assassinated, monarchs deposed, guillotined, emperors exiled, traitors beheaded, patriots advanced or dismayed. But I cannot resist the invitation given in the whispers of Bishops and Prebends in behalf of Swift, deaneries, chapters of translations, voyages in seas, litters in stalls, and canon reports.

The most exquisite class of whisperers are those who move in the circle of a Court. The forté of language has no business here. Each fantasia is arranged as piano. This is the realm of whispers in whose euphonies the Oberons, Tucks, Mabs, and their aërials gambol as beams and shadows in noiseless smiles, with lips quivering like leaves just loud enough to be seen, that Time might pass unobserved. That the most dainty flatterers are wrought in this class, it is not my purpose to stop and point out. For I find political whispers, emulous of being raised into the place of voice and emolument; always (of course) for the good of the nation. Another class of whisperers is found in the Law. These are so like, yet so unlike, all others, it would puzzle Blackstone to make Commentaries' on them, Chitty to Digest' them, Bell to Analyse their origin, and challenge a Chancellor's doubt as to their utility. My Lud,' by a leading counsel in nisi -"his Vice!' in chancery: or, my learned brother' in Westminster, would show the position in which whispers are conveyed. When I notice Opera Whisperers, I do not allude to the prompters who have little delicacy in this art, for they whisper so loud to the audience as to render a performance supererogatory. In violation of good breeding the Impertinent Whisperer frequents the Opera. He cares not for melody or acting; he will be heard out. Like a gander he gabbles his prevailing twaddle to a deaf or stupid ear, and annoys the thousand breathing and well-behaved listening people. Those who whisper sweet things in ladies ears, sitting like faries in flower-cups and roseleaves, in the snug and festooned boxes, are more endurable: they are screened behind fans, and are only heard by the receptacles of love, and give raptures to the heart, discovered in the flushing cheek and pleased features, dimpled and fascinating. Three classes of whisperers are usually to be found at Levee and Rout Assemblies. The first communicate the outré appearance of the flirting duchess, and conveys more contumely than kindness, by a toss of the plumes and the application of the eye-glass. The second is the loudest of all whispers, affected, but intended to be heard, and a prelude to a

noisier coversation to use this, is a mark
of ill breeding, and should never be coun-
tenanced. The third is emulative, praise-
worthy, and pleasurable. This gives to
the ear what the tongue delights to reveal
by an abstract notion of valuable qualities,
and is of all whispers the dearest if felt,
and the best if overheard. Toilette whis-
perers look you full in the face, and in-
form you without vanity, of the most
wholesome of all virtue, Truth. It whis-
pers how fast the march of time carries
all that is human, beautiful, and enchant-
ing, to the house appointed for all liv-
ing.' It is so sincere, that none can be
offended, and so pure, none can complain
of alienation from friendship. The only
bias it possesses, is self-esteem: listen to
the silence of its reflection. Card-table
Those at
whisperers are annoying.
Crockford's whisper in a dangerous and
unknown tongue: they are discovered by
magic, effected by phantasmagorial decep-
tion, and restrictively hasten the ruin of
adventurers.

Ladies and Gentlemen of a certain age, may whisper harmlessly enough over their own bagatelles, and wine and walnuts, and if piqued, can be reconciled without injury. Deaf persons think you are ever whispering about them. There are whisper-gatherers of new books, the fine arts, critics, and reviewers: these are heard more in nubibus than in public. Puffs prelusive, oblique and direct, convey them through that great organ of opinion, the Press, and they are bruited in the world. How many whispers passed the literary horizon respecting the author of Waverly; though they are often the cause of interminable mischief, sometimes the begetters of incalculable good, in commerce, science, and literature. Whispering poets are a numerous race they cannot scribble without making Zephyrus a notorious aidant to their lucubrations,

When, not a breeze can pass, unless
It whispers through the trees.

There are patented whisperers.-Fortune-
telling whisperers.-Criminal whisperers,
such as

'Whisper the o'erfraught heart, and bid. break.

But seriously and finally. There is something eminently beautiful in the whispers of Death; when choirs of angels hover round the departing spirit, whispering softly,- sister spirit, come away!' and when

the eyes are closed by the dearest efforts of affectionate relatives. When the nearest of kin, as with the

upon of nature's works living or dead, divine as was its mechanism for the play of all lofty passions, would often get suddenly disarranged, as if approached the very hour of death. Who so skilled in nature's mysteries to dare to say, that many more years could have fallen to the lot of one so framed, had he all life long drank, as in youth, but of the well water, lain down with the dove, and risen with the lark? If excesses, in which there was much blame, did in any degree injure his health and constitution and most probably they did so, how much more did those other excesses certainly do so, in which there was both praise and virtue- -over anxious, over working hours beneath the mid day sun, when his hot beams shot downwards like arrows-yet, were faith in that beautiful Pagan Poetry for a moment restored for the sake of our great Pastoral, well might we believe that Apollo would not have hurt the Muse's son. But let us not fear to confess all his faults, failings,- errors,-vices, sins, in all their magnitude, and in all their darkest colours. They are known to the whole world. Yet still the whole world loves admires, respects, -veNot nerates the memory of Burns. under the power of his genius alone does the world thus feel and judge. For how much is there of good and great in the, character of the Man! What lessons of patience, endurance, contentment, resignation, magnanimity, devotion, does his earlier life teach! Was not his manhood, in all its better days, nay, on to the week of the final struggle, dignified, amidst all its stains, by independence, by patriotism, by integrity, by generosity-for he was generous as poor and by the discharge of nature's primal duties under sorest difficulty and distress-for hard had he worked for that wife and those children, whom at last he piously delivered up to the care of their God on the bed of death. Who ever laid one mean, jealous, envious, unkind, or cruel thought or deed to the charge of Robert Burns? Ill-used as he had been by the world-by the great and the rich, and the learned, and the wise→→→→ in short, by the powerful-who were proud to take him by the hand, and lift him up for a little while on a towering and conspicuous eminence, and then did let him wander away off into what might have been utter obscurity for them—into sufferings by them unmitigated-this, we say, was to use him ill indeed, and even this might have broken many a noble

heart, as we know that for a time it
shook his to its very core.
But in spite
of all this in spite of the hope deferred
that maketh the heart sick,' Burns never
became a misanthrope. Á few indignant
flashes his genius occasionally gave forth
against the littleness of the great-but
nothing so paltry as personal pique at
the bad and base usage of a few, or even
many, who ought not thus to have dis-
honoured their birth, ever inspired Burns
with feelings of hostility towards the
highest orders. His was an imagination
that clothed high rank with that dignity
and splendour which some of the degene-
rate descendants of old and illustrious
houses had seemed to have forgotten;
and when an Athole, a Daer, or a Glen-
cairn, "reverenced the lyre," and grasp-
ed the hand of the peasant, who had
received it as his patrimony from nature,
Burns felt it to be nowise inconsistent
with the stubbornest independence that
ever supported a son of the soil in his
struggles with necessity, reverently to
doff his bonnet, and bow his head in their
presence, proud in his humility.

"The Bridegroom may forget the bride
Was made his wedded wife yestreen;
The monarch may forget the crown,
That on his head an hour hath been;

The mother may forget the child

That smiles sae sweetly on her knee;
But I'll remember thee, Glencairn,

And a' that thou hast done for me!"

Even this perfect freedom from uneasy, dissatisfied, and angry thoughts and feelings, towards the rich and great, when we consider all things, proves the native magnanimity of Burns. After all, that is the highest eulogy which uses only the most common but the most holy words. Burns then, was a good Son, a good Brother, a good Friend, a good Husband, and a good Father.

No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Nor draw his frailties from their dread abode;
There they alike in trembling hope repose,
The bosom of his Father and his God.

Blackwood's Mag.

THE REGICIDES OF 1649.

Extract from a curious MS. Journal, kept at the time, (from 1645 to 1664,) by a Spanish Merchant.

30. Being yt day 12 Years from ye death of ye King, ye odious carcases of O. Cromwell, Major Genll Ireton and Bradshaw were drawne in Sledges to Ty

Durne where they hung by ye Neckes from Morning till 4 in ye afternoone. Cromwell in greene seare-cloths very fresh enbalmed; Ireton having beene buried long, hung like a dryed rat yet corrupted about ye fundamtt Bradshaw in his Winding sheet, ye fingers of his right hand & his nose perisht having wett ye Sheet thorough, ye rest very perfect insomuch that I knew his face when ye hangman, after cutting his head off, held it up. Of his toes I had 5 or 6 in my hand wch ye prentices had cutt off their bodies were throwne into a hole under ye gallowes in their Seare-cloths & Sheet. Cromwell had 8 cutts. Ireton 4 being seare-clothd & their Heades were satt up on the south end of Westminr Hall.

CUSTOMS OF VARIOUS COUN

.TRIES.-(No. XIX.)

BENEDICTION OF THE NEVA.

DURING winter an odd ceremony takes place, namely that of pronouncing a benediction on the Neva. This religious rite, at which the imperial family are always present, is marked with extraordinary pomp.

in the Greek church to extend its blessings even to inanimate objects, and it is supposed that the safety or destruction of those depend on the degree of fervour with which the benediction is bestowed; an expedient which is certainly most admirably calculated to promote devotion, if we can for one moment allow ourselves to bestow that name on such absurd and puerile mummery, which, while it cherishes abject superstition among the vulgar, produces a no less deplorable hypocrisy among those who are educated Let us, however, do justice to the Greek church; for though its superstitions almost rival-they cannot surpass those of Rome, it bears within itself the germ of amelioration, inasmuch as it tolerates every other creed with a liberality which does it honour, and which forms a striking contrast to that spirit of persecution which has so frequently armed the followers of opposite creeds against each other, and prompted them, while professing a religion of peace and good-will, to deeds inconceivable in any but demons. Wilson's Travels in Russia.

Laconics ;

OR,

A temple of wood is Pithy Remarks and Maxims collected from various Sources.

erected on the ice, near the admiralty, with an effigy of John the Baptist, and ornamented with paintings representing various acts connected with the life of our Saviour. In the centre is suspended a figure of the Holy Spirit over a hole perforated in the ice, around which carpets are spread. The military are formed into a line along the river; the bells of the churches are rung; cannon are fired; while the metropolitan, accompanied by a number of dignified ecclesiastics, enter this sanctum sanctorum. The metropolitan dips a crucifix into the aperture in the ice three times, uttering at the same time a prayer or ejaculation; and on this occasion St. Nicholas comes in for his share of adoration, as an indispensable part of the ceremony, a prayer being especially addressed to him. The pontiff then sprinkles the water on the people around, and also upon the colours of the regiments. On departure of the procession, a scramble takes place among the crowd, every one striving to kiss the sacred aperture. Nor do they omit, likewise, to carry away with them to their homes some of the water itself, to which they ascribe great virtue, particularly for purifying those infected with certain disThis ludicrous exhibition takes place in the month of January. It may be further mentioned, that it is a practice

eases.

WISDOM.

Wisdom is that olive that springeth from the heart, bloometh on the tongue, and beareth fruit in the actions.

AGE.

Age may gaze at beauties blossoms, but youth climbs the tree, and enjoys the fruit.

WISDOM OF WIVES.

If thy wife be wise, make her thy secretary; else lock thy thoughts in thy heart for women are seldom silent.

LAW AND PHYSIC.

"If thou study law or physic, endeavour to know both, and to need neither."

CHOICE OF FRIENDS.

Choose but a few friends, and try those; for the flatterer speaks fairest.

FORTUNE.

How much more glory and power are manifested in making the fortune of a person who rises from nothing, than to set another on the top of the wheel, who we find has already put himself in motion.

COUNSEL.

Strive not with a Man without cause. Blame not before thou hast examined truth. Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself, and discover not a secret to another

Anecdotiana.

LOVE OF LEARNING.

Pomponius in the fourth book of his Institutes, says, that, so great was his desire of learning, that he had always in his memory, to the seventy-eighth year of his age, that sentence which was ascribed to Julian, viz. Though I had one foot in the grave, I should still have a desire to be learning something.'

NUPTIAL POETICS.

to think of introducing Popery into Eng· land, for it would be dangerous in the at tempt and altogether impracticable.

ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE
RELIEF OF DECAYED MUSICIANS.

About a century ago, a celebrated oboe player, of the name of Kaitch, came to England from Germany. He was greatly patronized but being very improvident, both himself and family suffered very great privations. At length Kaitch, after being stunned by respectable society, was found dead one morning in St. James's Market. Soon after his decease, Festing, the celebrated violinist, Wiedeman, the flute-player (who instructed George III.) and Vincent, the oboe-player, were standing at the door of the Orange Coffee-house in the Haymarket, when they observed two very interesting boys driving milch asses. On inquiring who they were they proved They im

'My friend,' said C., 'you know I marriage to be the orphans of Kaitch.

hate

And to speak truth, unto your wedding fete,
Unwillingly at all I come,'

Believe me, as a guest, no one's more fit
A-verse to marriage you're most requisite
For an Epithalamium.-Athenæum.

KING CHARLES THE SECOND.

The last advice given by this monarch to his brother the Duke of York was never

mediately entered into a subscription to rescue the children of their departed brother from so degrading a situation; and on consulting with Dr. Green and several eminent composers, on the necessity of a fund to alleviate the distress of indigent musicians, their widows and orphans, they established, in April 1713, this excellent Society.-Week. Rev.

JUNE.

THIS beautiful and glowing month, the sixth of our year, wherein the sun enters the sign Cancer, derives its name from the Latin, Junius, according to some, whilst others state the name to have been given to it in honour of the youth of Rome, in honorem Juniorem. Or from Juno a Junone, the opinion of Ovid; or from Junius Brutus, who expelled the King of Rome and settled the government upon the people. This month was considered by the Romans as under the protection of Mercury.

Our Saxon ancestors called the month of June Weyd-monat, or meadow-month, from their cattle wading in the meadows for pasture, the word weyd signifying a meadow in the Teutonick language.

During this month the Romans solemnized the following festivals and ceremonies : On the 1st of June were held four festivals. One to Mars, from the circumstance of a temple on the outside of the Capena gate on the Appian way naving been dedicated to him under the title of Mars Extra,-Muranus, by F. Quintius Duumvir. The second was kept in honor of Carna, in remembrance of Junius Brutus having consecrated a temple to him upon Mount Celius. The third feast was celebrated in honour of Juno Moneta, to fulfil a vow that Camillus had made to erect her a temple. The fourth was to the Tempests. This festival was instituted in the time of the second Punic war, in consequence of a Roman fleet having been nearly lost in a storm. The 4th, or the day before the nones was dedicated to Bellona. This same day a festival was celebrated in honour of Hercules, to whom the Senate of Rome dedicated a Temple in the Circus by Sylla's order; and on the 5th, the day of the Nones, sacrifices were offered to the Deity Fidius. This God the Romans reverenced, because the oaths taken in his name were kept inviolable. The Fishermen's games took place in the field of Mars on the 7th. On the 8th a solemn sacrifice was offered to the goddess Mens in the Capitol, to whom Attilius Crassus, vowed a temple after the defeat of the consul C. Flaminius, at the lake of Trasimenes, praying her to remove from the minds of the Romans the fear occasioned by the rout of the Consul;