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diff --git a/11455-0.txt b/11455-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c98292 --- /dev/null +++ b/11455-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1521 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11455 *** + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +VOL. XIV, NO. 385.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1829. [PRICE 2d. + + + + +HAMPTON COURT. + + +[Illustration: Hampton Court] + + +Here is a bird's-eye view of a royal palace and domain "cut out in +little stars." It is copied from one of Kipp's Views in Great Britain +in the time of Queen Anne, and affords a correct idea of Hampton Court +in all its olden splendour. + +The palace is situated on the north bank of the Thames, two miles west +from Kingston. It was magnificently built by Cardinal Wolsey. After he +became possessed of the lease of the manor of Hampton, "he bestowed," +says Stow, "great cost of building upon it, converting the +mansion-house into so stately a palace, that it is said to have +excited much envy; to avoid which, in the year 1526, he gave it to the +king, who in recompense thereof licensed him to lie in his manor of +Richmond at his pleasure; and so he lay there at certain times;" but +it appears that Wolsey after this occasionally inhabited the palace +(perhaps as keeper;) for in 1527, when some French ambassadors were +in England, the king sent them to be entertained by the Cardinal at +Hampton Court. The preparations for this purpose are detailed in a +MS. copy of Cavendish's _Life of Wolsey_, in the British Museum, and +afford the reader some idea of the magnificent taste of the prelate in +matters of state and show. The Cardinal was commanded to receive the +ambassadors with surpassing splendour; then "my Lord Cardinal sent +me (Mr. Cavendish) being his gentleman usher, with two other of my +fellows thither, to foresee all things touching our rooms to be nobly +garnished"--"accordingly our pains were not small nor light, but daily +travelling up and down from chamber to chamber; then wrought the +carpenters, joiners, masons, and all other artificers necessary to be +had to glorify this noble feast." He tells us of "expert cookes, and +connyng persons in the art of cookerie; the cookes wrought both day +and night with suttleties and many crafty devices, where lacked +neither gold, silver, nor other costly things meet for their +purpose"--"280 beds furnished with all manner of furniture to +them, too long particularly to be rehearsed, but all wise men do +sufficiently know what belongeth to the furniture thereof, and that is +sufficient at this time to be said." Wolsey's arrival during the feast +is described quaintly enough: "Before the second course my lord came +in booted and spurred, all sodainely amongst them _proface_;[1] at +whose coming there was great joy, with rising every man from his +place, whom my lord caused to sit still, and keep their roomes, and +being in his apparel as he rode, called for a chayre and sat down in +the middest of the high paradise, laughing and being as merry as ever +I saw him in all my lyff." The whole party drank long and strong, some +of the Frenchmen were led off to bed, and in the chambers of all was +placed abundance of "wine and beere." + +Henry VIII. added considerably to Wolsey's building, and in the latter +part of his reign, it became one of his principal residences. Among +the events connected with the palace are the following:-- + +Edward VI. was born at Hampton Court, October 12, 1537, and his +mother, Queen Jane Seymour, died there on the 14th of the same +month.[2] Her corpse was conveyed to Windsor by water, where she was +buried, November 12. Catharine Howard was openly showed as Queen, at +Hampton Court, August 8, 1540. Catharine Parr was married to the King +at this palace, and proclaimed Queen, July 12, 1543. In 1558, Mary and +Philip kept Christmas here with great solemnity, when the large hall +was illuminated with 1,000 lamps. Queen Elizabeth frequently resided, +and gave many superb entertainments here, in her reign. In 1603-4, the +celebrated conference between Presbyterians and the Established Church +was held here before James I. as moderator, in a withdrawing-room +within the privy-chamber, on the subject of Conformity. All the Lords +of the Council were present, and the conference lasted three days; a +new translation of the Bible was ordered, and some alterations were +made in the Liturgy.[3] + +Charles I. retired to Hampton Court on account of the plague, in 1625, +when a proclamation prohibited all communication between London, +Southwark, or Lambeth, and this place.[4] Charles was brought here +by the army, August 24, 1647, and lived in a state of splendid +imprisonment, being allowed to keep up the state and retinue of a +court, till November 11, following, when he made his escape[5] to the +Isle of Wight. + +In 1651, the Honour and Palace of Hampton were sold to creditors of +the state; but previously to 1657 it came into the possession of +Cromwell, who made it one of his chief residences. Elizabeth, his +daughter, was here publicly married to the Lord Falconberg; and the +Protector's favourite child, Mrs. Claypoole, died here, and was +conveyed with great pomp to Westminster Abbey. + +The palace was occasionally inhabited by Charles II. and James II. +King William resided much at Hampton Court; he pulled down great part +of the old palace, which then consisted of five quadrangles, and +employed Sir Christopher Wren to build on its site the Fountain Court, +or State Apartments. In July, 1689, the Duke of Gloucester, son of the +Princess, afterwards Queen Anne, was born here. The Queen sojourned +at Hampton occasionally, as did her successors George I. and II.; but +George III. never resided here. When his late serene highness William +the Fifth, Stadtholder of the United Provinces, was condemned to quit +his country by the French, this palace was appropriated to his use; +and he resided here several years. The principal domestic apartments +of Hampton Court are now occupied by different private families, who +have grants for life from the crown. + +The palace consists of three grand quadrangles: the western +quadrangle, or entrance court is 167 feet 2 inches, north to south, +and 141 feet 7 inches, east to west. This leads to the second, or +middle quadrangle, 133 feet 6 inches, north to south, and 91 feet 10 +inches, east to west; this is usually called the Clock Court, from a +curious astronomical clock by Tompion, over the gateway of the eastern +side; on the southern side is a colonnade of Ionic pillars by Wren. On +the north is the great hall: as this is not mentioned by Cavendish, +probably it was part of Henry's building. It certainly was not +finished till 1536 or 1537, as appears from initials of the King and +Jane Seymour, joined in a true lover's knot, amongst the decorations; +this hall is 106 feet long, and 40 broad. Queen Caroline had a theatre +erected here, in which it was intended that two plays should be +acted weekly during the stay of the Court; but only seven plays were +performed in it by the Drury Lane company,[6] and one afterwards +before the + + + [1] An obsolete French term of salutation, abridged from _Bon prou + vous_, i.e. much good may it do you. + + [2] Stow's Annals. + + [3] Fuller's Church History. + + [4] Rymer's Foedera. + + [5] Clarendon's History of the Rebellion. + + [6] Cibber tells us that the expenses of each play were £50. and + the players were allowed the same sum. The King likewise gave the + managers £200. more, for all the performances. For the last + play, the actors received £100. One of the plays acted here was + Shakspeare's Henry VIII--thus making the palace the scene of + Wolseys downfall, as it had been of his splendour. + + +Duke of Lorraine, afterwards Emperor of Germany. The theatrical +appurtenances were not, however, removed till the year 1798. Adjoining +the hall is the Board of Green Cloth Room, of nearly the same date, +and hung with fine tapestry. + +The eastern quadrangle, or Fountain Court, erected by Sir Christopher +Wren for King William, in 1690, is 100 feet by 177 feet 3 inches. Here +is the King's Gallery, 117 feet by 23 feet 6 inches, which was fitted +up for the Cartoons of Raphael. On the eastern side of the court is +a room in which George I. and George II. frequently dined in public. +North-west of the Fountain Court stands the chapel, which forms the +southern side of the quadrangle; this was partly built by Wolsey, and +was finished by Henry VIII. in 1536, or 1537. The windows were of +beautifully stained glass, and the walls decorated with paintings, but +these embellishments were demolished in the troublous times of 1745. +The chapel was, however, restored by Queen Anne; the floor is of black +and white marble, the pews are of Norway oak, and there is some fine +carving by Gibbons; the roof is plain Gothic with pendent ornaments. + +It is hardly possible for us, within the limits of our columns to do +justice to the magnificence of Hampton Court. The grand facade towards +the garden extends 330 feet, and that towards the Thames 328 feet. The +portico and colonnade, of duplicated pillars of the Ionic order, at +the grand entrance, and indeed, the general design of the elevations, +are in splendid style. On the south side of the palace is the privy +garden, which was sunk ten feet, to open a view from the apartments to +the Thames. On the northern side is a tennis court, and beyond that a +gate which leads into the wilderness or _Maze_.[7] Further on is the +great gate of the gardens. + +The gardens, which comprise about 44 acres, were originally laid out +by London and Wise. George III. gave the celebrated Brown permission +to make whatever improvements his fine taste might suggest; but he +declared his opinion that they appeared to the best advantage in their +original state, and they accordingly remain so to this day. The extent +of the kitchen gardens is about 12 acres. In the privy garden is a +grape house 70 feet in length, and 14 in breadth; the interior being +wholly occupied by one vine of the black Hamburgh kind, which was +planted in the year 1769, and has in a single year, produced 2,200 +bunches of grapes, weighing, on an average, one pound each. + +The grotesque forms of the gardens, and the mathematical taste in +which they are disposed, are advantageously seen in a bird's-eye view +as in the Engraving, which represents the tortuous beauty of the +parterres, and the pools, fountains, and statues with characteristic +accuracy. The formal avenues, radiating as it were, from the gardens +or centre, are likewise distinctly shown, as is also the canal formed +by Wolsey through the middle avenue. The intervening space, then a +parklike waste, is now planted with trees, and stretches away to the +village of Thames Ditton; and is bounded on the south by the Thames, +and on the north by the high road to Kingston. + +The palace is open to the public, and besides its splendid apartments, +and numerous buildings, there is a valuable collection of pictures, +which are too celebrated to need enumeration. A curious change has +taken place in the occupancy of some apartments--many rooms originally +intended for domestic offices being now tenanted by gentry. The +whole is a vast assemblage of art, and reminds us of the palace of +Versailles, which is about the same distance from Paris as Hampton +Court from London. + + * * * * * + + +GREECE. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + + Alas! for fair Greece, how her glories are failed, + Her altars are broken, her trophies are gone, + The Crescent her temples and shrines hath invaded, + And Freedom hath bow'd to the Mussulman throne. + + Fair Liberty say! shall the land of Achilles + Reluctantly cherish a dastardly slave, + Who can crouch at the foot of a despot, whose will is + As fickle as wind, and as rude as the wave? + Shall the ashes of heroes enshrouded in glory, + Be spurn'd in contempt by a barbarous horde, + While their sons idly tremble like boys at a story, + And shudder to gaze on the point of a sword? + + Shall Greece, still as lovely as maiden in sorrow, + By Freedom's bright ray ne'er be beam'd on again? + Shall the sun of Engia ne'er rise on the morrow + That lightens her thraldom or loosens her chain? + Oh say, shall the proud eye of scorn fall unheeded, + The hand, taunting, point to "the land of the brave," + And say that Achaia's fair daughters e'er needed + An arm to protect them--a hero to save. + + Rise! courage alone your base station can alter, + Let Beauty, let Liberty, spirit you on, + And while fetters and stripes are their portion who falter, + Remember that Freedom's the stake to be won. + + +J.O.B. + + [7] For an Engraving of the _Maze_, see MIRROR, vol. vi. page 105. + + * * * * * + + +ESCAPE OF CHARLES II. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + +In No. 376, of the MIRROR, is a communication from _W.W._ respecting +the pension granted by Charles II. to the Pendrils, for aiding him in +his escape, after the fatal battle of Worcester. There was another +family who enjoyed a pension from the same monarch, named Tattersall, +one of whom conveyed Charles from Brighton in his open fishing-boat. +A descendant is now living at that place, but the family, through +ignorance and neglect, have ceased to enjoy the grant. + +The house in which the king rested at Brighton, is now an inn, in West +Street, called the King's Head, and is kept by a Mr. Eales. + +H. BERGER. + + * * * * * + + +LINES WRITTEN IN A LADY'S ALBUM. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + + The star is set that lighted me + Thro' Fancy's wide domain, + And the fairy paths of poesy, + I now may seek in vain. + + 'Tis but when Sorrow's clouds appear, + In frowning darkness o'er me, + The light of Song bursts forth to cheer + The gloomy path before me. + + As o'er the dusky waves at night, + Oft Mariners behold + That ocean-form, St. Ermo's light, + When tempests are foretold. + + Two reasons in my mind arise. + Why Song is _now_ denied me;-- + No light can venture near thine eyes, + Nor Grief--when thou'rt beside me! + +E. + + * * * * * + + +MINSTREL BALLAD. + +WRITTEN ON A FLYLEAF OF A VOLUME OF ONE OF THE "WAVERLEY NOVELS." + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + + Waken, lords and ladies gay, + On the mountain dawns the day, + All the jolly chase is here, + With hawk and horse, and hunting spear; + Hounds are in their couples yelling, + Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling, + Merrily, merrily, mingle they, + "Waken, lords and ladies gay." + + Waken, lords and ladies gay, + The mist has left the mountain grey, + Springlets in the dawn are streaming, + Diamonds on the brake are gleaming, + And foresters have busy been, + To track the buck in thicket green; + Now we come to chant our lay, + "Waken, lords and ladies gay." + + Waken, lords and ladies gay, + To the green wood haste away, + We can show you where he lies, + Fleet of foot, and tall of size; + We can show the marks he made + When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed; + You shall see him brought to bay. + "Waken, lords and ladies gay." + + Louder, louder, chant the lay, + Waken, lords and ladies say, + Tell them youth, and mirth and glee, + Run a course as well as we, + Time, stern huntsman! who can balk, + Stanch as hound, and fleet as hawk? + Think of this, without delay, + Gentle lords and ladies gay. + +C.C. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SKETCH-BOOK + + * * * * * + +PHYSIOGNOMY OF HOUSES. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + +Houses undoubtedly present to the eye of fancy, an appearance +analogous to physiognomical expression in men. The remark has been +made by more acute observers than myself. + +Look at that beetle-browed, solemn looking mansion with a ponderous +hat-roof--I mean of slates, garnished with bay windows--observe its +heavy jaws of areas, its hard, close mouth of a door; its dark, deep +sunken eyes of windows peering out from the heavy brow of dark stone +coping that supports the slate hat in question: what a contrast to +the spruce mock gentility of its neighbour, with a stand-up collar of +white steps, a varnished face, and a light, jaunty, yet stiff air, +like a city apprentice in his best clothes. + +See the cap on the temple of that Chinese Mandarin, poking above yon +clump of firs, with its bell furniture; he seems pondering on the +aphorisms of Confucius, regardless of that booby faced conservatory, +whose bald, rounded pate glitters in the sun. Ah! what have we here; a +spruce masquerader in yellow straw hat, trying to look rural with as +much success as a reed thatched summer house. Stand in this quiet nook +a few hours, and give us the shadow of your mushroom covering. + +There is a poor, forlorn wretch with his rags fluttering about him +like a beggar--give him a penny--he must be in distress--look at +his shattered face and dilapidated form; shored up upon crutches, +tottering on the brink of the sewers--shores I mean--of eternity; +behold his crushed and crownless hat--his hollow eyes--his rheumy +visage--look at that petition penned on his breast. Poh! 'tis a +surveyor's notice to pull down. But, then, look at that plurality +parson with rotund prominence of portico, and red brick cheeks of vast +extent, and that high, steeple-crowned hat--look at the smug, mean, +insignificant dwarf of a meeting-house, sinking up to its knees in a +narrow lane, and looking as blank as a wall, with a trap-door of a +mouth, and a grating cast of eye. How yonder bridegroom, just cemented +in an alliance that will not last out his lease of life, "spick and +span new," all eyes, and a double row of buttons ornamenting his +latticed waistcoat, looks at his adored opposite, who holds her +Venetian parasol--sun shade--before her face, glowing like a red brick +wall in the sun. Ah! his regards are attracted by a modest little +nymph of the grove, seated snugly in a sylvan recess, her pretty white +cheeks peeping out beneath the tresses of honeysuckle and woodbine +that veil her beauty. Well, _railing_ is in this case allowable, for +see that brazen front of maiden sixty, guiltless of curls, with a huge +structure of bonnet cocked straight at the top of her head, like the +roof of a market-house, and her broad, square skirts of faded green, +deformed by formal knots of yew and holly. Look with what a blushless +face of triumph she eyes her poor tottering neighbour opposite, who +never appears destined "to suffer a recovery." Oh, 'tis remorseless! +But look down that vista of charity children in slate coloured Quaker +bonnets, stuck one against the other in drab, like pins in a paper, +but not so bright; are they going to stand there for ever, with their +governess at their head, looking as smug and fubsy as the squat house +at the end? Why 'tis--street!--Look at the pump at the other end, that +might pass for an abridgment of a parish clerk--and see, there comes +stalking across the Green the parish beadle, with a great white +placard in his hat--you might well mistake him for Alderman ----'s +monument in red brick with the marble tablet on the top of it. Ah! my +pretty rustic--why your straw hat and brown stuff frock, with white +bib, and that gay flowered apron, with the sprig of jessamine stuck +at your side--you look so homely and comely beneath the shade of that +tall oak, that I could fancy you were only the shepherd's cottage +at the corner of the grange. Bless me--here's a modern antique, +masquerading in the country!--why a village belle of queen Bess' days, +looking as new and as fresh as the young 'squire's lodge, fresh out +of the hands of his fancy architect. More mummery! why this gentleman +looks as fine and as foolish in his affectation of rugged points and +quaint angles, as a staring, white-washed, Gothic villa with the paint +not yet dry. Oh! there is certainly no denying that thou art the +primest of Quakers, Mr. Chapel, one that will not countenance a +_belle_, but lookest right onward in smooth and demure solidity, with +that strip of white path in front of thy brown gravel waistcoat, and +the ample skirts of thy road-coloured surtout; not so your neighbour +Sturdy, him with his chimney like an ink bottle, upright in his +button hole, and his pen-like poplar in his hand; he is equally +uncompromising, but looks with an eye of stern regard upon that gay +sprig of myrtle with his roof of a hat, jauntily clapped on one side, +and a towering charming feather, streaming like smoke in the breeze. +But whither have my vagaries led me--here I am once more in the +dullest of dull country towns, over which strides the gouty old dean, +like a Gothic arch across a cathedral city; and see how the wealthy +innkeeper dangles his broad medal (sign of his having been in the +yeomanry) that swings to the wind like the banner of his troop--how +contemptuously he eyes that solid looking overseer, the workhouse, +with his right and lefthand men the executioners of the law--Stocks +and Cage--oh! turn away--there is that villanous cross barred gripe +the Jail--enough, enough, indeed. + +LAVATERIELLO. + + * * * * * + + + + +MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS. + + * * * * * + +CURIOUS CEREMONY OF DRIVING DEER THROUGH THE WATER (FORMERLY +PRACTISED) IN LYME PARK, CHESHIRE. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + +Ormerod, in his splendid _History of Cheshire_, says, "The park of +Lyme, which is very extensive, is celebrated for the fine flavour of +its venison, and contains a herd of wild cattle, the remains of a +breed which has been kept here from time immemorial, and is supposed +indigenous. In the last century a custom was observed here of driving +the deer round the park about Midsummer, or rather earlier, collecting +them in a body before the house, and then swimming them through a pool +of water, with which the exhibition terminated." There is a large +print of it by Vivares, after a painting by T. Smith, representing +Lyme Park during the performance of the annual ceremony, with the +great Vale of Cheshire and Lancashire, as far as the Rivington Hills +in the distance, and in the foreground the great body of the deer +passing through the pool, the last just entering it, and the old stags +emerging on the opposite bank, two of which are contending with their +fore-feet, the horns at that season being too tender to combat with. +This "art of driving the deer" like a herd of ordinary cattle, is +stated on a monument, at Disley, to have been first perfected by +Joseph Watson, who died in 1753, at the age of 104, "having been +park-keeper at Lyme more than sixty-four years." The custom, however, +appears not to have been peculiar to Lyme, as Dr. Whitaker describes, +in his _Account of Townley_, (the seat of a collateral line of Legh,) +"near the summit of the park, and where it declines to the south, the +remains of a large pool, through which tradition reports that the deer +were driven by their keepers in the manner still practised in the park +at Lyme."[8] + +Lyme Park is situated near the road from Manchester to London, through +Buxton, adjacent to the picturesque village of Disley. + +Lyme Hall is the seat of the principal of the ancient family of Leghs. +Perkins _à Legh_, a Norman, who was buried in Macclesfield Church, +rendered considerable services in the battle of Cressy, for which he +was presented with the estate and lordship of Lyme. The building is, +in part, of the date of Elizabeth; and the other a regular structure, +from a design of Leoni. + +P.T.W. + + [8] History of Whalley. + + * * * * * + + +STANNARY PARLIAMENT. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + +In the Forest of Dartmoor, Devonshire, between Tavistock and Chegford, +is a high hill, called Crocken Tor, where the tinners of this county +are obliged by their charter to assemble their parliaments, or the +jurats who are commonly gentlemen within the jurisdiction, chosen +from the four stannary courts of coinage in this county, of which the +lord-warden is judge. The jurats being met to the number sometimes of +two or three hundred, in this desolate place, are quite exposed to the +weather and have no other place to sit upon but a moor-stone bench, +and no refreshments but what they bring with them; for this reason the +steward immediately adjourns the court to Tavistock, or some other +stannary town. + +HALBERT H. + + * * * * * + + +DOWRUCK. + + +In different parts of the North of England it is customary for the +labouring men to come before their masters at the close of their +_dowruck_ (day's work,) and inform him of their labours; the number of +hours their work took them are cut in notches upon an ash stick, and +at the end of the week when the men are paid, the stick is produced, +which immediately shows what each man is entitled to. + +W.H.H. + + * * * * * + + +FAITOUR LANE, + + +Or as it is now called, Fetter Lane, is a term used by Chaucer, for an +idle fellow. The propriety of its denomination is indisputable. + +W.H.H. + + * * * * * + + +ROBIN HOOD. + + +At Brough Sowerby, in Westmoreland, is an ale-house bearing the sign +of Robin Hood, with the following lines beneath it:-- + + + "Good frinds, good frinds, my ale is good. + It is the sign of Robin Hood, + If Robin Hood be not at hoame, + Step in and drink with Littel Johne." + +W.H.H. + + * * * * * + + +JACK OF HILTON, THE BRAZEN IMAGE, ALIAS AN AEOLIPILE. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + +Dr. Plot, in his _History of Staffordshire_, says, "The following +service is due from the Lord of Essington, in Staffordshire, to the +Lord of Hilton, about a mile distant, viz. that the Lord of the Manor +of Essington, shall bring a goose every New year's day, and drive it +round the fire in the hall at Hilton, at least three times, whilst +_Jack of Hilton_ is blowing the fire. Now Jack of Hilton is a little +hollow image of brass, of about twelve inches high, kneeling upon his +left knee, and holding his right hand upon his head, having a little +hole in the place of the mouth, about the bigness of a great pin's +head, and another in the back about two-thirds of an inch diameter, at +which last hole it is filled with water, it holding about four pints +and a quarter, which when set to a strong fire, evaporates after the +same manner as in an _Aeolipile_, and vents itself at the smaller hole +at the mouth in a constant blast, blowing the fire so strongly that it +is very audible, and makes a sensible impression on that part of the +fire where the blast lights, as I found by experience, May 26, 1680. +After the Lord of Essington, or his deputy, or bayliffe, has driven +the goose round the fire (at least three times) whilst this image +blows it, he carries it into the kitchen of Hilton Hall, and delivers +it to the cook, who having dressed it, the Lord of Essington, or his +bayliffe, by way of further service, brings it to the table of the +Lord paramount of Hilton and Essington, and receives a dish of meat +from the said Lord of Hilton's table, for his own mess." + +The Aeolipile, in hydraulics, is an instrument consisting of a hollow +metallic ball, with a slender neck or pipe, arising from it. This +being filled with water, and thus exposed to the fire, produces a +vehement blast of wind. + +This instrument, Des Cartes and others, have made use of, to account +for the natural cause and generation of wind; and hence its name, +Aeolipile, _pila Aeoli_, Aeolus's ball. + +In Italy it is said that the Aeolipile is commonly made use of to cure +smoky chimneys; for being hung over the fire, the blast arising from +it carries up the loitering smoke along with it. This instrument was +known to the ancients, and is mentioned by Vitruvius. + +Some late authors have discovered the extraordinary use to which the +frauds of the heathen priesthood applied the Aeolipile, viz. the +working of sham miracles. Besides _Jack of Hilton_, which had been +an ancient Saxon, image, or idol, Mr. Weber shows, that _Pluster_, a +celebrated German idol, is also of the Aeolipile kind, and in virtue +thereof, could do noble feats: being filled with a fluid, and then +set on the fire, it would be covered with sweat, and as the heat +increased, would at length burst out into flames. + +An Aeolipile of great antiquity, made of brass, was some years since +dug up on the site of the Basingstoke Canal, and presented to the +Antiquarian Society of London. Instead of being globular, with a bent +tube, it is in the form of a grotesque human figure, and the blast +proceeds from its mouth. + +P.T.W. + + * * * * * + + +ORIGIN OF WEARING THE VEIL. + +(_For The Mirror_.) + + +The origin of the veil is referred by the Greeks to modesty and +bashfulness. + +About thirty furlongs from the city of Sparta, Icarius placed a +statue of MODESTY, for the purpose of perpetuating the following +incident:--Icarius having married his daughter to Ulysses, solicited +his son-in-law to fix his household in Sparta, and remain there with +his wife, to which Ulysses would not consent. + +Icarius made the request to his daughter, conjuring her not to abandon +him, but seeing her ready to depart with Ulysses, for Ithaca, he +redoubled his efforts to detain her, nor could he be prevailed on to +desist from following the chariot on the way. + +Ulysses wearied with the importunities of Icarius, said to his wife, +"_You_ can best answer this request; it is yours to determine whether +you will remain with your father at Sparta, or depart with your +husband for Ithaca; you are mistress of the decision." + +The beautiful Penelope finding herself in this dilemma, blushed, and +without making the least reply, drew her veil over her face, thereby +intimating a denial to her father's request, and sunk into the arms of +her husband. + +Icarius, very sensibly affected by this behaviour, and being desirous +of transmitting it to posterity by the most durable monument, +consecrated a statue to Modesty, on the very spot where Penelope had +thrown the veil over her face; that after her it might be a universal +symbol of delicacy among the fair sex. + +C.K.W. + + * * * * * + + +The manners of the Welsh must have been even less delicate than those +of the Anglo-Saxons; for they thought it necessary to make a law, +"that none of the courtiers should give the queen a blow, or snatch +any thing with violence from her, under the penalty of incurring her +majesty's displeasure." + + * * * * * + + +FUNERAL OF A BURMESE PRIEST. + + +The funeral pile, in this case, is a car on wheels; and the body is +blown away, from a huge wooden cannon or mortar, with the purpose, I +believe, of conveying the soul more rapidly to heaven! Immense crowds +are collected on occasions of these funerals, which, far from being +conducted with mourning or solemnity, are occasions of rude mirth and +boisterous rejoicing. Ropes are attached to each extremity of the car, +and pulled in opposite directions by adverse parties; one of these +being for consuming the body, the other for opposing it. The +latter are at length overcome, fire is set to the pile amidst loud +acclamations, and the ceremony is consummated.--_Crawford's Embassy to +Ava_. + + * * * * * + + +PLAN FOR A NEW CITY. + + +[Illustration: Plan For A New City] + +(_To the Editor of The Mirror_.) + + +The various ages, interests, and tastes which govern the progressive +growth of cities, seem to be irremediable causes of the irregularity +and inconvenience of their final formations or plans--and until this +illustrious age of magnanimous projects and improvements, it would +have been thought ridiculous to offer any radical expedient for a +general improvement in the plans of cities; but _now_ that we see +_new_ cities growing round the metropolis, and new towns planned for +the distant dominions of Great Britain, it seems to be a convenient +season for explaining my notions respecting the general plan of a +city, with regard _only to the directions of the streets_, which after +the repeated consideration of fifty years, I have concluded may, and +ought to be, all straight streets, from _every extremity_, to the +opposite, whatever be the form of the _outermost_ boundary of the city +or town.--These _conclusions_ would most probably have passed off in +silence, but for an accidental fancy arising in my mind, on reading +lately in the Psalms, "_Jerusalem is a city that is in unity with +itself_." This text awakened my dormant ideas on the proper formation +of streets, and anticipating the reunion of the Jews, I began the +accompanying sketch for a "_Holy City_," or "_a New Jerusalem_," which +accounts for the twelve gates according with the original number of +the tribes of Israel, and the ten streets which diverge from each gate +are symbolic of the Ten Commandments, wherein they were commanded to +walk; the twelve circular areas I thought to be properly dedicated to +the Twelve Apostles of Christianity, under the idea that when the +Jews are again called together it will be under the new covenant of +Christianity, so that nothing could (in that case) be more appropriate +than placing the original propagators of it where so many paths led +towards them--and after fixing the place of public worship in the +centre, my orthodoxy ceased to affect my scheme, for want of that +technical knowledge which further detail would require--and having +accomplished my favourite determination of planning a town without +winding streets or crooked lanes. I offer it to the MIRROR as an +amusing novelty for the entertainment of its numerous readers. I think +it would be not inappropriate to call it the Royal City of _Victoria_. + +CHARLES MATTER. + +(To the ingenious designer of the annexed sketch, we are likewise +indebted for the Plan for a Maze, in our Vol. vii. page 233. Mr. H. +very pertinently observes to us "imagine what would have been said of +this plan for a city, had Belzoni or Buckingham found exactly such a +one in Assyria or Egypt,--of antique date?") + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS. + + * * * * * + +NEW EDITION OF THE WAVERLEY NOVELS. + + +It is rather late in the day to speak of what is technically termed +the "getting-up" of this elegant edition of the most popular works of +our time. There are now three volumes published--_Waverley_, in two +vols. and one vol. or half of _Guy Mannering_. Each of the +former contains upwards of 400 pages, and the latter nearly that +number--beautifully printed in what we call a very inviting type, on +excellent paper, of rich colour, and not too garish for the eye of +the reader. The engravings to _Waverley_ are by Graves, C. Rolls, +and Raddon, after E.P. and J. Stephanoff, Newton, and Landseer--a +frontispiece and plate title page and vignette to each volume. To our +taste the vignettes are exquisite--one by Landseer, _David Gellatley, +with Ban and Buscar_, is extremely beautiful. The illustrations to the +volume of _Guy Mannering_ are by Duncan, and C.G. Cooke, after Leslie +and Kidd. The volumes are in substantial canvass binding. Their low +price, a crown a-piece, is the marvel of bookselling, for were they +only reprints without copyright, they would be unprecedentedly cheap. +The whole series will extend to forty volumes, to be published in +three years, and will cost ten pounds. Fifteen-pence a week for the +above term will thus provide a family with one of the most elegant +drawing-room libraries that can be desired. They will about occupy +three _cheffonier_ shelves;--or what delightful volumes for fire-side +shelves, or a "little book-room," or a breakfast parlour opening on +a carpet of lawn--or to read by the hour, with a golden-haired +lady-friend, and chat awhile, and then turn to the most attractive +scenes in the novel, while we ourselves are perhaps enacting the hero +in a romance of real life. Few novels admit of a second reading; +but the _Waverley_ series will never lose their attraction--and to +remember when and where, and with whom you first read each of them, +may perhaps revive many pleasantries. + +Of the literary Notes and emendations of the present edition, we have +already expressed our opinion by the selection of several of them for +the pages of the MIRROR; and in the progress of the publication, we +shall endeavour to award similar justice to each of the works. + +In the _Athenaeum_, of August 5, the presumed profit on the whole +edition is estimated at £100,000.! The calculation of the sale of +12,000 of each work is a reasonable one, and splendid as, in that +case, the reward will be, the reading-public will be the gainers. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE FAMILY LIBRARY. + +_HISTORY OF THE JEWS._ + + +We scarcely know how to do justice to the high character of the series +of volumes now publishing under this denomination. In printing and +embellishment they take the lead of the Periodical Works of our day, +(and some of these are extremely beautiful,) while their literary +worth is even of superior order. Although they are matter-of-fact +works--as in history and biography--they are not mere compilations of +dry details and uninteresting lives; but they are so interspersed with +new views, and the facts are so often re-written, that the whole have +the appearance of original works. Excellent principles, and economy of +cost are, likewise, two important points of their recommendations; for +many works which have already appeared on the same subjects, have +been deformed by party spirit, and written to serve a sect, or are +so expensive as to be purchaseable only by the wealthy ranks, and +scarcely accessible by the middle classes of society; whereas the +Family Library is published at a rate within the reach of two-thirds +of the reading public, who may therefore possess what they read, +and appreciate the value of these volumes as works of reference and +authority. + +The division of the series which has called forth this notice, is No. +5, or the first volume of the _History of the Jews_, to be completed +in three volumes, by the Rev. H.H. Milman, Professor of Poetry at +Oxford, and the author of the splendid poem--The Fall of Jerusalem; +and judging by the portion before us, this work will form one of the +most attractive in the whole series. In proof of this it would be easy +to select many passages which are beautifully picturesque; a few, +however, will suffice: + +"The Jews, without reference to their religious belief, are among +the most remarkable people in the annals of mankind. Sprung from one +stock, they pass the infancy of their nation in a state of servitude +in a foreign country, where, nevertheless, they increase so rapidly, +as to appear on a sudden the fierce and irresistible conquerors of +their native valleys in Palestine. There they settle down under a form +of government and code of laws totally unlike those of any other rude +or civilized community. They sustain a long and doubtful conflict, +sometimes enslaved, sometimes victorious, with the neighbouring +tribes. At length, united under one monarchy, they gradually rise to +the rank of a powerful, opulent, and commercial people. Subsequently +weakened by internal discord, they are overwhelmed by the vast +monarchies which arose on the banks of the Euphrates, and transplanted +into a foreign region. They are partially restored, by the generosity +or policy of the Eastern sovereigns, to their native land. They are +engaged in wars of the most romantic gallantry, in assertion of their +independence, against the Syro-Grecian successors of Alexander. Under +Herod, they rise to a second era of splendour, as a dependent kingdom +of Rome: finally, they make the last desperate resistance to the +universal dominion of the Caesars. Scattered from that period over +the face of the earth--hated, scorned, and oppressed, they subsist, +a numerous and often a thriving people; and in all the changes of +manners and opinions retain their ancient institutions, their national +character, and their indelible hope of restoration to grandeur and +happiness in their native land. Thus the history of this, perhaps +the only unmingled race, which can boast of high antiquity, leads us +through every gradation of society and brings us into contact with +almost every nation which commands our interest in the ancient world; +the migratory pastoral population of Asia; Egypt, the mysterious +parent of arts, science, and legislation; the Arabian Desert; the +Hebrew theocracy under the form of a federative agricultural republic, +their kingdom powerful in war and splendid in peace; Babylon, in its +magnificence and downfall; Grecian arts and luxury endeavouring to +force an unnatural refinement within the pale of the rigid Mosaic +institutions; Roman arms waging an exterminating war with the +independence even of the smallest states; it descends, at length, to +all the changes in the social state of the modern European and Asiatic +nations." + +At page 32, there is an interesting picture of the state of society in +Patriarchal times--the whole of the life of Moses is extremely well +written--the description of the Plague is indeed terrific--and the +death and character of the Prophet drawn with a masterly and vigorous +hand. The reigns of David and Solomon, as might be expected, are +magnificently told. Among the picturesque sketches none exceed the-- + +DESCRIPTION OF PALESTINE. + +"It is almost impossible to calculate with accuracy the area of a +country, the frontier of which is irregular on every side. Lowman has +given three different estimates of the extent of territory occupied +by the twelve tribes, the mean between the two extremes approaches +probably the nearest to the truth. According to this computation, the +Jewish dominion, at the time of the Division, was 180 miles long, by +130 wide, and contained 14,976,000 acres. This quantity of land +will divide to 600,000 men, about 21-1/2 acres in property, with a +remainder of 1,976,000 acres for the Levitical cities, the princes of +tribes, the heads of families, and other public uses. Assuming this +estate of 21-1/2 acres, assigned to each household, of course a +larger proportion of pasture must have been given to those tribes who +subsisted on their herds and flocks, than of arable to those who +lived by tillage, the portions of the latter, therefore, must be +considerably reduced. On the other hand, the extraordinary fertility +of the whole country must be taken into the account. No part was +waste; very little was occupied by unprofitable wood; the more fertile +hills were cultivated in artificial terraces, others were hung with +orchards of fruit trees; the more rocky and barren districts were +covered with vineyards. Even in the present day, the wars and +misgovernment of ages have not exhausted the natural richness of the +soil. Galilee, says Malte Brun, would be a paradise were it inhabited +by an industrious people, under an enlightened government. No land +could be less dependent on foreign importation; it bore within itself +every thing that could be necessary for the subsistence and comfort +of a simple agricultural people. The climate was healthy, the seasons +regular; the former rains, which fell about October, after the +vintage, prepared the ground for the seed; the latter, which prevailed +during March and the beginning of April, made it grow rapidly. +Directly the rains ceased, the grain ripened with still greater +rapidity, and was gathered in before the end of May. The summer months +were dry and very hot, but the nights cool and refreshed by copious +dews. In September, the vintage was gathered. Grain of all kinds, +wheat, barley, millet, zea, and other sorts, grew in abundance; the +wheat commonly yielded thirty for one. Besides the vine and the +olive, the almond, the date, figs of many kinds, the orange, the +pomegranates, and many other fruit-trees, flourished in the greatest +luxuriance. Great quantity of honey was collected. The balm tree, +which produced the opobalsamum, a great object of trade, was probably +introduced from Arabia in the time of Solomon. It nourished about +Jericho and in Gilead." + +This is but a portion of the sketch. The wealth and commerce of the +country is thus told: + +"The only public revenue of the Hebrew commonwealth was that of the +sacred treasury, the only public expenditure that of the religious +worship. This was supported by a portion of the spoils taken in war; +the first fruits, which in their institution were no more than could +be carried in a basket, at a later period were rated to be one part in +sixty; the redemption of the first born, and of whatever was vowed to +the Lord. Almost every thing of the last class might be commuted for +money according to a fixed scale. The different annual festivals were +well calculated to promote internal commerce: maritime or foreign +trade, is scarcely mentioned in the law, excepting in two obscure +prophetic intimations of advantages, which the tribes of Dan and +Zebulun were to derive from their maritime situation. On this subject +the lawgiver could have learned nothing in Egypt. The commerce of that +country was confined to the inland caravan trade. The Egyptians hated +or dreaded the sea, which they considered either the dwelling of the +evil principle, or the evil principle itself. At all events, the +Hebrews at this period were either blind to the maritime advantages of +their situation, or unable to profit by them. The ports were the last +places they conquered. Sidon, if indeed within their boundary, never +lost its independence; Tyre, if it existed, was a town too obscure to +be named; Ecdippa and Acco remained in the power of the Canaanites; +Joppa is not mentioned as a port till much later. The manufactures of +the people supplied their own wants; they brought from Egypt the arts +of weaving woollens and linens, stuffs made of fine goats' hair, and +probably cotton; of dying in various colours, and bleaching, and of +embroidering; of many kinds of carpenter's work; of building, some +of the rules of which were regulated by law; of making earthenware +vessels; of working in iron, brass, and the precious metals, both +casting them and forming them with the tool; of gilding, engraving +seals, and various other kinds of ornamental work, which were +employed in the construction of the altars and sacred vessels of the +Tabernacle." + +Among the illustrative passages we notice the following exquisite +paragraph on the-- + +HEBREW POETS. + +"THE three most eminent men in the Hebrew annals, Moses, David, and +Solomon, were three of their most distinguished poets. The hymns of +David excel no less in sublimity and tenderness of expression than in +loftiness and purity of religious sentiment. In comparison with them +the sacred poetry of all other nations sinks into mediocrity. They +have embodied so exquisitely the universal language of religious +emotion, that (a few fierce and vindictive passages excepted, natural +in the warrior-poet of a sterner age,) they have entered with +unquestioned propriety into the ritual of the holier and more perfect +religion of Christ. The songs which cheered the solitude of the desert +caves of Engedi, or resounded from the voice of the Hebrew people as +they wound along the glens or the hill-sides of Judaea, have been +repeated for ages in almost every part of the habitable world, in the +remotest islands of the ocean, among the forests of America or the +sands of Africa. How many human hearts have they softened, purified, +exalted!--of how many wretched beings have they been the secret +consolation!--on how many communities have they drawn down the +blessings of Divine Providence, by bringing the affections into unison +with their deep, devotional fervour." + +The present volume extends from the time of Abraham to the Babylonian +Captivity. It is illustrated with three excellent maps, and a few wood +cuts; but we are convinced that we need add nothing further of its +contents to recommend the _History of the Jews_ to the attention of +our readers; for it is one of the most splendid and fascinating works +in our recollection. + + * * * * * + + +LIBRARY OF ENTERTAINING KNOWLEDGE. + + +The Fourth Part of this well-arranged publication, is "_The Pursuit of +Knowledge under difficulties illustrated by Anecdotes_." The matter +is judiciously divided into chapters, as "Strength of the Passion for +Knowledge--Humble Station no Obstacle--Obscure Origin--Artists rising +from the lower to the higher classes--Late Learners--Early Age +of Great Men--Self-educated Men--Literary Pursuits of +Soldiers--Merchants, Booksellers, and Printers." All these heads are +illustrated by anecdotes--some of them well known, others drawn +from uncommon sources--and all replete with useful information, and +furnishing an exhaustless store of entertainment. Such a volume is, +indeed, _a book for the people_, and will do more towards the spread +of knowledge, and the excitement of those engaged in its pursuit, than +scores of fine-spun theories cramped up with technicalities. For young +people we consider this book a real treasure; since the examples +selected are not those of men who became intoxicated with their +success, or gave up useful occupation for mere elegant literature or +experimental knowledge; but the instances are chiefly of such as have +turned their genius to good account, or for the benefit of themselves +and their fellow men. We call such men the _honourables of the land_, +whose examples should be written in letters of gold, and on monuments +of marble, as helps to social duties and for the imitation of after +times. + +We have marked for our next number a few extracts which will be +interesting to our readers to explain the mode by which the heads of a +chapter are illustrated. The biographettes of John Hunter, Simpson, J. +Stone, and Fergusson, and the introductory illustrations of Newton, +are the most striking portions of the volume; and they maybe read and +re-read with increasing advantage. Of Hunter and Fergusson there are +good portraits. + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + * * * * * + + +_Block Machinery._ + + +Mr. Faraday has lately described at the Royal Institution, Brunel's +Block Machinery at Portsmouth, with a set of magnificent models of +this admirable invention, which were lent to the Society by the +Navy Board. They consist of eight separate machines, which work in +succession, so as to begin and finish off a two-sheaved block four +inches in length. These were put by Messrs. Maudsley and Field's men +(who made them) into such communication and action, as to perform the +set of operations in the most perfect manner. + +Mr. F. briefly stated that the Block Machinery of Portsmouth, by +adjustments, could manufacture blocks of 100 different sizes--could +with thirty men make 100 per hour; and from the time of its completion +in 1804-5 to the present day, had required no repairs from Maudsley, +the original manufacturer. The total cost was given at 46,000 _l_., +and the saving per annum in time of war 25,000 _l_. This is a paragon +of art which we could see again and again. + + +_Enameled Street Names._ + +The names of the Streets in Paris have been recently put up on +enameled plates; the ground being blue, and the letters white. The +substance on which the enameling is performed is lava in slabs; the +same substance has since been used as the basis of certain enameled +designs; it is much superior in some points to porcelain in this +application, because the necessary exposure to fire does not cause it +to crack in the manner that porcelain does.--_From the French_. + + +_Preservation of Wine Must._ + +Charcoal was added to grape must, in the proportion of 100 grains to a +litre (2.1 pints), or if very much inclined to ferment, more +charcoal was used. When the liquid had settled, and become clear and +colourless, it was removed from the charcoal, and put into bottles +or casks, to be closed up, and preserved. It will not enter into +fermentation, even in close vessels; for the charcoal has absorbed +the ferment. Nevertheless, the ferment has not lost its powers by +combination with the carbon; for, if left in the must, the latter +begins to ferment, but only where in contact with the former.--_From +the French_. + + +_Weevils in Granaries._ + +Wash the floor and sides of the granary with a mixture of urine and +water before the corn is stored up; this washing is to be repeated +several times, the walls and floors of the granary being well swept +between each operation.--_From the French_. + + +_French Eggs and Apples._ + +In the year 1827 there were 63,109,618 hen's eggs, and 14,182 bushels +of apples imported from France into England. + + +_Enlargement of Artichokes._ + +The gardeners in the south of France increase the size of artichokes +by splitting the stem into four at the base of the receptacle, and +introducing two small sticks in the form of a cross. This operation +should not be made until the stem has attained the height it ought to +have.--_From the French_. + + +_Preservation of Potatoes._ + +Potatoes at the depth of one foot in the ground, produce shoots near +the end of spring; at the depth of two feet they appear in the middle +of summer; at three feet they are very short, and never come to the +surface; and between three and five feet they cease to vegetate. In +consequence of observing these effects several parcels of potatoes +were buried in a garden at the depth of three and a half feet, and +were not removed. until after an interval of one or two years. They +were then found without, any shoots, and possessing their original +freshness, firmness, goodness, and taste. _From the French_. + + +_Leeches._ + +It is well known that atmospheric changes have a remarkable influence +upon leeches. In 1825, M. Derheim, of St. Omer, ascribes the almost +sudden death of them at the approach of, or during storms, to the +coagulation of the blood of these creatures, caused by the impression +of the atmospheric electricity.--_From the French_. + + +_Carpenter's Microscope._ + +Mr. Carpenter's achromatic solar microscope has now a white circular +area of nine feet in diameter, to receive the images of the objects +upon, some of which are magnified to the enormous size of upwards of +eight feet in length! + +Mr. Carpenter's lucernal microscopes are now arranged in a kind of +temple, placed in the middle of a room, and illuminated by the light +of one powerful Argand lamp, so as to be independent of all natural +light; thus, in all seasons, even in cloudy weather, the objects are +as brilliantly displayed as they could be last year when the sun +shone.--_Gill's Repository_. + + +_Beet Root Sugar._ + +There are now in France upwards of one hundred manufactories of beet +root sugar, from which were produced last year upwards of 5,000 tons +of sugar, worth 60 _l._ per ton, or 300,000 _l_.; the profit of which +is estimated at 15 _l._ an acre; but, says one of the manufacturers, +the process may be so far improved, that sugar will be made in France +from the beet root at 30 _l._ per ton, which will increase the profit +to 24 _l._ an acre. A writer in the _Quarterly Journal of Agriculture_ +observes that "it is difficult to conceive that one half of the sugar +consumed in Great Britain, or in all Europe, will not, in a few years, +be home-made beet root sugar." + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS + + * * * * * + +LORD BYRON AND SIR WALTER SCOTT AT WATERLOO. + +_By a Sexagenarian._ + + +In his transit to Italy in August, 1816, Lord Byron visited Brussels +(where I was residing) accompanied by Dr. Polidori. The moment I heard +of his arrival, I waited on him, and was received with the greatest +cordiality and kindness. + +As he proposed visiting Waterloo on the following morning, I offered +my services as his cicerone, which were graciously accepted, and we +set out at an early hour, accompanied by his _compagnon de voyage_. +The weather was propitious, but the poet's spirits seemed depressed, +and we passed through the gloomy forest of Soignies without much +conversation. As the plan of the inspection of the field had been left +to me, I ordered our postilion to drive to Mont St. Jean, without +stopping at Waterloo. We got out at the monuments. Lord Byron gazed +about for five minutes without uttering a syllable; at last, turning +to me, he said--"I am not disappointed. I have seen the plains of +Marathon, and these are as fine. Can you tell me," he continued, +"where Picton fell? because I have heard that my friend Howard was +killed at his side, and nearly at the same moment." + +The spot was well known, and I pointed with my finger to some trees +near it, at the distance of one hundred and fifty yards: we walked to +the spot. "Howard," said his lordship, with a sigh, "was my relation +and dear friend; but we quarrelled, and I was in the wrong; we were, +however, reconciled, at which I now rejoice." He spoke these words +with great feeling, and we returned to examine the monument of Sir +Alexander Gordon, a broken column, on which he made some criticisms, +bestowing great praise on the fraternal affection of his brother, who +had erected it. He did not seem much interested about the positions of +the troops, which I pointed out to him; and we got into our carriage, +and drove to the Château Goumont, the poet remaining silent, pensive, +and in a musing mood, which I took care not to interrupt. + +The gallant defence of this post seemed to interest him more, and +I recapitulated all the particulars I knew of the attack. From the +bravery displayed by the handful of troops (the Guards) who defended +it, it has acquired its reputation. Though they were reinforced +more than once, the number never exceeded twelve hundred; and +notwithstanding the enemy having, by battering down the gate of the +farmyard, and setting fire to the straw in it, got possession of the +outer works, in the evening attack, they could make no impression on +the strong hold, the garden-- + + + "Whose close pleach'd walks and bowers have been + The deadly marksman's lurking screen." + + +They reaped no advantage by these assaults; on the contrary, they +sacrificed a great many brave men without any purpose. It was a most +important post; for had they succeeded in getting possession of it, +and driving out our troops, their guns would have enfiladed us, and +we should have been obliged to change our front. The pompous title +of _château_ gives a little additional importance to this position, +though it is only a miserable dwelling of two stories, somewhat +resembling the habitations of our _Bonnet Lairds_ about the beginning +of the last century. The area of the house is about two Scotch acres, +including the garden. The clipped and shady walks have been long since +cut down, which takes away much interest from it; and the stupid +Fleming to whom it belonged, cut down the young trees in front of it, +because they had been wounded by the bullets, which he was informed +"would cause them to bleed to death!" The nobleman who now possesses +it, had, with better taste, repaired the château, and will not permit +any alteration in its appearance. + +I asked Byron what he thought of Mr. Scott's "Field of Waterloo," just +published--if it was fair to ask one poet his opinion of a living +contemporary. "Oh," said he, "quite fair; besides, there is not much +subject for criticism in this hasty sketch. The reviewers call it a +_falling off_; but I am sure there is no poet living who could have +written so many good lines on so meagre a subject, in so short a time. +Scott," he added, "is a fine poet, and a most amiable man. We are +great friends. As a prose writer, he has no rival; and has not been +approached since Cervantes, in depicting manners. His tales are my +constant companions. It is highly absurd his denying, what every one +that knows him believes, his being the author of these admirable +works. Yet no man is obliged to give his name to the public, except he +chooses so to do; and Scott is not likely to be compelled by the law, +for he does not write libels, nor a line of which he may be ashamed." +He said a great deal more in praise of his friend, for whom he had the +highest respect and regard. "I wish," added the poet, with feeling, +"it had been my good fortune to have had such a Mentor. No author," he +observed, "had deserved more from the public, or has been so liberally +rewarded. Poor Milton got only 15_l._ for his 'Paradise Lost,' while +a modern poet has as much for a stanza." I know not if he made any +allusion to himself in this remark, but it has been said that Murray +paid him that sum for every verse of "Childe Harold." + +Lord Byron, in reading aloud the stanzas of Mr. Scott, + + + "For high, and deathless is the name, + Oh Hougoinont, thy ruins claim! + The sound of Cressy none shall own, + And Agincourt shall be unknown, + And Blenheim be a nameless spot + Long ere thy glories are forgot," &c. + + +he exclaimed, striking the page with his hand, "I'll be d----d if they +will, Mr. Scott, be forgot!" + + +SIR WALTER SCOTT. + + +Sir Walter Scott visited Brussels about the middle of August, 1816, +when I had the good fortune to meet him at the house of Sir Frederick +Adam, who was prevented by a wound from joining his brigade, though he +was able to do the duties of the small garrison there. + +Mr. Scott accepted my services to conduct him to Waterloo. The +general's aid-de-camp was also of the party, Mr. Scott being +accompanied by two friends, his fellow travellers. He made no secret +of his having undertaken to write something on the battle; and he +took the greater interest on this account in every thing that he saw. +Besides, he had never seen a field of such a conflict; and never +having been before on the Continent, it was all new to his +comprehensive mind. The day was beautiful; and I had the precaution to +send out a couple of saddle-horses, that he might not be fatigued +in walking over the fields which had been recently ploughed up. The +animal he rode was so quiet that he was much gratified, and had an +opportunity of examining every spot of the positions of both armies; +and seemed greatly delighted, especially with the Farm of Goumont, +where he loitered a couple of hours. In our rounds we fell in with +Monsieur Da Costar, with whom he got into conversation, though I had +told him he was an impostor. But he had attracted so much notice by +his pretended story of being about the person of Napoleon, that he was +of too much importance to be passed by: I did not, indeed, know as +much of this fellow's Charlatanism at that time as afterwards, when +I saw him confronted with a blacksmith of La Belle Alliance, who had +been his companion in a hiding-place, ten miles from the field, during +the whole day; a fact which he could not deny. But he had got up a +tale so plausible, and so profitable, that he could afford to bestow +hush-money on the companion of his flight, so that the imposition was +but little known, and strangers continued to be gulled. He had picked +up a good deal of information about the positions and details of the +battle, and being naturally a sagacious Wallon, and speaking French +pretty fluently, he became the favourite _cicerone_, and every lie he +told was taken for gospel. Year after year, until his death, in 1824, +he continued his popularity, and raised the price of his rounds from a +couple of francs to five; besides as much for the hire of a horse, his +own property; for he pretended that the fatigue of walking so many +hours was beyond his powers. It has been said, that in this way he +realized every summer a couple of hundred Napoleons. It is surprising +how any one could believe the story he told; for supposing that he had +been seized upon by Napoleon, what use could such a vagabond be as a +guide? What was he to show? The British army was staring the Emperor +in the face at a mile distant. This _soi-disant_ hero could only be +an incumbrance during the conflict, if his courage could have been +screwed up to remain at Napoleon's side, as he pretended he had done, +and that when he became panicstruck on the approach of the Prussians, +he was rewarded for his services with a twenty-franc coin. He even +pointed out the actual spot where he stood with the Emperor on the +_chaussée_--heard him exclaim "Sauve qui peut!" and saw him mount his +horse, and brush!--_facts_, which are become historical! + +When Sir Walter had examined every point of defence and attack we +adjourned to the "Original Duke of Wellington," at Waterloo, to +dinner, after the fatigues of the ride. Here he had a crowded levée of +peasants, and collected a great many trophies, from cuirasses down to +buttons and bullets. He picked up himself many little relics, and was +fortunate in purchasing a grand cross of the legion of honour. But +the most precious relic was presented to him by my wife--a French +soldier's book, well stained with blood, and containing some poetical +effusions, called "Troubadours," which he found so interesting that +he translated them into English, and they were introduced into his +"Paul's Letters;" on the publication of which he did her the honour of +sending her a copy, with a most flattering letter, to say, "that he +considered her gift as the most valuable of all his Waterloo relics." + +On our return from the field, he kindly passed the evening with us, +and a few friends whom we invited to meet him. He charmed us with his +delightful conversation, and was in great spirits from the agreeable +day he had passed; and with great good humour promised to write a +stanza in the lady's Album. The following morning he called to achieve +this; and I put him into my little library, the door of which I locked +to prevent interruption, as a great many of my friends had paraded in +the _Parc_ opposite my window to get a peep of the celebrated man, +many having dogged him from his hotel. + +Brussels affords but little worthy of the notice of such a traveller +as the author of "Waverley;" but he greatly admired the splendid +tower of the Maison de Ville, and the ancient sculpture and style of +architecture of the buildings which surround the Grand Place. + +He told us, with great humour, a laughable incident which had occurred +to him at Antwerp. The morning after his arrival at that city from +Holland, he started at an early hour to visit the tomb of Rubens in +the Church of St. Jacques, before his party were up. Having provided +himself with a map of the city, he had no other guide; but after +wandering about for an hour, without finding the object he had in +view, he determined to make inquiry, and observing a person stalking +about like himself, he addressed him, in his best French; but the +stranger pulling off his hat, very respectfully replied, in the pure +Highland accent, "I'm vary sorry, Sir, but I canna speak ony thing +besides English."--"This is very unlucky indeed, Donald," said Mr. +Scott, "but we must help one another; for, to tell you the truth, +I'm not good at any other tongue but the English, or rather, the +Scotch."--"Oh, Sir, maybe," replied the Highlander, "you are a +countryman, and ken my maister, Captain Cameron, of the 79th, and +could tell me where he lodges. I'm just cum in, Sir, frae a place they +ca' _Machlin_, and ha forgotten the name of the captain's quarters; it +was something like the _Laaborer_."--"I can, I think, help you with +this, my friend," rejoined Mr. Scott. "There is an inn just opposite +to you, (pointing to the _Hotel de Grand Laboreur_,) I dare say that +will be the captain's quarters;" and so it was. I cannot do justice to +the humour in which Mr. Scott recounted this dialogue. + +_New Monthly Magazine_. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE GATHERER. + + + A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. +SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +SUPERSTITION. + + +Catherine de Medicis, in order to be assured of the assistance of +heaven in a certain project, vowed to send a pilgrim to Jerusalem, +who should walk three feet forwards and one backwards all the way. A +countryman of Picardy undertook the fulfilment of this vow, and having +employed a whole year in the task, was rewarded with a title and a +large sum of money. + + * * * * * + + +The Romans deposed their Dictator, Minutius, and the general of their +cavalry, Caius Flaminius, on the same day they had been elected, +because one of the citizens of Rome had heard a mouse squeak. + +A.V.M. + + * * * * * + + +NAPKINS. + + +When Diego de Torres, the Spanish ambassador, in 1547, first dined +with the Emperor of Morocco at his court, he was amused by the customs +of the table; neither knives, forks, nor spoons, were provided; but +each person helped himself with his fingers, and cleaned his hands +with his tongue, excepting the emperor, who wiped the hand he took his +meat up with on the head of a black boy, ten years old, who stood by +his side. The ambassador smiled, and the emperor observing it, asked +what Christian kings wiped their hands with at meals, and what such +things were worth? "Fine napkins," replied the ambassador, "a clean +one at every meal, worth a crown a piece or more." "Don't you think +this napkin much better," said the emperor, wiping his hand again on +the black boy's head, "which is worth seventy or eighty crowns." + + * * * * * + + +JUSTICE. + + +"What is your fare, coachee," said a stout gentleman alighting from a +hackney-coach. + +_Coachee_.--"One shilling, sir." + +_Gent_.--"One shilling! What an imposition for such a short distance." + +_Coachee_.--"I'll take my oath that is my fare." + +_Gent_.--"Will you? very well, I am a magistrate, proceed--(_Coachee +is sworn_)--That will do, the shilling I shall keep for the +affidavit." + + * * * * * + + +Philip III. King of Spain, wept at an _Auto da Fé_, because he saw so +many fellow creatures inhumanly tormented. This was thought by the +Grand Inquisitor to be a great sin, and he terrified the king so much +with his remonstrances, that Philip suffered himself to be bled, and +the blood to be given to the common executioner, to be burnt at the +next _Auto da Fé_, by way of penance. + + * * * * * + + +_Cobweb_ comes from the Dutch word _Kopwebbe_; and _Kop_ in that +language signifies a spider. + + * * * * * + + +(S.I.B.'s interesting paper on the Birth of Edward VI. and Death of +Queen Jane Seymour, did not reach us till our description of Hampton +Court was ready for press: our Correspondent's contribution shall +appear next week.) + + * * * * * + +LIMBIRD'S EDITION OF THE FOLLOWING NOVELS IS ALREADY PUBLISHED: + + s. d. + Mackenzie's Man of Feeling 0 6 + Paul and Virginia 0 6 + The Castle of Otranto 0 6 + Almoran and Hamet 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 6 + Roderick Random 2 6 + The Mysteries of Udolpho 3 6 + Peregrine Pickle 4 6 + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11455 *** |