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diff --git a/13199-0.txt b/13199-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b8e818b --- /dev/null +++ b/13199-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1527 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13199 *** + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +No. 469.] SATURDAY JANUARY 1, 1831 [PRICE 2d. + + + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: Copied from one of the prints of last year's Landscape +Annual, from a drawing, by Prout. This proves what we said of the +imperishable interest of the Engravings of the L.A.] + + * * * * * + + +Petrarch and Arquà; Ariosto, Tasso, and Ferrara;--how delightfully are +these names and sites linked in the fervour of Italian poetry. Lord +Byron halted at these consecrated spots, in his "Pilgrimage" through +the land of song:-- + + There is a tomb in Arquà;--rear'd in air, + Pillar'd in their sarcophagus, repose + The bones of Laura's lover: here repair + Many familiar with his well-sung woes, + The pilgrims of his genius. He arose + To raise a language, and his land reclaim + From the dull yoke of her barbaric foes: + Watering the tree which bears his lady's name + With his melodious tears, he gave himself to fame. + + They keep his dust in Arquà, where he died; + The mountain-village where his latter days + Went down the vale of years; and 'tis their pride-- + An honest pride--and let it be their praise, + To offer to the passing stranger's gaze + His mansion and his sepulchre; both plain + And venerably simple; such as raise + A feeling more accordant with his strain + Than if a pyramid form'd his monumental fane. + + And the soft quiet hamlet where he dwelt + Is one of that complexion which seems made + For those who their mortality have felt, + And sought a refuge from their hopes decay'd + In the deep umbrage of a green hill's shade, + Which shows a distant prospect far away + Of busy cities, now in vain display'd, + For they can lure no further; and the ray + Of a bright sun can make sufficient holiday, + + Developing the mountains, leaves, and flowers, + And shining in the brawling brook, where-by, + Clear as a current, glide the sauntering hours + With a calm languor, which, though to the eye + Idlesse it seem, hath its morality. + If from society we learn to live, + 'Tis solitude should teach us how to die; + It hath no flatterers, vanity can give + No hollow aid; alone--man with his God must strive; + + Or, it may be, with demons, who impair + The strength of better thoughts, and seek their prey + In melancholy bosoms, such as were + Of moody texture from their earliest day, + And loved to dwell in darkness and dismay, + Deeming themselves predestin'd to a doom + Which is not of the pangs that pass away; + Making the sun like blood, the earth a tomb, + The tomb a hell, and hell itself a murkier gloom.[1] + + [1] Childe Harold, Canto iv. + +The noble bard, not content with perpetuating Arquà in these +soul-breathing stanzas, has appended to them the following note:-- + + Petrarch retired to Arquà immediately on his return from the + unsuccessful attempt to visit Urban V. at Rome, in the year + 1370, and, with the exception of his celebrated visit to + Venice in company with Francesco Novello da Carrara, he + appears to have passed the four last years of his life between + that charming solitude and Padua. For four months previous to + his death he was in a state of continual languor, and in the + morning of July the 19th, in the year 1374, was found dead in + his library chair with his head resting upon a book. The chair + is still shown amongst the precious relics of Arquà, which, + from the uninterrupted veneration that has been attached to + every thing relative to this great man from the moment of his + death to the present hour, have, it may be hoped, a better + chance of authenticity than the Shaksperian memorials of + Stratford-upon-Avon. + + Arquà (for the last syllable is accented in pronunciation, + although the analogy of the English language has been observed + in the verse) is twelve miles from Padua, and about three + miles on the right of the high road to Rovigo, in the bosom + of the Euganean Hills. After a walk of twenty minutes across a + flat, well-wooded meadow, you come to a little blue lake, + clear, but fathomless, and to the foot of a succession of + acclivities and hills, clothed with vineyards and orchards, + rich with fir and pomegranate trees, and every sunny fruit + shrub. From the banks of the lake the road winds into the + hills, and the church of Arquà is soon seen between a cleft + where two ridges slope towards each other, and nearly inclose + the village. The houses are scattered at intervals on the + steep sides of these summits; and that of the poet is on the + edge of a little knoll overlooking two descents, and + commanding a view not only of the glowing gardens in the dales + immediately beneath, but of the wide plains, above whose low + woods of mulberry and willow thickened into a dark mass by + festoons of vines, tall single cypresses, and the spires of + towns are seen in the distance, which stretches to the mouths + of the Po and the shores of the Adriatic. The climate of these + volcanic hills is warmer, and the vintage begins a week sooner + than in the plains of Padua. Petrarch is laid, for he cannot + be said to be buried, in a sarcophagus of red marble, raised + on four pilasters on an elevated base, and preserved from an + association with meaner tombs. It stands conspicuously alone, + but will be soon overshadowed by four lately planted laurels. + Petrarch's fountain, for here every thing is Petrarch's, + springs and expands itself beneath an artificial arch, a + little below the church, and abounds plentifully, in the + driest season, with that soft water which was the ancient + wealth of the Euganean Hills. It would be more attractive, + were it not, in some seasons, beset with hornets and wasps. No + other coincidence could assimilate the tombs of Petrarch and + Archilochus. The revolutions of centuries have spared these + sequestered valleys, and the only violence which has been + offered to the ashes of Petrarch was prompted, not by hate, + but veneration. An attempt was made to rob the sarcophagus of + its treasure, and one of the arms was stolen by a Florentine + through a rent which is still visible. The injury is not + forgotten, but has served to identify the poet with the + country, where he was born, but where he would not live. A + peasant boy of Arquà being asked who Petrarch was, replied, + "that the people of the parsonage knew all about him, but that + he only knew that he was a Florentine." + + Every footstep of Laura's lover has been anxiously traced and + recorded. The house in which he lodged is shown in Venice. The + inhabitants of Arezzo, in order to decide the ancient + controversy between their city and the neighbouring Ancisa, + where Petrarch was carried when seven months old, and remained + until his seventh year, have designated by a long inscription + the spot where their great fellow citizen was born. A tablet + has been raised to him at Parma, in the chapel of St. Agatha, + at the cathedral, because he was archdeacon of that society, + and was only snatched from his intended sepulture in their + church by a _foreign_ death. Another tablet with a bust has + been erected to him at Pavia, on account of his having passed + the autumn of 1368 in that city, with his son-in-law Brossano. + The political condition which has for ages precluded the + Italians from the criticism of the living, has concentrated + their attention to the illustration of the dead. + +Byron's visit was in 1818. Of this we may quote more on the appearance +of Mr. Moore's second volume of the Poet's Life. Meanwhile, let us add +the following graceful paper from the _Athenæum_, June 12, 1830: the +subject harmonizes most happily with the classic title of that +journal. It will be perceived that the tourist is familiar with Mr. +Prout's drawing, or the original of our Engraving. + + At Monselice we took another carriage, and dashed off to the + Euganean Hills, to visit Arquà, the last dwelling and the + burial-place of Petrarch. The road, in the feeling of M'Adam, + is antediluvian, or rather post-diluvian, for it is little + better than a water-course; but it passes through a country + where I first saw olive-trees in abundance, vines in the + luxuriance of nature, and pomegranates growing in hedges. The + situation of the little village is perfectly delightful--of + Petrarch's villa, beautiful. The apartments he occupied + command the finest view, and are so detached from the noise + and annoyances of the farm dwelling, though connected under + one roof, that I think it not impossible he made the addition. + There are four or five rooms altogether, if two little closets + of not more than six feet by three may be called rooms; yet + one of these is believed to have been his study; and in his + study, and at his literary enjoyments, he died. Every thing is + preserved with a reverential care that does honour to the + people; and his chair, like less holy and less credible + relics, is inclosed in a wire-frame, to prevent the + dilapidations of the curious. I believe these things to be + genuine. I believe in the local traditions that point out his + study, and his kitchen, and his dying chamber.--Petrarch was + all but idolized in his own time, and his fame has known no + diminution; therefore these affectionate recollections of him + have always been treasured there for the gratification of his + pilgrims, and with a becoming reverence themselves, the people + naturally set apart as sacred all that belonged to him. I have + noticed the compactness of his few rooms, and their separation + from the larger apartments--they have also a separate + communication by a small elegant flight of steps into the + garden, as you may see in Prout's drawing. If the rooms were + not an addition, and it did not suggest itself at the moment + to look attentively, I believe these little architectural and + ornamental steps to have been; and as we know he did meddle + with brick and mortar, by building a small chapel here, the + conjecture is not improbable;--it is but a conjecture, and + remains for others to confirm or disprove. + + A little wild, irregular walk runs, serpent like, all round + the garden, which, situated at the head of the valley, is shut + in by the hills--itself a wilderness of luxuriance and beauty. + It was a glorious evening, and every thing in agreement with + our quiet feeling. I am not an enthusiast, and to you I need + not affect to be other than I am; but I have felt this day + sensibly, and shall remember it for ever. Petrarch's fame is + worth the noise and nothing of all the men-slayers since Cain! + It is fame indeed, holy and lovely, when the name and + reputation of a man, remembered only for wisdom and virtue, + shall have extended into remote and foreign kingdoms with such + a sound and echo, that centuries after a stranger turns aside + into these mountains to visit his humble dwelling. It is the + verification of the prediction of Boccaccio--"This village, + hardly known even at Padua, will become famous through the + world." I do not presume to offer a eulogy on Petrarch as a + writer, but as a man. In all the relations of son, brother, + father, he is deserving all honour; and I know not another + instance of such long-continued, sincere, and graceful + friendships, through all varieties of fortune, from the + Cardinal of Cabassole, to the poor fisherman at Vaucluse, as + his life offers; including literary friendships, which, after + so many years, passed without one discordant feeling of + rivalry or jealousy, ended so generously and beautifully, with + his bequest to poor Boccaccio of "five hundred florins of the + gold of Florence, to buy him a winter habit for his evening + studies," and this noble testimony of his ability in + addition--"I am ashamed to leave so small a sum to so great a + man." + + Petrarch, in my opinion, was one of the most amiable men that + ever lived;--I know nothing about Laura, or her ten children; + I agree with those who believe the whole was a dream or an + allegory; and, I half suspect that Shakspeare thought so too, + and following a fashion, addressed his own sonnets to some + like persons; at any rate, no one knows about either much more + than I do;--certainly Petrarch's _real_ love had more real + consequences. Petrarch was a sincere Christian, without + intolerance--a sound patriot, without austerity; who neither + wasted his feelings in the idle generalities of philosophy, + nor restricted them to the narrow limits of a party or + faction;--he was just, generous, affectionate, and gentle. All + his sonnets together do not shed a lustre on him equal to the + sincere, single-hearted, mild, yet uncompromising spirit that + breathes throughout the letters of advice and remonstrance, + which, not idly or obstrusively, but under the sanction and + authority of his great name, and the affectionate regard + professed for him, he addressed to all whom he believed + influential either for good or ill; from Popes and Emperors, + to the well meaning insane tribune of Rome. + + We went after this to see his tomb, which is honourable + without being ostentatious: a plain stone sarcophagus, resting + on four pillars, and surmounted by a bust; suited to the quiet + of his life, his home, and his resting-place. I passed + altogether a day that will shine a bright star in memory; and + we wandered about there, unwilling to leave it, until long + after the ave-maria bell had tolled, and were obliged in + consequence to get a guide, and return by another road through + the marshes, where I first saw those fairy insects the + fire-flies, and thousands of them. For this we are detained + the night at Monselice, and must rise the earlier, for we have + written to ----, fixing the day of our arrival at Florence. + + * * * * * + + + +THE SILENT ACADEMY, OR THE EMBLEMS. + +FROM THE FRENCH. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + +There was at Amadan, a celebrated academy, the first statute of which +was contained in these terms. "_The Academicians think much, write +little, and speak but as little as possible_." They were called "The +Silent Academy," and there was not a man of learning in all Persia but +was ambitious of being admitted of their number. Doctor Zeb, author of +an excellent little work, entitled "The Gag," understood in his +distant province that there was a vacant place in the Silent Academy. +He set out immediately, arrived at Amadan, and presenting himself at +the door of the hall, where the members were assembled, he desired the +doorkeeper to deliver to the president, a billet to this import, +"_Doctor Zeb humbly asks the vacant place_." The doorkeeper +immediately acquitted himself of his commission, but, alas! the doctor +and his billet were too late, the place had been already filled. + +The whole academy were affected at this _contretems_; they had +received a little before, as member, a court wit, whose eloquence, +light and lively, was the admiration of the populace, and saw +themselves obliged to refuse Doctor Zeb, who was the very scourge of +chatterers, and with a head so well formed and furnished. + +The president, whose place it was to announce to the doctor the +disagreeable news, knew not what to resolve on. After having thought a +little he filled a large cup with water, and that so very full, that +one drop more would have made it spill over. Then he made the sign +that they might introduce the candidate. He appeared with that modest +and simple air which always accompanies true merit. The president +rose, and without saying a word, he pointed out to him with an +afflicted air, the emblematic cup, the cup so exactly full. The doctor +apprehended the meaning that there was no room for him in the academy; +but taking courage, he thought to make them understand that an +academician supernumerary would derange nothing. Therefore, seeing at +his feet a rose leaf, he picked it up and laid it delicately on the +surface of the water, and that so gently, that not a single drop +escaped. + +At this ingenious answer they were all full of admiration, and in +spite of rules, Doctor Zeb was admitted with acclamation. + +They directly presented to him the register of the academy in which +they inscribed their names on their admission, and the doctor having +done so, nothing more remained than to thank them in a few words +according to custom. But Doctor Zeb, as a truly _silent_ academician, +thanked them without saying a word. He wrote on the margin the number +100, which was the number of his new brethren, and then placing a +cipher before the figure (0100) he wrote beneath "_Their worth is +neither less nor more_." The president answered the modest doctor with +as much politeness as presence of mind: he put the figure 1 before the +number 100, and wrote (1100) "_They are ten times what they were +before_." + +_Dorset_. COLBOURNE. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE TOPOGRAPHER. + + +TRAVELLING NOTES IN SOUTH WALES. + + +_Vale of Tawy--Copper Works, &c.--Coal Trade._--In our former paper[2] +we gave a description of the Vale of Tawy, as it appears by night; we +will now again revisit it. The stranger who explores this vale must +expect to return with a bad headache. We have described it as a +desolate looking place, when seen at night, but the darkness only +throws a veil over its barrenness. The face of the country, which +would otherwise have been beautiful, is literally scorched by the +desolating effects of the copper smoke; and when it is considered that +a multitude of flues are constantly emitting smoke and flames strongly +impregnated with sulphur, arsenic, &c., it is not to be wondered at. A +canal runs up the vale into the country for sixteen miles, to an +elevation of 372 feet: it is flanked near the copper-works by many +millions of tons of copper slag; and there are no less than thirty-six +locks on the line. It is a fact, that in spite of the infernal +atmosphere, a great many of the people employed in these works attain +old age. Every evil effect about Swansea, however, is ascribed to the +copper smoke. The houses in this district are remarkable for clean +exterior: the custom of whitewashing the roofs, as well as the walls, +produces a pleasing effect, and is a relief to the eye in such a +desert. There are eight large copper smelting establishments, besides +several rolling-mills, now at work; the whole country is covered with +tram-roads and coal-pits, many of which vomit forth their mineral +treasures close to the road side. At Landore, about two miles from +Swansea, is a large steam-engine, made by Bolton and Watt, which was +formerly the lion of the neighbourhood. This pumping engine draws the +water from all the collieries in the vale, throwing up one hundred +gallons of water at each stroke: it makes twelve strokes in a minute, +and consequently discharges 72,000 gallons an hour. This engine, +however, is very inferior in construction and finish to the pumping +engines of Cornwall, some of which are nearly three hundred +horsepower. At the consols mines, there are two engines, each with +cylinders of ninety inches in diameter, and everything about them kept +as clean as a drawing-room. What an extraordinary triumph of the +ingenuity of man, when it is considered that one of these gigantic +engines can be stopped in an instant, by the mere application of the +fingers and thumb of the engineer to a screw! The quantity of coals +consumed by the copper-works is enormous. We have heard that Messrs. +Vivians, who have the largest works on the river, alone consume 40,000 +tons annually: this coal is all small, and not fit for exportation. +The copper trade may be considered as comparatively of modern date. +The first smelting works were erected at Swansea, about a century ago; +but now it is calculated that they support, including the collieries +and shipping dependant on them, 10,000 persons, and that 3,000 l. is +circulated weekly by their means in this district. Till within the +last few years, there were considerable copper smelting establishments +at Hayle, in Cornwall; but that county possessing no coals, they were +obliged to be abandoned, as it was found to be much cheaper to bring +the ore to the coal than the latter to the ore. Formerly, from the +want of machinery to drain the water from the workings (copper being +generally found at a much greater depth than tin), the miners were +compelled to relinquish the metallic vein before reaching the copper: +indeed, when it was first discovered, and even so late as 1735, they +were so ignorant of its value, that a Mr. Coster, a mineralogist in +Bristol, observing large quantities of it lying amongst the heaps of +rubbish round the tin mines, contracted to purchase as much of it as +could be supplied, and continued to gain by Cornish ignorance for a +considerable time. The first discoverer of the ore was called Poder +(it long went by his name), who actually abandoned the mine in +consequence; and we find that it was for some time considered that +"_the ore came in and spoilt the tin_." In the year 1822 the produce +of the Cornish copper mines amounted to 106,723 tons of ore, which +produced 9,331 tons of copper, and 676,285 l. in money. In the same +year, the quantity of tin ore raised was only 20,000 tons. The Irish +and Welsh ores are generally much richer than those of Cornwall; but +occasionally they strike on a very rich _lode_ (or vein) in that +county. Last spring, some ore from the Penstruthal mine was ticketed +at Truro, at the enormous price of 54 l. 14s. per ton; and a short time +previous, in the Great St. George Mine, near St. Agnes, a lode was +struck five feet thick, which was worth 20 l. a ton. There are only six +other copper-works in the kingdom besides those of Swansea, five of +which are within fifteen miles of that town; the other is at Amlwch +(in the isle of Anglesea), where the Marquess of Anglesea smelts the +ore raised in his mines there. The annual import of ore into Swansea +in 1812 was 53,353 tons; in 1819, 70,256 tons were brought coastwise: +besides which, several thousand tons of copper ore are imported from +America every year. Since this period there has been a large increase. +Most of the ships which are freighted with copper ore load back with +coal, for the Cornish and Irish markets. Of bituminous, in 1812, +43,529 chalders, and in 1819, 46,457 chalders were shipped coastwise, +besides a foreign trade of about 5,000 chalders every year. Most of +this goes to France, the French vessels coming here in ballast for +this purpose; but all coal shipped for abroad must be riddled through +a screen composed of iron bars, placed three-eighths of an inch apart, +as it is literally almost dust. Great hopes are now entertained here +that government will abolish the oppressive duty on sea-borne coal. In +the stone-coal and culm[3] trade, Swansea and Neath almost supply the +whole kingdom. Independent of foreign trade, 55,066 chalders of culm +and 10,319 tons of stone-coal were shipped coastwise in 1819: last +year the ports of Swansea and Neath shipped 123,000 chalders of +stone-coal and culm. Stone-coal improves in quality as it advances +westward. That of Milford, of which however only about 6,000 chalders +are annually exported, sells generally at from 50s. to 60s. per +chaldron in the London market--a price vastly exceeding the finest +Newcastle coal. It emits no smoke, and is used principally in +lime-burning and in manufactories where an intense heat and the +absence of smoke is required. The Swansea culm is mostly obtained +about thirteen miles from the town. The bituminous coal mines in the +vale of Tawy are fast getting exhausted, and the supply of coal must +at no distant day be drawn farther westward, near the Burry River, +where the quality of the coal is much improved, approaching nearer to +that of Newcastle. The national importance of the inexhaustible supply +of this mineral which exists in Wales, is incalculable; but as it has +already been alluded to in _The Mirror_, in an extract from Mr. +Bakewell's Geology, we will not farther pursue the subject.[4] While +mentioning the trade of Swansea, we should not omit to state that two +extensive potteries, tin and ironworks, and founderies, &c., and +bonding warehouses and yards for foreign goods, &c. exist here. + +VYVIAN. + + [2] See Mirror, vol. xvi. + + [3] The small of the stone-coal. + + [4] See Mirror, vol. xii. + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF THE ANNUALS. + + +A FRENCH GENTLEMAN'S LETTER TO AN ENGLISH FRIEND IN LONDON. + + +Ah my deer frend--I cannot feel the plaisir I expresse to come to your +country charming, for you see. We are arrive at Southampton before +yesterday at one hour of the afternoon, and we are debarked very nice. +I never believe you when at Paris, you tell me that the Englishwomen +get on much before our women; but now I agree quite with you; I know +you laughing at your countrywomen for take such long steps! My faith! +I never saw such a mode to walk; they take steps long like the man! +Very pretty women! but not equal to ours! White skins, and the tint +fresh, but they have no mouths nor no eyes. Our women have lips like +rose-buttons; and eyes of lightning; the English have mouth wide like +the toads, and their eyes are like _"dreaming sheeps,"_ as one of our +very talented writers say, "mouton qui rève." It is excellent, that. I +am not perceived so many English ladies _tipsy_ as I expect; our +General Pilon say they all drink brandy; this I have not seen very +much. I was very surprise to see the people's hair of any colour but +red, because all our travellers say there is no other hair seen, +except red or white! But I come here filled with candour, and I say I +_have seen some_ people whose hair was not red. You tell me often at +Paris, that we have no music in France. My dear friend, how you are +deceived yourself! Our music is the finest in the world, and the +German come after; you other English have no music; and if you had +some, you have no language to sing with. It is necessary that you may +avow your language is not useful for the purpose ordinary of the +world. Your window of shop are all filled at French names--"des gros +de Naples," "des gros des Indes," "des gros d'été," &c. If English +lady go for demand, show me, if you please, sir, some "fats of +Naples," some "fats of India," and some "fats of summer," the +linendraper not understand at all. Then the colours different at the +silks, people say, "puce évanouie," "oeil de l'empereur," "flammes, +d'enfer," "feu de l'opéra;" but you never hear lady say, I go for have +gown made of "fainting fleas," or "emperors' eyes," or "opera fires," +or of the "flames" of a place which you tell me once for say never to +ears polite! You also like very much our musique in England; the +street-organs tell you best the taste of the people, and I hear them +play always "Le petit tambour," "Oh, gardezvous, bergerette," "Dormez, +mes chéres amours," and twenty little French airs, of which we are +fatigued there is a long time. I go this morning for make visit to the +house of a very nice family. When I am there some time, I demand of +the young ladies, what for they not go out? One reply, "Thank you, +sir, we are always oblige for stay at home, because papa _enjoy such +very bad health_." I say, "Oh yes! How do you do your papa this +morning, misses!" "He is much worse, I am obliged to you, sir!" I bid +them good bye, and think in myself how the English are odd to _enjoy_ +bad health, and the young ladies much oblige to me because their papa +was much worse! "Chacun à son goút," as we say. In my road to come +home, I see a board on a gate, and I stopped myself for read him. He +was for say, any persons beating carpets, playing cricket, and such +like diversions there, should be persecuted. My faith! you other +English are so droll to find any diversion in beating carpets! Yet it +is quite as amusing as to play the cricket, to beat one little ball +with big stick, then run about like madmen, then throw away big stick, +and get great knock upon your face or legs. And then at cards again! +What stupid game whist! Play for amuse people, but may not laugh any! +Ah! how the English are droll! I have nothing of more for say to you +at present; but I am soon seeing you, when I do assure you of the +eternal regard and everlasting affection of your much attached +friend.--_Comic Offering_. + + * * * * * + + + +HOOD'S COMIC ANNUAL. + + +We have taken a slice, or rather, _four cuts_, from Mr. Hood's +facetious volume. Their fun needs not introduction, for the effect of +wit is instantaneous. To talk about them would be like saying "see how +droll they are." We omitted the Conditions drawn up by the +Provisional Government, (the baker, butcher, publican, &c.) in our +account of the revolutionary stir, or as the march-of-mind people call +a riot, "the ebullition of popular feeling," at Stoke Pogis. Here they +are, worthy of any Vestry in the kingdom, Select or otherwise. + + "_Conditions._ + + "1. That for the future, widows in Stoke Pogis shall be allowed + their thirds, and Novembers their fifths. + + "2. That the property of Guys shall be held inviolable, and + their persons respected. + + "3. That no arson be allowed, but all bon-fires shall be burnt + by the common hangman. + + "4. That every rocket shall be allowed an hour to leave the + place. + + "5. That the freedom of Stoke Pogis be presented to Madame + Hengler, in a cartridge-box. + + "6. That the military shall not be called out, uncalled for. + + "7. That the parish beadle, for the time being, be authorized + to stand no nonsense. + + "8. That his Majesty's mail be permitted to pass on the night + in question. + + "9. That all animosities be buried in oblivion, at the Parish + expense. + + "10. That the ashes of old bon-fires be never raked up. + + " (Signed) + {WAGSTAFF, High Constable. + {WIGSBY." + + * * * * * + + +Our next quotations are two comico-serio Ballads:-- + + +FRENCH AND ENGLISH. + + "Good Heaven! why even the little children in France speak + French!" ADDISON. + + + I. + + Never go to France + Unless you know the lingo, + If you do, like me, + You will repent by jingo, + Staring like a fool + And silent as a mummy, + There I stood alone, + A nation with a dummy. + + II. + + Chaises stand for chairs, + They christen letters _Billies,_ + They call their mothers _mares,_ + And all their daughters _fillies;_ + Strange it was to hear, + I'll tell you what's a good 'un, + They call their leather _queer_, + And half their shoes are wooden. + + III. + + Signs I had to make + For every little notion, + Limbs all going like + A telegraph in motion. + For wine I reel'd about, + To show my meaning fully, + And made a pair of horns. + To ask for "beef and bully." + + IV. + + Moo! I cried for milk; + I got my sweet things snugger, + When I kissed Jeannette, + 'Twas understood for sugar. + If I wanted bread. + My jaws I set a-going, + And asked for new-laid eggs + By clapping hands and crowing. + + V. + + If I wished a ride, + I'll tell you how I got it: + On my stick astride, + I made believe to trot it; + Then their cash was strange, + It bored me every minute, + Now here's a _hog_ to change, + How many _sows_ are in it. + + VI. + + Never go to France + Unless you know the lingo; + If you do, like me, + You will repent, by jingo; + Staring like a fool, + And silent as a mummy, + There I stood alone, + A nation with a dummy. + + +THE DUEL. + +A SERIOUS BALLAD. + + "Like the two Kings of Brentford smelling at one nosegay." + + + In Brentford town, of old renown, + There lived a Mister Bray. + Who fell in love with Lucy Bell, + And so did Mr. Clay. + + To see her ride from Hammersmith, + By all it was allowed, + Such fair outsides are seldom seen, + Such Angels on a Cloud. + + Said Mr. Bray to Mr. Clay, + You choose to rival me, + And court Miss Bell, but there your court + No thoroughfare shall be. + + Unless you now give up your suit, + You may repent your love + I who have shot a pigeon match, + Can shoot a turtle dove. + + So pray before you woo her more, + Consider what you do; + If you pop aught to Lucy Bell-- + I'll pop it into you. + + Said Mr. Clay to Mr. Bray. + Your threats I quite explode; + One who has been a volunteer + Knows how to prime and load. + + And so I say to you unless + Your passion quiet keeps, + I who have shot and hit bulls' eyes + May chance to hit a sheep's. + + Now gold is oft for silver changed, + And that for copper red; + But these two went away to give + Each other change for lead. + + But first they sought a friend a-piece, + This pleasant thought to give-- + When they were dead, they thus should have + Two seconds still to live. + + To measure out the ground not long + The seconds then forbore, + And having taken one rash step, + They took a dozen more. + + They next prepared each pistol-pan + Against the deadly strife, + By putting in the prime of death + Against the prime of life. + + Now all was ready for the foes, + But when they took their stands. + Fear made them tremble so they found + They both were shaking hands. + + Said Mr. C. to Mr. B., + Here one of us may fall, + And like St. Paul's Cathedral now, + Be doom'd to have a ball. + + I do confess I did attach + Misconduct to your name; + If I withdraw the charge, will then + Your ramrod do the same? + + Said Mr. B. I do agree-- + But think of Honour's Courts! + If We go off without a shot, + There will be strange reports + + But look, the morning now is bright, + Though cloudy it begun; + Why can't we aim above, as if + We had call'd out the sun? + + So up into the harmless air + Their bullets they did send; + And may all other duels have + That upshot in the end. + + * * * * * + + +We next quote brief illustrations of the Cuts on the opposite page. It +may be observed that the articles themselves have but little _esprit_, +and that, unlike most occasions, the wit lies in the wood. + + +First is a Sonnet accompanying the cut "Infantry at Mess." + + "Sweets to the sweet--farewell."--_Hamlet._ + + + Time was I liked a cheesecake well enough; + All human children have a sweetish tooth-- + I used to revel in a pie or puff, + Or tart--we all are _tarters_ in our youth; + To meet with jam or jelly was good luck, + All candies most complacently I cramped. + A stick of liquorice was good to suck, + And sugar was as often liked as lumped; + On treacle's "linked sweetness long drawn out," + Or honey, I could feast like any fly, + I thrilled when lollipops were hawk'd about, + How pleased to compass hardbake or bull's eye, + How charmed if fortune in my power cast, + Elecampane--but that campaign is past. + + * * * * * + +"Picking his way," belongs to a day (April 17) in a "Scrape Book," +with the motto of "Luck's all:" + + "17th. Had my eye pick'd out by a pavior, who was _axing_ his + way, he didn't care where. Sent home in a hackney-chariot that + upset. Paid Jarvis a sovereign for a shilling. My luck all + over!" + + * * * * * + + +The Schoolmaster's Motto, accompanying "Palmam qui meruit ferat!" is +too long for extract. + + * * * * * + + +The chief fun of the countryman and his Pigs lies in the cut. + + * * * * * + +CUTS FROM HOOD'S COMIC ANNUAL. + +[Illustration: INFANTRY AT MESS.] [Illustration: PICKING YOUR WAY.] +[Illustration: PALMAM QUI MERUIT FERAT.] [Illustration: 'I DO PERCEIVE +HERE A DIVIDED DUTY.'] + + * * * * * + + + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. + + +BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.[5] + + [5] Abridged from the paper on Southey's Life of Bunyan, in + the last Quarterly Review. + + +Of the first appearance of this celebrated parable, Mr. Southey's +diligence has preserved the following notices:-- + + "'It is not known in what year the Pilgrim's Progress was + first published, no copy of the first edition having as yet + been discovered; the second is in the British Museum; it is + "with additions," and its date is 1678; but as the book is + known to have been written during Bunyan's imprisonment, which + terminated in 1672, it was probably published before his + release, or at latest immediately after it. The earliest with + which Mr. Major has been able to supply me, either by means of + his own diligent inquiries, or the kindness of his friends, is + that "eighth e-di-ti-on" so humorously introduced by Gay, and + printed--not for Ni-cho-las Bod-ding-ton, but for Nathanael + Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultrey, near the Church, 1682; + for whom also the ninth was published in 1684, and the tenth + in 1685. All these no doubt were large impressions.' + + "When the astonishing success of the Pilgrim's Progress had + raised a swarm of imitators, the author himself, according to + the frequent fashion of the world, was accused of plagiarism, + to which he made an indignant reply, in what he considered as + verses, prefixed to his 'Holy War.' + + 'Some say the Pilgrim's Progress is not mine, + Insinuating as if I would shine + In name and fame by the worth of another, + Like some made rich by robbing of their brother; + Or that so fond I am of being Sire, + I'll father bastards; or if need require, + I'll tell a lye in print, to get applause. + I scorn it; John such dirt-heap never was + Since God converted him. Let this suffice + To shew why I my Pilgrim patronize. + + It came from mine own heart, so to my head, + And thence into my fingers trickled: + Then to my pen, from whence immediately + On paper I did dribble it daintily.'--p. lxxxix." + +Mr. Southey has carefully examined this charge of supposed imitation, +in which so much rests upon the very simplicity of the conception of +the story, and has successfully shown that the tinker of Elstow could +not have profited by one or two allegories in the French and Flemish +languages--works which he could have had hardly a chance to meet with; +which, if thrown in his way, he could not have read; and, finally, +which, if he had read them, could scarcely have supplied him with a +single hint. Mr. Southey, however, has not mentioned a work in +English, of Bunyan's own time, and from which, certainly, the general +notion of his allegory might have been taken. The work we allude to is +now before us, entitled, 'The Parable of the Pilgrim, written to a +friend by Symon Patrick, D.D., Dean of Peterborough;' the same learned +person, well known by his theological writings, and successively +Bishop of Chichester and Ely. This worthy man's inscription is dated +the 14th of December, 1672; and Mr. Southey's widest conjecture will +hardly allow an earlier date for Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, 1672 +being the very year in which he was enlarged from prison. The language +of Dr. Patrick, in addressing his friend, excludes the possibility of +his having borrowed from John Bunyan's celebrated work. He apologizes +for sending to his acquaintance one in the old fashioned dress of a +pilgrim; and says he found among the works of a late writer, Baker's +Sancta Sophia, a short discourse, under the name of a Parable of a +Pilgrim; 'which was so agreeable to the portion of fancy he was +endowed with, that he presently thought that a work of this nature +would be very grateful to his friends also. It appears that the +Parable of a Pilgrim, so sketched by Dr. Patrick, remained for some +years in the possession of the private friend for whom it was drawn +up, until, it being supposed by others that the work might be of +general utility, it was at length published in 1678.--Before that year +the first edition of the Pilgrim's Progress had unquestionably made +its appearance; but we equally acquit the Dean of Peterborough and the +tinker of Elstow from copying a thought or idea from each other. If +Dr. Patrick had seen the Pilgrim's Progress he would, probably, in the +pride of academic learning, have scorned to adopt it as a model; but, +at all events, as a man of worth, he would never have denied the +obligation if he had incurred one. John Bunyan, on his part, would in +all likelihood have scorned, 'with his very heels,' to borrow anything +from a dean; and we are satisfied that he would have cut his hand off +rather than written the introductory verses we have quoted, had not +his Pilgrim been entirely his own. + +Indeed, whosoever will take the trouble of comparing the two works +which, turning upon nearly the same allegory, and bearing very similar +titles, came into existence at or about the very same time, will +plainly see their total dissimilarity. Bunyan's is a close and +continued allegory, in which the metaphorical fiction is sustained +with all the minuteness of a real story. In Dr. Patrick's the same +plan is generally announced as arising from the earnest longing of a +traveller, whom he calls Philotheus or Theophilus, whose desires are +fixed on journeying to Jerusalem as a pilgrim. After much distressing +uncertainty, caused by the contentions of pretended guides, who +recommend different routes, he is at length recommended to a safe and +intelligent one. Theophilus hastens to put himself under his pilotage, +and the good man gives forth his instructions for the way, and in +abundant detail, so that all the dangers of error and indifferent +company may be securely avoided; but in all this, very little care is +taken even to preserve the appearance of the allegory: in a word, you +have, almost in plain terms, the moral and religious precepts +necessary to be observed in the actual course of a moral and religious +life. The pilgrim, indeed, sets out upon his journey, but it is only +in order again to meet with his guide, who launches further into whole +chapters of instructions, with scarcely a reply from the passive +pupil. It is needless to point out the extreme difference between this +strain of continued didactics, rather encumbered than enlivened by a +starting metaphor, which, generally quite lost sight of, the author +recollects every now and then, as if by accident--and the thoroughly +life-like manner in which John Bunyan puts the adventures of his +pilgrim before us. Two circumstances alone strike us as trenching +somewhat on the manner of him of Elstow: the one is where the guide +awakens some sluggish pilgrims, whom he finds sleeping by the way;[6] +the other is where their way is crossed by two horsemen, who insist +upon assuming the office of guide. 'The one is a pleasing talker, +excellent company by reason of his pleasant humour, and of a carriage +very pleasant and inviting; but they observed he had a sword by his +side, and a pair of pistols before him, together with another +instrument hanging at his belt, which was formed for pulling out of +eyes.'[7] The pilgrims suspected this well-armed cavalier to be one of +that brood who will force others into their own path, and then put out +their eyes in case they should forsake it. They have not got rid of +their dangerous companion, by whom the Romish church is indicated, +when they are accosted by a man of a quite different shape and humour, +'more sad and melancholy, more rude, and of a heavier wit also, who +crossed their way on the right-hand.' He also (representing, +doubtless, the Presbyterians or Sectaries) pressed them with eagerness +to accept his guidance, and did little less than menace them with +total destruction if they should reject it. A dagger and a +pocket-pistol, though less openly and ostentatiously disposed than the +arms of the first cavalier, seem ready for the same purposes; and he, +therefore, is repulsed, as well as his neighbour. These are the only +passages in which the church dignitary might be thought to have caught +for a moment the spirit of the tinker of Bedford. Through the rest of +his parable, which fills a well-sized quarto volume, the dean no doubt +evinces considerable learning, but, compared to Bunyan, may rank with +the dullest of all possible doctors; 'a worthy neighbour, indeed, and +a marvellous good bowler--but for Alexander, you see how 'tis.' Yet +Dr. Patrick had the applause of his own time. The first edition of his +Parable appeared, as has been mentioned, in 1678; and the _sixth_, +which now lies before us, is dated 1687.[8] + + [6] Parable of the Pilgrim, chapter xxx. + + [7] Ibidem, chapter xxxiv. + + [8] The Poet Laureate may, perhaps, like to hear that Dr. + Patrick introduces into his parable a very tolerable edition + of that legend of the roasted fowls recalled to life by St. + James of Compostella, of which he himself has recently given + us so lively and amusing a metrical version. + +Mr. Southey introduces the following just eulogium on our classic of +the common people: + + "Bunyan was confident in his own powers of expression; he + says-- + + --thine only way + Before them all, is to say out thy say + In thine own native language, which no man + Now useth, nor with ease dissemble can. + + And he might well be confident in it. His is a homespun style, + not a manufactured one; and what a difference is there between + its homeliness, and the flippant vulgarity of the Roger + L'Estrange and Tom Brown school! If it is not a well of + English undefiled to which the poet as well as the philologist + must repair, if they would drink of the living waters, it is a + clear stream of current English--the vernacular speech of his + age, sometimes indeed in its rusticity and coarseness, but + always in its plainness and its strength. To this natural + style Bunyan is in some degree beholden for his general + popularity;--his language is every where level to the must + ignorant reader, and to the meanest capacity: there is a + homely reality about it; a nursery tale is not more + intelligible, in its manner of narration, to a child. Another + cause of his popularity is, that he taxes the imagination as + little as the understanding. The vividness of his own, which, + as his history shows, sometimes could not distinguish ideal + impressions from actual ones, occasioned this. He saw the + things of which he was writing as distinctly with his mind's + eye as if they were indeed passing before him in a dream. And + the reader perhaps sees them more satisfactorily to himself, + because the outline only of the picture is presented to him; + and the author having made no attempt to fill up the details, + every reader supplies them according to the measure and scope + of his own intellectual and imaginative powers." + +Mr. Southey, observing with what general accuracy this apostle of the +people writes the English language, notwithstanding all the +disadvantages under which his youth must have been passed, pauses to +notice one gross and repeated error. 'The vulgarism alluded to,' says +the laureate, 'consists in the almost uniform use of _a_ for +_have_--never marked as a contraction, e.g. might _a_ made me take +heed--like to _a_ been smothered.' Under favour, however, this is a +sin against orthography rather than grammar: the tinker of Elstow only +spelt according to the pronunciation of the verb _to have_, then +common in his class; and the same form appears a hundred times in +Shakspeare. We must not here omit to mention the skill with which Mr. +Southey has restored much of Bunyan's masculine and idiomatic English, +which had been gradually dropped out of successive impressions by +careless, or unfaithful, or what is as bad, conceited correctors of +the press. + +The speedy popularity of the Pilgrim's Progress had the natural effect +of inducing Bunyan again to indulge the vein of allegory in which his +warm imagination and clear and forcible expression had procured him +such success. Under this impression, he produced the second part of +his Pilgrim's Progress; and well says Mr. Southey, that none but those +who have acquired the ill habit of always reading critically, can feel +it as a clog upon the first. The first part is, indeed, one of those +delightfully simple and captivating tales which, as soon as finished, +we are not unwilling to begin again. Even the adult becomes himself +like the child who cannot be satisfied with the repetition of a +favourite tale, but harasses the story-telling aunt or nurse, to know +more of the incidents and characters. In this respect Bunyan has +contrived a contrast, which, far from exhausting his subject, opens +new sources of attraction, and adds to the original impression. The +pilgrimage of Christiana, her friend Mercy, and her children, commands +sympathy at least as powerful as that of Christian himself, and it +materially adds to the interest which we have taken in the progress of +the husband, to trace the effects produced by similar events in the +case of women and children. + + "There is a pleasure," says the learned editor, "in travelling + with another companion the same ground--a pleasure of + reminiscence, neither inferior in kind nor degree to that + which is derived from a first impression. The characters are + judiciously marked: that of Mercy, particularly, is sketched + with an admirable grace and simplicity; nor do we read of any + with equal interest, excepting that of Ruth in Scripture, so + beautifully, on all occasions, does the Mercy of John Bunyan + unfold modest humility regarding her own merits, and tender + veneration for the matron Christiana." + + "The distinctions between the first and second part of the + Pilgrim's Progress are such as circumstances render + appropriate; and as John Bunyan's strong mother wit enabled + him to seize upon correctly. Christian, for example, a man, + and a bold one, is represented as enduring his fatigues, + trials, and combats, by his own stout courage, under the + blessing of heaven: but to express that species of inspired + heroism by which women are supported in the path of duty, + notwithstanding the natural feebleness and timidity of their + nature, Christiana and Mercy obtain from the interpreter their + guide, called Great-heart, by whose strength and valour their + lack of both is supplied, and the dangers and distresses of + the way repelled and overcome. + + "The author hints, at the end of the second part, as if 'it + might be his lot to go this way again;' nor was his mind that + light species of soil which could be exhausted by two crops. + But he left to another and very inferior hand the task of + composing a third part, containing the adventures of one + Tender Conscience, far unworthy to be bound up, as it + sometimes is, with John Bunyan's matchless parable." + + * * * * * + +'Tis necessary a writing critic should understand how to write. And +though every writer is not bound to show himself in the capacity of +critic, every writing critic is bound to show himself capable of being +a writer. + +_Shaftesbury Criticism_ + + * * * * * + + + +NOTES OF A READER. + + +LACONICS. + +(_From Maxwell. By Theodore Hook_.) + + +_Professional People_. + +None of our fellow-creatures enjoy life more than the successful +member of one of the learned professions. There is, it is true, +constant toil; but there are constant excitement, activity, and +enthusiasm; at least, where there is not enthusiasm in a profession, +success will never come--and as to the affairs of the world in +general, the divine, the lawyer, and the medical man, are more +conversant and mixed up with them, than any other human +beings--cabinet ministers themselves, not excepted. + +The divine, by the sacred nature of his calling, and the higher +character of his duties, is, perhaps, farther removed from an +immediate contact with society; his labours are of a more exalted +order, and the results of those labours not open to ordinary +observation; but the lawyer in full practice knows the designs and +devices of half our acquaintance; it is true, professional decorum +seals his lips, but _he_ has them all before him in his "mind's +eye,"--all their litigations and littlenesses,--all their cuttings, +and carvings, and contrivings. He knows why a family, who hate the +French with all the fervour of British prejudice, visits Paris, and +remains there for a year or two; he can give a good reason why a man +who delights in a well preserved property in a sporting country, with +a house well built and beautifully situated, consents to "_spare it_," +at a reduced price, to a man for whom he cares nothing upon earth: and +looks at the world fully alive to the motives, and perfectly aware of +the circumstances, of three-fourths of the unconscious actors by whom +he is surrounded. + +The eminent medical man stands, if not upon higher ground, at least in +a more interesting position. As he mingles with the gay assembly, or +visits the crowded ball, he knows the latent ills, the hidden, yet +incurable disorders of the laughing throng by which he is encircled; +he sees premature death lurking under the hectic flush on the cheek of +the lovely Fanny, and trembles for the fate of the kind-hearted Emily, +as he beholds her mirthfully joining in the mazy dance. He, too, by +witnessing the frequently recurring scenes of death, beholds the +genuine sorrow of the bereaved wife, or the devoted husband--and can, +by the constant unpremeditated exhibitions of fondness and feeling, +appreciate the affection which exists in such and such places, and +understand, with an almost magical power, the value of the links by +which society is held together. + + +_Middle Life_. + +There is more healthful exercise for the mind in the uneven paths of +middling life, than there is on the Macadamized road of fortune. Were +the year all summer, how tiresome would be the green leaves and the +bright sunshine--as, indeed, those will admit, who have lived in +climates where vegetation is always at work. + + +_Unwelcome Truth_. + +Plain speaking was Mousetrap's distinctive characteristic; his +conversation abounded in blunt truisms, founded upon a course of +thinking somewhat peculiar to himself, but which, when tried by the +test of human vice and human folly, proved very frequently to be a +great deal more accurate than agreeable. + + +_Stockbrokers_. + +"I know some of them brokering boys are worth a million on Monday, and +threepence on Thursday--all in high feather one week, and poor +waddling creturs the next." + + +_Mercantile Life_. + +A dark hole of a counting-house, with a couple of clerk chaps, cocked +up upon long-legged stools, writing out letters--a smoky +fireplace--two or three files, stuck full of dirty papers, hanging +against the wall--an almanack, and a high-railed desk, with a slit in +a panel, with "bills for acceptance" painted over it. They are the +chaps "wot" makes time-bargains--they speculate for thousands, having +nothing in the world--and then at the wind-up of a week or two, pay +each other what they call the difference: that is to say, the change +between what they cannot get, and what they have not got. + + +_The Secret Spring_. + +There are with all great affairs smaller affairs connected, so that in +the watch-work of society, the most skilful artist is sometimes +puzzled to fix upon the very little wheel by which the greater wheels +are worked. + + +"_Bad Company_." + +The subject under discussion was the great advantages likely to arise +from the establishment of the North Shields Sawdust Consolidation +Company, in which Apperton told Maxwell there were still seventy-four +shares to be purchased: they were hundred pound shares, and were +actually down at eighty-nine, would be at fifteen premium on the +following Saturday, and must eventually rise to two hundred and +thirty, for reasons which he gave in the most plausible manner, and +which were in themselves perfectly satisfactory, as he said, to the +"meanest capacity;" a saying with which it might have been perfectly +safe to agree. + + +_Love_. + +What does Sterne say? That love is no more made by talking of it, than +a black pudding would be. Habit, association, assimilation of tastes, +communion of thought, kindness without pretension, solicitude without +effort, a tacit agreement and a silent sympathy; these are the +excitements and stimulants of the only sort of love that is worth +thinking of. + + +_Brighton_. + +Brighton will be as good a residence as any other; there's nobody +there knows much of either of _you_; and the place has got so big, +that you may be as snug as you please; a large town and a large party, +are the best possible shelters for love matters. Ay, go to +Brighton--the prawns for breakfast, the Wheatears (as the Cockneys +delicately call them, without knowing what they are talking about) for +dinner, and the lobsters for supper, with a cigar, and a little +ginnums and water, whiffing the wind, and sniffing the briny out of +one of the bow-window balconies--that's it--Brighton's the place, +against the world. + + +_Murder_. + +A gentleman criminal is too rich a treat to be overlooked; and a +murder in good society forms a tale of middling life, much too +interesting to be passed over in a hurry. + + +_A Love Errand_. + +He went to look for something which he had not left there, and whither +she followed him, to assist in a pursuit which she knew went for +nothing. + + * * * * * + + + +MOORE'S LIFE OF BYRON, VOL. II. + +The publication of this work, _bonâ fide_, has not yet taken place; +but we are enabled by the aid of the _Athenæum_ to quote a page. + +The volume commences with the following powerful review of Lord +Byron's mind and fortune at the time he left England:-- + + "The circumstances under which Lord Byron now took leave of + England were such as, in the case of any ordinary person, + could not be considered otherwise than disastrous and + humiliating. He had, in the course of one short year, gone + through every variety of domestic misery;--had seen his hearth + ten times profaned by the visitations of the law, and been + only saved from a prison by the privileges of his rank. He had + alienated (if, indeed, they had ever been his) the affections + of his wife; and now, rejected by her, and condemned by the + world, was betaking himself to an exile which had not even the + dignity of appearing voluntary, as the excommunicating voice + of society seemed to leave him no other resource. Had he been + of that class of unfeeling and self-satisfied natures from + whose hard surface the reproaches of others fall pointless, he + might have found in insensibility a sure refuge against + reproach; but, on the contrary, the same sensitiveness that + kept him so awake to the applauses of mankind rendered him, in + a still more intense degree, alive to their censure. Even the + strange, perverse pleasures 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 word; and, + like a child in a mask before a looking-glass, the dark + semblance which he had half in sport, put on, when reflected + back upon him from the mirror of public opinion, shocked even + himself. + + "Thus surrounded by vexations, and thus deeply feeling them, + it is not too much to say, that any other spirit but his own + would have sunk under the struggle, and lost, perhaps, + irrecoverably, that level of self-esteem which alone affords a + stand against the shocks of fortune. But in him,--furnished as + his mind was with reserves of strength, waiting to be called + out,--the very intensity of the pressure brought relief by the + proportionate reaction which it produced. Had his + transgressions and frailties been visited with no more than + their due portion of punishment, there can be little doubt + that a very different result would have ensued. Not only would + such an excitement have been insufficient to waken up the new + energies still dormant in him, but that consciousness of his + own errors, which was for ever livelily present in his mind, + would, under such circumstances, have been left, undisturbed + by any unjust provocation, to work its usual softening and, + perhaps, humbling influences on his spirit. But,--luckily, as + it proved, for the further triumphs of his genius,--no such + moderation was exercised. The storm of invective raised around + him, so utterly out of proportion with his offences, and the + base calumnies that were everywhere heaped upon his name, left + to his wounded pride no other resource than in the same + summoning up of strength, the same instinct of resistance to + injustice, which had first forced out the energies of his + youthful genius, and was now destined to give him a still + bolder and loftier range of its powers. + + * * * * * + + "But the greatest of his trials, as well as triumphs, was yet + to come. The last stage of this painful, though glorious, + course, in which fresh power was, at every step, wrung from + out of his soul, was that at which we are now arrived, his + marriage and its results,--without which, dear as was the + price paid by him in peace and character, his career would + have been incomplete, and the world still left in ignorance of + the full compass of his genius. It is indeed worthy of remark, + that it was not till his domestic circumstances began to + darken around him that his fancy, which had long been idle, + again arose upon the wing,--both the Siege of Corinth and + Parisina having been produced but a short time before the + separation. How conscious he was, too, that the turmoil which + followed was the true element of his restless spirit may be + collected from several passages of his letters, at that + period, in one of which he even mentions that his health had + become all the better for the conflict:--'It is odd,' he says, + 'but agitation or contest of any kind gives a rebound to my + spirits, and sets me up for the time.' + + "This buoyancy it was--this irrepressible spring of + mind,--that now enabled him to bear up not only against the + assaults of others, but what was still more difficult, against + his own thoughts and feelings. The muster of all his mental + resources to which, in self-defence, he had been driven, but + opened to him the yet undreamed extent and capacity of his + powers, and inspired him with a proud confidence, that he + should yet shine down these calumnious mists, convert censure + to wonder, and compel even those who could not approve to + admire. + + "The route which he now took, through Flanders and by the + Rhine, is best traced in his own matchless verses, which leave + a portion of their glory on all that they touch, and lend to + scenes, already clothed with immortality by nature and by + history, the no less durable associations of undying song." + + * * * * * + + + +THE GATHERER. + + A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. + SHAKSPEARE. + + +SELDEN, + + +Towards the close of his life, was so thoroughly convinced of the +superior value of the Holy Scriptures, as to declare that the 11th, +12th, 13th, and 14th verses of the second chapter of St. Paul's +Epistle to Titus, afforded him more solid satisfaction than all he had +ever read. + +H.B.A. + + * * * * * + + +FULL-BOTTOMED WIGS. + + +The full-bottomed wigs which unfortunately envelope and cloud some of +the most distinguished portraits of former days, were in fashion +during the reigns of our William and Mary. Lord Bolingbroke was one of +the first that tied them up, with which the queen was much offended, +and said to a by-stander, "he would soon come to court in his +night-cap." Soon after, tie wigs, instead of being an undress, became +the high court dress. + +H.B.A. + + * * * * * + + +A WINDOW THE CAUSE OF A WAR. + + +When the Palace of Trianon was building for Louis XIV. at the end of +Versailles' Park, that monarch went to inspect it, accompanied by +Louvois, secretary of war, and superintendent of the building. Whilst +walking arm in arm with him, he remarked that one of the windows was +out of shape, and smaller than the rest--this Louvois denied, and +asserted that he could not perceive the least difference. Louis XIV. +having had it measured, and finding that he had judged rightly, +treated Louvois in a contumelious manner before his whole court. This +conduct so incensed the minister, that when he arrived home he was +heard to say, that he would find better employment for a monarch than +that of insulting his favourites: he was as good as his word, for by +his insolence and haughtiness he insulted the other powers, and +occasioned the bloody war of 1688. + + * * * * * + +In 1306, Bruce having taken shelter in the Isle of Arran, sent a +trusty person into Carrick, to learn how his vassals stood affected to +his cause; with instructions, that, if he found them disposed to +assist him he should make a signal at a time appointed, by lighting a +fire on an eminence near the Castle of Turnbury. The messenger found +the English in possession of Carrick, the people dispirited, and none +ready to take arms; he therefore did not make the signal. But a fire +being made about noon on the appointed spot, (possibly by accident) +both Bruce and the messenger saw it. The former with his associates +put to sea to join his supposed party; the latter to prevent his +coming. They met before Bruce reached the shore, when the messenger +acquainted Bruce with the unpromising state of his affairs, and +advised him to go back; but he obeying the dictates of despair and +valour, resolved to persevere; and attacking the English, carelessly +cantoned in the neighbourhood of Turnbury, put a number of them to the +sword, and pillaged their quarters. Percy, from the castle, heard the +uproar, yet did not sally forth against them, not knowing their +strength. Bruce with his followers not exceeding three hundred in +number, remained for some days near Turnbury; but succours having +arrived from the neighbouring garrisons, he was obliged to seek safety +in the mountainous parts of Carrick. + +C.D. + + * * * * * + + +"WILLIE WASTLE." + + +When Oliver Cromwell was at Haddington, he sent a summons to the +governor of Hume Castle, ordering him to surrender. The governor +answered, + + "That he, Willie Wastle, stood firm in his castle, + That all the dogs of his town should not drive Willie Wastle down." + +This anecdote gave rise to the amusement of Willie Wastle among +children. + + * * * * * + + +When the Irish Union was effected in 1801, the Ex-Chancellor of the +Exchequer, Sir John Parnell, was the reigning _toast_. Being one +evening in a convivial party, he jocularly said that by the Union he +had lost his _bread and butter_. "Ah, my dear sir," replied a friend, +"never mind, for it is amply made up to you in _toasts_." + + * * * * * + + +CURIOUS LEGACY. + + +_By Samuel Hawkins, Esq. to White Chapel Parish, 1804, bequeathing +£300. for performing Divine Service for ever, in the said parish +church_. + +Two guineas to be paid to Curate or Rector, for preaching a sermon on +New Year's Day, from a text mentioned in his will. To Parish Clerk +10s. 6d. to sing 100th Psalm, old version, same day. To organist 10s. +6d. for playing tune to same. To Sexton 10s. 6d. if he attend the +same; and to master and mistress of the free-school, each 10s. 6d. for +attending the charity children at the same time and place; and to the +Trustees of the school three guineas for refreshments, and to supply +as many quartern loaves to be distributed to such poor as shall attend +divine service on that day. The overplus, if any, to be given in bread +to the poor of the parish that the trustees may consider proper +objects of relief. + +JAC-CO. + + * * * * * + + +WIT AND JOKES. + + +Selden says, "Nature must be the ground work of wit and art, otherwise +whatever is done will prove but Jack-pudding's work. + +"Wit must grow like fingers; if it be taken from others, 'tis like +plums stuck upon black thorns; they are there for awhile, but they +come to nothing. + +"Women ought not to know their own wit, because they will be showing +it, and so spoil it; like a child that will constantly be showing its +fine new coat, till at length it all bedaubs it with its pah hands. + +"Fine wits destroy themselves with their own plots in meddling with +great affairs of state. They commonly do as the ape, that saw the +gunner put bullets in the cannon, and was pleased with it, and he +would be doing so too; at last he puts himself into the piece, and so +both ape and bullet were shot away together." + +"The jokes, bon-mots, the little adventures, which may do very well +(says Chesterfield) in one company will seem flat and tedious when +related in another--they are often ill-timed, and prefaced thus: 'I +will tell you an excellent thing.' This raises expectations, which +when absolutely disappointed, make the relator of this excellent thing +look, very deservedly, like a fool." + +P.T.W. + + * * * * * + + +FAT FOLKS. + + +Prince Harry and Falstaff, in Shakspeare, have carried the ridicule +upon fat and lean as far as it will go. Falstaff is humorously called +_Wool-Sack_, _Bed Presser_, and _Hill of Flesh_; Harry, a +_Starveling_, an _Eel's-skin_, a _Sheath_, a _Bow-case_, and a _Tuck_. + + * * * * * + +_Printed and published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset +House,) London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; +and by all Newsmen and Booksellers_. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13199 *** |