Star.
London, England, 1828-11-06 00:00:00

EDINBURGH, Nov. 3.

A Hoau.—During last week a hoax of the least
amusing and most puerile complexion was attempted
to be played off on the deuce's of Edinburgh. An
Advertisement lately appeared in an Effinbutgli Paper,
headed " To Single Ladies," in which the advertiser
professed himselt reedy to enter the bands of matri-
mony with a young Lady in possession cd Mi. a-year ;
and, that everything might be fair and caddidkbe inti-
mated that he wonld be seen every day.last week sit-
ting on a particular seat On the Calton Hill, from
twelve till one o'clock, dressed in mourning, and read-
ing a newspaper. This notice excited little attention s
it was generally considered the production of a person
who had some money and time to spare,, and who had
such a plentiful stock of brains that he could not for
his life stumble on any other mode by which they could
be hat mlessly squandered. On Monday last. pre-
cisely at the appointesi hour, a very respectable Gentle-
manl)-looking person, in mourning, took his sea, pi 0-
duced a newspaper. and sat the preset ibed time on the:
stone seat tete/ern the Observatory and Nelson's Mo-
nument. On this day, however, this Nimrod—this
" mishit hunter" of a Lady " possessed of 1001. a-yea',"
was fairly beat at his own weapons. In a private pasty,
a frolicsome bentleti.an, who had observed the notice,
got a wager made with one of his fiiends, that he would
not sit an hour on the day, at the time, in the dress,
anJ near the place specified. The Gentleman (kit w-
ing nothing of the matrimonial advettisement) ap-
peated, pulled out his newspaper, and commenced
reading, and instantly be was surrounded by scotes of,
people. He continued to read and ruminate; and though
Ise marvelled much at the almost spontaneous assem-
Msge of such a crowd of gaping gazers, he could not
possibly divine how he, so unostentatiously and so hat m-
-104 employed, should be the object of such a' partt-
cul ir scrutiny. On the other hand, the " Ladies joy,
tbe darling boy," the •' real Simon Pure," appeared to
be highly mortified at the intrusion, and sat aini scowled
his time away and went off. .On Tuesday the " little
ginkaowie took his seat, and was visited by an increased
crowd. Among the spectators there were a few te-
Males—sotne of whom would be candidate., of cows.;
.but it must be Mentioned, to the credit ot the Edin-
burgh spinsters at large, that they kept their homes,
and most of those who gauded their hour out on the
ground, bore no distatic resemblance to the nymphs
who figure at the bar of the Police C00n..0.t Wed-'
nesday the Gentleman resumed his seat, as pet right
of previous intimation. Several police officers 'attended,
for the double purpose of apprehending thi, vex mid pro.
Meting the tender green sward in front of the Obser-
vatory. Scarcely a sane of females appeared. Ac-
cording to the tales of travellers, few among them re-
sembled the natives of Circassia; and judging from
their appearance, more of them were in pursuit of 1001.
a year, than had that sum to bestow. When one o'clock
chimed, he toe, pocketed his newspaper, and alter
making a low obeisance—which was any thing but a
gentlemanly bow—to the spectators, endeavoured to
make his escape. The crowd, however, were not willing
to part w.th him so abruptly. They followed him with
huzzas, yells. Arid catcalls; and though he ran with
the speed of an antelope, the crowd crossed as be
crossed, circled as he wheeled, and kept him doub-
ling up'and down the hill like a hard chased fox for
nearly twenty minutes. Though sorely exhausted. and
theacifully alarmed no doubt, he scorned to imitate a
recreant of oW, and cry " A kingdom fora horse;" but,
running up to a police officer, he implored him to direct
him to a public-house with a back door, so that he
might in the meantime het some refreshment, and
eventually give the slip, to his noisy followers. The
officers promptly checked the' crowd, drove them back,
and allowed the" gallant gay Lothario" to disappear by
the Easter Road. Thursday bring the fast day, a large
crowd assembled, b..t he did not appear, and he has
not intimated whether he has found a Lady to his was-
faction, or was apprehensive of another chace...-Of this
male monster we can give no account. He is a perfect
stranger in Edinburgh. Some people say be is an officer
of dragoims, who has a thousand pounds pending on the
issue of his probation.; others, that he is a Sir Benjamin
Booby, an English Baronet, who lately exhibited him-
self, in the same way, in a church yard in London, and
Who is really in match t f a moderately-dowered help.
mate. If the affair is a mete sporting frolic, it is par-
atonable: it a serious speculation, the hero of it must be
at.once an impudent and a worthless varlet.—Edinburgh
U6server.. .

At the smithy of Burn,
.near Brechin, two swallows
had for a number of years built their nest in the inside
of Vulcan's domains—that is to say. in the roof of the
smithy. This year the faithful pair, after migrating
from the mote genial south, as usual, repaired their
ancient domicile, and in due time five eggs were laid.
It unfortunately happened, however, that in an evil
hour, a horse, whose shoes the smith had been renew.
ing, while standing in the smithy, immediately under'
the beam on which the little snug tenement of the
'swallows was constructed, tossing up his head, de-
-1 Buoyed the nest and its contents, to the great regret of
honest Vulcan. who had taken a mighty liking to his
feathered neighbours. As the season bylliis time was
or. tne wane, and the time of their migration at hand,
it was supposed the swallows would not attempt to re-
construct their frail tenement. To the no small *tin
piss, however, .of the width, on the following morn.
ing, and after, no doubt, as the' event shooed,
a consultation among the tribe, about a score of svral
loirs.were observed busily engaged in constructing
another iiest upon the ruins of the old one, which was
completed in dm course of the forenoon. Five mote
eggs *ere laid, and after the usual time of incubation,

young ot,es, produced, which grewup to the stature of
perfect birds, ondeilha immediate care and protteti,.,
not only of the 'patents, but iodtsciintinately of
whole tribe, who all assisted in cote' ino fond toe 14,71.
By the time they were on the o ing. the period of mi.
&ration had arrived, when the happy pair and their ofy.
spring. together with the whole hut of foster poem!,
took their' departure for a war met climate.
Avon? WELL —.-On the shores of the Moray trill,
in the parish of Dufl'us. golds the small but neat and
aniaing station of Burgheads The town is of no Tel,
ancient standin. but the promontory is said by aru4
quarians to have formed a station for the Romans,w44
that wonderful people colonised oar rugged wind,.
I'n the north is a perpendicular rock, which the Dews
sus rounded with a rampart of oaken logs, or stain,.
portions of which have been frequently dug up, Co.
gether.with hatchets, and quantities of burned grail
In digging at' the time of the erection of the harbour,
the worthy proprietor inform, d us, his men found
abniu thirty small tiores of bulls cut in stone, that are
supposed to have been trophies carved by the Romani,
as we strike medals. in commemoration of any signal
victory. Another scrap cf Roman antiquity was dug up
by the workmen—a small brass coin, which an emu*"
antiquary, Sir T. DICE LADDER, said was one of the
tokens in common use among the Rlman soldiers
tc
note their allowances of wine. But by far the most
curious and antique object at But ghead is a large fro,
Cut out of the solid rock. like a chamber, to the depth
of about 20 feet, and 12 feet square. descend :rb
the spring by a flight of 26 steps, cut also out of the
rock, which have been much worn by footstep:, sup
posed to be those of the Roman solders, and Cher
successors, the Danes ; for it is plausibly con3ecturrd
that this gigantic well must have been the on- used it
days of yore by the soldiers of the garrison. Tea
times the present population of Burghesd, d.,ily Ire.
quenting the spring,would searctly, perhaps in centwies,
have made such an impression on these steps of massive
lock. The stell was discovered about fifteen years ago,
when some improvements on the pier wete in ptogttn.
A want of water was severely felt by the labourers, and
as they were one day lamenting their scarcity of this
cheap but invaluable element of nature, an 'old man
suggested that they should dig in a certain spot, where,
according to* immemorial tradition, a well would be
fs•und. They resolved to try. and immedi,rely corn.
menced operations; but after excavating to the depth
of ten or twelve feet no the side fif the they pt
tired of the prrict and desisted. The late D.:ke t.t GG•.
dim. who was one of the proprietors of the h bola, and
who hai.pened at the time to be visitit.g, hi aritig the
story of the w. 11. told V.e men in dig away. and not in
mind a day or two's labour. They accordingly set to
again, and at length 'succeeded, at the eeptls of hone
twenty to rhi'ty feet 'row the surface. in finding the
long-hidden well, and ataying the truth of the old
tradition.—/averness Courier.

Sunday, the Blue Van, in its progress to London,
was overturned in its descent down Ansty-hill, this side
of Cuckfield. John Purser, who has driven the vas
for fourteen years, jumped from his seat; we regret to
add, the van fell upon him, and he was killed en the
spot; the guard escaped without injury. As,istance
was quickly procured, the van righted, and proceeded
on its journey. The remains cf the unfortunate Purser
were removed to Cuckfield, where an inquest was held
upon them yesterday, and a verdict i f 4. Accidental
death " returned.—Brighton Gazette.
Ma. Aaanuarov.—Mr. Abernethy is, without ex.
ception, the most celebrated follower of Galen in Err.
rope. Asia, Africa, or America. He is unique,
peculiar, inimitable ; every body talks of him—most
people abuse him, yet he is sought after with trembling
and with fear, and not without eagerness; and his room
is crowded every morning. as his card expresses it,
" from May to October, Sundays and Thursdays ex-
cepted." How is this inconsistency to be accounted
for ? -We think we can tell. Dining once et iris hos.
pitahle table (ft r hospitable it is, and that, too, without
ostentation), he was descanting, with his accustomed
eloquence. upon the advantages of a public education
for boys, when he concluded by saying, " And what
think you of lion ? I think I shall sad my son there
to learn manners." "It would have bees as well, my
dear." responded his wife. " had you pane there too."
Now, much as we dislike to differ horn any Ltd),
more especially from a Lady so highly gifted as Mrs.
Abernethy, yet we must, on this measioor refuse our
assent to her opinion. Mad Joha Abernethy been a
polished man, we do not think that he would ever have
been a popular one; indeed, it could not be. He would
have been then one only of a cringing pulsersfeeltng race.
with no other regard for the noble science of which he
is so distinguished a professor, than its subserviency to
his own personal interests. Abernethy and politeness
are truly antipodes of each other; but, for those external,
meretricious, and artificial accomplishments, which,
after all, are useful in their way, he possesses qualities
of so brilliant and sterling a character as to cunrtisute
him a diamond, rough enough, Heaven knows—but
still a diamond of the very first " water." We have -aid,
that Mr. Abernethy is only occasionally restive, and we
speak from the conviction of our own experience. We
hesitate not to declare that, to us, Mr. Abernethy has
always eppeasedfuU of whim and drollery, replete with
agreeable information, always willing to lend an atten-
tive ear to necessary questions, and to impart that pro-
fessional knowledge of which he possesses such an CP
tens'', store. But one thing he cannot abide, that is.
any interruption of bis discourse. This it is, in fact,
which so often irritates him, and so often causes him to
snarl. " People come here." be has often said to us,
to consult me, and they will torture me with their loag
and foolish fiddle•de-dee stories ; so we quarrel, and
then they blackguard me all about this large town; bit
I can't help that." Let those who wish for Abernethy s
advice, and it is well worth having, observe this rule,
andl
thcY and
dhe will
Pan
fri
ruption;excellent ends. Let theta
teltheir case in as
plain and as few words as possible,
and then listen to their adviser's remark without inter-
this is the only secret of managing this pm'
feesional bugbear, and it is a secret worth knowing.—
Nem Monthly Magazine.

At Newark, on TuesdayDlED se'nnight, Sarah, daughter of lie
Richard Comm, aged 17. She bad a few days before drank cold
wati-r when heated with dancing, which occasioned her death.
On the west coast of Africa, Mr. William Gordon, Regiment!'
Paymaster and Military Supaintendant of Pensionen and Fib C
Works at Sierra Leone.
Sunday selmight, at Le Noyes', near tionleuer, in France, Job°
Kirkpatrick, Eaq. late of Conheath, near Dumfries.

COAL MARKET, Nov. £
Lips at Market. Ships Sold. Price.
701 Newcastle zs4 QM Od to 30 r.
441 Sumlreland . 17; 471 la 3a• "

HIGH- W ATER at ji.ON DON-BIUDG It TO MORROW.
Slornteg minutes OW 2
Afternoon 21 annum after '2

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