_Englishman_.--“And Corneille, in the Cid, I believe, makes his hero a compliment upon his having performed impossibilities--‘Vos mains seules ont le droit de vaincre un invincible.’” [61] _Scotchman_.--“Ay, that would be a bull in an Irishman, but it is only an hyperbole in a Frenchman.” _Irishman_.--“Indeed this line of Corneille’s _out-hyperboles_ the hyperbole, considered in any but a prophetic light; as a prophecy, it exactly foretels the taking of Bonaparte’s _invincible_ standard by the glorious forty-second regiment of the British: ‘Your hands alone _have a right_ to vanquish the invincible.’ By-the-by, the phrase _ont le droit_ cannot, I believe, be literally translated into English; but the Scotch and Irish, _have a right_, translates it exactly. But do not let me interrupt my country’s defence, gentlemen; I am heartily glad to find Irish blunderers may shelter themselves in such good company in the ancient sanctuary of the hyperbole. But I am afraid you must deny admittance to the poor mason, who said, ‘This house will stand as long as the world, and longer.’” _Scotchman_.--“Why should we ‘shut the gates of mercy’ upon him when we pardon his betters for more flagrant sins? For instance, Mr. Pope, who, in his Essay on Criticism, makes a blunder, or rather uses an hyperbole, stronger than that of your poor Irish mason:-- ‘When first young Maro in his noble mind A work _t’outlast immortal_ Rome design’d.’ And to give you a more modern case, I lately heard an English shopkeeper say to a lady in recommendation of his goods, ‘Ma’am, it will wear for ever, and make you a petticoat afterwards.’” _Irishman_.--“Upon my word, I did not think you could have found a match for the mason; but what will you say to my countryman, who, on meeting an acquaintance, accosted him with this ambiguous compliment--‘When first I saw you I thought it was you, but now I see it is your brother.’” _Scotchman_.--“If I were not afraid you would take me for a pedant, I should quote a sentence from Cicero that is not far behind this blunder.” _Irishman_.--“I can take you for nothing but a friend: pray let us have the Latin.” _Scotchman_.--“It is one of Cicero’s compliments to Caesar--‘Qui, cum ipse imperator in toto imperio populi Romani unus esset, esse me alterum passus est.’[62] Perhaps,” continued the Scotchman, “my way of pronouncing Latin sounds strangely to you, gentlemen?” _Irishman_.--“And perhaps ours would be unintelligible to Cicero himself, if he were to overhear us: I fancy we are all so far from right, that we need not dispute about degrees of wrong.” The coach stopped at this instant, and the conversation was interrupted. CHAPTER XIII. BATH COACH CONVERSATION. After our travellers had dined, the conversation was renewed by the English gentleman’s repeating Goldsmith’s celebrated lines on Burke: