MR. WILLIS,--Some of your correspondents appear mighty fond of Old Oaken
Chairs, and I rather think if they were to visit the good old City of
Aberdeen, and go into the "Auld Kirk," they will see an Oak Chair
somewhat older than the engraved specimens in your "Current Notes," and
on a scroll over it, they will see written
"=The Chaire of Veritie.="
But what do you say to the New Rosewood Shaksperian Chair, sent from New
York as a complimentary testimonial to an amiable lady living at
Bayswater, the inscription on which exquisite piece of work is as
follows:
TO
MRS. MARY COWDEN CLARKE
THIS CHAIR IS PRESENTED
BY A FEW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF AMERICA
AS A TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE, FOR THE UNEQUALLED
INDUSTRY
WHICH GAVE THE READERS OF ENGLISH
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
HER CONCORDANCE TO SHAKSPERE.
_G. W. begs to add, that it is unnecessary for him to engrave the
beautiful drawing forwarded to him of this Chair, as he perceives an
engraving has already appeared in the Lady's Newspaper for the 24th
January, and he has returned the drawing as requested._
KATY-DID.--G. W.'s _New York Special Reporter writes him as follows, in
reference to the paragraph, p. 90 of "Current Notes" for December last._
SIR,--Please inform "_An Entomologist_" that it will afford your Special
Reporter much pleasure to send him a live specimen of the KATY-DID next
_fall_. We have no _Autumn_ in America! It is then they begin to sing,
or rather to say: at present they are, to use the words of Davie
Gellatley, "A' dead an' gane--a' dead an' gane." I first heard them one
evening in August among the elms on the battery, and so loud was the
noise, I fancied it was made by porters landing bars of iron on the
adjoining quays.
The jingle of the song your Entomological correspondent enquires after
was something like this; but I will send him a copy when I can procure
one.
"The dear little Katy-did sat on a tree,
And surly and sulky and savage was he,
His supper was stolen away by a bee,
But he thought his own deary had hidd'n it,
And while he kept calling 'twas you, Katy-did,
She merrily cried--'Katy-did-n't,'
[_Chorus of Boys and Girls._]