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whom this inducement is given by way of favour. Various

accidental supply that might support them for six months, and will be lost in an instant."

rations, and I got introduced by an old customer of the games multiply the chances of the adventurers, that is to house, who had paid dearly for that kind of consideration ay, the chances against the adventurers. A dancing- which he seemed to enjoy there. The company was nu- By the profound silence which reigned at the table, we room joins the principal saloon, and is always at the dis-merous, and I had reason to hope that I might be able to judged that something of importance must be going on, posal of the customers, who are not over-scrupulous with make my observations without being observed by him and we approached. Both colours were covered with gold egard to their female-partners and fellow-dancers. The who was the object of them. I saw Leon approach the and notes. Leon had all his money on black: the banker sual frequenters of this singular place are mostly people mistress of the house, by whom he was received as an ex- turned up thirty-one for that colour, and the partisans om the provinces, who wish to enjoy all the pleasures of pected guest, and in the most affectionate manner: he of red were in agony; but the cards went on, and the le metropolis: officers on half pay, who have the same talked familiarly with her, leaning on the back of her same number turned up once more; consequently, the tentions; and sharpers, of both sexes, who speculate on chair, until a new deal was announced, when he sat down game was a drawn one. The most prudent among the e credulity of the former, and the carelessness of the near the banker. The crooper left to him the honour of players withdrew one-half of their stakes; the rakes were tter. They all lose their money as gaily as possible. cutting, gave three knocks upon the table with his rake, set in motion, and another deal was commenced, when, wenty women, sitting around the roulette-table, endea- and then the priests of that god of numbers, whom they lo! the result was another drawn game. The uproar in ar to double at this game the money which they have called Thirty-one, pronounced their oracles. Leon was a den of robbers cannot be more alarming or hideous ined at another; and, after having seen the whole of it once more successful, and was highly complimented by a than the scene which took place after that event. The appear under the fatal rake, they return to the ball, in crowd of worn-out gamblers, who have no other means of red and black partisans gave vent to their fury in a hunler to aim there at less uncertain success. A third room subsistence but the tax which they impose upon the gene-dred different manners; some ran, swearing, up and down ntains a splendid sideboard, which invites the fortunate rosity of those who are favoured by fortune. I did not ayers to repair the fatigues of dancing, by means of ex- think proper to interrupt his triumph, and retired with isite viands and delicious wines; whilst the wretched the intention of coming again the next night. sers endeavour to sleep upon the surrounding benches, nidst all the noise of music and dancing.

On that memorable occasion I found him sitting near a
woman, who was quite as handsome as a gambling female
can well be; this lady interested herself in the most lively
manner in his play, and seemed to assist him in turning
it to the best advantage: fortune was still smiling on him,
and the bankers waited until he had placed all his stakes
to his satisfaction, before they pronounced the irrevocable
words of-The game is closed. A triple row of players
surrounded the table, and, whilst they were engaged, I
sat down among the wounded, to hear what my guide had
to say about some of the most distinguished characters of
the place.

No. 113 is, in some measure, the sewer, or the sink, of
ilar establishments; it is destined for gamblers of the
est and the most unfortunate class. Three or four large
ms, shabbily decorated, are scarcely sufficient to con-
the crowds of journeymen, and fathers of families,
come to lose there the greater part of the daily wages
ch ought to furnish subsistence to their wives and
dren, but of which an unfortunate throw of the dice
rives them. Here gaming shows itself in all its
bus deformity. The countenances of the bankers, the
pers, and the dealers, are alike sinister, though dif- "You see," said he to me," this thin tall man, whose
it in expression. Strong, colossal constables walk scanty gray hairs stands as it were upright on his fore-
it the room, and their ferocious looks seem to forbid head; nature had done every thing for him: he was gifted
he victims of chance even an expression of regret. with a good person, a good understanding, and even a
the fixed posture of the head banker and his assist-good heart; but gambling has led him to the commission
is particularly frightful. Equally deaf to the cries of of a shameful action, to which the attending circum-
ir and to the bursts of joy, they scrape up the money stances have given the tincture of an atrocious crime.
the same unshaken coolness with which they distri-He is of respectable descent; and, at the time when our
it, in the almost certain expectation that they shall
in final possessors of the whole. Losses are here more
ely felt than elsewhere; for nothing is seen but
hedness disputing a morsel of bread with avarice:
here without its charms; it appears only to give
respite to despair.

the room; others broke their rakes on the backs of the chairs; some were nearly suffocated with rage, and silently wiped their faces, whilst others tore their linen and smote their breasts. If any thing can give an idea of the punishment and the rage of the damned, it surely is the scene presented by the company of a gambling-house at such a moment. At last, the decisive verdict was pronounced; the black colour lost, and all Leon's money was poured into the banker's chest.

I watched the young man narrowly. He had a large brooch, with a miniature of his mother set in diamonds, and a valuable repeater. One of the attendants lent, upon these two articles, about the fifth part of what they were worth, and the produce was likewise added to the bank. Leon was in despair, and addressed himself to a man of the most gloomy appearance, who went with him into a corner: my guide told me who that individual was, and I saw that it was time for me to interfere. I scarcely think that the sight of Medusa's head could have produced a stronger effect, on the unfortunate young man, than my sudden appearance. I saw big tears stand in his eyes, and he was unable to speak. At such a moment every reprimand would have been unseasonable, and he would, perhaps, have been much less sensible to reproaches than he was to the consolations which I offered him, by restoring his brooch and watch, which I had taken care to release immediately, by means of a reasonable allowance to the lender of the money.

prisons were filled with the most noble victims, a cousin of his, to whom he was much attached, was likewise arrested. The fate of the prisoner was scarcely doubtful, for the revolutionary tribunal was seldom known to acquit. M. learned, however, that a sum of ten thousand franks might save his friend. He solicited most anxiously the We were just going out when a terrible uproar threw è opportunities for gambling are amongst the most assistance of his acquaintances and relations, and he suc- the whole place into the utmost confusion and terror. rous seductions that are held out to young men. ceeded in raising the necessary sum: but the person, in All the lights were extinguished, and the bankers cried tience and satiety will often aid them in resisting whose hands the fate of the accused lay, had appointed a out :- Stop every one! Shut the doors!" The guard tractions of other pleasures, and nature prescribes late hour for the meeting, and time hung heavily upon arrived, and soldiers took possession of the doors. The which even the most careless will not always in- M. Habit and impatience conducted him to a gaming-croopers cared neither for the wounded, nor for the women but the passion of gaming feeds upon itself, and house, where he was induced to sport a few dollars; haves more violent with every excess; its excitements ing lost them, he risked a larger sum, in order to get powerful in the heart of an old man as in that of a them back, but he was still unfortunate: one sudden one; and the great charm which separates inno-stroke of fortune might repair the whole of his losses-he from crime on most other occasions, affords no proagainst its allurements: an honest man may be 4 villain in one day, if he once yields to the temp

son is intimate with a young officer whom an awful has lately cured of an inclination that would, in all ality, have led to his ruin. He had been recomto me by his father, who made him a very handlowance besides his pay: but Leen wished to sure splendour of all his fellow-officers, and he eagerly to the pernicious counsels of a casual acquaintwho infused into him the hope that the gamingwould supply his extravagance. He actually did onsiderable sums; and, when I went to remonstrate him on the alarming change in his manner of living, erely pointed to the heaps of gold which he had d before him: these were arguments against which are objections could be of no avail, and I had the ification of being obliged to withdraw, for that time,

ence.

inquired about the place where he carried on his ope

who had fainted away; they only looked to the strong box, and their ferocious looks seemed to discover a conspirator in every one present. Suspicion fixed, at last, upon some infamous characters, among the number of which was one with whom Leon had become acquainted the day before, and whom he had invited to breakfast for the following morning.

again ventures, and loses again: now he grows warm and
forgets himself: the money entrusted to his care is no
longer considered sacred, and his fortune, his honour, the
life of his beloved relation, are all placed upon a card; the When we finally made good our retreat, a man followed
banker names it, and his sentence condemns two victims behind us, who heaved, from time to time, sighs which
at once-the one to death, the other to everlasting infamy. seemed to come from the bottom of his heart. He fol-
"I need not name to you the fine old man with white lowed us through one of the alleys in the garden, and then
hair, who sits at one end of the table: you have known addressed Leon with a voice which I shall never forget:-
him yourself twenty years ago, when his splendid enter-"Young man," he said, “remember the lesson which I
tainments, his luxury, and his scandalous love-affairs am now giving to you: it is fifteen years since I entered
were the common topics of conversation all over the town. these premises for the first time, and I was then witness
He has lost the whole of his fortune at play, and, reduced of a suicide which deprived an individual of his honour
to the most shameful wretchedness, he has not blushed to and his life at the same time; that example has not cor-
accept an end of the table; that is to say, the place of an rected me, but let my own fate operate more powerfully
under-crooper, whose occupation consists in watching the upon you." On finishing these words he held a pistol to
stakes, and seeing that they are properly made and kept. his mouth, and, before we had time to stop him, he pulled
the trigger and blew out his brains.

"The stout red-faced man, who is just coming in, belonged formerly to an honourable profession; he has squandered the property which he got with his wife, and the poor woman is obliged to wash silk shawls, in order to maintain her four children; whilst he is risking an

This terrible catastrophe, added to the events which had preceded it, agitated us to such a degree, that we were unable to utter a connected sentence before we parted: but I hope that Leon has not been warned in vain.

[ORIGINAL.]

in the aisles. Whether our ancestors constructed, in
waggons and carts, the same fantastic heaps as our rustic
countrymen do at present is very doubtful. The rush-
cart, as it is called, is so unlike any thing with which we
are conversant, that no description could make it intel-
ligible to the person who has never seen one. As the
wakes generally take place towards the close of summer,
the rushes are found very comfortable to the feet in the
severity of winter.

COUNTRY WAKES, OR RUSHBEARINGS. Wakes are of very high antiquity. The time of their origin cannot be ascertained; but institutions very similar in their nature and form, doubtless, existed at a period considerably anterior to the mission of Austin, the monk.+ That celebrated churchman, who was deeply acquainted with human nature, and, with the powerful influence which hereditary prejudices and local associations The drunken and licentious revels, for which these possess over the mind, did not attempt to root out the su-annual meetings are loudly condemned by the religious perstitious customs of our Saxon ancestors. He well knew portion of the community, render them very unfit places that such an attempt would either prove fatal to the cause for the resort of the young. Habits of dissipation are, it of his mission, or at least greatly retard its success. He, is to be feared, there acquired, which no future prudence therefore, wisely consecrated some of those customs to the can wholly destroy and yet the admirer of ancient obuse of the Christian church, and, among them, the wake. servances would pause before he wished the abolition of In conjunction with Mellitus (the abbot) his friend and one which has existed in this country for more than twelve companion, he obtained a bull from the reigning pontiff, hundred years: he would rather see it subjected to certain Gregory the Great, which directed that the wake should salutary restraints. A small number of constables would continue to be held, not as a Pagan rite, but as an in- be sufficient to preserve the peace at these assemblies. strument of Christian devotion. Liverpool. W. [To be continued.]

We accordingly find that wakes were afterwards used to commemorate the dedication of churches to their patron saints. On those occasions, multitudes assembled from all parts to pass the whole evening in the parish church, in the exercises of watching, singing, and prayer. The following day was distinguished by great feasting and rejoicing; and it may be easily conceived, that, however innocent these festivals might be in their design, many excesses would soon attend them. The most disgraceful scenes of drunkenness and debauchery were exhibited at these weekly meetings. This perversion of their original design was laid at length before the ecclesiastical rulers of the kingdom, and a canon made in the reign of Edgar loudly condemned the irregularities to which we have alluded. Some statutes were made to restrain them, and a decree passed that the wakes should no longer be held weekly, but at much greater intervals. This decree was of essential service; it diminished the number of holidays -a number so great as greatly to injure the interests of agriculture and the arts; and it consequently prevented the idle and the mischievous from indulging so frequently in their favourite vices. But, whenever the festivals were celebrated, not all the authority of church and state could keep the multitude in awe. The parish churchyard and the adjoining fields were, on the commemorative day, filled with the idle and the dissolute-with fiddlers, jugglers, prostitutes, and thieves. Booths were erected, under which spirituous liquors, ale, wine, and, indeed, every species of merchandise were sold. Not even Sunday was free from profaneness; and many ages elapsed before the festivals on that day were abolished. This abolition, which was effected in the reign of Henry the Sixth, was, however subsequently removed by the heads of the Reformation. Both James the First and Archbishop Laud countenanced Sunday wakes; not, indeed, with the purpose of encouraging immorality, but in opposition, perhaps, to the absurd rigour of the Puritans. During the Com. monwealth, the latter triumphed in their turn, and suppressed these festivals, not only on the Sabbath, but also on every other day; but the restoration of the King brought with it that of the wakes.

For centuries before the Reformation the vigils were discontinued, and the festivals only observed. Rushes were brought to the parish church, and scattered about

• In Latin vigila, from the nocturnal watchings in the

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"Juncus majoribus festis sparsus in ecclesiâ et alibi."
Cons. MSS. Aug. Lem. fd.
"Redolenti gramine templi
Sternitur omne solum; ramisque virentibus aræ."
Reg. Pap. Navgeargi.

Correspondence.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR, I am greatly honoured by your prompt attention
to my dreams; to which, I must say, you have done
ample justice. In reply to your invitation, to pursue the
subject, as it affects the rise of the port of Manchester on
the ruins of Liverpool, I honestly confess to you I never
dreamt of such an event.-The idea, in fact, is too visionary
to form even the fabric of a vision ;"* for I would have
you know, Sir, that these "dreams" of mine are not
"such stuff" as you suppose them; but that they treat of
events which, in all probability, will be realized in proof
of which, I ought to have mentioned before, what certainly
adds to the curiosity of the thing, that the principal part
of that article (viz. 1855) was written more than two years
ago, before either science or speculation had launched
their thousand whimseys on the world. I except, of
course, that part which alludes to our friend Gerard, the
painter (in whose welfare, I am sure, you are no less inte-
rested than I am); and happy shall I be, if, at the same
time that I excite a smile amongst your readers, I should
be the means of attracting their attention to the case of an
ingenious artist; and more than that, a highly deserving,
but unfortunate, individual.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
Bristol, March 5, 1825.
S. T.
P. S.-I find Gerard is about to publish some poems.-
That part, too, of my dream then will come to pass!

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GRAMMATICAL QUERY.—If Sifter will point state

ticular passages in Hume, which he tells us Co
carping at, we shall be then enabled to any
which we cannot now do, except by observing on
that there are no works extant in which g
inaccuracies may not be detected.-We never bend
one dispute this fact except that egregious epts
bett, who, while he is perpetually dealing
criticisms upon grammatical slips, may himself
tripping as often as any writer extant. Füve
shippers doubt the fact, we can supply them
in abundance, from almost any of his Registers,
ways read them, although we heartily despise the
This bullying boaster, sometime ago, wrote a perfo
House of Commons (we believe it was) which be
be a model of perfect composition. We have no njem
take this paragon as a test, and we will wager a fa
we will point out several blunders in this m
tion. There is a paragraph in the Register of Mr.
which has this moment caught our eye, and 7
shall transcribe as a specimen of the slips ta
have adverted; and we could pledge ourselves
hundreds of the same kind in the works of this van vi
The passage to which we now allude, is to be fla
670, beginning in the 16th line. It is as fol**
works of real science do they, or have they ever tur
their country?" Mr. Cobbett may criticise Humer C
will be at a loss to find such a blundering sentence in th
foregoing in the works of that celebrated phisque an
historian.

MAXIMS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH-We sh
week give a place to the extract from Sir A. Coorste
and also two other articles transmitted on a f
sion by H. with whose notions, as expressed in ho ja
note, we, however, by no means agree. We camped in
nise the propriety of calling a female "a blue 7
because a popular and scientific writer thinks prop
cate his works to her. We suspect our corresponde
an antiquated bachelor, who has an overweening
the superiority of his own sex; but we can assure him. Be
it has fallen to our lot to be acquainted with females, **
opinions upon matters of taste, criticism, and
priety, we value more than those of any "Lord of Sa
tion" of our acquaintance; and yet these female
a jot of the blue stocking in their composition.
POLITICAL ECONOMY.-In compliance with the sup
A Constant Reader, we shall next week insert Mr

Lecture on Population and Wages, as lately dient at the

Leeds Mechanics' Institute.

names of these rival towns, which, in justice, I ought not to
suppress here, great stress having been laid on them by the
Mancunian, and other conjurers, as highly portentous of
"coming events." What do you think the word Liverpool is
derived from? What, in short, does it mean? Sir, I grieve
to tell you; but the truth must out. "Tis neither more nor
less than leave our pool, the Manchester interpretation of
which is, that they, the men of Manchester, will LEAVE
our pool (that is, your pool) or dock, or docks, of which
they say the recent project is in part a fulfilment.-
Another circumstance has great weight with them; and I am
willing to own augurs no good to you; it will cause your
trade to go to Dee quay, and make you pray for Mersey. Even

There are certain circumstances connected with the COUNTRY WAKES AND RUSHBEARINGS-The ads in th

the name of their own town, as influencing in a material de-
gree the future destinies of Chester, has been tortured into
an omen (or, as my informant had it, an omnium) in favour of
their ultimate success, Manchester meaning, literally, to make
a Man of Chester! I am sure you will agree with me (to use
the words of our immortal bard, doubtless in reference to this
event)

"This, this was the unkindest cut of all!"

article shall be given next week, and, in the the injunction of the writer, conveyed in the pass

shall be complied with.

ELOQUENCE AND Pulpit Learning-We cannot rep tively to Zenes until we see the dissertation to w

alludes.

Whatever may be its merits, it will not be ticable to give it in the Mercury, even in success tions, while Parliament is sitting. The Kalider sents a much more convenient, and, indeed, eligible for giving publicity to such a communication; and essay on perusal appears to us likely to interest the of our readers, our columns are at Zenes's service BURNING OF WIDOWS.-We have just received the Calcutta John Bull of Nov. 5, containing the pr of a recent suttee, detailed at considerable length in reserve for early publication.

Printed, published, and sold, EVERY TUESDAY
E. SMITH & CO. 75, Lord-street, Liverpool.

OR,

Literary and Scientific Mirror.

“UTILE DULCI.”

familiar Miscellany, from whichreligious and politicalmatters are excluded, contains a variety of originaland selected Articles: comprehending Literature, Criticism, Men and Manners, usement, Elegant Extracts, Poetry, Anecdotes, Biography, Meteorology, the Drama, Arts and Sciences, Wit and Satire, Fashions, Natural History, &c. &c. forming a handsome Annual tume, with an Index and Title-page.—Its circulationrenders it a most eligible medium for Literary and Fashionable Advertisements. Regular supplies are forwarded weekly to the Agents.

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i the preceding letter, my object in laying before you result of researches made, by the most distinguished tralists, in the soil of our neighbourhood, was, to give some idea of the manner in which the different forions succeed each other in every part of the alluvial ; since there exists a striking analogy in the position cks, with respect to each other, all over the surface e globe.

LETTER X

OF ELEPHANTS.

Bones of fossil elephants have often been discovered before the present period, but their nature was never understood till lately. Former discoveries of this kind gave rise to many fabulous histories of the disinterment of the corpses of ancient giants. At the time that they were made, men had made but little progress in the study of anatomy, and, as the elephant is one of the animals, whose skeleton most resembles the human skeleton, they eagerly seized hold of these events, to give sanction to inventions which gratified their love of the marvellous. A whole volume might be composed of the histories of fossil bones of great quadrupeds, that have been affirmed by ignorance or fraud to be the skeletons of human giants. The most celebrated is the history of the skeleton, supposed, under the reign of Louis XIII., to be the remains of Tentobachus, king of the Cimbri, who fought against Marius. The following is an account of the event which gave rise to this story:

le nature of the subject, which I intend to treat in letter, and those following, will, I trust, indemnify for the dryness of my last letter. I shall now give ome account of those precious remains of animals, I nature seems to have preserved in the bosom of the , in order to prepare us for the disasters of which selves may, at any moment, become the victims. hall no longer confine myself to the description of rches made in any particular place, but shall acquaint with the observations that have been made in all On the 11th of January, 1613, some bones, several of tries. It is, in this case, necessary to embrace general which were broken by the workmen, were dug up from a , because a knowledge of the resemblance of the sand pit, near the castle of Chanmon, between the towns ➡s found in various climates, or of the differences of Montricoux, Serres, and Saint Antoine. A surgeon, of ing between them, leads to the most curious results. the name of Mazurier, being informed of this discovery, speaking to you of fossil animals, I shall follow an got possession of the bones, and invented a scheme to turn directly contrary to that which I adopted in de- them to his profit. He declared that he had found them ing the different layers; that is to say, I shall begin in a sepulchre, thirty feet long, upon which was written the animals found in the most superficial layers, and Tentobachus rex, and added that he had discovered, at the then proceed to the most ancient. You will not fail same time, about fifty medals, impressed with the likeness mark, that the fossil remains, contained in the most of Marius. All these stories were inserted in a pamphlet, ficial layers, all belong either to species now living, by means of which the public curiosity being excited, he e elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, or to succeeded in obtaining money for exhibiting the bones of als nearly allied to these species, as the different the pretended giant, in Paris, and other towns. Gassendi dontes; while those, found in the deeper layers, mentions a Jesuit of Tournon, as the author of the pame existence must have been separated from ours by phlet, and demonstrates that the antique medals were than one cataclysm, form, for the most part, genera counterfeits; as for the bones, they were bones of an elerely different from the genera with which we are ac-phant. inted. ossil animals are beings of an ancient creation, of se nature we can judge only by some osseous remains nem, preserved by time. Their soft parts have been, very few exceptions, replaced by the malicales of the s in which they are found.

he expression of fossil animals has been substituted that of petrified animals, to distinguish the action to ich they have been subject from that now often exerd upon substances, which, when plunged into certain rents of water, are, in a short space of time, incrustated h stony malicales. This process is particularly disguished by the term petrifaction. Fossilisation is very erent. Nature, in her present state, is, as I have eady told you, incapable of forming fossils; so that, if existing races of men were to be suddenly destroyed

Similar observations gradually becoming more precise, in proportion as they are more recent, continued to be made till the beginning of the eighteenth century. At that period, the improvement in natural sciences no longer permitted men to be so grossly deceived, and these bones were discovered to have belonged to elephants; but it was supposed that they had been buried under the soil in the time of the Romans.

The circumstance most tending to confirm this opinion is, that the bones first found in our country were deposited near the Rhone; that is to say, in places where they might have been buried by Annibal, who is known to have taken elephants with him in his expedition against the Romans; and by Domitius Anabarbus, who also conducted some of these animals into Gaul against the Allabroges.

More fossil bones of elephants are found in the upper

PRICE 3d

Val d'Arno than in any other part of Europe; they are so common there, that the peasants use them, promiscuously with stones, for the construction of their houses. Since, however, they became acquainted with the value attached to these relics, they preserve them, in order to sell them to travellers. Thus, M. Cuvier bought at Incisa an atlas of large dimensions, offered to him whilst he was changing horses there. This celebrated naturalist relates, that he has seen so large a quantity of fossil bones of elephants collected together in the neighbourhood of Figline, that two rooms were filled with them. This prodigious num→ ber completely refutes the opinion of those who would maintain, that these bones are merely traces of the passage of Annibal's army through this country. History, it is true, informs us that this great general, after having won the battle of Trebia, crossed the Appenines; but Titus, Livy, and Polybius, have agreed in stating, that although he had thirty-two elephants when he entered Italy, he had only eight after the battle of Trebia; that he lost seven of these animals in a vain attempt to cross the Appenines during the winter; and that, in the spring, having at length succeeded in his painful enterprise, when he arrived at the upper Val d'Arno he had only one remaining.

There is no better foundation for whatever conjectures have been advanced to account for the origin of these bones, in the supposition that they are not of greater antiquity than the times of which we have historical records. Besides, you will presently perceive how ridiculous it would be to attempt to ascribe to a single cause, whatever it may be, a phenomenon so general as the existence of these bones. They are found in England, in Germany, and, in fact, all over Europe. Those discovered in Germany have been more frequently and more attentively observed than any others. It is impossible to suppose that the Romans can have taken elephants to the north of that country. Many bones have been found in the most northern parts of Ireland, in Scandinavia, Norway, and even in Iceland. Some have also been discovered in Poland, and they particularly abound in Russia, although the climate of that country is now so ill adapted to the nature of the elephant. In what provinces of Russia do you suppose, Madam, that they are found in the greatest quantities? In the coldest parts of Siberia. But, however common they may be in these rude climates, they are still more so in some islands of the Frozen Ocean, to the north of Siberia, which, with the exception of a few rocks, are almost entirely composed of a mixture of sand and ice containing fossil bones.

The Russian Captain Kotzebue found many fossil bones upon the coast of America, beyond the polar circle: they were so common there, that his sailors often burnt them. M. Adalbert de Chamisso, a naturalist, who accompanied Kotzebue, brought to Europe a tusk, four feet long, and five feet broad, in its widest part. M. Cuvier discovered a great resemblance between this bone and those dug up near Paris, in excavating the canal de l'Ourcq.

The inhabitants of Siberia are so accustomed to find these monstrous remains buried under the ground, that they account for their presence there by a fable, which will not astonish you when you consider the ignorance of the people by whom it was invented. They believe that their exists in their country an animal of the size of the elephant, also furnished with tusks; but that, like the

mole, it cannot support the light of the day. They have given it the name of Mammoth, and they call the fossil tusks, horns of the Mammoth.

The frozen temperature of these climates has preserved them so well, that they are applied to the purposes for which new ivory is used, and constitute a very important article of commerce in that country. You must acknowledge, Madam, that nature has granted to these people a very singular indemnification for the sterility of the country they inhabit.

It is remarkable that the same fable has been invented by the Chinese, who call the pretended subterranean animal tien-schu-ia. It is mentioned in many of their treat ses upon natural history. In one of them, it is remarked, that this animal is found only in the coldest regions, and that its flesh is very wholesome. We may therefore suppose that the curious phenomenon of the preservation of flesh is not uncommon in cold countries.

Fossil bones are generally mixed with the bones of several wild animals, of various sizes. An entire skeleton is, however, seldom found; they are, in some instances, placed under layers of fresh water depositions, in others, they are covered by the remains of marine bodies. We may, by these circumstances, judge what was the nature of the catastrophe which changed the face of the country where they lived.

When we consider, Madam, the prodigious number of these bones, their mixture with the skeletons of wild animals, and the dispersion of bones belonging to the same animal, we cannot but reject the supposition that they are the remains of animals buried by men, and we are compelled to admit that revolutions, of which we behold every where proofs so evident, must have taken place.

I must now remind you of the elephant of Mr. Adams, and request you to refer to the history I have given you of it, in one of my preceding letters.

Bones of elephants are also found in America, a continent in which living elephants have never been known since it was discovered by the Europeans. As these ani. mals certainly never can have been destroyed by the feeble and thinly scattered people who inhabited America before the period of its discovery, we have a new and unanswerable proof of the antediluvian antiquity of these remains.

A circumstance worthy of remark is, that whilst the. fossil bones of elephants are so common in climates that could not be supported by these animals, none are found in the countries where they now exist. To account for this singularity, we must not forget, first, that the present state of things no longer permits of fossilisation; second 1, that the temperature of the coldest regions must have changed suddenly, probably at the time of the great revolution, which caused all these animals to perish; thirdly, that the fossil elephant having been provided by nature with the fur peculiar to animals living in cold countries, we may be sure that it was capable of supporting a temperature much lower than that of the regions of Asia and Africa. The elephants now living in these continents are almost destitute of hair.

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Great as are the excesses usually prevalent at these annual assemblies, we have good authority for asserting that before the Reformation they were both greater and more frequent. The following extract from the Regnum Papisticum Naogeorgi is exceedingly curious, and was exceedingly scarce previously to its insertion in the Popular Antiquities of Brand. As the latter work is, from its high price, inaccessible to most readers, and but little known even by those who can afford to make expensive purchases of books, the republication of the extract in question will probably be acceptable to the learned reader. An old translation, by Barnaby Googe, is subjoined.

Templi sacrati celebrantur festa quotannis,
Catholicé nimis. E turri suspenditur alta

Vexillum crucis, et redolenti gramine templi
Sternitur omne solum: ramisque virentibus arae:
Suggestumque nitet, sellaeque omnesque columnae :
Panduntur tabulae, idolorum armoria pictae.
Prealpué vero sertis habituque patronus

Excelitur diti, atque suâ resplendet in arâ.

Minsula Pontificum bullas, indutaque multis Sustentat signis, festum celebrantibus illud, Concessa: Idolum quoque patroni ostia circa Sustinet haec eadem mendicans; quod quia mutum est, Aut nondum populi linguam oraque barbara novit, Assidet interpres quidam, clamansque rogansque, Intrantes atque egredientes, munera-praestent Patrono, et nummis redimant indulta paparum. Pastor pastores alios invitat, et ipsa Scorta jubet simul adduci, turbasquè nothorum. Undique conveniunt quoque vicini atque remoti Ruricolae, pars sponte suâ, partimque vocati. Arma ferunt omnes gladios, venabla, secures, Bombardas, fustes ferratas, atque bipennes. Adveniunt juvenes culti, comptaeque puellae; Adsunt et mimi, mendicique atque choraules. Institor exponit nitidas ex ordine merces. Canpo disponit mensas, et pocula profert Omnia venturis: neutrum spes fallit avara; Namque fere referunt summa ex hoc commoda festo Prae cunctis aliis. Igitur post sacra peracta, Aut ad cauponem properant, notosque sodales, Explenturque omnes laute vinoque cibisque.. Octo solent septemque interdum ponere missus, Pontificumque nihil veterum, concedere eœnis. Sublatis tandem mensis consurgitur, et mox Orchestram juvenes adeunt ascaule vocato: Qui postquam insonuit raueum signumque choreis Utre dedit, veniunt illuc pueri atque puellæ, Longærique senes, mediâque ætate mariti. Spectatum accedunt et anus, juvenesque maritæ. Tum rarii surgunt ludi, turpesque choreo A madidis nec, hon tixa pugnæque cruenta Fervent, ut digiti, palmo, calcentur et aures, Et capita et facies et brachia sanguine manent; Nonnunquam et cœesus media linquatur arena. Multi, quod placeat, cupido mercantur amicæ. Multi cauponam repetimt, potantque gregatim, Insipido adjuncto cantu, clamoreque summo. Luduntque interea chartis, rapidoque fritillo. In cauponam etiam est pastorem accersere moris, Quo præsente putant compleri denique luduin. Is superat clamando omnes, calicesque frequentes Siccando, rex quidam estí vicinoque vomenti, ́ Sinciput apprendit, nimium officiosus et æquus, Et tenet, ima quoad stomachi fundamina verti. Hinc est vicinis gratus, charusque sodalis: Cui si quando nocent Euantiça dona vicissim. Debilitantque gradum, ne possit adire Penates Ipsi illum (quod non rarò contingere notum) Quadrupedem grati vice versâ in tecta reducunt. Catholicum hunc servat veneranda dicatio morem.

THE TRANSLATION, BY BARNABE GOOGE.

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The dedication of the Church is yerely had in minde,
With worship passing Catholicke, and in a wondrous kinde:
From out the steeple hie is hangde a crossé and banner fayre,
The pavement of the temple strowde with hearbes of pleasant

ayre,

The pulpets and the aulters all that in the Church are seene, And every pewe and piller great, are deckt with boughes of

green;

The tabernacles opened are, and images are drest,
But chiefly he that patron is, doth shine above the rest:
A borde there stands, whereon their bulles and pardons thick
they lay,

skill,

That given are to every one that keepes this holiday:
The Idoll of the Patron eke, without the doore doth stande,
And beggeth fast, of every man, with pardons in his hande:
Who for because he lackes his tongue, and hath not yet the
In common people's languages, when they speake well or ill,
He hath his own interpreter, that alwayes standeth by,
And unto every man that commeth in or out doth ery:
Desiring them the Patron there, with giftes to have in minde,
And Popish pardons for to buie, release of sinnes to finde.
on every side the neighbours come, and such as dwell not

*

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The service done, they eyther to the taverne fast do Or to their neighbour's house, whereat they feede un ablie:

For sixe or seven courses they unto the table bring, And for their suppers may compare with any heather The table taken up, they rise, and all the youth apace, The minstrell with them called to go to some eoLTER place;

Where when with bagpipe hoarce, he hath begon há mai fine,

And unto such as are preparde to daunce hath given u Comes thither streight both boys and gyries, and ne

aged bee,

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That handes, and eares, and head, and face, plight.

The streames of bloud runne downe the arts times is seen,

The carkasse of some ruffian slaine is left up the pros Here many, for their lovers sweete, some daina t buie,

And many to the taverne goe, and drinke for Whereat they foolish songs do sing, and we pot s make:

Some in the meane while play at cardes, and do shake.

Their custom also is, the priest into the house to Whom when they have, they thinke their game I at full;

He fatte in noyse exceedes them all, and eke in d The cuppes, a prince he is, and holdes their ba spewing lie.

The Enbestigator.

MR. MARSHALL'S LECTURE ON POPULATES
*** !
WAGES,

At the Leeds Mechanics' Institute.

On Thursday evening se'nnight a Lecture var m at the Mechanics' Institute, by John Marshall, E Vice-president, "On the true principles and tion of Population and Wages." This interesting of economical science was very clearly illustra made level to every capacity. The natural text population to increase beyond the demand for la effect of redundant population in reducing wa check given to population by the misery of the a diminishing their numbers, were explained in the s

manner.

It was shown that the labouring dass ** comfortable and happy when the supply of labor the demand; and, from this fact, Mr. M. tok low the demand, and wretched when the supply advise the younger part of his auditors to make vision for the support of a family before they a connexion for life. The lecturer then spake f which regulated wages. He showed that the of labour was that which would enable the b maintain themselves and families, without the ing or diminishing their numbers; and that the temporary price of labour was affected by the of the supply to the demand. He then shew tages of leaving labour to find its own pa, restrictions on either the employers or the p expressed his pleasure at the repeal of the C

Laws, for which he had petitioned, and whe mended before the committee of the House of Cin He took occasion to notice the attempts of verize many places, to impose restrictions on their maste odious than those they have themselves been freed had resulted in their complete defeat, and had pr and he showed that the attempts of the Glasgow smallest advantage to either. The following heavy loss both to masters and workmen, with # it has a local interest, and is on a subject portant that the working classes should underst give entire:

"I am told that some workmen in this town ing a combination to restrict their employers from apprentices, or employing other men who bare brought up in the trade. Their object is to obt nopoly for themselves, by keeping others out of th and, by causing a scarcity of hands, to raise the It would be as much a monopoly as that of the Ea Company, or any other, and just as selfish and fiable. It is easy to prove that all monopolies art 5,

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story of this poem is very simple. Udolph, the son of an
Helvetian nobleman, held a post under Theodoric, then a
famous commander in the Austrian army. The frequent
letters which he sent home were filled with praises of his
leader, written

"In such hyperboles of youthful style,

As made his parents dry their tears and smile:
But differently far his words impress'd

A wond'ring sister's well believing breast;-
She caught the illusion, blest THEODORIC's name,
And wildly magnified his worth and fame;
Rejoicing life's reality contain'd

One, heretofore, her fancy had but feigned,
Whose love could make her proud; and time and chance
To passion rais'd that day dream of romance."

The war was soon at an end, and Udolph returned to
his delighted parents. Julia's (his sister's) latent passion
for Theodoric was soon kindled into a devouring flame
by her brother's enthusiastic conversation, of which he
was always the subject. Meanwhile Theodoric visited
England

the land

true interests of the country. All history proves Look at the effects of the restrictions on trade in our rate towns, and their laws for excluding all but bursor freemen from carrying on any business in them. any town flourished under such restrictions? On the ary, has not every place which has kept up these inas restrictions gradually sunk into a state of insignifi-and trade has taken refuge and flourished in those where it was free and unconfined. From this cause ificant villages have risen up into great manufac towns, and become places of the first importance in rade requires a perfect freedom to keep it in a y and flourishing state. Not only must Government e restrictive laws, but manufacturers and their workJust also cultivate a liberal spirit. When they un. d the principles of economical science, they will te that it is their interest so to act. Suppose a ceriss of workmen should succeed in preventing others Leing brought into the trade, and by reducing their s below the actual demand, that they should obtain | aner rate of wages. It is obvious that this would not he rate of wages in general; but that, on the conWhere Nature, Freedom, Art, smile hand in hand: it would depress it in other trades, because a greater Her women fair; her men robust for toil; wer of persons must enter into them. This, in the Her vigorous souls, high cultured as her soil; nstance, would be injurious to the workmen in other Her towns, where civic independence flings ; but the greater plenty of hands and lowness of The gauntlet down to senates, courts, and kings; would make those trades increase and flourish, Her works of art, resembling magic powers, the trade that was restricted by the injurious comHer mighty fleets, and learning's beauteous bowers.” on would decay. Perhaps this may be best underHe was on the eve of departing, when at a jubilee, he by an example; and, to keep clear of local prejuwe will suppose a silk manufacture to be established saw a lady, who attracted first his attention, and aftereds, and that the workmen combined together to pre-wards his love. He was successful in his suit, and his any others from learning the trade. As long as the marriage was only delayed whilst he revisited his master's tade continued to be flourishing and prosperous the court, on affairs of importance. Loth to hurt the pride manufacturer would continue to carry it on, of his Alpine friends, he made a stay of a month with abmit to an advance of wages; but he could not in them. Personal knowledge far from diminishing Julia's this works for want of hands. We are now sup- passion for him, of whom before she had only heard, the trade to be prosperous, and, of course, there it soon increased, on personal acquaintance, to such an e plenty of capital ready to be invested in it; and, extent, that he could not but perceive it. He felt bound, annot be invested in one place, it will be in some in honour and friendship, to disclose his circumstances Instead of the silk manufacture being established and engagement to her. xtended in Leeds, it would be driven out to some where the trade was free; and then capital would be sed, and the trade would flourish. Then let us sup bad trade to come, as there are fluctuations in all Where the manufacture is most extended it is conwith the most skill, and to the greatest advantage. aster manufacturer in Leeds, where the trade had njuriously crippled, would not be able to carry it on al terms with other places; and, unless he could rehis wages below those of other places, he would con

or abandon the trade.

am anxious to make this understood, because such act is highly detrimental to the town in which we and to the prosperity and increase of its manufac disgraceful, and in the long run injurious, to the duals who practise it; and what, if it does not bring e enactment of new restrictive laws, will, at least, te the good opinion of their best friends."

Literature, Criticism, &c.

THEODORIC; A POEM.

BY THOS. CAMPBELL, ESQ.

t. Campbell, well known as the author of the Plea of Hope, Gertrude of Wyoming, and numerous ler pieces, and also as the editor of the New Monthly azine, has lately published a poem, entitled Theodoric, mestic Tale, of which we now purpose to give some unt, accompanied with a few critical remarks, which suggest themselves to us. Most of the various fugipieces which follow in the same volume, have already eared before the public, and will, therefore, the less aire our attention.

is now so many years since this gentleman attracted lic admiration, by the first named of the above works, his talents are so well appreciated, that it will be use for us to say much on his peculiar style and excelcies. The better class of his poems is distinguished great power and nervousness, united to the most sical conciseness and elegance. His verses are never, very rarely, weak or diffusive; and yet they abound in tic fire and imagery. His intimate knowledge of eek literature has enabled him fully to avail himself of exquisite models that language affords, so that his le, in a peculiar degree, possesses what is called a Greekness" of expression.

But, to turn to the work we have before us-The

"And yet with gracefully ingenuous power,
Her spirit met th' explanatory hour;→→→
Ev'n conscious beauty brighten'd in her eyes,
That told she knew their love no vulgar prizet
And pride, like that of one more woman grown,
Enlarged her mien,-enriched her voice's tone.”

He left them, having charged both herself and her mother
to eradicate this fruitless attachment from her breast, re-
turned to England, and received the hand of Constance.
For a time his happiness was perfect. Constance's rela-
tions were, however, unfortunately very different from her.

"Amidst her kindred there was strife and gall;
Save one congenial sister, they were all
Such foils to her bright intellect and grace,
As if she had engrossed the virtue of her race.
Her nature strove the unnatural feuds to heal,
Her wisdom made the weak to her appeal;
And though the wounds she cured were soon unclosed,
Unwearied still her kindness interposed."

In the meantime, his native land was revisited by war,
and he resolved to return there, to share its dangers.
Constance apparently assented to his desire for her to re-
main behind, but inwardly she determined to be his_com-
panion. Her continual absence from home hurt Theo-
doric's feelings. His wife soon discovered it, and with
agitated mind hastened to explain her intention of going
abroad with him. Meanwhile Udolph made his appear-
ance, to inform Theodoric that Julia was in a dying state,
and wished to see him before she expired. It was resolved,
by his wife's express desire, that Theodoric should attend
his friend, and should return as soon as possible for Con-
stance. He went; and whilst standing by Julia's death-
bed, was recalled to England, to attend his dying consort.
Quite distracted, he returned home, frantically reproach-
ing himself for having ever blamed her inattention to him,
imagining that he had thus wounded her feelings, and
caused her malady. His wife had breathed her last in
premature child-birth. It was but a poor consolation to
find that her illness had been brought on by some savage
reproaches which her unnatural mother, angered at her
intention of going abroad with Theodoric, had vented
upon her. The poem concludes with a letter she had
written for him, which he receives after her death, and
which is, perhaps, its most beautiful part. In its style
and classical elegance, it reminds us of those almost ini-
mitable epistles of the Roman poet, Ovid. We shall,
though of some length, present it to our readers.

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Rave not to learn the usage I have borne,
For one true sister left me not forlorn;
And though you're absent in another land,
Sent from me by my own well-meant command,
Your soul, I know, as firm is knit to mine
As these clasped hands in blessing you now joint
Shape not imagined horrors in my fate-
Ev'n now my suff'rings are not very great;
And when your grief's first transports shall subside,
I call upon your strength of soul and pride
To pay my memory, if 'tis worth the debt,
Love's glorying tribute-not forlorn regret:
I charge my name with power to conjure up
Reflection's balmy-not its bitter cup.

My pard'ning angel, at the gates of heaven
Shall look not more regard than you have given
To me; and our life's union has been clad
In smiles of bliss as sweet as life e'er had.
Shall gloom be from such bright remembrance east?
Shall bitterness out-flow from sweetness past?
No! imaged in the sanctuary of your breast,
There let me smile, amidst high thoughts at rest;
And let contentment on your spirit shine,
As if its peace were still a part of mine:
For if you war not proudly with your pain,
For you I shall have worse than lived in vain.
But I conjure your manliness to bear

My loss with noble spirit—not despair:

I ask you by our love to promise this,

And kiss those words where I have left a kiss,---
The latest from my living lips to yours."

Such is the outline of this poem. After the above ex quisitely beautiful extract, we can hardly find it in our hearts to say any thing to detract from the merit of the poem. It is not, however, in our opinion, equal, as a whole, to "Gertrude of Wyoming." The principal cause of this inferiority, is the inferiority of its plot; but it may also, in a minor degree. be attributed to a want of consistency in the style. This latter fault is, we think, occa sioned by efforts at simplicity, which often sink into insig nificancy, sometimes almost into puerility, of expression. His Ritter Bann," (the least deserving of his produo tions, which we are acquainted with, and one of the smaller pieces in this volume) will support this assertion and many passages from the present poem might readily be adduced, had we not in our view the more grateful object of selecting its beauties.

It is in his minor productions that Mr. Campbell is nnrivalled and inimitable. We consider," says an American critic, with great justness, in a life of this poet, which we have now before us, his Mariners of England,' and The Battle of the Baltic,' as two of the noblest national songs we have ever seen. They contain sublime imagery and lofty sentiments, but are totally free from that hyperbole and national rodomontade which ge nerally disgrace this species of poetry." The following spirited song, from the present collection, indisputably merits the same praise. With it, we shall close these remarks.

"Men of England! who inherit

Rights that cost your sires their blood!
Men, whose undegenerate spirit

Has been proved on land and flood:---
By the foes ye've fought uncounted,

By the the glorious deeds ye've done,
Trophies captured-breaches mounted,
Navies conquered-kingdoms won!
Yet, remember, England gathers
Hence, but fruitless wreaths of fame,
If the feelings of your fathers*
Glow not in your hearts the same.
What are monuments of bravery,
Where no public virtues bloom?
What avail, in lands of slavery,
Trophied temples, arch, and tomb?
Pageants! Let the world revere us
From our people's rights and lawn
And the breasts of civic heroes

Bared in freedom's holy cause.
Yours are Hampden's, Russell's glory,
Sidney's matchless shade is yours,
Martyrs in heroic story,

Worth a hundred Agincourts ↓
We're the sons of sires that baffled

Crowned and mitred tyranny:-
They defied the field and scaffold

For their birthrights so will we?
London, Feb. 1825.

Mr. Campbell has written this line, "If the patriotism of
your fathers."
As it stood, it was evidently in bad measure,
we have therefore taken the liberty of altering it.

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