The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1832-12-25 00:00:00

WONDERS OF THE DEEP.—In "The Life of a Sailor" is a narrative of the wreck of a vessel off the Havanah. The crew took to the boat, which upset; they get her righted,and while two men were bailing her with their hats shark was seen to No language can convey an idea of the, panic which seized the struggling seamen. Every man now stro ve th e more to obtain a moment's safety. Well they knew that qne drop of blood would have been scented by the everlasting pilot fish; the jackalls of the shark; and that their destruction was inevitable if one only of' these monsters should discover the rich repast or he led to its food by the little rapid hunter of its prey. A few minutes after about fifteen sharks came right amongst them. The boat was again upset by the simultaneous endeavour to escape danger, and the twenty-two sailors were again devoted to destruction. At first the sharks did not seem inclined' to sieze their prey, but . swarn in amongst the men, playing in the water, sometimes leaping about and rubbing against their vic tims. This was of short duration. A loud shriek from one of the men announced his sudden pain; a shark had siezed him by the leg, and severed it entirely from the body. No 'sooner had the blood been tasted than the dreaded attack took place; another and another shriek proclaimed the loss of limbs. Some were torn from the boat, to which they vainly endeavoured to cling—some, it was supposed, sunk from fear alone. The sharks had tasted the blood, and were not to be driven from their feast. By groat exertion again the boat was righted, and ,two men were in her; the' rest had all perished. The two sur vivors resolved, with gallant hearts, to redouble their .exertions. They lightened the boat sufficiently not to be easily overset. The voracious monsters endeavoured to upset the boat; they swam by its side, in seeming anxiety for their prey; but after waiting some time they separated. The two rescued seamen, in spite of the horrors they had witnessed, soon fell asleep, and were the next day fortunately picked up by a vessel. INSOLENCE OF THE Tolies.—The Captain Pacha saluted us with a knowing glance, (peculiarly Osmanleyish,) and per mitted my companion, whom he knew, to put his robe to his: lips and forehead, an honour which I took care never to avail myself of, with him or any other Osmanley. No Frank should ever submit to it; though only meaning to pay . a compliment, his intention is sure to be misconstrued. Pride is necessary to ensure respect from the Osmanley, who ascribes even common' politeness to submission. It is not uncommon with him, in order to ascertain the quality of a stranger, to drop something, as a handkerchief; if the stranger neglect it he is set down as a' person of distinction,' who is accustomed to be served, not to serve others; if he pick it up, which. is very natural, the con trary is inferred. It is one unpleasantness of being acquainted with Osinanleys, that you must, for your own sake, disregard good breeding in many points. For example, a bey or an aea pays you- a visit; . you rise to r e c e i ve hi m; he attributes the" movement to the innate respect Ora - Christian for a :Mussul man. You may go into his room fifty times without receiving the same compliment, though he will pay it to a Mussulman of similar rank. The Frank, in' short, in his intercourse 'with Osmanleys, should never abate one iota of his due as a gen tleman; if he do, he is soon regarded in a menial light. Sup pose he visit a pasha, and the pasha does not invite him to be seated, he should immediately sit down, unheeding the angry looks of the attendant o ffi cers , indignant at his audacity. The next time the pasha will desire 'him to sit on the sofa the mo ment ho sees him, not to expose his rank a secon d ti me t o th e slight of any body daring to sit in his presence unbidden.— Slade's Records of Travels in Turkey. EXECUTION 'OF A STATE PRISONER IN TURKEY.—Into this space two men stepped from the body of the guard—one old, and ugly, and meanly dressed; the other young, and handsome, and richly attired in the old costume. The office of one of them was not doubtful, by the long ataghan in his hand; the other, by his firm step, and the unconcerned air with which he glanced around, might have passed for the provost marshal, had not his manner soon announced that he was destined to act a more important part;—and he knew it, for he at once knelt dOWn, without prompting, and suffered his thumbs to be tied behind him with a piece of string, that he might not in voluntarily interfere with the operation. The executioner then took off his turban, tied up Mohammed's lock, and adjusted the denounced head in the most favourable position for displaying his skill, desiring its owner to hold it steady. So peculiarly adapted is the eastern costume, having no collars, to the de spatch of head ,cutting, as to make-it probable th a t it was ori ginally adopted by slavish courtiers as symbolic of their necks being always ready. This preparation did not occupy two Minutes, during which it was uncertain which of the two showed the greatest coolness. Drawing then his ataghan, the execu tioner held it up in act to strike, and in this position recited the offence—conspiracy, &c.. It was an awful picture, a moment of breathless' excitement to all present excepting the two actor s , the one of whom, the m os t interested in the event, appearing the most careless. Being close to him, malgre moi, 1 watched him narrowly, but could not perceive the slightest change in his florid countenance, or a tremor in his fine limbs. Both at such a crisis would have been pardonable in the bold e st. Having heard his crime, he cried in a firm voice, "0 Moham med, I die innocent; to. thee I consign my soul." He re peated these words, with some others to the same purport, when the finisher of the law,' impatient, demanded, "Are you ready ?" The gallant fellow, with an energy of tone which showed that his spirit already saw the "dark-eyed girls," promptly answered, "Ready." The moment after, his head, struck off by one blow, was rolling in the dust. The blood instantaneously gushed out of the body, the neck slightly palpitated ; life vanished with the rapidity of thoughts—Slade's Records of Travels in Turkey. A TYPHUS FEVER PATIENT IN IRELAND—Perhaps it WoUld be impossible to conceive a more gloomy state of misery than that in which young M'Evoy found himself. Stretched on the side of the public road, in a shed formed of a few loose sticks covered over with "straws," that is, the sward of the earth pared into thin stripes,—removed above fifty perches from 'any human habitation—his body.racked with a furious and oppres sive fever—his mind conscious of all the horrors by which he VARIETIES. was surrounded L-without the comforts even .of. a bed or bed clothes—and, what was worst of all, those fromwhomhe might VISIT TO, A TURKISH Bay.—'' On landing, we immediat e ly ex p ec t ki n d ness , afraid to approach him! Lying helpless, un proceeded to the residence of the Bey, accompanied by the' der these,circumstances, it ought not to be wondered at, if he consul and vice-consul. Passing a very neat mosque, a short wished that death might at once close his extraordinary suffer waik from the consulate brought us to the palace of his Excel- ingS, and terminate those struggles which filial piety had Loney. It is a building of a quadrangular form, bearing some prompted him to encounter. * * Irishmen, however, are pretentious to notice on account of its size, which surpasses not just that description of persons who can• pursue their usual that of the rest, an d f rom diff er ing but little in its external ap- avocations, and see a fellow -creature die, without such atten pearance from some of the modern edifices in England. It tions as they can afford him; not precisely so bad as that, gen was built by Ali Pacha when he captured the town about thirty tie reader! Jemmy had not been two hours on his 'straw, when years ago, and is constructed of stone, or rather stones of every a second shed, much larger than his owu, was raised within a shape and size, the interstices between them' being filled- up dozen yards of it. In this a fire was lit ; a small pet was then with mud. When its external covering of whitewashed plaster pro Cured, 'milk was sent in, and' such ether little comforts was yet new, it might have been a respectable dwelling even brought together, as they supposed necessary for the sick boy. for a Turkish Pacha, but the rude effects of war, and the lapse Having accomplished these matters, a kind of guard was set to of years had left ravages which indicated a rapid decay. A watch and nurse-tend him; a pitchfork was got, on. the prongs large flight of stone steps, in the interstices of which some long of which they intended to reach him bread across the ditch ; grass was flourishing in great luxuriance, conducted us to the arid a long-shafted ShOvel" was borroWed; on which to furnish grand entrance s _ i which is not, as with our b u ildi ngs ; on t h e him drink with safety to themselveS. That inextin gu i s h a bl e ground 'floor. Having passed this, w e f oun d ourse l ves i n a ve i n o f h umour, which nlreland mingles even with death and dirty corridor, the floor of which being formed of planks, in calamity;was also visible here. The ragged half-starved crea several places completely worn through, and 'in others nearly thies 'laughed heartily at the oddity'of their own inventions, and so, it required some care •to obtain a firm footing, and thii at enjoyed the ingenuity with which they made shift to meet the best, was far from being secur e . H app il y, t h e floor was not exigencies of • the occasion, without, in the slightest degree, very lofty, so that a fall through it, although it might have hurt having their - sympathy and concern for the afflicted youth our dignity, would not have risked our li ves . W e were glad to lessened.—Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry. get oft it at first to a wooden staircase which led us up to the DIEBITSCII'S VICTORY NEAR SCHUMLA.—III the course of the grand apartments, but even this was so rickety, and worn down night the vizier was informed that the, enemy had taken post by age and ill-usage, that we did not consider ourselves safe between 'him and Schumla, and threatened his retreat. He u n t i l we had got into the ante-chamber. This we found filled might still have avoided the issue of a battle, by,making his with guards, who, seeing us preceded by the Dragger/an, and we transeversely across the defiles to the Kamptchik, sacri that we were persons of consequence, did us the hcaiour to,rise, tieing , his baggage and cannon ; ' but deeming that he had only as we,passed on to the apartment of the Bey. On entering, we Roth to deal - with, he, as in that case was his duty, prepared to fotind His Excellency seated, in the usual Turkish style; on an force hpassages and the few troops that he saw drawn up in ottoman in the middle of the room, surrounded by 10 or 12 of his the valley en gaining the little wood fringing it, in the morning, guards. The Bey rose to receive us, and returned our English confirihed his opinion. He counted on success; yet, to make bow by passing his hand over his mouth, forehead, • and MOrCARYR; halted to let his artillery takenp a flanking position breast, after which we took our seats. Alth oug h b y no means •on the north- side o f th e va ll e y. The circuitous and bacl route, possessing that noble and commanding air so common in hi s h owever, ' de l aying this .manceuvre, he could not restrain the countrymen, and generally found i n a Turk of rank, the man- impatience'of the delhis. 'Towards noon, "Allah, Allah her," ner of 'fehako (the name of the Bey) was mild, and his lam they made a splendid - charge; they repeated it, broke two guage compiimentary and polite. Our conversation was carried squares, and 'amused theinselves nearly two hours in carving on through the Consul in Ron - laic, the Bee bein g an Albanian. the Mission infantry, their own infantry, the while, adniiring His dress was neither rich, nor becoming his situation ; in fact, them from toe skirts of the wood, Diehitsch, expecting every it would scarcely be called decent. He w ore neith er stockings moment that the vizier' would advance to complete the success nor slippers, and the turban was even laid as id e at liberty, of eaialry-4hereby 'sealing his 'own destrtietiOnordered which we were informed, afterwards was allowed by a recent, Count Pullen, whose division was in the valley, and who de regulation of the Port. The principal attraction in his dress mended reinforcements, to maintain his ground to the last man. was a bell richly embroidered with gold, - containing a dagger The - Count obeyed, triougli suffering cruelly; but, tie _vizier, and piste's, which were also beautifully ornatuentedivith ,em- fortunately, instead' of 'seconding Ins adversary's intentions, bossed- silver. " Coffee was served during our conferen ce , quietly remained on the erninente, 'enjoying the gallantry of which laited about an' heur; the French ex edition to Al g i ers ! hi s d el hi s, - and waiting till his artillery should be able. to' open, being the principal topic of conversation, and ea which the Bey when he might descend and claim the victory with ease: An evinced much' anxiety. The guards whom .we found ,in the '1 sillier ten minutes would have sufficed _to envelope him; but apartment with the Bey, and those whom we had passed in the lljpbitsch, ignorant of the cause of his backwardness, Supp os i ng ante-chamber;' closed rou n d us during our conversation, 'and that he intended amusing him till night, whereby to -effect a expressed in their looks the curiosity and interest whi c h we retreat, an d anw i li i ng to loose more .men; suddenly di s pl aye d excited. They were a Motley g rou p, an d , in their strange hi§ whol e f orce , and opened a tremendous. fire on the astonished Turkish dress, with' their daggers anclpiSlols in a belt shui:a.r u r an instant the route _WO geueral, hors e an d f oot; to' thei r master's, seemed fit for deeds of darkest h u e.' Th e • t h e l atter threw away their arms, an d many of the nizam dgeditt room in which we had 'assembled was spacious. Tw o sid es of m ere s een c line ing t o the tails of the delhis' hors es as they clam it were, seampied by an ottoinan,.and the third by a bench for beied over the liit:s. So .complete .and instantaneous was the the use of - guards. These accommodations, and that on which flight that scam Gels' a prisener was made Redschid strove to the Bey was seated, farmed the whole furniture and ornaments ch ec k the panic by personal valour, hut in vain. HO was COM of the room ; the swells of which, instead of being hung with Felled to thaw his Sabre iThselt-defence he fled to the Kinip.t silken drapery, had - lost ulost of their Plaster, arid displayed schik, acConipaaied by,ascore ofperstanal retainers, enossed' the their original nakedness in taany pleces. - ",-Nautical Mayarinv, mountains, and on the fourtli day re-entyred Schunala.—Sladeg No. Vlll. 418--120. • Itectifetil fraitlt Tertey. „ . , . i)ortrp. FRAGMENT. SAYEST thou that human glory can endure ? That aught of earth affords foundation sure ? Sayest th9u that empire, dignity, or fame Shall live for ever —flourish on the same ? Gaze on each temple, on each lofty dome, • Gaze on the ruins of imperial Rome! Can the proud city or embattled tower Contemn old Time, and set at nought his power ? Gaze on the ruins—nay, go seek the spot Where high and haughty Babylon—is not. Snakes of the fen and lions of the wood Possess the spot where she, proud city, stood. Her gates of brass, her gold, her silver,—all Have perished in the universal fall. No frail memorial is left to tell Where stood the stronghold of the impious Bel Yet mark—there is a city that shall be Strong and unmoved, to all eternity? No sun illuminates that city bright— No moon is there, to cheer dark dismal night— No night is there—God is its beaming sun, Its light the Lamb—the holy three in one. What city thus shall crumbling age contemn ? No earthly work—the new Jerusalem ! 0 f SOFTLY TELL. AittliTTA W. E. G. (From the ~,, r eto Opera of " THE 15i ' UNNERY ; Or, SAINT MARY'S ISLE, THE LADY CONSTANCE OF LORN. My dove, Fidele ! my beauteous dove, away ! O'er lake, o'er fell, unfold, These plumes, all gems and gold, To chide my lover for his long delay,— O ! fleetly bear the truant youth, A tale, a tender tale that well, My dove, my beauteous dove, will tell, Of my undyin; truth, — Then gently chide his long delay : And now my beauteous dove depart, Once more I press thee to my heart, Aud now away, away, away ! 'Vet stay, Fidele ! my beauteous dove, yet stay. 'Yet stay, ere thou unfold, These plumes, all gems and gold, To chide my lover for his long delay : 0 ! softly tell the truant youth, I ponder.in my lonely tower, In courtly hall, in sylvan bower, On his 'undying truth: Then gently chide his long delay : And now my beauteous dove, depart, Once more I press thee to my heart, And now away, away, away ! SONG FOR THE CHRISTMAS MINSTRELS. BY dIRS. lIRMANS. O LOVELY voices of the sky, That hymn'd the Saviour's birth Are ye not singing still on high, Ye that sung " Peace on earth 1" To us yet speak the strains, Wherewith in days gone by, Ye blessed the Syrian swains, 0 voices of the sky ! O clear and shining light, whose beams That hour Heaven's glory shed Around the palms, and o'er the streams, And on the shepherds' head ; Be now, through life and death, As on that holiest night Of Hope, and Joy, and Faith— A clear and shining light ! O star which led to Him, whose love Brought down man's ransom fee I Where art thou ?' 'Midst the Host above May we still gaze on thee I In Heaven thou art not set, Thy rays Earth might not dim ; Send them to guide us yet, 0 star which led to Him, DI-S TICIL By a Cockney Harberdasher. VAT a vonderful change In Tom Thornely is seen, He vo fill'd the Green Shay,* Is now vi Shay Green.t • Chaise. + Chagrin. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD CHRISTMAS. ANTIPATHIES.—What an unaccountable medley of Strength and weakness is man ! Lord Bacon, it is said, fell back inani mate at the occurrence of an eclipse. The astute and erudite Erasmus was alarmed at the sight of an 'apple. Bayle, the great lexicographer, swooned at. the noise made by some water as it escaped, drop by drop, from a cock. Henry of France, the third of that name, though he had driven his enemies be fore him at Jarnac, trembled, from head to foot, at the sight of a cat. When a hare crossed the celebrated Duke d'Epernon's path, his blood stagnated in his veins. The masculine-minded iNlary of Medicis fainted away whenever a nosegay was in sight. A shudder overcame 'the learned Scaliger on perceiving tresses. Ivan the Second, Czar of Muscovy, would faint away on seeing a woman; and Albert, a brave Field-Marshal of France, fell insensible to the ground, on discovering a sucking pig served up at his own table !—Atlieneeum. A DEAR PENNYWORTH.—At the sale by Messrs. Sotheby and Son, on Thursday, of the property of the late Mr. William Knight, F. S. A. Assistant Architect and Superintendent to the new London Bridge, among other articles were several morceaux of antiquity, found during the removal of the old bridge, some of which realized extraordinary prices. A penny of Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, (very . rare,) £4 Is., being nine hundred and seventy-two times its intrinsic value. —A beautiful carved box, made of the wood of the " Sleepers," of the ancient bridge (an engraved inscription inside,) £2 19s. A plain ditto, with silver plate on the lid, £2 17s. Henry Vlll.—Half sovereign (amulet mint mark,) £4. The lower jaw and three other bones, of Peter of Cole Church, the original architect of London Bridge, found on removing the foundation of the ancient chapel, 7s. SHOWER OF FIRE.-LA singular phenomenon presented itself lately in some parts of France, particularly in the department of Orne, in the neighbourho o d of Argentan. Several times, and during two whole hours, the atmosphere, which was calm, be came filled with an innumerable quantity of vivid sparks, form ing a sort of shower of fire. The appearance was most striking between 4 and 5 o'clock in the morning. The same pheno menon was witnessed about Caen, where, however, it excited less apprehension than at Argentan, in which place the inha bitants were under the greatest terror. It is said that in some places the sparks were seen to alight upon the ground; but no traces of them have any-where been found, and it is probable that the phenomenon really took place in the upper regions, the appearance of having descended being most likely an opti cal illusion. Medical Gazette. We hail with great delight the approach of the festival of Christmas. It is a happy period of the year, and one which brings with it some of the most pleasing recollections of ou r life. Every thing that relates to the season is calculated to make a deep and lasting impression on the you ng m i n d . The inspiring declaration of th e 'glad tidings of great joy w hi c h s hall be to all people ; the affecting account of the lowly bi r th an d glorious welcome of the new-born &nig; and then, the proof' of heartfelt joy among friends, and in families—th e g l a d 0 " change of kind wishes—th e cheerful liberality to humbler pea" ple—the comforts of a peaceful fireside :—these are the thing which each succeeding Christmas happily renews to many, 1 0 ' 1 " a relish confined to no particular time of life. The child le' joices in Chritsmas ; and, in addition to the pleasure of the passing hour, he has some holiday before him. The father re' joices in Christmas; although the mirth of former days mai have given place to the more qui e t f ee li ngs o f rat i ona l and stag' fastjoy, upon the occasion of such an anniversary. And wha shall doubt that the old rejoice in Christmas ? Surely to sa e those around them, and those a step or two below them in age , smiling, and happy, is a happiness to the old—not to mentio.n that especial source of happ iness o p ene d t o t h em i n t h e ev ent commemorated at this season, t o th e con t emp l at i on of which' whose years are le av i ng th em, may turn w i th increa se comfort and joy. As nothing which relates to the observance of this festival can be out of place at the present time, we shall lay before our readers an account of some of the ancient Christmas custom'' On Christmas-eve, as soon as it was dark, candles of au nn common size, called Christmas candles, were lighted up, and.l log.of wood called YULE Lon, or Christmas block, was upon the fire, to illuminate the house, and as it were, to tu rn night into day. Yule is supposed to mean Christmas. Falvey was common on this eve for supper. It consisted of boiled Ol t ' mixed with milk, plenty of sugar, &t. The candle, the yule , and the furmety, are kept up in some parts of the country, Pa r " ticularly Yorkshire, at this day. The burning out a podderol la ashen faggot is still observed in some of th e f arm -h ous esLP Devonshire. A foolish notion f ormer ly p reva il e d , t h at, on Lo" eve, oxen knelt in their stalls and moaned. There appear to have been many whimsical customs belong' ing to different countries and to various parts of this count* on Christmas-eve, a full account of which would be tedious we there Tore proceed to describe some of those of Cnitisili * DAY. DEATH of DR. SPURZHEIM.—This distinguished phrenolo gist died at Boston, in America, in November, of typh us fever. He had been lecturing in the city, and a demonstration of re9iect for his memory was projected by the citizens. He was in the 57th year of his age.—Atlas.—SPUßZHEisi is dead: his own skull will now stand on his own theory. 'He will lecture no longer, but be lectured aver; and his successor will be able to point out the bump of phrenology at any rate, if there is one. To this complexion we must all come at last. As we have seen SpußzHEim turn round the polished ivory of some illustrious unknown, the irreverend idea has often occurred to us,. that his turn would came at length. Of course he has bequeathed his head to his own collection; and his successor next year, at the Crown and Anchor rooms, will garnish his address with an apostrophe to the mortal remains of the great master's cranium.—Spectator. MR. WOLFF, THE MisssioNaast.—Letters from Simiah have been received in . Calcutta, which mention that Mr. Wolff, th e well-known Missionary, has arrived at Peshawur, having travelled alone, it is said from Arabia. The route he has pur sued is not , described, but he has encountered all kinds of dangers and sufferings. He has been made a slave, has been repeatedly plundered and stripped—has otherwise undergone great personal hardships, and has finally reached Peshawur in a state of great destitution. He has been expected in that quarter for some time past, and Runjeet Singh has. directed every attention to be .shown to him. Letters had been received from him at Loodiana, requesting a suit of clothes, and the Governor-General, we learn, has invited him to Simiah. The object of his present journey is understood to be the discovery of the tribes of Israel, ' who were carried away captive, and whose descendants are supposed still to exist as a separate and independent people in some of the yet unexplored regions of Asia. According to • the sacred Historian, they were placed by the Assyrian King " in Halah and in Habor, by _the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medef." Mr. Wolff, it is said, purposes to visit Thibet, ' Japan, and Timbuctoo, taking Calcutta in his way ! If he w ere not a fanatic, the world might expect some advantage from the spirit of wander ing by which he appears to be possessed. But, fanatic or not, all, we are sure, who have, the means and the opportunity will readily unite in relieving his wa n t s . At p resen t •he appears to be in good hands.—lndian Gazette. IRISH Tticoramv.—The following harangue is supposed to be delivered on the night bef o r e Christmas by 'an itinerant vender of Christmas carols.—lt is among the extracts frOm a second series of " Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry," given in a late number of the Athenceum :—" Good Christians— This, is the day—howandive,r, it's night now—that the angel Lucifer appeared to Shild'orth, Meeshach, an'To-bed-we-go, in the village of Constantinople, near Jerooslem. The - heavens be praised for it, 'twas a blessed an' holy . - night, an' remains so from that day -to this—Oxis doxis glorioxis, Amin ! Well: the sarra °he of him but appeared to thim at 'the hour o' midnight but they.were asleep at the time, you see, anddidn't persave him- So wid that he pulled out a horn like mine —an', by the same token, it 's lucky to wear.horns about one, from that day to this—an' he put it to 'his lips, an'tzick a good dacent—l mane, gave a good dacent blast that soon • roused them. ' Are yees asleep ?' says he, when they awoke; ' why then, bud-an age! says he, ':isn't it a burning shame for able stout fellows like yees to ,be asleep at th e hour o' midnight of all hours o' the night. Tare-an-age!' say_ei he, ' get up wid yees, you dirty spalpeens ! Theses St. Pathrick in Jerooslem beyant ; the Pope's signin his mittimus to Ireland to bless it in regard that neither corn, nor barely, nor phaties, will grow on the land in.quensequence- of a. set a varmint that ates it up; an' there's not a glass of whiskey to be had in Ireland for love or money,' says Lucifer , * ! * And now says he, ' bekase you wor so heavy-headed, I ordher it from this out, tha,t the present night is to be observed in the Catholic Church all over the world; an' 1111Isthe kept holy; an no thrue Catholic ever will miss from this pariod an opportunity of bein' awake at midnight,' says he. An' now good Christians, you have- an.account o' the blessed carol I was siugin' for yees. They're but hapuns a-piece; an' anybody that has the grace to keep one o' these about them will never 'meet wid sudden deaths or accidents, such as hangin' ,or. drownin, or bein' taken suddenly wid a con figguration inwardly." MODERN INFIDELITY.—Modern infidelity is a soil as barren of great and sublime virtues, as it is prolific in crimes. By, great and sublime virtues are meant; those which are called into action on great and trying occasions, which demand the sacrifice of .the dearest interests And prospects of human life, and sometimes of life itself; the virtues, in a word, which, by their rarity and sPlendour, draw admiration, and have rendered illustrious the character of patriots, martyrs, and confessors. It requires but little reflection to perceive, that whatever veils a future world, and contracts the limits of existence within the present life, must tend, in a proportionable degree, to diminish the grandeur, and'narrow the sphere, of human agency. As well might you 'expect exalted sentiments of justice from a professed gamester, -as look for noble principles in the man whose hopes and fears are all suspended on the present moment, and who stakes the whole happiness of his being on the events of this vain and fleeting life. If he be ever impelled to the performance of great SHORT POPULAR BELGIAk CaTcwaisst.—Where. al'? *4' achievements in a good cause, it must be solely by the hope of ministers? No where.—And the King ? Travelling- --- p . fame; a motive which, besides, that it makes virtue the servant the Belgian army ? In barracks. —And 'the constitution A. of opinion, usually grows weaker at the approach of death : and dozen articles may yet be shown, the rest a re e ffaced. i 2 ; 0 1 which, however it may surmount the love of existence in the the national independence ? We h ave 60,000 :French. heat of battle, or in th e mo m en t o f p u bli c o b serva ti on, can se l- wait for 10J,000 Prussian s .—A n d our trade?, The,sea.porYi .0 of dom be expected to operat e w ith muc h f orce on th e re ti re d blockaded. 2 —And commerce ? Ant wer p i s on th e pol n , i t ie:. duties of a private station. In affirming' that infidelity is un- being liornbarded.—And our finances ? Debt s , loans, an' . ro favourable to the higher class of virtues, we are supported as ficit, such is the - clear state of our prosperity.—What has P . , well by facts as by reasoni n g. W e s h ou ld be sorry t o l oa d iour cured for, you, all those fine things combined ?, Revolut i Q i i i i to What does revolution mean ?--It means a change from a d ia , adversaries with unmerited reproach; but to what history, to what record, will they appeal for. the traits of' moral greatness good, when the people were in distress, as has'happeli' v. -- exhibited by their discoaes ? Where . shall we look for the tro- trance; and •frona good to evil, as has occured in Belgia,' ,o s phies of infidel magnanimity, or atheistibal virtue ? Not that How do you console: yourself ? With the Jesuits.—W l ; 4 ` o cl! we mean to accuse them of inactivity ; they have, recently Ailed Jesuit? Jesuits are a very good sort of men, whom the irt'f i cq the world with the fame of their exploits; exploits of a different banish from their own country, and for whom they seer „ I 'kind, indeed, but of' imperishable memory and disastrous lustre. themselves in ours.—Why have you effect e d y our reyolut7 o l; Though it is confessed, great and splendid actions are not the Because. the inhabitants Of Loochristi were forbidden to k p i t ordinary employmeht, of life, but must, from their nature, be French, AL Van de Velde was not. Governor. of. Ghent,' ank $ ' reserved for 'high and eminent occasions ' yet that system is I\l. Lebeau required ten h un d re d thousand Isaacs to be wot r.s ! essentially defective which leavys no room for their productio n , million.—What is the name of the Ki ng of th e BeltP%l They are amp . ortarit, b o th for thei r immediate advantage and Le Comte d'Aerschot.—What is the reverse of a revolupost their renioter influence. 'They . often saVe, and always illustrate, A restoration.—What does a-restorati o n mean ? The gra io gs the age and nation in which ' they appear. They raise the • of . eyils when rexolution was, legitimate; th e. grea tot 4 14 . ial standard of morals; they arrest the p r ogress of degener ac y ; when revolution was f oun d e d on absurdity.—ln wbat ~Pr i a n - o c o they diffuse a lustre over the path of life; monuments of th e , you place your's ? In the absurd class.—How man}' alnes a d greatness of the ' huntan soul, they present to the world the Lour government rely upon ? Two ; Fran ce f o r ottice , ill august image of virtue in her subhmest form, from w hi c h England. for importatiou.—How , trimly provinces are ther , o• t ,i streams of light and glory issue to remote times and ages ; ' Belgium ? Nkne by the .cau s titutip u , aryl sixaeeorshitid while their commemoration, by the pen of historians and poets, ministerial will. How many kinds of liberty ? Three a c .` c i o ei; awakens in distant 'bos oms th e s p ar k s o f kindred ex c ell ence , i ng t o th e constitution; liberty of the p ress , r e li(rious free ho u4: Combine the frequent and familiar perpetration of -atr oc i ou s ' an d ihdi v id a l lih erty„ eac h according to law oral'the Cat kre deeds with , thedearth of great and, generous actions, and you , church.—Do you regret the old regime '? Very r euch• ;o have the exact picture of th a t con di tion o f society which cow- you a Carlist ? Not at all.—What difference is there bens it. 4 pletes the degradation of the species : the frightful contrast of you and a Carlist ? A Carlist reqpiies th e pa s f oi i account °il dwarfikh virtues and gigantic vices; where every thing hood is : darkness, aIIA:WR require the p,ist INeause we th en saw Cle ar ~.f. mean andiittle, and everTthing evil rank.and luxuria.n,t; adead , —Will y9llr revo . tutio . h`,be lasilog ? . .14 onstey do uot live "'-'',. and sickening- uniformitY Prevails,-brokeMonly,,at intervai h by —Hew Many divine - tlituei am there. in piilitici ? Chic 0111 /' volcanic eruptions of anarchy and crime.—Robert WI. Name it. Itope.—Messager de Gantt. The Yule or Christmas feast, is of great antiquity. The lord' kept the feast of Christmas chiefly with their King. B a rolls feasted the whole 'count r y, an d a w h o l e b oar was sometime' put on the table, richly gilt, by way of brawn. But it ivas, t ' soused Boar's head which was carried to the principal table r i the hall, with great solemnity, a s th e first dish on Christy: l 'w day. DUGDALE, speaking of this day, as o b serve d at t h e Inge'.. Temple, says, "Service in the church ended, the gen tlerne° presently repair into the hall to breakfast, with brawn, mustart and malmsey." And at dinner, "At the first course i s se rved a fair and large boar's head, upon a silver platter, with inin • strelsy." At one of the feast s , menti on i s ma d e o f "a slniPPci, of silver for an almes dish." Th e Ch r i s t mas p i e - o f m i n ce , meat, and various swe e t in gre di en t s , was f ormer l y ma d e in trP c e i form of a cratch, or cradle. The bakers, at this season, us e ' to present th e i r cus t omers w ith the yule-dough, and po t, images, as th e c h an dl ers gave Christmas candles. Plurn-0i ridge wa s a l so usua l. I n t h e nort h o f E ngland yule-cakes a r e Still made. We now come to Christmas-carols. The word carol tnal' i b ! derived from a Greek word, signifying joy. It was, probaD t g; an imitation of the hyrdn sung by the arigels, which; as 8i0„. ° ,,' Taylor observes, was the oldest Christmas carol.— ,, Gtoia GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD- 4I TOWARD MEN." It was usual, in the ancient feasts, to single out a pal . , and "place hi m i n th e m id st, to sing a kind of carol to Go at We need scarcely add that the custom of singing carols, B:ci Christmas, still p reva il s a ll over E ng l an d : an d , although a fa may be good, y e t some o f th ose caro l s put f ort h under t h e he a of Divine Mirth, are wanting, not only in pi e t y , b ut i n go" n- sense. The following anecdote, given by a clergyman, d escr ibing O e „, practice of singing at this season in Devonshi re , ma y be th teresting. "The first time of my coming to live in this Par l , " lin the South H ams o f D evon ,) h a pp ene d t o b e Christmas c‘l n the middl e o f th e n i g ht; I was su dd en l y awoke by the swe eter music I think I ever'heard. It was the sound of many vai ces to ' accompanied by instruments, all in . I soon bega n t account for this most agreeable inter rup ti on of my night's re s ; and concluded th a t it was a Ch r i s t mas caro l , or hymn, to vc: c i t come in the glorious and happy morning. The music, whi r had been und e r m y window, gra d ua ll y d i e d away; and, , a pause, I heard it again, b u t more fa.intly, from a dista lice , On the following (Christmas) morning, on attending to P e o 'r form the service, I recognised, to my surprise, in the choir the church, the same voices, singing the same hymn, beginn irl ; 'Hark, the h era ld angels sing. The circumstance made,', impression upon me, which it would be difficult to remove. Nor must we pass by the ancient custom of DECKING and private dwellings with evergreens- It l has been thought, ce some, to have been adopted in order to record_ the ciremnsta o : of the people cutting down branches from the trees, and strai ing them in the way, crying, " HOSANNA' TO TDB Sot' 41 DAVID!" Others have consid ere d it merely a sign or spi te of gladness: and, when we thus look at the laurel, m islete e k and bright-berried holly, 'green and flourishing in the deß tli p o S winter, when.other plant s h ave departed with the summer ai d autumn, a very natural e m bl em it seems . A ga i n, i t has the said, thati evergreens were used, the laurel being, artionot, in Romans, the emblem of joy, peace, and victory; and the Christian sense, it may be jestiy applied to the story e•ained over the powers of darkness by the coming I' he misletoe, which is also a part of Christmas deeorations,ecist supposed to have been adopted in consequence of the roller paid to it by the Druids. st Stow (in his Survey of London) says, that "against the fa of Christmas, every man's honse, as also their parish churcb c !" were decked with bOlme, ivy, bays, and- whatsoever the seaso n of the year affirded to be green. 'l he conduits and stauditt in the streets were also garnished in the-same manner." In a curious tract, published about a hundred and thirty since, entitled, " Round about our Coal-Fire, or, Christmas tertainments," -is , the: following, passage :,—"The rooms Or embowered with holly, ivy, cypress, bays, laurel, and mislete7 and a bouneingChristmas log in the ehininey."—Gay has au allusion to the subject:— When rosemary and bays, the poet's crown, Are bawl'd in frequent cries through all the town, Then judge the festival of Christmks near, Christmas, the joyous period of the' year ! Now with bright holly all the temples strove, With laurel green, and sacred misfetoe. Christmas presents appear to have been very general. Amo n g others, we find-gifts of toys, clothes, fruit; Sr.c., presented bY rents to their children in honour of the day. To these rod was frequently added, that they might be more easily g ; , verned, by the, prospect of correction, in the event of th e ' doing wrong. Christmas sports were various, according to the humou r - till of veisrist.. taste of the people. Morris-dancers and Mummers are s o re found in some parts of the country ; but their perfornsan c e s ds y probably like those of ancient days, in name only.—,Sato - Magazine. w oo Li 10 k r t ' z......... Nv: Thi;