CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL

 CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE, ' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE, ' &c. 

 No. 448. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, JULY 31, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d. _

BOOK-WORSHIP. 

A book belongs in a peculiar manner to the age and nation that produceit. It is an emanation of the thought of the time; and if it surviveto an after-time, it remains as a landmark of the progress of theimagination or the intellect. Some books do even more than this: theypress forward to the future age, and make appeals to its maturergenius; but in so doing they still belong to their own--they stillwear the garb which stamps them as appertaining to a particular epoch. Of that epoch, it is true, they are, intellectually, the flower andchief; they are the expression of its finer spirit, and serve as alink between the two generations of the past and the future; but ofthat future--so much changed in habits, and feelings, andknowledge--they can never, even when acting as guides and teachers, form an essential part: there is always some bond of sympathy wanting. 

A single glance at our own great books will illustrate this--bookswhich are constantly reprinted, without which no library can betolerated--which are still, generation after generation, the objectsof the national worship, and are popularly supposed to afford auniversal and unfailing standard of excellence in the variousdepartments of literature. These books, although pored over as a taskand a study by the few, are rarely opened and never read by the many:they are known the least by those who reverence them most. They are, in short, idols, and their worship is not a faith, but a superstition. This kind of belief is not shaken even by experience. When a devourerof the novels of Scott, for instance, takes up _Tom Jones_, he, aftera vain attempt to read, may lay it down with a feeling of surprise anddissatisfaction; but _Tom Jones_ remains still to his convictions 'anepic in prose, ' the fiction _par excellence_ of the language. As for_Clarissa Harlowe_ and _Sir Charles Grandison_, we have not heard ofany common reader in our generation who has had the hardihood even toopen the volumes; but Richardson as well as Fielding retains hisoriginal niche among the gods of romance; and we find Scott himselfone of the high-priests of the worship. When wandering once upon thecontinent, we were thrown for several days into the company of anEnglish clergyman, who had provided himself, as the best possiblemodel in description, with a copy of Spenser; and it was curious toobserve the pertinacity with which, from time to time, he drew forthhis treasure, and the weariness with which in a few minutes hereturned it to his pocket. Yet our reverend friend, we have no doubt, went home with his faith in Spenser unshaken, and recommends it tothis day as the most delightful of all companions for a journey. 

In the present century, the French and German critics have begun toplace this reverential feeling for the 'classics' of a language upon amore rational basis. In estimating an author, they throw themselvesback into the times in which he wrote; they determine his place amongthe spirits of his own age; and ascertain the practical influence hisworks have exercised over those of succeeding generations. In short, they judge him relatively, not absolutely; and thus convert anunreasoning superstition into a sober faith. We do not require to betold that in every book destined to survive its author, there are hereand there gleams of nature that belong to all time; but the body ofthe work is after the fashion of the age that produced it; and he whois unacquainted with the thought of that age, will always judge amiss. In England, we are still in the bonds of the last century, and it issurprising what an amount of affectation mingles with criticism evenof the highest pretensions. It is no wonder, then, that common readersshould be mistaken in their book-worship. To such persons, for alltheir blind reverence, Dante must in reality be a wild beast--a fineanimal, it is true, but still a wild beast--and our own Milton apolemical pedant arguing by the light of poetry. To such readers, thespectacle of Ugolino devouring the head of Ruggieri, and wiping hisjaws with the hair that he might tell his story, cannot fail to give afeeling of horror and disgust, which even the glorious wings ofDante's angels--the most sublime of all such creations--would fail tochase away. The poetry of the Divine Comedy belongs to nature; itssuperstition, intolerance, and fanaticism, to the thirteenth century. These last have either passed away from the modern world or they existin new forms, and with the first alone can we have any real healthysympathy. 

One of our literary idols is Shakspeare--perhaps the greatest of themall; but although the most universal of poets, his works, taken in themass, belong to the age of Queen Elizabeth, not to ours. A critic haswell said, that if Shakspeare were now living, he would manifest thesame dramatic power, but under different forms; and his taste, hisknowledge, and his beliefs would all be different. This, however, isnot the opinion of the book-worshippers: it is not the poetry alone ofShakspeare, but the work bodily, which is preeminent with them; notthat which is universal in his genius, but that likewise which isrestricted by the fetters of time and country. The commentators, inthe same way, find it their business to bring up his shortcomings tohis ideal character, not to account for their existence by the mannersand prejudices of his age, or the literary models on which his tastewas formed. It would be easy to run over, in this way, the list ofall our great authors, and to shew that book-worship, ascontradistinguished from a wise and discriminating respect, is nothingmore than a vulgar superstition. 

We are the more inclined to put forth these ideas, at a time whenreprints are the order of the day--when speculators, with a singularblindness, are ready to take hold of almost anything that comes intheir way without the expense of copyright. It would be far morejudicious to employ persons of a correct and elegant taste to separatethe local and temporary from the universal and immortal part of ourclassics, and give us, in an independent form, what belongs toourselves and to all time. A movement was made some years ago in thisdirection by Mr Craik, who printed in one of Charles Knight'spublications a summary of the _Faëry Queen_, converting the prosaicportions into prose, and giving only the true poetry in the rich andmusical verses of Spenser. A travelling companion like this, weventure to assure our clerical friend, would not be pocketed sowearily as the original work. The harmony of the divine poet wouldsaturate his heart and beam from his eyes; and when wandering where wemet him, among the storied ruins of the Rhine, he would have by hisside not the man Spenser, surrounded by the prejudices and rudenessesof his age, but the spirit Spenser, discoursing to and with theuniversal heart of nature. Leigh Hunt, with more originality--more ofthe quality men call genius, but a less correct perception of what isreally wanted--has done the same thing for the great Italian poets;and in his sparkling pages Dante, Ariosto, Tasso, and the rest of thetuneful train, appear unfettered by the more unpleasing peculiaritiesof their mortal time. But the criticism by which their steps areattended, though full of grace and acuteness, is absolute, notrelative. They are judged by a standard of taste and feeling existingin the author's mind: the _Inferno_ is a magnificent caldron ofeverything base and detestable in human nature; and the _Orlando_, aparadise of love, beauty, and delight. Dante, the sublime poet, butinexorable bigot, meets with little tolerance from Leigh Hunt; whileAriosto, exhaustless in his wealth, ardent and exulting--full of thesame excess of life which in youth sends the blood dancing and boilingthrough the veins--has his warmest sympathy. This kind of criticism isbut a new form of the error we have pointed out; for both poetsreceive his homage--the one praised in the spontaneous outpourings ofhis heart, the other served with the rites of devil-worship. 

When we talk of the great authors of one generation pressing forwardto claim the sympathy of the _maturer_ genius of the next, we meanprecisely what we say. We are well aware that some of the greatwriters we have casually mentioned have no equals in the presentworld; yet the present world is more mature in point of taste thantheir own. That is the reason why they _are_ great authors now. Somebooks last for a season, some for a generation, some for an age, ortwo, or more; always dropping off when the time they reach outstripsthem. One of these lost treasures is sometimes reprinted; but if thisis done in the hope of a renewed popularity, the speculation is sureto fail. Curious and studious men, it is true, are gratified by thereproduction; but the general reader would prefer a book of his owngeneration, using the former as materials, and separating its immortalpart from its perishing body. 

And the general reader, be it remembered, is virtually the age. It isfor him the studious think, the imaginative invent, the tuneful sing:beyond him there is no appeal but to the future. He is superstitious, as we have seen, but his gods are few and traditional. He determinesto make a stand somewhere; and it is necessary for him to do so, if hewould not encumber his literary Olympus with a Hindoo-like pantheon ofmillions. But how voracious is this general reader in regard to theeffusions of his own day! What will become of the myriads of booksthat have passed through our own unworthy hands? How many of them willsurvive to the next generation? How many will continue to float stillfurther down the stream of time? How many will attain the honour ofthe apotheosis? And will they coexist in this exalted state with theold objects of worship? This last is a pregnant question; for eachgeneration will in all probability furnish its quota of the greatbooks of the language, and, if so, a reform in the superstition wehave exposed is no longer a matter of mere expedience, but ofnecessity. We are aware that all this will be pronounced rank heresyby those who assume the style of critics, who usually make aprodigious outcry when a great author is mutilated, even by expunginga word which modern decency excludes from the vocabulary of social andfamily intercourse. This word, however--supposing it to represent themortal and perishing part of an author's productions--belongs not tohim, but to his age; not to the intellectual man, but to the externaland fleeting manners of his day and generation. Such critics usuallytake credit to themselves for a peculiarly large and liberal spirit;but there seems to us, on the contrary, to be something mean andrestricted in views that regard the man as an individual, not as aportion of the genius which belongs to the world. Yet, even as anindividual, the man is safe in his entirety, for there is no projectof cancelling the printed works extant in our libraries, public andprivate. The true question simply is: Are great authors to be allowedto become practically obsolete--and many of them have become soalready--while we stand upon the delicacies and ceremonies ofBook-worship?

OUR TERRACE. 

London has been often compared to a wilderness--a wilderness of brick, and so in one sense it is; because you may live in London all the daysof your life if you choose--and, indeed, if you don't choose, if youhappen to be very poor--without exciting observation, or provoking anyfurther questioning than is comprised in a demand for accurateguidance from one place to another, a demand which might be made uponyou in an Arabian desert, if there you chanced to meet a stranger. ButLondon is something else besides a wilderness--indeed it is everythingelse. It is a great world, containing a thousand little worlds in itsbosom; and pop yourself down in it in any quarter you will, you aresure to find yourself in the centre of some peculiar microcosmdistinguished from all others by features more or less characteristic. 

One such little world we have lived in for a round number of years;and as we imagine it presents a picture by no means disagreeable tolook upon, we will introduce the reader, with his permission, into itsvery limited circle, and chronicle its history for one day asfaithfully as it is possible for anything to do, short of theDaguerreotype and the tax-gatherer. Our Terrace, then--for that is ourlittle world--is situated in one of the northern, southern, eastern, or western suburbs--we have reasons for not being particular--at thedistance of two miles and three-quarters from the black dome of StPaul's. It consists of thirty genteel-looking second-rate houses, standing upon a veritable terrace, at least three feet above the levelof the carriage-way, and having small gardens enclosed in ironpalisades in front of them. The garden gates open upon a pavement ofnine feet in width; the carriage-road is thirty feet across; and onthe opposite side is another but lower terrace, surmounted withhandsome semi-detached villas, with ample flower-gardens both in frontand rear, those in the front being planted, but rather sparingly, withlimes, birches, and a few specimens of the white-ash, which insummertime overshadow the pavement, and shelter a passing pedestrianwhen caught in a shower. At one end of Our Terrace, there is arespectable butcher's shop, a public-house, and a shop which isperpetually changing owners, and making desperate attempts toestablish itself as something or other, without any particularpartiality for any particular line of business. It has been by turns aprint-shop, a stationer's, a circulating library, a toy-shop, aBerlin-wool shop, a music and musical-instrument shop, a haberdasher'sshop, a snuff and cigar shop, and one other thing which has escapedour memory--and all within the last seven years. Each retiringspeculator has left his stock-in-trade, along with the good-will, tohis successor; and at the present moment it is a combination of shops, where everything you don't want is to be found in a state ofdilapidation, together with a very hungry-looking proprietor, who, forwant of customers upon whom to exercise his ingenuity, pulls away allday long upon the accordion to the tune of _We're a' noddin'_. Theother end of Our Terrace has its butcher, its public-house, itsgrocer, and a small furniture-shop, doing a small trade, under thecharge of a very small boy. Let thus much suffice for the physiologyof our subject. We proceed to record its history, as it may be read byany one of the inhabitants who chooses to spend the waking hours of asingle day in perusing it from his parlour window. 

It is a fine morning in the middle of June, and the clock of thechurch at the end of the road is about striking seven, when theparlour shutters and the street doors of the terrace begin to open oneby one. By a quarter past, the servant-girls, having lighted theirfires, and put the kettle on to boil for breakfast, are ostensiblybusy in sweeping the pathways of the small front-gardens, but areactually enjoying a simultaneous gossip together over the gardenrailings--a fleeting pleasure, which must be nipped in the bud, because master goes to town at half-past eight, and his boots are notyet cleaned, or his breakfast prepared. Now the bedroom-bell rings, which means hot water; and this is no sooner up, than mistress isdown, and breakfast is laid in the parlour. At a quarter before eight, the eggs are boiled, and the bacon toasted, and the first seriousbusiness of the day is in course of transaction. Mr Jones of No. 9, MrRobinson of No. 10, and Mr Brown of No. 11, are bound to be at theirseveral posts in the city at nine o'clock; and having swallowed ahasty breakfast, they may be seen, before half-past eight has chimed, walking up and down the terrace chatting together, and wonderingwhether 'that Smith, ' as usual, means to keep the omnibus waiting thismorning, or whether he will come forth in time. Precisely as the halfhour strikes, the tin horn of the omnibus sounds its shrill blast, andthe vehicle is seen rattling round the corner, stopping one moment atNo. 28, to take up Mr Johnson. On it comes, with a fresh blast, towhere the commercial trio are waiting for it; out rushes Smith, wipinghis mouth, and the 'bus, ' swallowing up the whole four, rumbles andtrumpets on to take up Thompson, Jackson, and Richardson, who, cigarsin mouth, are waiting at a distance of forty paces off to ascend theroof. An hour later, a second omnibus comes by on the same benevolenterrand, for the accommodation of those gentlemen, more favoured byfortune, who are not expected to be at the post of business until thehour of ten. As Our Terrace does not stand in a direct omnibus route, these are all the 'buses' that will pass in the course of the day. Thegentlemen whom they convey every morning to town are regularcustomers, and the vehicles diverge from their regular course in orderto pick them up at their own doors. 

About half-past nine, or from that to a quarter to ten, comes thepostman with his first delivery of letters for the day. Our Terrace isthe most toilsome part of his beat, for having to serve both sides ofthe way, his progress is very like that of a ship at sea sailingagainst the wind. R'tat he goes on our side, then down he jumps intothe road--B'bang on the other side--tacks about again, and serves theterrace--off again, and serves the villas, and so on till he hasfairly epistolised both sides of the way, and vanished round thecorner. The vision of his gold band and red collar is anxiously lookedfor in the morning by many a fair face, which a watchful observer maysee furtively peering through the drawing-room window-curtains. Afterhe has departed, and the well-to-do merchants and employers who residein the villas opposite have had time to look over theircorrespondence, come sundry neat turn-outs from the stables andcoach-houses in the rear of the villas: a light, high gig, drawn by afrisky grey, into which leaps young Oversea the shipbroker--acomfortable, cushioned four-wheel drawn by a pair of bay ponies, intowhich old Discount climbs heavily, followed perhaps by his twodaughters, bound on a shopping-visit to the city--and a spicy-looking, rattling trap, with a pawing horse, which has a decided objection tostanding still, for Mr Goadall, the wealthy cattle-drover. These, withother vehicles of less note, all roll off the ground by a quarterafter ten o'clock or so; and the ladies and their servants, with somefew exceptions, are left in undisputed possession of home, while not afootfall of man or beast is heard in the sunshiny quiet of the street. 

The quiet, however, is broken before long by a peculiar and suggestivecry. We do not hear it yet ourselves, but Stalker, our black cat andfamiliar, has caught the well-known accents, and with a characteristiccrooning noise, and a stiff, perpendicular erection of tail, he sidlestowards the door, demanding, as plainly as possible, to be let out. Yes, it is the cats-meat man. 'Ca' me-e-et--me-yet--me-e-yet!' fillsthe morning air, and arouses exactly thirty responsive felinevoices--for there is a cat to every house--and points thirty aspiringtails to the zenith. As many hungry tabbies, sables, andtortoise-shells as can get out of doors, are trooping together witharched backs upon the pavement, following the little pony-cart, thecats' commissariat equipage, and each one, anxious for his dailyallowance, contributing most musically his quota to the generalconcert. We do not know how it is, but the cats-meat man is the mostunerring and punctual of all those peripatetic functionaries whoundertake to cater for the consumption of the public. The baker, thebutcher, the grocer, the butterman, the fishmonger, and the coster, occasionally forget your necessities, or omit to call for yourorders--the cats-meat man never. Other traders, too, dispense theirstock by a sliding-scale, and are sometimes out of stock altogether:Pussy's provider, on the contrary, sticks to one price from year's endto year's end, and never, in the memory of the oldest Grimalkin, wasknown to disappoint a customer. A half-penny for a cat's breakfast hasbeen the regulation-price ever since the horses of the metropolisbegan to submit to the boiling process for the benefit of the felinerace. 

By the time the cats have retired to growl over their allowance inprivate, the daily succession of nomadic industrials begin to lift uptheir voices, and to defile slowly along Our Terrace, stopping now andthen to execute a job or effect a sale when an opportunity presentsitself. Our limits will not allow us to notice them all, but we mustdevote a few paragraphs to those without whom our picture would beincomplete. 

First comes an ingenious lass of two or three-and-twenty, with aflaming red shawl, pink ribbons in her bonnet, and the hue of healthon a rather saucy face. She carries a large basket on her left arm, and in her right hand she displays to general admiration a gorgeousgroup of flowers, fashioned twice the size of life, from tissue-paperof various colours. She lifts up her voice occasionally as she marchesslowly along, singing, in a clear accent: 'Flowers--ornamental papersfor the stove--flowers! paper-flowers!' She is the accredited heraldof summer--a phenomenon, this year, of very late appearance. We shouldhave seen her six weeks ago, if the summer had not declined to appearat the usual season. She is the gaudy, party-coloured ephemera ofstreet commerce, and will disappear from view in a fortnight's time, to be seen no more until the opening summer of '53. Her wares, whichare manufactured with much taste, and with an eye to the harmony ofcolours, are in much request among the genteel housewives of thesuburbs. They are exceedingly cheap, considering the skill which mustbe applied in their construction. They are all the work of her ownhands, and have occupied her time and swallowed up her capital forsome months past. She enjoys almost a monopoly in her art, and is notto be beaten down in the price of her goods. She knows their value, and is more independent than an artist dares to be in the presence ofa patron. Her productions are a pleasant summer substitute for thecheerful fire of winter; and it is perhaps well for her that, beforethe close of autumn, the faded hues of the flowers, and the harbourthey afford to dust, will convert them into waste paper, in spite ofall the care that may be taken to preserve them. 

Paper Poll, as the servants call her, is hardly out of sight, and notout of hearing, when a young fellow and his wife come clattering alongthe pavement, appealing to all who may require their good offices inthe matter of chair-mending. The man is built up in a sort ofcage-work of chairs stuck about his head and shoulders, and his dirtyphiz is only half visible through a kind of grill of legs andcross-bars. These are partly commissions which, having executed athome, he is carrying to their several owners. But as everybody doesnot choose to trust him away with property, he is ready to executeorders on the spot; and to this end his wife accompanies him on hisrounds. She is loaded with a small bag of tools suspended at herwaist, and a plentiful stock of split-cane under one arm. He willweave a new cane-seat to an old chair for 9d. , and he will set downhis load and do it before your eyes in your own garden, if you preferthat to intrusting him with it; that is, he will make the bargain, andhis wife will weave the seat under his supervision, unless therehappen to be two to be repaired, when husband and wife will worktogether. We have noticed that it is a very silent operation, that ofweaving chair-bottoms; and that though the couple may be seated for anhour and more together rapidly plying the flexible canes, they neverexchange a word with each other till the task is accomplished. Sometimes the wife is left at a customer's door working alone, whilethe husband wanders further on in search of other employment, returning by the time she has finished her task. But there are nochairs to mend this morning on Our Terrace, and our bamboo friends mayjog on their way. 

Now resounds from a distance the cry of 'All a-growin' an'a-blowin'--all a-blowin', a-blowin' here!' and in a few minutes thetravelling florist makes his appearance, driving before him abroad-surfaced handcart, loaded in profusion with exquisite flowers ofall hues, in full bloom, and, to all appearance, thriving famously. Itmay happen, however, as it has happened to us, that the blossoms nowso vigorous and blooming, may all drop off on the second or third day;and the naked plant, after making a sprawling and almost successfulattempt to reach the ceiling for a week or so, shall become suddenlysapless and withered, the emblem of a broken-down and emaciatedsot--and, what is more, ruined from the self-same cause, an overdoseof stimulating fluid. It may happen, on the other hand, that the plantshall have suffered no trick of the gardener's trade, and shall bloomfairly to the end of its natural term. The commerce in blossomingflowers is one of the most uncertain and dangerous speculations inwhich the small street-traders of London can engage. When carried onunder favourable circumstances, it is one of the most profitable, thedemand for flowers being constant and increasing; but the wholestock-in-trade of a small perambulating capitalist may be ruined by ashower of rain, which will spoil their appearance for the market, andprevent his selling them before they are overblown. Further, as few ofthese dealers have any means of housing this kind of stock safelyduring the night, they are often compelled to part with them, after anunfavourable day, at less than prime cost, to prevent a total loss. Still, there are never wanting men of a speculative turn of mind, andthe cry of 'All a-blowin' an' a-growin'' resounds through the streetsas long as the season supplies flowers to grow and to blow. 

The flower-merchant wheels off, having left a good sprinkling ofgeraniums in our neighbours' windows; and his cousin-german, 'thegraveller, ' comes crawling after him, with his cart and stout horse inthe middle of the road, while he walks on one side of the pavement, and his assistant on the other. This fellow is rather a singularcharacter, and one that is to be met with probably nowhere upon theface of the earth but in the suburbs of London. He is, _parexcellence_, the exponent of a feeling which pervades the popular mindin the metropolis on the subject of the duty which respectable peopleowe to respectability. It is impossible for a housekeeper in aneighbourhood having any claims to gentility, to escape therecognition of this feeling in the lower class of industrials. If youhave a broken window in the front of your house, the travellingglazier thinks, to use his own expression, that _you have a right_ tohave it repaired, and therefore that he, having discovered thefracture, has a right to the job of mending it. If your bell-handle isout of order or broken off, the travelling bellman thinks he has aright to repair it, and bores you, in fact, until you commission himto do so--and so on. In the same manner, and on the same principle, sosoon as the fine weather sets in, and the front-gardens begin to lookgay, the graveller loads his cart with gravel, and shouldering hisspade, crawls leisurely through the suburbs with his companion, peering into every garden; and wherever he sees that the walks aregrown dingy or moss-grown, he knocks boldly at the door, and demandsto be set to work in mending your ways. The best thing you can do isto make the bargain and employ him at once; if not, he will be roundagain to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, and bore you intoconsenting at last. You live in a respectable house, and you _have aright_ to keep your garden in a respectable condition--and thegraveller is determined that you shall do so: has he not broughtgravel to the door on purpose? it will cost you but a shilling or two. Thus he lays down the law in his own mind; and sooner or later, assure as fate, he lays down the gravel in your garden. 

While the graveller is patting down the pathway round Robinson'sflower-bed, we hear the well-known cry of a countryman whom we haveknown any time these ten years, and who, with his wife by his side, has perambulated the suburbs for the best part of his life. He hastaken upon himself the patronage of the laundry department, and heshoulders a fagot of clothes-poles, ten feet long, with forkedextremities, all freshly cut from the forest. Coils of new rope fordrying are hanging upon his arm, and his wife carries a basket wellstocked with clothes-pins of a superior description, manufactured bythemselves. The cry of 'Clo'-pole-line-pins' is one long familiar tothe neighbourhood; and as this honest couple have earned a goodreputation by a long course of civility and probity, they enjoy theadvantage of a pretty extensive connection. Their perambulations areconfined to the suburbs, and it is a question if they ever enterLondon proper from one year's end to another. It is of no use to carryclothes-poles and drying-lines where there are no conveniences forwashing and drying. 

Next comes a travelling umbrella-mender, fagoted on the back like theman in the moon of the nursery rhyme-book. He is followed at a shortdistance by a travelling tinker, swinging his live-coals in a sort oftin censer, and giving utterance to a hoarse and horrible cry, intelligible only to the cook who has a leaky sauce-pan. Then comesthe chamois-leather woman, bundled about with damaged skins, inrequest for the polishing of plate and plated wares. She is one ofthat persevering class who will hardly take 'No' for an answer. Ittakes her a full hour to get through the terrace, for she enters everygarden, and knocks at every door from No. 1 to No. 30. In thewinter-time, she pursues an analogous trade, dealing in what maystrictly be termed the raw material, inasmuch as she then buys andcries hare-skins and rabbit-skins. She has, unfortunately, anotoriously bad character, and is accused of being addicted to thepractice of taking tenpence and a hare-skin in exchange for acounterfeit shilling. 

By this time it is twelve o'clock and past, and Charley Coster, whoserves the terrace with vegetables, drives up his stout cob to thedoor, and is at the very moment we write bargaining with Betty for newpotatoes at threepence-half-penny a pound. Betty declares it is ascandalous price for potatoes. 'Yes, dear, ' says Charley; 'an' anotherscanlous thing is, that I can't sell 'em for no less. ' Charley is themost affectionate of costers, and is a general favourite with theabigails of the terrace. His turn-out is the very model of atravelling green-grocer's shop, well stocked with all the fruits andvegetables of the season; and he himself is a model of a coster, cleanshaved, clean shod, and trimly dressed, with a flower in hisbutton-hole, an everlasting smile upon his face, and the nattiest ofneck-ties. The cunning rogue pretends to be smitten with Betty, andmost likely does the same with all the other Bettys of theneighbourhood, to all of whom he chatters incessantly of everythingand everybody--save and except of the wife and three children waitingfor him at home. He will leave a good portion of his stock behind himwhen he quits the terrace. 

After Charley has disappeared, there is a pause for an hour or two inthe flow of professionals past Our Terrace. The few pedestrians thatpass along are chiefly gentlefolks, who have come abroad this finemorning for an airing--to take a constitutional, and to pick up anappetite for dinner. You may chance to hear the cry of 'Oranges andnuts, ' or of 'Cod--live cod, ' and you may be entertained by a band ofmusicians in a gaily-coloured van patrolling for the purpose ofadvertising the merits of something or other which is to be had fornothing at all, or the next thing to it, if you can prevail uponyourself to go and fetch it. Perhaps Punch and Judy will pitch theirlittle citadel in front of your dwelling; or, more likely still, aband of mock Ethiopians, with fiddle, castanets, and banjo, may temptyour liberality with a performance of _Uncle Ned_ or _Old Dan Tucker_;or a corps of German musicians may trumpet you into a fit of martialardour; or a wandering professor of the German flute soothe you into astate of romance. 

As the afternoon wears on, the tranquillity grows more profound. Thevillas opposite stand asleep in the sunshine; the sound of a singlefootstep is heard on the pavement; and anon you hear the feeble, cracked voice of old Willie, the water-cress man, distinctlyarticulating the cry of 'Water-cresses; fine brown water-cresses;royal Albert water-cresses; the best in London--everybody say so. ' Thewater-cresses are welcomed on the terrace as an ornament and somethingmore to the tea-table; and while tea is getting ready for theinhabitants of the terrace, the dwellers in the opposite villas areseen returning to dinner. The lame match-man now hobbles along uponhis crutches, with his little basket of lucifers suspended at hisside. He is thoroughly deaf and three parts dumb, uttering nothingbeyond an incomprehensible kind of croak by way of a demand forcustom. He is a privileged being, whom nobody thinks of interferingwith. He has the _entrée_ of all the gardens on both sides of the way, and is the acknowledged depositary of scraps and remnants of all kindswhich have made their last appearance upon the dinner or supper table. 

About five o'clock, the tinkling note of the muffin-bell strikesagreeably upon the ear, suggestive of fragrant souchong andbottom-crusts hot, crackling, and unctuous. Now ensues a delicatesavour in the atmosphere of the terrace kitchens, and it is just atits height when Smith, Brown, Jones, and Robinson are seen walkingbriskly up the terrace. They all go in at Smith's, where themuffin-man went in about half an hour before, and left half his stockbehind him. By six o'clock, the lords and ladies of Our Terrace arecongregated round their tea-urns; and by seven, you may see from oneof the back-windows a tolerable number of the lords, arrayed indressing-gowns and slippers, and some of them with corpulentmeerschaums dangling from their mouths, strolling leisurely in thegardens in the rear of their dwellings, and amusing themselves withtheir children, whose prattling voices and innocent laughter minglewith the twittering of those suburban songsters, the sparrows, andwith the rustling of the foliage, stirred by the evening breeze. Thesepleasant sounds die away by degrees. Little boys and girls go to bed;the gloom of twilight settles down upon the gardens; candles arelighted in the drawing-rooms, and from a dozen houses at oncepianofortes commence their harmony. At No. 12, the drawing-roomwindows are open, though the blinds are down; and the slow-pacingpoliceman pauses in his round, and leans against the iron railings, being suddenly brought up by the richly-harmonious strains of a gleefor three voices: Brown, Jones, and Robinson are doing the _Chough andCrow_; and Smith, who prides himself on his semi-grand, which he tuneswith his own hands once a week, is doing the accompaniment in his beststyle. The merry chorus swells delightfully upon the ear, and is heardhalf way down the terrace: the few foot-passengers who are passingstop under the window to listen, till one of them is imprudent enoughto cry 'Encore, ' when down go the windows, and the harmonious soundsare shut in from vulgar ears. 

It is by this time nearly half-past nine o'clock, and now comes theregular nightly 'tramp, tramp' of the police, marching in Indian file, and heavily clad in their night-gear. They come to replace theguardians of the day by those of the night. One of the number fallsout of the line on the terrace, where he commences his nocturnalwanderings, and guarantees the peace and safety of the inhabitants forthe succeeding eight hours: the rest tramp onwards to their distantstations. The echoes of their iron heels have hardly died away, whenthere is a sudden and almost simultaneous eruption from everygarden-gate on the terrace of clean-faced, neat-aproned, red-elbowedservant-girls, each and all armed with a jug or a brace of jugs, witha sprinkling of black bottles among them, and all bound to one orother of the public-houses which guard the terrace at either end. Itis the hour of supper; and the supper-beer, and the after-suppernightcaps, for those who indulge in them, have to be procured from thepublican. This is an occasion upon which Betty scorns to hurry; butshe takes time by the forelock, starting for the beer as soon as thecloth is laid, and before master has finished his pipe, or his game ofchess, or Miss Clementina her song, in order that she may have leisurefor a little gossip with No. 7 on the one hand, or No. 9 on theother. She goes out without beat of drum, and lets herself in with thestreet-door key without noise, bringing home, besides the desideratedbeverage, the news of the day, and the projects of next-door for themorrow, with, it may be, a plan for the enjoyment of her next monthlyholiday. 

Supper is the last great business of the day upon Our Terrace, which, by eleven at night, is lapped in profound repose. The moon rides highin mid-sky, and the black shadows of the trees lie motionless on thewhite pavement. Not a footfall is heard abroad; the only sound that isaudible as you put your head out of the window, to look up at theglimmering stars and radiant moon, is the distant and monotonousmurmur of the great metropolis, varied now and then by the shrillscream of a far-off railway-whistle, or the 'cough, cough, cough' ofthe engine of some late train. We are sober folks on the terrace, andare generally all snug abed before twelve o'clock. The last sound thatreadies our ears ere we doze off into forgetfulness, is the slow, lumbering, earthquaky advance of a huge outward-bound wagon. We hearit at the distance of half a mile, and note distinctly the crushingand pulverising of every small stone which the broad wheels roll overas they sluggishly proceed on their way. It rocks us in our beds as itpasses the house; and for twenty minutes afterwards, if we are awakeso long, we are aware that it is groaning heavily onwards, and shakingthe solid earth in its progress--till it sinks away in silence, or weinto the land of dreams. 

SLAVES IN BRITAIN. 

It has sometimes been predicted, not without plausibility, that ifthis great empire should sink before the rising genius of some newstate, when all it has accomplished in arts and arms, and its wealth, its literature, its machinery, are forgotten, its struggles forhumanity in the abolition of negro slavery will stand forth inundiminished lustre. All the steps of this mighty operation areinteresting. It is a peculiarity of England and its institutions, thatmany of the most momentous constitutional conflicts have taken placein the courts of law. In despotic countries, this seldom occurs, because the rulers can bend the courts of law to their pleasure; buthere, even under the worst governments, whatever degree of freedom wasreally warranted by law, could be secured by the courts of justice. When it was said that the air of Britain was too pure for a slave tobreathe in--that his shackles fell off whenever he reached her happyshore--the sentiment was noble; but the question depended entirely onthe law and its technical details. The trials resulting in a decisionagainst slavery, have thus much interest from the influence theyexercised on human progress. 

There seemed to be every probability that the interesting question, whether ownership in slaves continued after they had reached Britain, would have been tried in Scotland. In the middle of last century, a MrSheddan had brought home from Virginia a negro slave to be taught atrade. He was baptised, and, learning his trade, began to acquirenotions of freedom and citizenship. When the master thought he hadbeen long enough in Scotland to suit his purpose, the negro was put onboard a vessel for Virginia. He got a friend, however, to present forhim a petition to the Court of Session. The professional report of thecase in _Morison's Dictionary of Decisions_ says: 'The Lords appointedcounsel for the negro, and ordered memorials, and afterwards a hearingin presence, upon the respective claims of liberty and servitude bythe master and the negro; but during the hearing in presence, thenegro died, so the point was not determined. ' In the English case, towhich we shall presently advert, it was maintained, that from theknown temper and opinions of the court, the decision, wouldundoubtedly have been in the negro's favour. At the time when MrGrenville Sharp, to his immortal honour, took up in the courts of lawthe question of personal liberty as a legal right, there was a moreserious risk of Britain becoming a slave state than it is now easy toimagine. There was no chance of negroes being employed in gangs in thefield or in manufactories, but there was imminent danger of theirbeing brought over and kept in multitudes as domestic servants, justas they are still in some of the southern states of America. Mr Sharpdrew attention to the following advertisement in the _PublicAdvertiser_ of 28th March 1769, as one of a kind becoming too common:

'To be sold, a Black Girl, the property of J. B----, eleven years ofage, who is extremely handy, works at her needle tolerably, and speaksEnglish perfectly well; is of an excellent temper and willingdisposition. 

'Inquire of Mr Owen, at the Angel Inn, behind St Clement's Church inthe Strand. '

Mr Sharp's early conflicts in the law-courts are more romantic thanthe last and decisive one. He and his brother had found a poormendicant negro, called Jonathan Strong, in rags on the streets ofLondon. They took him into their service, and after he had becomeplump, strong, and acquainted with his business, the man who hadbrought him from the colonies, an attorney, seeing him behind acarriage, set covetous eyes on him. The lad was waylaid on a falsemessage to a public-house, seized, and committed to the Compter, where, however, he managed to make Mr Sharp acquainted with hisposition. The indefatigable philanthropist had him brought before thelord mayor as sitting magistrate. After hearing the case stated, hislordship said: 'The lad had not stolen anything, and was not guilty ofany offence, and was therefore at liberty to go away. ' A captain of avessel, saying he had been employed by a person who had just boughtthe youth, to convey him to Jamaica, seized him by the arm as hisemployer's property. A lawyer standing behind Mr Sharp, who seems tohave been puzzled how to proceed, whispered, 'Charge him. ' Sharpcharged the captain with an assault, and as he would have beenimmediately committed by the lord mayor if he persisted, he let go hishold. The philanthropist was threatened with a prosecution forabstraction of property, but it was abandoned. 

This occurred in 1767. The next important case was that of a negronamed Lewis. He 'had formerly, ' says Mr Sharp's biographer, 'been aslave in possession of a Mr Stapylton, who now resided at Chelsea. Stapylton, with the aid of two watermen, whom he had hired for thatpurpose, in a dark night seized the person of Lewis, and, after astruggle, dragged him on his back into the water, and thence into aboat lying in the Thames, where, having first tied his legs, theyendeavoured to gag him by running a stick into his mouth; and thenrowing down to a ship bound for Jamaica, whose commander waspreviously engaged in the wicked conspiracy, they put him on board, tobe sold as a slave on his arrival in the island. ' The negro's cries, however, were heard; the struggle was witnessed; and information givenin the quarter whence aid was most likely to come. Mr Sharp lost notime in obtaining a writ of habeas corpus. The ship in the meantimehad sailed from Gravesend, but the officer with the writ was able toboard her in the Downs. There he saw the negro chained to the mast. The captain was at first furious, and determined to resist; but heknew the danger of deforcing an officer with, such a writ as a habeascorpus, and found it necessary to yield. The writ came up before LordMansfield. He did not go into the general question of slavery, forthere was an incidental point on which the case could be decided onthe side of humanity--the captain and the persons employing him couldnot prove their property in the slave, supposing such property lawful. He was not only liberated, but his captors were convicted of assault. 

These cases, however, did not decide the wide question, whether it waslawful to hold property in negroes in this country. It came at last tobe solemnly decided in 1771, on a habeas corpus in the King's Bench. Affidavits having been made before Lord Mansfield, that a colouredman, named Somerset, was confined in irons on board a vessel calledthe _Ann and Mary_, bound for Jamaica, he granted a habeas corpusagainst the captain, to compel him to give an account of his authorityfor keeping the man in custody. Somerset had been a slave in Virginia, the property of a Mr Stewart; and the captain of the vessel statedthat the owner had put him on board, to be conveyed to Jamaica, andthere sold. In what was called the return to the writ, thejustification for keeping Somerset in restraint was thus quaintlystated:--'That at the time of bringing the said James Somerset fromAfrica, and long before, there were, and from thence hitherto therehave been, and still are, great numbers of negro slaves in Africa; andthat during all the time aforesaid, there hath been, and still is atrade, carried on by his majesty's subjects from Africa, to hismajesty's colonies or plantations of Virginia and Jamaica, in America, and other colonies and plantations belonging to his majesty inAmerica, for the necessary supplying of the foresaid colonies andplantations with negro slaves. ' It proceeded to relate with the sameverbosity, that the slaves so brought from Africa 'have been and aresaleable and sold as goods and chattels; and upon the sale thereof, have become, and been, and are, the slaves and property of thepurchasers thereof. ' It was stated that Mr Stewart, who resided inVirginia, had Somerset as a domestic slave or valet--that havingbusiness to transact in London, he took his usual attendant there, intending to take him back to Virginia. Somerset, however, made hisescape; and when he was apprehended, his master, probably believingthat he would thenceforth be rather a troublesome valet, changed hisintention, and put the negro into the hands of the captain of a vesselbound for Jamaica, that he might be sold there. 

The pleadings upon the legality of this proceeding were solemn andfull. The question was, Whether it was to be held a just inference, from the fact of the slave, being undoubtedly by the law of the dayproperty in the colonies, that, while his colonial master made atemporary stay in Britain, he should be property there also, withoutany direct law to that effect. Had it been a question of inanimategoods, there would be no reason why the property should not continuein the colonial owner. It would be all one to the inanimate objectwhat hands it was in, and regularity and justice would decree that theperson who was owner of it in one country should be so in another. Butin these cases there was a separate adverse interest of a very strongcharacter. Was the uniformity of this right of possession sufficientto overrule another right--that which every man, black or white, hadto the freedom of his own person, unless there was special law torestrain it? The counsel for the negro not only pleaded strongly onthis his personal right, but on the consequence to the moral conditionof the British Empire, if the inhabitants of slave countries couldbring their slaves hither. From the strictness of the laws, and theuniformity of the course of justice, if slaves were permitted inEngland, it was the very place where property in them would be mostsecure. Thus the country might become a resort of slaveholders, andits boasted purity and freedom would be sadly contaminated. 'If thatright, ' said Mr Hargrave, 'is here recognised, domestic slavery, withits horrid train of evils, may be lawfully imported into this country, at the discretion of every individual, foreign and native. It willcome not only from our own colonies, and those of other Europeannations, but from Poland, Russia, Spain, and Turkey--from the coast ofBarbary, from the western and eastern coasts of Africa--from everypart of the world where it still continues to torment and dishonourthe human species. '

The counsel on the other side was the celebrated Mr Dunning, afterwards Lord Ashburton, a friend of freedom, who seems to haveundertaken the cause on notions of professional duty, and without anygreat inclination for it. His first words were: 'It is incumbent on meto justify Captain Knowles's detainer of the negro. ' He was careful toshew, that he did not in the meantime maintain that there was anabsolute property in Somerset--it was sufficient to shew, that therewas a sufficient presumption of property to authorise the shipmasterin detaining him until the absolute question of right was solemnlysettled. He proceeded to say: 'It is my misfortune to address anaudience, the greater part of which I fear are prejudiced the otherway. But wishes, I am well convinced, will never be allowed by yourlordships to enter into the determination of the point. This causemust be what in fact and law it is. Its fate, I trust, therefore, depends on fixed and variable rules, resulting by law from the natureof the case. For myself, I would not be understood to intimate a wishin favour of slavery by any means; nor, on the other side, to besupposed the maintainer of an opinion contrary to my own judgment. Iam bound in duty to maintain those arguments which are most useful toCaptain Knowles, as far as is consistent with truth; and if hisconduct has been agreeable to the laws throughout, I am under afurther indispensable duty to support it. '

Much reference was made to the ancient laws of villenage, orsemi-slavery, in Britain. Mr Dunning maintained, that these weretestimony that a slave was not an utter anomaly in the country. Theclass of villeins had disappeared, and the law regarding them wasabolished in the reign of Charles II. But he maintained, that therewas nothing in that circumstance to prohibit others from establishinga claim upon separate grounds. He said: 'If the statute of Charles II. Ever be repealed, the law of villenage revives in its full force. ' Itwas stated that there were in Britain 15, 000 negroes in the sameposition with Somerset. They had come over as domestics during thetemporary sojourn of their owner-masters, intending to go back again. Then it was observed, that many of the slaves were in ships or incolonies which had not special laws for the support of slavery; and bythe disfranchisement of these, British subjects would lose manymillions' worth of property, which they believed themselves justly topossess. 

British justice, however, has held at all times the question of humanliberty to be superior to considerations of mere expediency. If thequestion be, who gains or loses most, there never can be a doubt thatthe man whose freedom has been reft from him has the greatest of allclaims for indulgence. Accordingly, Lord Mansfield, the presidingjudge, looking in the face all the threatened evils to property, heldthat nothing but absolute law could trench on personal freedom. Heused on the occasion a Latin expression, to the effect that justicemust be done at whatever cost; it has found its way into use as aclassical expression, and as no one has been able to find it in anyLatin author, it is supposed to have been of Lord Mansfield's owncoining. 'Mr Stewart, ' he said, 'advances no claims on contract; herests his whole demand on a right to the negro as slave, and mentionsthe purpose of detainure of him to be the sending him over to be soldin Jamaica. If the parties will have judgment, _fiat justitia ruatcoelum_--Let justice be done whatever be the consequence. ' In finallydelivering judgment, he concluded in these simple but expressiveterms: 'The state of slavery is of such a nature, that it is incapableof being introduced, on any reasons, moral or political, but only bypositive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, occasion, and time itself, for which it was created, are erased frommemory. It is so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support itbut positive law. Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow fromthe decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the lawof England; and therefore the black must be discharged. '

A few years afterwards--in 1778--a case occurred in Scotland, wherethe question of a master's rights over a negro slave in Britain was atissue. The right claimed in this case, however, was not of sooffensive a nature. The master did not claim the power of seizing thenegro as his property. He maintained, however, that their mutualposition gave him a right to claim the negro's services, as if he hadengaged himself as a servant for life. Mr Wedderburn had bought inJamaica a negro named Knight, about twelve years old. He came toScotland as Mr Wedderburn's personal servant, married in the country, and for some years seemed contented with his position. Probably at thesuggestion of some one who wished to try the question, as it had beentried in England, Knight went off, avowing his intention of beingfree. Mr Wedderburn applied to a justice of peace, who at once issueda warrant for the negro's apprehension. The matter, however, camebefore the sheriff, a professional judge, who decided that thecolonial laws of slavery do not extend to Scotland, and that personalservice for life is just another term for slavery. After a tediouslitigation, this view was affirmed by the Court of Session, and thenegro was declared free. The case acquired notice from the interesttaken in it by Dr Johnson, and the frequent mention of it in Boswell'swell-known work. 

THE OLD HOUSEKEEPER'S TALE. 

After my good and excellent mistress, Mrs Dacre, departed this lifefor a better, it seemed as if nothing ever prospered in the family, whom I had the honour of serving in the capacity of confidentialhousekeeper. Mr Dacre became morose and careless of his affairs; hissons were a source of great misery to him, pursuing a course ofreckless extravagance and heartless dissipation; while the five youngladies--the youngest of whom, however, had attained the age oftwenty-four--cared for little else than dress, and visiting, and emptyshow. These five young ladies had not amiable dispositions or gentlemanners; but they were first-rate horsewomen, laughed and talked veryloud, and were pronounced fine dashing women. There was another memberof the family, an orphan niece of my master's, who had greatlyprofited by my lamented lady's teaching and companionship. Miss Marionhad devoted herself to the sick-room with even more than a daughter'slove; and for two years she had watched beside the patient sufferer, when her more volatile and thoughtless cousins refused to credit theapproach of death. Miss Marion had just entered her twentieth year;life had not been all summer with her; for she remembered scenes ofprivation and distress, ere the decease of her parents left her, theironly child, to the care of affluent relatives. She was a serious andmeek, but affectionate creature; of a most goodly countenance andgraceful carriage; and I used sometimes to think that the Misses Dacrewere jealous of the admiration she excited, and kept her in thebackground as much as possible. It was not difficult to do this, forMiss Marion sought and loved retirement. After Mrs Dacre's decease, she had expressed an urgent wish to earn her bread by filling thesituation of a governess. But the pride of the Dacres revolted atthis; besides, Miss Marion was a comfort to her uncle, when hisdaughters were absent or occupied. So the dear young lady gave up herown wishes, and strove to do all she could for her generousbenefactor, as she was wont to call my master. 

Circumstances, which it were needless to detail, except to say that, although I had served _one_ mistress satisfactorily, I found itimpossible to serve _five_, determined me to resign the situation Ihad creditably filled for so many years. I deeply grieved to leave mybeloved Miss Marion; and she, sweet, humble soul, on her part, yearnedtowards me, and wept a farewell on my bosom. I betook myself, in thefirst instance, to my brother Thomas Wesley and his wife--a worthycouple without children, renting a small farm nearly a hundred milesoff. A very pleasant, small farm it was, situated in a picturesquevalley, through which tumbled and foamed a limpid hill-stream, washingthe roots of fine old trees, and playing all sorts of antics. Thisvalley was a resort of quiet anglers, and also of artists during thesummer season; and Thomas and Martha Wesley often let a neat parlourand adjoining bedroom to such respectable, steady people as did notobject to observe the primitive hours and customs enforced at FairdownFarm. Here I enjoyed the privilege of writing to, and hearing from, mydear Miss Marion; and though she never complained, or suffered amurmur to escape her, yet from the tenor of her letters I had greatcause to fear things were all going very wrong at Mr Dacre's, and thather own health, always delicate, was giving way beneath the pressureof anxiety and unkindness. 

In less than six months after I had quitted the family, a climax, which I had long anticipated with dread, actually arrived. Mr Dacre, suddenly called to his account, was found to have left his temporalaffairs involved in inextricable and hopeless ruin; and amid thegeneral crash and desolation, who was to shield or befriend the poordependent, the orphan niece, Miss Marion? She was rudely cast adrifton the cold world; her proffered sympathy and services tauntinglyrejected by those who had now a hard battle to fight on their ownaccount. Broken down in health and spirits, the poor young lady flewto me, her humble, early friend, gratefully and eagerly availingherself of Thomas Wesley's cordial invitation, to make his house herhome for the present. 

My brother was a kind-hearted, just man; he had once been to see mewhen I lived at Mr Dacre's; and that gentleman, in his palmy days, wastruly hospitable and generous to all comers. Thomas never forgot hisreception, and now he was a proud and happy man to be enabled thus tooffer 'a slight return, ' as he modestly said, to one of the family. With much concern we all viewed Miss Marion's wan and careworn looks, so touching in the young; 'But her dim blue een will get bright again, and she'll fill out--never fear, ' said Martha Wesley to me, by way ofcomfort and encouragement, 'now we've got her amongst _us_, poor dear. I doubt those proud Misses Dacre were not over-tender with such a oneas sweet Miss Marion'----

'Dame, dame, don't let that tongue of thine wag so fast, ' interruptedThomas, for he never liked to hear people ill spoken of behind theirbacks, though he would speak out plainly enough to everybody's face. 

A few days after Miss Marion's arrival at Fairdown (it was just at thehay-making season, and the earth was very beautiful--birds singing andflowers blooming--soft breezes blowing, and musical streamletsmurmuring rejoicingly in the sunshine), a pedestrian was seenadvancing leisurely up the valley, coming in a direction from theneighbouring town--a distance, however, of some miles, and the nearestpoint where the coach stopped. The stranger, aided in his walk by astout stick, was a short, thickset, elderly man, clad in brownhabiliments from head to foot: a brown, broad-brimmed beaver, anantiquated brown spencer (a brown wig must not be omitted), browngaiters, and brown cloth boots, completed his attire. His linen wasspotless and fine, his countenance rubicund and benevolent; and whenhe took off his green spectacles, a pair of the clearest and honestestbrown eyes ever set in mortal's head looked you full in the face. Hewas a nice, comfortable-looking old gentleman; and so Thomas and Iboth thought at the same moment--for Martha was out of the way, and Ishewed the apartments for her; the stranger, who gave his name as MrBudge, having been directed to our house by the people of the innwhere the coach stopped, who were kin to Martha, and well-disposed, obliging persons. 

Mr Budge said he wanted quietness for some weeks, and the recreationof fishing; he had come from the turmoil of the great city to relaxand enjoy himself, and if Thomas Wesley would kindly consent toreceive him as a lodger, he would feel very much obliged. Never did welisten to so pleasant and obliging a mode of speaking; and when MrBudge praised the apartments, and admired the country, the conquest ofThomas's heart was complete. 'Besides, ' as Martha sagaciouslyremarked, 'it was so much better to have a steady old gentleman likethis for a lodger, when pretty Miss Marion honoured them as a guest. 'I thought so too; my dear young lady being so lone and unprotected byrelatives, we all took double care of her. 

So Mr Budge engaged the rooms, and speedily arrived to takepossession, bringing with him a spick-and-span new fishing-rod andbasket. He did not know much about fishing, but he enjoyed himselfjust as thoroughly as if he did; and he laughed so good-humouredly athis own Cockney blunders, as he called them, that Thomas would havebeen quite angry had any one else presumed to indulge a smile at MrBudge's expense. A pattern lodger in all respects was MrBudge--deferential towards Martha and myself, and from the firstmoment he beheld Miss Marion, regarding her as a superior being, yetone to be loved by a mortal for all that. Mr Budge was not aparticularly communicative individual himself, though we opined fromvarious observations, that, although not rich, he was comfortably off:but somehow or other, without appearing in the least inquisitive, hemanaged to obtain the minutest information he required. In this way, he learned all the particulars respecting Miss Marion; and gatheredalso from me, my own desire of obtaining a situation, such as I hadheld at Mr Dacre's, but in a small and well-regulated household. As toMiss Marion, the kind old gentleman could never shew kindness enoughto her; and he watched the returning roses on her fair cheeks with asolicitude scarcely exceeded by mine. I never wondered at anybodyadmiring and loving the sweet, patient girl; but Mr Budge's admirationand apparent affection so far exceeded the bounds of mere conventionalkindness in a stranger, that sometimes I even smilingly conjectured hehad the idea of asking her to become Mrs Budge, for he was a widower, as he told us, and childless. 

Such an idea, however, had never entered Miss Marion's innocent heart;and she, always so grateful for any little attention, was not likelyto receive with coldness those so cordially lavished on her by her newfriend, whom she valued as a truly good man, and not for a polishedexterior, in which Mr Budge was deficient. Nay, so cordial was theirintimacy, and so much had Miss Marion regained health andcheerfulness, that with unwonted sportiveness, on more than oneoccasion she actually hid the ponderous brown snuff-box, usuallyreposing in Mr Budge's capacious pocket, and only produced it when hisdistress became real; whereupon he chuckled and laughed, as if she hadperformed a mighty clever feat, indulging at the same time, however, in a double pinch. 

Some pleasant weeks to us all had thus glided away, and Miss Marionwas earnestly consulting me about her project of governessing, herhealth being now so restored; and I, for my part, wanted to execute myplans for obtaining a decent livelihood, as I could not think ofburdening Thomas and Martha any longer, loath as they were for me toleave them. Some pleasant weeks, I say, had thus glided away, when MrBudge, with much ceremony and circumlocution, as if he had deeplypondered the matter, and considered it very weighty and important, made a communication which materially changed and brightened myprospects. It was to the effect, that an intimate friend of his, whomhe had known, he said, all his life, required the immediate servicesof a trustworthy housekeeper, to take the entire responsible charge ofhis house. 'My friend, ' continued Mr Budge, tapping his snuff-boxcomplacently, his brown eyes twinkling with the pleasure of doing akind act, for his green specs were in their well-worn case at hiselbow--'My friend is about my age--a sober chap, you see, Mrs Deborah;'here a chuckle--'and he has no wife and no child to take care ofhim'--here a slight sigh: 'he has lately bought a beautiful estate, called Sorel Park, and it is there you will live, with nobody tointerfere with you, as the lady-relative who will reside with myfriend is a most amiable and admirable young lady; and I am sure, MrsDeborah, you will become much attached to her. 'By the by, MrsDeborah, ' he continued, after pondering for a moment, 'will you do mea favour to use your influence to prevent Miss Marion from acceptingany appointment for the present, as after you are established at SorelPark, I think I know of a home that may suit her?'

I do not know which I felt most grateful or delighted for--my ownprospects, or my dear Miss Marion's; though certainly hers were morevague and undefined than mine, for the remuneration offered for myservices was far beyond my expectation, and from Mr Budge'sdescription of Sorel Park, it seemed to be altogether a place beyondmy most sanguine hopes. I said something about Miss Marion, and myhope that she might be as fortunate as myself; and Mr Budge, I washappy to see, was quite fervent in his response. 'My friend, ' said he, at the close of the interview, 'will not arrive to take possession ofSorel Park until you, Mrs Deborah, have got all things in order; andas I know that he is anxious for the time to arrive, the sooner youcan set out on your journey thither the better. I also must departshortly, but I hope to return hither again. ' Important businessrequired Mr Budge's personal attention, and with hurried adieus to usall, he departed from Fairdown; and in compliance with his request, Iset off for Sorel Park, leaving my beloved Miss Marion to the care ofThomas and Martha for the present. 

The owner of this fine place was not as yet known there; for Mr Budge, being a managing man, had taken everything upon himself, and issuedorders with as lordly an air as if there was nobody in the kingdomabove the little brown man. The head-gardener, and some of the otherdomestics, informed me they had been engaged by Mr Budge himself, who, I apprehended, made very free and busy with the concerns of hisfriend. Sorel Park was a princely domain, and there was an air ofsubstantial comfort about the dwelling and its appointments, whichspoke volumes of promise as to domestic arrangements in general. Isoon found time to write a description of the place to Miss Marion, for I knew how interested she was in all that concerned her faithfulDeborah; and I anxiously awaited the tidings she had promised toconvey--of Mr Budge having provided as comfortably for her as he hadfor me. I at length received formal notification of the day and hourthe owner of Sorel Park expected to arrive, accompanied by his femalerelative. This was rather earlier than I had been led to expect; butall things being in order for their reception, I felt glad at theirnear approach, for I was strangely troubled and nervous to get thisintroduction over. I was very anxious, too, about my dear MissMarion; for I knew that some weighty reason alone prevented her fromanswering my letter, though what that reason could be, it wasimpossible for me to conjecture. 

The momentous day dawned; the hours glided on; and the twilight hourdeepened. The superior servants and myself stood ready to receive thetravellers, listening to every sound; and startled, nevertheless, whenthe rapid approach of carriage-wheels betokened their close proximity. With something very like disappointment, for which I accused myself ofingratitude, I beheld Mr Budge, browner than ever, alight from thechariot, carefully assisting a lady, who seemed in delicate health, asshe was muffled up like a mummy. Mr Budge returned my respectfulsalutation most cordially, and said, with a smile, as he bustledforwards to the saloon, where a cheerful fire blazed brightly on thehearth--for it was a chill evening: 'I've brought your new mistresshome, you see, Mrs Deborah; but you want to know where your new masteris--eigh? Well, come along, and this young lady will tell you allabout the old fellow. '

I followed them into the apartment; Mr Budge shut the door; the ladyflung aside her veil, and my own dear, sweet Miss Marion clasped meround the neck, and sobbed hysterically in my arms. 

'Tell her, my darling, ' said Mr Budge, himself quite husky, andturning away to wipe off a tear from his ruddy cheek--'tell her, mydarling, you're the _mistress_ of Sorel Park; and when you've made thegood soul understand _that_, tell her we'd like a cup of tea before wetalk about the _master_. '

'O my dear Miss Marion!' was all I could utter; 'what does this mean?Am I in a dream?' But it was not a happy dream; for when I had amoment to reflect, my very soul was troubled as I thought of thesacrifice of all her youthful aspirations, made by that poor, gentlecreature, for the sake of a secure and comfortable home in this stormyworld. I could not reconcile myself to the idea of Mr Budge and Marionas man and wife; and as I learned, ere we retired to rest that night, I had no occasion to do so. Mr Budge was Miss Marion's paternal uncle, her mother, Miss Dacre, having married his elder brother. Thesebrothers were of respectable birth, but inferior to the Dacres; andwhile the elder never prospered in any undertaking, and finally diedof a broken heart, the younger, toiling in foreign climes, graduallyamassed a competency. On returning to his native land, he found hisbrother no more, and the orphan girl he had left behind placed withher mother's relatives. 

Mr Budge had a great dread of appearing before these proud patricianpeople, who had always openly scorned his deceased brother; and onceaccidentally encountering them at a public _fête_, the contumeliousbearing of the young ladies towards the little brown gentlemandeterred him from any nearer approach. No doubt, he argued, hisbrother's daughter was deeply imbued with similar principles, andwould blush to own a 'Mr Budge' for her uncle! This name he hadadopted as the condition of inheriting a noble fortune unexpectedlybequeathed by a plebeian, but worthy and industrious relative, only afew years previous to the period when Providence guided his footstepsto Fairdown Farm and Miss Marion. 

The moderate competency Mr Budge had hitherto enjoyed, and which hehad toiled hard for, now augmented to ten times the amount, sorelyperplexed and troubled him; and after purchasing Sorel Park, he hadflown from the turmoil of affluence, to seek peace and obscurity forawhile, under pretext of pursuing the philosophical recreation ofangling. How unlike the Misses Dacre was the fair and graciouscreature he encountered at Fairdown! And not a little the dear oldgentleman prided himself on his talents for what he calleddiplomacy--arranging his plans, he said, 'just like a book-romance. 'After my departure, he returned to Fairdown, and confided thewonderful tidings to Thomas and Martha Wesley, more cautiouslyimparting them to Miss Marion, whose gentle spirits were more easilyfluttered by sudden surprise. 

For several years, Mr Budge paid an annual visit to Fairdown, when thetrout-fishing season commenced; and many useful and valuable giftsfound their way into Thomas's comfortable homestead, presented by dearMiss Marion. In the course of time, she became the wife of one worthyof her in every respect--their lovely children often sportivelycarrying off the ponderous box of brown rappee, and yet Uncle Budgenever frowning. 

These darlings cluster round my knees, and one, more demure than therest, thoughtfully asks: 'Why is Uncle Budge's hair not snowy white, like yours, dear Deb? For Uncle Budge says he is _very_ old, and thatGod will soon call him away from us. '

ADVENTURES IN JAPAN. 

For above two hundred years, the unknown millions of Japan have beenshut up in their own islands, forbidden, under the severest penalties, either to admit foreigners on their shores, or themselves to visit anyother realm in the world. The Dutch are permitted to send two ships ina year to the port of Nangasaki, where they are received with thegreatest precaution, and subjected to a surveillance even moredegrading than was that formerly endured by the Europeans at Canton. Any other foreigner whom misfortune or inadvertence may land on theirshores, is doomed to perpetual imprisonment; and even if one of theirown people should pass twelve months out of the country, he is, on hisreturn, kept for life at the capital, and suffered no more to join hisfamily, or mingle at large in the business or social intercourse oflife. In pursuance of this policy, it is believed that the Japanesegovernment now holds in captivity several subjects of the UnitedStates, and it is expected that an armament will be sent to rescuethem by force. 

Since this announcement has been made, and the general expectation hasbeen raised that Japan will soon have to submit, like China, tosurrender its isolation, and enter into relations with the rest of thecivilised world, there has seasonably appeared an English reprint of awork hitherto little known among us--a personal narrative of aJapanese captivity of two years and a half, by an officer in theRussian navy. [1] If we may judge from its details, our transatlanticfriends had need to keep all their eyes wide open in dealing with thispeople. 

The leading circumstances connected with Captain Golownin's captivitywere the following:--In the year 1803, the Chamberlain Resanoff wassent by the Emperor Alexander, to endeavour to open friendly relationswith Japan, and sailed from the eastern coasts in a merchant vesselbelonging to the American Company. But receiving a peremptory messageof dismissal, and refusal of all intercourse, he returned to Okhotsk, and died on his way to St Petersburg. Lieutenant Chwostoff, however, who had commanded the vessel, put to sea again on his ownresponsibility, attacked and destroyed several Japanese villages onthe Kurile Islands, and carried off some of the inhabitants. In theyear 1811, Captain Golownin, commander of the imperial war-sloop_Diana_, lying at Kamtschatka, received orders from head-quarters tomake a particular survey of the southern Kurile Islands, and the coastof Tartary. In pursuance of his instructions, he was sailing withoutany flag near the coast of Eetooroop (Staaten), when he was met bysome Russian Kuriles, who informed him that they had been seized, andwere still detained prisoners, on account of the Chwostoff outrage. They persuaded the captain to take one of them on board as aninterpreter, and proceed to Kunashir, to make such explanations asmight exonerate the Russian government in this matter. The Japanesechief of the island further assured the Russians, that they couldobtain a supply of wood, water, and fresh provisions at Kunashir; andhe furnished them with a letter to its governor. The reception of the_Diana_ at Kunashir was, in the first instance, a vigorous butineffective discharge of guns from the fortress, the walls of whichwere so completely hung with striped cloth, that it was impossible toform any opinion of the size or strength of the place. After someinterchange, however, of allegorical messages, conveyed by means ofdrawings floated in empty casks, Golownin was invited on shore by thebeckoning of white fans. Concealing three brace of pistols in hisbosom, and leaving a well-armed boat close to the shore, with ordersthat the men should watch his movements, and act on his slightestsignal, he ventured on a landing, accompanied by the Kurile Alexei anda common sailor. The lieutenant-governor soon appeared. He was incomplete armour, and attended by two soldiers, one of whom carried hislong spear, and the other his cap or helmet, which was adorned with afigure of the moon. 'It is scarcely possible, ' says the narrator, 'toconceive anything more ludicrous than the manner in which the governorwalked. His eyes were cast down and fixed on the earth, and his handspressed closely against his sides, whilst he proceeded at so slow apace, that he scarcely moved one foot beyond the other, and kept hisfeet wide apart. I saluted him after the European fashion, upon whichhe raised his left hand to his forehead, and bowed his whole bodytowards the ground. '

In the conversation that ensued, the governor expressed his regretthat the ignorance of the Japanese respecting the object of this visitshould have occasioned them to fire upon the _Diana_. He then closelyinterrogated the captain as to the course and objects of his voyage, his name, the name of his emperor, and whether he knew anything ofResanoff. On the first of these heads, Golownin deemed it prudent touse some deception, and he stated that he was proceeding to StPetersburg, from the eastern extremity of the Russian Empire; thatcontrary winds had considerably lengthened his voyage; and that, beinggreatly in want of wood and fresh water, he had been looking on thecoasts for a safe harbour where these might be procured, and had beendirected by an officer at Eetooroop to Kunashir. To all the otherquestions, he returned suitable answers, which were carefully writtendown. The conference ended most amicably, and the captain was invitedto smoke tobacco, and partake of some tea, sagi, [2] and caviar. Everything was served on a separate dish, and presented by a differentindividual, armed with a poniard and sabre; and these attendants, instead of going away after handing anything to the guests, remainedstanding near, till at length they were surrounded by a formidablecircle of armed men. Golownin would not stoop to betray alarm ordistrust, but having brought some French brandy as a present to thegovernor, he desired his sailors to draw a bottle, and took thisopportunity of repeating his order, that they should hold themselvesin readiness. There appeared, however, no intention of resorting toviolence. When he prepared to depart, the governor presented a flaskof sagi, and some fresh fish, pointing out to him at the same time anet which had been cast to procure a larger supply. He also gave him awhite fan, with which he was to beckon, as a sign of amity, when hecame on shore again. The whole draught of fish was sent on board inthe evening. 

On the following day, the captain, according to appointment, paidanother visit on shore, accompanied by two officers, Alexei, and fourseamen carrying the presents intended for the Japanese. On thisoccasion, the former precautions were dispensed with; the boat washauled up to the shore, and left with one seaman, while the rest ofthe party proceeded to the castle. The result was, that after arenewal of the friendly explanations and entertainments of thepreceding day, the treacherous Japanese threw off the mask, and madeprisoners of the whole party. 

'The first thing done, was to tie our hands behind our backs, andconduct us into an extensive but low building, which resembled abarrack, and which was situated opposite to the tent in the directionof the shore. Here we were placed on our knees, and bound in thecruelest manner with cords about the thickness of a finger; and asthough this were not enough, another binding of smaller cordsfollowed, which was still more painful. The Japanese are exceedinglyexpert at this work; and it would appear that they conform to someprecise regulation in binding their prisoners, for we were all tiedexactly in the same manner. There was the same number of knots andnooses, and all at equal distances, on the cords with which each of uswas bound. There were loops round our breasts and necks; our elbowsalmost touched each other, and our hands were firmly bound together. From these fastenings proceeded a long cord, the end of which was heldby a Japanese, and which, on the slightest attempt to escape, requiredonly to be drawn to make the elbows come in contact with the greatestpain, and to tighten the noose about the neck to such a degree asalmost to produce strangulation. Besides all this, they tied our legsin two places--above the knees and above the ankles; they then passedropes from our necks over the cross-beams of the building, and drewthem so tight, that we found it impossible to move. Their nextoperation was searching our pockets, out of which they tookeverything, and then proceeded very quietly to smoke tobacco. Whilethey were binding us, the lieutenant-governor shewed himself twice, and pointed to his mouth, to intimate, perhaps, that it was intendedto feed, not to kill us. '

After some hours, the legs and ankles of the prisoners were partiallyloosed, and preparations were made for removing them to Matsmai, whichseems to be the head-quarters of government for the Kuriledependencies of Japan. The journey, which occupied above a month, wasperformed partly in boats, which were dragged along the shore, andeven for miles over the land; and partly on foot, the captives beingmarched in file, each led with a cord by a particular conductor, andhaving an armed soldier abreast of him. It was evident, however, thatwhatever was rigorous in their treatment, was not prompted by personalfeelings of barbarity, but by the stringency of the law, which wouldhave made the guards answerable for their prisoners with their ownlives. They were always addressed with the greatest respect; and, assoon as it was deemed safe, their hands, which were in a dreadfullylacerated state, were unbound, and surgically treated; but not tilltheir persons had been again most carefully searched, that no piece ofmetal might remain about them, lest they might contrive to destroythemselves. Suicide is, in Japan, the fashionable mode of terminatinga life which cannot be prolonged but in circumstances of dishonour: torip up one's own bowels in such a case, wipes away every stain on thecharacter. The guards of the Russian captives not only used everyprecaution against this, but carefully watched over their health andcomfort, carrying them over the shallowest pools and streamlets, lesttheir feet should be wet, and assiduously beating off the gnats andflies, which would have been annoying. At every village, crowds ofboth sexes, young and old, turned out to see these unfortunate men;but there was nothing like insult or mockery in the demeanour ofany--pity appeared to be the universal feeling: many begged permissionfrom the guards to offer sagi, comfits, fruits, and other delicacies;and these were presented often with tears of compassion, as well asgestures of respect. 

The prison to which Golownin and his companions were finally committedhad been constructed expressly for their habitation in the town ofMatsmai. It was a quadrangular wooden building, 25 paces long, 15broad, and 12 feet high. Three sides of it were dead-wall, the fourthwas formed of strong spars. Within this structure were two apartments, formed likewise of wooden spars, so as to resemble cages: one wasappropriated to the officers, the other to the sailors and Alexei. Thebuilding was surrounded by a high wall or paling, outside of whichwere the kitchen, guard-house, &c. , enclosed by another paling. Thisouter enclosure was patrolled by common soldiers; but no one wasallowed within, except the physician, who visited daily, and theorderly officers, who looked through the spars every half-hour. Ofcourse, it was rather a cold lodging; but, as winter advanced, a holewas dug a few feet from each cage, built round with freestone, andfilled with sand, upon which charcoal was afterwards kept burning. Benches were provided for them to sleep on, and two of the orderliespresented them with bear-skins; but the native fashion is to lie on athick, wadded quilt, folded together, and laid on the floor, which, even in the poorest dwellings, is covered with soft straw-mats. Alarge wadded dress, made of silk or cotton, according to thecircumstances of the wearer, serves for bed-clothes--which seem to bequite unknown; and while the poorer classes have only a piece of woodfor a pillow, the richer fasten a cushion on the neat boxes whichcontain their razors, scissors, pomatum, tooth-brushes, and othertoilet requisites. 

But while the comfort of the captives was attended to in many minormatters, there was no relaxation of the vigilance used to preclude thepossibility of self-destruction. They were not allowed scissors orknife to cut their nails, but were obliged to thrust their handsthrough the palisades, to get this office performed for them. Whenthey were indulged with smoking, it was with a very long pipe heldbetween the spars, and furnished with a wooden ball fixed about themiddle, to prevent its being drawn wholly within the cage. 

For weeks together they were brought daily before the bunyo (governorof the town, and probably lord-lieutenant of all the Japanese KurileIslands), bound and harnessed like horses as before. The ostensibleobject of these examinations, which frequently lasted the whole day, was to ascertain for what purpose they had come near Japan, and whatthey knew of Resanoff and Chwostoff--for a singularly unfortunatecombination of circumstances had arisen to give colour to thesuspicion, that some of their party had been connected with thatexpedition. But for one inquiry connected with the case, there werefifty that were wholly irrelevant, and prompted by mere curiosity. Themost trivial questions were put several times and in different forms, and every answer was carefully written down. Golownin was oftenpuzzled, irritated, and quite at the end of his stock of patience; butthat of the interrogators appeared interminable. They said, that bywriting down everything they were told, whether true or false, andcomparing the various statements they received, they were enabledthrough time to separate truth from fiction, and the practice was veryimproving. At the close of almost every examination, the bunyoexhorted them not to despair, but to offer up prayers to Heaven, andpatiently await the emperor's decision. 

Presently new work was found for them. An intelligent young man wasbrought to their prison, to be taught the Russian language. To thisthe captain consented, having no confidence in the Kurile Alexei as aninterpreter, and being desirous himself to gain some knowledge ofJapanese. Teske made rapid progress, and soon became a most useful andkindly companion to the captives. Books, pens, and paper were nowallowed them in abundance; and their mode of treatment was every wayimproved. But by and by, they were threatened with more pupils; ageometrician and astronomer from the capital was introduced to them, and would gladly have been instructed in their mode of takingobservations. Other learned men were preparing to follow, and it wasnow evident that the intention of the Japanese government was toreconcile them to their lot, and retain them for the instruction ofthe nation. Indeed, this appears to be the great secret of the policyof detaining for life instead of destroying the hapless foreignersthat light on these shores; as the avowed motive for tolerating thecommercial visits of the Dutch is, that they furnish the only news ofpublic events that ever reach Japan. Fearful of becoming known toother nations for fear of invasion, they are yet greedy of informationrespecting them, and many were the foolish questions they askedGolownin about the emperor of Russia, his dress, habitation, forces, and territories. 

Golownin, on his part, endeavoured to elicit all the information hecould gain with respect to the numbers, resources, government, andreligion of this singular people. He found it impossible to ascertainthe amount of the population; indeed, it seems it would be verydifficult for the government itself to obtain a census, for millionsof the poor live abroad in the streets, fields, or woods, having nospot which they can call a home. Teske shewed a map of the empire, having every town and village marked on it; and though on a very largescale, it was thickly covered. He pointed out on it a desert, which isconsidered immense, because litters take a whole day to traverse it, and meet with only one village during the journey. It is perhapsfifteen miles across. The city of Yedo was usually set down byEuropeans as containing 1, 000, 000 inhabitants; but Golownin wasinformed, that it had in its principal streets 280, 000 houses, eachcontaining from 30 to 40 persons; besides all the small houses andhuts. This would give in the whole a population of above 10, 000, 000souls--about a fourth part of the estimated population of thiscountry! The incorporated society of the blind alone is affirmed toinclude 36, 000. 

The country, though lying under the same latitudes as Spain and Italy, is yet very different from them in climate. At Matsmai, for instance, which is on the same parallel as Leghorn, snow falls as abundantly asat St Petersburg, and lies in the valleys from November till April. Severe frost is uncommon, but cold fogs are exceedingly prevalent. Theclimate, however, is uncommonly diversified, and consequently so arethe productions, exhibiting in some places the vegetation of thefrigid zone, and in others that of the tropics. 

Rice is the staple production of the soil. It is nearly the onlyarticle used instead of bread, and the only one from which strongliquor is distilled, while its straw serves for many domesticpurposes. Besides the radishes already mentioned, there is anextensive cultivation of various other esculent roots and vegetables. There is no coast without fisheries, and there is no marine animalthat is not used for food, save those which are absolutely poisonous. But an uncommonly small quantity suffices for each individual. If aJapanese has a handful of rice and a single mouthful of fish, he makesa savoury dish with roots, herbs, or mollusca, and it suffices for aday's support. 

Japan produces both black and green tea; the former is very inferior, and used only for quenching thirst; whereas the latter is esteemed aluxury, and is presented to company. The best grows in theprincipality of Kioto, where it is carefully cultivated for the useboth of the temporal and spiritual courts. Tobacco, which was firstintroduced by the European missionaries, has spread astonishingly, and is so well manufactured, that our author smoked it with a relishhe had never felt for a Havana cigar. The Japanese smokes continually, and sips tea with his pipe, even rising for it during the night. 

All articles of clothing are made of silk or cotton. The formerappears to be very abundant, as rich dresses of it are worn even bythe common soldiers on festive days; and it may be seen on people ofall ranks even in poor towns. The fabrics are at least equal to thoseof China. The cotton of Japan seems to be of the same kind as that ofour West Indian colonies. It furnishes the ordinary dress of the greatmass of the people, and also serves all the other purposes for whichwe employ wool, flax, furs, and feathers. The culture of it is, ofcourse, very extensive; but the fabrics are all coarse: Golownin couldhardly make himself believe that his muslin cravat was of thismaterial. There is some hemp, which is manufactured into cloth forsails, &c. ; but cables and ropes, very inferior to ours, are made fromthe bark of a tree called kadyz. This bark likewise supplies materialsfor thread, lamp-wicks, writing-paper, and the coarse paper used forpocket-handkerchiefs. 

There is no lack of fruit-trees, as the orange, lemon, peach, plum, fig, chestnut, and apple; but the vine yields only a small, sourgrape, perhaps for want of culture. Timber-trees grow only in themountainous districts, which are unfit for cultivation. Camphor isproduced abundantly in the south, and large quantities of it areexported by the Dutch and Chinese. The celebrated varnish of Japan, drawn from a tree called silz, is so plentiful, that it is used forlacquering the most ordinary utensils. Its natural colour is white, but it assumes any that is given to it by mixture. The best varnishedvessels reflect the face as in a mirror, and hot water may be pouredinto them without occasioning the least smell. 

The chief domestic animals are horses and oxen for draught; cats anddogs are kept for the same uses as with us; and swine furnish food tothe few sects who eat flesh. Sheep and goats seem to be quite unknown:the Russian captives had to make drawings of the former, to conveysome idea of the origin of wool. 

There are considerable mines of gold and silver in several parts ofthe empire, but the government does not permit them to be all worked, for fear of depreciating the value of these metals. They supply, withcopper, the material of the currency, and are also liberally used inthe decoration of public buildings, and in the domestic utensils ofthe wealthy. There is a sufficiency of quicksilver, lead, and tin, forthe wants of the country; and one island is entirely covered withsulphur. Copper is very abundant, and of remarkably fine quality. Allkitchen utensils, tobacco-pipes, and fire-shovels, are made of it; andso well made, that our author mentions his tea-kettle as having stoodon the fire, like all other Japanese kettles, day and night formonths, without burning into holes. This metal is likewise employedfor sheathing ships, and covering the joists and flat roofs of houses. Iron is less abundant, and much that is used is obtained from theDutch. Nails alone, of which immense numbers are used in allcarpentry-work, consume a large quantity. Diamonds, cornelians, jaspers, some very fine agates, and other precious stones, are found;but the natives seem not well to understand polishing them. Pearls areabundant; but not being considered ornamental, they are reserved forthe Chinese market. 

Steel and porcelain are the manufactures in which the Japanese chieflyexcel, besides those in silk-stuffs and lacquered ware alreadymentioned. Their porcelain is far superior to the Chinese, but it isscarce and dear. With respect to steel manufactures, the sabres anddaggers of Japan yield only perhaps to those of Damascus; and Golowninsays their cabinet-makers' tools might almost be compared with theEnglish. In painting, engraving, and printing, they are far behind;and they seem to have no knowledge of ship-building or navigationbeyond what suffices for coasting voyages, though they haveintelligent and enterprising sailors. There is an immense internaltraffic, for facilitating which there are good roads and bridges wherewater-carriage is impracticable. These distant Orientals have likewisebills of exchange and commercial gazettes. The emperor enjoys amonopoly of the foreign commerce. 

It is popularly said, that Japan has two emperors--one spiritual, andthe other temporal. The former, however, having no share in theadministration of the empire, and seldom even hearing of stateaffairs, is no sovereign according to the ideas we attach to thatterm. He seems to stand much in the same relation to the emperor thatthe popes once did to the sovereigns of Europe. He governs Kioto as asmall independent state; receives the emperor to an interview once inseven years; is consulted by him on extraordinary emergencies;receives occasional embassies and presents from him, and bestows hisblessing in return. His dignity, unlike that of the Roman pontiffs, ishereditary, and he is allowed twelve wives, that his race may notbecome extinct. According to Japanese records, the present dynasty, including about 130 Kin-reys, has been maintained in a direct line forabove twenty-four centuries. The person of the Kin-rey is so sacred, that no ordinary mortal may see any part of him but his feet, and thatonly once a year; every vessel which he uses must be brokenimmediately; for if another should even by accident eat or drink outof it, he must be put to death. Every garment which he wears must bemanufactured by virgin hands, from the earliest process in thepreparation of the silk. 

The adherents of the aboriginal Japanese religion, of which theKin-rey is the head, adore numerous divinities called Kami, orimmortal spirits, to whom they offer prayers, flowers, and sometimesmore substantial gifts. They also worship Kadotski, or saints--mortalscanonised by the Kin-rey--and build temples in their honour. The lawsconcerning personal and ceremonial purity, which form the principalfeature of this religion, are exceedingly strict, not unlike thoseimposed on the ancient Jews. There are several orders of priests, monks, and nuns, whose austerity, like that of Europe, is maintainedin theory more than in practice. 

Three other creeds, the Brahminical, the Confucian, and that whichdeifies the heavenly bodies, have many adherents; but their priestsall acknowledge a certain religious supremacy to exist in the Kin-rey. There is universal toleration in these matters; every citizen mayprofess what faith he chooses, and change it as often as he chooses, without any one inquiring into his reasons; only it must be aspontaneous choice, for proselyting is forbidden by law. Christianityalone is proscribed, and that on account of the political mischiefsaid to have been effected through its adherents in the seventeenthcentury. There is a law, by which no one may hire a servant withoutreceiving a certificate of his not being a Christian; and onNew-Year's Day, which is a great national festival, all theinhabitants of Nangasaki are obliged to ascend a staircase, andtrample on the crucifix, and other insignia of the Romish faith, whichare laid on the steps as a test. It is said that many perform the actin violation of their feelings. So much of the religious state of theempire Golownin elicited in conversation with Teske and others; buteverything on this subject was communicated with evident reluctance;and though in the course of the walks which they were permitted totake in harness, the Russian captives sometimes saw the interior ofthe temples, they were never permitted to enter while any religiousrites were celebrated. 

With respect to the civil administration of Japan, our author seems tohave gathered little that was absolutely new to us. The empirecomprises above 200 states, which are governed as independentsovereignties by princes called Damyos, who frame and enforce theirown laws. Though most of these principalities are very small, some ofthem are powerful: the damyo of Sindai, for instance, visits theimperial court with a retinue of 60, 000. Their dependence on theemperor appears chiefly in their being obliged to maintain a certainnumber of troops, which are at his disposal. Those provinces whichbelong directly to the emperor, are placed under governors calledBunyos, whose families reside at the capital as hostages. Everyprovince has two bunyos, each of whom spends six months in thegovernment and six at Yedo. 

The supreme council of the emperor consists of five sovereign princes, who decide on all ordinary measures without referring to him. Aninferior council of fifteen princes or nobles presides over importantcivil and criminal cases. The general laws are few and well known. They are very severe; but the judges generally find means of evadingthem where their enforcement would involve a violation of those ofhumanity. In some cases, as in conjugal infidelity or filial impiety, individuals are permitted to avenge their own wrong, even to thetaking of life. Civil cases are generally decided by arbitrators, andonly when they fail to settle a matter is there recourse to the publiccourts of justice. Taxes are generally paid to the reigning prince oremperor, in tithes of the agricultural, manufactured, or otherproductions of the country. 

Such were some of the leading particulars ascertained by Golowninconcerning the social and civil condition of this singular people. Hesays, they always appeared very happy, and their demeanour wascharacterised by lively and polite manners, with the mostimperturbable good temper. It seems at length to have been throughfear of a Russian invasion, rather than from any sense of justice, that his Japanese majesty, in reply to the importunities of theofficers of the _Diana_, consented to release the captives, oncondition of receiving from the Russian government a solemn disavowalof having sanctioned the proceedings of Chwostoff. Having obtainedthis, the officers repaired for the fourth time to these unfriendlyshores, and enjoyed the happiness of embracing their companions, andtaking them on board. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Japan and the Japanese. _ By Captain Golownin. London: Colburn &Co. 1852. 

[2] Sagi is the strong drink of Japan, distilled from rice. 

THINGS TALKED OF IN LONDON. 

 _July 1852. _

When we shall have a constant supply of pure water--a complete systemof efficient and innoxious sewers--a service of street hydrants--whenthe Thames shall cease to be the _cloaca maxima_, are questions towhich, however seriously asked, it is not easy to get an answer. Addto these grievances, the delay of proper regulations for abolishingintramural interments, and the fact that Smithfield is not to beremoved further than Copenhagen Fields--a locality already surroundedwith houses--and it will occasion no surprise that the authorities aretreated with anything but compliments. 

The laying down of an under-sea telegraph wire across the IrishChannel, may be taken as a new instance of the indifference consequenton familiarity. When the line was laid from Dover to Calais, the wholeland rang with the fact; but now the sinking of a wire three times thelength, in a channel three times the width, excites scarcely a remark, and seems to be looked on as a matter of course. The wire, which iseighty miles in length, is said to weigh eighty tons. It was payed outand sunk from the deck of the _Britannia_, at the rate of from threeto five miles an hour, and was successfully laid, from Holyhead toHowth, in from twelve to fifteen hours; and now a message may beflashed from Trieste to Galway in a period brief enough to satisfy themost impatient. The means of travel to the East, too, are becomingtangible in the Egyptian railway, of which some thirty miles are in astate of forwardness, besides which a hotel is to be built at Thebes;so that travellers, no longer compelled to bivouac in the desert, willfind a teeming larder and well-aired beds in the land of the Sphinxes. And, better still, among a host of beneficial reforms to take place inour Customs' administration, there is one which provides that thebaggage of travellers arriving in the port of London shall be examinedas they come up the river, instead of being sent to the Custom-house. 

By a report of the Astronomer-royal to the Board of Visitors, who havelately made their annual inspection of the Greenwich Observatory, weare informed, of a singular fact, that observations of the pole-starshew that its position varies some three or four seconds on repeatingthe observations at intervals of a few months, and thisnotwithstanding the extreme accuracy of the transit circle. The onlyexplanation which can as yet be given for this phenomenon is, that theearth, solid as it appears, is liable to slight occasional movementsor oscillations. 

We shall know, in a few weeks, the result of the telegraphiccorrespondence with the Observatory at Paris--one interesting pointbeing, as to whether the respective longitudes, as at presentdetermined, will be verified by the galvanic test. Besides which, Greenwich time is to be sent every day to London, where a pole, with ahuge sliding-ball, has been fixed on the top of the Telegraph Office, near Charing Cross. This ball is to be made to descend at one o'clocksimultaneously with the well-known ball which surmounts theObservatory; and thus scientific inquirers--to say nothing of thecrowds who will daily throng the footways of the Strand to witness thedowncome--will be informed of the true time, while, by means of thewires, it may be flashed to all parts of the kingdom. 

The lecture with which Professor Faraday wound up the course at theRoyal Institution may be mentioned here, seeing that it adds somewhatto our knowledge of the theory and phenomena of magnetism. As usual, the lecture-room was crowded; and those who could not understand, hadat least the satisfaction of being able to say they were present. MrFaraday, who, enlarging upon his view, announced, a short time since, that there are such things as magnetic lines of force, now contendsthat these lines have a 'physical character'--a point mostsatisfactorily proved by sundry experiments during the lecture. Theinquiry is one, as Mr Faraday observes, on the 'very edge of science, 'trenching on the bounds of speculation; but such as eminently toprovoke research. The phenomena, he says, 'lead on, by deduction andcorrection, to the discovery of new phenomena; and so cause anincrease and advancement of real physical truth, which, unlike thehypothesis that led to it, becomes fundamental knowledge, not subjectto change. ' A chief point of discussion to which the investigationshave led is: Whether the phenomena of what we call gravity may not beresolvable into those of magnetism--a force acting at a distance, orby lines of power. 'There is one question, ' continues Mr Faraday, 'inrelation to gravity, which, if we could ascertain or touch it, wouldgreatly enlighten us. It is, whether gravitation requires _time_. Ifit did, it would shew undeniably that a physical agency existed in thecourse of the line of force. It seems equally impossible to prove ordisprove this point; since there is no capability of suspending, changing, or annihilating the power (gravity), or annihilating thematter in which the power resides. ' The lines of magnetic force mayhave 'a separate existence, ' but as yet we are unable to tell whetherthese lines 'are analogous to those of gravitation, acting at adistance; or whether, having a physical existence, they are more likein their nature to those of electric induction or the electriccurrent. ' Mr Faraday inclines at present to the latter view. He'affirms' the lines of magnetic force from actual experiment, and'advocates' their physical nature 'chiefly with a view of stating thequestion of their existence; and though, ' he adds, 'I should not haveraised the argument unless I had thought it both important and likelyto be answered ultimately in the affirmative, I still hold the opinionwith some hesitation, with as much, indeed, as accompanies anyconclusion I endeavour to draw respecting points in the very depths ofscience--as, for instance, one, two, or no electric fluids; or thereal nature of a ray of light; or the nature of attraction, even thatof gravity itself; or the general nature of matter. ' These areprofound views; but we may reasonably conclude, that, however obscurethey may at present appear, they will in time be cleared up andfurther developed by the gifted philosopher from whom they emanate. 

Of minor matters which have been more or less talked about, there isthe Library for the Working-Classes, just opened in the parish of StMartin-in-the-Fields--a praiseworthy example for other parishes, butnot to be followed unless the readers actually exist, and manifest thesort of want which books alone can satisfy. A suggestion has beenmade, to use for books in hot climates, where paper is liable to rapiddecay, the sheet-iron exhibited at Breslau, which is as thin andpliant as paper, and can be produced at the rate of more than 7000feet to the hundredweight. This would be something new in theapplication of metal. Metallurgy generally is being furtherinvestigated by Leonhard of Heidelberg, who has just called onmanufacturers to aid him in his researches, by sending him specimensof scoriæ, particularly of those which are crystallised. Then there isMr Hesketh's communication to the Institute of British Architects, 'Onthe Admission of Daylight into Buildings, particularly in the Narrowand Confined Localities of Towns;' in which, after shewing that theproportion of light admitted to buildings is generally inadequate totheir cubical contents, and means for estimating the numerical valueof that which really does enter, he states that the defect may beremedied by the use of reflectors, contrived so as to be 'neitherobstructive nor unsightly. ' He explains, that 'a single reflector maygenerally be placed on either the outside or inside of a window orskylight, so as to throw the light from the (perhaps small) portion ofsky which remains unobscured overhead, to any part in which more lightis required. ' Such difficulties of position or construction as presentthemselves, 'may be overcome in almost every case, by, as it were, cutting up the single reflector into strips, and arranging them oneabove the other, either in the reveal of the window, or in some otherpart where it will not interfere with ventilation, or the action ofthe sashes. ' This is adopting the principle on which improvedlighthouse reflectors are constructed; and we are told, that 'thecombinations may be arranged horizontally, vertically, or obliquely, according to the positions of the centre of the unobscured portion ofsky, and of the part into which the light is to be thrown, andaccording to the shape of the opening in which the combination is tobe placed. ' As a case in point, it was mentioned that a reflector 'hadbeen fitted to a vault (at the Depôt Wharf, in the Borough) ninety-sixfeet in depth from front to back. The area into which the window opensis a semicircle, with a heavy iron-grating over it; and the result is, that small print can be easily read at the far end of the vault. ' Itis a fact worth knowing, that reflectors may be so constructed as tothrow all the available daylight into any required direction; and inone instance the reflector may be made to serve at the same time as adwarf venetian window-blind. Instead of wooden splats or laths, flatglass tubes or prisms are used, fitted into the usual framework, andthese being silvered on the inside, throw all the light that falls onthem into the room, when placed at the proper angle. 

Again, the possibility of locomotion without the aid of steam istalked about, and the New Yorkers are said to be about to send over alarge ship driven by Ericsson's caloric engine, which is to prove aspowerful as vapour at one-half of the cost--a fact of which we shallbe better able to judge when the vessel really arrives. Then, lookingacross the Channel, we find the Abbé Moigno proposing to construct andestablish a relief model of Europe in the Bois de Boulogne at Paris, of a size to cover several acres, and with the railways of iron, andthe rivers of water, by which means one of the most interesting andinstructive of sights would be produced, and the attractions of theTrench capital greatly increased. A desirable project--but the cost!The Montyon prize of 2000 francs has been awarded to M. Mosson, forhis method of drying and preserving vegetables for long sea voyages, as published a few months ago. M. Naudin states, that a certain kindof furze or thistle, of which cattle are very fond, may be made togrow without thorns--an important consideration, seeing that atpresent, before it can be used as food, it has to undergo a laboriousbeating, to crush and break the prickles with which it is covered. Asthe plant thrives best on poor soils, which might otherwise lieuseless, the saving of this labour will be a great benefit to theFrench peasantry; and the more so, as it appears the plant will growin its new state from seed. M. Naudin believes, that the condition ofother vegetable productions may be varied at pleasure, and promises tolay his views shortly before the Académie. M. Lecoq, director of theBotanical Garden at Claremont, informs the same body of somethingstill more extraordinary, in a communication, entitled 'Two Hundred, Five Hundred, or even a Thousand new Vegetables, created _adlibitum_. ' Having been struck by the fact, that the ass so often feedsupon the thistle, he took some specimens of that plant, and, bycareful experiment, has succeeded in producing for the table 'asavoury vegetable, with thorns of the most inoffensive and flexiblesort. ' Whatever be the kind of thistle, however hard and sharp itsthorns, he has tamed and softened them all, his method oftransformation being, as he says, none other than exposing the plantsto different influences of light. Those which grew unsheltered, heplaces in the dark, and _vice versâ_. Familiar examples are given inthe celery, of which the acrid qualities are removed by keeping offthe light; while the pungency of cress, parsley, &c. , is increased byexposure to the sun. M. Lecoq has not yet detailed all hisexperiments; but he asserts that, before long, some of our commonestweeds, owing to his modifications, will become as highly esteemed aspeas or asparagus. Let him shew that his process is one that admits ofbeing applied cheaply and on a large scale, and he will not fail ofhis reward. 

A QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR. 

It will be found that the ripest knowledge is best qualified toinstruct the most complete ignorance. It is a common mistake tosuppose that those who know little suffice to inform those who knowless; that the master who is but a stage before the pupil can, as wellas another, shew him the way; nay, that there may even be an advantagein this near approach between the minds of teacher and of taught;since the recollection of recent difficulties, and the vividness offresh acquisition, give to the one a more living interest in theprogress of the other. Of all educational errors, this is one of thegravest. The approximation required between the mind of teacher and oftaught is not that of a common ignorance, but of mutual sympathy; nota partnership in narrowness of understanding, but that thoroughinsight of the one into the other, that orderly analysis of thetangled skein of thought; that patient and masterly skill indeveloping conception after conception, with a constant view to aremote result, which can only belong to comprehensive knowledge andprompt affections. With whatever accuracy the recently initiated maygive out his new stores, he will rigidly follow the precise method bywhich he made them his own; and will want that variety and fertilityof resource, that command of the several paths of access to a truth, which are given by thorough survey of the whole field on which hestands. The instructor needs to have a full perception, not merely ofthe internal contents, but also of the external relations, of thatwhich he unfolds; as the astronomer knows but little, if, ignorant ofthe place and laws of moon and sun, he has examined only theirmountains and their spots. The sense of proportion between thedifferent parts and stages of a subject; the appreciation of the sizeand value of every step; the foresight of the direction and magnitudeof the section that remains, are qualities so essential to theteacher, that without them all instruction is but an insult to thelearner's understanding. And in virtue of these it is that the mostcultivated minds are usually the most patient, most clear, mostrationally progressive; most studious of accuracy in details, becausenot impatiently shut up within them as absolutely limiting the view, but quietly contemplating them from without in their relation to thewhole. Neglect and depreciation of intellectual minutiæ arecharacteristics of the ill-informed; and where the granular parts ofstudy are thrown away or loosely held, will be found no compact massof knowledge, solid and clear as crystal, but a sandy accumulation, bound together by no cohesion, and transmitting no light. And aboveand beyond all the advantages which a higher culture gives in the meresystem of communicating knowledge, must be placed that indefinable andmysterious power which a superior mind always puts forth upon aninferior; that living and life-giving action, by which the mentalforces are strengthened and developed, and a spirit of intelligence isproduced, far transcending in excellence the acquisition of anyspecial ideas. In the task of instruction, so lightly assumed, sounworthily esteemed, no amount of wisdom would be superfluous andlost; and even the child's elementary teaching would be bestconducted, were it possible, by Omniscience itself. The morecomprehensive the range of intellectual view, and the more minute theperception of its parts, the greater will be the simplicity ofconception, the aptitude for exposition, and the directness of accessto the open and expectant mind. This adaptation to the humblestwants is the peculiar triumph of the highest spirit ofknowledge. --_Martineau's Discourses_. 

AN AMERICAN RIVER. 

The picturesque banks of the river Connecticut are dotted withcharming little villages, that break here and there upon the sightlike feathers of light, dancing among the willow leaves; there is sucha dazzling irregularity of house and hill--so much fairy-likeconfusion of vista, landscape, and settlement. Now we pass a tinywhite and vine-clad cottage, that looks as if it had been set downyesterday; now we sweep majestically by an ambitious young town, withits two, three, or half-a-dozen church-spires, sending back the linesof narrow light into the water; anon we glide past a forest ofmajestic old trees, that seem to press their topmost buds against thefleecy clouds floating in the blue sky; and through these forests wecatch glimpses of the oriole, dashing through the boughs like a flakeof fire. --_Yankee Stories, by Howard Paul_. 

CHOOSE THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET. 

The sunny side of the street should always be chosen as a residence, for its superior healthfulness. In some barracks in Russia, it wasfound that in a wing where no sun penetrated, there occurred threecases of sickness for every single case which occurred on that side ofthe building exposed to the sun's rays. All other circumstances wereequal--such as ventilation, size of apartments, &c. , so that no othercause for this disproportion seemed to exist. In the Italian cities, this practical hint is well known. Malaria seldom attacks the set ofapartments or houses which are freely open to the sun; while, on theopposite side of the street, the summer and autumn are veryunhealthful, and even dangerous. 

A DREAM OF DEATH. 

 'Where shall we sail to-day?' Thus said, methought, A Voice--that could be only heard in dreams: And on we glided without mast or oars, A fair strange boat upon a wondrous sea. 

 Sudden the land curved inward, to a bay Broad, calm; with gorgeous sea-flowers waving slow Beneath the surface--like rich thoughts that move In the mysterious deep of human hearts. 

 But towards the rounded shore's embracing arm, The little waves leaped, singing, to their death; And shadowy trees drooped pensive over them, Like long-fringed lashes over sparkling eyes. 

 So still, so fair, so rosy in the dawn Lay that bright bay: yet something seemed to breathe, Or in the air, or trees, or lisping waves, Or from the Voice, ay near as one's own soul--

 '_There was a wreck last night!_' A wreck?--and where The ship, the crew?--All gone. The monument On which is writ no name, no chronicle, Laid itself o'er them with smooth crystal smile. 

 '_Yet was the wreck last night!_' And, gazing down, Deep down beneath the surface, we were 'ware Of cold dead faces, with their stony eyes Uplooking to the dawn they could not see. 

 One stirred with stirring sea-weeds: one lay prone, The tinted fishes glancing o'er his breast: One, caught by floating hair, rocked daintily On the reed-cradle woven by kind Death. 

 'The wreck has been, ' then said the deep low Voice, (Than which not Gabriel's did diviner sound, Or sweeter--when the stern, meek angel spake: 'See that thou worship not! Not me, but God!')

 'The wreck has been, yet all things are at peace, Earth, sea, and sky. The dead, that while we slept Struggled for life, now sleep and fear no storm: O'er them let us not weep when God's heaven smiles. '

 So we sailed on above the diamond sands, Bright sea-flowers, and dead faces white and calm, Till the waves rocked us in the open sea, And the great sun arose upon the world. 

THE EXECUTIONER IN ALGERIA. 

Every day, morning and evening, says our widow, 'I see a Moor passalong the street; all his features beam with kindness and serenity. Asword, or rather a long yataghan, is slung in his girdle; all theArabs salute him with respect, and press forward to kiss his hand. This man is a _chaouch_ or executioner--an office considered sohonourable in this country, that the person invested with it isregarded as a special favourite of Heaven, intrusted with the care offacilitating the path of the true believer from this lower world tothe seventh heaven of Mohammed. --_A Residence in Algeria, by MadamePrus_. 

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