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diff --git a/11387-0.txt b/11387-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b4441d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/11387-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1462 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11387 *** + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +Vol. 10, No. 273. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1827. PRICE 2d. + + + +GASPARD MONGE'S MAUSOLEUM. + + +[Illustration] + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.) + +Sir,--As one of your correspondents has favoured you with a drawing of +the gaol I designed for the city and county of Norwich, with which you +have embellished a recent number of the MIRROR, I flatter myself that an +engraving from the drawing I herewith send you of the mausoleum of +Gaspard Monge, which I drew while at Paris, in 1822, will also be +interesting to the readers of your valuable little miscellany. Gaspard +Monge, whose remains are deposited in the burying ground in Pere la +Chaise, at Paris, in a magnificent mausoleum, was professor of geometry +in the Polytechnique School at Paris, and with Denon accompanied +Napoleon Bonaparte on his memorable expedition to Egypt; one to make +drawings of the architectural antiquities and sculpture, and the other +the geographical delineations of that ancient country. He returned to +Paris, where he assisted Denon in the publication of his antiquities. At +his decease the pupils of the Polytechnique School erected this +mausoleum to his memory, as a testimony of their esteem, after a design +made by his friend, Monsieur Denon. The mausoleum is of Egyptian +architecture, with which Denon had become familiarly acquainted. + +There is a bust of Monge placed on a terminal pedestal underneath a +canopy in the upper compartment, which canopy is open in front and in +the back. In the crown cavetto of the cornice is an Egyptian winged +globe, entwined with serpents, emblematical of time and eternity; and on +the faci below is engraved the following line:-- + + A. GASPARD MONGE. + +On each side of the upper compartment is inscribed the following +_memento mori_: + + LES ELEVES + DE L'ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE. + A.G. MONGE. + COMTE DE PELUSE. + +Underneath this inscription is carved in sunk work an Egyptian lotus +flower in an upright position; on the back of the mausoleum is the date +of the year in which Gaspard Monge died. The body is in the cemetery +below. + + AN. MDCCCXX. + +Monge was a man of considerable merit as a geometrician, and, while +living, stood preeminent above his contemporaries in the French school +of that day. He is the author of several works, but his most popular one +is entitled "Gèomètrie Descriptive. par G. Monge, de l'Institut des +Sciences, Lettres et Arts, de l'Ecole Polytechnique; Membre du Sénat +Conservateur, Grand Officier de la Legion d'Honeur et Cointe de +l'Empire." + +The programme to this work is interesting, as it urges the necessity of +making geometry a branch of the national education, and points out the +beneficial results that would arise therefrom. The following is the +translation:-- + +To draw the French nation from the dependence, which, even in the +present day it is obliged to place in foreign industry, it is necessary +first to direct the national education towards the knowledge of those +objects which require a correctness which hitherto has been totally +neglected; to accustom the hands of our artists to the management of the +various instruments that are necessary to measure the different degrees +of work, and to execute them with precision; then the finisher becomes +sensible of the accuracy it will require in the different works, and he +will be enabled to set the necessary value on it. For our artists to +become, from their youth, familiar with geometry, and to be in a +condition to attain it, it is necessary in the second place to render +popular the knowledge of a great number of natural phenomena that are +indispensable to the progress of industry; they will then profit for the +advancement of the general instruction of the nation, which by a +fortunate circumstance it has at its disposal, the principal resources +that are necessary for it. Lastly, it is requisite to extend among our +artists the knowledge of the advancement of the arts and that of +machines, whose object is either to diminish manual labour or to give to +the result of labour more uniformity and precision; and on those heads +it must be confessed we have much to draw from foreign nations.[1] All +these views can only be accomplished by giving a new turn to national +education. + + [1] Monsieur Monge has drawn much from our countryman, + Hamilton's work on Stereography but he has not mentioned his + work. + +This is to be done, in the first place, by making all intelligent young +men (who are born with a fortune) familiar with the use of descriptive +geometry, so that they may be able to employ their capital more +profitably both for themselves and the nation, and also for those who +have no other fortune than their education, so that their labour will +bring them the greater reward. This art has two principal objects, the +first to represent with exactness, from drawings which have only two +dimensions, objects which have three, and which are susceptible of a +strict definition; under this point of view it is a language necessary +to the man of genius when he conceives a project, and to those who are +to have the direction of it; and lastly, to the artists who are +themselves to execute the different parts. + +The second object of descriptive geometry, is to deduce from the exact +description of bodies all that necessarily follows of their forms and +their respective positions; in this sense it is a means of seeking +truth, as it offers perpetual examples of the passage from what is known +to what is unknown, and as it is always applied to objects susceptible +of the minutest evidence, it is necessary that it should form part of +the plan of a national education. It is not only fit to exercise the +intellectual faculties of a great people, and to contribute thereby to +the perfection of mankind, but it is also indispensable to all workmen, +whose end is to give to certain bodies determined forms, and it is +principally owing to the methods of this art having been too little +extended, or in fact almost entirely neglected, that the progress of our +industry has been so slow. We shall contribute then to give an +advantageous direction to national education, by making our young artist +familiar with the application of descriptive geometry, to the graphic +constructions which are necessary in the greater number of the arts, and +in making use of this geometry in the representation and determination +of the elements of machinery, by means of which, man by the aid of the +forces of nature, reserves for himself, in a manner, in his operations +no other labour than that of his intellects. It is no less advantageous +to extend the knowledge of those phenomena of nature which may be turned +to the profit of the arts. The charm which accompanies them will +overcome the repugnance that men have in general for manual operations, +(which most regard as painful and laborious,) as it will make them find +pleasure in the exercise of their intellect; thus there ought to be in +the formal school a course of descriptive geometry. + +As yet we have no well compiled elementary work on that art, because +till this time learned men have taken too little interest in it, or it +has only been practised in an obscure manner by persons whose education +had not been sufficiently extended, and were unable to communicate the +result of their lucubrations. A course simply oral would be absolutely +without effect. It is necessary then, for the course of descriptive +geometry, that practice and execution be joined to the hearing of +methods; thus pupils will be exercised in graphic construction of +descriptive geometry. The graphic arts have general methods with which +we can only become familiar by the use of the rule and compass. Among +the different applications that may be made of descriptive geometry, +there are _two_ which are remarkable, both for their universality and +their ingenuity; these are the constructions of _perspective_ and the +strict determination of the _shadows_. These two parts may finally be +considered as the completion of the art of describing objects. + +R. BROWN. + + * * * * * + + + +AN IDLER'S ALBUM; OR, SKETCHES OF MEN AND THINGS. + + +THE RADIANT BOY. + + +It is now more than twenty years since the late Lord Londonderry was, +for the first time, on a visit to a gentleman in the north of Ireland. +The mansion was such a one as spectres are fabled to inhabit. It was +associated with many recollections of historic times, and the sombre +character of its architecture, and the wildness of its surrounding +scenery, were calculated to impress the soul with that tone of +melancholy and elevation, which,--if it be not considered as a +predisposition to welcome the visitation of those unearthly substances +that are impalpable to our sight in moments of less hallowed +sentiment,--is indisputably the state of mind in which the imagination +is most readily excited, and the understanding most favourably inclined +to grant a credulous reception to its visions. The apartment also which +was appropriated to Lord Londonderry, was calculated to foster such a +tone of feeling. From its antique appointments; from the dark and +richly-carved panels of its wainscot; from its yawning width and height +of chimney--looking like the open entrance to a tomb, of which the +surrounding ornaments appeared to form the sculptures and the +entablature;--from the portraits of grim men and severe-eyed women, +arrayed in orderly procession along the walls, and scowling a +contemptuous enmity against the degenerate invader of their gloomy +bowers and venerable halls; from the vast, dusky, ponderous, and +complicated draperies that concealed the windows, and hung with the +gloomy grandeur of funereal trappings about the hearse-like piece of +furniture that was destined for his bed,--Lord L., on entering his +apartment, might be conscious of some mental depression, and surrounded +by such a world of melancholy images, might, perhaps, feel himself more +than usually inclined to submit to the influences of superstition. It is +not possible that these sentiments should have been allied to any +feelings of apprehension. Fear is acknowledged to be a most mighty +master over the visions of the imagination. It can "call spirits from +the vasty deep"--and they do come, when it does call for them. It +trembles at the anticipation of approaching evil, and then encounters in +every passing shadow the substance of the dream it trembled at. But such +could not have been the origin of the form which addressed itself to the +view of Lord Londonderry. Fear is a quality that was never known to +mingle in the character of a Stewart. Lord Londonderry examined his +chamber--he made himself acquainted with the forms and faces of the +ancient possessors of the mansion, who sat up right in their ebony +frames to receive his salutation; and then, after dismissing his valet, +he retired to bed. His candles had not been long extinguished, when he +perceived a light gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopy over his +head. Conscious that there was no fire in the grate--that the curtains +were closed--that the chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few +moments before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally +entered his apartment; and, turning hastily round to the side from which +the light proceeded--saw--to his infinite astonishment--not the form of +any human visiter--but the figure of a fair boy, who seemed to be +garmented in rays of mild and tempered glory, which beamed palely from +his slender form, like the faint light of the declining moon, and +rendered the objects which were nearest to him dimly and indistinctly +visible. The spirit stood at some short distance from the side of the +bed. Certain that his own faculties were not deceiving him, but +suspecting that he might be imposed upon by the ingenuity of some of the +numerous guests who were then visiting in the same house, Lord +Londonderry proceeded towards the figure. It retreated before him. As he +slowly advanced, the form, with equal paces, slowly retired. It entered +the vast arch of the capacious chimney, and then sunk into the earth. +Lord L. returned to his bed; but not to rest. His mind was harassed by +the consideration of the extraordinary event which had occurred to him. +Was it real?--was it the work of imagination?--was it the result of +imposture?--It was all incomprehensible. He resolved in the morning not +to mention the appearance till he should have well observed the manners +and the countenances of the family: he was conscious that, if any +deception had been practised, its authors would be too delighted with +their success to conceal the vanity of their triumph. When the guests +assembled at the breakfast-table, the eye of Lord Londonderry searched +in vain for those latent smiles--those cunning looks--that silent +communication between the parties--by which the authors and abettors of +such domestic conspiracies are generally betrayed. Every thing +apparently proceeded in its ordinary course. The conversation flowed +rapidly along from the subjects afforded at the moment, without any of +the constraint which marks a party intent upon some secret and more +interesting argument, and endeavouring to afford an opportunity for its +introduction. At last the hero of the tale found himself compelled to +mention the occurrences of the night. It was most extraordinary--he +feared that he should not be credited: and then, after all due +preparation, the story was related. Those among his auditors who, like +himself, were strangers and visiters in the house, were certain that +some delusion must have been practised. The family alone seemed +perfectly composed and calm. At last, the gentleman whom Lord +Londonderry was visiting, interrupted their various surmises on the +subject by saying:--"The circumstance which you have just recounted must +naturally appear most extraordinary to those who have not long been +inmates of my dwelling, and are not conversant with the legends +connected with my family; to those who are, the event which has happened +will only serve as the corroboration of an old tradition that long has +been related of the apartment in which you slept. You have seen _the +Radiant Boy_; and it is an omen of prosperous fortunes;--I would rather +that this subject should no more be mentioned." + +The above adventure is one very commonly reported of the late Marquis of +Londonderry; and is given on the authority of a gentleman, to whom that +nobleman himself related it.--_The Album_. + + * * * * * + + +THE CROSS ROADS. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + + Methought upon a mountain's brow + Stood Glory, gazing round him; + And in the silent vale below + Lay Love, where Fancy found him; + While distant o'er the yellow plain + Glittering Wealth held wide domain. + + Glory was robed in light; and trod + A brilliant track before him, + He gazed with ardour, like a god, + And grasp'd at heaven o'er him; + The meteor's flash his beaming eye, + The trumpet's shriek his melody. + + But Love was robed in roses sweet, + And zephyrs murmur'd nigh him, + Flowers were blooming at his feet, + And birds were warbling by him: + His eyes soft radiance seem'd to wear, + For tears and smiles were blended there. + + Gay Wealth a gorgeous train display'd. + (And Fancy soon espied him,) + Supine, in splendid garb array'd, + With Luxury beside him; + He dwelt beneath a lofty dome, + Which Pride and Pleasure made their home. + + Well; seeking Happiness, I sped, + And, as Hope hover'd o'er me, + I ask'd which way the nymph had fled, + For _four roads_ met before me-- + Whether she'd climb'd the height above, + Or bask'd with Wealth, or slept with Love? + + I paus'd--for in the lonely path, + 'Neath gloomy willows weeping, + Wrapt in his shroud of sullen wrath, + The _Suicide_ was sleeping, + A scathed yew-tree's wither'd limb, + To mark the spot, frown'd o'er him. + + I wept--to think my fellow-man, + (To madness often driven,) + Pursue false Glory's phantoms, then + Lose happiness and heaven: + I wept--for oh! it seem'd to be + A mournful moral meant for me! + + But lo! an aged traveller came, + By Wisdom sent to guide me, + Experience was the pilgrim's name, + And thus he seem'd to chide me-- + "Fool! Happiness is gone the road + That leads to Virtue's calm abode!" + +JESSE HAMMOND. + + * * * * * + + + +MY COMMON-PLACE BOOK. + +NO. XXI. + + + * * * * * + + +ORDEALS. + + +Four kinds of ordeals were chiefly used by our German ancestors:--1. +"The Kamp fight," or combat; during which the spectators were to be +silent and quiet, on pain of losing an arm or leg; an executioner with a +sharp axe. 2. "The fire ordeal," in which the accused might clear his +innocence by holding _red-hot_ iron in his hands, or by walking +blind-fold amidst fiery ploughshares. 3. "The hot-water ordeal," much of +the nature as the last. 4. "The cold-water ordeal:" this need not be +explained, since it is looked on as supreme when a witch is in question. +The cross ordeal was reserved for the clergy. These, if accused, might +prove their innocence by swallowing two consecrated morsels taken from +the altar after proper prayers. If these fragments stuck in the priest's +throat he stood _ipse facto_--condemned; but we have no record of +condemnation. + + * * * * * + + +GEMS. + + +Forgive not the man who gives you _bad_ wine more than once. It is more +than an injury. Cut the acquaintance as you value your life. + +If you see half-a-dozen faults in a woman, you may rest assured she has +a hundred virtues to counterbalance them. I love your faulty, and fear +your _faultless women_. When you see what is termed a faultless woman, +dread her as you would a beautiful snake. The power of completely +concealing the defects that she must have, is of itself a serious vice. + +If you find no more books in a man's room, save some four or five, +including the red-book and the general almanac, you may set down the +individual as a man of genius, or an ass;--there is no medium. + +The eye is never to be mistaken. A person may discipline the muscles of +the face and voice, but there is a something in the eye beyond the will, +and we thus frequently find it giving the tongue the lie direct. + +I never knew a truly estimable man offer a finger, it is ever a sign of +a cold heart; and he who is heartless is positively worthless, though he +may be negatively harmless. + +Cut the acquaintance of any lady who signs a letter with "_yours +obediently_." + +Always act in the presence of children with the utmost circumspection. +They mark all you do, and most of them are more wise than you may +imagine. + +Men of genius make the most ductile husbands. A fool has too much +opinion of his own dear self, and too little of women's to be easily +governed. + +A passion for sweetmeats, and a weak intellect, generally go together. + +I have known many fools to be gluttons, but never knew one that was an +epicure. + +The affection of women is the most wonderful thing in the world; it +tires not--faints not--dreads not--cools not. It is like the Naptha that +nothing can extinguish but the trampling foot of death. + +There is a language in flowers, which is very eloquent--a philosophy +that is instructive. Nature appears to have made them as emblems of +women. The timid snow-drop, the modest violet, the languid primrose, the +coy lily, the flaunting tulip, the smart marigold, the lowly blushing +daisy, the proud foxglove, the deadly nightshade, the sleepy poppy, and +the sweet solitary eglantine, are all types. + +W.C. B---- M. + + * * * * * + +There are a set of malicious, prating, prudent gossips, both male and +female, who murder characters to kill time; and will rob a young fellow +of his good name before he has years to know the value of +it.--_Sheridan_. + + * * * * * + + + +MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS. + +No. XII. + + + * * * * * + + +A BURMESE EXECUTION. + + +The scene took place at Rangoon, and the sufferers were men of desperate +characters, who merited death. At a short distance from the town, on the +road known to the army by the name of the Forty-first Lines, is a small +open space, which formerly was railed in: and here all criminals used to +be executed. On this occasion several gibbets, about the height of a +man, were erected, and a large crowd of Burmans assembled to feast their +eyes on the sanguinary scene that was to follow. + +When the criminals arrived, they were tied within wooden frames, with +extended arms and legs, and the head-executioner going round to each, +marked with a piece of chalk, on the side of the men, in what direction +his assistant (who stood behind him with a sharpened knife,) was to make +the incision. On one man he described a circle on the side; another had +a straight line marked down the centre of his stomach; a third was +doomed to some other mode of death; and some were favoured by being +decapitated. These preparations being completed, the assistant +approached the man marked with a circle, and seizing a knife, plunged it +up to the hilt in his side, then slowly and deliberately turning it +round, he finished the circle! The poor wretch rolled his eyes in +inexpressible agony, groaned, and soon after expired; thus depriving +these human fiends of the satisfaction his prolonged torments would have +afforded them. The rest suffered in the same manner; and, from the +specimens I have seen of mangled corpses, I do not think this account +overdrawn. Hanging is a punishment that seldom, if ever, takes place. + +The manner in which slighter punishments are made is peculiar to the +Burmans, and, as nearly as I can make it out, according to our +pronunciation, is called "toung." The delinquent is obliged to kneel +down, and a man stands over him with a bent elbow and clenched fist. He +first rapidly strikes him on the head with his elbow, and then slides it +down until his knuckles repeat the blow, the elbow at the same time +giving a violent smack on the shoulders. This is repeated until it +becomes a very severe punishment, which may be carried to great +excess.--_Two Years in Ava_. + + * * * * * + + + +RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS. + + + * * * * * + + +BILL OF FARE AT AN ANCIENT INSTALMENT. + + +The following is a true copy of the original lodged in the Tower of +London:[2]-- + +George Nevil, brother to the great Earl of Warwick, at his instalment +into his archbishopric of York, in the year 1470, made a feast for the +nobility, gentry, and clergy, wherein he spent: + + 300 quartrs of wheat + 300 ton of ale + 104 ton of wine + 1 pipe of spic'd w. + 80 fat oxen + 6 wild bulls + 300 pigs + 1004 wethers + 300 hogs + 300 calves + 3000 geese + 3000 capons + 100 peacocks + 200 cranes + 200 kids + 2000 chickens + 4000 pidgeons + 4000 rabitts + 204 bitterns + 4000 ducks + 400 hernsies + 200 pheasants + 500 partridges + 4000 woodcocks + 400 plovers + 100 carlews + 100 quails + 1000 eggets + 200 rees + 4000 bucks and does, and roebucks + 155 hot venison pasties + 1000 dishes of jellies + 4000 cold venison past + 2000 hot custards + 4000 ditto cold + 400 tarts + 300 pikes + 300 breams + 8 seals + 4 porpusses + +At this feast the Earl of Warwick was steward; the Earl of Bedford +treasurer; the Lord Hastings comptroller, with many noble officers +servitors. + +1000 cooks. 62 kitchiners. 515 scullions. + + [2] _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. xxx. + + * * * * * + + +THE SERGEANT'S WIFE. + + +A drama, named as above, has been played with eminent success during the +present season at the English Opera House. The plot is founded on the +following horrible occurrence, which actually took place in Ireland in +the year 1813, and which we extract from the columns of an Irish paper +of the same date. The narrative is powerfully worked up in _The +Nowlans_, in the second series of the _O'Hara Tales_, and Mr. Banim is +the author both of the novel and the drama:-- + +"The speech of George Smith, William Smith, and James Smith, who were +lately executed at Longford for the murder of James Reilly, a pedlar, +near Lanes-borough, has been published. It gives the following +description of the inhuman crime for which they suffered: + +"The discovery of this murder, as decreed by the Almighty, was made by +Margaret Armstrong, the wife of Sergeant Armstrong, of the 27th regiment +of foot, on the recruiting service in Athlone. She was going to her +husband, when she was overtaken by this dealing man. He asked her how +far she was going--she answered to Athlone, to her husband, and said as +it was getting late, and being scarce of money, she would make good her +way that night. He then replied, 'my poor woman, let not that hurry you, +I am going to Athlone myself, and there is a lodging at the next cross +at which I mean to stop, be advised, and go no farther to-night, and I +will pay your expenses.' When they came to the house, he asked for a bed +for himself and another for the woman, and called for supper; when that +was over, he paid the bill, and taking out his pocket-book, he counted +150_l._ which he gave in charge to George Smith, and retired to bed; the +woman likewise went to her's, the family sat up till twelve; after +which, when the man was fast asleep and all was silent, we, (the three +Smiths) went into the room where the man lay; we dragged him out of bed, +and cut his throat from ear to ear; we saved his blood in a pewter dish, +and put the body into a flaxseed barrel, among feathers, in which we +covered it up. Take care, and do the same with the woman, _said our +mother_. We accordingly went to her bedside, and saw her hands extended +out of the bed; we held a candle to her eyes, but she did not stir +during the whole time, as God was on her side; for had we supposed that +she had seen the murder committed by us, she would have shared the same +fate with the deceased man. Next morning when she arose, she asked was +the man up? We made answer, that he was gone two hours before, left +sixpence for her, and took her bundle with him. 'No matter,' said she, +'for I will see him in Athlone.' When she went away, I (George Smith) +dressed myself in my sister's clothes, and having crossed the fields, +met her, I asked her how far she was going? She said to Athlone: I then +asked her where she lodged? She told me at one Smith's, a very decent +house, where she met very good entertainment. 'That house bears a bad +name,' said I. 'I have not that to say of them,' said she, 'for they +gave me good usage.' It was not long until we saw a sergeant and two +recruits coming up the road; upon which she cried out, 'here is my +husband coming to meet me; he knew I was coming to him.' I immediately +turned off the road, and made back to the house. When she met her +husband, she fainted; and on recovering, she told him of the murder, and +how she escaped with her life. The husband went immediately and got +guards, and had us taken prisoners; the house was searched, and the +mangled body found in the barrel." The three monsters were, it is +mentioned, ordered for execution from the dock. + + * * * * * + + +ANECDOTES AND RECOLLECTIONS. + + + Notings, selections, + Anecdote and joke: + Our recollections; + With gravities for graver folk. + + * * * * * + + +THE BAR--THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS. + + +It must be admitted (talking of the late _Vice_) that he really was +enough to annoy any sober staid master, by his frolics and gambols since +he has been made a judge. I remember him a quiet good sort of man +enough: with a bed-room and kitchen in the area of No. 11, New-square; +and his dining-room above, serving also for consultations: and his +going, now and then, only to have a game of whist and glass of negus at +Serle's;--but, now, he is a perfect _Monsieur Tonson_ to all continental +travellers. Never can you take up the police-book at the hotels, on the +road to Italy, without _Sir John Leach_ staring you in the face. The +other day at the _Cloche_ at Dijon (I will never go there again, and beg +Sir John to do me the favour to withdraw his patronage also,--the _Parc_ +is worth twenty of it), yawning over my bottle of _Cote d'Or_, I +inquired of the waiter who of my "land's language" had lately been +there. "Vy, Sare, ve have de Milor Leash." "Lord Leash?"--"Oui, +Monsieur;--mais, Fanchette, apportez le livre ici pour Monsieur--le +voila."--"Ah, ha! Sir John Leach; I see."--"Ah qu'il est bon enfant! +qu'il est gai!" exclaimed the _garcon_. "Ah! qu'il est aimable!" sighed +Fanchette--Enter De Molin the banker's little bureau at Lausanne--(by +the way, it is the favourite chamber of Gibbon the historian, and if you +pay the house a visit from motives of curiosity respecting its former +occupant, you will be happy to be allowed to remain and converse with +the actual owner, for a more honourable, liberal, and better-informed +man, does not exist)--there, I say, in the glass over the mantlepiece, +will you see the card of _Sir John Leach_. Milan--Florence--the same. At +Torlogna's the same. Then at Naples: go to San Carlos'; and if you get +behind the scenes, ask for Braccini, the _poetá_ of the theatre, who has +been long in England; "Cospetto di Bacco!" he will exclaim: "il degn +uomo, quel Vice Cancelliere: il Cavaliere _Licci!_--Gran Dio! quale +talento per la musica!-Cappari! egli ha guadagnato i cuori di tutte le +donne Napolitane."[3] I certainly expect to hear him some day astonish +the bar, by unwittingly striking up "O Pescator delle onde," or "Sul +margine del Rio," in the Rolls Court; and, as in ancient Greece ('tis +said) pleadings were chanted, let us yet hope to hear an argument +preferred to the tune of "They are a' noddin, noddin, noddin;" an answer +stated _andante_; a reply given in a _bravura_, and judgment pronounced +_presto_. With all his faults (if they be such, which I do not admit), +the present Master of the Rolls is a good judge, and an able man;--"un +peu vif, peut-etre," as Fanchette might say; and it is more agreeable +than otherwise, to see one who has devoted his life to the study of the +law, enjoying himself in lighter pursuits, after having attained rank +and dignity in the profession; and after having punctually and +satisfactorily executed the important duties of the day, seeking at its +close, and participating in the gaiety which society offers. It speaks a +good heart and cheerful temper; whereas, when we hear a distaste +declared for music, and that of the highest character, we cannot but +call to mind "He who has not the concord of sweet sounds" within +himself;--but I will not pursue the quotation. Besides, were there +persons fools enough to blame Sir John for his social propensities, he +might answer them as the Parisian coachman did.--"What was that?"--"Why, +a French Jehu was tried in 1818, for some accident caused by his +cabriolet, before the Criminal Court of Paris; when, having heard the +evidence, the President of the Tribunal declared that he stood +acquitted, but that the court felt it its duty to blame him, and that he +was blamed accordingly." "Blamed!" exclaimed Jehu; "Blamed!--I don't +quite understand your Honor;--but--but--will it prevent my handling the +ribands, and driving the _wehicle_?"--"No!" said the judge. "Then, with +all respect for your Honor, I just laugh at it," said coachee, bowing. +"And so do I," said the president also, in rising to leave the +court.--_New Monthly Magazine_. + + [3] By Bacchus! what a worthy man is the Vice Chancellor, the + Chevalier Leach! gods! what a taste for music; i' faith he has + gained the hearts of all the Neapolitan ladies. + + * * * * * + + + +FINE ARTS. + + + * * * * * + + +THE CARTOONS OF RAPHAEL. + + +These _Cartoons_ were executed by the famous Raphael, while engaged in +the chambers of the Vatican, under the auspices of Pope Julius II. and +Leo X. As soon as they were finished, they were sent to Flanders to be +copied in tapestry, for adorning the pontifical apartments; but the +tapestries were not conveyed to Rome till after the decease of Raphael, +and probably not before the dreadful sack of that city in 1527, under +the pontificate of Clement VII; when Raphael's scholars having fled from +thence, none were left to inquire after the original Cartoons, which lay +neglected in the storerooms of the manufactory, the money for the +tapestry having never been paid. The revolution that happened soon after +in the low countries prevented their being noticed during a period in +which works of art were wholly neglected. They were purchased by king +Charles I. at the recommendation of Rubens, but had been much injured by +the weavers. At the sale of the royal pictures in 1653, these Cartoons +were purchased for 300_l_. by Oliver Cromwell, against whom no one would +presume to bid. The protector pawned them to the Dutch court for upwards +of 50,000_l._, and, after the revolution, King William brought them over +again to England, and built a gallery for their reception in Hampton +Court. Originally there were twelve of these Cartoons, but four of them +have been destroyed by damps and neglect. The subjects were the +adoration of the Magi, the conversion of St. Paul, the martyrdom of St. +Stephen and St. Paul before Felix and Agrippa. Two of these were in the +possession of the King of Sardinia, and two of Louis XIV. of France, who +is said to have offered 100,000 louis d'ors for the seven, which are +justly represented as "the glory of England, and the envy of all other +polite nations." The twelfth, the subject of which was the murder of the +innocents, belonged to a private gentleman in England, who pledged it +for a sum of money; but when the person who had taken this valuable +deposit found it was to be redeemed, he greatly damaged the drawing; for +which the gentleman brought an action against him. A third part of it is +still remaining in the possession of William Hoare, R.A., at Bath. + +_Cartoon_ is derived from the Italian _cartone_, a painting or drawing +upon large paper. Raphael died on the same day of the year on which he +was born, Good Friday, in 1520, at the age of thirty-seven, deeply +lamented by all who knew his value. His body lay for awhile in state in +one of the rooms wherein he had displayed the powers of his mind, and he +was honoured with a public funeral; his last produce, the +_transfiguration_, being carried before him in the procession. The +unrelenting hand of death (says his biographer) set a period to his +labours, and deprived the world of further benefit from his talents, +when he had only attained an age at which most other men are but +beginning to be useful. "We see him in his cradle (said Fuseli); we hear +him stammer; but propriety rocked the cradle, and character formed his +lips." + +P.T.W. + + * * * * * + + +TO MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. WRITTEN ON VISITING WESTMINSTER ABBEY. + + + My murder'd queen, as on thine image once + The gaze alike of prince and peasant rested-- + As if, unsated of thy thrilling glance, + They never until then of beauty tasted: + So I, by lonely contemplation led + To muse awhile amid the silent dead-- + Turn me from all around I hear or see-- + From all of Shakspeare and of great to thee: + And think on all thy wrongs--on all the shame + That dims for ever thine oppressor's name; + On all thy faults, nor few nor far between, + But then thou wert--a woman and a queen. + Proud titles, even in a barb'rous age, + To stem th' impetuous tide of party rage; + While as I gaze each well-known feature seems + To stir with life, and realise my dreams + That paint thee seated on the Scottish throne, + With all the blaze of beauty round thee thrown; + Then see thee passing from thy dungeon cell, + And hear thy parting sigh--thy last farewell. + +_Stray Leaves._ + + * * * * * + + +ANCIENT GRECIAN SEPULCHRE + + +[Illustration] + +A beautiful illustration of an ancient Grecian sepulchre or funeral +chamber, heads the second chapter of Mr. Britton's "Union of +Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting," from which work we have copied +the annexed engraved view. The interior of the chamber exhibits a +skeleton and the urns containing the ashes of the dead. The combat leads +us to the conclusion, that the tomb contains the remains of a chief; for +it was the barbarous custom of the Greeks to sacrifice captives at the +tombs of their heroes. + +Of the funeral rites and ceremonies of the Greeks and other nations, we +subjoin the following:-- + +The most simple and natural kind of funeral monuments, and therefore the +most ancient and universal, consist in a mound of earth, or a heap of +stones, raised over the ashes of the departed: of such monuments mention +is made in the Book of Joshua, and in Homer and Virgil. Many of them +still occur in various parts of this kingdom, especially in those +elevated and sequestered situations where they have neither been defaced +by agriculture nor inundation. + +The ancients are said to have buried their dead in their own houses, +whence, according to some, the original of that species of idolatry +consisting in the worship of household gods. + +The place of burial amongst the Jews was never particularly determined. +We find that they had burial-places upon the highways, in gardens, and +upon mountains. We read, that Abraham was buried with Sarah, his wife, +in the cave of Macphelah, in the field of Ephron, and Uzziah, King of +Judah, slept with his fathers in the field of the burial which pertained +to the kings. + +The primitive Greeks were buried in places prepared for that purpose in +their own houses; but in after ages they adopted the judicious practice +of establishing the burial grounds in desert islands, and outside the +walls of towns, by that means securing them from profanation, and +themselves from the liability of catching infection from those who had +died of contagious disorders. + +The Romans prohibited burning or burying in the city, both from a sacred +and civil consideration, that the priests might not be contaminated by +touching a dead body, and that houses might not be endangered by the +frequency of funeral fires. + +The custom of burning the dead had its foundation laid deep in nature: +an anxious fondness to preserve the great and good, the dear friend and +the near relative, was the sole motive that prevailed in the institution +of this solemnity. "That seems to me," says Cicero, "to have been the +most ancient kind of burial, which, according to Xenophon, was used by +Cyrus. For the body is returned to the earth, and so placed as to be +covered with the veil of its mother." Pliny also agrees with Cicero upon +this point, and says the custom of burial preceded that of burning among +the Romans. According to Monfauçon, the custom of burning entirely +ceased at Rome about the time of Theodorius the younger. When cremation +ceased on the introduction of Christianity, the believing Romans, +together with the Romanized and converted Britons, would necessarily, as +it is observed by Mr. Grough, "betake themselves to the use of +sarcophagi (or coffins,) and probably of various kinds, stone, marble, +lead," &c. They would likewise now first place the body in a position +due east and west, and thus bestow an unequivocal mark of distinction +between the funeral deposit of the earliest Roman inhabitants of this +island, and their Christian successors. The usual places of interment +were in fields or gardens,[4] near the highway, to be conspicuous, and +to remind the passengers how transient everything is, that wears the +garb of mortality. By this means, also, they saved the best part of +their land: + + --Experiar quid concedatur in illos + Quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis, atque Latina. + _Juv. Sat I._ + +The Romans commonly built tombs for themselves during their lifetime. +Hence these words frequently occur in ancient inscriptions, V.F. Vivus +Facit, V.S.P. Vivus Sibi Posuit. The tombs of the rich were usually +constructed of marble, the ground enclosed with walls, and planted round +with trees. But common sepulchres were usually built below ground, and +called hypogea. There were niches cut out of the walls, in which the +urns were placed: these, from their resemblance to the niche of a +pigeon-house, were called columbaria. + + [4] Our blessed Saviour chose the garden sometime for his + oratory, and, dying, for the place of his sepulture; and we also + do avouch, for many weighty causes, that there are none more fit + to bury our dead in than in our gardens and groves where our + beds may he decked with verdant and fragrant flowers. Trees and + perennial plants, the most natural and instructive hieroglyphics + of our expected resurrection and immortality, besides what they + might conduce to the meditation of the living, and the taking + off our cogitations from dwelling too intently upon more vain + and sensual objects: that custom of burying in churches, and + near about them, especially in great and populous cities, being + both a novel presumption, indecent, and very prejudicial to + health.--_Evelyn's Discourse on Forest Trees_. + + * * * * * + + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. + + +PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY. + + +I am fond of travelling: yet I never undertake a journey without +experiencing a vague feeling of melancholy. There is to me something +strangely oppressive in the preliminaries of departure. The packing of a +small valise; the settlement of accounts--justly pronounced by Rabelais +a _blue-devilish_ process; the regulation of books and papers;--in +short, the whole routine of valedictory arrangements, are to me as a +nightmare on the waking spirit. They induce a mood of last wills and +testaments--a sense of dislocation, which, next to a vacuum, Nature +abhors--and create a species of moral decomposition, not unlike that +effected on matter by chemical agency. It is not that I have to lament +the disruption of social connexions or domestic ties. This, I am aware, +is a trial sometimes borne with exemplary fortitude; and I was lately +edified by the magnanimous unconcern with which a married friend of mine +sang the last verse of "Home! sweet home!" as the chaise which was to +convey him from the _burthen_ of his song drove up to the door. It does +not become a bachelor to speculate on the mysteries of matrimonial +philosophy; but the feeling of pain with which _I_ enter on the task of +migration has no affinity with individual sympathies, or even with +domiciliary attachments. My landlady is, without exception, the ugliest +woman in London; and the locality of Elbow-lane cannot be supposed +absolutely to spellbind the affection of one occupying, as I do, +solitary chambers on the third floor. + +The case, it may be supposed, is much worse when it is my lot to take +leave, after passing a few weeks at the house of a friend in the +country;--a house, for instance, such as is to be met with only in +England:--with about twenty acres of lawn, but no park; with a +shrubbery, but no made-grounds; with well-furnished rooms, but no +conservatory; and with a garden, in which dandy tulips and high-bred +anemones do not disdain the fellowship of honest artichokes and laughing +cauliflowers--no bad illustration of the republican union of comfort +with elegance which reigns through the whole establishment. The master +of the mansion, perhaps an old and valued schoolfellow:--his wife, a +well-bred, accomplished, and still beautiful woman--cordial, without +vulgarity--refined, without pretension--and informed, without a shade of +blue! Their children!... But my reader will complete the picture, and +imagine, better than I can describe, how one of my temperament must +suffer at quitting such a scene. At six o'clock on the dreaded morning, +the friendly old butler knocks at my room-door, to warn me that the mail +will pass in half an hour at the end of the green lane. On descending to +the parlour, I find that my old friend has, in spite of our over-night +agreement and a slight touch of gout, come down to see me off. His +amiable lady is pouring out for me a cup of tea--assuring me that she +would be quite unhappy at allowing me to depart without that +indispensable prelude to a journey. A gig waits at the door: my +affectionate host will not permit me to walk even half a mile. The +minutes pass unheeded; till, with a face of busy but cordial concern, +the old butler reminds me that the mail is at hand. I bid a hasty and +agitated farewell, and turn with loathing to the forced companionship of +a public vehicle. + +My anti-leave-taking foible is certainly not so much affected when I +quit the residence of an hotel--that public home--that wearisome +resting-place--that epitome of the world--that compound of gregarious +incompatibilities--that bazaar of character--that proper resort of +semi-social egotism and unamalgable individualities--that troublous +haven, where the vessel may ride and tack, half-sheltered, but finds no +anchorage. Yet even the Lilliputian ligatures of such a sojourn +imperceptibly twine round my lethargic habits, and bind me, Gulliver- +like, a passive fixture. Once, in particular, I remember to have _stuck_ +at the Hôtel des Bons Enfants, in Paris--a place with nothing to +recommend it to one of ordinary locomotive energies. But there I stuck. +Business of importance called me to Bordeaux. I lingered for two months. +At length, by one of those nervous efforts peculiar to weak resolutions, +I made my arrangements, secured my emancipation, and found myself on the +way to the starting-place of the Diligence. I well remember the day: +'twas a rainy afternoon in spring. The aspect of the gayest city in the +world was dreary and comfortless. The rain dripped perpendicularly from +the eves of the houses, exemplifying the axiom, that lines are composed +of a succession of points. At the corners of the streets it shot a +curved torrent from the projecting spouts, flooding the channels, and +drenching, with a sudden drum-like sound, the passing umbrellas, whose +varied tints of pink, blue, and orange, like the draggled finery of +feathers and flounces beneath them, only made the scene more glaringly +desolate. Then came the rush and splatter of cabriolets, scattering +terror and defilement. The well-mounted English dandy shows his sense by +hoisting his parapluie; the French dragoon curls his mustachio at such +effeminacy, and braves the liquid bullets in the genuine spirit of +Marengo; the old French count picks his elastic steps with the placid +and dignified philosophy of the _ancien régime_; while the Parisian +dames, of all ranks, ages, and degrees, trip along, with one leg +undraped, exactly in proportion to the shapeliness of its configuration. + +The huge clock of the Messagéries Royales told three as I entered the +gateway. The wide court had an air of humid dreariness. On one side +stood a dozen of those moving caravansaras, the national vehicles, with +their leathern caps--like those of Danish sailors in a north-wester-- +hanging half off, soaked with wet. Opposite was the range of offices, +busy with all the peculiar importance of French _bureaucracie._ Their +clerks, decorated with ribbons and crosses, wield their pens with all +the conscious dignity of secretaries of state; and "_book_" a bale or a +parcel as though they were signing a treaty, or granting an amnesty. The +meanest _employé_ seems to think himself invested with certain occult +powers. His civility savours of government patronage; and his frown is +inquisitorial. To his fellows, his address is abrupt and diplomatic. He +seems to speak in cipher, and to gesticulate by some rule of +freemasonry. But to the _uninitiated_ he is explanatory to a scruple, as +though mischief might ensue from his being misapprehended. He makes sure +of your understanding by an emphasis, which reminds one of the loudness +of tone used towards a person supposed to be hard of hearing--a +proceeding not very flattering where there happens to be neither dulness +nor deafness in the case. In a word, the measured pedantry of his whole +deportment betrays the happy conviction in which he rejoices of being +conversant with matters little dreamt of in your philosophy. Among the +bystanders, too, there are some who might, probably with more reason, +boast their proficiency in mysterious lore--fellows of smooth aspect and +polite demeanour, whom at first you imagine to have become casual +spectators from mere lack of better pastime, but whose furtive glances +and vagrant attention betray the familiars of the police--that complex +and mighty engine of modern structure, which, far more surely than the +"ear of Dionysius," conveys to the tympanum of power each echoed sigh +and reverberated whisper. It is a chilling thing to feel one's budding +confidence in a new acquaintance nipped by such frosty suspicions; +yet--Heaven forgive me!--the bare idea has, before now, caused me to +drop, unscented, the pinch of _carote_ which has been courteously +tendered by some coffee-house companion. In the group before me, I +fancied that I could distinguish some of this ungentle brotherhood; and +my averted eye rested with comparative complacency even on a couple of +_gens d'armes_, who were marching up and down before the door, and whose +long swords and voluminous cocked hats never appeared to me less +offensive. + +In the mean time, knots of travellers were congregating round the +different vehicles about to depart. In the centre of each little band +stood the main point of attraction--Monsieur le Conducteur--that +important personage, whose prototype we look for in vain among the +dignitaries of Lad-lane, or the Bull-and-Mouth, and whose very name can +only be translated by borrowing one of Mr. M'Adam's titles--"the +Colossus of _Roads_." With fur cap, official garb, and the excursive eye +of a martinet, he inspects every detail of preparation--sees each +passenger stowed _seriatim_ in his special place--then takes his +position in front--gives the word to his jack-booted vice, whose +responsive whip cracks assent--and away rolls the ponderous machine, +with all the rumbling majesty of a three-decker from off the +stocks.--_Monthly Magazine_. + + * * * * * + + +EPIGRAM. + + +THE RETORT MEDICAL. + + + Quoth Doctor Squill of Ponder's End, + "Of all the patients I attend, + Whate'er their aches or ails, + None ever will my fame attack." + "None ever can," retorted Jack: + "For dead men tell no tales" + _New Monthly Magazine_. + + * * * * * + + + +THE SELECTOR, AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS. + + + * * * * * + + +CIRCASSIAN WOMEN. + + +We observed two women looking out of a balcony, and earnestly beckoning +to us. We were the more surprised at their appearance, as we believed +that the Mahometan women of the Caucasus, like those of Persia, were +strictly confined to the interior of their houses, or that, at all +events, they never went unveiled, a custom which we found was not +general among the inhabitants of the Caucasus. We, however, entered the +house, and saw in the court two Russian grenadiers, who, by a mistake of +their corporal, had taken there quarters here, and whose presence was +the cause of the inquietude manifested by the two ladies, who, with an +old man, were the only inhabitants of the house. Whilst the soldiers +were explaining these things to us, they appeared at the top of the +stairs, and again renewed their invitation by violent gesticulations. On +a nearer approach, we guessed by their age that they were mother and +daughter. The former, who still preserved much of the freshness and +beauty of youth, wore very tight trousers, a short tunic, and a veil, +which fell in graceful folds on her back, while round her neck she had +some valuable jewels, though badly mounted. With respect to the +daughter, who was scarcely fifteen years of age, she was so +extraordinarily beautiful, that both my companion and myself remained +awhile motionless, and struck with admiration. Never in my life have I +seen a more perfect form. Her dress consisted of a short white tunic, +almost transparent, fastened only at the throat by a clasp. A veil, +negligently thrown over one shoulder, permitted part of her beautiful +ebony tresses to be seen. Her trousers were of an extremely fine tissue, +and her socks of the most delicate workmanship. The old man received us +in a room adjoining the staircase: he was seated on the carpet, smoking +a small pipe, according to the custom of the inhabitants of the +Caucasus, who cultivate tobacco. He made repeated signs to us to sit +down, that is to say, in the Asiatic manner, a posture extremely +inconvenient for those who, like ourselves, wore long and tight +trousers, whilst the two beautiful women on their side earnestly +seconded his request. We complied with it, though it was the first time +that either of us had made the essay. The ladies, having left the room +for a moment, returned with a salver of dried fruits, and a beverage +made of sugar and milk; but I was so much engaged in admiring their +personal attractions, that I paid but little attention to their +presents. It appeared to me an inconceivable caprice of nature to have +produced such prodigies of perfection amidst such a rude and barbarous +people, who value their women less than their stirrups. My companion, +who like myself was obliged to accept of their refreshments, remarked to +me, whilst the old man was conversing with them, what celebrity a woman +so transcendently beautiful as the daughter was would acquire in any of +the capitals of Europe, had she but received the benefits of a suitable +education.--_Van Halen's Narrative._ + + * * * * * + + +AUSTRALIAN IMPORTUNITY. + + +As beggars, the whole world will not produce their match. They do not +attempt to _coax_ you, but firmly rely on incessant importunity; +following you, side by side, from street to street, as constant as your +shadow, pealing in your ears the never ceasing sound of "Massa, gim me a +dum! massa, gim me a dum!" (dump.) If you have the fortitude to resist +_firmly_, on two or three assaults, you may enjoy ever after a life of +immunity; but by once _complying_, you entail yourself a plague which +you will not readily throw off, every gift only serving to embolden them +in making subsequent demands, and with still greater perseverance. +Neither are their wishes moderately gratified on this head--less than a +dump (fifteen pence) seldom proving satisfactory. When walking out one +morning, I accidentally met a young scion of our black tribes, on +turning the corner of the house, who saluted me with "Good morning, sir, +good morning;" to which I in like manner responded, and was proceeding +onwards, when my dingy acquaintance arrested my attention by his loud +vociferation of "Top, sir, I want to peak to you." "Well, what is it?" +said I. "Why, you know I am your _servant_, and you have never paid me +yet." "The devil you are!" responded I "it is the first time I knew of +it, for I do not recollect ever seeing your face before." "Oh yes, I +_am_ your servant," replied he, very resolutely; "don't I top about +Massa ----'s, and boil the kettle sometimes for you in the morning?" I +forthwith put my hand in my pocket, and gave him all the halfpence I +had, which I left him carefully counting, and proceeded on my walk; but +before advancing a quarter of a mile, my ears were again assailed with +loud shouts of "Hallo! top, top!" I turned round, and observed my friend +in "the dark suit" beckoning with his hand, and walking very leisurely +toward me. Thinking he was despatched with some message, I halted, but +as he walked on as slowly as if deeming I ought rather to go to him than +he come to me, I forthwith returned to meet him; but on reaching close +enough, what was my astonishment on his holding out the halfpence in his +open hand, and addressing me in a loud, grumbling, demanding tone +with--"Why this is not enough to buy a loaf! you must give me more." +"Then buy _half_ a loaf," said I, wheeling about and resuming my walk, +not without a good many hard epithets in return from my +kettle-boiler.--_Cunningham's Two Years in New South Wales_. + + * * * * * + + +CONFESSION OF THE EXECUTIONER OF CHARLES I. + + +There have been great disputes about the person who beheaded Charles I. +Mr. Ellis says, "it seems most probable that the person who actually +beheaded the king was the common executioner." And then adds the +following valuable and interesting note, which seems to us to settle the +question. + +"Among the tracts relating to the civil war, which were given to the +British Museum by his late majesty King George III. in 1762, there are +three upon this subject. One is entitled, 'The Confession of Richard +Brandon the Hangman (upon his death-bed), concerning his beheading his +late Majesty. Printed in the year of the hangman's downfall, 1649.' The +second is entitled, 'The last Will and Testament of Richard Brandon,' +printed in the same year. The third is, 'A Dialogue or Dispute between +the late Hangman (the same person), and Death,' in verse, without date. +All three are in quarto." + +The following are the most important paragraphs of the first tract: + +"The confession of the hangman concerning his beheading his late majesty +the king of Great Britain (upon his death-bed) who was buried on +Thursday last in Whitechapel church-yard, with the manner thereof:-- + +"Upon Wednesday last (being the 20th of this instant, June 1649), +Richard Brandon, the late executioner and hangman, who beheaded his late +majesty, king of Great Britain, departed this life; but during the time +of his sicknesse his conscience was much troubled, and exceedingly +perplexed in mind, yet little shew of repentance for remission of his +sins, and by past transgressions, which had so much power and influence +upon him, that he seemed to live in them, and they in him. And on Sunday +last, a young man of his acquaintance going to visit him, fell into +discourse, asked him how he did, and whether he was not troubled in +conscience for cutting off the king's head. He replyed, 'yes, by reason +that (upon the time of his tryall, and at the denouncing of sentence +against him,) he had taken a vow and protestation, wishing God to punish +him body and soul, if ever he appeared on the scaffold to do the act, or +lift up his hand against him.' + +"He likewise confessed that he had thirty pounds for his pains, all paid +him in half-crowns, within an hour after the blow was given; and that he +had an orange stuck full of cloves, and a handkircher out of the king's +pocket, so soon as he was carried off from the scaffold, for which +orange he was proffered twenty shillings by a gentleman in Whitehall, +but refused the same, and afterwards sold it for ten shillings in +Rosemary-lane. About six of the clock at night, he returned home to his +wife living in Rosemary-lane, and gave her the money, saying, that it +was the deerest money that ever he earned in his life, for it would cost +him his life; which prophetical words were soon made manifest, for it +appeared, that ever since he hath been in a most sad condition, and upon +the Almightie's first scourging of him with the rod of sicknesse, and +the friendly admonition of divers friends for the calling of him to +repentance, yet he persisted on in his vicious vices, and would not +hearken thereunto, but lay raging and swearing, and still pointing at +one thing or another, which he conceived to be still visible before +him." + +"About three days before he dy'd, he lay speechlesse, uttering many a +sigh and heavy groan, and so in a most desperate manner departed from +his bed of sorrow. For the buriall whereof great store of wines were +sent in by the sheriff of the city of London, and a great multitude of +people stood wayting to see his corpse carryed to the church-yard, some +crying act, 'Hang him, rogue!' 'Bury him in the dunghill;' others +pressing upon him, saying, they would quarter him for executing of the +king: insomuch that the churchwardens and masters of the parish were +fain to come for the suppressing of them, and (with great difficulty) he +was at last carryed to White Chappell church-yard, having (as it is +said) a bunch of rosemary at each end of the coffin, on the top thereof, +with a rope tyed crosse from one end to the other. + +"And a merry conceited cook living at the sign of the Crown, having a +black fan (worth the value of thirty shillings), took a resolution to +rent the same in pieces, and to every feather tied a piece of +pack-thread dyed in black ink, and gave them to divers persons, who (in +derision) for a while wore them in their hats. + +"Thus have I given thee an exact account and perfect relation of the +life and death of Richard Brandon, to the end that the world may be +convinced of those calumnious speeches and erroneous suggestions which +are dayly spit from the mouth of envy against divers persons of great +worth and eminency, by casting an odium upon them for the executing of +the king; it being now made manifest that the aforesaid executioner was +the only man who gave the fatal blow, and his man that wayted upon him, +was a ragman (of the name of Ralph Jones) living in +Rosemary-lane."--_Ellis's Historical Inquiries._ + + * * * * * + + +A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE. + + +The night was rather dark, and we had not seen the figure of our +postilion, or even heard his voice; but we suspected, by the slowness of +his movements, that he was some old crony of his master. On arriving +towards the end of the relay, he began to blow a bugle with all his +might, surprising us with a number of flourishes. Mr. Koch informed me +that we were going to cross a small river, and that the blast with which +we had been regaled was a warning for the bargeman. Our vehicle then +stopped before the door of an inn, which stood on an elevated spot, and +the postilion, alighting, asked Mr. Koch's permission to enter the inn +to drink a glass of brandy, whilst the bargeman answered his sign. It +was midnight, and we expected soon to cross the river; but after waiting +a quarter of an hour for his return, and seeing that the fellow did not +come out, I alighted, and proceeded towards a window, where a light was +perceivable. As I looked through it, I saw what I certainly did not +expect, but what convinced me that the flourishes of his bugle were +addressed to a very different person from the bargeman. Our postilion +was sitting near a table, with a huge flagon beside him, and a wench on +his knee. Provoked beyond expression at this unseasonable courtship, I +shook the window till it flew open, and, before my companion had time to +alight and witness the scene, both the hero and the heroine came to the +door of the inn, the latter holding a lantern in her hand, by which I +observed she was an ugly kitchen wench of about eighteen, and he a young +man of five-and-twenty. Displeased with my interruption, he muttered +something at my impatience, and at the unseasonableness of my call, and +again blew his bugle, though by no means so vigorously as he had before +done; after which we gained the barge, and continued our way without +farther interruption.--_Van Halen's Narrative._ + + * * * * * + + +BARBARISM OF THE CAUCASIAN TRIBES. + + +Opposite to our encampment, on the other side of the Alazann, and at a +distance of eighteen or twenty wersts, is the city of Belohakan, +situated at the foot of the Caucasus, and inhabited by the Eingalos, a +people whom the Lesghis keep in the most horrible state of slavery, and +who formerly belonged to Georgia; but who being too industrious, and +attached to their native soil, would never abandon it, during the +different revolutions which that country has undergone, and became +subject to their present masters. That city carries on a great trade +with Teflis, principally in bourkas, which are manufactured there; and +as the traders pass through Karakhach, our colonel, who was the +commandant of this district, and from whom they must obtain a passport +for Georgia, was obliged to have near him an Eingalo, who understood the +Russian language, and served as interpreter. This man had become so +familiarized with the officers, that the colonel allowed him to sit at +our table. One day we remarked that the interpreter was absent, a +circumstance which seldom occurred; but, as we were finishing our +dessert, he entered the dining-room in high spirits, bringing under his +arm a bundle, carefully tied, which, he said, contained a fine water +melon for our dessert. This fruit, in the middle of December, is +considered a great delicacy, and we all expressed a wish that he should +produce it, when he immediately untied the bundle, and, to our great +Horror, we beheld the head of a Lesghi, whom he had killed in fight on +the other side of the Alazann during a sporting expedition, roll on the +table. Disgusted at this action, which among these barbarous +mountaineers would pass as an excellent joke, we all rose from table, +and retired to another apartment, whilst the Eingalo sat down to dinner, +and, at every mouthful he took, amused himself with turning the head, +which he kept close to his plate, first one way and then +another.--_Ibid_. + + * * * * * + + + +MISCELLANIES + + + * * * * * + + +RELIGIOUS FORTUNE TELLING. + + +The _Sortes Sanctorum_, or _Sortes Sacrae_, of the Christians, has been +illustrated in the _Classical Journal_. + +These, the writer observes, were a species of divination practised in +the earlier ages of Christianity, and consisted in casually opening the +Holy Scriptures, and from the words which first presented themselves +deducing the future lot of the inquirer. They were evidently derived +from the _Sortes Homerica_ and _Sortes Virgilanae_ of the Pagans, but +accommodated to their own circumstances by the Christians. + +Complete copies of the Old and New Testaments being rarely met with +prior to the invention of printing, the Psalms, the Prophets, or the +four Gospels, were the parts of holy writ principally made use of in +these consultations, which were sometimes accompanied with various +ceremonies, and conducted with great solemnity, especially on public +occasions. Thus the emperor Heraclius in the war against the Persians, +being at a loss whether to advance or retreat, commanded a public fast +for three days, at the end of which he applied to the four Gospels, and +opened upon a text which he regarded as an oracular intimation to winter +in Albania. Gregory, of Tours, also relates that Meroveus, being +desirous of obtaining the kingdom of Chilperic, his father consulted a +female fortune-teller, who promised him the possession of royal estates; +but to prevent deception and to try the truth of her prognostications, +he caused the Psalter, the Book of Kings, and the four Gospels to be +laid upon the shrine of St. Martin, and after fasting and solemn prayer, +opened upon passages which not only destroyed his former hopes, but +seemed to predict the unfortunate events which afterwards befel him. + +A French writer, in 506, says, "this abuse was introduced by the +superstition of the people, and afterwards gained ground by the +ignorance of the bishops." This appears evident from Pithon's Collection +of Canons, containing some forms under the title of _The Lot of the +Apostles_. These were found at the end of the Canons of the Apostles in +the Abbey of Marmousier. Afterwards, various canons were made in the +different councils and synods against this superstition; these continued +to be framed in the councils of London under Archbishop Lanfranc in +1075, and Corboyl in 1126. + +The founder of the Francisians, it seems, having denied himself the +possession of any thing but coats and a cord, and still having doubts +whether he might not possess books, first prayed, and then casually +opened upon Mark, chapter iv, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery +of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things +are done in parables;" from which he drew the conclusion, that books +were not necessary for him. + +One Peter of Thoulouse being accused of heresy, and having denied it +upon oath, one of those who stood by, in order to judge of the truth of +his oath, seized the book upon which he had sworn, and opening it +hastily, met with the words of the devil to our Saviour, "What have we +to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?" and from thence concluded that +the accused was guilty, and had nothing to do with Christ! + +The extraordinary case also of King Charles I. and Lord Falkland, as +applicable to divination of this kind, is related. Being together at +Oxford, they went one day to see the public library, and were shown, +among other books, a Virgil, finely printed and exquisitely bound. Lord +Falkland, to divert the king, proposed that he should make a trial of +his fortune by the _Sortes Virgilanae_. The king opening the book, the +passage he happened to light upon was part of Dido's imprecation against +Aeneas in lib. iv. l. 615. King Charles seeming concerned at the +accident, Lord Falkland would likewise try his own fortune, hoping he +might fall upon some passage that could have no relation to his case, +and thus divert the king's thoughts from any impression the other might +have upon him; but the place Lord Falkland stumbled upon was still more +suited to his destiny, being the expressions of Evander upon the +untimely death of his son Pallas, lib. xi. Lord Falkland fell in the +battle of Newbury, in 1644, and Charles was beheaded in 1649. + +The kind of divination among the Jews, termed by them Bath Kol, or the +daughter of the voice, was not very dissimilar to the _Sortes Sanctorum_ +of the Christians. The mode of practising it was by appealing to the +first words accidentally heard from any one speaking or reading. The +following is an instance from the Talmud:--Rabbi Jochanau and Rabbi +Simeon. Ben Lachish, desiring to see the face of R. Samuel, a Babylonish +doctor: "Let us follow," said they, "the hearing of Bath Kol." +Travelling, therefore, near a school, they heard the voice of a boy: +reading these words out of the First Book of Samuel, "And Samuel died." +They observed this, and inferred from hence that their friend Samuel was +dead, and so they found it. Some of the ancient Christians too, it +seems, used to go to church with a purpose of receiving as the will of +heaven the words of scripture that were singing at their entrance. + +To pay a very great deference in opening upon a place of scripture, as +to its affording an assurance of salvation, used to be a very common +practice amongst the people called Methodists, but chiefly those of the +Calvinistic persuasion; this, it is probable, has declined in proportion +with the earnestness of these people in other respects. They had also +another opinion, viz. that if the recollection of any particular text of +scripture happened to arise in their minds, this was likewise looked +upon as a kind of immediate revelation from heaven. This they call being +presented or brought home to them! + + * * * * * + + +THE GATHERER + + + "I am but a _Gatherer_ and disposer of other + men's stuff."--_Wotton_. + + * * * * * + +Whoever the following story may be fathered on, Sir John Hamilton was +certainly its parent. The duke of Rutland, at one of his levees, being +at a loss (as probably most kings, princes, and viceroys occasionally +are) for something to say to every person he was bound in etiquette to +notice, remarked to Sir John Hamilton that there was "a prospect of an +excellent crop:--the timely rain," observed the duke, "will bring every +thing above ground." "God forbid, your excellency!" exclaimed the +courtier. His excellency stared, whilst Sir John continued, sighing +heavily as he spoke:--"yes, God forbid! for I have got _three wives_ +under it."--_Barrington's Sketches_. + + * * * * * + +It is a singular circumstance that Italia, or, as it is called in +English, Italy, has, under all the changes and revolutions to which it +has been subjected, always preserved its name. Every other country in +Europe is now known to its inhabitants by other names than were given to +it by their ancestors in the time of the Romans; but Italia continues to +be the name of the country at the present day, and we have no authentic +records by which we can ascertain that it ever bore any other. + + * * * * * + + +SINGULAR INSCRIPTION. + + +_Written over the Ten Commandments in a church in Wales._ + + PRSVRYPRFCTMN + VRKPTHSPRCPTSTN + +The meaning can only be developed by adding the vowel E, which makes the +sense thus-- + + Persevere ye perfect men + Ever keep these precepts ten. + + * * * * * + +In a new farce, supposed to have been written by Maddocks, was the +following curious pun:--A large party of soldiers surprising two +resurrection men in a church-yard, the officer seized one of them, and +asked him what he had to say for himself. "Say, sir! why, that we came +here to raise a _corpse_, and not a _regiment!_" + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11387 *** |