Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 4th January 1845, Edition 2 of 4, Page 3

Page 3
Page 3
3 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (3)
    • saorttt
    • lieinVfoS
    • STit
  • Adverts (1)
  • Text (16)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Ijahuary 4, 1845. ,. :^— ' The Northern ...

      IJahuary 4 , 1845 . ,. ^— ' THE NORTHERN STAR . \

      Saorttt

      saorttt

      The Commission Of Genius Up, Thought! Th...

      THE COMMISSION OF GENIUS Up , thought ! thon hast a mighty work—A glorious task to do , * " - ' ' '! Better than squabbling with the Turk , Or babbling with the Jew ; A wider field than Wa terloo Hast thou wherein io war ; . 'Gainst fiercer foes than Csesar knew , Or Russia ' s daring Czar . Thou hast no need of spear or sword . Nor shield nor helmet bright , Nor quiver , " with sharp arrows stored , To fit thee for the fight ; Thine only weapon is thy right , Which , if fhon fastest well ' " . ' Shall arm thee with a gianfs might , And strength invincible .

      Thou hast to pull oppression down-To humble haughty pride-To snatch from vice her jeweU'd crown , And dash her slaves aside 3—To open freedom ' s portals wide , Wherever shut and barr'd ; And be , whatever may betide , A most unflinching lord . On stubborn error thou must throw Truth's full and startling light , And bid the blinded beldame grow Clear-eyed in years' despite ; And through the thick andlamplecs night Of Ignorance advance ,

      And waken him to visions bright ^ Prom outness * misty trance . Before the thrones of mighty kings Thon must unfearing stand , And tell them place and power are things loose-based on shifting sand ; That empires may awhile expand . Yet , if unjust their sway , Though snake-eyed craft their being plann'd , They surely shall decay . Thon art to go where senates sit , And thunder in their ear-That hearts corrupt are all unfit In government to share . What if they threaten!—thon must dare Their vengeance to its worst , Or , through uncounted ages , bear The epithet accurst .

      Thou hast to burst the barriers strong Which prejudice hath built , And brand each doer dark of wrong With his just title—guilt ! Remember , 'tis not if thou wilt . But 'tis thou shalt require From hhn who hath life ' s current spilt , A retribution dire . Thou shalt contemn wealth ' s proffered gold , And , to thy mandate just , In all his glittering stores behold But sordid dross and dust . Nor shalt thou , like cursed Achan , lust For garments rich and rare : Think , as the flames consumed his trust , Thou mav ' st his torments share .

      Thon shalt not leave one ill uncheck'd , Nor dally with the time That looks on peace and comfort wreckM As anything but crime . Thou know * st how earth was in her prime , And unto thee 'tis given To make her in her age sublime—A secondary heaven . Nay , speak not of thine humble birth ; 'Tis false—thotfrt of the sky ; God sent thee specially to earth , On his commission high . Thon wilt not surely dare deny Thy task , with lying breath ; If so , like Judas , thou shalt die An everlasting death !

      Up!—rouse thee from thy shameful sleep , What dost thon on the ground ? And Willi thy wings of lightning sweep The universe around . Why , like a captive gyved and bound , Groan ' st thon thine hours away , When , as' a monarch robed and crown'd , Thou might ? St all living sway ! Arise ! go forth ! for lo , a curse Bests both on thee and thine , Darker , and deadlier , and worse Than erst was Lanieeh's sign . 60 forth ! thine errand is divine ; Refuse , and thus ' tis given ; Thou art a traitor most malign—A renegade to heaven ! Bristol .

      Lieinvfos

      lieinVfoS

      Coningsby; Or, The New Generation. Bt B....

      CONINGSBY ; or , THE NEW GENERATION . Bt B . D'Israeli , Esq ., ALP . London : Colburn , Great Marlborough-street . ( Cc-ntifiued from the Northern Star of December 14 th . J Mr . D'Israeli has expended no small quantity of fine writing on the glories of Eton , and the joys , excitements , hopes , and competitive struggles of its youthful inmates . Few themes will probably " be more interesting to those of the readers of Coningsly , who have had the privilege of receiving instruction at that iamed school ; but iotlie mass of our readers ibis applies not , and to pester them with descriptions of Eton life would be ifut adding insult to injury . At Eton the children of ihe landed aristocrat , the speculating

      profitmonger , the tricky lawyer—in short , _ all who have money , may commingle and compete in common for the glorious prizes which , knowledge awards to her successful votaries ; hut this is denied to the children of the poor man , the oflspring of tie class whose labour is the support of ' the classes wj have enumer ated . There is a subject in connection with Eton , as with every other great public school , which we should have been glad to have seen handled something more severely than it has oeen by Mr . D'Israeliwe allude to the- abominable fagging system . Mr . D'Israeli glances at this system , and that is all ; he scarcely gives it a word of condemnation . The fag ging system we look upon as one of the prime props of easting tyrannies . It is almost invariably seen

      that the boy who is the most bullied and trampled on during his school minority , becomes , on attaining Us majority , as brutally tyrannical as he had been previously base and servile , repaying npon others the injuries he has himself borne , and avenging himself for his past degradation , by degrading and trampling on those weaker than himself . The result tf this training is , that the pupils , with rare exceptions , carry from the school into active life the mingled servility and love of despotism which has ch & racterisedthcmmthek pupilage . Hence courtiers , and sycophants , tyrants , and slaves are made . The system has been allowed to exist and perpetuate itself because its fruits have been the perpetuity of in-Mttalitv , and the prolongation of the reign of caste .

      Any scheme of educational reform which shall not extinguish every vestige of the jagoing system must fail in producing any results widely differing from the existing state of things . Our" readers can hardly fail to have been struck , in perusing extracts already given from Coningsly , with the very elegant slang which , according to Mr . D'Israeli , prevails in the conversation of Etonians . We were aware that Eton had long been famous for the eloquence of ita pupils , but we certainly were not previously aware that so much of coittrmongering slang formed so large an ingredient in the eloquence Of Eton ' s boasted orators ! "When Coningsby first alludes to Millbank , he speaks of him as " an infernal manufacturer . " This word " infernal" seems to

      tecxecedmgly popular with the Etonians . Buckhurst speaks of the rebels in the civil war having been " infernally licked . " Again , when it is rumoured that Coningsbv is drowned , Buckhurst breaks in with " Ifs an infernal lie ! " "Lark" and "row , " and many similar plirases , appear to be as natural in the mouths-of these young patricians as in those of the hnmblest plebeians of St . Giles's . We mention this merely because it is the fashion of aristocrats , young and old , to turn up tlcir noses , and curl their lips with contempt , at those they are pleased to term the " common people , " the "lower class , " & e . We thank Mr . © 'Israeli for disabusing the minds of those of the " common people" who mav have been foolishly disposed to give

      •' ence to the vaunted superiority of manners on H of their wealth y masters . " iy Millbank , bVore-mcntioncd , one of Cosckool-fellows , was the son of one of the wnufacturersofLancashire . "Hisfather , ns were of a very Democratic bent , sent on , though he disapproved of the system pursueothere , to show that he had as . do so as any Duke in the land . " Of the right , for he bad the money . But would be the position of those hundreds , . whose labour was the source of the -uank ' s wealth . Big ht they had none , to fr xheir children to be educated with the child ren 0 ? Dukes , lecause moncv they had none ! Our

      Lancashire readers will , we fancy , be rather surprised to kear of Democratic mSlouwrs ; perhaps we shall be "sliohtened bvand live , as to the democratic opinions the elder " Mllbank . We have seen that the ngcr MDIbank was no favourite of Coningsby ' s in first instance ; but an accident happening to the / " * mer while bathing , Coningsby has the good for-™» e to save his schoolfellow ' s life at tlie imminent 5 ** of his own . This creates a friendship between jp two , which speedily ripens into an attachment of j ~* hiost romanticcharactcr . Following this wc have !" a < xoum : of the Eton Montem , at which Lord Mon-} Jlm ( Coningsbv's crandfather ) attended to take lea : ^ n- . iSgrailds 0 n - : _ r tij v " * % * ' * flear nan 7 > " s * " 3 Lora Monmouth » rttt oi 1 , ade ^ g ™ 110 * 011 farewell . "I am going a a « ii : I cannot remain in this Radical-ridden

      Coningsby; Or, The New Generation. Bt B....

      country . Remember , though I am away , Monmouth House is your home—at least as long as it belongs to me . I understand my tauor has turned Liberal , and is going to stand for one of the metropolitan districts ; a friend of Lord Durham ; perhaps I shall find him in it when I return . I fear there are evil days for the new generation . * " ¦ " "' ' — " . * ' '• *¦ """ ¦ - ' - - "" >• ' --.-- ^¦ . -. ; ..-o ,...-,.-... « . ( To be continued . )

      The New Edinburgh Review. Quarterly. Par...

      THE NEW EDINBURGH REVIEW . Quarterly . Part I . Wc noticed some time ago the first monthly instalment of this new periodical , which we learn is intended-to appear in a quarterly as well as monthly shape In the second and-third numbers improvement . in aliterary view is , we are glad to say , sufficiently evident . But we must add to this our regret that the good sense of some articles should be neutralised by tlie unmistakeable trash of others . As an example of the latter , we cite the Review of Chambers ' Tracts , No . 1 , which purports to be a biography of Louis Philippe . It would be hard to decide whether the Tract or the Review is the greatest mass of nonsense . Again , the writer of the article entitled " Social Maladies from Partial Civilization'' argues

      in favour of Savings Banks as one means of remedy for the distress of the working class ! Adding , that workmen should save out of their high wages when trade is brisk to lay by a store for a period of slackness ! " The object sought , " says this writer , " is to make the good cover the bad years , and this is perhaps possible , were the high wages paid in prosperous times not so imprudently dissipated ! " Never was a viler calumny uttered against the working classes than this same Malthnsianlie—the " improvidence of the working classes . " It would be waste of time and patience to argue this point . Here is the fact , that all the people spend—no matter how they spend hVthey have made for themselves . But over and above that , three-fourths of what they have made is taken from them by other classes . The mansions , the mills , the servants , the horses , the hounds , and the harlots of the wealthy , are all paid for by the poor . Every necessary , every luxury , enjoyed by the wealthy , has been produced by the working man , or obtained

      in exchange for the fruits of his labour . How atrocious , then , is the brazen impudence of the men who charge on the working classes dissipated and improvidenthabits ; when , owing to the robberies of the rich , the poor have not the means to either improvidently expend , or criminally dissipate . And then the precious remedy this writer suggests for the distress he acknowledges to exist ! We would reccommend him , before he again attempts to play the part of statetinker , to put himself under the tuition of the Bradford Democrat , whose letter jippearcd in last week ' s Star . A six months' sweating at the combs , with the reward of comber's wages , to meet the wants of a comber ' s family , would put hhn up to a thing or two , and among other matters teach him-his capabilities of "laying by a store" for the future . If the conductors of the New Edinbvxg h really wish it to succeed , they will see the propriety of putting a stop to such emasculated puerilities as the schemes put forth by the writer of the article " Social Maladies , " & c & c .

      Wc gladly turn to articles of a'different stamp , of which we are glad to say there are several . We particularly single out an article entitled "Religious Changes . " The first portion of which gives _ the history of Drnidism ; the second portion , the history of the Apostolic Age ; and the third , the history of Papacy , to the Reformation . The writer clearly proves , first , the derivation of Druidism from the East , that fertile birth-place of all superstitions—second ; its wide diffusion through nearly all the countries of the earth- —and , third , its continuance , in various shapes , down to the present time , as instanced in the names of the days of the week ; the British poetical

      mythology , —the fairies , Pucks , < fcc ., the ceremonies Of All-Hallowmas , May-day , and Midsummer ^ eve ; reverence for the misletoe , « tc , < tc . Of Christianity ; the writer clearly shows , that long after the introduction of that religion into this country ; the new creed was as much' Druidical and Pagan as Christian . "The Pagan temples here , as they had previously been at Rome , being consecrated for Christian worship , and the festivals heretofore kept in honour of heathen deities , and dear to the populace , were dedicated to the saints of the new promulgation . " Christianity itself made nO progress till incorporated with Paganism . We quote the following : — ' '

      The establishment of a hew religion indeed is a phoenix , of which the world can hardly yet boast of having inherited or recorded a perfect specimen ; Most forms of worship hitherto promulgated and established have been derivative , and held in combination with pre-existing beliefs , rites , and ceremonies . The aboriginal , the Catholic faith of Europe , and probably of mankind , has been shown to have been Druidism ; the sanguinary offerings and the priesthood of this primitive worship were exterminated , but its forms and spirit survived and still survive in the popular feelings and usages of nations . Upon the ruins

      of this superstition the more splendid and visible forms of the heathen mythology were established . Christianity itself hardly ever existed nncombined with pre-existing rites , unless during the brief term of the . Author's earthly pilgrimage , and , as delivered from the lips of Jesus Christ himself , it partook more of the nature of a preceptive doctrine for separate individual edification than of anew promulgation intended to constitute national worship . As first offered it was without forms or expression ; it had no temple , no sacrifice , no priesthood ; it was a faith , a belief , a spirit of communion , which the divine oracle proposed to open between each believer and the Almighty .

      In this simple state , however , it did not survive the age of the Evangelists . It became incorporated with Judaism . The first converts were Jews , who were all zealous for the law of their fathers , nor did they consider themselves exempt from its obligations . They kept the Jewish sabbath , were circumcised , attended the worship Of the temple and the synagogue , and in all things observed the Mosaic ritual . St . Faul was a Jew-Christian , observing the law , and who himself circumcised Timothy .:. The first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were Nazarenes , as converted Jews were termed .

      Jesus Christ gave a new moral and a new faith to man , kind , but these were soon lost sight of , if not buried under the superstructure erected out of . materials derived from other sources . The Gospel was preached to the Gentile nations , but never obtained a pervading influence over them-until it began to be promulgated from their temples , amd commingled with their superstitions . . Upon this platform theRoman worship was established . The faith might be Christ ' s , but the visible and dominant elements which obtained for the Catholic Church its supremacy were wholly of pagan origin ..

      That this is the true history of Catholicism has been established by Dr . Sliddleton , a learned divine of . the Church of England . In his celebrated Letter from Rome he exhibits , in a perspicuous manner , the conformity between Paganism and Popery , and proves that the religion of the Romans , in its services and rites , is entirely borrowed from their heathen ancestors . But it was by such conformity Catholicism triumphed , and without it Christianity itself would probably have made very slow progress in the conversion of men . Incorporated with a hioki ancient and popular worship , its propagative force was vastly augmented ; it obtained by this union that which it most needed—spectacle , and rites , which , appealing to the senses in visible forms , its authority was rapidly extended —first over the Latin empire of the West , and next over the German nations who subdued it . With another extract we conclude : —

      What could be more stainless , meek , and lowly than Christianity in its first advances to mankind t It was infancy—guileless , unblemished , and unpretending . But as it advanced in years and strength , as it mingled with temporal interests , with the pursuits of ambition , power , and riches , its character was perverted . From a holy aspiration , pure and undefilcd , it degenerated into an apparatus of wordliness . Prom being the handmaid of civilisation , it became the great obstacle to social advancement . Prom the laudable vocation of controlling the passions of fierce and wicked men , of asserting human equality and God ' s impartial justice to all , its ministers degenerated into oppressors , and erected a vast superstructure of plunder and monopoly .

      "The "Autobiographv of a Living Writer ; " the " Origin of the Laws and the Three Estates ; " " Sandhurst College and its Mathematics ; " "Blackguardism , its Rise and Fall ; " "Optical Delusions ;" " Reviews of the Correspondence of the Right Hon . Edmund Bnrke ; " and other works : are articles all worthy of attentive perusal : hut for further extract or comment we cannot afford room .

      The New Parley Library. Part Ix. Tliis E...

      THE NEW PARLEY LIBRARY . Part IX . Tliis exeellent miscellany increases in interest as it increases in age . If its contents were limited only to the excellent translation of the Wandering Jew , it would be worth far more than the price charged for it . At the present moment , when priestcraft , both abroad and at home , is making such mighty efforts to regain its old ascendancy , it behoves the friends of free thought to be everywhere on the alert to provide the antidote to the poison so widely diffused . The day is not far distant when the struggle commenced * by the French Reformers will have to be consummated . The second great conflict is approaching . Let the friends of reasbn an \ d the rights of nan look to it , that priestly villany does not over-reach

      them . We say to the " men of the progress , help to circulate by every means in your power this work of Eugene Sue ' s . It is enough " for you to know that on the Continent the priests everywhere preach and rail against it , and in some countries have succeeded in getting the civil power to interdict the printing of it ; it is enough for you to know that the archhypocrite , the great " impostor , the Mokanna of our time , Mr . Daniel OToxnell . denounces and raves against this work—it is surely enough for the advocates of human liberty to know these things , to induce them to do their best to circulate a work so hated and feared by priests . To our readers , we say , buy the New Parley Library , and read the Wandering Jew .

      The Orphan; Or, Memoirs Of Matilda. Br E...

      THE ORPHAN ; OR , MEMOIRS OF MATILDA . Br Euozxe Sce . London : Newby , Mortimerstreet . This is a translation of one of Eugene Sue ' s works , translated by tlie Hon . D . G . Osborne . The fust number only " has reached us , and this necessarily af-

      The Orphan; Or, Memoirs Of Matilda. Br E...

      fords us but poor materials on which to ground a judgment of the work ; but we suppose the reputation of the author of " The Mysteries of Paris" will be sufficient guarantee with most readers , that aught which emanates from his pen must be sterling , pre . The Oqrian opens with no lack of that / mystery so dearrto— all-- romance ^ readers . - -Thu 8 , " _ -we .- » have most of the scenes described in Part , I laid in the interior of an unpretending - coffee-house - in one of the most . out-of-the-way and- , unfrequented parts of Paris . Opposite to ' * Le Cafe Lebceuf , is . a sombre and long-uninhabited building , called the " hotel D'Orbe ? soh . " This hotel , after being many years untenanted , is taken possession of by a Colonel Ulric , whom nobody knows , and whose pursuits nobody can divine , . and who is attended by an equally mysterious janissary . ' , The greater part of the number before us is taken up with an account of the

      contrivances-had recourse to' by the gossips , who were in the habit of assembling at Madame Lebcouf s to satisfy their curiosity as to who and what the [ strange Colonel is . This is followed by the mysterious introduction of two females , one young and very handsome . Then we have the equally mysterious introduction of two exquisites , who appear , to belong to that class of unquestionable blackguards , " men about town , " or " menof the world . " These have a rencontre with the mysterious colonel , who , refusing certain explanations required of him , a duel is threatened , and is supposed to " come off , " though of this too we are left in doubt . . From this slight sketch the lovers of romance' will see that there is mystery enough in all conscience to begin with . Perhaps future numbers will afford us materials for an extract or two , which is not the case with that ' before us . The work will be illustrated by Robert GruikalianK , whose ' name is sufficient' to guarantee the first of talent in his department .

      The Whole Art Of. Chess And Draughts. Lo...

      The WHOLE ART of . CHESS and DRAUGHTS . London : Cleave , Shoe-lane , Fleet-street . We must confess our ignorance of the art of which this little book treats , and , therefore , our incompetence to decide on its merits ..: Chess has been described as the ' . 'Amusement of princes , sages , and conquerors ; " and it will hot be the fault of the publisher of this little work if it be not also the amusement of the million . ' We subjoin the introduction ; for the very full instructions on every point connected with this . popular pastime we must refer our readers to the book itself , which may be had at a cost within the reach of the humblest . " : ' ¦¦ ' ¦ ' '

      THE HISTORY OF CHESS . It has been justly observed , that among aU the in-door amusements invented by man for the employment of the idle or the relief of the studious , chess stands pre-eminent . It is the most refined and ingenious of aU games , and possesses a charm which has rendered it a favourite of the greatest characters , whether kings , warriors , or - philosophers . As an -amusement , it possesses an advantage as great as it is singular ; being highly interesting ; in itself , and played with leisure , it requires no inducement of gain , and in consequence is rarely played for money . The glory of conquest is allowed to form a sufficient attraction . -

      Chess is of unknown origin and antiquity . Some writers have ascribed its invention to the Greeks , some to the Hindoos , others to the Chinese , and a fourth class to tlie Persians . There can . be little doubt that it originated in the east , and at a very remote period of history ; and it is certain that it has been known in Hindostan , and adjacent regions ; for at least two thousand years . From the Persians it was introduced by the Arabians into Spain ; thence it found its way to Prance ; and was made known hi England during tlie reign of William the Conqueror . The name of the game , and also the names of the

      pieces with which it is played , have undergone many mutations in Travelling from country to country ;• nevertheless , in the present terms which we employ , the semblance of the original eastern appellations may be seen . In Hindostan it possesses the Sanscrit name of chaturanga , which imports the four members of an army—elephants , horses , chariots , and foot soldiers ; the game being a scene of mimic warfare , in-which these elements respectively act a peculiar part . The Persians corrupted the Sanscrit word into ehatrang , which the . Arabians softened into chatranj ; from that appellation it passed into scocdii , echoes , and finally chess . By tlie Erench it is called eehecs , and a chess board they term echimier . ¦¦ ' - ¦ ' : -

      According . to the . modern European arrangement , the idea of elephants , horses , chariots , and foot . soldiers has been abandoned , and there have been substituted a king , queen , bishops , knights , castles or rooks , and pawns , forming six distinct classes of pieces . The term bishop is only English , being a substitution for elephant . The knights represent the horse-soldiers . The term rook is from the eastern word rOfcJi , a hero , and represents an armed chariot or fortification ; the English give the . piece the form of a castle . The pawns are the foot soldiers , tlie name being from peon , an attendant . The chess pieces made in India , or China , for sale to wealthy Europeans , are sometimes made of solid ivory , five or six inches high , and are exceedingly beautiful , no degree of labour being spared in the carving . The king and queen are seated on elephants , under a canopy , the bishops are camels , with archers as their riders ; the knights are on horseback ; the castles are elephants , with castles on their backs filled with warriors ; and the pawns are soldiers , one a sergeant , another a drummer , another a fifer , and the rest ordinary fighting men . ¦

      Ljtt£. Uliuxa.Wuluvlih.0 Vr Xiiej Vliv&M...

      lJtt £ . ULiUXa . WUlUVliH . 0 Vr XiiEj VLiV & M TIME . TO THE EDITOR OF THE SORTHEEK STAR . Sib , —The able , though miiid-paining prose picture of the present condition of the male and female cloth-workers of Bradford , as given , from a correspondent , in your last number of the just-departed year , has suggested to me the propriety of transcribing , fortke'first number of the new year , a companion-piece , by way of contrast ; in a ' picture-in poetry , as written about two centuries and a half ago ; and referring to a period much more remote . -The author is Thomas Delony , who wrote various of the popular ballads of the time—the Spanish Lady , Fair . Bosctr mond , Wat Tykr , and many others ; but the extract given is to be found in a small volume , purporting ^ be a life of John of Winchcombe , a rich , and otherwise celebratedc ' othier , inthereign . ofHenryVIIL , and who had Ids name from the town of his birth . Delony also wrote the History of the Six Worthy Clothiers of the West , in honour of the same profession ; and the History of the Gentle Craft , in compliment to >

      flhoomakers . From a notice in Stow , I find he was outlawed in 1596 , by the authorities of the City of London , for writing some verses on the idearness of corn ; * and had been blamed before this for printing a book in favour of the silk-weavers , when they were engaged in some struggle connected with their craft j and hence tho productions were necessaril y most objectionable to the " powers that be . " Both these compositions ; It appears , ; are now lost , though . " pity it is " it , is so . The annals of the producing classes have yet to be written , and not alone from yesterday , but through hundreds of years back ; - - .....,: ¦ r .-rr . - Should you , sir , therefore , consider the accompany ing transcript worthy of insertion ; as a small" item " in this way , it is at your service ; and will ; no doubt , occasion some'interest in its '' perusal . Much of the description is at once simple and engaging •; as , for instance , of the women carders , ...,

      " Who synging sat , with voices cleare ; and of the " maydens" with " r '" ' " " Their smocke sleeves like to winter snow , " while , , "Each sleeve , with a silken band , Was featly tied to the hand . " " Pretty maids , " indeed ! as the writer calls them ; spinning their soft threads out of the beautiful fleece , and mingling together their " voices meet , like nightingales ! " And then , too , - how exquisitely the emolovnient of the " seven score and ten children "is

      hit off—the children of humble , inoffensive fathers , or of " pborc silly men , " as the phrase is here set forth in the manner of expression of the period . And again , what a glorious John Bull finish the poet makes . Such a fulness of all good eating ; and such a clatter of "dishes , pots , and pans ! " _ And of all this , even the " seven score ahd ten " children , had their rich bellyfuls , and a clear penny " every one ;" beside , " at night , " a penny , which would purchase more of other eatables than six times the sum does now . But let the poet tell the tale himself , and here it-is : — - ' '; ' i- .-: ¦

      JOHN OF WINCHCOMBE S WOEKE PKOPIiB . Within one roome , being large and long , There stood two hundred loomes full strong , Two hundred men , the truth is so , Wrought in these loomes all in a row . 15 y every one a pretty boy Sate making quils with mickle joy . And in another place , hard by , An hundred women , merrily , Were carding hard with joyful cheere , Who singing sat with voices cleare . And in a chamber , close beside , Two hundred maydens did abide , In peticoats of stammel red , And milk-white kerchers on their head :

      Then * smocke sleeves like to winter snow That on the western inountalnes flow , . And each sleeve ,- with a silken baud , Was featly tied to tho hand . These pretty maids did never lin , But in that place did all day spin ; And spinning so , with voices sweet , Like nightingales they-sung full sweet . Then to another roome came they , Where children were in poore array ; And every one sat picking woll , The finest from the conrse to cull :

      The number was seven score and ten , The children of poore silly men . And there , their labours to requite , Had every one a penny at night , Beside their nicate and drink all day , Which was to them a wondrous stay . Within another place likewise , Full fifty proper men he spies ; And these were Shearcmen every one , . Whose skill and cunning there was showne And h : u-d by them there did rcmaine Full foure score Rowers taking paine . f

      Ljtt£. Uliuxa.Wuluvlih.0 Vr Xiiej Vliv&M...

      A Dye-house likewise had he then , Wherein he kept full fovtie men . And likewise in his Fulling Mill , Full twentie persons kept he still . . -- , j Each week-ten good fotoxen- he -j--. . :- ; f i ' Spent In his house for " certainti 6 i ; "l J ¦ " - . t-Besidosgoodbutter , 'cheese ; andish , And many another wholesome dish . Hekept a Butcher all the yeere :

      A Brewer eke for Ale and Beere : . A ; BakerfortOjbakeliisbread ; ¦ -. tWhich stood his househpldc in good stead Five Cpokcs within his kitchen great , Were all ' the yc aro to dresse his rricate ; Size scullionhoyes unto theirhahds , To , make clean dishes , pots , and pans :. ; ., Beside poore chUdreri that did stay To turn the ' brooches every day . This was a gallant clothier sure , Whose fame for ever shall indnrc !

      Wisliing all the readers of the Star , and everybody else , to soon see these starry times again ,. I remain , Sir , yours , very truly , The Ennon op the " Corowainebs' Companion . " . P . S . —Would not the new version of tho "Employer and the Employed" gooffin aneat ' eheap pamphlet ? The " Garland , " too , is beautiful , it is a thoroughly . blooming Winter Wreath , though so much of . it is tear-fed .

      * The Account Is In The Stereotype Editi...

      * The account is in the stereotype edition of Stow , and the words are : — " The maker of the scurrilous ballad was oneDelonie , an idle fellow , and one noted with the like spirit , in printing a book for the silk-weavers , wherein was . ., found some such foolish and disorderly doctrines . " "He could ' not , " says the same authority , "be found , and sent in his place a copy of the ballad , as a sortof joke upon his mayor-ship ' . "' t This term . " paine , " I suppose , is intended to convey the carefulness with which the " rowers" executed their tasks ; though what is meant by ' " rowers" I am hot aware . '' : ' ' -., •¦ < '

      Charles Dickens-B02. Sir Walter Scott Di...

      CHARLES DICKENS-B 02 . Sir Walter Scott died in 1832 , and Sickens appeared in 1833 . Those who love to trace the ^ descents of genius , willbe pleased with the curious coincidence in point of time , which we , offer to Mr . Dickens' admirers in lieu of the old joke—that Scott wrote w # , but Dickens he wrote Welkr . Some of his first efforts , his Sketches by Boz , were written for the old " Monthly Magazine . " We recollect falling in with-a stray ' sheet ' of ' this magazine , three or four days after-its publication ; for it-, became waste paper , so sickly was its then existence , the day . nfter it was out . We were all ears and' eyes , merriment and pleasure , though the writer ' s name was more unknown to us than the real origin of Junius . ' From the pages of the " Monthly Magazine " Ms labours were transferred to the columns of the "Morning Chronicle . " Here they had a wide circulation , and the name of "Boz" was known .

      "Far as loud Bow ' s stupendous bells resound , ' * - They were immediately collected by Macrone , and illustrated by Cruikshank .. , The demand was unprecedented ; and the supply at first was not equal to the demand . We recollect a dowager cburiteas calling at Macrone ' s , in St . Jamea ' B-square . 'for a copy of the work . He had sold the last , and the new , edition , would not be ready before tomorrow . The countess , all impatient , begged for the loan of the two volumes . He had sold his own . She would look ' in the shop , she said , for herself , and actually left her carriage to rummage for a copy . - The search was ineffectual , and the noble lady drove off reaUy offended with the young and handsome publisher .

      . He had not as yet taken the people ; but the " Pickwick Papers , " his next publication , completed that triumph . Mot much , was expected from the first number , and Mr . Macrone , it is said , had more than foretold its failure , With the third and fourth numbers it rose into reputation , and Macrone willingly , admitted the ' incorrectness of this conclusion . Our morning and evening papers abounded with paragraphs from Pickwick , and Sam Weller became more the idol of the people than the great' Lord Essex , Jack Wilts , Sir Francis Burdett , or Lord George Gordon * Itw , asinthisthe ; heyday of his rising reputation that we had the pleasure of nieeting Mr . Diskens for tho first tinic . —His appearance is prepossessing ; jiis . figure small —but well made ; Ids look intelligent , and his eyes peculiarly expressive . ; He seemed scanning you , not

      obtrusively , but unobservcdly , trom head to foot , As he entered , there was a cry like that of Pope , Pope . !—the cry described by Sir J . Reynolds as hailing the appearance of that illustrious poet . There was a sort of whisper of " Dickens is here ; here is Dickens , " in a concealed kiud of under breath—confidentially telling what each wishes to know . In a mixed party stupid people abound , aud some were there that night who expected he would talk the ' next number of Pickwick , or create a new Sam Weller for the amusement of the party . There was quite a Wz about Boz , and modest , as we then were , wc were content that night with seeing Dickens—retiring , to another room in expectation of some other and early occasion of forming his acquaintance . . This we have since done , and we believe we hare both his good will and his good wishes . .,

      To our thinking "Boz" has never outdone or equalled his Sam Weller—that happy creature of fine and fertile observation , so unihistakeakly true to human nature . Sam needs no letter of introduction ; to our sympathies ; he is just as welcome for the period of his existencCjas I / alstaff , Uncle Toby , or Tom Jones . The critics who call Hognrth a comic painter , call Mr . Dickens a comic writer . Tho description is incorrect in both eases . Hogarth and Dickons are painful moralists —men that prove human nature to the quick—healing satirists that unveil vice and effect amoral good . Mr . Dickens has been a benefactor to his species—ho has smoothed the brow of pain ,: the face of sorrow , and lent balm to tho bed of death . This is praise sufficient for a life . . Yet he has done more . He has enlarged our public sympathies , ' calling attcntioh to the neglected bastard and to the penniless poor—to those thin-dieted asylums , called cheap schools—and to those real . prisons , our union workhouses . ^ -Pictorial Times .

      A Bowl Of ¦ "Punch,'! Fresh Brewed. The ...

      A BOWL OF ¦ "PUNCH , ' ! FRESH BREWED . THE BISHOPS . ¦ Certainly there is something the matter with the Bishops . It is not for Pimch to criticise the lawn with , the eye and finger of a lady who would buy pocket-handkerchiefs ; but there . is . something the matter with the Bishops . There was a time when we never heard of them save in their Christian proprieties ; when they gave away oxen and cart-loads of bread at- their doors to the poor . Now do they every day occupy—to the exclusion of much instructive and amusing matter—three or four columns of

      the ' Times . Surely , this is not as it ought , to ., be .. Peopleget up of mornings and ' wonder what Exeter will say—iust as certain folks , the first thing they do , consult the weather-cock . Then , again , they look to see if London is in the paper . This , must be wrong . We had come to this conclusion , when we were made to stare 'by the Bishop of Chester . ' That goodman was , doubtless , uneasy at the notoriety which rewarded certain of his brethren . He therefore determined to caU public attention to himself ; and so signed a petition to the Queen , for mercy to Mary Gallop , by her own 'confession ; the murderess of her father . And the Bishop observes— v ! .

      , That sh ' ewas not influenced to this great crime by any malignant hatred to her father , suras a moans that occurred to her mind oftnahUnghtr to marry ike person to whom she had engaged herself . Now , should some Dean or Canon put arsenic in the Bishop of Chester ' s' turtle-soup , in the hope of obtaining his bishopric , would not the prisoner have this excused—that he had no " malignant hatred" to the Bishop;—certainly not ; only too much . lovo for his ' see !? ¦ ¦¦;¦ ¦ . ::.- ;¦'¦ . '' Some time since , there was a prejudice against certain candles , it being alleged that they were impregnated with arsenic that they might burn the brighter . The morality of Mary Gallop ( according to the . Bilhop ) partakes , and , for the same reason , of the brilliancy , of these tapers ; lor he says—That should the Queen ' s mercy be extended to this miserable woman , she might prove of great use in being emp \ oyeA in teaoMnj yoimgpersons in one of the schoolsin any place to which she may be transported .

      This wretched woman administered two doses of poison to her father . With no touch of conscienceno remorse , she gave the second dose , the first having failed . ' And tluVis the instrument to teach young SereoM ! Imagine' with what solemn emphasis would ow , from the : lips of the parricide ,, these words : — . "Honour thy father and thy mother , that thy days may be long in . the land which the Lord thy ' God giveth thee . " ' - ' : " ; '¦ ' ; " '" ' • ' ' By the wayjwhen Mary Furley was suffering under tho agonies of ; the death-warrant so ; atrociously in »

      flicfed upon her—yes , Sir James Graham , atrociously—where were the Bishops to plead the cause of an ' outraged , bvoken-heartcd woman ? But then Mary ; Furley > had ; not poisoned tier-father ; she was , probably , jnpt eligible as a Christian nibnitress . In a word , ' Mary Furley was not Mary . Gallop . Let it'not be thought that we advocate , wider any circumstances , capital punishment . Certainly not . It is our beUef that ; the gallows is the worst reformer . Our strictures arc only intended for the sophists who play the mountebank to humanity .

      A Faggot Cask . —At the Watlington Petty Sessions , one John Page , chair-maker , of Whcclend , Stoken-church ( blessed be ., his . door-posts !) charged " Jane Allen , a wretchedly distressed-looking woman , with an infant at her breast , with having stolen , on the 25 th of November , a small faggot of wood , of the value ' of ' one penny , ' from off a pile in Thirdswood . " Now , John . Page , having this faggot very much next his heart—indeed , it must have been pretty well of the same stuff—insisted upon a conviction , and the

      woman—John Page ' s recording angel has written down the fact— " with the infant in her arms , was committed vto - Oxford gaol ; to , take her trial at the Quarter Sessions , charged with stealing the said faggot , of . the value of three-farthings . " What it very pleasant Christmas this John Page must have passed ! - What a remarkably nice man to spend a ,-Christmas with ! With what sweet serenity he must have gone to church—for , of course , such a stickler for three-farthing lionet-ty , has his pew and all things proper , and pays his devotions regularly as his taxes . And then when lie returned to his jocund

      A Bowl Of ¦ "Punch,'! Fresh Brewed. The ...

      home , and having said grace , enjoyed like a good man his Christmas dinner , with what extreme selfcontentment he must have looked upon his children ( if he be blessed with such cherubs ) , thinking of the felonious Jano Allen ' s babe in Oxford gaol . And then , when he turned himself round to his fire , thinking ofithe ; faggotp : whatpleasanfething 8 he must have seen in the embers of his Christmas log ! What a Jacob ' s ladder must his' fancy have pictured , with John Page , cliairmaker ; upon all ; but , the topmost round ! And is , this aman to want a faggot ;? Cei-r tainly not ; . Punch"' would give hhn ohe with ' all his heart and all'his . strerigth . :. ' ?' . ' " A " " " : ¦ The ' ChnisrMis Waits . —The , foHowin £ , wcre' tlie most popular . 'last week : —John Bull waiting' for a Repeal of the Ihoome-Tax ; . The Parishioners of Stl Stephen ' s , Walbrooky , waiting for ' a settlement ' of their accounts . Lord Brougham waiting for ' the Woolsack . The fountains in Trafalgar-square waiting for the Artesian Well . '" ¦ , ' - 1 \ . ¦

      A Farthing iron Repeal ; on , The Irish ' / Coxjunon . —Our English readers may recollect ah ingenious wayfarer , who was wont . to levy small contributions oh the pbcliets of his spectators by means ot a sheet of white paper ; yes , of one sheet of Bath post . This paper the adroit beggar would'fold up into different shapes , all distinctly representing twenty different things . ' "Now , " he would say , "it is a chest of drawers , " and a chest of drawers it was ; " now it is a lady ' s bonnet ; " nobody could dispute it —it was a hidy ' s bonnet ; " and ^ iow it is a coalscuttle . " The crowd would by their applause declare it to be a coal-scuttle , and nothing else . ' Now , this man was an honest showman , though he dealt in sleight of-hand ; though' he earned his mutton and potatoes by dexterity of fincer—ho was , nevertheless ,

      no ,, cheat ; what he promised to do , he faithfully accomplished . Why will not Daniel O'Connell copy tlie high principle of the English showman ? As , like him , he deals in legerdemain—why , like him , does ho 1 not put an honest face upon the matter ? How long Is it since he has promised to show-all the features of thedoll Repeal ?—and up to the present time she is muffled like an Indian beauty ! " Give a farthing—only a farthing—and you shall see what you shall see . Hereditary bondsmen . -know ye notonly a farthing !—who would-be free—but one farthing !—themselves must—down'with your farthings Wstrike the blow !; Only a farthing I" ... Hanbsome Turn-Out . —The Duke of Buckingham

      and . ChandoB , the Labourer ' s Friend , and Farm-servant ' s j Father , has lately been exercising 1 a little wholesome ; fatherly severity upon his Irish tenants in Westmeath , where eighteen families have ibeen turned adrift by the . Duke's steward . Pleasant weather this for the wet bog ,- or the ditch-side ! It appears that no rent was due from them . Doubtless , on the . occasion . of the . next agricultural jubilee at Stowe , these eighteen families willfoim part of the pageant . The conduct of , the Duke of Buckingham proves tlie truth , of what has been often said of him , that " no landlord can turnouts , finer set of tenants . " A Goon Beginning . — A pension of £ 000 has fallen into the Civil List . We wish the Civil List " a happynew ' year , and many of 'cm . "—Punch .

      Conscience Money . —Mr . Punch begs to acknowledge several sums of money from tlie different eoneoctors of the London pantomimes and burlesques , for the very liberal use they have made , of his jokes and subjects of the past year . The list willbe published , arid the amount forwarded to a magistrate for the relief of the Fountains hi Trafalgar-square , in a day or two . , , . - . ; " .. ''¦¦ ' , - •; ' . ' Tab Detentions . at the Post Office . —A gentleman , living in Camden Town ,., would feel particularly obliged to Colonel Maberly to return to him , as soon as he has done with them , the goose and Epping sausages , which were sent to him [ through the post last week by a friend in the ! country .

      Infernal Treatment Of The Poor In Suther...

      INFERNAL TREATMENT OF THE POOR IN SUTHERLAND . " ( Prom the Glasgow National . ) We have just received , from a highly-respectable correspondent in the North of Scotland , who plcdges . himself to its accuracy , the following . most extraordinary statement with regard to the , condition . of the poor in the parish ot Criech , in the district of RqsehaU . nud comity of Sutherland ;— . . "In the district of Hqsehall , within the parish of Criech , and county of Sutherland , there are upwards of fifty poor persons who have received no . parochial relief since the disruption of the Church of Scotland , in May , 1843 . " A deputation of thoir number presented a petition fo « relief in springlast to the Kirk session ' and minister of the parish , by whom it was contemptuously returned , with the intimation , that they would receive nothing , as they had gone out from the Established Church , and from the state . . . .. .

      " Despairing of relief by other means , legal proceedings were eommenced by one of their number , whose case was taken up by Mr . Charles Spence , S . S . C . On receiving a petition from him on behalf of that individual , the minister of the parish , who has in his hands about £ 200 of tinpoor ' s money , sent Ins session clerk with two pounds to lie divided among the poor on ' the list , ' " The clerk , after travelling twenty miles with it , had not the heart to attempt distributing the miserable . dole , and carried it back to the minister again . " A meeting of the heritors and kirk-session was then convened , which was held at Invcrshin on the 20 tli December , and which was attended by heritors , or their fnci . tors , representing property to the amount of between £ 40 , 000 and £ 50 , 000 per . annnm .

      .-. " After reducing the list to fifty , by striking off the names of some poor ' persons , and distributing : these liftj persons into three classes ,. they assessed themselves in the sum of twelve pounds ; which together with the two pounds from the kirk-session , mafcinji in all fourteen pounds , they ordered to be divided among these fifty people—each to receive fi ne , six , and four shillings , according to the class inwhich they wereplcwfli—as inatnteiumoe for < ft « fast twenty moniht , ant / probably for twelve months to come . " Of the fifty " persons to whom this aliment has been awarded , two are blind—three are idiots—many are above eighty years of age—some are entirely , or almost entirely , confined to bed—several are in such extreme destitution , that their neighbours were repeatedly afraid that thov would be found dead , in their ' wretched huts , of actual want—and almost all have no means or ' subsistence , except the charity of neighbours , who are nearly as poor as themselves . "

      Fourteenpounds sterling , as thirty-two months maintenance for fifty poor persons—two of whom are " blind "—three of whom are " idiots" —many of whom are " . above eig hty years of age "—several of whom are " almost entirely confined to bed "—and several are "iii such , extreme destitution that their neighbours are afraid they will be found dead iii their huts of actual want ! " - Of a verity / 'tis a princely sum—honourable to ; .. the .,. lieartg , and no less honourable to tho Christian feelings of those by whom it is doled out . We hear much ih ' these times of the oppression of the poor'by the millocracy ^ f their hard work :

      and their long hours , and their small wages . And no doubt—and the more ' s the pity—there is sometimes but too . much truth in the accusation . But , gracious Heaven ! such evils are well-being—are cdmforU-ai'e' happiness itself , when compared with those sustained by these " -poor people . . ^ Fourteen pounds sterling , " as ; "thirty-two months ' maintenance" for fifty poor aged , infirm , starving , destitute persons ! We have heard " much—much , too , ' that has astonished Us , of the condition of the labouring poor ; in this end of the island ; but of a truthithis eclipses all . . - ,

      Great Pedestrian Match.—The Great Pedest...

      Great Pedestrian Match . —The great pedestrian match between the English and American runnel's , for 1 , 200 dollars , came off on the 19 th ult . on the Beacon Course , at Iloboken , opposite New York , and attracted an immense assemblage of spectators . The competitors were—John Barlow and Thomas Grcenhalgh , two Englishmen , natives of , Lancashire ; ThOiaas M'Cabe , an'Irishman ; John Steeprock , an Indian ; John Underlilir ' and Thomas Jackson , Americans ; John Gildcrsleeve : and Joseph Smith , of New York ; and J . P . Taylor , of Connecticut . The distance to be performed was ten miles , oyer ground extremely heavy , ' from the rain of the previous evening . The betting was decidedly in favour oi Barlow and Greenhalgh , who had obtained considerable reputation in this country as pedestrians , and

      also from their having carried off prizes at a former trial of speed over the same course ' . After the' arrangement of the usual preliminaries , the start took place , the two Englishmen leading at a tremendous pace , closely followed by the Indian and Gilderslceve . Barlow accomplished the first mile in the short space of 5 minutes 10 seconds , the Indian being second , and Gilderslceve and Greenhalgh third and fourth ; behind them M'Cabe and Taylor , and the rest " nowhere . " Barlow maintained his position in the second mile , which he ' ran in 5 minutes 15 seconds , the Indian well up , and Gilderslceve and Greenhalgh as before . Barlow did the third mile in 5 minutes 22 seconds , and was now 50 yards ahead of the Indian , Gilderslceve and Greenhalgh being still third and fourth . Barlow from tbif

      mile kept . increasing the distance between him and the other competitors . He closed the four , h . milc in 5 minute ^ 25 seconds ; fifth mile , 5 minutes 26 seconds ; sixth mile , 5 minutes 31 seconds ; seventh mile , 5 minutes 34 seconds ; eighth' mile , 5 minutes 36 seconds ; ninth mile , 5 minutes 35 seconds ; and last mile , 5 minutes 25 seconds : thus accomplishing the ten miles in the unprecedented short time of oi minutes 21 seconds . Steeprock , the Indian , was second ; time , 54 minutes 33 seconds . Greenhalgh third ; time , 55 minutes 10 seconds . Gihlersleeve fourth ; time , 55 minutes 51 seconds . Taylor sixth ; time , 50 minutes 52 seconds . In the List mile Greenhalgh made a most desperate effort , passed

      Gildcrsleeve , and gamed 40 seconds on Barlow , though the latter ran this mile 10 seconds quicker than he did the ninth . _ Greenhalgh , it is supposed , must have run this mile in about 4 minutes 48 seconds . 'Barlow beat the Indian exactl y US yards , while Greenhalgh was less than 90 behind him . -It is supposed that had Greenhalgh made his running in the ninth mile , ' instead of waiting for Gilderslcevcj 'he would have beat the Indian , and thus become entitled to the second prize . . The purse was thus dividedI : —Barlow , 700 dollars ; Steeprock , 250 dollars ; Greenhalgh , 150 . dollars ; and ' M'Cabe , 25 dollars . Barlow ' has since returned to England , leaving Greenhalgh behind to complete some matches ho had undertaken . — New York Paper ,

      Stit

      STit

      Ad00320

      Good Lawpob the Gmrjs . —B good old Scottish Parliament , p \ Margaret , about 1288 , it was "b . ye reign of her maist blesslt . Mn )\ ladee ofbaitlihigh " andlowestaitrsHv speak ye man she likes ; gif he . refused be his wjfj he shall be mulct ini tho s \ drity puiidis or . less , ' as his eatait ' may i \ always gifhe ' eah make it appear that lie \ to . aiuther woman ' , ' thcn ' . ho shall be fvee . " \ ^ TnEjLiNn .- ^ tlow , . ' would you like a rural * .. ttage iiriVh n-Mn \ vnt * o-jiivtall rill Ann linnil ' . i \™ r . « A .. ? . T . r ~ - I ¦ imu Viivi « WW 11 lUUlt

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 4, 1845, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_04011845/page/3/