diff options
Diffstat (limited to '11219-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 11219-0.txt | 1572 |
1 files changed, 1572 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/11219-0.txt b/11219-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f26538f --- /dev/null +++ b/11219-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1572 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11219 *** + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +VOL. XIV, No. 384.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 1829. [PRICE 2d. + + + + * * * * * + + + +Voltaire's Chateau, at Ferney. + +[Illustration] + + +Voltaire is the bronze and plaster poet of France. Cheek by jowl with +Rosseau, (their squabbles are forgotten in the roll of fame), you see +him perched on mantel, bracket, _ecritoire_, and bookcase: in short, +their effigies are as common as the plaster figures of Shakspeare and +Milton are in England. How far the rising generation of France may +profit by their household memorials--or the sardonic and satanic smile +of their great poet--we will not pretend to determine; neither do we +invite any comparison; although Voltaire, with all his trickseyings and +panting after fame, never inculcated so sublime a lesson as is conveyed +in + + "The cloud-capp'd towers," &c. + +which are inscribed beneath the bust of our immortal bard. + +But we turn from Voltaire and his stormy times to the seat of his +retirement--Ferney, about six miles from Geneva; where he lived for +twenty years; but in his eighty-fourth year actually quitted this scene +of delightful repose for the city of Paris--there to enjoy a short +triumph, and die. The latter event took place in 1778. At pages 62 and +69 of vol. xii. of THE MIRROR, we have given a brief description of +Ferney, with many interesting anecdotes, carefully compiled from a +variety of authorities. Here Voltaire lived in princely style, as +Condorcet says, "removed from illusion, and whatever could excite +momentary, or personal passion." According to M. Simond, a recent +tourist, the _château_ is still visited by travellers, and Voltaire's +bed-room is shown in the state he left it. The date of our view is about +the year 1800, since which the residence has been much neglected: and +during the late war, it was frequently the quarters of the Austrian +soldiers. The gardens are laid out in the formal, geometrical style, +and they command a view of the town and lake of Geneva. The apartments +of the ground-floor of the house are in the same state as during +Voltaire's lifetime. In the dining-hall is a picture, representing +demons horsewhipping Fréron:[1] such was Voltaire's mode of perpetuating +his antagonists. + +[Footnote 1: Fréron was an eminent journalist of the last century: his +criticisms procured him many powerful enemies, among whom was Voltaire.] + +Of the purchase of Ferney, Voltaire thus speaks in his memoirs:-- + +"I bought, by a very singular kind of contract, of which there was no +example in that country, a small estate of about sixty acres, which they +sold me for about twice as much as it would have cost me at Paris; but +pleasure is never too dear. The house was pretty and commodious, and the +prospect charming; it astonishes without tiring: on one side is the lake +of Geneva, and the city on the other. The Rhone rushes from the former +with vast impetuosity, forming a canal at the bottom of my garden, +whence is seen the Arve descending from the Savoy mountains, and +precipitating itself into the Rhone, and farther still another river. +A hundred country seats, a hundred delightful gardens, ornament the +borders of the lakes and rivers. The Alps at a great distance rise and +terminate the horizon, and among their prodigious precipices, twenty +leagues extent of mountain are beheld covered with eternal snows." + +Upon Voltaire's settlement at Ferney, the country was almost a savage +desert. The village contained but fifty inhabitants, but became by the +poet's means the residence of 1,200 persons, among which were a great +number of artists, principally watch makers, who established their +manufacture under his auspices, and exported their labours throughout +the continent. Voltaire also invited to Ferney, and afforded protection +to, the young niece of the celebrated Corneille; here she was educated, +and Voltaire even carried his delicacy so far as not to suffer the +establishment of Madlle. Corneille to appear as his benefaction. The +family of Calas, likewise, came to reside in the neighbourhood, and to +this circumstance may be attributed the zeal which Voltaire evinced in +their ill fate. + + * * * * * + + + +DURHAM HOUSE, STRAND: + +MARRIAGE OF LADY JANE GREY. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + + Why did ye me dysseyve, + With faynyng fantzye agenst all equitie and right, + The regall powers onjustly to receyve, + To serve your tornes, I do right well perceyve; + For I was your instrument to worke your purpose by; + All was but falshed to bleere withall myn eye. + + _Cavendish's Metrical Visions._ + + +The short but eventful period between the death of the last Henry, and +the succession of his bigoted and intolerant daughter Mary, presents a +wide and fertile field for the inquiring mind both of the historian and +philosopher. The interest attached to the memory of the beauteous but +unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, renders the slightest event of her life +acceptable to every lover of English history; while her youth and +intellectual acquirements, her brief reign of nine days, and finally her +expiation for her _innocent_ crime on the scaffold, combine to rouse the +feelings and excite the sympathy of every sensitive heart. + +The marriage of lady Jane Grey, which may be regarded as the principal +cause of her sufferings, was brought about by the ambitious Earl of +Northumberland, a nobleman, the most powerful and wealthy at that +period, in the kingdom. By the marriage of Lord Guilford Dudley with the +Lady Jane, he formed the daring project of placing the crown of England +on the head of his son, in order to consolidate that preeminence, which, +during the reign of the youthful Edward, he had so craftily attained to, +and which he foresaw, would, on the accession of Mary, from whom he had +little to expect, either on the side of friendship or protection, be +wrested from him. By the will of Henry VIII., as well also as by an Act +of Parliament, the ladies Mary and Elizabeth had been pronounced as +heirs to the crown; this claim, however, he hoped to overrule, as the +statutes passed by Henry, in the twenty-eighth year of his reign, +declaring their illegitimacy, had never been repealed. By the will of +Henry, the lady Jane had also been placed next in succession after the +Princess Elizabeth, in total exclusion of the Scottish line, the +offspring of his sister Margaret, who had married James IV. of Scotland. + +The day on which this important event took place is not exactly known; +but it is generally supposed to have been towards the close of the month +of May, in the year 1553, before the lady Jane had attained her +seventeenth year. The nuptials were solemnized with great magnificence +at Durham House, the then princely residence of the Earl of +Northumberland, who appears to have been particularly earnest in their +conclusion, as they were celebrated but two months previous to the death +of Edward VI., who at that time "lay dangerously sicke,"[2] and being +unable to attend, sent costly presents as marks of his approval. Three +other marriages, also, appear to have taken place at the same time, as +recorded by the chronicler Stow.[3] + +[Footnote 2: Stow's _Summarie of the Chronicles of England_, p. 245.] + +[Footnote 3: Lord Gilford, the Duke of Northumberland's fourth son, +married Lady Jane, the Duke of Suffolk's daughter, whose mother being +then alive, was daughter to Mary, King Henrie's sister, which was then +married to the French king, and after to Charles, Duke of Suffolke. Also +the Earle of Pembroke's eldest son married Lady Katharine, the said +duke's second daughter. And Martin Keie's gentleman porter married Mary, +the third daughter of the Duke of Suffolke. And the Earle of +Huntington's son, called Lord Hastings, married Katharine, youngest +daughter to the Duke of Northumberland.--Stow's _Chronicle_, p. 1029, +edit. 1600.] + +Durham House, which formerly occupied that extensive space of ground on +the southern side of the Strand, now covered by the stately pile of +buildings called the Adelphi, was erected, according to Stow,[4] in the +reign of Edward III., by Thomas de Hatfield, created Bishop of Durham in +1345. Pennant,[5] however, but upon what authority does not appear, +traces its foundation to a period prior to the abovementioned, that +of Edward I., when he says it was erected by Anthony de Beck, patriarch +of Jerusalem and Bishop of Durham, but was afterwards rebuilt by Bishop +Hatfield. In 1534, Tonstal, the then bishop, exchanged Durham House with +Henry VIII. for a mansion in Thames Street, called "Cold Harborough," +when it was converted by that monarch into a royal palace. During +the same reign, in the year 1540, a grand tournament, commencing on +"Maie daie," and continuing on the five following days, was held at +Westminster; after which, says Stow, "the challengers rode to Durham +Place, where they kept open household, and feasted the king and queene +(Anne of Cleves) with her ladies, and all the court."[6] In the reign +of Edward VI., a mint was established at Durham House by the ambitious +Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral, under the direction of Sir William +Sharington. + +[Footnote 4: Strype's _Stow_, vol. ii. p. 576.] + +[Footnote 5: Pennant's _London_, p. 120, 4to. edit.] + +[Footnote 6: Stow's _Chronicle_, p. 975.] + +This mansion was bestowed on the princess Elizabeth, during the term of +her life, by her brother Edward VI., when it became the residence of the +Earl of Northumberland, and the scene of those important transactions we +have just endeavoured to relate. On the death of Elizabeth, Sir Walter +Raleigh, to whom the mansion had been given by that queen, was obliged +to surrender it to Toby Matthew, the then Bishop of Durham, in +consequence of the reversion having been granted to that see by queen +Mary, whose bigoted and narrow mind regarded the previous exchange as a +sacrilege. + +In 1608, the stables of Durham House, which fronted the Strand, and +which, says Strype,[7] "were old, ruinous, and ready to fall, and very +unsightly in so public a passage to the Court of Westminster," were +pulled down and a building called the New Exchange erected on their +site, by the Earl of Salisbury. It was built partly on the plan of the +Royal Exchange; the shops or stalls being principally occupied by +miliners and sempstresses. It was opened with great state by James I., +and his queen, who named it the "Bursse of Britain."[8] + +[Footnote 7: Strype's _Stow_, vol. ii. p. 576.] + +[Footnote 8: Howel's _Londinopolis_, p. 349.] + +In 1640, the estate of Durham House was purchased of the see, by Philip, +Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, for the annual sum of 200_l_., when the +mansion was pulled down, and numerous houses erected on its site; and +in 1737, the New Exchange was also demolished to make room for further +improvements. + +Towards the close of the last century the whole estate was purchased of +the Earl of Pembroke, by four brothers of the name of Adam, who erected +the present buildings, named by them the _Adelphi_, from the Greek word +[Greek: adelphoi], brothers. + +S.I.B. + + * * * * * + + + +THE DEATH OF MURAT. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + + "Where the broken line enlarging + Fell or fled along the plain, + There be sure was Murat charging: + There he ne'er shall charge again." + +BYRON. + + +Perhaps the features of romance were never more fully developed than in +the last days and death of Murat, King of Naples. To speak panegyrically +of his prowess, is supererogatory; as his bravery has been the theme of +history and of song. But a pathetic paper in _Blackwood's Magazine_, +affectingly describes his fall from splendour and popularity to servile +degradation and unmerited military death. He has many claims on our +interest and pity; whether we view him as the enthusiastic leader of +Napoleon's chosen, against the wily Russians, in the romantic array of +"a theatrical king," bearing down all impediment; or the plumeless and +proscribed monarch of "shreds and patches," hiding from his enemies +amidst the withered spoils of the forest. The writer of the paper +referred to, in describing his arrival at Ajaccio, says, "I was sitting +at my door, when I beheld a man approach me, _with the gaiters and shoes +of a common soldier_. Looking up, I beheld before me Joachim II. the +splendid King of Naples! I uttered a cry, and fell upon my knees!" + + Escap'd from wreck and storm of fickle seas, + Degraded, plunder'd, sought for by his foes, + Brave Murat went, a weary, exil'd king, + Unto the land that gave Napoleon life; + And he who was the head of armies, when + His sabre slew opposing multitudes; + Whose dauntless spirit knew no other words + In fiercest strife, but "Soldiers, follow me!" + Came a poor, drooping, broken, lonely man, + To meet reproach, and harsh vicissitude, + Base persecution, and destroying hope; + To drain the cup of human suffering dry, + From which his fever'd lips had scarce refrain'd; + When in the tangled wood he trembling lay, + Weary and worn, expos'd to sun and storm, + Hunger and cold, and nature's helplessness. + And when Ajaccio's walls rung with the shouts + For Naples' ruler, he of warlike fame, + It wrung his spirit to remember when + That city hail'd him as her only star, + Worthy to reign where Masaniello rul'd. + Dejected chief! the tears forsook his eyes, + When on his vision rush'd the bygone love + Applauding thousands bore him, as he rode + In pride imperial 'midst the bending throng. + + The gathering crowds along Ajaccio's streets + Felt Freedom's fervor kindle in their souls; + And Murat's banner fann'd the glorious flame. + "'Tis past," he cried, "and now I proudly come, + O, shameless Naples! in thy arms to die, + Or nobly live." + + "Now blood for tears! my sword, my sword! + Be thou unsheath'd in Naples' cause, + I'll meet again the battle horde, + And beard the bravest of my foes! + + "Proud Austria! I will drive thee back, + Deem not that Naples' throne is thine; + For soon shall Murat's bivouac + Keep watch upon thy tented line. + + "Nor taunt of enemy shall move, + Nor bitterest suffering shall degrade, + My heart--for with my people's love + My daring will be richly paid. + + "Hearts like my own! that hem me now, + The ground we tread is sacred earth, + Prove not the soil from which ye sprang + Unworthy of Napoleon's birth. + + "On to the struggle! we shall gain + Adherents to our patriot cause; + Shake off the exile's hated name, + And abrogate the despot's laws. + + "Insulted, wrong'd, and robb'd of all, + My feelings scarce could brook my fate; + But I will gain my crown or fall + Before degraded Naples' gate!" + + Midnight descended on Calabria's coast, + And Murat's little fleet wore sailing there; + No peering moon lit up the lonely sea, + But all was sable as his wayward fate. + A storm dispers'd them, and Sardinia's isle + Receiv'd the bark that held the hapless king, + And morn beheld it on the main again; + But far apart his faithful followers. + Calabria's beach was gain'd; where Murat stood + Amidst the dastard throng that hemm'd him round, + With heart of adamant, and eye of fire. + There is a majesty in kingly hearts + Which changing time nor fickle fate can quell: + He stood--reveal'd from his own lips, "The King + Of fallen Naples." At those stirring words + A hundred swords unsheath'd; for on his head + A princely price was set, and flight he scorn'd; + For grasp'd his hand the well-accustom'd blade; + And _vainly_ fought-- + + * * * * * + + His hour is come! behold the dauntless man + Baring his bosom to the stern platoon: + And parted friends, and pardon'd enemies, + Relinquish'd glory, and forgotten scorn, + Are naught to him--but o'er his war-worn face + A momentary gleam of passion flits-- + To think _that he who wore that diadem + The second Caesar placed upon his brows_, + (No cold inheritance of legal right, + But truly bought by bravery and blood.) + Should die with traitor branded on, his fame. + His hand enfolds a small cornelian seal, + A portrait of his queen,--on which his eyes + Are fondly fix'd. The final word is given, + And Murat falls: ah! who would be a king! + +* * H. + + * * * * * + + + +COAST BLOCKADE MEN. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +Maturin in his fearful romance of _Melmoth_, has well exemplified the +change of character and frequent subversion of intellect occasioned by +untoward circumstances. The human mind, like a woody fibre, when +submitted to the action of a petrifying stream, gradually assimilates +the qualities of its associates. This truth is strikingly verified in +the persons of the men on our blockade stations, for the prevention of +smuggling. They are a numerous race, and inhabit little fortalices on +the coasts of our sea-girt isle, which to an imaginative mind would give +it the appearance of a beleagured citadel. The powerful, but still +ineffective means resorted to by government for the suppression of +illicit traffic, sadly demonstrates the degeneracy of our nature, and +may be seen in full operation on the coast between Margate, Dover, and +Hastings. For this purpose, the stranger on his arrival at Margate, must +take the path leading to the cliff's, eastward of the town, and after +walking a little way with the sea on his left hand, he will pass, +at intervals, certain neat, though gloomy looking cottages, chiefly +remarkable for an odd, military aspect, strongly reminding one of a red +jacket turned up with white. These, perched like the eagle's eyry on the +very edge and summit of those crested heights that "breast the billows +foam," are the _preventive stations_, inhabited by the _dumb_ and +isolated members of the blockade. These men will now be seen for the +rest of the journey, mounted on the jutting crags, straining their weary +eyes over the monotonous expanse of waters which for ever splash beneath +them--a sullen accompaniment to their gloomy avocations. + +On a first sight of these men, you are ready to exclaim with Mercutio, +"Oh, flesh! how art thou fishified;" and begin to think that Shakspeare +might have had a living original for his horrid Caliban: for they are +mostly selected from amongst fishermen, on account of their excellent +knowledge of the coast, and most perfectly retain their amphibious +characteristics. The good humoured Dutch looking face is, however, +wanting; they have a savage angularity of feature, the effect of their +antisocial trade; one feels a sort of creeping horror on approaching a +fellow creature, armed at all points, in a lone and solemn place, the +haunts of desperate men, and on whose tongue an embargo is laid to speak +to no one, pacing the surly rocks, his hands on his arms, ready to deal +forth death on the first legal opportunity. Beings such as these an +amiable and delicate mind shudders to contemplate, and always finds it +difficult to conceive; yet, such are the preventive men who line our +coast--melancholy examples of the truth stated at the outset of this +paper. Occasionally, however, the good traveller will, much to his joy, +meet with an exception to this sad rule, in the person of an old +tar, whom necessity has pressed into the service, and who from long +acquaintance with the pleasures of traversing the mighty ocean, feels +little pleasure in staring at it like an inactive land-lubber, a +character which he holds in hearty contempt; besides, to fire at a +fellow Briton is against his nature; thief or no thief it crosses his +grain, and he looks at his pistols and hates himself. His situation is +miserable; he is truly a fish out of water; he loves motion, but is +obliged to stand still; his glory is a social "bit of jaw," but he dares +not speak; he rolls his disconsolate quid over his silent tongue, and is +as wretched as a caged monkey. Poor fellow! how happy would a companion +make you, to whom you could relate your battles, bouts, and courtships; +but mum is the order, and Jack is used to an implicit obeyance of +head-quarter orders. The sight of an outward bound vessel drives him +mad. + +On the appearance of a suspicious sail, the blockader, all vigilance, +(Jack excepted) awaits in silence the _running_ of the devoted cargo, +when suddenly discharging one of his pistols, the air in a moment rocks +with a hundred reports, answered successively by his companions. This +arouses those in the cottages off duty; the cliffs instantly teem with +life; all hurry to the beach, by slanting passages cut in the rocks for +that purpose, and a scene of blood and death ensues too horrible for +description. Thus are sent prematurely to their graves, many poor +fellows, who, had brandy been a trifle cheaper, might have lived bright +ornaments of a world they never knew. + +After leaving Dover, the scene changes very materially in its appearance; +the regimental cottages have vanished, and in their places are found +strong brick towers, placed at short distances from each other, +containing each a little garrison, over which a lieutenant presides; +from the abundance of these towers, and their proximity to each other, +the men are numerously scattered over the bleak sands, and living more +together, are a social set of creatures, compared with those westward +of Dover. The towers very much resemble the Peel Houses which, "lang +syne," bristled on the Scottish border, and like them, are built to +watch and annoy an enemy from; they are about twenty feet in height, +of a circular form, and have a concealed gallery at top with loopholes, +for observation. The preventive men have a costume peculiar to them: +white trousers, bluejacket, and white hat; a pair of pistols, a cutlass, +and a sort of carbine. A well painted picture of them, when surrounding +their little castles, a fresh breeze stirring the sea into a rage, and +a horizontal sun gilding their rugged features, would fairly rival +Salvator Rosa's brigands in the Abruzzi Mountains. + +S.S. + + * * * * * + + + +ONCE ANCIENT.--A FACT. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + + A Norwich mayor, who an uncommon thing + (Because 'twas generous) had done, was sent + With a petition to his gracious King,[9] + And reach'd St. James's wondrously content. + His Majesty found him quite eloquent, + Fond of a dinner, fonder of a joke + But, needing matter + For converse with his stranger worship, spoke + Of Norfolk hospitality, and geese; + Of turkeys, game, and fowls, that take a lease + Yearly to smoke on many a cockney platter, + Forgetting not, to please the honest _gent:_ + Mention of gravy, sausage, dumpling, batter; + Till, the good man, quite in his element + 'Gan prating glibly of the Norwich folk + And what fine things were doing in their city, + "An ancient place it is, sir!" said the prince, + "As its old churches, castle, gates, evince!" + "Gates!" please your highness, "there my heart is broke, + They 'as, and more's the pity, + Just pull'd the old gates down! (I may + Get i' the wrong box too, for blabbin') + Narwich an arncient city, did you say? + An' please your Majesty, not now; 't ha' been!" + +[Footnote 9: George III.--This incident actually occurred.] + +M. L. B. + + * * * * * + + +PORTRAIT OF FAIR ROSAMOND. + + +A picture of this unfortunate woman, the mistress of Henry II., and the +victim of his queen's jealousy, supposed to have been painted in the +time of Henry VII., was, at the commencement of the last century in the +possession of Samuel Gale, Esq., the antiquary. It consisted of a +three-quarter length, painted on panel, and attired in the costume of +the period; a dress of red velvet, with a straight low body, and large +square sleeves, faced with black flowered damask, turned up above the +elbow, from which descended a close sleeve of pearl-coloured satin, +puffed out, and buttoned at the wrist; her bosom being covered with a +fine flowered linen, gathered close at the neck like a ruff. Her hair, +which was of a dark brown colour, was parted from the middle of the +forehead; on her head was a plain coifure, surmounted by a gold lace, +covered with a small, black, silk cap. In her right hand, which was +richly decorated with rings, she held the fatal cup, with the cover in +the left. Before her, on a table covered with black, damask, lay an open +prayer-book. Her complexion was fair, with a beautiful blush upon her +cheeks. + +S.I.B. + + * * * * * + + + +THE NATURALIST. + + * * * * * + +NEW ZOOLOGICAL WORK. + + +We are happy to have on our table the first number of a periodical work +to be exclusively devoted to the Illustration of the Natural History of +the living Animals in the Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological +Society. It is from the Chiswick press; the drawings are by Mr. William +Harvey, and the Engraving by Messrs. Branston and Wright; and of +printing and embellishment, the present number is a truly splendid +specimen, and is equal to any of the costly "Annuals." + +We believe the sale of works on Natural History to have been, till +recently, very limited; this has probably arisen from their technical +character, and consequent unfitness for the general reader. Mr. Loudon +was, perhaps, the first to familiarize the study of Zoology, in +originally making it a portion of his excellent Gardeners' Magazine. +The formation of the Zoological Society next rendered the study more +popular, and the gardens in the Regent's Park at length made it +fashionable, and ensured it patronage. About this time Mr. Loudon +commenced his Magazine of Natural History, which has been very +successful: it is one of the most unique works ever published, both as +regards the spirit and research of the intelligent editor, and the good +taste with which the work is illustrated--the latter being a very +important feature of a work on Natural History. + +The proceedings of the Zoological Society are, we believe, regularly +reported in the Zoological Journal, published quarterly, and edited by +N.A. Vigors, Esq., the ingenious secretary of the Society; but, valuable +and clever as may be this work, it is not calculated for extensive +reading. We are pleased, therefore, with the appearance of "_The +Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society_," which is popular +and scientific, and so elegant as to be fit for any drawing-room in +the empire. It is published with the sanction of the council, and is +superintended by the learned secretary; the descriptions, anecdotes, +&c. being furnished by E.T. Bennett, Esq. the vice-secretary. + +The present number contains Engravings and Descriptions of the +Chinchilla, (about which all our lady-friends will be very curious); +the Ratel; the Wanderoo Monkey; the Hare-Indian Dogs, the Barbary Mouse; +the Condor; the Crested Curassow; the Red and Blue Macaw; the Red and +Yellow Macaw: all these and the tailpieces or vignettes appended to the +descriptions, are beautifully engraved. The Quadrupeds are, perhaps, +the most successful--the group of Hare-Indian Dogs, for instance, is +exquisitely characteristic. Of the literary portion of the work we +intend to present our readers with a specimen in our next number. + + * * * * * + + + +CURIOUS ACCOUNT OF AN OYSTER CATCHING THREE MICE; AND A LOBSTER CATCHING +AN OYSTER. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +Borlase, in his _Natural History of Cornwall_, page 274, says, "The +oyster has the power of closing the two parts of its shell with +prodigious force, by means of a strong muscle at the hinge; and Mr. +Carew, in his _Survey of Cornwall_, 1602, with his wonted pleasantry, +tells us of one whose shell being opened as usual at the time of flood, +(when these fishes participate and enjoy the returning tide) three mice +eagerly attempted to seize it, and the oyster clasping fast its shell, +killed them all. It not only shuts its two valves with great strength, +but keeps them shut with equal force, and (as I have been informed by +a clergyman of great veracity, who had the account from a creditable +eye-witness to the fact) its enemies have a skill imparted to them to +counteract this great force. As he was fishing one day, a fisherman +observed a lobster attempt to get at an oyster several times, but as +soon as the lobster approached, the oyster shut his shell; at length +the lobster having awaited with great attention till the oyster opened +again, made a shift to throw a stone between the gaping shells, sprung +upon its prey, and devoured it." + +P.T.W. + + * * * * * + + + +INSTINCT OF SPIDERS. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +The following fact is copied from a French work entitled _Archives sur +Anatomie_:--"A small spider had spread its net between two neighbouring +trees, at the height of about nine feet. The three principal points, to +which the supporting threads were attached, formed here as they usually +do, an equilateral triangle. One thread was attached above to each of +the trees, and the web hung from the middle of it. To procure a third +point of attachment, the spider had suspended a small stone to one end +of a thread; and the stone being heavier than the spider itself, served +in place of the lower fixed point, and held the web extended. The little +pebble was five feet from the earth." The whole was observed, and is +described by Professor Weber, of Leipsig. + +MEDICUS. + + * * * * * + + + +SPIRIT OF THE + +Public Journals. + + * * * * * + +COBBETT'S CORN. + +(_Concluded from page 79._) + + +The first operation on the grown plants is that of topping; this is the +planter's _hay_ harvest; the tops serve for chaff, for dry food instead +of hay, for fodder. They are cut off above the ears, collected by a cart +going along the intervals or roads, and stacked for winter use. Mr. +Cobbett's harvest of tops was not so successful as it might have been: +this arose from his absence at the favourable opportunity for stacking. + +The ears of corn are stripped off when the grain is hard, and carried in +carts to the barns, and placed in corn cribs adapted for the purpose. +The grains are taken off the pithy cylinder on which they grow, by being +rubbed or scraped on a piece of iron: in America a bayonet (a weapon +called by the Yankees _Uncle George's toasting fork_) is invariably used +for the purpose: the cylinder, now bared of its grain, is called the +_cobb_. The delicate leaves by which the ear is enveloped is, as has +been mentioned, called the husk; it may be used for the stuffing of +beds: Mr. Cobbett has converted some of it even into paper. + +In Mr. Cobbett's sanguine temperament the uses to which the grain +is applicable are wonderfully numerous and important. Under the heads +of pig-feeding, sheep-feeding, and cow-feeding, poultry-feeding, +and horse-feeding, he gives an account of his own experiments and +observations. Of the thriving condition of the American horses Cobbett +gives an example in his amusing vein, and by a trial made at his own +farm in Long Island, he proved that neither their strength nor speed +deteriorates on corn. + +The branch of man-feeding is, of course, an important department of the +subject. The forms in which it is made palatable and nutritious are +numerous, and appear under names of American origin that will sound +strange in the English ear. Before the corn is ripe it is frequently +roasted in the state of green ears. "When the whole of the grains are +brown, you lay them in a dish and put them upon the table; they are so +many little bags of roasted milk, the sweetest that can be imagined, or, +rather, are of the most delightful taste. You leave a little tail of the +ear, two inches long, or thereabouts, to turn it and handle it by. You +take a thin piece of butter, which will cling to the knife on one side, +while you gently rub it over the ear from the other side; then the ear +is buttered: then you take a little salt according to your fancy, and +sprinkle it over the ear: you then take the tail of the ear in one hand, +and bite the grains off the cobb." In the shape of _porridge_ the corn +is called _suppawn_. + +_Mush_ is another form of the corn meal; Mr. Cobbett says, "it is not a +word to squall out over a piano-forte," "but it is a very good word, and +a real English word." It seems to mean something which is half pudding, +half porridge. _Homany_ is the shape in which the corn meal is generally +used in the southern states of America, but Mr. Cobbett has never seen +it. _Samp_ is the corn skinned, as we shell oats, or make pearl barley; +it is then boiled with pork or other meat, as we boil peas. It is in +fact corn soup, superior to all preparations of pulse, on account of +their indigestible qualities. + +The corn flour is not so adhesive as the wheat flour; it is consequently +not so well adapted to puddings and bread-making: nevertheless, Mr. +Cobbett contrives to show that his corn can make both inimitably; but in +respect of cakes there are no cakes in the world like the corn-cakes of +America. They have the additional merit of being made in a minute: "A +Yankee will set hunger at defiance if you turn him into a wilderness +with a flint and steel, and a bag of corn-meal or flour. He comes to the +spot where he means to make his cookery, makes a large wood fire upon +the ground, which soon consumes every thing combustible beneath, and +produces a large heap of coals. While the fire is preparing itself, the +Yankee takes a little wooden or tin bowl (many a one has done it in the +crown of his hat), in which he mixes up a sufficient quantity of his +meal with water, and forms it into a cake of about a couple of inches +thick. With a pole he then draws the fire open, and lays the cake down +upon where the centre of the fire was. To avoid burning, he rakes some +ashes over the cake first; he then rakes on a suitable quantity of the +live embers, and his cake is cooked in a short space of time." According +to Mr. Cobbett, he grew _ninety-five_ bushels of corn on one acre of +ground; reckoning the value of this corn equal to bad and stale samples +of wheat, which, at the time Mr. Cobbett was writing, was selling at +45_s_. the quarter, Mr. Cobbett's crop would be worth nearly 27_l_. the +acre, three times, as he says, that of the average crop of wheat this +same year. But in order to compare the worth of this crop with that of +others, there are several considerations to be entered into besides +this; these it is needless to say, Mr. Cobbett shows are wholly in +favour of Cobbett's corn. However this may be, and even making a large +allowance for the determination of the writer to see every thing he +loves _couleur de rose_, we think there can be little doubt of this +fact, that he has made out a case for experiment, and still more, that +they who have not made the experiment, are not entitled either to +distrust or to gainsay his assertions. It should be observed, that there +are two branches in Mr. Cobbett's argument; he maintains that his +variety of Indian corn may be grown in this country: but should this not +be confirmed by more general experiments, still his praise of the plant, +as a valuable substitute for wheat, and even its superior applicability +to domestic purposes, demand the same attention as before; for if it may +be grown, it may be imported, as from Canada, without the imposition of +a burthensome duty. + + * * * * * + + + +THE WATCHMAN'S LAMENT. + + + As homeward I hurried, within "The Wen," + At midnight, all alone. + My knees, like the knees of a drunken man, + Foreboding shook, and my eyes began + To see two lamps for one. + + The lights burnt blue, as they're wont to do + When Spirits are in the wind. + Ho! ho! thought I, that's an ominous hue, + And a glance on either side I threw, + But I fear'd to look behind. + + A smell, as of gas, spread far and wide, + But sulphur it was, I knew; + My sight grew dim, and my tongue was tied, + And I thought of my home, and my sweet fireside, + And the friends I had left at loo! + + And I took once more a hurried peep + Along and across the street, + And then I beheld a figure creep, + Like a man that is walking in his sleep, + Or a watchman on his beat. + + A lantern, dangling in the wind, + He bore, and his shaggy and thick + Great-coat was one of the dread-nought kind,-- + What seem'd his right hand trail'd behind + The likeness of a stick. + + The sky with clouds became o'ercast, + And it suddenly set to raining,-- + And the gas-lights flicker'd in the blast, + As that thing of the lantern and dread-nought past, + And I heard him thus complaining-- + + "A murrain seize--a pize upon-- + Plague take--the New Police! + Why couldn't they do with the ancient one, + As ages and ages before have done, + And let us remain in peace? + + "No more, ah! never more, I fear, + Will a perquisite, (woe is me!) + Or profits, or vails, the Charley cheer; + Then, alas! for his tender consort dear, + And his infant progeny! + + "Farewell to the freaks of the jovial spark, + Who rejoiced in a gentle riot,-- + To the midnight spree, and the morning lark, + There'll never more be any fun after dark, + And people will sleep in quiet. + + "No more shall a Tom or a Jerry now + Engaging in fisty battle, + Break many heads and the peace;--for how, + I should like to know, can there be a row, + When there is ne'er a rattle? + + "One cry no more on the ear shall grate, + Convivial friends alarming, + Who straightway start and separate, + Blessing themselves that it is so late;-- + To break up a party is charming! + + "But our ruthless foe wilt be punish'd anon;-- + Bundled out without pity or parley, + His office and occupation gone, + Lost, disgraced, despised, undone, + Oh! then he'll remember the Charley." + + Just then I beheld a Jarvey near, + Which on the spot presenting, + I scrambled in like one in fear + With a ghost at his heels, or a flea in his ear, + And he was left lamenting! + +_Blackwood's Magazine._ + + * * * * * + + + +GOOD AND BAD STYLES OF LIVING. + + +Good style of living consists in having a mansion exquisitely fitted +up with all the expensive bijouterie compatible with true elegance, +yet avoiding the lavish superabundance of gimcrackery which borders +on vulgarity; comely serving men in suitable liveries, all so well +initiated into the mysteries of their respective duties, that a guest +could imagine himself in a fairy palace, where plates vanish without +the contamination of a mortal finger and thumb, and glasses move without +a jingle: then the feast is exquisitely cooked and exquisitely served; +the table groans not, the hostess carves not; but one delicious dainty +is followed by another, and each remove brings forth a dish more piquante +than the last: every thing is delightful, but there must appear to be an +abundance of nothing; two spoonsful alone of each delicious viand should +repose under its silver cover; and he who dared ask to be helped a second +time to any thing, ought to be sentenced to eternal transportation from +the regions of haut ton. + +Bad style of living--Shocking even to describe! A large house in streets +or squares unknown; hot, ugly men servants, stumbling over one another +in their uncouth eagerness to admit you; your name mispronounced, and +shouted at the drawing-room door; your host and hostess in a fuss, +apologizing, asking questions, and boring you to death; dinner at length +announced, but no chance of extrication from the dull drawing-room, +because the etiquette of precedence is not rightly understood, and +nobody knows who ought to be led out first; all the way down stairs a +dead silence, and then the difficulty of distributing the company almost +equals the previous dilemma of the drawing-room: wives are wittily +warned against sitting by husbands, and two gentlemen are facetiously +interdicted from sitting together; the hostess takes the top of the +table to be useful, not ornamental, for fish and joint and turkey, must +she carve; while her husband, at the other end of the mahogany, must +equally make a toil of a pleasure, and yet smile as if it were a +pleasure to toil! The beasts of the earth and the birds of the air +appear upon the board, scorning disguise, in their own proper forms, +just as they stepped out of Noah's ark, always excepting those who are +too unwieldy to be present in whole skins; and even they send their +joints to table in horrid unsophistication; Sweets follow, but how +unlike the souffles of Ude! Grim green gooseberries, lurking under their +heavy coverings of crust; and custards, the plain produce of the dairy, +embittered with bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves! Cheese follows, with +the alternatives of port wine and porter; and all this weary time the +servants have been knocking your head about, thumbing your plate, or +pouring lobster sauce into your pockets!--_Sharpe's Mag_. + + * * * * * + + + +The Novelist. + + * * * * * + +GUY MANNERING. + +_By Sir Walter Scott, Bart._ + + +[We quote the following Legend from the _New Edition_ of _Guy Mannering_, +with the Supplementary Notes by the distinguished author.] + +The manner in which the novels were composed, cannot be better +illustrated, than by reciting the simple narrative on which _Guy +Mannering_ was originally founded; but to which, in the progress of +the work, the production ceased to bear any, even the most distant +resemblance. The tale was originally told me by an old servant of +my father's, an excellent old Highlander, without a fault, unless a +preference to mountain-dew, over less potent liquors be accounted one. +He believed as firmly in the story as in any part of his creed. + +A grave and elderly person, according to old John MacKinlay's account, +while travelling in the wilder parts of Galloway, was benighted. +With difficulty he found his way to a country-seat, where, with the +hospitality of the time and country, he was readily admitted. The owner +of the house, a gentleman of good fortune, was much struck by the +reverend appearance of his guest, and apologised to him for a certain +degree of confusion which must unavoidably attend his reception, and +could not escape his eye. The lady of the house was, he said, confined +to her apartment, and on the point of making her husband a father for +the first time, though they had been ten years married. At such an +emergency, the laird said he feared his guest might meet with some +apparent neglect. "Not so, sir," said the stranger; "my wants are few, +and easily supplied; and I trust the present circumstances may even +afford an opportunity of showing my gratitude for your hospitality. Let +me only request that I may be informed of the exact minute of the birth; +and I hope to be able to put you in possession of some particulars which +may influence in an important manner the future prospects of the child +now about to come into this busy and changeful world. I will not conceal +from you that I am skilful in understanding and interpreting the +movements of those planetary bodies which exert their influences on the +destiny of mortals. It is a science which I do not practise, like others +who call themselves astrologers, for hire or reward; for I have a +competent estate, and only use the knowledge I possess for the benefit +of those in whom I feel an interest." The laird bowed in respect and +gratitude, and the stranger was accommodated with an apartment which +commanded an ample view of the astral regions. The guest spent a part +of the night in ascertaining the position of the heavenly bodies, and +calculating their probable influence; until at length the result of his +observations induced him to send for the father, and conjure him in +the most solemn manner to cause the assistants to retard the birth, if +practicable, were it but for five minutes. The answer declared this to +be impossible; and almost in the instant that the message was returned, +the father and his guest were made acquainted with the birth of a boy. + +The astrologer on the morrow met the party who gathered around the +breakfast-table with looks so grave and ominous, as to alarm the fears +of the father, who had hitherto exulted in the prospects held out by the +birth of an heir to his ancient property, failing which event it must +have passed to a distant branch of the family. He hastened to draw the +stranger into a private room. "I fear from your looks," said the father, +"that you have bad-tidings to tell me of my young stranger; perhaps God +will resume the blessing he has bestowed ere he attains the age of +manhood, or perhaps he is destined to be unworthy of the affection which +we are naturally disposed to devote to our offspring." "Neither the one +nor the other," answered the stranger, "unless my judgment greatly ere, +the infant will survive the years of minority, and in temper and +disposition will prove all that his parents can wish. But with much in +his horoscope which promises many blessings, there is one evil influence +strongly predominant, which threatens to subject him to an unhallowed +and unhappy temptation about the time when he shall attain the age of +twenty-one, which period, the constellations intimate, will be the +crisis of his fate. In what shape, or with what peculiar urgency, this +temptation may beset him, my art cannot discover." "Your knowledge, +then, can afford us no defence," said the anxious father, "against the +threatened evil?" "Pardon me," answered the stranger, "it can. The +influence of the constellations is powerful; but He who made the heavens +is more powerful than all, if his aid be invoked in sincerity and truth. +You ought to dedicate this boy to the immediate service of his Maker, +with as much sincerity as Samuel was devoted to the worship in the +Temple by his parents. You must regard him as a being separated from the +rest of the world. In childhood, in boyhood, you must surround him with +the pious and virtuous, and protect him to the utmost of your power from +the sight or hearing of any crime, in word or action. He must be +educated in religious and moral principles of the strictest description. +Let him not enter the world, lest he learn to partake of its follies, or +perhaps of its vices. In short, preserve him as far as possible from all +sin, save that of which too great a portion belongs to all the fallen +race of Adam. With the approach of his twenty-first birth-day comes the +crisis of his fate. If he survive it, he will be happy and prosperous on +earth, and a chosen vessel among those elected for heaven. But if it be +otherwise"----The astrologer stopped and sighed deeply. "Sir," replied +the parent, still more alarmed than before, "your words are so kind, +your advice so serious, that I will pay the deepest attention to your +behests; but can you not aid me farther in this most important concern. +Believe me, I will not be ungrateful." "I require and deserve no +gratitude for doing a good action," said the stranger; "in especial for +contributing all that lies in my power, to save from an abhorred fate +the harmless infant to whom, under a singular conjunction of planets, +last night gave life. There is my address; you may write to me from time +to time concerning the progress of the boy in religious knowledge. If he +be bred up as I advise, I think it will be best that he come to my house +at the time when the fatal and decisive period approaches, that is, +before he has attained his twenty-first year complete. If you send him +such as I desire, I humbly trust that God will protect his own, through +whatever strong temptation his fate may subject him to." He then gave +his host his address, which was a country-seat near a post town in the +south of England, and bid him an affectionate farewell. + +The mysterious stranger departed; but his words remained impressed upon +the mind of the anxious parent. He lost his lady while his boy was +still in infancy. This calamity, I think, had been predicted by the +astrologer; and thus his confidence, which, like most people of the +period, he had freely given to the science, was riveted and confirmed. +The utmost care, therefore, was taken to carry into effect the severe +and almost ascetic plan of education which the sage had enjoined. A tutor +of the strictest principles was employed to superintend the youth's +education; he was surrounded by domestics of the most established +character, and closely watched and looked after by the anxious father +himself. The years of infancy, childhood, and boyhood, passed as the +father could have wished. A young Nazarene could not have been bred up +with more rigour. All that was evil was withheld from his observation--he +only heard what was pure in precept--he only witnessed what was worthy +in practice. But when the boy began to be lost in youth, the attentive +father saw cause for alarm. Shades of sadness, which gradually assumed +a darker character, began to overcloud the young man's temper. Tears, +which seemed involuntary, broken sleep, moonlight wanderings, and a +melancholy for which he could assign no reason, seemed to threaten at +once his bodily health and the stability of his mind. The astrologer +was consulted by letter, and returned for answer, that this fitful state +of mind was but the commencement of his trial, and that the poor youth +must undergo more and more desperate struggles with the evil that +assailed him. There was no hope of remedy, save that he showed steadiness +of mind in the study of the Scriptures. "He suffers," continued the +letter of the sage, "from the awakening of these harpies, the passions, +which have slept with him as with others, till the period of life which +he has now attained. Better, far better, that they torment him by +ungrateful cravings, than that he should have to repent having satiated +them by criminal indulgence." The dispositions of the young man were so +excellent, that he combated, by reason and religion, the fits of gloom +which at times overcast his mind; and it was not till he attained the +commencement of his twenty-first year, that they assumed a character +which made his father tremble for the consequences. It seemed as if the +gloomiest and most hideous of mental maladies were taking the form of +religious despair. Still the youth was gentle, courteous, affectionate, +and submissive to his father's will, and resisted with all his power the +dark suggestions which were breathed into his mind, as it seemed, by +some emanation of the Evil Principle, exhorting him, like the wicked +wife of Job, to curse God and die. + +The time at length arrived when he was to perform what was then thought +a long and somewhat perilous journey, to the mansion of the early friend +who had calculated his nativity. His road lay through several places of +interest, and he enjoyed the amusement of travelling more than he +himself thought would have been possible. Thus he did not reach the +place of his destination till noon, on the day preceding his birthday. +It seemed as if he had been carried away with an unwonted tide of +pleasurable sensation, so as to forget, in some degree, what his father +had communicated concerning the purpose of his journey. He halted at +length before a respectable but solitary old mansion, to which he was +directed as the abode of his father's friend. The servants who came to +take his horse, told him he had been expected for two days. He was led +into a study, where the stranger, now a venerable old man, who had been +his father's guest, met him with a shade of displeasure as well as +gravity on his brow. "Young man," said he, "wherefore so slow on a +journey of such importance?" "I thought," replied the guest, blushing +and looking downwards, "that there was no harm in travelling slowly and +satisfying my curiosity, providing I could reach your residence by this +day; for such was my father's charge." "You were to blame," replied the +sage, "in lingering, considering that the avenger of blood was pressing +on your footsteps. But you are come at last, and we will hope for the +best, though the conflict in which you are to be engaged will be found +more dreadful the longer it is postponed. But first accept of such +refreshments as nature requires to satisfy, but not to pamper, the +appetite." The old man led the way into a summer parlour, where a frugal +meal was placed on the table. As they sat down to the board, they were +joined by a young lady about eighteen years of age, and so lovely, that +the sight of her carried off the feelings of the "young stranger" from +the peculiarity and mystery of his own lot, and riveted his attention to +every thing she did or said. She spoke little, and it was on the most +serious subjects. She played on the harpsichord at her father's command, +but it was hymns with which she accompanied the instrument. At length, +on a sign from the sage, she left the room, turning on the young +stranger, as she departed, a look of inexpressible anxiety and interest. +The old man then conducted the youth to his study, and conversed with +him upon the most important points of religion, to satisfy himself that +he could render a reason for the faith that was in him. During the +examination, the youth, in spite of himself, felt his mind occasionally +wander, and his recollections go in quest of the beautiful vision who +had shared their meal at noon. On such occasions, the astrologer looked +grave, and shook his head at this relaxation of attention; yet, on the +whole, he was pleased with the youth's replies. At sunset the young man +was made to take the bath; and, having done so, he was directed to +attire himself in a robe, somewhat like that worn by Armenians, having +his long hair combed down on his shoulders, and his neck, hands, and +feet bare. In this guise he was conducted into a remote chamber totally +devoid of furniture, excepting a lamp, a chair, and a table, on which +lay a Bible. "Here," said the astrologer, "I must leave you alone, to +pass the most critical period of your life. If you can, by recollection +of the great truths of which we have spoken, repel the attacks which +will be made on your courage and your principles, you have nothing to +apprehend. But the trial will be severe and arduous." His features then +assumed a pathetic solemnity, the tears stood in his eyes, and his voice +faltered with emotion as he said, "Dear child, at whose coming into the +world I foresaw this fatal trial, may God give thee grace to support it +with firmness!" The young man was left alone; and hardly did he find +himself so, when, like a swarm of demons, the recollection of all his +sins of omission and commission, rendered even more terrible by the +scrupulousness with which he had been educated, rushed on his mind, and, +like furies armed with fiery scourges, seemed determined to drive him to +despair. As he combated these horrible recollections with distracted +feelings, but with a resolved mind, he became aware that his arguments +were answered by the sophistry of another, and that the dispute was no +longer confined to his own thoughts. The Author of Evil was present in +the room with him in bodily shape, and, potent with spirits of a +melancholy cast, was impressing upon him the desperation of his state, +and urging suicide as the readiest mode to put an end to his sinful +career. Amid his errors, the pleasure he had taken in prolonging his +journey unnecessarily, and the attention which he had bestowed on the +beauty of the fair female, when his thoughts ought to have been +dedicated to the religious discourse of her father, were set before him +in the darkest colours; and he was treated as one who, having sinned +against light, was, therefore, deservedly left a prey to the Prince of +Darkness. As the fated and influential hour rolled on, the terrors of +the hateful Presence grew more confounding to the mortal senses of the +victim, and the knot of the accursed sophistry became more inextricable +in appearance, at least to the prey whom its meshes surrounded. He had +not power to explain the assurance of pardon which he continued to +assert, or to name the victorious name in which he trusted. But his +faith did not abandon him, though he lacked for a time the power of +expressing it. "Say what you will," was his answer to the Tempter; +"I know there is as much betwixt the two boards of this Book as can +insure me forgiveness for my transgressions, and safety for my soul." +As he spoke, the clock, which announced the lapse of the fatal hour, +was heard to strike. The speech and intellectual powers of the youth were +instantly and fully restored; he burst forth into prayer, and expressed, +in the most glowing terms, his reliance on the truth, and on the Author, +of the gospel. The demon retired, yelling and discomfited; and the old +man, entering the apartment, with tears congratulated his guest on his +victory in the fated struggle. The young man was afterwards married +to the beautiful maiden, the first sight of whom had made such an +impression on him, and they were consigned over at the close of the +story to domestic happiness.--So ended John MacKinlay's legend. + +The author of Waverley had imagined a possibility of framing an +interesting, and perhaps not an unedifying, tale, out of the incidents +of the life of a doomed individual, whose efforts at good and virtuous +conduct were to be for ever disappointed by the intervention, as +it were, of some malevolent being, and who was at last to come off +victorious from the fearful struggle. In short, something was meditated +upon a plan resembling the imaginative tale of Sintram and his +Companions, by Mons. Le Baron de la Motte Fouqué, although, if it then +existed, the author had not seen it. The scheme projected may be +traced in the first three or four chapters of the work, but farther +consideration induced the author to lay his purpose aside. In changing +his plan, however, which was done in the course of printing, the early +sheets retained the vestiges of the original tenor of the story, +although they now hang upon it as an unnecessary and unnatural +encumbrance. + + * * * * * + +Sir Walter then points out his departures from this rude sketch, and +mentions the prototypes of several of his principal characters; such as +Jean (and her granddaughter Madge) Gordon, of Kirk Yetholm, for Meg +Merrilies; and a nameless individual for Dominie Sampson. "Such a +preceptor as Mr. Sampson," says he, "is supposed to have been, was +actually tutor in the family of a gentleman of considerable property. +The young lads, his pupils, grew up and went out in the world, but the +tutor continued to reside in the family, no uncommon circumstance in +Scotland (in former days), where food and shelter were readily afforded +to humble friends and dependents. The laird's predecessors had been +imprudent, he himself was passive and unfortunate. Death swept away his +sons, whose success in life might have balanced his own bad luck and +incapacity. Debts increased and funds diminished, until ruin came. The +estate was sold; and the old man was about to remove from the house of +his fathers, to go he knew not whither, when, like an old piece of +furniture, which, left alone in its wonted corner, may hold together for +a long while, but breaks to pieces on an attempt to move it, he fell +down on his own threshold under a paralytic affection. The tutor +awakened as from a dream. He saw his patron dead, and that his patron's +only remaining child, an elderly woman, now neither graceful nor +beautiful, if she had ever been either the one or the other, had by this +calamity become a homeless and penniless orphan. He addressed her nearly +in the words which Dominie Sampson uses to Miss Bertram, and professed +his determination not to leave her. Accordingly, roused to the exercise +of talents which had long slumbered, he opened a little school, and +supported his patron's child for the rest of her life, treating her with +the same humble observance and devoted attention which he had used +towards her in the days of her prosperity." + + * * * * * + + + +NOTES OF A READER + + * * * * * + +JOHN KEMBLE AND MISS OWENSON. + + +There is more of the patter and fun of fashion in Lady Morgan's books +than in any other chronicles of the _ton_. Her last work, the _Book of +the Boudoir_, to use an Hibernicism, is not yet published; but from one +of its scenes shifted into the _Court Journal_, we pick the following +anecdote of John Kemble and her ladyship, (then Miss Owenson), about +twenty years since. All the town were then running mad after her "wild +Irish girl," and Miss O. was invited to a blue-stocking party, at the +mansion of the Dowager Countess of Cork, in New Burlington Street. + +"Mr. Kemble was announced. Lady C----k reproached him as 'the late Mr. +Kemble;' and then, looking significantly at me, told him who I was. +Kemble, to whom I had been already presented by Mrs. Lefanu, +acknowledged me by a kindly nod; but the intense stare which succeeded, +was not one of mere recognition. It was the glazed, fixed look, so +common to those who have been making libations to altars which rarely +qualify them for ladies' society. Mr. Kemble was evidently much +pre-occupied, and a little exalted; and he appeared actuated by some +intention, which he had the will, but not the power, to execute. He was +seated _vis-à-vis_, and had repeatedly raised his arm, and stretched it +across the table, for the purpose, as I supposed, of helping himself to +some boar's head in jelly. Alas, no!--the _bore_ was, that my head +happened to be the object which fixed his tenacious attention; and which +being a true Irish _cathah_ head, dark, cropped, and curly, and struck +him as a particularly well organized Brutus, and better than any in his +_repertoire_ of theatrical perukes. Succeeding at last in his feline and +fixed purpose, he actually struck his claws in my locks, and addressing +me in the deepest sepulchral tones, asked--"Little girl, where did you +buy your wig?" + +Lord Erskine "came to the rescue," and liberated my head. + +Lord Carysfort exclaimed, to relieve the awkwardness of the scene, +"_les serpents de l'envie ont sifflés dans son coeur_;" on every side-- + + "Some did laugh, + And some did say, God bless us," + +--while I, like Macbeth-- + + "Could not say, Amen." + +Meantime Kemble, peevish, as half-tipsy people generally are, and ill +brooking the interference of the two peers, drew back, muttering and +fumbling in his coat-pocket, evidently with some dire intent lowering in +his eyes. To the amusement of all, and to my increased consternation, he +drew forth a volume of the "Wild Irish Girl," (which he had brought to +return to Lady C----k) and, reading, with his deep, emphatic voice, one +of the most high-flown of its passages, he paused, and patting the page +with his forefinger, with the look of Hamlet addressing Polonius, he +said, "Little girl, why did you write such nonsense? And where did you +get all these d--d hard words?" + +Thus taken by surprise, and "smarting with my wounds" or mortified +authorship, I answered, unwittingly and witlessly, the truth: "Sir, +I wrote as well as I could, and I got the hard words out of Johnson's +Dictionary." + +The eloquence of Erskine himself would have pleaded my cause with less +effect; and the "_J'y allois_" of _La Fontaine_ was not quoted with more +approbation in the circles of Paris, than the _naïveté_ of my equally +veracious and spontaneous reply. The triumph of my simplicity did not +increase Kemble's good humour; and, shortly after, Mr. Spenser carried +him off in his carriage, to prevent any further attacks on my +unfortunate head--inside or out. + + * * * * * + + +WOMAN. + + +There is no doubt that the proper study of mankind is WOMAN; and Mr. +Pope was wrong; for the endless variety of character among the sex is +of itself a mine, endless and inexhaustible; but to study them in their +domestic capacity, is the sweetest of all-- + + Man may for wealth or glory roam, + But woman must be blest at home. + To this her efforts ever tend, + 'Tis her great object and her end. + +So says one poet, I have forgot his name. Another hath this expression-- + + O woman! lovely woman! Nature form'd thee + To temper man; we had been brutes without thee. + +But the sweetest thing that ever was said of woman in this amiable +capacity, or ever will be said again, is by a contemporary:--"A woman's +whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world; it +is there her ambition strives for empire; it is there her avarice seeks +for hidden treasures. She sends forth her sympathies in adventure; she +embarks her whole soul in the traffic of affection; and if shipwrecked, +her case is hopeless, for it is a bankruptcy of the heart!"--_The +Ettrick Shepherd._ + + * * * * * + + +BURMESE TEMPLES. + + +In the Burman towns and villages the number of temples seem to +exceed the number of dwellings, which is not unusual. The former +are as splendid as gilding can make them, and the latter as humble +as can be conceived from the frail materials of which they are +constructed--bamboos, palm leaves, and grass. The wealth of a Burman, +always insecure, is very generally expended on the luxury of +temple-building. Religious merit, indeed, consists mainly in the +construction of one of these huge, costly, and showy edifices; and is +not considered as increased by building a durable one. No one ever +thinks of repairing or restoring an old temple; and the consequence is, +that in every part of the country may be seen half-finished structures +of enormous magnitude--the respective founders having died before they +were completed.--_Crawfurd's Embassy to Ava._ + + * * * * * + +Valmontone, on the road from Naples to Rome, is a strange but enchanting +spot, enveloped in shade, with magnificent rocks (agglomerated volcanic +ashes) hollowed into caverns, which afford coolness in this burning +climate, and where an incredible number of nightingales make the whole +air musical. The little town rose picturesquely on its rocky pedestal, +with a large building like a monastery inhabited by myriads of swallows, +darting in and out at its sashless windows. A solitary guardian eyed us +through a door a-jar, but did not come out, while we went round the +church, and admired some good pictures remaining on its walls. The +stillness of death prevailed in the town--a sort of unburied Pompeii +through its narrow lanes, up and down zig-zag stairs cut in the rock, we +sauntered alone, and the noise of our iron-shod heels on the pavement, +was the only sound we heard. The rich abbey, it was evident, had +formerly fed the town clustering round it, the inhabitants of which +cultivated its vast domains under a paternal administration. These +domains, it was also evident, had passed into the hands of upstart +speculators, strangers to the people, and indifferent to their welfare, +who did not even know how to make their wealth productive to +themselves.--_Simond's Tour._ + + * * * * * + + +ENGLISH AND FRENCH MURDERS. + + +When will the French nation be able to afford a Thurtell--a man who +could turn his pistol round in his _friend's_ brains; not in any insane +paroxysm of jealousy, or hatred, or revenge, but merely to ascertain +_satisfactorily_ that he had completely effected his business--who could +then walk in to his supper of pork chops, with the same composure as if +he had come from giving a feed of oats to his horse--a clever and acute +man, too, without any stupid insensibility of mind--a man who, when +seized and put on his trial, gets off by heart a long and eloquent +speech, full of the most solemn and false asseverations of his +innocence; not that he clung with desperate eagerness to the hope of +escaping, but that, as there was a chance, it was prudent not to throw +it away--who, when condemned displayed neither terror nor indifference, +neither exquisite sensibility nor sullen brutality, and at the last +swung out of life from the gallows with the settled air of a man who +feels he has lost the game at which he played, and that he may as well +pay the stake calmly? There was a true British composure about the +unutterable atrocity of this villain--murderer he was, and a most +detestable murderer too--but his character belongs to our country as +fully as that of our heroes. Hunt and Probert were pitiful wretches, +fit for the Bicêtre. Doubtless the agony of Hunt's feelings until his +reprieve came, would, if properly divided into chapters, make a good +romance.--_Blackwood's Mag._ + + * * * * * + + +PETROLEUM. + + +Petroleum wells supply the whole Burman empire with oil for lamps, and +also for smearing timber, to protect it against insects, and +particularly the white ant. Its consumption for burning is stated to be +universal, until its price reaches that of sesamum oil, the only other +kind used for lamps. The wells, which occupy a space of about sixteen +square miles, vary in depth from two hundred to two hundred and fifty +feet; the shaft is square, not more than four feet each side, and is +formed by sinking a frame of wood. The oil, on coming up, is about the +temperature of ninety degrees of Fahrenheit. It is thrown into a large +cistern, in the bottom of which are small apertures for the aqueous part +to drain off, when the oil is left for some time to thicken. It is +then put into large earthen jars, placed in rude carts drawn by oxen, +and carried to the banks of the river, from whence it is sent by +water-carriage to every part of the empire. By the number and burden of +the boats employed in this trade, and the number of voyages they are +supposed to make in the course of a year, the exportation from the wells +is estimated to amount to 17,568,000 _vis_, of twenty-six pounds and a +half each. Thirty _vis_ a-year is reckoned to be the average consumption +of a family of five persons and a half; and about two-thirds of the oil +are supposed to be employed for burning.--_Crawfurd's Embassy to Ava._ + + * * * * * + + +SIGNS OF THE TIMES. + + +Think how the dog, fond and faithful creature as he is, from being the +most docile and obedient of all animals, is made the most dangerous, if +he become mad; so men acquire a frightful and not less monstrous power +when they are in a state of moral insanity, and break loose from their +social and religious obligations. Remember too how rapidly the plague of +diseased opinions is communicated, and that if it once gain head, it is +as difficult to be stopt as a conflagration or a flood.--_Southey._ + + * * * * * + + +SOFT MUSIC. + + +The effect of soft music is to produce pleasure or pain, according to +the state of the hearer. Thus, while a musician has been known to be +_cured_ by a concert in his chamber, the celebrated sentimental air of +the "_Ranz des Vaches_" has also been known to have the opposite effect +of _killing_ a Swiss. Indeed, the extraordinary effect produced by it +upon Swiss troops has caused it to be forbidden, under _pain of death_, +to be played to them. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE GATHERER. + + A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. + SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +BEETLES + + +Are unsightly insects--yet how many of them have been spared by the +recollection of Shakspeare's beautiful lines-- + + --The poor beetle, that we tread upon. + In corporal suffering finds a pang as great + As when a giant dies. + + * * * * * + + +SNAILS. + + +Snails, though in England they cannot be mentioned as an article of food +without exciting disgust, are esteemed in many places abroad a delicacy +even for the tables of the great. In Paris they are sold in the market; +they are much esteemed in Italy, and are of so much consequence in +Venice that they are attended and fattened with as much care as poultry +are in England. + + * * * * * + + +THE BITER BIT. + + +Zeno, the philosopher, believed in an inevitable destiny, and +acknowledged but one God. His servant availed himself of this doctrine +one day while being beaten for a theft, by exclaiming, "Was I not +destined to rob?" "Yes," replied Zeno, "and to be corrected also." + + * * * * * + + +PRIDE. + + +Theophile, the French poet, dedicated a book to James I. of England, +in the hope of being personally introduced to that monarch, but being +disappointed in this expectation he wrote the following lines on the +subject:-- + + "Si Jacques Roi de grand savoir + N'a pas trouvé bon de me voir, + En voici la cause infallible; + C'est que ravi de mon ecrit + Il cout que j'etois tout esprit + Et par consequent invisible." + +A.B.M + + * * * * * + + +LONGEVITY. + + +The English have two instances on record of remarkable longevity, that +of Henry Jenkins, a Yorkshire fisherman, who died 1670, aged 169; and +Thomas Parr, who died 1635, aged 152. The Russians appear to be the +longest lived of any people, as a proof of this the following article +from _La Clinique_, a Parisian medical journal, will be sufficient:-- +"Last year (1828) 604 individuals died between 100 and 105 years old; +145 between 105 and 110; 104 between 110 and 115; 46 between 115 and +120; 16 between 125 and 130; 4 between 130 and 135; 1 at the age of 137; +and 1 at 160." + +J.F.C. + + * * * * * + + +SIR WILLIAM WALWORTH. + + +In St. Michael's Church, Crooked-lane, there is a handsome monument to +the memory of Sir William Walworth, with this inscription:-- + + Here under lies a man of fame, + William Walworth called by name, + Fishmonger he was in lifetime here, + And twice Lord Mayor, as in books appear, + Who with courage stout and manly might, + Slew Wat Tyler in King Richard's sight, + And for which act done, and heere intent + The king made him a knight incontinent, + And gave him arms as here may see, + To declare his fact and chivalrie. + He left his life the year of our God, + Thirteen hundred fourscore and three odd. + + + * * * * * + +Collins was never a lover, and never married. His odes, with all their +exquisite fancy and splendid imagery, have not much interest in their +subjects, and no pathos derived from feeling or passion. He is reported +to have been once in love; and as the lady was a day older than himself, +he used to say jestingly, that "he came into the world _a day after the +fair_." + + * * * * * + + + +_LIMBIRD'S EDITIONS._ + +CHEAP and POPULAR WORKS published at the MIRROR OFFICE in the Strand, +near Somerset House. + +The ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS. Embellished with nearly 150 +Engravings. Price 6s. 6d. boards. + +The TALES of the GENII. Price 2s. + +The MICROCOSM. By the Right Hon. G. CANNING. &c. Price 2s. + +PLUTARCH'S LIVES, with Fifty Portraits, 2 vol. price 13s. boards. + +COWPER'S POEMS, with 12 Engravings, price 3s. 6d. boards. + +COOK'S VOYAGES, 2 vols. price 8s. boards. + +The CABINET of CURIOSITIES: or, WONDERS of the WORLD DISPLAYED. Price +5s. boards. + +BEAUTIES of SCOTT, 2 vols. price 7s. boards. + +The ARCANA of SCIENCE for 1828. Price 4s. 6d. + +Any of the above Works can be purchased in Parts. + +GOLDSMITH'S ESSAYS. Price 8d. + +DR. FRANKLIN'S ESSAYS. Price 1s. 2d. + +BACON'S ESSAYS Price 8d. + +SALMAGUNDI. Price 1s. 8d. + + * * * * * + +_Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143 Strand, (near Somerset House,) +London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market Leipsic; and by all +Newsmen and Booksellers._ + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11219 *** |