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means inelegant or coarse, though telling somewhat of her rustic birth and breeding. Despite his destination for the church, the abbé was a passionate and by no means self-denying admirer of beauty, and the charms of Mariette were irresistible. Almost from the moment of her arrival, he neglected, not his studies merely, for they had never engrossed too much of his attention, but the frolics, the boon companions, and the flirtations and intrigues that, for the last three or four years, had constituted the chief employment of his time; and the admiration excited by her beauty soon ripened to a passion which he had not the virtue, if the power, to resist. Mariette was a good girl, and had been well brought up-but she was young, artless, and confiding-Murat was handsome, and his passionate eloquence, aided by the memories of an attachment which had begun in childhood, and, though dormant, had never ceased to occupy her warm young heart, prevailed at last over the dictates of prudence, and the restraints of principle. Yet she did not fall a victim to unbridled passionher purity was left unstained, although the pleadings of her lover and of her own tenderness were powerful enough to turn her from the strict path of rectitude; and if she did consent to fly with the young abbé, it was only upon his reiterated promise to renounce the ecclesiastical habit, and make her his lawful and honoured wife. It was a mad scheme, but perfectly in harmony with the character of Murat, whose fault it was, through life, to rush upon performance, by whatever impulse led, without regard to consequences. He had neither money nor the means of gaining it to support even himself, much less a wife and children; and Mariette was no better off; yet, with no more ample provision for the future than a few scores of francs, which he borrowed from his school-fellows, the Abbé Murat and Mariette Majastre, at the mature ages of twenty-one and sixteen, absconded one morning from the house of Mariette's relative, and set off by diligence for Preissac, for the purpose of being married. Fortunately, perhaps, for both, their absence was quickly discovered-pursuit was made -and they had scarcely arrived at Preissac in the evening, before Mariette's uncle, with his brother and three sons, made their appearance, and claimed possession of the would-be bride. Murat resisted with fury, but his single arm, vigorous as it was, could not prevail against so great a disparity of force, and foaming with rage he was compelled to see his mistress borne away, weeping bitterly, and vowing eternal constancy to her half frantic lover. The natural consequence of such an escapade would have been a dismissal from the ecclesiastical school in which he had been entered, but he did not wait for it. Tearing the abbe's frock from his shoulders, he rushed into the street, and happening to meet with a sub-officer belonging to a regiment of chasseurs quartered in Preissac for the night, while on its march to Paris, enlisted as a private; and thus, in a moment of wrath and disappointment, began that dazzling career which was destined to place upon his brow the crown of a rich kingdom.

Thus through the fancy of the sleeping captive, with more than lightning speed, coursed the re-awakened memory of events that had been the story of his early years. He felt again the ardour of his youthful passion-the excitement of a first and frenzied love-the triumph of success-the eagerness of flight, and the fury of that moment when love, success, and hope, on the very eve of fulfilment, were dashed aside in bitterness and wrath. The form of Mariette was again before him in the freshness of its youthful beauty-her lovely eyes, streaming with tears, were fixed with an imploring passionate look upon his own, and her voice was ringing in his ears, as she was borne away, calling upon her Joachim to the rescue. "Joachim! Joachim!"-the name echoed through his brain, with the startling clearness of a trumpet sounding to the charge-and with a start the chain of sleep was broken, and Murat, the conqueror, monarch, exile, and doomed captive of the present, beheld the dawn of his last day among the living. For a moment reality mingled with his dream, and he gazed doubtfully upon the figure of an individual who stood before him, enveloped in an ample cloak, gazing upon his face with an earnest and mournful look-and it was borne upon his mind that the voice which called upon the name-the long disused name-of Joachim, was not the mere coinage of a dream-excited fancy. A second glance assured him of the truth, and hastily advancing to seize the hand of his unexpected visiter, he exclaimed, "Then you have not perished, Bastide my friend-Bastide the noblehearted and true-nor yet abandoned me, when fate has determined on my ruin!"

"The king was betrayed and deserted-he is in the power of his enemies and Bastide is here to do him service, if it may be, to the last."

Murat answered not, but gazed intently upon the features of the speaker, and his own wore a troubled expression of surprise and doubt. "Bastide," he said at length-" Bastide, my mind has been disturbed by painful dreams, and the recollections of the past are strangely and confusedly mingled with the impressions of the moment. Even your voice appears sadly familiar, as though it had often met my ear in earlier and more happy daysspeak to me once again-Did you call upon me ere I woke, and by the name I bore in childhood? Speak once again, and solve the mystery which I have little time to penetrate."

"Joachim!" was again uttered, and in the tones so long forgotten, but so well remembered now-the cowl was thrown back from the face of the speaker, the cloak fell to the ground, and Mariette-the Mariette of his youthful love, though bearing the impress of years and sorrow, was indeed before him.

"I should have known it," said Murat, after a brief silence, into which a world of thoughts and feelings was condensed; "I should have known that only in the love and constancy of woman could the secret of Bastide's devoted fidelity be read."

The reader can neither expect nor wish to be advised at length of the conversation that ensued. The hours of Murat were numbered, and rapidly drawing to their close; and the remaining interest of this sketch, if any it has, belongs to the consummation of the drama, to which his life has been not inappropriately likened. The explanations required by him from Mariette can easily be imagined. Her love for him had never known abatement; and although her image had long since passed from his memory, his success and fame had been the treasured happiness of her existence; his misfortunes and his danger called her loving spirit to more active ministration, and a determined heart, a woman's ingenuity, gold, and the aid of an honest and gentlenatured cousin will readily account for all that she had done or attempted in his behalf. Gold, the habit of a priest, and the kind assistance of an old father confessor, who was in the habit of visiting the prison on errands of mercy, perhaps connived at by the governor, had even obtained for her the interview of which the reader has been just informed, and which was but too soon interrupted by the entrance of the aged padre, who came to warn them that the governor was approaching, and that Mariette must be gone. A hurried farewell-a last embrace, which even Caroline of Naples would not have forbidden-a fervent blessing interchanged-and Murat was left alone, prepared to meet, as became his character, his rank, and fame, the doom of which he little needed information.

"seven

The governor's tidings were brief, but conveyed with a respect and sympathy that did him honour. The tribunal appointed for the trial of "General Murat" was already sitting in an adjoining apartment, and the advocate assigned him for his defence was waiting for admission. Murat asked the names and rank of the eight officers named in the commission, and at once refused to appear before them: "They are my subjects, not my judges,” was his firm reply to the remonstrances of the governor ; of them received their commissions from my hand, and neither of them is my equal, even in the military rank which the order for my trial concedes to me. But were they marshals of France, like me, I am their sovereign, not their equal, and I will not appear before them. They can condemn unheard, and to condemn is the task assigned them." In vain the governor attempted to combat his resolution by argument, and Starage, the advocate assigned him, by entreaty and the eloquence of tears; the king was immovable, and even commanded Starage not to speak in his defence. "I am the king of Naples," he continued; they may take my life, but the keeping of my dignity and honour is my own."

His conduct was in accordance with this elevated feeling to the last. The commission proceeded to the trial in his absence; and when the secretary waited upon him to ask his name, his age, and the other formal questions usual in the continental tribunals, he cut the ceremony short with the brief and almost contemptuous avowal, "I am Joachim Napoleon, king of the two Sicilies; begone, sir, and bid them do their work." He then conversed freely and composedly with the governor and his fellow-prisoners, who were admitted to an interview by the kindness of that officer, adverting earnestly, but without ostentation or self-eulogy, to the disinterestedness of his conduct on the throne, and to the services he had rendered the Neapolitans-received with calmness the sentence of immediate death conveyed to him by one of the commissioners-wrote a short, affectionate, and eloquent letter to his queen and children-passed the allotted half-hour with his

The death of Madame Murat (sister of Napoleon) was announced recently in the newspapers.

confessor, and then came forth with a firm step, simply remarking to the governor, "Let us delay no longer-I am ready!"

On his way to the place of execution, his movement was as dignified and self-possessed, his look as calm, as though he was merely taking part in some familiar pageant of court ceremony. Once only he was seen to cast an anxious glance around, as if in search of one whose presence at that moment he desired, yet scarce had reason to expect; and when his eyes rested on the face and form of Mariette, again disguised from all but him in the cloak and outward bearing of Hypolite Bastide, a smile of satisfaction lighted up his features, which seemed to give assurance that already the bitterness of death was past. That glance, that smile, were once more noted when the fatal spot was reached-and Murat, proudly facing the carabineers who stood with ready weapons to fulfil his doom, drew from his bosom a trinket bearing in medallion the portrait of his queen, and, kissing it fervently, uttered his last command, "Aim at my heart!". in a voice as clear and calm as had ever issued from his lips in the council-tent, the glittering hall of royalty, or on the battlefield. The carabines rang sharply at the word, and Joachim Murat lay extended dead upon the ground fast moistening with his blood.

HISTORICAL EPISODES.

GEOFFRY TETE-NOIRE'S WILL. WHEN the power of France was prostrated at the fatal battle of Poitiers, in 1356, and the imprisoned king found himself compelled to resign the fairest portion of his inheritance, and to consent to sign the memorable treaty of Bretigny, numbers of military adventurers were thrown loose upon the world. Strict orders were issued by the English king that every garrison in the French territory should be evacuated; but these were reluctantly obeyed by a lawless soldiery, who had long been used to rapine. Half soldiers, half freebooters, they could ill reconcile themselves to resign the independent life they had led; the commander of each petty fort or castle had been accustomed to act at his discretion, without waiting for particular orders: their object had been to distress the enemy by every possible means, and thus they had become accustomed to consider all the country within the limit of an excursion from their stronghold, as their peculiar territory, in which it was lawful for them to rob, and plunder, and fight to their hearts' content. These were pleasures too congenial to be willingly parted with, and the king's commands were very unwillingly obeyed.*

The proceedings of the disbanded troops were most extraordinary; dismissed by their commander, they still kept together, and congregating, they at length formed a body of sixteen thousand well-armed veterans-their hand against every man, and every man's hand against them. Old habits of military discipline still had their influence. They chose leaders among themselves; and after committing various excesses, attacking and subduing many castles and strong places, and plundering without ruth or mercy, they formed the idea of advancing to Avignon, and "paying a visit to the Pope and Cardinals." As these marauders did not intrude upon the English territories of Aquitaine, &c., no steps were taken by the king of England or the Black Prince to restrain them. The king of France, however, got together a body of men, under the command of his cousin, Lord James of Bourbon, Constable of France, who were entirely defeated by the superior skill of the "Free Companions," as they termed themselves. Lord James and his son were both mortally wounded at the battle of Brignois, and the Free Companions advanced towards Avignon triumphantly, being joined on the road by fresh parties excited by the news of their success. Pope Innocent VI. and his Cardinals were dreadfully alarmed, and proclaiming a crusade against these pillagers, endeavoured to raise a body of troops to oppose them; but the poverty of the Pope's exchequer was a serious bar to his success, and his troops deserted for want of pay, many of them joining the Companions, who revelled in the spoils they had already gained,

* These excesses appear to have reached their height in the interval between the battle of Poitiers and the treaty of Bretigny. In that period we find one of Edward's best generals laying the foundation of his fortune by plunder. Froissart tells us that "On the sea coast of Normandy there were a great number of English and Navarrois plunderers and robbers. Sir Robert Knolles was their leader, who conquered every town and castle he came to, as there was no one to oppose him. Sir Robert had followed this trade for some, time, and by it gained upwards of 100,000 crowns. He kept a great many soldiers in his pay; and being very liberal, he was cheerfully followed and obeyed."

and were daily increasing. At length, under the conduct of the celebrated Sir John Hawkwood, whose name is well known in Italian history, they entered into the service of the Marquis of Mountferrat, at that time (1361) engaged in a war with the Viscontis, Lords of Milan, and Viceregents of Lombardy; but the Pope was not freed from their presence until he had granted them absolution for all crimes committed.

Others of these Free Companions found employment in Spain, where, under the command of Sir Hugh Calverly, one of the most celebrated captains of the age, they were received into the service of Henry of Castille, where they continued until they were recalled by the Black Prince to fight on the opposite side, when he espoused the cause of Pedro the Cruel, in 1367. Many strongholds in France remained in the hands of these adventurous soldier-robbers, who for years continued to inflict dreadful evils upon the country. Among these, Geoffry Tête-Noire made himself particularly conspicuous. In the year 1378, when war had again broken out between the French and English, and the whole country of France was in the utmost disorder, scarcely one corner remaining free from foreign or domestic enemies, "there happened," as Froissart tells us, "daily in Auvergne and Limousin feats of arms and wonderful enterprises; more especially in the neighbourhood of the castle of Ventadour, in Auvergne, which is one of the strongest places in all that country. It was sold or betrayed to the most cruel of all the Bretons, called Geoffry TêteNoire. The Comte de Ventadour de Montpensier was an ancient knight, and honourable man, who no longer took part in the wars, but remained peaceably in his castle: this knight had a squire or varlet, called Ponce du Bois, who had served him for a length of time without having profited much by his service: seeing that he should have no opportunities of gaining riches, he determined, by bad advice, to enrich himself, and in consequence entered into a secret treaty with Geoffry Tête-Noire, who resided in Limousin, to deliver up the castle of Ventadour to him for the sum of six thousand francs. This was agreed to; but he had inserted among the conditions that no harm should be done to his master, the Comte de Ventadour, and that he should be put out of his castle in a courteous manner, and that everything of his should be restored to him. This was complied with, for the Bretons and English who entered the castle did not in the smallest degree hurt the Count or his people, and only retained the stores and artillery, of which there were great plenty.

his wife and children, beyond Aigueperse in Auvergne. Geoffry "The Count de Ventadour went to reside at Montpensier, with Tête-Noire and his troops kept possession of Ventadour; from whence they ravaged the country, and took many strong castles in Auvergne, Rouergue, Limousin, Quercy, Gevantan, Bigorre, and in the Argenois, one after the other.

"With this Geoffry Tête-Noire there were othe. captains, who performed many excellent deeds of arms, as Amerigot Marcel, a Limousin squire, attached to the English party, who took the strong castle of Cassuriel, situated in the bishopric of Clermont, in Auvergne; from whence the above-mentioned Amerigot and his companions overran the country at their pleasure. Captains of other castles were also in his company, such as the bourg Calart, the bourg Anglois, the bourg de Champagne, Raymond de Force, a Gascon, and Peter de Béarn, a Béarnois.

The

"Amerigot made one day an excursion, with only twelve companions, to seek adventures: they took the road towards Aloise, near St. Flour, which was a handsome castle in the bishopric of Clermont: they knew the castle was only guarded by the porter. As they were riding silently towards Aloise, Amerigot spies the porter sitting on the trunk of a tree withoutside of the castle: a Breton, who shot extraordinarily well with the cross-bow, says to him, Would you like to have that porter killed at a shot?' "Yes,' replied Amerigot, and I beg you will do so.' cross-bow man shoots a bolt, which he drives into the porter's wounded, regains the gate, which he attempts to shut, but cannot, head and knocks him down; the porter, feeling himself mortally and falls down dead. Amerigot and his companions hasten to the castle, which they enter by the wicket, and see the porter lying dead and his wife distracted beside him: they do her no harm, but inquire where the constable of the castle is she replies he is at Clermont. They promise to spare her life if she will give them the keys of the castle and of the dungeon; which when she had done, for she could not any way defend herself, they shut her out, having given her what belonged to her, and indeed as much as she could carry away. She went to St. Flour, which is but a league off; the inhabitants were much frightened, as well as all the adjoining country, when they heard that Aloise was become English."

THE LONDON SATURDAY JOURNAL.

Many other adventures and outrages of Marcel and the other Companions are related by Froissart, which we have not room to notice. We must return to Geoffry, who is described as "a cruel man and very ferocious in his anger, minding no more killing a man than a beast." He lived at his ease in Ventadour, which he held as if it had been his own inheritance, and forcing all the surrounding country to enter into composition with him to avoid being plundered. By this means every one could labour the ground at their pleasure, and he was enabled to keep the state of a great baron and live with his companions on the fat of the land, at the same time keeping cautious guard and laying up a good store of francs. He was not single in this free-and-easy mode of life, for besides Amerigot Marcel, (who was afterwards "justified," at Paris, being first pilloried and then beheaded,) many other garrisons made promiscuous war, under pretence of being English, although there were very few of that nation, the greater part being Gascons, Germans, and Foixiens, and from different countries, "who had united together to do mischief." At length the Comte d'Armagnac exerted himself, about the year 1387, to make a composition with these freebooters, who held castles in Auvergne, Quercy, and Limousin, and had nearly succeeded in effecting his object, but the determined resistance of Tête-Noire, who received an under-handed encouragement from Gaston Comte de Foix, who was at feud with d'Armagnac, thwarted his designs. Tête-Noire was considered by all the Free Companions of those parts of the country as their head and chief, and himself "began all his passports and treaties of composition with, Geoffry Tête-Noire, Duke of Ventadour, Comte of Limousin, sovereign lord and commander of all the captains in Auvergne, Rouergue, and Limousin.' He knew his castle was impregnable, and provided with stores and a sufficient garrison for seven or eight years; and it was not in the power of any lord to shut him up, so that he could not be prevented from making sallies whenever he chose, and set all the powers of France at defiance."

The Duke of Berry, uncle to King Charles VI., and lieutenant of Limousin and Auvergne, at length took part with the Comte d'Armagnac and the Dauphin d'Auvergne, who had likewise bestirred himself, and gathering a body of four hundred spears, equal to three or four times that number of men, laid close siege to Ventadour. He was zealously aided by the peasants, who laboured to erect large block-houses for the accommodation and defence of the besiegers, and cut trenches, and laid trunks of trees and other obstacles on all the roads, so that the garrison was scarcely able to venture out. to this; for he knew he had provision and stores to last for seven Geoffry, however, was indifferent years, and that his castle was so strongly placed upon a rock that it could not be taken by storm; and notwithstanding these blockhouses, and this supposed complete blockade, he, at times, with some of his companions, made sallies through a postern that opened between two hidden_rocks, and overran the country in search of wealthy prisoners. They never brought anything beside with them to the castle, on account of the difficulty of the passes. This opening could not be closed, and to the surprise of the country, they were found abroad seven leagues distant: if they were by accident pursued, and had once regained their mountains, though the chase might last for three leagues, they always considered themselves as secure as if they had been in their fort. This manner of harassing the country was long continued; and the siege of the castle lasted for more than a year." If the castle had been invested by regular troops, the garrison, notwithstanding their experience and good generalship, would probably have been much more straitened, but even the men-at-arms were levied in the neighbourhood, and were inexperienced, and probably overawed by the reputation of the redoubted Geoffry. But his career drew to an end. At a skirmish at the barriers, the wooden outworks stretching beyond the gate of the castle, where it was usual for besiegers to meet and combat, more for the indulgence of the pugnacious spirit which led them to encounter in the tilt-yard, than from any decided advantage likely to be obtained on either side, Geoffry received a wound in the head from a cross-bow bolt, which passed through the helmet and the cap beneath. himself," says Froissart, "he would have soon been cured of this "Had he taken proper care of wound; but he indulged himself in many excesses, for which he paid dearly enough by his death. He was warned of the consequences of his conduct, and told he was in so dangerous a condition, (the wound having become an imposthume,) that it was necessary to settle his affairs.

"Upon this he ordered the principal persons of his garrison, and those who had been most used to arms, into his presence; and when they were come, he said to them, sitting up in his bed,

399

My fair sirs, and companions in arms, I know I am in great
danger of death: we have been a long time together, and I have
been a loyal captain to you all to the utmost of my power; I
should wish, therefore, to see, before I quit this world, my successor
appointed, who would gallantly behave himself towards you, and
defend this castle, which I shall leave pentifully stocked with all
necessary things, such as wines, provisions, and artillery. I there-
fore beg you will tell me if you have taken any steps, or have
thought of electing any one after to govern and lead you as men-
at-arms ought to be governed and led, for such has been my manner
of carrying on the war; and in truth I cared not against whom.
I did indeed make it under the shadow of the king of England's
name, in preference to any other; but I have always looked for
gain and conquest wherever they may be had; and such should
ever be the conduct of adventurous companions, who are for deeds
of arms and to advance themselves. This country is very fertile :
many good compositions have been made with it, though the French
now check them by their war; but this cannot always last, for
their block-houses and siege must have an end. Now tell me truly,
have any of you thought of the person who is to succeed me?'
with the utmost good-humour, saying, I can easily believe you
have had some conversations together on what I have mentioned;
"The companions remaining silent, he again addressed them
and I also, during the time I have been forced to keep my bed,
have thought on this matter for you.'- Sir,' replied they, 'we
refer the matter to you, and it will be more agreeable if it came
from you than from us: you will therefore be pleased to inform us
of your will?''Yes,' said Geoffry, I will tell you, and name
those I wish to succeed me. Here is Alleyn Roux and his brother
Peter, my cousins, who are good men-at-arms, and of my blood:
I entreat you, therefore, to accept of Alleyn as your governor, and
that you will swear to him in my presence loyalty and obedience,
as well as to his brother; but I mean that Alleyn should have the
do so, for you have well chosen.' All the companions then took
sovereign command!'-'Sir,' answered they, we will cheerfully
oaths of obedience to Alleyn Roux and to his brother Peter.
When this was done, Geoffry Tête-Noire again addressed them:
Well, my friends, you have complied with my request, and I thank
you for it. Because I wish you should partake of what you have
helped me to conquer, I must inform you, that in that chest that
you see yonder, (pointing to it with his finger,) there is a sum of
thirty thousand francs. I would acquit my conscience and myself
you will truly fulfil the articles of my will?' Having said they
towards those who have faithfully served me: say, therefore, if
St. George within our walls, the sum of fifteen hundred francs, for
would, he continued: In the first place, I leave to the chapel of
repairs and additional buildings.-I give to my mistress, who has
To Alleyn Roux, your governor, two thousand francs.-To my
been faithfully attached to me, two thousand five hundred francs.
valets-de-chambre, five hundred francs. To my officers, fifteen
hundred francs.-The surplus I thus dispose of: you are about
thirty companions, all engaged in the same enterprise, and you
strife. The sum I have mentioned you will find in the chest:
should behave like brothers to each other, without envy, riot, or
divide it, therefore, among you fairly and honourably: but should
tempered sharp axe, cut open the chest, and let those who
can seize the contents!' To this speech they unanimously replied,
the devil get among you, and you cannot agree, here is a well-
Lord and master, we will not disagree. We have so much loved
and feared you, that we will not break the chest, nor disobey any
of the orders you have given us.'
Geoffry Tête-Noire, who only lived two days more, and was
buried in the chapel of St. George in Ventadour. All his legacies
Such was the last will of
according to his orders; and Alleyn Roux, with his brother Peter,
were paid, and the overplus divided among the companions
were obeyed as governors of the castle."

state of France at the time, 1389. We find a man holding a
We have given this will as a very curious instance of the
the surrounding country, for many years, without any attempt to
strong place, levying contributions, a sort of black-mail, upon all
forces are brought into play, the chief of the marauding band,
oppose him; and when at length individual, rather than national
cut off at last by a chance shot, leaves his followers in a position
but not by the force of the enemy. They laid a trap for their
to maintain a successful contest.
enemies, but were taken in their own snare, and Alleyn and Peter
In the end they were subdued,
ment not disproportioned to their crimes and treachery, by which
Roux were pilloried, beheaded, and quartered at Paris; a punish-
last they, like most cunning people, overreached themselves, and
fell into the pitfall they had prepared for others.

A BENEVOLENT ADVICE.

Behold vice without satire; be content with an admonition or instructive reprehension; for noble natures, and such as are capable of goodness, are railed into vice that might as easily be admonished into virtue; and we should all be so far the orators of goodness as to protect her from the power of vice, and maintain the cause of injured truth.-Sir Thomas Brown.

THE CHARACTER OF NEWTON.

Newton never seems to have placed himself, even in idea, beside his fellows; but always in presence of the vast universe, and of Him the Maker of it. His mind was therefore stamped with a grave and reverential abasement; he compared his discoveries, not with what had been accomplished before, but with what remained to be done; the law of gravity itself was but as a sound of distant waters, a little gleam from the unknown; telling, however, distinctly of its home,-like the shell of the Arabian maid in Gebir:

"Apply its polished lips to your attentive ear,
And it remembers its august abodes,

And murmurs, as the ocean murmured there."

Nichol's Phenomena and Order of the Solar System.

VALUE OF AUTOGRAPHS.

Mr. Tefft, an American collector, received some of his most curious specimens gratuitously from friends in Great Britain, although, as might be expected in a very artificial state of society, they would ofton command considerable prices in that country. The poet Campbell raised forty-five guineas for the Poles by autographs; and visiting a lady who had notes from distinguished people on her table, he advised her to conceal them, or they would be stolen. Brougham's autograph was valued at five guineas. A Week among Autographs, by the Rev. S. Gilman.

THE SEA.

There is something in being near the sea, like the confines of eternity. It is a new element, a pure abstraction. The mind loves to hover on that which is endless, and for ever the same. People wonder at a steam-boat, the invention of man, managed by man, that makes its liquid path like an iron railway through the sea. I wonder at the sea itself, that vast leviathan, rolled round the earth, smiling in its sleep, waked into fury, fathomless, boundless, a huge world of water-drops. Whence is it-whither goes it? Is it of eternity or of nothing? Strange, ponderous riddle, that we can neither penetrate nor grasp in our comprehension; ebbing and flowing like human life, and swallowing it up in thy remorseless womb,-what art thou? What is there in common between thy life and ours, who gaze at thee? Blind, deaf, and old, thou seest not, hearest not, understandest not; neither do we understand, who behold and listen to thee! Great as thou art, unconscious of thy greatness, unwieldy, enormous, preposterous twin-birth of matter! rest in thy dark, unfathomed cave of mystery, mocking human pride and weakness. Still is it given to the mind of man to wonder at thee, to confess its ignorance, and to stand in awe of thy stupendous might and majesty, and of its own being, that can question thine!-Hazlitt.

WAFERS.

The oldest letter yet found with a red wafer was written in 1624, from D. Krap, at Spires, to the government at Bayreuth. Wafers are ascribed, by Labat, to Genoese economy. In the whole of the seventeenth century, they were only used by private persons; on public seals they commence only in the eighteenth century.-Fosbroke's Dictionary of Antiquities.

A CHARACTER OF A CHARACTER.

To square out a character by our English level, is a picture (real or personal) quaintly drawn in various colours, all of them heightened by one shadowing. It is a quick and soft touch of many strings, all shutting up of one musical close: it is wit's descant on any plain song. Sir Thomas Overbury.

A LION'S REMORSE.

In the beginning of the last century, there was in the menagerie at Cassel a lion that showed an astonishing degree of tameness towards the woman that had the care of him. This went so far, that the woman, in order to amuse the company that came to see the animal, would often rashly place not only her hand, but even her head, between his tremendous jaws. She had frequently performed this experiment without suffering any injury; but having once introduced her head into the lion's mouth, the animal made a sudden snap, and killed her on the spot. Undoubtedly, this catastrophe was unintentional on the part of the lion; for, probably, at the fatal moment, the hair of the woman's head irritated the lion's throat, and compelled him to sneeze or cough: at least, this suggestion appears to be confirmed by what followed; for, as soon as the lion perceived that he had killed his attendant, the good-tempered, grateful animal exhibited signs of the deepest melancholy,-laid himself down by the side of the dead body, which he would not suffer to be taken from him,-refused to take any food, and in a few days pined himself to death.-Zoological Anecdotes.

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The great Earl of Chatham's plan, when he had the gout, was to have no fire in his room, but to load himself with bedclothes. At his house at Hayes, he slept in a long room, at one end of which was his hed, and his lady's at the other. His way was, when he thought the Duke of Newcastle had fallen into any mistake, to send for him and read him a lecture. The Duke was sent for once, and came when the Earl (then only plain Mr. Pitt) was confined to bed by the gout. There was, as usual, no fire in the room: the day was very chilly, and the Duke, as usual, afraid of catching cold. The Duke first sat down on Mrs. Pitt's bed, as the warmest place; then drew up his legs into it, as he grew colder. The lecture unluckily continuing a considerable time, the Duke fairly lodged himself under Mrs. Pitt's bedclothes. A person (who related the story to Horace Walpole) suddenly going in, saw the two ministers in bed, at the two ends of the room; while Pitt's long nose and black beard, unshaved for some days, added to the grotesque character of the scene.

NATURE.

Whoever shall represent to his fancy, as in a picture, that great image of our mother Nature, portrayed in her full majesty and lustre,-whoever in her face shall read so general and so constant a variety,-whoever shall observe himself in that figure, and not himself, but a whole kingdom, no bigger than the least touch or prick of a pencil, in comparison of the whole, that man alone is able to value things according to their true estimate and grandeur.-Montaigne.

A BIT OF MAHOMEDAN LAW.

Oh, true believers! when ye bind yourselves one to the other in a debt for a certain time, write it down,-and disdain not to write it down, be it a large, or be it a small one, until its time of payment. This will be more just in the sight of God, and more right for bearing witness, and more easy, that ye may not doubt. But if it be for a present bargain which you transact among yourselves, it shall be no crime in you, if you write it not down.

THE LARGE RED MONKEY OF DEMERARA. While lying in your hammock in the gloomy and immeasurable wilds, you hear him howling at intervals from eleven o'clock at night till daybreak. You would suppose that half the wild beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of carnage. Now it is the tremendous roar of the jaguar, as he springs on his prey: now it changes to his terrible and deep--Koran, chap. 2. toned growlings, as he is pressed on all sides by superior force: and now you hear his last dying moan, beneath a mortal wound. Some naturalists have supposed that these awful sounds, which you would fancy are those of enraged and dying wild beasts, proceed from a number of the red monkeys howling in concert. One of them alone is capable of producing all these sounds; and the anatomists, on an inspection of his trachea, will be fully satisfied that this is the case. When you look at him, as he is sitting on the branch of a tree, you will see a lump in his throat, the size of a large hen's egg.-Waterton's Wanderings.

POETRY AND PAINTING.

We consider nature but transiently till the poet or painter awake our attention, and send us back to life with a new curiosity, which we owe entirely to the copies they lay before us.-Preface to Wood's Essay on Homer.

IMPORTANCE OF FIRESIDE EDUCATION.

The fireside is a seminary of infinite importance. It is important because it is universal, and because the education it bestows, being woven in with the woof of childhood, gives form and colour to the whole texture of life. There are few who can receive the honours of a college, but all are graduates of the hearth.-Fireside Education.

Madame

STRONG ATTACHMENT OF A GOLDFINCH.

had a goldfinch, that never saw her go out without making every effort in his power to quit his cage and follow her, and welcomed her return with every mark of extreme delight: as soon as she approached, a thousand little actions showed his pleasure and satisfaction; if she presented her finger, he caressed it a long time, uttering a low joyous murmur. This attachment was so exclusive, that if his mistress, to prove it, substituted another person's finger for her own, he would peck it sharply, whilst one of his mistress's, placed between two of this person's, would be immediately distinguished, and caressed accordingly.—Bechstein.

LIFE VIEWED RELATIVELY.

The ant and the bee are, I think, much nearer man in the understanding or faculty of adapting means to proximate ends than the elephant. Plants exist in themselves, insects by or by means of themselves, men for themselves. There is growth only in plants; but there is irritability, or (a better word) instinctivity, in insects.-Cobridge.

London: WILLIAM SMITH, 113, Fleet Street. Edinburgh: FRASER & Co. Dublin: CURRY & Co.-Printed by Bradbury & Evans, Whitefriars.

THE

No. XXVI.

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM SMITH, 113, FLEET STREET.

SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1839.

REASON AND REVELATION.

"THE mind of man is as a mirror or glass, capable of the image of the universal world, and as joyful to receive the impressions thereof as the eye rejoices to receive the light; and not only delighted in the beholding the vanity of things and the vicissitudes of times, but raised also to discover the inviolable laws and the infallible decrees of nature; but if any man shall think by view and inquiry into sensible and material things, to attain that light whereby he may reveal unto himself the nature and will of God, then is he spoiled through vain philosophy: for the sense of man is as the sun, which opens and reveals the terrestrial bodies, but conceals and obscures the stars and bodies celestial." Such are the words of Bacon; and in the compass of these few words a great truth, too often neglected in the pride of human knowledge, is laid down and illustrated with a clearness and conciseness peculiarly his

own.

"If any man shall think by view and inquiry into sensible and material things to attain that light whereby he may reveal unto himself the nature and will of God, then is he spoiled through vain philosophy." Yet to this end books have been written and treatises compiled, and thus systems of natural theology are too often more regarded than the oracles of revealed religion. In the ardent pursuit of knowledge, the mind of man is too apt to be elated by the consciousness of its increasing power, and in the upliftings of a proud spirit, professes to discover, ay, to prove, with mathematical precision, both the "nature and will of God," basing the argument upon proofs drawn from his own scanty knowledge of the works of the Creator. He sets up an idol, a phantom of his brain, an unreal god, for the God whose revelations are the only sure foundations of religion, and, we may add, even of history, and science.

That this earth teems with proofs of the exceeding wisdom, almighty power, and great goodness of the Creator, is known to none so well as to those who seek to know Him in his works. But it will be difficult for the inquirer who, throwing revelation aside, finds manifest proofs of the wisdom and power of a Creator, to prove the supreme goodness of his idol. Let him turn, and wind, and twist his arguments through all the mazes of logical sophistry, one fact, the existence of evil, cannot be denied, and cannot be accounted for by human reason. The consequence is, that he who takes his ground upon a natural religion or theology, must in the end be compelled to admit that the world is not necessarily the work of a beneficent Being. Not a creature in earth, sea, or air which is not subjected to pain and suffering: the very insects, the animalculæ invisible to our eyes, wage an eternal warfare. The answer of the reasoner is, that this is only another proof of Infinite Wisdom, since a superabundance is thus prevented. Granted, in its fullest extent; but until it can be proved that the existence of this superabundance was necessary, that the Almighty Power could not have adopted other means than the infliction of pain and suffering -of evil,-upon the creatures of his creation, to prevent a superabundance, the reasoner must admit that he fails in proving his

idol to be a beneficent creator.

But let him humble his reason before revelation. Let him turn to the Bible, and there learn of the fall of man, and that the earth, which had been so exceeding good, was cursed for man's sake; that thorns and briars sprang up; that, in short, evil was the consequence of man's transgression. Let him place his faith in the promise of salvation, and see that promise fulfilled in the coming of Jesus,

VOL. I.

PRICE TWOPENCE.

and the mist will fall from his eyes, and he will then find in all the works of nature proofs of the goodness of God. His researches, no longer prosecuted from vain curiosity and profitless speculations concerning the intentions of God, will be pursued with yet greater eagerness, that he may fulfil his commands, and use and multiply the talent entrusted to his care.

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We have advocated, and still advocate strongly, the opinion that the human race is advancing, not only in the acquisition of knowledge, but in mental improvement; but we do not mean to assert that this is a necessary consequence of man's organisation. We view in the fact, which we believe is fully borne out by the evidence of the history of the past compared with the present situation and prospects of mankind, the working of God's providence. It is not for man to say such must be the result. That is in God's hand. He who stood on the Acropolis of Athens, in the days of Pericles, must have looked proudly round upon the magnificent piles which it had required but a few years for that learned, polite, and cultivated people to erect. "This is a progressive age," he must have cried; "the spirit that is kindled in Athens will bear forward the mind of man until he challenges the power of the gods." But what must have been the thoughts of the melancholy Alexandrine when he beheld the imperial library, the storehouse of the arts, sciences, and eloquence of the past, kindled in the furnace to warm the baths of Omar? Surely his cry was, The world is retrograde, and learning and literature have departed for ever!" Both were mistaken, for Athens in her proudest days was tottering to her fall, and we owe the restoration of science to the sages of Arabia. We feel that although the flow has hitherto been onward, it has been by the influence, not of man but of God. In looking back upon the page of history, we see single men start up at intervals, and by their actions totally change the aspect of the world. Are they to be regarded as necessary in the fixed course of human economy? Can we calculate the appearance of such spirits at stated periods, or under given circumstances, as we do the appearance of a comet or an eclipse? They are then proofs of the immediate providence of an all-watchful God; nor is the least of his creatures less the object of his special care. If man were in his own nature a progressive creature, it would follow that we should find progression steady; but at various periods in the history of the world human intellect appears to have slumbered, and in that dangerous sleep fallen back to the point from which it started; then, again aroused, it pressed forward with renewed energy. Can we see aught in this but the immediate presence of God?

These are mysteries inscrutable to us, and so decreed by God to remain during this mundane existence. Admit them, and the soul, lightened from its heavy burden of doubt and despondency, goes gloriously on in her appointed way. Searching on every side for proofs of the power and wisdom of God, she now can clearly distinguish in each the sure tokens of his great goodness. But deny the truth of revelation, and the soul, searching to penetrate unfathomable depths of darkness with the weak light of mere human intellect, is lost, dazzled, and bewildered. She cannot deny that there is a God, and yet shrinks from the power she is compelled to acknowledge.

To such let us recommend the consideration of a little apologue illustrated by an old master (Garofolo), in an excellent picture, now hanging in the National Gallery. St. Augustin, sitting one day by the sea shore, busily occupied in the composition of his

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