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diff --git a/11459-0.txt b/11459-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d48e5c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/11459-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1619 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11459 *** + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +VOL. XIV, NO. 396.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1829. [PRICE 2d. + + + + +BLARNEY CASTLE. + + +[Illustration: Blarney Castle.] + + +This Engraving, to use a cant phrase, is an exquisite "bit of Blarney;" +but independent of the vulgar association, it has a multitude of +attractions for every reader. Its interest will, however, be materially +enhanced by the following admirable description from the graphic pen of +T. Crofton Croker, Esq.[1] + + + [1] Researches in the South of Ireland, Illustrative of the Scenery, + Architectural Remains, and the Manners and Superstitions of the + Peasantry. By T. Crofton Croker. 4to. 1824 Murray. VOL. XIV. + + +Blarney, so famous in Irish song and story, is situated about four +miles north west of Cork, and was, within these few years, a thriving +manufacturing village; but it no longer wears the aspect of comfort or +of business, and appears much gone to decay. + +The alteration struck me very forcibly. In 1815, I remember a large +square of neat cottages, and the area, a green shaded by fine old trees. +Most of the cottages are now roofless; the trees have been cut down, and +on my last visit, in 1821, a crop of barley was ripening in the square. + + + "the clam'rous rooks + Ask for their wonted seat, but ask in vain! + Their ancient home is level'd with the earth, + Never to wave again its leafy head, + Or yield a covert to the feather'd choir, + Who now, with broken song, remote and shy, + Seek other bowers, their native branches gone!" + + +This prepared me to expect a similar change in the grounds of the +castle, where much timber has been also felled; but the grounds still +are beautiful, rock and water being features in the landscape, the +picturesque effect of which neglect cannot injure. + +The castle consists of a massive square tower, that rises broad and +boldly above surrounding trees, on a precipitous rock over a stream +called the Awmartin; and attached to the east side is an extensive +dwelling-house, erected about a century since by Sir James Jeffreys, who +purchased or obtained this estate from the crown, and in whose family it +still continues. + +Blarney Castle was built about the middle of the fifteenth century, +by Cormac MacCarty, or Carthy surnamed Laider, or the Strong. He was +descended from the kings of Cork, and was esteemed so powerful a +chieftain that the English settlers in his part of Munster paid him an +annual tribute of forty pounds to protect them from the attacks and +_insults_ of the Irish. To him is also ascribed the building of the +Abbey and Castle of Kilcrea, the Nunnery of Ballyvacadine, and many +other religious houses; in the former of which he was buried.[2] It +would be a matter of little importance and considerable labour to trace +the Castle of Blarney from one possessor to another. The genealogical +table in Keating's "History of Ireland" will enable those addicted to +research to follow the Mac Carty pedigree; but a tiresome repetition of +names, occasioned by the scantiness of them in an exceedingly numerous +family, present continual causes of perplexity to the general reader. +The names of Donough, Cormac, Teague, Florence, Dermot, Owen, and +Donnel, constitute almost the whole catalogue used by the Mac Carties[3] +for a period exceeding six hundred years.[4] This difficulty is +heightened from the entire Sept being, in point of fact, without a +sirname, as the followers of most chieftains in Ireland as well as +Scotland assumed that of their lord. In the reign of Edward IV. a +statute was enacted, commanding each individual to take upon himself a +separate sirname, "either of his trade and faculty, or of some quality +of his body or mind, or of the place where he dwelt, so that every one +should be distinguished from the other." But this statute did not effect +the object proposed, and Spenser, in his "View of Ireland," mentions it +as having become obsolete, and strongly recommends its renewal. + + + [2] This tomb, according to Archdall's "Monasticon Hibernicum," + stood in the middle of the choir of Kilcrea Abbey, with the + following inscription:-- + + HIC. IACET. CORMACVS. FIL. THADEI. FIL. CORMACI. FIL. DERMITII. + MAGNI. MC. CARTHY. DNVS DE. MVSCRAIGH. FLAYN. AC. ISTIVS. + CONVENTVS. PRIMVS. FVNDATOR. AN. DOM. 1494. + + [3] The original name of a sept or clan was Carty, supposed to be + derived from Cartheigh, which signifies an Inhabitant of the + Rock; and Mac, denoting "_son of_;" was used before the father's + Christian name for the purpose of distinction, as, Mac Cormac + Carty expressed Carty, son of Cormac; this manner of designation + appears discontinued on the introduction of a greater variety of + names, and the Mac alone retained by the elder branches. + + [4] Amongst the Harleian MSS. the Vol. No. 1425, contains pedigrees + of Irish nobility; from the ninth to the twenty-second page is + occupied by those of "Mac Cartie More," Mac Cartie Reagh, and + all other Mac Carties, brought down to the year 1615; but though + curious for reference, there is little worth the trouble of + transcribing. The most common female names in the Mac Carty + pedigree are, Katheren, Elin, Honnor, Joan, and Grany. + + +The military and historic recollections connected with Blarney are +doubtless of sufficient importance to give an interest to the place; but +to a curious superstition it is perhaps more indebted for celebrity. A +stone in the highest part of the castle wall is pointed out to visitors, +which is supposed to give to whoever kisses it the peculiar privilege of +deviating from veracity with unblushing countenance whenever it may be +convenient--hence the well-known phrase of "_Blarney_." + +The grounds attached to the castle, as I before observed, though so little +attended to, are still beautiful. Walks, which a few years since were neat +and trim, are now so overrun with brambles and wild flowers as to be passed +with difficulty. Much wood has also been cut down, and the statues, so +ridiculously enumerated in a popular song, removed. A picturesque bridge +too, which led to the castle, has been swept away by the wintry floods, +and, with the exception of a small dell called the Rock Close, every thing +seems changed for the worse. In this romantic spot nature and art (a +combination rather uncommon in pleasure-grounds) have gone hand in hand. +Advantage has been taken of accidental circumstances to form tasteful and +characteristic combinations; and it is really a matter of difficulty at +first to determine what is primitive, and what the produce of design. The +delusion is even heightened by the present total neglect. You come most +unexpectedly into this little shaded nook, and stand upon a natural terrace +above the river, which glides as calmly as possible beneath. Here, if you +feel inclined for contemplation, a rustic couch of rock, all festooned with +moss and ivy, is at your service; but if adventurous feelings urge you to +explore farther, a discovery is made of an almost concealed, irregularly +excavated passage through the solid rock, which is descended by a rude +flight of stone steps, called the "Witches Stairs," and you emerge _sul +margine d'un rio_, over which depend some light and graceful trees. It +is indeed a fairy scene, and I know of no place where I could sooner +imagine these little elves holding their moonlight revelry. + +A short distance to the south-west of the castle is a lake, said to abound +with a species of leech. It does not afford one good subject for the +pencil, being without islands, the margin swampy, and the adjacent trees +planted with too much attention to regularity. It is a very generally +believed tradition that, before Blarney surrendered to King William's +forces, Lord Clancarty's plate was made up in an 'oaken chest, which was +thrown into this lake, and has not since been recovered; nor does this +appear improbable, as I understand repeated attempts have in vain been made +to drain it. In 1814, the late Mr. Milliken, whose well-known song of "the +Groves of Blarney" has identified his memory with the place, gave me a +clumsy silver ring for the finger, which had been taken out of the lake by +a boy who was fishing in it. + +Since I am on the subject of discoveries, it may be worth notice that, in +a quarry close to the castle, where some men were working, we picked up +several human bones, and that one of the labourers informed us so many as +twenty horse loads of these bones had been thrown into the lake; he also +spoke of two or three spear-heads being found with them. Groats and pennies +of the Edwards and Henries have frequently been dug up here; but I believe +never in any quantity. + +The interior of the castle contains little worth notice except a +full-length portrait of Charles XII. of Sweden, said to be an original, and +brought here by one of the Jeffreys' family who was envoy to that monarch. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE ANNUALS. + + + "Flow'rets strew'd + By churlish Time, in cheerlier mood; + The sweetness of a second Spring, + Beneath the Autumn of his wing. + Bestowing on the season's gloom + The bliss of a perennial bloom." + + +Glancing back to the commencement of the nineteenth century, the only +_annual_ record of poetry and prose which we recollect, was "The +Flowers of Literature;" a thick duodecimo, habited in a flesh-coloured +wrapper, and retaining in its print and pages, the quaintness which +characterized "the good old days" of the "Universal Magazine;" and which +still clings, though somewhat modified, to the patriarchal pages of +Sylvanus Urban. The matter was in accordance with the manner--a medley of +prosing articles, from the titles of which we might select, as indicative +of their style, "Ode to Despair;" "Topographical Description of Paris;" +"The Sailor;" more agreeably interspersed with some effusion of Mrs. +Barbauld, or Mrs. Opie; mingled, again, with sundry "Observations on the +Present State of the War," written by some sleepy newspaper editor, whose +language we might assimilate with, "We have received intelligence from," +&c. Here and there, perhaps, a straggling beam of genius broke through the +mental twilight, in the shape of, "Some Account of the poet, Burns;" a +_Rustique_ by Bloomfield, or an elegant sonnet by Bowles or Charlotte +Smith. The rest of would-be-sonneteers, tragedy-writers, and essayists, +have long ago found, with their mediocrities, a congenial oblivion in +"the tomb of all the Capulets." + +But suddenly, and without much premise to warrant the commencement of such +an era, the department of our imaginative literature was established in +patronage and importance; and those "trivial, fond records," which were +wont only to sparkle a brief endurance in the mutable columns of a +newspaper, or doomed, when existing in fragile manuscript, "to die and be +forgot," found a refuge from their Lethean fate in the numerous Magazines +which the increased taste, and avidity for reading, evinced by the public, +had called into existence. Still there was a _desideratum_, which +these adornments of English Literature, "The Annuals," alone supplied. The +casual tones which emanated from the "transcendent masters of the lyre," +were not to be lost to "the public ear" for want of "a circulating medium;" +and Ackermann, a name familiar to the lovers of pictorial art, had the +honour of first setting England the example of preserving her valuable +anthology, by producing his attractive Annual, "The Forget-Me-Not;" a +species of literature which presents us with the pleasing facility of +holding yearly communion with our poets and authors, without being +subjected to the tedium of awaiting their protracted appearance in a more +voluminous shape. We can now more frequently greet Anacreon Moore, +wreathing his harp with the paternal shamrock, characteristically mingled +with "pansies _for love_;" Montgomery, mourning over our nature's +degradation; telling us of the affections and passions of earth, yet luring +us to higher hopes and brighter consummation; his every line evincing that +chastened sorrow which Byron threw into the portrait of the Sheffield +bard-- + + + "With broken lyre, and cheek serenely pale." + + +Coleridge, dropping "some natural tears," on viewing the altered features +of his native valley; sweetly and affectionately telling of + + + "The meadow, and its babbling brook, + Where roses in the ripple shook." + + +Southey, forgetting the ungentler theme of "battle field" amidst the +sublimity of rock and lake. Campbell, pouring from his plaintive shell +a tender eulogy to his northern home--a glowing tissue of + + + Dreams of the Highland mountains, and echoing streams, + And broken glades, breathing their balm. + + +--Scott, terrifically depicting a Sassenagh tournament, or inditing a +stirring appeal to the "blue bonnets," to settle some Border broil. James +Hogg, "the Scottish Virgil," on whom has surely fallen the mantle of +inspiration from the Mantuan bard, coming forth in all the richness of the +"Noctes Ambrosianae," from the misty hill where he dominates "the king of +shepherds." Delta, elegantly pensive, sighing beneath the blighted trees +which flourished over his boyhood; and listening to the rhetoric of the +changing seasons. Alaric Watts, "the fireside bard," giving us a touching +apostrophe to his "youngling of the flock," in melting verse, warm from +that kindred fancy + + + "Whose blessed words + Can bid the sweetest dreams arise; + Awaken feeling's tenderest chords, + And drown in tears of joy the eyes." + + +T.K. Hervey, following in the same bright path, or enthusiastically rapt +amidst the beauty and bloom of Australia.--Bernard Barton, bringing us +snatches of vernal philosophy, gathered in the silence of murky woods, +and the solitude of perfumed meadows.--John Clare, swearing everlasting +fealty to his beauteous Mary, by the elm-shadowed cottage of her bowery +home; thanking heaven for the benison of love and rurality.--Richardson, +the poet of India, sonnetizing amidst the superb cupolas and temples +which gem the banks of the deified Ganges, longing to exchange his +fevered abode for salubrious England.--Pringle transforming the +repulsive features of a South African desert into matter for piteous +song; and illumining, by the brightness of his genius, the terrible +picture of Caffre barbarity and degradation.--Roscoe, revelling in the +sweets of Italian lore, his own lips "touched with a live coal" from the +altar of poesy.--Washington Irving, grasping at the intellect, and +speculating on the wit and fancy, of all climes; so speedily +transplanting himself (bodily as well as mentally) from the back woods +of America to the land of Columbus--from the vineyards of France to the +valleys of Yorkshire--as almost to induce a belief in his power of +ubiquity.--Allan Cunningham, sympathizing with the sorrows of one "who +never told her love," and weaving a tearful elegy over her flower-strewn +grave, or painting the fiercer incidents of piratical warfare, on the +ocean's solitudes.--Felicia Hemans, her lyre musically blending the song +of sounding streams with the spontaneous melody of the "feathered choir" +composing an epicedium to the memory of departed days, and proving her +glorious claims to the poetic character, "creation's heir."--Mary +Russell Mitford, great in her histrionic portraitures of liberty, +whether patrician or plebeian; yet not forgetting in her dramatic +wanderings, her happy village; but drawing us, "by the cords of love," +to the rustic scene; amplifying that fine axiom of the Stratford bard-- + + + "Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade + To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, + Than does the embroider'd canopy to kings?" + + +J.H. Wiffen, dating from the sentimental seclusion of Woburn Abbey, +a song replete with all the grace and imagination of his "Ionian +Hours."--Charles Lamb, the "deep-thoughted Elia," introducing us to the +maidenly residence of his cousin Bridget; delighted with delighting; his +fancy expatiating on a copious medley of subjects between the stiff +Mandarins on the old fashioned china, and that _Beaumont and Fletcher_, +the purchase of his rigid economy, ere his talents had brought him fame +and fortune.--Letitia Landon "the English Sappho," a being existing but +in the atmosphere of love and flowers; equally sensitive at the opening +of a violet as at the shutting of a rose. But our list of the living is +too extended; and we will speak of some of the departed. + +Interspersed with the emanations of our existing bards, we have, +occasionally, those precious _morceaux_ which have been bequeathed us by +the illustrious dead. Trifles, yet how esteemed! Remembrances of Byron, +with his fiery impetuosity, spurning the trammels of worldly sorrow; +and prescribing death as a _panacea_ for his lamentable despair; yet +subduing us with refined regrets, as he was wont, in his changing mood, + + + "To sun himself in heaven's pure day." + + +Shelley, misanthropically commencing with the turbulence of the chainless +sea: a spirit matured to madness by the overawing and supernatural terrors +of German romance: as he asserts himself to be, in his lamentation for the +author of Endymion, one who + + + "Had gaz'd on Nature's naked loveliness, + Acteon-like, until _he fled away_." + + +John Keates, forsaking the land of his fame, and prematurely resigning his +"quiet breath," on that spot + + + "Where dwelt the muses at their natal hour;" + +leaving to the less sensitive reviewers to prove, whether he had been +"led astray by the light from heaven, or by his own clouded and +tempestuous genius:" + + + "That fire within so fiercely burned + That whence it came it soon returned." + + +Maturin, though corrupted and enervated by the follies and dissipation +of the anti-poetic city, becoming, in his lucid intervals, "himself +again," in the composition of a splendid dramaticle.--Henry Neele, the +"martyr-student," inviting us to share in the intense admiration of +intellect; forcibly demonstrating "that song is but the eloquence of +truth"--but of him no more! + + + "The churchyard bears an added stone; + The fireside shows a vacant chair." + + +Yet, however splendid the galaxy of literary stars may be, which illumine +our Annuals, they owe no little of their lustre to _the engravings_. +It fortuitously happens that we have not "a connoisseuring eye," or +we should swell this paper beyond the limits prescribed by editorial +complaisance, in the pages of "THE MIRROR." We are not ignorant, however, +of the incomparable advancement which the science of engraving has made in +the lapse of the last ten years; or how far it has left behind those mere +scratches of the graver which lit up our young admiration when a boy. +Two of these we will be impertinent enough to criticise, in spite of the +affection with which we cherish the visionary recollection of the pictures +of grandmother's parlour. The subjects were "courtship," and "matrimony." +In the former, the Chesterfieldian lover was seen handing his _chere +amie_ (a lusty wench, with red ochre cheeks) over a remarkably low +stile: whether the subject, or the manner of its execution had inspired +the muse, is no matter; but beneath was the following:-- + + + "In _courtship_, Strephon careful hands his lass + Over a stile a child with ease might pass" + + +The next was "matrimony;" but, oh! "look on _this_ picture and on +_this!_" The careless husband, forgetting his capacious spouse, leaves +her to scramble over a stile of alarming altitude, whilst his attention +seems absorbed in the quarrel of two snarling terriers. Such conjugal +uncourtliness elicits its merited censure in the cool satire of the +accompanying motto:-- + + + "But _wedded_ Strephon now neglects his dame: + Tumble or not, to him 'tis all the same." + + +The costume of these two figures was in accordance with the date of the +hey-day of Ranelagh Gardens; and the outline of the foliage was about on +a par with those designs we often see cut out of paper, by an ingenious +schoolboy yet they may be adduced as criterions of the average merit +appertaining to the generality of the productions of the burine of "the +old school." + +In closing this erratic dissertation on the Annuals, we may remark, that an +interesting article might be written, descriptive of the reformation which +gradually elevated the art of engraving to perfection--a history of its +emerging from the inanities which flaunt in the window of Carver and +Bowles, in St. Paul's Churchyard, and arriving at the exquisite perfection +of such achievements as "Alexander's Visit to Diogenes," and "Quintus +Curtius leaping into the Gulf." + +* * H. + + * * * * * + + + + +FINE ARTS. + + +SCHOOL OF PAINTING AT THE BRITISH INSTITUTION, PALL MALL. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.) + + +Sir,--I have recently had the pleasure of visiting the British Institution, +and hope the following remarks on a few of the best works will prove +acceptable to those of your readers who are interested in the Fine Arts. + +It is customary at this Institution to open, every autumn, a school for the +study of painting, in which students have an opportunity of copying the +best productions of the greatest masters. The present school opened a few +weeks ago, and furnishes some exquisite specimens of art, which were +selected by the directors as examples for imitation. In general the +students have been very enterprising this season, and their copies, if not +quite equal in every respect to the charming originals, are nevertheless +very meritorious and masterly attempts. + +_The Holy Family_, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, is a remarkably fine specimen +of colour, and has been successfully copied by Messrs. Boaden, Fisk, +Child, and Inskipp. Small copies, in water colours, have also been done +from it by Miss Sharpe, and Miss Fanny Corbaux. Much praise is due to +Mr. Morton, for his whole length _Portrait of a Gentleman_, after +Vandyke; and Messrs. Simpson, Higham, and Middleton, deserve high +commendation for executing the best _fac similia_ of Rembrandt's +_Portrait of a Lady_. The _Landscape with Boors_, is a delightful little +picture by Teniers, belonging to his Majesty: numerous attempts have +been made to imitate it, but not altogether with success. Mr. Hart's +copy, however, is extremely clever. Poussin's _Landscape and Figures_, +has engaged the pencil of Mr. Burbank, who has produced a most elaborate +copy in water colours. Mr. Foster displays considerable ability in his +_Hobbima;_ and Messrs. Lee, Earl, Watts, and Dujardin, have equally +excelled in their copies from the cattle piece by Cuyp. In De Hooge's +picture, the _Exterior with Figures_, we are delighted with the +representation of a fine summer evening: a peculiar warmth is diffused +over every object, and the lengthened shadows indicate sunset: of this +work, Mr. Novice has executed the best finished copy; Miss Dujardin's, +however, is exceedingly good, and contains much promise. Another +splendid example of art is a _Large Landscape_, by Gainsborough, good +studies from which have been made by Messrs. Watts and Child. + +Two small views on the Grand Canal at Venice, by Gwardi, have employed +the talents of Miss Dujardin, Mr. E. Child, Mr. Watts, and Master +Pasmore. But it is impossible to enumerate, in this hasty notice, all +the arduous undertakings of the students: suffice it to say, that they +have gained another step towards pictorial fame, and that their copies, +from the works of Rubens, Wouvermans, Murillo, Canaletti, Titian, &c., +are honourable testimonies of their exertion to excel. + +_October_ 19, 1829. + +G.W.N. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER. + + * * * * * + + +A TOUR IN THE ISLAND OF JERSEY. + +(_Concluded from page 262_.) + + +A view of the western side of Jersey, is calculated to impress a stranger +with an idea that it is a barren, unproductive island; but no supposition +could be more erroneous, as, in fact, a great proportion of it may +be described as orchard. The extent of ground planted, with fruit +trees--apple, pear, and plumb is prodigious; and consequently cider--and +very excellent cider too--is one of the staple products of the country, and +a favourite beverage among the natives. At the Union Hotel, St. Helier, +boarders were allowed to quaff as much as they had a liking for, without +being subjected to any additional charge. + +About three miles inland from St. Helier, is a singular structure named +Prince's Tower, erected on an artificial mound or tumulus, and embowered +in a grove of fine trees. The extensive prospect it commanded, and the +indubitable antiquity of the masonry, induced me to apply for permission to +ascend it; and I was rewarded with a bird's eye view of nearly the whole +island, and a vast sweep of the French coast extending almost from Cape de +la Hogue to Avranches. An Englishman had lately taken up his abode in the +tower, which, with the adjacent pleasure ground, he rented at forty pounds +a-year. His object was to render it a place of resort to the inhabitants of +St. Helier, and his advertisements promised that the "delightful emotions +excited by its unrivalled scenery, and the harmonious chat of the feathered +tribe, should not be counteracted by the comfortless sensations of hunger, +thirst, and weariness." The interior of the tower was neatly and +appropriately fitted up. One apartment was designated the chapel; and in +the highest room were several telescopes, mounted so as to traverse to any +point of the compass, for the gratification of visitors. + +But it is the traditionary history of Prince's Tower that renders it +interesting in the eyes of the islanders. In former times it was known by +the name of La Hogue-Bye, and the following legend, quoted from _Le Livre +noir de Coutances_, gives the origin of its celebrity:--In remote times, +a moor or fen in this part of Jersey, was the retreat of a monstrous +serpent or dragon, which spread terror and devastation throughout the +island. At length a valorous Norman, the Seigneur de Hambye, undertook to +attempt its destruction, which, after a terrible conflict, he accomplished. +He was accompanied in this adventure by a vassal of whose fidelity he had +no suspicion, but who, seeing his lord overcome by fatigue, after having +vanquished the reptile, suddenly bethought himself of monopolizing the +glory of the action. Instigated by this foul ambition, he assassinated his +lord, and, returning to Normandy, promulgated a fictitious narrative of the +encounter; and, to further his iniquitous views, presented a forged letter, +which he said had been written by De Hambye to his widow, just before his +death, enjoining her to reward his faithful servant, by accepting him as +her second husband. Reverence for the last injunction of her deceased lord, +induced the lady to obey, and she was united to his murderer. But the +exultation of the homicidal slave was of short duration. His sleep was +disturbed by horrid dreams; and at length, in one of his nightly paroxysms, +he disclosed the extent of his villany. On being arrested and questioned, +he made a full confession, and was tried, found guilty, and publicly +executed. De Hambye's widow, in memory of her lord, caused a tumulus of +earth, to be raised on the spot where he was buried; and on the summit +she built a chapel, with a tower so lofty, as to be visible from her own +mansion at Coutances. + +So much for the fable. As to the word _Hogue_, there are several places +in Jersey called _Hougues_, which are always situated on a rising +ground. The word has evidently originated from the German _hoch_, from +which is derived our English _high_. A _hougue_, therefore, means a +mound or hillock, and in the present instance, the addition of _bye_ is +obviously a contraction of Hambye; and, in accordance with the foregoing +tradition, means literally the _barrow_ or tomb of the _Seigneur de +Hambye_. + +The chapel at la Hogue is said to have been rebuilt in imitation of the +Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, by one of the popish deans of Jersey, in the +reign of Henry VIII. La Hogue-bye remained for many years in a dilapidated +state, till about 1790, when the late Admiral d'Auvergne, a native of +Jersey, better known under his French title of Duke of Bouillon, became its +owner by purchase, and hence it obtained its present name. At his death, in +1816, it was purchased by the late lieutenant-governor, Lieutenant-General +Sir Hugh Mackay Gordon, whose heirs afterwards sold it to Francis le +Breton, Esq., to whom it now belongs. + +The most prominent object in the noble panoramic view from the top of +Prince's Tower, is a huge fortress on the eastern side of the island, +called the Castle of Mont Orgueil. It crests a lofty conical rock, that +forms the northern headland of Grouville Bay, and looks down, like a grim +giant, on the subjacent strait. The fortifications encircle the cone in +picturesque tiers, and the apex of the mountain shoots up in the centre of +them, as high as the flag-staff, which is in fact planted upon it. During +war a strong garrison constantly occupied Mont Orgueil, but now a corporal +and two privates of artillery composed the whole military force. The +corporal, a quiet intelligent man, who spoke with much horror of paying a +visit to the West Indies, which, in the mutations of his professional life, +he had a prospect of doing at no distant period, acted as _cicerone_, +and, among other places, introduced me into a small circular apartment, +forming one of the suite appropriated to officers, which he said had been +the habitation of Charles II. when a wanderer. This prince, when his +unfortunate father fell into the hands of the regicidal party, found a +loyal welcome in Jersey. Here he was recognised as king, when in England +they sought his blood: here he remained in security, when his fatherland +afforded him no asylum. During his lonely sojourn in this remote portion of +his hereditary dominions, he is said to have employed himself in making a +survey and delineating a map of the island. The natives, flattered by the +confidence he reposed in them, and justly proud of nine centuries of +unblemished loyalty to the throne of Great Britain, still refer to his +residence as a memorable event; and in no other part of the British +dominions, is the memory of the "merry monarch" more respected. When +Cromwell, after the disastrous issue of the battle of Worcester, sent an +expedition, under Admiral Blake, to reduce the island, it made a most +gallant and protracted defence; and had not circumstances conspired to +favour the Invaders, their victory would have been dearly purchased. + +Mount Orgueil, in point of historical association, is by far the most +interesting spot in Jersey. A part of the fortifications, according to +tradition, are coeval with Caesar's incursions into Gaul; and the islanders +hold it famous in their oldest story, and of antiquity beyond record. In +1374, the celebrated Constable du Guesclin passed over from Bretagne at the +head of a large army, including some of the bravest knights of France, and +encamped before this fortress, then called Gouray Castle, into which the +principal inhabitants had retired for safety; but after a siege of several +months, he was obliged to draw off his forces in despair, and quit the +island. Henry V. added much to the strength and beauty of Gouray--made it +a depot of arms, and conferred on it the proud name of Mont Orgueil. About +1461, Nanfant, the governor, a dependent of Henry VI. was prevailed upon, +by an order of Queen Margaret, to surrender it to Surdeval, a Frenchman, +agent of Peter de Brezé, Count of Maulevrier; but though de Brezé kept +possession of it for several years, the natives, under the command of +Philip de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen, a family long illustrious in +Jersey annals, prevented him from completely subjugating the island. Sir +Richard Harliston, vice-admiral of England, afterwards re-captured Mont +Orgueil, and put an end to Maulevrier's usurpation. + +A small pier, intended to facilitate the landing of stores, and shelter +the numerous oyster vessels that resort to Grouville Bay at the dredging +season, projects into the sea, immediately under the castle guns. The bay, +like that of St. Aubin, is defended by a regular line of martello towers, +several of which are built far within flood-mark, on reefs that form part +of the Violet Bank. The adjacent country is a perfect garden, and numerous +secluded villas and cottages are scattered among the umbrageous and +productive orchards that spread around. A small village, called Goree, +lies a short way southward of Mont Orgueil. In former times, it was a +sutling-place for the garrison; now it is only the rendezvous of a few +oyster-fishers. In the auberges here, (every alternate house retailed +liquor), brandy sold at a shilling a bottle. + +The road leading directly from Grouville to St. Helier runs parallel with +the southern shore, among corn fields, orchards, and hamlets, and is the +best in the island. I travelled it after sunset, and found myriads of toads +hopping across it in every direction. These reptiles are extremely common +in Jersey; while, in the neighbouring island of Guernsey, if popular report +may be credited, they are not only unknown, but cannot exist, as has been +ascertained by importing them from less favoured countries. This exemption +in favour of Guernsey, is in all probability a mere fable, originating with +some ignorant native, the absurdity of which no person has been at the +trouble to expose. Lizards and small snakes are also numerous in Jersey; +and at night-fall, a chorus of crickets resounds from every hedge. + +The Jersey cattle are small; but like the pigmy breed of the Scottish +Highlands, their flesh is delicate, and their milk and butter rich. The +butcher market at St. Helier is supplied chiefly from France. There are +sportsmen in Jersey as well as in other countries, but game is neither +various nor abundant. The list, however, includes hares, rabbits, the +Jersey partridge, a beautiful bird, with pheasant eyes, red legs, and +variegated plumage; and several varieties of water fowl. In severe winters, +flocks of solan geese, locally denominated "barnacles," frequent the +shores. + +The Romans, the pioneers of discovery and civilization in Europe, conferred +on Jersey the name of Caesarea, in honour of their leader; and Caesar and +Tacitus concur in describing it as a stronghold of Druidism, of which +worship many monuments still exist. The aborigines were doubtless sprung +from the Celtic tribes spread over the adjacent continent; but the present +inhabitants are universally recognised as the lineal descendants of the +warlike Normans, who, under the auspices of the famous Rollo, conquered and +established themselves in the north of France in the ninth century. It was +first attached to the British crown at the conquest; and though repeated +descents have been made on it by France during the many wars waged between +the countries since that remote era, none of them were attended with such +success as to lead to a permanent occupation of the island. The islanders, +proud of an unconquered name, and gratified to recollect that they +originally gave a king to England, not England a king to them, have been +always distinguished for fidelity to the British government; and their +unshaken loyalty has, from time to time, been rewarded by immunities and +privileges, highly conducive to their prosperity, and calculated to foster +that spirit of nationality, which is invariably distinctive of a free +people. They are exempted from those taxes which press heaviest on the +English yeoman, and from naval and military service beyond the boundaries +of their own island. The local administration of justice is still regulated +by the old Norman code of laws, and this circumstance is regarded by the +natives as a virtual recognition of their independence; but strangers, when +they inadvertently get involved in legal disputes, have often cause to +regret its existence. In cases of assault, particularly the assaulting of a +magistrate, even though his official character be unknown to the offender, +a severe punishment is generally awarded. We heard several instances of +military officers, who had been guilty of raising an arm of flesh against +jurats in night frolics at St. Helier's, narrowly escaping the penalty +attached to this heinous infraction of the laws--a penalty which would have +left them maimed for life. + +The introduction of Christianity, and final extirpation of idolatry, is +said to have occurred in the sixth century. In the latter days of the reign +of popery, Jersey formed part of the diocese of Coutances in Normandy, +where the ancient records of the island were deposited; but at the +Reformation, in the reign of Elizabeth, it was attached to the see of +Winchester--an annexation, however, merely nominal, for the island is in +reality exempt from the dominion of the church of England. The inhabitants +are a well-disposed and peaceable race, but not particularly distinguished +for enthusiasm in religion. The peasantry are orderly and industrious; the +merchants enterprising; and the seamen, a numerous class, hardy and +adventurous. The _aggregate_ of the people live more after the French +manner than the English; that is, they substitute fruit and vegetables, in +a great measure, for animal food, and cider for ale. Neither men nor women +are distinguished for personal beauty, though we noticed several very +comely dames in our perambulations; and notwithstanding the boasted purity +of their descent from the ocean-roamers of the north, they have many of the +anomalous features of a mixed race.--_Edinburgh Journal of Natural and +Geographical Science_. No. I. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE NATURALIST. + + * * * * * + + +THE MOLE. + + +Foreign naturalists have been much occupied of late with the mole. From the +recently published observations of one of them, M. Flourens, it appears +that this animal, as its organization indicates, is, if not exclusively, at +least, essentially, carnivorous. It very soon dies if only roots be given +to it; and if it destroy so many roots of vegetables, it is not for the +purpose of eating them, but to seek among them for worms, insects, and +particularly for the larvae of insects which harbour there. They may be +kept alive for a long time upon any animal food. Ten or twelve hours are +nearly the longest time they can live without food. Like all animals which +feed upon blood and flesh, the mole is always very thirsty.--_Monthly +Mag_. + + * * * * * + +CLIMATE OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. + + +The climate of the British dominions in the south of Africa is one of the +finest in the world. The average height of the barometer is above thirty +inches, and the average summer heat at noon is about 78 deg. It resembles +the climate of Italy, but is rather warmer and dryer. It is so dry, that +draining is little required for the ground: on the contrary, it is +necessary to retain moisture as much as possible, and even irrigation is +desirable, more especially from the grasses. The mountains abound in +springs, but the supply of water is scanty and precarious, from the want of +energy and skill in procuring that essential article. Such a scarcity +frequently arises, that the cattle perish from thirst, and the people +themselves are in danger of a similar fate.--_Gill's Repository_. + + +Sea Pens. + + +[Illustration: Sea Pens.] + + +The cuts represent two fine Sea Pens--_Silver and Red_, with Sections. + +Of all the Sea Pens yet known, the first is one of the largest and most +curious in its appearance; being of a beautiful silvery white, elegantly +straited on each of the feather-like processes, with lines or streaks of +the deepest black. It is extremely rare, and is a native of the Indian +Seas. The accompanying Engraving is copied from a fine specimen in the +British Museum. + + * * * * * + +THE RED SEA-PEN IS + +Of a very beautiful appearance, and is found on the British coast. The +animal consists of a flattened stem, or body, which is furnished with an +internal bone, and dilates into an expanded part, consisting of several +pinnae, or lateral branches, which are divided on their inner edges into a +number of tubular processes, through each of which is protruded a part of +the animal, resembling the head of a hydra or polype; the whole animal may, +therefore, be considered as a very compound or ramified union of polypi, +the bodies of which are contained in the naked part or stem, and from +thence ramify into a vast number of processes, each furnished with its +particular head. The animal emits a very strong phosphoric light, and it is +even so luminous, that it is no uncommon circumstance for the fishermen to +see the fish which happen to be swimming near it merely by the light of the +Pens. Its colour is a bright red crimson, and the general size that of the +figure. + +Mr. Ellis, in the Philosophical Transactions, has published some specimens +of this extraordinary animal, of a kidney-shaped form, and observes that it +nourishes and supports itself by the succours of polype filaments, which we +have expressed in the Engraving in a magnified size. By these they take in +their food and discharge the exuviae. In case of danger these little +succours are drawn in. + +Sea Pens are termed _locomotive zoophytes,_ and swim in the manner of +fish. Five hundred polypes may frequently be numbered on a single feather; +and they number among the most rare and interesting animals of the order to +which they belong. + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + * * * * * + + +_Vermin in Ships_. + +Steam has been lately found very successful in cleansing ships from vermin, +and especially the white ant. In India, a steam boat was lately placed +alongside a merchant vessel, and steam from its boiler conveyed by a very +simple system of pipes in the hold of the latter, the apertures to which +were closed as well as they could be. The operation was continued for +several hours; and there is reason to believe it was effectual, and will +prove a valuable process in the navy. Besides the direct object of +cleansing the ship, another advantage accrued from the discovery of every +leaky place existing, by the oozing of the water through it. The expense is +said to be very moderate; and it is further stated to be the only process +at present known, not even except sinking, which effectually destroys the +white ant.--_Brande's Journal_. + + +_Agriculture_. + +England possesses more pasture land than any other European country; and +Spain the least. + +In agriculture, France is a century behind England; and to equal England, +France would have to make the immense progress which, since that time, has +more than doubled the prosperity of the former country. + +England not only surpasses France in the number of its cattle, but the +animals are also finer, and their flesh is of better quality; so that an +Englishman may enjoy nearly double the quantity of animal food that France +supplies to each of its inhabitants, and with the further advantage of +better quality. "Oh, the Roast Beef of Old England." + + +_Indian Rouge_. + +We find in _Jameson's_ last _Journal_, a very interesting paper +by Dr. Hancock, on a Red Pigment, called _Carucru_, or _Chica_, +which appears to be the Rouge of the interior Indians. It is produced like +Indigo, from the plant chiefly found towards the head of Essequibo, Parima, +and Rio Negro. On breaking a branch, the leaves, when dry, become almost of +a blood red, and being pounded, are infused in water till a fermentation +ensues. The liquor is then poured off and left to deposit a settlement, +which forms the _Chica_ paint. It is put up very neatly in little +caskets made with palm leaves, and carried by the Atorayas and trading +Caribs all over Guiana. It has a soft, cochineal, crimson shade, and is in +great demand among the Indians as an ornamental paint. The use is chiefly +for the face, whilst they stain the other parts of the body with Arnotta. +They also apply the Chica on the cheeks and about the eyes, and variegate +the countenance by marking the forehead, and along the facial line, with +their coomazu, a yellow clay or ochre. This manner of painting produces a +striking contrast, and gives them a very strange and furious appearance. + +From the scarcity of the Chica, its employment is almost exclusively +confined to the chiefs and higher orders, their nobility. The rest must be +contented with Arnotta, or Poncer mixed with the oil of Carapa, a portion +of which, with the Balsam of Aracousiri, mixed with these paints, imparts +to them a very delightful odour. The _toilet_, therefore, of the rude +tribes is as simple as their manners and mode of life, their chief material +being perfume, and all being carried in a little gourd. + +The Chica is not merely esteemed as a pigment, but is considered in the +Orinoko as the most sovereign remedy for erysipelas, where that complaint +is very prevalent. It is simply made with water into a paste, thinly +spread on old linen or cotton, and applied as a plaster to the inflamed +part.--_Abridged_. + + +_Indian Graters_. + +The Tacumas (Indians) are the fabricators of those curious Cassada Graters, +which are considered superior to all others by those who are acquainted +with them. They are made of a very hard wood, studded over with pointed +flint stones, and fixed by a kind of cement and varnish of surprising +durability; the substance being at the same time a strong cement and +transparent varnish. These Cassada Graters are scarcely, if at all, known +on the coast, or in the European settlements.--_Jameson's Journal_. + + +_Wild Bulls_. + +In the province of San Martin, in South America, M. Roulier saw wild bulls +feeding in the _llanos_ among domestic cattle. These animals pass +their morning in the woods, which cover the foot of the Cordillera, and +come out only about two in the afternoon to feed in the savanna. The moment +they perceive a man they gallop off to the woods. + + +_Mount Souffre_. + +During the eruption of this volcano in 1812, the explosions were heard at +600 or 700 miles distance; and cinders were taken from the deck of a vessel +150 miles distant. + + +_Force of Running Water_. + +In August, 1827, the small rivulet called the College, at the foot of the +Cheviot Hills, was so swollen by the heavy rains, that the current tore +away from the abutment of a mill dam, a large block of stone, weighing +nearly two tons, and transported it to the distance of a quarter of a mile. + + +_Cement_. + +The large snails which are found in gardens and woods, discharge a whitish +substance, with a slimy and gelatinous appearance, which has been known to +cement two pieces of flint so strongly as to bear dashing on a pavement +without the junction being disturbed, although the flint broke into +fragments by fresh fractures. + + +_Artificial Ice_. + +A mixture of four ounces of nitrate of ammonia, four ounces of subcarbonate +of soda, and four ounces of water, in a tin pail, has been found to produce +ten ounces of ice in three hours.--_Brande's Journal_. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF _NEW WORKS_. + + * * * * * + + +AN OLD MAN'S STORY. + +BY MARY HOWITT. + + + There was an old and quiet man, + And by the fire sate he, + "And now," he said, "to you I'll tell + A dismal thing, which once befell + In a ship upon the sea. + + 'Tis five-and-fifty years gone by, + Since from the River Plate, + A young man, in a home-bound ship, + I sailed as second mate. + + She was a trim, stout-timbered ship, + And built for stormy seas, + A lovely thing on the wave was she, + With her canvass set so gallantly + Before a steady breeze. + + For forty days, like a winged thing + She went before the gale, + Nor all that time we slackened speed, + Turned helm, or altered sail. + + She was a laden argosy + Of wealth from the Spanish Main, + And the treasure-hoards of a Portuguese + Returning home again. + + An old and silent man was he, + And his face was yellow and lean. + In the golden lands of Mexico + A miner he had been. + + His body was wasted, bent, and bowed, + And amid his gold he lay-- + Amid iron chests that were bound with brass, + And he watched them night and day. + + No word he spoke to any on board, + And his step was heavy and slow, + And all men deemed that an evil life + He had led in Mexico. + + But list ye me--on the lone high seas, + As the ship went smoothly on, + It chanced, in the silent second watch, + I sate on the deck alone; + And I heard, from among those iron chests, + A sound like a dying groan. + + I started to my feet--and lo! + The captain stood by me, + And he bore a body in his arms, + And dropped it in the sea. + + I heard it drop into the sea, + With a heavy splashing sound, + And I saw the captain's bloody hands + As he quickly turned him round; + And he drew in his breath when me he saw + Like one convulsed, whom the withering awe + Of a spectre doth astound. + + But I saw his white and palsied lips, + And the stare of his ghastly eye, + When he turned in hurried haste away, + Yet he had no power to fly; + He was chained to the deck with his heavy guilt, + And the blood that was not dry. + + 'Twas a cursed thing,' said I, 'to kill + That old man in his sleep! + And the plagues of the sea will come from him; + Ten thousand fathoms deep! + + And the plagues of the storm will follow us, + For Heaven his groans hath heard!' + Still the captain's eye was fixed on me, + But he answered never a word. + + And he slowly lifted his bloody hand + His aching eyes to shade, + But the blood that was wet did freeze his soul, + And he shrinked like one afraid. + + And even then--that very hour + The wind dropped, and a spell + Was on the ship, was on the sea, + And we lay for weeks, how wearily, + Where the old man's body fell. + + I told no one within the ship + That horrid deed of sin; + For I saw the hand of God at work, + And punishment begin. + + And when they spoke of the murdered man, + And the El Dorado hoard, + They all surmised he had walked in dreams, + And had fallen overboard. + + But I alone, and the murderer-- + That dreadful thing did know, + How he lay in his sin, a murdered man, + A thousand fathom low. + + And many days, and many more, + Came on, and lagging sped, + And the heavy waves of that sleeping sea + Were dark, like molten lead. + + And not a breeze came, east or west, + And burning was the sky, + And stifling was each breath we drew + Of the air so hot and dry. + + Oh me! there was a smell of death + Hung round us night and day; + And I dared not look in the sea below + Where the old man's body lay. + + In his cabin, alone, the captain kept, + And he bolted fast the door, + And up and down the sailors walked, + And wished that the calm was o'er. + + The captain's son was on board with us, + A fair child, seven years old, + With a merry look that all men loved, + And a spirit kind and bold. + + I loved the child, and I took his hand, + And made him kneel and pray + That the crime; for which the calm was sent, + Might be purged clean away. + + For I thought that God would hear his prayer, + And set the vessel free,-- + For a dreadful thing it was to lie + Upon that charnel sea. + + Yet I told him not wherefore he prayed, + Nor why the calm was sent + I would not give that knowledge dark + To a soul so innocent. + + At length I saw a little cloud + Arise in that sky of flame, + A little cloud--but it grew and grew, + And blackened as it came. + + And we saw the sea beneath its track + Grow dark as the frowning sky, + And water-spouts, with a rushing sound, + Like giants, passed us by. + + And all around, 'twixt sky and sea, + A hollow wind did blow; + And the waves were heaved from the ocean depths, + And the ship rocked to and fro. + + I knew it was that fierce death-calm + Its horrid hold undoing, + And I saw the plagues of wind and storm + Their missioned work pursuing. + + There was a yell in the gathering winds, + A groan in the heaving sea, + And the captain rushed from the hold below, + But he durst not look on me. + + He seized each rope with a madman's haste, + And he set the helm to go, + And every sail he crowded on + As the furious winds did blow. + + And away they went, like autumn leaves + Before the tempest's rout, + And the naked masts with a crash came down, + And the wild ship tossed about. + + The men, to spars and splintered boards, + Clung, till their strength was gone, + And I saw them from their feeble hold + Washed over one by one. + + And 'mid the creaking timber's din, + And the roaring of the sea, + I heard the dismal, drowning cries + Of their last agony. + + There was a curse in the wind that blew, + A curse in the boiling wave; + And the captain knew that vengeance came + From the old man's ocean grave. + + And I heard him say, as he sate apart, + In a hollow voice and low, + 'Tis a cry of blood doth follow us, + And still doth plague us so!' + + And then those heavy iron chests + With desperate strength took he, + And ten of the strongest mariners + Did cast them into the sea. + + And out, from the bottom of the sea, + There came a hollow groan;-- + The captain by the gunwale stood, + And he looked like icy stone-- + And he drew in his breath with a gasping sob, + And a spasm of death came on. + + And a furious boiling wave rose up, + With a rushing, thundering roar,-- + I saw the captain fall to the deck, + But I never saw him more. + + Two days before, when the storm began, + We were forty men and five, + But ere the middle of that night + There were but two alive. + + The child and I, we were but two, + And he clung to me in fear; + Oh! it was pitiful to see + That meek child in his misery, + And his little prayers to hear! + + At length, as if his prayers were heard, + 'Twas calmer, and anon + The clear sun shone, and warm and low + A steady wind from the west did blow, + And drove us gently on. + + And on we drove, and on we drove, + That fair young child and I, + But his heart was as a man's in strength, + And he uttered not a cry. + + There was no bread within the wreck, + And water we had none, + Yet he murmured not, and cheered me + When my last hopes were gone; + But I saw him waste and waste away, + And his rosy cheek grow wan. + + Still on we drove, + I knew not where, + For many nights and days, + We were too weak to raise a sail, + Had there been one to raise. + + Still on we went, as the west wind drove, + On, on, o'er the pathless tide; + And I lay in a sleep, 'twixt life and death, + And the child was at my side. + + And it chanced as we were drifting on + Amid the great South Sea, + An English vessel passed us by + That was sailing cheerily; + Unheard by me, that vessel hailed + And asked what we might be. + + The young child at the cheer rose up, + And gave an answering word, + And they drew him from the drifting wreck + As light as is a bird. + + They took him gently in their arms, + And put again to sea:-- + 'Not yet! not yet!' he feebly cried, + 'There was a man with me.' + + Again unto the wreck they came, + Where, like one dead, I lay, + And a ship-boy small had strength enough + To carry me away. + + Oh, joy it was when sense returned + That fair, warm ship to see. + And to hear the child within his bed + Speak pleasant words to me! + + I thought at first that we had died, + And all our pains were o'er, + And in a blessed ship of Heaven + Were sailing to its shore. + + But they were human forms that knelt + Beside our bed to pray, + And men, with hearts most merciful, + Did watch us night and day. + + 'Twas a dismal tale I had to tell + Of wreck and wild distress, + But, even then, I told to none + The captain's wickedness. + + For I loved the boy, and I could not cloud + His soul with a sense of shame:-- + 'Twere an evil thing, thought I, to blast + A sinless orphan's name! + So he grew to be a man of wealth, + And of honourable fame. + + And in after years, when he had ships, + I sailed with him the sea, + And in all the sorrow of my life + He was a son to me; + And God hath blessed him every where + With a great prosperity. + + +_The Amulet for 1830_. + + * * * * * + + +THE LITTLE MAJOR'S LOVE ADVENTURE. + + +You must know, when I was in the 18th light dragoons, I was quartered +in Canterbury; and having got some introductory letters, I contrived +to make out a pleasant time enough. One of my visiting-houses was +old Tronson's the banker's--devilish agreeable family--four pretty +girls--all flirted--painted on velvet--played the harp--sang Italian, +and danced as if they had been brought up under D'Egville in the _corps +de ballet._ The old boy kept a man-cook, and gave iced champagne. Now, +you know, there is no standing this; and Harriette, the second of the +beauties, and I, agreed to fall in love, which in due course of time we +effected. Nothing could be better managed than the whole affair; we each +selected a confidant, sat for our pictures, interchanged them with a +passionate note, and made a regular engagement for ever. + +Such was the state of things, when the route came, and my troop was ordered +to embark for Portugal. Heavens! what a commotion! Harriette was in +hysterics: we talked of an elopement, and discussed the propriety of going +to Gretna; but the hurry to embark prevented us. I could not, you know, +take her with me. Woman in a transport! a devilish bore; and nothing was +left for it but to exchange vows of eternal fidelity. We did so, and +parted--both persuaded that our hearts were reciprocally broken. + +Ah!--if you knew what I suffered night and day! her picture rested in my +bosom; and I consumed a pipe of wine in toasting her health, while I was +dying of damp and rheumatism. But the recollection of my _constant +Harriette_ supported me through all; and particularly so, when I was +cheered by the report of my snub-nosed surgeon, who joined us six months +after at Santarem, and assured me on the faith of a physician, that the +dear girl was in the last stage of a consumption. + +Two years passed away, and we were ordered home. O heavens! what were my +feelings when I landed at Portsmouth! I threw myself into a carriage, and +started with four horses for Canterbury: I arrived there with a safe neck, +and lost not a moment in announcing my return to my constant Harriette. + +The delay of the messenger seemed an eternity: but what were my feelings, +when he brought me a perfumed note (to do her justice, she always wrote on +lovely letter-paper), and a parcel. The one contained congratulations of my +safe arrival, accompanied by assurances of unfeigned regret that I had not +reached Canterbury a day sooner, and thus allowed her an opportunity of +having her "dear friend Captain Melcomb" present at her wedding; while the +packet was a large assortment of French kid skins and white ribbon. + +That blessed morning she had bestowed her fair hand on a fat professor of +theology from Brazen Nose, who had been just presented to a rich prebend by +the bishop, for having proved beyond a controversy, the divine origin of +tithes, in a blue-bound pamphlet. Before I had time to recover from my +astonishment, a travelling carriage brought me to the window; and quickly +as it passed, I had full time to see _ma belle Harriette_ seated +beside the thick-winded dignitary. She bowed her white Spanish hat and six +ostrich feathers to me as she rolled off, to spend, as the papers informed +me, "the honey-moon at the lakes of Cumberland.' There was a blessed return +for two years' exposure to the attacks of rheumatism and French +cavalry.--_Stories of Waterloo._ + + * * * * * + +When the celebrated Philip Henry was ejected from the establishment, +Dr. Busby (who had been his tutor) meeting him, said, "Who made you a +nonconformist?" "You, Sir," replied he, "I made you a nonconformist!" +"Yes, Sir, you taught me those principles which forbade to violate my +conscience." + +TOSCAR. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SKETCH-BOOK. + + * * * * * + + +ANTWERP CATHEDRAL. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + +Antwerp possesses considerable interest to an Englishman, as a place of +great importance during the late war, when there was a sort of mystery +attached to it, as the secret grand naval depot of Napoleon, which our +Government thought to "cripple France for ever," by getting into our own +hands! But what the Earl of Chatham, with an army of twenty thousand men, +aided by a fine British fleet, could not do, I did: I made my entry into +Antwerp--without molestation, thanks to the benign Spirit of Peace--towards +the evening of a fine day in July; and while the impression of novelty was +still fresh, enjoyed a rich treat in viewing its noble Cathedral. The +interior is grand, but simple--striking the beholder more by its loftiness +and spaciousness, than by any profusion of glittering ornament, so common +in Catholic churches--although the forest of pillars, the altar-piece, the +statues, and above all the splendid pictures which grace the walls, form a +rich variety to the eye. It would be useless to enter into a minute detail, +for no description can give a stranger a perfect idea of one building +distinct from others of a similar kind, and those who have seen the object +itself do not require it. Antwerp may be called the country of Rubens: at +every turn you meet with monuments of his genius; and here (in the +Cathedral) you have what is esteemed his masterpiece--the "Descent from the +Cross"--which surprises you with a boldness of drawing, vigour and richness +of colouring, and an animation in the grouping, that can scarcely be +excelled; and when you discern the colossal figures from a little distance +amongst the pillars and arches of the nave, you feel inclined to bow in +reverence to the divinity of the genius which has portrayed so wonderful a +conception of the mind. It is needless to say that this was one of the +works of art carried to Paris to enrich the gallery of the Louvre, together +with one placed in a corresponding situation, "The Assumption of the +Virgin," which is more in Rubens' florid style than the former. There is +also, by the same master-hand, a noble picture, "The Elevation of the +Cross," in the artist's happiest manner; and the exquisite altarpiece, "The +Ascension," is also his work. There are several other fine paintings +here--one of them said to be the best performance of Quintin Matsys, who, +under the inspiration of love, deserted the anvil for the pallet; and +another by his father-in-law, Flors, supposed to be the identical picture +upon which the _ci devant_ blacksmith painted a bee, with such skill +as to obtain the old artist's cordial consent to the marriage of Matsys +with his daughter. Amongst the carved wood-work in the aisles, we admired +the execution of several statues of Saints, male and female, whose features +and drapery are finished with all the delicacy of marble. + +The shades of evening now began to add to the solemnity of the scene, by +the indistinctness that was gradually enveloping the more distant objects; +and, alone, we almost dreaded to break, with our own whispers, the silence +which reigned around. In the midst of this "stillness audible," the fine +bell of the cathedral struck the hour, and its melodious tone seemed at +once to reach the heart. We sat down to listen to the prolonged note, as +each successive toll reverberated through the expanse--lingering like a +halo around the walls, and appearing to awaken echoes from the guardian +spirits of the night. I fancied I had never in my life heard so +full-toned--so musical a bell: certain it is, none ever gave me the same +sensation of delight. Indeed, the whole belfry is well assorted, for the +_carillons_, which play certain airs at intervals, produce a sweeter +effect than I remember any where else; and one of the pleasant +recollections I retain of Antwerp arises out of the frequent, but +unobtrusive, chimes that salute the ear during the day. We left Notre Dame +this time with "lingering steps and slow." + +But how can I give an idea of the exterior? The tendency to placid +reflection which we had caught within found ample food for indulgence when +we came to witness the effect of the architecture without, combined with +the particular time of night--about nine o'clock--different tints and +shadows displaying themselves upon the angles of the building, as the light +decreased. Imagine a spire of light, ornamental, elegant open-work, carried +up about a hundred feet higher than St. Paul's. I believe it is the +loftiest in Europe, with the exception of Strasbourg, than which, in the +opinion of many, it is more handsome. The only drawback upon its beauty +is the glaringly large dial of the clock; but even this may suggest +appropriate reflection: for may we not consider it an emblem of Time, whose +course it measures, intruding upon the fairest prospects of our lives, +to remind us that all human monuments and enjoyments must yield to his +irresistible hand? The spire rises on one side of the principal entrance; +and there is a corresponding tower on the other, to the height of the base +of the steeple part, as if there had been an intention to erect one of +similar dimensions there also, like the twin towers of Westminster Abbey; +but I cannot help thinking, that as two and two are said not always to make +four, the projecting counterpart, instead of doubling the effect, would +have lessened the feeling of stupendous height with which the present +single pinnacle inspires the beholders. As there cannot be two suns in the +same sphere, neither could the spire of Antwerp have borne a rival near its +solitary, aerial throne. It soars aloft with such grandeur, that in gazing +upon it my brain actually grew dizzy with the sight: never was I conscious +in an equal degree of such a feeling of awe from a work of art, and my mind +really ached with the intensity of the impression.--We seemed to view this +sublime object with mutual wonder and admiration--gazing upon it in one +position, then in another--walking about--stopping--excited as it were by +the same impulse. Once, when nearly dark, as our eyes were fixed upon the +top, a gentle light suddenly appeared upon the very summit, crowning the +majestic fane with glory, as if pointing it out for admiration to a +surrounding world: it was a star twinkling upon the very spot where the +highest point of the spire rested on the sky. + +The name of Antwerp is derived from _Hand-werpen_ or +_Hand-thrown_: so called from a legend, which informs us that on the +site of the present city once stood the castle of a giant, who held the +neighbouring country in thraldom, and who was accustomed to amuse himself +by cutting off, and casting into the river, the right hands of the +unfortunate wights that fell into his power; but that being at last +conquered himself, his own immense hand was disposed of, with poetical +justice, in the same way. With the impression of this story on my mind, it +came into my head that the giant was personified by the towering spire: no +wonder, thought I, that Don Quixote mistook a windmill for a giant, since +I, even in my sober senses, cannot get rid of the idea that I see the +mighty hand-thrower before me. With a little confusion of the image, I then +imagined the spire to be the guardian of the city--that it took cognizance +of all its affairs, and that it would watch me even into my retreat for the +night. Like the adored phantom of youthful love, it pervaded every place, +and haunted me in my dreams. Often the motion of the clouds seemed to be +transferred to the lofty spire, which again assuming the giant character +startled me with the impression that it was falling towards me, or rushing +to crush its victims, like the horrid car of Jaggernaut. + +Through the Giant's Gate, so called from a colossal statue reclining upon +it, there is an opening to the Scheldt;--without is the quay, covered +with merchandize unloading from the ships in the river, and serving as +an evening promenade. Here you may see the other eminences of the city +occasionally, but the gigantic one--always: it stalks out from amidst the +cluster of buildings your constant companion wherever you go--as you walk +along, it appears to move with you, and when you stop it waits with +patience until you go on again. On another occasion we took a boat on the +Scheldt, and landing at some distance below the town, had a delightful +walk along its banks, which are elevated like part of Milbank, near +Vauxhall-bridge; and the situation has much the same character. The river, +however, is grander, as I should judge it to be twice the width of the +Thames at London-bridge, and it flows with great rapidity. It was a +charming evening, and we saw the sun set in all his glory down the Scheldt, +in the bosom of which were reflected the endless tints of the sky, whose +golden brilliancy was beautifully relieved by the intervention of some +cottages near us, and a pretty village, with its church-spire a little +further off. On one side was the flat cultivated country of Flanders, and +looking up the river, we beheld the shipping and the whole city: all the +churches and towers raised their varied forms, but still only to do homage, +as it were, to the great pile which outstripped them, and which was lit up +by the radiance of the departed sun. Model of splendour! "from morn 'till +dewy eve" how must thy elegant form be engraven on the hearts of the +natives of the city thou overlookest, exciting emotions of home, like the +craggy rock of the Highlanders, when they are absent in distant lands! and +how must the youth, whom the love of art carries to study the treasures of +Venice and Rome, when returning to shed a lustre upon his natal place--of +being one day named with Matsys and Rubens, and the other splendid painters +by whom it has been adorned--how must the first glance that he catches of +thy hallowed height make his heart throb with endearing thoughts of the +friends he left under thy shade, and absorb for the moment all feelings of +ambition in the recollection of the boyish days passed within thy ken--but +now, alas, departed for ever! May the fires of heaven, and the tremblings +of earth, never injure thy venerable beauty; but may thousands, and tens +of thousands, in time to come, as in time past, gaze upon thee--as I, an +obscure, nameless stranger, have done--with thoughts too deep for words! + +During the evening I have alluded to we were accompanied by the +accomplished Miss ----, whose talents must be well known to many of our own +artists who have visited Antwerp; and this being her native place, her +conversation gave us those kindly associations of home, without which no +scenes, however beautiful or however uncommon, can penetrate the inmost +recesses of the soul. + +W.G. + +Our Correspondent, in a few introductory lines, modestly, though +somewhat unnecessarily, apologizes for the enthusiasm of the reflective +portion of the previous sketch. He will perceive that we have ventured upon +a few slight alterations. He concludes his note to us with an assurance +that "the feelings were sincere, however trifling the thoughts, or +inadequate the expression." Of his sincerity we have no doubt; and where +the feelings of a writer are so honourable to his heart as are many in this +paper, we are not fastidious enough to quarrel with inadvertencies of the +head. All have felt the overpowering effect produced by the contemplation +of the sublimities of art, but comparatively few are aware of the +difficulty of embodying these first impressions in descriptive detail.--ED. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE GATHERER. + + A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. +SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +Vivian Grey pronounces school ushers execrable wretches, because they wear +pepper and salt pantaloons; Lady Morgan improves upon him, declaring the +man who wears a white waistcoat in the morning, or the woman who curtsies +at a drawing-room door, out of the pale of society. It is surprising that +people will write such rubbish as this--more surprising that others will +print it-- most surprising that folks buy it--and as Cobbett would say, +what surprises us "most of all," is that people read it. + +Q. + + * * * * * + + +ORIGIN OF THE WORD FARM. + + +Spelman derives this word from the Saxon term _fearme_, or +_feorme_, which signifies _victus_, food, or _provision_, as +the tenants and country people anciently paid their rents in victuals and +other necessaries of life, but which was afterwards converted into the +payment of certain sums of money. Hence a _ferm_ was originally a +place which furnished or supplied its owner or lord with provisions. + +P.T.W. + + * * * * * + + +At an inn in a market town upon the road to Holyhead, a gentleman sat in +the kitchen smoking his pipe, and watching with anxiety a fowl that was +roasting for his supper. At length a tall, meagre figure stalked in, and +after an earnest and melancholy look at the fowl, retired with a sigh. +Repeating his visit he exclaimed, "That fowl will never be done in time." +"What do you mean?" said the gentleman, "that fowl is for my supper, and +you shan't touch a bit of it." "Oh," replied the other, "you misunderstand +me; I don't want the fowl; but I am to play _Oroonoko_ this evening, +and we cannot begin for want of the _jack chain_." + +C.C. + + * * * * * + + +THOMAS PAINE. + + +When Paine's "Rights of Man," reached Lewes, where he married a Miss Olive, +the women as with one voice, said, "Od rot im, let im come ear if he dast, +an we'll tell him what the Rights of Women is; we'll toss im in a blanket, +and ring im out of Lewes wi our frying pans."--_Cheetham's Life of +Paine_. + + * * * * * + + +EPIGRAM. + + +Ah, Lucy, 'twas a roguish thought That kindled up that rosy hue; True, +'twas a roguish thought, for I, Thought none so great a rogue as +_you_. + + * * * * * + +_LIMBIRD'S EDITIONS_. + +CHEAP and POPULAR WORKS published at the MIRROR OFFICE in the Strand, near +Somerset House. + +The ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS, Embellished with nearly 150 Engravings. +In 6 Parts, 1s. each. + +The TALES of the GENII. 4 Parts, 6d. each. + +The MICROCOSM. By the Right Hon. G. CANNING. &c. 4 Parts, 6d. each. + +PLUTARCH'S LIVES, with Fifty Portraits, 12 Parts, 1s. each. + +COWPER'S POEMS, with 12 Engravings, 12 Numbers, 3d. each. + +COOK'S VOYAGES, 28 Numbers, 3d. each. + +The CABINET of CURIOSITIES: or, WONDERS of the WORLD DISPLAYED. 27 Nos. 2d. +each. + +BEAUTIES of SCOTT, 36 Numbers, 3d. each. + +The ARCANA of SCIENCE for 1828. Price 4s. 6d. + +GOLDSMITH'S ESSAYS. Price 8d. + +DR. FRANKLIN'S ESSAYS. Price 1s. 2d. + +BACON'S ESSAYS Price 8d. + +SALMAGUNDI. Price 1s. 8d. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11459 *** |