language of three-fourths of Asia, nine-tenths of North America, half Africa, and all the insular states in the South Seas--and England, that little kingdom, with a population of not more than forty millions, has had the honour of colonizing half the globe; but "these countries are our colonies no longer." Such are a few of the wonders of 2130! In the Dialogue is an admirable joke with a scientific street-sweeper and a learned beggar, who pleads _necessitas non habet legem_, and "embraces the profession of an operative mendicant." But here is a _morceau_: _Lady D._--Ah! Lord A.! Mr. C.! most unexpected persons both! I heard only yesterday that one of you was in Greenland, and the other in Africa. What false reports they circulate! _Lord A._--The reports were true not long ago, and I believe we returned about the same time. You, Lady D., have been also travelling, I believe. _Lady D._--Yes, we were out of England in the winter. Our physician commanded a warmer climate for Lord D. so we took a villa on the Niger, and afterwards spent a short time at Sackatoo. _Mr. C._--I suppose you found it full of English? _Lady D._--Oh, quite full--and such a set! We knew hardly any of them. In fact, we did not go there for society. We met a few pleasant people, Australians; the Abershaws, the Hardy Vauxes, and Sir William and Lady Soames. _Mr. C._--Did you go by the new Tangier and Timbuctoo road? _Lady D._--Yes, we did, and we found it excellent. By the bye, Lord A., to digress to a different latitude, how did you succeed in your last excursion to the North Pole? _Lord A._--To tell you the truth, extremely ill; we had most improvidently taken with us scarcely enough of the _solvent_ to work our way through the ice, and our concentrated essence of caloric was found to be of a very inferior quality. I shall try again next summer. _Lady D._--I believe we shall go to Spitzbergen ourselves. _Lord A._--I am happy to think that, in that case, I may perhaps have the pleasure of meeting you there on my return. I must go to the Pole, by the way of North Georgia: I am engaged to visit an Eskimaux friend. Still more ludicrous are the following historical blunders:--One of the party asks how Napoleon is introduced in an historical novel of 1830? The reply is--"He and the Emperor Alexander of Russia are introduced dining with the King at Brighton. Napoleon quarrels with the two sovereigns, and challenges them to a personal encounter. Each claims the right of fighting by deputy. The King of England appoints his prime minister, the Duke of Wellington; the Emperor Alexander appoints Prince Kutusoff. The Duke of Wellington is to go out first, and is to meet Napoleon at Battersea Fields. There were open fields at Battersea: _then_: only think! open fields! I don't know how the duel ends--I am just in the midst of it--it is so interesting."