THE MIRROR
OF
LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

CLARENDON HOUSE, PICCADILLY.

The virtuous and uncompromising chancellor, the Earl of
Clarendon, had a splendid mansion facing the upper end of St.
James’s-street, on the site of the present Grafton-street. Of
this princely pile, the above is an accurate engraving. It
was built by Clarendon with the stone intended for the
rebuilding of St. Paul’s. “He purchased the materials,” says
Pennant, “but a nation soured with an unsuccessful war, with
fire, and with pestilence, imputed everything as a crime to
this great and envied character; his enemies called it
Dunkirk House, calumniating him with having built it with the
money arising from the sale of that town, which had just
before been given up to the French, for a large sum, by his
Master.”

It is true that Clarendon built this mansion in a season of
discontent; but so sensible was he of his vanity and
imprudence in building so large a house, and of the envy it
drew upon him, that he afterwards apologized for the act;
which he declares, so far exceeded the proposed expense, as
to add greatly to the embarrassment of his affairs.

This mansion cost £50,000. and 300 men were employed in
the building. It was purchased from his lordship by George
Monk, Duke of Albemarle, and afterwards by another nobleman,
inferior indeed in abilities, but not inferior in virtues. In
1670, James, Duke of Ormond, resided at Clarendon House; and
on his way thither, he was one day dragged out of his coach
by the infamous Blood and his associates, who intended to
hang his Grace at Tyburn, in revenge for justice done, under
his administration in Ireland, on some of their companions.
“This refinement in revenge,” says Pennant, “saved the duke’s
life; he had leisure to disengage himself from the villain on
horseback, to whom he was tied; by which time he was
discovered by his servants, and rescued from death.”

The original of our Engraving was copied from a rare print,
which, in the year 1790, was in the collection of Thomas
Allen, Esq. Appended to the former is a section, showing the
relative situation of Clarendon House, which was taken from a
map of London (supposed to be unique) in an illustrated
Clarendon’s [pg 290] History, in the
possession of John Charles Crowle, Esq. By the section, the
entrance-gate to the court-yard of the house appears to have
been in Piccadilly, in a direct line with St. James’s Street,
and the grounds to have extended to Bruton Street at the
back, where there was likewise a communication. The site of
the front gate is now, therefore, the commencement of
Albemarle Street, named after one of the distinguished
occupants of Clarendon House.

Notwithstanding the revolutions of time and fashion in this
quarter, the illustrious name of the founder of Clarendon
House is still preserved in the “Clarendon Hotel,”
which occupies a portion of the original ground already
described. One of the changes is, that instead of the
Chancellor meditating upon his dismissal from office, which
his very virtues and stately dignity, and a weak king, and a
more wicked and envious faction had brought about,—we
have well-living twos and fours hob-nobbing over
Chateau-Margaux, or yielding to the delightful inspirations
of Ay Champagne. Not a few more of the good things of this
great town are assembled near the same spot. Albemarle Street
has many first-rate hotels, and two handsome club-houses;
while on the Bond Street side of the quadrangle are two or
three extensive libraries, an immense porcelain repository,
and a score of fashionable artistes. What idle
delights are all these compared with the wisdom and virtue
which once dwelt on the same spot. But had Clarendon lived to
see Crockford’s splendid subscription-house rise after a
golden shower, in St. James’s Street, (and this he might have
done from the front-windows of Clarendon House) he would,
perhaps, have given us an extra volume of Essays. We
would that he had so lived, if only that his sublime
truths might thus nave been multiplied for the good of
mankind, if not for the weak heads of St. James’s Street.

THE GLANCIN’ E’E.

C.C.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

(For the Mirror.)

“There is a voice from the grave sweeter than
song.”—Washington Irving.

Kirton Lindsey.

ANNIE R.

THE COSMOPOLITE.

THE TIMES NEWSPAPER.

We are not about to write an advertisement for this
advertised of all advertisers—nor to talk of its square
feet—its crowded broadside—or the myriads of
letters that make it resemble a sea of animalculae. We are
content to leave all the pride of its machinery to Messrs.
Applegath and Cowper, and the clang of its engine to the
peaceful purlieus of Printing-house Square. Yet these are
interesting items in the advancement of science, and in the
history of mankind; for whether taken mechanically or
morally, the Times is, without exception, the
newspaper of all newspapers, “the observed of all
observers” and altogether, the most extraordinary
production of this or any other age.

But we are more anxious to reach what may be called the
philosophy of a newspaper—that broad volume of human
life, in which “the follies, vices, and consequent miseries
of multitudes are displayed.” To prove this, only let the
reader glance over the twenty-four columns of a Times
newspaper, and attempt a calculation of the many thousand
events that spring from and are connected with their
contents. Yet this sheet is but as it were a day in the life
of man—a mere thread of the mingled yarn of his
existence—and 313 such sheets, or 1,252 such folios
make but a year of his history. The subject is too vast and
comprehensive for continued contemplation, for it is like all
other wheels of vicissitude; we become giddy by looking too
steadfastly on its twinings.

Let us take one side of any recent Times
newspaper—say that of Thursday last—and
attempt something like an abstract of its memorabilia.
This may appear for us a toilsome task, but if the reader be
not fatigued also, our time will not be misspent. Begin “at
the beginning” with the old English title, broken by the
royal arms—like a blocking-course; and the No. and date
in a sort of typographical entablature. The first side is
filled by 188 advertisements, for the most part, classed
according to their objects.

Thus, we start, and not unappropriately, with notices of
vessels to sail for India and the new settlement on
Swan River. What temptations for adventure and
avarice—what associations of industry and
indolence—luxury and squalid misery—do these
announcements create in the reflective mind. The nabob in his
chintz—the speculator with his last hundred—and
the half-starved agriculturist—are but sorry portraits
beside the class to whom the next notice is
addressed.—Packets to Calais, Dieppe, and
Margate—necessity on her last leg, and luxury on the
fantastic toe—the wasted mind and famished visage
beside hoyden mirth and bloated luxury. Then the South
American Mining Association Deed “lies for
signature:”—what a relief in this sheet of
chiaro-scuro—a kind of tinsel to set off its
grave parts, with gold dust enough to blind half its readers.
To this little flash of golden light succeeds
shade—Chancery and creditors’ notices—proving
debts and consciences—followed by civil contracts for
Bridewell and building a Lunatic Asylum in Kent. The
association is too obvious, and verily, the maker-up of the
Times newspaper is a Hogarth in his way; for what Hogarth did
with pencil and brush, he does with metallic types. Next is a
Saw Mill to be sold cheap, constructed for the express
purpose of being sent to the Swan River settlement—how
fortunate—for surely any idle wight would make his way
with such assistance, especially as the machine is “on
improved principles.” Luxury
again—paper-hangings, French lamps, and French
roses—necessity again—Money on mortgage,
and bills discounted: how obvious the connexion—the
very cause and effect—the lamps will not burn without
oil, and the roses will not bloom without money—at
least they will only waste their fragrance in the desert air
of the nursery-ground.

The second column begins with a solicitor’s inquiry
for a person long unheard of, who, if alive, “may hear of
somewhat very considerably to his advantage”—any person
proving his death, shall be rewarded. Next is a notice from
the City Chamber Court of Stralsund, of a man who has been
missing twenty years, and unless he informs the court of his
existence on or before Lady-day, 1830, he will be declared
dead—poor fellow—yet how many would rejoice at
such an opportunity of escaping from their worldly cares.
Next comes a little string of Anniversaries of
Charities—followed by Exhibitions of the Fine
Arts—had their [pg 292] position been reversed,
the effect would have been better; for fine painting prepares
the heart for acts of benevolence, and kindleth all its best
feelings. Portraits of the Rev. Matthew Wilks and Pope Pius
VII. (the latter a splendid mezzotinto from Sir T. Lawrence’s
picture) are followed by a “Speaking French Grammar,”
a very good companion for any Englishman about to visit the
continent; for with many, their stock of French does not last
out their cash. Next is fourteen years of the Morning Post to
be sold—a bargain for a fashionable novelist, and in
fact, a complete stock-in-trade for any court or town Adonis;
a perfect vocabulary of fashion, detailing the rise and
progress of all the fashionable arts since the
peace—the gazette appointments and
disappointments—and elopements and faux pas,
sufficient for all the comedy-writers of the present
century—the respective claims of Spanish Refugees and
Spitalfields Weavers—charitable concerts and opera
benefits—and all the lumber and light artillery of the
grand monde.

The third column is almost entirely occupied by
“Wanted” advertisements and we had resolved to pass over all
their “Wants;” had not some of them occurred to us as rather
singular, even in these times of general distress. The first
of these is for a respectable middle-aged woman, as lady’s
maid—”to understand dress-making, millinery,
hair-dressing, getting-up fine linen, and to be useful and
obliging.” All this is reasonable enough; but mark the
inducement: “a clever person fond of the country, and who can
bear confinement, will find this a comfortable situation!”
“This is too much.” Another is for a butler and a valet, to
“undertake the care and responsibility of a numerous family:”
another is a young man for “a situation in any shop or
warehouse, not particular what:” another of “a nurse, who can
cut and make children’s dresses, and instruct them in reading
and spelling;” a school-assistant “to fill the second desk,”
&c. Next come a few characteristics of a scientific
age—as patent trouser-straps, to “prevent the dirt
getting between the strap and the boot, &c.;” and patent
springs for waistcoat backs—to cause the clothes to fit
well to the shape, &c.—and, above all, a
legitimate, scientific Diaphane parasol.

The “Wants” are resumed in the fourth column. One is a
young man to be able to walk well; “it is immaterial what he
has been accustomed to.”

In the fourth column we find “a family grave to be sold,
unused for nearly 50 years at that period, but partly
occupied. To save trouble, price 25l.” Another
advertisement—”to small capitalists” is a perfect
puzzle; for the advertiser will not describe the “ready-money
concern” to be disposed of, but says, “the principal article
of sale is what is consumed, either in a greater or less
degree, by almost every individual.” Next is a
tallowchandler’s business in a situation which “will command
an extensive trade immediately the new Fleet Market is
erected”—rather anticipatory, to be sure. Another,
“worthy of notice,” offers for 260 guineas, seven houses,
which cost 800 in building—a tolerable speculation.

The last column commences with a fine brown gelding,
(like most friends) parted with for no fault, free from vice,
although, “a trial will be granted.” Another announces
for sale, several “bays, greys, roans, creams,
and duns:” a chaise “parted with for no other fault
than the present owner having purchased a four-wheeled one;”
and “a house near the church, commanding extensive and
pleasing prospects.”

The fourth folio, or side of the paper, is nearly filled with
advertisements of sales by auction, a single glance at
which would convince us of the instability of human affairs,
even if we did not read in one corner, of a theatrical
wardrobe, containing five splendid new court dresses, trimmed
with gold and silver (except the pockets,) and 52 very fine
wigs.

The inner, or second and third folios of the paper, present
still finer studies for our reflection. The eye almost
instinctively lights on the “Foreign Papers,” detailing the
progress of war and the balance of power—Francfort
Fair, and English manufactures. Below is the well-known
graphic relief—a clock, and two opened and one closed
book, with “The Times”—past and future, decorated with
oak and laurel. Then come the theatrical announcements
teeming with novelty and attraction, which stand like the
sauces, savoury dishes, and sweetmeats of the day’s repast.

(To be concluded in our next.)

OLD POETS.

(To the Editor of the Mirror.)

The following song is said to be the most ancient in the
English language, and to have been written so early as the
year 1250, almost a century before Geoffrey Chaucer, (who is
styled the father of English poetry,) produced his Court
of Love, which was written at the early age of eighteen.

CHAS. COLE.

[pg
293]

THE CUCCU.

Glossary—Sumer, summer—icumen, a
coming—lhude, loud—sed, seed—med,
mead—wde, wood—nu, new—awe, ewe—lomb,
lamb—lhouth, loweth—cu, cow—murie,
merry—singes, sing’st—thu, thou—Ne swik thu
naver, May’st thou never cease.

MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS.

MAY DAY.

It would seem that among our Pagan ancestors, before the
introduction of Christianity, the first day of May was
the great festival in honour of the sun, and that fires were
then kindled and rejoicings made, in honour of that great
luminary. The first day of May is still called Beltan,
or Baal-tein, “the fire of Baal.” In some parts of the
country the shepherds still make festivals of milk and eggs
on that day, but the custom is rapidly declining. In the
Highlands the festival is still continued with singular
ceremonies. On Beltan day all the boys in a township or
hamlet meet in the moors; they cut a table in the green sod,
of a round figure, by casting a trench in the ground of such
circumference as to hold the whole company; they kindle a
fire, and dress a meal of eggs and milk of the consistence of
a custard; and then knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted
at the embers against a stone. After the custard is eaten up,
they divide the cake into as many portions, similar in size
and shape, as there are persons in the company. They then
daub over one of these portions with charcoal until it is
perfectly black; they put all the bits of the cake into a
bonnet; when each of the company, blindfolded, draws out a
portion. He who holds the bonnet is entitled to the last bit.
Whoever draws the black piece is the devoted person to be
sacrificed to Baal, whose favour they mean to implore in
rendering the season productive. There is little doubt but
that such inhuman sacrifices were once offered in this
country as well as in the east; although the act of sacrifice
is now dispensed with, the devoted person being only
compelled to leap three times through the flames, with which
the ceremony of the festival is closed.

That the Caledonians paid a superstitious respect to the sun,
as was the practice among many other nations, is evident, not
only from the sacrifice of Beltan, but from many other
circumstances. When a Highlander goes to bathe, or to drink
water out of a consecrated fountain, he must always approach
by going round the place from east to west on the south side,
in imitation of the apparent diurnal motion of the sun. When
the dead are laid in the earth, the grave is approached by
going round in the same manner. The bride is conducted to her
future spouse in the presence of the minister; and the glass
goes round in company in the course of the sun. This is
called in Gaelic, going round in the right or lucky way; the
opposite course is the wrong or unlucky way.

FHAOLAIN.

ABORIGINES OF VAN DIEMAN’S LAND.

So little is known of these children of nature, and still
less has been done to gain any knowledge of them, that not
much can be offered as to their present numbers or condition.
From what I have seen and read, the natives of Van Dieman’s
Land are unlike any other Indians, either in features, their
mode of living, hunting, &c. There are many hundreds of
people who have lived for years in the colony, and yet have
never seen a native. … The features of these people are any
thing but pleasing: a large flat nose, with immense nostrils;
lips particularly thick; a wide mouth, with a tolerably good
set of teeth; the hair long and woolly, which, as if to
confer additional beauty, is besmeared with red clay (similar
to our red ochre) and grease. Their limbs are badly
proportioned; the women appear to be generally better formed
than the men. Their only covering is a few kangaroo skins,
rudely stitched, and thrown over the shoulders; but more
frequently they appear in a state of nudity; indeed, so
little knowledge have they of decency or comfort, that they
never avail themselves of the purposes for which apparel is
given to them. Lieut. Collins, in his account of the natives
of New South Wales, describes their marriage ceremonies as
being most barbarous and brutal; and I have also heard from
individuals who have visited New South Wales, that it is not
uncommon to see a poor woman almost beaten to death by her
lover, previous to his marrying her. From the shyness of the
natives of Van Dieman’s Land, and the constant warfare that
has been carried on between them and the remote
stock-keepers, (which is not likely to render them more
familiar,) I have never been able to ascertain whether there
is any trace of religion among
[pg
294] them, or if they have the slightest idea of a
Supreme Being. I believe, and it is generally supposed, they
have not. It is but fair to remark, however, that nothing has
been done for them; the few that can speak a little English,
only curse and swear, and this they catch up very readily
from the different convicts they meet with.

There are but few instances of any native having entirely
forsaken his tribe, however young he may have been taken
away; they appear to dislike any thing in the shape of
labour, although, if they take to cattle, they are, beyond
any thing, quick in tracing and finding those lost. So acute
is their power of discrimination, that they have been known
to trace the footsteps of bush-rangers over mountains and
rocks; and, although the individual they have been in pursuit
of has walked into the sides of the river as if to cross it,
to elude the vigilance of his pursuers, and has swam some
distance down and crossed when convenient, yet nothing can
deceive them. Indeed, so remarkable is their discernment,
that if but the slightest piece of moss on a rock has been
disturbed by footsteps, they will instantly detect it. The
aborigines of this island have no appointed place or
situation to live in; they roam about at will, followed by a
pack of dogs, of different sorts and sizes, but which are
used principally for hunting the kangaroo, oppossum,
bandicoot, &c. They are passionately fond of their dogs;
so much so, that the females are frequently known to suckle a
favourite puppy instead of the child. They rarely ever move
at night, but encircle themselves round a large fire, and
sleep in a sitting posture, with their heads between their
knees. So careless are they of their children, that it is not
uncommon to see boys grown up with feet exhibiting the loss
of a toe or two, having, when infants, been dropped into the
fire by the mother. The children are generally carried (by
the women) astride across the shoulders, in a careless
manner. They live entirely by hunting, and do not fish so
much, or use the canoe, as in New South Wales, although the
women are tolerably expert divers; the craw-fish and oyster,
if immediately on the coast, are their principal food.
Oppossums and kangaroos may be said to be their chief
support; the latter is as delicious a treat to an epicure, as
the former is the reverse. The manner of cooking their
victuals is by throwing it on the fire, merely to singe off
the hair; they eat voraciously, and are very little removed
from the brute creation as to choice of food; entrails,
&c. sharing the same chance as the choicest parts. They
are extremely expert in climbing, and can reach the top of
the largest forest-trees without the aid of branches; they
effect this by means of a small sharp flint, which they clasp
tightly in the ball of their four fingers, and having cut a
notch out of the bark, they easily ascend, with the large toe
of each foot in one notch, and their curiously manufactured
hatchet in the other. Their weapons of defence are the spear
and waddie; the former is about twelve feet long, and as
thick as the little finger of a man; the tea-tree supplies
them with this matchless weapon; they harden one end, which
is very sharply pointed, by burning and filing it with a
flint prepared for the purpose. In throwing the spear they
are very expert; indeed, of late, their audacious atrocities
have been lamentably great, although, at the same time, I
have little hesitation in saying, they have arisen from the
cruel treatment experienced by some of their women from the
hands of the distant stock-keepers. Indeed, these poor
mortals, I know, have been shot at merely to gratify a most
barbarous cruelty….

After killing a white man, the natives have a sort of dance
and rejoicing, jumping, and singing, and sending forth the
strangest noises ever heard. They do not molest the body when
dead, nor have I ever heard of their stripping or robbing the
deceased. Among themselves they have no funeral rites; and
those who are aged or diseased are left in hollow trees, or
under the ledges of rocks, to pine and die. These people are
subject to a disease, which causes the most loathsome
ulcerated sores; two or three whom I saw were
wretched-looking objects. I remember a very old man, who was
thus affected, being tried and hung, for spearing one of Mr.
Hart’s men; the culprit was so ill and infirm as to be
obliged to be carried to the place of execution. I think the
colonial surgeons call the disease the “bush scab;” and that
it is occasioned by a filthy mode of life. The population of
natives is very small in proportion to the extent of the
island: several causes may be alleged for their smallness of
numbers; the principal one is their having been driven about
from place to place, by settlers taking new locations;
another cause is the great destruction of the kangaroo, which
obliges the natives to labour hard to procure food sufficient
for their sustenance: this, and their having no means of
procuring vegetables, besides being constantly exposed to the
weather, together with their offensive habits of living,
produce the disease above mentioned, with its fatal
consequences. Widdowson’s Van Dieman’s Land.

[pg
295]

Retrospective Gleanings.

OLD ROSE.

Walton, in his “Angler,” makes the hunter, in the second
chapter, propose that they shall sing “Old Rose,” which is
presumed to refer to the ballad, “Sing, old Rose, and burn
the bellows,” of which every one has heard, but much trouble
has been taken, in vain, to find a copy of it.

AUCTIONS.

Elihu Yale was remarkable for his auctions. The first of
these was about the year 1700. He had brought such quantities
of goods from India, that, finding no one house large enough
to stow them in, he had a public sale of the over-plus; and
that was the first auction of the kind in England.

LILLY, THE ASTROLOGER.

While this impudent cheat is ridiculed for his absurdities,
let him have credit for as lucky a guess as ever blessed the
pages even of “Francis Moore, physician.” In his
“Astrologicall Predictions for 1648,” there occurs the
following passage, in which we must needs allow that he
attained to “something like prophetic strain,” when we call
to mind that the great Plague of London occurred in 1665, and
the great Fire in the year following:

“In the year 1656 the aphelium of Mars, who is the generall
significator of England, will be in Virgo, which is assuredly
the ascendant of the English Monarchy, but Aries of the
kingdom. When this absis, therefore, of Mars shall appear in
Virgo, who shall expect less than a strange
catastrophe of human affairs in the commonwealth,
monarchy, and kingdom of England? There will then, either in
or about these times, or neer that year, or within ten
years, more or less, of that time, appear in this kingdom
so strange a revolution of fate, so grand a
catastrophe, and great mutation unto this monarchy and
government, as never yet appeared; of which, as the times now
stand, I have no liberty or encouragement to deliver any
opinion. Only, it will be ominous to London, unto her
merchants at sea, to her traffique at land, to her poor, to
her rich, to all sorts of people inhabiting in her or her
liberties, BY REASON OF SUNDRY FIRES AND A CONSUMING
PLAGUE.”

This is the prediction which, in 1666, led to his being
examined by a Committee of the House of Commons; not, as has
been supposed, that he might “discover by the stars who were
the authors of the Fire of London,” but because the precision
with which he was thought to have foretold the event, gave
birth to a suspicion that he was already acquainted with
them, and privy to the (supposed) machinations which had
brought about the catastrophe. Curran says, there are two
kind of prophets, those who are really inspired, and those
who prophesy events which they intend themselves to bring
about. Upon this occasion, poor Lilly had the ill-luck to be
deemed one of the latter class.

WHIGS AND TORIES.

Whenever these terms were first introduced, and whatever
might be their original meaning, it is certain that in the
reign of Charles the Second they carried the political
signification which they still retain. Take, as a proof, the
following nervous passage from Dryden’s Epilogue to “The Duke
of Guise,” 1683:

OTWAY’S “CAIUS MARIUS.”

When poor Otway’s “unpardonable piracy,” in taking part of
this play from “Romeo and Juliet,” was reprobated so
severely, the critic might have done him the justice to
mention, that, instead of attempting to pass off the borrowed
beauties as his own, he, in the prologue, fully avowed his
obligations. It contains an animated eulogy on Shakspeare,
which thus concludes:—

NANCY DAWSON

Was a dancer at Covent Garden Theatre, previous to the
accession of his late majesty; and in 1760 transferred her
services to the other house. On the 23rd of September, in
that year, the “Beggar’s Opera” was performed at Drury Lane,
when the play-bill thus announced her: “In Act III, a
hornpipe by Miss Dawson, her first appearance here.”—It
seems she was engaged to oppose Mrs. Vernon in the same
exhibition at the rival house. That her performance of it was
somewhat celebrated, may be inferred from the circumstance of
there being a full-length print of her in
it.—Gentleman’s Magazine.

[pg
296]

RELIC OF JOHN BUNYAN.

The cut represents the vessel from which John Bunyan, the
author of that popular allegory, “the Pilgrim’s Progress,”
was accustomed to drink syllabub, during his incarceration in
Bedford County Gaol. The original is in the possession of the
correspondent who has furnished us with the sketch for the
engraver. It is of common earthen-ware, 7-1/2 inches in
height, and will contain 3-1/2 pints; one of the handles is
partly broken off; the glaze is of a light flesh tint; and
the vessel is a fair specimen of pottery in the early part of
the seventeenth century.

Bunyan, it will be recollected, was born in 1628, at Elstow,
near Bedford, where the cottage stood in its original state
till within these few years. It has latterly been new
fronted, but the interior remains nearly as in Bunyan’s time.
He was the son of a tinker, and followed his father’s trade;
and at Elstow are the remains of a closet in which, in early
life, he carried on business. During the civil war he served
as a soldier in the parliament army; and subsequently joined
a society of Anabaptists at Bedford, and became their public
teacher. Soon after the Restoration, he was indicted for
“abstaining from coming to church,” and holding “unlawful
meetings and conventicles,” for which he was sentenced to
transportation, which was not executed, as he was detained in
prison upwards of twelve years, and at last liberated through
the charitable interposition of Dr. Barlow, Bishop of
Lincoln.

Sir Richard Phillips, in his recent “Personal Tour,” says,
“on inquiring for relics of honest Bunyan, I was introduced
to Mr. Hilyard, the present amiable and exemplary pastor of
the large Independent Congregation, which 150 years since was
under the spiritual care of Bunyan. Mr. H. at his
meeting-house, showed me the vestry-chair of Bunyan; and the
present pulpit is that in which Bunyan used to preach. At his
own house he preserves the records of the establishment, many
pages of which are in a neat and very scholastic hand by
Bunyan, and contain many of his signatures.”

Bunyan’s imprisonment gave rise to “The Pilgrim’s Progress,”
a work, which like “Robinson Crusoe,” has remained unrivalled
amidst a host of imitators. He was too, a wit as well as a
preacher. Towards the close of his imprisonment a Quaker
called on him, probably to make a convert of the author of
the Pilgrim. He thus addressed him:—”Friend John, I am
come to thee with a message from the Lord; and after having
searched for thee in half the prisons in England, I am glad
that I have found thee at last.” “If the Lord had sent you,”
sarcastically replied Bunyan, “you need not have taken so
much pains, for the Lord knows that I have been a prisoner in
Bedford Gaol for these twelve years past.”

SKELETON OF AN ELEPHANT.

The bones of poor Chunee, the stupendous elephant shot at
Exeter ‘Change, in 1826, have, at a considerable expense,
been accurately articulated, and the entire skeleton is now
exhibiting in one of the chambers at “the Egyptian Hall,” in
Piccadilly. We remember the interest, the “sensation,” which
the death of Chunee occasioned: it was a fertile
incident—for we gave an engraving of the enormous
deceased in his den at Exeter ‘Change. It is little more than
three years since, and probably in three years more, Chunee
will figure in books of Natural History, and Exeter ‘Change
in the antiquarian’s portfolio.

We recommend the Naturalist and all such as delight in
contemplating sublime objects of nature, to see this
skeleton; and there can scarcely be an exhibition better
calculated to impress the youthful mind with the vastness of
creation. It stands nearly 13 feet high, and the clear space
beneath the ribs is 6 feet.

It would, we think, suit the Zoological Society, and make a
fine nucleus for their Museum.

ROYAL VISITS TO THE THEATRES.

When the King visited the Opera in 1821, the preparations
cost upwards of £300. The ante-room and the box were
hung with satin, and festoons of gold lace.

When his Majesty visited Covent Garden Theatre in 1823, there
were 4,255 persons present, and the receipts were £971.
18s. 6d.—Companion to the
Theatres.

[pg
297]

SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY.

EMIGRATION.

We have abridged the following very important and interesting
information respecting the New Settlement on the Western
Coast of Australia, from the last Number of the Quarterly
Review. The writer appears to have profited by access to
official sources, and thus enhanced the value of his paper;
but, disposed as we are, generally, to coincide with his
views on the subject of Emigration, we do not think it
necessary to detail them in this place. We have, however,
retained the “Regulations,” as issued from the Colonial
Office, and made occasional quotations from Captain
Stirling’s Report; besides availing ourselves of a pamphlet
lately published, entitled “Hints on Emigration to the New
Settlement on the Swan and Canning
Rivers.”²
The Report of Mr. Fraser, the government botanical surveyor,
from Sydney, who accompanied Captain Stirling, is not so easy
of access. The Quarterly writer, by some coincident
opinions and references, appears to be acquainted with the
above pamphlet, although it is not mentioned in the review.
The official Regulations are as follow:—

1. His majesty’s government do not intend to incur any
expense in conveying settlers to the New Colony on the
Swan River; and will not feel bound to defray the expense of
supplying them with provisions or other necessaries, after
their arrival there, nor to assist their removal to England,
or elsewhere, should they be desirous of quitting the Colony.

2. Such persons who may arrive in that settlement before the
end of the year 1830, will receive, in the order of their
arrival, grants of land, free of quit rent, proportioned to
the capital which they may be prepared to invest in the
improvement of the land, and of which capital they maybe able
to produce satisfactory proofs to the Lieutenant Governor (or
other officer administering the Colonial Government,) or to
any two officers of the Local Government appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor for that purpose, at the rate of forty
acres for every sum of three pounds which they may be
prepared so to invest.

3. Under the head of investment of capital will be considered
stock of every description, all implements of husbandry, and
other articles which may be applicable to the purposes of
productive industry, or which may be necessary for the
establishment of the settler on the land where he is to be
located. The amount of any half-pay or pension which the
applicant may receive from Government, will also be
considered as so much capital.

4. Those who may incur the expense of taking out labouring
persons, will be entitled to an allowance of land at the rate
of fifteen pounds, that is, of two hundred acres of land, for
the passage of every such labouring person, over and above
any other investment of capital. In the class of “labouring
persons,” are included women, and children above ten years
old. Provision will be made by law, at the earliest
opportunity for rendering those capitalists, who may be
engaged in taking out labouring persons to this settlement,
liable for the future maintenance of those persons, should
they, from infirmity, of any other cause, become unable to
maintain themselves there.

5. The license of occupation of land will be granted to the
settler, on satisfactory proof being exhibited to the
Lieutenant Governor (or other officer administering the Local
Government,) of the amount of property brought into the
colony. The proofs required of such property will be such
satisfactory vouchers of expenses as would be received in
auditing public accounts. But the full title to the land will
not be granted in fee simple, until the settler has proved,
(to the satisfaction of the Lieutenant Governor for other
officer administering the Local Government,) that the sum
required by Article 2 of these regulations (viz. one shilling
and sixpence per acre) has been expended in the cultivation
of the land, or in solid improvements, such as buildings,
roads, or other works of the kind.

6. Any grant of land thus allotted, of which a fair
proportion, of at least one fourth, shall not have been
brought into cultivation, otherwise improved or reclaimed
from its wild state, to the extent of one shilling and
sixpence per acre, to the satisfaction of the Local
Government, within three years from the date of the license
of occupation, shall, at the end of three years, be liable to
a payment of sixpence per acre, into the public chest of the
settlement; and, at the expiration of seven years more,
should the land still remain in an uncultivated or unimproved
state, it will revert absolutely to the crown.

7. After the year 1830, land will be disposed of to those
settlers who may resort to the colony, on such conditions as
his Majesty’s Government shall see occasion to adopt.

8. It is not intended that any convicts, or other description
of prisoners, be transported to this new settlement.

9. The government will be administered by Captain Stirling,
of the Royal Navy, as Lieut. Governor of the settlement; and
it is proposed that a bill should be submitted to parliament,
in the course of the next session, to make provision for the
civil government of the New Settlement.

Downing Street, 13th January, 1829.

The intended settlement is designated, in the “Regulations,”
as the “New Colony on the Swan River;”³
but this is a name, we think, not sufficiently comprehensive
for the extent of territory meant to be occupied. What its
future designation is meant to be, we pretend not to know,
but if its soil should prove as fruitful as its climate is
fine, the position and aspect of this part of the coast might
justify the name of Southern, or Australian, Hesperia;
under which might be included all that line of coast from
Cape Leuwin, the southernmost point of New Holland, in lat.
34 deg. 30 min., long. 115 deg. 12 min. east, to the lat. 31
deg. (or a degree or two more northerly) long. 115 deg. 15
min. east; and from the former point easterly to King
George’s Sound, where an English colony has already been
established. This extent of territory, between the sea-coast
and a range of mountains parallel to it, hereafter to be
described, may be estimated
[pg
298] to contain from five to six millions of acres,
the greater part of which, from the general appearance of the
two extreme portions (the only ones examined) may be
considered as land fit for the plough, and, therefore, fully
capable of giving support to a million of souls. The
description we are about to give of this territory is mainly
derived from Captain Stirling, the intelligent officer who
explored the country, and of which he has been appointed the
Lieutenant Governor, and from Mr. Fraser, an excellent
botanist, who accompanied him, and who was well acquainted
with the soil and products of New South Wales, on the
opposite side of Australia.

Captain Stirling, when commanding the Success frigate, was
sent to New South Wales on a particular service, which the
state of the monsoon prevented him from carrying into
immediate execution. He determined, therefore, on the
recommendation of General Darling, the governor, to explore,
in the meantime, this western part of Australia, which was
omitted to be surveyed by Captain King, on the ground that it
had been visited by the French in the expedition of
Captain Baudin: the result of that visit, however, is so
unsatisfactory, and so very inaccurate, that we are rather
surprised that Captain King should have passed over so
interesting a portion, geographically considered, as the
south-western angle of this great country. Captain Stirling
arrived at Cape Leuwin on the 2nd of March, 1827, stood along
the coast, and anchored in Gage’s Roads, opposite Swan River,
which he afterwards ascended to its source in boats, and sent
out exploring parties to ascertain the nature of the
surrounding territory.

“We found,” he says, “the country in general rich and
romantic, gained the summit of the first range of mountains,
and had a bird’s-eye view of an immense plain, which extended
as far as the eye could reach to the northward, southward,
and westward. After ten days’ absence, we returned to the
ship; we encountered no difficulty that was not easily
removable; we were furnished with abundance of fresh
provisions by our guns, and met with no obstruction from the
natives.”

Captain Stirling describes the weather as very different from
that which the French experienced; but the latter were on the
coast at the commencement of the winter season. They were
apparently so alarmed at the gales of wind, the rocks, and
the reefs, and the banks, that they hastened to leave behind
them this part of the coast unexamined, with all convenient
speed. The strong westerly winds that prevail throughout the
year in the southern ocean to the southward of the tropic,
appear to assume a northern direction near this part of the
Coast of Australia. These winds are here found to be cool and
pleasant, and were generally accompanied by clear and serene
weather. The summer winds from the N.W. are not infrequent;
and, coming charged with moisture from a warm region into a
colder one, they are invariably accompanied by rain; but, in
the immediate vicinity of the shore, land and sea breezes are
constant and regular. The climate appears to be delightful.
While the Success was on the coast—that is, in the
autumn—the average height of the thermometer was 72
deg., the extremes being 84 deg. and 59 deg., the first
occurring before the sea-breeze set in, the latter at
midnight. The French found the temperature when at anchor, in
June, from 14 deg. to 17 deg. of Reaumur, or 63 deg. to 70
deg. of Fahrenheit. On the mountains, Captain Stirling says,
the temperature appeared to be about 15 deg. below that of
the plain. The alternate land and sea breezes create a
moisture in the atmosphere which renders the climate cool and
agreeable; the mornings and evenings are particularly so; and
the nights are almost invariably brilliant and clear. Such a
climate, it is almost unnecessary to say must be highly
favourable to vegetation, which was accordingly observed to
be most luxuriant. “The verdant appearance,” says Captain
Stirling, “and almost innumerable variety of grasses,
herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees, show that there is no
deficiency in the three great sources of their sustenance,
soil, heat, and moisture.”

The general structure and aspect of the country may be thus
described:—from Cape Leuwin to Cape Naturaliste (the
southern head of Baie Géographe,) which is not quite a
degree of latitude, the coast is formed of a range of hills,
of uniform and moderate elevation. From Geographer’s Bay to
the northward of Swan River, the whole coast line is a
limestone ridge, varying in height from twenty to six hundred
feet, and extending inward to the distance of from one to
five miles. Behind this ridge (whose occasional naked and
barren appearance Captain Stirling also thinks may have
caused the early and continued prejudice against the
fertility of this western coast) commences a great plain,
which occupies a space, from south to north, of undetermined
length, (reaching, perhaps, to King George’s Sound,) and
varying, in breadth, from twenty to fifty miles. The eastern
boundary of this plain skirts the base of an almost
[pg
299] continuous and abrupt chain of mountains, to
which Captain Stirling gave the name of “General Darling’s
Range.” One of the points, the highest seen and measured by
him, was about three thousand feet high, The average height
is stated to be from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet.
The base is granite; the sides, in many parts, naked; and the
soil supports but little vegetation, except the Stringy-bark
and some hardy plants.

Captain Stirling observes, that coal was not found, because
it was not particularly sought for; but he is of opinion that
the general character of the country is such as to warrant
the belief that it might be found; “for,” he observes, “all
the concomitant strata or members of the coal formation are
exposed on different parts of the surface, below which I had
no opportunity to explore. Indeed, the carboniferous order of
locks is that which is most frequently exhibited throughout
this territory; and I have no doubt important results would
arise from a proper examination into its mineralogical
resources.”

With reference to a supply of fresh water, so indispensably
necessary in every settled country, the researches made by
Captain Stirling and Mr. Fraser were attended with the most
satisfactory results. The former observes, that the clouds
which are impelled against the western side of the range of
mountains are condensed into rain, the water of which is
conducted across the plain to the sea, in numerous streams,
but chiefly by three principal rivers, terminating in
estuaries, or salt-water lakes. These are—the Swan
River, opposite the Island Rottenest; the Rivière
Vasse, and Port Leschenault, in Geographer’s Bay. “We found,”
says Captain Stirling, “a great number of creeks, or
rivulets, falling into Swan River, more particularly on the
eastern side; and I am inclined to think, that the country
generally is much divided by such water-courses. Its supply
of fresh water, from springs and lagoons, is abundant; for we
found such wherever we thought it necessary to ascertain
their existence. At Point Heathcote,” he adds, “we met with a
remarkable instance; for there the beach of a narrow rocky
promontory is a bed of springs, and by tracing the finger
along any part within four inches of the edge of the salt
water, pure and fresh water instantly occupied the trace.”

Mr. Fraser’s testimony leaves no doubt of the abundance of
fresh water. “I was astonished,” he says, “at the vivid green
of the Eucalyptus, and other trees and shrubs, so distinct
from those of New South Wales; but, on digging the soil to
the depth of two feet, I found the cause to arise apparently
from the immense number of springs with which this country
abounds; for, at the depth above mentioned, I found the soil
quite moist, although evidently at the latter end of an
exceedingly dry season; and from the same cause must arise
the great luxuriance of the herbaceous plants on the banks,
which exceeds any thing I ever saw on the east coast. They
consist principally of the senecia and the
sonchus, which here attain the height of nine feet.”

He further observes, that numerous active springs issue from
the rocks of the limestone ridge, and particularly in
Geographer’s Bay, the whole coast of which, he says, “is a
perfect source of active springs, discharging themselves on
the beach in rapid rills of considerable extent, every six or
seven yards.”

Between the two heads which form the entrance into Swan
River, there is, unfortunately, a bar, made by the continuity
of the limestone ridge. Over this bar, the depth, at low
water, is but six feet, and is therefore practicable only for
boats or rafts. About a mile inside the heads, the water
deepens; and then commences a succession of cliffs, or
natural wharfs, with four, five, and six fathoms at their
bases. The same depths are extended over a magnificent
expanse of salt water, to which Captain Stirling has given
the name of “Melville Water;” and which, in his opinion,
wants only a good entrance to make it one of the finest
harbours in the world, being seven or eight miles in length,
by three or four in width, and having a depth of water from
four to seven fathoms. This narrow entrance of the river, he
thinks, might be made navigable by ships of burthen, without
difficulty or great expense.

When the town begins to rise, and substantial buildings are
required, the blocks of stone procured by quarrying this
entrance will go far towards paying the expense of
excavation.

Into this expansive sheet of water fall two rivers; one from
the north-east, which is properly the Swan River; the other
from the south-east, called Canning’s River. Captain Stirling
examined them both: the former to its source, the latter
beyond the point where the water ceased to be brackish. They
are both sufficiently convenient for boat navigation, even at
the end of the dry season; and any obstruction might easily
be removed to make them more so, by which the productions of
an immense extent of country might be transported by
water-carriage.

[pg
300] Mr. Fraser remarks that nothing of the mangrove
appears along the banks of the Swan River, the usual
situation of this plant being here occupied by the genus
Metrosideros. The first plain, or flat, as it is called,
contiguous to the river, commencing at Point Fraser, is
formed of a rich soil, and appears, by a deposit of wreck, to
be occasionally flooded to a certain extent. Here are several
extensive salt marshes, which Mr. Fraser thinks are admirably
adapted for the growth of cotton. The hills, though scanty of
soil, are covered with an immense variety of plants; among
others, a magnificent species of Angophera occupied the usual
place of the Eucalyptus, which, however, here as on the
eastern side, generally forms the principal feature in the
botany of the country, accompanied by Mimosa, Correa,
Melaleuca, Casuarina, Banksia, and Xanthorea. The brome, or
kangaroo glass, was most abundant. On a more elevated flat, a
little further up the river, the botanist observes that the
“magnificence of the Banksia and arborescent Zamia, which was
here seen thirty feet in height, added to the immense size of
the Xanthorea near this spot, impart to the forest a
character truly tropical.” He says that about five miles to
the eastward of the river, there is an evident change in the
character of the country: extensive plains of the richest
description, consisting of an alluvial deposit, equalling in
fertility those of the banks of the River Hawkesbury in New
South Wales, and covered with the most luxuriant brome grass.
The Casuarina, so common near the limestone ridge of the
coast, here disappears, and is succeeded by a pendulous
species of Metrosideros, which continues to the source of the
river.

“From this point,” says Mr. Fraser, “the country resembles,
in every essential character, that of the banks of those
rivers which fall to the westward of the Blue Mountains in
New South Wales, varying alternately on each bank from hilly
promontories of the finest red loam, and covered with
stupendous Angopheras, to extensive flats of the finest
description, studded with magnificent blue and water gums,
and occasional stripes of Accacias and papilionaceous shrubs,
resembling the green wattle of New South Wales.”

The higher the river is ascended, the more extended the flats
become, and the better is the quality of the soil. Here the
country is said to resemble in character that on the banks of
the Macquarrie River, west of Wellington valley; and though
marks of occasional floods appeared on the lower plains, the
upper flats had evidently never been flooded. The sides of
the mountains were bare of underwood, and their summits
covered with large masses of iron stone, among which were
growing enormous trees of Angophera, and some straggling
plants of Hakea. On a careful examination of this part of the
country bordering the two rivers from the sea-coast to the
mountains, Mr. Fraser says, “In giving my opinion of the land
seen on the banks of the Swan River, I hesitate not in
pronouncing it superior to any I ever saw in New South Wales,
east of the Blue Mountains, not only in its local character,
but in the many existing advantages which it holds out to
settlers. These advantages I consider to be,

“First, the evident superiority of the soil.

“Secondly, the facility with which a settler can bring his
farm into a state of immediate culture, in consequence of the
open state of the country, which allows not a greater average
than two trees to an acre.

“Thirdly, the general abundance of springs, producing water
of the best quality, and the consequent permanent humidity of
the soil; two advantages not existing on the eastern coast.
And,

“Fourthly, the advantages of water carriage to his door, and
the non-existence of impediments to land carriage.”

(To be concluded in our next.)

ST. PAULS’ CATHEDRAL.

Our readers are aware that the interior of the cupola of this
magnificent cathedral, represents the life of St. Paul,
painted by Sir James Thornhill; but the neglect and decay of
this grand specimen of pictorial decoration may not be so
well known. The great expense of erecting a scaffold
sufficient for its restoration, appears to have been the
principal difficulty, added to the want of artists
experienced in this department of art. These obstacles,
however, we trust have been surmounted by Mr. E.T. Parris, of
whose talents we spoke in our account of the Colosseum, and
who has just completed a model of an apparatus for getting at
large domes. The model has already been approved by an
experienced architect, and submitted to the dean and chapter
of St. Paul’s; so that the restoration of Sir James
Thornhill’s labours presents an excellent opportunity for the
immediate application of Mr. Parris’s machinery; whilst its
accomplishment would be the means of rewarding individual
ingenuity, and rescuing from decay a valuable triumph of
British genius.

[pg
301]

Oxymuriate matches must “hide their diminished heads” before
the recent invention of a method of obtaining light, by
merely compressing a match, which inflames instantaneously.
These matches are called Prometheans, and comparing
small things with great, we know not a better name to imply
the scientific age to which the invention belongs.

Mr. Mantell, of Lewes, has lately added to his museum a fine
specimen of a fossil fish, discovered in a bed of clay
belonging to the Hasting sand formation. Similar remains are
abundant in the strata of Tilgate Forest, in the white rock
at Hastings, and in the sandstone quarries near Tunbridge
Wells; but they consist, for the most part, of detached
scales only.

Among the last we notice the model of a boat for aërial
navigation, lately sent to the French Academy from Rome; and
the patent taken out at Paris for a coach with one wheel
only, to accommodate 30 or 40 passengers. The perfection of
the latter scheme in England would render indispensable a
complete revision of our Turnpike Acts.

NOTES OF A READER.

SCOTTISH INNS.

By Sir Walter Scott.

The courtesy of an invitation to partake a traveller’s meal,
or at least that of being invited to share whatever liquor
the guest called for, was expected by certain old landlords
in Scotland, even in the youth of the author. In requital,
mine host was always furnished with the news of the country,
and was probably a little of a humourist to boot. The
devolution of the whole actual business and drudgery of the
inn upon the poor gudewife was very common among the Scottish
bonifaces. There was in ancient times, in the city of
Edinburgh, a gentleman of good family, who condescended, in
order to gain a livelihood, to become the nominal keeper of a
coffee-house, one of the first places of the kind which had
been opened in the Scottish metropolis. As usual, it was
entirely managed by the careful and industrious Mrs.
B——; while her husband amused himself with
field-sports, without troubling his head about the matter.
Once upon a time the premises having taken fire, the husband
was met walking up the High Street, loaded with his guns and
fishing-rods, and replied calmly to some one that inquired
after his wife, “that the poor woman was trying to save a
parcel of crockery, and some trumpery books;” the last being
those which served her to conduct the business of the house.
There were many elderly gentlemen in the author’s younger
days, who still held it part of the amusement of a journey
“to parley with mine host,” who often resembled, in his
quaint humour, mine Host of the Garter, in the Merry Wives of
Windsor; or Blague of the George, in the Merry Devil of
Edmonton. Sometimes the landlady took her share of
entertaining the company. In either case, the omitting to pay
them due attention gave displeasure, and perhaps brought down
a smart jest, as on the following occasion:—A jolly
dame who, not “sixty years since,” kept the principal
caravansary at Greenlaw, in Berwickshire, had the honour to
receive under her roof a very worthy clergyman, with three
sons of the same profession, each having a cure of souls; be
it said in passing, none of the reverend party were reckoned
powerful in the pulpit. After dinner was over, the worthy
senior, in the pride of his heart, asked Mrs. Buchan whether
she ever had had such a party in her house before. “Here sit
I,” he said, “a placed minister of the kirk of Scotland, and
here sit my three sons, each a placed minister of the same
kirk.—Confess, Luckie Buchan, you never had such a
party in your house before.” The question was not premised by
any invitation to sit down and take a glass of wine or the
like, so Mrs. B. answered drily, “Indeed, sir, I cannot just
say that ever I had such a party in my house before, except
once in the forty-five, when I had a Highland piper here,
with his three sons, all Highland pipers; and deil a
spring they could play amang them!”—Notes to the New
Edition of the Waverley Novels.

CATCHING TIGERS.

In some parts of South America, a great many tigers are
caught with the lasso by the Indian and Creole inhabitants
for the sake of their skins. They are also sometimes
entrapped in the following manner: a large chest, or wooden
frame, is made, supported upon four wheels, and is dragged by
oxen to a place where the traces of tigers have been
discovered. In the furthest corner of the chest is put a
putrid piece of flesh, by way of bait, which is no sooner
laid hold of by the tiger than the door of the trap falls; he
is killed by a musket ball, or a spear thrust through the
crevices of the planks.—Memoirs of General
Miller.

[pg
302]

ODE.

(From the Persian.)

Gentleman’s Magazine.

LITERARY GAZETTES.

As one of the signs of the times we notice the almost
simultaneous appearance of three new Literary Gazettes, at
Edinburgh, Oxford, and Manchester. One of the latter contains
a wood-cut of the Manchester Royal Institution, and eight
quarto pages for three-pence. Among the original articles is
a sketch of Mr. Kean, in which the writer says, “Mr. Kean’s
countenance was some years since, one of the finest ever
beheld, and his eye the brightest and most penetrating.
Without ever having seen Lord Byron, we should say there must
have been a great similarity of features and expression
between them.”

DUELLING CODE.

People talk about the voluminous nature of our statute-books,
forsooth. Nonsense! they are not half large or numerous
enough. There is room and necessity for hundreds and
thousands of new laws; and if duelling cannot be prevented,
it might at least be regulated, and a shooting license
regularly taken out every year; and the licenses only granted
to persons of a certain rank, and property, and age. Say, for
instance, that none under fifteen years shall be allowed a
license; that livery servants, apprentices, clerks in
counting-houses, coach and wagon offices, hair-dressers, and
tailors who use the thimble in person, should be considered
as unqualified persons. This would render duelling more
select and respectable.—Rank and Talent.

SOUTH AMERICAN BANDITTI.

The vicinity of Lima is occasionally infested by banditti,
carrying on their operations in open day with so much system,
that all who chance to travel at that time are sure to be
relieved of their valuables. These robbers are composed
chiefly of free mulattoes and others of a mixed race. The
evil has existed from time immemorial, and is of purely
Spanish origin; for Indian honesty, in retired villages, is
so great, that when a family for a time leaves its cage-like
hut, the latchless wicket is left ajar; a brush is placed on
the sill, and it would be worse than sacrilege for any one to
cross the threshold under any pretence. It has happened that
the brigands, well armed and well mounted, have assembled at
distant and uncertain periods within a mile of Callao. They
direct their course towards Lima, stop all whom they meet,
and having very civilly lightened them of their purses,
oblige the plundered persons to accompany the robbers, till
all arrive near to the city gate, when the banditti disperse.
Some ride boldly into the town; many conceal themselves in
the thickets of canes; whilst others cut across the country,
and return quietly to their homes, to enjoy the spoil, or
follow their usual occupations. The banditti, on such
extraordinary occasions, amount to twenty or thirty in
number; and it has happened that they have had about twenty
carriages, besides persons dismounted and made to lead their
own horses, in the train, which was regularly brought up by a
rear-guard, while the advanced scouts pushed on to secure
fresh booty. They seldom commit murder; and whenever it is
possible, they avoid robbing officers of the army, or
civilians in the employment of government. Neither do they,
when acting in small parties, attack persons of note.
Foreigners and strangers are in general their usual
victims.—Memoir of General Miller.

STEALING A SHEET.

A bet was laid by a gentleman that he would procure an Indian
thief who should steal the sheet from under a person without
waking him. The thing was effected in the following
manner:—the Bheel approaching the person, who lay on
his side, [pg 303] from behind, carefully
folded up the sheet in small compact plaits till it reached
his back; then, taking a feather, he tickled the nose of the
sleeper, who immediately scratched his face and rolled over
on the other side, when with a slight effort he completely
released the sheet, and bore it off in
triumph.—Twelve Years’ Military Adventures.

EDUCATION AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE LOWER CLASSES.

A correspondent of the Gardener’s Magazine observes
that “next to the existing school societies, there is
nothing I am more anxious to see, or would more gladly
contribute to, than a Society for promoting the Rational
Amusements of the Lower Classes, the first aim of which
should be to instruct itinerant teachers of music, singing,
and dancing, in improved modes of imparting their arts, and
thus fairly set the plan agoing, when it would soon work its
own way, and might then be extended to higher objects. The
taste for flowers among the Paisley weavers, for
gooseberry-growing at Manchester, and for music among the
west of Yorkshire clothiers, originally sprang up from
imitation of one or two amateurs of each pursuit; and there
only needs a similar first impulse, which a society
with a few thousands a year might give, to spread a general
taste for music, singing, and dancing, and ultimately for
other branches of the fine arts, as drawing and painting, as
well as for natural history, and the cultivation of flowers
and fruits, &c.

“The lower classes in England, thus improved in morals and
manners by a better education and more humanising amusements,
might be safely left to choose their time of contracting
marriage, and would then no more make beasts of themselves by
drinking fermented liquors, than do the lower classes in the
city from which I write, (Brussels) where probably more beer
(and that by no means weak) is drank than in any town of
similar size in England, every street being crowded with
cabarets (public-houses,) and these in the evening
almost always filled. But how filled? Not with rioters and
noisy drunkards, but with parties at separate tables, often
consisting of a man, his wife and children, all sipping their
pot of beer poured into very small glasses to prolong the
pleasure, and the gratification of drinking seeming less than
that of the cheerful chit-chat, which is the main object of
the whole assemblage. Deep-rooted national bad habits can be
eradicated only by the spread of knowledge, which will
ultimately teach our lower classes, as it has already done
the bulk of the higher, that moderation is the
condition of real enjoyments, and must be the motto even of
the sensualist who aims at long-continued indulgence.”

THE GATHERER.

SHAKSPEARE.

TOAST.

The Parting toast at one of the old gaming-houses in
Marybone was “May as many of us as remain unhanged
next spring, meet here again.”

EPIGRAM

Translated from the French of Mr. Patris, who composed it
a few days before his death. By J.C.

SONG.

Z.

EPITAPH IN AWLISCOMBE CHURCHYARD, DEVONSHIRE.

Awliscombe.

J.S.

In the sea-fight off Minorca, in 1756, a gunner had his right
hand shot off, just as he was going to fire off a gun. The
brave fellow took up the match, saying, quite unconcernedly,
“So then you thought that I had but one arm.”

FLOWERS.

GOOD MORROW, A SONG.

G.R.

The great Duke of Marlborough, who was, perhaps, the most
accomplished gentleman of his age, would never suffer any
approaches to obscenity in his presence; and it was said, by
Lord Cobham, that he did not reprove it as an immorality in
the speaker, but resented it as an indignity to himself; and
it is evident, that to speak evil of the absent, to utter
lewdness, blasphemy, or treason, must degrade not only him
who speaks, but those who hear; for surely that dignity of
character, which a man ought always to sustain, is in danger,
when he is made the confidant of treachery, detraction,
impiety, or lust; for he who in conversation displays his own
vices, imputes them; as he who boasts of a robbery to
another, presupposes that he is a
thief.—Hawkesworth.

Sir W. Raleigh.

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Footnote 1:
(return)

The tomb of Mrs. Nightingale.

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