But still I'd have you understand, I covet not my neighbour's land; No, heav'n forefend; 'tis but a small desire ; I wish it not so much I doubt As that man wishes to get out Who finds himself lock'd in a house on fire. I merely think that there to spend my life, One who would rather do her best to please me But hold; I should want peace by night as well as day, Id certum est, now I begin to think There's something which would keep me from a wink Really when it comes o'er to mem'ry fresh I've heard it said, that once a long while past When all is dark, in the dead calm of night, Sans ceremonie, leaves the pillar'd tow'r. Louder and louder, on still on he spoke, Again the clock across the storming broke; He heard the sound, one moment stood aghast, Then up the narrow chimney scrambled fast, Now on the slates he makes a clatt'ring din, Now lifts his coffiu lid and tumbles in. And while the fierce blast howls along the plain His groans are heard between the rough wind's pause, For loudly still, tho' coffin'd, he'll complain Praying to have the wretch within his claws Who ev'ry law of Turk or Jew defiles, And buries his relatious on the tiles !———— My story's told;-I well know my narration Will fill you high with awe and trepidation; And you will own this truth, where'er you roam You find not half the peace you meet at home. Man, not content with home, must be a brute, oAnd as for me, concerning these old halls I would not pass one night within these walls For all the heaps of gold and wealth of Pluto! N. W. HALCESRISA. Manchester, Dec. 3rd. Pun legal. A short time before the removal of the Irish Courts to their present splendid buildings, one of the walls of the old Court-house was in a very tottering.condition. While a law argument was going on one day in full Court, this assumed so dangerous an appearance as to check the proceedings for a short time; during which a young Wag at the Bar addressed the Court, saying, "My Lord, I move for an injunction to stay the proceedings of that wall."-"There is no need, (replied Curran) —a temporary bar will be sufficient.,' Last Moments of the Mother of Bonaparte.--The evening preceding her death, she called together all her bousehold. She was supported on white velvet pillows; her bed was crimson damask, and in the centre hung a crown decorated with flowers. The whole of the apartment was elegantly lighted. She called her servants, one after another, to her bedside, who knelt, and kissed her extended hand, which was skinny, and covered with a profusion of rings. To her chief director of finances, Juan Berosa, she said, "Juan, my blessing go with thee and thine!" To Maria Belgrade, her waiting-maid, she said, "Go to Jerome, he will take care of thee. When my grandson is Emperor of France he will make thee a great woman." She then called Col. Darley to her bedside; he had attended her in all fortunes, and, Napoleon, in bis will, had assigned him a donation of £14,000. "You," said she, "have been a good friend to me and my family; I have left you what will make you happy. Never forget my grandson; and what you and he may arrive at is beyond my discerning; but you will both be great!" She then called in all junior servants, and with a pencil, as their names were called, marked down a sum of money to be given to each. They were then dismissed, and she declared that she had done with the world, and requested water. She washed her hands, and laid down upon her pillow. Her attendants found her dead, with her hand under her head, and a prayerbook upon her breast. An Irish lawyer pleading in an appeal case before Lord Loughborough in the House of Lords, quoted an opinion of his Lordship's when be sat in the Common Pleas. "It was held so and so, (he observed) by an authority which every body must respect-my Lord Loughborough," sounding, as usual in Ireland, the gh of Lough with a strong guttural. "I thank you for the compliment, Sir, (replied the Chancellor; but you should call me Luffborough, for you know we always sound gh in English like a double eff."-"I am obliged to your Lordship, (said the Barrister) for the correction, and shall proceed with my argument. The three pluffs (ploughs) in question"" Ah, (cried the Chancellor) I see there is no rule without an exception-Go on, Sir." Prices and Wages of Antiquity.-In the time of Solon an ox was sold at Athens for five drachmæ, as we learn from Plutarch, in the life of Solon. A hog, in the time of Aristophanes, was worth three drachmæ, as appears in one of his comedies, called the Peace. A drachma, according to Arbuthnot, was equal to 7 d. of our money. A hundred drachmæ made a mina, or £3. 4s. 7d. In the time of Solon corn was reckoned at a drachma the medimnus, or 4s. 6d. per quarter. In the time of Demosthenes it was much higher, at five drachmæ the medimaus, which makes it £1. 2s. 73d. A soldier's daily pay was a drachma. The yearly salary of a common schoolmaster at Athens was a mina. In the early times of the republic five hundred drachmæ were thought a competent fortune for a gentlewoman, £16. 2s. 11d. To Aristides' two daughters the Athenians gave three thousand drachmæ, £96. 17s. 2d. The arts and sciences were rated very high and though the price of a seat in the theatre was no more than two oboli, or 24d., yet the performers were rewarded magnificently. When Amabæus sang in the the theatre of Athens his pay per diem was a talent. Roasted Monkeys.-The manner of roasting these anthropomorphous animals contributes singularly to render their appearance disagreeable in the eyes of civilized man. A little grating or lattice of very hard wood is formed, and raised one foot from the ground. The monkey is skinned, and bent into a sitting posture; the head generally resting on the arms, which are meagre and long; but sometimes these are crossed behind the back. When it is tied on the grating, a very clear fire is kindled below. The monkey enveloped in smoke and flame, is broiled and blackened at the same time. On seeing the natives devour the arm or leg of a roasted monkey, it is difficult not to believe, that this habit of eating animals, that so much resemble man in their phy sical organization, has, in a certain degree, contributed to diminish the horror of anthropophagy among savages. Roasted monkeys, particularly those that have a very round head, display a hideous resemblance to a child; the Europeans, therefore, who are obliged to feed on quadrumanes, prefer separating the head and the hands, and serve up only the rest of the animal at their tables. The flesh of monkeys is so lean and dry, that Mr. Boupland has preserved in his collections at Paris an arm and hand, which had been broiled over the fire at Esmeraldi; and no smell arises from them after a great number of years.-Humboldt's Personal Narrative. Craniology. In one of those social parties, which sometimes take place even among the great at the westend of the town, where mirth and innocent amusement occupy the place of ceremony, a young lady, who had been a pupil of Dr. Spurzheim, was instructing the company with her observations on their heads. At length it came to the turn of the great Captain of the Age to have his head examined; which done, the lady's opinion was demanded. She hesitated, blushed, but said nothing. Come,' said his Grace, don't be afraid, my young friend, to declare what you think.' Why then,' said the lady, since I must speak, your Grace is deficient in that organ, which I, in common with all the world, know you possess in the highest degree-Gall's doctrines must fall at once.'No, Madam,' said the Duke, 'you mean courage, and I assure you, your doctrine receives confirmation, not refutation, from the head you have examined. I have no courage, and never had in a physical sense, and that, which I trust I do possess, is altogether the effect of reason and reflection.' This anecdote should find its way into some more durable page than the columns of a newspaper.- Sheffield Iris. In confirmation of this anecdote, it may be stated that his Grace has, on the eve of a battle, been observed to be extremely nervous; and his brother, the Marquis, has often been much agitated, when he has been delivering his sentiments in the House of Peers. Umbrellas." Here will I mention a thing," says Coryat, in his Crudities, 1611,'--" that, although, perhaps, it will seem but frivolous to divers readers that have already travelled in Italy, yet unto many that neither have been there, nor ever intend to go thither while they live, it will be a mere novelty, 1 will not let it pass unmentioned." &c. Many of them doe carry other fine things of a great price, that will cost at least a duckat, which they commonly call in the Italian tongue umbrellas,' that is, things that Minister shadow unto them for shelter against the scorching heat of the sun. These are made of leather, something answerable to the forme of a little canopie, and hooped in the inside with divers little wooden hoops that extend the umbrella in a pretty large compasse. They are used especially by horsemen, who carry them in their hands when they ride, fastening the end of the handle upon one of their thighs, and they impart so long a shadow unto them, that it keepeth the beat of the sun from the upper part of their bodies." Wassailing the Apple-Trees. In most parts of the cyder-district a custom stil prevails, of what was called in ancient times "wassailing the apple-trees." This custom was accompanied by the superstitious belief, in the words of an old poet, "That more or less fruit they will bring, As you do give them wassailing." This ceremony at some places is performed on Christmaseve; in others, on Twelfth-day eve. It consists in drinking a health to one of the apple-trees, with wishes for its good bearing, which generally turns out successful, as the best bearing tree in the orchard is selected for the purpose. It is attended with singing some verses applicable to the occasion; beginning, Health to thee, good apple-tree.' The potation consists of cyder, in which is put roasted apples or toast: when all have drank, the remainder of the contents of the bowl are sprinkled over the apple-tree. The old Saxon term wassail,' which is well known to imply drinking of health, is thus defined in the glossary to the Exmoor dialect: A drinking-song sung on Twelvth-day eve, throwing toast to the apple trees in order to have a fruitful year, which seems to be a relic of the heathen sacrifice to Pomona.' Origin of Waits.-Waits originally arose from musicians attending on great personages, mayors, and bodies corporate, generally furnished with superb dresses or splendid cloaks. In Rhymer's l'œdera,' there is an account of the establishment of the minstrels and waits in the service of the court, during the reign of Edward IV. The account of allowances to the waits, at this carly period, is as follows: A Wayte, that nightelye from Mychelmas to Shreve Thorsday, pipethe the watche withen this courte fower tymes; in the somere nyghtes iij tymes, and makethe bon gayte at every chambere doare and offyck, as well for feare of pyckeres and pillers. He eatheth in the halle with mynstrielles, and taketue lyverey at nyghte a loffe, a galone of alle, and for somere nyghtes ij candles pich, a bushel of coles; and for wintere nyghtes half a loafe of bread, a galone of alle, iiij candles pich, a bushel of coles; daylye whilste he is bresente in courte for his wages in cheque roale allowed iiijd. ob. or else iij d. by the discression of the stewarde and tressorere, and that, after his cominge and diseruinge, also clothinge with the housholde yeomen or mynstrielles lyke to the wages that he takethe; and he be syke he taketh twoe loves, ij messe of great meate, one gallone of ayle. Also, he partethe with the housholde at general gyfts, and hathe his beddinge carried by the comptrollers asoygonent; and under this yeoman to be a groome watere. Yf he can excuse the yeoman, in his absence, then he takethe rewarde clothenge, meat, and all other things lyke to other grooms of houshold. Also this yeoman waighte at the makinge of Knightes of the Bathe, for his attendance upon them by nyghte tyme, in watchinge in the chapelle pathe to his fee all the watchinge clothinge, that the knight shall swear upon him.' Diogenes. Diogenes, in perfect conformity with that dignified independence of character, which he so eminently possessed, and which is to be found more or less in the conduct of all the ancient philosophers, when a certain wealthy and ostentatious man brought him to a fine house, which he had built, and desired him not to spit, as he perceived he began to hawk, spit in the man's face, observing at the same time that he could not find a worse place to spit in.-Taylor's Ethic. Fragm. of Hierocl. Harvest Home. The circumstances attending the reaping of wheat in Devonshire, and the harvest-home, are, I believe, peculiar to the western counties. The custom of almost the whole population of a village flocking voluntarily and gratuitously to the reaping of the farmer's wheat was almost universal in this county, although the practice of hiring reapers for the purpose has been gaining ground of late years, being a much less expensive mode; for though not paid, these volunteerreapers are entertained at a much greater expense than their hire would cost; and the whole of the wheat-barvest appears, by Vancouver's description, to be a scene of noisy mirth aud intemperance. He says, that "when all the wheat in a field has been reaped and bound, a small sheaf is put at the top of one of the ridges, when the reapers, retiring to a certain distance, each throws his reap-hook at it, until one more fortunate or less inebriated than the rest, strikes it down, when the whole company join for a length of time in shouts of "We ha un, we ha nn!" Definition of Felicity.-The Rev. Dr. P., visiting a country-clergyman, requested permission to preach to his congregation, which his friend consented to, on condition that he adapted the language of his sermon to the illeterate capacities of his parishioners, and that he used no hard words. After the sermon was over, Dr. P. asked his friend whether he had not strictly observed the conditions? The other replied that he had used several words beyond the comprehension of his hearers, and instanced the word felicity, for which he would have substituted happiness. Dr. P. contended that one word was as plain as the other; and, to prove it, proposed calling in the ploughman, and putting it to him, which was done. Well, Robin, do you know the meaning of the word felicity?' 'Ees, Sir,' said Robin, scratching his head and endeavouring to look wise, 'ees, I thinks as how I does.' Well, Robin, speak up.' Wy Sir, I doesn't disactly, but I thinks it's some'at inside a pig.'- Courier. this proof was not decisive, the learned Doctor might have replied! because the ploughman only fancied himself an] Epicurean, who, according to the vulgar, but mistaken, idea of the doctrine, places his felicity in his belly, or sensual enjoyments. ON HABITUAL DRUNKENNESS. But "Wine, or any other kind or modification of liquor, when drank to excess, is a slow but certain poison. Beware, then, of t'other glass, t'other jug, t'other bottle: there all the danger lies." It is not in the discreet use of wine, or of any other liquor, that the danger really consists, but in its intemperate abuse. The American legislature, indeed, has classed drunkards with idiots, acted wisely, justly, and mercifully. It is equally and treats them accordingly. And in this, it has wise, and just, and humane, not to permit one to be at large who wilfully and habitually places himself in such a state as renders him incapable of regarding either the laws of God or man, and prepares him for the commission of every crime, forbidden in the decalogue. If we saw him attempting to drown himself, should we not think it our duty to endeavour to prevent him? If he should accomplish his purpose of self-destruction, will the judge of all the earth take cognizance, whether the stream which produced that effect wine, inwardly taken? was composed of water, externally applied, or of Leaving out of consideration the moral and fatal guilt of the habitual and confirmed drunkard, he is in a worse state, mentally, than the madman; the latter may have his lucid intervals, when he can exercise the faculties of his mind; the drunkard, too, may have his short intervals, when he approaches to a state of comparative soberness; but at such seasons, the energies of his mind are greatly weakened; and with regard to recovery, the chances are in favour of the madman for how very few are the instances of habitual drunkards being completely, or even partially, reformed! It has been mentioned in the History of Cornwall, that at the conclusion of the harvest in the neighbourhood of Truro, the last handful of corn is tied up, adorned with flowers and carried about by the reapers, &c. shouting. A neck, a neck!" Mr. Brand relates, on the authority of the clergyman of Werrington, in Devon, (being on the borders of the north of Cornwall,) that the least ears of corn are tied up into a curious figure, which they call" a knack" this is brought home with great acclamations, the labourers shonting, "A knack, a knack, well cut, well bound, well shock'd!" &c.; it is The following apologue or story is well known: then hung over the table in the farmer's house, and kept-In the times of darkness and superstition, when till the next year; its owner preserving it with the greatest care, and refusing on any account to part with it. Laurel and Peach Trees. At Castle Hill, the seat of Earl Fortescue, in the parish of Filleigh, the Portugal laurels in the shrubbery, are of a remarkable size;*the trunk of the smallest of four is six feet seven inches in circumference; that of the largest nine feet one inch; the spread of the branches of the latter is 135 feet in circumference. In the kitchen garden is a peach tree of uncommon dimensions, reaching to the top of a 16 feet wall, and extending in length 37 feet It extended five or six feet further before it was checked by an unfavourable season four years ago. It is now all bearing wood; the sort is the galante ! It is a singular circumstance that laurel is more abundant in the parish of Wellington, in Salop, (from which the great Captain derives his title) than in any other part of England. evil spirits were supposed to have power over man, one of these malicious demons is said to have given his unhappy victim the choice of committing the crime of drunkenness, or adultery, or murder.-Drunkenness was of course preferred; as by far the least sinful. No human power could have persuaded him to have stained his hands with blood. The Evil Spirit received this determination with a malignant smile; and after having stupified the reason over the festive bowl, and excited the passions of the miserable man, into that temporary phrenzy which drunkenness occasions, he first stimulated him to the commission of adultery; and then, by a fatal train and conjuncture of circumstances, provoked and exasperated him to the perpetration of murder! WEEKLY DIARY. DECEMBER. REMARKABLE DAYS. my weakness; and his mute oration concluded with an and was preparing to swing myself into the saddle, when the intelligent creature slowly turned its head and darted at me a look! There was in it more than whole hours of human language; it was eloquence refined into an essence which rendered words unnecessary; its single glance spoke plainly of Weybridge and of Brighton SATURDAY 21.-Saint Thomas the Apostle. Downs! It combined all the forms of oratory, but persuasion and entreaty were its great characteristics. Thomas, surnamed Didymus, or the Twin, There was besides an appeal from the animal's conwas a Jew, and in all probability a Galilean.sciousness of his own strength to my consciousness of There are but few passages in the gospel concern ing him. Thomas is said to have suffered martyr dom in the same city, being killed by the lances of some people instigated by the Bramins. This is the shortest day, and is, at London, 7 h. 44 m. 17 s.; allowing 9 m. 5 s. for refraction. TIME is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past, even while we attempt to define it, and, like a flash of lightning, at once exists and expires. Time is the measurer of all things, but is itself immeasurable, and the grand discloser of all things, but is itself undisclosed. Like space, it is incomprehensible, because it has no limit, and it would be still more so if it had. It is more obscure in its source than the Nile, and in its termination than the Niger; and advances like the slowest tide, but retreats like the swiftest torrent. It gives wings of lightning to pleasure, but feet of lead to pain, and lends expectation a curb, but enjoyment a spur. It robs beauty of her charms, to bestow them on her picture, and builds a monument to merit, but denies it a house; it is the transient and deceitful flatterer of falsehood, but the tried and fil friend of truth. Time is the most subtle ye the most insatiable of depredators; and, by appearing to take nothing, is perinitted to take all; nor can it be satisfied, until it has stolen the world from us, and us from the world. It constantly flies, yet overcomes all things by flight; and although it is the present ally, it will be the future conqueror of death. Time, the cradle of hope, but the grave of ambition, is the stern corrector of fools, but the sa An hour or two after the departure of the cavalry, At dinner, many were the expressions of regret at the | the air; you have but to point your piece at a certain mark and pull the trigger, and, that done, the deuce is in it if the shot can't take care of themselves." A flask of improved double-proof gunpowder and (spite of my most earnest eutreaties to the contrary) a double-barrelled Manton, with all his latest patent improvements, were delivered over to me. Ordinary powder, or an indifferent gun, would have furnished me with somewhat of an excuse in the very possible case of my failure; now, no chance was left me of concealing or disguising my want of skill; for, notwithstanding my confidence in the facility of the operation I was about to perform, I still thought that the dexterity acquired by long practice might be of some little advantage. I requested; I en. treated; I could not think of appropriating to myself the best gun in the collection. It was all in vain: I was the had a fair trial: I was to show what could be done with only Englishman of the party; the gun had never yet it, and," added Monsieur de Vin a whisper, I wish to convince some of my incredulous friends here, that the stories I have related to them of what I have seen performed by English sportsmen, are not altogether apocryphal." 66 Finding my situation to be without remedy, I loaded my improved, double-barrelled Manton; and, determined to keep certain odds in my favour, took care to "It will be hard," thought I, put in plenty of shot. "if among so many one does not tell." We sallied forth, and presently turned up a whole drove of parridges. I hastily presented my piece, and fired in among them at random, pulling both triggers at once. I killed nothing, but, to my great surprise and satisfaction, lamed three poor devils. This piece of cruelty, however, was unintentional, for so far from aiming at such delicate marks as their legs or wings, I had no intention of striking, in particular, any one of their bodies. The effects of this, my first sporting effort, seemed to excite some astonishment among my brother sportsmen; and well it might, for it astonished me. One person asked me, whether in England it was usual to fire among the birds, as I had done, scarcely allowing them time to rise; and another enquired whether English sportsmen To this I careusually fired off both barrels at once. lessly replied, that "some did, and some did not;" and proceeded to reload my patent, improved, double barrelled Manton. Scarcely had I done this, when a hare was perceived sitting at a very short distance: as a matter of politeness it was instantly pointed out to me. levelled my piece aud pulled the triggers: it missed fire. This was, as they all said, a malheur; for the bare escaped. But even a patent improved Manton will not go off, unless certain preparations are made to that end -the truth is, I had forgotten to prime it; add to which another little irregularity, I had thrust my wadding into the barrels before I put in the powder.-My sight is lutary counsellor of the wise, bringing all they dread to the one, and all they desire to the other; but like Cassandra, it warns us with a voice that even the sagest discredit too long, and the silliest believe too late. Wisdom walks before it, opportunity with it, and repentance behind it: he that has made it his friend, will have little to fear from his enemies; but he that has made it his body, old and young, set to playing at Colin Maillard is a disadvantage in the field. It is not surprising, enemy, will have little to hope from his friends.' -(Colton's Lacon.) A COCKNEY'S RURAL SPORTS. (Concluded from our last.) THE reader may now form some idea of the state of my feelings as I approached the court-yard at Vilette. The ladies were specially invited to see me "turn and wind" this untameable courser, á la mode Anglaise. In great extremities slight consolations are eagerly caught at. I had never yet tried to ride in France! This was not much to be sure; yet it was sufficient to inspire me with the assurance that I should come out from the ordeal at something less than the cost of a broken neck. The very appearance of the animal added to my confidence. It was an immense horse, finely proportioned, nearly seven feet tall from the ground to the crown of his head, of a dark snuff-colour, with a long bushy waving tail, and a beautiful head of hair floating loosely in the morning breeze. I had just put one foot into the stirrup, 1 take the liberty of suggesting, that the terms Mr. P. uses to describe the horse are not those current in the stable. There it would be said, that the horse was bay, brown, or chesnut, of so many hands high, and his beautiful head of hair would be simply termed, the mane. "Floating loosely in the morning breeze," is a very pretty phrase, but highly inappropriate in matters of pure jockeyship.-Printer's Devil. (blind-man's-buff;) then Madame Saint V went to the piano-forte, and accompanied her daughter, Made- G I did not sleep well. I suffered an attack of nightmare. In my dreams I saw Hector-I was on Brighton Downs-at Weybridge. Nag's-heads passed in rapid succession before me-centaurs-grotesque exaggerations of the horse form-even wooden hobby-horses, as if in mockery of me, joined the terrific procession. As soon as day-light broke I arose, and scarcely was I dressed, when Monsieur de V. came into my room: I expected to see Hector walk in after him; but it happened that Hector was not the subject of his errand. He and the other gentlemen were all going out a shooting, and were only waiting for me. For me! Under different circumstances this would have been a dreadful visitation upon me; as it was, I considered it as rather a relief. I had never pulled a trigger in my life, except occasionally that of a pistol or an old musket, for the mere pleasure of firing them off." What then," thought I," it is as easy to shoot at an object as to fire in weak, and of very limited span; this, as I am informed, therefore, that my third shot was directed against what I they spring coveys. When P. has occasion to speak of numbers friends knew to the contrary, might, had I but chosen to do so, have knocked down all the game in the arróndissement. "Ah! mon cher," said he, " I don't wonder at your impatience; but fine weather is returning, and then we'll make up for lost time-nous nous amuserons bien, allez." | The next day promised to be to me one of pure and The fine weather did indeed return! The barometer had unmixed delight. What was my joy when, on waking, now reached " fair," and was rapidly approaching toI heard the rain pouring down in torrents, with every wards" set-fair." Something was necessary to be done, appearance of its being what is called a thorough set-in and that speedily. But what? I could not always rainy day. Well," thought I, " I shall see nothing of affect a sudden attack of spasms, nor dared I repeat my the cursed horses and guns to-day." We all met at unintended joke of mistaking a hat for a partridge; I breakfast, and I, by an unusual flow of spirits, revived could not reasonably hope for the arrival of a letter from those of the rest of the party, rather depressed by what Paris always at the critical moment; and should I conthey unjustly stigmatized as the unlucky fall of rain. It tinue to treat Madame Saint V——————— like a child, by deranged all their projects. But their regrets were allowing her to win every game at billiards, my comchiefly on my account: " How disappointing, how vexa-plaisance would become an offence. On the first morning of fair weather, I rose with a heavy heart. All night had I tossed about in my bed, unable to imagine a decent excuse for withdrawing my self from my sporting friends. To confess my atter incompetency (apparently the most rational way of putting an end to my torments,) I felt to be impossible; I was ashamed-laugh, reader, if you please, but I was ashamed to do so. Besides, the character of a keen and expert sportsman had been thrust upon me, and, as matters stood, my most solemn protestations that I was unentitled to any sort of claim to it would have been disbelieved, and, most likely, attributed to an overstrained and affected modesty. Yet something must be done, and, humiliating as such an avowal would be, should I boldly venture it? In the event of its being discredited, should I shoot a favourite dog, or maim my friend, or one of my friend's friends, to prove its veracity? So desperate a case would warrant the application of a violent remedy. I left my room without having brought my mind to a decision, unless the gloomy resolution of running the hazards of the day is worthy the term. On my way to where the party was assembled, I passed the garde-de-chasse: he was occupied in cleaning my Manton: I beheld it with such feelings as I should have entertained had I been condemned to be shot with it. The garde bowed to me with marked respect: Monsieur l' Anglais had been mentioned to him as a marvellous fine shot, and he accorded me a fitting share of his estimation. “Le_vo`la—allons—vite-partons," was the cry the instant I was perceived by Monsieur de V. There was no mention of Hector; that was something; shooting was to be the amusement of the day. The patent, improved, double-barrelled Manton was given to me, about. We had just reached the Perron, the double flight of steps leading into the court-yard, when a thought flashed across my mind, as it were by inspiration. I pounced upon it with a sort of desperate avidity, and, as if delay would have diminished its farce, hastily gave it utterance. "I am not disposed to shoot to-day; I've just a whim to go a fishing." Parbleu!" that next time I would not treat her so much like a said Monsieur de V-, 46 just as you will, my dear; child, but put forth my strength against her, as she was in the country liberté entière: I'll give you my own anxious to improve. The result of this was the proposal tackle." Accordingly be re-entered the house, and preof a match for the next day between me and Monsieur sently returned with two or three rods, and different L (a celebrated player), but with a particular kinds of lines, hooks, floats, &c. "There," said he, stipulation, that I should give him two points at starting. 'you may now angle for what fish you choose, and The day now went very rainily and pleasantly on, and I you'll find abundance of all sorts, great and small, in was tolerably at my ease, except when, every now and then, I was appealed to to decide some sporting ques-cribed. I knew as little about angling as about shooting, the canal." My delight at this relief is not to be des tious it must be to Monsieur that he can neither ride nor tion, or settle some dispute concerning the breed and management of horses. However, I contrived to get through tolerably well considering, by saying little and shaking my head significantly-- a method I have seen adopted with success in much graver matters. | and I received it almost unconscious of what I was as had Now was I once again left without any of those excuses for failure, which, like an indifferent workman, I might have derived from the badness of my tools. Hector was the best horse in France; my gun was a patent improved double-barrelled Manton; and my fishing tackle, plague on it! perfect and complete. To add to my distress, the fish abounded; they had the reputation of biting well, and be hanged to them! and the only thing an angler could complain of was, that they bit so fast as to destroy the pleasure of the sport. On my way to the canal I endeavoured to reason myself into composure. Surely there can be no great difficulty in what I am now about to perform: I have but to bait my hook, throw it into the water, and the instant a fish bites at it, pull him out." From a sort of misgiving, however, which my best arguments failed to conquer, I thought it prudent to dismiss Etienne, desiring him to leave the basket (and they had furnished me with one sufficiently capacious to contain Falstaff,) telling him I would call him in the event of my hooking any fish beyoud my strength to manage. Monsieur De V— not deceived me. Scarcely had I thrown any bait into the water ere it was caught at: I drew in my line and. found my hook void. A second, and a third, and a twentieth, and a fiftieth experiment succeeded in precisely the same manner. I no sooner renewed my bait than it was purloined with perfect impunity. Had the cursed fry passed by it without designing to notice it, I might have consoled myself with examples of similar occurrences; but to catch it, and give me fair notice of their intention to abscond with it by a gentle tug at my line, was provoking beyond bearing; it would have exhausted the patience of Izaak Walton himself. Notwithstanding my regard for Monsieur De V, I began to tire of feeding his fishes; and suspected that I must be cutting a ridiculous figure in the eyes of the finny tribe; in short, that they were making what is vulgarly termed a dead set against me. I varied my manner; I increased, I diminished, the quantity of my bait; I tried different sorts; now and then I tempted them with the bare hook; but all was to no purpose. After four hours of unrewarded efforts (in the course of which time I was once on the point of calling Etienne to assist me in pulling in what proved to be a tuft of weeds,) I bad the mortification to find dangling at the end of my line a wretched, miserable green gudgeon, two inches long, which had caught itself—I have not the vanity to suppose I caught it-upou my book. Thongh in itself fortune, and threw the tiny fish into my huge basket, worse than nothing, I received it as a promise of better But this was the beginning and the ending of my proswhence, to say the truth, it looked an epigram at me. perity. At the expiration of another four hours I was joined by Monsieur De V. On looking into the basket, he said that I had done right in sending the others up to the house. I assured him that THE FISH he detected at the bottom was the only one I had caught. He burst into an immoderate fit of laughter, saying, he saw through the jest at once: that I was a farceur, and had thrown all the large fish back again into the canal as fast as I had drawn them out, for the sake of the caricature of so small a fish in so large a basket. I insisted that abundantly stocked, I had exhausted all my bait, and he that one fish was the sole result of my day's labour. No, The English were expert anglers: the canal was no. was certain of the trick. Goulard was ordered to cook bat, (thought I) by fishing, or seeming to fish, I am in For three or four days after this, it rained charmingly. Those showers were to me inore than figuratively the pitying dews of heaven;" for though each morning I was threatened with the infliction of some new party of pleasure on me, either à cheval or à la chasse, the state of the weather prevented the execution of the sentence. Night and morning did I consult the barometer-(a Dollond suspended in the salle à manger)—which for two whole days pointed steadfastly to "much rain." My sleep was tranquil, my spirits were buoyant. On the third day, to my great consternation, the faithless index wavered towards " changeable." My visits to the instrument now became more frequent, and had I had Etienne, the gardener's son, with ine, to help me in uu"Argosies at Sea," I could not have watched its varia-hooking the large fish, else, said he, as they are in tions with a more feverish anxiety. On one of these occasions I was roused from my musings by a tap on the back. It was from the hand of Monsieur de V 46 such quantities, and bite so fast, you'll very soon be been a better; and proposed that, as I had deprived them of a service of fish, I should be punished by the deduction of half an hour from my next day's ride, which time I should occupy in providing fish for the dinner. Already was I suffering by anticipation the morrow's torments, when a servant entered with a bundle of newspapers and letters just arrived from Paris. Among them was a letter for me. I read it, and, affecting considerable surprise and concern, declared that I must leave Villette early the next morning on business which would admit of no delay. Entreaties that I would stay but to enjoy one day's shooting-one day's trial of Hectorwere unavailing, I was resolved. But it was not without great difficulty that I succeeded in resisting Mon sieur De V's pressing offer to lend me Hector, to carry me back to Paris, which mode of conveyance, he assured me, would save me much time, though I should even sleep one night on the road, as Hector would fly with me like an eagle. The next morning I took my departure, after having passed a week in unspeakable torments, where I had expected to spend a month in tranquillity and repose: and by one of those whimsical chains of circumstances, to which many persons, with a certain prejudice in their favour, have been indebted for the reputation of possessing great talents, without ever having given any distinct manifestation of them, I left behind me the reputation of being the most expert horseman, the surest shot, the best and politest billiard player, and the most dexterons angler, that had ever visited Vilette. P. from No. 7, that, demanded intelligence of Roland. " I saw him whom they belonged, and that he felt great pleasure in Roland, who it seems had been left for dead on the field, and had afterwards recovered of his wounds, came soon after to her father's castle, to claim the hand of Hildegonda. In his grief at the tidings he received, he built a hermitage on a rock immediately above the island of Frauenworth, and called it Rolandseck, (Roland's corTHE HERMITAGE OF ROLANDSECK. ner.) Here he passed the remainder of his days, The Castle, or rather Hermitage of Roland-sitting at the gate of his hermitage, looking down seck, was christened after Roland, the gallant on the convent which held his beloved object. nephew of Charlemagne, who, as the story goes, When the matin's bell roused him, he would rise set out one day from his uncle's palace at Ingel- and listen to the chanting of the nuns, fancying heim on a picturesque tour, on the banks of the he could distinguish the voice of his Hildegonda; Rhine. He dropped in at the chateau of a valiant and when at night the lights glimmered in the knight, who received him with a friendly squeeze cells of the convent, his imagination saw Hildeof the hand; while his daughter (who like other gonda praying to heaven for him. young ladies in those good days, was not above being useful) ran to fetch him some home-made bread and wine. As she poured out the wine, with the grace of a Hebe, into a goblet adorned with the arms of the old Chatelain, and presented it with a blush to the nephew of the great king, he was struck with her beauty and modest grace; and was soon surprised to find certain enigmatical sensations creeping about him which he had never experienced before. His arm trembled as he took the goblet, and he involuntarily said to himself "this never happened to me in the presence of the enemy, or when opposed to the thick swords of the Saracens." At night Roland could not close his eyes, for the image of the beautiful Hildegonda, which stood constantly before him. In the morning, when about to take leave, his kind host demanded his name. The modest Roland blushed as he gave it, for it was the glory of the whole country; and the knight was so enchanted at the distinction of his visitor, that he begged him to stay another day-Hildegonda said not a word—but her looks were eloquent, and Roland wanted little persuasion. The fate of the young knight's heart was decided by his stay, and he only waited for an opportunity to declare himself. Such opportunities generally present themselves-and Roland, as he walked in the garden, found the young lady sitting in a pensive reverie, in which a bolder modern beau would have flattered himself he had a place. Roland's timidity, however, made him awkward in accosting her; and the young lady, to conceal her own embarrassments, stooped to gather a rose just by. The knight begged her to give it him-lamenting that as yet no emblem of happy moments adorned his casque; and that when his comrades boasted the beauty and virtue of their belles, he was obliged to look down and be silent. Hildegonda with a blush complied, saying, as she presented it to him-" All that is beautiful endures but for a moment."-Roland no longer hesitated to declare his passion-they swore to each other eternal fidelity; and the knight promised to return immediately after the campaign in Palestine, to lead his mistress to the altar. After Roland's departure, Hildegonda led a retired and pensive life. The fame of her lover's achievements reached her, and gladdened her heart. One evening a travelling knight demanded hospitality at the castle. He had served in Chartemagne's army, and Hildegonda trembled as she was no stranger to the little vanities of the sex, when he pronounced so unequivocally, that "every woman is at heart a rake." I shall now, Sir, leave the subject for the reflection of your readers; and in the fond hope that my remarks may induce some of them to become a little more rational, I remain, Sir, your's, Early in January is announced, in an 8vo. volume, Travels in Ireland in the year 1822, exhibiting Sketches of the Moral, Physical, and Political state of that country; with reflections on the best means of improving its condition. By Thomas Reid, Author of Two Voyages to New South Wales, &c. A Poem will shortly make its appearance, entitled Falearo; or, the Neapolitan Libertine in commemoration of the singular adventures, and diabolical propensities of a celebrated Individual at present on the Continent. This work, we understand, is written after the manner of Beppo and Don Juan, and contains about 110 stanzas. Two years passed in this manner had nearly CORRESPONDENCE. TO THE EDITOR, SIR, Good manners are generally a sure indication of good sense, and are always pleasing to a mind of just feeling and correct taste. They heighten very considera bly the pleasure of social intercourse and render delightful what otherwise would often be irksome and unpleasant. In the female character nothing certainly can be more attractive than that modest demeanour which is so peculiarly characteristic of the sex, and which is usually the offspring of well regulated passions and virtuons feelings. Whilst, on the contrary, nothing possibly can be more unseemly and disgusting, than an evident disregard of every form of decency and good breeding. The Entail; or, the Lairds of Grippy. By the Author of Annals of the Parish. Journal of a Horticultural Tour through Flanders, Holland, and the North of France. By a Deputation of TO CORRESPONDENTS. The Essay on Laws held our entire stock of patience in painfal exercise for at least two hours.-Its uncommon length is not its greatest defect; our pen and thoughts were freely used to give it connexion, point, and interest,-but, we are obliged to add, without, in any measure, producing the desired effect.In an essay upon a subject of such amplitude, and importance, every objection should be supported with manly argument, and nothing obscure, puerile, or ambiguous, should be admitted. Therefore, the raillery of Voltaire is as irrelevant as the learned extracts which our correspondent has so profusely, and injudiciously, interspersed.-He should keep in view that our wish is to instruct and entertain; not to enter into the comparative merits of Monarchies and Republics.-The laws relating to infanticide (which he improperly terms "abortions") are equally out of our province; as is also his unintelligible clause respecting "a wicked miscreant," and "man of im paired intellect," which appears to us wholly gratuitons.The paper (if the author wishes it) shall be returned through our Liverpool agents. We entirely concur with "B." on the subject of indecent pla cards; and can suggest no other remedy than that of indicting the parties concerned, which might be done either on the ground of TRESPASS by those interested in the property so disfigured, or of NUISANCE by any person or persons deter. mined to extirpate the evil. H. F. and J. M'K. of Bolton, are youthful writers, and by the cultivation of their respective talents, may, in a little time, be able to favour us with communications entitled to insertion. has been left for him at our office. 359, col. 2, line 51, for humble read tremble. These reflections were suggested to my mind the other evening, on observing a practice which is now becoming very general in this town, and which, to say the least, is indeed highly indecorous. I refer to the foolish custom which many ladies have (for what reason I know not) of exhibiting their caps at their dressing-room windows; as if intended for public inspection. These coiffures of the ladies are generally hoisted upon the pillars of the Mr. John Dimity is requested to call or send for a letter which dressing-glass, and form a very conspicuous object for the gaze of all who pass the streets.-They are presented to our notice sometimes in all the beauties of spring, ERRATA.-Pg. 357, col. 1, line 12, for decrepid read decrepit. enveloped in lilies and roses :-at other times, in all the hoaryness of winter, a frostwork of fancy, in her happiest moments. Here, then, we have something to admire, a chaplet of yesterday ;-a diadem for to-morrow. But mark the contrast. Upon the other pillar of the glass we behold the vest of night; oftentimes visible only by the reflected light of its companion; a stranger to day; an inhabitant of darkness. Nor is this, Sir, the most indelicate presentation that is sometimes made to the observer; but enough of these follies for the present. The ladies, I am sure, will do well to desist from so foolish, so barbarous a custom. This public exhibition of caps was the subject of conversation the other evening, in a party where I happened to be present, when a gentleman wittily remarked, that he should be sorry to see the practice discontinued, as he now knew much more of the caps than of the ladies to TO SUBSCRIBERS.-As several numbers of the Iris are now nearly out of print, we beg to suggest to those subscribers whose sets are im perfect, the expediency of completing them without delay. Manchester: Printed and Published by HENRY SMITH, Ardwick, R. Harwood. Ashton, T. Cunningham. Bolton, Gardner & Co. Liverpool, E. Willmer & Co. |