from their perplexing multiplicity: but in both are extinguished the generous impulses which render life useful, happy, and honourable. barbarous innovations of steel and whalebone, which, | padding; the bones, steel, &c. should be left to the by causing disease, have been thrown into disrepute, deformed or diseased, for whom they were originally and which, under no circumstances, can add to the va- intended. 4th, Corsets should never be drawn so It may be doubted whether nature ever intended lue of the instrument, when worn by a well-formed tight as to impede regular, natural breathing, as, unall her secrets to be explored, or too closely investi- individual. der all circumstances, the improvement of figure is gated. Viewed externally, she displays both power Such hurtful appliances were first resorted to by the insufficient to compensate for the air of awkward re and magnificence; but if we attempt to penetrate her ugly, deformed, or diseased, who, having no natural straint caused by such lacing. 5th, They should laboratory, it has been truly remarked, we are fre- pretensions to figure, pleased themselves with the hope never be worn, either loosely or tightly, during the quently surprised by the apparent inadequacy of her of being able, by main strength, exerted upon steel- hours appropriated to sleep, as, by impeding respira. I instruments, or the meanness of her agency. How ribbed, whaleboned, and padded corsets, to squeeze tion, and accumulating the heat of the system impre wonderful, for instance, is the human mind; yet, if themselves into delicate proportions. If, however, it perly, they invariably injure. 6th, The corset for we examine the chamber of the brain, if we attempt be remembered that the use of corsets is to preserve young persons should be of the simplest character, and to comprehend the mechanism by which intellectual and display a fine figure, not to make one, and that worn in the lightest and easiest manner, allowing their phenomena are produced, how we are baffled and dis- they are to be secondary to a judicious course of diet lungs full play, and giving the form its fullest oppor. appointed! Again, the heart, what a source of emo- and exercise, it will be readily perceived that such in- tunity for expansion. tion! the tongue, what an organ of eloquence! the jurious agents are utterly uncalled for in their comeye, how wonderful its powers!-or what more sur- position. By selecting a material proportioned, in its prising than a seed expanding into the most beautiful thickness and elasticity, to the size, age, &c. of the foliage, or an acorn into the magnificent oak! In all wearer, and by a proper employment of quilting and these, our astonishment is excited by viewing nature wadding, they may be made of any proper or allowin her maturity, not in her infancy; in contemplating able degree of stiffness. If it be then accurately fitted her, not in undress, but when she comes forth adorned to the shape of the individual, and laced no tighter for action and enjoyment. She is a superb amphi- than to apply it comfortably, all the advantages of the theatre, in which, if man were satisfied to be a spec- corset may be fully obtained. But such, unfortu tator, he might be delighted with the splendour and nately, is not the course generally pursued. Ladies luxury of her entertainments; but when he ventures purchase corsets of the most fashionable makers, and beyond the proscenium, or descends into the kitchen of the most fashionable patterns and materials, regardto see how the viands are prepared, he is not unfre-less of the peculiarities of their own figures, which quently mortified with the nothingness or repulsive- may require a construction and material of very difness of his discoveries, and the destruction of the ferent description. Hence it often happens that feillusions that formed his felicity. males, naturally endowed with fine forms, wear corsets designed for such as are disproportionately thick or thin, and destroy the graceful ease of their movements, by hedging themselves in the steel and whalebone originally intended to reduce the superabundant corpulence of some luxurious dowager. What, it may be asked, do I infer from all this? Why, simply thus much, that life has become to many far too artificial an occupation, whereby they deprive themselves of the power of enjoying in simplicity the good which is abundantly provided for them. The one-half of mankind are seen to be constantly engaged in seeking out means wherewith they may make themselves miserable. True happiness, which they trample under foot, must always mainly consist in following inclinations subject to the control of reason and justice. Each individual has some ruling passion, from the correct indulgence of which his own welfare, as well as that of the community, is best promoted. Some, indeed, would incline one to think that all mankind should be graduated to one standard (their own of course) of excellence, but nothing can be more erroneous. It is not requisite that all men should be philosophers, poets, or statesmen; diversity in character and pursuits being as necessary to the harmony of the moral, as variety of production to the natural, world. CORSETS. THE evils of tight lacing among the female sex have of late been frequently animadverted upon by different writers, without producing any visible effect on the prevailing fashions, Yet, difficult as it may be to prevent young ladies from injuring themselves in this respect, we do not altogether despair of seeing improved practices established through the interference of parents and guardians. The corset, which is the article of dress employed to produce what is thought handsomeness of the person, is a French invention, and derives its name from the words corps and serrer, signifying to compress the body. The influence of aspirants for love and admiration. It is our office now As no two human figures are precisely alike, it is absolutely requisite that the corset should be suited with the minutest accuracy to the wearer; and a naturally good figure cannot derive advantage from any corset but one constructed and adapted in the manner above indicated. Slight irregularities or defects may be remedied or rendered inconspicuous, by judicious application of wadding, or by interposing an additional thickness of the cloth. But it should be remembered that certain changes occur to the female frame, after the cares of maternity have commenced, which are absolutely unavoidable. Among these, the general enlargement or filling up of the figure is the most observable, but is never productive of inelegance, unless it take place very disproportionately. The undue enlargement of the bust and waist is most dreaded, and the attempt to restrain their developement by mere force has led to the most pernicious abuse of the cor set. Throughout our observations, we have spoken of a certain degree of display of the female form as not incompatible with correctness of manners. But there is a limit which, we believe, cannot be exceeded with. out immediate detriment to public morals, and posi tive offence to delicacy. There was a time when a mode of dressing to display every personal charm was peculiar to an unfortunate class of beings, regarded as lost to all the modesty and dignity of the sex ; but it is a melancholy truth that this distinction between the lost and the reputable no longer exists in our great cities, where leaders of fashion and celebrated bean. ties, claiming the highest rank and character, are most remarkable for the solicitude with which they prepare their lovely persons to be gazed at and admired, in all their proportions, by the passing crowd! We should not have alluded to this subject, did we not hope that a slight animadversion upon its evil ten. dency would help to produce its correction. It has an immediate influence in lowering the sex in the esti mation of men, since it lessens their reverence for be ings they would otherwise always look upon with deep respect; and surely the fair sex have not yet to learn that modest reserve and retiring delicacy are among the most potent auxiliaries of their charms. That they should rush into the extreme we have deprecated, ap. pears to result merely from inattention; and we sin. cerely hope that but a short time will elapse before they will strictly respect the boundaries established by good sense and good taste, united with the lovely purity inherent in their sex. WHALES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. THERE was lately given an account, copied from the There is no doubt but that a judiciously fitted corset, of the narrow strait that admitted them. However year till her twenty-first, should be nothing more the relation given by an historian of a whale that ra The The above article is nearly altogether a condensation of a paper in the Encyclopædia Am...cana. swam off for an escape, as fast as they could, towards haps in some respects less criminal than another vathe mouths of the river Sangarius. They were un-riety in dishonest practices, which I am about to menable, however, to outstrip the rapidity of their purtion: this is the crime of keeping things which you suer, who, whether from a desire to commit murder may chance to find. It is necessary to tell you that on their bodies, or to enjoy the terror his majestic preno one has a right to appropriate or secrete any valusence had created, overtook and chased them a considerable way up the stream of that river. His im- able, or other article which he may pick up on the petuosity occasioned his destruction: in chasing his street, or road, or any where else. The article, though dolphin foes, he got entangled amid the shallows of said to be lost, is still the property of the loser, who is that river, and, by making violent efforts to disengage himself, only floundered more inextricably among the entitled to claim it, and have it restored. On the plain reeds and mud. The neighbouring country people, moral principle that every one should do unto others being eye-witnesses of his distress, rushed down with what they would others should do unto them, it behoves strong ropes and hatchets to destroy him; they soon the finder of an article to go at once to the owner and hauled him ashore and cut him up. They measured him, and found his length to be forty-five feet, his restore it; and if he do not know who the owner is, it is his duty to try to seek him out as far as he can conbreadth, or thickness, fifteen feet. His carcase was If he allows distributed in morsels, pickled and unpickled, to all veniently do so, or possesses the means. the inhabitants of the shores far and near, who, in himself to be carried away by greed and covetousness, the extermination of the sea-spoiler, that had so long the stealer of his neighbour's goods. It may happen tasting of his flesh, were glad to get sensible proof of and so keep up the article found, then he is a thief terrified and annoyed them. that the loser is a person of no generosity of sentiment, and may therefore neither offer nor give a reward for the restoration of his property; however, that makes no difference in the question. All that the finder has to think of, is the performance of an act of honesty, leaving every other consideration aside. Should nothing-not even thanks-be awarded to the deliverer up of the lost property, it is little matter. He who performs such an act of virtue is rewarded with the delightful glow of self-approbation: he feels he has done his duty: he knows his hands are clean: no one can accuse him of doing wrong: he has che rished no cankering care to gnaw him at the heart, and for ever spoil his efforts at happiness. No, he looks all mankind in the face in the proud conscious ness of integrity, and, in the expressive language of the psalmist, "he is not afraid to meet his enemy in the gate." Surely in these pleasurable sensations there is a reward far transcending mere pecuniary gifts. Column for the Boys. MY DEAR LITTLE BOYS-You have all no doubt been told by your fathers and mothers, as well as instructed by your Catechisms, that stealing is a crime. You have been made aware in various ways, that, if you appropriate any thing to your own use belonging to another without leave asked or given, you commit a sin of the most degrading nature, and are liable to be imprisoned, and otherwise punished by a magistrate. Knowing this, and seeing what a sad miserable fate generally attends the thief-how he is shunned, despised, and degraded-you resolve on carefully abstaining from ever, on any account or under any necessity, taking what does not belong to you. But, my dear little boys, though I am convinced you are well aware of these things, I doubt very much if you are warned sufficiently regarding the insidious advances of dishonesty under a different form, and it is upon that point I am now going to say a few words for your benefit. Dishonesty, you must understand, can be practised in various ways besides stealing; the property of others, though not taken by violence, as in the case of theft and robbery, may be taken fully as fraudulently by lying, cheating, or overreaching. To lie or to cheat is therefore as bad as to steal: you may commit as great a sin the one way as the other. I am sorry to say that many people whom you are likely to come in contact with in society think very lightly of either lying or cheating. Every day we hear persons of respectable exterior, and who are living in good houses, or keeping fine shops, not only deliberately telling falsehoods to their friends, and servants, and their customers, but taking the advantage of them by a thousand shabby tricks. Now, you must understand that all this is gross dishonesty, and highly blameable. Although the people who practise such vices often escape punishment from magistrates, still their crime is not the less heinous on that account. They have a conscience within them which will sooner or later sting them for their criminal conduct. There is a God above who will assuredly take account of their actions. Besides falling in with people of this kind, whose ways you will of course refrain from imitating, there is another class of persons of whom you will see plenty, and whose base practices you ought by all means to shun. These are individuals who are strongly affected with the grovelling passions of greed and covetousness, which they manifest in many dif. ferent pursuits. If they be owing money, and the creditor forget that they are owing it, they take care never to speak of the circumstance, or pay the debt. You can easily see that this is stealing-it is a theft as sinful as the taking of actual money from a neighbour. They likewise resort to the practice of borrow. ing, with the intention of never paying back the loans. If they cannot procure money in this manner, they will not scruple to take goods on credit, which it is far from their design ever to pay for; at least, the debts they so incur give them very little concern-they seem careless who loses, provided they have their gratifications satisfied. I need hardly tell you that this is likewise nothing else than a variety in stealing, though not usually punished as such. Bad as these variations of theft are, they are per The circumstances here related by our learned contributor must certainly be held as illustrative of the story of Jonah. Since it is known that these hyperborean animals occasionally intrude into the Mediterranean, there is no longer any reason to cavil with the English translation of that part of the Bible, which gives the word whale for a term, we believe, more expressly signifying a great fish. Talking to you of the value of honesty under all circumstances, and particularly with respect to the restoration of lost property, I am put in mind of a story which is told by that excellent instructress of youth, Mrs Markham, in her book called the "New Children's Friend," which I beg to recommend to your notice. It is as follows: STORY OF THE HONEST FISHERMAN. A Scottish gentleman of the name of Farquhar went, a few summers ago, to a town on the north coast of France, with the intention of passing some weeks there. The morning after his arrival, he went to a banker's to get his English money changed for French. He afterwards took a walk about the town, and visited the quays and the pier, and then strolled on the sands. After walking about for some time, he went into a shop, and, putting his hand into his pocket to pay for some trifling article, found that he had lost his purse. It contained all the money he had with him, and he knew that, if he could not recover it, he should be reduced to very uncomfortable embarrassments before he could receive any remittances from Edinburgh. He attempted to retrace his steps, in the forlorn hope that he should see it lying on the ground. But after fatiguing himself for some time in vain, he returned to his hotel in a very disconsolate mood, and made his disaster known to the landlord. The landlord advised him to lose no time magistrate, or a sort of mayor, of the town. The in stating the circumstance to the préfet, the chief préfet received Mr Farquhar with the politeness which a Frenchman always shows to a stranger, and promised to render him every assistance in his power; make inquiries in all parts of the town, and also to and he immediately dispatched officers of police to observe if any poor person was seen to spend any considerable or unusual sum of money. He then desired Mr Farquhar to come again the next day, when he should be informed of the result of these inquiries. Mr F. then went back to the inn to his dinner, for which the reflection that he had no present means of paying for it somewhat spoiled his appetite. We must here leave him at his melancholy meal, and go to a little cabin by the sea-side, inhabited by Pierre Leroux, a poor fisherman. We shall find nobody at home but Katrine his wife, if, indeed, we can call her at home, when her thoughts were absent with her husband and her two fine boys, who had gone out early in the morning to fish, and whose lengthened absence was beginning to fill her with apprehension. "Ah, my poor Pierre," said she to her self, "how he risks his life day after day in that old boat! Surely something must have happened. If he had but a better boat, I should not mind so much; but this is such a worn-out leaky thing. Oh! if we had but money to buy another, or, at least, to get this mended. But the children, poor things, must be fed, though ever so poorly, and the boys must have jackets, and all the money we can spare goes to mending the nets, which are getting old and bad. Oh ⚫ Longman, 1832; two volumes 12mo. dear!a fisherman's life is a dreadful life, particularly with an old leaky boat!" Here her soliloquy was interrupted by the entrance of her daughter Janneton, a little half-clad, barefooted girl, of about eight years old, whose tattered habiliments were set off, according to the fashion of her country and station, with a snow-white cap, and a pair of long dangling gold earrings. "Oh, mother, dear mother!" exclaimed the child, "look, see what I've got," and she held out a crimson silk purse, ap parently well filled. "How didst thou come by this?" said the mother; "surely thou didst not steal it." "Oh, no," answered the child, "I should be sorry to do such a wicked thing as that: I found it. Just boat was coming, I happened to see something fine now, as I was clambering up the cliff to see if father's and red lying on the sands, just by the great stone that is made into a seat. So with a hop, and two jumps, down I came, and here it is. Ah, what a and counted forty-nine gold Napoleons, a coin smaller pretty purse it is!-and so full !" Katrine had by this time emptied it of its contents, than an English sovereign, and in value sixteen shillings and eightpence of our money, and fifteen or sixteen francs. The franc is a silver coin resembling our shilling, but worth only tenpence. There were a few English half-crowns and shillings besides; and these, and the appearance of the purse, which was certainly any thing rather than French, indicated it to have belonged to some English person. Katrine, who had never before seen so much money together, could scarcely believe her eyes, and counted it over a dozen times to be quite sure she was not dreaming. She was a good honest creature in her own way, and would not have absolutely stolen any thing on any account. But the close connection between stealing and finding she did not understand. It never occurred to her that the money was not become her own lawful possession, and she accordingly began to dispose of it in imagination to the supply of the manifold wants of the family. The first thing, and the most necessary, was a new boat; then fine new clothes for herself and children; then a bed, then a table, then a picture of St Nicholas with a gilt frame, a gridiron, a cow, and, at last, a better and a larger house. Her busy fancy ran over all the things she wanted, and whatever it was possible to want. The money seemed to her inexhaustible, and in ten minutes she had spent it ten times over. In the midst of these pleasant cogitations, Pierre and his sons returned, wet, tired, cold, and hungry, and the father out of spirits at the bad success he had had. "Never mind about a few fish," said his wife; "I have something here that's worth all the fish you'll catch in a twelvemonth. Look what I've got!" At the sight of the purse, Pierre looked both astonished and alarmed. “How did you come by it ?" said he. "It's honestly come by, I promise you," said Katrine; "Janneton picked it up on the sands: some. body dropped it, I suppose." "And what do you mean to do with it ?" replied her husband. "Do with it!—why, buy what we want with it, to be sure. Thou shalt have half the money to get thee a new boat; and I'll keep the rest to buy some new clothes, and whatever else we want. I've promised Janneton a new petticoat ever since last new year's day, but never could get the money for it: but now the poor little one shall have her petticoat, and a fine scarlet one too." "Katrine," said Pierre, with earnestness, "this money is not ours. We have no business to meddle with it." "Not ours!" replied Katrine; "whose is it then ?" Pierre. It is the owner's, the person's who has lost it. Katrine. But we don't know who that is. Pierre. We must endeavour to find him out. If we keep it, we are no better than thieves. Katrine. I should be sorry to be a thief; but surely there can be no harm in keeping what we find. Pierre. If I had lost my nets or fishing-tackle, them for his own, without trying to find out to whom would any man who found them have a right to keep they belonged? Katrine. Oh, no; but then you are only a fisherman; and it would be shocking to take any thing away that belonged to a poor man like you. But this purse must belong to some rich person, some English milord, perhaps, who, I dare say, can afford to lose it; and that, you know, makes a great difference. Pierre. It may make a difference as regards him, but it makes none as regards us. Our fault would be just the same. Katrine now shifted her battery. She represented to her husband the deplorable state of his boat, and that he was risking his own life, and his children's, every time he ventured to sea in it. Poor Pierre sighed. She spread the money on the table. Pierre looked at it, then at his children, who were with famished appetites devouring their coarse and scanty supper. He felt his resolution give way: the stout arguments with which he had strengthened it seemed weak by the side of the powerful temptation. His wife saw him waver, and proceeded:"How can you be so foolish as to refuse this God-send, which has doubtless been thrown in our way by the blessed Virgin, or some of the holy saints, in pity to our poverty ?" At the name of God, Pierre started from the reverie into which he had fallen, and fresh courage came into his heart. "No," said he, "God and the saints never send us temptations to do wrong. When temptations do come, they come from another quarter. So, if you love me, dear Katrine, put the money out of my sight, and say no more about it. Katrine obeyed the first part of her husband's entreaty, and deposited the purse in a chest. But as to the second part, she found that impossible. Pierre complained of being tired, and went to bed; but little sleep could he get; and in his dreams, first the purse, then his old boat with her sides stove in, then a fine new boat as full of fish as it could hold, fitted by turns across his fancy, and he awoke early, uneasy, and unrefreshed. "I'll bear this no longer," said he; "while this vile purse stays in the house, what between my wife and my dreams, I shall have no peace night or day." So saying, or rather thinking, for he uttered not a word, lest he should awaken his wife, he took the purse out of the chest, and, silently stealing out of the cabin, bent his steps towards the préfet's house, with the intention of delivering it up to him, and leaving it to him to find the .right owner. was the owner of the purse, and supposed that he was Her agitation became extreme. "Ah," thought When he reached the préfet's, he found it was so early that none of the family were up. So he deter-ther to take care of it." mined to wait in the street till the préfet should be stirring. Here, alone, and with the purse in his hand, temptation again assailed him. "Who knows," thought he, “ but that my not being able to see his worship may be a sign from heaven that I am to keep this money?" The more he thought of it, the more plausible this reasoning seemed. "Ah," said he at Jast, "this will never do. I must not wait idle here. I must go and set about some employment, or there is Saying this, he no knowing how this may end." walked down to the quay where his boat was lying, and began to busy himself with preparing his nets and his baits. But his nets were out of repair, and his tackle defective, and, in short, all things seemed to be wrong; and the state of his worn-out bark pressed more heavily than ever on his spirits. "Ah," thought he, "if only half this money were mine, how rich I should be! I would put my boat in thorough repair: I would get some new nets; and then I should not go out day after day, as I do, and come back empty, all for want of better tackle. Now, if I only took two Napoleons, that would do me a world of good. The owner may perhaps not miss them : the préfet does not know what's in the purse: nobody would be the wiser, or much the worse, and I should be so much the better. But," said he, recovering himself, "I shall know all about it, though the préfet may not. And can I expect that the prayers I offer up for a safe and lucky voyage will ever be granted, if I have any thing that is not honestly got in my boat? No; I must then expect her to founder in the first squall. His honour the prèfet must be up by this time; so I'll e'en go and get rid of this plaguy purse, before I am tempted by it any more." He found the préfet just risen, and sitting giving audience in his robe-de-chambre, and his hair en papillotes. Pierre was admitted without ceremony, and gave the préfet the history of the purse, without omitting a single circumstance, not even his own struggles .with the temptation. The prefet immediately recognised the purse by the description Mr Farquhar had given of it. He counted the money, and found that it sallied with that gentleman's statement, and that not a piece was missing. "You are an honest fellow, -Pierre," said the préfet, "and deserve something for your good conduct. Tell me, should I discover the owner of all this money, what reward you will expect." "Nay, please your honour," said the fisherman, "I want no reward, not I. I am too glad to be rid of it; for I really think that, if we had kept it any longer in the house, I and my poor Katrine, who never quar relled yet, should have quarrelled about it, or perhaps have spent the money, which would have been worse." With a lightened heart Pierre tripped back to the quay, singing as he went, "Quand je danse, chère maman," &c. &c. When he got there, he found his nets not so bad as he had thought: his tackle was in serviceable condition, and even the old boat appeared less battered than before, and every thing belonging to him wore a better and more cheering aspect. Were they really changed? No; but he was changed himself. He was at ease in his mind: he had obtained a -great victory, and had preserved his integritv unspotted. While all these things had been passing, poor Katrine had remained at home in a state of great anxiety. She had missed the purse, and had imagined that her arguments had conquered Pierre's scruples, and that he was gone to buy the much desired new boat, and some presents for herself and the children; and her fancy revelled amongst all the variety of things he would probably purchase and bring home with him. At last she began to be surprised at his long absence. Next she became alarmed, fancying all sorts of terrific uncertainties. Perhaps he had been found with the purse in his possession, and had been taken up for the robbery. She was getting more and more uneasy, when she was startled by the entrance of a gentleman, evidently a foreigner. Mr Farquhar had attended at the préfet's at the appointed hour, and there received, to his no little joy, his lost purse. He there received also, and was much touched by, the account of the honest fisherman's conduct, and determined to lose no time in finding him out. He was but an indifferent Frenchman, and had some difficulty in expressing himself, Katrine, however, comprehended that he "Now," said Mr Farquhar, "having paid what is just to the child who found the purse. I must give what is due to the man who restored it. I cannot conveniently give you the whole of its contents, but the half I willingly offer you." And so saying, he put twenty-five of the Napoleons into Pierre's hand. "Take it," continued he, "and may you receive it with as much willingness as I feel in bestowing it." Pierre tried to speak, but tears and surprise choked his utterance. All he could say was, "Oh, sir, I don't deserve it; you are too good; I did nothing; it is too much." As for Katrine, her joy was more loquacious. She almost stunned Mr Farquhar with the vehemence of her gratitude, and he was glad to make his escape from the cabin. When he was gone, Pierre took his wife's hand, and said, “Ah, Katrine, shall we not enjoy this money, which we may call our own, more than we could have enjoyed the whole if we had wrongfully kept it ?" Do my young friends wish to hear how Pierre prospered afterwards? The anecdote of the purse was soon made known to all the English families in the place, and Pierre's fish was always the first for which inquiry was made in the market. He bought a new boat, the best built boat in the port. He grew rich for his condition in life, and removed his family to a comfortable house. His children grew up honest and good, and he daily instructed them never to part from their integrity, the poor man's rich inheritance: and, in short, the old English proverb, "Honesty is the best policy," was proved by the example of Pierre Leroux to hold good in France as well as in England. HOMELY SCULPTURE. A SHORT time ago there was exhibited in Edinburgh We were sorry to hear the modest young artist say We would have the great truth to be remembered, that success in any department of the fine arts is a matter of incalculable, nearly insurmountable, difficulty. To attain success, or realise wealth, even in a moderate degree, the most of the professors of these arts must ad. dress themselves to the utilities of life, in the same way that authors, in order to live, must also engage in some kind of business. The great Scott himself re. quired to be a clerk of session; Sir Henry Raeburn, who was the greatest painter whom Scotland ever produced, only executed portraits. These and a thou. sand other illustrious examples of the same nature, point out to the youth of genius, that, in pursuing his art, he must, to secure himself from a shipwreck of his prospects, collaterally address himself to the utili. ties of existence. He must work while he studies, and study while he works. With respect to the sub. ject of our present notice, we would recommend him to set himself down in the intelligent town of Perthand there commence the business for which he seems eminently fitted-that of a monumental stonecutter. There are many opulent and liberal-minded noblemen and gentlemen in that central district of Scotland, whe would doubtless patronise efforts directed to purposes so subservient to their tastes and desires. Under such auspices, worth and merit would not be long in meet. ing their reward. At all events, let Mr Anderson there persevere in his profession of a sculptor, and he cannot fail to be ultimately crowned with that success as an artist which genius sooner or later-by steady perseverance alone is sure to obtain. THE PLEASURES OF RETIREMENT. I. BY ALLAN RAMSAY. Tho' born to no ae inch of ground, I keep my conscience clear and sound; II. BY THE HONOURABLE HENRY ERSKINE. ELEGANT HIGHLAND EPITAPH. No more shall the There is something singularly beautiful and affecting in the following epitaph, which an old newspaper represents as translated from one (in Gaelic, probably) in the parish-church of Glenorchy, in Argyleshire "Lo, she lies here in the dust, and her memory fills me with grief; silent is the tongue of Melody, and the hand of Elegance is now at rest. poor give thee his blessing, nor shall the naked be warmed with the fleece of thy flock; the tear shalt thou not wipe away from the eye of the wretched. Where now, O feeble, is thy wonted help? my Fair, shall we meet thee in the social hall; no Gone for more shall we sit at thy hospitable board. ever is the sound of mirth; the kind, the candid, the meek, is now no more. Who can express our grief! Flow, ye tears of woe!" No more, EXTRAORDINARY COINCIDENCES IN THE LIVES OF A A newspaper of the year 1777 gives the following as an extract of a letter from Lanark :-" Old Wil liam Douglas and his wife are lately dead; you know that he and his wife were born on the same day, within the same hour, by the same midwife; christened at the same time, and at the same church; that they were constant companions, till nature inspired them with love and friendship; and at the age of nineteen were married, by the consent of their parents, at the church where they were christened. These are not the whole of the circumstances attending this extraordinary pair. They never knew a day's sickness until the day before their deaths; and the day on which they died were exactly one hundred years. They died in one bed, and were buried in one grave, close to the font where they were christened. Provi dence did not bless them with any children." LONDON: Published, with Permission of the Proprietors, by ORR Stereotyped by A. Kirkwood, Edinburgh. 1 CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM CHAMBERS, AUTHOR OF "THE BOOK OF SCOTLAND," &c., AND BY ROBERT CHAMBERS, No. 167. RESPECTABLE SUPERSTITIONS. ABOUT ten years ago, while on a visit to the metropolis, I dined one day with a mercantile friend in the city, who, on my arrival at the appointed hour, informed me that I should meet an individual with whom he had frequent business transactions, the master of a first-rate brig in the West India trade. "I think you will be amused with him," said my entertainer, "for he keeps up a few superstitions which are not now very general, and in particular never sails with"Caul!" said I, "what is a out a caul on board." caul?" My friend replied by expressing his surprise that I, who possessed so much popular archæology, should be ignorant of this article; and taking up the Morning Herald of that day, he pointed to an advertisement which ran in the following terms:-"For sale-a child's caul, in excellent condition; to prevent trouble, the price is ten guineas. Apply at," &c. On my mentioning that I was still as much in the dark as ever, he informed me that cauls were thin membraneous caps, with which, on very rare occasions, children were born, and which were not only understood to assure good fortune to the infant, but to whosoever should be possessed of one, as long as the infant continued in life. Advertisements like that which he had shown to me, were, he said, by no means uncommon, and he believed the chief purchasers were seamen, a class of persons who, as they are more than most others exposed to dangers which human foresight and exertion can hardly avert, so do they remain more than others disposed to trust to supernatural means for their safety. If I was surprised by this information, I was struck with still greater wonder when Captain Broderip, as our West India trader was called, entered the room, and presented to me the appearance of a stout gentlemanlike man, hardly yet in middle life, with a face as promising of intelligence and good sense as any I had ever encountered. After dinner, PRICE THREE HALFPENCE. Pattison, poor fellow-a clever fellow too-was not up days, luck pennies, and so forth. We hear them found his aspect by no means belied by his conversation, which was full of interesting anecdote and sound reflection. Our host, however, turned the stream of chat towards the subject of cauls-and down in a moment went the sense of our nautical friend, like a foundered vessel. "I don't pretend to be a philosopher," said he, in the tone of a man who is determined to run a muck against common sense, "and so I can't tell how it should be so; but I know well enough that I have sailed the Betsy and Brothers for thirteen years, with a good healthy caul on board, and never gone down all that time, while stouter ships, that had no cauls, I go upon have gone to staves within sight of me. keep my facts none of your fine theories for me. caul snugly sewed up in a bag, and stowed away in the locker along with the ship's papers. It cost me eleven guineas, but the money was well spent. I bought it, by good luck, from a poor woman at MileEnd, having heard of her lying-in only by accident from the ship carpenter, who assured me that the caul would be worth something more than ordinary, for she-that is, the mother-had had a healthy family of children, not a death among them. I say this was a lucky hit, for I have known instances of such things not being worth a groat, from the child I once knew a Captain Pattison, in dying soon after. the Liverpool and Havannah trade, that met with a misfortune of this kind. He had bought a caul; let me see, I think he paid seven guincas and a half for it, to the parish officers of St Bets, where he had put But they in to refit after a hard gale in the Channel. were a pack of rogues who sold it. It had been born with a dead child by a woman in the workhouse, and therefore, do you see, could not be of any value. Speaking of the virtue of cauls," said I, in an in- No doubt many of our readers will smile, as we and still commands the worship of a certain num- The superstitions thus brought under notice are not so bad as many of those which beset our ancestors, and are heard of no longer. The carrying of a caul in a ship to prevent its sinking, or the hope of a pe contractor, certainly denote a less benighted state of culiar good fortune in the office of a particular lotterythe public understanding, than what must be understood as indicated by the burning of witches, and the leaving of a corner of land uncultivated, as a propitiation to the great impersonation of evil. But yet they show that much remains to be done for the illumination of mankind; while it is equally clear, from the fact of their being less dark than some of the ideas of a former age, that their total extinction may be hoped for. We are not disposed to agree either with those who conceive the present age to be one of excessive light, or with those who deem it one of exces sive darkness: we believe it to be advancing from darkness into light; and the continued existence of a few traces of false reason and superstition is at once a proof of our position, and a reason for increased and animated exertion in the great business of public instruction. JOACHIM MURAT. tion. teristic. Spurring his horse to a river-side opposite a Russian battery, he avowed his resolution to remain there till he should be brought down. At his request, all his officers withdrew, except one, who, generously offering to share his fate if he would not retire, was finally the means of diverting him from his resoluIn all the actions which were found necessary in the advance, Murat was conspicuous by his theatrical dress and wild bravery; yet he escaped every danger. The enemy at length came to respect a being whose conduct was so gallant, and whose appearance WE certainly are not among those who habitually was so imposing. It is related upon incontestible augive more admiration to characters of a showy and thority, that, finding his troops much annoyed by a reckless kind than to those which are only remarkable band of Cossacks, who were perpetually causing them for a modest performance of civil duties; and yet, at to halt and deploy, without giving battle, he rode up whatever expense the confession may be made, we to them, and in an authoritative voice, cried out, cannot help feeling an interest in the individual whose "Clear the way, vermin !" when these rude sons of name is placed at the head of this article. Joachim the desert, awed by his manner, retired, and were Murat-le Beau Sabreur-the finest cavalry officer in no more seen that day. When the army reached the world, as Bonaparte called him-the finest ani- Moscow, he put on his finest dress for the purpose of mal, we will say, that existed in his own time in entering the city. An armistice having been agreed human shape—who has not heard of him, of his splen-on for two hours, to admit of the retirement of the did person, his heedless valour, his frank and generous, yet weak and vain character, his wonderful elevation from the meanest to the highest rank, and his rapid decline and melancholy death? It is perhaps too soon to expect the circumstances and charac Russian army, he approached without fear a large quate accommodation for the numerous distinguished persons who were obliged to come on board. High household, with their wives and other relatives, were official persons, nobles, and members of the royal huddled, without the least deference for their rank, into every part of the vessel where there was any spare room. Many who, a few days before, lived luxuriously in palaces, were now glad to be allowed a snug corner of the deck, where they might pillow themselves on a coil of ropes, with less than the usual chance of being kicked or stumbled over by the sailors. The chief physician of King Joachim's army, who lately would have considered a naval surgeon as too mean a being to be spoken to, could not find expressions adequate to convey his gratitude to our friend, duchess, high in favour and confidence with the when he was allowed to participate in his cabin. A queen, had found her way into an obscure corner of the vessel, analogous to a garret in domestic buildings, where she slept upon a heap of old ropes: in the morning, a sailor strolled into the place, and chancing to pass over the unfortunate lady, excited her terrors to such a degree that her cries alarmed all who were in that quarter of the ship. On her case being reported to the queen, better accommodation was provided for her. The distress, moral and personal, of the whole party, was heart-rending. In the course of the morning, a man in the dress of a fisherman was rowed up to the vessel, and taken on board to a brief conference with the queen. His tall and handsome figure, and the extraordinary circumstance of his admission to the royal cabin, were remarked at the time informant, who, only in the preceding year, had at. ter that they discovered him to be Murat.+ Our tended a ball in Naples, where King Joachim appeared in all his glory, with the wife of the Prince Regent impressed by the recollection of his appearance on this of England leaning admiringly on his arm, was deeply occasion, and a consideration of the sad circumstances in which he and his consort were now placed. ters of the wars of the French revolution to become managed the high-spirited animal, produced from those by several officers; but it was not till several days af. the materials of any literature more attractive to the fancy, or appealing more powerfully to the feelings, than history; but if there be any portion of those singular transactions which has already ripened into a fitness for such a purpose, it is certainly the two last years of the life of the Bonapartean sovereign of Naples. Murat, born in 1767, was the son of an innkeeper in the province of Perigord, and, under the patron age of the Talleyrand family, was receiving an education for the church, when an attachment to a pretty girl of Toulouse deranged his prospects, and caused him to enlist as a soldier. He came to Paris in the heat of the revolution, and, attaching himself to the fortunes of Napoleon, accompanied that individual during the Italian campaign of 1796-7, as a member of the staff, in which character he displayed so much bravery, that he was made a general of brigade. Throughout the campaign in Egypt, as well as during the proceedings by which Napoleon seized upon the consulate, Murat was ever by his side, a ready and efficient instrument. His services were now re- van. He marched in the style of a paladin of old. His tall and elegant figure was every where rendered conspicuous by his waving plumes and glittering chivalric attire, as well as by the eager and heedless bravery with which he rushed against every danger. warriors a peal of applause. Riding into the midst panions. In the disastrous retreat from Moscow, Murat was Murat now proceeded to France, in the expectation left by Napoleon in chief command, but, on the 13th of a warm reception from the chief in whose cause he of January 1813, upon receiving some intelligence him for his opposition in the preceding year, but he had lost his kingdom. Napoleon might have pardoned of an alarming kind from his own kingdom, he forsook could not pardon his misfortunes. Fearful that the the army at Posen, and travelled night and day till he presence of an overthrown prince might disspirit his reached Naples. His conduct on this occasion drew troops, he sent him a cold message, desiring him to upon him the resentment of Napoleon, who was then remain where he was till he should be wanted. The in no condition, however, to do him any injury. of Paris by the friends of the Bourbons, soon after ocdefeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, and the re-occupation Smarting under a sense of the anger of his brother-in-curred, and rendered it unsafe for him any longer to law, and anxious to confine his power within limits remain in France. A price being put upon his head, that would be safe for himself, Murat, in January he was obliged to take refuge in a lonely retreat near 1814, allied himself to Austria, and, by a movement Toulon, whilst a vessel was preparing to carry him elseagainst Napoleon's troops in the north of Italy, was where. He embarked his suite and whole property in this ship, which was to come by night to a partiof material service in preventing these from creating cular part of the coast, in order to take him on board. any diversion in the rear of the Allies, now marching On the night of the 12th of August, he proceeded to upon Paris. Indeed it was acknowledged that Murat the appointed spot, expecting to meet a boat from the was thus the means of dethroning his relative. The encountering each other, and, after traversing the vessel. But some misunderstanding prevented their reward expected for this service was the recognition beach during the whole of a stormy night, he was of his own power by the Allies, and to this not only obliged to provide for his safety by retreating to the Austria but Britain was engaged. His claim, how. interior, leaving the vessel to go to sea without him. ever, was opposed at the Congress of Vienna by Tal-. Fortunately he did not return to his former retreat, leyrand; and the rash soldier, fearing the result, sealed where a party of soldiers had arrived in search of him. his fate by declaring in favour of Napoleon, then just rest, or nourishment, he ventured to enter a farmAfter spending two days in the woods, without shelter, escaped from Elba. An army which he led against house, where he found only an old woman. Giving the Austrian forces in the north of Italy, acted as himself out as an officer from the garrison of Toulon, Neapolitan armies generally do. He who had left Na. who had lost his way, he requested some food. ples in March with fifty thousand men, re-entered it had set him down to a dish of fried eggs, when her master came in, and civilly joined in the feast. The on the 18th of May, incognito, attended only by four host almost immediately after recognised him by his lancers, and, pale, haggard, and dishevelled, embraced portraits, and, throwing himself at his feet, vowed his queen with the mournful exclamation, "Madam, eternal fidelity, and declared himself and all he had to I have not been able to find death." The Bay of Na- the old woman, without regard to a fresh dish of eggs, be at the king's disposal. In the midst of this scene, ples was now possessed by an expedition of Ferdinand which was overturned in the fire, hastened also to of Sicily, the legitimate King of Naples, and by a few embrace the feet of the unhappy fugitive. Murat, English ships of war, commissioned to resent Joa. deeply affected by their behaviour, raised, embraced, chim's late movement against the Austrians. An atand blessed them both. tempt which he made to rouse the Neapolitans was met by sullen silence. On the second day after his return, he found it necessary to fly from his capital in a mean disguise, leaving his queen and her court to make such terms for their surrender as they could. Even at that strange time, when Europe was strewed, desired and obtained permission to come on board the She He remained concealed in the house of this worthy made it necessary that he should be removed. An gentleman for several days, when some circumstances unoccupied country house at some distance was provided, and another individual, a naval officer, was entrusted with the secret. Here Murat was kept for for the purpose of taking him. some time, till a military party one night approached "The house being placed upon an eminence," says his historian Maci rone, "it would have been difficult to approach it by day without discovery; but aided as this party was by the darkness of the night, they made quite sure of taking their victim by surprise, which must have inevitably happened, if these imprudent assassins had not provided themselves with a lantern. The old dame, who was most fortunately watching at a window that looked towards the path which the ruffians were ascending, was alarmed at the appearance of the light, in his clothes with his arms beside him, apprised him and immediately awaking the king, who was sleeping • Naval surgeons were not ranked as officers, and consequently were not considered as gentlemen, in the Neapolitan, and, we believe, in other services. Yet, contrary to what might have been expected from his impetuous character, he was of opinion that the safety of the army would be compromised by an ad vance to Moscow, and advised his brother-in-law to remain for the season at Smolensko. His conduct when this counsel was spurned, was more charac- Excepting the queen, it was impossible to provide ade-published account of the expulsion of Murat from his kingdom, We have not observed this fact taken notice of in any hitherto |