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be the only one flying over the decks of the slave-ship. A famous American ship, built in the very first style of symmetry at Baltimore in 1838, of 460 tons burden, sometimes called the Venus, sometimes the Duchess of Braganza, but known beyond all question as a slaver, was visited on the coast of Africa by the officers of a British cruiser, who inquired what they were doing there. She showed her American colours, and answered that they were Americans; and that, as for the English, it was no business of theirs. It was matter of notoriety at the Havanna, that the Venus had landed two cargoes of slaves on the coast of Cuba. Mr Trist, the American consul at the Ilavanna, was informed of these facts, and reminded of the degree to which his government was pledged, with the other Christian powers, to suppress the slave trade. Mr Trist treated the application of the English authorities as an insult on his government, and in a haughty tone declared, that "he would not recognise the right of any agent of any foreign government to interfere in any possible mode or degree in the discharge of his duties, or forbear repelling such interference if offered." This high tone was very much praised at home. Mr Trist, it must not, however, be forgotten, repudiated the interference of the British authorities very much on the ground that the part acting by our nation was but cant and hypocrisy. He declared that British fabrics were made expressly for the coast of Africa, and that great numbers of casks of shackles, of British manufacture, which could easily be traced to the houses from which they came, were every year imported into Cuba. "I have seen,' says Mr Trist, "some of these casks passing through the customhouse here, without attracting any more notice from either officers or bystanders than so many boxes of Dutch cheese." We are afraid there is much melancholy truth in this assertion. Soon after this event, it was proved that the partners of the notorious Forcade, of the Le Havre slaver, were Englishmen, and that his house had been established by English capital! In short, there is no doubt of the fact, that, amongst the capitalists of London, there are at this moment several English PIRATES.

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of Cuba as well as those of the Peninsula. American
speculators have been calculating amongst the creoles,
and already forty-five miles of railway stretch from
the metropolis into the interior. The Havanna was
taken by the English in 1762, after a hard siege; but
at the subsequent peace it was given up. Its fortifi-
cations have been since much strengthened; but the
Americans say that England is determined to have
Cuba, by hook or by crook, on the first decent oppor-
tunity; "and, therefore," said a late orator in Con-
gress, "we shall begin the war with England by
taking possession of Cuba! But there is no end to
speculations on the fate of this valuable island; so, in
winding up our paper, we refer the reader interested
in the politics of the Carribean Sea to Mr Turnbull's
very entertaining work, and, in short, to those publi-
cations which make colonies and slavery their chief
subjects.

THE LEGACY.

A TALE OF REAL LIFE.

IT would not have been easy-we could almost say
impossible-to have found any where a more con-
tented or a happier family than that of David Hunter,
at the period when we first take up their history.
Yet the Hunters were in but humble circumstances,
the father and three sons being merely common work-
men in a large bleaching manufactory, at very mode-
rate wages. But what of that? They were contented,
and that was enough.

David Hunter, the head of the family, was a truly
respectable man for his station in life-quiet, sober,
honest, and intelligent. His sons were not behind
him in any of these particulars. They, too, were quiet,
well-behaved lads. The family consisted, altogether,
of a wife, the three sons just alluded to, and two
daughters-the latter, like all the rest of the family,
being remarkable for their industrious habits and the
general propriety of their conduct.

In church, too, it was a pretty sight to see how attentive the brothers were to their mother and sisters in pointing out the text and the psalm. These were trifling matters, indeed, but people of discernment saw a great deal in them. At home, too, it was equally pleasant to see the Hunters of an evening, after the father and the young men had returned from their work-the house clean and neat ; the daughters busily employed in sewing; the mother in discharging her household duties; the father seated by the fire in his great wooden arm-chair, and the sons seated around him, engaged in lively and cheerful conversation. Great, indeed, though humble, was the happi

Their employer, who had a great esteem for David and his family, was in the habit of looking in upon them sometimes, after work hours, when making his usual rounds to see that all was right about the field. On these occasions, he never could refrain from saying something congratulatory to David, in reference to the quiet, cheerful, and affectionate conduct of his children. He had witnessed the domestic felicity of the family often; but every time he saw it, it struck him as forcibly as the first time.

But it was the love that the several members of this happy family bore to each other that formed the most remarkable feature of their communion, and Our author, in the course of much valuable infor- which most particularly attracted the notice and mation, suggests, that while we are waiting to see excited the admiration of all who had an opportunity what can be done with America, another great step of marking it. And such opportunity had the whole towards the suppression of the slave-trade at the parish in which they resided; for, in going to church, Havanna would be effected, if Spain could be prevailed they invariably all went together, brother and sister upon to agree to a clause declaring that every Bozal-linked arm in arm, and all talking so kindly, and looka newly imported African, whose appearance at once ing so fondly in each other's faces-it was delightful demonstrates the fact-should be declared free; for, to see them. under the present treaty, if the slaves can be once landed, they may be seized by the consignees without farther interruption. In his opinion, also, the prevention would be more effective if our cruisers were ordered to confine themselves especially to the west coast of Africa, whence all the slaves must come; and if our captains and crews were stimulated by the rewards of head-money and tonnage-money, the work would be more eagerly done. Mr Turnbull differs from the prevailing opinion, in stating that the majority of the native planters of Cuba are desirous that the slave importation should cease, but that the mother country wishes it to continue, as thereby, the fear of an insurrection of the slaves continually hang-ness of the Hunters. ing over the masters, these would be more likely to preserve their reluctant allegiance to Spain. Amongst the motives actuating the former, are the admitted facts that one freeman will do as much work as any two slaves; and that all the labours of the plantation and of the manufactory might be as safely, and much more effectually, performed by white labourers, as has long been the case in the neighbouring island of Porto Rico. Cuba contains a large number of white peasants, robust and hardy; but it appears that as many as might be wanted could be obtained from the Canaries. The out-of-door part of the question is already admitted to be in favour of the endurance and power of the white man. Respecting the other part, Mr Turnbull says "It is a very natural mistake that a Negro can support better than a white man a high artificial "Well, I believe," replied David, with a very exas well as a high natural temperature. The reverse cusable look of complacency, "that hardly any thing has been completely demonstrated on board the Bri- possibly could. There has never been the slightest tish government steamers on duty within the tropics, difference amongst us yet, and I trust there never where it has been proved that an African constitution will." The sons and daughters replied to their emis not so well suited as that of an European to with-ployer's remark by raising their heads, and glancing stand the heat of the furnace, or rather the frequent at him with a smile which said as plainly as smile can alternations of heat and cold, to which the stoker of a say any thing-"A difference between us! No, no; steam-boat, and the fireman and boilerman of a sugar- such a thing can never be. We love each other too house, are equally exposed." Thus, it appears, the well and too sincerely for that." suppression of the slave-trade and slavery at this great emporium, is a question of a very mingled character, but which time will soon decide one way or another. At present, Cuba is a most prosperous colony: the population is nearly 1,000,000, more than half of which are coloured; but the island has surface enough to maintain several millions in plenty. Havanna is one of the finest harbours in the world. In a church in the town rest the bones of the great Christopher Columbus; his memory is held in solemn honour, the building being closed the whole year, except on his anniversary. There are valuable coal and copper mines in the island, but the want of roads is so great, that much of the worth of the minerals is lost in the expense and difficulty of a few miles' carriage. The citizens of the Havanna have found it cheaper to import coal from Liverpool, across 4000 miles of ocean, than to fetch it on horseback from their own excellent mine, only ten miles off! Howwer, the spirit of enterprise is arousing the Spaniards

"It would be no small matter, David," he said on one of these occasions, smiling as he spoke, "that would cause a difference in your family. I hardly think any thing could interrupt the harmony that reigns amongst you."

Thus stood matters, then, with David Hunter and his family, and thus they remained for several years, with little or no change; only that David and his wife were getting a little older, and their sons and daughters farther on in life. But in their happiness and attachment to each other there was no change, unless an increase of such happiness and attachment can be so called.

David Hunter and his family were surprised one evening by a visit from the letter-carrier. He had not been at their house for two years before; and then it was with a very primitive-looking epistle, most abominably folded, sealed with a bit of resin instead of wax, and superscribed with a vile hieroglyphical sort of direction. It was from a very honest, decent man, however, a brother of David Hunter, who was a weaver in Bridgeton near Glasgow. No letter had they received from any quarter since then till now. But the letter that made its appearance now was of a very different description, being properly folded, care

fully sealed, and altogether business-like. On its being
handed in, David slowly put his hand into his capacious
waistcoat pocket in search of his spectacles. These
found and drawn forth, he deliberately opened them,
and with equal deliberation placed them on his nose.
All these preparatory proceedings gone through with
due solemnity, David at length opened the mysterious
letter, and, surrounded by his wondering and auxious
but profoundly silent family, read as follows:—
"London,

that you are named in the will of the late John Pitt,
Sir, We have much pleasure in informing you
Esq. of Woodvale, Jamaica, for a legacy of L.5000.

cumstance; but shall in a day or two address you again, We, in the mean time, merely advise you of the cirwith instructions as to proceedings necessary for putting you in possession of said legacy, also as to time and manner of payment. We are, sir, your obedient servants,

GRESSEY AND GREGSON, Solicitors."

It is presumed to be unnecessary to describe the effect this extraordinary and most unexpected communication had upon David Hunter and his family. The reader will himself form a sufficiently lively idea of it, without our troubling him with a description. The legacy had been wholly unlooked for; the testator being a very distant relation, and a person with whom David had never had any correspondence, indeed, of whose existence he was hardly aware.

The news of the Hunters' legacy, notwithstanding the precautions taken by the family to keep the matter quiet for a little time, soon spread amongst the neighbours, who said that David's family, happy before, would surely now be ten times happier. It was reasonable to think so; for, if they were content and happy with very limited means, they would cer tainly be much more content and happy when these means became abundant. It was reasonable that it should be so-that on becoming richer they should become happier. Did it? We shall see.

In the course of a few days, David heard again from the London solicitors, who now wrote fully on the subject of the legacy, and gave him such instructions as put him in possession of the money in less than three months after. For some time subsequent to this event, no change whatever was observable in the family. Neither pride nor ostentation followed their good fortune. On the third or fourth Sunday, however, the neighbours and others who knew of and had observed their affectionate manner towards each other, were a good deal surprised at the unusual order in which they came to church. Formerly, as already noticed, they used to come in the most loving manner, arm in arm together; now they came in a string, all separate and wide asunder. There was observable, moreover, more or less of an angry and discontented expression on the countenances of all of them, which, contrasting so very strikingly as it did with their former cheerful looks, was very conspicuous, and attracted the notice of the more shrewd observers. Coming to church in this manner, they of course entered their pew in a straggling way, one after the other, at considerable intervals, and not together as formerly-another circumstance, indicative of some change of feeling, which did not escape the notice of the congregation; the report of their sudden acquisition of wealth having rendered them objects of special attention for a time. Neither did a total neglect of those little acts of courtesy to each other in church, of which we formerly spoke, elude the observation of those around them.

People were much surprised at this unusual deportment on the part of the Hunters, and wondered if any disagreement had sprung up among them, and if so, whether the legacy could have any thing to do with it. They said it would be strange if good fortune could do that which bad fortune had been unable to do-namely, destroy the happiness of the family; in this remark, alluding to a period when the Hunters had been in great distress from want of employment and illness together-trials which seemed only to increase their attachment to each other; while now it appeared to be precisely the reverse. But had any change really taken place in their feelings towards each other? By retrograding a little in their history we may ascertain this.

On the third day after the receipt of the legacy, David Hunter called his family around him, and told them that he wished to inform them of certain arrangements regarding the distribution of the legacy amongst them (including a provision for himself and wife), on which he had determined. He then proceeded to name to his sons the respective sums which he intended giving them to begin business with, and to his daughters the sum he intended giving them as dowry in the event of their marriage. Having concluded, David looked around for the approbation which he felt conscious he deserved. But what was his surprise and mortification when he perceived in every countenance the most unequivocal signs of disappointment and discontent! There was not one of his children, sons or daughters, pleased with their allotted portions.

Poor David endeavoured to meet their views by altering, modifying, and even by offering to increase the different sums by reducing the moderate proportion he intended retaining for himself; but to no purpose. No arrangement or distribution he could propose or suggest would satisfy the expectations or wishes of his children. They did not, indeed, complain

openly, much less by either loud or angry expressions; but there was gloom on every brow-sullenness and discontent on every countenance.

From this moment there was no longer any happiness in David Hunter's family. A feeling of jealousy and dislike was now engendered, which could never again be eradicated. Poor David saw and bitterly felt the change, and wished a thousand times that the legacy had gone to the bottom of the sea instead of coming to him, as he deemed it but a poor substitute for the domestic felicity he had lost. Here will be found a sufficient explanation of that difference of deportment which had attracted the notice of their neighbours.

David Hunter, seeing that there was no hope of restoring harmony amongst his children, who were now snapping and snarling at each other, morning, noon, and night, determined, however painful to his feelings it might be, to break up his family. In pursuance of this resolution, he recommended to each of his sons to betake himself to lodgings of his own, and to start in the world on his own account. To enable them to do so, he said, he would instantly pay them down the different sums he had determined on giving them respectively. His sons, though far from satisfied, sulkily acquiesced in the proposed arrangement; and, in a few days after, left their father's house, but in such sullen mood, that they would not tell him either where they were going or what they intended doing. They never held any correspondence again. Each brother, thinking the others had got more than they ought to have done, and, of course, he himself less, never went near each other, but, on the contrary, continued to the end of their lives to entertain a feeling of the most bitter hostility to one another. Neither did any of them ever again visit their father, whom they all agreed in accusing of unjust dealing towards them.

Such was the consequence of the legacy; and it may be taken as another evidence of the well-known truth, that an accession of wealth is not necessarily, by any means, an accession of happiness.

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Candlemas day, a holiday of the Church of England, and the festival of the Purification of the Virgin in the Church of Rome, occurs on the 2d of February. It is observed with great pomp throughout the Catholic world. The name is derived from the ceremony which the Church of Rome dictates to be observed on

this day, namely, a blessing of candles by the clergy, and a distribution of them amongst the people, by whom they are afterwards carried lighted in solemn procession. The more important observances were of course given up in England at the Reformation; but it was still, about the close of the eighteenth century, customary in some places to light up churches with candles on this day.

hand of the priest who delivers it; the choir mean-
while singing" A light to lighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel !" After the distribu-
tion, a solemn procession is made, in which one carries
the censor, another a crucifix, and the rest burning
candles in their hands.*

At Rome, the Pope every year officiates at this
festival in the beautiful chapel of the Quirinal. When
he has blessed the candles, he distributes them with
his own hand amongst those in the church, each of
whom, going singly up to him, kneels to receive it.
The cardinals go first; then follow the bishops, canons,
priors, abbots, priests, &c., down to the sacristans and
meanest officers of the church. According to Lady
Morgan, who witnessed the ceremony in 1820_"When
the last of these has gotten his candle, the poor con-
sercatori, the representatives of the Roman senate and
people, receive theirs. This ceremony over, the candles
are lighted, the Pope is mounted in his chair and car-
ried in procession, with hymns chanting, round the
ante-chapel; the throne is stripped of its splendid
hangings; the Pope and cardinals take off their gold
and crimson dresses, put on their usual robes, and
the usual mass of the morning is sung." Lady Mor-
gan mentions that similar ceremonies take place in
all the parish churches of Rome on this day.

It appears that in England, in Catholic times, a
meaning was attached to the size of the candles, and
the manner in which they burned during the proces-
sion; that, moreover, the reserved parts of the candles
were deemed to possess a strong supernatural virtue :
"This done, each man his candle lights,
Where chiefest seemeth he,
Whose taper greatest may be seen;
And fortunate to be,

Whose candle burneth clear and bright:

A wondrous force and might

Doth in these candles lie, which if

At any time they light,
They sure believe that neither storm
Nor tempest doth abide,
Nor thunder in the skies be heard,
Nor any devil's spide,

Nor fearful sprites that walk by night,
Nor hurts of frost or hail," &c.t

The great antiquity of the festival of Candlemas is
unquestionable. Its origin is almost lost in the mists
of the middle ages. St Bernard, if we rightly under-
stand Mr Hone's quotation of Butler, speaks of the
procession as "first made by St Joseph, Simeon,
and Anna, as an example to be followed by all the
candles, lighted from fire, first blessed by the priests,
earth, walking two and two, holding in their hands
and singing." The festival is undoubtedly designed
to commemorate the churching or purification of
Mary; and the candle-bearing is understood to refer
to what Simeon said when he took the infant Jesus
in his arms, and declared that he was a light to lighten
the Gentiles. Thus literally to adopt and build upon
metaphorical expressions, was a characteristic proce-
the festival is to be traced to ancient Roman times. An
dure of the middle ages. It is alleged, however, that
old English writer upon festivals says, that Candlemas
was a Christian engraftment upon the festival of the
Romans in honour of Februa, the mother of Mars, which
was celebrated by women carrying torches and candles.
century) who, seeing the Christian people persevering
It was, he says, Pope Sergius (a pontiff of the seventh
in the old Pagan custom, ordered that that custom
should be continued for a Christian object-namely,
as a celebration of the churching of the Virgin. Du
Cange, again, says that Candlemas was substituted by
Rope Gelasius for the candles which, in February, the
Roman people used to carry in the Supercalia. An-
other explanation has been quoted from a sermon of
the month of February to the infernal gods; and, as
Pope Innocent: "The Gentiles," he says, "dedicated
at the beginning of it Pluto stole Proserpine, and her
mother Ceres sought her in the night with lighted
about the city with lighted candles. Because the holy
candles, so they, at the beginning of this month, walked
fathers could not utterly extirpate this custom, they
in honour of the blessed Virgin Mary; and thus,
ordained that Christians should carry about candles
what was once done in honour of Ceres, is now done
in honour of the Virgin." Apparently, in consequence
of the celebration of Mary's purification by candle-
bearing, it became customary for women to carry
candles with them, when, after recovery from child-
remarkable allusion to this custom occurs in English
history. William the Conqueror, become, in his elder
days, fat and unwieldy, was confined a considerable
time by a sickness.
King of France, "the King of England lies long in
"Methinks," said his enemy the
childbed." This being reported to William, he said,
When I am churched, there shall be a thousand
lights in France!" And he was as good as his word;
for, as soon as he recovered, he made an inroad into
the French territory, which he wasted wherever he

time of Charles II., that when lights were brought in
at nightfall, people would say "God sends us the
light of heaven!" The amiable Herbert, who notices
the custom, defends it as not superstitious. Some-
what before this time, we find Herrick alluding to the
customs of Candlemas eve: it appears that the plants
put up in houses at Christmas were now removed.
"Down with the rosemary and bays,
Down with the mistletoe;
Instead of holly now upraise
The greener box for show.
sway,

The holly hitherto did
Let box now domineer,
Until the dancing Easter day

Or Easter's eve appear.

The youthful box, which now hath grace
Your houses to renew,

Grown old, surrender must his place
Unto the crisped yew.

When yew is out, then birch comes in,
And many flowers beside,

Both of a fresh and fragrant kin',
To honour Whitsuntide.

Green rushes then, and sweetest beats,
With cooler oaken boughs,
Come in for comely ornaments,

To re-adorn the house.

Thus times do shift; each thing in turn does hold;
New things succeed, as former things grow old."

The same poet elsewhere recommends very particular
care in the thorough removal of the Christmas gar-
nishings on this eve:

"That so the superstitious find

No one least branch left there behind;
For look, how many leaves there be,
Neglected there, maids, trust to me,
So many goblins you shall see."

He also alludes to the reservation of part of the
candles or torches, as calculated to have the effect of
protecting from mischief:

"Kindle the Christmas brand, and then

Till sunset let it burn,

Which quench'd, then lay it up again,
Till Christmas next return.

Part must be kept, wherewith to teend
The Christmas log next year;
And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend
Can do mischief there."

land, in connexion with Candlemas day. On that There is a curious custom of old standing in Scotday it is, or lately was, an universal practice in our The master sits at his desk or table, exchanging for part of the island, for the children attending school to make small presents of money to their teachers. the moment his usual authoritative look for one of bland civility, and each child goes up in turn and lays his offering down before him, the sum being generally proportioned to the abilities of the parents. Sixpence and a shilling are the most common sums in most schools; but some give half and whole crowns, and even more. The boy and girl who give most are being then dismissed for a holiday, proceed along the respectively styled King and Queen. The children, and Queen in state, exalted upon that seat formed of streets in a confused procession, carrying the King crossed hands which, probably from this circumstance, is called the King's Chair. In some schools, it used the offerings, to make a bowl of punch and regale to be customary for the teacher, on the conclusion of each urchin with a glass to drink the King and Queen's health, and a biscuit. The latter part of the day was usually devoted to what was called the Candlemas bleeze, or blaze, namely, the conflagration of any piece of furze which might exist in their neighbourhood, or, were that wanting, of an artificial bonfire. Here we probably have the relic of a different February, the after part of Candlemas day is of festival, that of St Blaze, whose day being the 3d of Bishop of Sebasta, in Armenia, and his name alone course his ere. St Blaze, or Blasius, was an early connected with his festival in England. In the latter seems to have suggested the observances anciently part of the last century, it was still customary to writer says, that on that day, "country women go light fires on the hills upon St Blaze's eve. An old about and make good cheer; and if they find any of their neighbour women a-spinning, they burn and make a blaze of fire of the distaffe." The woolcombers of Yorkshire have their great festival on this

There seems no better than the jingling resemblance of his name to the word reason for the observances peculiar to his day or eve,

In an ancient English book of monastic rules, it is
directed that, on the Purification of the Virgin Mary,
the monks" shall go in surplices to church for candles,
which shall be consecrated, sprinkled with holy water,
and censed by the abbot. Let every monk take a
candle from the sacrist, and light it. Let a procession
be made, thirds and mass be celebrated, and the
candles, after the offering, be offered to the priest."*
Old English Catholic prayer-books give the service
used on this occasion. The candles being brought to
the altar, the priest says over them several prayers, one
of which commences thus:-"O Lord Jesu Christ, who
enlightenest every one that cometh into the world,
pour out thy benediction upon these candles, and
sanctifie them with the light of thy grace," &c. An- birth, they went to be, as it was called, churched. A day in honour of St Blaze.
other begins: "Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Ever-
lasting God, who hast created all things out of nothing,
and by the labour of bees caused this liquor to come
to the perfection of a wax candle; we humbly beseech
thee that, by the invocation of thy most holy name,
and by the intercession of the blessed Virgin, ever a
virgin, whose festivals are this day devoutly celebrated,
and by the prayers of all thy saints, thou wouldst
vouchsafe to bless and sanctifie these candles," &c.
Then the priest sprinkles the candles thrice with holy
water, saying "Sprinkle me with," &c., and perfumes
them thrice with incense. Some consecratory prayers
are then said, as-" I bless thee, O wax, in the name
of the Holy Trinity, that thou mayest be in every
place the ejection of Satan and the subversion of all
his companions," &c. During the saying of these
prayers, there are various bowings and crossings; and
when the consecration is over, the candles are distri-
buted by the priest to the people, each kneeling, and
each kissing the candle as he receives it, and then the

* Fosbroke's British Monachisma.

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went with fire and sword.

At the Reformation, the ceremonials of Candlemas
Henry VIII.
day were not reduced all at once.
proclaimed in 1539-" On Candlemas day it shall be
declared, that the bearing of candles is done in me-
mory of Christ, the spiritual light, whom Simeon did
prophesy, as it is read in the church that day." It is

curious to find it noticed as a custom down to the

* Hone's Every-Day Book, i. 201.

Barnaby Googe's Translation of Naogeorgus, in the " Popish
Kingdom." Ellis's Edition of Brand's Popular Antiquities.

blaze. A sound was a reason in the days of our simple fathers.

day for so many ages, it is scarcely surprising that Considering the importance attached to Candlemas there is an universal superstition throughout Christendom, that good weather on this day indicates a long continuance of winter and a bad crop, and that its being foul is, on the contrary, a good omen. Sir Thomas Browne, in his Vulgar Errors, quctes a Latin distich expressive of this idea:

"Si sol splendescat Maria purificante,
Major erit glacies post festum quam fuit ante;"
which may be considered as well translated in the
popular Scottish rhyme-

"If Candlemas day be dry and fair,
The half o' winter's to come and mair
If Candlemas day be wet and foul,
The half o' winter's gane at Yule."

A German friend at our elbow informs us that in his
country there are two proverbial expressions on this

in

subject: 1. The shepherd would rather see the wolf enter his stable on Candlemas day than the sun; 2. The badger peeps out of his hole on Candlemas day, and when he finds snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining, he draws back into his hole. It is not improbable that these notions, like the festival of Candlemas itself, are derived from Pagan times, and have existed since the very infancy of our race. So at least we may conjecture, from a curious passage Martin's Description of the Western Islands. On Candlemas day, according to this author, the Hebrideans observe the following curious custom :-"The mistress and servants of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it up in women's apparel, put it in a large basket, and lay a wooden club by it, and this they call Brüd's Bed; and then the mistress and servants cry three times, Brüd is come; Brüd is welcome! This they do just before going to bed, and when they rise in the morning they look among the ashes, expecting to see the impression of Brud's club there; which, if they do, they reckon it a true presage of a good crop and prosperous year, and the contrary they take as an ill omen.'

A FEW WEEKS ON THE CONTINENT.
BADEN-BADEN TO BASLE.

A MORNING and forenoon's ride in a south-westerly direction brought us to Strasburg. Our carriage, on emerging from the valley of the Oes, entered the broad expanse of country through which winds the current of the Rhine, and which accordingly takes the name of the Rheinstrasse. Far on the right, in a westerly direction, the rugged outline of the Vosges mountains bounded the horizon, while on our left was the similar line of hills which terminate in the dark range called the Schwartz-wald, or Black Forest, of which there absolutely seems to be no end; for you may travel up the country for days, and there are the same dark masses fringing the great flat vale of the Rheinstrasse. With a range of hills on the eastern and western horizon, the traveller finds not a hillock before him, as he penetrates towards Switzerland. The land is a dead level, partitioned into ill-cultivated fields, and bearing principally crops of hemp. We are, in fact, in one of the great hemp-growing districts of Europe. It grows in tall green stalks, not unlike bunches of hemlock, and apparently requires less assistance from skill or capital than most other crops. This is fortunate, as the peasantry who raise it are seemingly of a poor and toil-worn order. It being the time of hemp harvest, all were busy in their vocation. In every village, women and children sat before the doors stripping the fibres from the husky stalks; while the men were leading home from the fields waggons loaded with materials for their industry. The appearance of these vehicles bespoke the poverty of the people. They were of rude construction, on low wheels, and drawn by cows. Horses, as beasts of husbandry, we had some days ago seen for the last time, and cows had every where been pressed into the service. We see cows ploughing, cows harrowing, and cows drawing waggons in all quarters. I was told that the exercise is beneficial, but still have an opinion that there is something like shabbiness in making cows both give milk and draw carts at the same time, and that, after all, a cow never looks so respectable as when grazing, or chewing its cud in a dreamy contented humour, in a rich green paddock. At all events, much as there is to improve among us, I trust it will be long ere our statisticians, in summing up the amount of animate forces in England, will include the item of so many thousand "cow power."

Shortly after the hour of noon, the spires of Strasburg came prominently into view, at the distance of about two miles; and immediately approaching the Rhine, we crossed by a wooden bridge to the left bank. Here the country is so low and level as to be liable to flooding from the river, which, though hemmed in by artificial banks, has broken into various channels

and creeks, making two or three swampy islands, partially covered with bushes and reeds. Passing through a poor-looking small town on the first island, we are again brought to the bank of the second main branch of the Rhine, forming the boundary of Germany. The two sides are connected by a long bridge of boats, anchored in the impetuous stream, the end which we are just leaving being honoured with the attendance of a sentinel in the uniform of Baden, and the other

being similarly in charge of a French soldier-of whom there can be no mistake: his small stature, shambling figure, and dirty red trousers, at once mark the country to which he belongs. Another circumstance immediately reminded us we were now within the confines of France. At a custom-house by the way

side, we were brought to a halt, while the carriage and baggage were subjected to the search of a douanier. Nothing, of course, was found to justify this official scrutiny; but it would be unfair to complain of what every one must encounter on landing in any part of Great Britain. The French and English customhouse functionaries can claim equal honour in the dexterity with which they turn out the contents of a lady's sac-de-nuit.

The

This lofty spire, as is well known, is reckoned one of the most beautiful specimens of the light Gothic. Seen from the ground, it appears a tall open framework of sculptured stone, with an equally light shaft or buttress at each of its four angles, containing individually a stair, which to our eye appears like a cork-screw of stone winding aloft to the pointed pinnacle. That this elegant object of art has withstood the blasts of four centuries, is a sufficient proof of the skill of its ingenious architect. Having satisfied ourselves with the exterior of the Strasburg, which is reached at the distance of a cathedral, we entered the edifice, and found the inner mile from the Rhine, occupies a low swampy situation part equally interesting. The plan is the same as that of intersects the town in different directions, and forms on the river Ill, which, divided into numerous channels, the minster at Canterbury, the choir being raised four or five feet above the level of the nave, which adds to the imposing effect. The total length of the interior wet ditches around it. Nothing is to be seen on ap- is about 350 feet. Like most churches in France, the proaching but heavy bastioned walls, emerging from wide expanse of floor, and other parts, are not redead pools of water and moist green meadows. Pass-markable for cleanliness; and though in the midst of ports are demanded at the gates; we enter winding, vespers, when some hundreds were kneeling in all gloomy, and badly paved streets, and are finally hurled long staff, at once stuck to us on seeing we were Engdirections, the beadle, a person in a uniform, with a into the Grand Place-an open square, in which our lish, and piloted us through clusters of worshippers to hotel is situated, and which possesses only one object every place worthy our observation. Lighting a candle of attraction, placed in the centre-a bronze statue of at one of the shrines, he opened a wicket leading to General Kleber, who was a native of the town. Al- certain vaults beneath the choir, which he described by though politically belonging to France, since it was the very appropriate name of the Chapelle de SaintSepulchre. At the bottom of a flight of steps, we taken by Louis XIV. in 1681, Strasburg is still essenfound it as dark as midnight; but by a free use of the tially German. The greater number of signboards, candle, the outlines of the horrid dungeon were perand also the language of the inhabitants, are German; ceived to embrace a stone altar, which is used in certain gloomy offices of religion in Holy Week, toand we had the pleasure of hearing a German sermon gether with a group of poorly sculptured figures as in one of the churches, to a congregation composed, farge as life, representing Jesus and his disciples in the as usual, of women. The cathedral is the main, if not garden, at the moment when Judas, accompanied by the only, object of interest in the town; and it was Jews and Roman soldiers, enters on the scene. only to see it that we stayed a night in so abominable loquacious official, who explained all these matters, a place. The first sight of this remarkable edifice is pointed to a stair leading to a still lower depth, where he said we might see the foundations of the cathedral; rather disappointing; but it improves considerably but declining the invitation to descend to these nether on a closer inspection. Of two tall towers, which regions, we made the best of our way to the daylight were designed to form its western extremity, only above. one is finished, and the other is docked off half way up- a number of Gothic cathedrals on the continent, however, being equally incomplete. The Strasburg cathedral is likewise by no means singular in being stuck nearly round with parasitical buildings, occupied either as shops of small traders or as a paltry order of dwelling-houses. That part which is free to the eye of the spectator, from the ground upwards, is the most magnificent and vast portion of the structure-the western termination, in which is the chief portal, between the elevations of the two towers. Although time-worn, dingy, and injured by revolutionary mobs, the exterior of the west end is excessively fine-certainly the finest and most gigantic piece of Gothic architecture which I had ever seen; and as we stood in the confined square in front, scrutinising its elaborate carvings and great height, we could not but alike admire the taste of the architects and the patient enthusiasm of the people who raised such a noble fabric. The building is not all of one era. A church which had existed from an early period on the spot, having been destroyed, partly by military violence and partly by an accidental fire, at the beginning of the eleventh century, the present edifice was begun on the ancient foundations in the year 1015, and, after various stoppages, was completed as we now see it in 1439. The first masons in Europe were employed in the great work, and crowds of inferior workmen came from all quarters to assist in the undertaking. The architect who planned and partly executed the grand portal and towers, and the two lateral portals, was the celebrated Erwin de Steinbach, who, dying in 1318, before the completion of his task, was succeeded by his son John and his daughter Sabine, whose genius was of the same high order. Many of the finest sculptures on the portals are the device of this accomplished female architect.

The grand altar in the choir, a splendid erection of marble, constructed in 1763, is reckoned one of the finest things of its kind; but decidedly the most elegant object is the pulpit, resting against one of the lofty pillars in the open nave. We have nothing at all to compare with this work of art in England. It is of stone, richly sculptured in every part, resting on six small columns, with one in the centre, all niched and filled with finely-cut scripture figures; the overhanging roof is of the same exquisite workmanship. The whole is by the architect, J. Hammerer, who constructed it in 1487. In one part of the building is the clock, or horloge astronomique, which once rendered the cathedral famous. It is now in disuse, and

of no sort of moment.

Leaving the nave, into which streamed the manycoloured rays of the evening sun through the gorgeous rosace, we, by permission, ascended the winding stair in the truncated tower to the platform at which it abruptly terminates. The ascent was quite safe, but so toilsome, that we had no wish to penetrate to the summit of the complete tower, which rises to a height of 474 English feet, or 24 feet higher than the highest Egyptian pyramid, and is therefore the most lofty work of art in the world. The height of the platform of the adjoining tower, yet at this altitude, or nearly which we attained appears to be less than two-thirds 300 feet from the ground, the whole country for fifty miles around lay spread out like a garden before us, with the branching Rhine winding through it like threads of silver. The town immediately beneath brown flat tiles, and we gazed down upon the people seemed a pent-up group of houses, with dingy roofs of as they moved to and fro in the market-place as one may be supposed to look upon the diminutive bustle of an ant-hill. A tolerably strong set of nerves is required to lean upon the stone balustrade which environs the turret; yet a story is told of a certain bold curé, who, in 1522, had the temerity to run round it, without falling. A gentleman, with more courage than discretion, at the beginning of last century, wished to imitate or excel the curé, and declared he would run three times round the top of the balcony. He performed two courses safely, but at the third his foot slipped, and he was instantly precipitated to the The western extremity, on which has been lavished ground and killed. A faithful dog which accompanied such immense labour, has the grand portal in the him, wishing to follow its master, immediately plunged centre, with two lesser doorways on each side. Each from the platform, and met with the same sad fate. of these three main entrances is deeply vaulted, and To commemorate the event, the figure of a dog was carved in stone, and placed on the exterior of the altogether covered with figures in relief, representing edifice. A female, a number of years ago, committed scripture scenes or characters. Above the central and suicide by throwing herself from the platform to the lofty doorway is the rosace, or rose window, resembling ground. In her descent, one of her shoes came off, a richly carved wheel, filled with variously coloured and was caught on the point of one of the small proglass, and measuring upwards of fifty feet in diameter.jecting pinnacles; and there, as an architectural conother storey occupied by a row of tall windows in Above the storey in which is the rosace, there is anceit, the figure of a shoe in stone was afterwards placed. florid Gothic; while the numerous flying buttresses are also highly ornamented and full of historic figures, among which are pointed out Clovis, Dagobert, the Emperor Rodolphe of Hapsburg, and Louis XIV.-a

paratively recent period, after the capture of the town. personage who must have been stuck up at a comThe turret or spire which is completed is that on our left, in looking towards the entrance, and is therefore over one of the lateral portals.

The view over the town from this lofty station, as well as a ramble through its streets, conveys a forcible impression of the miseries produced by hemming a populous city within fortified walls. Over the expanse of the town, I did not see a single inch of

garden or any patch of green behind the houses; and the only little spot devoted to the culture of flowers was the flat roof of a house, to which earth and plants dwelling beneath. The buildings are generally very had been carried, doubtless by some lover of nature tall, and such is the apparent scarcity of room, that

in some streets each house contains a number of distinct establishments-the cellar laid out as tan-pits, the next floor a workshop, the next two or three as dwelling-houses, and the uppermost a drying loft for tobacco. Statistical returns respecting the mode of living in the walled towns of France, of which I think Strasburg must be among the most vile, disclose a state of things too painful to be entered upon. Besides the monument of Kleber, the town has recently been ornamented with a statue of Guttemberg, the inventor of printing, who produced some of his earliest works here. Nobody can object to these memorials of respect from the inhabitants; but surely the best monument of Guttemberg is a free press, which the French unfortunately have not; and, in the present state of matters with the Strasburgians, it should, I imagine, be drains first, and public embellishments afterwards.

It was with no small gratification, that, at ten o'clock, on a beautiful Sunday morning, we took our seats in the omnibus which was to convey us to the station of the railway for Basle, situated a mile or two from the gates of the town. The road was crowded with parties, bound for holiday excursions; and when we arrived at the terminus of the railway, we found the place literally like a fair, with hundreds of men and women, in their best attire, waiting for the arrival of the train. The chemin de fer had been opened only a week or two before, and was highly popular. Extending to a length of between eighty and ninety miles, it is, I believe, the largest work of the kind yet accomplished by the French government; and for such a backward country as France, may be considered a really wonderful undertaking. Whether it will ultimately answer as a pecuniary speculation, I have no means of judging; but as it affords by far the readiest mode of reaching Switzerland, cutting off a tedious voyage in the steamer against the impetuous current of the Rhine, or the equally tiresome journey by voiture, it is likely to meet with encouragement. As is the case with all the railways on the continent, the fares are remarkably low. For three places in a firstclass carriage, we were charged, for the whole distance to Basle, no more than 41 francs 85 centimes, or about 11s. 6d. for each person.

The train, after a little delay, having arrived, it was in a few minutes filled with passengers of all classes, and went off at a rapid and steady pace, the confidence of our party in the locomotive not being lessened by perceiving the word Manchester engraved on a plate on its side. The line of route proceeds through the ancient district of Alsace, the bulk of which is a broad strip of land between the Vosges mountains on our right and the Rhine on the left. In the course of the journey, the train stopped frequently at villages to take up and set down passengers, a number of whom were dressed in the peculiar costume once prevalent in Alsace. The figures of the women were highly picturesque. The various parts of the attire were of different brilliant colours, and from the fancifully decorated head there generally depended a stream of ribbons or beads. One young female, whose dress we scrutinised, was gaily set out in a scarlet petticoat and blue apron, surmounted by a green body ornamented with gold flowers; she had also a highly embroidered stomacher, a white linen jacket, laid in plaits down the breast, a flashy silk handkerchief round the neck; and on her head was a black cap, embroidered with gold and white beads, tied at the top with an enormous bow of black ribbons. The head-dress was almost universally black, and in most cases thickly sprinkled with golden flowers sewed in the material. The shape and appearance of the women by no means corresponded with these gaieties of attire. Their figures were generally uncouth, probably from severe toil in the fields, and the faces of some of the most aged, ensconced in antique glittering hoods, were so brown and puckered as scarcely to appear human. As we approached the termination of our excursion, the signs of manufacturing industry became more and more apparent, in the form of factories with tall chimneys; and Mulhausen, which we closely passed, was to all appearance a manufacturing town in the course of rapid extension. Twenty thousand workmen, I am told, are employed in this busy town and its vicinity, chiefly in the preparation of printed calicoes and silks. Mulhausen was at one time the capital of a Swiss canton, but the district has been annexed to France since the year 1795; and thus the French are fortunate in having secured a tract of country animated with the industry and common sense of a Swiss German population.

At the distance of a few miles from Mulhausen, the hills of Switzerland, canton of Basle, begin to make their appearance before us, and we may be said to have arrived at nearly the southern extremity of the great plain which commences in the neighbour hood of Mayence, where the romantic scenery of the Rhine has terminated in the vine-clad eminences of

the Rheingau. The Swiss hills which now lie before us, it is, however, necessary to remember, are confined to the left or western bank of the Rhine, the opposite side being still flat, and belonging to the Dukedom of Baden for many miles farther. With this prospect of a speedy conclusion to our trip, the railway train, in the space of five and a half hours from starting, drove up to its terminus at St Louis, a village within the frontier of France, at which an immense concourse of people from Basle were in the height of festivities, the day being the anniversary of

the fête of St Louis, and therefore sacred at once to affirmation by one knock, a negative by two, and its devotion and merriment. The public highway lead- displeasure by a kind of scratching. The child was ing to Basle, at the distance of about a mile, was then put into bed along with her sister, and the clerthronged very much, but not a single instance of in-gymen examined the bed and bed-clothes to satisfy toxication came under our notice; and so, in the midst themselves that no trick was played, by knocking of hundreds of good-humoured excursionists, we were upon any substance concealed among the clothes. As carried forward as in a flood towards the gates of this on the previous night, the bed was observed to shake venerable member of the Helvetic republic. As the violently. Swiss confederation, to its honour be it spoken, has no custom-house to torment travellers arriving within its territory, we were subjected to no sort of stoppage in entering Basle, and were driven at once to our hotel, the excellent and well-known house, the Drei Könige, or Three Kings, placed on the very brink of the green and rapidly flowing Rhine.

HAUNTED HOUSES.

We have found much amusement in a work recently published under the title of "Memoirs of Extraor dinary Popular Delusions," the author of which is Mr Charles Mackay, known as a frequent contributor to some of the metropolitan periodicals, and as the writer of "The Thames and its Tributaries," as well as other productions of a light literary kind.* It may be said to consist of an extension of ideas slightly touched upon in the article headed "Moral Epidemics," which appeared in the present Journal. The Crusades, and various other cases of popular frenzy, form the objects of Mr Mackay's notice; and he writes of them in a lively, spirited, and sensible manner. As the "Witch Mania" and other common delusions have been recently discussed here at some length, we prefer to give, as a specimen of his work, a portion of the concluding chapter on "Haunted Houses." The first place, in a selection from cases of this nature, is justly due to the renowned Ghost of Cock Lane, which created a wonderful sensation in London at the period of its supposed appearance :-" At the commencement of the year 1760, there resided in Cock Lane, near West Smithfield, in the house of one Parsons, the parish clerk of St Sepulchre's, a stockbroker named Kent. The wife of this gentleman had died in childbed during the previous year, and his sister-in-law, Miss Fanny, had arrived from Norfolk to keep his house for him. They soon conceived a mutual affection, and each of them made a will in the other's favour. They lived some months in the house of Parsons, who, being a needy man, borrowed money of his lodger. Some difference arose betwixt them, and Mr Kent left the house, and instituted legal proceedings against the parish clerk for the recovery of his money.

After some hours, during which they all waited with exemplary patience, the mysterious knocking was heard in the wall, and the child declared that she saw the ghost of poor Fanny. The following questions were then gravely put by the clergyman, through the medium of one Mary Frazer, the servant of Parsons, and to whom it was said the deceased lady had been much attached. The answers were in the usual fashion, by a knock or knocks :—

'Do you make this disturbance on account of the ill usage you received from Mr Kent?' 'Yes.' Were you brought to an untimely end by poison?" 'Yes.'

'How was the poison administered-in beer or in purl?' 'In purl.'

'How long was that before your death?' 'About three hours.'

"Can your former servant, Carrots, give any information about the poison? Yes.'

'Are you Kent's wife's sister?' 'Yes.'

Were you married to Kent after your sister's death?' 'No.'

"Was any body else, besides Kent, concerned in your murder?' 'No.'

Can you, if you like, appear visibly to any one?" 'Yes.'

'Will you do so?' 'Yes.'

'Can you go out of this house?' 'Yes.'

Is it your intention to follow this child about every where?' 'Yes.'

Are you pleased in being asked these questions?" 'Yes.'

'Does it ease your troubled soul?' 'Yes.' [Here there was heard a mysterious noise, which some wiseacre present compared to the fluttering of wings.]

'How long before your death did you tell your servant, Carrots, that you were poisoned-an hour?" 'Yes.'

[Carrots, who was present, was appealed to; but she stated positively that such was not the fact, as the deceased was quite speechless an hour before her death. This shook the faith of some of the spectators, but the examination was allowed to continue.] 'How long did Carrots live with you? Three or [Carrots was again appealed to, and said that this was true.]

If Mr Kent is arrested for this murder, will he confess?' 'Yes.'

'Would your soul be at rest if he were hanged for it? Yes.'

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'Will he be hanged for it? 'Yes.'

'How long a time first?' 'Three years.'

How many clergymen are there in this room?" Three."

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'How many negroes? Two.'

Is this watch (held up by one of the clergymen) white? No.'

'Is it yellow?' 'No.' 'Is it blue?' 'No.'

'Is it black?' 'Yes.'

[The watch was in a black shagreen case.]

At what time this morning will you take your departure?"

The answer to this question was four knocks, very distinctly heard by every person present; and accordingly, at four o'clock precisely, the ghost took its departure to the Wheatsheaf public-house, close by, where it frightened mine host and his lady almost out of their wits, by knocking in the ceiling right above

their bed.

While this matter was yet pending, Miss Fanny was suddenly taken ill of the small-pox, and, notwith-four days.' standing every care and attention, she died in a few days, and was buried in a vault under Clerkenwell church. Parsons now began to hint that the poor lady had come unfairly by her death, and that Mr Kent was accessory to it, from his too great eagerness to enter into possession of the property she had bequeathed him. Nothing further was said for nearly two years; but it would appear that Parsons was of so revengeful a character that he had never forgotten or forgiven his differences with Mr Kent, and the indignity of having been sued for the borrowed money. The strong passions of pride and avarice were silently at work during all that interval, hatching schemes of revenge, but dismissing them one after the other as impracticable, until at last a notable one suggested itself. About the beginning of the year 1762, the alarm was spread over all the neighbourhood of Cock Lane, that the house of Parsons was haunted by the ghost of poor Fanny, and that the daughter of Parsons, a girl about twelve years of age, had several times seen and conversed with the spirit, who had, moreover, informed her that she had not died of the small-pox, as was currently reported, but of poison administered by Mr Kent. Parsons, who originated, took good care to countenance these reports; and, in answer to numerous inquiries, said his house was every night, and had been for two years, in fact ever since the death of Fanny, troubled by a loud knocking at the doors and in the walls. Having thus prepared the ignorant and credulous neighbours to believe or exaggerate for themselves what he had told them, he sent for a gentleman of a higher class in life to come and witness these extraordinary occurrences. The gentleman came accordingly, and found the daughter of Parsons, to whom the spirit alone appeared, and whom alone it answered, in bed, trembling violently, having just seen the ghost, and been again informed that she had died from poison. A loud knocking was also heard from every part of the chamber, which so mystified the not very clear understanding of the visiter, that he departed, afraid to doubt and ashamed to believe, but with a promise to bring the clergyman of the parish and several other gentlemen on the following day, to report upon the mystery. On the following night he returned, bringing with him three clergymen, and about twenty other persons, including two negroes, when, upon a consultation with Parsons, they resolved to sit up the whole night, and await the ghost's arrival. It was then explained by Parsons, that although the ghost would never render itself visible to any body but his daughter, it had no objection to answer the questions that might be put to it by any person present, and that it expressed an

*Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions. London: Richard Bentley. 1841.

The rumour of these occurrences very soon spread over London, and every day Cock Lane was rendered impassable by the crowds of people who assembled around the house of the parish clerk, in expectation of either seeing the ghost or of hearing the mysterious knocks. It was at last found necessary, so clamorous were they for admission within the haunted precincts, to admit those only who would pay a certain fee, an arrangement which was very convenient to the needy and money-loving Mr Parsons. Indeed, things had taken a turn greatly to his satisfaction; he not only had his revenge, but he made a profit out of it. The ghost, in consequence, played its antics every night, to the great amusement of many hundreds of people, and the great perplexity of a still greater number.

Unhappily, however, for the parish clerk, the ghost was induced to make some promises which were the means of utterly destroying its reputation. It promised, in answer to the questions of the Rev. Mr Aldritch of Clerkenwell, that it would not only follow the little Miss Parsons wherever she went, but would also attend him, or any other gentleman, into the vault under St John's Church, where the body of the murdered woman was deposited, and would there give notice of its presence by a distinct knock upon the coffin. As a preliminary, the girl was conveyed to the house of Mr Aldritch near the church, where a large party of ladies and gentlemen, eminent for their acquirements, their rank, or their wealth, had assembled,

About ten o'clock on the night of the 1st of February, the girl having been brought from Cock Lane in a coach, was put to bed by several ladies in the house of Mr Aldritch; a strict examination having been previously made that nothing was hidden in the bedclothes. While the gentlemen, in an adjoining chamber, were deliberating whether they should proceed in a body to the vault, they were summoned into the bedroom by the ladies, who affirmed, in great alarm, that the ghost was come, and that they heard the knocks and scratches. The gentlemen entered accordingly, with a determination to suffer no deception. The little girl, on being asked whether she saw the ghost, replied, No; but she felt it on her back like a mouse." She was then required to put her hands out of bed, and they being held by some of the ladies, the spirit was summoned in the usual manner to answer, if it were in the room. The question was several times put with great solemnity; but the customary knock was not heard in reply in the walls, neither was there any scratching. The ghost was then asked to render itself visible, but it did not choose to grant the request. It was next solicited to give some token of its presence by a sound of any sort, or by touching the hand or cheek of any lady or gentleman in the room; but even with this request the ghost would not comply.

There was now a considerable pause, and one of the clergymen went down stairs to interrogate the father of the girl, who was waiting the result of the experiment. He positively denied that there was any deception, and even went so far as to say that he himself, upon one occasion, had seen and conversed with the awful ghost. This having been communicated to the company, it was unanimously resolved to give the ghost another trial; and the clergyman called out in a loud voice to the supposed spirit, that the gentleman, to whom it had promised to appear in the vault, was about to repair to that place, where he claimed the fulfilment of its promise. At one hour after midnight they all proceeded to the church, and the gentleman in question, with another, entered the vault, and took up their position alongside of the coffin of poor Fanny. The ghost was then summoned to appear, but it appeared not; it was summoned to knock, but it knocked not; it was summoned to scratch, but it scratched not; and the two retired from the vault, with the firm belief that the whole business was a deception practised by Parsons and his daughter. There were others, however, who did not wish to jump so hastily to a conclusion, and who suggested that they were perhaps trifling with this awful and supernatural being, which, being offended with them for their presumption, would not condescend to answer them. Again, after a serious consultation, it was agreed on all hands that, if the ghost answered any body at all, it would answer Mr Kent, the supposed murderer; and he was accordingly requested to go down into the vault. He went with several others, and summoned the ghost to answer whether he had indeed poisoned her. There being no answer, the question was put by Mr Aldritch, who conjured it, if it were indeed a spirit, to end their doubts-make a sign of its presence, and point out the guilty person. There being still no answer for the space of half an hour, during which time all these boobies waited with the most praiseworthy perseverance, they returned to the house of Mr Aldritch, and ordered the girl to get up and dress herself. She was strictly examined, but persisted in her statement that she used no deception, and that the ghost had really appeared to her.

persons can only be found to take the lead in any
absurdity, however great, there is sure to be plenty of
imitators. Like sheep in a field, if one clears the
stile, the rest will follow."

all the rest to one or other of two causes-first, that some gipsies, or strolling mendicants, hidden in the neighbouring plantation, were amusing themselves by working on the credulity of the country people; or, secondly, that the inmates of Baldarroch carried on this deception themselves, for some reason or other, which was not very clear to anybody. The last opinion gained but few believers, as the farmer and his family were much respected; and so many persons had, in the most open manner, expressed their belief in the supernatural agency, that they did not like to stultify themselves by confessing that they had been deceived. At last, after a fortnight's continuance of the noises, the whole trick was discovered. The two servant girls were strictly examined, and then committed to prison. It appeared that they were alone at the bottom of the whole affair, and that the extraordinary alarm and credulity of their master and mistress, in the first instance, and of the neighbours and country people afterwards, made their task comparatively easy. A little common dexterity was all they had used; and, being themselves unsuspected, they swelled the alarm by the wonderful stories they invented. It was they who loosened the bricks in the chimneys, and placed the dishes in such a manner on the shelves, that they fell on the slightest motion. They were no sooner secured in the county jail than the noises ceased, and most people were convinced that human agency alone had worked all the wonder. Some few of the most devoutly superstitious still held out in their first belief, and refused to listen to any explanation."

OPIUM-SMOKING IN CHINA. THE following is an extract from the private journal of Dr Hill, late surgeon of the bark Sunda, which was lost on the island of Hainan, in October 1839, and whose crew were conducted to Canton under protection of the Chinese government:

"On the evening of our arrival at the city of Hainan (which is about six miles from the northern extremity of the island of the same name), one of the soldiers who formed our body-guard requested permission to smoke his opium in the apartment allotted to the captain, chief officer, and myself. To this, as we had not previously had an opportunity of properly witnessing the whole process, we cheerfully agreed.

Well may Mr Mackay express surprise that men capable of a moment's sound reflection should not have seen at once the utter absurdity of the supposi tion, that a supernatural being, if such had really been permitted to visit the living world, would have come to play the part of an invisible rat, to scratch upon bed-heads, pull down plates, and frighten poor old women, who had done nothing in the slightest degree connected with the mission of annoyance. Mr Mackay cites other instances of alarms scarcely less absurd, one of them of old date. A community of monks established near Paris by St Louis, having cast eyes of affection upon a handsome old palace in their neighbourhood, named Vauvert, commenced playing such pranks about it as caused it to be instantly reputed as haunted. By these means they actually succeeded in their object. We have another instance of a house being deserted, shunned, and finally sold for an old song, merely in consequence of an occasional noise ultimately traced to the clanking of a loose door in the lower storey. We recollect ourselves a house at Slateford, near Edinburgh, which for some weeks was an object of dread to all the country round, for no other reason than a derangement of the water-pipes. The only other anecdote for which we can find room, is one relating to a remarkable case which also occurred within our recollection, and for some time was a theme of far-spread wonder. Like the CockLane affair, it takes a strong hue of the ridiculous. Though the materials of a great part of the volumes "On the 5th of December (1828), the inmates of before us are by no means of a very novel character, the farm-house of Baldarroch, in the district of the agreeable manner in which they are thrown toBanchory, Aberdeenshire, were alarmed by observ-gether will amply repay the trouble of perusing the ing a great number of sticks, pebble-stones, and book, as, indeed, our citations will probably have clods of earth, flying about their yard and premises. satisfied the reader. They endeavoured, but in vain, to discover who was the delinquent; and the shower of stones continuing for five days in succession, they came at last to the conclusion that the devil and his imps were alone the cause of it. The rumour soon spread over all that part of the country, and hundreds of persons came from far and near to witness the antics of the devils of Baldarroch. After the fifth day, the shower of clods and stones ceased on the outside of the premises, and the scene shifted to the interior. Spoons, knives, plates, mustard-pots, rolling-pins, and flat-irons, appeared suddenly endued with the power of self-motion, and were whirled from room to room, and rattled down the chimneys, in a manner which nobody could account for. The lid of a mustard-pot was put into a cupboard by the servant girl, in the presence of scores of people, and in a few minutes afterwards came bouncing down the chimney, to the consternation of every body. There was also a tremendous knocking at the doors and on the roof, and pieces of stick and pebble-stones rattled against the windows and broke them. The whole neighbourhood was a scene of alarm; and not only the vulgar, but persons of education, respectable farmers, within a circle of twenty miles, expressed their belief in the supernatural character of these events, and offered up devout prayers to be preserved from the machinations of the Evil One. The The pipe, which was made of ebony, was about eighnote of fear being once sounded, the visiters, as is gene-teen inches in length, and three-quarters of an inch in rally the case in all tales of wonder, strove with each diameter, and had a brass bowl near its further extreother who should witness the most extraordinary oc- mity, which was closed. In shape, the bowl resembled currences; and within a week, it was generally believed a pear, having its upper surface smooth and flattened, in the parishes of Banchory-Ternan, Drumoak, Durris, with a small aperture in its centre, sufficient to admit a So many persons had, by their openly expressed Kincardine-O'Neil, and all the circumjacent districts needle of moderate size. The use of the lamp and bodbelief of the reality of the visitation, identified them- of Mearns and Aberdeenshire, that the devil had been kin, which need not be described, will be seen presently. selves with it, that Parsons and his family were far seen in the act of hammering upon the house-top of Drawing a table with his apparatus to the side of a from being the only persons interested in the con- Baldarroch. One old man asserted positively, that bamboo couch, upon which he seated himself crosstinuance of the delusion. The result of the experi- one night, after having been to see the strange gam-legged, after the manner of the Turks, our hero began ment convinced most people; but these were not to bols of the knives and mustard pots, he met the phan- by lighting the lamp, over which he placed a glass shade, be convinced by any evidence, however positive, and tom of a great black man, who wheeled round his so as to render the flame strong and steady, and prevent they therefore spread abroad the rumour that the head with a whizzing noise, making a wind about his its smoking. He then took a small quantity of the drug ghost had not appeared in the vault, because Mr Kent ears that almost blew his bonnet off,' aad that he was (of the size of a pea) on the point of the bodkin, and had taken care beforehand to have the coffin removed. haunted by him in this manner for three miles. It was held it for a few seconds in the flame of the lamp, when That gentleman, whose position was a very painful also affirmed and believed, that all horses and dogs it swelled and took fire, emitting smoke of a strong one, immediately procured competent witnesses, in that approached this enchanted ground, were imme- aromatic and not unpleasant odour. Instantly blowwhose presence the vault was entered and the coffin diately affected that a gentleman, slow of faith, had ing it out, he rolled it for a short time on the bowl of of poor Fanny opened. Their deposition was then been cured of his incredulity by meeting the butter- the pipe (by swiftly twirling round the bodkin between published; and Mr Kent indicted Parsons and his churn jumping in at the door as he himself was going the forefinger and thumb), and again applied it to the wife, his daughter, Mary Frazer the servant, the Rev. out-that the roofs of houses had been torn off, and flame of the lamp to undergo the same process for two Mr Moor, and a tradesman, two of the most promi- that several ricks in the corn-yard had danced a quad- or three successive times. After being sufficiently nent patrons of the deception, for a conspiracy. The rille together, to the sound of the devil's bagpipes re- burned, he next introduced the bodkin into the apertrial came on in the Court of King's Bench, on the echoing from the mountain-tops. The women in the ture of the bowl, twisting it gently round, so as to de10th of July, before Lord Chief-Justice Mansfield, family of the persecuted farmer of Baldarroch also kept tach from its point the opium which was left adhering when, after an investigation which lasted twelve their tongues in perpetual motion; swelling with their to the edges. Lastly, having made a deep expiration, hours, the whole of the conspirators were found guilty. strange stories the tide of popular wonder. The good-in order to expel the air as much as possible from his The Rev. Mr Moor and his friend were severely re-wife herself, and all her servants, said, that whenever lungs, he put the pipe into his mouth, applied the bowl primanded in open court, and recommended to make to the flame of the lamp, and took one long inspiration, some pecuniary compensation to the prosecutor for by which the opium was almost entirely dissipated and the aspersions they had been instrumental in throwconverted into a dense smoke, which, after retaming in ing upon his character. Parsons was sentenced to the chest for a short time, he emitted through his nose stand three times in the pillory, and to be imprisoned trils. The same process was repeated eight times in for two years: his wife to one year's, and his servant the course of twenty minutes, when he lay down on the to six month's impri onment in the Bridewell. A couch and fell into a profound sleep, which lasted nearly printer, who had been employed by them to publish three hours. On awaking, which he did of his own an account of the proceedings for their profit, was accord, he appeared stupid and confused, and seemingly also fined fifty pounds, and discharged. not a little surprised at finding himself in the company of foreigners, when, recollecting himself, he burst into an immoderate fit of laughter.

The precise manner in which the deception was carried on has never been explained. The knocking in the wall appears to have been the work of Parsons' wife, while the scratching part of the business was left to the little girl. That a contrivance so clumsy could have deceived any body, cannot fail to excite our wonder. But thus it always is. If two or three

they went to bed, they were attacked with stones and
other missiles, some of which came below the blankets
and gently tapped their toes. One evening, a shoe
suddenly darted across a garret where some labourers
were sitting, and one of the men, who attempted to
catch it, swore positively that it was so hot and heavy
he was unable to hold it.

Among the persons drawn to Baldarroch by these
occurrences were the heritor, the minister, and all the
elders of the kirk, under whose superintendence an
investigation was immediately commenced. Their
proceedings were not promulgated for some days; and,
in the mean time, rumour continued to travel through
all the Highlands, magnifying each mysterious incident
the farther it got from home. There were, of course,
some sensible and educated people, who, after stripping
the stories circulated of their exaggeration, attributed

The apparatus, which was contained in a leather-bag, consisted of a small box of opium, a pipe of a peculiar construction, a lamp, and a steel bodkin about six inches in length.

The opium, which was contained in a wooden box not much larger than a lady's thimble, was a clear, dark, semi-fluid substance, resembling tar or treacle, though of rather more consistence, and prepared, so far as I could understand, from the crude drug by boiling, straining, and evaporating.

In the present instance, that of a young man about twenty-four years of age, after the second inhalation of the drug, the eyes became full and sparkling, the face began to flush, and the pulse to increase in quickness. and fullness; the breathing likewise became more tre

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