,,the ,,mirror ,,of ,,literature1 ,,amusement1 ,,and ,,instruction4 ,,vol4 ,,xvii1 ,,no4 #dgf4 ,,saturday1 ,,february #ab1 #ahca4 ,,price #b;d4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,lord ,,byron',s ,,palace1 ,,at ,,venice4 ,illustration3 ,,lord ,,byron',s ,,palace1 ,,at ,,venice4 ,scores of readers who have been journeying through ,mr4 ,moore's concluding portion of the ,life of ,lord ,byron1 will thank us for the annexed ,illustration4 ,it presents a view of the palace occupied by ,lord ,byron during his residence at ,venice4 ,when1 after his unfortunate marriage1 he left ,england1 in search of that peace of mind which was never destined to be his1 ,venice naturally occurred to him as a place where1 for a time at least1 he should find a suitable residence4 ,he had1 in his own language1 loved it from his boyhood2 and there was a poetry connected with its situation1 its habits1 and its history1 which excited both his imagination and his curiosity4 ,his situation at this period is thus feelingly alluded to by ,mr4 ,moore3--,the circumstances under which ,lord ,byron now took leave of ,england were such as1 in the case of any ordinary person1 could not be considered otherwise than disastrous and humiliating4 ,he had1 in the course of one short year1 gone through every variety of domestic misery2--had seen his hearth eight or nine times profaned by the visitations of the law1 and been only saved from a prison by the privileges of his rank4 ,he had alienated1 as far as they had ever been his1 the affections of his wife2 and now1 rejected by her1 and condemned by the world1 was betaking himself to an exile which had not even the dignity of appearing voluntary1 as the excommunicating voice of society seemed to leave him no other resource4 ,had he been of that class of unfeeling and self-satisfied natures from whose hard surface the reproaches of others fall pointless1 he might have found in insensibility a sure refuge against reproach3 but1 on the contrary1 the same sensitiveness that kept him so awake to the applauses of mankind rendered him1 in a still more intense degree1 alive to their censure4 ,even the strange1 perverse pleasure which he felt in painting himself unamiably to the world did not prevent him from being both startled and pained when the world took him at his word2 and1 like a child in a mask before a looking-glass1 the dark semblance which he had half in sport1 put on1 when reflected back upon him from the mirror of public opinion1 shocked even himself4 99 99 99 ,then came the disappointment of his youthful passion1--the lassitude and remorse of premature excess1--the lone friendlessness of his entrance into life1 and the ruthless assault upon his first literary efforts1---all links in that chain of trials1 errors1 and sufferings1 by which his great mind was gradually and painfully drawn out2--all bearing their respective shares in accomplishing that destiny which seems to have decreed that the triumphal march of his genius should be over the waste and ruins of his heart4 ,he appeared1 indeed1 himself to have had an instinctive consciousness that it was out of such ordeals his strength and glory were to arise1 as his whole life was passed in courting agitation and difficulties2 and whenever the scenes around him were too tame to furnish such excitement1 he flew to fancy or memory for 'thorns' whereon to 'lean his breast4' ,at the same time1 the melancholy with which his heart was filled was soothed and cherished by the associations which every object in ,venice inspired4 ,the prospects of dominion subdued1 of a high spirit humbled1 of splendour tarnished1 of palaces sinking into ruins1 was but too faithfully in accordance with the dark and mournful mind which the poet bore within him4 ,nor were other motives of a nature wholly different wanting to draw him to ,venice4#a ,how beautifully has the poet illustrated this preference3-- ,in ,venice ,tasso's echoes are no more1 ,and silent rows the songless gondolier2 ,her palaces are crumbling to the shore1 ,and music meets not always now the ear3 ,those days are gone--but ,beauty still is here4 ,states fall1 hearts fade--but ,nature doth not die1 ,nor yet forget how ,venice once was dear1 ,the pleasant place of all festivity1 ,the revel of the earth1 the masque of ,italy4 ,but unto us she hath a spell beyond ,her name in story1 and her long array ,of mighty shadows1 whose dim forms despond ,above the dogeless city's vanish'd sway2 ,ours is a trophy which will not decay ,with the ,rialto2 ,shylock and the ,moor1 ,and ,pierre1 cannot be swept or worn away-- ,the keystones of the arch6 though all were o'er1 ,for us repeopled were the solitary shore4 ,her desolation3-- ,statues of glass--all shiver'd--the long file ,of her dead ,doges are declined to dust2 ,but where they dwelt1 the vast and sumptuous pile ,bespeaks the pageant of their splendid trust2 ,their sceptre broken1 and their sword in rust2 ,have yielded to the stranger3 empty halls1 ,thin streets1 and foreign aspects1 such as must ,too oft remind her who and what enthrals1 ,have flung a desolate cloud o'er ,venice' lovely walls4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thus1 ,venice1 if no stronger claim were thine1 ,were all thy proud historic deeds forgot1 ,thy choral memory of the ,bard divine1 ,thy love of ,tasso1 should have cut the knot ,which ties thee to thy tyrants2 and thy lot ,is shameful to the nations1--most of all1 ,albion6 to thee2 the ,ocean queen should not ,abandon ,ocean's children2 in the fall ,of ,venice think of thine1 despite thy watery wall4 ,i loved her from my boyhood--she to me ,was as a fairy city of the heart1 ,rising like water-columns from the sea1 ,of joy the sojourn1 and of wealth the mart2 ,and ,otway1 ,radcliffe1 ,schiller1 ,shakspeare's art ,had stamp'd her image in me1 and even so1 ,although ,i found her thus1 we did not part1 ,perchance even dearer in her day of woe ,than when she was a boast1 a marvel and a show4 ,i can repeople with the past--and of ,the present there is still for eye1 and thought1 ,and meditation chasten'd down1 enough2 ,and more1 it may be1 than ,i hoped or sought2 ,and of the happiest moments which were wrought ,within the web of my existence1 some ,from thee1 fair ,venice6 have their colours caught3 ,there are some feelings ,time can not benumb1 ,nor ,torture shake1 or mine would now be cold and dumb4 ,again1 in the notes to ,childe ,harold1 where these spirit-breathing lines occur3 ,the population of ,venice1 at the end of the #agth century amounted to nearly two hundred thousand souls4 ,at the last census1 taken two years ago1 it was no more than about one hundred and three thousand1 and it diminishes daily4 ,the commerce and the official employments1 which were to be the unexhausted source of ,venetian grandeur1 have both expired4 ,most of the patrician mansions are deserted1 and would gradually disappear1 had not the government1 alarmed by the demolition of seventy-two1 during the last two years1 expressly forbidden this sad resource of poverty4 ,many remnants of the ,venetian nobility are now scattered and confounded with the wealthier ,jews upon the banks of the ,brenta1 whose palladian palaces1 have sunk1 or are sinking1 in the general decay4 ,of the 'gentil uomo ,veneto1' the name is still known1 and that is all4 ,he is but the shadow of his former self1 but he is polite and kind4 ,the present race cannot be thought to regret the loss of their aristocratical forms1 and too despotic government--they think only on their vanished independence4 ,they pine away at the remembrance1 and on this subject suspend for a moment their gay good humour4 ,venice may be said1 in the words of the scripture1 'to die daily2' and so general and so apparent is the decline1 as to become painful to a stranger1 not reconciled to the sight of a whole nation1 expiring as it were before his eyes4 ,so artificial a creation having lost that principle which called it into life and supported its existence1 must fall to pieces at once1 and sink more rapidly than it rose4 ,captain ,medwin relates ,lord ,byron's detestation of ,venice in unmeasured terms4 ,he likewise tells of his ,lordship performing here one of those aquatic feats in which he greatly prided himself2 and the ,countess ,albrizzi mentions a similar incident3 ,he was seen1 on leaving a palace situated on the grand canal1 instead of entering his gondola1 to throw himself1 with his clothes on1 into the water1 and swim to his house4 ,the ,countess1 who became acquainted with his ,lordship at ,venice1 also narrates a few particulars of the mode in which he passed his time in that city3 ,amongst his peculiar habits was that of never showing himself on foot4 ,he was never seen to walk through the streets of ,venice1 nor along the pleasant banks of the ,brenta1 where he spent some weeks of the summer2 and there are some who assert that he has never seen1 excepting from a window1 the wonders of the ,piazza di ,san ,marco1#b so powerful in him was the desire of not showing himself to be deformed in any part of his person4 ,i1 however1 continues the ,countess1 believe that he often gazed on those wonders1 but in the late and solitary hour1 when the stupendous edifices which surrounded him1 illuminated by the soft and placid light of the moon1 appeared a thousand times more lovely4 ,during an entire winter1 he went out every morning alone1 to row himself to the island of the ,armenians 7a small island1 distant from ,venice about half a league71 to enjoy the society of those learned and hospitable monks1 and to learn their difficult language4 ,during the summer1 ,lord ,byron enjoyed the exercise of riding in the evening4 ,no sunsets1 said he1 are to be compared with those of ,venice--they are too gorgeous for any painter1 and defy any poet4 #a ,letter-press of the superb ,landscape ,annual for the present year1 whence our ,engraving is transferred4 ,the ,life of the noble ,poet at ,venice cannot be better described than in his own ,letters1 for which see pages #dc-hb of the present volume4 #b ,from some passages in his ,lordship's ,letters1 this would not appear correct4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,nature ,,reviving4 7,for the ,mirror47 ,the rills run free1 and fetterless1 and strong1 ,rejoicing that their icy bonds are broke1 ,the breeze is burthen'd with the grateful song ,of birds innumerous3 who from torpor woke1 ,cleave the fine air with renovated stroke4 ,the teeming earth flings up its budding store ,of herbs1 and flow'rs1 escaping from the yoke4 ,that ,winter's spell had cast around2 and o'er ,the clear and sun-lit sky1 dark clouds are seen no more4 ,in woody dells1 by shallow brooks that stand1 ,the modest violet1 and primrose pale1 7,like youth just bursting into life17 expand1 ,and cast their perfumes down the dewy vale1 ,till laden seems each bland1 yet searching gale ,that fans the cheek with odours of the ,spring4 ,all living nature rushes to inhale3 ,as if this universal blossoming ,too soon would fade away1 or instantly take wing4 ,what beauty in the swelling upland green1 ,on which the fleecy flock in sportive play1 ,and mirth1 and gambol innocent1 are seen4 ,what pleasure through the scented copse to stray1 ,and hear the stock dove coo its am'rous lay1 ,or climb the steep hill's side1 beneath whose height ,dashing afar1 like drifted snow1 their spray2 ,the waves of ocean with an angry might1 ,flash in the purple dawn1 majestically bright4 ,yet 'midst this union of benignant tones1 ,how fares it with the reasonable part ,of ,god's created glories8 ,man disowns ,not to give thanks2 but skilled by human art ,to screen the passions of a grateful heart2 ,he walks encircled by philosophy1 whose creed ,allows no outward semblance1 to impart ,one trace of joyousness that may exceed ,those coldly rigid rules on which it loves to feed4 ,and therefore balmy spring1 with all its joys1 ,its pomp of early leaves1 and thrilling lays1 ,and ceaseless chime of song 7that never cloys1 ,altho' the winds be redolent of praise47 ,wakes not in man that stupor of amaze1 ,bird1 beast1 and plant1 in universal choir1 ,pay to ,almighty in a thousand ways1 ,that sterner reason's votaries would flout1 ,giving their tardy homage in mistrust and doubt4 ,not so with me4 ,i never feel the spring ,come on in beauty1 but my swelling soul ,seems ready in its gush of joy1 to fling ,all trammels off1 that would in aught control ,its wild pulsation4 ,o'er it feelings roll ,too mighty for expression2 and each sense ,appears to be commingled in one whole2 ,whose sum of ecstacy is so intense1 ,it finds no home to garner it1 but in omnipotence4 ,j4,h4,h4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,polish ,,patriot',s ,,appeal4 7,for the ,mirror47 ,rise fellow men6 our country yet remains ,by that dread name1 we wave the sword on high1 ,and swear with her to live--for her to die4 ,,campbell4 ,have we not proved our country's worth--the country of the free8 ,have we not raised the tyrant's foot--and struck for liberty-- ,the giant foot that on us fell1 in war's tremendous fall-- ,the mighty weight that bore us down and held our arms in thrall8 ,have we not risked our homes1 our all1 at ,freedom's glorious shrine1 ,and dared the vengeance of the ,russ1 whose sway is yclept divine8 ,and have we not appealed to arms--our last and dearest right6 ,and is not ours a sacred cause1 a just and holy fight8 ,yes1 on ,sarmatia's bleeding form ,oppression's fetters rang1 ,and ,liberty's last dying dirge the ,northern trumpet sang3 ,our hopes were buried in the grave where ,kosciusko lies2 ,there came not friendship then from earth--nor mercy from the skies6 ,but ,heaven has roused the ,polish slave and bid him rend his chains1 ,and now we rank among the free--,our country yet remains3 ,again we seek our native rights by ,god and ,nature given-- ,a people's right unto their soil from us unjustly riven4 ,we call upon the honoured brave--the free of every land-- ,for succour from the powerful--for aid from every strand3 ,we ask for every good man's prayer--we call for help on high2 ,ye shades of ,poland's slaughtered sons1 look on propitiously4 ,we fight the fight of nations--bear witness field and storm ,to our desert hereafter8 ,now we are but braggarts warm-- ,but by our honest cause1 we swear1 ere they our land retake1 ,each town shall he a charnel tomb--each field a gory lake6 ,,cymbeline4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,naturalist4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,anecdotes ,,of ,,parrots4 7,for the ,mirror47 ,who taught the ,parrot human notes to try8 ',twas witty want1 fierce hunger to appease4 ,,dryden4 ,a parrot belonging to the sister of the ,comte de ,buffon 7says ,bingley17 would frequently speak to himself1 and seem to fancy that some one addressed him4 ,he often asked for his paw1 and answered by holding it up4 ,though he liked to hear the voice of children1 he seemed to have an antipathy to them2 he pursued them1 and bit them till he drew blood4 ,he had also his objects of attachment2 and though his choice was not very nice1 it was constant4 ,he was excessively fond of the cook-maid2 followed her everywhere1 sought for1 and seldom missed finding her4 ,if she had been some time out of his sight1 the bird climbed with his bill and claws to her shoulders1 and lavished on her caresses4 ,his fondness had all the marks of close and warm friendship4 ,the girl happened to have a very sore finger1 which was tedious in healing1 and so painful as to make her scream4 ,while she uttered her moans the parrot never left her chamber4 ,the first thing he did every day1 was to pay her a visit2 and this tender condolence lasted the whole time of the cure1 when he again returned to his former calm and settled attachment4 ,yet this strong predilection for the girl seems to have been more directed to her office in the kitchen1 than to her person2 for1 when another cook-maid succeeded her1 the parrot showed the same degree of fondness#c to the new comer1 the very first day4 ,bingley also says1 ,willoughby tells us of a parrot1 which when a person said to it1 'laugh1 ,poll1 laugh1' laughed accordingly1 and the instant after screamed out1 ',what a fool to make me laugh4' ,another which had grown old with its master1 shared with him the infirmities of age4 ,being accustomed to hear scarcely anything but the words1 ',i am sick2' when a person asked it1 ',how do you do1 ,poll8 how d'ye do8'--',i am sick1' it replied1 in a doleful tone1 stretching itself along1 ',i am sick4' ,goldsmith says1 ,that a parrot belonging to ,king ,henry ,,viii4 having been kept in a room next the ,thames1 in his palace at ,westminster1 had learned to repeat many sentences from the boatmen and passengers4 ,one day sporting on its perch1 it unluckily fell into the water4 ,the bird had no sooner discovered its situation1 than it called out aloud1 ',a boat1 twenty pounds for a boat4' ,a waterman happening to be near the place where the parrot was floating1 immediately took it up1 and restored it to the king2 demanding1 as the bird was a favourite1 that he should be paid the reward that it had called out4 ,this was refused2 but it was agreed1 that as the parrot had offered a reward1 the man should again refer to its determination for the sum he was to receive4 ',give the knave a groat1' the bird screamed aloud1 the instant the reference was made4 ,mr4 ,locke1 in his ,essay on the ,human ,understanding1 has related an anecdote concerning parrots1 of which 7says ,bingley7 however incredible it may appear to some1 he seems to have had so much evidence1 as at least to have believed it himself4 ,it is taken from a writer of some celebrity2 the author of ,memoirs of what passed in ,christendom from #afgb to #afgi4 ,the story is this3-- ,during the government of ,prince ,maurice1 in ,brazil1 he had heard of an old parrot that was much celebrated for answering like a rational creature1 many of the common questions that were put to it4 ,it was at a great distance2 but so much had been said about it1 that his curiosity was roused1 and he directed it to be sent for4 ,when it was introduced into the room where the prince was sitting in company with several ,dutchmen1 it immediately exclaimed in the ,brazilian language1 ',what a company of white men are here4' ,they asked it ',who is that man8' 7pointing to the prince7 the parrot answered1 ',some general or other4' ,when the attendants carried it up to him1 he asked it through the medium of an interpreter1 7for he was ignorant of its language7 ',from whence do you come8' the parrot answered1 ',from ,marignan4' ,the prince asked1 ',to whom do you belong8' it answered1 ',to a ,portuguese4' ,he asked again1 ',what do you do there8' it answered1 ',i look after the chickens4' ,the prince1 laughingly1 exclaimed1 ',you look after the chickens8' the parrot in answer1 said1 ',yes1 ,i2 and ,i know well enough how to do it1' clucking at the time1 in imitation of the noise made by the hen to call together her young4 ,this account came directly from the prince to the above author2 he said that though the parrot spoke in a language he did not understand1 yet he could not be deceived1 for he had in the room both a ,dutchman who spoke ,brazilian1 and a ,brazilian who spoke ,dutch2 that he asked them separately and privately1 and both agreed very exactly in giving him the parrot's discourse4 ,if the story is devoid of foundation1 the prince must have been deceived1 for there is not the least doubt that he believed it4 ,parrots not only discourse1 but also mimic gestures and actions4 ,scaliger saw one that performed the dance of the ,savoyards1 at the same time that it repeated their song4 ,p4,t4,w4 #c ,pot or kitchen love4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,retrospective ,,gleanings4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ditty ,,by ,,queen ,,elizabeth4 7,for the ,mirror47 ,i find1 7says ,puttenham17 none example in ,english metre so well mayntayning this figure 7,exargasia1 or the ,gorgeous7 as that dittie of her ,majestie ,queen ,elizabeth's own making1 passing sweete and harmonical2 which figure being1 as his very original name purporteth1 the most beautiful and gorgeous of all others1 it asketh in reason to be reserved for a last compliment1 and disciphered by the arte of a ladies penne 7herself being the most beautifull or rather beautie of ,queens47 ,and this was the occasion3 ,our ,sovereign lady perceiving how the ,queen of ,scots residence within this realme as to great libertie and ease 7as were scarce meete for so great and dangerous a prisoner17 bred secret factions amongst her people1 and made many of the nobility incline to favour her partie 7some of them desirous of innovation in the state1 others aspiring to greater fortunes by her libertie and life27 the ,queene our ,sovereigne ,lady1 to declare that she was nothing ignorant of those secret practices 7though she had long1 with great wisdom and patience1 dissembled it17 writeth that dittie1 most sweet and sententious2 not hiding from all such aspiring minds the danger of their ambition and disloyaltie1 which afterwards fell out most truly by the exemplary chastisements of sundry persons1 who in favour of the said ,queen of ,scots1 declining from her ,majestie1 sought to interrupt the quiet of the realm by many evill and undutifull practyses4 ,the ditty is as followeth3-- ,the dowbt of future foes exiles my present joy1 ,and ,wit me warns to shun snares as threaten mine annoy2 ,for falshood now doth flowe1 and subject faith doth ebbe1 ,which would not be1 if reason rul'd1 or wisdom weav'd the webbe4 ,but clouds of tois untried do choake aspiring mindes1 ,which turn'd to rain of late repent by course of changed windes4 ,the toppe of hope suppos'd1 the root of ruth will be ,and fruitless all their grafted guiles1 as shortly ye shall see4 ,then dazzled eyes1 with pride which great ambition blindes1 ,shall be unveil'd by worthy wights1 whose foresight falshood finds4 ,the daughter of debate1 that eke discord doth sowe1 ,shall reape no gaine1 where former rule hath taught still peace to growe4 ,no forreine banish'd wight shall ancre in this port2 ,our realme it brooks no stranger's force1 let them elsewhere resort4 ,our rusty sword with rust shall first his edge employ1 ,to polle their toppes that seeke such change1 and gape for joy4 ,j4,g4,b4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,of ,a ,,reader4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,quarterly ,,review4 ,no4 #hg4 ,character of ,mr4 ,canning4 ,there have been some who equalled him in acquirements--many who have possessed sounder judgment and sounder principles2 but never was there in any legislative assembly1 a person whose talents were more peculiarly and perfectly adapted to the effect which he intended to produce4 ,with all the advantages of voice and person--with all the graces of delivery--with all the charms which affability and good-nature impart to genius1 he had wit at will1 as well as eloquence at command4 ,being frank and sincere in all his political opinions1 he had all that strength in his oratory which arises from sincerity1 although in his political conduct the love of intrigue was one of his besetting sins4 ,by an unhappy perversion of mind it seemed as if he would always rather have obtained his end by a crooked path than by a straight one2 but his speeches had nothing of this tortuosity2 there was nothing covert in them1 nothing insidious--no double-dealing1 no disguise4 ,his argument went always directly to the point1 and with so well-judged an aim that he was never 7like ,burke7 above his mark--rarely1 if ever1 below it1 or beside it4 ,when1 in the exultant consciousness of personal superiority1 as well as the strength of his cause1 he trampled upon his opponents1 there was nothing coarse1 nothing virulent1 nothing contumelious1 nothing ungenerous in his triumph4 ,whether he addressed the ,liverpool electors1 or the ,house of ,commons1 it was with the same ease1 the same adaptation to his auditory1 the same unrivalled dexterity1 the same command of his subject and his hearers1 and the same success4 ,his only faults as a speaker were committed when1 under the inebriating influence of popular applause1 he was led away by the heat and passion of the moment4 ,a warm friend1 a placable adversary1 a scholar1 a man of letters1 kind in his nature1 affable in his manners1 easy of access1 playful in conversation1 delightful in society--rarely have the brilliant promises of boyhood been so richly fulfilled as in ,mr4 ,canning4 ,political ,economists ,are the most daring of all legislators1 just 7it has been well said7 as cockney equestrians are the most fearless of all riders4 ,but the confidence with which they propose their theories is less surprising than the facility with which their propositions have been entertained1 and their extravagant pretensions admitted4 ,we need not marvel at the success of quackery in medicine and theology1 when we look at the career of the ,st4 ,john ,longs in political life4 ,from the time in which the bullion question came out of ,pandora's ,scotch mull1 parliament has been wearied with the interminable discussions which they have raised there4 ,youths who were fresh from college1 and men with or without education1 who were in the wane of their wits and infancy of their discretion1 imbibe the radiant darkness of ,jeremy ,bentham1 and forthwith set themselves up as the lights of their generation4 ,no professors1 even in the subtlest ages of scholastic philosophy1 were ever more successful in muddying what they found clear1 and perplexing what is in itself intelligible4 ,what are wages8--this1 we are told1 is the most difficult and the most important of all the branches of political economy1 and this1 we are also told1 has been obscured by ambiguities and fallacies4 ,what is rent8 ,what is value8 ,upon these questions1 and such as these1 which no man of sincere understanding ever proposed to himself or others1 they discuss and dilate with as much ardour and to as little effect1 as the old philosophers disputed upon the elements of the material creation2 bringing to the discussion intellects of the same kind1 though as far below them in degree as in the dignity of the subjects upon which their useless subtlety is expended4 ,but it cannot be said of them1 that they1 when all is said1 ,with much discretion and great want of wit1 ,leave all as wisely as it was at first2 for they mystify those readers who are not disgusted by such ineptitudes1 perplex weak minds1 and pervert vain ones4 ,of such discussions it may be said with the son of ,sirach1 that when a man hath done1 then he beginneth2 and when he leaveth off1 then he shall be doubtful4 ,homer4 ,seneca reckons among the idle questions1 which were unworthy of wise men1 the dispute whether ,homer wrote both the ,iliad and ,odyssey1 and in what countries ,ulysses wandered4 ,notwithstanding the ,stoic's philosophic pride1 these inquiries have still an interest to minds of the highest order--such is the homage which genius extorts from the remotest countries and from the latest ages4 ,we noticed1 in an article in our last ,number1 the curious fact of native youths in ,india performing parts of ,shakspeare1 and thus on the shores of the ,ganges countless minds are deriving delight1 perhaps improvement1 from the careless and unlaboured verses of the light-hearted ,warwickshire deer-stealer4 ,so1 in this country1 and over all the continent of ,europe1 which1 when the songs of ,homer first gladdened the halls of the chieftains on the shores of the ,aegean1 were vast unknown deserts1 unpeopled1 or wandered over by a few rude hunters2 which1 to the ,greeks1 were regions of more than ,cimmerian darkness1 beyond the boundaries of the living world--men of the loftiest and most powerful understanding are examining1 and discussing1 and disputing the most minute points which may illustrate the poetry of the blind bard2 scholars are elucidating1 antiquaries illustrating1 philosophers reasoning upon1 men of genius transfusing into their native tongues1 poets honouring with despairing emulation1 the whole mind of educated man feeling the transcendent power of the poet of the ,iliad and ,odyssey4 ,surely1 the boasted triumph of poetry over space and time is no daring hyperbole--surely1 it is little more than the boasted reality of truth4 ,power of ,memory4 ,it is indeed not easy to calculate the height to which the memory may be cultivated4 ,to take an ordinary case1 we might refer to that of any first-rate actor1 who must be prepared1 at a very short warning1 to rhapsodize night after night1 parts which1 when laid together1 would amount to an immense number of lines4 ,but all this is nothing to two instances of our own day4 ,visiting at ,naples a gentleman of the highest intellectual attainments1 and who held a distinguished rank among the men of letters in the last century1 he informed us that the day before he had passed much time in examining a man1 not highly educated1 who had learned to repeat the whole ,gierusalemme ,liberata of ,tasso2 not only to recite it consecutively1 but to repeat any given stanza of any given book2 to repeat those stanzas in utter defiance of the sense1 either forwards or backwards1 or from the eighth line to the first1 alternately the odd and even lines--in short1 whatever the passage required1 the memory1 which seemed to cling to the words much more than to the sense1 had it at such perfect command1 that it could produce it under any form4 ,our informant went on to state1 that this singular being was proceeding to learn the ,orlando ,furioso in the same manner4 ,but even this instance is less wonderful than one as to which we may appeal to any of our readers that happened some twenty years ago to visit the town of ,stirling1 in ,scotland4 ,no such person can have forgotten that poor1 uneducated man1 ,blind ,jamie1 who could actually repeat1 after a few minutes' consideration1 any verse required from any part of the ,bible--even the obscurest and least important enumeration of mere proper names not excepted4 ,origin of the ,homeric ,poems4 ,it is said that the art of writing1 and the use of manageable writing materials1 were entirely1 or all but entirely1 unknown in ,greece and the islands at the supposed date of the composition of the ,iliad2 and that if so1 this poem could not have been committed to writing during the time of such its composition2 that in a question of comparative probabilities like this1 it is a much grosser improbability that even the single ,iliad1 amounting1 after all curtailments and expungings1 to upwards of #ae1jjj lines1 should have been actually conceived and perfected in the brain of one man1 with no other help but his own or others' memory1 than that it should1 in fact1 be the result of the labours of several distinct authors2 that if the ,odyssey be counted1 the improbability is doubled2 that if we add1 upon the authority of ,thucydides and ,aristotle1 the ,hymns and ,margites1 not to say the ,batrachomuiomachia1 that which was improbable becomes absolutely impossible2 that all that has been so often said as to the fact of as many lines1 or more1 having been committed to memory1 is beside the point in question1 which is not whether #ae1jjj or #cj1jjj lines may be learnt by art from a book or manuscript1 but whether one man can compose a poem of that length1 which1 rightly or not1 shall be thought to be a perfect model of symmetry or consistency of parts1 without the aid of writing materials2 that1 admitting the superior probability of such a thing in a primitive age1 we know nothing analogous to such a case2 and that it so transcends the common limits of intellectual power1 as1 at the least1 to merit1 with as much justice as the opposite opinion1 the character of improbability4--,h4,n4 ,coleridge4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,liberalism ,,and ,,music4 ,it seems that the day is come again when musical airs are ranked in political importance with proclamations1 manifestoes1 c4 ,everybody knows the story of the ,swiss hired troops1 the ,ranz des ,vaches1 and the prohibition of this tune in ,france4 ,a ,polish air1 the ,dombrowski ,mazourka1 which the regiment of ,general ,szembek played on entering ,warsaw1 has been forbidden by the ,grand ,duke ,constantine1 on pain of a penalty of #djj florins2 the consequence of which is1 that it has become the outward and audible sign of patriotism in every part of ,poland2 just as the ,marseilles ,march and la ,parisienne are in ,france and the ,netherlands the signals of liberalism4 ,during ,mr4 ,pitt's administration an organ grinder was committed to ,newgate for playing ,ah6 a ira in the streets4 ,this was a silly step2 but the fellow excited little commiseration1 for the tune was the war-whoop of a few savages who were at that time deluging ,france with blood4 ,it affords another proof1 however1 of the power ascribed by statesmen to instrumental music1 uninterpreted by words in exciting ideas and producing associations4--,harmonicon1 ,feb4 #a4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,turkish ,,musical ,,gusto4 ,a modern traveller informs us1 that the band of an ,english ambassador at ,constantinople once performed a concert for the entertainment of the ,sultan and his court4 ,at the conclusion it was asked1 which of the pieces he preferred4 ,he replied1 the first1 which was accordingly recommenced1 but stopped1 as not being the right one4 ,others were tried with as little success1 until at length the band1 almost in despair of discovering the favourite air1 began tuning their instruments1 when his highness instantly exclaimed1 ,inshallah1 heaven be praised1 that is it6 ,the ,turkish prince may be excused1 when it is known that at the commemoration of ,handel in #aghd1 ,dr4 ,burney thought the mere tuning of that host of instruments more gratifying than the ordinary performances to which he had been accustomed4--,ibid4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,rode1 ,,the ,,violinist4 ,in #ahad1 he was resident at ,berlin1 where he gave a concert for the benefit of the poor1 and on quitting that capital1 returned to his native city1 not again to quit it1 except for one ill-starred visit to ,paris in #ahah4 ,this visit threw a fatal colouring over all the rest of ,rode's days1 and probably contributed to shorten his life4 ,for several years he had played only in a small circle of admiring friends1 who persuaded him 7nothing loth to believe7 that his talents were still unabated4 ,the habit of hearing no one but himself had extinguished emulation1 and deprived him of all means of comparison4 ,rode suddenly determined to re-appear in the musical world1 and on his arrival in ,paris sought for opportunities of playing in private parties1 with as much eagerness as though he had still been a young man with a reputation to make4 ,his old admirers were at first delighted to greet him2 but they soon saw with unfeigned regret that he was compromising a great and well-earned name4 ,his tone1 once so pure and beautiful1 had become uncertain2 his bow was as timid as his fingers1 and he no longer dared to indulge fearlessly the suggestions of his imagination2 in short it was too apparent that1 in spite of his delusion1 ,rode's former confidence in himself was gone2 and we know the importance of that feeling of self-reliance which men of talent derive from the innate consciousness of their own superiority3 once destroyed1 everything else vanishes with it4 ,he was applauded2 respect for the last efforts of what had once been first-rate talent secured him that meed2 but he was applauded because his audience considered it a kind of duty1 and without any symptoms of enthusiasm4 ,he felt the distinction2 a dreadful light broke in upon him1 and for the first time he became conscious that he was no longer himself4 ,the blow was the more severe as it was unlooked for3 he left ,paris overwhelmed with grief2 the check he had received preyed incessantly on his mind and injured his health4 ,a paralytic stroke toward the end of #ahbi deprived him of the use of one side and affected his intellect1 in which state he languished for nearly twelve months1 till on the #beth of ,november1 #ahcj1 death relieved him from his sufferings4--,from a ,memoir of ,rode in the ,harmonicon4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,progress ,,of ,,science4 ,it may be considered as sufficiently proved1 that the sciences had not acquired any degree of improvement until the eighth century before the ,christian era2 notwithstanding great nations had been formed in several parts of the earth some centuries earlier4 ,fifteen hundred years before ,christ there were already four--the ,indians1 the ,chinese1 the ,babylonians1 and the ,egyptians4--,cuvier4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,select ,,biography4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,thomas ,,hope1 ,,esq4 7,for the ,mirror47 ,we regret to record the death of this distinguished scholar and munificent patron of literature and the fine arts4 ,for some weeks past we have been awaiting the publication of his last work1 entitled1 ,an ,essay on the ,origin and ,prospects of ,man2 and after looking with this expectation in the ,times of ,friday1 the #dth1 we there read the information of ,mr4 ,hope's death1 on the #bnd instant1 at his house in ,duchess-street4 ,mr4 ,hope was a nephew of the opulent ,amsterdam merchant of the same name4 ,we are not aware of his precise age1 but should judge it must have verged on sixty4 ,in early life he travelled much1 especially in the ,east2 and few ,englishmen have acquired better knowledge of the manners and customs of that division of the world than had the subject of this memoir4 ,his visits to the ,european continent are of much more recent date4 ,in its various academies of fine art his name will long be cherished with grateful remembrance1 since few men distributed their patronage with so much munificence and judgment4 ,possessing an ample fortune and exquisite taste1 ,mr4 ,hope judiciously applied his knowledge of the fine arts to the internal decoration of houses3 thus producing1 in numberless instances1 the rare combination of splendour and convenience4 ,on this subject1 ,mr4 ,hope published1 in #ahje1 an illustrative folio work1 entitled ,household ,furniture and ,internal ,decorations4 ,he also published two very superb works on costume1 entitled1 ,the ,costumes of the ,ancients1 two vols4 #hvo4 #ahji2 and ,designs of ,modern ,costume1 folio1 #ahab3 in which he displayed high classical attainments and love of the picturesque4 ,mr4 ,hope1 however1 subsequently appeared before the literary world in a work which at once places him in the highest list of eloquent writers and superior men--viz4 ,anastasius2 or1 the ,memoirs of a ,modern ,greek3 published in the year #ahai4 ,there are1 indeed1 few books in the ,english language which contain passages of greater power1 feeling1 and eloquence than this work1 which delineate frailty and vice with more energy and acuteness1 or describe historical scenes with such bold imagery and such glowing language4 ,we remember the opinion of a writer in the ,edinburgh ,review1 soon after the publication of ,anastasius4 ,with a degree of pleasantry and acumen peculiar to northern criticism1 he asks1 ,where has ,mr4 ,hope hidden all his eloquence and poetry up to this hour8 ,how is it that he has1 all of a sudden1 burst out into descriptions which would not disgrace the pen of ,tacitus1 and displayed a depth of feeling and vigour of imagination which ,lord ,byron could not excel8 ,we do not shrink from one syllable of this eulogy4 ,the subjects upon which ,mr4 ,hope had previously written were not calculated to call forth his eloquent feeling2 and1 such excellence was not expected from him1 who1 to use the harmless satire of the ,edinburgh reviewer1 meditated muffineers and planned pokers4 ,this was no praise of party3 contemporary criticism universally allowed ,anastasius to be a work in which great and extraordinary talent is evinced4 ,it abounds in sublime passages--in sense--in knowledge of history1 and in knowledge of human character2--and the rapid sale of three editions has proved these superior characteristics to have been amply recognised by the reading public4 ,the work in its fourth edition still enjoys a good sale4 ,in each reprint the nicety of the writer is traceable3 the corrections and alterations in the metaphysical portions on such passages as illustrate points of character1 are elaborated with exquisite skill1 and fresh turns of scholarly elegance are observable throughout each volume of the work4 ,memory has probably in some instances enabled the author to re-touch his pictures of ,eastern scenery1 and rearrange his grouping of particular incidents4 ,what a delightful labour of leisure must this have been for so ingenious a mind6 ,one of his similes--a weeping lady's eyes compared to violets steeped in dew--has never been out of our recollection2 and one of his battle scenes almost makes the reader imagine himself transfixed to the spot by a weapon of the contest4 ,mr4 ,hope married1 in #ahjf1 the ,hon4 ,louisa ,beresford1 daughter of the late ,lord ,decies1 ,archbishop of ,tuam1 and sister of the present peer1 by whom he has left three sons1 the eldest of whom1 ,mr4 ,henry ,hope1 was groom of the bedchamber to the late king1 and recently took his seat in parliament for the borough of ,west ,looe4 ,of their highly-gifted and accomplished mother we know many amiable traits2 and1 however bright may have been her fashionable splendour in high life1 it is more than counterbalanced by her active benevolence in the county1 in visiting the homes and relieving the distresses of the poor of the neighbourhood4 ,of ,mr4 ,hope's literary acquirements and his patronage of the liberal arts we have already spoken4 ,it is1 however1 grateful to be enabled to refer to special acts of such patronage4 ,it should not1 therefore1 be forgotten1 that to the liberality of ,mr4 ,hope1 ,thorwalsden1 the celebrated ,danish sculptor1 is chiefly indebted for a fostering introduction to the world3 we have seen at the liberal patron's seat1 ,deepdene1 a stupendous boar of spotless marble1 for which the sculptor received a commission of one thousand guineas4 ,mr4 ,hope1 too1 was one of the earliest of the patrons of ,mr4 ,george ,dawe1 ,r4,a4 ,in a memoir of this fortunate and distinguished painter we find that ,andromache soliciting the ,life of her ,son1 from a scene in the ,french play entitled ,andromache1 was purchased by ,mr4 ,hope1 who1 in the most liberal manner1 marked his approbation of ,dawe's talents by favouring him with several commissions for family portraits1 especially a half-length of ,mrs4 ,hope1 with two of her children1 and two whole-lengths of the lady singly4 ,to the useful as well as elegant arts ,mr4 ,hope's encouragement was extended2 and for the last ten years he has filled the office of one of the ,vice-presidents of the ,society of ,arts and ,sciences in the ,adelphi4 ,mr4 ,hope usually passed the season at his superb mansion in ,duchess-street1 ,portland-place1 where he had assembled a valuable collection of works of art1 altogether unrivalled1 and comprising paintings1 antique statues1 busts1 vases1 and other relics of antiquity1 arranged in apartments1 the furniture and decorations of which were in general designed after classic models1 by the ingenious possessor himself4 ,among the sculpture is the exquisite ,venus rising from the ,bath1 by ,canova4 ,the whole of these valuables were open to the public1 under certain restrictions1 during the season4 ,mr4 ,hope likewise possessed one of the most delightful estates in the county of ,surrey--viz4 the ,deepdene1 near ,dorking1 to which he annexed ,chart ,park1 purchased from the devisees of the late ,sir ,charles ,talbot1 ,bart4 ,on the last-mentioned estate is a spacious mausoleum1 erected by ,mr4 ,hope about thirteen years since1 and capable of containing upwards of twenty bodies4 ,two of his sons1 who died in their youth1 are buried here4 ,in the retirement of the ,deepdene1 ,mr4 ,hope passed much time in embellishing the mansion1 and improving the gardens1 grounds1 c4 ,here1 observes the author of the ,promenade round ,dorking1 ,i was much gratified with landscape gardening1 the quiet of echoing dells1 and the refreshing coolness of caverns--all which combined to render this spot a kind of fairy region4 ,flower-gardens laid out in parterres1 with much taste1 here mingle trim neatness with rude uncultivated nature1 in walks winding through plantations and woods1 with ruined grottoes and hermitages1 well adapted1 by their solitary situations1 for study and reverie4 ,adjoining the mansion1 ,mr4 ,hope likewise constructed a classical sculpture gallery1 which he enriched with several antiques from his town residence4 ,notwithstanding all these additions1 we are bound to confess1 that1 compared with the beauty of the situation1 they were but unsuccessful efforts of art to embellish bountiful ,nature4 ,the conveniences of the ,deepdene are upon a scale of magnificence similar to that of the mansion in ,duchess-street4 ,their present ,majesties1 before their accession1 were occasional visiters at the ,deepdene2 and upon the formation of the ,queen's ,household1 ,mrs4 ,hope was appointed a ,lady of the ,bedchamber4 ,few men1 even in the philanthropic neighbourhood of ,dorking1 were more beloved than the late ,mr4 ,hope4 ,his patronage by money and otherwise1 was never vainly sought for a good object2 and with this high merit we close our humble tribute to his public and private excellence4 ,,philo4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,spirit ,,of ,,the ,,public ,,journals4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,bacchanalian ,,song4 7,from the ,noctes of ,blackwood47 ,,north4--,the air1 you know1 is my own1 ,james4 ,i shall sing it to-night to some beautiful words by my friend ,robert ,folkestone ,williams1 written1 he tells me1 expressly for the ,noctes4 ,oh6 fill the wine-cup high1 ,the sparkling liquor pour2 ,for we will care and grief defy1 ,they ne'er shall plague us more4 ,and ere the snowy foam ,from off the wine departs1 ,the precious draught shall find a home1 ,a dwelling in our hearts4 ,though bright may be the beams ,that woman's eyes display2 ,they are not like the ruby gleams ,that in our goblets play4 ,for though surpassing bright ,their brilliancy may be1 ,age dims the lustre of their light1 ,but adds more worth to thee4 ,give me another draught1 ,the sparkling1 and the strong2 ,he who would learn the poet craft-- ,he who would shine in song-- ,should pledge the flowing bowl ,with warm and generous wine2 ',twas wine that warm'd ,anacreon's soul1 ,and made his songs divine4 ,and e'en in tragedy1 ,who lives that never knew ,the honey of the ,attic ,bee ,was gather'd from thy dew8 ,he of the tragic muse1 ,whose praises bards rehearse3 ,what power but thine could e'er diffuse ,such sweetness o'er his verse8 ,oh6 would that ,i could raise ,the magic of that tongue2 ,the spirit of those deathless lays1 ,the ,swan of ,teios sung6 ,each song the bard has given1 ,its beauty and its worth1 ,sounds sweet as if a voice from heaven ,was echoed upon earth4 ,how mighty--how divine ,thy spirit seemeth when ,the rich draught of the purple vine ,dwelt in these godlike men4 ,it made each glowing page1 ,its eloquence and truth1 ,in the glory of their golden age1 ,outshine the fire of youth4 ,joy to the lone heart--joy ,to the desolate--oppress'd ,for wine can every grief destroy ,that gathers in the breast4 ,the sorrows1 and the care1 ,that in our hearts abide1 ',twill chase them from their dwellings there1 ,to drown them in its tide4 ,and now the heart grows warm1 ,with feelings undefined1 ,throwing their deep diffusive charm ,o'er all the realms of mind4 ,the loveliness of truth ,flings out its brightest rays1 ,clothed in the songs of early youth1 ,or joys of other days4 ,we think of her1 the young ,the beautiful1 the bright2 ,we hear the music of her tongue1 ,breathing its deep delight4 ,we see again each glance1 ,each bright and dazzling beam1 ,we feel our throbbing hearts still dance1 ,we live but in a dream4 ,from darkness1 and from woe1 ,a power like lightning darts2 ,a glory cometh down to throw ,its shadow o'er our hearts4 ,and dimm'd by falling tears1 ,a spirit seems to rise1 ,that shows the friend of other years ,is mirror'd in our eyes4 ,but sorrow1 grief1 and care1 ,had dimm'd his setting star2 ,and we think with tears of those that were1 ,to smile on those that are4 ,yet though the grassy mound ,sits lightly on his head1 ,we'll pledge1 in solemn silence round1 ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,the ,,dead6 ,the sparkling juice now pour1 ,with fond and liberal hand2 ,oh6 raise the laughing rim once more1 ,here's to our ,,father ,,land6 ,up1 every soul that hears1 ,hurra6 with three times three2 ,and shout aloud1 with deafening cheers1 ,the ,,island ,,of ,,the ,,free4 ,then fill the wine-cup high1 ,the sparkling liquor pour2 ,for we will care and grief defy1 ,they ne'er shall plague us more4 ,and ere the snowy foam ,from off the wine departs1 ,the precious draught shall find a home-- ,a dwelling in our hearts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,snow-,,white ,,virgin4 7,from a ,winter ,rhapsody4 ,by ,christopher ,north4 ,fytte ,,iii47 ,there is a charm in the sudden and total disappearance even of the grassy green4 ,all the old familiar faces of nature are for awhile out of sight1 and out of mind4 ,that white silence shed by heaven over earth carries with it1 far and wide1 the pure peace of another region--almost another life4 ,no image is there to tell of this restless and noisy world4 ,the cheerfulness of reality kindles up our reverie ere it becomes a dream2 and we are glad to feel our whole being complexioned by the passionless repose4 ,if we think at all of human life1 it is only of the young1 the fair1 and the innocent4 ,pure as snow are words then felt to be most holy1 as the image of some beautiful and beloved being comes and goes before our eyes--brought from a far distance in this our living world1 or from a distance--far1 far1 farther still--in the world beyond the grave--the image of a virgin growing up sinlessly to womanhood among her parents' prayers1 or of some spiritual creature who expired long ago1 and carried with her her native innocence unstained to heaven4 ,such ,spiritual ,creature--too spiritual long to sojourn below the skies--wert ,thou1 whose rising and whose setting--both most starlike--brightened at once all thy native vale1 and at once left it in darkness4 ,thy name has long slept in our heart--and there let it sleep unbreathed--even as1 when we are dreaming our way through some solitary place1 without speaking1 we bless the beauty of some sweet wild-flower1 pensively smiling to us through the snow6 ,the ,sabbath returns on which1 in the little kirk among the hills1 we saw thee baptized4 ,then comes a wavering glimmer of seven sweet years1 that to ,thee1 in all their varieties1 were but as one delightful season1 one blessed life--and1 finally1 that other ,sabbath1 on which1 at thy own dying request--between services thou wert buried6 ,how mysterious are all thy ways and workings1 ,o gracious ,nature6 ,thou who art but a name given by our souls1 seeing and hearing through the senses1 to the ,being in whom all things are and have life6 ,ere two years old1 she1 whose dream is now with us1 all over the small silvan world1 that beheld the revelation1 how evanescent6 of her pure existence1 was called the ,holy ,child6 ,the taint of sin--inherited from those who disobeyed in ,paradise--seemed from her fair clay to have been washed out at the baptismal font1 and by her first infantine tears4 ,so pious people almost believed1 looking on her so unlike all other children1 in the serenity of that habitual smile that clothed the creature's countenance with a wondrous beauty1 at an age when on other infants is but faintly seen the dawn of reason1 and their eyes look happy1 just like the thoughtless flowers4 ,so unlike all other children--but unlike only because sooner than they--she seemed to have had given to her--even in the communion of the cradle--an intimation of the being and the providence of ,god4 ,sooner1 surely1 than through any other clay that ever enshrouded immortal spirit1 dawned the light of reason and of religion on the face of the ,holy ,child4 ,her lisping language was sprinkled with words alien from common childhood's uncertain speech1 that murmurs only when indigent nature prompts2--and her own parents wondered whence they came in her simplicity1 when first they looked upon her kneeling in an unbidden prayer4 ,as one mild week of vernal sunshine covers the braes with primroses1 so shone with fair and fragrant feelings--unfolded1 ere they knew1 before her parents' eyes--the divine nature of her who1 for a season1 was lent to them from the skies4 ,she learned to read out of the ,bible--almost without any teaching--they knew not how--just by looking gladly on the words1 even as she looked on the pretty daisies on the green--till their meanings stole insensibly into her soul1 and the sweet syllables1 succeeding each other on the blessed page1 were all united by the memories her heart had been treasuring every hour that her father or her mother had read aloud in her hearing from the ,book of ,life4 ,suffer little children to come unto me1 and forbid them not1 for of such is the kingdom of ,heaven--how wept her parents1 as these the most affecting of our ,saviour's words dropt silver-sweet from her lips1 and continued in her upward eyes among the swimming tears6 ,be not incredulous of this dawn of reason1 wonderful as it may seem to you1 so soon becoming morn--almost perfect daylight--with the ,holy ,child4--,many such miracles are set before us2 but we recognise them not1 or pass them by1 with a word or a smile of short surprise4 ,how leaps the baby in its mother's arms1 when the mysterious charm of music thrills through its little brain6 ,and how learns it to modulate its feeble voice1 unable yet to articulate1 to the melodies that bring forth all round its eyes a delighted smile6 ,who knows what then may be the thoughts and feelings of the infant awakened to the sense of a new world1 alive through all its being to sounds that haply glide past our ears1 unmeaning as the breath of the common air6 ,thus have mere infants sometimes been seen inspired by music1 till like small genii they warbled spell-strains of their own1 powerful to sadden and subdue our hearts4 ,so1 too1 have infant eyes been so charmed by the rainbow irradiating the earth1 that almost infant hands have been taught1 as if by inspiration1 the power to paint in finest colours1 and to imitate with a wondrous art1 the skies so beautiful to the quick-awakened spirit of delight4 ,what knowledge have not some children acquired1 and gone down scholars to their small untimely graves6 ,knowing that such things have been--are--and will be--why art thou incredulous of the divine expansion of soul--so soon understanding the things that are divine--in the ,holy ,child8 ,thus grew she in the eye of ,god1 day by day waxing wiser and wiser in the knowledge that tends towards the skies1 and as if some angel visitant were nightly with her in her dreams1 awakening every morn with a new dream of thought that brought with it a gilt of more comprehensive speech4 ,yet merry she was at times with her companions among the woods and braes1 though while they all were laughing1 she only smiled2 and the passing traveller1 who might pause a moment to bless the sweet creatures in their play1 could not but single out one face among the many fair1 so pensive in its paleness1 a face to be remembered1 coming from afar1 like a mournful thought upon the hour of joy6 ,sister or brother of her own had she none--and often both her parents--who lived in a hut by itself up among the mossy stumps of the old decayed forest--had to leave her alone--sometimes even all the day long1 from morning till night4 ,but she no more wearied in her solitariness than does the wren in the wood4 ,all the flowers were her friends--all the birds4 ,the linnet ceased not his song for her1 though her footsteps wandered into the green glade among the yellow broom1 almost within reach of the spray from which he poured his melody--the quiet eyes of his mate feared her not when her garments almost touched the bush where she brooded on her young4 ,shyest of the winged silvans1 the cushat clapped not her wings away on the soft approach of her harmless footsteps to the pine that concealed her slender nest4 ,as if blown from heaven1 descended round her path the showers of the painted butterflies1 to feed1 sleep1 or die--undisturbed by her--upon the wild flowers--with wings1 when motionless1 undistinguishable from the blossoms4 ,and well she loved the brown1 busy1 blameless bees1 come thither for the honey-dews from a hundred cots sprinkled all over the parish1 and all high over-head sailing away at evening1 laden and wearied1 to their straw-roofed skeps in many a hamlet-garden4 ,the leal of every tree1 shrub1 and plant1 she knew familiarly and lovingly in its own characteristic beauty2 and was loath to shake one dew-drop from the sweetbriar-rose4 ,and well she knew that all nature loved her in return--that they were dear to each other in their innocence--and that the very sunshine1 in motion or in rest1 was ready to come at the bidding of her smiles4 ,skilful those small white hands of hers among the reeds1 and rushes1 and osiers--and many a pretty flower-basket grew beneath their touch1 her parents wondering on their return home to see the handiwork of one who was never idle in her happiness4 ,thus1 early--ere yet but five years old--did she earn her mite for the sustenance of her own beautiful life6 ,the russet garb she wore she herself had won--and thus ,poverty1 at the door of that hut1 became even like a ,guardian ,angel1 with the lineaments of heaven on her brow1 and the quietude of heaven beneath her feet4 ,but these were but her lonely pastimes1 or gentle task-work self-imposed among her pastimes2 and itself1 the sweetest of them all1 inspired by a sense of duty1 that still brings with it its own delight--and hallowed by religion1 that even in the most adverse lot changes slavery into freedom--till the heart1 insensible to the bonds of necessity1 sings aloud for joy4 ,the life within the life of the ,holy ,child1 apart from even such innocent employments as these1 and from such recreations as innocent1 among the shadows and the sunshine of those silvan haunts1 was passed1 let us fear not to say the truth1 wondrous as such worship was in one so very young--was passed in the worship of ,god2 and her parents--though sometimes even saddened to see such piety in a small creature like her1 and afraid1 in their exceeding love1 that it betokened an early removal from this world of one too perfectly pure ever to be touched by its sins and sorrows--forbore1 in an awful pity1 ever to remove the ,bible from her knees1 as she would sit with it there1 not at morning and at evening only1 or all the ,sabbath long as soon as they returned from the kirk1 but often through all the hours of the longest and sunniest week-days1 when there was nothing to hinder her from going up to the hillside1 or down to the little village1 to play with the other children1 always too happy when she appeared--nothing to hinder her but the voice she heard speaking to her in that ,book1 and the hallelujahs that1 at the turning over of each blessed page1 came upon the ear of the ,holy ,child from white-robed saints all kneeling before ,his throne in heaven6 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,selector2 ,,and ,,literary ,,notices ,,of ,,new ,,works4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,romance ,,of ,,history4 ,france4 ,by ,leitch ,ritchie4 ,the design of moulding the romantic annals of different countries into so many series of ,tales--is one of unquestionable beauty4 ,it originated1 we believe1 with the late ,mr4 ,henry ,neele1 who was in every sense well qualified for so poetical an exercise of ingenuity4 ,he commenced with ,england2 but1 unfortunately1 did not live to complete a ,second ,series2 neither had he the gratification of seeing his design fully appreciated by the public4 ,the ,romantic ,annals of ,england1 on their first appearance1 made but slow progress in popularity3 the author trusted1 and the publisher hoped1 and1 to use a publishing phrase1 the work gradually made its way--slow but sure--if we may judge from the wished-for new editions4 ,how unlike is this course of favour to the blaze of fashionable annals1 or novels of high life1 that are born and die in a day1 or with one reading circle of a subscription library4 ,they strut and fume in the publisher's newspaper puffs2 but their light is put out within a few brief hours1 and they are laid to sleep on the capacious shelves of the publisher's warehouse4 ,not so with the ,tales of ,historical ,romance3 they have fancy enough to embellish sober fact4 ,the second series--,spain--is from a ,spanish hand of some pretension1 but less power than that of ,mr4 ,neele4 ,the third series--,france--by another hand1 is now before us4 ,in his advertisement1 the author says1 when he undertook the present series1 he proposed to himself to fulfil what 'the ,romance of ,history' seemed to require1 by presenting a succession of romantic pictures illustrative of the historical manners of the ,french ,nation4 ,we incline to his conception of the task4 ,he further notes that he has taken pains to go for information to the original sources of ,french ,history4 ,these he found in reasonable abundance1 in the old ,collegiate ,library of ,caen1 and in the ,british ,museum4 ,there are in the ,series nineteen ,tales1 with historical summaries where requisite for their elucidation4 ,the titles are irresistible invitations--as ,bertha1 or the ,court of ,charlemagne--,adventures of ,eriland--the ,man-,wolf--the ,phantom ,fight--the ,magic ,wand--the ,dream ,girl1 c4 ,their style may be called spirit-stirring1 while it has much of the graceful prettiness of love-romance4--,the author1 too1 has caught the very air of chivalric times1 and his pages glitter with the points of their glories2--not unseasonably mixed with the delightful quaintnesses and descriptive minuteness of the old chroniclers4 ,to condense either of the stories would be neither advantageous to the author nor reader4 ,we therefore extract a scene or two from the ,bondsman's ,feast1 and an exquisite portrait of the ,dream ,girl3-- ,the ,bondsman's ,feast4 ,arthault's only child was a son1 who owed nothing to his father but the prospect of a fair inheritance1 for he was little like him in form1 and not at all in mind3 he was a fine1 manly1 generous1 and high-spirited youth--such as would have been thought too early born1 had his appearance been made before the hereditary servility of his family was forgotten4 ,the knight1 too1 had an only child1 a daughter2 who1 in personal appearance and moral qualities1 contrasted in as remarkable a manner with her father4 ,she was little almost to a fault1 in the standard of beauty1 if there be such a thing2 her form was moulded with a delicacy1 which gave the idea of one of those arial shapes that dance in the beam of poesy3 and there was that gentle and refined playfulness of expression in her fair countenance1 which artists have loved to picture in the nymphs of some silvan goddess1 whose rudest employment is to chase one another on the green bank1 or sport in the transparent wave4 ,guillaume loved the beautiful bourgeoise before he knew that such love was a condescension2 and ,amable1 when1 on being desired by her father to refuse her heart to ,guillaume1 she thought of inquiring whether she possessed such a thing at all1 started with surprise to find that she had given it away to the knight's son long ago4 ,but where was the use of repining8 ,guillaume was young1 and handsome1 and generous1 and brave2 and what harm could befall her heart in such keeping8 ,amable turned away from her father with a light laugh1 and a light step1 and stealing skippingly round the garden wall--for already the paternal prohibitions had gone forth--bounded towards a grove of wild shrubs at the farther end4 ,the trees were bathed in sunlight2 the air was filled with the song of birds2 the face of heaven was undimmed by a single spot of shade1 and the earth was green1 and sparkling1 and beautiful beneath4 ,such was the scene around her2 but in ,amable's mind1 a warmer and brighter sun shed its light upon her maiden dreams1 and the voice of the sweet1 rich singer ,hope drowned the melody of the woods4 ,away6 she thought2 it cannot be that this strange1 unkindly mood can endure2 my father loves his friend in spite of all1 and the noble and generous knight could not hate if he would4 ,they shall not be a week apart when they will both regret what has passed2 and when they meet again1 ,i will laugh them into a confession that they have done so4 ,then the two friends will embrace2 and then ,guillaume and ,i will sing1 and dance1 and read together again--and then--and then--and then-- ,it seemed as if her thoughts had run her out of breath2 for at this point of the reverie she paused1 and hung back for a moment1 while a sudden blush rose to her very eyes4 ,soon1 however1 she recovered2 she threw back her head gaily1 and yet proudly2 legends of happy love crowded upon her memory1 and minstrel songs echoed in her ear2 she bounded lightly into the wood1 and as some one1 darting from behind a tree1 caught her while she passed1 ,amable1 with the stifled scream of alarm1 which maidens are wont to give when they wish it unheard by all save one1 found herself in the arms of ,guillaume4 99 99 99 99 ,this was a proud and a happy day for ,arthault4 ,his head was in the clouds2 he scarcely seemed to touch the earth with his feet2 but yet1 with the strong control which worldly men are wont to exercise over their feelings1 he schooled his aspect into the bland and lowly expression of grateful humility4 ,when1 in the early part of the morning1 the echoes of ,nogent 7the chateau7 were awakened by a flourish of trumpets1 which proclaimed the approach of the ,count1 instead of waiting to receive him in the arcade under the belfry1 according to the common usage of lords at that period1#d he walked bare-headed to the gate of the outer court1 and1 kneeling1 held the prince's stirrup as he dismounted4 ,the breakfast was served in cups and porringers of silver1 set on a magnificent gold tray1 and consisted chiefly of milk made thick with honey1 peeled barley1 cherries dried in the sun1 and preserved barberries4 ,the bread was of the mias cakes1 composed of rye-flour1 cream1 orange-water1 and new-laid eggs2#e and the whole was distributed among the guests by ,guillaume2 the host himself having been compelled to take his seat at table by the ,count4 ,the morning was spent in viewing the improvements of the place1 and riding about the neighbourhood2 and at ten o'clock the company partook of a dinner served in the same style of tasteful magnificence4 ,the viands included1 among other things1 a lamb roasted whole1 the head of a wild boar covered with flowers1 fried trouts1 and poached eggs1 which were eaten with boiled radishes1 and peas in their shells4#f ,a profusion of the precious metals graced the table1 more especially in drinking cups2 those of horn1 which were formerly in general use1 having about this period gone out of vogue4 ,the luxury of forks1 it is true1 had not yet been invented2 but when it is remembered that the hands were washed publicly1 before and after meals1 not as a fashionable form1 but in absolute earnest1 it will not be feared that any indelicacy in the feasters contrasted with the taste and splendour of the feast4#g ,the wines filled by ,guillaume1 who waited particularly on the ,count1 besides the fashionable vin d',a of the district1#h included the vin de ,beaume of ,burgundy1 the vin d',orleans1 so much prized by ,louis le ,jeune1 and the powerful vin de ,rebrechien 7another ,orleans wine7 which used formerly to be carried to the field by ,henry ,i4 to animate his courage4#i ,after dinner the guests partook of the amusement of the chase1 which afforded ,arthault an opportunity of exhibiting1 in all its extent1 his newly-acquired estates--and which1 indeed1 comprehended a great part of the family property of ,sansavoir2 although the ,count did not observe1 and therefore no one else was so ill-bred as to do so1 an old blackened building mouldering near the garden-wall1 which ,sir ,launcelot had still preserved1 and where he continued to reside in a kind of dogged defiance of his enemy4 ,the festivities of the day were closed by a splendid supper1 attended by music and minstrel songs2 and when the sleeping cup had passed round1 the ,count ,henri retired to the chamber prepared for him1 which he found to be not at all inferior to his own in luxury and magnificence4 ,vessels of gold1 filled with rose-water1 were placed on his dressing-table2 the curtains of the ample bed were ornamented with partridge plumes1 supposed to ensure to the sleeper a long and peaceful life2 and1 in short1 nothing was wanting that might have been deemed pleasing either to the taste or superstition of the age4 ,we halt for the present with this foretaste of the gratification we may calculate on receiving from nearly every page of the whole ,series4 ,by the way1 the references to authorities for manners1 c4 have been introduced throughout the work1 and occasionally1 illustrative and literary notes1 at the request of the publisher2 and we must not lose this opportunity of complimenting the sense and good taste of the suggestion4 #d ,gerard de ,rousillon1 ,,ms4 cited in ,tristan le ,voyageur4 #e ,the paste formed of these materials was spread upon broad cabbage leaves1 which came out of the oven covered with a slight golden crust1 composing the mias cakes4--,tristan le ,voyageur4 #f ,tristan le ,voyageur4 ,boiled radishes1 it may be important to know1 are an excellent substitute for asparagus6 #g ,forks did not come into use till the time of ,charles ,v4 in the latter half of the fourteenth century4 ,in ,france1 these instruments1 both in silver and tinned iron1 are made so as to bear some resemblance to the fingers1 of which they are the substitutes1 and they are used exclusively in the business of conveying food to the mouth2 while the knives1 being narrow and sharp-pointed1 can answer no purpose but that of carving4--,in ,england the case is different4 ,the steel forks1 in common use among the people1 are incapable of raising thin viands to the mouth3 while the broad1 round-pointed knife was obviously intended for this business4 #h ,the vin d',a1 in ,champagne1 according to ,patin1 was called ,vinum ,dei1 by ,dominicus ,bandius4 ,it was the common drink of kings and princes4--,paumier1 ,trait du ,vin4 #i ,mabillon1 ,annales ,benedictines4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,gatherer4 ,a snapper up of unconsidered trifles4 ,,shakspeare4 ,a clergyman of the name of ,mathson was minister of ,patteesdale1 in ,westmoreland1 sixty years1 and died at the age of ninety4 ,during the early part of his life1 his benefice brought him in only twelve pounds a-year2 it was afterwards increased 7perhaps by ,queen ,anne's bounty7 to eighteen1 which it never exceeded4 ,on this income he married1 brought up four children1 and lived comfortably with his neighbours1 educated a son at the university1 and left behind him upwards of one thousand pounds4 ,with that singular simplicity and inattention to forms which characterize a country life1 thus he himself read the burial service over his mother1 he married his father to a second wife1 and afterwards buried him also4 ,he published his own banns of marriage in the church1 with a woman he had formerly christened1 and he himself married all his four children4 ,w4,g4,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,pope ,,puzzled4 ,pope ,alexander the sixth asked the ,venetian ambassador at ,rome1 ,what right his republic had to the dominion of the ,adriatic ,see8 ,it will be found1 replied he1 on the back of the donation of the patrimony of ,st4 ,peter to his successors4 ,w4,a4,r4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,changing ,,sides4 ,i am come from ,naples to support you1 said one of the old opposition one night to a member on the ministerial benches4 ,from ,naples6 was the ready rejoinder2 much farther--you are come from the other side of the ,house6 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,molly4 ,mollis abuti1 ,has an acuti1 ,no lasso finis1 ,molli divinis4 ,omi de armistres1 ,imi na distres4 ,cant u discover1 ,meas alo ver4--,,swift4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,kings ,,of ,,france4 ,it is worthy of remark1 that none of the ,kings of ,france have been succeeded by their sons for nearly two centuries4 ,phillippe1 the present ,king of the ,french1 succeeded to the regal sway in consequence of the dethronement of ,charles the ,tenth2 who succeeded his brother1 ,louis the ,eighteenth2 who succeeded his brother1 ,louis the ,sixteenth2 who succeeded his grandfather1 ,louis the ,fifteenth2 who likewise succeeded his grandfather1 ,louis the ,fourteenth1 when only five years of age4 ,h4,b4,a4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,pandora',s ,,box4 ,the ,prince of ,piedmont was not quite seven years old1 when his preceptor1 ,cardinal 7then ,father7 ,glendel1 explained to him the fable of ,pandora's ,box4 ,he told him that all evils which afflict the human race were shut up in that fatal box2 which ,pandora1 tempted by ,curiosity1 opened1 when they immediately flew out1 and spread themselves over the surface of the earth4 ,what1 ,father6 said the young prince1 were all the evils shut up in that box8 ,yes1 answered the preceptor4 ,that cannot be1 replied the prince1 since ,curiosity tempted ,pandora2 and that evil1 which could not have been in it1 was not the least1 since it was the origin of all4 ,j4,g4,b4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,squall ,,at ,,sea4 ,the other evening a surgeon in the navy stated the following curious circumstance3-- ,while off ,madagascar1 in the ship ,scorpion1 he with the other officers of the ship were dining with the ,captain 7,johnson7 who had just looked at the glass2 it being a very fine day no one had any apprehension of a squall4 ,the dinner was hardly over when the captain's eye caught the glass3 he suddenly rose from table and hurrying on deck1 ordered ,all hands to turn up1 and furl all sail immediately4 ,they had just completed the order and were descending1 when the ship was laid on her beam-ends1 most of the men had a ducking1 but that was all the mischief that happened4 ,three or four ,east ,indiamen had already been destroyed by the same accident2 and if the above order had not been complied with immediately as it was1 nothing could have saved the ship1 it being only a quarter of an hour since the first notice of it4 ,the captain was afterwards made commissioner of ,bombay1 where he died4 ,,geo4 ,,st4 ,,clair4 99 99 99 99 99 ,printed and ,published by ,j4 ,,limbird1 #adc1 ,strand1 7near ,somerset ,house17 ,london2 sold by ,,ernest ,,fleischer1 #fbf1 ,new ,market1 ,leipsic2 and by all ,newsmen and ,booksellers4 99 99 99 99 99