My friend Hertford, walking one day near his own shop in Piccadilly, happened to meet one Mr. Hopkinson, an eminent brewer, I believe--and the conversation naturally enough turned upon some late dinner at the Albion, Aldersgate Street--nobody appreciates a real city dinner better than Monsieur le Marquess--and so on, till the old brewer mentioned, _par hazard_, that he had just received a noble specimen of wild pig from a friend in Frankfort, adding, that he had a very particular party, God knows how many aldermen, to dinner--half the East India direction, I believe--and that he was something puzzled touching the cookery. "Pooh!" says Hertford, "send in your porker to my man, and he'll do it for you _à merveille_." The brewer was a grateful man--the pork came and went back again. Well, a week after my lord met his friend, and, by the way, "Hopkinson," says he, "how did the boar concern go off?"--"O, beautifully," says the brewer; "I can never sufficiently thank your lordship; nothing could do better. We should never have got on at all without your lordship's kind assistance."--"The thing gave satisfaction then, Hopkinson?"--"O, great satisfaction, my lord marquess.--To be sure we did think it rather queer at first--in fact, not being up to them there things, we considered it as deucedly stringy--to say the truth, we should never have thought of eating it cold."--"Cold!" says Hertford; "did you eat the ham cold?"--"O dear, yes, my lord, to be sure we did--we eat it just as your lordship's gentleman sent it."--"Why, my dear Mr. Alderman," says Hertford, "my cook only prepared it for the spit." Well, I shall never forget how the poor dear Duke of York laughed!--_Ibid_. * * * * * THE GATHERER. A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. SHAKSPEARE. * * * * * SEALING WAX AND WAFERS. Francis Rousseau, a native of Auxerres, who travelled a long time in Persia, Pegu, and other parts of the East Indies, and who, in 1692, resided at St. Domingo, was the inventer of sealing-wax. A lady, of the name of Longueville, made this wax known at court, and caused Louis XIII. to use it; after which it was purchased and used throughout Paris. By this article Rousseau, before the expiration of a year, gained 50,000 livres. The oldest seal with a red wafer ever yet found, is on a letter written by Dr. Krapf, at Spires, in the year 1624, to the government at Bareuth. * * * * *