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Port Royal, in Jamaica, to catch green turtle, and their markets are supplied with it the same as ours with butchers' meat. The turtle feeds on a grass growing at the bottom of the sea, called turtle grass; they never go on shore but to lay their eggs, which is in April: they then crawl up from the sea above the flowing of high water, and dig a hole above two feet deep in the sand, into which they drop in one night above an hundred eggs. They then fill the hole with sand, and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun, which is usually performed in three weeks. The eggs are about the size of tennis balls, round, white, and covered with a skin resembling parchment.

THE FROG.

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tremely lively; and they live on duck-weed and other water plants.

Indeed the anatomy of the frog, in its various changes, is so singular that volumes might be written on it. When the tadpoles are six weeks old the hind legs make their appearance; the animal then bears a resemblance to a lizard more than a frog; the tail soon after begins to decrease, and in the space of a day or two is totally obliterated. It now ventures upon land, but always wanders on the brinks of its native waters; and being in prodigious numbers, this phenomenæ has often embarrassed the vulgar, and even some superior characters amongst natural philosophers, who have embraced the popular belief that it has rained frogs.

As soon as the frog has assumed its perTHIS creature generally abounds in moist fect form it feeds on animal food, and parsituations, wherever it can command a suf- ticularly on insects; to obtain which its ficient quantity of insects and worms, tongue is admirably calculated, being so which constitute its chief food. Its colour placed that the root is more attached to varies considerably, but is generally of an the forepart than the hinder of the mouth; olive brown, variegated on the upper parts and when at rest it lies backwards, as if of the body and limbs with irregular black || the animal was swallowing the tip. This spots; the lower, or under parts, are of a enables the creature to throw it out to pale greenish yellow cast. Beneath each some distance from the mouth, which it eye is a long mark, reaching to the setting does with great celerity, and being glution of the fore legs, The frog frequently nous at the extremity, the prey is easily casts its skin. caught; which is swallowed with such celerity that the eye can scarcely follow it.

I have often been displeased with you at seeing you scream and start when a frog Frogs do not attain to their full size till has come across your path in the garden they are five years old; they live to the after a shower of rain; not only because || age of twelve or fifteen years. They cannot it is a most harmless animal, but if you dispense with the want of water, and a would divest yourself of foolish girlish an- dry air and hot sun inevitably cause their tipathies, and observe the creature well, it destruction: they are unable also to supis extremely elegant, and has a very lively port intense cold. and smart appearance: its limbs are finely calculated for all its peculiar motions: the hind feet are strongly webbed, to assist its progress in the water, to which it occa sionally retires during the summer heats: in the frosts of winter it lies in a torpid state in the soft mud at the bottom of stagnant waters, till it again awakes at the approach of spring.

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The bull frog, a native of North America, is uncommouly large, and derives its name from its voice, which resembles the lowing of a bull: it measures, in general, eighteen inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the hind feet. The people of Virginia will not suffer it to be destroyed, as they believe those kind of frogs purify the water and keep it sweet. They are, however, dreadful enemies to the young ducks and goslings, which they swallow whole in great numbers.

The frog goes through two or three changes before it attains its perfect form, from the time, it issues from the egg. The first is a tadpole, and so unlike the frog I have written more on the frog than I that one can hardly imagine it to be the should have done had not you causelessly same animal, as they seem to consist merely been prejudiced against a harmless and inof a head and tail; their motion is ex-offensive little being of our own climate :

beware of those prejudices; they appear in [] shunning carefully, without sending forth frightful screams, those creatures which are really noxious, and tracing the hand of the Almighty in the formation of the mi

a well-informed female, especially, a ridiculous affectation; which, in spite of every exterior advantage, so far from rendering a young lady interesting, makes her ap-nutest creature, is the heartfelt wish of pear silly and disagreeable. To see you, Your truly affectionate mother, a sensible woman, an admirer of the wonderful works of a creative Providence,

TOPOGRAPHICAL MUSEUM.-No. XX.

DOVER. The first striking object of Dover is its Castle, which shews in all its vast extent of defence and forms a most magnificent sight; in every point of view its grandeur amazes. The town of Dover beneath, forms a crescent terminated by vast chalky precipices at either end, and in part overhung by others. A deep vale, watered by a small stream, and bounded by lofty downs, finish the view on the Deal side on the other, the celebrated strait, the town of Calais, aud-the French shore, with correspondent cliffs stretching far to the south, form a most beautiful and uncommon coup-d'œil.

It is now upwards of two thousand and thirty years ago since Cæsar sailed on his first expedition against Britain, intending to land at Dover. At that period, instead of an open sea, was a harbour penetrating far into the land, very narrow, and so bounded by mountains that the Britons were enabled to annoy the Roman forces from the heights which hung over the shore. Cicero mentions the very difficult access to our island; for the orator had a very indifferent opinion of Cæsar's expedition; and, indeed, that conqueror himself was astonished at the sight of a mountainous coast covered with armed men, and therefore made his attempt elsewhere, and landed on the flat Rutupian shore.

The ancient Pharos still remains almost entire; the lower part of which is of much greater circumference than the upper; it is square within, excessively strong, and entirely composed of Roman masonry; the windows are small, arched with Roman tiles, as is the entrance: the walls are ten feet thick.

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Adjacent to the Pharos are the ruins of the church the royal chapel is evidently of Norman architecture; and in this chapel

ANNA.

were deposited the remains of many great men; among whom was Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, and one of the Wardens of the Cinque Ports; he had a || most magnificent monument erected to his memory, which, when the chapel was about to fall into ruins, was removed to the Hospital at Greenwich.

After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror presented himself before Dover Castle; it was then crowded with soldiers, but the dread of his valour soon forced them to surrender. During the Conqueror's stay of eight days, he gave new strength to the fortress, and appointed his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, governor. The treachery of Odo, however, unused him to lose his situation, and it was given to John Fiennes. William fortified the Castle by towers distinguished by different names, and which were rebuilt by those persons whose titles they now bear. One is named De la Pole's, from the unfortunate Duke of Suffolk; others of King Arthur and his Queen Gwynever; only, we imagine, in honour of those illustrious persons, who certainly had no pretensions to the architecture.

In the centre of this precinct is a noble keep, or square tower, rebuilt by Henry II. on the model of those erected by Gundulphus, Bishop of Rochester. This is very large, with square towers. The entrance is by a flight of steps on the outside, but within is a magnificent series of stairs round two sides of the Castle, leading through one vestibule to another, and to a grand portal as high as the third story, in which were the state apartments. vestibules and portal were closed by strong gates, possibly to guard against a sudden attack. In this upper story the governor resided, or the King when he visited the

The

Castle. The garrison was stationed in the Becond floor, and the lower was devoted to the keeping the stores and provisions: beneath was a dark and miserable dungeon for prisoners.

little way up the valley, in places where once rode the navies of Rome; anchors, and other naval remains, have often been || found under the soil.

The situation of Dover is very beautiful;

The well is three hundred and sixty feet || it is bounded by lofty verdant downs, and deep; the water-bucket is brought up by faced with snowy precipices of chalk: a two men yorking within an immense long street runs beneath, called Snare. street.

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The great gate is large and lofty, square in form, with two round towers in front. This was called Fiennes' New Gate, or the Constable's Tower, and it was supposed to have been his principal residence: the present gate must certainly have been built since the days of Fienues, on the site of the ancient oue. Edward IV. laid out ten thousand pounds, by the advice of Lord Cobham, in repairing, fortifying, and beautifying the works; and Henry VIII. to guard against a surprise by sea, built at the foot of the cliff, on the shore, one of the many little castles he erected in the year 1539; it was called the Mole's Bulwark, and remains garrisoned

Matthew Paris styles Dover Castle the key and barrier of the whole kingdom: but, however it might be deemed impregnable, we find the Saxons panic-struck, and yielding it up to the Conqueror. Stephen, during his war with the Empress Maud, easily persuaded the Constable to deliver it into his hands. King John intrusted it to his faithful Hubert, who, in 1216, defended it against all the efforts of Louis, Dauphin of France, who, uniting with the discontented Barons, vigorously besieged it: though repulsed coutinually with great loss, Louis swore he would not raise the siege till he had taken the place and hanged the whole garrison; for his father had sworn to him by St James's arm, that, till he had gained possession of Dover Castle, he had not gained one foot in England. This was soon verified on the death of King Johu. Louis attempted to corrupt the fidelity of Hubert, but in vain;' he continued firm in his allegiance to the young monarch, and by his wise conduct prevented his country from becoming a province of France.

The descent from the Castle to the town is extremely rapid: the entrance of the harbour of the ancient Dubris is now solid land, covered with streets, which extend a

In early times Dover was much more populous than it is at present: there were seven churches, two of which, St. Mary's and St. James's, alone remain. Dover seems to have been a very considerable place in the seventh century; for in 697, Wihtred, King of Kent, removed the canons from their college in the Castle, to the church of St. Martin in the town, and increased their number to twenty-two; he found it incompatible with the safety of the Castle to let them continue there, their lives being very irregular: Cobbett, Archbishop of Canterbury, complained of their licentiousness to Henry I. who gave him all their possessions, expelled them, and desired the Archbishop to seek out a more moral set; they were replaced by his successor, by the authority of Henry II. by Benedictine monks. Some remains of the church built for the cauons, by Wihtred, are yet visible near the market-place.

Numbers of Princes have landed at Dover at different times. William Rufus in 1095, the Emperor Sigismund in 1416; on his arrival the Duke of Gloucester, and several other great men, went into the sea with their swords drawn, and declared they would oppose his landing if he came in any other character than their King's relation and friend, not as an Emperor or superior; his errand was to make peace between the Kings of England and France. At Dover also landed the Emperor Charles V. and was met by Henry VIII. with all that romantic pomp he usually affected.

In 1982, Aune, sister of the Emperor Winceslaus, in her way to the solemnization of her nuptials with Richard 11. had no sooner lauded at this port than the sea became violently agitated from the shock of an earthquake; the ship she had just left was beat to pieces, and many others greatly damaged; too sure omens of the turbulent reign experienced by the hus band of this matchless woman.

In 1670, the charming and accomplished || thousand pounds, besides giving a handHenrietta, Duchess of Orleans, and sister some annual peasion to John Young for of Charles II. came to exert her influence his eminent skill as an engineer. When over her brother to sign his infamous treaty Henry died about one hundred and twenty with France; and here she confirmed her yards were left unfinished; the early death other brother, the Duke of York, after- of Edward VI. interrupted the work; wards James II. in the Catholic religion. Mary continued it, but not with any deMary, the beloved sister of Henry VIII.gree of energy; and by neglect the sea embarked from Dover in 1514, to be wedded rolled in such quantities of gravel that the to Louis XII. Henry, by frequently visit-harbour became almost choked up, in ing this port, first discovered its importance, and in the year 1533, began a work worthy of a great monarch, by laying the foundation of a most noble pier; and his Majesty expended on this business eighty

which state it remained till 1583. By intense application, in the reigns of succeeding monarchs, it was soon completed at a small expence.

THE LISTENER.

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ANONYMOUS LETTER-WRITERS.

they dare even to attack the individual character; as if that had any thing to do with the merit of a work, its originality or its elegance.

Other anonymous writers prevent marriages, stir up strife between parents and children, wives and husbands; but all have the same tendency, all are derived from the same source, and that is-mischief.

I HAVE ever regarded the anonymous letter-writer in the same light as 1 do an assassin whostabs in the dark. The brave and honourable man, if he sees faults in an individual, or even in the public, fears not to come forward and name himself; while the dastardly coward vents his spleen by pouring forth his venom under initials that make no part of his name; or is not afraid, when he disguises his own vile hand-busied yesterday in my arm chair; when writing, to make use of the honoured names of Hotspur, Spencer, Douglas, &c. &c.

My correspondents are, it is true, almost all anonymous; but they are of a far different temperament from those miserable beings to whom I allude. They write to me for advice, they lash, in a good humoured way, the manners of a thoughtless age, or they pour their trifling complaints into my aged though quick ears: and all -their motive for signing themselves by fictitious names originates in that desire of › avoiding publicity; which publicity, in the general class of anonymous writers, is eagerly sought after in their kind of way.

How many a bitter and spiteful letter from these masked assassius has been pro duced because, perhaps, the Editor of a periodical work, or au impartial paper, has not thought fit to sully his pages with the nonsensical trash that has issued from their pen.

Only plunging deeper and deeper into the slough of ignorance, behind the dirty mantle of an xuonymous signature,

Such were the reflections in which I sat

sleep suddenly overcame me, and to the eye of vision was represented a spare meagre form, who addressed me in the following words:

"Without name, without friends, an outcast from society that fears me, and from virtue by whom I am despised, behold the offspring of COWARDICE and MALIGNANCY. As CowARDICE was driven from the field of honour he overtook the hag, united his fate to hers, and I was the offspring of that detestable union. I trembled before the scornfut looks of my mother, and had in me so much of my father that I dreaded even to perform the tasks she set me. She called in the aid of ENVY, who had helped to nurture me with a parent's care, ou whose lap I imbibed those lessons which have guided me through this world, through which I have wandered unseen and unknown through ages, and through which I am still doomed to wander: through her incitements I was spurred on to undertake the dark task of stabbing, uuseen, my

no longer to my own judgment, and apply to you to direct me in chusing a third wife. Some inconsiderate mortal will perhaps express wonder at my persevering resolu tion: his unfounded prejudice I shall not attempt to refute; but let him, at worst, compare wedlock to a lottery, he will be forced to acknowledge, that although there be so many blanks, there are also many, and some of them capital prizes.

"Marriage has many pains," says Dr.

neigbours fame, to engender hatred sometimes, and often uneasiness between man and man; to crush with venturous stroke, and still unknown, the building that seemed to stand secure, which had been raised with difficulty, and which now propt up, served, perhaps, to support its owner, or considerably to add to his comfort. Sometimes I have recoiled from the task, not from principle, for I have none; but from the whisperings of my father, who incessantly told me I should one day be dis-Johnson. That the Doctor stands eminent covered. Fear not,' on the other hand cried ENVY, thou art obscure as thou art hateful; thou hast no name; who will seek thee out?'-Thus encouraged, I perform the tasks my nurse and mother set me. It is I who forge the tale of public slander, and the loose scandalous novel that shrinks from the scourge of the law: I boast the art of knowing state secrets and the private intrigues of Princes and virtuous Princesses that never had existence; I write the fair anonymous letter from the pretended lady of fashion, or imitate the old shivering hand of the aged. Beware my sting, I inflict it unseen; for COWARDICE and MALIGNANCY were my parents; and ENVY my instructress and nurse!"

I was awakened from this unpleasant threat by my servant putting into my hand the following letter:

TO TIMOTHY HEARWELL, ESQ.

amongst our literati, the most severe critic must allow; but his most zealous panegyrists have very little to say in praise of his feelings: nay, I shall make bold to affirm that the propagator of such a principle must renounce all hopes of ever being considered as either a philanthropist or a patriot. Methinks sometimes, if mortal man could retain beyond the grave the recollection of his former maxims, and revive for one day to witness their effect, Dr. Johnson would blush at seeing his bust in St. Paul's cathedral by the side of that of Howard.-What does Dr. Johnson say

next?

66

Celibacy has no pleasures."-This might be construed as a lenitive to the first part of the sentence, some enthusiast will say; since by exposing the irksomeness of a single life, it suggests an inducement to enter the marriage state. Our cynical Doctor never meant such a hinf; his jaundiced imagination represented both conditions under the same colour. His feelings were as uncouth as his manners, and displeased with himself, he cared not making his fellow creatures discontent with their situation in life, be it what it might.

SIR,-Notwithstanding I had been some how disappointed in the object of my first choice, yet I still relied so much on my own sagacity, that I presumed to chuse for myself a second time; when, I must confess it, according to the old adage, I jumped out of the fryingpan into the Thousands would expatiate at full length fire."-The odds, nevertheless, were in my on the manifold gratifications celibacy favour; neither would probabilities have affords; for my part I shall candidly debeen against me had the object of my pur-clare, that the greatest I could enjoy consuit been any other than that enigmatical || sisted in the anticipation of that bliss which being a woman. awaited me, as I fancied, in the marriage Many and many would have argued in state. To be sure, I cooked my dish to the same manner as I did. If one extreme, my palate, and with rather a prodigal thought I, has been productive of unbound-hand, seasoned it with beauty, wealth, and ed misery, the opposite one, no doubt, accomplishments. must be conducive to supreme happiness: my logic, however, proved erroneous, and my own experience taught me that extremes are frequently next door neighbours. Be it as it may, I am determined to trust

I shall now postpone introducing any further reflections, to give you an account of my first bymeneal adventure,

Fortune happened to throw in my way, amongst other young ladies possessed of

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