of the philanthropic object of these pages, and to hope that the good intentions of the writer, and his excellent means of carrying them into effect, will be appreciated by an extensive circulation of this useful pamphlet.]

The Gatherer.

Lord Loughborough. It is very well known that, by the laws of England, the Chancellor is held to be the guardian of the persons and property of all such individuals as are said to be no longer of sound mind, and good, disposing memory; in fine, to have lost their senses. Lord Chancellor Loughborough once ordered to be brought to him a man, against whom his heirs wished to take out a statute of lunacy: he examined him very attentively, put various questions to him, to all of which he made most pertinent and apposite answers-"This man mad!" thought he; "verily he is one of the ablest men I ever met with." Towards the end of his examination, however, a little scrap of paper, torn from a letter, was put into Lord L.'s hand, on which was written in pencil, "Ezekiel." This was enough for such a shrewd and able man as Lord Loughborough. He forthwith took his cue. "What fine poetry," said the Chancellor, "is in Isaiah!"—"Very fine,” replied the man, "especially when read in the original Hebrew."" And how well Jeremiah wrote!" -"Surely," said the man.-"What a genius too was Ezekiel!" -"Do you like him?" said the man: "I'il tell you a secret-I am Ezekiel !" G. H.

A gentleman seeing a person, who was reading Gulliver's Travels, poring over an atlas, and seemingly disconcerted by some want of success, asked whether he could assist him in finding what he wanted. "I do not know," was the reply; " for I have been looking for two hours throughout latitudes and longitudes, and cannot discover Lilliput anywhere.

W. G. C.

Planting.-Count Maurice, the late Governor of Brazil for the Hollanders, (says Evelyn, in his Sylva,) planted a grove near his delicious paradise, at Friburgh, containing 600 cocoa-trees, of eighty years growth, and fifty feet high to the nearest bough. These he wafted upon floats and engines four long miles, and planted them so luckily that they bore abundantly the very first year; as Gaspar Barlæus hath related in his elegant description of that prince's expedition.

Welsh Pride.-A proud Welsh boy at school, hearing that an English Duke employed six men cooks, during the period that he kept open house, or rather open castle in the north, sneered at the alleged magnificence. "My father does better than that," said Grif

fith ap Jones, "at our very last party before I left Cmydrdlmnynddryd, we had twentyfour men cooks all employed in dressing the supper;" and this would have gone down easily, and Griffith ap Jones would have established his paternal magnificence for ever, had not a " Daly of his day" discovered the real state of the case, and announced to his school-fellows, that although the Welshman had spoken truly, the company at the supper to which he alluded, consisted of twenty-four of his near relations, and that every man toasted his own cheese!

Mr. Martin, of Galway, upon the eve of a general election, being asked who were the candidates likely to be returned, said, “There are three of us: Daly, I think, is safe; the "And other two are Kirwan and myself."which of you will be the other successful candidate?" said the querist. — “Why the survivor, to be sure,” replied Mr. Martin.

The soup

A Dinner, (by Gilbert Gurney.)—The following circumstance occurred to me once in the west of England, at a house where I paid an unexpected visit, and where-as one always is, in the west of England-I was most kindly and hospitably received. The family was a large one, and I the only stranger. I arrived within a few minutes of dinner, was ushered to my room, hurried my dressing, and was speedily seated at table. was served. It was a remarkably nice sort of broth, made of veal, with rice and vegetables: I applauded it much. At the bottom of the table was a roast loin of veal; at the top, half a calf's head. There were four entrées, yet uncovered. "What will you eat, Gurney," said the master of the house," some of my dish or Maria's ?" I doubted. "Hand round the entrées," said the lady. Two were forthwith put in motion; one dish contained veal patties, and the other veal collops. I declined both; for I hated veal. Next came the other two-one a calf's brains, and the other a calf's tongue. I declined those, and took some of the joint, determining to wait for the second course. I saw, however, dish after dish vanish, and I yet remained unsatisfied, when my fair hostess, with one of her sweetest smiles, said, "We have no second course for you, Mr. Gurney; the fact is, we killed a calf the day before yesterday, and we are such prudent managers, that we make a point of eating it up while it is good, and nice, and fresh, before we begin upon anything else."-New Monthly Magazine.

SPLENDID CUP,

From a rare Print, by HOLLar.

THE Engraving represents an interesting memorial of ancient art, being the design for a splendid cup, by Mantegna, an eminent Italian painter. It is copied from a print by Hollar, after a pen-and-ink drawing, by the designer. The print is exceedingly rare, and we are uncertain as to the exist ence of the original drawing. From the dwelling of Mantegna it was transferred to Arundel House, in the Strand; but we can trace it no further. The cup we take to have been designed for the altar, from its characteristic ornaments generally, and especially from the compartments in the upper part, representing scenes in the Life of Our Saviour: as, Riding into Jerusalem - the Prayer on the Mount - Before Pilate-the Scourging, and others.

Of the designer, Andrea Mantegna, or Mantenio, Strutt, Fuseli, and others, supply many attractive particulars. Mantegna was born in 1431, in an obscure village near Padua. Cradled in indigence, he, when very young, tended sheep for his subsistence; but, being gifted by nature with a happy genius for the imitative arts, he employed all his leisure in endeavouring to sketch the objects around him; and we need not add that his shepherd life must have presented many delightful scenes for his infant pencil, and have thus fostered his early genius. This was soon noticed by Squarcione, that observant protector of the fine arts, who was surnamed the Father of Painters." He took charge of the education of Mantegna, and conceiving an ardent affection for him, which increased with the increasing merit of his protegé, he finally made him heir to his

fortune.

Mantegna's chief abode and school were at Mantua; but he worked much at Rome, where he painted a chapel in the Vatican, which existed at the accession of Pius VI. Mantegna married the daughter of John Bellino, at Venice. Correggio became his disciple, and the Duke of Mantua his warm admirer and patron: from his hands the artist received the honour of knighthood, and for him he painted that celebrated picture, "the Triumph of Julius Cæsar," which he afterwards engraved, and which is now in Hampton-court Palace. Mantegna's masterpiece is, however, the picture della Vittoria, now at Paris. It is a votive composition, dedicated, for a victory obtained, to the Madonna, seated on her throne, with the infant standing in her lap.

Mantegna was too much occupied by large works to be a cabinet painter; and pieces are often attributed to him in which he had no hand. He distinguished himself highly in the art of perspective; and Lomazzo

affirms that "Mantegna was the first who opened the eyes of artists in that branch." He was, also, one of the first engravers of his time, and one of the earliest engravers on metal. He was celebrated for his pen-andink drawings, such as the original of Hollar's print and our engraving; another of his drawings was in the possession of the late Benjamin West. The subject was an attempt to restore an allegorical picture of Apelles, painted from an event in his own life. Mantegna had great influence on the style of his age, and was much imitated. He began some fine frescos in the castle of Mantua, which were finished by Francesco, and another of his sons, who added a beautiful ceiling, which showed great proficiency in foreshortening. Mantegna died in 1505.

"Some critics, (says Landseer,) have thought that this artist's admiration of the antique was too predominant in his works; that it too frequently engrossed his powers, and hurried him too entirely away from the contemplation of nature, which must always be one of the parents of originality of art. Yet, if his enthusiasm be a fault, it is a fault proceeding so necessarily and so immediately from the localities of time and place, and the redundance of his merits, that it is as secure of pardon from the candid, as those merits are of praise."

The disappearance of Mantegna's drawing of the cup from the stores of Arundel House, is more a matter of regret than of surprise. During the civil wars, this celebrated mansion,* was often deserted by its illustrious proprietors, and some of the marbles were defaced and broken, and others stolen or used for the ordinary purposes of building. The chronological marble, in particular, was broken and defaced; and the upper, containing thirtyone epochas, is said to have been used in repairing a chimney in Arundel House. In the year 1667, the Honourable Henry Howard, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, the grandson of the first collector, presented these curious remains of antiquity to the university of Oxford; another portion was removed to the noble mansion of the Duke of Norfolk, called Worksop Manor, Nottinghamshire, which was, unfortunately, destroyed by fire in the year 1761.

MORNING.

SOME time since there appeared in Hood's Comic Annual a few lines on Evening, the metre and rhyming of which were framed in a new style of versification. The following lines are on the same plan.

The sun appears and its rise dyes skies,
And wakes from slumber ev'ry bedded head;
The sweeps not daring now to cry high, sigh,
And fear to wake, as thus they creep, deep sleep:
The labourers, as they on their walk stalk, talk;
*Engraved in the Mirror, vol. xviii. p. 40.

Though some, who like at home to lurk, shirk work.
The coaches now come on the stand, grand band,
Though some men, p'rh'aps, a cabriolet may pay.
Now inly dreading the great school-rule, (fool!)
Along the streets prepares to go slow Joe;
Nor is his horror of the cane vain pain,

For soon it rattles on his back, thwack, whack!
Some who've been up all night, quite white,
Slink homewards shrinking from the day's rays

gaze.

-It now is later, and near ten; men then

Pour out more numerous; round St. Paul's tall wall,
The coaches rumble; the cads call, bawl, squall,
At last with screaming "Charing Cross, Cross,"
hoarse,

The time is up, the 'bus departs. Carts, Darts,
Times, Eagles, Unions, without care, swear, tear,
And run o'er children who in play may stray.
Reader, my rhymes now only hum-drum come,
Not Noah, I'm sure, of yore, could with all his lore

four more pour.

R. H. Y.

THE KING OF SWEDEN. CHARLES XIV. (says Mr. Alexander Daumont) was born at Pau, January 26, 1764. Years have made but a slight impression on his vigorous constitution. A profusion of black hair covers, without concealing, a lofty forehead, which neither the cares of state nor the hand of time has yet furrowed with a wrinkle. When he speaks, his features assume the same animated expression which struck me when, in his thirty-eighth year, I heard him describe the exploits of the army of Italy. All the muscles of his energetic head, which reveals the activity of thought, and a genius for great undertakings, are then in full play. His piercing, black eyes have lost nothing of their brilliancy; his person has become but slightly corpulent; his figure is still noble and erect; and he still exhibits the same attention to neatness, and the same simple and unaffected elegance which distinguished his manners.

As there is no sovereign, without even excepting the pettiest German prince, more easy of access to whoever desires to speak to him, the officers on duty at the palace, and in the ante-rooms, are a mere state pageant. And this confidence between the sovereign and his subjects is peculiarly remarkable, when we consider that he was by birth a stranger to the nation he has been called upon to govern. It is easy to see that this prince, born among the people, has been impressed with the feeling that he should communicate with the people; and this intimate relation existing between the sovereign and the lowest of his subjects, far from detracting from the respect which should surround the majesty of the throne, only serves to increase it. This facility of communicating with their sovereign is one of those peculiarities which the Swedes take a pleasure in pointing out to the attention of strangers.

When the king drives out to Rosendal, to Haga, or to Drottningholm, it is most commonly in an open carriage, preceded by a single courier. He is accompanied by some

of the principal officers of state or of his household, but unattended by an escort. Every person he meets is on the alert to take off his hat, and countenances beaming with smiles are sufficient indication of the public satisfaction. He never fails to acknowledge a salute, and on his part it is generally accompanied by one of those expressive and benevolent smiles which communicate such a charm to his features.

His health, though usually very robust, has undergone considerable alteration during the last few years: nevertheless, I am of opinion that he is still capable of sustaining the hardships of war, if necessity should render them indispensable.

In the audiences granted to us by his Majesty, he frequently entered into statistical details, evincing the most extensive knowledge of the situation of Sweden. "When I came to the throne," he observed, " agriculture was almost in its infancy. I have helped to give it an immense impulse. Formerly, Sweden imported a large quantity of corn, to supply the deficiency of produce; at present, she exports several cargoes annually; and the sustained progress of cultivation, the reclaiming of lands which may be observed in every direction, is a sufficient indication that this exportation will increase from year to year. I have regulated the finances on the soundest system; the public debt is almost annihilated; the taxes are collected almost without expense -a notice is posted on the church door of the amount of taxes due by each person, and it is paid without any further trouble. The Swedes are a peculiarly moral people. Among no other people is crime so unfrequent; and an organized police is a thing utterly unknown to them. The canals which I have cut, will at once aid the developement of commerce, and serve for the defence of our territory; our national army amounts to 120,000 men, and is the least burdensome establishment of the kind in Europe; and although Sweden is but a third-rate power, I am fully convinced of the political importance she will achieve in the eyes of Europe, in the event of my being forced to draw the sword in defence of her honour or her interests."

Prince Oscar is much beloved by the Swedes. "He is our son," say they; "it is we who have trained him up to reign over Sweden.” He has scrupulously adopted all the manners and customs of the Swedes; his table is served after the Swedish fashion, and nothing is spoken but Swedish; while, at the table of the king, the French language is generally in use. W. G. C.

The Naturalist.

BRITISH BIRDS.

ACCORDING to Mr. Slaney, there are about twenty song birds of passage which come to

us, and rear their young in our island. Of these, some are local species, and others but partially and thinly scattered. These guests of summer remain to enjoy our finest weather, when the warmth of the climate, the richuess of vegetation, and the harmony of nature, invite us abroad. The nightingale is celebrated in all countries: its sober plumage of tawny brown would never attract our attention, though its light and elegant form might excite admiration. This delightful songster is not found north of Shrewsbury in the west, or Doncaster in the east; and is seldom seen in Devonshire or Cornwall. It has been observed, that it is not seen but where cowslips grow plentifully, indicating a damp, cool soil, and probably yielding those insects it delights in. All writers praise the song of this bird. When every object around conveys the sensation of joy, (says Mr. Wilson,) and heaven's abundance is, as it were, showering around us, the grateful heart beats in unison with the varying, elevated strains of this bird. We listen to its notes in a kind of ecstacy, as a hymn to the great and most adorable Creator of all. Abject must that heart be, and callous those feelings, and depraved that taste, which neither the charms of nature, nor the melody of innocence, nor the voice of gratitude or devotion can reach.-W. G. C.

ORIGINAL COUNTRY OF THE GOLDEN

PHEASANT.

THE golden pheasant, (says a recent writer,) has been supposed, since the time of Buffon, to have come originally from China, but upon what authority is unknown. A passage in Pliny notices this bird by a characteristic feature, which has been overlooked by naturalists, but which cannot be mistaken. The golden pheasant has, on each side of the head, beautiful orange-yellow feathers, which curve into a sort of conch or ear, and are susceptible of voluntary motion. The common pheasant does not possess this ornament. Pliny expressly says, "Phasenæ in Colchis geminas ex plumâ aures submittunt subriguntque." From these facts, Dureau de la Malle, in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, fixes the country of the bird at Colchis or Mingrelia, whence we have also the common pheasant, whose name is derived from Phasis, the principal river of Colchis. M. Gamba, is stated to have seen and chased the golden pheasant in the chain of the Caucasus, where large flocks are found in company with the common pheasant.-W. G. C.

THE SHARK.

The

soon disable it from further exertion. shark, judging by an European palate, is not good eating; the fins and tail are very gluti nous, and are the portions most relished by the seamen, and, dried, they form an article of commerce to China, where they are used in soups, and considered as an excellent aphrodisiac. I have seen several sharks and bonetos about the ship at the same time, but I never observed the former attempt to molest the latter. The shark is eaten eagerly by the natives of the Polynesian Islands; and I have often seen them feasting on it in a raw state, when they gorged themselves to such an excess as to occasion vomiting. It is not an unfrequent source of illness among these islanders, and they suffer so much in consequence, as to lead them to suppose that their dissolution is nigh; but they cannot be persuaded that the eating of raw fish is the cause. An emetic soon removes the symptoms by removing the cause, and the sufferer considers the cure as almost miraculous. Attending the shark is seen that beautiful little fish the gasterosteus ductor, or pilotfish; who first approaching the bait, returns as if to give notice, when, immediately after, the shark approaches and siezes it. The shark is more wary of taking the bait when unaccompanied by the pilot-fish; he will then approach, and retire several times before he ventures to sieze it. It is a curious circumstance, that this elegant little fish is seen in shark is hooked, the pilot-fish still swims attendance only upon the shark. After the about, and for some time after he has been hauled on deck; they then swim very near the surface of the water, and at that time I have seen them taken by a basket from the chains of the ship. When the shark has been hooked and afterwards escapes, he generally returns and renews the attack with increased ferocity, irritated, perhaps, by the wound he has received. W. G. C.

THE SEAL (PHOCA URSINA.) THE male of this species, (says Mr. Martin,) is sometimes eight feet long, and weighs 800 pounds; but the female is much smaller. The colour of the former is nearly black, and of the latter a dark speckled brown. Their hair is long and rough, and on the neck of the male is upright, and a little longer than the rest. The fore legs are about two feet long, and the hinder ones twenty-two inches; the feet being divided by five toes, separated by a large web, and spreading to the extent of twelve inches. They are prodigiously strong, swimming at the rate of seven miles an hour, and are very tenacious of life, often surviving the most severe wounds. When on shore, they live in families; each male being attended by several females, which he guards with great jealousy. The young ones, at twelve days, are nearly white, and their flesh