That saints may do the same things by Which other men are tempted to, Cromwell, when elected chief of the puritans, soon commenced the trgaedy of Charles the first. The king had too much of the noble dignity of the knight, to descend to "calling of names;" yet he owed no small share of his evil for tune to the prevalence of this folly among the cavaliers. Christian charity was not extinguish ed in the bosoms of the saints alone; the malicious and illiberal rage for reviling, disgraced even the dignitaries of the church, who, blinded by the fury of zeal, would not allow a solitary virtue to the Roundheads. Indeed, all the chris. tian and the cardinal virtues were scared from the field, and vengeance blew the fire of civil war. Archbishop Williams, a pernicious adviser of his sovereign, speaking of Cromwell to his royal master, says, "Every beast has some evil properties; but Cromwell has the properties of all evil beasts." 66 Dr. South thus described Cromwell, in a sermon preached at his church: the Protector was then gone to the grave. Such invectives were commonly deliv ered from the pulpit. "Who that have beheld," said the Doctor, "such a bankrupt, beggarly fellow as Cromwell, first entering the parliament-house with a thread-bare torn cloak, and a greasy hat (and perhaps neither of them paid for), could have suspected, that in the space of so few years, he should, by the murder of one king, and banishment of another, ascend the throne, be invested in the royal robes, and want nothing of the state of a king, but the changing of his hat into a crown?" The Usurper is thus caricatured by a contemporary:-"But Cromwell wants neither wardrobe nor armour; his face was naturally buff, and his skin may furnish him with a rusty coat of mail; you would think he had been christened in a lime pit, tanned alive, and his countenance still remains mangy. We cry out against superstition, and yet worship a piece of wainscot; certainly of a mandrake-one scarce comely it is no human visage, but the emblem had she whelped him when she was a enough for the progeny of Hecuba, body, for who can expect a jewel bitch. His soul, too, is as ugly as his in the head of a toad? Yet this basilisk would king it; and a brewer's horse must be a lion." That he had good sense enough not to quarrel with Nature for the person she had ordained to him, is evident in the conversation he held with Lely, when he sat to that admired painter for his portrait."I desire, Mr. Lely," said the Protector," that you copy minutely those warts and excrescences which you perceive on my face: for For now thou hast made three kingdoms thy own; To ride us to ruin who dare thee oppose, DUKE OF BRUNSWICK OELS. The Prince was about forty years of age, of a commanding stature, and martial countenance; partial to the French, in some respects, and speaking their language from predilection; but fighting them like a lion when they deprived him of the duchy of Brunswick. The feelings of this Prince were so exquisite, his emotions so strong, and his imagination so ardent, that his hair, eye-brows, and beard became entirely white in twenty-four hours after the disaster of the Russians at Jena, and the death of his father. An experienced warrior, he always preserved great coolness on the day of battle. Amidst his brave companions in arms he appeared a private soldier; a brown great coat, and a cap of the same colour, composed his outward costume. Sleeping on the ground with his troops, sharing their labours, privations, and dangers, he commanded a body of heroes, small in number, but formidable in courage and loyalty. DUKE OF WELLINGTON. An authentic anecdote. During the campaign of the allied troops in Paris, a French citizen, who was returning from the country through the Champs Elysses, where the troops were encamped, was robbed of his watch by a serjeant in the British army. Complaint was immediately made to the commanding officer, and the troops were paraded before the Frenchman, who was thus enabled to single out the offender. A court martial was held, and the criminal condemned to die on the following morning. As early as four o'clock, the whole of the allied army was assembled in the Bois de Boulogne, near Paris, where the prisoner was to undergo the sentence. The charge upon which he had been tried and convicted was read aloud, and the unfortunate man prepared for the presence of an offended Maker, Not a murmur ran through the ranks. The justice of the decree was acknowledged by every soldier; and if the short lapse of time between the offence and its solemn expiation excited feelings of terror, they were mingled with respect for the stern severity of their commander; the drums beat, and the black flag waved mournfully in the air. The ministers of justice had already raised the engines of destruction, and the fatal monosyllable fire! was almost half ejaculated, when the Duke of Weilington rushed before their firelocks, and commanded a momentary pause, --- whilst he addressed the prisoner :"You have offended against the laws of God, of honour, and of virtue; the grave is open before you; in a few short moments your soul will appear before its maker; your prosecutor complains of your sentence, the man whom you have robbed would plead for your life, and is horror-struck with the rapidity of your judgment. You are a soldier, you have been brave, and, as report says, until now, even virtuous.-Speak boldly! in the face of Heaven, and as a soldier of an army devoted to virtue and good order, declare your own feelings as to your sentence.' -"General," said the man, "retire, and let my comrades do their duty; when a soldier forgets his honour, life becomes disgraceful, and immediate punishment is due, as an example to the army.-Fire !"-" You have spoken nobly," said the Duke, with a tear in his eye. "You have saved your life, how can I destroy a repentant sinner, whose words are of greater value to the troops than his death would be !-Soldiers, bear this in mind, and may a sense of honour, always deter you from infamy."-The troops rent the air with their huzzas-the criminal fell prostrate before the Duke, the word "March!" was given; he arose, and returned to those ranks which were to have witnessed his execution. QUEEN ELIZABETH "Marville says of this great queen, that she passionately admired handsome persons; and he was already advanced in her favour, who approached her with beauty and grace. She had so unconquerable an aversion for ugly and ill made men, who had been treated unfortunately by nature, that she could not endure their presence. "When she issued from her palace, her guards were careful to disperse from before her eyes hideous and deformed people, the lame, the hunch-backed, &c.; in a word, all those whose appearance might shock her fastidious sensations. "There is this singular and admirable in the conduct of Elizabeth, that she made her pleasures subservient to her politics, and she maintained ber affairs by what in general occasions the ruin of princes. Her lovers were her ministers, and her ministers were her lovers." Waller, the poet, when advanced in life, being one day with King James II. in his closet, his majesty desired him to look at a portrait which was hanging on the wall, and give an opinion upon the performance. My eyes are dim, Sir," said Waller," and I do not know who it is." "It is the Princess of Orange," answered the king. "She 66 is," said Waller, “ like one of the greatest princesses of the world." "Who do you mean?" demanded the king. He answered, "Queen Elizabeth." "I wonder you should think so," said the sovereign; "but I must confess she had a wise council." "And pray sire," said Waller," did you ever know a fool chuse a wise council ?" The age of the maiden queen, was the last of chivalry; and it may be worth enquiry, whether with her departure, much of the true spirit of nobility did not depart from the country. Her successor kept no Arthur's table, and the lances of gallant knights in her reign became useless ornaments, helping to form radii to a gilt Medusa's head, on the palace chamber walls. The queen was long past ber prime when she became enamoured of the Earl of Essex ;-a nobleman, whose merit appears to have obtained for him what does not often happen to a court favorite, whatever be his deserts, the affection of the people. "There was," said an old writer," in this young lord, together with a goodly person, a kind of urbanity and innate courtesy, which both won the queen, and too much took up the people to gaze on the new adopted son of her favour." Her majesty was censured, however, for her too great indulgence to him; be was also indiscreet. "He drew in (of her favour)," says the same author, "too fast, like a child sucking on an over-uberous nurse ;" and had there been a more decent decorum observed in both, or either, without doubt the unity of their affections had been more permanent, and not so in and out as they were, like an instrument well tuned, and lapsing to discord. It was admitted, even by those who loved and honoured this favourite, that he was too bold an engrosser both of fame and favor. The queen was not blind to his ambition, and for all her passion for his graceful person, was not displeased to see him brought to his senses by the indignation of others, who had nobly resented his arrogance. Sir Charles Blount at length appeared, a rival to the Earl. This elegant youth had the good fortune to distinguish himself at a tilting match, in the presence of the Queen. She had recently seen him by accident, and honoured him with her notices. His address with the lance pleased her majesty; and as a reward she sent him a trinket, “A queen at chess, in gold, richly enamelled." In token of this instance of her royal favor, he gallantly fastened it to his arm, with a crimson ribband, and wore it about the court. So marked a compliment naturally excited the envy of Essex, who next day approached the new favourite, and under cover of his cloak, examined the queen's gift. "Who is this stranger ?" said the Earl. He was informed by Sir Fulke Greville. Lord Essex observed, Now I per ceive every fool must have a favor." He that has lived within the vortex of a court will not be surprized to find that some chattering spirit, whispered this affronting sarcasm in the ear of Sir Charles Blount. He sent Lord Essex a challenge-they met in Mary-le-bone A Mr. Raymond, a “ savant distingue de la Savoie," as we find him termed, has bought Rousseau's celebrated country-house, called the Charmettes ; the retreat of this wonderful man, when the violence of his passion for his "Mamma," as he called her, Madame Warrens, was at its height. Here, says a Frenchman, in a tone of pathos, “Mr. Raymond makes it his business to collect with care the divers inspirations which all the travellers of all countries experience at the sight of these places so full of delicious recollections." We are happy to hear that Mr. Raymond, suvant distingue de la Savoie, knows so well how to occupy his time/ and talents. ANECDOTE OF GOETHE. A minor lately addressed some verses to one of the reigning family, which contained some most exaggerated compliments. In criticising the production, the old poet remarked, that "there was too much sugar in the composition; that princes were pleased at sugar-plums being given to them, but did not like being pelted with sugar-loaves." DUTCH NOVEL, We point out for the benefit of any circulating-library Author, who may be in want of a striking title, a Roman patibuiaire, as a French critic terms it, which is just published in Holland, and which comes before the public as "The History of Pontolino, Chief of Assassins, and the terror of the Devil's Grotto!" If the Dutch take to this style of composition we tremble for their dykes. CONVERSATION. This intercourse has generally been regulated by moral remedies. I should propose physical cures. Men from exuberant spirits often disturb the equality necessary to conversation: I should recommend the cet to such plethoric described, she swore "by God's death, it was fit that some one or other should take him down, otherwise there would be no rule with him." talkers; either to the tongue if it be too rapid, or to the temples if the person indulges more in talk than the adjacent region may enable him to do well. COMPOSITION (MODERN.) Quinctilian has observed that tropes and metaphors should be sparingly introduced into composition, and appear seldom, like modest virgins. Modern composition has strangely neglected this judicious author's caution, and introduced them too often in its meretricious style. S. Johnson sometimes, Gibbon very frequently, and Phillips always, is guilty of this unmaiden-like flirtation in tropes and metaphors. DISCOVERY OF THE ORIGINAL OS- The following is an extract of a letter from Belfast, dated Aug. 4 : The "On opening a vault where stood the cloisters of the old Catholic Abbey, at Connor, founded by St. Patrick, the workmen discovered an oaken chest, of curious and ancient workmanship, whose contents, on being opened, proved to be a translation of the Bible into the Irish character, and several other manuscripts in that language. box was immediately taken to the Minister of Connor, the Rev. Dr. Henry, who unfortunately did not understand the aboriginal language, and he sent it to Dr. Macdonald, of Belfast, who soon discovered the MSS. to be the original of the Poems of Ossian, written at Connor, by an Irish Friar, named Terence O'Neal, a branch of the now noble family of the Earl of O' Neal, of Shane's Castle, in the year 1463. The translations by Macpherson, the Scotchman, appear to be very imperfect: this is accounted for by the Scotch Gaelic poets having no character in which to preserve their poems; they had, therefore, borrowed from the sister country. The Irish translation of the poems, however, by Baron Harold, who dedicated the work to Edmund Burke, is nearer the original; for the wily Scot, Macpherson, to give them a greater air of antiquity, omitted all allusions to the religious subjects which the originals possess. "The fixing of the scenes of the poems at and round Connor, by the antiquarian Campbell, who travelled here a few years ago, gave rise to the digging and searching about the old abbey and castle, which has thus happily terminated in making, against his will, "the Land of the Harp," the birth. place of the author of the elegant Poems of Ossian. I conclude in the words of Smollet-" Mourn, hapless Caledonia, mourn!" GRAVITY OF FACE (AFFECTED.) Persons who assume reserve, gravity, and silence, often practise this trick to gain credit of the world for that sense and information which they are conscious that they do not possess. When I see a grave fool put on this pompous disguise, he reminds me of a poor and vain man who places strong padlocks on his trunks, so that the visitor may suppose that they contain valuable articles; though he knows himself that they are quite empty. How keenly does our great bard satirise such men— "There are a sort of men whose visages How often men who love argument in conversation follow victory, and not truth. In order to entrap the adversary, a brilliant illustration is substituted for argument, to amuse the opponent, and divert him from the line of his reasoning. Bird catchers carry a light with them to intice their prey into their nets, and so the feathered tribe are allured to their captivity. High-flying disputants who are thus led aside by false lights are not uncommon. FEMALE STUDENTS. character lose much of that softness and Women by assuming the literary delicacy of manners which are their recommendations to the love of the other sex. When birds are kept in cages and taught a variety of notes, their power over sounds is indeed much increased; they are more noisy, but the natural sweetness of their voices is lost. A friend was once asked whether he would choose a learned wife; "Sir," says he, "I would as soon take one with a beard." |