Anecdotes of public men; by John W. Forney.

416 ANECDOTES OF PUBLIC MEN.
scamp denied his crime, and a dispute ensued, when the rabbit
broke from its concealment, exclaiming, in a gruff tone, " You
are a scamp, and the Lord have mercy on your soul." "Who
dares call me a scamp?" screamed the thief. "I do!" the
rabbit answered. "You never paid a ha'penny for me, Ryan.
Did you not bring me here last night from the hall? To-night
I will call my imps from below, and take you to the deepest
regions of fire." The scoundrel took fright, and restored the
rabbit as one "bewitched." The whole community were relieved at the detection of the dishonest official. One day he
frightened an exorbitant landlord into decency by making a
parrot echo his own denunciation of the tyrant. He was introduced to ex-President Van Buren (often called "the Little Magician ") in New York, and exchanged compliments, which
closed by Mr. Van Buren saying, " I have often seen our names
coupled, as wielding the magic wand; but I resign to you the
superiority. You, Signor, please and delight all ages and sexes,
while my jugglery is for political purposes." O'Connell, the
Duke of Wellington, and many of the nobility visited his rooms,
just as Van Buren, Clay, and Webster patronized him in this
country. Once he saved his life by imitating a conversation
with different persons in different voices, and mingling all with
the barking of two dogs. This was when he lived near the
New York Croton Works, while they were in course of construction, and when Fifty-third Street was beset by ruffians. His
jokes were never cruel, as, for instance, his taking a bottle of
whisky out of the hat of Governor Briggs, of Massachusetts, a
noted temperance man, or his asking the Boston philanthropist,
Josiah Bradley, to lend him his coat for one of his tricks, which
the good old man did, to the infinite amusement of Daniel Webster, who sat in the audience. He was welcome at Harvard
University, and played for the alumni and the acolytes. The
great and graceful Justice Story came often to his exhibitions,
and would take a seat among the boys on the front bench, en,