The view from the windows of the Hafod Arms, near the Devil's Bridge, is perfectly enchanting. Immediately below, and only separated from the house by the road, is a profound chasm, stretching east and west about a mile, the almost perpendicular sides of which are covered with trees of different kinds. At the bottom of this abyss runs the river Mynach, its roaring tide hidden from the eye by the deep shade of surrounding woods, but bursting upon the ear in the awful sound of many waters--in the thunder of numerous cataracts; whilst in front of the spectator the Rheidol is seen rushing down a chasm in the mountains with tremendous fury.

The woods in the vicinity of the Devil's Bridge abound with nests of the Formica Herculanea, the largest species of ants that are natives of Britain: these nests are composed of small ends of twigs, forming a heap a yard or two across, and from one to two feet high. The insects themselves exceed in size three of the ordinary black kind, and are possessed of uncommon strength.

the Devil's Bridge; and in our own country we have the Devil's Punch-Bowl, in Hampshire, and the Devil's Dyke near Brighton. In Germany is the Devil's Wall, erected by the Romans, the building of which commenced in the time of the Emperor Adrian, and occupied nearly two centuries. It extends for 368 miles over mountains, through valleys, and over rivers; in some places it now forms elevated roads and paths through woods; buildings are erected upon it, and tall oaks flourish upon its remains.

Bristol, Westley & Co.; D. Glasgow, Griffin & Co.
Vickery.
Gloucester, Jew.
Bury, Lankester.
Hereford, Child.
Cambridge, Stevenson. Hull, Wilson.
Chelmsford, Guy.
Ipswich, Deck.
Lancashire and Cheshire,
Bancks & Co., Man-
chester.
Leeds, Robinson.
Leicester, Combe.
Liverpool, Hughes.

Cheltenham, Lovesy.
Chester,Seacome; Harding.
Chichester, Glover.
Colchester,Swinborne & Co.
Derby, Wilkins & Son.
Devonport, Byers.

Northampton, Birdsall.
Norwich, Muskett.
Nottingham, Wright.
Orford, Slatter.
Paris, Bennis.
Plymouth, Nettleton.
Salisbury, Brodie & Co.
Sheffield, Ridge.
Shrewsbury, Eddowes.
Staffordshire Potteries

Watts, Lane End.
Sunderland, Marwood.
Whitby, Rodgers.
Worcester, Deighton.

Dundee, Shaw.

Macclesfield, Swinnerton. Yarmouth, Alexauder.

lay & Co.; Empson.

PRICE ONE PENNY.

I. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. THE Lower, or Commons House of Parliament, in which the representatives of the people hold their assemblies, was originally a chapel, built by king Stephen, and dedicated to St. Stephen. It was rebuilt in 1347, by Edward the Third, and erected by that monarch into a collegiate church, under the government of a dean and twelve secular priests. Being surrendered to Henry the Sixth, he gave it to the Commons for their sittings, to which use it still continues to be applied.

The old house was formed within the chapel, chiefly by a floor raised above the pavement, and an inner roof, considerably below the ancient one. At the period of the Union with Ireland the house was enlarged, by taking down the entire side walls, except the buttresses that supported the original roof; and erecting others beyond, so as to give one seat in each of the recesses thus formed, by throwing back part of the walls. The present house is still too small, but is fitted up in a very good style. A gallery runs along the west end, and the north and south sides are supported by slender iron pillars, crowned Vor. II.

with gilt corinthian capitals. The whole of the house is lined with wainscot, and the benches of the mem bers have cushions, covered with leather.

At the time the inner walls were stripped of the wainscoting for the purpose of making the alterations, a great part of the ancient decorations was found in tolerable preservation. The entire walls and roof were covered with gilding and paintings, and presented a superb and beautiful remnant of the fine arts, as they were patronised in the munificent reign of Edward the Third. The gilding was remarkably solid, and highly burnished, and the colours of the paintings vivid: both one and the other being as fresh as in the year they were executed. One of the paintings had some merit as a composition; the subject was, the Adoration of the Shepherds. A multitude of arms were blazoned on the south wall, and near them were two or three painted figures, in fantastic dresses.

Undearneath the house are some remains, in great perfection, of a chapel, of curious workmanship; and one side of a cloister, the roof of which is not surpassed in beauty by Henry the Seventh's chapel. A small court of the palace also remains, and forms part of the dwelling-house of the Speaker of the

36

House of Commons, from which, during the sittings of the House, he proceeds in state, preceded by the mace, and attended by a train-bearer, &c.

The Speaker's Chair, which is slightly elevated above the floor, and stands at some distance from the wall, is highly gilt and ornamented; and on the top of it are placed the royal arms. Before the chair is a table, at which sit the clerks, who take notes of the proceedings, read the titles of bills, &c. The seat on the floor, on the right-hand of the Speaker, is generally occupied by members of the administration, and is, therefore, called the Treasury Bench; and, on the opposite side, is that usually occupied by the leading Opposition members.

The House generally assembles about four o'clock; and a few minutes before that time, the Speaker takes his place at the upper part of the table, on the right, or Treasury side. The Chaplain of the House, being placed also at the upper part of the table on the left side, reads the customary prayers. This done, the Speaker, standing before the chair, proceeds to count the House. When he has counted forty members, which is the number requisite to form a quorum, he sits down, and the House is constituted. If there be not forty members present, the House is adjourned until the next day.

The House very rarely sits on Saturday; and on Wednesday, business of importance is seldom taken. When a member purposes the introduction of a new bill, he gives notice of his intention; which notice is printed in the Votes, for the information of the membas. On the day fixed for making the motion, he briefly states the principle and purpose of his bill, and moves for leave to introduce it. If the House consent, an order for its introduction is made. The bill, in manuscript, being brought in, the introducers move that it be read a first time. The question for discussion, on the second and third steps, is precisely the same,--namely, whether the House will entertain the bill at all; for, as yet, the House knows nothing of it, save what has been stated to them by the introducer. If the first reading be agreed to, that motion is followed by an order for the printing of the bill, and a day is fixed for the second reading.

On the second reading, the question submitted to the House is, whether, taken as a whole, the end and purpose of the bill is such as may be properly entertained. As this is a question of principle, and not of detail, the entire bill must at this stage be accepted or rejected. If the bill pass the second reading, an order is made, and a day appointed, for its being committed to a Committee of the whole House.

On going into Committee, the Speaker leaves the Chair, and the Chairman of Committees presides, not in the Chair, but at the head of the table, on the seat usually occupied by the First Clerk. The House then proceeds to consider the bill clause by clause, either in the order in which the clauses stand, or in any other which may be deemed most convenient. If there be not time for the consideration of all the clauses at one sitting, the Speaker having again taken the Chair, the Chairman of Committees reports the progress that has been made, and asks leave to sit again. When

all the clauses are gone through, he brings up the Report, that is, the bill with all the amendments made in it by the Committee, and a day is fixed for taking the Report into consideration. When the Report has been considered, and approved of, the bill is ordered to be fairly written out or engrossed, and a day is fixed for the third reading. If the third reading be agreed to, the House proceeds to consider whether it shall pass the bill to which it has agreed.

Previous to the question of the bill's being passed,

any number of amendments may be made in the bill by way of "rider;" but these amendments must not alter the principle of the bill. The passing of the bill is simply its being sent to the Lords, if it have not been there already; or its being sent there again, in order to the Royal assent being given to it.

PRIVATE BILLS are introduced on petition instead of notice; and, if any opposition be signified, the first step is to refer the petition to a Select Committee. If the Committee report favourably, the bill is read a first time, and goes through the other steps, in the same manner and order as a Public Bill.

There are three ways in which a MOTION may be rejected,-1st, by a direct negative; 2nd, by a motion. of adjournment; 3rd, by the previous question. When the question is put, "that this bill be now read a second time," those who are against the bill may, according to the first method, simply negative the question; but the more usual way is to move that the question be altered by leaving out the words after 'that," and inserting the words " a second time this day six [or three] months." The question put to the House in this case, is whether the words proposed to be left out shall stand part of the question or not. The previous question is chiefly used in respect of resolutions or motions for returns. Instead of simply rejecting the resolution, it is got rid of by moving that the question for its adoption be not put to the

House at that time.

In bills that have passed the Lords before coming to the Commons, no motion for leave to bring in is required, and the first reading is always conceded as matter of courtesy. The Lords observe the same rule in respect of bills that have passed the Commons.

At every step in the progress of a BILL, it may be opposed; and, if the House see fit, rejected. In Committee, every clause, every line, every word may be made the subject of a question. At every step of its progress in the House, it is competent for a member to move the adjournment of the debate or of the House, and he may renew this motion as often as he pleases. In Committee, instead of the motion for adjournment, a member may move that progress be reported; which amounts to the same thing.

In the House,—that is, when the Speaker is in the Chair,—a member can only speak once, unless by way of explanation; or, in the case of the mover of the question, by way of reply. In Committee, a member may speak any number of times. A member may, however, speak not only on the main question, but on all such questions as arise incidentally in the course of the debate.

"THE DAYS OF THY MOURNING SHALL BE ENDED."

OH! weep not for the joys that fade
Like evening lights away;—
For hopes that like the stars decayed,
Have left thy mortal day;

For clouds of sorrow will depart,

And brilliant skies be given;
And, though on earth the tear may stari
Yet bliss awaits the holy heart

Amid the bowers of Heaven!
Oh! weep not for the friends that pass
Into the lonesome grave,

As breezes sweep the withered grass
Along the restless wave;

For though thy pleasures may depari,

And darksome days be given;
And lonely though on earth thou art,
Yet bliss awaits the holy heart,

When friends rejoin in Heaven.

SCOTCH SNOW-STORMS. THE most dismal of all the snow-storms on record, is "the thirteen drifty days." This extraordinary storm, as near as I have been able to trace, must have occurred in the year 1620. The traditionary stories and pictures of desolation that remain of it, are the most dire imaginable; and the mention of the thirteen days to an old shepherd, in a stormy winter night, never fails to impress his mind with a sort of religious awe, and often sets him on his knees before that Being who alone can avert such another calamity.

It is said that, during thirteen days and nights, the snow-drift never once abated; the ground was covered with frozen snow when it commenced, and, during all that time, the sheep never broke their fast. The cold was intense, to a degree never before remembered; and, about the fifth and sixth days of the storm, the young sheep began to fall into a sleepy and torpid state, and all that were so affected in the evening, died during the night. The intensity of the frost-wind often cut them off, when in that state, instantaneously. About the ninth and tenth days, the shepherds began to build up large semicircular walls of their dead, in order to afford some shelter for the remainder of the living; but they availed but little, for about the same time they were frequently seen tearing at one another's wool with their teeth.

When the storm abated, on the fourteenth day from its commencement, there was, on many a highlying farm, not a living sheep to be seen. Large misshapen walls of dead, surrounding a small prostrate flock, likewise all dead, and frozen stiff in their lairs, were all that remained to cheer the forlorn shepherd and his master; and though, on low-lying farms, where the snow was not so hard before, numbers of sheep weathered the storm, yet their constitutions received such a shock, that the greater part of them perished afterwards; and the final consequence was, that about nine-tenths of all the sheep in the south of Scotland were destroyed. In the extensive pastoral district of Eskdale Moor, which maintains upwards of twenty thousand sheep, it is said none were left alive, but forty young wedders on one farm, and five old ewes on another. The farm of Thaup remained without a stock, and without a tenant, for twenty years after the storm; at length one very honest and liberal-minded man ventured to take a lease of it, at the annual rent of a grey coat and a pair of hose. It is now rented at 5007. An extensive glen in Tweedsmuir, belonging to Sir James Montgomery, became a mon at that time, to which any man drove his flocks that pleased, and it continued so for nearly a century.

com

The years 1709, 40, and 72, were all likewise notable years for severity, and for the losses sustained among the flocks of sheep. In the latter, the snow lay from the middle of December until the middle of April, and all the time hard frozen. Partial thaws always kept the farmer's hopes alive, and thus prevented him from removing his sheep to a low situation, till at length they grew so weak that they could not be removed. There has not been such a general loss in the days of any man living, as in that year. It is by these years that all subsequent hard winters have been measured, and of late, by that of 1795; and when the balance turns out in favour of the calculator, there is always a degree of thankfulness expressed, as well as a composed submission to the awards of Divine Providence. The daily feeling naturally impressed on the shepherd's mind, that all his comforts are so entirely in the

hand of Him who rules the elements, contributes not a little to that firm spirit of devotion for which the Scottish shepherd is so distinguished. I know of no scene so impressive as that of a family sequestered in a lone glen, during the time of a winter storm; and where is the glen in the kingdom that wants such a habitation? There they are left to the protection of Heaven, and they know and feel it. Throughout all the wild vicissitudes of nature, they have no hope of assistance from man, but are conversant with the Almighty alone.

Before retiring to rest, the shepherd uniformly goes out to examine the state of the weather, and makes his report to the little dependent group within-nothing is to be seen but the conflict of the elements, nor heard but the raving of the storm. Then they all kneel around him, while he recommends them to the protection of Heaven; and though their little hymn of praise can scarcely be heard even by themselves, as it mixes with the roar of the tempest, they never fail to rise from their devotions with their spirits cheered, and their confidence renewed, and go to sleep with an exultation of mind, of which kings and conquerors have no share.

But of all the storms that ever Scotland witnessed, or, I hope, will ever again behold, there is none of them that can once be compared to the memorable 24th of January 1795, which fell with such peculiar violence on that division of the south of Scotland, that is between Crawford-muir and the border. Within these bounds seventeen shepherds perished, and upwards of thirty were carried home insensible, who afterwards recovered: but the number of sheep that were lost, far outwent any possibility of calculation. One farmer alone, Mr. Thomas Beattie, lost 1440; and many others, in the same quarter, from 600 to 800 each. Whole flocks were overwhelmed with snow, and no one ever knew where they were, till the snow dissolved, when they were all found dead. Many hundreds were driven into waters, burns, and lakes, by the violence of the storm, where they were buried or frozen up; and these the flood carried away, so that they were never seen nor found by the owners at all.

The following anecdote somewhat illustrates the confusion and devastation that it bred in the country: the greater part of the rivers, on which the storm was most deadly, run into the Solway-Frith, on which there is a place called the Beds of Esk, where the tide throws out and leaves whatsoever is thrown into it by the rivers. When the flood after the storm subsided, there were found in that place, and the shores adjacent, 1840 sheep, nine black cattle, three horses, two men, one woman, forty-five dogs, one hundred and eighty hares, besides a number of meaner animals.

LIFE appears long to the miserable; to him that is happy, the condition of some be! If this hold true of eternity, how dreadful will

a moment.

IF you would know the value of a guinea, try to borrow one of a stranger.-HUNTter.

THE ARCH OF TITUS. THE Emperor Titus having conquered Judea, and taken Jerusalem, the Roman senate decreed, that a triumphal arch should be erected to his honour. This arch still remains, and is one of the most curious and interesting monuments of ancient Rome. It is attractive to the sculptor, the antiquary, and the historian, in many points of view-but above all it is interesting to the Christian; and to the Jew so deeply affecting, on account of the numiliating calamity which

it records, that, it is said, no man of that nation will ever willingly pass under it. It is not simply the event that it commemorates, so intimately connected both with the Law and the Gospel, from which it derives its interest, though that is remarkable enough, but the strong light which it throws by its sculpture upon several of those sacred deposits of the temple, which were most intimately connected with the service of the Jewish ritual, and carry us back even to the time of the great legislator himself.

The Arch of Titus is situated on the eastern declivity of the Palatine mount. On approaching it from the south (being the side least injured by time) its original form is lost in ruins at each extremity; but the arch itself, a column on each side of it, with the frieze and attic, are still pretty entire. The building, in its original form, must have been nearly an exact square. It is constructed of white marble. In the space formed by the curve of the arch, there are winged figures, personifying Fame. Upon the frieze is a representation of a sacrifice, with an allegorical figure at the extremity of the procession, carried upon a litter.

TO THE DIVINE TITUS, THE SON OF VESPASIAN THE AUGUST.

Upon entering the arch (which is about fourteen or fifteen feet wide) on each side are oblong spaces, seven feet in height, by nearly fourteen in length, containing a representation of the triumph of Titus, when he returned to Rome, after having taken Jerusalem.

On the east side appears the emperor in a triumphal car, drawn by four horses; Victory is crowning him with laurel; Rome personified as a female figure, conducts the horses; and citizens and soldiers crowned with laurel, compose the crowd that attends him.