The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-05-31 00:00:00

THE FLORAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The second floral exhibition for the season took place at the
Corn Exchange on Wednesday last, and a finer display of ex-
quisite flowers we never beheld. The company was numerous
and fashionable, and the ladies, taking a hint from the lilies of
Solomon, appeared there in all their splendOur. Let no man
who sets any value upon his heart, or his peace of mind, go
rashly among the tulips! Those that were ticketed were not
the most estimable. Talk of £5OO, indeed, for a brace reared
under the care of William Konnig himself!—we saw some, at
our exhibition, worth from £50,000 to any sum not exceeding
the national debt! The exotics were splendid and numerous;
but commend to us the indigenous plants of our own soil—the
fucias in perennial bloom—the lustrous roses that have hailed
the morning and the evening sun in undying beauty and fra-
grance for the last thirty years—the geraniums that have stood
all weathers, ever rich, and bright, and young, not forgetting
those lovely tribes of the blue and yellow that hang their flowing,
ringlets in the eye of day, and throw their tendrils, with a rare-
ness of affection, and in the spirit of universal benevolence,
over all they meet. Beauteous innocents!
But a word about turnips and carrots, green pease and pine
apples, cauliflowers and cucumbers. Alf these were exceed-
ingly fine ; but we could not help thinking that most of them
would have looked better had they been dressed—not dressed
like the tulips—mercy forbid !—but by the hands of Peggy our
sober cookinaid. Wfiere should a turnip rest but by the side
of a leg of mutton boiled ? And what beauty can there be dis-
cerned in a dish of green pease unless they a young duck,
smoking from the fire, and sending up his incense to those who
delight to honour it after the custom of our forefathers. As to
the pines, it is cruelty to exhibit them except in the presence of
a decanter of royal claret or imperial burgundy. Cauliflowers
are au abomination when lying upon a table by themselves.
We sincerely hope that these hints will be attended to in fu-
ture. The prizes were awarded as follows :
PREMIER, PRIZES. —lst Pan, Unknown Washington, Si-
am, Incomparable, Triumph Royal, and Dolittle, Mr. W.
Turner, £3 3s. ; 2cl Pan, Polyphemus, Catafalque, Queen
Charlotte, Washington, Rose Domingo, and Lady Crew, Mr.
T. PYke, £2 2s.
PREMIER STOVE PLANTS.—Ist, Denderobium Secun-
dum, Mr. R. Harrison, £3 35.; 2d, Cactus Jenkinsonia, Mr.
G. Cunningham, £2 2s.
PREMIER GREENHOUSE PLANTS.—Ist, Elichrysum
Hurnii' P. Ellames, Esq. £2 25.; 2d, Lachenaltia Formosa,
Ditto, £1 Is.
FEATHERED BIZARRE.—Ist Prize, Trafalgar, Mr. T.
Roby, 10s. ; 2d, Page's George IV, Mr. John Pulford, Bs. ;
3d, Unknown, Mr. W. Turner, 65.; 4th, Sidney Smith, Mr.
diPYke, 4s. ;
:. Savoy, Mr. T. P
sth, Catafalque, Mr. T. Roby, 35.; 6th. Due
, 7th, 1e 2s. • Surpass C)ptimus, Ditto,
FEATHERED BYBLCEMEN.—Ist Prize, Bagott, Mr. T.
Roby, los.; Maitre par Tout, Mr. W. Turner, Bs.; 3d,
Seedling, Ditto, 65.; 4th Washington, Ditto, 45.; sth, Row-
bottom's Incomparable, 'Ditto, 35.; 6th, Reine de Amber,
Ditto,2s._; 7th Nice and Tight, Mr. T. Harrison, ls.
FEATtiERED 'ROSE.—lst Prize, Hero of the Nile, Mr. T.
Roby, 105 • 2d, Heroine, Mr. T. Pyke, Bs.; 3d, Wallvmrth,
Mr. J. Pdford, 65.; 4th, Holden's Rose, Mr. W. Turner,
45.; sth, Gloria Alborum, Mr. 'F. Pyke, 3s. ; 6th, Rose few
Valeurs,, Mr. W. Turner, 2s• •• 7th Due de Bronte, Mr. T.
Pyke, is,
FLAMED BIZARRE.-Ist Prize, Phcenix, Mr. R. Woods,
10s.; 2d, Farrandes Liberty, Mr. W. Turner, 8s• ; 3d, Sur-
pass Lacantique, ditto, 6s. ; 4th, Grand Cairo, Ditto, 45.;
sth, Sir Sidney Smith, Mr. T. Pyke, 3s. ; 6th, Lustre, Mr.
W. Turner, 25.; 7th, Charbon Noir, Mr. T. I'vke, Is.
FLAMED BYBLCEMEN.-Ist Prize, Atlas, -Mr. T. Pyke,
TAM 2D Triumph de Lisle, Mr. W. Turner, Bs.; 3d, Violet
Wailers, Mr. T. Roby, 65.; 4th, Alexander Magnus, Mr. T.
Pyke,.4s.• sth, Diada Brune, Mr. W. Turner, 35.; 6th, Un-
known, Ditto, 25.; 7th, Violet fond Noir, Mr. R. Woods, is.
FLAMED
ROSE: Ist Prize, Vesta, Mr. W. Turner, 10s.;
2d, Unique, Ditto, Bs.; ad, Rio de Cerise, Mr. T. Pyke, 65.;
4th, Triumph Royal, Mr. R. 'Woods, 45.; sth, Rose Cornelia,
Mr. W. Turner, 35.; 6th, Lord Hill, Mr. T. Pyke, 25.; 7th,
Rose Grande, Mr. W. Turner, Is.
DOUBLE.-Ist Prize, Marriage de ma fille Mr. R. Woods, 6s.
SELFS.-Ist Prize, Mr. T. Pyke, 65.; 2d, Mr. T. Harrison,
55.,- 3d, Mr. T. Robv, 45.; -101, Mr. W. Turner 3s.
STOVE.—lst Prize, Pancratium Amanchus, Mr. R. Harrison,
£1 Is.; 2d, Ixora Cocciuea, C. Horsfall, Esq. 155.• 3d, Cactus
Specioissimus, P. Ellames, Esq. 10s.; 4th, Oncidium Cuppe-
mum, Mr. R. llarrison, 7s. 6d.; sth, Erythrrna Crista Galli,
C. Horsfall, Esq. 55.; 6th, Besleria Pulehella Ditto, 35.; 7th,
Sinninga Guttata, Ditto, 2s. Gd.; Bth, Cactus gpecissa, Ditto, 2s
GREENHOUSE.--Ist Prize, Elichyrsum Profiferum, H. Wil-
son, Esq. 155.; 2d, Salpaglosum InteeTifolium, Mr. G. Cun-
ningham, 12.; 3d, Fuschia Globosa, Ditto, 10s.; 4th, Mela-
leuca Fulgins, Mr. W. Skirving, 75.; sth, Calceolaria Picta,
Ditto, 55.; 6th, Eutaxia Pungens, Mr. G. Cunningham' 35.;
7th,. Morandia Barclavana, Nlr. Cropper, 2s. 6d.; Bth,Epa-
chns Grandiflora, Mr.-Booth, 2s.
ERICAS.—Ist Prize, Odorata, H. Wilson, Esq. 155.; 2d, Pat-
tersonie, Mr. It. Preston 125.; 3d, Ventricosa Carnes, Mr.
G. Cunningham, 10s.; Hybrida, Mr. T. Davis, Bs.; sth,
Mutabilis, Messrs. Whalley, 75.; 6th, Linnea Supdrba, Mr.
R. Preston, Gs.; 7th, Vestila Coccinea, Mr. Cunningham, 55.;
Bth, Translusius, P. Ellames, Esq. 4s.
PELARGONIUMS.-Ist Prize, Seedling, Mr. Walker,
12s; 2d, Willinurianum, Mrs. Cropper, W' s• 3d, Glorianum,
Mr. Dobson, 7s. 6d ; 4th, Humie, 111 r. T. A ke. rr, 6„.5.;
Yarborough, C. Tavleur, Esq., ss; 6th, Victory, .
T.
Walker, 4s; 7th, D.-O'Connelly, Ditto,
3°
HERBACEOUS.-Ist Prize, SehizanthussHookeria Mr. G
Cunningham, 12s; 2d, Lupines 1114. J. RI
Freme, 10s; d, Gladiolus Cardinales, Mr. W. Smith, 7s. 6d;
4th, Verbena Charnedrifolia, Mrs; Cropper,_n 6.; sth, Goum
Esq.,s; 6c.til A theneum Liliastrun
Coccinea, C. Horsfall,
cyprir Pubescens, Ditto, 3s;l
Mr. W. Smith, 4s; 7th,
Bth, Antopogons Dalichampit Mr. w 2s.
HARDY SHRUBS.—Ist Prize, Azalia, Coccinea Speciosa,
Mr. G. Cunningham, 10s. 6d ;. 2d,
.Priesentissina, Ditto, 8s;
3d, Lutia Crocia, Messr.s. Whalley, 7s;. 4th, Esealonia Flori-
bunda, Mrs. Cropper, Messrs
sth, Hellantheinum Marifolium,
Ditto, ss.
ORANGE TREE.-Ist Prize, Mr. W. Smith, Fullwood, 10s.
6d; 2d, Mr. John Lee, es. 6d.
CUT FLOWERS, Messrs. Whalley, 10s. 6d; 2d, Mrs. J. R.
Freme, 7s. 6d; 3d, Mr. Ellarnes, ss; 4th, Mrs. Cropper,
3s. 6d.
BASKET OF PLANTS.-Ist Prize, Mrs. Cropper, 15s; 24,
Mr. R. Preston, 10s. 6d; 3d, T. Davis, 7s. 6d; 4th, C. Tay-
leur, Esq., ss,
DOUBLE DAHLIAS.-Ist Prize, Countess of Liverpool,
Mr. W. Skirving, 7s. (id; 24, Donna Maria, Mr. West, ss;
3d, Crimson Globe, Mr. W. Skirving, 4s; 4th, Alexander,
Mr. West, 3s; sth, Duchess of Kent, -Mr. Topham, 2s; 6th,
Black Turban, P. Ellames, Esq., is.
PEONEY.—Ist Prize, Papavaracea, Mrs. Cropper, 7s. 6d.;
2d, Arborea, Mrs. J. lt. Freme, 6d ; 3d, Officinalis Plena.
Mr. Whittingham, ss; 4th, Albicans, Mr. West, 4s; sth,
Lobata, Messrs. Whalley, 3s; 6th, Albiflora, Mrs. Cropper,
2s,
PlNE.—lst Prize, Mr. John Lee, 15s; 2d, Ditto, 10s. Gd; 3d,
Mr. S. Woodhouse, 7s. 6d.
BLACK GRA PES.—lst Prize, Mr. T. Davis, 15s; 2d, Mr.
Henry, 10s. 6d ; 3d, Mr. Topham, 7s. 6d.
WHITE GRAPES.—Ist and '2d Prizes, Mr. Thomas Davis;
3d, Mr, J, Roberts, Chester.

11

TO THE EDITOR OF THE Ll "ER.POOI, STSNDARD.
Sin,—As the crisis is npproachi
would seem, the existence of the I r vjciVlhrri:ic.V s6t.l4:e—ril. briF-Tlll„ien)l44e:.,i-1..
its inteoTity, the opponents of th it-ft6oqt- cpAlks'‘7.
;f4.,
anxiety to its reception in the House ó IMI3-,--;.p4t14-64411Y
to the conduct of the. bishops thereupon. 1.0/1141eaittOile
per-
sous who think, or affect to think, that the tide is setting in too
strongly against the established church to admit of its being
successfully stayed by any human efforts, and that the episco-
pal body should not, from a sense of prudence, offer any vehe-
ineut opposition to the proposal of Lord Althorp, if they wish,
not to accelerate their own downfall. The tiger which has once
slaked his thirst with human blood is said to prefer it after-
wards to every other banquet; and they who shall have rioted
in the plunder of the Irish church will not be .prevailed upon,
by any concession or supineness on the part of the natural de-
fenders of our venerable establishment, to withold their hands.
from further sacrilege. If the Irish branch of the national
church be doomed to fall, the English will not long remain un-
assailed ; indeed the tocsin has been already sounded, but some
am so deaf that they will not hear. lam therefore tempted to
transcribe souse remarks of Thomas s Becket, an extraordinary
man, whose character, it would appear from documents lately
published in the British Review, has been hitherto strangely
misunderstood or misrepresented; these remarks form part of
his address to certain contemporary bishops, who were advising
him to yield to the demands of the second Henry. Would that
they could be read by every bishop, nay, by every public man
of the present day, and particularly by one whose conduct has
caused him, whether justly or not I will not determine, to be
suspected by all consistent friends of the established church—l
mean the Bishop of London.

"But, say your lordships, we must make concessions to the
temper of the times.' Granted ; but not vicious concessions to
vicious tempers. Know, my lords, that this temper of the times
is the very thing which' constitutes your trial. When is it, I
pray you, that a Bishop is called upon to expose himself to dan-
ger ? Think ye that it is in tranquil times, or in disturbed times ?
Your lordships will surely blush to answer • in tranquil times.'
Remember, therefore, that when the Church is troubled, then it
is that the Shepherd of the Church must expose himself. Think
not, that if the Bishops of old times were called on to found the
Church of Christ on their blood, we in these times are less called
on to shed ours in its defence."

----filese:Mr. Editor, are the burning words of one who. did nut
shrink from practising the lesson which he taught. It is true
the temper of the times may be so far altered, that the present
hierarchy may not be called on to shed their blood, though a
frantic mob has but lately. shown itself not too scrupulous in this
matter. An English minister, however, the one who even now
directs the councils of his too gracious master, has already
warned them to set their houses in order; this may be uo idle
threat, and the Bishops may be compelled to forego the rights
and privileges of their order. Let them, in God's name, do so
with dignity and an approving:conscience, rather than purchase
a brief security to themselves, by a base surrender of that Church
which they have sworn to defend.—Yours, 23tc. E.

LONDON POLICE.

MANSION-HOUSE.

On Saturday Thomas Gilson, senior, a bummeree, or retailer
of fish in Billingsgate, was brought before the Lord Mayor, for
having followed Mr. Goldham, the clerk of the market, from
place to place, with a loaded stick, a blow of which, inflicted by
a man of moderate strength, would fell an ox. It was proved
that the defendant had been, in consequence of repeated arts of
misconduct., interdicted the run of the market by Mr. Goldharn;
that he threatened Mr. Goldham, who found it necessary to wrest
the dangerous instrument from his hands, and that the stick had
been made heavy within the last few days for the purpose of real
mischief.
The Lord Mayor.—What is the general character of the old
man ?
Mr. Goldham, to the surprise and amusement of the crowd in
the justice-room, gave the following account of Gilson :—" I
have had a great deal of trouble, my Lord, with the defendant,
who is constantly in the habit of imposing on the public by the
tricks of his trade. He puts the gills of fresh fish into the bodies
of fish that have been long dead, and he also supplies the heads
of stinking fish with fresh eves. Sometimes he throws a little
blood amongst the pale old gills of a fish, and the old ladies are
deceived by the freshness of the appearance; the cod or meek-
erel actually looking as if it had just passed the agonies of death,
and they throw down their money with pleasure for a prize
which, when they get it home, turns out to be as bad as a three
week's old milt." (Great laughter.)
The Lord Mayor.—l have often heard of giving new feathers
to birds, and of making a " wonderful crocodile" of the'skin of
a buffalo lined with block tin (laughter), but I never heard of
making up food iu the market before.
Mr. Goldham.—lt was only the other day that he imposed
a Dutch plaice upon an old lady for what he called a turbot,
(Laughter). She said "Oh dear, a turbot! a young under-
grown turbot, I suppose?" "yes Ma'am (says he), just
like a paraquet, what's like a parrot, but younger and. more
tender." So the lady took home her turbot, and' it was more
tender sure enouh. (Great laughter.) The lady came down
the next day, but rom was too a good a judge to be there. She
had paid 3s. for the turbot, and he had sold its fellows, when
good at 4d. a-piece.
The Lord Mayor.—ls it true, defandant, that you act in this
way ?
Gilson.—Why, my Lord, they do put new gills and eyes into
the fish what comes up to the market; but, liowsomdever, the
fish an't the worse for having bad eyes and white gills. The
fish may be good fish thougli his eyes is sore (laughter), but
there's some people as won't have no fish as an't perfect every
where, and so we're obligated for to please'em, and we do put
in a fresh eye or two what looks bright, and the moment they
sees the eyes glisten they says I'll have that un. -(Loud
laughter.) Howsomdever, we never beautifies barrin the fish
is good fish.
The Lord Mayor (to Mr. Goldham).—And is it the fact that
people are imposed upon by this sort of dealing?
Mr. Goldham.—Not a doubt of it, my Lord. A lady bought
a turbot a short time ago from this man, and as it had been ly-
ing by on his form for some time, it began to get flabby. To
remedy this defect he shored a stick up the -body, which, of
course, became quite stiff enough, and lie soon found a cus-
tomer. Down came the lady next day, to the terror of the de-
fendant, who,-however, had not much reason to be frightened,
for she 'says to him, "My good man, I don't blame sou, but we
couldn't cat a bit of the poor turbot Yesterday. Do you know
that the poor unfortunate fish must I;ave suffered a great deal
of agony,, for upon boiling him, we found that he had swal-
lowed a piece of timber very nearly as long as himself." (Laugh-
ter.)
Gilson.—But the fish was good, please your lordship. This
lady did'nt think there was any good in him if he wan't as stiff
as a poker; and I thinked it no harm for to ram a bit of clean
wood in him, for to make it an out and out caper. (Laughter.)
She might have et him if she chuse, for the wittles lie got a'ter
the life was out on him thine him no harm.
The Lord Mayor.—Wen, you hare acted candidly at any
rate, and confessed that you are a practised impostor; but pray
what sort of blood dteylgonucolour the gills of the fish with ?
please you, my lord ; any blood as
t
'r
(to the do you get
is Gilson.—ltareracMayor
iadanoydno. signify,
defendant.)—Howe iis
t 0
for doctoring fish in this manner, to cheat the public with ? '
Gilson.—l'd like to have a little to do in that way, my for,
but not for cheating. I takes pride in beautifying the watery
hanimals, but they never stinks in my hands.—(Laughter.)
The Lord Mayor.—For all that, I'll make you find bail.
Here the son of the defendant, also a fish-retailer, but a re-
spectable young man, offered bail, and it was immediately re-
ceived.
The Lord Mayor said lie found that, although lie was in-
formed, by what he considered a very high authority, that Cos-
ter had committed an offence on board the hulks, and had been
punished with a flogging, there was no foundation fur the re-
port. He took that opportunity to correct the impression that
must have gone abroad, that that ingenious person, who, his
lordship hoped, was about to take his farewell for ever, had been
so injudicious as to incur a fresh penalty.
SINGULAR LOVE AFFAIR.—A very neatly dressed old maiden
lady named Sarah Smales was brought up charged by a young
gentleman, an Indigo broker, under the following circumstances,
the detail of which caused some laughter.
The complainant, who evidently pitied the object of his ac-
cusation, stated that the defendant had been employed by him
to take care of his house in the City some time ago, and was
respected by him. She, however, took into her head to look
upon him in the light not altogether agreeable to most masters,
for she regarded him with an eye of love. The poor old woman
fancied too that her love was returned, and she at length be-
came so complete a bore that he was obliged to dispense with
her services altogether, as the only means of getting rid of the
painful encumbrance of her affections. She,immediately after her
discharge, commenced a paper war, which she soon turned into a
series of hostilities against his windows, and as the result of her
misplaced and unrequited attachment, began to assume the ap-
pearance of serious cperations, he thought it was necessary to
appeal to the strong power of the law, which had no gallant pre-
ference of the sex. She had just smashed four panes of glass,
and he believed she meant to give him the benefit of the full
light and air of Heaven.
The Lord Mayor hoped that the complainant had not given
any encouragement to the defendant. (Laughter.)
The defendant declared that she had reason to believe that
he preferred her to all the rest of her sex. She confessed that
she had conceived for him a very tender regard, but she now
considered him unworthy of her affection, for after he had
"thrown a flame over her," and caught hold of her love, he
suddenly grew cold and insensible.
The Lord Mayor thought that such conduct was extremely
disrespectful to a lady who had so much superiority upon the
score of years. (A laugh.) His lordship expressed a wish to
know the substance of the letters which the defendant had
written. The complainant stated that the poor old lady gene-
rally commenced her epistles in the tender way, but her style
gradually ran into the violent and the vindictive. She accused
him of sorcery, of having cast a charm over her, and of denying
her the return of an affection which had become a portion of
her existence. But what annoyed him most was the smashing
of his windows.

—The Ler(k Mayor did not think that a man was at all to blame
for not falling in love with his grandmother, and had no idea
of censuring the complainant for feeling dissatisfaction at the
mischief done to his windows, because he was deaf to the voice
of love. !(Laughter.) His lordship said he had no doubt that
the defendant would be improved by a day or two's cool visit to
Mr. Teague, the Governor of the Compter.
The complainant appeared unwilling that any thing like se-
verity should be exercised towards her, and was assured that
she should be treated wirh the greatest kindness. Ile had a
respect for her, he said, and could in no way account for her in-
fatuation.

The Lord Mayor--It is indeed infatuation, and it is odd that
no age is exempt from it amongst the ladies. I remember a
scene which occurred iu the presence of certain parish officers.
They were sitting at their wine at the workhouse one day, and
they called the matron of the house, who was 96 years of age,
before them, to solve a difficulty in which they were placed in
the course of their conversation. The churchwarden said to her,
" You must not suppose, my dear madam, that we mean any
offence to you, but be good enough to inform us at what age a
female drops all idea of being in love?" The matron turned
her back with ineffable scorn upon the gentleman, and mum-
bled out, through her toothless jaws, " How can I answer such
a question? You must ask some one who is longer in the
world," (Great laughter.) Now, said his lordship, I think
the defendant could have no objection to marry you, after all.
Defendant—Oh dear, to be sure, I'd like him of all things.
(Laughter.)
The defendant was then, for a few days, consigned to the care
of Mr. Teague, who had directions to treat her very kindly.

Amongst the thousand and one projects for paving off the
national debt, one, propounded some twelve mouths ago, called
upon the ladies to appropriate a portion of their pin-money to
this very laudable object; the ingenious coucoctor of the scheme
proving to demonstration that the sums now devoted to articles
of the toilet, and to the purchase of superfluous silks and so,
tins, would supply, in a given period, ample funds for the pay-
ment of the whole 1:800,000,000. Lord Althorp, we suppose, is
fully convinced of the practicability of the plan, as it is now
patronized by government, and books have been opened at the
National Debt Office, to receive donations, &c., under the title
of "The Ladies Contribution for the Gradual Reduction of a
part of the National Debt."

;31c-tr,' Oorntr.

PEA YER.

On when the morning shineth,
do then the noon is bright,
• Go when the eye deelineth,
Go in the hush of night;
Go with pure mind and feeling,
Fling earthly thou hts away,
And in thy chamber kneeling,
Do thou in secret pray.
Remember aim who love then,
All who are loved by thee,
Pray, too, for those who hate thee,
lianv such there be ;
Then for thyself in meekness
A lilessin3 humbly claim,
And link with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name.
Or, if 'tis e'er denied thee
In solitude to pray,
Shoul 1 holy thoughts come o'er thee,
When friends are round thy way ;
Even then the silent breathing
Of thy spirit raised above,
Will ,eaih His throne of glory,
Who is Mercy, Truth, and Love.

LITERATURE.

I.,ngman and Co., of London, hare just published a new
work from the pen of Mr. Wilfen, entitled Historical
Memoirs of the House of Russell from the time of the
Norman conquest, from which we take the following in-
teresting extracts. The first is a letter from Johnny
Russ?,ll of his day to Cardinal Wolsey on his disgrace in
1523.

"Pleaseth it your grace, that I have received your letter,
whereby I perceive that your grace is good lord unto me, which
is great comfort and rejoicing to me. 1 can recompense your
grace with nothing but my poor heart and service, which is at
your commandment, and shall be while I live. The king is merry,
thanked be God; and I am sure that his grace would that your
*race were so likewise. Your grace must comfort yourself, and
be Of ,(rood cheer, assuring your grace that the king is well ap-
tea and satisfied in his mind, as I well perceive when he
ipeAks of you. And doubt you not that you shall have him as
good to your grace as ever he was in his life; for his grace is a
prince of so many good qualities, and of so good remembrance,
that he will remember the great service and pains that your
grace has taken for him,' and also the great familiarity that has
been by time gone. Wherefore your grace may be of good
comfort, and take the matter well; for you shall have none
other cause. Sometimes the father and you
be in displeasure,
and brother, by evil reports, as may fortune has been now be-
tween your grace and the king. Methinketh it should he well
done that your grace would find the means to come snore unto
the king, that your grace mote speak with him, which should
be greatly io your both contestations. I beseech your grace
to pardon me, that I did not write an answer of the letter that
your grace sent me; the cause was, that I was advertised in
haste, that my son Broughton's household that is at Tuilding-
ton was evil ordered, as of a surety I find it, as 1 shall shed
your grace at my next coming; and thus Jesu preserve your
grace. At Ampthill, the 26th day of July, 1329. Your hum-
ble servant, J. RussEt.t.."
The second extract is an anecdote of Francis the First :

" ANECDOTE or FnANeis I.—Count Furstemberg, the com-
mander of a strong band of mercenary Germans in the king's
service, was suspected of subornation to destroy his majesty ;
and we are told " Francis refused to credit the tale when Tre-
mouille first.apprised him or Funtemberg's design. In a short
time there came a confirmation of the intelligence, and Tre-
mouille asked permission to chastise the count from court. But
this Francis refused, and used a measure of his own to ascertain
the fact. One day, when he was going to hunt, he took the
best sword he could select from his armoury, and commanded
the count to keep near him during the sport. After having
for some time chased the stag, the king turned aside, and when
he saw himself alone with Furstemberg, in the deepest part of
the forest, he said, drawing his sword, ' What think you ? is this
sword a good one ?' The count, after handling it, said that he
had never seen a better. You are right,' said the king ; and
it appears to me, that if any gentleman should have engaged to
slay me, and knew the strength of my arm, and the bravery
of my heart to accompany it with this good sword, he
would think twice before he assailed me : yet I should
always reckon him great villain, if, being alone together,
hand to hand, he would not dare to execute his enterprise.—
To which the count replied, with some astonishment, Sire, the
yillanv of the enterprise would be indeed great, but the folly of
him who should desire to execute it would be scarcely less.
The king received back the weapon with a smile, replaced it
in
the scabbard, and, hearing the chase near him, set spurs to his
horse, and rejoined the company. The next morning, the
count went to Robertet, the treasurer, and told him, that as his
pay was insufficient, he should be under the necessity of quitting_
the royal service unless it were doubled. Francis sent hack
word, that if he were discontented with the terms upon which he
entered his service, and which satisfied others of equally good
birth, he was not disposed to offer any objection to his wishes.
The count then said, he would say adien, and go. Ile could
not wait a decent time, but went and took leave of the queen-
mother and Francis, as the latter was sitting down to table.
Every body was astonishid at his sudden departure, till the
king explained it by the relating of his previous incident. The
count was afterwards taken by the French, in sounding the
Marne for the emperor to pass, in the invasion of 1544, and sent
to the Bastile as a spy, from which he was only liberated by a
ransom of thirty thousand crowns."

We resume our extracts from the Edinburgh cabinet
Library, (Vol. xii.)
The Nile has with justice been represented as one of the
wonders of the globe. Its course has been compared to the
path of a good man amidst a wicked generation. It passes
through a desert, dry, barren, and hideous; on the portions of
which contiguous to its banks it deposits the richest soil, which
it continually waters and nourishes. This
.gift has been the
source of subsistence to several powerful nations, who have es-
tablished and overthrown mighty kingdoms, and have origi-
nated the arts, the learning, and the refinement, of the greater
part of the ancient world. Those nations,—instructors and
pupils,—have perished; but the remains of their stupendous
labours, the pyramids and the temples of Egypt, Nubia, Don-
gola, and Meroe, are more than sufficient to excite respect fur
the great peuple who founded them. Under this impression a
voyage up thenie may be considered as presenting an epitome
of the lite of man. We meet at almost every state with the
monuments of his tyranny, his superstition, or his luxury, but
with few memorials of his talents directed to the improvement
and protection of his feilow-creatures. We also everywhere
perceive the traces of Almighty justice on his crimes. On the
banks of this ancient river we behold cities, once famous for
power and wealth, reduced to a heap of sand, like the wilder-
ness ' • and temples, once renowned, and colossal idols, at one
time feared, now prostrate and confounded with the dust of the
worshippers. The flocks lie down in the midst thereof; the
cormorant and bittern lodge in the towers and palaces; their
voice sings in the windows, and desolation is in the thresholds.
The Nile, meantime, which has seen so many generations rise
and disappear, still mores onward to distribute its fertilizing
fluid to the countri .s on its borders; like the good Providence,
which seems unwearied in trying to overcome the ingratitude
of man by the many favours it bestows upon him.

MARRIAGES IN ABYSSINIA.—Pearce assures us that the
_Abyssinians vary much in their colour; some being very black,
with hair nearly straight,. others copper coloured, some much
fairer, with the hair almost woolly, and a fourth description
having the same complexion with long hair. This mixture
arises from the unsettled nature of family relations, which par-
take of the constant changes in local government and property.
A woman may be the mother of six or seven children, whose
fathers have migrated from as many different provinces • for, as
soon as one chief expels another, the followers of thel van-
quished leader accompany him into some new district, leaving
wives-and children to the protection of their more fortunate
successors. Nothing. in truth, appears to be more insecure
than the marriage tie in Alisssinia. Perhaps it might be as-
serted, that there arc no other obligations than such as are con-
tracted by mutual consent, and which subsist only as long as
both parties are inclined to respect them. After separation,
these engagements may be renewed, again violated, and a
third time repeated. Bruce met at Koscam, in the presence of
the queen-mother, a lads of great rank with seven men who had
all been her husbands, and no one of whom could claim her for
wife at that particular juncture. When married individuals
agree to_part, they divide the children according to certain
rules. The eldest son falls to the mother, and the eldest
daughter to the father. If there is but one girl, and all the rest
boys, she is assigned to the male parent ; and if there is but
one son, and all the others girls, he is the right of the mother.
Ifthe numbers are unequal after the first selection, the re-
mainder are distributed by lot. From the king. to the beggar
there is no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate off-
spring; there being in fact no principle on which the prefer-
ence could be made to rest, except in the case of the royal
family, where the mother of the heir is previously selected and
usually crowned. In his ordinary marriages, the king uses no
other ceremony than the following. lie scuds an officer where
the lady lives, who announces to -her that it is the king's plea-
sure that she should remove instantly to the palace. She then
dresses herself in her best manner, and immediately obeys.
Thenceforward he assigns her an apartment in the royal
dwelling, and gives her a house elsewhere, in any place she
may choose. There is an approach to a regular marriage when
he makes one of his wives iteghe ; for, on that occasion, he
orders a judge to pronounce in his presence that "the king has
chosen his handmaid for his queen." The crown is then ap-
plied to her brows, but she is not annointed. The beautiful
story of A.hasuerus and Esther will occur to the recollection of
every reader, for it was when she " had found grace in his
sight more than the other virgins that lie placed a golden
crown upon her head." This coronation in Abyssinia conveys
a great political privillege, constituting her majesty regent
during the nonage of her son; a point of correspondence which
history does not enable us to trace in any of the mighty king-
doms that covered the. banks of the Euphrates.

EBE'N ERSKINE; OR. THE TRAVELLER.
BY_JOIIN GALT, ESQ.

"Our Sunday party, like the former, consisted of four guests,
a painter, a player, a parliament man, and a poet. I have no.
idea what the major proposed to himself by this assemblage,
but to me the very hopes of it were delightful. Of artists I
had conceived, from the dictionary of painters and the rhetoric
of critics, very lofty and mystical ideas of their genius; I
almost fancied that it sat on their shoulders in the shape of a
cherub of light as they stood before their easels. Players were
interwoven with my finest associations, partly from the same
cause, and partly fi-oin the inexperience of youth rendering it
difficult to separate them from the characters they performed.
It is tra, that I had then no experience of the splendour and
illusion of the metropolitan theatres, in which the superiority
of talent greatly contributes to foster the illusion of the stage ;
bat I had received my impressions from as influential a cause.
In Auchtereloots we had an annual visit from a party of strollers,
and sometimes among them were actors of ability. Of their
exhibitions, owing to some toleration derived from hereditary
circumstances, I was, from my earliest years, an almost nightly
spectator, and it was in this plastic stage of life that I received
those impression. 3 which united ',the assumed with the natural
character—impressions which have been weakened, no doubt,
by time, but, which neither time nor experience have vet entirely
erased; for I still feel an indescribable respect when I meet
with those in society whom I have seen in noble parts upon the
stage,—always, however, with a sentiment of regret, as if I saw
in them in private life the faded and impoverished remnants of
persons wh ) had fallen from prosperity. Perhaps there is some-
thing not very sound or healthy in this feeling; I cannot help
it ; I can owl Late the fact. Orators at that period also stood
on high pedestals in my ima,_!ination ; I had not then been to
eitter house of parliament, ant the beau ideal which the news-
papers suggested of them was not tarnished by actual know-
ledge. Oar • guest was known as a frequent speaker, distin-
guished fur fluency and a felicitous elocution—often described
as a race and excellent gift. But the object of fascination was
the poet. I was acquainted with many persons who wrote re-
spectable verses, the most disreputable of all respectable accom-
plishments, and they did not stand prominent in my opinion;
but a poet, a truepoet, one of those rare ayes that ages seldom
produce, and one on whom the nation had conferred with acela-
niation that fame which is au assurance of immortality, was