Page images
PDF
EPUB

and he, who keeps an inn in Yorkshire, came over to Preston, at the time of the election, to verify whether I were the same man. When he found that I was, he appeared surprised; but what was his surprise, when I told him, that those tall young men, whom he saw around me, were the sons of that pretty little girl that he and I saw scrubbing out the washing-tub on the snow in New-Brunswick at day-break in the morning! From the day that I first spoke to her, I never had a thought of her being the wife of any other man, more than I had a thought of her being

transformed into a chest of drawers: and I formed my resolution at once, to marry her as soon as we could get possession, and to get out of the army as soon as I could. So that this matter was, at once, settled as firmly as if written in the book of fate. - Cobbett's advice to Young Men.

REMARKABLE CONSEQUENCES

OF A FALL.

Dr. Stegman, in a work, entitled "Medical Observations," mentions the following curious effects produced by a fall, a case in which he was himself the sufferer. He fell from an inconsiderable height on the floor. The force of the blow affected principally the major trochanter of the right thigh, but there was neither fracture nor dislocation; notwithstanding this, at the end of seven months he could not move without crutches. Immediately after his fall, he felt a remarkable aversion for several kinds of food, of which he had before been fond, especially sugar, milk, and wine; other things on the contrary, which had been disagreeable to him before, as beer, &c. became palatable. Dr. Stegman attributed these effects to a

concussion of the spinal marrow, occasioned by the fall.

Warieties.

ANECDOTE OF PYE, THE POET LAUREATE.

Pye, the Poet Laureate to George the Third, once damned his majesty's wig in the very presence of his sovereign, but with great credit, however, to his own loyalty. The king was out hunting.. Pye was in and of the field. The king's horse fell; his majesty was thrown from the saddle, and his hat and wig were thrown to a little distance from him; he got on his feet again immediately, and began to look about for the hat and wig, which as he was short-sighted, he did not readily see. Pye very much alarmed by the accident, rode up in great haste, and arrived at the moment when the king was peering about and saying to the attendants, "where's my wig? where's my wig?" Pye cried out, " D-n your wig, is your majesty safe?"Personal and Literary Memorials.

SIMPLICITY OF GOLDSMITH. George Langton told me that he was present one day when Goldsmith (Dr. Oliver), in a circle of good company, began with, "When I lived among the beggars in Axe Lane." Every one present was well acquainted with the varied scenes of Goldsmith's life, and with the naïveté of his character; but this sudden trait of simplicity could not but cause a momentary surprise.-Ibid.

ATROCIOUS PUN.

A gentleman, seeing a party of row-bucks going down the river in a boat of a remarkable construction, asked his waterman what was the name of a boat of that descrip

[blocks in formation]

judgment is admired by Plutarch both for its wit and its justice. It was, "That the defendant should fly from Macedon, and the plaintiff should follow!"

A HINT TO COACH-HIRERS.

A Frenchman hailed a jarvey in St. Paul's Church-yard, and ordered Coachee to drive him to Finsbury-square. When he arrived at his destination, by way of St. Martin's-le-grand and Barbican, he inquired the fare, which appeared so enormous, that he asked, "Could nod you, Mister Coash-a-man, drag me mosh of a more near a vay?" "No, mounseer," bluntly, replied Coachey, it's quite as near, I reckon, as going along Cheapside." "Vat is dat? Sheap-side;" cried the Frenchman, in an agony of indignation; " dat is de side for me, for vy you drag poor foreigner all along de dear side ven de sheap side do all de same!" And it was some time before he could be persuaded that the fare in that case would have been as much.

REASONS WHY LADIES WOO NOT, BUT ARE WOOED,

Wooing is but an affectionate seeking. Now, we seek not for that which we have, but for that

which we have not. It is more

proper, therefore, for the man, in this love-search, to seek for what

he has lost, than for the woman to seek for what she already has. The man has lost his rib, and he seeks after her that has it; whereas, it would be folly in her to seek it, because she has it. And that is a good and sufficient reason, why women woo not, but are wooed.Blackwood's Magazine.

Among the various popular superstitions abounding in Spain (more e particularly marked by this characteristic than any other Catholic country), is one, which, strange to say, though generally unnoticed and unknown, is not less peculiar and important than that entertained in Portugal, with regard to the coming of San Sebastian. This is the belief, that the race of Abroudoulraham, the ancient Moorish kings of Valencia, still preserve their existence, in some subterranean recess beneath the city, notwithstanding that so many centuries have elapsed since their visible and historical extinction; and that they prolong this secret dynasty, with the view of one day achieving the repossession of their old domains, by the assistance of the Turkish and Barbary governments. This fact was originally communicated to me by a Spanish gentleman, of literary attainments, with whom I accidentally ac became acquainted at the library of the British Museum; and I have since heard it verified by an Englishman, who has visited and resided on the spot in

question.

PRESERVATION OF MEAT AND FISH, WITH ICE.

Some experiments have been made,

by the council of health of the prefecture of police in Paris, upon the preservation of viands and fish by means of ice. The experiments have been very various, as much from the nature of the alimentary substances which have been tried, as from the time they were allowed to remain in the ice. The results are as follow:-1. That fresh viands of every sort, as well as fish, may be kept in ice for a long time without experiencing the least alteration. 2. That the placing of these substances in ice, when in a state of putrefaction, will stop the decomposition. 3. That the substances put in a fresh state in the ice, and kept so for a

longer or shorter time, when they are withdrawn and exposed to the action of the air, putrefy with the greatest rapidity; and if the temperature of the atmosphere is rather high, some hours suffice to bring on putrefaction and render them unfit for nourishment. 4. That these substances, when cooked after being taken from the ice, not only do not lose of their good qualities, but become even more tender and delicate.

An Italian, who is a connoisseur in sauces, pies, and pasties, has just built, for the convenience of the public, une cuisine ambulante. This kitchen is about the size of an omnibus, and pretty much on the same construction: it is to be put into action on the 12th of next month; and all those who wish to associate exercise and eating, may accomplish their desire for the moderate sum of fifteen

sous.

RECEIPT TO DESTROY VERMIN

on one side, so that the cork is kept wet, to prevent the fruit from fermenting or becoming mouldy. The bottles are to be turned once or twice a week during the first or second months, and once or twice afterwards in each succeeding. month. Fruit heated in this manner will keep for more than two years. The heat should not be strong enough to burst the fruit. -Bibliothèque PhysicoEconomique.

HISSING.

Hissing, to show disapprobation, is of great antiquity. In the vulgar technicals of our green-room, it is known by the term goose, and the extempore strictures of this family critic are more awful to the players than those of any other Aristarchus, who only borrow the assistance of her feathers. Though Shakspeare makes very few allusions to the practice, he speaks once very plainly of it, in the Merry Wives of Windsor." If I do not act it, hiss me." But that this mode of

ON CATTLE, AND TO CURE THE indicating dislike was two centuries old,

MANGE.

Put into an earthen vessel four ounces of flour of sulphur, and a pound weight of nut-oil; place the vessel upon a moderate fire, and stir the mixture with a piece of wood, until part of the flour of sulphur is dissolved, and the oil has acquired a reddish-brown colour; then remove it from off the fire, and, before it is entirely cold, add four ounces of essence of turpentine; then stir it again until it is incorporated. This preparation is neither expensive nor complicated; and when used, is merely put upon the parts infested with a feather.-Bibliothèque Physico-Economique.

SIMPLE METHOD OF PRESERV.
ING FRUITS.

When the fruit has been well plucked, and is not too ripe, it is placed in common bottles, which must be entirely filled. The bottles are to be corked, and are then to be placed upright in a vessel filled with water, which is to be heated gradually, until it acquires a temperature which the hand can bear. This degree of heat is to be kept up about half an hour; the bottles are then to be withdrawn one by one, and are to be filled to within an inch of the cork with boiling water: they are then to be hermetically sealed, and should be placed

no one questioned; however, it is still more ancient:-two thousand years, at least. It did not, in all probability, obtain in the Roman theatre, as we learn from the poets, that at the games they had a different way of showing disapprobation, or expressing their censure (vide Horace and Juvenal-Epistle I. i. 18, v. 66.-Disapprobation 66.— was xpressed by turning turning the thumbs upwards, and the reverse, by their compressure-Juvenal 3, v. 36.) But it was used to public speakers, some nineteen centuries ago, as it appears from the following passage in Cicero's letters. Speaking of the orator Hortensius, Cælius thus describes the success of his eloquence :--" It is worthy of observation, that Hortensius reached his old age, without once incurring the disgrace of being hissed." - Dramatic Magazine.

THE AWKWARD MISTAKE.

Louis the Ninth of France, observing one day among the crowd assembled to see him dine, an officer whom he very much disliked, made a private signal to Tristran L'Ermite, his "Grand Prevost," to put him out of the way. Tristan well accustomed to the signal, but unluckily mistaking the man alluded to, accosted a well-fed Monk, who stood in the same line with the Captain, al

66

ex

lured him into the palace-yard, thrust him into a sack, and threw him into the Seine. Next day, Louis hearing that the proscribed officer had been seen posting towards Flanders, reproached Tristan with neglect. "To Flanders," claimed the Grand Prevost: your Majesty inust be in error, the Monk has got half-way to Rouen by this time; I sent him adrift tied up in a sack.""What Monk?" "Him your Majesty pointed at."-" Hah pasque Dieu!" said the King, with his usual oath, " you have drowned me the best priest in my kingdom. It cannot be helped now, so we will have half a dozen masses said for his soul: but it was that dog of a Captain, not the poor Monk, that I meant."

SILO.

M. Tolhuire, an inhabitant of Brussels, has taken out a patent in the Netherlands for a silo, in which corn may be kept in a perfect state for any number of years.

AGRICULTURAL CURIOSITY.

An oat-stalk was taken from a field on Sealand, near Chester, last week, which measured an inch and an eighth in circumference, and bore 237 grains.

MOUNT SINAI.

The monastery on this mountain is

5400 feet above the surface of the Red Sea, and the perpendicular elevation of its summit above that monastery cannot be less than 2000 feet, so that the height of Mount Sinai itself is 7400 feet. But this is not the loftiest feature of the

Sinai chain. Mount St. Catherine's is at least 1000 feet higher; and the most elevated ridge of this chain cannot, therefore, be estimated at less than 8400 feet above the level of the Red Sea.

Driginal Poetry.

TO MARY ****.
For the Portfolio.

I know not thy doom, and I speak not thy

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

(For the Portfolio.)

My path lies o'er the wide, wide sea,
Far from my father's land;
No eye at home will weep for me,

Or watch me from the strand.
Then on! my gallant bark; away!
Nought do I mourn, nor aught 1 fear,
For I can reckless be as they.-

I go I go, without a tear. My grave lies on a foreign shore, Far from my mother's dust; No living friends my loss deplore; I leave them cold-unjust! Then speed! my bounding bark; away! My proud heart swells like thy full sails, No feeling wooes a wish to stay,

As my own home my vision fails.

And yet, methinks, there is a tear,
For one I'd leave behind,
Whom guilt and shame has made less dear,
And fortune more unkind.

But on! my bark; she mourns not me,
Tho' tempest tear, and billows roll-
I'll meet them dauntless, bold as thee,
They are not fiercer than my soul!

PUBLISHED (FOR THE PROPRIETOR) BY J. DUNCOMBE,

19, LITTLE QUEEN STREET, HOLBORN;

JAS. BRUTON.

Where all Communications (post-paid) for the Editor, are requested to be addressed: also by Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, Paternoster-row; MacPhun, Glasgow! Sutherland, Edinburgh; and of all other Booksellers and Newsmen.

OF

AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION

IN

History, Science, Literature, the Fine Arts, &c.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic][subsumed][merged small][merged small]

MR. GRAY wrote his beautiful "Elegy on a Country Church-yard," and others of his classical poems, while he resided at Stoke, and he was buried on the spot which his genius has immortalised.Elderly people, lately living in that village, remembered his retired and secluded character; and they shewed a tree, in which he was accustomed to indulge in reading and meditation. The church and church-yard possess more interest than commonly belongs to such places, from the above associations, and their retired and picturesque situation. Nearly adjoining is the park of Mr. Penn, from No. 176.-3d. S.

which the above view of Stoke Church has been taken; and on the same site that distinguished scholar and amateur has erected a splendid monument in honour of the poet, with the following inscription:--" This Monument, in honour of Thomas Gray, was erected A. D. 1799, among the scenery celebrated by that great lyric and elegiac poet. He died in 1771, and lies unnoticed in the adjoining church-yard, under the tombstone on which he piously and patheticaly recorded the interment of his aunt and lamented mother."

« PreviousContinue »