Mengwan, a circumstance of this description took place, which was
described by an European gentleman, himself present, and one of the
courtiers. The king had detected something flagitious, which would not
have been very difficult. His anger rose; he seized his spear, and
attacked the false ministers. These, with the exception of the European,
who was not a party to the offence, fled tumultuously. One hapless
courtier had his heels tripped up in his flight; the king overtook him,
and wounded him slightly in the calf of the leg with his spear, but took
no farther vengeance."

* * * * *


LULLABY.


SHAKSPEARE, in _Titus Andronicus_, says,

"Be unto us, as is a nurse's song
Of _Lullaby_ to bring her babe to sleep."

A learned commentator gives us what he facetiously calls a lullaby note on
this.

"The verb _to lull_, means to sing Gently, and it is connected with the
Greek [Greek: laleo], loquor, or [Greek: lala], the sound made by the
beach of the sea. The Roman nurses used the word _lalla_, to quiet their
children, and they feigned a deity called _Lullus_, whom they invoked on
that occasion; the lullaby, or tune itself was called by the same name."--
_Douce_.