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combs, pins, and mirrors-these latter articles are made, The paper was, in short, the rough calculation, or not of glass, but of polished metal, of a round form, hurried scroll, made by the Duke of Wellington of and are not supported as are the mirrors of our day, the amount of his troops on the day of the memobut were held up by means of a handle, like the port-rable battle of Waterloo: the regiments successively able dressing-glasses now in use. named, and their respective numbers summed up. Alongside of this was another frame, enclosing the original seal of Magna Charta, or the great charter granted by King John in the twelfth century—a large impression taken in darkish-red wax.

The rooms beyond this are called the Etruscan Rooms, from their containing specimens of the ancient pottery of Etruria in Italy, the Staffordshire of the days of antiquity. Amongst these vessels we find cups, bowls, jugs, vases, and pots used for baking. The ware is generally dark, brown and black being the principal colours of the ground, while the patterns are formed of gayer colours. Some jars are exceedingly elegant in shape, and not a few of them appear to have

formed the models for articles now in use.

We now descend the stairs to the Egyptian Saloon, where the more bulky antiquities are to be seen; and as in the other apartments we were lost in amazement at the number of minute things which have survived the struggles of four thousand years, so here again is our wonder excited at the magnitude of some of the remains, which have not, however, escaped altogether uninjured. Several of the figures in this saloon are of carved stone, colossal in their proportions, yet preserving amazing gracefulness of outline. One of the busts, which was brought from Thebes by Belzoni in 1816, measures nearly nine feet in height, the face alone being upwards of three feet in length. Imagine the tremendous height of an entire figure of such proportions as this! But I cannot dwell on the various wonderful things in this room, neither can I afford space for more than the mere mention of the room adjoining, or of the grand Elgin Saloon beyond, which is to many persons the department of the most surpassing interest.

This saloon is a long apartment, lighted from the roof, and contains those highly-prized remains of Grecian and Roman sculpture brought to England by the late Earl of Elgin, who had them collected while ambassador from England to the court at Constantinople, about the beginning of the present century, at an expense of nearly L.70,000. They were purchased from the earl by the English government, in 1816, for L.35,000, and are exhibited as the most perfect specimens of art now extant. This valuable collection consists of figures, fragments of columns, and friezes in relief, in white marble. Some of the statues are very much mutilated, others are more entire, but all display the most exquisite design and workmanship, the finely modelled limbs being rounded with the most consummate skill, and in perfect keeping with the natural proportions of the human figure, while the attitudes are singularly easy and graceful.

The labour bestowed on these works is almost incredible; in the frieze, which formed a portion of the ornaments of the Parthenon, and of which one half has been preserved as now shown, amounting to two hundred and fifty feet in length, there are one hundred and ten figures of horses introduced, and of these there are not two in the same attitude, thus showing the fertility of invention which existed amongst ancient artists. The human figures are executed in a similar spirited manner, the utmost diversity prevailing in the costumes and attitudes from first to last.

We next proceeded to the library, or libraries, the most extensive and valuable of all the departments. The first room we entered was of considerable length, surrounded by presses containing books, protected by brass wire-work. About midway a gallery runs round the walls, also with presses reaching nearly to the ceiling. At the opposite extremity to that by which we entered, there was an open window looking into a room beyond, furnished with long tables covered with green cloth; this is called the reading-room. Here there were a number of gentlemen, and, as it happened, one lady, all busily engaged in looking over manuscripts or books, some writing and others reading, the books being supplied by assistant librarians. The next room we passed through contains the library of the late Sir Joseph Banks, and leading from one side of this apartment is the entrance to the King's Library, a magnificent room arranged for the reception of an immense and valuable collection of books formerly belonging to George III, and presented by him to the museum. To this collection George IV. added, after the death of his father, the extensive library belonging to Buckingham Palace. In this library, the most splendid in the museum, there are many rare and valuable manuscripts; one, the most interesting of all, being a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, in the form of a web of parchment, on two rollers: it is shown partly unrolled in a glass case. What a difference between this and a modern Bible, executed at a trifle of expense by a printing-press!

Returning again through Sir Joseph Banks' library, we were conducted through another very long and elegant room, supported by lofty pillars, behind which there were deep recesses, and stored, as were the other apartments, with books, to a succeeding room of similar construction and dimensions; and here, by the kindness of my conductor, and an antiquarian friend who had joined us in the Egyptian Saloon, I was shown some things possessing peculiar interest.

The first curiosity to which my attention was directed was a sheet of paper framed and glazed, and suspended against the wall. At a first glance this had very much the appearance of an ordinary bill of items. These items, however, were not of ordinary import.

From the surrounding presses the obliging officials brought forth first a copy of the Evangelists, of the time of Edward the Confessor, transcribed by the hand on vellum, and beautifully illuminated or embellished in the most brilliant colours. This volume has been used at the coronations of the monarchs of England since the time of Edward until lately. The cover is of a darkish-brown skin, being much shrunk by fire, having been rescued from burning while in the possession of a nobleman to whom it formerly belonged.

We can scarcely estimate the labour and time bestowed on the production of a volume such as this; but that transcribing by hand was sometimes as much a matter of pleasure as profit, a copy which I saw of a prayer-book of Queen Elizabeth bears testimony. The queen, it is well known, was mistress of various languages, skilled in Greek, Latin, Italian, and French, and in this volume we have proof of her industry in the mere mechanical accomplishment of penmanship. The prayer-book is in Latin, French, and English, written in a neat and distinct hand, by Elizabeth herself; the cover is also the work of her own hands, being of crimson embroidered in gold, but faded and tarnished by time.

Another book, which excites a still greater degree of interest, now occupied our attention. This was the treasured volume of prayers belonging to the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, and used by her during her imprisonment and at her execution. It is smaller and less pretending than Elizabeth's. While reverently turning over the leaves, I was taken back in spirit to the dismal scene in the Tower where this volume had been used; and it seemed well that, if there was to be any memorial of Lady Jane preserved, it should be one reminding us of the gentle and devout spirit in which she met her unworthy fate. On the margin of one of the leaves we trace, with feelings which I would vainly endeavour to describe, a few lines addressed to her father, conveying her last wishes, with the most cheerful assurance of the happiness she felt in contemplating her approaching death.

We were next shown a thick manuscript volume of letters of Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, James I., Charles, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II., &c., and one of Lady Jane Grey begin ning thus-" Jane the Queen." This letter was to the mayor of York, and was one of the proofs urged against her at her condemnation.

Amongst other manuscripts shown, there was some portion of the original manuscript of Pope's Iliad, written on scraps of paper, such as backs of letters. This great man was stingy in some matters of expenditure, and drew upon himself the title of "papersaving Pope." Yet I have always thought that there are worse faults amongst men of genius than scribbling first draughts of verses upon waste paper. In one fragment of a letter, we recognise the name of Addison: another is a note of invitation from a certain duchess, written by one of her officials, or some one connected with her establishment, and beginning in this abrupt way-"The duchess being drunk," &c. The invitation was to a fête at the villa of her grace,

somewhere on the banks of the Thames. This is a fine burlesque upon the supposed punctiliousness of the great ladies of Pope's day.

Having spent a considerable time in looking over these curious things, we now paid a flying visit to the coin-room, which is never shown but by order. In the present instance, however, this was not required; for, at the appearance of my friend, the doors flew open, and we were received with the utmost courtesy.

This room leads through an outer apartment filled with Egyptian antiquities, such as instruments of various kinds for surgical and other purposes, many of them closely resembling the instruments used in the present day. The coin-room is fitted up with cases and drawers all round; and one of the shallow drawers being taken out, we were shown, reposing on cotton wool, the ancient Jewish shekel, a silver coin thicker than a shilling, and about the same size, I think. It was exceedingly curious to see and handle a coin which represents the circulating medium of the days of the "kings of Israel." I was also gratified by a peep at the coins of Greece and Rome, also the coins of Syracuse, and some of Alexander the Great, all of gold, and displaying perfectly distinct impressions. This class of coins have a rich appearance, in consequence of the impressions being much more raised above the face of the coin than is customary in modern times. It would have been interesting to have traced these ancient coins down to the present time, so as to observe if much progress had been made in the art of striking coins. I suspect that the modern coins would not exhibit any great improvement; the work may be finer and more regular, but I think I should give the preference to the ancient style.

This, my dear Jane, concludes my rambling attempt at a description of one of the most magnificent institutions in the world; and although by any one who

knows its extent, I fear I might be charged with presumption in trying to describe it at all, yet, in merely relating what I saw, as far as my memory serves me, I shall at least be gratified in thinking that I have afforded you some degree of entertainment, if not instruction.

DR COMBE ON INSANITY.

DR ANDREW COMPE, so favourably known to the public by his useful books on physiology and the preservation of health, has also written a formal work on

Insanity, treating it according to the views of Pinel, Esquirol, Gall, &c. We have heard this work spoken of in the highest terms, even by persons who have no faith in the system of mental philosophy advocated by the author. The views of insanity there advanced are sketched by Dr Combe in a letter which he addressed in 1830 to the late Dr Macintosh of Edinburgh, in consequence of a wish expressed by Dr Macintosh that Dr Combe would furnish him with a chapter on the subject for a new edition of his work on the Practice of Physic. We find this letter in the last number of the Phrenological Journal, and, with the concurrence of Dr Combe, transfer it to our columns, as a document calculated to give them what we believe to be the only rational doctrines of insanity in a remarkably brief space. It is proper to remark that the letter was not written for publication:

"I find it more difficult than I expected to comply with your request of either adding my remarks to your article on insanity, or of writing a new one altogether; and, therefore, will rather give you a general notion of the phrenological view of the subject, and leave your own sagacity to make what use of it you can..

First-Insanity is not a specific disease, but a symptom of disordered action in the brain or organ of the mind; and, like every other disorder of function, it may proceed from a variety of different states. The delirium of fever is one form of disordered mind, which is always viewed as a symptom; and so ought all other forms to be. The brain being to the mind what the eye is to vision, it follows that, just as vision is deranged by many pathological states of its organ-such as ophthalmia, iritis, cataract, &c.-so may the mind be deranged by many states of the brain. The suf

ferers on the Medusa's raft became mad from starvation and exposure, while many become so from excess, particularly in stimulants. The asylum at Milan is filled by lunatics from bad feeding, who almost all finds many cases arise from chronic meningitis, and recover by nourishing food; while Bayle at Charenton Broussais declares that, in the early stages, it is so obviously from inflammatory excitement that it may often be cut short by free leeching, as certainly as pleurisy is by blood-letting. Hence it is not the same disease in all.

Secondly-Insanity, being a symptom of morbid action in the brain, springs naturally from causes affecting its health; and hence a great affinity between the causes of acute cerebral disease and of those more chronic affections on which insanity depends. The hereditary tendency depends on a peculiarity of nervous constitution, and is of primary importance. Excess of some mental qualities, leading to eccentricity, predisposes in irritable constitutions, from the high action into which the corresponding predominant organs are thrown; and hence the latter are generally those whose manifestations are deranged, as proved in Dublin by my brother having, in so many instances, pointed out correctly, from development, the probable Other predisposing form of the mental affection. causes, such as age, sex, profession, &c., are referable to the same principle.

Thirdly-The exciting causes are whatever disorders the action of the brain. That organ requires regular exercise for its health and preservation, and for the improvement of its functions, just as other parts doas the muscles in fencing or dancing. Practice in the latter instances increases nutrition, and consequently power; and it gives a facility of combination to produce a given end. The same organic laws preside over the brain; consequently, excess of exercise, as in intemperate study, excitement of passion, anxiety, and strong mental exertion long sustained, leads to morbid cerebral action, with derangement of function in irritable subjects. Deficiency of exercise, or idleness, leads equally to diseased action and manifestation, as exemplified in the melancholy and ennui of the retired merchant or soldier, and in the numerous victims in the unoccupied classes of society. Local causes act by disordering the brain. Blows on the head, coups du soleil, intense cold, drunkenness, meningitis, &c., show this.

Fourthly-Dyspepsia, and other disorders of the abdominal viscera, excite it secondarily in some instances in predisposed subjects; but, in general, mental causes have preceded. The same remark applies in

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certain maniacal diseases in which the affection of particular external organs is generally the effect, and not the cause, of the cerebral disturbance. The brain, in short, is more frequently disordered by direct than by indirect causes; and, in this respect, the analogy between it and other organised parts is preserved.

Fifthly-The symptoms indicative of insanity consist of deranged cerebral functions and local phenomena. Every sense, every nervous function, and every faculty of the mind, may be involved in the disease or not; and hence indescribable variety. The true standard is the patient's own natural character, and not that of the physician or of philosophy. A person from excess of development in one part of the brain may be eccentric and singular in his mental manifestations, and yet his mental health be entire. Before we can say that he is mad, we must be able to show a departure from his habitual state which he is incapable of controlling. An irascible man may be very boisterous without being mad; but if a mild and timid creature become equally boisterous and irascible, we may apprehend disease. One may be naturally suspicious, jealous, and cunning, without being insane; but if a man of an open, generous, and unsuspecting nature become so, danger to his cerebral health is at hand. The derangement may be either an excitement of the patient's predominant qualities, or a diminished action, or a perversion or vitiation of function. A proud man may, for instance, become a king during disease, from excitement of function; he may humble himself in the dust as unworthy to walk upright, from its diminution; or he may fancy himself something out of the ordinary course of nature, from its ritiation. Or one who is attached to friends when in health, may either have inordinate love for them when insane, or be indifferent, or have a hatred and aversion to them; and so on with every feeling and faculty of the mind.

The co-existence of digestive derangement modifies the mental state, and gives greater anxiety and irritability than where the stomach, liver, and bowels act well. Other complications modify in other ways. Monomania, religious, erotic, and other manias, are not different diseases. One organ and faculty being chiefly affected, and the rest entire, gives rise to monomonia; but the proximate cause may be, and often is, the same as where all the organs and faculties are affected. Religious despondency is the mere symptom also, and appears because the function of some cerebral parts is to manifest religious feelings; and those being diseased, the function necessarily suffers, and the feeling is altered. But the same pathological state affecting Combativeness and Destructiveness, would produce furious mania.

Monomania and melancholy are less easily curable, not from the proximate cause being more serious, but partly from the other faculties succeeding in longer concealing the existence of abberration; whereas in mania it betrays itself early in spite of the patient. Insanity is not a state separated by a broad line from sound mind. Every gradation is observable, and we perceive morbid action before we can venture to say that the patient is insane. Some are cured at home of mental affections in a few weeks, who, if sent to an asylum, would become mad, and remain so for months or years.

and adapt it to the state of the individual patient, for
the latter is the only safe and successful plan. I re-
main," &c.

MR REDDING'S "CORNWALL.”
OF "England in the Nineteenth Century," which we
lately noticed as a beautiful popular topographical
work newly commenced, four numbers of each "divi-
sion" have now been published, and the promise held
out in the first parts is amply fulfilled. The typo-
graphy, embellishments, and literature of the work,
are all of the most satisfactory kind. Every man
seems to do his duty, whether "England" expected
it or not. We are somehow most pleased with Corn-
wall, probably because it is more a region of tale and
tradition than steam-ridden Lancashire. Mr Redding
appears to be admirably adapted for the task which
he has undertaken : he never dwells too long on the
commonplace, and he lays hold of and draws in every
thing that is interesting. We see the poet in such
touches as the following respecting the Lizard point-
"the last land of their native isle that was visible to
many who were never to revisit its shores, and the
first seen by joyous spirits whom years and climes
had long separated. From hence vessels outward
bound on voyages that have become matter of history,
took the observation by which they were to career
over the bounding deep to unvisited shores, and proud
war-ships dated their departure to scenes of disaster
or conquest."

ter, which, with other circumstances, led the people to believe that the property must have been Dutch; no bodies, no clothes, no portions of the masts or rigging were stranded; the spot where the shipwreck occurred was only guessed at by a few fragments of the rib timbers being discovered jammed among the rocks-all besides had been taken into the fathomless deep. In one case, a Newfoundland dog was the sole survivor of a ship's living cargo; in another, a black man reached the shore through the surf, but died before he could tell the name of the vessel to which he belonged.

Nothing can be more untrue than the charge of Cornish barbarity, since in no part of England shipwrecked persons meet with greater kindness; though it is but seldom that this kindness can be put to the test by the escape of any animated being to experience it. On the wreck of the Anson frigate, thirty years ago, not only were the survivors most kindly treated, but the efforts made to assist in the escape of the crew were all which were possible in such a dreadful scene. One individual, whose name is to us unknown, or we would print it-one whose name deserves to be remembered far before the destroyers of their species, of whom national immorality makes its molten godscame down to the spot. The frigate lay with her bottom seawards, and the waves rolled over her, and fell in 'horrible cascade' on the shore side and up the sandy beach, carrying the living and the dead with them, and upon the recoil bearing them back into the ocean depths. The only assistance that could be given Twelve miles from Falmouth is Helston, a small was by venturing as far as possible into the surf, and borough, where, the ceremonies which we lately de- snatching the half-drowned that could be reached out scribed in an article on May-day were, till a recent of it-an effort not to be made at such times without period, celebrated with unusual vivacity, but on the much hazard. The individual to whom we allude was Sth of the month, which is there called Furry Day, a methodist teacher, a humble man, who had come probably from old Cornish feur, a holiday. The whole down on horseback to the spot. He rode intrepidly population of the town was involved in the dancing into the foam, and succeeded in getting hold of two of and festivity of this occasion, without the least harm the crew, one after the other, whom he saved; but on to any one. Mr Redding justly remarks "Nor was venturing the third time into the raging surf, as he such a time without its social use in bringing the was grasping at another, a wave swept both horse and poorer class in contact with the wealthier, and keep-rider away, in the presence of hundreds of persons ing up a kindly feeling, which once in a year could who could render no assistance; and this man, to us hardly be productive of great self-sacrifice to those nameless, found in this way the proudest death and who carried their chins the most loftily. Mr Gilbert interment that is destined for humanity-losing his complained that the practice was diminishing every life in the act of trying to save a fellow-creature from year, plainly showing from what cause, by stating destruction, and having the bosom of the ocean for his that all was fast tending towards the single enter- sepulchre. tainment of a ball.' It appears that if the ladies had heretofore succeeded in their will, the very memory of the festival would have been lost. It is thus that, before the mixture of vulgar pride and ignorant exclusiveness so prevalent in these times in the middle ranks of society, the separation of the different classes is with much impolicy rendered wider. The classes never momentarily linked, and kindliness changing to indifference, dislike and antipathy towards each other are shown upon the most trivial occasions; thus old things that are harmless, and even beneficial, in their existence, are disappearing with what of old things may be very wisely resigned."

"What thing is harder than the rock?

What softer is than water cleere?
Yet wyll the same, with often droppe,

The harde rock perce, as doth a spere.
Even so, nothing so hard to attayne,
But may be hadd with labour and paine.
Beholde this asse, wiche laden ys

With riches, plentye, and with meat,
And yet thereof no pleasure hathe,

But thystells, hard and rough, doth eat.
In like case ys the rich niggarde,
Wich hath inoughe, and lyveth full hard.”

In Pengerswick Tower, near Sidney Cove, now in ruins, there is still a wainscoted room, displaying painted devices on the panels, with quaint inscriptions in verse. Two of the latter, respectively illusBesides what you notice in regard to treatment,trative of perseverance and niggardliness, are worth every thing demonstrates that employment to the quoting:patients is not sufficiently studied. The brain loses its health from vacuity of mind, and yet we shut up in scores, in perfect idleness, men who, when well, were accustomed to an active and bustling life, and whom, at any time of their lives, idleness would have driven mad. Manual labour and occupation are of immense consequence, and the moral influence of keepers and superintendants acquainted with human nature, and interested in their vocation, is prodigious in producing quietude, and accelerating recovery, just from giving to the brain that healthy exercise which it requires. Lunatics retain a good deal of reason even in their worst condition, and hence are more accessible to the influence of reason and example than might be supposed. In every point of view it is best to act towards them with the same consistency, honesty, and good feeling, as if they were quite in possession of themselves. They are quick in detecting deceit; and when once deceived, never give confidence again. I mention this because I differ from what once said to you on this subject, in having flattered and led D by his predominating self-esteem, and from what you said in accordance with it. My experience says, Never advance a word which you cannot conscientiously stick by when the patient recovers, and you will retain your ascendancy. Do not thwart his delusion, but neither give it any countenance. is now satisfied I am right in this. Remove all provocatives and allusions to the morbid feeling or idea, and exercise the faculties which remain sound.

In subjects not delicate, and not beyond middle life, I find many who are greatly benefited by occasional leeching, followed by tepid bathing, and cold to the head while in the bath. Many, of course, do not require depletion; but it may be advantageously employed when the usual indications exist. General bleeding I know little of, and do not like. After the irritability and excitement of the immediate explosion are over, a great deal of exercise in the open air seems most useful in diminishing irritability, relieving the head, and procuring sound sleep; but if used too soon, it injures. The ordinary principles of pathology ought, in short, to regulate medical treatment,

We are happy to find the habits of the Cornwallians with regard to wrecks placed in a more favourable light than heretofore by Mr Redding. "Before the care of coasting-vessels was confided to a race of men of the existing experience and talent, the wrecks along this part of the coast used to be frequent; and they were the more frightful, because it was rarely the case that a solitary individual survived to relate from what port the vessel came, and whither it was bound. Within the last thirty years, these disasters have been fewer, and occurred only when storms of great violence came on suddenly, or through the mistake of one headland for another in misty weather. But though coasting-vessels were those which were once most frequently lost upon this iron shore, the long continuance of westerly winds, and errors in reckoning, caused many a disaster to foreign ships of burden, as well as to those of our own country; and in general no more was known of any ship cast away here, or of her crew, than the cargo and fragments, strewed over miles of the shore at low water, might indicate. No ship could hold together an hour in a gale on this fearful coast, unless flung upon some very favourable spot at high tide. Such spots are few; the sea breaks, for the most part, against precipices of great height. One vessel, of which we saw some relies, was never seen entire: neither her name, nation, nor the fate of her crew was ascertained. She had been lost, it was supposed, late in the night, for on the preceding evening at sunset, no sail was seen in the horizon with a telescope. It was blowing fresh, and in the morning some planks were found and foreign kegs of but

The charge of want of hospitality or kindness in the Cornish to shipwrecked persons, then, is not true. We have said that vessels break up almost as soon as they touch the shore, which for miles is strewed with portions of the cargo and timbers. These the country people pick up, and the finder too often appropriates. It is from this circumstance that the Cornish have been accused of barbarity and wreck-plundering; the vulgar had a notion formerly that the property saved from shipwreck belonged to any one who was on board that survived, and if no one survived, to any body who might pick it up from the beach.

In those days, wreck picked up from the sea-shore was styled 'a godsend.' The well-known story of A wreck! a wreck!' being cried at the church-door, and the parson with difficulty restraining the people a moment, on some excuse, until he got down from the pulpit himself into the aisle, and then said, My good friends, let us all start fair,' might be true enough, if we believed that an educated man even in the 'good old times' could be guilty of such an indecency. It is true, we were told, and have no reason to doubt the correctness of our information, that in those days an individual who had been well educated, and did not want the good things of this life, but who was a drunkard, and in every respect a highly immoral man, once tied up the leg of an ass at night, and hanging a lantern from its neck, drove it himself along the summit of the high cliffs on that part of the northern coast where he lived, in order that the halting motion of the animal might imitate the plunging of a vessel under sail, and thus tempt ships to run in, from imagining there was sea-room, where destruction was inevitable. The same individual was accused of having cut the fingers off the dead body of a lady which was washed on shore from a wreck, to secure the rings which decorated them. The very rumour now that any man had been guilty of such an atrocity, would expel him from society in Cornwall, and from the county itself; but for such instances of inhumanity on the part of any class, whatever might have happened a century or two ago, there is not the remotest foundation in modern times.

We cannot avoid mentioning here, as being in some degree connected with the appearance of what people call a death-ship, on one part of this coast, the result of an inquiry we made upon the subject.. Our informant had lived there all his days, and told us that in his father's boyhood there was a person resided in the village of T who was distinguished for his oppressive conduct, his private vices, and the possession of property which was acquired by sinister means. In our informant's words

'He was a man well off in the parish, but that was nothing to him.'

'Did you know him?

No; it was in my father's youth; but he declared it was true, and he was not given to falsehood; it is fourscore years ago; his name was'.

We shall not mention the name, as some of his descendants may be alive-if he had descendantsand proceed to what our informant said farther.

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"The death-ship-what was that? Why, Mr, drunk one half his time, and given taken very ill at last, yet seemed to have no care about his condition, and, when he could use his tongue, swore and blasphemed as hard as ever. Just before he died, a frightful thing occurred, which leads me to the purport of your question about the death-ship.' 'Well, what was that?-he plundered one wreck too many, I suppose?'

to all kinds of bad conduct when he was sober, was

No; a day or two before he breathed his last, a party of men were working near the top of the cliffs, where they were several hundred feet in elevation; the weather was hazy over the sea, when on a sudden one of them exclaimed, Do you see that? there is a ship close in with the shore. All the party saw the vessel looming through the haze, tall, dark, and squarerigged, but they could observe nothing further, as it disappeared seawards in the mist, and quickly vanished from their sight. There was no wind, and the impossibility of navigating without it struck these men, so that it became a subject of conversation in the church-town.

In a hollow, at the foot of the cliffs before mentioned, there was a considerable space of sand, dry at

wretchedness attendant upon the full development of
those vices of which what the world calls gaiety is the
natural and certain germ; if we could add all these to-
gether, we should behold a sum of human misery greater
than ever was produced by absolute crime---by murder,
which public indignation is so justly and unanimously
theft, or any of those gross and desperate acts, against
raised. If we could add all these together, we should

see, operating through different channels, a mass of selfish-
ness with which that of the solitary miser bears no com-
parison. The life of the gay man is, in fact, a system of
self-indulgence, of self-gratification, of self-worship. The
miser, in his despised and isolated sphere, has no power
to prey upon the happiness of society. The privations
he imposes extend no farther than himself; and, if no
other individual shares in what he gains, he is alone in
the punishment he inflicts. But the dissipated man has
a wider influence, because he is the hero of society in its
worst state. He has therefore the power to disseminate
the seeds of evil in a degree proportioned to his popu-
larity; and in the same measure as he is beloved, he is
capable of inflicting misery. He knows that he can do
this, and he does it still. He knows that he is the cause
of floods of burning tears, and while he weighs them
against one intoxicating draught, it is self-love that
prompts him again to hold the sparkling poison to his
lips, and to let the tears flow on.---Family Secrets.

THANATOPSIS.

[The following lines by BRYANT, an American poet, have been

them, signifies "A Discourse on Death."]

To him who, in the love of Nature, holds
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language. For his gayer hours
She has a voice of gladness, and a smile
And eloquence of beauty; and she glides
Into his darker musings with a mild
And gentle sympathy, that steals away
Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit, and sad images

Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,
And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,
Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart-
Go forth unto the open sky, and list

To nature's teachings, while from all around-
Earth and her waters, and the depths of air-
Comes a still voice-Yet a few days, and thee
The all-beholding sun shall see no more

effect.

and the practice of giving them to passengers without additional charge, would have any thing but a beneficial We are glad to observe, from the work of Mr Sturge, that on board the British Queen, in which he sailed to New York, this improper practice does not now plying the passengers with intoxicating liquors without exist. "The very objectionable custom (he says) of suplimit and without any additional charge, thus compelling

the temperate or abstinent passenger to contribute to the expenses of the intemperate, was done away. Each individual paid for the wine and spirits he called for-a circumstance which greatly promoted sobriety in the ship; but I am sorry to say three or four, and these my own countrymen, were not unfrequently in a state of intoxication. On one occasion after dinner, one of these addressed an intelligent black steward, who was waiting, by the contemptuous designation of Blackey.' The man replied to him in this manner- My name is Robert; when you want any thing from me, please to address me by my, name; there is no gentleman on board who would have addressed me as you have done. We are all the same flesh and blood; I did not make myself-God made me.' This severe and public rebuke commended itself to every man's conscience, and my countryman obtained no sympathy even from the most prejudiced slaveholder on board."

HINTS FOR STUDENTS.

We extract the following from a work now somewhat rare-Buck's Anecdotes:-"He who would wish to make proficiency in any science, must give himself to

acquired by dignity and wealth. Application is necessary both for prince and peasant. Many in elevated situations are very desirous of the honour, but averse to the labour, of intellectual attainments.

Euclid was asked one day by King Ptolemaeus Lagus, 'Whether there was not a shorter and easier way to the knowledge of geometry than that which he had laid down in his Elements ?' He answered, that there was indeed no royal road to geometry.' In the same manner, when Alexander wanted to learn geometry by some easier and shorter method, he was told by his preceptor that he must here be content to travel the same road with others, for that all things of this nature were equally difficult to prince and people.' We may apply this observation to learning in general. If we wish to enjoy the sweets, we must encounter the difficulties, of acquisition. The student must not be always in the world, or living at his ease, if he wish to enlarge his mind, inform his judgment, or improve his powers. He must read, think, remember, compare, consult, and digest, in order to be wise and useful.

low water, and some persons had gone thither to col- much admired. The name Thanatopsis, which he has given to study. Knowledge is not to be gained by wishing, nor lect shell-fish a day or two after the preceding occurrence, when they saw a tall dark vessel run in almost close without a breath of wind, her sails appearing full, and of a deep black colour. The coast abounded i in sunken rocks, among which she seemed to thread a tortuous course without touching one. No living thing was upon the deck which they could discern from stem to stern; the wheel had no helmsman; no seaman was on the look-out, and none hove the lead: at which sight the observers felt a thrill, as if it was something, they knew not what, out of the ordinary course of things, particularly as, at the same moment, it lay-to, and the sails began to shiver. Thus riveted to the spot by a sensation which they found it impossible to describe, the sails again filled, and the ship appeared to glide away until it was reduced to a mere speck, and disappeared in an instant, apparently at the distance of leagues, much as the figures of a magic lantern glide along a whitened wall. Some thought, for the moment, it was a deception of their sight, and rubbed their eyes-for the whole appearance did not occupy any perceptible duration of time, and yet there was time enough for the strange object to fix their attention, and allow them the most perfect examination of her form and tenantless deck. After looking for some minutes at the broad expanse of sea before them, upon which, to the remotest point of the horizon, not one solitary sail appeared, they hastened to the church-town, eager to communicate what they had just seen, when the first news they heard was, that the well-known and notorious Mr had just expired.'"

MISTAKEN GENEROSITY.

There are strange contradictions in some of the popular modes of judging of human character---contradictions which, if they were to exist in religious society, would be laid hold of by the world, and exhibited to view, as proofs of the unsubstantial nature of all such profession. Amongst these, there is none more striking, and certainly none more injurious to the well-being of society, than the habit of attributing to young men of gay and dissipated habits an excess of generosity, and an absence of selfishness, which are considered as outweighing all their moral delinquencies. Whether this false estimate of character is derived from the glowing and attractive descriptions of some of the popular heroes of ancient as well as modern romance; or whether it is merely that mankind can accommodate their judgment to circumstances, so as to admire what it suits their inclination to imitate--it is not our business now to inquire. But it may not be foreign to the subject in hand, to tax the patience of the reader for a few moments, so far as to ask, in what does the generosity and the disinterestedness of the characters alluded to consist? Is it in their kind and consistent regard to the feelings of those by whom they are most beloved, and whom they profess to love in return? Is it in their selfdenial--in the privations they undergo for the sake of promoting the happiness of others? Is it in the full and efficient returns they render for all the care and anxiety of which they are the cause? Is it in the abundant bestowment of their pecuniary means, to support the destitute and to solace the afflicted? Is it in the faithfulness and punctuality with which they hold themselves ready at the call of duty to answer the demands of friendship and affection? Is it in the sacredness with which they fulfil every trust committed to their charge? Is it, in short, in their absence of self-love, and their disregard of self-gratification in comparison with the gratification of their friends? If there be any meaning in the words generosity and good-heartedness, they would surely comprehend some of these points; and yet in all these are the characters of the gay and the dissipated peculiarly deficient. If we could, by any means of calculation, add together all the tears which such characters habitually and recklessly cause--all the hours of anxiety they inflict upon their near connexions-all the bickerings and disputes occasioned by their conduct between those who censure and those who defend them-all the wretched feeling they leave behind them whenever they go out-all the anguish which awaits their return-all the disappointment of those who trust them-and, finally, all the

In all his course. Nor yet in the cold ground,
Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears,
Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist
Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim
Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again;
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up
Thine individual being, shalt thou go
To mix for ever with the elements,
To be a brother to the insensible rock
And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
Turns, with his share, and treads upon. The oak
Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould
Yet not to thy eternal resting-place
Shalt thou retire alone; nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world-with kings,
The powerful of the earth-the wise, the good,
Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past,
All in one mighty sepulchre. The hills,
Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun; the vales,
Stretching in pensive quietness between;
The venerable woods; rivers that move
In majesty; and the complaining brooks,
That make the meadow green; and, poured round all,
Old ocean's grey and melancholy waste-
Are but the solemn decorations all
Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun,
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,
Are shining on the sad abodes of death,
Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread
The globe, are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom. Take the wings
Of morning, and the Barcan desert pierce;
Or lose thyself in the continuous woods
Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound,
Save his own dashings; yet-the dead are there;
And millions in those solitudes, since first
The flight of years began, have laid them down
In their last sleep-the dead reign there alone.

So shalt thou rest; and what if thou shalt fall
Unnoticed by the living, and no friend
Take note of thy departure? All that breathe
Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh
When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care
Plod on, and each one, as before, will chase
His favourite phantom; yet all these shall leave
Their mirth and their employments, and shall come,
And make their bed with thee. As the long train
Of ages glide away, the sons of men,

The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes
In the full strength of years-matron and maid,
The bowed with age, the infant, in the smiles
And beauty of its innocent age cut off-
Shall, one by one, be gathered to thy side,
By those, who, in their turn, shall follow them.
So live, that, when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, that moves

To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

INTEMPERANCE IN STEAMERS.

We have sometimes heard of the extraordinary quantities of liquor consumed in the steamers which cross the Atlantic: a person who had come to England in one of them, mentioned to us, that as much as eighty dozens of champagne had been consumed on board during his passage-that, in fact, that liquor was taken by many at breakfast instead of tea or coffee. This may perhaps have been an exaggeration; but it is evident that the power of laying in a store of untaxed liquors in America,

In respect to study, there are some necessary precautions to be attended to, both as to the body and the mind. Hence a minister of the gospel used to give this advice to young students :-1. That they should not buy too many books, as that would hurt their pockets; 2. That they should not engage in any sensual pursuits, as that would hurt the mind; and, 3. That they should not sit up late at night, as that would injure their health.

Dr Whitaker gave the following three rules to Mr Boyce, when a student :-1. To study always standing; 2. Never to study in a window; 3. Never to go to bed with his feet cold.

Night studies are very prejudicial to the constitution, and ought to be avoided by all who wish to prolong their lives, and to be useful in their day and generation. However fond of study, therefore, let the student pay some attention to health. It is said of Euripides, the tragedian, that he used to retire to a dark cavern to compose his tragedies; and of Demosthenes, the Grecian orator, that he chose a place for study where nothing could be heard or seen; but, with all deference to such venerable names, we cannot help condemning their taste. A man may surely think to as good purpose in an elegant apartment as in a cave, and may have as happy conceptions where the all-cheering rays of the sun render the air wholesome, as in places where they never enter.

Charles V., during his celebrated solitude, sometimes cultivated the plants in his garden with his own hands, and sometimes rode out in the neighbourhood, and often relieved his mind in forming curious works of mechanism. Descartes spent the afternoon in the conversation of his friends, and in the cultivation of a small garden. After having in the morning settled the place of a planet, in the evening he would amuse himself with watering a flower. Barclay, in his leisure hours, was a florist. Balzac amused himself with making pastils. Pecresc found his amusement amongst his medals and antiquarian curiosities. Rohault wandered from shop to shop to observe the mechanics labour. Cardinal de Richelieu, amongst all his great occupations, found a recreation in violent exercise, such as jumping, &c. It is said of the very laborious Mr Poole, that his common rule was, while he was engaged in writing his famous Synopsis, to rise about three or four o'clock in the morning, and continue his studies till the afternoon was pretty far advanced, when he went abroad, and spent the evening at some friend's house in cheerful conversation."

LONDON: Published, with permission of the proprietors, by W. S. ORR, Paternoster Row.

Printed by Bradbury and Evans, Whitefriars. Complete sets of the Journal are always to be had from the publishers or their agents; also, any odd numbers to complete

sets. Persons requiring their volumes bound along with titlepages and contents, have only to give them into the hands of any bookseller, with orders to that effect.

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DINBURGE

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF "CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,"

"CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE," &c.

NUMBER 537.

THE GOVERNESS.

BY MRS S. C. HALL.
PART FIRST.

"Of course I head my advertisement thus:-Wanted -a governess,"" commenced Mrs Gresham; but before I permit her to read it, I ought to state that she had called upon her sister, Mrs Hylier, to consult concerning this important composition, to be sent that day to the Morning Post-Mrs Gresham and Mrs Hylier being both in want of resident governesses to educate their children. A visiter was also there, a Mrs Ryal, confessedly the "most clever woman" of the neighbourhood-an astonishing manager!-but although the ladies desired her advice, they were somewhat in dread of her sarcasm.

Mrs Gresham had again repeated "Wanted -a governess,"" when an old gentleman, a Mr Byfield, was announeed. The trio of wives and mothers looked at each other, as well as to say, "What a bore !"-and then Mrs Hylier rose gracefully from her chaise longue, and, smiling sweetly, extended her hand, and welcomed Mr Byfield with exceeding warmth of manner; while Mrs Gresham and Mrs Ryal declared aloud their delight at being so fortunate as to meet a neighbour they had so seldom the pleasure to see.

The party thus assembled were all inhabitants of the bustling yet courtly suburb of Kensington; and Mr Byfield being a rich and influential, though a very eccentric man, was sure of being treated with the distinction which people of small means are too prone to bestow upon those whose means are more extensive.

"Do not let me interrupt you in the least, ladies," said the old man, quietly taking his seat near the window. "Mr Hylier promised I should look over these gems by daylight; and when you have talked your own talk, there will be time enough to talk mine." The ladies, one and all, declared their conviction that his "talk" must be more pleasant and instructive than theirs. He did not deny this, but smiled-shook his head-touched his hat (which he had laid down at his feet), as if to say he would either go or have his own And so Mrs Gresham recommenced reading her advertisement-"Wanted-a governess. Any lady possessing a sound English education, a thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of instrumental and vocal music, and a perfect acquaintance with the French, Italian, and German languages; also with the rudiments of Latin.'"

way.

"Latin!" interrupted Mrs Ryal. "Latin! why, what do you want with Latin for a pack of girls?" "I thought," answered Mrs Gresham meekly, "that as there are but three girls, Teddy might do his lessons with them for a little while, and that would save the expense of a tutor."

"Oh, very good-very good," replied Mrs Ryal; "then add also, Greek; if the governess is any thing of a classic, you'll get both for the same money." "Thank you, dear Mrs Ryal; how clever you are! G-r-, there are two 'ees' in Greek?-also the rudiments of Latin and Greek.'"

"I beg your pardon once more," said the provokingly "clever lady," "but put Greek and Latin, that is the correct way."

"Greek and Latin, and the principles of drawingif her character will bear the strictest investigation, may hear of a highly respectable situation by applying to Z. P.""

"Post paid," again suggested Mrs Ryal.

"Of course," continued Mrs Gresham; ""and as the lady will be treated as one of the family, a high salary will not be given.""

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1842.

"Well," said Mrs Ryal, "I think that will do. You have not specified writing and arithmetic." "English education includes that, does it not?" "Why, yes; but you have said nothing about the sciences."

"The children are so young."
"But they grow older every day."

"Indeed that is true," observed pretty Mrs Hylier with a sigh, and a glance at the pier-glass. "My Ellen, though only ten, looks thirteen. I wish her papa would let her go to school; but one of his sisters imbibed some odd philosophic notions at school, so that he wont hear of it, but talks about the necessity of putting female seminaries under the superintendence of government, and I really know not what."

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I certainly," observed Mrs Ryal, " will not take governess into my house again to reside-they are all exigeant. One was imprudent enough to wish to get married, and expected to come into the drawingroom when there was company of an evening. Another would have a bedroom to herself, though, I am sure, no one could object to sleep in the same room with my own maid. Another-really the world is very depraved-occasioned a painful difference between Mr Ryal and myself; and let that be a warning to you, my dear friends, not to admit any pretty, quiet, sentimental young ladies into your domestic circles. Mr Ryal is a very charming man, and a good man; but men are but men after all, and can be managed by any one who will flatter them a little. Of course, he is a man of the highest honour; but there is no necessity for having a person in the house who plays or sings better than ones-self."

"Oh, my dear Mrs Ryal!" exclaimed both voices, "you need never fear comparison with any one." The jealous lady look pleased, but shook her head. "Well, at last I resolved to be my own governess-with the assistance of a young person, who comes daily for three, and sometimes I get four, hours out of her; and she is very reasonable-two guineas a-month, and dines with the children. She is not all I could wish; her manners are a little defective, for she is not exactly a lady; her father is a very respectable man, keeps that large butter shop at the corner-I forget-somewhere off Piccadilly-but I prefer it, my dear ladies, I prefer it-she does all the drudgery without grumbling. Your officers' and clergymen's daughters, and decayed gentlewomen, why, their high-toned manners-if they never speak a word-prevent one's being quite at ease with them, though they are, after all, only governesses."

PRICE 1d.

are only two girls. No after claps, like my sister Gresham's little Teddy;' she can spend every evening in the drawing-room when we are by ourselves-have the keys of the piano and library-amuse herself with my embroidery-go to church in the carriage on Sunday -and drive at least once a-week with the children in the Park. There!" added Mrs Hylier; "I am sure there are hundreds of accomplished women who would jump at such a situation if they knew of it."

"Washing included?" inquired Mrs Ryal. "No. I think she must pay her own washing, unless there was some great inducement." "You allow no followers?"

"Oh, certainly not. What can a governess want of friends? Her pupils ought to have all her time." "God help her!" murmured the old gentleman. The murmur was so indistinct that the ladies only looked at each other, and then Mrs Hylier said, "Did you speak, sir?" There was no answer; the conversation was resumed with a half whisper from one lady to another, that perhaps Mr Byfield was not deaf at all times.

"And what do you intend giving, Mrs Gresham?" questioned Mrs Ryal.

"I have three girls and a boy," she replied; "and I thought of forty."

"It will be impossible to prevent your governess from talking to mine, and then mine will get discontented; that is not fair, Fanny," observed her sister; "say five-and-thirty, allowing for the difference of number."

"And plenty, I call it," said Mrs Ryal. "What do they want but clothes? They never lay by for a rainy day. There are hundreds-yes, of well-born and well-bred ladies-who would be glad of such situations."

"I am sorry for it," said the old gentleman, rising and advancing to where the three Kensington wives were seated; "I am very sorry for it."

"Indeed, Mr Byfield! why, we shall have the better choice."

"Forgive me, ladies, for saying so-but still more am I grieved at that. Permit me to read your advertisement."

Mrs Gresham coloured; Mrs Hylier had sufficient command over herself not to appear annoyed; but Mrs Ryal, the oracle of a clique, the "clever woman," who had, by the dint of self-esteem and effrontery, established a reputation of intellectual superiority over those who were either too indolent or too ignorant to question her authority, evinced her displeasure by "But," suggested Mrs Gresham mildly, "lady-like throwing herself back in her chair, loosening the tie of manners are so very necessary." her bonnet, and dressing her lips in one of those super"Yes," answered Mrs Ryal, "so they are; for you cilious smiles that would mar the beauty of an angel. and I"

"And children so easily imbibe vulgar habits, that it is really necessary to have a lady with them." "Well," said Mrs Ryal, with a sneer, "ladies are plenty enough. I daresay you will have fifty answers. What salary do you mean to give?"

Mrs Gresham was a timid but kind-hearted woman, one who desired to do right, but had hardly courage to combat wrong. She was incapable of treating any thing unkindly, but she would be guilty of injustice if justice gave her much trouble; she hesitated, because she required a great deal, and intended to give very little.

"I cannot give more than five-and-twenty pounds a-year to any one," said Mrs Hylier in a decided tone. "My husband says we cannot afford to keep two menservants and a governess; he wanted me to give the governess seventy, and discharge Thomas; but that was quite impossible; so I have made up my mind: there

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"Wanted, a governess,"" read the old gentleman, who frequently interrupted himself to make the following observations :-"Any lady possessing a sound English education'-that in itself is no easy thing to attain a thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of vocal and instrumental music'-a thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of either the one or the other requires the labour of a man's life, my good ladies-and a perfect acquaintance with the French, Italian, and German languages'—how very useless and absurd to found professorships of modern languages in our new colleges, when, in addition to the musical knowledge that would create a composer, a single person, a young female, can be found possessed of a perfect acquaintance' with French, Italian, and German! Oh, wonderful age!also, the rudiments of Greek and Latin-may hear of a highly respectable situation by applying to Z. P., post paid, Post-Office, Kensington.' Much as you

"Oh !" exclaimed Mrs Hylier, "they are taken for granted. No one would think of engaging a governess that was not moral and all that sort of thing, which are always matters of course."

"not to mind; that Mr Byfield was half mad on the
subject of schools."

expect in the way of acquirements and accomplishwords about it; I have not been so long your opposite ments, ladies," continued the critic, still retaining fast neighbour without knowing that your last governess did hold of poor Mrs Gresham's composition, "you have "Ladies," said the old man, apparently recovered from not sit at your table; that when you had the hot, she not demanded a great deal on the score of religion or his agitation, and in his usually quiet, calm, yet harshly- had the cold; that when a visiter came, she went; that morality-neither are mentioned in your list of requi-toned voice; "ladies, you are, in different degrees, all she was treated as a creature belonging to an intermesites." women of the world; you live with it, and for it, and you diate state of society, which has never been defined or Ellen, Mrs Hylier, does grow so fast as almost to overtake the parlour; that she was to govern her temper towards are of it; but you are also mothers. And though your illustrated---being too high for the kitchen, too low for her mother's beauty, and you, Mrs Ryal, stand in open those who never governed their tempers towards her; defiance of vulgar contagion, because you fear a rival in that she was to cultivate intellect, yet sit silent as a fool; a well-bred governess, and get more time out of your that she was to instruct in all accomplishments, which daily labourer than you would expect from your milliner she must know and feel, yet never play any thing in sofor the same money; and you, Mrs Gresham-but I can-ciety except quadrilles, because she played so well that not say to you more than that you all love your children she might eclipse the young ladies who, not being gover-some more, some less. Still, according to your natures, nesses, play for husbands, while she only plays for bread! you all love them dearly. So did I mine. My child was My good madam, I know almost every governess who all the world to me. I told you what her poor mother enters Kensington by sight; the daily ones by their did for her improvement-the sacrifice she made. But early hours, cotton umbrellas, and the cowed, dejected vantage, we had no skill as to the means of obtaining let it fall. Do I not know the musical ones by the wornthough we had the longing to secure for her every ad- air with which they raise the knocker, uncertain how to the knowledge we so desired her to possess. We placed out boa doubled round their throats, and the roll of new her at a first-rate school,' as it was called, and thought music clasped in the thinly gloved hand ?—and the drawwe had done our duty; but this going from her home ing ones-God help them-by the small portfolio, pallid loosened the cords of love that bound her to us. And cheeks, and haggard eyes? I could tell you tales of those when a sudden stroke of good fortune converted a poor hard-labouring classes that would make factory labour into a rich man, and we brought our child to a splendid seem a toy; but you would not understand me, though house, we found that our daughter's morals had become you can understand that you want a governess, and you corrupted through the means of her companions—an evil can also understand that 1, Joseph Byfield, hope you the most difficult of all for a governess to prevent-and will take one of my recommending." that she had imbibed moral poison with her mental food." The old gentleman became so agitated, that he could not proceed; and angry as the ladies had been with him a few moments before for a plain-speaking which amounted to rudeness, they could not avoid sympathising with his feelings.

"To be sure they are," added Mrs Ryal, in that peremptory tone which seemed to say, Do you dare to question my opinion? "To be sure they are; every one knows that nothing can be more determined with respect to religion and morality than my practice with my children. Rain, hail, or sunshine, well or ill, the governess must be in the house before the clock strikes nine. Psalms read the first thing; and if they have not got well through the French verbs, a chapter besides for punishment; catechism, Wednesdays and Fridays; and the collect, epistle, and gospel, by heart, every Sunday after church. I always do two things at once, when I can, and this strengthens their memory, and teaches them religion at the same time. I never questioned my governess as to religion; it looks narrow-minded; and yet mine never dreams of objecting to what I desire."

"I should think not," was Mr Byfield's quiet rejoinder; "strange ideas your children will entertain of the religion that is rendered a punishment instead of a reward."

Mrs Ryal grasped the tassel of her muff, but made no reply.

"Oh," he continued, "here is the pith in a postscript- As the lady will be treated as one of the family, a high salary will not be given." Ladies!" exclaimed the old man, "do you not blush at this? You ask for the fruits of an education that, if it be half what you demand, must have cost the governess the labour of a life, and her friends many hundred pounds. It is your DUTY to treat the person who is capable of bestowing upon your children the greatest of earthly blessings as one of your family; and yet you make the doing so a reason for abridging a stipend, which, if stretched to the utmost of what governesses receive, pays a wretched interest for both time and money. Shame, ladies, shame!"

The ladies looked at each other, and at last Mrs Hylier said, "Really, sir, I do not see it at all in the light in which you put it. I know numberless instances where they are glad to come for less." Tears came into Mrs Gresham's eyes, and Mrs Ryal kicked the ottoman violently.

"The more's the pity," continued Mr Byfield; "but I hold it to be a principle of English honesty to pay for value received, and of English honour not to take advantage of distress."

"Suppose we cannot afford it, sir-am I to do without a governess for my children because my husband cannot pay to one sixty or seventy pounds a-year?" “But you said just now, madam, that Mr Hylier wished you to pay that sum."

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"Yes," stammered the fair economist, "if—if”— "If you could manage with one footman," said the old gentleman, "instead of two. In my young days, my wife, who had but one child, and we were poor, said to me--- Joseph, our girl is growing up without education, and I cannot teach, for I never learned, but we must send her to school.' I answered that we could not afford it. Oh, yes, we can,' she said; 'I will discharge our servant; I will curtail our expenses in every way, because I am resolved that she shall be well educated, and honestly paid for.' It never occurred to that right-minded yet simple-hearted woman to propose lower terms to a governess, but she proposed less indulgence to herself. Thus she rendered justice. She would have worked her fingers to the bone sooner than have bargained for intellect. Ay, Mrs Ryal, you may laugh; but of all meannesses, the meanest is that which depreciates mind, and having no power but that which proceeds from a full purse, insults the indigence which has more of the immaterial world beneath its russet gown than your wealth can purchase."

My wealth!" exclaimed the offended lady; "your wealth, if you please; but though your wealth, and your oddity, and your altogether, may awe some people, it can have no effect upon me, Mr Byfield-none in the world; every one says you are a strange creature." "My dear Mrs Ryal," said Mrs Hylier, "you positively must not grow angry with our dear friend, Mr Byfield; he does not mean half what he says."

"I beg your pardon," interrupted the eccentric old gentleman; "I mean a great deal more. I only wish I had the means of sending forth to the world my opinion as to the inestimable value of domestic education for females. I would have every woman educated within the sanctuary of her own home. I would not loosen the smallest fibre of the affection which binds her to her father's house; it should be at once her altar and her throne; but as it is a blessing which circumstances prevent many from enjoying, I would command the legislature of this mighty country to devise some means for the better ordering and investigation of ladies' boarding-schools.' To set up an establishment for young ladies is very often the last resource for characterless women, and persons who, failing in every thing else, resort to that as a means of subsistence; whereas such should be under the closest superintendence of high-minded and right-thinking gentlewomen. I look upon the blue-boarded and brass-plated schools that swarm in our suburbs," he added, as he turned away to hide an emotion he could not control-"I look upon them as the very charnel-houses of morality."

Mrs Ryal elevated her eyebrows, and shrugged her shoulders, while the gentle Mrs Gresham whispered her

"But we are not going to send our children to a school,"
suggested Mrs Gresham.

"I know that, madam," he replied; "but I want to
convince you, by comparison, of the blessings that await
the power of cultivating both the intellect and the affec-
tions under your own roof, and so argue you into the
necessity for paying honestly, if not liberally, the woman
upon the faithful discharge of whose duties depends the
future happiness or misery of those dear ones whom you
since I saw that daughter; I shall never see her again in
have brought into the world. It is now twenty-two years
this world; I thought I had strength to tell you the story,
painful as it is, but I have not. I would have done so, in
the hope that I might have shown you how valuable, past
all others, are the services rendered by a worthy and up-
right woman when entrusted with the education of youth;
but when I think of my lost child, I forget every thing
else. She stands before me as I speak. My blue-eyed
lovely one! all innocence and truth—the light, and life,
and love of that small four-roomed cottage; and then she
loved me truly and dearly; and there again she is most
beautiful, but cankered at the heart, fair, and frail! Lay
your children in their graves, and ring the joy-bells over
them sooner than intrust them to the whirling pestilence
of a large school, or the care of a cheap governess!"
"He certainly is mad," whispered Mrs Ryal to Mrs
Hylier, while the old gentleman, folding his hands one
within the other, walked up and down the room, his
thoughts evidently far away from the three wives, who
were truly, as he said, "mere women of the world." And
yet he was right-they all loved their children, but it was
after their own fashion; Mrs Gresham with the most
tenderness-she wished them to be good and happy;
Mrs Hylier's affection was mingled with a strong desire
that they might continue in a state of innocence as long
as possible, and not grow too fast. Mrs Ryal had none
of that weakness; she did not care a bit whether she
were considered old or young, as long as she was
obeyed; so she determined her girls should have as little
of what is called heart as possible, that they might be
free to accept the best offers when they were made.
She was continually contrasting riches and poverty. All
the rich were angels, and all the poor thieves; there
were no exceptions; those who married according to
their parent's wishes rode in carriages, with two tall
footmen behind each; those who married for love walked
a-foot with draggled tails, and died in a workhouse. Of
all the women in Kensington, Mr Byfield disliked Mrs
Ryal the most, and seeing her at Mrs Hylier's had irri-
tated him more than he cared to confess even to himself.
Mrs Ryal entertained a corresponding animosity towards
Mr Byfield; she had resolved, come what would, to "sit
him out;" but she was afraid, if she remained much longer,
that Miss Stack, the daily governess, whose mother was ill,
might go a few minutes before her time was up, and she
had more than once caught her shaking the hour-glass-
so much for the honesty of one party and the considera-
tion of the other; she knew perfectly well that as soon
as she was gone, she would be abused "by the old mon-
ster;" for she was aware that, if he had gone, it would
have given her extreme pleasure and satisfaction to abuse
him. The old gentleman had not spoken for several
minutes, but continued to walk up and down, pausing
every now and then to look at her over his spectacles,
as well as to inquire, "when do you mean to take your
departure?" Mrs Ryal was too exalted to notice this;
but, after consideration, she rose with much dignity,
shook hands with her two" dear friends," dropped a most
exaggerated curtsy to Mr Byfield, who, the moment she
was out of the room, threw himself into an easy chair,
and drew a lengthened inspiration, which said plainly
enough, "Thank heaven, she is gone!"

"And now, ladies," he exclaimed, “finding that you
want a governess, I want to recommend one-not to you,
Mrs Gresham; notwithstanding little Teddy,' she would
be too happy with you. I should wish her to live with
you, Mrs Hylier."

"With me, sir? Why, after the censure you have passed upon us both, I should hardly think you would recommend us a dog, much less a governess.'

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The sisters looked at each other, as well as to say, "What shall we do ?"

Mrs Hylier assumed a cheerful, careless air, and replied—“Well, sir, who is your governess ?"

"WHO she exactly is, Mrs Hylier, I will not tell you;
and she does not know, though she imagines she does,
what she is. I will tell you. She is handsome, without
the consciousness of beauty-accomplished, without
affectation-gentle, without being inanimate-and I
should suppose patient; for she has been a teacher in a
school, as well as in what is called a private family; but
I want to see her patience tested."
"Is she a good musician ?"
"Better than most women."
"And a good artist ?"

perspective, and distort the human body as perfectly as
most teachers of the art that can immortalise" "
"My dear sir"-

"That was not in the bond; but she does confound

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Ay, ay; half a dozen chalk heads-a few tawdry landscapes, with the lights scratched out, and the shadows rubbed in-a bunch of flowers on velvet, and a bundle of handscreens"

"My dear sir," interrupted Mrs Hylier, "these sort of things would not suit my daughters; what they do must be artistic."

"Then get an artist to teach them; you go upon the principle of expecting Hertz to paint like Eastlake, and Eastlake to play like Hertz. Madam, she is a well-informed, prudent, intelligent gentlewoman; feeling and understanding well; consequently doing nothing ill, because she will not attempt what she cannot accomplish. She will not undertake to finish (that's the term, I think) pupils in either music or drawing, but she will do her best; and as she has resided abroad, I am told (for I hate every language except my own) she is a good linguist; and I will answer for her accepting the five-and-twenty pounds a-year."

Very desirable, no doubt," muttered Mrs Hylier, unwilling, for sundry reasons of great import connected with her husband, to displease Mr Byfield, and yet most unwilling to receive into her family a person whom, judging of others by herself, she imagined must be a spy upon her menage.

"I knew you would so consider any one I recommended," said the old gentleman with a smile, that evinced the consciousness of power; " and when shall the 'young person' (that is the phrase, is it not?)—when shall she come?"

"I think I should like to see her first," answered the lady, hesitating.

"Very good; but to what purpose? you know you will take her?"

"Any thing to oblige you, my dear sir; but has she no female friend ?"

"Some one of you ladies said a few moments ago that a governess had no need of friends."

66

You are aware, Mr Byfield, it is usual upon such occasions to consult the lady the governess resided with last; it is usual; I do not want to insist upon it, because I am sure you understand exactly what I require."

"Indeed, madam, I do not pretend to such extensive information; I know, I think, what you ought to require, that is all. However, if you wish, you shall have references besides mine," and Mr Byfield looked harder and stiffer than ever. He walked up to a small water-colour drawing that hung above a little table, and contemplated it, twirling his cane about in a half circle all the time. The subject was ugly enough to look at-a long chimney emitting a column of dense smoke like a steamer, and a slated building stuck on one side, being a view of the "Achilles saw mills," which Mr Hylier had lately purchased, a considerable portion of the purchase-money having been advanced by Mr Byfield.

"No matter how odd, how rude, how incomprehensible our old neighbour is, Caroline," Mr Hylier had said to his wife only that morning; "no matter what he does, or says, or fancies; if you contradict or annoy him, it will be my ruin."

Her husband's words were forcibly recalled to her by the attitude and look of the old gentleman, and she answered-"Oh, dear no, sir, not at all; one cannot help anxiety on such a subject; and I must only endeavour to make the lady comfortable, and all that sort of thing, although I fear she may complain to you of"

"No, no, madam," he interrupted; "I do not desire her to be treated in any way better than your former governess; I wish to see how she bears the rubs of life; I particularly request that no change whatever be made in her "Psha, lady!" interrupted the strange old man; "no favour; if I wished her to be quiet and comfortable, 1

"I expect you will treat your governess hardly as well
as I treat my dog," was the ungracious reply.
'Really, Mr Byfield"-

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