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diff --git a/11404-0.txt b/11404-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b5fbbe0 --- /dev/null +++ b/11404-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1674 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11404 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustration. + See 11404-h.htm or 11404-h.zip: + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/4/0/11404/11404-h/11404-h.htm) + or + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/4/0/11404/11404-h.zip) + + + + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +VOL. 12, NO. 343.] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1828. [PRICE 2d. + + + + * * * * * + + + +[Illustration: THE ADMIRALTY OFFICE, WHITEHALL.] + + +THE ADMIRALTY-OFFICE. + + +The _Admiralty Office, Whitehall_, has few pretensions to architectual +beauty. It is, however, to use a common phrase, a _commanding_ pile, and +its association with Britain's best bulwarks--her NAVY--renders it an +interesting subject for representation. + +The Admiralty-office adjoins to the north side of the Horse Guards, +and was erected by Ripley, in the reign of George II., on the site of +Wallingford House. It recedes from, but communicates with, the street by +advancing wings, and is built principally of brick. In the centre of the +main building is a lofty portico, of the Ionic order, the taste of which +is not entitled to much praise. It consists of four columns, and on the +entablature is an anchor in bold relief. Here are the offices, and the +spacious abodes of the lords commissioners of the admiralty, together +with a handsome hall, &c. On the roof of the building is a Semaphore +telegraph, which communicates orders by signal to the principal ports +of the empire. + +But the most tasteful portion of the whole, is a stone screen, by Adams, +in front of an open court, and facing the street. The style is +exceedingly chaste and pleasing, and the decorations are characteristic +naval emblems, finely executed. The representation of two ancient vessels +in the end entablatures, merit especial notice. + +Since the appointment of the Duke of Clarence to the office of lord high +admiral, the Admiralty has been the town residence of his royal highness. +The exterior has been repaired, and the interior in part refitted. The +screen has likewise been renovated with much care, and two of the +entrances considerably enlarged, but with more regard to convenience than +good taste. The portion occupied by the royal duke contains a splendid +suite of state rooms, within whose walls have frequently been assembled +all the bravery, as well as rank, of the empire; for the interests of the +noble service are too dear to his royal highness to be eclipsed by the +false lights of wealth or fashion. + + * * * * * + + +HUITAIN DE CLEMENT MAROT. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + + Plus ne suis ce que j'ay esté + Et ne le scaurois jamais estre, + Mon beau printemps et mon esté + Ont fait le saut par la fenestre. + Amour! tu as esté mon maistre + Je t'ai servi sur tous les Dieux, + O si je pouvois deux fois naistre, + Comment je te se virois mieux! + + +_Imitation_. + + I am no more, what I have been + And ne'er again shall be so. + My summer bright, my spring time green, + Have flown out of the window. + Oh love, my master thou hast been, + I, first of gods, instal thee, + Oh! could I e'en be born again, + Thou doubly would'st enthral me. + +D.M. + + * * * * * + + +TEMPLE AT ABURY. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.) + + +There is an inconsistency in the account of Abury in No. 341, perhaps +overlooked by yourself. + +I would ask, how could that arrangement of the fabric, so fancifully +and ingeniously described by Stukely, be intended to represent the +Trinity, when the place was confessedly in existence long anterior to +Christianity? nor is there any thing in the old Druidical or Bardic +tenets that can be twisted to any such idea. + +This _Abury_, with _Silbury_, is supposed to be the _Cludair Cyfrangon_, +or _Heaped Mound of Congregations_, mentioned in the _Triads_, the +building of which is recorded as "one of the three mighty achievements of +the Isle of Britain;" and here were held the general assemblies of the +Britons on religious occasions, and not at Stonehenge, as is generally +supposed. This last place is decidedly more modern than the pile at +_Abury_; the Welsh call it _Gwaith Emrys, (the work of Emrys_,) and it +ranks as another of the mighty achievements of the Isle of Britain, the +third being "the raising of the Stone of Keti," supposed to be the "_Maen +Ceti_" at Gwyr, in Glamorganshire. + +The presumption that _Stonehenge_ is more modern than _Abury_ is founded +upon the fact that Stonehenge exhibits marks of the chisel in different +parts, while the former does not. The ancient British documents give us +the founder of the latter, namely, _Emrys_, or _Ambrosius_, while we are +left in ignorance as to who raised the pile of _Cyfrangon_. + +Nor was Stonehenge ever of such magnitude as _Abury_, the diameter of the +former being 99 feet, whilst the latter was 1,400; the largest stones of +the former weigh 30 tons, but the latter weigh 100 tons! + +_Gwaith Emrys_ was possibly more for political than religious assemblies. +Here was held the meeting of the Britons and Saxons, when the _Plot of +the Long Knives_ (_Twyll y Cyllyll Hirion_) was consummated, and the +flower of the British chiefs treacherously destroyed by their pretended +friends. + +Different authors have strenuously contended for giving the honour of +supremacy to either of these places over both Britain and Gaul, in the +days of Druidism; but Rowlands has industriously placed its chief seat in +Anglesey. + +LEATHART. + + * * * * * + + +TRANSLATED EPITAPH. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.) + + + Quod fuit esse quod est, quod non fuit esse quod esse, + Esse quod est non esse, quod est non, erit esse. + + +As a translation of this curious epitaph (in Lavenham churchyard) which +is formed out of two Latin words, has been requested from some of your +readers, I send the following:-- + + + What John Giles has been + Is what he is, (_a bachelor_.) + What he has not been, + Is what he is, (_a corpse_.) + To be what he is + Is not to be, (_a living creature_.) + He will have to be + What he is not. (_dust_.) + +JOSEPH MASON. + + * * * * * + + +_Another_. + + + What we have been and what we are, + The present and the time that's past, + We cannot properly compare + With what we are to be at last. + + Tho' we ourselves have fancied forms, + And beings that have never been, + We unto something shall be turned-- + Which we have not conceived or seen. + +G.H. + + * * * * * + + +MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + +The ensuing letter, though very short, discloses one or two instances +connected with a subject of unfading interest--the death of Mary Queen +of Scots. It need hardly be stated, says an able writer on this subject, +that Queen Elizabeth's conduct with respect to the execution of Mary was +a mixture of unrelenting cruelty, despicable cowardice, and flagitious +hypocrisy; that whilst it was the dearest wish of her heart to deprive +her kinswoman of her existence, she attempted to remove the odium of the +act from herself, by endeavouring to induce those to whose custody she +was intrusted to assassinate their prisoner; that when she found she +could not succeed, she commanded the warrant to be forwarded; and that +when she knew it was too late to recall it, asserted that she never +intended it should be carried into execution, threw herself into a +paroxysm of affected rage and grief, upbraided her counsellors, and +first imprisoned and then sacrificed the fortunes of her poor secretary, +Davison, one of her most virtuous servants, as a victim to her own fame, +and the resentment of the King of Scots. These damning facts in the +character of Elizabeth are too well known to require to be dilated on; +they have eclipsed the few noble actions of her life, and remain +indelible spots on her reputation as a woman and a sovereign. But we +learn from this letter the humiliating effects made by her ministers +to appease her fury, and her implacable resolution to overwhelm the +unfortunate Davison with the effect of her assumed, or perhaps real +repentance. In his apology, that statesman informs us, that on the +Friday after Mary's execution, namely, on the 10th of February, arriving +at the court he learnt the manner in which the queen had expressed +herself relative to the event; but being advised to "_absent himself for +a day or two_," and being, moreover, extremely ill, he left the court, +and returned to London. Woolley's communication being dated on _Sunday_, +(the manuscript is so excessively badly written as to be almost +illegible,) shows that Elizabeth did not summon her council, and evince +her displeasure at their conduct, until Saturday, the 13th of February, +two days after she was informed of Mary's fate. Davison had been +attacked with a stroke of the palsy shortly before, and all he says of +his committal is, that he was not sent to the Tower until Tuesday the +14th, on account of his illness; though some days previous (probably on +Saturday the 10th) the queen assembled her council. + +This letter also exhibits a specimen of Leicester's characteristic +meanness; for notwithstanding that he was a party to the act of +forwarding the warrant for Mary's death, as his name occurs among those +of the council who signed the letters to the Earl of Shrewsbury, the earl +marshal, and to the Earl of Kent, both of which were dated on the 3rd of +February, 1586-7, commanding them to cause it to be put into execution, +he took care to withdraw from court before Elizabeth performed the roll, +which has so justly excited the scorn of posterity. It may be also +remarked, as another example of the official duplicity of the period, +that Sir Francis Walsingham likewise affected not to have been concerned +in the affair of dispatching the warrant, as in his letter to Lord +Thulstone, the secretary to King James, dated at Greenwich, on the 4th of +March, 1586-7, less than a month afterwards, he says, "_Being absent from +court_ when the late execution of the queen, your sovereign mother, +happened," though we find that he signed both the letters just mentioned. + +G.B. + +_A Letter from John Woolley, clerk of the Council in the time of +Elizabeth, to the Earl of Leicester_. + +To the Righte Honorable my singular good the Earle of Leycester, one of +her Maties Most Honorable Privie Councell. + +RYGHTE Honorable and my moste especiall goode Lorde,--It pleased her +M'tye yesterday night to call the lord treasurer and other of her +councell before her into her withdrawing chamber, where she rebuked us +all exceedingly, from our concealing from her our proceeding in the Queen +of Scott's case; but her indignation particularlye lyghteth most upon my +lord treasurer and Mr. Davison, who called us togeather, and delivered +the commissione, for she protesteth she gave _expresse commandement_ to +the contrarye, and therefore hath taken order for the committing of Mr. +Secretary Davison to the Tower, iff she contenew in the mynd she was +yeterday night, albeit we all kneeled upon our knees to praye her to the +contrarye. + +I think your lordship happy to be absent from these broiles, and thought +it my dewtye to lett you understand them; and so in haste I humblye take +my leave.--At the Courte, this present Sunday,[1] 1586. + +Your lordship's ever most bounden, + +J. WOOLLEY. + +P.S. I have oftentimes sent unto John, your old servante, Mr. Norld, to +pray humbly your lordship's orders for the ordering of his case; he hath +been long in prisone, and desireth your lordship's orders for the hearing +of his case, which it may please your lordship to express unto +me.--_Cottonian MSS. Caligula, c. ix. fol. 168_, (_Original_.) + + + [1] 12th February, 1586-7. + + * * * * * + + + + +The Topographer + + +A VISIT TO STUDLEY PARK AND FOUNTAINS ABBEY, YORKSHIRE. + +_With a Notice of the Roman Military Road, leading from Aldborough (the +Isurium of the Romans,) to the North._ + + + "Yet still thy turrets drink the light + Of summer evening's softest ray; + And ivy garlands, green and bright, + Still mantle thy decay; + And calm and beauteous, as of old, + Thy wand'ring river glides in gold." + +A.A. WATTS. + + +Among the most attractive scenes of northern Yorkshire is Studley Park, +renowned for the richness of its sylvan scenery, which embosoms the noble +ruin of Fountains Abbey. + +For the date of my visit to this _Arcadia_, I must refer the reader to +that season of life when the pure source of thought and feeling is +untainted by the world. It is eleven miles from my home to Studley Park, +five of which I walked in the twilight of a summer's evening, and slept +at a little cottage by the way. The day had been sultry, and the moon +rose slowly over the mounds of Maiden Bower, once the site of the noble +mansion of the Percys, now destroyed and desolate;[2] and fell in dreary +softness on tower and wood, illumining the sable firs of Newby Park, and +throwing another lustre on the gaudy "gowans" that decked the adjacent +meadow. Here was a scene for the poetic sympathy of youth: + + + "That time is past, + And all its giddy rapture; + Yet not for this faint I, nor mourn; + Other gifts have followed; for such loss + I would believe, abundant recompense." + +WORDSWORTH. + + +The morning found me, after an early breakfast, on the road to Studley +Park. Now there are some "moods of my own mind" in which I detest all +vehicles of conveyance, when on an excursive tour to admire the antique +and picturesque.--Thus what numerous attractions are presented to us, +sauntering along the woody lane on foot, which are lost or overlooked +in the velocity of a drive! On the declivity of a meadow, inviting our +reflection, rises a little Saxon church, grey with antiquity, and +solemnized by its surrounding memorials of "Here lies."--Across the +heath, encircled with fences of uncouth stones, stands a stern record +of feudal yore; at the next turn peeps the rectory, encircled with old +firs, trained fruit trees, and affectionate ivy; beneath yon darkened +thickets rolls the lazy Ure, expanding into laky broadness; and, beyond +yon western woods, which embower the peaceful hamlet, are seen the +"everlasting hills," across which the enterprising Romans constructed +their road. I next passed the boundaries of Newby Park, the property of +Lord Grantham. Here beneath enormous beeches were clustering the timid +deer, "in sunshine remote;" and the matin songs of birds were sounding +from the countless clumps which skirt this retreat. Within that solitude +had I enjoyed the society of a brother, alas, now no more! and yet the +landscape wore the same sunny smile as when I carved his name on the +towering obelisk before him. I felt that sorrow so exquisitely described +by _Burns_: + + + "How can ye bloom so fresh and fair; + How can ye chant, ye little birds, + And I so weary, fu' o' care." + + +Leaving Rainton, a sudden rise brings you to the _Roman Military Road_, +leading from Aldborough,[3] the Isurium of the Romans, to Inverness, in +Scotland. This road was repaired by the Empress Heleanae, and hence the +corruption, from her name, of Learning Lane, its present designation. +It was laid by the Romans, with stones of immense size, which have +frequently been dug up. The _Via Appia_, at _Rome_, which has lasted +1,800 years, resembles it in construction. Raised considerably above the +level of the country which it crosses, it is an object of wonder and +interest even to the illiterate, on account of the continuous perspective +it presents; there being no _bend_ in it for several miles. Traversing +this noble monument of art, how are we led to think on the "strange +mutations" which have overthrown kings and kingdoms in the period of its +duration, whilst the road remains "like an eternity:" + + +ON CROSSING THE ROMAN MILITARY ROAD, LEADING FROM ISURIUM TO THE NORTH. + + + O'er classic ground my humble feet did plod, + My bosom beating with the glow of song; + And high-born fancy walk'd with me along, + Treading the earth Imperial Caesar trod. + + A thousand rural objects on the way + Had been my theme-but far-off years arose, + When ancient Britain bow'd beneath her foes, + Adding resplendence to great Caesar's day: + + When sounds of Roman arms through valley rung, + And rose that glorious morn upon our isle, + No night can hide, or cloud conceal its smile, + That dazzling morn, which out of darkness sprung. + Enduring cenotaph of Roman fame-- + More than this record of their mighty name! + + +I reached the ancient town of Ripon as the bells were merrily ringing in +the towers of its old collegiate minster, for it was the anniversary of +its patron saint, St. Wilfred. After refreshment, and a walk of three +miles, I arrived at _Studley Park_. The fairy effect produced on entering +this beautiful retreat is almost indescribable. We suddenly exchange the +field and forest scenery for all the poetry of prospect. On the right is +a declivity clothed with laurel, and stretching far away; and on the left +a lofty and well trimmed fence of laurel, forms a screen or curtain to +the valley beneath; the sighing of distant woods and the dashing of +waterfalls, break on the enraptured ear, and cause the anxious eye to +long for some opening in the verdant shroud. Anon the valley is seen; and +through an aperture in the laurel wall, cut in imitation of a window, +breaks as sweet a scene as ever _Claude_ immortalized! Unwilling to +hazard a formal description, I will merely attempt an outline. Far below, +the silver waters of the _Skell_ meander softly amongst statues of +tritons, throwing up innumerable fountain streams. These are masterly +executions after the ancient sculptors, and give the scene an air of +Grecian classicality. Around these triumphs of art, rise lofty woods of +graceful birch, varied by dark fir, and interspersed with erections of +Roman and Gothic design. It is in the contemplation of these beauties +that fancy recalls the mythology of rocky woods, peopled with Dryads and +Fauns. Passing by a circuitous path to the other side of this Eden, by +sloping walks shaded with ilex, ancient oak, sycamore, cypress, and bay, +we have a view of the extent of the valley, terminating with the ruins of +_Fountains Abbey_, and flanked by rocks, wildly overgrown with shrubs; +and before us, seen more distinctly, are the statues of _Hercules_ and +_Antaeus_, and a _Dying Gladiator_--the Temple of Piety, in which are +bronze busts of Titus Vespasian and Nero, and a fine bas-relief of the +Grecian Daughter. In front of this temple the water assumes a variety of +fantastical forms, ornamented at different points by statues of Neptune, +Bacchus, Roman Wrestlers, Galatea, &c. The banqueting-house contains a +Venus de Medicis, and a painting of the Governor of Surat, on horseback, +in a Turkish habit; on the front of this building are spirited figures +of Envy, Hatred, and Malice. From the octagon tower, Mackershaw Lodge +and Wood are seen to great advantage; and from the Gothic temple, the +dilapidated abbey is an object of striking solemnity; whilst an opening +in the distance shows the venerable towers of Ripon Minster. + +Wandering eastward, we arrive at the precincts of Fountains Abbey, which +gradually presents its monastic turrets midway in a dell, skirted by +hills crowned with trees, and varied by rocky slopes to the brook. This +abbey was founded in consequence of the disgust which certain monks of +the Benedictine order at St. Mary's, York, had imbibed against their +_relaxed_ discipline; when struck with the famed austerities of the monks +of Rievaulx, they left their abode, and retired to this valley, under the +shade of seven yew trees, six of which were (in 1818) standing. The abbey +was destroyed in the reign of Stephen, and rebuilt in 1204.[4] The +present ruin is celebrated for the sublimity of its architecture, many +parts of which are as perfect as when first erected. The tower is 160 +feet in height, and is a fine specimen of Gothic, in its best taste. It +may with safety be asserted, that no church or abbey in England can boast +of such an elegant elevation. The cloisters, 270 feet in length, and +divided by 19 pillars and 20 arches, extend across the rivulet, which +is arched over to support them; and near to the south end is a large +circular stone basin. This almost subterranean solitude is dimly lighted +by lancet windows, which are partially obscured by oaks, beeches, and +firs; and the gloom is heightened by the brook beneath, which may be seen +stretching its way through the broken arches. The only tomb in the church +is that of a cross-legged knight, which lies near the grand tower, and +represents one of the Mowbrays, who died at Ghent, in 1297. Near the +altar is a stone coffin, in which, according to Dugdale, Lord Henry +Percy was interred in 1315. Contiguous to the church is an extensive +quadrangular court, which has been converted into a flower garden. On +the east side is a line of beautiful arches, under one of which is the +entrance to the chapter-house, a weed-grown solitude of deadly silence-- + + + "Where the full-voiced choir + Lie, with their hallelujahs, quench'd like fire." + + +In 1791, by the removal of some fragments of ruin in the chapter-house, +the sepulchres of several of the abbots were discovered; but the +inscriptions were obliterated. Over the chapter-house were the library +and scriptorium. The architecture or Fountains Abbey is mixed; in some +parts are seen the sharp-pointed windows, in others the circular arches. +The great eastern window is indescribably magnificent, being 23 feet in +width. There has been a central tower, which has long since fallen to +decay. The sanctum sanctorum is 131 feet in length; over one of its +eastern windows is the figure of an angel holding a scroll, dated 1283. +The total length of the church is 358 feet. On the north side of the +quadrangular court is the refectory, which was supported by large pillars, +and adjoining it is the reading gallery, where portions of the Scriptures +were delivered to the monks whilst at their meals; by the side of it are +the kitchen and scullery, the former remarkable for its spacious arched +fire place. Over the refectory was the dormitory, which contained 40 +cells; and under the crumbling steps leading to it is the porter's lodge. +Near to the refectory are the remains of the abbot's chambers. + +But adieu to the waning glory of Fountains Abbey and the receding towers +of Ripon Minster, while retracing my path of yesterday morning. I must +linger awhile on the Roman way, where antiquity maintains her supremacy +in spite of the war of time, and where the earth looks immutable. Now the +groves of Newby Park re-appear with their "sylvan majesty," creating +unutterable sympathies; for the wind that bows the surrounding branches +moves me to weep for that romantic spirit whose ashes moulder on the +shores of India, where + + + "When the sun's noon-glory crests the wave, + He shines, without a shadow on his grave." + + +* * H. + + + [2] Here Henry Percy, the fourth Earl of Northumberland, was + murdered by an infuriated mob, in the fourth year of Henry + VII.; he having, as lord lieutenant of the county, levied a + tax on the people by order of his sovereign, for carrying on + the war in Bretague. Skelton, poet-laureat to Henry VIII. + lamented his death in some elegiac lines. + + [3] Aldburgh, or Aldborough, so called by the Normans, was the + Iseur of the Ancient Britons, and the Isurium of the Romans. + Perhaps there is not another Roman city, not even excepting + York, where so many antiquities have been discovered. The + opening of ancient baths, burial vaults, &c. has led to + the finding of tesselated pavements, coins, urns, rings, + lachrymatories, seals, monumental inscriptions, medals, + statues, chains, sacrificing vessels, &c. It is to be lamented + that modern ignorance and barbarity are fast obliterating all + traces of the Roman walls of Isurium; their foundations having + been dug up for the mercenary purpose of obtaining their + materials. We cannot sufficiently censure such irreverence to + "hoar antiquity," or the contracted and grovelling ideas + which actuate such village Vandals. + + [4] The following letter was addressed by Layton, one of the + emissaries of the Dissolution, to Lord Cromwell, at the + Reformation:-- + + "Please your worship to understand that the Abbot of Fountaynes + hath so greatly dilapidated his house, wasted ye woods, + notoriously keeping six ------; and six days before our coming, + he committed theft and sacrilege, confessing the same; for at + midnight he caused the chapleyne to stele the keys of the secton, + and took out a jewel, a cross of gold with stones; one _Warren_, + a goldsmith of the Chepe, was with him in his chamber at the + hour, and there they stole out a great emerode with a rubye, the + said _Warren_ made the Abbot believe the rubye was a garnet, + and so for that he paid nothing for the emerode, but £20. He + sold him also plate, without weight or ounces. + + "Subscribed, your poor Priest + and faithful servant, + R. LAYTON." + + * * * * * + + + + +THE ANECDOTE GALLERY + + * * * * * + + +PALEY. + + +Paley would employ himself in his Natural Theology, and then gather his +peas for dinner, very likely gathering some hint for his work at the same +time. He would converse with his classical neighbour, Mr. Yates, or he +would reply to his invitation that he could not come, for that he was +busy knitting. He would station himself at his garden wall, which +overhung the river, and watch the progress of a cast-iron bridge in +building, asking questions of the architect, and carefully examining +every pin and screw with which it was put together. He would loiter along +a river, with his angle-rod, musing upon what he supposed to pass in the +mind of a pike when he bit, and when he refused to bite; or he would +stand by the sea-side, and speculate upon what a young shrimp could mean +by jumping in the sun. + +With the handle of his stick in his mouth, he would move about his garden +in a short hurried step, now stopping to contemplate a butterfly, a +flower, or a snail, and now earnestly engaged in some new arrangement of +his flower-pots. + +He would take from his own table to his study the back-bone of a hare, or +a fish's head; and he would pull out of his pocket, after a walk, a plant +or stone to be made tributary to an argument. His manuscripts were as +motley as his occupations; the workshop of a mind ever on the alert; +evidences mixed up with memorandums for his will; an interesting +discussion brought to an untimely end by the hiring of servants, the +letting of fields, sending his boys to school, reproving the refractory +members of an hospital; here a dedication, there one of his children's +exercises--in another place a receipt for cheap soup. He would amuse his +fire side by family anecdotes:--how one of his ancestors (and he was +praised as a pattern of perseverance) separated two pounds of white and +black pepper which had been accidentally mixed--_patiens pulveris_, he +might truly have added; and how, when the _Paley arms_ were wanted, +recourse was had to a family tankard which was supposed to bear them, but +which he always took a malicious pleasure in insisting had been bought at +a sale-- + + + ----------Haec est + Vita solutorum miserâ ambitione gravique; + + +the life of a man far more happily employed than in the composition of +political pamphlets, or in the nurture of political discontent. Nay, +when his friend Mr. Carlyle is about going out with Lord Elgin to +Constantinople, the very headquarters of despotism, we do not perceive, +amongst the multitude of most characteristic hints and queries which +Paley addresses to him, a single fling at the Turk, or a single hope +expressed that the day was not very far distant when the Cossacks would +be permitted to erect the standard of liberty in his capital. + +I will do your visitation for you (Mr. Carlyle was chancellor of the +diocese,) in case of your absence, with the greatest pleasure--it is +neither a difficulty nor a favour. + +Observanda--1. Compare every thing with English and Cumberland scenery: +e.g., rivers with Eden, groves with Corby, mountains with Skiddaw; your +sensations of buildings, streets, persons, &c. &c.; e.g., whether the +Mufti be like Dr. ----, the Grand Seignior, Mr. ----. + +2. Give us one day at Constantinople minutely from morning to night--what +you do, see, eat, and hear. + +3. Let us know what the common people have to dinner; get, if you can, +a peasant's actual dinner and bottle; for instance, if you see a man +working in the fields, call to him to bring the dinner he has with him, +and describe it minutely. + + * * * * * + +4. The diversions of the common people; whether they seem to enjoy their +amusements, and be happy, and sport, and laugh; farm-houses, or any thing +answering to them, and of what kind; same of public-houses, roads. + +5. Their shops; how you get your breeches mended, or things done for you, +and how (i.e. well or ill done;) whether you see the tailor, converse +with him, &c. + +6. Get into the inside of a cottage; describe furniture, utensils, what +you find actually doing. + +All the stipulations I make with you for doing your visitation is, that +you come over to Wearmouth soon after your return, for you will be very +entertaining between truth and lying. I have a notion you will find books, +but in great confusion as to catalogues, classing, &c. + +7. Describe minutely how you pass one day on ship-board; learn to take +and apply lunar, or other observations, and how the midshipmen, &c, do it. + +8. What sort of fish you get, and how dressed. I should think your +business would be to make yourself master of the middle Greek. My +compliments to Bonaparte, if you meet with him, which I think is very +likely. Pick up little articles of dress, tools, furniture, especially +from low life--as an actual smock, &c. + +9. What they talk about; company. + +10. Describe your impression upon first seeing things; upon catching the +first view of Constantinople; the novelties of the first day you pass +there. + +In all countries and climates, nations and languages, carry with you the +best wishes of, dear Carlyle, + +Your affectionate friend, + +W. PALEY. + +_Quarterly Review_. + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + * * * * * + + +_The Tea Plant_. + +The tea leaf is plucked from the plant by the manufacturers at _three_ +periods during the spring, which crops they call, in their technical +phrase, the head, or first spring; the second spring; and the third +spring. The quality of the tea varies according to the time of the +plucking. The young and tender leaves of course make finer tea than tough +and old ones.--_Asiatic Register_. + + +_Portsmouth Literary and Philosophical Society_. + +We have been much interested with the report of this Society for 1827-8, +and we are happy to record the prosperity of the establishment. Some +of the lectures, especially those on Geology, or Mineralogy, are very +attractive; and in the curator's report, we notice that the Museum, +previously rich in fossil organic remains, has been enriched by numerous +donations in this department, during the past session. The entire number +of specimens in the Museum is upwards of 9,000. + +We have not been at Portsmouth for these three years, and till we saw +this report, were not aware that the State Chambers, lately on the +Platform Battery, had been pulled down towards the close of last year. +The building was of some interest. It was of stone, with walls of +considerable thickness, and square vaults below, descending to a level +with the parade, and used at different periods as dungeons. The part on +which the vane stood, was erected in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and +the other part was built in the time of Charles II., whose name, with the +date, was on a marble slab above the doorway. Of late years the building +had been modernized and used as a signal-house and subscription +reading-room. If we are not mistaken, the edifice had often been much +injured by the encroachments of the sea, and probably this led to its +removal. + + +_Conversations on Geology_. + +We notice with much pleasure a handsome volume under the above popular +title, which represents that delightful science in the very attractive +form of a series of dialogues between a mother and her children. +The Huttonian and Wernerian systems and the Mosaic Geology, are here +familiarly explained, and illustrative phenomena and recent discoveries +glanced at in the progress of the conversations. How much more profitable +are such family recreations than sitting hours over spotted pieces of +paper, counting the pips of dice, or simpering over fashionable novels +and tales of scandal run mad. Bookish families are usually the happiest, +at least if we rightly estimate the term. In an early number we shall +endeavour to find some portion of these "Conversations" for our columns. + + +"_Arcana of Science for_ 1829." + +This work will appear early in January. It will be on the same plan as +the volume of last year, and will contain at least _thirty engravings_, +on copper and wood. The _mechanical_ department is unusually copious, and +there are some abstracts in the _chemical_, which are of high value. + + +_Rice_. + +Trials have recently been made to grow the dry rice of China in Italy; +and it is expected that in time an advantageous cultivation of it may be +introduced in France. + + +_Turf_. + +A correspondent of a French work on gardening thinks that green turf may +be obtained in France by trenching the ground, freeing it from stones, +covering the surface with two or three inches of rich compost, and then +laying on the turf. The improved soil, he thinks, will retain moisture +sufficient to keep the turf growing all the summer, and, consequently, +green. + + +_Garden of the Hesperides_. + +Lieutenant Beachey, in his _Travels in Cyrene_, recently published, has +thrown some curious light on the ancient account of these celebrated +gardens. It appears, that, like many other wonders, ancient and modern, +when reduced to simple truth, they are little more than common +occurrences. Baron Humboldt and Mr. Bullock have reduced the floating +gardens of Mexico to mud banks, with ditches between; and lieutenant +Beachey makes it appear, that the gardens of the Hesperides are nothing +more than old stone quarries, the bottoms of which have been cultivated. + + +_Preparation of Cinnamon_. + +The rough bark is first scraped off with knives, and then, with a +peculiar instrument, the inner rind is stripped off in long slips; these +are tied up in bundles, and put to dry in the sun, and the wood is +sold for fuel. The operation was thus explained to bishop Heber by the +cinnamon peelers; but in the regular preparation, the outer bark is not +scraped off; but the process of fermentation, which the strips undergo +when tied up in large quantities, removes the coarse parts. The peelers +are called Chaliers. + + +_Power of the Sun's Rays_. + +Mr. Mackintosh, contractor for the government works at Stonehouse Point, +Devon, lately had to descend in the diving-bell with workmen to lay the +foundation of a sea wall. The machine is fitted with convex glasses, in +the upper part, to serve the purpose of windows; and Mr. Mackintosh +states, that on several occasions, in clear weather, he has witnessed the +sun's rays so concentrated by the circular windows, as to burn the +labourers' clothes, when opposed to the focal point, and this when the +machine was twenty-five feet under the surface of the water!--_From the +MS. Journal of the Bristol Nursery Library_. + + +_The Cowslip and Polyanthus_. + +By sowing the seed of the wild cowslip in the garden, a number of +varieties will be produced, some of which have flowers of a beautiful +bright red colour. May not this process be the first step towards the +formation of our garden polyanthus? if that be not, as is generally +supposed, a variety of the primrose, rather than of the cowslip.--_Gard. +Mag_. + + +_French Method of making Coffee_. + +The principal points are these:--The coffee,--_Turkey or +Bourbon_,--should be roasted only till it is of a _cinnamon colour_, and +closely covered up during the process of roasting. In France this is done +in closed iron cylinders, turned over a fire by a handle, like a +grindstone. The coffee should be coarsely ground soon after it is roasted, +but not until quite cool: some think its _aroma_ is better preserved by +beating in a mortar, but this is tedious. The proportions for _making +coffee_ are usually _one pint of boiling water to two and a half ounces +of coffee_. The coffee being put into the water, the coffee-pot should be +covered up, and left for two hours surrounded with hot cinders, so as to +keep up the temperature, without making the liquor boil. Occasionally +stir it, and after two hours' infusion, remove it from the fire, and +allow it a quarter of an hour to settle, and when perfectly clear, decant +it. Isinglass, or hartshorn shavings, are sometimes used to clarify +coffee; but by this addition you lose a great portion of its delicious +aroma. + +Coffee in England is generally _over-roasted_, and to this fault arise +all the inconveniences which are so often attributed to coffee, but which, +in reality, are produced by the imperfect modes of its preparation.--_From +the Coffee-Drinker's Manual, translated from the French_. + + +_Ivy_. + +Attached to the officers' barracks at Winchester, is a very fine +specimen of ivy; its trunk has been severed off to a height of more than +two feet from the ground, yet it has for years continued in healthy +vegetation.--_Gard. Mag_. + + +_Parasite Sycamore_. + +In Kinmel Park, Denbighshire, is an oak tree, which, twenty or thirty +years ago, lost one of its largest branches by the wind, and a partial +decay was the consequence; a key from a neighbouring sycamore fell into +the fracture, which, vegetating, has formed for the old mutilated oak a +new head. This parasite appears to have so completely seated itself, that, +though the place of its first lodgment is twelve feet from the ground, it +is thought that its roots will very soon penetrate to the earth, and at +last destroy its venerable nurse.--_Ibid_. + + +_Turpentine_. + +Common turpentine is the produce of the Scotch pine. Trees with the +thickest bark, and which are most exposed to the sun, generally yield the +most turpentine. The first incision is made near the foot of the tree, +and as the resin flows most abundantly in hot weather, the operations are +begun about the end of May, and continued to September. The juice is +received into holes dug in the ground, is afterwards taken out with iron +ladles, poured into pails, and removed to a hollow trunk, capacious +enough to hold three or four barrels. _Essential oil of turpentine_ is +obtained by distillation. _Common resin_ is the residuum of the process +for obtaining the essential oil. _Tar_ is obtained from the roots and +other parts of old trees. _Med. Botany_. + + +_Gum Arabic_. + +The purest and finest gum arabic is brought in caravans to Cairo, by the +Arabs of the country round Mounts Tor and Sinai, who bring it from this +distance on the backs of camels, sown up in bags, and often adulterated +with sand, &c. The gum exudes spontaneously from the bark and trunk of +the branches of the tree, in a soft, nearly fluid state, and hardens by +exposure to the air, or heat of the sun. It begins to flow in December, +immediately after the rainy season, near the flowering time of the tree. +Afterwards, as the weather becomes hotter, incisions are made through the +bark, to assist the transudation of the juice.--_Ibid_. + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS + + * * * * * + +RECOLLECTIONS OF A R*T. + +_Written by Himself_. + +_From Blackwood's Magazine._ + + +This is a pleasant piece of satire upon the _autobiographic_ mania of +the present day. The original article extends to twenty pages, and is +throughout a masterly graphic sketch. We have marked a few extracts, +which we shall endeavour to connect. + + + "A R--t! a R--t! clap to the door." + +POPE. + + +As I intend to write the following pages entirely for my own amusement, +and as they will most probably never meet the eye of mortal man, +who alone can decipher them, it is unnecessary for me to make any +observations on the doctrine of metempsychosis, to which indeed my reader +(if there shall ever be one) may perhaps not be inclined to give implicit +belief. It is unnecessary for me, therefore, to begin by alluding to my +former visit to this earth. I shall not even hint, whether if it ever +took place, it was in antediluvian ages, or during the Babylonian, +Grecian, or Roman glory; or in more modern times. Be assured, however, +gentle reader, (if any there ever be,) that I have the faculty of +observation--that I have seen many generations of men--that I have been +in almost every corner of the habitable world, and that I am intimately +acquainted with the history of mankind.--(Sir Walter Scott's Novels I +have listened to with the greatest attention!)--I have eat opium in +Constantinople--garlic in Italy--potatoes in Ireland. I have dabbled my +whiskers in Guava jelly--have drunk rack at Delhi, and at New South Wales +I have enjoyed the luxuries of Kangaroo soup and Opossum gravy. I have +been at the Highland-moors with young Englishmen--at Melton with young +Scotsmen, and at bathing-quarters with old dowagers and their daughters. +I have travelled in all ways--by seas--by land--on foot--on horseback--in +a carriage--in a ship--in a palanquin--in a muff; but the motion of the +camel I never could bear, it so jolted my poor old bones, and discomposed +my whole body. India never agreed well with me. The insects, not to +mention the serpents, annoyed me. The heat made me quite bilious; and, +indeed, I began to feel my liver affected. And however partial I +naturally was to perfumes, I soon had a great dislike to the strong smell +of musk, which I felt about myself, and which, as I observe every +historian agrees, very soon begins to appear in all of my species who +reside for any time in India. Musk should not of itself be disagreeable; +but to have it constantly below one's nose, and to have every thing you +touch smelling of it, you may easily conceive must be very annoying. + +The Count de Buffon, whom we reckon one of our best historians, I see, +says we are an omnivorous animal, and that we only seem to prefer hard +substances to those which are tender or succulent. In this, however, he +is mistaken; at least I can answer for myself. I know, for my part, I +prefer mulligatawney and a tender young chicken, to an old pair of boots +or a well-picked bone. + +I have the misfortune, my reader, whoever you may be, to belong to a +race to which you have an aversion; I may say a perfect horror. I am a +wretched proscribed animal. A lady would faint at the sight of me; and if +I should merely run across a room, a whole legion of boys and footmen +would be after me; and if they should kill me, they themselves, and I am +afraid every other person, would give them credit for doing a meritorious +action. But, gentle reader, our character is worse than it should be. +Although we never received any kindness from man, I am sure I can answer +for myself, at least, I have not very often done him mischief for +mischief's sake; and do remember that I did not choose my own form, and +that perhaps I am now doomed to animate it from the contempt and cruelty, +with which, in better days, I may have used the species. But I moralize, +and this does not well suit my present condition. You may think it as +ridiculous an idea as an oyster in love, which, I remember, used to +tickle my fancy. I must only for one moment be allowed to observe, that +man bestows far too much care and attention on that green-eyed monster, +which I do detest--I mean the cat. If we were caressed and made much of +like it, and half so carefully attended to, I am sure we would make a +much better return, and be truly grateful and attached. My friend Buffon +seems perfectly to understand their character, and I must be allowed to +quote a sentence or two from him, which I know will be much more credited +than any thing I could myself say. "They possess," says he, "an innate +malice, and perverse disposition, which increase as they grow up, and +which education teaches them to conceal, but not to subdue. From +determined robbers, the best education can only convert them into +flattering thieves, for they have address, subtlety, and desire of +plunder." ... "They easily assume the habits of society, but never +acquire its manners, for they have only the appearance of attachment and +friendship." And again he says, "the cat appears to have no feelings +which are not interested--to have no affection which is not conditional-- +and to carry on no intercourse with man, but with the view of turning it +to his own advantage. Even the tamest are under no subjection, for they +act merely to please themselves." + +The dog is a very different animal. He is really attached to his master, +and only lives to serve him. A dog is a perfect gentleman, and I love to +fight with gentlemen. + +The Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Philippians, says,--"Beware of +dogs!" c. iii. v. 2. Now, I cannot help always having thought, that he +must have meant cats. It is very easy to suppose the Greek word "[Greek: +kunas]," may have crept in instead of "[Greek: galas]" and this, indeed, +is I believe, corroborated by the folio manuscript copy of the Bible, of +1223, in the British Museum. + +Our race is generally said to have come from some of the islands in the +Levant, or according to others, from Sweden; but I can ascertain with +certainty, that my family came to France along with the Huns, and that my +immediate ancestors came over to England with William the Conqueror, in +1066. I consider my blood, therefore, as purely British as any of the +inhabitants of the island. There is a tradition among us, that the +descendants of the pair who cruised with old Noah, settled in the north +of Asia, and that we were to be found no where else for about 500 years +afterwards. As to this, however, I do not pretend to speak with certainty; +but one thing I know, that wherever man is seen to inhabit, we are to be +found--wherever he goes, we attend him. We sent out parties to make +discoveries with Vasquez de Gama, Dampier, Anson, and Cook, and although +we English gentlemen (who have no blood-relationship with the Norwegians) +are known to have such a natural abhorrence at cold, the love of science +prevailed, and a strong party were sent to the frozen seas with Ross, +Lyon, and Parry. Pontoppidan sagely observes, that "neither the wood nor +water R*ts can live farther north than Norway; that there are several +districts, as that of Hordenvor, in the diocese of Bergen, and others in +the diocese of Aggerhum, where no R*ts are to be found; and that the R*ts +on the south banks of the Vormen soon perish, when carried to the north +side of it." But we do not reckon Mr. Pontoppidan a historian implicitly +to be believed, and indeed the Admiralty took such care of us, that we +might have remained for years at the Pole itself, without even having the +toothache! + +We always accompany the first visiters of countries, and when they take +possession for their king, we do so for ourselves; and without being put +to much trouble in carrying out stores, we have always the best and the +pick of every thing. Often have I laughed at the pains man took to +preserve his property from man. Stone and iron are made to do their +best-armed sentries walking night and day--when all the time I have, +with the coolest composure, been daily wallowing in the best of every +thing. Nature abhors a vacuum, and will not allow us to starve, +especially in the midst of plenty; but I may safely say, that I never +wantonly destroyed, and, if possible, have always preferred the rich +man's store. + +Before the flood, as the cave of Yorkshire no doubt proves, we were to be +found in this island--but upon this subject I shall not enter at present. +Probably what is now Britain, was not then an island--I leave this, +however, to wiser heads! + +In the beginning of the year ----, my parents accompanied the baggage of +the ---- Dragoon Guards to Scotland. They told me they came in the carts +with the sergeants' wives, as being the most comfortable. I was born +above one of the stables on the east side of the court of Piershill +barracks, or as I used to hear the soldiers then call it, "Jock's Lodge," +which is within a mile and a half of Edinburgh. My father was a kind, +sensible gentleman, and was much esteemed by all his friends; and I +sincerely forgive him for the great desire, and the many attempts he made +to eat me up. It was a natural instinct, and poor fellow, he could not be +blamed for it. If he had succeeded, it would have saved me many vexations +and trials, but my poor mother thought otherwise; and I am sure she +fought most valiantly with my father whenever he made any attempt of the +kind. + +[He might, perhaps, have lived and died in the barracks where he was born, +had it not been for his miraculous escape from a _hunt_ by the officers +of the dragoons. A few nights afterwards a large band of R*ts made an +excursion of several miles, and in returning, remained for a day or two +at Leith. "It being a sea-port, they met with some of their own species +from all parts of the world, the language of most of whom they could not +understand."--He travels in the pocket of a captain to Edinburgh. His +adventures in this city are very amusing. He next sails for Holland.] + +We set sail in a few days with a fair wind down the Frith, and soon left +the Bass and the May behind us. I must confess, I was a little afraid, +when, for the first time, I was out of sight of land. It is a dismal +thought to have nothing but sea and sky around, and only a frail plank +between us and the fathomless depths of ocean. This was my first voyage; +but many a day and month and year have I spent on the water since that +time. + +I was a little squeamish or so for the first day, but nothing like some +of our passengers. The great secret I have always found, is to eat plenty, +and drink a little brandy; that is much better than all your quack +receipts. + +We had a dog on board, but he was a lazy, mangy fellow, and gave us +little trouble. The wind continued favourable, and on the sixth evening, +the lights of Goeree and Helvoetsluis were visible. Some of the +passengers left us at the latter town; but I merely went ashore and took +a rapid look of the streets, and of the guard-ship, which was in the Dock +in the centre of the town, and returned to the smack by the captain's +boat. I saw rather a curious scene on board the man-of-war. Some of her +men had been engaged in a row the previous night, and were sentenced to +be flogged. After being stripped, they seemed to dip each man in the +water before commencing the more disagreeable part of the operation. If I +had not been in such a hurry, I should certainly have made bold to have +carried a biscuit to a poor little midshipman, who was condemned to +remain twelve hours at the mast-head for some nonsense or other, and who +looked most miserably cold. + +Mynheer is certainly a strange fat-bottomed animal after all. His pipe +never seems to be out of his mouth, nor his hands out of his pockets. The +pilots who came on board, with their very little hats, their immense wide, +short breeches, and large wooden shoes, surprised me not a little. The +Dutch get the credit of being very cleanly, but I cannot say much as to +that, in their persons at least. The Bad Huis, or Bath Hotel, which is on +the Boom Keys, the best street in Rotterdam, was recommended to me as the +only one a gentleman could go to, and there accordingly I and four of the +passengers took up our quarters. + +Upon the whole, there did not appear much to be seen in the town. The +inhabitants seemed more an eating and drinking sort of people than any +thing else. Their ferries through the town are a very great nuisance, +as one cannot always have a doit about them; and a surly, brown, Dutch +rascal at one time had the impudence to stop me till I had to borrow +from a friend. The statue of Erasmus is a shabby concern. + +A party were intending, I found, to make a trip along the Rhine; so +I thought I could not do better than join them. We went by the Hague, +Haarlem, and Amsterdam. With the last, I was much disappointed. They say +it contains 200,000 human inhabitants, but it has not even a tolerable +hotel. The famous Haarlem tulip gardens, I of course visited, +particularly those of Van Eeden. I wonder what the fools could see in +tulips, who gave 10,000 guilders for one root. The organ is certainly +very fine; but it nearly cracked the drum of my ears. + +When at Amsterdam, I was nearly carried off to Archangel, which would, at +the time, have been rather a bore indeed. After a grand let-off, given by +a rich burgo-master, to which my friends got me a special invitation, I +incautiously exceeded in the curaçoa, of which I did not at all then know +the strength. The vessel put to sea, and I had enough to do to secure +my retreat in the pilot boat. From Amsterdam we proceeded in a curious, +large diligence to Utrecht, and from that to Cologne. We had twelve +(human) passengers inside, who smoked the whole time without intermission. +I, as well as all my species, are most partial to perfumes, and I did not +therefore fail to visit the representative of Signior Jean Marie Farina +in his shop, No. 4568, à la rue haute à Cologne. Nothing struck me +particularly in this town of Cologne. The streets are very narrow, and +seemed dull enough. To be sure, the principal one, which is said to be a +German league in length, is rather fine. The old convent of the Ladies of +St. Ursula, is curious at least. They show you in it the bones of 11,000 +virgins, who they say were murdered by the Huns at the time of their +invasion, when they destroyed the town. I might easily have had a taste +of them; but I had no fancy for such antiquated old maids. In the +Cathedral, or Dom, as they call it, you see the tomb of the three famous +kings of Cologne, and the gold and silver chests which contain the bones +of the Holy Engelberth. I don't think, in the whole town, there is any +thing else worth the trouble of looking at. The hotel "Le Prince Charles," +I found tolerably comfortable: there is a good French cook, but he is +a saucy fellow. + +(_To be concluded in our next_.) + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SELECTOR; +AND +LITERARY NOTICES OF +_NEW WORKS_. + + * * * * * + + +A MOTHER'S LOVE + + + Oh, beauteous were my baby's dark blue eyes, + Evermore turning to his mother's face, + So dove-like soft, yet bright as summer skies; + And pure his cheek as roses, ere the trace + Of earthly blight or stain their tints disgrace. + O'er my loved child enraptured still I hung; + No joy in life could those sweet hours replace, + When by his cradle low I watched and sung-- + While still in memory's ear his father's promise rung. + + Long, long I wept with weak and piteous cry + O'er my sweet infant, in its rosy bloom, + As memory brought my hours of agony + Again before my mind:--I mourned his doom; + I mourned my own: the sunny little room + In which, opress'd by sickness, now I lay, + Weeping for sorrows past, and woes to come, + Had been my own in childhood's early day. + Oh! could those years indeed so soon have passed away! + + Past, as the waters of the running brook; + Fled, as the summer winds that fan the flowers! + All that remained, a word--a tone--a look, + Impressed, by chance, in those bright joyous hours; + Blossoms which, culled from youth's light fairy bowers, + Still float with lingering scent, as loath to fade, + In spite of sin's remorseless, 'whelming powers, + Above the wreck which time and grief have made. + Nursed with the dew of tears, though low in ruin laid. + +_The Sorrows of Rosalie_. + + * * * * * + + +FAGGING AT WINCHESTER SCHOOL. + + +The following outline of a recent quarrel at Winchester School serves to +illustrate the _System_ of _Fagging_ as practised at one of our leading +schools, among the "future clergy, lawyers, legislators, and peers of +England." It is extracted from a pamphlet by Sir Alexander Malet, Bart.; +and we hope this _expose_ will lead to the extermination of the +"custom:"-- + +The prefects, or eight senior boys of the school, are in the habit of +fagging the juniors; and that they may have a greater command of their +services during meal times, they appoint one of the junior boys with the +title of course keeper, whose business it is to take care that whilst the +prefects are at breakfast or supper, the juniors sit upon a certain cross +bench at the top of the hall, that they may be forthcoming whenever a +prefect requires any thing to be done. During that part of the short +half-year in which there are no fires kept, a sufficient number of boys +for this service was generally furnished from the fourth class, and it +was considered that the junior part of the fifth class, which is next in +the ascending scale, was exempt from so disagreeable a servitude. It +appears, however, that within these few years, there has been a much +greater press of boys to enter the school than formerly; the consequence +has been, that they have come to it older and more advanced in their +studies than formerly, and the upper departments of the school have +received a greater accession of numbers in proportion than the lower +classes. The fourth class, therefore, gradually furnishing a smaller +number of fags, the prefects issued a mandate, that the junior part of +the fifth class should share with the fourth in the duty of going on hall: +this was for some time submitted to; but at length one of the boys of +this class intentionally abstained from seating himself on the cross +bench at supper-time, and being seen by the senior prefect, and desired +by him to go on hall, refused to do so, and argued the point as a matter +of right, alleging, as the ancient usage of the school, the exemption of +the junior part of the fifth class from this duty till the commencement +of fires; he referred to the course keeper as being the depositary of +the rules, and expressed himself prepared to abide by his decision. The +course keeper, who does not appear to have been very well versed in the +usages of the school, decided that the boy ought to go on hall; and the +prefect therefore resolved, not only to enforce this new rule, but +to punish the contumely of this unlucky boy by giving him a public +chastisement. To this, however, the junior did not feel inclined to +submit, and a second prefect laid hold of him, that he might not evade +the beating destined for him: a simultaneous movement then took place +amongst the juniors, who pinioned the two prefects, released the boy +who was being beaten, and gave them to understand that the intended +chastisement should not be inflicted. The prefects instantly laid a +complaint before the head master, who expelled the boy who had refused to +go on hall, and five others, who had appeared most active in preventing +the prefect from punishing him. + + * * * * * + + +WRITTEN IN A LADY'S ALBUM. + + + As sweeps the bark before the breeze, + While waters coldly close around, + Till of her pathway through the seas + The track no more is found; + Thus passing down Oblivion's tide, + The beauteous visions of the mind + Fleet as that ocean pageant glide, + And leave no trace behind. + + But the pure page may still impart + Some dream of feeling, else untold,-- + The silent record of a heart, + E'en when that heart is cold. + Its lorn memorials here may bloom,-- + Perchance to gentle bosoms dear, + Like flowers that linger o'er the tomb + Bedewed with Beauty's tear. + + I ask not for the meed of fame. + The wreath above my rest to twine,-- + Enough for me to leave my name + Within this hallow'd shrine; + To think that o'er these lines thine eye + May wander in some future year, + And Memory breathe a passing sigh + For him who traced them here. + + Calm sleeps the sea when storms are o'er, + With bosom silent and serene, + And but the plank upon the shore + Reveals that wrecks have been. + So some frail leaf like this may be + Left floating on Time's silent tide,-- + The sole remaining trace of me,-- + To tell I lived and died. + +_Malcolm's Scenes of War, &c._ + + * * * * * + + +THE SUICIDE LOVER. + + +A young man, of rich and respectable parents, was for a long time +passionately in love with a young lady of the same town, whose birth +and fortune were equal to his own; he had also the good fortune not +to displease the young lady. Both families were anxious to bring the +business to a conclusion; notwithstanding which the intended always found +some specious pretext to put off the ceremony. The parents of the lady, +after yielding for some time to the different excuses of their future +son-in-law, as they could not find out the motive, began to be weary of +being put off so often, and at last declared to him that a rival, who was +his equal in every thing, had presented himself, and that if he did not +soon make up his mind, they should be obliged to give up to the desire of +his rival. The young man upon this information made up his mind; and, +after the necessary arrangements, the day for the ceremony arrived. The +bride, the two families and friends, were assembled, and waited only for +the bridegroom in order to proceed to church, when a servant arrived with +the sad intelligence that his master was taken suddenly ill, and in +consequence requested that the celebration of the nuptials might once +more be deferred for a few days. Two of his friends, who witnessed +both the surprise and even the indignation which was marked on every +countenance, left the party, and hastened to the gentleman's house, +and pointed out in such strong colours the folly, as well as the bad +consequences of his behaviour, that he sent them away, assuring them that +he would dress himself and follow them immediately. But an hour having +elapsed, and no bridegroom appearing, the two friends again set out to +inquire into the cause of the delay, which seemed to them more than ever +extraordinary. They had just arrived at the foot of his staircase, when +they heard the report of a pistol. They hastened to ascend, and having +forced open the door of the young man's apartment, they found him dead +upon the floor, weltering in his blood. They were so shocked at the sight +before them, that they could not return to announce the fatal news, but +instantly dispatched a servant for that purpose. It is more easy to +conceive than describe the consternation such a piece of intelligence was +likely to throw every one into; but the situation of the bride was most +to be pitied; she not only lost a lover just on the point of being her +husband, but fancied that he had received some calumnious information +which caused him to prefer death to the necessity of being united to her. +It was some days before this mystery was cleared up, as it was not until +the seals were broken, that they found the following written paper in his +desk, dated eight days before the fatal catastrophe:--"I adore +Mademoiselle de N----, and shall do so all my life. Her virtues surpassed +if possible her charms; and I would sacrifice the last drop of my blood +rather than cause her the least uneasiness. But the cruel and dangerous +passion of jealousy possesses me to such a degree, that notwithstanding +all her merits, the bare idea of a rival makes me wretched. Every effort +on my part, joined to the voice of reason, has never been able to +eradicate this dreadful poison from my heart, and which I fear is +incurable. If I yield to my penchant for her, and become her husband, +instead of being a tender lover, of which she is so worthy, I should be +a tyrant, whose frenzy would render her more miserable than myself. They +press me to bring our union to a conclusion, they threaten me also with a +rival, who without doubt deserves her more than I. How can I, miserable +wretch that I am, how can I ward off the blow which threatens me? I +flatter myself, at least, to have succeeded in my endeavours to conceal +the vice of a heart which, although entirely her own, can never +exterminate the miserable passion which possesses it. The time approaches +with rapid strides when I must make up my mind. Good Heaven direct me! +shall I risk making her unhappy? Can I resolve to see her the wife of +another? Never, no never! rather let me die a hundred deaths...." + +This unfortunate youth had written no more, but it was sufficient to +prove that he had sacrificed himself for the happiness of his mistress. + +_Album of Love_. + + * * * * * + + +THE CRUSADER'S SONG. + +"Remember the Holy Sepulchre." + + + Forget the land which gave ye birth-- + Forget the womb that bore ye-- + Forget each much-loved spot of earth-- + Forget each dream of glory-- + Forget the friends that by your side + Stood firm as rocks unbroken-- + Forget the late affianced bride, + And every dear love token-- + Forget the hope that in each breast + Glow'd like a smould'ring ember-- + But still the Holy Sepulchre, + Remember! oh remember! + + Remember all the vows ye've sworn + At holy Becket's altar-- + Remember all the ills ye've borne, + And scorn'd to shrink or falter-- + Remember every laurel'd field, + Which saw the Crescent waving-- + Remember when compell'd to yield, + Uncounted numbers braving: + Remember these, remember too + The cause ye strive for, ever; + The Cross! the Holy Sepulchre! + Forget--forget them never! + + By Him who in that Sepulchre + Was laid in Death's cold keeping-- + By Her who bore, who rear'd him. Her + Who by that Cross sat weeping-- + By those, whose blood so oft has cried + Revenge for souls unshriven!-- + By those, whose sacred precepts guide + The path to yonder Heaven! + From youth to age, from morn to eve + From Spring-tide to December, + The Holy Sepulchre of Christ + Remember! oh remember! + +_Literary Remains of Henry Neele_. + + * * * * * + + +A SERENADE. + + + Wake, Lady, wake! the midnight Moon + Sails through the cloudless skies of June; + The Stars gaze sweetly on the stream, + Which in the brightness of their beam, + One sheet of glory lies; + The glow-worm lends its little light, + And all that's beautiful and bright + Is shining in our world to-night, + Save thy bright eyes, + + Wake, Lady! wake! the nightingale + Tells to the Moon her love-lorn tale; + Now doth the brook that's hush'd by day, + As through the vale she winds her way, + In murmurs sweet rejoice; + The leaves, by the soft night-wind stirr'd, + Are whispering many a gentle word, + And all Earth's sweetest sounds are heard, + Save thy sweet voice. + + Wake, Lady! wake! thy lover waits, + Thy steed stands saddled at the gates; + Here is a garment, rich and rare, + To wrap thee from the cold night-air; + Th' appointed hour is flown. + Danger and doubt have vanish'd quite, + Our way before lies clear and right, + And all is ready for the flight, + Save thou alone! + + Wake, Lady! wake! I have a wreath + Thy broad fair brow should rise beneath; + I have a ring that must not shine + On any finger, Love! but thine-- + I've kept my plighted vow; + Beneath thy casement here I stand, + To lead thee by thine own white hand, + Far from this dull and captive strand-- + But where art thou? + + Wake, Lady! wake! She wakes! she wakes! + Through the green mead her course she takes; + And now her lover's arms enfold + A prize more precious far than gold, + Blushing like morning's ray; + Now mount thy palfrey, Maiden kind! + Nor pause to cast one look behind, + But swifter than the viewless wind, + Away! away! + +_Ibid_. + + + * * * * * + + + + +THE GATHERER + + + "A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles." +SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +FILTHY WATER. + + +If the unhappy victims of mud-juice had constant access to the solar +microscope, and there was occasionally in London a little sunshine to set +off the animated bedevilments which are crowded into the composition, and +could see thousands of animals, generated in filth, and living in the +highest spirits and the greatest abundance, in the stuff destined for +their stomachs, they would go mad. Boiled down in tea (for which, in +the midst of _starvation_, a cockney pays five hundred per cent. beyond +its value, and a tax of five hundred per cent. more than that,) these +centipedes, toads, small alligators, large worms, white bait, snails, +caterpillars, maggots, eels, minnows, weeds, moss, offal in detachments, +gas-juice, vinegar lees, tallow droppings, galls, particles of dead men, +women, children, horses, and dogs, train-oil, copper, dye-stuff, soot, +and dead fish, are all, according to the chemistry of the washerwomen, +neutralized, mollified, clarified, and rectified--but this we doubt; and +if any of the unhappy persons who imbibe nastiness fourteen times a week, +under the idea that it is good and wholesome because it is hot, will +take the trouble to look at the agreeable deposit in the bottom of the +"slop-basin," they will find that independent of all the muddy, fishy, +oily, gaseous, animal and vegetable stuff, introduced into their stomachs +under the guise of that most poisonous of all herbs, tea, they are in the +habit of swallowing mud, earth, stones, sand, and gravel, in quantities +sufficient to establish in less than three months spaces of land as big +as Cornish freeholds in their insides.--_John Bull_. + + * * * * * + + +NAPOLEON. + + +While Napoleon was a subaltern in the army, a Russian officer remarked, +with much self-sufficiency, "That his country fought for glory and the +French for gain."--"You are perfectly right," answered Napoleon; "every +one fights for that which he does not possess." + +INA. + + * * * * * + + +FORBIDDEN FRUIT. + + +Sir Richard Steele, who represented the borough of Stockbridge, Hants, +in parliament in the reign of Queen Anne, carried his election against +a powerful opposition, by sticking a large apple full of guineas, and +declaring that it should be the prize of that man whose wife was first +brought to bed after that day nine months. This merry offer procured him +the interest of the ladies, who, it is said, commemorate Sir Richard's +bounty to this day, and once made a vigorous effort to procure a standing +order of the corporation, that no man should ever be received as a +candidate who did not offer himself on the same terms. + +HALBERT H. + + * * * * * + + +EPITAPH ON A SILLY, DRUNKEN SOT. + + +His life and death five letters do express; A.B.C. he knew not, and he +died of X.S. + +G.J.F. + + * * * * * + + +CONVENIENT ABSENCE. + + +An individual often visited a landscape painter, who had a very beautiful +wife, but he always met with the husband. "Zounds," said he, one day to +him, "for a painter of landscapes, you are very seldom in the country." + + * * * * * + + +TARRAGON. + + +We recommend our correspondent, _Qy?_ to steep shalots and tarragon in +vinegar, to be used as a sauce with rump-steaks. Or he may chop the +shalots and tarragon _very fine_, and sprinkle them over the meat. +Tarragon sprinkled over mutton chops is a nice relish; and with _sauce +piquante_ flavoured with the above vinegar, makes a dish on "which the +gods might dine." + + * * * * * + + +PEREMPTORY CONCLUSION. + + +An advocate, whose pleading appeared too diffuse for the cause he was +defending, had received an order from the first president to abridge it; +but the former, without omitting a word of his intended address, replied +in a firm tone, that all he uttered was essential. The president, hoping +at length to make him silent, said to him, "The court orders you to +_conclude_." "Well," replied the advocate, "then I _conclude_ that the +court shall hear me." + + * * * * * + + +GROUNDS OF RECOGNITION. + + +A man went to a restaurateur's (or chop-house) in France, to dine. He +perceived another man in the room and hurried away to tell the master. +"If you do not, Sir, order that man, who is dining alone at the table +in the corner, out of your house, a respectable individual will not be +able to sit down in it."--"How is that, Sir?"--"Because that is the +executioner of R----." The host, after some hesitation, at length went +and spoke to the stranger, who calmly answered him: "By whom have I been +recognised?"--"By that gentleman," said the landlord, pointing out the +former. "Indeed, he ought to know me, for it is not two years since I +whipped and branded him." + + * * * * * + + +SINGULAR MISTAKE. + + +A courtier was playing at piquet, and was greatly annoyed by a +short-sighted man with a long nose. To get rid of it he took his pocket +handkerchief and wiped his troublesome neighbour's nose. "Ah, sir," said +he immediately, "I really beg your pardon, I took it for my own." + + * * * * * + + +BROTHERS AND SISTERS. + + +During the revolution, a young man was travelling in the Diligence to +Lyons with "_a brother and a friend_," when they had got about half way +the latter's purse became empty; "_Brother_," said he to the young man, +"pay for me, and I will return it to you at Lyons." "I cannot."--"Why, are +we not brothers?" "Oh certainly, but _our purses are not sisters_." + + * * * * * + + +SPANISH REFUGEES. + + +As philanthropy is of no _caste_ or creed, let us dip our pen "in the +milk of human kindness," and recommend each of our readers to contribute +the amount of the MIRROR purchase-money--_Two-pence_--to the fund for +relief of the Spanish Refugees. + + * * * * * + + +THE ANNUALS. + + +The SUPPLEMENT announced in No. 340 of the MIRROR, will be published next +Saturday, December 6, and will contain Notices of such of the ANNUALS as +were not included in the previous Supplement, with a FINE ENGRAVING, and +their _Spirit_, or _Second Sight_. + + * * * * * + +LIMBIRD'S EDITION OF THE + +_Following Novels are already Published_: + +- _s._ _d_. +Mackenzie's Man of Feeling . . . . . . 0 6 +Paul and Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 +The Castle of Otranto. . . . . . . . . 0 6 +Almoran and Ramet. . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 +Elizabeth, or the Exiles of Siberia. . 0 6 +The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne . . 0 6 +Rasselas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 8 +The Old English Baron. . . . . . . . . 0 8 +Nature and Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 8 +Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield . . . . 0 10 +Sicilian Romance . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 +The Man of the World . . . . . . . . . 1 0 +A Simple Story . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 +Joseph Andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 +Humphry Clinker. . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 +The Romance of the Forest. . . . . . . 1 8 +The Italian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 +Zeluco, by Dr. Moore . . . . . . . . . 2 6 +Edward, by Dr. Moore . . . . . . . . . 2 0 +Roderick Random. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 +The Mysteries of Udolpho . . . . . . . 3 6 + + * * * * * + +_Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) +London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; and by all +Newsmen and Booksellers._ + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11404 *** |