200 Almanac. -Births, Marriages, and Deaths. Births. On the 16th inst., the wife of Dr. G. Anderson, professor of chemistry in the University of Glasgow, of a son.19th, at Exton Park, Rutland, the Hon. Mrs. Henry Noel, of a daughter.-19th ult., at 12, Chester-street, Grosvenor-place, the wife of Captain Douglas Galton, Royal Engineers, of a daughter.-19th ult., at Egglestone, Durham, the wife of T. Hutchinson, Esq., of a son.-21st inst., at 10, Pembridge. villas, Bayswater, the wife of W. P. Frith, Esq., R.A., of a daughter.-21st ult, at 69, Gloucester-place, Hyde park, the wife of John Phillip Judd, Esq., of a son. Marriages. On the 12th ult., at the British Legation, Florence, Charles Augustus Alfred, Baron de Wolzogen, eldest son of the late General Baron de Wolzogen, of Kabsrecth, Thuringia, Prussia, to Harriet Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas de Boulay, Esq., of Sandgate, Kent. 17th ult., at Waltham Abbey, Essex, by the Rev. John Jessopp, M.A., chaplain to the King of the Belgians, assisted by the Rev. Augustus Jessopp, M.A.; Captain W. Townsend Barnett, Royal Artillery, son of Col. Barnett, of Hutton-Hall, Yorkshire, to Eliza Joseph Ellen, eldest surviving daughter of Joseph Jessopp, Esq., of Waltham Abbey.— 17th, at Corringham, by the Rev. Francis Bacon, assisted by the Rev. George Dodds, D.D., Henry Hickman Bacon, Esq., eldest son of Nicholas Bacon, Esq., and grandson of the late Sir Edward Bacon, Bart., of Raveningham Hall, Norfolk, to Elizabeth, younger daughter of Sir Thomas Beckett, Bart., of Somerby Park, in the county of Lincoln.-19th ult., at St. Mary's Newington, Surrey, by the Rev. Arthur Cyril Onslow, rector, Key Hardy, surgeon, of Great Carter-lane, Doctors'commons, to Sarah, youngest daughter of P. W. Piggott, Esq., of Walworth, Surrey. Deaths. On the 17th ult., Catherine, the wife of the Ven. John Bedingfield Collyer, Archdeacon of Norwich, and last surviving daughter of William Alexander, Esq., formerly of the City of London. - 18th ult., at Dane - court, Kent, George William, fourth son of Edward Royd Rice, M.P., and a commander in the Royal Navy, aged twenty-five.-18th ult., at Graham, Marlborough, Wilts, William Foach Hillier, Esq., banker, aged eighthty-one.-8th ult., at his house in Stanhope- terrace, Hydepark-gardens, in his 66th year, Thomas Forbes Bentley Esq., son of the late Thomas Forbes, Esq., of Clifton, formerly in the East India Company's Bengal Civil Service. PEOPLE who have habitually lived in London are wont to imagine that by distancing themselves from the great metropolis, and retiring to some sequestered hamlet, village, or town, they shall escape the criticism of neighbours' prying observation, scandal, gossip, visiting and being visited, receiving and leaving cards, the necessity of dress, show, and all those social evils to which civilized flesh is heir. If, however, this idea has hitherto prevailed amongst a large class of humanity, it is with a pleasant sort of triumph, I feel assured, that the perusal of the history of my persecutions will tend to change this opinion. My income having been considerably reduced by a series of causes into which it is perfectly unnecessary to enter, I found myself reluctantly called upon to make that attempt which seems to be of all things else the most difficult and unpleasant of accomplishment,-viz., a reduction of one's establishment. Being quite unwilling to expose to my town friends the state of my finances, or to move under meaner auspices in a circle where my dinner-parties had been renowned for their excellence and completeness,-where my wife and children had N. S. VOL. XXXIV. D D sustained a reputation, for unimpeachable taste, elegance, and style, even though at the expense of an only late-averted bankruptcy, I proposed to my family to retire awhile into the country until we should be able to recover our lost position, before the keen-sighted throng by whom we were surrounded should discover in the stagnation of our domestic circle that there was something wrong. Taking the map of England, therefore, I scanned it for the purpose of selecting some out-of-the-way place where we should be able to maintain a perfect incognito, and appear at the same time as respectable, easy circumstanced. Every name familiar to me, either by personal knowledge, or the converse of friends, I rejected with scorn. They were not rural spots,-not sufficiently distanced from the great metropolis. After long search, I chose the small, little-known town of in Berkshire, five miles distant from a railway station, and for this destination, I accordingly one morning set out. There was an air of so much repose brooding over the little place when it first burst upon me in all the beauty of a spring morning,-the straggling streets were so peaceful, the ivied church reared its ancient turret in such venerable solemnity, the peaceful square, which it seemed a mockery to call a market-place, struck me as possessing a powerful charm after the bustling scene I had so lately quitted; and I unhesitatingly agreed to visit the old-fashioned cottage, with its weed-filled garden, on the outskirts of the town,-if such it could be called,-and hurried back to fetch my family down to this retreat of peace, where, it seemed, we should be distanced from all the tumultuous passions of life,-where our very existence would be unnoticed-where we might dress, act, speak, and do just as we pleased. For For a day or two, everything went on remarkably well: there was a charming novelty in having to wait the pleasure of the country tradespeople, and receiving such messages as, Mr. Reatley, the carpenter, would feel obliged if Mr. Simpson could defer his little job until next week, as he had some work to do for Lord T, which he had promised faithfully to finish in a day or two; or, Mr. Hopkins would be happy to repair the kitchen grate the day after to-morrow; or again, the charwoman would be disengaged on Saturday, but not before. But when we had slept a week on the floor, and cooked our dinner in the parlour, and worked our only servant to death, we began to have a slight notion that there was an unpleasant sort of independence about these country tradespeople, infinitely jarring to my nerves, and opposed to my convictions of right and wrong. The spot, to which we scarcely hoped civilization had penetrated, was, it seemed, far advanced in certain notions of stations, respectability, and so forth, and judged people and things in a sort of offhand practical manner,-very beneficial, doubtless, to their own interests, but superlatively disagreeable to us. The truth of the inattention showed us, however, only came out at a much later period. With a velocity far exceeding that of the electric telegraph, within a few hours of our arrival, the following facts had been disseminated through the town,-handed from butcher to baker-from baker to grocerlistened to by servant girls and footboys, carried to their master's kitchens, and whispered in toilet conclave to their mistresses' ears: "That we only kept one servant (and that a mere girl, equivalent to nothing); that our furniture was of the plainest description; that our dress was shabby beyond measure; that myself and eldest sons walked from the station instead of having a second fly; that our name was Simpson, and therefore vulgar; that, in short, we were nobodies, -whom it was not worth while to overload with attentions, or to manifest any delight in serving." For the time, however, we remained in blissful ignorance of the position to which our kind townsfolk had assigned us, and pursued the even tenor of our way, regardless of looks and surmises, although wondering that so few of the inhabitants called upon us. The head doctor, however, was the first to make his appearance,-ingratiated himself into my favour by his gentlemanly behaviour,-conversed with gentleness and suavity upon the scenery,-inquired if we had ever visited the place before, told us the names and residences of the surrounding gentry, of the "families," about; and after distributing a few jocose remarks amongst my children, departed, satisfied that he had secured the practice. Then followed some persons holding an anomalous position in the town, such as retired drapers, grocers, &c., &c. Byand-by a few more of the respectables-other surgeons, and the lawyer, the clergyman, of course; but here the civilities ceased; and after having returned the calls, we waited quietly in retirement for whatever should turn up. Our own pleasures, however, consisted in simple gratifications, of which, in the lovely weather of spring, we could avail ourselves without being indebted to any one for them; and what with walks, and excursions, and reading, and gardening, I and my sons felt perfectly contented, while my wife and daughters found a novel delight in the practice of duties which it had not before been incumbent upon them to perform. We had never been happier, and the secret charm of our position was its extreme novelty; we wondered how, surrounded by these magnificent landscapes-this clear air-these lovely walksthese brilliant sunsets and verdant meadows, people could ever weary of the country. Living within ourselves, and having no channel through which to receive the gossip of the town, we for a long time understood nothing of the vortex of scandal-bearing, tale-bearing, gossiping, manæœuvring, intriguing, by which we were surrounded. When the long winter evenings came, however, we began to wish that we were acquainted with some one family who could by their presence enliven us occasionally. My sons longed for some companions, my daughters for just a little change. The roads were impassable from mud, and as we could not afford even the luxury of a donkey-chaise, the girls were compelled to stay at home. The landscape had deteriorated since the spring: there was not a newspaper to be borrowed; the circulating library contained only a few of the worst Minerva-press novels, and our own stock of books had been read to satiety. In this emergency we resolved to give a party, and invited most of those who had called upon us, imagining that in a quiet country town, etiquette was not so tightly strained, perhaps, as to exclude people who, although of obscure origin, could sustain the same establishments as their neighbours. In fact, we scarcely gave the matter a thought, dismissing our notes of invitation with a sort of confidence that they would be accepted, and never deeming that their receipt would arouse all the latent dignity of lawyers', surgeons', and small gentry's wives; that it was necessary to know who beside was asked before any one actually accepted; so that we received a number of droll notes half accepting, some saying they would come should nothing unforeseen prevent them. Through various channels, however, it appears that all particulars got abroad about our re-union, and before the night arrived, the whole town knew better than we did ourselves precisely who were asked, and who were not; what we had projected for supper, and that our sweets and pastry were home-made; what we had from the confectioner's; how many fowls were to be roasted; where we bought our ham; with many other etceteras too numerous to mention. The evening came; my daughters, in their pale blue dresses and simple adornments, looked as lovely as I had ever seen them in their softest and most expensive of all costumes of another day. Besides, there was a tender association in my heart connected with them; they stole before my sight unburdened by the alarming accompaniment of a milliner's bill, since my sweet girls, wishing in every way to accommodate themselves to their position, had dispensed, since our residence in the country, with all such aids, fancying "no one" would know it. But, alas! we found that "no one" in a country town constitutes a very large proportion of the inhabitants. My wife was satisfied with the appearance of the supper-table, at which she and the girls had taken many a peep since the morning, to see if anything was wanting, or if it at all resembled, by dint of artificial flowers and quantities of glass, the elegant paraphernalia once in their power to use in the adornment of the table. Our rooms were rather small than large (a little crushing had with us been fashionable), and we had invited just as many as would render us comfortable. The first application made to our knocker was a servant with a note from Mrs. Henry Hart, the surgeon's wife, apologising for her late change of purpose; but the sudden indisposition of one of her household would compel her to decline the extreme pleasure she had promised herself in spending the evening with ourselves and family. Our favourite doctor, Mr. Richard Steele, dropped in shortly afterwards, and he was present at the numerous notes and hurried apologies I received, until we sat down almost alone to eat our little supper, my wife and daughters disconsolately surveying the preparations on which they had expended so much care. I could |