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bulk-head that divides this room, which is about thirty feet long, from the messes outside. Above the mess table of the gunroom the tiller traverses: and this is moved to the right or left to regulate the ship's steerage, by ropes passing through pulleys and attached to the barrel of a wheel under the poop.

The sides of the lower deck are generally painted of a light yellow or straw colour, and the arrangement of the mess tables and utensils on shelves between the guns, give to the whole a very comfortable appearance.

Above the lower is the main deck, which has also an unbroken battery of fifteen guns on each side; these, although sometimes of the same calibre, are always lighter than the guns below. On the fore part of this deck the sick-bay or hospital is placed, next to that is the galley, or kitchen, a well arranged plan of boilers, ovens, &c., besides one large range in front and stoves suspended around. The sides of this deck are clear as far as the wardroom bulkhead, but the middle is generally occupied by the live stock, such as sheep, pigs, &c. in pens. Next to the stern is the wardroom, already alluded to as the mess place of the officers, a room about 30 feet by 16, having a long table in the middle, and around it are, beginning on the right-hand side from the stern, (called the starboard side,) the cabins of the 1st Lieutenant, 2d Lieutenant, and Captain's Steward—the last communicating by means of a stair with the cabin above-on the left, or larboard side, the Master, Captain of Marines, and Wardroom Steward—the third and fourth Lieutenants' cabins being outside of the wardroom door. These cabins are about nine feet square, each inclosing a gun, and furnished at the expense of the occupants; they are aired and lighted by the port-hole.

The deck above this is only partly covered over by the poop, which roofs the Captain's cabin; and the divisions are distinguished as quarter-deck, waist, and forecastle.

The quarter-deck extends from the cabin door to about the centre of the ship, when it is terminated by the waist, a space in the middle of which is stowed the spare masts, yards, and spars, and upon these the larger boats: a passage of eight feet wide on each side of the waist connects the quarter-deck and forecastle, and much of the work of bracing about the yards, setting and taking in the sails, &c. is performed on the latter platform, which is besides armed with a couple of light guns.

A row of seven short pieces called carronades, extends on each side from the extremity of the waist to the stern, along the quarterdeck, and two of these on each side are inclosed in the captain's cabin, which is divided into two compartments, the front appropriated as his dining-room; the whole being about thirty feet in length. This cabin is handsomely fitted up, principally at the captain's expense, well aired and lighted from the stern windows, and as the two divisions extend over the whole breadth of the ship, they form very capacious rooms; sometimes they are divided into three, at the option of the captain.

The quarter-deck is the grand parade of the ship. Here the officer of the watch takes his post, and every person who appears thereon salutes him by raising his hat. In this part of the ship the principal officers are stationed in action, and from hence all orders are issued during the performance of evolutions. It is here also that the officers repair for promenading; the weather side at sea, (that is, the side from whence the wind blows,) or the starboard side at anchor, being appropriated to the captain and wardroom officers, the other side to the "gentlemen."

The poop is a light deck extending over the captain's cabin, and beyond it is a space outside his cabin door, which covers the wheel by which the vessel is steered; there are small cabins on each side of this space, one occupied as an office by the clerk, the other as a

pantry by the captain's servants. Some of the work of the ship is performed on the poop, and there the signal men take their stations; the middle part is generally occupied by coops of poultry for sea stock, and a chest of arms ready for use is always kept on this deck. Formerly it was the practice to carry guns on the poop, but from their exposed situation they were of little use in action, besides that great weight in this position tended to strain the ship. The reader will understand that the guns upon the different decks are not placed immediately above each other, for such an arrangement would weaken the ship, by the openings called port-holes being perpendicular. The main-deck port-holes are in the over-space between the guns of the lower-deck, and the quarterdeck in like manner between the main, so as to checker these openings and preserve a greater degree of unbroken substance in the frame. The sides being painted in yellow streaks of about three feet wide, and the ports blacked, present to the view the appearance of a dotted checkered board.*

Having thus described generally the interior of a seventy-four gun ship, we shall now proceed to enumerate the various articles which make up the weight of material, and the area of canvas opposed to the wind for moving this mighty mass, and show the proportions of the principal stores, &c. which are carried to sea. For this enumeration we are, for the most part, indebted to the very excellent work of Mr. Edye, on the "Equipment and Displacement of Ships and Vessels of War."+

A seventy-four gun ship, fitted for foreign service:
Iron ballast and tanks
Water

Coal and wood
Provisions, spirits, and slops (seamen's clothes) 214

Men and their effects

Lower masts and bowsprit
Topmasts, top-gallant masts, yards,
Spare topmasts, yards, and booms
Rigging and blocks
Sails and spare sails

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Anchors, and cables (hempen and iron)
Boats and their gear

Boatswain's and carpenter's stores, rope, &c.
Gunner's stores, breechens, tackles, &c.
Guns
Gunpowder

Shot (cannon-balls) of every sort
Total weight received on board
Weight of the ship's hull

Total weight of the ship, complete for foreign

service

As the reader may be curious for more minute particulars, we add the individual weight, size, and cost, of some of the principal

articles.

The length of the mainmast is 36 yards; diameter, 3 feet. It is formed of pieces, scarfed or jointed scientifically, of 12 tons 18 cwt. of pine, bound together with 27 cwt. 3 qrs. and 20 lb. of iron; weighs 14 tons 6 cwt., and its value is 4007.

The largest sail is the main course, or mainsail, which has 918 yards of canvas; being 86 feet wide at the head (or upper part attached to the mainyard), 90 feet 6 in. at the foot (or lower part),

* Liners were first painted checker-sided by Lord Nelson, to distinguish his ships from those of the combined fleets of France and Spain, in 1805: prior to that, vessels were either all black, or relieved by a single white, red, or yellow streak. The painting still depends entirely on the taste of the captain, but most adopt the checkered side.

The importance of this book may be estimated from the fact, that it has been translated by order of the Sovereigns of France, Russia, and Egypt, for the use of their navies.

48 feet 9 in. in depth, with an area of 4300 feet. Its weight, including the rope which surrounds it (called the bolt-rope), is about 15 cwt.; its value, 1507. The largest anchors are 70 cwt., and the value of each 2107. The hempen cables are 120 fathoms long, and 22 inches in circumference; the chain cables are 70 fathoms long, weight about 135 cwt., and value 3767.

The rope used in the whole of the rigging, of different sizes, from three-fourths to eighteen inches in circumference, measures 27,152 fathoms, or 54,304 yards."

There are 11,130 yards of canvas in the sails; and, when all plain sail is set, (that is, every sail that can catch the breeze,) the area presented to the wind is 25,000 feet.

The provisions enumerated are sufficient for sixteen weeks' consumption, and the water about ten weeks'; giving an allowance of one gallon to each of the crew per day, and also sufficient for washing.

The guns, &c. will be minutely described hereafter, when delineating their various properties, in an article on armament. The powder carried to sea is 335 barrels of 90 lb. each, and eight cases of 120 lbs.: total, 31,110 lbs. ; value, 10377., at 8d. per lb. We have already observed that, as the crew enlist, they are placed in watches; besides this, a station, at different evolutions, is also assigned to every seaman and marine, and a complete set of watch, station, and quarter bills are prepared, under the first lieutenant's directions, as soon as he has had an opportunity of testing the men's abilities. This cannot be completed until the ship proceeds to sea: it is necessary, however, to make arrangements provisionally, and to divide the crew into portions, denominated quarter-masters, gunner's crew, boatswain's mates, forecastle men, fore, main, and mizen top-men, after-guard, waisters, and idlers; all of whom have especial duties to perform, according to the nature of the work. The mates render the first lieutenant assistance in these arrangements, which are made as soon as possible, because it is necessary to loose the sails to dry, furl them again, and various other matters, although the ship is in harbour.

A ship of war is readily distinguished from a trading vessel by ner neat appearance, but, above all things, by the squareness of her yards, and precision of the rigging and ropes, being tightly distended, and not hanging in loops, when at anchor. The boatswain has the care of squaring the yards,—that is, placing them parallel to each other at right angles across the masts; and for this purpose he repairs every morning in a boat to a short distance from the ship, and, having brought the three masts in a line, he proceeds to direct any alteration that may be required, and to correct any defect that strikes his practised eye. He makes known his wishes by means of his pipe, or call, to one of his mates, who is stationed to watch his signals; and men being placed where required, the matter is effected, and precision attained, in a short time, amidst a flourish of whistling, which the boatswain takes more than ordinary delight in on this especial occasion, he being the principal performer; whereas on board he uses his call for purposes directed by the commanding officer.

Besides getting up and down top-gallant yards, the sails are loosed to dry two or three times a-week; and this is done by a signal from the admiral's ship, or by watching the motions of the "flag." The sails are loosened (let fall) from the yards, or

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In every rope there is a particular yarn, called the "rogue's yarn,' which denotes it to belong to the Crown; and all rope is manufactured in the dockyards, principally at Chatham, where there is a large ropemaking establishment.

† Canvas is generally purchased by contract. As soon as received, every cloth is marked by a waving blue line, in order to facilitate detection, if stolen. All other articles belonging to the Crown are marked, even to the smallest nail, principally with the well-known broad arrow.

rolled up (furled) in a very short space of time, particularly after the men have been drilled for a few months; and this operation, as well as making or shortening sail suddenly, has a very striking effect,—the ship in one minute being clothed with canvas at every point, and her masts hid; or entirely stripped, and every portion of sail placed out of view, and rolled up to the yards so neatly as scarcely to increase their size or destroy the symmetry of their

lines.

The boats in use up to this time have been lent for the harbour service, whilst the others were fitting and painting, being reserved until the ship was ready for sea. They are now received, and they consist of a launch, barge, pinnace, two cutters, jolly-boat, and gig. We shall describe them more particularly afterwards. It is usual to hoist up the boats at sunset, except one or two that may be wanted later at night, when a ship is ready for sea.

We shall now describe the manner in which the watches are divided. The seamen and marines we will suppose to be at watch and watch,—that is, in two watches subdivided into parts, relieving each other alternately (although it is usual in some ships to place them in three watches); only a portion of each watch is, however, required to be awake on deck at night. But the officers are in three watches, and therefore expected to be always on the alert. The division of time is so arranged that two watches may have eight hours below and four on deck, and four below and eight on deck, on alternate nights; whilst the officers in three watches have the first, the middle, or the morning watch, on successive nights.

The arrangement is thus :-Beginning with the forenoon watch of four hours, from eight to twelve at noon; next, the afternoon watch of the same length, ending at four, afternoon; followed by the first dog-watch, from four to six. Next, the second dog-watch, from six to eight; the first watch, from eight to midnight; the middle watch, from midnight till four; and the morning watch, from four till eight o'clock. By these alternations, and the intervention of the dog-watches of two hours each, the changes are equally brought about, and the time is measured by the sentinel at the cabin-door turning a sand-glass at the end of every half-hour, when a bell is struck from one to eight times, which completes the watch of four hours. At noon each day, the true time is adjusted by an observation of the sun at sea, or by a timepiece in port.

Supposing the ship now prepared for leaving harbour, and the wind and tide to serve, a blue-peter is hoisted, which denotes that the ship is about to leave the port. This is a blue flag, having a square patch of white in the centre, displayed at the fore topgallant-mast head; and, if the parties summoned are slow in obeying the signal, attention is called to it by firing a gun. It is also a warning to those persons who have anything to put on board that the last moment for doing so has arrived.

The master attendant has charge of the ship in moving from one position to another in harbour, but now a pilot is necessary; and, should he not make his appearance at the time appointed, the union-jack is hoisted at the fore, being, in all cases, and under all circumstances, the signal that a vessel requires a pilot.

As the ship is fastened to moorings, these are slipped (that is, disconnected) when the sails are set, and the course is shaped for the harbour's mouth.* When just outside, the admiral's flag is saluted with fifteen guns; and this mark of respect is acknowledged by the flag-ship firing nine guns in return.†

* A steam-vessel is generally employed to tow ships out of harbour when the wind is adverse, and this greatly expedites the service.

The number of guns in a salute is regulated according to the rank of the parties:-The royal salute is 21 guns, and to this the different members of the Royal Family are entitled, the Lord High Admiral, 19 guns; Admiral of the Fleet, 17 ditto; Admiral, 15 ditto; Vice-Admiral, 13 ditto;

Saluting has a very pretty effect, particularly when performed by a whole flect at the same time, and the wind is not strong enough to blow the smoke away too quickly. The guns are always fired alternately from either side, and the time between each discharge is marked by the gunner, who gives the word.

On arriving at Spithead, the ship is anchored and the sails furled. As soon as the tide serves, she is moored; an operation which consists in so arranging two anchors as that the cables attached to each may bear an equal strain when the wind blows from the most exposed part of the roadstead.

The captain seldom takes up his residence on board until the ship is on the point of sailing, and the time which now elapses before the orders arrive to proceed to sea is occupied by the first lieutenant in getting the ship into trim, preparatory to that event. At the first convenient opportunity the powder is brought on board, and, when all is reported ready, a day is fixed for paying two months' wages to the crew, called the advance; which is over and above any sum they may have become indebted to the purser for bed, blankets, or slops (clothes), all which is charged against their accruing wages.

In the mean time, we will suppose that a court-martial has been ordered upon an officer of the fleet, and that the captain's presence is required as a member of the court. In our next article, we shall describe the forms pertaining to this solemn and interesting ceremony.

line.

RUNAWAY PEOPLE.

His age

ONE day in the autumn of last year, we were seated on the top of a coach, going from Rugby to Denbigh Hall, a short time before the Birmingham Railway was opened throughout the entire We were seated beside a young couple, and of course soon fell into familiar conversation with them. The young man was a very nice genteel-looking young fellow, possessed of considerable intelligence, and modest and affable in his demeanour. might be about twenty-one. The lady was much his superior, however, both in age and in intelligence, though, comparatively, her personal attractions were inferior. That they were a loving couple was evident, not from any offensive intrusion of its exhibition, but from little attentions which quickly catch the observation of the uninterested. We could not make out whether they were married or not, nor did we think it was any particular business of ours to inquire; it was enough that their conversation was pleasing, and their conduct quiet, yet attractive. After a rather pleasant day spent in their company, we lost them among the crowd that stepped out of the carriages on the train which brought us on the railway from Denbigh Hall to London.

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Next day, on turning over the newspapers which had accumulated during a brief absence, our attention was caught by an advertisement, which was addressed to a young man, who was supposed to have gone off with a female (describing her) by the Birmingham Railway, intreating him to return to his family and friends. The description perfectly answered the young couple. "Ah," thought we, many little turns in our pleasant conversation are now explained! For instance, the foolishness of youth formed a topic-how often we do many headstrong, foolish actions when we are young, the very recollection of which suffuses a blush on the cheek years afterwards, though everybody has completely forgotten the circumstances, except the individual himself. The young man had blushed himself at this remarkhis naturally florid complexion became of a distressing scarlet, and the topic was instantly changed. Passing a village where

Rear-Admiral, or Commodore of the first class, 11 ditto; Commodore of the second class, Captain or Commanding Officer of any Ship-of-War, 9 ditto; The above are called military salutes. Besides these, civilians are entitled to this mark of distinction, as follows:-Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 19 guns; an Ambassador, a Duke, or Governor of a Colony being a Peer, 15 ditto; other peers, the first Lord of the Admiralty, an Envoy extraordinary, or a Governor not being a Peer, 13 ditto; Chargé d'Affaires, or other minister under rank of Envoy extraordinary, 11 ditto; to a Consul-general, or to a British Factory, 9 ditto; to a Consul, 7 ditto. The Board of Admiralty represent the Lord High Admiral, and when they embark are saluted

with 19 guns.

the speaker had arrived with an empty purse, and had been compelled to wait till money had been scut down from London, this also raised a fresh discussion on the awkwardness of wanting money in a strange place; and again the young man blushed so deeply, and appeared so distressed, that we were glad to leave him alone for a time, his companion exerting her powers of conversation (which were considerable) to restore him to his equanimity. Now, this advertisement revealed how unlucky and malapropos were some of the remarks in our conversation! The young man had foolishly gone off-of his own accord, we were going to say, but some of our fair readers will be apt to hint that, as the lady was his superior both in age and in intelligence, she must have been a moving party in the movement. It makes no matter, he was come to years of discretion; and she did not carry him off by force, whatever she might have done by blandish ment. At all events, they were a very modest affable couple, and seemed very much attached to each other; and we sincerely trusted, not only that the young man was married, but that he was restored to his friends, and that they received him kindly, without keeping up that frowning kind of recollection of the affair, which often tends to unsettle a previously steady character. advertisements similar to the one we have been speaking about. Every day in the week one may see in the London newspapers A. B. is earnestly intreated to return to his disconsolate wife. F. G. is informed that nobody knows of his absence, and that if he returns in time all will be arranged. P. Q. is intreated to These advertisements are mostly all of a painful character, indicommunicate with his friends, who are in a state of great distress. cative of some folly, or some breach of trust, which has induced the individual to run away from a circle of relatives and friends. We saw one not long ago, in which C. G. was informed, that a marriage was necessary to her restoration to her family and friends. "Ah! poor girl!" thought we, "you have friends then, who seem to take some interest in you. Have you formed an attachment, a headstrong attachment, for a young man, and have you forsaken, for him, 'the seriousness of a father's counsels,

and the melting tenderness of a mother's prayers?' Have you brothers who loved you, but now almost hate you; or sisters who feel themselves dishonoured in you? Or is your case one which Burns has so touchingly deprecated?

Is there in human form, that bears a heart-
A wretch a villain! lost to love and truth!
That can with studied, sly, ensnaring art,

Betray sweet Jenny's unsuspecting youth?
Curse on his perjured arts! dissembling smooth!
Are honour, virtue, conscience, all exiled?
Is there no pity, no relenting ruth,

Points to the parents fondling o'er their child,'

Then paints the ruin'd maid, and her distraction wild!'" Sometimes, though very rarely, these advertisements, calling on absentees to return, have a comic touch in them, though in such cases, if the advertised has really left his friends in a state of distress, it is hard to see how they can joke on the matter. We remember one, which intreated "the Old Ram" to come home; upon which the Examiner remarked, that the Old Ram must be a very interesting lost sheep!

Taking up, quite casually, a couple of Times newspapers, which happen to be lying on our table, a day or two old, we remark no less than five such absentee advertisements. "The friends of H. H. are in the most distressing state of anxiety, and earnestly intreat him either to return home immediately, or to let them hear from him by letter." What has H. H. done, that he should thus absent himself from home, and reduce his friends to this state of distress? Had he a confidential situation, and did he make use of money that was not his own? Were his affairs embarrassed? Or did he merely become tired of his situation, and, with something of the boyish feeling still remaining, scamper off, just to annoy his friends?

"If this should meet the eye of A. S., who left her home on Sunday afternoon, she is requested to return home to her disconsolate parents, by whom she will be kindly received." We thank ye, O parents, for these words! Yes, receive her kindly! Let not the quality of mercy be strained! Let not a blight come over the loving-kindness of the fireside! For we are poor frail foolish creatures, and forgiving kindness is the great alembic.

"If L. P., who left her home on Saturday evening last, will communicate with her disconsolate friends, or let them know where she may be heard of, or written to, she need not fear of receiving the kindest welcome from those she has left."

Madness must be in the heart of the young women, surely, if

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The young man who left his employment in the neighbouris requested to return immediately, or write to some part of his family, stating if anything can be done for his advantage."

Young man, why did you leave your employment? You disliked it, perhaps; or you got acquainted with some vicious companions? What fools some young men are ! And this is the misery, that the experience of one young man is not the experience of another; but, in spite of all the examples, and all the cautions, and all the preachings, that can be given them, many will "sow their wild oats," and find, too often, to their cost, that "what they sow, that shall they also reap!"" They who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind."

"The clergyman who left -'s hotel is earnestly requested to communicate the place of his retreat to his friend, who has undertaken to arrange the business to the satisfaction of all parties." What a clergyman amongst the absentees! What was the "business," one is curious to know, which could have led him to beat a retreat? Why, what business is that to us? It is a good thing that there are friends who undertake to arrange such

affairs.

Such is a specimen of five bona fide advertisements, two of them appearing in the same day's paper, and all of them of very recent date. If one were to take the trouble of overhauling the file of last year, what a number could be picked out!-though we fear that in the number there would be no great variety. The greater number are addressed to young men; occasionally one appears from a wife, appealing to all that is honourable in the human breast, and intreating the absentee husband not to leave her to bear the misery alone; and sometimes, though still more rarely, the absentees are middle-aged men, who have abandoned a family, and perhaps an entangled business, which they had not courage to attempt to unravel.

The causes of absenteeism are probably, on the whole, few and simple. A young man has formed an improper attachment, or home is perhaps regulated on severe and formal principles, and age does not choose to bend a little to the waywardness of youth. Or there may be a step-mother at home, and the young man's sense of self-importance is annoyed. Or, worse than all, he has got introduced to a gaming-table, is plunged in debt, and his dream of short-lived extravagance is disturbed by that greatest of all wants, a want of money. As to the husband forsaking the

wife, we hold that to be the blackest feature in absenteeism. Rest assured, he has not done his duty, whatever the wife may have done; and whatever disadvantages there may be in a large family, the couple who support each other's exertions never need spend their five shillings in advertising each other. As to the middle-aged absentee, poor man, his case is generally a bad one. A young man may recover being "put in the paper,' "but with a middle-aged man there are many chances that, even if he returns, he sinks into carelessness or drunkenness. And this being "put in the paper," reminds us of an advertisement which appeared some time ago, informing a young man that if he did not return,

he would be advertised.

This kind of absenteeism requires a sound moral education to cure it. There will aways be occasional instances of it amongst youth, for the period of youth is a period of transition and ebullition: but surely the cases might be reduced much in number, if parents would better fulfil their duties. Fathers and mothers are too apt to forget what they were themselves when they were young; and they too often exact an obedience not proportioned to the age of their children, but to what their own calmer discretion and experience dictate. A more generous sympathy with youth would often suppress many of their errors in the bud-errors which sometimes haunt them, like ghosts, through all their subsequent lives.

PROVIDENCE.

In natural history, God's freedom is shown in the law of necessity; in moral history, God's necessity, or providence, is shown in man's freedom.-Coleridge's Table-Talk.

DAVY RAMSAY AND THE DIVINING ROD. THE belief in the power of the Divining Rod, when held in the hands of the initiated, was long prevalent, and even yet may linger in the minds of some who delight in mysteries; but that such virtue is, or ever has been, possessed by insensate wood, no reasonable being can credit. There appears, however, to be ground for believing that some persons have existed, who possessed nerves of such peculiar delicacy as to be affected by the presence of water, and thus to have actually pointed out spots where springs existed, but where there were no indications to be found. A remarkable instance occurred in France in the last century, in the case of a peasant boy, and several more could be mentioned. It is easy to perceive the use which such a power could be turned to in the hands of the designing, and that the rod was assumed merely as a cloak to give a greater shadow of mystery; the practice, once begun, wanted not followers, who only pretended to a power they did not possess. We give the following anecdote from the " Life and Times" of the arch-conjuror William Lily, as a remarkable instance of the extent of the credulity of the times.

"In the year 1634, Davy Ramsay, his Majesty's clock-maker, had been informed that there was a great quantity of treasure buried in the cloister of Westminster Abbey; he acquaints Dean Williams therewith, who was also then Bishop of Lincoln; the Dean gave him liberty to search after it, with this proviso, that if any was discovered, his church should have a share of it. Davy Ramsay finds out one John Scott, who pretended the use of the Mosaical rods, to assist him herein. I was desired to join with him, unto which I consented. One winter's night, Davy Ramsay, with several gentlemen, myself, and Scott, entered the cloisters; we played the hazel rod round about the cloister; upon the west side of the cloisters the rods moved one over another, an argument that the treasure was there. The labourers digged at least six feet deep, and there we met with a coffin; but in regard it was not heavy, we did not open, which we afterwards much repented. From the cloisters we went into the Abbey church, where, upon a sudden (there being no wind when we began), so fierce, so high, so blustering and loud a wind did rise, that we verily believed the west end of the church would have fallen upon us. Our rods would not move at all; the candles and torches, all but one, were extinguished, or burned very dimly. John Scott, my partner, was amazed, looked pale, knew not what to think or do, until I gave directions and command to dismiss the demons; which, when done, all was quiet again, and each man returned to his lodging late, about twelve o'clock at night. I could never since be induced to join with any in such like actions (Davy Ramsay brought a half-quartern sack to put the treasure in).

"The true miscarriage of the business was by reason of so many people being present at the operation, for there were about thirty, some laughing, others deriding us; so that if we had not dismissed the demons, I believe most part of the Abbey church had been blown down. Secrecy and intelligent operators, with a strong confidence and knowledge of what they are doing, are best for this work."

VIRTUES AND VICES OF THE ROMANS.

THE austere frugality of the ancient Republicans, their carelessness about the possession and the pleasures of wealth, the strict regard for law among the people, its universal stedfast loyalty during the happy centuries when the Constitution, after the pretensions of the aristocracy had been curbed, was flourishing in its full perfection. The sound feeling which never amid internal discord allowed an appeal to foreign interference, the absolute empire of the laws and customs, and the steadiness with which, nevertheless, whatever in them was no longer expedient was amended,-the wisdom of the constitution and of the laws,-the ideal perfection of fortitude realized in the citizens and in the state ;-all these qualities unquestionably excite a feeling of reverence which cannot be equally awakened by the contemplation of any other people. Yet, after all, if we bring those times vividly before our minds, something of honour will still mingle with our admiration; for those virtues, from the earliest times, were leagued and compromised with the most fearful vices; insatiable ambition, unprincipled contempt for the rights of foreigners, unfeeling indifference for their sufferings, rapine, even while avarice was yet a stranger to them, and as a consequence of the severance of ranks, inhuman hard-heartedness, not only toward slaves, or foreigners, but even towards fellow-citizens. Those very virtues prepared the way for all these vices to get the mastery, and so were themselves swallowed up.-Niebuhr.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

WILLIAM COBBETT.

WILLIAM COBBETT, certainly one of the most remarkable men of a remarkable age, was the son of a small farmer and publican, and was born at Farnham, in Surrey, about the year 1762. More than thirty years after, when in the commencement of his literary career, and elated with the noise which he had created in the United States, he writes to his father in the following manner :"Dear Father:-When you used to set me off to work in the morning, dressed in my blue smock-frock and woollen spatterdashes, with my bag of bread and cheese, and bottle of small-beer, swung over my shoulder on the little crock that my old godfather, Boxall, gave me, little did you imagine that I should one day become so great a man as to have my picture stuck in the windows, and have four whole books published about me in the course of one week. Thus begins a letter which I wrote to my father yesterday morning, and which, if it reaches him, will make the old man drink an extraordinary pot of ale to my health. Heaven bless him! I think I see him now, by his old-fashioned fireside, reading the letter to his neighbours, Ay, ay,' says he, Will will stand his ground wherever he goes.' And so I will, father."

Nothing but Cobbett's own energy and force of character could have enabled him to overcome the early obstructions he encountered in acquiring education. His whole life, too, is an illustration of the evils as well as the advantages of self-instruction. If a self-taught man is of a timid and hesitating nature, and he has risen from a lower to a higher position in life, he will too often contract a querulous disposition-conscious of his own merits and claims, he is, while reluctant to obtrude them, jealous and captious if they are not gratuitously recognised, and conceded as a matter of course. On the other hand, if his temper is bold, buoyant, and forward, he is ever thrusting himself forward, becomes frequently a loud-talking and boastful egotist, and his real merits are too often obscured under a cloud of conceit.

Cobbett, having been employed in country-work until the autumn of 1782, paid a visit to Portsmouth, and then beheld, for the first time, the sea. Next day he made an unsuccessful attempt to get employment on board a man-of-war. In the following year he suddenly came up to London, and obtained a situation as a copying clerk. Tired of this, he, after being in his situation nine months, set off for Chatham, and enlisted in a regiment of foot. The regiment was ordered for North America, but, before it left England, Cobbett's smartness, activity, and good conduct, obtained for him the rank of corporal; and, shortly after its arrival in New Brunswick, (where he remained eight years,) he was promoted, over the heads of other serjeants, to the rank of serjeant-major. Here he became acquainted with his future wife. He thus narrates the story of his courtship :

"When I first saw my wife, she was thirteen years old, and I was within about a month of twenty-one. She was the daughter of a serjeant of artillery, and I was the serjeant-major of a regi ment of foot, both stationed in forts near the city of St. John, in the province of New Brunswick. I sat in the same room with her for about an hour, in company with others, and I made up my mind that she was the very girl for me. That I thought her beautiful is certain, for that, I had always said, should be an indispensable qualification; but I saw in her what I deemed marks of that sobriety of conduct which has been by far the greatest blessing of my life. It was now dead of winter, and, of course, the snow several feet on the ground, and the weather piercing cold. It was my habit, when I had done my morning's writing, to go out at break of day, to take a walk on a hill at the foot of which our barracks lay. In about three mornings after I had first seen her, I had, by an invitation to breakfast with me, got up two young men to join me in my walk; and our road lay by the house of her father and mother. It was hardly light, but she was out in the snow, scrubbing out a washing-tub. That's the girl for me!' said I, when we had got out of her hearing. One of these young men came to England soon afterwards; and he, who keeps an inn in Yorkshire, came over to Preston at the time of the election, to verify whether I were the same man. When he found that I was, he appeared surprised, but what was his surprise when I told him that those tall young men, whom he saw around me, were the sons of that pretty little girl that he and I saw scrubbing out the washing-tub on the snow in New Brunswick, at daybreak in the morning!

From the day that I first spoke to her, I never had a thought of her ever being the wife of any other man, more than I had a thought of her being transformed into a chest of drawers; and I formed my resolution at once to marry her as soon as we could get

So that

I was

permission, and to get out of the army as soon as I could. this matter was, at once, settled as firmly as if written in the book of fate. At the end of about six months, my regiment, and I along with it, were removed to Fredericton, a distance of a hundred miles up the river of St. John; and, which was worse, the artillery were expected to go off to England a year or two before our regiment. The artillery went, and she along with them; and now it was that I acted a part becoming a real and sensible lover. aware, that, when she got to that gay place, Woolwich, the house of Her father and mother, necessarily visited by numerous persons, not the most select, might become unpleasant to her, and I also did not like besides that she should continue to work hard. I had saved a hundred and fifty guineas, the earnings of my early hours, in writing for the paymaster, the quarter-master, and others, in addition to the savings of my own pay. I sent her all my money before she sailed; and wrote to her, to beg that if she found her home uncomfortable, to hire a lodging with respectable people; and, at any rate, not to spare the money by any means, but to buy herself good clothes, and to live without hard work, until I arrived in England; and I, in order to induce her to lay out the money, told her that I should get plenty more before I came home.

"We were kept abroad two years longer than our time, Mr. Pitt (England not being so tame then as she is now) having knocked up a dust with Spain about Nootka Sound. Oh, how I cursed Nootka Sound, and poor bawling Pitt too, I am afraid! At the end of four years, however, home I came; landed at Portsmouth, and got my discharge from the army by the great kindness of poor Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who was then the Major of my regiment. I found my little girl a servant of all-work (and hard work it was) at five pounds a year, in the house of a Captain Brisac; and without hardly saying a word about the matter, she put into my hands the whole of my hundred and fifty guineas unbroken!"

Cobbett was discharged from the army in 1791; and shortly afterwards, he brought charges of peculation against four officers of his late regiment; a court-martial was appointed to try them; forty-seven witnesses, named by Cobbett, were brought up from Portsmouth to London : but, when all was ready, the prosecutor had absconded. The court, thinking that some accident might have happened to him, adjourned to the third day afterwards, and search was made for him in all directions-but Cobbett had crossed over to France! He afterwards attempted to vindicate his conduct under some pretence of "oppression," and his being aware that justice would be thwarted: but his conduct appears without excuse.

Cobbett reached France in 1792, when the troubles of the revolution rendered travelling insecure, and he was frequently annoyed by having his papers searched and himself interrogated. He was six months in France, but did not proceed to Paris; and then sailed, in the fall of the year, to the United States. After landing at Philadelphia, he went to Wilmington on the Delaware, where he found a considerable number of French emigrants who were greatly in want of an English teacher; for this he was very well qualified by the elastic activity of his mind, and his short residence in France; he accordingly took it up, and earned, it is stated by his family, at the rate of from four to five hundred pounds per

annum.

It was in America that Cobbett began his career as a public writer, when he was about the age of thirty-four. He attacked Dr. Priestley, (then newly arrived in the United States from England,) in a pamphlet under the title of "Observations on the Emigration of a Martyr to the Cause of Liberty," by Peter Porcupine. It attracted considerable attention, and from that period to the end of his life Cobbett was an indefatigable writer for the press.

Cobbett's political career was the reverse of that of some other eminent men. Instead of commencing as an ardent republican and admirer of liberty, and then gliding gradually into more moderate views, he commenced his career as a violent anti-democrat, and became an extreme radical, at least in conduct, if not in all his opinions. But Cobbett's political opinions were as much the result of temperament as of principle, and hence the frequent changes of sides, and the innumerable cases in which he laid himself open to self-confutation, by such pamphlets as "Cobbett against Cobbett."

That Cobbett should have commenced public life an antidemocratical writer, is easily explained. His constitution and temper were strongly English; a thorough, hale, hearty, selfwilled, "bread-and-cheese" Englishman, with a strong spice of that spirit which led, in former days, to a detestation of "brass

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