The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-23 00:00:00

into a -vehicle for the most abinninahle scandal ;—you
surely now comprehend it, Louisa?-.--' The sacred vessels'
are no other than the tea things the tripod,' the maho-
gany table the mystic cauldron,' the tea-pot;—' the
damsel of neat attire,' a maid servant of six pounds per
annum ;—' the leaves gathered in the remotest corner of
the globe,' six shilling Bohea;—the ' nymph of the well
favoured by Vulcan,' boiling water the wolf's glen,'
the hungry jaws of Miss Kitty and her cronies;.—' the
twin sprites,' her shrivelled hands the ancient robes of
white leather,' kid gloves, over which Time has cast its
dingy shadows ;—' the scrolls,' slices of bread ;—' the
precious varnish,' salted butter;—' the aged skeletons,'
the frail remnants of a once respectable row of ivories."
" Excellent, most excellent ! but yon have not yet told
!is what is meant by the extract of hypocrisy."
"Be that pleasure," exclaimed Mr. Twaddleton, re-
•-•erved for me ;—it is sugar, child, sugar; the sweat from
the Negro's brow ; the accursed fruit of slavery and oppres-
sion : is it not as white as driven snow ? and yet its source
is as Mach as Styx :—is it not swept ? and yet wrung from
bitterest dregs of misery and despair. Who then, I
will ask, can say that •.it is not the emblem and type of
ilypocrisy ?"
The worthy vicar pronounced these words with such
energy as to astonish the listening group, who, with the
exception of Mr. Seymour, were not aware that he had
published a sermon against the slave trade, from which Mr.
Seymour had borrowed the idea respecting sugar. This
fircumstance will account for the readiness with which the
vicar had discovered Mr. Seymour's allegory.

The value of money is felt like a good friend,
is never known till we stand in need of it. Per-
haps the following learned dissertation upon its
original character, and multifarious application,
may be acceptable to our City friends:—
The vicar here expressed a hope that his two friends
would honour him with a visit ; he said, that there were
some points of difference between himself and the major,
which he should much like to refer to Mr. Seymour. It
was agreed that tile party should, at once, walk to the
vicarage, and take into consideration the several grave
matters which had been the subject of so mush learned'
controversy. -

In their way thither, the vicar expatiated, with some
warmth, upon what he was pleased to term " the foibles"
of his antiquarian friend ; he complained of his scepticism
upon points that were perfectly unquestionable.
" You are now alluding, I suppose," said the major,
" to the doubt I expressed respecting the authenticity of
your leather money?"

'6 That is one of the many subjects, upon which I must
say you have betrayed a deficiency in historical knowledge.
.eneca informs us, that there was anciently stamped money
of leather ; and the same thing was put in practice by
Frederick 11. at the siege of Milan; to say nothing of an
old tradition amongst ourselves, that in the confuted times
of the barons' wars, the same expedient Was practised in
England."

; You strangely mistake me," replied the major ; " I
never questioned the truth of these historical statements ;
I know full well that numerous substances have, at diffe-
rent times, and in different countries, been adopted in ex-
change, as conventional representatives of property. I
have already stated that cattle were employed as the earliest
measure of value. We find, for instance, in Homer, that
the golden armour of Glaucus was valued at a hundred,
and that of Diomedes, at ten oxen. Among the Indians,
cowries, or small shells, are used ; and the Abyssinians
employ salt, bricks, and beads, for this very purpose; the
ancient Britons are said to have circulated iron rings as
money. The Hollanders, we know, coined great qmantities
of pasteboard in the year 1794; and Numa Pompilius cer-
tLinly made money both of wood and leather."
" And yet you doubt the authenticity of my leathern
money, which I am fully persuaded was coined in 1360,
by John, king of France, who, having agreed to pay our
Edward the Third the sum of 3,000,000 golden crown.
for his ransom, was so reduced as to be compelled to a
coinage of leather for the discharge of his household ex-
pences."

" I have only questioned the authenticity of that speci-
men which I saw in your cabinet," replied the major;
" and so must any person who views it through a medium
unclouded by prejudice. I will stake my whole library to
a hornbook, that our friend Mr. Seymour will agree with
me in pronouncing it a fragment of the heel of an old
shoe ; let him observe the perforation, and say, if he ran,
that it has net been produced by a nail or peg. But really,
my dear Mr. Twaddleton, you have forced me, much against
my inclination, into this controversy."
" Very good, sir; very good! the heel of an old shoe,
4'0,..•t1.1 ;ILA I thank V.I. Major S4-kauwell."'
the vicar, with some warmth ; " I thank you, sir. Your
assertion, while it evinces your own want of historical in-
formation, establishes, beyond doubt, the authenticity of my
treasure, and the triumph of my opinion."
" Assuredly," said Mr. Seymour, with a wicked smile;
" I dare say there may be numerous holes in this leathern
coin ; for many have been the antiquaries who have, doubt-
less, pinned their faith upon it."
" Paha, paha !" cried the vicar ; " for once, at least, Mr.
Seymour, let me entreat you to be serious ; the subject,
sir, is important, and merits your respect. It is front that
very hole that I am enabled to identify the coin : yea,
major, from that very hole, which you affect to despise,
am I enabled to derive its principal claim to antiquity.
Are we not expressly informed, that the leathern money
of John of France had a little nail of silver driven in it ?"

" Well, then," continued the major, " what say you to
that tell-tale stitch, which Iso unfortunately picked out
with my penknife?"
" Admirable ingenuity ! most refined sophistry ! pro-
voking perversion I" exclaimed the vicar. "It is really
amusing to observe the address with which the prejudiced
observer distorts every fact to his own advantage. Why,
bless me, sir, that stitch is strong enough to drag fifty such
opponents out of the slough of unbelief."
" Doexplain yourself," said Mr. Seymour.
"Explain myself! the stitch speaks for itself, sir. Were
not these leathern coins strung together in different num-
bers, to facilitate payments? For, you will admit, that it
would have been extremely inconvenient to have coined
single pieces of leather, of different denominations."

The antiquaries had reached the vicarage before the con-
clusion of their discussion ; and, as the reader will proba-
bly agree with us in thinking that a question of such grave
historical importance, ought not to be decided without due
care and deliberation, we shall afford the disputants a rea-
sonable time for their researches, and put an end to the
present chapter.

But we must conclude : all good dinners are
finished with a song, and we conclude our repast
with the essence of harmony :

THE MAGIC OF MUSIC.

" Allow me then to ask you, sir, whether you have ever
heard of a game, which is justly entitled to the appellation
of the Magic of Music ?"
" Never," replied the vicar; " nor can I imagine either
the nature, or objects of such a game."
" Its object is to display the power of music as en ex-
pressive language ; the manner in which I propose to ex-
emplify it, I will, with your permission, explain in a few
words. The musical performer shall place herself at the
harp, or piano-forte, surrounded by the party who are de-
sirous of witnessing the pastime ; the person to be operated
upon must retire from the apartment, until the service
which, under the direction of the music, it is determined
he shall perform, is duly agreed upon and arranged. Such
person is then to be re-admitted; not a word, look, or
gesture, is to escape from any one present; by the ex-
pression of the music alone is he to receive his instructions,
and, unless I am much deceived, you will find that this is
amply suff►cient for the purpose."
My dear madam, the thing is utterly impossible," ex-
claimed the vicar. "It cannot be done; unless, indeed,
you really possess the secret of the ancient modes,'
which were not even known to Meibornius, the learned
commentator upon the Greek musician Alypius ; nay,
Isaac Vossius himself, the expounder of rhythm, were he
now alive, would never credit it."

_ .
vc Are you willing to male the experiment ?" said Miss
villas ,4 if so, be so kind as to leave the room for a few

minutes."

.....
The vicar accordingly prepared to depart, casting at the
same time, upon his fair companion, a look which suffi-
ciently expressed the scepticism be felt upon the occasion.
" But you have not told me," said he, " by what signal
am I to return, and submit to the proposed ordeal"
" The music will inform you, if you pay sufficient at-
tention to its language," replied Miss Villers.
The door having been carefully closed, the company were
consulted in a whisper, as to the service they should re-
quire the vicar to perform. " I should propose," said Miss
Villers, " that Mr. Twaddleton be directed to take a rose
out of the basket of flowers on the chimney-piece, and,
having smelt it, to carry it to the harp, and place it on its
pillar ; after this I propose that he should strike the strings,
and then lead Fanny out of the room."
" And do you propose to express all these different move-
ments by the aid of music? If you succeed, there must
be an end to the vicar's scepticism," observed Mr. Seymour.
" If I fail upon this occasion, it will be the first time,"
said Miss Villers : " but you must all promise to be silent,
and to maintain the most absolute cotnmand over your
countenances."

Alias Vipers seated herself at the ..#1 nlaved