RYE HOUSE, which has become memorable in English history, from the circumstance of its having been the place where a conspiracy was formed for the assassination of Charles II., was situated about two miles distance from Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire. As the Papists had been generally accused of the plot to destroy the king and parliament, known by the name of the gunpowder plot as well of setting fire to London in 1666, it is said that they formed an accusation against the Protestants of a conspiracy, to destroy Charles II., and his brother, in 1683, which was known by the name of the Rye House plot.

It was said that the conspirators intended to way-lay and murder the king near Rye House, ir his way to Newmarket. Historians entertain great doubts that any such plot existed, although several persons were arrested on suspicion, and it was made a pretext for the legal murder of those virtuous patriots, Lord William Russel, and Algernon Sidney.

SUPERSTITION AND KNOW

LEDGE.

WITCHCRAFT is not wholly disused in the British dominions; in one instance, at least, it has been recently practised, as we shall have occasion to mention; and the statute which still restrained the practice of the black art in Ireland having been repealed, those who choose to follow the profession may do so with impunity: provided nevertheless, that they keep in

mind the law which enacts that any ex. ertion of skill, by which fortunes are told or stolen goods recovered, may be punished as the act of a rogue and a vagabond. Marvellous, indeed, are the perils which attend the violation of this prohibition. Many a weird sister, who could sail to Aleppo in a sieve, has been fettered, without bail or mainprize, by the spells of the parish beadle; and many a wizard who, like Michael Scott of old, could bind the weary demons to their endless task of twisting ropes of sand, has been compelled by the Rhadamanthine Justice, to beat hemp for six calendar months in the house of correction.

We can now sport with these superstitions. They have ceased to alarm us. but they afford a direful exemplification of the calamities to which human nature may be subjected; nor can the history of witchcraft be contemplated without horror As the rites of the sect are noticed by the earlier schoolmen and divines, they appeared incorporated in a delusive dream, and connected with the relics of a more ancient Paganism. The beldames collect by night at the command of their many named Queen-Hecate-Diana - Herodias, or Benzoria the fair Holda amongst the Teutonic races. Away they scud to Palestine, vieing with one another in their mystic course, or she who first can dip her hands in the River Jordan will become the mistress of the world. But in vain-the waters dry beneath their touch, and mock their expectations. Feasting and dancing, mirth and merriment, seem to be the intent of the noc

SONG OF "THE GATHERING."

OURS the strains renown'd in story,
Of peaceful hall or deadly corrie:
Would you call to field, or foray.
Melt to love, or rouse to glory:

Sound our mountain melody.
Where the gale of love is blowing,
Health, and mirth, and bliss bestowing;
Where the cup of joy is flowing,
Eyes are bright, and hearts are glowing:
Pours the bagpipes thrilling lay.
Who can hear its notes of woe,
For friend deceas'd, or fallen foe;
And see the mourners as they go,
To its wild notes, sad and slow:

And melt not at its melody?
And in the day of doubt and dread,
When bursts the battle o'er their head;
How strong the arm, and firm the tread,
Of Albyn's sons o'er fields of dead:

When cheer'd by its wild warlike cry.
Ours the strains renown'd in story,
Of halls of joy, or deadly corrie;
Would you call to field or foray,
Melt to love, or rouse to glory:

Sound our mountain melody.
W.

BEARDS AND BARBERS.

(Concluded from our last.) Barbers. It appears there were no barbers at Rome, before the year A. U. C. 454. Varro reports, that Ticinius Mena brought them thither from Sicily. The barber's shops very soon became the resort of idlers and gossips. Besides curling the hair and shaving the beard, the ancient barbers also trimmed the nails. Anciently, a lute or viol, or some such musical instrument, was part of the furniture of a barber's shop, which was then frequented by persons above the ordinary rank, who resorted thither for the cure of wounds, or to undergo some chirurgical operations, or as it was called, to be trimmed, a word which signified either shaving or cutting and curling the hair. These, and also letting of blood, were the ancient operations of the barber surgeons. The musical instruments in this shop were for the amusement of waiting customers, and answered the end of a Twopenny Mirror, with which it is now usual for such to entertain themselves. The naiveté of modern barbers is well known to the inhabitants of this metropolis-and we have only

"To walk into their shops and see,

What witty fellows these shavers be." The origin of the "barber's pole" has been the subject of various conjectures among etymologists. Some have supposed it to have been derived from the word poll, or head; but, the true intention of this party-coloured staff was to shew that the master of the shop, practised surgery, and could breathe a vein, as well as take off the beard; such a staff being to this

day, by every village practitioner, put
into the hand of a person undergoing the
operation of phlebotomy. The white
band which encompasses the staff, was
designed to represent the fillet, thus ele-
gantly turned about it. Our present
barbers launch out into a variety of re-
cipes for the growth and beauty of the hair.
We have oils which makes the hair
grow as firm as hog's bristles, bear's
grease, which makes it as sleek and smooth
as silk, and various other cosmetics well
known to the cognoscenti in dandyism.
We have now the hair dressed à la Titus,
à la Brutus, and some dressed to imitate an
Irish hen, that has run through a hedge
backwards, which may be called "The
Emerald Isle frize."-To crown all, we
have a celebrated whig maker of the name
of Truefit,+ and a razor maker of the
name of Sharp. The barbers were incor-
porated with the surgeons of London,
but not to practise surgery, except draw-
ing of teeth. They were exempted by
parliament from ward and parish offices,
and from military service. In the reign
of George II. they were incorporated
separately, and the company of surgeons
had an elegant hall in the Old Bailey,
with a theatre for the dissection of human
bodies. They now form a royal college
and their house is in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Anne Monk, Duchess of Albemarle,
was the daughter of a blacksmith, who
gave her an education suitable to the
employment she was bred to, which was
that of a milliner. Mr. Aubrey, in a
manuscript in Ashmole's Museum, says,
"That when Monke was prisoner in the
Tower, his sempstress Nan Clarges, a
blacksmith's daughter, was kind to him
in a double capacity. It must be remem-
bered, that he was then in want, and that
she assisted him. Here she was got with
child, and he afterwards married her, she
was not handsome, nor cleanly; her
mother was one of the five women barbers,
A ballad was
and a woman of ill fame.”
made upon her and the other four, the
burden of which was,

"Did you ever hear the like,
Or ever hear the fame,
Of five women barbers,
That lived in Drury Lane."

Hair Cutting.Julius Cæsar, when he subdued the Gauls, made them cut off their hair, as a token of submission, for it was esteemed a peculiar honour among

Mustachio wax of different hues, from the

fiery carrot to the ebony black.

A quarter of an hour is never lost under the hands of one of these facetious and news-mongering tribe---for where is the man who has not gained some information from his barber either political or attical.

In the reign of Henry VIII.

the ancient Gauls to wear long hair. It was a long time the peculiar mark and privilege of kings and princes of the blood (in France) to wear long hair, artfully dressed and curled: every body else were obliged to be polled, or cut round, in sign of inferiority and obedience. The out of the hair of a son of France under the first race of kings, was to declare him excluded from the right of succeeding to the crown, and reduced to the condition of a subject. In the eighth century it was the custom of people of quality, to have their children's hair cut the first time by perons they had a particular honour and esteem for, who, in virtue of this ceremony, were reputed a sort of spiritual parents, or godfathers to them, though this practice appears to have been more ancient, for we find that Constantine sent the Pope the hair of his son Heraclius, as a token that he desired him to be his adoptive father. Long hair was anciently held so odious, that there is a canon still extant, of the year 1096, importing, that such as wore long hair should be excluded coming into church when living, and not be prayed for when dead. Charlemagne wore his air very short, his son shorter; Charles the Bold had none at all. Under Hugh Capet, it began to appear again: this the ecclesiastics were displeased with, and excommunicated all who let their hair grow. Peter Lombard expostulated the matter so warmly with Charles the Young, that he cut off his own hair; and, his successors, for some generations wore it very short. A professor of Utrecht, in 1659, wrote expressly on the question, whether it be lawful for men to wear long hair? and concluded in the negative. Another divine, named Reeves who had wrote for the affirmative replied to him. The Greeks and Romans wore false hair. The cutting off the hair in mourning for the dead is an Eastern, as well as a Grecian custom; and appears to have obtained in ancient times, as well as in latter ages. Among the ancient Greeks, it was sometimes laid upon the dead body, sometimes cast into the funeral pile, and sometimes placed upon the grave. How the Jews disposed of it we are not told; but that they cut it off we are assured. Berenice, queen of Egypt, sacrificed her hair to the gods, on her husband returning victorious. In modern days we preserve this lasting relic of the dead, and have it made into various devices, according to the taste of the times; sometimes adorned with an applicable motto, thus, "Sacred will I keep thy dear remains." Hair is to be found upon all parts of the body, except the soles of the feet and palms of the

hands. When we examine (says Quincey) the hairs with a microscope, we find that they have each a round bulbous root, which lies pretty deep in the skin, and which draws their nourishment from the surrounding humours; that each hair consists of five or six others, wrapt up in a common tegument or tube. They grow as the nails do, each part near the root thrusting forward that which is immediately above it, and not by any liquor running along the hair in tubes, as plants grows. For further particulars I refer the reader to Vickery and Ross. P. T. W.

The Sketch Book.

No. XV.

THE QUEEN OF THE ROSE.*

(For the Mirror.)

The

THERE is still a part of the world where simple genuine virtue receives public honours. It is in a village of Picardy, where an affecting ceremony, which draws tears from the spectators, a solemnity, awful from its venerable antiquity, and salutary influence, has been preserved notwithstanding the revolutions of twelve centuries; there the simple lustre of the flowers, with which innocence is annually crowned, is at once the reward, the encouragement, and the emblem. Here, indeed, ambition preys upon the young heart, but it is a gentle ambition; the prize is a hat, decorated with roses. preparations for a public decision, the pomp of the festival, the concourse of people which it assembles, their attention fixed upon modesty, which does itself honour by its blushes, the simplicity of the reward an emblem of those virtues by which it is obtained, the affectionate friendship of the rivals, who, in heightening the triumph of their queen, conceal in the bottom of their worthy hearts, the timid hope of reigning in their turn: all these circumstances united, give a pleasing and affecting pomp to this singular ceremony, which makes every heart to palpitate, every eye to sparkle with tears of true delight, and makes wisdom the object of passion. To be irreproachable is not sufficient, there is a kind of nobleness, of which proofs are required; a nobleness, not of rank and dignity, but of worth and innocence. These proofs must include several generations, both on the father and mother's side; so that a whole family is crowned upon the head of one;

founded his new Opera of "Philandering", now It is upon this custom that Mr. Beasley has performing at Drury Lane Theatre.

the triumph of one, is the glory of the whole; and the old man in grey hairs, who sheds the tears of sensibility on the victory gained by the daughter of his son, placed by her side, receives, in effect, the reward of sixty years, spent in a life of virtue.

By this means, emulation becomes general, for the honour of the whole; every one dreads, by an indelicate action, to dethrone either his sister or his daughter. The crown of roses, promised to the most prudent, is expected with emotion, distributed with justice, and established goodness, rectitude, and morality, in every family; it attaches the best people to the most peaceful residence. Example, powerful example, acts even at a distance; there, the bud of worthy actions is unfolded; and the traveller, in approaching this territory, perceives, before he enters it, that he is not far from Salency. In the course of so many successive ages, all around them has changed; they alone, will hand down to their children, the pure inheritance they received from their fathers: an institution truly great, from its simplicity: powerful, under an appearance of weakness; such is the almost unknown influence of honours; such is the strength of that easy spring, by which all men may be governed: sow honour, and you will reap virtue.

If we reflect upon the time the Salencians have celebrated the festival, we find it is the most ancient ceremony existing. If we attend to its object it is, perhaps, the only one which is dedicated to the service of virtue. If virtue is the most useful and estimable advantage to society in general, this establishment, by which it is encouraged, is a public national benefit, and belongs to France.

Madame De Genlis says, according to a tradition, handed down from age to age, Saint Medard, born at Salency, was the institutor of that charming festival, which has made virtue flourish for so many ages. He had himself the pleasing consolation of enjoying the fruit of his wisdom, and his family was honoured with the prize which he had instituted, for his sister obtained the crown of roses.

This affecting, and valuable festival, has been handed down from the fifth century to the present day. To this rose is attached a purity of morals, which from time immemorial, has never suffered the slightest blemish; to this rose are attached the happiness, peace, and glory of the Salencians.

This rose is the portion, frequently the only portion which virtue brings with it; this rose forms the amiable and pleasing tie of a happy marriage. Even fortune

is anxious to obtain it, and comes with respect, to receive it from the hand of honourable indigence. A possession of twelve hundred years, and such splendid advantages, is the finest title that exists in the world.

An important period for the festival of the rose, was when Louis XIII. sent the Marquis de Gordes, the captain of his guards, from the castle of Varennes to Salency, with a blue ribbon, and a silver ring, to be presented from him, to the queen of the rose. It is from that honourable epoch that a blue ribbon, flowing in streamers, surrounds the crown of roses, that a ring is fastened to it, and the young girls of her train, wear over their white robes, a blue ribbon, in the manner of a scarf.

In 1766, Mr. Morfontaine settled a yearly income of 120 livres upon the girl then elected queen. This income to be enjoyed by her during life, and, after her death, each succeeding girl, who should be crowned queen, to have one year's income on the day of her election. noble generosity can only be rewarded by the homage of the public, and honour alone is the worthy recompense.

This

Some days before the feast of St. Medard, the inhabitants assemble in presence of the officers of justice, where this worthy company deliberate upon the important business of making a choice; in doing which, they have no object in view but equity. They know all the merits that give a title to the crown; they are acquainted with all the domestic details of their peaceful village, they have not, and cannot have, any other intention, but to be just: enthusiasm and respect for the memory of the holy institutor and the excellence of the institution, are still in full force among them. They name three girls, three virtuous Salencians, of the most esteemed and respectable families.

The nomination is immediately carried to the Lord of Salency, or to the person appointed to represent him, who is free to decide between the three girls, but obliged to choose one of them, whom he proclaims queen of the year.

Eight days before the ceremony, the name of the successful candidate is declared in church

When the great day of the festival arrives, which is always the 8th of June, the Lord of Salency may claim the honour of conducting the queen to be crowned. On that grand day, she is greater than all by whom she is surrounded; and that greatness is of a nature which has nothing in common with the usual distinctions of rank.