IRISH LAW. The following extract from an affidavit read in the Court of Common Pleas, in Dublin, is alike illustrative of the manner in which legal process is executed in the sister island, and of the precision with which legal instruments are drawn : * "And this deponent further saith, that on arriving at the house of the said defendant, situate in the county of Galway aforesaid, for the purpose of personally serving him with the said writ, he, the said deponent, knocked three several times at the outer, commonly called the hall door, but could not obtain admittance; whereupon this deponent was proceeding to knock a fourth time, when a man, to this deponent un known, holding in his hands a musket or blunderbuss at this deponent, loaded with balls or slugs, as this deponent hath since heard and verily believes, appeared at one of the upper windows of the said house, and presenting said musket or blunderbuss at this deponent, threatened, that if said deponent did not instantly retire, he would send his (the deponent's) soul to hell,' which this deponent verily believes he would have done, had not this deponent precipitately escaped.' Rope Dancer.—At the entrance of Isabel of Bavaria, into Paris, wife of Charles VI., a Bavarian fastened a rope from the top of the tower of Notre Dame, to one of the houses within the 'Change Bridge. He descended, dancing upon the rope, with a lighted flambeau in each hand; he passed between the blue taffety curtains, ornamented with large golden fleur-de-lis, which covered the bridge; he fixed a crown upon Isabel's head, and re-ascended upon his rope into the air. The chronicle adds, as this was done in the night, he was seen in all parts of Paris and its environs. A King of France inquired of one of his Ministers the difference between a Whig and a Tory. "Please your Majesty, I conceive the difference to be merely nominal. The Tories are Whigs when they want places, and the Whigs Tories when they have got them." GEORGE I.-When some one reminded this monarch how happy he was to be King of England and Elector of Hanover at the same time, he very nobly replied, "I am prouder of being able to say that I have two such subjects as Newton and Leibnitz in my dominions, than to say I reign over the countries that contain them." ADVANTAGES OF KEEPING POULTRY. In the early part of this year, a person, then residing at Brayton, purchased a hen for which was paid Is. During the summer she sat upon eleven duck eggs, out of which she hatched and reared ten; these were sold for 1s. each.-She afterwards brought up thirteen chickens (three of her eggs having been destroyed) which were sold for 6d. a-piece. This prolific bird was at last sold for her original cost, having thus produced 168. 6d. in little more than six months. THEATRICAL BON MOT. When Sir Charles Sedley's comedy of Bellamira was performed, the roof of the theatre fell down, by which, however, few people were hurt except the author. This occasioned Sir Fleetwood Shepherd to say, that there was so much fire in his play, that it blew up poet, house, and all." "No (replied the good-natured author) the play was so heavy, that it broke down the house, and bu ried the poor poet in his own rubbish." M. Durand, in his Voyage to Senegal, relates that the crew of a French vessel, which had arrived in the river of St. Domingo, on the coast of Africa, observed an elephant sticking in the mud in such a manner that he could not disengage himself. The sailors thought that it would be easy to take him, and accordingly fired muskets at him, which did not kill him, but put him in a rage. They could not get near enough to spear him; and being little accustomed to this sort of hunting, they did not know the parts where he might be wounded with the greatest effect. The elephant could neither run away from nor approach his assailants; he therefore, in despair, took up the mud with his trunk, and threw it in such quantities into the ship, that the sailors were obliged to tow their vessel off. As the tide set in, they observed the elephant disengage himself and swim to shore. Advertisement. To be had of J. LIMBIRD, 355, Strand, Price only 6d, LORD BYRON'S POEMS on his Domestic Circumstances, with his Memoir and Portrait, containing Fare thee Well Sketch from Private Life, or the Star of "The Legion of Honour;" Adieu to Malta; The Curse of Minerva; Waterloo, and three other Poems. Published by J. LIMBIRD, 355, Strand, (East end of Exeter 'Change); sold also by all Newsmen and Booksellers.---Printed by T. DOLBY, 299, Strand. "There is nothing new under the Sun," said Solomon; but if the wisest man the world e'er saw,' had lived in the nineteenth century, and beheld men diving to the bottom of the ocean, or ascending in the air: if he had seen vessels crossing the Atlantic propelled by steam, and regardless of wind or tide, and had his splendid Temple lighted with gas: or, last not least, if he could have got our two-and-thirty columns of "Literature, Amusement, and Instruction," and an Engraving to boot, for twopence, he would, perhaps, have qualified the assertion. There is, however, no doubt that the proverb is good in a general sense, and that many inventions which are deemed original, are but improvements on former suggestions: and the public will, perhaps, be surprised to learn, that the much-talked of tread-mill, of which we gave so accurate an engraving and description, in the First Number of the Mirror, is borrowed from the Chinese. We would not have our readers to mistake us, or to suppose that the Chinese are so depraved as to require such steps as those of a tread-mill to VOL. I. be taken for the reformation of offenders. To cast such an imputation on this singular people, would be enough to make them refuse sending us another pound of tea, or at least to require that we should be sent to the Emperor to expiate our offence by the kouto, or some much worse humiliation. In saying that the tread-mill is borrowed from the Chinese, we allude to the mechanical principle on which it is constructed. This principle is applied by the Chinese to a chain pump, and is one of the modes used for raising water from rivers for irrigating their lands. The Chinese, ignorant of the principle of the common pump, raise water either by a machine resembling the Persian wheel, or by a chain pump, the chambers of which, instead of being cylindrical, are universally square. Of this pump, the Engraving in our present number is a correct representation, and the slightest glance will show its similarity to the TreadMill. In the Chinese Tread-Mill or TreadPump, the inside of a hollow wooden trunk is divided in the middle by a L board into two compartments; a chain made to turn over a small wheel or roller at each extremity of the trunk, is fastened to flat and square pieces of wood, nicely fitted to the capacity of the cavity. These, called lifters, move with the chain round the rollers, and raise a volume of water proportionate to the dimensions of the hollow trunk. The power to work this machine may be applied different ways. When it is intended to raise a great quantity, sets of wooden arms, in the form of the letter T, are affixed to the lengthened axis of the rollers, and smoothed for the foot to rest upon. The axis is made to turn upon two wooden uprights, rendered steady by a piece of timber stretched across them. Men, by treading upon the projecting parts of the wooden arms, supporting themselves at the same time by a cross beam, give a rotary motion to the chain, and the lifters, being attached to it, raise up a constant and abundant stream of water. Having thus stated the origin of the Tread-Mill, which is evidently Chinese, we have to notice a new application of its powers, by Mr. Van Heythuysen, to the propelling of barges on canals. The object is to obviate the use of horses. The apparatus is made light, and separable from the barge; and it is found that two men can propel a barge by it, at the rate of five miles an hour. The saving of the expense of horses and track roads promises to make this application of human power very valuable. THE LAPLANDERS. In our last we gave a description and engraving of the Rein-deer, and we now proceed to give a brief notice of the Laplanders. These innocent people devote their whole care to the management of the rein-deer, occasionally housing and herding their herds in winter, and attending them, during the summer, to the tops of the mountains. They understand all the arts of the dairy, and from the milk of their deer prepare many of their most nourishing and agreeable repasts. In their houses the Laplanders make the fire in the centre of the floor, and round it are spread the rein-deer skins on a few birch twigs, on which they sit in the day and sleep at night. The Laplanders wear on their head a small cap, made with eight seams, covered with strips of brown cloth, the cap itself being of a greyish colour. This reaches no lower than the tips of the ears. Their outer garment, or jacket, is open in front half way down the bosom, below which part it is fastened with hooks. The jacket, when loose, reaches below the knees; but as it is usually tied up with a girdle, it scarcely reaches so far, and is sloped off at the bottom. The collar is of four fingers' breadth, thick, and stitched with thread. They wear no stockings. Their breeches, made of the coarse and slight woollen cloth of the country called walmal, reach down to their feet, tapering gradually to the bottom, and are tied with a bandage over their half-boots. All the needle-work is performed by the women. They make their thread of the sinews in the legs of the reindeer, separating them, while fresh, with their teeth, into slender strings, which they twist together. times more flesh than a Swedish peaThe Laplander is said to consume ten sant; a family of four persons devour a deer in a week: they eat the glutton, squirrel, bear, martin, beaver, and, in short, every living creature they can catch, except wolves and foxes. "Every day (says Von Buch), I have seen rein-deer flesh cooked in their huts for the whole family, and generally of young fawns, in large iron kettles. When the flesh was cooked, it was immediately torn asunder by the master of the house with his fingers, and divided among the family; and the eagerness with which each person received his allowance, and the rapidity with which they strove, as for a wager, to tear it with their teeth and fingers, are almost incredible. In the meantime the broth remains in the kettle, and is boiled up with thick rein-deer milk, with rye or oatmeal, and sometimes, though seldom, with a little salt. This broth is then distributed, and devoured with the same hungry avidity. The SeaLaplander, on the other hand, has only fish, or fish livers with train oil, and never has either the means or opportunity of preparing such costly soups. The former not only relishes his flesh, but finds in it a strong nourishment. In fact, how few boors in Norway or Sweden, or even in Germany, can compare their meals, in point of nutrition, with this! In winter, the food of the Laplanders is more multifarious. They then catch an incredible number of ptarmigans, wood grouse, and a number of other wild birds, partly to eat, and partly to sell. They not unfrequently also shoot a bear, which they eat like the Norwegian peasants. They have then also no want of rein-deer flesh; for the frozen pieces may be long preserved. They can even preserve the precious milk in winter, although they can then derive none immediately from the rein-deer. They expose it in harvest to the frost, and preserve the frozen pieces like cheese. When melted, after a lapse of several months, this milk still tastes fresh and deliciously. When a stranger enters the hut, whom they wish to see, the frozen piece of milk is immediately set to the fire; and the guest receives a spoon, with which he skims off the softened exterior in proportion as it melts. In summer, they scarcely eat any thing but fish from the fresh-water lakes, and drink, with eagerness, the water in which the fish has been boiled. In winter, they must put up with dried fish, and with soups of water, fir bark, and rein-deer tallow. They peel off, in summer, the innermost bark of the firs, divide it in long strips, and hang them in their dwellings to dry for winter stores, When used, these strips of bark are minced in small pieces along with the rein-deer tallow, boiled together for several hours with water, till in consistency they form a thick broth, and then eaten. A little ewe milk, and a few mountain bramble-berries, contribute very little to the improvement of this wretched diet." The Laplanders have neither writing nor letters among them, but a number of hieroglyphics, that they use in their rounds, a sort of sticks, which serve them for an almanack. These hieroglyphics they also use instead of signatures, in matters of law. An attempt has been made to introduce among them the Christian religion, by missionaries from those parts of Scandinavia where the light of the gospel has reached; but they cannot yet be said to be Chris tians, though the King of Denmark has instituted some religious seminaries amongst them. The majority of the inhabitants practise as gross superstitions and idolatries as are to be found amongst any people; and those of a nature so absurd, that they scarcely deserve to be mentioned, were it not that the number and extravagance of them have induced the northern traders to believe that they are skilled in magic and divination. To favour this deceit, their magicians, who are a peculiar set of men, employ what they call a drum, made of the hollowed trunk of a fir, pine, or birch tree, one end of which is covered with skin. On this they draw, with a kind of red colour, the To figures of their own gods, as well as of Jesus Christ, the apostles, the sun, moon, stars, birds, and rivers. some of these they loosely attach one or two brass rings, which, when the drum is beaten with a little hammer, dance over the figures; and, according to their progress, the sorcerer forms his prognostications. These whimsical ceremonies are usually performed for gain; and the northern ship-masters are such dupes to the arts of these imposters, that they often buy from them knots, by loosening which, according a magic cord, containing a number of to the magician's directions, they have the weakness to expect that they shall obtain what wind they desire. The Laplanders still retain the worship of many of the Teutonic gods, but have likewise amongst them great remains of the Druidical institutions, and they believe the transmigration of the soul. When the Laplanders expect any visitors, they are particularly careful to have plenty of branches of the dwarf birch spread on the floor, under the rein-deer skins on which they sit; otherwise they would be thought deficient in civility, and the mistress of the family would be censured as a bad manager, when the guests returned to their own homes. The mode of their entertainment is as follows: First, if the stranger arrive before their meat is set over the fire to boil, they present him either with iced milk, or some kind of berries mixed with milk, or perhaps with some cheese. wards, when the meat is sufficiently Aftercooked, and they have taken it out of the pot, they put into the water, in which it has been boiled, slices of cheese made of rein-deer milk. This is a testimony of hospitality, and that they are disposed to make their guests as welcome as they can. They next serve up some of their dry or solid preparations of milk. The Laplanders play very well at tennis, and at blindman's-buff, and have only two musical instruments, one called a lur, a sort of trumpet; and reeds made of the bark of the mountain ash. Linnæus says they can sleep or wake whenever they please; an enviable qualification, of which many persons would wish to be possessed. The people are hospitable and kind to strangers when they arrive amongst them, and give the little they possess with pleasure; but many have never seen a human face but those of their own country. When the great Linnæus, almost dead with fatigue and hunger, (having travelled a considerable distance through the swamps and bogs, above his knees in water,) was guided to a Lapland gamme or hut, hé was accosted by a person whose appearance was such, that at first he did not know whether he beheld a man or a woman. I scarcely believe," says this celebrated author," that any poetical description of a fury could come up to the idea which this Lapland fair-one excited. It might well be imagined that she was truly of Stygian origin. Her stature was very diminutive. Her face of the darkest brown from the effects of smoke. Her eyes dark and sparkling. Her eyebrows black. Her pitchy-coloured hair hung loose about her head, and on it she wore a flat red cap. She had a grey petticoat; and from her neck, which resembled the skin of a frog, were suspended several brass rings, by way of ornament. Round her waist she wore a girdle, and on her feet a pair of half boots. Her first aspect really struck me with dread; but though a fury in appearance, she addressed me, with mingled pity and reserve, in the following terms: "O thou poor man! what hard destiny can have brought thee hither, to a place never visited by any one before? This is the first time I ever beheld a stranger. Thou miserable creature! how didst thou come, and whither wilt thou go? Dost thou not perceive what houses and habitations we have, and with how much difficulty we go to church?" We cannot perhaps better close this account of a singular and interesting people than by giving a literary curiosity-a Lapland Ode. "What mean these tedious forms and ways, That still, by fresh and fresh delays, Protract a lover's pain? Five years I've woo'd my Orra fair, Five years my sighs have fill'd the air, But woo'd and sigh'd in vain. Of brandy-kegs almost a score, Of beavers' tongues a hundred more, I've giv'n her kin by turns; But neither kegs their hearts can warm, Nor tongues prevail, to sooth the charm With which my bosom burns. The longest night that Lapland knows, The longest day that ever glows, Though they for months endure, Are nought, compar'd to one sad bout, In which my heart is rack'd with doubt That Orra's not secure. O! could I but obtain consent, No swain in Lapland could outgo Our happy days and nights would then In a delightful round; When rein-deer in the rapid chase O'er frozen vallies bound. When years on years had flown away, NEW YEAR'S DAY. New Year's Day has been held very different in different nations, and yet in all ages it has been held in great veneration. Among the Romans the first and last days of the year were consecrated to Janus-on which account it was that they represented him with two faces. To them we owe the coremony of wishing a happy new year, Lucian says it which is very ancient. is a very ancient custom, and refers it to Numa. In Russia, at the new year, is held a feast of the dead, called Raditzli Sabol, on occasion of which every body visits the grave of his relations, lays some victnals upon it, and then hears Mass, in payment for which the the ushering in of the new year, or Priests get the victuals. In England, "New Year's Tide," with rejoicings, presents, and good wishes, was a custom observed, during the 16th century, with great regularity and parade, and was as cordially celebrated in the Court of the Prince as in the cottage of the peasant. On the first day of the new year, presents, called new year's gifts, were given and received with the mutual expression of good wishes, and that of "a happy new year." The compliment was sometimes paid at each other's doors in the form of a song, but more generally, especially in the North of England and in Scotland, the house was entered very early in the morning by some young men and maidens selected for the purpose, who presented the spiced bowl, the season. In the days of Queen Eliand hailed you with the gratulations of zabeth, the chief officers of the State, &c. gave New Year's gifts to her Majesty. The Queen, though she made returns in plate and other articles, took |