trance, into which be had been thrown by the three mysterious words. He perceived that, instead of being in the vatican, he was still at Toledo, in the closet of don Torribio; and he saw, by the clock, it was not a complete hour since he entered that fatal cabinet, where he had been entertained by such pleasant dreams. In that short time the dean of Badajos had imagined himself a magician, a bishop, a cardinal, and a pope; and he found at last that he was only a dupe and a knave. All was illusion, except the proofs he had given of his deceitful and evil heart. instantly departed, without speaking a single word, and finding his mule where he had left her, returned to Badajos. Phrenology. For the Table Book. "You look but on the outside of affairs." He TO THE RHONE Thou art like our existence, and thy waves, Smooth when the summer magnifies thy charins, The ups and downs of fortune we may traceOne wave submitting to another's force, The boldest always foremost in the race: Upper Park Terrace. B. W. R. 'Tis the tact, 'tis the instinct, kind Nature has lent, For the guide and direction of sympathy meant. And altho' in our cause no learn'd lecturer proses, We reach the same end, thro' a path strew'd with roses. 'Twixt the head and the hand, be the contact allow'd, Of the road thro' the eye to the heart we are proud. ADVICE. Would a man wish to offend his friends? -let him give them advice. Would a lover know the surest method by which to lose his mistress ?-let him give her advice. Would a courtier terminate his sovereign's partiality?—let him offer advice. In short, are we desirous to be universally hated, avoided, and despised, the means are always in our power. We have but to advise, and the consequences are infallible. The friendship of two young ladies, though apparently founded on the rock of eternal attachment, terminated in the following manner : "My dearest girl, I do not think your figure well suited for dancing; and, as a sincere friend of yours, I advise you to refrain from it in future." The other naturally affected by such a mark of When we feel like the brutes, like the brutes we may sincerity, replied, "I feel very much obliged show it, But no lumps on the head mark the artist or poet. The gradations of genius you never can find, Since no matter can mark the refinements of mind. 'Tis the coarser perceptions alone that you trace, But what swells in the heart must be read in the face. That index of feeling, that key to the soul, No art can disguise, no reserve can control. 'Tis the Pharos of love, tost on oceans of doubt, 'Tis the Beal-fire of rage-when good sense puts about. As the passions may paint it--a heaven or a hell. And 'tis always a studj--not model as well. to you, my dear, for your advice; this proof of your friendship demands some return: I would sincerely recommend you to relinquish your singing, as some of your upper notes resemble the melodious squeaking of the feline race." The advice of neither was followed-the one continued to sing, and the other to dance-and they never met but as enemies. Tommy Sly, of Durham. For the Table Book. Tommy Sly, whose portrait is above, is a well-known eccentric character in the city of Durham, where he has been a resident in the poor-house for a number of years. We know not whether his parents were rich or poor, where he was born, or how he spent his early years-all is alike "a mys. tery;" and all that can be said of him is, that he is "daft." Exactly in appearance as he is represented in the engraving,he dresses in a coat of many colours, attends the neighbouring villages with spice, sometimes parades the streets of Durham with "pipe-clay for the lasses," and on "gala days" wanders up and down with a cockade in his hat, beating the city drum, which is good-naturedly lent him by the corporation. Tommy, as worthless and insignificant as he seems, is nevertheless "put out to use:" his name has often served as a signature to satirical effusions; and at election times he has been occasionally employed by the Whigs to take the distinguished lead of some grand Tory proces sion, and thereby render it ridiculous; and by way of retaliation, he has been hired by the Tories to do the same kind office for the Whigs. He is easily bought or sold, for he will do any thing for a few halfpence. To sum up Tommy's character, we may say with truth, that he is a harmless and inoffensive man; and if the reader of this brief sketch should ever happen to be in Durham, and have a few halfpence to spare, he cannot bestow his charity better than by giving it to the "Custos Rotulorum" of the place-as Mr. Humble once ludicrously called him-poor TOMMY SLY. Ex DUNELMENSIS. The abbey-church of Westminster may be safely pronounced the most interesting ecclesiastical structure in this kingdom. Considered as a building, its architecture, rich in the varieties of successive ages, and marked by some of the most prominent beauties and peculiarities of the pointed style, affords an extensive field of gratification to the artist and the antiquary. Rising in solemn magnificence amidst the palaces and dignified structures connected with the seat of imperial government, it forms a distinguishing feature in the metropolis of England. Its history, as connected with a great monastic establishment, immediately under the notice of our ancient monarchs, and much favoured by their patronage, abounds in important and curious particulars. But this edifice has still a stronger claim to notice-it has been adopted as a national structure, and held forward as an object of national pride. Whilst contemplating these venerable walls, or exploring the long aisles and enriched chapels, the interest is not confined to the customary recollections of sacerdotal pomp: ceremonies of more impressive interest, and of the greatest public importance, claim a priority of attention. The grandeur of architectural display in this building is viewed with additional reverence, when we remember that the same magnificence of effect has imparted increased solemnity to the coronation of our kings, from the era of the Norman conquest. At a very early period, this abbey-church was selected as a place of burial for the English monarchs; and the antiquary and the student of history view their monuments as melancholy, but most estimable sources of intelligence and delight. In the vicinity of the ashes of royalty, a grateful and judicious nation has placed the remains of such of her sons as have been most eminent for patriotic worth, for valour, or for talent; and sculptors, almost from the earliest period in which their art was exercised by natives of England, down to the present time, have here exerted their best efforts, in commemoration of those thus celebrated for virtue, for energy, or for intellectual power.* St. David's Day. THE LEEK. Written by WILLIAM LEATHART, Llywydd. Sung at the Second Anniversary of the Society of UNDEB CYMRY, St. David's Day, 1825. AIR-Pen Rhaw. I. If bards tell true, and hist'ry's page When Cæsar used to speak; Before they wore THE LEEK. Ere Alfred hung in the highway, His chains of gold by night or day; And never had them stol'n away, His subjects were so meek. When wolves they danc'd o'er field and fen; Ere Welshmen wore THE LEEK. Mr. Brayley; in Neale's Hist. and Antiq. of West minster Abbey 11. Like all good things-this could not last, The wall:-then home to seek, THE WELSH HARP. an MR. LEATHART is the author of " Welsh Pennillion, with Translations into English, adapted for singing to the Harp," eighteenpenny pocket-book of words of ancient and modern melodies in Welsh and English, with a spirited motto from Mr. Leigh Hunt." The Ancient Britons had in them the seeds of a great nation even in our modern sense of the word. They had courage, they had reflection, they had imagination. Power at last made a vassal of their prince. There were writers in those times, harpers, and bards, who made the instinct of that brute faculty turn cruel out of fear. They bequeathed to their countrymen the glory of their memories; they and time together have consecrated their native hills, so as they never before were consecrated." According to the prefatory dissertation of Mr. Leathart's pleasant little manual, "Pennillion singing" is the most social relic of ancient minstrelsy in existence. It originated when bardism flourished in this island; when the object of its members was to instil moral maxims through the medium of poetry, and the harp was then, as it still is, the instrument to which they chanted. There is evidence of this use of the harp in Caзar and other Latin writers. The bards were priest and poet; the harp was their inseparable attribute, and skill in playing on it an indispensable qualification. A knowledge of this instrument was necessary, in order to establish a claim to the title of gentleman; it occupied a place in every mansion; and every harper was entitled to valuable privileges. A "Pencerdd," or chief of song, and a "Bardd Teulu," or domestic bard, were among the necessary appendages to the king's court. The former held his lands free, was stationed by the side of the "judge of the palace," and lodged with the heir presumptive. He was entitled to a fee on the tuition of all minstrels, and to a maiden fee on the marriage of a minstrel's daughter. The fine for insulting him was six cows and eighty pence. The domestic bard also held his land free; he had a harp from the king, which he was enjoined never to part with; a gold ring from the queen, and a beast out of every spoil. In the palace he sang immediately after the chief of song, and in fight at the front of the battle. It is still customary for our kings to maintain a Welsh minstrel. One of the greatest encouragers of music was Gruffydd ap Cynan, a sovereign of Wales, who, in the year 1100, summoned a grand congress to revise the laws of minstrelsy, and remedy any abuse that might have crept in. In order that it should be complete, the most celebrated harpers in Ireland were invited to assist, and the result was the establishing the twenty-four canons of music; the MS. of which is in the library of the Welsh school, in Gray's Inn-lane. It comprises several tunes not now extant, or rather that cannot be properly deciphered, and a few that are well known at the present day. A tune is likewise there to be found, which a note informs us was usually played before king Arthur, when the salt was laid upon the table; it is called "Gosteg yr Halen," or the Prelude of the Salt. The regulations laid down in the above MS. are curious. A minstrel having entered a place of festivity was not allowed to depart without leave, or to rove about at any time, under the penalty of losing his fees. If he became intoxicated and committed any mischievous trick, he was fined, imprisoned, and divested of his fees for seven years. Only one could attend a person worth ten pounds per annum, or two a person worth twenty pounds per annum, and so forth. It likewise ordains the quantum of musical knowledge necessary for the taking up of the different degrees, for the obtaining of which three years seems to have been allowed. The Welsh harp, or "Telyn," consists of three distinct rows of strings, without pedals, and was, till the fifteenth century, strung with hair. The modern Welsh harp has two rows of strings and pedals. Giraldus Cambrensis, in his Itinerary, speaking of the musical instruments of the Welsh, Irish, and Scotch, says, Wales uses the harp, "crwth," and bag-pipes; Scot land the harp, "crwth," and drum; Ireland the harp and drum only; and, of all, Wales only retains her own. The "crwth" is upon the same principle as the violin; it has however six strings, four of which are played upon with a bow, the two outer being struck by the thumb as an accompaniment, or bass; its tone is a mellow tenor, but it is now seldom heard, the last celebrated player having died about forty years since, and with him, says the editor of the Cambrian Register, "most probably the true knowledge of producing its melodious powers." From the player of this instrument is derived a name now common, viz. "Crowther" and "Crowder" (Crwthyr); it may be translated "fiddler," and in this sense it is used by Butler in his Hudibras. Within the last few years, the harp has undergone a variety of improvements, and it is now the most fashionable instrument; yet in Wales it retains its ancient form and triple strings; it has its imperfections," observes Mr. Parry, "yet it possesses one advantage, and that is its unisons," which of course are lost when reduced to a single row. There would be much persuasion necessary to induce "Cymru " to relinquish her old fashioned "Telyn," so reluctant are a national people to admit of changes. When the violin superseded the "crwth," they could not enjoy the improvement. Pennillion chanting consists in singing stanzas, either attached or detached, of various lengths and metre, to any tune which the harper may play; for it is irregular, and in fact not allowable, for any particular one to be chosen. Two, three, or four bars having been played, the singer takes it up, and this is done according as the Pennill, or stanza, may suit; he must end precisely with the strain, he therefore commences in any part he may please. To the stranger it has the appearance of beginning in the middle of a line or verse, but this is not the case. Different tunes require a different number of verses to complete it; sometimes only one, sometimes four or six. It is then taken up by the next, and thus it proceeds through as many as choose to join in the pastime, twice round, and ending with the person that began. These convivial harp meetings are generally conducted with great regularity, and are really social; all sing if they please, or all are silent. To some tunes there are a great number of singers, according to the ingenuity required in adapting Pennillion Yet even this custom is on the decline. In South Wales, the custom has been long lost; on its demise they encouraged song writing and singing, and they are still accounted the best (without the harp) in the principality. In North Wales songsinging was hardly known before the time of Huw Morus, in the reign of Charles I., nor is it now so prevalent as in the south. In the year 1176, Rhys ap Gruffydd held a congress of bards and minstrels at Aberteifi, in which the North Welsh bards came off as victors in the poetical contest, and the South Welsh were adjudged to excel in the powers of harmony. For the encouragement of the harp and Pennillion chanting, a number of institutions have lately been formed, and the liberal spirit with which they are conducted will do much towards the object; among the principal are the "Cymmrodorion," or Cambrian Societies of Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed, Gwent, and London; the "Gwyneddigion," and "Canorion," also in London. The former established so long since as 1771, and the "Undeb Cymry," or United Welshmen, established in 1823, for the same purpose. In all the principal towns of Wales, societies having the same object in view have been formed, among which the "Brecon Minstrelsy Society" is particularly deserving of notice. The harp and Pennillion singing have at all times come in for their share of encomium by the poets, and are still the theme of many a sonnet in both languages. From more than a hundred pieces in Mr. Leathart's "Pennillion," translations of a few pennills, or stanzas, are taken at random, as specimens of the prevailing senti ments. The man who loves the sound of harp, Nature to him no love has given, Hateful both to earth and heaven. Fair is yon harp, and sweet the song, Woe to him, whose every bliss |
