STANZAS TO A COMET. THE moon is gliding through the sky Cleaving the star-lit ocean's breast. Lady of heav'n! how pure and bright Yet are there beams more bright than thine, A world of flame-a midnight sun! Wand'rer of heav'n! thy boding face Is thine the flag of woe unfurl'd, Or art thou as thou dost appear, There did I view the worlds afar, The shoreless seas that never flow; The dark blue hills like barriers stood, The distant windings of the flood Roll'd their dark waves from clime to clime. Mine eye was fix'd-my mind was free Its flight creation could not bound! It linger'd 'midst eternity And gazed on worlds revolving round. It mark'd the glory of the night, The earth-the ocean-and the sky; But 'midst my revels of delight, I heard it mutter'd-"They must die." But while I mused the comet fled, The moon grew dim-no stars were seen The sun in glory raised his head,— And Devon's fields again were green. FIONA. THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE AGE. IN good sooth, Mr. Merton, we live in an age of improvements; every day produces some new discovery, each more wonderful than the last, and not a passing hour but places in a stronger light the folly of those who persist in extolling the good old times. A volume would scarce suffice for the mere enumeration of the various mechanical and chemical discoveries of the last few years; it is not however my intention at present to dwell on these, but to mention those nobler flights of invention which pre-eminently distinguish us from our predecessors. Have we not men who, scorning the dull routine of former ages, when the assiduous employment of months and years was necessary to acquire knowledge, impart it as it were intuitively and by inspiration? Who will, henceforth, remain in ignorance of any language, ancient or modern, when in every quarter of this metropolis he may find a sage who will engage to make him perfect in any given language in two or three months? Nay, a lettré* of unimpeached veracity, and who produces the names of kings and nobles as his vouchers, assures us that with few masters (one to 10,000 pupils) and at a comparatively trifling expense, his method would enable the Emperor of Russia to cause the Russian language to be communicated to all the tribes in his vast territories in a few months; and by the same means the English language might accompany the extension of the English government, and be rendered universal in the same short period of time throughout the chequered population of its realms, from the millions who people the banks of the Ganges, to the Canadians, the Hottentots, the negroes of Sierra Leone, the Maltese, the Caribs, the Irish, the Scotch, the Welsh, and the Greeks of the Seven Islands." Indeed Mr. Merton this prospect is truly cheering: what an extension of knowledge, what increasing good-will may we expect among men when each shall perfectly understand the other without fear of misapprehension. But let me not, carried away by my enthusiasm for the matchless Dufief, pass over in silence those who in other branches of education have equally well merited of their country. Hail, Lewis! thou who in thy generous care of the rising generation, hast discovered a means to instruct our children in the graphic art, so as without birch or cane to render them accomplished penmen in six brief lessons. With what joy do I look forward to the period, when, thanks to the philanthropic exertions of these and other sage and generous individuals, life's cheerful spring shall no more be clouded by the frown of the pedagogue, but all the work of education shall be completed in perhaps one short year. Possessed of such advantages our children will not, cannot fail of performing prodigies. I shall yet live, I trust, to see the admirable Crichton (then no longer admirable) equalled, or surpassed, by every stripling endowed with a moderate capacity. "Knowledge, sir," it has been said, " is power." Power then being thus increased a hundred, or a thousand fold, man cannot fail of becoming really "lord of all things here below," aye, and above too, if we may believe the projectors of the balloon company, men compared with whom the celebrated Imlac was but a driveller. Neither am I without hopes, that we may at last obtain the long-sought * Dufief. Elixir Vitæ. Already has a distinguished son of Esculapius discovered a method of restoring the blind to sight, and that without cramming them with nauseous drugs: his remedy is far more agreeable, being no other than the taking a pinch of snuff. And now, Mr. Merton, lest I should intrude upon your valuable pages, I will conclude, although the above are but a small portion of the wonders, which have lately been noticed and admired by Your humble servant, CREDULOUS. THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. AFTER the battle of Aignadelles, the victorious French besieged the revolted city of Brescia, took it, and sacked it with a fury, of which history offers few examples. The Chevalier Bayard, who had been wounded in the assault, was carried to the house of a lady of quality, whom he reassured by his discourse, and to protect her and her family placed two sentinels at the door, giving them eight hundred crowns as an indemnity for their loss in not partaking of the plunder. Some time after, when he was preparing to depart, the mistress of the house threw herself at his feet, and addressed him thus: "The right of war placed at your disposal our lives and property, which you have preserved as well as our honour. We hope also from your generosity, that you will be satisfied with a present proportioned rather to our limited means, than to the extent of our gratitude.' With these words she presented to him a casket full of ducats. Bayard, smiling, asked her how many it contained? "Two thousand five hundred, my lord," answered the lady with a faltering voice, "if you are not satisfied we will endeavour to raise a greater sum. ”—“ No, madame,” said Bayard, "I have no occasion for your gold, you have far overpaid by your care of me, any services I have been so fortunate as to render you, I request only your friendship, and beseech you to accept of mine." Astonished at his moderation, the lady again fell at the feet of the Chevalier, and protested that she would not rise till he accepted this mark of her gratitude. "In that case, madame," said Bayard, "I will no longer refuse you, permit me only to take leave of the young ladies, your daughters." When they entered, he thanked them in the most obliging terms for their attention to him during his illness, adding, “I much wished to have left with you some mark of my gratitude, but a soldier is rarely possessed of jewels suitable to persons of your quality. My lady, your mother, has bestowed upon me two thousand five hundred ducats; allow me to offer each of you one thousand, as an addition to your portion, and deign to distribute the remaining five hundred among the poor nuns of this city who have been plundered." THE OBLIGING REPROACH. BONTEMPS, principal valet of Louis the Fourteenth, besought him to confer a favour on one of his friends. "When," said the king," will you cease- Bontemps was disconcerted by the reproach, but was not so long, before the king continued, smiling, asking favours for others, and never any thing for yourself? The place you ask for your friend, I bestow upon your son." THE VAGARIES OF THE IMAGINATION. THERE is nothing in nature so creative of admiration and wonder, as that faculty or power of the mind-Imagination. Its dominion, not only extends over every thing that exists, in the ocean, the earth, and the air, but when it has exhausted one world, it has power to form another; and can clothe and people it with objects of its own formation. Its pleasures are as varied as the causes which produce them; not satisfied with what reality affords, it is constantly applying to its own resources for new objects. Its powers are as diversified as they are unlimited. At one instant the scene it depicts is glowing and brilliant; the landscape is the richest its power can suggest; a sun of its own formation is shining brilliantly over fields whose luxuriance sates the " mind's eye;" till it is relieved by the shades of dark and sombre woods, or the ruffled bosom of a meandering river. The plants of the field, and the trees of the forest, without regard to climate or soil, flourish promiscuously together; while the same winds gently exert their influence over the flowers of spring, and the fruits of autumn. "In the twinkling of an eye," the scene is changed, perhaps to a boundless sandy desert, over whose sterile expanse the eye wanders with pain; or to the snow-clad vales, whose ideal atmosphere chills the living blood. It has no regard for distance, time, or place. The same sun which scorches up the flowers, cannot melt the snow that is scattered around them. From pole to pole it wafts the mind, whose possessor seems to live and breathe in a world of his own creating. It has not only command over the mental eye, but over every natural sense. The excitement of some ideas will convulse the body with mirth, or enliven it with joy; while perceptions of a contrary nature can make us tremble with fear-writhe with torture-or shudder with disgust; so much so, that it has become a truism, that the anticipation of an evil is almost as painful as the evil itself. In all this there is nothing so surprising as the wonderful influence which the imaginative impulses have over the corporeal faculties. We may search in vain to find any thing in nature more dangerous than neglecting to keep the former faculties within due bounds. Of the vagaries that have reached the ear of the world, there are few more extraordinary than the following, many of which I can myself vouch for the truth of; in a few instances they may tend to excite the risible faculties, but will in general enforce the necessity of keeping the mind's fantastic mistress in subjection. A young friend of mine, of a very lively turn of mind, and quick fancy, was for a considerable length of time afflicted with a hypochondriacal complaint. The danger of the disease had not passed, till he actually fancied his leg was made of a tobacco-pipe, and he became in the most indescribable agony at any one approaching near him. Although in other respects perfectly sane, it was not till after the most judicious treatment that he recovered the use of his senses, for when labouring under that conviction, he might truly have been said to have lost half his understanding. A similar case is related by Van-Surcten, in his commentaries upon Boerhaave,* of a man fancying the same part of his person had changed to glass; nor was he divested of this strange belief till his servant * Aphorism 1113. bringing a log of wood too near him, at the same time disregarding his entreaties of carrying it to a greater distance, for fear it should come in contact with his fragile member, he rose to chastise her, and he fancied he broke his leg; certainly he broke the spell, and regained the use of his limb. To shew that these vagaries must not be treated lightly, and that sufferers labouring under this mental delusion require the utmost caution, I will mention another most singular circumstance of an individual who was thus lamentably situated. The vagary that influenced his wayward spirit was, that he had grown so excessively corpulent, that it was impossible for him to get out of the room he was in. In order to diminish his ideal bulk, he refused all sustenance, till his appearance, as may be supposed, became the very reverse of what he imagined it was. His physician in this distressing dilemma thought the only way to dispossess him of the idea, would be convincing him he could by pushing him forcibly through the door. Still labouring under this strange infatuation, although he passed through easily enough, he exclaimed he was crushed to pieces, and fell dead.* The instance told of an individual who was threatened with death, and terrified by the appearance of a sham executioner, with a real block and axe, is an awful warning to all who may feel inclined to execute such practical jokes. This one was carried on so far, that when the poor victim was ordered to lay his head on the block, and a blow with a switch given, he fell down, as if it had taken the same effect as an axe. And such was found to be the case. Upon taking him up it was found that the cord of life was snapped, so wonderfully had the energies of the mind acted on the corporeal faculties. It is a well-known observation of Burke's, that if a man is told a thing which he knows to be absolutely false every day for a year, he will, at the end of that time, believe it to be infallibly true. For my own part, I think it may be accomplished in a much shorter time. I can remember a circumstance when I was at school, and which, to my shame be it spoken, I myself was party to, of a poor weak-minded lad (though by no means a fool) being persuaded with the belief that he was not himself, but another boy, whose very name he strongly detested. The ludicrous effect may be very easily conceived; happily for the poor fellow, he was undeceived before any serious consequences happened. But one of the most extraordinary instances of the power of the mind over the corporeal powers, is related by Professor Hufeland, in one of his admirable popular essays, which shews that skill and experience may, after all, overcome the most threatening calamities. He relates of a student, at the university at Jena, of a remarkable sanguine disposition, cheerful habit and temper, being suddenly seized with a fit of melancholy abstraction and direful forebodings. All inquiries respecting the cause were fruitless, till at length it was wrung from him, that he had but twenty-four hours to live, and that therefore his conduct was befitting a man so nigh to his grave. His fellow-pupils endeavoured to laugh him out of this persuasion, but he was proof against their derision and scorn, and proceeded to settle his affairs, with the greatest composure. At this juncture it was thought proper to make the professor * This is authenticated by Fianus in his De Viribis Imaginationis. |