poetry of modes and fashions to that of fancy, and feeling, and all-surviving nature. We have had enough, in all conscience, of men who talk away, and write smoothly, and everlastingly copy each other; let us, in the name of variety, if of nothing else, have a little of men, who held it necessary to think and speak for themselves,-men who went to the fountain-head of inspiration, where the stream wept and sparkled away at its pleasure, and not where it was cut away into artificial channels, and sent smoothing up, pert and monotonous, through a set of mechanical pipes and eternallyrepeated images. On the subject of morals, which is one that requires the nicest development, and will be treated by us with proportionate care and sincerity, we shall content ourselves with saying at present, that if we differ on this point also from the opinions of our predecessors and others, it is only where we think them hurtful to the real interests of charity and selfknowledge, and where they have made a compromise, to no real purpose, with existing prejudices. On this point, as well as on manners, we shall endeavour to pierce below the surface of things, but only to fetch out what we conceive to be a more valuable substance, and fitter for the kindlier purposes of intercourse. We may disturb the complacency of some exquisitely self-satisfied persons, and startle into a God-blessme or so (which we should be sorry to do over their tea-cups) a number of worthy people who lament that every body does not resemble them: but the world have too long, even when most professing to be charitable, been taught to value themselves at the expense of others; and perhaps in our old zeal for the many instead of the few, we shall endeavour to reserve this kind of beginning at home, and exhort them to think somewhat better of others, even at a little expense to themselves. In short, to recommend an independent simplicity in manners, a love of nature in taste, and truth, generosity, and selfknowledge in morals, will be the object, dining or fasting, with blade in hand or with pen, of the knights of the round table.* THE VENUS DE MEDICIS. (From the Giornale Enciclopedico, a magazine published at Florence.) It is generally known that one of the fingers of the left hand of the Venus de Medicis has been supplied by a modern artist: every circumstance, however trifling, which relates to this mas * We intend to publish the succeeding numbers of this work. ter-piece of antiquity, justly considered as the wonder of art, must necessarily be interesting to the public; and our readers will not be displeased to learn how the finger was broken, especially as none of the writers who have spoken of this famous work have taken any notice of it. In the time of Cosmo the third, grand duke of Tuscany, lord Ossory being in Florence, was one day, in the company of the grand duke, contemplating this wonderful statue, and offered him an hundred thousand livres for it, if he could be induced to part with it, asking two months time to procure the sum of money from England, and adding that a ship should be sent. from thence expressly for the purpose of conveying it. The grand duke smiled at the proposal, but without making any reply, turned towards the marquis Malaspina, who was present, and desired him to note down his lordship's name; and the affair ended as a piece of pleasantry. Lord Ossory had a red cornelian ring, representing a cupid, which the grand duke, having seen it some days before, had admired so much, that his lordship wished to make him a present of it. His highness however would not accept it; and upon this occasion the Englishman, with a delicate generosity, requested Cosmo, though he would not consent to part with the Venus, at least to permit him to marry her; to which the grand duke having smilingly consented, his lordship put the ring on the finger of the goddess, and fixed it as firmly as possible;* thus finding means to gratify the duke with the cornelian, without wounding his self-love. Cosmo thinking the representation of Cupid agreeable to the subject of the statue, suffered the ring to remain; and the statue would still have been adorned with it, had not a certain personage, wisely resolving to remove from the finger of Venus this heterogeneous addition, clandestinely entered the gallery one day, and attempted to appropriate the ring to himself, when being obliged to force it off, and fearful perhaps that he might be surprised, the finger was broken. We should like to know the name of this person, how the attempt became known, and if, with the finger, he really succeeded in taking away the ring also: but the document from which we have taken these circumstances goes no farther; it only mentions that the ring is still preserved, and is appended • Not having the statue before us, we cannot say precisely which is the finger that appears to have been joined; but we understand from some of our artists that it is the fore-finger, which leads us to conclude that the English nobleman was acquainted with the ancient practice of wearing the nuptial ring on that finger: the opinion prevailed amongst the Greeks and Romans, and perhaps some may still maintain it, that there is a small nerve which connects that finger with the heart. to a little gold chain in the chrystal cabinet of the royal gal. lery; and all that we can say in addition is, that the Venus de Medicis, mutilated, will remain a perpetual monument of the inadvertency of this personage. [The Italian journalist, in a note, seems to hint that this ungallant attempt at petty larceny was committed by some foreigner of distinguished rank.] FAITH. (From Chateaubriand's Beauties.) THERE is no power but in conviction.-What wonders a small band of troops, persuaded of the abilities of their leader, is capable of achieving! Thirty-five thousand Greeks follow Alexander to the conquest of the world; Lacedæmon commits her destiny to the hands of Lycurgus, and Lacedæmon becomes the wisest of cities, Babylon believes that she is formed for greatness, and greatness crowns her confidence; an oracle gives the empire of the universe to the Romans, and the Romans obtain the empire of the universe; Columbus alone, among all his contemporaries, persists in believing the existence of a new world, and a new world rises from the bosom of the deep. Friendship, patriotism, love, all the generous sentiments, are likewise a species of faith. It was because they had faith that a Codrus, a Pylades, a Regulus, an Arria, performed prodigies. For the same reason those, who have faith in nothing, who treat all the attachments of the soul as illusions, who consider every noble action as insanity, and look with pity upon the warm imagination and tender sensibility of genius-for the same reason such hearts will never achieve any thing great or generous: their only belief is in matter and in death, and they are already insensible as the one, and cold and icy as the other. TRIUMPHS AND TROPHIES IN COOKERY, TO BE USED AT FESTI VAL TIMES, AS TWELFTH-DAY, &c. (From an old work entitled " The Accomplisht Cook.") "MAKE the likeness of a ship in pasteboard, with flags and streamers, the guns belonging to it of kickses, binde them about with packthred, and cover them with coarse paste proportionable to the fashion of a cannon with carriages, lay them in places convenient, as you see them in ships of war; with such holes and trains of powder that they may all take fire; place your ship firm in a great charger; then make a salt round about it, and stick therein egg-shells full of sweet water; you may, by a great pin, take out all the meat out of the egg by blowing, and then fill it with the rose-water. Then in another charger have the proportion of a stag made of coarse paste, with a broad arrow in the side of him, and his body filled up with claret wine. In another charger at the end of the stag have the proportion of a castle with battlements, percullices, gates, and draw-bridges, made of pasteboard, the guns of kickses, and covered with coarse paste as the former; place it at a distance from the ship to fire at each other. The stag being placed betwixt them with egg-shells full of sweet water (as before) placed in salt. At each side of the charger, where in is the stag, place a pie made of coarse paste, in one of which let there be some live frogs, in the other live birds; make these pies of coarse paste, filled with bran, and yellowed over with saffron or yolks of eggs, gild them over in spots, as also the stag, the ship, and castle; bake them, and place them with gilt bay-leaves on the turrets and tunnels of the castle and pies; being baked, make a hole in the bottom of your pies, take out the bran, put in your frogs and birds, and close up the holes with the same coarse paste; then cut the lids neatly up, to be taken off by the tunnels; being all placed in order upon the table, before you fire the trains of powder, order it so that some of the ladies may be persuaded to pluck the arrow out of the stag, then will the claret wine follow as blood running out of a wound. This being done with admiration to the beholders, after some short pause, fire the train of the castle, that the pieces all of one side may go off; then fire the trains of one side of the ship, as in a battle; next turn the chargers, and by degrees fire the trains of each other side, as before. This done, to sweeten the stink of the powder, let the ladies take the egg-shells full of sweet waters, and throw them at each other. All dangers being seemingly over, by this time you may suppose they will desire to see what is in the pies; where lifting first the lid off one pie, out skips some frogs, which make the ladies to skip and shreek; next after the other pic, whence comes out the birds; who, by a natural instinct, flying at the light, will put out the candles, so that what with the flying birds, and skipping frogs, the one above, the other beneath, will cause much delight and pleasure to the whole company: at length the candles are lighted, and a banquet brought in, the music sounds, and every one with much delight and content rehearses their actions in the former passages. These were formerly the delights of the nobility, before good house-keeping had left England, and the sword really acted that which was only counterfeited in such honest and laudable exercises as these." INVOCATION TO HOPE. SWEET soothing balm of life, fair Hope! return, Deck'd in translucent robes etherial bright. But ere 'twas noon, the dark'ning clouds of Care Thy timid shade in trembling terror flew. Reason now came, with sober matron pace But Fancy at her touch retir'd, dismay'd: So the convolvolus unfolds its charms And spreads its lustre to the rising day; Return once more and bless me with thy smile, And though 'gainst reason say "he loves thee still;" And this warm heart like him with rapture fill. Philadelphia, October 8, 1815. Lines supposed to have been addressed by the Earl of R. to his late wife, a few months after their separation. Oh! thou art worn by care, Of piercing agony; Nor think of liberty. But thy repentant sigh, My bosom bleeds to hear; Then on this bosona lie, And die whilst thou art there! J. R. |