Peter Parley’s Annual, by Anonymous—A Project Gutenberg eBook

[9]

Exploits in the Desert.

The deserts of Southern Africa are immense and formidable, rarely trod by the foot of civilised man. They present features the most wild, and at times, the most sublime that can be imagined; but man has a great knack of destroying the grand, and blotting out the wonderful. South Africa, in its central parts, abounds in features well calculated to inspire grand ideas, and to call forth all the powers of the mind in heroic exploits among the wild beasts of the desert. Here roam, in all their native freedom, bisons, blesboks, and springboks in millions; and among them prowls the lion, in all his fierce dignity of bearing, with his attendant the jackall, who follows and precedes his footsteps. The blesbok is one of the true antelopes, and is as large as a fallow deer, and all its motions and paces are full of grace and elegance; these have also a pecularity of manner (whence their name), of jumping up into the air, like so many fleas, when they first dart off into rapid motion; thus they scour the vast plains in myriads, and may be seen for miles, as if the whole desert was endowed with motion.

The springboks, which, in equal numbers, frequent the same immense plains, make away in every direction over the[10] wildest part of the country, sometimes with flying bounds (beautifully exhibiting the long, snowy white hair, with which their backs are adorned), and at others, walking carelessly and slowly out of the hunter’s way, scarcely deigning to look at him. Black bisons also cover the entire length and breadth of this wild country, and may be seen in herds, averaging from fifty to sixty, wheeling about in endless circles, and performing the most extraordinary variety of intricate evolutions round the hunter on every side. While he is riding round to take a shot at some of the herd in front of him, other herds are charging down right and left; and having described a number of circular movements, they take up positions upon the very ground across which the hunter rode only a few minutes before. Throughout the greater part of the plains frequented by blesboks, numbers of sun-baked hills, or mounds[11] of clay, formed by the white ants, occur, the average height of which are from three to four feet. These ant-hills are generally distant from each other from about one to three hundred yards, and are of great service to the hunter, as he can conceal himself from observation behind them, when he advances to the attack.

It was amid these scenes that, a few years ago, Gordon Cumming luxuriated as a hunter, and noble and not a few, are the trophies of this modern Nimrod—as may be seen at the Exhibition of his Game, in the Museum, near Hyde Park. Overpowered with the sports of the gun and the chase, he had laid down for a brief repose behind one of the ant-hills already alluded to; but he had not slept long before he was aroused by a strange, multitudinous pattering of feet. On raising his head, he saw to his utmost horror, on every side, nothing but savage wild dogs, chattering and growling. On his right and on his left, stood two lines of these ferocious-looking animals, cocking their ears and stretching their necks[12] to have a look at him; while two large apes, with which there were at the least forty more, kept dashing backwards and forwards within a few yards of him, chattering and growling with the most extraordinary volubility. He expected no other fate than to be instantly torn to pieces and consumed; his blood seemed to run cold, and his hair bristled on his head. However, he had presence of mind to consider that the human voice and a determined bearing might overawe them; and, accordingly, springing to his feet, he stepped on one of the ant-hills, and drawing himself to his full height, he waved his coarse blanket with both hands, at the same time addressing the assembly in a loud and solemn manner. This had the desired effect: the wild dogs removed to a more respectful distance, barking at him the while. Upon this, he snatched up his rifle and began loading, but before this was accomplished, the entire troops had pushed away, and did not return.

“The next night,” this enterprising traveller says, “was a memorable one, as being the first on which he had the satisfaction of hearing the majestic thunder of the lion’s roar.” There was no one near to tell him that this was the roar of a lion; but he seemed to know by instinct that it could be nothing else. This roar consists, at times, of a low, deep moaning, repeated five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs; at other times, he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times, in quick succession, each increasing in loudness, to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low, muffled sounds, very much resembling distant thunder. At times, a troop may be heard roaring in concert, one assuming the lead, and[13] two, three, or four more regularly taking up their parts, like persons singing a catch; but on no occasion are their voices heard to such perfection as when two or three strange troops of lions approach a fountain to drink at the same time. When this occurs every member of each troop sounds a bold roar of defiance at the opposite parties; and when one roars all roar together, and each seems to vie with his comrades in the intensity and power of his voice. As a general rule, lions roar during the night; but in distant and secluded situations, they may be heard roaring as late as nine o’clock in the morning. It often happens that, when two male lions meet at a fountain, a terrific combat ensues, which not unfrequently ends in the death of one of them.

The habits of the lion are strictly nocturnal. During the day, he lies concealed beneath the shade of some low, bushy tree, or wide-spreading bush, either in the level forest or on the mountain side. He is also partial to lofty reeds, or fields[14] of long, rank, yellow grass. From these haunts he sallies forth when the sun goes down, and commences his nightly prowl. When he is successful in his beat and has secured his prey, he does not roar much that night, unless some rash intruders approach him, when the case will be very different.

Lions are most active and daring during dark and stormy nights. Mr. Cumming noticed a fact with regard to their hour of drinking, which is worthy of record. They seem unwilling to visit the fountain during good moonlight. Thus, when the moon rose early, lions deferred their hour of watering until late in the morning; and when the moon rose late, they drank at a very early hour in the night. When a thirsty lion comes to the water, he stretches out his massive arms, lies down on his breast to drink, and makes a loud, lapping noise in drinking, not to be mistaken; he continues lapping up the water a long while, and four or five times during the process he pauses for half a minute, as if to take breath. One thing conspicuous about them is their eyes, which, in a dark night, glow like two balls of fire.

Having determined upon a lion hunt, Captain Cumming, with a few riders, dashed on to the immense plain. As he proceeded, thousands upon thousands of blesboks darkened the ground. “After a ride of some miles, the lion’s roar was heard, and we soon discovered a dead wild bull, newly killed by a lion, and half eaten. His large and striking foot-prints were deeply marked in the sand. We felt convinced the lion was somewhere near us, but before we could track him out, the night came on, and the most furious thunder-storm I ever knew. The most vivid flashes of lightning followed one[15] another in quick succession, accompanied by terrific peals of thunder, and the sky was black as pitch. The whole plain was soon a sheet of water. About midnight, however, we heard the lion roar, about a mile off. We then rose, and saddled our horses. We rode forward towards the lion’s feasting-place. As the light broke upon us, we slackened our pace, and rode slowly up the middle of the vast level plain towards the carcase of the wild beast, with large herds of springbok, blesbok, and quaggas on every side. Suddenly I observed a number of vultures seated on the plain, about a quarter of a mile a-head of us, and close behind them stood a huge lioness, eating a blesbok she had just killed. She was assisted in her repast by about a dozen jackals, which were feasting along with her in the most friendly and confidential manner. Directing my followers’ attention to the spot, I remarked, ‘I see the lion!’ to which they replied, ‘Whar! whar! yah, Almagty, dat is he!’—and instantly wheeling about their horses, they were about to fly. At the same moment the lioness moved off at a rapid pace. I was determined to have a shot at her. The first move was to bring her to bay, and not a second was to be lost. Spurring my good and lively steed, and shouting to my men to follow, I flew across the plain, and soon gained upon her. This was to me,” says the bold hunter, “a joyful moment, and I at once made up my mind that she or I should die.

“The lioness was a full-grown beast, and the bare and level nature of the plain added to her imposing appearance. Finding that I gained upon her, she reduced her pace from a canter to a trot, carrying her tail slackened behind her, and slewed a little to one side. I shouted loud to her to halt, as[16] I wished to speak with her; upon which she suddenly pulled up, and got upon her haunches like a dog, with her back towards me, not even deigning to look round. She then appeared to say to herself, ‘Does that fellow know who he’s[17] after?’ Having thus sat for half a minute, as if involved in thought, she sprang to her feet, and facing about, stood looking at me for a few seconds, moving her tail slowly from side to side, showing her teeth and growling fiercely. She next made a short run forward, making a loud rumbling noise like thunder. This she did to intimidate me, and to show her ‘monkey’ was up. My Hottentots now came on, and we all three dismounted, and drawing our rifles from our holsters, we looked to see if the powder was up to the nipples, and put on our caps. While this was doing, the lioness sat up, and showed evident signs of uneasiness. She looked first at us, and then behind her, as if to see if the coast was clear; after which she made a short run towards us, uttering her deep-drawn, murderous growl. Having secured the three horses to one another by the reins, we led them on, as if we intended to pass her, in the hope of obtaining a broadside. My men, as yet, had been steady, but they were in a precious ‘stew,’ their faces having assumed a ghastly paleness, and I had a painful feeling that I could place no reliance on them.

“‘Now then for it—neck or nothing! she is within sixty yards of us, and she keeps advancing.’ We turned the horses’ tails to her. I knelt on one side, and taking a steady aim at her breast, let fly. The ball cracked loudly on her tawny hide, and crippled her in the shoulder; upon which she charged with an appalling roar, and, in the twinkling of an eye, she was in the midst of us. She sprung upon Colesberg, one of my men, and fearfully lacerated his ribs and haunches with her horrid teeth and claws; the worst wound was on the haunch, and was most hideous. I was very cool and steady, and did not feel in the least degree nervous,[18] having, fortunately, great confidence in my own shooting; and when the lioness sprang upon my man, I stood out from the horses, ready with my second barrel for the first chance she should give me of a clear shot. This she quickly did, for seemingly, satisfied with the revenge she had now taken, she quitted Colesberg, and slewing her tail to one side, trotted sulkily past within a few paces of me. Taking one step to the left, I pitched my rifle to my shoulder, and, in another second, the lioness lay stretched upon the plain a lifeless corpse.

“We now skinned the lioness, and cut off her head; and, having placed our trophies on our horses, we made for the camp. Before we had proceeded a hundred yards from the carcass, upwards of sixty vultures, whom the lioness had often fed, were feasting on her remains. We led poor Colesberg slowly home, where, having washed his wounds and carefully stitched them together, I ordered the cold water cure to be adopted. Under this treatment the wounds rapidly healed, and he soon recovered. When the shades of evening set in, terror seemed to have taken possession of the minds of my followers; and they swore that the mate of the lioness, on finding her bones, would follow in our spoer, and revenge her death. Under these circumstances, they refused to remain about the waggons or in the tent after the sun went down; and having cut down the rafters and cupboards of the house for fuel, they kindled a large fire in the kitchen, where they took up their quarters for the night.”

[19]

A Touch with the Brigands.

It is now several years ago since the author of this “little episode in his life” was travelling in Spain. “I was,” says he, “on the road between Madrid and Bayonne, where the road was rugged, the mountains high, the rivers loose, and the people poor. There were a good many passengers in the rumbling old coach—six within, and ten or twelve on the outside, behind-side, and fore-side of the vehicle. My companions were—a French opera-singer; an old clergyman, who had returned from Rome through Spain, after having embraced the Catholic faith; a French clown, named Moliere, who was, in Paris, said to be equal to one Joe Grimaldi (of facetious memory); an old lady, with her lap-dog and a monkey in a box, attended by her servant, companion, and myself; so that the carriage was almost as infinite in variety as Noah’s Ark, only on a smaller scale.

“The other passengers I could tell but little of. Some, however, were Frenchmen, and others either Italian or Spanish; but there was one who struck my attention by the[20] rotundity of his person, who seemed to have been formed much upon the principle of apple-dumplings or a humming-top. This gentleman, broad, round, thick, and lumpy, was a taciturn Dutchman.

“Now, in the part of Spain to which I have alluded, there is a set of people (Knights of the Moor, as Falstaff calls them), who make the mercurial art of robbery a profession—who pass for the most cavalleros (gentleman-like) men. They are the padrones of old Castille. These brigands had, in the most polite manner imaginable, attacked several pleasure and business parties, with great benefit to themselves and discomfiture to their victims. The government, which in these countries, do everything, but nothing well, had our coach escorted by cavalry, as far as Baitroget; also certain stages between Arendo and Burgos. But when we got into one of the most cut-throat looking places, about three leagues from Orendo, at the cut-throat time in September of about eight in the evening, when the gloaming was fully set, and the moon had risen with a sickly, comsumptive aspect, our ‘John,’ or rather the head postillion was suddenly stopped short; a chain was immediately entangled in the wheel, the traces were cut, and both the postillions were pulled off their horses and thrown on the ground by a couple of surly, well-dressed brigands; while four others, two on each side, came to the carriage, and called upon the conductor and the people in the char-a-banc, as well as those in the coach, and those above, to come down and be robbed in a quiet way. One of the brigands had a hand-lantern, which he thrust into the ”interior“ of our vehicle. The old lady with her lap-dog gave a most piercing shriek, as did[21] her waiting-woman, while the dog barked so furiously, that the brigand seemed excessively savage, and gave the yelping cur such a blow with the lantern, that it knocked the light out, and we were in a moderate degree of darkness. In a few moments, however, we felt the rough hands of two of the brigands, who pulled us out of the coach, and told us to lay down on our faces; the French opera-dancer appealed to their feelings as gentlemen, not to injure female delicacy, and to preserve the old lady, her waiting-woman, and herself from any unnecessary violence. The clown made a sudden summersault over the heads of the brigands, which astonished them to such a degree, that they thought they had come in contact with the Prince of Evil himself; while the Dutchman from the roof laid groaning and trembling all over like a jelly, and imploring for mercy. The other travellers were put hors de combat without ceremony, and the whole group presented as pretty a picture of still life as can well be imagined.

“The driver and postillions had their hands bound behind with strong cords; these necessary precautions were soon exercised on us. The clown’s hands were tied—and so were his legs; and in addition to tying the hands of the old lady and her maid, a couple of gags were obliged to be put into their mouths to prevent their ‘sweet voices’ from disturbing the harmony of the scene. The captain of the band, a fine handsome fellow, with beard enough to stuff a sofa, called upon us, in very bad Castillian, to declare what money we had, and where it was—adding, that if we did not tell the truth, we should be cut-throated or burned. He interrogated us with all the acuteness of Mr. Pegler, (one of the best[22] detectives, and also one of the best of men), frequently changing his tone and accent. ‘Who are you?’ ‘Whence do you come?’ ‘Where are you going?’ were questions put to us, and if we had the misfortune to belong to any place near the haunts of the brigands, or had happened to know the person of any of them, we should have been inevitably assassinated. In fact, a poor postillion was so served only three months before by these very identical brigands, because he happened to be acquainted with one of them.

“They inquired of us whether we were Englishmen, or Americans, for if we had been the former, we should have been completely stripped. The Spanish lower order of people imagine that the clothes of the English and Americans are stitched with gold thread. The lady with the lap-dog, and her maid, unwittingly said they were English, and I, scorning to tell a lie, even in such a case, said that I was from Middlesex, which the chief brigand, whose geography was something like that of the pope, seemed to think an outlandish place, somewhere in the extreme corner of the earth. All these necessary preliminaries being gone through, the picturesque gentlemen began plundering the coach, throwing down and breaking, or ripping open with their long knives, all the boxes, trunks, bags, and packages. Knowing that they could not get at mine without a great deal of trouble, I looked up and told them that I would open my trunk and give them all the money it contained, if they would unbind my hands, for they had drawn the cord so tight that I was in great pain. They consented, and brought my trunk to me. The money they found in it did not satisfy them. They left me in the hands of one of their band, a young man not more than twenty[23] years of age, who continued to search my trunk, while an older and fiercer brigand watched my looks with his carbine levelled at me. The young man, although he made use of the coarsest oaths and other expressions, which beautifully illustrates the fact, that every variety of human speech can be adapted to blaspheme the ”good God who made us,“ was not so savage as the rest, and this was evidently his first expedition. He carried neither carbine nor sword, and the only weapon he had was a Catalonian knife stuck in his belt. Everything he saw in my trunk caused him surprise and wonder. He asked me to tell him the age of each. On finding some rosaries, he exclaimed—‘Ah, you are a priest!’ I told him no, but had bought the rosaries at a fair at Madrid as curiosities. He, however, with great devotion kissed the crosses suspended to them with other emblems, but finding they were of silver, he broke the stones, letting them all fall to the ground. He carefully picked them up, and again kissed each bead and emblem, but at the same time renewed his oaths at his awkwardness. He secured these, and everything else he thought valuable, between his shirt and his skin, but my clothes and linen he put into a large sack, which appeared to be the common receptacle. I had also some small knives and daggers. He asked what I did with them. I told him they had been sold to me as having been worn by the Manolas of Spain under their garters. At this he laughed, and throwing two of them to the ground to me, he put the rest into his private magazine.

“I hoped to make something of my grand brigand, but while I was talking to him the captain came up suddenly, and struck me with violence on the back of the neck with[24] the butt-end of his carbine, saying, in a furious tone, ‘You are looking in his face that you might be able to recognise him!’ He then seized me by the right arm, while another took my left, and they again bound them behind my back. In my bad Spanish, I assured them I was a foreigner from the remote county of Middlesex; but they would not have cared had I been Joseph Hume himself, and threw me down like a sheep tied fast together ready for the slaughter, upon the body of the Hollander, who roared out loudly, and shook most convulsively all over, imploring the brigands not to kill him, for that he had several bills to take up on the 10th proximo at Amsterdam; beside which he had a wife, six children, and two sisters-in-law dependent upon him for support, and an aged mother and two children of a deceased brother. One of the brigands laughed at hearing all this, although he could not understand it in High-Dutch; but I, who knew a little of the language, ventured to translate it for him, which made the chief brigand laugh ten times more. Taking one of the crucifixes found on me he held it before his eyes, and told him to be at once a Catholic, and he would spare his life. ‘Kiss the cross,’ he said ‘or I will cut your throat!’ This was a plain and simple proposition, and the method of its solution freely given. However, much to the honour and glory of the Dutchman, he resolutely refused to do any such thing, and told the brigand that ‘he might kill him if he liked, and that God would take care of all those dependent upon him;’ and when the cross was again presented to his lips, the burly Dutchman turned himself right over on his side, and the ground on which he lay being upon a slight declivity, he began to roll, and his descent being accelerated as he moved[25] downwards, he in a few seconds obtained such a velocity, as to roll down the incline with a rapidity most wonderful—the brigands pausing in their work at so strange a sight, and laughing immoderately.

“The next work of our friends was upon the French opera-dancer, and the old lady and her female companion, who had all been passed at the first movement, and who lay groaning, weeping, sobbing, and rolling about in the utmost trepidation. The dancing lady had fainted two or three times, and finding no one to attend upon her, had come to again of her own accord, till at last, upon one of the brigands approaching her, she went off in apparently a dead swoon. But these kind of things were nothing in the eyes of the bravos, who proceeded to strip her of her outward silk, and to rifle her of all her secret treasures, which had been stowed away in various parts of her inner dress. These consisted of various sums of money, stitched amid wadding and padding, trinkets, love-tokens, charms, bank-notes, &c.; but the brigands were particularly amazed when, upon turning madam over, they found a long, hard roll behind the lady, which was, ostensibly, a padding-machine made to keep the dress from falling down, and for making it to display itself with grace and dignity rearwards; this was manufactured entirely of Napoleons and French bank-notes, the former making up the more substantial part of the article alluded to, and the latter lining the outstanding portion. The fun and frolic of the brigands at this discovery were immense; they joked, they leaped, they danced, they swore, and committed many wild pranks in the joy of their discovery, and falling upon the old maid and her waiting-woman in the same way, they proceeded to unroll them both,[26] as carefully as Professor Owen would an Egyptian mummy, but not finding the same treasures, they cursed and swore in the most vociferous manner, giving the old lady many a good cuff, and behaving to her companion with the same rough ceremony. At this time others of the brigands were knocking the carriage to pieces, and having fallen upon the box containing the monkey, with a blow demolished its upper postern, and in a moment—in less than the twinkling of an eve—out popped the imprisoned monkey, who, immediately leaping on to the shoulder of the nearest brigand, took hold of him by the ear, which it bit in two, and flying from his shoulder to the next, made a laceration of the second brigand’s nose, who, finding himself thus suddenly attacked by what was not very discernable in the moon-light, threw himself down, roaring out his ‘Aves,’ thinking that an imp of the Prince of Darkness was suddenly upon him. In vain did the other brigands make slashes and stabs at the monkey, who ran upon the shoulders of the next one, between the legs of another, up the back of a third, down the breast of a fourth, and kept the whole in perpetual alarm, till at last the poor wretch, having had one or two unlucky knocks, made his escape to some distance, where he sat chattering defiance, and picking up some stones, threatened to throw them at his pursuers.

“The trunks, boxes, bales, and packages, having by this time been thoroughly ransacked, the next object of the brigands was to burn the carriage, in the hope of obtaining, by this means, all the concealed treasures it contained in its various hiding places which are so difficult to find out. Accordingly, straw, stubble, and dried boughs were procured, and a quantity being placed underneath the old vehicle, it was[27] very soon under the horrifying process, and the flames rose up bravely, throwing a broad red light on the surrounding scenery, and the ungagged ladies uttered many loud screams and interjections. The brigands set themselves quietly down by the fire, and watched the progress of the flames upon each part of the burning carriage, having the satisfaction to see several pieces of gold, in the shape of Napoleons, fly out as the parts separated, which they snatched eagerly from the fire with their daggers, and often burnt their fingers to secure. Just as the blaze was at its proudest height, and the brigands were at the full point of triumph, a tremendous discharge of musketry was heard close behind, and three of the robbers fell wounded. The others sprang up, levelled their carbines, and fired in the direction of the noise. Another rapid but irregular discharge, then an immediate onslaught, for, by the light of the moon which then broke out rather brightly, was seen coming onwards some twenty armed cavaliers, who rushed upon the brigands, sword in one hand and pistol in the other, and immediately a most furious combat between the two parties took place. The brigands fought desperately, and their assailants bravely. The three women screamed lustily. I looked on quietly, as did the Dutchman who had rolled to the bottom of the slope. In less than half-an-hour, five of the brigands had been shot down, the rest had dispersed; in the meantime, the carriage had been carefully consumed, and the cavaliers stood victors over five dead brigands, eight bound men, and three bound women. Of course the bound were soon unbound, and then we discovered to whom we had been indebted for our delivery.

“And this was to no less a person than our clown. He had[28] been bound hand and foot at the first, but having, by virtue of his profession, been enabled to walk on his back without any aid from his legs, he had shuffled or wriggled himself off, in the confusion, to a considerable distance without being observed, and when sufficiently away from the daggers of his enemies, managed to get clear of his bandages, and running off in the direction we had left, had the good luck to come up with our escort, which had halted at a kind of halfway-house below us and the nearest town, for the purpose of watering their horses and come-ing themselves; and being[29] somewhat overtaken with the delectable comforts of the hostlery, had stayed much longer than their commission gave them licence to do. Here our clown found them, and they immediately gave chase and came up in the ‘nick of time’ described.

“As soon as the whole of our party could be collected together, we were put one behind each of the cavaliers, and picking up our scattered matters, and robbing the dead bodies of the fallen brigands of that which belonged to us, we all proceeded back to the small village of Orguillas, about half a league from where we had been stopped, and here we were all shown into the ‘venta’ of the village, which consisted of little more than a kitchen with four bare walls, where we laid down, like so many pigs, among the straw till the morning, when we were taken before the Alcade, who gravely heard our depositions, took them down, examined our cavaliers, and told us for our especial benefit that we must find our way back to Madrid as we could. So getting away from the village, and plenty of straw in, then we set off as quickly as bad horses, bad drivers, and bad roads would allow us, and reached the chief city of Spain in the most deplorable plight imaginable. So ended my acquaintance with Spanish Brigands.”

[30]

Gustavus Vasa.

There is nothing which delights me more, my young friends, than to tell you tales of the Great and Good; and among many, who are truly great and good in the pages of history, few stand more pleasingly prominent than Gustavus I., King of Sweden. He was one of those great men whom nature so seldom produces, and who appears to have been endowed by her with every quality becoming a sovereign. His handsome countenance and noble bearing prepossessed all persons in his favour; his artless eloquence was irresistible; his conceptions were bold, and his indomitable spirit brought them to a happy issue. He was intrepid and yet prudent, full of courtesy in a rude age, and as virtuous as the leader of a party can be.

When the tyrant, Christian II. of Denmark, sought to make himself master of the throne of Sweden, Gustavus resolved to save his country from the oppressor; but the execution of his plans was interrupted, as Christian seized his person and kept him prisoner at Copenhagen, as a hostage, with five other heroic Swedes. When at last, in 1519, he heard of the success of Christian, who had nearly completed the subjugation of Sweden, he resolved, although[31] still immured in a loathsome dungeon, to deliver his country. Gustavus escaped to Lubeck, but soon found that the Danes were after him, which obliged him to assume the habit and manners of a peasant. In this disguise he travelled on foot among the plains and mountains as a fugitive, and frequently walked fifty miles in a day, from place to place, to elude his pursuers. When he became familiar with his disguise, and the rude language of the peasantry, he became very bold. He passed several times through the Danish army; when that army was looking out for him, by its scouts, in every direction, he passed through the midst of it in a waggon of hay, and proceeded to an old family castle at Sudermania.[32] He dispatched letters to his friends in the hope of arousing them to the recovery of their liberties; but, meeting with little success among the great, he next tried the peasantry. He visited their villages by night, harangued them at their festive assemblies, but without effect—as they uniformly told him it was in vain for them to attempt to better their condition, for peasants they were and peasants they must remain.

Gustavus next determined to try the miners of Delacarlia. He penetrated the mountains of that remote province, and was obliged, for a scanty subsistence, to enter himself as a common labourer at a mine. Here he worked within the dark caverns of the earth; but the fineness of his linen soon led some of his fellow labourers to suspect that he was more than what he seemed.

By the advice of a friend, at whose house he concealed himself, Gustavus repaired to Mira, where an annual feast of the peasantry was held. There, as his last resource, he displayed with so much mature eloquence and energy the miseries of his country and the tyranny of Christian, that the assembly instantly determined to take up arms and adopt him as their leader. While their hearts were overflowing with an ardent patriotism, Gustavus led them against the governor’s Castle, which they stormed, and took or destroyed the whole garrison. Success increased his forces; multitudes were eager to enlist under the banner of the conquering hero, Gustavus. At the head of his little army, he overran the neighbouring provinces—defeated the Archbishop of Upsala, and advanced to Stockholm. Christian, who had in vain attempted to stop the progress of Gustavus, by the threat of[33] massacreing his mother and sisters, at length put the dreadful menace into execution. This cruel deed only animated Gustavus to a bloody revenge, and warmed more fiercely the blood of his devoted followers.

Gustavus now went forward only to triumph, and, having overcome all opposition, he assembled the states of Sweden at Wadstena, where he received the title of Administrator of the Kingdom, and in 1523 they proclaimed him King. He then set himself zealously to work in the reformation of the abuses both of Church and State. The Lutheran religion began to gain ground; the Scriptures were preached; the lazy drones of the church were shorn of their wealth, and compelled to do their duty; and, while the Danes were completely expelled from Sweden, Gustavus conquered all the internal treacherous enemies of Freedom. Although Sweden was a “limited monarchy,” so great a faith had the people in the justice and love of freedom which Gustavus possessed, that they granted him almost unlimited powers, and this power he never used in the least, but for the good of his country. He perfected the legislation, softened manners, encouraged industry and learning, and extended commerce. After a glorious reign of thirty-seven years, he died in 1560, at the age of seventy, leaving behind him a character, which the brave boys of England may love and venerate.

[34]

The Town Pump.

A STORY OF THE COW WITH AN IRON TAIL.

Noon by the Town Clock; noon, by the shadow of the blessed sun on the dial face, on the face of the Town Pump. High, hot, scorching, melting, smelting noon. Noon, by the thermometer at eighty-two degrees; noon, by the whirr of the dragon-fly,[A] and the quivering haze over the meadow; noon, by heat without and heat within, and by every melting moment. Come, then, my younkers, fresh from school, where you have been turning over dictionaries and spelling, with sweaty fingers—come and take another lesson. Come and shake hands with the Town Pump!

[A] The dragon-fly rests at noontide, and flies most actively towards sundown.

How do you do, my young gentlemen? Take hold of my iron hand. Welcome to you all; I am not above shaking hands with the meanest of you, although I am a public character. Some people have dignified me with the name of Town Treasurer; and not an improper title either, as I am the guardian of the best treasure the Town has: whoever has a draught upon me will be sure to get it honoured, which cannot be said of every Treasurer. The Overseers of the Town ought to make me their Chairman, since I have the best interests[35] of the Town’s people at heart. I am at the head of the Fire Department, and one of the Physicians of the Board of Health. I ought to be dubbed High Constable also, as I am the best Justice of the Peace; for whosoever taketh my cool advice will seldom fall into black eyes or bloody noses: and, in this my magisterial capacity, I think myself as useful as a dozen policemen at least. To speak within bounds, I am[36] the chief person in the Municipality; a Mayor in my own right; and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother officers, by the cool, steady, downright-and-upright motion of my arm in the cause of sobriety and virtue, and by the copious and impartial discharge of my duty. Summer and winter few seek my aid in vain; for all day long I am sure to be found at my post, ready to welcome all comers with a pure and delightful glass, sparkling like the diamond, or the light of gladness in a good man’s eye.

Let me be the Cup-bearer to the State; for I ought to be, by virtue of the iron goblet chained round my waist, and I can sing, with swanging jingle—

“Let’s quaff the goblet full and bright,

And see it in the soul’s best light!—”

and be a water-Anacreon. I am the wisdom that crieth out in the streets, “Will no man regard me?” Yes; I am sure some will. Here is the aqua vitæ, the pure blood of the earth, the distilled juices of heaven. Walk up, gentlemen and children! walk up! Here is the true elixir of life, the primum mobile of existence—the spring of springiness in the joints—the fountain of Diana herself—chaste, pure, and holy! Come and taste the unadulterated ale of Father Adam! Here you can have it pure, or mixed with sunshine, or bubbling with cheerful looks—all without stint—by the hogshead or single glass; and all for love, and nothing to pay! The only untaxed article in the kingdom; think of that! Walk up! walk up! friends and neighbours, and help yourselves.

It would be a pity if this outcry should draw no customers. Here they come, scores of them. A hot day, gentlemen![37] Quaff, and away again! You, my friend, will need another cupfull to wash the dust off your mustaches—the new English invention. I see you have been inhaling the dust of a cotton-mill, and this will wash it all down, not leaving one single particle sticking to the palate, as the “jolly fat ale” does. Come on you, also, Mr. Traveller; you have walked half a score miles to-day, and, like a wise man, have passed by the taverns and stopped at the running brooks and well-curbs; otherwise, betwixt heat without and fire within, you would have been burnt to a cinder, or melted like a lump of butter in a frying-pan. Drink, friend, and be thankful, and make room for that other fellow who seeks my aid to quench the fever of last night’s potations at the “Pig and Whistle.” Welcome, most rubicund sir, with your rosy gills, round paunch, and pimpled nose; I am very glad to see you here, sir! You and I have been great strangers hitherto; nor, to confess the truth, will my nose be anxious for a closer intimacy, till the fumes of your breath become a little less potent. Mercy on you, man, the water absolutely hisses down your red-hot gullet, and is converted quite to steam in the miniature “tophet” which you mistake for a stomach. Fill again, and tell me, on the word of an honest toper, did you ever, in cellar, tavern, gin palace, or dram-shop, spend the price of your children’s food for a swig half so delicious? Now, for the first time for a long while, you know the flavour of cold water. Good bye! and remember, whenever you are thirsty, that I keep a constant supply at the old stand. Who next? O, my little friend, just let loose from school; you would clear your throat with a sup of the pure and lovely? Take it, and may your heart and throat be never scorched by a[38] fiercer thirst than now. There, my dear child, put down the cup, and yield your place to this good-looking gentleman, with a countenance fair and ruddy, and cheerful as the sun in May. It is Stephen Grovely, a friend to water, and to peace, and to vegetable food, and a good friend beside. He takes a sup as if he could make a supper of it, and sleep like moonshine on the placid deep. Who is that coming by, with a sneer and a laugh at Mr. Grovely? He is an oldish kind of gentleman, and treads very lightly on the stones, saving his poor old toes with a stick, and stopping for breath every minute or so. How he pants and wheezes, and what strange winces and contortions are on his face at every movement! How do you find yourself this morning, sir? I hope you had a comfortable night—no nightmares, groanings, fearful dreams, or kickings about in your sleep. “You be hanged!” says the old man. “Thank you, sir, for your good wishes.” I only say:—Go and draw one cork, tip the decanter, pour out the ‘rosy red,’ the ‘golden saffron,’ the ‘purple blue;’ but, when your great toe shall set you a-roaring, don’t say it is the Town Pump.“ If gentlemen love the pleasant titilation of the gout, and won’t take advice, ’tis all one to the Town Pump. Ah, ah! Old Lion, Peter Parley’s old dog, sixteen years old this very day! Come and celebrate your nativity. Well done, old boy, with your two fore-legs on the cistern, and your hind-legs erect; loll out your red tongue, while I pump you a draught. Well may you wag your old tail as thanks, and walk away satisfied, and, old as you are, gambol about refreshed. Lion, Lion! your worship never had the gout, so do not bark at that poor old gentleman who hobbles by you, looking so sour and woeful.

[39]

Are you all satisfied? then wipe your mouths, my good friends, and be thankful; and while the spout has a moment’s leisure, I will delight the town with a few historical reminiscences. In far antiquity, beneath the darksome shadow of venerable boughs a spring bubbled out of the leaf-strewn earth, on the very spot where you now behold me on the sunny pavement. The water was bright and clear, and seemed as precious as liquid diamonds. Amid the grove—for it was a sacred one—Druid-seers celebrated their mystic rites, and, with the pure, undulterated stream, allayed the fiery thirst of feverish lips, and cured diseases. Here they assembled in high delight at Christmas time, and while snow covered all the earth, was kept open by their prayers the then only bubbling spring. But the Druids passed away, and in their place, ages after, were seen, yet still in the same white robes, holy priests of Christ, sanctifying the sacred spot. The spring bubbled as before: but now it had the power to heal—pilgrims flocked to it from all parts—the pious St. Columb had sanctified it. It worked miracles on the diseased. The halt, the maimed, the sick came to it and were healed. Free rose the spring; but it was no longer a free offering to the poor, the sick, and the wretched. A price was set upon it. Those that thirsted for the water had to pay before they got any;—as the pay was increased the miracles were more wonderful, till at last, over the once free and natural spring a stupendous building arose, with its flying buttresses high in air; its spandrils within, and their corbels capped with the faces of the condemned; its lofty pinnacle studded with angels, and every coign of vantage speaking the mysteries of a faith which was obliterated by its grotesque ornaments; yet, age after age, the miraculous[40] waters flowed. At last, the sacred fane decayed, and holy men were no more seen; broken pillars and scattered mouldings bestrewed the place; and the grass, and the rank plants of summer, and the briar, and the burdock, and the tansy were the only guardians of the spot; yet, still the spring bubbled forth, and threw its bright gems of brilliance to the light of heaven; and solitary men would come and moralise over its site, with tears as deep as its own gushings. At last the fountain was broken up; the ruins of the old abbey were cleared away; place was given to the levelling hand of time; a hostlery arose near to the place whereon the fountain stood, a part of which occupied the very spot. Still, however, the spring bubbled forth by fits and starts,—its waters sometimes clear, sometimes turbid. It was turned into a tank or pool; and while horses slackened their thirst, their masters increased theirs by the strong waters of the inn; and there were carousals, and debaucheries, and strifes, and murders upon a place which had once been considered holy. Fire came during an intoxicating season—the season when peace on earth and good-will towards man was proclaimed. The hostlery was burnt down—the pure spring was smothered—and its very site, after a lapse of years, forgotten. At last foundations were dug—a new town sprang up over the old—a church and market-house took the place of the old abbey—and a Temperance Hotel that of the Inn. The old spring bubbled up again, in delight, at the improved prospect. But it now lay on the earth, yet higher on Sabbath-days. Whenever a baby was to be baptised, the sexton came and filled his basin, and placed it on the font in the baptistry of the church: and hither, too, came the pious deacon of the chapel,[41] with his rude basin of delf, for the same holy purpose. Thus, one generation after another was consecrated to heaven by its waters, and cast their waning shadows into its crystal bosom. But in course of time another change took place; a greedy bricklayer of a churchwarden, who wanted a job out of the parish, proposed to build over the spring; and cartloads of bricks and high mountains of mortar incased it on every side. The spring was effectually brick-bound, and upon it arose the Town Pump, with its spout and handle of iron, and a gas-light above it, and a stone cistern below, on which appeared, in all the emblazoning of municipal grandeur—“Erected in 1848: Job Trick and Giles Keen, Churchwardens.” Then let us drink the health of these worthy gentlemen, and success to their better motives. Drink then again, my friends, to the cause of Temperance; drink to the cause of peace all the world over; drink to the cause of righteousness; to that of pure religion, drawn from the fountain-head of Him who called himself the “Living Water.” Pump away, while you have life, in the cause of Truth! Pump away, my lads, for all that thirst! Let our Town Pump be our Physician, our Town Councillor, our Keeper of the Peace, and our best resource when we are sick, sad, or thirsty.

[42]

The Youthful Nelson.

NELSON’S SCHOOL-HOUSE.

Lord Nelson, our great Naval Commander, was, in his youth, remarkable for his disinterestedness and intrepidity. Among his school-fellows, he was always the first to do a noble thing; and, whenever he thoughtlessly joined[43] others in doing a foolish one, he never shrank from the responsibility; but, instead of trying to shift the blame upon others, was always ready to take it upon himself. On one occasion, while at school, upon an approaching Fifth of November, the Rev. Mr. Jones, with whom Nelson went to school, at North Walsham, strictly prohibited any of the scholars from leaving the house or grounds, to go in search of what is called “Plunder;” that is, wood, sticks, and loose stubble, with which bonfires are generally constructed, and the getting of which sometimes plays sad havoc with hedges, railings, and the like. This was, indeed, a sad misfortune to the school-boys, who always feel that the best part of the fun of a Fifth of November is the prowling about for forage; and a glorious thing it has ever been and ever will be, to see boys bearing their boughs of trees, roots of trees, stumplings and hedgelings, into the grand square of the play-ground, with almost military honors. The shouting, the warm hands and hearts, the cheerful faces, the mad pranks, and the thousand laughable incidents which occur, give to these sports a charm unknown to any other youthful frolics. Nelson was not a boy to relinquish this old custom; and therefore, when before going to bed on the Fourth of November, the Reverend Dominie pronounced the interdiction, and solemnly warned the school-boys not to attempt any wild freaks on that day of brimstone-matches and fire-works, Nelson’s blood rose into his face, and he said, loudly—

“I hope you don’t include me, Sir.”

“Not include you, Sir?” replied the indignant Clergyman. “Indeed I do include you, Sir! and positively insist upon your keeping with the other boys in the school-room, and not to leave the play-ground.”

[44]

“I can’t answer for myself, Sir,” replied Nelson; “and you can’t answer for the boys, I am sure. Such a thing was never heard of since the days of James the First.”

“I do positively enjoin the strictest obedience to my commands,” said the Master, “and positively forbid any one from leaving the school premises to-morrow,” and, with a severe look at Nelson, the Master ordered the boys to bed on the instant.

The lads of the school, in number about forty, were domiciled in one large bed-room. As soon as the doors were shut and the lights out, little Nelson leaped out of bed, and whispered, loud enough to be heard by all—

“Who is for a sky-lark?”

“I—I—I—I—I—I am,” responded a dozen voices; and, in the same moment, as many lads leaped out of their beds, and were jumping about the dormitory in their long bedgowns.

“It is bright moonlight,” said Nelson.

“What a beautiful night for a ramble,” said little Eugene Harris, the schoolmaster’s nephew.

“What a beautiful night for ‘plunder’ for a bonfire,” rejoined Nelson; and thereupon all the boys leaped out of bed, and ran to the windows.

“’Tis too soon yet,” said Nelson; “it is but nine o’clock: let us wait till twelve and then sally out, and get as much fire-wood into the play-ground as will reach to the level of the old Clock-house, and set fire to it in the morning, and begin our day as we are wont to end it,” cried Nelson. “In the meantime put on your clothes, and get ready for a start.”

The boys did as they were told; for, although Nelson was smaller than many, and younger than most, he had obtained such an influence over his schoolfellows, that every one[45] seemed quite ready to do his bidding. They knew that they could depend upon him; that, if he got them into a scrape, he would, somehow or other, contrive to bring them off again with honor, although he suffered in their stead. Thus, the boys made themselves ready for the enterprise; and Nelson began by tying the sheets and blankets together, by which the boys were to descend from the bed-room to the ground; and long before midnight all was ready for the exploit.

The moon, which had been shining brilliantly, had, however, now become obscured by darkened, dismal clouds, and the wind began to howl fearfully. Some of the boys were disturbed at this state of the elements, and ventured to suggest a postponement of the enterprise.

“The more the danger the greater the fun,” cried Nelson; “besides which, the less likely are we to be seen or heard—

‘So, let the wind blow;

Our ship rocks so.’

The wilder the night, the frisker we will be.“ He then opened the window, and let down the first knotted set of blankets; and, calling on all those who had got any spirit for a good thing to follow him, he descended by the said blankets into the shrubbery underneath.

Most of the boys followed; but a portion of the younger branches were too timid to descend, and kept a good look-out at the windows. In the meantime, Nelson mustered his followers in three divisions—ten in each—placing a captain to each “corps.” He then directed them to proceed in three several directions, and to capture all that was burnable, and bring it to a grand rendezvous, underneath the great clump of[46] trees at the further end of the shrubbery contiguous to the play-ground.

“PLUNDER.”

[47]

Noble and exciting was the work of that dreary night. The wind blew, and the rain came; but, nothing daunted, the little heroes went long distances for their “plunder;” and, like bees in search of honey and wax, went and returned with all the delight and joy imaginable. Young Nelson was here and there, and everywhere; now guiding, now directing, now cautioning, and now cheering his little army. At last, by the time morning dawned—which was not very early at that time of the year—such a tremendous lot of matters were brought together as had never been known on any former occasion. It filled all the back avenue of the shrubbery, and there seemed almost enough of material to set a town on fire. Nelson, who beheld this accumulation of igneous matter, felt his heart beat with joy; and a thought suddenly seized him of bringing the whole into the play-ground, and of setting fire to it, to begin the day. This idea was no sooner communicated to his playmates than it was eagerly adopted; and, in less than half-an-hour, bushes, straw, branches of trees, blocks of wood, tarred palings, and a variety of odd things, such as it would be puzzling to describe, were piled up in the centre of the play-ground to the height of twenty feet, and with a base equal to it, so as to form a most noble pyramid.

The day was breaking; and, just as the full light broke upon the pile, worthy of a Sardanapalus, all the merry workers felt proud of their labours. Some capered, some danced, some almost shrieked with joy; and Nelson, beholding the excitement, could not refrain, in the true spirit of a sailor that was to be, from crying out, at the top of his voice—

“Three cheers for an old Guy! Hurrah for a bonfire!”

Three cheers were immediately given, shrill and loud as the[48] wild war-whoops of so many ferocious Indians. Again, and again—for, once begun, the youngsters seemed as if they could never leave off, and the welkin rang with the noise.

Its effects had not been anticipated; and the cheering had scarcely subsided, when up flew a window, and in the centre of it appeared the head of the Reverend Doctor. In a moment the boys vanished, as if by instinct; and, rushing round the gable end of the premises, regained their bed-chamber by the same means they had escaped from it. Not so, however, with their leader. He only hid himself behind the laurels and evergreens; feeling it a point of honor not to leave the post of danger till the very last. At the same time, the Dominie kept vociferously shouting from his chamber-window—

“You wicked boys! you shall all of you smart for this! I will flog every one of you who have dared to disobey my orders; and, as to a bonfire, you shall never have one as long as I live.” So saying, he disappeared from the window, with the intention of coming down to the court-yard; and ringing furiously at the bell to awaken the servants, and calling loudly for John and Richard, the groom and gardener, he made the best of his way down stairs.

In the interim, Nelson, who had heard the threat, fearing that after all he and his companions would be deprived of the fun, frolic, and glory of a bonfire, determined to be beforehand with the Magister,—crept slyly into the stable, where he knew a tinder-box and matches were always kept, speedily struck a light and, as quick as light itself, ran to the immense pile, and set fire to it. In a few seconds all was in a blaze; and as the flames rose up, and thick volumes of smoke on every side, and the whole atmosphere[49] became illuminated, the Dominie appeared with his servants, male and female, at the back-door. He, indeed, wore a look of most odd consternation, while a sly laugh peeped from the peering eyes of the groom and gardener, and twinkled out of the corners of the mouths of the cook and housemaid. Nelson had mounted a fine old Scotch fir-tree a short distance off, to observe the fun—and rare fun it was—for the Reverend Doctor took to pulling the fire to pieces; and in so doing set fire to the thatched roof of the cow-house, which required the united aid of John and Richard to extinguish. All was hubbub and confusion; no one knew exactly what to do—and one ran one way and one another. The stable-boy, a sly rogue, thought he could not do better than run for the parish-engine; but the flames rose so high and furiously, that they threatened, long before the parish-engine arrived, to make up their minds to burn themselves out, with “all the honors.” By this time the boys had all dressed themselves, and came to the scene of conflagration as meek and astonished as if they knew nothing whatever about it. The Master was in a furious fever, and had under his arm his very best strapping-cane, determined to use it woefully so soon as the fire was got under. At last, the great blaze slackened; sundry crackings and bangings were heard. Now the upper parts fell in, and made a great dust and smoke—then again it blazed out for a few brief moments with redoubled fury, at which the young gentlemen could not refrain from testifying their infinite approbation, to the extreme mortification of their Master. The engine at last arrived to play on the expiring embers; and, in the language of that part of the country, the fire was “douted.”

[50]

But “after pleasure cometh pain,” as the old round-hand copy used to preach. The period of retribution walked quietly forth. It was not yet the hour of breakfast, and the first thing the enraged Dominie did was to issue a mandate for the stoppage of the breakfast supplies, till the bold, daring, impudent, disobedient authors of the freak were discovered, and brought to condign punishment. The whole of the boys were speedily mustered, (to be soon peppered) and brought into the school-room, where they stood trembling for their fate. Fierce with rage—his pig-tail bristling with indignation—the Master, with cane under arm, and with a frown on his face, appeared at his desk. Forty boys stood before him, uncertain of their coming tortures, and Nelson foremost among them. “I demand,” said the Master, in a voice of thunder, “who it is that has dared to brave my authority; and I promise free pardon and a holiday to those who will——”

“Betray their companions?” said Nelson.

This was a flash of lightning on a touch-hole of powder, and immediately made the Master spring from his desk, and taking hold of Nelson by the collar, brought him into the middle of the school.

“You are one of them!” said the enraged Clerical, “and unless you immediately tell me who are the guilty parties in this exploit, I will strip the skin from your shoulders.”

“The skinning of an eel is a difficult job,” said Nelson—“but as to who did the deed, I can inform you at once. It was I.”

“Yes, I know it was you—for you are the mover of all[51] such harum-scarum exploits; but who were your abettors and instigators?”

“I instigated myself,” said Nelson.

“No doubt, no doubt—but I will know who your companions were, and I’ll warrant this cane shall bring it out of you.”

“Try it,” said Nelson.

Exasperated by this cool impudence, the Master applied the cane vigorously to the young hero’s shoulders, who stood the process with much about the same indifference as a gate-post. At the end of the caning, Nelson said, mildly—

“Stop and take breath, Sir—you will hurt your constitution.”

This was too much for human endurance, and the Master gave it to Master Nelson again, with a hearty good will, and only ceased when the cane split into two. Nelson, standing as obdurate as before, said—

“I think that tree will bear no more good fruit, and ought to be cast into the fire. But Sir, let me tell you, had that cane been a crab-stick, and had that crab-stick been knobbled all over, and had each of those knobs had a sharp spike on it, it would not have made me dishonourably betray my companions. I am quite ready to bear this, and as much more, for their sakes. Thirty were with me, and ten were not—you cannot thrash the real heroes, because you cannot tell which they are; but give me twenty times my share, and I shall be thankful—I am the ring leader of the affair, and ought to be punished. I instigated thirty Spartans to the noble work of keeping up Guy Faux Day—I am proud of it.—A bonfire on the Fifth of November is a chartered[52] right of school-boys, and we only say, ‘Pro aris et focis.’ Do not be unmerciful to us, good Sir—you were once a boy—and how many ‘bonfires’ may you not have had—and how many ‘Guys’ may you not have dressed? Do look over this offence, if it be one, and we’ll all do double tasks for the next month, and say you are a good master, as you always have been.”

This pertinent, but noble speech, found an echo in the breast of the good old Clergyman, for he was, notwithstanding this somewhat stringent prohibiting, a kind old man at heart. He could not conceal his emotion—and hid his face behind his desk, under the pretence of having dropped his key. Presently, after a short season of cool reflection, he descended from the rostrum, and coming among the boys, thus addressed them:—

“My boys,” he said, “obedience to my orders is not only a duty to me, but to yourselves—you are not old enough to know at all times what is really good for you. Nor is it proper at all times that I should give you reasons for my conduct. It ought to be enough, that when I lay down a rule you should have good faith in my intentions, and you ought to be well aware that I would in no way restrict your enjoyments but for some good reason. By your conduct you have not only disobeyed my commands, but you have probably inflicted a very serious wound in the breast of one who is a stranger in this place, deserves all the rights of hospitality, and of Christian charity. Our new neighbour here, Sir Thomas Alton, is a Roman Catholic; his gardens adjoin ours. As a school, our doings must be a sufficient nuisance to him. He only came amongst us last Michaelmas, and yet he gave[53] you peaches by the hat-full, and nectarines by scores. He is a Roman Catholic, as I said before, and it was not for us to poke a ‘Guy Faux’ or a ‘bonfire’ under his nose—we should not have liked it ourselves—and there is nothing like the religion that teaches us to do as we would be done by. The first duty we owe to a neighbour is to be charitable to his opinions; if they are not the same as ours, that is the very reason why we should act the more forbearingly and lovingly towards him. But, by your conduct, you have thwarted all my good intentions, defeated my charity, and spoiled my love.”

“If we had known this,” said Nelson, “we would not have touched a billet or a faggot for the world.”

“Would that I had informed you of it,” replied the Master; “and from the circumstance I may also learn a lesson: That it is wiser to teach by appeals to reason and to conscience, than to expect much from a blind obedience. Boys are, indeed, but men of a smaller growth. Yet still, if you love me, and have faith in me, you will obey me without asking the reason.”

“We will do anything,” said Nelson, “to show our love to Sir Thomas.”

“You can do nothing, Sir,” replied the Master. “You will probably have inflicted a wound which I shall find some difficulty in healing.”

“Not in the least, my dear Sir,” said a voice, in an Irish accent, from the door, which stood partly open. “By my faith, I think the boys are all heroes; and if they want a Guy, if they will come up to the Hall, I will be a Guy myself, and we will have a good fire, and roasted apples, and roasted chesnuts, and sure we will roast one another; which is a vast[54] deal better than so much basting. So come along my lads, and take me for your Guy Faux.”

Three cheers simultaneously burst forth at this speech. The Doctor was overcome with agreeable emotion. Nelson ran to kiss the hand of Sir Thomas; and after mutual congratulations, the boys had a cheerful breakfast, and made the merriest day at the Hall that they ever before enjoyed, by the most grotesque Guy on the most splendid bonfire.

[55]

Something about the Turkish Provinces.

War, my young friends, is a fiendish sport. It has been said it is a game that, if their subjects were wise, kings could not play at. Its object is—killing on a large scale; mowing down men as if they were fields of corn, and with as little compunction; bringing bristling bayonets, grape and canister-shot, red-hot balls, explosive bombs, and volleys of bullets upon poor humanity; and blowing up into the air, or down into the deep, thousands of poor unfortunate fellows who, perhaps, know no more about the quarrel that produced the war, than so many unhatched chickens. Truly, to read history, one might suppose that the human race, during the last four thousand years at least, must have been a little insane; there seems so little reason for all the bombardments, assaults, battles, and massacres, which have taken place. Well, we thought ourselves getting wiser; the boys and girls that had read “Peter Parley’s Annual” fifteen years ago, had become men and women; and education had made great strides. The drill-sergeant of the German despots was drafted into our schools; and Chelsea children were taught to read by military discipline, with a view to[56] their being made friends of humanity, and lovers of peace. The European kings and potentates were a Holy Alliance of loving brothers, and had pretended that the Christian religion should be their future guide. They said this, after they had received several and sundry sound drubbings from the great Napoleon; and, while rubbing their shoulders and sides, after one cudgelling they had received—and deservedly received, too—said, they would be very good boys. But, as soon as the danger was past, and they had got a little over their various mishaps, they began to lie, rob, cheat, and filch, not only from each other, but from their next-door neighbours, like so many wolves or foxes. At last, one savage old Bear, more savage and more powerful than the rest, makes a grab at a Turkey; whereupon the Turkey, instead of falling a victim, like a goose, blew up his purple nose like a windy sun-rise, and puffed out his feathers, and stretched forth his wings, and came towards the old Bear like a game-cock, and called upon the British Lion and the French Eagle to back him. “But what is all this about?” my young friends inquire. Take a map, and look at it. Find out the Black Sea; and you will see on its northern coast, the Russian Empire stretches down towards the south; and, to the west, you will see certain provinces which belong to Turkey, the principal of which is Moldavia. It is the most northern province of Turkey. It is bounded on the east by Bessarabia—a province which formed part of Turkey until 1812, when it was given up to the great Russian Bear; on the south is Wallachia; and on the west and north, by the provinces of the Austrian Empire. The province forms a compact territory, about 200 miles in length, and 120 in breadth.

[57]

Moldavia formed part of the Byzantine or Eastern Empire, and suffered greatly from the incursions of the rude hordes which infested Europe in the middle ages. When the Turks conquered Constantinople from the Greek Emperors, Moldavia by a timely submission, obtained favourable treatment from the Sultan; and had its own laws, liberties, and religion secured. Thus it remained for two centuries: at length the Czar of Russia directed his attention to this province; but was unable to lay hold of it at that time. What he will do now remains to be seen.

Although Moldavia forms a part of the Turkish dominions, the Moldavians are not Mahommedans. They profess the religion of the Greek Church—a superstitious and corrupt form of Christianity professed also by the Russians. Persons who have not received baptism by the rites of this Church are not deemed Christians; the misguided people dwell upon rites and ceremonies, oblations, offerings, prayers to images, severity of discipline; and the heaviest crimes are settled by confession and absolution of the Priest. Reading and the perusal of the Holy Scriptures are almost wholly unknown; and though we might at first be glad that the Moldavians were not Mahommedans, yet, when we consider the iniquities of the creed they follow, it would perhaps be better if they were.

The Moldavians believe in all sorts of witchcraft, in apparitions of the dead, in ghosts and in miracles performed by the images of saints. In illness they place an image near them, and when they recover, they attribute the recovery to the efficacy of the image alone. No prayers or thanksgiving are offered up either to the Deity or to the Saviour; but to the Virgin and a prodigious number of Saints.

[58]

The principal food of the peasantry consists of a kind of dough, called mamma linga, made of the flour of Indian wheat, sometimes mixed with milk. The season of Lent is usually kept by them with vigorous severity, and for the first two or three days after its termination, they sparingly indulge themselves with a little meat; but many of them are too poor to obtain this indulgence, and content themselves with a few eggs only.

The dress of these people bears some resemblance to that of the Dacians, in the time of the Romans; and has probably suffered but little change for centuries. Their feet are covered with sandals made of goat skin. They wear a kind of loose pantaloon, which is fastened to the waist by a light leathern belt, and closes from the knee downwards. The upper part of the dress is composed of a light waistcoat, and a short jacket over it, of coarse cotton stuff; in winter they add a white sheep-skin, which is hung over the shoulders in the manner of the hussar’s pelisse. The hair is twisted round the back of the head, and covered with a cap, usually of sheep-skin. The women are generally clothed from the neck to the ancles in a long gown of light-coloured cheap cotton, made high at the waist, which they cover on holiday occasions with a shorter dress, buttoned from the neck to the waist, and ornamented with one or two rows of beads. Under ordinary circumstances the poorer classes go barefoot, and have no covering for the head, except a handkerchief.

Almost every village has a small church or chapel belonging to it, and one or two priests who act as curates. The ecclesiastics of their order are chosen from amongst the ordinary peasants, from which they are only distinguished[59] by an immense beard. They lead the same sort of life, and follow their usual labour, when not engaged in the exercise of their clerical functions; but they are exempted from taxes. The generality of them can neither read nor write. They learn the formula of the services by rote, and if a book is seen in their chapels, it is more for ornament than use.

The towns and seaports of Moldavia partake of that mixed European character that results from the intercourse between merchants, dealers, &c. The peasants’ huts are all built of the same size and style; the walls are of clay, and the roofs thatched with straw, neither of which is calculated to protect the inmates from the inclemencies of bad weather. The ground-floors are, however, occupied as long as the weather will permit; and in the winter the inmates retire to cells underground, easily kept warm by a little fire made of dung, roots, and some branches of trees, which, at the same time, serves for cooking their scanty food. Each family, however numerous, sleeps in one of these subterranean habitations, the beds being formed of coarse woollen rags.

Perhaps the most extraordinary feature in the structure of Moldavian society is the vast number of gipsies residing therein. Their bodily constitution is strong, and they are so hardened by constant exposure to the cold weather, that they appear fit for any labour or fatigue; but their natural aversion to a life of industry is, in general, so great, that they prefer all the miseries of indigence to the enjoyment of comforts that are to be reaped by persevering exertion.

Both men and women are finely formed, but are exceedingly dirty in their habits and appearance. They acknowledge[60] no particular religion; nor do they think of following the precepts of any, unless compelled. Their chief occupation, in their vagrant life, is the making of iron tools, baskets, and other cheap articles. They attend wine-houses and taverns, and are sometimes called to the houses of noblemen when a concert is to be given; as many of them play rudely on various concert instruments. When the public works are to be constructed, the Government gipsies, who are acquainted with masonry, are called in to assist the labourers, receiving food and no wages, and are, in other respects, treated like cattle.

I have, for the present, confined myself principally to the humbler classes of the Moldavians. I shall, in my next prattle, inform my young readers of the Wallachians, and of the country of Wallachia, which the Great Russian Bear wants to steal.

[61]

Something about the Old Abbeys and Castles of England.

We give in the above engraving a view of the rains of an Old Monastery, and as it suggests a train of ideas, pertaining to bye-gone ages, I must give my young friends the benefit of them.

[62]

What about Monasteries? I should like to hear something about them—for wherever we travel we come to ruins of some kind or other, most of which are of Old Castles, or Old Monasteries, and therefore I should like to know more about them. This is what many of my young readers would say, and upon this “would say”—I join issue.

Monasteries are buildings to which people retired when they were tired of the world, or when they were unfortunate, or when they were wicked—and sometimes when they were good. The inclination to a monastic life arose with the corruptions of society, and with the dangers in which every body shared in the strifes, feuds, and wars of the dark ages. Those well-disposed persons who found it difficult to resist the corruptions of the times, sought in solitude a protection against temptation; and that fondness for contemplation, so curious in Eastern parts of the world, gave rise to the most ancient oriental philosophy, and also to that peculiar sanctity to which those who retired from the world often attained. To this was added the opinion, that, transgressions may be best atoned for by abstinence from all the pleasures of life, and from all society with men. And thus, according to an early notion popular througout the East, the Deity might be appeased. Anchorites, hermits, recluses, and monks are therefore found in the anti-christian times of Asiatic antiquity, and are also still prevalent in India and other parts of the Orient.

Among the Christians, whose religion assumes a spiritural and solitary nature among some,—a man used, as he thought, to elevate his soul above the world by hiding himself in buildings of thick stone, with little low doors and[63] windows barely sufficient to let in the light of Heaven. Monasteries were first founded in the deserts of Upper Egypt, where Antony commonly called “the Great,” collected a number of hermits, about the year 305. These, for the sake of enjoying the benefit of retirement from the world in each other’s society, built their huts close together, and performed their devotional exercises in common. In the middle of the fourth century, Pachomius built a number of houses at a small distance from each other, upon the island of Tabenna, on the Nile, each of which was occupied by three or four monks in cells, who were all under the superintendance of a Prior. These Priories formed together the Cænobium, or Monastery—which was under the care of a Superior, the Abbot (from Abbas father)—and the monks were obliged to submit to uniform rules of life. Many of the monasteries were strictly enclosed with high walls, so as to preserve the immates from the temptations of the world around them; and to supply the place of the solitude of deserts. Hence the name of Cloisters, from Claustra, “inclosures.” The monks were soon after made to conform to still more strict discipline, which, in many cases, consisted in the most extreme mortification of the body. Stone beds, hair shirts, roots to eat and water to drink; long kneelings, frequent prostrations, severe whippings, and endless repetitions of prayers, were among the more common ways of securing admission to the realms of bliss; thus monasteries became the resort of all those who thought that heaven was attainable by such methods. Similar establishments for females were also instituted, called Nunneries, where women underwent complete exclusion from the world and the severest mortifications, many of which have been attempted to be revived in our own times,[64] in connection with the Church of England. The Nunneries were, in some instances, worse in their effects than the monasteries; and it is a well-known fact that the vilest means were taken to imprison young females in such places by wicked relatives, who divided their fortunes with the priests, who shut them in.

Yet with all their abuses, many of the monasteries of the[65] more enlightened European States became the dwellings of piety, industry, and temperance; and the refuge of learning, during the prevalence of those frightful wars which desolated the world in the dark ages. Yet, as the world became more settled, and as wealth began to abound, the monasteries became the receptacles of every kind of iniquity and luxury; and with it, the grossest immorality crept within their walls—together with all the vices of the world; indeed, murders, with other abominable crimes, were frequently committed in these dismal dwellings. At last the Reformation arose. In this country, King Henry VIII. seized upon the monastic revenues, and applied them to the service of the State, and to himself. In various parts of Europe where the Light of the Gospel penetrated, other kings or rulers imitated our King Henry; and from these enormous revenues, institutions for educational purposes were founded and supported. In Catholic countries they retained their original constitution, till the eighteenth century. From the influence of the spirit of the age they sunk in public estimation—their whole system was exploded. Many monasteries have become extinct, many others are with difficulty sustained; but still, in the more benighted countries of Europe they exist, to the great detriment of social progress, and will be only overthrown by the advance of intelligence, and the spread of sound religious principles.

One of the most famous of these institutions, in England, was St. Mary’s Abbey, York. It was situated near the walls of York, and during nearly five centuries maintained a very high rank among the religious establishments of the North. Its origin, as given by its first Abbot, is as follows:—Not[66] long after the Norman conquest, Runifried, a pious monk, fixed his cell at Whitby, with the hope of being there wholly secluded from the world. His fame attracted round him a great number of devout persons, among whom was Stephen, afterwards the Abbot. From the Earl of Northumbria the monks obtained a grant of land; but when, by their labours, they had cultivated and improved it, the Earl became their persecutor, to induce them to relinquish what they had made trebly valuable. They were also harassed by the frequent attacks[67] of pirates by sea, and robbers by land. Driven from their first place of sojourn by these distresses, they obtained from the King permission to repair for themselves the Monastery of Lashingham, then lying in ruins, about twenty miles to the north-west of Whitby. Nevertheless, in this solitude they found no rest; they were constantly subjected to the assaults of robbers and the enmity of their former persecutors, and also of the Archbishop of York, who claimed part of their domain. The case was carried at last before the tribunal of the King in person, who promised to see the monks righted; but the King dying, the claim of the Archbishop was renewed, till William Rufus interfered and gave to the Archbishop, in lieu of the disputed ground, a Church in York, dedicated to St Stephen. Soon afterwards, this monarch visiting York, laid with his own hand the first stone of a new and larger establishment than that which the monks had hitherto possessed, and calling it after St. Mary, made to it liberal grants and privileges.

This religious fraternity were Black Monks, of the Order of St. Benedict. Their Abbot was little inferior to the Bishop of the province, being mitred, and having a seat in Parliament, which entitled him to the dignified appellation of “my lord.” His retinue was sumptous whenever he travelled abroad, and he possessed two country seats in the neighbourhood of York, and a house in London, near Paul’s Wharf. He had also a spacious park well stocked with game. This sumptousness engendered jealousy among the people of the City of York, who on several occasions burned parts of the abbey, and slew the monks. Simon, the Abbot, could not appease the tumult, except upon paying a hundred pounds[68] as a peace offering to the enraged party. Afterwards, an enormous wall was built to defend the abbey from these depredations, which effctually prevented such disasters, till the time of the dissolution of monasteries, of which I have spoken.

At this time there were, in the house, fifty monks, including the abbot, the prior, and one sub-prior, with a revenue of £2,091 4s. 7d. per annum, equal to £20,000 of our money, which was a pretty good sum for the support of fifty monks.

The mitred abbeys, at the dissolution, were for the most part granted by the King to noble or wealthy families, in[69] consideration of service or exchange of lands, or for the payment of money; and the harvest was a rich one that the King reaped by this plundering of the monks. Soon after the dissolution, an order was issued by the Crown, to level the Abbey, and erect, with due alacrity, a palace for the residence of the Lords President of the North: thus its splendid architecture was cut up piecemeal. Some beautiful remains were, notwithstanding, still left; and, upon the formation of a Philosophical Society, in 1822, the site of St. Mary’s Abbey was chosen as a proper situation for the erection of a Botanic Garden. It was the spot on which the front of the palace had formerly stood, and which had previously been occupied by the range of buildings and apartments of the monastery. The first opening of the ground discovered antiquarian treasures, that even Keet, the great antiquarian, would have rejoiced at. Not mere heaps of mutilated stones were there, but whole portions of the walls of the monastery; of spacious and elegant door ways; of columns of various forms, rising to the height of five or six feet, standing, as they had been, before the dissolution of the monastery, intersected by massive foundations of the palace. Not an hour passed without bringing to light some long-buried specimens of the art and fancy of the monastic sculptor.

In travelling over a country, my young friends will frequently meet with similar buildings to those I have attempted to describe—and I would only observe, that antiquities are a most interesting study. The spirit of times gone by live in the midst of monastic ruins—and from such we may trace the deeds of our forefathers, and enter into[70] familiar conversation with them. Nor must we deem our progenitors entirely unworthy our regard and veneration; for, notwithstanding the barbarous ages in which they lived—notwithstanding the ignorance that surrounded them—and notwithstanding their superstition and bigotry—they have left us a rich inheritance; and our own times teem with the glories, the virtues, and sterling worth of the past.

[71]

Oranges and Lemons, or the Bells of St. Clement’s.

What a beautiful thing is Memory! It is like the softened sounds of receding music; it is like the long track of silvery spray which a ship leaves on the divided waters. Twilight is the air’s remembrance of the sun. In the olden time, there were some who thought that in childhood we had recollections of Heaven; and, probably, this little world of ours will be a memory to us when we have left it for ever. It is a happy thing that we can drink again some of the sweetness of a by-gone joy; and very useful, though not so pleasant, that we can recall our past errors and follies, and, by steeping them in regret and shame, turn them into lessons of duty.

Pietro Limoncelo was a poor foreigner from the sunny shores of the Mediteranean. While yet a youth, the political troubles of his country had obliged him to leave his home among the fruits and sunbeams, and to find a refuge in London, where he earned a poor living as a journeyman-tailor. He lodged in a garret, in a court branching off from the Strand, near the church of St. Clement Danes. What[72] a change for him! He who had lived near an orange grove, who had basked in the sunshine of the South, or under the shade of purple vines, or beneath the trees where “orange lamps in a green light,” glimmered with a golden beauty—he to become the tenant of a poor room in a dingy thoroughfare, amidst gloom and discomfort, and the hard life of English poverty—it was a sad change, indeed. If such changes happen to any of us, we must keep up our hearts, by remembering that no gloom or darkness can obscure the vision of the Supreme, and that the beams of his blessedness may penetrate even into the dreariest places.

Pietro had not been regularly apprenticed to a tailor: it could not be said of him that he had learned the trade; but he had picked up a little knowledge of it from time to time, and practice improved him. What he did was done pretty well, but he was not ranked as a first-class workman; consequently, the only department in which he could get employment was that in which is called the “Slop”—a department in which goods are got up, common in quality and low in price, for the accommodation of humble customers. There was not much opportunity here of earning handsome wages; it was a bare living, and nothing more.

One evening he was sitting cross-legged on his board, bending wearily over some work that had just come in from his employers, the great Tailoring firm of Push, Puff, Poetry, Placard, and Company. He had lately felt very unwell, and unable to work with his usual energy; he had been obliged more than once to cut off three or four from his wonted number of labour hours. Less work brought, as a consequence, less pay; and so the cupboard got bare, and[73] matters became very desperate indeed with the poor Tailor. He had just put the last stitch to a couple of waistcoats which were lying on the board beside him, when a mixed feeling of hunger, pain and weakness, brought this sad thought into his mind:—“Might I not, without crime, raise a little money on one of these waistcoats, to give my sinking body its needful nourishment? I would make restitution as soon as my health returned.” Conscience grew very uneasy at this thought, and interrupted it several times with “No! no! no!” but want and pain were so loud in their clamours that these “noes” were overwhelmed. Pietro determined to go out and see if half-a-crown could not be borrowed, for a day or two, on one of the waistcoats; he was rising from his board for the purpose, when a giddy faintness came over him, and he was obliged to sit down again. “Ah! I see how it is,” said he; “I am too weak to move to night; I must lie down and rest; I must put it off till to-morrow. Meanwhile, I’ll sleep upon it.”

At the counter of that Pawnbroker’s shop, where three gilt balls hang over the door, and where brushed-up clothes of all kinds for men, women, and children dangle, from pegs in back rooms and gloomy passages, there stands a wretched man, with sallow cheeks, wild-looking eyes, and long streaming hair. He has just pledged a waistcoat, and with the money in his hand is leaving the shop, when he hears a rustling sound from above. Looking up, he sees a pale, serious face looking down upon him. It has an airy, spiritual look, and seems to be floating in the air on misty wings; and[74] then, with a low, solemn, whispering voice it sings these words:—

“Toll! Toll!

When a wandering soul

Forsaketh the truthful and fair:

Its days are unblest,

Its nights are unrest,

In the bud of its hope is a worm of Despair.

Toll! Toll!”

Immediately a strong wind stirred through the belfry of St. Clement’s, and the Bell gave out one long, funereal tone.

The bewildered man leaves the shop and wanders into the street, not knowing whither. He had intended to buy some bread, and tea and sugar; but, in the remorse of his mind, and with those words ringing in his ears, hunger, and thirst, and faintness were all forgotten. He tramps backwards and forwards in the streets, like a sleep-walker in a wild dream.

“Hollo!” says a voice, “what’s the matter with you? you don’t look over cheerful this evening. Why, if you was to go into a dairy, you’d turn the milk sour! Step in here, man, and take a thimble-full to cheer your spirits! It will do you good. Come! I’ll stand treat to-night, and you shall do the same for me to-morrow.”

A door that swung upon its hinges admitted the two men into a glittering-looking temple, where many lights were shining with great brilliancy. Sparkling glasses and polished vessels of pewter increased by reflection the brightness of the light, and made the place look gay. There was the hum of many voices. In one corner the ringing of loud, coarse laughter—in another, the mutterings of rising quarrel; here a song, there an oath, and everywhere that sad mingling of[75] misery and merriment which are to be found in those scenes of sensuality.

“Now, young lady with the pretty curls, a couple of glasses here for me and my friend! Here’s a furrener, you see. I aint got no prejudice against a furrener. I says to him, ‘Aint you a man and a brother?’ Fine sentiment that, Miss! When I was at school, at the Parochial College of St. Calves and Leather Breeches, I put that ‘ere sentiment into my Christmas piece, and it were very much admired. Come, mate! your glass is standing! Drink up! Here’s towards you! Hollo! music above stairs, eh? ‘Sons of Harmony! Grand Meeting Night! Glorious Apollo! Bacchus, God of Wine! Marble Halls! Alice Grey! Never mention Her! Nix my Dolly! Buffalo Gals!’ Well, if that aint a mixtur! Two more glasses, Miss! Drink up, mate!”

The wretched “mate,” thus appealed to drinks up his glass and feels inspirited—his cheek glows—his blood flows merrily through his veins—and he is just beginning to forget that pale face in the air and the solemn singing. He goes to the doorway for a moment, and looks up into the misty night. Just then the Bells of St. Clement’s chime—a fluttering, like wings is heard, and then a solemn whispering.

“The phantom voice! The phantom voice, again!” cries the wretched man; and he runs from the place with the quickness of desperate fear. But the voice follows, and it sings:—

“Hark! the spirit of the Bells

Upon St. Clement’s Tower,

Groans at every deed that tells

Of Evil’s guilty power.

[76]

Struggle, strife!

And feverish life—

Struggle, strife, and din;

Night bells chiming,

Souls declining

Into deeps of sin.”

“Why, where are you running to? What the deuce is the matter with you?” said the man left behind in the gin-temple, who had followed and overtaken the frightened runaway. “You’re not going to get rid of me in this fashion to-night, I can tell you. I have got a little job for you to lend a hand in. Follow me!” and he takes him by the arm.

They go on down a street towards the river, and in a dark bye-place, under a gateway, they meet two other men, with crape-masks on their faces and iron instruments in their hands.

“Jim!” said one of the disguised men, “is that you?”

“All right!”

“Who have you got there?”

“A new friend of yours and mine. It’s all right with him, too. He has been to ‘my Uncle’s,’ and another shop since then. He’s regularly in for it, now.”

“Let him come with us to-night, then; we want a hand outside to watch, and help to carry. There’s good booty to-night at that house yonder, in the left-hand corner. They have been borrowing plate to-day, against a grand wedding there to-morrow morning.”

The men skulked forward to the house named, and one with his iron instrument broke a shutter, then opened a window, and crept in. Others followed, and the wretched new accomplice is left outside to take what they shall hand[77] out to him. The night is calm and still, with a few cold, glimmering stars above, and darkness all around. The wretched man paces up and down the dark gateway at the side of the house, trembling at the remembrance of those songs in the air. It is now twelve o’clock, and from all the belfries in the Strand, iron tongues proclaim it in solemn tones. The man’s quick ear plainly distinquishes St. Clement’s among them; and, as he listens with fear, the pale face hovers over him once more, resting on its misty wings—

“Tis midnight, and St. Clement’s chime

Counts the wicked hours of crime.”

He will hear no more. With hands raised to his head, and pressed tight against his ears, he runs with all the strength and fleetness of fevered madness and despair. Away! away!—from street to street! Away from his guilty confederates—from the sound of St. Clement’s bells—from the ghostly look and the fearful singing. Away! if it were possible, from himself—away from the world!

He had reached a street in the neighbourhood of the Park, when he came to a house where a juvenile party was just breaking up. Some little boys and girls, rather sleepy and weary, and well wrapped up against the night air, were being lifted into coaches; while others, a little older, were jumping in of their own accord, in a manner so fresh and vigorous, that one would have supposed they were going to a party instead of coming from one. In particular, there was one very fine boy, with a beautiful eye sparkling beneath a bold, open brow. He came dancing down the steps of the doorway, his pockets full of fruit, and a bright orange in his[78] hand. He appeared to be thinking of one of the games he had played that evening, for he was singing to himself—

“Oranges and Lemons!

Say the bells of St. Clement’s;”

and turning round to a playmate, he said, “Ah, Charley, my side pulled the strongest, you know.” Into the coach he jumped almost at one bound. As he did so, the orange in his hand fell from him and rolled far away down the street with a swift motion: and as the beautiful fruit went round and round on the smooth pavement, the light of the lamps above gleamed on its golden rind. It catches the eye of the poor fevered man. The mere words, “Oranges and Lemons;” the sight of the beautiful fruit of his native land—the merry voice, the innocent brow, the happy smile of the child that had dropped it, came upon him like a spell,—he sinks down, and a vision floats upon his brain.

The scene is in southern Europe, where the blue Mediterranean rolls from the straits of Gibraltar to the Syrian shores. There was the murmuring of tranquil, silvery waves—the soft breathing of the winds—the gushes of sweet music and joy from many a grove on the shore, and many a green cleft in the hills; and one voice above the rest, in a tone of earnest and tender entreaty, rose in the warm skies as if a spirit were singing there. And this was its song:—

“Remember thine early days—

The orange grove, the vine-clad hill;

The river where the sunbeams play—

The evening calm and still.

“Remember thine early days—

Thy mother’s smile, thy sister’s song;

Thy childhood’s little hymns of praise,

Which kept the heart from wrong.”

[79]

Then did the air and the ocean break out into a tender joy; and the spirit of the man rode on the waves of sweet sound along the whole course of the Mediterranean into the sunny Adriatic, and among the rocks of the Ægean. And voices came from the Capes of Sicily, whispering that God the Beautiful expected his children to be Beautiful too—beautiful in spirit, in thoughts, affections, and desires. And a like strain floated over the Grecian Isles, and told the enraptured listener, what a spirit of love it was which had poured out the beauty of Heaven on the hills and plains and valleys of the world; and it bid him believe that He who had cherished the grass and the flower through the dews of night and the chill of winter, did also intend a kindness to the soul, in pouring on it the dews of sorrow.

And the man wept, and mingled his feeble voice with nature’s, and they worshipped together, and said—“Our Father! Hallowed be thy name!”

“Decidedly better! the skin is moist; the eye is clearer; the fever is subsiding; he will do very well now.”

This was spoken by the house-surgeon of one of the London hospitals, as he stood by the bed-side of a patient in the fever ward—feeling the pulse, and watching the countenance. The patient raised himself slightly on the pillows, and looked round with a wondering air.

“Why! who—who am I?”

“Who are you?” said the Doctor, “that is a pretty question for a man to ask about himself. You are described[80] in the hospital books as Pietro Limoncello—Journeyman Tailor. You’ll remember it all presently.”

“How came I here?”

“You were brought here by those who took pity on you; you were found lying on your own shop-board in a state of delirium, and you were instantly removed to this hospital. You have been for some days insensible.”

“Oh, Doctor! I have had such dreams.”

“Very likely—men in health have strange dreams, sometimes; men in fever have still stranger ones. You have had time enough for a good deal of dreaming. But come! you are going to get well now; the fever has gone down, and your senses have come back to you. This is visitors’ day: would you like to see a friend for a moment? I think you may.”

“I have got no friends in this country,” said Pietro.

“Haven’t you? If I remember rightly, I heard some one asking to see you only a minute ago. It is a little girl that I have seen carrying milk about somewhere in the Strand.”

“Oh! To be sure, I remember her well. How curious that she should think of me! It is very kind. But she is a good girl; she looks as if she had a gentle heart. I should like her to come up, Doctor.”

“Well, if you will not keep her too long, and not talk too much, she shall come.”

The Doctor turned away, and in a few minutes the little milk-girl was at the patient’s bed-side.

“Well, Mr. Moncello, I’ve come to see you. I would have come before, only they told me you were too bad to[81] know any one. Aunty sends a kind message, and says, If you will make haste and get better, I am to bring you a glass of new milk every day for a fortnight—real milk, sweet and new—that isn’t to be got every day in London, I can tell you.”

The patient lifted the hand of the little girl to his lips, and thanked her with his eyes.

“My little maid,” he said after a pause, “I must not keep you long, nor talk much; but just a few words I should like to say. You came from the country, did you not?”

“Yes!”

“And was it very beautiful there?”

“Oh very! My dear mother’s cottage was in the middle of a garden, and honeysuckle grew over the porch, and birds built under the eaves. I have heard the cuckoo sing there in the spring, and the nightingale, too, in the evening.”

“Remember thine early days!” said the patient with trembling fervour. “My child! you are a good girl; I think you must have had a good mother.”

“My mother!” said the child, bursting into tears. “Oh she was good indeed! Oh! how she prayed for me the night that she died! I shall never forget it, never!”

Again the patient broke out, “Remember thine early days! But go now my dear. Thank you, thank you kindly for coming. Heaven bless you!”

Pietro Limoncello recovered in due time, and returned to his poor trade. The visions of his illness strengthened his integrity; heavenly hopes grew out of the roots of heavenly memories. Thoughts of the loveliness in other lands upraised[82] his heart to Him whose voice is gone out unto all lands; and he felt that God would be ever present to such as trusted, and waited patiently for him. Wherever the mind and heart are devoted to duty and to Heaven, there hovers the Guardian of Souls, with outstretched wings. Yes! even in the din of the Strand, in a wretched garret, at a tailor’s board, God the all-beautiful is there.

[83]

The Boy Bachelor, or something about Cardinal Wolsey.

Four hundred years ago, the Papal power was so great in Europe, that the whole of the countries of which it was composed formed, in reality, but one general state; for by whatever names the provinces of Christendom were distinguished—empires, kingdoms, or republics—the people and their rulers alike acknowledged themselves subjects to the Pope. Royalty did homage to superstition, and mankind were bound in chains which they could not break. Man surrendered his reason, and gave up both body and soul to the power of the clergy, who exercised it for their own advantage, without any regard to truth, justice, or humanity.

This state of things favoured opportunities for bold and resolute minds to exalt themselves to greatness, and it was the boast of the Church then, as now, that the meanest member might rise to the highest office, which consequently offered a strong temptation to those of superior talents and attainments to attempt great things. Many persons arose to eminence in the church at this period, but among all none were so conspicuous as Thomas Wolsey.

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Wolsey was born at Ipswich, in Suffolk, in the month of March, 1471. His father is reported to have been a butcher, but this is not quite certain; it appears, however, that he possessed some property, and that “Thomas,” possessed much talent, and he was consequently sent to Oxford at the age of fifteen, when he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts, which procured him the designation of the “Boy Bachelor.” Few so young, with all the advantages of rank and influence, attained in that age academical honors—his great progress in philosophy and other learning, having early procured for him a fellowship at Magdalen College. He was also appointed master of the school, and entrused with the education of the sons of the Marquis of Dorset. The proficiency which these two young men made under his tuition, procured him the Rectory of Lymington, in Somersetshire, and afterwards he was appointed one of the Chaplains to King Henry VII.

Soon after this appointment he was favourably noticed by Fox, Bishop of Winchester, who about that time held the Privy Seal, and Thomas Lovell, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, who thought his uncommon capacity might be useful in state affairs; and, accordingly, while the treaty of marriage was pending between the King and Margaret, Dowager of Savoy, they proposed him as a fit person to be sent to her father, the Emperor Maximilian, on that business. His Majesty, Henry VII, had not before particularly noticed Wolsey, but after conversing with him, he was so satisfied with his qualifications, that he commanded him to be in readiness for the Embassy.

The Court was then at Richmond, from which Wolsey proceeded with his dispatches to London, where he arrived at four o’clock in the afternoon; he had a boat waiting, and in[85] less than three hours was at Gravesend. With post horses he got next morning to Dover, reached Calais in the course the afternoon; and arrived the same night at the Imperial Court. The Emperor, informed that an extraordinary ambassador had come from England, immediately admitted him; and the business being agreeable, was quickly concluded. Wolsey then returned, and reached Calais at the opening of the gates—found the passengers going on board the vessel that brought him from England—embarked, and about ten o’clock was landed at Dover. He reached Richmond the same night, and after taking some repose, rose and met the King as he came from his chamber to hear the morning-service. His Majesty suprised at seeing him there, rebuked him for neglecting the orders with which he was charged;—“May it please your Highness,” said Wolsey, “I have been with the Emperor, and executed my commision to the satisfaction, I trust, of your Grace,” he then knelt and presented Maximilian’s letters. Dissembling the admiration which he felt at such unprecedented expedition, the King inquired if he had received no orders by a pursuivant who had been sent after him. Wolsey answered that he met the messenger as he returned: but having preconceived the purpose for which he was sent, he had presumed of his own accord to supply the defect in his credentials, for which he solicited his Majesty’s pardon. Pleased with this foresight, and gratified with the result of the negotiation, the king readily forgave his temerity; and commanded him to attend the Council in the afternoon. Wolsey, at the time appointed, reported the business of his mission with so much clearness and propriety, that he received the applause of all present; and when the Deanery of Lincoln soon after became[86] vacant, it was bestowed on him by his Majesty, who, from the period of that embassy, continued to treat him with particular favor.

Such, my young friends, was the commencement of the rise of this great man; and from it we may learn a lesson of dispatch and assiduity well to follow. I have not space here to relate to you the life of this extraordinary man, but I can tell you that he rose from one place of high trust to another, till he had almost reached the pinnacle of human greatness. His table was surrounded by the wise and learned of the age; the pomp and magnificence of his retinue surpassed that of the king; he had attained the dignity of Cardinal, and was virtually at the head of the Church in England; prime political minister, and the chief judge of law and equity;—but all these high powers could not preserve him from the fall that awaited him, and it was for him to furnish one of the most striking instances of the instability of fortune, and the ingratitude of his fellow men, which the whole compass of history affords.

King Henry VIII had formed a desire to put away his first wife, Katherine of Arragon, and to marry Anne Boleyn. Wolsey was struck with alarm, and, it is said, fell on his knees before the King to dissuade him from his wicked design. The duty he owed to religion and to the church would not allow him to side with heresy, and therefore he was put into, what is called, a false position between the King on one side and the Pope on the other,—to both he was bound to act with fidelity, the service of one was contrary to the interests of the other—he was placed in a situation where his honesty had the effect of making him equally offensive to both parties; there was no chance for him whatever. Of course one so powerful[87] and at the same time so influential, had numerous enemies, and the ministers of Henry VIII were his bitter foes; and articles of impeachment were drawn up against the Cardinal, who was charged with superiority of talent, and surpassing assiduity in business—with being eloquent in discourse—liberal and lofty-minded. The main strength of his enemies lay in the House of Lords, among the nobility, the prelates, and the abbots, and the bill of impeachment passed this branch of the legislature, but in the house of Commons, Thomas Cromwell, who had been devoted to Wolsey, so manfully exposed, the absurdity of the charges, and so powerfully vindicated the integrity of his old master, that the Commons, to their immortal honor, threw out the bill as unworthy of investigation.

The impeachment having failed, the Cardinal was immediately indicted on the 16th statute of Richard III, for having exercised his commission as the Pope’s Legate without the King’s authority; one of the Judges was sent to Ashur to to receive his answer to this shameless accusation, to whom Wolsey replied in a proud and melancholy spirit. He objected to give up York Palace as being the patrimony of the Church, but signified his readiness to submit to the King’s power, ending his discourse by directing the Judge to tell the King to remember that there is both a heaven and a hell. With this answer the Judge returned to London.

Cromwell, who in the house of Commons had so ably defended him, acted with such open and manly intrepidity in the cause of his deserted master, that he won the esteem of all parties. Being on a visit of consolation to him at Ashur, he took occasion to mention that no provision had been made, for several[88] of the servants had proved very faithful, and had never forsaken him. “Alas” replied the Cardinal, “you know that I have nothing to give them, nor to reward you.” Cromwell however prevailed upon the Cardinal’s chaplain, who had been preferred to rich benefices by his influence, to contribute a little money for their relief, which he did.

The turmoil and the anxiety of the Cardinal’s mind so acted upon his frame that he now fell grievously sick, and his life was despaired of. Henry, being informed of his indisposition, inquired of one of the court physicians what was the matter with the Cardinal. On hearing it arose from indisposition, he struck the table violently with his hand, exclaiming, “I would rather lose twenty thousand pounds than he should die—make you haste, therefore, and endeavour to relieve him.” He then took from his finger a ring chased, with a ruby, on which his own head was engraved, and sent a gentlemen with it and many kindly assurances to the Cardinal; and he ordered Anne Boleyn, who happened to be present, to send also some token of her regard, which she subsequently obeyed, giving the doctor a golden tablet from her side, and requested him to deliver from her. Soon after, Wolsey was regularly pardoned and replaced in the See of York, with a pension of a thousand marks per annum; and Henry, unknown to the Privy Council, restored to him plate and effects to the value of six thousand pounds. This attention of the king revived the drooping spirits of the Cardinal, who went to reside at Richmond, but his enemies ever active, prevailed upon Henry to send him off to his diocese, and he was accordingly banished to York.

He commenced his journey to York about the end of Lent, his train consisted of a hundred and sixty men and servants,[89] and two wagons loaded with the relics of his furniture. He travelled slowly onward, walked in the procession of the monks to the cathedral at Peterboro’ on Palm Sunday, kept Maunday Thursday by washing the feet of the poor and bestowing alms and blessings, he preached in the churches, judged between contending parties, arguing peace, forbearance, and charity among all men. As he drew towards York, a great multitude of people congregated to see him arrive, among whom were the clergy of the diocese, who welcomed him with the reverence due to his pontifical dignity. As he had never been installed in the archepiscopal see, the Cathedral was prepared for the ceremony, but, on the preceding Friday, as he was sitting at dinner, the Earl of Northumberland accompanied by a large retinue arrived at the castle, and arrested him for high treason, and informed him that his orders were to convey him to London. On his departure a great crowd assembled round the castle, and, as he came out on his mule guarded, the people began to exclaim “God save your Grace, and evil over-take them that have taken you from us,” but the Cardinal was deaf to the voice of pity, he considered his destruction at hand, and his constitution, impaired by age and sorrow, gave way. One day, at dinner, he complained of a coldness in his stomach, and was soon after seized with a violent dysentery, which gradually reduced his strength. However, he obeyed the king’s mandate—being anxious to prove his innocence before his accusers at a proper Court, but his illness increased, and on the evening of the third day of his return journey he approached Leicester. The appearance of nature accorded with the condition of the prisoner, the end of the year was drawing nigh, and the Cardinal beheld, for the last time, the falling leaf and the setting sun.

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When the cavalcade reached the monastery, the day was drawing to a close, and, the abbot and the friars, apprised of his coming, waited with torches at the gate to receive him. But the honors of the world had ceased to afford him any pleasure; and, as he passed down the stairs, he said to the brethren, “I am come to lay my bones among ye!” Being supported into a chamber, he immediately went to bed, and languished with increasing signs of dissolution all the next day. The following morning, Cavendish, his usher and afterwards historian, as he was watching near him, thought he perceived the symptoms of death. The Cardinal noticing him, inquired the hour, and was told eight o’clock. “That cannot be,” he replied, “for at eight clock you shall lose your master. My time is at hand, and I must depart this world.” Continuing to grow weaker and weaker, he fainted several times during the day. About four o’clock the following morning he asked for some refreshment, which having received, and made confession, Sir William Kingston entered his room and inquired how he felt himself. “Sir,” said Wolsey, “I tarry but the pleasure of God to render up my poor soul into his hands.” He then gave sage and good counsel to Sir William, and impressed upon him the duty of acting in all things with fidelity and honesty towards God, and said, “had I served God as diligently as I have done the King he would not have given me over in my gray hairs.” “Farewell,” he continued, “I wish all good things to have success. My time draws fast on. I may not continue with you. Forget not what I have said, and when I am gone, call it often to mind.” Towards the conclusion he began to falter, and linger in the articulation of his words. At the end, his eyes became motionless, and his sight failed. The Abbot was summoned to administer the[91] extreme unction, and the yeomen of the guard were called to see him die. As the clock struck eight he expired.

The body, with the face uncovered, being laid out in pontifical robes, the magistrates and inhabitants of Leicester were permitted to see it, in order that they might certify the death. In the evening it was removed into the church, but the funeral service was protracted by unusual dirges and orisons, and it was past midnight before the interment took place. Such was the end of this proud and famous Cardinal; who, for a subject, had more of the pomp and glory of this world than any man who ever lived—few have been thrown down from so great a height with so few crimes. He cannot be reproached with anything mean, vile, malicious, cruel, or vindictive. He was a character of the most splendid class—superior as a statesman to any of his contemporaries. He was haughty to the haughty—proud to the proud. Stern and unbending to those who loved him not—but to those who showed him respect, “sweet as summer!” All his undertakings showed the foreseeing facilities of his genius. It was he who, more than any other man, laid the foundation of those maxims of prudence, which, in our own day, among all European States, restrict the domination of the Pope. My young friends cannot do better than to study at large the history of this justly celebrated man. They will find in it much to exalt their minds and to touch their hearts, and they will rise from their perusal of his memoir wiser and better children. Those wretched people who like to contemplate the little blemishes of the most illustrious characters, will see in the errors of Wolsey much to condemn. But more generous minds will look upon them as “specks upon a sun,” whose rays enlightened and benefited the world.

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An Adventure with a Bear.

Bears are very funny fellows, sometimes, particularly the “Brown Bears.” All Black Bears are savage; the White Bears are melancholy and spiteful, but the Brown Bears give, at times, the oddest sport, and make us laugh the most. I remember well, upon my travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburgh, seeing some fun with one, and I can’t help telling it to my young readers.

The road from Moscow to St. Petersburg is dreary enough; long wastes of ground stretching far away—straight roads without hedges or ditches—clumps of trees here and there—savage-looking dens, and as savage-looking men—rude hovels not fit for pigs to stop in—women not half so clean as the pigs in Mr. Bendall’s styes—and rough old chaps, with beards so rough, hard, and bristly, that you might make shoe-brushes of them. These are the characteristics of the Russian peasantry, and when, therefore, we talk of bears, we[93] talk of gentlemen—polite, generous but determined, and not very ceremonious gentlemen; of one of these it is my object to speak.

I was, as I said, travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburgh. I had with me my friend Bendall, as good a shot as[94] ever hit a rabbit in a sley, and as good a hunter as ever hunted a donkey on a cross-road. We had travelled many miles over morass and heath, and through the ugliest roads in Christendom. Sometimes we travelled for a whole day without meeting with a house or hovel of any kind, and on the day that the adventure took place I am about to describe, we had travelled till night-fall without any probability of shelter for the night; so, at last, thinking that we could do no better, we crept into a cave, with the intention of passing the night there. We were rather surprised, when we had stricken a light, to find a great lot of bones strewn about, all of them picked very clean, and some of them very old; and, as Bendall remarked, “we were in a Bear’s den”—his own parlor, drawing room, kitchen, and cookery, and a very warm snug place it seemed, not over nice as to smell, but quite sheltered from wind and tempest. So we struck a light, lit a fire, and prepared to make ourselves comfortable with one “sausage,” the only thing we had to munch that night. We put it on the fire, and it had not long begun to grill and grizzle, before something dark moved before the entrance of the cave. Bendall was after it directly, with his gun cocked; and I held up a lighted brand to see what would come next. It was a rough old Brown Bear, of very large size, who seemed by no means pleased at our invasion of his domestic hearth. He stood, with his nose poked out, savagely looking at us, as much as to say: “what do you here, you blackguards?” Bendall seeing this insolent speech in the bear’s eyes, pulled the trigger—flash—but no bang—the gun missed fire! and, in a moment, the old brute, as if he knew that he was likely to have all his own way, made a leap at me with the agility of a young rabbit.[95] I had only just time to pop the fire-brand in his mouth—which made him howl for a moment—and then, with redoubled savageness, he flew upon me, and embraced me with such a hug, that I seemed to feel my ribs cracking, and all the breath squeezing out of my body. I laid hold of the bear’s throat, and tried to squeeze him and stop his breath; but his hair was so thick and shaggy I could make but little impression upon him; and so he squeezed, and I squeezed; now we rolled—now we tumbled—sometimes Parley was up—sometimes Bear; and then we rolled over and over again. Poor Bendall looked on with consternation; he had again primed his piece, but was afraid to fire lest he should hit and settle me. At last we tumbled and tumbled, till we both rolled into the fire. Upon this Bruin let go of me, and leaped to a great distance, and began capering about in fine style; the pain of the burnings being, no doubt, very teasing—I know mine were. “Now is your time, Bendall,” said I. So Bendall would have fired, but his gun again missed; upon which the old bear made towards me again, pawing out[96] with his fore feet, and standing on his hind ones, while I, in the same attitude, waited his approach. But Bendall, finding his gun of no use one way, determined to try its service in another; and advancing boldly in front of me, dealt Bruin such a blow with the butt-end, that he rolled him over like a Dutch-cheese. At the same moment I whipped out my knife, and made a hole in the Bear’s body; while Bendall gave him another topper “for luck”—and Bruin was done for. The whole affair was most ludicrous, but almost too serious a joke. It however ended by our having some of the bear’s haunch for our supper. And I can tell you, my young friends, that bear’s haunch is most delicious eating.

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Something about Lighthouses.

Lighthouses were in use with the ancients. The towers of Sestos and Abydos, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the well-known tower in the island of Pharos, off Alexandria, are examples. Suetonius also mentions a lofty tower at Ostia, and another on the coast of Batavia, erected for the purpose of guiding the mariners by night. In lighting a great extent of coast, it becomes necessary to provide for the distribution of lighthouses in such a manner, that they may be readily distinguished from each other, and, at the same time, so disposed, as not to leave vessels without some point by which to direct their course.

One of the most extraordinary lighthouses on our iron-bound coast, stands on a reef of rocks called the Eddystone, in the English Channel, about ten miles from the Land’s End, in Cornwall. It was erected by Mr. Smeaton, in 1759, and still remains a lasting monument of his scientific skill. It consists of four rooms, surmounted by a gallery and lanthorn. The floors are of stone, flat on the surface, but concave beneath, and are kept from pressing against the sides of the building, by means of a chain which is let into the walls. The entire edifice is about eighty feet in height, and yet, such is the immense power of the wind in the neighbourhood of the[98] rocks, that the waves are seen to ascend like a cupola, considerably above the lanthorn at the top. The appearance of this is truly wonderful and sublime.

Another celebrated lighthouse is called the Bell Rock Lighthouse, which stands on the coast of Scotland, near Arbroath, in Forfarshire. These rocks have always been particularly dangerous for shipping, and when the commerce of Scotland was very much less than at the time of the erection of the lighthouse, it is said that the monks of the Abbey of Arbroath erected a bell on the rock, which was rung by machinery during the flowing and ebbing of the tide. About the year 1807, the present noble specimen of what man can accomplish, was commenced. The work was completed in 1811, under the direction of Mr. Stevenson, and reflects the[99] highest honor upon his professional skill. The difficulties that had to be overcome were of the most embarassing description. At the commencement of the work, in consequence of the short time the rock was not covered with water, two or three hours were considered a good tide’s work, and, frequently after a portion of the foundation had been completed, a sudden storm would render it necessary to perform the same labour twice over, and even oftener. On one occasion, Mr. Stevenson and the men who were with him at work were exposed to great danger, in consequence of the vessel that used to carry them from the rock having broken from her moorings, and the tide at the same time commencing its rise. They were, fortunately however, saved by a small boat, which happened to bring Mr. Stevenson some papers relating to the lighthouse at the time.

The form of the lighthouse is that of an immense pillar; the lower courses of stones are trenailed and wedged together with oak timber, to the height of upwards of forty feet, or throughout the solid part of the building. At the stone staircase leading from the door to the first floor, the walls are seven feet thick, and from this it gradually decreases upwards. The stones of the walls of the several apartments are connected at the ends with dove-tailed joints. The floors are formed of long stones radiating from the centre, and set in such a manner that the pressure of the floors upon the walls is perpendicular. In the stranger’s room or library, the roof takes an arched form, but the centre is cut only upon the interior end of the stones of the cornice, the several stones of which it is composed being all laid upon level beds.

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In order to give a slight idea of the force this lighthouse has to withstand, we may quote the following remarks from Mr. Stevenson. He says:—“It is awfully grand, at the time of high water, to observe the spray rising on the building, and even to be on the rock at low water, when the waves are about to break. Being, in a manner, only a few yards distant, they approach as if they were about to overwhelm us altogether. But, now that we are accustomed to such scenes, we think little of it. You will, perhaps, form a better idea of the force of these gales, when I relate to you that, on the 15th of February, the large piece of lead which was used as a tack weight of the balance crane, weighing nearly five hundred pounds, was fairly lifted by the sea and carried to the distance of six feet from the hole in which it had laid since the month of August. It was found turned round, with the ring-bolt downwards, and it was with great difficulty that four of us could muster strength enough to move it.”

There are many other lighthouses upon our coast. That at the Land’s End is a very fine one, as is that at Orford and Yarmouth Sound. Of late years a new mode of building lighthouses has been in operation, and of this I shall say a few words.

Perhaps no class of persons are exposed to greater dangers than seamen. They have to contend, not only against the elements, when all around them is a barren waste of waters, but, no sooner are they gladdened by the sight of land, than their perils are increased to a much greater extent. In the former case, the wind was, perhaps, the only danger they might have to provide against, but approaching land they[101] must take care to avoid sunken rocks and sand-banks, which might be the cause of their destruction. Upon rocks and the solid coasts, lighthouses have been erected with comparative ease (as we have already stated), but, upon sands, the erection of them is very difficult; and was, till within these few years, considered to be almost insurmountable. Floating lights, which are large lanthorns suspended in the rigging of a vessel, or built up in the hull, are frequently used to illuminate a sandy coast, full of shoals and sand-banks—but these are subject to many inconveniences, by the pitching and rolling of the vessel—for every now and then she is partially submerged in the trough of the sea, covered with spray and drift; or, what is most to be dreaded, she is liable to be blown away from her moorings—an accident productive of the most disastrous consequences to life and property; for should such a catastrophe happen, the ships sailing along a coast having nothing to warn them of their danger, run upon the shoals or sand-banks, and are frequently totally wrecked, and all traces of them lost, in the course of a very few hours.

Such being the case, the attention of Engineers has for some time been directed to the best means for overcoming this difficulty. The building of a house upon a rock has ever been considered the proof of wisdom, whilst the erection of it on the sands has been held the proof of folly. But the advances of science prove that a house may be built even upon the sands, when proper care is taken in its construction—and the erection of lighthouses on this foundation is held to be a triumph in engineering.

This remarkable result has been accomplished chiefly by[102] means of Mitchell’s screw mooring, which consists of an immense screw, very similar to that of the corkscrew, with flat cutting spirals. It is a spiral or screw round a cast-iron spindle, having a square head, upon which a large key is placed (like the key of a watch), and the screw is turned by enormous leverage, and it is then forced into the ground, and can be carried to a great depth. This instrument was thought to be applicable to the establishment of Lighthouses upon sands; and, accordingly, a series of experiments was undertaken, and a lighthouse was speedily erected on the verge of the Maplin Sand, situated at the mouth of the Thames, about twenty miles below the Nore. The foundation was formed of seven screw piles, six occupying the six angles of a hexagon, and the seventh being placed in the centre. From each screw proceeded a pile fifteen feet in length, at the upper end of which was another screw for securing a wooden column. These columns were prepared of Baltic timber: the one in the centre was fifty-six feet, and each of the remainder forty-six feet in length, firmly bound together with iron hoops, and coated with pitch.

The platform upon which the house stands is firmly secured round the centre column, and to the heads of the outer columns by means of hollow cast-iron capitals let down on the heads of the columns, and secured with screw bolts. To give lateral strength to the building, round iron angle traces were applied, by which means a resisting power, equal to at least three-hundred-and-fifty tons is presented in every direction.

The platform upon which the house stands is twenty-seven feet in diameter and nine feet high; it has an outside[103] door and three windows, and is divided into two apartments—one having a fire-place. The floor is tiled, and the walls are ceiled, lathed, and stuccoed; access to the platform is secured by means of a Jacob’s ladder to one of the columns. From the summit of the house rises the lanthorn: it is twelve sided, and is ten feet in feet in diameter and eight feet high. The light is elevated about forty-six feet above low water level, and is bright, steady, and uniform—ranging over an horizon of eight miles and visible at the distance of ten miles from a coaster’s deck. During foggy weather a bell is tolled by machinery. Tide time for vessels of twelve feet draught is also denoted by signals.

This admirable and useful structure was erected in two of the shortest day months of the year, during which time daylight did not occur at any low water period; the workmen, therefore, had to depend upon torches and moonlight; and what is quite as extraordinary, it can be taken down and erected on another site in a month, should circumstances render it necessary.

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The Old Abbeys and Castles of England.

In a former chapter I mentioned something about Old Abbeys. I am now about to say something concerning the Old Castles of England, for few things are more interesting to young people than the stories connected with them. There is scarcely any part of England but has ruins of old castles; some of these ruins are very[105] picturesque, and, when we look at them, the mind is carried back to the times of superstition—of religious bondage—of knighthood and chivalry—and of intestine war. Happily, these times are gone for ever, and we now enjoy peace, freedom, and religious happiness, such as ancient times never did, and never could produce; and we ought to be grateful to Almighty God that we live in such blessed times.

According to Dr. Johnson, a Castle is a strong house fortified, but this gives little more information than the saying, according to law, “Every man’s house is his castle.” A Castle, properly so called, is a fortress or fortification of stone, surrounded by high and thick walls of defence, with different walls and lines of circumvallation, consisting of the Barbican, the Moat, the wall of the outer Ballium, the outer Ballium, the Artificial Mount, the wall of the inner Ballium, the inner Ballium, and the Keep or Dungeon.

The Barbican, was a watch-tower for the purpose of descrying the approach of a distant enemy. It seems to have had no positive place, except that it was always an outwork, and frequently advanced beyond the ditch, to which it was joined by a draw-bridge, and formed the entrance into the Castle.

The Ditch, which was also called the moat or fosse, was sometimes filled with water, when any convenient stream could be turned into it, at other times it was dry and deep, and, when this was the case, there were subterranean passages underneath, by which the soldiers could pass out and suddenly break ground into the open country, and astonish the invading forces. This wall of the outer Ballium was within the Ditch on the castle side. The wall was usually high,[106] flanked with towers, and had a parapet, embattled, crenellated, or garretted, for mounting it.

The outer Ballium was the space or ground within the outer wall. In the Ballium were lodgings or barracks for the garrison and artificers, wells for water, and sometimes a monastery. An artificial mound, commanding the adjacent country, was often thrown up in the Ballium, and from this the soldiers and archers would throw their missiles upon the enemy.

The wall of the inner Ballium separated it from the outer Ballium. The inner Ballinm was a second enclosed space or ground. When a castle had an inner Ballium—which was not always the case—it contained the buildings before-mentioned as being within the Ballium.

The Keep, or Dungeon, commonly, but not always, stood on an eminence in the centre; sometimes it was, emphatically, called the Tower. It was the Citadel, or last retreat of the garrison, and was generally a high, square tower of four or five stories, having turrets at each angle, with staircases in the turrets. The walls of these edifices were always of an extraordinary thickness, which enabled them to exist longer than other buildings; and they are now almost the only remains of our ancient castles.

In the Keep or Dungeon, the Lord, or Governor, had his state-rooms, which were little better than gloomy cells, with chinks or embrasures diminishing inwards, from which arrows from long or cross-bows might be discharged against besiegers. Some Keeps, especially those of small castles, had not even these conveniences, but were solely lighted by a small perforation at the top. The different stories were frequently[107] vaulted; sometimes they were only separated by joists. On the top of the Keep, was usually a platform, with an embattled parapet, from whence the Govenor could see and command the exterior works.

Castles were designed for residences as well as defence. According to some writers, the ancient Britons had castles of stone; but they were few in number, and either decayed or so much destroyed, through neglect or invasions, that, at the time of the Norman Conquest, little more than their ruins remained. The Conqueror erected and restored many castles; and on the lands parcelled out to his followers they erected castles all over the country. These edifices greatly multiplied in turbulent and unsettled times; and, towards the reign of Stephen, they amounted to the almost incredible number of eleven hundred and fifteen.

As the Feudal system strengthened, castles became the heads of baronies. Each castle had a Manor, and the Castellain, Owner, or Governor was the Lord of the Manor. Markets or fairs were held in them to prevent frauds in the King’s duties or customs, and there his laws were enforced, until the Lords usurped the regal power, not only within their castles but the environs, and exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction, coined money, and even seized forage and provisions for the garrisons. Their oppressions grew so high, that, according to William of Newbury, there were as many kings, or rather tyrants, as lords of castles; and these lords of castles not only oppressed and despoiled their weaker neighbours, but exercised even royal privileges. Henry II., therefore, stipulated for the destruction of many of them, and prevented the erection of others, except by royal license.

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The materials with which castles were built varied according to the places of their erection; but the manner of building seems to have been pretty uniform. The outsides of the walls generally consisted of stones near at hand; the insides were filled up with fragments of stone, or sometimes chalk, and a large supply of fluid mortar. When the Normans found the remains of an ancient building on a site which suited them, they often added their out-work, thus having a mixed piece of architecture of a Norman and Saxon Order, with, not unfrequently, a quantity of Roman bricks.

According to Camden, who gives an account of the taking of Bedford Castle, in his Britannia:—“The castle,” he says, “was taken by four assaults. In the first was taken the Barbican; in the second the outer bail (Ballium); at the third attack, the wall by the old tower was thrown down by the miners, where, with great danger, they possessed themselves of the inner bail through a chink; at the fourth assault, the miners set fire to the tower, so that the smoke burst out, and the tower itself was cloven to that degree as to show visibly some broad chinks; whereupon the enemy surrendered.”

Castles in process of time, soon became of little use as fortresses; the change in the art of war, brought about by the invention of gunpowder, the influence of our navy, and the abolishment of the feudal system, all tended to diminish the importance of these ancient safeguards; and, with the progress of civilization and national improvement, we trace the gradual change in the construction of castles, till, by the admission of light and air, and some degree of ornament, the harsh and gloomy features of the massive Norman pile became softened down into the refined and comfortable aspect[109] of the castellated house in the reign of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth.

In the reign of Charles I., however, shortly before the civil war, and probably with the prospects of the awful events which followed in view, a commission was appointed to inquire into the state of the ancient castles. Many of these, during the subsequent troubles, were garrisoned and defended. Not a few were afterwards destroyed by order of the parliament, and others were left to the ravages of time and the weather. Some of these monuments of barbaric grandeur have been torn down for the sake of the materials, or for the purpose of building on the same site.

Although a view of the generality of these rugged fortresses—destined chiefly for the purposes of war or defence—suggests to the imagination, dungeons, chains, and a painful assemblage of horrors, yet some of them were often the scenes of magnificence and hospitality, where, in the days of chivalry, the wandering Knight or distressed Princess found honourable reception, the holy Palmer repose for his wearied limbs, and the poor and helpless men daily bread.

Having here given a general description of Castles, I shall, in a future chapter, afford my young readers accounts of some particular Castles, especially those which have historical incidents connected with them.

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The Queen of Spithead: Review of the Fleet.

Peter Parley loves our good Queen, and delights to follow her in her various “progresses”—for wherever she appears, light and happiness beams around. The sun seems to welcome her wherever she goes, and bright and fair are the days that belong to her. And one of the brightest and fairest days, notwithstanding a little cloud or so that appeared, was the day when Her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince—whom every true Briton loves for his manly character, and for the good he does to every one—proceeded to visit the British Fleet at Spithead. It was delightful for old Peter to behold the Queen and the Prince, and not less so to see the young Prince of Wales emulating the British Tar, and looking like an embryo Nelson: and his heart beat with ardour at the cheers of the sailors and the booming of the guns; and he wished himself a young man again, and on board of a man-of-war, as he was for many years of his early life. I believe that no one who has been thoroughly soused in salt[111] water ever ceases to love it, and although poor old Peter has now only a pleasure-boat to skull and row and sail about the Deben in, he still loves the sea-breeze and the sea-water, and the smell of tar; and he likes to hear the whistle of the gale in the shrouds, and the cry of the sea-gull, and the voice of the curlew on the ooze; and he would sing with his poor old voice, like a shattered clarionet of former days, “Rule Britannia,” and thank God that he has lived to see the day when England exhibits to the world that she is still able to “rule the waves.”

The Queen at Spithead

The “review” was, indeed, a spirit-stirring sight. The eyes of half London and the hearts of all England were there; and a wonderful thing it was to look upon a fleet such as England never had before, and the thick black cloud of coal-smoke resting upon the horizon, or ascending to the skies in volumes, shewed the result of the innumerable applications of the giant power of steam to the purposes of navigation. Here stood arrayed the mighty force of fourteen-thousand-four-hundred-and-twenty horse-power, concentrated in the holds of the royal ships, impelling these mountain masses with as much ease as some of my young readers would drag their little boat across a puny pond.

The most remarkable fact, bearing on this point, was the celerity and ease with which the Duke of Wellington, the greatest of all the ships, the Agamemnon, and the Impèrieuse—each of them steam impelled—performed their evolutions. The chase, when each ship put forth all her powers, was just continued long enough to establish the superiority of these ships. They are moved by screw-propellers, and all the steam machinery in such large ships is placed beneath the water-line,[112] and below the reach of shot. The ships can steam at pleasure against wind and tide, and thus, really and not metaphorically “rule the waves,” and a steam fleet of eleven hundred guns, such as that we witnessed at Portsmouth, would go far to rule the world.

The Queen, the Prince, and the Royal Family arrived in the “Victoria and Albert” yacht, and a grand salute from all the ships was fired in succession, and so quickly was it given, that from the firing of the first gun to the booming of the last, not more than three minutes elapsed. As Her Majesty approached the fleet, the Queen and Prince Albert mounted the bridge of the yacht over the paddle-boxes, and with the Prince of Wales, and Prince Alfred—both attired as sailors, in white duck trowsers and jackets—surveyed the scene before them with much interest. Her Majesty then entered the royal barge, and with the Prince, and the Royal Children, all went on board the “Duke of Wellington,” as you see them represented in the engraving. The fleet now steamed out to sea in double column. They formed into single line. They then made a feigned attack upon the enemy. After firing a gun or two of defiance, the three foremost ships resolutely advanced, upon which the two divisions closed into one grand line, and upon the signal gun of the “Duke of Wellington,” followed by the tremendous roar of her whole broadside, rapidly discharged from stem to stern, the rattling thunder ran along the line, traversing it as it were in a minute, and again beginning at the other end; main and deck guns, eighteens, thirty-twos, and sixty-fours, banging and thundering for nearly a quarter of an hour without intermission. From the moment of the first discharge, the clouds[115] of white, choking smoke hid everything. The mimic battle was kept up for some time, at last the enemy was supposed to have been repulsed, so the heads of the vessels were put round, and the whole squadron started off homewards at the best of each ship’s speed, and the same thundering followed.

A boat attack was next made, which was fully equal in interest to the “sham fight of the ships,” and the whole day’s proceedings exhibited “Old England” in her proudest glory; and thus terminated a spectacle, which no other country in the world could produce but England, and which well accords with English spirit and English sympathy.

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Something about the Chinese.

The Chinese are, my young friends, a very wonderful people—quite unlike the people in any other part of the world. They are very different in their religion, laws, manners and customs; and were you to go and live in China, you would be puzzled to know what to do, and how to act. My friend, Mr. Welton, however, who has just sent over to his native place a beautiful collection of Chinese curiosities, seems to know how to get on very well; and from his letters, and the specimens of Chinese literature, art, and manufactures, it will not be a very difficult thing to obtain some slight knowledge of the Chinese.

China is the most populous country in the world; it is supposed to contain at least two hundred and fifty millions of human beings. Of these, more than two millions live in boats on the rivers, and a very large number have been enrolled as soldiers. At the present moment, China is undergoing a great revolution (of which I shall have something to say before I have done), and the religion of Jesus Christ is[117] making progress. The end of this will probably be the opening of the whole of the Chinese empire to European commerce, which will be of great advantage to the whole world.

No country abounds like China in towns and cities, which in some of the provinces are so thick and close to each other, that the whole seems but one continued town swarming with inhabitants. Their roads are generally crowded with passengers. Some cities are purely military, and are inhabited by soldiers, of which there are said to be not less than five millions in the empire.

The most wonderful things in China are the canals, especially the Great Canal, as it is called, which is an uninterrupted communication of nearly seven hundred miles of water, between Pekin and the great central stream of the Yang-tse-Kiang. In connection with the rivers, it opens a communication between Canton and Pekin, by means of a thousand miles of navigation.

The Great Wall of China has always been considered one of the wonders of the world. It was erected three hundred years before Christ. It is in length one thousand miles, and it passes over hills, vallies, rivers, and mountains which are in some places more than five thousand feet high. Its height is thirty feet, and it is very broad. The towers, which are at short distances from each other, are forty feet high. This Wall is no longer of much use as a fortification, and is now regarded more as a curiosity. The mass of materials used in its construction would be sufficient to build a thick wall, six feet in height, all round the globe. China is also famous for triumphal arches, erected to the memory[118] of their heroes; it is said that there are from six hundred to seven hundred in the empire. It is customary for persons travelling to pay their adoration at these arches, as well as at the tombs of their ancestors, whom they regard with the greatest veneration.

Most of the Chinese cities have large bells set up in their high towers, by which notice is given of the different watches of the night. The first watch is denoted by a single stroke; the second, by two; the third, by three; and so on. Some of the Chinese bells are very large, and weigh upwards of one hundred thousand pounds. Their clappers are of wood and not of metal—the former being thought to give a softer sound.

The city of Pekin has been the fixed capital of China ever since the expulsion of the Moguls; and, although situated on the Northern confines of China Proper, it is central with[119] regard to the whole empire. It is surrounded by a wall, flanked with high towers, each containing accommodation for a hundred men. Within this wall are the Emperor’s palace and gardens. These are surrounded by another wall, the enclosure being called the Sacred City. The two cities are not less than twenty-five miles in circumference.

The Imperial Palace is situated in the heart of the city, and has a prodigious number of courts, squares, ponds, parks, and edifices. The apartments are spacious and healthy, and the whole is adorned with gardens, baths, and pleasure terraces. There, is, in the midst of one of the principal gardens, an artificial lake of about a mile in extent, surrounded by stately trees, and gorgeous temples, and fine statues.

The Great Hall of Audience is a lofty building, one hundred and thirty feet long, and nearly of a square form. Its ceiling is of carved work, garnished with green, and adorned with gilt dragons in bas-relief. The pillars which[120] support the roof are about seven feet in circumference, and are embellished with raised works of fruits and flowers. The pavement is covered with a rich carpet; the walls are polished white, and without hangings, mirrors, or any kind of ornament. The throne stands in the centre of the hall, and consists of a lofty alcove, but has few ornaments or inscriptions; it, however, bears the words “Reason’s glory,” the name assumed by the present Emperor.

The Great Temple of the Chinese, or of Pekin, is a very curious edifice—not merely on account of its riches and grandeur, but from its being the scene of a very important ceremony, performed by the Emperor every year, when the sun enters the winter solstice; hence it is termed the Temple of the Sun. The temple stands about half-a-mile from the east end of the city, and is surrounded by a wall nearly a mile in circuit. Within this enclosure are reared several stately apartments, amid groups of lofty trees, and in the centre a spacious round hall, of a considerable height. The dome or roof is supported by eighty-two columns,[121] curiously painted with gold and azure, representing the sky. At an upper part of the temple stands a very large vessel of brass, in which perfumes are burned; and on each side of it stand the priests. To this temple the Emperor repairs at the proper season, and, in a homely garb, without gold, or jewels, or even the yellow garment that denotes royalty—kneels down in adoration, and offers up his prayers for the sins of the people, and prays the Divine Being to give happiness and prosperity to the nation at large.

In another temple, called the Temple of the Earth, which is without the walls of the city, a ceremony is performed by every Emperor, on coming to the throne, equally worthy[122] of description. Immediately after the coronation, the Emperor comes with regal pomp to this temple, which stands on the west side of the city. As soon as he passes the walls of the city, he divests himself of his imperial robes, and clothes himself in the habit of a common ploughman; and in this humble guise proceeds, with his numerous retinue, to a spot of ground kept for the purpose within the compass of the temple. Here he finds a plough, gilt and ornamented with gold, to which two oxen with golden horns are fastened, and, taking the plough in his hand, he drives it to the extent of two or three furrows. Whilst at this laborious exercise, the Empress, attended by her ladies, prepares some plain dish for his dinner, and brings it to him into his private apartment, in the most homely style, and sits and eats with him.

This excellent custom is of Chinese origin, and of great antiquity. Its design is to put the new monarch in mind that his revenue is owing to the sweat and labour of his subjects, and that he ought to abstain from all superfluous expenses, and ease them of all unnecessary burdens.

The Chinese are great lovers of festivals, and one of their principal entertainments of this kind is celebrated during the eighth moon. From sunset and the rising of the moon till midnight, every one walks about with his relatives and friends in the streets, public places, and gardens. In the preceding days they send to each other tarts and cakes, called yua-pini, that is, cakes of the moon; they are round and flat, and made to resemble that luminary. These cakes are eaten by moonlight—the wealthy to the sound of melodious music, and the poor to the din of drums, gongs, and other noisy instruments.

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The engraving represents a dealer in confectionary of this kind; the cakes are flat, and the hares, which are one of the chief of their ornaments, are either sitting on their haunches, or lying down eating. One of the cakes in the upper row is adorned with peacock’s feathers, between which is placed a figure of the moon, on which is the representation of a hare pounding rice.

Fruit is sold by hawkers, and men who sit at a table in the open air. The picture shows the way in which fruit is hawked in baskets, suspended from the ends of a bamboo, which is borne on one shoulder. The baskets of this trader are stocked with various kinds of fruit. The melons, one of[124] which is seen in the picture, are water-melons; there are besides grapes, white and red figs, and peaches. This latter fruit the Chinese regard as the emblem of immortality. In the abode of Hien Gien, which is their paradise, they imagine a peach-tree, the fruit of which secures all those who eat of it from death.

The other Chinese fruits are apricots, cherries, lemons, and oranges, which are grown in the gardens of the country people; they also eat the young shoots of the fragrant ash, the flowers of the yulong, and the soft shoots of the juicy-bamboo. The leaf which the itinerant fruit-seller holds, is that of the “nelumbriem,” an aquatic plant, the canes of which sometimes grow large enough for an umbrella. The engraving[125] represents a retail dealer in fruit, sitting at his stall, in the shade of an ample umbrella made of rushes.

The middle classes of the Chinese live upon pork, venison, and shark-fins. Horse-flesh is eaten by the Tartars, and sold in the markets with beef. Cats, too, are a favourite dish, and dogs are the crowning delicacy of the cookery-book.

The Chinese towns swarm with hawkers of all sorts, and among the most numerous are the flower-sellers. They carry their flowers about in two flat baskets, suspended like a pair of scales from the two ends of a bamboo. The flowers common to China are, many of them, now common with us. The[126] plant for which they have the strongest liking is the peony, which they call “moutein.” It is also called the “king of flowers,” and “pe-lean-king,” which means one hundred ounces of gold on account of its beauty, and of the enormous price given for it by the curious.

The Chinese, as I have said, eat cats and dogs. They also eat snakes and vipers: the former for food, the latter for physic. The Chinese are very dexterous in catching these animals, and they will also play various tricks with them. It is no unusual thing to see a Chinaman put a viper in his mouth, and ask a bye-stander to pull it out by its tail. Here[127] is a picture of a viper-seller; the board in his hand contains a list of his reptiles.

The engraving in the next page is the representation of a Chinese barber. He goes from house to house, carrying with him his instruments—a stool, a small furnace, water, razors, brushes. The barbers are also ready to shampoo a customer, if the state of his health require it. The mode of shampooing in China has been thus described:—“First,” said my informant, “the shampooer placed me in a large chair, and then began to beat me with both hands very fast, upon all parts of my body. He next stretched out my arms and legs, and gave them several sudden pulls; he then got my arm on his shoulder, and hauled me sideways a good way off the[128] chair, giving my head at the same time a sudden switch or jerk, almost enough to pull my neck out of joint. Next he beat with the ends of his fingers very softly and very quickly, all over my body and legs, every now and then cracking my fingers. Then he stroked my ears, temples, and eye-lashes. After this he began to scrape, pick and syringe my ears, every now and then working with an instrument close to them. The next things were my eyes, into which several small instruments were thrust. He then proceeded to paring, scraping, and cleansing the nails of my fingers and toes, and then cutting my corns. For all this he only charged the sum of one penny.”

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The Chinese are very fond of fishing, and although they are not so scientific in throwing a line as Albert Smith, still they manage to get the fish somehow—indeed fishing is very common in China. The waters of the rivers contain a great number of fish unknown to us, one of which is called the flour-fish, on account of its whiteness, and is very delicious eating. The hoang-zy, or yellow fish, sometimes grows to such a size, as to weigh 800 lbs.

When a Chinaman goes fishing he takes with him his nets and lines: but he has some other very ingenious methods of catching fish, especially by the employment of the fishing-cormorant; and when he goes out for a day’s sport, he usually[130] takes with him ten or twelve of these birds, either in light boats, or on bamboo rafts. The cormorant is taught to pursue fish in the same manner as the falcon does game. The fishermen beat the water strongly with one of their oars, which serves as a signal to the birds, and they instantly plunge into the water, and swallow in as many fish as they can get; they then repair immediately to the boat, each conveying a large fish in the middle of its bill. To prevent the small fish from passing into the stomach of the bird, a ring is commonly put round its neck to confine its gullet, which is long and capable of great expansion. To make it disgorge the fish which it has swallowed, the fisherman holds the bird with its head downwards, and strokes its head with his hand. Some are so well trained as to have no occasion for the ring. They bring their prey honestly to their master, and when they have caught as much he wants, he allows them to fish for themselves.

The Chinese are equally as expert in catching birds as in catching fish. Their method of catching wild ducks is exceedingly curious and very amusing. The sportsman covers his head with the half of a large hollow gourd or dry calabash, in which he makes holes, to enable him to see and breathe; he then walks naked into the water, or swims about in such[131] a manner that nothing is to be seen above the surface but the gourd, which is attached to his head. The ducks, which have been accustomed to the sight of the floating gourds, and to sport and dabble among them, approach without mistrust; the man then pulls them under water, breaks their necks to prevent their making a noise, and fastens them to his girdle.

Pedlars are common in China, and they travel without a licence. Here is a picture of one of them. His stock consists of pieces of stuff, ribands, purses, tobacco-pouches, and other small articles. He also deals occasionally in a little opium and tobacco. The latter is very dear in China, and the Chinese frequently mix with it opium, which produces a delicious kind of intoxication. There are thousands of professed opium-eaters in China, who ruin both mind and body by this destructive habit; and Mr. Welton, a surgeon and missionary, to whom the Chinese are greatly indebted for his services in this particular, describes the effect of opium as most frightful.

The importation of opium commenced in the seventeenth century, and since that time it has increased to an enormous extent. The chief officers of the province of Canton suffered the drug (though continually prohibited) to come into the country in large quantities, by paying a bribe for[132] each chest, and in 1825 the importation rose to 10,000 chests every year, which increased till nearly 30,000 chests were disposed of annually.

I do not, however, wish to go into the opium question. I would rather afford my young friends some more pictures of China. The countrymen generally wear cloaks made of rice-straw. Their appearance is very nearly the same as that of the Chinese husbandman, two thousand years ago; for the fashions of China never change. The dress of the ladies is always unalterable. The sempstresses or dressmakers trudge about the streets, looking out for employment, until some one engages them. They carry in their baskets various articles belonging to their profession, and do not work as our poor creatures do, twenty out of the twenty-four hours in the season, to elaborate the dress of some duchess or countess, or that of Mrs. Beecher Stowe, the well-known advocate of freedom among the blacks.

The dress of the Chinese lady is very rich, and not ungraceful. She usually carries a pipe in one hand and a fan in the other, if the latter be not carried by a servant. The ladies have often their fans made so as not to close, whilst those of the gentlemen always close in the same manner as those of our ladies; but the most distinguishing mark of beauty among the Chinese ladies is their feet, which, to be handsome, must be especially small, and resemble in some degree that of the pettitoes of a little porker. The smallness of the foot is produced by placing, during infancy, the foot in tight shoes or bandages, so that it has no room to grow, what can have been the origin of this strange custom it is not easy to conceive, but it has been supposed to be one originating[133] in a wish of the men, to keep the women from gadding abroad.

CHINESE LADY.

CHINESE NUN.

Among many “female varieties” there are a number of female Benzes in China, one of which is represented in the cut. They are a kind of Nun, who take vows for a certain period. There are two classes of them, one of which subjects themselves to stricter rules than the others. About the year 1787, one of these Nuns, like Miss Sqirrel in the wilds of Suffolk, set herself up for a goddess, and pretended to enlighten all the nations by supernatural doings. Thousands flocked to her, and becoming extremely rich, she erected a[134] magnificent temple. The Emperor, however, a sly old fox, having suffered her to acquire as much wealth as he thought proper, at last ordered her to be executed, and confiscated her wealth to his own coffers. In a future chapter I shall afford my young friends some further particulars concerning the Chinese.

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A Mysterious Adventure.

One of the most curious Old Castles I was ever at, was that of Baden. The word “Baden” is German, and signifies “bathing,” and it is here that much bathing takes place. The city is situated in a charming vale, about two leagues from the river Rhine.

The Castle is one of the “lions” of those parts; it is situated on a rock, and affords from all sides the most splendid prospect. The road to it is well cut, and made as easy as the nature of the ground will permit; but it was a full hour before Keet (who is one of the best and most courageous of companions) and I reached the place where the wide-spread ruin stands. The rock on which it is placed is many hundred feet above the level of the Rhine; and, being almost in the shape of a sugar-loaf, the panorama is perfect.

Keet said his prayers, which he generally does on any painful ascent, and with the pathos of an old Greenwich Pensioner, blessed the steps, the brambles, and the hard stumps that annoyed him. He also performed sundry pious ejaculations to the tyrannical lords of the ancient domain,[136] wishing them in the “abodes of bliss,” with a fervor and pathos truly marvellous. At last, we were shown, amid ruins, a low-browed, dark, shaggy, doleful, savage, ugly-looking archway, at which Keet curled the hair of his upper lip, as did Don Quixote when about to attack the Fulling Mills; while I, like Sancho, stood by, opening the sandwich-box, and the little bottle of very weak liquor, called water, which Keet eyed with great jealousy. We had a fierce-looking man as a guide, with a great black beard, clod-hopping shoes, a long pole with a spike in it—and he had lost his nose, one eye, and[137] all his front teeth! When we came to this ugly-looking gateway, our guide, whom Keet called “Ferocio,” knocked with his spike-stick at the thick walls of the building, and cried out in mournful accents,—“This is the great gigantic gateway of the powerful, puissant, and portentious Castle of Baden; where men were strangled, women were pressed to death, and children were done for in a most sanguinary, blood-thirsty, and barbarous manner. Behold,” said he, in continuation, “the frowning granite that seems to yawn upon you with the sleep of seven centuries. Within these blocks of stone, was the famous ever-to-be-remembered, and never-to-be-forgotten secret tribunal; below it are the secret chambers, the secret prisons, the secret dungeons, and the secret horrors of this unsatisfactory pile of buildings; but, come my friendships, we will go to the within port, and there you shall see all the horrors of the dungeons as it appears by the light of the flambeau. You would like to see the dungeons!—Gents?”

To this appellation we gave the most profound of bows, as much like the obeisances of a “gent” of any of the seven drapers’ establishments as we could assume. “Now, gents!” said the guide, “elevate the lids of your desiring eyes, and follow me.” We did so, till we came to a low portal gate, hedged round with ruins—dark, damp, and nauseous. “Stand here, gents,” said the guide, with a fierce aspect and a menacing tone; “stand here and contemplate, while I fetches the key.” After keeping us waiting for a short time, he returned, holding in his hand a gigantic key, which, having brandished with a mysterious air for some seconds, he put into the lock—the old door grated on its hinges, and at last stood open. He[138] then looked at us sternly, and with the accents of Hamlet’s Ghost, said in a hollow voice, “Follow me!”

Keet pulled out his “cheese-toaster,” and having deliberately sharpened it on the stone door-posts, and brandished it as “Ferocio” did the key, he gave me an expressive leer, and we followed. When we got into the door-way, we perceived the passage to be very dark, but we followed—took a turning to the right and then to the left, but all was dark as “Erebus,” and we began to feel comical. Keet called out to the guide, “I say, old fellow, I hope you are not going too far in this darkness visible.” “Nouagh!” said the guide, with a grunt that echoed through the place, “I av’ a flare-up in my pack!” With that he turned round, and rubbing a lucifer on the wall, and pulling a flambeau from his pocket, lighted it, and we proceeded.

We first came to another door, little and sturdy, and grim;—this he kicked open with his foot. We then descended some stone steps; we then went up a few steps, then down again, then round a corner, and then through a niche, till having passed a third door-way without a door, we came to a large vaulted room, lighted by heavy-barred windows from above. “This,” said the guide, “is the place in which the women were confined in time of war, lest they should unman the soldiers by their frightments. Here they were all shut up like ‘cats in a barn,’ and, it is said, that sometimes they fought to desperation. These here marks on the wall are said to be occasioned by their mutual recriminations, and the lex talions, as von gent called Alberto Smytheti say.”

The whole of this part of the structure is of Roman workmanship, but the dungeons to which they lead are evidently[139] of German construction; and were, no doubt, appendages to the original pile; and designed for the exercise of some of the delightful eccentricities of German Margraves or Margravines, which Keet called “little amiabilities of temper and prejudice.” We now reached a low vaulted room, and our guide, with great coolness, took from his German small clothes, two thick candles, which having lighted, we were told to carry them. “Gents,” said he, “look to your heads against the walls, your feet against the floors, and your elbows against the angles, don’t step into holes, and say your prayers when you see a cross upon the stones, for that place once belonged to——one who shall be nameless.”

Our guide now unbolted a small door, and descending two or three steps, we entered a narrow passage which we could just squeeze through, and this terminated in a square, vaulted room. The aspect of the passage, and still more the dismal horror of the vault, which Keet said, “smelt of bye-gone silent systems,” removed all fears that I should not find dungeons terrible enough. It was quite impossible that stone walls can convey a feeling of more hopeless desolation. From this square room branched one more opening; but the utter darkness, the earthy smell, the coldness, the damp, the sullen mystery of the intricate windings it comprehended were such, that we now made, what Keet called, an “awful pause.”

Our guide, however, was not so timid. He said, courageously, “Come allons, gents. If you die here, you will not want a burying,” and he led the way, with a “mind your head here,” and “mind your feet there.” We were, after many tortuous windings, stopped by a door of stone, a foot[140] thick, hewn in one piece out of the granite rock. This door stood ajar, and our “Ferocio” opened it with his thick stick, which he used as a lever. We squeezed past it—Keet gave it one of his pious addresses, and made the sign of the cross. “This is the little Bijou,” said the guide, “a nice little gem of a prison.” It was a small, vaulted stone room, utterly dark, damp, cold, and horribly mouldy to the nose and lungs—and deadly to the body and soul. We shuddered—Keet looked savage, and clenched his “cheese-toaster” with revenge in his looks, as if he would have summoned up the Ghost of the villainous Old Baron—who could form such dungeons—back again to earth, to have a stab at him.

“This is the next,” said the guide, as he passed through another massive door of rock, and another dismal vault. “This is the third,” said he, and passed into another. “This is the fourth,” said he, and took out his brandy bottle—“and this is the fifth,” hurrying us along, and taking sup after sup from the aforesaid brandy bottle—“and this is the eighth, ninth, and tenth.” There were, indeed, ten such horrible dungeons; some of them hewn out of the solid rock, as well as the passages which led to them, and others are constructed of immense blocks of stone.

After passing through several passages, we reached a chamber of lesser dimensions, the aspect and atmosphere of which might have chilled a lion’s heart. Our guide paused as he passed the threshold, took another dose, of course, from his brandy bottle, and said:—“This is the ‘Zammination Chamber.’” Many massive iron rings fastened into the walls of this room, gave indications, sufficiently intelligible, of the mode in which the questionings were wont to be carried on there.

[141]

One of the openings that led from this frightful room terminated in a wall, along which another passage rose at right angles. Exactly at the corner at which the turn was made, the footing of solid earth or rock that we had hitherto trod, was changed for a flooring of planks; which, if not quite loose, were yet so placed as to leave considerable space between them. He suffered us to pass over them, and when we had entered the door-way that stood at right angles, he stopped saying—“Here, this is the Oubliette,” and pointed as he spoke to the planks we had passed.

“And what is the Oubliette?” “It means Maurecement!” said the guide, “a sort of ‘eternal without a bottom.’ When a foreigner was sentenced to be forgotten, he was made to pass from the judgment-hall through this door, these planks then sunk beneath him, he was universitied as he fell to the bottom, and was heard of no more.” I shall tell you more of the horrors of this place in another chapter.

[142]

A few Words about the Egyptians,
ANCIENT AND MODERN.

In many respects Egypt is one of the most interesting countries on the face of the earth. It was the cradle of infant science—and the first seat of regular government; and if we go back into the[143] darkness of bye-gone ages, we shall find in Egypt the first dawn of social intelligence. The land of the Pharoahs was an old country in the infant age of Greece. The earliest writers of Europe describe its grandeur as having already reached its consummation, and even as beginning to pass away. In the days of Homer, the capital of the Thebaid, with its hundred gates, and its vast population, was a subject of wonder, and what that poet relates of it, as illustrated by the recondite criticism of a Mitford, would scarcely be believed, were it not that the remains which, even after a lapse of three thousand years, continue to resist the injuries of the atmosphere and of barbarism, bear evidence to a still greater magnificence than is recorded in the pages of the Odyssey. Keet, the antiquarian and traveller, whose Asiatic researches do him so much honor, spent a considerable time in Egypt under the patronage of Ali Pacha, and made it his business to search into the past and present state of that wonderful people. Rich in the intelligence of modern science, he bears testimony to the improving capabilities of the modern Egyptians. In examining the monuments of that ancient people, he formed conclusions as to their former manners and customs, by no means uninteresting. He discourses to us of the “Dead, and of their Burial.” “In ancient times,” he tells us that, “a talent of silver, four-hundred-and-fifty pounds, was often employed in a funeral. The relations of the deceased” says he, “announced to the judges that a ‘dead’ is about to pass the canal, and of the place to which he belonged. Two-and-forty judges are then collected and arranged on a semicircular bench, which is situated on the bank of the canal, the boat is prepared, and the pilot, who is called by the[144] Egyptians, ‘Charon,’ is ready at his post. But before the body is put into the boat, the authorities assemble, and one, who is called the accuser, or sateen, brings forward against the deceased all his crimes. The judges deliberate—an advocate replies to the accuser—if the accuser makes out his case against the advocate, the deceased is denied honourable interment, and may be cast into Tophet to be consumed; but if his conduct has been good, he is ferried over the lake, and his soul is supposed to enter the realms of eternal bliss, prepared for the righteous from all eternity.”

The Egyptians had many curious manners and customs. Unlike the other Oriental nations, the Egyptians, like the English, since the times of Shakspeare, Sir Philip Sydney, Raleigh, and other beard-wearers, did not wear beards. They were the only people that practised shaving from remote antiquity, and they held it as the sign of civilization, as it was also considered by the Normans. We invariably find the captives from barbarous tribes depicted with rough beards and shaggy[145] locks, as if no more striking marks could be given of their inferiority to the highly cultivated nation which was subjected to the sway of the Pharoahs. In the engraving, we behold two captive Jews, with an Egyptian warrior before and an Egyptian attendant behind. The Jews have their beards, the Egyptians have not; and in the engraving following, we have two warriors, each leading two captives: the warriors have the bow-and-arrow—the bow being not a stick bent in a rounded form, but a piece of wood bent at a very wide angle. The captives are bound and bearded, and their costume consists of a long cloak, which falls nearly to the ancles, leaving their front dresses exposed, while that of the Egyptians are like petticoats.

Leaving beards for awhile, we may remark upon the law processes of the Egyptians. In civil suits, the number of judges—or, rather, the jury—was thirty; and it is worthy of notice, that their president wore a breast-plate adorned with jewels, upon which the word Truth appeared strongly emblazoned.[146] The eight books of the laws were spread open in court; the pleadings of the advocates were in writing, in order that the feelings of the judges might not be improperly biased by the eloquence of the orator. The president delivered the sentence of his colleagues by touching the successful party with the mysterious symbol of truth and justice, which adorned his person.

In their battles, the Egyptians were very ferocious, and after they were over, exercised many barbarities, by the immolation of their prisoners. An admirable representation of a battle-field is found on the walls of the great Temple of Medinet Habou. The South, and part of the East wall is covered with a battle scene, where the cruel punishment of the vanquished, by cutting off their hands and maiming their bodies, is performed in the presence of the Chief, who has seated himself in repose, on the back part of his chariot, to witness the execution of this horrid sentence. Heaps of amputated hands are counted over before him, and an equal number of[147] scribes, with scrolls in their hands, are writing down the account: as many rows of prisoners stand behind, to undergo a similar mutilation in their turns. Their hands are bound behind their backs, or lashed over their heads, or thrust into eye-shaped manacles. Some of their heads are twisted completely round; and some of them are turned back to back, and their arms lashed together round the elbows, and thus they are marched up to punishment.

In ancient times, the Egyptian system, as now, was one of the most cruel tyranny. Large masses of men were ordered, at the will of a despot, to “labour, in the sweat of their brow,” to their death. The slavery of the lower orders gave birth to the Pyramids. What masses were employed, and how human life was wasted, is evinced by the manner in which Necho made his canal, connecting the Nile with the Red Sea. Things are now much the same in that country. Mehemet Ali, the Pacha of Egypt, obliged 150,000 men—chiefly Arabs from Upper Egypt—to work on his canal, connecting the Nile with the Sea at Alexandria; 20,000 of that[148] number perished during the execution of the work. The construction of the railroad from Cairo to Alexandria is not, however, conducted on this wicked principle; and things are beginning to wear the appearance of humanity.

One of the great labours of the ancient Egyptians was brick-making. The bricks were made of the clay of the district, or mud of the Nile; and in the Egyptian monuments, we have many representations, not only of the manner in which brick-making was carried on, but also of the application of bricks in the construction of houses. When Moses commenced his mission, the Hebrews were chiefly occupied in making these large bricks, dried in the sun, and compacted with straw, such as may be seen in the Nimroud ruins. These bricks were often made use of in the upper parts of houses, and in process of time, the weather, and the heat of the sun, destroyed the more fragile part of a building, and buried the strong foundations of it beneath their ruins. In the engraving I have here introduced, the mode of making the[149] brick is delineated; some of the brick-makers are cutting the clay—others are moulding it into parallelepipedom forms, and placing the bricks in a row for drying. In the drawing, the bricks appear to be one above another, but this appearance is given in consequence of the Egyptians using no perspective in their drawings. The mode of arranging them was in rows, flat upon the ground; they were then baked by the heat of the sun, and the long dry weather, which lasts for months in this part of the world.

In building their houses, the Egyptians arranged the bricks much after the same manner as we do at present, and had a kind bitumenous cement for mortar. In the engraving, copied from one of the Egyptian tombs, we have, first the taskmaster, sitting in the usual Egyptian custom, with a long rod or stick in his hand; below him is a slave, who has just brought some bricks to be used on the building; before him is another slave, with masses of cement or bitumen, and below this figure are others, building up a wall, or side of a house.

[150]

The Pyramids, of which I have so often spoken, are, above all things, the most wonderful of the Egyptian antiquities, and exhibit the science of early times graphically. Nor were their temples less majestic. That erected at Sais had in it a sanctuary, which consisted of a single stone. The carriage of this employed two thousand men for the whole period of three years. The length of this hallowed stone was twenty-one cubits, the width fourteen, and the height eight—and allowing the cubit to be one foot seven inches, you will have an idea of its diminsions. The practice of erecting monolithic (single stone) temples was very general in Egypt, some striking specimens having been preserved in various parts of the country. Pilgrimages and sacrifices were a part of the system of religion. The latter were employed for the expiation of sins. The worshipper placed his hand on the head of the victim, loaded it with imprecations, and its last gasp was the seal of his pardon. Till the reign of Amasis, even human victims were offered.[151] Besides the heavenly bodies, some kinds of animals, also, were worshipped. These were not regarded as mere symbols, but adored as actual gods, like the Apis and Mnevis; this worship arose from the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians. In one of their places of worship, the painting below was found, which represents offerings, attended by priestesses, coming to the temple. And with this, I shall conclude my notes upon Egypt.

[152]

THE WILLOW TREE.

FROM MARY HOWITT’s “DIAL OF LOVE AT NOON-DAY.”

In a valley deep a little stream did run,

Dashing o’er the pebbles in the blithsome sun;

By the river’s edge the forget-me-not did grow,

And a weeping willow kissed the water’s flow.

The violet raised its head from under the willow-tree,

Whispering gentle words, as also did the bee,

Who came to gather honey from the lovely flowers

Of the valley meadow, till the cruel mowers

Came, each scythe in hand, to that valley deep,

And cut down the flowers. Weep, weep, oh weep!

Now no more the flowers fill with scent the air,

Now no more the skylark has a young brood there.

Lonely is the willow, by the water’s flow,

Weeping, ever weeping, to the stream below:—

Weeping, ever weeping, like a thing forlorn—

Mourning for the flowers that were cut down at morn.

The corn is ripe and golden, the autumn sun o’erhead,

But in that silent valley the willow-tree is dead.

The Goat of the Welsh Guards

[153]

The Regimental Goat.

Goats are the oddest creatures that can be imagined, and are as varied as to species as they are as to tricks. He is a sheepish looking animal, but nothing at all like the sheep in its habits. He can bear heat and cold, wind and storm—it is only very severe cold that kills him, as it did my poor “Billy,” in St. John’s Churchyard, seven years ago. The inconstancy of his disposition is marked by the irregularity of his actions. He walks, stops short, runs, leaps, approaches, retires, shows or conceals himself, or flies off, as if actuated by mere caprice, and without any other cause than what arises from an eccentricity of temper. Yet he is a very docile and attached beast. He can be made to draw a carriage, and patiently submits to labour. He will also bear a saddle, and in some mountain countries it is no uncommon thing to see little children mounted on goats, who ride with great ease, and sometimes with great speed. These goats are very fond of horses, and horses are very fond of them. I have often found our poor “Billy” standing on the back of “Bessie,” the mare, when the stable-door has been opened of a morning. They are, too, from their very nature, prone to climb: and master “Billy,” not always content with[154] “Bessie’s” back as a mountain, on one occasion leaped from the wall of the dung-pit on to a higher wall, and from that to the tiles of the stable, and from there he soon mounted to the top of the roof; and after capering about there for some time, he, evidently pleased with the mountain-like elevation, bounded to the roof of another house, from that to a third, and so on from roof to roof, over half the houses in the town. It was difficult to know what to do—“Billy” would not come down till he liked. It was of no use to call “Billy, Billy,” and to hold up bunches of hay or Shrewsbury cakes—“Billy” only snorted at them; and every person over whose roof “Billy” pattered had a reverential fear for their tiles, and the outcry was loud to get him from them. One “savage bear” proposed to shoot him, a “cunning old fox” proposed to throw a lasso over him, but to no purpose. “Billy” was delighted with his elevated position, and felt as proud as if he had been called to the chair at a public dinner, and felt no desire to come down whatever. It so happened, however, that being Whit-Monday—Punch’s Holiday—the parish engines had to be called out for exercise, and the principal churchwarden of the place, the renowned Robert Balderdash, Esq., proposed that the water-spout should be brought to bear upon Billy. After some remonstrance on the part of Jemmy Barerib, the Secretary of the Teetotallers, at the unnecessary waste of water, the engine made play, and poor Billy was soused over head and ears, and nearly knocked over by the force of the water, whereupon he snorted and rose on his hind legs, and kicked and scampered homewards as fast as his legs would carry him.

It is not an uncommon thing to find goats attending an[155] army on its march, and in some of those provinces which the Russian Emperor wishes to steal from the Turks, herds of goats follow in the rear of the Turkish troops. They are generally milch goats, and afford an agreeable supply of milk to the officers and others of the various regiments. One of our own regiments had a couple of goats attached to it; the last pair had been presented to it by Her Majesty the Queen, but one of these having died, the remaining one now does duty alone, as you see him in the picture.

Some goats have been taught very extraordinary tricks. They have been taught to climb a very high pole, by the aid of small pegs let into its sides, and then to balance themselves on its top. They have also been trained to take enormous leaps through blazing circles of fire: to dance to the sound of a tabor, and to do such wonderful things, that I am ashamed to relate them to you, for fear you would not believe me—therefore, let this be sufficient for a Chapter on Goats.

[156]

The Rain; or, the Child, the Fairy, and the Magic Bird.

A loving fairy watched over the slumbers of a beautiful child. The little maiden seemed to be dreaming uneasily, for she turned often in her sleep, then she rubbed a little ring on her finger, and then waving her arm upwards, she sang:—

“Rain, rain,

Go away.

Come again

Another day—

Little Johnny

Wants to play.”

“Mary! Mary! my pretty one!” said the kind fairy, “what is the matter? That magic ring, which I gave you,—you have been rubbing it for the last ten minutes,—what is it you want with me?”

“Did I rub the ring?” said Mary, starting up; “I did not know that:—but I do want you, dear fairy. You must know that I and my brother Johnny are invited to my auntie’s to-morrow, provided it be fine weather. It has been raining[157] almost every day for the last week, and last night it looked very black, as if it would rain again. Now, dear fairy, grant me a favour?—Give me and Johnny a fine day for our visit to auntie’s.”

The fairy looked tenderly on the child, but yet grave. “Mary, my sweet, did I not tell you, when I gave you the magic ring, that you were not to summon me except when you wanted comfort, or advice, or help to strengthen your character? I said you were never to ask gifts of me, nor any change of outward circumstances. However, it is well you have called me; for I have something to tell you. I am about to leave the Fairy realm for a short time, and during my absence I cannot answer the rubbing of the ring. But I will not leave you without some help. Until my return, I will lend you one of the birds that sing in the gardens of our Fairy-land.”

The fairy struck three times with her wand upon the floor, and a moment or two afterwards three or four little hands were lifted up, holding a golden bird-cage, with a beautiful canary in it.

“There, my child, cherish this little bird tenderly. Let the door of its cage be open all day, that it may wander about the garden where it will. It will not go away from you very far. Every night it will sleep in its cage.”

Mary looked on the little bird, and was greatly pleased. She put her lips to the golden wires, and the pretty little creature came and kissed them. She opened the door, and it flew upon her finger and sang, and with its pretty round eyes looked into hers, and played with its beak about her pretty mouth.

[158]

“Oh, fairy! dear fairy! a beautiful bird indeed! I will take great care of it, for I love it tenderly.”

“My child,” said the fairy, “I have lent you this beautiful creature for your good, not for your amusement merely. This little bird has the power of speaking to you when you need it. Listen attentively to his songs, and let the meaning and spirit of them sink deep into your heart.”

So saying, the fairy went away, and left Mary alone with the bird. For awhile the pleasure of looking at it quite filled her mind. Its beautiful plumage, its little round sparkling eye, its pretty, affectionate ways, its clear, sweet note, were always delightful and charming. After a time, however, she remembered the day’s pleasure that had been promised to her at her aunt’s, and she lifted up the blind of the window to look at the weather.

O dear! dear! it rained worse than ever!—Drip, drip, drip—patter, patter, patter. Little bits of spongy cloud kept scudding overhead, sometimes black and sometimes grey, sometimes dropping a good drenching shower, and sometimes only a drizzling sheet of spray. The roads were soft and miry, with little pools of water here and there, through which the horses and carts passed with a splashing sound. Mary sighed. She thought of her aunt’s beautiful garden and meadow, of the games of play with her cousins, of the swing under the boughs of the mulberry tree, of the pet lamb and the little dog, and little Johnny trotting about and enjoying it all; and then she looked out into the gloomy rain. How vexatious! “Rain, rain, go away!” the lips of the little maiden pouted, and presently she began to cry.

[159]

“Swe-et!—swe-et!” said the little bird, from his golden cage, and then he broke out into song:—

“Oh! Foolish little maid to pray

The fruitful rain to go away.

Showers as well as sunbeams fall,

From that deep Soul which loveth all;

Dark or bright, the Heavens are full

Of mercies—sweet and beautiful.”

“Ah, little bird! is that you, dearest?” said Mary; “I did not mean to ask anything improper. I know the rain is very beautiful; but then so much of it, you know—and just at this time, too, when we are invited to auntie’s! O! really, little bird, it is very, very——”

But the little bird would not hear more. He drowned her voice with loud carollings, and he kept on singing all the day, while the rain fell and pattered against the window-panes. All the day long it rained without ceasing. When the evening came, it held up for awhile, but the sky was still dark and lowering. Mary retired to her bed-room for the night, and placed her little bird on the dressing-table near the window; and when she had said her evening prayer, and lain down on her pillow with a quiet heart, the little creature gave one long-drawn note of song, and a calm sleep came over both bird and child. Once during the night, the veil of clouds parted for a moment, and a glowing little star sent a ray of its beauty into the room; but the darkness folded over it again, and when the morning came and Mary got up, it rained. Again! Still disappointment! Little Johnny, at the breakfast-table, kept on asking why he did not go to auntie’s;[160] and it required a good deal of talking and coaxing to keep him from crying about it.

Just as breakfast was over, who should ride up to the door but Thomas, auntie’s groom, mounted on a beautiful bay mare, but splashed up to the very saddle-girths, with mud and mire. Thomas brought a letter to Mary’s mamma, to say that the visit of the children would better be put off for a few days. At present, the lawn was soddened with water, and all the paths were wet and muddy. As the children wanted to amuse themselves out of doors, they must wait not only till the weather was fine, but also till the ground was dry. Now, to the ears of poor Mary and little Johnny, this sounded like a putting off of the invitation altogether. Johnny cried about it sadly, and Mary, partly out of love to him, and partly from her own disappointment, felt much inclined to cry too. She ran up to her bed-room, and tried to drive back the tears, by thinking of something bright and cheerful; but it was very difficult, for the pattering of the rain went on, and as the drops broke and melted on the window, they ran down it like tears. The furniture of the room was clammy and unpleasant to the touch, and now and then a big rain-drop fell down the chimney into the fire-place, and sounded on the bright fender. Altogether, it was very dismal. Mary looked up to her little bird; his round bright eye twinkled as bright and happy as ever. She remembered what he had said about the skies being always full of beauty, and she knew that it was true; but still she did long for the sunshine, and she could not help talking to her little pet about it:—“Oh, when will the sunshine come, my pretty bird? when will the sunshine come?”

[161]

“Swe-et! swe-et?” said the bird:—

“When the troubled breast is still,

And duty guides and shapes the will;—

When holy feelings upward stray,

And meet the love of Heaven mid-way—

In the heart without guile

The sweet sunbeams shall smile,

And joy all around,

Like music-drops, sound.”

“Ah, little bird, you talk just like the fairy!—She speaks to me about the inward sunshine; but, dear little bird, I want to know when the outward sunshine will come?”

The bird was silent. Presently it hopped out of its cage—perched upon her finger—kissed her on the lips—and passed its little bill up and down her cheek, in such a fondling way, that she felt tears of love and tenderness in her eyes. She caressed the little bird, and thought no more of the rain; and she made up her mind, that happen what might, rain or sunshine, disappointment or not, she would leave off her murmuring. So, with a calm bright countenance, she went about all her duties; and little Johnny, touched by her kindness, and amused by her playfulness, grew quite content to have the promised visit to auntie’s put off for a little while.

The whole week continued showery. Some days there were several hours of sunshine, which seemed to give promise of brighter weather; then came an hour of rain, which drenched the gardens and the roads, and made play out-of-doors impossible. But now, it had no effect on the temper of little Mary. She would have liked fine weather better than wet, a great deal better indeed; but she was gradually[162] learning to bear disappointment; the inward sunshine was brightening in her heart. One day, when there had been a good many intervals of sunshine, and the showers had passed over quickly, she was playing with little Johnny in the parlour, when she suddenly heard her bird singing loudly, and calling to her with his “swe-et! swe-et!”

“Ah! my pretty one! I am coming! Darling has got something to say to me!”

She hurried up to her room, and the bird sang:—

“See where hope and beauty glow,

Dancing down the bending bow.”

She opened the window, and looked out over the landscape. There was a most lovely rainbow in the skies. It arched over a broad heaven, and the green earth beneath it sent up a grateful fragrance, and all the flowers looked up lovingly at the rainbow, and gave it smile for smile. Water-drops twinkled like stars among the green leaves of the gently waving trees; and, as the sunbeams glistened on the gilt vane of the distant church-spire, it gleamed in the air like a tongue of golden flame. What a chirping from the green boughs and the hedge-rows! The lark in the sky sent messages of love down to the linnet in the brushwood, and the robin on the thorn. The breeze sprung up, and sang through the leafy boughs of the Poplar and the Elm, and light and music mingled together, as if nature had clustered her beauties and joys for a service of thanksgiving. Far and wide, and upward, spread the various melody. It seemed as if every voice had wings, fluttering with delight, and bearing away into the blue air the silent gratitude of the flowers,[163] and the prayers of all beautiful though voiceless things. Mary sat at the window, and with cheek resting on her hand, she looked over the beautiful scene. The beauty-drops all around trickled to the very roots of her affections; her heart throbbed, her eyes glistened, and the breathing of her bosom heaved it as gently as if the waves of some soft music-stream were flowing there. She saw that all was good—storm and calm, rain and sunshine, summer and winter—all was good; and her young spirit hallowed it, and rested in a sabbath of calm. Presently the rainbow melted away, the clouds fell to the horizon, and the sun spread his bright beams over a broad, blue sky. Mary put on her little straw-hat, and went down into the garden. Near the steps was a large flower-pot, with a rose-tree in it. It was half-blown; the rain-drops were glistening in its leaves; its fragrance was passing into the air, and making it delicious and sweet; its blushing tints were exquisitely lovely; the mere looking at the rainbow seemed to have increased its beauty. Mary took the flower in her hand—smelled it—kissed its leaves—and then a pulse of music throbbed at her heart, and the little maiden sang:—

“I dream of my Rose when the spirits of light

Dance on the beautiful margins of night,

And the mists of the morning unclose;

When at murmuring eve, the angel of rest

Foldeth us lovingly close to her breast,

Then I think of my own pretty Rose.

Beautiful world, that so well can impart

The lessons of loveliness fit for the heart!

A stream of sweet tenderness flows

From bird and from flower—from streamlet and sky—

From beauty below and from beauty on high,

And the smiles of my own pretty Rose.”

[164]

“Ah! Miss Mary!” said a voice, “I am always glad to hear you sing, and particularly such a happy, thankful song as that.”

Mary started, for she did not know that any one was by to hear her sing. She turned, and saw the farmer’s wife, one of their nearest neighbours, who had come in silently by the garden-wicket, with a milk-pail in her hand, which she was going to take into the kitchen.

“We are going to have a change of weather at last, Miss!”

“Are we?” said Mary. “How do you know that?”

“The wind that is blowing now has dried up a good deal of wet already, and my husband says, that if it goes on blowing in the night, it will be quite dry under foot by to-morrow morning.”

“I am very glad to hear it,” said Mary, “for Johnny and I have been engaged, for some time past, to go to my aunt’s; but the rain has prevented us. To-morrow, you think there is a chance for us, do you?”

“I have no doubt of it, my dear; but if you like, I will give you a signal of fair weather early in the morning. You know my boy Jem minds his father’s sheep on those downs yonder. He plays the flageolet pretty well, and he always takes it with him to amuse himself when he is alone on the hills. When the wind is blowing from the quarter where it is now, you can hear him very plainly, as you sometimes have, no doubt. I will tell him to play to-morrow morning, about six o’clock; and if you can hear him, you may be sure that the wind is in the dry quarter, and may reckon on a fine day.”

“Thank you!” said Mary, “let it be so, if you please. Tell him to play loud and well.”

[165]

That day passed in happy, tranquil beauty. A fresh breeze swept over the hills and leas, and sang through the boughs all the evening long; and when the little maiden went to bed, its murmuring hushed her to slumber. Pleasant was her sleep, and beautiful and innocent her dreams! Tick, tick, tick! went the clock upon the stair-case, and the wind went on whistling and sighing through all the night hours. At five o’clock in the morning, the light shone strong into the bed-chamber, and every cock in the neighbourhood was crowing. The little maiden turned over on her pillow; but she still slept. Six o’clock! and not awake yet? Suddenly the little bird fluttered his wings, and gave a long shake of his music at the very top of his voice. Then he sang:—

“What! my maiden—sleeping still?

Hark! the music on the hill!”

Mary awoke, and the first sounds she heard after the calling of her bird, were the notes of a flageolet from the downs. She got up and dressed, drew up the blind of her window and looked out—and, oh! what a clear, dry, beautiful, fresh, sparkling morning!

Oh! happy day! Now, Johnny, my dear, we shall go to auntie’s, and play in the meadow and garden through the bright sunny hours. Up! up! and be stirring every one! Get the breakfast over in a twinkling, and out with the pony chaise! Now they are off! Johnny and Mary, side by side, and one of her fond arms around him.

Auntie’s was an exceedingly nice place to go to. She had an excellent house, and beautiful grounds attached to it. There was a lawn and shrubbery, and flower-beds, and fountain, a dog and a peacock, and, oh! such a beautiful little pet[166] lamb! Cousins Julia and George wove a garland of flowers and gave it to Johnny, who put it round the lamb’s neck. Mary got a basin of milk from the kitchen, and the gentle little creature lapped it from her hand.

[167]

Thus, sometimes out of doors, sometimes in, sometimes in the greenhouse and shrubbery, sometimes in the paddock,—sometimes playing with the dog, sometimes with the lamb, and always with each other, the happy children flew on the wings of golden hours to the evening of the day.

While the chaise was being got ready to take them home, Mary wandered alone for a moment or two into a retired part of the garden, and while there, she carelessly, and without thinking of what she did, rubbed the magic ring upon her finger.

The fairy instantly appeared.

“What, Fairy! have you come back again? I was not thinking of you. I did not know that I had rubbed the ring. I did not intend to trouble you.”

“I know you did not; but I have come for all that. Mary, my child, I am very happy indeed, to find that you have attended so well to my little bird, and that you have grown so patient and spiritual. I have come now to say that the time has arrived when we fairies must have our gifts returned to us. Give me that little ring from your finger.”

The little maiden obeyed, and put the ring into the fairy’s hand.

“Good, my child! what I am now going to say to you will, I fear, be rather painful. It is this:—by the time you get home you will find I have taken away the beautiful magic bird. You remember that it was but a loan until my return?”

“Oh, dear Fairy! don’t! don’t! Pray don’t take it away,” cried the child, bursting into tears.

“Hush, my pretty one! Remember you are not, and[168] never will be, without the teaching of beautiful things. Has not every bird in the skies a voice for you? Do not the rainbows speak of love and beauty? Do not your own roses breathe sweet affection on you? And the wind, and the rain, and the stars, and the trees, have they not already been teachers of wisdom to you? My darling, you are not forgotten! ‘Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth forth knowledge’ for you and for all that are willing to learn.”

The fairy vanished. Mary bowed her head and dried up her tears. She went into the house, kissed her aunt and cousins affectionately, and went home with Johnny in the pony chaise.

Her after life was something like this experience of her youth. It had its rainy season and its disappointments; it had its rainbow of hope and beauty; it had its winds and its storms; its sunshine and its calms; and it had, too, a still small voice within it singing like a magic bird. By listening to what it said and obeying it, she made it on the whole a life of happiness and beauty.

[169]

The Electric Telegraph.

Most wondrous specimen of art,

With Nature’s laws combined,

Thou actest an enchanter’s part,

Unrivalled in its kind.

United, at a moment’s date

Two distant spots we see;

Whilst time and space, annihilate,

Are set at nought by thee.

The fabled wonders, which of old

Our childhood loved to read,

Have scarcely equal wonders told,

To match thy light’ning speed.

The waive of the magician’s wand

Bade distant scenes appear;—

Whilst far off lands, at thy command,

Obediently hear.

O’er miles and miles the message flies;

Yet scarcely it is said—

When lo!—the listener replies

Before a moment’s fled.

[170]

When shall thy new-found influence cease?—

How far will it extend?—

Shall not its curious powers increase?—

Remotest nations blend.

Yet enemies thou needs’t must find—

True merit raises spite—

Then think of all the foes combined

With which thou’lt have to fight:

Ambassadors—who’ll be sent back

From every foreign nation—

With secretaries at their back,

All dying of vexation.

The post-office destroyed will be—

For where’s the use of writing?—

While answers will come back to us

While queries we’re inditing.

Let’s have a talk, then, quite at ease,

And gossip while we may;

Let’s chat awhile with the Chinese,

And jest with Paraguay.

We’ll ask a riddle in Peru—

Tell tales in Ispahan,—

Just speak a word in Timbuctoo—

And whisper in Japan.

As round the world thy influence rolls,

For one, I shall not wonder

To find, through thee, the very poles

Cannot be kept asunder.

A day at the Hall

[171]

Juvenile Day at the Hall.

An old English Hall is one of the finest and most noble of mansions. Our country abounds with them; and happy may be, I will not say is, he who possesses one. Old Leckford Hall, in Suffolk, and Helmingham Hall, in the same place, have ever commanded my veneration; but there is one, which now shall be nameless, that I used, in my youth, to love to pay a visit to.

The said hall stood in a secluded situation, deeply embowered. On three sides it was surrounded by a park, on the fourth by meadows, edged by the river. Close by, on one side of the house, was a thick grove of lofty trees, along the verge of which runs one of the principal avenues to it through the park. It is an irregular building of great antiquity, probably erected about the termination of feudal warfare, when[172] defence became no longer to be an object in a country mansion. Many circumstances in the interior of the house, however, seemed appropriate to feudal times. The hall is very spacious, floored with stones and lighted by large transoms that are closed with casements. Its walls are hung with old military accoutrements, that have long been left a prey to the rust. At one end of the hall is a range of coats of mail and helmets, and there is on every side abundance of old-fashioned pistols and guns, many of them with matchlocks. Immediately below the cornice hangs a row of leathern jerkins, made in the form of a shirt, supposed to have been worn as armour by the vassals. A large oak table, reaching nearly from one end of the room to the other, might have feasted the whole neighbourhood, and an appendage to one end of it made it answer, at other times, for the old game of shuffle-board. The rest of the furniture is in a suitable style, particularly an aged chair of curious workmanship, an old carved chest, a grave-looking old ebony cabinet inlaid with precious stones, while the walls were hung with noble pieces of tapestry, representing the hunting of Diana, and other strange subjects of sylvan classicality.

The entrance into the hall was by a lofty porch, but there was a winding stair at one side of it, that led from the front door to a quadrangle within. At the other it opened into a gloomy staircase, by which you ascended to the first-floor, and, passing the doors of some bed-chambers, entered a narrow gallery, which extends along the back part of the house from one end to the other, and looks upon an old garden, with high walls all round it, and having niches for medallions, in which the busts of the twelve Cæsars appear in all their naked-necked[173] and unadorned beauty. The gallery is hung with portraits, chiefly in the Spanish dresses of the sixteenth century. In one of the bed-chambers, which you pass in going towards the gallery, is a bedstead hung with blue furniture, which time has now made dingy and thread-bare. The other bed-rooms sympathise with this, and the whole brought back to me the glory of former days.

The hall of the country squire was usually the scene of hospitality. At the upper end was placed the orsille, or high table, a little elevated above the floor, and here the master of the mansion presided, with an authority, if not a state, which almost equalled that of the potent Baron. The table was divided into upper and lower messes by a high salt-cellar, and the rank and consequence of the visitors were marked by the situation of their seats above and below the salt-cellar; a custom which not only distinguished the relative dignity of the guests, but extended likewise to the freemen; the wine frequently circulating only above the salt-cellar, and the dishes below it being of a coarser kind than those near the head of the table.

Such was an old hall in ancient times. And such remains the old hall to which I have alluded, with this difference, that the people, the manners, and the customs have changed. The old hall is now tenanted by a gentleman of birth and fortune, who is also the spiritual guide of the scattered flocks of his somewhat extensive domain. He is, indeed, the “Good Shepherd of the Sheep,” and the sheep love him and follow him. It is his delight to make all cheerful about him, and nothing affords him greater pleasure than to give a grand treat at the hall to the young people, especially the children of the villagers[174] round him. Once a year he has what he calls a “Juvenile Day at the Hall.” He invites both rich and poor, and mingles them together for their mutual good—deeming[175] nothing to be more delightful than the text of scripture, “rich and poor meet together, for the Lord is the maker of them all.”

It was a beautiful day in the latter end of June, that the “Juvenile Day at the Hall” took place. The day was ushered in by the jingle of the three bells of the little church or chapel close to the hall, and within its precincts. A flag was placed upon the little tower, and festoons of flowers were tastefully arranged in the avenue that led from the church to the mansion. Presently was seen the village schoolmaster, an old cripple with a very white head, and with his “four-and-twenty free boys” in their blue jackets and cord contrivances, and looking all fresh and rosy. Then came the schoolmistress, with her “clear-starched” cap, neat muslin apron, and demure demeanour, with her “twenty-four girls” in “russet brown.”

The boys had their traps, bats, and balls, their kites, their stumps and wicket-markers, and were ready for “hog-over hie,” “prisoners’-base,” “stay-out,” or any other delightful game. And the girls were ready for a dance, or a romp, as the occasion might require—or for a roll down the slope, or for “hunt-the-slipper,” or “honey-pots,” or any other exhilirating game. Within the hall were the juveniles of higher stamp—there were the good clergyman’s sons and daughters, three of the former and four of the latter; there were also the sons and daughters of the mayor of the Town; and of the half-pay captains in the valley. Then there were the apothecary’s two daughters, so proud that their father’s occupation disgusted them; and the steward’s two sons, fine, noble looking youths, so humble, that they looked more like gentlemen,[176] than any other persons. However, pride soon met with a fall, for the apothecary’s two daughters had a roll down the slope without stopping, a ride on the ponies, and a dance with the village-school dux—that is the boy who could do “fluxions;” and long before night, the poor and the rich, the rustic and the genteel, mingled in the most delightful harmony imaginable. The good old rector, who was all joy to see young people so happy, often found the tears coming into his eyes, and all seemed to share his sympathy.

It would be tedious for me to mention all the “noble sports” and funny entertainments the young ones amused themselves with during this happy, jolly day—from the drawing of a crooked stick for a plough, to the noble game of cricket; or hand-kites arose in various directions, or tired groups of boys exhausted their games on the great meadow. But it was a crowning joy to find the whole assembled at nightfall, just as the sun descended to his rest, to partake of a sumptuous entertainment, finished well by rich, old black-currant wine, and other innocent drinks. To hear the shouts—the hearty shouts of the youngsters—to see the beautiful rosy cheeks of the village girls, and the freshened looks of those, whose false education had made them lack-a-dasical! All were free, and hearty, and joyous, and when the “Hymn of Praise” was sung after supper, it appeared to old Peter Parley as the most delightful thing of all.

I wish those who read Peter Parley’s Annual would encourage these kind of mysteries. I mean those hundreds of rich persons who can give the “children of the poor” a treat in such a manner. Our good Queen Victoria has set us an example in this particular, which all would do well to[177] follow, and poor old Peter says, in consequence:—“God bless the Queen of England.”

God bless the Queen of England and happy may she reign,

Through many years of peaceful strength, our freedom to maintain;

May virtue be the brightest gem to sparkle in her crown,

A loyal people’s ardent love the safeguard of her throne.

[178]

Something about Ships and Shipping.

The launch of a “first-rate” man-of-war is one of the finest sights in the world, as it exhibits the triumph of mechanical genius, and the wonderful perseverance of man. The building of such a ship is a work of great skill, labour, and assiduity, and no country possesses these qualities in greater proportion than Englishmen. It may be interesting to my young friends, were I to explain, in brief, the methods used in the construction of a ship, that when they see a mighty castle floating on the seas, such as the Duke of Wellington, carrying one hundred and thirty-one guns, they may know something about the means taken to produce such gigantic effects.

In building large ships, a good ship-yard is essential. It must be a place to which the tide flows daily, and containing a good depth of water, with plenty of room, so that the ship, when launched, may not run a-ground. The most celebrated ship-yards for the building of men-of-war in England, are those of Chatham, Plymouth, Pembroke, and Portsmouth, and in these places the building of ships is performed on a very grand scale, and very large numbers of workmen are employed.

[179]

[181]

The first thing done in ship-building, is, what is called “laying down the stocks.” The stocks are large masses of timber, higher at one end than at the other, forming what is called an inclined plane, which is carried out into the water some distance, to allow the vessel to be so far immersed, before she leaves their support, as nearly to float her. The ship is supported in an upright position on the stocks or ways by strong pieces of timber, called the cradle, which can be just seen in the picture of the launch, jutting out under the stern of the ship. The cradle is not fixed to the stocks, but moves loosely upon them, and when the ship is to be launched, slides down the ways with the ship, and falls to pieces when she reaches the water.

The first thing done when the stocks are built, is the laying down of that part of the ship called the keel. This is laid down in the middle of the stocks, and is supported by pieces of wood placed across the said stocks. On the top of the keel branch out, on each side, long, bent, square timbers, called the ribs, which, at the lower poop in the middle of the ship, form nearly a quarter of a circle on each side, and are afterwards carried nearly upright. Upon these timbers, when they cross the keel, is laid, in the same direction as the keel, another long square timber, called the kelson. The keel and kelson are fastened together, at every place where the floor timbers cross them, by iron bolts passed through all. That portion of the ribs which touches and crosses the keel is called the “floor timbers;” upon the kelson are the steps of the masts.

The ribs are divided into several parts, which are called futtocks. To the ribs the planking is nailed, and bolted[182] through them; after which the seams are caulked. This is done by forcing oakum, saturated in tar or pitch, into the spaces between the planks, when a good coat of tar is laid over the whole. That part of the ship which is always under water is covered with thin sheets of copper. This is done to prevent the attack of a destructive little animal called the wood-worm, which eats its way into and through the planks, making holes nearly an inch in diameter. These holes would, by admitting the water into the hold of the ship, soon sink her, as it is impossible to stop the ravages of these insects while the ship is at sea. The worm attacks every part that is below the water-line in such immense numbers, that every plank in the bottom of a vessel that has not the protection of copper has been found full of them on her arrival into port.

The ribs of the ship are of a bent form. Of course no tree would be large enough to form them of one piece; they are, therefore, made in different lengths, each length being called a futtock; and they are distinguished as first, second, or third futtock, according to their position in the ship. These are joined together with great exactness: if not joined properly the vessel would soon tumble to pieces, for, when on a heavy sea, a ship is very much strained in various directions, and the creaking noise the timbers make is so dreadful, that inexperienced persons think the ship is going to pieces.

A great deal also depends on the position in which these ribs are placed, not only for the purpose of containing her cargo, but to enable the ship to sail well. Now, if the broadest part be placed too near the stern or after-part of the vessel, which is towards you in the drawing of the[185] launch, she will not pass through the water so swiftly as she would if it were nearer to her bow, or the fore-part of the ship.

In the after-part of the ship is the captain’s cabin; the poop is directly over it; and here is the quarter-deck; the middle of the upper deck is called the waist or gangway, and beyond that (forward) the fore-castle. These are all the divisions of the upper-deck, which is largest in the ship, and, in some of our great men-of-war, is three hundred feet long—the depth of hold being from fifty to sixty, and the breadth fifty-five feet.

The next deck is the main-deck, and immediately under the captain’s cabin is the admiral’s state cabin. In the fore-part of the ship is the galley or cook’s room, and near to it the sick bay. These are the principal divisions of the main-deck. A portion of this deck, in front of the admiral’s cabin, is commonly called the half-deck.

Under the admiral’s cabin is the ward-room, where the lieutenants and other commissioned officers mess. This is on the middle deck. In the after-part is the gun-room, where the mates, some of the midshipmen, the assistant masters, and assistant surgeon, and the ship’s clerks mess.

The following are in the hold:—1. The boatswain’s and carpenter’s store-room; 2. The powder magazine; 3. The tanks and water-casks; 4. The shot-well; 5. The pump-well; 6. The provision-stores; 7. The spirit-room; 8. The bread-room. The after-magazine is situated under the front of the great gun-room. Thus the ship is now described so far as her hull is concerned, and now I will say a few words about getting in the masts.

[186]

When this is to be accomplished, which is rather a formidable job, the ship is first taken alongside of a shear-hulk, or into a dry dock, by the side of which are erected shears. A very fine specimen of the latter machinery is to be seen in Woolwich Dock-yard. The shear-hulk is a large, strongly-built vessel, and well moored by strong chains in a convenient spot on the water, where any ship can approach her. This vessel is fitted with a strong, perpendicular mast; and two others, called the shears, fixed on pivots or hinges to strong frame-work on the deck. The upper ends, meeting in a point, are suspended by strong latches from the mast-head in a slanting direction, leaning to such a distance over the side of the hulk, as to hold the mast to be fixed in the ship alongside her directly over the holes in the deck; when they are lowered into their places, and fixed tight with wedges—of course it is only the lower masts that require the adoption of this method to fix them in their places—and when their great length and consequent weight are considered, it is very certain none better could be used.

The length of the main-mast in a large, first-rate ship, is about one hundred and eighty feet from the keel to the top; the main-top-mast is sixty feet; above it the main-top-gallant-mast, forty-four feet, being altogether about two hundred and sixty feet, from which, if we deduct fifty-two feet, the depth of the hull, we have left two hundred and eight feet, the height of the main-mast above the deck. In light winds, royal and sky-sail-masts are set, which will add from thirty to forty feet to its height.

Large men-of-war, such as the one I have described, will carry a great number of hands; they frequently amount to a[187] thousand, of which two hundred are marines; yet, although a ship is thus thronged with people, the admirable order and regularity with which everything is conducted, preserves her from many of the disasters to which smaller ships with fewer hands are liable.

It has been ascertained that the actual weight of a seventy-four gun-ship, including the hull, rigging, guns, stores, officers and men, together with six-months’ provisions, amounts to two thousand eight-hundred tons, and the quantity of water displaced when the ship is afloat is equal to about one hundred thousand cubic feet.

The stowage of large ships is admirable. The live-stock often forms a considerable item in a ship’s stowage. It is generally for the use of the officers, and consists of cows, sheep, pigs, and poultry. The latter, and sheep, are stowed away upon the main-deck, under the waist, between the guns; and the pigs in that part of the ship called the manger, on the lower or gun-deck; the cows are kept in boxes or stalls; the sheep in pens, in one or two tiers; and the poultry in hen-coops. The whole are under the charge of the butcher and poulterer.

I could tell you a great deal more about ships and shipping, but space prevents me doing so; and as a great many of our ships are now engaged in the war against Russia, it will not be out of place to hope that our brave sailors may not be “savagely slaughtered” by the Russians, and that the Great Bear may have his claws clipped before we have done with him.

[188]

Manufacture of Ropes.

Hemp is a plant belonging to the same species as the moss and nettle, and the quantity used in Great Britain is prodigious. Latterly a large quantity has been grown in Ireland, and one of the chief objects of the Irish Industrial Exhibition of last year was to promote the indigenous growth of Flax and Hemp. An acre of land in Ireland produces on an average thirty-six or thirty-eight stone of hemp, and the season for sowing it extends from the 25th of March, to the 15th of June.

[189]

What the muscles and sinews are to the human frame, and what wings are to birds, ropes and sails are to ships. Their manufacture is at all times of the greatest consequence to our country, and the celerity with which they can be produced, is one of the wonders of this mechanical age.

The materiel for a great deal of our cordage comes from Russia, and more than a million of pounds, of which sixty-three make a ton, are annually imported to this country; their value is estimated at something more than half-a-million sterling. It comes over in large bundles weighing nearly a ton each, which are separated into heads or layers, each containing twelve or fourteen pounds of hemp.

The qualities of good hemp are a long, fine, and thin fibre, free from woody particles, and possessed of strength and toughness. The first process it undergoes is that called heckling. This is performed in the following manner:—On the surface of a small bench before him, each heckeller has before him a stand on which are situated, point upwards, a number of sharp steel spikes, sixty or seventy in number—these constitute what is technically called the “heckle.” The workman then taking a head or layer of the hemp in his hand, strikes it on the points of the heckle and draws it between the spikes, repeating the operation several times with each head, by which the fibres are straightened, and the thicker ones split by the sharp points of the wires, and all the loose fragments are loosened and fall to the ground.

The fibres now drawn out into long parallel threads, have to undergo the process of twisting. The fibre has to be twisted into yarn, the yarns into rope. A rope consists of several parts, and in most cases, is a twisting within a twisting,[190] being built up by threes. In the subjoined figure we have a ship’s rope or cable. A. B. B. B. shows the three smaller ropes which forms it. C. the three ropes called strands, and dissecting one of these, D. we find it to be composed of a number of threads called yarns, and if we untwist one of the yarns, we arrive finally at the hempen-fibres themselves.

The first stage, therefore, of making hemp into rope, is spinning it into yarn, and this brings us at once to what is[191] technically called the “rope-walk,” a long narrow space of ground, at one end of which is a wheel, three or four feet in diameter, round which a band passes in such a manner as to give rotation to a small number of hooks or whirls disposed round a semicircular frame above the wheel. Each spinner has a bundle of hemp round his waist, the double or bight being in front and the ends crossing each other behind. With his left hand he draws out a few fibres and fastens them on one of the hooks with his right, which holds a piece of thick woollen cloth—he grasps these fibres, a boy then turns the wheel and the spinner walks backwards—the man draws out more and more fibres from his bundle as he recedes, and the twist which is given to them by the rotation of the hooks on the wheel makes each length of fibre entangle itself among those previously drawn out; while the pressure of the right hand regulates the hardness or closeness of the twist. The spinner, by his long practice and skill, is enabled to make any description of yarn, either fine or coarse, by the manner in which he supplies the hemp to the revolving wheel, and can produce with the greatest nicety, any given length of yarn from a given weight of hemp. Each spinner can make about a thousand feet of yarn in about twelve minutes.

This process is in many manufactories performed by machinery, but the hand-made yarn is decidedly the best. When a spinning walk is in full operation, there are twelve spinners at different parts of its length, in three groups, each group being distant three or four hundred feet from the next adjoining, and all the twelve hooks or whirls of the wheel being engaged at once. As the yarns are twisted, they are[192] wound in large bundles upon reels, each reel containing about two-hundred-and-fifty rounds of yarn.

If the hemp should be used for the manufacture of tarred rope—the yarn is now tarred—the reels of yarn are first warped into a haul, that is, the yarns are unwound from the reel and stretched out straight and parallel, and assembled together in a large group, called “a haul,” consisting of between three and four hundred yarns, each a hundred feet long. The haul is dipped into a copper of hot tar, and, being dragged through a grip or gauge, the superfluous tar is squeezed out; by the aid of a capstan the haul is gradually drawn forward until the whole has passed through the tar kettle.

The next process in the formation of a rope is the making of the strand. This may be composed of any number of yarns—in a cable twelve inches in circumference there are eighty yarns in a strand, and in the very largest rope cables three hundred and sixty; however, few if any ropes are now made of the last dimensions, as chain cables have superseded hempen cables of large size; the latter being, in the present day, seldom more than twelve inches in circumference, except for Her Majesty’s navy.

The making of the strand of a rope is now performed by machinery. A frame consisting of a great variety of bobbins, each loaded with yarn and posted upon a pivot so as to rotate easily, occupies one end of the factory; the ends of all these yarns, from twenty to eighty, are made to pass through an equal number of small holes in a convex plate attached to the central machine, and then combined into one close group. This group next passes through a tube, whose[193] diameter is such as to compress the yarns into close contact, and lastly is wound on a large reel attached to the machine. Meanwhile the twist is given to the strand by a remarkable arrangement—the whole of the machinery from the tube to the reel rotates round a horizontal axis, and in so doing imparts a twist to the strand, which is passing round the various wheels. The different arrangements are very beautiful. In the first place each bobbin rotating separately on its axle, gives off just as much yarn as the strand requires, so that all become equally strained by the outer yarns being somewhat longer than the inner. Then the arrangement of the holes in the plate and of the tube bring all the yarns to their proper position in the strand, and lastly by changing the wheels in the machine, the strand becomes more or less hard by twisting at a more or less acute angle. If the strand be drawn more swiftly through, while the machine is revolving with a given velocity, the intensity or closeness of the twist is diminished, if less swiftly then the twist is increased. Such are some of the beautiful results of machinery.

To twist the strands into a rope is called “laying” a rope. In the laying walk a revolving wheel placed near the end is provided with hooks, whereon the three strands to form the rope are fixed. These hooks are made to rotate by the action of the wheel, its prime mover being horse or steam-power. At the other end of the walk all the strands are fixed to one hook, which revolves in an opposite direction to the others. To equalize the hardness of the twist or lay, a conical or rather bee-hived piece of wood called a “top” is inserted between the three strands—groves being cut in the surface of the “top” for[194] their reception. This “top” thus placed prevents the strands from twisting, except in the direction of the smaller end; while a man stationed immediately behind, compresses the rope by a simple piece of apparatus, and causes the twist to become hard and firm. The “top” as the rope closes behind it is slowly urged on from one end to the other—if small it is managed by a top-man, but if large it is supported on a carriage, as in the engraving. No difference exists in making a larger or smaller rope, so far as the principle is concerned. The three strands are twisted round each other in the same manner by an apparatus more or less powerful according to the size of the rope.

From three such ropes as these a cable is formed in precisely the same manner, the three being fixed to three revolving hooks at one end, and one at the other, and a travelling top being used to regulate and harden the twist. In the twisting process it is natural that the rope should gradually shorten as it is formed; provision is made for this[195] shortening in the arrangement of the apparatus. The wheels to which the three strands are fixed on three separate hooks is a fixture at one end of the walk, but the other ends of the strands are fastened to a moveable sledge, which is so weighted as to travel gradually up the walk just as fast as the rope diminishes in length.

[196]

San Rosalia.

Who has not heard the curious history of San Rosalia, the saint of Palermo, whose name is prefixed to this article? She was, according to the legend, the daughter of William the Good, who reigned in the year 1159. At the age of fifteen she retired to Monte Pelegrino, in order to spend the remainder of her life in religious solitude; and a period of nearly five hundred years elapsed without her ever being heard of. In 1624, a plague, which threatened to depopulate the capital, raged at Palermo. A hermit, whose name is not given in the legend, dreamed that the bones of the saint were on the top of Mount Pelegrino, and that, if they were carried in procession round the walls of the city, the plague would cease. After prayers and supplications, he induced a number of persons to go in procession to the top of the mountain, where the remains of Rosalia were found in a cave. Some say that the body was fresh, and looked as if she had died at the age of fifteen, while others assert that there were only the bones. Which account is the true one Peter Parley does not pretend to inquire; but one thing is certain, that they were carried round the city walls, and the plague greatly ceased.[197] This was accounted as a miracle, and churches were built to her honor. A chapel was erected on the top of the mountain were she was found, and priests appointed to perform divine service.

To facilitate the approach to these sacred relics, the pious and grateful Palermotans, after immense labour, constructed on the face of the mountain a road which is nearly perpendicular, and very dangerous. This, however, by no means[198] operates as a check to the devotion of the hundreds who seek the protection and patronage of the saints.

In the vault beneath the chapel, which has long been the resting-place for her bones, there was an inscription, which differs from the monkish legend. It states her to be the daughter of Count Sinibaldus, who lived at the period when the irruptions of the Saracens were so frequent in Italy, and that Rosalia first retired to a cave on Mount Quesquina, in order to preserve herself from the disciples of Mohammed, and afterwards to Mount Pelegrino, where she died a nun.

The bones of this Saint are now annually carried about the City in a large silver box; and, according to popular belief, she has, several times since her discovery, saved the Sicilians from the plague. Long before the celebration of the festival she becomes the subject of general conversation, and excites the greatest interest. Her triumphal car is made of very great height, and drawn through the principal streets by a number of caparisoned mules, preceded by dragoons with trumpets. On the lower part of the conveyance is an orchestra, and above it is a small temple, in the interior of which are figures of different saints, and, on the top of all, a large statue of San Rosalia. Every side of the carriage is decorated with flowers; and during the ceremony the streets are crowded with people, and the windows, to all of which are balconies, are filled with ladies. At night there is an illumination.

The amusements at this Palermo rejoicing vary each day. One night the Flora gardens are illuminated, on another one of the streets, and, in the day-time, horse-races. The latter, from their peculiarities, are worthy of notice. The horses start from the bottom of the principal street, near the Porto[199] Felice, and run to the Porto Nuovo. They have no riders, but have small bladders fixed on their backs, in which are inserted sharp spikes, serving by the motion to urge them on. The prizes run for are generally small, consisting of from ten to fifteen ounces in dollars, fastened to a board; and the horse that wins is led in procession, with the prize before him.

The illumination of the Madre Chiesa, which is the cathedral church of Palermo, excites the admiration of all travellers. It is here where the box containing the bones of St. Rosalia is deposited. The last ceremony is a grand procession, in which the silver box is carried by the principal citizen. Immense crowds endeavour to get near it to touch it, for they consider it a remedy for all evils.

The approach of the festival produces general joy and happiness; and the people are so attached to the memory of the Saint, that it is supposed that any attempt to suppress her commemoration would be attended with the most serious consequences.

[200]

Christmas Day at the Diggings.

Gold is now every man’s business. The earth is yielding it by the hand-full and spade-full. Already nearly fifty millions sterling have been raised by the rude exertions of a part of the population who might have been starving upon six-shillings a-week, in delving and ditching. And it is a wonderful sight to see thousands upon thousands of brisk, brawny, and sturdy men, in their shirt-sleeves washing the productive earth, and rocking the gold to rest in their own pockets—the finest of all kinds of cradling. Boys and girls too even lend their aid. The boys are trained in the digging, and the girls in the washing—the boys find the “pockets” as they are called, and the girls make purses for it. Along the banks of the various creeks, it is delightful to see the throng of men and boys, and girls and women, busy with tin dishes and cradles, making their ounces and half-ounces of “pure, bright, slippery gold” in a-day.

Christmas-day in Australia

But one of the most beautiful of all sights is to see a “Christmas Day” at the diggings. Here, in Australia, there are no “snow-flakes thickly falling,”—no drifts twenty or thirty feet high—no coughing, wheezings, and sneezings—no swamps and sore throats, quinseys and influenzas—no noses[201] blue and fingers numbed—dark skies and piercing north-easters—but lovely, balmy, warm, clear, bright sunshine, and the plum-pudding, and the roast beef, and the mince pies, and all the other delicious viands of which England is so proud, smoke upon the grass sward, beneath the delicious shade of overhanging boughs, and redolent with all the ambrosial gifts of nature. And joy reigns there in all its fullest majesty: and love reigns there in all its holiest excess of affection: and hope reigns there, looking boldly upon the future. Nor is faith absent entirely—though the sound of the “church-going bell” is not heard—although no organ peal ascends in the fretted vault—yet the mind of the good man turns to “God and to his worship,” and the joyful time of merry Christmas is not spent without remembrance of Him who brought “peace on earth and good-will to man.” And thus it is that Christmas Day at the Diggings is a true holiday to all, and that joy and mirth abound, to the delight of hearts who do not forget their old homes and their old religion, but pledge them with prayers, and blessings, and songs of gladness. So let us remain, my young friends, wherever it may please a good God to cast us—true to our country, to our religion, to our institutions, our old friends, and to all that we loved, or that is worthy of love: and let us never forget our old customs—our “Easters,” our “Whitsuntides,” and our “Christmases,” and all those old things which our infancy, our youth, and our manhood have consecrated to the best of thoughts and of feelings, and which have engendered so many happy hours among us. “Hurrah! then,” says Old Peter Parley, “for a Christmas Day at the Diggings.”

[202]

The Owl.

BY THE REV. JOHN MTTFORD.

Owl! that lovest the boding sky—

In the murky air,

What saw’st thou there?

For I heard, through the fog, thy screaming cry.

“The maple’s head

Was glowing red,

[203]

And red were the wings of the Autumn sky;

But a redder gleam

Rose from the stream,

That dabbled my feet, as I glided by!”

Owl! that lovest the stormy sky,

Speak! oh speak!

What crimson’d thy beak,

And hung on the lids of thy staring eye?

“’Twas blood! ’twas blood!

And it rose like a flood,

And for this I screamed as I glided by.”

Owl! that lovest the midnight sky,

Again, again—

Where are the twain?

Look! while the moon is hurrying by—

“In the thicket’s shade

The one is laid;

You may see, through the boughs, his moveless eye.”

Owl! that lovest the darkened sky,

A step beyond

From the silent pond,

There rose a low and murmuring cry

“O’er the water’s edge,

Through the trampled sedge

A bubble burst, and gurgled by;

My eyes were dim,

But I looked from the brim,

And I saw, in the weeds, a dead man lie!”

[204]

Owl! that lovest the moonless sky,

Where the casements blaze

With the faggot’s rays,

Look! oh look! what seest thou there?

Owl! what’s this?—

That snort and hiss?

And why do thy feathers shiver and stare?

“’Tis he! ’tis he!

He sits ’mid the three—

And a breathless woman is on the stair.”

Owl! that lovest the cloudy sky,

Where clank the chains

Through the prison panes

What there thou hearest tell to me!

“In her midnight dream,

’Tis a woman’s scream,

And she calls on one—on one of the three,”

Look in once more,

Through the grated door,

“’Tis a soul that prays in agony.”

Owl! that hatest the morning sky,

On thy pinions gray—

Away! away!

I must pray in charity,

From midnight chime,

To morning prime,

“Miserere, Domine.”

[205]

A Visit to the Royal Polytechnic Institution.

No sooner do we enter, and pay our shilling at the door, then “bang, bang, bang” goes the gong—a Lecture on “a New Method of Blowing-up Sunken Vessels” is announced. Do our young friends recollect the circumstance of the sinking at Spithead of one of our largest men-of-war, the “Royal George?” a very beautiful model of which is to be found in the Museum for Shipping and Maritime Apparatus; the circumstances are so well known, that we will presume you not to be ignorant. Well, some years after the accident, a plan was projected by Colonel Pasley, of the Royal Engineers, for raising the guns and other valuables which were, of course, carried down with the ship; this plan was founded upon the well-proved law of electricity—that if the wire which conducts that wonderful agent be intercepted by a short piece of platinum wire, exceedingly small in diameter, and placed within a membrane impervious to water, and surrounded by a charge of gunpowder, a partial impediment to the passage of the electric fluid necessarily takes place, and the small platinum wire is made red-hot—and my young friends well know that if a piece of red-hot wire be placed in contact with gunpowder, that it will readily explode; hence, if a sufficient charge be[206] placed within the vessel, the explosion would separate the timbers of the ship, and, by their floating properties, they would rise to the surface, and leave behind any great weight, such as guns, &c.; by the aid of the diver, then, they are attached to air cylinders, and floated to the surface. But to accomplish this, there are many reasons why more simplicity should be employed, and for this purpose the Lecture we allude to was given, embracing as it does a more simple plan. The invention is patented by a gentleman named Trestrail, of Southampton, and is as follows:—An air-tight vessel is fitted up with a coil of “fuse,” as it is called, consisting of a kind of flexible tube filled with gunpowder, and coated with a pitchy substance, to prevent its coming into contact with the water, which would, you know, destroy its explosive condition. This fuse will continue to burn under water for almost any distance, and was formerly used for the purpose of blasting rocks, blowing up sunken vessels, &c.; but the adaptation of Mr. Trestrail differs from this method, from the material or fuse being in the case, which is to raise the object from the bottom, by generating the gases contained in gunpowder, which gases are nitrogen, carbonic oxide, sulphurous acid, deutoxide of nitrogen, and carbonic acid gas, in different proportions. But this is going from our subject—you must read Chemistry to understand this. However, these gases force the water from the cylinders, and of course take its place; then, you know that the specific gravity or weight of the gas is so much less than the same bulk of water, that it has a buoyant property and rises to the surface, bringing with it whatever, in the judgment of the diver, it is capable of lifting. Many thousand pounds’ worth of property is now lying at the[207] bottom of the sea and rivers, which seems a pity when so simple a method can bring them again to “terra firma.” After this Lecture, which was illustrated in a large tank of water in the centre of the Great Hall of the Institution, we walked around to look at the immense collection of models of all new discoveries in science. There was the magnificent model of the Britannia Bridge.—The machinery, which commences by taking the cotton from the pod, cleans it from the seed by means of rollers; then it is passed through another instrument called a carding machine, being a series of wires so placed as to tear the cotton asunder, and lay it in a beautiful sheet on the surfaces of the wires; from thence it is collected by a most elegant and ingenious contrivance, formed into a fillet, and then placed on the roving frame; thence it passes into the spinning frame and becomes thread, which is again used in an exhibition of the lace manufacture, by a beautiful model machine.

In close proximity to this machine, we observe a model lighthouse, fixed on a black substance for its base: this substance is very curious, and requires a little explanation. In Trinidad, in the West Indies, there is a Lake of Bitumen. A stream of this Bitumen (which you know is a sort of pitch) flowed in distant ages, through a channel two thousand yards in length to the beach, and thence six hundred yards into the sea, carrying with it all the loose materials encountered in its progress. This now constitutes a promontory, whereon the action of the waves and atmosphere, under a tropical sun, have had no deteriorating effect. This fact led to investigation, and now it is used as foundations to lighthouses, piers, jetties, bridges, &c., as well as water-pipes, instead of lead,[208] which you know will combine chemically with the constituents of water, and convert that water into a deleterious compound. When Admiral, the Earl of Dundonald, (to whom this pitch belongs,) was Commander-in-Chief of the West India Station, he made many experiments on this wonder of nature, and has patented its application to very many useful purposes; his lordship laid down, from the lake to the shore, a series of pipes, which were manufactured by his sailors, and which pipes enabled the ships on the station to obtain excellent fresh water, without the difficulty of carrying it overland, which, in that hot climate, would have been very inconvenient. These pipes have been found as strong as iron ones of the same admeasurement. It is also applied to the coating of the wires of the Electric Telegraph with great advantage.

On we go to the upper gallery, and find the gigantic reflectors for illustrating the laws of reflection of heat, light, &c., which, singularly enough, are governed by the same law; sometimes by these instruments a mutton-chop is placed in the focus of one of them, and at one hundred feet distant a fire is placed in the other; the result is, that the chop is cooked, or a candle may be lighted by the same means at the same distance: this is by reflection. Well, another bang of the gong, and away we go to hear a Lecture on “the Process of Marbling and Decorating Paper.” By-the-bye, that gong is a curious instrument, being composed of a large steel spring, coiled round in an open coil, and terminating in a standard. On being struck with a hammer it emits a melodious sound, like the tone of a church bell, for which it has been proposed to be used, and is patented for this[209] purpose; and no doubt, in a short time, these instruments will be so improved and tuned, so as to do duty for a whole peal of bells. The Marbling of Paper has never yet been made public, the trade having carried the process on in perfect secrecy, so as to retain a monopoly—which is a very bad thing, as it prevents many improvements being made, which would much increase its sphere of utility; the simplicity of the process, however, has been now brought forward by the public spirit of a gentleman named Woolnoth, to whom the world should be much obliged for upsetting monopoly, and breaking down principles which tend to frustrate rather than accelerate improvements in science. The process commences by making a solution of the “gum tragacanth,” and which is called in the shops, “gum dragon;” this solution being brought to a proper consistency, is placed in a long flat vessel, sufficiently superficial to allow a large sheet of paper to be placed on its surface. Well, having prepared this apparatus, which requires great nicety, the workman, having his colours already mixed, sprinkles on the surface of the gum solution a sufficient quantity, first of one colour and then another, until he obtains the required pattern. But the philosophy of obtaining this pattern remains to be told. The colours are mixed with such materials as cause them to repel when they come in contact with each other, in the same manner as oil does when dropped on water. The material thus made use of is gall taken from the bladder of an ox. This substance has the curious property of preventing the colours from mixing with each other; for instance, if a sprinkle of lake be first put on the surface of the[210] gum (there being no absorption of colour as there would be on paper,) and another colour having gall ground with it be sprinkled over this, the two colours, instead of mixing, would immediately repel each other, and form a curious pattern, each colour forming its own particular shape, and this may be carried on to any number of colours; it is applied to various purposes, such as covering copy-books, and the edges of books. For many years this invention was confined to the Dutch workmen, and the patterns produced by them are still called the “old Dutch patterns;” but an Englishman discovered the means by which this pattern was obtained, and by his ingenuity very much improved the application, and this improvement, although still suffering from the same secrecy in England with which it was encumbered in Holland, bids fair to develop many improvements, of which the public spirit of Mr. Woolnoth has rendered it susceptible. Based upon these circumstances, Messrs. De La Rue, the famous card-makers, set their ingenuity to work, and have produced such wonderful advantages, that the papers now introduced by them are perfect gems of art—the “iridescent film,” as it is by them technically called, giving on the surface of highly-glazed paper all the beautiful colours of the rainbow. It is singular, that if an exceedingly thin film of a gummy varnish be floated on the surface of the water, a sheet of paper placed thereon may be taken off, having all the splendid colours referred to. But to perfectly understand the process it should be seen, and this is easily done by a visit to that delightful place of recreation, the Royal Polytechnic Institution. So many are the attractions of this Temple of Science, that we intend to pay it[211] another visit; and no doubt, from the constant additions which are daily made to the Museum, we shall find matter with which to entertain and instruct our readers; bearing in mind that while the brain is engrossed with useful things, there is no room for vicious and useless thoughts.

[212]

Passage of the Desert.

All the young people who have read Peter Parley’s Annual for the last fifteen years, know well enough what the Desert is. Some of them also may have heard, now-and-then, of its dangers. They are, of course, varied. There is the danger by heat, the danger by thirst, and the danger from the wild robbers, who prowl about like wolves upon its arid bosom. It was in the year 1850, that Edwin Keet, a traveller of great enterprise, who had not only mounted the Nile and Pyramids, and smoked a pipe with the famous Mehemet Ali, but, what is of far greater consequence, had spent many a happy day with Peter Parley, made the journey. Keet was not to be overcome by trifles. He had proceeded across the desert to Aleppo, and met with no serious molestation until he was within fifteen miles of Bassora, when early one morning he perceived himself followed by a party of about thirty Arabs, mounted on camels, who soon overtook him. As they approached, he, by his interpreter, directed them either to advance or halt. Keet was not alone—he had half-a-dozen Englishmen with him, two of whom were Lieutenants in the Navy, one a rough old sailor, and the remaining three his servants. He again called upon the Arabs to halt, or to[213] remove to the right or left of him, for he choose to travel by himself. They answered they would not interfere with him, and went on at a brisk rate. Keet then suspected them of some design, and kept himself upon his guard. The two[214] lieutenants prepared their pistols, and the sailors drew their cutlasses. The Arab party proceeded only a few miles, and slunk behind some rising ground in the distance:—this move, however, did not escape the quick eye of Jim Crank, one of sailors, who had been boatswain’s-mate on board the “Fairy,” and knew how to keep a good look out a-head. As the party proceeded, they came to the range of little hillocks behind which the Arabs had crouched, like so many tigers, to spring on their prey. Keet and his companions were well mounted. It is true that the lieutenants nor the sailors sat on their horses to the best advantage. All had got their stirrups too high, and looked more like old women on horseback than men, with the exception of Keet, who rode firm, slowly, and high on his saddle. “Now my lads,” said he, “we have only to sell our lives as dearly as possible—if we must die, let us die like Englishmen—if we falter or flee, our destruction is certain—if we dare the rascals, and give them two or three good volleys, they may chance to quail, and we must trust to our good horses to get us out of the fray. Here are eight of us, and we must be prepared to form a square—to make a round, or to make an angle, if necessary. So stand to your arms, my lads, and let me go in advance. Don’t give way, nor attempt to flee while you can fight, for it is fighting alone can save us.” So Keet placed himself at the head of his little army of seven, and advanced.

He had not marched far before he saw the caps of the Arabs dodging behind some of the loose stones, topping hillocks before them. And, from what he could observe, it was clear that the foe was in ambuscade, and preparing to let fly at them as they passed. Keet’s mind was made up in a[215] minute as to the best course to pursue; so calling to his people to follow him, and do as he did, as the only course they had, he rode quietly forward at a slow pace, but just as he got abreast of the stone-work of the hillocks, he made a sharp[216] detour to the right, and passing round the hillocks, attacked the Arabs suddenly in flank on the other side. Bang! bang! bang! bang! from four of the double-barreled muskets, and four of the Arabs fell from their camels. Keet spurred on, and attacked the leader sword in hand, but he was speedily unhorsed by the thrust of a spear into his back. At the very moment of his falling, however, he took out one of his pistols, and blew out the chieftain’s brains. The boatswain’s mate, at the same time, cut down the lance-man who had thus intruded on Keet’s rear quarters. The two lieutenants had adroitly jumped off their horses, and, from a secure embrasure of the rocks above the hillocks, kept loading and firing their pieces with the utmost expedition, and eleven or twelve of the Arabs were soon prostrate. The remainder, observing the warm reception, and perceiving Keet, although on the ground, valiantly and deliberately loading his rifle and pistols, and feeling the “peppering” of the other sailor and the lieutenants, and being not a little astonished at the conduct of Jim Crank—who kept leaping, hollowing, firing, and shouting like a wild demon, and calling them all the wicked names of which the English tongue is so capable—began to sheer off, and, in a very short time, nothing was seen of them but a small cloud of dust far away in the desert. The remainder of the journey was passed without molestation, and Keet and his companions arrived safe at Bassora.

[217]

Glastonbury Abbey.
WITH THE STORY OF KING ARTHUR.

Glastonbury is called by Fuller “the ground of God—the first ground of the saints in England, and the rise and fountain of all religion in Britain.” Because, “it was here,” says the tradition, “that Christianity was first introduced into England.”

But the early history of the introduction of Christianity into these islands, is veiled in considerable obscurity. We see the “Light of the Word” shining here fully enough, but we see not they who kindled it. The honour of first evangelizing England has, indeed, been confidently ascribed to various individuals, and, amongst others, to Joseph of Arimathea.

The legend states, that when St. Philip, the Apostle, after the death of our blessed Saviour, was in Gaul, he was informed of the heathenish wickedness of this country. To England he therefore resolved to extend the influence of his precepts and influence, over barbarous and bloody rites, long exercised by bigoted and besotted Druids—to introduce the meek and gentle system of Christianity. Accordingly[218] he dispatched twelve of his companions and followers, and appointed Joseph of Arimathea, who had not long before taken his Saviour from the Cross, to superintend the sacred embassy. Britain was wild and uncultivated—its inhabitants rude and inimical to strangers—yet, withal, its King Arviragus could foster a few itinerants, whom he knew not how to hate, nor wished to love. In consideration of their long and laborious journey, he disposed their habitation in a small[219] island, then waste and untilled, and surrounded by bogs and morasses, assigning to each of the “twelve” a certain portion of land, called a “hide,” sufficient for one family to live upon; and composing in all, a territory denominated, to this day, “the twelve hides of Glaston,” and here, according to the monastic annals, St. Joseph erected to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary—of wattles and wreathed twigs—the first Christian Oratory in England.

This legend, however, wants much of truthfulness, I fear. I don’t see what connection there could be between Joseph of Arimathea and Glastonbury. Be that as it may—a more substantial structure was erected on the spot named above, in the year 180 after Christ, owing to the exertions of some Christian Missionaries. In the year 439 we are told that St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, visited this holy spot, and collected together a body of clergy, being himself elected as the first Abbot. About the year, 530, St. David, Archbishop of Manevia, accompanied by seven bishops, took a journey to Avalon, and expended large sums of money, in adding to the building of the church. St. David was uncle to the renowned King Arthur, who, in his time (A.D. 543), having been mortally wounded in battle, was carried to this abbey to be interred, and, accordingly, on his death his body here found a grave. In the reign of Henry II., 640 years after Arthur was buried, his grave was opened, and the body of the king discovered interred in a coffin made of oak, sixteen feet deep, and nine feet below a rude leaden cross, on which the name and virtues of Arthur were described.

Such is one of the “stories” of Glastonbury—and I[220] forgot to say that, in the churchyard, still stands the celebrated “Glastonbury thorn,” said to be derived from the rod of Joseph, of Arimathea, and which always blossoms on Christmas Day.

[221]

A few words about Soluble Glass.

It appears from ancient testimony, that there have been many successful attempts at making glass mouldable in its cold state, or of so far altering its state as to render it malleable. There is a tradition, that a clever artist, in the time of Tiberius Cæsar, made glass both elastic and malleable, for which he was rewarded by the loss of his head. A similar discovery is said to have been made in France, in the reign of Louis XIII. The inventor presented a bust, formed of malleable glass, to the Cardinal Richelieu, and was rewarded for his ingenuity by perpetual imprisonment, lest the French glass-makers should be injured. In our day, a description of glass, perhaps more remarkable, has been discovered by Mr. Fuchs, the curious properties and important applications of which it will be proper to advert to in this place.

The preparation of soluble glass does not greatly differ in its early stages from that of common glass. It is a union of silica and an alkali, which has, in addition to some of the properties of common glass, the property of dissolving in boiling water.

To form this compound, carbonate of potash and stone sand, are taken in the proportion of two, to three, or four parts of[222] charcoal, and added to every ten parts of potash, and fifteen of sand. The charcoal accellerates the fushion of the glass, and separates from it all the carbonic acid, a small quantity of which would otherwise remain and be injurious. The materials must first be well mixed, then fritted and finally melted at a high heat, until a liquid and homogenous mass be obtained. This is removed by means of an iron ladle, and the glass-pot filled with fresh grit.

The crude glass thus obtained is usually full of bubbles; it is as hard as common glass—it is of a blackish gray, and more or less transparent at the edges. In order to prepare it for solution in water, it must be reduced to powder by pounding. One part of this glass requires from four to five of water for its solution. The water is first boiled in an open vessel; the powdered glass is added gradually, and is continually stirred to prevent adhesion. The boiling is continued for three or four hours, until no more glass is dissolved. If the boiling be checked before the liquor has thus attained the proper degree of concentration, carbonic acid will be absorbed by the potash from the air, which will produce an injurious effect. When the solution has acquired the consistency of syrup, and a density of 1·24, it is fit for use, and will keep for any length of time.

The solution of soluble glass is viscid, and when concentrated, becomes turbid or opalescent. The solution unites with water in all proportions. At a density of 1·28 it contains nearly twenty-eight per cent. of glass, and if the concentration be carried beyond that point, it becomes so viscid that it may be drawn out in threads like molten glass. When the solution is applied to other bodies it dries[223] rapidly in the air, and forms a coat like varnish, and possesses the quality of not being affected by cold water, and it is applied as a durable coating to a vast variety of articles.

None of the methods hitherto proposed for making cloth fire-proof appear so advantageous as the application of soluble glass, for it does not act upon the vegetable matter, and completely closes the spaces between the threads. It can also be applied to clothes; but one of its most useful properties is its application as a cement; and, for this purpose, it is superior to all those that have hitherto been employed for cementing broken glass, porcelain, &c., and may be used instead of glue or isinglass in applying colors.

[224]

Something about Boiling Springs.

In various parts of the world, we have “Springs,” possessing curious properties. Some spout up “mud,” some throw up a kind of “pitch,” others give forth waters strongly impregnated with “copper,” and some again, bubble with water full of “iron,” then we have “salt” springs, and even “quicksilver” springs—but the most remarkable, are the “boiling” springs, and of these, the most celebrated are those of Iceland. One of the most enrapturing scenes I ever witnessed, was that of these Boiling springs; which I first saw on the morning of the 30th of July, while on my visit to Iceland, in Captain Cox’s yacht. We walked for some time over a barren district, but at last were arrested by the roaring of Stockr, which threw up a great quantity of steam, and while we stood gazing and wondering what would come next—a crash took place as if the earth had burst, which was instantaneously succeeded by jets of water and steam, rising in a perpendicular column, to the height of sixty-feet. But Stockr had not been in action above twenty minutes, when the Great Geyser, apparently jealous of the reputation, and indignant at our bestowing so much of our time and applause on her rival, began to thunder tremendously, and emitted[225] such quantities of water and steam, that we could not be satisfied with a distant view—but hastened to the mound with as much curiosity as if it had been the first eruption we had beheld. However, if she was more interesting in point of magnitude, she gave the less satisfaction in point of duration, having again become tranquil in the course of five minutes, whereas, her less grand, but more steady companion[226] continued to play till within four minutes of six o’clock.

My attention was so much taken up with these two powerful fountains, that we had little time or inclination to watch the numerous inferior springs with which the country abounds. The little Geyser erupted, perhaps, twelve times in the twenty-four hours, but none of its jets rose higher than eighteen or twenty feet, and, generally, they were about ten or twelve. The pipe of this spring opens into a beautiful circular basin, about twelve feet in diameter, the surface of which exhibits encrustations equally beautiful with those of the great Geyser. At the depth of a few feet, the pipe which is scarcely three feet wide, becomes very irregular, yet its depth has been ascertained to be thirty-eight feet. There is a large steam hole at a short distance to the north-west of the little Geyser, which roars and becomes quiescent with the operations of that spring.

On the brow of the hill, at the height of nearly two-hundred feet above the level of the great Geyser, are several holes of burning clay, some of which produce sulphur and the effervescence of alum; and, at the base of the hill, on the opposite side, are not less than twenty springs—which prove that its foundations are entirely perforated with veins and cavities of hot water.

Such is a very brief account of a late visit to this phenomenon, which was very interesting, for in some of the eruptions, the jets were thrown to the height of at least a-hundred-and-fifty feet, and the effect of sunlight on these columns of water is such as to leave an indelible impression on the minds of those who witness it.

[227]

Story of the American Sea Serpent.

The Americans equal Mr. Jesse for story-telling. They are not particularly nice as to data. Some of their tales are so preposterously absurd as to puzzle us exceedingly, and we are obliged to confess that Brother Jonathan is quizzing us. But still Jonathan is a brother, and a warm-hearted, noble, faithful, brother too; and we must not be too hard upon him concerning his funny stories. He sets us an example in many things, and we Britons ought to feel that he is of our own flesh, blood, bones, and sinews, and go the entirety of good things with him at all times. But this is nothing to do with my story, and, therefore, for a say about the “say sarpint,” as the Irish call him.

The Sea Serpent has been before us now for nearly thirty years. It has been seen in every latitude, and of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes as long as the longest yarn ever spun by a man-o’-war’s man; sometimes as high as a purse-proud tradesman; at others its wriggle on the ocean was fearful, and its beard—like that of our New Englanders—doubly terrible, and what, with its length, and its height, its breadth, and its beard, this wonderful animal has puzzled and perplexed the learned and the unlearned.

[228]

It was in the year 1817, that some “American” authorities reported that an animal of very singular appearance had been repeatedly seen in the Harbour of Gloucester, at Cape Anne, nearly thirty miles from Boston; and Amos Story, of Gloucester, has deposed that he saw a strange marine animal, like a serpent, in the Harbour of Gloucester. It was noon when he first saw the animal, and it continued in sight for an hour and a half. Story was sitting on the shore, about twenty rods from the animal, whose head appeared shaped like the head of a sea-turtle, and was raised from ten to twelve inches above the surface of the water. At that distance it appeared larger than the head of any dog. From the back part of the head to the next part that was visible was from three to four feet. It moved very rapidly through the water—a mile in about three minutes. On this day, Story did not see more than ten or twelve feet of its[229] body. Some days after this, he saw what he believed to be the same animal, which then lay perfectly still, extended on the water. He had a good telescope and continued looking at it for half-an-hour, and it remained still and perfectly visible. He did not, however, see its head nor tail. Its colour appeared a dark brown, and while the sun shone upon it the reflection was bright. Story thought its body was the size of a man’s.

Another ship-master, Solomon Allen deposed that on the 12th, 13th, and 14th of August, 1817, he saw a strange marine animal, which he believed to be a Serpent, in the Harbour of Gloucester. This animal was between eighty and ninety feet in length, and about the size of a half-barrel—apparently having joints from the head to the tail. Allen was about one-hundred-and-fifty yards from it. The head was formed something like a rattlesnake, but nearly as large as that of a horse. Allen went round it in a boat several times. Its haunches appeared to be about ten inches from the surface of the water. At times its head was about ten feet in perpendicular height, and its mouth open.

James Ellary of Gloucester, shipmaster, also deposed that he saw the Sea Serpent. He saw the upper part of its head, and about forty feet of its body. It appeared to have joints about the size of a two-gallon keg. W. H. Foster deposed to the animal being shaded in colour, and also to the particulars above-mentioned; and further said, that as he drew near to the place at which he was stationed to observe it, there arose from its head a prong or spear, about twelve inches in height and six inches in circumference, terminating in a point. Mathew Gaffrey, of the same place,[230] also deposed that he saw this strange “marine,” and that its head appeared as large as a four-gallon keg, its body as large as a barrel, and its length at least forty feet. The top of its head was of a dark colour, the under part nearly white. He fired at it with his gun, and thought he must have hit it. It turned towards him immediately, and went directly under his boat, and made its appearance at about a hundred yards from the place where it dived.

Several others deposed to these particulars, and Sewell Toppon, master of the schooner “Laura,” said that he saw the “marine” on the eastern point of Cape Ann, being becalmed. Its head was the size of a ten-gallon cask, and that it left a great “wake” behind. Robert Bragg said he saw the “beast,” with its head six or seven inches out of the water. He did not see its eyes, but when astern of the vessel about fifteen feet, it threw out its tongue, which was about two feet in length, and the end was like a harpoon. William Sowerby also deposed that he saw its tongue, and one eye, which appeared large and bright, like that of an ox. Its body moved up and down, and its head wagged from side to side. The colour of its tongue was a light brown. Elkanah Finney also deposed at length, and amongst other things, declared that it appeared to him like a long string of bungs. He saw thirty or forty of its “hunches” all in a line. The head appeared about six feet long. Its under-jaw had a white stripe. It appeared to be at least 150 feet long. It often rose, and it appeared as if fishing for its food. It seemed to move at the rate of twenty miles an hour. Various other persons deposed to the same particulars—one that it had a beard, which flowed down its[231] venerable chops like sea-weed. Another declared solemnly that it had a kind of “swivel eye,” which followed the boat whichever way it turned. One said, that it suddenly rose up into the form of a “steeple,” and that upon firing at it, the ball must have passed through the inside of the “steeple” part of his body. One declared that he saw the end of its tail, which had a kind of tuft or fin, about four or five feet from its “cutter-cud,” and, at last, a large kind of serpent was actually caught at “Prospect,” which was exhibited at Boston as the progeny of some “old serpent”—but this, on inspection, proved to be a “whopping” conger eel.

Since these “appearances” on the American side have taken place, we have had many accounts of the greatest of all the “marines.” It has been frequently seen in the Atlantic, once or twice in the South Sea—sometimes computed at three hundred feet, sometimes at seventy—sometimes with a beard, sometimes without. The last account of it is taken from the log-book of the “Jesse Gleaner,” in which it is depicted as resembling in the head, a “griffin;” in the body, a hundred sugar hogs-heads linked together by a rope; and in the tail, as one of Peter Parley’s best. Whether my young friends will ever hear or know more of it, will be left to the future concatenation of events. Perhaps “Old Charley” may pick it up in the Baltic, or Keet lay hold of it at the “fish ordinary” at Billingsgate.

Since the above was written, we have received the following, concerning the capture of the “beast.” It is in a letter from[232] Charles Seabury, master of the whale ship “Monongatiela,” of New Bedford, and states as follows,—On the morning of the 13th of January, when in latitude 3 deg. 10 min. S., and longitude 131 deg. 50 min. W., the man on the look-out cried “white water.” I was aloft half-an-hour before I observed anything like white water—then I presumed it was a shoal of porpoises. I ordered the mate to keep both eyes open, and went down, it being my breakfast hour. Before I reached the deck, my attention was called to the sudden cry of Annetu Vanjan, a Marquesan Islander. “Oh look! me see! too much! no whale! too big! me ’fraid!” The native continued to look with eagerness. I turned to leeward, and my eye rested on the strangest creature I had ever seen in the ocean. I knew it was not a whale. “It is a Sea Serpent!”—I exclaimed; “stand by the boats.” When they had mustered, I said, “I do not order you to go into the boats—who will volunteer?” Every American in the ship stepped out—we lowered—I told the boat-steerer, James Whittermore, of Vermont, to stand up, who, with calm intrepidity, laid hold of his harpoon; when I beckoned with my hand, quick as thought both his weapons were buried to the socket in the repulsive body before us; the head and tail of the monster rushed to touch the wound; the frightfulness of the head filled the crew with terror; he began to sound, and the line went out, in all, one thousand fathoms. At four a.m., on the 14th inst., sixteen hours after it went down, the line began to slack, and just before breakfast it rose; we lanced the body repeatedly without any signs of life; at last it drew itself up, and we pulled away, and then witnessed the terrific dying struggles of the monster. The evolutions of the body were quick as lightning,[233] like the revolving of a thousand enormous black wheels, and a sound was heard, so dead and unearthly, that a thrill of horror ran through our veins. The convulsive effort lasted fifteen minutes, when suddenly it ceased, turned up, and lay still. Our prey was dead! I took off my hat, when nine terrific cheers broke from the crew. It was a male, one hundred-and-three feet long, nineteen feet round the neck, twenty-five feet round the shoulders, and forty-nine feet round the largest part of the body. The head was long and flat, with ridges, the end of the tongue was like a heart, the back black, sides brown, under the belly yellow, with a white streak. The body was covered with blubber, and the oil was as clear as water, and burnt like spirits of turpentine. One of his lungs was three feet longer than the other.

[234]

Something more about the Chinese.

To maintain the laws of China, and impress the people with fear, a numerous standing army is kept up. There are at least, five-hundred-thousand—Tartar troops—such as we should term “regulars,”—in this country. There are also about a million of what we should call “the militia.” For courage they are not very remarkable, but they have the word brave stitched upon the back of their jackets, and the word retreat on the front. They wear also a peculiar cap, as seen in the engraving, and carry a matchlock. Here is a picture of a Chinese “Brave.”

The “Tartar troops” are enrolled under eight banners, which are attached to certain lands or estates. The cavalry are not much better equipped than the infantry; they have neither carbines nor pistols, but are armed exclusively with swords and sabres.[235] The weapons of the foot consist of bows and arrows, pikes, matchlocks, swords, baskets, shields, and iron cannon.

TIGER OF WAR.

ELEUTH TARTAR.

But the most famous of all the soldiers are, what we should term “life guards;” they are called “tigers of war,” and are the members of the Imperial Guard. They are covered from head to foot with a striped dress of black and yellow, to resemble the tiger. The head of these “tigers” is also covered with a close cap, and two horns or ears stick up from each side. They carry a shield, with a sort of Gorgon face upon it, like that of the fabled Minerva, which is said to have turned all it looked upon into stone.

[236]

Besides these military gentlemen, the Eleuth Tartars now form a part of the military force of the Chinese, and are regarded as the handsomest and finest-looking men of the Empire. They retain their national dress, as you see it in the picture. They are a numerous people, divided into various tribes, living in the north and west of the Chinese territory. They had, for ages, been at war with the Chinese, and a long while ago some of these tribes eventually gained a complete victory, and settled the family of one of their chiefs upon the throne—so that the present emperor is not a Chinese by descent, but a Tartar, and this is one of the causes of the “Great[237] Rebellion” now raging in China, the object of which is to destroy idolatry, and to drive the Tartar race from the Empire.

The naval force of the Chinese is very numerous, but, compared with European ships, of little service. Their war vessels are little better than trade junks, one thousand of which would not have the least effect upon one of our frigates. The barges and boats of the Chinese are, however, more useful; and the waterman is an important personage. The engraving is a representation of one. The boatmen have a peculiar song. One person repeats the sentences, which have a meaning, and the whole join in chorus “Hee-o-noto-hee-o,” the import of which is, “Pull away, my boys, heartily.” Near the head of the vessel or boat is suspended a gong, which serves to regulate the motions of the boatmen.

WATERMAN.

WATCHMAN.

[238]

In all the cities of China watchmen are regularly kept. The watch is set at nine o’clock, and remains till five in the morning. The watchman carries in his left hand a long bamboo tube, which he strikes with a short thick stick in his right as many blows as there may be half-hours elapsed since the watch was set. The sound of the instrument is loud, but dull. Sometimes the bamboo, instead of being cylindrical, is shaped like a fish, about two feet and a-half long, and six inches in diameter. Each watchman is also furnished with a paper lanthorn, on which is inscribed his name, and that of the division to which he belongs.

The Chinese laws are contained in the canonical books, which constitute the laws and literature of the country. They have been compiled so as to lay down with great exactness the various descriptions of offences, with a suitable punishment[239] for each. In China, the cane is the grand instrument of punishment; and all China has been compared to a school,—kept in awe by the rod of the master.

Every city of the first, second, or third rank, has its proper courts and judges, and when a person is charged with an offence, torture is used to extort confession. The ordinary one, which is very acute and painful, is a kind of engine in which the hands and feet of the culprit are enclosed; and then, by means of a screw, compressed to such a degree that the wrists and ancle-bones are broken and flattened, and all the toes and fingers dislocated. Rebellion and treason are punished by cutting the criminal into ten thousand pieces—which is literally accomplished by the knife or sword. Murder is punished with death. For disobedience to parents, the[240] punishment is very severe. The criminal is condemned to be cut into “ten thousand pieces,” and afterwards burnt. Theft is punished by the Bastinado. In this punishment, the offender lies with his face downwards, and the executioner, with a cudgel, beats him severely. After he has been thus soundly beaten, the offender arises, and, kneeling before the presiding magistrate, thanks him for his kind correction. But bribery will soften the blows, or it is not unfrequent for a substitute to be allowed, and many a poor fellow, for the sake of a little money, will kneel down and receive the punishment. The Chinese have also laws and punishments relating to form, ceremony, and dress; the manner in which an inferior bows to a superior; the terms of the card written to him, the mode in which it is to be folded, the ceremonial of visiting, are all fixed by rules. Whether a Chinese sits down or rises, whether he receives company at home, or walks abroad, there is a rule fixed, and the cane is always at hand to punish its violation. The Mandarins are the magistrates in China, and here is a picture of one of them. His tunic is gray or violet color, his trousers yellow, embroidered with gold. The Mandarins are selected from all classes of the[241] community, and their number is said to amount to nearly 50,000. There are nine classes of Mandarins, who are distinguished by the buttons in their caps. Sometimes the Emperor confers a high and extraordinary honour on Mandarins who have performed essential service to the state, namely—“the right of wearing two peacock’s feathers in the cap, which is as great a mark of dignity as the ”Garter“ of a ”Knight Companion of the Garter“ in England.”

There are, in China, booksellers who keep shops as in England, but the greater number of booksellers are hawkers, and one of these is represented in the engraving. The books are arranged on a stall, and boxes full of others stand beside them.

[242]

The books of the vendor are usually covered with a kind of pasteboard of a green or yellow colour. Those kept in shops are generally bound in red brocade, adorned with flowers of gold and silver, and have their titles in gold letters, not on their backs, but on the exterior surface of the cover. Some works are splendidly illustrated, after the Chinese manner, by designs in colours, and others by rude but very graphic wood-cuts.

The paper which the Chinese use for printing, being extremely thin, is printed only on one side. The sheets are so folded that the two open edges go to the back when they are stitched. Thus the Chinese books are cut in the back (not in the front like ours), and the sheets are then held together by a silk lace, or merely a strip of paper twisted between the fingers. The Chinese have a variety of books, and no nation in the world can boast of such a mass of historical annals. The people are amused with a variety of the vilest trash, and there are published in quick succession, dramas, poems, and tales, some serious and some comic, but none of any great merit. They have also plays, and strange representations of various kinds, but, for the most part, of a gross or whimsical nature. The Chinese are particularly fond of puppet shows, which they have brought to a great degree of perfection, with various automatons, like our “Punch and Judy.” All ranks take delight in these amusements.

I hope in my next Annual to give you some further insight into the manners and customs of this most interesting people.

[243]

Jack and Jill.

“Jack and Jill

Went up the hill,

To fetch a pail of water:—

Jack fell down

And broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after.”

Widow M’Carthy rented four or five acres of land, in a rural part of the county of Cork, in Ireland. She was a respectable, hard working, cleanly, honest, upright woman; and the landlord, seeing that she was likely to become quite as good a tenant as any one could be, and indeed, far better than most persons in her neighbourhood, allowed her to keep the little farm after her husband’s death. It was well in him to do so, for she managed the land properly, paid her rent, and every other debt, with punctuality and honour. The good widow had two daughters, the stay and comfort of her old age, the pride of the village, the pattern of all good and thrifty qualities to the neighbours. Their names were Betsey and Jill. They were young, good-looking, cheerful and industrious. Under their management the cottage became cleanly, neat and comfortable.[244] The pigs and poultry were kept out of the house, in their proper places. The floors were regularly swept and scoured; the table, though it was only a deal table, was always so white, and clean, and sweet-looking, that positively it looked quite pretty. A neat Dutch clock stood over the dresser, among the shining crockery-ware; and click! click! click! it went, so cheerfully, that even the old hoary figure of Time with a scythe, which was painted on it, looked benignant and happy, as if well satisfied with his continual harvest of holy and profitable hours. Betsey, the elder of the two girls, was unfortunately lame, from an accident she had received in her babyhood. She could not, therefore, be so active as her sister, but she made up for it in the activity of her mind. She was wise and thoughtful, and her mother relied upon her much for advice and sympathy in times of difficulty. Jill, the younger, was the pride and joy of the neighbourhood. She was here, there, and everywhere, wherever there was work to be done. She milked the cow; she baked the bread, she could mend the thatch, and weed the garden. And then she had such a pretty face, such a neat little figure; her hair was always so clean and so nicely arranged. Many lads of the village were in love with her, and one among them was Jack Sullivan, the son of their nearest neighbour. He had known her for a great many years, without caring more about her than he did about other young maidens; but one day as he was passing the widow’s front garden, he saw Betsey leaning over the half-door of the cottage, and Jill mounted on a ladder, mending the thatch of the roof. There was a gentle breeze stirring, and it played and whispered about her little form very lovingly. The small[245] check apron round her pretty waist, waved and fluttered about, and curled round behind, as if playing at hide-and seek with the morning breeze, and now and then a wavy movement of the neat stuff gown showed her well-turned ancles and little feet. The sunlight played upon her shining hair; her face was so rosy and full of smiles; her hands moved so nimbly at her work, and all the curves of her young figure were so graceful, that Jack stood still a long time to look at her. From that hour he fell in love. Jack himself was a good-looking fellow, very good-looking indeed. He had, besides, free, frank, good-natured ways, and was a great favourite in the village for his generosity, and his gay and lively manners. He could play the fiddle a little, sing a song with spirit, and dance as gaily as if all the blood within him were a current of joy. He became now a frequent visitor at the widow’s cottage. What he came for was soon plain enough to the mother and to Betsey, and indeed to any one that observed; but Jill—sly, blushing, little Jill—pretended not to know anything about it. One day, however, she knew all about it, because Jack told her; and oh! to see the little maiden then! It was well there was nobody by,—she could not have borne it. She lifted up that little apron of hers, and covered her pretty face with it, burning with blushes. Jack had put such an important question to her,[246] that it was quite impossible she could answer it at once without consulting her mother; but the blushing brow, the sparkling eyes, the trembling little hand, were almost answer enough for him.

The mother shook her head when she heard of what had passed between Jack and her daughter. She loved him for his generosity and liveliness, but she knew well his defects of character. Jack was not a thrifty fellow. He loved his pleasures better than his business. His cottage and garden were both in sad disorder. His fences, too, were broken down; the weeds grew in his fields; and, altogether, his affairs were in anything but a prosperous condition. Of course, the good mother could not think of such a suitor to her thrifty little daughter, until he altered his habits and gave some promise of becoming a steady and industrious man. Jack was told this—and his conscience, besides, whispered to him that he had been careless and indolent, and that it was nothing more than right that Jill’s little hand should be denied him till he had shown some proofs of care and frugality. But with such a reward to encourage him and urge him on, he felt a new life at his heart; he made a manful beginning of improvement, and probably would have gone successfully on, but for an accident which brought sorrow to both families, and for a time disabled Jack altogether. There had been long drought in the summer; a drop of rain had not fallen for a fortnight; the ponds in the neighbourhood were dried up, and the wells gave but a very scanty supply. The best of these was at some distance from the village at the top of a hill, with a well-worn path on one side, but covered with grass and underwood on all the others.[247] One day, Jill, wanting water for her cows and for household purposes, proposed to go up the hill to fetch some. Jack readily offered to help her. He obtained a donkey cart, and filled it with buckets, and drove to the foot of the hill, with Jill in company. They went up together, Jack holding her by the hand and helping her on. When they had reached the top and filled their pails, he proposed to go down the other side of the hill, the distance being a little shorter. It was steeper and more slippery it was true, but still he thought he could venture. He went first, with a full pail in his hand, and Jill followed behind him. They had not gone more than half-way down when Jack’s feet began to slide over the smooth, steep ground, and down he fell on his side, and rolled, over and over. Poor Jill screamed, leaned forward, and, in her turn, fell and rolled down the hill behind Jack. On they went, over and over down the hill, like a couple of cricket-balls, and nothing could stop them till they came to the bottom. The mere rolling down hill would not perhaps have have done them any great harm, for the ground at that part was soft and grassy; but the worst of it was that Jill’s pail—when it fell from her hand—struck Jack’s head, and it went bump! bump! all the way down-hill close to him, hitting him now and then on the ribs rather roughly. They were both picked up at the foot of the hill, and placed, carefully, side by side in a cart, with a truss of straw strewn over it to relieve the jolting. It was soon evident that Jill, though a good deal frightened, was not much hurt; but Jack’s fall was somewhat serious. His head was bleeding, and, when the Doctor examined him, he said, that two of his ribs were broken. A day or two’s nursing brought Jill round again,[248] for there was nothing seriously the matter with her; but Jack’s illness kept him to his bed some weeks.

Stars shine in the night, and so love burns with peculiar fervour in the hours of affliction and sorrow. Jill and her mother waited upon their patient with tenderest care. His food and his medicine were given to him by their gentle hands; he sank into slumber at night with the echoes of their prayers in his ears; and when he awoke in the morning, the first eye-beams that met his own were theirs. The love in his heart strengthened, and grew under such influences. He made all sorts of generous resolves as to what he would do when he got well—how hard he would work! how prudent and careful he would be! Nothing was too hard to do or to endure, to gain such a wife as Jill.

With such excellent nursing, Jack recovered in due time, and came out of his illness quite well and cheerful, One evening, after his recovery, he was seated in the widow’s kitchen, talking to Jill and Betsey, while they arranged their garden-pots of flowers in the window, when the door opened, and Father M’Callagh, the parish priest, entered the room, holding a letter in his hand.

“Jack!” said the Father, “I have just called upon you; but not finding you at home, I guessed very naturally that you were here. While I was standing at your doorway, the village postman came with this letter; and as I knew pretty well where you were, I offered to deliver it to you. Do not stand upon any ceremony with me, but read your letter at once, while Mrs. M’Carthy, Betsey, and I, have a little quiet talk together.”

Jack opened the letter, and read it aloud to Jill. It was[249] from a cousin of his, who had gone to America about ten years ago. He was now a small but substantial and thriving farmer in one of the Western States; and, as he wanted help in his farm, he had written to Jack, offering him a free passage out and good wages. The letter stated that the labour required would be constant and steady—now and then, perhaps, severe—but that the reward would be sweet and sure. It also enclosed an order, on an Irish Bank, for a small sum of money.

Jack looked at the maiden in silence. There were tears in her eyes. Then the letter was handed to Betsey and the mother, and they both read it; a solemn stillness came over the spirits of the family.

“What is to be done?” said Jack.

“Suppose we ask Father M’Callagh to advise us,” said Betsey.

The letter was instantly put into the good man’s hand. He looked over it, and then advancing to where Jack and Jill sat, he took the little hand of the maiden in one of his own, and laid the other in a friendly manner on Jack’s shoulder.

“My advice,” said he, in a firm and cheerful voice, “is—Go! Go! by all means.”

The young people looked up with distressed countenances, but spoke not a word.

“Jack, my friend!” said the old man, cheerfully, “you are at heart a good fellow; but you have some serious faults, which you are now striving bravely to amend. You have made a capital beginning, but as yet it is only a beginning. When we awaken to a sense of duty, we ought to accept[250] opportunities which put our virtue to the proof. Inward resolutions must become outward life. Virtuous sentiments must speak out in virtuous habits; practice must prove theory. Now, Jack, my boy! shew a brave spirit. Accept this trial. Go to America! work! be thrifty! Put by what you can reasonably spare; and in about a twelvemonth, perhaps, you will be able to send for little Jill and make her your wife.”

Jack’s countenance brightened, and so did Jill’s a little, though her tears continued falling; but it was now the widow’s turn to be sorrowful. The thought of her daughter’s going away to marry in a foreign land was hard to bear; but Father M’Callagh comforted her. She came to see that the arrangement was natural and wise; and, after some little hesitation, she gave her consent.

On the following Sunday, the good old Father preached in the village chapel from this text:—“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” He attempted to shew, that wherever we go, in obedience to the voice of duty—whether upon burning sands or freezing snows—whether in the flowery meadows or on the stormy seas—the love, and mercy, and tenderness of heaven would hover over us still, making our happiness fruitful, and turning our sorrows into joy. It was a very comforting sermon for the family; and when the evening of that Sabbath came, it was one of the sweetest and calmest they had ever enjoyed. The stars that glittered in the skies seemed like the eyes of angels looking down upon them; and the cool breeze that touched their cheek and hair as it swept by,[251] was like the kiss of an invisible spirit, stooping down from a higher world.

Time flew rapidly on, and the day for parting came. Jill went with her lover to the ship. She saw it leave the quay at Cork; she watched it from the sea-shore, as with outspread sails it glided on and on. She lingered on the beach till the shadows of evening fell, and the vessel containing her dearest friend faded away like a speck on the horizon. She wept a little—it was natural, she could not help it; but the tears were not altogether bitter. The night wind swept over the sea with a solemn sound; the waves broke upon the shore, and to the pious listener they seemed to say—“Fear not! we roll in the hollow of His hand.”

Among the old lovers of little Jill was one Laurence Doheney, the village postmaster’s son. She had never given him the slightest encouragement; but now that Jack had gone to America, he thought there was a chance for him, if he chose to persevere; and persevere he did, much to Jill’s annoyance. He would sit upon the garden railings, playing a few notes on an old cracked fiddle he had borrowed, and sing a rude verse of a song which some one had written for him:—

“My pretty Jill!

Have you I will!

I’ll be your constant lover.

When one’s away,

The wise would say,

‘Take comfort in another.’”

[252]

Such a rude verse as this was, of course, not at all likely to please so faithful a girl as Jill. It deeply offended her. She turned a deaf ear and a severe countenance to all that he had to say, and his foolish wooing was all in vain. Seeing that he could not succeed at all, and that he did not get even so much as a smile, his love (if, indeed, it ever was love) soured into vexation and anger. He took to teazing her about her tumble down-hill, and made rude jests about the droll figure she must have cut, when she came rolling over and over, like a snow-ball, with Jack before her. He even went so far as to bring a bell, one day, and ring it like a town-crier three times, while he cried out—“O yes! Lost, a pair of young lady’s garters, while tumbling down hill. Whoever will bring the same to Miss Jill McCarthy, will receive one shilling reward.” This foolish and vexatious nonsense went on for some time. Jill took but little notice of it; and she hoped that, ere long, Laurence himself would grow tired of his own unkindness and folly.

Meanwhile time flew on rapidly. The vessel which had taken Jack out to America returned to Cork; but, strange to say, no letter had yet been received by Jill. A sailor on board the ship, who had some relations in the village, reported that he had seen Jack leave the ship on her arrival, safe and sound, but that since that time he had neither heard nor seen anything of him. This information was satisfactory, as far as it went; but, of course, it was not enough, nor anything like enough, for a loving heart like Jill’s. It was strange she did not hear from him! What could be the matter? Five months—six months—seven months passed away, but no letter. Poor Jill! she went into secret places,[253] and wept bitterly; she pined, lost her appetite, and grew pale. Her mother and sister comforted her to the best of their power; but her heart was deeply wounded, and it would not heal.

One day, when Father M’Callagh was visiting the cottage, and the deep grief and disappointment of poor Jill was being talked over, he suddenly fell into a deep silence, as if some thought had suddenly struck him. Presently, turning to the chair where Jill sat, he spoke to her,—

“My child! I have heard that Laurence Doheney, the postmaster’s son, has been troublesome to you since Jack’s departure, and that he has tried to get himself accepted as your suitor.”

“Yes, Father, he has annoyed me very much. Of course, I have had nothing to say to him; and now I hope he will have nothing to say to me.”

“Humph!” said the old Father. Then, after a long pause, he continued, “Jill, my child, I daresay you know when the next mail is due from America?”

“Yes,” she replied, drawing out a slip of newspaper from her pocket; “I study such things now. Here it is! To-morrow!”

“That is at Cork, I suppose?”

“Yes.”

“Then, the day after to-morrow the letters ought to be delivered in the village, if there be any. My child, you will probably see me on that day. Meanwhile, be patient and hopeful. I dare be sworn Jack is constant and true. I much fear that others——.” And here his countenance grew grave and sorrowful; but he checked himself, looked[254] smilingly again, and bidding them all a gentle adieu, went his way.

On the day appointed for his again visiting the cottage, Father M’Callagh went into the post-office of the village. Holding out his hand to the postmaster, he began to inquire, in a friendly way, after his health and that of his family, and begged permission to be seated there a short time, as he was weary.

“As long as you please, Father—none more welcome!”

And then they began chatting together, the two old men, of the times when they were young—of men and things—of joys and sorrows long since past away. Laurence was in the room.

Presently, a horn was heard.

“Here comes the mail from Cork, father!” said Laurence, starting up, and taking in the bag at the doorway.

“Very well,” said his father, “untie the bag, and go on sorting. I will be ready presently.”

Father M’Callagh shifted his chair a little, so as to command a good view of the movements of Laurence, while seeming not to notice him. He entered into conversation again with the elder Doheney.

It was but a small packet of letters; and Laurence, who had long been used to help his father in such matters, very quickly divided them into their proper parcels. But there was one letter which, instead of putting on the table with the others, he snapped up with a rapid movement, and put into the side-pocket of his jacket.

[255]

But, quick as this was done, the watchful eye of Father M’Callagh saw it. He rose from his seat, went up to Laurence, laid his hand upon his shoulder, and, with a solemn voice and manner, said:—

“Laurence! Laurence! I pity you. I fear you have done a very wicked thing. I would lead you back to honour by the gentle means of mercy. Repent now, while there is time to do it, without public shame, or by-and-bye Justice may seize you with a rough hand. Give me, instantly, the letter that you have just concealed.” Laurence, pale and trembling, produced the letter. It was addressed to Jill M’Carthy.

“I have no doubt,” said the priest, clutching the letter, “that you have several others addressed to her in your possession. Give them all up!”

Laurence unlocked a little drawer of his own in a corner of the office, and, with downcast eyes, put into the old Father’s hands five or six letters addressed to Jill. The seals had not in any instance been broken.

“Oh, Laurence! Laurence!” said the old Father, with emotion, “is it needful for me to say, how mean and paltry, how malicious, how unkind, how cruel is such conduct towards any one? But towards such a girl as Jill!—Oh, Laurence! Come! Come! I see the tears of shame and sorrow in your eyes. You do feel it.”

Yes! Laurence did feel it. He buried his face in his hands and wept. Foolish habits and evil companionship had done him much harm, but they had not destroyed all good. Here and there, in his neglected nature, were some spots where the beautiful still grew, like patches of verdure in a desert of sand. Now, the good within him awoke and stirred—the[256] evil sank into silence and slumbered. Shame and sorrow fell upon his spirit, as summer rain upon withering flowers, and the true and the beautiful revived.

Father M’Callagh promised the distressed father and the repentant son that he would not speak of this discovery to any one in the world but Jill. Now that a gracious repentance had begun its work, they need not fear anything harsh or indelicate from those who knew the circumstances. Then, with a few words of solace and encouragement, the good old Priest shook hands with both father and son, and went away.

In a few minutes he arrived at the widow’s cottage. He asked to speak with Jill alone, and then he told her of the discovery he had just made; he spoke, too, of the sincere penitence of Laurence, and asked her to forgive him. Then, putting all the letters into her hands, he bade her adieu, and left her to go up into her little bed-chamber, and read over their happy and loving contents, with beating heart and tearful eyes.

One day, about a month after this incident, Jill was sitting at the window working, when Laurence opened the garden-gate, and came forward with a letter in his hand. It had just arrived, and he had requested his father to let him be the bearer of it. It was the first time he had ventured to shew himself to Jill since the affair of his dishonour towards her. She came forward into the garden to meet him, and took the letter from his hand. He blushed, and trembled a little as he delivered it to her; with a faltering voice, he asked if Father M’Callagh had told her how very sorry he was that—

“Yes—yes, Laurence! he told me all about it!” said Jill,[257] interrupting him. “I know you are sorry, and that you would never do so again to any one.”

“Never! never!” said Laurence, with great emphasis. “Believe me—never!”

“Of course, you would not! therefore we will say no more about it. Now, Laurence, please let me go and read my letter. Good bye!” and she held out her hand so prettily, and pressed it into his so gently, yet so warmly, and looked into his face with so much simplicity and sweetness, that Laurence felt the tears starting to his eyes. These new touches of tenderness and mercy strengthened his virtue, and made his heart steady in the beautiful change upon which he had resolved.

Jill, as soon as she got to her room, opened the letter. Of course, it was from Jack. It contained an order for £12 on an Irish Bank, and a very earnest entreaty that she would come to America without delay, and be his wife. It stated that he was now bailiff and manager of a good farm, which his cousin had just bought—that he had saved a little money, and had now a comfortable home, which only wanted Jill to make it delightful. The £12 enclosed were for the expenses of her passage out.

Such a letter as this could not be received but with mixed feelings. There was joy in the prospect, but it could not be reached without much present pain. There was a blessed meeting to look forward to, but there was also a sorrowful separation to endure. So it is! Heaven’s beautiful affections are the means of dividing families, as well as of drawing them together. And so it will be, till all are “gathered together into one fold.”

[258]

And now the hours, as they rolled on, brought near the time of another parting—parting, the lot, sooner or later, of all meeting things in this world below. Many of the villagers went as far as Cork, to see the last of their dear little friend; and when the vessel left the harbour, amidst the tears and blessings of mother, and sister, and friends, several of them (Laurence and his father among the number) clustered on the sea-shore, and watched it, as it glided away with her whom they loved on board.

Sail gallantly, proud ship! Waft her gently on, ye winds! Roll, roll ye murmuring waters! Rejoice, ye waves, and smile! for Love, the most beautiful of all things, is now upon the sea!

Adventure with a Shark

[259]

The Two Middies; or, a Fearful Encounter with a Shark.

My young readers will recollect, that in my last volume I afforded them some curious particulars regarding the “shark family;” I am now about to relate to them a story“ concerning one, which I know to be true. It was the year, 1835, that the fine Indiaman, the ”Rajah,“ had crossed the line, and stood on her way to Madras. There were, on board of her, two brothers, named Palgrave; one had the baptismal designation of ”Edwin,“ and the other’s name was ”Arthur.“ They were twin brothers, and Arthur was only a few minutes older than Edwin.

[260]

Both these boys had been brought up together—they had the same nurse, the same tutor, the same education, the same pocket-money. They were the same in appearance, in countenance, in stature, and so like that one was often mistaken for the other.

They were, however, somewhat different in character and disposition. Edwin was gentle and retiring, Arthur was bold and resolute. Edwin was fond of books and the pen, and of the pencil. Arthur delighted in riding, fishing, shooting, and boating. Arthur wished to go to sea. Edwin wanted to be a clergyman.

At last the time came for each to make a choice of a profession. Arthur was determined to be a sailor, and his father took the requisite means to get him entered as a “middy” on board the “Rajah,” and everything was soon settled, and the little boy appeared, dressed in his “uniform,” to the great joy of all his brothers and sisters, except Edwin, who looked upon it as a sign that he was now to lose the society of his beloved brother for a long time—perhaps for ever.

This was more than he could endure, and he therefore implored his father, with tears in his eyes, to get him a “berth” in the same ship, and offered to give up his idea of becoming a clergyman, and to share all the perils of the deep, that he might not lose the companionship of his brother.

I need not say how pure and holy fraternal affection is; nor how pleasing it is in the sight of Him who would have all men to be Brothers. But I may say, that the love that existed between Edwin and Arthur has never been excelled in my experience.

The ship “Rajah” pursued her way with a fair wind and[261] a calm sea, and as she neared the point of her destination the weather became hotter and hotter. At last, the Indiaman lay becalmed, the sun darting down its heat so furiously as to make the boards of the deck shrink and crack. All the passengers were in a “melting mood,” and the crew of the ship in little better than a fry. The sun was indeed so hot that you might almost cook a beef-steak on the flat of the locker.

The most rational thing to do—when a person is hot—is to devise some means of getting one’s-self cool. And among the various devices commonly practised to produce this effect, that of bathing is said to be a very good one.

Many, therefore were the “bathers” that dropped over the ship’s sides to take a “salt-water cure” for heat, and among the bathers was Edwin. A sail had been let down with a large “bulge” in it from the main and mizen-yard, and on this, which had about the depth of six feet of water in its lowest part, the young middies and some of the passengers found a very pleasant bath.

Several persons had taken their ablutions and came on deck again. But Edwin lingered about in company with another middy, amusing himself with various frolics in the water, when all at once the head of an enormous shark appeared for a moment at the margin of the extended sail. The monster turned up its mouth, shewed its treble row of saw-like teeth, and descended rapidly. Both the youths gave a fearful shriek, and the one nearest to the ship’s-side laid hold of a “dangling rope,” and leaped into the vessel. Not so with Edwin. This poor youth seemed suddenly paralyzed with fear. In a few seconds the shark appeared again, and,[262] making a lurch, threw himself over one part of the sail, and nearly swept the unfortunate Edwin into the sea. The enormous weight of the creature so slackened the ropes that held the sail on one side that it tilted, and left Edwin clinging to the other side in great terror, not knowing what would come next.

Arthur was a witness of this dreadful state of things, and Edwin instinctively uttered his brother’s name. In a moment,[263] with his dirk-knife unsheathed in his hand, Arthur was by the side of Edwin. The soft swell of the sea gave a lurch to the ship, and, as the sail dipped deeper into the sea, the horrid creature made a movement towards the lads, turned his mouth upwards, and gave a snap—and so close was his monstrous jaw to the boys, that the rope to which they clung was cut in two, and the monster darted down with a mouthful of sail and rope in his capacious jaws.

The sailors on board were endeavouring, with all their might, to haul the boys into the ship; but before this could be done the shark made another plunge above the edge of the sail, close to Edwin, who instinctively threw himself more into the water at this moment. Arthur made a spring—buried his long knife up to the hilt, close to the animal’s jaw, and, quickly withdrawing it, gave him a like “dig” in his throat, and the blood gushed out, making the sea and sail quite red. “Bravo—bravo!” said the sailors on board, “give it him again, middy.” Before, however, Arthur had the opportunity of so doing the shark drew off, and was seen savagely frisking about at a few yards from the side. Shortly after he made another attempt, and Arthur made a bold lurch at him; but, in doing this, he over-reached himself and fell into the sea. In an instant the shark turned upon him, but while it was in the act of throwing up its teeth, Arthur dexterously dived, and, rising beneath the monster, sent his knife into its most vital part.

Feeling the wound, the creature twisted downwards, while Arthur rose to the surface—one mass of blood. The shark rose, too, but evidently weaker, and before he could make another attack Arthur dealt another blow at him, amid the[264] cheers of the spectators. The shark endeavoured to dive but was unable: made two or three convulsive twistings, and then turned and floated, belly upwards.

As soon as the shark gave signs of being among the defunct, Arthur sprang to his brother, and clasping him affectionately round the neck, held on by the remnant of the sail till both were drawn on board, amid the plaudits of the crew and passengers.

Such, young friends, is the story of the Shark and the Middies; and I hope you will be so far instructed by it as to be ready, at all times, to venture your life to save that of a brother. You may not be called upon to do it by fighting with sharks of the sea; but there are “land sharks” worse than sea sharks, in the various business matters of this world, which it may be necessary for you to combat to save a brother’s life, or, what is equally precious, his integrity or his honour.

Page
p7	exhilirating — left as printed.
p8	despatches — more common than dispatches pre 1900.
p9	pecularity — left as printed.
p9	jackall — occurs occasionally in this era.
p20	comsumptive — left as printed.
p21	our — corrected to cur.
p21	summersault — Both this and somersault were in use in 1850s.
p26	discernable — left as printed.
p33	massacreing — occurs occasionally in this era.
p37	cupfull —left as printed.
p38	titilation — occurs equally with titillation in this era
p38	wont — corrected
p39	undulterated — left as printed.
p39	St. Columb — St. Columba used elsewhere — left as printed.
p40	hostlery — left as printed.
p53	chesnuts — chesnut may be correct, it appears to be used in this era.
p57	Mahommedans — occurs occasionally in this era.
p58 p145 p239 p245	ancles — occurs occasionally in this era.
p59	gipsies — a more common alternative in this era.
p62	througout — left as printed.
p62	spiritural — left as printed.
p63	immates — left as printed.
p63	superintendance — left as printed.
p67	sumptous — left as printed.
p68	effctually — left as printed.
p71	Mediteranean — left as printed.
p77	distinquishes — left as printed.
p82	sumptousness — left as printed.
p84	entrused — left as printed.
p85	suprised — left as printed.
p85	commision — left as printed.
p86	powerful — corrected, there is space at end which probably held it.
p88	to night — should be to-night for consistency - left as printed.
p92	Moscow to St. Petersburg — Petersburgh elsewhere but left as printed.
p99	embarassing — left as printed.
p106	Ballinm — left as printed.
p107	Govenor — left as printed.
p107	Castellain — left as printed.
p112	trowsers — this spelling reasonably common in this era.
p117	vallies — left as printed.
p123	confectionary — this spelling reasonably common in this era.
p137	portentious — left as printed.
p143	Pharoahs — left as printed.
p144	Shakspeare — left as printed.
p145	Pharoahs — left as printed.
p149	bitumenous — left as printed.
p150	diminsions — left as printed.
p152	blithsome — this spelling occurs occasionally in this era.
p164	one o — corrected to one of.
p175	exhilirating — left as printed.
p189	materiel — left as printed.
p222	accellerates — left as printed.
p222	fushion — left as printed.
p222	homogenous — left as printed.
p237	notions — corrected to motions.
p238	shaped liked a fish — corrected to like.
p257	eutreaty — corrected to entreaty.

PROSE.
	PAGE
An Adventure with a Bear	92
A few words about the Egyptians, Ancient and Modern	142
” ”Soluble Glass	221
A Mysterious Adventure	135
A Touch with the Brigands	19
A Visit to the Royal Polytechnic Institution	205
Boiling Springs	224
Cardinal Wolsey	83
Christmas Day at the Diggings	200
Exploits in the Desert	9
Glastonbury Abbey, with the Story of King Arthur	217
Gustavus Vasa	30
Jack and Jill	243
Juvenile Day at the Hall	171
Manufacture of Ropes	188
Oranges and Lemons; or, the Bells of St. Clement’s	71
Passage of the Desert	212
San Rosalia	196
Sledging	7[vi]
Something about Boiling Springs	224
”” the Chinese	116
Something more about the Chinese	234
” about Lighthouses	97
””the Old Abbeys and Castles of England	61
””Ships and Shipping	178
””the Turkish Provinces	55
Story of the American Sea Serpent	227
Story of an Anchorite	1
The Boy Bachelor; or, Something about Cardinal Wolsey	83
The Two Middies; or, a Fearful Encounter with a Shark	259
The Town Pump: a Story of the Cow with an Iron Tail	34
The Youthful Nelson	42
The Old Abbeys and Castles of England	104
The Queen at Spithead: Review of the Fleet	110
The Rain; or, the Child, the Fairy, and the Magic Bird	156
The Regimental Goat	153
POETRY.
The Electric Telegraph	169
The Owl	202
The Sailor’s Grave	5
The Willow Tree	152

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Peter Parley's Annual, 1855: A Christmas and New Year's Present for Young People

PETER PARLEY’S ANNUAL.

Contents.

Preface.

Story of an Anchorite.

The Sailor’s Grave.

Sledging.