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diff --git a/11457-0.txt b/11457-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f7d7a4f --- /dev/null +++ b/11457-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1482 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11457 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustration. + See 11457-h.htm or 11457-h.zip: + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/4/5/11457/11457-h/11457-h.htm) + or + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/4/5/11457/11457-h.zip) + + + + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +VOL. 14, NO. 402] SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER. [PRICE 2d. + + + + * * * * * + + + +The Leaning Towers of Bologna. + + +[Illustration: The Leaning Towers of Bologna.] + + + + +The Landscape Annual. + + +LONDON AND PARIS, 1830. + + * * * * * + +MAGNIFIQUE! SUPERBE! will be the exclamation of the Parisians on +beholding the Plates of this Work, at the Publishers, in the Gallerie +Vivienne, and equally enthusiastic will be the admiration of all +Londoners whilst inspecting them in Cheapside. The _second_ title, "The +Tourist in Italy and Switzerland," implies the contents of the volume +far better than the first. There are twenty-five Plates, each nearly as +large as one of our pages, by various engravers, and all from drawings, +by Mr. Prout. The subjects are as follow:--Geneva, Lausanne, Chillon, +Bridge of St. Maurice, Lavey, Martigny, Sion, Visp, Domo d'Ossola, +Castle of Anghiera, Milan Cathedral, Lake of Como, Como, Verona, +Vicenza, Padua, Petrarch's House at Arqua, the Rialto at Venice, Ducal +Palace at ditto, Palace of the Two Foscari, ditto; Bridge of Sighs, +ditto; Old Ducal Palace at Ferrara, Bologna, Ponte Sisto, Rome, Fish +Market, Ruins, ditto, and a Vignette of Constantine's Arch. + +The Descriptions are from the elegant pen of Thomas Roscoe, Esq. By +permission, of the proprietor we have selected one of the plates, and a +portion of its accompanying description. + + +BOLOGNA, + + +"Celebrated alike in arts and in letters, Bologna, 'the mother of +studies,' presents numerous objects of interest to the amateur and to +the scholar. The halls which were trod by Lanfranc and Irnerius, and +the ceilings which glow with the colours of Guido and the Carracci, can +never be neglected by any to whom learning and taste are dear. + +"The external appearance of Bologna is singular and striking. The +principal streets display lofty arcades, and the churches, which are +very numerous, confer upon the city a highly architectural character. +But the most remarkable edifices in Bologna are the watch-towers, +represented in the engraving. During the twelfth century, when the +cities of Italy, 'tutte piene di tirranni,' were rivals in arms as +afterwards in arts, watch-towers of considerable elevation were +frequently erected. In Venice, in Pisa, in Cremona, in Modena, and in +Florence these singular structures yet remain; but none are more +remarkable than the towers of the Asinelli and Garisenda in Bologna. The +former, according to one chronicler, was built in 1109, while other +authorities assign it to the year 1119. The Garisenda tower, constructed +a few years later, has been immortalized in the verse of Dante. + +"When the poet and his guide are snatched up by the huge Antaeus, the +bard compares the stooping stature of the giant to the tower of the +Garisenda, which, as the spectator stands at its base while the clouds +are sailing from the quarter to which it inclines, appears to be falling +upon his head, + + + "'As appears + The tower of Cariaenda from beneath + Where it doth lean, if chance a passing cloud + So sail across that opposite it hangs; + Such then Antaeus seem'd, as at mine ease + I mark'd him stooping.' + + +"The tower of the Asinelli rises the height of about 350 feet, and is +said to be three feet and a half out of the perpendicular. The +adventurous traveller may ascend to the top by a laborious staircase of +500 steps. Those steps were trod by the late amiable and excellent Sir +James Edward Smith, who has described the view presented at the summit. +'The day was unfavourable for a view; but we could well distinguish +Imola, Ferrara and Modena, as well as the hills about Verona, Mount +Baldus, &c., seeming to rise abruptly from the dead flat which extends +on three sides of Bologna. On the south are some very pleasant hills +stuck with villas.' The Garisenda tower, erected probably by the family +of the Garidendi, is about 130 feet in height, and inclines as much as +eight feet from the perpendicular. It has been conjectured that these +towers were originally constructed as they now appear; but it is +difficult to give credit to such a supposition. + +"According to Montfaucon, the celebrated antiquary, the leaning of these +towers has been occasioned by the sinking of the earth. 'We several +times observed the tower called Asinelli, and the other near it, named +Garisenda. The latter of them stoops so much that a perpendicular, let +fall from the top, will be seven feet from the bottom of it; and, as +appears upon examination, when this tower bowed, a great part of it went +to ruin, because the ground that side that inclined stood on was not so +firm as the other, which may be said of all other towers that lean so; +for besides these two here mentioned, the tower for the bells of St. +Mary Zobenica, at Venice, leans considerably to one side. So also at +Ravenna, I took notice of another stooping tower occasioned by the +ground on that side giving way a little. In the way from Ferrara to +Venice, where the soil is marshy, we see a structure of great antiquity +leaning to one side. We might easily produce other instances of this +nature. When the whole structure of the Garisenda stooped, much of it +fell, as appears by the top of it. + +"Bologna, like most of the cities of Italy, has been the seat of many +tragical incidents, affording such rich materials for her novelists. +Amongst others, is one which we give in the words of the excellent +critic by whom it is related. 'The family Geremie of Bologna were at the +head of the Guelphs, and that of the Lambertazzi of the Ghibbelines, +who formed an opposition by no means despicable to the domineering +party. Bonifazio Geremei and Imelda Lambertazzi, forgetting the feuds of +their families, fell passionately in love with each other, and Imelda +received her lover into her house. This coming to her brothers' +knowledge, they rushed into the room where the two lovers were, and +Imelda could scarcely escape, whilst one of the brothers plunged a +dagger, poisoned after the Saracen fashion, into Bonifazio's breast, +whose body was thrown into some concealed part of the house and covered +with rubbish. Imelda hastened to him, following the tracks of his blood, +as soon as the brothers were gone; found him, and supposing him not +quite dead, generously, as our own Queen Eleanor had done about the same +time, sucked the poison from the bleeding wound, the only remedy which +could possibly save his life; but it was too late: Imelda's attendants +found her a corpse, embracing that of her beloved Bonifazio.'" + +The success of the Landscape Annual is very far from problematical. All +our _travelled_ nobility and people of fortune will buy it to refresh +their acquaintance with the beautiful scenes it includes; and it is +hardly possible to imagine a more agreeable book-companion on the +journey itself. + + * * * * * + + + + +LITERARY SOUVENIR. + +(_Concluded from Supplement, page 336_.) + + +The _poetry_ of the _Souvenir_ is, as usual, for the most part +excellent. Among the best pieces are The Dying Mother to her Infant, by +Caroline Bowles; Bring back the chain, by the authoress of the "Sorrows +of Rosalie;" and The Birth-day, by N.P. Willis, a popular American +writer. There are likewise some very graceful and touching pieces by Mr. +Watts, the editor, one of which will be found in our next number. There +are too some pleasant attempts at humorous relief; but "Vanity Fair" is +a very poor attempt at jingling rhyme. We quote one of these light +pieces for the sake of adding variety to our sheet: + + +WHERE IS MISS MYRTLE? + +AIR--_Sweet Kitty Clover._ + + + Where is Miss Myrtle? can any one tell? + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + She flirts with another, I know very well; + And I--am left all alone! + She flies to the window when Arundel rings: + She's all over smiles when Lord Archibald sings; + It's plain that her Cupid has two pair of wings; + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + Her love and my love are different things: + And I--am left all alone! + + I brought her, one morning, a rose for her brow + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + She told me such horrors were never worn now: + And I--am left all alone! + But I saw her at night with a rose in her hair, + And I guess who it came from,--of course I don't care! + We all know that girls are as false us they're fair; + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + I'm sure the lieutenant's a horrible bear; + And I--am left all alone! + + Whenever we go on the Downs for a ride, + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + She looks for another to trot by her side: + And I--am left all alone! + And whenever I take her down stairs from a ball, + She nods to some puppy to put on her shawl: + I'm a peaceable man, and I don't like a brawl: + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + But I would give a trifle to horsewhip them all: + And I--am left all alone! + + She tells me her mother belongs to the sect, + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + Which holds that all waltzing is quite incorrect: + And I--am left all alone! + But a fire's in my heart and a fire's in my brain, + When she waltzes away with Sir Phelim O'Shane; + I don't think I ever _can_ ask her again: + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + And, lord! since the summer she's grown very plain, + And I--am left all alone! + + She said that she liked me a twelvemonth ago! + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + And how should I guess that she'd torture me so! + And I--am left all alone! + Some day she'll find out it was not very wise + To laugh at the breath of a true lover's sighs: + After all, Fanny Myrtle is not such a prize; + Where is she gone, where is she gone? + Louisa Dalrymple has exquisite eyes: + And I'll be--no longer alone! + + +Mr. Praed has an exquisite poem, "Memory;" and we had nearly passed by a +song by Mr. T. Moore. + + + Alone beneath the moon I roved, + And thought how oft in hours gone by, + I heard my Mary say she loved + To look upon a moonlight sky! + The day had been one lengthened shower, + Till moonlight came, with lustre meek, + To light up every weeping flower, + Like smiles upon a mourner's cheek. + + I called to mind from Eastern books + A thought that could not leave me soon:-- + "The moon on many a night-flower looks, + The night-flower sees no other moon." + And thus I thought our fortune's run, + For many a lover sighs to thee; + While oh! I feel there is but _one_, + _One_ Mary in the world for me! + + +The illustrations are almost unexceptionably good; the _gems_ in this +way being Mrs. Siddons, as Lady Macbeth, by C. Rolls, after Harlowe: the +face is perhaps the most intellectual piece of engraving ever seen; the +sublime effect in so small a space is truly surprising. A Portrait, by +W. Danforth, after Leslie, ranks next; and the beauty and variety of the +remainder of the prints are so great as to prevent our _individualizing_ +them to the reader. Taken altogether, they form one of the finest Annual +Galleries or Collections. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE KEEPSAKE. + + * * * * * + + +Without going into a dreamy discussion on the _literature_ of this work, +we venture to say it has rather retrograded from, than improved upon the +volume of last year. Great and titled names only furnish the _gilt:_ and +this fact is now so generally understood, that readers are no longer +deceived by them, in the quality of the gingerbread. Mr. Watts is so +convinced of this fact, that he has given the cut direct to many titled +authors; and, for aught we know, he has produced as good a volume this +year as on any former occasion. The proprietor of the _Keepsake_ appears +to think otherwise; and his editor has accordingly produced a book of +very meagre interest, though of mightier pretensions than his rivals. +Months ago we were told by announcement, paragraph and advertisement, of +a tragedy, _The House of Aspen_, by Sir Walter Scott, which now turns +out to be as dull an affair as any known in these days of dramatic +poverty and theatrical ups and downs. Sir Walter, in an advertisement of +great modesty, dated April 1, says, that "being of too small a size of +consequence for a separate publication, the piece is sent as a +contribution to the _Keepsake_, where its demerits may be hidden amid +the beauties of more valuable articles." The piece has been adapted to a +minor stage with some effect, but nothing higher than a melodrama. We +have neither room nor inclination to extract a scene, but one of the +metrical pieces has tempted us:-- + + + Sweet shone the sun on the fair Lake of Toro, + Weak were the whispers that waved the dark wood, + As a fair maiden bewilder'd in sorrow, + Sigh'd to the breezes and wept to the flood. + + "Saints from the mansion of bliss lowly bending, + Virgin, that hear'st the poor suppliant's cry, + Grant my petition, in anguish ascending. + My Frederick restore, or let Eleanor die." + + Distant and faint were the sounds of the battle, + With the breezes they rise, with the breezes they fail, + Till the shout, and the groan, and the conflict's dread rattle, + And the chase's wild clamour came loading the gale. + + Breathless she gaz'd through the woodland so dreary, + Slowly approaching, a warrior was seen; + Life's ebbing tide mark'd his footstep so weary, + Cleft was his helmet, and woe was his mien. + + "Save thee, fair maid, for our armies are flying; + Save thee, fair maid, for thy guardian is low; + Cold on yon heath thy bold Frederick is lying, + Fast through the woodland approaches the foe." + + +Two of the best stories are The Bride, by Theodore Hook, and the +Shooting Star, an Irish tale, by Lord Nugent; and a Dialogue for the +year 2310, by the author of Granby, has considerable smartness. The +scene is in London, where one of the speakers has just arrived "from out +of Scotland; breakfasted this morning at Edinburgh, and have not been in +town above a couple of hours. The roads are dreadfully heavy now: +conceive my having been seven hours and a half coming from Edinburgh to +London. Killing between four and five thousand head of game in one day +is shooting ill; and one of the party has a gun which would give +twenty-seven discharges in a minute, and mine would give only +twenty-five. I really must change my maker. Have you seen the last new +invention, the hydro-potassian lock?" Hunting machines, that would fly +like balloons over a ten-foot wall--A candidate for the Circumnavigation +Club, who has been four times round the world in his own, yacht--A point +of bad taste to make a morning call by daylight--Dining at twelve +P.M.--A spring-door with a self-acting knocker, which gives a treble +knock, and is opened by a steam porter in livery--A chair mounting from +the hall, through the ceiling, into the drawing room--Talking to a lady +two miles off through a telescope, till one's fingers ache--A +callisthenic academy for the children of pauper operatives--An automaton +note-writer--A lady professing ignorance of Almack's, "a club where +Swift and Johnson used to meet, but I don't profess to be an +antiquarian"--"Love and Algebra," one of the common scientific novels +thumbed by coal-heavers and orange-women, very well for the common +people--Every thing is taught them now by means of scientific novels: +such as "Geological Atoms, or the Adventures of a Dustman"--Doubted +very much whether English wheat is fit for any thing but the brute +creation--Dark times of the 19th century--Six-hourly and half-daily +newspapers--"_apropos_, as the hackney-coachmen say"--Turkey, one +of the southern provinces of Russia--His Majesty Jonathan III. of +Washington--The Emperor of India--The Burmese Republic--English the +language of three-fourths of Asia, nine-tenths of North America, half +Africa, and all the insular states in the South Seas--and England, that +little kingdom, with a population of not more than forty millions, has +had the honour of colonizing half the globe; but "these countries are +our colonies no longer." Such are a few of the wonders of 2130! In the +Dialogue is an admirable joke with a scientific street-sweeper and a +learned beggar, who pleads _necessitas non habet legem_, and "embraces +the profession of an operative mendicant." But here is a _morceau_: + +_Lady D._--Ah! Lord A.! Mr. C.! most unexpected persons both! I heard +only yesterday that one of you was in Greenland, and the other in +Africa. What false reports they circulate! + +_Lord A._--The reports were true not long ago, and I believe we returned +about the same time. You, Lady D., have been also travelling, I believe. + +_Lady D._--Yes, we were out of England in the winter. Our physician +commanded a warmer climate for Lord D. so we took a villa on the Niger, +and afterwards spent a short time at Sackatoo. + +_Mr. C._--I suppose you found it full of English? + +_Lady D._--Oh, quite full--and such a set! We knew hardly any of them. +In fact, we did not go there for society. We met a few pleasant people, +Australians; the Abershaws, the Hardy Vauxes, and Sir William and Lady +Soames. + +_Mr. C._--Did you go by the new Tangier and Timbuctoo road? + +_Lady D._--Yes, we did, and we found it excellent. By the bye, Lord A., +to digress to a different latitude, how did you succeed in your last +excursion to the North Pole? + +_Lord A._--To tell you the truth, extremely ill; we had most +improvidently taken with us scarcely enough of the _solvent_ to work our +way through the ice, and our concentrated essence of caloric was found +to be of a very inferior quality. I shall try again next summer. + +_Lady D._--I believe we shall go to Spitzbergen ourselves. + +_Lord A._--I am happy to think that, in that case, I may perhaps have +the pleasure of meeting you there on my return. I must go to the Pole, +by the way of North Georgia: I am engaged to visit an Eskimaux friend. + +Still more ludicrous are the following historical blunders:--One of the +party asks how Napoleon is introduced in an historical novel of 1830? +The reply is--"He and the Emperor Alexander of Russia are introduced +dining with the King at Brighton. Napoleon quarrels with the two +sovereigns, and challenges them to a personal encounter. Each claims the +right of fighting by deputy. The King of England appoints his prime +minister, the Duke of Wellington; the Emperor Alexander appoints Prince +Kutusoff. The Duke of Wellington is to go out first, and is to meet +Napoleon at Battersea Fields. There were open fields at Battersea: +_then_: only think! open fields! I don't know how the duel ends--I am +just in the midst of it--it is so interesting." + +The author of _Anastasius_ (Mr. Thos. Hope) has contributed five or six +pages on Self-love, Sympathy, and Selfishness--which are deep enough for +any Lady D. of this or the next century. We expected a powerful and +picturesque tale of the East, and not such sententious matter as +this:--"Every sentient entity, from the lowest of brutes to the highest +of human beings, desires self-gratification:" we may add, a principle as +well understood in Covent-garden as in Portland-place. Mr. Banim has +written The Hall of the Castle, an interesting Irish story; and Lord +Normanby, The Prophet of St. Paul's, of the date of 1514--which +concludes the volume. + +Among the Poetry are some pretty verses by Lord Porchester; but it is +well that metrical pieces do not predominate, for some of the writers +are sadly unmusical sonneteers. + +The "Letters from Lord Byron to several Friends" are not of interest +enough for the space they occupy. + +The _Plates_ are beyond praise. The Frontispiece Portrait of Lady +Georgiana Agar Ellis, by Charles Heath, is one of the most exquisite +ever engraved; and two plates illustrating Sir Walter Scott's _House of +Aspen_ have the effect of beautiful pictures on a blank wall. _Two_ +views of Virginia Water are, perhaps, questionable in the same volume; +but they are admirably engraved. Wilkie's "beautiful, though," as Lord +Normanby says, "somewhat slight cabinet picture of the Princess Doria +and the Pilgrims[1]" has been finely executed by Heath; and a View of +Venice, from a drawing by Prout, is a masterpiece of Freebairne. Equal +to either of these is The Faithful Servant, engraved by Goodyear, after +Cooper, and Dorothea, the title-page plate. Of The Bride, engraved by +Charles Heath, from a picture by Leslie, it is impossible to speak in +terms of sufficient praise, as it is, without exception, one of the +loveliest prints ever beheld. We have had our laugh at The Portrait, a +scene from Foote, painted by Smirke, and engraved by Portbury. Its whim +and humour is describable only by the British Aristophanes. We can only +add, that it is Lady Pentweazle sitting to Carmine for her portrait--the +look that he despairs of imitating, as we do Foote's account of her +family:-- + + + [1] Some nice calculators have estimated that the various sums + received by Mr. Wilkie for the supplies he has furnished to the + Illustrations of the Annuals of the coming season amount to + upwards of £1,000.--_Athenaeum_. + + +"All my family, by the mother's side, are famous for their eyes. I have +a great aunt amongst the beauties at Windsor; she has a sister at +Hampton Court, a perdegeous fine woman! she had but one eye, but that +was a piercer: that one eye got her three husbands." + +The painter appears to us to be a portrait of Foote. We ought not to +forget to mention, at least, Francis I. and his Sister, splendidly +engraved by C. Heath, from a picture by Bonington. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE COMIC ANNUAL. + +_By Thomas Hood, Esq._ + + +We intend to let the facetious author have his own _say_ on the comical +contents of this very comical little work, by merely running over a few +of the head and tail pieces of the several pages. We think with Mr. +Hood, that "In the Christmas Holidays, or rather, Holly Days, according +to one of the emblems of the season, we naturally look for mirth. +Christmas is strictly a Comic Annual, and its specific gaiety is even +implied in the specific gravity of its oxen." So much for the design, +which is far more congenial to our feelings than the thousand and one +sonnets, pointless epigrams, laments, and monodies, which are usually +showered from crimson and gold envelopes at this dull season of the +year. There are thirty-seven pieces--all in humorous and "righte merrie +conceite." We shall give a few random extracts, or specimens, and then +run over the cuts. Our first is--(and what should it be?) + + +NUMBER ONE. + + + "It's very hard! and so it is, + To live in such a row, + And witness this, that every Miss + But me has got a beau. + For Love goes calling up and down, + But here he seems to shun. + I'm sure he has been asked enough + To call at Number One! + + "I'm sick of all the double knocks + That come to Number Four! + At Number Three I often see + A lover at the door; + And one in blue, at Number Two, + Calls daily like a dun,-- + It's very hard they come so near + And not at Number One. + + "Miss Bell, I hear, has got a dear + Exactly to her mind, + By sitting at the window pane + Without a bit of blind; + But I go in the balcony, + Which she has never done, + Yet arts that thrive at Number Five + Don't take at Number One. + + "'Tis hard with plenty in the street, + And plenty passing by,-- + There's nice young men at Number Ten, + But only rather shy; + And Mrs. Smith across the way + Has got a grown-up son. + But la! he hardly seems to know + There is a Number One! + + "There's Mr. Wick at Number Nine, + But he's intent on pelf, + And though he's pious, will not love + His neighbour as himself. + At Number Seven there was a sale-- + The goods had quite a run! + And here I've got my single lot + On hand at Number One! + + "My mother often sits at work + And talks of props and stays, + And what a comfort I shall be + In her declining days! + The very maids about the house + Have set me down a nun, + The sweethearts all belong to them + That call at Number One! + + "Once only, when the flue took fire, + One Friday afternoon, + Young Mr. Long came kindly in, + And told me not to swoon. + Why can't he come again without + The Phoenix and the Sun? + We cannot always have a flue + On fire at Number One! + + "I am not old, I am not plain, + Nor awkward in my gait-- + I am not crooked like the bride + That went from Number Eight; + I'm sure white satin made her look + As brown as any bun-- + But even beauty has no chance + I think at Number One. + + "At Number Six they say Miss Rose + Has slain a score of hearts, + And Cupid, for her sake, has been + Quite prodigal of darts. + The imp they show with bended bow-- + I wish he had a gun; + But if he had, he'd never deign + To shoot with Number One. + + "It's very hard, and so it is, + To live in such a row; + And here's a ballad-singer come + To aggravate my woe; + O take away your foolish song + And tones enough to stun-- + There is 'nae luck about the house,' + I know at Number One." + + +Next is a prose sketch: + + +THE FURLOUGH.--AN IRISH ANECDOTE. + + +"In the autumn of 1825, some private affairs called me into the sister +kingdom; and as I did not travel, like Polyphemus, with my eye out, +I gathered a few samples of Irish character, amongst which was the +following incident:-- + +"I was standing one morning at the window of 'mine Inn,' when my +attention was attracted by a scene that took place beneath. The Belfast +coach was standing at the door, and on the roof, in front, sat a +solitary outside passenger, a fine young fellow, in the uniform of the +Connaught Rangers. Below, by the front wheel, stood an old woman, +seemingly his mother, a young man, and a younger woman, sister or +sweetheart; and they were all earnestly entreating the young soldier to +descend from his seat on the coach. + +"'Come down wid ye, Thady'--the speaker was the old woman--'come down +now to your ould mother; sure it's flog ye they will, and strip the +flesh off the bones I giv ye. Come down, Thady, darlin!' + +"'It's honour, mother,' was the short reply of the soldier; and with +clenched hands and set teeth, he took a stiffer posture on the coach. + +"'Thady, come down--come down, ye fool of the world--come along down wid +ye!' The tone of the present appeal was more impatient and peremptory +than the last; and the answer was more promptly and sternly pronounced: +'It's honour, brother!' and the body of the speaker rose more rigidly +erect than ever on the roof. + +"'O Thady, come down! sure it's me, your own Kathleen, that bids ye! +Come down, or ye'll break the heart of me, Thady, jewel; come down +then!' The poor girl wrung her hands as she said it, and cast a look +upward that had a visible effect on the muscles of the soldier's +countenance. There was more tenderness in his tone, but it conveyed the +same resolution as before. + +"'It's honour, honour bright, Kathleen!' and, as if to defend himself +from another glance, he fixed his look steadfastly in front, while the +renewed entreaties burst from all three in chorus, with the same answer. + +"'Come down, Thady, honey!--Thady, ye fool, come down!--O Thady, come +down to me!' + +"'It's honour, mother!--It's honour, brother!--Honour bright, my own +Kathleen!' + +"Although the poor fellow was a private, this appeal was so public, that +I did not hesitate to go down and inquire into the particulars of the +distress. It appeared that he had been home, on furlough, to visit his +family,--and having exceeded, as he thought, the term of his leave, he +was going to rejoin his regiment, and to undergo the penalty of his +neglect. I asked him when the furlough expired? + +"'The first of March, your honour--bad luck to it of all the black days +in the world--and here it is, come sudden on me, like a shot!' + +"'The first of March!--why, my good fellow, you have a day to spare +then--the first of March will not be here till to-morrow. It is Leap +Year, and February has twenty-nine days.' + +"The soldier was thunder-struck.--'Twenty-nine days is it?--you're +sartin of that same! Oh, mother, mother!--the devil fly away wid yere +ould almanack--a base cratur of a book, to be deceaven one, afther +living so long in the family of us!' + +"His first impulse was to cut a caper on the roof of the coach, and +throw up his cap with a loud hurrah! His second was to throw himself +into the arms of his Kathleen; and the third was to wring my hand off in +acknowledgment. + +"'It's a happy man I am, your honour, for my word's saved, and all by +your honour's manes. Long life to your honour for the same! May ye live +a long hundred--and lape-years every one of them.'" + +What will Mr. Gurney's helpers say to the following + + +SONNET ON STEAM. + +BY AN UNDER-OSTLER. + + + I wish I livd a Thowsen year Ago + Wurking for Sober six and Seven milers + And dubble Stages runnen safe and slo! + The Orsis cum in Them days to the Bilers + But Now by meens of Powers of Steem forces + A-turning Coches into Smoakey Kettels + The Bilers seam a Cumming to the Orses + And Helps and naggs Will sune be out of Vittels + Poor Bruits I wander How we bee to Liv + When sutch a change of Orses is our Faits + No nothink need Be sifted in a Siv + May them Blowd ingins all Blow up their Grates + And Theaves of Oslers crib the Coles and Giv + Their blackgard Hannimuls a Feed of Slaits! + + +Space we have not for the whole of "A Letter from a Market Gardener to +the Secretary of the Horticultural Society," but here is the concluding +paragraph:-- + +"My Wif had a Tomb Cat that dyd. Being a torture Shell and a Grate +faverit, we had Him berrid in the Guardian, and for the sake of +inrichment of the Mould, I had the carks deposeted under the roots of +a Gosberry Bush. The Frute being up till then of a smooth kind. But +the nex Seson's Frute after the Cat was berrid, the Gosberris was al +hairy--and more Remarkable, the Capilers of the same bush was All of +the same hairy description. + +"I am, Sir, your humble servant, + +"THOMAS FROST." + +We have lately paid much attention to the subject of Emigration, but +quite in a different vein to the following, which will introduce one of +the cuts:-- + + +"Squampash Flatts, 9th Nov. 1827. + + +"Dear Brother--Here we are, thank Providence, safe and well, and in the +finest country you ever saw. At this moment I have before me the sublime +expanse of Squampash Flatts--the majestic Mudiboo winding through the +midst--with the magnificent range of the Squab mountains in the +distance. But the prospect is impossible to describe in a letter! I +might as well attempt a panorama in a pill-box! We have fixed our +settlement on the left bank of the river. In crossing the rapids we lost +most of our heavy baggage, and all our iron work; but, by great good +fortune, we saved Mrs. Paisley's grand piano, and the children's toys. +Our infant city consists of three log-huts and one of clay, which, +however, on the second day, fell in to the ground landlords. We have now +built it up again, and, all things considered, are as comfortable as we +could expect: and have christened our settlement New London, in +compliment to the old metropolis. We have one of the log-houses to +ourselves--or at least shall have, when we have built a new hog-sty. We +burnt down the first one in making a bonfire to keep off the wild +beasts, and, for the present, the pigs are in the parlour. As yet our +rooms are rather usefully than elegantly furnished. We have gutted the +Grand Upright, and it makes a convenient cupboard; the chairs were +obliged to blaze at our bivouacs--but thank Heaven, we have never +leisure to sit down, and so do not miss them. My boys are contented, and +will be well when they have got over some awkward accidents in lopping +and felling. Mrs. P. grumbles a little, but it is her custom to lament +most when she is in the midst of comforts: she complains of solitude, +and says she could enjoy the very stiffest of stiff visits. The first +time we lighted a fire in our new abode, a large serpent came down the +chimney, which I looked upon as a good omen. However, as Mrs. P. is not +partial to snakes, and the heat is supposed to attract those reptiles, +we have dispensed with fires ever since. As for wild beasts, we hear +them howling and roaring round the fence every night from dusk till +daylight; but we have only been inconvenienced by one lion. The first +time he came, in order to get rid of the brute peaceably, we turned out +an old ewe, with which he was well satisfied, but ever since he comes to +us as regular as clock-work for his mutton; and if we do not soon +contrive to cut his acquaintance, we shall hardly have a sheep in the +flock. It would have been easy to shoot him, being well provided with +muskets; but Barnaby mistook our remnant of gunpowder for onion seed, +and sowed it all in the kitchen garden. We did try to trap him into a +pit-fall; but after twice catching Mrs. P. and every one of the children +in turn, it was given up. They are now, however, perfectly at ease about +the animal, for they never stir out of doors at all; and, to make them +quite comfortable, I have blocked up all the windows, and barricaded the +door. We have lost only one of our number since we came--namely, +Diggory, the market-gardener, from Glasgow, who went out one morning to +botanize, and never came back. I am much surprised at his absconding, as +he had nothing but a spade to go off with. Chippendale, the carpenter, +was sent after him, but did not return; and Gregory, the smith, has been +out after them these two days. I have just dispatched Mudge, the +herdsman, to look for all three, and hope he will soon give a good +account of them, as they are the most useful men in the whole +settlement, and, in fact, indispensable to its existence. The river +Mudiboo is deep and rapid, and said to swarm with alligators, though I +have heard but of three being seen at one time, and none of those above +eighteen feet long: this, however, is immaterial, as we do not use the +river fluid, which is thick and dirty, but draw all our water from +natural wells and tanks. Poisonous springs are rather common, but are +easily distinguished by containing no fish or living animal. Those, +however, which swarm with frogs, toads, newts, efts, &c., are harmless, +and may be safely used for culinary purposes. In short, I know of no +drawback but one, which, I am sanguine, may be got over hereafter, and +do earnestly hope and advise, if things are no better in England than +when I left, you, and as many as you can persuade, will sell off all, +and come over to this African Paradise. The drawback I speak of is +this:--Although I have never seen any one of the creatures, it is too +certain that the mountains are inhabited by a race of monkeys, whose +cunning and mischievous talents exceed even the most incredible stories +of their tribe. No human art or vigilance seems of avail: we have +planned ambuscades, and watched night after night, but no attempt has +been made; yet the moment the guard was relaxed, we were stripped +without mercy. I am convinced they must have had spies night and day on +our motions--yet so secretly and cautiously, that no glimpse of one has +yet been seen by any of our people. Our last crop was cut and carried +off with the precision of an English harvesting. Our spirit stores--(you +will be amazed to hear that these creatures pick locks with the +dexterity of London burglars)--have been broken open and ransacked, +though half the establishment were on the watch; and the brutes have +been off to their mountains, five miles distant, without even the dogs +giving an alarm. I could almost persuade myseif at times, such are their +supernatural knowledge, swiftness, and invisibility, that we have to +contend with evil spirits. I long for your advice, to refer to on this +subject; and am, dear Philip, + +"Your loving brother, + +"AMBROSE MAWE. + +"P.S. Since writing the above, you will be concerned to hear the body of +poor Diggory has been found, horribly mangled by wild beasts. The fate +of Chippendale, Gregory, and Mudge is no longer doubtful. The old lion +has brought the lioness, and, the sheep being all gone, they have made a +joint attack upon the bullock-house. The Mudiboo has overflowed, and +Squampash Flatts are a swamp. I have just discovered that the monkeys +are my own rascals, that I brought out from England. We are coming back +as fast as we can." + + +EMIGRATION: + + +[Illustration: _Meeting a Settler._] + +_Meeting a Settler._ + + +THE CUTS. + + +_A clear stage, and no favour:_ a coach and horses on their sides, with +all the passengers' heels uppermost, in a horse-pond.--_The air adapted +to a Violin:_ a fellow flying a kite-fiddle in a field.--_"Those +Evening Bells:"_ a postman and muffin-man.--_Shrimp Sauce to a Lobster:_ +a little urchin putting out his tongue at a Foot Guard.--_"Toe-ho:"_ a +sportsman caught in a spring-trap.--_Boarded, Lodged, and Done for:_ a +wight in the pillory, and a shower of brick-bats, dead cats, &c.--_"A +Constable's Miscellany:"_ a crowd of offenders, preceded by the man in +office, staff-in-hand.--_Unlicensed Victuallers:_ a couple of greyhounds +seizing a dinner. _"She walks in beauty, like the night:"_ a black girl, +shaded by a broad leaf.--_Boxer and Pincher:_ a pair of dogs taking +snuff together.--_A Round Robin:_ a red-breast in the shape of a ball.-- +_Hook and Eye:_ a parrot on a perch.--_A Leading Article:_ a jockey +a-head in a race.--_A Sweepstakes--"Every jockey has a jenny:"_ sweeps +on donkeys.--_Soap-orifics and Sud-orifics:_ two busy washerwomen.--_A +Court Day:_ a crowd sheltered from the rain, beneath "Poppin's Court." +These are but a few of the eighty-seven drolleries of the cuts and +plates, which have more fun and humour than all the pantomime tricks and +changes of our time; they are worth all the fine conceits of all the +great painters of any age, and the pun and patter which accompany them +are excellent. We give one of the tail-pieces: + + +[Illustration: _Breaking up--no Holiday._] + +_Breaking up--no Holiday._ + + + * * * * * + + +EMMANUEL. + + +This little work is "decidedly of a religious character," and, to quote +the preface, "its contents are in unison with the sanctity of its +title." The editor is the Rev. W. Shepherd, the author of _Clouds and +Sunshine;_ and we quote an extract from one of his contributions: its +gravities will blend with the gaieties of our sheet. The passage occurs +in "Holy Associations:"-- + +"But there are other feelings besides those of mortality which are +closely connected with a churchyard. Whilst from the ashes of the dead +comes forth a voice which solemnly proclaims, 'The end of all things is +at hand,' there arises also to the well-regulated mind a scene of still +greater interest--one more in unison with the soul. There is a kind of +indescribable sympathy, which, like the sentiment of the prophet of +Judah, prompts us to wish that our bones may lie by the side of our +brethren in the sepulchre. This feeling is part of our nature, and +belongs to that universal link which connects and binds man to man, and +continues the chain till lost in the essence of divinity.... + +"What, indeed! can mark a greater alienation of the soul from its +original nature, than the infidelity which chooses for the bed of the +grave spots unhallowed by religious associations. They who deny their +God, and cavil at his Word, can have no reverence for places which, like +his houses of prayer and the consecrated receptacles of the dead, derive +all their sanctity and influence from a belief in his mercies, and a +sense of our demerits--hence, having banished themselves from their +Father's house, they are content to 'lie down in the grave like the +beasts that perish.' Whilst, on the contrary, the simply virtuous, the +sincerely religious, the soberly pious, without attaching any value as +to the future destination of the soul, to the spot in which its earthly +sister may crumble to its kindred dust, cherish the pleasing hope that +their mortal bodies may repose in those places alone which religion +hallows. They long not for pleasure grottos or druidical coppices, in +which to be gathered to their fathers, but dwelling with chastened hope +on the glories of the resurrection, they desire their mortal particles +may be found when the Lord cometh to complete his victory over the +grave, in the spot, and contiguous to the house 'in which he has chosen +to place his name there.' + +"From the same fountain of ethereal purity, deduced through this genuine +principle of amiability, is derived that love of country which makes his +Alps and Avalanches dear to the Swiss, and suggested that beautiful +image to the Mantuan muse, of the Grecian soldier remembering in the +last struggles of death his pleasant Argos. It is this which makes us +revert, with ever verdant freshness, to our homes and native places, and +binds us to the land of our birth with adamantine links. From the +burning desarts of sunny Africa--from the wild tornados of the gusty +West--from the mountains of ice piled by a thousand ages, like +impassable barriers round each frozen pole--from the fertile plains and +trackless forests of Australia, frequently rises, like a breeze of +sweetest incense, the fond remembrance of our _native land_; which, even +in bosoms scathed by storm and pilgrimage, causes to spring up, like a +sudden fountain in a barren waste, the gushing images of the scenes of +home, and all their prime deliciousness." + +There are seventy-five pieces in prose and verse, narrative and +descriptive.--The price and pretensions would not allow costly +engravings; and, with the exception of a beautiful architectural +frontispiece, by Mr. Britton, F.S.A. the embellishments are but meagre. +This plate is accompanied by a brief paper on Christian Architecture, at +the close of which Mr. Britton says, "The frontispiece has been composed +from the architectural members of the west front of _York Minster_; and +it shows that the monastic artist who designed that magnificent facade, +gave to it a decided, unequivocal Christian character." + + * * * * * + + + + +THE BIJOU + + +Is very properly entitled "An Annual of Literature and _the Arts_," +since considerably more attention seems to have been paid to the +Illustrations than to their accompaniments. Few of the prose or verse +pieces present much novelty of matter or manner; but the following will, +perhaps, be esteemed a curiosity:-- + + +PORTRAIT OF UGO FOSCOLO. + +(_From the Italian_,) _by Himself_. + + + A furrow'd brow, intent and deep sunk eyes, + Fair hair, lean cheeks, are mine, and aspect bold; + The proud quick lip, where seldom smiles arise, + Bent head and fine form'd neck, breast rough and cold, + Limbs well compos'd; simple in dress, yet choice: + Swift or to move, act, think, or thoughts unfold; + Temperate, firm, kind, unus'd to flattering lies, + Adverse to th' world, adverse to me of old. + Oftimes alone and mournful. Evermore + Most pensive--all unmov'd by hope or fear: + By shame made timid, and by anger brave-- + My subtle reason speaks; but, ah! I rave, + 'Twixt vice and virtue, hardly know to steer + Death may for me have FAME and rest in store. + + +There is an abundance of Sonnets and short pieces which would dovetail +in our columns, were we tempted by their merit to extract them; but, in +place of enumerating them, we notice the Engravings, some of which are +excellent specimens of art. Among these is a Portrait of THE KING, by +Ensom, from a painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence, in the collection of Sir +William Knighton, Bart. Next is Ada, a Portrait of a Young Lady, +delicately engraved by T.A. Dean, after Sir Thomas Lawrence. The print +is about the size of a crown-piece, a perfect _gem--a bijou_ in itself. +The African Daughter, by Sangster, from a picture by Bonington, abounds +with vigorous and effective touches; some of the lights are extremely +brilliant. Next is the Portrait of Mrs. Arbuthnot, by W. Ensom, from the +President's picture, full of grace and life, and richly meriting the +term exquisite: nothing can be finer than the dark luxuriant hair +contrasted with the alabaster delicacy and elegance of the features; the +eyes too beam with benignant expressiveness. Wilkie's Bag-Piper has been +powerfully engraved by Aug. Fox; and a Portrait of Lady Jane Grey, after +De Heere, is an interesting variety. Milton composing Paradise Lost, +from a drawing by Stothard, is far from our taste; but the Blue Bell, by +Fox, from a picture by W.A. Hastings, somewhat atones for the previous +failure: its prettiness is of the first class. + +Our notice has extended to all the Engravings except one--Rosalind and +Celia--about which, the less said the better. There are, perhaps, too +many portraits in the collection, but taken apart, they are among the +first-rate productions of their class. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE FORGET-ME-NOT. + + +Eighty-three pieces in verse and prose are the _modicum_ of +entertainment in this delightful little work. Of course we cannot +enumerate a quarter of their titles, but only mention a few of the most +striking. Among the prose is "A Quarter of an Hour too soon," by the +author of "The Hour too many," in the last Forget-Me-Not. Our favourite +story is _The Red Man_, by the Modern Pythagorean of Blackwood, which we +quote almost entire:-- + +"It was at the hour of nine, in an August evening, that a solitary +horseman arrived at the Black Swan, a country inn, about nine miles from +the town of Leicester. He was mounted on a large, fiery charger, as +black as jet, and had behind him a portmanteau attached to the croup of +his saddle. A black travelling cloak, which not only covered his own +person, but the greater part of his steed, was thrown around him. On his +head he wore a broad-brimmed hat, with an uncommonly low crown. His legs +were cased in top-boots, to which were attached spurs of an +extraordinary length; and in his hands he carried a whip, with a thong +three yards long, and a handle which might have levelled Goliath +himself. On arriving at the inn, he calmly dismounted, and called upon +the ostler by name. 'Frank!' said he, 'take my horse to the stable; rub +him down thoroughly; and, when he is well cooled, step in and let me +know.' And, taking hold of his portmanteau, he entered the kitchen, +followed by the obsequious landlord, who had come out a minute before, +on hearing of his arrival. There were several persons present, engaged +in nearly the same occupation. At one side of the fire sat the village +schoolmaster--a thin, pale, peak-nosed little man, with a powdered +periwig, terminating behind in a long queue, and an expression of +self-conceit strongly depicted upon his countenance. He was amusing +himself with a pipe, from which he threw forth volumes of smoke with an +air of great satisfaction. Opposite to him sat the parson of the +parish--a fat, bald-headed personage, dressed in a rusty suit of black, +and having his shoes adorned with immense silver buckles. Between these +two characters sat the exciseman, with a pipe in one hand, and a tankard +in the other. To complete the group, nothing is wanting but to mention +the landlady, a plump, rosy dame of thirty-five, who was seated by the +schoolmaster's side, apparently listening to some sage remarks which +that little gentleman was throwing out for her edification. But to +return to the stranger. No sooner had he entered the kitchen, followed +by the landlord, than the eyes of the company were directed upon him. +His hat was so broad in the brim, his spurs were so long, his stature so +great, and his face so totally hid by the collar of his immense black +cloak, that he instantly attracted the attention of every person +present. His voice, when he desired the master of the house to help him +off with his mantle, was likewise so harsh, that they all heard it with +sudden curiosity. Nor did this abate when the cloak was removed, and his +hat laid aside. A tall, athletic, red-haired man, of the middle age, was +then made manifest. He had on a red frock coat, a red vest, and a red +neckcloth; nay, his gloves were red! What was more extraordinary, when +the overalls which covered his thighs were unbuttoned, it was discovered +that his small-clothes were red likewise. 'All red!' ejaculated the +parson almost involuntarily. 'As you say, the gentleman is all red!' +added the schoolmaster, with his characteristic flippancy. He was +checked by a look from the landlady. His remark, however, caught the +stranger's ear, and he turned round upon him with a penetrating glance. +The schoolmaster tried to smoke it off bravely. It would not do: he felt +the power of that look, and was reduced to almost immediate silence. + +"'Now, bring me your boot-jack,' said the horseman. The boot-jack was +brought, and the boots pulled off. To the astonishment of the company, a +pair of red stockings were brought into view. The landlord shrugged his +shoulders, the exciseman did the same, the landlady shook her head, the +parson exclaimed, 'All red!' as before, and the schoolmaster would have +repeated it, but he had not yet recovered from the rebuke. 'Faith, this +is odd!' observed the host. 'Rather odd,' said the stranger, seating +himself between the parson and the exciseman. The landlord was +confounded, and did not know what to think of the matter. After sitting +for a few moments, the new-comer requested the host to hand him a +night-cap, which he would find in his hat. He did so: it was a red +worsted one; and he put it upon his head. Here the exciseman broke +silence, by ejaculating, 'Red again!' The landlady gave him an +admonitory knock on the elbow: it was too late. The stranger heard his +remark, and regarded him with one of those piercing glances for which +his fiery eye seemed so remarkable. 'All red!' murmured the parson once +more. 'Yes, Doctor Poundtext, the gentleman, as you say, is all red,' +re-echoed the schoolmaster, who by this time had recovered his +self-possession. He would have gone on, but the landlady gave him a +fresh admonition, by trampling upon his toes; and her husband winked in +token of silence. + +"As in the case of the exciseman, the warnings were too late. 'Now, +landlord,' said the stranger, after he had been seated a minute, 'may I +trouble you to get me a pipe and a can of your best Burton? But, first +of all, open my portmanteau, and give me out my slippers.' The host did +as he was desired, and produced a pair of red morocco slippers. Here an +involuntary exclamation broke out from the company. It began with the +parson, and was taken up by the schoolmaster, the exciseman, the +landlady, and the landlord, in succession. 'More red!' proceeded from +every lip, with different degrees of loudness. The landlord's was the +least loud, the schoolmaster's the loudest of all. 'I suppose, +gentlemen,' said the stranger, 'you were remarking upon my +slippers.'--'Eh--yes! we were just saying that they were red,' replied +the schoolmaster. 'And pray,' demanded the other, as he raised the pipe +to his mouth, 'did you never before see a pair of red slippers?' This +question staggered the respondent; he said nothing, but looked to the +parson for assistance. 'But you are all red,' observed the latter, +taking a full draught from a foaming tankard which he held in his hand. +'And you are all black,' said the other, as he withdrew the pipe from +his mouth, and emitted a copious puff of tobacco smoke. 'The hat that +covers your numskull is black, your beard is black, your coat is black, +your vest is black, your small-clothes, your stockings, your shoes, all +are black. In a word, Doctor Poundtext, you are----' 'What am I, sir?' +said the parson, bursting with rage. 'Ay, what is he, sir?' rejoined the +schoolmaster. 'He is a black coat,' said the stranger, with a +contemptuous sneer, 'and you are a pedagogue.' This sentence was +followed by a profound calm." + +The stranger goes to the stable, and returns. + +"The appearance of the Red Man again acted like a spell on the voices of +the company. The parson was silent, and by a natural consequence his +echo, the schoolmaster, was silent also; none of the others felt +disposed to say any thing. The meeting was like an assemblage of +quakers. ... + +"'Who can this man be?' 'What does he want here?' 'Where is he from, and +whither is he bound?' Such were the inquiries which occupied every mind. +Had the object of their curiosity been a brown man, a black man, or even +a green man, there would have been nothing extraordinary; and he might +have entered the inn and departed from it as unquestioned as before he +came. But to be a Red Man! There was in this something so startling that +the lookers-on were beside themselves with amazement. The first to break +this strange silence was the parson. 'Sir,' said he, 'we have been +thinking that you are----' 'That I am a conjurer, a French spy, a +travelling packman, or something of the sort,' observed the stranger. +Doctor Poundtext started back on his chair, and well he might; for these +words, which the Man in Red had spoken, were the very ones he himself +was about to utter. 'Who are you, sir?' resumed he, in manifest +perturbation; 'what is your name?' 'My name,' replied the other, 'is +Reid.' 'And where, in heaven's name, were you born?' demanded the +astonished parson. 'I was born on the borders of the Red Sea.' + +"Doctor Poundtext had not another word to say. The schoolmaster was +equally astounded, and withdrew the pipe from his mouth; that of the +exciseman dropped to the ground: the landlord groaned aloud, and his +spouse held up her hands in mingled astonishment and awe. After giving +them this last piece of information, the strange man arose from his +seat, broke his pipe in pieces, and pitched the fragments into the fire; +then, throwing his long cloak carelessly over his shoulders, putting his +hat upon his head, and loading himself with his boots, his whip, and his +portmanteau, he desired the landlord to show him to his bed, and left +the kitchen, after smiling sarcastically to its inmates, and giving them +a familiar and unceremonious nod. + +"His disappearance was the signal for fresh alarm in the minds of those +left behind. Not a word was said till the return of the innkeeper, who +in a short time descended from the bedroom overhead, to which he had +conducted his guest. On re-entering the kitchen, he was encountered by a +volley of interrogations. The parson, the schoolmaster, the exciseman, +and his own wife, questioned him over and over again. 'Who was the Man +in Red?--he must have seen him before--he must have heard of him--in a +word, he must know something about him.' The host protested 'that he +never beheld the stranger till that hour: it was the first time he had +made his appearance at the Black Swan, and so help him God, it should be +the last!' 'Why don't you turn him out?' exclaimed the exciseman. 'If +you think you are able to do it, you are heartily welcome,' replied the +landlord; 'for my part, I have no notion of coming to close quarters +with the shank of his whip, or his great, red, sledge hammer fist.' + +"This was an irresistible argument, and the proposer of forcible +ejectment said no more upon the subject. At this time the party could +hear the noise of heavy footsteps above them. They were those of the Red +Man, and sounded with slow and measured tread. They listened for a +quarter of an hour longer, in expectation that they would cease. There +was no pause: the steps continued, and seemed to indicate that the +person was amusing himself by walking up and down the room. It would be +impossible to describe the multiplicity of feelings which agitated the +minds of the company. Fear, surprise, anger, and curiosity, ruled them +by turns and kept them incessantly upon the rack. There was something +mysterious in the visiter who had just left them--something which they +could not fathom--something unaccountable. 'Who could he be?' This was +the question that each put to the other, but no one could give any thing +like a rational answer. Meanwhile the evening wore on apace, and though +the bell of the parish church hard by sounded the tenth hour, no one +seemed inclined to take the hint to depart. Even the parson heard it +without regard, to such a pitch was his curiosity excited. About this +time also the sky, which had hitherto been tolerably clear, began to be +overclouded. Distant peals of thunder were heard; and thick sultry drops +of rain pattered at intervals against the casement of the inn: every +thing seemed to indicate a tempestuous evening. But the storm which +threatened to rage without was unnoticed.--Though the drops fell +heavily; though gleams of lightning flashed by, followed by the report +of distant thunder, and the winds began to hiss and whistle among the +trees of the neighbouring cemetery, yet all these external signs of +elementary tumult were as nothing to the deep, solemn footsteps of the +Red Man. There seemed to be no end to his walking. An hour had he paced +up and down the chamber without the least interval of repose, and he was +still engaged in this occupation as at first. In this there was +something incredibly mysterious; and the party below, notwithstanding +their numbers, felt a vague and indescribable dread beginning to creep +over them. The more they reflected upon the character of the stranger, +the more unnatural did it appear. The redness of his hair and +complexion, and, still more the fiery hue of his garment, struck them +with astonishment. But this was little to the freezing and benumbing +glance of his eye, the strange tones of his voice, and his miraculous +birth on the borders of the Red Sea. + +"There was now no longer any smoking in the kitchen. The subjects which +occupied their minds were of too engrossing a nature to be treated with +levity; and they drew their chairs closer, with a sort of irresistible +and instinctive attraction. While these things were going on, the +bandy-legged ostler entered, in manifest alarm. He came to inform his +master that the stranger's horse had gone mad, and was kicking and +tearing at every thing around, as if he would break his manger in +pieces. Here a loud neighing and rushing were heard in the stable. 'Ay, +there he goes,' continued he, 'I believe the devil is in the beast, if +he is not the old enemy himself. Ods, master, if you saw his eyes! they +are like--' 'What are they like?' demanded the landlord. 'Ay, what are +they like?' exclaimed the rest with equal impatience. 'Ods, if they +a'n't like burning coals!' ejaculated the ostler, trembling from head to +foot, and sqeezing himself in among the others, on a chair which stood +hard by. His information threw fresh alarm over the company, and they +were more agitated and confused than ever. + +"During the whole of this time the sound of walking over-head never +ceased for one moment. The heavy tread was unabated: there was not the +least interval of repose, nor could a pendulum have been more regular in +its motions. Had there been any relaxation, any pause, any increase or +any diminution of rapidity in the footsteps, they would have been +endurable; but there was no such thing; the same deadening monotonous, +stupifying sound continued, like clock-work, to operate incessantly +above their heads. Nor was there any abatement of the storm without; the +wind blowing among the trees of the cemetery in a sepulchral moan; the +rain beating against the panes of glass with the impetuous loudness of +hail; and lightning and thunder flashing and pealing at brief intervals +through the murky firmament. The noise of the elements was indeed +frightful; and it was heightened by the voice of the sable steed, like +that of a spirit of darkness; but the whole, as we have just hinted, was +as nothing to the deep, solemn, mysterious treading of the Red Man." + +The party argue themselves into the belief that he is indeed the enemy +of mankind. + +"'If more proof is wanting,' resumed the parson, after a pause, 'only +look to his dress. What Christian would think of travelling about the +country in red? It is a type of the hell-fire from which he is sprung.' +'Did you observe his hair hanging down his back like a bunch of +carrots?' asked the exciseman. 'Such a diabolical glance in his eye!' +said the schoolmaster. 'Such a voice!' added the landlord: 'it is like +the sound of a cracked clarionet.' 'His feet are not cloven,' observed +the landlady. 'No matter,' exclaimed the landlord, 'the devil, when he +chooses, can have as good legs as his neighbours.' 'Better than some of +them,' quoth the lady, looking peevishly at the lower limbs of her +husband. Meanwhile the incessant treading continued unabated, although +two long hours had passed since its commencement. There was not the +slightest cessation to the sound, while out of doors the storm raged +with violence, and in the midst of it the hideous neighing and stamping +of the black horse were heard with pre-eminent loudness. At this time +the fire of the kitchen began to burn low; the sparkling blaze was gone, +and in its stead nothing but a dead red lustre emanated from the grate. +One candle had just expired, having burned down to the socket; of the +one which remained, the unsnuffed wick was nearly three inches in +length, black and crooked at the point, and standing like a ruined tower +amid an envelopement of sickly yellow flame; while around the fire's +equally decaying lustre sat the frightened _coterie_, narrowing their +circle as its brilliancy faded away, and eyeing each other like +apparitions amidst the increasing gloom. + +"At this time the clock of the steeple struck the hour of midnight, and +the tread of the stranger suddenly ceased. There was a pause for some +minutes--afterwards a rustling--then a noise as of something drawn along +the floor of his room. In a moment thereafter his door opened; then it +shut with violence, and heavy footsteps were heard trampling down the +stair. The inmates of the kitchen shook with alarm as the tread came +nearer. They expected every moment to behold the Red Man enter, and +stand before them in his native character. The landlady fainted +outright: the exciseman followed her example: the landlord gasped in an +agony of terror: and the schoolmaster uttered a pious ejaculation for +the behoof of his soul. Dr. Poundtext was the only one who preserved any +degree of composure. He managed, in a trembling voice, to call out +'Avaunt, Satan! I exorcise thee from hence to the bottom of the Red +Sea!' 'I am going, as fast as I can,' said the stranger, as he passed +the kitchen-door on his way to the open air. His voice aroused the whole +conclave from their stupor. They started up, and by a simultaneous +effort rushed to the window. There they beheld the tall figure of a man, +enveloped in a black cloak, walking across the yard on his way to the +stable. He had on a broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat, top-boots, with +enormous spurs, and carried a gigantic whip in one hand, and a +portmanteau in the other. He entered the stable, remained there about +three minutes, and came out leading forth his fiery steed thoroughly +accoutred. In the twinkling of an eye he got upon his back, waved his +hand to the company, who were surveying him through the window, and +clapping spurs to his charger, galloped off furiously, with a hideous +and unnatural laugh, through the midst of the storm. + +"On going up stairs to the room which the devil had honoured with his +presence, the landlord found that his infernal majesty had helped +himself to every thing he could lay his hands upon, having broken into +his desk and carried off twenty-five guineas of king's money, a ten +pound Bank of England note, and sundry articles, such as seals, +snuff-boxes, &c. Since that time he has not been seen in these quarters, +and if he should, he will do well to beware of Doctor Poundtext, who is +a civil magistrate as well as a minister, and who, instead of exorcising +him to the bottom of the Red Sea, may perhaps exorcise him to the +interior of Leicester gaol, to await his trial before the judges of the +midland circuit." + +Next is the Omen, by Mr. Galt, a powerful sketch. Affixed to St. +Feinah's Tree, a Legend of Loch Neagh, we notice the signature of an +esteemed correspondent, (M.L.B.) whose taste and ingenuity entitle her +to high rank among the contributors to the present work. Kemp, the +Bandit, by Delta, is an interesting tale; Life and Shade, a Portuguese +Sketch, by Mrs. M. Baillie, is in her best narrative style; and Seeking +the Houdy, by the Ettrick Shepherd, is in his happiest familiar vein. +The curiosity of the volume, and indeed, the only poetical contribution +we have room to notice, is the following lines of Lord Byron, written in +his boyhood, to "Mary," (Mrs. Musters,) about a year before her +marriage:-- + + + Adieu to sweet Mary for ever; + From her I must quickly depart; + Though the Fates us from each other sever, + Still her image will dwell in my heart. + + The flame that within my heart burns, + Is unlike what in lovers hearts glows; + The love which for Mary I feel, + Is far purer than Cupid bestows. + + I wish not your peace to disturb, + I wish not your joys to molest, + Mistake not my passion for Love, + 'Tis your friendship alone I request. + + Not ten thousand lovers could feel + The friendship my bosom contains; + It will ever within my heart dwell, + While the warm blood flows through my veins. + + May the ruler of heaven look down, + And my Mary from evil defend; + Mny she ne'er know adversity's frown, + May her happiness ne'er have an end. + + Once more, my sweet Mary, adieu; + Farewell; I with anguish repeat, + For ever I'll think upon you, + While this heart in my bosom shall beat. + + +The Editor has subjoined a note, explaining his reason for printing +these "schoolboy rhymes," which, of course, is not for their literary +merit; still, in comparison with many of Lord Byron's after productions, +what the present want of head, others lack of heart, and this is a home +truth which his warmest admirers must acknowledge. + +The Illustrations are varied and interesting. One of them--the Death of +the Dove, engraved by W. Finden, from a picture by T. Stewardson, is +remarkably expressive. The Ghaut, by E. Finden, after W. Daniell, is an +exquisite Oriental scene. The Frontispiece, Wilkie's Spanish Princess, +is finely engraved by R. Greaves; and Mr. H. Le Keux has done ample +justice to the Plâce de Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen, from a picturesque drawing, +by S. Prout: the lights and shadows being very effectively managed. But +we must be chary of our room, as we have other claimants at hand. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE JUVENILE FORGET-ME-NOT. + + +This little work is a sort of _protegé_ of _The Forget-Me-Not_, and is +by the same editor. It contains fifty pieces in verse and prose, and +eight pleasing plates and a vignette--all which will please the little +folks more than our description of them would their elders. Nearly all +of them contain several figures, but one--The Riding School--about +twenty boys _playing at Soldiers_, horse and foot, very pleasantly +illustrates an observation in a recent number of the Edinburgh Review, +on the dramatic character of the amusements of children. The scene is a +large, ancient, dilapidated building, and the little people personate +the Duke of Wellington, the Marquess of Anglesea, &c., with all the +precision of military tactics--but no one has a taste for being a +private. So it is through life. + +Our extract is almost a literary curiosity: + + +"THE INVALID'S PIPE.[2] + + + [2] This story has been transmitted to the Editor as the genuine + production of the son of a British military officer, only nine + years of age, and composed from a circumstance which actually + occurred in a noble German family. + + +"It was not far from the Castle of Fürstenstein, near the spot where the +gallant Blucher, with the brave army of Silesia, won such glory, that +the Baron of Fürstenstein met a maimed soldier, who was endeavouring to +reach Berlin to claim his pension, and whose age denoted that his wounds +had long been his honourable though painful companions. The Baron, +observing a very richly mounted pipe in the old man's possession, +accosted him with, 'God bless you, old soldier! does your pipe comfort +you this morning?' The pipe which the old soldier was smoking was made +of a curious sort of porcelain, and mounted with gold. The Baron +wondered to see so costly a pipe in the old soldier's possession, and +wishing to purchase it from him, said, 'My friend! what shall I give you +for your pipe?' + +"'Oh, sir!' replied the soldier, shaking his head, 'this pipe I can +never part with; it was the gift of the bravest of men, who took it from +a Turkish Bashaw at the battle of Belgrade. There, sir, thanks to Prince +Eugene, we obtained noble spoils--there, where our troops so bravely +destroyed the Turkish squadrons.' + +"'Talk another time of your exploits, my friend,' said the nobleman; +'here take this double ducat, and give me your pipe; I feel an +insurmountable wish to possess it.' + +"'I am a poor man, sir, and have nothing to live upon but my pension; +yet I would not part with this pipe for all the gold that you possess. +Listen, sir, and I will relate to you the story of this pipe, which is +remarkable, or my poverty would long ere now have induced me to sell +it:--As we Hussars were charging over the enemy, a shot from the ranks +of the Janissaries pierced our noble captain through the breast; I +caught him in my arms, placed him on my horse, and carried him out of +the confusion of the battle. It was an irresistible sensation of +gratitude that prompted me to do so, for he had once rescued me when I +was wounded and taken prisoner. I watched over him to the latest moment; +and a few moments before his death, he gave me his purse and this pipe, +then pressed my hand and breathed his last sigh. Heroic spirit! never +shall I forget him!' + +"As he thus spoke, the tears fell fast from the old man's eyes; but he +soon recovered himself, and proceeded--'The money I gave to the worthy +landlord under whose roof he died, and who had been thrice plundered by +the enemy; the pipe I kept as a sacred remembrance of the brave. In +every situation, and through all the vicissitudes of my life, I have +taken care to preserve it as a sacred relic, whether pursuing or +retreating from the enemy; and when it was not in use, I placed it for +safety withing my boot. At the battle of Prague, a cannon-ball +unfortunately carried my right leg and pipe away together. My first +thought was to secure the safety of my pipe, for at the moment I felt +but little pain, and then------' + +"'Stop, soldier; your story is too affecting! O tell me, I entreat you, +who was the brave man, that I may also honour and respect his memory?' + +"'His name was Walter von Fürstenstein; and I have heard that his family +was of Silesia, and that his estates lay in that province.' + +"'Gracious God!' ejaculated the nobleman, 'he was my father! and the +estates you mention, good old man, are now mine. Come, friend, forget +all your sorrows, and live with me under that same Walter's roof whom +you so faithfully served; and come and eat of Walter's bread, and +partake of that comfort which your age demands, and which my gratitude +for your services to the best of fathers is ready to bestow. I am too +deeply affected to say more at present; enter this mansion, where you +shall repose in peace for the remainder of your life!' + +"'Thanks, noble sir, I accept your generous charity; the son of Walter +von Fürstenstein is worthy of such a father. Here, sir, take this relic +(presenting the pipe)--it is a memorial of that Providence which has so +miraculously conducted me from the father to the son.' + +"The pipe still remains hung up among the family trophies in the Castle +of Fürstenstein." + + * * * * * + + + + +THE IRIS. + + * * * * * + + +The reader may perhaps require to be told that this work is "a Literary +and Religious Offering," or Annual. It has been tastefully and +judiciously edited by the Rev. F. Dale, M.A., and its _characterestics_, +if we may use the term, are several productions of his highly +imaginative and powerful pen. These accompany, or rather are accompanied +by a series of Engravings from pictures, by old masters, on the subject +of the Life of our Saviour. The other pieces, upwards of forty in +number, blend the grave with the gayer or lighter subjects. + +Among the embellishments are the Madonna and Child, from Murillo; +half-figure of the Saviour, and St. John, and St. Magdalen, all from +Carlo Dolci; The flight into Egypt, from Claude; Christ expounding the +Law, from Leonardo da Vinci; the Incredulity of St. Thomas, from L. +Caracci; Hagar and Ishmael, from Barocci. The idea of transferring the +pictures of the old masters to the present work in place of original +designs, is excellent, and the style in which this arduous task has been +executed, is creditable to the talents of the respective artists. + + * * * * * + +_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 11457 *** |