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CITY SPLENDOUR.

Henry Pritchard who was Lord Mayor of London in 1356, had the honour of entertaining at his table at the same time, his own sovereign, Edward the Third; the King of Cyprus; John, King of France; and David, King of Scots, both prisoners of war; Edward, Prince of Wales, and a long train of nobility, &c. Such an assemblage of royalty and rank, probably never before or since graced the table of a British subject,

H. B. A.

THE PRACTISE OF PLEDGING.

The custom of pledging people while they were drinking, had its origin in this country soon after it had been reduced by the Danes, who would sometimes stab a native in the act of drinking; the Saxons therefore, would not drink in company, unless some one present would be their pledge of security, that they should receive no hurt. Others date it from the death of King Edwin, son of Edgar, who was, by the contrivance of Elfrida, his step-mother, barbarously stabbed in the back, as he was drinking. "Hob nob" is supposed to be derived from the Saxon "hobben," to have, and "nobben," to want.

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GEORGE THE SECOND, Retained a German manner of pronunciation to the last; amongst his peculiarities was one of changing the letter p into the more rotund and sober b; and this was sometimes productive of laughable equivoque-for instance. A certain nobleman, not very celebrated for the sharpness of his own intellect, resolved, if possible, to gain a reputation for encouraging that quality in others by patronizing literary men. Accordingly, he one day introduced a person, who had written a poem of very doubtful merit, to the notice of his majesty, who commanded the trembling author to read his produc

{Customs of Garious Countries. tion. At the conclusion of the piece,

TURKISH FESTIVAL OF THE BAIRAM.*

The festival of the Bairam nearly answers to that of the Easter, as celebrated by the Greek church. It is remarkable that the Turks eat lamb" during this season. On the first Friday of this festival the Sultan goes in immense state, and amid the thundering of cannon from the ships and forts to the mosque. The Baïram lasts for forty days, and is a season of rejoicing and indulgence, after the privations of Lent or Ramazan, both to Turk and Greek, It is amusing to behold the Greeks, upon an evening during this period, wrestling, boxing, pitching the bar, and throwing the pallum, in the manner described by the ancient writers as prevailing in this city. Thus the supple Greek wrestler oils his limbs, and rolls himself in the sand, and the player at the pallum guards his hand with a thick piece of leather; the boxer continues to wield the cestus, and to inflict dreadful blows upon his adversary, whose face yields token of the cutting edge of the metal glove. The Turks have forbidden the use of the cestus, but it still continues in vogue.

* Captain Frankland's Travels.

which was a mass of turgid and bombastic rant, Lord turned to the king, and respectfully inquired, "If his majesty did not think it very pathetic?" "Bathetic," returned the king, as if willing to say something in its praise: "Bathetic! Why the boem is full of bathos!" Whether this sally was intentional or not, we cannot take upon ourselves to say, but certain it is that both the boet" and his “ batron" slunk off in dismay, amidst the scarcely suppressed laughter of the surrounding courtiers, who all coincided with his majesty!

A PHENOMENON.

J. WOOD.

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July 22.

July 23.

Diary and Chronology.

Wednesday, July 22.

St. Joseph of Palestine, Died A. D. 356.

High Water, 46m after 6 Morning-12m after 7 Afternoon. 1298-Anniversary of the Fight of Falkirk, when Edward gained a complete victory over the Scots, who were led by their brave but unfortunate champion, Sir William Wallace. The loss of this battle caused the Scots to fall off from their leader; and he finding himself disliked and insulted by the nobles, resigned the regency, which had been allotted to him for his bravery, and Comyn, who was stab. bed afterwards by Bruce, was elected in his stead. The following anecdote is told relative to this battle by the historian Hemingford. "Before the fight, as Edward lay on the ground, his horse kicked him in the side, and broke two of his ribs, (from which injury considerable time elapsed before he recovered.) Straightway, a cry of dismay was heard through the camp, The King is wounded! There is treason among us!' To check this panic, hurt as the King was, he mounted his horse, and led his men towards the Scots. Proceed with caution,' (said the Bishop of Durham.) Busy yourself in your masses,' (cried the fiery Ralph Basset of Drayton, and charged the enemy. On his side, Wallace arrayed his men advan. tageously, and with a cheerful face thus addressed them; My brothers, I have led you to the ball-complete the dance as well as you can.' It is well known to what tune the Scotch danced in this conflict, for many left the field reeling.

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Thursday, July 23.

St. Liborius, Bishop and Confessor, Died A. D. 397.
Moon's Last Quarter, 14m after 6 Morning.

1812-On this day was fought the battle of Salamanca between the English under Lord Wellington, and the French under Marshal Marmont, when the latter was signally defeated, although advantageously posted and supported by cannon.

Friday, July 24.

St. Lupus, Bishop and Confessor.

Sun rises 7m after 4-Sets 52m after 7.

St. Lupus. Our saint upon the death of St. Ursus, in 426, was chosen Bishop of Troyes. This town being threatened by Attila, who called himself the scourge of God, Lupus went to meet him at the head of his clergy, and asked him who he was?" I am,' said Attila," the scourge of God!"-"Let us respect whatever comes from God," replied the bishop; "but if you are the scourge with which Heaven chastises us, remember you are to do nothing but what that Almighty hand which governs and moves you permits." Attila, struck with these words, spared the city. St. Lupus filled his see 52 years, and died In 439.

July 26.

July 27.

July 28.

Saturday, July 25.

St. James the Great, Apostle, beheaded A.D. 43.

High Water 22m after 10 Morning-3m after 11 Afternoon.

The productions of the sea about this time of year give rise to the often injurious habit of eating oysters. They come now first into the markets, which gave Churchhill the poet occasion to say of this month

July to whom, the Dog Star in her train,

St. James gives oysters, and St. Swithin rain.
SUNDAY, July 26.

(SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.)

Lessons for the Day.-Morning, 15 chap. Samuel-Evening, 17 chap. Samuel
St. Germanus, Died A.. 448.

1801-Fought on this day the Battle of Aboukir, between the French under Buonaparte, and the Turks under Mustapha Pacha. In this battle the Mussulman army lost 18,000 men, and the French only 1,000; the Turkish leader being made prisoner. Napoleon desired to have the captive general brought before him, and, when he appeared in his presence, he saluted him with these words,-"It has been. your fate to lose this day; but I will take care to inform the sultan of the courage with which you have contested it."-" Spare thyself that trouble," answered the proud pacha," my master knows me better than thou."

Monday, July 27.

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St. Maximian and others martyred A.D. 250.

On this day were solemnized the nuptials of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry, Lord Darnley, whom she had a short time before made Duke of Albany; the fol lowing day he waa proclaimed King. This marriage was entered into by Mary in direct opposition to Queen Elizabeth, who had strongly recommended the Earl of Leicester.

Tuesday, July 28.

St. Victor I. Pope.

High Water, Morning, 10m after 1-Afternoon, 53m after 1.

This saint succeeded Eleutherius in the papacy. He filled the papal chair upwards of ten years and died A.D. 201.

1667-Expired at Chertsey in Surrey, T. 49, Abraham Cowley the eminent poet. Thomas Flatman the poet, who was a warm admirer of Cowley, wrote upon him the following complimentary lines

He, like an eagle, soar'd aloft,

To seize his noble prey;

Yet, as a dove's, his soul was soft,
Calm as the night, but bright as day.

We thank T. G. S. for his note, and will be glad to hear further from him. NOTE.-With this Number is published a Supplement and Part XXI, completing the Third Volume, containing besides a mass of interesting matter, an felegant Vignette Title Page, Preface, Index, &c.

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THIS is the age of autobiography, reminiscences (real and pretended), personal narratives, and confessions; need I, then, apologise for my appearance before the public, when animate and inanimate objects have been made to speak, and have given to the world a profusion of anecdotes and recollections?-But I abhor prelude as much as digression, and shall, therefore, commence without further preamble, feeling assured that what I have to relate will be found as interesting to the reader as many of the narratives invented by the marvel-dealing personages of this inventive age.

I was born on a fine summer's afternoon, in the garret of a house at a little village in Gloucestershire, and I had no sooner entered this "breathing world" than I 2-VOL. IV.

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found myself in company with three brothers and sisters, to whom my mamma had given birth a few minutes before. We were soon exposed to many annoy. ances; first, our whole mest seemed to descend rapidly (for you must remember that our race are blind as moles until the ninth day), and, ere long, it appeared to have reached its destination, for shortly after our family were exposed to the rough handling of a parcel of chubby children. I have often since thought, that at no period are we subjected to rougher treatment than in our infancy. Picture to yourself, gentle reader, a helpless kitten struggling in the grasp of a strong child of two years old, who, regardless of its suffocated cries, almost wrings its devoted head from its body; while the mother, tender soul! in reply to the entreaties of any friend who has some spark of feeling left, says, with great sang froid, "Oh! let it alone-it amuses him!" Oh, Mr. Martin! why wander through miry Smithfield, to watch the doings of that respectable class of men the drovers?Why look with such a searching eye at that feeling and upright body the hackney

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coachmen?-Cast, I say, in pity cast your eye into the nursery, and witness the tor ments which kittens suffer when exposed to the handling of some half-dozen of children of all sizes. Listen to its almost inarticulate growl-its indignant Phit! Phit! (how should this note of feline exclamation be spelt?)-behold its little paw raised to chastise the rude and insulting hand which threatens to annihilate it. Witness this but once, and, if you have the feelings of a man, you will step between us and our tormentors.

But to proceed with my narrative: Before I had yet seen the light, I found myself deprived of the society of a brother and sister, who were, I was afterwards informed, ruthlessly consigned to the horse pond, ere they were a week old. Our family were now reduced to three namely, my mother, myself, and an only brother, who, to do him justice, was a cat of great beauty. I am fully aware how estimable modesty is, or I should be tempted to say a word or two here, touching my own personal appearance; but let it pass. I grew surprisingly, and in less than a month afforded great amuse

ment to my master's family, by performing those ludicrous tricks which often set the gravest 'faces on the grin. But there was one alloy to our pleasures, namely, the occasional visitations of those fits to which our race are subjected, and which the nurses say are owing to our cutting our teeth. I remember that while once struggling under one of these tremendous visitations, a young urchin, about sixteen years of age, took out his knife and slit one of my ears. The remedy was effectual, but what a horrid scar it left behind! to say nothing of the pain. But the smart of a wound is felt no longer than while it lasts, and I soon forgot this mutilation.

Our master's family, at this time, consisted of himself, his wife, and seven children; the eldest about eighteen, a fair and beautiful girl, who had never been ten miles from home in her life. She was as artless as a child, and yet well-skilled in those accomplishments which render her sex still more endearing. It occasioned therefore, no small bustle in her family, when she took leave of them on the day she set off by the stage to London to visit some wealthy relationis, who had given

her many pressing invitations. I should not mention this circumstance, did it not touch upon my history so closely. Ere she departed, she determined upon taking me with her, for I must no longer hesitate to inform you that I had become a most beautiful animal; accordingly, I was thrust into a large work-basket, and securely tied down. This was not the most comfortable situation, to be sure, but then I could perceive that my fair mistress did not trust me out of her hands, and that she took care to see there were plenty of breathing holes in my temporary prison. Through these apertures, which afforded me air, I could distinguish what was going on on the top of the coach, and ere long, I beheld a smart, but rather rakish looking young fellow mount upon it, and seat himself by the side of my mistress.

He seemed struck with her beauty, and after some common-place remarks upon the weather, found means to engage her in conversation, by which he became acquainted with her reasons for visiting London. The designing villain! - my back rises, and my tail swells with indig nation when I think on his perfidy.

I will not tire thy ear, patient reader, by detailing all that passed between them. I will not recount all the oaths and protestations which this depraved scoundrel had ready to effect his purpose; it will be sufficient to inform you, that upon the arrival of the coach in London, my mistress, instead of proceeding at once to the house of her friends, remained at the inn all night, at the earnest persuasion of her companion, who promised to call upon her the next day, for he had but commenced his work of mischief, and feared to make his infamous proposals too soon, lest he should have mistaken her feelings towards him.

But I cannot dwell upon this subject without pain to myself, and I shall therefore inform you that in a few days my mistress and her seducer were living in handsome lodgings in the neighbourhood of one of the squares on the north side of Holborn. Here I was restored to liberty and ease, and I gambolled and played with my tail as I was wont, to the evident delight of my mistress, though methought that I sometimes reminded her of the happy home she had left, for I have often heard her, when alone, sob bitterly. She had soon another cause for grief, for her be trayer became careless, stayed out late at night, and came home frequently in a state of beastly intoxication. Satiated with the charms of his victim, he now began to complain of the expense he had incurred by keeping her. These remarks were resented by the high-minded girl, and

mutual quarrels took place, which ended in her seducer's leaving her one day, never to return.

Then it was, that the accommodating lady of the house, who had hitherto pretended to believe them (according to their representations,) man and wife, on a sudden discovered that they were not united by the indissoluble bond, and her demands for what was due to her became pressing. The wretched girl, abandoned by all, not daring to apply to her friends, and yet clinging to the vain hope that her seducer would return, made what excuses she could to her landlady, who, however, was inexorable, and threatened her with the Fleet Prison if her demand were not paid on the morrow. My mistress heard the threat; a smile (but it was the smile of despair) played upon her hectic cheek, and she retired to her room; there, throwing herself on a couch, she wept as though her heart would break.

She arose after a while, and quitted the house for a short time. When she returned, I observed a wildness in her looks which made me dread some horrible catastrophe. She retired to her chamber, and throwing herself on the bed, drew the curtains around her, and appeared to have fallen into a sound slumber. I crept softly into the room, and leaping cautiously on a chair, endeavoured to get a glimpse of my miserable mistress; but at that moment some wild and incoherent expressions which escaped her in her sleep frightened me away, and I retired to the further end of the room, where I soon fell asleep. I was awakened in the morning by a tap at the door, then another, and another; at last it opened, and the landlady entered.

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Hey dey, Miss!" cried she, at the highest pitch of her voice-a pretty hour for young ladies like you to be abed, when you should be looking for the means to pay your creditors: here is Miss

the milliner below; she says she can wait no longer for her money.What! no answer?-then I must rouse you."

And as she uttered this, the unfeeling woman entered the bed-room, and drawing aside the curtains renewed her discordant cries. Oh, how I wished that nature had given me a human tongue, that I might have assailed this she dragon with her own weapons; as it was, I leapt upon the bed, as if to interpose between her and my mistress-but, oh horror! what did I behold!-She lay extended on the scene of her guilt and dishonour, dead, and cold as marble; her dark hair uncurled, but still lovely, served to contrast more strikingly with the pallid hue

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