then washed from the face, and when it could no longer be doubted that it was indeed the head of Dara, he shed tears, and said, “Ah, Bedbakt! unhappy man! let this shocking sight no more offend my eyes, but take away the head, and bury it in Humaioon's sepulchre."

80.-SIR DUDLEY NORTH.

ROGER NORTH.

[ONE of the most entertaining books in our language is The Life of the Lord Keeper Guilford,' by the Hon. Roger North. The same biographer also wrote the lives of the Lord Keeper's brothers, Sir Dudley North, and Dr. John North. These biographies of three eminent men, by their relation and contemporary, were not published till the middle of the last century. Sir Dudley North was a merchant, who had long resided in Turkey, and returned to England in the time of Charles II. He was a man of great ability; and his notions on matters of commerce were far in advance of his age.]

But now we have our merchant, sheriff, alderman, commissioner, &c., at home with us, a private person, divested of all his mantlings; and we may converse freely with him in his family, and by himself, without clashing at all against any concern of the public. And possibly, in this capacity, I may show the best side of his character; and, for the advantage of that design, shall here recount his retired ways of entertaining himself from his first coming from Constantinople to Eng

He delighted much in natural observations, and what tended to explain mechanic powers; and particularly that wherein his own concern lay, beams and scales, the place of the centres, the form of the centre-pins, what share the fulcrum, and what the force, or the weight, bore with respect to each other; and, that he might not be deceived, had made proofs by himself of all the forms of scales that he could imagine could be put in practice for deceiving.

When he came first to England, all things were new to him, and he had an infinite pleasure in going about to see the considerable places and buildings about town. I, like an old dame with a young damsel, by conducting him, had the pleasure of seeing them over again myself. And an incomparable pleasure it was; for, at all remarkables,

he had ingenious turns of wit and morality, as well as natural observations. But once I was very well pleased to see the power of habit, even in his mind, and apprehension of things. I carried him to Bridewell, where, in the hemp-house, there was a fair lady, well habited, at a block. We got in and surveyed her: but the cur, that let us in at the door, put on his touchy airs, expecting his sop at our going out, and spoke hoarse and loud. My gentleman could not, for his life, but be afraid of that fellow, and was not easy when we went in, nor while we staid; for he confessed himself that the rascal was so like a Turkish chiaus, he could not bear him, and wondered at me for making so slight of him and his authority, and really fancied we should not get clear of him without some mischief or other. Such was indeed a necessary prudence at Constantinople: and not only in this, but in the cases of other merchants, who had lived in Turkey, I have observed, that if there were a crowd, or a clatter in the street, to which most people go to see what is the matter, they always draw back for fear of being singled out to be beaten. In a cathedral church I could scarce get my merchant to take a place with me; but he would pull, and correct me, as being too forward, and for fear of some inconvenience. Here is a consequence of living under absolute and rigorous lords. Whereas, amongst us, there is scarce any regard at all had to superior powers ; if I may term them such, that cannot punish but in mood and figure, and by due course of law.

He took pleasure in surveying the Monument, and comparing it with mosque towers, and what, of that kind, he had seen abroad. We mounted up to the top, and, one after another, crept up the hollow iron frame that carries the copper head and flames above. We went out at a rising plate of iron that hinged, and there found convenient irons to hold by. We made use of them, and raised our bodies entirely above the flames, having only our legs, to the knees, within; and there we stood till we were satisfied with the prospects from thence. I cannot describe how hard it was to persuade ourselves we stood safe; so likely did our weight seem to throw down the whole fabric. But the adventure at Bow Church was more extraordinary. For, being come to the upper row of columns, next under the dragon, I could go round between the columns and the newel; but his corpulence would not permit him to do that: wherefore he took the column in his arm, and swung his body about on the outside; and so he did

quite round. Fancy, that in such a case would have destroyed many, had little power over his reason, that told him there was no difficulty nor danger in what he did.

He was so great a lover of building, that St. Paul's, then well advanced, was his ordinary walk: there was scarce a course of stones laid, while we lived together, over which we did not walk. And he would always climb to the uppermost heights. Much time have we spent there in talking of the work, engines, tackle, &c. He showed me the power of friction in engines; for, when a capstan was at work, he did but gripe the ropes, between the weight and the fulcrum, in his hand, and all was fast; and double the number of men, at the capstan, could not have prevailed against the impediment, to have raised the stone, till he let go.

We usually went there on Saturdays, which were Sir Christopher Wren's days, who was the surveyor; and we commonly got a snatch of discourse with him, who, like a true philosopher, was always obliging and communicative, and, in every matter we inquired about, gave short, but satisfactory answers. When we were upon Bow Steeple, the merchant had a speculation not unlike that of a ship, in the Bay of Smyrna, seen from the mountains. Here the streets appeared like small trenches, in which the coaches glided along without any unevenness as we could observe. "Now this," said he, "is like the world. Who would not be pleased in passing so equably from place to place? It is so when we look upon great men, who, in their courses, at our distance, seem to glide no less smoothly on; and we do not perceive the many rude jolts, tossings, and wallowings they feel; as whoever rides in that coach feels enough to make his bones ache, of which, to our notice, there is no discovery. And farther," said he, “let not the difficulties, that will occur in the way of most transactions, however reasonable, deter men from going on; for here is a coach not for a moment free from one obstruction or other; and yet it goes on, and arrives, at last, as was designed at first."

He loved travelling, but hated a coach, because it made him a prisoner, and hindered his looking about to survey the country, in which he took a great pleasure; and, for that reason, he loved a horse. I had a grave pad that fitted him, and he always desired the use of that sage animal, that was very sure and easy, but slow. While his

wife's mother, the Lady Cann, lived at Bristol, he made annually a visit to her; and, when I had the honour to serve as recorder there, I accompanied him. We joined equipages, and sometimes returned across the country to Wroxton, the residence of the late Lord Guilford. We had the care of affairs there, as trustees for the young Lord Guilford, who was sent abroad to travel; and we thought it no disservice to our trust to reside upon the spot some time in summer; which we did, and had therein our own convenience, and charged ourselves in the accounts to the full value of ourselves, and the diet for our horses. But, our way of living there being somewhat extraordinary, I think it reasonable to give an account of it. In the first place, the lady had a standing quarrel with us; for we had such a constant employ that she could have none of her husband's company; and when she came to call him to dinner she found him as black as a tinker.

There was an old building, which was formerly hawks' mews. There we instituted a laboratory. One apartment was for wood-works, and the other for iron. His business was hewing and framing, and, being permitted to sit, he would labour very hard; and, in that manner, he hewed the frames for our necessary tables. He put them together only with laps and pins; but so, as served the occasion very well. We got up a table and a bench; but the great difficulty was to get bellows and a forge. He hewed such stones as lay about, and built a hearth with a back, and, by means of water, and an old iron which he knocked right down, he perforated that stone for the wind to come in at the fire. What common tools we wanted, we sent and bought, and also a leather-skin, with which he made a pair of bellows that wrought over-head, and the wind was conveyed by elder-guns let into one another, and so it got to the fire. Upon finding a piece of an old anvil, we went to work, and wrought all the iron that was used in our manufactory. He delighted most in hewing. He allowed me, being a lawyer, as he said, to be the best forger. We followed this trade so constantly and close, and he coming out sometimes with a red short waist coat, red cap, and black face, the country people began to talk as if we used some unlawful trades there, clipping at least; and it might be, coining of money. Upon this we were forced to call in the blacksmith, and some of the neighbours, that it might be known there was neither damage nor danger to the state by our operations. This was morning's work, before dressing; to which duty we were usually summoned by

the lady full of admiration what creatures she had in her family. In the afternoons, too, we had employment which was somewhat more réfined; and that was turning and planing; for which use we sequestered a low closet. We had our engines from London, and many round implements were made.

In our laboratories, it was not a little strange to see with what earnestness and pains we worked, sweating most immoderately, and scarce allowing ourselves time to eat. At the lighter works, in the afternoon, he hath sat, perhaps, scraping a stick, or turning a piece of wood, and this for many afternoons together, all the while singing like a cobbler, incomparably better pleased than he had been in all the stages of his life before. And it is a mortifying speculation, that of the different characters of this man's enjoyments, separated one from the other, and exposed to an indifferent choice, there is scarce any one, but this I have here described, really worth taking up. And yet the slavery of our nature is such, that this must be despised, and all the rest, with the attendant evils of vexation, disappointments, dangers, loss of health, disgraces, envy, and what not of torment, be admitted. It was well said of the philosopher to Pyrrhus: "What follows after all your victories? To sit down and make merry. And cannot you do so now?"

81. THE CHEMICAL PHILOSOPHER.

SIR H. DAVY.

The Unknown. PERSONS in general look at the magnificent fabric of civilized society as the result of the accumulated labour, ingenuity, and enterprise of man through a long course of ages, without attempting to define what has been owing to the different branches of human industry and science; and usually attribute to politicians, statesmen, and warriors, a much greater share than really belongs to them in the work ;— what they have done is in reality little. The beginning of civilization is the discovery of some useful arts by which men acquire property, comforts, or luxuries. The necessity or desire of preserving them leads to laws and social institutions. The discovery of peculiar arts gives superiority to particular nations; and the love of power induces them to employ this superiority to subjugate other nations, who learn