tical iron-work-the conduits-the crosses (where crosses remained) the May-poles-all were picturesque; and as su perior to what can now be seen, as the attire of Charles the Second's age is to the ugly and disfiguring costume of our own day." We heartily subscribe to this estimate of the picturesque; for, nothing can be less so than the brick walls with holes in them," which mostly form the streets of our metropolis; and, wherever better things are attempted, they have too much affectation of classic finery to rank as picturesque. It is true, that a revival of old English architecture is spreading through the country; but, in London, this taste is only traceable in a few shop-fronts, mostly with superstructures of ordinary plainness. VARIETIES. Houseless Poor.-What extremes of wealth and want are to be found in this vast metropolis! The nightly average number of inmates applying for admission at the Refuge for the Houseless, in Playhouse Yard, Whitefriars, has been about 360; and on the last day of the year, there were 393 appli cants. Grand Junction Canal.-By the severe frost of last January and February, the receipts on the Grand Junction Canal were decreased £711. 16s. 6d., from the receipts of the previous six months; besides creating an expense of nearly £1000 for ice-breaking. Police. In London, always considered the great nest and nursery of crime, and in which great facilities are afforded for the escape of offenders, there has been for the last few years no increase in the commitments; and during the last twelve months the number has somewhat decreased, a circumstance attributed to the increased power and vigilance of the police, as the metropolis enjoyed the advantages of an inproved system of police much earlier than any other part of the kingdom. Discoveries Anticipated.-From time immemorial, the inhabitants of some distant regions carried on their nocturnal manufactures by means of natural gas, obtained through a hollow reed thrust into the earth. Arriving at modern times, navigation by the Archimedes screw, as a propeller, through the means of steam, attracted the notice of the Scottish Society of Arts in 1840; but, above twenty years previously, an experiment with similar screws, adapted to a boat, on the Lake Lochend, by Mr. Whytock, a member of the Society, proved its efficiency, though on a small scale. In Scotland, an Agricultural Society was established in 1723; a thrashing machine appeared in 1735; and a reaping machine in 1763.-Year Book of Facts, 1842. (Just ready.) The Christian Gentleman. -The Epistles of St. Peter are not merely remarkable for the truths which they contain, but also for many touches of practical wisdom, which, while they indicate a great knowledge of human nature, are admirably adapted to the intercourse of society. There is a wholesome good sense in many of his precepts, which qualifies them no less to form the manners and tastes of the gentleman, than to enlighten the conscience of the Christian. In short, they might without derogation, be called the elements of good breeding.-Tongue of Time. Frogs are eaten in Western Australia, though not with such discrimination as in France. Being cooked on a slow fire of wood ashes, they are held in one hand by the hind legs, and a dexterous pinch with the finger and thumb of the other, at once removes the lower portion of the intestines; the remainder of the animal is then taken at a mouthful, and fairly eaten from the head to the toes. Mussels are a staple article of food in the north-west; but in the south-west, the natives will not touch them. News for Absentees.-All the recent investigations of the causes of death in England and Wales, prove the expectation of life to remain higher in this country than in the rest of Europe. Land in Australia.-The rapid rise in the price of town and country lands in Australia, bears an almost fabulous character. Those who have not witnessed such things, can scarcely give credit to them. In Western Australia, town land was bought for £23 an acre in December, 1839; and in the month of But in other February, 1840, large importations of stock having taken place, the same land was sold for £60 an acre. colonies, where overland communication takes place, this would be regarded as a very small increase in price for a new colony: there are many instances in South Australia, of people realizing, in less than two years, from 10 to 12,000l., for the sale of town acres in the city of Adelaide.-Grey's Australia. Australian Songs.--In Australia, a family seldom make a friendly visit to other tribes, but they bring back a new song or two with them; and these for a time, are quite as much the rage as a new song in England. Unnamed Dead.-So dense is the population of London, and so imperfect are the arrangements for identifying persons "found dead," that they sometimes disappear, and are buried, before their friends miss them. The Supply of Water for London in one day is 40,000,000 gallons; of the bulk of which we may form some idea by con. ceiving the day's supply to be contained in a reservoir of a square form, each side being 200 feet; when the depth of the water would be 160 feet. Bills of Exchange, appear from a MS. of travels in the Bodleian Library, to have been circulated in England in the reign of Henry VIII., as well as in the principal cities of Europe. Sculpture.-Mr. Weekes is stated to have been recommended by the lamented Chantrey, to the following commissions in sculpture, upon which he is now engaged: the figures for the Oxford Martyr Memorial; a monument of one of the Masters of the University of Oxford; and numerous busts, including one of the present Speaker of the House of Commons. Temperance. There is a curious MS. in the British Museum on the excellence of one meal a-day. The Birds of Australia possess, in many instances, an excessively beautiful plumage; and he alone who has traversed the wild and romantic regions of this country, and beheld a flock of many coloured parekeets, sweeping like a moving rainbow through the air, whilst the rocks and dells resound with their playful cries, can form any adequate idea of the scenes that there burst on the eyes of the wondering naturalist. Woman's Will.-By a Lawyer. Why can men make their wills, but not their wives? Their wives have always their wills in their lives. Relics of Charles I.--The sheet which received the head of Charles I., after his decapitation, is carefully preserved with the communion plate, in the church of Ashburnham, in Sussex; the blood with which it has been almost entirely covered, now appears nearly black. The watch of the unfortunate monarch is also deposited with the linen, and its movements are still very perfect! These relics came into the possession of Lord Ashburnham immediately after the death of the king. Sailors' Superstition.--What wonder that a sailor is supersti tious! Separated in early youth from his home; ere he bas forgotten the ghost stories of childhood, and whilst the young and simple heart loves to dwell upon the marvellous, he is placed at sea; in the dark night, amidst the din of waves and storms, he hears the wild shrieks of birds upon the air, and by him float huge forms, dim and mysterious, from which fancy is prone to build strange phantoms: and oft from aged sailors he gathers legends and wondrous tales suited to his calling; whilst the narrator's mysterious tone, and earnest voice and manner, attest how firmly he himself believes the story. Grey's Australia. LONDON: W. BRITTAIN, PATERNOSTER ROW. Edinburgh: JOHN MENZIES. Glasgow: D. BRYCE. Dublin: CURRY & Co. Printed by J. Rider, 14, Bartholomew Close, London. MISS ADELAIDE KEMBLE. Beethoven. We believe that she possesses a cahier of French romances, which she can say as well as sing, with finesse enough to charm the fastidious ears of the Panserons and Adams, who compose such dainty ware; and we know that she can do worthy homage to Handel.The oratorio-goers may look for the Miriam in her, and will not be disappointed." ELEGIAC EXPOSTULATION TO AN We do not wish the reader to consider the portrait upon the preceding page as one of a series of illustrations; but per se, as an impersonation of musical genius, rarely paralleled in any country of Europe; and, probably, not equalled in England within the recollection of the present generation. Every play-goer of the metropolis will, however, recollect the debut of Miss Adelaide Kemble, at Miss Kemble has since appeared in Mercadante's opera Covent Garden Theatre, on Tuesday evening, the 2nd of Elena Uberti, with complete success. There is one trait of November last. The character chosen was Norma, in in Miss Kemble's character, which has already beneficentBellini's opera of that name; and, in her first air, Missly shown itself on more than one occasion: we mean the Kemble proved herself a prima donna. Her voice is of cheerful readiness to lend her talent to the sacred cause great compass, much power, rich quality, flexible, and of charity: this does her infinite honour; whilst "each perfectly under control. Her lower notes are strong and purpose, like the natural charity of the sun, illuminates full; and the upper notes, particularly when subdued to the other without obscuring itself." express a soft sentiment, are clear and most melodious. There was no fioriture, no beautifully unmeaning ornaments; one long and thrilling shake being the only exception throughout the opera. Probably, no better summary of the general merits of Miss Kemble's style of singing has appeared than the following: "Little as we are enamoured of Bellini's inusic, it is our conviction that, in no character less striking than such an one as Norma, could Miss Kemble, in justice to herself, have presented her vocal graces and her dramatic gifts to that old friend of her family-the British public. For she is an artist in the highest sense of the term ;-vocally taught, and trained in the grandest school of European singing, and dramatically expressing a noble and original conception, with a power in which grace, feeling, and absence of affectation, have each so large a share, that no plea for youth or inexperience need be urged by the most fastidious of her friends. Different tastes may affect different versions of the same character; but, from the first moment in which she converted an insipid entrata into a sy billine hymn, to the last breathing of broken-hearted resignation,-it was felt that Miss Kemble was as completely in her part, musically and dramatically, and as completely animated the stage by her presence, as any among the glorious line of her predecessors. In two respects, her singing is admirable in the utter absence of meretricious ornament, and in the quiet decision of its rhythm.” Miss Adelaide Kemble is the youngest daughter of Mr. Charles Kemble. She received her musical education"a severe course of study,"-under Signor Bordogni, of Paris She first sang in London, at a concert, in 1835; and in the same season, at the York Festival: thence Miss Kemble disappeared from the English public, journeyed to the continent, there studied with unsparing application, and in the autumn of 1838, made her histrionic debut at the Teatro della Scala, Milan, with two exceptions, (at Parma and Naples,) the most spacious opera-house in Europe. Her success was instantaneous; and gathering fame, our accomplished singer visited Venice, Mantua, and Naples-all metropolitan cities in "the land of song ;" her chief parts being in the operas of Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, Elena da Feltre. Gemma di Vergy, La Somnambu a, and Beatrice di Tenda. On her return to England, Miss Kemble sung at the Polish matinée, at Stafford House, last season, and at a private concert ; in the autumn, revisited Germany; and then returned to England, and first appeared upon our metropolitan stage, as already related. From a brief notice in Cruikshank's Omnibus, for December last, accompanying a very striking portrait, we learn that Miss Kemble" is as fine a linguist in music as the most universal of her contemporaries. We have," continues the writer, "heard her applauded to the echo by the Rhinelanders for her singing of Schubert and Athenæum, No. 732, Nov. 6, 1841. O THOU whose visionary bills unpaid, Why do thy shears cut short my fleeting joys? The ghost of shreds and patches, awful rise? Why call on every power in sore dismay? Reflect-didst thou e'er know a poet pay? Can sorrow fill this empty purse of mine? Nor of unsettled debts again be vain. (Dull sons of clay, the ready price who give), Of cloth, from Fancy's loom all superfine; With strength heroic every ill to hear: "A VOICE FROM THE COUNTING-HOUSE." THE general results of great mercantile operations are but very imperfectly appreciated by the fireside reader. "The rapidity of communication from point to point, has introduced such vast effects in the march of improvement among distant lands, as only eye-witnesses can believe. The merchant in London who lays on a vessel for a certain port, regards the affair as a mere mercantile speculation; but could he trace out the results he effects in their remotest ramifications, he would stand astonished at the changes he produces. With the wizard wand of commerce, he touches a lone and trackless forest; and at his bidding, cities arise, and the hum and dust of trade collect: away are swept ancient traces; antique laws and customs moulder into oblivion. The strongholds of murder and superstition are cleansed, and the gospel is preached among ignorant and savage men. The ruder languages disappear successively, and the tongue of England alone is heard around. "Such are the ultimate effects of the daily occupations of many men in the City of London, who, seated in a dark and dingy counting-house, in pursuit of gain, form and execute schemes, the eventual tenor and bearing of which, are not to enrich themselves but the human race. No doubt, amongst the mass are noble minds, who have a perception of the true object of their calling, who feel a just and laudable pride, that they are the employers and benefactors of mankind; whose names, even amongst distant hordes of untaught men, pass current as a security for probity and honour; who write a few lines in London, and move the antipodes; who, within the last fifty years, have either actually erected or laid the stable foundation of six great empires, offsets of that strong nation, who, together with her progeny, is overspreading the earth; not by the sword, but by the gentle arts of peace and beneficence." (Grey's Australia) Yet, these people, who have accomplished, and are at this moment effecting, more good for the human race than any nation of antiquity ever achieved, or even devised,-these people were once stig matised by a reckless revolutionist,-as 66 a nation of shopkeepers!" Faugh! GLEIM'S LYRICS: WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. BY CHARLES HERVEY. AMONG the poets who flourished in Germany during the last and part of the present centuries, few have attained greater popularity than Johann Wilhelm Ludewig Gleim. Born at Ermsleben on the 2nd of April, 1719, he had the misfortune in early youth to be deprived of both his parents; his mother, who survived her husband but a few weeks, dying shortly after he had completed his His education was first confided to two brothers, Eustace and Henry Schütze, teachers in the public school at Wernigerode: on the death of his last surviving parent he removed to Halle, where he formed an intimate friendship with Nikolaus Götz, a youth from Worms, who in his after life displayed great poetic talent. tenth year. In the early part of 1740, Gleim left Halle for Potzdam, where he was fortunate enough to obtain an appointment as tutor or secretary in the family of Colonel von Schulz, an officer in the royal body-guard. Here, by his amiable qualities and mild disposition, he won the hearts of all who knew him, and soon became considered more as a friend than a dependent. While at Potzdam, Gleim made acquaintance with the estimable Kleist, which speedily ripened into a close attachment, to be dissolved by death alone. In 1744, Gleim followed Prince William, son of the Margrave of Schwedt, whom he attended in the capacity of secretary, in his march to Bohemia, whither he was sent by the King of Prussia. The army at length, commanded by Frederick in person, lay before Prague, where the Prince, while imprudently exposing himself too near the enemy, was killed by a cannon ball. This was a sad blow to Gleim he for a long time refused all consolation, and persisted in returning with the corpse to Berlin; when the first visit he paid on his arrival, was to an old friend, named Lamprecht, whom to his extreme anguish he found also dead. In the spring of 1750. Gleim went to Leipsic, where he became acquainted with many celebrated men, among whom were Klopstock, Gellert, and Schlegel: the first interview our author ever had with Klopstock, laid the foundation of a lasting intimacy. In after years, these two distinguished poets communicated to each other their most secret thoughts and wishes; and Gleim passed some of his happiest hours by his friend's fireside. In 1753, our author awoke from a dream of love, in which he had long indulged: a girl named Mayer, living at Blankenburg, had encouraged his attentions for nearly a year in a spirit of coquetry, which the simple-minded Gleim was far from appreciating as it deserved. The blow was severe, but he recovered, mainly owing to the unceas ing kindness of his old friend Kleist: henceforth he lived no more for love, but for friendship alone. The commencement of the Seven Years' War in 1756, proved a glorious inspiration to his pen: Germany may thank Gleim for the best history of that desperate struggle: his martial lyrics in praise of Frederick, found an echo in every loyal breast. In October, 1756, he wrote the following: "War is my song! since all the world. Be Berlin Sparta! and our King, Again, the victory at Prague is thus celebrated : "Victoria! with us is God, The foe is down, hurrah! He's down, for we've a friend in God, He's down, Victoria!" Of this song, his biographer has truly said: "It was no vain burst of enthusiasm, but a firm reliance on God and the king that inspired this strain." On the 12th of August, 1759, the noble Kleist fell in the battle of Kunersdorf. Gleim heard with alarm that his own Kleist had been desperately wounded and taken prisoner by the Russians, and conveyed to Frankfort on the Oder. He hastened to Magdeburg, in order to afford his friend all the assistance in his power; but was there apprised by a lady in waiting on the queen, who was ignoKleist was deplored by her majesty and by the whole court. rant of his intimacy with the dead poet, that the death of Upon this he wrote thus to Lessing: "Oh, my dear Lessing, now do I feel Horace's quid maror altera!" Even his poetic spirit failed him here: his soul was deeply moved time in the solitude of his garden, where he read again and by the unexpected calamity, and he passed most of his again the letters he had formerly received from his departed friend. The following lines are the fruits of one of these mournful meditations: "I think upon my Kleist; oh, lovely Philomel, Thou sing'st in vain to me; My heart's affliction thou canst not expel, In 1772, Johannes Müller and Bürger were added to the list of our author's friends; both then were young, and students at the university of Göttingen. Three years later, Gleim beheld for the first time, Herder, with whom he had already maintained a regular correspondence since 1765. The judicious praise, which the youthful poet had so liberally bestowed on the war songs written in honour of the illustrious Frederick, had increased Gleim's wish to become personally known to him; alike in their warm, fanciful imaginations and noble feelings, it was natural that two such men should become more and more attached to each other at every succeeding interview. have been illustrated by his fertile pen. His religious songs display the same warmth of imagination, though in most instances subdued and chastened by devotion, that characterises his other works: we have selected the following as an example: Man is a Flower. "The flower blooms and fades away, In one brief mortal hour; When God fresh dew hath given, Song on the King of Prussia's Birthday, 1778. As in the deadly fray. Long live the King! He is the one, So Man will bloom in heaven." In 1772, Gleim published a new collection of romances, His "Grenadier Songs" were hailed on their first apand in 1783, his Epistles, both of which became extremely popular, and greatly increased their author's reputation. pearance with universal enthusiasm, and they have ever In September, 1786, died Frederick the Great, the king, since ranked among the highest of that order of composi the hero, the wise man, whose praise was ever Gleim's tions: the patriotic spirit breathed in every line found a favourite theme. Shortly after, the poet himself fellready echo in the hearts of all whom the love of their king dangerously ill, while on a travelling excursion; he de- and country inspired. The following is one of the most spaired of recovery, and took leave of his friends with popular of the series: resignation. Cherished by the care and attention of all around him, he regained his health by degrees, and returned home. About this time, he became a witness of the horrible calamities that followed the French revolution patriotism again inspired his pen, and his "Songs of a Prussian Soldier" were eagerly welcomed by his ardent countrymen. These stirring compositions in defence of the throne and institutions of Prussia, made him many enemies among those whose republican inclinations led them to desire the total subversion of monarchy. Regardless of the divided state of public feeling, he published a second collection, in which he no longer as before summoned his fellow-patriots to battle, but bade them take warning from the miseries of the "reign of terror,” and rally round their monarch, and defend the prosperity of his kingdom. On the accession of Buonaparte, Gleim addressed a poem to the new emperor, dedicating it to the "exalted Napoleon at St. Cloud;" in this he spoke of the gallant achievements of the young warrior, and concluded with a hope that universal peace would once more be established throughout Europe. : Gleim was now an old man; and a severe illness destroyed his remaining vigour at length, surrounded by his most intimate friends, he expired without apparent suffering, on the 18th of February, 1803. In person, the poet was about the middle size, strong limbed, and of a prepossessing mien. Even in extreme old age, his step was light and firm his eye was full of expression, and overshadowed by long eye-brows. His voice was full and clear, and of agreeable sound; and the smile that perpetually played round his mouth told more than words could do of his kind and amiable disposition. In his conduct through life, Gleim was eminently sincere, hospitable, and a faithful friend: the trifling inconveniences beneath which less buoyant spirits often sink, were to him but the means of displaying his patient and cheerful qualities; he gloried in making all around him happy. Though he was never married, yet the presence of children was ever a source of unfeigned delight to him: on his birth-day he would invite the sons and daughters of his neighbours to pass the day at his house; and not unfrequently was the aged bard crowned with chaplets of flowers, woven by their tiny hands. It now remains for us to say a few words respecting his poetry, which after all may be rendered more intelligible by subjoining a few translated specimens, in order to show the variety of subjects that In whose first glance the soul is shown, Long live the King! for he was ever His gallant deeds were equalled never, Long live the King! no pride has he, He wins the wreath of Fame. Prompt to relieve and succour all In suffering and need. Long may he live! long may we sing Nor lose him, till as good a King Shall fill his place on earth!" But of all Gleim's poetry, nothing shows so clearly the natural bent of his imagination, and the playful hilarity of his disposition, as his Anacreontics and Lyrical Songs. These compositions, sufficient to exalt any writer's repu tation, were in his case the more extraordinary, as being of so opposite a style to his previous works. Although I am aware that an unskilful version will scarcely convey the sense and elegance of the original author, I have nevertheless endeavoured, in the subjoined specimens, by carefully adhering to the metre, and as near as possible to the mode of expression, to give a faint idea of these pleas ing poems. I hope, at least, by so doing, to stimulate some worthier and more able pen to a complete translation of his works, as I am convinced that they only require to be generally known in order to be as fully appreciated in England as in their native Germany. Anacreon. Sings but of Wine and Love, |