AGED ASH-TREE.

THE Maiden of Midstrath, the oldest inhabitant of the parish of Birse, perished in the late gales. There is no authentic record of the Maiden's birth; but tradition refers it to the end of the 16th century. The following are the dimensions of this venerable ashtree, probably one of the most remarkable in the north of Scotland:- Girth of the trunk, at the root, 21 feet; ditto ditto, 9 feet from the ground, 18 feet. Here it divided into four branches. Girth of the largest, 10 feet; second, 8 feet 10 inches; third, 7 feet; fourth, 6 feet; containing 500 cubic feet at the lowest estimate.-- Edinburgh Advertiser.

DOG NOURISHED BY A CAT.

A SHORT time ago a cat, at Tatworth, brought forth several kittens, which it was found necessary to destroy. About the same time a bitch, living near, whelped a litter of young. The cat robbed of her offspring, walked forth on the scent, and having found the puppies, in the absence of their mother, stole one of them away, with which, a fortnight afterwards, she was found in an empty hogshead, where she had suckled it during that time.Sherborne Journal.

green in Che Kiang, Kiang-nang, and Kiangsi, some of which districts are 1,000 miles from Canton.

The Sketch-Book.

THE DEATH.

(Concluded from page 221.)

I REMAINED in this miserable state only a short time before I discovered that a six years' drilling between the tropics (for I had only recently returned from abroad) had rendered me a very unfit person to remain drying on a rock half a winter's night, near the "Chops of the Channel;" for my shirt clung with icy coldness to my body, and, notwithstanding we huddled together as close as possible, my shivering frame plainly told me I was rapidly losing the little warmth I had acquired through my late exertion,-in fact, I felt assured that, if I remained where

was, daylight would find me a corpse. What, therefore, was to be done? To remain was certain death!-Death appeared equally certain should I attempt to leave the rock! still, however, by adopting the latter course, there was a chance in my favour; and drowning I knew from experience on one or two occasions (for when a man has lost his senses I presume he has known the worst) could not be worse than dying by

inches where I was.

sink in the attempt; but on making my I therefore resolved to gain the main, or and on asking him whether he would accomdetermination known to my fellow-sufferer, pany me, the poor fellow appeared so thunderstruck at the proposal, so earnestly pointed out the danger of the attempt and his own weakness, and, clinging to me, so pathetically entreated that I would remain where I was, that we might at least have the consolation of dying together, that I not only ceased from urging him, but appeared to give up the idea of leaving the rock myself. This, however, was only done to elude his grasp; for a few minutes after, under the pretence of looking for a more sheltered place, I left him, and descending the rock, reached the edge of the channel that separated me from the main.

There a scene presented itself that plainly pointed out the desperation of the undertaking. The distance across, indeed was not very great; but the whole channel was one sheet of yeasty foam, along the edges of which appeared the long, black tangle that adhered to the rocks, except when a heavy black sea, rolling through the passage, drove the one before it, and flowed over the other; an apparently perpendicular cliff hung lowering over the whole. It was an awful sight! For a moment my heart failed me. There was, however, no alternative; for my own fate and the fate of the poor man above me

66

depended on my reaching the opposite side; so, watching a smouth," and commending my spirit to the Almighty, should it part company with my body on the passage, I sprang forward, and found myself nearly in the middle of the channel. A few strokes brought me to the cliff's foot; but neither holding nor footing could I gain, except what the tangle afforded. Again, and again, did I seize the pendant slippery weeds, and as often did the drawback of the sea and my own weight drag me with a giant's force from my hold, and rolling down the face of the rock, I sank several feet under water.

Bruised, battered, and nearly exhausted, with the sea whizzing in my ears and rattling in my throat, I thought my last moment had at length arrived. Once more I rose to the surface, and digging my nails into the rock, I seized the sea-weed with my teeth, and clung in the agonies of death. The sea left me, and my death-grasp kept me suspended above it. Another sea rose, it was a tremendous one, and as it violently rushed over me, I was forced to quit my hold, and I rose on its surface along the face of the rock. It reached its greatest height; and in the act of descending, I caught a projecting point above the weeds, and at the same instant my left leg was thrown over another. The sea again left me, and, gasping for life, I now hung over the sparkling abyss once more. Successive seas followed, but only lashed the rock beneath me, as if enraged at having lost their prey. I once more breathed free; hope revived; the dread of being again torn away stimulated me to make an almost superhuman effort. I gained a footing; and, climbing upwards, in a short time even the spray fell short of me. God be praised! I was safe.

Having ascended about thirty or forty feet, I ventured to stop and rest. There I remain ed a short time, and between the roar of the breakers, occasionally distinctly heard the shrill shrieks of the poor isolated wretch beneath me; and the frantic, and oft-repeated exclamation of "Mr. for the love of God, don't leave me!" I endeavoured to console him, by telling him, that if I succeeded in getting up the cliff, I would procure him immediate assistance; but, as the cries still continued as shrill and frantic as before, I presume I was neither seen nor heard, and again commenced my ascent. Panting, and almost breathless-sometimes with tolerable ease, and at others clinging to the perpendicular face of the cliff, and hanging over the pitch-black, and apparently firebound ocean, I continued ascending, till not only the cries of the man were lost, but even the roar of the sea was only faintly heard, and at length reached the summit of the cliff. At that critical moment exhausted nature sank under the fatigues of the night! On suddenly seeing the heavens all around

How long I lay insensible, I, of course, know not; suffice it to say, that on opening my eyes I was agreeably surprised to find myself in the centre of a furze-bush; and, at the same time, so overcome with sleep, that, on being assured of my situation, I immediately closed them again, with the intention of taking a nap. Fortunately, however, I had but very recently read an account of the Russian campaign written by a French officer; and to that beautiful work I may say I am indebted for my life;-for his de scription of the drowsiness that seized the soldiers, and which, if indulged, was always followed by death, immediately recured to me; and I saw, as if in a dream, poor Napoleon's pride lying frozen around me; and, at the same time, if I ever heard anything in my life, a small silvery sounding voice whispered in my ear," If you sleep, you wake no more!" This aroused me from my lethargy, and awoke me to a sense of my real situation: but the spirit alone was awake-my body was almost as lifeless as if in the grave! The ground beneath me fortunately had a rapid descent from the sea (which had occasioned my heavy fall, and led me to believe I was falling down the cliff,) and with some struggling, I worked myself out of the furze-bush, and rolled downwards some distance. This, in some degree, broke the spell that appeared to bind me to the spot-and taking the precaution to keep my head in-shore, I kept tumbling about till the blood began to circulate; and shortly after, I began to feel that acute pain, that none but persons who have been frost-bitten can form any idea of. At length, I also felt the prickles of the furze-bush, with which I was covered all over like a porcupine; and, I can with truth say, that that moment was about one of the happiest of: my life!

Directing my course inland, I went, sometimes on my feet, and sometimes on my knees, through two or three fields, and got as many heavy falls over the gates that separated them. At length, I caught sight of a barn before me, and shortly after found myself close to a good warm dunghill; while the smell of cows assured me a cowhouse was not far distant. The sight of a gallooner could not have given me greater pleasure!— and the warmth and the warm smell were delightful! For a moment I stood doubtful which of the two snug berths I should occupy; but the thoughts of the unfortunate fellow

behind me again spured me forward, and I shortly found myself at the foot of a wall in the rear of a house. There I called lustily some short time, but getting no answer I scrambled round to the front, where I found a high wooden gate, railed on the upper part, which separated me from a very respectablelooking house, a few yards distant, and find. ing the gate secured, I clung to the rails, and again commenced calling for assistance as loud as I was able. "My stars!" thought I, "how people on shore do sleep!"

I called till I could hardly call any longer; and I was just thinking of taking a berth till daylight on the dunghill, or in the cowhouse, if I could get into it, when one of the upper lattices slowly opened, and I heard the gruff interrogatories-"Who the devil's that?what the devil do you want ?" Aware that the duty I had been employed on was not very popular alongshore, and not knowing my man, I thought it might not be exactly prudent to answer the first of the two; so merely said in reply, in as doleful a strain as possible—(and, indeed, there was little occasion to sham,)" That I was a poor cast-away seaman, and wanted shelter for the night." "Cast away, eh! where were you wrecked?" said he, in a milder tone. "Under the cliffs, in the direction of the barn." "Did you get up there ?" "Yes." "Ha, ha, young fellow, that story won't do,-a cat could not get up there! Get out of that, or I'll soon settle you ;" and here my interrogator chuckled at the ingenious manner in which he thought he had caught me tripping. In short, to top all my misfortunes, I was now taken for a thief!!!

I remained for some time, anxiously expecting to be warmed with a dose of small shot; till the lattice-that appeared hinged on my heart-grated on its hinges in the act of being closed; when, with chattering teeth, I again struck up on a mighty low key:-" I assure you, sir, I am not a thief; indeed, indeed, I'm not a thief! but if you won't let me in, will you have the goodness to tell me where I can procure shelter?" "Go to Kingsware." "How far off is it ?" "A mile and a half." He might as well have said-go to New South Wales!" I cannot walk twenty yards farther; so if you wont give me shelter, you will find my corpse at your gate in the morning!" This pathetic wind-up had no sooner escaped my lips, than I heard a feminine voice say " My dear, do go down and see who it is!" Never before or since did lovely woman's voice sound sweeter to my ears!

This humane expression was immediately followed by-" Well! I will come down, and see who you are." The lattice then closed. I think Dr. Herschel never watched the growth of a cauliflower in the moon with greater solicitude, through his great, long

telescope, than I watched the lately closed lattice through the rails of the gate. In a short time, repeated flashes, accompanied by as many click-clicks, told me there was a desperate squabble between the flint and steel; and I sympathized with the tinder, for every spark appeared to warm me. Presently, I saw a pale, flickering light for a few seconds, and again all was darkness: the blower appeared flurried or asthmatic,—I wished him in better wind with all my heart! Again, and again, did I observe the same phenomenon!" Confound the match!" said I to myself—" there's no brimstone on it;" and I blew involuntarily, as if the tinder-box had been under my nose. Shortly after, however, a bright, steady light assured me all was right; it vanished-again appeared through a lower lattice-bolts grated-the door opened-and I saw, to my great delight, a respectable-looking, middle-aged gentlemen, in his shirt and "inexpressibles." Holding the light above him, to prevent its glare from dazzling his eyes, he at first cautiously poked his head out, and at the same time looked warily around; when, observing nothing to excite suspicion, he advanced slowly towards the gate, and thrusting his arm through the rails, felt my wet shirt, and at the same time looked me anxiously in the face. Now, whether, my pretty, honest countenance, as aforesaid, or my wet shirt worked the charm, I know not; but certain I am that suspicion thawed in an instant, and a look of the warmest benevolence beamed in its place, while, with the exclamation, "Well, dang it, poore vellow, you are in a bad way zure enough!" the gate flew open. This movement, however, nearly upset everything for a second or two-at any rate it nearly upset me, who had been hanging on it for support -for the good gentleman, seeing me, as he thought, spring forward, and thinking, I suppose, that I wished to make a grab at him, very naturally sprang back in the opposite direction, and appeared very much inclined to try the weight of the candlestick on my braincase. Seeing, therefore, on my recovering myself, that he was again rather dubersome (as Jack would say) of his visiter, 1 assured him the accident proceeded from weakness alone, and begged him not to be alarmed; and he, perceiving the truth of the assertion, with "Oh, dang it! I bean't at all afraid of you, young vellow," kindly gave me his arm, and we toddled up to the house as cozily together, as if we had sailed round the world in company, and I shortly found myself on the right side of the threshold.

Having effected a lodgment," " (as I believe our friends in the army call it,) my first thoughts were about the poor fellow on the rock. I accordingly immediately made known who I was, and related everything

that had taken place, and requested that men might be sent to remain on the cliffs with lights during the remainder of the night; for, although I was well aware that they could render him no assistance, yet I thought the bare sight of the lights, and the noise of their shouts, would cheer up his spirits, and enable him to hold out till day. light. My request was instantly complied with; and from the kind attention of all around me, I found I had lost nothing by the communication, for everything the house afforded was eagerly pressed on me.

The good lady, who I may say was the first cause of my admittance, immediately proceeded to brew her hyson and gunpowder, while the plump, kind-hearted maid piled such a heap of faggots on the fire, that in a few minutes the house was in a blaze, and a looker-on would have been led to believe it was insured above its value, and that she wished to make a bonfire of it for the amusement of the underwriters. The kind owner of the mansion was as busy as the rest, for he shortly appeared with dry clothes and the brandy bottle; the latter received strong proofs of affection, and I also shipped a dry shirt and a shooting-jacket, after I had disposed to my satisfaction of some of the bristles with which I had been accommodated by the furze-bush; but, as my worthy friend had nothing but inexpressibles, an article of rigging which I had never sported in my life, and which I feared would disable me from reaching the vessel after daylight, I prefered drying my trousers by the fire, before which I consequently sat, smoking like a lime-kiln.

As soon as I had sufficiently recovered the use of my fingers to enable me to write, I dispatched a note to the commanding-officer of the vessel, acquainting him with the accident, and directing him to hoist the cutter out, and send her alongshore for the relief of the man; and having done all in my power, I then, and not till then, (baring the brandy, however,) quietly enjoyed all the good things before me, to the infinite delight of my kind host and hostess. May they meet their reward, and be living to read this!

The people sent to the cliffs continued shouting and showing lights during the remainder of the night; but, owing to the height and steepness of the land, they were neither seen nor heard, as we afterwards discovered. At daylight, however, they saw a boat pulling to the westward, which, on being waved into an adjoining cove, proved to be one we had spoken in Torbay during the night. The crew, being informed of what had taken place, continued pulling as close to the land as prudence would admit, and at the same time narrowly watched the foot of the cliff: but had not proceeded far before they discovered something on a rock that

looked like a bundle, and which, on nearing, they found to be my unfortunate late companion. He was almost lifeless, and the sea was too heavy to allow of their landing. They had no alternative, therefore, but to throw him a rope, with a long bowline knot at the end of it, which he had barely sufficient strength to put under his arms, and he was then hauled into the sea, and afterwards into the boat. On being taken on board he was confined to his hammock many days, and it was three weeks before he resumed duty. Had I remained with him, neither of us, in all human probability, would have been found alive.

I have already said that not a splinter of the boat was ever picked up that I know of; some of the gear, however, was; for a day or two after, the crew of a Torbay boat were rather surprised at seeing a spar floating an end in the water near them. On sending their punt to pick it up, it was discovered to be a boat's mast, with a corpse hanging to the end of it by one hand firmly clenched round the tie! The body was buried in Brixham churchyard.

Another remarkable circumstance was, that of the other five hands who were drowned, two were Maltese, who swam like fishes; to which I may add that report said the poor marine had been upset but a little time before, and had been the only survivor of eleven hands! Surely he was our Jonah !

Having thus feebly related the way in which, in the short space of less than three hours, I escaped drowning twice, breaking my neck twice, being frozen to death once(I'll say nothing about guns or candlesticks) -I have only to add, that the rascally rock that caused our misfortune (and which, as if ashamed to show its ugly face, only shoved its peak above the surface at dead low water, and was consequently almost unknown, even to the fishermen,) has since been called

-'s rock, as I was informed some years after, when I went into Dartmouth harbour in a "copper-bottomed sarpent" that I then commanded. I was also informed, at the same time, that pic nic parties visited the cliff in summer, and that the part I scaled went by the name of - -'s pass; and both it and the rock will, in all probability, continue to bear the same when the melancholy accident that occasioned their being so called shall have been forgotten, and when the writer of this lies low in the grave.-Abridged from the United Service Journal.

Notes of a Reader.

OUT-DOOR CONCERTS.

ABOUNDING as Paris has always been in amusements, accessible at a cheap rate, a fresh one has been devised this summer, and has taken exceedingly. Musard, whose name is familiar to all quadrille dancers, has, with

some of his confréres, got up a concert in the open air in the Champs Elysées, every even ing from seven till ten o'clock, on the easy terms of twenty sous for each gentleman, which gives him the liberty of introducing a lady, so that in fact the admission is only ten sous a-head. The enceint is inclosed by a pallisade, and protected, as every French entertainment is, by the municipal guard. The orchestra is very strong, and the music well selected, so that probably two or three thousand persons have been present during the fine evenings.-Metropolitan.

VERSAILLES.

It appears the Chateau of Versailles has at length drawn the attention of the government, and, if sanctioned by the Chambers as regards expense, it will, in a great measure, become a "Musée de Tableaux Nationaux." The portraits of the naval and military heroes of France are to be arranged in one gallery, and a series of battles, ancient and modern, where the arms of France have triumphed, will ornament other suites of rooms.-Ibid.

JACOB FAITHFUL.-A CHARITY BOY.

HAVING Some interest with the governors of a charity school near Brentford, Mr. Drum. mond lost no time in procuring me admission; and before I had quite spoiled my new clothes, having worn them nearly three weeks, I was suited afresh in a formal attire-a long coat of pepper and salt, yellow leather breeches tied at the knees, a worsted cap with a tuft on the top of it, stockings and shoes to match, and a large pewter plate upon my breast marked with No. 63, which, as I was the last entered boy, indicated the sum total of the school. I was conducted to the school by Mr. Drummond, and before we arrived met them all out walking. I was put in the ranks, received a little good advice from my worthy patron, who then walked away one way, while we walked another, looking like a regiment of yellow-thighed fieldfares straightened into human perpendiculars. Behold, then, the last scion of the Faithfuls, peppered, salted, and plated, that all the world might know that he was a charity-boy, and that there was charity in this world.-Ibid.

THE DRUM.

READER, did you ever witness the magic effects of a drum in a small village, when the recruiting party, with many-coloured ribbons, rouse it up with the spirit-stirring tattoo? Matrons leave their domestic cares and run to the cottage door; peeping over their shoulders, the maidens admire and fear. The shuffling clowns raise up their heads gradually, until they stand erect and proud; the slouch in the back is taken out, their heavy walk is changed to a firm, yet elastic tread; every muscle appears more braced,

every nerve by degrees new strung; the blood circulates rapidly; pulses quicken, hearts throb, eyes brighten; and, as the martial sound pervades their rustic frames, the Cimons of the plough are converted, as if by magic, into incipient heroes for the field; and all this is produced by beating the skin of the most gentle, most harmless animal of creation.-Ibid.

HUMANITY OF THE ENGLISH.

If

THE superficial jest against our partiality to a newspaper tale of murder, or our passion for the spectacle of the gibbet, proves exactly the reverse of what it asserts. It is the tender who are the most susceptible to the excitation of terror. It is the women who hang with the deepest interest over a tale or a play of gloomy and tragic interest. Robespierre liked only stories of love. Nero was partial to the mildest airs of music. Ali Pacha abhorred all accounts of atrocity. The treacherous and bloody tribes of the South Sea islands prefer the calm strains of descriptive poetry, even to those of victory and war. you observe a ballad-vender hawking his wares, it is the bloodiest murders that the women purchase. It is exactly from our unacquaintance with crime, viz. from the restless and mysterious curiosity it excites that we feel a dread pleasure in marvelling at its details. This principle will suffice to prove that the avidity with which we purchase accounts of atrocity, is the reverse of a proof of our own cruelty of disposition, and retorts upon the heads of our shallow assailants. What is true in books is true in sights. What is true on the mimic stage is true on the real; and, if that which I have just said be a legitimate vindication of our love for narratives of terror, it is also a vindication of our tendency to crowd round an execution. But as regards the last, I believe that the vulgar of all nations would be equally disposed to gaze at that dread solemnization of death, ever an event so fraught with dark interest to the race that is born to die, if among all nations the gloomy ceremonial were as public as it is with us, and the criminal were rendered as notorious by the comments of journals, and the minute details of the sessioncourt and the prison-house.-Bulwer.

A RESPECTABLE MAN.

WHO is this elderly gentleman, with a portly figure? Hush! it is Mr. Warm,“ ɑ most respectable man.” His most intimate friend failed in trade, and went to prison. Mr. Warm forswore his acquaintance; it was not respectable. Mr. Warm, in early life, seduced a young lady; she lived with him three years; he married, and turned her off without a shilling - the connexion, for a married man, was not respectable. Mr. Warm is a most respectable man; he pays his bills