Imatges de pàgina
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which, that appeared to take pleasure in raising levers, had the mechanical assurance, while I was stooping and examining the fetlock, to catch me by the jacket and lift me off the ground, to the horror of uncle and aunt and the man that brought his valuable vicious property here. Fortunately, a carter that entered the penthouse at the nick of time, laid the butt end of his whip instanter across the biter's knees, and I was released.

After this, I returned home, commenced using the gouge, the axe, and the lathe, and peacefully pursued my father's business. But during these changes I did not omit an unwearied assiduity to the belfry's movements.My first efforts, however, long ere this, were called into action, by assisting the sexton in tolling for service or any other occasion. By his leave, I was permitted to go up the belfry ladder, forty feet high, and to ascend the second ladder, into the "divine presence of the bells." In one of these flights, while but a boy, and flights of fancy they might be called, my doom was nearly sealed. None but myself knew that I was up in the tower among the bells, when the peal begun. I heard the ropes on the qui vive, saw the wheels gently moving and inducing the bells to swing; with more address than instant fear, I squeezed myself into the crevice of light in the tower window. The first bell swung close every turn within a hair's breadth of me. Had I moved but my shadow, I must have been beaten to atoms. The tower rocked like a cradle. In this situation I remained, dead to sound, yet without half apprehension of my imminent danger, for a full hour. After the rising bells had set-what a suspension!--they rested but a minute, and I gladly perceived the peal was ringing down. This ended, leaped from the cranny, and descending the ladder, found my feet safe on the stone floor at the bottom, but the door locked. By knocking it loudly, the sexton rose from a grave he was digging by the porch, and almost doubted if I were a spectre, or the bodily form of Ezekiel. By his starting back and his wild gaze he feared the living more than the dead. Years succeeded to this event; and the muffled sounds for a ringer's funeral delighted me exquisitely. So far from being discouraged, I resolved to be a ringer.

My father's love of ringing was too great for his success in business; and that I was equally unfit, he proved by

finding me in an empty barn in my childhood, pulling a rope slung cross a beam, and a clog of wood fastened to its end, with a parcel of latten bells to equipoise the exertion and make a jingle. When I made progress in the science of ringing, and began to choose for myself, I disobliged my father and uncles by tramping to the metropolis; and, by lodging at a bell-hanger's, found my way into the society of some of the most scientific in hand-bell and steeple ringing. But my deficiency here was obvious and humiliating for many years, though I practised without intermission, and could raise the heaviest tenor somewhat easily. I loved the science-my heart was in it. I loved the melody--my spirit adored it. I calculated the alternations with delight. Like the artificial characters in algebra, I resolved numbers by mental application, and mixed in the clubs of ringers with rapture. At length the sweet clapper of a belle woke my heart to the tender passion.

I married the daughter of a ringer who had been one of the leaders of the college youths, College Hill. Year after year, 1 rung muffled peals for brethren -feu de joie for victories-for festivals, weddings, and coronations: for peace, anniversaries, and prizes: drank many healths and happiness in the belfry, and I led off in the muffled peal for the celebrated Isaac Bond at Sutton.

A ringer's life, it is but too true, varies like the changes of the bells, subservient to his will. While he imparts tones of feeling to others, he is rarely recompensed for his study and time. This was my case, but I could not give in for all that. My wife and children, sometimes, pealed in my ears for support-I launched forth in the service, and how could I retract it? I passed through the evolutions with praise that bells are heirs to. Now I am an old decrepit man, my sons succeed to my harmonies and pleasures, satisfied to bear the discords; and I am content to fill the place of Sexton, by creeping up and down the dark stairs in the church of St. M-n, in the Strand, till all of life be over with me.

J.R.P.

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SONG WRITERS AND SONG
SINGERS OF CHRISTMAS TIDE.

THOSE heralds of Christmas, the carollers of the streets have made their debut in the usual minor key,-

The first good joy that Mary had, It was the joy of une-' with the antistrophe,

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'God rest you merry gentlemen.' We are not displeased with these premonitory stanzas, for they remind usfirst, that the old year' is passing the boundary of Time; secondly, that we must set our domestic comforts in order for the reception of friends, and regulate our visiting cards so as not to disappoint, or clash, like vehicles meeting unexpectedly in a lane, and be obliged to retrograde, thereby losing the forelock of opportunity, and, consequently, the pleasures derivable from it; and thirdly, that a 'new year' will ap proach, almost before we are prepared to enter over the threshold of Januarius, to offer our thanksgiving in be coming salutations. But, as we may fall into the presence of those lightfoot ed, sprightly-hearted, and sweet-voiced young folks,' who aspire to greater pretensions in musical science than those whom we have noticed in the prolegomena, we cannot avoid intimating, that the prevailing taste of song-writing is any thing but calculated to unite good fellowship, produce a fine moral example, or to make us love each other with more ardour, or cement the vibrations of friendship into closer harmony. Nine-tenths of the verses adapted to notes are sheer nonsense; Not containing sentiment, feeling, precept, humour, or seasonable application. When Dibdin's songs were in vogue, and when Moore's melodies were dogs -eared on the pianoforte stand, the heart derived at least a portion of cheering response to sound.Nothing proved the good effect of this more strongly than the untiring repetition they elicited, and the popularity they acquired by their dwelling in the mind and living in the utterance. few fastidious creatures-pitiable creatures-cavilled at the frankness of Dibdin's airs, and pronounced Moore's sweetly poetic effusions as being like some of the songs of Solomon-' sick with love.' But, in what modern piece does there exist that fervour, which constitutes the essential of words incorporated with the essential of tones? Many exceptions we confess might be

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favourably instanced out of the mag nitude of the compositions current and patronised. But, generally speaking, pretty, silly verses, are put into singsong metrical version, for a pretty actress to shine through the variations of a play. The copyright is secured;-it makes its way into the shop windows, reaches the boudoir-it is rehearsed on the keys in the circle of kindness; and the operator, after eulogising the talent of a Cause, or a Waylett, gives specimens of imitations, inimitably pathetic. But, we would not be understood as undervaluing any efforts made in behalf of willingness to please, for this is a practical principle of philosophy; we merely deprecate the encouragement given by persons interested in recommending nonsense miscalled poetry; and pity, the blindness of parents, or reprehend the craft of flattery in others, who knowing better, sit for hours bedaubing the tyro, fixing her to her mu sic stool, misleading her little knowledge, and after an evening's display, settling her in the belief she has attained to the perfection of a public performer. Well, if such will persist in this indomitable practice through the season of toast and ale' mince pies' brawn,' and the dainties concocted, emulative of the housewife's superior skill to make the lords of the creation' happy-we are induced to offer them a couple, or rather, duet of verses, consonant with the style and taste of the season and its patrons. The first is said to be composed for, or by, a young lady, and will chime with any modern tune. It is characteristic of the tone which is now assumed in the coteries of fashionable life, and, of course, very worthy of being recited and sung.

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I KNOW 'TIS HE.

I know 'tis he-the gallant youth,
Pass'd as I sat at tea;

His single eye was cock'd with truth,
And fired direct at me.

I know him by his martial nose,
His waist and seedy hat;
Mamma may scold-Papa oppose-
I'll love him more for that.

I know 'tis he! None other swain
Would knock with such address;
His impudence is sure to gain
My most sincere caress!

My Beau Mamma!'- Papa? my Beau!'
Come round the garden plat;
Old folks must not our secrets know,
We'll take good care of that.

The second, if not a parody on some of our popular airs, deserves to rank in the same line, as it might be supposed to have emanated from the pen

of a clerk or Smithfield salesman. It BIOGRAPHICAL runs thias

I saw at the Poultry stand,

The feathers picking round her;
She grasped a turkey in her hand,
And with a goose I found her;

The pheasants hy their heels were hang,
The swipes exposed their bills,
And every time of game she sung,
She praised their native hills.

I watch'd her fingers skin the hares,
The Hampshire rabbits draw;
She thou ht hot of the many snares
Which caught them, spite of law,
My heart was snared; but then, I feared
If I confess'd its thrills,

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should be picked, and plucked, and reared.

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Far from my native h-ills. Having sufficiently strummed the specimens, we return to anticipate their effect; and trust that the Waits will shew them up to ears of our young citizens and their romantic ladies con amore, and during the midnight perambulations,

Though discords make 'rough music' in the

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On the land where his infancy flourished; He bes gazed for the last time, on all that was dear

On all that his fond hopes had nourished. Yet he did not regret the lost pleasures of youth

The hopes that so early were blighted;
For well he remembered, that founded on
truth

Had been all that his fancy delighted.
He has gone-but ah! not to that feverish

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clime Where the sun's scorching rays shall molest him;

When oft, as he listened, the loud pealing

chime

bim.

With remembrance of home had depressed No more shall his breast, by the nightbreeze

be fanned,

Nor with transports of ecstasy burn; For he's hastened away to that far distant land,

From whence he can never return.

Ne'er again shall he roam a sad pilgrim on earth,

Nor undauntedly brave the rude billow;
But calmly he rests in the land of his birth,

O'ershadowed by cypress and willow.
How oft has he faultering whispered farewell,
When the tempest of fate bade us sever:
But 'tis past he has gone-'twas the last
sparting knell,

And now, he has sighed it for ever.

HENRIETTA

FORTITUDE.

Fortitude, like a needle, points its course,
And, unsubdued, maintains a victor's force.

J.R.P.

ACCOUNT OF

MOHAMMED ALEE PASHA.

MOHAMMED ALEE was born in the year of the Hegira 1182 (1769), at Ca-, valla (Cowalah), a small town of Roumelia, where his father was an officer in the troops of the governor. Although his education wes entirely neglected, he gave proofs at an early age of a subtle and penetrating genius, an active imagination, and an enterprising disposition, which appeared to presage at that time the lofty destinies he has been called to fulfil. In his youth. he had occasion to give a proof of his courage and prudence, in recalling to their duty the inhabitants of a village which had revolted against the authorities of Cavalla. This action gained for him the confidence of the chiefs and the attachment of a lady, whom he afterwards married, and by whom he had three sons, Ismail, Toussoum, and Ibrahim. A particular circumstance placed him at the head of a body of 300 men, whom the district of Cavalla sent to Egypt, by order of the Grand Signor, against the French, on their taking possession of that country. Scarcely had he joined ed himself by the bravery of his conthe Ottoman army, when he distinguishduct, of which he gave successive proofs in the different actions in which he was engaged with the republican troops.

I shall not follow Mohammed Alee in his military career: I hasten to that moment when, after having passed through every rank-after having met with all the vicissitudes incident to the profession of arms-after having been alternately blamed and rewarded by his superiors, he was chosen governor of Egypt, by a deputation of shekhs, on the 14th of March, 1805. The country was then a prey to all the horrors of intestine divisions, fomented by a number of tyrants, known by the name of beys, or memlooks. He thwarted their schemes of opposition; and two months after his election (the 9th July, 1805) he was recognised by the Sublime Porte as Pasha of Egypt.

The English observed with displeasure that tranquillity was about to be re-establish, by the energy of a single man, in a country which they had coveted, and whose commotions daily afforded a new stimulus to their pretensions. They declared openly against the government of Mohammed Alee, whose plans overthrew their longcherished hopes. The British ambassador at Constantinople demanded his

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removal; and the agents of the cabinet of London excited new commotions. Their efforts succeeded with the Porte, which gave orders to Mohammed Alee to quit his pashalic, and take possession of that of Salonica; but he contrived to gain time by divers pretexts, until his services decided the Grand Signor to leave in Egypt the only man who was capable of governing it at such a critical moment, and of preserving it for the Ottoman empire.

- The defeat of the English at Rosetta, at the time of their unsuccessful expedition in 1807, and their expulsion from Egypt, the annihilation of the memlooks, the wars against the Wahabees, and the conquests of the Hedjaz, Cordofan, and Sennar, were, at a later period, so many claims to the increase of favour and Festeem he enjoyed from the sultan. His ambition has alone prevented him from maintaining it. He is persuaded that he has conquered Egypt by the power of his sabre, and is resolved to keep possession of it, and to transmit it to his heirs; in short, he intends to found a new dynasty.

Mohammed Alee unites with considerable courage the art of commanding; he is endowed with a subtle genius and uncommon perspicacity: nor is he unacquainted with all the machinery of policy and diplomacy, or the means of using it with address. Indefatigable and remarkable for his perseverance, which enabled him to learn to read and write at the age of forty-five; the restless disposition of an ambitious man, who is resolved on gaining a name at any price, is visible in all his conduct. Headstrong even to violence, he wants not however a certain share of humanity. He has taken from the grandees the odious privilege of putting to death without a trial. He has welcomed to his court a great number of subjects who had revolted from the Porte, where he treats them honourably, and whom he would never consent to give up; and during the revolution of Greece, he took under his protection those Greeks who happened to be in Egypt, kept them in his employ, and granted them an increase of favour. An enthusiastic friend to innovations, he adopts them with avidity, and frequently without previous examination; so that he has founded several schools, by whose failure his amour propre has been greatly mortified.

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He is moreover affable, and has an easy and prepossessing manner. of prejudices, he knows how to appreciate European nations, affects even to

imitate their customs, and is constantly blaming the grandees of his court for their mistaken notions of them. The expression of his countenance is gay and open, and his eye is full of fire.— Constantly agitated, he sleeps but little, and seldom enjoys sound repose; and during the night two women watch alternately at his bed-side, to arrange the coverings he constantly throws off in his sleep. On making an acquaintance, he is communicative and curious, particularly in every thing that relates to Europe. In short, as an individual be possesses several estimable qualities: he is a good father, a faithful friendtemperate and regular in his habits.

Such is Mohammed Alee. But if some of the features of this sketch are daily losing their exact resemblance, we must attribute this change to inexorable age, which seems to augment in rigour as it weighs upon him.

Lit. Gas.

EASTERN ANTIQUITIES.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE.

A Buddhist Temple recently brought from Ceylon, is exhibited in the Strand, and it gives a perfeet idea to our countrymen of Deification. Buddha, a colossal idol of no mean stature, was the object of fervent idolatrous devotion. Its removal to this country, we believe, was effected by private means not altogether agreeably with the wishes of its idolators, who paid for their prostrations and genuflections in the presence of this carved and gilded figure. As there are various periods of probation to the idol in the interior, so the roof and walls are decorated with appropriate descriptions; and, in addition to these are models in wood, of trades, professions, and processions, worthy the perusal of the curious in eastern workmanship.

WALTER VIVIAN, THE CORNISH SMUGGLER.

Continued from page 319.

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burning thirst. He changed not his raïment, he shaved not his beard, he bathed not his face, he stretched not his limbs; he saw no one, he heard nothing, he spoke not, but he frequently bent his head to his knees, as if in the attitude of deep and overpowering devotion. No groan, no tear, no convulsive throb escaped him. His features were fixed, firm, immovable. Tracy was speechless-he was silent; the daylight was obscured-his mind was dark, strange, and unfathomable. The neighbours wept, the nurse sobbed, the clergyman knelt and prayed, he alone was impervious to the common emotions. At length, the gentle spirit of his beloved child filed from its exhausted tenement, and the whisper 'of the attendants was heard-" she is no more!"

Walter Vivian started up; he drew "aside the curtain of the bed, and kissed the scarce cold lips of the departed angel. He then shook hands cordially with the few persons present, and proceeded to another apartment. He washed himself, dressed himself, gave orders for her funeral; and when the day came, followed in her mourning train, apparently the least moved of its many attendants. He listened to the solemn service, as a mere spectator; he saw the cold earth heaped upon the remains of Tracy; he was the last that left the churchyard; and he walked home, erect, unchanged in feature, and seemingly as one who had been but the official leader in the ceremony.

From that day no human being, except the old nurse, did he permit to enter his house. His door was shut upon the nearest of his relations. He seemed a man of a different race, of a distinct species, from those who dwelt around him. Like a bird that has .been robbed of its young, he moved round, but never wandered far from the spot where he had been a happy parent. The youth of the village gazed upon him with a feeling of awethe old looked on with compassion the simple maiden wept when she thought of the beautiful Tracy-no one addressed him to no one did he speak. In the morning he might be seen in the churchyard, at mid-day slowly straying on the beach, at all hours, when in his cottage, he might be heard at his devotions. All seasons were the same to him. In storm, in rain, in sunshine, *in summer and winter, he might be found in his accustomed walks, his only companion a pocket Bible, which

he discoursed with on the high cliff, and in the sequestered dell-when the rain pelted its leaves, when the sunbeam gleamed on its pages. When night fell, and the village was asleep, the circle of the aberrations was more extended. At the dead hour, when the owl on the turret, the ripple of the water on the beach, or the loud wave on the shore, alone disturbed the silence of the village, he might be seen wandering forth, apparelled as we have described, and bearing the small lantern in his hand. He would then ascend the hills, stray over the moors, and here and there, at accustomed spots, kneel down and lift up his voice in prayer on the winds of the night. As if the grave had sent him forth, he preferred, even at these dark hours, the most lonely and unfrequented places, in order that the Deity alone should hear and witness his adorations. For more than thirty years has he followed this aberrant and melancholy life, his health sustaining no injury from the dews which fall on him, or the bleak winds that chill him. On these wilds, habit has made him acquainted with every step of the way with every sheep-path- every tor-every glenevery cliff. Day has dawned upon him when seated on the steep far above the sea-the moon has gone down and left him at his devotions at the base of some high rock-the stars alone and his glimmering lantern have lighted him over crags scarcely passable in the broad sun: and when the fisherman, with the first ray of the morning, has been going forth to his toil, he has been met returning to his fireless home, drenched in the rain, sometimes robed in the hoar-frost, often covered with snow, bearing still unquenched the flickering lamp, its gleam scarcely perceptible in the bolder blaze of the dawn. He still lives and still pursues the same wild devotional excursions.Ninety years have passed over his head, and yet Walter Vivian is as hale as when his Tracy died. Her grave he still visits; her humble tombstone is nearly sunk in the earth; the green grass half covers it; yet is it as fresh to the memory of the parent as if it had been placed but yesterday over his child.

We have not coloured a single fact

such a story requires no colouring. Walter Vivian-or rather the person whom we have represented by this name--is still alive to attest the truth of his own wild tale.

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