MR. CHALMERS observes, that it may gratify our national pride to be told, that to the wisdom of Elizabeth, and the prudence of Burleigh, we owe the introduction of newspapers, the first of which was called The English Mercurie, and was printed during the Spanish Armada, and is still preserved in the British Museum, being dated July 23, 1588. From 1588 to 1622, few of these publications appeared; but the victories of Gustavus Adolphus having excited the curiosity of our countrymen, a weekly paper, called The News of the present Week, was printed. After some time, this was continued under another title, and ultimately it was succeeded by The German and Sweedish Intelligencer. These papers were originally issued in the shape of small pamphlets, and continued so till 1661 when Sir Roger l'Estrange published The Public Intelligencer, in the present shape of newspapers. The London Gazette was published in 1665, under the title of The Oxford Gazette, it having been printed at Oxford during a Session of Parliament held there, on account of the plague then raging in London; and from this period, it is cu-. rious to trace the progression and in crease of these interesting vehicles of information. From 1661 to 1688, no less than seventy papers were published under different titles. After the Revolution, The Orange Intelligencer appeared; and thence to 1692, there were twenty-six different others brought forward. From an advertisement in The Athenian Gazette of 1696, it appears that the coffee-houses in London were then supplied with nine newspapers every week, exclusively of votes of Par

liament, but there is no mention of any one printed daily. In 1689, eighteen papers were published, of which only The London Courant was a daily paper. In 1724, the number was three daily, six weekly, and three new evening papers, every week. In 1815, the number of newspapers in Great Britain and Ireland had risen to 252. Of these, fiftyfive were published in London; fifteen daily, and forty periodically; 122 in the country parts of England, twenty-six in Scotland, and forty-nine in Ireland.

The total number of copies of these papers printed during the three months ending the 1st of February, 1815, was 5, 890, 691; making the annual average about twenty.two millions seven hundred and sixty-two thousand seven hundred and sixty-four! !

Schiller.-"Schiller the German poet had a patent of nobility conferred on him by the Emperor of Germany, which he never used. Turning over a heap of papers one day, in the presence of a friend, he came to his patent, and show ed it carelessly to his friend with this observation; "I suppose you did not know I was a noble," and then buried it again in the mass of miscellaneous papers, in which it had long lain undisturbed. Schiller's friend might have answered at this action, "If I did not before know you were a noble, I know it now."

Organic Remains. The putrified remains of a very large marine animal have been found in a quarry on the top of a hill near Bromyard. They were unfortunately removed from the quarry by the workmen, broken to pieces, and carried upon the roads in the neighbourhood. Only a part of them have, in consequence, been preserved, yet sufficient to show that the animal to which they once belonged, must have been one of no common kind or size. It appears to have lain on the surface of a freestone rock, and was covered by a thick stratum of yellowish-coloured marle. Never was the putrefaction process more complete; the different pieces are literally masses of stone, only distinguishable as the parts of an animal by their exterior form.

Anecdote." Pope seems to have considered the exercise of riding as peculiarly favourable to literary contemplations. In that most scholastic ride

in company with old Lintot, which the poet describes with such spirit in his letter to Lord Burlington, the two equestrians, author and bookseller, alighted to refresh themselves under the shade of

some spreading trees. Lintot pulled out a pocket Horace, and requested Pope to amuse himself in "turning an ode" till they mounted again. "Lord!" says Lintot," if you pleased what a cle. ver miscellany you might make at leisure hours." "Perhaps I may" said Pope, "if we ride on; the motion is in aid to my fancy, a round trot very much awakens my spirits; then jog on apace, and I'll think as hard as I can." "" This very much reminds one of Swift's song, "Pegasus loves a jotting pace." The recipe, however, does not seem to have been very efficacious; for when after the lapse of a full hour, Lintot broke out Well, Sir! how far have you gone? fope's answer was only "seven miles."

MADMAN AND SPORTSMAN. (From Poggio Bracciolini.)-In one of the works of this author is related a story, which has been omitted by his biographers. It is necessary to premise, that the subject of the sectiou in which he has introduced it, is the folly of pursuits, the expence of which is greater than the pleasure produced is worth.-Poggio thus relates it :

"A physician of Milan, who undertook the cure of madmen, had a pit of water in his house, in which he kept his patients, some up to their knees, some to the girdle, and some to the chin, according to the greater or lesser degree of madness in which they were affected. One of the madmen, who was on the point of recovering, happening to be standing at the house door, saw a young nobleman pass with his hawk upon his fist, well mounted, and with the usual equipage of hawking dogs, falconers, &c. behind him. The madman demanded to know to what use was all this preparation; and was courteously answered, to kill certain birds. how much," said the madman, all the birds you kill in a year be worth?" "About five or ten crowns," replied, the noble. "And what," said the madman, "may your hawks, spaniels, horses &c. stand you in by the year?" bout five thousand crowns," answered the gentleman." Five thousand crowns!" exclaimed the madman; and gazing at him for a moment, with the wild earn

"And

may

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estness of an approaching phrenzy, he seized him by the shoulder, and forcing him into the pit, immersed him several times in the water (the usual practice with his master with his most desperate patients.) Having thus ducked him, he led him back to the door, and then addressing him, said, "Hark ye, my friend take my advice, and make all possible haste from this house; for should our doctor come home, he'll drown you but what he'll cure you."-"This anecdote," says Poggio, "may appear to be invented, to enforce my present subject, but I received it from the most satisfactory authority; and there is in it such a mixture of that wildness, and instinctive energy of intellect, so peculiar to madmen in a state of recovery, that I fully believe it to have happened as related."

Milk. It is ascertained that morning's milk commonly yields some hundredths more cream than the evening's at the same temperature. That milked at noon furnishes the least. It would therefore be of advantage, in making butter and cheese to employ the mornings milk, and to keep the evening's for domestic use. In milking cows this singular phenomenon is observed, that the milk obtained from one and the same milking differs considerably in quality; that, contrary to what might be expected the first drawn is not the best, but that which is obtained last contains invariably the largest portion of cream. Every regular dairy-man knows that the last-drawn milk called strippings is by far the richest, and that there is a gradation of fullness, from the first milking to the last.

Anecdote.-Peter Pindar had a spark of literary vanity, which the following anecdote which he frequently related, will prove. In the zenith of his popularity, he was one day going to the bank to receive his dividend, when his attention was attracted, by observing that a crowd had assembled apparently in the expectation of seeing some person arrive. He enquired of a quaker who was standing by if he knew the cause? Friend, replied he, "they are waiting to see the man they call Peter Pindar." By this time he was recognised, and the crowd had concentrated into a circle around him. Peter took off his hat, and with a low bow, said, "Gentlemen, you do too much honour to a poor rhy

mer."-" No, no," they returned "you are a poet, a very fine poet" and Peter satisfied with his public reception, walked through the parting crowd bowing most graciously, whilst they returned his salutatious with reiterated huzzas.

Comparative view of Life.-A poor dervise, whose feet were naked for want of shoes, made a pilgrimage to Mecca, carsing his unhappy fate and accusing heaven of cruelty. When he arrived at the gate of the grand mosque of Corfu, he perceived a poor man who had by some accident lost both his feet. The sight of a man more unfortunate than himself afforded him some consolation, and convinced him that the distress was greater to be without feet than without shoes.

Anecdote. A Quaker, who had the command of a trading vessel, had to encounter an enemy's lugger on his voyage. His principles forbade him to fight direct: he therefore resigned the command to the Mate. In the course of the action, however, things did not go to his liking, and he addressed his Mate in the following terms-"If thou meanest to beat the enemy, Friend, thou shouldst point thy guns a little more abaft."

Anecdote. The first book printed in the English tongue, was "The Recuvell of the history of Troy," and is dated September 19, 1471, at Cologne. The "Game of Chess," dated in 1474, is allowed, by all the typographical antiquaries, to have been the first specimen of the art among us.

Anecdote.- Dr. Johnson was in company with a very talkative lady, of whom he appeared to take very little notice. She, in pique, said to him, "Why, doctor, I believe you are not very fond of the company of ladies."--"You are mistaken, madam," replied he, “I like their beauty, I like their delicacy, I like their vivacity, and I like their silence.

Animal Flower.-The inhabitants of St. Lucie have discovered a most singular plant. In a cavern of that Isle, near the sea, is a large bason, from twelve to fifteen feet deep, the water of which is very brackish, and the bottom composed of rocks. From these, at all times, proceed certain substances, which present, at first sight, beautiful flowers, of a bright shining colour, and pretty nearly resembling our marigolds, only that their tint is more lively. These seeming flowers, on the approach of a hand or instrument, retire, like a snail, out of sight. On examining their substance closely, there appear, in the middle of the disk four brown filaments, resembling spiders' legs, which move round a kind of petals with a pretty brisk and spontaneous mo tion. These legs have pincers to seize their prey; and, upon seizing it, the yellow petals immediately close, so that it cannot escape. Under this exterior of a flower is a brown stalk, of the bigness of a raven's quill, and which appears to be the body of some animal. It is probable that this strange creature lives on the spawn of fish, and the marine insects thrown by the sea into the bason.

Anecdote.-When Count Laraguais, a French nobleman, much celebrated at Newmarket and other turfs, had an audience with the French king, his Majesty asked him why he staid so long in England?" I was learning to think," replied the Count. "This would be good employment," returned the king, were not about a horse."

"if it

To Correspondents.

G. F's. LINES, and A MIDNIGHT RE-
FLECTION have been received.
Our Preston Correspondent will excuse

us for not inserting his ESSAY on DEATH immediately, as two of the same nature have just appeared.

pulse of love, and felt not that "spiritstirring" influence that worked in his veins afterwards, and which his race ever exhibit towards that fair portion of nature-WOMAN.

But that love which had existence before the birth of sin, was undoubtedly much purer than we find it at present. There were then none of those selfish and sordid motives to warp the affections which are the bane of our society: every day was spent in mutual endearment; and there were no vicissitudes, no crosses, no workings of evil passions, no foe to poison by his slander the cup of bliss, but all was calm and unruffled, and each bosom was warmed only with a stainless love. I would not, however, have it supposed that I wish to insinuate that there is not now-a-days to be found a spotless love existing between two souls, and that men and women put on the mien of genuine friends, merely to effect some wicked purposes of gain, or to give scope to the workings of passion: God forbid! But I avow, and think myself warranted to do so, that, from the proneness of our nature to do that which is extraneous to virtue, and from the many captivating forms in which vice obtrudes itself for our acceptance, both men and women suffer a great disparagement in their affections, and are almost involuntarily led away from the performance of their vows, and the fulfilment of those duties which rectitude and honour impose.

Society is held together by certain links of esteem, and is supported by certain exchanges of mutual regard, which have the happy effect of producing a harmony in our thoughts, an interchange in our affections, and an open and avowed friendship for each other. We carry with us à charitable disposition by nature, and where a reciprocal feeling of respect exists, there it spreads its wings, and by a balmy and gentle interference serves to assuage grief whensoever it oppresses our neighbour. From an intercourse with those whose spirits seem congenial with our own, we may naturally anticipate that something more than bare esteem should spring up. One mind will interweave itself with another, and proceeding in their joint efforts to please, at length engender love. That love exists betwixt men, there can be no doubt; but there is another love, existing between man and woman, which

is warmer in its nature, more refined and more enduring.

In looking around us in the world, we observe such a variety and such a contrast in the connections formed by our opposite species, that it becomes an impossible task to fix a standard whereby to judge of those who are in truth best worthy of love. One individual can discover beauties in an object, at whom another would feel a distaste. Beneath the dross of outward appearance, there may often be extracted metals of the most valuable nature.

"Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear ;Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." Some, whom the blandishment of money warps and has charms to please, will connect themselves in matrimony to a being towards whom they feel none of those genuine emotions of love which should alone be experienced before the solemn and indissoluble ties of marriage are woven together. It is melancholy to witness, as we do, the many parties who join themselves together as husband and wife, and yet are strangers to that allpowerful affection which can alone render them happy. Love, that only which should exist in their breasts, has perhaps never been experienced by either of them in its true and glowing fervour. They may have imbibed a specious friendship for each other-a friendship which only burns till the passions are satiated, and then perishes: but this should not be a sufficient ground upon which to form so close a unity as that of marriage. Yet, how often are we doomed to observe some, who are villians enough to put on the outward show of love, and by every delusion, of which hypocrisy is master, win the unsuspecting and gentle hearts of the amiable, and at last bring them to consent to an union. What succeeds such a rash step? What may be expected to follow so flagrant a burlesque upon friendship and esteem? can the bliss that only blazes pure in hearts who love reciprocally, have life, where one party cools in his raptures, when they ought to be enhanced in his breast? Oh what wretchedness, what sorrow, what bitterness, are the offspring of an union begot in falsehood, and nursed in insincerity. Scarce has the torch of Hymen been lighted, before it is extinguished. The vows of truth are early broken; the rites