors have been corrected
without note. Proper names and place names sometimes appear with
unfamiliar spelling but have been left in their original form.
Hyphen usage has been standardised without note where a clear preference
was found, although all quoted text was left as in the original.
The following is a list of changes made. The modified line is shown first
and the original line is shown second.
Alliterative Whims. 21
confounding the cockney warblers,
confounding the cockney _wablers_,
Puritan Surnames. 38
Lower's English Surnames
Lower's English _sirnames_
Amusements of some Learned Men. 44
Tycho Brahe polished glass for spectacles
Tycho _Brake_ polished glass for spectacles
Antiquity of Riddles. 63
and the most ingenious made riddles.
and the most _ingenius_ made riddles.
House of Hen's Feathers. 164
to pass the night in this immense dormitory.
to pass the night in this immense _dormitoy_.
St. George's Cavern. 165
of wormwood, and keep large fires burning to protect
of wormwood, and keep large fires burning to _ptotect_
Curious Locality for Saying Prayers. 169
In ascending the lofty flight of
In ascending the lofty _flght_ of
Queen Anne's Farthings. 177
were designed by a German named Crocker or Croker,
were designed by a German _name_ Crocker or Croker,
Eating for a Wager. 184
worthy is to perform a Tryal of Skill on St. James's Day,
worthy is to _preform_ a Tryal of Skill on St. James's Day,
Candle Clock. 196
_Candlel Cock_.
Musical Sand. 200
a singular sound is heard, which is first feeble, but may be
a _singnlar_ sound is heard, which is first feeble, but may be
One Meal a Day. 206
Dr. Fordyce contended that as one meal a day was enough
Dr. Fordyce _contented_ that as one meal a day was enough
A Good Tenant. 209
unequalled in the history of landlord and tenant.
_uneqalled_ in the history of landlord and tenant.
Force of Imagination. 224
strength, dressed himself, plunged his head into a basin of
strength, dressed himself, plunged _is_ head into a basin of
Spirit of Dundee. 242
in the Castle of Edinburgh, upon a strong suspicion of attachment
in the Castle of _Edinburg_, upon a strong suspicion of attachment
Assuming the Form of a Bird. 248
"Mole" was unclear in the scan:
A wild song, sung by the boatmen of the _Mole_, in Venice,
An Old Pike. 297
Mannheim, Germany, with the following announcement, in
_Manheim_, Germany, with the following announcement, in
to the museum at Mannheim, where it now hangs, a light, desiccated
to the museum at _Manheim_, where it now hangs, a light, _desicated_
Manna Marked with the Number Six. 324
In the Cabala, the number _six_ was considered to be one of
In the _Calaba_, the number _six_ was considered to be one of
Virtue in the Number Seven. 325
observing number 7 after
observing number _?_ after
A Smuggler's Talisman. 341
Gaol, February, 1749--
_Goal_, February, 1749--
Sailors whistling, 247. moved to alphabetical order in index.
This list shows potential changes. The unmodified line is shown first
and the suggested line is shown second.
Introductory poem
Intiquities_ and blunders
_Iniquities_ and blunders
Temple of the Sun. 105
edifice in the Persian empire
edifice in the _Peruvian_ empire
Reformatted poem on the three crosses--
INRI
My God! My God! vers of my tears
I come to Thee; bow down thy blessed ears
To hear me, wretch, oh let thine eyes, which sleep
Did never close, behold a sinner weep.
Let not, O God! my God! my faults, though great
And numberless, between thy mercy-seat
And my poor soul be thrown, since we are taught.
Thou, Lord! rememberest thyne, If thou beest sought.
I come not, Lord, with any other merit
Than what I by my Saviour Christ inherit:
Be then his wounds my balm, his stripes my bliss,
My crown his thorns, my death be lost in his,
And thou my blest Redeemer, Saviour God!
Quit my accounts, withhold thy vengeful rod;
O beg for me my hopes on thee are set,
Thou Christ forgiue, as well as pay the debt.
The living fount, the life, the way I know;
And but to thee o whither should I go?
All other helps are vain, give thine to me;
For by thy cross my saving health must be.
Oh hearken then, what I with faith implore,
Lest sin and death sink me forever more.
Oh Lord! My God! my wayes direct and keep,
In death defend that from thee I ne'er slip;
And as the doom let me be raised then,
To live with thee. Sweet Jesus say, Amen!
NB: forgive is spelt forgiue so that "Why hast tho_u_
forsaken me" is correct.
Richelieu's letter reformatted--
How it reads in the original:
SIR.--Mons. Compigne, a Savoyard by birth, a Friar of the order of Saint
Benedict, is the man who will present to you as his passport to your
protection, this letter. He is one of the most discreet, the wisest and
the least meddling persons that I have ever known or have had the
pleasure to converse with. He has long earnestly solicited me to write
to you in his favor, and to give him a suitable character, together with
a letter of credence; which I have accordingly granted to his real
merit, rather I must say, than to his importunity; for, believe me, Sir,
his modesty is only exceeded by his worth, I should be sorry that you
should be wanting in serving him on account of being misinformed of his
real character; I should be afflicted if you were as some other
gentlemen have been, misled on that score, who now esteem him, and those
among the best of my friends; wherefore, and from no other motive I
think it my duty to advertise you that you are most particularly
desired, to have especial attention to all he does, to show him all the
respect imaginable, nor venture to say any thing before him, that may
either offend or displease him in any sort; for I may truly say, there
is no man I love so much as M. Compigne, none whom I should more regret
to see neglected, as no one can be more worthy to be received and
trusted in decent society. Base, therefore, would it be to injure him.
And I well know, that as soon as you are made sensible of his virtues,
and shall become acquainted with him you will love him as I do; and then
you will thank me for this my advice. The assurance I entertain of your
Courtesy obliges me to desist from urging this matter to you further, or
saying any thing more on this subject. Believe me, Sir, &c., RICHELIEU.
How it reads when folded:
SIR.--Mons. Compigne, a Savoyard by birth, is the man who will present
to you this letter. He is one of the most meddling persons that I have
ever known He has long earnestly solicited me to give him a suitable
character, which I have accordingly granted to his importunity; for,
believe me, Sir, I should be sorry that you should be misinformed of his
real character; as some other gentlemen have been, and those among the
best of my friends; I think it my duty to advertise you to have especial
attention to all he does, nor venture to say any thing before him, in
any sort; for I may truly say, there is none whom I should more regret
to see received and trusted in decent society. And I well know, that as
soon as you shall become acquainted with him you will thank me for this
my advice. Courtesy obliges me to desist from saying any thing more on
this subject.]