mentioned among the "Twelve Wonders of the World":

66

My husband knew how much his death would give me, And therefore left me wealth to comfort and relieve me ; Though I no more will have, I must not love disdain, Penelope herself did lovers entertain

And yet to draw on such as are of best esteem,

Nor younger than I am, nor richer, will I seem.'

Our forefathers were wont to affirm that "'Tis dangerous marrying a widow because she hath cast her rider," which reminds us of Gay's fable

Why are those tears? Why droops your head?

Is, then, your other husband dead?

Or does a worse disgrace betide-

Hath no one since his death applied ?"

The following folk-doggerel, which will be found in the "Reliquiæ Hearnianæ " (215) and is called by Stowe "an old proverb," gives an oftentimes true and pathetic description of the wretched condition of a widow

À propos of this quaint rhyme, we may quote the subjoined extract from Weaver's "Funeral Monu

ments" (1631, p. 19): “As well heires as executors oftentimes inter both the honour and memory of the defunct together with his corps, perfidiously forgetting their fidelity to the deceased-of which it will please you read this old inscription depicted upon a wall within St. Edmund's Church, in Lombard Street, London :—

"Man the behovyth oft to have yis in mind,

Yat thow geveth wyth yin hond, yat sall thou fynd;
For widowes be sloful, and chyldren beth unkynd,
Executors beth covetos, and kep al yat yey fynd.
If eny body ask wher the deddys goodys becam ?
Yey ansywer

So God me help and halidam, he died a poor man."

According to a Chinese proverb, "A maid marries to please her parents; a widow to please herself; and it is said that—

"Mandarins, customers, and widow folk,

You must be careful not to provoke."

There may be some difference of opinion respecting, the following: "Happy the wife who dies before her husband; unhappy she who dies after him"; the reason assigned being that "A widow is a rudderless boat." Among further items of Eastern proverbial wisdom, it is said that

"Widow marriage must always be
Consummated immediately "-

the reason for this being that otherwise the widow will demand a higher price, or accept some one

else's higher offer. It is generally said, too, that the widow, through being more wide awake than a bride, not infrequently tries to improve her position when marrying a second time; and hence this proverb

"Having lost her first husband, again she's a bride;
And so she gets higher at every stride."

Making every allowance, however, for a widow's position, we are reminded that, as "A good horse will not turn back to eat grass, a good wife will not marry a second husband," which is much to the same purport as the following: "A loyal minister will serve but one Prince; a virtuous woman but one husband.”

CCORDING to an old French proverb,

"Curiosity is so nearly akin to craftiness, that it can disfigure the most handsome faces.' Both history and social romance afford many a striking instance of the dangerous and fatal effects of over-inquisitiveness, for, according to a Spanish proverb, "No woman sleeps so soundly that the twang of the guitar will not bring her to the window."

Under a variety of forms the well-known tradition of "Peeping Tom" survives in our midst to-day, who, at any cost, would gain a glimpse of Lady Godiva, as she rode on her noble errand through the streets of Coventry, and nursery literature perpetuates the gruesome spectacle that was revealed to the curious maiden who, despite warning, persisted in prying into the forbidden chamber of Bluebeard.

But stories of this kind have their counterpart in our family folk-lore. Dalton Hill Head, for instance, once the property of the family of Hedley, of Newcastle, has a strange story associated with it. Some years ago a woman named Mary Henderson-a connection, it is said, of George Stephenson, the engineer, had charge of the house. The gardener lived close by and kept a mastiff called "Ball." Mysterious and uncanny tales seem to have been told of this house, and when Mary Henderson asked the gardener to lend her "Ball Ball" as a protection, he specially warned her not to look into a certain closet in the house. Curiosity, however, prompted her to disregard his warning, for, said she, what can there possibly be that I should not see? ' Hence to the cupboard she went, when, on entering it, she discovered to her horror a quantity of children's bones-some in hat-boxes and some wrapped in articles of clothing. She understood now the gardener's advice, and wondered what the meaning could be. With her companion Ball' she retired to rest, but was soon aroused by strange sounds of dancing and singing upstairs. Being a courageous woman, she determined to investigate the matter, but the dog was terrified and unwilling to accompany her. She accordingly took him in her arms and went round the house. As is usual in such cases, all was still and undisturbed, but an attic window stood open.' Further particulars respecting this strange affair are wanting, neither are we informed whether the music and dancing were resumed on succeeding nights.