ago, are either not powerful enough to suppress these fearfuling twenty-four hours-and started full of expectation. gangs, or they are indifferent to their depredations; some are even said to connive at the robberies committed, and quietly to share the booty. One little village called Itri, through which we passed, situated in the very heart of the mountains, is entirely inhabited by brigands. As we stopped to change horses, groups of them assembled to gaze at us. It was a festa-day with them, and we saw this lawless people in full costume; their high conical hats wreathed with ribbons, and their waists encircled by a scarf of brilliant colours, from which peeped out the pistols, implements of their fierce trade. Many had fine faces, bright flashing eyes, and bronzed complexions; but in almost all the expression was dark and sinister, and I turned from them with a kind of terror; murder and crime seemed written in every line of their countenances." In about three quarters of an hour we reached a wide current of lava-that of 1810; it was like a frozen Styx. Our guide pointed out to us the streams of lava of 1819, 1822, and 1833. Miss Taylor observes, that at Naples it is more difficult for an English person to understand the people than at Rome, on account of the Italian language, in the Neapolitan dialect, being distorted and clipped of so many of its liquid sounds as scarcely to be recognised. It is a long standing joke against our countrymen, that they draw their stock of conversation abroad from the Manuel des Voyageurs, and our authoress introduces an anecdote in comic illustration of this: "Three English gentlemen, fatigued by the ascent of a steep hill, separately entered a café. On arriving one by one, they called for wine; the first, finding it very good, praised it, adding, "Si vive bene in questo paese !"* The second came, was equally pleased, and expressed his approbation in the same words: "Si vive bene in questo paese!" When the third entered, and began-" Si vive bene," his companions and the landlord could not refrain from laughing, and the cause being explained, all joined heartily in the merriment." The museum at Naples contains, among other curiosities, several remains from Pompeii. In reference to these latter Miss Taylor relates an anecdote, constituting another proof, according to the words of Solomon, that there "is nothing new under the suu." "In one case, amongst many curiosities, were some pills, rather black and flattened, but still easily recognised; we saw also an instrument, of which the following fact is related. A Parisian surgeon of some eminence had expended much time and skill on the invention of a surgical instrument; it had been received by the faculty, and he had obtained a patent for it. When travelling in Italy some years afterwards, he was amazed to find among the relics of Pompeii the identical instrument-constructed perhaps with less care, and finished with less nicety, but formed on the same principle." Of course, Herculaneum and Pompeii are both visited, and a very entertaining account is here given of them. Some of Miss Taylor's party ascend Vesuvius at the time of an approaching eruption. This was a bold attempt on the part of females; and with her graphic description of the adventure, we are reluctantly compelled to close our account of these most valuable and interesting volumes: "We soon arrived at the foot of the cone, and were obliged to leave our donkeys, and commit ourselves to the mercy of twelve portantini or bearers. The soil is so loose, and the ascent so frightfully steep, that no animal except man can find a footing. I do not remember ever in my life to have been so entirely overcome with terror as in the scene which followed. The ladies of our party were placed in small armchairs, fastened upon long poles, which the men supported on their shoulders. Imagine what it was to be thus lifted up by twelve men, who sank knee-deep in the ashes at every step, and whose footing was so uncertain and irregular that I was one minute thrown on one side of the chair, and the next flung violently forward, and then as suddenly jerked back again. All the time the men screamed, as Neapolitans only can scream. The portantini who were carrying one of my friends fell down all at once, and this was the signal for my bearers to rush past them, yelling with delight; so wild and uncivilized a set of beings you never saw, and the noise they made was something quite unearthly. I completely lost my presence of mind, and in piteous tones besought the men to let me get down and walk; but instead of heeding my entreaties, they only raced on the more desperately. "When I reached the summit, after having endured this terror for three-quarters of an hour, I sat down, and buried my face in my hands, unable to speak. After a little, when I raised my eyes and looked around, what words can picture to you the scene that presented itself! We were standing on the edge of the large basin, in the centre of which were the craters in action. When all our party were assembled, we followed our guide, and proceeded towards them, scrambling over rocks of hot lava, and stepping across deep chasms, from which rose a hot sulphurous exhalation. I can never forget the feelings of that moment. * * "We stopped on a high point of lava, and looked into the mighty caldron beneath us; loud subterranean noises were heard from time to time-the mountain seemed shaken to its centre; then columus of bright clear flame spouted forth from the crater, succeeded by volumes of dense black smoke; red hot stones and masses of rock were hurled hundreds of feet into the air, some falling back into the crater, while others, dashed into a thousand pieces, were scattered around. After standing on this pinnacle for some time, the guide led I felt that I had the way to the very edge of the crater. seen enough, and begged to be left behind, being indeed too cowardly to venture on; the rest of the party, however, had sufficient courage and curiosity to explore further. I asked our guide if there was really any danger; he looked at me earnestly, and simply said, "Signorina gentilissima, ho sei Could any words have conveyed a piccolini in casa!!"* stronger assurance than this touching appeal? It gave me courage, and I proceeded with the others. And now we stood beside the crater; and as each volley of smoke and flame subsided, we peeped into the abyss. Then came a hollow fearful sound; the earth beneath us trembled, the smoke and flame again ascended, stones were shot up into "Before the next day closed, however, we had seen nature the air high above our heads. Suddenly the wind changed, in a new and awful form; we had ascended Vesuvius, and and our position was by no means an enviable one; the witnessed the beginning of a volcanic eruption. Before quit smoke and sulphurous vapour were blown towards us, and ting Naples, we heard reports that an approaching tumult red hot stones fell in showers around. Every one was now in the morning was anticipated: volleys of smoke ascended terrified: we fled like a herd of startled deer, and scramfrom time to time from the crater, or lay curled in clouds on bling up the hill as fast as the loose and slippery soil would the summit; loud noises too were heard on the permit, only turned to look back when we had reached the mountain, and it was rumoured that fire had been seen by top. We were now content with a more distant view, and night. Upon reaching the house of Salvator at Resina, the lingered long near the crater, reluctant to leave a spot which principal Vesuvius guide, he told us that the mountain was we were so unlikely ever to visit again. At length we prein action, that a new crater had been opened the night be-pared to descend the mountain." fore, and was sending forth flames and stones. We speedily mounted our donkeys-poor miserable little creatures, which had already been up the mountain twice during the preced "One lives well in this country." G. "Gentle lady, I have six little children at home!!" [Perhaps it would be difficult to match this answer for ingenuity, wit, or pathos.-Rev.] conceived the idea of measuring time by the stroke of the pendulum, whilst watching the vibration of a lamp suspended from the ceiling. These facts, simple in themselves, but so important in their results, lend a charm to this spot; it is something to stand upon the same pavement which Galileo once trod." From Pisa, our fair traveller goes to Florence-“Firenza la bella." After a brief account of the most remarkable facts in Florentine history-of the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines-of Dante, and the revival of literature under the Medici,-of Savonarola, and the fall of the Republic, we are introduced to the existing monuments of Florentine renown. Miss Taylor is a connoisseuse in art, and some of the most attractive portions of her work, are her remarks upon those paintings of the old masters that fell under her regards. She dwells instructively on the architecture of Florence, and then takes a brief review of the history of Art, as it rose from the dark ages. Of its earliest cultivators may be mentioned the names of Cimabue, Giotto, and Fra Angelico Da Fiesole, as belonging to the Florentine school. "How touchingly beautiful," says Miss Taylor, "is the character of Fra Angelico, chastened by a holy simplicity and purity of feeling which seem to belong more to heaven than earth! He was perhaps the most unsullied representative of the early christian school of art, in which no earthly passions mingled, no jarring rudeness, or unhallowed thought, ever sullied the sanctity and beauty of faith." How pleasingly coincident with the tenor of these observations is the view which Mr. Reeve takes of the character of the same artist, in the little work* which we have already noticed in these pages! Under the painter's name are these lines: "How calm and beautiful, when Art was young, Ere his deep power was strained by passions rude, Pure as the lily in her own long hauds, Bent like some humbler flower, the Virgin stands, Whilst by the grace which from her forehead shone, The Church made Art's great progeny its own." Our authoress lingers con amore over the great masters and their works deposited in the Florence Gallery, especially the statue of the Venus de Medici. "I could not help laughing," says she, "to see a gentleman, (an American, I believe,) after gazing in speechless delight at the statue, turn to leave the room, and on reaching the curtain which covers the entrance, look back and kiss his hand to her, uttering at the same time a gentle "Addio!" Want of space forbids our dwelling on this very interesting portion of the work, but we cannot resist quoting, before we leave it, one very excellent passage: "I can pretend to little knowledge of the rules of art, and must be content to look at the works which are presented to my notice with an unpractised eye; a fervent love of the beautiful must compensate for want of scientific knowledge. A passage quoted from Plato which I met with the other day pleased me: In beholding daily,' says he,' the master-pieces of painting, sculpture, and architecture, full of grace and purity in all their proportions, we learn to observe with accuracy what is lovely or defective in the works of nature or art, and this happy rectitude of judgment will become a second nature to our souls.'-I cannot describe the effect which painting and sculpture produce on my mind; it is strange, and almost overpowering, and awakens thoughts and feelings which are as novel as they are delightful. He who walks throu h the world with no love of art, or perception of its power and influence, may well be said to have one sense asleep, and to lose a source of pure and exalted pleasure. God has implanted in our nature the love of the beautiful, and as we meet with nearer and nearer approaches to its perfec "Graphidae, or Characteristics of Painters." By Henry Reeve, Esq. tion, in character, in form, or in the various combinations in which beauty is presented to us, our hearts glow in proportion with delight, and our thoughts rise to Him who is the source of all that is true, and beautiful, and good. Art appeals to the feeling of truth within us; through the feelings it speaks to the heart, and awakens our noblest faculties. In saying this, I look at what its tendencies might be, more than chat they actually are; in proportion as the pursuit of art is followed in a spirit of trade, for the wealth that it procures, rather than the mental delight which it so richly affords, its character must decline. There is, however, a pleasure in reflecting that although artists may vary at different periods in excellence with the shifting influences of society, ART remains unchanged, its powers immutable, its purposes pure and noble." At Florence, Miss Taylor's party engaged a Vetturino to convey them to Rome, travelling at about the rate of thirty miles in seven hours! They stopped for an hour at Sienna, and then proceeded on to Monte fiascone, travelling her account of them at this place is worth where they encountered some of the miseries of foreign quoting: house, half stable, I mounted by a steep narrow staircase to "Following my dear friends through a place half coach. our saloon, which, with its high-sounding name, we would gladly have exchanged for a clean English kitchen. The first glimpse I caught of it was enough, and I think we should have retreated very quickly to the carriage could we have had horses to take us on; but there were none, and those of our Vetturino were too much tired to proceed further. Patience, therefore, was our only remedy; so ordering a fire, we sat down to await the slow advent of dinner, with all the comfort of four doors and as many windows blowing on us, with the addition of volleys of smoke from the wide chimney, a stone floor, (uncarpeted of course,) and chill blasts which nothing could keep out. At length came il pranzo,-hot water soup, with cheese grated into it, a rough chicken which no knife could penetrate, one pigeon, and five larks!-these, with two wretched chops, furnished forth our feast: you may suppose how soon it was dismissed. The fame of Montefias. cone rests upon the reputation of its wine, and the inhabitants seem to despise so simple a luxury as milk, we at least could get none, and waited for our coffee in vain. To our beds at last we were driven, cold, hungry, and weary, but the less said of them the better." Arrived at Rome, the remainder of the first volume, by far the greater part of it, is taken up with a description of "the eternal city." authoress sets before us of the most interesting objects The various pictures which the that here engaged her attention, are in all respects so truly instructive and clever, that we are puzzled which to prefer. We shall, therefore, with this general commendation, leave this portion of the work, and proceed to the second volume. From Rome our traveller goes to Naples, the general route, passing through Velletri, Terracina, Mola di Gaeta, and Capua Her allusion to the brigands who infest these parts is interesting: "We now entered the wild mountainous country which extends far to the south of Terracina, and has become famous as the scene of the daring exploits of bands of brigands who infest this region. These attacks have of late years decreased in number, but they are by no means at an end. The police, though more effective than they were some years * It is related that an ecclesiastical dignitary was once journeying from Germany to Rome; and being an excellent lover of good wine, he sent a servant on before him to taste the wine in each town they passed through, desiring him to inscribe the word "Est" on the door of those inns where he should find good wine. The eyes of his reverence sparkled with joy when on arriving at Montefiascone he saw "Est!Est!!!-(much as to say, "good-better-best!") written up. Unhappily it was only too good for the traveller he stopped, tasted, drank, and died. Est!! ago, are either not powerful enough to suppress these fearful gangs, or they are indifferent to their depredations; some are even said to connive at the robberies committed, and quietly to share the booty. One little village called Itri, through which we passed, situated in the very heart of the mountains, is entirely inhabited by brigands. As we stopped to change horses, groups of them assembled to gaze at us. It was a festa-day with them, and we saw this lawless people in full costume; their high conical hats wreathed with ribbons, and their waists encircled by a scarf of brilliant colours, from which peeped out the pistols, implements of their fierce trade. Many had fine faces, bright flashing eyes, and bronzed complexions; but in almost all the expression was dark and sinister, and I turned from them with a kind of terror; murder and crime seemed written in every line of their coun tenances." Miss Taylor observes, that at Naples it is more difficult for an English person to understand the people than at Rome, on account of the Italian language, in the Neapolitan dialect, being distorted and clipped of so many of its liquid sounds as scarcely to be recognised. It is a long standing joke against our countrymen, that they draw their stock of conversation abroad from the Manuel des Voyageurs, and our authoress introduces an anecdote in comic illustration of this: "Three English gentlemen, fatigued by the ascent of a steep hill, separately entered a café. On arriving one by one, they called for wine; the first, finding it very good, praised it, adding, "Si vive bene in questo paese!"* The second came, was equally pleased, and expressed his approbation in the same words: "Si vive bene in questo paese!" When the third entered, and began-" Si vive bene," his companions and the landlord could not refrain from laughing, and the cause being explained, all joined heartily in the merriment." The museum at Naples contains, among other curiosities, several remains from Pompeii. In reference to these latter Miss Taylor relates an anecdote, constituting another proof, according to the words of Solomon, that there is nothing new under the sun." "In one case, amongst many curiosities, were some pills, rather black and flattened, but still easily recognised; we saw also an instrument, of which the following fact is related. A Parisian surgeon of some eminence had expended much time and skill on the invention of a surgical instrument; it had been received by the faculty, and he had obtained a patent for it. When travelling in Italy some years afterwards, he was amazed to find among the relics of Pompeii the identical instrument-constructed perhaps with less care, and finished with less nicety, but formed on the same principle." Of course, Herculaneum and Pompeii are both visited, and a very entertaining account is here given of them. Some of Miss Taylor's party ascend Vesuvius at the time of an approaching eruption. This was a bold attempt on the part of females; and with her graphic description of the adventure, we are reluctantly compelled to close our account of these most valuable and interesting volumes: * ing twenty-four hours-and started full of expectation. "We soon arrived at the foot of the cone, and were obliged to leave our donkeys, and commit ourselves to the mercy of twelve portantini or bearers. The soil is so loose, and the ascent so frightfully steep, that no animal except man can find a footing. I do not remember ever in my life to have been so entirely overcome with terror as in the scene which followed. The ladies of our party were placed in small armchairs, fastened upon long poles, which the men supported on their shoulders. Imagine what it was to be thus lifted up by twelve men, who sank knee-deep in the ashes at every step, and whose footing was so uncertain and irregular that I was one minute thrown on one side of the chair, and the next flung violently forward, and then as suddenly jerked back again. All the time the men screamed, as Neapolitans only can scream. The portantini who were carrying one of my friends fell down all at once, and this was the signal for my bearers to rush past them, yelling with delight; so wild and uncivilized a set of beings you never saw, and the noise they made was something quite unearthly. I completely lost my presence of mind, and in piteous tones besought the men to let me get down and walk; but instead of heeding my entreaties, they only raced on the more desperately. "When I reached the summit, after having endured this terror for three-quarters of an hour, I sat down, and buried my face in my hands, unable to speak. After a little, when I raised my eyes and looked around, what words can picture to you the scene that presented itself! We were standing on the edge of the large basin, in the centre of which were the craters in action. When all our party were assembled, we followed our guide, and proceeded towards them, scrambling over rocks of hot lava, and stepping across deep chasms, from which rose a hot sulphurous exhalation. I can never forget the feelings of that moment. "We stopped on a high point of lava, and looked into the mighty caldron beneath us; loud subterranean noises were heard from time to time-the mountain seemed shaken to its centre; then columns of bright clear flame spouted forth from the crater, succeeded by volumes of dense black smoke; red hot stones and masses of rock were hurled hundreds of feet into the air, some falling back into the crater, while others, dashed into a thousand pieces, were scattered around. After standing on this pinnacle for some time, the guide led I felt that I had the way to the very edge of the crater. seen enough, and begged to be left behind, being indeed too cowardly to venture on; the rest of the party, however, had sufficient courage and curiosity to explore further. I asked our guide if there was really any danger; he looked at me earnestly, and simply said, “Signorina gentilissima, ho sei Could any words have conveyed a piccolini in casa!!* stronger assurance than this touching appeal? It gave me courage, and I proceeded with the others. And now we stood beside the crater; and as each volley of smoke and flame subsided, we peeped into the abyss. Then came a hollow fearful sound; the earth beneath us trembled, the smoke and flame again ascended, stones were shot up into the air high above our heads. Suddenly the wind changed, and our position was by no means an enviable one; the smoke and sulphurous vapour were blown towards us, and red hot stones fell in showers around. Every one was now terrified: we fled like a herd of startled deer, and scrambling up the hill as fast as the loose and slippery soil would permit, only turned to look back when we had reached the top. We were now content with a more distant view, and lingered long near the crater, reluctant to leave a spot which we were so unlikely ever to visit again. At length we preG. "Before the next day closed, however, we had seen nature in a new and awful form; we had ascended Vesuvius, and witnessed the beginning of a volcanic eruption. Before quit ting Naples, we heard reports that an approaching tumult in the morning was anticipated: volleys of smoke ascended from time to time from the crater, or lay curled in clouds on the summit; loud noises too were heard on the mountain, and it was rumoured that fire had been seen by night. Upon reaching the house of Salvator at Resina, the principal Vesuvius guide, he told us that the mountain was in action, that a new crater had been opened the night be-pared to descend the mountain." fore, and was sending forth flames and stones. We speedily mounted our donkeys-poor miserable little creatures, which had already been up the mountain twice during the preced "One lives well in this country." "Gentle lady, I have six little children at home!!" [Perhaps it would be difficult to match this answer for ingenuity, wit, or pathos.-Rev.] Varieties. Longevity.-There is a French gentleman, of the name of Pouché, now residing in Castle-street, Leicester-square, London, who has reached the patriarchal age of 107. He is in the almost perfect possession of his faculties. See his portrait in the exhibition of the Royal Academy. Fossil.-An immense fossil elephant, at a depth of twenty feet below the surface, has been just discovered, in the wealden formation of the Marden-hill, at Maidstone, during the excavation of the cutting for the South-Eastern Railway. Ringing the Changes.-One, speaking of the wind, said it was the most changeable thing in the world; " for I went," says he, "up Cheapside in the morning, and it was at my back; and in less than half-an-hour afterwards, when I returned, I found it in my face." Ancient Manufacture of Iron and Steel in Lancashire.The manufacture of iron and steel in this county can be satisfactorily traced to the Conquest. Hugh Lupus, one of the Conqueror's generals, had a grant of the country about Cheshire and Lancashire, and established himself at Halton Castle, near Runcorn. He brought with him a body of armourers from Normandy. These were skilful men, and laid the foundation of the fame of this neighbourhood for the manufacture of iron. Tool-making was not unknown then, especially the art of file making. A woman's heart is "licensed to carry not exceeding one inside." The man who bit off another man's ear in Charleston has been bound to keep the piece! Captain Basil Hall.--Letters from Alexandria, on the 24th ult. state, that Captain Basil Hall and family, after having completed their tour to Thebes, in Upper Egypt, proceeded to Syria, and completed no less successfully a visit to the Holy Land, having even, as we hear, made an excursion to the river Jordan and the Red Sea, which is rather an arduous undertaking for ladies and children. This family party of travellers have gone on to Greece and Constantinople, items which, after Upper Egypt and Palestine, must be comparatively easy. Our correspondent adds, what our readers already know, that there is no truth in the report of Captain Hall's boat having been upset. Most people, how. ever, think that he went too late in the season-not so much on account of the heat (as Upper Egypt is always healthy), as on account of the lowness of the Nile. This circumstance rendered the voyage in so large a boat as Captain Hall was obliged to take extremely difficult, and, though not dangerous, very tiresome, on account of the numerous shoals, on which such a boat as alone could commodiously stow a party of seven persons, four being ladies, often stuck fast four hours together.-Blackburn Standard. We trust that we may expect a very entertaining record of these Travels, on Captain Hall's return. Example better than precept.-A father seeing his son doing mischief, cried out, "Sirrah, did you ever see me do so when I was a boy?" The Rabbit on the Wall,'- -one of the best known of Wilkie's pictures, painted in 1816, has been sold for 700 guineas. In a country news-room the following notice is written over the chimney :-"Gentlemen learning to spell are requested to use yesterday's paper!" Afghan Physiognomy.-The Afghans have a science called 66 Kisfa," and which seems something between phrenology and physiognomy. Not only the eyebrows, nose, and features generally, but even the beard, form the discriminating marks, instead of the bumps of the skull as with our sapient professors; and the result of experience is recorded in sundry pithy axioms, such as the following :-A tall man with a long beard is a fool; a man with a beard issuing from his throat is a simpleton; an open forehead bespeaks wealth and plenty. The science is further developed in various couplets, some of the most curious of which may thus be rendered-He that has red eyes is ever ready to fight; and who has thick lips is a warrior. Hope for liberality from him whose arms are ong; and fear not the outrage of one with a thick waist. Men of small stature are often deceitful; and so are those with deep-seated eyes and thin noses. Those who have soft hair are of good disposition, but those whose locks are hard are otherwise. Open nostrils are proofs of a tyrant; and large teeth of little wisdom. Large ears give hopes of long life; and spare ancles of activity in the race. The man who has the arch of the foot large cannot walk far, but the flattened foot tires not.—Travels in Cabool. Encyclopa dia Britannica.-Lord Brougham, in his recent speech on the proposed Copyright Act, observed: "if any work deserved to be encouraged by Parliament, it was this, (the Ency. Brit.) and if any work was not only valuable and useful, but absolutely necessary for the country, it was this." The publishers have not failed to tack this exaggerated eulogium to their advertisements, but it will, doubtless, be received à discretion by the public. In repeated references to the work in question, we have found it decidedly inferior to the Penny Cyclopædia of the Useful Knowledge Society: for example, compare the article "Cotton Manufacture" in each work. Muscat. In the accounts of the presents to the Queen recently received from Zanzibar, the sovereign is again erroneously styled "the Imaum" instead of "the Sultan" of Muscat. (See p. 230 of our last volume, in which this error is explained.) Preston Guild.—A week's guild, commencing September 5, will be held at Preston, according to custom in this borough for upwards of 500 years. The original objects of the guild were for the purpose of renewing and granting freedom to the burgesses; but, like most other municipal meetings of the kind, its principal business has long been festivity, and the privilege of eating and drinking. Honour to Genius.-The King of Prussia has added a "Peace Class" to the Order of Merit, originally constituted for the army. Among the foreign members are Faraday, Herschel, and Moore. Baron Humboldt is the Chancellor. The Rose-water of Kashmir is surprisingly fine, but there is nothing extraordinary in the way it is made. The atar is procured from trebly-distilled rose-water, which is boiled and poured into a basin over night; whilst the rose-water is still hot, the basin is placed two-thirds deep in a running stream, and in the morning the atar appears like oil on the surface of the water, and is carefully scraped off with a blade of grass bent in the shape of a Y. It is said that a small bottle of atar is the produce of 700 or 800 pounds of roseleaves.-Vigne's Travels. The Doctor puzzled.-A gentleman who was very lame in one of his legs, without any outward show of any thing, having sent for the surgeon, he, more honest than ordinary, told him it was in vain to meddle with it, for it was only old age that was the cause. "But why, then," said the gentleman, "should not my other leg be as lame as this, seeing that he one is no older than the other?" Comparative Misery.-One having an extreme bad cough, said: "If one cough be so very troublesome, what would a man do if he had twenty?" Ardent Spirits.-When ardent spirits are taken into the stomach they cause irritation, evinced by warmth and pain experienced in that organ; and next, inflammation of the delicate coats of this part, and sometimes gangrene. They act in the same manner as poisons. Besides the local injury they produce, they act on the nerves of the stomach which run to the brain, and, if taken in large quantities, cause insensibility, stupor, irregular convulsive action, difficulty of breathing, profound sleep, and often sudden death. The ha bitual use of ardent spirits causes a slow inflammation of the stomach and liver, which proceeds steadily, but is often undiscovered till too late for relief.-London Medical and | Surgical Journal. Answers to Correspondents in the Part now publishing. London: Published for the Proprietors, by W. BRITTAIN, Paternoster Row. Edinburgh: JOHN MENZIES. Glasgow: D. BRYCE. Printed by J. Rider, 14, Bartholomew Close, London. LONDON SATURDAY JOURNAL. CONDUCTED BY JOHN TIMBS, THIRTEEN YEARS EDITOR OF "THE MIRROR," AND "literary world.” No. 79. NEW SERIES.] SATURDAY, JULY 2, 1842. WHAT MAKES A GENTLEMAN? "When Adam delved, and Eve span, In a little book of considerable research and ingenious reasoning, it is quaintly observed: "of one fact we are certain, that the most illustrious families in existence can only trace their genealogy to a certain gardener, who was turned out of his service for stealing his master's fruit!"" This is a bantering version of a serious fact, and equals in humour Coleridge's "apple-stall in Mesopotamia." In these artificial times it is hard to answer the question "What makes a gentleman ?"-and it seems to have puzzled the “wisdom of our ancestors." The term is inferred to be a corruption of gentilhomme, our Saxon ancestors having very early substituted "mon" or "man," for the corresponding term of Norman-French. Selden, who, with all his learning, often seems to have delighted to meddle with matters, to make "confusion worse confounded," says: "in the beginning of Christianity, the fathers writ contra gentes, and contra gentiles; they were but one; but after all were Christians, the better sort of people still obtained the name of Gentiles throughout the four provinces of the Roman empire; as gentilhomme in French, gentiluome in Italian, gentilhombre in Spanish, and gentleman in English."* Yet, further on the witty lawyer says: "What a gentleman is, 'tis hard with us to define; in other countries he is known by his privileges: in Westminster Hall he is one that is reputed one; in the court of honour he that hath arms. The king cannot make a gentleman of blood, (what have you said?) nor God Almighty, but he can make a gentleman by creation. If you ask which is the better of these twocivilly, the gentleman of blood, morally, the gentleman by creation may be the better; for the other may be a debauched man, this a person of worth."+ In the feudal ages, a gentleman in France or Germany could not exercise any trade without derogating, that is, losing the advantages of his rank. A few exceptions were made, at least in the former country, in favour of some liberal arts and of foreign commerce." own country, it was not until the reign of Henry VI. that the word "gentleman" began to be used in somewhat of that modern sense which distinguishes it legally from a nobleman, and morally from an uneducated plebeian. "In the farther stages of the progress, heralds and genealogists began to complain of its indiscriminate application; while in their antiquarian pleasantry they represented it as being usurped by every idle and useless upstart."§ In France, this indiscriminate use of the word caused it to become, by the time of Francis I., almost a term of offence. Brantome tells us that his uncle Chataigneraye resented this appellation from the Princess de la Roche sur Yon; and on her complaining to the king of some expressions which Chataigneraye had used on the occasion, Francis replied that she must thank herself for having addressed him so improperly. Sir Thomas Smith, in his Common 66 t Ibid. In our Table Talk, voce Gentleman. VOL. IV. [PRICE TWOPENCE. wealth, distinguishes the English below the rank of esquire, into gentlemen, yeomen, and rascals. According to one of our old dramatists, the distinction legs do sufficiently show you are a gentleman born, Sir; rests upon very slender claims. Ben Jonson says: "your for a man born upon little legs is always a gentleman born." Shakspeare ridicules the heraldic claim in the churchyard scene in Hamlet: deners, ditchers, and grave-makers; they hold up Adam's "First Clown-There is no ancient gentlemen but garprofession. Second Clown.-Was he a gentleman? How dost thou First Clown-He was the first that ever bore arms. Second Clown.--Why, he never had none. First Clown.-What! art a heathen? understand the scriptures? The scripture says, Adam digged; could he dig without arms?" One of our legal lexicographers defines a gentleman to be "one who, without any title, bears a coat of arms, or whose ancestors have been freemen; and by the coat that a gentleman giveth, he is known to be, or not, descended from those of his name that lived many hundred years since." This reminds one of the great Lord Burleigh's maxim: "Gentility is nothing but ancient riches;" and of Sir Thomas Overbury's witty comparison of ancestry to a potato-the best part being underground. Blackstone, quoting Sir Thomas Smith, says: "whosoever studieth the laws of the realm-who studieth in the universities-who professeth the liberal sciences-and, (to be short,) who can live idly and without manual labour, and will bear the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman-he shall be called master, and taken for a gentleman." This is a very confused definition, or rather no definition at all; for the writer fails to tell what it is to do as a gentleman does. After all, the term, although it is traceable to the earliest form of the Roman constitution, is a relic of chivalry, whose spirit left us a more valuable successor. "The character of knight," says Hallam, "gradually subsided in that of a gentleman; and the one distinguishes European society in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as much as the other did in the preceding ages. A jealous sense of honour, less romantic but equally elevated-a ceremonious gallantry and politeness--a strictness in devotional observances-a high pride of birth and feeling of independence upon any sovereign for the dignity it gave a sympathy for martial honour, though more subdued by civil habits-are the lineaments which prove an indisputable descent. The cavaliers of Charles I. were genuine successors of Edward's Anights; and the resemblance is much more striking if we ascend to the civil wars of the League. Time has effaced much also of their gentlemanly, as it did before of the chivalrous, character. From the latter part of the seventeenth century, its vigour and purity have undergone a tacit decay; and yielded, perhaps, in every country, to increasing commercial wealth -more diffused instruction-the spirit of general liberty in some, and of servile obsequiousness in others-the modes of life in great cities-and the levelling customs of social intercourse."* Hist. Mid. Ages, vol. iii. p. 510. с |