thirty and forty, assembled in a large room belonging to an aged tenement which time had nearly shaken to its fall.

After the cravings of nature were satisfied, his mind, in spite of its depression, became elated, and diffused its influence over the whole assembly. From the cherished stores of Shakspeare, Otway, Rowe, and the moon-struck Lee, our young actor drew forth a fund of entertainment, which enriched the evening, and rendered him The King of his company, who sighed, or smiled, as his effusions were mournful or merry. Nor was the tuneful Muse forgotten : many a welcome song, by way of interlude, heightened the entertainment, while heroes, fresh from the barn door, where, to its own strokes, the flail resounded, and who had taken the last leave of the ploughtail, listened with attention, and congratula ted each other on the acquisition they had gained in a lively fellow, who would convert three months of duty into so many months of pleasantry. But, alas! all earthly enjoyments have their close; the hour of rest came on, and the call of the landlady must be obeyed. The mirthful crew repaired to a room allotted for the night; on the floor were spread beds of straw; but, at

the farthest end, a little more of dignity marked the couch of the Serjeant. There, to the straw was added a mattress and a quilt; and the enclosing curtain guarded the spot where this great man was to forget his marching and counter-marching, in the arms of Morpheus. Each man at his weary length-shall we say silence reigned around? not so-full many a snore, which, to nicer ears, would have" murdered sleep," interrupted the stillness of the night.

In the morning, our Hero, who reposed next to the superb pavilion before described, awoke to behold the head of one of the recruits on the lap of the Serjeant, a head which had taken its turn to come under his adorning hands. Each aspiring youth was making ready for a general muster, and many a hair, taught by nature to lay upon an humble level, was, by the ingenuity of the Serjeant, furnished with soap suds, and armed with the torturing tongs, turned from its course. The important business of preparation over, the company went to breakfast; about ten, the drum beat to arms, the regiment mustered, and, with colours flying, repaired to the field, where Munden was previously told by his friend, to follow, in order to be enlisted;

but as he had a view only to what he had obtained, namely, a supper and a bed, he felt not the smallest inclination to dare "the tented field."

He, therefore, quitted his military friends somewhat abruptly, choosing rather to enlist under the banners of Melpomene than those of Mars, and, that evening, proceeded on his journey, and reached Woodstock. Here he applied at one or two public houses for lodging, but in vain; no doubt his appearance betrayed his poverty.. Again his good genius relieved him from distress, as, at a house, where he was making his request, he was recognized by a person, who had left Liverpool a few weeks before, in consequence of a law suit, in which a verdict had been given against him. At Liverpool this man had followed the business of a gardener, which he quitted on the above occasion, and had fled to this place, where, in the magnificent gardens of Blenheim, he again wielded the spade.

Much pleased at meeting Munden, owing to a grateful remembrance of services which our actor had rendered him, during the time he was a clerk to the gentleman who defended his suit, he ministered to his wants, and gave our adventurer a comfortable proof that good offices

are not always forgotten. In the morning he pursued his journey. Nothing material happened till he fortunately met a friend near Acton, to whom he had written from Oxford, to meet him on the road with money,-fortunately, it may be said for a second day's travels and fasting had nearly exhausted his strength, and he was just sinking beneath the pressure of hunger and fatigue.

THEATRICAL TREES.

Of all the trees that I have known,

F

Of pippin, nonpareil, and warden,
Give me that Tree so sweetly blown,
The Vocal Tree of Covent Garden.

But would I choose a slender form
That dances with the elfin train,
I'd shelter from the threat'ning storm
And seek the Tree of Drury Lane..

RACINE AND THE YOUNG AUTHOR.

"Adherbal, Roi de Numidie," is a tragedy written by La Graige Chancel, of which he gives the following interesting anecdotes:

"When I supposed I had finished my tragedy, I ventured to lay it before the Princess de Continotwithstanding the many defects, the Princess

found enough in it to attract her attention, and therefore sent to the celebrated Racine, and kindly begged him to read a piece, written by a young gentleman, a page in her service, and freely and unequivocally to give her his opinion of it. Racine kept it a week, then returned it to the princess, and told her that he had read my tragedy with astonishment. That, to be sure, it was defective in many respects, but that if her highness would suffer me sometimes to come and advise with him, it would shortly be in such a state as to be successfully represented. I failed not, therefore, to be with him every day; and I can truly affirm, that I learned more from him than from all the books I had read. He sometimes took a pleasure in conversing on the different subjects, fabulous and historical, which he had considered, and in which he discovered interesting situations; failing not to acquaint me with them. My tragedy being finished, it was presented and received. Instead of "Jugurtha," under which title a tragedy, by Pechantré, had been lately condemned, it was determined to call it" Adherbal." The Prince de Conti, who was kind enough to be present at the first representation, placed me beside himself upon the stage,