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Had Byron read the whole of the poem addressed to him by M. de Lamartine, he would have been more flattered than offended by it, as it is not only full of beauty, but the admiration for the genius of the English poet, which pervades every sentiment of the ode, is so profound, that the epithet which offended the morbid sensitiveness of Byron would have been readily pardoned. M. de Lamartine is perhaps the only French poet who could have so justly appreciated, and gracefully eulogized, our wayward child of genius; and having written so successfully himself, his praise is more valuable. His " Meditations" possess a depth of feeling which, though tempered by a strong religious sentiment that makes the Christian rise superior to the philosopher, bears the impress of a true poetical temperament, which could not fail to sympathize with all the feelings, however he might differ from the reasonings of Byron. Were the works of the French poet better known to the English bard he could not, with even all his dislike to French poetry, have refused his approbation to the books of M. de Lamartine.-New Monthly Magazine. Old Poets.

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THE COMMUTATION OF LOVE AND DEATH'S
DARTS.

LOVE and Death o'th' way once meeting
Having past a friendly greeting.
Sleep their weary eye lids closing,
Lay they down themselves reposing.
Love, whom divers cares molested,
Could not sleep, but whilst Death rested,
All in haste, away he posts him,
But his haste too dearly costs him;
For it chanced, that going to sleeping,
Both had given their darts in keeping
Unto Night, who, Error's mother,
Blindly knowing not one from t'other,
Gave Love Death's, and ne'er perceived it,
Whilst as blindly Love receiv'd it.
Since which time their darts confounding,
Love now kills instead of wounding:
Death our hearts with sweetness filling,
Gently wounds instead of killing.

SILENCE.

Flecknoe.

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'Tis not huge heapes of figurative devises
Nor luxury of metaphors or phrases,

Nor fineness of connexion that intices
Court-learned eares, and all the world amazes;
But depth with pleasure craving all the graces
Of art and nature curiously precize,

Serenely modest, excellently wise.

It is not learning, for the courtiers know it;
Nor folly, but for councellors most fit;
Nor grave demeanor, for we must bestow it
On ladies toyes; nor quintessence of wit,
For that is most unstaide; nor doth it sit
With courtiers majestie to be reputed
Too learn'd, too grave, too fine, or too conceited.

A skill transcendent over every art,

Yet subject or essentiall unto none,
Uuperfect too, yet having every part,

And thus, though strange, unperfect and but one;
Yet all admire and reverence it alone,
Unknowne and undefin'de, save in discerning;
By practise to be got, but not by learning.

Storer's Life of Wolsey.

The Gatherer.

Walpoliana.-In one of Sir Robert Walpole's letters, he gives a very instructive pic ture of a skilful minister and a condescending parliament. "My dear friend," writes Sir Robert, "there is scarcely a member whose purse I do not know to a sixpence, and whose very soul, almost, I could not purchase at the offer. The reason former ministers have been deceived in this matter is evident-they never

considered the temper of the people they had

to deal with. I have known a minister so weak, as to offer an avaricious old rascal a star and garter, and attempt to bribe a young rogue, who set no value upon money, with a lucrative employment. I pursue methods as opposite as the poles, and therefore my administration has been attended with a different effect."

"Patriots," says Walpole, "spring up like mushrooms. I could raise fifty of them within four-and-twenty hours. I have raised many of them in one night. It is but refusing to gratify an unreasonable or insolent demand, and up starts a patriot."

Walpole was fond of playing at billiards, at which his friend, Dr. Monsey, excelled him. "How happens it, Monsey," said Sir Robert, "that nobody beats me at billiards, or contradicts me, but you ?"-"The solution is easy," answered Monsey: "I want neither places nor money from you;-perhaps, if I did, I should be as great a bungler at billiards as you are."

Walpole, in one of his letters, tells us that Lord Baltimore made a whimsical mistake in speaking to the Prince of Wales, (father of George III.,) on his marriage. "Sir," said his lordship, "your royal highness's marriage will form a new area in the history of England."

Walpole had always very exact intelligence of all that was passing at the court of the Pretender. When Alderman Barber visited the minister, after his return from Rome, he asked him how his old friend the Pretender did. The alderman was much surprised. Sir Robert then related some minute particulars of a conversation which had taken place between them. "Well, then, Jack," said Sir Robert, "go and sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee."

After the retirement of Sir Robert Walpole from the fatigues of public life, his son Horace, wishing to amuse him one evening, offered to read him some historical work. "Anything," exclaimed Sir Robert, "but W. G. C. history; that must be false."

Paralysis.-From Mr. Savory, formerly of Bond-street, we remember to have heard an account, eight or nine years ago, of a friend of his, a baronet, well known in the gay world, having been seized with paralysis, and

finding himself, on his return from a convivial party, suddenly deprived of speech and power of moving one side of his body. Either from feelings of desperation, or an impulse of mental aberration, the gentleman had a bottle of port wine brought to his bed-side, and having finished it, he turned with great composure on his side, and went to sleep. That gentleman is now living, his intellect his general health as good as it ever was; wholly unimpaired, his speech restored, and of port wine with apparent impunity.-Inand he still daily discusses his bottle or two firmities of Genius; by R. F. Madden, Esq. bited in the palace of Tamedo, at St. PetersCrystal Bed.-There has been lately exhiburgh, a state-bed, constructed at the Royal manufactory by order of the Emperor, to be sent as a present to the Schah of Persia. It is formed of solid crystal, resplendent with silver ornaments. It is ascended by steps of blue glass, and has a fountain underneath, so contrived as to throw out on each side jets of odoriferous waters. The effect, when the chamber is lighted up, is absolutely dazzling, as it has the appearance of myriads of diamonds.—Galignani's Messenger.

Vale of the White Horse.-In our last volume, p. 69 to 72, and 86 and 87, we gave a somewhat protracted account of the origin of the celebrated White Horse, in Berkshire, and referred to the custom of scouring the horse, or a sort of annual festival, when the peasantry clipped the turf to preserve the outline of the horse cut on the hill, and removed weeds, &c. from the chalk figure. Dr. Wise thought the custom lost in the mazes of antiquity; but, a few days since, when at Englefield Green, we heard of a custom common to this day, in Berkshire, of boys going to the chalk pits, annually. May not this be a relic of the White Horse scouring ?-Ed. M.

Ancient Salary of the Recorder of the City of London. The pay of the Recorder of the City of London in the time of Edward I. was 10%. annually, with an allowance of 20d. for "every written charter," and "each testament enrolled" in the Court of Hastings. . P. T. W.

THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD. VOL. XXI. of THE MIRROR, with a Steel-plate Portrait of the ETTRICK SHEPHERD, and a Biographical Sketch of his Life; upwards of Ninety Engravings, and 450 closely-printed pages; is now publishing, price 5s. 6d. boards. Also,

PARTS 138 and 139, price 8d. each.

The Supplementary Number, containing the above Portrait, Memoir, and Title-page, Index, &c. to Vol. XXI., price 2d.

Printed and published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) London; sold by G. G. BENNIS, 55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; CHARLES JUGEL, Francfort; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers.

No. 614.]

OF

LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1833.

[PRICE 2d.

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OF WALES AND SAXE-COBOURG, IN ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR.
THIS is an interesting testimonial of national
affection, which is honourable to British
character. It is no record of private sym-
pathy or of overweening sorrow, but a sublime
expression of a people's grief, and universal
woe: so truly has it been observed of the
death of the Princess Charlotte, that "the
grief exhibited by the people for her loss,
was entirely without parallel: her death
being almost as deeply and generally lament-
C

ed, as though she had been a member of
every family in the kingdcm."* Scarcely had
The fair-haired daughter of the Isles,
The love of millions,

VOL. XXII.

been laid in the dust, and the nation's lament subsided into "humiliation meek," when every class of the people, sought to perpetuate the Princess' exemplary worth and their own affection for her memory, by Georgian Era, vol. i.

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The monument is a fine group in spotless marble, designed and executed by Matthew Wyatt, Esq. Its situation is appropriate, being in the beautiful Chapel of St. George, at Windsor.* It occupies one of the minor chapels called Urswick, from Dr. Christopher Urswick, a Dean of Windsor, and a coadjutor of Sir Reginald Bray, in completing the erection of St. George's Chapel. Henry VII. frequently employed Dr. Urswick on important foreign embassies, which he executed so satisfactorily to his sovereign, that the highest ecclesiastical honours were offered him; but rather choosing a private life, he resigned all his preferments, and retired to Hackney, where he died in 1521. The chapel was originally separated from the nave by a stone screen now removed to the south aisle. The monument was completed in the spring of the year 1826.

The subject is divided into two compartments in the lower one, the body of the deceased Princess is represented lying on a bier, covered with drapery, the lower part of one hand being alone visible, although the outline of the whole figure is preserved. At each corner is an attendant female mourner. The apotheosis of the Princess forms the second division of the subject: her spirit is ascending from a mausoleum, supported by two angels, one of whom bears her infant. The whole group is surmounted by an elegant canopy, enriched with point-work, and gilding, the arms of Great Britain and those of the house of Saxe-Cobourg being boldly emblazoned in the centre. In the upper division of the windows at the back of the monument, St. Peter and five other apostles are delineated in painted glass by Mr. Wyatt; and the light streaming through two side windows painted orange and purple, upon the monument, produces a fine effect: indeed, the broad beams of the sun through these tinged windows upon the gilded tracery and spotless white of the group produce a richness and brilliancy which are scarcely describable.

Beyond this outline, the Engraving will aid the reader in estimating the beauties of this superb tribute to the memory of the amiable princess. The design has been decided to be in very censurable taste; nevertheless, it was selected from a number of others; and the execution has many redeeming points of excellence.

The remains of the Princess are placed in the Royal Vault, beneath Wolsey's Chapel, adjoining

that of St. George.

ANTIQUITY OF BANKING. BRAYLEY, in his London and Middlesex, says "So early as about 260 years before the Christian era, a banker of Sicyon, a city of Peloponesus, is mentioned by Plutarch, in his life of Aratus: his business appears to have consisted in exchanging one species of money for another. The money-changers of Judea, who were driven out of the temple by Christ, were most probably of the description mentioned by St. Matthew, in the parable of the Talents;—that is, such as made a trade of receiving money in deposit, and paying interest for it. St. Luke, in his relation of the same parable, expressly alludes to a banking establishment.

"From Judea, the institution of banks was brought into Europe; and the Lombard Jews are said to have kept benches, or banks, in the market-places of Italy, for the exchange of money and bills. The Bank of Venice, which was the first foundation upon an enlarged scale that we are acquainted with, was established about the year 1171, under the appellation of The Chamber of Loans-(la Camera degl' Imprestiti ;)—and the contributors to a forced loan, that had been raised to meet the exigencies of a Venetian war with the Emperors of the East and West, were made creditors of the Chamber, from which they were to receive an annual interest of four per cent.

"At what period the knowledge of banking was introduced into this country is unknown; though it may reasonably be conjectured to have been within a short time after the Conquest. There can be little doubt of its having been first practised here by the Italian merchants; all of whom, who were engaged in money transactions, were distinguished, both in France and in England, by the name of Lombards, or of Tuscans. These merchants being dispersed throughout Europe, became (says Anderson) very convenient agents for the popes, who employed them to receive and remit the large revenues they drew from every state which acknowledged their ecclesiastical supremacy?? Hence, and from their being employed to lend the money thus gathered upon interest, they are called by Matthew Paris, the Pope's merchants.' We learn from the same historian, that some of the English nobles availed themselves of the same agency, and sowed their money to make it multiply.'

6

"Henry III., in his 29th year, forbade his subjects to borrow money from any foreign merchants. This was on account of the great exactions which they are said to have committed.

"In the 14th century, the business of banking was carried on by the Drapers, at Barcelona, in Spain; as it was in after ages by the Goldsmiths of London."

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IT chanc'd that, fatigued with the heat of the day, As evening drew in, on my mattress I lay;

I had toss'd off my boots, and was just in a dose,
When, lo! the said boots from the flooring arose :-
First they got them upright, and then drawing full
wide,

The one drew his foot to the other's inside;
This, by way of a bow,-and then nearing the bed,
Thus the right boot began:-"Sir, excuse us," he

said

"Excuse your poor servants; you need not be told How Love may wax hot, and so Friendship grow cold;

But the matter is this: we are both out of heel, And unless you can patch up the quarrel, we feel That our journey through life must be trodden with pain,

For we never can jog on so smoothly again.

"You know, sir, you courted a lady to-day,
And we all the while not ingloriously lay;
For by no means intending such minutes to lose,
We were soon paying court to her dear little shoes.
And here comes the rub: I, who scorn to be caught,
Fell in love with the right little shoe, as I ought;
And so I maintain that my obstinate brother
Should have kept back his slippery heart for the
other;

But not be, indeed--for deserting his game,
He falls over-boots into love with the same.

Then he vows neither shape nor her binding would do,
But her firm upperleathers are equally true;
And for all her good points, not to dwell on the rest,
He declares that the cut of her pleases him best:
Says she's made of right stuff, and in faith, so say I;
May my sole go to shreds, in a gutter I'll lie,
Ere I pass such ungracious impertinence by!
By her sandal I vow, and by Hoby I swear,
He shall try all the weight of the iron I wear.

friends for what they may consider an imprudent act. I can only say that I had no previous intention whatever of trusting myself in a balloon; but, meeting with my brother by mere chance at the market, on the day of its opening, he expressed a desire that I should accompany him on an aerial voyage, pointing out to me in the most glowing colours the delights he had already enjoyed; against which, however, I was proof, until I found he was determined upon a trip, when I immediately resolved to accompany rather than desert him; and I have now no reason to regret the result, as you may imagine from the following account.

After I had pledged myself to my brother, I must acknowledge I felt a slight nervous irritation approaching timidity, which I, however, concealed from those of my friends who happened to be assembled, and with whom I occasionally conversed upon the subject; but, when I saw my brother, who called to me to join him, seated in the car, my nerves became on a sudden braced up, I took my seat with a heart as buoyant as the balloon itself, and from that moment I felt not the least apprehension, but was only eager for our departure. In two minutes this took place, and it was then I began to experience all the delightful sensations I had heard my brother at different times dilate upon with enthusiasm. I felt, as if by magic, I was gifted with the power of flying; of which, by the by, I have often dreamed. We quitted the earth so rapidly yet majes tically and steadily, that, in a few seconds the immense concourse of persons assembled in the market, and all around, were scarcely discernible, and the cheering and buzz of the metropolis was succeeded by an awful stillness. My brother then exclaimed, "Is not this delightful!" I must say I was in an ecstacy. Of the wonderful scene that was

I was shod to some purpose;-ere long he shall feel suddenly presented to our view, St James's

That tho' brother he be, he must take to his heel."

Well, I look'd at the case,-now the pleading was done,

(Neither Sancho nor Solomon had such an one ;) But when, to give judgment, I rose, as 'twould seem, I found it, (how could it be else?) but a dream.

F.

RECENT BALLOON ASCENT FROM
HUNGERFORD (NEW) MARKET.

(FROM ONE OF THE AERONAUTS.)
(To the Editor.)

As my brother, P. T. W., is an experienced aeronaut, and has already furnished you with an account of his first ascent, he wishes me to state for the amusement of your readers, my feelings and ideas of our united excursion with Mr. Graham from Hungerford Market, on Tuesday the 2nd instant; previous to which I must offer some apology to my

Park, with its picturesque landscape-garden, and the Palace and Horse Guards at either end, more immediately fixed our attention, and excited our admiration. We passed along the Thames, and in a few minutes found ourselves suspended over St. Paul's, which from this height, appeared in size like a model, but presented to our view the exact form, as represented in a drawing of the ground plan. I could distinctly see the area in front, with the statue of Queen Anne. We remained in this position some time: I then recollected the awe I once felt in looking down from the gilded ball of St. Paul's, and the terror I experienced at peeping over the railings of the Whispering Gallery, which I dared not approach to lean over; whereas, I was now many thousand feet above, in a wicker basket like a cradle, with the balloon the size of a six-roomed house over our heads, and only secured by six small cords

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