survived him but to expiate their crimes on the gibbet at Port Royal, said he had joined them from a New York privateer, but they knew nothing farther of him beyond this fact, that by his skill and desperate courage, within a month he had by common acclaim been elected captain of the whole band. There was a story current on board the corvette, of a small trading craft, with a person answering his description, having been captured in the Chesapeake by one of the squadron, and sent to Halifax for adjudication; the master, as in most cases of the kind, being left on board, which from that hour had never been heard of, neither vessel, nor prize, crew nor captain, until two Americans were taken out of a slaver off the Cape de Verds, by the Firebrand, about a year afterwards, after a most brave and determined attempt to escape, both of whom were, however, allowed to enter, but subsequently deserted off Sandy Hook by swimming ashore, in consequence of a pressed hand hinting that Obed had been the master of the vessel above mentioned. All resistance having ceased, the few of the pirates who escaped having scampered into the woods, where it would have been vain to follow them, we secured our prisoners, and at the close of a bloody day, for fatal had it been to friend and foe, the prizes were got under weigh, and before nightfall we were all at sea, sailing in a fleet under convoy of the corvette and Gleam. Blackwood's Mag. THE SUITOR. FOR THE OLIO. Et judex petit, et petit patronus A judge, you say, and patron you must get? SHOULD the present Lord Chancellor make progress in his high vocation, one race of identical character will at least, vanish like an evening shadow into utter darkness; I mean, "The Suitor." To inquire if he is unfortunate, would be a question of supererogation. To insist on his absenting himself from the Chancery Courts, would be to distract him with lingering torture. To look at him with an eye of suspicion, because of the poverty of the suit of his outward man, would involve a distrust unworthy of the inner workings of his mind. It is not surprising, that a style is smoothed by frequently crossing-that a chair yields to the constant pressure of the sitter in it—that a post betrays the friction and the axis the wear-the suitor should, in his habitual course of twenty years, be weather-beaten in his cause and warfare. The suitor is an abstract character, endued with feelings and sympathies entirely his own; imbued with a love of law so far as he is personally concerned, and is interested even in other's legal nomenclature. He considers almost all the lawyers the 'vermin of the land,' pronounces an anathema in the gross, wishes half of them executed without the 'benefit of clergy' and resolves, when his suit shall be determined, to put lex talionis, or tit for tat, into full and exemplary force against the recreant parties that drew him into his dilemma. Poor fellow! the suitor is an object of pity, but a specimen of indurable perseverance. He waits sitting after sitting with the 'Law List' on his tongue, not like 'Patience on a monument smiling at grief;' but like a monument of mercy invoking patience to hold out a little longer, till he might say with Othello, 'Out brief, light!' Few, very few, that have observed him perambulate Lincoln's Inn and Westminster Hall, would be persuaded that his days were not numbered,' yet he has survived the career of an Eldon and a Lyndhurst, and is likely to be the suitor of a Brougham. Where are the deeds? Echo in parchment might answer-where?-What is the nature of the papers? To him they are replete with self-evident conviction. How many folios do they occupy? The bills of the law stationers can attest the number. Who is in possession of the letters in evidence? Alas, they are ink-bare, broken in the folds, and nearly crumbled into "shreds and patches." But, if the originals are in a state of dilapidation like the suitor, he delights himself in the certainty of retaining duplicates. Poor fellow! The "Suitor" once was a spruce, brightened, warmhearted young man, the gayest of his companions. He led an easy and rural life till persuaded by a petty fogging attorney to "file a bill" in Chancery. This was his first impression. career was ardent. But, in proof of his sincerity, have not twenty years elapsed? In the onset of his passion, like a chivalrous knight, he cheerfully laid down twenty pounds by way of a feeler and in advance, and with twenty more the little skiff hoisted sail on the His sea of uncertainty, pretty well. To give THE PUMA. Nearly approaching to the Jauguar in size and form, but obviously distinguished from him at the first glance, by the total absence of spots, the Puma, Couguar, or, as he was once called, the American Lion, occupies the second place among the cats of the New World, over nearly the whole of which he was formerly spread, from Canada and the United States in the North, to the very extremity of Patagonia in the South. From a large portion of this immense expanse of country he appears, however, to have been of late years in a great measure, if not entirely, rooted out; and it is seldom that he is now heard of in the vicinity of that civilization, which involves, as a necessary consequence, either the complete extinction, or, at least, the gradual diminution and dispersion to more secure and sheltered habitations, of all the more savage and obnoxious beasts. For his title of the American Lion he was, in a great degree, indebted to an absurd notion on the part of the early colonists, which was even shared by many naturalists, that he was, in reality, neither more nor less than a degenerate variety of that far more noble animal. This opinion has, however, long since given way before the prevalence of sounder views; and he is now universally recognised as forming a species clearly distinguishable from every other, by a combination of characters which it is impossible to mistake. Almost the only striking point of resemblance between him and the Lion consists in the uniform sameness of his colour, which on the upper parts of his body is of a bright silvery fawn, the tawny hairs being terminated by whitish tips; beneath and on the inside of the limbs he is nearly white, and more completely so on the throat, chin, and upper lip. The head has an irregular mixture of black and gray; the outside of the ears, especially at the base, the sides of the muzzle from which the whiskers take their origin, and the extremity of the tail, are black. The latter is not terminated, as in the Lion, by a brush of hair; neither has the Puma any vestige of a mane. His length from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail is commonly about four feet, and his tail measures above half as much more, being just sufficiently long to suffer its extremity to trail upon the ground. His head is remarkably small and rounded, with a broad and somewhat obtuse muzzle; and his body is proportionably more slender and less elevated than that of the Lion. His young, like those of the latter animal, have a peculiar livery, consisting in spots of a darker shade than the rest of their fur, scattered over every part of the body, but only visible in a particular light, and disappearing entirely at the adult age. There is no difference whatever in colour between the sexes, the fur of the female being in every respect similar to that of the male: in size the latter is superior to his mate; and his head, a part which in the female is disproportionately small, corresponds better with the general form of his body. More circumspect, or rather more cowardly, than any of the larger species of his cautious tribe, he is, notwithstanding his much greater magnitude, scarcely more dangerous than the common wild cat, preying only upon the smaller species of animals, seldom venturing to attack any living creature of greater size or courage than a sheep, and flying from the face of man with more than usual terror. But this cowardice is also, in a state of nature, connected with a degree of ferocity, fully equal to that which is developed in the most savage and blood-thirsty of his fellow cats. Unlike the Jaguar, which generally contents itself with a single victim, the Puma, if he should happen to find himself undisturbed in the midst of a flock of sheep, deserted by their guardians and left entirely at his mercy, is said never to spare, but to destroy every individual that he can reach, for the purpose of sucking its blood. He differs also from the Jaguar in his habit of frequenting the open plain rather than the forest and the river, in and near which the latter usually takes his secret and destructive stand. Hence he is more exposed to the pursuit of the skilful thrower of the lasso, from whom, as his swiftness is by no means great and his timidity excessive, he rarely escapes. In captivity the Puma readily becomes tame, and may even be rendered docile and obedient. His manners closely resemble those of the domestic cat; like it he is extremely fond of being noticed, raises his back and stretches his limbs beneath the hand that caresses him, and expresses his pleasure by the same quiet and complacent purring. They soon become attached to those with whom they are familiar; and numerous instances might be mentioned in which they have been suffered to roam almost at large about the house without any injurious results. One of these incidents occurred under the roof of Mr. Kean, the tragedian, who possessed an animal of this species so tame as to follow him about almost like a dog, and to be frequently introduced into his drawing-room, when filled with company, at perfect liberty. Harvey's Tower Menagerie. Varieties. ORIGIN OF GIPSIES.-About this time, too, swarms of unknown strangers made their appearance, brown in complexion, foreign in aspect, ill supplied with clothing; their leader was named Michael, or, as he styled himself, Duke Michael of Egypt: his followers were known by the name of Cingari or Zingari (in German, Zigeuner, gipsies). So little was known of oriental languages in those times, that these adventurers could tell what tale they pleased about their origin. They pretended to have come from Lower Egypt, and to belong to the number of those who had not received Joseph and Mary; that they had now become Christians, and were bound on a seven years' pilgrimage. It has at length been conjectured, from their language, that they were driven out by the great convulsions of India, when the dynasty of the Sultan of Ghaur was overthrown by Pir Mohammed Jehan Ghir, the grandson of Timur. Lardner's Cyclopedia. AN ARGUMENT.-The extreme ignorance of many of the lower classes of society would, in this enlightened age, perhaps, be hardly credited, were not instances so frequently occurring, which afford ample testimony of the fact. The following anecdote was related to us by a gentleman who heard the conversation. Two old women at a village near Ottery, in Devonshire, were discussing with much earnestness, various knotty points of controversy; and among other topics, on their belief in the existence of witches. The one was a little sceptical on the subject; but her more credulous neighbour censured her want of faith, and insisted she could bring in evidence from the pulpit to substantiate her creed. This was pronounced impossible; but the unbeliever acknowledged she was willing to submit to such authority, could it be produced. "Why," quoth her friend, "do not they say every Sunday at church 'which was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end?" " A LETTER TOO MUCH.-An old gentleman of the name of Gould having married a very young wife, wrote a poetical epistle to a friend, to inform him of it, and concluded it thus: So you see, my dear sir, though I'm eighty years old; A girl of eighteen is in love with old Gould. A HIGHLY CHARGED.-A person whose name was Gan, complaining to a friend that his attorney in his bill had not let him off easily," that is no wonder," answered his friend, "as he charged you too high." SHOEING HORSES IN ITALY AND FRANCE.-The following is the method of shoe inghorses practised in some of the villages of Italy:-After the animals are thrown on their backs, by means of cords with strong nooses slipped over their heads, and round their legs, their feet are made fast to poles, and the operation is then performed. In France, the horses are placed under a shed, and the leg is drawn up by a cord, and fastened to a cross bar whilst the farrier does his work. A GENTLEMAN.-In St. Constant's Sketches of London and English manners, it is asserted that the nurse of James I. having followed him from Edinburgh to London, entreated him to make her son a gentleman. "My good woman," ," said the King, "a gentleman I could never make him, though I could make him a lord." THE METEMPSECHOSIS. Amongst the eastern poets, one of the best known for his eratfc strains is Amarou-rather an appropriate name for a lover. The Hindoo admirers of his verses attribute his superior knowledge of the nice affections of the heart to the fact, as they allege it, of his having been an amorous young female before he was changed into the form in which he was known as a poet this is at least a poetical fancy! - AFRICAN MODE OF STUDying the KORAN. - The koran does not seem to have much embarrassed the Koolfeans. Their only mode of studying it was, to have the characters written with a black substance on a piece of board, then to wash them off, and drink the water; and when asked by Captain Clapperton what spiritual benefit could be derived from the mere swallowing of dirty water, they indignantly retorted,-"What! do you call the name of God dirty water?" This mode of imbibing sacred truth is indeed extensively pursued throughout the interior of the African continent. DANDIES IN THE ELIZABETHIAN AGE. Towards the conclusion of the first year of this queen's reign, a proclamation against excess of apparel appeared, upon which a certain prelate, in a discourse from the pulpit, enumerating many of the prevailing vanities, has given us a curious specimen of the fashions and luxuries of the day, in the following extraordinary passage:"These fine figured ruffles, with their sables about their necks, corked slippers, trimmed buskins, and warm mittens; furred stomachers, long gowns; these tender parnels must have one gown for the day, another for the night; one long, another short; one for summer, another for winter; one furred through, and another faced; one for the work-day, another for the holyday; one for this colour, another of that; one of cloth, another of silk or damask. Change of apparel: one afore dinner, one after; one of Spanish fashion, another of Turkey; and, to be brief, never content with enough, but always devising new fashions and strange. Yea, a ruffian will have more in his ruff and his hose than he could spend in a year; he who ought to go in a russet coat, spends as much on apparel, on him and his wife, as his father would have kept a good horse with." LINES WRITTEN ON THE FAN OF MARIA ANTOINETTE.-Among the posies, printed a la swite, of the Narrative of a voyage from Paris to Bruvelles and to Coblentz, the editor has inserted the following beautiful qua❤ train, said to haxe been written on the Fan of Maria Antoinette; Au milieu des chaleurs extremes AGRICULTURE OF THE ANCIENTSThe culture of the soil was at first very simple, being performed by no other instrument than sharp sticks. By these the ground wes loosened until spades and shovels, and not long after ploughs, were invented. All these instruments were well known in the time of Moses. The first plough, was, doubtless, nothing more than a stout limb of a tree, from which projected another shortened and pointed limb; this being turned into the ground made the furrow, while at the further end of the longest branch was fastened a transverse yoke, to which the oxen were harnessed: at last a handle was added, by which the plough might be guided, so that the plough was composed of four parts,-the beam, the yoke which was attached to the beam, the handle, and what we call the coulter. It was necessary for the ploughman constantly and firmly to hold the handle of the plough, and that no spot might remain untouched, to lean forward and fix his eyes steadily upon it: Luke ix. 62. The staff by which the coulter was cleared served for an ox goad. In the east, at the present day, they use a pole, about eight feet in length; at the largest end of which is fixed a flat piece of iron for clearing the plough, and at the other end a spike for spurring the oxen. There seems to have been no other harrow than a thick clump of wood, borne down by a weight or a man sitting upon it, and drawn over the ploughed field by oxen; the same which the Egyptians use at the present time. In this way the turves were broken in pieces, and the field levelled; at a later period wicker drags came into use. All the ancient vehicles were moved upon the wheels only. WHITEFIELD'S ORATORY.-"As a pupular orator, Whitefield has rarely been surpassed. According to Southey, his eloquence was not inaptly compared, by an ignorant man, to the roaring of a lion among those who heard him-making them tremble, like Felix before the apostle Paul. By his terrifie denunciation against sin, many of his hearers were thrown into paroxysms of such extraordinary violence, as to produce the most lamentable effects on the minds and bodies of the sufferers. Retaining, through life, the dramatic talent he had displayed in his youth, his preaching is said to have resembled fine stage acting. When he described St. Peter going forth, after the cock crew, to weep, he con cluded by hiding his face in a fold of his garment. At the close of a sermon he would sometimes assume the character of a judge about to pass sentence on a criminal. "I am now," he would say, "about to put on my condemning cap. Sinner, I must do it: it is my duty to pronounce judgment upon you." Then, after giving a terrific description of eternal punishments, he would add, in the words of our Saviour, "Depart from me, ye wicked, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" At other times he would depict, more vividly, it is said, than can be imagined, the scene of the crucifixion. "Look!" he would exclaim, pointing while he spoke, as if the cross were before him; "Look yonder !-It is our Lord in his agony !-Do you not hear him?-Hark!—Oh! Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me : nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.' Hume, the historian, relates that he once heard Whitefield, after a solemn pause, thus address his audience: "The attendant angel is just about to leave the threshold, and ascend to Heaven. And shall he not bear with him the news of one sinner, from among all this multitude, reclaimed from the error of his ways?" The historian adds:-"To give the greater effect to this exclamation, he stamped with his foot, lifted up his hands and eyes to Heaven, and cried aloud, Stop, Gabriel! Stop, Gabriel! Stop, ere you enter the sacred portals, and yet carry with you the news of one sinner converted to God! This address was accompanied with such animated, yet natural action, that it snrpassed any thing I ever saw or heard in any other preacher.”—Georgian Era, Vol. 1. WHAT A GOOD WIFE SHOULD BE.In a wedding sermon, entitled "The Rib Restored," delivered in Dionis Black Church, in 1655, by Richard Meggot, afterwards Dean of Salisbury, the preacher, speaking of a good wife, says "A help she must be in her family, being not only a wife but a house wife; not a field wife like Dinah, nor a street wife like Thamas, nor a window wife like Jezebel, but an house wife." THE BIBLE.-When Queen Elizabeth passed through Cheapside, at her coronation, there was a pageant erected. An old man, representing Time, with his scythe and wings, appeared as if coming out of a cave, leading another person, clad in white silk, all gracefully apparelled, who represented Truth |