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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11388 ***
+
+THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
+
+Vol. 10, No. 285.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1827. [Price 2d
+
+
+
+CASTLE OF THE SEVEN TOWERS
+
+
+[Illustration: Castle of the Seven Towers at Constantinople.]
+
+ 1. Triumphal Arch of Constantine.
+ 2. First Tower of the Pentagon.
+ 3. First Marble Tower.
+ 4. Second Marble Tower.
+ 5. Angle of the Pentagon with the fallen Tower.
+ 6. Double Tower.
+ 7. Dedecagonal tower.
+ 8. Square Tower of entrance to the Prison.
+ 9. Round Tower falling to decay.
+10. House of the Aga, &c.
+11. Garden of the Aga's House.
+12. Cemetery of the Martyrs.
+
+The celebrity of the _Seven Towers_ in European countries, though
+strongly savouring of romance, is no joke--it being the _prison_ where
+the Turks confine the ministers and ambassadors of the powers with whom
+they are at war. At the present moment this engraving will doubtless be
+acceptable to our readers; especially to such of our City friends as
+have recently been induced to speculate on the heads of ambassadors of
+the allied powers; and a few days since it might have served as a scale
+for their _wagering_ the "price of blood."
+
+With the early account of this castle we shall be brief. It is cited in
+the history of the lower empire from the sixth century of the Christian
+era, as a point which served for the defence of Constantinople. The
+embrasures of some of its towers, as well as of the towers that flank
+the ramparts of the town from the southern angle of the castle to the
+sea, blackened as is supposed by the Greek fire, announce that it was
+the principal bulwark of the city on the side of the Propontis, in the
+latter times of the empire. In 1453, Mahomet II., after an obstinate
+siege, gained possession of Constantinople and the Castle of the Seven
+Towers, fear opening to him one of the gates of the latter. The Turks
+relate that 12,000 men perished in this siege; and the marks of the
+ravages of the artillery are still visible, for, as usual, the conqueror
+did not concern himself about repairs. Since that time the place has
+been the arena of many remarkable events, among which was the tragical
+murder of the caliph Osman the Second. This has been followed up by many
+bloody executions; and at every turn gloomy sentiments, and the proud
+names of Turks and Greek princes, inscribed on the walls, speak the sad
+fate of those by whose hands they were traced. Towers filled with irons,
+chains, ancient arms, tombs, ruins, dungeons, cold and silent vaults, a
+pit called _the well of blood_, the funeral cry of owls and of vultures,
+mingled with the roar of the waves--such are the objects and sounds with
+which the eye and ear are familiarized in these dreary abodes, according
+to poor Ponqueville, the traveller, who speaks from experience--_within
+the walls._ All this is a sorry picture for the
+
+  "--Gentlemen of England,
+  Who live at home at ease."
+
+But the _state purposes_ to which the _Seven Towers_ are appropriated
+boast of comparative comfort, "the prisoners detained here being
+distinguished from all other prisoners of war by an allowance for the
+table which is assigned them by the sultan, and by the appellation of
+_mouzafirs_, or hostages.[1] It may, indeed," continues our traveller,
+"be considered as a great favour to be regarded in this light, comparing
+their situation with that of others, who fall into captivity among the
+Turks." Moreover, this castle is dignified as _an imperial fortress_,
+and governed by an aga with a guard and a band of music. Indeed, we
+suppose it a sort of lock-up house preparatory to more rigorous
+confinement; and its governorship is a peaceable and honourable post.
+The Turks who compose the garrison of the Seven Towers have, in the
+first place, the advantage of being esteemed persons of a certain
+distinction in their quarter; and, secondly, they are exempted from
+going out to war, to which every Musselman is liable.
+
+    [1] Probably on the plan of the lord mayor's household table.
+    Well, Swift is right in supposing the great art of life to be
+    that of hoaxing.
+
+This castle stands at the eastern extremity of the Propontis, or Sea of
+Marmara; it is a tolerably regular pentagon, four out of the five angles
+of which are flanked by towers; the fifth angle had also a tower, but it
+exists no longer. Its principal front is towards the west, and has,
+besides the tower at one of the angles, two others, which stand on each
+side the ancient triumphal arch of Constantine. The gate of entrance to
+the Seven Towers on the side of the town is to the east, in a small
+square. The longest side of the pentagon is that in which Constantine's
+arch is included; while towers existed at all the angles, this side
+presented a front of four towers; but it has now only three. The first
+marble tower is an enormous mass, between eighty and ninety feet high.
+
+The triumphal arch of Constantine, which occupies the centre between the
+two marble towers, conducts to the golden gate in the exterior enclosure
+of the castle. The arch was more than ninety feet in height; but it has
+been so much injured by artillery, that no idea can now be formed of its
+ornaments. In the second marble tower is the _Cave of Blood_: the first
+door by which it is entered is of wood; this opens into a corridor of
+twelve feet long by four feet wide, having at the end two iron steps
+ascending to an iron door, and this leads into a semicircular gallery;
+at its furthest extremity is a second iron door, which completes the
+gallery, and ten feet further an immense massive door enclosing the
+dungeon. In the midst of this sarcophagus is a well, the mouth of which
+is level with the ground, and half closed by two flag-stones; to this is
+given the name of the _well of blood_, because the heads of those who
+are executed in the dungeon are thrown into it. In the same tower with
+this dungeon is a staircase leading up to a number of cells; from some
+of them, which are higher than the ramparts, the eye may be gratified
+with a view over Constantinople through loop-holes pierced in the walls.
+Here the Turks formerly used to confine those whom they call
+_mouzafirs_, or hostages; but the latter have now the choice allowed
+them of hiring more eligible apartments.
+
+The first enclosure of the Seven Towers is inhabited chiefly by poor
+Turks, who have houses, and live there with their families. They also
+belong to the guard of the castle.
+
+The air of the Seven Towers is in general unwholesome, and very likely
+to produce scrofula. In the summer the walls, heated by the sun,
+transform the place into a furnace; and the apartments on the first
+floor are at all times extremely damp.
+
+Our engraving, aided by the subjoined references, will, however, enable
+our readers to form an accurate idea of the topography of the _Seven
+Towers_. It is copied from the Travels of M. Ponqueville, who devotes a
+chapter of his quarto volume to a minute description of towers, gardens,
+and fortresses. Nothing can exceed the horror with which his catalogue
+of their miseries is calculated to impress the reader; indeed, they fall
+but little short of some of the highly-wrought fictions of barbarous
+romance.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES FOR DECEMBER, 1827.
+
+(For the Mirror.)
+
+
+The sun enters the cardinal and tropical sign _Capricorn_ on the 22nd,
+attaining his greatest austral declination at 1h. 31m. afternoon.
+
+The moon is in opposition on the 3rd; in apogee on the 6th, and in
+conjunction and perigee on the 18th.
+
+Mercury is in perihelion on the 1st, becomes stationary on the 9th, and
+reaches his greatest elongation on the 19th, when he may be seen before
+sunrise, as well as a few preceding and succeeding mornings; be rises on
+the abovementioned day at 6h. 8m.
+
+Venus is in aphelio on the 18th, and in conjunction with the planet
+Herschel on the 28th at 9 h. evening; she sets on the 1st at 4 h. 48 m.,
+and on the 31st at 5-1/2 h. evening.
+
+Mars rises on the 1st at 3h, 14m., and on the 31st at 2 h. 46 m.
+morning.
+
+Jupiter rises on the 1st at 4 h. 39 m. and on the 31st at 3h. morning;
+he has now receded far enough from the sun to render the eclipses of his
+nearest moon visible; the first immersion will take place on the 3rd at
+6 h. 39 m. 4 s. morning; the next on the 19th at 4 h. 54 m. 42 s.
+morning, and the last on the 26th at 6 h. 48 m. 14 s. morning, those
+being the only ones that happen during the month.
+
+Saturn who commenced retrograding on the 2nd, last month, in 20 deg.
+18m. of _Cancer_, will on the 31st have reached 17 deg. 26 m. of the
+same sign, and will be found a few degrees below the star _Pollux_ in
+the constellation _Gemini_, rising on the 1st at 6h. 49m., and on the
+31st at 4 h. 27 m. evening.
+
+Herschel culminates on the 1st at 3 h. 23m., and on the 31st at 1 h. 17
+m.
+
+_Fomalhaut_ in Pisces, a star of the first magnitude, and very much
+resembling the planet Saturn, (except that its light is not so steady,)
+will be observed only a few degrees above the horizon in the south west,
+coming to the meridian at 6 h. 19 m. evening; _Markal_ in the wing of
+Pegasus, the flying horse at 6 h. 26 m. _Alpheratz_ and _Mirach_, the
+former in the head, and the latter in the girdle, of Andromeda at 7 h.
+31 m. and 8 h. 31 m. _Menkar_ in the jaw of _Cetus_ the whale at 10 h.
+24 m.; the four preceding are of the second magnitude. The _Pleiades_
+south at 11 h. 8m., and _Aldebaran_ in Taurus, generally called the
+Bull's Eye, a brilliant star of the first magnitude at 11 h. 56 m.; the
+upper or northern portion of the constellation _Orion_ at 12-1/2 h., and
+the lower or southern part at 1 h. morning.
+
+These remarks cannot be better concluded, than by calling the attention
+of the readers of the MIRROR to the unerring regularity of the motion of
+the heavenly bodies. Though their magnitude is so immense, the certainty
+and correctness of their movements during thousands of years, is far
+more exact than that of the best chronometer ever made, even during a
+single year: how great, then, must be the ignorance of him who does not
+behold in them the Almighty ruler of all things; and how great the folly
+of him, who says in his heart, and evinces by his conduct that he
+believes there is no God. And let him who denies what he cannot
+comprehend, be addressed in the impressive language of holy writ, "Canst
+thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of
+Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou
+guide Arcturus with his Sons?" 14_th November_, 1827. PASCHE.
+
+       *       *       *       *      *
+
+
+COLD WINTER IS COMING.
+
+(_For the Mirror._)
+
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--take care of your toes--
+    Gay Zephyr has folded his fan;
+  His lances are couch'd in the ice-wind that blows,
+    So mail up as warm as you can.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--he's ready to start
+    From his home on the mountains afar;
+  He is shrunken and pale--he looks froze to the heart,
+    And snow-wreaths embellish his car.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--Hark! did ye not hear
+    The blast which his herald has blown?
+  The children of Nature all trembled in fear,
+    For to them is his power made known.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--there breathes not a flower,
+    Though sometimes the day may pass fair!
+  The soft lute is removed from the lady's lorn bower,
+    Lest it coldly be touched by the air.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--all stript are the groves,
+    The passage-bird hastens away;
+  To the lovely blue South, like the tourist, he roves,
+    And returns like the sunshine in May.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--he'll breathe on the stream--
+    And the bane of his petrific breath
+  Will seal up the waters; till, in the moon-beam.
+    They lie stirless, as slumber or death!
+
+  Cold Winter is coming, and soon shall we see
+    On the panes, by that genius Jack Frost,
+  Fine drawings of mountain, stream, tower, an tree--
+    Framed and glazed too, without any cost.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming---ye delicate fair,
+    Take care when your hyson you sip;--
+  Drink it quick, and don't talk, lest he come unaware,
+    And turn it to ice on your lip.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--I charge you again--
+    Muffle warm--of the tyrant beware--
+  He's so brave, that to strike the young hero he's fain--
+    He's so told he'll not favour the fair.
+
+  Cold Winter is coming--I've said so before--
+    It seems I've not much else to say;
+  Yes, Winter is coming, and God help the poor!
+    I wish it was going away,
+
+_Nov 5th 1827._ C. COLE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+NAUTICAL PHRASES.
+
+(_To the Editor of the Mirror._)
+
+
+Sir,--The annexed _Definition_ of Nautical, Names, &c. will not, I dare
+say, to most of your readers, be uninteresting. G.W.N.
+
+_The Starboard_ is the right side of the ship, as the _lar_-board is the
+left.
+
+_The Parrel_ is a movable band-rope, used to fasten the yard to its
+respective mast.
+
+_Backstays_ are long ropes, reaching from the right and left sides of
+the vessel to the mast heads.
+
+_Travellers_ are slight iron rings, encircling the backstays, and are
+used for hoisting the top-gallant yards, and confining them to the
+backstays.
+
+_Rolling-tackle_ is a number of pulleys, engaged to confine the yard to
+the weather side of the mast; this tackle is much used in a rough sea.
+
+_Booms_ are masts or yards, lying on board in reserve.
+
+_The Courses_ are the mainsail, foresail, and the mizen.
+
+_The Staysail_ is of a triangular form, running upon the
+fore-topmast-stay, just above the bowsprit.
+
+_Reef-tackles_ are ropes employed in the operation of reefing. &c.
+
+_Clue-lines_ are used to truss up the clues, or to lower the corners of
+the largest sails.
+
+_The Brake_ is the handle of the pump, by which it is worked.
+
+_Bowlines_ are ropes for keeping the windward edge of the sail steady.
+
+_The Wells_ are places in the ship's hold for the pumps, &c.
+
+_Earings_ are small lines, by which the uppermost corners of the largest
+sails are secured to the yard-arms.
+
+_Reefs_ are spaces by which the principal sails are reduced when the
+wind is too high, and enlarged again when its force abates.
+
+_Topsails_ are long and square, of the second degree in magnitude in all
+great ships.
+
+_Haliards_ are single ropes, by which the sails are hoisted up and
+lowered at pleasure.
+
+_Tally_ is the operation of hauling aft the _sheets_, or drawing them in
+the direction of the ship's stern.
+
+_Towing_ is the operation of drawing a vessel forward by means of long
+lines, &c.
+
+_Timoneer_, from the French _timonnier_, is a name given, on particular
+occasions, to the steersman of a ship.
+
+_Bars_ are large masses of sand or earth, formed by the surge of the
+sea; they are mostly found at the entrances of great rivers or havens,
+and often render navigation extremely dangerous.
+
+_The Ox-Eye_, so called by seamen, is a remarkable appearance in the
+heavens, resembling a small lurid speck, and always precedes two
+particular storms, known only between the tropics.
+
+_Azimuth-Compass_ is an instrument employed for ascertaining the sun's
+magnetical azimuth.
+
+_Studding-Sails_ are long and narrow, and are used only in fine weather,
+on the outside of the large square sails.
+
+_Stay-Sails_ have three corners, and are hoisted up on the stays when
+the wind crosses the ship.
+
+_Broaching-to_ is a sudden movement in navigation, when the ship, while
+scudding before the wind, accidentally turns her side to windward.
+
+_Wales_ are a number of strong and thick planks, covering the lower part
+of the ship's side.
+
+_Scud_ is a name given by sailors to the lowest clouds; which are mostly
+observed in squally weather.
+
+_The Sheets_ are ropes used for extending the clues, or lowering the
+corners of the sails.
+
+_Brails_ are ropes used to truss up a sail to a mast or yard.
+
+_Reef-Bands_ are long pieces of rough canvass sewed across the sails to
+give them additional strength.
+
+_Scudding_ is a term applied to a vessel when carried furiously along by
+a tempest.
+
+_Leeward_ implies when the ship lies on that side to which the wind is
+directed.
+
+_Windbound_ means when the ship is detained in one particular station by
+contrary winds.
+
+_Windward_ is when the ship is in the direction of the wind.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE.
+
+(_To the Editor of the Mirror._)
+
+
+Sir,--Since my last communication to you on the subject of the works, so
+commonly spoken of as by the "Great Unknown"--"the Wizard of the North,"
+and other equally _novel cognomina_, the veil has been withdrawn; we now
+have the open avowal, both from his own lips, and under his own hand, of
+the authorship from the individual himself, who has so long, and, as it
+now appears, so justly, enjoyed the reputation of having written them.
+
+To judge from what he says in the second volume of "the Chronicles of
+the Canongate," just published--I mean in the character of Mr.
+Croftangry,--it is clear that he is conscious of such slips and
+carelessness as I have before pointed out. I am therefore at a loss to
+understand why he should allow them to remain like spots that deface the
+general beauty of his productions, as by submitting them for perusal to
+the merest Tyro in grammar or composition before they were sent to
+press, they could not fail of being obliterated.
+
+It is surely no very good policy for an artist, jealous of his
+reputation, knowingly to leave his works unfinished. Without, however,
+detaining you, or your readers, by such obvious remarks, I shall resume
+my task, hoping that you will be able to find room for the following in
+your useful and entertaining miscellany.
+
+In the first volume, p. 168, of the present work, we read: "She was once
+the beautiful and happy wife of Hamish Mac Tavish, _for whom his_
+strength and feats of prowess gained _him_ the title of Mac Tavish
+Mhor." This kind of style would scarcely be allowed to pass in
+Leadenhall-street. What is meant by _for whom_, with _his_ immediately
+following, and then _him_ a little after? Does not the author intend to
+say, that the strength, &c. of Mac Tavish gained him the title of Mac
+Tavish Mhor? If so, (and there can be no doubt of it from the context,)
+then he should have written the sentence thus: "_whose_ strength and
+feats of prowess had gained him the title of Mac Tavish Mhor."
+
+"He gained the road, mounted his pony, and rode upon his way," p. 183 of
+the same volume, is, in the latter part of it, another curious phrase.
+"He mounted his pony," says the author. May we not suppose he rode _upon
+it_ too? But he adds "_rode upon his way_."
+
+Again: "His reputed grandfather with his pockets stuffed out with Bank
+notes, would come to atone for his past cruelty, by _heaping his
+neglected grandchild_ with unexpected wealth," vol. 2., p. 87. We _heap
+up_ wealth, but not _persons with_ it, for that would hardly be kind. To
+_load one with_ wealth is a common expression.
+
+"Is it possible that _the bold adventurer can fix his thoughts on you_,
+and still be dejected _at the thoughts_ that a bonny blue-eyed lass
+looked favourably on a less-lucky fellow than himself?" vol. 2, p. 136.
+Such is the question put by Middlemas to his friend Hartley, when
+speaking together on the subject of the interesting Menic Grey, and his
+projected Indian trip. But how could he ask if the _bold adventurer
+fixed his thoughts on him_, when it was the person addressed who
+entertained the idea of becoming one? and how, if the _bold adventurer
+was dejected?_ when he had already distinguished him, taking the words
+in their proper application, as another individual in a general sense.
+It is altogether a singular specimen of abstruse phraseology. Then "_fix
+his thoughts_" "dejected at _the thoughts_." Fie upon it!
+
+"Hartley fell a victim to his professional courage, in _withstanding_
+the progress of a contagious distemper, which he at length caught, and
+under which he sank," vol. 2, p. 367. If he withstood the progress of
+the disease, how could he fall a victim to it? The author should have
+said, "in his _endeavours to withstand_" or "_arrest_ the progress of
+it."
+
+"So stood the feelings of the young man, when, one day after dinner, the
+doctor snuffing the candle, and taking from his pouch the great leathern
+pocketbook in which he deposited particular papers, with a small supply
+of the most necessary and active medicines, _he_ took from it Mr.
+Monçada's letters, and requested Richard Middlemas's serious attention,"
+vol. 2, p. 88 and 89. Who is _he_? _the doctor_? Is he not mentioned
+before? And there he is left to stand without his natural support, for
+_he_ has _taken_ it _from_ him. Does not the writer of this sentence
+recollect "My banks _they_ are furnished with bees." I could add another
+_take from_ to the page by way of note.
+
+_The following I leave without comment._
+
+"Judg_e_ment," vol. 1, p. 2; vol. 6, p. 6. and judgment, vol. 1, p. 85,
+_a_ heraldic shield, vol. 1, p. 68; desir_e_able, vol. 2, p. 39.
+
+As much iron as would have _builded_ a brig, vol. 1, page 68. A good
+tune is _grinded_, vol. 1, p. 143. Butler and Mercer had both _spoke_ to
+their disparagement, vol. 2, p. 289.
+
+Worthy Mr. Piper, best of contractors _who_ ever furnished four frampal
+jades, vol. 1, p. 45.
+
+With the next morning I _will_ still see the double summit of the
+ancient Dan, vol. 1, p. 229.
+
+And then I _will_ find it easier to have you prosecuted, vol. 2, p. 169.
+
+We _will_ be happy, if it is in our power, to repay a part of our
+obligations, vol. 2, p. 222.
+
+Thou art the fiend who _hast_ occasioned my wretchedness in this world,
+and who _will_ share my eternal misery in the next, vol. 2, p. 229.
+
+He found himself under the alternative of being with him on decent and
+distant terms, or of breaking off with him altogether. The first of
+these courses might perhaps have been the _wisest_, but the other was
+the _most_ congenial to the blunt and plain character of Hartley, vol.
+2, p. 256.
+
+He inquired _at_ their superior for Barak el Hadgi, vol. 2, p. 263.
+
+And inquiring _at_ those whom he considered the best newsmongers, vol.
+2, p. 276.
+
+He faltered out inquiries _at_ his niece, vol. 1, p. 20.
+
+Your father asked none save _at_ his courage and his sword, vol. 1, p.
+260.
+
+The concluding (_of_) a literary undertaking, vol. 2, p. 1.
+
+I would as soon dress a corpse, when the great fiend himself--God sain
+us--stood visibly before us, _than_ when Elspat of the Free is amongst
+us, vol. 1, p. 250. November 7, 1827. Oculus.[2]
+
+    [2] We are compelled to defer our Correspondent's Notes on his
+    second reading of Ivanhoe--Ed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+LETTER
+
+
+_Written in the Condemned Cells, Newgate, by Captain Lee, the night
+previous to his execution, being convicted of forging a bill of exchange
+for 15l. on the Ordnance Office._
+
+_Newgate, March_ 3, 1784.
+
+My Dear Sir,--Before this reaches you, the head that dictates and the
+hand that traces these lines shall be no more. Earthly cares shall all
+be swallowed up, and the death of an unthinking man shall have atoned
+for the trespass he has committed against the laws of his country. But
+ere the curtain be for ever dropped, or remembrance leave this tortured
+breast, let me take this last and solemn leave of one with whom I have
+passed so many social and instructive hours, whose conversation I fondly
+cultivated, and whose friendship for me I hope will remain, even after
+the clay-cold hand of death has closed my eyes in everlasting darkness.
+
+I cannot think you will view this letter with stoic coolness, or with
+listless indifference. Absorbed as the generality of men are in the
+pursuits of pleasure or the avocations of business, there are times when
+the mind looks inward upon itself, when a review of past follies induces
+us to future amendment, and when a consciousness of having acted wrong
+leads us to resolutions of doing right. In one of those fortunate
+moments may you receive these last admonitions! Shun but the rock on
+which I have struck, and you will be sure to avoid the shipwreck I have
+suffered. Initiated in the army at an early period of life, I soon
+anticipated not only the follies, but even the vices of my companions.
+Before, however, I could share with undisturbed repose in the wickedness
+of others, it was necessary to remove from myself what the infidel terms
+the prejudices of a Christian education. In this I unfortunately
+succeeded; and conceiving from my tenderest years a taste for reading,
+my sentiments were confirmed, not by the flimsy effusions of empty
+libertines, but by the specious sophistry of modern philosophers. It
+must be owned that at first I was rather pleased with the elegance of
+their language than the force of their reasoning; as, however, we are
+apt to believe what we eagerly wish to be true, in a short time I soon
+became a professed deist. My favourite author was the late celebrated
+David Hume. I constantly urged his exemplary behaviour in private as a
+strong argument in favour of his doctrines, forgetting that his literary
+life was uniformly employed in diffusing his pernicious tenets, and his
+utmost endeavours were constantly exerted in extending the baneful
+influence of his philosophical principles. Happy for me had I always
+been actuated by the considerations which fill my bosom at this moment,
+and which I hope will animate me in that awful part to-morrow's sun
+shall see me perform. But the die is cast, and I leave to the world this
+mournful memento, "that however much a man may be favoured by personal
+qualifications, or distinguished by mental endowments, genius will be
+useless, and abilities avail but little, unless accompanied by a sense
+of religion, and attended by the practice of virtue; destitute of these,
+he will only be mounted on the wings of folly, that he may fall with
+greater force into the dark abyss of endless despair."
+
+On my returning to a belief of the truths of Christianity, I have been
+very much assisted by the pious exhortations of the ordinary, as well as
+by the book he has put into my hands; and I feel a comfort which I am
+unable to express by this his charitable and benevolent attention to me.
+I believe there is no passion more prevalent in the human breast than
+the wish that our memory should be held in remembrance. I shudder at the
+thought lest my name should be branded with infamy, when I lie
+mouldering in the dust, as I know well that the tongue of malice is ever
+loud against the failings of the unfortunate. When, however, my
+character is insulted, and my poor reputation attacked, extenuate, I
+beseech you, the enormity of my crime, by relating the hardships of my
+sufferings. Tell to the giddy and affluent, that, strangers to the
+severity of want, they know not the pain of withstanding the almost
+irresistible calls of nature. The poor will, I trust, commiserate my
+misfortunes, and shed a sympathetic tear at the mournful tale of my
+miserable fate. I can say no more. Heaven have mercy on us all!
+
+Adieu for ever. J. LEE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+PARTING FOR THE POLE.
+
+
+  _He._--Now weep not Poll because I go,
+    There's no need, I declare,
+  For when among the Esquimaux,
+    I've too much blubber there.
+
+  Women mis-doubt a sailor's word,
+    We don't deserve the wipe;
+  For when they pipe us all aboard,
+    Aboard we all do pipe.
+
+  We've rocks, when all our tears are past,
+    The sailor's heart to shock,
+
+  _She._.--Why yes, Jack--when you're on the mast,
+    You're sure to have a rock.
+
+  _He._--You'll find some fellow on dry ground,
+    You will prefer to me,
+  To him I see you will be bound,
+    While I'm bound to the sea.
+
+  But if I sail the world around,
+    I'll be a faithful rover,
+
+  _She._--Poh! you'll forget me I'll be bound
+    When you are half seas over.
+
+  _He._--And when alas, your Jack is gone,
+    You'll think of naught but jigging,
+  And you will sport your rigging on,
+    While Jack is on the rigging.
+
+  Where winter's ice around us grows,
+    And storms upon us roll,
+
+  _She._--Ah, that's the time I do suppose
+  They look out for the pole.
+
+  _He._--But if I should be sunk d'ye see,
+
+  _She._--Bring up a coral wreath,
+
+  _He._--Why if I were beneath the sea,
+    I could not see beneath.
+
+  _She._--Yet if you should be cast away,
+    Without a cloak, or victual,
+  Remember me, a little, pray,
+    You'd better pray a little.
+
+  But tho' you wish us now to splice,
+    Our hands--your love won't hold,
+  For when you get among the ice,
+    I'm sure you will grow cold.
+
+  I have your money--here's a kiss,
+    I will be true to you,
+  But one word more, "adieu" it is,
+    Cries Jack, it is a do.             MAY.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+BARDS, OR POETS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS.
+
+(_For the Mirror._)
+
+
+  Hail! to the Bards, who sweetly sung
+    The praises of dead peers
+  In lofty strains, thus to prolong
+    Their fame for many years.        LUCAN.
+
+This sect appears to have descended from _Bardus_, son of _Druis_, king
+of Britain; he was much esteemed by the people for inventing songs and
+music, in praise of meritorious actions; and established an order, in
+which such of the people were admitted as excelled in his art,
+distinguishing them by the name of _bards_, after his own name. Julius
+Caesar reports, that on his arrival he found some of them. Their
+business was to record the noble exploits of their warriors in songs and
+ditties, which they sung to their instruments at the solemn feasts of
+their chiefs; and in such high estimation were they held, that, when two
+armies were ready to engage, if a bard stept in between them, both sides
+delayed the attack till he was out of danger.
+
+As these bards were neither repugnant to the Roman authority nor the
+Christian religion, they alone, above all other sects, were suffered to
+continue long after the birth of Christ; and it is said that some of
+them are still to be found in the isle of Bardsey, (so named from them).
+_Wisbech_. T.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+THE SCOTTISH PEASANT'S LAMENT.
+
+BY THE AUTHOR OF AHAB.
+
+(_For the Mirror_.)
+
+
+  Oh! had I my home by the side of the glen,
+  In a spot far remote from the dwellings of men,
+  Wi' my ain bonnie Jeannie to sit by my side,
+  I'd nae envy auld Reekie her splendor and pride.
+  The song of the mavis should wake me at morn,
+  And the grey breasted lintie reply from the thorn;
+  While the clear brook should run in the sun's yellow beam,
+  And my days glide as calmly along as its stream.
+
+  But here, in the city's dull streets, I must live,
+  Nae Jeannie her arms for my pillow to give;
+  Nae mavis, nae lintie, to sing from the tree,
+  Nae streamlet to murmur its music to me.
+  O better, by far, had I never been born,
+  Or my head laid in rest in the glen 'neath the thorn;
+  Since the songs of my birds I no longer can hear,
+  Nor in slumber recline by the side of my dear.
+
+  Now, all that makes life still endured, is the dream,
+  That comes o'er my soul, of the bird and the stream;
+  And the love of my Jean--when that vision shall close,
+  In the silence of death let my ashes repose.
+  Yet then, even then, my sad spirit will be,
+  By the side of the brook, 'neath the shade of the tree;
+  In the arms of my Jeannie, for ne'er can it stay,
+  From those who in life had endeared it away.
+
+_Nov_. 25. 1827. S.P.J.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ON A SQUINTING POETESS.
+
+
+  To no _one_ muse does she her glance confine,
+  But has an eye at once, to _all the nine!_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS.
+
+No. XVI.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+FISHING IN THE RIVER YEOU.
+
+
+[Illustration: Fisherman]
+
+The fishery of the Yeou, in Bornou, is a very considerable source of
+commerce to the inhabitants of its banks; and the manner of fishing (as
+represented in the above engraving) is ingenious though simple. The
+Bornouese make very good nets of a twine spun from a perennial plant
+called _kalimboa_: the implements for fishing are two large gourds
+nicely balanced, and fixed on a large stem of bamboo, at the extreme
+ends; the fisherman launches this on the river, and places himself
+astride between the two gourds, and thus he floats with the stream, and
+throws his net. He has also floats of cane, and weights, of small
+leathern bags of sand: he beats up against the stream, paddling with his
+hands and feet, previous to his drawing the net, which, as it rises from
+the water, he lays before him as he sits; and with a sort of mace, which
+he carries for the purpose, the fish are stunned by a single blow. His
+drag, finished, the fish are taken out, and thrown into the gourds,
+which are open at the top, to receive the produce of his labour. These
+wells being filled, he steers for the shore, unloads, and again returns
+to the sport.--_Denhani's Travels in Africa._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ARABIAN HORSES.
+
+
+_Sir John Malcolm_, in his Sketches of Persia, gives the following
+interesting anecdotes of these noble creatures:--
+
+Hyder, the elchee's master of the chase, was the person who imparted
+knowledge to me on all subjects relating to Arabian horses. He would
+descant by the hour on the qualities of a colt that was yet untried, but
+which, he concluded, must possess all the perfections of its sire and
+dam, with whose histories, and that of their progenitors, he was well
+acquainted. Hyder had shares in five or six famous brood mares; and he
+told me a mare was sometimes divided amongst ten or twelve Arabs, which
+accounted for the groups of half-naked fellows whom I saw watching, with
+anxiety, the progress made by their managing partner in a bargain for
+one of the produce. They often displayed, on these occasions, no small
+violence of temper; and I have more than once observed a party leading
+off their ragged colt in a perfect fury, at the blood of Daghee or
+Shumehtee, or some renowned sire or grandsire, being depreciated by an
+inadequate offer, from an ignorant Indian or European.
+
+The Arabs place still more value on their mares than on their horses;
+but even the latter are sometimes esteemed beyond all price. When the
+envoy, returning from his former mission, was encamped near Bagdad, an
+Arab rode a bright bay horse of extraordinary shape and beauty, before
+his tent, till he attracted his notice. On being asked if he would sell
+him--"What will you give me?" said he. "It depends upon his age; I
+suppose he is past five?" "Guess again," was the reply. "Four." "Look at
+his mouth," said the Arab, with a smile. On examination he was found
+rising three; this, from his size and perfect symmetry, greatly enhanced
+his value. The envoy said, "I will give you fifty tomans[3]." "A little
+more, if you please," said the fellow, apparently entertained.
+"Eighty!--a hundred!" He shook his head, and smiled. The offer came at
+last to two hundred tomans! "Well," said the Arab, seemingly quite
+satisfied, "you need not tempt me any farther--it is of no use; you are
+a fine elchee; you have fine horses, camels, and mules, and I am told
+you have loads of silver and gold: now," added he, "you want my colt,
+but you shall not have him for all you have got." So saying, he rode off
+to the desert, whence he had come, and where he, no doubt, amused his
+brethren with an account of what had passed between him and the European
+envoy.
+
+    [3] A toman is a nominal coin nearly the value of a pound
+    sterling.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+PARIS.
+
+
+Paris is, as it were, abandoned to foreign travellers in September and
+October. It is not till the first symptoms of cold are felt somewhat
+severely, that life in the capital is resumed in all its tumult. The
+Paris season is the reverse of that of London. It commences at the end
+of November, and closes at the beginning of May. The period of your
+hunting is that of our drawing-room parties. Previous to November, Paris
+may be compared to a vast lazaretto, where the valetudinarians of every
+country take refuge.--_Monthly Magazine_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+MUSICIAN OF MANDARA.
+
+
+[Illustration: Musician blowing a long pipe]
+
+The above engraving represents one of the musicians of the Sultan of
+Mandara; blowing a long pipe not unlike a clarionet, ornamented with
+shells. These artists, with two immense trumpets from twelve to fourteen
+feet long, borne by men on horseback, made of pieces of hollow wood with
+a brass mouth-piece, usually precede the sovereign on any important
+visit. The costume and attitude of the musician are highly
+characteristic of savage mirth.
+
+The chiefs in this part of Africa are also attended by a _band_ carrying
+drums, and singing extempore songs, a translation of one of which is
+subjoined from "Denham's Travels," whence the engraving is copied.
+
+  Christian man he come,
+    Friend of us and Sheikhobe;
+  White man, when he hear my song,
+    Fine new tobe give me.
+
+  Christian man all white,
+    And dollars white have he;
+  Kanourie, like him, come,
+    Black man's friend to be.
+
+  From Felatah, how he run;
+    Barca Gana shake his spear:
+  White man carry two-mouthed gun;
+    That's what make Felatah fear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+HUNTING IN PERSIA.
+
+
+In Persia, persons of the highest rank lead their own greyhounds in a
+long silken leash, which passes through the collar, and is ready to slip
+the moment the huntsman chooses. The well-trained dog goes alongside the
+horse, and keeps clear of him when at full speed, and in all kinds of
+country. When a herd of antelopes is seen, a consultation is held, and
+the most experienced determine the point towards which they are to be
+driven. The field (as an English sportsman would term it) then disperse,
+and while some drive the herd in the desired direction, those with the
+dogs take their post on the same line, at the distance of about a mile
+from each other; one of the worst dogs is then slipped at the herd, and
+from the moment he singles out an antelope the whole body are in motion.
+The object of the horsemen who have greyhounds is to intercept its
+course, and to slip fresh dogs, in succession, at the fatigued animal.
+In rare instances the second dog kills. It is generally the third or
+fourth; and even these, when the deer is strong, and the ground
+favourable, often fail. This sport, which is very exhilarating, was the
+delight of the late King of Persia, Aga Mahomed Khan, whose taste is
+inherited by the present sovereign.--_Sketches of Persia_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+PIOUS WATCHMEN IN NORWAY.
+
+
+In Drontheim, the ancient capital of Norway, it appears, that the
+guardians of the night not only _watch_, but _pray_ for the souls of the
+inhabitants. Mr. Brooke, in his recent travels, says, "as each hour
+elapses, they are prepared with a different kind of exhortation or
+prayer; which, forming a sort of tune or chant, is sung by them during
+the drear hours of the night." Of one of these pious songs, he gives the
+following literal translation:
+
+  "Ho! the Watchman, ho!
+  The clock has struck ten,
+  Praised be God, our Lord!
+  Now it is time to go to bed.
+  The housewife and her maid,
+  The master as well as his lad.
+  The wind is south-east.
+  Hallelujah! praised be God, our Lord!"
+
+"The _voekter_, or watchman, is armed with an instrument as remarkable
+as his cry, being nothing less than a long pole, at the end of which is
+a ball, well fortified with iron spikes. This weapon is called _morgen
+stierne_, or the morning star. At Drontheim, however, bands of
+pick-pockets and thieves are unknown, and the morning star does little
+more than grace the hand of the Norwegian watchman."
+
+As the axe of reform is just laid to the watching system of London, we
+may profit by the example of our Northern brethren; for it appears, they
+not only watch over the temporal, but spiritual concerns of their
+citizens, and it should seem, with salutary effect: but the _vespers_
+and _matins_, of a watchman in England, would meet with many unholy
+interruptions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+LONDON CLUB-HOUSES.
+
+
+Club-houses are by no means a new invention; and yet the improvements
+upon the old plan, which was itself an improvement upon the former
+coffee-house, is sufficiently interesting, and sufficiently unknown to
+the people in general, to render some account of their advantages not
+superfluous. The modern club is a tavern and newsroom, where the members
+are both guests and landlord. The capital is derived from a sum paid by
+each member on entrance, and the general annual expenses, such as
+house-rent, servants, &c. are defrayed by an annual subscription. The
+society elects a committee for its execution and government, and meets
+at stated intervals for legislative measures. The committee appoint a
+steward to manage its affairs, and a secretary to keep the accounts, to
+take minutes of the proceedings of meetings, and transact the business
+of correspondence. The domestic servants are placed under the immediate
+direction of the steward; but above all in the choice of a cook, the
+discretion of the committee is most especially exerted. A house being
+thus established where the society is at home, the rooms are thrown open
+for their various accommodation. In the apartments destined for eating,
+members may breakfast, lunch, dine, and sup, as they list; a bill of
+fare of great variety is prepared; and the gourmand has nothing more to
+do than to study its contents, and write the names of the dishes he
+desires on a bill prepared for the purpose; to mention whether he orders
+dinner for himself alone, or in company with others; and at what time he
+chooses to dine, whether immediately, or at some subsequent hour. At the
+close of his dinner this bill or demand is presented to him with the
+prices annexed, and prompt payment is the law.
+
+Wine is bottled in quarts, pints, and even half-pints, and may be had at
+some institutions even in glasses: it is not needless to observe,
+moreover, that there is no necessity either of fashion or regulation to
+drink it at all. At an inn, a bottle of wine must be ordered for the
+"good of the house," that the waiter may not despise you and be surly:
+that, in short, the guest may be tolerably accommodated in other
+matters; although, perhaps, the wine itself (wretched stuff generally at
+inns) is his abhorrence--though he may never drink any thing but water,
+and may send the decanter away untouched--the tax must be paid. Besides
+this entertainment for the grosser senses, the more refined appetites
+are considered. In some clubs, the "Travellers" for instance, a library
+is provided; and at most of them, even the most unintellectual, a
+library of reference is supplied. Here all the periodicals of the day
+are laid upon the tables--both those of Great Britain and of the
+continent, together with the newspapers, metropolitan and provincial,
+and in some instances the political journals of Paris. This part of the
+house may be considered the general resort of the gossippers and
+quidnuncs; and here, or in other more commodious places, materials for
+writing, paper, pens, lights, &c. are found. Drawing-rooms, one or more,
+are next to be mentioned--here the members take their tea or their ease;
+and where cards are played, this is the scene of operation. A
+billiard-room is an agreeable addition to the accommodation of the
+society's house, and several of the inferior apartments are always
+devoted to serve as dressing-rooms. It is clear, that a bachelor wants
+nothing beyond this but a bed; if he chooses to live in this sort of
+public privacy he may; and should he be only a sojourner in town, the
+convenience of a resort of this kind wherein he may make his
+appointments, receive and write his letters, see society, take his
+dinner, spend his evening, if not otherwise engaged, over the books, the
+newspapers, or a rubber of whist, and do all but sleep--a bed in the
+neighbourhood may supply the article of repose.--Thus all physical
+wants, and many social ones, are abundantly, and even luxuriously
+supplied.--_London Magazine_.
+
+[While upon "clubs," we may as well advert to the prospectus of "_The
+Literary Club_," which has reached us since our last. It professes to be
+"associated for the _assistance_ of men of letters, the development of
+talent, and the furtherance of the interests of literature." It not only
+aims at _charitable_ provision for the weaknesses and infirmities of
+nature, but anticipates "harmony and friendship" among literary men, and
+"as little as possible on any system of exclusion." This is as it should
+be; but we fear the workings and conflicts of passion and interest are
+still too strong to admit of such harmony among the sons of genius.
+Authorship is becoming, if not already become, too much of a trade or
+craft to admit of such a pacificatory scheme: but the object of the
+association is one of the highest importance to literature, and we
+heartily wish it success.--ED. MIRROR.]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ENGLISH AND FRENCH.
+
+
+Why are the English so fond of clubs, corporate bodies, joint-stock
+companies, and large associations of all kinds?--Because they are the
+most unsociable set of people in the world; for being mostly at variance
+with each other, they are glad to get any one else to join and be on
+their side; having no spontaneous attraction, they are forced to fasten
+themselves into the machine of society; and each holds out in his
+individual shyness and reserve, till he is carried away by the crowd,
+and borne with a violent, but welcome, shock against some other mass of
+aggregate prejudice or self-interest. The English join together to get
+rid of their sharp points and sense of uncomfortable peculiarity. Hence
+their clubs, their mobs, their sects, their parties, their spirit of
+co-operation, and previous understanding in every thing. An English mob
+is a collection of violent and headstrong humours, acting with double
+force from each man's natural self-will, and the sense of opposition to
+others; and the same may be said of the nation at large. The French
+unite and separate more easily; and therefore do not collect into such
+formidable masses, and act with such unity and tenacity of purpose. It
+is the same with their ideas, which easily join together, and easily
+part company, but do not form large or striking masses; and hence the
+French are full of wit and fancy, but without imagination or principle.
+The French are governed by fashion, the English by cabal. _London Weekly
+Review._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+PROTESTANT BURIAL-GROUND AT ROME.
+
+
+The Cemeterio degli Inglesi, or the Protestant burial-ground, stretches
+calmly and beautifully below the Pyramid of Cestius. The site was
+admirably chosen,--nothing can be more poetically and religiously
+sepulchral than this most attractive spot. It is worth a thousand
+churches. No one can stand long there without feeling in full descent
+upon his spirit the very best influences of the grave. The rich, red,
+ruinous battlements of the city, broken only by the calm and solid unity
+of the Pyramid; the clustering foliage beginning to brown on the ancient
+towers of the entrance; the deep, still, blue sky; the fluttering leaves
+of the vines which floated around, as one by one they dropped from the
+branches; the freshness of the green mounds at my feet,--these and a
+thousand other features, fully felt at the time, but untranslateable to
+writing, conveyed precisely that philosophy of Death which the poet and
+sculptor have more than once attempted to breathe over their most
+enchanting works, and which here seems an emanation from every object
+which you feel or see. I would place in this spot their Genius of
+Repose, that beautiful statue which joins its hands indolently on its
+head, and casts its melancholy eyes for ever towards the earth; that
+statue, so beautiful that it has been often confounded with the Grecian
+Eros, or the Celestial Love, and is, in itself, the best type of the
+messenger who is one day to lead us gently from the heat and toils of
+this world, into the coolness and tranquillity of the next. Every thing
+here is in unison with these thoughts. At a few paces distant from the
+Pyramid, and adjoining the wall, the Cippi and funeral Soroi of the
+Strangers are to be seen. The bright verdure and the bright marbles, the
+classical purity of the monuments, the desert air, the austere solemnity
+of every thing about me, came with new force upon my imagination. I
+walked slowly amongst the tombs, and tried to decipher the inscriptions.
+The dead are of various nations,--English, American, but principally
+German. Sometimes a cluster of cypresses shadowed the tomb--sometimes a
+fair flowering shrub had twined around it. The epitaphs were written
+with elegance always; at times with the deepest tenderness and beauty.
+Each had his short history, each his melancholy interest and adventure.
+Here was the man of science and literature, who came to lay down his
+head, after a painful and varied pilgrimage, in this City of the Soul. A
+Humboldt was buried here; a Thorwalsden yet may. Here reposes clay too
+finely tempered for the unkindnesses of mankind--Keats lies near;--a
+little farther is one who, on the point of quitting Rome to rejoin an
+affectionate family after a too long absence, full of the anticipations
+of the traveller and of youth, is thrown from his carriage at a mile's
+distance from the city, and never quits Rome more;--beside him is an
+only child, whom the sun of Italy could not save;--and next, one who
+perished suddenly, like Miss Bathurst, in the very bud and bloom of
+existence,--or another, who died away, day after day, in the embraces of
+her parents, and now rests in the midst of the beautiful in vain. The
+graceful lines of Petrarch are inscribed on the sarcophagus--they are
+full of feeling and the country, and make one pause and dream:--
+
+  "Non come fiamma, che per forza è spenta,
+  Ma che per se medesma si consuma,
+  Se n'andò in pace, l'anima contenta."
+
+No epitaph could be better. _New Monthly Magazine._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+QUACKS
+
+
+Have nearly the same interest as knaves in concealing their ignorance
+and frauds, and for the most part regard with the same fear and
+detestation the instrument which unmasks their pretensions. This must be
+understood with some qualification, because the exposure of ignorance
+and fraud is not always sufficient to open the eyes, and enlighten the
+understandings, of mankind. Some perverse dupes are not to be reasoned
+out of their infatuation; they had rather hug the impostor, than confess
+the cheat; and quacks, speculating upon this infirmity of human nature,
+will sometimes court even an infamous notoriety.--_Lancet._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ANECDOTES OF THE MARVELLOUS.
+
+
+_Charming away the Hooping Cough._
+
+An English lady, the wife of an officer, accompanied her husband to
+Dublin not very long ago, when his regiment was ordered to that station.
+She engaged an Irish girl as nurse-maid in her family; and, a short time
+after her arrival, was astonished by an urgent request from this damsel,
+to permit her to _charm_ little miss from _ever_ having the
+hooping-cough, (then prevailing in Dublin). The lady inquired how this
+_charming_ business was performed; and not long after had, in walking
+through the streets, many times the pleasure of witnessing the process,
+which is simply this:--An ass is brought before the door of a house,
+into whose mouth a piece of bread is introduced; and the child being
+passed three times over and under the animal's body, the charm is
+completed; and of its efficacy in preventing the spread of a very
+distressing, and sometimes fatal disorder, the lower class of Irish are
+_certain_.
+
+_The Legend of Hell Mary Hill._
+
+Not many miles from Sheffield, as I was told by one who resided near the
+place, there is a forest; and in an out-of-the-way part of it, a hill,
+tolerably high, covered with wood, and vulgarly called Hell Mary Hill,
+though probably this is a name corrupted from one more innocent or holy.
+Near the top of it is a cave, containing, it is _said_, a chest of
+money,--a great iron chest, _so_ full, that when the sun shines bright
+upon it, the gold can be seen through the key-hole; but it has never yet
+been stolen, because, in the first place, a huge black cat (and wherever
+a black cat is there is mischief, you may be sure) guards the treasure,
+which bristles up, and, fixing a _gashful_ gaze on the would-be
+marauder, with fiery eyes, seems ready to devour him if he approach
+within a dozen yards of the cave; and, secondly, whenever this creature
+is off guard, (and it has occasionally been seen in a neighbouring
+village,) and the treasure has been attempted to be withdrawn from its
+tomb, no mortal rope has been able to sustain its weight, each that has
+been tried invariably breaking when the coffer was at the very mouth of
+the cave; which, being endowed with the gift of locomotion, has
+immediately retrograded into its pristine situation! I have mentioned
+this tradition, as it was told to me, because it is so curiously
+coincident with the German superstition of treasure buried within the
+Hartz mountains, guarded, and ever disappointing the cupidity of those
+who would discover and possess themselves of it.
+
+
+_Fairy Loaves._
+
+Being lately in Norfolk, I discovered that the rustics belonging to the
+part of it in which I was staying, particularly regarded a kind of
+fossil-stone, which much resembled a sea-egg petrified, and was found
+frequently in the flinty gravel of that county. They esteemed such
+stones sacred to the elfin train, and termed them fairy loaves,
+forbearing to touch them, lest misfortunes should come upon them for the
+sacrilege. An old woman told me, that as she was trudging home one night
+from her field-work, she took up one of these fossils, and was going to
+carry it home with her; but was soon obliged to drop it, and take to her
+heels as quick as might be, from hearing a wrathful voice exclaim,
+though she saw nobody, "Give me my loaf! Give me back my loaf, I
+say!"--_New London Literary Gazette_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+FINE ARTS
+
+
+HOGARTH'S MARRIAGE-A-LA-MODE.
+
+
+Hogarth's admirable series of pictures, entitled _Marriage-à-la-mode_,
+were at first slightly treated by the public, at which the artist was
+greatly incensed. Being in want of money, he was at length obliged to
+dispose of them to Mr. Lane, of Hillington, for one hundred and twenty
+guineas. The pictures being in good frames, which cost Hogarth four
+guineas a piece, his remuneration for painting this valuable series was
+but a few shillings more than one hundred pounds. On the demise of Mr.
+Lane, they became the property of his nephew, Colonel Cawthorn, who very
+highly valued them. In the year 1797 they were sold by auction, at
+Christie's, Pall Mall, for the sum of one thousand guineas; the liberal
+purchaser being the late Mr. Angerstein. They now belong to government,
+and are the most attractive objects in the National Gallery.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+HAMPTON COURT PALACE.
+
+
+The gardens and park, which are three miles in circumference, appear to
+me to be above all competition. As you enter, you are struck with the
+majestic beauty of the trees, and the fine gravel walks. As you advance,
+the fountains and statues demand your admiration; particularly the
+famous _Gladiator_, which was brought from Rome. While in the gardens,
+the statues of Flora, Ceres, Pomona, and Diana, placed on the west front
+of the building, are seen to much advantage.
+
+The magnificent palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey, and
+consists of three principal quadrangles. Here Cromwell resided, and it
+was the favourite residence of William and Mary. It is chiefly built of
+brick, and is very capacious, more so than any other royal palace in the
+British empire. Arriving at the great entrance, you almost seem as if
+you were about to enter a fairy castle. The floor of the hall is laid
+out in beautiful square slabs of marble, and a staircase of the same
+material leads you to the upper apartments, which contain pictures and
+numerous curiosities.
+
+Among the fine paintings, I shall notice a few, which appear to me as
+being perfect master-pieces. But I must first take the liberty of saying
+a word or two about the _gentleman_ who conducts you through the rooms
+to _explain_ the several pictures. When I had the pleasure of being with
+him, his hair was powdered, and he carried a silver-headed cane. He
+hurried me through the rooms, filling my ears with such gibberish as
+this:--"That ere picture, sir, up there, was painted, five hundred years
+ago, for William the Conqueror, by Wandyke."[4] This is no mean blunder
+in chronology!
+
+    [4] Sir Antony Vandyke, who died about the year 1640.
+
+There is a fine portrait of _William the Third on horseback_, of the
+size of life, by Sir Godfrey Kneller; the horse is painted in a side
+view, and has a good effect. There are eight fine female portraits of
+distinguished personages, by the same hand, in the highest state of
+preservation.
+
+_Bandinella, the Sculptor_, by Corregio, is a most beautiful portrait.
+The face of the sculptor is full of vivid expression, and the gold chain
+about his neck is almost a deception. This painting, and a _Holy
+Family_, are all we find of the great Corregio at Hampton Court.
+
+_Charles the First_, on horseback, by Sir A. Vandyke, is certainly much
+superior to the portrait of William, mentioned above. As a painter, Sir
+Godfrey cannot be ranked with Vandyke, though, I believe, the former
+considered himself much higher in the arts than the latter. The picture
+before us is an admirable specimen of Vandyke's powers.
+
+_George the Third_, likewise on horseback, reviewing his troops on
+Hounslow Heath, by Sir William Beechey, R.A. This picture is
+unquestionably one of Sir William's best productions, and does honour to
+the fine arts of this country. With the above portraits, there are
+others by West, &c., which possess considerable merit.
+
+There are, also, several choice specimens of Titian, Holbein, and
+Domenichino; with a few cabinet pictures in the Dutch school, by
+Teniers, Ostade, &c. In this palace are Raphael's celebrated cartoons,
+which are too _well_ known to need describing in this place. G.W.N.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+A BALLAD SINGER.
+
+
+_A Ballad-Singer_ is a town-crier for the advertising of lost tunes.
+Hunger hath made him a wind-instrument; his want is vocal, and not he.
+His voice had gone a-begging before he took it up, and applied it to the
+same trade; it was too strong to hawk mackerel, but was just soft enough
+for "Robin Adair." His business is to make popular songs unpopular,--he
+gives the air, like a weather-cock, with many variations. As for a key,
+he has but one--a latch-key--for all manner of tunes; and as they are to
+pass current amongst the lower sorts of people, he makes his notes like
+a country banker's, as thick as he can. His tones have a copper sound,
+for he sounds for copper; and for the musical divisions he hath no
+regard, but sings on, like a kettle, without taking any heed of the
+bars. Before beginning he clears his pipe with gin; and is always hoarse
+from the thorough draft in his throat. He hath but one shake, and that
+is in winter. His voice sounds flat, from flatulence; and he fetches
+breath, like a drowning kitten, whenever he can. Notwithstanding all
+this, his music gains ground, for it walks with him from end to end of
+the street. He is your only performer that requires not many entreaties
+for a song; for he will chant, without asking, to a street cur, or a
+parish post. His only backwardness is to a stave after dinner, seeing
+that he never dines; for he sings for bread, and though corn has ears,
+sings very commonly in vain. As for his country, he is an Englishman,
+that by his birthright may sing whether he can or not. To conclude, he
+is reckoned passable in the city, but is not so good off the
+stones.--_Whims and Oddities. Second series._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+VOYAGE UP THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+On leaving New Orleans, in ascending the river, the country, still the
+same continuous flat, is enriched and enlivened by a succession of
+pretty houses and plantations, with each a small negro town near them,
+as well as the sugar-houses, gardens, and summer-houses, which give the
+idea of wealth and industry. For sixty miles the banks present the
+appearance of one continued village skirted with plantations of cotton,
+sugar-cane, and rice, for about two miles from the river, bounded in the
+rear, by the uncultivated swamps and woods. The boat proceeds
+continually near the shore on one side or the other, and attracts the
+inhabitants to the front of their neat houses, placed amidst orange
+groves, and shaded with vines and beautiful evergreens. I was surprised
+to see the swarms of children of all colours that issued from these
+abodes. In infancy, the progeny of the slave, and that of his master,
+seem to know no distinction; they mix in their sports, and appear as
+fond of each other as the brothers and sisters of one family; but in
+activity, life, joy, and animal spirits, the little negro, unconscious
+of his future situation seems to me to enjoy more pleasure in this
+period of existence, than his pale companions. The sultry climate of
+Louisiana, perhaps, is more congenial to the African constitution, than
+to that of the European.
+
+The next morning we arrived at Baton Rouge, 127 miles on our journey; a
+pretty little town, on the east side, and the first rising ground we had
+seen, being delightfully situated on a gradual acclivity, from which is
+a fine view of the surrounding flats. The fine barracks close to it,
+contain a few companies of troops. We here stopped to take in some
+ladies, who continued with us till the end of the voyage. To this place
+the leveé, or artificial banks, are continued on both sides of the river
+from New Orleans, without which the land would be continually
+overflowed. From this to Natches (232 miles,) the country is not
+interesting, consisting principally of dense forest and wilderness,
+impenetrable to the eye, diversified, however, by the various water fowl
+which the passing vessels disturb, in their otherwise solitary haunts,
+and by the number of black and grey squirrels leaping from branch to
+branch in the trees. The great blue kingfisher, which is common here, is
+so tame, as scarcely to move, as the boat passes, and we frequently saw,
+and passed close to large alligators, which generally appeared to be
+asleep, stretched on the half-floating logs. Several were fired at from
+the vessel, but none procured. One pair that I saw together, must have
+been each upwards of twelve feet long.
+
+Natches is a pleasantly situated town, or rather a steep hill, about
+half a mile from the landing place, where are many stores and public
+houses. The boat remained here an hour, and we ascended to the upper
+town, a considerable place, with a town-house, and several good streets
+and well-furnished shops, in which we purchased some books. This place
+exports much cotton, and the planters are said to be rich. It commands a
+fine prospect over the river and surrounding country. It has been tried
+as a summer residence by some of the inhabitants of New Orleans, but the
+scourges of this part of America (fever and ague) extend their ravages
+for more than 1000 miles higher up. A partial elevation of ground, in an
+unhealthy district, has been proved to be more pernicious, than even the
+level itself. From hence, to the junction of the Ohio, there is little
+to interest the stranger, excepting the diversity of wood and water. The
+ground rises in some places, though with little variety, till you pass
+the junction of the Ohio, 1253 miles from the sea. Shortly after
+entering the Ohio, the country begins to improve; you perceive the
+ground beginning to rise in the distance, and the bank occasionally to
+rear into small hills, which show their strata of stone, and rise into
+bluffs, projecting into the bends of the river, shutting it in, so as to
+produce the effect of sailing on a succession of the finest lakes,
+through magnificent woods, which momentarily changed their form, from
+the rapid motion of our boat. It was now full moon, and these scenes
+viewed during the clear nights, were indescribably beautiful.--
+_Bullock's Journey to New York_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+IRISH TWINS.
+
+
+The Miss Mac Taafs were both on the ground, and both standing enough in
+profile, to give Lord Arranmore a full and perfect view of their figure,
+without being seen by them. His first opinion was, that they were
+utterly unchanged; and that like the dried specimens of natural history,
+they had bidden defiance to time. Tall, stately, and erect, their
+weather-beaten countenance and strongly marked features were neither
+faded nor fallen in. The deep red hue of a frosty and vigorous senility
+still coloured their unwrinkled faces. Their hair, well powdered and
+pomatumed, was drawn up by the roots from their high foreheads, over
+their lofty "systems;" and their long, lank necks rose like towers above
+their projecting busts; which, with their straight, sticky, tight-laced
+waists, terminating in the artificial rotundity of a half-dress
+bell-hoop, gave them the proportions of an hour-glass. They wore grey
+camlet riding habits, with large black Birmingham buttons (to mark the
+slight mourning for their deceased brother-in-law): while petticoats,
+fastened as pins did or did not their office, shewed more of the quilted
+marseilles and stuff beneath, than the precision of the toilet required:
+both of which, from their contact with the water of the bog, merited the
+epithet of "Slappersallagh," bestowed on their wearers by Terence
+O'Brien. Their habit-shirts, chitterlings, and cravats, though trimmed
+with Trawlee lace, seemed by their colour to evince that yellow starch,
+put out of fashion by the ruff of the murderous Mrs. Turner in England,
+was still to be had in Ireland. Their large, broad silver watches,
+pendant from their girdle by massy steel chains, showed that their
+owners took as little account of time as time had taken of them. "Worn
+for show, not use," they were still without those hands, which it had
+been in the contemplation of the Miss Mac Taafs to have replaced by the
+first opportunity, for the last five years. High-crowned black-beaver
+hats, with two stiff, upright, black feathers, that seemed to bridle
+like their wearers, and a large buckle and band, completed the costume
+of these venerable specimens of human architecture: the _tout ensemble_
+recalling to the nephew the very figures and dresses which had struck
+him with admiration and awe when first brought in from the Isles of
+Arran by his foster mother, to pay his duty to his aunts, and ask their
+blessing, eighteen years before. The Miss Mac Taafs, in their
+sixty-first year, (for they were twins,) might have sunk with safety ten
+or twelve years of their age. Their minds and persons were composed of
+that fibre which constitutes nature's veriest huckaback. Impressions
+fell lightly on both; and years and feelings alike left them unworn and
+uninjured.--_The O'Briens, and the O'Flahertys, by Lady Morgan_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+AUTUMN.
+
+BY JOHN CLARE.
+
+
+  Me it delights, in mellow Autumn tide,
+    To mark the pleasaunce that mine eye surrounds:
+  The forest-trees like coloured posies pied:
+    The upland's mealy grey, and russet grounds;
+  Seeking for joy, where joyaunce most abounds;
+    Not found, I ween, in courts and halls of pride,
+  Where folly feeds, or flattery's sighs and sounds,
+    And with sick heart, but seemeth to be merry:
+  True pleasaunce is with humble food supplied;
+    Like shepherd swain, who plucks the brambleberry.
+  With savoury appetite, from hedge-row briars,
+    Then drops content on molehills' sunny side;
+  Proving, thereby, low joys and small desires
+    Are easiest fed, and soonest satisfied.
+                              _The Amulet._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+THE GATHERER.
+
+    "I am but a _Gatherer_ and disposer of other men's
+    stuff,"--_Wotton_.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+HOLY WATER.
+
+
+A friend of mine (says Mr. Lambert, in his Travels,) was once present at
+the house of a French lady in Canada, when a violent thunder storm
+commenced. The shutters were immediately closed, and the room darkened.
+The lady of the house, not willing to leave the safety of herself and
+company to chance, began to search her closets for the bottle of holy
+water, which, by a sudden flash of lightning, she fortunately found. The
+bottle was uncorked, and its contents immediately sprinkled over the
+ladies and gentlemen. It was a most dreadful storm, and lasted a
+considerable time; she therefore redoubled her sprinklings and
+benedictions at every clap of thunder or flash of lightning. At length
+the storm abated, and the party were providentially saved from its
+effects; which the good lady attributed solely to the precious water.
+But when the shutters were opened, and the light admitted, the company
+found, to the destruction of their white gowns and muslin handkerchiefs;
+their coats, waistcoats, and breeches, that instead of holy water, the
+pious lady had sprinkled them with _ink_. W.P.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+QUID PRO QUO.
+
+
+Louis XVIII. asked the Duke of Wellington familiarly, how old he was;
+the latter replied, "Sire, I was born in the year 1768." "And so was
+Buonaparte," rejoined the king; "Providence owed us this compensation."
+C.F.E.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+NAUTICAL EPITAPHS.
+
+
+In the west part of Fife, in the churchyard of the village of Torryburn,
+part of an epitaph remains, which deserves notice. A part was very
+absurdly erased by the owner of the burying ground, to make way for the
+names of some of his kindred. The whole epitaph formerly stood thus:
+
+  At anchor now, in Death's dark road,
+    Rides honest Captain Hill,
+  Who served his king, and feared his God,
+    With upright heart and will:
+  In social life, sincere and just,
+    To vice of no kind given;
+  So that his better part, we trust,
+     Hath made the Port of Heaven.
+
+Another, in the parish of Duffus (Morayshire), runs thus:
+
+  Though Eolus' blasts and Neptune's waves have toss'd me to and
+    fro,
+  Yet now, at last, by Heaven's decree, I harbour here below;
+  Where at anchor I do lie, with others of our fleet,
+  Till the last trump do raise us up our Admiral Christ to meet.
+                                                 CHARLES STUART.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ON A DRUNKEN COBBLER.
+
+
+  Enclosed within this narrow stall,
+  Lies one who was a friend to _awl_;
+  He saved bad _souls_ from getting worse,
+  But d----n'd his own without remorse;
+  And tho' a drunken life he pass'd,
+  Yet say'd _his soul_, by _mending at the last!_ E.L.I.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+WATER GRUEL.
+
+
+In an old paper, dated Friday, 13th Aug. 1695, is the following curious
+advertisement:--
+
+"At the marine coffee-house, in Birchin-lane, is water-gruel to be sold
+every morning from six till eleven of the clock. 'Tis not yet thoroughly
+known; but there comes such company as drinks usually four or five
+gallons in a morning." G.S.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A clergyman being on the road to his country living, (to which he pays
+an annual visit,) was stopped by a friend, who asked him where he could
+be going so far from town,--"Like other people," replied he, "to my
+parish." C.F.E.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+THE LETTER C.
+
+
+Curious coincidences respecting the letter C, as connected with the
+lamented Princess Charlotte.
+
+Her mother's name was Caroline, her own name was Charlotte; that of her
+consort Coburg; she was married at Carlton house; her town residence was
+at Camelford house, the late owner of which Lord Camelford, was untimely
+killed in a duel; her country residence, Claremont, not long ago the
+property of Lord Clive, who ended his days by suicide; she died in
+Childbed, the name of her accoucheur being Croft. C.F.E.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+GIVING AND TAKING.
+
+(_From the French_.)
+
+
+  "I never give a kiss (says Prue)
+    To naughty man, for I abhor it."
+  She will not _give_ a kiss, 'tis true;
+     She'll _take_ one though, and thank you for it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+GEORGE SAVILLE CAREY.
+
+
+This amiable man told me that his affecting song, "When my money was
+gone," &c. was suggested by the real story of a sailor, who came to beg
+money while Carey was breakfasting, with an open window, at the
+beautiful inn at Stoney Cross, in the New Forest.
+
+He also declared that his father, Henry Carey, wrote the song of "God
+save the King," in the house in Hatton-Garden, which has a stone
+bracket, a few doors from the Police-office.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[In No. 282 of The MIRROR, we omitted our acknowledgment to a
+well-executed illustrative work (now in course of publication), intitled
+"London in the Nineteenth Century," of which our artist availed himself
+for his View of _Hanover Terrace_, Regent's Park. The drawing in the
+above work is by Mr. T.H. Shepherd; and the literary department (of
+which we did not avail ourselves) is by Mr. Elmes, author of "the Life
+of Sir Christopher Wren."]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_LIMBIRD'S EDITIONS_.
+
+Now publishing in numbers, price 3d. each, Embellished with Engravings
+on Steel, The BEAUTIES of SCOTT, forming the second of a Series of
+
+_ELEGANT EXTRACTS_.
+
+VOL. I. comprises The BEAUTIES of BYRON, embellished with Four
+Engravings, price 3s. 6d. in boards, or half-bound, 4s. 6d.
+
+VOL. II. comprises The BEAUTIES of WAVERLEY, GUY MANNERING, and IVANHOE,
+embellished with Engravings on Steel, price 3s. 6d. in boards, or
+half-bound, 4s. 6d.
+
+"The BEAUTIES are selected with great skill, and a nice perception of
+the excellencies of the author, and altogether compose a most attractive
+volume."--_Weekly Times_.
+
+The ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS, Embellished with nearly 150
+Engravings. Price 6s. 6d. in boards, half-bound, 8s.
+
+The TALES of the GENII. Price 2s.
+
+COOK'S VOYAGES. Price only 7s. 6d. in boards, or half-bound 9s.
+
+The CABINET of CURIOSITIES: or, WONDERS of the WORLD DISPLAYED Price 5s.
+boards.
+
+The MICROCOSM. Price 2s. or in boards, 2s. 6d By the Rt. Hon. G.
+CANNING, M.P. and other Writers, with a Memoir and Two Portraits.
+
+GOLDSMITH'S ESSAYS. Price 8d.
+
+DR. FRANKLIN'S ESSAYS. Price 1s. 2d.
+
+BACON'S ESSAYS Price 8d.
+
+SALMAGUNDI. Price 1s. 8d.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement,
+and Instruction, by Various
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11388 ***