figures have moustaches and large round beards, except one, which has the beard separated into three forks. A long kiteformed shield, suspended from the neck, hangs on the left side of each, ornamented with various devices, approaching, in some instances, very closely to heraldic distinctions. Beneath the shield appears the sword, which is fastened round the waist by a belt, and in the right hand each knight carries a massive spear. The leg has, apparently, a covering of some sort down to the ancle, where it is met by a species of half-boot, without spur. The horses are caparisoned in high saddles, plain or ornamented; saddle-cloths, curiously bordered, stirrups, and bridles; the mane is cut short, and the hair suffered to grow down on the forehead. On one of the shields is a cross, bearing a lozenge, plain; on another is an ornamented lozenge, and the remainder are variously indented with crosses and other ornaments. The WARDERS are armed warriors, (Hrókr, in Icelandic) which here take the place of the rook or castle, and are represented in a standing attitude, wearing helmets of various shapes, but chiefly conical, some with and others without flaps. The pawns are of various shapes and sizes, but chiefly octagonal, with conical terminations; on one is a fretlike ornament, and on another some scroll-like adornment; the others are plain. It is alleged by Mr. Madden, that these chess-men "were executed in Iceland, about the middle of the twelfth century," and he establishes that fact by reference to the material of which they are composed, to the general costume of the figures, and the peculiar forms of some of them, to the locality in which they were found, and to "the testimonies of numerous writers in ancient and modern times, touching the existence of the game of chess in Scandinavia, and the skill of the natives in carving similar figures." The estimation wherein the tusks of the walrus, from which these chess-men were unquestionably carved, were held by the northern nations, rendered them a present worthy of royalty. CARDS. SOME writers tell us that cards are of modern invention, and were merely intended to divert a French monarch during a fit of the gout; but others assert them of great antiquity—that they came from Egypt, and were originally meant to be the vehicles of much useful instruction, instead of being what they have since proved to be—the bane of society. The colours are two, red and black, which answer the two equinoxes. The suits are four, answering to the four seasons. Their emblems formerly were, and still are, in Spain-for the heart a cup, the emblem of winter: the spade an acorn, the emblem of autumn: the club a trefoil, the emblem of summer: the diamond a rose, the emblem of spring: the twelve court cards answer to the twelve months, and were formerly depicted as the signs of the zodiac. The fifty-two cards answer to the number of weeks in the year-the thirteen cards in each suit to the number of weeks in a lunar quarter. The aggregate of the pips calculated, in the following manner, amount to the number of days in a CARDS AND TENNIS. Cards and tennis were invented by the Lydians, a people of Asia Minor, among whom, according to antiquarians, all games had their origin:-These people were so much addicted to gaiety, that to express a light and careless action, it was said proverbially, to be done Lydio more. PARISIAN GAMBLING. The vice of gambling has increased so fearfully in Paris, since the revolution, that it is thought deserving the special castigation of the press. A new weekly paper, devoted exclusively to this purpose, made its first appearance a short time since, entitled L'Espion des Jeux, or "Spy upon the Gaming-tables." In the prospectus, the editor, who gives his name, pledges himself fearlessly to expose the names of the domestic agents of the various "hells" of the metropolis, the country travellers to these establishments, en coleurs de jouers novices, the " rooks," and, lastly, the unfortunate " pigeon," with details of all the dreadful consequences which this infatuation leads to,-suicides, robbery, desertions of family, divorces, &c. It is calculated, that the daily outlay of the Parisian establishments cannot be less than 7201, the tax they pay to government 2007., and their profits 600l., whilst they supply about a third of all the suicides for the year. At the head of this little periodical is a spirited vignette of a gambler, rushing from the noted 113, in the Palais-Royal, desperately intent upon self-destruction, and a woman and child, on their knees, supplicating him to change his purpose. In the distance is another victim, throwing himself from a bridge into the water below. ENGLISH, IRISH, AND SCOTTISH BEAUTY. IT has been said by some one, that no woman is capable of inspiring love, fixing affection, and making a man happy. We are far less influenced by outward loveliness than we imagine. Men speak with admiration, and write with rapture, of the beauty which the artist loves, which, like genius in the system of Gall, is ascertained by scale and compass; but in practice, see how they despise those splendid theories, and yield to a sense of beauty and loveliness, of which the standard is in their own hearts. It is not the elegance of form, for that is often imperfect; it is not in loveliness of face, for there nature has been perchance neglectful; nor is it in the charm of sentiment or sweet words, for even among women there is an occasional lack of that; neither is it in the depth of their feelings, nor in the sincerity of their affection, that their whole power over man springs from. Yet every woman, beautiful or not, has that power more or less; and every man yields to its influence. The women of all nations are beautiful. Female beauty, in the limited sense of the word, is that outward form and proportion, which corresponds with the theories of poets and the rules of artists-of which every nation has examples, and of which every woman has a share. But beauty, beauty, by a more natural definition of the word, is that indescribable charm, that union of many qualities of person, and mind, and heart, which insures to man the greatest proportion of happiness. One of our best poets has touched on this matter with the wisdom of inspiration; these are his words:— "She dwelt among the untrodden ways A maid whom there were none to praise, She lived unknown, and few could know But she is in her grave, and, oh! This was a maiden something more to the purpose than the slender damsels whom academies create on canvass, or of whom some bachelor bards dream. The Poet of Rydal Mount is a married man, and knows from what sources domestic happiness comes. The gossamer creations of the fancy, were they transformed to breathing flesh and blood, would never do for a man's bosom. Those delicate aërial visions, those personified zephyrs, are decidedly unfit for the maternal wear and tear of the world, and would never survive the betrothing. Not so the buxom dames of our two fine islands. It was the intention of nature, that they should be the mothers of warriors, and poets, and philosophers, and historians, of men of sense and science; and she formed them for the task. Look at them move along. If art with its scale, and its compasses, and its eternal chant of "the beau ideal-the beau ideal," had peopled the world, we would have been a nation of ninnies, our isles would have been filled with lay figures and beings, "beautiful exceedingly," but loveless, joyless, splendidly silly, and elegantly contemptible. It has been better ordered. I have looked much on man, and more on woman. The world presents a distinct image of my own perception of beauty; and from the decisions of true love, I could lay down the law of human affection, and the universal sense entertained respecting female loveliness. There is no need to be profound, there is no occasion for research; look on wedded society, it is visible to all. There, a man very plain, is linked to a woman very lovely; a creature as silent as marble, to one eloquent, fluent, and talkative; a very tall man, to a very little woman; a very portly lady, to a man, short, slender, and attenuated; the brown weds the black, and the white the golden; personal deformities are not in the way of affection; love contradicts all our theories of loveliness, and happiness has no more to do with beauty, than a good crop of corn has with the personal looks of him who sowed the seed. The question, therefore, which some simple person has put, which of the three kingdoms has the most beautiful ladies?' is one of surpassing absurdity. Who would ever think of going forth with rules of ENGLISH, IRISH, AND SCOTTISH BEAUTY. 429 artists in their hands, and scraps of idle verse on their lips, to measure and adjust the precedence of beauty in the three nations? Who shall say which is the fairest flower of the field, which is the brightest of the stars of heaven? One loves the daisy for its modesty, another the rose for its splendour, and a third the lily for its purity; and they are all right. We know not, indeed, by our natural theory of female loveliness, which of the nations has the most beautiful women, because we know not which of them is the happiest. Wherever there is most bosom tranquillity, most domestic happiness, there beauty reigns in all its strength. Look at that mud hovel on one of the wild hills of Ireland; smoke is streaming from door and window; a woman, to six healthy children and a happy husband, is portioning out a simple and scanty meal: she is a good mother and an affectionate wife; and though tinged with smoke and touched by care, she is warmly beloved; she is lovely in her husband's eye, and therefore beautiful. Go into yon Scottish cottage; there is a clean floor, a bright fire, merry children, a thrifty wife, and a husband who is nursing the youngest child and making a whistle for the eldest. The woman is lovely and beautiful, and an image of thrift and good housewifery, beyond any painter's creation; her husband believes her beautiful too, and whilst making the little instrument of melody to please his child, he thinks of the rivals from whom he won her, and how fair she is, compared to all her early companions. Or here is a house at hand, hemmed round with fruit-trees and flowers, while the blossoming tassels of honeysuckle perfume us as we pass in at the door. Enter and behold that English woman, out of keeping with all the rules of academic beauty, full and ample in her person, her cheeks glowing with vulgar health, her eyes shining with quiet happiness, her children swarming like summer bees, her house shining like a new clock, and her movements as regular as one of Murray's chronometers. There sits her husband, a sleek, contented man, well fed, clean lodged, and softly handled, who glories in the good looks and sagacity of his wife, and eyes her affectionately as he holds the shining tankard to his lips, and swallows slowly and with protracted delight, the healthy beverage which she has brewed. Now, that is a beautiful woman; and why is she beautiful? She is beautiful, because the gentleness of her nature and the kindness of her heart throw a household halo around her person, adorning her as a honeysuckle adorns an ordinary tree, and impressing her mental image on our minds. Such is beauty in my sight-a creation more honourable to nature, and more beneficial to man, and in itself infinitely more lovely, even to look upon, than those shapes |