10. And Abraham answered and said, Lord, he would not worship Thee, neither would he call upon Thy name; therefore have I driven him out from before my face into the wilderness. 11. And God said, Have I borne with him these hundred and ninety and eight years, and nourished him and clothed him, notwithstanding his rebellion against Me; and couldst not thou, that art thyself a sinner, bear with him one night? 12. And Abraham said, Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot against His servant: Lo, I haved sinned; forgive me, I pray Thee. 13. And he arose, and went forth into the wilderness, and sought diligently for the man, and found him: 14. And returned with him to his tent: and when he had entreated him kindly, he sent him away on the morrow with gifts. 15. And God spake again unto Abraham, saying, For this thy sin shall thy seed be afflicted four hundred years in a strange land: 16. But for thy repentance will I deliver them; and they shall come forth with power, and with gladness of heart, and with much substance. THE SHAKSPEARE FORGERIES. In 1795–96 William Henry Ireland perpetrated the remarkable Shakspeare Forgeries which gave his name such infamous notoriety. The plays of “Vortigern” and “Henry the Second” were printed in 1799. Several litterateurs of note were deceived by them, and Sheridan produced the former at Drury Lane theatre, with John Kemble to take the leading part. The total failure of the play, conjoined with the attacks of Malone and others, eventually led to a conviction and forced confession of Ireland’s dishonesty. For an authentic account of the Shakspeare Manuscripts see _The Confessions of W. H. Ireland_; Chalmers’ _Apology for the Believers of the Shakspeare Papers_; Malone’s _Inquiry into the Authenticity_, &c.; Wilson’s _Shaksperiana_; _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1796–97; _Eclectic Magazine_, xvi. 476. One of the original manuscripts of Ireland, that of Henry the Second, has been preserved. The rascal seems to have felt but little penitence for his fraud. Interrupted Sentences. A Judge, reprimanding a criminal, called him a scoundrel. The prisoner replied: “Sir, I am not as big a scoundrel as your Honor”—here the culprit stopped, but finally added—“takes me to be.” “Put your words closer together,” said the Judge. A lady in a dry goods store, while inspecting some cloths, remarked that they were “part cotton.” “Madam,” said the shopman, “these goods are as free from cotton as your breast is”—(the lady frowned) he added—“free from guile.”