And when their hate these had made known, had upon the tyre of her head ten rubies, New mischiefs it begat me: For ev'ry rascal durty clown Presumed to amate me; Grinn'd, snarl'd, and barked at me. And thus to spend my hours, Though we have much contended; As most who have offended: For, I sleight her, and she sleights me, And there's my quarel ended. This only doth my mirth allay, I am to some engaged, Who sigh and weep, and suffer may, Our whimsics, brauls, and gew-gaws, A MORRIS DANCE IN JEWELLERY. At the accession of Charles I., there belonged to the crown "One Salte of goulde called the Morris Daunce." Its foot was garnished with six great saphires fifteen diamonds, thirty-seven rubies, and forty-two small pearls; upon the border, about the shank, twelve diamonds, eighteen rubies, and fifty-two pearls ; and standing about that, were five Morris dauncers and Taberer, having amongst them thirteen small garnishing pearls and one ruby. The Lady holding the salt had upon her garment, from her foot to her face, fifteen pearls, and eighteen rubies; upon the foot of the same salt were four coarse rubies and four coarse diamonds; upon the border, about the middle of the salt, were four coarse diamonds, seven rubies, and eight pearls; and upon the top of the said salt, four diamonds, four rubies, and three great pearls; [the lady] twelve diamonds, and twenty-nine garnishing pearls. By a special warrant of Charles I. dated at Hampton Court, Dec 7, in the first year of his reign, 1625, a large quantity of gold plate and jewels of great value, which had "long continued, as it were, in a continual descent with the crown of England," were transferred to the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earl of Holland, Ambassadors Extraordinary to the United Provinces, who were thereby authorised to transport and dispose of them "beyond the seas," in such manner as the king had previously directed these noblemen in private. The splendid gold salt called the Morris Dance, above described, jewelled with nine great saphires, six great pearls, one hundred and fiftynine small pearls, ninety-nine rubies, and fifty-one diamonds, and weighing one hundred and fifty-one ounces and a half, and half a quarter, was thus disposed of among the other precious heir-looms of the crown, specified in the king's warrant.* ORIGINAL POETRY. THINK NOT OF ME. WRITTEN FOR A LADY'S ALBUM. "Go to the courts of the noble and gay; Does the cloud on the streamlet for ever remain ? Fadeth it not at the sun's early glow, Think not of me in thy happiness, sweet! The steed is impatient-its lord must depart. free, And ne'er in its fondness be one thought of me!" W. B. D. D. TURNBULL. Rymer. July 18. July 18, 1735, died, aged ninety, Richard Shorediche, esq., who had been upwards of fifty years in the commission of the peace for Middlesex, and several times colonel of the county foot militia. He was the last surviving juryman of those who served on the trial of the seven bishops committed to the tower by king James II., and, being the junior juryman, was the first that declared them "not guilty." Seven were of a different opinion, but, by the strength and honesty of his arguments, he brought them over to his own sentiments; and, by this firmness in the cause of justice and liberty, may be said to have fixed the basis of the constitution.* 19 July, 1720, died, in Newgate, Law rence Howell. He was a non-juring clergyman, and had resided in Bull-head court, Jewin-street, London, where he wrote a pamphlet, of which a thousand copies were printed, and found in his house. It denounced George I. as a usurper; and condemned all that had been done in the church, subsequent to archbishop Sancroft's deprivation, as illegal and uncanonical. For this offence he was tried at the Old Bailey, and, being convicted, he was sentenced to pay a fine of £500 to the king; to remain in prison for three years; to find four sureties of £500 each, besides his own surety in £1000, for his good behaviour during life; to be twice whipped; and to be degraded, and stripped of his gown by the hands of the public executioner. He heard this severe and cruel sentence undismayed, and indignantly enquired, "Who will whip a clergyman?" The court answered," We pay no deference to your cloth, because you are a disgrace to it, and have no right to wear it: besides, we do not look upon you as a clergyman, in that you have produced no proof of your ordination, but from Dr. Hickes, under the *Gentleman's Magazine. denomination of the bishop of Thetford, constitution of this kingdom, which has which is illegal, and not according to the no such bishop." Continuing to dispute with the court, it caused the hangman to tear off his gown as he stood at the bar. The public whipping was not inflicted; by his death. his term of imprisonment was shortened SIN EATERS. Sin-eating is the only that can be used to signify a practice which prevailed with our ancestors. Lawrence Howell, mentioned above, wrote a "History of the Pontificate, in which he mentions a decretal epistle, attributed to a pope Alexander, in the second century, which, by an exposition of "They eat up the sin of my people," Hosea iv. 8, implies that this passage signifies "the dignity of priests, who, by their prayers and offerings, eat up the sins of the people." An usage called sin-eating undoubtedly arose in catholic times, and, however it may have been limited to the clergy in early ages, was afterwards continued and practised as a profession, by certain persons called sin-eaters. In a letter from John Bagford, dated 1715, printed in "Leland's Collectanea," there is the following account of a sineater.—“Within the memory of our fathers, in Shropshire, in those villages adjoinining to Wales, when a person died, there was notice given to an old 'sire' (for so they called him,) who presently repaired to the place where the deceased lay, and stood before the door of the house, when some of the family came out and furnished him with a cricket (or stool), on which he sat down facing the door. Then they gave him a groat, which he put in his pocket; a crust of bread, which he ate; and a full bowl of ale, which he drank off at a draught. After this, he got up from the cricket, and pronounced, with a composed gesture, ease and rest of the soul departed, for which he would pawn his own soul.' This" says Bagford, "I had from the ingenious John Aubrey, esq., who made a collection of curious observations, which I have seen." the been owners, for more than two hundred years, of Homme Castle, which was much damaged by fire in 1605; and destroyed in the civil wars, by Cromwell's party. In 1649, Mr. Jeffries, the then owner, discovered, in the grounds near his house. a vault in the middle of an ancient fort, made in the fashion of a half-moon, with an iron chest containing treasure to a considerable amount. sets China-aster port." In the county of Hereford was Bishop White Kennet, who appears to have possessed Aubrey's MS., has added this note. "It seems a remainder of this custom which lately obtained at Amersden, in the county of Oxford; where, at the burial of every corpse, one cake and one flaggon of ale, just after the interment, were brought to the minister in the church porch.' July 19. Sun rises sets Garden levetera in full flower. July 20. h. m. 4 1 7 59 On the 20th of July, 1725, died, Edward Winnington Jeffries, esq., of Homme Castle, in Worcestershire, a representative of the borough of Droitwich, in four successive parliaments. His family had *Brand. July 21. THE THRUSH. The common song-thrush is somewhat less than the blackbird: the upper surface of the body is of an olive color, with a mixture of yellow in the wings; the breast yellowish, with dusky spots; and the belly white. There are other sorts of thrushes in England: 1 The great thrush, called the misselbird, measle-taw, or shrike, in color and spots agrees with the song-thrush, but is a bigger bird; very beautiful to look at, but not valued for its song. 2. The redwing, swinepipe, or windthrush, is, in shape and color, very like the song-thrush, which has more and larger spots on the breast and belly, and is somewhat bigger. This bird is in uo esteem for singing. 3 The small heath-thrush, so called from its building upon heaths and commons, is of a darker color than others of the thrush kind, and esteemed, by some, for singing; but none are comparable to the common song-thrush, which, at the beginning of spring, sits on high trees and sings deliciously. When reared from the nest it learns the songs of the woodlark, nightingale, and other curious birds. The male and female are very much alike in color and shape; but, in a fullfeathered male, the dusky, or olive color, is somewhat darker and more glossy than that of the female. The spots seem darker and brighter, and rather more white appears on his belly. Indeed, it may be observed of all birds, where the colors are the same in both, that the male excels in resplendency of feathers. When young, choose the sleekest and brightest birds; as soon as they begin to feed themselves, both the male and female will record: the male gets upon his perch, and sings his notes low for some time; the hen attempts to sing, but does it only by jerks. At the latter end of the summer, when their moulting is over, the males break out strong into song, and sing in winter as well as summer. The thrush breeds nearly as soon as the blackbird. She builds in woods or orchards, sometimes in a thick hedge, near the ground. The outside of her nest consists of fine soft green moss, interwoven with dead grass, hay, &c., and the inside is invariably, and very curiously, plastered with cow-dung, while the blackbird always plasters with clay or mud. The blackbird lays a covering of soft stuff in the inside to deposit her eggs upon; but the thrush lays hers upon the bare inside or plastering. The eggs of the thrush are five or six in number, of a bluishgreen color, speckled with a few small black spots, chiefly at the large end. The hollow of a nest is about two inches and a half deep; the diameter of the inside, at the top, four inches, and exactly round; its weight varies from under two ounces to three and a half. The length of a full-grown bird, from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, is nine inches; of which the bill is one, and the tail three and a half. Allowing for tail, bill, and head, which always lie out when the female sits in her nest, the cavity is just fitted to receive her body. The same is observable of the nests of some other birds; especially such as build with sides, and make deep cavities. The bird stands within side, while at work, and models her building to the dimensions of her body. The young birds are usually taken at twelve or fourteen days old, or sooner, in mild weather. They should be kept warm and clean, and fed every two hours with raw meat, bread, and hemp-seed bruised; the meat cut small, and the bread a little wetted, and then mixed together. The nest should be kept as neat and clean as possible, and, when become foul, the birds should be taken out and put into clean straw. When they are pretty well feathered, put them in a large cage with two or three perches in it, and dry moss or straw at the bottom. At full growth they should be fed with fresh meat, boiled, raw, or roasted, but not salted. Some give them only bread and hemp-seed; but fresh meat, mixed with bread, is the best food. Let them have fresh water twice a week, to wash themselves, or they will not thrive; if they are not kept clean they are very subject to the cramp: clean lodgings are the best means to prevent it. The thrush, at its native liberty, feeds on insects and snails, and the berries of white-thorn and misletoe.* THE RISE AND FALL. At a little select party in Edinburgh of "bien bodies," there was an ancient couple present, who had made a competency in a small shop in town, and retired from business, leaving their only son as successor in the shop, with a stock free from every incumbrance. But John, after a few years, had failed in the world, and his misfortunes became the theme of dis Course: Mrs. A.: Dear me, Mrs. K., I wonder how your Johnnie did sae ill, in the same shop you did sae weel in? Mrs. K.: Hoot, woman, it's nae wonder at a'. Mrs. A.: Weel, how did it happen? Mrs. K. : I'll tell you how it happened. Ye mun ken, when Tam and me began to merchandize, we took paritch, night and morning, and kail to our dinner-when things grew better, we took tea to our breakfast. A-weel, woman, they aye mended, and we sometimes coft a lambleg for a Sunday dinner, and, before we gae up, we sometimes coft a chuckie-we were doing sae weel. Noo, ye maun ken, when Johnnie began to merchandize, he began at the chuckie first. of pleasure. In the course of the journey, however, something occurred to arouse his suspicions, but he said nothing on the subject, made no resistance, and seemed to enjoy his jaunt. When they arrived at Lancaster, it was too late in the evening to proceed to the asylum, and they took up their quarters for the night at an inn. Very early in the morning the lunatic got up and searched the pockets of the sleeping officer, where he found the magistrates' order for his own detention. With that cunning which madmen not unfrequently display, he made the best of his way to the asylum, and told one of the keepers that he had got a sad mad fellow down at Lancaster, whom he should bring up in the course of the day; adding, "He's a very queer fellow, and has got very odd ways; for instance, I should not wonder if he was to say I was the madman, and that he was bringing me; but you must take care of him, and not believe a word he says." The keeper of course promised compliance, and the lunatic returned to the inn, where he found the overseer still fast asleep. He woke him, and they sat down to breakfast together; and he said, "You are a very lazy fellow, to be lying all day. I have had a good long walk this morning." "Indeed," said the overseer. "I should like to have a walk myself, after breakfast; perhaps you will go with me.' The lunatic assented; and after breakfast they set out, the overseer leading the way, intending to deliver his charge. When they came within sight of the asylum, the lunatic exclaimed, "What a fine house that is !" "Yes," said the overseer. "I should like to see the inside of it." "So should I," observed the other." "Well," said the overseer, "I dare say they will let us look through; however, I'll ask." The overseer rang the bell, and the keeper, whom the lunatic had previously seen, made his appearance, with two or three assistants. The overseer then began to fumble in his pockets for the order, while the lunatic produced gravely it to the keeper, saying, "This is the man I spoke to you about, you will take care of him; shave his head, and put a strait waistcoat on him." The assistants immediately laid hands on the overseer, who vociferated loudly that the other was the madman, and he the keeper; but this only tended to confirm the story previously told by the lunatic. The overseer was taken away, and became so obstreporous that a strait waistcoat was put upon him, and his head was shaved secundum artem. Meanwhile the lunatic walked deliberately back to the inn, paid the reckoning, and set out on his journey homeward. The good people of his parish were, of course, not a little surprised on finding the wrong man return: they were afraid that, in a fit of frenzy, he had murdered the overseer; and asked him, with great trepidation, what he had done with his companion. "Done with him," said the madman, "why, I left him at Lancaster asylum-mad!" This was not far from the truth; for the wits of the overseer had been nearly overset by his unexpected detention, and subsequent treatment. Inquiry was forthwith made, and, it being ascertained that the man was actually in the asylum, a magistrate's order was procured for his liberation; and he returned home with a handkerchief tied round his head, in lieu of the natural covering, which the barber of the Lancaster asylum had deprived him of.* 66 "I AM GOING YOUR WAY." Paul Hiffernan, a man of learning and ingenuity," of the old school," was always "going your way." To try how far Paul would go your way," a gentleman of his acquaintance, after treating him with a good supper at the Bedford coffee-house, took him by the hand, saying, "Good night, Paul." "Stay," says the other, "I am going your way." His friend stepped onward, out of his own way, with Paul, to Limehouse; when, contriving to amuse Paul with the certain success of his tragedy the " Heroine of the Cave" (afterwards performed for Reddish's benefit with no success, he brought him back to Carpenter's coffee-house, in CoventGarden, at three in the morning, where, after drinking some coffee and punch, a new departure was taken, with "Good morning, Paul; I am going to the Blue boar, in Holborn."-" Well," says Heffernan, "that's in my way;" and, upon leaving his friend at the gate, he took his leave a second time, about five in the morning, and afterwards walked leisurely home to his lodging in College-street, Westminster, next door to the hatter's, where he died about 1780.† * Manchester Guardian. Polyanthea, i. 175. |