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Northern Star (1837-1852), 4th January 1845, Edition 4 of 4, Page 3, A BOWL OF '•PUNCH," FRESH BREWED. mE BIS...

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      Me

      me

      Tbe Commission Of Geous Tjp, Thought! Th...

      TBE _COMMISSION OF _GEOUS TJp , thought ! thou hast a mighty work—A glorious task to do , Better than squabbling with the Turk , Or babbling with the Jew ; , A wider field than Waterloo Hast thon wherein to war ; 'Gainst fiercer foes than Caesar knew , Or Russia ' s dar ing Czar _, lion hast no need of spear or sword , Sot shield nor hehnet bright , Sor qui vcr i _* " _* sharp arrows stored , To fit thee for the fight ; Thine only weapon is thy right , _TVhich _, if thou _laskest well ,

      Shall arm thee with a giant ' s might , And strength invincible . Thon hast to pnU oppression down-To humble hanghry pride—To snatch from rice her _jewell'd crown , And dash her slaves aside ;—To open freedom ' s portals wide , ¦ Wherever shut and barr'd ; And he , whatever may hetide , A most unflinching lord . On stubborn error thou must throw Truth ' s full and _slaving light , And hid the blinded beldame grow Clear-eyed in years * despite ; And through the thick and lampless night Of Ignorance advance , And waken him to visions bright , From _dulness' misty trance .

      Before the thrones of mighty Jongs Thou 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 . Thou art to go where senates sit , And thunder in their ear—That hearts corrupt are all unfit In government to share . _TVliat if they threaten I—thou must dare Their vengeance to its worst ,

      Or , through uncounted ages , bear The epithet accurst Thon hast io hurst the harriers strong Which prejudice _liuth uuilt , And brand each doer dark of wrong With his just title—guilt ! Remember , _" tis not if thou wilt , Rut ' tis thou shalt require From him 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 Rut sordid dross and dust . Nur slinlt thou , like cursed Achan , lust For garments rich and rare :

      Think , as the flames consumed Ms trust , Thou may ' st his torments share . Thon shalt not leave one iU _uacheck'd , Kor daUy with the time That looks on peace and comfort _wrecked As anything bat crime . Thon know ' sthow earth Tins in her prime , And unto thee 'tis given To make her in her age sublime—A secondary heaven . Kay , speak not of thine humble birth ; lis false—thou _' rt of the sky ; God sent thee specially to earth , On his commission high . Thou 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 thou on the _ground ? And with thy wings of bguttuug sweep The universe around . "Why , like a captive gyved and bound , Groan ' st thou thine hours away , When , as a monarch robed and crown'd , Thou mightSt all living sway ? Arise ! go forth ! forlo , a curse Rests both on thee and thine , Darker , and deadlier , and worse Than erst was Lantech' s sign . Go forth ! thine errand is divine ; Refuse , and thus 'tis given ; Thou art a traitor most malign—A renegade to heaven ! Bristol .

      Bcin'cfo. S

      _Bcin cfo . s

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

      COMNGSBY ; or , THE NEW GENERATION . Bt B . D'Israeli , Esq ., M . P . London : Colburn , Great Marlborough-street . f Continued from the Abrtfcern 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 , hones , and competitive struggles of its youthful inmates . Few themes will probably be more interesting to those of the readers of Coningsby , who have had the privilege of _receiving instruction at that famed school ; but to the mass of our readers this applies not , and to pester them with descriptions of Eton life woidd be but adding Insult to injury . At Eton the children of the landed _aristocrat , the speculating

      profitmonger , the tricky lawyer—in short , all who have money , may commingle and compete in common for ihe glorious prizes which knowledge awards to her tuccessful votaries ; but this is denied to the children of the poor man , the offspring of the class whose labour is the support of the classes we have enumerated . 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 been by Mr . D'Israeliwe allude to the aboniinahlc fagging system . Mr . _IVIsraeu glances at this systcm , " and that is all ; he scarcely gives it a word of condemnation . Ihe fagging systim wc look , npon as one of the prime props of existing tyrannies . It is almost invariably seen

      that the boy who is the most bullied and trampled on during his school minority , becomes , on attaining his majority , as brutally tyrannical as he had been previously base and servile , repaying upon others the injuries be has himself borne , and avenging himself for Bis past degradation , by degrading and trampling on those weaker than himself . The result of this training is , that the pupils , with rare exceptions , carry from the school into active life ihe mingled serv & ity and love of despotism which has characterisedthen _» intheirpnpilage . 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 inequality , and the prolongation of the reign of caste .

      Any scheme of educational reform which shall not extinguish every vestige of the f agging _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 Gmingsby , with the very elegant slang which , according to Mr . _D'IsKieli , prevails in the conversation of Etonians . We were aware that Eton had long been famous for the eloquence of its pupils , but we certainly were not previously aware that so much of costermongcring dang formed so large an ingredient in the eloquence of Eton ' s boasted orators ! When Coningsby first alludes to Millbank , he speaks of him as " fin infer nal manufacturer . " Tins word " infernal" seems to be exceedingly popular with the Etonians . _Buekhnrst

      speaks of the rebels in the civil war having been " infernally licked . " _Ajiahi , when it is rumoured that Coningsbv is drowned , Bnckhurstbreaksin with "It ' s an _infernal lie . '" "Lark" and " row " and many similar phrases , appear to be as natural in the months of these young patricians as in those of the humblest plebeians of St . Giles ' s . Wc mention this merely because it is the fashion of aristocrats , young and old , to turn up their noses , and CErl their lips with eonltmpt * at those they are pleased to term the " common people , " the "lower class , " & c . Wc thank Mr . D'Israeli for disabusing the minds of those of the " common people" who may have been foolishly disposed to give credence to the vaunted superiority of manners on the part of their wealthv masters .

      The boy Millbank , before-mentioned , one of _Coningsby ' s school-fellows , was the son of one of the wealthie _stmannfadnrereofl _^ ncashire . "Hisfather , whose opinions were of a very Democratic bent , sent his son to Eton , though he disapproved of the system of education pursned there , to show that he had as aneh right to do so as anv Duke in the land . " Of course he had the right , for he had the money . But T different would be the position of those hundreds , or thousands , whose labour was the source of the vldtT _MilJhanFs wealth . Sight thev had none , to _N their children to be educated with the children w Dukes , ltcav . se _mmuy they had none ! Our _Lanjasiure readers will , we fancy , be rather surprised to near © f _Ixiuocmtic millomic ' rs ; perhaps we shall he

      _enlightened by and bve , as to the democratic opinions _« the elder Millbank . We have seen that the t _^ un _.= ° « * _Milllank was no favourite of Coningsby _' s in - _wnrst instance ; but an aeddent happening to the J « iucr _while bathing , Coninssbv has the good for-*?? ct save his schoolfellow ' s life at the _imminent _Iheh hls « wn . Tliis creates a friendship between th _* . C ° _' _^" _speedilv ripens into an attachment of an \ , TOm a « tie character . Following this we have _mo _' _- _^ _ntofthe Eton Montem , at which Lord Mon-W _' _. _r' , ? " J * bv ' s grandfather ) attended to take . _' _^^ _Sraialsonl—* hru ]• _' , _{'•* ' . _dear Harry , " said Lord Monmouth , _ahr , ' _5 : l -, „ . _* Jfe , l 5 s grandson farewell . " I am going •* " -gmi : I _eamnit remain in this Radical-ridden

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

      country . Remember , though I am away , Monmouth House is your home—at Ieastas long as it belongs to me . I understand my tailor has turned Liberal , and is going to stand for one of the mt-tr 6 j-. olit . in districts ; a friend of Lord Durham ; perhaps I . « hall find him in it when I return . I fear there are evil days for the sew generation !" ( To be continued . )

      The New Edinburgh Review. Quarterly. Par...

      THE NEW EDINBURGH REVIEW . Quarterly . Part I . We 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 Shapo . In the second and third numbers _Jmprovement , inaliterary view is . wcareglad to say , sufficiently evident . But we must add to this our regret that the good sense of some articles should be neutralised by the unmistakeablc 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 _theowxZ cover the _oaeZyears , 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 Malthusianlie—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 itthey have made for themselves . But over and above that , tlirec-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 b y the poor . Every necessary , every luxury , enjoyed by the wealthy , has been produced by the working man , or obtained inexchange forthe fruits of his labour . How atrocious , then , is the brazen impudence of the men who charge on the working classes dissipated and improvident habits ; _wlien , 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 pnt himself under the tuition of the Bradford Democrat , whose letter appeared 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 him 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 Neta Edinburgh 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 , " < te . < fce . We gladly turn to articles of a different stamp , of which wc are glad to say there lire several . We particularly single out an article entitled "Religious Changes . " The first portion of which gives the history of Druidism ; 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 Drnidism 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 , —tho fairies , Pucks , & c ., the ceremonies of All-Hallowmas , May-day , and Midsummer-eve ; reverence for the misletoe , Ac ., Ac . 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 Borne , 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 . " Christianitv Itself made no progress till incorporated with Paganism . We quote the following : —

      The establishment of a new 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 snperstition the more splendid and visible forms of the heathen mythology were established . Christianity itself hardly ever existed uncombined 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 a new 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 df the temple and the synagogue , and in all tilings observed the Mosaic ritual . St . _Tanl was a Jew-Christian , ohserving the law , and who himself circumcised Timothy . The first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were _JJazarenes , as converted Jews were termed .

      Jesus Christ gave a new moral and a new faith to mankind , hut these were soon lost sight of , if not huried under the superstructure erected out of materials derived from other sources . The Gospel was preached to the Gentile nations , bnt never obtained a pervading influence over them until it began to be promulgated from their temples , and commingled with their superstitions . Upon this plat form theRoman worship was established . The faith might be Christ ' s , but the risible 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 hy Dr . Middleton , a learned divine of the Church of England . In his celebrated Letter from Rome he exlubits , 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 . Rut 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 more 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 ! 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 pcrverred . From a holy aspiration , pure and unden t ed , it degenerated into an apparatus of wordlinesB . Prom being the handmaid of civilisation , it became the great obstacle to social advancement . From 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 " _Autobiosraphv of a Living Writer ; " the " Origin of the Lawsand the Three Estates ; " " Sandhurst College and its Mathematics ; " " Blackguardism , its Rise and Fall ; " "Optical Delusions ;" " Reviews of the Correspondence of the Right Hon . Edmund Burke ; " and other works : arc articles all worthy of attentive perusal : but for further extract or comment we cannot afford room .

      The New Parley Library Part Ix. This Exc...

      THE NEW PARLEY LIBRARY Part IX . This excellent miscellany increases in interest as it increases in age . If its contents were limited only to the excellent translation of the Wandering Jav , 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 he consummated . The second great conflict is approaching . Let the friends of reason and the rights of » an look to itthat priestly villany does not over-reach

      , them . We say to the " men of the progress , " help to circulate bv ' every means in your power this work of Eugene Sue ' s . It iB 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 arch-Lypoerite , the great impostor , the Mokanna of our time , Mr . Daniel O'Coxkell . 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 circnlate 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. Bt E...

      THE _ORPHAN ; OR , MEMOIRS OF MATILDA . Bt Eugene Sue . London : Ncwby , Mortimerstreet . This is a translation of one of Eugene Sue's works , translated bv the Hon . D . G . Osborne . The first number only has reached ns , and this necessarily at-

      The Orphan; Or, Memoirs Of Matilda. Bt 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 ore . The Orphan opens with no lack of that mystery so dear to all romance readers . Thus , 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-wav and unfrequented parts of Paris . Opposite to "Le Cafe Leboeuf is a sombre and long-uninhabited building , called the "hotelD'Orbesson . " This hotel , after being many rears untenanted , is taken possession of by a Colonel Ulric , whom nobody knows , and whose pursuits nobody can divine , and who is attended by ah equally mysterious janissary . The greater part of the number before us is taken up with an account of the contrivances had _recom-sc to bv the cossins , who were in

      the habit of assembling at Madame Leboeufs _tosatisfy-their curiosity as to who and what the _jstrange Colonel is . This is followed by the mysterious introduction of two females , one young find very handsome . Then we have the _eqiially mysterious introduction of two exquisites , who appear to belong to that class of unquestionable blackguards , " men about town , " or " men of 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 " copie 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 Croikshank , whose name is sufficient to guarantee the first of talent in bis department .

      The Whole Art Or Chess And Draughts. Lon...

      The WHOLE ART or 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 not 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 niSTOBT OF CHESS . It has heen 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 all 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 , aud 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 the Persians . There can bo 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 Hiudostan , 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 France ; and was made known in England during the 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 dtaturanga , 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 chatrang , which the Arabians softened into chatranj ; from that appellation it passed into _jooccM , ecfiecs , and finally chess . By the Trench it is called eehecs , and a chess board they term _eefcimt-ier .

      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 rokh , 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 , the 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 , aud arc exceedingly beautiful , uo degree of labour being spared iu 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 elephauts , 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 .

      The Clothworkers Of The Olden Time. To T...

      THE CLOTHWORKERS OF THE OLDEN TIME . TO THE EDITOK OP THE NOBTHEKH STAB . Sir , —The able , though mind-paining prose picture of the present condition of the male and female eloth-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 , for the first number of the new year , a companion-piece , byway 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 Rosamond , Wat Tyler , and many others ; but the extract given is to be found hi a small volume , purporting to be a life of John of Winchcombe , a rich , and otherwise celebrated c othicr , in the reign of Henry VIIL , and who had his 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

      shoemakers . 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 dearnessof corn , * and had been warned before this for printing a book in favour of the silk-weavers , when they were engaged in some struggle connected with their craft ; and hence the productions were necessarily 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 . Should you , sir , therefore , consider the accompanying 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 " Their sinockc 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 emplovracnt of the " seven score and ten children " is

      hit oft—the children of humble , inoffensive lathers , or _^ of " poore 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 and ten " children , had their rich bellyfuls , and a clear penny " everyone ;" 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 itis : —

      JOHN OF _WIKCHCOMBE ' S WORKE PEOPLE . Within one roome , being large and long , There stood two hundred loonies full _strong Two hundred men , the truth is so , Wrought in these loonies all in a row . Ey every one a pretty boy Sate making quils with miekle joy . And in another place , hard by , An hundred women , merrily , Were carding hard with joyful checre , Who singing sat with voices cleare . And in a chamber , close beside , Two hundred maydens did abide , In peticoats of stanunel red , And milk-white kerehers on their head :

      Their _smocke sleeves like to winter snow That on the western mountaines flow , And each sleeve , with a silken band , Was featly tied to the hand . These pretty maids slid never lin , But in that place t _' . i > l all day spin ; And spinning so , wiih voices sweet , Like nightingales _tkey 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 coarse 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 mcatc and drink all day , Which was to them a wondrous stay . Within another place likewise , Full fifty proper men he spies ; And these were Shearemen every one , Whose skill and cunning there was showne And hard by them there did romaine Full foure score Rowers taking paine _. t

      The Clothworkers Of The Olden Time. To T...

      A Dye-house Vikewlie had he then , Wherein he kept full fortie men . And likewise in his Fulling Mill , Full twentie persons kept he still . Each week ten good < at oxen he Spent in his house for certaintie ; Besides good butter , cheese , and fish , And mnny another wholesome dish . He kept a Butcher all the ycere ; A Brewer eke for Ale and Beere : A Baker for to bake his bread , Which stood his householde in good stead Five Cookes within his kitchen great , Were all the yeare to dresse his mente ; Six 6 scullion boyes unto their hands To make clean dishes , pots , and pans : Beside poore ' children that did stay To turn the brooches every day . This was a gallant clothier sure _,, Whose fame for ever shall indurc !

      Wislung all the readers of the Star , aud everybody else to soon see these starry times again , I remain , Sir , yours , very truly , The Eoitor op the " _Corowaixers' Cohpaxiox . " P . S . —Would not the new version of the " Employer and the Employed " go off in a neat cheap pamphlet ? The "Garland , " too , is beautiful , it is a thoroughly blooming 1 ft _ufcr _Ifreath , though so much of it is tear-fed .

      # The Account Is M The Stereotype Editio...

      # The account is m the stereotype edition of Stow , and the words are : — " The maker of the scuiTilous ballad was one Delonie , an idle fellow , and one noted with the like spirit , in printing a book fur 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 sort of joke upon his mayor-shi p . " 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 not aware .

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

      CHARLES DICKENS-BOZ . Sir Walter Scott died in 1832 , and Dickens appeared in 1833 . Those who love to trace the descents of genius , will be 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 well , but Sickens he wrote Wetter . Some of his first efforts , his Sketches by Box , were written for the old " Montlily 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 after it was out . We were aU ears and eyes , merriment aud pleasure , though the writer ' s name was more unknown to us than the real origin of Junius . From the pages of the " Monthly Magazine " his 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 Maerone , and illustrated by _Cruikshank . The demand was unprecedented ; and the supply at first was not equal to the demand . We _rceoUeet a 'dowager countess calling at Macrone _' s , in St . Jaraes ' _s-spare , for a copy of the work .. He had sold tho last , and the new edition would not be ready before tomorrow . The countess , all impatient , begged for the loan of the two volumes . lie 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 tho noble lady drove off really offended with the young aud handsome publisher .

      He had not as yet taken the people ; but the " Pickwick Papers , " his next publication , completed that triumph . Not much was expected from the first number , and Mr . Macronc , it is said , had more than foretold its failure , With the third and fourth numbers it rose into reputation , and Maerone willingly admitted the incorrectness of this conclusion . Our morntng and evening papers abounded with paragraphs from Pickwick , and Sam Weller became more the idol of the people than the great Lord Essex , Jack Wilks , Sir Francis Burdett , or Lord George Gordon . It was in this the heyday of his rising reputation that we had the pleasure of meeting Mr . Diekens for the first time . _—Dis appearance is prepossessing ; his figure small —but well made ; his look intelligent , and Ins eyes peculiarly expressive , ne seemed scanning you , not

      obtrusivel y , hut unobservedl y , from 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 kind of under breath—confidentially telling what each wishes to know . In a mixed party stupid people abound , and eome were there that night who expected he would talk the nest number of Pickwick , or create a new Sam Weller for the amusement of the party . There . was quite a buz about Boz , and modest as we Uien wore , we 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 wc believe we have 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 unmistakeably true to human nature . Sam needs no letter of introduction to our sympathies ; ho is just as welcome for the period of his existence as Falstaff , Uncle Toby , or Tom Jones . The critics who call Hogarth a comic painter , call Mr . Dickens a comic writer . The description is incorrect in both cases . Hogarth and Dickens arc painful _xooraVists —men that prove human nature to the quick—healing satirists that unveil vice and effect a moral good . Mr . Dickens has been a benefactor to his species—he has smoothed the brow of pain , the face of sorrow , and lent balm to the bed of death . This is praise sufficient for a life . Tethe has done more . He has enlarged our public sympathies , calling attention 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. Me Bis...

      A BOWL OF ' PUNCH , " FRESH BREWED . mE BISHOPS . Certainly there is something the matter with the Bishops . It is not for Pwnch 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 . People get up of mornings and wonder what Exeter will say—just 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 bo wrong . We had come to this conclusion , when we were made to stare by the Bishop of Chester . That good man was , doubtless , uneasy attho notoriety which rewarded certain of liis brethren . He therefore determined to call public attention to himself ; and so signed a Eetition to the Queen , for mercy to Mary Gallop , by er own confession , the murderess of her father . And the Bishop

      observes—That she was not influenced to this great crime f > j / « ht / malignant hatred to her father , but as a means that occurred to her mind of enabling her to marry the 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 excuse—that he had no " malignant - hatred" to the Bishop;—certainly not ; only too much love 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 Bishop ) partakes , and , for the same reason , of the brilliancy oi these tapers ; lor he Bays—That should the Queen ' s mercy be extended to this miserable woman , she might prove of great we in being employed in teaching young persons in one of the schools in 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 this is the instrument to teach y oung _Scrsona ! Imagine with what solemn emphasis would ow , from the lips of the parricide , these words : — " nonour thy father and thy mother , that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee . " By the way , when Mary Furley was suffering under the agonies of the death-warrant so atrociously

      inflicted upon her—yes , Sir James Graham , atrociously—where were the Bishops to plead the cause of an outraged , broken-hearted woman ? But then Mary Furley had not poisoned hor father ; she was , probably , not eligible as a Christian monitress . In a word , Mary Furley was not Mary Gallop . Let it not be thought that we advocate , under any circumstances , capital punishment . Certainly not . It is our belief that the gallows is the worst refonner . Our strictures are onl y intended for the sophists who play the mountebank to humanity .

      A Faggot Case.—At The Watlington Petty S...

      A Faggot Case . —At the Watlington Petty Sessions , one John Page , chair-maker , of Wheelcnd , 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 TMrdswood . " Now , John _Pwigc , having this faggot very much next his heart-indeed , it must have been pretty well ol 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 to Oxford gaol , to take her trial at the Quarter Sessions , charged with stealing the said faggot , of the value of three-farthings . " What a 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 coursej such astickler for throe-farthing honesty , has his pew and all things proper , and pays his devotions regularly as his taxes . And then when he returned to his jocund

      A Faggot Case.—At The Watlington Petty S...

      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 Jane Allen's babe in Oxford , gaol . And then , when he turned himself round to . his fire , thinking of the faggot , what pleasant things he _^ lnust have seen in the embers of his Christmas log ! >> hat a Jacob ' s ladder must his fancy have pictured , with John Page , chairmakor , upon all but the topmost round ! And is this a man to want a faggot ? Certainly not ; PuiKh would give him one with all his heart and all his strength . Tire CnKisTMAS Waits . —Tho following , were the most popular last week : —John Bull waiting for a Repeal of the Income-Tax . _ The Parishioners of St . Stephen ' s , Walbrook , waiting for a settlement of their accounts . Lord Brougham waiting for the Woolsack . The fountains in Trafalgar-square waiting for the Artesian Well .

      A Farthihq for Repeal ; or , The IRisn Conjuror . —Our English . readers may recollect an ingenious wayfarer , who was wont to levy small contributions on the pockets of his spectators by means of a sheet of whito 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 lady ' s bonnet ; " and now itis 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 finger—he was , nevertheless , no cheat ; what he promised to do , he faithfully accomplished . Why will not Daniel O'Connell copy the high principle of the English showman f As , likehini , he deals in legerdemain—why , likehini , does he not put an honest face upon the matter ? How long is it since he has promised to show all the features of the doll Repeal ?—and up to the present time she is muffled like an Indian beauty . " Give a farthing—only a farthing—and you shall sec what you shall sec . Hereditary bondsmen , know ye notonly a farthing!—who would be free—but one farthing!—themselves must—down with your farthings ' . —strike the blow I Only a farthing ' . " Handsome Turn-Out . —The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos , the Labourer ' s Friend , and

      Farm-servant ' s Father , has _latelv been exercising a little wholesome fatherly severity upon his Irish tenants in Westmeath , where eighteen families have boon 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 tho occasion of the next agricultural jubilee at Stowe , these eighteen families will form part of the pageant . The conduct of the Duke of Buckingham proves the truth of what has been often said of him , that " no landlord can turnout a finer set of tenants , " A Good Beginning . —A pension of £ 600 has fallen into the Civil List . We wish the Civil List " a happy new year , and many of ' cm . "—Punch .

      Conscience Money . —Mr . Punch begs to acknowledge several sums of money from the different concoctors 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 will be published , and the amount forwarded to a magistrate for the relief of the Fountains in Trafalgar-square , in a day or two . The 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 Is Suther...

      INFERNAL TREATMENT OF THE POOR IS SUTHERLAND . ( From the Glasgow National ) We have just received , from a highly-respectable correspondent in the North of Scotland , who pledges himself to its accuracy , the following most extraordinary statement with regard to the condition of the poor in the parish of Criech , in the district of Ilosehall _, and county of Sutherland : — " In the district of BosehalJ , 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 their number presented a petition for relief in spring last to the Kirk session and miuistcr 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 commenced 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 the poor ' s money , sent his session clerk with two pounds , to be 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 miuistcr again . " A meeting of the heritors and kirk-session was then convened , which was held at- InverBhin on the 20 th December , and which wnB attended hy heritors , or their factors , representing property to the amount ef between £ 40 , 000 and £ 50 , 000 per annum .

      " After reducing the list to fifty , by striking off tho names of some poor persons , and distributing these fifty parsons into three classes , they assessed themselves in the sum of twelve pounds ; which together with the free pounds from the kirk-session , making in all fourteen pounds , they ordered to be divided among these fifty people—each to receive five , six , and four skiUings , according to the class in which they were placed _^—as maintenance for the last twenty months , and probably for twcluc months to come . " Of the fifty persons to whom this aliment has been awarded , two arc blind—three arc idiots—many are above eighty years of age—some arc entirely , or almost entirely , confined to bed—several are in such extreme destitution , that their neighbours were repeatedly afraid that they 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 . "

      Fourteen pounds sterling , as thirty-two monw maintenance for fifty poor persons—two of whom are " blind "—three of whom are " idiots "—many of whom are " above eighty years of age "—several of whom are " almost entirely confined to bed "—and several are "in such extreme destitution that their neighbours are afraid they will be found dead in their huts of actual want ! " Of a verity , ' tis a princely _suni—honourable to the hearts , and no less honourable to the Christian feelings of those by whom it is doled out . We hear much in these times of the oppression of the poor by the millocracy—of 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 comfort—are _huppiness 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 truth this eclipses all .

      Grear Penissrriair Match.—The Great Pede...

      GREAr _PEnissrRiAir Match . —The great pedestrian match between the English and American runners , fori , 200 dollars , came off on the 19 th ult . on the Beacon Course , at Hobokcn , opposite New York , and attracted an immense assemblage of spectators . The competitors were—John Barlow and Thomas Greenhalgb , two Englishmen , natives of Lancashire ; Thoxias M'Cabe , an Irishman ; John Steeprock , an Indian ; John Underbill and Thomas Jackson , Americans ; John GildcrsleeYC and Joseph Smith , of New York ; and J . P . Taylor , of Connecticut . The distance to be . performed was ten miles , over ground extremely _heavy , from the . rain of the previous evening . The betting was decidedly in favour of

      Barlow and Grcenhalgh , 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 Gildersleeve . Barlow accomplished the first mile in the short space of 5 minutes 10 seconds , the Indian being second , and Gildersleeve 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 Gildersleeve and Greenhalgh as before . Barlow did the third

      mile in 5 minutes 22 seconds , and was now dO yards ahead of the Indian , Gildersleeve and Greenhalgh being still third and fourth . Barlow from this mile kept increasing the distance between him and the other competitors . He closed the fom \ h mile in 5 minutes 25 seconds ; fifth mile , 5 minutes 28 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 51 minutes 21 seconds Steeprock , the Indian , was second ; time , 64 minutes 33 seconds . Greenhalgh third ; time , . 55 minutes 10 seconds . Gildersleeve fourth ; time , 55 minutes 51 seconds . Taylor sixth ; time , 59 minutes 52 seconds . In the last mile

      Greenhalgh made a most desperate effort , passed Gildersleeve , and gained 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 m inutes 48 seconds . Barlow beat the Indian exactly 173 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 Gildersleeve , he would have boat the Indian , and thus become entitled to the second prize . The purse was thus divided : —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 he had undertaken . — New York raver _.

      Wit &Ite

      Wit _& _ite

      Goon Law For The Girls.—By An Ancient Ac...

      Goon Law for the Girls . —By an ancient Act of tho good old Scottish Parliament , passed in the rei gn of Margaret , about 1288 , it was " ordonit that during ye reign of her maist blessit Majcstie , ilka ' maiden ladee of baith high and low estait , shall hao liberty tospeak yc man she likes ; gif he refuses to take her to be his wif , ho shall he mulct in the suiu of an him ; drity pundis or less , as his estait may bc except and always gif he can make it appear that he lsbethrothilr to anither woman , then he shall be free . " The Land . —How would vou like a rural cottage with a flower garden on one hand—a vegetable garden oii the other—a green lawn in front uehedged -with ; fvnit trees ? Would it not be rather better than

      stifled up apartments in a crowded street ? Would not the green-sward , the flowers , and the tvecs bo more likely to awaken virtue in your children than the filthy sights and sounds that greet them m the e % ? Would thev not grow up better , both in body and soul , for having all the wholesome and geutl influences of nature springing up around them _i Wanted a Steam Parson . — An iron church ha been built at Glasgow , to lie sent to Jamaica . The Land of Edes . —The ibllowing is the address of the principal of a boarding-school , in the vicinity of Sydney , New South Wales : —Mrs . Love , Hap * mony-house , Concord , near Kissing Point .

      _INew Occupation for a Dentist . —An itinerant dentist lately called at a house in one of the far west towns , and applied for business . " Don't you want ? your teeth drawn ? " says he to the owner . " No . " "Don't your wife ? " " No . " "None of the children ? " " No . " " Can't you give nic some sort of a job ? " asked the dentist . '' Why , " replied the mart , " I have an old cross-cut saw , the teeth of which ar _© out of order ; '' you can have a job if you'll fix 'em !" An Eye to the Future . —At a meeting , convened by the friends of Clay , held in Woodstock , Vermont , one of the orators grew amazingly eloquent , exclaiming , "Who ever heard of a woman ' s naming her sonafter James K . Polk ? " and then made a significant pause , as if inviting an answer . "I never did , " exclaimed a fair democrat in the crowd , who had been married about six months previous , " but _Iknovt one that intends to . "

      " A sweet return , " exclaimed the husband , when his wife threw the sugar basin at him . An American says that ho has a nigger servant so black that a piece of charcoal makes a white mark on him . Worth _Remembering . —Write injuries in dust , but kindness in marble . Lay not your faculties in th _* sepulchre of idleness . Envy is a turnkey by birth , and an executioner by profession . March of Gentijjti-. —Some years ago a wit introduced a match vender to an innkeeper as a traveller in the sulphur and timber line from the firm of Beelzebub and Co . It will not be disputed that the present age is a progressive ago , since ladies and

      gentlemen have superseded the way-faring adventurers . A mendicant called a few days ago vX Money-hill , near llickiucrsworth ; he rung the bell , which being duly answered by the cook , she bargained for a box of congrcves , for which she paid a penny , besides looking him up sundry crumbs that fell from the rich man ' s table . Whilst " the traveller" was _stowing away the prog , the cook inquired if he had any dipt matches ? " No marm , I never carries the like : a gentleman what ' s close at hand deals in them : I say , Long Tom ( vociferated the cadger ) , this ere lady wants sonic o' your sort . " The gentleman forthwith supplied marm , who gladdened his heart with a plentiful supply of prog in . addition _, to the penny .

      The State op Salvation . —On the high road to Cheshani , a few miles before entering that ancient town , stands the picturesque village of Chcnics . At the entrance of the village some gotbic almshouses , erected by a Countess ' of Bedford , remind tbe travel ler of the good old times , when to steal a goose was expiated by bestowing tho giblets in alms . The goose that furnished the giblets alluded to , was nested in the reign of "bluff Hairy , " and taken possession of by the ancestors of the present " Lord-Finality" for conscience sake . In the village is » school for the perpetuity of ignorance under the immediate patronage of the Bcvcrcml Lord incumbent and my Lady patroness . A young damsel , who had received a large share of " mylady ' s instruction /'

      chanced to captivate a young paper-maker from a neighbouring mill . The happy day of wedlock arrived , when a goodly niustcr of villagers assembled to witness the ceremony , which , as a special mark of condescension , was performed by " my Lord" j » propria persona . Every thing passed off with the utmost decorum until the clergyman addressed tho bride , " Wilt thou have this man to th , v wedded husband ? " Ac ., to which the damsel replied with infinite alacrity , " Yes , verily ; and by God ' s help so I will . And 1 heartily thank our Heavenly Father _,, that he hath called me to this state of salvation I" ' " My Lord" looked very queer , " My Lady" essayed : to appear serious amidst the roar of laughter , in , which she was at length compelled to join : render ing it evident that mirth is a thorough democrat , arh out-and-out leveller .

      Matrimonial Baskets ' —A lady of fashion stepped into a shop not long since , and asked the keeper if he had any matrimonial baskets , she being too polite to say cradles . Sir _FLEicnEK Norton , when pleading before Lord Mansfield on some question of manorial rights , chanced unfortunately to say , "My Lord , I can illustrate the point by an instance in my own person ; I myself have two little manors . " The judge immediately interposed in one of his blandest smiles * " we all know it , Sir Fletcher . " A reason fob NOT Gaming . —Some gentlemen being at a tavern together , for want of better diversion , one proposed play . " But , " said another of thft company , " I have fourteen good reasons against gaming . " " What are they ? " said another . " " In . the first place , " answered he , " I have no money . " " O ' . " said the other , " if you had four hundred reasons , you need not name another . "

      Owing _SuERinAx . — " How is it , " said a gentleman _, to Sheridan , " that your name has not an U attached to it , your family is Irish , and no doubt illustrious V * "No family has a better right to an O than our family , " replied Sheridan , " for we 0 ( owe ) everybody . " William Pitt . —The fashionable bom's of the present times were neatly censured by this war-making-Minister . " Mr . Pitt , " said the Duchess of Gordon , " I shall expect you to dine with me at ten this evening . " " 1 must decline that honour , " said th & premier , "for I am engaged to sup with the Bishop of London at nine . " Legal Wit . —A hamster observed to a learned brotlior in court , the other day , " that the wearing of whiskers was unprofessional . " " Bight , " replied hi * friend , "a lawyer cannot be too ban faced . "

      Tue Queen's Visit to the _Smitto'iel ]) Cattlr Club Snow . —The first to greet her Majesty on that occasion was " the black-polled ox of the Scotch _, breed , bred by Prince Albert ; " which had been " removed from the dark corner it had previously occupied , into the light near the entrance . " When the Prince approached , his grateful foster-child attempted to lick his hands : and her Majesty was so touched , that , on learning it had already been sold to a Butcher , she declared her resolution to redeem its life from , the _? shambles . —Spectator , Dec . 21 . _0 Bullock , thou wast wide awake , And thus escaped _' st sticking , _1 wish , for the poor Otter ' s sake , _ZftV riven the Prince a licking !

      American Criticism . —The New York papers speakin high raptures of a Madame Pico , who has appeared at the Italian Opera-house in that city . She appeared first in Ricci ' s Criara di Rosenberg , then in Donizetti ' s Lucrtzia Borqia . Upon the latter eventan American critic says : — " Madame Pico _ropresentathe leader of the conspirators , and docs the noise and the jollification . She was exquisitely dressed , _sanff with as little of the split straw in her soprano as weever heard her sing with , and acted to her singing with what the Greeks called onomatopeia—movement linked with sound indivisibly . The fourth act represented the youths at the fatal supper , Pico the prh > cipal customer . After a little hob-nobbing on the other side of the table , she glides round , upon her plumptitudinous locomotives , and dashes into a song , rich and rolicking . Doum went £ / ic ouclct for da-first time into her well of contralto , ami up came the li _^ uicf and golden music , of a round , true fulness , tliat mate tie ears thirst a luxury . " (!)

      An Accomplished Young Lady : Modern Finish . —Her cdication is slicked oft * complete ; a mantymakor gets her up well , aud she is sent back to home with the tower stamp on her , " edicated at a boardm - school . " She astonishes the natives round about where the old folks live , and makes'em stare agin , she is so improved . She plays beautifully on the piano , _twopieees , they were crack pieces lamed _onder the eve and ear of the master ; but there is a secret nobodv knows but her—she can't play nothm . else . She sings two or three songs , the last lessons larnt at school , and the last she ever will lam . She has two or three beautiful drawin ' s ; but there is a secret here too—the master finished ' em , and she can't do another , hue speaks French beautiful ; but it ' s fortunate she am C . * ,-. ii j _ i . _J „ _«« _i _« Ch _/* to n VflW that secret is safeShe is a

      in France now , so . very agreeable gal , and talks very pleasantly , for she has seen the world . She was in London for a few weeks : _<« iw the last play , and knows a great deal about the theatre . She has been to the Opera once and has seen Celeste and Fanny Elsslcr , _, and heard Lablache and Grisi , and is a judge of dancm and singin . She saw the Queen a horse-back in the Park , and is a fudge of ridin '; and was at a party at Lady Syllabub ' s , and knows London life . This varnish lasts a whole year . The two new p ieces wear out , and the songs get old , and the drawin ' s everybody has seed , and the London millinery wants renewin _' , and the Queen has another princess , and there is . another singer at the Opera , and all is gone but the credit , " she was edicated at a boardm' school . "—Sam _# «« in Enaland .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 4, 1845, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_04011845/page/3/