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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12552 ***
+
+THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
+
+VOL. XIX. No. 542.]  SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1832. [PRICE 2d.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE LODGE.]
+
+THE BEULAH SALINE SPA, NORWOOD.
+
+
+Our attention has been invited to the Beulah Spa by a _brochure_ lately
+published, from the very competent pen of Dr. George Hume Weatherhead; the
+details of which will be read with interest by all who are in quest of
+"healing founts." "The Spa," observes Dr. Weatherhead, "has long been
+resorted to by the country people of the neighbourhood, who, from
+experiencing its beneficial effects in a variety of diseases, have
+sustained its sanative character, and kept it from sinking into total
+neglect." We trust, however, that its virtues may soon enjoy more
+extensive celebrity, especially as the attractions of the scenery amidst
+which the spring is situate are of no common-place character, and the
+distance from the metropolis both easy and inviting. The Spa has already
+acquired some popularity; for, we learned on our visit a few days since,
+that, although it was only opened to the public towards the close of the
+month of August, in the past year, it was visited during the autumn by
+several hundred persons weekly.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead has described the local scenery with accuracy. Beulah, the
+estate upon which the spring is situate, is within the village of Norwood,
+seven miles south of London, upon one of those elevations known as the
+Norwood hills. "From trigonometrical observation," observes Dr.
+Weatherhead, "it has been computed that the height of these hills is about
+390 feet above the level of the sea at low water.[1] Thus placed above the
+fogs of the plain, and removed from the smoky and contaminated atmosphere
+of the metropolis, the air has long been celebrated for its pure and
+invigorating qualities." Norwood was in the memory of several of the
+inhabitants still living, an entire forest of oaks, and the well-known
+resort of tribes of gipsies.[2] The country from Camberwell thence is,
+therefore, in great part a newly-peopled district. Its outline is very
+uneven, perhaps more so than any other portion of the environs of the
+metropolis. The road runs over or through many little crests or hills, and
+sinks into sheltered valleys, where you see newly-built habitations
+nestling together, and almost reminding one of the aboriginal contrivances
+for warmth and comfort in less civilized countries. The road-side is set
+with "suburban villas" which would make the spleen of Cowper blaze into
+madness; though few of them exhibit any pretensions to elegance or
+snugness. Neither would two newly-built churches in the prospect allay the
+anti-urban poet; their starved proportions contrasting but coldly with the
+primitive simplicity of a village church. The _country_ itself is
+nevertheless picturesque; the prospect is of enchanting beauty, and as
+you approach Beulah, you obtain occasional glimpses of the subjacent
+valley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a _coup d'oeil_ in the Spa
+grounds.
+
+The Spring lies embowered in a wood of oaks, open to the south-west whose
+dense foliage shelters and protects it. It is now the sole vestige of the
+gipsy haunts, and comprises a space of more than twenty-five acres; the
+gentle inclination of the ground keeping the foot-paths always dry.
+
+We entered the grounds at an elegant rustic lodge (_see the Cut_,) where
+commences a new carriage-road[3] to Croydon; which winds round the flank
+of the hill, and is protected by hanging woods. The lodge is in the best
+taste of ornate rusticity, with the characteristic varieties of gable,
+dripstone, portico, bay-window, and embellished chimney: of the latter
+there are some specimens in the best style of our olden architects. This
+building, as well as the other rural edifices in the grounds, and the
+whole disposal of the latter, have been planned by Mr. Decimus Burton, the
+originator of the architectural embellishments of the Zoological Gardens
+in the Regent's Park.
+
+Passing the lodge, we descended by a winding path through the wood to a
+small lawn or glade, at the highest point of which is a circular rustic
+building, used as a confectionery and reading-room; near which is the Spa,
+within a thatched apartment. The spring rises about 14 feet, within a
+circular rockwork enclosure; the water is drawn by a contrivance, at once
+ingenious and novel; a glass urn-shaped pail, terminating with a cock of
+the same material, and having a stout rim and cross-handle of silver, is
+attached to a thick worsted rope, and let down into the spring by a pulley,
+when the vessel being taken up full, the water is drawn off by the cock.
+We quote Dr. Weatherhead's analytical description of the water:
+
+"The water drawn fresh from the well is beautifully transparent and
+sparkling. Innumerable bubbles of fixed air are seen rising to the surface,
+when allowed to stand. Its taste is distinctly bitter, without being at
+all disagreeable, leaving on the palate the peculiar flavour of its
+predominant saline ingredient, the sulphate of magnesia. The temperature
+of the water, at the bottom of the well, is 52 deg. of Fahrenheit; its
+specific gravity 1011; and, by an analysis of its composition by those
+distinguished scientific chemists, Messrs. Faraday and Hume, the following
+are the solid contents of a quart of the water:--
+
+  BEULAH SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............ 123
+  Sulphate of soda and magnesia .... 32
+  Muriate of soda .................. 19
+  Muriate of magnesia .............. 18-1/2
+  Carbonate of lime ................ 15
+  Carbonate of soda ................. 3
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    210-1/2
+
+  CHELTENHAM PURE SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............. 22
+  Sulphate of soda ................. 30
+  Muriate of soda ..................100
+  Sulphate of lime .................. 9
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    161
+
+"As a mean of comparison, the saline contents of a quart of the Cheltenham
+pure saline, as analyzed by Mr. Brande, the predecessor of Mr. Faraday in
+the professorship at the Royal Institution, is placed opposite to the
+Beulah Spring, to enable the reader to judge how much superior, as an
+aperient water, the latter is to that of Cheltenham. And, first, it may be
+observed, that the gross amount of the several salts, in the same quantity
+of the waters, is much greater in the Beulah than in the Cheltenham spring,
+the difference being forty-nine grains and a half of solid saline matter
+in a quart--that is, the impregnation is nearly one-third stronger; and,
+secondly, the nature of the saline ingredients also merits observation.
+One hundred grains out of one hundred and sixty-one, consist, as we see,
+in the Cheltenham, of muriate of soda, or common table-salt. Now, this
+substance, when perfectly freed from other salts adhering to it, possesses
+comparatively very feeble aperient properties; whereas the mass of the
+ingredients in the Beulah Spa is composed of two powerful saline
+substances, the sulphate of magnesia, and that peculiar double salt, the
+sulphate of soda and magnesia, constituting three-fourths of the whole
+saline impregnation." [4]
+
+The lawn is tastefully varied with parterres of plants; owing to the
+lateness of the season, we saw but few near flowering, save
+
+      Daffodils,
+  That come before the swallow dares, and take
+  The winds of March with beauty, violets dim,
+  But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes,
+  Or Cytherea's breath.
+
+A few yards from the lawn a rustic orchestra is in course of erection:
+whence "the dulcet and harmonious sounds" of music may attune with the
+joyful inspiration of the natural beauties of the scene. Our guide, (of a
+more intelligent and communicative character than guides usually are,)
+directed us by a descending path through the wood, across a rude bridge,
+past a maze, by a flight of roughly-formed steps, to a terrace, whence we
+enjoyed a picturesque prospect of great range and indescribable beauty.
+The woods were as yet leafless, but primroses enlivened the pathside: how
+touchingly is their solitude told by our poets. Shakspeare calls them
+
+      Pale primroses
+  That die unmarried ere they can behold
+  Bright Phoebus in his strength.
+
+Milton describes them as dying forsaken:
+
+  Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies:
+
+and Mayne calls this flower
+
+  Lorn tenant of the peaceful glade,
+  Emblem of virtue in the shade.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead describes the prospect from this terrace with more
+minuteness than the hazy state of the atmosphere enabled us to trace its
+several beauties. The ancient archiepiscopal town of Croydon lies at your
+feet; more remote, Banstead Downs spread a carpet of blooming verdure to
+the sight; in the extreme distance Windsor Castle peers its majestic
+towers above the mist; while elsewhere the utmost verge of the horizon is
+bounded by the bold range of the Surrey and Hampshire hills. Turning to
+the left you enjoy a view of Addiscombe Place, the seminary for cadets of
+the East India Company; of Shirley, the sporting seat of John Maberly, Esq.
+M.P.; of the Addington hills clothed with heaths; and of the park, the
+seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; when the prospect,
+deepening in extent, stretches as far as Knockholt Beeches, near Seven
+Oaks, and, winding round, comprehends the tall spire of Beckenham Church,
+piercing through the dense woods which surround it; Shooter's Hill,
+Blackheath, and the villages that intervene.
+
+Immediately beneath you are the grounds of the Spa, every portion of which
+can be distinctly traced from this spot: the lodge, lawn, refreshment-room,
+spring, and orchestra, as we have described them, and the paths winding
+among the woods till they disappear as it were in trackless solitude.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead's pamphlet treats copiously, but in a popular style, of
+the medicinal properties of the Spa. The terms for drinking the waters are
+furnished at the lodge, where the visiter may smile at the remedy being
+_set to music_, in the melodies of the Beulah Spring Quadrilles. It may
+prevent some disappointment by stating that the Grounds are not opened to
+the public on Sundays.
+
+
+    [1] By accurate observation the height of the fog, relatively with
+        the higher edifices, whose elevation is known, it has been
+        ascertained that the fogs of London never rise more than from
+        two hundred to two hundred and forty feet above the same level.
+
+    [2] Who does not remember the traditionary notoriety of Margaret
+        Finch?
+
+    [3] The private property of the estate, and attached to the Spa.
+
+
+    [4] We drank a half-pint tumbler of the water, which, as Dr.
+        Weatherhead observes, is bitter without being disagreeable.
+        Its flavour is that of Sulphate of Magnesia, or _Epsom Salts;_
+        and we should say that our _modicum_ might be imitated by
+        dissolving a dram of the above ingredient in half-a-pint of
+        pure water.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.
+
+ANCIENT LAWS.
+
+
+The following quaint observations possess peculiar interest at the present
+moment:
+
+"Among the ancient Druids," says Mr. Owen Feltham, "it was absolutely
+forbidden to register their laws in writing. And Caesar, in his Gallique
+Wars, gives us two reasons for it. One, that their mysteries might not
+come to be profaned and encommoned by the vulgar: another, that not being
+written, they might be more careful ever to carry them in their thoughts
+and memory. Though doubtless it was as well to preserve their own
+authority, to keep the people to a recourse to them, and to a reverence
+and esteem of their judgments. Besides, it oft falls out that what is
+written, though it were a good law when made, yet by the emergency of
+affairs, and the condition of men and times, it happens to be bad and
+alterable. And we find it to be evidently true, that, as where there are
+many physicians, there are many diseases; so where there are many laws,
+there are likewise many enormities. That nation that swarms with law and
+lawyers, certainly abounds with vice and corruption. Where you find much
+fowl resort, you may be sure there is no want of either water, mud, or
+weeds.
+
+"In the beginning of thriving states, when they are more industrious and
+innocent, they have then the fewest laws. Rome itself had at first but
+twelve tables. But after, how infinitely did their number of laws increase!
+Old states, like old bodies will be sure to contract diseases. And where
+the law-makers are many, the laws will never be few. That nation is in
+best estate that hath the fewest laws, and those good. Variety does but
+multiply snares. If every bush be limed, there is no bird can escape with
+all his feathers free. And many times when the law did not intend it, men
+are made guilty by the pleader's oratory; either to express his eloquence,
+to advance his practice, or out of mastery to carry his cause: like a
+garment pounced with dust, the business is so smeared and tangled that
+without a Galilaeus his glass, you can never come to discern the spots of
+this changeable moon. Sometimes to gratify a powerful party, justice is
+made blind through corruption, as well as out of impartiality. That indeed,
+by reason of the non-integrity of men. To go to law, is, for two to
+contrive the kindling of a fire at their own cost, to warm others, and
+singe themselves to cinders. Because they cannot agree to what is truth
+and equity, they will both agree to plume themselves, that others may be
+stuck with their feathers."
+
+W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+OLD WEATHER RHYMES.
+
+Rhymes which refer to the weather were probably written by the monks.
+
+  If St. Paul be fine and clear,
+  We shall have a happy year.
+  If St. Paul be thick with rain,
+  Then dear will be the price of grain.
+
+  After St. Bartholomew
+  Come long evenings and cold dew.
+
+  February fill dyke,
+  Be it black or be it white,
+  But if it is white,
+  It is better to like.
+
+  March winds and April showers,
+  Bring forth May flowers.
+
+  He who views his wheat on a weeping May,
+  Will himself so weeping away;
+  But he who views it on a weeping June,
+  Will go away in another tune.
+
+  When the sand doth feed the clay,
+  England woe and well-a-day:
+  But when the clay doth feed the sand,
+  Then it is well with Angle Land.
+
+  A swarm of bees in May
+  Is worth a load of hay,
+  A swarm of bees in June
+  Is worth a silver spoon.
+  A swarm of bees in July
+  Is not worth a fly.
+
+  Under a broomstalk silver and gold,
+  Under a gorsestalk hunger and cold.
+  When hempe's spun,
+  England's done.
+
+The latter referred to the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward IV., Mary and
+Philip, and Queen Elizabeth, but proved false prophecy.
+
+W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CROWLAND ABBEY.
+
+In the days of Monks and Friars, the following lines in bad Latin, were
+composed on Crowland, Lincolnshire, or the adjoining Abbey:
+
+  In Hollandia stat Crowland;
+  Ibi vinium talequale,
+  Ibi foenum gladiale
+  Ibi lecti lapidale,
+  Ibi viri boreali,
+  Ibi vale sine vale.
+
+They are thus translated in the _Beauties of England and Wales_ (1767):--
+
+  "In Holland stands Crowland
+  Built on dirty low land.
+  Where you'll find, if you go,
+  The wine's but so so;
+  The blades of the hay
+  Are like swords one may say,
+  The beds are like stones,
+  And break a man's bones;
+  The men rough and sturdy,
+  Compliments will afford me
+  But bid you good b'w'y,
+  When both hungry and dry."
+
+W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+THE HOBBY HORSE.
+
+Bromley Pagets was remarkable for a very singular sport on New Year's Day
+and Twelfth Day, called the Hobby Horse Dance: a person rode upon the
+image of a horse, with a bow and arrow in his hands, with which he made a
+snapping noise, keeping time with the music, whilst six others danced the
+hay and other country dances, with as many rein-deer's heads on their
+shoulders. To this hobby-horse belonged a pot, which the Reeves of the
+town kept and filled with cakes and ale, towards which the spectators
+contributed a penny, and with the remainder maintained their poor and
+repaired the church.--W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+HOLY LAND.
+
+Ramsey Island, near St. David's Head, is said to have been inhabited by so
+many saints, that no less than twenty thousand are stated in ancient
+histories to lie interred there. Near this place are the rocks styled the
+Bishop and his Clerks, which, says an ancient author "preache deadly
+doctrine to their winter audience, such poor sea-faring men as are forcyd
+thether by tempest, onelie in one thing they are to be commended, they
+keepe residence better than the rest of the canons of that see (St.
+David's) are wont to do."
+
+W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
+
+After the Britons retired into Wales, it was enacted that no man should
+guide a plough that could not make one; and that the driver should make
+the ropes of twisted willows, with which it was drawn. It was usual for
+six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one
+of these ploughs, providing it with oxen, and every thing necessary for
+ploughing; and many curious laws were made for the regulation of such
+societies. If any person laid dung on the field with the consent of the
+proprietor, he was by law allowed the use of that land for one year. If
+the dung was carried out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the
+use of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a wood, and converted
+the ground into arable, with the consent of the owner, was to have the use
+of it for five years. If any one folded his cattle for one year, upon a
+piece of ground belonging to another, with the owner's consent, he was
+allowed the use of the ground for four years. Thus, though the Britons had
+in a great measure lost the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have
+been very assiduous in giving encouragement to such as would attempt the
+revival of it.
+
+T. GILL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.
+
+
+LANDERS' DISCOVERY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER.
+
+We continue our extracts from this very entertaining work, the following
+being from the second volume.
+
+At Boossà, the travellers receive a visit from "the noted widow Zuma." She
+must be an Amazonian lady, for, having quarrelled with her prince, the
+ruler of Wowow, she was obliged to fly, and actually to climb over the
+city wall in the night, and travel on foot to Boossà. Female politicians
+in Africa are not so safe as in the _coteries_ of civilized Europe: they
+have to fight their own battles, and we conclude, to raise their own
+supplies: "the widow complained sadly of poverty and the hardness of the
+times; she had fought with the Yarribeans against Alòrie; but instead of
+receiving a recompense for her bravery, she had lost half her slaves in an
+engagement, which so disgusted her with the military profession, that she
+immediately abandoned it and returned home. Yet, in spite of all her
+losses and misfortunes, she has gained so much in corpulency, that it was
+with the utmost difficulty, she could squeeze herself into the doorway of
+our hut, although it is by no means small. The widow Zuma is a very
+good-looking, elderly person of matronly appearance. Her skin is of a
+light copper colour." Should this meet the eye of any soldier of fortune,
+&c.
+
+At Boossà, they hear some tidings of
+
+  _Mungo Park_.
+
+"Our visiters remained with us a considerable time, and in the course of
+conversation, one of them observed that they had in their possession a
+tobe, which belonged to a white man who came from the north many years ago,
+and from whom it had been purchased by the king's father. We expressed
+great curiosity to see this tobe, and it was sent us as a present a short
+time after their departure. Contrary to our expectations, we found it to
+be made of rich crimson damask, and very heavy from the immense quantity
+of gold embroidery with which it was covered. As the time when the late
+king was said to have purchased this tobe corresponds very nearly to the
+supposed period of Mr. Park's death, and as we never heard of any other
+white man having come from the north so far south as Boossà, we are
+inclined to believe it to be part of the spoil obtained from the canoe of
+that ill-fated traveller. Whether Mr. Park wore the tobe himself, which is
+scarcely probable on account of its weight, or whether he intended it as a
+present to a native chief, we are at a loss to determine. At all events,
+the article is a curiosity in itself; and if we should live to return to
+England, we shall easily learn whether it was made there or not. The chief
+himself has never worn the tobe, nor did his predecessor, from a
+superstitious feeling; 'besides,' observed the king, 'it might excite the
+cupidity of the neighbouring powers.'
+
+"_Sunday, June 20th_.--The king sent a messenger this morning, to inform
+us that he was a tailor, and that he would thank us for some thread and a
+few needles for his own private use. By this man he likewise sent a musket
+for us to repair; but as it is Sunday, we have declined doing it till
+to-morrow. Eager as we are to obtain even the slightest information
+relative to the unhappy fate of Mr. Park and his companions, as well as to
+ascertain if any of their books or papers are now in existence at this
+place, we had almost made up our minds to refrain from asking any
+questions on the subject, because we were apprehensive that it might be
+displeasing to the king, and involve us in many perplexities. Familiarity,
+however, having in some measure worn off this impression, and the king
+being an affable, obliging, and good-natured person, we were emboldened to
+send Paskoe to him this morning, with a message expressive of the interest
+we felt on the subject, in common with all our countrymen; and saying that,
+if any books or papers which belonged to Mr. Park were yet in his
+possession, he would do us a great service, by delivering them into our
+hands, or at least by granting us permission to see them. To this the king
+returned for answer, that when Mr. Park was lost in the Niger, he was a
+very little boy, and that he knew not what had become of his effects; that
+the deplorable event had occurred in the reign of the late king's
+predecessor, who died shortly after; and that all traces of the white man
+had been lost with him. This answer disappointed our hopes, for to us it
+appeared final and decisive. But in the evening they were again raised by
+a hint from our host, who is the king's drummer, and one of the principal
+men in the country: he assured us, that there was certainly one book at
+least saved from Mr. Park's canoe, which is now in the possession of a
+very poor man in the service of his master, to whom it had been entrusted
+by the late king during his last illness. He said moreover, that if but
+one application were made to the king, on any subject whatever, very
+little was thought of it; but if a second were made, the matter would be
+considered of sufficient importance to demand his whole attention,--such
+being the custom of the country. The drummer therefore recommended us to
+persevere in our inquiries, for he had no doubt that something to our
+satisfaction would be elicited. At his own request, we sent him to the
+king immediately, desiring him to repeat our former statement, and to
+assure the king, that should he be successful in recovering the book we
+wanted, our monarch would reward him handsomely. He desired the drummer to
+inform us, that he would use every exertion, and examine the man who was
+reported to have the white man's book in his possession, at an early hour
+to-morrow. Here the matter at present rests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"In the afternoon, the king came to see us, followed by a man with a book
+under his arm, which was said to have been picked up in the Niger after
+the loss of our countryman. It was enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and
+our hearts beat high with expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it,
+for by its size we guessed it to be Mr. Park's journal; but our
+disappointment and chagrin were great, when, on opening the book, we
+discovered it to be an old nautical publication of the last century. The
+title-page was missing, but its contents were chiefly tables of logarithms.
+It was a thick royal quarto, which led us to conjecture that it was a
+journal; between the leaves we found a few loose papers of very little
+consequence indeed; one of them contained two or three observations on the
+height of the water in the Gambia; one was a tailor's bill on a Mr.
+Anderson; and another was addressed to Mr. Mungo Park, and contained an
+invitation to dinner,--the following is a copy of it:--
+
+  'Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be happy to
+  have the pleasure of Mr. Park's company at
+  dinner on Tuesday next, at half-past five
+  o'clock.
+
+  'An answer is requested.
+
+  '_Strand, 9th Nov. 1804_.'
+
+"The king, as well as the owner of the book, looked as greatly mortified
+as ourselves, when they were told that the one produced was not that of
+which we were in quest, because the reward promised would not of course be
+obtained. As soon as our curiosity had been fully satisfied, the papers
+were carefully collected and placed again between the leaves, and the book
+as carefully folded in its envelope as before, and taken away by its owner,
+who values it as much as a household god. Thus all our hopes of obtaining
+Mr. Park's journal or papers, in this city, are entirely defeated. The
+inquiry, on our part, has not been prosecuted without much trouble and
+anxiety, and some little personal sacrifices likewise, which, had they
+been ten times as great, we would gladly have made whilst a single hope
+remained of their being effectual."
+
+After much ado at Boossà, owing to the canoe not being ready--the "King of
+the Canoe," a sort of Lord of the Admiralty, informing the travellers with
+the utmost unconcern that it was out of repair--they
+
+ _Embark on the Niger_.
+
+"About mid-day the workmen having finished our canoe, the luggage was
+presently put into it, and between twelve and one we embarked with our
+people, and were launched out into the river. The direction of this branch
+was nearly east and west; and we proceeded some distance down the stream
+for the purpose of getting into the main branch of the Niger, where there
+is deeper water. This object was soon attained, and we found it flowing
+from north to south, through a rich and charming country, which seemed to
+improve in appearance the further we advanced. We were propelled at a good
+rate up a channel, which, from half a mile in breadth, gradually widened
+to rather better than a mile. Beautiful, spreading, and spiry trees
+adorned the country on each side of the river, like a park; corn, nearly
+ripe, waved over the water's edge; large, open villages appeared every
+half-hour; and herds of spotted cattle were observed grazing and enjoying
+the cool of the shade. The appearance of the river, for several miles, was
+no less enchanting than its borders; it was as smooth as a lake; canoes
+laden with sheep and goats, were paddled by women down its almost
+imperceptible current; swallows, and a variety of aquatic birds, were
+sporting over its glassy surface, which was ornamented by a number of
+pretty little islands.
+
+"_Friday, June 25th_.--The most remarkable object which we saw on rising
+this morning, was a rugged and romantic range of hills, appearing to the
+eastward of our encampment; it is called _Engarskie_, from a country of
+the same name in which the hills are situated, and which was formerly an
+independent kingdom, but is now become a province of Yàoorie. At a little
+before seven, A.M., our canoe was pushed off the sandy beach on which it
+had been secured last evening, and propelled down a very narrow channel,
+between a large sand-bank and the shore. This conducted us into the main
+branch of the Niger, and we again admired its delightful and magnificent
+appearance.
+
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards when the river gradually
+widened to two miles, and continued so as far as the eye could reach. It
+looked very much like an artificial canal; the banks having the appearance
+of a dwarf wall, with vegetation beyond. In most places the water was
+extremely shallow, but in others it was deep enough to float a frigate.
+During the first two hours of the day, the scenery was as interesting and
+picturesque as can be imagined. The banks were literally covered with
+hamlets and villages; fine trees, bending under the weight of their dark
+and impenetrable foliage, everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of
+the sun's rays, and, contrasted with the lively verdure of the little
+hills and plains, produced the most pleasing effect. Afterwards, however,
+there was a decided change; the banks, which before consisted of dark
+earth, clay, or sand, were now composed of black rugged rocks; large
+sand-banks and islands were scattered in the river, which diverted it into
+a variety of little channels, and effectually destroyed its appearance.
+
+"We had heard so unfavourable an account of the state of the river at one
+particular place which we should have to pass, that our people were
+compelled to disembark and walk along the banks a considerable way till we
+had passed it, when we took them in again. We found the description to be
+in no wise exaggerated; it presented a most forbidding appearance, and
+yields only to the state of the Niger near Boossà in difficulty and danger.
+On our arrival at this formidable place, we discovered a range of black
+rocks running directly across the stream, and the water, finding only one
+narrow passage, rushed through it with great impetuosity, over-turning and
+carrying away everything in its course. Our boatmen, with the assistance
+of a number of the natives, who planted themselves on the rocks on each
+side of the only channel, and in the stream at the stern of the canoe,
+lifted it by main force into smoother and safer water. The last difficulty
+with respect to rocks and sand-banks was now overcome, and in a very
+little time we came to the termination of all the islands, after which, it
+is said, there is not a single dangerous place up the Niger. The river
+here presented its noblest appearance; not a single rock nor sand-bank was
+anywhere perceptible; its borders resumed their beauty, and a strong,
+refreshing breeze, which had blown during the whole of the morning, now
+gave it the motion of a slightly-agitated sea. In the course of the
+morning we passed two lovely little islands, clothed in verdure, which at
+a short distance looked as charming as the fabled gardens of Hesperia;
+indeed no spot on earth can excel them in beauty of appearance. These
+islands are inhabited by a few individuals."
+
+Upon leaving Yàoorie, a venerable Arab chief pretended great regard for
+the travellers, though he used them deceitfully; they had, however,
+"enjoyed an innocent kind of revenge, in administering to him a powerful
+dose of medicine, which though harmless in its effects, had yet been very
+troublesome to him. Indeed, it was not till we had 'jalaped' the sultan,
+his sister, and all the royal family, that we were permitted to take our
+farewell of Yàoorie."
+
+The incident of physicking the royal family at Yàoorie by way of
+leave-taking, is only equalled by the following oddity:--"The captain of
+the palm oil brig, Elizabeth, now in the Calabar river, actually
+white-washed his crew from head to foot, while they were sick with fever
+and unable to protect themselves; his cook suffered so much in the
+operation, that the lime totally deprived him of the sight of one of his
+eyes, and rendered the other of little service to him."
+
+The account of the Travellers' visit to Fernando Po, in the third volume,
+will be read with interest, as indeed will every page of the whole
+narrative; and to this commendation of the Messrs. Landers' Journal of
+their past adventures we cheerfully add our best wishes for the success of
+their future enterprize.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+SONGS OF THE GIPSIES.
+
+Among the musical novelties of the day, we notice with much pleasure, a
+pretty volume of Lyrics, written by Mr. Moncrieff, the music by Mr. S.
+Nelson. The poetry is throughout sparkling and characteristic, and "an
+Historical Introduction on the origin and customs of Gipsies," prefixed to
+the Songs, is so attractive as to be likely to share the popularity of the
+piano-forte accompaniments. It is written with considerable care and
+neatness, and the peculiar tact requisite to produce an interesting paper
+on a dry subject.
+
+We are only enabled to quote from the lyrics, an opening carol, as
+
+  Liberty, liberty!
+      Search the world round,
+  'Tis with the Gipsy
+      Alone thou art found.
+  Then in the gay greenwood
+      We worship thee now,
+  The free, oh the free!
+      Still live under the bough.
+
+  Trarah! Trarah!
+      Hark, the deep dingles ring,
+  Free hearts, with the bird
+      And the deer are on wing;
+  Joy claims in the greenwood
+      The Gipsy's glad vow,
+  The blithe, oh the blithe!
+      Still live under the bough.
+
+And the first song entire.
+
+THE GIPSY QUEEN.
+
+  Oh! 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+    And where is there queen like me,
+  That can revel upon the green,
+    In boundless liberty?
+  What though my cheek be brown,
+    And wild my raven hair,
+  A red cloth hood my crown,
+    And my sceptre the wand I bear!
+  Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+  With my kingdom I'm well content,
+    Though my realm's but the hawthorn glade;
+  And my palace a tatter'd tent
+    Beneath the willow's shade:
+  Though my banquet I'm forc'd to make
+    On haws and berries store,
+  And the game that by chance we take
+    From some neighbouring hind's barn door!
+  Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+  'Tis true I must ply my art,
+    And share in my subjects' toils;
+  But of all their gains I've part,
+    I've the choice of all their spoils;
+  And, by love and duty led,
+    Ere from my jet black eye
+  One sad tear should be shed,
+    A thousand hearts would die!
+  For, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A SONG OF PITCAIRN'S ISLAND.
+
+  Come, take our boy, and we will go
+    Before our cabin door;
+  The winds shall bring us, as they blow,
+    The murmurs of the shore;
+  And we will kiss his young blue eyes,
+  And I will sing him as he lies,
+    Songs that were made of yore:
+  I'll sing, in his delighted ear,
+  The island-lays thou lov'st to hear.
+
+  And thou, while stammering I repeat,
+    Thy country's tongue shalt teach;
+  'Tis not so soft, but far more sweet
+    Than my own native speech;
+  For thou no other tongue didst know,
+  When, scarcely twenty moons ago,
+    Upon Tahité's beach,
+  Thou cam'st to woo me to be thine,
+  With many a speaking look and sign.
+
+  I knew thy meaning--thou didst praise
+    My eyes, my locks of jet;
+  Ah! well for me they won thy gaze--
+    But thine were fairer yet!
+  I'm glad to see my infant wear
+  Thy soft blue eyes and sunny hair,
+    And when my sight is met
+  By his white brow and blooming cheek,
+  I feel a joy I cannot speak.
+
+  Come talk of Europe's maids with me,
+    Whose necks and cheeks, they tell,
+  Outshine the beauty of the sea,
+    White foam and crimson shell.
+  I'll shape like theirs my simple dress,
+  And bind like them each jetty tress,
+    A sight to please thee well;
+  And for my dusky brow will braid
+  A bonnet like an English maid.
+
+  Come, for the soft, low sunlight calls--
+    We lose the pleasant hours;
+  'Tis lovelier than these cottage walls--
+    That seat among the flowers.
+  And I will learn of thee a prayer
+  To Him who gave a home so fair,
+    A lot so blest as ours--
+  The God who made for thee and me
+  This sweet lone isle amid the sea.
+
+_From a volume of American Poetry, William Cullen Bryant._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF THE POET, WALLER.]
+
+
+In the churchyard of Beaconsfield, Bucks, stands the above handsome
+tribute to the memory of the celebrated poet and politician, EDMUND WALLER.
+The monument is of marble, with a pyramid rising from the centre, and a
+votive urn at each corner. On the east side is a Latin inscription,
+stating that Waller was born March 30, 1605, at Coleshill, in
+Hertfordshire; his father being Robert Waller, Esq. (of Agmondelsham in
+Buckingham, whose family was originally a branch of the Kentish
+Wallers,[5]) and his mother of the Hampden family; that he was a student
+at Cambridge; "his first wife was Anne, only daughter and heiress to
+Edward Banks, twice made a father by his first wife, and thirteen times by
+his second, whom he survived eight years; he died October 21, 1687." The
+original inscription is by Rymer, and is to be seen in most editions of
+the poet's works. The monument was erected by the poet's son's executors,
+in 1700, and stands on the east side of the churchyard, near the family
+vault. The above engraving is from a sketch, obligingly furnished by our
+Correspondent, W.H. of Wycombe.
+
+Waller was proprietor of the manor of Beaconsfield, and that of Hall Barn,
+in the vicinity, at which latter place he resided.
+
+It is remarkable, that this great man, toward the decline of life bought a
+small house, with a little land, on his natal spot; observing, "that he
+should be glad to die like the stag, where he was roused." This, however,
+did not happen. "When he was at Beaconsfield," says Johnson, "he found his
+legs grow tumid: he went to Windsor, where Sir Charles Scarborough then
+attended the king, and requested him, as both a friend and physician, to
+tell him what that swelling meant. 'Sir,' answered Scarborough, 'your
+blood will run no longer.' Waller repeated some lines of Virgil, and went
+home to die. As the disease increased upon him, he composed himself for
+his departure; and calling upon Dr. Birch to give him the holy sacrament,
+he desired his children to take it with him, and made an earnest
+declaration of his faith in Christianity. It now appeared what part of his
+conversation with the great could be remembered with delight. He related,
+that being present when the Duke of Buckingham talked profanely before
+King Charles, he said to him, 'My lord, I am a great deal older than your
+Grace, and have, I believe, heard more arguments for atheism than ever
+your Grace did; but I have lived long enough to see there is nothing in
+them, and so I hope your Grace will."
+
+
+    [5] Johnson's Life of Waller, wherein the poet is stated to have
+        been born March 3.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.
+
+
+TROUT TICKLING IN IRELAND.
+
+What will our _ticklish_ correspondent, W.H.H. say to this?
+
+"Kniveing trouts" (they call it tickling in England) is good sport. You go
+to a stony shallow at night, a companion bearing a torch; then stripping
+to the thighs and shoulders, wade in; grope with your hands under the
+stones, sods, and other harbourage, till you find your game, then grip him
+in your "knieve," and toss him ashore.
+
+I remember, when a boy, carrying the splits for a servant of the family,
+called Sam Wham. Now Sam was an able young fellow, well-boned and willing;
+a hard headed cudgel player, and a marvellous tough wrestler, for he had a
+backbone like a sea-serpent; this gained him the name of the Twister and
+Twiner. He had got into the river, with his back to me, was stooping over
+a broad stone, when something bolted from under the bank on which I stood,
+right through his legs. Sam fell with a great splash upon his face, but in
+falling, jammed whatever it was against the stone. "Let go, Twister,"
+shouted I, "'tis an otter, he will nip a finger off you."--"Whisht,"
+sputtered he, as he slid his hand under the water; "May I never read a
+text again, if he isna a sawmont wi' a shouther like a hog!"--"Grip him by
+the gills, Twister," cried I.--"Saul will I!" cried the Twiner; but just
+then there was a heave, a roll, a splash, a slap like a pistol-shot; down
+went Sam, and up went the salmon, spun like a shilling at pitch and toss,
+six feet into the air. I leaped in just as he came to the water; but my
+foot caught between two stones, and the more I pulled the firmer it stuck.
+The fish fell in a spot shallower than that from which he had leaped. Sam
+saw the chance, and tackled to again: while I, sitting down in the stream
+as best I might, held up my torch, and cried fair play, as shoulder to
+shoulder, throughout and about, up and down, roll and tumble, to it they
+went, Sam and the salmon. The Twister was never so twined before. Yet
+through crossbuttocks and capsizes innumerable, he still held on; now
+haled through a pool; now haling up a bank; now heels over head; now head
+over heels; now head and heels together; doubled up in a corner; but at
+last stretched fairly on his back, and foaming for rage and disappointment;
+while the victorious salmon, slapping the stones with his tail, and
+whirling the spray from his shoulders at every roll, came boring and
+snoring up the ford. I tugged and strained to no purpose; he flashed by me
+with a snort, and slid into the deep water. Sam now staggered forward with
+battered bones and peeled elbows, blowing like a grampus, and cursing like
+nothing but himself. He extricated me, and we limped home. Neither rose
+for a week; for I had a dislocated ankle, and the Twister was troubled
+with a broken rib. Poor Sam! he had his brains discovered at last by a
+poker in a row, and was worm's meat within three months; yet, ere he died,
+he had the satisfaction of feasting on his old antagonist, who was man's
+meat next morning. They caught him in a net. Sam knew him by the twist in
+his tail.--_Blackwood's Magazine_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL.
+
+The operation of working for these precious jems is a very simple one. The
+alluvial soil (the cascalhao) is dug up from the bed of the river, and
+removed to a convenient spot on the banks for working. The process is as
+follows:--a rancho is erected about a hundred feet long, and half that
+distance in width; down the middle of the area is conveyed a canal,
+covered with earth; on the other side of the area is a flooring of planks,
+about sixteen feet in length, extending the whole length of the shed, and
+to which an inclined direction is given; this flooring is divided into
+troughs, into which is thrown a portion of the cascalhao; the water is
+then let in, and the earth raked until the water becomes clear; the earthy
+particles having been washed away, the gravel is raked up to the end of
+the trough; the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards the smaller
+ones, the whole is then examined with great care for diamonds. When a
+negro finds one, he claps his hands, stands in an erect posture, holding
+the diamond between his fore-finger and thumb; it is received by one of
+the overseers posted on lofty seats, at equal distances, along the line of
+the work. On the conclusion of the work, the diamonds found during the day
+are weighed, and registered by the overseer _en chef_. If a negro has the
+good fortune to find a stone weighing upwards of seventeen carats, he is
+immediately manumitted, and for smaller stones proportionate premiums are
+given. There are, besides, several other works on this river, and on other
+streams, but the supply of diamonds falls now considerably short of former
+periods, and their produce scarcely defrays the expenses.
+
+The Diamond District of the Serro do Frio is about twenty leagues in
+length, and nine in breadth; the soil is barren, but intersected by
+numerous streams. It was first discovered by some miners, shortly after
+the establishment of the Villa do Principe. In working for gold in the
+rivulets of Milho Verde and St. Goncalzes, they discovered some pebbles of
+geometric form, and of a peculiar hue and lustre. For some years these
+pebbles were given as pretty baubles to children, or used as counters for
+marking the points of their favourite game of voltarete. At last an
+officer, who had been some years at Goa, in the East Indies, arrived in
+the Commarca: he was struck with the peculiar form of these pebbles, and
+from several experiments he made, it struck him that they were diamonds.
+He immediately collected a few, and sent them to Holland, where, to the
+astonishment of the lapidaries, they were found to be brilliants of the
+finest water. It will easily be imagined, that on the arrival of this
+intelligence in Brazil, the hitherto despised counters suddenly became the
+objects of universal research, and almost immediately disappeared.
+
+The government of Portugal now issued a decree, declaring all diamonds a
+monopoly of the crown. For a length of time it was considered that
+diamonds were confined solely to the district of Serro Frio. But this is
+an error; they are found in almost every part of the empire, particularly
+in the remote provinces of Goyazes and Matto Grosso, where there exist
+several districtos diamantescos. These gems have been even found on the
+tops of the highest mountains; indeed, it is the opinion of the Brazilian
+mineralogists that the original diamond formations are in the mountains,
+and that they will one day or other be discovered in such quantities, as
+to render them objects of comparatively small value.
+
+The largest diamond in the world was found in the river Abaite; about
+ninety-two leagues to N.W. of Serro do Frio. The history of its discovery
+is romantic:--three Brazilians, Ant. de Souza, Jose Felix Gomes, and
+Thomas de Souza, were sentenced, for some supposed misdemeanour, to
+perpetual banishment in the wildest part of the interior. Their sentence
+was a cruel one; but the region of their exile was the richest in the
+world; every river rolled over a bed of gold, every valley contained
+inexhaustible mines of diamonds. A suspicion of this kind enabled these
+unfortunate men to support the horrors of their fate; they were constantly
+sustained by the golden hope of discovering some rich mine, that would
+produce a reversion of their hard sentence. Thus they wandered about for
+nearly six years, in quest of mines; but fortune was at last propitious.
+An excessive draught had laid dry the bed of the river Abaite, and here,
+while working for gold, they discovered a diamond of nearly an ounce in
+weight. Overwhelmed with joy at this providential discovery, they resolved
+to proceed, at all hazards, to Villa Rica, and trust to the mercy of the
+crown. The governor, on beholding the magnitude and lustre of the gem,
+could scarcely credit the evidence of his senses. He immediately appointed
+a commission of the officers of the Diamond District to report on its
+nature; and on their pronouncing it a real diamond, it was immediately
+dispatched to Lisbon. It is needless to add that the sentence of the three
+"condemnados" was immediately reversed.
+
+This celebrated diamond has been estimated by Romé de l'Isle at the
+enormous sum of three hundred millions sterling. It is uncut, but the late
+King of Portugal, who had a passion for precious stones, had a hole bored
+through it, in order to wear it suspended about his neck on gala days. No
+sovereign possessed so fine a collection of diamonds as this
+prince.--_Monthly Mag_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+NOTES OF A READER.
+
+
+AMERICAN LIFE.
+
+Mrs. Trollope's amusing book has furnished us with still another page or
+two of scenes and sketches:
+
+_Crocodiles on the Mississippi_.
+
+"It is said that at some points of this dismal river, crocodiles are so
+abundant as to add the terror of their attacks to the other sufferings of
+a dwelling there. We were told a story of a squatter, who having 'located'
+himself close to the river's edge, proceeded to build his cabin. This
+operation is soon performed, for social feeling and the love of whiskey
+bring all the scanty neighbourhood round a new comer, to aid him in
+cutting down trees, and in rolling up the logs, till the mansion is
+complete. This was done; the wife and five young children were put in
+possession of their new home, and slept soundly after a long march.
+Towards day-break the husband and father was awakened by a faint cry, and
+looking up, beheld relics of three of his children scattered over the
+floor, and an enormous crocodile, with several young-ones around her,
+occupied in devouring the remnants of their horrid meal. He looked around
+for a weapon, but finding none, and aware that unarmed he could do nothing,
+he raised himself gently on his bed, and contrived to crawl from thence
+through a window, hoping that his wife, whom he left sleeping, might with
+the remaining children rest undiscovered till his return. He flew to his
+nearest neighbour and besought his aid; in less than half an hour two men
+returned with him, all three well armed; but alas! they were too late! the
+wife and her two babes lay mangled on their bloody bed. The gorged
+reptiles fell an easy prey to their assailants, who, upon examining the
+place, found the hut had been constructed close to the mouth of a large
+hole, almost a cavern, where the monster had hatched her hateful brood."
+
+_Pig Scavengers_.
+
+"We were soon settled in our new dwelling, which looked neat and
+comfortable enough, but we speedily found that it was devoid of nearly all
+the accommodation that Europeans conceive necessary to decency and comfort.
+No pump, no cistern, no drain of any kind, no dustman's cart, or any other
+visible means of getting rid of the rubbish, which vanishes with such
+celerity in London, that one has no time to think of its existence; but
+which accumulated so rapidly at Cincinnati, that I sent for my landlord to
+know in what manner refuse of all kinds was to be disposed of.
+
+"Your Help will just have to fix them all into the middle of the street,
+but you must mind, old woman, that it is the middle. I expect you don't
+know as we have got a law what forbids throwing such things at the sides
+of the streets; they must just all be cast right into the middle, and the
+pigs soon takes them off.'"
+
+_American English_.
+
+"I very seldom during my whole stay in the country heard a sentence
+elegantly turned, and correctly pronounced from the lips of an American.
+There is always something either in the expression or the accent that jars
+the feelings and shocks the taste."
+
+_Mr. Bullock_.
+
+"About two miles below Cincinnati, on the Kentucky side of the river, Mr.
+Bullock, the well known proprietor of the Egyptian Hall, has bought a
+large estate, with a noble house upon it. He and his amiable wife were
+devoting themselves to the embellishment of the house and grounds; and
+certainly there is more taste and art lavished on one of their beautiful
+saloons, than all Western America can show elsewhere. It is impossible to
+help feeling that Mr. Bullock is rather out of his element in this remote
+spot, and the gems of art he has brought with him, show as strangely there,
+as would a bower of roses in Siberia, or a Cincinnati fashionable at
+Almack's. The exquisite beauty of the spot, commanding one of the finest
+reaches of the Ohio, the extensive gardens, and the large and handsome
+mansion, have tempted Mr. Bullock to spend a large sum in the purchase of
+this place, and if any one who has passed his life in London could endure
+such a change, the active mind and sanguine spirit of Mr. Bullock might
+enable him to do it; but his frank, and truly English hospitality, and his
+enlightened and inquiring mind, seemed sadly wasted there. I have since
+heard with pleasure that Mr. Bullock has parted with this beautiful, but
+secluded mansion.
+
+"Mr. Bullock was showing to some gentlemen of the first standing, the very
+_élite_ of Cincinnati, his beautiful collection of engravings, when one
+among them exclaimed, 'Have you really done all these since you came here?
+How hard you must have worked!'"
+
+_Cows_.
+
+"These animals are fed morning and evening at the door of the house, with
+a good mess of Indian corn, boiled with water; while they eat, they are
+milked, and when the operation is completed the milk-pail and the meal-tub
+retreat into the dwelling, leaving the republican cow to walk away, to
+take her pleasure on the hills, or in the gutters, as may suit her fancy
+best. They generally return very regularly to give and take the morning
+and evening meal; though it more than once happened to us, before we were
+supplied by a regular milk cart, to have our jug sent home empty, with the
+sad news that 'the cow was not come home, and it was too late to look for
+her to breakfast now.' Once, I remember, the good woman told us that she
+had overslept herself, and that the cow had come and gone again, 'not
+liking, I expect, to hanker about by herself for nothing, poor thing.'"
+
+_Health of Cincinnati_.
+
+"A gentleman told us, that when a medical man intended settling in a new
+situation, he always, if he knew his business, walked through the streets
+at night, before he decided. If he saw the dismal twinkle of the
+watch-light from many windows he might be sure that disease was busy, and
+that the 'location' might suit him well."
+
+_Marketing_.
+
+"It is the custom for the gentlemen to go to market at Cincinnati; the
+smartest men in the place, and those of the 'highest standing' do not
+scruple to leave their beds with the sun, six days in the week, and,
+prepared with a mighty basket, to sally forth in search of meat, butter,
+eggs, and vegetables. I have continually seen them returning, with their
+weighty basket on one arm and an enormous ham depending from the other."
+
+_Moving Houses_.
+
+"One of the sights to stare at in America is that of houses moving from
+place to place. We were often amused by watching this exhibition of
+mechanical skill in the streets. They make no difficulty of moving
+dwellings from one part of the town to another. Those I saw travelling
+were all of them frame-houses, that is, built wholly of wood, except the
+chimneys; but it is said that brick buildings are sometimes treated in the
+same manner. The largest dwelling that I saw in motion was one containing
+two stories of four rooms each; forty oxen were yoked to it. The first few
+yards brought down the two stacks of chimneys, but it afterwards went on
+well. The great difficulties were the first getting it in motion and the
+stopping exactly in the right place. This locomotive power was extremely
+convenient at Cincinnati, as the constant improvements going on there made
+it often desirable to change a wooden dwelling for one of brick; and
+whenever this happened, we were sure to see the ex No. 100 of Main-street
+or the ex No. 55 of Second-street creeping quietly out of town, to take
+possession of a humble suburban station on the common above it."
+
+_Social distinctions_.
+
+"My general appellation amongst my neighbours was 'the English old woman,'
+but in mentioning each other they constantly employed the term 'lady;' and
+they evidently had a pleasure in using it, for I repeatedly observed, that
+in speaking of a neighbour, instead of saying Mrs. Such-a-one, they
+described her as 'the lady over the way what takes in washing,' or as
+'that there lady, out by the Gulley, what is making dip-candles.' Mr.
+Trollope was as constantly called 'the old man,' while dray-men, butchers'
+boys, and the labourers on the canal were invariably denominated 'them
+gentlemen;' nay, we once saw one of the most gentlemanlike men in
+Cincinnati introduce a fellow in dirty shirt sleeves, and all sorts of
+detestable et cetera, to one of his friends, with this formula, 'D---- let
+me introduce this gentleman to you.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE COSMOPOLITE.
+
+
+SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &c. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS.
+
+(_Concluded from page 213_.)
+
+The oriental fable of the _Roc_ has its probable origin in the condor,
+which is undoubtedly the largest and strongest bird of the vulture tribe
+in existence, and extremely ravenous. Minerva's bird, the _Owl_, is well
+known as one of ill omen; besides the superstitious idea that the
+screech-owl foretells death by its cry, it was formerly believed to suck
+the blood of children. The Mongol and Calmuc Tartars have held the _White
+Owl_ sacred since the days of Genghis Khan, when a bird of this species
+having settled on a bush in which that prince had hidden himself from his
+enemies, those who pursued him past it, not believing that a bird would
+perch on a bush wherein a man was concealed. The _Raven_ has ever been
+considered by the vulgar as a bird of evil omen, the indicator of
+misfortunes and death; and, indeed, the superstition is but consonant with
+a bird of such funereal note and hue, and exhibiting such goule-like
+propensities. The Swedes, however, regard it as sacred, and no one offers
+to molest it. In the north of England, one _Magpie_ flying alone, is
+deemed an ill omen; two together, a fortunate one; three forebode a
+funeral, and four a wedding; or, when on a journey, to meet two magpies
+portends a wedding; three, a successful journey; four, unexpected good
+news; and five, that the person will soon be in company with the great. To
+kill a magpie, indicates or brings down some terrible misfortune. The
+_Sparrow Hawk_ was sacred with the Egyptians, and the symbol of Osiris.
+The _Yellow Hammer_ is superstitiously considered an agent _diablerie_.
+The _Wheat-Ear_ is, in the Highlands, a detested bird, and fancied one of
+evil omen, on account of its frequenting old churchyards, where it nestles
+amongst the stones, and finds plenty of insects for food. The _Woodcock_
+is, we believe, the bird imagined to drop, in its proper season, from the
+moon. It is a vulgar error, that the song of the _Nightingale_ is
+melancholy, and that it only sings by night; but to hear the Cuckoo before
+the Nightingale has been long deemed an unsuccessful omen in love: the
+saliva of the cuckoo has been thought to preserve all it falls upon.
+
+  "The _Robin_ and the _Wren_
+  Are God Almighty's cock and hen,"
+
+says the old distich, and whilst it is reckoned wicked to kill either of
+these (not but that there is an ancient custom of "hunting the wren" still
+kept up, we believe, in some parts of this country,) it is considered
+unlucky to kill a _Swallow_, or _House-Martin_. The _King-fisher_ is the
+Halcyon of the ancients, who imagined that during the process of
+incubation by the female the sea remained unvexed by storms; hence
+"halcyon days." The feathers of this bird are employed by the Tartars for
+many superstitious purposes; they consider them amulets of priceless value,
+enabling them to inspire women with love. In more civilized countries it
+was once believed, that if the body of a kingfisher were suspended by a
+thread, some magnetic influence would turn its breast to the north: others
+thought it a preserver of woollen cloths from moths. The _Albatross_ (by
+some considered the kingfisher or halcyon,) is fabled to sleep in the air,
+never to touch the earth; and to kill one is reckoned supremely unlucky.
+There is an Indian bird, the name of which has unfortunately escaped us,
+that is feigned to live only on the rain-drops which it can draw with its
+bill from the clouds; in a dry season, therefore, this bird perishes. Of
+the _Bird of Paradise_ the following wonders were once credited: viz. that
+the egg was laid in the air by the female, and there hatched by the male
+in an orifice of his body; that it had no legs (these however are long,
+and a disfigurement to the body, which the Indians know, and fearful of
+their depreciating the value of the bird, upon capturing it, cut them off);
+that it hung itself by the two long feathers of its tail on a tree when
+sleeping; that it never touched the ground during any period of its
+existence, and fed wholly on dew. The Indians also believe that the leader,
+or king of the birds of paradise is black, with red spots, and that he
+soars far away from the rest of the flock, which, however, never quit him,
+but settle where he does. The _Gigantic Crane_ is believed by the Indians
+to be invulnerable, and animated by the souls of deceased Brahmins; the
+Africans hold it in equal veneration. Whence arises the classical fable
+that swans sing their own dirge just previous to death, and expire singing
+it? The wild swan certainly may be said to whistle, but the tame has no
+other note than a hiss, and this only when provoked. The Kamschatdales and
+Kuriles wear round their necks the bills of _Puffins_, as an amulet which
+ensures good fortune. Who was _Mother Carey_?--The wife, perhaps, of
+"_Davy_," and keeper of his "locker;" Mother Carey's chickens is the
+well-known appellation, in _tarrish_ tongue, of _Stormy Petrels_, not
+superstitiously supposed to forebode tempests, since they seem their very
+element; but it is probable that to Mother Carey herself (we crave her
+pardon--_Mistress_) some astounding "yarn" is attached. The _Stork_, the
+_Crane_, and the _Pelican_, are each the subject of idle stories; the
+latter has been asserted to feed her young with her own bosom's blood, and
+to fill her pouch with water in order to supply them in the desert. A
+notion is entertained by the ignorant that the _Bittern_ thrusts its bill
+into a reed, which serves as a pipe to increase the volume of its natural
+note, and swell it above pitch; and in some places a tradition prevails
+that it thrusts its head into water and then blows with all its might. It
+is erroneous that the _Ostrich_ lays her eggs in the sand, depending
+solely on the sun's rays to hatch them; the truth is that, as from the
+heat of her native climate, it is not always necessary for her to sit upon
+them, she simply does what numerous birds in colder latitudes are well
+known to do; viz. cover them, that they may not, during her absence, lose
+their heat.
+
+The popular opinion that the _Turtle Dove_, of either sex, should it
+happen to lose its mate, remains ever after in a state of disconsolate
+celibacy, is, we believe, disproved by the fact, at least as respects
+these birds in a wild state; but we may remark, that the loss of a
+companion to more than one kind of _domesticated_ bird, if it has been
+brought up with one, even though not in the same cage, is sometimes so
+severely deplored by the survivor, as to occasion its death, if the loss
+be not speedily supplied. The old story of _Swallows_ passing the winter
+in a state of torpidity at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and ponds, has
+been frequently agitated, asserted to be a fact by one party, and totally
+disproved by the other. The reader may be amused to learn, that very
+recently we were assured by one, who _knew it for an absolute fact_, that
+ducks and even chickens (!!!) had been found in a certain farmer's pond,
+laid up in winter quarters, which were revived by the warmth of the sun
+and upper air, upon being fished out of it!! "Regarding _Birds' Eggs_,"
+says the Naturalist in his interesting Journal, "we have a very foolish
+superstition here (Gloucestershire:) the boys may take them unrestrained,
+but their mothers so dislike their being kept in the house, that they
+usually break them; their presence may be tolerated for a few days, but by
+the ensuing Sunday they are frequently destroyed, under the idea that they
+bring bad luck, or prevent the coming of good fortune, as if in some way
+offensive to the domestic deity of the hearth."
+
+Here, then, we pause; some abler hand may, perhaps, be tempted to take up
+the subject as we leave it, for there are yet gleanings, in the field, of
+"Superstitions and Fables connected with animals," over which our leisure
+has allowed us but lightly to pass; gleanings sufficient to reward the
+industrious and the curious; or, it may even be, that we shall return,
+some day, to this topic ourselves, time and materials permitting.
+
+_Great Marlow, Bucks_. M.L.B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE GATHERER.
+
+
+_Congreve Rockets_.--When the Congreve rockets were first introduced into
+the navy, the admiral on the Brazil station proposed to exhibit to the
+king, Don Juan VI., the effect of these formidable projectiles. His
+majesty consented, and the whole court were accordingly assembled in the
+balconies of the palace, at the Rio, for the purpose of witnessing the
+spectacle. By some mishap, of very frequent occurrence in the early
+history of these missiles, at the moment of firing the tube veered round,
+and the rocket, instead of flying over to Praia Grande, took the opposite
+direction, and fell and exploded in the great square, almost beneath the
+windows of the palace. The consternation of the king was only equalled by
+the mortification of the admiral, who immediately despatched an officer on
+shore to explain the cause of the _contretemps_ to his majesty; and
+offering to let off another, but the terrified monarch would not hear of
+it. "I have a great respect," said he, "for my good allies, the English,
+but after dinner they are absolutely fit for nothing;" an observation
+which clearly indicated to what cause his majesty attributed the
+unfortunate result of the exhibition.--_Monthly Magazine_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Prosperity of America_.--The United States of N. America posses an almost
+undefinable extent of fertile uncultivated land--a highly industrious and
+intelligent population of 13,000,000--the national debt will be paid this
+year--and they have a large surplus revenue. That of 1831 was 27,700,000
+Spanish dollars; the expenditure for all government purposes 14,700,000.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_War._--Were the disputes between great and rival nations to be settled by
+single combat, by those, through whose ambition, pride, or other cause,
+they were occasioned, millions of lives might have been saved.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Curious Custom._--There is held in Italy, a kind of feast, or ceremony,
+in the courts of certain princes, on St. Nicholas's Day, in which people
+hide presents in the shoes or slippers of those they would do honour to;
+in such a manner as to surprise them on the morrow, when they come to
+dress. It is done in imitation of the practice of St. Nicholas; who used,
+in the night time, to throw purses of money in at the windows, for
+portions to poor maidens on their marriage. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Experience._--It often happens that the more we see into a man, the less
+we admire him.--_Pliny._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Romans were so anxious to encourage marriage, that they punished
+unmarried persons by rendering them incapable of receiving any legacy, or
+inheritance by will, except from near relatives. And those who were
+married, and had not any children, could take no more than half the estate.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Etruscan Vases._--The art of making earthenware was transported from
+Etruria into Greece. The Romans also borrowed this invention from the
+Etruscans, to whom also Greece was indebted for many of its ceremonies and
+religious institutions, as well as for its mechanics and artificers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is customary in the canton Wallis, Switzerland, for those who have
+found anything lost, even money, to affix it to a large crucifix in the
+churchyard, and there is not an example on record, of any object being
+taken away except by the rightful owner. W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Cumberland Titles._--The honorary titles arising from the different
+degrees of allowed consequence or property in Cumberland, appear (says
+Britton) singular when compared with their usual acceptation in society.
+The mistress of the house is a _Dame_; every owner of a little landed
+property is a _'Statesman_; his eldest son is the _Laird_; and where there
+is no son, the eldest daughter is born to the title of _Leady_. Thus we
+may see a '_Statesman_ driving the plough, a _Lord_ attending the market
+with vegetables, and a _Leady_ labouring at the churn. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_A string of echo puns_ surpassing all others, may be seen in a scarce
+work, published in the reign of James I. A specimen--a divine, willing to
+play more with words, than to be serious in the expounding of his text,
+spoke thus in one part of the sermon:--"This dyall shewes we must _die
+all_; yet, notwithstanding, all howses are turned into _ale-houses_; our
+cares are turned into _cates_; our paradise, into, _a pair of dice_; our
+marriage, into a _merry age_; our matrimony, into a _matter of money_; our
+divines, into _dry vines_. It was not so in the days of Noah,
+_Ah no_!"--T.G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Advertisement Extraordinary, from a Newspaper of 1796_.--"Whereas the
+right hon. William Pitt, Chancellor of his Majesty's Exchequer, did on the
+night of Monday last, and on or about the hour of six o'clock, utter in
+his place in the House of Commons, certain sentences or phrases,
+containing several assurances, denials, promises, retractions, persuasions,
+explanations, hints, insinuations, and intimations, and expressing much
+hope, fear, joy, sorrow, confidence, and doubt, upon the subject of peace,
+then and there recommended by Charles Grey, esq., member of the aforesaid
+House of Commons, for the county of Northumberland; and whereas the entire
+effectual and certain meaning of the whole of the said sentences, phrases,
+denials, promises, retractions, persuasions, explanations, hints,
+insinuations, and intimations, has escaped and fled, so that what remains
+is to plain understandings incomprehensible, and to many good men is
+matter of painful contemplation: now this is to promise to any person who
+shall restore the said lost meaning, or shall illustrate, simplify, and
+explain the said meaning, the sum of five thousand pounds, to be paid on
+the first day of April next, at the office of John Bull, esq., Pay-All and
+Fight-All, to the several high contracting powers, engaged in the present
+_just_ and _necessary_ war!
+
+"Done at the office of Mr. John Bull's Chief Decypherer, _Turnagain_ Lane,
+_Circumbendibus_ Street, _Obscurity_ Square, Feb. 18, 1796."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Cheap Soup_.--Take ten quarts of water, and stir it with a rush-light
+till it boils; season it to your liking, and it is ready for use. N.B. The
+wick may be bolted.--_Monthly Mag_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Epitaph on the death of Miss Eliza More, aged_ 14.
+
+  Here lies who never lied before,
+  And one who will never lie _More_,
+  To which there need no _more_ be said
+  Than _More_ the pity she is dead,
+  For when alive she charmed us _More_
+  Than all the _Mores_ just gone before.[6]
+
+
+    [6] Her two sisters dying some months before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_On Anne Green, a Quakeress_.
+
+  Here lies a piece of Christ, a star in dust,
+  A wedge of gold, a china dish that must
+  Be used in heaven, when Christ doth feed the just.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Inscribed on the back door of a Tavern_, which opened into the Parish
+Church of St. Michael's, Cambridge, kept by Mr. Burrell, 1639: which door
+is now taken down, the tavern having been pulled down, and a new street
+built on its site.
+
+  Go on by leave, no way here lies:
+    But way and leave to those
+  That hast to taste good wine and fine,
+    And fear not Burrell's foes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Copied from the Churchwarden's Book_.
+
+_The Mother Tongue_.--In Mr. Combe's _Illustrations of Phrenology_, a case
+is related of a Welsh milkman, in London, who happening to fall down two
+pair of stairs, received a severe contusion on the head, and was carried
+to St. George's Hospital, where he lay senseless for several days, and
+unable to speak. At length he became something better, and began to talk
+to the nurses, but in such terms that no one could understand him, till it
+was discovered that he had forgotten his English, and was talking Welsh; a
+language he had not spoken for eighteen years. Mr. Combe conceives that
+the blow having hit the store-house in his head, where the Welsh language
+was garnered, his youthful acquisitions were poured out, whilst the
+English language, which he had learned much later, was overpowered and
+obliterated by the force of his mother tongue. W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Warning to Betrayers_.--St. Bennet's Abbey, in Norfolk, was so well
+fortified, that William the Conqueror, in vain besieged it, till a monk,
+upon condition of being made abbot, betrayed the place. The king performed
+the condition, but hanged the new _abbot_ as a _traitor_. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,)
+London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G.G. BENNIS,
+55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement,
+and Instruction, by Various
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12552 ***
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+  <title>The Mirror of Literature, Volume XIX. No. 542.</title>
+
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12552 ***</div>
+
+ <hr class="full" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page225"
+  name="page225">
+  </a>[pg 225]
+</span>
+
+  <h1>THE MIRROR<br />
+  OF<br />
+  LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.</h1>
+  <hr class="full" />
+
+  <table width="100%" summary="Volume, Number, and Date">
+    <tr>
+      <td align="left"><b>Vol. XIX. No. 542.]</b></td>
+      <td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1832.</b></td>
+      <td align="right"><b>[PRICE 2d.</b></td>
+    </tr>
+  </table>
+  <hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE BEULAH SALINE SPA, NORWOOD.</h2>
+
+<div class="figure" style="width:100%;"><a href="images/542-001.png">
+<img width = "100%" src="images/542-001.png" alt="ENTRANCE LODGE." /></a></div>
+
+<p>
+Our attention has been invited to the Beulah Spa by a <i>brochure</i> lately
+published, from the very competent pen of Dr. George Hume Weatherhead; the
+details of which will be read with interest by all who are in quest of
+"healing founts." "The Spa," observes Dr. Weatherhead, "has long been
+resorted to by the country people of the neighbourhood, who, from
+experiencing its beneficial effects in a variety of diseases, have
+sustained its sanative character, and kept it from sinking into total
+neglect." We trust, however, that its virtues may soon enjoy more
+extensive celebrity, especially as the attractions of the scenery amidst
+which the spring is situate are of no common-place character, and the
+distance from the metropolis both easy and inviting. The Spa has already
+acquired some popularity; for, we learned on our visit a few days since,
+that, although it was only opened to the public towards the close of the
+month of August, in the past year, it was visited during the autumn by
+several hundred persons weekly.
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. Weatherhead has described the local scenery with accuracy. Beulah, the
+estate upon which the spring is situate, is within the village of Norwood,
+seven miles south of London, upon one of those elevations known as the
+Norwood hills. "From trigonometrical observation," observes Dr.
+Weatherhead, "it has been computed that the height of these hills is about
+390 feet above the level of the sea at low water.
+<a id="footnotetag1"
+ name="footnotetag1"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote1">1</a></sup>
+ Thus placed above the
+fogs of the plain, and removed from the smoky and contaminated atmosphere
+of the metropolis, the air has long been celebrated for its pure and
+invigorating qualities." Norwood was in the memory of several of the
+inhabitants still living, an entire forest of oaks, and the well-known
+resort of tribes of gipsies.
+<a id="footnotetag2"
+ name="footnotetag2"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote2">2</a></sup>
+ The country from Camberwell thence is,
+therefore, in
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page226"
+  name="page226">
+  </a>[pg 226]
+</span>
+great part a newly-peopled district. Its outline is very
+uneven, perhaps more so than any other portion of the environs of the
+metropolis. The road runs over or through many little crests or hills, and
+sinks into sheltered valleys, where you see newly-built habitations
+nestling together, and almost reminding one of the aboriginal contrivances
+for warmth and comfort in less civilized countries. The road-side is set
+with "suburban villas" which would make the spleen of Cowper blaze into
+madness; though few of them exhibit any pretensions to elegance or
+snugness. Neither would two newly-built churches in the prospect allay the
+anti-urban poet; their starved proportions contrasting but coldly with the
+primitive simplicity of a village church. The <i>country</i> itself is
+nevertheless picturesque; the prospect is of enchanting beauty, and as
+you approach Beulah, you obtain occasional glimpses of the subjacent
+valley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a <i>coup d'oeil</i> in the Spa
+grounds.
+</p>
+<p>
+The Spring lies embowered in a wood of oaks, open to the south-west whose
+dense foliage shelters and protects it. It is now the sole vestige of the
+gipsy haunts, and comprises a space of more than twenty-five acres; the
+gentle inclination of the ground keeping the foot-paths always dry.
+</p>
+<p>
+We entered the grounds at an elegant rustic lodge (<i>see the Cut</i>,) where
+commences a new carriage-road
+<a id="footnotetag3"
+ name="footnotetag3"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote3">3</a></sup>
+ to Croydon; which winds round the flank
+of the hill, and is protected by hanging woods. The lodge is in the best
+taste of ornate rusticity, with the characteristic varieties of gable,
+dripstone, portico, bay-window, and embellished chimney: of the latter
+there are some specimens in the best style of our olden architects. This
+building, as well as the other rural edifices in the grounds, and the
+whole disposal of the latter, have been planned by Mr. Decimus Burton, the
+originator of the architectural embellishments of the Zoological Gardens
+in the Regent's Park.
+</p>
+<p>
+Passing the lodge, we descended by a winding path through the wood to a
+small lawn or glade, at the highest point of which is a circular rustic
+building, used as a confectionery and reading-room; near which is the Spa,
+within a thatched apartment. The spring rises about 14 feet, within a
+circular rockwork enclosure; the water is drawn by a contrivance, at once
+ingenious and novel; a glass urn-shaped pail, terminating with a cock of
+the same material, and having a stout rim and cross-handle of silver, is
+attached to a thick worsted rope, and let down into the spring by a pulley,
+when the vessel being taken up full, the water is drawn off by the cock.
+We quote Dr. Weatherhead's analytical description of the water:
+</p>
+<p>
+"The water drawn fresh from the well is beautifully transparent and
+sparkling. Innumerable bubbles of fixed air are seen rising to the surface,
+when allowed to stand. Its taste is distinctly bitter, without being at
+all disagreeable, leaving on the palate
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page227"
+  name="page227">
+  </a>[pg 227]
+</span>
+the peculiar flavour of its
+predominant saline ingredient, the sulphate of magnesia. The temperature
+of the water, at the bottom of the well, is 52 deg. of Fahrenheit; its
+specific gravity 1011; and, by an analysis of its composition by those
+distinguished scientific chemists, Messrs. Faraday and Hume, the following
+are the solid contents of a quart of the water:&mdash;
+</p>
+<pre>
+  BEULAH SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............ 123
+  Sulphate of soda and magnesia .... 32
+  Muriate of soda .................. 19
+  Muriate of magnesia .............. 18-1/2
+  Carbonate of lime ................ 15
+  Carbonate of soda ................. 3
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    210-1/2
+
+  CHELTENHAM PURE SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............. 22
+  Sulphate of soda ................. 30
+  Muriate of soda ..................100
+  Sulphate of lime .................. 9
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    161
+</pre>
+<p>
+"As a mean of comparison, the saline contents of a quart of the Cheltenham
+pure saline, as analyzed by Mr. Brande, the predecessor of Mr. Faraday in
+the professorship at the Royal Institution, is placed opposite to the
+Beulah Spring, to enable the reader to judge how much superior, as an
+aperient water, the latter is to that of Cheltenham. And, first, it may be
+observed, that the gross amount of the several salts, in the same quantity
+of the waters, is much greater in the Beulah than in the Cheltenham spring,
+the difference being forty-nine grains and a half of solid saline matter
+in a quart&mdash;that is, the impregnation is nearly one-third stronger; and,
+secondly, the nature of the saline ingredients also merits observation.
+One hundred grains out of one hundred and sixty-one, consist, as we see,
+in the Cheltenham, of muriate of soda, or common table-salt. Now, this
+substance, when perfectly freed from other salts adhering to it, possesses
+comparatively very feeble aperient properties; whereas the mass of the
+ingredients in the Beulah Spa is composed of two powerful saline
+substances, the sulphate of magnesia, and that peculiar double salt, the
+sulphate of soda and magnesia, constituting three-fourths of the whole
+saline impregnation."
+<a id="footnotetag4"
+ name="footnotetag4"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote4">4</a></sup>
+</p>
+<p>
+The lawn is tastefully varied with parterres of plants; owing to the
+lateness of the season, we saw but few near flowering, save
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+      <p class="i6">Daffodils,</p>
+  <p>That come before the swallow dares, and take</p>
+  <p>The winds of March with beauty, violets dim,</p>
+  <p>But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes,</p>
+  <p>Or Cytherea's breath.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+A few yards from the lawn a rustic orchestra is in course of erection:
+whence "the dulcet and harmonious sounds" of music may attune with the
+joyful inspiration of the natural beauties of the scene. Our guide, (of a
+more intelligent and communicative character than guides usually are,)
+directed us by a descending path through the wood, across a rude bridge,
+past a maze, by a flight of roughly-formed steps, to a terrace, whence we
+enjoyed a picturesque prospect of great range and indescribable beauty.
+The woods were as yet leafless, but primroses enlivened the pathside: how
+touchingly is their solitude told by our poets. Shakspeare calls them
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+      <p class="i6">Pale primroses</p>
+  <p>That die unmarried ere they can behold</p>
+  <p>Bright Phoebus in his strength.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+Milton describes them as dying forsaken:
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies:</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+and Mayne calls this flower
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Lorn tenant of the peaceful glade,</p>
+  <p>Emblem of virtue in the shade.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+Dr. Weatherhead describes the prospect from this terrace with more
+minuteness than the hazy state of the atmosphere enabled us to trace its
+several beauties. The ancient archiepiscopal town of Croydon lies at your
+feet; more remote, Banstead Downs spread a carpet of blooming verdure to
+the sight; in the extreme distance Windsor Castle peers its majestic
+towers above the mist; while elsewhere the utmost verge of the horizon is
+bounded by the bold range of the Surrey and Hampshire hills. Turning to
+the left you enjoy a view of Addiscombe Place, the seminary for cadets of
+the East India Company; of Shirley, the sporting seat of John Maberly, Esq.
+M.P.; of the Addington hills clothed with heaths; and of the park, the
+seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; when the prospect,
+deepening in extent, stretches as far as Knockholt Beeches, near Seven
+Oaks, and, winding round, comprehends the tall spire of Beckenham Church,
+piercing through the dense woods which surround it; Shooter's Hill,
+Blackheath, and the villages that intervene.
+</p>
+<p>
+Immediately beneath you are the grounds of the Spa, every portion of which
+can be distinctly traced from this spot: the lodge, lawn, refreshment-room,
+spring, and orchestra, as we have described them, and the paths winding
+among the woods till they disappear as it were in trackless solitude.
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. Weatherhead's pamphlet treats copiously, but in a popular style, of
+the medicinal properties of the Spa. The terms for drinking the waters are
+furnished at the lodge, where the visiter may smile at the remedy being
+<i>set to music</i>, in the melodies of the Beulah Spring Quadrilles. It may
+prevent some disappointment by stating that the Grounds are not opened to
+the public on Sundays.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>ANCIENT LAWS.</h3>
+
+<p>
+The following quaint observations possess peculiar interest at the present
+moment:
+</p>
+<p>
+"Among the ancient Druids," says Mr. Owen Feltham, "it was absolutely
+forbidden to register their laws in writing. And Caesar, in his Gallique
+Wars, gives us two reasons for it. One, that their mysteries might not
+come to be profaned and encommoned by the vulgar: another, that not being
+written, they might be more careful ever to carry them in their thoughts
+and memory. Though doubtless it was as well to preserve their own
+authority, to keep the people to a recourse to them, and to a reverence
+and esteem of their judgments. Besides, it oft falls out that what is
+written, though it were a good law when made, yet by the emergency of
+affairs, and the condition of men and times, it happens to be bad and
+alterable. And we find it to be evidently true, that, as where there are
+many physicians, there are many diseases; so where there are many laws,
+there are likewise many enormities. That nation that swarms with law and
+lawyers, certainly abounds with vice and corruption. Where you find much
+fowl resort, you
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page228"
+  name="page228">
+  </a>[pg 228]
+</span>
+may be sure there is no want of either water, mud, or
+weeds.
+</p>
+<p>
+"In the beginning of thriving states, when they are more industrious and
+innocent, they have then the fewest laws. Rome itself had at first but
+twelve tables. But after, how infinitely did their number of laws increase!
+Old states, like old bodies will be sure to contract diseases. And where
+the law-makers are many, the laws will never be few. That nation is in
+best estate that hath the fewest laws, and those good. Variety does but
+multiply snares. If every bush be limed, there is no bird can escape with
+all his feathers free. And many times when the law did not intend it, men
+are made guilty by the pleader's oratory; either to express his eloquence,
+to advance his practice, or out of mastery to carry his cause: like a
+garment pounced with dust, the business is so smeared and tangled that
+without a Galilaeus his glass, you can never come to discern the spots of
+this changeable moon. Sometimes to gratify a powerful party, justice is
+made blind through corruption, as well as out of impartiality. That indeed,
+by reason of the non-integrity of men. To go to law, is, for two to
+contrive the kindling of a fire at their own cost, to warm others, and
+singe themselves to cinders. Because they cannot agree to what is truth
+and equity, they will both agree to plume themselves, that others may be
+stuck with their feathers."
+</p>
+<p>
+W.G.C.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>OLD WEATHER RHYMES.</h3>
+<p>
+Rhymes which refer to the weather were probably written by the monks.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>If St. Paul be fine and clear,</p>
+  <p>We shall have a happy year.</p>
+  <p>If St. Paul be thick with rain,</p>
+  <p>Then dear will be the price of grain.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>After St. Bartholomew</p>
+  <p>Come long evenings and cold dew.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>February fill dyke,</p>
+  <p>Be it black or be it white,</p>
+  <p>But if it is white,</p>
+  <p>It is better to like.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>March winds and April showers,</p>
+  <p>Bring forth May flowers.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>He who views his wheat on a weeping May,</p>
+  <p>Will himself so weeping away;</p>
+  <p>But he who views it on a weeping June,</p>
+  <p>Will go away in another tune.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>When the sand doth feed the clay,</p>
+  <p>England woe and well-a-day:</p>
+  <p>But when the clay doth feed the sand,</p>
+  <p>Then it is well with Angle Land.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>A swarm of bees in May</p>
+  <p>Is worth a load of hay,</p>
+  <p>A swarm of bees in June</p>
+  <p>Is worth a silver spoon.</p>
+  <p>A swarm of bees in July</p>
+  <p>Is not worth a fly.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Under a broomstalk silver and gold,</p>
+  <p>Under a gorsestalk hunger and cold.</p>
+  <p>When hempe's spun,</p>
+  <p>England's done.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+The latter referred to the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward IV., Mary and
+Philip, and Queen Elizabeth, but proved false prophecy.
+</p>
+<p>
+W.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>CROWLAND ABBEY.</h3>
+
+<p>
+In the days of Monks and Friars, the following lines in bad Latin, were
+composed on Crowland, Lincolnshire, or the adjoining Abbey:
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>In Hollandia stat Crowland;</p>
+  <p>Ibi vinium talequale,</p>
+  <p>Ibi foenum gladiale</p>
+  <p>Ibi lecti lapidale,</p>
+  <p>Ibi viri boreali,</p>
+  <p>Ibi vale sine vale.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+They are thus translated in the <i>Beauties of England and Wales</i> (1767):&mdash;
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>"In Holland stands Crowland</p>
+  <p>Built on dirty low land.</p>
+  <p>Where you'll find, if you go,</p>
+  <p>The wine's but so so;</p>
+  <p>The blades of the hay</p>
+  <p>Are like swords one may say,</p>
+  <p>The beds are like stones,</p>
+  <p>And break a man's bones;</p>
+  <p>The men rough and sturdy,</p>
+  <p>Compliments will afford me</p>
+  <p>But bid you good b'w'y,</p>
+  <p>When both hungry and dry."</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+W.H.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>THE HOBBY HORSE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Bromley Pagets was remarkable for a very singular sport on New Year's Day
+and Twelfth Day, called the Hobby Horse Dance: a person rode upon the
+image of a horse, with a bow and arrow in his hands, with which he made a
+snapping noise, keeping time with the music, whilst six others danced the
+hay and other country dances, with as many rein-deer's heads on their
+shoulders. To this hobby-horse belonged a pot, which the Reeves of the
+town kept and filled with cakes and ale, towards which the spectators
+contributed a penny, and with the remainder maintained their poor and
+repaired the church.&mdash;W.H.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>HOLY LAND.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Ramsey Island, near St. David's Head, is said to have been inhabited by so
+many saints, that no less than twenty thousand are stated in ancient
+histories to lie interred there. Near this place are the rocks styled the
+Bishop and his Clerks, which, says an ancient author "preache deadly
+doctrine to their winter audience, such poor sea-faring men as are forcyd
+thether by tempest, onelie in one thing they are to be commended,
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page229"
+  name="page229">
+  </a>[pg 229]
+</span>
+ they
+keepe residence better than the rest of the canons of that see (St.
+David's) are wont to do."
+</p>
+<p>
+W.H.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.</h3>
+
+<p>
+After the Britons retired into Wales, it was enacted that no man should
+guide a plough that could not make one; and that the driver should make
+the ropes of twisted willows, with which it was drawn. It was usual for
+six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one
+of these ploughs, providing it with oxen, and every thing necessary for
+ploughing; and many curious laws were made for the regulation of such
+societies. If any person laid dung on the field with the consent of the
+proprietor, he was by law allowed the use of that land for one year. If
+the dung was carried out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the
+use of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a wood, and converted
+the ground into arable, with the consent of the owner, was to have the use
+of it for five years. If any one folded his cattle for one year, upon a
+piece of ground belonging to another, with the owner's consent, he was
+allowed the use of the ground for four years. Thus, though the Britons had
+in a great measure lost the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have
+been very assiduous in giving encouragement to such as would attempt the
+revival of it.
+</p>
+<p>
+T. GILL.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>LANDERS' DISCOVERY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER.</h3>
+
+<p>
+We continue our extracts from this very entertaining work, the following
+being from the second volume.
+</p>
+<p>
+At Boossà, the travellers receive a visit from "the noted widow Zuma." She
+must be an Amazonian lady, for, having quarrelled with her prince, the
+ruler of Wowow, she was obliged to fly, and actually to climb over the
+city wall in the night, and travel on foot to Boossà. Female politicians
+in Africa are not so safe as in the <i>coteries</i> of civilized Europe: they
+have to fight their own battles, and we conclude, to raise their own
+supplies: "the widow complained sadly of poverty and the hardness of the
+times; she had fought with the Yarribeans against Alòrie; but instead of
+receiving a recompense for her bravery, she had lost half her slaves in an
+engagement, which so disgusted her with the military profession, that she
+immediately abandoned it and returned home. Yet, in spite of all her
+losses and misfortunes, she has gained so much in corpulency, that it was
+with the utmost difficulty, she could squeeze herself into the doorway of
+our hut, although it is by no means small. The widow Zuma is a very
+good-looking, elderly person of matronly appearance. Her skin is of a
+light copper colour." Should this meet the eye of any soldier of fortune,
+&amp;c.
+</p>
+<p>
+At Boossà, they hear some tidings of
+</p>
+
+  <h4><i>Mungo Park</i>.</h4>
+
+<p>
+"Our visiters remained with us a considerable time, and in the course of
+conversation, one of them observed that they had in their possession a
+tobe, which belonged to a white man who came from the north many years ago,
+and from whom it had been purchased by the king's father. We expressed
+great curiosity to see this tobe, and it was sent us as a present a short
+time after their departure. Contrary to our expectations, we found it to
+be made of rich crimson damask, and very heavy from the immense quantity
+of gold embroidery with which it was covered. As the time when the late
+king was said to have purchased this tobe corresponds very nearly to the
+supposed period of Mr. Park's death, and as we never heard of any other
+white man having come from the north so far south as Boossà, we are
+inclined to believe it to be part of the spoil obtained from the canoe of
+that ill-fated traveller. Whether Mr. Park wore the tobe himself, which is
+scarcely probable on account of its weight, or whether he intended it as a
+present to a native chief, we are at a loss to determine. At all events,
+the article is a curiosity in itself; and if we should live to return to
+England, we shall easily learn whether it was made there or not. The chief
+himself has never worn the tobe, nor did his predecessor, from a
+superstitious feeling; 'besides,' observed the king, 'it might excite the
+cupidity of the neighbouring powers.'
+</p>
+<p>
+"<i>Sunday, June 20th</i>.&mdash;The king sent a messenger this morning, to inform
+us that he was a tailor, and that he would thank us for some thread and a
+few needles for his own private use. By this man he likewise sent a musket
+for
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page230"
+  name="page230">
+  </a>[pg 230]
+</span>
+ us to repair; but as it is Sunday, we have declined doing it till
+to-morrow. Eager as we are to obtain even the slightest information
+relative to the unhappy fate of Mr. Park and his companions, as well as to
+ascertain if any of their books or papers are now in existence at this
+place, we had almost made up our minds to refrain from asking any
+questions on the subject, because we were apprehensive that it might be
+displeasing to the king, and involve us in many perplexities. Familiarity,
+however, having in some measure worn off this impression, and the king
+being an affable, obliging, and good-natured person, we were emboldened to
+send Paskoe to him this morning, with a message expressive of the interest
+we felt on the subject, in common with all our countrymen; and saying that,
+if any books or papers which belonged to Mr. Park were yet in his
+possession, he would do us a great service, by delivering them into our
+hands, or at least by granting us permission to see them. To this the king
+returned for answer, that when Mr. Park was lost in the Niger, he was a
+very little boy, and that he knew not what had become of his effects; that
+the deplorable event had occurred in the reign of the late king's
+predecessor, who died shortly after; and that all traces of the white man
+had been lost with him. This answer disappointed our hopes, for to us it
+appeared final and decisive. But in the evening they were again raised by
+a hint from our host, who is the king's drummer, and one of the principal
+men in the country: he assured us, that there was certainly one book at
+least saved from Mr. Park's canoe, which is now in the possession of a
+very poor man in the service of his master, to whom it had been entrusted
+by the late king during his last illness. He said moreover, that if but
+one application were made to the king, on any subject whatever, very
+little was thought of it; but if a second were made, the matter would be
+considered of sufficient importance to demand his whole attention,&mdash;such
+being the custom of the country. The drummer therefore recommended us to
+persevere in our inquiries, for he had no doubt that something to our
+satisfaction would be elicited. At his own request, we sent him to the
+king immediately, desiring him to repeat our former statement, and to
+assure the king, that should he be successful in recovering the book we
+wanted, our monarch would reward him handsomely. He desired the drummer to
+inform us, that he would use every exertion, and examine the man who was
+reported to have the white man's book in his possession, at an early hour
+to-morrow. Here the matter at present rests.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+"In the afternoon, the king came to see us, followed by a man with a book
+under his arm, which was said to have been picked up in the Niger after
+the loss of our countryman. It was enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and
+our hearts beat high with expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it,
+for by its size we guessed it to be Mr. Park's journal; but our
+disappointment and chagrin were great, when, on opening the book, we
+discovered it to be an old nautical publication of the last century. The
+title-page was missing, but its contents were chiefly tables of logarithms.
+It was a thick royal quarto, which led us to conjecture that it was a
+journal; between the leaves we found a few loose papers of very little
+consequence indeed; one of them contained two or three observations on the
+height of the water in the Gambia; one was a tailor's bill on a Mr.
+Anderson; and another was addressed to Mr. Mungo Park, and contained an
+invitation to dinner,&mdash;the following is a copy of it:&mdash;
+</p>
+<pre>
+  'Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be happy to
+  have the pleasure of Mr. Park's company at
+  dinner on Tuesday next, at half-past five
+  o'clock.
+
+  'An answer is requested.
+
+  '<i>Strand, 9th Nov. 1804</i>.'
+</pre>
+<p>
+"The king, as well as the owner of the book, looked as greatly mortified
+as ourselves, when they were told that the one produced was not that of
+which we were in quest, because the reward promised would not of course be
+obtained. As soon as our curiosity had been fully satisfied, the papers
+were carefully collected and placed again between the leaves, and the book
+as carefully folded in its envelope as before, and taken away by its owner,
+who values it as much as a household god. Thus all our hopes of obtaining
+Mr. Park's journal or papers, in this city, are entirely defeated. The
+inquiry, on our part, has not been prosecuted without much trouble and
+anxiety, and some little personal sacrifices likewise, which, had they
+been ten times as great, we would gladly have made whilst a single hope
+remained of their being effectual."
+</p>
+<p>
+After much ado at Boossà, owing to the canoe not being ready&mdash;the "King of
+the Canoe," a sort of Lord of the Admiralty, informing the travellers with
+the utmost unconcern that it was out of repair&mdash;they
+</p>
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page231"
+  name="page231">
+  </a>[pg 231]
+</span>
+ <h4><i>Embark on the Niger</i>.</h4>
+
+<p>
+"About mid-day the workmen having finished our canoe, the luggage was
+presently put into it, and between twelve and one we embarked with our
+people, and were launched out into the river. The direction of this branch
+was nearly east and west; and we proceeded some distance down the stream
+for the purpose of getting into the main branch of the Niger, where there
+is deeper water. This object was soon attained, and we found it flowing
+from north to south, through a rich and charming country, which seemed to
+improve in appearance the further we advanced. We were propelled at a good
+rate up a channel, which, from half a mile in breadth, gradually widened
+to rather better than a mile. Beautiful, spreading, and spiry trees
+adorned the country on each side of the river, like a park; corn, nearly
+ripe, waved over the water's edge; large, open villages appeared every
+half-hour; and herds of spotted cattle were observed grazing and enjoying
+the cool of the shade. The appearance of the river, for several miles, was
+no less enchanting than its borders; it was as smooth as a lake; canoes
+laden with sheep and goats, were paddled by women down its almost
+imperceptible current; swallows, and a variety of aquatic birds, were
+sporting over its glassy surface, which was ornamented by a number of
+pretty little islands.
+</p>
+<p>
+"<i>Friday, June 25th</i>.&mdash;The most remarkable object which we saw on rising
+this morning, was a rugged and romantic range of hills, appearing to the
+eastward of our encampment; it is called <i>Engarskie</i>, from a country of
+the same name in which the hills are situated, and which was formerly an
+independent kingdom, but is now become a province of Yàoorie. At a little
+before seven, A.M., our canoe was pushed off the sandy beach on which it
+had been secured last evening, and propelled down a very narrow channel,
+between a large sand-bank and the shore. This conducted us into the main
+branch of the Niger, and we again admired its delightful and magnificent
+appearance.
+</p>
+<p>
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards when the river gradually
+widened to two miles, and continued so as far as the eye could reach. It
+looked very much like an artificial canal; the banks having the appearance
+of a dwarf wall, with vegetation beyond. In most places the water was
+extremely shallow, but in others it was deep enough to float a frigate.
+During the first two hours of the day, the scenery was as interesting and
+picturesque as can be imagined. The banks were literally covered with
+hamlets and villages; fine trees, bending under the weight of their dark
+and impenetrable foliage, everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of
+the sun's rays, and, contrasted with the lively verdure of the little
+hills and plains, produced the most pleasing effect. Afterwards, however,
+there was a decided change; the banks, which before consisted of dark
+earth, clay, or sand, were now composed of black rugged rocks; large
+sand-banks and islands were scattered in the river, which diverted it into
+a variety of little channels, and effectually destroyed its appearance.
+</p>
+<p>
+"We had heard so unfavourable an account of the state of the river at one
+particular place which we should have to pass, that our people were
+compelled to disembark and walk along the banks a considerable way till we
+had passed it, when we took them in again. We found the description to be
+in no wise exaggerated; it presented a most forbidding appearance, and
+yields only to the state of the Niger near Boossà in difficulty and danger.
+On our arrival at this formidable place, we discovered a range of black
+rocks running directly across the stream, and the water, finding only one
+narrow passage, rushed through it with great impetuosity, over-turning and
+carrying away everything in its course. Our boatmen, with the assistance
+of a number of the natives, who planted themselves on the rocks on each
+side of the only channel, and in the stream at the stern of the canoe,
+lifted it by main force into smoother and safer water. The last difficulty
+with respect to rocks and sand-banks was now overcome, and in a very
+little time we came to the termination of all the islands, after which, it
+is said, there is not a single dangerous place up the Niger. The river
+here presented its noblest appearance; not a single rock nor sand-bank was
+anywhere perceptible; its borders resumed their beauty, and a strong,
+refreshing breeze, which had blown during the whole of the morning, now
+gave it the motion of a slightly-agitated sea. In the course of the
+morning we passed two lovely little islands, clothed in verdure, which at
+a short distance looked as charming as the fabled gardens of Hesperia;
+indeed no spot on earth can excel them in beauty of appearance. These
+islands are inhabited by a few individuals."
+</p>
+<p>
+Upon leaving Yàoorie, a venerable Arab chief pretended great regard for
+the travellers, though he used them
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page232"
+  name="page232">
+  </a>[pg 232]
+</span>
+ deceitfully; they had, however,
+"enjoyed an innocent kind of revenge, in administering to him a powerful
+dose of medicine, which though harmless in its effects, had yet been very
+troublesome to him. Indeed, it was not till we had 'jalaped' the sultan,
+his sister, and all the royal family, that we were permitted to take our
+farewell of Yàoorie."
+</p>
+<p>
+The incident of physicking the royal family at Yàoorie by way of
+leave-taking, is only equalled by the following oddity:&mdash;"The captain of
+the palm oil brig, Elizabeth, now in the Calabar river, actually
+white-washed his crew from head to foot, while they were sick with fever
+and unable to protect themselves; his cook suffered so much in the
+operation, that the lime totally deprived him of the sight of one of his
+eyes, and rendered the other of little service to him."
+</p>
+<p>
+The account of the Travellers' visit to Fernando Po, in the third volume,
+will be read with interest, as indeed will every page of the whole
+narrative; and to this commendation of the Messrs. Landers' Journal of
+their past adventures we cheerfully add our best wishes for the success of
+their future enterprize.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>SONGS OF THE GIPSIES.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Among the musical novelties of the day, we notice with much pleasure, a
+pretty volume of Lyrics, written by Mr. Moncrieff, the music by Mr. S.
+Nelson. The poetry is throughout sparkling and characteristic, and "an
+Historical Introduction on the origin and customs of Gipsies," prefixed to
+the Songs, is so attractive as to be likely to share the popularity of the
+piano-forte accompaniments. It is written with considerable care and
+neatness, and the peculiar tact requisite to produce an interesting paper
+on a dry subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+We are only enabled to quote from the lyrics, an opening carol, as
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Liberty, liberty!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Search the world round,</p>
+  <p>'Tis with the Gipsy</p>
+      <p class="i4">Alone thou art found.</p>
+  <p>Then in the gay greenwood</p>
+      <p class="i4">We worship thee now,</p>
+  <p>The free, oh the free!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Still live under the bough.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Trarah! Trarah!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Hark, the deep dingles ring,</p>
+  <p>Free hearts, with the bird</p>
+      <p class="i4">And the deer are on wing;</p>
+  <p>Joy claims in the greenwood</p>
+      <p class="i4">The Gipsy's glad vow,</p>
+  <p>The blithe, oh the blithe!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Still live under the bough.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+And the first song entire.
+</p>
+
+<h3>THE GIPSY QUEEN.</h3>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Oh! 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+    <p class="i2">And where is there queen like me,</p>
+  <p>That can revel upon the green,</p>
+    <p class="i2">In boundless liberty?</p>
+  <p>What though my cheek be brown,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And wild my raven hair,</p>
+  <p>A red cloth hood my crown,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And my sceptre the wand I bear!</p>
+  <p>Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>With my kingdom I'm well content,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Though my realm's but the hawthorn glade;</p>
+  <p>And my palace a tatter'd tent</p>
+    <p class="i2">Beneath the willow's shade:</p>
+  <p>Though my banquet I'm forc'd to make</p>
+    <p class="i2">On haws and berries store,</p>
+  <p>And the game that by chance we take</p>
+    <p class="i2">From some neighbouring hind's barn door!</p>
+  <p>Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>'Tis true I must ply my art,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And share in my subjects' toils;</p>
+  <p>But of all their gains I've part,</p>
+    <p class="i2">I've the choice of all their spoils;</p>
+  <p>And, by love and duty led,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Ere from my jet black eye</p>
+  <p>One sad tear should be shed,</p>
+    <p class="i2">A thousand hearts would die!</p>
+  <p>For, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>A SONG OF PITCAIRN'S ISLAND.</h3>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Come, take our boy, and we will go</p>
+    <p class="i2">Before our cabin door;</p>
+  <p>The winds shall bring us, as they blow,</p>
+    <p class="i2">The murmurs of the shore;</p>
+  <p>And we will kiss his young blue eyes,</p>
+  <p>And I will sing him as he lies,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Songs that were made of yore:</p>
+  <p>I'll sing, in his delighted ear,</p>
+  <p>The island-lays thou lov'st to hear.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>And thou, while stammering I repeat,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Thy country's tongue shalt teach;</p>
+  <p>'Tis not so soft, but far more sweet</p>
+    <p class="i2">Than my own native speech;</p>
+  <p>For thou no other tongue didst know,</p>
+  <p>When, scarcely twenty moons ago,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Upon Tahité's beach,</p>
+  <p>Thou cam'st to woo me to be thine,</p>
+  <p>With many a speaking look and sign.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>I knew thy meaning&mdash;thou didst praise</p>
+    <p class="i2">My eyes, my locks of jet;</p>
+  <p>Ah! well for me they won thy gaze&mdash;</p>
+    <p class="i2">But thine were fairer yet!</p>
+  <p>I'm glad to see my infant wear</p>
+  <p>Thy soft blue eyes and sunny hair,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And when my sight is met</p>
+  <p>By his white brow and blooming cheek,</p>
+  <p>I feel a joy I cannot speak.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Come talk of Europe's maids with me,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Whose necks and cheeks, they tell,</p>
+  <p>Outshine the beauty of the sea,</p>
+    <p class="i2">White foam and crimson shell.</p>
+  <p>I'll shape like theirs my simple dress,</p>
+  <p>And bind like them each jetty tress,</p>
+    <p class="i2">A sight to please thee well;</p>
+  <p>And for my dusky brow will braid</p>
+  <p>A bonnet like an English maid.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Come, for the soft, low sunlight calls&mdash;</p>
+    <p class="i2">We lose the pleasant hours;</p>
+  <p>'Tis lovelier than these cottage walls&mdash;</p>
+    <p class="i2">That seat among the flowers.</p>
+  <p>And I will learn of thee a prayer</p>
+  <p>To Him who gave a home so fair,</p>
+    <p class="i2">A lot so blest as ours&mdash;</p>
+  <p>The God who made for thee and me</p>
+  <p>This sweet lone isle amid the sea.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+<i>From a volume of American Poetry, William Cullen Bryant.</i>
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page233"
+  name="page233">
+  </a>[pg 233]
+</span>
+<div class="figure" style="width:100%;"><a href="images/542-002.png">
+<img width = "100%" src="images/542-002.png" alt="TOMB OF THE POET, WALLER." /></a></div>
+
+<p>
+In the churchyard of Beaconsfield, Bucks, stands the above handsome
+tribute to the memory of the celebrated poet and politician, EDMUND WALLER.
+The monument is of marble, with a pyramid rising from the centre, and a
+votive urn at each corner. On the east side is a Latin inscription,
+stating that Waller was born March 30, 1605, at Coleshill, in
+Hertfordshire; his father being Robert Waller, Esq. (of Agmondelsham in
+Buckingham, whose family was originally a branch of the Kentish
+Wallers,
+<a id="footnotetag5"
+ name="footnotetag5"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote5">5</a></sup>
+) and his mother of the Hampden family; that he was a student
+at Cambridge; "his first wife was Anne, only daughter and heiress to
+Edward Banks, twice made a father by his first wife, and thirteen times by
+his second, whom he survived eight years; he died October 21, 1687." The
+original inscription is by Rymer, and is to be seen in most editions of
+the poet's works. The monument was erected by the poet's son's executors,
+in 1700, and stands on the east side of the churchyard, near the family
+vault. The above engraving is from a sketch, obligingly furnished by our
+Correspondent, W.H. of Wycombe.
+</p>
+<p>
+Waller was proprietor of the manor of Beaconsfield, and that of Hall Barn,
+in the vicinity, at which latter place he resided.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is remarkable, that this great man, toward the decline of life bought a
+small house, with a little land, on his natal spot; observing, "that he
+should be glad to die like the stag, where he was roused." This, however,
+did not happen. "When he was at Beaconsfield," says Johnson, "he found his
+legs grow tumid: he went to Windsor, where Sir Charles Scarborough then
+attended the king, and requested him, as both a friend and physician, to
+tell him what that swelling meant. 'Sir,' answered Scarborough, 'your
+blood will run no longer.' Waller repeated some lines of Virgil, and went
+home to die. As the disease increased upon him, he composed himself for
+his departure; and calling upon Dr. Birch to give him the holy sacrament,
+he desired his children to take it with him, and made an earnest
+declaration of his faith in Christianity. It now appeared what part of his
+conversation with the great could be remembered with delight. He related,
+that being present when the Duke of Buckingham talked profanely before
+King Charles, he said to him, 'My lord, I am a great deal older than your
+Grace, and have, I believe, heard more arguments for atheism than ever
+your Grace did; but I have lived long enough to see there is nothing in
+them, and so I hope your Grace will."
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page234"
+  name="page234">
+  </a>[pg 234]
+</span>
+<h2>SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>TROUT TICKLING IN IRELAND.</h3>
+
+<p>
+What will our <i>ticklish</i> correspondent, W.H.H. say to this?
+</p>
+<p>
+"Kniveing trouts" (they call it tickling in England) is good sport. You go
+to a stony shallow at night, a companion bearing a torch; then stripping
+to the thighs and shoulders, wade in; grope with your hands under the
+stones, sods, and other harbourage, till you find your game, then grip him
+in your "knieve," and toss him ashore.
+</p>
+<p>
+I remember, when a boy, carrying the splits for a servant of the family,
+called Sam Wham. Now Sam was an able young fellow, well-boned and willing;
+a hard headed cudgel player, and a marvellous tough wrestler, for he had a
+backbone like a sea-serpent; this gained him the name of the Twister and
+Twiner. He had got into the river, with his back to me, was stooping over
+a broad stone, when something bolted from under the bank on which I stood,
+right through his legs. Sam fell with a great splash upon his face, but in
+falling, jammed whatever it was against the stone. "Let go, Twister,"
+shouted I, "'tis an otter, he will nip a finger off you."&mdash;"Whisht,"
+sputtered he, as he slid his hand under the water; "May I never read a
+text again, if he isna a sawmont wi' a shouther like a hog!"&mdash;"Grip him by
+the gills, Twister," cried I.&mdash;"Saul will I!" cried the Twiner; but just
+then there was a heave, a roll, a splash, a slap like a pistol-shot; down
+went Sam, and up went the salmon, spun like a shilling at pitch and toss,
+six feet into the air. I leaped in just as he came to the water; but my
+foot caught between two stones, and the more I pulled the firmer it stuck.
+The fish fell in a spot shallower than that from which he had leaped. Sam
+saw the chance, and tackled to again: while I, sitting down in the stream
+as best I might, held up my torch, and cried fair play, as shoulder to
+shoulder, throughout and about, up and down, roll and tumble, to it they
+went, Sam and the salmon. The Twister was never so twined before. Yet
+through crossbuttocks and capsizes innumerable, he still held on; now
+haled through a pool; now haling up a bank; now heels over head; now head
+over heels; now head and heels together; doubled up in a corner; but at
+last stretched fairly on his back, and foaming for rage and disappointment;
+while the victorious salmon, slapping the stones with his tail, and
+whirling the spray from his shoulders at every roll, came boring and
+snoring up the ford. I tugged and strained to no purpose; he flashed by me
+with a snort, and slid into the deep water. Sam now staggered forward with
+battered bones and peeled elbows, blowing like a grampus, and cursing like
+nothing but himself. He extricated me, and we limped home. Neither rose
+for a week; for I had a dislocated ankle, and the Twister was troubled
+with a broken rib. Poor Sam! he had his brains discovered at last by a
+poker in a row, and was worm's meat within three months; yet, ere he died,
+he had the satisfaction of feasting on his old antagonist, who was man's
+meat next morning. They caught him in a net. Sam knew him by the twist in
+his tail.&mdash;<i>Blackwood's Magazine</i>.
+</p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h4>DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL.</h4>
+
+<p>
+The operation of working for these precious jems is a very simple one. The
+alluvial soil (the cascalhao) is dug up from the bed of the river, and
+removed to a convenient spot on the banks for working. The process is as
+follows:&mdash;a rancho is erected about a hundred feet long, and half that
+distance in width; down the middle of the area is conveyed a canal,
+covered with earth; on the other side of the area is a flooring of planks,
+about sixteen feet in length, extending the whole length of the shed, and
+to which an inclined direction is given; this flooring is divided into
+troughs, into which is thrown a portion of the cascalhao; the water is
+then let in, and the earth raked until the water becomes clear; the earthy
+particles having been washed away, the gravel is raked up to the end of
+the trough; the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards the smaller
+ones, the whole is then examined with great care for diamonds. When a
+negro finds one, he claps his hands, stands in an erect posture, holding
+the diamond between his fore-finger and thumb; it is received by one of
+the overseers posted on lofty seats, at equal distances, along the line of
+the work. On the conclusion of the work, the diamonds found during the day
+are weighed, and registered by the overseer <i>en chef</i>. If a negro has the
+good fortune to find a stone weighing upwards of seventeen carats, he is
+immediately manumitted, and for smaller stones proportionate premiums are
+given. There are, besides, several other works on this river, and on other
+streams, but the supply of
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page235"
+  name="page235">
+  </a>[pg 235]
+</span>
+ diamonds falls now considerably short of former
+periods, and their produce scarcely defrays the expenses.
+</p>
+<p>
+The Diamond District of the Serro do Frio is about twenty leagues in
+length, and nine in breadth; the soil is barren, but intersected by
+numerous streams. It was first discovered by some miners, shortly after
+the establishment of the Villa do Principe. In working for gold in the
+rivulets of Milho Verde and St. Goncalzes, they discovered some pebbles of
+geometric form, and of a peculiar hue and lustre. For some years these
+pebbles were given as pretty baubles to children, or used as counters for
+marking the points of their favourite game of voltarete. At last an
+officer, who had been some years at Goa, in the East Indies, arrived in
+the Commarca: he was struck with the peculiar form of these pebbles, and
+from several experiments he made, it struck him that they were diamonds.
+He immediately collected a few, and sent them to Holland, where, to the
+astonishment of the lapidaries, they were found to be brilliants of the
+finest water. It will easily be imagined, that on the arrival of this
+intelligence in Brazil, the hitherto despised counters suddenly became the
+objects of universal research, and almost immediately disappeared.
+</p>
+<p>
+The government of Portugal now issued a decree, declaring all diamonds a
+monopoly of the crown. For a length of time it was considered that
+diamonds were confined solely to the district of Serro Frio. But this is
+an error; they are found in almost every part of the empire, particularly
+in the remote provinces of Goyazes and Matto Grosso, where there exist
+several districtos diamantescos. These gems have been even found on the
+tops of the highest mountains; indeed, it is the opinion of the Brazilian
+mineralogists that the original diamond formations are in the mountains,
+and that they will one day or other be discovered in such quantities, as
+to render them objects of comparatively small value.
+</p>
+<p>
+The largest diamond in the world was found in the river Abaite; about
+ninety-two leagues to N.W. of Serro do Frio. The history of its discovery
+is romantic:&mdash;three Brazilians, Ant. de Souza, Jose Felix Gomes, and
+Thomas de Souza, were sentenced, for some supposed misdemeanour, to
+perpetual banishment in the wildest part of the interior. Their sentence
+was a cruel one; but the region of their exile was the richest in the
+world; every river rolled over a bed of gold, every valley contained
+inexhaustible mines of diamonds. A suspicion of this kind enabled these
+unfortunate men to support the horrors of their fate; they were constantly
+sustained by the golden hope of discovering some rich mine, that would
+produce a reversion of their hard sentence. Thus they wandered about for
+nearly six years, in quest of mines; but fortune was at last propitious.
+An excessive draught had laid dry the bed of the river Abaite, and here,
+while working for gold, they discovered a diamond of nearly an ounce in
+weight. Overwhelmed with joy at this providential discovery, they resolved
+to proceed, at all hazards, to Villa Rica, and trust to the mercy of the
+crown. The governor, on beholding the magnitude and lustre of the gem,
+could scarcely credit the evidence of his senses. He immediately appointed
+a commission of the officers of the Diamond District to report on its
+nature; and on their pronouncing it a real diamond, it was immediately
+dispatched to Lisbon. It is needless to add that the sentence of the three
+"condemnados" was immediately reversed.
+</p>
+<p>
+This celebrated diamond has been estimated by Romé de l'Isle at the
+enormous sum of three hundred millions sterling. It is uncut, but the late
+King of Portugal, who had a passion for precious stones, had a hole bored
+through it, in order to wear it suspended about his neck on gala days. No
+sovereign possessed so fine a collection of diamonds as this
+prince.&mdash;<i>Monthly Mag</i>.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>NOTES OF A READER.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>AMERICAN LIFE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Trollope's amusing book has furnished us with still another page or
+two of scenes and sketches:
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Crocodiles on the Mississippi</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"It is said that at some points of this dismal river, crocodiles are so
+abundant as to add the terror of their attacks to the other sufferings of
+a dwelling there. We were told a story of a squatter, who having 'located'
+himself close to the river's edge, proceeded to build his cabin. This
+operation is soon performed, for social feeling and the love of whiskey
+bring all the scanty neighbourhood round a new comer, to aid him in
+cutting down trees, and in rolling up the logs, till the mansion is
+complete. This was done; the wife and five young children were put in
+possession of their new home, and slept soundly after a long march.
+Towards day-break the husband and father was awakened by a faint cry, and
+looking up, beheld relics
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page236"
+  name="page236">
+  </a>[pg 236]
+</span>
+ of three of his children scattered over the
+floor, and an enormous crocodile, with several young-ones around her,
+occupied in devouring the remnants of their horrid meal. He looked around
+for a weapon, but finding none, and aware that unarmed he could do nothing,
+he raised himself gently on his bed, and contrived to crawl from thence
+through a window, hoping that his wife, whom he left sleeping, might with
+the remaining children rest undiscovered till his return. He flew to his
+nearest neighbour and besought his aid; in less than half an hour two men
+returned with him, all three well armed; but alas! they were too late! the
+wife and her two babes lay mangled on their bloody bed. The gorged
+reptiles fell an easy prey to their assailants, who, upon examining the
+place, found the hut had been constructed close to the mouth of a large
+hole, almost a cavern, where the monster had hatched her hateful brood."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Pig Scavengers</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"We were soon settled in our new dwelling, which looked neat and
+comfortable enough, but we speedily found that it was devoid of nearly all
+the accommodation that Europeans conceive necessary to decency and comfort.
+No pump, no cistern, no drain of any kind, no dustman's cart, or any other
+visible means of getting rid of the rubbish, which vanishes with such
+celerity in London, that one has no time to think of its existence; but
+which accumulated so rapidly at Cincinnati, that I sent for my landlord to
+know in what manner refuse of all kinds was to be disposed of.
+</p>
+<p>
+"Your Help will just have to fix them all into the middle of the street,
+but you must mind, old woman, that it is the middle. I expect you don't
+know as we have got a law what forbids throwing such things at the sides
+of the streets; they must just all be cast right into the middle, and the
+pigs soon takes them off.'"
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>American English</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"I very seldom during my whole stay in the country heard a sentence
+elegantly turned, and correctly pronounced from the lips of an American.
+There is always something either in the expression or the accent that jars
+the feelings and shocks the taste."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Mr. Bullock</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"About two miles below Cincinnati, on the Kentucky side of the river, Mr.
+Bullock, the well known proprietor of the Egyptian Hall, has bought a
+large estate, with a noble house upon it. He and his amiable wife were
+devoting themselves to the embellishment of the house and grounds; and
+certainly there is more taste and art lavished on one of their beautiful
+saloons, than all Western America can show elsewhere. It is impossible to
+help feeling that Mr. Bullock is rather out of his element in this remote
+spot, and the gems of art he has brought with him, show as strangely there,
+as would a bower of roses in Siberia, or a Cincinnati fashionable at
+Almack's. The exquisite beauty of the spot, commanding one of the finest
+reaches of the Ohio, the extensive gardens, and the large and handsome
+mansion, have tempted Mr. Bullock to spend a large sum in the purchase of
+this place, and if any one who has passed his life in London could endure
+such a change, the active mind and sanguine spirit of Mr. Bullock might
+enable him to do it; but his frank, and truly English hospitality, and his
+enlightened and inquiring mind, seemed sadly wasted there. I have since
+heard with pleasure that Mr. Bullock has parted with this beautiful, but
+secluded mansion.
+</p>
+<p>
+"Mr. Bullock was showing to some gentlemen of the first standing, the very
+<i>élite</i> of Cincinnati, his beautiful collection of engravings, when one
+among them exclaimed, 'Have you really done all these since you came here?
+How hard you must have worked!'"
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Cows</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"These animals are fed morning and evening at the door of the house, with
+a good mess of Indian corn, boiled with water; while they eat, they are
+milked, and when the operation is completed the milk-pail and the meal-tub
+retreat into the dwelling, leaving the republican cow to walk away, to
+take her pleasure on the hills, or in the gutters, as may suit her fancy
+best. They generally return very regularly to give and take the morning
+and evening meal; though it more than once happened to us, before we were
+supplied by a regular milk cart, to have our jug sent home empty, with the
+sad news that 'the cow was not come home, and it was too late to look for
+her to breakfast now.' Once, I remember, the good woman told us that she
+had overslept herself, and that the cow had come and gone again, 'not
+liking, I expect, to hanker about by herself for nothing, poor thing.'"
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Health of Cincinnati</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"A gentleman told us, that when a medical man intended settling in a new
+situation, he always, if he knew his
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page237"
+  name="page237">
+  </a>[pg 237]
+</span>
+ business, walked through the streets
+at night, before he decided. If he saw the dismal twinkle of the
+watch-light from many windows he might be sure that disease was busy, and
+that the 'location' might suit him well."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Marketing</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"It is the custom for the gentlemen to go to market at Cincinnati; the
+smartest men in the place, and those of the 'highest standing' do not
+scruple to leave their beds with the sun, six days in the week, and,
+prepared with a mighty basket, to sally forth in search of meat, butter,
+eggs, and vegetables. I have continually seen them returning, with their
+weighty basket on one arm and an enormous ham depending from the other."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Moving Houses</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"One of the sights to stare at in America is that of houses moving from
+place to place. We were often amused by watching this exhibition of
+mechanical skill in the streets. They make no difficulty of moving
+dwellings from one part of the town to another. Those I saw travelling
+were all of them frame-houses, that is, built wholly of wood, except the
+chimneys; but it is said that brick buildings are sometimes treated in the
+same manner. The largest dwelling that I saw in motion was one containing
+two stories of four rooms each; forty oxen were yoked to it. The first few
+yards brought down the two stacks of chimneys, but it afterwards went on
+well. The great difficulties were the first getting it in motion and the
+stopping exactly in the right place. This locomotive power was extremely
+convenient at Cincinnati, as the constant improvements going on there made
+it often desirable to change a wooden dwelling for one of brick; and
+whenever this happened, we were sure to see the ex No. 100 of Main-street
+or the ex No. 55 of Second-street creeping quietly out of town, to take
+possession of a humble suburban station on the common above it."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Social distinctions</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"My general appellation amongst my neighbours was 'the English old woman,'
+but in mentioning each other they constantly employed the term 'lady;' and
+they evidently had a pleasure in using it, for I repeatedly observed, that
+in speaking of a neighbour, instead of saying Mrs. Such-a-one, they
+described her as 'the lady over the way what takes in washing,' or as
+'that there lady, out by the Gulley, what is making dip-candles.' Mr.
+Trollope was as constantly called 'the old man,' while dray-men, butchers'
+boys, and the labourers on the canal were invariably denominated 'them
+gentlemen;' nay, we once saw one of the most gentlemanlike men in
+Cincinnati introduce a fellow in dirty shirt sleeves, and all sorts of
+detestable et cetera, to one of his friends, with this formula, 'D&mdash;&mdash; let
+me introduce this gentleman to you.'"
+</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE COSMOPOLITE.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &amp;c. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS.</h3>
+
+<h4><i>(Concluded from page 213.)</i></h4>
+
+<p>
+The oriental fable of the <i>Roc</i> has its probable origin in the condor,
+which is undoubtedly the largest and strongest bird of the vulture tribe
+in existence, and extremely ravenous. Minerva's bird, the <i>Owl</i>, is well
+known as one of ill omen; besides the superstitious idea that the
+screech-owl foretells death by its cry, it was formerly believed to suck
+the blood of children. The Mongol and Calmuc Tartars have held the <i>White
+Owl</i> sacred since the days of Genghis Khan, when a bird of this species
+having settled on a bush in which that prince had hidden himself from his
+enemies, those who pursued him past it, not believing that a bird would
+perch on a bush wherein a man was concealed. The <i>Raven</i> has ever been
+considered by the vulgar as a bird of evil omen, the indicator of
+misfortunes and death; and, indeed, the superstition is but consonant with
+a bird of such funereal note and hue, and exhibiting such goule-like
+propensities. The Swedes, however, regard it as sacred, and no one offers
+to molest it. In the north of England, one <i>Magpie</i> flying alone, is
+deemed an ill omen; two together, a fortunate one; three forebode a
+funeral, and four a wedding; or, when on a journey, to meet two magpies
+portends a wedding; three, a successful journey; four, unexpected good
+news; and five, that the person will soon be in company with the great. To
+kill a magpie, indicates or brings down some terrible misfortune. The
+<i>Sparrow Hawk</i> was sacred with the Egyptians, and the symbol of Osiris.
+The <i>Yellow Hammer</i> is superstitiously considered an agent <i>diablerie</i>.
+The <i>Wheat-Ear</i> is, in the Highlands, a detested bird, and fancied one of
+evil omen, on account of its frequenting old churchyards, where it nestles
+amongst the stones, and finds plenty of insects for food. The <i>Woodcock</i>
+is, we believe, the bird imagined to drop, in its proper season, from the
+moon. It is a vulgar
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page238"
+  name="page238">
+  </a>[pg 238]
+</span>
+ error, that the song of the <i>Nightingale</i> is
+melancholy, and that it only sings by night; but to hear the Cuckoo before
+the Nightingale has been long deemed an unsuccessful omen in love: the
+saliva of the cuckoo has been thought to preserve all it falls upon.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>"The <i>Robin</i> and the <i>Wren</i></p>
+  <p>Are God Almighty's cock and hen,"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+says the old distich, and whilst it is reckoned wicked to kill either of
+these (not but that there is an ancient custom of "hunting the wren" still
+kept up, we believe, in some parts of this country,) it is considered
+unlucky to kill a <i>Swallow</i>, or <i>House-Martin</i>. The <i>King-fisher</i> is the
+Halcyon of the ancients, who imagined that during the process of
+incubation by the female the sea remained unvexed by storms; hence
+"halcyon days." The feathers of this bird are employed by the Tartars for
+many superstitious purposes; they consider them amulets of priceless value,
+enabling them to inspire women with love. In more civilized countries it
+was once believed, that if the body of a kingfisher were suspended by a
+thread, some magnetic influence would turn its breast to the north: others
+thought it a preserver of woollen cloths from moths. The <i>Albatross</i> (by
+some considered the kingfisher or halcyon,) is fabled to sleep in the air,
+never to touch the earth; and to kill one is reckoned supremely unlucky.
+There is an Indian bird, the name of which has unfortunately escaped us,
+that is feigned to live only on the rain-drops which it can draw with its
+bill from the clouds; in a dry season, therefore, this bird perishes. Of
+the <i>Bird of Paradise</i> the following wonders were once credited: viz. that
+the egg was laid in the air by the female, and there hatched by the male
+in an orifice of his body; that it had no legs (these however are long,
+and a disfigurement to the body, which the Indians know, and fearful of
+their depreciating the value of the bird, upon capturing it, cut them off);
+that it hung itself by the two long feathers of its tail on a tree when
+sleeping; that it never touched the ground during any period of its
+existence, and fed wholly on dew. The Indians also believe that the leader,
+or king of the birds of paradise is black, with red spots, and that he
+soars far away from the rest of the flock, which, however, never quit him,
+but settle where he does. The <i>Gigantic Crane</i> is believed by the Indians
+to be invulnerable, and animated by the souls of deceased Brahmins; the
+Africans hold it in equal veneration. Whence arises the classical fable
+that swans sing their own dirge just previous to death, and expire singing
+it? The wild swan certainly may be said to whistle, but the tame has no
+other note than a hiss, and this only when provoked. The Kamschatdales and
+Kuriles wear round their necks the bills of <i>Puffins</i>, as an amulet which
+ensures good fortune. Who was <i>Mother Carey</i>?&mdash;The wife, perhaps, of
+"<i>Davy</i>," and keeper of his "locker;" Mother Carey's chickens is the
+well-known appellation, in <i>tarrish</i> tongue, of <i>Stormy Petrels</i>, not
+superstitiously supposed to forebode tempests, since they seem their very
+element; but it is probable that to Mother Carey herself (we crave her
+pardon&mdash;<i>Mistress</i>) some astounding "yarn" is attached. The <i>Stork</i>, the
+<i>Crane</i>, and the <i>Pelican</i>, are each the subject of idle stories; the
+latter has been asserted to feed her young with her own bosom's blood, and
+to fill her pouch with water in order to supply them in the desert. A
+notion is entertained by the ignorant that the <i>Bittern</i> thrusts its bill
+into a reed, which serves as a pipe to increase the volume of its natural
+note, and swell it above pitch; and in some places a tradition prevails
+that it thrusts its head into water and then blows with all its might. It
+is erroneous that the <i>Ostrich</i> lays her eggs in the sand, depending
+solely on the sun's rays to hatch them; the truth is that, as from the
+heat of her native climate, it is not always necessary for her to sit upon
+them, she simply does what numerous birds in colder latitudes are well
+known to do; viz. cover them, that they may not, during her absence, lose
+their heat.
+</p>
+<p>
+The popular opinion that the <i>Turtle Dove</i>, of either sex, should it
+happen to lose its mate, remains ever after in a state of disconsolate
+celibacy, is, we believe, disproved by the fact, at least as respects
+these birds in a wild state; but we may remark, that the loss of a
+companion to more than one kind of <i>domesticated</i> bird, if it has been
+brought up with one, even though not in the same cage, is sometimes so
+severely deplored by the survivor, as to occasion its death, if the loss
+be not speedily supplied. The old story of <i>Swallows</i> passing the winter
+in a state of torpidity at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and ponds, has
+been frequently agitated, asserted to be a fact by one party, and totally
+disproved by the other. The reader may be amused to learn, that very
+recently we were assured by one, who <i>knew it for an absolute fact</i>, that
+ducks and even chickens (!!!) had been found in a certain farmer's pond,
+laid up in winter quarters, which were revived by the
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page239"
+  name="page239">
+  </a>[pg 239]
+</span>
+ warmth of the sun
+and upper air, upon being fished out of it!! "Regarding <i>Birds' Eggs</i>,"
+says the Naturalist in his interesting Journal, "we have a very foolish
+superstition here (Gloucestershire:) the boys may take them unrestrained,
+but their mothers so dislike their being kept in the house, that they
+usually break them; their presence may be tolerated for a few days, but by
+the ensuing Sunday they are frequently destroyed, under the idea that they
+bring bad luck, or prevent the coming of good fortune, as if in some way
+offensive to the domestic deity of the hearth."
+
+Here, then, we pause; some abler hand may, perhaps, be tempted to take up
+the subject as we leave it, for there are yet gleanings, in the field, of
+"Superstitions and Fables connected with animals," over which our leisure
+has allowed us but lightly to pass; gleanings sufficient to reward the
+industrious and the curious; or, it may even be, that we shall return,
+some day, to this topic ourselves, time and materials permitting.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Great Marlow, Bucks</i>.  M.L.B.
+</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE GATHERER.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<i>Congreve Rockets</i>.&mdash;When the Congreve rockets were first introduced into
+the navy, the admiral on the Brazil station proposed to exhibit to the
+king, Don Juan VI., the effect of these formidable projectiles. His
+majesty consented, and the whole court were accordingly assembled in the
+balconies of the palace, at the Rio, for the purpose of witnessing the
+spectacle. By some mishap, of very frequent occurrence in the early
+history of these missiles, at the moment of firing the tube veered round,
+and the rocket, instead of flying over to Praia Grande, took the opposite
+direction, and fell and exploded in the great square, almost beneath the
+windows of the palace. The consternation of the king was only equalled by
+the mortification of the admiral, who immediately despatched an officer on
+shore to explain the cause of the <i>contretemps</i> to his majesty; and
+offering to let off another, but the terrified monarch would not hear of
+it. "I have a great respect," said he, "for my good allies, the English,
+but after dinner they are absolutely fit for nothing;" an observation
+which clearly indicated to what cause his majesty attributed the
+unfortunate result of the exhibition.&mdash;<i>Monthly Magazine</i>.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Prosperity of America</i>.&mdash;The United States of N. America posses an almost
+undefinable extent of fertile uncultivated land&mdash;a highly industrious and
+intelligent population of 13,000,000&mdash;the national debt will be paid this
+year&mdash;and they have a large surplus revenue. That of 1831 was 27,700,000
+Spanish dollars; the expenditure for all government purposes 14,700,000.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>War.</i>&mdash;Were the disputes between great and rival nations to be settled by
+single combat, by those, through whose ambition, pride, or other cause,
+they were occasioned, millions of lives might have been saved.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Curious Custom.</i>&mdash;There is held in Italy, a kind of feast, or ceremony,
+in the courts of certain princes, on St. Nicholas's Day, in which people
+hide presents in the shoes or slippers of those they would do honour to;
+in such a manner as to surprise them on the morrow, when they come to
+dress. It is done in imitation of the practice of St. Nicholas; who used,
+in the night time, to throw purses of money in at the windows, for
+portions to poor maidens on their marriage. P.T.W.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Experience.</i>&mdash;It often happens that the more we see into a man, the less
+we admire him.&mdash;<i>Pliny.</i>
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+The Romans were so anxious to encourage marriage, that they punished
+unmarried persons by rendering them incapable of receiving any legacy, or
+inheritance by will, except from near relatives. And those who were
+married, and had not any children, could take no more than half the estate.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Etruscan Vases.</i>&mdash;The art of making earthenware was transported from
+Etruria into Greece. The Romans also borrowed this invention from the
+Etruscans, to whom also Greece was indebted for many of its ceremonies and
+religious institutions, as well as for its mechanics and artificers.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+It is customary in the canton Wallis, Switzerland, for those who have
+found anything lost, even money, to affix it to a large crucifix in the
+churchyard, and there is not an example on record, of any object being
+taken away except by the rightful owner. W.G.C.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Cumberland Titles.</i>&mdash;The honorary titles arising from the different
+degrees of allowed consequence or property in Cumberland, appear (says
+Britton) singular when compared with their usual acceptation in society.
+The mistress of the house is a <i>Dame</i>; every owner of a little landed
+property is a <i>'Statesman</i>; his eldest son is the <i>Laird</i>; and where there
+is no son, the eldest daughter is
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page240"
+  name="page240">
+  </a>[pg 240]
+</span>
+ born to the title of <i>Leady</i>. Thus we
+may see a '<i>Statesman</i> driving the plough, a <i>Lord</i> attending the market
+with vegetables, and a <i>Leady</i> labouring at the churn. P.T.W.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>A string of echo puns</i> surpassing all others, may be seen in a scarce
+work, published in the reign of James I. A specimen&mdash;a divine, willing to
+play more with words, than to be serious in the expounding of his text,
+spoke thus in one part of the sermon:&mdash;"This dyall shewes we must <i>die
+all</i>; yet, notwithstanding, all howses are turned into <i>ale-houses</i>; our
+cares are turned into <i>cates</i>; our paradise, into, <i>a pair of dice</i>; our
+marriage, into a <i>merry age</i>; our matrimony, into a <i>matter of money</i>; our
+divines, into <i>dry vines</i>. It was not so in the days of Noah,
+<i>Ah no</i>!"&mdash;T.G.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Advertisement Extraordinary, from a Newspaper of 1796</i>.&mdash;"Whereas the
+right hon. William Pitt, Chancellor of his Majesty's Exchequer, did on the
+night of Monday last, and on or about the hour of six o'clock, utter in
+his place in the House of Commons, certain sentences or phrases,
+containing several assurances, denials, promises, retractions, persuasions,
+explanations, hints, insinuations, and intimations, and expressing much
+hope, fear, joy, sorrow, confidence, and doubt, upon the subject of peace,
+then and there recommended by Charles Grey, esq., member of the aforesaid
+House of Commons, for the county of Northumberland; and whereas the entire
+effectual and certain meaning of the whole of the said sentences, phrases,
+denials, promises, retractions, persuasions, explanations, hints,
+insinuations, and intimations, has escaped and fled, so that what remains
+is to plain understandings incomprehensible, and to many good men is
+matter of painful contemplation: now this is to promise to any person who
+shall restore the said lost meaning, or shall illustrate, simplify, and
+explain the said meaning, the sum of five thousand pounds, to be paid on
+the first day of April next, at the office of John Bull, esq., Pay-All and
+Fight-All, to the several high contracting powers, engaged in the present
+<i>just</i> and <i>necessary</i> war!
+</p>
+<p>
+"Done at the office of Mr. John Bull's Chief Decypherer, <i>Turnagain</i> Lane,
+<i>Circumbendibus</i> Street, <i>Obscurity</i> Square, Feb. 18, 1796."
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Cheap Soup</i>.&mdash;Take ten quarts of water, and stir it with a rush-light
+till it boils; season it to your liking, and it is ready for use. N.B. The
+wick may be bolted.&mdash;<i>Monthly Mag</i>.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Epitaph on the death of Miss Eliza More, aged</i> 14.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Here lies who never lied before,</p>
+  <p>And one who will never lie <i>More</i>,</p>
+  <p>To which there need no <i>more</i> be said</p>
+  <p>Than <i>More</i> the pity she is dead,</p>
+  <p>For when alive she charmed us <i>More</i></p>
+  <p>Than all the <i>Mores</i> just gone before.
+  <a id="footnotetag6"
+ name="footnotetag6"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote6">6</a></sup>
+</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>On Anne Green, a Quakeress</i>.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Here lies a piece of Christ, a star in dust,</p>
+  <p>A wedge of gold, a china dish that must</p>
+  <p>Be used in heaven, when Christ doth feed the just.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Inscribed on the back door of a Tavern</i>, which opened into the Parish
+Church of St. Michael's, Cambridge, kept by Mr. Burrell, 1639: which door
+is now taken down, the tavern having been pulled down, and a new street
+built on its site.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Go on by leave, no way here lies:</p>
+    <p class="i2">But way and leave to those</p>
+  <p>That hast to taste good wine and fine,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And fear not Burrell's foes.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Copied from the Churchwarden's Book</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>The Mother Tongue</i>.&mdash;In Mr. Combe's <i>Illustrations of Phrenology</i>, a case
+is related of a Welsh milkman, in London, who happening to fall down two
+pair of stairs, received a severe contusion on the head, and was carried
+to St. George's Hospital, where he lay senseless for several days, and
+unable to speak. At length he became something better, and began to talk
+to the nurses, but in such terms that no one could understand him, till it
+was discovered that he had forgotten his English, and was talking Welsh; a
+language he had not spoken for eighteen years. Mr. Combe conceives that
+the blow having hit the store-house in his head, where the Welsh language
+was garnered, his youthful acquisitions were poured out, whilst the
+English language, which he had learned much later, was overpowered and
+obliterated by the force of his mother tongue. W.G.C.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Warning to Betrayers</i>.&mdash;St. Bennet's Abbey, in Norfolk, was so well
+fortified, that William the Conqueror, in vain besieged it, till a monk,
+upon condition of being made abbot, betrayed the place. The king performed
+the condition, but hanged the new <i>abbot</i> as a <i>traitor</i>. P.T.W.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1">
+   </a><b>Footnote 1</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag1">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+    By accurate observation the height of the fog, relatively with the
+    higher edifices, whose elevation is known, it has been ascertained that
+    the fogs of London never rise more than from two hundred to two hundred
+    and forty feet above the same level.
+    </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2">
+   </a><b>Footnote 2</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag2">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   Who does not remember the traditionary notoriety of Margaret Finch?
+   </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote3" name="footnote3">
+   </a><b>Footnote 3</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag3">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   The private property of the estate, and attached to the Spa.
+   </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote4" name="footnote4">
+   </a><b>Footnote 4</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag4">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   We drank a half-pint tumbler of the water, which, as Dr. Weatherhead
+    observes, is bitter without being disagreeable. Its flavour is that of
+    Sulphate of Magnesia, or <i>Epsom Salts;</i> and we should say that our
+    <i>modicum</i> might be imitated by dissolving a dram of the above
+    ingredient in half-a-pint of pure water.
+    </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote5" name="footnote5">
+   </a><b>Footnote 5</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag5">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   Johnson's Life of Waller, wherein the poet is stated to have been born
+    March 3.
+    </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote6" name="footnote6">
+   </a><b>Footnote 6</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag6">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   Her two sisters dying some months before.
+   </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>
+<i>Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,)
+London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G.G. BENNIS,
+55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers.</i>
+</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12552 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #12552 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12552)
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
+Instruction, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
+       Vol. XIX. No. 542, Saturday, April 14, 1832
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: June 8, 2004 [EBook #12552]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 542 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
+
+VOL. XIX. No. 542.]  SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1832. [PRICE 2d.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE LODGE.]
+
+THE BEULAH SALINE SPA, NORWOOD.
+
+
+Our attention has been invited to the Beulah Spa by a _brochure_ lately
+published, from the very competent pen of Dr. George Hume Weatherhead; the
+details of which will be read with interest by all who are in quest of
+"healing founts." "The Spa," observes Dr. Weatherhead, "has long been
+resorted to by the country people of the neighbourhood, who, from
+experiencing its beneficial effects in a variety of diseases, have
+sustained its sanative character, and kept it from sinking into total
+neglect." We trust, however, that its virtues may soon enjoy more
+extensive celebrity, especially as the attractions of the scenery amidst
+which the spring is situate are of no common-place character, and the
+distance from the metropolis both easy and inviting. The Spa has already
+acquired some popularity; for, we learned on our visit a few days since,
+that, although it was only opened to the public towards the close of the
+month of August, in the past year, it was visited during the autumn by
+several hundred persons weekly.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead has described the local scenery with accuracy. Beulah, the
+estate upon which the spring is situate, is within the village of Norwood,
+seven miles south of London, upon one of those elevations known as the
+Norwood hills. "From trigonometrical observation," observes Dr.
+Weatherhead, "it has been computed that the height of these hills is about
+390 feet above the level of the sea at low water.[1] Thus placed above the
+fogs of the plain, and removed from the smoky and contaminated atmosphere
+of the metropolis, the air has long been celebrated for its pure and
+invigorating qualities." Norwood was in the memory of several of the
+inhabitants still living, an entire forest of oaks, and the well-known
+resort of tribes of gipsies.[2] The country from Camberwell thence is,
+therefore, in great part a newly-peopled district. Its outline is very
+uneven, perhaps more so than any other portion of the environs of the
+metropolis. The road runs over or through many little crests or hills, and
+sinks into sheltered valleys, where you see newly-built habitations
+nestling together, and almost reminding one of the aboriginal contrivances
+for warmth and comfort in less civilized countries. The road-side is set
+with "suburban villas" which would make the spleen of Cowper blaze into
+madness; though few of them exhibit any pretensions to elegance or
+snugness. Neither would two newly-built churches in the prospect allay the
+anti-urban poet; their starved proportions contrasting but coldly with the
+primitive simplicity of a village church. The _country_ itself is
+nevertheless picturesque; the prospect is of enchanting beauty, and as
+you approach Beulah, you obtain occasional glimpses of the subjacent
+valley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a _coup d'oeil_ in the Spa
+grounds.
+
+The Spring lies embowered in a wood of oaks, open to the south-west whose
+dense foliage shelters and protects it. It is now the sole vestige of the
+gipsy haunts, and comprises a space of more than twenty-five acres; the
+gentle inclination of the ground keeping the foot-paths always dry.
+
+We entered the grounds at an elegant rustic lodge (_see the Cut_,) where
+commences a new carriage-road[3] to Croydon; which winds round the flank
+of the hill, and is protected by hanging woods. The lodge is in the best
+taste of ornate rusticity, with the characteristic varieties of gable,
+dripstone, portico, bay-window, and embellished chimney: of the latter
+there are some specimens in the best style of our olden architects. This
+building, as well as the other rural edifices in the grounds, and the
+whole disposal of the latter, have been planned by Mr. Decimus Burton, the
+originator of the architectural embellishments of the Zoological Gardens
+in the Regent's Park.
+
+Passing the lodge, we descended by a winding path through the wood to a
+small lawn or glade, at the highest point of which is a circular rustic
+building, used as a confectionery and reading-room; near which is the Spa,
+within a thatched apartment. The spring rises about 14 feet, within a
+circular rockwork enclosure; the water is drawn by a contrivance, at once
+ingenious and novel; a glass urn-shaped pail, terminating with a cock of
+the same material, and having a stout rim and cross-handle of silver, is
+attached to a thick worsted rope, and let down into the spring by a pulley,
+when the vessel being taken up full, the water is drawn off by the cock.
+We quote Dr. Weatherhead's analytical description of the water:
+
+"The water drawn fresh from the well is beautifully transparent and
+sparkling. Innumerable bubbles of fixed air are seen rising to the surface,
+when allowed to stand. Its taste is distinctly bitter, without being at
+all disagreeable, leaving on the palate the peculiar flavour of its
+predominant saline ingredient, the sulphate of magnesia. The temperature
+of the water, at the bottom of the well, is 52 deg. of Fahrenheit; its
+specific gravity 1011; and, by an analysis of its composition by those
+distinguished scientific chemists, Messrs. Faraday and Hume, the following
+are the solid contents of a quart of the water:--
+
+  BEULAH SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............ 123
+  Sulphate of soda and magnesia .... 32
+  Muriate of soda .................. 19
+  Muriate of magnesia .............. 18-1/2
+  Carbonate of lime ................ 15
+  Carbonate of soda ................. 3
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    210-1/2
+
+  CHELTENHAM PURE SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............. 22
+  Sulphate of soda ................. 30
+  Muriate of soda ..................100
+  Sulphate of lime .................. 9
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    161
+
+"As a mean of comparison, the saline contents of a quart of the Cheltenham
+pure saline, as analyzed by Mr. Brande, the predecessor of Mr. Faraday in
+the professorship at the Royal Institution, is placed opposite to the
+Beulah Spring, to enable the reader to judge how much superior, as an
+aperient water, the latter is to that of Cheltenham. And, first, it may be
+observed, that the gross amount of the several salts, in the same quantity
+of the waters, is much greater in the Beulah than in the Cheltenham spring,
+the difference being forty-nine grains and a half of solid saline matter
+in a quart--that is, the impregnation is nearly one-third stronger; and,
+secondly, the nature of the saline ingredients also merits observation.
+One hundred grains out of one hundred and sixty-one, consist, as we see,
+in the Cheltenham, of muriate of soda, or common table-salt. Now, this
+substance, when perfectly freed from other salts adhering to it, possesses
+comparatively very feeble aperient properties; whereas the mass of the
+ingredients in the Beulah Spa is composed of two powerful saline
+substances, the sulphate of magnesia, and that peculiar double salt, the
+sulphate of soda and magnesia, constituting three-fourths of the whole
+saline impregnation." [4]
+
+The lawn is tastefully varied with parterres of plants; owing to the
+lateness of the season, we saw but few near flowering, save
+
+      Daffodils,
+  That come before the swallow dares, and take
+  The winds of March with beauty, violets dim,
+  But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes,
+  Or Cytherea's breath.
+
+A few yards from the lawn a rustic orchestra is in course of erection:
+whence "the dulcet and harmonious sounds" of music may attune with the
+joyful inspiration of the natural beauties of the scene. Our guide, (of a
+more intelligent and communicative character than guides usually are,)
+directed us by a descending path through the wood, across a rude bridge,
+past a maze, by a flight of roughly-formed steps, to a terrace, whence we
+enjoyed a picturesque prospect of great range and indescribable beauty.
+The woods were as yet leafless, but primroses enlivened the pathside: how
+touchingly is their solitude told by our poets. Shakspeare calls them
+
+      Pale primroses
+  That die unmarried ere they can behold
+  Bright Phoebus in his strength.
+
+Milton describes them as dying forsaken:
+
+  Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies:
+
+and Mayne calls this flower
+
+  Lorn tenant of the peaceful glade,
+  Emblem of virtue in the shade.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead describes the prospect from this terrace with more
+minuteness than the hazy state of the atmosphere enabled us to trace its
+several beauties. The ancient archiepiscopal town of Croydon lies at your
+feet; more remote, Banstead Downs spread a carpet of blooming verdure to
+the sight; in the extreme distance Windsor Castle peers its majestic
+towers above the mist; while elsewhere the utmost verge of the horizon is
+bounded by the bold range of the Surrey and Hampshire hills. Turning to
+the left you enjoy a view of Addiscombe Place, the seminary for cadets of
+the East India Company; of Shirley, the sporting seat of John Maberly, Esq.
+M.P.; of the Addington hills clothed with heaths; and of the park, the
+seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; when the prospect,
+deepening in extent, stretches as far as Knockholt Beeches, near Seven
+Oaks, and, winding round, comprehends the tall spire of Beckenham Church,
+piercing through the dense woods which surround it; Shooter's Hill,
+Blackheath, and the villages that intervene.
+
+Immediately beneath you are the grounds of the Spa, every portion of which
+can be distinctly traced from this spot: the lodge, lawn, refreshment-room,
+spring, and orchestra, as we have described them, and the paths winding
+among the woods till they disappear as it were in trackless solitude.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead's pamphlet treats copiously, but in a popular style, of
+the medicinal properties of the Spa. The terms for drinking the waters are
+furnished at the lodge, where the visiter may smile at the remedy being
+_set to music_, in the melodies of the Beulah Spring Quadrilles. It may
+prevent some disappointment by stating that the Grounds are not opened to
+the public on Sundays.
+
+
+    [1] By accurate observation the height of the fog, relatively with
+        the higher edifices, whose elevation is known, it has been
+        ascertained that the fogs of London never rise more than from
+        two hundred to two hundred and forty feet above the same level.
+
+    [2] Who does not remember the traditionary notoriety of Margaret
+        Finch?
+
+    [3] The private property of the estate, and attached to the Spa.
+
+
+    [4] We drank a half-pint tumbler of the water, which, as Dr.
+        Weatherhead observes, is bitter without being disagreeable.
+        Its flavour is that of Sulphate of Magnesia, or _Epsom Salts;_
+        and we should say that our _modicum_ might be imitated by
+        dissolving a dram of the above ingredient in half-a-pint of
+        pure water.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.
+
+ANCIENT LAWS.
+
+
+The following quaint observations possess peculiar interest at the present
+moment:
+
+"Among the ancient Druids," says Mr. Owen Feltham, "it was absolutely
+forbidden to register their laws in writing. And Caesar, in his Gallique
+Wars, gives us two reasons for it. One, that their mysteries might not
+come to be profaned and encommoned by the vulgar: another, that not being
+written, they might be more careful ever to carry them in their thoughts
+and memory. Though doubtless it was as well to preserve their own
+authority, to keep the people to a recourse to them, and to a reverence
+and esteem of their judgments. Besides, it oft falls out that what is
+written, though it were a good law when made, yet by the emergency of
+affairs, and the condition of men and times, it happens to be bad and
+alterable. And we find it to be evidently true, that, as where there are
+many physicians, there are many diseases; so where there are many laws,
+there are likewise many enormities. That nation that swarms with law and
+lawyers, certainly abounds with vice and corruption. Where you find much
+fowl resort, you may be sure there is no want of either water, mud, or
+weeds.
+
+"In the beginning of thriving states, when they are more industrious and
+innocent, they have then the fewest laws. Rome itself had at first but
+twelve tables. But after, how infinitely did their number of laws increase!
+Old states, like old bodies will be sure to contract diseases. And where
+the law-makers are many, the laws will never be few. That nation is in
+best estate that hath the fewest laws, and those good. Variety does but
+multiply snares. If every bush be limed, there is no bird can escape with
+all his feathers free. And many times when the law did not intend it, men
+are made guilty by the pleader's oratory; either to express his eloquence,
+to advance his practice, or out of mastery to carry his cause: like a
+garment pounced with dust, the business is so smeared and tangled that
+without a Galilaeus his glass, you can never come to discern the spots of
+this changeable moon. Sometimes to gratify a powerful party, justice is
+made blind through corruption, as well as out of impartiality. That indeed,
+by reason of the non-integrity of men. To go to law, is, for two to
+contrive the kindling of a fire at their own cost, to warm others, and
+singe themselves to cinders. Because they cannot agree to what is truth
+and equity, they will both agree to plume themselves, that others may be
+stuck with their feathers."
+
+W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+OLD WEATHER RHYMES.
+
+Rhymes which refer to the weather were probably written by the monks.
+
+  If St. Paul be fine and clear,
+  We shall have a happy year.
+  If St. Paul be thick with rain,
+  Then dear will be the price of grain.
+
+  After St. Bartholomew
+  Come long evenings and cold dew.
+
+  February fill dyke,
+  Be it black or be it white,
+  But if it is white,
+  It is better to like.
+
+  March winds and April showers,
+  Bring forth May flowers.
+
+  He who views his wheat on a weeping May,
+  Will himself so weeping away;
+  But he who views it on a weeping June,
+  Will go away in another tune.
+
+  When the sand doth feed the clay,
+  England woe and well-a-day:
+  But when the clay doth feed the sand,
+  Then it is well with Angle Land.
+
+  A swarm of bees in May
+  Is worth a load of hay,
+  A swarm of bees in June
+  Is worth a silver spoon.
+  A swarm of bees in July
+  Is not worth a fly.
+
+  Under a broomstalk silver and gold,
+  Under a gorsestalk hunger and cold.
+  When hempe's spun,
+  England's done.
+
+The latter referred to the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward IV., Mary and
+Philip, and Queen Elizabeth, but proved false prophecy.
+
+W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CROWLAND ABBEY.
+
+In the days of Monks and Friars, the following lines in bad Latin, were
+composed on Crowland, Lincolnshire, or the adjoining Abbey:
+
+  In Hollandia stat Crowland;
+  Ibi vinium talequale,
+  Ibi foenum gladiale
+  Ibi lecti lapidale,
+  Ibi viri boreali,
+  Ibi vale sine vale.
+
+They are thus translated in the _Beauties of England and Wales_ (1767):--
+
+  "In Holland stands Crowland
+  Built on dirty low land.
+  Where you'll find, if you go,
+  The wine's but so so;
+  The blades of the hay
+  Are like swords one may say,
+  The beds are like stones,
+  And break a man's bones;
+  The men rough and sturdy,
+  Compliments will afford me
+  But bid you good b'w'y,
+  When both hungry and dry."
+
+W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+THE HOBBY HORSE.
+
+Bromley Pagets was remarkable for a very singular sport on New Year's Day
+and Twelfth Day, called the Hobby Horse Dance: a person rode upon the
+image of a horse, with a bow and arrow in his hands, with which he made a
+snapping noise, keeping time with the music, whilst six others danced the
+hay and other country dances, with as many rein-deer's heads on their
+shoulders. To this hobby-horse belonged a pot, which the Reeves of the
+town kept and filled with cakes and ale, towards which the spectators
+contributed a penny, and with the remainder maintained their poor and
+repaired the church.--W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+HOLY LAND.
+
+Ramsey Island, near St. David's Head, is said to have been inhabited by so
+many saints, that no less than twenty thousand are stated in ancient
+histories to lie interred there. Near this place are the rocks styled the
+Bishop and his Clerks, which, says an ancient author "preache deadly
+doctrine to their winter audience, such poor sea-faring men as are forcyd
+thether by tempest, onelie in one thing they are to be commended, they
+keepe residence better than the rest of the canons of that see (St.
+David's) are wont to do."
+
+W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
+
+After the Britons retired into Wales, it was enacted that no man should
+guide a plough that could not make one; and that the driver should make
+the ropes of twisted willows, with which it was drawn. It was usual for
+six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one
+of these ploughs, providing it with oxen, and every thing necessary for
+ploughing; and many curious laws were made for the regulation of such
+societies. If any person laid dung on the field with the consent of the
+proprietor, he was by law allowed the use of that land for one year. If
+the dung was carried out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the
+use of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a wood, and converted
+the ground into arable, with the consent of the owner, was to have the use
+of it for five years. If any one folded his cattle for one year, upon a
+piece of ground belonging to another, with the owner's consent, he was
+allowed the use of the ground for four years. Thus, though the Britons had
+in a great measure lost the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have
+been very assiduous in giving encouragement to such as would attempt the
+revival of it.
+
+T. GILL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.
+
+
+LANDERS' DISCOVERY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER.
+
+We continue our extracts from this very entertaining work, the following
+being from the second volume.
+
+At Boossà, the travellers receive a visit from "the noted widow Zuma." She
+must be an Amazonian lady, for, having quarrelled with her prince, the
+ruler of Wowow, she was obliged to fly, and actually to climb over the
+city wall in the night, and travel on foot to Boossà. Female politicians
+in Africa are not so safe as in the _coteries_ of civilized Europe: they
+have to fight their own battles, and we conclude, to raise their own
+supplies: "the widow complained sadly of poverty and the hardness of the
+times; she had fought with the Yarribeans against Alòrie; but instead of
+receiving a recompense for her bravery, she had lost half her slaves in an
+engagement, which so disgusted her with the military profession, that she
+immediately abandoned it and returned home. Yet, in spite of all her
+losses and misfortunes, she has gained so much in corpulency, that it was
+with the utmost difficulty, she could squeeze herself into the doorway of
+our hut, although it is by no means small. The widow Zuma is a very
+good-looking, elderly person of matronly appearance. Her skin is of a
+light copper colour." Should this meet the eye of any soldier of fortune,
+&c.
+
+At Boossà, they hear some tidings of
+
+  _Mungo Park_.
+
+"Our visiters remained with us a considerable time, and in the course of
+conversation, one of them observed that they had in their possession a
+tobe, which belonged to a white man who came from the north many years ago,
+and from whom it had been purchased by the king's father. We expressed
+great curiosity to see this tobe, and it was sent us as a present a short
+time after their departure. Contrary to our expectations, we found it to
+be made of rich crimson damask, and very heavy from the immense quantity
+of gold embroidery with which it was covered. As the time when the late
+king was said to have purchased this tobe corresponds very nearly to the
+supposed period of Mr. Park's death, and as we never heard of any other
+white man having come from the north so far south as Boossà, we are
+inclined to believe it to be part of the spoil obtained from the canoe of
+that ill-fated traveller. Whether Mr. Park wore the tobe himself, which is
+scarcely probable on account of its weight, or whether he intended it as a
+present to a native chief, we are at a loss to determine. At all events,
+the article is a curiosity in itself; and if we should live to return to
+England, we shall easily learn whether it was made there or not. The chief
+himself has never worn the tobe, nor did his predecessor, from a
+superstitious feeling; 'besides,' observed the king, 'it might excite the
+cupidity of the neighbouring powers.'
+
+"_Sunday, June 20th_.--The king sent a messenger this morning, to inform
+us that he was a tailor, and that he would thank us for some thread and a
+few needles for his own private use. By this man he likewise sent a musket
+for us to repair; but as it is Sunday, we have declined doing it till
+to-morrow. Eager as we are to obtain even the slightest information
+relative to the unhappy fate of Mr. Park and his companions, as well as to
+ascertain if any of their books or papers are now in existence at this
+place, we had almost made up our minds to refrain from asking any
+questions on the subject, because we were apprehensive that it might be
+displeasing to the king, and involve us in many perplexities. Familiarity,
+however, having in some measure worn off this impression, and the king
+being an affable, obliging, and good-natured person, we were emboldened to
+send Paskoe to him this morning, with a message expressive of the interest
+we felt on the subject, in common with all our countrymen; and saying that,
+if any books or papers which belonged to Mr. Park were yet in his
+possession, he would do us a great service, by delivering them into our
+hands, or at least by granting us permission to see them. To this the king
+returned for answer, that when Mr. Park was lost in the Niger, he was a
+very little boy, and that he knew not what had become of his effects; that
+the deplorable event had occurred in the reign of the late king's
+predecessor, who died shortly after; and that all traces of the white man
+had been lost with him. This answer disappointed our hopes, for to us it
+appeared final and decisive. But in the evening they were again raised by
+a hint from our host, who is the king's drummer, and one of the principal
+men in the country: he assured us, that there was certainly one book at
+least saved from Mr. Park's canoe, which is now in the possession of a
+very poor man in the service of his master, to whom it had been entrusted
+by the late king during his last illness. He said moreover, that if but
+one application were made to the king, on any subject whatever, very
+little was thought of it; but if a second were made, the matter would be
+considered of sufficient importance to demand his whole attention,--such
+being the custom of the country. The drummer therefore recommended us to
+persevere in our inquiries, for he had no doubt that something to our
+satisfaction would be elicited. At his own request, we sent him to the
+king immediately, desiring him to repeat our former statement, and to
+assure the king, that should he be successful in recovering the book we
+wanted, our monarch would reward him handsomely. He desired the drummer to
+inform us, that he would use every exertion, and examine the man who was
+reported to have the white man's book in his possession, at an early hour
+to-morrow. Here the matter at present rests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"In the afternoon, the king came to see us, followed by a man with a book
+under his arm, which was said to have been picked up in the Niger after
+the loss of our countryman. It was enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and
+our hearts beat high with expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it,
+for by its size we guessed it to be Mr. Park's journal; but our
+disappointment and chagrin were great, when, on opening the book, we
+discovered it to be an old nautical publication of the last century. The
+title-page was missing, but its contents were chiefly tables of logarithms.
+It was a thick royal quarto, which led us to conjecture that it was a
+journal; between the leaves we found a few loose papers of very little
+consequence indeed; one of them contained two or three observations on the
+height of the water in the Gambia; one was a tailor's bill on a Mr.
+Anderson; and another was addressed to Mr. Mungo Park, and contained an
+invitation to dinner,--the following is a copy of it:--
+
+  'Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be happy to
+  have the pleasure of Mr. Park's company at
+  dinner on Tuesday next, at half-past five
+  o'clock.
+
+  'An answer is requested.
+
+  '_Strand, 9th Nov. 1804_.'
+
+"The king, as well as the owner of the book, looked as greatly mortified
+as ourselves, when they were told that the one produced was not that of
+which we were in quest, because the reward promised would not of course be
+obtained. As soon as our curiosity had been fully satisfied, the papers
+were carefully collected and placed again between the leaves, and the book
+as carefully folded in its envelope as before, and taken away by its owner,
+who values it as much as a household god. Thus all our hopes of obtaining
+Mr. Park's journal or papers, in this city, are entirely defeated. The
+inquiry, on our part, has not been prosecuted without much trouble and
+anxiety, and some little personal sacrifices likewise, which, had they
+been ten times as great, we would gladly have made whilst a single hope
+remained of their being effectual."
+
+After much ado at Boossà, owing to the canoe not being ready--the "King of
+the Canoe," a sort of Lord of the Admiralty, informing the travellers with
+the utmost unconcern that it was out of repair--they
+
+ _Embark on the Niger_.
+
+"About mid-day the workmen having finished our canoe, the luggage was
+presently put into it, and between twelve and one we embarked with our
+people, and were launched out into the river. The direction of this branch
+was nearly east and west; and we proceeded some distance down the stream
+for the purpose of getting into the main branch of the Niger, where there
+is deeper water. This object was soon attained, and we found it flowing
+from north to south, through a rich and charming country, which seemed to
+improve in appearance the further we advanced. We were propelled at a good
+rate up a channel, which, from half a mile in breadth, gradually widened
+to rather better than a mile. Beautiful, spreading, and spiry trees
+adorned the country on each side of the river, like a park; corn, nearly
+ripe, waved over the water's edge; large, open villages appeared every
+half-hour; and herds of spotted cattle were observed grazing and enjoying
+the cool of the shade. The appearance of the river, for several miles, was
+no less enchanting than its borders; it was as smooth as a lake; canoes
+laden with sheep and goats, were paddled by women down its almost
+imperceptible current; swallows, and a variety of aquatic birds, were
+sporting over its glassy surface, which was ornamented by a number of
+pretty little islands.
+
+"_Friday, June 25th_.--The most remarkable object which we saw on rising
+this morning, was a rugged and romantic range of hills, appearing to the
+eastward of our encampment; it is called _Engarskie_, from a country of
+the same name in which the hills are situated, and which was formerly an
+independent kingdom, but is now become a province of Yàoorie. At a little
+before seven, A.M., our canoe was pushed off the sandy beach on which it
+had been secured last evening, and propelled down a very narrow channel,
+between a large sand-bank and the shore. This conducted us into the main
+branch of the Niger, and we again admired its delightful and magnificent
+appearance.
+
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards when the river gradually
+widened to two miles, and continued so as far as the eye could reach. It
+looked very much like an artificial canal; the banks having the appearance
+of a dwarf wall, with vegetation beyond. In most places the water was
+extremely shallow, but in others it was deep enough to float a frigate.
+During the first two hours of the day, the scenery was as interesting and
+picturesque as can be imagined. The banks were literally covered with
+hamlets and villages; fine trees, bending under the weight of their dark
+and impenetrable foliage, everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of
+the sun's rays, and, contrasted with the lively verdure of the little
+hills and plains, produced the most pleasing effect. Afterwards, however,
+there was a decided change; the banks, which before consisted of dark
+earth, clay, or sand, were now composed of black rugged rocks; large
+sand-banks and islands were scattered in the river, which diverted it into
+a variety of little channels, and effectually destroyed its appearance.
+
+"We had heard so unfavourable an account of the state of the river at one
+particular place which we should have to pass, that our people were
+compelled to disembark and walk along the banks a considerable way till we
+had passed it, when we took them in again. We found the description to be
+in no wise exaggerated; it presented a most forbidding appearance, and
+yields only to the state of the Niger near Boossà in difficulty and danger.
+On our arrival at this formidable place, we discovered a range of black
+rocks running directly across the stream, and the water, finding only one
+narrow passage, rushed through it with great impetuosity, over-turning and
+carrying away everything in its course. Our boatmen, with the assistance
+of a number of the natives, who planted themselves on the rocks on each
+side of the only channel, and in the stream at the stern of the canoe,
+lifted it by main force into smoother and safer water. The last difficulty
+with respect to rocks and sand-banks was now overcome, and in a very
+little time we came to the termination of all the islands, after which, it
+is said, there is not a single dangerous place up the Niger. The river
+here presented its noblest appearance; not a single rock nor sand-bank was
+anywhere perceptible; its borders resumed their beauty, and a strong,
+refreshing breeze, which had blown during the whole of the morning, now
+gave it the motion of a slightly-agitated sea. In the course of the
+morning we passed two lovely little islands, clothed in verdure, which at
+a short distance looked as charming as the fabled gardens of Hesperia;
+indeed no spot on earth can excel them in beauty of appearance. These
+islands are inhabited by a few individuals."
+
+Upon leaving Yàoorie, a venerable Arab chief pretended great regard for
+the travellers, though he used them deceitfully; they had, however,
+"enjoyed an innocent kind of revenge, in administering to him a powerful
+dose of medicine, which though harmless in its effects, had yet been very
+troublesome to him. Indeed, it was not till we had 'jalaped' the sultan,
+his sister, and all the royal family, that we were permitted to take our
+farewell of Yàoorie."
+
+The incident of physicking the royal family at Yàoorie by way of
+leave-taking, is only equalled by the following oddity:--"The captain of
+the palm oil brig, Elizabeth, now in the Calabar river, actually
+white-washed his crew from head to foot, while they were sick with fever
+and unable to protect themselves; his cook suffered so much in the
+operation, that the lime totally deprived him of the sight of one of his
+eyes, and rendered the other of little service to him."
+
+The account of the Travellers' visit to Fernando Po, in the third volume,
+will be read with interest, as indeed will every page of the whole
+narrative; and to this commendation of the Messrs. Landers' Journal of
+their past adventures we cheerfully add our best wishes for the success of
+their future enterprize.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+SONGS OF THE GIPSIES.
+
+Among the musical novelties of the day, we notice with much pleasure, a
+pretty volume of Lyrics, written by Mr. Moncrieff, the music by Mr. S.
+Nelson. The poetry is throughout sparkling and characteristic, and "an
+Historical Introduction on the origin and customs of Gipsies," prefixed to
+the Songs, is so attractive as to be likely to share the popularity of the
+piano-forte accompaniments. It is written with considerable care and
+neatness, and the peculiar tact requisite to produce an interesting paper
+on a dry subject.
+
+We are only enabled to quote from the lyrics, an opening carol, as
+
+  Liberty, liberty!
+      Search the world round,
+  'Tis with the Gipsy
+      Alone thou art found.
+  Then in the gay greenwood
+      We worship thee now,
+  The free, oh the free!
+      Still live under the bough.
+
+  Trarah! Trarah!
+      Hark, the deep dingles ring,
+  Free hearts, with the bird
+      And the deer are on wing;
+  Joy claims in the greenwood
+      The Gipsy's glad vow,
+  The blithe, oh the blithe!
+      Still live under the bough.
+
+And the first song entire.
+
+THE GIPSY QUEEN.
+
+  Oh! 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+    And where is there queen like me,
+  That can revel upon the green,
+    In boundless liberty?
+  What though my cheek be brown,
+    And wild my raven hair,
+  A red cloth hood my crown,
+    And my sceptre the wand I bear!
+  Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+  With my kingdom I'm well content,
+    Though my realm's but the hawthorn glade;
+  And my palace a tatter'd tent
+    Beneath the willow's shade:
+  Though my banquet I'm forc'd to make
+    On haws and berries store,
+  And the game that by chance we take
+    From some neighbouring hind's barn door!
+  Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+  'Tis true I must ply my art,
+    And share in my subjects' toils;
+  But of all their gains I've part,
+    I've the choice of all their spoils;
+  And, by love and duty led,
+    Ere from my jet black eye
+  One sad tear should be shed,
+    A thousand hearts would die!
+  For, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A SONG OF PITCAIRN'S ISLAND.
+
+  Come, take our boy, and we will go
+    Before our cabin door;
+  The winds shall bring us, as they blow,
+    The murmurs of the shore;
+  And we will kiss his young blue eyes,
+  And I will sing him as he lies,
+    Songs that were made of yore:
+  I'll sing, in his delighted ear,
+  The island-lays thou lov'st to hear.
+
+  And thou, while stammering I repeat,
+    Thy country's tongue shalt teach;
+  'Tis not so soft, but far more sweet
+    Than my own native speech;
+  For thou no other tongue didst know,
+  When, scarcely twenty moons ago,
+    Upon Tahité's beach,
+  Thou cam'st to woo me to be thine,
+  With many a speaking look and sign.
+
+  I knew thy meaning--thou didst praise
+    My eyes, my locks of jet;
+  Ah! well for me they won thy gaze--
+    But thine were fairer yet!
+  I'm glad to see my infant wear
+  Thy soft blue eyes and sunny hair,
+    And when my sight is met
+  By his white brow and blooming cheek,
+  I feel a joy I cannot speak.
+
+  Come talk of Europe's maids with me,
+    Whose necks and cheeks, they tell,
+  Outshine the beauty of the sea,
+    White foam and crimson shell.
+  I'll shape like theirs my simple dress,
+  And bind like them each jetty tress,
+    A sight to please thee well;
+  And for my dusky brow will braid
+  A bonnet like an English maid.
+
+  Come, for the soft, low sunlight calls--
+    We lose the pleasant hours;
+  'Tis lovelier than these cottage walls--
+    That seat among the flowers.
+  And I will learn of thee a prayer
+  To Him who gave a home so fair,
+    A lot so blest as ours--
+  The God who made for thee and me
+  This sweet lone isle amid the sea.
+
+_From a volume of American Poetry, William Cullen Bryant._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF THE POET, WALLER.]
+
+
+In the churchyard of Beaconsfield, Bucks, stands the above handsome
+tribute to the memory of the celebrated poet and politician, EDMUND WALLER.
+The monument is of marble, with a pyramid rising from the centre, and a
+votive urn at each corner. On the east side is a Latin inscription,
+stating that Waller was born March 30, 1605, at Coleshill, in
+Hertfordshire; his father being Robert Waller, Esq. (of Agmondelsham in
+Buckingham, whose family was originally a branch of the Kentish
+Wallers,[5]) and his mother of the Hampden family; that he was a student
+at Cambridge; "his first wife was Anne, only daughter and heiress to
+Edward Banks, twice made a father by his first wife, and thirteen times by
+his second, whom he survived eight years; he died October 21, 1687." The
+original inscription is by Rymer, and is to be seen in most editions of
+the poet's works. The monument was erected by the poet's son's executors,
+in 1700, and stands on the east side of the churchyard, near the family
+vault. The above engraving is from a sketch, obligingly furnished by our
+Correspondent, W.H. of Wycombe.
+
+Waller was proprietor of the manor of Beaconsfield, and that of Hall Barn,
+in the vicinity, at which latter place he resided.
+
+It is remarkable, that this great man, toward the decline of life bought a
+small house, with a little land, on his natal spot; observing, "that he
+should be glad to die like the stag, where he was roused." This, however,
+did not happen. "When he was at Beaconsfield," says Johnson, "he found his
+legs grow tumid: he went to Windsor, where Sir Charles Scarborough then
+attended the king, and requested him, as both a friend and physician, to
+tell him what that swelling meant. 'Sir,' answered Scarborough, 'your
+blood will run no longer.' Waller repeated some lines of Virgil, and went
+home to die. As the disease increased upon him, he composed himself for
+his departure; and calling upon Dr. Birch to give him the holy sacrament,
+he desired his children to take it with him, and made an earnest
+declaration of his faith in Christianity. It now appeared what part of his
+conversation with the great could be remembered with delight. He related,
+that being present when the Duke of Buckingham talked profanely before
+King Charles, he said to him, 'My lord, I am a great deal older than your
+Grace, and have, I believe, heard more arguments for atheism than ever
+your Grace did; but I have lived long enough to see there is nothing in
+them, and so I hope your Grace will."
+
+
+    [5] Johnson's Life of Waller, wherein the poet is stated to have
+        been born March 3.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.
+
+
+TROUT TICKLING IN IRELAND.
+
+What will our _ticklish_ correspondent, W.H.H. say to this?
+
+"Kniveing trouts" (they call it tickling in England) is good sport. You go
+to a stony shallow at night, a companion bearing a torch; then stripping
+to the thighs and shoulders, wade in; grope with your hands under the
+stones, sods, and other harbourage, till you find your game, then grip him
+in your "knieve," and toss him ashore.
+
+I remember, when a boy, carrying the splits for a servant of the family,
+called Sam Wham. Now Sam was an able young fellow, well-boned and willing;
+a hard headed cudgel player, and a marvellous tough wrestler, for he had a
+backbone like a sea-serpent; this gained him the name of the Twister and
+Twiner. He had got into the river, with his back to me, was stooping over
+a broad stone, when something bolted from under the bank on which I stood,
+right through his legs. Sam fell with a great splash upon his face, but in
+falling, jammed whatever it was against the stone. "Let go, Twister,"
+shouted I, "'tis an otter, he will nip a finger off you."--"Whisht,"
+sputtered he, as he slid his hand under the water; "May I never read a
+text again, if he isna a sawmont wi' a shouther like a hog!"--"Grip him by
+the gills, Twister," cried I.--"Saul will I!" cried the Twiner; but just
+then there was a heave, a roll, a splash, a slap like a pistol-shot; down
+went Sam, and up went the salmon, spun like a shilling at pitch and toss,
+six feet into the air. I leaped in just as he came to the water; but my
+foot caught between two stones, and the more I pulled the firmer it stuck.
+The fish fell in a spot shallower than that from which he had leaped. Sam
+saw the chance, and tackled to again: while I, sitting down in the stream
+as best I might, held up my torch, and cried fair play, as shoulder to
+shoulder, throughout and about, up and down, roll and tumble, to it they
+went, Sam and the salmon. The Twister was never so twined before. Yet
+through crossbuttocks and capsizes innumerable, he still held on; now
+haled through a pool; now haling up a bank; now heels over head; now head
+over heels; now head and heels together; doubled up in a corner; but at
+last stretched fairly on his back, and foaming for rage and disappointment;
+while the victorious salmon, slapping the stones with his tail, and
+whirling the spray from his shoulders at every roll, came boring and
+snoring up the ford. I tugged and strained to no purpose; he flashed by me
+with a snort, and slid into the deep water. Sam now staggered forward with
+battered bones and peeled elbows, blowing like a grampus, and cursing like
+nothing but himself. He extricated me, and we limped home. Neither rose
+for a week; for I had a dislocated ankle, and the Twister was troubled
+with a broken rib. Poor Sam! he had his brains discovered at last by a
+poker in a row, and was worm's meat within three months; yet, ere he died,
+he had the satisfaction of feasting on his old antagonist, who was man's
+meat next morning. They caught him in a net. Sam knew him by the twist in
+his tail.--_Blackwood's Magazine_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL.
+
+The operation of working for these precious jems is a very simple one. The
+alluvial soil (the cascalhao) is dug up from the bed of the river, and
+removed to a convenient spot on the banks for working. The process is as
+follows:--a rancho is erected about a hundred feet long, and half that
+distance in width; down the middle of the area is conveyed a canal,
+covered with earth; on the other side of the area is a flooring of planks,
+about sixteen feet in length, extending the whole length of the shed, and
+to which an inclined direction is given; this flooring is divided into
+troughs, into which is thrown a portion of the cascalhao; the water is
+then let in, and the earth raked until the water becomes clear; the earthy
+particles having been washed away, the gravel is raked up to the end of
+the trough; the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards the smaller
+ones, the whole is then examined with great care for diamonds. When a
+negro finds one, he claps his hands, stands in an erect posture, holding
+the diamond between his fore-finger and thumb; it is received by one of
+the overseers posted on lofty seats, at equal distances, along the line of
+the work. On the conclusion of the work, the diamonds found during the day
+are weighed, and registered by the overseer _en chef_. If a negro has the
+good fortune to find a stone weighing upwards of seventeen carats, he is
+immediately manumitted, and for smaller stones proportionate premiums are
+given. There are, besides, several other works on this river, and on other
+streams, but the supply of diamonds falls now considerably short of former
+periods, and their produce scarcely defrays the expenses.
+
+The Diamond District of the Serro do Frio is about twenty leagues in
+length, and nine in breadth; the soil is barren, but intersected by
+numerous streams. It was first discovered by some miners, shortly after
+the establishment of the Villa do Principe. In working for gold in the
+rivulets of Milho Verde and St. Goncalzes, they discovered some pebbles of
+geometric form, and of a peculiar hue and lustre. For some years these
+pebbles were given as pretty baubles to children, or used as counters for
+marking the points of their favourite game of voltarete. At last an
+officer, who had been some years at Goa, in the East Indies, arrived in
+the Commarca: he was struck with the peculiar form of these pebbles, and
+from several experiments he made, it struck him that they were diamonds.
+He immediately collected a few, and sent them to Holland, where, to the
+astonishment of the lapidaries, they were found to be brilliants of the
+finest water. It will easily be imagined, that on the arrival of this
+intelligence in Brazil, the hitherto despised counters suddenly became the
+objects of universal research, and almost immediately disappeared.
+
+The government of Portugal now issued a decree, declaring all diamonds a
+monopoly of the crown. For a length of time it was considered that
+diamonds were confined solely to the district of Serro Frio. But this is
+an error; they are found in almost every part of the empire, particularly
+in the remote provinces of Goyazes and Matto Grosso, where there exist
+several districtos diamantescos. These gems have been even found on the
+tops of the highest mountains; indeed, it is the opinion of the Brazilian
+mineralogists that the original diamond formations are in the mountains,
+and that they will one day or other be discovered in such quantities, as
+to render them objects of comparatively small value.
+
+The largest diamond in the world was found in the river Abaite; about
+ninety-two leagues to N.W. of Serro do Frio. The history of its discovery
+is romantic:--three Brazilians, Ant. de Souza, Jose Felix Gomes, and
+Thomas de Souza, were sentenced, for some supposed misdemeanour, to
+perpetual banishment in the wildest part of the interior. Their sentence
+was a cruel one; but the region of their exile was the richest in the
+world; every river rolled over a bed of gold, every valley contained
+inexhaustible mines of diamonds. A suspicion of this kind enabled these
+unfortunate men to support the horrors of their fate; they were constantly
+sustained by the golden hope of discovering some rich mine, that would
+produce a reversion of their hard sentence. Thus they wandered about for
+nearly six years, in quest of mines; but fortune was at last propitious.
+An excessive draught had laid dry the bed of the river Abaite, and here,
+while working for gold, they discovered a diamond of nearly an ounce in
+weight. Overwhelmed with joy at this providential discovery, they resolved
+to proceed, at all hazards, to Villa Rica, and trust to the mercy of the
+crown. The governor, on beholding the magnitude and lustre of the gem,
+could scarcely credit the evidence of his senses. He immediately appointed
+a commission of the officers of the Diamond District to report on its
+nature; and on their pronouncing it a real diamond, it was immediately
+dispatched to Lisbon. It is needless to add that the sentence of the three
+"condemnados" was immediately reversed.
+
+This celebrated diamond has been estimated by Romé de l'Isle at the
+enormous sum of three hundred millions sterling. It is uncut, but the late
+King of Portugal, who had a passion for precious stones, had a hole bored
+through it, in order to wear it suspended about his neck on gala days. No
+sovereign possessed so fine a collection of diamonds as this
+prince.--_Monthly Mag_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+NOTES OF A READER.
+
+
+AMERICAN LIFE.
+
+Mrs. Trollope's amusing book has furnished us with still another page or
+two of scenes and sketches:
+
+_Crocodiles on the Mississippi_.
+
+"It is said that at some points of this dismal river, crocodiles are so
+abundant as to add the terror of their attacks to the other sufferings of
+a dwelling there. We were told a story of a squatter, who having 'located'
+himself close to the river's edge, proceeded to build his cabin. This
+operation is soon performed, for social feeling and the love of whiskey
+bring all the scanty neighbourhood round a new comer, to aid him in
+cutting down trees, and in rolling up the logs, till the mansion is
+complete. This was done; the wife and five young children were put in
+possession of their new home, and slept soundly after a long march.
+Towards day-break the husband and father was awakened by a faint cry, and
+looking up, beheld relics of three of his children scattered over the
+floor, and an enormous crocodile, with several young-ones around her,
+occupied in devouring the remnants of their horrid meal. He looked around
+for a weapon, but finding none, and aware that unarmed he could do nothing,
+he raised himself gently on his bed, and contrived to crawl from thence
+through a window, hoping that his wife, whom he left sleeping, might with
+the remaining children rest undiscovered till his return. He flew to his
+nearest neighbour and besought his aid; in less than half an hour two men
+returned with him, all three well armed; but alas! they were too late! the
+wife and her two babes lay mangled on their bloody bed. The gorged
+reptiles fell an easy prey to their assailants, who, upon examining the
+place, found the hut had been constructed close to the mouth of a large
+hole, almost a cavern, where the monster had hatched her hateful brood."
+
+_Pig Scavengers_.
+
+"We were soon settled in our new dwelling, which looked neat and
+comfortable enough, but we speedily found that it was devoid of nearly all
+the accommodation that Europeans conceive necessary to decency and comfort.
+No pump, no cistern, no drain of any kind, no dustman's cart, or any other
+visible means of getting rid of the rubbish, which vanishes with such
+celerity in London, that one has no time to think of its existence; but
+which accumulated so rapidly at Cincinnati, that I sent for my landlord to
+know in what manner refuse of all kinds was to be disposed of.
+
+"Your Help will just have to fix them all into the middle of the street,
+but you must mind, old woman, that it is the middle. I expect you don't
+know as we have got a law what forbids throwing such things at the sides
+of the streets; they must just all be cast right into the middle, and the
+pigs soon takes them off.'"
+
+_American English_.
+
+"I very seldom during my whole stay in the country heard a sentence
+elegantly turned, and correctly pronounced from the lips of an American.
+There is always something either in the expression or the accent that jars
+the feelings and shocks the taste."
+
+_Mr. Bullock_.
+
+"About two miles below Cincinnati, on the Kentucky side of the river, Mr.
+Bullock, the well known proprietor of the Egyptian Hall, has bought a
+large estate, with a noble house upon it. He and his amiable wife were
+devoting themselves to the embellishment of the house and grounds; and
+certainly there is more taste and art lavished on one of their beautiful
+saloons, than all Western America can show elsewhere. It is impossible to
+help feeling that Mr. Bullock is rather out of his element in this remote
+spot, and the gems of art he has brought with him, show as strangely there,
+as would a bower of roses in Siberia, or a Cincinnati fashionable at
+Almack's. The exquisite beauty of the spot, commanding one of the finest
+reaches of the Ohio, the extensive gardens, and the large and handsome
+mansion, have tempted Mr. Bullock to spend a large sum in the purchase of
+this place, and if any one who has passed his life in London could endure
+such a change, the active mind and sanguine spirit of Mr. Bullock might
+enable him to do it; but his frank, and truly English hospitality, and his
+enlightened and inquiring mind, seemed sadly wasted there. I have since
+heard with pleasure that Mr. Bullock has parted with this beautiful, but
+secluded mansion.
+
+"Mr. Bullock was showing to some gentlemen of the first standing, the very
+_élite_ of Cincinnati, his beautiful collection of engravings, when one
+among them exclaimed, 'Have you really done all these since you came here?
+How hard you must have worked!'"
+
+_Cows_.
+
+"These animals are fed morning and evening at the door of the house, with
+a good mess of Indian corn, boiled with water; while they eat, they are
+milked, and when the operation is completed the milk-pail and the meal-tub
+retreat into the dwelling, leaving the republican cow to walk away, to
+take her pleasure on the hills, or in the gutters, as may suit her fancy
+best. They generally return very regularly to give and take the morning
+and evening meal; though it more than once happened to us, before we were
+supplied by a regular milk cart, to have our jug sent home empty, with the
+sad news that 'the cow was not come home, and it was too late to look for
+her to breakfast now.' Once, I remember, the good woman told us that she
+had overslept herself, and that the cow had come and gone again, 'not
+liking, I expect, to hanker about by herself for nothing, poor thing.'"
+
+_Health of Cincinnati_.
+
+"A gentleman told us, that when a medical man intended settling in a new
+situation, he always, if he knew his business, walked through the streets
+at night, before he decided. If he saw the dismal twinkle of the
+watch-light from many windows he might be sure that disease was busy, and
+that the 'location' might suit him well."
+
+_Marketing_.
+
+"It is the custom for the gentlemen to go to market at Cincinnati; the
+smartest men in the place, and those of the 'highest standing' do not
+scruple to leave their beds with the sun, six days in the week, and,
+prepared with a mighty basket, to sally forth in search of meat, butter,
+eggs, and vegetables. I have continually seen them returning, with their
+weighty basket on one arm and an enormous ham depending from the other."
+
+_Moving Houses_.
+
+"One of the sights to stare at in America is that of houses moving from
+place to place. We were often amused by watching this exhibition of
+mechanical skill in the streets. They make no difficulty of moving
+dwellings from one part of the town to another. Those I saw travelling
+were all of them frame-houses, that is, built wholly of wood, except the
+chimneys; but it is said that brick buildings are sometimes treated in the
+same manner. The largest dwelling that I saw in motion was one containing
+two stories of four rooms each; forty oxen were yoked to it. The first few
+yards brought down the two stacks of chimneys, but it afterwards went on
+well. The great difficulties were the first getting it in motion and the
+stopping exactly in the right place. This locomotive power was extremely
+convenient at Cincinnati, as the constant improvements going on there made
+it often desirable to change a wooden dwelling for one of brick; and
+whenever this happened, we were sure to see the ex No. 100 of Main-street
+or the ex No. 55 of Second-street creeping quietly out of town, to take
+possession of a humble suburban station on the common above it."
+
+_Social distinctions_.
+
+"My general appellation amongst my neighbours was 'the English old woman,'
+but in mentioning each other they constantly employed the term 'lady;' and
+they evidently had a pleasure in using it, for I repeatedly observed, that
+in speaking of a neighbour, instead of saying Mrs. Such-a-one, they
+described her as 'the lady over the way what takes in washing,' or as
+'that there lady, out by the Gulley, what is making dip-candles.' Mr.
+Trollope was as constantly called 'the old man,' while dray-men, butchers'
+boys, and the labourers on the canal were invariably denominated 'them
+gentlemen;' nay, we once saw one of the most gentlemanlike men in
+Cincinnati introduce a fellow in dirty shirt sleeves, and all sorts of
+detestable et cetera, to one of his friends, with this formula, 'D---- let
+me introduce this gentleman to you.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE COSMOPOLITE.
+
+
+SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &c. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS.
+
+(_Concluded from page 213_.)
+
+The oriental fable of the _Roc_ has its probable origin in the condor,
+which is undoubtedly the largest and strongest bird of the vulture tribe
+in existence, and extremely ravenous. Minerva's bird, the _Owl_, is well
+known as one of ill omen; besides the superstitious idea that the
+screech-owl foretells death by its cry, it was formerly believed to suck
+the blood of children. The Mongol and Calmuc Tartars have held the _White
+Owl_ sacred since the days of Genghis Khan, when a bird of this species
+having settled on a bush in which that prince had hidden himself from his
+enemies, those who pursued him past it, not believing that a bird would
+perch on a bush wherein a man was concealed. The _Raven_ has ever been
+considered by the vulgar as a bird of evil omen, the indicator of
+misfortunes and death; and, indeed, the superstition is but consonant with
+a bird of such funereal note and hue, and exhibiting such goule-like
+propensities. The Swedes, however, regard it as sacred, and no one offers
+to molest it. In the north of England, one _Magpie_ flying alone, is
+deemed an ill omen; two together, a fortunate one; three forebode a
+funeral, and four a wedding; or, when on a journey, to meet two magpies
+portends a wedding; three, a successful journey; four, unexpected good
+news; and five, that the person will soon be in company with the great. To
+kill a magpie, indicates or brings down some terrible misfortune. The
+_Sparrow Hawk_ was sacred with the Egyptians, and the symbol of Osiris.
+The _Yellow Hammer_ is superstitiously considered an agent _diablerie_.
+The _Wheat-Ear_ is, in the Highlands, a detested bird, and fancied one of
+evil omen, on account of its frequenting old churchyards, where it nestles
+amongst the stones, and finds plenty of insects for food. The _Woodcock_
+is, we believe, the bird imagined to drop, in its proper season, from the
+moon. It is a vulgar error, that the song of the _Nightingale_ is
+melancholy, and that it only sings by night; but to hear the Cuckoo before
+the Nightingale has been long deemed an unsuccessful omen in love: the
+saliva of the cuckoo has been thought to preserve all it falls upon.
+
+  "The _Robin_ and the _Wren_
+  Are God Almighty's cock and hen,"
+
+says the old distich, and whilst it is reckoned wicked to kill either of
+these (not but that there is an ancient custom of "hunting the wren" still
+kept up, we believe, in some parts of this country,) it is considered
+unlucky to kill a _Swallow_, or _House-Martin_. The _King-fisher_ is the
+Halcyon of the ancients, who imagined that during the process of
+incubation by the female the sea remained unvexed by storms; hence
+"halcyon days." The feathers of this bird are employed by the Tartars for
+many superstitious purposes; they consider them amulets of priceless value,
+enabling them to inspire women with love. In more civilized countries it
+was once believed, that if the body of a kingfisher were suspended by a
+thread, some magnetic influence would turn its breast to the north: others
+thought it a preserver of woollen cloths from moths. The _Albatross_ (by
+some considered the kingfisher or halcyon,) is fabled to sleep in the air,
+never to touch the earth; and to kill one is reckoned supremely unlucky.
+There is an Indian bird, the name of which has unfortunately escaped us,
+that is feigned to live only on the rain-drops which it can draw with its
+bill from the clouds; in a dry season, therefore, this bird perishes. Of
+the _Bird of Paradise_ the following wonders were once credited: viz. that
+the egg was laid in the air by the female, and there hatched by the male
+in an orifice of his body; that it had no legs (these however are long,
+and a disfigurement to the body, which the Indians know, and fearful of
+their depreciating the value of the bird, upon capturing it, cut them off);
+that it hung itself by the two long feathers of its tail on a tree when
+sleeping; that it never touched the ground during any period of its
+existence, and fed wholly on dew. The Indians also believe that the leader,
+or king of the birds of paradise is black, with red spots, and that he
+soars far away from the rest of the flock, which, however, never quit him,
+but settle where he does. The _Gigantic Crane_ is believed by the Indians
+to be invulnerable, and animated by the souls of deceased Brahmins; the
+Africans hold it in equal veneration. Whence arises the classical fable
+that swans sing their own dirge just previous to death, and expire singing
+it? The wild swan certainly may be said to whistle, but the tame has no
+other note than a hiss, and this only when provoked. The Kamschatdales and
+Kuriles wear round their necks the bills of _Puffins_, as an amulet which
+ensures good fortune. Who was _Mother Carey_?--The wife, perhaps, of
+"_Davy_," and keeper of his "locker;" Mother Carey's chickens is the
+well-known appellation, in _tarrish_ tongue, of _Stormy Petrels_, not
+superstitiously supposed to forebode tempests, since they seem their very
+element; but it is probable that to Mother Carey herself (we crave her
+pardon--_Mistress_) some astounding "yarn" is attached. The _Stork_, the
+_Crane_, and the _Pelican_, are each the subject of idle stories; the
+latter has been asserted to feed her young with her own bosom's blood, and
+to fill her pouch with water in order to supply them in the desert. A
+notion is entertained by the ignorant that the _Bittern_ thrusts its bill
+into a reed, which serves as a pipe to increase the volume of its natural
+note, and swell it above pitch; and in some places a tradition prevails
+that it thrusts its head into water and then blows with all its might. It
+is erroneous that the _Ostrich_ lays her eggs in the sand, depending
+solely on the sun's rays to hatch them; the truth is that, as from the
+heat of her native climate, it is not always necessary for her to sit upon
+them, she simply does what numerous birds in colder latitudes are well
+known to do; viz. cover them, that they may not, during her absence, lose
+their heat.
+
+The popular opinion that the _Turtle Dove_, of either sex, should it
+happen to lose its mate, remains ever after in a state of disconsolate
+celibacy, is, we believe, disproved by the fact, at least as respects
+these birds in a wild state; but we may remark, that the loss of a
+companion to more than one kind of _domesticated_ bird, if it has been
+brought up with one, even though not in the same cage, is sometimes so
+severely deplored by the survivor, as to occasion its death, if the loss
+be not speedily supplied. The old story of _Swallows_ passing the winter
+in a state of torpidity at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and ponds, has
+been frequently agitated, asserted to be a fact by one party, and totally
+disproved by the other. The reader may be amused to learn, that very
+recently we were assured by one, who _knew it for an absolute fact_, that
+ducks and even chickens (!!!) had been found in a certain farmer's pond,
+laid up in winter quarters, which were revived by the warmth of the sun
+and upper air, upon being fished out of it!! "Regarding _Birds' Eggs_,"
+says the Naturalist in his interesting Journal, "we have a very foolish
+superstition here (Gloucestershire:) the boys may take them unrestrained,
+but their mothers so dislike their being kept in the house, that they
+usually break them; their presence may be tolerated for a few days, but by
+the ensuing Sunday they are frequently destroyed, under the idea that they
+bring bad luck, or prevent the coming of good fortune, as if in some way
+offensive to the domestic deity of the hearth."
+
+Here, then, we pause; some abler hand may, perhaps, be tempted to take up
+the subject as we leave it, for there are yet gleanings, in the field, of
+"Superstitions and Fables connected with animals," over which our leisure
+has allowed us but lightly to pass; gleanings sufficient to reward the
+industrious and the curious; or, it may even be, that we shall return,
+some day, to this topic ourselves, time and materials permitting.
+
+_Great Marlow, Bucks_. M.L.B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE GATHERER.
+
+
+_Congreve Rockets_.--When the Congreve rockets were first introduced into
+the navy, the admiral on the Brazil station proposed to exhibit to the
+king, Don Juan VI., the effect of these formidable projectiles. His
+majesty consented, and the whole court were accordingly assembled in the
+balconies of the palace, at the Rio, for the purpose of witnessing the
+spectacle. By some mishap, of very frequent occurrence in the early
+history of these missiles, at the moment of firing the tube veered round,
+and the rocket, instead of flying over to Praia Grande, took the opposite
+direction, and fell and exploded in the great square, almost beneath the
+windows of the palace. The consternation of the king was only equalled by
+the mortification of the admiral, who immediately despatched an officer on
+shore to explain the cause of the _contretemps_ to his majesty; and
+offering to let off another, but the terrified monarch would not hear of
+it. "I have a great respect," said he, "for my good allies, the English,
+but after dinner they are absolutely fit for nothing;" an observation
+which clearly indicated to what cause his majesty attributed the
+unfortunate result of the exhibition.--_Monthly Magazine_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Prosperity of America_.--The United States of N. America posses an almost
+undefinable extent of fertile uncultivated land--a highly industrious and
+intelligent population of 13,000,000--the national debt will be paid this
+year--and they have a large surplus revenue. That of 1831 was 27,700,000
+Spanish dollars; the expenditure for all government purposes 14,700,000.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_War._--Were the disputes between great and rival nations to be settled by
+single combat, by those, through whose ambition, pride, or other cause,
+they were occasioned, millions of lives might have been saved.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Curious Custom._--There is held in Italy, a kind of feast, or ceremony,
+in the courts of certain princes, on St. Nicholas's Day, in which people
+hide presents in the shoes or slippers of those they would do honour to;
+in such a manner as to surprise them on the morrow, when they come to
+dress. It is done in imitation of the practice of St. Nicholas; who used,
+in the night time, to throw purses of money in at the windows, for
+portions to poor maidens on their marriage. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Experience._--It often happens that the more we see into a man, the less
+we admire him.--_Pliny._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Romans were so anxious to encourage marriage, that they punished
+unmarried persons by rendering them incapable of receiving any legacy, or
+inheritance by will, except from near relatives. And those who were
+married, and had not any children, could take no more than half the estate.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Etruscan Vases._--The art of making earthenware was transported from
+Etruria into Greece. The Romans also borrowed this invention from the
+Etruscans, to whom also Greece was indebted for many of its ceremonies and
+religious institutions, as well as for its mechanics and artificers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is customary in the canton Wallis, Switzerland, for those who have
+found anything lost, even money, to affix it to a large crucifix in the
+churchyard, and there is not an example on record, of any object being
+taken away except by the rightful owner. W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Cumberland Titles._--The honorary titles arising from the different
+degrees of allowed consequence or property in Cumberland, appear (says
+Britton) singular when compared with their usual acceptation in society.
+The mistress of the house is a _Dame_; every owner of a little landed
+property is a _'Statesman_; his eldest son is the _Laird_; and where there
+is no son, the eldest daughter is born to the title of _Leady_. Thus we
+may see a '_Statesman_ driving the plough, a _Lord_ attending the market
+with vegetables, and a _Leady_ labouring at the churn. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_A string of echo puns_ surpassing all others, may be seen in a scarce
+work, published in the reign of James I. A specimen--a divine, willing to
+play more with words, than to be serious in the expounding of his text,
+spoke thus in one part of the sermon:--"This dyall shewes we must _die
+all_; yet, notwithstanding, all howses are turned into _ale-houses_; our
+cares are turned into _cates_; our paradise, into, _a pair of dice_; our
+marriage, into a _merry age_; our matrimony, into a _matter of money_; our
+divines, into _dry vines_. It was not so in the days of Noah,
+_Ah no_!"--T.G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Advertisement Extraordinary, from a Newspaper of 1796_.--"Whereas the
+right hon. William Pitt, Chancellor of his Majesty's Exchequer, did on the
+night of Monday last, and on or about the hour of six o'clock, utter in
+his place in the House of Commons, certain sentences or phrases,
+containing several assurances, denials, promises, retractions, persuasions,
+explanations, hints, insinuations, and intimations, and expressing much
+hope, fear, joy, sorrow, confidence, and doubt, upon the subject of peace,
+then and there recommended by Charles Grey, esq., member of the aforesaid
+House of Commons, for the county of Northumberland; and whereas the entire
+effectual and certain meaning of the whole of the said sentences, phrases,
+denials, promises, retractions, persuasions, explanations, hints,
+insinuations, and intimations, has escaped and fled, so that what remains
+is to plain understandings incomprehensible, and to many good men is
+matter of painful contemplation: now this is to promise to any person who
+shall restore the said lost meaning, or shall illustrate, simplify, and
+explain the said meaning, the sum of five thousand pounds, to be paid on
+the first day of April next, at the office of John Bull, esq., Pay-All and
+Fight-All, to the several high contracting powers, engaged in the present
+_just_ and _necessary_ war!
+
+"Done at the office of Mr. John Bull's Chief Decypherer, _Turnagain_ Lane,
+_Circumbendibus_ Street, _Obscurity_ Square, Feb. 18, 1796."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Cheap Soup_.--Take ten quarts of water, and stir it with a rush-light
+till it boils; season it to your liking, and it is ready for use. N.B. The
+wick may be bolted.--_Monthly Mag_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Epitaph on the death of Miss Eliza More, aged_ 14.
+
+  Here lies who never lied before,
+  And one who will never lie _More_,
+  To which there need no _more_ be said
+  Than _More_ the pity she is dead,
+  For when alive she charmed us _More_
+  Than all the _Mores_ just gone before.[6]
+
+
+    [6] Her two sisters dying some months before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_On Anne Green, a Quakeress_.
+
+  Here lies a piece of Christ, a star in dust,
+  A wedge of gold, a china dish that must
+  Be used in heaven, when Christ doth feed the just.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Inscribed on the back door of a Tavern_, which opened into the Parish
+Church of St. Michael's, Cambridge, kept by Mr. Burrell, 1639: which door
+is now taken down, the tavern having been pulled down, and a new street
+built on its site.
+
+  Go on by leave, no way here lies:
+    But way and leave to those
+  That hast to taste good wine and fine,
+    And fear not Burrell's foes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Copied from the Churchwarden's Book_.
+
+_The Mother Tongue_.--In Mr. Combe's _Illustrations of Phrenology_, a case
+is related of a Welsh milkman, in London, who happening to fall down two
+pair of stairs, received a severe contusion on the head, and was carried
+to St. George's Hospital, where he lay senseless for several days, and
+unable to speak. At length he became something better, and began to talk
+to the nurses, but in such terms that no one could understand him, till it
+was discovered that he had forgotten his English, and was talking Welsh; a
+language he had not spoken for eighteen years. Mr. Combe conceives that
+the blow having hit the store-house in his head, where the Welsh language
+was garnered, his youthful acquisitions were poured out, whilst the
+English language, which he had learned much later, was overpowered and
+obliterated by the force of his mother tongue. W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Warning to Betrayers_.--St. Bennet's Abbey, in Norfolk, was so well
+fortified, that William the Conqueror, in vain besieged it, till a monk,
+upon condition of being made abbot, betrayed the place. The king performed
+the condition, but hanged the new _abbot_ as a _traitor_. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,)
+London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G.G. BENNIS,
+55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement,
+and Instruction, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 542 ***
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+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
+
+  <title>The Mirror of Literature, Volume XIX. No. 542.</title>
+
+  <style type="text/css">
+  <!--
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+
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+  {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em; margin: auto;}
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+                       {border: none;}
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+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
+Instruction, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
+       Vol. XIX. No. 542, Saturday, April 14, 1832
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: June 8, 2004 [EBook #12552]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 542 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+ <hr class="full" />
+
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page225"
+  name="page225">
+  </a>[pg 225]
+</span>
+
+  <h1>THE MIRROR<br />
+  OF<br />
+  LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.</h1>
+  <hr class="full" />
+
+  <table width="100%" summary="Volume, Number, and Date">
+    <tr>
+      <td align="left"><b>Vol. XIX. No. 542.]</b></td>
+      <td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1832.</b></td>
+      <td align="right"><b>[PRICE 2d.</b></td>
+    </tr>
+  </table>
+  <hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE BEULAH SALINE SPA, NORWOOD.</h2>
+
+<div class="figure" style="width:100%;"><a href="images/542-001.png">
+<img width = "100%" src="images/542-001.png" alt="ENTRANCE LODGE." /></a></div>
+
+<p>
+Our attention has been invited to the Beulah Spa by a <i>brochure</i> lately
+published, from the very competent pen of Dr. George Hume Weatherhead; the
+details of which will be read with interest by all who are in quest of
+"healing founts." "The Spa," observes Dr. Weatherhead, "has long been
+resorted to by the country people of the neighbourhood, who, from
+experiencing its beneficial effects in a variety of diseases, have
+sustained its sanative character, and kept it from sinking into total
+neglect." We trust, however, that its virtues may soon enjoy more
+extensive celebrity, especially as the attractions of the scenery amidst
+which the spring is situate are of no common-place character, and the
+distance from the metropolis both easy and inviting. The Spa has already
+acquired some popularity; for, we learned on our visit a few days since,
+that, although it was only opened to the public towards the close of the
+month of August, in the past year, it was visited during the autumn by
+several hundred persons weekly.
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. Weatherhead has described the local scenery with accuracy. Beulah, the
+estate upon which the spring is situate, is within the village of Norwood,
+seven miles south of London, upon one of those elevations known as the
+Norwood hills. "From trigonometrical observation," observes Dr.
+Weatherhead, "it has been computed that the height of these hills is about
+390 feet above the level of the sea at low water.
+<a id="footnotetag1"
+ name="footnotetag1"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote1">1</a></sup>
+ Thus placed above the
+fogs of the plain, and removed from the smoky and contaminated atmosphere
+of the metropolis, the air has long been celebrated for its pure and
+invigorating qualities." Norwood was in the memory of several of the
+inhabitants still living, an entire forest of oaks, and the well-known
+resort of tribes of gipsies.
+<a id="footnotetag2"
+ name="footnotetag2"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote2">2</a></sup>
+ The country from Camberwell thence is,
+therefore, in
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page226"
+  name="page226">
+  </a>[pg 226]
+</span>
+great part a newly-peopled district. Its outline is very
+uneven, perhaps more so than any other portion of the environs of the
+metropolis. The road runs over or through many little crests or hills, and
+sinks into sheltered valleys, where you see newly-built habitations
+nestling together, and almost reminding one of the aboriginal contrivances
+for warmth and comfort in less civilized countries. The road-side is set
+with "suburban villas" which would make the spleen of Cowper blaze into
+madness; though few of them exhibit any pretensions to elegance or
+snugness. Neither would two newly-built churches in the prospect allay the
+anti-urban poet; their starved proportions contrasting but coldly with the
+primitive simplicity of a village church. The <i>country</i> itself is
+nevertheless picturesque; the prospect is of enchanting beauty, and as
+you approach Beulah, you obtain occasional glimpses of the subjacent
+valley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a <i>coup d'oeil</i> in the Spa
+grounds.
+</p>
+<p>
+The Spring lies embowered in a wood of oaks, open to the south-west whose
+dense foliage shelters and protects it. It is now the sole vestige of the
+gipsy haunts, and comprises a space of more than twenty-five acres; the
+gentle inclination of the ground keeping the foot-paths always dry.
+</p>
+<p>
+We entered the grounds at an elegant rustic lodge (<i>see the Cut</i>,) where
+commences a new carriage-road
+<a id="footnotetag3"
+ name="footnotetag3"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote3">3</a></sup>
+ to Croydon; which winds round the flank
+of the hill, and is protected by hanging woods. The lodge is in the best
+taste of ornate rusticity, with the characteristic varieties of gable,
+dripstone, portico, bay-window, and embellished chimney: of the latter
+there are some specimens in the best style of our olden architects. This
+building, as well as the other rural edifices in the grounds, and the
+whole disposal of the latter, have been planned by Mr. Decimus Burton, the
+originator of the architectural embellishments of the Zoological Gardens
+in the Regent's Park.
+</p>
+<p>
+Passing the lodge, we descended by a winding path through the wood to a
+small lawn or glade, at the highest point of which is a circular rustic
+building, used as a confectionery and reading-room; near which is the Spa,
+within a thatched apartment. The spring rises about 14 feet, within a
+circular rockwork enclosure; the water is drawn by a contrivance, at once
+ingenious and novel; a glass urn-shaped pail, terminating with a cock of
+the same material, and having a stout rim and cross-handle of silver, is
+attached to a thick worsted rope, and let down into the spring by a pulley,
+when the vessel being taken up full, the water is drawn off by the cock.
+We quote Dr. Weatherhead's analytical description of the water:
+</p>
+<p>
+"The water drawn fresh from the well is beautifully transparent and
+sparkling. Innumerable bubbles of fixed air are seen rising to the surface,
+when allowed to stand. Its taste is distinctly bitter, without being at
+all disagreeable, leaving on the palate
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page227"
+  name="page227">
+  </a>[pg 227]
+</span>
+the peculiar flavour of its
+predominant saline ingredient, the sulphate of magnesia. The temperature
+of the water, at the bottom of the well, is 52 deg. of Fahrenheit; its
+specific gravity 1011; and, by an analysis of its composition by those
+distinguished scientific chemists, Messrs. Faraday and Hume, the following
+are the solid contents of a quart of the water:&mdash;
+</p>
+<pre>
+  BEULAH SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............ 123
+  Sulphate of soda and magnesia .... 32
+  Muriate of soda .................. 19
+  Muriate of magnesia .............. 18-1/2
+  Carbonate of lime ................ 15
+  Carbonate of soda ................. 3
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    210-1/2
+
+  CHELTENHAM PURE SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............. 22
+  Sulphate of soda ................. 30
+  Muriate of soda ..................100
+  Sulphate of lime .................. 9
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    161
+</pre>
+<p>
+"As a mean of comparison, the saline contents of a quart of the Cheltenham
+pure saline, as analyzed by Mr. Brande, the predecessor of Mr. Faraday in
+the professorship at the Royal Institution, is placed opposite to the
+Beulah Spring, to enable the reader to judge how much superior, as an
+aperient water, the latter is to that of Cheltenham. And, first, it may be
+observed, that the gross amount of the several salts, in the same quantity
+of the waters, is much greater in the Beulah than in the Cheltenham spring,
+the difference being forty-nine grains and a half of solid saline matter
+in a quart&mdash;that is, the impregnation is nearly one-third stronger; and,
+secondly, the nature of the saline ingredients also merits observation.
+One hundred grains out of one hundred and sixty-one, consist, as we see,
+in the Cheltenham, of muriate of soda, or common table-salt. Now, this
+substance, when perfectly freed from other salts adhering to it, possesses
+comparatively very feeble aperient properties; whereas the mass of the
+ingredients in the Beulah Spa is composed of two powerful saline
+substances, the sulphate of magnesia, and that peculiar double salt, the
+sulphate of soda and magnesia, constituting three-fourths of the whole
+saline impregnation."
+<a id="footnotetag4"
+ name="footnotetag4"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote4">4</a></sup>
+</p>
+<p>
+The lawn is tastefully varied with parterres of plants; owing to the
+lateness of the season, we saw but few near flowering, save
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+      <p class="i6">Daffodils,</p>
+  <p>That come before the swallow dares, and take</p>
+  <p>The winds of March with beauty, violets dim,</p>
+  <p>But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes,</p>
+  <p>Or Cytherea's breath.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+A few yards from the lawn a rustic orchestra is in course of erection:
+whence "the dulcet and harmonious sounds" of music may attune with the
+joyful inspiration of the natural beauties of the scene. Our guide, (of a
+more intelligent and communicative character than guides usually are,)
+directed us by a descending path through the wood, across a rude bridge,
+past a maze, by a flight of roughly-formed steps, to a terrace, whence we
+enjoyed a picturesque prospect of great range and indescribable beauty.
+The woods were as yet leafless, but primroses enlivened the pathside: how
+touchingly is their solitude told by our poets. Shakspeare calls them
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+      <p class="i6">Pale primroses</p>
+  <p>That die unmarried ere they can behold</p>
+  <p>Bright Phoebus in his strength.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+Milton describes them as dying forsaken:
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies:</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+and Mayne calls this flower
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Lorn tenant of the peaceful glade,</p>
+  <p>Emblem of virtue in the shade.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+Dr. Weatherhead describes the prospect from this terrace with more
+minuteness than the hazy state of the atmosphere enabled us to trace its
+several beauties. The ancient archiepiscopal town of Croydon lies at your
+feet; more remote, Banstead Downs spread a carpet of blooming verdure to
+the sight; in the extreme distance Windsor Castle peers its majestic
+towers above the mist; while elsewhere the utmost verge of the horizon is
+bounded by the bold range of the Surrey and Hampshire hills. Turning to
+the left you enjoy a view of Addiscombe Place, the seminary for cadets of
+the East India Company; of Shirley, the sporting seat of John Maberly, Esq.
+M.P.; of the Addington hills clothed with heaths; and of the park, the
+seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; when the prospect,
+deepening in extent, stretches as far as Knockholt Beeches, near Seven
+Oaks, and, winding round, comprehends the tall spire of Beckenham Church,
+piercing through the dense woods which surround it; Shooter's Hill,
+Blackheath, and the villages that intervene.
+</p>
+<p>
+Immediately beneath you are the grounds of the Spa, every portion of which
+can be distinctly traced from this spot: the lodge, lawn, refreshment-room,
+spring, and orchestra, as we have described them, and the paths winding
+among the woods till they disappear as it were in trackless solitude.
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. Weatherhead's pamphlet treats copiously, but in a popular style, of
+the medicinal properties of the Spa. The terms for drinking the waters are
+furnished at the lodge, where the visiter may smile at the remedy being
+<i>set to music</i>, in the melodies of the Beulah Spring Quadrilles. It may
+prevent some disappointment by stating that the Grounds are not opened to
+the public on Sundays.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>ANCIENT LAWS.</h3>
+
+<p>
+The following quaint observations possess peculiar interest at the present
+moment:
+</p>
+<p>
+"Among the ancient Druids," says Mr. Owen Feltham, "it was absolutely
+forbidden to register their laws in writing. And Caesar, in his Gallique
+Wars, gives us two reasons for it. One, that their mysteries might not
+come to be profaned and encommoned by the vulgar: another, that not being
+written, they might be more careful ever to carry them in their thoughts
+and memory. Though doubtless it was as well to preserve their own
+authority, to keep the people to a recourse to them, and to a reverence
+and esteem of their judgments. Besides, it oft falls out that what is
+written, though it were a good law when made, yet by the emergency of
+affairs, and the condition of men and times, it happens to be bad and
+alterable. And we find it to be evidently true, that, as where there are
+many physicians, there are many diseases; so where there are many laws,
+there are likewise many enormities. That nation that swarms with law and
+lawyers, certainly abounds with vice and corruption. Where you find much
+fowl resort, you
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page228"
+  name="page228">
+  </a>[pg 228]
+</span>
+may be sure there is no want of either water, mud, or
+weeds.
+</p>
+<p>
+"In the beginning of thriving states, when they are more industrious and
+innocent, they have then the fewest laws. Rome itself had at first but
+twelve tables. But after, how infinitely did their number of laws increase!
+Old states, like old bodies will be sure to contract diseases. And where
+the law-makers are many, the laws will never be few. That nation is in
+best estate that hath the fewest laws, and those good. Variety does but
+multiply snares. If every bush be limed, there is no bird can escape with
+all his feathers free. And many times when the law did not intend it, men
+are made guilty by the pleader's oratory; either to express his eloquence,
+to advance his practice, or out of mastery to carry his cause: like a
+garment pounced with dust, the business is so smeared and tangled that
+without a Galilaeus his glass, you can never come to discern the spots of
+this changeable moon. Sometimes to gratify a powerful party, justice is
+made blind through corruption, as well as out of impartiality. That indeed,
+by reason of the non-integrity of men. To go to law, is, for two to
+contrive the kindling of a fire at their own cost, to warm others, and
+singe themselves to cinders. Because they cannot agree to what is truth
+and equity, they will both agree to plume themselves, that others may be
+stuck with their feathers."
+</p>
+<p>
+W.G.C.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>OLD WEATHER RHYMES.</h3>
+<p>
+Rhymes which refer to the weather were probably written by the monks.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>If St. Paul be fine and clear,</p>
+  <p>We shall have a happy year.</p>
+  <p>If St. Paul be thick with rain,</p>
+  <p>Then dear will be the price of grain.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>After St. Bartholomew</p>
+  <p>Come long evenings and cold dew.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>February fill dyke,</p>
+  <p>Be it black or be it white,</p>
+  <p>But if it is white,</p>
+  <p>It is better to like.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>March winds and April showers,</p>
+  <p>Bring forth May flowers.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>He who views his wheat on a weeping May,</p>
+  <p>Will himself so weeping away;</p>
+  <p>But he who views it on a weeping June,</p>
+  <p>Will go away in another tune.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>When the sand doth feed the clay,</p>
+  <p>England woe and well-a-day:</p>
+  <p>But when the clay doth feed the sand,</p>
+  <p>Then it is well with Angle Land.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>A swarm of bees in May</p>
+  <p>Is worth a load of hay,</p>
+  <p>A swarm of bees in June</p>
+  <p>Is worth a silver spoon.</p>
+  <p>A swarm of bees in July</p>
+  <p>Is not worth a fly.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Under a broomstalk silver and gold,</p>
+  <p>Under a gorsestalk hunger and cold.</p>
+  <p>When hempe's spun,</p>
+  <p>England's done.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+The latter referred to the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward IV., Mary and
+Philip, and Queen Elizabeth, but proved false prophecy.
+</p>
+<p>
+W.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>CROWLAND ABBEY.</h3>
+
+<p>
+In the days of Monks and Friars, the following lines in bad Latin, were
+composed on Crowland, Lincolnshire, or the adjoining Abbey:
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>In Hollandia stat Crowland;</p>
+  <p>Ibi vinium talequale,</p>
+  <p>Ibi foenum gladiale</p>
+  <p>Ibi lecti lapidale,</p>
+  <p>Ibi viri boreali,</p>
+  <p>Ibi vale sine vale.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+They are thus translated in the <i>Beauties of England and Wales</i> (1767):&mdash;
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>"In Holland stands Crowland</p>
+  <p>Built on dirty low land.</p>
+  <p>Where you'll find, if you go,</p>
+  <p>The wine's but so so;</p>
+  <p>The blades of the hay</p>
+  <p>Are like swords one may say,</p>
+  <p>The beds are like stones,</p>
+  <p>And break a man's bones;</p>
+  <p>The men rough and sturdy,</p>
+  <p>Compliments will afford me</p>
+  <p>But bid you good b'w'y,</p>
+  <p>When both hungry and dry."</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+W.H.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>THE HOBBY HORSE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Bromley Pagets was remarkable for a very singular sport on New Year's Day
+and Twelfth Day, called the Hobby Horse Dance: a person rode upon the
+image of a horse, with a bow and arrow in his hands, with which he made a
+snapping noise, keeping time with the music, whilst six others danced the
+hay and other country dances, with as many rein-deer's heads on their
+shoulders. To this hobby-horse belonged a pot, which the Reeves of the
+town kept and filled with cakes and ale, towards which the spectators
+contributed a penny, and with the remainder maintained their poor and
+repaired the church.&mdash;W.H.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>HOLY LAND.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Ramsey Island, near St. David's Head, is said to have been inhabited by so
+many saints, that no less than twenty thousand are stated in ancient
+histories to lie interred there. Near this place are the rocks styled the
+Bishop and his Clerks, which, says an ancient author "preache deadly
+doctrine to their winter audience, such poor sea-faring men as are forcyd
+thether by tempest, onelie in one thing they are to be commended,
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page229"
+  name="page229">
+  </a>[pg 229]
+</span>
+ they
+keepe residence better than the rest of the canons of that see (St.
+David's) are wont to do."
+</p>
+<p>
+W.H.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.</h3>
+
+<p>
+After the Britons retired into Wales, it was enacted that no man should
+guide a plough that could not make one; and that the driver should make
+the ropes of twisted willows, with which it was drawn. It was usual for
+six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one
+of these ploughs, providing it with oxen, and every thing necessary for
+ploughing; and many curious laws were made for the regulation of such
+societies. If any person laid dung on the field with the consent of the
+proprietor, he was by law allowed the use of that land for one year. If
+the dung was carried out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the
+use of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a wood, and converted
+the ground into arable, with the consent of the owner, was to have the use
+of it for five years. If any one folded his cattle for one year, upon a
+piece of ground belonging to another, with the owner's consent, he was
+allowed the use of the ground for four years. Thus, though the Britons had
+in a great measure lost the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have
+been very assiduous in giving encouragement to such as would attempt the
+revival of it.
+</p>
+<p>
+T. GILL.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>LANDERS' DISCOVERY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER.</h3>
+
+<p>
+We continue our extracts from this very entertaining work, the following
+being from the second volume.
+</p>
+<p>
+At Boossà, the travellers receive a visit from "the noted widow Zuma." She
+must be an Amazonian lady, for, having quarrelled with her prince, the
+ruler of Wowow, she was obliged to fly, and actually to climb over the
+city wall in the night, and travel on foot to Boossà. Female politicians
+in Africa are not so safe as in the <i>coteries</i> of civilized Europe: they
+have to fight their own battles, and we conclude, to raise their own
+supplies: "the widow complained sadly of poverty and the hardness of the
+times; she had fought with the Yarribeans against Alòrie; but instead of
+receiving a recompense for her bravery, she had lost half her slaves in an
+engagement, which so disgusted her with the military profession, that she
+immediately abandoned it and returned home. Yet, in spite of all her
+losses and misfortunes, she has gained so much in corpulency, that it was
+with the utmost difficulty, she could squeeze herself into the doorway of
+our hut, although it is by no means small. The widow Zuma is a very
+good-looking, elderly person of matronly appearance. Her skin is of a
+light copper colour." Should this meet the eye of any soldier of fortune,
+&amp;c.
+</p>
+<p>
+At Boossà, they hear some tidings of
+</p>
+
+  <h4><i>Mungo Park</i>.</h4>
+
+<p>
+"Our visiters remained with us a considerable time, and in the course of
+conversation, one of them observed that they had in their possession a
+tobe, which belonged to a white man who came from the north many years ago,
+and from whom it had been purchased by the king's father. We expressed
+great curiosity to see this tobe, and it was sent us as a present a short
+time after their departure. Contrary to our expectations, we found it to
+be made of rich crimson damask, and very heavy from the immense quantity
+of gold embroidery with which it was covered. As the time when the late
+king was said to have purchased this tobe corresponds very nearly to the
+supposed period of Mr. Park's death, and as we never heard of any other
+white man having come from the north so far south as Boossà, we are
+inclined to believe it to be part of the spoil obtained from the canoe of
+that ill-fated traveller. Whether Mr. Park wore the tobe himself, which is
+scarcely probable on account of its weight, or whether he intended it as a
+present to a native chief, we are at a loss to determine. At all events,
+the article is a curiosity in itself; and if we should live to return to
+England, we shall easily learn whether it was made there or not. The chief
+himself has never worn the tobe, nor did his predecessor, from a
+superstitious feeling; 'besides,' observed the king, 'it might excite the
+cupidity of the neighbouring powers.'
+</p>
+<p>
+"<i>Sunday, June 20th</i>.&mdash;The king sent a messenger this morning, to inform
+us that he was a tailor, and that he would thank us for some thread and a
+few needles for his own private use. By this man he likewise sent a musket
+for
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page230"
+  name="page230">
+  </a>[pg 230]
+</span>
+ us to repair; but as it is Sunday, we have declined doing it till
+to-morrow. Eager as we are to obtain even the slightest information
+relative to the unhappy fate of Mr. Park and his companions, as well as to
+ascertain if any of their books or papers are now in existence at this
+place, we had almost made up our minds to refrain from asking any
+questions on the subject, because we were apprehensive that it might be
+displeasing to the king, and involve us in many perplexities. Familiarity,
+however, having in some measure worn off this impression, and the king
+being an affable, obliging, and good-natured person, we were emboldened to
+send Paskoe to him this morning, with a message expressive of the interest
+we felt on the subject, in common with all our countrymen; and saying that,
+if any books or papers which belonged to Mr. Park were yet in his
+possession, he would do us a great service, by delivering them into our
+hands, or at least by granting us permission to see them. To this the king
+returned for answer, that when Mr. Park was lost in the Niger, he was a
+very little boy, and that he knew not what had become of his effects; that
+the deplorable event had occurred in the reign of the late king's
+predecessor, who died shortly after; and that all traces of the white man
+had been lost with him. This answer disappointed our hopes, for to us it
+appeared final and decisive. But in the evening they were again raised by
+a hint from our host, who is the king's drummer, and one of the principal
+men in the country: he assured us, that there was certainly one book at
+least saved from Mr. Park's canoe, which is now in the possession of a
+very poor man in the service of his master, to whom it had been entrusted
+by the late king during his last illness. He said moreover, that if but
+one application were made to the king, on any subject whatever, very
+little was thought of it; but if a second were made, the matter would be
+considered of sufficient importance to demand his whole attention,&mdash;such
+being the custom of the country. The drummer therefore recommended us to
+persevere in our inquiries, for he had no doubt that something to our
+satisfaction would be elicited. At his own request, we sent him to the
+king immediately, desiring him to repeat our former statement, and to
+assure the king, that should he be successful in recovering the book we
+wanted, our monarch would reward him handsomely. He desired the drummer to
+inform us, that he would use every exertion, and examine the man who was
+reported to have the white man's book in his possession, at an early hour
+to-morrow. Here the matter at present rests.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+"In the afternoon, the king came to see us, followed by a man with a book
+under his arm, which was said to have been picked up in the Niger after
+the loss of our countryman. It was enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and
+our hearts beat high with expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it,
+for by its size we guessed it to be Mr. Park's journal; but our
+disappointment and chagrin were great, when, on opening the book, we
+discovered it to be an old nautical publication of the last century. The
+title-page was missing, but its contents were chiefly tables of logarithms.
+It was a thick royal quarto, which led us to conjecture that it was a
+journal; between the leaves we found a few loose papers of very little
+consequence indeed; one of them contained two or three observations on the
+height of the water in the Gambia; one was a tailor's bill on a Mr.
+Anderson; and another was addressed to Mr. Mungo Park, and contained an
+invitation to dinner,&mdash;the following is a copy of it:&mdash;
+</p>
+<pre>
+  'Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be happy to
+  have the pleasure of Mr. Park's company at
+  dinner on Tuesday next, at half-past five
+  o'clock.
+
+  'An answer is requested.
+
+  '<i>Strand, 9th Nov. 1804</i>.'
+</pre>
+<p>
+"The king, as well as the owner of the book, looked as greatly mortified
+as ourselves, when they were told that the one produced was not that of
+which we were in quest, because the reward promised would not of course be
+obtained. As soon as our curiosity had been fully satisfied, the papers
+were carefully collected and placed again between the leaves, and the book
+as carefully folded in its envelope as before, and taken away by its owner,
+who values it as much as a household god. Thus all our hopes of obtaining
+Mr. Park's journal or papers, in this city, are entirely defeated. The
+inquiry, on our part, has not been prosecuted without much trouble and
+anxiety, and some little personal sacrifices likewise, which, had they
+been ten times as great, we would gladly have made whilst a single hope
+remained of their being effectual."
+</p>
+<p>
+After much ado at Boossà, owing to the canoe not being ready&mdash;the "King of
+the Canoe," a sort of Lord of the Admiralty, informing the travellers with
+the utmost unconcern that it was out of repair&mdash;they
+</p>
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page231"
+  name="page231">
+  </a>[pg 231]
+</span>
+ <h4><i>Embark on the Niger</i>.</h4>
+
+<p>
+"About mid-day the workmen having finished our canoe, the luggage was
+presently put into it, and between twelve and one we embarked with our
+people, and were launched out into the river. The direction of this branch
+was nearly east and west; and we proceeded some distance down the stream
+for the purpose of getting into the main branch of the Niger, where there
+is deeper water. This object was soon attained, and we found it flowing
+from north to south, through a rich and charming country, which seemed to
+improve in appearance the further we advanced. We were propelled at a good
+rate up a channel, which, from half a mile in breadth, gradually widened
+to rather better than a mile. Beautiful, spreading, and spiry trees
+adorned the country on each side of the river, like a park; corn, nearly
+ripe, waved over the water's edge; large, open villages appeared every
+half-hour; and herds of spotted cattle were observed grazing and enjoying
+the cool of the shade. The appearance of the river, for several miles, was
+no less enchanting than its borders; it was as smooth as a lake; canoes
+laden with sheep and goats, were paddled by women down its almost
+imperceptible current; swallows, and a variety of aquatic birds, were
+sporting over its glassy surface, which was ornamented by a number of
+pretty little islands.
+</p>
+<p>
+"<i>Friday, June 25th</i>.&mdash;The most remarkable object which we saw on rising
+this morning, was a rugged and romantic range of hills, appearing to the
+eastward of our encampment; it is called <i>Engarskie</i>, from a country of
+the same name in which the hills are situated, and which was formerly an
+independent kingdom, but is now become a province of Yàoorie. At a little
+before seven, A.M., our canoe was pushed off the sandy beach on which it
+had been secured last evening, and propelled down a very narrow channel,
+between a large sand-bank and the shore. This conducted us into the main
+branch of the Niger, and we again admired its delightful and magnificent
+appearance.
+</p>
+<p>
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards when the river gradually
+widened to two miles, and continued so as far as the eye could reach. It
+looked very much like an artificial canal; the banks having the appearance
+of a dwarf wall, with vegetation beyond. In most places the water was
+extremely shallow, but in others it was deep enough to float a frigate.
+During the first two hours of the day, the scenery was as interesting and
+picturesque as can be imagined. The banks were literally covered with
+hamlets and villages; fine trees, bending under the weight of their dark
+and impenetrable foliage, everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of
+the sun's rays, and, contrasted with the lively verdure of the little
+hills and plains, produced the most pleasing effect. Afterwards, however,
+there was a decided change; the banks, which before consisted of dark
+earth, clay, or sand, were now composed of black rugged rocks; large
+sand-banks and islands were scattered in the river, which diverted it into
+a variety of little channels, and effectually destroyed its appearance.
+</p>
+<p>
+"We had heard so unfavourable an account of the state of the river at one
+particular place which we should have to pass, that our people were
+compelled to disembark and walk along the banks a considerable way till we
+had passed it, when we took them in again. We found the description to be
+in no wise exaggerated; it presented a most forbidding appearance, and
+yields only to the state of the Niger near Boossà in difficulty and danger.
+On our arrival at this formidable place, we discovered a range of black
+rocks running directly across the stream, and the water, finding only one
+narrow passage, rushed through it with great impetuosity, over-turning and
+carrying away everything in its course. Our boatmen, with the assistance
+of a number of the natives, who planted themselves on the rocks on each
+side of the only channel, and in the stream at the stern of the canoe,
+lifted it by main force into smoother and safer water. The last difficulty
+with respect to rocks and sand-banks was now overcome, and in a very
+little time we came to the termination of all the islands, after which, it
+is said, there is not a single dangerous place up the Niger. The river
+here presented its noblest appearance; not a single rock nor sand-bank was
+anywhere perceptible; its borders resumed their beauty, and a strong,
+refreshing breeze, which had blown during the whole of the morning, now
+gave it the motion of a slightly-agitated sea. In the course of the
+morning we passed two lovely little islands, clothed in verdure, which at
+a short distance looked as charming as the fabled gardens of Hesperia;
+indeed no spot on earth can excel them in beauty of appearance. These
+islands are inhabited by a few individuals."
+</p>
+<p>
+Upon leaving Yàoorie, a venerable Arab chief pretended great regard for
+the travellers, though he used them
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page232"
+  name="page232">
+  </a>[pg 232]
+</span>
+ deceitfully; they had, however,
+"enjoyed an innocent kind of revenge, in administering to him a powerful
+dose of medicine, which though harmless in its effects, had yet been very
+troublesome to him. Indeed, it was not till we had 'jalaped' the sultan,
+his sister, and all the royal family, that we were permitted to take our
+farewell of Yàoorie."
+</p>
+<p>
+The incident of physicking the royal family at Yàoorie by way of
+leave-taking, is only equalled by the following oddity:&mdash;"The captain of
+the palm oil brig, Elizabeth, now in the Calabar river, actually
+white-washed his crew from head to foot, while they were sick with fever
+and unable to protect themselves; his cook suffered so much in the
+operation, that the lime totally deprived him of the sight of one of his
+eyes, and rendered the other of little service to him."
+</p>
+<p>
+The account of the Travellers' visit to Fernando Po, in the third volume,
+will be read with interest, as indeed will every page of the whole
+narrative; and to this commendation of the Messrs. Landers' Journal of
+their past adventures we cheerfully add our best wishes for the success of
+their future enterprize.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>SONGS OF THE GIPSIES.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Among the musical novelties of the day, we notice with much pleasure, a
+pretty volume of Lyrics, written by Mr. Moncrieff, the music by Mr. S.
+Nelson. The poetry is throughout sparkling and characteristic, and "an
+Historical Introduction on the origin and customs of Gipsies," prefixed to
+the Songs, is so attractive as to be likely to share the popularity of the
+piano-forte accompaniments. It is written with considerable care and
+neatness, and the peculiar tact requisite to produce an interesting paper
+on a dry subject.
+</p>
+<p>
+We are only enabled to quote from the lyrics, an opening carol, as
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Liberty, liberty!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Search the world round,</p>
+  <p>'Tis with the Gipsy</p>
+      <p class="i4">Alone thou art found.</p>
+  <p>Then in the gay greenwood</p>
+      <p class="i4">We worship thee now,</p>
+  <p>The free, oh the free!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Still live under the bough.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Trarah! Trarah!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Hark, the deep dingles ring,</p>
+  <p>Free hearts, with the bird</p>
+      <p class="i4">And the deer are on wing;</p>
+  <p>Joy claims in the greenwood</p>
+      <p class="i4">The Gipsy's glad vow,</p>
+  <p>The blithe, oh the blithe!</p>
+      <p class="i4">Still live under the bough.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+And the first song entire.
+</p>
+
+<h3>THE GIPSY QUEEN.</h3>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Oh! 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+    <p class="i2">And where is there queen like me,</p>
+  <p>That can revel upon the green,</p>
+    <p class="i2">In boundless liberty?</p>
+  <p>What though my cheek be brown,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And wild my raven hair,</p>
+  <p>A red cloth hood my crown,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And my sceptre the wand I bear!</p>
+  <p>Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>With my kingdom I'm well content,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Though my realm's but the hawthorn glade;</p>
+  <p>And my palace a tatter'd tent</p>
+    <p class="i2">Beneath the willow's shade:</p>
+  <p>Though my banquet I'm forc'd to make</p>
+    <p class="i2">On haws and berries store,</p>
+  <p>And the game that by chance we take</p>
+    <p class="i2">From some neighbouring hind's barn door!</p>
+  <p>Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>'Tis true I must ply my art,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And share in my subjects' toils;</p>
+  <p>But of all their gains I've part,</p>
+    <p class="i2">I've the choice of all their spoils;</p>
+  <p>And, by love and duty led,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Ere from my jet black eye</p>
+  <p>One sad tear should be shed,</p>
+    <p class="i2">A thousand hearts would die!</p>
+  <p>For, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>A SONG OF PITCAIRN'S ISLAND.</h3>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Come, take our boy, and we will go</p>
+    <p class="i2">Before our cabin door;</p>
+  <p>The winds shall bring us, as they blow,</p>
+    <p class="i2">The murmurs of the shore;</p>
+  <p>And we will kiss his young blue eyes,</p>
+  <p>And I will sing him as he lies,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Songs that were made of yore:</p>
+  <p>I'll sing, in his delighted ear,</p>
+  <p>The island-lays thou lov'st to hear.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>And thou, while stammering I repeat,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Thy country's tongue shalt teach;</p>
+  <p>'Tis not so soft, but far more sweet</p>
+    <p class="i2">Than my own native speech;</p>
+  <p>For thou no other tongue didst know,</p>
+  <p>When, scarcely twenty moons ago,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Upon Tahité's beach,</p>
+  <p>Thou cam'st to woo me to be thine,</p>
+  <p>With many a speaking look and sign.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>I knew thy meaning&mdash;thou didst praise</p>
+    <p class="i2">My eyes, my locks of jet;</p>
+  <p>Ah! well for me they won thy gaze&mdash;</p>
+    <p class="i2">But thine were fairer yet!</p>
+  <p>I'm glad to see my infant wear</p>
+  <p>Thy soft blue eyes and sunny hair,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And when my sight is met</p>
+  <p>By his white brow and blooming cheek,</p>
+  <p>I feel a joy I cannot speak.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Come talk of Europe's maids with me,</p>
+    <p class="i2">Whose necks and cheeks, they tell,</p>
+  <p>Outshine the beauty of the sea,</p>
+    <p class="i2">White foam and crimson shell.</p>
+  <p>I'll shape like theirs my simple dress,</p>
+  <p>And bind like them each jetty tress,</p>
+    <p class="i2">A sight to please thee well;</p>
+  <p>And for my dusky brow will braid</p>
+  <p>A bonnet like an English maid.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Come, for the soft, low sunlight calls&mdash;</p>
+    <p class="i2">We lose the pleasant hours;</p>
+  <p>'Tis lovelier than these cottage walls&mdash;</p>
+    <p class="i2">That seat among the flowers.</p>
+  <p>And I will learn of thee a prayer</p>
+  <p>To Him who gave a home so fair,</p>
+    <p class="i2">A lot so blest as ours&mdash;</p>
+  <p>The God who made for thee and me</p>
+  <p>This sweet lone isle amid the sea.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+<i>From a volume of American Poetry, William Cullen Bryant.</i>
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page233"
+  name="page233">
+  </a>[pg 233]
+</span>
+<div class="figure" style="width:100%;"><a href="images/542-002.png">
+<img width = "100%" src="images/542-002.png" alt="TOMB OF THE POET, WALLER." /></a></div>
+
+<p>
+In the churchyard of Beaconsfield, Bucks, stands the above handsome
+tribute to the memory of the celebrated poet and politician, EDMUND WALLER.
+The monument is of marble, with a pyramid rising from the centre, and a
+votive urn at each corner. On the east side is a Latin inscription,
+stating that Waller was born March 30, 1605, at Coleshill, in
+Hertfordshire; his father being Robert Waller, Esq. (of Agmondelsham in
+Buckingham, whose family was originally a branch of the Kentish
+Wallers,
+<a id="footnotetag5"
+ name="footnotetag5"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote5">5</a></sup>
+) and his mother of the Hampden family; that he was a student
+at Cambridge; "his first wife was Anne, only daughter and heiress to
+Edward Banks, twice made a father by his first wife, and thirteen times by
+his second, whom he survived eight years; he died October 21, 1687." The
+original inscription is by Rymer, and is to be seen in most editions of
+the poet's works. The monument was erected by the poet's son's executors,
+in 1700, and stands on the east side of the churchyard, near the family
+vault. The above engraving is from a sketch, obligingly furnished by our
+Correspondent, W.H. of Wycombe.
+</p>
+<p>
+Waller was proprietor of the manor of Beaconsfield, and that of Hall Barn,
+in the vicinity, at which latter place he resided.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is remarkable, that this great man, toward the decline of life bought a
+small house, with a little land, on his natal spot; observing, "that he
+should be glad to die like the stag, where he was roused." This, however,
+did not happen. "When he was at Beaconsfield," says Johnson, "he found his
+legs grow tumid: he went to Windsor, where Sir Charles Scarborough then
+attended the king, and requested him, as both a friend and physician, to
+tell him what that swelling meant. 'Sir,' answered Scarborough, 'your
+blood will run no longer.' Waller repeated some lines of Virgil, and went
+home to die. As the disease increased upon him, he composed himself for
+his departure; and calling upon Dr. Birch to give him the holy sacrament,
+he desired his children to take it with him, and made an earnest
+declaration of his faith in Christianity. It now appeared what part of his
+conversation with the great could be remembered with delight. He related,
+that being present when the Duke of Buckingham talked profanely before
+King Charles, he said to him, 'My lord, I am a great deal older than your
+Grace, and have, I believe, heard more arguments for atheism than ever
+your Grace did; but I have lived long enough to see there is nothing in
+them, and so I hope your Grace will."
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page234"
+  name="page234">
+  </a>[pg 234]
+</span>
+<h2>SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>TROUT TICKLING IN IRELAND.</h3>
+
+<p>
+What will our <i>ticklish</i> correspondent, W.H.H. say to this?
+</p>
+<p>
+"Kniveing trouts" (they call it tickling in England) is good sport. You go
+to a stony shallow at night, a companion bearing a torch; then stripping
+to the thighs and shoulders, wade in; grope with your hands under the
+stones, sods, and other harbourage, till you find your game, then grip him
+in your "knieve," and toss him ashore.
+</p>
+<p>
+I remember, when a boy, carrying the splits for a servant of the family,
+called Sam Wham. Now Sam was an able young fellow, well-boned and willing;
+a hard headed cudgel player, and a marvellous tough wrestler, for he had a
+backbone like a sea-serpent; this gained him the name of the Twister and
+Twiner. He had got into the river, with his back to me, was stooping over
+a broad stone, when something bolted from under the bank on which I stood,
+right through his legs. Sam fell with a great splash upon his face, but in
+falling, jammed whatever it was against the stone. "Let go, Twister,"
+shouted I, "'tis an otter, he will nip a finger off you."&mdash;"Whisht,"
+sputtered he, as he slid his hand under the water; "May I never read a
+text again, if he isna a sawmont wi' a shouther like a hog!"&mdash;"Grip him by
+the gills, Twister," cried I.&mdash;"Saul will I!" cried the Twiner; but just
+then there was a heave, a roll, a splash, a slap like a pistol-shot; down
+went Sam, and up went the salmon, spun like a shilling at pitch and toss,
+six feet into the air. I leaped in just as he came to the water; but my
+foot caught between two stones, and the more I pulled the firmer it stuck.
+The fish fell in a spot shallower than that from which he had leaped. Sam
+saw the chance, and tackled to again: while I, sitting down in the stream
+as best I might, held up my torch, and cried fair play, as shoulder to
+shoulder, throughout and about, up and down, roll and tumble, to it they
+went, Sam and the salmon. The Twister was never so twined before. Yet
+through crossbuttocks and capsizes innumerable, he still held on; now
+haled through a pool; now haling up a bank; now heels over head; now head
+over heels; now head and heels together; doubled up in a corner; but at
+last stretched fairly on his back, and foaming for rage and disappointment;
+while the victorious salmon, slapping the stones with his tail, and
+whirling the spray from his shoulders at every roll, came boring and
+snoring up the ford. I tugged and strained to no purpose; he flashed by me
+with a snort, and slid into the deep water. Sam now staggered forward with
+battered bones and peeled elbows, blowing like a grampus, and cursing like
+nothing but himself. He extricated me, and we limped home. Neither rose
+for a week; for I had a dislocated ankle, and the Twister was troubled
+with a broken rib. Poor Sam! he had his brains discovered at last by a
+poker in a row, and was worm's meat within three months; yet, ere he died,
+he had the satisfaction of feasting on his old antagonist, who was man's
+meat next morning. They caught him in a net. Sam knew him by the twist in
+his tail.&mdash;<i>Blackwood's Magazine</i>.
+</p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h4>DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL.</h4>
+
+<p>
+The operation of working for these precious jems is a very simple one. The
+alluvial soil (the cascalhao) is dug up from the bed of the river, and
+removed to a convenient spot on the banks for working. The process is as
+follows:&mdash;a rancho is erected about a hundred feet long, and half that
+distance in width; down the middle of the area is conveyed a canal,
+covered with earth; on the other side of the area is a flooring of planks,
+about sixteen feet in length, extending the whole length of the shed, and
+to which an inclined direction is given; this flooring is divided into
+troughs, into which is thrown a portion of the cascalhao; the water is
+then let in, and the earth raked until the water becomes clear; the earthy
+particles having been washed away, the gravel is raked up to the end of
+the trough; the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards the smaller
+ones, the whole is then examined with great care for diamonds. When a
+negro finds one, he claps his hands, stands in an erect posture, holding
+the diamond between his fore-finger and thumb; it is received by one of
+the overseers posted on lofty seats, at equal distances, along the line of
+the work. On the conclusion of the work, the diamonds found during the day
+are weighed, and registered by the overseer <i>en chef</i>. If a negro has the
+good fortune to find a stone weighing upwards of seventeen carats, he is
+immediately manumitted, and for smaller stones proportionate premiums are
+given. There are, besides, several other works on this river, and on other
+streams, but the supply of
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page235"
+  name="page235">
+  </a>[pg 235]
+</span>
+ diamonds falls now considerably short of former
+periods, and their produce scarcely defrays the expenses.
+</p>
+<p>
+The Diamond District of the Serro do Frio is about twenty leagues in
+length, and nine in breadth; the soil is barren, but intersected by
+numerous streams. It was first discovered by some miners, shortly after
+the establishment of the Villa do Principe. In working for gold in the
+rivulets of Milho Verde and St. Goncalzes, they discovered some pebbles of
+geometric form, and of a peculiar hue and lustre. For some years these
+pebbles were given as pretty baubles to children, or used as counters for
+marking the points of their favourite game of voltarete. At last an
+officer, who had been some years at Goa, in the East Indies, arrived in
+the Commarca: he was struck with the peculiar form of these pebbles, and
+from several experiments he made, it struck him that they were diamonds.
+He immediately collected a few, and sent them to Holland, where, to the
+astonishment of the lapidaries, they were found to be brilliants of the
+finest water. It will easily be imagined, that on the arrival of this
+intelligence in Brazil, the hitherto despised counters suddenly became the
+objects of universal research, and almost immediately disappeared.
+</p>
+<p>
+The government of Portugal now issued a decree, declaring all diamonds a
+monopoly of the crown. For a length of time it was considered that
+diamonds were confined solely to the district of Serro Frio. But this is
+an error; they are found in almost every part of the empire, particularly
+in the remote provinces of Goyazes and Matto Grosso, where there exist
+several districtos diamantescos. These gems have been even found on the
+tops of the highest mountains; indeed, it is the opinion of the Brazilian
+mineralogists that the original diamond formations are in the mountains,
+and that they will one day or other be discovered in such quantities, as
+to render them objects of comparatively small value.
+</p>
+<p>
+The largest diamond in the world was found in the river Abaite; about
+ninety-two leagues to N.W. of Serro do Frio. The history of its discovery
+is romantic:&mdash;three Brazilians, Ant. de Souza, Jose Felix Gomes, and
+Thomas de Souza, were sentenced, for some supposed misdemeanour, to
+perpetual banishment in the wildest part of the interior. Their sentence
+was a cruel one; but the region of their exile was the richest in the
+world; every river rolled over a bed of gold, every valley contained
+inexhaustible mines of diamonds. A suspicion of this kind enabled these
+unfortunate men to support the horrors of their fate; they were constantly
+sustained by the golden hope of discovering some rich mine, that would
+produce a reversion of their hard sentence. Thus they wandered about for
+nearly six years, in quest of mines; but fortune was at last propitious.
+An excessive draught had laid dry the bed of the river Abaite, and here,
+while working for gold, they discovered a diamond of nearly an ounce in
+weight. Overwhelmed with joy at this providential discovery, they resolved
+to proceed, at all hazards, to Villa Rica, and trust to the mercy of the
+crown. The governor, on beholding the magnitude and lustre of the gem,
+could scarcely credit the evidence of his senses. He immediately appointed
+a commission of the officers of the Diamond District to report on its
+nature; and on their pronouncing it a real diamond, it was immediately
+dispatched to Lisbon. It is needless to add that the sentence of the three
+"condemnados" was immediately reversed.
+</p>
+<p>
+This celebrated diamond has been estimated by Romé de l'Isle at the
+enormous sum of three hundred millions sterling. It is uncut, but the late
+King of Portugal, who had a passion for precious stones, had a hole bored
+through it, in order to wear it suspended about his neck on gala days. No
+sovereign possessed so fine a collection of diamonds as this
+prince.&mdash;<i>Monthly Mag</i>.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>NOTES OF A READER.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>AMERICAN LIFE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Trollope's amusing book has furnished us with still another page or
+two of scenes and sketches:
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Crocodiles on the Mississippi</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"It is said that at some points of this dismal river, crocodiles are so
+abundant as to add the terror of their attacks to the other sufferings of
+a dwelling there. We were told a story of a squatter, who having 'located'
+himself close to the river's edge, proceeded to build his cabin. This
+operation is soon performed, for social feeling and the love of whiskey
+bring all the scanty neighbourhood round a new comer, to aid him in
+cutting down trees, and in rolling up the logs, till the mansion is
+complete. This was done; the wife and five young children were put in
+possession of their new home, and slept soundly after a long march.
+Towards day-break the husband and father was awakened by a faint cry, and
+looking up, beheld relics
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page236"
+  name="page236">
+  </a>[pg 236]
+</span>
+ of three of his children scattered over the
+floor, and an enormous crocodile, with several young-ones around her,
+occupied in devouring the remnants of their horrid meal. He looked around
+for a weapon, but finding none, and aware that unarmed he could do nothing,
+he raised himself gently on his bed, and contrived to crawl from thence
+through a window, hoping that his wife, whom he left sleeping, might with
+the remaining children rest undiscovered till his return. He flew to his
+nearest neighbour and besought his aid; in less than half an hour two men
+returned with him, all three well armed; but alas! they were too late! the
+wife and her two babes lay mangled on their bloody bed. The gorged
+reptiles fell an easy prey to their assailants, who, upon examining the
+place, found the hut had been constructed close to the mouth of a large
+hole, almost a cavern, where the monster had hatched her hateful brood."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Pig Scavengers</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"We were soon settled in our new dwelling, which looked neat and
+comfortable enough, but we speedily found that it was devoid of nearly all
+the accommodation that Europeans conceive necessary to decency and comfort.
+No pump, no cistern, no drain of any kind, no dustman's cart, or any other
+visible means of getting rid of the rubbish, which vanishes with such
+celerity in London, that one has no time to think of its existence; but
+which accumulated so rapidly at Cincinnati, that I sent for my landlord to
+know in what manner refuse of all kinds was to be disposed of.
+</p>
+<p>
+"Your Help will just have to fix them all into the middle of the street,
+but you must mind, old woman, that it is the middle. I expect you don't
+know as we have got a law what forbids throwing such things at the sides
+of the streets; they must just all be cast right into the middle, and the
+pigs soon takes them off.'"
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>American English</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"I very seldom during my whole stay in the country heard a sentence
+elegantly turned, and correctly pronounced from the lips of an American.
+There is always something either in the expression or the accent that jars
+the feelings and shocks the taste."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Mr. Bullock</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"About two miles below Cincinnati, on the Kentucky side of the river, Mr.
+Bullock, the well known proprietor of the Egyptian Hall, has bought a
+large estate, with a noble house upon it. He and his amiable wife were
+devoting themselves to the embellishment of the house and grounds; and
+certainly there is more taste and art lavished on one of their beautiful
+saloons, than all Western America can show elsewhere. It is impossible to
+help feeling that Mr. Bullock is rather out of his element in this remote
+spot, and the gems of art he has brought with him, show as strangely there,
+as would a bower of roses in Siberia, or a Cincinnati fashionable at
+Almack's. The exquisite beauty of the spot, commanding one of the finest
+reaches of the Ohio, the extensive gardens, and the large and handsome
+mansion, have tempted Mr. Bullock to spend a large sum in the purchase of
+this place, and if any one who has passed his life in London could endure
+such a change, the active mind and sanguine spirit of Mr. Bullock might
+enable him to do it; but his frank, and truly English hospitality, and his
+enlightened and inquiring mind, seemed sadly wasted there. I have since
+heard with pleasure that Mr. Bullock has parted with this beautiful, but
+secluded mansion.
+</p>
+<p>
+"Mr. Bullock was showing to some gentlemen of the first standing, the very
+<i>élite</i> of Cincinnati, his beautiful collection of engravings, when one
+among them exclaimed, 'Have you really done all these since you came here?
+How hard you must have worked!'"
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Cows</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"These animals are fed morning and evening at the door of the house, with
+a good mess of Indian corn, boiled with water; while they eat, they are
+milked, and when the operation is completed the milk-pail and the meal-tub
+retreat into the dwelling, leaving the republican cow to walk away, to
+take her pleasure on the hills, or in the gutters, as may suit her fancy
+best. They generally return very regularly to give and take the morning
+and evening meal; though it more than once happened to us, before we were
+supplied by a regular milk cart, to have our jug sent home empty, with the
+sad news that 'the cow was not come home, and it was too late to look for
+her to breakfast now.' Once, I remember, the good woman told us that she
+had overslept herself, and that the cow had come and gone again, 'not
+liking, I expect, to hanker about by herself for nothing, poor thing.'"
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Health of Cincinnati</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"A gentleman told us, that when a medical man intended settling in a new
+situation, he always, if he knew his
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page237"
+  name="page237">
+  </a>[pg 237]
+</span>
+ business, walked through the streets
+at night, before he decided. If he saw the dismal twinkle of the
+watch-light from many windows he might be sure that disease was busy, and
+that the 'location' might suit him well."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Marketing</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"It is the custom for the gentlemen to go to market at Cincinnati; the
+smartest men in the place, and those of the 'highest standing' do not
+scruple to leave their beds with the sun, six days in the week, and,
+prepared with a mighty basket, to sally forth in search of meat, butter,
+eggs, and vegetables. I have continually seen them returning, with their
+weighty basket on one arm and an enormous ham depending from the other."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Moving Houses</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"One of the sights to stare at in America is that of houses moving from
+place to place. We were often amused by watching this exhibition of
+mechanical skill in the streets. They make no difficulty of moving
+dwellings from one part of the town to another. Those I saw travelling
+were all of them frame-houses, that is, built wholly of wood, except the
+chimneys; but it is said that brick buildings are sometimes treated in the
+same manner. The largest dwelling that I saw in motion was one containing
+two stories of four rooms each; forty oxen were yoked to it. The first few
+yards brought down the two stacks of chimneys, but it afterwards went on
+well. The great difficulties were the first getting it in motion and the
+stopping exactly in the right place. This locomotive power was extremely
+convenient at Cincinnati, as the constant improvements going on there made
+it often desirable to change a wooden dwelling for one of brick; and
+whenever this happened, we were sure to see the ex No. 100 of Main-street
+or the ex No. 55 of Second-street creeping quietly out of town, to take
+possession of a humble suburban station on the common above it."
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Social distinctions</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+"My general appellation amongst my neighbours was 'the English old woman,'
+but in mentioning each other they constantly employed the term 'lady;' and
+they evidently had a pleasure in using it, for I repeatedly observed, that
+in speaking of a neighbour, instead of saying Mrs. Such-a-one, they
+described her as 'the lady over the way what takes in washing,' or as
+'that there lady, out by the Gulley, what is making dip-candles.' Mr.
+Trollope was as constantly called 'the old man,' while dray-men, butchers'
+boys, and the labourers on the canal were invariably denominated 'them
+gentlemen;' nay, we once saw one of the most gentlemanlike men in
+Cincinnati introduce a fellow in dirty shirt sleeves, and all sorts of
+detestable et cetera, to one of his friends, with this formula, 'D&mdash;&mdash; let
+me introduce this gentleman to you.'"
+</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE COSMOPOLITE.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &amp;c. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS.</h3>
+
+<h4><i>(Concluded from page 213.)</i></h4>
+
+<p>
+The oriental fable of the <i>Roc</i> has its probable origin in the condor,
+which is undoubtedly the largest and strongest bird of the vulture tribe
+in existence, and extremely ravenous. Minerva's bird, the <i>Owl</i>, is well
+known as one of ill omen; besides the superstitious idea that the
+screech-owl foretells death by its cry, it was formerly believed to suck
+the blood of children. The Mongol and Calmuc Tartars have held the <i>White
+Owl</i> sacred since the days of Genghis Khan, when a bird of this species
+having settled on a bush in which that prince had hidden himself from his
+enemies, those who pursued him past it, not believing that a bird would
+perch on a bush wherein a man was concealed. The <i>Raven</i> has ever been
+considered by the vulgar as a bird of evil omen, the indicator of
+misfortunes and death; and, indeed, the superstition is but consonant with
+a bird of such funereal note and hue, and exhibiting such goule-like
+propensities. The Swedes, however, regard it as sacred, and no one offers
+to molest it. In the north of England, one <i>Magpie</i> flying alone, is
+deemed an ill omen; two together, a fortunate one; three forebode a
+funeral, and four a wedding; or, when on a journey, to meet two magpies
+portends a wedding; three, a successful journey; four, unexpected good
+news; and five, that the person will soon be in company with the great. To
+kill a magpie, indicates or brings down some terrible misfortune. The
+<i>Sparrow Hawk</i> was sacred with the Egyptians, and the symbol of Osiris.
+The <i>Yellow Hammer</i> is superstitiously considered an agent <i>diablerie</i>.
+The <i>Wheat-Ear</i> is, in the Highlands, a detested bird, and fancied one of
+evil omen, on account of its frequenting old churchyards, where it nestles
+amongst the stones, and finds plenty of insects for food. The <i>Woodcock</i>
+is, we believe, the bird imagined to drop, in its proper season, from the
+moon. It is a vulgar
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page238"
+  name="page238">
+  </a>[pg 238]
+</span>
+ error, that the song of the <i>Nightingale</i> is
+melancholy, and that it only sings by night; but to hear the Cuckoo before
+the Nightingale has been long deemed an unsuccessful omen in love: the
+saliva of the cuckoo has been thought to preserve all it falls upon.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>"The <i>Robin</i> and the <i>Wren</i></p>
+  <p>Are God Almighty's cock and hen,"</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+<p>
+says the old distich, and whilst it is reckoned wicked to kill either of
+these (not but that there is an ancient custom of "hunting the wren" still
+kept up, we believe, in some parts of this country,) it is considered
+unlucky to kill a <i>Swallow</i>, or <i>House-Martin</i>. The <i>King-fisher</i> is the
+Halcyon of the ancients, who imagined that during the process of
+incubation by the female the sea remained unvexed by storms; hence
+"halcyon days." The feathers of this bird are employed by the Tartars for
+many superstitious purposes; they consider them amulets of priceless value,
+enabling them to inspire women with love. In more civilized countries it
+was once believed, that if the body of a kingfisher were suspended by a
+thread, some magnetic influence would turn its breast to the north: others
+thought it a preserver of woollen cloths from moths. The <i>Albatross</i> (by
+some considered the kingfisher or halcyon,) is fabled to sleep in the air,
+never to touch the earth; and to kill one is reckoned supremely unlucky.
+There is an Indian bird, the name of which has unfortunately escaped us,
+that is feigned to live only on the rain-drops which it can draw with its
+bill from the clouds; in a dry season, therefore, this bird perishes. Of
+the <i>Bird of Paradise</i> the following wonders were once credited: viz. that
+the egg was laid in the air by the female, and there hatched by the male
+in an orifice of his body; that it had no legs (these however are long,
+and a disfigurement to the body, which the Indians know, and fearful of
+their depreciating the value of the bird, upon capturing it, cut them off);
+that it hung itself by the two long feathers of its tail on a tree when
+sleeping; that it never touched the ground during any period of its
+existence, and fed wholly on dew. The Indians also believe that the leader,
+or king of the birds of paradise is black, with red spots, and that he
+soars far away from the rest of the flock, which, however, never quit him,
+but settle where he does. The <i>Gigantic Crane</i> is believed by the Indians
+to be invulnerable, and animated by the souls of deceased Brahmins; the
+Africans hold it in equal veneration. Whence arises the classical fable
+that swans sing their own dirge just previous to death, and expire singing
+it? The wild swan certainly may be said to whistle, but the tame has no
+other note than a hiss, and this only when provoked. The Kamschatdales and
+Kuriles wear round their necks the bills of <i>Puffins</i>, as an amulet which
+ensures good fortune. Who was <i>Mother Carey</i>?&mdash;The wife, perhaps, of
+"<i>Davy</i>," and keeper of his "locker;" Mother Carey's chickens is the
+well-known appellation, in <i>tarrish</i> tongue, of <i>Stormy Petrels</i>, not
+superstitiously supposed to forebode tempests, since they seem their very
+element; but it is probable that to Mother Carey herself (we crave her
+pardon&mdash;<i>Mistress</i>) some astounding "yarn" is attached. The <i>Stork</i>, the
+<i>Crane</i>, and the <i>Pelican</i>, are each the subject of idle stories; the
+latter has been asserted to feed her young with her own bosom's blood, and
+to fill her pouch with water in order to supply them in the desert. A
+notion is entertained by the ignorant that the <i>Bittern</i> thrusts its bill
+into a reed, which serves as a pipe to increase the volume of its natural
+note, and swell it above pitch; and in some places a tradition prevails
+that it thrusts its head into water and then blows with all its might. It
+is erroneous that the <i>Ostrich</i> lays her eggs in the sand, depending
+solely on the sun's rays to hatch them; the truth is that, as from the
+heat of her native climate, it is not always necessary for her to sit upon
+them, she simply does what numerous birds in colder latitudes are well
+known to do; viz. cover them, that they may not, during her absence, lose
+their heat.
+</p>
+<p>
+The popular opinion that the <i>Turtle Dove</i>, of either sex, should it
+happen to lose its mate, remains ever after in a state of disconsolate
+celibacy, is, we believe, disproved by the fact, at least as respects
+these birds in a wild state; but we may remark, that the loss of a
+companion to more than one kind of <i>domesticated</i> bird, if it has been
+brought up with one, even though not in the same cage, is sometimes so
+severely deplored by the survivor, as to occasion its death, if the loss
+be not speedily supplied. The old story of <i>Swallows</i> passing the winter
+in a state of torpidity at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and ponds, has
+been frequently agitated, asserted to be a fact by one party, and totally
+disproved by the other. The reader may be amused to learn, that very
+recently we were assured by one, who <i>knew it for an absolute fact</i>, that
+ducks and even chickens (!!!) had been found in a certain farmer's pond,
+laid up in winter quarters, which were revived by the
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page239"
+  name="page239">
+  </a>[pg 239]
+</span>
+ warmth of the sun
+and upper air, upon being fished out of it!! "Regarding <i>Birds' Eggs</i>,"
+says the Naturalist in his interesting Journal, "we have a very foolish
+superstition here (Gloucestershire:) the boys may take them unrestrained,
+but their mothers so dislike their being kept in the house, that they
+usually break them; their presence may be tolerated for a few days, but by
+the ensuing Sunday they are frequently destroyed, under the idea that they
+bring bad luck, or prevent the coming of good fortune, as if in some way
+offensive to the domestic deity of the hearth."
+
+Here, then, we pause; some abler hand may, perhaps, be tempted to take up
+the subject as we leave it, for there are yet gleanings, in the field, of
+"Superstitions and Fables connected with animals," over which our leisure
+has allowed us but lightly to pass; gleanings sufficient to reward the
+industrious and the curious; or, it may even be, that we shall return,
+some day, to this topic ourselves, time and materials permitting.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Great Marlow, Bucks</i>.  M.L.B.
+</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2>THE GATHERER.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<i>Congreve Rockets</i>.&mdash;When the Congreve rockets were first introduced into
+the navy, the admiral on the Brazil station proposed to exhibit to the
+king, Don Juan VI., the effect of these formidable projectiles. His
+majesty consented, and the whole court were accordingly assembled in the
+balconies of the palace, at the Rio, for the purpose of witnessing the
+spectacle. By some mishap, of very frequent occurrence in the early
+history of these missiles, at the moment of firing the tube veered round,
+and the rocket, instead of flying over to Praia Grande, took the opposite
+direction, and fell and exploded in the great square, almost beneath the
+windows of the palace. The consternation of the king was only equalled by
+the mortification of the admiral, who immediately despatched an officer on
+shore to explain the cause of the <i>contretemps</i> to his majesty; and
+offering to let off another, but the terrified monarch would not hear of
+it. "I have a great respect," said he, "for my good allies, the English,
+but after dinner they are absolutely fit for nothing;" an observation
+which clearly indicated to what cause his majesty attributed the
+unfortunate result of the exhibition.&mdash;<i>Monthly Magazine</i>.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Prosperity of America</i>.&mdash;The United States of N. America posses an almost
+undefinable extent of fertile uncultivated land&mdash;a highly industrious and
+intelligent population of 13,000,000&mdash;the national debt will be paid this
+year&mdash;and they have a large surplus revenue. That of 1831 was 27,700,000
+Spanish dollars; the expenditure for all government purposes 14,700,000.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>War.</i>&mdash;Were the disputes between great and rival nations to be settled by
+single combat, by those, through whose ambition, pride, or other cause,
+they were occasioned, millions of lives might have been saved.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Curious Custom.</i>&mdash;There is held in Italy, a kind of feast, or ceremony,
+in the courts of certain princes, on St. Nicholas's Day, in which people
+hide presents in the shoes or slippers of those they would do honour to;
+in such a manner as to surprise them on the morrow, when they come to
+dress. It is done in imitation of the practice of St. Nicholas; who used,
+in the night time, to throw purses of money in at the windows, for
+portions to poor maidens on their marriage. P.T.W.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Experience.</i>&mdash;It often happens that the more we see into a man, the less
+we admire him.&mdash;<i>Pliny.</i>
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+The Romans were so anxious to encourage marriage, that they punished
+unmarried persons by rendering them incapable of receiving any legacy, or
+inheritance by will, except from near relatives. And those who were
+married, and had not any children, could take no more than half the estate.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Etruscan Vases.</i>&mdash;The art of making earthenware was transported from
+Etruria into Greece. The Romans also borrowed this invention from the
+Etruscans, to whom also Greece was indebted for many of its ceremonies and
+religious institutions, as well as for its mechanics and artificers.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+It is customary in the canton Wallis, Switzerland, for those who have
+found anything lost, even money, to affix it to a large crucifix in the
+churchyard, and there is not an example on record, of any object being
+taken away except by the rightful owner. W.G.C.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Cumberland Titles.</i>&mdash;The honorary titles arising from the different
+degrees of allowed consequence or property in Cumberland, appear (says
+Britton) singular when compared with their usual acceptation in society.
+The mistress of the house is a <i>Dame</i>; every owner of a little landed
+property is a <i>'Statesman</i>; his eldest son is the <i>Laird</i>; and where there
+is no son, the eldest daughter is
+<span class="pagenum">
+  <a id="page240"
+  name="page240">
+  </a>[pg 240]
+</span>
+ born to the title of <i>Leady</i>. Thus we
+may see a '<i>Statesman</i> driving the plough, a <i>Lord</i> attending the market
+with vegetables, and a <i>Leady</i> labouring at the churn. P.T.W.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>A string of echo puns</i> surpassing all others, may be seen in a scarce
+work, published in the reign of James I. A specimen&mdash;a divine, willing to
+play more with words, than to be serious in the expounding of his text,
+spoke thus in one part of the sermon:&mdash;"This dyall shewes we must <i>die
+all</i>; yet, notwithstanding, all howses are turned into <i>ale-houses</i>; our
+cares are turned into <i>cates</i>; our paradise, into, <i>a pair of dice</i>; our
+marriage, into a <i>merry age</i>; our matrimony, into a <i>matter of money</i>; our
+divines, into <i>dry vines</i>. It was not so in the days of Noah,
+<i>Ah no</i>!"&mdash;T.G.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Advertisement Extraordinary, from a Newspaper of 1796</i>.&mdash;"Whereas the
+right hon. William Pitt, Chancellor of his Majesty's Exchequer, did on the
+night of Monday last, and on or about the hour of six o'clock, utter in
+his place in the House of Commons, certain sentences or phrases,
+containing several assurances, denials, promises, retractions, persuasions,
+explanations, hints, insinuations, and intimations, and expressing much
+hope, fear, joy, sorrow, confidence, and doubt, upon the subject of peace,
+then and there recommended by Charles Grey, esq., member of the aforesaid
+House of Commons, for the county of Northumberland; and whereas the entire
+effectual and certain meaning of the whole of the said sentences, phrases,
+denials, promises, retractions, persuasions, explanations, hints,
+insinuations, and intimations, has escaped and fled, so that what remains
+is to plain understandings incomprehensible, and to many good men is
+matter of painful contemplation: now this is to promise to any person who
+shall restore the said lost meaning, or shall illustrate, simplify, and
+explain the said meaning, the sum of five thousand pounds, to be paid on
+the first day of April next, at the office of John Bull, esq., Pay-All and
+Fight-All, to the several high contracting powers, engaged in the present
+<i>just</i> and <i>necessary</i> war!
+</p>
+<p>
+"Done at the office of Mr. John Bull's Chief Decypherer, <i>Turnagain</i> Lane,
+<i>Circumbendibus</i> Street, <i>Obscurity</i> Square, Feb. 18, 1796."
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Cheap Soup</i>.&mdash;Take ten quarts of water, and stir it with a rush-light
+till it boils; season it to your liking, and it is ready for use. N.B. The
+wick may be bolted.&mdash;<i>Monthly Mag</i>.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Epitaph on the death of Miss Eliza More, aged</i> 14.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Here lies who never lied before,</p>
+  <p>And one who will never lie <i>More</i>,</p>
+  <p>To which there need no <i>more</i> be said</p>
+  <p>Than <i>More</i> the pity she is dead,</p>
+  <p>For when alive she charmed us <i>More</i></p>
+  <p>Than all the <i>Mores</i> just gone before.
+  <a id="footnotetag6"
+ name="footnotetag6"></a>
+<sup><a href="#footnote6">6</a></sup>
+</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>On Anne Green, a Quakeress</i>.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Here lies a piece of Christ, a star in dust,</p>
+  <p>A wedge of gold, a china dish that must</p>
+  <p>Be used in heaven, when Christ doth feed the just.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Inscribed on the back door of a Tavern</i>, which opened into the Parish
+Church of St. Michael's, Cambridge, kept by Mr. Burrell, 1639: which door
+is now taken down, the tavern having been pulled down, and a new street
+built on its site.
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+  <div class="stanza">
+  <p>Go on by leave, no way here lies:</p>
+    <p class="i2">But way and leave to those</p>
+  <p>That hast to taste good wine and fine,</p>
+    <p class="i2">And fear not Burrell's foes.</p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Copied from the Churchwarden's Book</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>The Mother Tongue</i>.&mdash;In Mr. Combe's <i>Illustrations of Phrenology</i>, a case
+is related of a Welsh milkman, in London, who happening to fall down two
+pair of stairs, received a severe contusion on the head, and was carried
+to St. George's Hospital, where he lay senseless for several days, and
+unable to speak. At length he became something better, and began to talk
+to the nurses, but in such terms that no one could understand him, till it
+was discovered that he had forgotten his English, and was talking Welsh; a
+language he had not spoken for eighteen years. Mr. Combe conceives that
+the blow having hit the store-house in his head, where the Welsh language
+was garnered, his youthful acquisitions were poured out, whilst the
+English language, which he had learned much later, was overpowered and
+obliterated by the force of his mother tongue. W.G.C.
+</p>
+<hr />
+<p>
+<i>Warning to Betrayers</i>.&mdash;St. Bennet's Abbey, in Norfolk, was so well
+fortified, that William the Conqueror, in vain besieged it, till a monk,
+upon condition of being made abbot, betrayed the place. The king performed
+the condition, but hanged the new <i>abbot</i> as a <i>traitor</i>. P.T.W.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1">
+   </a><b>Footnote 1</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag1">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+    By accurate observation the height of the fog, relatively with the
+    higher edifices, whose elevation is known, it has been ascertained that
+    the fogs of London never rise more than from two hundred to two hundred
+    and forty feet above the same level.
+    </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2">
+   </a><b>Footnote 2</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag2">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   Who does not remember the traditionary notoriety of Margaret Finch?
+   </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote3" name="footnote3">
+   </a><b>Footnote 3</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag3">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   The private property of the estate, and attached to the Spa.
+   </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote4" name="footnote4">
+   </a><b>Footnote 4</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag4">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   We drank a half-pint tumbler of the water, which, as Dr. Weatherhead
+    observes, is bitter without being disagreeable. Its flavour is that of
+    Sulphate of Magnesia, or <i>Epsom Salts;</i> and we should say that our
+    <i>modicum</i> might be imitated by dissolving a dram of the above
+    ingredient in half-a-pint of pure water.
+    </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote5" name="footnote5">
+   </a><b>Footnote 5</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag5">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   Johnson's Life of Waller, wherein the poet is stated to have been born
+    March 3.
+    </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<blockquote class="footnote">
+  <a id="footnote6" name="footnote6">
+   </a><b>Footnote 6</b>:
+   <a href="#footnotetag6">
+    (return)
+   </a>
+   <p>
+   Her two sisters dying some months before.
+   </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>
+<i>Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,)
+London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G.G. BENNIS,
+55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers.</i>
+</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
+Instruction, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
+       Vol. XIX. No. 542, Saturday, April 14, 1832
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: June 8, 2004 [EBook #12552]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 542 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
+
+VOL. XIX. No. 542.]  SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1832. [PRICE 2d.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE LODGE.]
+
+THE BEULAH SALINE SPA, NORWOOD.
+
+
+Our attention has been invited to the Beulah Spa by a _brochure_ lately
+published, from the very competent pen of Dr. George Hume Weatherhead; the
+details of which will be read with interest by all who are in quest of
+"healing founts." "The Spa," observes Dr. Weatherhead, "has long been
+resorted to by the country people of the neighbourhood, who, from
+experiencing its beneficial effects in a variety of diseases, have
+sustained its sanative character, and kept it from sinking into total
+neglect." We trust, however, that its virtues may soon enjoy more
+extensive celebrity, especially as the attractions of the scenery amidst
+which the spring is situate are of no common-place character, and the
+distance from the metropolis both easy and inviting. The Spa has already
+acquired some popularity; for, we learned on our visit a few days since,
+that, although it was only opened to the public towards the close of the
+month of August, in the past year, it was visited during the autumn by
+several hundred persons weekly.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead has described the local scenery with accuracy. Beulah, the
+estate upon which the spring is situate, is within the village of Norwood,
+seven miles south of London, upon one of those elevations known as the
+Norwood hills. "From trigonometrical observation," observes Dr.
+Weatherhead, "it has been computed that the height of these hills is about
+390 feet above the level of the sea at low water.[1] Thus placed above the
+fogs of the plain, and removed from the smoky and contaminated atmosphere
+of the metropolis, the air has long been celebrated for its pure and
+invigorating qualities." Norwood was in the memory of several of the
+inhabitants still living, an entire forest of oaks, and the well-known
+resort of tribes of gipsies.[2] The country from Camberwell thence is,
+therefore, in great part a newly-peopled district. Its outline is very
+uneven, perhaps more so than any other portion of the environs of the
+metropolis. The road runs over or through many little crests or hills, and
+sinks into sheltered valleys, where you see newly-built habitations
+nestling together, and almost reminding one of the aboriginal contrivances
+for warmth and comfort in less civilized countries. The road-side is set
+with "suburban villas" which would make the spleen of Cowper blaze into
+madness; though few of them exhibit any pretensions to elegance or
+snugness. Neither would two newly-built churches in the prospect allay the
+anti-urban poet; their starved proportions contrasting but coldly with the
+primitive simplicity of a village church. The _country_ itself is
+nevertheless picturesque; the prospect is of enchanting beauty, and as
+you approach Beulah, you obtain occasional glimpses of the subjacent
+valley which you enjoy more at leisure and at a _coup d'oeil_ in the Spa
+grounds.
+
+The Spring lies embowered in a wood of oaks, open to the south-west whose
+dense foliage shelters and protects it. It is now the sole vestige of the
+gipsy haunts, and comprises a space of more than twenty-five acres; the
+gentle inclination of the ground keeping the foot-paths always dry.
+
+We entered the grounds at an elegant rustic lodge (_see the Cut_,) where
+commences a new carriage-road[3] to Croydon; which winds round the flank
+of the hill, and is protected by hanging woods. The lodge is in the best
+taste of ornate rusticity, with the characteristic varieties of gable,
+dripstone, portico, bay-window, and embellished chimney: of the latter
+there are some specimens in the best style of our olden architects. This
+building, as well as the other rural edifices in the grounds, and the
+whole disposal of the latter, have been planned by Mr. Decimus Burton, the
+originator of the architectural embellishments of the Zoological Gardens
+in the Regent's Park.
+
+Passing the lodge, we descended by a winding path through the wood to a
+small lawn or glade, at the highest point of which is a circular rustic
+building, used as a confectionery and reading-room; near which is the Spa,
+within a thatched apartment. The spring rises about 14 feet, within a
+circular rockwork enclosure; the water is drawn by a contrivance, at once
+ingenious and novel; a glass urn-shaped pail, terminating with a cock of
+the same material, and having a stout rim and cross-handle of silver, is
+attached to a thick worsted rope, and let down into the spring by a pulley,
+when the vessel being taken up full, the water is drawn off by the cock.
+We quote Dr. Weatherhead's analytical description of the water:
+
+"The water drawn fresh from the well is beautifully transparent and
+sparkling. Innumerable bubbles of fixed air are seen rising to the surface,
+when allowed to stand. Its taste is distinctly bitter, without being at
+all disagreeable, leaving on the palate the peculiar flavour of its
+predominant saline ingredient, the sulphate of magnesia. The temperature
+of the water, at the bottom of the well, is 52 deg. of Fahrenheit; its
+specific gravity 1011; and, by an analysis of its composition by those
+distinguished scientific chemists, Messrs. Faraday and Hume, the following
+are the solid contents of a quart of the water:--
+
+  BEULAH SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............ 123
+  Sulphate of soda and magnesia .... 32
+  Muriate of soda .................. 19
+  Muriate of magnesia .............. 18-1/2
+  Carbonate of lime ................ 15
+  Carbonate of soda ................. 3
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    210-1/2
+
+  CHELTENHAM PURE SALINE.
+  Sulphate of magnesia ............. 22
+  Sulphate of soda ................. 30
+  Muriate of soda ..................100
+  Sulphate of lime .................. 9
+                                    ---
+                          Grains    161
+
+"As a mean of comparison, the saline contents of a quart of the Cheltenham
+pure saline, as analyzed by Mr. Brande, the predecessor of Mr. Faraday in
+the professorship at the Royal Institution, is placed opposite to the
+Beulah Spring, to enable the reader to judge how much superior, as an
+aperient water, the latter is to that of Cheltenham. And, first, it may be
+observed, that the gross amount of the several salts, in the same quantity
+of the waters, is much greater in the Beulah than in the Cheltenham spring,
+the difference being forty-nine grains and a half of solid saline matter
+in a quart--that is, the impregnation is nearly one-third stronger; and,
+secondly, the nature of the saline ingredients also merits observation.
+One hundred grains out of one hundred and sixty-one, consist, as we see,
+in the Cheltenham, of muriate of soda, or common table-salt. Now, this
+substance, when perfectly freed from other salts adhering to it, possesses
+comparatively very feeble aperient properties; whereas the mass of the
+ingredients in the Beulah Spa is composed of two powerful saline
+substances, the sulphate of magnesia, and that peculiar double salt, the
+sulphate of soda and magnesia, constituting three-fourths of the whole
+saline impregnation." [4]
+
+The lawn is tastefully varied with parterres of plants; owing to the
+lateness of the season, we saw but few near flowering, save
+
+      Daffodils,
+  That come before the swallow dares, and take
+  The winds of March with beauty, violets dim,
+  But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes,
+  Or Cytherea's breath.
+
+A few yards from the lawn a rustic orchestra is in course of erection:
+whence "the dulcet and harmonious sounds" of music may attune with the
+joyful inspiration of the natural beauties of the scene. Our guide, (of a
+more intelligent and communicative character than guides usually are,)
+directed us by a descending path through the wood, across a rude bridge,
+past a maze, by a flight of roughly-formed steps, to a terrace, whence we
+enjoyed a picturesque prospect of great range and indescribable beauty.
+The woods were as yet leafless, but primroses enlivened the pathside: how
+touchingly is their solitude told by our poets. Shakspeare calls them
+
+      Pale primroses
+  That die unmarried ere they can behold
+  Bright Phoebus in his strength.
+
+Milton describes them as dying forsaken:
+
+  Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies:
+
+and Mayne calls this flower
+
+  Lorn tenant of the peaceful glade,
+  Emblem of virtue in the shade.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead describes the prospect from this terrace with more
+minuteness than the hazy state of the atmosphere enabled us to trace its
+several beauties. The ancient archiepiscopal town of Croydon lies at your
+feet; more remote, Banstead Downs spread a carpet of blooming verdure to
+the sight; in the extreme distance Windsor Castle peers its majestic
+towers above the mist; while elsewhere the utmost verge of the horizon is
+bounded by the bold range of the Surrey and Hampshire hills. Turning to
+the left you enjoy a view of Addiscombe Place, the seminary for cadets of
+the East India Company; of Shirley, the sporting seat of John Maberly, Esq.
+M.P.; of the Addington hills clothed with heaths; and of the park, the
+seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; when the prospect,
+deepening in extent, stretches as far as Knockholt Beeches, near Seven
+Oaks, and, winding round, comprehends the tall spire of Beckenham Church,
+piercing through the dense woods which surround it; Shooter's Hill,
+Blackheath, and the villages that intervene.
+
+Immediately beneath you are the grounds of the Spa, every portion of which
+can be distinctly traced from this spot: the lodge, lawn, refreshment-room,
+spring, and orchestra, as we have described them, and the paths winding
+among the woods till they disappear as it were in trackless solitude.
+
+Dr. Weatherhead's pamphlet treats copiously, but in a popular style, of
+the medicinal properties of the Spa. The terms for drinking the waters are
+furnished at the lodge, where the visiter may smile at the remedy being
+_set to music_, in the melodies of the Beulah Spring Quadrilles. It may
+prevent some disappointment by stating that the Grounds are not opened to
+the public on Sundays.
+
+
+    [1] By accurate observation the height of the fog, relatively with
+        the higher edifices, whose elevation is known, it has been
+        ascertained that the fogs of London never rise more than from
+        two hundred to two hundred and forty feet above the same level.
+
+    [2] Who does not remember the traditionary notoriety of Margaret
+        Finch?
+
+    [3] The private property of the estate, and attached to the Spa.
+
+
+    [4] We drank a half-pint tumbler of the water, which, as Dr.
+        Weatherhead observes, is bitter without being disagreeable.
+        Its flavour is that of Sulphate of Magnesia, or _Epsom Salts;_
+        and we should say that our _modicum_ might be imitated by
+        dissolving a dram of the above ingredient in half-a-pint of
+        pure water.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.
+
+ANCIENT LAWS.
+
+
+The following quaint observations possess peculiar interest at the present
+moment:
+
+"Among the ancient Druids," says Mr. Owen Feltham, "it was absolutely
+forbidden to register their laws in writing. And Caesar, in his Gallique
+Wars, gives us two reasons for it. One, that their mysteries might not
+come to be profaned and encommoned by the vulgar: another, that not being
+written, they might be more careful ever to carry them in their thoughts
+and memory. Though doubtless it was as well to preserve their own
+authority, to keep the people to a recourse to them, and to a reverence
+and esteem of their judgments. Besides, it oft falls out that what is
+written, though it were a good law when made, yet by the emergency of
+affairs, and the condition of men and times, it happens to be bad and
+alterable. And we find it to be evidently true, that, as where there are
+many physicians, there are many diseases; so where there are many laws,
+there are likewise many enormities. That nation that swarms with law and
+lawyers, certainly abounds with vice and corruption. Where you find much
+fowl resort, you may be sure there is no want of either water, mud, or
+weeds.
+
+"In the beginning of thriving states, when they are more industrious and
+innocent, they have then the fewest laws. Rome itself had at first but
+twelve tables. But after, how infinitely did their number of laws increase!
+Old states, like old bodies will be sure to contract diseases. And where
+the law-makers are many, the laws will never be few. That nation is in
+best estate that hath the fewest laws, and those good. Variety does but
+multiply snares. If every bush be limed, there is no bird can escape with
+all his feathers free. And many times when the law did not intend it, men
+are made guilty by the pleader's oratory; either to express his eloquence,
+to advance his practice, or out of mastery to carry his cause: like a
+garment pounced with dust, the business is so smeared and tangled that
+without a Galilaeus his glass, you can never come to discern the spots of
+this changeable moon. Sometimes to gratify a powerful party, justice is
+made blind through corruption, as well as out of impartiality. That indeed,
+by reason of the non-integrity of men. To go to law, is, for two to
+contrive the kindling of a fire at their own cost, to warm others, and
+singe themselves to cinders. Because they cannot agree to what is truth
+and equity, they will both agree to plume themselves, that others may be
+stuck with their feathers."
+
+W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+OLD WEATHER RHYMES.
+
+Rhymes which refer to the weather were probably written by the monks.
+
+  If St. Paul be fine and clear,
+  We shall have a happy year.
+  If St. Paul be thick with rain,
+  Then dear will be the price of grain.
+
+  After St. Bartholomew
+  Come long evenings and cold dew.
+
+  February fill dyke,
+  Be it black or be it white,
+  But if it is white,
+  It is better to like.
+
+  March winds and April showers,
+  Bring forth May flowers.
+
+  He who views his wheat on a weeping May,
+  Will himself so weeping away;
+  But he who views it on a weeping June,
+  Will go away in another tune.
+
+  When the sand doth feed the clay,
+  England woe and well-a-day:
+  But when the clay doth feed the sand,
+  Then it is well with Angle Land.
+
+  A swarm of bees in May
+  Is worth a load of hay,
+  A swarm of bees in June
+  Is worth a silver spoon.
+  A swarm of bees in July
+  Is not worth a fly.
+
+  Under a broomstalk silver and gold,
+  Under a gorsestalk hunger and cold.
+  When hempe's spun,
+  England's done.
+
+The latter referred to the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward IV., Mary and
+Philip, and Queen Elizabeth, but proved false prophecy.
+
+W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CROWLAND ABBEY.
+
+In the days of Monks and Friars, the following lines in bad Latin, were
+composed on Crowland, Lincolnshire, or the adjoining Abbey:
+
+  In Hollandia stat Crowland;
+  Ibi vinium talequale,
+  Ibi foenum gladiale
+  Ibi lecti lapidale,
+  Ibi viri boreali,
+  Ibi vale sine vale.
+
+They are thus translated in the _Beauties of England and Wales_ (1767):--
+
+  "In Holland stands Crowland
+  Built on dirty low land.
+  Where you'll find, if you go,
+  The wine's but so so;
+  The blades of the hay
+  Are like swords one may say,
+  The beds are like stones,
+  And break a man's bones;
+  The men rough and sturdy,
+  Compliments will afford me
+  But bid you good b'w'y,
+  When both hungry and dry."
+
+W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+THE HOBBY HORSE.
+
+Bromley Pagets was remarkable for a very singular sport on New Year's Day
+and Twelfth Day, called the Hobby Horse Dance: a person rode upon the
+image of a horse, with a bow and arrow in his hands, with which he made a
+snapping noise, keeping time with the music, whilst six others danced the
+hay and other country dances, with as many rein-deer's heads on their
+shoulders. To this hobby-horse belonged a pot, which the Reeves of the
+town kept and filled with cakes and ale, towards which the spectators
+contributed a penny, and with the remainder maintained their poor and
+repaired the church.--W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+HOLY LAND.
+
+Ramsey Island, near St. David's Head, is said to have been inhabited by so
+many saints, that no less than twenty thousand are stated in ancient
+histories to lie interred there. Near this place are the rocks styled the
+Bishop and his Clerks, which, says an ancient author "preache deadly
+doctrine to their winter audience, such poor sea-faring men as are forcyd
+thether by tempest, onelie in one thing they are to be commended, they
+keepe residence better than the rest of the canons of that see (St.
+David's) are wont to do."
+
+W.H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
+
+After the Britons retired into Wales, it was enacted that no man should
+guide a plough that could not make one; and that the driver should make
+the ropes of twisted willows, with which it was drawn. It was usual for
+six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one
+of these ploughs, providing it with oxen, and every thing necessary for
+ploughing; and many curious laws were made for the regulation of such
+societies. If any person laid dung on the field with the consent of the
+proprietor, he was by law allowed the use of that land for one year. If
+the dung was carried out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the
+use of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a wood, and converted
+the ground into arable, with the consent of the owner, was to have the use
+of it for five years. If any one folded his cattle for one year, upon a
+piece of ground belonging to another, with the owner's consent, he was
+allowed the use of the ground for four years. Thus, though the Britons had
+in a great measure lost the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have
+been very assiduous in giving encouragement to such as would attempt the
+revival of it.
+
+T. GILL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.
+
+
+LANDERS' DISCOVERY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER.
+
+We continue our extracts from this very entertaining work, the following
+being from the second volume.
+
+At Boossa, the travellers receive a visit from "the noted widow Zuma." She
+must be an Amazonian lady, for, having quarrelled with her prince, the
+ruler of Wowow, she was obliged to fly, and actually to climb over the
+city wall in the night, and travel on foot to Boossa. Female politicians
+in Africa are not so safe as in the _coteries_ of civilized Europe: they
+have to fight their own battles, and we conclude, to raise their own
+supplies: "the widow complained sadly of poverty and the hardness of the
+times; she had fought with the Yarribeans against Alorie; but instead of
+receiving a recompense for her bravery, she had lost half her slaves in an
+engagement, which so disgusted her with the military profession, that she
+immediately abandoned it and returned home. Yet, in spite of all her
+losses and misfortunes, she has gained so much in corpulency, that it was
+with the utmost difficulty, she could squeeze herself into the doorway of
+our hut, although it is by no means small. The widow Zuma is a very
+good-looking, elderly person of matronly appearance. Her skin is of a
+light copper colour." Should this meet the eye of any soldier of fortune,
+&c.
+
+At Boossa, they hear some tidings of
+
+  _Mungo Park_.
+
+"Our visiters remained with us a considerable time, and in the course of
+conversation, one of them observed that they had in their possession a
+tobe, which belonged to a white man who came from the north many years ago,
+and from whom it had been purchased by the king's father. We expressed
+great curiosity to see this tobe, and it was sent us as a present a short
+time after their departure. Contrary to our expectations, we found it to
+be made of rich crimson damask, and very heavy from the immense quantity
+of gold embroidery with which it was covered. As the time when the late
+king was said to have purchased this tobe corresponds very nearly to the
+supposed period of Mr. Park's death, and as we never heard of any other
+white man having come from the north so far south as Boossa, we are
+inclined to believe it to be part of the spoil obtained from the canoe of
+that ill-fated traveller. Whether Mr. Park wore the tobe himself, which is
+scarcely probable on account of its weight, or whether he intended it as a
+present to a native chief, we are at a loss to determine. At all events,
+the article is a curiosity in itself; and if we should live to return to
+England, we shall easily learn whether it was made there or not. The chief
+himself has never worn the tobe, nor did his predecessor, from a
+superstitious feeling; 'besides,' observed the king, 'it might excite the
+cupidity of the neighbouring powers.'
+
+"_Sunday, June 20th_.--The king sent a messenger this morning, to inform
+us that he was a tailor, and that he would thank us for some thread and a
+few needles for his own private use. By this man he likewise sent a musket
+for us to repair; but as it is Sunday, we have declined doing it till
+to-morrow. Eager as we are to obtain even the slightest information
+relative to the unhappy fate of Mr. Park and his companions, as well as to
+ascertain if any of their books or papers are now in existence at this
+place, we had almost made up our minds to refrain from asking any
+questions on the subject, because we were apprehensive that it might be
+displeasing to the king, and involve us in many perplexities. Familiarity,
+however, having in some measure worn off this impression, and the king
+being an affable, obliging, and good-natured person, we were emboldened to
+send Paskoe to him this morning, with a message expressive of the interest
+we felt on the subject, in common with all our countrymen; and saying that,
+if any books or papers which belonged to Mr. Park were yet in his
+possession, he would do us a great service, by delivering them into our
+hands, or at least by granting us permission to see them. To this the king
+returned for answer, that when Mr. Park was lost in the Niger, he was a
+very little boy, and that he knew not what had become of his effects; that
+the deplorable event had occurred in the reign of the late king's
+predecessor, who died shortly after; and that all traces of the white man
+had been lost with him. This answer disappointed our hopes, for to us it
+appeared final and decisive. But in the evening they were again raised by
+a hint from our host, who is the king's drummer, and one of the principal
+men in the country: he assured us, that there was certainly one book at
+least saved from Mr. Park's canoe, which is now in the possession of a
+very poor man in the service of his master, to whom it had been entrusted
+by the late king during his last illness. He said moreover, that if but
+one application were made to the king, on any subject whatever, very
+little was thought of it; but if a second were made, the matter would be
+considered of sufficient importance to demand his whole attention,--such
+being the custom of the country. The drummer therefore recommended us to
+persevere in our inquiries, for he had no doubt that something to our
+satisfaction would be elicited. At his own request, we sent him to the
+king immediately, desiring him to repeat our former statement, and to
+assure the king, that should he be successful in recovering the book we
+wanted, our monarch would reward him handsomely. He desired the drummer to
+inform us, that he would use every exertion, and examine the man who was
+reported to have the white man's book in his possession, at an early hour
+to-morrow. Here the matter at present rests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"In the afternoon, the king came to see us, followed by a man with a book
+under his arm, which was said to have been picked up in the Niger after
+the loss of our countryman. It was enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and
+our hearts beat high with expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it,
+for by its size we guessed it to be Mr. Park's journal; but our
+disappointment and chagrin were great, when, on opening the book, we
+discovered it to be an old nautical publication of the last century. The
+title-page was missing, but its contents were chiefly tables of logarithms.
+It was a thick royal quarto, which led us to conjecture that it was a
+journal; between the leaves we found a few loose papers of very little
+consequence indeed; one of them contained two or three observations on the
+height of the water in the Gambia; one was a tailor's bill on a Mr.
+Anderson; and another was addressed to Mr. Mungo Park, and contained an
+invitation to dinner,--the following is a copy of it:--
+
+  'Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be happy to
+  have the pleasure of Mr. Park's company at
+  dinner on Tuesday next, at half-past five
+  o'clock.
+
+  'An answer is requested.
+
+  '_Strand, 9th Nov. 1804_.'
+
+"The king, as well as the owner of the book, looked as greatly mortified
+as ourselves, when they were told that the one produced was not that of
+which we were in quest, because the reward promised would not of course be
+obtained. As soon as our curiosity had been fully satisfied, the papers
+were carefully collected and placed again between the leaves, and the book
+as carefully folded in its envelope as before, and taken away by its owner,
+who values it as much as a household god. Thus all our hopes of obtaining
+Mr. Park's journal or papers, in this city, are entirely defeated. The
+inquiry, on our part, has not been prosecuted without much trouble and
+anxiety, and some little personal sacrifices likewise, which, had they
+been ten times as great, we would gladly have made whilst a single hope
+remained of their being effectual."
+
+After much ado at Boossa, owing to the canoe not being ready--the "King of
+the Canoe," a sort of Lord of the Admiralty, informing the travellers with
+the utmost unconcern that it was out of repair--they
+
+ _Embark on the Niger_.
+
+"About mid-day the workmen having finished our canoe, the luggage was
+presently put into it, and between twelve and one we embarked with our
+people, and were launched out into the river. The direction of this branch
+was nearly east and west; and we proceeded some distance down the stream
+for the purpose of getting into the main branch of the Niger, where there
+is deeper water. This object was soon attained, and we found it flowing
+from north to south, through a rich and charming country, which seemed to
+improve in appearance the further we advanced. We were propelled at a good
+rate up a channel, which, from half a mile in breadth, gradually widened
+to rather better than a mile. Beautiful, spreading, and spiry trees
+adorned the country on each side of the river, like a park; corn, nearly
+ripe, waved over the water's edge; large, open villages appeared every
+half-hour; and herds of spotted cattle were observed grazing and enjoying
+the cool of the shade. The appearance of the river, for several miles, was
+no less enchanting than its borders; it was as smooth as a lake; canoes
+laden with sheep and goats, were paddled by women down its almost
+imperceptible current; swallows, and a variety of aquatic birds, were
+sporting over its glassy surface, which was ornamented by a number of
+pretty little islands.
+
+"_Friday, June 25th_.--The most remarkable object which we saw on rising
+this morning, was a rugged and romantic range of hills, appearing to the
+eastward of our encampment; it is called _Engarskie_, from a country of
+the same name in which the hills are situated, and which was formerly an
+independent kingdom, but is now become a province of Yaoorie. At a little
+before seven, A.M., our canoe was pushed off the sandy beach on which it
+had been secured last evening, and propelled down a very narrow channel,
+between a large sand-bank and the shore. This conducted us into the main
+branch of the Niger, and we again admired its delightful and magnificent
+appearance.
+
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards when the river gradually
+widened to two miles, and continued so as far as the eye could reach. It
+looked very much like an artificial canal; the banks having the appearance
+of a dwarf wall, with vegetation beyond. In most places the water was
+extremely shallow, but in others it was deep enough to float a frigate.
+During the first two hours of the day, the scenery was as interesting and
+picturesque as can be imagined. The banks were literally covered with
+hamlets and villages; fine trees, bending under the weight of their dark
+and impenetrable foliage, everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of
+the sun's rays, and, contrasted with the lively verdure of the little
+hills and plains, produced the most pleasing effect. Afterwards, however,
+there was a decided change; the banks, which before consisted of dark
+earth, clay, or sand, were now composed of black rugged rocks; large
+sand-banks and islands were scattered in the river, which diverted it into
+a variety of little channels, and effectually destroyed its appearance.
+
+"We had heard so unfavourable an account of the state of the river at one
+particular place which we should have to pass, that our people were
+compelled to disembark and walk along the banks a considerable way till we
+had passed it, when we took them in again. We found the description to be
+in no wise exaggerated; it presented a most forbidding appearance, and
+yields only to the state of the Niger near Boossa in difficulty and danger.
+On our arrival at this formidable place, we discovered a range of black
+rocks running directly across the stream, and the water, finding only one
+narrow passage, rushed through it with great impetuosity, over-turning and
+carrying away everything in its course. Our boatmen, with the assistance
+of a number of the natives, who planted themselves on the rocks on each
+side of the only channel, and in the stream at the stern of the canoe,
+lifted it by main force into smoother and safer water. The last difficulty
+with respect to rocks and sand-banks was now overcome, and in a very
+little time we came to the termination of all the islands, after which, it
+is said, there is not a single dangerous place up the Niger. The river
+here presented its noblest appearance; not a single rock nor sand-bank was
+anywhere perceptible; its borders resumed their beauty, and a strong,
+refreshing breeze, which had blown during the whole of the morning, now
+gave it the motion of a slightly-agitated sea. In the course of the
+morning we passed two lovely little islands, clothed in verdure, which at
+a short distance looked as charming as the fabled gardens of Hesperia;
+indeed no spot on earth can excel them in beauty of appearance. These
+islands are inhabited by a few individuals."
+
+Upon leaving Yaoorie, a venerable Arab chief pretended great regard for
+the travellers, though he used them deceitfully; they had, however,
+"enjoyed an innocent kind of revenge, in administering to him a powerful
+dose of medicine, which though harmless in its effects, had yet been very
+troublesome to him. Indeed, it was not till we had 'jalaped' the sultan,
+his sister, and all the royal family, that we were permitted to take our
+farewell of Yaoorie."
+
+The incident of physicking the royal family at Yaoorie by way of
+leave-taking, is only equalled by the following oddity:--"The captain of
+the palm oil brig, Elizabeth, now in the Calabar river, actually
+white-washed his crew from head to foot, while they were sick with fever
+and unable to protect themselves; his cook suffered so much in the
+operation, that the lime totally deprived him of the sight of one of his
+eyes, and rendered the other of little service to him."
+
+The account of the Travellers' visit to Fernando Po, in the third volume,
+will be read with interest, as indeed will every page of the whole
+narrative; and to this commendation of the Messrs. Landers' Journal of
+their past adventures we cheerfully add our best wishes for the success of
+their future enterprize.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+SONGS OF THE GIPSIES.
+
+Among the musical novelties of the day, we notice with much pleasure, a
+pretty volume of Lyrics, written by Mr. Moncrieff, the music by Mr. S.
+Nelson. The poetry is throughout sparkling and characteristic, and "an
+Historical Introduction on the origin and customs of Gipsies," prefixed to
+the Songs, is so attractive as to be likely to share the popularity of the
+piano-forte accompaniments. It is written with considerable care and
+neatness, and the peculiar tact requisite to produce an interesting paper
+on a dry subject.
+
+We are only enabled to quote from the lyrics, an opening carol, as
+
+  Liberty, liberty!
+      Search the world round,
+  'Tis with the Gipsy
+      Alone thou art found.
+  Then in the gay greenwood
+      We worship thee now,
+  The free, oh the free!
+      Still live under the bough.
+
+  Trarah! Trarah!
+      Hark, the deep dingles ring,
+  Free hearts, with the bird
+      And the deer are on wing;
+  Joy claims in the greenwood
+      The Gipsy's glad vow,
+  The blithe, oh the blithe!
+      Still live under the bough.
+
+And the first song entire.
+
+THE GIPSY QUEEN.
+
+  Oh! 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+    And where is there queen like me,
+  That can revel upon the green,
+    In boundless liberty?
+  What though my cheek be brown,
+    And wild my raven hair,
+  A red cloth hood my crown,
+    And my sceptre the wand I bear!
+  Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+  With my kingdom I'm well content,
+    Though my realm's but the hawthorn glade;
+  And my palace a tatter'd tent
+    Beneath the willow's shade:
+  Though my banquet I'm forc'd to make
+    On haws and berries store,
+  And the game that by chance we take
+    From some neighbouring hind's barn door!
+  Yet, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+  'Tis true I must ply my art,
+    And share in my subjects' toils;
+  But of all their gains I've part,
+    I've the choice of all their spoils;
+  And, by love and duty led,
+    Ere from my jet black eye
+  One sad tear should be shed,
+    A thousand hearts would die!
+  For, 'tis I am the Gipsy Queen!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A SONG OF PITCAIRN'S ISLAND.
+
+  Come, take our boy, and we will go
+    Before our cabin door;
+  The winds shall bring us, as they blow,
+    The murmurs of the shore;
+  And we will kiss his young blue eyes,
+  And I will sing him as he lies,
+    Songs that were made of yore:
+  I'll sing, in his delighted ear,
+  The island-lays thou lov'st to hear.
+
+  And thou, while stammering I repeat,
+    Thy country's tongue shalt teach;
+  'Tis not so soft, but far more sweet
+    Than my own native speech;
+  For thou no other tongue didst know,
+  When, scarcely twenty moons ago,
+    Upon Tahite's beach,
+  Thou cam'st to woo me to be thine,
+  With many a speaking look and sign.
+
+  I knew thy meaning--thou didst praise
+    My eyes, my locks of jet;
+  Ah! well for me they won thy gaze--
+    But thine were fairer yet!
+  I'm glad to see my infant wear
+  Thy soft blue eyes and sunny hair,
+    And when my sight is met
+  By his white brow and blooming cheek,
+  I feel a joy I cannot speak.
+
+  Come talk of Europe's maids with me,
+    Whose necks and cheeks, they tell,
+  Outshine the beauty of the sea,
+    White foam and crimson shell.
+  I'll shape like theirs my simple dress,
+  And bind like them each jetty tress,
+    A sight to please thee well;
+  And for my dusky brow will braid
+  A bonnet like an English maid.
+
+  Come, for the soft, low sunlight calls--
+    We lose the pleasant hours;
+  'Tis lovelier than these cottage walls--
+    That seat among the flowers.
+  And I will learn of thee a prayer
+  To Him who gave a home so fair,
+    A lot so blest as ours--
+  The God who made for thee and me
+  This sweet lone isle amid the sea.
+
+_From a volume of American Poetry, William Cullen Bryant._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF THE POET, WALLER.]
+
+
+In the churchyard of Beaconsfield, Bucks, stands the above handsome
+tribute to the memory of the celebrated poet and politician, EDMUND WALLER.
+The monument is of marble, with a pyramid rising from the centre, and a
+votive urn at each corner. On the east side is a Latin inscription,
+stating that Waller was born March 30, 1605, at Coleshill, in
+Hertfordshire; his father being Robert Waller, Esq. (of Agmondelsham in
+Buckingham, whose family was originally a branch of the Kentish
+Wallers,[5]) and his mother of the Hampden family; that he was a student
+at Cambridge; "his first wife was Anne, only daughter and heiress to
+Edward Banks, twice made a father by his first wife, and thirteen times by
+his second, whom he survived eight years; he died October 21, 1687." The
+original inscription is by Rymer, and is to be seen in most editions of
+the poet's works. The monument was erected by the poet's son's executors,
+in 1700, and stands on the east side of the churchyard, near the family
+vault. The above engraving is from a sketch, obligingly furnished by our
+Correspondent, W.H. of Wycombe.
+
+Waller was proprietor of the manor of Beaconsfield, and that of Hall Barn,
+in the vicinity, at which latter place he resided.
+
+It is remarkable, that this great man, toward the decline of life bought a
+small house, with a little land, on his natal spot; observing, "that he
+should be glad to die like the stag, where he was roused." This, however,
+did not happen. "When he was at Beaconsfield," says Johnson, "he found his
+legs grow tumid: he went to Windsor, where Sir Charles Scarborough then
+attended the king, and requested him, as both a friend and physician, to
+tell him what that swelling meant. 'Sir,' answered Scarborough, 'your
+blood will run no longer.' Waller repeated some lines of Virgil, and went
+home to die. As the disease increased upon him, he composed himself for
+his departure; and calling upon Dr. Birch to give him the holy sacrament,
+he desired his children to take it with him, and made an earnest
+declaration of his faith in Christianity. It now appeared what part of his
+conversation with the great could be remembered with delight. He related,
+that being present when the Duke of Buckingham talked profanely before
+King Charles, he said to him, 'My lord, I am a great deal older than your
+Grace, and have, I believe, heard more arguments for atheism than ever
+your Grace did; but I have lived long enough to see there is nothing in
+them, and so I hope your Grace will."
+
+
+    [5] Johnson's Life of Waller, wherein the poet is stated to have
+        been born March 3.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.
+
+
+TROUT TICKLING IN IRELAND.
+
+What will our _ticklish_ correspondent, W.H.H. say to this?
+
+"Kniveing trouts" (they call it tickling in England) is good sport. You go
+to a stony shallow at night, a companion bearing a torch; then stripping
+to the thighs and shoulders, wade in; grope with your hands under the
+stones, sods, and other harbourage, till you find your game, then grip him
+in your "knieve," and toss him ashore.
+
+I remember, when a boy, carrying the splits for a servant of the family,
+called Sam Wham. Now Sam was an able young fellow, well-boned and willing;
+a hard headed cudgel player, and a marvellous tough wrestler, for he had a
+backbone like a sea-serpent; this gained him the name of the Twister and
+Twiner. He had got into the river, with his back to me, was stooping over
+a broad stone, when something bolted from under the bank on which I stood,
+right through his legs. Sam fell with a great splash upon his face, but in
+falling, jammed whatever it was against the stone. "Let go, Twister,"
+shouted I, "'tis an otter, he will nip a finger off you."--"Whisht,"
+sputtered he, as he slid his hand under the water; "May I never read a
+text again, if he isna a sawmont wi' a shouther like a hog!"--"Grip him by
+the gills, Twister," cried I.--"Saul will I!" cried the Twiner; but just
+then there was a heave, a roll, a splash, a slap like a pistol-shot; down
+went Sam, and up went the salmon, spun like a shilling at pitch and toss,
+six feet into the air. I leaped in just as he came to the water; but my
+foot caught between two stones, and the more I pulled the firmer it stuck.
+The fish fell in a spot shallower than that from which he had leaped. Sam
+saw the chance, and tackled to again: while I, sitting down in the stream
+as best I might, held up my torch, and cried fair play, as shoulder to
+shoulder, throughout and about, up and down, roll and tumble, to it they
+went, Sam and the salmon. The Twister was never so twined before. Yet
+through crossbuttocks and capsizes innumerable, he still held on; now
+haled through a pool; now haling up a bank; now heels over head; now head
+over heels; now head and heels together; doubled up in a corner; but at
+last stretched fairly on his back, and foaming for rage and disappointment;
+while the victorious salmon, slapping the stones with his tail, and
+whirling the spray from his shoulders at every roll, came boring and
+snoring up the ford. I tugged and strained to no purpose; he flashed by me
+with a snort, and slid into the deep water. Sam now staggered forward with
+battered bones and peeled elbows, blowing like a grampus, and cursing like
+nothing but himself. He extricated me, and we limped home. Neither rose
+for a week; for I had a dislocated ankle, and the Twister was troubled
+with a broken rib. Poor Sam! he had his brains discovered at last by a
+poker in a row, and was worm's meat within three months; yet, ere he died,
+he had the satisfaction of feasting on his old antagonist, who was man's
+meat next morning. They caught him in a net. Sam knew him by the twist in
+his tail.--_Blackwood's Magazine_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL.
+
+The operation of working for these precious jems is a very simple one. The
+alluvial soil (the cascalhao) is dug up from the bed of the river, and
+removed to a convenient spot on the banks for working. The process is as
+follows:--a rancho is erected about a hundred feet long, and half that
+distance in width; down the middle of the area is conveyed a canal,
+covered with earth; on the other side of the area is a flooring of planks,
+about sixteen feet in length, extending the whole length of the shed, and
+to which an inclined direction is given; this flooring is divided into
+troughs, into which is thrown a portion of the cascalhao; the water is
+then let in, and the earth raked until the water becomes clear; the earthy
+particles having been washed away, the gravel is raked up to the end of
+the trough; the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards the smaller
+ones, the whole is then examined with great care for diamonds. When a
+negro finds one, he claps his hands, stands in an erect posture, holding
+the diamond between his fore-finger and thumb; it is received by one of
+the overseers posted on lofty seats, at equal distances, along the line of
+the work. On the conclusion of the work, the diamonds found during the day
+are weighed, and registered by the overseer _en chef_. If a negro has the
+good fortune to find a stone weighing upwards of seventeen carats, he is
+immediately manumitted, and for smaller stones proportionate premiums are
+given. There are, besides, several other works on this river, and on other
+streams, but the supply of diamonds falls now considerably short of former
+periods, and their produce scarcely defrays the expenses.
+
+The Diamond District of the Serro do Frio is about twenty leagues in
+length, and nine in breadth; the soil is barren, but intersected by
+numerous streams. It was first discovered by some miners, shortly after
+the establishment of the Villa do Principe. In working for gold in the
+rivulets of Milho Verde and St. Goncalzes, they discovered some pebbles of
+geometric form, and of a peculiar hue and lustre. For some years these
+pebbles were given as pretty baubles to children, or used as counters for
+marking the points of their favourite game of voltarete. At last an
+officer, who had been some years at Goa, in the East Indies, arrived in
+the Commarca: he was struck with the peculiar form of these pebbles, and
+from several experiments he made, it struck him that they were diamonds.
+He immediately collected a few, and sent them to Holland, where, to the
+astonishment of the lapidaries, they were found to be brilliants of the
+finest water. It will easily be imagined, that on the arrival of this
+intelligence in Brazil, the hitherto despised counters suddenly became the
+objects of universal research, and almost immediately disappeared.
+
+The government of Portugal now issued a decree, declaring all diamonds a
+monopoly of the crown. For a length of time it was considered that
+diamonds were confined solely to the district of Serro Frio. But this is
+an error; they are found in almost every part of the empire, particularly
+in the remote provinces of Goyazes and Matto Grosso, where there exist
+several districtos diamantescos. These gems have been even found on the
+tops of the highest mountains; indeed, it is the opinion of the Brazilian
+mineralogists that the original diamond formations are in the mountains,
+and that they will one day or other be discovered in such quantities, as
+to render them objects of comparatively small value.
+
+The largest diamond in the world was found in the river Abaite; about
+ninety-two leagues to N.W. of Serro do Frio. The history of its discovery
+is romantic:--three Brazilians, Ant. de Souza, Jose Felix Gomes, and
+Thomas de Souza, were sentenced, for some supposed misdemeanour, to
+perpetual banishment in the wildest part of the interior. Their sentence
+was a cruel one; but the region of their exile was the richest in the
+world; every river rolled over a bed of gold, every valley contained
+inexhaustible mines of diamonds. A suspicion of this kind enabled these
+unfortunate men to support the horrors of their fate; they were constantly
+sustained by the golden hope of discovering some rich mine, that would
+produce a reversion of their hard sentence. Thus they wandered about for
+nearly six years, in quest of mines; but fortune was at last propitious.
+An excessive draught had laid dry the bed of the river Abaite, and here,
+while working for gold, they discovered a diamond of nearly an ounce in
+weight. Overwhelmed with joy at this providential discovery, they resolved
+to proceed, at all hazards, to Villa Rica, and trust to the mercy of the
+crown. The governor, on beholding the magnitude and lustre of the gem,
+could scarcely credit the evidence of his senses. He immediately appointed
+a commission of the officers of the Diamond District to report on its
+nature; and on their pronouncing it a real diamond, it was immediately
+dispatched to Lisbon. It is needless to add that the sentence of the three
+"condemnados" was immediately reversed.
+
+This celebrated diamond has been estimated by Rome de l'Isle at the
+enormous sum of three hundred millions sterling. It is uncut, but the late
+King of Portugal, who had a passion for precious stones, had a hole bored
+through it, in order to wear it suspended about his neck on gala days. No
+sovereign possessed so fine a collection of diamonds as this
+prince.--_Monthly Mag_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+NOTES OF A READER.
+
+
+AMERICAN LIFE.
+
+Mrs. Trollope's amusing book has furnished us with still another page or
+two of scenes and sketches:
+
+_Crocodiles on the Mississippi_.
+
+"It is said that at some points of this dismal river, crocodiles are so
+abundant as to add the terror of their attacks to the other sufferings of
+a dwelling there. We were told a story of a squatter, who having 'located'
+himself close to the river's edge, proceeded to build his cabin. This
+operation is soon performed, for social feeling and the love of whiskey
+bring all the scanty neighbourhood round a new comer, to aid him in
+cutting down trees, and in rolling up the logs, till the mansion is
+complete. This was done; the wife and five young children were put in
+possession of their new home, and slept soundly after a long march.
+Towards day-break the husband and father was awakened by a faint cry, and
+looking up, beheld relics of three of his children scattered over the
+floor, and an enormous crocodile, with several young-ones around her,
+occupied in devouring the remnants of their horrid meal. He looked around
+for a weapon, but finding none, and aware that unarmed he could do nothing,
+he raised himself gently on his bed, and contrived to crawl from thence
+through a window, hoping that his wife, whom he left sleeping, might with
+the remaining children rest undiscovered till his return. He flew to his
+nearest neighbour and besought his aid; in less than half an hour two men
+returned with him, all three well armed; but alas! they were too late! the
+wife and her two babes lay mangled on their bloody bed. The gorged
+reptiles fell an easy prey to their assailants, who, upon examining the
+place, found the hut had been constructed close to the mouth of a large
+hole, almost a cavern, where the monster had hatched her hateful brood."
+
+_Pig Scavengers_.
+
+"We were soon settled in our new dwelling, which looked neat and
+comfortable enough, but we speedily found that it was devoid of nearly all
+the accommodation that Europeans conceive necessary to decency and comfort.
+No pump, no cistern, no drain of any kind, no dustman's cart, or any other
+visible means of getting rid of the rubbish, which vanishes with such
+celerity in London, that one has no time to think of its existence; but
+which accumulated so rapidly at Cincinnati, that I sent for my landlord to
+know in what manner refuse of all kinds was to be disposed of.
+
+"Your Help will just have to fix them all into the middle of the street,
+but you must mind, old woman, that it is the middle. I expect you don't
+know as we have got a law what forbids throwing such things at the sides
+of the streets; they must just all be cast right into the middle, and the
+pigs soon takes them off.'"
+
+_American English_.
+
+"I very seldom during my whole stay in the country heard a sentence
+elegantly turned, and correctly pronounced from the lips of an American.
+There is always something either in the expression or the accent that jars
+the feelings and shocks the taste."
+
+_Mr. Bullock_.
+
+"About two miles below Cincinnati, on the Kentucky side of the river, Mr.
+Bullock, the well known proprietor of the Egyptian Hall, has bought a
+large estate, with a noble house upon it. He and his amiable wife were
+devoting themselves to the embellishment of the house and grounds; and
+certainly there is more taste and art lavished on one of their beautiful
+saloons, than all Western America can show elsewhere. It is impossible to
+help feeling that Mr. Bullock is rather out of his element in this remote
+spot, and the gems of art he has brought with him, show as strangely there,
+as would a bower of roses in Siberia, or a Cincinnati fashionable at
+Almack's. The exquisite beauty of the spot, commanding one of the finest
+reaches of the Ohio, the extensive gardens, and the large and handsome
+mansion, have tempted Mr. Bullock to spend a large sum in the purchase of
+this place, and if any one who has passed his life in London could endure
+such a change, the active mind and sanguine spirit of Mr. Bullock might
+enable him to do it; but his frank, and truly English hospitality, and his
+enlightened and inquiring mind, seemed sadly wasted there. I have since
+heard with pleasure that Mr. Bullock has parted with this beautiful, but
+secluded mansion.
+
+"Mr. Bullock was showing to some gentlemen of the first standing, the very
+_elite_ of Cincinnati, his beautiful collection of engravings, when one
+among them exclaimed, 'Have you really done all these since you came here?
+How hard you must have worked!'"
+
+_Cows_.
+
+"These animals are fed morning and evening at the door of the house, with
+a good mess of Indian corn, boiled with water; while they eat, they are
+milked, and when the operation is completed the milk-pail and the meal-tub
+retreat into the dwelling, leaving the republican cow to walk away, to
+take her pleasure on the hills, or in the gutters, as may suit her fancy
+best. They generally return very regularly to give and take the morning
+and evening meal; though it more than once happened to us, before we were
+supplied by a regular milk cart, to have our jug sent home empty, with the
+sad news that 'the cow was not come home, and it was too late to look for
+her to breakfast now.' Once, I remember, the good woman told us that she
+had overslept herself, and that the cow had come and gone again, 'not
+liking, I expect, to hanker about by herself for nothing, poor thing.'"
+
+_Health of Cincinnati_.
+
+"A gentleman told us, that when a medical man intended settling in a new
+situation, he always, if he knew his business, walked through the streets
+at night, before he decided. If he saw the dismal twinkle of the
+watch-light from many windows he might be sure that disease was busy, and
+that the 'location' might suit him well."
+
+_Marketing_.
+
+"It is the custom for the gentlemen to go to market at Cincinnati; the
+smartest men in the place, and those of the 'highest standing' do not
+scruple to leave their beds with the sun, six days in the week, and,
+prepared with a mighty basket, to sally forth in search of meat, butter,
+eggs, and vegetables. I have continually seen them returning, with their
+weighty basket on one arm and an enormous ham depending from the other."
+
+_Moving Houses_.
+
+"One of the sights to stare at in America is that of houses moving from
+place to place. We were often amused by watching this exhibition of
+mechanical skill in the streets. They make no difficulty of moving
+dwellings from one part of the town to another. Those I saw travelling
+were all of them frame-houses, that is, built wholly of wood, except the
+chimneys; but it is said that brick buildings are sometimes treated in the
+same manner. The largest dwelling that I saw in motion was one containing
+two stories of four rooms each; forty oxen were yoked to it. The first few
+yards brought down the two stacks of chimneys, but it afterwards went on
+well. The great difficulties were the first getting it in motion and the
+stopping exactly in the right place. This locomotive power was extremely
+convenient at Cincinnati, as the constant improvements going on there made
+it often desirable to change a wooden dwelling for one of brick; and
+whenever this happened, we were sure to see the ex No. 100 of Main-street
+or the ex No. 55 of Second-street creeping quietly out of town, to take
+possession of a humble suburban station on the common above it."
+
+_Social distinctions_.
+
+"My general appellation amongst my neighbours was 'the English old woman,'
+but in mentioning each other they constantly employed the term 'lady;' and
+they evidently had a pleasure in using it, for I repeatedly observed, that
+in speaking of a neighbour, instead of saying Mrs. Such-a-one, they
+described her as 'the lady over the way what takes in washing,' or as
+'that there lady, out by the Gulley, what is making dip-candles.' Mr.
+Trollope was as constantly called 'the old man,' while dray-men, butchers'
+boys, and the labourers on the canal were invariably denominated 'them
+gentlemen;' nay, we once saw one of the most gentlemanlike men in
+Cincinnati introduce a fellow in dirty shirt sleeves, and all sorts of
+detestable et cetera, to one of his friends, with this formula, 'D---- let
+me introduce this gentleman to you.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE COSMOPOLITE.
+
+
+SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &c. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS.
+
+(_Concluded from page 213_.)
+
+The oriental fable of the _Roc_ has its probable origin in the condor,
+which is undoubtedly the largest and strongest bird of the vulture tribe
+in existence, and extremely ravenous. Minerva's bird, the _Owl_, is well
+known as one of ill omen; besides the superstitious idea that the
+screech-owl foretells death by its cry, it was formerly believed to suck
+the blood of children. The Mongol and Calmuc Tartars have held the _White
+Owl_ sacred since the days of Genghis Khan, when a bird of this species
+having settled on a bush in which that prince had hidden himself from his
+enemies, those who pursued him past it, not believing that a bird would
+perch on a bush wherein a man was concealed. The _Raven_ has ever been
+considered by the vulgar as a bird of evil omen, the indicator of
+misfortunes and death; and, indeed, the superstition is but consonant with
+a bird of such funereal note and hue, and exhibiting such goule-like
+propensities. The Swedes, however, regard it as sacred, and no one offers
+to molest it. In the north of England, one _Magpie_ flying alone, is
+deemed an ill omen; two together, a fortunate one; three forebode a
+funeral, and four a wedding; or, when on a journey, to meet two magpies
+portends a wedding; three, a successful journey; four, unexpected good
+news; and five, that the person will soon be in company with the great. To
+kill a magpie, indicates or brings down some terrible misfortune. The
+_Sparrow Hawk_ was sacred with the Egyptians, and the symbol of Osiris.
+The _Yellow Hammer_ is superstitiously considered an agent _diablerie_.
+The _Wheat-Ear_ is, in the Highlands, a detested bird, and fancied one of
+evil omen, on account of its frequenting old churchyards, where it nestles
+amongst the stones, and finds plenty of insects for food. The _Woodcock_
+is, we believe, the bird imagined to drop, in its proper season, from the
+moon. It is a vulgar error, that the song of the _Nightingale_ is
+melancholy, and that it only sings by night; but to hear the Cuckoo before
+the Nightingale has been long deemed an unsuccessful omen in love: the
+saliva of the cuckoo has been thought to preserve all it falls upon.
+
+  "The _Robin_ and the _Wren_
+  Are God Almighty's cock and hen,"
+
+says the old distich, and whilst it is reckoned wicked to kill either of
+these (not but that there is an ancient custom of "hunting the wren" still
+kept up, we believe, in some parts of this country,) it is considered
+unlucky to kill a _Swallow_, or _House-Martin_. The _King-fisher_ is the
+Halcyon of the ancients, who imagined that during the process of
+incubation by the female the sea remained unvexed by storms; hence
+"halcyon days." The feathers of this bird are employed by the Tartars for
+many superstitious purposes; they consider them amulets of priceless value,
+enabling them to inspire women with love. In more civilized countries it
+was once believed, that if the body of a kingfisher were suspended by a
+thread, some magnetic influence would turn its breast to the north: others
+thought it a preserver of woollen cloths from moths. The _Albatross_ (by
+some considered the kingfisher or halcyon,) is fabled to sleep in the air,
+never to touch the earth; and to kill one is reckoned supremely unlucky.
+There is an Indian bird, the name of which has unfortunately escaped us,
+that is feigned to live only on the rain-drops which it can draw with its
+bill from the clouds; in a dry season, therefore, this bird perishes. Of
+the _Bird of Paradise_ the following wonders were once credited: viz. that
+the egg was laid in the air by the female, and there hatched by the male
+in an orifice of his body; that it had no legs (these however are long,
+and a disfigurement to the body, which the Indians know, and fearful of
+their depreciating the value of the bird, upon capturing it, cut them off);
+that it hung itself by the two long feathers of its tail on a tree when
+sleeping; that it never touched the ground during any period of its
+existence, and fed wholly on dew. The Indians also believe that the leader,
+or king of the birds of paradise is black, with red spots, and that he
+soars far away from the rest of the flock, which, however, never quit him,
+but settle where he does. The _Gigantic Crane_ is believed by the Indians
+to be invulnerable, and animated by the souls of deceased Brahmins; the
+Africans hold it in equal veneration. Whence arises the classical fable
+that swans sing their own dirge just previous to death, and expire singing
+it? The wild swan certainly may be said to whistle, but the tame has no
+other note than a hiss, and this only when provoked. The Kamschatdales and
+Kuriles wear round their necks the bills of _Puffins_, as an amulet which
+ensures good fortune. Who was _Mother Carey_?--The wife, perhaps, of
+"_Davy_," and keeper of his "locker;" Mother Carey's chickens is the
+well-known appellation, in _tarrish_ tongue, of _Stormy Petrels_, not
+superstitiously supposed to forebode tempests, since they seem their very
+element; but it is probable that to Mother Carey herself (we crave her
+pardon--_Mistress_) some astounding "yarn" is attached. The _Stork_, the
+_Crane_, and the _Pelican_, are each the subject of idle stories; the
+latter has been asserted to feed her young with her own bosom's blood, and
+to fill her pouch with water in order to supply them in the desert. A
+notion is entertained by the ignorant that the _Bittern_ thrusts its bill
+into a reed, which serves as a pipe to increase the volume of its natural
+note, and swell it above pitch; and in some places a tradition prevails
+that it thrusts its head into water and then blows with all its might. It
+is erroneous that the _Ostrich_ lays her eggs in the sand, depending
+solely on the sun's rays to hatch them; the truth is that, as from the
+heat of her native climate, it is not always necessary for her to sit upon
+them, she simply does what numerous birds in colder latitudes are well
+known to do; viz. cover them, that they may not, during her absence, lose
+their heat.
+
+The popular opinion that the _Turtle Dove_, of either sex, should it
+happen to lose its mate, remains ever after in a state of disconsolate
+celibacy, is, we believe, disproved by the fact, at least as respects
+these birds in a wild state; but we may remark, that the loss of a
+companion to more than one kind of _domesticated_ bird, if it has been
+brought up with one, even though not in the same cage, is sometimes so
+severely deplored by the survivor, as to occasion its death, if the loss
+be not speedily supplied. The old story of _Swallows_ passing the winter
+in a state of torpidity at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and ponds, has
+been frequently agitated, asserted to be a fact by one party, and totally
+disproved by the other. The reader may be amused to learn, that very
+recently we were assured by one, who _knew it for an absolute fact_, that
+ducks and even chickens (!!!) had been found in a certain farmer's pond,
+laid up in winter quarters, which were revived by the warmth of the sun
+and upper air, upon being fished out of it!! "Regarding _Birds' Eggs_,"
+says the Naturalist in his interesting Journal, "we have a very foolish
+superstition here (Gloucestershire:) the boys may take them unrestrained,
+but their mothers so dislike their being kept in the house, that they
+usually break them; their presence may be tolerated for a few days, but by
+the ensuing Sunday they are frequently destroyed, under the idea that they
+bring bad luck, or prevent the coming of good fortune, as if in some way
+offensive to the domestic deity of the hearth."
+
+Here, then, we pause; some abler hand may, perhaps, be tempted to take up
+the subject as we leave it, for there are yet gleanings, in the field, of
+"Superstitions and Fables connected with animals," over which our leisure
+has allowed us but lightly to pass; gleanings sufficient to reward the
+industrious and the curious; or, it may even be, that we shall return,
+some day, to this topic ourselves, time and materials permitting.
+
+_Great Marlow, Bucks_. M.L.B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE GATHERER.
+
+
+_Congreve Rockets_.--When the Congreve rockets were first introduced into
+the navy, the admiral on the Brazil station proposed to exhibit to the
+king, Don Juan VI., the effect of these formidable projectiles. His
+majesty consented, and the whole court were accordingly assembled in the
+balconies of the palace, at the Rio, for the purpose of witnessing the
+spectacle. By some mishap, of very frequent occurrence in the early
+history of these missiles, at the moment of firing the tube veered round,
+and the rocket, instead of flying over to Praia Grande, took the opposite
+direction, and fell and exploded in the great square, almost beneath the
+windows of the palace. The consternation of the king was only equalled by
+the mortification of the admiral, who immediately despatched an officer on
+shore to explain the cause of the _contretemps_ to his majesty; and
+offering to let off another, but the terrified monarch would not hear of
+it. "I have a great respect," said he, "for my good allies, the English,
+but after dinner they are absolutely fit for nothing;" an observation
+which clearly indicated to what cause his majesty attributed the
+unfortunate result of the exhibition.--_Monthly Magazine_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Prosperity of America_.--The United States of N. America posses an almost
+undefinable extent of fertile uncultivated land--a highly industrious and
+intelligent population of 13,000,000--the national debt will be paid this
+year--and they have a large surplus revenue. That of 1831 was 27,700,000
+Spanish dollars; the expenditure for all government purposes 14,700,000.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_War._--Were the disputes between great and rival nations to be settled by
+single combat, by those, through whose ambition, pride, or other cause,
+they were occasioned, millions of lives might have been saved.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Curious Custom._--There is held in Italy, a kind of feast, or ceremony,
+in the courts of certain princes, on St. Nicholas's Day, in which people
+hide presents in the shoes or slippers of those they would do honour to;
+in such a manner as to surprise them on the morrow, when they come to
+dress. It is done in imitation of the practice of St. Nicholas; who used,
+in the night time, to throw purses of money in at the windows, for
+portions to poor maidens on their marriage. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Experience._--It often happens that the more we see into a man, the less
+we admire him.--_Pliny._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Romans were so anxious to encourage marriage, that they punished
+unmarried persons by rendering them incapable of receiving any legacy, or
+inheritance by will, except from near relatives. And those who were
+married, and had not any children, could take no more than half the estate.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Etruscan Vases._--The art of making earthenware was transported from
+Etruria into Greece. The Romans also borrowed this invention from the
+Etruscans, to whom also Greece was indebted for many of its ceremonies and
+religious institutions, as well as for its mechanics and artificers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is customary in the canton Wallis, Switzerland, for those who have
+found anything lost, even money, to affix it to a large crucifix in the
+churchyard, and there is not an example on record, of any object being
+taken away except by the rightful owner. W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Cumberland Titles._--The honorary titles arising from the different
+degrees of allowed consequence or property in Cumberland, appear (says
+Britton) singular when compared with their usual acceptation in society.
+The mistress of the house is a _Dame_; every owner of a little landed
+property is a _'Statesman_; his eldest son is the _Laird_; and where there
+is no son, the eldest daughter is born to the title of _Leady_. Thus we
+may see a '_Statesman_ driving the plough, a _Lord_ attending the market
+with vegetables, and a _Leady_ labouring at the churn. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_A string of echo puns_ surpassing all others, may be seen in a scarce
+work, published in the reign of James I. A specimen--a divine, willing to
+play more with words, than to be serious in the expounding of his text,
+spoke thus in one part of the sermon:--"This dyall shewes we must _die
+all_; yet, notwithstanding, all howses are turned into _ale-houses_; our
+cares are turned into _cates_; our paradise, into, _a pair of dice_; our
+marriage, into a _merry age_; our matrimony, into a _matter of money_; our
+divines, into _dry vines_. It was not so in the days of Noah,
+_Ah no_!"--T.G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Advertisement Extraordinary, from a Newspaper of 1796_.--"Whereas the
+right hon. William Pitt, Chancellor of his Majesty's Exchequer, did on the
+night of Monday last, and on or about the hour of six o'clock, utter in
+his place in the House of Commons, certain sentences or phrases,
+containing several assurances, denials, promises, retractions, persuasions,
+explanations, hints, insinuations, and intimations, and expressing much
+hope, fear, joy, sorrow, confidence, and doubt, upon the subject of peace,
+then and there recommended by Charles Grey, esq., member of the aforesaid
+House of Commons, for the county of Northumberland; and whereas the entire
+effectual and certain meaning of the whole of the said sentences, phrases,
+denials, promises, retractions, persuasions, explanations, hints,
+insinuations, and intimations, has escaped and fled, so that what remains
+is to plain understandings incomprehensible, and to many good men is
+matter of painful contemplation: now this is to promise to any person who
+shall restore the said lost meaning, or shall illustrate, simplify, and
+explain the said meaning, the sum of five thousand pounds, to be paid on
+the first day of April next, at the office of John Bull, esq., Pay-All and
+Fight-All, to the several high contracting powers, engaged in the present
+_just_ and _necessary_ war!
+
+"Done at the office of Mr. John Bull's Chief Decypherer, _Turnagain_ Lane,
+_Circumbendibus_ Street, _Obscurity_ Square, Feb. 18, 1796."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Cheap Soup_.--Take ten quarts of water, and stir it with a rush-light
+till it boils; season it to your liking, and it is ready for use. N.B. The
+wick may be bolted.--_Monthly Mag_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Epitaph on the death of Miss Eliza More, aged_ 14.
+
+  Here lies who never lied before,
+  And one who will never lie _More_,
+  To which there need no _more_ be said
+  Than _More_ the pity she is dead,
+  For when alive she charmed us _More_
+  Than all the _Mores_ just gone before.[6]
+
+
+    [6] Her two sisters dying some months before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_On Anne Green, a Quakeress_.
+
+  Here lies a piece of Christ, a star in dust,
+  A wedge of gold, a china dish that must
+  Be used in heaven, when Christ doth feed the just.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Inscribed on the back door of a Tavern_, which opened into the Parish
+Church of St. Michael's, Cambridge, kept by Mr. Burrell, 1639: which door
+is now taken down, the tavern having been pulled down, and a new street
+built on its site.
+
+  Go on by leave, no way here lies:
+    But way and leave to those
+  That hast to taste good wine and fine,
+    And fear not Burrell's foes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Copied from the Churchwarden's Book_.
+
+_The Mother Tongue_.--In Mr. Combe's _Illustrations of Phrenology_, a case
+is related of a Welsh milkman, in London, who happening to fall down two
+pair of stairs, received a severe contusion on the head, and was carried
+to St. George's Hospital, where he lay senseless for several days, and
+unable to speak. At length he became something better, and began to talk
+to the nurses, but in such terms that no one could understand him, till it
+was discovered that he had forgotten his English, and was talking Welsh; a
+language he had not spoken for eighteen years. Mr. Combe conceives that
+the blow having hit the store-house in his head, where the Welsh language
+was garnered, his youthful acquisitions were poured out, whilst the
+English language, which he had learned much later, was overpowered and
+obliterated by the force of his mother tongue. W.G.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Warning to Betrayers_.--St. Bennet's Abbey, in Norfolk, was so well
+fortified, that William the Conqueror, in vain besieged it, till a monk,
+upon condition of being made abbot, betrayed the place. The king performed
+the condition, but hanged the new _abbot_ as a _traitor_. P.T.W.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,)
+London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; G.G. BENNIS,
+55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement,
+and Instruction, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 542 ***
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