The Sun. — London, England, 1823-12-25 00:00:00

,• 1 , : : :• . . - k i, ." . .: i . ' rt 4 ‘l , I I ._, , i ) i . 414 6r76;0 4° ' - 1 11 M k' V b 'F a / ii e' ae"j °P; fel ..7lll ( # 1 4 11111//2 4 4"1. ... every Moralist to the George Inn, Sunderland, at reduced ]Pares. Mountain's " Express, Umpire, and Tally Ho," to MAN CHESTER, Winslow, Congleton, Newcastle, Walsal, Wol verhampton, and Knutsford, new Four Inside Day and Night Coaches, three times a-day. SHEFFIELD and Rotherham New Fonr inside Post Coaches every Morning, called "The Express," and also " The Rockingham," every Afternoon, at reduced Fares. The "Royal Express," New BIRMINGHAM Light Fast Night Coach, in 15 hours, sets out every *Herrman, carry ing Four Inside only; passes through Warwick, Leaming ton, Southern, Wesdon, Daventry, Stoney Stratford, and Towcester, to the Saracen's Head, Bull-street, Birming ham i early the next Morning. Driven through with Two Coachmen only. The " Express," a New Light Post Coach, to HULL, Lin coln, Northcave, Howden, and Doncaster, every Morning at Eight o'Clock, to the Cruse Keys, Market-place, Hull ; and also the " Rockingham" in the Afternoon at Two o'Clock. The FlERTFORD,Ware,Hollesdon,ard Cheshunt Conch. TOTTENHAM and Edmonton Conches daily, at Eleven, Half-past Two, Five, and Eight o'clock. '"; 6 0 At Reduced Fares to Leeds, York, and Duneaster, Luggage and Packages at only id per pound. S. A. MOUNTAIN and Co. respectfully acquaint their Friends and the Public, that they will not be accountable for any Parcels. Passenger's Luggage, Writings, Plate, ea. of more than Fire Pounds Value, it' lost, stolen, or damaged, unless entered as such, and the Insurance paid accord ingly, at the Saracen's Head Inn, Skinner-street, Snew-hill, Landon. Trt' Vt. cc litti 7A / NUMBER 9778. VERY FAST TRAVELLING, TO Doyza, DLL. RAMSGATE, MARGATE, AND CANTERBURY. TOUR INSIDE COACHES, AND KEEP GOOD TIME, By S. A. MOUNTAIN and Co. SARACZN'S USAD INN, SKINNER-MEET, SNOW. HILL. LONDON. THE followin g LIGHT POST-COACHES, and MAILS, Sce. set out from the above Inn:— The " Royal Telegraph," DOVER, Deal, Ramsgate, Mar gate, Broadstairs,Canterbury, Fevershani, and Sandwich new superior fast C oac h — every M orn i ng a t a q uarter past Seven a the In conse quence o f th e &sided preferense given to Telegraph Coach, the Proprietors are determined no • Pence shall be spared to render it the first conveyance on the Kent Road. ~..• tiIiROMPTON, Chatham and Rochester, Gravesend, Stroud , nghourne, Rainham, and Ospringe, Morning, Quarter pest I. The "'P a ll y H 0 ,,, to BIRMINGHAM, in Is knurs only, and driv en through with two Coachmen, fast Day Coach, Aforniur it t it k p quarter before 7 o'clock, through Redburn, et Street, Dunstable, Brlckhill , Fenny Stratford , Stoney Stratford, Towcester, Weedon, Daventry, Dunchnrcb, Co ;!htrY, and Ston e B r id ge, to t h e C ast l e H o t e l and St. U corge 's _avert), High-street, Birmingham, to Shiftiest!, Wellington, wisiridgenorth, Tarporle S helton, Shrewsbury, Salop , O swestr y , Nant. Y, Bangor, Chester, and Holybead.—ln con -- t rense of the de c id e d pre f erence given to the Tally Ho ath, the Proprietors are determined no @sperme shall be !Pined to render it the first minveyauce on the Birmingham "toad, T he "Sovereign," N ew li g ht f as t Coach to FALMOUTH, Pl ymouth, Exeter, Truro, Bodmin, Penryn, Ashburton, Tot. ness, Dartmouth, Weymouth, Dorchester, and Salisbury, ev ery mor n i ng a t Seven • through Honiton, Axminster , r idpurt, Blandfurd,Stockl;ridge, Sutton, Basingstoke, Hart lord Bridge, Blackwater, and Baptist. WO LVERHAMPTON, Dudley, and West•Bronswieh, through Coventry, the only Day The Coach, Morning, at a quer - , ter befor e Seven o'Clock. only Dayt i me!) to WEYMOUTH, (driven through with Two Coricfrnien only), through Bagehot, Blackwater, ,ngstoke, O ver t on , Whitchurch, Andover, Woudyeats , l 'es h roore, Salisbury, Blandford, and Dorchester, at a Quer • l'est Five o'Cl o ck in the Morning. Packets Irons Wry. to Guernsey, Jersey, Cherbourg, St. Maloc'a, do. Ner y Wednesday and Saturday afternoon , a t T w o o'Clock. `YARIVICK and Leamington Day cad Night Coaches. The " Uoion," SOUTHANIPTON, Lymiugtem, Lyndhurst. Vioclietter, Basingstoke, Hartford Bridge, Black water, and l ia g t hut, New Four Inside Coach, every Morning at a o'Cloik by at th e C o a c h and Horses and Vine Inn, Southampton , ~"Y Five o ' c l oc k. Thi s is a most delightful Conveyance to f `o, Isle o f Wi g ht, J er s e y, Guernsey, St. Haloes, Havre de ( 7 rl ee, Cherbourg!), &c.—The Proprietors of time above 1 , - "th hope to receive A contianee of that support which "et hitherto been experienced since the coraniencement'of thi'lee "tr " light Day Coaches to DORCHESTER, in 14 hours b l l 7, through Bagshot, Blackwater, Basingstoke, Overton, :hitchurch, Andover, Salisbury, Woodyeats, Cashinore, and "landford, at a Quarter past Five and Seven o'clock its the Morning. BATH and BRISTOL Post-Coaches, through Chippen !AM, Caine, Marlborough, Hungerford, Newbury, and Read ptr, every Afternoon at one; arrive at the Greyhound Inn, Bath, the London Tavern, Thornas-street, and Swan, Bristol, early the next Morning.--Coachee to Wells, Bridgewater, Taunton, and Plymouth, at reduced Fares. Tice " Umpire," a New LIVERPOOL Light Coach, only °sie Night on the Road, carrying Four Inside, sets out Daily at One ; arrives at Liverpool next afternoon, through Wo burn, Latlibury, Northampton, Welford, Lutterworth, Hinckley, Atherstone, Litchfield, Stone, Newcastle, Ks:Mi lord Warrington, and Piescot. _ . . KENDAL:Ian - caster, Preston, Kirby-Lonsdale, Bolton tkelley, Or mskirk, and Garstang Light Post Coaches, every ekng and afterni on. The Royal Express," New Light Four Inside Post Coach, LIV ERPOOL, in tfi hours only, through Warrington, 14; eic el) Congleton, Lawton, Newcastle, Rudgly, Knutaford, 17 °4 !) StittTurd, and Litchfield, (only One Night on the u ")) every Afternoon I arrives at the Saracen's Head Pei Dale -street, Liverpool, next Afternoon. The "Oen. taigas to Travellers who honour this Coach with their pre i , ere fir sto any other on this Road, as the °AI Exp i res* u " is perior driven throughout with Four Coachmen o : 111 f Two less than any other Coach to Liverpool), a saving tv eassengers too evident to require comment; besides the additional advantage, especially to Commercial Interests, of Pirtu rilling the journey in less time than any other Coach ; and, notwithstanding its cheapness and expedition, the Pro prietors pledge themselves that for safety and accommodation rt le equalled by few, and shall be surpassed by none. ~_4TAFFORDSHINE POTTERIES , a new light very fast 'eekh, every afternoon, to Lanend, Stoke, Shelton, Bonder)), Tillman, Lawton, Hardy and Holmes Chapel, This is the oujy_ Coach direct to the Potteries. WAKEFIELD Four inside Post-Coaches, every Morning aiid Afternoon at reduced Fares. CHESTER Newport,Wh't hureli,Tarperley, Namptwich, . ec " unilw ielilandMiddlevrich light Coaches, every &twilit% and anerneon. STAMr ° III) light Post Coaches every morning and after -10111)(17, aeon, thr oug h Baldock, Biggleswade, St. Nests , B ne kdi n , A 1 and Wandsferd. . tiN rh ° ItLA AD: Stockton, and Yarm Light Post Coach p v e e r r • by way of Newark, hetfurti, Doncester, rv Ybridiie. Tadcaster, Darlington, Northallerton, Durham, bl . uipeth, an d Berwick , an d arrives at York the next Morn . tog, at reduced Fares' through with Four Coach. stkngers finding themselves fatigued Men only, p a • D riven o n the journey, May rest wh a t ti me t h e y pl e ase, and then proceed without any additional Fare. MARLB OROUGH and Swindon, •four-inside Day Coach, ; t ough Aldh ourn, Reading, Lam b ourn , P ar t on , Lydington sa e weeY) ‘Voott on B asset , Ratusbury, Hungerford, Newbury d Maidenhead. Driven through with One Coachman only. D Th e New Royal Pat en t Mail, BOSTON and Louth, through awson, Cambridge Huntingdon, Stilton, Peterborough, 14P t ing) Spalding,' Spilsby, Alford, Grimsby, and Hull, b : I tint, at Half past Seven o'Clock, Sunday, at a Quarter Imre Seven. Exprets," a NeW Light Four-inside Post Coach to snIILISLE, Penrith, and Whitebaven, with a Guard all I, r way passes through Appleby. Brough, Bowes, Greta. ltichmond, Catterick, Boroughbridge, Ferrybridge, 0 1 411 eakter, Newark, Bawtry, Grantham, Stamford, Gres af:re) Sti lton, Biggleswade, and Baldock. Sets out in the thy at 1141 g. anperfories the journey with the greatest faci reduced Fares. Passengers detained on the Road by s ilkines s or pleasure, have the pecul i ar advantage of t h e i r e tra being secured in the next Coach.—The only direst toCarlisle. Was h e s r A N " Royal Patent Mail, CAMBRIDGE, through half - "tingford, Buckland, and Royston, Evening, at past Sev en o gooeh, Sunday, at a Quarter before Seven. C i s , S 4 7, ItI MSBITRY, Wellington, and Shitfnal, Light Post- A d f !el every morning and afternoon.—Guarded. ‘ yastrNS'I'APLE Southroolton, and Crediton, New light io - "el. every 'Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Morn- Vileat Seven o'clock 4 ' Rockingham . " LEEDS light Post Coach, sets Gut tilveetrl 4f,ternoon - at o ; and passes through Bald_ock, A , ll "'lite) Eaton, Buckden, Stilton, Wansford, Stamford, ( troni Grantham, Newark, Tuxford, Markham Moor, (.1 0 1 - r) 'lawn", Doncaster, and Ferrybridge, arrives_ at the In ~en Lion Inn, Leeds , next Afternoon at Three o'Clock, 11 0 1 11)1 e for the Bradfor'd, Halifax, Shipton, and Hudders en' poaches. at Reduced Fares (driven through with Four Na - r!Men only).—Luggage and Packages only id per allowed to the uncommon Expedition of this Coach, it, , v ,l'ilnwed to he the most agreeable and complete Public Con 'Lace on the North Road, being unequalled by any other. SQAfitIARROWGATE and Ripon new Light Post Coaches, every L at Two, and Eight in the Morning. Tir o* Longtown, Gretna-green, Annan, Dumfries, and ir: 11 . Thornhill, Sanquhar-Kiln, Coach , Ti t i k e 4 arts of Scotland, a light Four inside Post daily. tkiorran Tally Ho," COVENTRY light fast Day Coach, every fr at a quarter before Seven o'clock, through Redburn, :.!!!'... s trie, Stoney Stratford, Towcester, Weedon, Daventry, "iiigochurch, to Warwick and Leamington. 00, 1 42 Ihidgenorth, Walsal, Shrewsbury, and Sa yl._ Ting ht fast Coaches, eveiy morning and afternoon. Express," to YORK, Scarborough, Whitby, Shields, tla nd , Neweastle, and Edinburgh, a New light Four "144 l'° " With a Guard throughout ; sett ost SUN. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1823. WEST INDIA DOCK COMPANY. THE COURT of DIRECTORS of the WEST INDIA DOCK COMPANY do hereby give No. Nen, that a HALF YEARLY GENERAL COURT will be held, pursuant to the direction. of the Act of Parliament, at the West India Dock House, No. 8, llilliter-square, on TUESDAY, the 6th day of January next, at One o'Clock in the Afternoon, at which Meeting a Dividend will he de clared for the Half-year ending the 31st instant. By Order of the Court, H. LONGLANDS, See. Wsst India Dock House, Dn. 16, 1823. Tht, Chair will be taken at Two o'Clock precisely. LORD ERSKINE. A T a numerous MEETING of the MEM. -"IL HERS of the PROFESSION of the LAW, held in LINCOLN'S INN HALL, on Monday, 16th Dec. 1823; Mr. SCARLETT in the Chair; Resolved, That a Subscription be opened for erecting a STATUE to the Memory of the late Lord ERSKINE. That the following Gentlemen be appointed a Committee for the purpose of carrying this Resolution into effect : Mr. Sergeant Lens, Mr. Reader, Mr. Sergeant Vaughan, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Jervis, Mr. Dover, Mr. Raine, Mr. Richard Wilson, Mr. Scarlett, Mr. Kaye, Mr. Bell, Mr. Lavie, Mr. Heald, Mr. Freshfield, Mr. Gurney, Mr. Brundrett, Mr. Adam, Mr. Atehcson. Sir W. Owen, That an account be opened at Messrs. Coutts and Co.'s, and such other Bankers as the Committee shall appoint for receiving Subscriptions. That it be left to the discretion of the Committee to deter mine where the Statue shall be placed. J. SCARLETT. Mr. Scarlett having left the Chair, the Thanks of the Meet. were unanimously voted to him for his conduct in the Chair ; and a Subscription to a considerable amount was immediately entered into. Council Chamber, Lincoln's . lnn, Dec.l6, 1823. The Committee beg leave to inform the Public, that a book is opened for receiving Subscriptions at Messrs. Coutts and Co.'s ; at Messrs. Remington, Stevenson, and Co.'s. ; at Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith ; and at Messrs. Mares, Fleet-street; as, although it was thought proper that the mea sure should originate with the Profession of the Law, there is no intention to confine the Subscrittion to that body. Sub scriptions will also be received by each of the Members of the Committee. This Day were published, In Small nctara, price Six Shillings, WISCELLANEOUg PIECES otiACRED SUBJECTS, in Prose and Verse. fly J. [,ETTICE', Written in the Eigtity-third and Eightyfourth years of his age. Nulbone res seniles sunt, quo vel infirmis corporibus ani• ma Tatuen adiniiiistrantur.—(Cm. de Senectute.) Printed for the Author; and sold by C. and .1. Rivington, St. Paul's Church Yard, and Waterloo.place; T. Cadell, in the Strand; and W. Clark•, New Bond-street. THD'CQUNTY FIRE:-OFFICE and PRO. VIDENT LIFE OFFICE, REGENT-STREET, were the ORIGINAL ,OFFICES which _effected Insurances upon the principle of combining the Security of an adequate and Permanent Capital (in addition to the fluctuating Funds aris ing from the Premiums), with the beneficial rule of return ing, at stated periods, the Surplus 'of the annual Premiums to the Contributors, after paying Lessee and Expends. The importance of this Improvement is acknowledged br extra ordinary public approbation,attd by the numerous imitations of it, which New Offices have lately offered, and which older ones have adopted, in changing their Constitutions.— The principle is of chief value, because, as it yields, by the Specific Sums insured, and the Return of the Surplus, the fullest Value for the Deposits, persons have no reasonable motive for venturing on the litre of reduced and insufficient Premiums proposed to ahem by Adventurers, and which has led to frequent instances of dissdppointment and ruin. CAPITALS, A MILLION STERLING and upwards. SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND PERSONS bare sought pro. Motion in the COUNTY OFFICE, and have found it. CLAIMS have been paid to Sixteen Hundred Claimants. Exempt from the Expenses of Liwsuits, and also from the sacrifice of an enormous Commission to Agents, to which some New Offices submit, to induce them to canvass for busi ness, great accumulations have been made. In these, per sons who now Insure ,participate equally with the original. Members. RETURNS of 25 and 20 per cent. in consequence, have been Invariably paid to all persons who have continued In shred seven years, upon Annual as well as upon Septennial Policies, and whether they have been Claimants for losses or otherwise.-42,000 have been returned in this way to about 211,000 persons Insured, within the last nine years—an im portant advantage which no other Insurance Office existing hes afforded. BONUSES of 181. Si. and 201. 125. per Cent. have been paid 9n Life Policies. Agents ars appoints() in all the principal Towns. KEEPING CHRISTMAS PUTTING/TAM, A writer of Queen ELIZABETH'S days, in his " Art of English Poesie," speaking of the country custom of keeping Christmas near that period, tells us, that supper, at Christmas, was succeeded by gambols of various sorts, and sometimes the 'Squire. and his family would mingle in the amusements, or retiring to the ta• pestried parlour, would leave the ball to the more boisterous mirth of his household. "Then," say he, " would the blind harper, who sold his fit ofinirai for a groat, be introduced, either to provoke the dance, or to rouse their wonder by his minstrelsy; his matter being for the most part stories of olden time—as the tale of Sir Topas, the Iteporte4 of Bevis of Southampton, Guy Earl of Warwicke, Adam Bell, and tilyrnme of the Clough, and such other old romances or historical rimes, made pur posely for recreation of the common people at Christmasse dinners and brideales !" At this early period it was getting to be no un common thing for country gentlemen to spend their Christmas in London, an innovation which several authors complain of, and which seems by no means to have met with Queen Klizabeth's approval. This we learn from a letter in 44 Lodge's Illustra tions of English History." It is written by Ser geantFleetwood to the Earl of Derby,New Year's Day, 1589, and contains the following passage : " The gentlemen of Norff. and Suffolk, were com manded to dep'te from London before Xterumasse, and to repaire to their counties, and there to keepe hospitalitie amongest their neighboures." What was called summing or disguising—that is, dressing in masquerade, was then un old cue. tom at Christmas time, and was kept up for many years afterwards. These sports extended to royalty, and were exhibited occasionally with great displays of grandeur. History informs us, that King Henry IV. keeping his Christmas at Eltham, twelve of the Aldermen of London,and their sons, rode a mumming, and bad great thanks ; and numerous similar instances are men tioned at the " Christmassings" of our early Mo narchs. In " Fenns Pastons Letters," in a let ter dated Dec. 24,1484, we read that Lady Mor ley, on account of the death of her Lord, idthe preceding July, directing what sports were to be used in her house at Christmas, ordered that, " there were none disguising:, nor harping, nor lut ing, nor singing, nor any loud disports; but playing at the tables, and chess, and cards; such disports she gave her people leave to play, and none other." Among the common people in the country, this diversion consisted in changing clothes between men and women, who, when dressed in each other's habits, went from one neighbour's house to another, partaking of Christmas cheer, and making merry with them in disguise. In the tract " Round about our Coal Fire, or Christmas Entertainments," written in the reign of Charles 11. it is observed of this amusement : "Then comes mummings or masquerading, when the master's wardrobe is ranksacked for dresses of all kinds. Corks are burnt to black the faces of the fair, or make deputy-mustucios, and every, one in the family, except the master himself, must be transformed." This account further says, " The time of the year being cold and frosty, the diversions are within doors ; either in exer. cise or by the fire side. Dancing is one of the chief exercises : or else there is a match of blind man's buff, or puss in the corner. The next game is questions and commands ; when the commander may oblige his subject to answer any lawful question, and make time same obey him instantly, under the penalty of being smutted, or paying such forfeit as may be laid on the aggressor. Most of the other diversions are cards and dice." Bear-baiting appears to have been anciently one of the Christmas sports of our Nobility. 16 Our Nobles," says Pennant, in his Zoology, 14 also kept their bearward. Twenty shillings was th• annual ,reward of that officer from his Lord, the fifth Earl of Northumberland. 6 When he corny th to my Lord() in Cristmas, with his Lordshippes beasts for makyng of his Lordship pastyme the said twelve days.'" At Rippon, in Yorkshire, on Christmas' Eve the chandlers used to send large mould candles, and the coopers logs of wood, generally termed 11 yule logs," which are generally used on Christ., mas Eve ; but should one of these logs ho so large as not to be burnt all that night, which is frequently the case, the remains are carefully kept until Old Christmas Eve. With this agrees the following lines in" Herrick's Mesprerides Come, bring with a noise, my merry merry boys, * The Christmas log to the firing, • While my . good dame she bids you all be fr ee , And drink to your hearts' desiring. With the last year's brand light the new block, and For good successe in his spending; On your psalteries play, that sweet luck may Come while the log is a-tending. And we are informed by the " Provincial Glossary," that in farm-house• in the north, the servants lay by a large knotty block for their Christmas fire, and during the time it lasts they are entitled, by custom, to ale at their meals. Andrews (Mist. Great Brit.) mentions " the humorous pageant of Christmass, personified by an old man ) hung round with sat►oury dainties" which, he says, in common with " dancing round the may-pole and riding the hobby-horse, suffer ed a severe check at the Reformatich." This personage was emblematic of the luxu rious living at this season, a part of the festivities In which the ancients seem even to have exceeded the moderns. Messinger, in his play of the" City Madam," hints at this sort of feasting in his day Men may talk of country Chtisitnasses, Their thirty..pound butter'd fs, their pies of carp s tongues , Their pheasa n t s &cached w ith anibergrii, the carcasses Of three fat wai l ers bruis'd for gravy, to Make sauce for a single peacock ; yet their feas t s Were fasts, .compar'd with the city's. Twelve Months" (1661), And in " SteVeliwn'l! under the head December, are the following notices : " :Now capons and hens, besides turkeys, geese, ducks, with beef and mutton, must all die ; for in twelve days a multitude of people wilt not be fad with a little. Now plumbes„ and spice, sugar and honey, square it among pies and broth. Now a journeyman cares not a rush for his mas ter, though be begs his plum-porridge all the twelve days. Now or never must the music be in tune, for the youth must dance and sing to gat them a-heat, while the aged sit by the fire. The country maid leaves half her market, and must be, sent again if she forgets a pack of cards on Christ.. mss even. Great is the contention of holly and ivy, whether master or dame wearer the breeches ; and, if the cook do not lack wit, he wilt sweetly lick his lingers." Grose, in his " Worn-out Characters of the Last Age," describing the little country squire of about 300/. a-year, in Queen Anne's days, says, 44 he never played at cards but at Christmas, when a family pack was produced from the mantle-piece. His chief drink the year round was generally ale, except at this season, the sth of November, or some other gala days, when he would make a bowl of strong brandy punch, gar nished with a toast end nutmeg ln the corner of his hall, by the fire-side, stood a large wooden two-armed chair with a cushion, and within the chimney corner were a couple of seats. Here, at Christmas, he entertained his tenants, assembled round a glowing fire, made of the roots of trees, and other great logs, and told and heard the traditionary tales of the village, reApecting ghosts and witches, till fear made them afraid to move. In the meantime the jorum of ale was in continual circulation." The paper of 64 Thu World" (No. 101) very humorously laments tho decay of these and other old hospitable customs at Christmas : " Our ancestors considered Christmas in the double light of a holy commemoration, and a cheerful festival, and accordingly distinguished it by devotion, by vacation from business, by mer riment, and hospitality. They seemed eagerly bent to make themselves, and every one about them, happy, with what punctual zeal did they wish one another a merra Christmas! and what an omission would it have been thought to have concluded a letter without the compliments of the season! The great hall resounded with the tu multuous joys of servants and tenants, and the gambols they played served as amusement to the lord of the mansion and his family, who, by on. couraging every art conducive to mirth and enter tainment, endeavoured to soften the rigor of the season, and mitigate the influence of winter,— What a fund of delight was the choosing of King and Queen upon Twelfth Night ! and how greatly ought ere to regret the use of minced pies, which, besides the idea of merry-making inseparable from them, were always considered as the test of schismatics. How regularly were they swallow, ed by the orthodox, to the utter confusion of all fanatical recusants !Ifycountry gentleman should be so unfortunate in this age as to be under a suspicion of heresy, where will he find so easy a method of acquitting himself as by the ordeal of ylumporridge The custom of singing Christmas Carols, and the midnight performance of the Waits, - are thus prettily described by a modern poet i Now too is heard The hapless cripple, tuning through the streets His Cora new ; and oft, amid the gloom Of midnight hours, prevail th' accustomed sounds Of wakeful Waits, whose harmony .(compos'd Of hautboy, organ, violin, and flute, And various other instruments of mirth), Is meant to celebrate the coming time. In the West Riding of Yorkshire, at Christ mas, they have a sort of rustic ball, which is termed 44 merry night," which proved so interest. ing, that the young people cannot be kept from them. The amusement consists of athletic dancing in all the lower modes of that art ; of interludes by masking, mimics and gesticulations, and of the ancient sword-dance. Tea, cakes, fruit, strong ale, and strong punch, besides kissing and romp ing 44 with gallantry robust," forms an indis pensable part of the entertainment. At midnight all the parties engaged depart in separate groups, cheering the way with jocund raillery, heartfelt laughter, and shouts of exultation. The boding. of the howlet or night-crow are unheeded by the votaries of Euphrosyne ; no direful phantom glides across their path in gloomy avenues; no demons obstruct their passage by lonely barns, mouldering ruins, or ivy-covered bridges. Each rustic nymph is finally conducted by her partner in the dunce to her father's house, into which both enter without noise, and seated on the antique lung Mae; prolong conversation in gentle whispers till the first breaks of dawn admonish the youth to retire. cHRIsTliiAs BOXES. The " Athenian Oracle" derives the origin of Christmas money from this :—" The Romish priests had masses for almost every thing: if a ship went to the Indies, a priest had a box in her, under the protection of some Saint, and for masses, as their cant was, to be said to that Saint, Sic. the poor people must put something into the priest's box, which was not opened till the ship's return. The mass at that time was called Chritt.mass ; the box called Christmass box, or money gathered against that tim e , th a t masses might be ma d e by the priests to the taints to forgive the people the debaucheries of that time ; and from this servants had the liberty to get box-mohey, that they too might be enabled to pay the priest for his masses, well knowing the truth of the proverb—" No penny, no Peter. nester," PRIG SEVENP,ENG.. LORD RODNEY'S VICTORY OVER DE GRASSI: IN 1782. '4, ' There was combined in RODNEY'S victory, as Lord LOUGHBOROUGH, at the time remarked, in the `louse of Peers, all " the pomp, and pride, and circumstance of war." it commenced with the rising sun, and only terminated with that setting luminary. The elements were hushed, only a light air prevailing ; and the contending fleets were very. nearly matched. Jamaica, the prize contended for by the two nations, was preserved by the result; while all the promised conquests of France and Spain, so near their ap parent realization, disappeard, no more to be re vived, even in idea. It constituted a sort of compensation to Great Britain, for so many years of disgrace, for so great an expenditure of blood and treasure, and even for the loss of America itself. The country, exhausted sad humiliated, seemed to revive in• its own estima tion, and to resume once more its dignity among nations. France, amidst all her past success, de dined proportionably in the opinion of Europe, and has never since arrogated the same rank as a naval power. it formed, in fact, the last triumph of England on the element of the water, over the House of Bourbon, before that great family it self, after reigning 800 years over the French, sunk under the torrent of revolution and anarchy. Lord Cranston, one of the Captains of the For midable, Sir George Rodney's ship, who brought over the news to this country, having, in conse quence of that Commander's special injunctioes, waited on Lord Sackville, though then no longer in office as American Secretary, in order to corn municate to him the particulars of the action, afforded an opportunity of hearing Lord Cm ston's account of the engagement. He was sent. after the 'Ville de Paris struck, to take posses of her, as well as to receive De Grasse's sword ; and, he described the scene which the French Admiral's ship presented, on his ascending her side, as altogether terrible. Between the fore mast and main -must, at every step he took, he said that he was over his buckles in blood, the carnage having been prodigious ; but as numbers of cattle and sheep were stowed between decks, they had suffered not lees than the crew and troops from the effects of the cannon. On the quarter-deck, which remained still covered with dead and wounded, only De Grasse himself, to gether with two or three other persons, continued standing. The French Admiral had received a contusion in the loins, from a splinter, but was otherwise unhurt ; a circumstance the more re markable, he having been, during the whole action, for so many hours, exposed to a de structive fire, which swept away almost all his officers, and repeatedly cleared the quarter-deck. He was a tall, robust, and martial figure ; pre senting in that moment on object of respect, nu less than of concern and sympathy. Lord Cram ton said, that De Grasso could not recover from the astonishment into which he was plunged ; the expressions of which he often reiterated, at seeing, in the course of so short a time, his vessel taken, his fleet defeated, and himself a prisoner. Ile was allowed to pass the night on board his own ship, with every testimony of attention and regard manifested towards him on the part of the British Commander. The commencement of Rodney's public letter, addressed to 'Mr. Ste phens, the Secretary of the Admiralty, on this glorious occasion, excited a smile among the critics and grammarians ; as he stated, that " It had pleased. God, out of his divine. providence, to grant to his Majesty's arms a most complete victory over the fleet of his enemy ;" hereas, it seemed rather to have been an act performed in his divine providence. This error of a naval commander,une accustomed to composition, and whose profession was not the pen, but the sword, did not, how ever, attract the same comments, as an offici a l dispatch which w e h ave since perused, sent from one of his Britannic Majesty's Ambassadors, who, addressing the Secretary of State, from Constar.. tinople, appeared, by some act of oblivious in advertence, to consider himself in Asia. Rod ney's enemies, of whom he had a great number, asserted, that after the victory was gained, he gave way to a sort of intoxication of mind, en finding himself master of the French Admiral's person and ship. They said that he seated him self in an arm chair, placed on the quarter-deck, of the Formideble, as the moon rose, in order to indulge his sight with the view of the Ville de Paris, which - lay near him in a disabled state, and whose side far overtopped those of his Owls vessel. And they added, that he burst into ex pressionsw exclamations of extravagant self-praise amid com placency, mingled with some reproaches on the want of ministerial gratitude, which he had ex perienced for his past services. Even admitting all these facts to be true In their utmost extent, they only prove the infirmity of human nature ; and similar instances of weakness occur in the history of the most illustrious commanders. Rodney, like the celebrated Marshal Vilifies, so distinguished under Louis the Fourteenth, talked perpetually of himself, and was the hero of his own story. But posterity will never forget the debt of gratitude due to his liervihs, nor cease to oonsider him as one of the greatest men whom the English navy produced in the course of the eighteenth century. lie unquestionably dis. played equal coolness and science on the day of the l'2th of April ; directed in person every roaureuvre, and preserved, during twelve hours that the action lasted, the utmost presence of mind. Lord Cranston said, that he never quitted the quarter.deck for a mipute, nor took arty re. freshment, except time support he derived from a lemon, which he held constantly in his hand, anti applied frequently to his lips,