Star.
London, England, 1822-12-27 00:00:00

6-ERIIIAN POPULAR STORIES.

A very seasonable wort, wit this title, has lust been published.
it is not only amusing to the y ,ung, for whose benefit it pro-
fesses to he principally designed, but is interesting to the philo-
sophical and antiquarian inquirer, as chewing the intimate con-
nexion bet byLca the popular stories, in all thtir leadirg topics,
amongst almost all nations. A very striking resemblance is per••
ctsptible between the old English and old German tales : even
T,iontb, who has generally been considered a native
Britain, turns out to be as familiar to the inhabitants of Ger-
many and Scandinavia its in England and Wales. The tal:s are
of three sorts—some dialogues of birds and btasts, in the manner
of .E.op and ; some moral extravaganzas in the style of the
bi:igiapkers of Tom Thumb, and other worthies of that stamp ;
dome (0:111:1CeN in the manner to.. the l'eoventol Tales" anti the
Contes des Fees." The translation is uncommonly bappy : it
has all the freedom and freshness of en original. The work is
embellished with twelve humorous sketches, by Cruickshank,
who is a worthy successor to (Wray. Be has an astonishing va-
riety of fancy, with great power of expression. Ile' drawings
are far too good to be classed with the ordinary run of carica-
tures. We select one tale as a specimen :
HANS IN LUCK. •
Hans had served his master seven years, and at
last said to him, " Master, my time is up, I should
like to go home and see my mother ; so give me my
wares. And the master said, " You have been a
faithful and good servant, so your pay surdll be hand-
some." Then he gave him a piece of silver that was
as big as his head.
Hans took out his pocket-handkerchief, put the
piece of silver into it, threw it over his shoulder, and
jogged off homewards. As he went lazily on, drag.
<sing one foot after another, a man came in sight,
trottint; along gaily on a c apital horse. " Ali ! (said
Hans aloud), what a fine thing it is to tide on horse-
back ! there lie tits as if he was at home in his chair ;
Ire trips against no stones, spares his shoes, and yet
gees on he hardly knows haw." The horseman
'heard this, and said, " Well, Hans, why do you go
cn foot then?" "Ah ! (said lie) I have this load to
carry ; to be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that
I can't hold np my head, and it hurts my shoulder
sadly." What do you say to changing ? (said the
horseman), I will give you my horse, and you shall
give me the silver." " With all my heart (said Hans),
but I tell you one thing—you'll have a weary task to
drag it along." The horseman got off, took the silver,
helped Hans up, gave the bridle into his hand, and
said, " When you want to go very fast, you must
smack your lips loud, and cry Jip."
Hans was delighted as he sat on the horse, and
rode merrily on. After a time he thought he should
like to go a little faster, so he smacked his lips, and
cried Jip. Away went the horse full gallop ; and
before I Lane knew what he was about, he was thrown
off, arsd lay in a ditch by the road side; and his horse
would have run off, if a shepherd who was coming
by, driving a cow, had not stopt it. Hans soon came
to himself, and got upon his legs agaiM He was
sadly vexed, and said to the shepherd, "This riding
is no joke when a man gets on a beast like this,
that stumbles and flings him off as if he would
break his neck. However, I'm off now once for
t I like your cow a great deal better ; one can
sealk along at one's leisure behind her, and have milk,
butter, and cheese, every day into the bargain.—
What would I give to have such a cow 1" 66 Well,"
said the shepherd, " if you are fond of her, I will
change my cow for your horse." " Done:" said
Hans, merrily. The shepherd jumped upon the horse,
and away he rode.
Hans drove off his cow quietly, and thought his
bargain a very lucky one. "If I have only a piece
of bread (and I certainly shall be able to get that), I
can, whenever I like, eat my butter and cheese with
it ; and when I am thirsty, I can milk my cow and
drink We milk: what caa I wish for more?" When
he came to an inn, he halted, ate up all his bread,
and gave away his last penny for a glass of beer:.
then he drove his cow towards his mother's village;
and the heat grew greater as noon came on, till at last
he found himself on a wide heath, that would take him
more than an hour to cross, and he began to be so
hat and parched that his tongue slave to the roof of
his mouth. " I can find a cure for this," thonght he ;
" now will I milk my cow and quench my thirst ;"
so he tied her to the stump of a tree, and held his
leathern cap to milk into; but not a drop was to be
had. While he was trying his luck and managing
the matter very clumsily, the uneasy beast gave him
a kick on the head that knocked burn down, and there
he lay a long while senseless. Luckily a butcher soon
came by, driving a pig in a wheelbai row. " What is
the matter with you ?" said the butcher, as he helped
him up. Hans told him what had happened, and the
butcher gave him a flask, saying, "There, drink and
refresh yourself; your cow will give you no milk, she is
an old beast, good for nothing but the slaughter-house."
"Alas, alas!" said Hans, " who would have thought
it? If I kill her what will she be good for? I hate
cow beef, it is not tender enough for me. If it were a
pig now, one could do something with it, it would at
any rate make sausages." " Well," said the butcher,
" to please you, 1,11 change, and give you the pig for
the cow." " Heaven reward you for your kindness!"
said Hans, as he gave the butcher the cow, and took
the pig off the wheelbarrow, and drove it off, holding
kby the string that was tied to its leg. So on he
jogged, and all seemed now to go right with him :
he had met with some misfortunes, to be sure ; but
he was now well repaid for all. The next person he
met was a countryman carrying a fine white goose
under his arm. The countryman stopped to ask what
was o'clock ; and Hans told him all his luck, and how
lie had made so many good bargains. The country-
man said he was going to take the goose to a christen-
ing : " Feel," said he, 66 how heavy it is, and yet it is
only eight weeks old. Whoever roasts and eats it may
cut plenty of fat off it, it has lived so well 1" "You're
right," said Hans, as he weighed it in his hand ; " but
my pig is no trifle." Meantime the countryman began
to look grave, an/ shook his head. "Hark ye," said
he, " my good friend ; your pig may get you into a
scrape ; in the village I just come from, the 'Squire
has had a pig stolen out of his stye. I was dreadfully
afraid, when I saw you, that you had got the 'Squire's
pig; it will be a bad job if they catch you; the least
they'll do will be to throw you into the horse-pond."
Poor Hans was sadly fi ightened. " Good man," cried
ht, "pray get me out of this scrape; you know this
country better than I, take my pig and give me the
ice." " I ought to have something into the har-
t," said the countryman ; " however, I will not
hard upon you, as you are in trouble." Then
took the string in his hand, and drove off the pig
side path; while Hans went on the way home-
wards free from care. " tSfwsr all," thought he "
•

bare the best of the bargain: Fret there will be am.
pital roast; then the fat wil find me in goosegrease
tive
for sir months ; and, then . are "allthe beautiful
white feathers ; I will put em int,* my pillow; and
then I am sure I shall sleep-soubriltwithout rocking.
How happy my mother will bet
~. '
Ac he came to the last villager lie ' inky a scissors-
' pitier, with his wheel, working away, anti singing
O'er hill and o'er dale so happy I roam,
Work light and live well, all the world is my 'mime i
Who so blythe, so merry as I? - -
Hans stood looking for a while, and at last said,
" Yon must be well off, master grinder, you seem so
happy at your work ?" 66 Yes," said the other, " mine
is a golden trade ; a good grinder never puts his hand
in his pocket without finding stoney in it : but where
did you get that beautiful goose?" " I did not buy
it, but changed a pig for it." " And where did you
get the pig?" " I gave a cow for it." " And the cow?"
" I gave a horse for it." "And the horse ?" 66 I gave
a piece of silver as big as my head for that." " And
the silver?" "Oh ! I woiked hard for that seven
long years." " You have thriven well in the world
hitkerto,' said the grinder; " now if you could find
money in your pocket whenever you put your hand
into it, your fortune would be made." " Very
true: but how is that to be managed ?" " You must
turn grinder like me," said the other ; 66 you only
want a grindstone ; the rest will come of itself. Here
is one that is a little the worse for wear : I would not
ask more than the value of your goose for it : will you
buy ?" " How can you ask such a question?" replied
Han; : " I should be the happiest man in the world,
if I could have money whenever I put my hand in
my pocket; what could I want more? "There's the
goose!" " Now," said the grinder, as he gave him
a common rough stone that lay by his side, " this is
a most capital stone"; do but manage it cleverly, and
you can make an old nail cut with it."
Hans took the stone and went off with a light
heart : his eyes sparkled for joy, and he said to him-
self, "I must have been born in a lucky hour; every
thing that I want or wish for comes to me of itself."
Meantime he began to be tired, for he had been
travelling ever since day-break ; he was hungry too,
for be had given away his last penny in his joy at
getting the cow. At last he could go no further, and
the stone tired him terribly ; he dragged himself to
.the side of a pond, that he might drink some water,
and rest a while ; so he laid the stone carefully by his
side on the bank : but as he stooped down to drink,
he forgot it, pushed it a little, and down it went
1 plump into the pond. For a while he watched it
sinking in the deep clear water, then sprang up for
joy, and again fell upon his knees, and thanked
HEAVEN with tears in his eyes for its kindness in
taking away his only plague, the ugly heavy stone.
" How happy am I !" cried he : " no mortal was ever
so lucky as I am." Then up he got with a light and
merry heart, and walked on free from all his trou-
bles, till he reached his mother's house.

HISTORICAL NOTICE of LADIES' DRESSES.

The love of novelty, it has been truly observed, is
the parent of fashion. As the fancy sickens, says a
writer on this subject, with one image, it longs for
another. This is the cause of the continual revolu-
tions of habit and behaviour, and why we rose so in-
uustrious in pursuing the change ; this makes fashion
universally followed, and is the true reason why
the aukwardest people are as fond of this folly as
the genteelest.
About the year 1700 the Ladies wore Holland
petticoats embroidered in figures, with different co-
loured silks and gold, with broad orrices at the hot-
torn. Muffs were at this period in use, but very dif-
ferent in shape and materials from those of the pre-
sent day, being in general very small, and frequently
made of leopard skin. Diamond stomachers adorned
the Ladies' bosoms, which were composed of that
valuable stone set in silver, in a variety of figures,
upon black silk, and which must be admitted to have
been a brilliant, it not elegant ornament. Satin!
gowns were lined with Persian silk ; and handker-
chiefs, and Spanish leather shoes, lined with gold, 1
were common with persons of respectability. To'
these different articles the Ladies added bare necks,
with gold and other crosses suspended from them.
Those odd little circular pieces of black. silk called
patches, prevailed also at this period to a most ex-
travagant degree. These were stuck on different
parts of the female face, and varied in size. Fre-
quent allusions are made to these fancied " beauty
spots," by eat ly comic writers.
In 1709 a Lady's dress is thus described in an ad-
vertisement to recover one that was lost black
silk petticoat, with a red and white calico border ;
a cherry-coloured stays, trimmed with blue and sli-
ver ; a red and dove-coloured damask gown, flowered
with large trees; a yellow satin apron, trimmed with
white Persian; muslin head cloths, with crows-foot
edging; double ruffles, with fine edging; a black
silk furbelowed scarf, and a spotted hood.' In 1711
a Lady's riding-dress is advertised for sale in the
Spectator, of blue camblet, well laced with silver,
being a coat, waistcoat, petticoat, hat, and feathers.
And another advertisement, in 1712, mentions an
Isabella coloured Kincob gown, flowered with green
and gold ; and a dark coloured cloth gown and pet-
ticoat, with two silver orrices ; a purple and gold
atlas gown, a scarlet and gold atlas petticoat,'edged
with silver ; a wrought under petticoat, edged with
gold ; a black velvet petticoat ; allegah petticoat,
striped with green, gold, and white ; a blue and sil-
ver silk gown and petticoat ; a blue and gold atlas
gown and petticoat, and clogs, laced with silver.—
A NI: s. Beale, at the same period, advertised her loss'
of a green silk knit waistcoat, with gold and silver
flowers all over it, and about fourteen yards of gold
and silver thick lace on it ; with a petticoat of rich
strong flowered satin, red and white, all in great
flowers or leaves, and scarlet flowers with black specks
brocaded in, raised high, like velvet or shag.
The Ladies wore hooped petticoats, scarlet cloaks,
and masks, when walking. The hoops were fair
game for the wits, and they spared them not :
•• An elderly Lady, whose bulky squat figure,
By hoop, and white damask, was rendered much bigger,
Without hood, aud bare neck'd, to the Park did repair,
Tu ,hew her new c:oaths, and to take the fresh air i •
Her shape, her attire, raised a shout and loud laughter ;
Away waddles Madam, the mob hurries after:
(tioth a wag, thus observing the noisy crowd follow,
As she came with a hoop, she's gone off with a hollow !"
In 1760, the Ladies are stated to have worn the
following species of caps :—Toe French night-cap;

count
goose
bear
he to
by a
ward