Timber was brought out of Ireland, where neither Spider, Toad, nor any other venomous thing will live. Some of the Earth, or Heath, of that Country has been brought hither, whereon a Spider or Toad being laid, they die presently. It is true"--Now then, Mr. Editor, for a clincher :

"STORY.-In Ireland and the isle of Llorcades in Scotland, are Trees like Willow Trees, out of which come forth little Hairs, increasing by little and little into Birds, having the shape of Geese hanging upon the boughs by their Nibs or Beaks; and when they are come to perfection they drop and fly away, which Birds we call BAR

NACLES.'

ALBUMANIA.

Wit's Bunchion.

FUDGE.-A most extraordinary proof of the severity of the weather occurred on Sunday last, Mr. Mayo, a re spectable turner, residing at Chesham, was employed in a yard adjoining his house, when his attention was roused by the swearing of his cat, who seemed in violent agitation though confined to one spot. On exmining the cause of poor puss's distress, it appears she had been making her breakfast on the entrails of a pig that had been killed the preceding day, and whilst so doing (the place in which she stood being wet) her feet had been frozen to the ground. An interval of a minute or two elapsed before she could extricate herself from her unpleasant situation. The thermometer at the time was 15 degrees below the freezing point. (Buck's Gazette, Jan. 1822.)

ALBUMANIA.

PRIESTCRAFT.-A priest, in extreme poverty, resolved to get credit for a miracle. He put the yolks of several eggs into a hollow cane, and stopped the end with butter; then walking into an alehouse, he begged to fry a single egg for his dinner. The smallness of his repast excited curiosity, and they gave him a morsel of lard; he stirred the lard with his cane, and

SHEEP-STEALERS.

ALBUMANIA.

-One Terence

M'Manus, in the North of Ireland, taken up for sheep stealing, wrote an account of the same to his friend in the following words: "As we wished to have some mutton to our turnips, we went to Squire Carroll, who had more sheep than his neibors; they were very wilde, and the pastur very large, and we was obliged to take a new method to entice them by force to come near us. As this method may be of sum service to you to no, I thinks it my duty to tell you of it: Pat Duggan and ine wrapt ourselves in hay, and as the sheep came round to ate it, we cut their throats. But a sarch being made, five hind-quarters belonging to two of them was found in my cabin.

ALBUMANIA.

PROOF PRESUMTIVE-A butcher, employed in slaughtering cattle, charged a fellow workman with robbing him on Saturday night, of a shirt, a pair of stockings and handkerchief, which he valued at three shillings. He said he was in a publichouse on Saturday night, in company with the prisoner, and several other persons; having occasion to leave the room, and shortly after returning, he missed his bundle; his fellowworkman was also missing, and he therefore concluded he had stolen his linen. The Magistrate asked if he had any other proof of the robbery! "No, Sir," said he, "only he went away without finishing his liquor, which I never knew him to do before in my life, drunk or sober." The prisoner was discharged.

LONDON--Printed and Published by 1. Wallis Camden Town; and also Published by C. Harris, Bh Street, Covent Garden, by whom Communications for the Editor are received.

THIS castle, the ruins of which aré still to be seen, a short distance north of the town of Newbury, is said to have been built by Sir Richard Abberbury, who after being guardian of King Richard the 11. during his minority, was expelled from court, by the discontented lords, in 1388, for his adherence to that monarch. When Sir Richard died, and when or how this castle ceased to be his property, cannot be ascertained, as the Inquisition taken after his death is not to be found at the Tower; but it seems he was living in 1397, his son, who was that year sheriff for Berks and Oxfordshire, being described as "Sir Richard Abberbury the younger." It has been said that Geoffrey Chaucer,

the father of English poetry, became possessed of Donnington Castle about this time, and that he retired thither in 1398, two or three years before his death; but this appears to be very doubtful, as no connexion can be discovered between the families of Abberbury and Chaucer, nor was the poet, towards the close of his life, in such affluent circumstances as to be able to make any considerable pur. chase. Towards the middle of the 15th century, this castle became the property of William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, who considerably enlarged it, and made it his occasional residence; but, upon his attainder, or that of one of his grandsons, Donnington was vèsted in the crown, and was granted

66

to Charles Brandon, on whom King Henry VIII. bestowed the honours of this unfortunate family. Camden, in whose time the castle was entire, describes it as an elegant but small structure, on the top of a woody hill, commanding a pleasant prospect, and lighted by windows on every side." In 1643, during the wars between Charles I. and his parliament (when it was the property of the Packer family), it was garrisoned for the King, being deemed an important post, as commanding the road from Oxford to Newbury. The command of the garrison was given to Captain John Boys, who for the bravery with which he defended it against several formidable attacks, was made a knight. It was, however; so severely injured by the battering trains of the besiegers, that it was deemed incapable of repair, and has ever since been abandoned; those walls which once resounded with the sound of the song, the dance, and mins trelsy, exhibiting the ruinous desoJate appearance depicted in our cut. “And there they stand, as stands a lofty

mind,

Worn, but unstooping to the baser `crowd,

All tenantless, save by the crannying wind,

Or holding dark communion with the

cloud.

There was a day when they were young and proud,

Banners on high, and battles passed be

low;

But they who fought are in a bloody shroud,

And those which waved are shredless dust ere now, And the bleak battlements shall bear no future blow."

MILK, O.

BYRON.

SIR, I beg to call your attention to the article on this subject, at page 23 of your present volume. Cream is there stated to be from 4s. to 5s. per quart, but this is I think a little mistake, as I can get the best cream at 3s. per quart (beer measure). Far

ther you write-"the consumer is at the mercy of the retail dealer ;”—this should not be, and therefore I beg to offer to all sufferers a remedy, from experience, which I can safely recommend. There is a Company called the ALDERNEY MILK COMPANY; it is from this Company that I get cream at the above-named price, and the best milk at 4d. per quart, which is brought to my door in a locked-up can, from which the milk is drawn by a cock; and it is so contrived, that 'tis impossible for the servants of the Company to introduce that pure beverage-water, which, as you say, milkmen in general are so anxious you should drink, fearing lest the richness of their milk, if served genuine, should have a bad ef, fect on the constitutions of their customers. I would recommend your paying a visit to this establishment, and I think that you, and as many of your readers as follow your example, will be highly gratified by seeing in what order so great a collection of "pretty little cows" (I may very pro, perly use this expression, Alderney cows being of a smaller size than any other kind) are kept. Another adyantage I find in getting my milk from the Company is, that every week a bill is left, which, when paid, is duly RECEIPTED; and hence you are never exposed to the inconvenience of being called upon a SECOND time, for money, already paid, by some old man or woman whose memory may not happen to BARVE them rightly. But, woe to the tender-hearted, the lover of babies, and all that good sort of people, who may, without reflection, be tempted to try the good milk of the Company; for, no sooner will the milkwoman perceive that they have not taken their usual quantity of milk, and on enquiry of the servants finds the cause, than, if such a being exists, the baby will be neatly dressed, and in less than an hour after their imprudence, they will be saluted with "Please, ma'am, the milk woman

No. 9, Perceval Street, Northamp ton Square, Clerkenwell,

wants to speak to you." Then, O ye foolish! relent, relent, and turn your pity on that kind soul, who, ever since you have dealt with her, has taken so much care of your stomach and

but let us pass over this, and leave these imprudent people to their fate. Enough, that I have gone through the above described scene, and have promised the GOOD WOMAN, that if any EXTRA milk is wanted, she certainly shall provide it. I recommend you and your readers to avail yourselves of this GET OFF.-I see that, for the further convenience of the inhabitants of London, two other Companies, have been formed, one called the East-London Milk Company, and the other the Metropolitan Milk Company; and I hope that the subscribers to all these Companies will reap that benefit which has already proved of so great an advantage to Your obedient Servant, CLIO.

1,524,807.

Yours, &c. G. SNEYD.

HIGHGATE.

THE LOAD OF LIFE.

My health is declining,

And wasting away;

And my heart has been drooping This many a day,

And soon shall I wither,

Forgotten and lone,'

A citizen that thinks to compound for forty years' knavery, by building a hospital, and endowing a paltry lecture, does not offer so much for a

good seat in heaven, for one in Middlesex. bid above ten years eternity.

as he would do He does not purchase for