The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-09-04 00:00:00

BARTHOLOMEW FAI R.-SATURDAY.

We could not help exclaiming this morning, on taking
,kw of. the preiferations for this ancient civic carnival,
" the age-Of jollity ii gone, that of saints, economists, and
paupers has succeeded, and the glory of Barthelmy is ex-
tinguished for ever!" Every effort has brut made to
r.brittee it ; the
.price of the ground for stands has bet
raised so enormously as to take away the profits and the
inducements of speculators.
There was none of the display in the avenues to Smith-
Celd which of old give' intimation of what was going on
there. The fciritselfcutsa most sorry oppt 81/111C'e. There
is not half the usual number of shows, and those which
remain are ar a melancholy aspect.' The countenances of the
owners te:ein impreswd with The prospect that they
shall lose by it; and it may he conceived how abortive,
und"r such circumstances, are all the efforts to be comic.—
There is not a single show of any note in the centre square,
which, a rear or two since, was crowded with them.
11Vombwell with Wallace and Nero and some royal tigers;
and Richardson, with his corps drnmalique, his clowns
who can't tumble or play, the salt-box, and his llarlequins
who can't leap or dance, are the only persons who have at-
tained any thing to remind us of its ancitnt splendor.
Atkins. with his lions, and noble band of beef-eaters, is,
hewnd there no more.--Gingell, that prince of conjurors,
who used to play " 0 Nannie" on the musical glasses, has
departed. The breed of monstrosities seems to have
diminished: there are only two Allimuses, and a tall man
and woman. There are still, however, oysters for the
luxurious, and we heard a fellow in the pig-puts crying
out lustily, " Here's hot sassingers to feed, your hangells
with."

The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs entered in grand procession
at twelve o'clock, and proclaimed it with as few of the
ancient observances as possible. The huckters and publicans
were enjoined, at their peril, to supply drink andlood that
was "goat and fitte for man his boilye.'"fhe shout at
the opening, instead of being a din, heard thrice the dis-
tance of Pye-corner, was a faint and dying sound, scarcely
heard on the other side of the fair.

The dancing booths have been hunted out ; not a pre-
paratory scrape Was hestd. In these times,
The rich man's painted window

nide the concert; of the quality ;
The poor man can but spare
A crack'd fiddle in the air,
Which offends tU sonr.d morality.
The rich man la inrisib!e
In the crowd of Ws gay society,
But the poor man's delight
Is a sore in the sight.
And a stench in the nose of piety.

ROMAN ANTIQUITIES NEAR ST. REMY.

About a quarter of an hour's walk from the birth-place of the
celebrated Nostradamits, the small town of St. Remy, in Provence,
a shady and flowery path conducts to two remarkable monuments.
which, without any historical grounds, are called the Triumphal
Artie of Augustus, and the Mausoleum of Julius Ciesar. They
'stand upon a little eminence, tinnily twelve or fourteen feet sep-
ias: and of itself, this vicinity of the two monuments appears to
indicate a connexion bt twecn them, and to show that the con-
Nnemr, in honour of whom the Triumphal Arch was erected, alto
covered by the monument. They art inclosed by a small stone
tenet, built for their protection.
. The Triumphal Arch, the northernmost of these two relics of
that mighty age, Is nut high, end so much damaged, that the
whole of the upper part is wanting. By means of a roof, which
workers them from the rain anti anent., their told destruction has
?seen prevented; and it were well that the upper parts were simply
halt up, provided that were done In such a way, that the ant tent
could, without difficulty, be distinguished from the new por-
tion. Two Boric pillars support the arch : on each side, right
and lest, rise two fluted pillars, which hare lost all their capitals,
and of which only three go higher than the middle, and the
or-aments of the cornice consist of ivy and olive twigs, inter-
woven in small fillets. Betwixt the pillars arc figures in basso.
relies(); upon the one side. a male and female bound to a tree,
as ffie fitnnans represented conquered cities attd prosiness; upon
the orpsite side stands a woman, rotting her hand upon the arm
td a chained warrior.
The :listusoleum is in good preservation, and one of the rarest
aamit.a of that period; fur one more perfect, or better worthy of
auennon, is, perha7s, nowhere else to be met with. It is in
Sleight about M feet, and rests upon a square pedestal of large
stones, wltiA is ornamented on each aide with full-size
figures in basso.relievo. The foundation, which has, through
kr long a course of years, supported this precious memorial, Is
firmly laid with atones of the same sort. The monument con-
sists of three stories: the first and second are square, bite the
pedestal, only that the latter is much larger; the third again is
round, and terminates in a small cupola. A pillar, without pc.
destal, supports each side of the first square, which is oma.
merited with a heavy crown of' festoons of fruits and flowers.
Koch of the four sides of this story has has-reliefs. On the one
side appears a compact her!), of Roman infantry, in the act of as-
sault t on another are seen the dead and wounded, lying on the
field cf battle ; on the third is a combat of cavalry, but which, as
well as the preceding, has suffered much from time. The fourth
sloe is in much better preservation, and upon it a procession is re.
presented, probably the triumph of a conqueror, which the hands
bound behind the backs of the captives which appear in it, and the
rinds with animals for sacrifice, seem to intimate. The accord
story is, as has been already mentioned, also square, and has four
stet's.", through which one can AM On each aide stands a fluted
l'orinth;an pillar, the fiats,: running round, the top of which is Gl-
rani rnted with vine leaves and sea-heroes. Thi. story supports the
third and upperniosr ; and a mall rotunda, formed of ten l'orin-
thian p.itlars, in the middle of al ich. through the spaces between
the pillars, are perceived two statues, one of which is larger than
the inter, but both without heads. A cupola, bound round with
eery line crown of leaves, terminates the whole. (Han inscription
which runs round about the middle cf the Mausoleum,thefullowin g
letters only can be deciphet el :
SEX! PARENTIBUS SUEIS.
Acrording to the esplanatit ns of an. i tic riots, this monument mu s
I,at e Lean erected to their parents by the sons of Caine Julius—.
lien us, Lucius, and Marcus.

(:t LTIII4 TO .51101PlImerzas.—BASk COTlC.—There are
row in citculativos . great number of counterfeit halt
..crowns end shillings. so well executed as to require
pretty dose examination to distinguish them from the
genriire ones. The half-crowns are of.the date of 1818,
and the edges on each side ere raised so that the surface of
ills piece is more hollow than that of good coin, and the
King's bead is .batter end rather broader. The shillings
ere dated 1819, and the imprissions both on the right and
obverse aides are a little more raised than on the half-
crowns. The letters on each are clumsy and irregular ;
and the metal of which the pieces arc tnanuhtetured is a
mixture of topper with zinc. The wa,lt on the outside h
of a dull whiteness ; but the truest etiterion to ascertain
their quality is to weigh them. t--•ev. ralpcesons have lately
horn apprehended in this town h,r offering, aril ha% ing iu
their possession, base silver coin, some of which is well
.aaeuted, though cad!, detects.l by observing the above
particulars, and by ihe sound. As the officers of the Mint
tefutte to pros, cute, except where the evidence is very con-1

Ausive, we recommend our ton tismen to use great precau-
tion in receiving silver coin.—Slochpeet Adctrliser.
Last week there was found, in the remains of a coffin, in
the parish church-yard, Hamilton. a puree, containing a
-tilling of the reign of George 11., two penny pieces, a
Halfpenny, and a farthing, supposed to have been placed
there at the interment of a Roman Catholic. While a grave
was digging in the same church-yard, an adjoining coffin
Lent from the aide, and a body without the betel fell into
tee new-made grave. When the funeral arrived, the
people were horrifi ill at the sight of the remains of a fellow-
creature lying openly exposed at the side of the grave, in-
stead of being instantly re-interred. When the coffin was
lowered the body was placed above it, and the whule co-
vered up.--Gfasgote Chronicle.
An inquest WRY taken at the Westminster Infirmary on
the body of S3IIIIICI .1:11i1C1, who rommittvd suicide by swal-
lowing a large quantity of opium. Mr. Seymour, surgeon, al,d,
emeared WP3 nrougm there la a state of extreme exhaustion.
lie was sensible, but had lost all power of muactilar
sister. who aceornpioied him, said ha had swallowed an ounce of
Ismdanitm. The stamscia-pump wan resorted to without even, a-,
lee died in about an hour afterwards. Mary LAO., of No. 2, Gna-
w-row, York-atre.,t, Westminster, sister of tl'e ale:eased, said, her
manlier for a long time had been very unwell, and had been in the
Labia of taking Inuclenuns to recruit his spirit?... lie had been A-
isle& :91. fid. per week by the parish os M. tkorge for some months,
art this not being stolleiew, en order bunt been given to him to go
rim the workhouse. Witness went nut with him on Thursday, at
.)%setio'elutit in the morning, for the purpose of accompanying
lam to the workhouse, but he seemed extremely averse to going
cane, and notwithstanding all her entreaties, he kept her wander-
ing !Mout the streets till ten at night, when he sat down it) the
well quite exhausted, and taking a bottle of laudanum cut of his
pue.itet, awalloweil its contenta, and laying i,,nsclf along, said,
Oh, this 1 could die." IS'itness immediately bad him conveyed
t. ti,G• infirmary. His spirits had tot several days been much
in,:owed. The ;ilea ,f going into tit • workhouse 'weaned to irrey
61:'>n lie wind. Mary Crane, his land niv, said, he was a man of
Cu'i amiable temper, and had borne his sufferings with uncommon
patience and fostie;de until withm ,he test few days, during which
ha Las talked in a manner which led witless to believe his med was
nafre,vd. Verdict—insanity.