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when I cannot but admit that it may be necessary. I think this one of those occasions; and while I drink your health, permit me to thank you for your indefatigable exertions this day. The capture of the four piratical vessels you have brought to me, and the burning of another, with their principal establishment on shore, will render our commerce comparatively safe in this neighborhood for some time; and you, Sir, have rendered an important service to the commercial interests of your country, by the responsibility you have to-day assumed.'

Having given the order on deck not to separate the boats, he felt it necessary, on that deck, to show to his officers and men that he had not overlooked it; and these were his reasons for addressing Lieutenant MCINTOSH in the manner he did, when he reached the deck. That duty accomplished, he was not desirous farther to punish honest and honorable exertion.'

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A REMINISCENCE OF THE LONDON O. P. RIOTS. An obliging correspondent, who although he is getting a little old' now, has seen the time when he was as good as ever he was,' writes us as follows concerning his experience' of the 'London 'O. P.' Riots,' recently described in the KNICKERBOCKER: The article in your May number on the O. P.' riots, interested me exceedingly. At the time of those riots I was living in London; and I assure you, that an expected invasion by NAPOLEON could scarcely have created greater excitement. The newspapers were daily filled with articles commenting on these proceedings; conversation turned on little else; and on 'change or in the street, the porter-house or the parlor, these matters were minutely discussed. The spirit of resistance, some might call it obstinacy, of the English people, was evinced in a remarkable degree, and an opposition to an unpalatable measure on the part of the government, could not have been more violent. Had it been a matter of importance to the whole public; had the action of the managers been an infringement of a political right, we might easily explain it by reference to feelings inherent in the breast of every man. But in the city of London were there thousands who rarely entered the theatre; thousands to whom the advance in the price of admission was of no consequence; and yet all these persons were moved in the same manner, and aided by their countenance those who were active in resistance. It was my good or ill fortune to be present at the theatre on several evenings during the riots, and the scenes which I witnessed were far more exciting, and certainly more interesting, than any which I had ever before seen within the walls of a theatre. The din and uproar was at times deafening; the pit was constantly standing up. At intervals there would be a momentary silence, for the purpose of listening to some 'O. P.' orator. Large numbers of the audience wore on their hats the letters 'O. P.,' printed on strips of white muslin, or had the same badge about their persons. Occasionally a ring would be formed by taking hold of each others hands and fantastic movements were executed around the pit, which were known as the O. P. dances.' Persons from the galleries and boxes indulged in vociferous addresses; songs were volunteered, while the house joined in the chorus; and banners, with ominous mottoes, were festooned from the boxes. Sometimes disturbances were created between the police and some of the audience; and during all these things the curtain rose and fell; the actors were coming on the stage and going off; the scenes were shifted, and the performance proceeded, without one word being heard by the audience. It is quite a remarkable fact that no injury was intentionally done to property, and no violence to the actors; and for the purpose of moderating the alarm of the performers, whether male or female, upon any indications of fear being evinced, the pit would call on them by name and give three cheers, with great unanimity. The appearance of

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Mr. CLIFFORD one evening, after he had commenced his suit against Mr. BRANDON, gave still greater animation to the scene; and he was hailed with an enthusiasm hardly to be equalled had he been the saviour of his country. The following are among the mottoes which were exhibited on the banners:

'JOHN KEMBLE through the Jews has gained applause,

And Infidels insult our laws;

But we will follow the holy band

And show that Christians shall command.'

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'Persons with colds are requested not to cough or sneeze aloud; they will otherwise be taken to Bow-street.'

When fatigued with dancing and cheering, the whole audience united in GoD save the KING.' Many of the newspapers published witty squibs. I remember the following:

A NEW tragedy is talked of, called The Manager in Distress.' It is said to be founded upon Mr. K's application to a certain noble lord and the threat of prosecution for keeping a disorderly house,'

'In consequence of the great requisition of the police at the theatre, robberies are reported to be very frequent on the roads in the vicinage of the metropolis.'

In consequence of the general hoarseness in town, occasioned by a clamor for old prices, the confectioners, it is said, have determined, in the sale of their pectoral lozenges to follow Mr. KEMBLE'S plan by charging an advance.'

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The annexed parody on The Bay of Biscay, O!' entitled 'The new-built Playhouse O!' was a favorite song for a long time:

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There was an equally clever song, called 'The O. P. Victory,' which was sung to the tune of Old Towler,' and was very popular. There was also a 'New Song to

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the Tune of Old Derry-Down,' which made a great deal of fun. Some of the verses ran as follows:

'Or fam'd Covent-Garden with freedom I sing

Where JOHN BULL and JOHN KEMBLE have entered the ring;

A month now has pass'd, still the battle doth rage,
JOHN BULL in the pit and DON JOHN on the stage.
'Derry-Down,' etc.

A trio of new justice-actors appear,
Riot-acts in their hands and Jews in their rear;
But, BARNEY, the saddle is on the wrong horse,
John Bull will not yield to dragooning and force.

'In old English law his safety and trust is;
May we never submit to new-fangled justice;
Let DON JOHN and company arm their partroles,
But we'll never find pigeons for their pigeon-holes.

'Then success to JOHN BULL! and whatever betide,
May his sons, when imposed on, have law on their side;
And whenever attacked in a way that he scorns,

May the BULL win the day, though robbed of his horns!'

All this, with much more that was not in the bills,' but was in the 'performances' of the day, made great sport and excited much attention at the time. It was a good while ago and a great way off,' to be sure; but perhaps these particulars may not be altogether without interest, even now.'

J. A.

GOSSIP WITH READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS. SNEEDEN lives directly opposite DOBB, his Ferry, on the Hudson; and there his progenitors have flourished from time immemorial; and that little verdant prelude to the rocky Palisades, which you see opposite, is called SNEEDEN's Landing' even unto this day. When the modern SNEEDEN sees the black window-blind turned outward, in strong relief against the white front of the only inn at DOBB's, he answers the signal by raising the sail on his little boat, and putting over after the stray passengers who may have outstayed the half a dozen steamers that have touched there in the course of the morning, and lands them on the other side, in time for the downward boats whose 'places of call' are only on the right bank of the river. Now so it was, that, addressing ourselves to what was to be (to us) distant journeying, we had tarried beyond our time in packing trunks, and were compelled to 'signalize' SNEEDEN, Forthwith shot out from the green bank or the opposite shore a little white sail; and in twelve minutes, its prow 'ploughed the eastern strand." SNEEDEN bore us back, drenched with foam from the breezy Hudson; and deposited us upon a market-scow near the landing, where we were surrounded by sucking pigs, strawberries, hen-coops, beets, eggs, small potatoes, green peas, fresh butter, sausages, and other confectionaries.' At length this peopled ark was made fast alongside The Warren' steamer, and unloading' as she sailed,' was soon emptied of her heterogenous freight, and presently, by the aid of her clumsy sail, dropped back to SNEEDEN'S. Reclining upon a load of sweet-smelling new hay, 'forward' we listened to the bleating of lambs, the baäing of calves, the 'short squeak' of cabined, cribbed' piglings, the 'quaäcking' of imprisoned ducks, the crowing of cocks, and the mingled cluck, flutter and peep' of hens and chickens; a vocal performance, in the free exercise of which the 'executants' were protected by General WARREN himself, standing on the pilot-house with a drawn sword in his 'red right hand.' But we are in the metropolis; and you must excuse us while we

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run to the printing-office to glance at one or two of the early 'proofs' for July. Meet us at seven to-night on board THE EMPIRE;' for know that we are about to travel; gossipping and jotting as we go. . . . We cannot permit the recent event of the death of an old and highly-esteemed correspondent, the Rev. WILLIAM B. O. PEABODY, of Springfield, (Mass.,) to pass unrecorded, nor omit an expression of the deep regret which we share in common with all who knew him, at his untimely departure. We say untimely,' because although well prepared to go hence,' and longing himself to depart and be with CHRIST,' and the dear friends who had gone before him to the better land,' yet the loss of a Christian, a man of genius, and a true poet, in the very maturity of his intellectual powers, could hardly be otherwise regarded, even by those who have been taught from his own lips to bow in humble submission to the solemn behests of HIM who 'doeth all things well.' We learn from the Christian Inquirer,' that for twenty-seven years Mr. PEABODY labored in his MASTER'S work at Springfield; and that he did not labor in vain in the LORD, is attested by the deep feeling, akin only to that awakened by a great family bereavement, which has been excited by his departure. The loss of his wife, some two years since, severely tried his susceptible and affectionate heart; and he had only partially recovered from the effects of this calamity, when the death of an only daughter, a liberal sharer of her mother's virtues and graces, added new bitterness to the cup of sorrow which had been given him to drink. His keen emotions at this sad event are well expressed in his own beautiful words:

'WAS mine a happiness too pure
For erring man to know?

Or why did Heaven so soon destroy
My paradise below?

Enchanting as the vision was,

It sunk away as soon

As when, in quick and cold eclipse,
The sun grows dark at noon.

'Days passed and soon the seal of Death
Made known that hope was vain ;
I knew the swiftly-wasting lamp
Would never burn again :
The cheek was pale: the snowy lips
Were gently thrown apart;
And life, in every passing breath,
Seemed gushing from the heart.

'I knew those marble lips to mine
Should never more be pressed,
And floods of feeling, undefined,
Rolled wildly o'er my breast:

- Low, stifled sounds and dusky forms
Seem'd moving in the gloom,
As if Death's dark array were come
To bear thee to the tomb.

And when I could not keep the tear
From gathering in my eye,
Thy little hand pressed gently mine,
In token of reply:

To ask one more exchange of love,
Thy look was upward cast;
And in that long and burning kiss,
Thy happy spirit passed.'

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After the first shock of this last terrible blow was spent,' says the Inquirer,'' he gave himself to incessant intellectual labor, and wrote proportionably far more than at any period of his life. His health was seen to be declining, and his congregation insisted upon his taking rest and recreation, and had actually sought a supply for his pulpit during his proposed absence, when death anticipated and rendered null all this kind consideration for his needs. On Sunday, the sixteenth of May, he preached all day, and seemingly with unwonted earnestness and effect; but it was his last public effort. The next day he probably over-worked himself in his garden; for on retiring to his study to complete an article for one of our leading reviews, he was paralyzed in the act of writing, and the pen fell from his hand. He was removed to his bed, and his physician summoned. He passed a tolerable night, and in the morning was considerably relieved; so much so, that he called his son, and attempted to finish the literary labor of the previous day by dictating to him what he should write. The effort proved too great, and he was obliged to desist. From that moment he never rallied, and was scarcely able afterward to speak. On the day of his death,

his physician told him that he was near his end, and asked him if he was aware of it; when he bowed his head in assent. On Friday, the twenty-eighth of May, a few minutes before midnight, he gently breathed his last.' Truly has it been said, that Religion, Literature, Friendship, Humanity, mourn over his departure.' As a

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poet, Mr. PEABODY was most favorably known. There are not more than two American writers who excel him in felicity of expression and melody of versification. His observation of nature was singularly faithful, and his records of affection and feeling find an answering response in every susceptible heart. A characteristic example of the strong love of natural scenery, and the capacity to depict its striking features, is afforded in the Hymn of Nature,' which the reader will recall to mind from the following admirable stanzas:

'GOD of the dark and heaving deep!

The waves lie sleeping on the sands,
Till the fierce spirit of the storm

Hath summoned up their thundering bands;
Then the white sails are dashed with foam,
Or hurry trembling o'er the seas,
Till, calmed by thee, the sinking gale
Serenely breathes Depart in peace!'

GOD of the forest's solemn shade!
The grandeur of the lonely tree
That wrestles singly with the gale,
Lifts up admiring eyes to thee;
But more majestic far they stand,

When side by side their ranks they form,
To wave on high their plumes of green,
And fight their battles with the storm!

GOD of the fair and open sky!

How gloriously above us springs
The tented dome of heavenly blue,

Suspended on the rainbow's rings!
Each brilliant star, that sparkles through,
Each gilded cloud, that wanders free
In evening's purple radiance, gives
The beauty of its praise to thee.

'GOD of the rolling orbs above!

Thy name is written clearly bright
In the warm day's unvarying blaze,
And evening's golden shower of light.
For every fire that fronts the sun,

And every spark that walks alone
Around the utmost verge of heaven,
Were kindled at thy burning throne!

The reader will remember the beautiful lines of Mr. PEABODY, Commencing

LIFT high the curtain's drooping fold
And let the evening sunlight in ;'

in which he poured out, as it were from the inner sanctuary of his spirit, the riches of an ardent affection and a pure Christian faith. But he has gone! Ripe in the attainments of human wisdom, rich in the resources of a cultivated intellect,' he has been called to depart; yet the simplicity of his life, his kindness, his beneficence, the goodness and truthfulness of his character, will keep his memory green in the hearts of all who personally knew him; and he leaves behind him writings which the world will not willingly let die.' Again we are reminded of his own appropriate stanzas :

'BEHOLD the western evening light!

It melts in deepening gloom;

So calm the Christian sinks away,
Descending to the tomb.

The wind breathes low; the withering leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree;

So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.

How beautiful on all the hills

The crimson light is shed!

"T is like the peace the Christian gives To mourners round his bed.

'How mildly on the wandering cloud

The sunset beam is cast!

"Tis like the memory left behind,

When loved ones breathe their last!
And now, above the dews of night,
The yellow star appears;
So faith springs in the heart of those
Whose eyes are bathed in tears.

'But soon the morning's happier light
Its glory shall restore;

And eylids that are sealed in death
Shall wake, to close no more.'

A FRIEND and correspondent, writing us from Paris, laments that he did not, before leaving home, make himself more thoroughly conversant with the French language. He should have remembered Hood's advice:

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