design, on his death-bed he gave full instructions to his two sons how to execute it. After they had for some time plundered the treasury, and carried off large sums, the king, who observed the gradual diminution of his wealth, without being able to discover how the thieves had access to it, finding his seal upon the door always whole, ordered several strong traps to be left in the treasury. By this means one of the brothers was at last taken; but, finding it impossible to escape, he pressed his brother to cut off his head, and retire with it, to prevent any dis

covery.

The king, next morning, examining the success of his project, upon finding a man without a head in the snare, has tened out in the greatest alarm and confusion; but, recovering himself, he ordered the body to be exposed on the outside of the wall to the public view, charging the guards placed round it to observe the countenances of the spectators, and to seize those who appear ed sorrowful. The surviving brother, urged by his mother's entreaties and threats of exposure, formed the design of carrying off his brother's body. Accordingly, driving his asses thither, laden with skins of wine, he found means, by the stratagem of letting his wine run out, to intoxicate and stupefy the guards. While they were in a deep sleep, he shaved the right cheek of each of them, by way of derision; and, in the middle of the night, carried off the body on one of his asses.

This action still more astonished the king; who, being now more earnest to discover the thief, ordered his daughter to receive the addresses of all suitors promiscuously, on condition that each should previously confess to her the most ingenious action he had ever managed, and the greatest crime he had ever committed. The young man, resolving again to perplex the king, went to the palace to his daughter, and confessed to her that he had cut off his brother's head, and afterwards carried off his body. When she then offered to lay hold of him, he stretched out to her the arm of a dead man, which he had carried in under his cloak (suspecting the intentions of the king), and, while she supposed she had detained the culprit, he made his escape,

The king's resentment being now converted into admiration, he promised a pardon and rewards to the person who had robbed his treasury, if he would discover himself. The young man, upon this proclamation, imme

diately made himself known; and the king, thereupon accounting him far superior in dexterity to any man then living, gave him his daughter in marriage.

VOLUNTARY STARVATION.

A small

Professor Huffland, in one of his Journals, gives a most extraordinary case of a Tradesman, who, impelled by a succession of misfortunes, and absolutely destitute of the means of procuring food, retired to a sequestered spot in a forest, and there resolved to starve himself to death. He put this and was found on the 3d of October determination in force September 15, (eighteen days) still living, although speechless, insensible, and reduced to the last stage of debility. quantity of liquid was given him, after found a pocket-book and pencil, with which he expired. By his side was journal of his state and sufferings, and which he had contrived to keep a daily in which he had persevered till the 29th of September. He begins by giving an account of himself, and states that he was a respectable tradesman, possessing good property, of which he had been deprived by misfortune and villainy, and that he had come to the determination of starving himself to death, not so much with the view of committing suicide, as because he was unable to procure work; that he had in vain offered himself as a soldier; and was too proud to apply to unfeeling relations. This note is dated on the 10th, which day he had employed in constructing a little hut of bushes and leaves. On the 17th he complains of suffering much from cold, and in his journal of the 18th, he mentions having suffered from intolerable thirst, to appease which he had licked the dew from the surrounding vegetables. On the 20th, he found a small piece of coin, and with great difficulty reached an inu, where he purchased a bottle of beer. The beer failed, however, to quench his thirst, and his strength was so reduced, that he took three hours to accomplish the distance, about two miles. On the 22d, he discovered a spring of water, but, though tormented with thirst, the agony which the cold water produced on his stomach excited vomiting and convulsions. The 23d made ten days since he had taken any food but beer and a little water. During that time he had not slept at all. On the 26th, he complains of his feet being dead, and of being distracted by.. thirst; he was too weak to crawl to the

spring, and yet dreadfully susceptible of suffering. The 29th of September was the last day on which he made any memorandum. We regret that no dissection was made.

SINGULAR NOTICE.-There is painted on a board near Middleton, Lancashire, the following emphatic and peremptory caution:--"Whoever is found trespassing in these grounds will be shot dead without further notice!"

AUCTION OF LADIES.-An auction of unmarried ladies used to take place annually in Babylon. "In every district," says the historian, they as semble on a certain day of every year, all the virgins of marriageable age.' The most beautiful were first put up, and the man who bid the largest sum of money, gained possession of her. The second in personal appearance followed, and the bidders gratified themselves with handsome wives according to the depth of their purses. But alas ! it seems that there were in Babylon some ladies for which no money was likely to be offered, yet these also were disposed of-so provident were the Babylonians. "When all the beautiful virgins," says the historian, were sold, the crier ordered the most deformed to stand up; and after he had openly demanded who would marry her with a small sum, she was at length adjudg. ed to the man who would be satisfied with the least; and in this manner the money arising from the sale of the

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handsome served as a portion to those who were either of disagreeable looks, or that had any other imperfection."— This custom prevailed about 500 years before Christ.

A GOOD CHARACTER.-A person of Plymouth wishing to be informed of he intended to employ, wrote to a rethe character of a labouring man whom spectable inhabitant to whom he was referred, and from whom he received the following note, the pith of which we have printed in italics :-"Mr. begs to inform Mr. that he has known for a number of years, and never knew anything wrong of him but that of being an honest and industrious young man!

SALUTES.--Salutes were formerly fired with the guns shotted, and sometimes not without danger to the persons so honoured. M. le de Montpensier tells us of an instance in which she was so saluted, to the great discomfort of her attendants, both men and women; and she gives a remarkable one, in which the Forte de la Scarpe, at Douai, fired ball in honour of the passage of Louis XIV., and some of the shot passed near his coach. Whitelocke, in giving an account of some rejoicing for one of Cromwell's victories, tells us, the ships at Portsmouth fired great and small shot on the occasion.

SECRETARIES OF STATE.--Up to James's reign there was but one Secretary of State; but on the death of Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, there were two created, as if no man could supply the place of that able Minister. This reminds one of the promotion of eight Marshals of France on the death of Turenne-a great compliment to his memory, which Madame de Cornuel pleasantly explained by calling the eight new Marshals-Change for M. de Turenne,

THE LATE MR. CURRAN.-Upon one occasion, alluding in Parliament to the general apathy of the Ministry to the condition of the great bulk of the Irish people, he observed, "I am sorry to see that the rays of the Honourable Member's panegyric are not vertical; like the beams of the morning, they count the mountain tops, and leave the vallies unilluminated-they fall upon the great, while the miserable poor are left in the shade."

A melancholy interest has been thrown over the mansion of which the above engraving presents a correct and picturesque view, from the circumstance of its having been the place where the late Marquis of Londonderry terminated his existence by his own hands. Politics form no part of our object; and if they did, and we felt as much hostility to the administration of the late Secretary for Foreign Affairs, as his avowed opponents do, we should still pity that sad aberration of intellect which should lead a man to lay violent hands on himself, and thus rush into the presence of his Maker.

North Cray, the residence of the late Marquis of Londonderry, is situated in the hundred of Ruxley, in Kent, on the high road to Maidstone, and about twelve miles from London. The manor of North Cray, which originally belonged to the Percy family, was once in the possession of that Hotspur, Lord Percy, who is so prominent a character in Shakspeare's play of Henry the Fourth. It was here also that Robert Poynings, canon and sword-bearer to Jack Cade, after he had been pardoned for being with him in the rebelVOL. I.

lion, in in the 29th ve 29th year of the reign of Henry VI. three years after raised another insurrection, which, however, was soon put down.

The manor of North Cray, after passing successively through the families of Cholmely and D'Acath, devolved on the Rev. W. Hetherington, who sold it to T. Coventry, Esq. in whose hands it remained until a few years ago it was purchased by the late Marquis of Londonderry, then Lord Castlereagh.

It

The mansion of North Cray is a well built structure, with a colonade. It is by no means large, but it is very convenient, and is pleasantly situated at a short distance southward of the river Cray. The grounds attached to the house do not exceed ninety acres. was a favourite seat of the late Marquis of Londonderry, and being at a convenient distance from town, his Lordship used to retire to it, and forget the fatigues of office in the enjoyments of domestic life. And it was here that in a tit of insanity his Lordship put a pcriod to his existence on the 12th of August last, by separating the carotil artery with a penknife. His Lordship was fifty-three years of age.

H.

PARISIAN ENGLISH. Our old Poet Chaucer laughs at the French spoken, in his days, in London, "After the school of Stratford at the Bow."

The Parisians have probably some such school in their neighbourhood for teaching a peculiar dialect of the English language; and the abundant influx of our countrymen into the French metropolis of late years has brought this dialect into much repute. One often sees emblazoned in large letters, over a shop window, meant probably as a decoy, but more likely, one would think, to operate as a warning to English travellers

"Here they spike the English ;" Which (being translated) does not at all intimate any blood-thirsty intention of impaling our poor countrymen alive, but merely declares that the English language is spoken in the house.

A lady from London, perceiving this inscription over a milliner's door, its import being explained to her, she went in, when having with some difficulty found out which of the Demoiselles it was that was skilled in spiking the English, she attempted to converse with her about a hat which she was trying on. After many vain attempts on both sides, the young French woman at last, observing that the hat was too small, brought out this accurate phrase:

"Is, Matame, he is too little big." In the Rue St. Honorè, a hairdresser has the following captivating invitation:

"Hear to cut off hares in English fashion."

In the Rue du Faubourg Poissonniére dwells a lady named Canraiz, who tells the world, by means of her sign-board, that she is a

"Washerwoman and wash embroideries, lace, gazes, silk-stockings, also household's furniture's in linen table cloths, napkins, and calenders all at one's desire; she will also charge herself of the entertaining the works that is to be done to all sorts of linen for the body, and will be exactly delivered at one's desire."

At the Montesquieu Baths the Englishmen who frequent the place are informed, by a neat card, that

"As for the brothes, liquid or any breakfast, and, in one word, all other things relatives to the services of the bathes, the Persons will be so good as to direct themselves to the servant bathers, who will satisfy them with the greatest attention."

"The Public is invited not to search to displace the suckets and the swan necks, in order to forbear the accidents which may result of is, in not calling the servants bathers to his aid."

"The servant bathers, in consequence of having no wages desire the bathers do not forgot them."

The invitations to the minor theatres have generally something to captivate the English, and M. Oliver's bill is remarkable for the style in which he notifies his wonderful performances.

"He shall begin with the cut and burnt handkerchieves, who shall take their primitive forms.-The watch thrown up et nailed against the wall by a pistol shot-the enchanted glass wine. The flying piece of money and an infinity of Legerdemains worthy to excite the curiosity of spectators.— The handsome Elisina in her trunck&c.

There are to be seen low Automatons, who will dance up on a rope and sall do the most difficul tricks. The Spectacle will be ended with a Pantasmagory who sall be disposed in a manner as not to frighten the ladies."

In books of travels, the same accurate acquaintance with our language is often to be found. General Pillet learnedly remarks, that the lowest class of our Attorneys are the Petty Fogey. However, this Gentleman's misrepresentation of our language is nothing to his misrepresentation of our manners. He gravely assures his readers, that the Archbishop of Can, terbury ordered the following Prayer against the French to be used in all churches (p. 371) :

"O Lord all mighty, give us the power to destroy even unto the last man this perfidious people, who have sworn to devour us alive, us thy faithful servants."

But to return to language-an English epicure is very likely to be disappointed at a Restaurateur's, if he order a beef-steak. Ten to one but the waiter will bring him a bifstick de mouton or a bifstick de veau; for these are dishes common in all the bills of fare; and the fact is, that the French understand by bifstick nothing but a slice of meat, whether beef, mutton, or veal. Of the words roast beef, too, they have an equally vague idea. In Fouret's (a very excellent) Cookery Book, directions are given how to dress a "Ros bif de Mouton." The French bills of fare are at first sight quite astonishing, from the number of dishes they contain, but the charm in a great measure vanishes when they