a tip-toe when this day is named !'" Visitor after visitor arrived; Dukes, Lords, Judges, and Ambassadors, from the Premier of England down to the humble Peter Pancake. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress had been ushered in with their usual pomp and ceremony, and the procession had marched round the Hall to assure the assembly that the worthy City Dignitaries COULD walk, when the sound of the trumpets proclaimed silence for "grace;" and the Chaplain's "Amen was scarcely out of his mouth, when the clatter of steel and china, and the buz of a thousand voices, resounded through the Hall like the rumbling of distant thunder, or the sound of roaring waves pent up in caverns. The extracting of corks, the jingle of bottles and wine glasses, the music bands, and the toast-master's voice, produced a most exaggerated edition of the confusion of Babel, and did considerable damage to the drums of poor Mrs. Pancake's ears, who thought for a moment that a terrible earthquake had overtaken them, and was making a most vigorous effort to fly for her life. When at length assured of her safety, she seated herself by the side of her lord and master, who politely introduced her to the other members of his ward. Mr. Deputy Ninepin begged the honour of taking a glass of wine with the lady of their new member. Mrs. Pancake accordingly filled her glass, rose, and curtsying to the Deputy, drank his good health, and hoped his wife and family were quite well. Whereupon Mrs. Deputy Ninepin bowed, and nudging Master Deputy Ninepin, who was seated by her side, inquired if he saw aught that was green? To which interrogation the young gentleman having replied by a significant nod, and by the application of his forefinger to the left corner of his eye, politely requested the honour of taking wine with Mrs. Penny-cake. This trifling mistake in the pronunciation of the lady's name caused a slight blush to suffuse her cheek; whereupon the young gentleman immediately corrected his error, and "hoped Mrs. Pan-cake would forgive him," laying a particular stress upon the last syllable of that lady's cognomen. This playful apology restored Mrs. P. to the most perfect composure; and she was just going to have one little doze, when the truth suddenly rushed upon her mind that her amiable Peter was becoming somewhat mystified; for after having squared his elbows, and carefully reversed his wig, he politely requested one of the waiters to acquaint the Lady Mayoress and her Majesty's Ministers that Mr. Peter Pancake would be happy to take wine with them; then seizing a half-consumed bottle of champagne, hurled it aloft in the air, and, asking his companions if it were a dagger" that he saw before him, proceeded to request permission to "clutch it ;" but, unfortunately, the contents finding their way upon the white satin dress of a thin young lady with long sleeves, elicited a violent scream from a stout old lady with no sleeves, who happened to be the nearest relation of the aforementioned young lady, and who expressed it as her decided opinion that "men who couldn't keep from making beasts of themselves shouldn't come into genteel society;" which remark being mistaken by our friend for something complimentary, he commenced a series of flattering encomiums upon that lady's person, and earnestly prayed that her" too, too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and dissolve itself into a dew;" which produced a faint ejaculation of "heaven forbid !" from

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Mrs. Ninepin, and a loud laugh from her gallant son, who said it was bad taste to put the lady in such a stew, 'twas a tender subject, and thought she was dished already.

Glees were sung, speeches were delivered, and the gentlemen beginning to get uproarious, the ladies retired to the Council Chamber. Mrs. Pancake sunk down upon a seat in one corner of the room, and enjoyed in a quiet nod the first half-hour's peace which that day had afforded her. Roused, at length, by a slight bustle and rising amongst the ladies, she beheld the Lady Mayoress and suite enter. A little Page, with a black velvet hat and plume of white feathers, bore up her train, two young ladies in attendance walked by her side, and, as their crimson velvet dresses swept the floor, Mrs. Peter Pancake did think what a fine thing it would be to be a Lady Mayoress; and then she brought to her mind what Mr. Pancake had often said upon the subject, and thought he would make a very nice-looking Lord Mayor. The next moment she was in the land of dreams, and saw the apprentice boy leave the shop to gossip with Sally the maid, while two or three hungry-looking men were rapidly consuming the contents of the shop, and one of them had actually cast an evil eye in the direction of the till in the counter. Mrs. Pancake, endeavouring to secure these audacious intruders, struggled violently, and with the effort awoke; she found herself in the midst of a group of gentlemen with red collars, who had evidently been watching her with some interest, and, upon her return to consciousness, congratulated her on her escape from some unseen monster.

"Where is Peter?" said the lady.

"Who's Peter, my sleeping beauty?" asked one of the gentle

men.

"Mr. Peter Pancake, the Common Councilman," replied she.

Of course this gentleman had not seen Mr. Peter Pancake, but volunteered, as all polite gentlemen would do, to aid her in searching for her faithless lord.

"Fine place this," said Mrs. P. ; do you often dine here, Sir ?" "Oh yes," replied he; "I am a bachelor, and it is rather dull dining at home"-and he coughed as he said the words "at home." "To be sure it is. I wonder such a nice man as you havn't got married; it's very kind of you to help me to look for Mr. Pancake, and if you call at our house on boxing-day, I shall feel great pleasure in giving you a trifle for a Christmas-box."

This generous offer made the gentleman stare, and, unable to restrain his laughter, he assured her she must be mistaken in him, for he had never to his recollection gone round for Christmas-boxes.

Mrs. P., very much confused, begged ten thousand pardons for the blunder she had made; and was almost speechless when she discovered that her companion was no less a person than the Prime Minister, and that she had mistaken the Windsor uniform for a twopenny-postman's livery. However, she soon recovered herself a little, and a sudden thought rushing through her brain, she made a profound curtsy, and inquired "if his Lordship ever dined with the Queen ?"

"Very frequently," was the reply.

"Is she fond of sausages ?" said Mrs. P., breathlessly. His Lord

ship informed her that her Majesty was rather fond of that delicacy, but preferred the German. Poor Mrs. P. was sadly disappointed at this announcement, but hoped his Lordship would put in a word for her at the palace, and she would send a pound or two to Downingstreet as samples. The Premier, whose carriage was announced, now bade her "good evening," and uttering some compliment about her eyes, once more mingled in the crowd.

Mrs. Peter Pancake was just about relinquishing her search for her truant husband, when she accidentally overheard two of the waiters discoursing in high glee about a tipsy Common Councilman, who was "kicking up such a rumpus" in the kitchen. With fear and trembling did our heroine steer her way through the crowd of waiters and subordinates, which choked every avenue leading to the culinary departments, 'till at length, arriving at the top of a flight of stairs, she heard the well-known cadence of her husband's voice, who was haranguing a very riotous and noisy audience, from Mark Antony's Oration. "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now," said the glorious Mr. Pancake; "you all do know this mantle." Just at that moment his disconsolate wife made her appearance, and perceiving that she did know that mantle, notwithstanding its tattered and greasy appearance, he received such a sudden shock that he performed a somerset over the table upon which he was standing, and was precipitated amongst a pile of chinaware and glass, from which he was with some difficulty extricated. His ludicrous appearance caused much mirth amongst the bystanders, who plucked his wig from out a cauldron of soup, and placing it on his head, said it was not their fault if it ever came off again. Poor Mrs. Pancake wiped the blood from her good man's face and hands, and was only assured of his restoration to vitality by hearing him describe to his countrymen, what a fall was there."

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As it was quite impossible Mr. Pancake could make his appearance amongst the company in that pitiable condition, he took his wife's arm, and, with the assistance of the tables, effected a passage to the door of the hall, intending to make the best of his way home. There stood a handsome carriage, with a policeman holding open the door, as is customary. Into this rolled Mr. Pancake, pulling after him his flustered lady; and, the policeman having called out "all right,' the coachman drove off at a rapid rate. Wearied out with fatigue and vexation, Mrs. Pancake soon fell fast asleep, nor did she awake till the carriage door opened, and a tall footman proceeded to hand them out. In a moment she found herself ushered into a handsomely furnished apartment, where a social party of ladies and gentlemen were assembled.

"Hail to your Lordships," shouted Mr. Pancake, at the same time propelling his dripping peruke into the midst of the company. "Police! police!" screamed a group of half-fainting ladies. "He has murdered the Colonel!" vociferated the lady of the house; "look at the blood on his face and hands."

A most alarming commotion here took place; the footman could give no explanation of the cause of this intrusion, but said they came home in his master's carriage, and he, of course, allowed them to

enter.

Poor Mrs. Pancake, petrified with terror, stood like a statue in one corner of the room, while her infatuated husband continued haranguing the company with Shaksperian quotations; and, while resisting the efforts of three of the gentlemen to show him the door, upset a chiffonier of china ornaments and vases, thereby doing considerable damage to the person of an ancient damsel, who, happening to receive the falling fragments of a glass chandelier upon her shoulder, uttered a prolonged shriek, and threw herself into an alarming paroxysm of hysteria. The unfortunate author of this uproar had succeeded in divesting himself of his outer garments, and had placed his clenched fist in immediate proximity to a thin gentleman's most prominent feature, when half-a-dozen policemen made their appearance. Our friend Peter, just beginning to comprehend the nature of their visit, resumed his natural bland tone, besought his "good friends"-his "sweet friends"-not to let him stir them up to "such a sudden flood of mutiny ;" and, moreover, informed them that "they who did this deed were honourable men." His eloquence was, I fear, unheeded; for he and his innocent wife were hurried into a coach, and conveyed with the utmost expedition to the nearest station-house, where, not being able to procure bail at so late an hour, our crest-fallen Councillor was compelled to take up his abode for the night, and the next morning was brought before the Lord Mayor, whose guest he had been the previous evening, and whose first case of magisterial duty was furnished him by a member of his own body. Mr. Pancake could make no defence. He recollected nothing that transpired since he replenished his tenth glass of champagne, but thought it very natural he should jump into the first carriage that presented itself, and also conjectured that the turtle was too strong for his weak inside, and shouldn't be surprised if it wasn't that " as ris in rebellion." His Lordship having fined the gallant member five shillings for being drunk, with ten pounds damages, gave it as his opinion, that all persons whose internal apparatuses were not able to accommodate turtle and champagne, were not eligible for the office of Common Councilman, and made a note to that effect in the Dooms-Day Book before him.

Mr. Peter Pancake speedily hastened home to his disconsolate wife, whom he found in the utmost distress, for, upon arriving at home the previous evening, she discovered that Sally, the maid, had broken her best Sunday china and the shopboy's head-that three fighting cats had fallen through the skylight into the sausage-mill-and that no end of customers had left the shop unserved, and moreover that she, Mrs. Pancake, was awakened in the night by most excruciating pains in her arms, and was morally certain she had caught a "rheumatiz" which would carry her to the grave.

The morning of St. Thomas's day again arrived, but no Mrs. Pancake awoke her husband at 5 o'clock to learn his speech for the ensuing election-no Mr. Pancake urged the friends of liberty and reason to rush to the poll and vote for the advocate of patriotism and general principles-no little tailor had his whiskers on fire, and affirmed that it was the heat of his imagination that did it—no enemies of the little tailor spread abroad the uncharitable report that Jeremiah Snip, Esquire's, sole reason for wishing to get on the Court

VOL. I.

T

was the ambitious wish he entertained of making his Lordship's small-clothes; but eight friends of the little tailor did march in a body as one man, and declare to the Independent Electors that nothing now prevented this worthy candidate from taking upon him the honours which Mr. Pancake, by reason of the delicate state of his health, was compelled to resign; and at the close of that day's poll Jeremiah Snip, Esquire, was declared a member of the Court of Common Council.

Mr. Peter Pancake's back parlour door was not opened the whole of that memorable day, but after the blinds were drawn and the candles were lit, the sorrowful ex-Member sat down to lay before his sympathizing son, in a lengthy epistle, a few of his thoughts upon his withered hopes and blighted ambition, and after briefly relating the sad events which so suddenly terminated his bright career, concluded by telling his second Peter that he did not intend to shed a tear in all his misery," but should "let concealment, like a worm in the bud, feed on his damask Soul."

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E. T.

MESMERISM.
No. II.

BY HENRY GOODE, B.A., OF CAMBRIdge.

THE attention of our readers has been called to the fact that mesmerized persons are susceptible to the touch of the magnet. We do not say that this phenomenon is confined to the state of sleepwaking, because we are acquainted with a young lady, in whom, during the ordinary state, the near approach of the magnet produces a slight pricking sensation. It should be observed, however, that this person had been under the mesmeric influence two or three months previously to the observation of these effects, and that they might possibly ensue from some lingering of the Mesmerism. Moreover, we have seen that the contact of simple steel, or of other metals, may be unpleasant to an entranced person; but we mean that the magnet produces a much stronger effect than these.

This fact is interesting, as tending to show that mineral magnetism may perform some function in the animal economy.

To this hint we may add the following: that the contact of silk is occasionally attended with extraordinary effects, such as follow. On one occasion, when we had mesmerized a person, finding the light too strong for her eyes, so as to incommode them through the lid, we duly mesmerized a silk handkerchief, and then fastened it over her eyes for the purpose of shading them. No sooner was this done, than she began to knock her head about, and prayed for the removal of the handkerchief, saying, that the touch of it was very unpleasant. Nor was she at peace until her request was complied with. We have seen stronger instances than this in the case of another person, whom, in our last paper, we christened Miss A., who on two occasions came to be mesmerized in a silk dress, which she was in the habit of wearing. Both times the effects were exactly similar: as soon as she was entranced she began to pant, and complained, that she