Perhaps the reader may be further propitiated in the author's behalf by the "DEDICATION." "TO THE REV. CHRISTOPHER BENSON, M.A. Prebendary of Worcester, and Rector of St. Giles in the Fields. "Sir-Being wholly unused to patronage, I know not how to invoke it, but by plainly saying, that I wish for protection to whatever may be deemed worthy of regard in the following pages. I respectfully dedicate the poem to you, sir, from a deep sense of the esteem wherein you are held; and, I openly confess, with considerable anxiety that you may approve, and that your name may sanction and assist my efforts. "In strictness perhaps I ought to have solicited your permission to do this; but, with the wishes I have expressed, and conscious of the rectitude of my motives, I persuade myself that you will see I could not afford to hazard your declining, from private feelings, a public testimony of unfeigned respect, from a humble and unknown individual. "I am, sir, your most obedient PULPIT CLOCKS, AND HOUR In the annals of Dunstable Priory is this item: " In 1483, made a clock over the pulpit." A stand for a hour-glass still remains in many pulpits. A rector of Bibury used to preach two hours, regularly turning the glass. After the text, the esquire of the parish withdrew, smoked his pipe, and returned to the blessing. Lecturers' pulpits have also hour-glasses. The priest had sometimes a watch found him by the parish.* • Fosbroke's British Monachism. Easter. RESTORATION OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION IN FRANCE. The catholic religion was that in which the French were brought up; and they were, from habit at least, if not from conviction, attached to it: so far was its overthrow from meeting with the general approbation and concurrence of the nation, that if it was acquiesced in for a time, it was merely from a feeling of inability to avert the blow; and the persecution which it experienced only served, as all persecution does, to endear the object of it more strongly to them. Such would have been the effect, even if the attempt made had only been to substitute by force some other mode of faith in its place; but when the question was to annihilate religion itself, no sane mind could possibly dream of ultimate success. The sense of dependence upon some unseen power far above our comprehension, is a principle inherent in human nature;no nation has yet been discovered, how remote soever from civilisation in its customs and manners, in which some ideas of a power superior to all earthly ones were not to be found. The French are generally characterised as fond of novelty, and always seeking after it with eagerness; and yet, however paradoxical it may appear, it is no less true, that in many respects no people adhere more tenaciously to ancient habits and customs. Nothing contributed so essentially to the final overthrow of the violent revolutionists-no, not even the horror excited by the torrents of blood which they shed as their endeavouring all at once to deprive the people of many habits and customs which they particularly cherished; nor did any thing contribute more strongly to Bonaparte's power, than his restoring them. These reflections were suggested to Miss Plumtre by one of the most remarkable scenes that occurred while she was at Paristhe procession to the church of Notre-Dame, on Easter Sunday, for the public_restoration of the catholic worship. The free exercise of their religion had been for several months allowed to the people, and the churches, which had long been shut, were reopened; but this was the first occasion on which the constituted authorities had, as a body, assisted in any religious ceremony. As to the reestablishment of religion being grateful to the people, not a doubt remained in her mind; every opportunity which had been afforded her of investigating the matter, since she first landed in France, had given her so strong a conviction of it, that it could not be increased by any thing she was about to witness. But another experiment which was to be made on the occasion was a greater subject of curiosity; and this was, that the procession and ceremonies were to be in some sort a revival of the ancient court splendour and pageantry. Deeply impressed with this kind of curiosity, and knowing that the only way to be fully informed of the sentiments of the people was to make one among them, she and her friends took their stations in the square before the great entrance to the Palais-royal, where a double rank of soldiers formed a lane to keep a passage clear for the procession. They procured chairs from a neighbouring house, which served as seats till the cavalcade began, and then they stood on them to see it pass. She describes the ceremonies in the following manner. The square was thronged with people, and we could with the utmost facility attend to the sentiments uttered by the circle round us. The restoration of religion seemed to engage but a small part of their attention-that was an idea so familiar to them, that it had almost ceased to excite emotion; but they were excessively occupied by speculations on the procession, which report had said was to be one of the most magnificent sights ever seen in France, at least since the banishment of royalty with all its brilliant train of appendages. At length it began:-It consisted firs of about five thousand of the consular guard, part infantry, part cavalry; next followed the carriages of the senate, the legislative body, the tribunate, and all the public officers, with those of the foreign ambassadors, and some private carriages After these came the eight beautiful creamcoloured horses which had been just before presented to Bonaparte by the king of Spain, each led by a young Mameluke, in the costume of his country; and then Roustan, Bonaparte's Mameluke, friend, and attendant, upon all occasions. Then came the coach with the three consuls, drawn by eight horses, with three footmen behind, who, with the coachmen, were all in rich liveries, green velvet laced with gold, and bags: the servants of some of the great public officers were also in bags and liveries. About a hundred dragoons following the consular carriage closed the procession. A sort of cynical philosopher who stood near us made a wry face every now and then, as the procession passed, and once or twice muttered in his teeth, Qui est-ce qui peut dire que cet homme là n'a point de l'ostentation? "Who will pretend to say But that this man is not ostentatious?" the multitude, after having been lavish of "charmant !" "superbe!" "magnifique !” and other the like epithets, to all that preceded the consular carriage, at last, when they saw that appear with the eight horses, and the rich liveries and bags, gave a general shout, and exclaimed, Ah, voilà encore la bourse et la livrée !—oh, comme ça est beau!-Comme ça fait plaisir ! voilà ! qui commence véritablement un peu à prendre couleur ! "Ah! see there again the bag and the livery!-Oh, how handsome that is!-What pleasure it gives to see it! -This begins indeed to assume something like an appearance!" Nor in the pleasure they felt at the revival of this parade, did the idea seem once to intrude itself, of examining into the birth of him who presided over it, or his pretensions to being their chief magistrate it was enough that their ancient hobby-horse was restored, and it was matter of indifference to them by whom the curb which guided it was held. Among those whom I had a more particular opportunity of observing, was a well-dressed and respectable-looking man, about the middle age, who from his appearance might be supposed some creditable tradesman. He had been standing by me for some time before the procession began, and we had entered into conversation; he was eloquent in his eulogium of Bonaparte, for having made such an extraordinary progress in calming the spirit of faction, which had long harassed the country; and particularly he spoke with exultation of his having so entirely silenced the Jacobins, that there appeared every reason to hope that their influence was fallen, never to rise again. He was among the most eager in his expressions of admiration of the procession; and at the conclusion of it, turning to me, he said, with a very triumphant air and manner, Comme les Jucobins seront hébété de tout ceci. "How the Jacobins will be cast down with all this!" While the procession was passing, the remarks were confined to general exclamation, as the objects that presented themselves struck the fancy of the spectators; but when all was gone by, comparisons in abundance began to fly about, between the splendour here displayed, and the mean appearance of every thing during the reign of Jacobinism, which all ended to the disadvantage of the latter, and the advantage of the present system: Tout étoit si mesquine dans ce tems là-Ceci est digne d'une nation telle que la France. Every thing was so mean in those days-This is worthy of such a nation as France." Some, who were too much behind to have seen the consular carriage, were eager in their inquiries about it. They could see, and had admired, the bags and liveries, but they could not tell what number of horses there were to the carriage; and they learned, with great satisfaction, that there were eight. Ah, c'est bien, they said, c'est comme autrefois-enfin nous reconnoissons notre pays. Ah, 'tis well-'tis as formerly -at length we can recognise our own country again." And then the troops never was any thing seen plus superbe, plus magnifique-and they were all French, no Swiss guards. Here the ancien régime 66 came in for a random stroke. After discussing these things for a while, the assembly dispersed into different parts of the town, some going towards the church, to try whether any thing further was to be seen there; but most went to walk in the gardens of the Thuilleries, and other parts, to see the preparations for the illumination in the evening, and thus pass the time away till the procession was likely to return. We employed ourselves in this manner; and, after walking about for near two hours, resumed our former stations. Here we saw the procession return in the same order that it had gone; when it was received with similar notes of approbation. In the evening there was a concert for the public in the gardens of the Thuilleries, and the principal theatres were opened to the public gratis. The chateau and gardens of the Thuilleries were brilliantly illuminated, as were the public offices and the theatres, and there were fireworks in different parts of the town. A very striking thing observable in this day, was the strong contrast presented between a great gathering together of the people in France and in England; and I must own that this contrast was not to the advantage of my own fellow-countrymen. On such occasions honest John Bull thinks he does not show the true spirit of liberty, unless he jostles, squeezes, elbows, and pushes his neighbours about as much as possible. Among the Parisian populace, on the contrary, there is a peaceableness of demeanour, a spirit of order, and an endea vour in each individual to accommodate his neighbour, which I confess I thought far more pleasing-shall I not say also more civilized-than honest John's freeborn elbowing and pushing. All the liberty desired by a Frenchman on such occasions, is that of walking about quietly to observe all that passes, and of imparting his observations and admiration to his neighbour; for talk he must-he would feel no pleasure unless he had some one to whom his feelings could be communicated. We went the next morning to see the decorations of Nôtre-Dame, before they were taken down. All that could be done to give the church a tolerable appearance had been effected; and when full of company its dilapidated state might perhaps be little seen; but empty, that was still very conspicuous. The three consuls sat together under a canopy, Bonaparte in the middle, with Cambaceres on his right hand, and Lebrun on his left. Opposite to them sat cardinal Caprara, the pope's legate, under a corresponding canopy. A very curious circumstance attending this solemnity was, that the sermon was preached by the very same person who had preached the sermon at Rheims on the coronation of Louis XVI., Monsieur Boisgelin, then archbishop of Aix, in Provence, now archbishop of Tours. His discourse was allowed by all who heard it to be a very judicious one. He did not enter into politics, or launch into fulsome flattery of those in power; but dwelt principally on the necessity of an established religion, no only as a thing right in itself, but as essential to the preservation of good morals among the people-illustrating his argument by the excesses into which they had been led during the temporary abandonment of religion, and bestowing commendation upon those by whom it had been restored.* EASTER AT PORTAFERRY, BELFAST, &c. For the Table Book. On Easter Monday several hundred of young persons of the town and neighbourhood of Portaferry, county of Down, resort, dressed in their best, to a pleasant walk near that town, called "The Walter." The avowed object of each person is to see the fun, which consists in the men kissing the females, without reserve, whether married Miss Plumptre or single. This mode of salutation is quite a matter of course; it is never taken amiss, nor with much show of coyness; the female must be very ordinary indeed, who returns home without having received at least a dozen hearty busses. Tradition is silent as to the origin of this custom, which of late years is on the decline, especially in the respectability of the attendants. On the same day several thousands of the working classes of the town and vicinity of Belfast, county of Antrim, resort to the Cave-hill, about three miles distant, where the day is spent in dancing, jumping, running, climbing the rugged rocks, and drinking. Here many a rude brawl takes place, many return home with black eyes and bloody noses, and in some cases with Indeed it is with them the broken bones. PEN BEHIND THE EAR-PAPER. The custom of carrying a pen behind the ear, lately common, is ancient. In the life of S. Odo is the following passage : "He saw a pen sticking above his ear, in the manner of a writer." Mabillon says, that he could find no paper books more ancient than the tenth century but the pen made of a feather was certainly common in the seventh century; and though ascribed to the classical ancients, by Montfaucon's mistaking a passage of Juvenal, it is first mentioned by Adrian de Valois, a writer of the fifth century. This rather precedes Beckmann, who places the first certain account of it to Isadore.t Suburban Sonnets. IV. HAMPSTEAD. HAMPSTEAD! I doubly venerate thy name, Which youthful poets eagerly pursue, V. THE NEW RIVER. Thou pleasant river! in the summer time VI. MINERVA TERRACE, ISLINGTON YE, who are anxious for a "country seat," Pure air, green meadows, and suburban views, Rooms snug and light, not over large, but neat, And gardens water'd with refreshing dews, May find a spot adapted to your taste, Near Barnsbury-park, or rather Barnsbury-town, Where ev'ry thing looks elegant and chaste, And wealth reposes on a bed of down! I, therefore, strongly recommend to those Who want a pure and healthy situation, To choose MINERVA TERRACE, and repose 'Midst prospects worthy of their admiration;How long they'll last is quite another thing, Not longer, p'rhaps, than the approaching spring! J. G. Fosbroke's British Monachism. + Ibid. Islington, March 25, 1827. London Cries. "Buy a fine singing-bird!" The criers of singing birds are extinct : we have only the bird-sellers. This engraving, therefore, represents a by-gone character: it is from a series of etchings called the "Cries of London," by Marcellus Lauron, a native of the Hague, where he was born in 1653. He came to England with his father, by whom he was instructed in painting. He drew correctly, studied nature diligently, copied it closely, and so surpassed his contemporaries in drapery, that sir Godfrey Kneller employed him to clothe his portraits. He likewise excelled in imitating the different styles of eminent masters, executed conversation pieces of considerable merit, and died at London in 1705. His "London Cries" render his name familiar, on account of the popularity which these performances still possess, and there being among them likenesses of several "remarkable people" of the times. "Lauron's Cries" are well known to collectors, with whom the portrait of a pedlar, if a "mentioned print," is quite as covetable as a peer's. VOL. I-17 Mr. Fenn of East Dereham, Norfo.k, writing to the Rev. Mr. Granger, who was the Linnæus of "engraved British portraits," sends him a private etching or two of a " Mr. Orde's doing," and says, "He is a fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and is exceedingly lucky in taking off any peculiarity of person. Mr. Orde is a gentleman of family and fortune, and in these etchings makes his genius a conveyance of his charity, as he gives the profits arising from the local sale of the impressions in the University, to the originals from whom he draws his likenesses.- Randal, the orangeman, got enough by the sale of himself to equip himself from head to food: he always calls his oranges, &c. by some name corresponding to the time he sells them; as, at the commencement, Commencement oranges; at a musical entertainment, Oratorio oranges. By this humour he is known throughout the University, where he is generally called Dr.Randal. His likeness, manner, and gait, are exactly taken off.-The Clare-hall fruit-woman too |