ON THE DEATH OF TWO INFANTS. LOUISA AND ROBERT ARTHUR MARTIN, Children of P, V. Robert Martin, of the Clarence Lodge, Salford, the first of whom died on the 12th, and the other on the 14th of January last. (WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.) Oh! cruel death, and has thy savage power Insatiate king! in one unpitying hour, Could not the tears affection fondly shed, A FAREWELL TO THE ABOVE. Sweet innocents adieu, adieu, I rest in hopes your bliss to share ; ON DETRACTION. "'Tis Slander, whose tongue outvenoms all the worms of Nile." Or what materials must that man's mind be made, who, after a day spent in "lying, slandering, and evil speaking,' can coolly and deliberately lay his head upon his pillow and expect repose! Let us hope there are not many such. But, alas! we know more than one, and that among Odd Fellows too, whose existence seems solely dependant on the practice of the vile principles of calumny and detraction. Among a set of men who not only profess to be christians, but something more, its existence is a double evil-for, independently of their duties as followers of HIM who could not err, they are pledged, and that somlemly too, not only not to wrong a brother, nor see him wronged, but to apprise him of approaching danger-to shield him from the shafts of others, and not to throw the bolt himself-to support, not oppress-to silence the busy tongue of slander in others, and not himself become the slanderer-to reward modest merit, and put down impudent mental imbecility,-in short, to mutually assist and support each other, and thereby render our Unity, what its Founders intended it to be, a blessing and a gift from Heaven. That many individuals are guilty of this crime, without knowing it, I am well aware. Thoughtlessness, and a consciousness of not intending harm, have caused much mischief. It is to such men I would address myself-the hardened and confirmed are out of my reach-they are not readers of the Magazine. and no To the careless then, I would say, he cautious-sport not one moment with the reputation of another-you are sure to injure it. By one trifling and even insignificant insinuation, you may sow the seeds of misery for ever! Not only will the wound fester in the bosom of your victim, but your own conscience will tell you, in language not to be misunderstood, how far you have erred and strayed from the paths of Odd Fellowship. Think not, my friends, that that monitor can be silenced by the excuse of not intending harm. The deed is done, and you cannot shake off the penalty. The more respectable your character and standing in society, the greater the calamity you inflict, and the more certain is the misery of your victim. The poison has entered the system, "chemic power" can eradicate it. The vice is a heartless one, and ought to be more shunned than any in the whole catalogue of crime. I have been several years in the Order, Sir, but am not much known to its members, though perfectly alive to its usefulness. Often have I sat in company with brothers (?) who little dreamt a chiel was near them "taking notes." To hear them canvassing, somewhat vociferously, especially for a mixed company, the merits and demerits of past and present officers, it is lamentable to think how the vice of DETRACTION preponderated. "What, HE- I never could bear to sit in his company, he is as proud as Lucifer. And then, there's and two or three others, who are no better than they should be, even as Odd Fellows, high as they stand in their own estimation; but look at their private character I could if I would," &c. &c. and thus would the tongue of the slanderer wag on for hours, assisted, occasionally, by a few significant insinuations from his companions. Such characters ought to reflect, that the eye and the ear of the Order are everywhere, or in other language, Omnipresent,-if they did, they would, at least, be more cautious, and consequently less criminal. The practice of this vice, is one of the greatest blemishes of the Order, especially in public, and ought, on detection, to have a severe punishment awarded it. and I am not a perfect stranger to your readers, though I am personally to you. I congratulate you, and the Order, on the extension of the size and sale, and consequently increased usefulness of the Magazine. Nothing, I hope, can now impede its progress, and my mite, if acceptable, shall never be withheld. In the mean time, should this paper silence the tongue of one slanderer, it will have amply recompensed AN ENGLISHMAN. SONG. I have won thee at last, And my spirit is free From the harrowing thought, Yes, I've won thee at last, No, love, never shalt thou Manchester, February, 1836. ANN BLACKBURN. LIGHTS AND SHADES. IN SEVEN CANTOS, FROM THE HEART, -BY PETER SIMPLE, (Continued from the December Magazine.) CANTO III. SONG OF THE V. G. On Callipe, Euterpe, Clio, A doubt on land,-or pause on sea, O no! their home's their country round, * 'Gainst death through want see II Canto. CANTO IV. SONG OF THE SECRETARY. Now coward darkness flies away, Saw ye that blooming child now grown Of moral worth, to such as I; Can these, can these with thee compare? (END OF CANTO IV,-TO BE CONTINUED.) TO THE EDITOR AND COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT FOR THE ODD FELLOWS' MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN, Ir must be highly gratifying to every one, possessing the better feelings of humanity, to observe the rapid advance which the proposal for establishing a Widow and Orphans' Fund is making in favour with the members of our Order: it seems strange, indeed, that a plan, embracing at once so wide a range of utility,-of such great apparent utility, with such a trifling personal exertion to carry it into effect,should have lingered for so many years without being brought forward, and, when brought forward, it should not be met by one general response. Still it is evident that great difficulty is yet to be overcome, and, for the plan to succeed, that great care must be taken to place it on a popular footing; and this popularity I do not think will be easily obtained, if any compulsory payment (however small) is exacted individually from the members. The question then is,-How is the requisite fund to be raised? and, in reply to this query, I beg most respectfully to submit the following remarks to our brethren in unity, if I have not previously too far intruded on your space. In the first place, the rapidly increasing circulation of the Magazine bids fair to raise an amount of profit to the Order which would go far towards establishing the Institution; and, if we may judge by the increasing numbers and intelligence of our members, it is yet very far from having reached its maximum, and surely the knowledge of its being the support of so noble an Institution must greatly add to the pleasure of perusing its contents, and be an additional stimulus to the desire of obtaining it, and consequently be the means of very considerably increasing its circulation ;and, in the second place, I can scarcely think that men, who have come forward so liberally on behalf of various general charities, would remain deaf to an appeal on behalf of such a cause as this. Let any one examine the records of our Order, and note the acts of philanthropy there recorded, and then say, if such a design, when once fairly brought forward, would be suffered to prove abortive, for the lack of that charity which has been so freely shown to many Institutions in which we have had but the chance of a partial benefit. The reason of my advocating the voluntary, in preference to the compulsory, system, is the knowledge that such compulsion would be looked upon by members of the Order as an unjust invasion of their privileges; even the small sum of one penny per month would not be paid without great opposition; and I must agree with your correspondent-Alfred Smith-in depreciating this method of raising a Fund, though for however good a purpose it may be intended; and I cannot possibly think that any loss of revenue would be sustained by allowing every one his free option of subscribing or not, as best suited his inclination; for there can be no doubt that, were a voluntary subscription established, the contributors of more than one shilling per annum would far outnumber those who did not contribute at all; and surely no man, possessing even the smallest particle of sympathetic charity, but would find means to spare his mitehowever small-to an Institution, the existence of which will give him the assurance that, when his toils are for ever over, there will be one place, at least, for those who are now dependant on his exertions, to turn to in the season of distress; and the bitter thought will be taken from his last hour, that his fatherless children, and their helpless parent, will not have one hand to look to for comfort in their solitude-for assistance in their bereavement. If there is any one who can calmly review the past and present state of our Order, and not say that the establishment of this Fund is laudable—that it is necessarynay, that its non-existence is a foul stain upon our principles, I would refer him to the petitions which are constantly pouring in upon us, and to the sums which are granted upon them, and ask him, if it would not be far more likely to be beneficial to the petitioners to have a Fund set apart for such purposes, than to have petitions carried about from Lodge to Lodge, and to have the management of it vested in persons whose duty it would be to inquire into the circumstances of the case, and administer relief accordingly. In conclusion, I would call upon every brother to unite heart and hand in this work there may be many differences of opinion respecting some details, but none as to the great object to be attained. I would remind them of the difficulties they have overcome of the obstacles they have surmounted-and to the proud eminence on which our Order is now raised. I would call upon them to come at once forward, and not retrace a step till the design is fulfilled: by it they will cast a halo round the name of Odd Fellowship, brighter than that of which the warrior boasts; for the wreath bedewed with the orphan's tear, blooms with a richer fragrance than that which is steeped in blood, and is the reward of carnage and destruction. It is a cause which can excite no feelings of envy or rancour, and gratify no paltry ambition or motives of self-interest, but must bring into action the best feelings of our nature, and place our Order among the first and best of the philanthropic Institutions of the land,-and will, in fine, nobly bring into active utility our watchwords--F. L. and T. I remain, Gentlemen, most respectfully your's, Cumberland Lodge, Feb. 1836. In the bonds of unity, GEO. P. JENNINGS. ENGLAND WAS originally inhabited by the Britons, a branch of the ancient Gauls or Celta,-the western part, in the time of the Romans, was inhabited by the Belge,--the northern by the Brigantes; South Wales by the Silures, and Norfolk and Suffolk by the Iceni: was invaded by Julius Cæsar 54 years before Christ, who says, that the inhabitants on the sea cost, from their correspondence with Gaul, were clothed; those who lived in the inland countries were entirely wild and naked ;-though they had horses and chariots armed with scythes, their towns were only a parcel of huts on an eminence, fortified with trees laid cross-wise, like the Indians in America, only that they had plenty of corn and cattle. Their money consisted of iron and brass plates and rings of determined weight. In A. D. 44 it was subdued by Claudius, and completely so by Agricola in 85. The Romans kept possession till 410. In 440 it was ravaged by the Picts and Scots. In 446 the Saxons were invited over to expel them, who soon began to establish themselves by taking possession of various parts of the kingdom on the south side of the Severn, and in 455 it was conquered by them, who then divided it into seven kingdoms, called the Heptarchy. In 448 it was again ravaged by the Picts and Scots, and in 827 was erected into a kingdom by Egbert, by a union of all the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, being near 400 years after the arrival of the SaxonsEgbert was the first king of England, by a decree at a general Council, held at Wichester, in 829. The name of England and Englishman had been used so far back as 688, but had never before been ratified in any assembly of the nation. Conquered by the Danes in 877, recovered by Alfred in 880, and in 886 was divided into counties and hundreds. In 896 a general survey was made of the kingdom, and the rolls deposited at Winchester. In 921 it was again invaded by the Scots, who were defeated by Athelstan, and in 984 by the Welsh. In 995 an inglorious peace was made with the Danes and tribute agreed to be paid annually, beside £16000. in money, provided they retired and discontinued their invasions, but in 1002 the Danes broke their agreement, and committed horrid cruelties and devastations, and the timid Ethelred II paid them a larger sum, no less than £24000. for peace, which sum was levied by a tax on all the lands in England for Danegelt, by which ignominious name this first land tax was known, and collected in England till it was suppressed by Edward, the Confessor. In 1051 William 1st, revived it as a Crown revenue. In 1012 Swein totally conquered England, and, obliging Ethelred to retire to Normandy, was proclaimed king ;—it remained in the possession of the Danes till 1042, and in 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, claimed the Crown, invaded England, defeated the reigning king Harold the Second, and the English were next governed by the Norman line. In 1080 a new survey was taken of England, and the Register called the Doomsday Book, being, however, only an alteration and improvement of Alfred's ;-the taxes were levied according to this survey till 13th Henry VIII, 1552, when a more accurate survey was taken, and was called by the people the New Doomsday Book. In 1206 the kingdom |