was greatly indulged even by those who could not feel his scruples. We therefore requested him to take the paper, and put it into a form he could approve. He did so, preparing an entire new statement, and preserving, of the former, only the last four paragraphs and half of the pre ceding one. We approved and reported it to Congress, who accepted it. Congress gave a signal proof of their indulgence to Mr. Dickinson, and of their great desire not to go too fast for any respectable part of our body, in permitting him to draw their second petition to the King according to his own ideas, and passing it with scarcely any amendment. The disgust against its humility was general; and Mr. Dickinson's delight at its passage was the only circumstance which reconciled them to it. The vote being passed, although further observation on it was out of order, he could not refrain from rising and expressing his satisfaction, and concluded by saying there is but one word, Mr President, in the paper which I disapprove, and that is the word Congress;' on which Ben. Har rison rose and said 'there is but one word in the paper, Mr. President, of which I approve, and that is the word Congress,' (Extracts to be continued.) SONNET III. V. THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE. The present Italian language has, evidently, a Latin basis: it is supposed to have arisen, principally, from the vulgar spoken dialects of Italy, modified by the Germanic tribes who settled in that country. During the middle ages, the written language of Italy was the Latin. Lawyers and public functionaries were obliged to learn this, because all official documents were recorded in it. Besides, Latin was the language of the church. In the course of time, many words would necessarily pass from the spoken dialects into the written language.Muratori has collected some legal contracts of the 11th and 12th centuries, in which there are many expressions not Latin, that still are found in the Italian of the present day. By the intermixture of Teutonic words, the use of prepositions instead of the Latin terminations in substantives, and the introduction of the article and auxiliary verbs, the vulgar dialects imperceptibly assumed a form and character altogether different from the Latin: and to distinguish it from the Latin, it was termed the Romance, or the vulgar tongue. The learned despised it for a time; some, how The shades of night, and night's perturbed ever, were, at last, bold enough to write in dreams [ray Yield to the morn: would that the sun's bright Could chase the gloom, that shrouds my mind, it, and these, as we might judge from similar states of society, were poets. The first poetical essays, in this language, were made by the Sicilians, in the latter part of the 12th century; but the earliest poems which deserve this name, were not written before the commencement of the 13th century, and these belong to the Florentines. About the middle of the 13th century, the poetry of the Troubadours was diffused as widely as the Romanic dialects-the Romanic or Romanzo was the remnant of the disused Latin language, exhibited in the new form which the Germanic conquerors of the Roman provinces gave it. However different the forms of these dialects had become, owing to accidental or local causes, they still retained a family likeness, and even the new shape, by which they were distinguished from the Latin, was, in all of them, essentially the same. Besides this, the nations, though politically separated, were allied in manners and modes of thinking, and, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Venice, a point of re-union could be formed, by the possession of a common language and a com mon poetry. The Romanzo of Italy itself was subdivided into many dialects, of which Dante enumerates fourteen: all of them, however, possessed a common stamp, which distinguished them from the Romanzo of the Provençal, the French, the Spanish, and the Portuguese. Dante was, probably, the first who gave to the improved popular dialect of Tuscany, the name of "volgare illustre." This term became afterwards general, and denoted a language, entirely distinct from the Latin, which was the language of the learned, and also different from the provincial When internal communication increas- dialects of the multitude. We have the ed, a common language would necessarily testimony of Dante, that there existed, in be adopted, particularly among the educa- his time, an improved dialect of the Itated; and the most cultivated dialect would, lians, though it had not yet acquired that of course, have the most influence in mo- fixed form, which this great reformer of the difying this new language. The Tuscan Italian language and poetry gave it afterdialect, from various causes, had this pre- wards. Every person, who spoke this diaeminence. The Tuscans, and particularly | lect, mixed with it as much of his own as the citizens of Florence, who, at an early he pleased. Of course, the same liberty period, had distinguished themselves among would be taken by the first poets, who attheir countrymen, by their political and tempted to use the "volgare illustre." It intellectual improvement, had spread them- required only a writer of superior talent, selves all over Italy, in their commercial such as Dante, to form, according to his adventures. People of taste would soon own genius and taste, a new poetic lanattempt to speak this more polished dia- guage out of the improved dialect, and the lect, though it had not then received all decisive step was taken towards establishthe improvements which Dante, Petrarca, ing an improved national language and poBoccaccio, and others, bestowed on it. etry, which would form a standard for sucDante, in his treatise "de vulgari eloquen- ceeding writers. The rules, which he foltia," mentions a common language, used, lowed, necessarily became general laws. in his time, by the educated Italian: he That language, from which, when improvcalls it the "volgare illustre." We see ed, a new poetry was to arise in Italy, was, that, by this name, he must mean the Tus- at the time of the first Italian poets, yet can dialect, to which he gave the preference. vague, unfixed, and without grammatical It was an important service that the rules, though it had a manifest national three learned men, before mentioned, ren- character: general taste had, also, already dered to Italian literature, by the adoption fixed the kind of verse and the measure of of its most cultivated dialect; but, before syllables. The Italian Romanzo, in its catheir time, the language existed in a form pabilities for metrical improvement, resemthat we cannot fail to recognize as the genu- bled all the other languages, which were ine Italian of the present day: particularly formed from the Latin, especially the Proin the compositions of the Tuscan poets; vençal, but the genius of Dante improved it such as Guittone Cino, Guido Guinicelli and and gave, to the poetry of his nation, an Guido Cavalcanti, and of some prose wri- impulse which quickly elevated it above ters, such as Malespini and Dino Compagni. that of Provence. The earliest known work in Italian prese (prose volgare,) is, according to Tiraboschi, a history of Sicily, by Matteo Spinello, a Neapolitan. It extends from 1247, to the year 1268, and comprises, in the form of a diary, the events of which the writer was a witness. The Neapolitan dialcct prevails in it. The merit, of having written the first work in the pure Tuscan dialect, belongs to Ricardano Malespini, a nobleman of Florence. He is the author of a history of his native city, which, in imitation of other chroniclers of his time, he commences with the life of Adam. For the ǝvents, to which he was an eye-witness, he is considered very excellent authority. B. Roman Antiquities.-Two hundred and ninety Roman, silver and copper, coins have been recently found in a stone quarry in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield, England, on the supposed site of the ancient Cambodanium. They appear to be of the latter part of the Dictatorship, and the reigns of Julius and Augustus Cæsar. March of Intellect.-Not a quarter of a mile from Waterloo-bridge, London, is to be seen the following notice:-"A daye Scool for Childran, ware they are tought to rede and spele." MY STOMACH! "Caveant Moniti." "Let those who are advised, beware." My Stomach!" And pray! what is this to me?" cries the startled reader. At once, then, let me declare, that the present pithy communication is neither a Notice of Lease nor Sale; nor is it my object to trade it away, at first cost, bad as the property is. Like most transgressors, I am willing that my experience should do the public more good than it does myself; and, therefore, I have ventured forth with the following record, or moral exposé-the motto of which may be "Caveant Moniti." venth Heaven. As for myself, I revolved slowly in my orbit homeward, filled, like the primitive earth, with inward fire, and groaning under the pressure of superincumbent strata, composed chiefly of calf'shead soup, beef, porter, goose and onions, chicken-pie, macaroni-pudding, plum-pudding, custard, cream, trifle-a few independent formations such as tarts and sweet-meats-organic remains from both kingdoms, including fish, oysters, cabbage and potatoes-together with coffee, and a very considerable fresh water deposit to regulate the whole. Upon entering my study, I took possession of the easy chair, stretching my weary feet beyond Symmes's hole for what I know, and, folding my arms for a little philosophy, I looked soberly at the floor, and thus communed with myself upon the high degree of disorganization within. "Mysterious Instrument of Existence! How shall I pacify thee? How study thy whims and eccentricities? Thou art thǝ most tyrannical of Potentates, sacrificing all the world to self! If I wish to teach thee frugality, thou art boisterous and illtempered; and if I offer too freely at thy shrine, thou art killed with the kindness: Day is devoted to thy service; nor is even It is my misfortune to have been born with a stomach, and to have felt the whole neighbourhood thereof in a state of insubordination, for some time past. The gastric functionary, which I conceive to be the ring-leader, has, since the coming in of the new administration, actually proved outrageously turbulent. A quarrelsome, or, perhaps, heroic spirit, has beset it, and it grumbles a great deal about reform. The hint has, hitherto, been lost upon me, because I consider myself made up of separate and independent states, which never yet agreed about the rules of general gov-night exempt: Churl as thou art, thou hast ernment, and I have long been familiar with petty local complaints. In short, though it is as obvious as the day, that I have a good constitution, every thing, that happens at the seat of government, is made to appear altogether unconstitutional. I had almost arrived at a state of apathy and absolute indifference to every object, outside of my study-door, when an occurrence took place, which justice to my heirs at law, and a regard for others, induce me to lay before the public. My habits are sedentary, and I seldom go abroad; but some very kind, eating friends, a short time since, invited me to a set-to; and I unwittingly fell in with the proposal. We feasted sumptuously, and were very agreeable at first-conversed harmoniously about choice cuts, and drank wine like gentlemen. In good time, we entered upon warm arguments about elections, state rights, bargain, corruption, and other sins of the day. Noise and disorder soon followed: We took in even more of wine and solids than we gave out of words; and, when I retreated from my post, my comrades were somewhere in the se beset the high road of nutriment, and, like I was here stopped by a kind of internal thumping, followed by an almost suffocating enlargement of the Esophagus which proceeded upwards to the pharynx, and, after several ominous grumblings, I thus I assured the angry organ that I had a much higher opinion of its workmanship; but "the steam was up," and it ran on : "What are those anti-bilious, execrable, pills-those provocatives, enticers, and sto "Instead of being surprised at my irregularity of temper, you should praise heaven that I still hold together. Instead of lamenting the injury which, you are pleased to say, the good-natured Liver and my other neighbours sustain through me, you should regulate your own taste, and not permit that chattering, conceited, varlet, the Tongue, to usher into my presence all sorts of company. Instead of lecturing me for degeneracy and want of strength, you should abstain from smoking hot, and high seasoned, dishes, from luscious wines, from di stinctly heard my Stomach make reply: "No more of this ranting, this rhodomontade of philosophy! If you are a man, listen to plain sense, and learn to do me more justice in future. It is in vain to expect others to be more perfect than your-machics, but insults heaped upon abuse ? self, and reformation must commence with It is the fashion, I hear, to father upon me you. "Tis I, who am so utterly neglected, that all the offspring of that monster, Dyspepsia, should bring the charge. Actually wasting and of the sallow race of Hepatitis. Nay, away for want of daily exercise, and a little I firmly believe, that I am responsible for shaking, the legs refuse to walk with me! I all kinds of colic, pains, and bruises. Am cannot toss over chairs, and knock open I not the very carry-all of Doctor's slops— doors, to enforce obedience; and the Head, the thoroughfare for pills, boluses, powupon which I principally rely for all reasona- ders, tinctures, mixtures, and other items, ble support, absolutely does not seem to think as per bill? No matter how innocent myat all about me. When I do succeed in self, I am compelled to pitch, head-forecalling its attention, a trifling cold or head- most, under the awful operation of an emeache is brought forward as an excuse for tic; and for what? Perhaps to relieve a not interfering in the matter. You have toe-ache, of which I never heard, prior to the cruelty to tell me I have nothing to do so unjustifiable an attack upon my feelings! but eat, eat! And is not this something, when you cram, cram? Without consultation, and often without inclination, I am stuffed beyond bearing; and, if I must needs state a suspicion, not from kindness to myself, but wholly for the accommodation and benefit of others! Where is the temper that could stand this? Compelled by fate, I struggle hard to remove the burdens thus imposed; but, day after day, the labour still remains. All the world seems to come in at Cardia, and go out at Pylorus! The Doctors, I must say, talk a great deal of nonsense about gastric juice and pancreatic juice, but even verjuice could not make head against such a mass of matter. At one time, you bolt down whole charges of buck-shot, and expect, forsooth, that these are to be softened by a touch! At another, you deluge me with floods of hot tea and coffee, until there is not a dry spot to be seen! If I am calm, and at ease, which, God knows, is very seldom indeed, 'tis ten to one but you pour down sour wine, or rascally toddy, to work me into frenzy. For what, in the name of common sense, does the world take me? The presumptuous chemist, I suppose, teaches you that I am a patent, high-pressure Digester, or a Phlogistic-antacid-Concoctor! And you, yourself, without wishing to be involved in scientific speculations, think it reasonable, no doubt, that I should resemble a brewer'svat, a mash-tub, a tool-chest, or, at least, a common corn-bag, which may be stuffed until the stitches give way! Presumptuous jargon! I am out of all patience with such folly!" The Here I lost the thread of our dialogue. Sleep was bearing hard upon me. subject, though interesting, was assuming the rigid character of a curtain lecture, about items, which could not be relinquished; so I yielded to the influence of my kind mediator, Sleep, and, for a time, forgot the stings, not of conscience, but of Stomach. N. ANGLO-SAXON ECCLESIASTICS. "He was a most excellent harper, a most eloquent Saxon and Latin poet, a most expert chantor or singer, a DOCTOR EGREGIUS, and admirably versed in the scriptures and the liberal sciences." CHRON. ANON. Leland Collectan. II. 278. Such is the character, given by an anonymous chronicler, of Aldhelm, kinsman of Ina, king of the West Saxons, who is said to have been one of the first Saxons that wrote Latin, and taught his countrymen the art of Latin versification. For his uncommon merits, he was made Bishop of Shirburn, in | bot of Malmesbury, was a skilful architect. Dorsetshire, in the year 705. He appears to have been, in every respect, a learned and exemplary man, and, according to Malmesbury, might be justly deemed "ex acumine Græcum, ex nitore Romanum, et ex pompa Anglum." The Saxon ecclesiastics, in general, seem to have esteemed singing an accomplishment in the members of their body. The venerable Bede asserts, that Edda, a monk of Canterbury, and a learned writer, was "primus cantandi magister." Wolstan, a learned monk of Winchester, of the same age, was a celebrated singer, and wrote a treatise "de Tonorum Harmonia," which is cited by William of Malmesbury. Their skill in playing on the harp is also frequently mentioned. Of Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury about the year 988, it is said, that among his sacred studies he cultivated the arts of writing, harping and painting. A monk is described by Bede as well skilled in smith-craft. Stigand, the Bishop of Winchester, made two images and a crucifix, and gilded and placed them in the Cathedral of his diocese. It was even enacted by law, that the clergy should pursue these avocations: for Edgar says "We command that every priest, to increase knowledge, diligently learn some handicraft." History informs us, that these acquirements were greatly prized amongst the clergy, even long after the Saxon period. X. Y. OBITUARY. ADAM MUELler. This celebrated political Lecturer and Writer was born at Berlin, in the year 1779: he was originally intended for the study of Theology, received his Academical education from some of the most renowned instructors of the time, and fin At Trinity College, Cambridge, is a Psalter in Latin and Saxon, admirably written, illuminated with letters in gold, silver, &c. and full of a variety of historical pic-ished his studies at the University of Gottures. This seems to have been executed tingen. Circumstances induced him to about the reign of king Stephen-the com- quit, in some measure, his Theological stumencement of the 12th century. The Sax- dies and to direct his attention more eson clergy were also ingenious artificers, in pecially to political science. In 1806, he many other respects. St. Dunstan made two went to Dresden and delivered lectures of the bells of Abingdon Abbey with his own there on German literature-in 1807, on hands. John of Glastonbury, who wrote dramatic poetry-in 1808, on the ideas of about the year 1400, relates that there rebeauty, and, in 1809, on political science. mained in the Abbey of Glastonbury, in All these have been printed-the last unhis time, crosses, incense-vessels and vest- der the title "Elemente der staatskunst." ments, made by Dunstan, when a monk "Elements of political science". In 1811 there. He adds, also, that Dunstan could he went to Austria, and there delivered, in engrave, and it iss aid, could model any im- 1812, a course of lectures on eloquence, to in brass, iron, gold, or silver. He could a numerous class; after this period he also draw and paint the patterns for a lawas employed in several stations of a poldy's robe. His friend, Ethelwold, the Bi-itical character by the court of Austria. shop, made two other bells for Abingdon, of a smaller size, and a wheel full of small bells, much gilt, to be turned round for its music, on feast days. He also displayed much art in the fabrication of a large silver table, of curious workmanship. Ervene, one of the teachers of Wolstan, Bishop of Worcester, was famous for Calligraphy and his skill in colours. To invite his pupils to read, he made use of a Psalter and Sacramentary, the capital letters of which he had richly illuminated with gold. This was about the year 980; and William, of On the sixteenth of January last, the news of the death of his friend Frederick von Schlegel reached Vienna, and, according to the Journals, had so powerful and baneful an influence upon him as to occasion his death on the following day; at the age of forty-nine years. ROADS TO RICHES. Ignavis repugnat Fortuna.-OVID. Some business having carried me to Rich Malmesbury, says, that Elfric, a Saxon Áb-'mond the last winter. I took un mv anar |