Sydney Smith—so Lord Houghton in his _Monographs_ tells us—has written depreciatingly of all playing upon words; but his rapid apprehension could not altogether exclude a kind of wit which, in its best forms, takes fast hold of the memory, besides the momentary amusement it excites. His objection to the superiority of a city feast: “I cannot wholly value a dinner by the test you do (_testudo_);”—his proposal to settle the question of the wood pavement around St. Paul’s: “Let the Canons once lay their heads together and the thing will be done;”—his pretty compliment to his friends, Mrs. Tighe and Mrs. Cuffe: “Ah! there you are: the cuff that every one would wear, the tie that no one would loose”—may be cited as perfect in their way. Admiral Duncan’s address to the officers who came on board his ship for instructions, previous to the engagement with Admiral de Winter, was laconic and humorous: “Gentlemen, you see a severe Winter approaching; I have only to advise you to keep up a good fire.” Theodore Hook plays thus on the same name:— Here comes Mr. Winter, inspector of taxes; I advise you to give him whatever he axes; I advise you to give him without any flummery, For though his name’s Winter his actions are _summary_. Henry Erskine’s toast to the mine-owners of Lancashire:— Sink your pits, blast your mines, dam your rivers, consume your manufactures, disperse your commerce, and may your labors be in _vein_. TOM MOORE. When Limerick, in idle whim, Moore as her member lately courted, ’The boys,’ for form’s sake, asked of him To state what party he supported. When thus his answer promptly ran, (Now give the wit his meed of glory:) “I’m of no party as a man, But as a poet _am-a-tory_.” TOP AND BOTTOM. The following playful colloquy in verse took place at a dinner-table, between Sir George Rose and James Smith, in allusion to Craven street, Strand, where the latter resided:— J. S.—At the top of my street the attorneys abound, And down at the bottom the barges are found: Fly, honesty, fly to some safer retreat, For there’s _craft_ in the river, and _craft_ in the street. Sir G. R.—Why should honesty fly to some safer retreat, From attorneys, and barges, od-rot ’em? For the lawyers are _just_ at the top of the street, And the barges are _just_ at the bottom. OLD JOKE VERSIFIED. Says Tom to Bill, pray tell me, sir, Why is it that the devil, In spite of all his naughty ways, Can never be uncivil?