The Sun. — London, England, 1834-01-01 00:00:00

31 i.ciAZINE DAY. BLACKTV 0 OD'S MAGAZINE. We have so often noticed the Homeric criti cisms of Professor Wilson, that our present task is, comparatively speaking, a sinecure. Having dug up and exposed to public admiration all the various treasures of fancy and feeling that lay hidden beneath the surface, in the Iliad, the Professor has now turned his attention to the Odyssey, where there is an equal field for discovery, as he has shown in his acute analysis of the character of Telemachus, which Rapin misunderstood, and Fenelon but imperfectly developed. The criticism is a masterly one, populous with happy thoughts, and sparkling all over like a fire-fly. The old tutor of Queen Zenohia might he proud to own it. Edmund Burke " is remarkable for nothing but its astounding, off-hand misstatements. To make out his case the author sticks at nothing. For instance, wishing to prejudice us against all the leaders of the French revolution, he mixes up the Girondists with the Terrorists ; whereas no two parties ever held each other's principles in greater abhorrence. The Rolands, Baillys, and Briscots of the National Assembly, had nothing in common with the Dantons, Collot D'Herbois, and Robespierres, of the Jacobin clubs. The former were temperate, enlightened reformers ; the latter, headstrong, blood-thirsty anarchists. Renovation was the watch-word of the Girondists ; destruction, that of the Terrorists. Both fell, the one party because it had too much faith in the inherent goodness of humanity ; the other, because it was wholly distrustful of it. Virtue has its bigots, as well as vice. The author of this sweeping diatribe is clearly a parson. Thus he tells us that— " The first act of the National Assembly, ten thousand times more culpable in its hypocrisy than the Decem virate, with Robespierre in the fury of open carnage— was the ruin of the church," This sentence is written with an eye to a benefice. We trace the inspiration in every word. " Reminiscences of Napoleon at St. Helena" is the production of a lady. It is penned in a charming spirit of naivete. Our readers will, no doubt, thank us for the follow ing anecdotes : " B inaparte was a little man, stout and corpulent, of a dark olive complexion, fine features, eyes of a light bluish -a not speaking or animated, of an abstracted, titavy .i.ountenance. But when lighted up and interested, his expr=•sioa was very fine, and the benevolence of his smile I never saw surpassed. He was particularly vain of a small and beautiful hand, and handsome little feet; as vain ❑early (I dare say) as having conquered half the universe. Bonaparte laid a great stress on the beauty of hands in ladies, and frequently inquired of me, during our residence in St. Helena, respecting the hands of the ladies be had not seen; and seemed to think a pretty and delicate hand the ne plus ultra of beauty and gentility. " Napoleon was dressed, on the day of my first intro duction to him, in a green coat, silk stockings, small shoes, large square go'd buckles, and a cocked hat, with a ribbon of some order, seen through the button-hole of his coat. " The two young ladies, who were respectively about thirteen and fifteen years of age, were quite familiar with the Ex-Emperor, ran playfully towards him, dragging me forward by the hand, and saying to him, This lady is the mother of the little girl who pleased you the other day by singing Italian canzonets.' " Upon this he made me a bow, which I returned by a low and reverential curtsy, feeling, at the same time, a little confu , ed at this sudden and unceremonious intro duction. " Mtdame,' said he, you have a sprightly little daughter ; where did she learn to sing Italian songs?' " On my replying that I bad taught her rayfelf, he said ' Bon.' He then asked me what countrywoman I was? ' Where were you educated?' In London,' What ship did you come out in to St. Helena ? What regiment is your husband in ? And what rank has he in the army?' And a variety of like questions, as quick as possible, did Bonaparte make to me, and all in align. I then ventured to request he would speak to me in French, as I was more conversant wi , h that lan guage than with Italian, All this time the two young ladies and my little daughter were running to and fru around us, and chattering to the Great Hero, who seemed to delight much in their lively and unsophisticWed man ners. After walking some time in the garden, Bona parte requested me to go into the house at the Briers, where a pianoforte stood open, to sing some Italian songs. Accordingly we all entered the drawing_room, which was on the ground floor, when my playful little daughter, perceiving me aeitated and trembling at the idea of sing ing before so great a personage, whispered to me—' Why are you so much afraid, dear mamma? He is only a man.'" • • • • • • " Behold me now seated at the pianoforte, with the conqueror of the world standing behind my chair. What an indefinable, indescribable sensation ! I forgot my fears in my astonishment, and got through the song of Ah the nel Petto' tolerably well. Bien,' cried Bona parte ; ' (.7est de Pasiello,' which showed he was well acquainted with the style of the composers. ' sail he, ' in my youth I could also perform a little on the pianoforte.' He then ran over the keys of the instru ment in tolerable style, to show that he was not boasting of what be could not perform." Napoleon's pride in his " small and beautiful hand," is as amusing a trait of character as Caesar's lamentations over his bald head. Ima gine the same fingers that grasped the foremost broad sword at the bridge of Lodi, running over the keys of the piano in a lady's drawing-room I Hercules handling the distaff was scarcely a more incongruous sight. " Voyage from Leghorn to Cephalonia, with Lord Byron," gives us an insight into some of the poet's personal peculi arities. By Mr. Browne's account, he must have been a prodigious dandy, yet, nevertheless, he could quaff his grog with all the gusto of a Jack tar. " Hints to the Aristocracy" is a wanly, seasonable attack on the system of ex elusiveness so much in favour among some of the higher classes. The author shows a far-sighted sagacity in deeming the subject one of paramount importance. If ever our privileged Orders fall, it will be from their offensive assumption of su periority over the unprivileged. They draw lines of circumvallation around them, which none but pimps or parasites can enter. If a man of ge nius be now and then permitted to pass, it is only by clothing himself in the favouring dis guise of sycophancy. This is no slight or su perficial error. It is a grave, deliberate affront to the national intelligence and respectability, and sinks deep into the national heart. The " Corinthian Capital of Polished Society" to quote Burke's pretty compliment to our nobility, may just now pride itself on its smoothness and polish and solidity, but what will become of it, when the pillars on which it rests are knocked from under it ? Let the middle and lower classes but once separate themselves from the higher—become convinced that there is no bond of sympathy between them, and down goes the Patrician order, " never to rise again." There is no Resurrection for de unct aristocracy. " The Baronet's Bride" is a tale of infinite power, and lays a giant's grasp on the attention. A world of pains has been bestowed on it ; yet, though elaborate, it is most successfully executed. No man handles his tools in a more workmanlike fashion than Mr. Warren. He gives us nothing but common places, whether of incident, character, or descrip tion ; yet they startle the reader just as if they were novelties. The only fresh bit of description in the whole tale is the following : " It was a soft September evening, and the country round about seemed every where bronzed with the touch of autumn." The word " bronzed" is here full of meaning, imparting life and character to the landscape. " Hindoo Drama" is a curious and edifying essay. The extracts given are numerous ; and among them is one descriptive of the horrors of indigence, whence it would seem that a poor man is as much despised and shunned on the banks of the Ganges, as on those of the Thames. But thus it is, all the world over. There is no crime so slowly forgiven, so tenaciously remem bered, as poverty. It sticks to a man's character like a burr. " Wealth makes the man, and want of it the fellow, The rest is all but leather and prunella." FRASER'S MA GAZINE. Poor Captain 'Ross ! Here he is again— figuring full length i❑ Fraser's Portrait Gallery, and exhibiting a phiz which might justify a Polar she bear in mistaking him for her husband, and a walrus for its next of kin. What with being petted— paragraphed caricatured —catechized —squeezed to the flatness of a pancake in this drawing-room—stared at as a half tamed mon ster in that—our brave Arctic voyager must have had a sad time of it lately ! Go where he will, he can hear of nothing—see nothing but himself. At dinner parties he supersedes even the weather—at Covent-garden he figures in a Pantomime—at Leicester-square, he is in process of painting for a Panorama. How often, when thawing in some crowded assembly, he must have sighed for the cold comforts of an iceberg ! We wonder he has not cut his throat, or hanged himself to the Admiralty lamp post, in his seal skin breeches. Of all his public admirers, however, Fraser has served him the worst. He has caricatured him to a degree approaching the miraculous, and squibbed him in prose of at least equal originality. " State and Prospects of Toryism" is drawn up with much skill, by one who has tasked his utmost faculties to make the worse appear the better cause. The essay is a failure, of course, but an amusing one. " The Wanderer's Ro maunt" contains one cr two pleasing descriptive passages, but is modelled somewhat too servilely on Milton's Il Penseroso. " Thames Fish ing," though tamely written, will yet amuse a large class of readers. The writer is a warm lover of angling, and strives hard to persuade us that a fish, with a hook in its gullet, feels just as happy and comfortable as a fish without one ! He dwells also at some length on the extraordi nary fascinations of the sport, though we cannot for the life of us find out in what these consist. We have fished ourselves upwards of a dozen times in the Thames ; but, though we have sur prisingly diminished its stock of weeds, we never hauled up any thing else—with the exception, indeed, of one remarkably small minnow, which must have caught itself, for we have not the vanity to suppose we caught it. Yet we have heard men speak of angling, just as if it abounded in all the fierce excitement of a tiger-hunt—just as if " dabbing for chubs with cock-chafer," under an umbrella, ankle-deep in mud, without even the prospect of a nibble ; or trolling for pike with an icicle at one's nose, five red sausages for fingers, and a keen January blast, pricking cne's face like a pin, were a pastime fit for gods or sages ! We subjoin an extract from this strange rhapsody : I regret to say that the good old times for Thames fishing are fast declining. This may be attributed to steam-vessels, which disturb the water so much, that a considerable quantity of spawn is loosened and washed away from the places where it has been deposited ; and also to cas and other nuisanc?s, which are suffered to poison the water ; and the numerous locks, which prevent the free passage of fish. Much mischief also may be attributed to the illegal nets which are used, and to the negligence of th,se whose duty it is to detect them, and who are frequently open to bribery. For these reasons the fish in the river Thames are decreasing in number every year, and some sorts have quite disappeared—the salmon, for instance, and the skegger trout, which used to be abundant. Even gudgeons are much fewer in number ; and those which have been caught this summer (1832) are of a very small size. Perch also are rarely to be procured ; and the lovers of water-soucHe make great complaints. Much might still Ise done to improve the Thames fishing, if the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the city of London would expend the twentieth part of what a civic feast costs in having the river staked in many more places than it is at present, and by having the nets properly looked after. So many per sons enjoy the amusement of angling in the river Thames, who can get it no where else, and so much benefit is received from their presence at the several villages on its banks, that I trust something will be done for the protec tion of the fish during the earlier edges of their existence. Persons of every class seem to participate in the amusement of Thames angling, from the Dike of Sussex to the little fat cobler of Hampton. His Royal Highness was at one time a determined angler, and kept a punt at Shepperton for the purpose. Here he was attended by the famous ' Peter Purdy (poor Peter ! a better fisherman never poached the Thames), and who invariably answered Yes,' or No, your Royal Rodney,' to any questions which the Duke asked. Peter, on being reminded of the great mis takes he thus committed, said that for the life of him be could ❑ot help it. He had heard so much of Lord Rodney from his father, who was one of his crew, that be could think of no other name when he spoke to a great man." " Extraordinary History of a Border Beauty," is an interesting story told in his most piquant manner by the Ettrick Shepherd. " Labourers in Cities and Towns," puts forth much valuable practical information. " Notes written on the Last Day of 1833," will amuse by their sprightly, desultory spirit. The writer closes with the following couplet : Adieu! adieu ! fast wanes the year away, Soon shall the bell toll forth its parting chime." That bell is now chiming in our ear. We have just laid clown our pen to listen to the last stroke of twelve sounding forth the knell of 1833. Hark ! it has ceased ; and we stand upon the threshold of a new year ! NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. If we may judge from the specimen before us, Mrs. Hemans bids fair to take as high a station in prose, r. s she now holds in poetry. Her essay, entitled " German Studies," which heads the present number, is graceful, eloquent, and embroidered all over with rich poetic thoughts. If anything, it is a little too figura tive. A chaster style would have been mor e suitable ; but by practice she will, no doubt, mellow down to the requisite simplicity. The best thing in her essay is the character of the Princess Leonora d'Este, which she brings out in the finest and most delicate colours. Speaking of this accomplished lady's love for Tasso, Mrs. Hemans observes with exquisite grace, " She rejoices in his presence, as a flower filling its cup with gladness from the morning light." " Sketches of Irish Fools" is a clever article from the pen of Mr. Grattan, who should instantly take pen in hand aad give us an Irish domestic novel, for he is evidently well versed in a!1 those strange motley combinations of wit, shrewdness, passion, and downright fatuity, that go to make up your true untravelled Patlander- How accurate is Mr. Grattan's remark, " the joy of an Irishman has always a dash of me lancholy in it ; and there is a rainbow even in his most clouded sky !" Again, what can be more just than his assertion, that " our fools perpe tually say the shrewdest things ; our wise men constantly do the most foolish ?" The disserta tion on the " Progress cf Music, from the Commencement of the Present Century," will be devoured with avidity by all who have—or affect to have—an ear of melody. We subjoin some pleasant gossip about Velluti. " Velluti was guided by a high and honourable spirit. He was every inch a gentleman, and he stood upon his reputation with a loftiness which, though in some in stances it bordered up:)n the ridiculous, proceeded, never theless, from a noble emulation of greatness, and, we may add, of goodness. lie bad, no doubt, been spoiled, in a degree, by excessive adulation. The following anecdotes wi:l illustrate his character, and we pledge ourselves for their truth :—On the night of his first appearance, it must be owned he stood a perilous chance. Previous to the rising of the curtain, the manager requested Mr. to go and offer him the best encouragement he could. Mr. went, descanted upon the generosity of an English audience, upon Velluti's claims and reputation, anti the merits of 4 11 Crociato.' He assured the soprano that nothing could be more foreign from the English character than to countenance such attacks as the Times had made upon him, and that they would, in all probabi . . lity, operate in his behalf. In short, the consoler exhausted all his eloquence to infuse into him the necessary fortitude. Velluti listened with the utmost calmness. When the harangue was concluded, he drew himself up to his utmost height, his fine dark eyes glanced fire, he placed his hand in his bosom, turned towards the speaker, and merely said with all the dignity he could so well assume, 'SON VEL LUTI. His friend skulked away, with a feelin g between the sense of the sublime, and the ridiculous. Next for the generous part of his nature. A. dispute arose concern ing the assumption of the Director of Music' by Mr. Bochsa, during Velluti's management. It concluded with a skirmish in the newspapers. On the morning when Velluti's letter appeared, he called on a young lady, one of his most favourite pupils ; he asked if she had seen it. ' Yes,' she replied, 'and with regret ; because you have been made to say what, lam sure, you did not mean.' How so ?" It begins—' A certain Mr. Bochsa.' Now, although you wrote Un certo Signor Bochsa,' the Eng lish translation conveys an insult.' Velluti departed instantly ; he drove to the residence of Lord Burgliersh. My Lord,' said he, am told that my letter hears such an interpretation : is it true?' It is.' Pray then translate for me as follows.' And he dictated a frank avowal that what he had said arose from his ignorance of the English that to offer an insult to any one belonged neither to his disposition nor his education.' This he published the next morning. A meeting was subsequently held between the parties, together with the manager and a friend, to settle the point. Long explana tions were given. Velluti simply demanded—' Is Mr. Bochsa to use the title of Director of Music at the King's Theatre ?' There was a slight hesitation. Velluti thrust his engagement, which involved a sum of three thousand six hundred pounds into the candle, and, but that one of the parties seized his arm, it would have been consumed.'' " Songs of Spain," by Mrs. Hemans, breathe a high-souled, romantic spirit of chivalry. The " Old Spanish Battle Song," from its terse, nervous character, is worthy of Lockhart. " aE,Tie Castle" is a fragment, and, like most fragments, unintelligible. It is by Theodore Hook, who has departed from his usual style, and imitates the marked manner of O'Doherty. " Milton's Prose Works" is an article of the mediocre class. It contains a curious extract from Lord Brougham's installation speech at Glas gow, where, speaking of Jeremy Taylor, his Lordship describes him as a " witty andfiznci- Jul writer !" Now no two phrases were ever more inappropriate than these. The old Bishop has not an atom of wit in his composition. He is quaint at times, as was the fashion of his day ; but as for the light rapier play of wit, he has no more notion of it than a prize ox. Again, he is not fanciful, at least not in the sense in which this term of levity is generally used. He is re markable for a grave, lofty, thoughtful imagina tion, and we should as soon think of applying the word " fanciful" to Wordsworth's Excur sion, as to Taylor's Sermons. There are no two faculties so often confounded, yet so per fectly distinct, as fancy and imagination. The one glitters—dazzles, like a small bright star on a frosty night ; the other shines with the steady, mellowed radiance of the harvest moon. The one can exist, and often does, without feeling : the other, never. " The Chartered Booksellers" is a bold, masterly expo 4 of the " Cheap Lite rature" humbug. We hope, indeed we are sure, it will produce a good effect. Of the few re maining articles, we have merely space to say, that they will repay perusal. THE METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE Opens the year well ;—we speak with re ference to the generality of its contents rather than the piece of verse called " The New Year," which forms its preface, and which, to say truth, must be placed rather low even in the scale of new year poetry. The remaining nine or ten of the same class of contributions are, for the most part, open to the same remark, but as they are, we suppose, only intended to fill up a vacant corner, nothing further need be said re specting them. Of the staple of the number we are able to speak far more favourably. The first article is a short one, entitled " Hints to Alembers at the approaching Session," full of good sense. It respectively addresses all parties in the State, advising moderation and concilia tion, and especially entreating the Radicals and Tories to keep themselves distinct integral parties, not coalescing for the purpose of ob taining any t em p orar y a d vantage over the Government. The advice will be suspected by both, but it is impossible to deny that both Radical and Tory would be miserably deceived in the consequences that would result from their temporary union. Each may fancy it can overreach the other, but there can be little doubt that a passing success against Ministers would be all they could hope for. They can form no permanent connection ; but they may by a temporary one throw the country into inextricable confusion. The" Chit Chat" is not so good as it • usually is, except perhaps in the latter part, which contains an amusing parody, or rather travesty, or Cicero's first oration against Cataline, adapting all the abuse to Don Trueba and his " Spanish Barber," which the editor has at length found out is " rather dull." We should be sorry to see carried into rigorous execution the sentence, Egredere ex magazine, Don Trueba,—libera Metropolitan ;" but we do trust that he will take the warning in good part, and rub up his wits somewhat. The continuation of " Imprison ment for Debt" comes next, and, with " Jacob Faithful," forms the great attraction of the num ber. We had marked one or two of the stories in it for extract, but although they are good, we do confess we have, without compunction, made them give way to the following 'inorceau from " Jacob Faithful." It is a story told by Tom Beazely, a new character, wftive venture to say, will become as great a favoulite with the reader as he evidently is of the author. Here it is : " Gmne, spin us a good yarn, father, we've nothing to do, and licob will like to hear you.' " Well, then, so I answered he, ' what shall it be about?' " ' Fire and water, of course,' replied Tom. " Well, then, I'll tell you something about both, since you wish it ; how I came into his Majesty's sarvice through fire, and how the officer who pressed me went out of it through water. I was still 'premier., and wanted about three months to sarve my time, when of course I should no longer be protected from serving the King, when the ship I was in sailed up the Baltic with a cargo of bullocks. We had at least two hundred on board, tied up on plat forms on every deck, with their beads close to the sides, and all their sterns looking in board. They were fat enough when they came on board, but soon dwindled away : the weather was very bad, and the poor creatures rolled against each other, and slipped about in a way that it pitied you ta see them. lloarever, they were stowed so thick, that they held one another up, which proved of service to them in the heavy gales which tossed the ship about like a pea in a rattle. We had joined a large convoy, and were en tering the Sound, when as usual it fell calm, and out came the Danish gun boats to attack us. The man-of-war who bad charge of the convoy behaved nobly : but still they were becalmed, and many of us were a long way astern. Our ship was pretty well up, hut she was too far in shore ; and the Danes made a dash at us with the hope of making a capture. The men-of-war, seeing what the enemy were about, sent boats to beat theni off; but it was too late to prevent their boarding, which they did. Not wishing to peep through the bars of the gaol at Copenhagen, we left the ship in our hosts on one side, just as the Danes boarded ' on the other, and pulled towards the men-of_wat s' armed beats coming to our assistance. The men-of-wars' boats pulled right for the ship to retake her, which they did cer tainly, but not before the enemy had set fire to the vessel, and had then pulled off towards another. Seeing this, the inen.of-wars' boats again gave chase to the Danes, leaving us to extinguish the flames, which were now bursting out fore and aft, and climbing like fiery serpents up to the main catharpings. We soon found that it was impossible : we remained as long as the heat and smoke would permit us, and then we were obliged to be off; but I shall never forget the roaring and moaning of the poor animals who were then roasting alive. It was a cruel thing of the Dines to fire a vessel full of those poor creatures. Some had broken loose, and were darting up and down the decks goring the others, and tumbling down the hatchways ; others remained trembling, or trying to snuff up a mouth• ful of fresh air amongst the smoke; but the struggling and bellowing, as the fire caught the vessel fore and art, and was grilling two hundred poor creatures at once, was at last shocking, and might have been heard for a mile. We did all we could. I cut the throats of a dozen, but they kicked and struggled so much, falling down upon, and treading you under their feet; and once one laid upon me, and I expected to be burnt with them, for it was not until I was helped that I could get clear of the poor animal. So we stayed as long as we could, and then left them to their fate ; and the smell of burnt meat as we shove ; off, was as horrible as the cries and wailings of the poor beasts themselves. The men-of-war boats returned, having chased away the Danes, and very kindly offered us all a ship, as we had lost our own, so that you see that by fire I was forced into his Itlaj-sty's sarvice. Now, the boat which took us, belonged to one of the frigates who hail charge of the convoy, and the Lieutenant who com manded the boat was a swearing, tearing sort of chap, who lived as if his life was to last for ever. After I was taken on board, the Captain asked me if I would enter, and I thought that I might as well sarve the King handsomely, so I volunteered. It's always the best thing to do, when you're taken, and can't help yourself, for you are more trusted than a pressed man who is obstinate. I liked the service from the first—the Captain was not a particular man; according to some people's idea of the service, she wasn't in quite mao-of-war fa•hion, but she was a happy ship, and the turn would have followed and fought for the Captain to the last drop of their blood. That's the sort of ship for me. I've seen cleaner decks, but I never saw merrier hearts. The only one of the officers disliked ky the men was the Lieutenant who pressed me ; he had a foul mouth, and no discretion; and as for swearing, it was really terrible to hear the %voids which came out of his mouth. I don't mind an oath rapped out in the heat of the moment, but he invented his oaths when be was cool, and let them out in his rage. We were returning home, after having seen the convoy safe, when we met with a gale of wind in our teeth, one of the very worst I ever fell in with. It had been blowing hard from the S.W., and then shifted to the N. W., and made a cross sea, whits , ' was tremendous. Now the frigate was a very teed vessel, awhile:lr loich w although et they i,aesyrohtat l a n d o t aaks f often lrnto dock and repaired ate), medlar. l of th l i i n er k u it pp ‘ e v r as w a o b r o k u s ; three bells in the middle watch, when the wind was howl ing through the rigging, for we had no canvass on her 'cept a staysail and trysail, when the staysail sheet went, and she broac , ied-to afore they could prevent her. The Liewenant I spoke of had the watch, and his voice was heard through the roaring of the wind, swearing at the men to haul down the st ;pail, diet we might bend on the sheet, and set it right again ; when, she having, as I said, broached-to, a wave—aye, a wave as high as the maintop almost, took the frigate right on her breadside, and the bulwarks of the quarter-Fleck being, as I said, quite rotten, cut them off clean level with the main chains, sweeping them, and guns, and men, all overbo ird together. The mizenruast went, but the mainmast held on, and I was under its lee at the time, and was saved by clinging on like a nigger, while for a minute I was under the water, which carried almost all away with it to leeward. As soon as the water passed over me, I looked up, and around me—it was quite awful; the quarter-deck was cut off as with a knife—not a soul left there, that I could see ; no man at the wheel—mizen masts gone—skylights washed away— waves making a clear breach, and no defence; boats washed awiy from th e quarters — a ll s il en t on de c k, but plenty of noise below and on the main deck, for the ship was near.) , full of water, and all below were flurrying up in their shirt:, thinking that we were going down. At last the Captain crawled up, and clung by the stancheons, followed by the First Lieutenant and the officers, and by degrees all was quiet, the ship was cleared, and the hand, were turned up to muster, under the half deck. There were forty-seven men who did not answer to their names—they had been summoned to answer for their lives, poor fellows ! and there was also the swearing Lieutenant not to be found. Well, at last we got the hands on deck, and put her before the wind, scudding under bare poles. As we went aft, to the taffrail, the bulwark of which still remained, with a , iout six feet of the quarter deck bulwark on each side, we observed something clinging to the stern ladder, dipping every now and then into the sea, as it rose under her counter, and assisted the wind in driving her before the gale. We soon made it out to be a man, and I went down, slipped a bowling knot over the poor fellow, and with some difficulty we were both hauled up again. It proved to be the Lieutenant, who had been wash, d under the counter, and clung to the stern ladder, and had thus mira culously been preserved. It was a long while before he came to, and be never did any duty the whole week we were out, till we got into Yarmouth Roads ; indeed, he hardly ever spoke a word to any one, but seemed to ha always in serious thought. When we arrived, he gave his commission to the Captain, and went on shore ; went to school again, they say, and bore up for a parson, and, for all I know, he'll preach somewhere next Sunday. So ou see, water drOve him out of the service, and fire ferced me in. There's a s arn for you, Jacob."' " Jul) flumanitus" has one or two rather fair points in it, but bears too plainly upon its face the marks of having been done by a hack magazine writer. " Masquerading," " A Visit to Ibrahim Paella," and " The Nuptials of Rizzari," are articles of good average quality, not calling for particular remark one way or . , ~. 1, .1~ _ , \\. the other. " The Life of Ferdinand the Se venth of Spain" is upon the whole tolerably well put together, although exhibiting here and there too great carelessness in adopting the very words, as well as facts, of the newspaper matter of which it in part consists. The low meanness, the hypocritical cruelty, the profound ignorance, and unbounded selfishness of the royal blood spiller who has now gone to render up his account to that tribunal whose justice he so often outraged, are vividly and succinctly nar rated. The following anecdotes are not, we believe, generally known : " A curious anecdote which, incredible as it may appear, is well known to the inhabitants of Madrid, will place the Government and public character of Ferdinand in a pro per light. " Some time in 1815 or 1816, a scarcity, nearly amounting to a famine, made itself felt in the metropolis of Spain. The magistrates charged with the superintendence of the supply of corn were sadly puzzled about finding means to have the desirable article in abundance. The King was displeased, with their conduct, and resolved to try if he could not do better himself. He walked out of his palace with a numerous retinue. Before him went the celebrated Chamorro (one of those low menials of the palace, and most important members of the Camarill3), with a little naked sword in Isis hand, shouting forth to the surrounding crowd, ' Who wants justice done ?' That singular procession happened to stumble upon a warehouse full of wheat. The King entered it, wondering how the people could want bread when wheat was to be found. The warehouse was sacked, and its contents distributed. A neighbouring magazine filled with bacon partook of the sante fate. The Monarch returned to his royal residence evidently proud of his successful expedition. The less fortunate magistrates were summon!d before their half indignant Sovereign, who put, however, sonic good humour and even jocularity in his reproof. ' said his Majesty, to them, you could find no corn, eh ? A pretty parcel of fellows you are ! I myself have been out only a few hours, and I have found plenty of wheat—aye, and not only that, but bacon too.' " " Yet on one occasion Ferdinand visibly departed from his respect for the sacred rights of the priesthood. In the year 1816, a priest murdered a girl of loose manners, his mistress. Tne murder was attended with horrid circum stances, showing in the criminal an incredible combination of lust, superstition, passion, and cruelty. He was seized and tried, and yet the interest of the whole church was employed in his behalf—not indeed to screen him from all punishment, but in order that his Id:: might be saved, and a sentence of confinement for life, should spare his brethren and the population the scandal of seeing a priest Ltd to the scaffold. Under the reign of Charles 111., a friar, convicted of the murder of an innocent young lady, whom he vainly tried to seduce, had been only sentenced to close imprisonment for life. Under the reign of Charles IV., a Capuchin friar, convicted of the cool deliberate murder of a man, with whose wife he lived in criminal connexion, had been condemned to death ; but, through the interest of his brethren, the sentence had not been carried into effect, and after many protracted reprieves, the French invasion, which threw Spain into confusion, had broke❑ open the doors of the gaol where the criminal still pitied, and sent him free over the world, where he was never more heard of. The known great devotion el Ferdinand gave hopes that he would imitate the mildness of his predecessors, and like them show his respect for the church, by not allowing the murderer to suffer death by execution. The King of Spain wavered between two strong partialities—that which he felt, or affected for the clergy, and that which be invariably showed to merciless justice, and the use of capital punishments. The latter feeling prevailed. The criminal was sentenced to death, and suffered, tench to the astonishment and delight of the crowd, who, notwithstanding the supposed regard of all Spaniards for monks and priests, loudly, and with some savage ferocity, applauded this act of Justice." MONTHLY MAGAZINE. This Magazine ought to—and, we believe, does—succeed, for it is got up with great care and tact. Each article is just of the fitting length, well selected, and well digested. Among them is a poem, never before published, by Lord Byron, which we extract, just premising by the way, that we by no means think, with 'VII% Galt, that it is " equal to anything his Lordship ever wrote :" NEWSTEAD ABBEY. In the dome of my sires, as the clear moonbeam falls Through silence and shade o'er its desolate walls, It shines from afar, like the glories of old, It gilds, but it warms not—'tis dazzling, but cold. Let the sunbeam be bright for the younger of days— 'Tis the light that should shine on a race that decays; When the stars are on high and the dews on the ground, And the long shadow lingers the ruin around. And the step that o'er echoes the grey floor of stone, Falls sullenly now—for 'tis only my own; And sunk are the voieps that sounded in mirth, And empty the goblet, and dreary the hearth. And vain was each effort to raise and recall The brightness of old to illumine our hall; And vain was the hope to avert our decline — And the fate of my father's has faded to mine. And theirs was the wealth and the fullness of fame, And mine to inherit too haughty a name ; And theirs were the times and the triumphs of yore, And mine to regret but renew them no more. And Ruin is fixed on my tower and my wall, Too hoary to fade, and too massy to fall; It tells not of Time's or the tempest's decay, But the wreck of the line that have held it in sway. Newstead, August 26, 1814. " State of Parties" is penned in a temperate spirit, just to all parties, but inclining a little to Whiggism. " Mrs. Joseph Porter, over the way" is a capital quiz on private theatricals—a species of amusement which seems to have no other end or aim than to put respectable folks out of their element, and show off their inor dinate length of ear. " The Plague of Hail" is a curious poetic production, which bears the respectable affix of John Galt. This clever writer would do well to quit the realms of imagination, for those of reality. He is strong, like Anti:ens, only when he touches earth. " Matrimony and Moonshine" has a bachelor off-handedness about it, that the coupled classes of society will be somewhat slow to admire. It is, however, very sprightly and agreeable. " Defence of the Bottle" is good ; but, consi dering its subject, should have been better. BRITISH MAGAZINE. A periodical devoted almost exclusively to the clerical interest. Its occasional critical notices of new books are remarkably well written. We know not that it possesses any other marked feature, unless it be its engravings of some of our fine old country churches. COURT MAGAZINE. Mrs. Norton's portrait will be sure to make this Number popular. A finer or more Sid• donian cast of countenance than :his accom plished lady here exhibits, we have not lately met with. It is a pity that the arms are so thick — so wholly out of keeping with the rest of the figure. " Bishop's-Auckland Palace," the seat of the Bishop of Durham, shows the thriving condition of some of our Episcopal dignitaries. It is a mansion that Kings might be proud to own. Among the literary papers in the present Number of the Court Journal, are two which are full of interest ; the one is, " A Morning Visit to Sir Walter Scott," from the pen o f a young la , esv d N y v th a named g, e at T Costello, urk: h ” tbye M. " A . be Dis, ae the author of " Vivian Grey," and that still more promising tale « The Young Duke." From the former we take the following extract : " As a miniature picture on an historical subject had been the means of ou r acquaintance, the conversat turned on painting in general; he disclaimed all know ledge of the art, though he confessed a great [..dtnira:*on for its productions, and took occasion to say saveral tine things on the manner in which I hsd executed the pic ture in question, and on some lines which I had written in explanation of its subject. I expressed a hope tt, he was about to produce some new work, to which h replied that one in a very diff,rent style from his ord; nary writings would shortly appear. 'lt reqiiires sorne explanation,' said Sir Walter Scott, for the work I allude to is a volume of sermon!, They are in fact writ ten by a friend of mine, a young clergyman of great merit, in whom I am much interested. He had beet' fagging himself to death to make some sermons, and when they were done he was terribly discontented with er formance, and came to me quite in ( 1 -'! , paV__ to beg I would assist him. It was rather out of illy way—though you must know,' lie added, looking arc, - y at my brother.— ' in Scotland they teach us a little of eery thing; but as he was very eat nest with me, and I knew the necessity of the case, I promised to tiy what I. could do. I was the more induced to this when he told me my doing so would insure the sale of his MS. I accordingly read the sermons over with care, made additions, Ete. Sze. And the result is that he gets 2001. for the work, and more if it reaches a second edition. My end is, therefore, quite answered, and I am rejoiced to have served one fur wham I have so much e,teem : this is the plain history of my sermons.'" LADY'S MAGAZINE AND MUSEUir. A portrait of the celebrated Laura, Petrarch's favourite, graces this very promising periodical. Of the personal attractions of this celebrated female we cannot say much ; we suppose, there fore, it was that " inner shrine, the mind, that the poet of Vaucluse so highly admired. In the literary department of the Magazine, we may notice in terms of high praise, a " Tale of the English Chronicles," by Miss Agnes Strickland, who writes prose with as much ease and spirit as she writes verse. " Finn M'Coule's Finger stone" is also a readable paper. We have no space for extracts. We are compelled, from want of space and time, as well as from the prodigiously in creasing number of the Y , nthly Periodicals to postpone ~ny of them untit to-morrow. LISBO., PAPERS. ALDEGALLECA, DEC. 17.—The statement ui the entrance of Spanish troops into Portugal cantir.ees 3 be confirmed by various persons who have arrived froan the interior of Alemtejo, according to whose accounts it ap pears that these troops were in pursuit of a party of Carlist rebels, who endeavoured to enter Portug a l i n to escape the chastisement which they merited, but who the end suffered themselves to he taken. It is also said, that on the same occasion, and together with these troops, a corps of Portuguese, who had taken refuge in Spain, entered Portugal, but it is not known whether they r mained in Portugal or Portalegre, or have left Portugal SETUBAL (ST. ÜBES), DEC. l9.—Persons Who has, this moment arrived from Alpalhao confirm the entrance of Spanish troops of the Queen's party into Mantas, Portalegre, and Castello de Vide. This town continues to enjoy the greatest tranquillity, and we do not bear that it has been interrrupted in the other parts of the district under the legitimate authority. The enemy, fearing our defensive works, does not now talk of attacking them, and the wretched soldiers at Al cacer, whom Lemos has deluded with promises of great reinforcements (so great that he said he would attae'. Lisbon with them), begin to perceive that the promised aid is only a stimulus to their weakened fidelity. Ltsuos, DEC. 19.—The official part of the Chronica contains, in five columns, a list of the decorations conferred by the decree of 25th September, on different individuals and corps of the liberating army, for the reason, assigned. DEC. 20.—The Clironica contains a decree of the Duke of Braganza, conferring on Lieut.-General Thomas William Stubbt., for his life, the title of Baron of Villa Nova de Gaia, as a❑ acknowledgment of his services to the throne and to the Portuguese nation in the long dura tion of his military career, in which he h a s always con ducted himself with distinction and honour, and esp e cially of the loyalty with which be has served the cause of the Queen, and of the Constitutional liberty of the Portuguese, to which lie has shown the most decided attachment, and which he has defended with the utmost skill and valour. The daily accounts from the Palace day Necessidades, of the 18th, 19th, and 20th, only relate to the visits of the Duke of Braganza to different parts of the line, anti the audiences given to different persons. No mention is made of any desertions from the enemYy, or of any military operations.—Lisbon Chronica, Dec. 19, 20, and 21. LONDON SESSIONS.-(THIS DAY.) These sessions commenced to-day at "Thall, before the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, Alders->° • . cas, K e ll y, Birch, Harmer, Cipeland, and Ansley, the Sheriffs, &c. The forming of the Grand Jury occupied upwards of an hour, numbers of gentlemen who had been summoned to serve, making applications to be excused, on the ground that they had oaly counting-houses within the city, ant. no place of residence. The RiscoanEß observed, that the carrying on of busi ness in the city was quite s ufficient to make it an ins p-rative duty on parties enjoying such advantages— (LauglAer)--io serve as Grand Jurors. Several of the gentlemen who had been summoned exclaimed, "We have no vote, in consequence of the premises we occupy, for r-rnesentatives in Parliament ; and it is rather hard, unde.•••nch circumstances, that w should b e compelled tin serve Grand Jurors. REcoanEß—Vour not having a voice in the e'ection of Members of Parliament probably arises (rum some omission of your own. A 'lr. Powell, a Dissenting Minister, claime , i exentr,- Lion In that ground, admitting that he carried on btpinesti. The RECORDER said that any persrn carrying 60 a secular employment other than that of a schoolmaster, liable to serve as a juryman. If a clergyman devoted portion of his time to the purposes of his trade, it was f to presume that he could spare some portion of it for ti service fif the public. . . Seve:al other excusee were msde,in the enure. .'' . .a The RECORDER took occasion to observe that he wished it to be generally known that all persons carrying on business in the City, whether they resided there or not, were liable to serve as jurymen. The Grand Jury having been sworn the REcortnEts addressed therevery shorty on the duties they 1 -4 I L a perform, observing that there was not a s ingle case in ti! C however, any eases occurr e d in w hich they experienced ,ra,,lyednidffiarcut:tiya req uired him ticular would Court ber mos t happy t o ren d er to notice. If, William Jam es IVi t h er t on , the lan llord of the Black man's Head, a p u bli c h ouse s ituated in Bartholomew's clo•e, was indi cte d f or assau lting Joseph Pegg, a constable in his ow n r i g h t o f t h e pa rish of St. Bartholomew tbil Great, by rapp i ng hi s knuckles , right and left, with an iron b o l t , an d i n fli ct i n g divers sal sundry other heavy blows up on hi s p er son. S ome d isturbance took place be tween the defendant and two cus tomers, and upon th e officer's interfering, t he assault was committed. The Jury found the deendant G u il ty pa them any assistance The Court fined hint 40s. The fine was immediately paid, and the defendant W4' discharged. ~.... itrary Fleetly, who was indicted for assaulting John Allinson, was found Not Guilty. The Court, however, being aware that a g . ood deal of ill blood existed between in n n n y o e a r s s ai . both pirties, bound them over to keep the peace in 201. each for a year. defendant to be bouil v d i.i o o. ve a r pp Oa Allinson being asked w hether he was willing to f ea r re s d ev enter into his rectignizances, lie stated that he wished the decision both of the Recorder and the The RECORDER said if the prosecutor received any in — all (L de a r g e h e te d r i .: sults from the defendant' w the course of the next y e ar, he could apply to the Court next New Year's Da y. on his hat in the face of the Court, and Jury, put The strutted out. manner in which the prosecutor conducted himself created no small amusement in Court; and the Recorder observed with a smile, that he had no doubt that he had put on his hat sw i T ,fi li t e d p w ro i s t e h eu t t h o e r , as he was afraid of his bead.—(Laughter.) Mr. CLARKSON—It is evident that the Court dreadfully dissatisfied that the law had not enabled him to punish the defendant...(Laughter.)