has done something of which he is unwilling to 'be thought the author. Criminals frequently declare their accomplices. Confidants sometimes 'discover the secrets with which they have been entrusted. Truth often manifests itself in de'fiance of the efforts which are made to suppress it. Confessors have been known to reveal the confessions of their penitents. We should be careful to have no witnesses of that which we are afraid to have disclosed. Ability, capacity-These words, though often confounded, in writing and discourse, are significant of two different powers of the mind. Ability, is the power which enables us to act, capacity, that which enables us to receive. The former may be strong or weak; the latter extensive or contracted, shallow or profound. We may perceive a great disparity in the capacity of girls at school, but it is not till they become women that we can form a proper estimate of their abilities. To pray, to supplicate. To pray any one to accord us what we ask, does not mark a desire so lively, or a want so urgent, as to supplicate. We pray a friend to render us any trifling service; we supplicate the King, or some one in authority, to redress our wrongs. Weak, weakness. A man of good understand ing may have weaknesses, a man without any understanding is weak. Nature or education may have made us weak, we want the power or the courage to be otherwise; but our weaknesses are voluntary, we will not resist them. A weak man continues so all his life: but the weaknesses of youth seldom adhere to d age. Acquirement, acquisition, attainment.—These words agree in expressing something which has been obtained either by chance or labour; but in precise language they are appropriate to different objects. Thus we say, the acquirements of study, the acquisitions of fortune, the attainments of morality. Malice, malignity.-These words are synonymous in expressing an evil quality of the mind, their difference is marked by the object at which they aim. Malice seeks less to injure than to give pain. Malignity delights in traducing characters and subverting happiness. Malice is cun. ning in devising ways to mortify its object. Malignity, more deep, more skilled in dissimulation, is active in projecting measures to ruin it. Malice attacks the vanity, malignity the happi ness; and while the former seeks but to damp enjoyment, the latter aims at annihilating it. Malice, however, when it has long operated in the mind, loses every hour something of what distinguished it from its sister vice, and imperceptibly advances towards conversion into malig nity. [To be continued.] ON HERALDRY. As for arms, or coat-armours, they are so Thirdly, arms are made up of figures and called because they are generally borne on arms, tinctures, or colours, fixed, limited, and deteron the shield or buckler, on the coat of arms, in mined; which also distinguish them from symbanners and persons; and because it is princi-bols, hieroglyphics, emblems, and devices; and pally in war and tournaments (which are feats of herein, properly, consists the very essence of the arms), that they had their first rise. The definition we have given of arms is made up of several branches, which shall be briefly explained. In the first place, arms are marks of honour, that is, of nobility, or gentility and virtue; because they must owe their origin either to military valour, consummate ability and prudence in the management of public affairs, or to some eminent quality, Secondly, arms are hereditary, and descend from father to son, down to the remotest posterity, which distinguish them from symbolical figures, formerly borne by ancient heroes, gene als of armies, and soldiers; and which, as we have said before, were only either national or personal distinctions. heraldic science. Fourthly, It cannot be denied, that arms were at first taken up according to the fancy of the bearers. But then, in the fifth place, since blazonry was methodically settled and confined within rules, arms have either been granted or confirmed by Sovereign Princes; that is, when Princes enno. bled private persons, as a reward of their bravery or virtue, they either bestowed upon them arms, if they had none before, or preserved and confirmed to them, with some alteration and addition, those they already had. By these means, in the sixth place, arms are become the true marks of nobility, or gentility; because, in all civilized nations, the Sovereign is the fountain of honour. Princes having wisely considered, that the Illustrating those who had performed signal services to the state, either in peace or in war, was powerful incentive to others to imitate them, rewarded the merit of the first he distinctions of honour, and at the same time restrained the wanton and unlimited use of arms. Heralds having, in all ages, as I have shewn before, had the superintendancy over all matters of honour, nobility, and chivalry; the framing of the rules or laws of blazonry, and of regulations for bearing of coat-armours, was committed to their care, in order to preserve them to those that had a just title to them, and to take them from those who wrongfully assumed them. But, notwithstanding these precautions, many abuses have been, and still are, committed and connived at, in this matter, in all nations-Lastly, arms serve to distinguish not only private families, but also states, empires, kingdoms, provinces, cities, communities, companies, societies, and dignities, ecclesiastical, civil, and military; for which reason, they are divided into several species. To complete this concise system of heraldry, it is necessary to explain the numerous terms made use of in the science, as now settled and determined. We will begin with the points of the escutcheon. These points, by armourists, are used to determine exactly the position of the bearings they are charged with, and the knowledge of these points ought to be well observed; for the same figure, in the same tincture, borne in different points of the escutcheon, renders those bearings as so many different arms; for it must be observed, that the use of these points is to mark the difference of coats exactly; for example, arms having a lion in chief differs from one having a lion in base. Next, distinctions of houses, these inform us how the bearer of each is descended from the same family; they also denote the subordinate degrees in each house from the original ancestor, viz. first house, for the heir, or first son, the label; second son, the crescent; third son, the mullet; fourth son, the martlet; fifth son, the annulet; sixth son, the fleurde-lis. Second house. The crescent, with the label on it, for the first son of the second son; the crescent on the crescent for the second son of the second son of the first house, &c. By the tinctures or colour, is meant that variety of hue of arms common both to shields and their charges: the colours generally used, are red, blue, sable, vert, purpure, yellow, and white, termed or and argent, are metals. These colours are represented, in engravings, by dots and lines, as represented in Debrett's Peerage. Or is expressed, as above, by dots, argent, is plain; gules, by perpendicular lines; azure, by horizontal lines; sable, by perpendicular and horizontal lines crossing each other; vert, by diagonal lines from the dexter chief to the sinister base point. Furs are of different kinds, and represent the hairy skins of certain animals, prepared for the linings of robes of state, and anciently shields were covered with furred skins: they are used in coats of arms, viz. ermine, is black spots on a white field; ermines, is a field black with white spots; erminois, is a field gold with black spots; vair, is white and blue, represented by figures of small escutcheons arranged in a line, so that the base argent is opposite to the base azure. Potent counter-potent, is a field covered with figures, like crutch-heads, as in Debrett's plates. [To be continued.] ALL THE TALENTS! POETRY. And pict'ring, like a cloud at close of day, A giant sputt'ring pappy from the spoon, POLYPUS. So upright, that they hit him in O that the King wou'd dub him but a Lord, The patient House winks, smiles, and disap proves. In ill-pair'd tropes our Secretary talks; Mud and the milky way alike he walks; And fondly copying democratic aims, 'Twixt high and low poetic banns proclaims; Now peas and pearls upon one chain compels ; Now couples Hercules with cockle-shells; Adroit with gilded frippery to gloss, The brittle temper of his mental dross. Thus Irish D-yle, loquacious as a nurse, Tells ten bad stories to bring round a worse; His studied jests from merry Miller draws, Eatraps a laugh and poaches for applause. Smooth to perplex and candid to deceive; Alike expert to wed a cause and leave; A slave to method, yet the fool of whim, Good sense itself seems emptiness în him. In pompous jargon or low wit it hides, And very gravely makes us split our sides. Dull when he ponders, lucky in a hit, The very Sal Votatile of wit; Thro' the dark night to find the day he gropes; He thinks in theories, and talks in tropes. SCRIBLERUS. Cou'd Wh-tbr-d catch a spark of W-ndh-m's fire POLYPUS. To deeds more dang'rous Wh-tbr-d might aspire. But as it stands, our Brewer has not Nous, His brain bedeck'd with many a nice conceit, For fit is he th' affairs of state to move, Bills at long sight upon his wits he draws, LINES, Upon seeing a beautiful Infant sleeping on the bosom of its Mother. UPON its native pillow dear, The little slumb'rer finds repose, As zephyr passing o'er a rose. Time hovers o'er thy downy rest, To crown thy ruby brow with thorn. Oh! thoughtless! couldst thou now but see On what a world thou soon must move, Or taste the cup prepar'd for thee Of grief, lost hopes, or widow'd love. Ne'er from that breast thoud'st raise thine head, ON BLINDNESS. AH! think, if June's delicious rays Ah! think, if skies, obscure or bright, Can thus depress or cheer the mind; And who shall tell his cause for woe, The silent babe that climbs his knee; With pain, the passing meal to find; To live distressed, and die forlorn, Are ills that oft await the Blind. When to the breezy uplands led, At noon, or blushing eve, or morn, He hears the red-breast o'er his head, While round him breathes the scented/thorn; But oh! instead of Nature's face, Hills, dales, and woods, and streams combin'd; Instead of tints, and forms, and grace, Night's blackest mantle shrouds the Blind./ If rosy youth, bereft of sight, "Midst countless thousands, pines unblest, Ah! think what woes await the Blind! TO CLARINDA. To me, sweet Clarinda, delightful and dear Were the home grac'd by thee, though unlovely and drear The prospects that hemm'd in the dwelling; Though Winter approach with his mantle of snows, From Mr. CAREY's Amatory Poems, just published. Where the pink and the jasmine allure, His anguish I could not endure; Yet I laugh'd at the comical figure he made, And cried, 'You are joking, for sure, for sure!' And cried, 'You are joking, for sure!' And cold is the north wind around us that blows, But, oh! when he found that I pitied his case, Yet glad is the heart, with thy presence that glows, And that love's warmest impulse is swelling. Though vagrant my mind when Clarinda's away, And these eyes when thou'rt absent in idleness stray, Deem me not of the infidel number: Love shall pilot each wandering fancy to rest, And 'mid night's drearest solitude steal to thy breast; And these eyes, which not bent on Clarinda, not blest, Seal soft in a heaven of slumber. The pleasure in dreaming of thee can surpass The frail fair's pleading charms, and the friend toasting glass, 'Mid the jollity Bacchus assembles; But when present, love reads its reward in those eyes, And needs must consent to his cure; He lock'd me so fast in a tender embrace, That I thought I was dying, for 1 sure, I thought I was dying, for sure. THE BARD. for sure; ON Irthing's smooth and verdant plains, Pathetic tun'd his warbling harp : Alas! to tune no more! "Flow on thou sweet and purling stream"Some future bard may stray "Upon thy beauteous flow'ry banks, "And pour the mournful lay. "Here genius first inspir'd my breast "The tuneful harp to play ; "And oft the echo, sorrow's note, "On Zephyrs bore away. 11 "Misfortune's sons are ev'ry where "These often pierc'd my youthful heart "Now steal away ye trembling notes!" "A feeble ray remains. His arms asunder spread; INSCRIPTION FOR A SUMMER-HOUSE. IN this sequester'd calm, 'tis sweet These dewy paths of health among;" And catch the music of the breeze. The sick'ning herds to shelter fly, Dead silence holds her awful reign, Slumbers upon the peaceful plain; Or when the wether's tinkling bell Swells on the ear, from distance borne, The owl sails by, and through the dell The beetle winds his tuneful horn. Sounds such as these inspire the soul With rapturous visions, soft and fair, The woe fraught scenes of life control, And so the the anguish of despair. Oh oft may Spring renew These scenes thy presence makes so dear! Autumn oft steep thy flowers in dew, And Summer love to linger here. Though Winter frown, 'tis but a day 'Till laughing Spring resume her reign, So joys and griefs our bosoms sway, And heartfelt pleasures banish pain. TO ELIZA. LET lighter bards in sportive numbers play, Distress his feelings and assail his ear; cheer; For yet, methinks I see, with pleasure warm, SONG Hence Jealousy, Discord, and Sorrow; But welcome Worth, Friendship, and Love! Let grey-beards and fools dread to-morrow, We then ev'ry torment may prove : To-day let us push round the glasses, That quench every spark of keen woe; And drink to true Friends and good Lasses, To them ev'ry pleasure we owe. Since joys in this wide world of madness, Are mingi'd with troubles and fears, Poor mortals should never court sadness; Man's life is but shorten'd by tears. Long, long may we push round, &c. |