ORIGINAL POETRY. PALMYRA: A METRICAL SKETCH. SCENE II. THE PRESENT. I SAT beside a column, musingly Gigantic was its girth, but fallen prone; And o'er the plain were sculptured relics strewn, Held quiet converse with the scene alone; Was overgrown by creeping lichens grey; With glaring eye did in the portals stray; Most mighty in its strength and loveliness; Her relics live to tell the direful tale; Thus man, sin spotted, may a lesson know, THE CHINESE TAILOR.- Among the many whimsical anecdotes told of the peculiar habits of the Chinese, perhaps few will be considered more characteristic of their love of imitation than the following. Towards the close of last century, an officer of the Pitt, East Indiaman, when that ship lay off Canton, sent ashore to a native, an order for a dozen pairs of trousers, to be made of the nankeen for which China has so long been famed. The Chinese artisan required a pattern; he could not make anything without a pattern: so a pair of trousers were sent at his request, which pair had been mended with a patch, and needle-work on the knee. In due time the dozen pairs were sent on board, made of a fabric of exceeding beauty for fineness and quality, but every pair bearing, like an heraldic badge, the obnoxious patch on the one knee, exactly copied stitch for stitch, in a style that reflected the highest credit on the mechanical skill of the workman, and for the difficult execution of which an extra charge was made upon the purse of the exasperated owner, who had no alternative but to bring home his bargain as a qualification for the Travellers' Club; for certainly among no kindred or people living betwixt this and China, could a similar achievement have been perpetrated.-The Parterre. There are secret workings in human affairs, which overrule all human contrivance, and counterplot the wisest of our counsels, in so strange and unexpected a manner, as to cast a damp upon our best schemes and warmest endeavours. The great business of man, therefore, is the regulation of his spirit; the possession of such a frame and temper of mind as will lead us peaceably through this world, and, in the many weary stages of it, afford us what we shall be sure to stand in need of, "rest unto our souls.”—Sterne. Genius is allied to a warm and inflammable constitution, delicacy of taste to calmness and sedateness. Hence it is common to find genius in one who is a prey to every passion; but seldom delicacy of taste. Upon a man possessed of this blessing, the moral duties, no less than the fine arts, make a deep impression, and counterbalance every irregular desire; at the same time, a temper calm and sedate is not easily moved, even by a strong temptation.-Lord Kaimes. FEMALE SOCIETY.-Without female society, it has been jnstly said, that the beginning of men's lives would be helpless, the middle without pleasure, and the end without comfort. The celebrated d'Alembert makes a reflection that does honour to the female sex, and to his own feeling. "We are in a peculiar manner," says he, " in want of the society of a That, tho' crime mock the heavens with scornful hail, gentle and amiable woman when our passions have subsided, Yet, soon or late, shall rise a piercing wail, To tell God's wrath Vesuvius-like doth glow! VARIETIES. A GREAT SECRET.-A person reading in a newspaper an advertisement offering a reward for some lost family documents, and bearing at the end of it a common announcement, that the notice was "not to be repeated," an old woman who had been attentively listening, exclaimed-"What! no' to be repeated? eh, sirs, that maun be a great secret."-Laird of Logan. THIRST-Labouring people should be informed that they might preserve their health by abstaining from drink during the heat of the day; and if they drink freely of water or whey in the evening, thirst will not assail them in their working hours. This remark was made and recommended by an officer of high rank in India. The finest features, ranged in the most exact symmetry, and heightened by the most blooming complexion, must be animated before they can strike; and when they are reanimated, will generally excite the same passions which they express. If they be fixed in the dead calm of insensibility, they will be examined without emotion, and if they do not express kindness, they will be beheld without love.-Hawkesworth. to participate in our cares, calm and alleviate our sufferings, and enable us to support our infirmities. Happy is the man possessed of such a friend! and more happy still, if he can preserve her, and escape the misfortune of a survival.”—My Daughter's Book. USE OF SILK.-To every one in damp moist conditions of the atmosphere, flannel is a great comfort, but silk is the most useful covering of the body. It is by far the best friend and comforter that can be applied. We know that if a silk handkerchief be perfectly dry, lightning, the most accumulated, could not pass through it, so decided a nonconductor is it; hence, if worn next to the skin, the air cannot absorb the electricity of the human body. Silk waistcoats, drawers, and stockings of the same material, are of the greatest service during the humid state of the winter months of this country. benefit than from the most active tonic, and they will prove The hypochondriac, the nervous, will derive from them more a more invigorating cordial than any spirituous dram; nor are the effects transient, for a buoyancy of spirits and an agreeable warmth are thus diffused over the whole frame.Dr. Sigmond on Mercury. LONDON: W. BRITTAIN, PATERNOSTER ROW. Edinburgh: JOHN MENZIES. Dublin: CURRY & Co. Glasgow D. BRYCE. Printed by J. Rider, 14, Bartholomew Close. LONDON SATURDAY JOURNAL. CONDUCTED BY JAMES GRANT, AUTHOR OF "RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS," "THE GREAT METROPOLIS," &c. AND FRANCIS ROSS, FORMERLY SOLE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL. ILLUSTRATIONS OF HUMANITY. No. XVII.-LONDON DRAYMEN. We could almost take an affidavit that the "Man" seated in our picture is a likeness of some notable drayman in the employment of Barclay, Perkins, & Co. He is a genuine type of a Brewer's Drayman; and so jollily jolly does he look, that we positively cannot consider him as belonging to any place but the hugest brewery in the world, the chief of those establishments which have made London the head quarters of malt liquor, as well as civilization. Every visitor of London remarks on the amount of "London pride" in our London horses, more especially the magnificent dray horses of our London brewers; and every one, while he admits that London Draymen generally are brawny fellows, does not hesitate to admit that Brewers' Draymen are modelled after their own hogsheads. Country signs sometimes tell us where we may find "entertainment for man and horse" -but to entertain many such men and horses as those, a specimen of whom we give in our engraving, is a matter not lightly or rashly to be adventured upon. Some time ago, we went over the great establishment of Barclay, Perkins, and Co.; and certainly, while we saw much to wonder at, and much to admire, we reserved some of our admiration for the draymen and their horses. At that time there were one hundred and sixty-two glorious, proud, fat, sleek horses on the establishment, whose vocation it was to drag drays loaded with hogsheads of malt liquor to all parts of London. Every thing connected with this most wonderful brewery is "stupendous"-stupendous buildings, stupendous vats, stupendous binns, stupendous stores, stupendous horses, and stupendous Draymen. Certainly, he who wishes to have a practical demonstration of the amplifying power of porter should not fail to visit the establishment of Barclay, Perkins, and Co. In our picture we have two types of two well-defined London classes. The coal-drayman, whom the artist has placed "on his legs," is a favourable specimen of his class-clean-built and muscular, he looks a lad who would not bend under the weight of the stoutest sack of coals that was ever laid in a waggon. But for all that, he looks like a man who has to pay for his porter, and therefore not disinclined to accept of a draught "free, gratis, for nothing." But our Boniface of the brewer's dray seems quite at home; he lives on porter, works on porter, walks on porter, sleeps on porter, and, in our picture, sits on porter; while the foaming pewter pot, the badge of his tribe, he grasps in his hand. Happy soul! like a full-blown rose, he blooms awhile; whistles as he drives his hogsheads to the "licensed victuallers;" sweats as he lowers his casks into the cellar; smiles as he drains his quart, and rests himself; and thus jogs he on from day to day, until at last, too fat to waddle, or too weak to work, he turns himself over on his side, and disappears like the contents of a foaming tankard! Than herd thus with the common herd- Mamma, good soul, by way of treat, O converse of high-gifted minds, How can such creatures comprehend The flirtings of the neighbouring town, And who made hers for less? Is this the converse I must share? Just fancy me, with nerves so fine And walk through wind and rain. And tend the hiving bees!- My poor old father, what a fright I fain would love and reverence him- He calls the poet, Mr. Fop, And Ossian, Matty's sea! The children (why were children made? Their clamouring wants pursue, They, when I raise the plaintive strain, My fancy's favourite flight, But these are trifles-'tis the want O FAIR young flower! thou art springing forth To the chilly breath of the angry north; And leafless bowers, o'er thy tender form, And the bee comes not forth from its winter cell Thy glintering at the stranger lad, Sae sune to be thy bane! That kepp'd thee in his arms and leuch— Waes me, waes me, the cheek is pale, Or the sinfu'est o' men? Nor the savagest sae vile, But O that was na me, my Mary! Or my poor baby had been born O cruel, cruel parents, That drave us far apart! Was, bud and blossom gane- It's weel that she's gane wi' ye! For there's truth ayont the tomb, She may haud up wee sinless han's, The snaw was never purer Than my bonny guileless Mary! Than young love's treacherous way. To part wi' her as I saw her B. Our third, and for the present, last "contribution," is from the pen of a distinguished lady writer. It is of On the day we twa first met! the ballad class, and is instinct with beautiful and There is something singularly truthful, as well as tender feeling. We fear, however, that our English readers may not be able to appreciate its beauties poetical, in this ballad, and we doubt not it will find a fully, owing to its being written in the Scottish dialect.ready response in many of our female readers' breasts. With our readers on the other side of the Tweed it cannot fail to be a great favourite. MARY DAVIDSON. My harmless ane, my lovely ane And wrought ye bitter woe, And sees ye lying deid, deid, deid! Than a' your dole frae me. O did I think when first we met, To bring unto a winding sheet O, what thou wert and art- Thou'lt lie beneath the snaw the night, But twa years syne, a blythe schole bairn! butions in two or three weeks hence. We shall resume our specimens of poetical contri ENGLISH SEATS AND SCENERY. No. II. CASTLE HOWARD. THE superb mansion of Castle Howard, the seat of the Earl of Carlisle, stands in a finely wooded paik, about six miles west of Malton, in Yorkshire. It is built upon a beautiful eminence, in view of the York road, and is undoubtedly one of the noblest mansions in England. The approach is through an ancient arched gateway, lined and flanked with towers; and nearly opposite to the grand entrance is an elegant monument erected to the memory of Lord Nelson. The exterior of the edifice, as a whole, is grand and imposing in no ordinary degree, though it is not free from the charge of want of unity in its parts. The design for the buildings was by Sir John Vanburgh, the eminent architect of Blenheim, but one of the wings was built much more recently by Sir James Robinson, and to him is owing the alleged incongruity. This, which is the west wing, seems to have been added by Sir James, without much regard either to the extent or character of the main building. Notwithstanding this defect, however, the whole pile, with its rich cupolas, its roofs, and massy clustered chimneys, produces an effect at once picturesque and grand. The site of the present mansion was formerly occupied by the old castle of Henderskelf, (a fortress of some note in the border wars,) which was destroyed by an accidental fire. Castle Howard, its successor, was erected by Charles, third earl of Carlisle, as he has himself informed us in some verses, amiable in sentiment, but not remarkable for spirit or elegance. The north front of the castle consists of a rich centre of the Corinthian order, with a cupola rising from the roof, and two extensive wings, the east from the original design, the west after Sir James Robinson. The south or garden front is also very magnificent, the centre consist ing of a pediment and entablature supported by fluted Corinthian pilasters. It is approached by a fine flight of steps, which with the range of pilasters along the whole façade, is strikingly grand. At the extremity of the east wing is the kitchen, with a square tower at each angle. Before the south façade, extending above five hundred yards in front, is a noble turf terrace in beautiful order, adorned with many fine statues, amongst the most admired of which are some satyrs and dancing fauns. Near the south entrance of the castle, is also an elegant design after the antique of a Grecian dryad or nymph of the woods. The statue is beautifully modelled, and is placed on a raised Corinthian pedestal: The lawn terminates in an Ionic temple, the interior of which is finely decorated with columns and pilasters of black and yellow marble. In niches over the doors, are busts of Vespasian, Faustina, Trajan, &c. The floor is disposed in compartments of various-coloured marble, and the whole crowned with a rich and gilded dome. The general view of this extensive park is highly beautiful, adorned as it is by a fine sheet of water, and interspersed with a rich variety of wooded groups and clumping, affording an endless succession of the sweetest English landscape scenery. It is remarkably rich in archways and obelisks scattered among the grounds. The park is stocked by a herd of deer roaming across its broad lawns, and the lake stretching out in picturesque and winding bays, abounds with waterfowl and trout. It is delightful in a summer evening to wander away among these green woods, on the margin of the lake, or by the side of some rustling streamlet, while nothing is heard but its brawling waters, the cawing of the rooks, or the distant tinkling of the sheep's bell. The waterfowl are diving in the lake, or sporting along its surface, streaking it with bright tracts of foam. The setting sun is tinging its waters and the surrounding wooded scenery with a roseate hue. The deer are stealing quietly along the openings of the park, or browsing in the shade of the trees; while far in the waning sunlight, the smoke gently rises from some sequestered cottage or hamlet nestled on the outskirts of the park. No less pleasing is a stroll along some of the green lanes or solitary footpaths teeming with wild flowers, in which England is so rich. What can be more sweetly retired than one of these green lanes shaded by the hawthorn hedge, and blooming with the fox-glove, the wild rose, the white starlike campion, the purple hyacinth, and a hundred others, while here and there is an aged oak with its moss-grown trunk and ivy-covered branches, and a footpath or stile opening on either side from which there are occasional glimpses of the old abbey, or the village church among the trees, in the valley beneath, with the distant hum of children at play rising on the ear. In the centre of four avenues of stately trees in the park at Castle Howard, stands an obelisk 100 feet in height, bearing on one side inscriptions in Latin and English to commemorate the valour and successes of the duke of Marlborough; on the other the verses we have already alluded to, recording that the plantations around and the noble mansion owe their existence to the third earl. There is also a prose inscription. The interior of this princely mansion does not belie the exterior. It abounds with works of art, containing a noble collection of antique busts, statues, paintings, marbles and urns, which affording as they do a high gratification to admirers of the fine arts, are shown to visitors with a liberality which entitles the present noble proprietor to the praise and gratitude of the public. The state apartments are distinguished for their grandeur of appearance, the ceilings being remarkable for their lofty proportions. The hall, which we first notice, is 35 feet square, and 60 in height, adorned with columns of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and rising into a spacious dome 100 feet from the floor. It is exceedingly handsome and noble. The walls are painted by Pelligrini with the story of Phaeton, &c.; the recesses are occupied by antique statues of Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, Julia Mammea, Bacchus and Ceres; and on pedestals are busts of Paris, a Bacchanal, Adrian, Lucius Verus, Vitellius, and Marcus Antoninus. The saloon is also a noble room, the ceiling painted with a representation of Aurora, and the room crowded with statues, busts, and pictures. Among the former are Jupiter Serapis, Pallas, Cupid, Commodus, Domitian, Enobarbus, Didius Julianus, Marcus Aurelius, Antoninus Pius, Marcellus, and others. The dining room, 27 feet by 23, is elegantly furnished with paintings, busts, and slabs. The chimney piece is unusually superb.-The entablature is supported by fluted columns of Sienna marble, and adorned with groups of polished white, and upon it are three bronzes, Brutus, Cassius, and Laocoon. This room also contains two slabs of Sicilian jasper, and a valuable vase of the finest green porphyry, with two busts, one of Marcus Aurelius, the other of a Bacchanal. The saloon up stairs is 33 feet by 26, painted by Pelligrini. On the ceiling are Venus and Minerva, and on the walls a representation of the principal incidents in the Trojan war, viz., the abduction of Helen, the sacrifice of Iphigenia, Achilles in disguise with the daughters of Lycomedes, king of Scyros, Ajax and Ulysses contending for the armour of Achilles, the conflagration of Troy, and Eneas bearing Anchises on his shoulders from the flames. The antique gallery, measuring 160 feet by 20, among many other curiosities, contains various rare and beautiful slabs, two tables of Egyptian granite, and a small antique statue found in Severus' wall. The drawing room, 27 feet by 23, is adorned with rich tapestry from the designs of Rubens, with two very curious slabs of flowered alabaster, two pedestals of green porphyry, on one of which is a sylvan deity. There are also many bronzes, and a bust esteemed the finest ever brought to England. It was found at Rome, and purchased by the present earl of Carlisle, when on his travels. The state or gold bed chamber, 21 feet by 24, is hung with Brussels tapestry, after the designs of Teniers. Upon the chimney piece, composed of white and Sienna marble, is a bust of Jupiter Serapis, over it the Doge of Venice in the Bucentaur espousing the sea, by Canaletti. |