The Ingoldsby Legends by The Rev. Richard H. Barham.

The Ingoldsby Legends

By

The Rev. Richard H. Barham.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM

(Abridged from the memoir by his son)

RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM was born on December 6, 1788, in

Canterbury, were his family had for many generations resided.

His father, dying in 1795, bequeathed a moderate estate to his

only son, then about five or six years of age. A portion of

this property consisted of the manor known as Tappington, or

Tapton Wood, so often alluded to in The Ingoldsby Legends. The

boy was sent to St. Paul's School, of which he was for two

years 'captain.' He then entered at nineteen as a gentleman

commoner at Brazenose College, and was speedily elected a

member of the well-known Phoenix Common Room, at that time one

of the 'crack' university clubs. Here he found a kindred spirit

in the gay and gifted Lord George Grenville (afterwards Lord

Nugent). Here, too, be was again thrown into contact with one

whom he had known in earlier days, Cecil Tattersall, the friend

of Shelley and Lord Byron, and, like most of that misguided

party, but too well known by his abused talents and melancholy

end. And here also his intimacy with Theodore Hook took rise.

College life, more especially at that day, was likely to

present numerous and sore temptations to one who was

overflowing with good-nature and high spirits, and whose early

loss had not only placed a perilous abundance of funds at his

disposal, but also left him utterly unchecked by parental

counsel and authority. His reply to Mr. Hodson, his tutor,

afterwards principal of Brazenose, will convey some notion of

the hours he was wont to keep. This gentleman, on one occasion,

demanded an explanation of his continued absence from morning

chapel.

'The fact is, sir,' urged his pupil, 'you are too late for

me,'

'Too late!' repeated the tutor, in astonishment.

'Yes, sir. I cannot sit up till seven o'clock in the

morning: I am a man of regular habits; and unless I get to bed

by four or five at latest, I am really fit for nothing next

day.'

The habit was one for 'time to strengthen, not efface.' No

one might have quoted the old Scotch ballad with greater

feeling and sincerity:

'Up in the morning's nae for me,

Up in the morning airly:

I'd rather watch a winter's night

Than up in the morning airly.'

With him a strong natural bent supplied the place of

caprice or love of singularity, and he sat up because he found,

as the morning advanced, his ideas flowed more freely, and his

mental energies became in every way more active than at any

other period of the twenty-four hours. It could hardly fail of

exciting a considerable degree of astonishment, to mark how,

after a day spent without one moment's rest or relaxation, in

the intricacies of business, often of a harassing and momentous

nature, his eye would light up and his spirits overflow as the

chimes of midnight were approaching; an entirely new set of

faculties seemed to come into play, and if there was no one at

hand to benefit by his conversation --to listen to his

inexhaustible fund of anecdote and observation, he would devote

himself to the investigation of some obscure genealogical

point, or the perusal of some treasured volume in black letter,

with a freshness and vigour not to be surpassed by the most

orderly of mortals. At these times, too, his powers of

composition reached their culminating point, and he wrote with

a facility which not only surprised himself, but which he

actually viewed with distrust; and he would not unfrequently

lay down his pen, from an apprehension that what was so fluent

must of necessity be feeble also. Indeed, he was no adept in

the art of cudgelling the brain, and, in respect of poetry at

all events, he wrote easily or not at all. The slightest check

would often delay the publication of an article of this kind

for months, and numbers of manuscripts remained at his death,

whose unfinished state could be attributed only to some

trifling stumbling-block, which a little labour might have

levelled or avoided.

It was during the course of a short but severe illness,

that Mr. Barham first entertained the notion of becoming a

candidate for holy orders; and, though he so far prosecuted his

original design of preparing for the bar as to become a pupil

of an eminent conveyancer, he soon relinquished the profession

of law. Having passed his examination with sufficient credit to

entitle him to a place in the 'second class,' Mr. Barham was in

due time admitted to the curacy of Ashford, in Kent. Thence he

proceeded to Westwell, a small parish some few miles distant.

In 1814 he married Caroline, third daughter of Captain Smart,

of the Royal Engineers, and shortly afterwards, on being

presented to the living of Snargate, he removed to Warehorn,

the curacy of which was at the same time offered him. These

parishes were about two miles apart, and situated, the former

in, the latter on the verge of Romney Marsh; and, as may be

expected, they abounded in desperadoes, engaged in what by

technical euphemism was termed the 'Free Trade.' But,

notwithstanding the reckless character of these men, the new

rector met with nothing of outrage or incivility at their

hands. Many a time and oft indeed, on returning homewards late

at night, he was challenged by some half-seen horseman; but on

making known his name and office, he was invariably allowed to

pass on with a 'Good night -- it's only parson!' while a long

and shadowy line of mounted smugglers, each with his led horse

laden with tubs, filed silently by. Nay, they even extended

their familiarity so far as to make the church itself a dépôt

for contraband goods; and on one occasion a large seizure of

tobacco had been made in the Snargate belfry -- calumny

contended for the discovery of a keg of hollands under the

vestry-table.

It was scarcely to be expected that the pursuit of

literature should flourish in so uncongenial an atmosphere,

however favourable it might prove for the development of that

'holy vegetation' of which Mr. Peter Plymley pleasantly

discourses. It was reserved for an accident, no other than the

breaking of one leg, and the spraining of its fellow,

occasioned by the overturn of a gig, to bring a taste into play

which might otherwise have lain dormant for years, or died for

lack of exercise. A novel, entitled Baldwin,<1> rapidly thrown

off in a few weeks, was the result; a work which fell stillborn

from the Minerva Press, under the management of the matrons of

that establishment.

Scarcely was his restoration to health complete, than he

went to London to consult Abernethy about the illness of one of

his children. He chanced to encounter an old friend, at whose

suggestion he became candidate for a minor canonry then vacant

at St. Paul's, to which in 1821 he was duly elected. It has

been said that literature is 'an excellent walking-stick,

although a bad crutch;' doubtless at this period of his life it

proved a serviceable auxiliary to Mr. Barham, who found his

income diminished at a time when an increasing family and a

residence in London would admit of no curtailment of

expenditure. Accordingly, while articles of the lighter sort,

mostly bearing on the events of the day, were struck off in

rapid succession, he devoted considerable time and industry

towards the completion of a book then in progress, called

Gorton's Biographical Dictionary, and about one-third of which

was contributed by him. His professional duties, however, soon

precluded his continuing any regular literary engagement, or

undertaking any work of importance. Poetical trifles, indeed,

fell as usual from his pen, and together with an occasional

review, &c., made their appearance in Blackwood, the John Bull,

the Globe, and sundry other periodicals. We find, for example,

the following passage in his diary, entered about this time: --

'My wife goes to bed at ten to rise at eight, and look after

the children, and other matrimonial duties; I sit up till three

in the morning working at rubbish for Blackwood -- she is the

slave of the ring, and I of the lamp.'

In 1824 he received the appointment of a priest in

ordinary of His Majesty's Chapel Royal, and was shortly

afterwards presented to the incumbency of St. Mary Magdalene

and St. Gregory by St. Paul. In the pulpit he was not

remarkable, less, perhaps, from the want of power, than from a

rooted disapproval of anything like oratorical display in such

a place, -- anything, in short, that might seem calculated to

convert the house of prayer into a mere theatre for

intellectual exhibition. It was not, then, as a popular

preacher, 'pleasant to sit under,' that he was beloved, still

less as a party one; he published no pamphlets, got up no

petitions, nor was his voice to be heard at Exeter Hall; but he

was ever watchful over the welfare of his people, temporal and

eternal.

His appointment in the Chapel Royal led to an acquaintance

which quickly ripened into a warm friendship with the Rev.

Edward Cannon, also one of the priests of the household, and

who for many years had been on intimate terms with the family

of Mrs. Barham -- the singular being introduced to the world

under the name of Godfrey Moss, in Theodore Hook's novel,

Maxwell.

About 1826 Mr. Barham commenced a diary, which for some

time he continued with considerable spirit and regularity, and

from this some excerpts may be made.

'August l6th. -- Received a letter from Blackwood, with a

copy of numbers 115 and 116 of his Magazine, thanking me for

"The Ghost, a Canterbury Tale," which appeared in the first of

the two numbers, and which Mr. John Hughes (son of our

Residentiary) had transmitted to him from me, informing him, at

the same time, of the fact of their having appeared in

sections, in three successive numbers of the London Chronicle

just before that paper was merged in the St. James's Chronicle.

Of this journal Dr. Johnson was the first editor, and I the

last. The causes of its decline may be inferred.'

'November 26th. -- Dined at Doctor Hughes's. Sir Walter

Scott had been there the day before: and the Dr. told me the

following anecdote, which he had just heard from the "Great

Unknown." -- A Scottish clergy man, whose name was not

mentioned, had some years since been cited before the

Ecclesiastical Assembly at Edinburgh, to answer to a charge

brought against him of great irreverence in religious matters,

and Sir Walter was employed by him to arrange his defence. The

principal fact alleged against him was his having asserted, in

a letter which was produced, that "he considered Pontius Pilate

to be a very ill-used man, as he had done more for Christianity

than all the other nine apostles put together." The fact was

proved, and suspension followed.'

'October 6th, 1827. -- Mr. Attwood, who had set to music

my lines entitled "Too Late," and published them in the

Harmonicon last year, gave me to-day some verses, written, on

perusing them, by a lady, a friend of his.'

The song in question was elicited by an expression in a

letter, from a dear and near relative. He was in the army, and

had struggled on, many a weary year, unnoticed and a subaltern,

happy, however, in the cheering companionship of an

affectionate wife; at length the partner of his toils and hopes

sank by the way, and was taken from him; then, in quick

succession, came wealth, honours, promotion; but they had been

'delayed till be was indifferent, and did not care for them,

till he was solitary, and could not impart them ' -- in his own

words, it was --

TOO LATE.

Too late! though flowerets round me blow,

And clearing skies shine bright and fair;

Their genial warmth avails not now --

Thou art not here the beam to share.

Through many a dark and dreary day,

We journeyed on 'midst grief and gloom;

And now at length the cheering ray

Breaks forth, it only gilds thy tomb.

Our days of hope and youth are past,

Our short-lived joys for ever flown;

And now when Fortune smiles at last,

She finds me cheerless, chilled -- alone!

Ah! no; too late the boon is given,

Alike the frowns and smiles of Fate;

The broken heart by sorrow riv'n,

But murmurs now, 'Too late! Too late!'

About this time Mr. Barham found opportunities of renewing

his acquaintance with Theodore Hook. To say nothing of this

gentleman's unequalled happiness in impromptu versification, to

pass by that particular province of practical humour <2> with

which his name is so commonly associated, and in which be was

facile princeps, Hook yet possessed depth and originality of

mind, little dreamed of, probably, by those who were content to

bask in the sunshine of his wit. It is noted in the diary that

Hook 'spoke one evening of his two eldest daughters, of whom

Mary, the senior, bad just turned twenty-one; the name of the

second was Louisa, and he designated them accordingly as

"Vingt-un" and "Loo!" He gave me on this occasion the proofs of

all be ever wrote of his last novel, Peregrine Bunce, which I

brought away with me.'

As was not unfrequently the case with Mr. Hook's writings,

the earlier portions of this novel were forwarded to his friend

for inspection, previous to publication; the following note

accompanied the proofs of the second volume:-

'DEAR CARDINAL, -- When you have run through Peregrine,

will you send him in pacquet to me at the Athenaeum. I have no

other "document" wherewith to refresh my memory as to his

progress. If you like it, put on it (G.); if you don't, put

(B.); if mediocre (T.). If none of these should express your

opinion, I shall expect to see (D. B.) or (D.B.) as the case

may be.

'Yours most truly,

T.E.H.'

The address here refers to the senior cardinal's stall, a

relic of the ancien régime, which Mr. Barham had for some time

held in St. Paul's Cathedral.

'November 6th.-- Passed one of the pleasantest evenings I

ever spent at Lord --'s. The company, beside the host and

hostess, consisted of Mr. Cannon, Mr. C. Walpole, Mr. Hill,

generally known as "Tom Hill,"<3> Theodore Hook, and myself.

While at dinner, Hook began to be excessively amusing. He took

occasion to repeat part of a prologue which he once spoke as an

amateur, before a country audience, without one word being

intelligible from the beginning to the end. He afterwards

preached part of a sermon in the style of the Rev. --, of

Norwich, of whom he gave a very humorous account; not one

sentence of the harangue could be understood, and yet you could

not help, all through, straining your attention to catch the

meaning. He then gave us many absurd particulars of the

Berriers Street hoax, which he admitted was contrived by

himself and Henry H-- , who was formerly contemporary with me

at Brazenose, and whom I knew there, now a popular preacher. He

also mentioned another of a similar character, but previous in

point of time, of which he had been the sole originator. The

object of it was a Quaker who lived in Henrietta Street, Covent

Garden. Among other things brought to his house were the

dresses of a punch and nine blue devils, and the body of a man

from Lambeth bonehouse, who had the day before been found

drowned in the Thames.

'In the evening, after Lady -- had sung "I've been

roaming," Hook placed himself at the pianoforte, and gave a

most extraordinary display of his powers, both as a musician

and an improvisatore. His assumed object was to give a specimen

of the burlettas formerly produced at Sadler's Wells, and he

went through the whole of one which he composed upon the spot.'

'March 13, 1828.-- Lord --, Sir A. B--, Theodore Hook,

Stephen Price, and Cannon dined here. Cannon told a story of a

manager at a country theatre, who, having given out the play of

"Douglas," found the whole entertainment nearly put to a stop,

by the arrest of "Young Norval" as he was entering the theatre.

In this dilemma, no other performer of the company being able

to take the part, he dressed up a tall, gawkey lad who snuffed

the candles, in a plaid and philabeg, and pushing him on the

stage, advanced himself to the footlights, with the book in his

hand, and addressed the audience with, "Ladies and Gentlemen --

"This young gentleman's name is Norval. On the Grampian

hills

His father feeds his flock, a frugal swain,

Whose constant care was to increase his store,

And keep his only son (this young gentleman) at home.

For this young gentleman had heard," &c.

And so on through the whole of the play, much to the

delectation of the audience.'

'March 23. -- Dined at Sir A. B--'s. An unpleasant

altercation took place between Cannon and Hook, owing to an

allusion, somewhat ill-timed, made by the former to "treasury

defaulters." This circumstance interrupted the harmony of the

evening, and threw a damp upon the party. Hook made but one

pun: on Walpole's remarking that, of two paintings mentioned,

one was "a shade above the other in point of merit," he

replied, "I presume you mean to say it was a shade over (chef

d'oeuvre)."

'May 14.-- Acted as one of the stewards to the Literary

Fund dinner. Fitzgerald, the poet, spouted as usual, and broke

down. Cannon observed "Poeta nascitur non Fitz."'

With his vivid imagination, and strong passion for the

marvellous, it is not to be altogether wondered at if Mr.

Barham appeared a little disposed to give credence to the

existence of things undreamed of in our philosophy. He seemed

at times to endeavour to persuade himself into credulity, much

in the way that some people strive to convict themselves of a

bodily ailment. Unlike poor Lady Cork, whose enjoyment of 'her

murders' sensibly declined, he never lost his relish for a

'good ghost story;' nothing delighted him more than to listen

to one of those 'true histories,' properly fitted with the

regular complement of names, dates, and locale, attested by

'living witnesses of unblemished reputation,' and hedged in on

all sides by circumstantial evidence of the most

incontrovertible nature; one, in short, of those logical culs

de sac, which afford no exit, but by unceremoniously kicking

down the opposing barrier. It was Sir Walter Scott, we believe,

who was thus driven to extricate himself from a similar

dilemma, when, on being asked 'how he accounted' for some

strange tale he had related, on no less authority than that of

his own grandmother, he was forced to reply, after some

deliberation, 'Aiblins my grandmither was an awfu' leear.'

It was Mr. Barham's happiness to form an intimate

friendship with the Hughes family. His duties at St. Paul's

were necessarily the means of bringing him under the frequent

observation of Dr. Hughes, who was canon residentiary of that

cathedral. To Mrs. Hughes, more especially, the correspondent

of Sir Walter Scott, Southey, and other ornaments of the age,

Mr. Barham was indebted, not only for a large proportion of the

legendary lore which forms the groundwork of the Ingoldsby

effusions, but also for the application of a stimulus that

induced him to complete many papers, which diffidence, or that

aptitude, previously spoken of, to turn aside at the faintest

suspicion of 'a lion in the way,' would have left unattempted

or unfinished. The distich, inscribed in a copy of The

Ingoldsby Legends, presented to the lady in question, implies

no more than the actual fact

'To Mrs. Hughes who made me do 'em,

Quod placeo est -- si placeo -- tuum.'

To her activity, indeed, it may be said, the publication

of My Cousin Nicholas <4> was mainly owing. The MS., which had

been laid aside in an imperfect state for some years, being

placed in her hands, so favourable was her opinion of its

merits, that, acting 'with a friendly vigour beyond the law,'

she submitted it forthwith to the inspection of Mr. Blackwood;

the first intimation the author received of the circumstance

being the appearance of the introductory chapters in the pages

of that gentleman's magazine. Retreat was of course impossible;

the difficulties, if difficulties there were, were speedily

surmounted, and the catastrophe worked up in a manner which

certainly brought no discredit on the earlier portions of the

work.

His letters to Mrs. Hughes well illustrate that happy

temperament with which he was endowed, and that almost

involuntary flow of humour which distin guished his

conversation and correspondence, not lest than his more

elaborate efforts.

'April 15, 1828.

'My DEAR MADAM,-- . . . I have little news to tell you,

except that Mrs.--, the auctioneeress, if there be such a word,

is likely to die, and that the sorrowing widower, in posse, is

said to have already made arrange ments to take the beautiful

(Oh! that I could add prudent) Miss Foote, as her successor.

He, at least, says green-room scandal, wears a watch riband she

has given him, as the decoration of a military order; while

others add, that though the gentleman is unquestionably anxious

to become a "Knight Companion," the lady is still "Grand

Cross."

'I enclose a set of rhymes, as yet in a chrysalis state;

should John Bull get hold of them, after they have thrown off

the grab, I am afraid they are too well adapted for his purpose

for him to refrain from appropriating what is now a mere

embryo.

THE LONDON UNIVERSITY

or,

STINKOMALEE TRIUMPHANS

AN ODE TO BE PERFORMED ON THE OPENING IF THE NEW COLLEGE OF

GRAFTONSTREET EAST

WHENE'ER with pitying eye I view

Each operative sot in town.

I smile to think how wondrous few

Get drunk who study at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town,

--niversity we've Got in town.

What precious fools 'The People' grew,

Their alma mater not in town;

The 'useful classes' hardly knew

Four was composed of two and two,

Until they learned it at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

But now they're taught by JOSEPH HU-

ME, by far the cleverest Scot in town,

Their items and their tottles too

Each may dissect his sister Sue,

From his instructions at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

Then L--E comes, like him how few

Can caper and can trot in town,

In pirouette or pas de deux --

He beats the famed Monsieur Giroux,

And teaches dancing at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

And GILCHRIST, see, that great Gentoo

Professor, has a lot in town

of Cockney boys, who fag Hindoo,

And larn Jem-nasties at the U

--niversity we've Got in town.

SAM R-- corpse of vampire hue,

Comes from its grave, to rot in town;

For Bays the dead bard's crowned with Yew,

And chaunts the Pleasures of the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

FRANK JEFFREY, of the Scotch Review,--

Whom MOORE had nearly shot in town,--

Now, with his pamphlet stitched in blue

And yellow, d--ns the other two,

But lauds the ever-glorious U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

Great BIRKBECK, king of chips and glue,

Who paper oft does blot in town,

From the Mechanics' Institu-

tion, comes to prate of wedge and screw,

Lever and axle, at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

LORD WAITHMAN, who long since withdrew

From Mansion House to cot in town;

Adorn'd with chair of ormolu.

All darkly grand, like Prince Lee Boo,

Lectures on Free Trade at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

Fat F--, with his coat of blue,

Who speeches makes so hot in town,

In rhetoric, spells his lectures through,

And sounds the V for W,

The vay they speaks it at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

Then H--e comes, who late at New-

gate-market -- sweetest spot in town!

Instead of one clerk popped in two,

To make a place for his nephew,

Seeking another at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

There's Captain Ross, a traveller true,

Has just presented. what in town

's an article of great virtu,

(The telescope he once peep'd through,

And 'spied an Esquimaux canoe

On Croker Mountains), to the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

Since MICHAEL gives no roast nor stew,

Where Whigs might eat and plot in town,

And swill his port, and mischief brew --

Poor CREEVY sips his water gru-

el as the beadle of the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

There's JERRY BENTHAM and his crew,

Names ne'er to be forgot in town,

In swarms like Banquo's long is-sue --

Turk, Papist, Infidel, and Jew,

Come trooping on to join the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

To crown the whole with triple queue

Another such there's not in town,

twitching his restless nose askew,

Behold tremendous HARRY BROUGH-

--AM! Law Professor at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

--niversity we've Got in town.

GRAND CHORUS:

Huzza! Huzza! for HARRY BROUGH-

--AM! Law Professor at the U-

--niversity we've Got in town.

'I have room for no more than to say that I am most

sincerely and truly yours,

'R.H.B.'

As a pendant to the above may be subjoined the following hint

to a rival establishment:--

ON THE WINDOWS OF KING'S COLLEGE REMAINING BOARDED

Loquitur Discipulus Esuriens.

PROFFESORS, in your plan there seems

A something not quite right

'Tis queer to cherish learning's beams,

By shutting out the light.

While thus we see your windows block'd,

If nobody complains;

Yet everybody must be shock'd,

To see you don't take pains.

And tell me why should bodily

Succumb to mental meat?

Or why should eta, beta, pi

Be all the pie we eat?

No helluo librorum I,

No literary glutton,

Would veal with Virgil like to try,

With metaphysics, mutton.

Leave us no longer in the lurch,

With Romans, Greeks, and Hindoos:

But give us beef as well as birch,

And board us -- not your windows.

The following note to Mrs. Hughes contains an acknowledgement

of one of those beguiling Berkshire delicacies so fraught with

peril to the inexperienced or unwary:--

'St. Paul's Churchyard, Jan. 5, 1830.

'My DEAR MADAM, -- I know not how to thank you; "rude I am

in speech and manner; "never till this hour tasted I such a

dainty!

'But young Norval never had such a "pig's head" to be thankful

for: it is truly delicious, almost too much so, indeed, for it

tempted me last night to do what I very seldom do, and never

ought to do -- viz., eat a hearty supper: the consequence was,

that I "dreamt of the d--l, and awoke in a fright:"--

Methought I was seated at church,

With Wellington acting as clerk,

And there in a pew,

Was Rothschild the Jew

Dancing a jig with Judge Park:

Lady Morgan sat playing the organ;

While behind the vestry door,

Horace Twiss was snatching a kiss

From the lips of Hannah More.

'In short, I cannot tell you half the vagaries I was

carried through, at least within any moderate compass in a

letter, but I mean to put as much of it down as I can call to

remembrance, and, following the example of Mr. Bottom, the

weaver, get some good-natured Peter Quince to "make a ballad of

it," and "it shall be called Barham's dream," not because "it

hath no bottom," but because it proceeded from a pig's head, a

metaphor in which Mrs. B. sometimes speaks of mine, when, more

than usually persevering, I resist unto the death some measure

which I consider wrong, and she right, or vice versa, as the

case may be. Let me not forget to add, however, that in the

present instance she is to the full as much inclined to be pig-

headed as myself, and begs me to join her thanks to my own. .'

In the autumn of 1831, the appointment of Mr. Sidney Smith

to one of the canonries of St. Paul's proved the means of

introducing Mr. Barham to the society of this distinguished

individual. Differing, as they did, in political opinion, not

less than in the character and subject-matter of their wit,

there was, nevertheless, a sufficient appreciation of each

other to induce a greater degree of intimacy than their

relative positions might have called for. The first appearance

of Mr. Smith at the cathedral, for the purpose of taking

possession of his stall, is thus briefly noted: --

'Oct. 2, 1831. -- Rev. Sidney Smith read himself in as

Residentiary at St. Paul's; dined with him afterwards at Dr.

Hughes's. He mentioned having once half offended Sam Rogers by

recommending him, when he sat for his picture, to be drawn

saying his prayers, with his face in his hat.'

No one at all familiar with the writings of this

extraordinary person can fail to have remarked the professional

turn his wit is apt to take. In his bon mots this peculiarity

is noticeable, most of those on record bearing some reference,

more or less, to clerical matters. Perhaps no better

illustration of this uniform flow of ideas can be adduced, than

a description of an interview, furnished by himself, with a

well-known fashionable publisher.

He said that the gentleman in question called upon him

with an introduction from a certain literary baronet, and after

hinting a condolence on his recent losses in the American

funds, proposed, probably by way of repairing them, the

production of a novel in three volumes.

'Well, Sir,' said Mr. Smith, after some seeming

consideration, 'if I do so I can't travel out of my own line,

ne sutor ultra crepidam; I must have an archdeacon for my hero,

to fall in love with the pew-opener, with the clerk for a

confidant -- tyrannical interference of the churchwardens --

clandestine correspondence concealed under the hassocks --

appeal to the parishioners, &c., &c.'

'All that, Sir,' said Mr.--, 'I would not presume to

interfere with; I would leave it entirely to your own inventive

genius.'

'Well, Sir,' returned the canon with urbanity, 'I am not

prepared to come to terms at present, but if ever I do

undertake such a work, you shall certainly have the

refusal'.<5>

'Oct., 1831. -- Sir Walter Scott came to town and visited

Dr. Hughes, is much sunk in spirits, but still retains gleams

of his former humour, and he told, with almost his usual glee,

the story of a placed minister, near Dundee, who, in preaching

on Jonah, said:--"Ken ye, brethren, what fish it was that

swallowed him? Aiblins ye may think it was a shark; nae, nae,

my brethren, it was nae shark: or aiblins ye may think it was a

saumon; nae, nae, my brethren, it was nae saumon: or aiblins ye

may think it was a dolphin; nae, nae, my brethren, it was nae

dolphin."

'Here an old woman, thinking to help her pastor out of a

dead lift, cried out, "Aiblins, Sir, it was a dunter." (The

vulgar name of a species of whale common to the Scotch coast.)

'"Aiblins, Madam, ye're an auld witch for taking the word

o' God out of my mouth," was the reply of the disappointed

rhetorician.

'Mr. L-- , late chaplain to the archbishop, dined there,

and, in a conversation which ensued, mentioned his having, in a

late tour, fallen in with the original Dominie Sampson. This

gentleman was a Mr. Thompson, the son of the placed minister of

Melrose, and himself in orders, though without a manse. He had

lived for many years a chaplain in Sir Walter's family, and was

tutor to his children, who used to take advantage of his

absence of mind, to open the window while he was lecturing, get

quietly out of it, and go to play, a circumstance he would

rarely perceive. Sir Walter had many opportunities of procuring

him a benefice, but never dared avail himself of them,

satisfied that his absence of mind would only bring him into

scrapes, if placed in a responsible situation. Mr. T. was once

very nearly summoned before the Synod for reading the

"visitation of the sick" service from our Liturgy, to a poor

man confined to his bed by illness.'

'Feb. 11.-- Dined with Sir George W--r. John Murray, the

publisher, who was present, told me that Sir Walter Scott, on

being taxed by him as the author of Old Mortality, not only

denied having written it, but added, "In order to convince you

that I am not the author, I will review the book for you in

the Quarterly,-- which he actually did, and Murray still has

the MS. in his handwriting.'

From the publication of My Cousin Nicholas in Blackwood,

to the establishment of Bentley's Miscellany in 1837, nothing

worthy of note in the way of literature engaged Mr. Barham's

attention. During this period his leisure was mainly directed

to the prosecution of genealogical and archaeological

inquiries, and more especially to the acquiring a knowledge of

the various early editions of the Bible, in whole and in parts.

He subsequently conceived the design, in which, by the liberal

aid of the Chapter, he was enabled to make considerable

progress, of restoring and re-arranging the valuable library of

St. Paul's. Meanwhile, he was not altogether unmindful of the

Muse, but occasionally enlivened his friends and the public

with 'pieces didactic, descriptive,' &c., as circumstances

might call forth. Of these the 'rough copy' was usually

forwarded to his kind friend, Mrs. Hughes, at Kingston Lisle.

'St. Paul's Churchyard, July 27, 1833.

'MY DEAR MADAM, -- Here we are at last, once more returned

to the immediate vicinity of the "Wren's Nest." . . . I own I

should not have been grieved at being able to run about a

little longer among the groves of Summer Hill, which I think I

described to you as the seat of Charles the Second, and since

of Mr. James Alexander, the East India Director, and

immediately adjoining our grounds. As you encourage me to

bestow all my tediousness on your worship, I shall make no

apology for enclosing a copy of "an effusion" which burst from

a heart overflowing with nonsense when I quitted it, for the

last time, on my return to the "Wells;" will it do for another

number of Family Poetry?

ODE ON A NEARER PROSPECT OF SUMMER HILL

O Summer Hill! if thou wert mine,

I'd order in a pipe of wine,

And ask a dozen friends to dine.

In faith, I would not spare the guineas,

But send for Pag and other ninies,

Flutes, hautboys, fiddles, pipes, and tabors,

Hussars with moustaches and sabres,

Quadrilles, and that grand waltz of Weber's,

And give a dance to all my neighbours;

And here I'd sit and quaff my fill

Among the trees of Summer Hill.

Then with bland eye careering slowly,

O'er bush-crowned ridge end valley lowly;

I'd drain the cup to thee, old Rowley!

To thee, and to thy courtly train,

Once tenants of thy fair domain;

Soft Stewart, haughtiest Castlemaine,

Pert Nelly Gwynne, and Lucy Waters,

Old England's fairest, frailest daughters.

E'en now, 'midst yonder leafy glade,

Methinks I see thy Royal shade

In amplitude of wig arrayed;

Near thee thy rival in peruke,

Stands Buckingham, uproarious Duke,

With Tony Hamilton and Killegrew;

And Wilmot, that sad rake till ill he grew,

When to amend his life and turn it

He promised pious Doctor Burnet;

In time let's hope to make old Nicholas

Lose all his pains, and look ridiculous!

Alexander! loftier far

Now culminates thy happier star

Than his of old, my ancient crony,

Thy namesake erst of Macedony,

Unrivalled, save, perhaps, by Boney.

Oh! happier far in thy degree

Art thou, although a conqueror he,

While thou art but an ex-M.P.

Yea, far more blessed my Alexander,

Art thou than that deceas'd commander;

Much though his name be honour'd, Fate,

Making thee Lord of this estate,

Dubbed thee in verity 'The Great.'

Thou ne'er wert led through wanton revelling,

These sylvan scenes to play the devil in;

In these sweet shades so praised by Grammont,

Thou didst not call thyself 'Young Ammon.'

And I, for one, wouldst thou invite us,

Would never fear the fate of Clytus.

No lady of too easy virtue

E'er made you think enough to hurt you,

And then with recklessness amazing,

Bade you set house and all a-blazing.

('Tis hard to say which works the quicker,

To make folks blockheads, love or liquor.

But oh! it is an awful thing,

When both combine to make a king

Descend to play the part of Swing!)

Another world, thou dost not sigh

To conquer, much less pipe thine eye,

I dare be sworn -- no! Alexander,

Thou art not half as great a gander:

This is thy globe -- here toujours gai

Thy motto still, though, well-a-day,

Sarum be popp'd in schedule A.

O Summer, Summer, Summer Hill,

Fain would I gaze and linger still;

But see the moon her silver lamp

Uprears, the grass is getting damp.

And hark! the curfew's parting knell

Is toll'd by Doctor Knox's bell!

I go to join my wife and daughters,

Drinking these nasty-flavoured waters.

O Summer Hill! I must repine,

Thou art not, never will be mine

-- I have not even got the wine.

'And now having surfeited you with rubbish enough for one

dose, let me conclude with my best acknowledgements, &c.

'Your much obliged,

'R. H. BARHAM.'

'Nov. 1834. -- You have, of course, heard of Tom D--'s

absurd challenge to F-- , for quizzing his liaison with Madame

--; if not, the enclosed doggerel will make you au fait of the

facts.'

THE TWO M.P.'S

(MAGAZINE PUBLISHER AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT)

BEING A TRUE AND PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE GRAND MILLING MATCH

THAT DIDN'T TAKE PLACE

SAYS Tom D-- to F--r

T'other morning, 'I say, Sir,

You've call'd me a Roué, a Dicer, and Racer,

Now I'd have you to know, Sir,

Such names are "No Go," Sir;

By Jove, Sir, I never knew anything grosser.

'And then Madame --

Extremely distrest is

At your calling her Lais -- she's more like Thalestris,

As you'll find, my fine joker,

If once you provoke her,

She's a d--l if once she gets hold of a poker.

'For myself, to be candid,

And not underhanded,

I write thus to say I'll be hang'd if I stand it.

So give up the name

Of the man or the dame

Who has made this infernal attack on my fame,

And recall what you've said of

A man you're afraid of,

Or turn out, my Trump, and let's see what you're made of.

'I have "barkers" by Nock, Sir,

With percussion locks, Sir,

Will give you your gruel -- hang me if I box, Sir,

And I've sent my old Pal in,

My "noble friend Allen,"

To give you this here, and to stop your caballing!'

Then says F--r, says he,

'What a spoon you must be,

Tommy D--, to send this here message to me:

Why if I was to fight about

What my friends write about,

My life I should be in continual fright about!

'As to telling you, who

Wrote that thing about you,

One word's worth a thousand -- Blow me if I do!

If you will be so gay, Sir,

The people will say, Sir,

That you are a Roué, and I'm

Yours,

JEMMY F--R.'

Taking no active part in polities himself, saving as

regards the occasional sallies before alluded to, and

scrupulously forbearing the exercise of any direct influence he

might have held over others, Mr. Barham, nevertheless, remained

a stanch and true Conservative, invariably recording his vote

spite of any inconvenience to which it might subject him. He

was wont to dwell with great gout upon the following amusing

incident, as bearing so directly upon the general

characteristics of the opposing parties:

-- 'I told you that we had been busy with the West Kent

election . . . What amused me very much was, that on landing

from the steamboat at Gravesend, where my vote was to be taken,

the rain was falling pretty steadily, and every one of the

passengers who boasted an umbrella, of course, had it in play.

A strong detachment of the friends of all the candidates lined

the pier, to see us come on shore, and loud cheers from either

party arose as any one mounted the steps bearing their

respective colours: with that modesty which is one of my

distinguishing characteristics, I had endeavoured to decline

the honour of a dead cat at my head, with which I was favoured

on a previous occasion, by mounting no colours at all; but

something distingué in my appearance, as self-complacency

fondly whispered in my ear, made the Tory party roar out as I

mounted the platform --

'"Here comes von o' hour side!"

'"You be blowed!" said a broad-faced gentleman in sky-blue

ribbons, "I say he's our'n."

'"Be blowed yourself," quoth one of my discriminating

friends opposite, "Why, don't you see the gemman's got a silk

umbrella?"

'The conclusion was irresistible -- Tory I must be, and

the "I know'd it" which responded to my "Geary for ever" was

truly delicious.'

'Nov. 17, 1832. -- Dined with Mr. Smith, He told me of the

motto he had proposed for Bishop B--'s arms, in allusion to his

brother, the well-known fish-sauce projector,

'Gravi jampridem saucia cura.'

In a few days afterwards, Mr. Barham received the following

invaluable recipe; it was forwarded by post without signature

or comment of any kind.

A RECEIPT FOR SALAD

(LAST EDITION)

Two large potatoes passed through kitchen sieve,

Unwonted softness to the salad give;

Of ardent mustard add a single spoon,

Distrust the condiment which bites so soon;

But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault

To add a double quantity of salt;

Three times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown,

And once with vinegar, procured from town,

True flavour needs it, and your poet begs

The pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs;

Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl,

And, scarce suspected, animate the whole;

And, lastly, on the flavoured compound toss

A magic teaspoon of anchovy sauce.

Then, though green turtle fail, though venison's tough,

And ham and turkey are not boiled enough,

Serenely full, the epicure may say,--

'Fate cannot harm me, -- I have dined to-day.'

N.B.-- As this salad is the result of great experience and

reflection, it is to be hoped young salad-makers will not

attempt any improvements upon it.

The following letter refers principally to a change of

abode, which, by the kindness of Mr. Smith, who placed a

residentiary house in Amen Corner at his disposal, Mr. Barham

was enabled to make. The building, coeval with the cathedral

itself, having remained for a considerable time unoccupied, or

tenanted only by rats and cats, 'and such small deer,' its

condition will readily be understood by those conversant in

such matters; to the uninitiated, the description here given

will suffice:--

Sept. 17, 1889.

'MY DEAR MADAM, -- Delightful as it always is to hear from

you, I do not hesitate to say that your last is the most

agreeable letter I have yet been favoured with from Kingston

Lisle, and that from its announcing your determination to quit

those delicious "green fields" which Falstaff babbled of, and

like his antitype Morris, to take up again with "the sweet

shady side of Pall Mall." Not that I have any objection to the

country, in summer, or even in autumn -- quite the reverse --

but then I manage my enjoyment of it, as Lady Grace says,

"soberly." "When through the hawthorn blows the cold wind" I

confess I like London as well as Lady Townley herself.

'As to ourselves we are literally "moving," and moving we

shall be for this month to come. Never before did I fully

comprehend the bitterness of David's curse, "Make them like

unto a wheel;" he had certainly a "flitting" in his eye at the

time he uttered it. By the way, the Scotch, who are usually

very happy in their terms, are singularly infelicitous in this.

To flit gives one the idea of light and airy locomotion, such

as befits a ghost or a gossamer, it speaks of light clouds,

thistledown, and shadows by moonlight; not chests of drawers,

warming-pans, and crockery, with all the ten thousand

nondescripts of domestic economy -- flit? A bat may flit, or

perhaps a bachelor, but not a middle-aged gentleman of fourteen

stone six; his "desert is too heavy to mount." Then as to the

invasion and its consequences, I protest I can scarcely think

of it at times without compunction; it almost seems like Cortez

and his ruffians "wading through slaughter to a throne," and

shutting the gates of mercy on ten thousand unoffending

aborigines, who have grown old in the peace and tranquillity of

half a century. Do not suppose that the S--s are the only

animals who will bewail our avatar. "What millions died that

Caesar may be great!" My heart sickens at the thought of this

wholesale massacre -- this sacrifice to Moloch, for I grieve to

say, that, denied the tender mercies of the thumb and finger,

wives, husbands, fathers, and "all, all their pretty ones"

perished, like so many Suttees, in the flames. As I heard the

one exterminating crackle, I could not help feeling for the

moment that a Thug was a respectable member of society in

comparison with myself. That their progeny, if not their

ghosts, will "murder sleep" hereafter I cannot but fear.

'To turn from so painful a subject, as extremes always

meet, I jump at once from the lowest to the highest in the

scale of created beings, from the meanest retainer of the crown

to the crown itself. What think you of a visit from, and

confabulation with, the Queen of the Belgians! On Saturday, I

was in the library at St. Paul's, my "custom always of an

afternoon," with a bookbinder's 'prentice and a printer's

devil, looking out fifty dilapidated folios for rebinding; I

had on a coat which, from a foolish prejudice in the multitude

against patched elbows, I wear nowhere else, my hands and face

encrusted with the dust of years, and wanting only the shovel -

- I had the brush -- to sit for the portrait of a respectable

master chimney-sweeper, when the door opened, and in walked the

Cap of Maintenance bearing the sword of, and followed by, the

Lord Mayor in full fig, with the prettiest and liveliest little

Frenchwoman leaning upon his arm. Nobody could get at the

"Lions" but myself; I was fairly in for it; and was thus

presented in the most recherché, if not the most expensive

court dress that I will venture to say the eyes of royalty were

ever greeted withal. Heureusement pour moi, she spoke excellent

English, and rattled on with a succession of questions, which I

answered as best I might -- they were sensible, however, showed

some acquaintance with literature, and a very good knowledge of

dates.

'My gaucherie afforded her one opportunity of displaying

her acquaintance with chronology which she did not miss. The

date of a MS. was the question; I unthinkingly referred to that

of the Battle of Agincourt, an allusion which a courtier would

have shunned as a rock ahead, considering the figure an Orleans

cut in that fight. It was not quite so bad certainly as the

gentleman telling Prince Eugene that "a certain event took

place in the year the Countess of Soissons (his mother)

poisoned her husband," but it was enough to have made poor

Colonel Dalton faint. She relieved me, however, in an instant

by saying, "Ah! 1415," while George C--, who was with her,

coolly asked, "when it was printed?" She turned to him briskly

and said at once, "You see it is a manuscript," which satisfied

the gentleman of the bedchamber, and saved my reply. More of

this when we meet, but my paper, like Macheath's courage, "is

out," so for the present, believe me as ever,

'Yours, most faithfully,

'R. H. B.'

By way of postscript, another anecdote anent royalty may

be added:--

'I must tell you one of his (Moore's) stories, because, as

Sir Walter Scott is the hero of it, I know it will not be

unacceptable to you. When George IV went to Ireland, one of the

"pisintry," delighted with his affability to the crowd on

landing, said to the toll-keeper as the king passed through,

'"Och, now! an' his Majesty, God bless him, never paid the

turnpike, an' how's that?"

'"Oh! kings never does, we let's 'em go free:" was the

answer.

'"Then there's the dirty money for ye," says Pat. "It

shall never be said that the king came here, and found nobody

to pay the turnpike for him."

'Moore, on his visit to Abbotsford, told this story to Sir

Walter, when they were comparing notes as to the two royal

visits.

'"Now, Mr. Moore," replied Scott, "there ye have just the

advantage of us; there was no want of enthusiasm here; the

Scotch folk would have done anything in the world for his

Majesty, but -- pay the turnpike."'

In 1837, Mr. Bentley published the first number of his

Miscellany; having engaged the services of Mr. Charles Dickens,

then rising rapidly in public estimation, and an ample staff of

regular collaborateurs, he sought to secure any occasional

auxiliaries whose assist ance might be of value; among others

he applied to Mr. Barham, who entered at once and very warmly

into the design, promising such aid as more important

avocations might allow.

Up to this time he had been an anonymous and comparatively

unknown writer. The popularity, however, of The Ingoldsby

Legends, which now appeared in rapid succession in the pages of

the new periodical, rendered the pseudonym he had, for obvious

reasons, assumed, a very insufficient disguise, and though he

never entirely abandoned it, he was soon pretty generally known

to be their author. Hamilton Tighe was the first subject

derived from the inexhaustible stores of Mrs. Hughes and her

son. 'The Original Ghost Story,' writes Mr. Hughes, 'was said

to have occurred in the family of the late Mr. Pye, the Poet

Laureate, a neighbour and brother magistrate of my maternal

grandfather, and the date of it was supposed to be connected

with the taking of Vigo.' Patty Morgan, the Milk-maid's Story,

and The Dead Drummer, were transmitted also through the same

medium; the former having been recounted by Lady Eleanor

Butler<6> as a whimsical Welsh Legend, the latter by Sir Walter

Scott, who, having better means than most men of ascertaining

facts and names, believed in their authenticity.

As regards the latter story, the main incidents are fully

attested by a contemporary pamphlet, purporting to be a

narrative of the 'Life, Confession, and Dying Speech of Jarvis

Matchan,' and signed by the Rev, J. Nicholson, who attended him

as minister, and another witness. The murder, however, was

committed not on Salisbury Plain, but in the neighbourhood of

Alconbury, in Huntingdonshire, and the culprit was accordingly,

'on Wednesday the 2nd of August, 1786, executed at Huntingdon,

and hung in chains in the parish of Alconbury, for the wilful

murder of Benjamin Jones, a drummer boy in the 48th Regiment of

Foot, on the 19th of August, 1780.' Matchan's escape to sea,

and the subsequent vision on Salisbury Plain, which wrung from

him his confession, and proved unquestionably the grounds of

his conviction, are given with great minuteness, and though

differing a little in detail, are to the full as marvellous as

anything recorded in the poem.

The Hand of Glory also owes its origin to the same source.

Nell Cook, Grey Dolphin, The Ghost, and The Smuggler's Leap,

are veritable Kentish Legends, a little renovated, perhaps, as

regards 'dresses and decorations,' but, without doubt,

sufficiently authentic for the purpose. Greater liberties have

been taken with The Old Woman Clothed in Grey, who, for

anything that appeared to the contrary, was a well-disposed

ghost enough, haunting an old rectory within a few miles of

Cambridge. it is represented to have been her custom to stroll

about the house at dead of night, with a bag of money in her

hand, of which she appeared exceedingly anxious to be relieved,

offering it to whomsoever she happened to meet in the course of

her peregrinations; no one, however, seems to have been bold

enough to accept the gift. The principal improbability of the

tale manifestly consists in the fact, that no one was found

sufficiently enterprising to meet her wishes.

So strong was the belief that treasure was concealed about

the building in question, that when it was taken down and the

materials sold, on the erection of the present parsonage-house,

the incumbent expressly stipulated for the right and title to

all valuables that might be discovered, and he actually

received, we believe, three battered half-pence in fulfilment

of the agreement. As for the old lady, as she has never

appeared since the destruction of her favourite 'walk,' it is

conjectured, either that she has taken refuge in an old cellar

which has been bricked over, and is likely to remain

undisturbed for years, or that she has adopted an effectual

method of disencumbering herself of all superfluous cash, by

investing it in the scrip of some 'great fen railroad company,'

and may even now be wandering an unhappy shade around the

precincts of Capel Court.

The materials of most of the tales referring to Popish

superstition were derived from a variety of monkish chronicles

and writings, the Aurea Legenda among the rest, with which the

library of Sion College abounds, and with most of which Mr.

Barham was tolerably familiar. Of The Jackdaw of Rheims, he

gives the following account:--

'I have no time to do more for this number than scratch

off a doggerel version of an old Catholic legend that I picked

up out of a High Dutch author. I am afraid the poor "Jackdaw"

will be sadly pecked at. Had I more time, I meant to have

engrafted on it a story I have heard Cannon tell of a magpie of

his acquaintance.

'A certain notable housewife, he used to say, had observed

that her stock of pickled cockles were running remarkably low,

and she spoke to the cook in consequence, who alone had access

to them. The cook had noticed the same serious deficiency,--

"she couldn't tell how, but they certainly disappeared much too

fast!" A degree of coolness, approaching to estrangement,

ensued between these worthy individuals, which the rapid

consumption of the pickled cockles by no means contributed to

remove. The lady became more distant than ever, spoke pointedly

and before company, of "some people's unaccountable partiality

to pickled cockles," &c. The cook's character was at stake;

unwilling to give warning, with such an imputation upon her

self-denial, not to say honesty, she, nevertheless, felt that

all confidence between her mistress and herself was at an end.

'One day the jar containing the evanescent condiment being

placed as usual on the dresser, while she was busily engaged in

basting a joint before the fire, she happened to turn suddenly

round, and beheld, to her great indignation, a favourite

magpie, remarkable for his conversational powers and general

intelligence, perched by its side, and dipping his beak down

the open neck with every symptom of gratification. The mystery

was explained -- the thief detected! Grasping the ladle of

scalding grease which she held in her hand, the exasperated

lady dashed the whole contents over the hapless pet,

accompanied by the exclamation -- '"Oh, d--me, you've been at

the pickled cockles, have ye?"

'Poor Mag, of course, was dreadfully burnt; most of his

feathers came off, leaving his little round pate, which had

caught the principal part of the volley, entirely bare. The

poor bird moped about, lost all his spirit, and never spoke for

a year.

'At length when he had pretty well recovered, and was

beginning to chatter again, a gentleman called at the house,

who, on taking off his hat, discovered a very bald head! The

magpie, who happened to be in the room, appeared evidently

struck by the circumstance; his reminiscences were at once

powerfully excited by the naked appearance of the gentleman's

skull. Hopping upon the back of his chair, and looking him

hastily over, he suddenly exclaimed, in the ear of the

astounded visitor --'"Oh, d--me, you've been at the pickled

cockles, have ye?"'

In the same letter be goes on to say:--'I cannot

sufficiently thank you for your story of the Virgin Unmasked;

it is a most amusing one, and highly characteristic of the

standard of morality too commonly found in "Sweet Auburn,

loveliest village of the plain." As to the communication of the

gallivanting propensities of her husband to the dying woman, it

is only to be paralleled by what Mr. --, the conchologist, once

told me, and which I think carries friendly consolation and

good offices in extremis to even a higher pitch.

'He was once a surgeon at W--, in Kent, and said that in

the course of his practice, he had to pay what he considered

would be his last visit to au elderly labouring man on Adisham

Downs. He had left him in the last stage of illness the day

before, and was not surprised on calling again to find him

dead, but did experience a little astonishment at seeing the

bed on which he bad been lying now withdrawn from under the

body, and placed in the middle of the floor. To his remarks,

the answer given by her who had officiated as nurse(?) was --

'"Dearee me, Sir, you see there was partridge feathers in the

bed, and folks can't die upon geame feathers no how, and we

thought as how he never would go, so we pulled bed away, and

then I just pinched his poor nose tight with one hand, and shut

his mouth close with t'other, and, poor dear! he went off like

a lamb!"'

The Singular Passage in the Life of the late Doctor

Harris, though drawing not a little on the reader's faith,

certainly so far originated in fact that the strange details

were communicated to Mr. Barham by a young lady on her sick-

bed, and who herself was so impressed with their truth, as to

urge most strongly the apprehension of the young man of whose

horrible arts she believed herself to be the victim. The

delusion only terminated with her life. It is worthy of remark

that the very gentleman to whom she referred, and who was also

well known to Mr. Barham, was shortly afterwards taken into

custody on the charge of perpetrating a robbery at one of the

theatres. His identity was sworn to most positively by the

prosecutrix, but an alibi was so irrefragably established as to

place his innocence beyond suspicion. This story, though

printed in the first series of The Ingoldsby Legends, appeared

originally in Blackwood, and has, indeed, little in common with

the productions with which it is at present associated.

As respects the poems, remarkable as they have been pronounced

for the wit and humour which they display, their distinguishing

attraction lies in the almost unparalleled flow and facility of

the versification. Popular phrases, sentences the most prosaic,

even the cramped technicalities of legal diction, and snatches

from well-nigh every language, are wrought in with an apparent

absence of all art and effort that surprises, pleases, and

convulses the reader at every turn; the author triumphs with a

master's hand over every variety of stanza, however complicated

or exacting; not a word seems out of place, not an expression

forced; syllables the most intractable find the only partners

fitted for them throughout the range of language, and couple

together as naturally as those kindred spirits which poets tell

us were created pairs, and dispersed in space to seek out their

particular mates. A harmony pervades the whole, a perfect

modulation of numbers never, perhaps, surpassed, and rarely

equalled in compositions of this class. This was the forte of

Thomas Ingoldsby; a harsh line or untrue rhyme grated like the

Shandaean hinge upon his ear; no inviting point or alluring pun

would induce him to entertain either for an instant; sacrifice

or circumlocution were the only alternatives. At the same time,

scarcely any vehicle could he better adapted for the

development of his peculiar powers than that unshackled metre

which admits of no laws save those of rhyme and melody; but

which also, from the very want of definite regulations,

presents no landmark to guide the poet, and demands a thorough

knowledge of rhythm to prevent his becoming lost among a

succession of confused and unconnected stanzas.

Of the unflagging spirit of fun which animates these

productions there can be but one opinion; Mr. Barham was,

unquestionably an adept in the mysteries of mirth, happy in his

use of anachronism, and all the means and appliances of

burlesque; he was skilled, moreover, to relieve his humour,

however broad, from any imputation of vulgarity, by a judicious

admixture of pathos and antiquarian lore. There are, indeed,

passages in his writings, The Execution, for example, and the

battle-field in The Black Mousquetaire, standing out in strong

contrast from the ludicrous imagery which surrounds them, and

affording evidence of powers of a very opposite and far higher

order. That he had his faults is, of course, not to be denied;

the digressions may sometimes appear too long or too frequent;

the moral a little forced, and here and there an occasional

objectionable expression might be discovered; but some

indulgence may be claimed on the score of hurried composition

and the very slight opportunity of correction afforded by the

mode of publication. It would be improper, perhaps, to dismiss

this subject without touching briefly upon a charge of

coarseness and want of reverence which has been brought against

the work in question, albeit few authors, upon the whole, have

been more tenderly dealt with by the press than Thomas

Ingoldsby.<7> As regards the first moiety of this alleged

offence against good taste, little need be said; it could only

have been detected by one deeply imbued with that transatlantic

spirit of delicacy, such singular instances of which have, from

time to time, made their appearance in the papers; he must be

sensitive overmuch, constituted

tremblingly alive all o'er,

To smart and agonize at every pore,

who fears to rub against the plain language of The Legends. No

one who knew Mr. Barham would for a moment suspect him to be

guilty of any intentional irreverence. Firmly and

conscientiously opposed to avowed Popery, and not less so to

that anomalous system which means Romanism if it means

anything, he could not view the rapid propagation of these

opinions with indifference. 'Non ex quovis ligno fit

Mercurius;' he, perhaps, was not of the wood out of which

schoolmen and controversialists are framed; but furnished with

goodly weapons of the lighter sort, he did not hesitate to

direct them against the errors in question. An occasional

appeal to the nonsense of the public has its effect.

To return to the diary:--

'August 21, 1839. -- Hook drove me down to Thames Ditton,

from his house at Fulham. Fished all day, and dined téte-a-téte

at the "Swan." Though not in health, his spirits were as good

as ever. We caught eight dozen and a half of gudgeons, and he

repeated to me almost as many anecdotes. Among the rest, one of

a trick he played when a boy behind the scenes of the

Haymarket. He was there one evening, during the heat of the

Westminster election, at the representation of "The Wood

Demon," and observing the prompter with the large speaking-

trumpet in his hand used to produce the supernatural voices

incidental to the piece, he watched him for some time, and saw

him go through the business more than once. As the effect was

to be repeated, he requested of the man to be allowed to make

the noise for him; the prompter incautiously trusted him with

the instrument, when, just at the moment, the "Fiend" rose from

the trap, and the usual roar was to accompany his appearance,

"SHERIDAN FOR EVER!!!" was bawled out in the deepest tones that

could be produced -- not more to the astonishment of the

audience than to the confusion of the involuntary partisan

himself, from whom they seemed to proceed.

'He mentioned also a reply that he made to the Duke of

Rutland, who, observing him looking about the hall, as they

were leaving the Marquis of Hertford's, asked him what he had

lost?

'"My hat. If I had as good a beaver (Belvoir) as your

Grace, I should have taken better care of it."'

Whether Theodore Hook and his great rival, Mr. Sidney

Smith, ever met in society, we do not know. An arrangement was

made for the purpose of bringing them together at the table of

a common friend, but, alas! a tailor --

What dire mishaps from trivial causes spring!

one to whom Hook owed a considerable sum, having failed in the

interval, the latter was unable or indisposed to keep the

appointment. The circumstance served to elicit one of those

happy strokes of sarcasm which the Canon dealt so adroitly.

Mr. H-- , the host, not aware of the cause of his

detention, delayed dinner for some time, observing that 'he was

sure Hook would come, as he had seen him, in the course of the

afternoon, at the Athenaeum, evidently winding himself up for

the encounter with tumblers of cold brandy and water.'

'That's hardly fair,' said Smith, 'I can't be expected to

be a match for him unless wound up too, so when your servant

ushers in Mr. Hook, let Mr. H--'s Punch be announced at the

same time.'

'Dec. 5. -- Met my old friend Charles D -- , who appears

to have become quite a convert to phrenology; went with him to

De Ville to have his head felt; scribbled the following lines

during the "manipulation":

Oh, my head! my head! my head!

Lack! for my poor unfortunate head!

Mister de Ville

Has been to feel,

And what do you think he said?

He felt it up, and he felt it down,

Behind the ears, and across the crown,

Sinciput, occiput, great and small,

Bumps and organs, he tickled 'em all;

And he shook his own, as he gravely said,

'Sir, you really have got a most singular head!

'Why here's a bump,

Only feel what a lump;

Why the organ of "Sound" is an absolute hump;

And only feel here,

Why, behind each ear,

There's a bump for a butcher or a bombardier;

Such organs of slaughter

Would spill blood like water;

Such "lopping and topping" of heads and of tails,

Why, you'll cut up a jackass with Alderman S--.'

[Caetera desunt.]

Among the various departments of literature in which Mr.

Barham sought relaxation, the drama occupied a considerable

portion of his attention; from the Greek tragedians to

Shakespeare and the more modern playwrights, there was scarcely

an author possessed of any pretensions to merit, with whose

writings he was not familiar. His acquaintances indeed, with

the works of the Swan of Avon was such as to enable him, at one

time, when his memory was in its full vigour, to supply the

context to any quotation that could be made from them, and to

mention the play, the act, and generally the very scene from

which it had been taken. Warmly attached to the cause of the

drama, he looked with con siderable interest on the formation

of 'the Garrick Club <8>,' which was established with some

design of being made instrumental in bringing back the

neglected Muse 'to glory again.'

The death of Theodore Hook, which occurred on August 24,

1841, deeply affected Mr. Barham; a warm attachment had sprung

up between them during an intimacy of twenty years, and be

heard of the event that had dissolved it with the most

heartfelt grief, not unmixed with something of a sinister

foreboding as regarded himself. One of the last parties at

which Hook was present was at Amen Corner; he was unusually

late, and dinner was served before he made his appearance; Mr.

Barham apologized for having sat down without him, observing

that he had quite given him up, and had supposed 'that the

weather had deterred him.'

'Oh!' replied the former, 'I had determined to come,

weather or no.'

Like most men resident in London, however much its

occupations may be in accordance with their taste, there was

nothing Mr. Barham so thoroughly enjoyed as to snatch a hasty

run into the country, more especially if, in addition to fresh

breezes, green fields, and odorous flowers, there could be

obtained what poor Cannon used to denominate a 'sniff of the

briny.' He had started, about the middle of August, 1841, for

Margate, full of spirits at the prospect of a longer holiday

than usual, which was to embrace a week's shooting among the

Kentish hills, little dreaming of the evil tidings that were to

follow him; immediately on his arrival he addressed the

following amusing 'log' to his old schoollellow and valued

friend Dr. Roberts:--

'DEAR ROBERTS, -- 'August 16. -- Nine A.M. -- Two cabs,

three trunks, one band-box, a wife, three girls, two carpet-

bags, portfolio, and a Dick on the dickey.

'Half-past Nine. -- On board the Royal George; luggage

safe stowed, all but the Dick, who quitted.

'Three-quarters-past Nine. -- Rum and milk, eggs, and cold

beef.

'Ten. -- Off she goes; Times and Morning Herald.

'Eleven. -- Blackwall Railroad Company, all well.

'Hall-past Twelve. -- Off Gravesend.

'Half-past One. -- Off Sheppey, bell rings, dinner; "more

mutton for the lady."

'Three. -- Off Herne Bay, beautiful weather, sea like a

duck-pond; gin-and-water.

'Twenty minutes past Four. -- Landed on Margate jetty,

went to old lodgings, landlady moved and gone to America. --

N.B. Husband has another wife there.

Forced to seek for quarters, old ones being laid into the

hotel.

'Hall-past Four. -- Three bed-rooms and first-floor

sitting-room at a hatter's on Marine Parade. Don't know whether

engaged or not, depends on next post, which comes in at half-

past six; old woman, former lodger, to send her answer by it;

have tea there upon speculation.

'Five. -- Very good tea, ditto bread, ditto butter; hurdy-

gurdy under window, "Nix my Dolly."

'Five minutes past Five. -- Another cup. Bagpipes under

window, "Jim Crow."

'Ten minutes past Five. -- Conjuror under window, lots of

tricks, three eggs out of a handkerchief.

'Six. -- Post in, old woman don't come, take the lodgings,

three guineas a week, seem very comfortable, children at window

looking at conjuror, hurdy-gurdy, "I'd be a butterfly;"

fiddler, "College Hornpipe'; bagpipes, "Within a mile of

Edinburgh Town;" wish they were! Post going off, God bless you,

all well, and in screaming spirits.

'R. H. B.'

In 1840, Mr. Barham succeeded, in course of rotation, to

the presidency of Sion College; and in 1842, his long services

at St. Paul's were rewarded with the divinity readership in

that Cathedral, and by his being permitted to exchange his

living for the more valuable one of St. Faith, the duties of

which were far less onerous than those he had fulfilled during

well-nigh twenty years. He still continued under the bishop's

licence in his old abode in Amen Corner. This, indeed, be was

enabled to do till his decease, although shortly after his

induction, the death of Mr. Sidney Smith placed the

residentiary house in other bands. The last communication he

received from this gentleman runs as follows:--

'Green Street, Monday.

'Many thanks, my dear Sir, for your kind present of game.

If there is a pure and elevated pleasure in this world, it is

that of roast pheasant and bread sauce; -- barn-door fowls for

dissenters, but for the real church man, the thirty-nine times

articled clerk, the pheasant, the pheasant!

'Ever yours,

'SIDNEY SMITH.'

A more laconic note, in acknowledgement of a similar

arrival, was penned by Mr. Barham himself, but whether it ever

reached the hands of the eminent individual to whom it appears

to have been addressed, is doubtful:--

'Many thanks, my dear Lord, for the birds of your giving,

Though I wish with the dead, you had sent me the living.'

The first indications of Mr. Barham's fatal disease

exhibited themselves on October 28, 1844, the day of the

Queen's visit to the City, for the purpose of opening the Royal

Exchange. He had accompanied his wife and daughters to a

friend's house to witness the procession, and had even

remarked, as a cutting east wind whistled through the open

windows, that, in all probability, that day's sight-seeing

would cost many of the imprudent gazers their lives. In the

course of the evening he was attacked with a violent fit of

coughing, the result of sudden and severe inflammation in the

throat. It was found in the following June that recovery was

impossible. To say that be received the intimation with

fortitude, would afford but a very inadequate notion of the

calmness and contentment with which he regarded his approaching

end. Having arranged, with his usual perspicuity, all the

details of his temporal affairs, be partook for the last time

of the holy communion, in company with all his household, and

set himself, in perfect sell-possession, to make final

preparation for the awful change at hand.

His last lines, entitled As I laye a-thynkynge, were

written but a few days before be quitted Clifton, where be had

been for a change, and are of a more sombre hue, referring

chiefly to the death of his youngest son, to whom his latest

thoughts were constantly recurring. They were placed, at his

express desire, in the bands of Mr. Bentley for publication.

On the morning of June 17, 1845, he expired in the fifty-

seventh year of his age, without a struggle, in faith, and

hope, and in charity with all men.

Independent of any admiration that Mr. Barham's wit and

talent might excite, there was a warmth of heart about him, and

an amiability of disposition, which rendered him justly dear to

many even beyond the pale of intimacy. His spirits were fresh

and buoyant, his constitution vigorous, and his temperament

sanguine. His humour never ranged 'beyond the limits of becom

ing mirth,' and was in its essence free from gall. Where irony

was his object, it was commonly just, and always gentle. On his

writings might, in fairness, be inscribed:--

Non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine quenquam,

Nulla venenato est litera mixta joco.

Perhaps his virtues were of a kind especially adapted to win

their own reward; certain it is, he had ever cause to view

humanity under its fairest aspect. He never lost a friend: he

never met with coldness or neglect. His family were devotedly

attached to him; those upon whom he was instrumental in

conferring benefits were rarely, if ever, wanting in gratitude:

and his own claims to consideration were readily and liberally

allowed. All these things pass away. But as an author, he can

scarcely be forgotten. His productions, whatever may be their

defects or blemishes, must occupy that niche in the literature

of the country, which his originality has carved out.

NOTES.

1. The price he received for this work was twenty pounds, with

additional advantages dependent on certain of those book-

selling 'contingencies,' which Theodore Hook used to describe

as things that never happen. The definition was not violated in

the present instance.

2. Much as Mr. Barham, with all reasonable and right-thinking

people, condemned this practice of playing practical jokes,

there was something so original and irresistibly ludicrous in

the positions brought about by Theodore Hook's humour, as to

draw a smile from the most unbending. The only thing of the

kind in which Mr B. was ever personally engaged was as a boy at

Canterbury, when, with a schoolfellow, later a gallant major,

'famed for deeds of arms,' he entered a Quakers' meeting-house;

looking round at the grave assembly, the latter held up a penny

tart, and said solemnly, 'Whoever speaks first shall have this

pie.'--'Go thy way,' commenced a drab-coloured gentleman,

rising,--'go thy way, and --'The pie's yours, sir,' exclaimed

D-- , placing it before the astounded speaker, and hastily

effecting his escape.

3. The Mr. Hill of Gilbert Gurney, who also furnished the idea

of Mr. Poole's Paul Pry.

4. In one of his letters to this lady, he observes of Nicholas,

'Whatever his demerits may be, they must in fairness rest at

your door, since you certainly, if you did not absolutely call

him into life, prevented his being overlaid in his premiere

jeunesse; but for your fostering care he had expired long since

of laziness and indigestion.'

5. To this may be added the advice he is said to have given to

the Bishop of New Zealand, previous to his departure,

recommending him to have regard to the minor as well as to the

more grave duties of his station -- to be given to hospitality

-- and, in order to meet the tastes of his native guests, never

to be without a smoked little boy in the bacon-rack, and a cold

clergyman on the sideboard. 'And as for myself, my Lord,' he

concluded, 'all I can say is, that when your new parishioners

do eat you, I sincerely hope you will disagree with them.' Of

Dean C-- he said, his only adequate punishment would be, to be

preached to death by wild curates.

6. The story, as told by Lady Eleanor Butler, one of the

celebrated 'Ladies of Llangollen,' ran, that a young carpenter,

residing in the valley, had married a girl to whom he was much

attached, and they lived together for several years very

happily, till the wife's mother dying, bequeathed to her

daughter some household furniture, and among other articles a

clock. They had previously possessed a clock of their own, and

the husband now proposed to sell the new one, which the wife

objected to, as it had belonged to her mother, wishing on the

other hand to dispose of their own. From this the husband was

averse, from a similar reason. A dispute, the first they had

ever known, followed, and, as he persisted in selling the

legacy, was frequently renewed. From this moment they became as

remarkable for living unhappily together, as they had

previously been for the contrary. The husband occasionally even

used blows, and either from the ill-treatment which she

received, or from natural causes, the wife soon fell into a

languishing, low way. At length she died; but whether any very

recent injuries had been inflicted to hasten her decay does not

appear. The carpenter, however, seems to have anticipated it,

as a fortnight after her funeral he had engaged himself to a

second wife.

Her betrothed was on his way along the mountain path which

led to her cottage, the evening before the day fixed for the

celebration of his second nuptials, when one of the fogs so

common among the hills came suddenly on. Well acquainted with

his road he felt no alarm, but some surprise at a singular

sound which he heard behind him, as of some heavy body

following. The fog for some time prevented his discovering what

it was; but at length a gust of wind partially removing the

mist, be distinctly perceived, at a distance of only a few

yards, the clock which had been the cause of all his

matrimonial strife. It came on apparently self-moved, and as he

looked again, he beheld not the usual face, hut that of his

deceased wife, which occupied the place generally allotted to

the hours, minutes, and hands.

He uttered a loud scream and rushed forward, the clock

still following him, and it was, as he fancied, on the point of

overtaking him, when be fell exhausted against the cottage

door. The sound of his fall attracted the attention of the

inmates, who found him lying at the threshold in a swoon. After

some time he recovered his senses, when he repeated this story

with the strongest assertions of its truth in every particular.

A fever was the consequence of the great mental excitement

occasioned by the delusion, and he did not survive his

adventure many days.

7. One of these attacks, not the wisest, and exhibiting, on the

part of the writer, a most amusing imperviousness to the force

of humour, was fairly met by the following retort from the

assailed:--

For turning grave things to farce, Prior asserts,

A ladle once stuck in an old woman's skirts;

My muse then may surely esteem it a boon,

if in hers there sticks only a bit of a spoon. -- T. I

8. The following lines, composed by Mr. B., and set as a glee

by Mr. Hawes, were sung at the opening dinner:

Let Poets of superior parts

Consign to deathless fame

The larceny of the Knave of Hearts

Who spoiled his Royal Dame.

Alack! my timid muse would quail

Before such thievish cubs,

But plumes a joyous wing to hail

Thy birth, fair Queen of Clubs!

PREFACE TO THE FIRST SERIES

TO RICHARD BENTLEY, ESQ.

MY DEAR SIR,

YOU wish me to collect into a single volume certain

rambling extracts from our family memoranda, many of which have

already appeared in the pages of your Miscellany. At the same

time you tell me that doubts are entertained in certain

quarters as to the authenticity of their details.

Now with respect to their genuineness, the old oak chest,

in which the originals are deposited, is not more familiar to

my eyes than it is to your own; and if its contents have any

value at all, it consists in the strict veracity of the facts

they record.

To convince the most incredulous, I can only add, that

should business -- pleasure is out of the question -- ever call

them into the neighbourhood of Folkestone, let them take the

high road from Canterbury to Dover till they reach the eastern

extremity of Barham Downs. Here a beautiful green lane

diverging abruptly to the right, will carry them through the

Oxenden plantations and the unpretending village of Denton, to

the 'foot of a very respectable hill,-- as hills go in this

part of Europe. On reaching its summit let them look straight

before them,-- and if among the hanging woods which crown the

opposite side of the valley, they cannot distinguish an

antiquated Manorhouse of Elizabethan architecture, with its

gable ends, stone stanchions, and tortuous chimneys rising

above the surrounding trees, why -- the sooner they procure a

pair of Dollond's patent spectacles the better.

If, on the contrary, they can manage to descry it, and,

proceeding some five or six furlongs through the avenue, will

ring at the Lodge-gate,-- they cannot mistake the stone lion

with the Ingoldsby escutcheon (Ermine, a saltire engrailed

Gules,) in his paws,-- they will be received with a hearty old

English welcome.

The papers in question having been written by different

parties, and at various periods, I have thought it advisable to

reduce the more ancient of them into a comparatively modern

phraseology, and to make my collateral ancestor, Father John,

especially, deliver himself like a man of this world; Mr.

Maguire, indeed, is the only Gentleman who, in his account of

the late Coronation, retains his own rich vernacular.

As to arrangement, I shall adopt the sentiment expressed

by the Constable of Bourbon four centuries ago, teste

Shakespeare, one who seems to become more fashionable every

day,

'The Devil take all order!!-- I'll to the throng!'

Believe me to be,

My dear Sir,

Yours, most indubitably and immeasurably,

THOMAS INGOLDSBY,

TAPPINGTON EVERARD,

Jan. 20th, 1840.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

TO RICHARD BENTLEY, ESQ.

MY DEAR SIR,

I should have replied sooner to your letter, but that the

last three days in January are, as you are aware, always

dedicated at the Hall to an especial battue, and the old house

is full of shooting-jackets, shot-belts, and 'double Joes.'

Even the women wear percussion caps, and your favourite (?)

Rover, who, you may remember, examined the calves of your legs

with such suspicious curiosity at Christmas, is as pheasant-mad

as if he were a biped, instead of being a genuine four-legged

scion of the Blenheim breed. I have managed, however, to avail

myself of a lucid interval in the general hallucination (how

the rain did come down on Monday!), and as you tell me the

excellent friend whom you are in the habit of styling 'a

Generous and Enlightened Public' has emptied your shelves of

the first edition, and 'asks for more,' why, I agree with you,

it would be a want of respect to that very respectable

personification, when furnishing him with a further supply, not

to endeavour, at least to amend my faults, which are few, and

your own, which are more numerous. I have, therefore, gone to

work con amore, supplying occasionally on my own part a

deficient note, or elucidatory stanza, and on yours knocking

out, without remorse, your superfluous i s, and now and then

eviscerating your colon.

My duty to your illustrious friend thus performed, I have

a crow to pluck with him -- Why will he persist,-- as you tell

me he does persist -- in calling me by all sorts of names but

those to which I am entitled by birth and baptism -- my

'Sponsorial and Patronymic appellations,' as Dr. Pangloss has

it!-- Mrs. Malaprop complains, and with justice, of an 'assault

upon her parts of speech,' but to attack one's very existence -

- to deny that one is a person in esse and scarcely to admit

that one may be a person in posse, Is tenfold cruelty; 'it is

pressing to death, whipping, and hanging!'-- let me entreat all

such likewise to remember, that as Shakespeare beautifully

expresses himself elsewhere -- I give his words as quoted by a

very worthy Baronet in a neighbouring county, when protesting

against a defamatory placard at a general election --

'Who steals my purse steals stuff!--

'Twas mine --' tisn't his -- nor nobody else's!

But he who runs away with my Good NAME,

Robs me of what does not do him any good,

And makes me deuced poor!!'

(A reading which seems most unaccountably to have escaped the

researches of all modern Shakespearians, including the rival

editors of the new and illustrated versions.)

In order utterly to squash and demolish every gainsayer I

had thought, at one time, of asking my old and, esteemed

friend, Richard Lane, to crush them at once with his magic

pencil, and to transmit my features to posterity, where all his

works are sure to be 'delivered according to the direction;'

but somehow the noble-looking profiles which he has recently

executed of the Kemble family put me a little out of conceit of

my own, while the undisguised amusement which my

'Mephistopheles Eyebrow,' as he termed it, afforded him, in the

'full face,' induced me to lay aside the design. Besides, my

dear Sir, since, as has well been observed, 'there never was a

married man yet who had not somebody remarkably like him

walking about town,' it is a thousand to one but my lineaments

might, after all, out of sheer perverseness be ascribed to any

body rather than to the real owner. I have therefore sent you,

instead thereof, a fair sketch of Tappington, taken from the

Folkestone road (I tore it last night out of Julia Simpkinson's

album); get Gilks to make a woodcut of it. And now, if any

miscreant (I use the word only in its primary and 'Pickwickian'

sense of 'unbeliever') ventures to throw any further doubt upon

the matter, why, as Jack Cade's friend says in the play, 'There

are the chimneys in my father's house, and the bricks are alive

at this day to testify it!'

'Why, very well then -- we hope here be truths!'

Heaven be with you, my dear Sir!-- I was getting a little

excited; but you, who are mild as the milk that dews the soft

whisker of the new-weaned kitten, will forgive me when, wiping

away the nascent moisture from my brow, I 'pull in,' and

subscribe myself,

Yours quite as much as his own,

THOMAS INGOLDSBY.

TAPPINGTON EVERARD,

Feb. 2nd, 1843.

THE SPECTRE OF TAPPINGTON

'It is very odd, though; what can have become of them?'

said Charles Seaforth, as he peeped under the valance of an

old-fashioned bedstead, in an old-fashioned apartment of a

still more old-fashioned manor-house; ''tis confoundedly odd,

and I can't make it out at all. Why, Barney, where are they?--

and where the d--l are you?'

No answer was returned to this appeal; and the lieutenant,

who was, in the main, a reasonable person,-- at least as

reasonable a person as any young gentleman of twenty-two in

'the service' can fairly be expected to be,-- cooled when he

reflected that his servant could scarcely reply extempore to a

summons which it was impossible he should hear.

An application to the bell was the considerate result; and

the footsteps of as tight a lad as ever put pipe-clay to belt

sounded along the gallery.

'Come in!' said his master. An ineffectual attempt upon

the door reminded Mr. Seaforth that he had locked himself in.

'By Heaven! this is the oddest thing of all,' said he, as he

turned the key and admitted Mr. Maguire into his dormitory.

'Barney, where are my pantaloons?'

'Is it the breeches!' asked the valet, casting an

inquiring eye round the apartment;--' is it the breeches, sir?'

'Yes; what have you done with them?'

'Sure then your honour had them on when you went to bed,

and it's hereabout they'll be, I'll be bail;' and Barney lifted

a fashionable tunic from a cane-backed arm-chair, proceeding in

his examination. But the search was vain: there was the tunic

aforesaid; there was a smart-looking kerseymere waist coat; but

the most important article of all in a gentleman's wardrobe was

still wanting.

'Where can they be?' asked the master, with a strong

accent on the auxiliary verb.

'Sorrow a know I knows,' said the man.

'It must have been the devil, then, after all, who has

been here and carried them off!' cried Seaforth, staring full

into Barney's face.

Mr. Maguire was not devoid of the superstition of his

countrymen, still he looked as if be did not quite subscribe to

the sequitur.

His master read incredulity in his countenance. 'Why, I

tell you, Barney, I put them there, on that arm-chair, when I

got into bed; and, by Heaven! I distinctly saw the ghost of the

old fellow they told me of, come in at midnight, put on my

pantaloons, and walk away with them.'

'Maybe so,' was the cautious reply.

'I thought, of course, it was a dream; but then -- where

the d--l are the breeches?'

The question was more easily asked than answered. Barney

renewed his search, while the lieutenant folded his arms, and,

leaning against the toilet, sunk into a reverie.

'After all, it must be some trick of my laughter-loving

cousins,' said Seaforth.

'Ah! then, the ladies!' chimed in Mr. Maguire, though the

observation was not addressed to him; 'and will it be Miss

Caroline, or Miss Fanny, that's stole your honour's things?'

'I hardly know what to think of it,' pursued the bereaved

lieutenant, still speaking in soliloquy, with his eye resting

dubiously on the chamber-door. 'I locked myself in, that's

certain; and -- but there must be some other entrance to the

room -- pooh! I remember -- the private staircase; how could I

be such a fool?' and he crossed the chamber to where a low

oaken doorcase was dimly visible in a distant corner. He paused

before it. Nothing now interfered to screen it from

observation; but it bore tokens of having been at some earlier

period concealed by tapestry, remains of which yet clothed the

walls on either side the portal.

'This way they must have come,' said Seaforth; 'I wish

with all my heart I had caught them!'

'Och! the kittens!' sighed Mr. Barney Maguire.

But the mystery was yet as far from being solved as

before. True, there was the 'other door'; but then that, too,

on examination, was even more firmly secured than the one which

opened on the gallery,-- two heavy bolts on the inside

effectually prevented any coup de main on the lieutenant's

bivouac from that quarter. He was more puzzled than ever; nor

did the minutest inspection of the walls and floor throw any

light upon the subject: one thing only was clear,-- the

breeches were gone! 'It is very singular,' said the lieutenant.

Tappington (generally called Tapton) Everard is an

antiquated but commodious manor-house in the eastern division

of the county of Kent. A former proprietor had been High-

sheriff in the days of Elizabeth, and many a dark and dismal

tradition was yet extant of the licentiousness of his llfe, and

the enormity of his offences. The Glen, which the keeper's

daughter was seen to enter, but never known to quit, still

frowns darkly as of yore; while an ineradicable bloodstain on

the oaken stair yet bids defiance to the united energies of

soap and sand. But it is with one particular apartment that a

deed of more especial atrocity is said to be connected. A

stranger guest -- so runs the legend -- arrived unexpectedly at

the mansion of the 'Bad Sir Giles.' They met in apparent

friendship; but the ill-concealed scowl on their master's brow

told the domestics that the visit was not a welcome one; the

banquet, however, was not spared; the wine-cup circulated

freely,-- too freely, perhaps,-- for sounds of discord at

length reached the ears of even the excluded serving-men, as

they were doing their best to imitate their betters in the

lower ball. Alarmed, some of them ventured to approach the

parlour; one, an old and favoured retainer of the house, went

so far as to break in upon his master's privacy. Sir Giles,

already high in oath, fiercely enjoined his absence, and he

retired; not, however, before he had distinctly heard from the

stranger's lips a menace that 'There was that within his pocket

which could disprove the knight's right to issue that or any

other command within the walls of Tapton.'

The intrusion, though momentary, seemed to have produced a

beneficial effect; the voices of the disputants fell, and the

conversation was carried on thenceforth in a more subdued tone,

till, as evening closed in, the domestics, when summoned to

attend with lights, found not only cordiality restored, but

that a still deeper carouse was meditated. Fresh stoups, and

from the choicest bins, were produced; nor was it till at a

late, or rather early hour, that the revellers sought their

chambers.

The one allotted to the stranger occupied the first floor

of the eastern angle of the building, and had once been the

favourite apartment of Sir Odes himself. Scandal ascribed this

preference to the facility which a private staircase,

communicating with the grounds, had afforded him, in the old

knight's time, of following his wicked courses unchecked by

parental observation; a consideration which ceased to be of

weight when the death of his father left him uncontrolled

master of his estate and actions. From that period Sir Giles

had established himself in what were called the 'state

apartments,' and the 'oaken chamber ' was rarely tenanted, save

on occasions of extraordinary festivity, or when the Yule log

drew an unusually large accession of guests around the

Christmas hearth.

On this eventful night it was prepared for the unknown

visitor, who sought his couch heated and inflamed from his

midnight orgies, and in the morning was found in his bed a

swollen and blackened corpse. No marks of violence appeared

upon the body; but the livid hue of the lips, and certain dark-

coloured spots visible on the skin, aroused suspicions which

those who entertained them were too timid to express. Apoplexy,

induced by the excesses of the preceding night, Sir Giles's

confidential leech pronounced to be the cause of his sudden

dissolution. The body was buried in peace; and though some

shook their heads as they witnessed the haste with which the

funeral rites were hurried on, none ventured to murmur. Other

events arose to distract the attention of the retainers; men's

minds became occupied by the stirring politics of the day;

while the near approach of that formidable armada, so vainly

arrogating to itself a title which the very elements joined

with human valour to disprove, soon interfered to weaken, if

not obliterate, all remembrance of the nameless stranger who

had died within the walls of Tapton Everard.

Years rolled on: the 'Bad Sir Giles' had himself long

since gone to his account, the last, as it was believed, of his

immediate line; though a few of the older tenants were

sometimes heard to speak of an elder brother, who had

disappeared in early life, and never inherited the estate.

Rumours, too, of his having left a son in foreign lands were at

one time rife; but they died away, nothing occurring to support

them: the property passed unchallenged to a collateral branch

of the family, and the secret, if secret there were, was buried

in Denton churchyard, in the lonely grave of the mysterious

stranger. One circumstance alone occurred, after a long-

intervening period, to revive the memory of these transactions.

Some workmen employed in grubbing an old plantation, for the

purpose of raising on its site a modern shrubbery, dug up, in

the execution of their task, the mildewed remnants of what

seemed to have been once a garment. On more minute inspection

enough remained of silken slashes and a coarse embroidery to

identify the relics as having once formed part of a pair of

trunk hose; while a few papers which fell from them, altogether

illegible from damp and age, were by the unlearned rustics

conveyed to the then owner of the estate.

Whether the squire was more successful in deciphering them

was never known; he certainly never alluded to their contents;

and little would have been thought of the matter but for the

inconvenient memory of one old woman, who declared she beard

her grandfather say that when the 'stranger guest' was

poisoned, though all the rest of his clothes were there, his

breeches, the supposed repository of the supposed documents,

could never be found. The master of Tapton Everard smiled when

he heard Dame Jones's hint of deeds which might impeach the

validity of his own title in favour of some unknown descendant

of some unknown heir; and the story was rarely alluded to, save

by one or two miracle-mongers, who had hard that others had

seen the ghost of old Sir Giles, in his night-cap, issue from

the postern, enter the adjoining copse, and wring his shadowy

hands in agony, as he seemed to search vainly for something

hidden among the evergreens. The stranger's death-room had, of

course, been occasionally haunted from the time of his decease;

but the periods of visitation had latterly become very rare --

even Mrs. Botherby, the housekeeper, being forced to admit

that, during her long sojourn at the manor, she had never 'met

with anything worse than herself;' though, as the old lady

afterwards added upon more mature reflection, 'I must say I

think I saw the devil once?'

Such was the legend attached to Tapton Everard, and such

the story which the lively Caroline Ingoldsby detailed to her

equally mercurial cousin, Charles Seaforth, lieutenant in the

Hon. East India Company's second regiment of Bombay Fencibles,

as arm-in-arm they promenaded a gallery decked with some dozen

grim-looking ancestral portraits, and, among others, with that

of the redoubted Sir Giles himself. The gallant commander had

that very morning paid his first visit to the house of his

maternal uncle, after an absence of several years passed with

his regiment on the arid plains of Hindostan, whence he was now

returned on a three years' furlough, he had gone out a boy,--

he returned a man; but the impression made upon his youthful

fancy by his favourite cousin remained unimpaired, and to

Tapton be directed his steps, even before he sought the home of

his widowed mother,-- comforting himself in this breach of

filial decorum by the reflection that, as the manor was so

little out of his way, it would be unkind to pass, as it were,

the door of his relatives without just looking in for a few

hours.

But he found his uncle as hospitable, and his cousin more

charming than ever; and the looks of one, and the requests of

the other, soon precluded the possibility of refusing to

lengthen the 'few hours' into a few days, though the house was

at the moment full of visitors.

The Peterses were there from Ramsgate; and Mr., Mrs., and

the two Miss Simpkinsons, from Bath, had come to pass a month

with the family; and Tom Ingoldsby had brought down his college

friend the Honourable Augustus Sucklethumbkin, with his groom

and pointers, to take a fortnight's shooting. And then there

was Mrs. Ogleton, the rich young widow, with her large black

eyes, who, people did say, was setting her cap at the young

squire, though Mrs. Botherby did not believe it; and, above

all, there was Mademoiselle Pauline, her femme de chambre, who

'mon-Dieu'd' everything and everybody, and cried 'Quel

horreur!' at Mrs. Botherby's cap. In short, to use the last-

named and much-respected lady's own expression, the house was

'choke-full' to the very attics,-- all save the 'oaken

chamber,' which, as the lieutenant expressed a most magnanimous

disregard of ghosts, was forthwith appropriated to his

particular accommodation. Mr. Maguire meanwhile was fain to

share the apartment of Oliver Dobbs, the squire's own man: a

jocular proposal of joint occupancy having been first

indignantly rejected by 'Mademoiselle,' though preferred with

the 'laste taste in life' of Mr. Barney's most insinuating

brogue.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

'Come, Charles, the urn is absolutely getting cold; your

breakfast will be quite spoiled: what can have made you so

idle?' Such was the morning salutation of Miss Ingoldsby to the

militaire as he entered the breakfast-room half an hour after

the latest of the party.

'A pretty gentleman, truly, to make an appointment with,'

chimed in Miss Frances. 'What is become of our ramble to the

rooks before breakfast?'

'Oh! the young men never think of keeping a promise now,'

said Mrs. Peters, a little ferret-faced woman with underdone

eyes.

'When I was a young man,' said Mr. Peters, 'I remember I

always made a point of --'

'Pray how long ago was that?' asked Mr. Shnpkinson from

Bath.

'Why, sir, when I married Mrs. Peters, I was -- let me see

-- I was --'

'Do pray hold your tongue, P., and eat your breakfast!'

interrupted his better half, who had a mortal horror of

chronological references; 'it's very rude to tease people with

your family affairs.'

The lieutenant had by this time taken his seat in

silence,-- a good-humoured nod, and a glance, half-smiling,

half-inquisitive, being the extent of his salutation. Smitten

as he was, and in the immediate presence of her who had made so

large a hole in his heart, his manner was evidently distrait,

which the fair Caroline in her secret soul attributed to his

being solely occupied by her agrémens: how would she have

bridled had she known that they only shared his meditations

with a pair of breeches!

Charles drank his coffee and spiked some half-dozen eggs,

darting occasionally a penetrating glance at the ladies, in

hope of detecting the supposed waggery by the evidence of some

furtive smile or conscious look. But in vain; not a dimple

moved indicative of roguery, nor did the slightest elevation of

eyebrow rise confirmative of his suspicions. Hints and

insinuations passed unheeded,-- more particular inquiries were

out of the question: -- the subject was unapproachable.

In the meantime, 'patent cords' were just the thing for a

morning's ride; and, breakfast ended, away cantered the party

over the downs, till, every faculty absorbed by the beauties,

animate and inanimate, which surrounded him, Lieutenant

Seaforth of the Bombay Fencibles bestowed no more thought upon

his breeches than if he had been born on the top of Ben Lomond.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Another night had passed away; the sun rose brilliantly,

forming with his level beams a splendid rainbow in the far-off

west, whither the heavy cloud, which for the last two hours had

been pouring its waters on the earth, was now flying before

him.

'Ah! then, and it's little good it'll be the claning of

ye,' apostrophized Mr. Barney Maguire, as be deposited, in

front of his master's toilet, a pair of 'bran-new' jockey

boots, one of Hoby's primest fits, which the lieutenant had

purchased in his way through town. On that very morning had

they come for the first time under the valet's depurating hand,

so little soiled, indeed, from the turfy ride of the preceding

day, that a less scrupulous domestic might, perhaps, have

considered the application of 'Warren's Matchless,' or oxalic

acid, altogether superfluous. Not so Barney: with the nicest

care had he removed the slightest impurity from each polished

surface, and there they stood, rejoicing in their sable

radiance. No wonder a pang shot across Mr. Maguire's breast, as

he thought on the work now cut out for them, so different from

the light labours of the day before; no wonder he murmured with

a sigh, as the scarce dried window panes disclosed a road now

inch-deep in mud, 'Ah! then, it 's little good the claning of

ye!'-- for well had he learned in the hall below that eight

miles of a stiff clay soil lay between the manor and Bolsover

Abbey, whose picturesque ruins,

'Like ancient Rome, majestic in decay,'

the party had determined to explore. The master had already

commenced dressing, and the man was fitting straps upon a light

pair of crane-necked spurs, when his hand was arrested by the

old question,--' Barney, where are the breeches?'

They were nowhere to be found!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mr. Seaforth descended that morning, whip in hand, and

equipped in a handsome green riding-frock, but no 'breeches and

boots to match' were there: loose jean trousers, surmounting a

pair of diminutive Wellingtons, embraced, somewhat

incongruously, his nether man, vice the 'patent cords,'

returned, like yesterday's pantaloons, absent without leave.

The 'top-boots' had a holiday.

'A fine morning after the rain,' said Mr. Simpkinson from

Bath.

'Just the thing for the 'ops,' said Mr. Peters. 'I

remember when I was a boy --'

'Do bold your tongue, P.,' said Mrs. Peters,-- advice

which that exemplary matron was in the constant habit of

administering to 'her P.' as she called him, whenever be

prepared to vent his reminiscences. Her precise reason for this

it would be difficult to determine, unless, indeed, the story

be true which a little bird had whispered into Mrs. Botherby's

ear,-- Mr. Peters, though now a wealthy man, had received a

liberal education at a charity-school, and was apt to recur to

the days of his muffin-cap and leathers. As usual, he took his

wife's hint in good part, and 'paused in his reply.'

'A glorious day for the ruins!' said young Ingoldsby.

'But, Charles, what the deuce are you about? you don't mean to

ride through our lanes in such toggery as that?'

'Lassy me!' said Miss Julia Simpkinson, 'won't you be very

wet?'

'You had better take Tom's cab,' quoth the squire.

But this proposition was at once overruled; Mrs. Ogleton

had already nailed the cab, a vehicle of all others the best

adapted for a snug flirtation.

'Or drive Miss Julia in the phaeton?' No; that was the

post of Mr. Peters, who, indifferent as an equestrian, had

acquired some fame as a whip while travelling through the

midland counties for the firm of Bagshaw, Snivelby, & Ghrimes.

'Thank you, I shall ride with my cousins,' said Charles,

with as much nonchalance as he could assume -- and he did so;

Mr. Ingoldsby, Mrs. Peters, Mr. Simpkinson from Bath, and his

eldest daughter with her album, following in the family coach.

The gentleman-commoner 'voted the affair d--d slow,' and

declined the party altogether in favour of the gamekeeper and a

cigar. 'There was 'no fun' in looking at old houses!' Mrs.

Simpkinson preferred a short séjour in the still-room with Mrs.

Botherby, who had promised to initiate her in that grand

arcanum, the transmutation of gooseberry jam into Guava jelly.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Did you ever see an old abbey before, Mr. Peters?'

'Yes, miss, a French one; we have got one at Ramsgate; he

teaches the Miss Joneses to parley-voo, and is turned of

sixty.'

Miss Simpkinson closed her album with an air of ineffable

disdain.

Mr. Simpkinson from Bath was a professed antiquary, and

one of the first water; he was master of Gwiliim's Heraldry,

and Milles's History of the Crusades; knew every plate in the

Monasticon; had written an essay on the origin and dignity of

the office of overseer, and settled the date of a Queen Anne's

farthing. An influential member of the Antiquarian Society, to

whose 'Beauties of Bagnigge Wells' he had been a liberal

subscriber, procured him a seat at the board of that leaned

body, since which happy epoch Sylvanus Urban had not a more

indefatigable correspondent. His inaugural essay on the

President's cocked hat was considered a miracle of erudition:

and his account of the earliest application of gilding to

gingerbread, a masterpiece of antiquarian research. His eldest

daughter was of a kindred spirit: if her father's mantle had

not fallen upon her, it was only because he had not thrown it

off himself; she had caught hold of its tail, however, while it

yet hung upon his honoured shoulders. To souls so congenial,

what a sight was the magnificent ruin of Bolsover! its broken

arches, its mouldering pinnacles, and the airy tracery of its

half-demolished windows. The party were in raptures; Mr.

Simpkinson began to meditate an essay, and his daughter an ode:

even Seaforth, as he gazed on these lonely relics of the olden

time, was betrayed into a momentary forgetfulness of his love

and losses: the widow's eye-glass turned from her cicisbeo's

whiskers to the mantling ivy; Mrs. Peters wiped her spectacles;

and 'her P.' supposed the central tower 'had once been the

county jail.' The squire was a philosopher, and had been there

often before, so he ordered out the cold tongue and chickens.

'Bolsover Priory,' said Mr. Simpkinson, with the air of a

connoisseur,--' Bolsover Priory was founded in the reign of

Henry the Sixth, about the beginning of the eleventh century.

Hugh de Bolsover had accompanied that monarch to the Holy Land,

in the expedition undertaken by way of penance for the murder

of his young nephews in the Tower. Upon the dissolution of the

monasteries, the veteran was enfeoffed in the lands and manor,

to which be gave his own name of Bowlsover, or Bee-owls-over,

(by corruption Bolsover) -- a Bee in chief, over three Owls,

all proper, being the armorial ensigns borne by this

distinguished crusader at the siege of Acre.'

'Ah! that was Sir Sidney Smith,' said Mr. Peters; 'I've

heard tell of him, and all about Mrs. Partington, and --'

'P. be quiet, and don't expose yourself!' sharply

interrupted his lady. P. was silenced, and betook himself to

the bottled stout.

'These lands,' continued the antiquary, 'were held in

grand serjeantry by the presentation of three white owls and a

pot of honey --'

'Lassy me! how nice!' said Miss Julia. Mr. Peters licked

his lips.

'Pray give me leave, my dear -- owls and honey, whenever

the king should come a rat-catching into this part of the

country.'

'Rat-catching!' ejaculated the squire, pausing abruptly in

the mastication of a drumstick.

'To be sure, my dear sir: don't you remember the rats once

came under the forest laws -- a minor species of venison? 'Rats

and mice, and such small deer,' eh?-- Shakespeare, you know.

Our ancestors ate rats; ('The nasty fellows!' shuddered Miss

Julia in a parenthesis;) and owls, you know, are capital

mousers --' I've seen a howl,' said Mr. Peters; 'there 's one

in the Sohological Gardens,-- a little hook-nosed chap in a

wig,-- only its feathers and --'

Poor P. was destined never to finish a speech.

'Do be quiet!' cried the authoritative voice; and the

would-be naturalist shrank into his shell, like a snail in the

'Sohological Gardens.'

'You should read Blount's Jocular Tenures, Mr. Ingoldsby,'

pursued Simpkinson. 'A learned man was Blount! Why, sir, His

Royal Highness the Duke of York once paid a silver horse shoe

to Lord Ferrers --'

'I've heard of him,' broke in the incorrigible Peters; 'he

was hanged at the Old Bailey in a silk rope for shooting Dr.

Johnson.'

The antiquary vouchsafed no notice of the interruption;

but, taking a pinch of snuff, continued his harangue.

'A silver horse-shoe, sir, which is due from every scion

of royalty who rides across one of his manors; and if you look

into the penny county histories, now publishing by an eminent

friend of mine, you will find that Langhale in Co. Norf. was

held by one Baldwin per saltum, sufflatum, et pettum; that is,

he was to come every Christmas into Westminster Hall, there to

take a leap, cry hem! and --'

'Mr. Simpkinson, a glass of sherry?' cried Tom Ingoldsby,

hastily.

'Not any, thank you, sir. This Baldwin, surnamed Le -- -'

'Mrs. Ogleton challenges you, sir; she insists upon it,'

said Tom still more rapidly, at the same time filling a glass,

and forcing it on the sçavant, who, thus arrested in the very

crisis of his narrative, received and swallowed the potation as

if it had been physic.

'What on earth has Miss Simpkinson discovered there?'

continued Tom; 'something of interest. See how fast she is

writing.'

The diversion was effectual; every one looked towards Miss

Simpkinson, who, far too ethereal for 'creature comforts,' was

seated apart on the dilapidated remains of an altar-tomb,

committing eagerly to paper something that had strongly

impressed her; the air,-- the eye in a 'fine frenzy rolling,'--

all betokened that the divine afflattus was come. Her father

rose, and stole silently towards her.

'What an old boar!' muttered young Ingoldsby; alluding,

perhaps, to a slice of brawn which he had just begun to operate

upon, but which, from the celerity with which it disappeared,

did not seem so very difficult of mastication.

But what had become of Seaforth and his fair Caroline all

this while? Why, it so happened that they had been

simultaneously stricken with the picturesque appearance of one

of those high and pointed arches, which that eminent antiquary,

Mr. Horseley Curties, has described in his Ancient Records as

'a Gothic window of the Saxon order;' and then the ivy

clustered so thickly and so beautifully on the other side, that

they went round to look at that; and then their proximity

deprived it of half its effect, and so they walked across to a

little knoll, a hundred yards off, and in crossing a small

ravine they came to what in Ireland they call 'a bad step,' and

Charles had to carry his cousin over it; and then, when they

had to come back, she would not give him the trouble again for

the world, so they followed a better but more circuitous route,

and there were hedges and ditches in the way, and stiles to get

over and gates to get through, so that an hour or more had

elapsed before they were able to rejoin the party.

'Lassy me!' said Miss Julia Simpkinson, 'how long you have

been gone!'

And so they had. The remark was a very just as well as a

very natural one. They were gone a long while, and a nice cosy

chat they had; and what do you think it was all about, my dear

miss?

'O, lassy me! love, no doubt, and the moon, and eyes, and

nightingales, and --'

Stay, stay, my sweet young lady;, do not let the fervour

of your feelings run away with you! I do not pretend to say,

indeed, that one or more of these pretty subjects might not

have been introduced; but the most important and leading topic

of the conference was -- Lieutenant Seaforth's breeches.

'Caroline,' said Charles, 'I have had some very odd dreams

since I have been at Tappington.'

'Dreams, have you?' smiled the young lady, arching her

taper neck like a swan in pluming. 'Dreams, have you?'

'Aye, dreams,-- or dream, perhaps, I should say; for,

though repeated, it was still the same. And what do you imagine

was its subject?'

'It is impossible for me to divine,' said the tongue;--'I

have not the least difficulty in guessing,' said the eye, as

plainly as ever eye spoke.

'I dreamt -- of your great grandfather!'

There was a change in the glance --' My great

grandfather?'

'Yes, the old Sir Giles, or Sir John, you told me about

the other day! he walked into my bedroom in his short cloak of

murrey-coloured velvet, his long rapier, and his Raleigh-

looking hat and feather, just as the picture represents him;

but with one exception.'

'And what was that?'

'Why, his lower extremities, which were visible, were --

those of a skeleton.

'Well.'

'Well, after taking a turn or two about the room, and

looking round him with a wistful air, he came to the bed's

foot, stared at me in a manner impossible to describe,-- and

then he -- he laid hold of my pantaloons; whipped his long bony

legs into them in a twinkling; and strutting up to the glass,

seemed to view himself in it with great complacency. I tried to

speak, but in vain. The effort, however, seemed to excite his

attention; for, wheeling about, he showed me the grimmest-

looking death's bead you can well imagine, and with an

indescribable grin strutted out of the room.'

'Absurd! Charles. How can you talk such nonsense?'

'But, Caroline,-- the breeches are really gone.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the following morning, contrary to his usual custom,

Seaforth was the first person in the breakfast-parlour. As no

one else was present, be did precisely what nine young men out

of ten so situated would have done; he walked up to the mantel

piece, established himself upon the rug, and subducting his

coat-tails one under each arm, turned towards the fire that

portion of the human frame which it is considered equally

indecorous to present to a friend or an enemy. A serious, not

to say anxious, expression, was visible upon his good-humoured

countenance, and his mouth was fast buttoning itself up for an

incipient whistle, when little Flo, a tiny spaniel of the

Blenheim breed,-- the pet object of Miss Julia Simpkinson's

affections,-- bounced out from beneath a sofa, and began to

bark at -- his pantaloons.

They were cleverly 'built,' of a light grey mixture, a

broad stripe of the most vivid scarlet traversing each seam in

a perpendicular direction from hip to ankle,-- in short, the

regimental costume of the Royal Bombay Fencibles. The animal,

educated in the country, had never seen such a pair of breeches

in her life -- Omne ignotum pro magnifico! The scarlet streak,

inflamed as it was by the reflection of the fire, seemed to act

on Flora's nerves as the same colour does on those of bulls and

turkeys; she advanced at the pas de charge, and her

vociferation, like her amazement, was unbounded. A sound kick

from the disgusted officer changed its character, and induced a

retreat at the very moment when the mistress of the pugnacious

quadruped entered to the rescue.

Lassy me! Flo, what is the matter?' cried the sympathizing

lady, with a scrutinizing glance levelled at the gentleman.

It might as well have lighted on a feather bed. His air of

imperturbable unconsciousness defied examination; and as he

would not, and Flora could not, expound, that injured

individual was compelled to pocket up her wrongs. Others of the

household soon dropped in, and clustered round the board

dedicated to the most sociable of meals; the urn was paraded

'hissing hot,' and the cups which 'cheer, but not inebriate,'

steamed redolent of hyson and pekoe; muffins and marmalade,

newspapers and Finnon haddies, left little room for observation

on the character of Charles's warlike 'turn-out.' At length a

look from Caroline, followed by a smile that nearly ripened to

a fitter, caused him to turn abruptly and address his

neighbour. It was Miss Simpkinson, who, deeply engaged in

sipping her tea and turning over her album, seemed, like a

female Chrononotonthologos, 'immersed in cogibundity of

cogitation.' An interrogatory on the subject of her studies

drew from her the confession that she was at that moment

employed in putting the finishing touches to a poem inspired by

the romantic shades of Bolsover. The entreaties of the company

were of course urgent. Mr. Peters, 'who liked verses,' was

especially persevering, and Sappho at length compliant. After a

preparatory hem! and a glance at the mirror to ascertain that

her look was sufficiently sentimental, the poetess began

There is a calm, a holy feeling,

Vulgar minds can never know.

O'er the bosom softly stealing.--

Chasten'd grief, delicious woe!

Oh! how sweet at eve regaining

Yon lone tower's sequester'd shade --

Sadly mute and uncomplaining --'

-- Yew!-- yeough!-- yeough!-- yow!-- yow! yelled a hapless

sufferer from beneath the table.-- It was an unlucky hour for

quadrupeds; and if 'every dog will have his day,' he could not

have selected a more unpropitious one than this. Mrs. Ogleton,

too, had a pet,-- a favourite pug,-- whose squab figure, black

muzzle, and tortuosity of tail, that curled like a head of

celery in a salad-bowl, bespoke his Dutch extraction. Yow! yow!

yow! continued the brute,-- a chorus in which Flo instantly

joined. Sooth to say, pug had more reason to express his

dissatisfaction than was given him by the muse of Simpkinson;

the other only barked for company. Scarcely had the poetess got

through her first stanza when Tom Ingoldsby, in the enthusiasm

of the moment, became so lost in the material world, that, in

his abstraction, he unwarily laid his hand on the cock of the

urn. Quivering with emotion he gave it such an unlucky twist

that the full stream of its scalding contents descended on the

gingerbread hide of the unlucky Cupid.-- The confusion was

complete;-- the whole economy of the table disarranged;-- the

company broke up in most admired disorder;-- and 'vulgar minds

will never know' anything more of Miss Simpkinson's ode till

they peruse it in some forthcoming Annual.

Seaforth profited by the confusion to take the delinquent

who had caused this 'stramash' by the arm, and to lead him to

the lawn, where he had a word or two for his private ear. The

conference between the young gentlemen was neither brief in its

duration nor unimportant in its result. The subject was what

the lawyers call tripartite, embracing the information that

Charles Seaforth was over head and ears in love with Tom

Ingoldsby's sister; secondly, that the lady had referred him to

'papa' for his sanction; thirdly and lastly, his nightly

visitations, and consequent bereavement. At the two first items

Tom smiled auspiciously;-- at the last he burst out into an

absolute 'guffaw.'

'Steal your breeches! Miss Bailey over again, by Jove,'

shouted Ingoldsby. 'But a gentleman, you say,-- and Sir Giles

too. I am not sure, Charles, whether I ought not to call you

out for aspersing the honour of the family.'

'Laugh as you will, Tom,-- be as incredulous as you

please. One fact is incontestable,-- the breeches are gone!

Look here -- I am reduced to my regimentals; and if these go,

to-morrow I must borrow of you!'

Rochefoucault says, there is something in the misfortunes

of our very best friends that does not displease us; assuredly

we can, most of us, laugh at their petty inconveniences, till

called upon to supply them. Tom composed his features on the

instant, and replied with more gravity, as well as with an

expletive, which, if my Lord Mayor had been within hearing,

might have cost him five shillings.

'There is something very queer in this, after all. The

clothes, you say, have positively disappeared. Somebody is

playing you a trick; and, ten to one, your servant has a hand

in it. By the way, I heard something yesterday of his kicking

up a bobbery in the kitchen, and seeing a ghost, or something

of that kind, himself. Depend upon it, Barney is in the plot.'

It now struck the lieutenant at once that the usually

buoyant spirits of his attendant had of late been materially

sobered down, his loquacity obviously circumscribed, and that

he, the said lieutenant, had actually rung his bell three

several times that very morning before he could procure his

attendance. Mr. Maguire was forthwith summoned, and underwent a

close examination. The 'bobbery' was easily explained. Mr.

Oliver Dobbs had hinted his disapprobation of a flirtation

carrying on between the gentleman from Munster and the lady

from the Rue St. Honoré. Mademoiselle had boxed Mr. Maguire's

ears, and Mr. Maguire had pulled Mademoiselle upon his knee,

and the lady had not cried Mon Dieu! And Mr. Oliver Dobbs said

it was very wrong; and Mrs. Botherby said it was 'scandalous,'

and what ought not to be done in any moral kitchen; and Mr.

Magaire had got bold of the Honourable Augustus

Sucklethumbkin's powder-flask, and had put large pinches of the

best Double Dartford into Mr. Dobbs's tobacco-box; and Mr.

Dobbs's pipe had exploded, and set fire to Mrs. Botherby's

Sunday cap; and Mr. Maguire had put it out with the slop-basin,

'barring the wig;' and then they were all so 'cantankerous,'

that Barney had gone to take a walk in the garden; and then --

then Mr. Barney had seen a ghost!

'A what? you blockhead!' asked Tom Ingoldsby.

'Sure then, and it's meself will tell your honour the

rights of it,' said the ghost-seer 'Meself and Miss Pauline,

sir,-- or Miss Pauline and meself, for the ladies comes first

anyhow,-- we got tired of the hobstroppylous skrimmaging among

the ould servants, that didn't know a joke when they seen one:

and we went out to look at the comet,-- that 's the rorybory-

alehouse, they calls him in this country,-- and we walked upon

the lawn,-- and divil of any alehouse there was there at all;

and Miss Pauline said it was because of the shrubbery maybe,

and why wouldn't we see it better beyonst the trees? and so we

went to the trees, but sorrow a comet did meself see there,

barring a big ghost instead of it.'

'A ghost? And what sort of a ghost, Barney?'

'Och, then, divil a lie I'll tell your honour. A tall ould

gentleman he was, all in white, with a shovel on the shoulder

of him, and a big torch in his fist.-- though what he wanted

with that it 's meself can't tell, for his eyes were like gig-

lamps, let alone the moon and the comet, which wasn't there at

all and 'Barney,' says he to me,--' cause why he knew me,--'

Barney,' says he, 'what is it you're doing with the colleen

there, Barney? '-- Divil a word did I say. Miss Pauline

screeched, and cried murther in French, and ran off with

herself; and of course meself was in a mighty hurry after the

lady, and had no time to stop palavering with him any way: so I

dispersed at once, and the ghost vanished in a flame of fire!'

Mr. Maguire's account was received with avowed incredulity

by both gentlemen; but Barney stuck to his text with

unflinching pertinacity. A reference to Mademoiselle was

suggested, but abandoned, as neither party had a taste for

delicate investigations.

'I'll tell you what, Seaforth,' said Ingoldsby, after

Barney had received his dismissal, 'that there is a trick here,

is evident; and Barney's vision may possibly be a part of it.

Whether he is most knave or fool, you best know. At all events,

I will sit up with you to-night, and see if I can convert my

ancestor into a visiting acquaintance. Meanwhile your finger on

your lip!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

''Twas now the very witching time of night.

When churchyards yawn, and graves give up their dead'

Gladly would I grace my tale with decent horror, and

therefore I do beseech the 'gentle reader' to believe that if

all the succedanea to this mysterious narrative are not in

strict keeping, he will ascribe it only to the disgraceful

innovations of modern degeneracy upon the sober and dignified

habits of our ancestors. I can introduce him, it is true, into

an old and high-roofed chamber, its walls covered on three

sides with black oak wainscotting, adorned with carvings of

fruit and flowers long anterior to those of Grinling Gibbons;

the fourth side is clothed with a curious remnant of dingy

tapestry, once elucidatory of some Scriptural history, but of

which not even Mrs. Botherby could determine. Mr. Simpkinson,

who had examined it carefully, inclined to believe the

principal figure to be either Bathsheba, or Daniel in the

lions' den; while Tom Ingoldsby decided in favour of the King

of Bashan. All, however, was conjecture, tradition being silent

on the subject. A lofty arched portal led into, and a little

arched portal led out of, this apartment; they were opposite

each other, and each possessed the security of massy bolts on

its interior. The bedstead, too, was not one of yesterday, but

manifestly coeval with days ere Seddons was, and when a good

four-post 'article' was deemed worthy of being a royal bequest.

The bed itself, with all the appurtenances of palliasse,

mattresses, &c., was of far later (late, and looked most

incongruously comfortable; the casements, too, with their

little diamond-shaped panes and iron binding, had given way to

the modern heterodoxy of the sash-window, Nor was this all that

conspired to ruin the costume, and render the room a meet haunt

for such 'mixed spirits' only as could condescend to don at the

same time an Elizabethan doublet and Bond Street

inexpressibles.

With their green morocco slippers on a modern fender, in

front of a disgracefully modern grate, sat two young gentlemen,

clad in 'shawl-pattern' dressing-gowns and black silk stocks,

much at variance with the high cane-backed chairs which sup

ported them. A bunch of abomination, called a cigar, reeked in

the left-hand corner of the mouth of one, and in the right-hand

corner of the mouth of the other;-- an arrangement happily

adapted for the escape of the noxious fumes up the chimney,

without that unmerciful 'Junking' other, which a less

scientific disposition of the weed would have induced. A small

pembroke table filled up the intervening space between them,

sustaining, at each extremity, an elbow and a glass of toddy;--

thus in 'lonely pensive contemplation' were the two worthies

occupied, when the 'iron tongue of midnight had tolled twelve.'

'Ghost-time's come! said Ingoldsby, taking from his waist

coat pocket a watch like a gold half-crown, and consulting it

as though he suspected the turret-clock over the stables of

mendacity.

'Hush!' said Charles; 'did I not hear a footstep?'

There was a pause: -- there was a footstep -- it sounded

distinctly -- it reached the door -- it hesitated, stopped, and

-- passed on.

Tom darted across the room, threw open the door, and

became aware of Mrs. Botherby toddling to her chamber, at the

other end of the gallery, after dosing one of the housemaids

with an approved julep from the Countess of Kent's 'Choice

Manual.'

'Good night, sir!' ' said Mrs. Botherby.

'Go to the d--l!' said the disappointed ghost-hunter.

An hour -- two -- rolled on, and still no spectral

visitation; nor did aught intervene to make night hideous; and

when the turret-clock sounded at length the hour of three,

Ingoldsby, whose patience and grog were alike exhausted, sprang

from his chair, saying --' This is all infernal nonsense, my

good fellow. Deuce of any ghost shall we see to-night; it s

long past the canonical hour. I'm off to bed; and as to your

breeches, I'll insure them for the next twenty-four hours at

least, at the price of the buckram.'

'Certainly.-- Oh I thank'ee;-- to be sure!' stammered

Charles, rousing himself from a reverie, which had degenerated

into an absolute snooze.

'Good night, my boy! Bolt the door behind me; and defy the

Pope, the Devil, and the Pretender!'

Seaforth followed his friend's advice, and the next

morning came down to breakfast dressed in the habiliments of

the preceding day. The charm was broken, the demon defeated;

the light greys with the red stripe down the seams were yet in

rerum natura, and adorned the person of their lawful

proprietor.

Tom felicitated himself and his partner of the watch on

the result of their vigilance; but there is a rustic adage,

which warns us against self-gratulation before we are quite

'out of the wood.'-- Seaforth was yet within its verge.

A rap at Tom Ingoldsby's door the following morning

startled him as he was shaving;-- he cut his chin.

Come in, and be d--d to you!' said the martyr, pressing

his thumb on the scarified epidermis.-- The door opened, and

exhibited Mr. Barney Maguire.

'Well, Barney, what is it?' quoth the sufferer, adopting

the vernacular of his visitant.

'The master, sir --'

'Well, what does he want?'

'The loanst of a breeches, plase your honour.'

'Why, you don't mean to tell me -- By Heaven, this is too

good!' shouted Tom, bursting into a fit of uncontrollable

laughter. 'Why, Barney, you don't mean to say the ghost has got

them again?'

Mr. Maguire did not respond to the young squire's

risibility; the cast of his countenance was decidedly serious.

'Faith, then, it's gone they are, sure enough! Hasn't

meself been looking over the bed, and under the bed, and in the

bed, for the matter of that, and divil a ha'p'orth of breeches

is there to the fore at all: -- I'm bothered entirely!'

'Hark'ee! Mr. Barney,' said Torn, incautiously removing

his thumb, and letting a crimson stream 'incarnadine the

multitudinous' lather that plastered his throat,--' this may be

all very well with your master, but you don't humbug me, sir!

Tell me instantly, what have you done with the clothes?'

This abrupt transition from 'lively to severe' certainly

took Maguire by surprise, and he seemed for an instant as much

disconcerted as it is possible to disconcert an Irish

gentleman's gentleman.

'Me? is it meself, then, that 's the ghost to your

honour's thinking?' said he, after a moment's pause, and with a

slight shade of indignation in his tones: 'is it I would stale

the master's things,-- and what would I do with them?'

'That you best know: -- what your purpose is I can't

guess, for I don't think you mean to 'stale' them, as you call

it; but that you are concerned in their disappearance, I am

satisfied. Confound this blood!-- give me a towel, Barney.'

Maguire acquitted himself of the commission. 'As I've a

sowl, your honour,' said he, solemnly, 'little it is meself

knows of the matter: and after what I seen --'

'What you've seen! Why, what have you seen?-- Barney, I

don't want to inquire into your flirtations; but don't suppose

you can palm off your saucer eyes and gig-lamps upon me!'

'Then, as sure as your honour 's standing there I saw him:

and why wouldn't I, when Miss Pauline was to the fore as well

as meself, and --'

'Get along with your nonsense,-- leave the room, sir!'

'But the master?' said Barney, imploringly; 'and without a

breeches?-- sure he'll be catching cowld!--'

'Take that, rascal!' replied Ingoldsby, throwing a pair of

pantaloons at, rather than to, him: 'but don't suppose, sir,

you shall carry on your tricks here with impunity; recollect

there is such a thing as a treadmill, and that my father is a

county magistrate.'

Barney's eye flashed fire,-- he stood erect, and was about

to speak; but, mastering himself, not without an effort, he

took up the garment, and left the room as perpendicular as a

Quaker.

'Ingoldsby,' said Charles Seaforth, after breakfast, 'this

is now past a joke; to-day is the last of my stay; for,

notwithstanding the ties which detain me, common decency

obliges me to visit home after so long an absence. I shall come

to an immediate explanation with your father on the subject

nearest my heart, and depart while I have a change of dress

left. On his answer will my return depend! In the meantime tell

me candidly,-- I ask it in all seriousness, and as a friend,--

am I not a dupe to your well-known propensity to hoaxing? have

you not a hand in --'

'No, by heaven, Seaforth; I see what you mean: on my

honour, I am as much mystified as yourself: and if your servant

--'

'Not he: -- if there be a trick, he at least is not privy

to it.'

'If there be a trick? why, Charles, do you think --'

'I know not what to think, Tom. As surely as you are a

living man, so surely did that spectral anatomy visit my room

again last night, grin in my face, and walk away with my

trousers; nor was I able to spring from my bed, or break the

chain which seemed to bind me to my pillow.'

'Seaforth!' said Ingoldsby, after a short pause, 'I will -

- But hush! here are the girls and my father.-- I will carry

off the females, and leave you a clear field with the governor:

carry your point with him, and we will talk about your breeches

after wards.'

Tom's diversion was successful; he carried off the ladies

en masse to look at a remarkable specimen of the class

Dodecandria Monogynia,-- which they could not find;-- while

Seaforth marched boldly up to the encounter, and carried 'the

governor's' outworks by a coup de main. I shall not stop to

describe the progress of the attack; suffice it that it was as

successful as could have been wished, and that Seaforth was

referred back again to the lady. The happy lover was off at a

tangent; the botanical party was soon overtaken; and the arm of

Caroline, whom a vain endeavour to spell out the Linnaean name

of a daffy-down-dilly had detained a little in the rear of the

others, was soon firmly locked in his own.

What was the world to them,

Its noise, its nonsense, and its 'breeches' all?'

Seaforth was in the seventh heaven; he retired to his room

that night as happy as if no such thing as a goblin had ever

been beard of, and personal chattels were as well fenced in by

law as real property. Not so Tom Ingoldsby: the mystery,-- for

mystery there evidently was,-- had not only piqued his

curiosity, but ruffled his temper. The watch of the previous

night had been unsuccessful, probably because it was

undisguised. To-night he would 'ensconce himself,'-- not indeed

'behind the arras,'-- for the little that remained was, as we

have seen, nailed to the wall,-- but in a small closet which

opened from one corner of the room, and, by leaving the door

ajar, would give to its occupant a view of all that might pass

in the apartment. Here did the young ghost-hunter take up a

position, with a good stout sapling under his arm, a full half-

hour before Seaforth retired for the night. Not even his friend

did he let into his confidence, fully determined that if his

plan did not succeed, the failure should be attributed to

himself alone.

At the usual hour of separation for the night, Tom saw,

from his concealment, the lieutenant enter his room, and, after

taking a few turns in it, with an expression so joyous as to

betoken that his thoughts were mainly occupied by his

approaching happiness, proceed slowly to disrobe himself. The

coat, the waistcoat, the black silk stock. were gradually

discarded; the green morocco slippers were kicked off, and then

-- ay, and then -- his countenance grew grave; it seemed to

occur to him all at once that this was his last stake,-- nay,

that the very breeches he had on were not his own,-- that to-

morrow morning was his last, and that if he lost them -- A

glance showed that his mind was made up; he replaced the single

button he had just subducted, and threw himself upon the bed in

a state of transition,-- half chrysalis, half grub.

Wearily did Tom Ingoldsby watch the sleeper by the

flickering light of the night-lamp, till the clock striking

one, induced him to increase the narrow opening which he had

left for the purpose of observation. The motion, slight as it

was, seemed to attract Charles's attention; for he raised

himself suddenly to a sitting posture, listened for a- moment,

and then stood upright upon the floor Ingoldsby was on the

point of discovering himself, when, the light flashing full

upon his friend's countenance, be perceived that, though his

eyes were open, 'their sense was shut,'-- that he was yet under

the influence of sleep. Seaforth advanced slowly to the toilet,

lit his candle at the lamp that stood on it, then, going back

to the bed's foot, appeared to search eagerly for something

which he could not find. For a few moments he seemed restless

and uneasy, walking round the apartment and examining the

chairs, till, coming fully in front of a large swing-glass that

flanked the dressing-table, he paused, as if contemplating his

figure in it. He now returned towards the bed; put on his

slippers, and, with cautious and stealthy steps, proceeded

towards the little arched doorway that opened on the private

staircase.

As he drew the bolt, Tom Ingoldsby emerged from his

hiding-place; but the sleep-walker heard him not; he proceeded

softly down stairs, followed at a due distance by his friend;

opened the door which led out upon the gardens; and stood at

once among the thickest of the shrubs, which there clustered

round the base of a corner turret, and screened the postern

from common observation. At this moment Ingoldsby had nearly

spoiled all by making a false step: the sound attracted

Seaforth's attention,-- he paused and turned; and, as the full

moon shed her light directly upon his pale and troubled

features, Tom marked, almost with dismay, the fixed and rayless

appearance of his eyes

'There was no speculation in those orbs

That he did glare withal.'

The perfect stillness preserved by his follower seemed to

reassure him; he turned aside; and from the midst of a thickset

laurustinus, drew forth a gardener's spade, shouldering which

he proceeded with greater rapidity into the midst of the

shrubbery. Arrived at a certain point where the earth seemed to

have been recently disturbed, be set himself heartily to the

task of digging, till, having thrown up several shovelfuls of

mould, he stopped, flung down his tool, and very composedly

began to disencumber himself of his pantaloons.

Up to this moment Tom had watched him with a wary eye: he

now advanced cautiously, and, as his friend was busily engaged

in disentangling himself from his garment, made himself master

of the spade. Seaforth, meanwhile, had accomplished his

purpose: he stood for a moment with

'His streamers waving in the wind,'

occupied in carefully rolling up the small-clothes into as

compact a form as possible, and all heedless of the breath of

heaven, which might certainly be supposed at such a moment, and

in such a plight, to 'visit his frame too roughly.' He was in

the act of stooping low to deposit the pantaloons in the grave

which he had been digging for them, when Tom Ingoldsby came

close behind him, and with the flat side of the spade --

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The shock was effectual;-- never again was Lieutenant Seaforth

known to act the part of a somnambulist. One by one, his

breeches,-- his trousers,-- his pantaloons,-- his silk-net

tights,-- his patent cords,-- his showy greys with the broad

red stripe of the Bombay Fencibles were brought to light,--

rescued from the grave in which they had been buried, like the

strata of a Christmas pie; and, after having been well aired by

Mrs. Botherby, became once again effective.

The family, the ladies especially, laughed;-- the Peterses

laughed;-- the Simpkinsons laughed;-- Barney Maguire cried

'Botheration!' and Mam'selle Pauline, 'Mon Dieu!'

Charles Seaforth, unable to face the quizzing which

awaited him on all sides, started off two hours earlier than he

had proposed: -- he soon returned, however; and having at his

father-in-law's request, given up the occupation of Rajali-

hunting and shooting Nabobs, led his blushing bride to the

altar.

Mr. Simpkinson from Bath did not attend the ceremony,

being engaged at the Grand Junction Meeting of Sçavans, then

congregating from all parts of the known world in the city of

Dublin. His essay, demonstrating that the globe is a great

custard, whipped into coagulation by whirlwinds, and cooked by

electricity,-- a little too much baked in the Isle of Portland,

and a thought underdone about the Bog of Allen,-- was highly

spoken of, and narrowly escaped obtaining a Bridgewater prize.

Miss Simpkinson and her sister acted as bridesmaids on the

occasion; the former wrote an epithalamium, and the latter

cried 'Lassy me!' at the clergyman's wig. Some years have since

rolled on; the union has been crowned with two or three tidy

little off-shoots from the family tree, of whom Master Neddy is

'grandpapa's darling,' and Mary Anne mamma's particular 'Sock.'

I shall only add, that Mr. and Mrs. Seaforth are living

together quite as happily as two good-hearted, good-tempered

bodies, very fond of each other, can possibly do: and that

since the day of his marriage Charles has shown no disposition

to jump out of bed, or ramble out of doors o' nights,-- though,

from his entire devotion to every wish and whim of his young

wife, Tom insinuates that the fair Caroline does still

occasionally take advantage of it so far as to 'slip on the

breeches.'

It was not till some years after the events just recorded, that

Miss Mary Anne, the pet 'Sock' before alluded to, was made

acquainted with the following piece of family biography. It was

communicated to her in strict confidence by Nurse Botherby, a

maiden niece of the old lady's, then recently promoted from the

ranks in the still-room, to be second in command in the nursery

department.

The story is connected with a dingy wizzen-faced portrait,

in an oval frame, generally known by the name of 'Uncle

Stephen,' though from the style of his cut-velvet, it is

evident that some generations must have passed away since any

living being could have stood towards him in that degree of

consanguinity.

THE HAND OF GLORY: THE NURSE'S STORY

Malefica quaedam auguriatrix in Anglia fuit, quam demones

horribiliter extraxerunt, et imponentes super equum terribilem,

per aera rapuerunt; Clamoresque terribiles (ut ferunt) per

quatuor ferme miliaria audiebantur.

Nuremb. Chron.

ON the lone bleak moor,

At the midnight hour,

Beneath the Gallows Tree,

Hand in hand

The Murderers stand

By one, by two, by three!

And the Moon that night

With a grey, cold light

Each baleful object tips;

One half of her form

Is seen through the storm,

The other half 's hid in Eclipse!

And the cold Wind howls,

And the Thunder growls,

And the Lightning is broad and bright;

And altogether

It 's very bad weather,

And an unpleasant sort of a night!

'Now mount who list,

And close by the wrist

Sever me quickly the Dead Man's fist!--

Now climb who dare

Where he swings in air,

And pluck me five locks of the Dead Man's hair!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There 's an old woman dwells upon Tappington Moor,

She hath years on her back at the least fourscore,

And some people fancy a great many more;

Her nose it is hook'd,

Her back it is crook'd,

Her eyes blear and red:

On the top of her head

Is a mutch, and on that

A shocking bad hat,

Extinguisher-shaped, the brim narrow and flat!

Then,-- My Gracious!-- her beard!-- it would sadly perplex

A spectator at first to distinguish her sex;

Nor, I'll venture to say, without scrutiny could be

Pronounce her, off-handed, a Punch or a Judy.

Did you see her, in short, that mud-hovel within,

With her knees to her nose, and her nose to her chin,

Leering up with that queer, indescribable grin,

You'd lift up your hands in amazement, and cry,

'-- Well!-- I never did see such a regular Guy!'

And now before

That old Woman's door,

Where nought that 's good may be,

Hand in hand

The Murderers stand

By one, by two, by three!

Oh! 'tis a horrible sight to view,

In that horrible hovel, that horrible crew,

By the pale blue glare of that flickering flame,

Doing the deed that hath never a name!

'Tis awful to hear

Those words of fear!

The prayer mutter'd backwards, and said with a sneer!

(Matthew Hopkins himself has assured us that when

A witch says her prayers, she begins with 'Amen.') --

--' Tis awful to see

On that Old Woman's knee

The dead, shrivell'd hand, as she clasps it with glee!--

And now, with care,

The five locks of hair

From the skull of the Gentleman dangling up there,

With the grease and the fat

Of a black Tom Cat

She hastens to mix,

And to twist into wicks,

And one on the thumb, and each finger to fix.--

(For another receipt the same charm to prepare,

Consult Mr Ainsworth and Petit Albert.)

'Now open lock

To the Dead Man's knock!

Fly bolt, and bar, and band!

-- Nor move, nor swerve

Joint, muscle, or nerve,

At the spell of the Dead Man's hand!

Sleep all who sleep!-- Wake all who wake!--

But be as the Dead for the Dead Man's sake!!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

All is silent! all is still,

Save the ceaseless moan of the bubbling rill

As it wells from the bosom of Tappington Hill.

And in Tappington Hall

Great and Small,

Gentle and Simple, Squire and Groom,

Each one hath sought his separate room,

And sleep her dark mantle hath o'er them cast,

For the midnight hour hath long been past!

All is darksome in earth and sky,

Save, from yon casement, narrow and high,

A quivering beam

On the tiny stream

Plays, like some taper's fitful gleam

By one that is watching wearily.

Within that casement, narrow and high,

In his secret lair, where none may spy,

Sits one whose brow is wrinkled with care,

And the thin grey locks of his failing hair

Have left his little bald pate all bare;

For his full-bottom'd wig

Hangs, bushy and big,

On the top of his old-fashion'd, high-back'd chair.

Unbraced are his clothes,

Ungarter'd his hose,

His gown is bedizen'd with tulip and rose,

Flowers of remarkable size and hue,

Flowers such as Eden never knew;

-- And there, by many a sparkling heap

Of the good red gold,

The tale is told

What powerful spell avails to keep

That careworn man from his needful sleep!

Haply, he deems no eye can see

As he gloats on his treasure greedily,--

The shining store

Of glittering ore,

The fair Rose-Noble, the bright Moidore,

And the broad Double-Joe from beyond the sea,--

But there's one that watches as well as he;

For, wakeful and sly,

In a closet hard by

On his truckle bed lieth a little Foot-page,

A boy who 's uncommonly sharp of his age,

Like young Master Horner,

Who erst in a corner

Sat eating a Christmas pie:

And, while that Old Gentleman's counting his hoards,

Little Hugh peeps through a crack in the boards!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There 's a voice in the air,

There 's a step on the stair,

The old man starts in his cane-back'd chair;

At the first faint sound

He gazes around,

And holds up his dip of sixteen to the pound.

Then half arose

From beside his toes

His little pug-dog with his little pug nose,

But, ere he can vent one inquisitive sniff,

That little pug-dog stands stark and stiff,

For low, yet clear,

Now fall on the ear,

-- Where once pronounced for ever they dwell,--

The unholy words of the Dead Man's spell!

'Open lock

To the Dead Man's knock!

Fly bolt, and bar, and band!--

Nor move, nor swerve,

Joint, muscle, or nerve,

At the spell of the Dead Man's hand!

Sleep all who sleep!-- Wake all who wake!--

But be as the Dead for the Dead Man's sake!'

Now lock, nor bolt, nor bar avails,

Nor stout oak panel thick-studded with nails.

Heavy and harsh the hinges creak,

Though they had been oil'd in the course of the week,

The door opens wide as wide may be,

And there they stand,

That murderous band,

Lit by the light of the GLORIOUS HAND,

By one!-- by two!-- by three!

They have pass'd through the porch, they have pass'd through

the hall,

Where the Porter sat snoring against the wall;

The very snore froze,

In his very snub nose,

You'd have verily deem'd he had snored his last

When the Glorious HAND by the side of him pass'd!

E'en the little wee mouse, as it ran o'er the mat

At the top of its speed to escape from the cat,

Though half dead with affright,

Paused in its flight;

And the cat that was chasing that little wee thing

Lay crouch'd as a statue in act to spring!

And now they are there,

On the head of the stair,

And the long crooked whittle is gleaming and bare,

-- I really don't think any money would bribe

Me the horrible scene that ensued to describe,

Or the wild, wild glare

Of that old man's eye,

His dumb despair,

And deep agony.

The kid from the pen, and the lamb from the fold,

Unmoved may the blade of the butcher behold;

They dream not -- ah, happier they!-- that the knife,

Though uplifted, can menace their innocent life;

It falls;-- the frail thread of their being is riven,

They dread not, suspect not, the blow till 'tis given.--

But, oh! what a thing 'tis to see and to know

That the bare knife is raised in the hand of the foe,

Without hope to repel, or to ward off the blow!--

-- Enough!-- let 's pass over as fast as we can

The fate of that grey, that unhappy old man!

But fancy poor Hugh,

Aghast at the view,

Powerless alike to speak or to do!

In vain doth be try

To open the eye

That is shut, or close that which is clapt to the chink,

Though he'd give all the world to be able to wink!--

No!-- for all that this world can give or refuse,

I would not be now in that little boy's shoes,

Or indeed any garment at all that is Hugh's!

--' Tis lucky for him that the chink in the wall

He has peep'd through so long, is so narrow and small.

Wailing voices, sounds of woe

Such as follow departing friends,

That fatal night round Tappington go,

Its long-drawn roofs and its gable ends:

Ethereal Spirits, gentle and good,

Aye weep and lament o'er a deed of blood.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Tis early dawn -- the morn is grey,

And the clouds and the tempest have pass'd away,

And all things betoken a very fine day;

But, while the lark her carol is singing,

Shrieks and screams are through Tappington ringing!

Upstarting all,

Great and small

Each one who 's found within Tappington Hall,

Gentle and Simple, Squire or Groom,

All seek at once that old Gentleman's room;

And there, on the floor,

Drench'd in its gore,

A ghastly corpse lies exposed to the view,

Carotid and jugular both cut through!

And there, by its side,

'Mid the crimson tide,

Kneels a little Foot-page of tenderest years;

Adown his pale cheek the fast-falling tears

Are coursing each other round and big,

And he 's staunching the blood with a full-bottom'd wig!

Alas! and alack for his staunching!--'tis plain,

As anatomists tell us, that never again

Shall life revisit the foully slain,

When once they've been cut through the jugular vein.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There's a hue and a cry through the County of Kent,

And in chase of the cut-throats a Constable's sent,

But no one can tell the man which way they went:

There's a little Foot-page with that Constable goes,

And a little pug-dog with a little pug nose.

In Rochester town,

At the sign of the Crown,

Three shabby-genteel men are just sitting down

To a fat stubble-goose, with potatoes done brown;

When a little Foot-page

Rushes in, in a rage,

Upsetting the apple-sauce, onions, and sage.

That little Foot-page takes the first by the throat,

And a little pug-dog takes the next by the coat,

And a Constable seizes the one more remote;

And fair rose-nobles and broad moidores,

The Waiter pulls out of their pockets by scores,

And the Boots and the Chambermaids run in and stare;

And the Constable says, with a dignified air,

'You're wanted, Gen'lemen, one and all,

For that 'ere precious lark at Tappington Hall!'

There 'a a black gibbet frowns upon Tappington Moor,

Where a former black gibbet has frown'd before:

It is as black as black may be,

And murderers there

Are dangling in air,

By one!-- by two!-- by three!

There 's a horrid old hag in a steeple-crown'd hat,

Round her neck they have tied to a hempen cravat

A Dead Man's hand, and a dead Tom Cat!

They have tied up her thumbs, they have tied up her toes,

They have tied up her eyes, they have tied up her limbs!

Into Tappington mill-dam souse she goes,

With a whoop and a halloo!--'She swims!-- She swims!'

They have dragg'd her to land,

And every one's hand

Is grasping a faggot, a billet, or brand,

When a queer-looking horseman, drest all in black,

Snatches up that old harridan just like a sack

To the crupper behind him, puts spurs to his hack,

Makes a dash through the crowd, and is off in a crack!

No one can tell,

Though they guess pretty well,

Which way that grim rider and old woman go,

For all see he 's a sort of infernal Ducrow;

And she scream'd so, and cried,

We may fairly decide

That the old woman did not much relish her ride!

MORAL

This truest of stories confirms beyond doubt

That truest of adages --' Murder will out!'

In vain may the blood-spiller 'double' and fly,

In vain even witchcraft and sorcery try:

Although for a time he may 'scape, by-and-by

He'll be sure to be caught by a Hugh and a Cry!

One story follows another as naturally as one 'shoulder of

mutton' is said to 'drive another down.' A little Welsh girl,

who sometimes makes her way from the kitchen into the nursery,

after listening with intense interest to this tale, immediately

started off at score with the sum and substance of what, with

due reverence for such authority, I shall call --

'LOOK AT THE CLOCK!': PATTY MORGAN THE MILKMAID'S STORY

FYTTE I.

'Look at the Clock!' quoth Winifred Pryce,

As she open'd the door to her husband's knock,

Then paus'd to give him a piece of advice,

'You nasty Warmint, look at the Clock!

Is this the way, you

Wretch, every day you

Treat her who vow'd to love and obey you?

Out all night!

Me in a fright;

Staggering home as it's just getting light!

You intoxified brute! you insensible block!

Look at the Clock!-- Do!-- Look at the Clock!'

Winifred Pryce was tidy and clean,

Her gown was a flower'd one, her petticoat green,

Her buckles were bright as her milking cans,

And her hat was a beaver, and made like a man's;

Her little red eyes were deep set in their socket-holes,

Her gown-tail was turn'd up, and tuck'd through the pocket-

holes:

A face like a ferret

Betoken'd her spirit:

To conclude, Mrs. Pryce was not over young,

Had very short legs, and a very long tongue.

Now David Pryce

Had one darling vice;

Remarkably partial to anything nice,

Nought that was good to him came amiss,

Whether to eat, or to drink, or to kiss!

Especially ale --

If it was not too stale

I really believe he'd have emptied a pail;

Not that in Wales

They talk of their Ales;

To pronounce the word they make use of might trouble you,

Being spelt with a C, two Rs, and a W.

That particular day,

As I've heard people say,

Mr. David Pryce had been soaking his clay,

And amusing himself with his pipe and cheroots,

The whole afternoon at the Goat in Boots,

With a couple more soakers,

Thoroughbred smokers,

Both, like himself, prime singers and jokers;

And, long after day had drawn to a close,

And the rest of the world was wrapp'd in repose,

They were roaring out 'Shenkin!' and 'Ar hydd y nos;'

While David himself, to a Sassenach tune,

Sang, 'We've drunk down the Sun, boys! let's drink down the

Moon!'

What have we with day to do?

Mrs. Winifred Pryce, 'twas made for you!'--

At length, when they couldn't well drink any more,

Old 'Goat-in-Boots' show'd them the door;

And then came that knock,

And the sensible shock

David felt when his wife cried, 'Look at the Clock!'

For the hands stood as crooked as crooked might be,

The long at the Twelve, and the short at the Three!

This self-same Clock had long been a bone

Of contention between this Darby and Joan;

And often among their pother and rout,

When this otherwise amiable couple fell out,

Pryce would drop a cool hint,

With an ominous squint

At its case, of an 'Uncle' of his, who'd a 'Spout.'

That horrid word 'Spout'

No sooner came out,

Than Winifred Pryce would turn her about,

And with scorn on her lip,

And a hand on each hip,

'Spout' herself till her nose grew red at the tip.

'You thundering willain,

I know you'd be killing

Your wife,-- ay, a dozen of wives,-- for a shilling!

You may do what you please,

You may sell my chemise,

(Mrs. P. was too well-bred to mention her stock,)

But I never will part with my Grandmother's Clock!'

Mrs. Pryce's tongue ran long and ran fast;

But patience is apt to wear out at last,

And David Pryce in temper was quick,

So he stretch'd out his hand, and caught hold of a stick;

Perhaps in its use he might mean to be lenient,

But walking just then wasn't very convenient,

So he threw it, instead,

Direct at her head.

It knock'd off her hat;

Down she fell flat;

Her case, perhaps, was not much mended by that:

But, whatever it was,-- whether rage and pain

Produced apoplexy, or burst a vein,

Or her tumble induced a concussion of brain,

I can't say for certain,-- but this I can,

When, sober'd by fright, to assist her he ran,

Mrs. Winifred Pryce was as dead as Queen Anne!

The fearful catastrophe

Named in my last strophe

As adding to grim Death's exploits such a vast trophy,

Soon made a great noise; and the shocking fatality

Ran over, like wild-fire, the whole Principality.

And then came Mr. Ap Thomas, the Coroner,

With his jury to sit, some dozen or more, on her.

Mr. Pryce to commence

His 'ingenious defence,'

Made a 'powerful appeal' to the jury's 'good sense,'

'The world he must defy

Ever to justify

Any presumption of 'Malice Prepense;'

The unlucky lick

From the end of his stick

He 'deplored,' he was 'apt to be rather too quick;'

But, really, her prating

Was so aggravating:

Some trifling correction was just what he meant; all

The rest, he assured them, was 'quite accidental!'

Then he called Mr. Jones,

Who deposed to her tones,

And her gestures, and hints about 'breaking his bones.'

While Mr. Ap Morgan, and Mr. Ap Rhys

Declared the Deceased

Had styled him 'a Beast,'

And swore they had witness'd, with grief and surprise,

The allusions she made to his limbs and his eyes.

The jury, in fine, having sat on the body

The whole day, discussing the case, and gin-toddy,

Return'd about half-past eleven at night

The following verdict, 'We find, Sarve her right!'

Mr. Pryce, Mrs. Winifred Pryce being dead,

Felt lonely, and moped; and one evening he said

He would marry Miss Davis at once in her stead.

Not far from his dwelling,

From the vale proudly swelling,

Rose a mountain; it's name you'll excuse me from telling,

For the vowels made use of in Welsh are so few

That the A and the E, the I, O, and the U,

Have really but little or nothing to do;

And the duty, of course, falls the heavier by far

On the L, and the H, and the N, and the R.

Its first syllable, 'Pen,'

Is pronounceable;-- then

Come two L Ls, and two H Hs, two F Fs, and an N;

About half a score Rs, and some Ws follow,

Beating all my best efforts at euphony hollow:

But we shan't have to mention it often, so when

We do, with your leave, we'll curtail it to 'Pen.'

Well,-- the moon shone bright

Upon 'Pen' that night,

When Pryce, being quit of his fuss and his fright,

Was scaling its side

With that sort of stride

A man puts out when walking in search of a bride,

Mounting higher and higher,

He began to perspire,

Till, finding his legs were beginning to tire,

And feeling opprest

By a pain in his chest,

He paused, and turn'd round to take breath, and to rest;

A walk all up hill is apt, we know,

To make one, however robust, puff and blow,

So he stopp'd, and look'd down on the valley below.

O'er fell, and o'er fen,

Over mountain and glen,

All bright in the moonshine, his eye roved, and then

All the Patriot rose in his soul, and he thought

Of Wales, and her glories, and all he'd been taught

Of her Heroes of old,

So brave and so bold,--

Of her Bards with long beards, and harps mounted in gold;

Of King Edward the First,

Of memory accurst;

And the scandalous manner in which he behaved,

Killing Poets by dozens,

With their uncles and cousins,

Of whom not one in fifty had ever been shaved.

Of the Court Ball, at which by a lucky mishap,

Owen Tudor fell into Queen Katherine's lap;

And how Mr. Tudor

Successfully woo'd her

Till the Dowager put on a new wedding ring,

And so made him Father-in-law to the King.

He thought upon Arthur, and Merlin of yore,

On Gryffth ap Conan, and Owen Glendour;

On Pendragon, and Heaven knows how many more.

He thought of all this, as he gazed, in a trice,

And on all things, in short, but the late Mrs. Pryce;

When a lumbering noise from behind made him start,

And sent the blood back in full tide to his heart,

Which went pit-a-pat

As he cried out, 'What's that?'--

That very queer sound?

Does it come from the ground?

Or the air,-- from above or below, or around?

It is not like Talking,

It is not like Walking,

It's not like the clattering of pot or of pan,

Or the tramp of a horse,-- or the tread of a man,--

Or the hum of a crowd,-- or the shouting of boys,--

It's really a deuced odd sort of a noise!

Not unlike a Cart's,-- but that can't be; for when

Could 'all the King's horses and all the King's men,'

With Old Nick for a waggoner, drive one up 'Pen?'

Pryce, usually brimful of valour when drunk,

Now experienced what schoolboys denominate 'funk.'

In vain he look'd back

On the whole of the track

He had traversed; a thick cloud, uncommonly black,

At this moment obscured the broad disc of the moon,

And did not seem likely to pass away soon;

While clearer and clearer,

'Twas plain to the hearer,

Be the noise what it might, it drew nearer and nearer,

And sounded, as Pryce to this moment declares,

Very much 'like a Coffin a-walking up stairs.'

Mr. Pryce had begun

To 'make up' for a run,

As in such a companion he saw no great fun,

When a single bright ray

Shone out on the way

He had pass'd, and he saw, with no little dismay,

Coming after him, bounding o'er crag and o'er rock,

The deceased Mrs. Winifred's 'Grandmother's Clock!!'

'Twas so!-- it had certainly moved from its place,

And come, lumbering on thus, to hold him in chase;

'Twas the very same Head, and the very same Case,

And nothing was alter'd at all -- but the Face!

In that he perceived, with no little surprise,

The two little winder-holes turn'd into eyes

Blazing with ire,

Like two coals of fire;

And the 'Name of the Maker' was changed to a Lip,

And the Hands to a Nose with a very red tip.

No!-- he could not mistake it,--' twas She to the life!

The identical Face of his poor defunct Wife!

One glance was enough,

Completely 'Quant. suff.'

As the doctors write down when they send you their 'stuff,'--

Like a Weather-cock whirl'd by a vehement puff,

David turn'd himself round;

Ten feet of ground

He clear'd, in his start, at the very first bound!

I've seen people run at West-End Fair for cheeses,

I've seen Ladies run at Bow Fair for chemises,

At Greenwich Fair twenty men run for a hat,

And one from a Bailiff much faster than that;

At foot-ball I've seen lads run after the bladder,

I've seen Irish Bricklayers run up a ladder,

I've seen little boys run away from a cane,

And I've seen (that is, read of) good running in Spain;

But I never did read

Of, or witness, such speed

As David exerted that evening.-- Indeed

All I ever have heard of boys, women, or men,

Falls far short of Pryce, as he ran over 'Pen!'

He reaches its brow,--

He has past it, and now

Having once gain'd the summit, and managed to cross it, he

Rolls down the side with uncommon velocity;

But, run as he will,

Or roll down the hill,

That bugbear behind him is after him still!

And close at his heels, not at all to his liking,

The terrible Clock keeps on ticking and striking,

Till, exhausted and sore,

He can't run any more,

But falls as he reaches Miss Davis's door,

And screams when they rush out, alarm'd at his knock,

'Oh! Look at the Clock!-- Do!-- Look at the Clock!!'

Miss Davis look'd up, Miss Davis look'd down,

She saw nothing there to alarm her;-- a frown

Came o'er her white forehead,

She said, 'It was horrid

A man should come knocking at that time of night,

And give her Mamma and herself such a fright;

To squall and to bawl

About nothing at all,

She begg'd 'he'd not think of repeating his call,

His late wife's disaster

By no means had past her,'

She'd 'have him to know she was meat for his Master!'

Then, regardless alike of his love and his woes,

She turn'd on her heel and she turned up her nose.

Poor David in vain

Implored to remain,

He 'dared not,' he said, 'cross the mountain again.'

Why the fair was obdurate

None knows,-- to be sure, it

Was said she was setting her cap at the Curate;--

Be that as it may, it is certain the sole hole

Pryce could find to creep into that night was the Coal-hole!

In that shady retreat,

With nothing to eat,

And with very bruised limbs, and with very sore feet,

All night close he kept;

I can't say he slept;

But he sigh'd, and he sobb'd, and he groan'd, and he wept,

Lamenting his sins

And his two broken shins,

Bewailing his fate with contortions and grins,

And her he once thought a complete Rara Avis,

Consigning to Satan,-- viz. cruel Miss Davis!

Mr. David has since had a 'serious call,'

He never drinks ale, wine, or spirits, at all,

And they say he is going to Exeter Hall

To make a grand speech,

And to preach, and to teach

People that 'they can't brew their malt-liquor too small!'

That an ancient Welsh Poet, one Pyndar ap Tudor,

Was right in proclaiming 'Ariston men Udor!'

Which means 'The pure Element

Is for the belly meant!'

And that Gin's but a Snare of Old Nick the deluder!

And 'still on each evening when pleasure fills up,'

At the old Goat-in-Boots, with Metheglin, each cup,

Mr Pryce, if he's there,

Will get into 'the Chair,'

And make all his quondam associates stare

By calling aloud to the landlady's daughter,

'Patty! bring a cigar, and a glass of Spring Water!'

The dial he constantly watches; and when

The long hand's at the 'XII,' and the short at the 'X,'

He gets on his legs,

Drains his glass to the dregs,

Takes his hat and great-coat off their several pegs,

With his President's hammer bestows his last knock,

And says solemnly,--'Gentlemen!

'Look at the Clock!!!'

The succeeding Legend has long been an established

favourite with all of us, as containing much of the personal

history of one of the greatest ornaments of the family tree.

To the wedding between the sole heiress of this redoubted

hero and a direct ancestor is it owing that the Lioncels of

Shurland hang so lovingly parallel with the Saltire of the

Ingoldsbys, and now form as cherished a quartering in their

escutcheon as the 'dozen white lowses' in tbe 'old coat' of

Shallow.

GREY DOLPHIN:A LEGEND OF SHEPPEY

'He won't.-- won't he? Then bring me my boots!' said the

Baron.

Consternation was at its height in the castle of Shurland

-- a caitiff had dared to disobey the Baron! and -- the Baron

had called for his boots!

A thunderbolt in the great hall had been a bagatelle to

it.

A few days before, a notable miracle had been wrought in

the neighbourhood; and in those times miracles were not so

common as they are now; no royal balloons, no steam, no

railroads,-- while the few Saints who took the trouble to walk

with their beads under their arms, or to pull the Devil by the

nose, scarcely appeared above once in a century;-- so the

affair made the greater sensation.

The clock bad done striking twelve, and the Clerk of

Chatham was untrussing his points preparatory to seeking his

truckle bed; a half-emptied tankard of mild ale stood at his

elbow, the roasted crab yet floating on its surface. Midnight

had surprised the worthy functionary while occupied in

discussing it, and with his task yet unaccomplished. He

meditated a mighty draft: one hand was fumbling with his tags,

while the other was extended in the act of grasping the jorum,

when a knock on the portal, solemn and sonorous, arrested his

fingers. It was repeated thrice ere Emmanuel Saddleton had

presence of mind sufficient to inquire who sought admittance at

that untimeous hour.

'Open! open! good Clerk of St. Bridget's,' said a female

voice, small, yet distinct and sweet,-- an excellent thing in

woman.

The Clerk arose, crossed to the doorway, and undid the

latchet.

On the threshold stood a Lady of surpassing beauty: her

robes were rich, and large, and full; and a diadem, sparkling

with gems that shed a halo around, crowned her brow: she

beckoned the Clerk as be stood in astonishment before her.

'Emmanuel!' said the Lady; and her tones sounded like

those of a silver flute. 'Emmanuel Saddleton, truss up your

points, and follow me!'

The worthy Clerk stared aghast at the vision; the purple

robe, the cymar, the coronet,-- above all, the smile; no, there

was no mistaking her; it was the blessed St. Bridget herself!

And what could have brought the sainted lady out of her

warm shrine at such a time of night? and on such a night? for

it was as dark as pitch, and, metaphorically speaking, 'rained

cats and dogs.'

Emmanuel could not speak, so he looked the question.

'No matter for that,' said the Saint, answering to his

thought. 'No matter for that, Emmanuel Saddleton; only follow

me, and you'll see!'

The Clerk turned a wistful eye at the corner-cupboard.

'Oh! never mind the lantern, Emmanuel: you'll not want it:

hut you may bring a mattock and a shovel.' As she spoke, the

beautiful apparition held up her delicate hand. From the tip of

each of her long taper fingers issued a lambent flame of such

surpassing brilliancy as would have plunged a whole gas company

into despair -- it was a 'Hand of Glory ,' such a one as

tradition tells us yet burns in Rochester Castle every St.

Mark's Eve. One of the uses to which this mystic chandelier was

pot, was the detection of secreted treasure. Blow out all the

fingers at one puff and you had the money. Many are tho daring

individuals who have watched in Gundulph's Tower, hoping to

find it, and the treasure it guards;-- but none of them ever

did.

'This way, Emmanuel!' and a flame of peculiar radiance

streamed from her little finger as it pointed to the pathway

leading to the churchyard.

Saddleton shouldered his tools, and followed in silence.

The cemetery of St. Bridget's was some half-mile distant

from the Clerk s domicile, and adjoined a chapel dedicated to

that illustrious lady, who, after leading but a so-so life, had

died in the odour of sanctity. Emmanuel Saddleton was fat and

scant of breath, the mattock was heavy, and the Saint walked

too fast for him: he paused to take second wind at the end of

the first furlong.

'Emmanuel,' said the holy lady, good-humouredly, for she

heard him puffing; 'rest awhile, Emmanuel, and I'll tell you

what I want with you.'

Her auditor wiped his brow with the back of his hand, and

looked all attention and obedience.

'Emmanuel,' continued she, 'what did you and Father

Fothergill, and the rest of you, mean yesterday by burying that

drowned man so close to me? He died in mortal sin, Emmanuel; no

shrift, no unction, no absolution: why, he might as well have

been excommunicated. He plagues me with his grinning, and I

can't have any peace in my shrine. You must howk him up again,

Emmanuel!'

'To be sure, madam,-- my lady,-- that is, your holiness,'

stammered Saddleton, trembling at the thought of the task

assigned him. 'To be sure, your ladyship; only -- that is --'

'Emmanuel,' said the saint, 'you'll do my bidding; or it

would be better you had!' and her eye changed from a dove's eye

to that of a hawk, and a flash came from it as bright as the

one from her little finger. The Clerk shook in his shoes; and,

again dashing the cold perspiration from his brow, followed the

footsteps of his mysterious guide.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next morning all Chatham was in an uproar. The Clerk

of St. Bridget's had found himself at home at daybreak, seated

in his own arm-chair, the fire out, and -- the tankard of ale

out too! Who had drunk it?-- where had he been?-- how had be

got home?-- all was a mystery!-- he remembered 'a mass of

things, but nothing distinctly'; all was fog and fantasy. What

he could clearly recollect was, that he had dug up the Grinning

Sailor, and that the Saint had helped to throw him into the

river again. All was thenceforth wonderment and devotion.

Masses were sung, tapers were kindled, bells were tolled; the

monks of St Romuald had a solemn procession, the abbot at their

bead, the sacristan at their tail, and the holy breeches of St.

Thomas a Becket in the centre;-- Father Fothergill brewed a XXX

puncheon of holy water. The Rood of Gillingham was deserted;

the chapel of Rainham forsaken; every one who had a soul to be

saved, flocked with his offering to St. Bridget's shrine, and

Emmanuel Saddleton gathered more fees from the promiscuous

piety of that one week than he had pocketed during the twelve

preceding months.

Meanwhile the corpse of the ejected reprobate oscillated

like a pendulum between Sheerness and Gillingham Reach. Now

borne by the Medway into the Western Swale,-- now carried by

the refluent tide back to the vicinity of its old quarters,--

it seamed as though the River god and Neptune were amusing

themselves with a game of subaqueous battledore, and had chosen

this unfortunate carcass as a marine shuttlecock. For some time

the alternation was kept up with great spirit, till Boreas,

interfering in the shape of a stiffish 'Nor'-wester,' drifted

the bone (and flesh) of contention ashore on the Shurland

domain, where it lay in all the majesty of mud. It was soon

discovered by the retainers, and dragged from its cozy bed,

grinning worse than ever. Tidings of the godsend were of course

carried instantly to the castle; for the Baron was a very great

man; and if a dun cow had flown across his property unannounced

by the warder, the Baron would have kicked him, the said

warder, from the topmost battlement into the bottom-most

ditch,-- a descent of peril, and one which 'Ludwig the leaper,'

or the illustrious Trenck himself might well have shrunk from

encountering.

'An't please your lordship --' said Peter Periwinkle. 'No,

villain! it does not please me!' roared the Baron. His lordship

was deeply engaged with a peck of Feversham oysters,-- he doted

on shellfish, bated interruption at meals, and had not yet

dispatched more than twenty dozen of the 'natives.'

'There 's a body, my lord, washed ashore in the lower

creek,' said the seneschal. The Baron was going to throw the

shells at his head, but paused in the act, and said with much

dignity --' Turn out the fellow's pockets!'

But the defunct had before been subjected to the double

scrutiny of Father Fothergill and the clerk of St. Bridget's.

It was ill gleaning after such hands; there was not a single

maravedi.

We have already said that Sir Robert de Shurland, Lord of

the Isle of Sheppey, and of many a fair manor on the mainland,

was a man of worship. He had rights of freewarren, saccage and

sockage, cuisage and jambage, fosse and fork, infang theofe and

outfang theofe; aad all waifs and strays belonged to him in fee

simple.

Turn out his pockets!' said the knight.

'An't please you, my lord, I must say as how they was

turned out afore, and the devil a rap 's left.'

'Then bury the blackguard!.'

'Please your lordship, he has been buried once.'

'Then bury him again, and be --!' The Baron bestowed a

benediction.

The seneschal bowed low as he left the room, and the Baron

went on with his oysters.

Scarcely ten dozen more had vanished when Periwinkle

reappeared.

'An't please you, my lord, Father Fothergill says as how

that it 's the Grinning Sailor, and he won't bury him anyhow.'

'Oh I he won't -- won't he?' said the Baron. Can it be

wondered at that he called for his boots?

Sir Robert de Shurland, Lord of Shurland and Minster,

Baron of Sheppey in comitatu Kent, was, as has been before

hinted, a very great man. He was also a very little man; that

is, he was relatively great, and relatively little,-- or

physically little, and metaphorically great,-- like Sir Sidney

Smith and the late Mr. Buonaparte. To the frame of a dwarf he

united the soul of a giant, and the valour of a gamecock. Then,

for so small a man, his strength was prodigious; his fist would

fell an ox, and his kick -- oh! his kick was tremendous, and,

when he had his boots on, would,-- to use an expression of his

own, which he had picked up in the holy wars,-- would 'send a

man from Jericho to June.' He was bull-necked and bandy-legged;

his chest was broad and deep, his head large and uncommonly

thick, his eyes a little bloodshot, and his nose retroussé with

a remarkably red tip. Strictly speaking, the Baron could not be

called handsome: but his tout ensemble was singularly

impressive: and when he called for his boots, everybody

trembled and dreaded the worst.

Periwinkle,' said the Baron, as he encased his better leg,

'let the grave be twenty feet deep!.'

'Your lordship's command is law.'

'And, Periwinkle,'-- Sir Robert stamped his left heel into

its receptacle,--' and, Periwinkle, see that it be wide enough

to hold not exceeding two!'

'Ye -- ye -- yes, my lord.'

'And, Periwinkle,-- tell Father Fothergill I would fain

speak with his Reverence.'

'Ye -- ye -- yes, my lord.'

The Baron s beard was peaked; and his moustaches, stiff

and stumpy, projected horizontally like those of a Tom Cat: he

twirled the one, he stroked the other. He drew the buckle of

his surcingle a thought tighter, and strode down the great

staircase three steps at a stride.

The vassals were assembled in the great ball of Shurland

Castle; every cheek was pale, every tongue was mute:

expectation and perplexity were visible on every brow. What

would his lordship do? Were the recusant anybody else, gyves to

the heels and hemp to the throat were but too good for him: but

it was Father Fothergill who had said 'I won't'; and though the

Baron was a very great man, the Pope was a greater, and the

Pope was Father Fothergill's great friend -- some people said

he was his uncle.

Father Fothergill was busy in the refectory trying

conclusions with a venison pasty, when he received the summons

of his patron to attend him in the chapel cemetery. Of course

he lost no time in obeying it, for obedience was the general

rule in Shurland Castle. If anybody ever said 'I won't,' it was

the exception; and, like all other exceptions, only proved the

rule the stronger. The Father was a friar of the Augustine

persuasion; a brotherhood which, having been planted in Kent

some few centuries earlier, had taken very kindly to the soil,

and overspread the county much as hops did some few centuries

later. He was plump and portly, a little thick-winded,

especially after dinner,-- stood five feet four in his sandals,

and weighed hard upon eighteen stone. He was, moreover, a

personage of singular piety; and the iron girdle, which, he

said, he wore under his cassock to mortify withal, might have

been well mistaken for the tire of a cart-wheel. When he

arrived, Sir Robert was pacing up and down by the side of a

newly-opened grave.

'Benedicite! fair son,'-- (the Baron was as brown as a

cigar,) - 'Benedicite!' said the Chaplain.

The Baron was too angry to stand upon compliment. 'Bury me

that grinning caitiff there!' quoth he, pointing to the

defunct.

'It may not be, fair son,' said the Friar; 'he hath

perished without absolution.'

'Bury the body!' roared Sir Robert.

'Water and earth alike reject him,' returned the Chaplain;

'holy St. Bridget herself --'

'Bridget me no Bridgets!-- do me thine office quickly, Sir

Shaveling; or, by the Piper that played before Moses --' The

oath was a fearful one; and whenever the Baron swore to do

mischief, he was never known to perjure himself. He was playing

with the hilt of his sword. 'Do me thine office, I say. Give

him his passport to Heaven!'

'He is already gone to Hell!' stammered the Friar.

'Then do you go after him!' thundered the Lord of

Shurland. His sword half leaped from its scabbard. No!-- the

trenchant blade, that had cut Suleiman Ben Malek Ben Buckskin

from helmet to chine, disdained to daub itself with the

cerebellum of a miserable monk;-- it leaped back again;-- and

as the Chaplain, scared at its flash, turned him in terror, the

Baron gave him a kick!-- one kick!-- it was but one!-- but such

a one! Despite its obesity, up flew his holy body in an angle

of forty-five degrees; then, having reached its highest point

of elevation, sunk headlong into the open grave that yawned to

receive it. If the reverend gentleman had possessed such a

thing as a neck, he had infallibly broken it; as he did not, he

only dislocated his vertebrae,-- but that did quite as well. He

was as dead as ditch-water!

'In with the other rascal!' said the Baron,-- and he was

obeyed; for there he stood in his boots. Mattock and shovel

made short work of it; twenty feet of superincumbent mould

pressed down alike the saint and the sinner. 'Now sing a

requiem who list!' said the Baron, and his lordship went back

to his oysters.

The vassals at Castle Shurland were astounded, or, as the

Seneschal Hugh better expressed it, 'perfectly conglomerated,'

by this event. What! murder a monk in the odour of sanctity,--

and on consecrated ground too! They trembled for the health of

the Baron's soul: To the unsophisticated many it seemed that

matters could not have been much worse had he shot a bishop's

coach-horse,-- all looked for some signal judgment. The

melancholy catastrophe of their neighbours at Canterbury was

yet rife in their memories: not two centuries had elapsed since

those miserable sinners had cut off the tail of the blessed St.

Thomas's mule. The tail of the mule, it was well known, had

been forthwith affixed to that of the Mayor; and rumour said it

had since been hereditary in the corporation. The least that

could be expected was, that Sir Robert should have a friar

tacked on to his for the term of his natural life! Some bolder

spirits there were, 'tis true, who viewed the matter in various

lights, according to their different temperaments and

dispositions; for perfect unanimity existed not even in the

good old times. The verderer, roistering Hob Roebuck, swore

roundly, ''Twere as good a deed as eat to kick down the chapel

as well as the monk.' Hob had stood there in a white sheet for

kissing Giles Miller's daughter. On the other band, Simpkin

Agnew, the bell-ringer, doubted if the devil's cellar, which

runs under the bottomless abyss, were quite deep enough for the

delinquent, and speculated on the probability of a hole being

dug in it for his especial accommodation. The philosophers and

economists thought, with Saunders McBullock, the Baron's

bagpiper, that 'a feckless monk more or less was nae great

subject for a clamjamphry,' especially as 'the supply

considerably exceeded the demand;' while Malthouse, the

tapster, was arguing to Dame Martin that a murder now and then

was a seasonable check to population, without which the Isle of

Sheppey would in time be devoured, like a mouldy cheese, by

inhabitants of its own producing. Meanwhile, the Baron ate his

oysters and thought no more of the matter.

But this tranquillity of his lordship was not to last. A

couple of Saints had been seriously offended; and we have all

of us read at school that celestial minds are by no means

insensible to the provocations of anger. There were those who

expected that St. Bridget would come in person, and have the

friar up again, as she did the sailor; but perhaps her ladyship

did not care to trust herself within the walls of Shurland

Castle. To say the truth, it was scarcely a decent house for a

female Saint to be seen in. The Baron's gallantries, since he

became a widower, had been but too notorious; and her own

reputation was a little blown upon in the earlier days of her

earthly pilgrimage: then things were so apt to be

misrepresented,-- in short, she would leave the whole affair to

St. Austin, who, being a gentleman, could interfere with

propriety, avenge her affront as well as his own, and leave no

loop-hole for scandal. St. Austin himself seems to have had his

scruples, though of their precise nature it would be difficult

to determine, for it were idle to suppose him at all afraid of

the Baron's boots. Be this as it may, the mode which he adopted

was at once prudent and efficacious. As an ecclesiastic, he

could not well call the Baron out,-- had his boots been out of

the question; so he resolved to have recourse to the law.

Instead of Shurland Castle, therefore, he repaired forthwith to

his own magnificent monastery, situate just without the walls

of Canterbury, and presented himself in a vision to its abbot.

No one who has ever visited that ancient city can fail to

recollect the splendid gateway which terminates the vista of

St. Paul's Street, and stands there yet in all its pristine

beauty. The tiny train of miniature artillery which now adorns

its battlements is, it is true, an ornament of a later date;

and is said to have been added some centuries after by a

learned but jealous proprietor, for the purpose of shooting any

wiser man than himself who might chance to come that way.

Tradition is silent as to any discharge having taken place, nor

can the oldest inhabitant of modern days recollect any such

occurrence. (Note: 'Since the appearance of the first edition

of this Legend 'the guns' have been dismounted. Rumour hints at

some alarm on the part of the Town Council.)

Here it was, in a handsome chamber, immediately over the

lofty archway, that the Superior of the monastery lay buried in

a brief slumber snatched from his accustomed vigils. His mitre

-- for he was a Mitred Abbot, and had a seat in parliament --

rested on a table beside him; near it stood a silver flagon of

Gasoony wine, ready, no doubt, for the pious uses of the

morrow. Fasting and watching had made him more than usually

somnolent, than which nothing could have been better for the

purpose of the Saint, who now appeared to him radiant in all

the colours of the rainbow.

'Anselm!' said the beatific vision,--' Anselm! are you not

a pretty fellow to lie snoring there when your brethren are

being knocked at head, and Mother Church herself is menaced?--

It is a em and a shame, Anselm!'

'What 's the matter?-- Who are you?' cried the Abbot,

rubbing his eyes, which the celestial splendour of his visitor

had set a-winking. 'Ave Maria! St. Austin himself! Speak,

Beatissimus! what would you with the humblest of your

votaries?'

'Anselm!' said the Saint, 'a brother of our order, whose

soul Heaven assoilzie! hath been foully murdered. he hath been

ignominiously kicked to the death, Anselm; and there he lieth

cheek-by-jowl with a wretched carcass, which our sister Bridget

has turned out of her cemetery for unseemly grinning. Arouse

thee, Anselm!'

'Ay, so please you! Sanctiseime!' said the Abbot. 'I will

order forthwith that thirty masses be said, thirty Paters, and

thirty Aves.'

'Thirty fools' heads!' interrupted his patron, who was a

little peppery.

I will send for bell, book, and candle --'

'Send for an inkhorn, Anselm. Write me now a letter to his

Holiness the Pope in good round terms, and another to the

Coroner, and another to the Sheriff, and seize me the

neverenough-to-be-anathematized villain who hath done this

deed! Hang him as high as Haman, Anseim!-- up with him!-- down

with his dwelling-place, root and branch, hearthstone and

rooftree,-- down with it all, and sow the site with salt and

sawdust!'

St. Austin, it will be perceived, was a radical reformer.

'Marry will I,' quoth the Abbot, warming with the Saint's

eloquence; 'ay, marry will I, and that instanter. But there is

one thing you have forgotten, most Beatified -- the name of the

culprit.'

'Robert de Shurland.'

'The Lord of Sheppey! Bless me!' said the Abbot, crossing

himself, 'won't that be rather inconvenient? Sir Robert is a

bold baron, and a powerful;-- blows will come and go, and

crowns will be cracked and --'

'What is that to you, since yours will not be of the

number?'

'Very true, Beatissime!-- I will don me with speed, and do

your bidding.'

'Do so, Anselm!-- fail not to bang the baron, burn his

castle, confiscate his estate, and buy me two large wax candles

for my own particular shrine out of your share of the

property.'

With this solemn injunction the vision began to fade.

'One thing more!' cried the Abbot, grasping his rosary.

'What is that? asked the Saint.

'O Beate Augustine, ora pro nobis!

'Of course I shall,' said St. Austin. 'Pax vobiscum!'--

and Abbot Anselm was left alone.

Within an hour all Canterbury was in commotion. A friar

had been murdered,-- two friars -- ten -- twenty; a whole

convent had been assaulted, sacked, burnt,-- all the monks had

been killed, and all the nuns had been kissed! Murder! fire!

sacrilege! Never was city in such an uproar. From St. George's

Gate to St. Dunstan's suburb, from the Donjon to the borough of

Staplegate, all was noise and hubbub. 'Where was it?--'When was

it?'--'How was it?' The Mayor caught up his chain, the Aldermen

donned their furred gowns, the Town Clerk put on his

spectacles. 'Who was he?'--'What was he? Where was he?'-- He

should be hanged,-- he should be burned,-- he should be

broiled,-- he should be fried,-- he should be scraped to death

with red-hot oyster shells! 'Who was he! 'What was his name?'

The Abbot's Apparitor drew forth his roll and read aloud

'Sir Robert de Shurland, Knight banneret, Baron of Shurland and

Minster, and Lord of Sheppey.'

The Mayor put his chain in his pocket, the Aldermen took

off their gowns. the Town Clerk put his pen behind his ear. It

was a county business altogether:-- the Sheriff had better call

out the posse comittatus.

While saints and sinners were thus leaguing against him,

the Baron de Shurland was quietly eating his breakfast. He had

passed a tranquil night, undisturbed by dreams of cowl or

capuchin; nor was his appetite more affected than his

conscience. On the contrary, he sat rather longer over his meal

than usual: luncheon-time came, and he was ready as ever for

his oysters: but scarcely had Dame Martin opened his first

half-dozen when the warder's horn was heard from the barbican.

'Who the devil 's that?' said Sir Robert; 'I'm not at

home, Periwinkle. I hate to be disturbed at meals, and I won't

be at home to anybody --'

'An't please your lordship,' answered the Seneschal, 'Paul

Prior hath given notice that there is a body --'

'Another body!' roared the Baron. 'Am I to be

everlastingly plagued with bodies? No time allowed me to

swallow a morsel. Throw it into the moat!'

'So please you, my lord, it is a body of horse,-- and --

and Paul says there is a still larger body of foot behind it;

and he thinks, my lord,-- that is, he does not know, but he

thinks -- and we all think, my lord, that they are coming to --

to besiege the castle

'Besiege the castle! - Who? What? What for?'

'Paul says, my lord, that he can see the banner of St.

Austin, and the bleeding heart of Hamo de Crevecœur, the

Abbot's chief vassal; and there is John de Northwood, the

sheriff, with his red cross engrailed; and Hever, and

Leybourne, and Heaven knows how many more; and they are all

coming on as fast as ever they can.'

'Periwinkle,' said the Baron, 'up with the drawbridge;

down with the portcullis; bring me a cup of canary, and my

nightcap. I won't be bothered with them. I shall go to bed!

'To bed, my lord!' cried Periwinkle, with a look that

seemed to say, 'He's crazy!

At this moment the shrill tones of a trumpet were heard to

sound thrice from the champaign. It was the signal for parley:

the Baron changed his mind; instead of going to bed, he went to

the ramparts.

'Well, rapscallions! and what now?' said the Baron.

A herald, two pursuivants, and a trumpeter, occupied the

foreground of the scene; behind them, some three hundred paces

off, upon a rising ground, was drawn up in battle-array the

main body of the ecclesiastical forces.

'Hear you, Robert de Shurland, Knight, Baron of Shurland

and Minster, and Lord of Sheppey, and know all men, by these

presents, that I do hereby attach you, the said Robert, of

murder and sacrilege, now, or of late, done and committed by

you, the said Robert, contrary to the peace of our Sovereign

Lord the King, his crown and dignity: and I do hereby require

and charge you, the said Robert, to forthwith surrender and

give up your own proper person, together with the castle of

Shurland aforesaid, in order that the same may be duly dealt

with according to law. And here standeth John de Northwood,

Esquire, good man and true, sheriff of this his Majesty's most

loyal county of Kent, to enforce the same, if need be, with his

posse comitatus --'

'His what?' said the Baron.

'His posse comitatus, and --'

'Go to Bath!' said the Baron.

A defiance so contemptuous roused the ire of the adverse

commanders. A volley of missiles rattled about the Baron's

ears. Nightcaps avail little against contusions. He left the

walls and returned to the great hall.

'Let them pelt away,' quoth the Baron: 'there are no

windows to break, and they can't get in.' So he took his

afternoon nap, and the siege went on.

Towards evening his lordship awoke, and grew tired of the

din Guy Pearson, too, had got a black eye from a brickbat, and

the assailants were clambering over the outer wall. So the

Baron called for his Sunday hauberk of Milan steel, and his

great two-handed sword with the terrible name:-- it was the

fashion in feudal times to give names to swords: King Arthur's

was christened Excalibar; the Baron called his Tickletoby, and

whenever he took it in hand it was no joke.

'Up with the portcullis! down with the bridge!' said Sir

Robert; and out he sallied, followed by the élite of his

retainers. Then there was a pretty to-do. Heads flew one way --

arms and legs another; round went Tickletoby; and, wherever it

alighted, down came horse and man: the Baron excelled himself

that day. All that he had done in Palestine faded in the

comparison; he had fought for fun there, but now it was for

life and lands. Away went John de Northwood; away went William

of Hever, and Roger of Leybourne. Hamo de Crevecœur, with the

church vassals and the banner of St. Austin, had been gone some

time. The siege was raised, and the Lord of Sheppey was left

alone in his glory.

But, brave as the Baron undoubtedly was, and total as had

been the defeat of his enemies, it cannot be supposed that La

Stoccata would be allowed to carry it away thus. It has before

been hinted that Abbot Anselm had written to the Pope, and

Boniface the Eighth piqued himself on his punctuality as a

correspondent in all matters connected with church discipline.

He sent back an answer by return of post; and by it all

Christian people were strictly enjoined to aid in exterminating

the offender, on pain of the greater excommunication in this

world, and a million of years of purgatory in the next. But

then, again, Boniface the Eighth was rather at a discount in

England just then. He had affronted Longshanks, as the loyal

lieges had nicknamed their monarch; and Longshanks had been

rather sharp upon the clergy in consequence. If the Baron de

Shurland could but get the King's pardon for what, in his

cooler moments, he admitted to be a peccadillo, he might sniff

at the Pope, and bid him 'do his devilmost.'

Fortune, who, as the poet says, delights to favour the

bold, stood his friend on this occasion. Edward had been for

some time collecting a large force on the coast of Kent, to

carry on his French wars for the recovery of Guienne; he was

expected shortly to review it in person; but, then, the troops

lay principally in cantonments about the mouth of the Thames,

and his Majesty was to come down by water. What was to be

done?-- the royal barge was in sight, and John de Northwood and

Hamo de Crevecœur had broken up all the boats to boil their

camp-kettles. A truly great mind is never without resources.

'Bring me my boots!' said the Baron.

They brought him his boots, and his dapple-grey steed

along with them. Such a courser! all blood and bone, short-

backed, broad-chested, and -- but that he was a little ewe-

necked -- faultless in form and figure. The Baron sprang upon

his back, and dashed at once into the river.

The barge which carried Edward Longshanks and his fortunes

had by this time nearly reached the Nore; the stream was broad

and the current strong, but Sir Robert and his steed were

almost as broad, and a great deal stronger. After breasting the

tide gallantly for a couple of miles, the knight was near

enough to hail the steersman.

'What have we got here?' said the King. 'It's a mermaid,'

said one. 'It's a grampus,' said another. 'It's the devil,'

said a third. But they were all wrong; it was only Robert de

Shurland. 'Grrammercy,' said the King, 'that fellow was never

born to be drowned!'

It has been said before that the Baron had fought in the

Holy Wars; in fact, he had accompanied Longshanks, when only

heir-apparent, in his expedition twenty-five years before,

although his name is unaccountably omitted by Sir Harris

Nicolas in his list of crusaders. He had been present at Acre

when Amirand of Joppa stabbed the prince with a poisoned

dagger, and had lent Princess Eleanor his own tooth-brush after

she had sucked out the venom from the wound. He had slain

certain Saracens, contented himself with his own plunder, and

never dunned the commissariat for arrears of pay. Of course he

ranked high in Edward's good graces, and had received the

honour of knighthood at his hands on the field of battle.

In one so circumstanced it cannot be supposed that such a

trifle as the killing of a frowzy friar would be much resented,

even had he not taken so bold a measure to obtain his pardon.

His petition was granted, of course, as soon as asked; and so

it would have been had the indictment drawn up by the

Canterbury town clerk, viz., 'That he, the said Robert de

Shurland, &c., had then and there, with several, to wit, one

thousand, pairs of boots, given sundry, to wit, two thousand,

kicks, and therewith and thereby killed divers, to wit, ten

thousand, Austin Friars,' been true to the letter.

Thrice did the gallant grey circumnavigate the barge,

while Robert de Winchelsey, the chancellor and archbishop to

boot, was making out, albeit with great reluctance, the royal

pardon. The interval was sufficiently long to enable his

Majesty, who, gracious as he was, had always an eye to

business, just to hint that the gratitude he felt towards the

Baron was not unmixed with a lively sense of services to come;

and that, if life were now spared him, common decency must

oblige him to make himself useful. Before the archbishop, who

had scalded his fingers with the wax in affixing the great

seal, had time to take them out of his mouth, all was settled,

and the Baron de Shurland had pledged himself to be forthwith

in readiness, cum suis, to accompany his liege lord to Guienne.

With the royal pardon secured in his vest, boldly did his

lordship turn again to the shore; and as boldly did his courser

oppose his breadth of chest to the stream. It was a work of no

common difficulty or danger; a steed of less 'mettle and bone'

had long since sunk in the effort: as it was, the Baron's boots

were full of water, and Grey Dolphin's chamfrain more than once

dipped beneath the wave. The convulsive snorts of the noble

animal showed his distress; each instant they became more loud

and frequent; when his hoof touched the strand, and 'the horse

and his rider' stood once again in safety on the shore.

Rapidly dismounting, the Baron was loosening the girths of

his demi-pique, to give the panting animal breath, when he was

aware of as ugly an old woman as he had ever clapped eyes upon,

peeping at him under the horse's belly.

'Make much of your steed, Robert Shurland! Make much of

your steed!' cried the hag, shaking at him her long and bony

finger. 'Groom to the hide, and corn to the manger! He has

saved your life, Robert Shurland, for the nonce; but he shall

yet be the means of your losing it for all that!'

The Baron started: 'What 's that you say, you old faggot?'

He ran round by his horse's tail; the woman was gone!

The Baron paused; his great soul was not to be shaken by

trifles; he looked around him, and solemnly ejaculated the word

'Humbug!' then slinging the bridle across his arm, walked

slowly on in the direction of the castle.

The appearance, and still more, the disappearance of the

crone, had, however, made an impression; every step he took he

became more thoughtful. 'Twould be deuced provoking, though, if

he should break my neck after all.' He turned and gazed at

Dolphin with the scrutinizing eye of a veterinary surgeon.

'I'll be shot if he is not groggy!' said the Baron.

With his lordship, like another great commander, 'Once to

be in doubt, was once to be resolved:' it would never do to go

to the wars on a ricketty prad. he dropped the rein, drew forth

Tickletoby, and, as the enfranchised Dolphin, good easy horse,

stretched out his ewe-neck to the herbage, struck off his head

at a single blow. 'There, you lying old beldame!' said the

Baron; now take him away to the knacker's.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Three years were come and gone. King Edward's French wars

were over; both parties, having fought till they came to a

standstill, shook bands, and the quarrel, as usual, was patched

up by a royal marriage. This happy event gave his Majesty

leisure to turn his attention to Scotland, where things,

through the intervention of William Wallace, were looking

rather queerish. As his reconciliation with Philip now allowed

of his fighting the Scotch in peace and quietness, the monarch

lost no time in marching his long legs across the border, and

the short ones of the Baron followed him of course. At Falkirk,

Tickletoby was in great request; and in the year following, we

find a contemporary poet hinting at his master's prowess under

the walls of Caerlaverock --

Obec eus fu achiminez

Li beau Robert de Shurland

Ki cant seoit sur le cheval

Ne sembloit home ki someille.

A quatrain which Mr. Simpkinson translates --

'With them was marching

The good Robert de Shurland,

Who, when seated on horseback,--

Does not resemble a man asleep!'

So thoroughly awake, indeed, does he seem to have proved

himself, that the bard subsequently exclaims in an ecstasy of

admiration --

Si ie estoie une pucelette

Je li donrie ceur et cors

Tant est de lu bons li recors.

'If I were a young maiden,

I would give my heart and person,

So great is his fame!'

Fortunately the poet was a tough old monk of Exeter; since

such a present to a nobleman, now in his grand climacteric,

would hardly have been worth the carriage. With the reduction

of this stronghold of the Maxwells seem to have concluded the

Baron's military services; as on the very first day of the

fourteenth century we find him once more landed on his native

shore, and marching, with such of his retainers as the wars had

left him, towards the hospitable shelter of Shurland Castle. It

was then, upon that very beach, some hundred yards distant from

high-water mark, that his eye fell upon something like an ugly

old woman in a red cloak. She was seated on what seemed to be a

large stone, in an interesting attitude, with her elbows

resting upon her knees, and her chin upon her thumbs. The Baron

started: the remembrance of his interview with a similar

personage in the same place, some three years since, flashed

upon his recollection. He rushed towards the spot, but the form

was gone;-- nothing remained but the seat it had appeared to

occupy. This, on examination, turned out to be no stone, but

the whitened skull of a dead horse! A tender remembrance of the

deceased Grey Dolphin shot a momentary pang into the Baron's

bosom; he drew the back of his hand across his face; the

thought of the hag's prediction in an instant rose, and

banished all softer emotions. In utter contempt of his own

weakness, yet with a tremor that deprived his redoubtable kick

of half its wonted force, he spurned the relic with his foot.

One word alone issued from his lips, elucidatory of what was

passing in his mind -- it long remained imprinted on the memory

of his faithful followers -- that word was 'Gammon!' The skull

bounded across the beach till it reached the very margin of the

stream;-- one instant more, and it would be engulfed for ever.

At that moment a loud 'Ha I ha! ha!' was distinctly heard by

the whole train to issue from its bleached and toothless jaws:

it sank beneath the flood in a horse laugh.

Meanwhile Sir Robert de Shurland felt an odd sort of

sensation in his right foot. His boots had suffered in the

wars. Great care had been taken for their preservation. They

had been 'soled' and 'heeled' more than once;-- had they been

'goloshed,' their owner might have defied Fate! Well has it

been said that 'there is no such thing as a trifle.' A

nobleman's life depended upon a question of ninepence.

The Baron marched on; the uneasiness in his foot

increased. He plucked off his boot;-- a horse's tooth was

sticking in his great toe!

The result may be anticipated. Lame as he was, his

lordship, with characteristic decision, would hobble on to

Shurland; his walk increased the inflammation; a flagon of aqua

vitae did not mend matters. He was in a high fever; he took to

his bed. Next morning the toe presented the appearance of a

Bedfordshire carrot; by dinner-time it had deepened to

beetroot; and when Bargrave, the leech, at last sliced it off,

the gangrene was too confirmed to admit of remedy. Dame Martin

thought it high time to send for Miss Margaret, who, ever since

her mother's death, had been living with her maternal aunt, the

abbess, in the Ursuline convent at Greenwich. The young lady

came, and with her came one Master Ingoldsby, her cousin-german

by the mother's side; but the Baron was too far gone in the

deadthraw to recognize either. He died as he lived, unconquered

and unconquerable. His last words were --' Tell the old hag she

may go to --.' Whither remains a secret. He expired without

fully articulating the place of her destination.

But who and what was the crone who prophesied the

catastrophe? Ay, 'that is the mystery of this wonderful

history.'-- Some say it was Dame Fothergill, the late

confessor's mamma; others, St. Bridget herself; others thought

it was nobody at all, but only a phantom conjured up by

conscience. As we do not know, we decline giving an opinion.

And what became of the Clerk of Chatham?-- Mr. Simpkinson

avers that he lived to a good old age, and was at last hanged

by Jack Cade, with his inkhorn about his neck, for 'setting

boys copies.' In support of this he adduces his name

'Emmanuel,' and refers to the historian Shakspear. Mr. Peters,

on the contrary, considers this to be what he calls one of Mr.

Simpkinson's 'Anacreonisms,' inasmuch as, at the introduction

of Mr. Cade's reform measure, the Clerk, if alive, would have

been hard upon two hundred years old. The probability is, that

the unfortunate alluded to was his great-grandson.

Margaret Shurland in due course became Margaret Ingoldsby:

her portrait still hangs in the gallery at Tappington. The

features are handsome, but shrewish, betraying, as it were, a

touch of the old Baron's temperament; but we never could learn

that she actually kicked her husband. She brought him a very

pretty fortune in chains, owches, and Saracen earrings; the

barony, being a male fief, reverted to the Crown.

In the abbey-church at Minster may yet be seen the tomb of

a recumbent warrior, clad in the chain-mail of the thirteenth

century. <1> His hands are clasped in prayer; his legs, crossed

in that position so prized by Templars in ancient, and tailors

in modern, days, bespeak him a soldier of the faith in

Palestine. Close behind his dexter calf lies sculptured in bold

relief a horse's head; and a respectable elderly lady, as she

shows the monument, fails not to read her auditors a fine moral

lesson on the sin of ingratitude, or to claim a sympathizing

tear to the memory of poor 'Grey Dolphin'!

NOTES

1. Subsequent to the first appearance of the foregoing

narrative, the tomb alluded to has been opened during the

course of certain repair, which the church has undergone. Mr.

Simpkinson, who was present at the exhumation of the body

within, and has enriched his collection with three of its

grinders, says the bones of one of the great toes were wanting.

He speaks in terms of great admiration at the thickness of the

skull, and is of opinion that the skeleton is that of a great

patriot much addicted to Lundy-foot.

It is on my own personal reminiscences that I draw for the

following story; the scene of its leading event was most

familiar to me in early life. If the principal actor in it be

yet living, he must have reached a very advanced age. He was

often at the Hall, in my infancy, on professional visits. It

is, however, only from those who 'prated of his whereabouts'

that I learned the history of his adventure with

THE GHOST.

There stands a City,-- neither large nor small,

Its air and situation sweet and pretty;

It matters very little -- if at all --

Whether its denizens are dull or witty,

Whether the ladies there are short or tall,

Brunettes or blondes, only, there stands a city!--

Perhaps 'tis also requisite to minute

That there's a Castle and a Cobbler in it.

A fair Cathedral, too, the story goes,

And kings and heroes lie entomb'd within her;

There pious Saints, in marble pomp repose,

Whose shrines are worn by knees of many a Sinner;

There, too, full many an Aldermanic nose

Roll'd its loud diapason after dinner;

And there stood high the holy sconce of Becket,

-- Till four assassins came from France to crack it.

The Castle was a huge and antique mound,

Proof against all th' artillery of the quiver,

Ere those abominable guns were found

To send cold lead through gallant warrior's liver.

It stands upon a gently rising ground,

Sloping down gradually to the river,

Resembling (to compare great things with smaller),

A well-scooped, mouldy Stilton cheese,-- but taller.

The Keep, I find, 's been sadly alter'd lately,

And, 'stead of mail-clad knights, of honour jealous,

In martial panoply so grand and stately,

Its walls are fill'd with money-making fellows,

And stuff'd, unless I'm misinformed greatly,

With leaden pipes, and coke, and coals, and bellows;

In short, so great a change has come to pass,

'Tis now a manufactory of Gas.

But to my tale.-- Before this profanation,

And ere its ancient glories were cut short all,

A poor hard-working Cobbler took his station

In a small house, just opposite the portal;

His birth, his parentage, and education,

I know but little of -- a strange, odd mortal;

His aspect, air, and gait, were all ridiculous;

His name was Mason -- he'd been christen'd Nicholas.

Nick had a wife possessed of many a charm,

And of the Lady Huntingdon persuasion;

But, spite of all her piety, her arm

She'd sometimes exercise when in a passion;

And, being of a temper somewhat warm,

Would now and then seize, upon small occasion,

A stick, or stool, or anything that round did lie,

And baste her lord and master most confoundedly.

No matter!--'tis a thing that's not uncommon,

'Tis what we have all heard, and most have read of,--

I mean, a bruizing, pugilistic woman,

Such as I own I entertain a dread of,

-- And so did Nick, whom sometimes there would come on

A sort of fear his spouse might knock his head off,

Demolish half his teeth, or drive a rib in,

She shone so much in 'facers' and in 'fibbing.'

'There's time and place for all things,' said a sage,

(King Solomon, I think,) and this I can say,

Within a well-roped ring, or on a stage,

Boxing may be a very pretty Fancy,

When Messrs. Burke or Bendigo engage;

--' Tis not so well in Susan, Jane, or Nancy;--

To get well mill'd by any one's an evil,

But by a lady --' tis the very Devil.

And so thought Nicholas, whose only trouble

(At least his worst) was this his rib's propensity,

For sometimes from the alehouse he would hobble,

His senses lost in a sublime immensity

Of cogitation -- then he couldn't cobble --

And then his wife would often try the density

Of his poor skull, and strike with all her might,

As fast as kitchen wenches strike a light.

Mason, meek soul, who ever hated strife,

Of this same striking had the utmost dread,

He hated it like poison -- or his wife --

A vast antipathy!-- but so he said --

And very often for a quiet life

On these occasions he'd sneak up to bed,

Grope darkling in, and, soon as at the door

He heard his lady -- he'd pretend to snore.

One night, then, ever partial to society,

Nick, with a friend (another jovial fellow),

Went to a Club -- I should have said Society --

At the 'City Arms,' once called the Porto Bello;

A Spouting party, which, though some decry it, I

Consider no bad lounge when one is mellow;

There they discuss the tax on salt, and leather,

And change of ministers, and change of weather.

In short, it was a kind of British Forum,

Like John Gale Jones's, erst in Piccadilly,

Only they managed things with more decorum,

And the Orations were not quite so silly;

Far different questions, too, would come before 'em,

Not always Politics, which, will ye nill ye,

Their London prototypes were always willing,

To give one quantum suff. of -- for a shilling.

It more resembled one of later date,

And tenfold talent, as I'm told, in Bow Street,

Where kindlier natured souls do congregate,

And, though there are who deem that same a low street,

Yet, I'm assured, for frolicsome debate

And genuine humour it's surpaass'd by no street,

When the 'Chief Baron' enters, and assumes

To 'rule' o'er mimic 'Thesigers' and 'Broughams.'

Here they would oft forget their Rulers' faults,

And waste in ancient lore the midnight taper,

Inquire if Orpheus first produced the Waltz,

How Gas-lights differ from the Delphic Vapour,

Whether Hippocrates gave Glauber's Salts,

And what the Romans wrote on ere they'd paper;

This night the subject of their disquisitions

Was Ghosts, Hobgoblins, Sprites, and Apparitions.

One learned gentleman, 'a sage grave man,'

Talk'd of the Ghost in Hamlet, 'sheath'd in steel;'--

His well-read friend, who next to speak began,

Said, 'That was Poetry, and nothing real;'

A third, of more extensive learning, ran

To Sir George Villiers' Ghost, and Mrs. Veal;

Of sheeted Spectres spoke with shorten'd breath,

And thrice he quoted 'Drelincourt on Death.'

Nick smoked, and smoked, and trembled as he heard

The point discuss'd, and all they said upon it,

How, frequently, some murder'd man appear'd,

To tell his wife and children who had done it;

Or how a Miser's ghost, with grisly beard,

And pale lean visage, in an old Scotch bonnet,

Wander'd about, to watch his buried money!

When all at once Nick heard the clock strike one,-- he

Sprang from his seat, not doubting but a lecture

Impended from his fond and faithful she;

Nor could he well to pardon him expect her,

For he had promised to 'be home to tea;'

But having luckily the key o' the back door,

He fondly hoped that, unperceived, he

Might creep up stairs again, pretend to doze,

And hoax his spouse with music from his nose.

Vain, fruitless hope!-- The weary sentinel

At eve may overlook the crouching foe,

Till, ere his hand can sound the alarum-bell,

He sinks beneath the unexpected blow;

Before the whiskers of Grimalkin fell,

When slumb'ring on her post, the mouse may go;--

But woman, wakeful woman, 's never weary,

-- Above all, when she waits to thump her deary.

Soon Mrs. Mason heard the well known tread,

She heard the key slow creaking in the door,

Spied, through the gloom obscure, towards the bed

Nick creeping soft, as oft he had crept before;

When bang, she threw a something at his head,

And Nick at once lay prostrate on the floor;

While she exclaim'd, with her indignant face on,--

'How dare you use your wife so, Mr. Mason?'

Spare we to tell how fiercely she debated,

Especially the length of her oration,--

Spare we to tell how Nick expostulated,

Roused by the bump into a good set passion,

So great, that more than once he execrated,

Ere he crawl'd into bed in his usual fashion;

The Muses hate brawls; suffice it then to say,

He duck'd below the clothes -- and there he lay!

'Twas now the very witching time of night,

When churchyards groan, and graves give up their dead,

And many a mischievous enfranchised Sprite

Had long since burst his bonds of stone or lead,

And hurried off, with schoolboy-like delight,

To play his pranks near some poor wretch's bed,

Sleeping perhaps serenely as a porpoise,

Nor dreaming of this fiendish Habeas Corpus.

Not so our Nicholas, his meditations

Still to the same tremendous theme recurr'd,

The same dread subject of the dark narrations,

Which, back'd with such authority, he'd heard;

Lost in his own horrific contemplations,

He ponder'd o'er each well-remember'd word;

When at the bed's foot, close beside the post,

He verily believed he saw -- a Ghost!

Plain, and more plain, the unsubstantial Sprite

To his astonish'd gaze each moment grew;

Ghastly and gaunt, it rear'd its shadowy height,

Of more than mortal seeming to the view,

And round its long, thin, bony fingers drew

A tatter'd winding-sheet, of course all white;

The moon that moment peeping through a cloud,

Nick very plainly saw it through the shroud!

And now those matted locks, which never yet

Had yielded to the comb's unkind divorce,

Their long-contracted amity forget,

And spring asunder with elastic force;

Nay, e'en the very cap, of texture coarse,

Whose ruby cincture crown'd that brow of jet,

Uprose in agony -- the Gorgon's head

Was but a type of Nick's up-squatting in the bed.

From every pore distill'd a clammy dew,

Quaked every limb,-- the candle, too, no doubt,

En règle, would have burnt extremely blue,

But Nick unluckily had put it out;

And he, though naturally bold and stout,

In short, was in a most tremendous stew;--

The room was filled with a sulphureous smell,

But where that came from Mason could not tell.

All motionless the Spectre stood, and now

Its rev'rend form more clearly shone confest;

From the pale cheek a beard of purest snow

Descended o'er its venerable breast;

The thin grey hairs, that crown'd its furrow'd brow,

Told of years long gone by.-- An awful guest

It stood, and with an action of command,

Beckon'd the Cobbler with its wan right hand.

'Whence, and what art thou, Execrable Shape?'

Nick might have cried, could he have found a tongue,

But his distended jaws could only gape,

And not a sound upon the welkin rung;

His gooseberry orbs seem'd as they would have sprung

Forth from their sockets,-- like a frighten'd Ape,

He sat upon his haunches, bolt upright,

And shook, and grinn'd, and chatter'd with affright.

And still the shadowy finger, long and lean,

Now beckon'd Nick, now pointed to the door;

And many an ireful glance, and frown, between,

The angry visage of the Phantom wore,

As if quite vex'd that Nick would do no more

Than stare, without e'en asking, 'What d'ye mean?'

Because, as we are told,-- a sad old joke too,--

Ghosts, like the ladies, never speak till spoke to.

Cowards, 'tis said, in certain situations,

Derive a sort of courage from despair,

And then perform, from downright desperation,

Much more than many a bolder man would dare.

Nick saw the Ghost was getting in a passion,

And therefore, groping till he found the chair,

Seized on his awl, crept softly out of bed,

And follow'd quaking where the Spectre led.

And down the winding-stair, with noiseless tread,

The tenant of the tomb pass'd slowly on,

Each mazy turning of the humble shed

Seem'd to his step at once familiar grown,

So safe and sure the labyrinth did he tread

As though the domicile had been his own,

Though Nick himself, in passing through the shop,

Had almost broke his nose against the mop.

Despite its wooden bolt, with jarring sound,

The door upon its hinges open flew;

And forth the Spirit issued,-- yet around

It turn'd as if its follower's fears it knew,

And, once more beckoning, pointed to the mound,

The antique Keep, on which the bright moon threw

With such effulgence her mild silvery gleam,

The visionary form seem'd melting in her beam.

Beneath a pond'rous archway's sombre shade,

Where once the huge portcullis swung sublime,

Mid ivied battlements in ruin laid,

Sole, sad memorials of the olden time,

The Phantom held its way,-- and though afraid

Even of the owls that sung their vesper chime,

Pale Nicholas pursued, its steps attending,

And wondering what on earth it all would end in.

Within the mouldering fabric's deep recess

At length they reach a court obscure and lone;--

It seem'd a drear and desolate wilderness,

The blacken'd walls with ivy all o'ergrown;

The night-bird shriek'd her note of wild distress,

Disturb'd upon her solitary throne,

As though indignant mortal step should dare,

So led, at such an hour, to venture there!

-- The Apparition paused, and would have spoke,

Pointing to what Nick thought an iron ring,

But then a neighbouring chaunticleer awoke,

And loudly 'gan his early matins sing;

And then 'it started like a guilty thing,'

As his shrill clarion the silence broke.

-- We know how much dead gentlefolks eschew

The appalling sound of 'Cock-a-doodle-do!'

The Vision was no more -- and Nick alone --

'His streamers waving' in the midnight wind,

Which through the ruins ceased not to groan;

-- His garment, too, was somewhat short behind,--

And, worst of all, he knew not where to find

The ring, which made him most his fate bemoan.--

The iron ring,-- no doubt of some trap door,

'Neath which the old dead Miser kept his store.

'What's to be done?' he cried; ''Twere vain to stay

Here in the dark without a single clue --

Oh for a candle now, or moonlight ray!

'Fore George, I'm vastly puzzled what to do.'

(Then clapp'd his hand behind) --' 'Tis chilly too --

I'll mark the spot, and come again by day.

What can I mark it by?-- Oh, here's the wall --

The mortar's yielding -- here I'll stick my awl!'

Then rose from earth to sky a withering shriek,

A loud, a long-protracted note of woe,

Such as when tempests roar, and timbers creak,

And o'er the side the masts in thunder go;

While on the deck resistless billows break,

And drag their victims to the gulfs below;--

Such was the scream when, for the want of candle,

Nick Mason drove his awl in up to the handle.

Scared by his Lady's heart-appalling cry,

Vanish'd at once poor Mason's golden dream --

For dream it was;-- and all his visions high,

Of wealth and grandeur, fled before that scream --

And still he listens with averted eye,

When gibing neighbours make 'the Ghost' their theme;

While ever from that hour they all declare

That Mrs. Mason used a cushion in her chair!

Confound not, I beseech you, reader, the subject of the

following monody with the hapless hero of the tea-urn, Cupid,

of 'Yow-yow'-ing memory. Tray was an attached favourite of many

years' standing. Most people worth loving have had a friend of

this kind; Lord Byron says he 'never had but one, and here he

(the dog, not the nobleman,) lies!'

Poor Tray charmant!

Poor Tray de mon Ami!

-- Dog-bury, and Vergers.

THE CYNOTAPH

Oh! where shall I bury my poor dog Tray,

Now his fleeting breath has pass'd away?

Seventeen years, I can venture to say,

Have I seen him gambol, and frolic, and play,

Evermore happy, and frisky, and gay,

As though every one of his months was May,

And the whole of his life one long holiday --

Now he's a lifeless lump of clay,

Oh! where shall I bury my faithful Tray?

I am almost tempted to think it hard

That it may not be there, in yon sunny churchyard,

Where the green willows wave

O'er the peaceful grave,

Which holds all that once was honest and brave,

Kind, and courteous, and faithful, and true;

Qualities, Tray, that were found in you.

But it may not be -- you sacred ground,

By holiest feelings fenced around,

May ne'er within its hallow'd bound

Receive the dust of a soul-less hound.

I would not place him in yonder fane,

Where the mid-day sun through the storied pane

Throws on the pavement a crimson stain;

Where the banners of chivalry heavily swing

O'er the pinnacled tomb of the Warrior King,

With helmet and shield, and all that sort of thing.

No!-- come what may,

My gentle Tray

Shan't be an intruder on bluff Harry Tudor,

Or panoplied monarchs yet earlier and ruder,

Whom you see on their backs,

In stone or in wax,

Though the sacristans now are 'forbidden to ax'

For what Mister Hume calls 'a scandalous tax;'

While the Chartists insist they've a right to go snacks.

No!-- Tray's humble tomb would look but shabby

'Mid the sculptured shrines of that gorgeous Abbey.

Besides, in the place

They say there's not space

To bury what wet-nurses call 'a Babby.'

Even 'Rare Ben Jonson,' that famous wight,

I am told, is interr'd there bolt upright,

In just such a posture, beneath his bust,

As Tray used to sit in to beg for a crust.

The epitaph, too,

Would scarcely do;

For what could it say, but 'Here lies Tray,

A very good sort of a dog in his day?'

And satirical folks might be apt to imagine it

Meant as a quiz on the House of Plantagenet.

No! no!-- The Abbey may do very well

For a feudal 'Nob' or poetical 'Swell,'

'Crusaders,' or 'Poets,' or 'Knights of St. John,'

Or Knights of St. John's Wood, who last year went on

To the Castle of Goode Lorde Eglintonne.

Count Fiddle-fumkin, and Lord Fiddle-faddle,

'Sir Craven,' 'Sir Gael,' and 'Sir Campbell of Saddell,'

(Who, as Mr. Hook said, when he heard of the feat,

'Was somehow knock'd out of his family-seat;')

The Esquires of the body

To my Lord Tomnoddy;

'Sir Fairlie,' 'Sir Lamb,'

And the 'Knight of the Ram,'

The 'Knight of the Rose,' and the 'Knight of the Dragon,'

Who, save at the flagon,

And prog in the waggon,

The Newspapers tell us did little 'to brag on;'

And more, though the Muse knows but little concerning 'em,

'Sir Hopkins,' 'Sir Popkins,' 'Sir Gage,' and 'Sir Jerningham.'

All Preux Chevaliers, in friendly rivalry

Who should best bring back the glory of Chi-valry.--

(Pray be so good, for the sake of my song,

To pronounce here the ante-penultimate long;

Or some hyper-critic will certainly cry,

'The word 'Chivalry' is but a 'rhyme to the eye.''

And I own it is clear

A fastidious ear

Will be, more or less, always annoy'd with you when you

Insert any rhyme that's not perfectly genuine.

As to pleasing the 'eye,'

'Tisn't worth while to try,

Since Moore and Tom Campbell themselves admit 'spinach'

Is perfectly antiphonetic to 'Greenwich.)

But stay!-- I say!--

Let me pause while I may --

This digression is leading me sadly astray

From my object -- A grave for my poor dog Tray!

I would not place him beneath thy walls,

And proud o'ershadowing dome, St. Paul's!

Though I've always consider'd Sir Christopher Wren,

As an architect, one of the greatest of men;

And,-- talking of Epitaphs,-- much I admire his,

'Circumspice, si Monumentum requiris;'

Which an erudite Verger translated to me,

'If you ask for his Monument, Sir-come-spy-see!'

No!-- I should not know where

To place him there;

I would not have him by surly Johnson be;--

Or that Queer-looking horse that is rolling on Ponsonby;--

Or those ugly minxes

The sister Sphynxes,

Mix'd creatures, half lady, half lioness, ergo

(Denon says) the emblems of Leo and Virgo;

On one of the backs of which singular jumble,

Sir Ralph Abercrombie is going to tumble,

With a thump which alone were enough to despatch him,

If that Scotchman in front shouldn't happen to catch him.

No! I'd not have him there, nor nearer the door,

Where the Man and the Angel have got Sir John Moore, <1>

And are quietly letting him down through the floor,

Near Gillespie, the one who escaped, at Vellore,

Alone from the row;--

Neither he, nor Lord Howe

Would like to be plagued with a little Bow-wow.

No, Tray, we must yield,

And go further a-field;

To lay you by Nelson were downright effront'ry;--

We'll be off from the City, and look at the country.

It shall not be there,

In that sepulchred square,

Where folks are interr'd for the sake of the air,

(Though, pay but the dues, they could hardly refuse

To Tray what they grant to Thuggs and Hindoos,

Turks, Infidels, Heretics, Jumpers, and Jews,)

Where the tombstones are placed

In the very best taste,

At the feet and the head

Of the elegant Dead,

And no one's received who's not 'buried in lead:'

For, there lie the bones of Deputy Jones,

Whom the widow's tears and the orphan's groans

Affected as much as they do the stones

His executors laid on the Deputy's bones;

Little rest, poor knave!

Would he have in his grave;

Since Spirits, 'tis plain,

Are sent back again,

To roam round their bodies,-- the bad ones in pain,--

Dragging after them sometimes a heavy jack-chain;

Whenever they met, alarmed by its groans, his

Ghost all night long would be barking at Jones's.

Nor shall he be laid

By that cross Old Maid,

Miss Penelope Bird, of whom it is said

All the dogs in the Parish were always afraid.

He must not be placed

By one so strait-laced

In her temper, her taste, and her morals, and waist.

For, 'tis said, when she went up to heaven, and St. Peter,

Who happened to meet her,

Came forward to greet her,

She pursed up with scorn every vinegar feature,

And bade him 'Get out for a horrid Male Creature!'

So, the Saint, after looking as if he could eat her,

Not knowing, perhaps, very well how to treat her,

And not being willing, or able, to beat her,

Sent her back to her grave till her temper grew sweeter,

With an epithet -- which I decline to repeat here.

No, if Tray were interr'd

By Penelope Bird,

No dog would be e'er so be-'whelp''d and be-'cur'r'd.

All the night long her cantankerous Sprite

Would be running about in the pale moon-light,

Chasing him round, and attempting to lick

The ghost of poor Tray with the ghost of a stick.

Stay!-- let me see!--

Ay -- here it shall be

At the root of this gnarl'd and time-worn tree,

Where Tray and I

Would often lie,

And watch the light clouds as they floated by

In the broad expanse of the clear blue sky,

When the sun was bidding the world good b'ye;

And the plaintive Nightingale, warbling nigh,

Pour'd forth her mournful melody;

While the tender Wood-pigeon's cooing cry

Has made me say to myself, with a sigh,

'How nice you would eat with a steak in a pie!'

Ay, here it shall be!-- far, far from the view

Of the noisy world and its maddening crew.

Simple and few,

Tender and true

The lines o'er his grave.-- They have, some of them, too,

The advantage of being remarkably new.

Epitaph.

Affliction sore

Long time he bore,

Physicians were in vain!--

Grown blind, alas! he'd

Some Prussic Acid,

And that put him out of his pain!

NOTES

1. Sir John Moore -- In the autumn of 1824, Captain Medwin

having hinted that certain beautiful lines on the burial of

this gallant officer might have been the production of Lord

Byron's Muse, Mr. Sydney Taylor, somewhat indignantly, claimed

them for their rightful owner, the late Rev. Charles Wolfe.

During the controversy a third claimant started up in the

person of a soi-disant 'Dr. Marshall,' who turned out to be a

Durham blacksmith, and his pretensions a hoax. It was then that

a certain 'Doctor Peppercorn' put forth his pretensions, to

what he averred was the only 'true and original' version, viz:-

-

Not a sous had he got,--not a guinea or note,

And he look'd confoundedly flurry'd,

As he bolted away without paying his shot,

And the Landlady after him hurry'd.

We saw him again at dead of night,

When home from the club returning;

We twigg'd the Doctor beneath the light

Of the gas-lamps brilliantly burning.

All bare and exposed to the midnight dews,

Reclined in the gutter we found him;

And he look'd like a gentleman taking a snooze,

With his Marshall cloak around him.

'The Doctor's as drunk as the d--,' we said,

And we managed a shutter to borrow;

We raised him and sigh'd at the thought that his head

Would 'consumedly ache' on the morrow.

We bore him home, and we put him to bed,

And we told his wife and his daughter

To give him next morning a couple of red

Herrings with soda-water.

Loudly they talk'd of his money that's gone,

And his Lady began to upbraid him;

But little he reck'd, so they let him snore on

'Neath the counterpane just as we laid him.

We tuck'd him in, and had hardly done

When, beneath the window calling,

We heard the rough voice of a son of a gun

Of a watchman 'one o'clock!' bawling.

Slowly and sadly we all walk'd down

From his room in the uppermost story;

A rushlight we placed on the cold hearth-stone,

And we left him alone in his glory.

Hos ego versiculos feci, tulit alter honores.--

Virgil.

I wrote the lines -- owned them -- he told stories! --

THOMAS INGOLDSBY.

THE LEECH OF FOLKESTONE: MRS. BOTHERBY'S STORY

READER, were you ever bewitched?--I do not mean by a

'white wench's black eye,' or by love-potions imbibed from a

ruby lip;-- but, were you ever really and bond fide bewitched,

in the true Matthew Hopkins' sense of the word?. Did you ever,

for instance, find yourself from head to heel one vast

complication of cramps?-- or burst out into sudorific exudation

like a cold thaw, with the thermometer at zero?-- Were your

eyes ever turned upside down, exhibiting nothing but their

whites?-- Did you ever vomit a paper of crooked pins? or

expectorate Whitechapel needles? These are genuine and

undoubted marks of possession; and if you never experienced any

of them,-- why, 'happy man be his dole'!

Yet such things have been: yea, we are assured, and that

on no mean authority, still are.

The World, according to the best geographers, is divided

into Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Romney Marsh. In this,

and fifth, quarter of the globe, a Witch may still be

occasionally discovered in favourable, i. e. stormy, seasons,

weathering Dungeness Point in an eggshell, or careering on her

broomstick over Dymchurch wall. A cow may yet be sometimes seen

galloping like mad, with tail erect, and an old pair of

breeches on her horns, an unerring guide to the door of the

crone whose magic arts have drained her udder. I do not,

however, remember to have heard that any Conjurer has of late

been detected in the district.

Not many miles removed from the verge of this recondite

region, stands a collection of houses, which its maligners call

a fishing-town, and its well-wishers a Watering-place. A limb

of one of the Cinque Ports, it has, (or lately had,) a

corporation of its own, and has been thought considerable

enough to give a second title to a noble family. Rome stood on

seven hills; Folkestone seems to have been built upon seventy.

Its streets, lanes, and alleys,-- fanciful distinctions without

much real difference,-- are agreeable enough to persons who do

not mind running up and down stairs; and the only inconvenience

all felt by such of its inhabitants as are not asthmatic is

when some heedless urchin tumbles down a chimney, or an

impertinent pedestrian peeps into a garret window.

At the eastern extremity of the town, on the sea-beach,

and scarcely above high-water mark, stood, in the good old

times, a row of houses then denominated 'Frog-hole.' Modern

refinement subsequently euphonized the name into 'East Street;'

but 'what 's in a name?' the encroachments of Ocean have long

since levelled all in one common ruin.

Here, in the early part of the seventeenth century,

flourished in somewhat doubtful reputation, but comparative

opulence, a compounder of medicines, one Master Erasmus

Buckthorne; the eflluvia of whose drugs from within, mingling

agreeably, with the 'ancient and fish-like smells' from

without, wafted a delicious perfume throughout the

neighbourhood.

At seven of the clock, on the morning when Mrs. Botherby's

narrative commences, a stout Suffolk 'punch,' about thirteen

hands and a half in height, was slowly led up and down before

the door of the pharmacopolist by a lean and withered lad,

whose appearance warranted an opinion, pretty generally

expressed, that his master found him as useful in

experimentalizing as in household drudgery; and that, for every

pound avoirdupois of solid meat, he swallowed, at the least,

two pounds troy weight of chemicals and galenicals. As the town

clock struck the quarter, Master Buckthorne emerged from his

laboratory, and, putting the key carefully into his pocket,

mounted the sure-footed cob aforesaid, and proceeded up and

down the acclivities and declivities of the town with the

gravity due to his station and profession. When he reached the

open country, his pace was increased to a sedate canter, which

in somewhat more than half an hour, brought the horse and his

rider in front of a handsome and substantial mansion, the

numerous gable-ends and bayed windows of which bespoke the

owner a man of worship, and one well to do in the world.

'How now, Hodge Gardener?' quoth the Leech, scarcely

drawing bit; for Punch seemed to be aware that he had reached

his destination, and paused of his own accord; 'How now, man?

How fares thine employer, worthy Master Marsh? How hath he

done? How hath he slept? My potion hath done its office? Ha?'

'Alack! ill at ease, worthy sir, ill at ease,' returned

the bind; 'his honour is up and stirring; but he hath rested

none, and complaineth that the same gnawing pain devoureth, as

it were, his very vitals: in sooth be is ill at ease.'

'Morrow, doctor!' interrupted a voice from a casement

opening on the lawn, 'Good morrow! I have looked for, longed

for, thy coming this hour and more; enter at once; the pasty

and tankard are impatient for thine attack!'

'Marry, Heaven forbid that I should baulk their fancy!'

quoth the Leech sotto voce, as, abandoning the bridle to honest

Hodge, he dismounted, and followed a buxom-looking hand-maiden

into the breakfast parlour.

There, at the head of his well-furnished board, sat Master

Thomas Marsh, of Marston Hall, a yeoman well respected in his

degree: one of that sturdy and sterling class which, taking

rank immediately below the Esquire, (a title in its origin

purely military,) occupied, in the wealthier counties, the

position in society now filled by the Country Gentleman. He was

one of those of whom the proverb ran:

'A Knight of Cales,

A Gentleman of Wales,

And a Laird of the North Countree:

A Yeoman of Kent,

With his yearly rent,

Will buy them out all three!'

A cold sirloin, big enough to frighten a Frenchman, filled

the place of honour, counter-checked by a game-pie of no

stinted dimensions; while a silver flagon of 'humming-bub,'--

viz., ale strong enough to blow a man's beaver off -- smiled

opposite in treacherous amenity. The sideboard groaned beneath

sundry massive cups and waiters of the purest silver; while the

huge skull of a fallow deer, with its branching horns, frowned

majestically above. All spoke of affluence, of comfort,-- all

save the master, whose restless eye and feverish look hinted

but too plainly the severest mental or bodily disorder. By the

side of the proprietor of the mansion sat his consort, a lady

now past the bloom of youth, yet still retaining many of its

charms. The clear olive of her complexion, and 'the darkness of

her Andalusian eye,' at once betrayed her foreign origin; in

fact, her 'lord and master,' as husbands were even then by a

legal fiction denominated, had taken her to his bosom in a

foreign country. The cadet of his family, Master Thomas Marsh,

had early in life been engaged in commerce. In the pursuit of

his vocation he had visited Antwerp, Hamburg, and most of the

Hanse Towns and bad already formed a tender connexion with the

orphan offspring of one of old Alva's officers, when the

unexpected deaths of one immediate, and two presumptive, heirs

placed him next in succession to the family acres. He married,

and brought home his bride: who, by the decease of the

venerable possessor, heart-broken at the loss of his elder

children, became eventually lady of Marston Hall. It has been

said that she was beautiful, yet was her beauty of a character

that operates on the fancy more than the affections; she was

one to be admired rather than loved. The proud curl of her lip,

the firmness of her tread, her arched brow and stately

carriage, showed the decision, not to say haughtiness, of her

soul; while her glances, whether lightening with anger, or

melting in extreme softness. betrayed the existence of passions

as intense in kind as opposite in quality. She rose as Erasmus

entered the parlour, and, bestowing on him a look fraught with

meaning, quitted the room, leaving him in unrestrained

communication with his patient.

''Fore George, Master Buckthorne!' exclaimed the latter,

as the Leech drew near, 'I will no more of your pharmacy;--

burn, burn, gnaw, gnaw,-- I had as lief the foul fiend were in

my gizzard as one of your drugs. Tell me in the devil's name,

what is the matter with me!'

Thus conjured, the practitioner paused, and even turned

somewhat pale. There was a perceptible faltering in his voice,

as evading the question, he asked, 'What say your other

physicians?'

'Doctor Phiz says it is wind,-- Doctor Fuz says it is

water,-- and Doctor Bus says it is something between wind and

water.'

'They are all of them wrong,' said Erasmus Buckthorne.

'Truly, I think so,' returned the patient, 'They are

manifest asses; but you, good Leech, you are a horse of another

colour. The world talks loudly of your learning, your skill,

and cunning in arts the most abstruse; nay, sooth to say, some

look coldly on you therefore, and stickle not to aver that you

are cater-cousin with Beelzebub himself.'

'It is ever the fate of science,' murmured the professor,

'to be maligned by the ignorant and superstitious. But a truce

with such folly;-- let me examine your palate.'

Master Marsh thrust out a tongue long, clear, and red as

beetroot. 'There is nothing wrong there,' said the Leech. 'Your

wrist:-- no;-- the pulse is firm and regular, the skin cool and

temperate. Sir, there is nothing the matter with you!'

'Nothing the matter with me, Sir 'Potecary?-- But I tell

you there is the matter with me,-- much the matter with me. Why

is it that something seems ever gnawing at my heart-strings?--

Whence this pain in the region of the liver?-- Why is it that I

sleep not o' nights,-- rest not a' days? Why--'

'You are fidgety, Master Marsh,' said the doctor.

Master Marsh's brow grew dark: he half rose from his seat,

supported himself by both hands on the arms of his elbow-chair,

and in accents of mingled anger and astonishment repeated the

word 'Fidgety!'

'Ay, fidgety,' returned the doctor, calmly. 'Tut, man,

there is nought ails thee save thine own overweening fancies.

Take less of food, more air, put aside thy flagon, call for thy

horse; be boot and saddle the word! Why, hast thou not youth?--

'

'I have,' said the patient

'Wealth and a fair domain?

'Granted,' quoth Marsh, cheerily.

'And a fair wife?'

'Yea,' was the response, but in a tone something less

satisfied.

'Then arouse thee, man, shake off this fantasy, betake

thyself to thy lawful occasions,-- use thy good hap,-- follow

thy pleasures, and think no more of these fancied ailments.'

'But I tell you, master mine, these ailments are not

fancied. I lose my rest, I loathe my food, my doublet sits

loosely on me,-- these racking pains. My wife, too, when I meet

her gaze, the cold sweat stands on my forehead, and I could

almost think--' Marsh paused abruptly, mused awhile, then

added, looking steadily at his visitor, 'These things are not

right; they pass the common, Master Erasmus Buckthorne.'

A slight shade crossed the brow of the Leech, but its

passage was momentary; his features softened to a smile, in

which pity seemed slightly blended with contempt. 'Have done

with such follies, Master Marsh. You are well, an you would but

think so. Ride, I say, hunt, shoot, do anything,--disperse

these melancholic humours, and become yourself again.'

'Well, I will do your bidding,' said Mash, thoughtfully.

'It

may be so; and yet,-- but I will do your bidding. Master Cobbe

of Brenzet writes me that he hath a score or two of fat ewes to

be sold a pennyworth; I had thought to have sent Ralph Looker,

but I will essay to go myself. Ho, there!-- saddle me the brown

mare, and bid Ralph be ready to attend me on the gelding.'

An expression of pain contracted the features of Master

Marsh as he rose and slowly quitted the apartment to prepare

for his journey; while the Leech, having bidden him farewell,

vanished through an opposite door, and betook himself to the

private boudoir of the fair mistress of Marston, muttering as

be went a quotation from a then newly-published play,

'Not poppy, nor mandragora,

Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,

Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep

Which thou own'dst yesterday.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Of what passed at this interview between the Folkestone

doctor and the fair Spaniard, Mrs. Botherby declares she could

never obtain any satisfactory elucidation. Not that tradition

is silent on the subject,-- quite the contrary; it is the

abundance, not paucity, of the materials she supplies, and the

consequent embarrassment of selection, that makes the

difficulty. Some have averred that the Leech, whose character,

as has been before hinted, was more than threadbare, employed

his time in teaching her the mode of administering certain

noxious compounds, the unconscious partaker whereof would pine

end die so slowly and gradually as to defy suspicion. Others

there were who affirmed that Lucifer himself was then and there

raised in propria persona, with all his terrible attributes of

horn and hoof. In support of this assertion, they adduce the

testimony of the aforesaid buxom housemaid, who protested that

the Hall smelt that evening like a manufactory of matches. All,

however, seemed to agree that the confabulation, whether human

or infernal, was conducted with profound secrecy, and

protracted to a considerable length; that its object, as far as

could be divined, meant anything but good to the head of the

family; that the lady, moreover, was heartily tired of her

husband; and that, in the event of his removal by disease or

casualty, Master Erasmus Buckthorne, albeit a great

philosophist, would have no violent objection to 'throw physic

to the dogs,' and exchange his laboratory for the estate of

Marston, its livestock included. Some, too, have inferred that

to him did Madame Isabel seriously incline; while others have

thought, induced perhaps by subsequent events, that she was

merely using him for her purposes; that one José, a tall,

bright-eyed, hook-nosed stripling from her native land, was a

personage not unlikely to put a spoke in the doctor's wheel;

and that, should such a chance arise, the Sage, wise as he was,

would, after all, run no slight risk of being 'bamboozled.'

Master José was a youth well-favoured, and comely to look

upon. His office was that of page to the dame; an office which,

after long remaining in abeyance, has been of late years

revived, as may well be seen in the persons of sundry smart

hobbledehoys, now constantly to be met with on staircases and

in boudoirs, clad, for the most part, in garments fitted

tightly to the shape, the lower moiety adorned with a broad

stripe of crimson or silver lace, and the upper with what the

first Wit of our times has described as 'a favourable eruption

of buttons.' The duties of this employment have never, as far

as we have heard, been accurately defined. The perfuming a

handkerchief, the combing a lap-dog, and the occasional

presentation of a sippet-shaped billet doux, are, and always

have been, among them; but these a young gentleman standing

five foot ten, and aged nineteen 'last grass,' might well be

supposed to have outgrown. José, however, kept his place,

perhaps because be was not fit for any other. To the conference

between his mistress and the physician he had not been

admitted; his post was to keep watch and ward in the ante-room;

and, when the interview was concluded, he attended the lady and

her visitor as far as the courtyard, where he held, with all

due respect, the stirrup for the latter, as he once more

resumed his position on the back of Punch.

Who is it that says, 'little pitchers have large ears?'

Some deep metaphysician of the potteries, who might have added

that they have also quick eyes, and sometimes silent tongues.

There was a little metaphorical piece of crockery of this

class, who, screened by a huge elbow-chair, had sat a quiet and

unobserved spectator of the whole proceedings between her mamma

and Master Erasmus Buckthorne. This was Miss Marian Marsh, a

rosy-checked laughter-loving imp of some six years old; but one

who could be mute as a mouse when the fit was on her. A

handsome and highly-polished cabinet of the darkest ebony

occupied a recess at one end of the apartment; this had long

been a great subject of speculation to little Miss. Her

curiosity, however, had always been repelled; nor had all her

coaxing ever won her an inspection of the thousand and one

pretty things which its recesses no doubt contained. On this

occasion it was unlocked, and Marian was about to rush forward

in eager anticipation of a peep at its interior, when, child as

she was, the reflection struck her that she would stand a

better chance of carrying her point by remaining perdue.

Fortune for once favoured her: she crouched closer than before,

and saw her mother take something from one of the drawers,

which she handed over to the Leech. Strange mutterings

followed, and words whose sound was foreign to her youthful

ears. Had she been older, their import, perhaps, might have

been equally unknown. After a while there was a pause; and then

the lady, in answer to a requisition from the gentleman, placed

in his hand a something which she took from her toilet. The

transaction, whatever its nature, seemed now to be complete,

and the article was carefully replaced in the drawer from which

it had been taken. A long, and apparently interesting,

conversation then took place between the parties, carried on in

a low tone. At its termination, Mistress Marsh and Master

Erasmus Buckthorne quitted the boudoir together. But the

cabinet!-- ay, that was left unfastened; the folding-doors

still remained invitingly expanded, the bunch of keys dangling

from the lock. In an instant the spoiled child was in a chair;

the drawer so recently closed yielded at once to her band, and

her hurried researches were rewarded by the prettiest little

waxen doll imaginable. it was a first-rate prize, and Miss lost

no time in appropriating it to herself. Long before Madame

Marsh bad returned to her Sanctum, Marian was seated under a

laurestinus in the garden, nursing her new baby with the most

affectionate solicitude.

'Susan, look here; see what a nasty scratch I have got

upon my hand,' said the young lady, when routed out at length

from her hiding-place to her noontide meal.

'Yes, Miss, this is always the way with you! mend, mend,

mend,--nothing but mend! Scrambling about among the bushes, and

tearing your clothes to rags. What with you, and with madam's

farthingales and kirtlee, a poor bower-maiden has a fine time

of it!'

'But I have not torn my clothes, Susan, and it was not the

bushes; it was the doll: only see what a great ugly pin I have

pulled out of it I and look, here is another!' As she spoke,

Marian drew forth one of those extended pieces, of black

pointed wire, with which, in the days of toupees and pompoons,

our fore-mothers were wont to secure their fly-caps and head-

gear from the impertinent assaults of 'Zephyrus and the Little

Breezes.'

'And pray, Miss, where did you get this pretty doll, as

you call it?' asked Susan, turning over the puppet, and viewing

it with a scrutinizing eye.

'Mamma gave it me,' said the child.-- This was a fib!

'Indeed! quoth the girl thoughtfully; and then, in half

soliloquy, and a lower key, 'Well I I wish I may die if it

doesn't look like master!-- But come to your dinner, Miss!

Hark! the bell is striking One!'

Meanwhile Master Thomas Marsh, and his man Ralph, were

threading the devious paths, then, as now, most pseudonymously

dignified with the name of roads, that wound between Marston

Hall and the frontier of Romney Marsh. Their progress was

comparatively slow; for though the brown mare was as good a

roadster as man might back, and the gelding no mean nag of his

hands, yet the tracts, rarely traversed save by the rude wains

of the day, miry in the 'bottoms,' and covered with loose and

rolling stones on the higher grounds, rendered barely passable

the perpetual alternation of hill and valley.

The master rode on in pain, and the man in listlessness;

although the intercourse between two individuals so situated

was much less restrained in those days than might suit the

refinement of a later age, little passed approximating to

conversation beyond an occasional and half-stifled groan from

the one, or a vacant whistle from the other. An hour's riding

had brought them among the woods of Acryse; and they were about

to descend one of those green and leafy lanes, rendered by

matted and over arching branches alike impervious to shower or

sunbeam, when a sudden and violent spasm seized on Master

Marsh, and nearly caused him to fall from his horse. With some

difficulty he succeeded in dismounting, and seating himself by

the road side. Here he remained for a full half-hour in great

apparent agony; the cold sweat rolled in large round drops

adown his clammy forehead, a universal shivering palsied every

limb, his eye-balls appeared to be starting from their sockets,

and to his attached, though dull and heavy serving-man, he

seemed as one struggling in the pangs of impending dissolution.

His groans rose thick and frequent; and the alarmed Ralph was

hesitating between his disinclination to leave him, and his

desire to procure such assistance as one of the few cottages,

rarely sprinkled in that wild country, might afford, when,

after a long-drawn sigh, his master's features as suddenly

relaxed; he declared himself better, the pang had passed away,

and, to use his own expression, he 'felt as if a knife had been

drawn from out his very heart.' With Ralph's assistance, after

a while, he again reached his saddle; and though still ill at

ease, from a deep-seated and gnawing pain, which ceased not, as

he averred, to torment him, the violence of the paroxysm was

spent, and it returned no more.

Master and man pursued their way with increased speed, as,

emerging from the wooded defiles, they at length neared the

coast; then, leaving the romantic castle of Saltwood, with its

neighbouring town of lithe, a little on their left, they

proceeded along the ancient paved causeway, and, crossing the

old Roman road, or Watling, plunged again into the woods that

stretched between Lympne and Ostenhanger.

The sun rode high in the heavens, and its meridian blaze

was powerfully felt by man and horse, when, again quitting

their leafy covert, the travellers debouched on the open plain

of Aldington Frith, a wide tract of unenclosed country

stretching down to the very borders of 'the Marsh' itself.

Here it was, in the neighbouring chapelry, the site of

which may yet be traced by the curious antiquary, that

Elizabeth Barton, the 'Holy Maid of Kent,' had, something less

than a hundred years previous to the period of our narrative,

commenced that series of supernatural pranks which eventually

procured for her head an unenvied elevation upon London Bridge;

and though the parish had since enjoyed the benefit of the

incumbency of Master Erasmus's illustrious and enlightened

namesake, still, truth to tell, some of the old leaven was even

yet supposed to be at work. The place had, in fact, an ill

name; and, though Popish miracles had ceased to electrify its

denizens, spells and charms, operating by a no less wondrous

agency, were said to have taken their place. Warlocks, and

other unholy subjects of Satan, were reported to make its wild

recesses their favourite rendezvous, and that to an extent

which eventually attracted the notice of no less a personage

than the sagacious Matthew Hopkins himself, Witchfinder-General

to the British Government.

A great portion of the Frith, or Fright, as the name was

then, and is still, pronounced, bad formerly been a Chase, with

rights of Free-warren, &c., appertaining to the Archbishops of

the Province. Since the Reformation, however, it had been

disparked; and when Master Thomas Marsh, and his man Ralph,

entered upon its confines, the open greensward exhibited a

lively scene, sufficiently explanatory of certain sounds that

had already reached their ears while yet within the sylvan

screen which concealed their origin.

It was Fair-day: booths, stalls, and all the rude

paraphernalia of an assembly that then met as much for the

purposes of traffic as festivity, were scattered irregularly

over the turf; pedlars with their packs, horse-croupers, pig-

merchants, itinerant venders of crockery and cutlery, wandered

promiscuously among the mingled groups, exposing their several

wares and commodities, and soliciting custom. On one side was

the gaudy riband, making its mute appeal to rustic gallantry;

on the other the delicious brandy-ball and alluring lollipop,

compounded after the most approved receipt in the 'True

Gentlewoman's Garland,' and 'raising the waters' in the mouth

of many an expectant urchin.

Nor were rural sports wanting to those whom pleasure,

rather than business, had drawn from their humble homes. Here

was the tall and slippery pole, glittering in its grease, and

crowned with the ample cheese, that mocked the hopes of the

discomfited climber, There the fugitive pippin, swimming in

water net of the purest, and bobbing from the expanded lips of

the juvenile Tantalus. In this quarter the ear was pierced by

squeaks from some beleaguered porker, whisking his well-soaped

tail from the grasp of one already in fancy his captor. In

that, the eye rested, with undisguised delight, upon the

grimaces of grinning candidates for the honours of the horse-

collar. All was fun, frolic, courtship, junketting, and

jollity.

Maid Marian, indeed, with her lieges, Robin Hood, Scarlet,

and Little John, was wanting; Friar Tuck was absent; even the

Hobby-horse had disappeared: but the agile Morris-dancers yet

were there, and jingled their bells merrily among stalls well

stored with gingerbread, tops, whips, whistles, and all those

noisy instruments of domestic torture in which scenes like

these are even now so fertile.-- Had I a foe whom I held at

deadliest feud, I would entice his favourite child to a Fair,

and buy him a Whistle and a Penny-trumpet.

In one corner of the green, a little apart from the

thickest of the throng, stood a small square stage, nearly

level with the chins of the spectators, whose repeated bursts

of laughter seemed to intimate the presence of something more

than usually amusing. The platform was divided into two unequal

portions; the smaller of which, surrounded by curtains of a

coarse canvas, veiled from the eyes of the profane the

penetralia of this moveable temple of Esculapius, for such it

was. Within its interior, and secure from vulgar curiosity, the

Quack-salver had hitherto kept himself ensconced; occupied, no

doubt, in the preparation and arrangement of that wonderful

panacea which was hereafter to shed the blessings of health

among the admiring crowd. Meanwhile his attendant Jack-pudding

was busily employed on the proscenium, doing his best to

attract attention by a practical facetiousness which took

wonderfully with the spectators, interspersing it with the

melodious notes of a huge cow's horn. The fellow's costume

varied but little in character from that in which the late

(alas! that we should have to write the word -- late!) Mr.

Joseph Grimaldi was accustomed to present himself before 'a

generous and enlightened public:' the principal difference

consisted in this, that the upper garment was a long white

tunic of a coarse linen, surmounted by a caricature of the ruff

then fast falling into disuse, and was secured from the throat

downwards by a single row of broad white metal buttons; and his

legs were eased in loose wide trousers of the same material;

while his sleeves, prolonged to a most disproportionate extent,

descended far below the fingers, and acted as flappers in the

somersets and caracoles with which he diversified and enlivened

his antics. Consummate impudence, not altogether unmixed with a

certain sly humour, sparkled in his eye through the chalk and

ochre with which his features were plentifully bedaubed; and

especially displayed itself in a succession of jokes, the

coarseness of which did not seem to detract from their merit in

the eyes of his applauding audience.

He was in the midst of a long and animated harangue

explanatory of his master's high pretensions; he had informed

his gaping auditors that the latter was the seventh son of a

seventh son, and of course, as they very well knew, an Unborn

Doctor; that to this happy accident of birth be added the

advantage of most extensive travel; that in his search after

science he had not only perambulated the whole of this world,

but had trespassed on the boundaries of the next: that the

depths of the Ocean and the bowels of the Earth were alike

familiar to him; that besides salves and cataplasms of

sovereign virtue, by combining sundry mosses, gathered many

thousand fathoms below the surface of the sea, with certain

unknown drugs found in an undiscovered island, and boiling the

whole in the lava of Vesuvius, he had succeeded in producing

his celebrated balsam of Crackapanoko, the never-failing remedy

for all human disorders, and which, a proper trial allowed,

would go near to reanimate the dead. 'Draw near!' continued the

worthy, 'draw near, my masters! and you, my good mistresses,

draw near, every one of you. Fear not high and haughty

carriage: though greater than King or Kaiser, yet is the mighty

Aldrovando milder than mother's milk; flint to the proud, to

the humble be is as melting wax; he asks not your disorders, he

sees them himself at a glance -- nay, without a glance; be

tells your ailments with his eyes shut!-- Draw near! draw near!

the more incurable the better! List to the illustrious Doctor

Aldrovando, first physician to Prester John, Leech to the Grand

Llama, and Hakim in Ordinary to Mustapha Muley Bey!'

'Hath your master ever a charm for the tooth-ache, an't

please you?' asked an elderly countryman, whose swollen cheek

bespoke his interest in the question.

'A charm!-- a thousand, and every one of them infallible.

Toothache, quotha! I had hoped you bad come with every bone in

your body fractured or out of joint. A toothache!-- propound a

tester, master o' mine -- we ask not more for such trifles: do

my bidding, and thy jaws, even with the word, shall cease to

trouble thee!'

The clown, fumbling awhile in a deep leathern purse, at

length produced a sixpence, which he tendered to the jester.

'Now to thy master, and bring me the charm forthwith.'

'Nay, honest man; to disturb the mighty Aldrovando on such

slight occasion were pity of my life: areed my counsel aright,

and I will warrant thee for the nonce. Hie thee home, friend;

infuse this powder in cold spring-water, fill thy mouth with

the mixture, and sit upon thy fire till it boils!'

'Out on thee for a pestilent knave!' cried the cozened

country man; but the roar of merriment around bespoke the by-

standers well-pleased with the jape put upon him. He retired,

venting his spleen in audible murmurs; and the mountebank,

finding the feelings of the mob enlisted on his side, waxed

more impudent every instant, filling up the intervals between

his fooleries with sundry capers and contortions, and

discordant notes from the cow's horn.

'Draw near, draw near, my masters!' Here have ye a remedy

for every evil under the sun, moral, physical, natural, and

super natural! Hath any man a termagant wife?-- here is that

will tame her presently! Hath any one a smoky chimney?-- here

is an incontinent cure!'

To the first infection no man ventured to plead guilty,

though were those standing by who thought their neighbours

might have profited withal. For the last-named recipe started

forth at least a dozen candidates. With the greatest gravity

imaginable, Pierrot, having pocketed their groats, delivered to

each a small packet curiously folded and closely sealed,

containing, as he averred, directions which, if truly observed,

would preclude any chimney from smoking for a whole year. They

whose curiosity led them to dive into the mystery, found that a

sprig of mountain ash culled by moonlight was the charm

recommended, coupled, however, with the proviso that no fire

should be lighted on the hearth during its exercise.

The frequent bursts of merriment proceeding from this

quarter at length attracted the attention of Master Marsh,

whose line of road necessarily brought him near this end of the

fair; he drew bit in front of the stage just as its noisy

occupant, having laid aside his formidable horn, was drawing

still more largely on the amazement of 'the public' by a feat

of especial wonder,-- he was eating fire! Curiosity mingled

with astonishment was at its height; and feelings not unallied

to alarm were beginning to manifest themselves, among the

softer sex especially, as they gazed on the fumes that issued

from the mouth of the living volcano. All eyes, indeed, were

fixed upon the fire-eater with an intentness that left no room

for observing another worthy who had now emerged upon the

scene. This was, however, no less a personage than the Deus ex

machina,-- the illustrious Aldrovando himself.

Short in stature and spare in form, the sage had somewhat

increased the former by a steeple-crowned hat adorned with a

cock's feather; while the thick shoulder-padding of a quilted

doublet, surmounted by a falling band, added a little to his

personal importance in point of breadth. His habit was composed

throughout of black serge, relieved with scarlet slashes in the

sleeves and trunks; red was the feather in his hat, red were

the roses in his shoes, which rejoiced moreover in a pair of

red heels. The lining of a short cloak of faded velvet, that

hung transversely over his left shoulder, was also red. Indeed,

from all that we could ever see or hear, this agreeable

alternation of red and black appears to be the mixture of

colours most approved, at the court of Beelzebub, and the one

most generally adopted by his friends and favourites. His

features were sharp and shrewd, and afire sparkled in his keen

grey eye, much at variance with the wrinkles that ran their

irregular furrows above his prominent and bushy brows. He had

advanced slowly from behind his screen while the attention of

the multitude was absorbed by the pyrotechnics of Mr. Merryman,

and, stationing himself at the extreme corner of the stage,

stood quietly leaning on a crutch-handle walking-staff of

blackest ebony, his glance steadily fixed on the face of Marsh,

from whose countenance the amusement he had sensibly begun to

derive had not succeeded in removing all traces of bodily pain.

For a while the latter was unobservant of the

inquisitorial survey with which be was regarded; the eyes of

the parties, however, at length met. The brown mare had a fine

shoulder; she stood pretty nearly sixteen hands. Marsh himself,

though slightly bowed by ill-health and the 'coming autumn' of

life, was full six feet in height His elevation giving him an

unobstructed view over the heads of the pedestrians, be had

naturally fallen into the rear of the assembly, which brought

him close to the diminutive Doctor, with whose face, despite

the red heels, his own was about upon a level.

'And what makes Master Marsh here? what sees he in the

mummeries of a miserable buffoon to divert him when his life is

in jeopardy?' said a shrill cracked voice that sounded as in

his very ear. It was the doctor who spoke.

'Knowest thou me, friend?' said Marsh, scanning with

awakened interest the figure of his questioner: 'I call thee

not to mind; and yet -- stay, where have we met?'

'It skills not to declare,' was the answer; 'suffice it we

have met -- in other climes perchance --a nd now meet happily

again -- happily at least for thee.'

'Why truly the trick of thy countenance reminds the of

some what. I have seen before; where or when I know not: but

what wouldst thou with me?'

'Nay, rather what wouldst thou here, Thomas Marsh? What

wouldst thou on the Frith of Aldington? Is it a score or two of

paltry sheep? or is it something nearer to thy heart?'

Marsh started as the last words were pronounced with more

than common significance: a pang shot through him at the

moment, and the vinegar aspect of the charlatan seemed to relax

into a smile half compassionate, half sardonic.

'Grammercy,' quoth Marsh, after a long-drawn breath, 'what

knowest thou of me, fellow, or of my concerns? What knowest

thou--' 'This know I, Master Thomas Marsh,' said the

stranger, gravely, 'that thy life is even now perilled, evil

practices are against thee; but no matter, thou art quit for

the nonce -- other hands than mine have saved thee! Thy pains

are over. Hark! the clock strikes One!' As be spoke, a single

toll from the bell-tower of Bilsington came, wafted by the

western breeze, over the thick-set and lofty oaks which

intervened between the Frith and what had been once a priory.

Doctor Aldrovando turned as the sound came floating on the

wind, and was moving, as if half in anger, towards the other

side of the stage, where the mountebank, his fires extinct, was

now disgorging to the admiring crowd yard after yard of gaudy-

coloured riband.

'Stay! Nay, prithee stay!' cried Marsh, eagerly, 'I was

wrong; in faith I was. A change, and that a sudden and most

marvellous, bath indeed come over me; I am free; I breathe

again; I feel as though a load of years had been removed; and,

is it possible?-- hast thou done this?'

'Thomas Marsh!' said the doctor, pausing, and turning for

the moment on his heel, 'I have not: I repeat, that other and

more innocent hands than mine have done this deed.

Nevertheless, heed my counsel well! Thou art parlously

encompassed; I, and I only, have the means of relieving thee.

Follow thy courses; pursue thy journey; but as thou valuest

life and more than life, be at the foot of yonder weedy knoll

what time the rising moon throws her first beam upon the bare

and blighted summit that towers above its trees.'

He crossed abruptly to the opposite quarter of the

scaffolding, and was in an instant deeply engaged in listening

to those whom the cow's born had attracted, and in prescribing

for their real or fancied ailments. Vain were all Marsh's

efforts again to attract his notice; it was evident that he

studiously avoided him; and when, after an hour or more spent

in useless endeavour, he saw the object of his anxiety seclude

himself once more within his canvas screen, he rode slowly and

thoughtfully off the field.

What should be do? Was the man a mere quack? an impostor?

His name thus obtained! that might be easily done. But then,

his secret griefs; the doctor's knowledge of them; their cure;

for he felt that his pains were gone, his healthful feelings

restored!

True; Aldrovando, if that were his name, had disclaimed

all co-operation in his recovery; but he knew, or he at least

announced it. Nay, more; he had hinted that he was yet in

jeopardy; that practices -- and the chord sounded strangely in

unison with one that had before vibrated within him -- that

practices were in operation against his life! It was enough! he

would keep tryst with the Conjurer, if conjurer he were; and,

at least, ascertain who and what he was, and bow be had become

acquainted with his own person and secret afflictions.

When the late Mr. Pitt was determined to keep out

Buonaparte, and prevent his gaining a settlement in the county

of Kent, among other ingenious devices adopted for that

purpose, he caused to be constructed what was then, and has

ever since been conventionally termed a 'Military Canal.' This

is a not very practicable ditch, some thirty feet wide, and

nearly nine feet deep, in the middle, extending from the town

and port of Hithe to within a mile of the town and port of Rye,

a distance of about twenty miles; and forming, as it were, the

cord of a bow, the arc of which constitutes that remote fifth

quarter of the globe spoken of by travellers. Trivial

objections to the plan were made at the time by cavillers; and

an old gentleman of the neighbourhood, who proposed as a cheap

substitute, to put dawn his own cocked-hat upon a pole, was

deservedly pooh pooh'd down; in fact, the job, though rather an

expensive one, was found to answer remarkably well. The French

managed, indeed, to scramble over the Rhine, and the Rhone, and

other insignificant currents; but they never did, or could,

pass Mr. Pitt's 'Military Canal.' At no great distance from the

centre of this cord rises abruptly a sort of woody promontory,

in shape almost conical; its sides covered with thick

underwood, above which is seen a bare and brown summit rising

like an Alp in miniature. The 'defence of the nation' not being

then in existence, Master Marsh met with no obstruction in

reaching this place of appointment long before the time

prescribed.

So much, indeed, was his mind occupied by his adventure

and extraordinary cure, that his original design had been

abandoned, and Master Cobbe remained unvisited. A rude hostel

in the neighbourhood furnished entertainment for man and horse;

and here, a full hour before the rising of the moon, he left

Ralph and the other beasts, proceeding to his rendezvous on

foot and alone.

'You are punctual, Master Marsh,' squeaked the shrill

voice of the doctor, issuing from the thicket as the first

silvery gleam trembled on the aspens above.

''Tis well: now follow me, and in silence.'

The first part of the command Marsh hesitated not to obey;

the second was more difficult of observance.

'Who and what are you? Whither are you leading me?' burst

not unnaturally from his lips; but all question was at once cut

short by the peremptory tones of his guide.

'Hush! I say; your finger on your lip, there be hawks

abroad; follow me, and that silently and quickly.' The little

man turned as he spoke, and led the way through a scarcely

perceptible path, or track, which wound among the underwood.

The lapse of a few minutes brought them to the door of a low

building, so hidden by the surrounding trees that few would

have suspected its existence. It was a cottage of rather

extraordinary dimensions, but consisting of only one floor. No

smoke rose from its solitary chimney; no cheering ray streamed

from its single window, which was, however, secured by a

shutter of such thickness as to preclude the possibility of any

stray beam issuing from within. The exact size of the building

it was, in that uncertain light, difficult to distinguish, a

portion of it seeming buried in the wood behind. The door gave

way on the application of a key, and Marsh followed his

conductor resolutely, but cautiously, along a narrow passage,

feebly lighted by a small taper that winked and twinkled at its

farther extremity. The Doctor, as he approached, raised it from

the ground, and, opening an adjoining door, ushered his guest

into the room beyond.

It was a large and oddly furnished apartment,

insufficiently lighted by an iron lamp that hung from the roof

and scarcely illumined the walls and angles, which seemed to be

composed of some dark-coloured wood. On one side, however,

Master Marsh could discover an article bearing strong

resemblance to a coffin; on the other was a large oval mirror

in an ebony frame, and in the midst of the floor was described,

in red chalk, a double circle, about six feet in diameter, its

inner verge inscribed with sundry hieroglyphics, agreeably

relieved at intervals with an alternation of skulls and cross-

bones. In the very centre was deposited one skull of such

surpassing size and thickness as would have filled the soul of

a Spurzheim or De Ville with wonderment. A large book, a naked

sword, an hour-glass, a chafing-dish, and a black cat,

completed the list of moveables; with the exception of a couple

of tapers which stood on each side of the mirror, and which the

strange gentleman now proceeded to light from the one in his

hand. As they flared up with what Marsh thought a most

unnatural brilliancy, he perceived, reflected in the glass

behind, a dial suspended over the coffin-like article already

mentioned: the hand was fast verging towards the hour of nine.

The eyes of the little Doctor seemed riveted on the horologe.

'Now strip thee, Master Marsh, and that quickly: untruss,

I say I discard thy boots, doff doublet and hose, and place

thyself incontinent in yonder bath.'

The visitor cast his eyes again upon the formidable-

looking article, and perceived that it was nearly filled with

water. A cold bath, at such an hour and under such auspices,

was anything but inviting: he hesitated, and turned his eyes

alternately on the Doctor and the Black Cat.

'Trifle not the time, man, an you be wise,' said the

former. 'Passion of my heart! let but yon minute-hand reach the

hour, and thou not immersed, thy life were not worth a pin's

fee!'

The Black Cat gave vent to a single mew,-- a most

unnatural sound for a mouser,-- it seemed as it were mewed

through a cow's born.

'Quick, Master Marsh! uncase, or you perish!' repeated his

strange host, throwing as he spoke a handful of some dingy-

looking powders into the brazier. 'Behold the attack is begun!'

A thick cloud rose from the embers; a cold shivering shook the

astonished Yeoman; sharp pricking pains penetrated his ankles

and the palms of his hands, and, as the smoke cleared away, he

distinctly saw and recognized in the mirror the boudoir of

Marston Hall.

The doors of the well-known ebony cabinet were closed; but

fixed against them, and standing out in strong relief from the

contrast afforded by the sable background, was a waxen image --

of himself! It appeared to be secured, and sustained in an

upright posture, by large black pins driven through the feet

and palms, the latter of which were extended in a cruciform

position. To the right and left stood his wife and José; in the

middle, with his back towards him, was a figure which be had no

difficulty in recognizing as that of the Leech of Folkestone.

The latter had just succeeded in fastening the dexter hand of

the image, and was now in the act of drawing a broad and keen-

edged sabre from its sheath. The Black Cat mewed again. 'Haste,

or you die!' said the Doctor,-- Marsh looked at the dial; it

wanted but four minutes of nine: he felt that the crisis of his

fate was come. Off went his heavy boots; doublet to the right,

galligaskins to the left; never was man more swiftly disrobed.

In two minutes, to use an Indian expression, 'he was all face!'

in another he was on his back, and up to his chin, in a bath

which smelt strongly as of brimstone and garlic.

'Heed well the clock!' cried the Conjurer: 'with the first

stroke of Nine plunge thy head beneath the water, suffer not a

hair above the surface: plunge deeply, or thou art lost!'

The little man had seated himself in the centre of the

circle upon the large skull, elevating his legs at an angle of

forty-five degrees. In this position he spun round with a

velocity to be equalled only by that of a tee-totum, the red

roses on his insteps seeming to describe a circle of fire. The

best buckskins that ever mounted at Melton had soon yielded to

such rotatory friction -- but he spun on -- the cat mewed, bats

and obscene birds fluttered overhead; Erasmus was seen to raise

his weapon, the clock struck!-- and Marsh, who had 'ducked' at

the instant, popped up his head again, spitting and sputtering,

half-choked with the infernal solution, which had insinuated

itself into his mouth, and ears, and nose. All disgust at his

nauseous dip was, how ever, at once removed, when, casting his

eyes on the glass, ho saw 'the consternation of the party whose

persons it exhibited. Erasmus had evidently made his blow and

failed; the figure was unmutilated; the hilt remained in the

hand of the striker, while the shivered blade lay in shining

fragments on the floor.

The Conjurer ceased his spinning, and brought himself to

an anchor; the black cat purred,-- its purring seemed strangely

mixed with the self-satisfied chuckle of a human being. Where

had Marsh heard something like it before?

He was rising from his unsavoury couch, when a motion from

the little man checked him. 'Rest where you are, Thomas Marsh;

so far all goes well, but the danger is not yet over!' He

looked again, sad perceived that the. shadowy triumvirate were

in deep and eager consultation; the fragments of the shattered

weapon appeared to undergo a close scrutiny. The result was

clearly unsatisfactory; the lips of the parties moved rapidly,

and much gesticulation might be observed, but no sound fell

upon the ear. The band of the dial had nearly reached the

quarter: at once the parties separated: and Buckthorne stood

again before the figure, his hand armed with a long and sharp-

pointed misericorde, a dagger little in use of late, but such

as, a century before, often performed the part of a modern

oysterknife, in tickling the osteology of a dismounted cavalier

through the shelly defences of his plate armour. Again he

raised his arm. 'Duck!' roared the Doctor, spinning away upon

his cephalic pivot: the black cat cocked his tail, and seemed

to mew the word Duck!' Down went Master Marsh's head;-- one of

his hands had unluckily been resting on the edge of the bath:

be drew it hastily in, but not altogether scatheless; the stump

of a rusty nail, projecting from the margin of the bath, had

caught and slightly grazed it. The pain was more acute than is

usually produced by such trivial accidents; and Marsh, on once

more raising his head, beheld the dagger of the Leech sticking

in the little finger of the wax figure, which it had seemingly

nailed to the cabinet door.

By my truly, a scape o' the narrowest!' quoth the

Conjurer: 'the next course, dive you not the readier, there is

no more life in you than in a pickled herring. What! courage,

Master Marsh; but be heedful; an they miss again, let them bide

the issue!'

He drew his hand athwart his brow as he spoke, and dashed

off the perspiration, which the violence of his exercise had

drawn from every pore. Black Tom sprang upon the edge of the

bath, and stared full in the face of the bather: his sea-green

eyes were lambent with unholy fire, but their marvellous

obliquity of vision was not to be mistaken;-- the very

countenance too!

Could it be?-- the features were feline, but their expression

was that of the Jack Pudding! Was the mountebank a cat? or the

cat a mountebank?-- it was all a mystery;-- and Heaven knows

bow long Marsh might have continued staring at Grimalkin, had

not his attention been again called by Aldrovando to the magic

mirror.

Great dissatisfaction, not to say dismay, seemed now to

pervade the conspirators; Dame Isabel was closely inspecting

the figure's wounded band, while José was aiding the

pharmacopolist to charge a huge petronel with powder and

bullets. The load was a heavy one; but Erasmus seemed

determined this time to make sure of his object. Somewhat of

trepidation might be observed in his manner as he rammed down

the balls, and his withered cheek appeared to have acquired an

increase of paleness; but amazement rather than fear was the

prevailing symptom, and his countenance betrayed no jot of

irresolution. As the clock was about to chime half-past nine,

be planted himself with a firm foot in front of the image,

waved his unoccupied hand with a cautionary gesture to his

companions, and, as they hastily retired on either side,

brought the muzzle of his weapon within half a foot of his

mark. As the shadowy form was about to draw the trigger, Marsh

again plunged his bead beneath the surface; and the sound of an

explosion, as of fire-arms, mingled with the rush of water that

poured into his ears. His immersion was but momentary, yet did

he feel as though half suffocated: be sprang from the bath,

and, as his eye fell on the mirror, he saw,-- or thought he

saw,-- the Leech of Folkestone lying dead on the floor of his

wife's boudoir, his head shattered to pieces, and his hand

still grasping the stock of a bursten petronel.

He saw no more; his bead swam; his senses reeled, the

whole room was turning round, and, as he fell to the ground,

the last impressions to which he was conscious were the

chucklings of a hoarse laughter, and the mewings of a tom cat!

Master Marsh was found the next morning by his bewildered

serving-man, stretched before the door of the humble hostel at

which he sojourned. His clothes were somewhat torn and much

bemired; and deeply did honest Ralph marvel that one so staid

and grave as Master Marsh of Marston should thus have played

the roisterer, missing, perchance, a profitable bargain for the

drunken orgies of midnight wassail, or the endearments of some

rustic light-o'-love. Tenfold was his astonishment increased

when, after retracing in silence their journey of the preceding

day, the Hall, on their arrival about noon, was found in a

state of uttermost confusion. No wife stood there to greet with

the smile of bland affection her returning spouse; no page to

hold his stirrup, or receive his gloves, his hat, and riding-

rod. The doors were open, the rooms in most admired disorder;

men and maidens peeping, hurrying hither and thither, and

popping in and out, like rabbits in a warren. The lady of the

mansion was nowhere to be found.

José, too, had disappeared; the latter bad been last seen

riding furiously towards Folkestone early in the preceding

afternoon; to a question from Hodge Gardener he had hastily

answered, that he bore a missive of moment from his mistress.

The lean apprentice of Erasmus Buckthorne declared that the

page had summoned his master, in haste, about six of the clock,

and that they had rode forth together, as he verily believed,

on their way back to the Hall, where be had supposed Master

Buckthorne's services to be suddenly required on some pressing

emergency. Since that time he had seen nought of either of

them; the grey cob, however, had returned late at night,

masterless, with his girths loose, and the saddle turned upside

down.

Nor was Master Erasmus Buckthorne ever seen again. Strict

search was made through the neighbourhood, but without success;

and it was at length presumed that he must, for reasons which

nobody could divine, have absconded, together with José and his

faithless mistress. The latter had carried off with her the

strong box, divers articles of valuable, plate, and jewels of

price. Her boudoir appeared to have been completely ransacked;

the cabinet and drawers stood open and empty; the very carpet,

a luxury then newly introduced into England, was gone. Marsh,

however, could trace no vestige of the visionary scene which he

affirmed to have been last night presented to his eyes.

Much did the neighbours marvel at his story:-- some

thought him mad; others, that he was merely indulging in that

privilege to which, as a traveller, he had a right

indefeasible. Trusty Ralph said nothing, but shrugged his,

shoulders; and, falling into the rear, imitated the action of

raising a wine-cup to his lips. An opinion, indeed, soon

prevailed, that Master Thomas Marsh had gotten, in common

parlance, exceedingly drunk on the preceding evening, and had

dreamt all that he so circumstantially related. This belief

acquired additional credit when they, whom curiosity induced to

visit the woody knoll of Aldington Mount, declared that they

could find no building such as that described, nor any cottage

near; save one, indeed, a low-roofed hovel, once a house of

public entertainment, but now half In ruins. The 'Old Cat and

Fiddle'-- so was the tenement called -- had been long

uninhabited; yet still exhibited the remains of a broken sign,

on which the keen observer might decipher something like a rude

portrait of the animal from which it derived its name. It was

also supposed still to afford an occasional asylum to the

smugglers of the coast, but no trace of any visit from sage or

mountebank could be detected; nor was the wise Aldrovando, whom

many remembered to have seen at the fair, ever found again on

all that country-side.

Of the runaways nothing was ever certainly known. A boat,

the property of an old fisherman who plied his trade on the

outskirts of the town, bad been seen to quit the bay that

night; and there were those who declared that she had more

hands on board than Carden and his son, her usual complement;

but, as the gale came on, and the frail bark was eventually

found keel upwards on the Goodwin Sands, it was presumed that

she had struck on that fatal quicksand in the dark, and that

all on board had perished.

Little Marian, wham her profligate mother had abandoned,

grew up to be a fine girl, and a handsome. She became, more

over, heiress to Marston Hall, and brought the estate into the

Ingoldsby family by her marriage with one of its scions.

Thus far Mrs. Botherby.

It is a little singular that, on pulling down the old Hall

in my grandfather's time, a human skeleton was discovered among

the rubbish; under what particular part of the building I could

never with any accuracy ascertain; but it was found enveloped

in a tattered cloth, that seemed to have been once a carpet,

and which fell to pieces almost immediately on being exposed to

the air. The bones were perfect, but those of one hand were

wanting; and the skull, perhaps from the labourer's pick-axe,

bad received considerable injury; the worm-eaten stock of an

old-fashioned pistol lay near, together with a rusty piece of

iron which a workman, more sagacious than his fellows,

pronounced a portion of the lock, but nothing was found which

the utmost stretch of human ingenuity could twist into a

barrel.

The portrait of the fair Marian hangs yet in the Gallery

of Tappington; and near it is another, of a young man in the

prime of life, whom Mrs. Botherby affirms to be that of her

father. It exhibits a mild and rather melancholy countenance,

with a high forehead, and the peaked beard and moustaches of

the seventeenth century. The signet-finger of the left hand is

gone, and appears, on close inspection, to have been painted

out by some later artist; possibly in compliment to the

tradition, which, teste Botherby, records that of Mr. Marsh to

have gangrened, and to have undergone amputation at the

knuckle-joint. If really the resemblance of the gentleman

alluded to, it must have been taken at some period antecedent

to his marriage. There is neither date nor painter's name; but,

a little above the head, on the dexter side of the picture, is

an escutcheon, bearing 'Quarterly, Gules and Argent, in the

first quarter a horse's head of the second'; beneath it are the

words 'Ætatis suae 26.' On the opposite side is the following

mark, which Mr. Simpkinson declares to be that of a Merchant of

the Staple, and pretends to discover, in the monogram comprised

in it, all the characters which compose the name of THOMAS

MARSH, of MARSTON.

Respect for the feelings of an honourable family,-- nearly

connected with the Ingoldsbys,-- has induced me to veil the

real 'sponsorial and patronymic appellations' of my next hero

under a sobriquet interfering neither with rhyme nor rhythm.

<1> I shall merely add that every incident in the story bears

on the face of it the stamp of veracity, and that many 'persons

of honour' in the county of Berks, who well recollected Sir

George Rooke's expedition against Gibraltar, would, if they

were now alive, gladly bear testimony to the truth of every

syllable.

THE LEGEND OF HAMILTON TIGHE.

The Captain is walking his quarter-deck,

With a troubled brow and a bended neck;

One eye is down through the hatchway cast,

The other turns up to the truck on the mast;

Yet none of the crew may venture to hint

'Our Skipper hath gotten a sinister squint!'

The Captain again the letter hath read

Which the bum-boat woman brought out to Spithead--

Still, since the good ship sail'd away,

He reads that letter three times a-day;

Yet the writing is broad and fair to see

As a Skipper may read in his degree,

And the seal is as black, and as broad, and as flat,

As his own cockade in his own cock'd hat:

He reads, and he says, as he walks to and fro,

'Curse the old woman--she bothers me so!'

He pauses now, for the topmen hail --

'On the larboard quarter a sail! a sail!'

That grim old Captain he turns him quick,

And bawls through his trumpet for Hairy-faced Dick.

'The breeze is blowing -- huzza! huzza!

The breeze is blowing -- away! away!

The breeze is blowing -- a race! a race!

The breeze is blowing -- we near the chase!

Blood will flow, and bullets will fly,--

Oh where will be then young Hamilton Tighe?'--

--'On the foeman's deck, where a man should be,

With his sword in his hand, and his foe at his knee.

Cockswain, or boatswain, or reefer may try,

But the first man on board will be Hamilton Tighe!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hairy-faced Dick hath a swarthy hue,

Between a gingerbread-nut and a Jew,

And his pigtail is long, and bushy, and thick,

Like a pump-handle stuck on the end of a stick.

Hairy-faced Dick understands his trade;

He stands by the breech of a long carronade,

The linstock glows in his bony hand,

Waiting that grim old Skipper's command.

'The bullets are flying -- huzza! huzza!

The bullets are flying -- away! away!'--

The brawny boarders mount by the chains,

And are over their buckles in blood and in brains:

On the foeman's deck, where a man should be,

Young Hamilton Tighe

Waves his cutlass high,

And Capitaine Crapaud bends low at his knee.

Hairy-faced Dick, linstock in hand,

Is waiting that grim-looking Skipper's command:--

A wink comes sly

From that sinister eye--

Hairy-faced Dick at once lets fly,

And knocks off the head of young Hamilton Tighe!

There's a lady sits lonely in bower and hall,

Her pages and handmaidens come at her call:

'Now haste ye, my handmaidens, haste and see

How he sits there and glow'rs with his head on his knee!'

The maidens smile, and, her thought to destroy,

They bring her a little, pale, mealy-faced boy;

And the mealy-faced boy says, 'Mother dear,

Now Hamilton's dead, I've a thousand a-year!'

The lady has donn'd her mantle and hood,

She is bound for shrift at St. Mary's Rood:--

'Oh! the taper shall burn, and the bell shall toll,

And the mass shall be said for my step-son's soul,

And the tablet fair shall be hung up on high,

Orate pro animâ Hamilton Tighe!'

Her coach and four

Draws up to the door,

With her groom, and her footman, and half a score more;

The lady steps into her coach alone,

And they hear her sigh and they hear her groan;

They close the door, and they turn the pin,

But there's one rides with her that never stept in!

All the way there, and all the way back,

The harness strains, and the coach-springs crack,

The horses snort, and plunge, and kick,

Till the coachman thinks he is driving Old Nick;

And the grooms and the footmen wonder, and say,

'What makes the old coach so heavy to-day?'

But the mealy-faced boy peeps in, and sees

A man sitting there with his head on his knees!

'Tis ever the same, in hall or in bower,

Wherever the place, whatever the hour,

That lady mutters and talks to the air,

And her eye is fixed on an empty chair;

But the mealy-faced boy still whispers with dread,

'She talks to a man with never a head!'

There's an old Yellow Admiral living at Bath,

As grey as a badger, as thin as a lath;

And his very queer eyes have such very queer leers,

They seem to be trying to peep at his ears.

That old Yellow Admiral goes to the Rooms,

And he plays long whist, but he frets and fumes,

For all his knaves stand upside down,

And the Jack of Clubs does nothing but frown;

And the kings, and the aces, and all the best trumps

Get into the hands of the other old frumps;

While, close to his partner, a man he sees

Counting the tricks with his head on his knees.

In Ratcliffe Highway there's an old marine store,

And a great black doll hangs out at the door;

There are rusty locks, and dusty bags,

And musty phials, and fusty rags,

And a lusty old woman, call'd Thirsty Nan,

And her crusty old husband's a hairy-faced man!

That hairy-faced man is sallow and wan,

And his great thick pigtail is wither'd and gone;

And he cries, 'Take away that lubberly chap

That sits there and grins with his head in his lap!'

And the neighbours say, as they see him look sick,

'What a rum old covey is Hairy-faced Dick!'

That Admiral, Lady, and Hairy-faced man

May say what they please, and may do what they can;

But one thing seems remarkably clear,--

They may die to-morrow, or live till next year,--

But wherever they live, or whenever they die,

They'll never get quit of young Hamilton Tighe!

NOTES

1. Pack o' nonsense!-- Everybody as belongs to him is dead and

gone -- and everybody knows that the poor young gentleman's

real name wasn't Sobriquet at all, but Hampden Pye, Esq., and

that one of his uncles -- or cousins -- used to make verses

about the king and the queen, and had a sack of money for doing

it every year;-- and that's his picture in the bluecoat and

little gold-laced cocked hat, that hangs on the stairs over the

door of the passage that leads to the blue room.-- Sobriquet!--

but there!-- The Squire wrote it after dinner!--

ELIZABETH BOTHERBY

The When,-- the Where,-- and the How,-- of the succeeding

narrative speak for themselves. It may be proper, however, to

observe, that the ruins here alluded to, and improperly termed

'the Abbey,' are not those of Bolsover, described in a

preceding page, but the remains of a Preceptory once belonging

to the Knights Templars situate near Swynfield, Swinkefield,

or, as it is now generally spelt and pronounced, Swingfield,

Minnis, a rough tract of common land now undergoing the process

of enclosure, and adjoining the woods and arable lands of

Tappington, at the distance of some two miles from the Hall, to

the South-eastern windows of which the time-worn walls in

question, as seen over the intervening coppices, present a

picturesque and striking object.

THE WITCHES' FROLIC.

[Scene, the 'Snuggery' at Tappington.-- Grandpapa in a high-

backed cane-bottomed elbow-chair of carved walnut-tree, dozing;

his nose at an angle of forty-five degrees,--his thumbs slowly

perform the rotatory motion described by lexicographers as

'twiddling.'--The 'Hope of the family' astride on a walking-

stick, with burnt-cork mustachios, and a pheasant's tail pinned

in his cap, solaceth himself with martial music.-- Roused by a

strain of surpassing dissonance, Grandpapa Loquitur. ]

Come hither, come hither, my little boy Ned!

Come hither unto my knee--

I cannot away with that horrible din,

That sixpenny drum, and that trumpet of tin.

Oh, better to wander frank and free

Through the Fair of good Saint Bartlemy,

Than list to such awful minstrelsie.

Now lay, little Ned, those nuisances by,

And I'll rede ye a lay of Grammarye.

[Grandpapa riseth, yawneth like the crater of an extinct

volcano, proceedeth slowly to the window, and apostrophizeth

the Abbey in the distance.]

I love thy tower, Grey Ruin,

I joy thy form to see,

Though reft of all,

Cell, cloister, and hall,

Nothing is left save a tottering wall,

That, awfully grand and darkly dull,

Threaten'd to fall and demolish my skull,

As, ages ago, I wander'd along

Careless thy grass-grown courts among,

In sky-blue jacket and trowsers laced,

The latter uncommonly short in the waist.

Thou art dearer to me, thou Ruin grey,

Than the Squire's verandah over the way;

And fairer, I ween,

The ivy sheen

That thy mouldering turret binds,

Than the Alderman's house about half a mile off,

With the green Venetian blinds.

Full many a tale would my Grandam tell,

In many a bygone day,

Of darksome deeds, which of old befell

In thee, thou Ruin grey!

And I the readiest ear would lend,

And stare like frighten'd pig;

While my Grandfather's hair would have stood up an end,

Had he not worn a wig.

One tale I remember of mickle dread--

Now lithe and listen, my little boy Ned!

Thou mayest have read, my little boy Ned,

Though thy mother thine idlesse blames,

In Doctor Goldsmith's history book,

Of a gentleman called King James,

In quilted doublet, and great trunk breeches,

Who held in abhorrence tobacco and witches.

Well,-- in King James's golden days,--

For the days were golden then,--

They could not be less, for good Queen Bess

Had died aged threescore and ten,

And her days, we know,

Were all of them so;

While the Court poets sung, and the Court gallants swore

That the days were as golden still as before.

Some people, 'tis true, a troublesome few,

Who historical points would unsettle,

Have lately thrown out a sort of a doubt

Of the genuine ring of the metal;

But who can believe to a monarch so wise

People would dare tell a parcel of lies?

-- Well, then, in good King James's days,--

Golden or not does not matter a jot,--

Yon ruin a sort of a roof had got;

For though, repairs lacking, its walls had been cracking

Since Harry the Eighth sent its friars a-packing,

Though joists, and floors,

And windows, and doors

Had all disappear'd, yet pillars by scores

Remain'd, and still propp'd up a ceiling or two,

While the belfry was almost as good as new;

You are not to suppose matters look'd just so

In the Ruin some two hundred years ago.

Just in that farthermost angle, where

You see the remains of a winding-stair,

One turret especially high in air

Uprear'd its tall gaunt form;

As if defying the power of Fate, or

The hand of 'Time the Innovator;'

And though to the pitiless storm

Its weaker brethren all around

Bowing, in ruin had strew'd the ground,

Alone it stood, while its fellows lay strew'd,

Like a four-bottle man in a company 'screw'd,'

Not firm on his legs, but by no means subdued.

One night --' twas in Sixteen hundred and six --

I like when I can, Ned, the date to fix,--

The month was May,

Though I can't well say

At this distance of time the particular day --

But oh! that night, that horrible night!

Folks ever afterwards said with affright

That they never had seen such a terrible sight.

The Sun had gone down fiery red;

And if that evening he laid his head

In Thetis's lap beneath the seas,

He must have scalded the goddess's knees.

He left behind him a lurid track

Of blood-red light upon clouds so black,

That Warren and Hunt, with the whole of their crew,

Could scarcely have given them a darker hue.

There came a shrill and a whistling sound,

Above, beneath, beside, and around,

Yet leaf ne'er moved on tree!

So that some people thought old Beelzebub must

Have been lock'd out of doors, and was blowing the dust

From the pipe of his street-door key.

And then a hollow moaning blast

Came, sounding more dismally still than the last,

And the lightning flash'd, and the thunder growl'd,

And louder and louder the tempest howl'd,

And the rain came down in such sheets as would stagger a

Bard for a simile short of Niagara.

Rob Gilpin 'was a citizen;'

But, though of some 'renown,'

Of no great 'credit' in his own,

Or any other town.

He was a wild and roving lad,

For ever in the alehouse boozing;

Or romping,-- which is quite as bad,--

With female friends of his own choosing.

And Rob this very day had made,

Not dreaming such a storm was brewing,

An assignation with Miss Slade,--

Their trysting-place this same grey Ruin.

But Gertrude Slade became afraid,

And to keep her appointment unwilling,

When she spied the rain on her window-pane

In drops as big as a shilling;

She put off her hat and her mantle again,--

'He'll never expect me in all this rain!'

But little he recks of the fears of the sex,

Or that maiden false to her tryst could be,

He had stood there a good half hour

Ere yet commenced that perilous shower,

Alone by the trysting-tree!

Robin looks east, Robin looks west,

But he sees not her whom he loves the best;

Robin looks up, and Robin looks down,

But no one comes from the neighbouring town.

The storm came at last, loud roar'd the blast,

And the shades of evening fell thick and fast;

The tempest grew; and the straggling yew,

His leafy umbrella, was wet through and through;

Rob was half dead with cold and with fright,

When he spies in the ruins a twinkling light --

A hop, two skips, and a jump, and straight

Rob stands within that postern gate.

And there were gossips sitting there,

By one, by two, by three:

Two were an old ill-favour'd pair;

But the third was young, and passing fair,

With laughing eyes and with coal-black hair;

A daintie quean was she!

Rob would have given his ears to sip

But a single salute from her cherry lip.

As they sat in that old and haunted room,

In each one's hand was a huge birch broom,

On each one's head was a steeple-crown'd hat,

On each one's knee was a coal-black cat;

Each had a kirtle of Lincoln green --

It was, I trow, a fearsome scene.

'Now riddle me, riddle me right, Madge Gray,

What foot unhallow'd wends this way?

Goody Price, Goody Price, now areed me aright,

Who roams the old ruins this drearysome night?'

Then up and spake that sonsie quean,

And she spake both loud and clear:

'Oh, be it for weal, or be it for woe,

Enter friend, or enter foe,

Rob Gilpin is welcome here!--

'Now tread we a measure! a hall! a hall!

Now tread we a measure,' quoth she --

The heart of Robin

Beat thick and throbbing --

'Roving Rob, tread a measure with me!'--

'Ay, lassie!' quoth Rob, as her hand he gripes,

'Though Satan himself were blowing the pipes!'

Now around they go, and around, and around,

With hop-skip-and-jump, and frolicsome bound,

Such sailing and gilding,

Such sinking and sliding,

Such lofty curvetting,

And grand pirouetting;

Ned, you would swear that Monsieur Gilbert

And Miss Taglioni were capering there!

And oh! such awful music!-- ne'er

Fell sounds so uncanny on mortal ear,

There were the tones of a dying man's groans

Mix'd with the rattling of dead men's bones:

Had you heard the shrieks, and the squeals, and the squeaks,

You'd not have forgotten the sound for weeks.

And around, and around, and around they go,

Heel to heel, and toe to toe,

Prance and caper, curvet and wheel,

Toe to toe, and heel to heel.

''Tis merry, 'tis merry, Cummers, I trow,

To dance thus beneath the nightshade bough!'--

'Goody Price, Goody Price, now riddle me right,

Where may we sup this frolicsome night?'--

'Mine Host of the Dragon hath mutton and veal!

The Squire hath partridge, and widgeon, and teal;

But old Sir Thopas hath daintier cheer,

A pasty made of the good red deer,

A huge grouse pie, and a fine Florentine,

A fat roast goose, and a turkey and chine.'--

--'Madge Gray, Madge Gray,

Now tell me, I pray,

Where's the best wassail bowl to our roundelay?'

'-- There is ale in the cellars of Tappington Hall,

But the Squire is a churl, and his drink is small; <1>

Mine host of the Dragon

Hath many a flaggon

Of double ale, lamb's-wool, and eau de vie,

But Sir Thopas, the Vicar,

Hath costlier liquor,--

A butt of the choicest Malvoisie.

He doth not lack

Canary or Sack;

And a good pint stoup of Clary wine

Smacks merrily off with a Turkey and Chine!'

'Now away! and away! without delay,

Hey Cockalorum! my Broomstick gay,

We must be back ere the dawn of the day:

Hey up the chimney! away! away!'--

Old Goody Price

Mounts in a trice,

In showing her legs she is not over nice;

Old Goody Jones,

All skin and bones,

Follows 'like winking.' Away go the crones,

Knees and nose in a line with the toes,

Sitting their brooms like so many Ducrows;

Latest and last

The damsel pass'd,

One glance of her coal-black eye she cast;

She laugh'd with glee loud laughters three,

'Dost fear, Rob Gilpin, to ride with me!'--

Oh, never might man unscath'd espy

One single glance from that coal-black eye.

-- Away she flew!--

Without more ado

Rob seizes and mounts on a broomstick too,

'Hey! up the chimney, lass! Hey after you!'

It's a very fine thing on a fine day in June

To ride through the air in a Nassau Balloon;

But you'll find very soon, if you aim at the Moon

In a carriage like that you're a bit of a 'Spoon,'

For the largest can't fly

Above twenty miles high,

And you're not half way then on your journey, nor nigh;

While no man alive

Could ever contrive,

Mr. Green has declared, to get higher than five.

And the soundest Philosophers hold that, perhaps,

If you reach'd twenty miles your balloon would collapse,

Or pass by such action

The sphere of attraction,

Getting into the track of some comet -- Good-lack!

'Tis a thousand to one that you'd never come back;

And the boldest of mortals a danger like that must fear,

And be cautious of getting beyond our own atmosphere.

No, no; when I try

A trip to the sky,

I shan't go in that thing of yours, Mr. Gye,

Though Messieurs Monk Mason, and Spencer, and Beazly,

All join in saying it travels so easily.

No; there's nothing so good

As a pony of wood --

Not like that which, of late, they stuck up on the gate

At the end of the Park, which caused so much debate,

And gave so much trouble to make it stand straight,--

But a regular Broomstick -- you'll find that the favourite,--

Above all, when, like Robin, you haven't to pay for it.

-- Stay -- really I dread

I am losing the thread

Of my tale; and it's time you should be in your bed,

So lithe now, and listen, my little boy Ned!

The Vicarage walls are lofty and thick,

And the copings are stone, and the sides are brick,

The casements are narrow, and bolted and barr'd,

And the stout oak door is heavy and hard;

Moreover, by way of additional guard,

A great big dog runs loose in the yard,

And a horse-shoe is nail'd on the threshold sill,--

To keep out aught that savours of ill,--

But, alack! the chimney-pot's open still!

-- That great big dog begins to quail,

Between his hind-legs he drops his tail,

Crouch'd on the ground, the terrified hound

Gives vent to a very odd sort of a sound;

It is not a bark, loud, open, and free,

As an honest old watch-dog's bark should be;

It is not a yelp, it is not a growl,

But a something between a whine and a howl;

And, hark!--a sound from the window high

Responds to the watch-dog's pitiful cry:

It is not a moan,

It is not a groan;

It comes from a nose,-- but is not what a nose

Produces in healthy and sound repose.

Yet Sir Thopas the Vicar is fast asleep,

And his respirations are heavy and deep!

He snores, 'tis true, but he snores no more

As he's aye been accustom'd to snore before,

And as men of his kidney are wont to snore;--

(Sir Thopas's weight is sixteen stone four;)

He draws his breath like a man distress'd

By pain or grief, or like one oppress'd

By some ugly old Incubus perch'd on his breast.

A something seems

To disturb his dreams,

And thrice on his ear, distinct and clear,

Falls a voice as of somebody whispering near

In still small accents, faint and few,

'Hey down the chimney-pot!--Hey after you!'

Throughout the Vicarage, near and far,

There is no lack of bolt or of bar,

Plenty of locks

To closet and box,

Yet the pantry wicket is standing ajar!

And the little low door, through which you must go,

Down some half-dozen steps, to the cellar below,

Is also unfasten'd, though no one may know,

By so much as a guess, how it comes to be so;

For wicket and door,

The evening before,

Were both of them lock'd, and the key safely placed

On the bunch that hangs down from the Housekeeper's waist.

Oh! 'twas a jovial sight to view

In that snug little cellar that frolicsome crew!--

Old Goody Price

Had got something nice,

A turkey-poult larded with bacon and spice;--

Old Goody Jones

Would touch nought that had bones,--

She might just as well mumble a parcel of stones.

Goody Jones, in sooth, had got never a tooth,

And a New-College pudding of marrow and plums

Is the dish of all others that suiteth her gums.

Madge Gray was picking

The breast of a chicken,

Her coal-black eye, with its glance so sly,

Was fixed on Rob Gilpin himself, sitting by

With his heart full of love, and his mouth full of pie;

Grouse pie, with hare

In the middle, is fare

Which, duly concocted with science and care,

Doctor Kitchener says, is beyond all compare;

And a tenderer leveret

Robin had never ate;

So, in after times, oft he was wont to asseverate.

'Now pledge we the wine-cup!--a health! a health!

Sweet are the pleasures obtain'd by stealth!

Fill up! fill up!-- the brim of the cup

Is the part that aye holdeth the toothsomest sup!

Here's to thee, Goody Price! Goody Jones, to thee!

To thee, Roving Rob! and again to me!

Many a sip, never a slip

Come to us four 'twixt the cup and the lip!'

The cups pass quick,

The toasts fly thick,

Rob tries in vain out their meaning to pick,

But hears the words 'Scratch,' and 'Old Bogey,' and 'Nick.'

More familiar grown,

Now he stands up alone,

Volunteering to give them a toast of his own.

'A bumper of wine!

Fill thine! Fill mine!

Here's a health to old Noah who planted the Vine!'

Oh then what sneezing,

What coughing and wheezing,

Ensued in a way that was not over pleasing!

Goody Price, Goody Jones, and the pretty Madge Gray,

All seem'd as their liquor had gone the wrong way.

But the best of the joke was, the moment he spoke

Those words which the party seem'd almost to choke,

As by mentioning Noah some spell had been broke,

Every soul in the house at that instant awoke!

And, hearing the din from barrel and bin,

Drew at once the conclusion that thieves had got in.

Up jump'd the Cook and caught hold of her spit;

Up jump'd the Groom and took bridle and bit;

Up jump'd the Gardener and shoulder'd his spade;

Up jump'd the Scullion,-- the Footman,-- the Maid;

(The two last, by the way, occasion'd some scandal,

By appearing together with only one candle,

Which gave for unpleasant surmises some handle;)

Up jump'd the Swineherd,-- and up jump'd the big boy,

A nondescript under him, acting as pig boy;

Butler, Housekeeper, Coachman -- from bottom to top

Everybody jump'd up without parley or stop,

With the weapon which first in their way chanced to drop,--

Whip, warming-pan, wig-block, mug, musket and mop.

Last of all doth appear,

With some symptoms of fear,

Sir Thopas in person to bring up the rear,

In a mix'd kind of costume, half Pontificalibus,

Half what scholars denominate Pure Naturalibus;

Nay, the truth to express,

As you'll easily guess,

They have none of them time to attend much to dress;

But He or She,

As the case may be,

He or She seizes what He or She pleases,

Trunk-hosen or kirtles, and shirts or chemises.

And thus one and all, great and small, short and tall,

Muster at once in the Vicarage-hall,

With upstanding locks, starting eyes, shorten'd breath,

Like the folks in the Gallery Scene in Macbeth,

When Macduff is announcing their Sovereign's death.

And hark! what accents clear and strong,

To the listening throng come floating along!

'Tis Robin encoring himself in a song--

'Very good song! very well sung!

Jolly companions every one!'--

On, on to the cellar! away! away!

On, on, to the cellar without more delay!

The whole posse rush onwards in battle array.

Conceive the dismay of the party so gay,

Old Goody Jones, Goody Price, and Madge Gray,

When the door bursting wide, they descried the allied

Troops, prepared for the onslaught, roll in like a tide,

And the spits, and the tongs, and the pokers beside!--

'Boot and saddle's the word! mount, Cummers, and ride!'--

Alarm was ne'er caused more strong and indigenous

By cats among rats, or a hawk in a pigeon-house;

Quick from the view

Away they all flew,

With a yell, and a screech, and a halliballoo,

'Hey up the chimney! Hey after you!'

The Volscians themselves made an exit less speedy

From Corioli, 'flutter'd like doves' by Macready.

They are gone, save one,

Robin alone!

Robin, whose high state of civilization

Precludes all idea of aërostation,

And who now has no notion

Of more locomotion

Than suffices to kick, with much zeal and devotion,

Right and left at the party, who pounced on their victim,

And maul'd him, and kick'd him, and lick'd him, and prick'd

him,

As they bore him away scarce aware what was done,

And believing it all but a part of the fun,

Hic -- hiccoughing out the same strain he'd begun,

'Jol -- jolly companions every one!'

Morning grey

Scarce bursts into day

Ere at Tappington Hall there's the deuce to pay;

The tables and chairs are all placed in array

In the old oak-parlour, and in and out

Domestics and neighbours, a motley rout,

Are walking, and whispering, and standing about;

And the Squire is there

In his large arm-chair,

Leaning back with a grave magisterial air;

In the front of his seat a

Huge volume, called Fleta,

And Bracton, both tomes of an old-fashion'd look,

And Coke upon Lyttleton, then a new book;

And he moistens his lips

With occasional sips

From a luscious sack-posset that smiles in a tankard

Close by on a side-table -- not that he drank hard,

But because at that day,

I hardly need say,

The Hong Merchants had not yet invented How Qua,

Nor as yet would you see Souchong or Bohea

At the tables of persons of any degree:

How our ancestors managed to do without tea

I must fairly confess is a mystery to me;

Yet your Lydgates and Chaucers

Had no cups and saucers;

Their breakfast, in fact, and the best they could get,

Was a sort of a déjeûner à la fourchette;

Instead of our slops

They had cutlets and chops,

And sack-possets, and ale in stoups, tankards, and pots;

And they wound up the meal with rumpsteaks and 'schalots.

Now the Squire lifts his hand

With an air of command,

And gives them a sign, which they all understand,

To bring in the culprit; and straightway the carter

And huntsman drag in that unfortunate martyr,

Still kicking, and crying, 'Come,-- what are you arter?'

The charge is prepared, and the evidence clear,

'He was caught in the cellar a-drinking the beer!

And came there, there's very great reason to fear,

With companions,-- to say but the least of them,-- queer;

Such as Witches, and creatures

With horrible features,

And horrible grins,

And hook'd noses and chins,

Who'd been playing the deuce with his Reverence's binns.'

The face of his worship grows graver and graver,

As the parties detail Robin's shameful behaviour;

Mister Buzzard, the clerk, while the tale is reciting,

Sits down to reduce the affair into writing,

With all proper diction,

And due 'legal fiction;'

Viz: 'That he, the said prisoner, as clearly was shown,

Conspiring with folks to deponents unknown,

With divers, that is to say, two thousand, people,

In two thousand hats, each hat peak'd like a steeple,

With force and with arms,

And with sorcery and charms,

Upon two thousand brooms

Enter'd four thousand rooms;

To wit, two thousand pantries, and two thousand cellars,

Put in bodily fear twenty-thousand in-dwellers,

And with sundry,-- that is to say, two thousand,-- forks,

Drew divers,-- that is to say, ten thousand,-- corks,

And, with malice prepense, down their two thousand throttles,

Emptied various,--that is to say, ten thousand,-- bottles;

All in breach of the peace, moved by Satan's malignity,

And in spite of King James, and his Crown, and his Dignity.'

At words so profound

Rob gazes around,

But no glance sympathetic to cheer him is found.

-- No glance, did I say?

Yes, one!-- Madge Gray!--

She is there in the midst of the crowd standing by,

And she gives him one glance from her coal-black eye,

One touch to his hand, and one word to his ear,--

(That's a line which I've stolen from Sir Walter, I fear,)--

While nobody near

Seems to see her or hear;

As his worship takes up, and surveys with a strict eye

The broom now produced as the corpus delicti,

Ere his fingers can clasp,

It is snatch'd from his grasp,

The end poked in his chest with a force makes him gasp,

And, despite the decorum so due to the Quorum,

His worship's upset, and so too is his jorum;

And Madge is astride on the broomstick before'em.

'Hocus Pocus! Quick, Presto! and Hey Cockalorum!

Mount, mount for your life, Rob!-- Sir Justice, adieu!--

-- Hey up the chimney-pot! hey after you!'

Through the mystified group,

With a halloo and whoop,

Madge on the pommel, and Robin en croupe,

The pair through the air ride as if in a chair,

While the party below stand mouth open and stare!

'Clean bumbaized' and amazed, and fix'd, all the room stick,

'Oh! what's gone with Robin,-- and Madge,-- and the

broomstick?'

Ay, 'what's gone' indeed, Ned?-- of what befell

Madge Gray, and the broomstick I never heard tell;

But Robin was found, that morn, on the ground,

In yon old grey Ruin again, safe and sound,

Except that at first he complain'd much of thirst,

And a shocking bad headach, of all ills the worst,

And close by his knee

A flask you might see,

But an empty one, smelling of eau de vie.

Rob from this hour is an alter'd man;

He runs home to his lodgings as fast as he can,

Sticks to his trade,

Marries Miss Slade,

Becomes a Te-totaller -- that is the same

As Te-totallers now, one in all but the name;

Grows fond of Small-beer, which is always a steady sign,

Never drinks spirits except as a medicine;

Learns to despise

Coal-black eyes,

Minds pretty girls no more than so many Guys;

Has a family, lives to be sixty, and dies!

Now my little boy Ned,

Brush off to your bed,

Tie your night-cap on safe, or a napkin instead,

Or these terrible nights you'll catch cold in your head;

And remember my tale, and the moral it teaches,

Which you'll find much the same as what Solomon preaches.

Don't flirt with young ladies! don't practise soft speeches;

Avoid waltzes, quadrilles, pumps, silk hose, and kneebreeches;-

-

Frequent not grey ruins,--shun riot and revelry,

Hocus Pocus, and Conjuring, and all sorts of devilry;--

Don't meddle with broomsticks,--they're Beelzebub's switches;

Of cellars keep clear,--they're the devil's own ditches;

And beware of balls, banquettings, brandy, and -- witches!

Above all! don't run after black eyes,-- if you do,--

Depend on't you'll find what I say will come true,--

Old Nick, some fine morning, will 'hey after you!'

NOTES

1. The Squire: Stephen Ingoldsby, surnamed 'The Niggard',

second cousin and successor to 'The Bad Sir Giles.' (Visitation

of Kent 1666.) For an account of his murder by burglars, and

their subsequent execution, see Dodsley's 'Remarkable Trials,'

&c. Lond. 1776, vol. ii. p.264, ex the present volume, Art.

'Hand of Glory.'

Strange as the events detailed in the succeeding narrative may

appear, they are, I have not the slightest doubt, true to the

letter. Whatever impression they may make upon the Reader, that

produced by them on the narrator, I can aver, was neither light

nor transient.

A SINGULAR PASSAGE IN THE LIFE OF THE LATE HENRY HARRIS, DOCTOR

IN DIVINITY.

AS RELATED BY THE REV. JASPER INGOLDSBY, M.A., HIS FRIEND AND

EXECUTOR

IN order that the extraordinary circumstance which I am about

to relate may meet with the credit it deserves, I think it

necessary to premise that my reverend friend, among whose

papers I find it recorded, was, in his lifetime, ever esteemed

as a man of good plain understanding, strict veracity, and

unimpeached morals,-- by no means of a nervous temperament, or

one likely to attach undue weight to any occurrence out of the

common course of events, merely because his reflections might

not, at the moment, afford him a ready solution of its

difficulties.

On the truth of his narrative, as far as he was personally

concerned, no one who knew him would hesitate to place the most

implicit reliance. His history is briefly this:-- He had

married early in life, and was a widower at the age of thirty-

nine, with an only daughter, who had then arrived at puberty,

and was just married to a near connection of our own family.

The sudden death of her husband, occasioned by a fall from his

horse, only three days after her confinement, was abruptly

communicated to Mrs. S-- by a thoughtless girl, who saw her

master brought lifeless into the house, and, with all that

inexplicable anxiety to be the first to tell bad news, so

common among the lower orders, rushed at once into the sick-

room with her intelligence. The shock was too severe; and

though the young widow survived the fatal event several months,

yet she gradually sank under the blow, and expired, leaving a

boy, not a twelvemonth old, to the care of his maternal

grandfather.

My poor friend was sadly shaken by this melancholy

catastrophe; time, however, and a strong religious feeling,

succeeded at length in moderating the poignancy of his grief --

a consummation much advanced by his infant charge, who now

succeeded, as it were by inheritance, to the place in his

affections left vacant by his daughter's decease. Frederick S--

grew up to be a fine lad; his person and features were

decidedly handsome; still there was, as I remember, an

unpleasant expression in his countenance, and an air of

reserve, attributed, by the few persons who called occasionally

at the vicarage, to the retired life led by his grandfather,

and the little opportunity he had, in consequence, of mixing in

the society of his equals in age and intellect. Brought up

entirely at home, his progress in the common branches of

education was, without any great display of precocity, rather

in advance of the generality of boys of his own standing;

partly owing, perhaps, to the turn which even his amusements

took from the first. His sole associate was the son of the

village apothecary, a boy about two years older than himself,

whose father, being really clever in his profession, and a good

operative chemist, had constructed for himself a small

laboratory, in which, as he was fond of children, the two boys

spent a great portion of their leisure time, witnessing many of

those little experiments so attractive to youth, and in time

aspiring to imitate what they admired.

In such society it is not surprising that Frederick S--

should imbibe a strong taste for the sciences which formed his

principal amusement; or that when, in process of time, it

became necessary to choose his walk in life, a profession so

intimately connected with his favourite pursuit as that of

medicine should be eagerly selected. No opposition was offered

by my friend, who, knowing that the greater part of his own

income would expire with his life, and that the remainder would

prove an insufficient resource to his grandchild, was only

anxious that he should follow such a path as would secure him

that moderate and respectable competency which is, perhaps,

more conducive to real happiness than a more elevated or

wealthy station. Frederick was, accordingly, at the proper age,

matriculated at Oxford, with the view of studying the higher

branches of medicine, a few months after his friend, John W----

, had proceeded to Leyden, for the purpose of making himself

acquainted with the practice of surgery in the hospitals and

lecture-rooms attached to that university. The boyish intimacy

of their younger days did not, as is frequently the case, yield

to separation; on the contrary, a close correspondence was kept

up between them. Dr. Harris was even prevailed upon to allow

Frederick to take a trip to Holland to see his friend; and John

returned the visit to Frederick at Oxford.

Satisfactory as, for some time, were the accounts of the

general course of Frederick S--'s studies, by degrees rumours

of a less pleasant nature reached the ears of some of his

friends; to the vicarage, however, I have reason to believe

they never penetrated. The good old Doctor was too well beloved

in his parish for any one voluntarily to give him pain; and,

after all, nothing beyond whispers and surmises had reached X--

, when the worthy Vicar was surprised on a sudden by a request

from his grandchild, that he might be permitted to take his

name off the books of the university, and proceed to finish his

education in conjunction with his friend W-- at Leyden. Such a

proposal, made, too, at a time when the period for his

graduating could not be far distant, both surprised and grieved

the Doctor; he combated the design with more perseverance than

he had ever been known to exert in opposition to any declared

wish of his darling boy before, but, as usual, gave way when

more strongly pressed, from sheer inability to persist in a

refusal which seemed to give so much pain to Frederick,

especially when the latter, with more energy than was quite

becoming their relative situations, expressed his positive

determination of not returning to Oxford, whatever might be the

result of his grandfather's decision. My friend, his mind,

perhaps, a little weakened by a short but severe nervous attack

from which he had scarcely recovered, at length yielded a

reluctant consent, and Frederick quitted England.

It was not till some months had elapsed after his

departure, that I had reason to suspect that the eager desire

of availing himself of opportunities for study abroad, not

afforded him at home, was not the sole, or even the principal,

reason which had drawn Frederick so abruptly from his Alma

Mater. A chance visit to the university, and a conversation

with a senior fellow belonging to his late college, convinced

me of this; still I found it impossible to extract from the

latter the precise nature of his offence. That he had given way

to most culpable indulgences I had before heard hinted; and

when I recollected how he had been at once launched, from a

state of what might be well called seclusion, into a world

where so many enticements were lying in wait to allure -- with

liberty, example, everything to tempt him from the straight

road -- regret, I frankly own, was more the predominant feeling

in my mind than either surprise or condemnation. But here was

evidently something more than mere ordinary excess -- some act

of profligacy, perhaps, of a deeper stain, which had induced

his superiors, who at first had been loud in his praises, to

desire him to withdraw himself quietly, but for ever; and such

an intimation, I found, had, in fact, been conveyed to him from

an authority which it was impossible to resist. Seeing that my

informant was determined not to be explicit, I did not press

for a disclosure, which, if made, would in all probability only

have given me pain, and that the rather as my old friend the

Doctor had recently obtained a valuable living from Lord M--,

only a few miles distant from the market town in which I

resided, where he now was, amusing himself in putting his

grounds into order, ornamenting his house, and getting

everything ready against his grandson's expected visit in the

following autumn. October came, and with it came Frederick: he

rode over more than once to see me, sometimes accompanied by

the Doctor, between whom and myself the recent loss of my poor

daughter Louisa had drawn the cords of sympathy still closer.

More than two years had flown on in this way, in which

Frederick S-- had as many times made temporary visits to his

native country. The time was fast approaching when he was

expected to return and finally take up his residence in

England, when the sudden illness of my wife's father obliged us

to take a journey into Lancashire, my old friend, who had

himself a curate, kindly offering to fix his quarters at my

parsonage, and superintend the concerns of my parish till my

return. Alas! when I saw him next he was on the bed of death!

My absence was necessarily prolonged much beyond what I

had anticipated. A letter, with a foreign post-mark, had, as I

afterwards found, been brought over from his own house to my

venerable substitute in the interval, and barely giving himself

time to transfer the charge he had undertaken to a neighbouring

clergyman, he had hurried off at once to Leyden. His arrival

there was, however, too late. Frederick was dead!-- killed in a

duel, occasioned, it was said, by no ordinary provocation on

his part, although the flight of his antagonist had added to

the mystery which enveloped its origin. The long journey, its

melancholy termination, and the complete overthrow of all my

poor friend's earthly hopes, were too much for him. He appeared

too -- as I was informed by the proprietor of the house in

which I found him, when his summons at length had brought me to

his bedside -- to have received some sudden and unaccountable

shock, which even the death of his grandson was inadequate to

explain. There was, indeed, a wildness in his fast-glazing eye,

which mingled strangely with the glance of satisfaction thrown

upon me as he pressed my hand; he endeavoured to raise himself,

and would have spoken, but fell back in the effort, and closed

his eyes for ever. I buried him there, by the side of the

object of his more than parental affection -- in a foreign

land.

It is from the papers that I discovered in his travelling-

case that I submit the following extracts, without, however,

presuming to advance an opinion on the strange circumstances

which they detail, or even as to the connection which some may

fancy they discover between different parts of them.

The first was evidently written at my own house, and bears

date August the 15th, 18--, about three weeks after my own

departure for Preston.

It begins thus:

'Tuesday, August 15.-- Poor girl!-- I forget who it is

that says, 'The real ills of life are light in comparison with

fancied evils;' and certainly the scene I have just witnessed

goes some way towards establishing the truth of the hypothesis.

Among the afflictions which flesh is heir to, a diseased

imagination is far from being the lightest, even when

considered separately, and without taking into the account

those bodily pains and sufferings which -- so close is the

connection between mind and matter -- are but too frequently

attendant upon any disorder of the fancy. Seldom has my

interest been more powerfully excited than by poor Mary Graham.

Her age, her appearance, her pale, melancholy features, the

very contour of her countenance, all conspire to remind me, but

too forcibly, of one who, waking or sleeping, is never long

absent from my thoughts;-- but enough of this.

'A fine morning had succeeded one of the most tempestuous

nights I ever remember, and I was just sitting down to a

substantial breakfast, which the care of my friend Ingoldsby's

housekeeper, kind-hearted Mrs. Wilson, had prepared for me,

when I was interrupted by a summons to the sick-bed of a young

parishioner whom I had frequently seen in my walks, and had

remarked for the regularity of her attendance at Divine

worship. Mary Graham is the elder of two daughters, residing

with their mother, the widow of an attorney, who, dying

suddenly in the prime of life, left his family but slenderly

provided for. A strict though not parsimonious economy has,

however, enabled them to live with an appearance of

respectability and comfort; and from the personal attractions

which, both the girls possess, their mother is evidently not

without hopes of seeing one, at least, of them advantageously

settled in life. As far as poor Mary is concerned, I fear she

is doomed to inevitable disappointment, as I am much mistaken

if consumption has not laid its wasting finger upon her; while

this last recurrence, of what I cannot but believe to be a

formidable epileptic attack, threatens to shake out, with even

added velocity the little sand that may yet remain within the

hour-glass of time. Her very delusion, too, is of such a nature

as, by adding to bodily illness the agitation of superstitious

terror, can scarcely fail to accelerate the catastrophe, which

I think I see fast approaching.

'Before I was introduced into the sick-room, her sister,

who had been watching my arrival from the window, took me into

their little parlour, and, after the usual civilities, began to

prepare me for the visit I was about to pay. Her countenance

was marked at once with trouble and alarm, and in a low tone of

voice, which some internal emotion, rather than the fear of

disturbing the invalid in a distant room, had subdued almost to

a whisper, informed me that my presence was become necessary,

not more as a clergyman than a magistrate; that the disorder

with which her sister had, during the night, been so suddenly

and unaccountably seized, was one of no common kind, but

attended with circumstances which, coupled with the

declarations of the sufferer, took it out of all ordinary

calculations, and, to use her own expression, that 'malice was

at the bottom of it.'

'Naturally supposing that these insinuations were intended

to intimate the partaking of some deleterious substance on the

part of the invalid, I inquired what reason she had for

imagining, in the first place, that anything of a poisonous

nature had been administered at all; and, secondly, what

possible incitement any human being could have for the

perpetration of so foul a deed towards so innocent and

unoffending an individual? Her answer considerably relieved the

apprehensions I had begun to entertain lest the poor girl

should, from some unknown cause, have herself been attempting

to rush uncalled into the presence of her Creator; at the same

time, it surprised me not a little by its apparent want of

rationality and common-sense. She had no reason to believe, she

said, that her sister had taken poison, or that any attempt

upon her life had been made, or was, perhaps, contemplated, but

that 'still malice was at work -- the malice of villains or

fiends, or of both combined; that no causes purely natural

would suffice to account for the state in which her sister had

been now twice placed, or for the dreadful sufferings she had

undergone while in that state;' and that she was determined the

whole affair should undergo a thorough investigation. Seeing

that the poor girl was now herself labouring under a great

degree of excitement, I did not think it necessary to enter at

that moment into a discussion upon the absurdity of her

opinion, but applied myself to the tranquillizing of her mind

by assurances of a proper inquiry, and then drew her attention

to the symptoms of the indisposition, and the way in which it

had first made its appearance.

'The violence of the storm last night had, I found,

induced the whole family to sit up far beyond their usual hour,

till, wearied out at length, and, as their mother observed,

'tired of burning fire and candle to no purpose,' they repaired

to their several chambers.

'The sisters occupied the same room; Elizabeth was already

at her humble toilet, and had commenced the arrangement of her

hair for the night, when her attention was at once drawn from

her employment by a half-smothered shriek and exclamation from

her sister, who, in her delicate state of health, had found

walking up two flights of stairs, perhaps a little more quickly

than usual, an exertion, to recover from which she had seated

herself in a large arm-chair.

'Turning hastily at the sound, she perceived Mary, deadly

pale, grasping, as it were convulsively, each arm of the chair

which supported her, and bending forward in the attitude of

listening; her lips were trembling and bloodless, cold drops of

perspiration stood upon her forehead, and in an instant after,

exclaiming in a piercing tone, 'Hark! they are calling me

again! it is -- it is the same voice;-- Oh no, no!-- Oh my God!

save me, Betsy -- hold me -- save me!' she fell forward upon

the floor. Elizabeth flew to her assistance, raised her, and by

her cries brought both her mother, who had not yet got into

bed, and their only servant-girl, to her aid. The latter was

dispatched at once for medical help; but, from the appearance

of the sufferer, it was much to be feared that she would soon

be beyond the reach of art. Her agonized parent and sister

succeeded in bearing her between them and placing her on a bed:

a faint and intermittent pulsation was for a while perceptible;

but in a few moments a general shudder shook the whole body;

the pulse ceased, the eyes became fixed and glassy, the jaw

dropped, a cold clamminess usurped the place of the genial

warmth of life. Before Mr. I-- arrived everything announced

that dissolution had taken place, and that the freed spirit had

quitted its mortal tenement.

'The appearance of the surgeon confirmed their worst

apprehensions; a vein was opened; but the blood refused to

flow, and Mr. I-- pronounced that the vital spark was indeed

extinguished.

'The poor mother, whose attachment to her children was

perhaps the more powerful, as they were the sole relatives or

connections she had in the world, was overwhelmed with a grief

amounting almost to frenzy; it was with difficulty that she was

removed to her own room by the united strength of her daughter

and medical adviser. Nearly an hour had elapsed during the

endeavour at calming her transports; they had succeeded, how

ever, to a certain extent, and Mr. I-- had taken his leave,

when Elizabeth, re-entering the bed-chamber in which her sister

lay, in order to pay the last sad duties to her corpse, was

horror-struck at seeing a crimson stream of blood running down

the side of the counterpane to the floor. Her exclamation

brought the girl again to her side, when it was perceived, to

their astonishment, that the sanguine stream proceeded from the

arm of the body, which was now manifesting signs of returning

life. The half-frantic mother flew to the room, and it was with

difficulty that they could prevent her, in her agitation, from

so acting as to extinguish for ever the hope which had begun to

rise in their bosoms. A long-drawn sigh, amounting almost to a

groan, followed by several convulsive gaspings, was the prelude

to the restoration of the animal functions in poor Mary: a

shriek, almost preternaturally loud, considering her state of

exhaustion, succeeded; but she did recover, and, with the help

of restoratives, was well enough towards morning to express a

strong desire that I should be sent for -- a desire the more

readily complied with, inasmuch as the strange expressions and

declarations she had made since her restoration to

consciousness had filled her sister with the most horrible

suspicions. The nature of these suspicions was such as would at

any other time, perhaps, have raised a smile upon my lips; but

the distress and even agony of the poor girl, as she half

hinted and half expressed them, were such as entirely to

preclude every sensation at all approaching to mirth. Without

endeavouring, therefore, to combat ideas, evidently too

strongly impressed upon her mind at the moment to admit of

present refutation, I merely used a few encouraging words, and

requested her to precede me to the sick chamber.

'The invalid was lying on the outside of the bed, partly

dressed, and wearing a white dimity wrapping-gown, the colour

of which corresponded but too well with the deadly paleness of

her complexion. Her cheek was wan and sunken, giving an

extraordinary prominence to her eye, which gleamed with a

lustrous brilliancy not unfrequently characteristic of the

aberration of intellect. I took her hand; it was chill. and

clammy, the pulse feeble and intermittent, and the general

debility of her frame was such that I would fain have persuaded

her to defer any conversation which, in her present state, she

might not be equal to support. Her positive assurance that,

until she had disburdened herself of what she called her

'dreadful secret,' she could know no rest either of mind or

body, at length induced me to comply with her wish, opposition

to which, in her then frame of mind, might perhaps be attended

with even worse effects than its indulgence. I bowed

acquiescence, and in a low and faltering voice, with frequent

interruptions, occasioned by her weakness, she gave me the

following singular account of the sensations which, she

averred, had been experienced by her during her trance:--

''This, sirs' she began, 'is not the first time that the

cruelty of others has, for what purpose I am unable to

conjecture, put me to a degree of torture which I can compare

to no suffering, either of body or mind, which I have ever

before experienced. On a former occasion I was willing to

believe it the mere effect of a hideous dream, or what is

vulgarly termed the nightmare; but this repetition, and the

circumstances under which I was last summoned, at a time, too,

when I had not even composed myself to rest, fatally convince

me of the reality of what I have seen and suffered.

''This is no time for concealment of any kind. It is now

more than a twelvemonth since I was in the habit of

occasionally encountering in my walks a young man of

prepossessing appearance and gentlemanly deportment. He was

always alone, and generally reading; but I could not be long in

doubt that these rencounters, which became every week more

frequent, were not the effect of accident, or that his

attention, when we did meet, was less directed to his book than

to my sister and myself. He even seemed to wish to address us,

and I have no doubt would have taken some other opportunity of

doing so, had not one been afforded him by a strange dog

attacking us one Sunday morning in our way to church, which he

beat off, and made use of this little service to promote an

acquaintance. His name, he said, was Francis Somers, and added

that he was on a visit to a relation of the same name, resident

a few miles from X--. He gave us to understand that he was

himself studying surgery with the view to a medical appointment

in one of the colonies. You are not to suppose, sir, that he

had entered thus into his concerns at the first interview; it

was not till our acquaintance had ripened, and he had visited

our house more than once with my mother's sanction, that these

particulars were elicited. He never disguised, from the first,

that an attachment to myself was his object originally in

introducing himself to our notice. As his prospects were

comparatively flattering, my mother did not raise any

impediment to his attentions, and I own I received them with

pleasure.

''Days and weeks elapsed; and although the distance at

which his relation resided prevented the possibility of an

uninterrupted intercourse, yet neither was it so great as to

preclude his frequent visits. The interval of a day, or at most

of two, was all that intervened, and these temporary absences

certainly did not decrease the pleasure of the meetings with

which they terminated. At length a pensive expression began to

exhibit itself upon his countenance, and I could not but remark

that at every visit he became more abstracted and reserved. The

eye of affection is not slow to detect any symptom of

uneasiness in a quarter dear to it. I spoke to him, questioned

him on the subject; his answer was evasive, and I said no more.

My mother, too, however, had marked the same appearance of

melancholy, and pressed him more strongly. He at length

admitted that his spirits were depressed, and that their

depression was caused by the necessity of an early, though but

a temporary, separation. His uncle and only friend, he said,

had long insisted on his spending some months on the Continent,

with the view of completing his professional education, and

that the time was now fast approaching when it would be

necessary for him to commence his journey. A look made the

inquiry which my tongue refused to utter. 'Yes, dearest Mary,'

was his reply, 'I have communicated our attachment to him,

partially at least; and though I dare not say that the

intimation was received as I could have wished, yet I have,

perhaps, on the whole, no fair reason to be dissatisfied with

his reply.

''The completion of my studies, and my settlement in the

world, must, my uncle told me, be the first consideration; when

these material points were achieved, he should not interfere

with any arrangement that might be found essential to my

happiness; at the same time he has positively refused to

sanction any engagement at present, which may, be says, have a

tendency to divert my attention from those pursuits, on the due

prosecution of which my future situation in life must depend. A

compromise between love and duty was eventually wrung from me,

though reluctantly; I have pledged myself to proceed

immediately to my destination abroad, with a full understanding

that on my return, a twelvemonth hence, no obstacle shall be

thrown in the way of what are, I trust, our mutual wishes.'

''I will not attempt to describe the feelings with which I

received this communication, nor will it he necessary to say

anything of what passed at the few interviews which took place

before Francis quitted X--. The evening immediately previous to

that of his departure he passed in this house, and, before we

separated, renewed his protestations of an unchangeable

affection, requiring a similar assurance from me in return. I

did not hesitate to make it. 'Be satisfied, my dear Francis,'

said I, 'that no diminution in the regard I have avowed can

ever take place, and though absent in body, my heart and soul

will. still be with you.'-- Swear this,' he cried, with a

suddenness and energy which surprised, and rather startled me;

'promise that you will be with me in spirit, at least, when I

am far away.' I gave him my hand, but that was not sufficient

'One of these dark shining ringlets, my dear Mary,' said be,

'as a pledge that you will not forget your vow!' I suffered him

to take the scissors from my work-box and to sever a lock of my

hair, which he placed in his bosom.-- The next day he was

pursuing his journey, and the waves were already bearing him

from England.

I had letters from him repeatedly during the first three

months of his absence; they spoke of his health, his prospects,

and of his love, but by degrees the intervals between each

arrival became longer, and I fancied I perceived some falling

off from that warmth of expression which had at first

characterized his communications.

''One night I had retired to rest rather later than usual,

having sat by the bedside, comparing his last brief note with

some of his earlier letters, and was endeavouring to convince

myself that my apprehensions of his fickleness were unfounded,

when an undefinable sensation of restlessness and anxiety

seized upon me. I cannot compare it to anything I had ever

experienced before; my pulse fluttered, my heart beat with a

quickness and violence which alarmed me, and a strange tremour

shook my whole frame. I retired hastily to bed, in hopes of

getting rid of so unpleasant a sensation, but in vain; a vague

apprehension of I knew not what occupied my mind, and vainly

did I endeavour to shake it off. I can compare my feelings to

nothing but those which we sometimes experience when about to

undertake a long and unpleasant journey, leaving those we love

behind us. More than once did I raise myself in my bed and

listen, fancying that I heard myself called, and on each of

those occasions the fluttering of my heart increased. Twice I

was on the point of calling to my sister, who then slept in an

adjoining room, but she had gone to bed indisposed, and an

unwillingness to disturb either her or my mother checked me;

the large clock in the room below at this moment began to

strike the hour of twelve. I distinctly heard its vibrations,

but ere its sounds had ceased, a burning heat, as if a hot iron

had been applied to my temple, was succeeded by a dizziness,--

a swoon,-- a total loss of consciousness as to where or in what

situation I was.

''A pain, violent, sharp, and piercing, as though my whole

frame were lacerated by some keen-edged weapon, roused me from

this stupor,-- but where was I? Everything was strange around

me -- a shadowy dimness rendered every object indistinct and

uncertain; methought, however, that I was seated in a large,

antique, high-backed chair, several of which were near, their

tall black carved frames and seats interwoven with a lattice-

work of cane. The apartment in which I sat was one of moderate

dimensions, and from its sloping roof, seemed to be the upper

story of the edifice, a fact confirmed by the moon shining

without, in full effulgence, on a huge round tower, which its

light rendered plainly visible through the open casement, and

the summit of which appeared but little superior in elevation

to the room I occupied. Rather to the right, and in the

distance, the spire of some cathedral or lofty church was

visible, while sundry gable-ends, and tops of houses, told me I

was in the midst of a populous but unknown city.

''The apartment itself had something strange in its

appearance; and, in the character of its furniture and

appurtenances, bore little or no resemblance to any I had ever

seen before. The fireplace was large and wide, with a pair of

what are sometimes called andirons, betokening that wood was

the principal, if not the only fuel consumed within its recess;

a fierce fire was now blazing in it, the light from which

rendered visible the remotest parts of the chamber. Over a

lofty old-fashioned mantelpiece, carved heavily in imitation of

fruits and flowers, hung the half-length portrait of a

gentleman in a dark-coloured foreign habit, with a peaked beard

and moustaches, one band resting upon a table, the other

supporting a sort of baton, or short military staff, the summit

of which was surmounted by a silver falcon. Several antique

chairs, similar in appearance to those already mentioned,

surrounded a massive oaken table, the length of which much

exceeded its width. At the lower end of this piece of furniture

stood the chair I occupied; on the upper was placed a small

chafing-dish filled with burning coals, and darting forth

occasionally long flashes of various-coloured fire, the

brilliance of which made itself visible, even above the strong

illumination emitted from the chimney. Two huge, black,

japanned cabinets, with clawed feet, reflecting from their

polished surfaces the effulgence of the flame, were placed one

on each side the casement-window to which I have alluded, and

with a few shelves loaded with books, many of which were also

strewed in disorder on the floor, completed the list of the

furniture in the apartment. Some strange-looking instruments,

of unknown form and purpose, lay on the table near the chafing-

dish, on the other side of which a miniature portrait of myself

hung, reflected by a small oval mirror in a dark-coloured

frame, while a large open volume, traced with strange

characters of the colour of blood, lay in front; a goblet,

containing a few drops of liquid of the same ensanguined hue,

was by its side.

''But of the objects which I have endeavoured to describe,

none arrested my attention so forcibly as two others. These

were the figures of two young men in the prime of life, only

separated from me by the table. They were dressed alike, each

in a long flowing gown, made of some sad-coloured stuff, and

confined at the waist by a crimson girdle; one of them, the

shorter of the two, was occupied in feeding the embers of the

chafing-dish with a resinous powder, which produced and

maintained a brilliant but flickering blaze, to the action of

which his companion was exposing a long lock of dark chestnut

hair, that shrank and shrivelled as it approached the flame.

But, O God!-- that hair!-- and the form of him who held it!

that face! those features!-- not for one instant could I

entertain a doubt -- it was He! Francis!-- the lock he grasped

was mine, the very pledge of affection I had given him, and

still, as it partially encountered the fire, a burning heat

seemed to scorch the temple from which it had been taken,

conveying a torturing sensation that affected my very brain.

''How shall I proceed?-- but no, it is impossible,-- not

even to you, sir, can I -- dare I -- recount the proceedings of

that unhallowed night of horror and of shame. Were my life

extended to a term commensurate with that of the Patriarchs of

old, never could its detestable, its damning pollutions be

effaced from my remembrance; and oh! above all, never could I

forget the diabolical glee which sparkled in the eyes of my

fiendish tormentors, as they witnessed the worse than useless

struggles of their miserable victim. Oh! why was it not

permitted me to take refuge in unconsciousness -- nay, in death

itself, from the abominations of which I was compelled to be

not only a witness but a partaker? But it is enough, sir; I

will not further shock your nature by dwelling longer on a

scene, the full horrors of which, words, if I even dared employ

any, would be inadequate to express; suffice it to say, that

after being subjected to it, how long I knew not, but certainly

for more than an hour, a noise from below seemed to alarm my

persecutors; a pause ensued,-- the lights were extinguished,--

and, as the sound of a footstep ascending a staircase became

more distinct, my forehead felt again the excruciating

sensation of heat, while the embers, kindling into a momentary

flame, betrayed another portion of the ringlet consuming in the

blaze. Fresh agonies succeeded, not less severe, and of a

similar description to those which had seized upon me at first;

oblivion again followed, and on being at length restored to

consciousness, I found myself as you see me now, faint and

exhausted, weakened in every limb, and every fibre quivering

with agitation. My groans soon brought my sister to my aid; it

was long before I could summon resolution to confide, even to

her, the dreadful secret, and when I had done so, her strongest

efforts were not wanting to persuade me that I had been

labouring under a severe attack of nightmare. I ceased to

argue, but I was not convinced: the whole scene was then too

present, too awfully real, to permit me to doubt the character

of the transaction; and if, when a few days had elapsed, the

hopelessness of imparting to others the conviction I

entertained myself, produced in me an apparent acquiescence

with their opinion, I have never been the less satisfied that

no cause reducible to the known laws of nature occasioned my

sufferings on that hellish evening. Whether that firm belief

might have eventually yielded to time, whether I might at

length have been brought to consider all that had passed, and

the circumstances which I could never cease to remember, as a

mere phantasm, the offspring of a heated imagination, acting

upon an enfeebled body, I know not --last night, however, would

in any case have dispelled the flattering illusion -- last

night -- last night was the whole horrible scene acted over

again. The place -- the actors -- the whole infernal apparatus

were the same;-- the same insults, the same torments, the same

brutalities -- all were renewed, save that the period of my

agony was not so prolonged. I became sensible to an incision in

my arm, though the hand that made it was not visible; at the

same moment my persecutors paused; they were manifestly

disconcerted, and the companion of him, whose name shall never

more pass my lips, muttered something to his abettor in evident

agitation; the formula of an oath of horrible import was

dictated to me in terms fearfully distinct. I refused it

unhesitatingly; again and again was it proposed, with menaces I

tremble to think on -- but I refused; the same sound was heard

-- interruption was evidently apprehended,-- the same ceremony

was hastily repeated, and I again found myself released, lying

on my own bed, with my mother and my sister weeping over me. O

God! O God! when and how is this to end?-- When will my spirit

be left in peace?-- Where, or with whom shall I find refuge?'

'It is impossible to convey any adequate idea of the

emotions with which this unhappy girl's narrative affected me.

It must not be supposed that her story was delivered in the

same continuous and uninterrupted strain in which I have

transcribed its substance. On the contrary, it was not without

frequent intervals, of longer or shorter duration, that her

account was brought to a conclusion: indeed, many passages of

her strange dream were not without the greatest difficulty and

reluctance communicated at all. My task was no easy one; never,

in the course of a long life spent in the active duties of my

Christian calling,-- never had I been summoned to such a

conference before.

'To the half-avowed and palliated confession of committed

guilt I had often listened, and pointed out the only road to

secure its forgiveness. I had succeeded in cheering the spirit

of despondency, and sometimes even in calming the ravings of

despair; but here I bad a different enemy to combat, an

ineradicable prejudice to encounter, evidently backed by no

common share of superstition, and confirmed by the mental

weakness attendant upon severe bodily pain. To argue the

sufferer out of an opinion so rooted was a hopeless attempt. I

did, how ever, essay it; I spoke to her of the strong and

mysterious connection maintained between our waking images and

those which haunt us in our dreams, and more especially during

that morbid oppression commonly called nightmare. I was even

enabled to adduce myself as a strong and living instance of the

excess to which fancy sometimes carries her freaks on those

occasions; while, by an odd coincidence, the impression made

upon my own mind, which I adduced as an example, bore no slight

resemblance to her own. I stated to her, that on my recovery

from the fit of epilepsy which had attacked me about two years

since, just before my grandson Frederick left Oxford, it was

with the greatest difficulty I could persuade myself that I had

not visited him, during the interval, in his rooms at

Brazenose, and even conversed with himself and his friend W--,

seated in his arm chair, and gazing through the window full

upon the statue of Cain, as it stands in the centre of the

quadrangle. I told her of the pain I underwent both at the

commencement and termination of my attack; of the extreme

lassitude that succeeded; but my efforts were all in vain: she

listened to me, indeed, with an interest almost breathless,

especially when I informed her of my having actually

experienced the very burning sensation in the brain alluded to,

no doubt a strong attendant symptom of this peculiar affection,

and a proof of the identity of the complaint: but I could

plainly perceive that I failed entirely in shaking the rooted

opinion which possessed her, that her spirit had, by some

nefarious and unhallowed means, been actually subtracted for a

time from its earthly tenement.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next extract which I shall give from my old friend's

memoranda is dated August 24th, more than a week subsequent to

his first visit at Mrs. Graham's. He appears, from his papers,

to have visited the poor young woman more than once during the

interval, and to have afforded her those spiritual consolations

which no one was more capable of communicating. His patient,

for so in a religious sense she may well be termed, had been

sinking under the agitation she had experienced; and the

constant dread she was under of similar sufferings, operated so

strongly on a frame already enervated, that life at length

seemed to hang only by a thread. His papers go on to say:

'I have just seen poor Mary Graham,-- I fear for the last

time. Nature is evidently quite worn out; she is aware that she

is dying, and looks forward to the termination of her existence

here, not only with resignation but with joy. It is clear that

her dream, or what she persists in calling her 'subtraction,'

has much to do with this. For the last three days her behaviour

has been altered; she has avoided conversing on the subject of

her delusion, and seems to wish that I should consider her as a

convert to my view of her case. This may, perhaps, be partly

owing to the flippancies of her medical attendant upon the

subject, for Mr. I-- has, somehow or other, got an inkling that

she has been much agitated by a dream, and thinks to laugh off

the impression -- in my opinion injudiciously; but though a

skilful and a kind-hearted, he is a young man, and of a

disposition, perhaps, rather too mercurial for the chamber of a

nervous invalid. Her manner has since been much more reserved

to both of us: in my case, probably because she suspects me of

betraying her secret.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'August 26th.-- Mary Graham is yet alive, but sinking

fast; her cordiality towards me has returned since her sister

confessed yesterday that she had herself told Mr. I-- that his

patient's mind 'had been affected by a terrible vision.' I am

evidently restored to her confidence.-- She asked me this

morning, with much earnestness, 'What I believed to be the

state of departed spirits during the interval between

dissolution and the final day of account? And whether I thought

they would be safe, in another world, from the influence of

wicked persons employing an agency more than human?' Poor

child! One cannot mistake the prevailing bias of her mind. Poor

child!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'August 27th.-- It is nearly over; she is sinking rapidly,

but quietly and without pain. I have just administered to her

the sacred elements, of which her mother partook. Elizabeth

declined doing the same: she cannot, she says, yet bring

herself to forgive the villain who has destroyed her sister. It

is singular that she, a young woman of good plain sense in

ordinary matters, should so easily adopt, and so pertinaciously

retain, a superstition so puerile and ridiculous. This must be

matter of a future conversation between us; at present, with

the form of the dying girl before her eyes, it were vain to

argue with her. The mother, I find, has written to young

Somers, stating the dangerous situation of his affianced wife;

indignant as she justly is at his long silence, it is fortunate

that she has no knowledge of the suspicions entertained by her

daughter. I have seen her letter, it is addressed to Mr.

Francis Somers, in the Hogewoert, at Leyden -- a fellow-student

then of Frederick's. I must remember to inquire if he is

acquainted with this young man.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mary Graham, it appears, died the same night. Before her

departure she repeated to my friend the singular story she had

before told him, without any material variation from the detail

she had formerly given. To the last she persisted in believing

that her unworthy lover had practised upon her by forbidden

arts. She once more described the apartment with great

minuteness, and even the person of Francis's alleged companion,

who was, she said, about the middle height, hard-featured, with

a rather remarkable scar upon his left cheek, extending in a

transverse direction from below the eye to the nose. Several

pages of my reverend friend's manuscript are filled with

reflections upon this extraordinary confession, which, joined

with its melancholy termination, seems to have produced no

common effect upon him. He alludes to more than one subsequent

discussion with the surviving sister, and piques himself on

having made some progress in convincing her of the folly of her

theory respecting the origin and nature of the illness itself.

His memoranda on this and other subjects are continued

till about the middle of September, when a break ensues,

occasioned, no doubt, by the unwelcome news of his grandson's

dangerous state, which induced him to set out forthwith for

Holland. His arrival at Leyden was, as I have already said, too

late. Frederick S-- had expired after thirty hours' intense

suffering, from a wound received in a duel with a brother

student. The cause of quarrel was variously related; but,

according to his land lord's version, it had originated in some

silly dispute about a dream of his antagonist's, who had been

the challenger. Such, at least, was the account given to him,

as he said, by Frederick's friend and fellow-lodger, W--, who

had acted as second on the occasion, thus acquitting himself of

an obligation of the same kind due to the deceased, whose

services he had put in requisition about a year before on a

similar occasion, when he had himself been severely wounded in

the face.

From the same authority I learned that my poor friend was

much affected on finding that his arrival had been deferred too

long. Every attention was shown him by the proprietor of the

house, a respectable tradesman, and a chamber was prepared for

his accommodation; the books and few effects of his deceased

grandson were delivered over to him, duly inventoried, and late

as it was in the evening when he reached Leyden, he insisted on

being conducted immediately to the apartments which Frederick

bad occupied, there to indulge the first ebullitions of his

sorrows, before he retired to his own. Madame Muller

accordingly led the way to an upper room, which, being situated

at the top of the house, had been, from its privacy and

distance from the street, selected by Frederick as his study.

The Doctor entered, and taking the lamp from his conductress

motioned to be left alone. His implied wish was of course

complied with: and nearly two hours had elapsed before his

kind-hearted hostess reascended, in the hope of prevailing upon

him to return with her, and partake of that refreshment which

he had in the first instance peremptorily declined. Her

application for admission was unnoticed: she repeated it more

than once, without success; then, becoming somewhat alarmed at

the continued silence, opened the door and perceived her new

inmate stretched on the floor in a fainting fit. Restoratives

were instantly administered, and prompt medical aid succeeded

at length in restoring him to consciousness. But his mind had

received a shook from which, during the few weeks he survived,

it never entirely recovered. His thoughts wandered perpetually:

and though, from the very slight acquaintance which his hosts

had with the English language, the greater part of what fell

from him remained unknown, yet enough was understood to induce

them to believe that something more than the mere death of his

grandson had contributed thus to paralyse his faculties.

When his situation was first discovered, a small miniature

was found tightly grasped in his right hand. It had been the

property of Frederick, and had more than once been seen by the

Millers in his possession. To this the patient made continued

reference, and would not suffer it one moment from his sight:

it was in his hand when he expired. At my request it was

produced to me. The portrait was that of a young woman, in an

English morning dress, whose pleasing and regular features,

with their mild and somewhat pensive expression, were not, I

thought, altogether unknown to me. Her age was apparently about

twenty. A profusion of dark chestnut hair was arranged in the

Madonna style, above a brow of unsullied whiteness, a single

ringlet depending on the left side. A glossy lock of the same

colour, and evidently belonging to the original, appeared

beneath a small crystal, inlaid in the back of the picture,

which was plainly set in gold, and bore in a cipher the letters

M. G. with the date 18--. From the inspection of this portrait,

I could at the time collect nothing, nor from that of the

Doctor himself, which, also, I found the next morning in

Frederick's desk, accompanied by two separate portions of hair.

One of them was a lock, short, and deeply tinged with grey, and

had been taken, I have little doubt, from the head of my old

friend himself; the other corresponded in colour and appearance

with that at the back of the miniature. It was not till a few

days had elapsed, and I had seen the worthy Doctor's remains

quietly consigned to the narrow house, that while arranging his

papers previous to my intended return upon the morrow, I

encountered the narrative I have already transcribed. The name

of the unfortunate young woman connected with it forcibly

arrested my attention. I recollected it immediately as one

belonging to a parishioner of my own, and at once recognized

the original of the female portrait as its owner.

I rose not from the perusal of his very singular statement

till I had gone through the whole of it. It was late, and the

rays of the single lamp by which I was reading did but very

faintly illumine the remoter parts of the room in which I sat.

The brilliancy of an unclouded November moon, then some twelve

nights old, and shining full into the apartment, did much

towards remedying the defect. My thoughts filled with the

melancholy details I had read, I rose and walked to the window.

The beautiful planet rose high in the firmament, and gave to

the snowy roofs of the houses, and pendant icicles, all the

sparkling radiance of clustering gems. The stillness of the

scene harmonized well with the state of my feelings. I threw

open the casement and looked abroad. Far below me, the waters

of the principal canal shone like a broad mirror in the

moonlight. To the left rose the Burght, a huge round tower of

remarkable appearance, pierced with embrasures at its summit;

while a little to the right and in the distance, the spire and

pinnacles of the Cathedral of Leyden rose in all their majesty,

presenting a coup d'œil of surpassing though simple beauty. To

a spectator of calm, unoccupied mind, the scene would have been

delightful. On me it acted with an electric effect. I turned

hastily to survey the apartment in which I had been sitting. It

was the one designated as the study of the late Frederick S--.

The sides of the room were covered with dark wainscot; the

spacious fire place opposite to me, with its polished andirons,

was surmounted by a large old-fashioned mantel-piece, heavily

carved in the Dutch style with fruits and flowers; above it

frowned a portrait, in a Vandyke dress, with a peaked beard and

moustaches; one hand of the figure rested on a table, while the

other bore a marshal's staff, surmounted with a silver falcon;

and --either my imagination, already heated by the scene,

deceived me,-- or a smile as of malicious triumph curled the

lip and glared in the cold leaden eye that seemed fixed upon my

own. The heavy, antique, cane-backed chairs,-- the large oaken

table,-- the book-shelves, the scattered volumes -- all, all

were there; while, to complete the picture, to my right and

left, as half-breathless I leaned my back against the casement,

rose, on each side, a tall, dark, ebony cabinet, in whose

polished sides the single lamp upon the table shone reflected

as in a mirror.

What am I to think?-- Can it be that the story I have been

reading was written by my poor friend here, and under the

influence of delirium?-- Impossible! Besides they all assure

me, that from the fatal night of his arrival he never left his

bed -- never put pen to paper. His very directions to have me

summoned from England were verbally given, during one of those

few and brief intervals in which reason seemed partially to

resume her sway. Can it then be possible that--? W--? where is

he who alone may be able to throw light on this horrible

mystery?-- No one knows. He absconded, it seems, immediately

after the duel. No trace of him exists, nor, after repeated and

anxious inquiries, can I find that any student has ever been

known in the University of Leyden by the name of Francis

Somers.

'There are more things in heaven and earth

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy!!'

Father John Ingoldsby, to whose papers I am largely

indebted for the Saintly records which follow, was brought up

by his father, a cadet of the family, in the Romish faith, and

was educated at Douai for the Church. Besides the manuscripts

now at Tappington, he was the author of two controversial

treatises on the connection between the Papal Hierarchy and the

Nine of Diamonds.

From his well-known loyalty, evinced by secret services to

the Royal cause during the Protectorate, he was excepted by

name out of the acts against the Papists, became superintendent

of the Queen Dowager's chapel at Somerset House, and enjoyed a

small pension until his death, which took place in the third

year of Queen Anne (1704), at the mature age of ninety-six. He

was an ecclesiastic of great learning and piety, but from the

stiff and antiquated phraseology which he adopted, I have

thought it necessary to modernize it a little: this will

account for certain anachronisms that have unavoidably crept

in; the substance of his narratives has, however, throughout

been strictly adhered to.

His hair-shirt, almost as good as new, is still preserved

at Tappington,-- but nobody ever wears it.

THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS

'Tunc miser Corvus adeo conscientiae stimulis compunctus

fuit, et execratio eum tantopere excarneficavit, ut exinde

tabescere inciperet, maciem contraheret, omnem cibum

aversaretur, nec amplius crocitaret: pennae praeterea ei

defluebant, et alis pendulis omnes facetias intermisit, et tam

macer apparuit ut omnes ejus miserescent.' . . . .

'Tunc abbas sacerdotibus mandavit ut rursus furem

absolverent; quo facto, Corvus, omnibus mirantibus, propediem

convaluit, et pristinam sanitatem recuperavit.'

De Illust. Ord. Cisterc.

The Jackdaw sat on the Cardinal's chair!

Bishop, and abbot, and prior were there;

Many a monk, and many a friar,

Many a knight, and many a squire,

With a great many more of lesser degree,--

In sooth a goodly company;

And they served the Lord Primate on bended knee.

Never, I ween,

Was a prouder seen,

Read of in books, or dreamt of in dreams,

Than the Cardinal Lord Archbishop of Rheims!

In and out

Through the motley rout,

That little Jackdaw kept hopping about;

Here and there

Like a dog in a fair,

Over comfits and cates,

And dishes and plates,

Cowl and cope, and rochet and pall,

Mitre and crosier! he hopp'd upon all!

With saucy air,

He perch'd on the chair

Where, in state, the great Lord Cardinal sat

In the great Lord Cardinal's great red hat;

And he peer'd in the face

Of his Lordship's Grace,

With a satisfied look, as if he would say,

'We two are the greatest folks here to-day!'

And the priests, with awe,

As such freaks they saw,

Said, 'The Devil must be in that little Jackdaw!'

The feast was over, the board was clear'd,

The flawns and the custards had all disappear'd,

And six little Singing-boys -- dear little souls!

In nice clean faces, and nice white stoles,

Came, in order due,

Two by two,

Marching that grand refectory through!

A nice little boy held a golden ewer,

Emboss'd and fill'd with water, as pure

As any that flows between Rheims and Namur,

Which a nice little boy stood ready to catch

In a fine golden hand-basin made to match.

Two nice little boys, rather more grown,

Carried lavender-water, and eau de Cologne;

And a nice little boy had a nice cake of soap,

Worthy of washing the hands of the Pope.

One little boy more

A napkin bore,

Of the best white diaper, fringed with pink,

And a Cardinal's Hat mark'd in 'permanent ink.'

The great Lord Cardinal turns at the sight

Of these nice little boys dress'd all in white:

From his finger he draws

His costly turquoise;

And, not thinking at all about little Jackdaws,

Deposits it straight

By the side of his plate,

While the nice little boys on his Eminence wait;

Till, when nobody's dreaming of any such thing,

That little Jackdaw hops off with the ring!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There's a cry and a shout,

And a deuce of a rout,

And nobody seems to know what they're about,

But the Monks have their pockets all turn'd inside out.

The Friars are kneeling,

And hunting, and feeling

The carpet, the floor, and the walls, and the ceiling.

The Cardinal drew

Off each plum-colour'd shoe,

And left his red stockings exposed to the view;

He peeps, and he feels

In the toes and the heels;

They turn up the dishes,-- they turn up the plates,--

They take up the poker and poke out the grates,

-- They turn up the rugs,

They examine the mugs:--

But, no!-- no such thing;--

They can't find THE RING!

And the Abbott declared that, 'when nobody twigg'd it,

Some rascal or other had popp'd in, and prigg'd it!'

The Cardinal rose with a dignified look,

He call'd for his candle, his bell, and his book!

In holy anger, and pious grief,

He solemnly cursed that rascally thief!

He cursed him at board, he cursed him in bed;

From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head;

He cursed him in sleeping, that every night

He should dream of the devil, and wake in a fright;

He cursed him in eating, he cursed him in drinking,

He cursed him in coughing, in sneezing, in winking;

He cursed him in sitting, in standing, in lying;

He cursed him in walking, in riding, in flying,

He cursed him in living, he cursed him in dying!--

Never was heard such a terrible curse!

But what gave rise

To no little surprise,

Nobody seem'd one penny the worse!

The day was gone,

The night came on,

The Monks and the Friars they search'd till dawn;

When the Sacristan saw,

On crumpled claw,

Come limping a poor little lame Jackdaw!

No longer gay,

As on yesterday;

His feathers all seem'd to be turn'd the wrong way;--

His pinions droop'd -- he could hardly stand,--

His head was as bald as the palm of your hand;

His eye so dim,

So wasted each limb,

That, heedless of grammar, they all cried, 'THAT'S HIM!--

That's the scamp that has done this scandalous thing!

That's the thief that has got my Lord Cardinal's Ring!'

The poor little Jackdaw,

When the Monks he saw,

Feebly gave vent to the ghost of a caw;

And turn'd his bald head, as much as to say,

'Pray, be so good as to walk this way!'

Slower and slower

He limp'd on before,

Till they came to the back of the belfry door,

Where the first thing they saw,

Midst the sticks and the straw,

Was the Ring in the nest of that little Jackdaw!

Then the great Lord Cardinal call'd for his book,

And off that terrible curse he took;

The mute expression

Served in lieu of confession,

And, being thus coupled with full restitution,

The Jackdaw got plenary absolution!

-- When those words were heard,

That poor little bird

Was so changed in a moment, 'twas really absurd.

He grew sleek, and fat;

In addition to that,

A fresh crop of feathers came thick as a mat!

His tail waggled more

Even than before;

But no longer it wagg'd with an impudent air,

No longer he perch'd on the Cardinal's chair.

He hopp'd now about

With a gait devout;

At Matins, at Vespers, he never was out;

And, so far from any more pilfering deeds,

He always seem'd telling the Confessor's beads.

If any one lied,-- or if any one swore,--

Or slumber'd in pray'r-time and happen'd to snore,

That good Jackdaw

Would give a great 'Caw!'

As much as to say, 'Don't do so any more!'

While many remark'd, as his manners they saw,

That they 'never had known such a pious Jackdaw!'

He long lived the pride

Of that country side,

And at last in the odour of sanctity died;

When, as words were too faint

His merits to paint,

The Conclave determined to make him a Saint;

And on newly-made Saints and Popes, as you know,

It's the custom, at Rome, new names to bestow,

So they canonized him by the name of Jim Crow!

A LAY OF ST. DUNSTAN.

'This holy childe Dunstan was borne in ye yere of our Lorde ix

hondred & xxv. that tyme regnynge in this londe Kinge

Athelston. . . .

'Whan it so was that Saynt Dunstan was wery of prayer than

used he to werke in goldsmythes werke with his owne handes for

to eschewe ydelnes.'

Golden Legend.

St. Dunstan stood in his ivy'd tower,

Alembic, crucible, all were there;

When in came Nick to play him a trick,

In guise of a damsel passing fair.

Every one knows

How the story goes:

He took up the tongs and caught hold of his nose.

But I beg that you won't for a moment suppose

That I mean to go through, in detail, to you

A story at least as trite as it's true;

Nor do I intend

An instant to spend

On the tale, how he treated his monarch and friend,

When, bolting away to a chamber remote,

Inconceivably bored by his Witen-gemote,

Edwy left them all joking,

And drinking, and smoking,

So tipsily grand, they'd stand nonsense from no King,

But sent the Archbishop

Their Sovereign to fish up,

With a hint that perchance on his crown he might feel taps,

Unless he came back straight and took off his heel-taps.

You don't want to be plagued with the same story twice,

And may have seen this one, by W. DYCE,

In last year's Exhibition -- 'twas very well done,

And stood mark'd in the catalogue Four, seven, one.

You might there view the Saint, who in sable array'd is,

Coercing the Monarch away from the Ladies;

His right hand has hold of his Majesty's jerkin,

The left points to the door, and he seems to say, 'Sir King,

Your most faithful Commons won't hear of your shirking;

Quit your tea, and return to your Barclai and Perkyn,

Or, by Jingo, <1> ere morning, no longer alive, a

Sad victim you'll lie to your love for Elgiva!'

No farther to treat

Of this ungallant feat,

What I mean to do now is succinctly to paint

A particular fact in the life of the Saint,

Which somehow, for want of due care, I presume,

Has escaped the researches of Rapin and Hume,

In recounting a miracle, both of them men who a

Great deal fall short of Jaques Bishop of Genoa,

An Historian who likes deeds like these to record--

See his Aurea Legenda, by Wynkyn de Worde

St. Dunstan stood again in his tower,

Alembic, crucible, all complete;

He had been standing a good half hour,

And now he utter'd the words of power,

And call'd to his Broomstick to bring him a seat.

The words of power!-- and what be they

To which e'en Broomsticks bow and obey?

Why, 'twere uncommonly hard to say,

As the prelate I named has recorded none of them,

What they may be,

But I know they are three,

And ABRACADABRA, I take it, is one of them:

For I'm told that most Cabalists use that identical

Word, written thus, in what they call 'a Pentacle:'

However that be,

You'll doubtless agree

It signifies little to you or to me,

As not being dabblers in Grammarye;

Still, it must be confess'd, for a Saint to repeat

Such language aloud is scarcely discreet;

For, as Solomon hints to folks given to chatter,

'A bird of the air may carry the matter;'

And, in sooth,

From my youth

I remember a truth

Insisted on much in my earlier years,

To wit, 'Little Pitchers have very long ears!'

Now, just such a 'Pitcher' as those I allude to

Was outside the door, which his 'ears' appear'd glued to.

Peter, the Lay-brother, meagre and thin,

Five feet one in his sandal-shoon,

While the Saint thought him sleeping,

Was listening and peeping,

And watching his master the whole afternoon.

This Peter the Saint had pick'd out from his fellows,

To look to his fire, and to blow with the bellows,

To put on the Wall's-Ends and Lambton's whenever he

Chose to indulge in a little orfeverie;

For, of course, you have read

That St. Dunstan was bred

A Goldsmith, and never quite gave up the trade;

The Company -- richest in London, 'tis said --

Acknowledge him still as their Patron and Head;

Nor is it so long

Since a capital song

In his praise -- now recorded their archives among --

Delighted the noble and dignified throng

Of their guests, who, the newspapers told the whole town,

With cheers 'pledged the wine-cup to Dunstan's renown,'

When Lord Lyndhurst, The Duke, and Sir Robert, were dining,

At the Hall some time since with the Prime Warden Twining.

I am sadly digressing -- a fault which sometimes

One can hardly avoid in these gossiping rhymes --

A slight deviation's forgiven; but then this is

Too long, I fear, for a decent parenthesis,

So I'll rein up my Pegasus sharp, and retreat, or

You'll think I've forgotten the Lay-brother Peter,

Whom the Saint, as I said,

Kept to turn down his bed,

Dress his palfreys and cobs,

And do other odd jobs,--

As reducing to writing

Whatever he might, in

The course of the day or the night, be inditing,

And cleaning the plate of his mitre with whiting;

Performing, in short, all those duties and offices

Abbots exact from Lay-brothers and Novices.

It occurs to me here

You'll perhaps think it queer

That St. Dunstan should have such a personage near,

When he'd only to say

Those words,-- be what they may,--

And his Broomstick at once his commands would obey.--

That's true -- but the fact is

'Twas rarely his practice

Such aid to resort to, or such means apply,

Unless he'd some 'dignified knot' to untie,

Adopting, though sometimes, as now, he'd reverse it,

Old Horace's maxim, 'Nec Broomstick intersit.'

Peter, the Lay-brother, meagre and thin,

Heard all the Saint was saying within;

Peter, the Lay-brother, sallow and spare,

Peep'd through the key-hole, and -- what saw he there?--

Why,-- A Broomstick BRINGING A RUSH-BOTTOM'D CHAIR!

What Shakspeare observes, in his play of King John,

Is undoubtedly right,

That 'ofttimes the sight

Of means to do ill deeds will make ill deeds done.'

Here's Peter, the Lay-brother, pale-faced and meagre,

A good sort of man, only rather too eager

To listen to what other people are saying,

When he ought to be minding his business, or praying,

Gets into a scrape,-- and an awkward one too,

As you'll find, if you've patience enough to go through

The whole of the story

I'm laying before ye,

Entirely from having 'the means' in his view

Of doing a thing which he ought not to do!

Still rings in his ear

Distinct and clear

Abracadabra! that word of fear!

And the two which I never yet happen'd to hear.

Still doth he spy

With Fancy's eye

The Broomstick at work, and the Saint standing by;

And he chuckles, and says to himself with glee,

'Aha! that Broomstick shall work for me!'

Hark!-- that swell

O'er flood and o'er fell,

Mountain, and dingle, and moss-cover'd dell!

List!--'tis the sound of the Compline bell,

And St. Dunstan is quitting his ivy'd cell;

Peter, I wot,

Is off like a shot,

Or a little dog scalded by something that's hot,

For he hears his Master approaching the spot

Where he'd listen'd so long, though he knew he ought not:

Peter remember'd his Master's frown --

He trembled -- he'd not have been caught for a crown;

Howe'er you may laugh,

He had rather, by half,

Have run up to the top of the tower and jump'd down.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Compline hour is past and gone,

Evening service is over and done;

The monks repair

To their frugal fare,

A sung little supper of something light

And digestible, ere they retire for the night.

For, in Saxon times, in respect to their cheer,

St. Austin's Rule was by no means severe,

But allow'd, from the Beverley Roll 'twould appear,

Bread and cheese, and spring onions, and sound table-beer,

And even green peas, when they were not too dear;

Not like the rule of La Trappe, whose chief merit is

Said to consist in its greater austerities;

And whose monks, if I rightly remember their laws,

Ne'er are suffer'd to speak,

Think only in Greek,

And subsist as the Bears do, by sucking their paws.

Astonish'd I am

The gay Baron Geramb,

With his head sav'ring more of the Lion than Lamb,

Could e'er be persuaded to join such a set -- I

Extend the remark to Signor Ambrogetti.--

For a monk of La Trappe is as thin as a rat,

While an Austin Friar was jolly and fat;

Though, of course, the fare to which I allude.

With as good table-beer as ever was brew'd,

Was all 'caviare to the multitude,'

Extending alone to the clergy, together in

Hall assembled, and not to Lay-brethren.

St. Dunstan himself sits there at his post,

On what they say is

Called a Dais,

O'erlooking the whole of his clerical host,

And eating poach'd eggs with spinach and toast;

Five Lay-brothers stand behind his chair,

But where is the sixth? Where's Peter? -- Ay, WHERE?

'Tis an evening in June,

And a little half moon,

A brighter no fond lover ever set eyes on,

Gleaming, and beaming,

And dancing the stream in,

Has made her appearance above the horizon;

Just such a half moon as you see, in a play,

On the turban of Mustapha Muley Bey,

Or the fair Turk who weds with the 'Noble Lord Bateman;'

-- Vide plate in George Cruikshank's memoirs of that great man.

She shines on a turret remote and lone,

A turret with ivy and moss overgrown,

And lichens that thrive on the cold dank stone;

Such a tower as a Poet of no mean calibre

I once knew and loved, poor, dear Reginald Heber,

Assigns to Oblivion -- a den for a she-bear;

Within it are found,

Strew'd above and around,

On the hearth, on the table, the shelves and the ground,

All sorts of instruments, all sorts of tools,

To name which and their uses would puzzle the Schools,

And make very wise people look very like fools;

Pincers, and hooks,

And black-letter books,

All sorts of pokers, and all sorts of tongs,

And all sorts of hammers, and all that belongs

To Goldsmiths' work, chemistry, alchymy, all,

In short, that a Sage

In that erudite age

Could require, was at hand, or at least within call.

In the midst of the room lies a Broomstick!-- and there

A Lay-brother sits in a rush-bottom'd chair!

Abracadabra, that fearful word,

And the two which, I said, I have never yet heard,

Are utter'd.--'Tis done!

Peter, full of his fun,

Cries 'Broomstick! you lubberly son of a gun!

Bring ale! bring a flagon -- a hogshead -- a tun!

'Tis the same thing to you;

I have nothing to do;

And, 'fore George, I'll sit here, and I'll drink till all's

blue!'

No doubt you've remark'd how uncommonly quick

A Newfoundland puppy runs after a stick,

Brings it back to his master, and gives it him -- Well,

So potent the spell,

The Broomstick perceived it was vain to rebel,

So ran off like that puppy;-- some cellar was near,

For in less than ten seconds 'twas back with the beer.

Peter seizes the flagon; but ere he can suck

Its contents, or enjoy what he thinks his good luck,

The Broomstick comes in with a tub in a truck;

Continues to run

At the rate it begun,

And, au pied de lettre, next brings in a tun!

A fresh one succeeds, then a third, then another,

Discomfiting much the astounded Lay-brother;

Who, had he possess'd fifty pitchers or stoups,

They had all been too few; for, arranging in groups

The barrels, the Broomstick next started the hoops;

The ale deluged the floor,

But, still, through the door,

Said Broomstick kept bolting, and bringing in more.

E'en Macbeth to Macduff

Would have cried 'Hold! enough!'

If half as well drench'd with such 'perilous stuff,'

And Peter, who did not expect such a rough visit,

Cried lustily, 'Stop! That will do, Broomstick!-- Sufficit!'

But ah, well-a-day!

The devil, they say,

'Tis easier at all times to raise than to lay.

Again and again

Peter roar'd out in vain

His Abracadabra, and t' other words twain:

As well might one try

A pack in full cry

To check, and call off from their headlong career,

By bawling out 'Yoicks!' with one's hand at one's ear.

The longer he roar'd, and the louder and quicker,

The faster the Broomstick was bringing in liquor.

The poor Lay-brother knew

Not on earth what to do --

He caught hold of the Broomstick and snapt it in two.--

Worse and worse!-- Like a dart

Each part made a start,

And he found he'd been adding more fuel to fire,

For both now came loaded with Meux's entire;

Combe's, Delafield's, Hanbury's, Truman's -- no stopping --

Golding's, Charenton's, Whitbread's continued to drop in,

With Hodson's pale ale, from the Sun Brewhouse, Wapping.

The firms differ'd then, but I can't put a tax on

My memory to say what their names were in Saxon.

To be sure the best beer

Of all did not appear;

For I've said 'twas in June, and so late in the year

The 'Trinity Audit Ale' is not come-at-able,

As I've found to my great grief when dining at that table.

Now extremely alarm'd, Peter scream'd without ceasing,

For a flood of Brown-stout he was up to his knees in,

Which, thanks to the Broomstick, continued increasing;

He fear'd he'd be drown'd,

And he yell'd till the sound

Of his voice, wing'd by terror, at last reach'd the ear

Of St. Dunstan himself, who had finish'd his beer,

And had put off his mitre, dalmatic, and shoes,

And was just stepping into his bed for a snooze.

His Holiness paused when he heard such a clatter;

He could not conceive what on earth was the matter.

Slipping on a few things, for the sake of decorum,

He issued forthwith from his sanctum sanctorum,

And calling a few of the lay-brothers near him,

Who were not yet in bed, and who happen'd to hear him,

At once led the way,

Without farther delay,

To the tower where he'd been in the course of the day.

Poor Peter!-- alas! though St.Dunstan was quick,

There were two there before him -- Grim Death and Old Nick!--

When they open'd the door out the malt-liquor flow'd,

Just as when the great Vat burst in Tot'nam Court Road;

The Lay-brothers nearest were up to their necks

In an instant, and swimming in strong double X;

While Peter, who, spite of himself, now had drank hard,

After floating awhile, like a toast in a tankard,

To the bottom had sunk,

And was spied by a monk,

Stone-dead, like poor Clarence, half drown'd and half drunk.

In vain did St. Dunstan exclaim, 'Vade retro

Strongbeerum! discede a Lay-frate Petro!'--

Queer Latin, you'll say

That præfix of 'Lay,'

And Strongbeerum! -- I own they'd have call'd me a blockhead if

At school I had ventured to use such a Vocative,

'Tis a barbarous word, and to me it's a query

If you'll find it in Patrick, Morell, or Moreri;

But, the fact is, the Saint was uncommonly flurried,

And apt to be loose in his Latin when hurried;

The Brown-stout, however, obeys to the letter,

Quite as well as if talk'd to, in Latin much better,

By a grave Cambridge Johnian,

Or graver Oxonian,

Whose language, we all know, is quite Ciceronian.

It retires from the corpse, which is left high and dry;

But, in vain do they snuff and hot towels apply,

And other means used by the faculty try.

When once a man's dead

There's no more to be said:

Peter's 'Beer with an e' was his 'Bier with an i!!'

Moral.

By way of a moral, permit me to pop in

The following maxims: -- Beware of eaves-dropping!--

Don't make use of language that isn't well scann'd!--

Don't meddle with matters you don't understand!--

Above all, what I'd wish to impress on both sexes

Is,-- Keep clear of Broomsticks, Old Nick, and three XXXs.

L'Envoye.

In Goldsmith's Hall there's a handsome glass case,

And in it a stone figure found on the place,

When, thinking the old Hall no longer a pleasant one,

They pull'd it all down, and erected the present one.

If you look, you'll perceive that this stone figure twists

A thing like a broomstick in one of its fists.

It's so injured by time, you can't make out a feature;

But it is not St. Dunstan,-- so doubtless it's Peter.

NOTES.

1. St. Jingo, or Gengo (Gengulphus), sometimes styled 'The

Living Jingo'form the great tenaciousness of vitality exhibited

by his severed members. See his legend, as recorded in the

next.

Gengulphus, or as he is usually styled in this country,

'Jingo', was perhaps more in the mouths of the 'general' than

any other saint, on occasions of adjuration (see note to

previous legend). Mr. Simpkinson from Bath had kindly

transmitted to me a portion of a primitive ballad, which has

escaped the researches of Ritson and Ellis, but is yet replete

with beauties of no common order. I am happy to say that, since

these Legends first appeared, I have recovered the whole of it.

'A franklyn's dogge leped over a style,

And his name was littel Byngo!

B wyth a Y -- Y wyth an N,

N wyth a G -- G wyth an O --

They call'd him little Byngo!

This Franklyn, Syrs, he brewed goode ayle

And he called it Rare goode Styngo!

S, T, Y, N, G, O!

He called it Rare goode Styngo!

Nowe is not this a prettie song?

I think it is bye Jyngo!

J with a Y -- N, G, O --!

I swear it is by Jyngo!

A LAY OF ST. GENGULPHUS.

'Non multo post, Gengulphus, in domo sua dormiens, occisus est

a quodam clerico qui cum uxore sua adulterare solebat. Cujus

corpus dum in fereto in sepulturam portaretur, multi infirmi de

tactu sanati sunt.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Cum hoc illius uxori referretur ab ancilla sua, scilicet

dominum suum quam martyrem sanctum miracula facere, irridens

illa, et subsurrans, ait, 'Ita Gengulphus miracula facitat ut

pulvinarium meum cantat,' &c. &c.-- Wolfii Memorab.

Gengulphus comes from the Holy Land,

With his scrip, and his bottle, and sandal shoon;

Full many a day has he been away,

Yet his Lady deems him return'd full soon.

Full many a day has he been away,

Yet scarce had he crossed ayont the sea,

Ere a spruce young spark of a Learned Clerk

Had called on his Lady and stopp'd to tea.

This spruce young guest, so trimly drest,

Stay'd with that Lady, her revels to crown;

They laugh'd; and they ate, and they drank of the best,

And they turn'd the old Castle quite upside down.

They would walk in the park, that spruce young Clerk,

With that frolicsome Lady so frank and free,

Trying balls and plays, and all manner of ways,

To get rid of what French people call Ennui.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now the festive board, with viands is stored,

Savoury dishes be there, I ween,

Rich puddings and big, and a barbecued pig,

And oxtail soup in a China tureen.

There's a flagon of ale as large as a pail --

When, cockle on hat, and staff in hand,

While on nought they are thinking save eating and drinking,

Gengulphus walks in from the Holy Land!

'You must be pretty deep to catch weazels asleep,'

Says the proverb: that is, 'take the Fair unawares;'

A maid, o'er the banisters chancing to peep,

Whispers, 'Ma'am, here's Gengulphus a-coming upstairs.'

Pig, pudding, and soup, the electrified group,

With the flagon, pop under the sofa in haste,

And contrive to deposit the Clerk in the closet,

As the dish least of all to Gengulphus's taste.

Then oh! what rapture, what joy was exprest,

When 'poor dear Gengulphus' at last appear'd!

She kiss'd, and she press'd 'the dear man' to her breast,

In spite of his great, long, frizzly beard.

Such hugging and squeezing! 'twas almost unpleasing,

A smile on her lip, and a tear in her eye;

She was so very glad, that she seem'd half mad,

And did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

Then she calls up the maid, and the table cloth's laid,

And she sends for a pint of the best Brown Stout;

On the fire, too, she pops some nice mutton chops,

And she mixes a stiff glass of 'Cold Without.'

Then again she began at the 'poor dear' man;

She press'd him to drink, and she press'd him to eat,

And she brought a foot-pan with hot water and bran,

To comfort his 'poor dear' travel-worn feet.

'Nor night nor day since he'd been away,

Had she had any rest' she 'vow'd and declared.'

She 'never could eat one morsel of meat,

For thinking how 'poor dear' Gengulphus fared.'

She 'really did think she had not slept a wink

Since he left her, although he'd been absent so long.'

He here shook his head,-- right little he said;

But he thought she was 'coming it rather too strong.'

Now his palate she tickles with the chops and the pickles,

Till, so great the effect of that stiff gin grog,

His weaken'd body, subdued by the toddy,

Falls out of the chair, and he lies like a log.

Then out comes the Clerk from his secret lair;

He lifts up the legs, and she raises the head,

And, between them, this most reprehensible pair

Undress poor Gengulphus, and put him to bed.

Then the bolster they place athwart his face,

And his night-cap into his mouth they cram;

And she pinches his nose underneath the clothes,

Till the 'poor dear soul' went off like a lamb.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And now they try'd the deed to hide;

For a little bird whisper'd, 'Perchance you may swing;

Here's a corpse in the case with a sad swell'd face,

And a 'Crowner's Quest' is a queer sort of thing!'

So the Clerk and the Wife, they each took a knife,

And the nippers that nipp'd the loaf-sugar for tea;

With the edges and points they sever'd the joints

At the clavicle, elbow, hip, ankle, and knee.

Thus, limb from limb, they dismember'd him

So entirely, that e'en when they came to his wrists,

With those great sugar nippers they nipp'd off his 'flippers,'

As the Clerk, very flippantly, term'd his fists.

When they'd cut off his head, entertaining a dread

Lest folks should remember Gengulphus's face,

They determined to throw it, where no one could know it,

Down the well, and the limbs in some different place.

But first the long beard from the chin they shear'd,

And managed to stuff that sanctified hair,

With a good deal of pushing, all into the cushion,

That filled up the seat of a large arm-chair.

They contrived to pack up the trunk in a sack,

Which they hid in an osier-bed outside the town,

The Clerk bearing arms, legs, and all on his back,

As the late Mr. Greenacre served Mrs. Brown.

But to see now how strangely things sometimes turn out,

And that in a manner the least expected!

Who could surmise a man ever could rise

Who'd been thus carbonado'd, cut up, and dissected?

No doubt 'twould surprise the pupils at Guy's;

I am no unbeliever -- no man can say that o' me --

But St. Thomas himself would scarce trust his own eyes,

If he saw such a thing in his School of Anatomy.

You may deal as you please with Hindoos or Chinese,

Or a Mussulman making his heathen salaam, or

A Jew or a Turk, but it's other guess work

When a man has to do with a Pilgrim or Palmer.

By chance the Prince Bishop, a Royal Divine,

Sends his cards round the neighbourhood next day, and urges his

Wish to receive a snug party to dine

Of the resident clergy, the gentry, and burgesses.

At a quarter past five they are all alive

At the palace, for coaches are fast rolling in;

And to every guest his card had expressed

'Half past' as the hour for 'a greasy chin.'

Some thirty are seated, and handsomely treated

With the choicest Rhine wines in his Highness's stock;

When a Count of the Empire, who felt himself heated,

Requested some water to mix with his Hock.

The Butler, who saw it, sent a maid out to draw it,

But scarce had she given the windlass a twirl,

Ere Gengulphus's head from the well's bottom said

In mild accents, 'Do help us out, that's a good girl!'

Only fancy her dread when she saw a great head

In her bucket;-- with fright she was ready to drop:--

Conceive, if you can, how she roar'd and she ran,

With the head rolling after her bawling out 'Stop!'

She ran and she roar'd till she came to the board

Where the Prince Bishop sat with his party around,

When Gengulphus's poll, which continued to roll

At her heels, on the table bounced up with a bound.

Never touching the cates, or the dishes or plates,

The decanters or glasses, the sweetmeats or fruits,

The head smiles, and begs them to bring him his legs,

As a well-spoken gentleman asks for his boots.

Kicking open the casement, to each one's amazement,

Straight a right leg steps in, all impediment scorns,

And near the head stopping, a left follows hopping

Behind,-- for the left Leg was troubled with corns.

Next, before the beholders, two great brawny shoulders,

And arms on their bent elbows dance through the throng,

While two hands assist, though nipped off at the wrist,

The said shoulders in bearing a body along.

They march up to the head, not one syllable said,

For the thirty guests all stare in wonder and doubt,

As the limbs in their sight arrange and unite,

Till Gengulphus, though dead, looks as sound as a trout.

I will venture to say, from that hour to this day,

Ne'er did such an assembly behold such a scene;

Or a table divide fifteen guests of a side

With a dead body placed in the centre between.

Yes, they stared -- well they might at so novel a sight:

No one uttered a whisper, a sneeze, or a hem,

But sat all bolt upright, and pale with affright;

And they gazed at the dead man, the dead man at them.

The Prince Bishop's Jester, on punning intent,

As he view'd the whole thirty, in jocular terms

Said, 'They put him in mind of a Council of Trente

Engaged in reviewing the Diet of Worms.'

But what should they do?-- Oh! nobody knew

What was best to be done, either stranger or resident.

The Chancellor's self read his Puffendorf through

In vain, for his books could not furnish a precedent.

The Prince Bishop muttered a curse and a prayer,

Which his double capacity hit to a nicety;

His Princely, or Lay half induced him to swear,

His Episcopal moiety said 'Benedicite!'

The Coroner sat on the body that night,

And the jury agreed,-- not a doubt could they harbour,--

'That the chin of the corpse -- the sole thing brought to light

--

Had been recently shaved by a very bad barber.'

They sent out Von Taünsend, Von Bürnie, Von Roe,

Von Maine, and Von Rowantz -- through châlets and châteaux,

Towns, villages, hamlets, they told them to go,

And they stuck up placards on the walls of the Stadthaus.

'MURDER!!'

Whereas, a dead Gentleman, surname unknown,

Has been recently found at his Highness's banquet,

Rather shabbily drest in an Amice, or gown

In appearance resembling a second-hand blanket;

'And Whereas, there's great reason indeed to suspect

That some ill-disposed person or persons, with malice

Aforethought, have kill'd and begun to dissect

The said Gentleman, not very far from the palace;

'This is to give notice!-- Whoever shall seize,

And such person or persons to justice surrender,

Shall receive -- such Reward -- as his Highness shall please

On conviction of him, the aforesaid offender.

'And, in order the matter more clearly to trace

To the bottom, his Highness, the Prince Bishop, further,

Of his clemency, offers free Pardon and Grace

To all such as have not been concern'd in the murther.

'Done this day, at our palace,-- July twenty-five,--

By Command,

(Signed) Johann Von Rüssell. N.B.

Deceased rather in years -- had a squint when alive;

And smells slightly of gin -- linen mark'd with a G.'

The Newspapers, too, made no little ado,

Though a different version each managed to dish up;

Some said 'the Prince Bishop had run a man through,'

Others said 'an assassin had kill'd the Prince Bishop.'

The 'Ghent Herald' fell foul of the 'Bruxelles Gazette,'

The 'Bruxelles Gazette,' with much sneering ironical,

Scorn'd to remain in the 'Ghent Herald's' debt,

And the 'Amsterdam Times' quizzed the 'Nuremberg Chronicle.'

In one thing, indeed, all the journals agreed,

Spite of 'politics,' 'bias,' or 'party collision;'

Viz: to 'give,' when they'd 'further accounts' of the deed,

'Full particulars' soon, in 'a later Edition.'

But now, while on all sides they rode and they ran,

Trying all sorts of means to discover the caitiffs,

Losing patience, the holy Gengulphus began

To think it high time to 'astonish the natives.'

First, a Rittmeister's Frau, who was weak in both eyes,

And supposed the most short-sighted woman in Holland,

Found greater relief, to her joy and surprize,

From one glimpse of his 'squint' than from glasses by Dollond.

By the slightest approach to the tip of his Nose,

Megrims, headache, and vapours were put to the rout;

And one single touch of his precious Great Toes

Was a certain specific for chilblains and gout.

Rheumatics,-- sciatica,-- tic-douloureux!

Apply to his shin-bones -- not one of them lingers;--

All bilious complaints in an instant withdrew,

If the patient was tickled with one of his fingers.

Much virtue was found to reside in his thumbs;

When applied to the chest, they cured scantness of breathing,

Sea-sickness, and colick; or, rubbed on the gums,

Were remarkably soothing to infants in teething.

Whoever saluted the nape of his neck,

Where the mark remained visible still of the knife,

Notwithstanding east winds perspiration might check,

Was safe from sore-throat for the rest of his life.

Thus, while each acute, and each chronic complaint,

Giving way, proved an influence clearly divine,

They perceived the dead Gentleman must be a Saint,

So they lock'd him up, body and bones, in a shrine.

Through country and town his new Saintship's renown,

As a first-rate physician, kept daily increasing,

Till, as Alderman Curtis told Alderman Brown,

It seemed as if 'wonders had never done ceasing.'

The Three Kings of Cologne began, it was known,

A sad falling off in their off' rings to find;

His feats were so many -- still the greatest of any,--

In every sense of the word, was -- behind;

For the German Police were beginning to cease

From exertions which each day more fruitless appear'd,

When Gengulphus himself, his fame still to increase,

Unravell'd the whole by the help of -- his beard!

If you look back you'll see the aforesaid barbe gris,

When divorced from the chin of its murder'd proprietor,

Had been stuffed in the seat of a kind of settee,

Or double-arm'd chair, to keep the thing quieter.

It may seem rather strange, that it did not arrange

Itself in its place when the limbs join'd together;

P'rhaps it could not get out, for the cushion was stout,

And constructed of good, strong, maroon-colour'd leather.

Or, what is more likely, Gengulphus might choose,

For Saints, e'en when dead, still retain their volition,

It should rest there, to aid some particular views

Produced by his very peculiar position.

Be that as it may, the very first day

That the widow Gengulphus sat down on that settee,

What occurr'd almost frighten'd her senses away,

Beside scaring her hand-maidens, Gertrude and Betty.

They were telling their mistress the wonderful deeds

Of the new Saint, to whom all the Town said their orisons;

And especially how, as regards invalids,

His miraculous cures far outrivall'd Von Morison's.

'The cripples,' said they, 'fling their crutches away,

And people born blind now can easily see us!'--

But she, (we presume, a disciple of Hume,)

Shook her head, and said angrily, 'Credat Judæus!'

'Those rascally liars, the Monks and the Friars,

To bring grist to their mill, these devices have hit on.--

He works miracles!-- pooh!-- I'd believe it of you

Just as soon, you great Geese, or the chair that I sit on!'

The Chair!-- at that word -- it seems really absurd,

But the truth must be told,-- what contortions and grins

Distorted her face!-- She sprang up from the place

Just as though she'd been sitting on needles and pins!

For, as if the Saint's beard the rash challenge had heard

Which she utter'd, of what was beneath her forgetful,

Each particular hair stood on end in the chair,

Like a porcupine's quills when the animal's fretful.

That stout maroon leather, they pierced altogether,

Like tenter-hooks holding when clenched from within,

And the maids cried 'Good gracious! how very tenacious!'

-- They as well might endeavour to pull off her skin!

She shriek'd with the pain, but all efforts were vain;

In vain did they strain every sinew and muscle,--

The cushion stuck fast!-- From that hour to her last

She could never get rid of that comfortless 'Bustle!'

And e'en as Macbeth, when devising the death

Of his King, heard 'the very stones prate of his whereabouts;'

So this shocking bad wife heard a voice all her life

Crying 'Murder!' resound from the cushion,-- or thereabouts.

With regard to the Clerk, we are left in the dark,

As to what his fate was; but I cannot imagine he

Got off scot-free, though unnoticed it be

Both by Ribadaneira and Jacques de Voragine:

For cut-throats, we're sure, can be never secure,

And 'History's Muse' still to prove it her pen holds,

As you'll see, if you look in a rather scarce book,

'God's Revenge against Murder,' by one Mr. Reynolds.

Moral

Now, you grave married Pilgrims, who wander away,

Like Ulysses of old, (vide Homer and Naso,)

Don't lengthen your stay to three years and a day!

And when you are coming home, just write and say so!

And you, learned Clerks, who're not given to roam,

Stick close to your books, nor lose sight of decorum;

Don't visit a house when the master's from home!

Shun drinking,-- and study the 'Vitæ Sanctorum!'

Above all, you gay Ladies, who fancy neglect

In your spouses, allow not your patience to fail;

But remember Gengulphus's wife!-- and reflect

On the moral enforced by her terrible tale!

Mr. Barney Maguire has laid claim to the next Saint as a

countrywoman: and 'Why wouldn't he?' when all the world knows

the O'Dells were a fine, ould, ancient family, sated in

Tipperary

'Ere the Lord mayor stole his collar of gowld,

And sold it away to a trader*?

He is manifestly wrong; but, as he very rationally observes,

'No matter for that,-- she's a Saint any way!'

*Note: The 'Inglorious Memory' of this ould ancient transaction

is still, we understand, kept up in Dublin by an annual

proclamation at one of the city gates. The jewel, which has

replaced the abstracted ornament, is said to have been

presented by King William, and worn by Daniel O' Connell, Esq.

THE LAY OF ST. ODILLE.

Odille was a maid of a dignified race;

Her father, Count Otto, was lord of Alsace;

Such an air, such a grace,

Such a form, such a face,

All agreed 'twere a fruitless endeavour to trace

In the Court, or within fifty miles of the place.

Many ladies in Strasburg were beautiful, still

They were beat all to sticks by the lovely Odille.

But Odille was devout, and, before she was nine,

Had 'experienced a call' she consider'd divine,

To put on the veil at St. Ermengarde's shrine.--

Lords, Dukes, and Electors, and Counts Palatine

Came to seek her in marriage from both sides the Rhine;

But vain their design,

They are all left to pine,

Their oglings and smiles are all useless; in fine,

Not one of these gentlefolks, try as they will,

Can draw 'Ask my papa' from the cruel Odille.

At length one of her suitors, a certain Count Herman,

A highly respectable man as a German,

Who smoked like a chimney, and drank like a merman,

Paid his court to her father, conceiving his firman

Would soon make her bend,

And induce her to lend

An ear to a love-tale in lieu of a sermon.

He gained the old Count, who said, 'Come, Mynheer, fill!--

Here's luck to yourself and my daughter Odille!'

The lady Odille was quite nervous with fear

When a little bird whisper'd that toast in her ear;

She murmur'd 'Oh, dear!

My papa has got queer,

I am sadly afraid, with that nasty strong beer!

He's so very austere, and severe, that it's clear

If he gets in his 'tantrums,' I can't remain here;

But St. Ermengarde's convent is luckily near;

It were folly to stay,

Pour prendre congé,

I shall put on my bonnet, and e'en run away!'

-- She unlock'd the back door, and descended the hill,

On whose crest stood the towers of the sire of Odille.

When he found she'd levanted, the Count of Alsace

At first turn'd remarkably red in the face;

He anathematized, with much unction and grace,

Every soul who came near, and consign'd the whole race

Of runaway girls to a very warm place.

With a frightful grimace

He gave orders for chase.

His vassals set off at a deuce of a pace,

And of all whom they met, high or low, Jack or Jill,

Ask'd, 'Pray, have you seen anything of Odille?'--

Now I think I've been told,-- for I'm no sporting man,--

That the 'knowing-ones' call this by far the best plan,

'Take the lead and then keep it!'-- that is if you can.--

Odille thought so too, so she set off and ran;

Put her best leg before,

Starting at score,

As I said some lines since, from that little back door,

And not being missed until half after four,

Had what hunters call 'law' for a good hour and more;

Doing her best,

Without stopping to rest,

Like 'young Lochinvar who came out of the West,'

''Tis done! I am gone!-- over briar, brook, and rill!

They'll be sharp lads who catch me!' said young Miss Odille.

But you've all read in Æsop, or Phædrus, or Gay,

How a tortoise and hare ran together one day,

How the hare, 'making play,

Progress'd right slick away,'

As 'them tarnation chaps' the Americans say;

While the tortoise, whose figure is rather outré

For racing, crawled straight on, without let or stay,

Having no post-horse duty or turnpikes to pay,

Till ere noon's ruddy ray

Changed to eve's sober grey,

Though her form and obesity caused some delay,

Perseverance and patience brought up her lee-way,

And she chased her fleet-footed 'praycursor,' until

She o'ertook her at last;-- so it fared with Odille.

For although, as I said, she ran gaily at first,

And show'd no inclination to pause, if she durst;

She at length felt opprest with the heat, and with thirst

Its usual attendant; nor was that the worst,

Her shoes went down at heel;-- at last one of them burst.

Now a gentleman smiles

At a trot of ten miles;

But not so the Fair; then consider the stiles,

And as then ladies seldom wore things with a frill

Round the ancle, these stiles sadly bother'd Odille.

Still, despite all the obstacles placed in her track,

She kept steadily on, though the terrible crack

In her shoe made of course her progression more slack,

Till she reached the Swartz Forest (in English The Black);

I cannot divine

How the boundary line

Was passed which is somewhere there formed by the Rhine.

Perhaps she'd the knack

To float o'er on her back.

Or perhaps crossed the old bridge of boats at Brisach,

(Which Vauban some years after secured from attack,

By a bastion of stone which the Germans call 'Wacke,')

All I know is she took not so much as a snack,

Till hungry and worn, feeling wretchedly ill,

On a mountain's brow sank down the weary Odille.

I said on its 'brow,' but I should have said 'crown,'

For 'twas quite on the summit, bleak, barren, and brown,

And so high that 'twas frightful indeed to look down

Upon Friburg, a place of some little renown,

That lay at its foot; but imagine the frown

That contracted her brow, when full many a clown

She perceived coming up from that horrid post-town.

They had followed her trail,

And now thought without fail,

As little boys say, to 'lay salt on her tail;'

While the Count, who knew no other law but his will,

Swore that Herman that evening should marry Odille.

Alas, for Odille; poor dear! what could she do?

Her father's retainers now had her in view,

As she found from their raising a joyous halloo;

While the Count, riding on at the head of his crew,

In their snuff-coloured doublets and breeches of blue,

Was huzzaing and urging them on to pursue.--

What, indeed, could she do?

She very well knew

If they caught her how much she should have to go through;

But then -- she'd so shocking a hole in her shoe!

And to go further on was impossible;-- true

She might jump o'er the precipice; still there are few

In her place who could manage their courage to screw

Up to bidding the world such a sudden adieu:

Alack! how she envied the birds as they flew;

No Nassau balloon with its wicker canoe

Came to bear her from him she loathed worse than a Jew;

So she fell on her knees in a terrible stew,

Crying 'Holy St. Ermengarde!

Oh, from these vermin guard

Her whose last hope rests entirely on you!

Don't let papa catch me, dear Saint!-- rather kill

At once, sur le champ, your devoted Odille!'

Its delightful to see those who strive to oppress

Get baulk'd when they think themselves sure of success.

The Saint came to the rescue! I fairly confess

I don't see, as a Saint, how she well could do less

Than to get such a votary out of her mess.

Odille had scarce closed her pathetic address

When the rock, gaping wide as the Thames at Sheerness,

Closed again, and secured her within its recess,

In a natural grotto,

Which puzzled Count Otto,

Who could not conceive where the deuce she had got to.

'Twas her voice!-- but 'twas Vox et præterea Nil!

Nor could any one guess what was gone with Odille.

Then burst from the mountain a splendour that quite

Eclipsed in its brilliance the finest Bude light,

And there stood St. Ermengarde drest all in white,

A palm-branch in her left hand, her beads in her right;

While with faces fresh gilt, and with wings burnish'd bright,

A great many little boys' heads took their flight

Above and around to a very great height,

And seem'd pretty lively considering their plight,

Since every one saw,

With amazement and awe,

They could never sit down, for they hadn't de quoi.

All at the sight,

From the knave to the knight,

Felt a very unpleasant sensation called fright;

While the Saint, looking down,

With a terrible frown,

Said, 'My Lords you are done most remarkably brown!--

I am really ashamed of you both; my nerves thrill

At your scandalous conduct to poor dear Odille!

Come, make yourselves scarce! it is useless to stay,

You will gain nothing here by a longer delay.

'Quick! Presto! Begone!' as the conjurors say;

For as to the lady, I've stow'd her away

In this hill, in a stratum of London blue clay;

And I shan't, I assure you, restore her to day

Till you faithfully promise no more to say Nay,

But declare, 'If she will be a nun, why she may.'

For this you've my word, and I never yet broke it,

So put that in your pipe, my Lord Otto, and smoke it!--

One hint to your vassals,-- a month at 'the Mill'

Shall be nuts to what they'll get who worry Odille!'

The Saint disappear'd as she ended, and so

Did the little boys' heads, which, above and below,

As I told you a very few stanzas ago,

Had been flying about her, and jumping Jem Crow;

Though, without any body, or leg, foot, or toe,

How they managed such antics, I really don't know;

Be that as it may, they all 'melted like snow

Off a dyke,' as the Scotch say in sweet Edinbro'.

And there stood the Count,

With his men on the mount,

Just like 'twenty-four jackasses all on a row.'

What was best to be done?--' twas a sad bitter pill;

But gulp it he must, or else lose his Odille.

The lord of Alsace therefore alter'd his plan,

And said to himself, like a sensible man,

'I can't do as I would,-- I must do as I can;'

It will not do to lie under any Saint's ban,

For your hide, when you do, they all manage to tan;

So Count Herman must pick up some Betsey or Nan,

Instead of my girl,-- some Sue, Polly, or Fan;--

If he can't get the corn he must do with the bran,

And make shift with the pot if he can't have the pan.

After words such as these

He went down on his knees,

And said, 'Blessed St. Ermengarde, just as you please--

They shall build a new convent,-- I'll pay the whole bill,

(Taking discount,)-- its Abbess shall be my Odille!'

There are some of my readers, I'll venture to say,

Who have never seen Friburg, though some of them may,

And others 'tis likely may go there some day.

Now if ever you happen to travel that way

I do beg and pray,--' twill your pains well repay,--

That you'll take what the Cockney folks call a 'po-shay,'

(Though in Germany these things are more like a dray);

You may reach this same hill with a single relay,--

And do look how the rock,

Through the whole of its block,

Is split open as though by some violent shock

From an earthquake, or lightning, or horrid hard knock

From the club-bearing fist of some jolly old cock

Of a Germanized giant, Thor, Woden, or Lok;

And see how it rears

Its two monstrous great ears,

For when once you're between them such each side appears;

And list to the sound of the water one hears

Drip, drip from the fissures, like rain-drops or tears:

-- Odille's, I believe,-- which have flow'd all these years;

-- I think they account for them so;-- but the rill

I'm sure is connected some way with Odille.

Moral.

Now then for a moral, which always arrives

At the end, like the honey bees take to their hives,

And the more one observes it the better one thrives.--

We have all heard it said in the course of our lives

'Needs must when a certain old gentleman drives,'

'Tis the same with a lady,-- if once she contrives

To get hold of the ribands, how vainly one strives

To escape from her lash, or to shake off her gyves.

Then let's act like Count Otto, and while one survives

Succumb to our She-Saints -- videlicet wives.

(Aside.)

That is if one has not a 'good bunch of fives.'--

(I can't think how that last line escaped from my quill,

For I am sure it has nothing to do with Odille.)

Now young ladies to you!--

Don't put on the shrew!

And don't be surprised if your father looks blue

When you're pert, and won't act as he wants you to do!

Be sure that you never elope;-- there are few,--

Believe me you'll find what I say to be true,--

Who run restive, but find as they bake they must brew,

And come off at the last with 'a hole in their shoe;'

Since not even Clapham, that sanctified ville,

Can produce enough Saints to save every Odille.

'Nycolas, cytezyn of ye cyte of Pancraes, was borne of ryche

and holye kynne.

And hys father was named Epiphanus, and hys moder Johane.'

He was born on a cold frosty morning, on the 6th of December,

(upon which day his feast is still observed,) but in what anno

Domini is not so clear; his baptismal register, together with

that of his friend and colleague, St. Thomas at Hill, having

been 'lost in the great fire of London.'

St Nicholas was a great patron of mariners, and, saving your

presence -- of Thieves also, which honourable fraternity have

long rejoiced in the appellation of his 'Clerks.' Cervantes'

story of Sancho's detecting a sum of money in a swindler's

walking-stick, is merely a Spanish version of a 'Lay of St.

Nicholas,' extant 'in choice Italian' a century before Honest

Miguel was born.

A LAY OF ST. NICHOLAS.

'Statim sacerdoti apparuit diabolus in specie puellæ

pulchritudinis miræ, et ecce Divus, fide catholica et cruce et

aqua benedicta armatus, venit, et aspersit aquam in nomine

Sanctæ et Individuæ Trinitatis, quam, quasi ardentem, diabolus,

nequaquam sustinere valens, mugitibus fugit.'

-- Roger Hoveden.

LORD ABBOT! Lord Abbot! I'd fain confess;

I am a-weary, and worn with woe;

Many a grief doth my heart oppress,

And haunt me whithersoever I go!'

On bended knee spake the beautiful Maid;

'Now lithe and listen, Lord Abbot, to me!'--

'Now naye, Fair Daughter,' the Lord Abbot said,

'Now naye, in sooth it may hardly be;

'There is Mess Michael, and holy Mess John,

Sage Penitauncers I ween be they!

And hard by doth dwell, in St. Catherine's cell,

Ambrose, the anchorite old and grey!'

'-- Oh, I will have none of Ambrose or John,

Though sage Penitauncers I trow they be;

Shrive me may none save the Abbot alone.

Now listen, Lord Abbot, I speak to thee.

'Nor think foul scorn, though mitre adorn

Thy brow, to listen to shrift of mine.

I am a Maiden royally born,

And I come of old Plantagenet's line.

'Though hither I stray in lowly array,

I am a Damsel of high degree;

And the Compte of Eu, and the Lord of Ponthieu,

They serve my father on bended knee!

'Counts a many, and Dukes a few,

A suitoring came to my father's Hall;

But the Duke of Lorraine, with his large domain,

He pleased my father beyond them all.

'Dukes a many, and Counts a few,

I would have wedded right cheerfullie;

But the Duke of Lorraine was uncommonly plain,

And I vow'd that he ne'er should my bridegroom be!

'So hither I fly, in lowly guise,

From their gilded domes and their princely halls;

Fain would I dwell in some holy cell,

Or within some Convent's peaceful walls!'

-- Then out and spake that proud Lord Abbot,

'Now rest thee, Fair Daughter, withouten fear;

Nor Count nor Duke but shall meet the rebuke

Of Holy Church an he seek thee here:

'Holy Church denieth all search

'Midst her sanctified ewes and her saintly rams;

And the wolves doth mock who would scathe her flock,

Or, especially, worry her little pet lambs.

'Then lay, Fair Daughter, thy fears aside,

For here this day shalt thou dine with me!'--

'Now naye, now naye,' the fair maiden cried;

'In sooth, Lord Abbot, that scarce may be!

'Friends would whisper, and foes would frown,

Sith thou art a Churchman of high degree,

And ill mote it match with thy fair renown

That a wandering damsel dine with thee!

'There is Simon the Deacon hath pulse in store,

With beans and lettuces fair to see;

His lenten fare now let me share,

I pray thee, Lord Abbot, in charitie!'

--'Though Simon the Deacon hath pulse in store,

To our patron Saint foul shame it were

Should wayworn guest, with toil oppress'd,

Meet in his abbey such churlish fare.

'There is Peter the Prior, and Francis the Friar,

And Roger the Monk shall our convives be;

Small scandal I ween shall then be seen;

They are a goodly companie!'

The Abbot hath donn'd his mitre and ring,

His rich dalmatic, and maniple fine;

And the choristers sing as the lay-brothers bring

To the board a magnificent turkey and chine.

The turkey and chine, they are done to a nicety;

Liver, and gizzard, and all are there:

Ne'er mote Lord Abbot pronounce Benedicite

Over more luscious or delicate fare.

But no pious stave he, no Pater or Ave

Pronounced, as he gazed on that maiden's face:

She ask'd him for stuffing, she ask'd him for gravy,

She ask'd him for gizzard;-- but not for Grace!

Yet gaily the Lord Abbot smiled and press'd,

And the blood-red wine in the wine-cup fill'd;

And he help'd his guest to a bit of the breast,

And he sent the drumsticks down to be grill'd.

There was no lack of old Sherris sack,

Of Hippocras fine, or of Malmsey bright;

And aye, as he drained off his cup with a smack,

He grew less pious and more polite.

She pledged him once, and she pledged him twice,

And she drank as a Lady ought not to drink;

And he press'd her hand 'neath the table thrice,

And he wink'd as an Abbot ought not to wink.

And Peter the Prior, and Francis the Friar,

Sat each with a napkin under his chin;

But Roger the Monk got excessively drunk,

So they put him to bed, and they tuck'd him in!

The lay-brothers gazed on each other, amazed;

And Simon the Deacon, with grief and surprise,

As he peep'd through the key-hole could scarce fancy real

The scene he beheld, or believe his own eyes.

In his ear was ringing the Lord Abbot singing,--

He could not distinguish the words very plain,

But 'twas all about 'Cole,' and 'jolly old Soul,'

And 'Fiddlers,' and 'Punch,' and things quite as profane.

Even Porter Paul, at the sound of such revelling,

With fervour began himself to bless;

For he thought he must somehow have let the devil in,--

And perhaps was not very much out in his guess.

The Accusing Byers <1> 'flew up to Heaven's Chancery,'

Blushing like scarlet with shame and concern;

The Archangel took down his tale, and in answer he

Wept -- (See the works of the late Mr. Sterne.)

Indeed, it is said, a less taking both were in

When, after a lapse of a great many years,

They book'd Uncle Toby five shillings for swearing,

And blotted the fine out at last with their tears!

But St. Nicholas' agony who may paint?

His senses at first were well-nigh gone;

The beatified Saint was ready to faint

When he saw in his Abbey such sad goings on!

For never, I ween, had such doings been seen

There before, from the time that most excellent Prince,

Earl Baldwin of Flanders, and other Commanders,

Had built and endow'd it some centuries since.

-- But, hark!--' tis a sound from the outermost gate!

A startling sound from a powerful blow.

Who knocks so late?-- it is half after eight

By the clock,-- and the clock's five minutes too slow.

Never, perhaps, had such loud double raps

Been heard in St. Nicholas' Abbey before;

All agreed 'it was shocking to keep people knocking,'

But none seem'd inclined to 'answer the door.'

Now a louder bang through the cloisters rang,

And the gate on its hinges wide open flew;

And all were aware of a Palmer there,

With his cockle, hat, staff, and his sandal shoe.

Many a furrow, and many a frown,

By toil and time on his brow were traced;

And his long loose gown was of ginger brown,

And his rosary dangled below his waist.

Now seldom, I ween, is such costume seen,

Except at a stage-play or masquerade;

But who doth not know it was rather the go

With Pilgrims and Saints in the second Crusade?

With noiseless stride did that Palmer glide

Across that oaken floor;

And he made them all jump, he gave such a thump

Against the Refectory door!

Wide open it flew, and plain to the view

The Lord Abbot they all mote see;

In his hand was a cup, and he lifted it up,

'Here's the Pope's good health with three!!'--

Rang in their ears three deafening cheers,

'Huzza! huzza! huzza!'

And one of the party said, 'Go it, my hearty!'--

When out spake that Pilgrim grey --

'A boon, Lord Abbot! a boon! a boon!

Worn is my foot, and empty my scrip;

And nothing to speak of since yesterday noon

Of food, Lord Abbot, hath pass'd my lip.

'And I am come from a far countree,

And have visited many a holy shrine;

And long have I trod the sacred sod

Where the Saints do rest in Palestine!'--

'An thou art come from a far countree,

And if thou in Paynim lands hast been,

Now rede me aright the most wonderful sight,

Thou Palmer grey, that thine eyes have seen.

'Arede me aright the most wonderful sight,

Grey Palmer, that ever thine eyes did see,

And a manchette of bread, and a good warm bed,

And a cup o' the best shall thy guerdon be!'--

'Oh! I have been east, and I have been west,

And I have seen many a wonderful sight;

But never to me did it happen to see

A wonder like that which I see this night!

'To see a Lord Abbot, in rochet and stole,

With Prior and Friar,-- a strange mar-velle!--

O'er a jolly full bowl, sitting cheek by jowl,

And hob-nobbing away with a Devil from Hell!'

He felt in his gown of ginger brown,

And he pull'd out a flask from beneath;

It was rather tough work to get out the cork,

But he drew it at last with his teeth.

O'er a pint and a quarter of holy water

He made the sacred sign;

And he dash'd the whole on the soi-disante daughter

Of old Plantagenet's line!

Oh! then did she reek, and squeak, and shriek,

With a wild unearthly scream;

And fizzled and hiss'd, and produced such a mist,

They were all half-choked by the steam.

Her dove-like eyes turn'd to coals of fire,

Her beautiful nose to a horrible snout,

Her hands to paws with nasty great claws,

And her bosom went in, and her tail came out.

On her chin there appear'd a long Nanny-goat's beard,

And her tusks and her teeth no man mote tell;

And her horns and her hoofs gave infallible proofs

'Twas a frightful Fiend from the nethermost Hell!

The Palmer threw down his ginger gown,

His hat and his cockle; and, plain to sight,

Stood St. Nicholas' self, and his shaven crown

Had a glow-worm halo of heavenly light.

The Fiend made a grasp, the Abbot to clasp;

But St. Nicholas lifted his holy toe,

And, just in the nick, let fly such a kick

On his elderly Namesake, he made him let go.

And out of the window he flew like a shot,

For the foot flew up with a terrible thwack,

And caught the foul demon about the spot

Where his tail joins on to the small of his back.

And he bounded away, like a foot-ball at play,

Till into the bottomless pit he fell slap,

Knocking Mammon the meagre o'er pursy Belphegor,

And Lucifer into Beelzebub's lap.

Oh! happy the slip from his Succubine grip,

That saved the Lord Abbot,-- though, breathless with fright,

In escaping he tumbled, and fractured his hip,

And his left leg was shorter thenceforth than his right!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the banks of the Rhine, as he's stopping to dine,

From a certain Inn-window the traveller is shown

Most picturesque ruins, the scene of these doings,

Some miles up the river, south-east of Cologne.

And, while 'sour-kraut' she sells you, the Landlady tells you

That there, in those walls, now all roofless and bare,

One Simon, a Deacon, from a lean grew a sleek one,

On filling a ci-devant Abbot's state chair.

How a ci-devant Abbot, all clothed in drab, but

Of texture the coarsest, hair shirt, and no shoes,

(His mitre and ring, and all that sort of thing

Laid aside,) in yon Cave lived a pious recluse;

How he rose with the sun, limping, 'dot and go one,'

To you rill of the mountain, in all sorts of weather,

Where a Prior and a Friar, who lived somewhat higher

Up the rock, used to come and eat cresses together;

How a thirsty old codger, the neighbours call'd Roger,

With them drank cold water in lieu of old wine!

What its quality wanted he made up in quantity,

Swigging as though he would empty the Rhine!

And how, as their bodily strength fail'd, the mental man

Gain'd tenfold vigour and force in all four;

And how, to the day of their death, the 'Old Gentleman'

Never attempted to kidnap them more.

And how, when at length, in the odour of sanctity,

All of them died without grief or complaint;

The Monks of St. Nicholas said 'twas ridiculous

Not to suppose every one was a Saint.

And how, in the Abbey, no one was so shabby

As not to say yearly four masses a head,

On the eve of that supper, and kick on the crupper

Which Satan received, for the souls of the dead!

How folks long held in reverence their reliques and memories,

How the ci-devant Abbot's obtain'd greater still,

When some cripples, on touching his fractured os femoris,

Threw down their crutches, and danced a quadrille.

And how Abbot Simon, (who turn'd out a prime one,)

These words, which grew into a proverb full soon,

O'er the late Abbot's grotto, stuck up as a motto,

'Who suppes with the Devylle sholde have a long spoone!!'

NOTES

1. The Accusing Byers: The prince of Peripatetic Informers, and

terror of Stage Coach-men, when such things were. Alack! Alack!

the Railroads have ruined his 'vested interest.'

Rohesia, daughter of Ambrose, and sister to Sir Everard

Ingoldsby, was born about the beginning of the 16th century,

and was married in 1526, at St. Giles's, Cripplegate in the

City of London. The following narrative contains all else that

is known of

THE LADY ROHESIA.

THE Lady Rohesia lay on her death-bed!

So said the doctor, and doctors are generally allowed to

be judges in these matters; besides Doctor Butts was the Court

Physician: he carried a crutch-handled staff, with its cross of

the blackest ebony,-- raison de plus.

'Is there no hope, Doctor? said Beatrice Grey.

'Is there no hope?' said Everard Ingoldsby.

'Is there no hope?' said Sir Guy de Montgomeri. He was the

Lady Rohesia's husband;-- he spoke the last.

The doctor shook his head. He looked at the disconsolate

widower in posse, then at the hour-glass; its waning sand

seemed sadly to shadow forth the sinking pulse of his patient.

Doctor Butts was a very learned man. 'Ars longa, vita brevis!'

said Doctor Butts.

'I am very sorry to hear it,' quoth Sir Guy de Montgomeri.

Sir Guy was a brave knight, and a tall; but be was no

scholar.

'Alas! my poor sister!' sighed Ingoldsby.

'Alas! my poor Mistress!' sobbed Beatrice.

Sir Guy neither sighed nor sobbed; his grief was too deep-

seated for outward manifestation.

'And how long, Doctor --?' The afflicted husband could not

finish the sentence.

Doctor Butts withdrew his hand from the wrist of the dying

lady. He pointed to the horologe; scarcely a quarter of its

sand remained in the upper moiety. Again he shook his head; the

eye of the patient waxed dimmer, the rattling in the throat

increased.

'What's become of Father Francis?' whimpered Beatrice.

'The last consolations of the Church --' suggested

Everard.

A darker shade came over the brow of Sir Guy.

'Where is the Confessor?' continued his grieving brother

in-law.

'In the pantry,' cried Marion Racket pertly, as she

tripped down stairs in search of that venerable ecclesiastic;--

' in the pantry, I warrant me.' The bower-woman was not wont to

be in the wrong; in the pantry was the holy man discovered,--

at his devotions.

'Pax vobiscum!' said Father Francis, as he entered the

chamber of death.

'Vita brevis!' retorted Doctor Butts. He was not a man to

be browbeat out of his Latin,-- and by a paltry Friar Minim,

too. Had it been a Bishop, indeed, or even a mitred Abbot,--

but a miserable Franciscan!

'Benedicite!' said the Friar.

'Ars longa!' returned the Leech.

Doctor Butts adjusted the tassels of his falling band;

drew his short sad-coloured cloak closer around him; and,

grasping his cross-handled walking-staff, stalked majestically

out of the apartment. Father Francis had the field to himself.

The worthy chaplain hastened to administer the last rites

of the Church. To all appearance he had little time to lose; as

he concluded, the dismal toll of the passing-bell sounded from

the belfry tower,-- little Hubert, the bandy-legged sacristan,

was pulling with all his might. It was a capital contrivance

that same passing-bell,-- which of the Urbans or Innocents

invented it is a query; but, whoever he was, he deserved well

of his country and of Christendom.

Ah! our ancestors were not such fools, after all, as we,

their degenerate children, conceit them to have been. The

passing-bell! a most solemn warning to imps of every

description, is not to be regarded with impunity; the most

impudent Succubus of them all dare as well dip his claws in

holy water as come within the verge of its sound. Old Nick

himself, if he sets any value at all upon his tail, had best

convey himself clean out of hearing, and leave the way open to

Paradise. Little Hubert continued pulling with all his might,--

and St. Peter began to look out for a customer.

The knell seemed to have some effect even upon the Lady

Rohesia; she raised her head slightly; inarticulate sounds

issued from her lips,-- inarticulate, that is, to the profane

ears of the laity. Those of Father Francis, indeed, were

sharper; nothing, as he averred, could be more distinct than

the words, 'A thousand marks to the priory of St. Mary

Rouncival.'

Now the Lady Rohesia Ingoldsby had brought her husband

broad lands and large possessions; much of her ample dowry,

too, was at her own disposal; and nuncupative wills had not yet

been abolished by Act of Parliament.

'Pious soul!' ejaculated Father Francis. 'A thousand

marks, she said----'

'If she did, I'll be shot!' said Sir Guy de Montgomeri.

'--A thousand marks!' continued the Confessor, fixing his

cold grey eye upon the knight, as be went on heedless of the

interruption;-- a thousand marks! and as many Aves and Paters

shall be duly said -- as soon as the money is paid down.'

Sir Guy shrank from the monk's gaze; he turned to the

window, and muttered to himself something that sounded like

'Don't you wish you may get it?'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The bell continued to toll. Father Francis had quitted the

room, taking with him the remains of the holy oil he had been

using for Extreme Unction. Everard Ingoldsby waited on him down

stairs.

'A thousand thanks!' said the latter.

'A thousand marks!' said the Friar.

'A thousand devils!' growled Sir Guy de Montgomeri, from

the top of the landing-place.

But his accents fell unheeded; his brother-in-law and the

Friar were gone; he was left alone with his departing lady and

Beatrice Grey.

Sir Guy de Montgomeri stood pensively at the foot of the

bed; his arms were crossed upon his bosom, his chin was sunk

upon his breast; his eyes were filled with tears; the dim rays

of the fading watchlight gave a darker shade to the furrows on

his brow, and a brighter tint to the little bald patch on the

top of his head,-- for Sir Guy was a middle-aged gentleman,

tall and portly withal, with a slight bend in his shoulders,

but that not much; his complexion was somewhat florid,--

especially about the nose; but his lady was in extremis, and at

this particular moment be was paler than usual.

Bim! bome!' went the bell. The knight groaned audibly;

Beatrice Grey wiped her eye with her little square apron of

lace de Malines; there was a moment's pause,-- a moment of

intense affliction; she let it fall,-- all but one corner,

which remained between her finger and thumb. She looked at Sir

Guy; drew the thumb and forefinger of her other hand slowly

along its border, till they reached the opposite extremity. She

sobbed aloud. 'So kind a lady!' said Beatrice Grey.--' So

excellent a wife!' responded Sir Guy.--' So good!' said the

damsel.--' So dear!' said the knight.--' So pious!' said she.--

' So humble!' said he.--' So good to the poor!'--' So capital a

manager!'--' So punctual at matins!'--' Dinner dished to a

moment!'--' So devout!' said Beatrice.--' So fond of me!' said

Sir Guy.--' And of Father Francis!'--' What the devil do you

mean by that?' said Sir Guy de Montgomeri.

The knight and the maiden had rung their antiphonic

changes on the fine qualities of the departing Lady, like the

Strophe and Antistrophe of a Greek play. The cardinal virtues

once disposed of. her minor excellences came under review. She

would drown a witch, drink lambs' wool at Christmas, beg

Dominie Dumps's boys a holiday, and dine upon sprats on Good

Friday! A low moan from the subject of these eulogies seemed to

intimate that the enumeration of her good deeds was not

altogether lost on her,-- that the parting spirit felt and

rejoiced in the testimony.

'She was too good for earth!' continued Sir Guy.

'Ye-ye-yes!' sobbed Beatrice.

'I did not deserve her!' said the knight.

'No-o-o-o!' cried the damsel.

'Not but that I made her an excellent husband, and a kind;

but she is going, and -- and -- where, or when, or how -- shall

I get such another?'

'Not in broad England -- not in the whole wide world!'

responded Beatrice Grey; 'that is, not just such another!' Her

voice still faltered, but her accents on the whole were more

articulate; she dropped the corner of her apron, and had

recourse to her handkerchief; in fact, her eyes were getting

red,-- and so was the tip of her nose.

Sir Guy was silent; be gazed for a few moments stedfastly

on the face of his lady. The single word, 'Another!' fell from

his lips like a distant echo;-- it is not often that the

viewless nymph repeats more than is necessary.

'Bim! bome!' went the bel!-- Bandy-legged Hubert had been

tolling for half an hour;-- he began to grow tired, and St.

Peter fidgety.

'Beatrice Grey!' said Sir Guy de Montgomeri, 'what 's to

be done? What 's to become of Montgomeri Hall?-- and the

buttery,-- and the servants? And what -- what's to become of

me, Beatrice Grey?'-- There was pathos in his tones, and a

solemn pause succeeded. 'I'll turn monk myself!' said Sir Guy.

'Monk?' said Beatrice.

'I'll be a Carthusian!' repeated the knight, but in a tone

less assured: be relapsed into a reverie.-- Shave his head!--

he did not so much mind that,-- he was getting rather bald

already;-- but, beans for dinner,-- and those without butter--

and then a horse-hair shirt!

The knight seemed undecided: his eye roamed gloomily

around the apartment; it paused upon different objects, but as

if it saw them not; its sense was shut, and there was no

speculation in its glance: it rested at last upon the fair face

of the sympathizing damsel at his side, beautiful in her grief.

Her tears had ceased; but her eyes were cast down, and

mournfully fixed upon her delicate little foot, which was

beating the devil's tattoo.

There is no talking to a female when she does not look at

you. Sir Guy turned round,-- he seated himself on the edge of

the bed; and, placing his hand beneath the chin of the lady,

turned up her face in an angle of fifteen degrees.

'I don't think I shall take the vows, Beatrice; but what's

to become of me? Poor, miserable, old -- that is poor,

miserable, middle-aged man that I am!-- No one to comfort, no

one to care for me!-- Beatrice's tears flowed afresh, but she

opened not her lips.--' 'Pon my life!' continued he, 'I don't

believe there is a creature now would care a button if I were

hanged to morrow!'

'Oh! don't say so, Sir Guy!' sighed Beatrice; 'you know

there's -- there's Master Everard, and -- and Father Francis --

'

'Pish!' cried Sir Guy, testily.

'And -- there 's your favourite old bitch.'

'I am not thinking of old bitches!' quoth Sir Guy de

Montgomeri.

Another pause ensued: the knight bad released her chin,

and taken her hand; it was a pretty little hand, with long

taper fingers and filbert-formed nails, and the softness of the

palm said little for its owner's industry.

'Sit down, my dear Beatrice,' said the knight,

thoughtfully; 'you must be fatigued with your long watching.

Take a seat, my child.'--Sir Guy did not relinquish her band;

but be sidled along the counterpane, and made room for his

companion between himself and the bed-post.

Now this is a very awkward position for two people to be

placed in, especially when the right hand of the one holds the

right band of the other:-- in such an attitude, what the deuce

can the gentleman do with his left? Sir Guy closed his till it

became an absolute fist, and his knuckles rested on the bed a

little in the rear of his companion.

'Another!' repeated Sir Guy, musing;--' if, indeed, I

could find such another!' He was talking to his thought, but

Beatrice Grey answered him.

'There's Madam Fitzfoozle.'

'A frump!' said Sir Guy.

'Or the Lady Bumbarton.'

'With her hump!' muttered he.

'There's the Dowager --'

'Stop -- stop!' said the knight, 'stop one moment!'-- He

paused; he was all on the tremble; something seemed rising in

his throat, but be gave a great gulp, and swallowed it.

'Beatrice,' said he, 'what think you of --' his voice sank into

a most seductive softness,--' what think you of -- Beatrice

Grey?'

The murder was out:-- the knight felt infinitely relieved;

the knuckles of his left hand unclosed spontaneously; and the

arm he had felt such a difficulty in disposing of, found

itself,-- nobody knows how,-- all at once, encircling the jimp

waist of the pretty Beatrice. The young lady's reply was

expressed in three syllables. They were,--' Oh, Sir Guy!' The

words might be somewhat indefinite, but there was no mistaking

the look.

Their eyes met; Sir Guy's left arm contracted itself

spasmodically: when the eyes meet,-- at least, as theirs met,--

the lips are very apt to follow the example. The knight had

taken one long, loving kiss -- nectar and ambrosia! He thought

on Doctor Butts and his repetatur haustus,-- a prescription

Father Francis had taken infinite pains to translate for him:

be was about to repeat it, but the dose was interrupted in

transitu.-- Doubtless the adage,

'There 's many a slip

'Twixt the cup and the lip,'

hath reference to medicine. Sir Guy's lip was again all but in

conjunction with that of his bride-elect.

It has been hinted already that there was a little round

polished patch on the summit of the knight's pericranium, from

which his locks had gradually receded; a sort of oasis,-- or

rather a Mont Blanc in miniature, rising above the highest

point of vegetation. It was on this little spot, undefended

alike by Art and Nature, that at this interesting moment a blow

descended, such as we must borrow a term from the Sister Island

adequately to describe,-- it was a 'Whack!'

Sir Guy started upon his feet; Beatrice Grey started upon

hers: but a single glance to the rear reversed her position.--

she fell upon her knees and screamed.

The knight, too, wheeled about, and beheld a sight which

might have turned a bolder man to stone.-- It was She!-- the

all but defunct Rohesia -- there she sat, bolt upright!-- her

eyes no longer glazed with the film of impending dissolution,

but scintillating like flint and steel; while in her hand she

grasped the bed-staff,-- a weapon of mickle might, as her

husband's bloody coxcomb could now well testify. Words were yet

wanting, for the quinsy, which her rage bad broken, still

impeded her utterance; but the strength and rapidity of her

guttural intonations augured well for her future eloquence.

Sir Guy de Montgomeri stood for a while like a man

distraught; this resurrection -- for such it seemed -- had

quite overpowered him. 'A husband oft-times makes the best

physician,' says the proverb; he was a living personification

of its truth. Still it was whispered he had been content with

Doctor Butts; but his lady was restored to bless him for many

years.-- Heavens, what a life he led!

The Lady Rohesia mended apace; her quinsy was cured; the

bell was stopped; and little Hubert, the sacristan, kicked out

of the chapelry. St. Peter opened his wicket, and looked out;--

there was nobody there; so be flung-to the gate in a passion,

and went back to his lodge, grumbling at being hoaxed by a

runaway ring.

Years rolled on.-- The improvement of Lady Rohesia's

temper did not keep pace with that of her health; and one fine

morning Sir Guy de Montgomeri was seen to enter the porte-

cochere of Durham House, at that time the town residence of Sir

Walter Raleigh. Nothing more was ever heard of him; but a boat

full of adventurers was known to have dropped down with the

tide that evening to Deptford Rope, where lay the good ship the

Darling, commanded by Captain Keymis, who sailed next morning

on the Virginia voyage.

A brass plate, some eighteen inches long, may yet be seen

in Denton chancel, let into a broad slab of Bethersden marble;

it represents a lady kneeling, in her wimple and hood; her

hands are clasped in prayer, and beneath is an inscription in

the characters of the age --

'Praie for ye sowle of ye Lady Royse,

And for alle Christen sowles!'

The date is illegible; but it appears that she survived

King Henry the Eighth, and that the dissolution of monasteries

had lost St. Mary Rouncival her thousand marks.-- As for

Beatrice Grey, it is well known that she was alive in 1559, and

then had virginity enough left to be a maid of honour to 'good

Queen Bess.'

It was during the 'Honey (or, as it is sometimes termed,

the 'Treacle,') Moon,' that Mr. and Mrs. Seaforth passed

through London. A 'good-natured friend,' who dropped in to

dinner, forced them in the evening to the theatre for the

purpose of getting rid of him. I give Charles's account of the

Tragedy, just as it was written, without altering even the last

couplet -- for there would be no making 'Egerton' rhyme with

'Story.'

THE TRAGEDY.

Quæque ipse miserrima vidi.-- V IRGIL.

Catherine of Cleves was a Lady of rank,

She had lands and fine houses, and cash in the Bank;

She had jewels and rings,

And a thousand smart things;

Was lovely and young,

With a rather sharp tongue,

And she wedded a Noble of high degree

With the star of the order of St. Esprit;

But the Duke de Guise

Was, by many degrees,

Her senior, and not very easy to please;

He'd a sneer on his lip, and a scowl with his eye,

And a frown on his brow,-- and he look'd like a Guy,--

So she took to intriguing

With Monsieur St. Megrin,

A young man of fashion, and figure, and worth,

But with no great pretensions to fortune or birth;

He would sing, fence, and dance

With the best man in France,

And took his rappee with genteel nonchalance;

He smiled, and he flatter'd, and flirted with ease,

And was very superior to Monseigneur de Guise.

Now Monsieur St. Megrin was curious to know

If the Lady approved of his passion or no;

So without more ado,

He put on his surtout,

And went to a man with a beard like a Jew.

One Signor Ruggieri,

A Cunning-man near, he

Could conjure, tell fortunes, and calculate tides,

Perform tricks on the cards, and Heaven knows what besides,

Bring back a stray'd cow, silver ladle, or spoon,

And was thought to be thick with the Man in the Moon.

The Sage took his stand

With his wand in his hand,

Drew a circle, then gave the dread word of command,

Saying solemnly --' Presto!-- Hey, quick!-- Cock-alorum!!'

When the Duchess immediately popped up before 'em.

Just then a Conjunction of Venus and Mars,

Or something peculiar above in the stars,

Attracted the notice of Signor Ruggieri,

Who 'bolted,' and left him alone with his deary.--

Monsieur St. Megrin went down on his knees,

And the Duchess shed tears large as marrow-fat peas,

When,-- fancy the shock,--

A loud double-knock,

Made the Lady cry 'Get up, you fool!-- there's De Guise!'--

'Twas his Grace, sure enough;

So Monsieur, looking bluff,

Strutted by, with his hat on, and fingering his ruff,

While, unseen by either, away flew the Dame

Through the opposite key-hole, the same way she came;

But, alack! and alas!

A mishap came to pass,

In her hurry she, somehow or other, let fall

A new silk Bandana she'd worn as a shawl;

She had used it for drying

Her bright eyes while crying,

And blowing her nose, as her Beau talk'd of 'dying!'

Now the Duke, who had seen it so lately adorn her,

And knew the great C with the Crown in the corner;

The instant he spied it smoked something amiss,

And said with some energy, 'D-- it! what's this?'

He went home in a fume,

And bounced into her room,

Crying, 'So, Ma'am, I find I've some cause to be jealous;

Look here!-- here's a proof you run after the fellows!

-- Now take up that pen,-- if it's bad choose a better,--

And write, as I dictate, this moment a letter

To Monsieur -- you know who!'

The Lady look'd blue;

But replied with much firmness --' Hang me if I do!'

De Guise grasped her wrist

With his great bony fist,

And pinch'd it, and gave it so painful a twist,

That his hard, iron gauntlet the flesh went an inch in,--

She did not mind death, but she could not stand pinching;

So she sat down and wrote

This polite little note:--

'Dear Mister St. Megrin,

The Chiefs of the League in

Our house mean to dine

This evening at nine;

I shall, soon after ten,

Slip away from the men,

And you'll find me up stairs in the drawing-room then;

Come up the back way, or those impudent thieves

Of Servants will see you; Yours,

Catherine of Cleves.'

She directed and sealed it, all pale as a ghost,

And De Guise put it into the Twopenny Post.

St. Megrin had almost jumped out of his skin

For joy that day when the post came in;

He read the note through,

Then began it anew,

And thought it almost too good news to be true.--

He clapped on his hat,

And a hood over that,

With a cloak to disguise him, and make him look fat;

So great his impatience, from half after four

He was waiting till Ten at De Guise's back-door.

When he heard the great clock of St. Genevieve chime

He ran up the back staircase six steps at a time;

He had scare made his bow,

He hardly knew how,

When alas! and alack!

There was no getting back,

For the drawing-room door was bang'd to with a whack;--

In vain he applied

To the handle and tried,

Somebody or other had locked it outside!

And the Duchess in agony mourn'd her mishap,

'We are caught like a couple of rats in a trap.'

Now the Duchess's Page,

About twelve years of age,

For so little a boy was remarkably sage;

And, just in the nick, to their joy and amazement,

Popp'd the Gas-lighter's ladder close under the casement.

But all would not do,--

Though St. Megrin got through

The window,-- below stood De Guise and his crew,

And though never man was more brave than St. Megrin,

Yet fighting a score is extremely fatiguing;

He thrust carte and tierce

Uncommonly fierce,

But not Beelzebub's self could their cuirasses pierce,

While his doublet and hose,

Being holiday clothes,

Were soon cut through and through from his knees to his nose.

Still an old crooked sixpence the Conjuror gave him

From pistol and sword was sufficient to save him,

But, when beat on his knees,

That confounded De Guise

Came behind with the 'fogle' that caused all this breeze,

Whipp'd it tight round his neck, and, when backward he'd jerk'd

him,

The rest of the rascals jump'd on him and Burk'd him.

The poor little Page too himself got no quarter, but

Was served the same way,

And was found the next day

With his heels in the air and his head in the water-butt.

Catherine of Cleves

Roar'd 'Murder!' and 'Thieves!'

From the window above

While they murder'd her love;

Till, finding the rogues had accomplish'd his slaughter,

She drank Prussic acid without any water,

And died like a Duke and a Duchess's daughter!

Moral.

Take warning, ye Fair, from this tale of the Bard's,

And don't go where fortunes are told on the cards!

But steer clear of Conjurors,-- never put query

To 'Wise Mrs. Williams,' or folks like Ruggieri.

When alone in your room shut the door close, and lock it;

Above all,-- keep your handkerchief safe in your pocket!

Lest you too should stumble, and Lord Leveson Gower, he

Be call'd on,-- sad poet!-- to tell your sad story!

MR. BARNEY MAGUIRE'S ACCOUNT OF THE CORONATION.

It was in the summer of 1838 that a party from

Tappington reached the metropolis with a view of witnessing the

coronation of their youthful Queen, whom God long preserve!--

This purpose they were fortunate enough to accomplish by the

purchase of a peer's tickets, from a stationer in the Strand,

who was enabled so to dispose of some, greatly to the

indignation of the hereditary Earl Marshal. How Mr. Barney

managed to insinuate himself into the Abbey remains a mystery:

his characteristic modesty and address doubtless assisted him,

for there he unquestionably was. The result of his observations

was thus communicated to his associates in the Servants' Hall

upon his return, to the infinite delectation of Mademoiselle

Pauline over a Cruiskeen of his own concocting.

MR. BARNEY MAGUIRE'S ACCOUNT OF THE CORONATION.

(Air: The Groves of Blarney)

Och! the Coronation! what celebration

For emulation can with it compare?

When to Westminster the Royal Spinster,

And the Duke of Leinster, all in order did repair!

'Twas there you'd see the New Polishemen

Making a skrimmage at half after four,

And the Lords and Ladies, and the Miss O'Gradys,

All standing round before the Abbey door.

Their pillows scorning, that self-same morning

Themselves adorning, all by the candle light,

With roses and lilies, and daffy-down-dillies,

And gould, and jewels, and rich di'monds bright.

And then approaches five hundred coaches,

With Giniral Dullbeak.-- Och! 'twas mighty fine

To see how asy bould Corporal Casey,

With his swoord drawn, prancing, made them kape the line.

Then the Guns' alarums, and the King of Arums,

All in his Garters and his Clarence shoes,

Opening the massy doors to the bould Ambassydors,

The Prince of Potboys, and great haythen Jews;

'Twould have made you crazy to see Esterhazy

All jew'ls from jasey to his di'mond boots,

With Alderman Harmer, and that swate charmer,

The famale heiress, Miss Anja-ly Coutts.

And Wellington walking with his swoord drawn, talking

To Hill and Hardinge, haroes of great fame;

And Sir De Lacy, and the Duke Dalmasey,

(They call'd him Sowlt afore he changed his name,)

Themselves presading Lord Melbourne, lading

The Queen, the darling, to her Royal chair,

And that fine ould fellow, the Duke of Pell-Mello,

The Queen of Portingal's Chargy-de-fair.

Then the Noble Prussians, likewise the Russians,

In fine laced jackets with their goulden cuffs,

And the Bavarians, and the proud Hungarians,

And Everythingarians all in furs and muffs.

Then Misthur Spaker, with Misthur Pays the Quaker,

All in the Gallery you might persave,

But Lord Brougham was missing, and gone a fishing,

Ounly crass Lord Essex would not give him lave.

There was Baron Alten himself exalting,

And Prince Von Swartzenburg, and many more,

Och! I'd be bother'd, and entirely smother'd

To tell the half of 'em was to the fore;

With the swate Peeresses, in their crowns and dresses,

And Aldermanesses, and the Boord of Works;

But Mehemet Ali said, quite gintaly,

'I'd be proud to see the likes among the Turks!'

Then the Queen, Heaven bless her! och! they did dress her

In her purple garaments, and her goulden Crown;

Like Venus or Hebe, or the Queen of Sheby,

With eight young Ladies houlding up her gown.

Sure 'twas grand to see her, also for to he-ar

The big drums bating, and the trumpets blow,

And Sir George Smart! Oh! he play'd a Consarto,

With his four-and-twenty fidlers all on a row!

Then the Lord Archbishop held a goulden dish up,

For to resave her bounty and great wealth,

Saying 'Plase your Glory, great Queen Vict-ory!

Ye'll give the Clargy lave to dhrink your health!'

Then his Riverence, retrating, discoorsed the mating,

'Boys! Here's your Queen! deny it if you can!

And if any bould traitour, or infarior craythur,

Sneezes at that, I'd like to see the man!'

Then the Nobles kneeling to the Pow'rs appealing,

'Heaven send your Majesty a glorious reign!'

And Sir Claudius Hunter he did confront her,

All in his scarlet gown and goulden chain.

The great Lord May'r, too, sat in his chair too,

But mighty sarious, looking fit to cry,

For the Earl of Surrey, all in his hurry

Throwing the thirteens, hit him in his eye.

Then there was preaching, and good store of speeching,

With Dukes and Marquises on bended knee;

And they did splash her with raal Macasshur,

And the Queen said, 'Ah! then, thank ye all for me!'--

Then the trumpets braying, and the organ playing,

And sweet trombones with their silver tones,

But Lord Rolle was rolling;--' twas mighty consoling

To think his Lordship did not break his bones.

Then the crames and the custards, and the beef and mustard,

All on the tombstones like a poultherer's shop,

With lobsters and white-bait, and other swate-meats,

And wine, and nagus, and Imparial Pop!

There was cakes and apples in all the Chapels,

With fine polonies, and rich mellow pears,

Och! the Count Von Strogonoff, sure he got prog enough,

The sly ould Divil, underneath the stairs.

Then the cannons thunder'd, and the people wonder'd,

Crying, 'God save Victoria, our Royal Queen!'

Och! if myself should live to be a hundred,

Sure it's the proudest day that I'll have seen!

And now I've ended, what I pretended,

This narration splendid in swate poe-thry,

Ye dear bewitcher, just hand the pitcher,

Faith, it's meself that's getting mighty dhry!

As a pendant to the foregoing, I shall venture to insert

Mr. Simpkinson's lucubrations on a subject to him, as a Savant

of the first class, scarcely less interesting. The aerial

voyage to which it alludes took place about a year and a half

previously to the august event already recorded, and the

excitement manifested in the learned Antiquary's effusion may

give some faint idea of that which prevailed generally among

the Sons of Science at that memorable epoch.

THE 'MONSTRE' BALLOON.

Oh! the balloon, the great balloon!

It left Vauxhall one Monday at noon,

And every one said we should hear of it soon

With news from Aleppo or Scanderoon.

But very soon after, folks changed their tune:

'The netting had burst -- the silk -- the shalloon;

It had met with a trade-wind -- a deuced monsoon --

It was blown out to sea -- it was blown to the moon --

They ought to have put off their journey till June;

Sure none but a donkey, a goose, or baboon,

Would go up, in November, in any balloon!'

Then they talk'd about Green --' Oh! where's Mister Green?

And where's Mister Hollond who hired the machine?

And where is Monk Mason, the man that has been

Up so often before -- twelve times or thirteen --

And who writes such nice letters describing the scene?

And where's the cold fowl, and the ham, and poteen?

The press'd beef, with the fat cut off -- nothing but lean?

And the portable soup in the patent tureen?

Have they got to Grand Cairo? or reach'd Aberdeen?

Or Jerusalem -- Hamburgh -- or Ballyporeen?--

No! they have not been seen! Oh! they haven't been seen!'

Stay! here's Mister Gye -- Mr. Frederick Gye.

'At Paris,' says he, 'I've been up very high,

A couple of hundred of toises, or nigh,

A cockstride the Tuilleries' pantiles, to spy,

With Dollond's best telescope stuck at my eye,

And my umbrella under my arm like Paul Pry,

But I could see nothing at all but the sky;

So I thought with myself 'twas of no use to try

Any longer: and feeling remarkably dry

From sitting all day stuck up there, like a Guy,

I came down again, and -- you see -- here am I!'

But here's Mr. Hughes!-- What says young Mr. Hughes?--

'Why, I'm sorry to say, we've not got any news

Since the letter they threw down in one of their shoes,

Which gave the Mayor's nose such a deuce of a bruise,

As he popp'd up his eye-glass to look at their cruise

Over Dover; and which the folks flock'd to peruse

At Squier's bazaar, the same evening, in crews,

Politicians, newsmongers, town council, and blues,

Turks, heretics, infidels, jumpers, and Jews,

Scorning Bachelor's papers, and Warren's reviews;

But the wind was then blowing towards Helvoetsluys,

And my father and I are in terrible stews,

For so large a balloon is a sad thing to lose!'--

Here's news come at last!-- Here's news come at last!--

A vessel's come in, which has sail'd very fast;

And a gentleman serving before the mast,--

Mister Nokes -- has declared that 'the party has past

Safe across to the Hague, where their grapnal they cast

As a fat burgomaster was staring aghast

To see such a monster come borne on the blast,

And it caught in his waistband, and there it stuck fast!'--

Oh! fie! Mister Nokes,-- for shame, Mister Nokes!

To be poking your fun at us plain-dealing folks --

Sir, this isn't a time to be cracking your jokes,

And such jesting, your malice but scurvily cloaks;

Such a trumpery tale every one of us smokes,

And we know very well your whole story's a hoax!--

'Oh! what shall we do?-- Oh! where will it end?--

Can nobody go?-- Can nobody send

To Calais -- or Bergen-op-zoom -- or Ostend?

Can't you go there yourself?-- Can't you write to a friend,

For news upon which we may safely depend?'--

Huzzah: huzzah! one and eight-pence to pay

For a letter from Hamborough, just come to say

They descended at Weilburg about break of day;

And they've lent them the palace there, during their stay,

And the town is becoming uncommonly gay,

And they're feasting the party, and soaking their clay

With Johannisberg, Rudesheim, Moselle, and Tokay;

And the landgraves, and margraves, and counts beg and pray

That they won't think, as yet, about going away;

Notwithstanding, they don't mean to make much delay,

But pack up the balloon in a waggon or dray,

And pop themselves into a German 'po-shay,'

And get on to Paris by Lisle and Tournay;

Where they boldly declare, any wager they'll lay,

If the gas people there do not ask them to pay

Such a sum as must force them at once to say 'Nay,'

They'll inflate the balloon in the Champs Elysées,

And be back again here, the beginning of May.--

Dear me! what a treat for a juvenile fête!

What thousands will flock their arrival to greet!

There'll be hardly a soul to be seen in the street,

For at Vauxhall the whole population will meet,

And you'll scarcely get standing-room, much less a seat,

For this all preceding attraction must beat:

Since, there they'll unfold, what we want to be told,

How they cough'd,-- how they sneezed,-- how they shiver'd with

cold,--

How they tippled the 'cordial,' as racy and old

As Hodges, or Deady, or Smith ever sold,

And how they all then felt remarkably bold:

How they thought the boil'd beef worth its own weight in gold;

And how Mister Green was beginning to scold

Because Mister Mason would try to lay hold

Of the moon, and had very near overboard roll'd!

And there they'll be seen -- they'll be all to be seen!

The great-coats, the coffee-pot, mugs, and tureen!

With the tight-rope, and fire-works, and dancing between,

If the weather should only prove fair and serene,

And there, on a beautiful transparent screen,

In the middle you'll see a large picture of Green,

Mr. Hollond on one side, who hired the machine,

Mr. Mason on t'other, describing the scene;

And Fame, on one leg in the air, like a queen,

With three wreaths and a trumpet will over them lean;

While Envy, in serpents and black bombazine,

Looks on from below with an air of chagrin.

Then they'll play up a tune in the Royal Saloon,

And the people will dance by the light of the moon,

And keep up the ball till the next day at noon;

And the peer and the peasant, the lord and the loon,

The haughty grandee, and the low picaroon,

The six-foot life-guardsman, and little gossoon,

Will all join in three cheers for the 'monstre' balloon.

It is much to be regretted that I have not as yet been able to

discover more than a single specimen of my friend

'Sucklethumbkin's' Muse. The event it alludes to, probably the

euthanasia of the late Mr. Greenacre, will scarcely have yet

faded from the recollection of an admiring public. Although,

with the usual diffidence of a man of fashion, Augustus has

'sunk' the fact of his own presence on that interesting

occasion, I have every reason to believe, that, in describing

the party at the auberge hereafter mentioned, he might have

said, with a brother Exquisite, 'Quorum pars magna fui.'

THE EXECUTION: A SPORTING ANECDOTE

HON. MR. SUCKLETHUMBKIN'S STORY

MY Lord Tomnoddy got up one day;

It was half after two,

He had nothing to do,

So his Lordship rang for his cabriolet.

Tiger Tim

Was clean of limb,

His boots were polish'd, his jacket was trim

With a very smart tie in his smart cravat,

And a smart cockade on the top of his hat;

Tallest of boys, or shortest of men,

He stood in his stockings just four foot ten

And he ask'd, as he held the door on the swing,

'Pray, did your Lordship please to ring?'

My Lord Tomnoddy he raised his head,

And thus to Tiger Tim he said,

'Malibran's dead,

Duvernay's fled,

Taglioni has not yet arrived in her stead;

Tiger Tim, come tell me true,

What may a Nobleman find to do?--

Tim look'd up, and Tim look'd down,

He paused, and he put on a thoughtful frown,

And he held up his hat, and he peep'd in the crown;

He bit his lip, and he scratch'd his head,

He let go the handle, and thus he said,

As the door, released, behind him bang'd:

'An't please you, my Lord, there 's a man to be hang'd.

My Lord Tomnoddy jump'd up at the news,

'Run to M'Fuze,

And Lieutenant Tregooze,

And run to Sir Carnaby Jenks, of the Blues.

Rope-dancers a score

I've seen before --

Madame Sacchi, Antonio, and Master Blackmore;

But to see a man swing

At the end of a string,

With his neck in a noose, will be quite a new thing!'

My Lord Tomnoddy stept into his cab --

Dark rifle green, with a lining of drab;

Through street and through square,

His high-trotting mare,

Like one of Ducrow's, goes pawing the air.

Adown Piccadilly and Waterloo Place

Went the high-trotting mare at a very quick pace;

She produced some alarm,

But did no great harm,

Save frightening a nurse with a child on her arm,

Spattering with clay

Two urchins at play,

Knocking down -- very much to the sweeper's dismay --

An old woman who wouldn't get out of the way,

And upsetting a stall

Near Exeter Hall,

Which made all the pious Church-Mission folks squall.

But eastward afar,

Through Temple Bar,

My Lord Tomnoddy directs his car;

Never heeding their squalls,

Or their calls, or their bawls,

He passes by Waithman's Emporium for shawls,

And, merely just catching a glimpse of St. Paul's,

Turns down the Old Bailey,

Where in front of the gaol, he

Pulls up at the door of the gin-shop, and gaily

Cries, 'What must I fork out to-night, my trump,

For the whole first-floor of the Magpie and Stump?'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The clock strikes Twelve -- it is dark midnight --

Yet the Magpie and Stump is one blaze of light.

The parties are met;

The tables are set;

There is 'punch,' 'cold without,' 'hot with,' 'heavy wet,'

Ale-glasses and jugs,

And rummers and mugs,

And sand on the floor, without carpets or rugs,

Cold fowl and cigars,

Pickled onions in jars,

Welsh rabbits and kidneys -- rare work for the jaws!--

And very large lobsters, with very large claws;

And there is M'Fuze,

And Lieutenant Tregooze,

And there is Sir Carnaby Jenks, of the Blues,

All come to see a man 'die in his shoes!'

The clock strikes One

Supper is done,

And Sir Carnaby Jenks is full of his fun,

Singing 'Jolly companions every one!'

My Lord Tomnoddy

Is drinking gin-toddy,

And laughing at ev'ry thing, and ev'ry body.--

The clock strikes Two! and the clock strikes Three!

--' Who so merry, so merry as we?'

Save Captain M'Fuze,

Who is taking a snooze,

While Sir Carnaby Jenks is busy at work,

Blacking his nose with a piece of burnt cork.

The clock strikes Four!-- Round the debtors' door

Are gather'd a couple of thousand or more,

As many await

At the press-yard gate,

Till slowly its folding doors open, and straight

The mob divides, and between their ranks

A waggon comes loaded with posts and with planks.

The clock strikes Five!

The Sheriffs arrive,

And the crowd is so great that the street seems alive;

But Sir Carnaby Jenks

Blinks, and winks,

A candle burns down in the socket, and stinks.

Lieutenant Tregooze

Is dreaming of Jews,

And acceptances all the bill-brokers refuse;

My Lord Tomnoddy

Has drunk all his toddy,

And just as the dawn is beginning to peep,

The whole of the party are fast asleep.

Sweetly, oh! sweetly, the morning breaks,

With roseate streaks,

Like the first faint blush on a maiden's cheeks;

Seem'd as that mild and clear blue sky

Smiled upon all things far and nigh,

On all -- save the wretch condemn'd to die!

Alack! that ever so fair a Sun

As that which its course has now begun,

Should rise on such a scene of misery!--

Should gild with rays so light and free

That dismal, dark-frowning Gallows-tree!

And hark!-- a sound comes, big with fate;

The clock from St. Sepulchre's tower strikes -- Eight!--

List to that low funereal bell:

It is tolling, alas! a living man's knell!--

And see!-- from forth that opening door

They come -- HE steps that threshold o'er

Who never shall tread upon threshold more!

-- God! 'tis a fearsome thing to see

That pale wan man's mute agony,--

The glare of that wild, despairing eye,

Now bent on the crowd, now turn'd to the sky,

As though 'twere scanning, in doubt and in fear,

The path of the Spirit's unknown career;

Those pinion'd arms, those hands that ne'er

Shall be lifted again,-- not even in prayer;

That heaving chest!-- Enough --' tis done!

The bolt has fallen!-- the spirit is gone --

For weal or for woe is known but to One!--

-- Oh! 'twas a fearsome sight!-- Ah me!

A deed to shudder at,-- not to see.

Again that clock! 'tis time, 'tis time!

The hour is past: with its earliest chime

The cord is severed, the lifeless clay

By 'dungeon villains' is borne away:

Nine!--'twas the last concluding stroke!

And then -- my Lord Tomnoddy awoke!

And Tregooze and Sir Carnaby Jenks arose,

And Captain M'Fuze, with the black on his nose:

And they stared at each other, as much as to say

'Hollo! Hollo!

Here's a rum Go!

Why, Captain!-- my Lord!-- Here 's the devil to pay!

The fellow's been cut down and taken away!

What's to be done?

We've miss'd all the fun!--

Why, they'll laugh at and quiz us all over the town,

We are all of us done so uncommonly brown!'

What was to be done?--' twas perfectly plain

That they could not well hang the man over again:

What was to be done?-- The man was dead!

Nought could be done -- nought could be said;

So -- my Lord Tomnoddy went home to bed!

The following communication will speak for itself: --

'On their own actions modest men are dumb!'

SOME ACCOUNT OF A NEW PLAY

'The play's the thing!'-- Hamlet.

Tavistock Hotel, Nov. 1839.

Dear Charles,

-- In reply to your letter, and Fanny's,

Lord Brougham, it appears, isn't dead,-- though Queen Anne is;

'Twas a 'plot' and a 'farce'-- you hate farces, you say --

Take another 'plot,' then, viz. the plot of a Play.

The Countess of Arundel, high in degree,

As a lady possess'd of an earldom in fee,

Was imprudent enough at fifteen years of age,

A period of life when we're not over sage,

To form a liaison -- in fact, to engage

Her hand to a Hop-o'-my-thumb of a Page.

This put her Papa --

She had no Mamma --

As may well be supposed, in a deuce of a rage.

Mr. Benjamin Franklin was wont to repeat,

In his budget of proverbs, 'Stolen Kisses are sweet;'

But they have their alloy --

Fate assumed, to annoy

Miss Arundel's peace, and embitter her joy,

The equivocal shape of a fine little Boy.

When, through 'the young Stranger,' her secret took wind,

The Old Lord was neither 'to haud nor to bind.'

He bounced up and down,

And so fearful a frown

Contracted his brow, you'd have thought he'd been blind.

The young lady, they say,

Having fainted away,

Was confined to her room for the whole of that day;

While her beau -- no rare thing in the old feudal system --

Disappear'd the next morning, and nobody miss'd him.

The fact is, his Lordship, who hadn't, it seems,

Form'd the slightest idea, not ev'n in his dreams,

That the pair had been wedded according to law,

Conceived that his daughter had made a faux pas;

So he bribed at a high rate

A sort of a Pirate

To knock out the poor dear young Gentleman's brains,

And gave him a handsome douceur for his pains.

The Page thus disposed of, his Lordship now turns

His attention at once to the Lday's concerns;

And, alarm'd for the future,

Looks out for a suitor,

One not fond of raking, nor giv'n to 'the pewter,'

But adapted to act both the husband and tutor --

Finds a highly respectable, middle-aged, widower,

Marries her off, and thanks Heaven that he's rid o' her.

Relieved from his cares,

The old Peer now prepares

To arrange in good earnest his worldly affairs;

Has his will made new by a Special Attorney,

Sickens, takes to his bed, and sets out on his journey.

Which way he travell'd

Has not been unravell'd;

To speculate much on the point were too curious,

If the climate he reach'd were serene or sulphureous.

To be sure in his balance-sheet all must declare

One item -- The Page -- was an awkward affair;

But, per contra, he'd lately endow'd a new Chantry

For Priests, with ten marks and the run of the pantry.

Be that as it may,

It's sufficient to say

That his tomb in the chancel stands there to this day,

Built of Bethersden marble -- a dark bluish grey.

The figure, a fine one of pure alabaster,

A cleanly churchwarden has cover'd with plaster;

While some Vandal or Jew,

With a taste for virtu,

Has knock'd off his toes, to place, I suppose,

In some Pickwick Museum, with part of his nose;

From his belt and his sword

And his misericorde

The enamel's been chipp'd out, and never restored;

His ci-gît in old French is inscribed all around,

And his head's in his helm, and his heel's on his hound,

The palms of his hands, as if going to pray,

Are join'd and upraised o'er his bosom -- But stay!

I forgot that his tomb's not described in the Play!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lady Arundel, now in her own right a Peeress,

Perplexes her noddle with no such nice queries,

But produces in time, to her husband's great joy,

Another remarkably 'fine little boy.'

As novel connections

Oft change the affections,

And turn all one's love into different directions,

Now to young 'Johnny Newcome' she seems to confine hers,

Neglecting the poor little dear out at dry-nurse;

Nay, far worse than that,

She considers 'the brat'

As a bore -- fears her husband may smell out a rat.

As her legal adviser

She takes an old Miser,

A sort of 'poor cousin.' She might have been wiser;

For this arrant deceiver,

By name Maurice Beevor,

A shocking old scamp, should her own issue fail,

By the law of the land stands the next in entail.

So, as soon as she ask'd him to hit on some plan

To provide for her eldest, away the rogue ran

To that self-same unprincipled sea-faring man;

In his ear whisper'd low ...--'Bully Gaussen' said 'done!--

I Burked the papa, now I'll Bishop the son!'

'Twas agreed; and, with speed

To accomplish the deed,

He adopted a scheme he was sure would succeed.

By long cock-and-bull stories

Of Candish and Noreys,

Of Drake and bold Raleigh, then fresh in his glories,

Acquired 'mongst the Indians and Rapparee Tories,

He so work'd on the lad,

That he left, which was bad,

The only true friend in the world that he had,

Father Onslow, a priest, though to quit him most loth,

Who in childhood had furnish'd his pap and his broth.

At no small risk of scandal, indeed, to his cloth.

The kidnapping crimp

Took the foolish young imp

On board of his cutter so trim and so jimp,

Then, seizing him just as you'd handle a shrimp,

Twirl'd him thrice in the air with a whirligig motion,

And soused him at once neck and heels in the ocean.

This was off Plymouth Sound,

And he must have been drown'd,

For 'twas nonsense to think he could swim to dry ground,

If 'A very great Warman,

Call'd Billy the Norman,'

Had not just at that moment sail'd by, outward bound.

A shark of great size,

With his great glassy eyes,

Sheer'd off as he came, and relinquish'd the prize;

So he pick'd up the lad, swabb'd, and dry-rubb'd, and mopp'd

him,

And, having no children, resolved to adopt him. <1>

Full many a year

Did he hand, reef, and steer,

And by no means consider'd himself as small beer,

When old Norman at length died and left him his frigate,

With lots of pistoles in his coffers to rig it.

A sailor ne'er moans;

So, consigning the bones

Of his friend to the locker of one Mr. Jones,

For England he steers.--

On the voyage it appears

That he rescued a maid from the Dey of Algiers;

And at length reached the Sussex coast, where in a bay,

Not a great way from Brighton, most cosey-ly lay

His vessel at anchor, the very same day

That the Poet begins,-- thus commencing his play.

ACT I.

Giles Gaussen accosts old Sir Maurice de Beevor,

And puts the poor Knight in a deuce of a fever,

By saying the boy, whom he took out to please him,

Is come back a Captain on purpose to tease him.--

Sir Maurice, who gladly would see Mr. Gaussen

Breaking stones on the highway, or sweeping a crossing,

Dissembles -- observes, It's of no use to fret,--

And hints he may find some more work for him yet;

Then calls at the castle, and tells Lady A.

That the boy they had ten years ago sent away

Is return'd a grown man, and, to come to the point,

Will put her son Percy's nose clean out of joint;

But adds, that herself she no longer need vex,

If she'll buy him (Sir Maurice) a farm near the Ex.

'Oh! take it,' she cries; 'but secure every document.'--

'A bargain,' says Maurice,--' including the stock you meant?'--

The Captain, meanwhile,

With a lover-like smile,

And a fine cambric handkerchief, wipes off the tears

From Miss Violet's eyelash, and hushes her fears.

(That's the Lady he saved from the Dey of Algiers.)

Now arises a delicate point, and this is it --

The young lady herself is but down on a visit.

She's perplex'd; and, in fact,

Does not know how to act.

It's her very first visit -- and then to begin

By asking a stranger -- a gentleman, in --

One with mustaches too -- and a tuft on his chin --

She 'really don't know --

He had much better go,'

Here the Countess steps in from behind, and says 'No!--

Fair sir, you are welcome. Do, pray, stop and dine --

You will take our pot-luck -- and we've decentish wine.'

He bows,-- looks at Violet,-- and does not decline.

ACT II.

After dinner the Captain recounts, with much glee,

All he's heard, seen and done, since he first went to sea,

All his perils, and scrapes,

And his hair-breadth escapes,

Talks of boa-constrictors, and lions, and apes,

And fierce 'Bengal Tigers,' like that which you know,

If you've ever seen any respectable 'Show,'

'Carried off the unfortunate Mr. Munro.'

Then, diverging a while, he adverts to the mystery

Which hangs, like a cloud, o'er his own private history --

How he ran off to sea -- how they set him afloat,

(Not a word, though, of barrel or bung hole -- See Note)

How he happen'd to meet

With the Algerine fleet,

And forced them by sheer dint of arms to retreat,

Thus saving his Violet -- (One of his feet

Here just touched her toe, and she moved on her seat,)--

How his vessel was batter'd --

In short, he so chatter'd,

Now lively, now serious, so ogled and flatter'd,

That the ladies much marvell'd a person should be able,

To 'make himself,' both said, 'so very agreeable.'

Captain Norman's adventures were scarcely half done,

When Percy Lord Ashdale, her ladyship's son,

In a terrible fume,

Bounces into the room,

And talks to his guest as you'd talk to a groom,

Claps his hand on his rapier, and swears he'll be through him -

-

The Captain does nothing at all but 'pooh! pooh!' him.--

Unable to smother

His hate of his brother,

He rails at his cousin, and blows up his mother.

'Fie! fie!' says the first.-- Says the latter, 'In sooth,

This is sharper by far than a keen serpent's tooth!'

(A remark, by the way, which King Lear had made years ago,

When he ask'd for his Knights, and his Daughter said 'Here's a

go!')--

This made Ashdale ashamed;

But he must not be blamed

Too much for his warmth, for, like many young fellows, he

Was apt to lose temper when tortured by jealousy.

Still speaking quite gruff,

He goes off in a huff;

Lady A., who is now what some call 'up to snuff,'

Straight determines to patch

Up a clandestine match

Between the Sea-Captain she dreads like Old Scratch,

And Miss, whom she does not think any great catch

For Ashdale; besides, he won't kick up such shindies

Were she once fairly married and off to the Indies.

ACT III.

Miss Violet takes from the Countess her tone;

She agrees to meet Norman 'by moonlight alone,'

And slip off to his bark,

'The night being dark,'

Though 'the moon,' the Sea-Captain says, rises in Heaven

'One hour before midnight,'-- i.e. at eleven.

From which speech I infer,

-- Though perhaps I may err --

That, though weatherwise, doubtless, midst surges and surf, he

When 'capering on shore,' was by no means a Murphy.

He starts off, however, at sunset to reach

An old chapel in ruins, that stands on the beach,

Where the Priest is to bring, as he's promised by letter, a

Paper to prove his name, 'birthright,' et cetera.

Being rather too late,

Gaussen, lying in wait,

Has just given Father Onslow a knock on the pate,

But bolts, seeing Norman, before he has wrested

From the hand of the Priest, as Sir Maurice requested,

The marriage certificate duly attested.--

Norman kneels by the clergyman fainting and gory,

And begs he won't die till he's told him his story;

The Father complies,

Re-opens his eyes,

And tells him all how and about it -- and dies!

ACT IV.

Norman, now call'd Le Mesnil, instructed of all,

Goes back, though it's getting quite late for a call,

Hangs his hat and his cloak on a peg in the hall,

And tells the proud Countess it's useless to smother

The fact any longer -- he knows she's his mother!

His Pa's wedded Spouse,--

She questions his nous,

And threatens to have him turn'd out of the house.

He still perseveres,

Till, in spite of her fears,

She admits he's the son she had cast off for years,

And he gives her the papers 'all blister'd with tears,'

When Ashdale, who chances his nose in to poke,

Takes his hat and his cloak,

Just as if in a joke,

Determined to put in his wheel a new spoke,

And slips off thus disguised, when he sees by the dial it

's time for the rendezvous fix'd with Miss Violet.

-- Captain Norman, who, after all, feels rather sore

At his mother's reserve, vows to see her no more,

Rings the bell for the servant to open the door,

And leaves his Mamma in a fit on the floor.

ACT V.

Now comes the Catastrophe -- Ashdale, who's wrapt in

The cloak, with the hat and the plume of the Captain,

Leads Violet down through the grounds to the chapel,

Where Gaussen's concealed -- he springs forward to grapple

The man he's erroneously led to suppose

Captain Norman himself, by the cut of his clothes.

In the midst of their strife,

And just as the knife

Of the Pirate is raised to deprive him of life,

The Captain comes forward, drawn there by the squeals

Of the Lady, and, knocking Giles head over heels,

Fractures his 'nob,'

Saves the hangman a job,

And executes justice most strictly, the rather,

'Twas the spot where the rascal had murder'd his father

Then in comes the mother,

Who, finding one brother

Had the instant before saved the life of the other,

Explains the whole case.

Ashdale puts a good face

On the matter; and since he's obliged to give place,

Yields his coronet up with a pretty good grace;

Norman vows he won't have it -- the kinsmen embrace,--

And the Captain, the first in this generous race,

To remove every handle

For gossip and scandal,

Sets the whole of the papers alight with the candle;

An arrangement takes place -- on the very same night, all

Is settled and done, and the points the most vital

Are, N. takes the personals;-- A., in requital,

Keeps the whole real property, Mansion, and Title.--

V. falls to the share of the Captain, and tries a

Sea-voyage as a Bride in the 'Royal Eliza.'--

Both are pleased with the part they acquire as joint heirs,

And old Maurice Beevor is bundled down stairs!

MORAL.

The public, perhaps, with the drama might quarrel

If deprived of all epilogue, prologue, and moral,

This may serve for all three then:--

'Young Ladies of property,

Let Lady A.'s history serve as a stopper t' ye;

Don't wed with low people beneath your degree,

And if you've a baby, don't send it to sea!

'Young Noblemen! shun every thing like a brawl;

And be sure when you dine out, or go to ball,

Don't take the best hat that you find in the hall,

And leave one in its stead that's worth nothing at all!

'Old Knights, don't give bribes!-- above all, never urge a man

To steal people's things, or to stick an old Clergyman!

'And you, ye Sea-Captains! who've nothing to do

But to run round the world, fight, and drink till all's blue,

And tell us tough yarns, and then swear they are true,

Reflect, notwithstanding your sea-faring life,

That you can't get on well long, without you've a wife;

So get one at once, treat her kindly and gently,

Write a Nautical novel,-- and send it to Bentley!'

NOTES

1.

An incident very like one in Jack Sheppard --

A work some have lauded, and others have pepper'd --

Where a Dutch pirate kidnaps, and tosses Thames Darrel

Just so in the, sea, and he 's saved by a barrel,--

On the coast, if I recollect rightly, it 's flung whole,

And the hero, half-drown'd, scrambles out of the bung-bole.

[It aint no sich thing!-- the hero aint bung'd in no barrel at

all.-- He's picked up by a captain, just as Norman was

arterwards.-- PRINT. DEV.]

It has been already hinted that Mr. Peters had been a

'traveller' in his day. The only story whioh his lady would

ever allow 'her P.' to finish -- he began as many as would

furnish an additional volume to the 'Thousand and One Nights'--

is the last I shall offer. The subject, I fear me, is not over

new, but will remind my friends

'Of something better they have seen before.'

THE BAGMAN'S DOG: MR. PETERS'S STORY.

Stant littore Puppies!-- Virgil.

It was a litter, a litter of five,

Four are drown'd and one left alive,

He was thought worthy alone to survive;

And the Bagman resolved upon bringing him up,

To eat of his bread, and to drink of his cup,

He was such a dear little cock-tail'd pup.

The Bagman taught him many a trick;

He would carry and fetch, and run after a stick,

Could well understand

The word of command,

And appear to doze

With a crust on his nose,

Till the Bagman permissively waved his hand:

Then to throw up and catch it he never would fail,

As he sat up on end, on his little cock-tail.

Never was puppy so bien instruit,

Or possess'd of such natural talent as he;

And as he grew older,

Every beholder

Agreed he grew handsomer, sleeker, and bolder.--

Time, however, his wheels we may clog,

Wends steadily still with onward jog,

And the cock-tail'd puppy's a curly-tail'd dog!

When just at the time,

He was reaching his prime,

And all thought he'd be turning out something sublime,

One unlucky day,

How, no one could say,

Whether some soft liaison induced him to stray,

Or some kidnapping vagabond coax'd him away,

He was lost to the view

Like the morning dew;

He had been, and was not -- that's all that they knew;

And the Bagman storm'd, and the Bagman swore,

As never a Bagman had sworn before;

But storming or swearing but little avails,

To recover lost dogs with great curly tails.--

In a large paved court, close by Billiter Square,

Stands a mansion old, but in thorough repair,

The only strange thing, from the general air

Of its size and appearance, is, how it got there;

In front is a short semicircular stair

Of stone steps,-- some half score,--

Then you reach the ground floor,

With a shell-pattern'd architrave over the door.

It is spacious, and seems to be built on the plan

Of a Gentleman's house in the reign of Queen Anne;

Which is odd, for although,

As we very well know,

Under Tudors and Stuarts the City could show

Many Noblemen's seats above Bridge and below,

Yet that fashion soon after induced them to go

From St. Michael Cornhill, and St. Mary le Bow,

To St. James, and St. George, and St. Anne in Soho.--

Be this as it may,-- at the date I assign

To my tale,-- that's about Seventeen Sixty Nine,--

This mansion, now rather upon the decline,

Had less dignified owners, belonging in fine,

To Turner, Dry, Weipersyde, Rogers, and Pyne,--

A respectable House in the Manchester line.

There were a score

Of Bagmen and more,

Who had travell'd full oft for the firm before;

But just at this period they wanted to send

Some person on whom they could safely depend,

A trustworthy body, half agent, half friend,

On some mercantile matter as far as Ostend;

And the person they pitch'd on, was Anthony Blogg,

A grave steady man not addicted to grog,--

The Bagman, in short, who had lost this great dog.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'The Sea! the Sea! the open Sea!--

That is the place where we all wish to be,

Rolling about on it merrily!'--

So all sing and say,

By night and by day,

In the boudoir, the street, at the concert, and play,

In a sort of coxcombical roundelay;

You may roam through the City, transversely or straight,

From Whitechapel turnpike to Cumberland gate,

And every young Lady who thrums a guitar,

Ev'ry mustachio'd Shopman who smokes a cigar,

With affected devotion,

Promulgates his notion,

Of being a 'Rover' and 'child of the Ocean'--

Whate'er their age, sex, or condition may be,

They all of them long for the 'Wide, Wide Sea!'

But, however they dote,

Only set them afloat

In any craft bigger at all than a boat,

Take them down to the Nore

And you'll see that before

The 'Wessel' they 'Woyage' in has half made her way

Between Shell-Ness Point and the pier at Herne Bay,

Let the wind meet the tide in the slightest degree,

They'll be all of them heartily sick of 'the Sea'!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I've stood in Margate, on a bridge of size

Inferior far to that described by Byron,

Where 'palaces and pris'ns on each hand rise, '

-- That too's a stone one, this is made of iron --

And little donkey-boys your steps environ,

Each proffering for your choice his tiny hack,

Vaunting its excellence; and should you hire one,

For sixpence, will he urge, with frequent thwack,

The much-enduring beast to Buenos Ayres -- and back.

And there, on many a raw and gusty day,

I've stood and turn'd my gaze upon the pier,

And seen the crews, that did embark so gay

That self-same morn, now disembark so queer;

Then to myself I've sigh'd and said, 'Oh dear!

Who would believe yon sickly looking man's a

London Jack Tar,-- a Cheapside Buccaneer!--'

But hold my Muse!-- for this terrific stanza,

Is all too stiffly grand for our Extravaganza.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'So now we'll go up, up, up,

And now we'll go down, down, down,

And now we'll go backwards and forwards,

And now we'll go roun' roun' roun'.'--

-- I hope you've sufficient discernment to see,

Gentle Reader, that here the discarding the d,

Is a fault which you must not attribute to me;

Thus my Nurse cut it off when, 'with counterfeit glee,'

She sung, as she danced me about on her knee,

In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and three:--

All I mean to say is that the Muse is now free

From the self-imposed trammels put on by her betters,

And no longer like Filch, midst the felons and debtors

At Drury Lane, dances her hornpipe in fetters.

Resuming her track,

At once she goes back,

To our hero the Bagman -- Alas! and Alack!

Poor Anthony Blogg

Is as sick as a dog,

Spite of sundry unwonted potations of grog,

By the time the Dutch packet is fairly at sea,

With the sands called the Goodwin's a league on her lee.

And now, my good friends, I've a fine opportunity

To obfuscate you all by sea terms with impunity,

And talking of 'caulking'

And 'quarter deck walking,'

'Fore and aft,'

And 'abaft'

'Hookers,' 'barkeys,' and 'craft,'

(At which Mr. Poole has so wickedly laught,)

Of binnacles,-- bilboes,-- the boom called the spanker,

The best bower cable,-- the jib,-- and sheet anchor;

Of lower-deck guns,-- and of broadsides and chases,

Of taffrails and topsails, and splicing main-braces,

And 'Shiver my timbers!' and other odd phrases

Employ'd by old pilots with hard-featured faces;

Of the expletives seafaring Gentlemen use,

The allusions they make to the eyes of their crews,

How the Sailors too swear,

How they cherish their hair,

And what very long pigtails a great many wear.--

But, Reader, I scorn it -- the fact is, I fear,

To be candid, I can't make these matters so clear

As Marryat, or Cooper, or Captain Chamier,

Or Sir E. Lytton Bulwer, who brought up the rear

Of the 'Nauticals,' just at the end of last year,

With a well written preface, to make it appear

That his play, the 'Sea-Captain,' 's by no means small beer;--

There!--' brought up the rear'-- you see there's a mistake

Which not one of the authors I've mentioned would make,

I ought to have said, that he 'sail'd in their wake.'--

So I'll merely observe, as the water grew rougher

The more my poor hero continued to suffer,

Till the Sailors themselves cried in pity, 'Poor Buffer!'

Still rougher it grew,

And still harder it blew,

And the thunder kick'd up such a halliballoo,

That even the Skipper began to look blue;

While the crew, who were few,

Look'd very queer too,

And seem'd not to know what exactly to do,

And they who'd the charge of them wrote in the logs,

'Wind N.E.-- blows a hurricane,-- rains cats and dogs.'

In short it soon grew to a tempest as rude as

That Shakspeare describes near the 'still vext Bermudas,' [see

appendix]

When the winds, in their sport,

Drove aside from its port

The King's ship, with the whole Neapolitan Court,

And swamp'd it to give 'the King's Son, Ferdinand,' a

Soft moment or two with the Lady Miranda,

While her Pa met the rest, and severely rebuked 'em

For unhandsomely doing him out of his Dukedom.

You don't want me however to paint you a Storm,

As so many have done and in colours so warm;

Lord Byron, for instance, in manner facetious,

Mr. Ainsworth more gravely,-- see also Lucretius,

-- A writer who gave me no trifling vexation

When a youngster at school on Dean Colet's foundation.--

Suffice it to say

That the whole of that day,

And the next, and the next, they were scudding away

Quite out of their course,

Propelled by the force

Of those flatulent folks known in Classical story as

Aquilo, Libs, Notus, Auster, and Boreas;

Driven quite at their mercy

Twixt Guernsey and Jersey,

Till at length they came bump on the rocks and the shallows,

In West longitude, one, fifty seven, near St. Maloes;

There you'll not be surprized

That the vessel capsized,

Or that Blogg, who had made, from intestine commotions,

His specifical gravity less than the Ocean's,

Should go floating away,

Midst the surges and spray,

Like a cork in a gutter, which, swoln by a shower,

Runs down Holborn hill about nine knots an hour.

You've seen, I've no doubt, at Bartholomew fair,

Gentle Reader,-- that is if you've ever been there,--

With their hands tied behind them, some two or three pair

Of boys round a bucket set up on a chair,

Skipping, and dipping

Eyes, nose, chin, and lip in,

Their faces and hair with the water all dripping,

In an anxious attempt to catch hold of a pippin,

That bobs up and down in the water whenever

They touch it, as mocking the fruitless endeavour;

Exactly as Poets say,-- how though they can't tell us,--

Old Nick's Nonpareils play at bob with poor Tantalus.

-- Stay -- I'm not clear,

But I'm rather out here;

'Twas the water itself that slipp'd from him, I fear;

Faith, I can't recollect -- and I haven't Lempriere.--

No matter,-- poor Blogg went on ducking and bobbing,

Sneezing out the salt water, and gulping and sobbing,

Just as Clarence, in Shakspeare, describes all the qualms he

Experienced while dreaming they'd drown'd him in Malmsey.

'O Lord, he thought, what pain it was to drown!'

And saw great fishes, with great goggling eyes

Glaring, as he was bobbing up and down,

And looking as they thought him quite a prize,

When, as he sank, and all was growing dark,

A something seized him with its jaws!-- A Shark?--

No such thing, Reader:-- most opportunely for Blogg,

T'was a very large web-footed curly-tail'd Dog!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm not much of a trav'ler, and really can't boast

That I know a great deal of the Brittany coast,

But I've often heard say

That, e'en to this day,

The people of Granville, St. Maloes, and thereabout

Are a class that Society doesn't much care about,

Men who gain their subsistence by contraband dealing,

And a mode of abstraction strict people call 'stealing;'

Notwithstanding all which, they are civil of speech,

Above all to a Stranger who comes within reach;

And they were so to Blogg,

When the curly-tail'd Dog

At last dragg'd him out, high and dry on the beach.

But we all have been told

By the proverb of old,

By no means to think 'all that glitters is gold;'

And, in fact, some advance

That most people in France

Join the manners and air of a Maître de Danse,

To the morals --(as Johnson of Chesterfield said)--

Of an elderly Lady, in Babylon bred,

Much addicted to flirting and dressing in red.--

Be this as it might,

It embarrass'd Blogg quite

To find those about him so very polite.

A suspicious observer perhaps might have traced

The petites soins, tender'd with so much good taste,

To the sight of an old fashion'd pocket-book, placed

In a black leather belt well secured round his waist,

And a ring set with diamonds, his finger that graced,

So brilliant, no one could have guess'd they were paste.

The group on the shore

Consisted of four;

You will wonder perhaps, there were not a few more;

But the fact is they've not, in that part of the nation,

What Malthus would term, a 'too dense population,'

Indeed the sole sign there of man's habitation

Was merely a single

Rude hut, in a dingle

That led away inland direct from the shingle,

Its sides clothed with underwood, gloomy and dark,

Some two hundred yards above high-water mark;

And thither the party,

So cordial and hearty,

Viz. an old man, his wife, and two lads make a start, he,

The Bagman, proceeding,

With equal good breeding,

To express, in indifferent French, all he feels,

The great curly-tail'd Dog keeping close to his heels.--

They soon reach'd the hut, which seem'd partly in ruin,

All the way bowing, chattering, shrugging, Mon-Dieuing,

Grimacing, and what Sailors call parley-vooing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Is it Paris or Kitchener, Reader, exhorts

You, whenever your stomach's at all out of sorts,

To try, if you find richer viands wont stop in it,

A basin of good mutton broth with a chop in it?

(Such a basin and chop as I once heard a witty one

Call, at the Garrick 'a d--d Committee one,'

An expression, I own, I do not think a pretty one.)

However it's clear

That, with sound table beer,

Such a mess as I speak of is very good cheer;

Especially too

When a person's wet through,

And is hungry, and tired, and don't know what to do.

Now just such a mess of delicious hot pottage

Was smoking away when they enter'd the cottage,

And casting a truly delicious perfume

Through the whole of an ugly, old, ill-furnish'd room;

'Hot, smoking hot,'

On the fire was a pot

Well replenish'd, but really I can't say with what;

For, famed as the French always are for ragouts,

No creature can tell what they put in their stews,

Whether bull-frogs, old gloves, or old wigs, or old shoes;

Notwithstanding, when offer'd I rarely refuse,

Any more than poor Blogg did, when, seeing the reeky

Repast placed before him, scarce able to speak, he

In ecstacy mutter'd 'By Jove, Cocky-leeky!'

In an instant, as soon

As they gave him a spoon,

Every feeling and faculty bent on the gruel, he

No more blamed Fortune for treating him cruelly,

But fell tooth and nail on the soup and the bouilli.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile that old man standing by,

Subducted his long coat tails on high,

With his back to the fire, as if to dry

A part of his dress which the watery sky

Had visited rather inclemently.--

Blandly he smiled, but still he look'd sly,

And a something sinister lurk'd in his eye.

Indeed had you seen him, his maritime dress in,

You'd have own'd his appearance was not prepossessing,

He'd a 'dreadnought' coat, and heavy sabots

With thick wooden soles turn'd up at the toes,

His nether man cased in a striped quelque chose,

And a hump on his back, and a great hook'd nose,

So that nine out of ten would be led to suppose

That the person before them was Punch in plain clothes.

Yet still, as I told you, he smiled on all present,

And did all that lay in his power to look pleasant.

The old woman too

Made a mighty ado,

Helping her guest to a deal of the stew;

She fish'd up the meat, and she help'd him to that,

She help'd him to lean, and she help'd him to fat,

And it look'd like Hare -- but it might have been Cat.

The little garçons too strove to express,

Their sympathy towards the 'Child of distress'

With a great deal of juvenile French politesse;

But the Bagman bluff

Continued to 'stuff'

Of the fat, and the lean, and the tender and tough,

Till they thought he would never cry 'Hold, enough!'

And the old woman's tones became far less agreeable,

Sounding like peste! and sacre! and diable!

I've seen an old saw which is well worth repeating,

That says,

'Goode Eatynge

Deservyth goode Drynkynge.'

You'll find it so printed by Carton or Wynkyn And a

very good proverb it is to my thinking.

Blogg thought so too;--

As he finished his stew,

His ear caught the sound of the word 'Morbleu!'

Pronounced by the old woman under her breath.

Now, not knowing what she could mean by 'Blue Death!'

He concieved she referr'd to a delicate brewing

Which is almost synonymous,-- namely 'Blue Ruin.'

So he pursed up his lip to a smile, and with glee,

In his cockneyfy'd accent, responded 'Oh, Vee!'

Which made her understand he

Was asking for brandy;

So she turn'd to the cupboard, and, having some handy,

Produced, rightly deeming he would not object to it,

An orbicular bulb with a very long neck to it;

In fact you perceive her mistake, was the same as his,

Each of them 'reasoning right from wrong premises;'

And here, by the way,

Allow me to say

-- Kind Reader, you sometimes permit me to stray --

'Tis strange the French prove, when they take to aspersing,

So inferior to us in the science of cursing:

Kick a Frenchman down stairs,

How absurdly he swears!

And how odd 'tis to hear him, when beat to a jelly,

Roar out in a passion, 'Blue Death!' and 'Blue Belly!'--

'To return to our sheep' from this little digression:--

Blogg's features assumed a complacent expression

As he emptied his glass, and she gave him a fresh one;

Too little he heeded

How fast they succeeded.

Perhaps you or I might have done, though, as he did;

For when once Madam Fortune deals out her hard raps,

It's amazing to think

How one 'cottons' to drink!

At such times, of all things in nature, perhaps,

There's not one that's half so seducing as Schnaps.

Mr. Blogg, beside being uncommonly dry,

Was, like most other Bagmen, remarkably shy,

--'Did not like to deny'--

--'Felt obliged to comply'--

Every time that she ask'd him to 'wet t'other eye;'

For 'twas worthy remark that she spared not the stoup,

Though before she had seem'd so to grudge him the soup.

At length the fumes rose

To his brain; and his nose

Gave hints of a strong disposition to doze,

And a yearning to seek 'horizontal repose.'--

His queer-looking host,

Who, firm at his post,

During all the long meal had continued to toast

That garment 'twere rude to

Do more than allude to,

Perceived, from his breathing and nodding, the views

Of his guest were directed to 'taking a snooze:'

So he caught up a lamp in his huge dirty paw,

With (as Blogg used to tell it) 'Mounseer, swivvy maw!'

And 'marshalled' him so

'The way he should go,'

Upstairs to an attic, large, gloomy, and low,

Without table or chair,

Or a moveable there,

Save an old-fashion'd bedstead, much out of repair,

That stood at the end most removed from the stair.--

With a grain and a shrug

The host points to the rug,

Just as much as to say, 'There!-- I think you'll be snug!'

Puts the light on the floor,

Walks to the door,

Makes a formal Salaam, and is then seen no more;

When, just as the ear lost the sound of his tread,

To the Bagman's surprise, and, at first, to his dread,

The great curly-tail'd Dog crept from under the bed!

It's a very nice thing when a man's in a fright,

And thinks matters all wrong, to find matters all right;

As, for instance, when going home late-ish at night

Through a Churchyard, and seeing a thing all in white,

Which, of course, one is led to consider a Sprite,

To find that the Ghost

Is merely a post,

Or a miller, or chalky-faced donkey at most;

Or, when taking a walk as the evenings begin

To close, or, as some people call it, 'draw in,'

And some undefined form, 'looming large' through the haze,

Presents itself, right in your path, to your gaze,

Inducing a dread

Of a knock on the head,

Or a sever'd carotid, to find that, instead

Of one of those ruffians who murder and fleece men,

It's your Uncle, or one of the 'Rural Policemen;'

Then the blood flows again

Through artery and vein;

You're delighted with what just before gave you pain;

You laugh at your fears -- and your friend in the fog

Meets a welcome as cordial as Anthony Blogg

Now bestow'd on his friend -- the great curly-tail'd Dog.

For the Dog leap'd up, and his paws found a place

On each side his neck in a canine embrace,

And he lick'd Blogg's hands, and he lick'd his face,

And he waggled his tail as much as to say,

'Mr. Blogg, we've foregather'd before to-day!'

And the Bagman saw, as he now sprang up,

What beyond all doubt

He might have found out

Before, had he not been so eager to sup,

'Twas Sancho!-- the Dog he had rear'd from a pup!

The Dog who when sinking had seized his hair,--

The Dog who had saved, and conducted him there,--

The Dog he had lost out of Billiter Square!!

It's passing sweet,

An absolute treat,

When friends, long sever'd by distance, meet,--

With what warmth and affection each other they greet!

Especially, too, as we very well know,

If there seems any chance of a little cadeau,

A 'Present from Brighton,' or 'Token,' to show,

In the shape of a work-box, ring, bracelet, or so,

That our friends don't forget us, although they may go

To Ramsgate, or Rome, or Fernando Po.

If some little advantage seems likely to start,

From a fifty-pound note to a two-penny tart,

It's surprising to see how it softens the heart,

And you'll find those whose hopes from the other are strongest,

Use, in common, endearments the thickest and longest.

But it was not so here;

For although it is clear,

When abroad, and we have not a single friend near,

E'en a cur that will love us becomes very dear,

And the balance of interest 'twixt him and the Dog

Of course was inclining to Anthony Blogg,

Yet he, first of all, ceased

To encourage the beast,

Perhaps thinking 'Enough is as good as a feast;'

And besides, as we've said, being sleepy and mellow,

He grew tired of patting, and crying 'Poor fellow!'

So his smile by degrees harden'd into a frown,

And his 'That's a good dog!' into 'Down, Sancho! down!'

But nothing could stop his mute fav'rite's caressing,

Who, in fact, seem'd resolved to prevent his undressing,

Using paws, tail, and head,

As if he had said,

'Most beloved of masters, pray, don't go to bed;

You had much better sit up and pat me instead!'

Nay, at last, when, determined to take some repose,

Blogg threw himself down on the outside the clothes,

Spite of all he could do,

The Dog jump'd up too,

And kept him awake with his very cold nose;

Scratching and whining,

And moaning and pining,

Till Blogg really believed he must have some design in

Thus breaking his rest; above all, when at length

The Dog scratch'd him off from the bed by sheer strength.

Extremely annoy'd by the 'tarnation whop,' as it

's call'd in Kentuck, on his head and its opposite,

Blogg show'd fight;

When he saw, by the light

Of the flickering candle, that had not yet quite

Burnt down in the socket, though not over bright,

Certain dark-colour'd stains, as of blood newly spilt,

Revealed by the dog's having scratch'd off the quilt,

Which hinted a story of horror and guilt!

'Twas 'no mistake,'--

He was 'wide awake'

In an instant; for, when only decently drunk,

Nothing sobers a man so completely as 'funk.'

And hark!-- what's that?--

They have got into chat

In the kitchen below -- what the deuce are they at?--

There's the ugly old Fisherman scolding his wife --

And she!- by the Pope! she's whetting a knife!--

At each twist

Of her wrist,

And her great mutton fist,

The edge of the weapon sounds shriller and louder!--

The fierce kitchen fire

Had not made Blogg perspire

Half so much, or a dose of the best James's powder.--

It ceases -- all's silent!-- and now, I declare

There's somebody crawls up that rickety stair!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The horrid old ruffian comes, cat-like, creeping;

He opens the door just sufficient to peep in,

And sees, as he fancies, the Bagman sleeping!

For Blogg, when he'd once ascertain'd that there was some

'Precious mischief' on foot, had resolved to 'play 'Possum:'--

Down he went, legs and head,

Flat on the bed,

Apparently sleeping as sound as the dead;

While, though none who look'd at him would think such a thing,

Every nerve in his frame was braced up for a spring.

Then, just as the villain

Crept, stealthily still, in,

And you'd not have insured his guest's life for a shilling,

As the knife gleam'd on high, bright and sharp as a razor,

Blogg, starting upright, 'tipped' the fellow 'a facer:'

Down went man and weapon.-- Of all sorts of blows,

From what Mr. Jackson reports, I suppose

There are few that surpass a flush hit on the nose.

Now, had I the pen of old Ossian or Homer,

(Though each of these names some pronounce a misnomer,

And say the first person

Was called James M'Pherson,

While, as to the second, they stoutly declare

He was no one knows who, and born no one knows where,)

Or had I the quill of Pierce Egan, a writer

Acknowledged the best theoretical fighter

For the last twenty years,

By the lively young Peers,

Who, doffing their coronets, collars, and ermines, treat

Boxers to 'Max,' at the One Tun in Jermyn Street;--

-- I say, could I borrow these Gentlemen's Muses,

More skill'd than my meek one in 'fibbings' and bruises,

I'd describe now to you

As 'prime a Set-to,'

And 'regular turn-up,' as ever you knew;

Not inferior in 'bottom' to aught you have read of

Since Cribb, years ago, half knock'd Molyneux' head off.

But my dainty Urania says, 'Such things are shocking!'

Lace mittens she loves,

Detesting 'The Gloves;'

And turning, with air most disdainfully mocking,

From Melpomene's buskin, adopts the silk stocking.

So, as far as I can see,

I must leave you to 'fancy'

The thumps, and the bumps, and the ups and the downs,

And the taps, and the slaps, and the raps on the crowns,

That pass'd 'twixt the Husband, Wife, Bagman, and Dog,

As Blogg roll'd over them, and they roll'd over Blogg;

While what's called 'The Claret'

Flew over the garret:

Merely stating the fact,

As each other they whack'd,

The Dog his old master most gallantly back'd;

Making both the garcons, who came running in, sheer off,

With 'Hippolyte's' thumb, and 'Alphonse's' left ear off;

Next, making a stoop on

The buffeting group on

The floor, rent in tatters the old woman's jupon;

Then the old man turn'd up, and a fresh bite of Sancho's

Tore out the whole seat of his striped Callimancoes.

Really, which way

This desperate fray

Might have ended at last, I'm not able to say,

The dog keeping thus the assassins at bay:

But a few fresh arrivals decided the day;

For bounce went the door,

In came half a score

Of the passengers, sailors, and one or two more

Who had aided the party in gaining the shore!

It's a great many years ago -- mine then were few--

Since I spent a short time in the old Courageux;--

I think that they say

She had been, in her day,

A First-rate, but was then what they term a Rasée,--

And they took me on board in the Downs, where she lay.

(Captain Wilkinson held the command, by the way.)

In her I pick'd up, on that single occasion,

The little I know that concerns Navigation,

And obtained, inter alia, some vague information

Of a practice which often, in cases of robbing,

Was adopted on shipboard -- I think 'twas called 'Cobbing.'

How 'twas managed exactly I really can't say,

But I think that a Boot-jack was brought into play --

That is, if I'm right: -- it exceeds my ability

To tell how 't is done;

But the system is one

Of which Sancho's exploit would increase the facility.

And, from all I could learn, I'd much rather be robb'd

Of the little I have in my purse, than be 'cobb'd;'--

That's mere matter of taste:

But the Frenchman was placed --

I mean the old scoundrel whose actions we've traced--

In such a position, that on this unmasking,

His consent was the last thing the men thought of asking.

The old woman, too,

Was obliged to go through,

With her boys, the rough discipline used by the crew,

Who, before they let one of the set see the back of them,

'Cobb'd' the whole party,-- ay, 'every man Jack of them.'

Moral.

And now, Gentle Reader, before that I say

Farewell for the present, and wish you good day,

Attend to the moral I draw from my lay!--

If ever you travel, like Anthony Blogg,

Be wary of strangers!-- don't take too much grog!--

And don't fall asleep, if you should, like a hog:

Above all -- carry with you a curly-tail'd Dog!

Lastly, don't act like Blogg, who, I say it with blushing,

Sold Sancho next month for two guineas at Flushing,

But still on these words of the Bard keep a fixt eye,

INGRATUM SI DIXERIS, OMNIA DIXTI!!!

L'Envoye.

I felt so disgusted with Blogg, from sheer shame of him,

I never once thought to inquire what became of him;

If you want to know, Reader, the way, I opine,

To achieve your design,--

Mind, it's no wish of mine,--

Is,--(a penny will do 't,)-- by addressing a line

To Turner, Dry, Weipersyde, Rogers, and Pyne.

APPENDIX

Since penning this stanza, a learn'd Antiquary

Has put my poor Muse in no trifling quandary,

By writing an essay to prove that he knows a

Spot which, in truth, is

The real 'Bermoothes,'

In the Mediterranean,-- now called Lampedosa;

For proofs, having made, as he farther alleges, stir,

An entry was found in the old Parish Register,

The which at his instance the excellent Vicar extracted:

viz. 'Caliban, base son of Sycorax.'--

-- He had rather by half

Have found Prospero's 'Staff;'

But twas useless to dig, for the want of a pick or axe.--

Colonel Paisley, however, 'tis everywhere said,

When he's blown up the whole Royal George at Spit-head,

Takes his new apparatus, and goes out to look

And see if he can't try and blow up 'the Book.'--

-- Gentle Reader, farewell!-- If I add one more line,

He'll be, in all likelihood, blowing up mine!

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND SERIES

TO RICHARD BENTLEY, ESQ.

MY DEAR SIR,

You tell me that 'a generous and enlightened Public' has

given a favourable reception to those extracts from our family

papers, which, at your suggestion, were laid before it some two

years since;--and you hint, with all possible delicacy, that a

second volume might not be altogether unacceptable at a period

of the year when 'auld warld stories' are more especially in

request. With all my heart,--the old oak chest is not yet

empty; in addition to which I have recently laid my hand upon a

long MS. correspondence of my great uncle, Sir Peregrine

Ingoldsby, a cadet of the family, who somehow contrived to

attract the notice of George the Second, and received from his

'honour-giving-hand' the accolade of knighthood. To this last-

named source I am indebted for several of the accompanying

histories, while my inestimable friend Simpkinson has bent all

the powers of his mighty mind to the task. From Father John's

stories I have drawn largely. Our 'Honourable' friend

Sucklethumbkin -- by the way, he has been beating our covers

lately, when he shot a woodcock, and one of the Governor's

pointers -- gives a graphic account of the Operatic 'row' in

which he was heretofore so conspicuous; while even Mrs. Barney

Maguire (née Mademoiselle Pauline), whose horror of Mrs.

Botherby's cap has no jot diminished, furnishes me with the

opening Legend of the series from the historiettes of her own

belle France.

Why will you not run down to Tappington this Christmas?--

We have been rather busy of late in carrying into execution the

enclosure of Swingfield Minnis under the auspices of my Lord

Radnor, and Her Majesty's visit to the neighbourhood has kept

us quite alive: the Prince in one of his rides pulled up at the

end of the avenue, and, as A-- told Sucklethumbkin, was much

taken with the picturesque appearance of our old gable ends.

Unluckily we were all at Canterbury that morning, or proud

indeed should we have been to offer his Royal Highness the

humble hospitalities of the Hall,-- and then -- fancy Mrs.

Botherby's 'My Gracious!' By the way, the old lady tells me you

left your nightcap here on your last visit; it is laid up in

lavender for you;-- come and reclaim it. The Yule log will burn

bright as ever in the cedar room. Bin NO. 6 is still one liquid

ruby -- the old October yet smiles like mantling amber, in

utter disdain of that vile concoction of camomile which you so

pseudonymously dignify with the title of 'Bitter Ale.'-- Make a

start, then;-- pitch printer's-ink to old Harry,-- and come and

spend a fortnight with

Yours, till the crack of doom,

THOMAS INGOLDSBY.

TAPPINGTON EVERARD,

Dec. 16th, 1842.

THE BLACK MOUSQUETAIRE: A LEGEND OF FRANCE.

Francois Xavier Auguste was a gay Mousquetaire,

The Pride of the Camp, the delight of the Fair:

He'd a mien so distingué and so débonnaire,

And shrugg'd with a grace so recherché and rare,

And he twirl'd his moustache with so charming an air,

-- His moustaches I should say, because he'd a pair,--

And, in short, show'd so much of the true savoir faire,

All the ladies in Paris were wont to declare,

That could any one draw

Them from Dian's strict law,

Into what Mrs. Ramsbottom calls a 'Fox Paw,'

It would be Francois Xavier Auguste de St. Foix.

Now, I'm sorry to say,

At that time of day,

The Court of Versailles was a little too gay;

The Courtiers were all much addicted to Play,

To Bourdeaux, Chambertin, Frontignac, St. Peray,

Lafitte, Chateau Margaux,

And Sillery (a cargo

On which John Bull sensibly (?) lays an embargo),

While Louis Quatorze

Kept about him, in scores,

What the Noblesse, in courtesy, term'd his 'Jane Shores,'

-- They were call'd by a much coarser name out of doors.--

This, we all must admit, in

A King's not befitting!

For such courses, when followed by persons of quality,

Are apt to detract on the score of morality.

Francois Xavier Auguste acted much like the rest of them.

Dress'd, drank, and fought, and chassée'd with the best of

them;

Took his oeil de perdrix

Till he scarcely could see,

He would then sally out in the streets for a 'spree;'

His rapier he'd draw,

Pink a Bourgeois,

(A word which the English translate 'Johnny Raw,')

For your thorough French Courtier, whenever the fit he's in,

Thinks it prime fun to astonish a citizen;

And perhaps it's no wonder that this kind of scrapes,

In a nation which Voltaire, in one of his japes

Defines 'an amalgam of Tigers and Apes,'

Should be merely considered as 'Little Escapes.'

But I am sorry to add,

Things are almost as bad

A great deal nearer home, and that similar pranks

Amongst young men who move in the very first ranks,

Are by no means confined to the land of the Franks.

Be this as it will,

In the general, still,

Though blame him we must,

It is really but just

To our lively young friend, Francois Xavier Auguste,

To say, that howe'er

Well known his faults were,

At his Bacchanal parties he always drank fair,

And, when gambling his worst, always play'd on the square

So that, being much more of pigeon than rook, he

Lost large sums at faro (a game like 'Blind Hookey'),

And continued to lose, And to give I. O. U.'s,

Till he lost e'en the credit he had with the Jews;

And, a parallel if I may venture to draw

Between Francois Xavier Auguste de St. Foix,

And his namesake, a still more distinguished Francois,

Who wrote to his 'soeur'< 1>

From Pavia, 'Mon Coeur,

I have lost all I had in the world fors l'honneur.'

So St. Foix might have wrote

No dissimilar note,

'Vive la bagatelle! toujours gai -- idem semper--

I've lost all I had in the world but -- my temper!'

From the very beginning, Indeed of his sinning,

His air was so cheerful, his manners so winning,

That once he prevailed--or his friends coin the tale for him --

On the bailiff who 'nabbed' him, himself to 'go bail' for him.

Well -- we know in these cases

Your 'Crabs' and 'Deuce Aces'

Are wont to promote frequent changes of places;

Town doctors, indeed, are most apt to declare

That there's nothing so good as the pure 'country air,'

Whenever exhaustion of person, or purse, in

An invalid cramps him, and sets him a cursing;

A habit, I'm very much grieved at divulging,

Francois Xavier Auguste was too prone to indulge in.

But what could be done?

It's clear as the sun,

That, though nothing's more easy than say 'Cut and run!'

Yet a Guardsman can't live without some sort of fun--

E'en I or you,

If we'd nothing to do,

Should soon find ourselves looking remarkably blue.

And, since no one denies

What's so plain to all eyes,

It won't, I am sure, create any surprise,

That reflections like these half reduced to despair

Francois Xavier Auguste, the gay Black Mousquetaire.

Patience par force! He considered, of course,

But in vain -- he could hit on no sort of resource --

Love?--Liquor?-- Law?-- Loo?

They would each of them do,

There's excitement enough in all four, but in none he

Could hope to get on sans l'argent -- i.e. money.

Love?-- no;--ladies like little cadeaux from a suitor.

Liquor?-- no,-- that won't do, when reduced to 'the Pewter.'--

Then Law?--' tis the same;

It's a very fine game,

But the fees and delays of 'the Courts' are a shame,

As Lord Brougham says himself--who's a very great name,

Though the Times made it clear he was perfectly lost in his

Classic attempt at translating Demosthenes,

And don't know his 'particles.'--

Who wrote the articles,

Showing his Greek up so, is not known very well;

Many thought Barnes, others Mitchell -- some Merivale;

But it's scarce worth debate,

Because from the date

Of my tale one conclusion we safely may draw,

Viz.: 'twas not Francois Xavier Auguste de St. Foix!

Loo?-- No; that he had tried; 'Twas, in fact, his weak side,

But required more than any a purse well supplied.

'Love?-- Liquor?-- Law?-- Loo? No! 'tis all the same story.

Stay! I have it -- Ma foi! (that's 'Odds Bobs!') there is

GLORY!

Away with dull care!

Vive le Roi! Vive la Guerre!

Peste! I'd almost forgot I'm a Black Mousquetaire!

When a man is like me,

Sans six sous, sans souci,

A bankrupt in purse,

And in character worse,

With a shocking bad hat, and his credit at zero,

What on earth can he hope to become,-- but a Hero?

What a famous thought this is!

I'll go as Ulysses

Of old did -- like him I'll see manners and know countries; <

2>

Cut Paris,-- and gaming,-- and throats in the Low Countries,'

So said, and so done -- he arranged his affairs,

And was off like a shot to his Black Mousquetaires.

Now it happen'd just then

That Field-Marshal Turenne

Was a good deal in want of 'some active young men,'

To fill up the gaps

Which through sundry mishaps,

Had been made in his ranks by a certain 'Great Condé,'

A General unrivall'd -- at least in his own day --

Whose valour was such,

That he did not care much

If he fought with the French,-- or the Spaniards,-- or Dutch,--

A fact which has stamped him a rather 'Cool hand,'

Being nearly related to Louis le Grand.

It had been all the same had that King been his brother;

He fought sometimes with one, and sometimes with another;

For war, so exciting, He took such delight in,

He did not care whom he fought, so he was fighting.

And, as I've just said, had amused himself then

By tickling the tail of Field-Marshal Turenne;

Since which, the Field-Marshal's most pressing concern

Was to tickle some other Chief's tail in his turn.

What a fine thing a battle is!-- not one of those

Which one saw at the late Mr. Andrew Ducrow's,

Where a dozen of scene-shifters, drawn up in rows,

Would a dozen more scene-shifters boldly oppose,

Taking great care their blows Did not injure their foes,

And alike, save in colour and cut of their clothes,

Which were varied, to give more effect to 'Tableaux,'

While Stickney the Great

Flung the gauntlet to Fate,

And made us all tremble, so gallantly did he come

On to encounter bold General Widdicombe --

But a real good fight, like Pultowa, or Lützen,

(Which Gustavus the Great ended all his disputes in,)

Or that which Suwarrow engaged without boots in,

Or Dettingen, Fontenoy, Blenheim, or Minden,

Or the one Mr. Campbell describes, Hohenlinden,

Where 'the sun was low,'

The ground all over snow,

And dark as mid-winter the swift Iser's flow,--

Till its colour was altered by General Moreau:

While the big drum was heard in the dead of the night,

Which rattled the Bard out of bed in a fright,

And he ran up the steeple to look at the fight,

'Twas in just such another one,

(Names only bother one --

Dutch ones indeed are sufficient to smother one --)

In the Netherlands somewhere -- I cannot say where --

Suffice it that there

La Fortune de guerre

Gave a cast of her calling to our Mousquetaire.

One fine morning, in short, Francois Xavier Auguste,

After making some scores of his foes 'bite the dust,'

Got a mouthful himself of the very same crust:

And though, as the Bard says, 'No law is more just

Than for Necis artifices,'--so they call'd fiery

Soldados at Rome,--' arte sua perire,'

Yet Fate did not draw

This poetical law

To its fullest extent in the case of St. Foix.

His Good Genius most probably found out some flaw,

And diverted the shot

From some deadlier spot

To a bone which, I think, to the best of my memory,'s

Call'd by Professional men the 'os femoris;'

And the ball being one of those named from its shape,

And some fancied resemblance it bears to the grape,

St. Foix went down, With a groan and a frown,

And a hole in his small-clothes the size of a crown.--

-- Stagger'd a bit

By this 'palpable hit,'

He turn'd on his face, and went off in a fit.

Yes! a Battle's a very fine thing while you're fighting

These same Ups-and-Downs are so very exciting.

But a sombre sight is a Battle-field

To the sad survivor's sorrowing eye,

Where those, who scorn'd to fly or yield,

In one promiscuous carnage lie;

When the cannon's roar

Is heard no more,

And the thick dun smoke has roll'd away,

And the victor comes for a last survey

Of the well-fought field of yesterday!

No triumphs flush that haughty brow,--

No proud exulting look is there,--

His eagle glance is humbled now,

As, earthward bent, in anxious care

It seeks the form whose stalwart pride

But yester-morn was by his side!

And there it lies!-- on yonder bank

Of corses, which themselves had breath

But yester-morn -- now cold and dank,

With other dews than those of death!

Powerless as it had ne'er been born

The hand that clasp'd his -- yester-morn!

And there are widows wand'ring there,

That roam the blood besprinkled plain,

And listen in their dumb despair

For sounds they ne'er may hear again!

One word, however faint and low,--

Ay, e'en a groan,-- were music now!

And this is Glory!-- Fame!--

But, pshaw!

Miss Muse, you're growing sentimental;

Besides, such things we never saw;

In fact they're merely Continental.

And then your Ladyship forgets

Some widows came for epaulettes.

So go back to your canter; for one, I declare,

Is now fumbling about our capsized Mousquetaire,

A beetle-browed hag,

With a knife and a bag,

And an old tatter'd bonnet which, thrown back, discloses

The ginger complexion, and one of those noses

Peculiar to females named Levy and Moses,

Such as nervous folks still, when they come in their way, shun,

Old vixen-faced tramps of the Hebrew persuasion.

You remember, I trust, Francois Xavier Auguste,

Had uncommon fine limbs, and a very fine bust.

Now there's something -- I cannot tell what it may be --

About good-looking gentlemen turn'd twenty-three,

Above all when laid up with a wound in the knee,

Which affects female hearts in no common degree,

With emotions in which many feelings combine,

Very easy to fancy, though hard to define;

Ugly or pretty

Stupid or witty,

Young or old, they experience in country or city,

What's clearly not Love -- yet it's warmer than Pity --

And some such a feeling, no doubt, 'tis that stays

The hand you may see that old Jezebel raise,

Arm'd with the blade,

So oft used in her trade

The horrible calling e'en now she is plying,

Despoiling the dead, and despatching the dying!

For these 'nimble Conveyancers,' after such battles,

Regarding as treasure trove all goods and chattels,

Think nought, in 'perusing and settling' the titles,

So safe as six inches of steel in the vitals.

Now don't make a joke of

That feeling I spoke of;

For, as sure as you're born, that same feeling,-- whate'er

It may be, saves the life of the young Mousquetaire!--

The knife, that was levell'd erewhile at his throat,

Is employ'd now in ripping the lace from his coat,

And from what, I suppose, I must call his culotte;

And his pockets, no doubt,

Being turned inside out,

That his mouchoir and gloves may be put 'up the spout,

(For of coin, you may well conceive, all she can do

Fails to ferret out even a single écu;)

As a muscular Giant would handle an elf,

The virago at last lifts the soldier himself,

And, like a She-Samson, at length lays him down

In a hospital form'd in the neighbouring town!

I am not very sure,

But I think 'twas Namur;

And there she now leaves him, expecting a cure.

Canto II.

I abominate physic -- I care not who knows

That there's nothing on earth I detest like 'a dose'--

That yellowish-green-looking fluid, whose hue

I consider extremely unpleasant to view,

With its sickly appearance, that trenches so near

On what Homer defines the complexion of Fear;

Chloron deos, I mean,

A nasty pale green,

Though for want of some word that may better avail,

I presume, our translators have rendered it 'pale;'

For consider the cheeks

Of those 'well-booted Greeks,'

Their Egyptian descent was a question of weeks;

Their complexion, of course, like a half-decayed leek's;

And you'll see in an instant the thing that I mean in it,

A Greek face in a funk had a good deal of green in it.

I repeat, I abominate physic; but then,

If folks will go campaigning about with such men

As the Great Prince de Condé and Marshal Turenne,

They may fairly expect

To be now and then check'd

By a bullet, or sabre-cut. Then their best solace is

Found, I admit, in green potions and boluses;

So, of course, I don't blame

St. Foix wounded and lame,

If he swallowed a decent quant. suff. of the same;

Though I'm told, in such cases, it's not the French plan

To pour in their drastics as fast as they can,

The practice of many an English Savan,

But to let off a man With a little ptisanne,

And gently to chafe the patella (knee-pan).

'Oh, woman!' Sir Walter observes, 'when the brow

's wrung with pain, what a minist'ring Angel art thou!'

Thou'rt a 'minist'ring Angel' in no less degree,

I can boldly assert, when the pain's in the knee:

And medical friction

Is, past contradiction,

Much better performed by a She than a He.

A fact which, indeed, comes within my own knowledge,

For I well recollect, when a youngster at College,

And, therefore, can quote

A surgeon of note,

Mr. Grosvenor of Oxford, who not only wrote

On the subject a very fine treatise, but, still as his

Patients came in, certain soft-handed Phyllises

Were at once set to work on their legs, arms, and backs,

And rubbed out their complaints in a couple of cracks.--

Now, they say,

To this day,

When sick people can't pay

On the Continent, many of this kind of nurses

Attend, without any demand on their purses;

And these females, some old, others still in their teens,

Some call 'Sisters of Charity,' others 'Beguines.'

They don't take the vows; but, half-Nun and half-Lay,

Attend you: and when you've got better, they say,

'You're exceedingly welcome! There's nothing to pay.

Our task is now done;

You are able to run.

We never take money; we cure you for fun!'

Then they drop you a court'sy, and wish you good day,

And go off to cure somebody else the same way.

-- A great many of these, at the date of my tale,

In Namur walk'd the hospitals, workhouse and jail.

Among them was one,

A most sweet Demi-nun,

Her cheek pensive and pale; tresses bright as the Sun,--

Not carrotty -- no; though you'd fancy you saw burn

Such locks as the Greeks lov'd, which moderns call auburn.

These were partially seen through the veil which they wore all,

Her teeth were of pearl, and her lips were of coral;

Her eye-lashes silken; her eyes, fine large blue ones,

Were sapphires (I don't call these similes new ones;

But, in metaphors, freely confess I've a leaning

To such, new or old, as convey best one's meaning).--

Then, for figure? In faith it was downright barbarity

To muffle a form

Might an anchorite warm

In the fusty stuff gown of a Soeur de la Charité;

And no poet could fancy, no painter could draw

One more perfect in all points, more free from a flaw,

Than her's who now sits by the couch of St. Foix,

Chafing there,

With such care,

And so dove-like an air,

His leg, till her delicate fingers are charr'd

With the Steer's opodeldoc, joint-oil, and goulard;

-- Their Dutch appellations are really too hard

To be brought into verse by a transmarine Bard.--

Now you'll see,

And agree,

I am certain, with me,

When a young man's laid up with a wound in his knee;

And a lady sits there,

On a rush-bottom'd chair

To hand him the mixtures his doctors prepare,

And a bit of lump-sugar to make matters square;

Above all, when the Lady's remarkably fair,

And the wounded young man is a gay Mousquetaire,

It's a ticklish affair, you may swear, for the pair,

And may lead on to mischief before they're aware.

I really don't think, spite of what friends would call his

'Penchant for liaisons,' and graver men 'follies,'

(For my own part, I think planting thorns on their pillows,

And leaving poor maidens to weep and wear willows,

Is not to be classed among mere peccadillos),

His 'faults,' I should say -- I don't think Francois Xavier

Entertain'd any thoughts of improper behaviour

Tow'rds his nurse, or that once to induce her to sin he meant

While superintending his draughts and his liniment.

But, as he grew stout,

And was getting about,

Thoughts came into his head that had better been out;

While Cupid's an urchin,

We know deserves birching,

He's so prone to delude folks, and leave them the lurch in.

'Twas doubtless his doing

That absolute ruin

Was the end of all poor dear Therese's shampooing.--

'Tis a subject I don't like to dwell on; but such

Things will happen -- ay, e'en 'mongst the phlegmatic Dutch.

'When Woman,' as Goldsmith declares, 'stoops to folly,

And finds out too late that false man can betray,'

She is apt to look dismal, and grow 'melan-choly,'

And, in short, to be anything rather than gay.

He goes on to remark that 'to punish her lover,

Wring his bosom, and draw the tear into his eye,

There is but one method' which he can discover

That's likely to answer -- that one is 'to die!'

He's wrong -- the wan and withering cheek;

The thin lips, pale, and drawn apart;

The dim yet tearless eyes, that speak

The misery of the breaking heart;

The wasted form, th' enfeebled tone

That whispering mocks the pitying ear:

Th' imploring glances heaven-ward thrown

As heedless, helpless, hopeless here;

These wring the false one's heart enough,

'If made of penetrable stuff.'

And poor Therese

Thus pines and decays,

Till, stung with remorse, St. Foix takes a post-chaise

With, for 'wheelers,' two bays,

And, for 'leaders,' two greys,

And soon reaches France, by the help of relays.

Flying shabbily off from the sight of his victim,

And driving as fast as if Old Nick had kick'd him.

She, poor sinner,

Grows thinner and thinner,

Leaves off eating breakfast, and luncheon, and dinner,

Till you'd really suppose she could have nothing in her.--

One evening --'twas just as the clock struck eleven --

They saw she'd been sinking fast ever since seven,--

She breath'd one deep sigh, threw one look up to Heaven,

And all was o'er!-- Poor Therese was no more --

She was gone!--the last breath that she managed to draw

Escaped in one half-uttered word --'twas 'St. Foix!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Who can fly from himself? Bitter cares when you feel 'em,

Are not cured by travel -- as Horace says, 'Cœlum

Non animum mutant qui currunt trans mare!'

It's climate, not mind, that by roaming men vary --

Remorse for temptation to which you have yielded, is

A shadow you can't sell as Peter Schlemil did his;

It haunts you for ever--in bed and at board,--

Ay, e'en in your dreams,

And you can't find, it seems,

Any proof that a guilty man ever yet snored!

It is much if he slumbers at all, which but few,

-- Francois Xavier Auguste was an instance -- can do.

Indeed, from the time

He committed the crime

Which cut off poor sister Therese in her prime,

He was not the same man that he had been -- his plan

Was quite changed -- in wild freaks he no more led the van;

He'd scarce sleep a wink in

A week; but sit thinking,

From company shrinking --

He quite gave up drinking

At the mess-table, too, where now seldom he came,

Fish, fricassee, fricandeau, potage, or game,

Dindon aux truffes, or turbot à la crême,

No!-- he still shook his head,-- it was always the same,

Still he never complained that the cook was to blame!

'Twas his appetite fail'd him -- no matter how rare

And recherché the dish, how delicious the fare,--

What he used to like best he no longer could bear;

But he'd sit there and stare

With an air of despair;

Took no care, but would wear

Boots that wanted repair;

Such a shirt too! you'd think he'd no linen to spare.

He omitted to shave; he neglected his hair,

And look'd more like a Guy than a gay Mousquetaire.

One thing, above all, most excited remark;

In the evening he seldom sat long after dark.

Not that then, as of yore, he'd go out for 'a lark'

With his friends; but when they,

After taking café,

Would have broiled bones and kidneys brought in on a tray,

-- Which I own I consider a very good way,

If a man's not dyspeptic, to wind up the day --

No persuasion on earth could induce him to stay;

But he'd take up his candlestick, just nod his head,

By way of 'Good evening!' and walk off to bed.

Yet even when there he seem'd no better off,

For he'd wheeze, and he'd sneeze, and he'd hem! and he'd cough.

And they'd hear him all night,

Sometimes, sobbing outright,

While his valet, who often endeavour'd to peep,

Declared that 'his master was never asleep!

But would sigh, and would groan, slap his forehead, and weep;

That about ten o'clock

His door he would lock,

And then never would open it, let who would knock!--

He had heard him,' he said,

'Sometimes jump out of bed,

And talk as if speaking to one who was dead!

He'd groan, and he'd moan,

In so piteous a tone,

Begging some one or other to let him alone,

That it really would soften the heart of a stone

To hear him exclaim so, and call upon Heaven

Then -- The bother began always just at eleven!'

Francois Xavier Auguste, as I've told you before,

I believe was a popular man in his corps,

And his comrades, not one

Of whom knew of the Nun,

Now began to consult what was best to be done.

Count Cordon Bleu

And the Sieur de la Roue

Confess'd they did not know at all what to do:

But the Chevalier Hippolyte Hector Achille

Alphonse Stanislaus Emile de Grandville

Made a fervent appeal

To the zeal they must feel

For their friend, so distinguished an officer,'s weal.

'The first thing,' he said, 'was to find out the matter

That bored their poor friend so, and caused all this clatter --

Mort de ma vie!'

-- Here he took some rappee--

'Be the cause what it may, he shall tell it to me!'

He was right, sure enough--in a couple of days

He worms out the whole story of Sister Therese,

Now entomb'd, poor dear soul! in some Dutch Père la Chaise.

--'But the worst thing of all,' Francois Xavier declares,

'Is, whenever I've taken my candle up stairs,

There's Therese sitting there -- upon one of those chairs.

Such a frown, too, she wears,

And so frightfully glares,

That I'm really prevented from saying my pray'rs,

While an odour, the very reverse of perfume,--

More like rhubarb or senna, pervades the whole room!'

Hector Achille Stanislaus Emile,

When he heard him talk so felt an odd sort of feel;

Not that he cared for Ghosts -- he was far too genteel;

Still a queerish sensation came on when he saw

Him, whom, for fun,

They'd, by way of a pun

On his person and principles nick-named Sans Foi,

A man whom they had, you see,

Mark'd as a Sadducee,--

In his horns, all at once, so completely to draw,

And to talk of a Ghost with such manifest awe!

It excited the Chevalier Grandville's surprise;

He shrugg'd up his shoulders, he turned up his eyes,

And he thought with himself that he could not do less

Than lay the whole matter before the whole mess.

Repetition's detestable;-- So, as you're best able

Paint to yourself the effect at the Mess table --

How the bold Brigadiers

Prick'd up their ears,

And received the account, some with fears, some with sneers.

How the Sieur de la Roue

Said to Count Cordon Bleu,

'Ma foi -- c'est bien drôle -- Monseigneur, what say you?'--

How Count Cordon Bleu

Declared he 'thought so too;'--

How the Colonel affirm'd that 'the case was quite new;'--

How the Captains and Majors

Began to lay wagers

How far the Ghost part of the story was true;--

How, at last, when asked 'What was the best thing to do?'

Everybody was silent,-- for nobody knew!--

And how, in the end, they said, 'No one could deal

With the matter so well, from his prudence and zeal,

As the Gentleman who was the first to reveal

This strange story -- viz. Hippolyte Hector Achille

Alphonse Stanislaus Emile de Grandville!'

I need scarcely relate

The plans, little and great,

Which came into the Chevalier Hippolyte's pate

To rescue his friend from his terrible foes,

Those mischievous Imps, whom the world, I suppose

From extravagant notions respecting their hue,

Has strangely agreed to denominate 'Blue,'

Inasmuch as his schemes were of no more avail

Than those he had, early in life, found to fail,

When he strove to lay salt on some little bird's tail.

In vain did he try

With strong waters to ply

His friend, on the ground that he never could spy

Such a thing as a Ghost, with a drop in his eye;

St. Foix never would drink now unless he was dry;

Besides, what the vulgar call 'sucking the monkey'

Has much less effect on a man when he's funky.

In vain did he strive to detain him at table

Till his 'dark hour' was over -- he never was able,

Save once, when at Mess,

With that sort of address,

Which the British call 'Humbug,' and Frenchmen 'Finesse'

(It's 'Blarney' in Irish -- I don't know the Scotch,)

He fell to admiring his friend's English watch.< 3>

He examined the face,

And the back of the case,

And the young Lady's portrait there, done on enamel, he

'Saw by the likeness was one of the family;'

Cried 'Superbe!-- Magnifique!' (With his tongue in his cheek)--

Then he open'd the case, just to take a peep in it, and

Seized the occasion to pop back the minute hand.

With a demi-congé, and a shrug, and a grin, he

Returns the bijou and -- c'est une affaire finie --

'I've done him,' thinks he, 'now I'll wager a guinea!'

It happen'd that day

They were all very gay,

'Twas the Grand Monarque's birthday -- that is, 'twas St.

Louis's,

Which in Catholic countries, of course, they would view as his

--

So when Hippolyte saw

Him about to withdraw,

He cried, 'Come -- that won't do, my fine fellow, St. Foix,--

Give us five minutes longer, and drink Vive le Roi!'

Francois Xavier Auguste,

Without any mistrust,

Of the trick that was play'd, drew his watch from his fob,

Just glanced at the hour, then agreed to 'hob-nob,'

Fill'd a bumper, and rose

With 'Messieurs, I propose --

He paused -- his blanch'd lips fail'd to utter the toast.

'Twas eleven!-- he thought it half-past ten at most --

Ev'ry limb, nerve, and muscle grew stiff as a post,--

His jaw dropp'd -- his eyes

Swell'd to twice their own size--

And he stood as a pointer would stand -- at a Ghost!

-- Then shriek'd, as he fell on the floor like a stone,

'Ah! Sister Therese! now -- do let me alone!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's amazing by sheer perseverance what men do,--

As water wears stone by the 'Sæpe cadendo,'

If they stick to Lord Somebody's motto, 'Agendo!'

Was it not Robert Bruce?-- I declare I've forgot,

But I think it was Robert -- you'll find it in Scott --

Who, when cursing Dame Fortune, was taught by a Spider,

'She's sure to come round, if you will but abide her.'

Then another great Rob,

Called 'White-headed Bob,'

Whom I once saw receive such a thump on the 'nob'

From a fist which might almost an elephant brain,

That I really believed, at the first, he was slain,

For he lay like a log on his back on the plain,

Till a gentleman present accustomed to train,

Drew out a small lancet, and open'd a vein

Just below his left eye, which relieving the pain,

He stood up like a trump, with an air of disdain,

While his 'backer' was fain -- For he could not refrain --

(He was dress'd in pea-green, with a pin and gold chain,

And I think I heard somebody call him 'Squire Hayne,')

To whisper ten words one should always retain,

--'TAKE A SUCK AT THE LEMON AND AT HIM AGAIN!!!'--

A hint ne'er surpass'd, though thus spoken at random,

Since Teucer's apostrophe -- Nil desperandum!--

Grandville acted on it, and order'd his Tandem.

He had heard St. Foix say,

That no very great way

From Namur was a snug little town called Grandpré,

Near which, a few miles from the banks of the Maese,

Dwelt a pretty twin-sister of poor dear Therese,

Of the same age, of course, the same father, same mother,

And as like to Therese as one pea to another;

She liv'd with her Mamma, Having lost her Papa,

Late of contraband schnaps an unlicensed distiller,

And her name was Des Moulins (in English, Miss Miller).

Now, though Hippolyte Hector

Could hardly expect her

To feel much regard for her sister's 'protector,'

When she'd seen him so shamefully leave and neglect her;

Still, he very well knew In this world there are few

But are ready much Christian forgiveness to show,

For other folk's wrongs -- if well paid so to do --

And he'd seen to what acts 'Res angustæ' compel beaux

And belles whose affairs have once got out at elbows,

With the magic effect of a handful of crowns

Upon people whose pockets boast nothing but 'browns:'

A few francs well applied

He'd no doubt would decide

Miss Agnes Des Moulins to jump up and ride

As far as head-quarters, next day, by his side;

For the distance was nothing, to speak by comparison,

To the town where the Mousquetaires now lay in garrison;

Then he thought by the aid

Of a veil, and gown made

Like those worn by the lady his friend had betray'd,

They might dress up Miss Agnes so like to the Shade

Which he fancied he saw, of that poor injured maid,

Come each night, with her pale face, his guilt to upbraid;

That if once introduced to his room, thus array'd,

And then unmask'd as soon as she'd long enough stay'd,

'Twould be no very difficult task to persuade

Him the whole was a scurvy trick, cleverly play'd,

Out of spite and revenge, by a mischievous jade!

With respect to the scheme -- though I do not call that a gem -

-

Still I've known soldiers adopt a worse stratagem,

And that, too, among the decided approvers

Of General Sir David Dundas's 'Manoeuvres.'

There's a proverb, however,

I've always thought clever,

Which my Grandmother never was tired of repeating,

'The proof of the pudding is found in the eating!'

We shall see, in the sequel, how Hector Achille

Had mix'd up the suet and plums for his meal.

The night had set in;--' twas a dark and a gloomy one:--

Off went St. Foix to his chamber; a roomy one,

Five stories high,

The first floor from the sky,

And lofty enough to afford great facility

For playing a game, with the youthful nobility,

Of 'crack corps,' a deal in Request, when they're feeling,

In dull country quarters, ennui on them stealing;

A wet wafer's applied

To a sixpence's side,

Then it's spun with the thumb up to stick on the ceiling;

Intellectual amusement, which custom allows old troops,--

I've seen it here practised at home by our Household troops.

He'd a table, and bed,

And three chairs; and all's said--

A bachelor's barrack, where'er you discern it, you're

Sure not to find overburthen'd with furniture.

Francois Xavier Auguste lock'd and bolted his door

With just the same caution he'd practised before;

Little he knew

That the Count Cordon Bleu,

With Hector Achille, and the Sieur de la Roue,

Had been up there before him, and drawn ev'ry screw!

And now comes the moment -- the watches and clocks

All point to eleven!-- the bolts and the locks

Give way -- and the party turn out their bag-fox!--

With step noiseless and light,

Though half in a fright,

A cup in her left hand, a draught in her right,

In her robe long and black, and her veil long and white,

Ma'amselle Agnes des Moulins walks in as a Sprite!--

She approaches the bed

With the same silent tread

Just as though she had been at least half a year dead!

Then seating herself on the 'rush-bottom'd chair,'

Throws a cold stony glance on the Black Mousquetaire.

If you're one of the 'play-going public,' kind reader,

And not a Moravian or rigid Seceder,

You've seen Mr. Kean,

I mean in that scene

Of Macbeth,-- by some thought the crack one of the piece,

Which has been so well painted by Mr. M'Clise,--

When he wants, after having stood up to say grace,< 4>

To sit down to his haggis, and can't find a place;

You remember his stare

At the high-back'd arm-chair,

Where the Ghost sits that nobody else knows is there,

And how, after saying 'What man dares I dare!'

He proceeds to declare

He should not so much care

If it came in the shape of a 'tiger' or 'bear,'

But he don't like it shaking its long gory hair!

While the obstinate Ghost, as determined to brave him,

With a horrible grin,

Sits, and cocks up his chin,

Just as though he was asking the tyrant to shave him.

And Lennox and Rosse

Seem quite at a loss

If they ought to go on with their sheep's head and sauce;

And Lady Macbeth looks uncommonly cross,

And says in a huff

It's all 'Proper stuff!'--

All this you'll have seen, Reader, often enough;

So perhaps 'twill assist you in forming some notion

Of what must have been Francois Xavier's emotion

If you fancy what troubled

Macbeth to be doubled,

And, instead of one Banquo to stare in his face

Without 'speculation,' suppose he'd a brace!

I wish I'd poor Fuseli's pencil, who ne'er I bel-

ieve was exceeded in painting the terrible,

Or that of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was so a-

droit in depicting it -- vide his piece

Descriptive of Cardinal Beaufort's decease,

Where that prelate is lying,

Decidedly dying,

With the King and his suite,

Standing just at his feet,

And his hands, as Dame Quickly says, fumbling the sheet;

While, close at his ear, with the air of a scorner,

'Busy, meddling,' Old Nick's grinning up in the corner.

But painting's an art I confess I am raw in,

The fact is, I never took lessons in drawing,

Had I done so, instead

Of the lines you have read,

I'd have giv'n you a sketch should have fill'd you with dread;

Francois Xavier Auguste squatting up in his bed,

His hands widely spread,

His complexion like lead,

Ev'ry hair that he has standing up on his head,

As when, Agnes des Moulins first catching his view,

Now right, and now left, rapid glances he threw,

Then shriek'd with a wild and unearthly halloo,

'Mon Dieu! v'la deux!

BY THE POPE, THERE ARE TWO!!!

He fell back -- one long aspiration he drew.

In flew De la Roue, And Count Cordon Bleu,

Pommade, Pomme-de-terre, and the rest of their crew.

He stirr'd not,-- he spoke not,-- he none of them knew!

And Achille cried 'Odzooks! I fear by his looks,

Our friend, Francois Xavier, has popp'd off the hooks!'

'Twas too true!

Malheureux!!

It was done!-- he had ended his earthly career,--

He had gone off at once with a flea in his ear;

-- The Black Mousquetaire was as dead as Small beer!!

L'Envoye.

A moral more in point I scarce could hope

Than this, from Mr. Alexander Pope.

If ever chance should bring some Cornet gay

And pious Maid,-- as, possibly, it may,--

From Knightsbridge Barracks, and the shades serene

Of Clapham Rise, as far as Kensal Green;

O'er some pale marble when they join their heads

To kiss the falling tears each other sheds;

Oh! may they pause!-- and think, in silent awe,

He, that he reads the words, 'Ci git St. Foix!'

She, that the tombstone which her eye surveys

Bears this sad line,--'Hic jacet Soeur Therese!'--

Then shall they sigh, and weep, and murmuring say,

'Oh! may we never play such tricks as they!'--

And if at such a time some Bard there be,

Some sober Bard, addicted much to tea

And sentimental song -- like Ingoldsby --

If such there be -- who sings and sips so well,

Let him this sad, this tender story tell!

Warn'd by the tale, the gentle pair shall boast,

'I've 'scaped the Broken Heart!'--'and I the Ghost!!

NOTES.

1. Mrs. Ingoldsby, who is read in Robertson, informs me that

this is a mistake: that the lady to whom this memorable billet

was delivered by the hands of Pennalosa, was the unfortunate

monarch's mamma, and not his sister. I would gladly rectify the

error, but then,--what am I to do for a rhyme?-- On the whole,

I fear I must content myself, like Talleyrand, with admitting

that 'it is worse than a fault -- it's a blunder!' for which

enormity,-- as honest old Pepys says when he records having

kissed his cookmaid,--'I humbly beg pardon of Heaven, and Mrs.

Ingoldsby!'

2. Qui mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes.

Who viewed men's manners, Londons, Yorks, and Derbys.

3. 'Tompion's, I presume?'-- Farquhar.

4. 'May good digestion wait on appetite,

And health on both.'-- Macbeth

The next in order of these 'lays of many lands' refers to

a period far earlier in point of date, and has for its scene

the banks of what our Teutonic friends are wont to call their

'own imperial River!' The incidents which it records afford

sufficient proof (and these are days of demonstration), that a

propensity to flirtation is not confined to age or country, and

that its consequences were not less disastrous to the mail-clad

Ritter of the dark ages than to the silken courtier of the

seventeenth century. The whole narrative bears about it the

stamp of truth, and from the papers among which it was

discovered I am inclined to think it must have been picked up

by Sir Peregrine in the course of one of his valetudinary

visits to 'The German Spa.'

SIR RUPERT THE FEARLESS: A LEGEND OF GERMANY.

Sir Rupert the Fearless, a gallant young knight,

Was equally ready to tipple or fight,

Crack a crown, or a bottle,

Cut sirloin, or throttle!

In brief, or, as Hume says, 'to sum up the tottle,'

Unstain'd by dishonour, unsullied by fear,

All his neighbours pronounced him a preux chevalier.

Despite these perfections, corporeal and mental,

He had one slight defect, viz., a rather lean rental;

Besides, as 'tis own'd there are spots in the sun,

So it must be confessed that Sir Rupert had one;

Being rather unthinking,

He'd scarce sleep a wink in

A night, but addicted himself sadly to drinking,

And what moralists say,

Is as naughty -- to play,

To Rouge et Noir, Hazard, Short Whist, Ecarté;

Till these, and a few less defensible fancies

Brought the Knight to the end of his slender finances.

When at length through his boozing,

And tenants refusing

Their rents, swearing 'times were so bad they were losing,'

His steward said, 'O, sir, It's some time ago, sir,

Since aught through my hands reach'd the baker or grocer,

And the tradesmen in general are grown great complainers.'

Sir Rupert the Brave thus address'd his retainers:

'My friends, since the stock

Of my father's old hock

Is out, with the Kürchwasser, Barsac, Moselle,

And we're fairly reduced to the pump and the well,

I presume to suggest,

We shall all find it best

For each to shake hands with his friends ere he goes,

Mount his horse, if he has one, and -- follow his nose;

As to me, I opine,

Left sans money or wine,

My best way is to throw myself into the Rhine,

Where pitying trav'llers may sigh, as they cross over,

"Though he lived a roué, yet he died a philosopher."'

The Knight, having bow'd out his friends thus politely,

Got into his skiff, the full moon shining brightly,

By the light of whose beam,

He soon spied on the stream

A dame, whose complexion was fair as new cream;

Pretty pink silken hose

Cover'd ankles and toes

In other respects she was scanty of clothes;

For, so says tradition, both written and oral,

Her one garment was loop'd up with bunches of coral.

Full sweetly she sang to a sparkling guitar,

With silver chords stretch'd over Derbyshire spar,

And she smiled on the Knight,

Who, amazed at the sight,

Soon found his astonishment merged in delight;

But the stream by degrees

Now rose up to her knees,

Till at length it invaded her very chemise,

While the heavenly strain, as the wave seem'd to swallow her,

And slowly she sank, sounded fainter and hollower;

-- Jumping up in his boat

And discarding his coat,

'Here goes,' cried Sir Rupert, 'by jingo I'll follow her!'

Then into the water he plunged with a souse

That was heard quite distinctly by those in the house.

Down, down, forty fathom and more from the brink,

Sir Rupert the Fearless continues to sink,

And, as downward he goes,

Still the cold water flows

Through his ears, and his eyes, and his mouth, and his nose,

Till the rum and the brandy he'd swallow'd since lunch

Wanted nothing but lemon to fill him with punch;

Some minutes elapsed since he enter'd the flood,

Ere his heels touch'd the bottom, and stuck in the mud.

But oh! what a sight

Met the eyes of the Knight,

When he stood in the depth of the stream bolt upright!--

A grand stalactite hall,

Like the cave of Fingal,

Rose above and about him;-- great fishes and small

Came thronging around him, regardless of danger,

And seem'd all agog for a peep at the stranger.

Their figures and forms to describe, language fails --

They'd such very odd heads, and such very odd tails;

Of their genus or species a sample to gain,

You would ransack all Hungerford market in vain;

E'en the famed Mr. Myers,

Would scarcely find buyers,

Though hundreds of passengers doubtless would stop

To stare, were such monsters exposed in his shop.

But little reck'd Rupert these queer-looking brutes,

Or the efts and the newts

That crawled up his boots,

For a sight, beyond any of which I've made mention,

In a moment completely absorb'd his attention.

A huge crystal bath, which, with water far clearer

Than George Robins's filters, or Thorpe's (which are dearer),

Have ever distill'd,

To the summit was fill'd,

Lay stretch'd out before him,-- and every nerve thrill'd

As scores of young women

Were diving and swimming,

Till the vision a perfect quandary put him in;--

All slightly accoutred in gauzes and lawns,

They came floating about him like so many prawns.

Sir Rupert, who (barring the few peccadilloes

Alluded to) ere he lept into the billows

Possessed irreproachable morals, began

To feel rather queer, as a modest young man;

When forth stepp'd a dame, whom he recognised soon

As the one he had seen by the light of the moon,

And lisp'd, while a soft smile attended each sentence,

'Sir Rupert, I'm happy to make your acquaintance;

My name is Lurline,

And the ladies you've seen,

All do me the honour to call me their Queen;

I'm delighted to see you, sir, down in the Rhine here,

And hope you can make it convenient to dine here.'

The Knight blush'd and bow'd,

As he ogled the crowd,

Of subaqueous beauties, then answer'd aloud:

'Ma'am, you do me much honour,-- I cannot express

The delight I shall feel -- if you'll pardon my dress,--

May I venture to say, when a gentleman jumps

In the river at midnight for want of 'the dumps,'

He rarely puts on his knee-breeches and pumps;

If I could but have guess'd -- what I sensibly feel --

Your politeness -- I'd not have come en déshabille,

But have put on my silk tights in lieu of my steel.'

Quoth the lady 'Dear sir, no apologies, pray,

You will take our 'pot-luck' in the family way;

We can give you a dish

Of some decentish fish,

And our water's thought fairish; but here in the Rhine

I can't say we pique ourselves much on our wine.'

The Knight made a bow more profound than before,

When a Dory-faced page oped the dining-room door,

And said, bending his knee,

'Madame, on a servi!'

Rupert tender'd his arm, led Lurline to her place,

And a fat little Mer-man stood up and said grace.

What boots it to tell of the viands or how she

Apologised much for their plain water-souchy,

Want of Harvey's, and Crosse's,

And Burgess's sauces?

Or how Rupert, on his side, protested, by Jove, he

Preferr'd his fish plain, without soy or anchovy.

Suffice it the meal

Boasted trout, perch, and eel,

Besides some remarkably fine salmon peel.

The Knight, sooth to say, thought much less of the fishes

Than of what they were served on, the massive gold dishes;

While his eye, as it glanced now and then on the girls,

Was caught by their persons much less than their pearls,

And a thought came across him and caused him to muse,

'If I could but get hold

Of some of that gold,

I might manage to pay off my rascally Jews?'

When dinner was done, at a sign to the lasses,

The table was clear'd, and they put on fresh glasses;

Then the lady addrest

Her redoubtable guest

Much as Dido, of old, did the pious Eneas,

'Dear sir, what induced you to come down and see us?'--

Rupert gave her a glance most bewitchingly tender,

Loll'd back in his chair, put his toes on the fender,

And told her outright

How that he, a young Knight,

Had never been last at a feast or a fight;

But that keeping good cheer,

Every day in the year,

And drinking neat wines all the same as small-beer,

Had exhausted his rent,

And, his money all spent,

How he borrow'd large sums at two hundred per cent.;

How they follow'd -- and then,

The once civillest of men,

Messrs. Howard and Gibbs, made him bitterly rue it he

'd ever raised money by way of annuity;

And, his mortgages being about to foreclose,

How he jump'd in the river to finish his woes!

Lurline was affected, and own'd, with a tear,

That a story so mournful had ne'er met her ear;

Rupert, hearing her sigh, Look'd uncommonly sly,

And said with some emphasis, 'Ah! miss had I

A few pounds of those metals You waste here on kettles,

Then, Lord once again Of my spacious domain,

A free Count of the Empire once more I might reign,

With Lurline at my side,

My adorable bride,

(For the parson should come, and the knot should be tied;)

No couple so happy on earth should be seen,

As Sir Rupert the Brave and his charming Lurline;

Not that money's my object -- No, hang it! I scorn it --

And as for my rank -- but that you'd so adorn it --

I'd abandon it all

To remain your true thrall,

And instead of 'the Great,' be call'd 'Rupert the Small;'

-- To gain but your smiles, were I Sardanapalus,

I'd descend from my throne, and be boots at an alehouse.'< 1>

Lurline hung her head

Turn'd pale, and then red,

Growing faint at this sudden proposal to wed,

As though his abruptness, in 'popping the question'

So soon after dinner, disturb'd her digestion.

Then, averting her eye,

With a lover-like sigh,

'You are welcome,' she murmur'd in tones most bewitching,

'To every utensil I have in my kitchen!'

Up started the Knight,

Half mad with delight,

Round her finely-form'd waist He immediately placed

One arm, which the lady most closely embraced,

Of her lily-white fingers the other made capture,

And he press'd his adored to his bosom with rapture.

'And, oh!' he exclaim'd, 'let them go catch my skiff, I

'll be home in a twinkling and back, in a jiffy,

Nor one moment procrastinate longer my journey

Than to put up the banns and kick out the attorney.'

One kiss to her lip, and one squeeze to her hand,

And Sir Rupert already was half-way to land,

For a sour-visaged Triton,

With features would frighten

Old Nick, caught him up in one hand, though no light one,

Sprang up through the waves, popp'd him into his funny,

Which some others already had half fill'd with money;

In fact, 'twas so heavily laden with ore

And pearls, 'twas a mercy he got it to shore:

But Sir Rupert was strong, And while pulling along

Still he heard, faintly sounding, the water-nymphs' song.

LAY OF THE NAIADS.

'Away! away! to the mountain's brow,

Where the castle is darkly frowning;

And the vassals, all in goodly row,

Weep for their lord a-drowning!

Away! away! to the steward's room,

Where law with its wig and robe is;

Throw us out John Doe and Richard Roe,

And sweetly we'll tickle their tobies!'

The unearthly voices scarce had ceased their yelling,

When Rupert reach'd his old baronial dwelling.

What rejoicing was there!

How the vassals did stare!

The old housekeeper put a clean shirt down to air,

For she saw by her lamp

That her master's was damp,

And she fear'd he'd catch cold, and lumbago and cramp;

But, scorning what she did,

The Knight never heeded

Wet jacket or trousers, nor thought of repining,

Since their pockets had got such a delicate lining,

But oh! what dismay,

Fill'd the tribe of Ca Sa,

When they found he'd the cash, and intended to pay!

Away went 'cognovits,' 'bills,' 'bonds,' and 'escheats,'--

Rupert clear'd off all scores, and took proper receipts.

Now no more he sends out

For pots of brown stout,

Or schnaps, but resolves to do henceforth without,

Abjure from this hour all excess and ebriety,

Enrol himself one of a Temp'rance Society,

All riot eschew,

Begin life anew,

And new-cushion and hassock the family pew!

Nay, to strengthen him more in his new mode of life,

He boldly determines to take him a wife.

Now, many would think that the Knight, from a nice sense

Of honour, should put Lurline's name in the licence,

And that, for a man of his breeding and quality,

To break faith and troth,

Confirm'd by an oath,

Is not quite consistent with rigid morality;

But whether the nymph was forgot, or he thought her

From her essence scarce wife, but at best wife-and-water,

And declined as unsuited,

A bride so diluted --

Be this as it may,

He, I'm sorry to say,

(For, all things consider'd, I own 'twas a rum thing,)

Made proposals in form to Miss Una Von -- something,

(Her name has escaped me,) sole heiress, and niece

To a highly respectable Justice of Peace.

'Thrice happy's the wooing

That's not long a-doing!'

So much time is saved in the billing and cooing --

The ring is now bought, the white favours, and gloves,

And all the et cetera which crown people's loves;

A magnificent bride-cake comes home from the baker,

And lastly appears, from the German Long Acre,

That shaft which the sharpest in all Cupid's quiver is,

A plum-colour'd coach, and rich Pompadour liveries.

'Twas a comely sight

To behold the Knight,

With his beautiful bride, dress'd all in white,

And the bridesmaids fair with their long lace veils,

As they all walk'd up to the altar rails,

While nice little boys, the incense dispensers,

March'd in front with white surplices, bands, and gilt censers.

With a gracious air, and a smiling look,

Mess John had opened his awful book,

And had read so far as to ask if to wed he meant?

And if 'he knew any just cause of impediment?'

When from base to turret the castle shook!!!

Then came a sound of a mighty rain

Dashing against each storied pane,

The wind blew loud,

And a coal-black cloud

O'ershadow'd the church, and the party, and crowd;

How it could happen they could not divine,

The morning had been so remarkably fine!

Still the darkness increased, till it reach'd such a pass

That the sextoness hasten'd to turn on the gas;

But harder it pour'd,

And the thunder roar'd,

As if heaven and earth were coming together:

None ever had witness'd such terrible weather.

Now louder 'it crash'd,

And the lightning flash'd,

Exciting the fears

Of the sweet little dears

In the veils, as it danced on the brass chandeliers;

The parson ran off, though a stout-hearted Saxon,

When he found that a flash had set fire to his caxon.

Though all the rest trembled, as might be expected,

Sir Rupert was perfectly cool and collected,

And endeavour'd to cheer

His bride, in her ear

Whisp'ring tenderly, 'Pray don't be frighten'd, my dear;

Should it even set fire to the castle, and burn it, you're

Amply insured both for buildings and furniture.'

But now, from without,

A trustworthy scout

Rush'd hurriedly in,

Wet through to the skin,

Informing his master 'the river was rising,

And flooding the grounds in a way quite surprising.'

He'd no time to say more,

For already the roar

Of the waters was heard as they reach'd the church-door,

While, high on the first wave that roll'd in, was seen,

Riding proudly, the form of the angry Lurline;

And all might observe, by her glance fierce and stormy,

She was stung by the spretæ injuria formæ.

What she said to the Knight, what she said to the bride,

What she said to the ladies who stood by her side,

What she said to the nice little boys in white clothes,

Oh, nobody mentions,-- for nobody knows;

For the roof tumbled in, and the walls tumbled out,

And the folks tumbled down, all confusion and rout,

The rain kept on pouring,

The flood kept on roaring,

The billows and water-nymphs roll'd more and more in;

Ere the close of the day

All was clean wash'd away --

One only survived who could hand down the news,

A little old woman that open'd the pews;

She was borne off, but stuck,

By the greatest good luck,

In an oak-tree and there she hung, crying and screaming,

And saw all the rest swallow'd up the wild stream in;

In vain, all the week,

Did the fishermen seek

For the bodies, and poke in each cranny and creek;

In vain was their search,

After aught in the church,

They caught nothing but weeds, and perhaps a few perch;

The Humane Society Tried a variety

Of methods, and brought down, to drag for the wreck, tackles

But they only fish'd up the clerk's tortoise-shell spectacles.

MORAL.

This tale has a moral, Ye youths, oh, beware

Of liquor, and how you run after the fair!

Shun playing at shorts -- avoid quarrels and jars --

And don't take to smoking those nasty cigars!

-- Let no run of bad luck, or despair for some Jewess-eyed

Damsel, induce you to contemplate suicide;

Don't sit up much later than ten or eleven!--

Be up in the morning by half after seven!

Keep from flirting -- nor risk, warn'd by Rupert's miscarriage,

An action for breach of a promise of marriage;--

Don't fancy odd fishes!

Don't prig silver dishes!

And to sum the whole, in the shortest phrase I know,

BEWARE OF THE RHINE, AND TAKE CARE OF THE RHINO!

NOTES

1. 'Sardanapalus' and 'Boots,' the Zenith and Nadir of human

society.

And now for 'sunny Italy,'-- the 'Land of the unforgotten

brave,'-- the land of blue skies and black-eyed Signoras.-- I

cannot discover from any recorded memoranda that 'Uncle Perry'

was ever in Venice, even in Carnival time -- that he ever saw

Garrick in Shylock I do not believe, and am satisfied that he

knew nothing of Shakepear, a circumstance that would by no

means disqualify him from publishing an edition of that Poet's

works. I can only conclude that, in the course of his

Continental wanderings, Sir Peregrine had either read or heard

of the following history, especially as he furnishes us with

some particulars of the eventual destination of his dramtis

personae which the Bard of Avon has omitted. If this solution

be not accepted, I can only say, with Mr. Pug, that probably

'two men hit upon the same idea, and Shakepear made use of it

first.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: A LEGEND OF ITALY

. . . Of the Merchant of Venice there are two 4to editions

in 1600, one by Heyes and the other by Roberts. The Duke of

Devonshire and Lord Francis Egerton have copies of the edition

by Heyes, and they vary importantly.

. . . It must be acknowledged that this is a very easy

and happy emendation, which does not admit of a moment's doubt

or dispute.

. . . . Readers in general are not at all aware of the

nonsense they have in many cases been accustomed to receive as

the genuine text of Shakspear!

Reasons for a new edition of Shakepear's Works, by J. Payne

Collier.

I believe there are few

But have heard of a Jew,

Named Shylock, of Venice, as arrant a 'screw'

In money transactions as ever you knew;

An exorbitant miser, who never yet lent

A ducat at less than three hundred per cent.,

Insomuch that the veriest spendthrift in Venice,

Who'd take no more care of his pounds than his pennies,

When press'd for a loan, at the very first sight

Of his terms, would back out, and take refuge in Flight.

It is not my purpose to pause and inquire

If he might not, in managing thus to retire,

Jump out of the frying-pan into the fire;

Suffice it, that folks would have nothing to do,

Who could possibly help it, with Shylock the Jew.

But, however discreetly one cuts and contrives,

We've been most of us taught in the course of our lives,

That 'Needs must when the Elderly Gentleman drives!'

In proof of this rule,

A thoughtless young fool,

Bassanio, a Lord of the Tomnoddy school,

Who, by showing at Operas, Balls, Plays, and Court,

A 'swelling' (Payne Collier would read 'swilling') 'port,'

And inviting his friends to dine, breakfast, and sup,

Had shrunk his 'weak means,' and was 'stump'd,' and 'hard up,'

Took occasion to send

To his very good friend

Antonio, a merchant whose wealth had no end,

And who'd often before had the kindness to lend

Him large sums, on his note, which he'd managed to spend.

'Antonio,' said he, 'Now listen to me;

I've just hit on a scheme which, I think you'll agree,

All matters consider'd, is no bad design,

And which, if it succeeds, will suit your book and mine.

'In the first place, you know all the money I've got,

Time and often, from you has been long gone to pot,

And in making those loans you have made a bad shot;

Now do as the boys do when, shooting at sparrows

And tom-tits, they chance to lose one of their arrows,

-- Shoot another the same way -- I'll watch well its track,

And, turtle to tripe, I'll bring both of them back!

So list to my plan,

And do what you can,

To attend to and second it, that's a good man!

'There's a Lady, young, handsome, beyond all compare, at

A place they call Belmont, whom, when I was there, at

The suppers and parties my friend Lord Mountferrat

Was giving last season, we all used to stare at,

Then, as to her wealth, her solicitor told mine,

Besides vast estates, a pearl fishery, and gold mine,

Her iron strong box

Seems bursting its locks,

It's stuffed so with shares in 'Grand Junctions,' and 'Docks,'

Not to speak of the money's she's got in the stocks,

French, Dutch, and Brazilian, Columbian, and Chilian,

In English Exchequer-bills full half a million,

Not 'kites,' manufactured to cheat and inveigle,

But the right sort of 'flimsy,' all signed by Monteagle.

Then I know not how much in Canal-shares and Railways

And more speculations I need not detail, ways

Of vesting which, if not so safe as some think'em,

Contribute a deal to improving one's income;

In short, she's a Mint!

-- Now I say, deuce is in't

If with all my experience, I can't take a hint,

And her 'eye's speechless messages,' plainer than print

At the time that I told you of, know from a squint,

In short, my dear Tony,

My trusty old crony,

Do stump up three thousand once more as a loan -- I

Am sure of my game -- though, of course there are brutes,

Of all sorts and sizes, preferring their suits

To her you may call the Italian Miss Coutts,

Yet Portia -- she's named from that daughter of Cato's--

Is not to be snapp'd up like little potatoes,

And I have not a doubt I shall rout every lout

Ere you'll whisper Jack Robinson -- cut them all out --

Surmount every barrier, Carry her, marry her!

-- Then hey! my old Tony, when once fairly noosed,

For her Three-and-a-half per cents -- New and Reduced!'

With a wink of his eye His friend made reply

In his jocular manner, sly, caustic, and dry.

'Still the same boy, Bassanio -- never say 'die'!

-- Well -- I hardly know how I shall do't, but I'll try.--

Don't suppose my affairs are at all in a hash,

But the fact is, at present I'm quite out of cash;

The bulk of my property, merged in rich cargoes, is

Tossing about, as you know, in my Argosies,

Tending, of course, my resources to cripple,-- I

've one bound to England,-- another to Tripoli--

Cyprus -- Masulipatam -- and Bombay;--

A sixth, by the way, I consigned t'other day

To Sir Gregor M'Gregor, Cacique of Poyais,

A country where silver's as common as clay.

Meantime, till they tack, And come, some of them, back,

What with Custom-house duties, and bills falling due,

My account with Jones Loyd and Co. looks rather blue;

While, as for the 'ready,' I'm like a Church-mouse,--

I really don't think there's five pounds in the house.

But, no matter for that,

Let me just get my hat,

And my new silk umbrella that stands on the mat,

And we'll go forth at once to the market -- we two,--

And try what my credit in Venice can do;

I stand well on 'Change, and, when all's said and done, I

Don't doubt I shall get it for love or for money.'

They were going to go,

When, lo! down below,

In the street, they heard somebody crying, 'Old Clo'!'

--'By the Pope, there's the man for our purpose!-- I knew

We should not have to search long. Salanio, run you,

-- Salarino,-- quick!-- haste! ere he get out of view,

And call in that scoundrel, old Shylock the Jew!'

With a pack,

Like a sack

Of old clothes at his back,

And three hats on his head, Shylock came in a crack,

Saying, 'Rest you fair, Signior Antonio!-- vat, pray,

Might your vorship be pleashed for to vant in ma vay!'

--'Why, Shylock, although, As you very well know,

I am what they call 'warm,'-- pay my way as I go,

And, as to myself, neither borrow nor lend,

I can break through a rule to oblige an old friend;

And that's the case now -- Lord Bassanio would raise

Some three thousand ducats -- well,-- knowing your ways,

And that nought's to be got from you, say what one will,

Unless you've a couple of names to the bill,

Why, for once, I'll put mine to it,

Yea, seal and sign to it --

Now, then, old Sinner, let's hear what you'll say

As to 'doing' a bill at three months from to-day?

Three thousand gold ducats, mind -- all in good bags

Of hard money -- no sealing-wax, slippers, or rags?'

'-- Vell, ma tear,' says the Jew, 'I'll see vat I can do!

But Mishter Antonio, hark you, 'tish funny

You say to me, 'Shylock, ma tear, ve'd have money!'

Ven you very vell knows, How you shpit on ma clothes,

And use naughty vords -- call me Dog -- and avouch

Dat I put too much int'resht py half in ma pouch,

And vhile I, like de resht of ma tribe, shrug and crouch,

You find fault mit ma pargains, and say I'm a Smouch.

-- Vell!--n o matters, ma tear,-- Von vord in your ear!

I'd be friends mit you bote -- and to make dat appear,

Vy, I'll find you de monies as soon as you vill,

Only von littel joke musht be put in de pill;

Ma tear, you musht say,

If on such and such day

Such sum or such sums, you shall fail to repay,

I shall cut vere I like, as de pargain is proke,

A fair pound of your flesh -- chest by vay of a joke.'

So novel a clause Caused Bassanio to pause;

But Antonio, like most of those sage 'Johnny Raws'

Who care not three straws

About Lawyers or Laws,

And think cheaply of 'Old Father Antic,' because

They have never experienced a gripe from his claws,

'Pooh pooh'd' the whole thing.--'Let the Smouch have his way,

Why, what care I, pray,

For his penalty?-- Nay,

It's a forfeit he'd never expect me to pay:

And, come what come may, I hardly need say

My ships will be back a full month ere the day.'

So, anxious to see his friend off on his journey,

And thinking the whole but a paltry concern, he

Affixed with all speed

His name to a deed,

Duly stamp'd and drawn up by a sharp Jew attorney.

Thus again furnish'd forth, Lord Bassanio, instead

Of squandering the cash, after giving one spread,

With fiddling and masques, at the Saracen's Head,

In the morning 'made play,' And without more delay,

Started off in the steam-boat for Belmont next day.

But scarcely had he

From the harbour got free,

And left the Lagunes for the broad open sea,

Ere the 'Change and Rialto both rung with the news

That he'd carried off more than mere cash from the Jew's.

Though Shylock was old,

And, if rolling in gold,

Was as ugly a dog as you' wish to behold,

For few in his tribe 'mongst their Levis and Moseses,

Sported so Jewish an eye, beard, and nose as his,

Still, whate'er the opinion of Horace and some be,

Your aquilæ generate sometimes Columbæ,< 1>

Like Jephthah, as Hamlet says, he'd 'one fair daughter,'

And every gallant, who caught sight of her, thought her,

A jewel -- a gem of the very first water;

A great many sought her,

Till one at last caught her,

And, upsetting all that the Rabbis had taught her,

To feelings so truly reciprocal brought her,

That the very same night Bassanio thought right

To give all his old friends that farewell 'invite,'

And while Shylock was gone there to feed out of spite,

On 'wings made by a tailor' the damsel took flight.

By these 'wings' I'd express

A grey duffle dress,

With brass badge and muffin cap, made, as by rule,

For an upper-class boy in the National School.

Jessy ransack'd the house, popp'd her breeks on, and when so

Disguised, bolted off with her beau -- one Lorenzo,

An 'Unthrift,' who lost not a moment in whisking

Her into the boat,

And was fairly afloat

Ere her Pa had got rid of the smell of the griskin.

Next day, while old Shylock was making a racket,

And threatening how well he'd dust every man's jacket

Who'd help'd her in getting aboard of the packet,

Bassanio at Belmont was capering and prancing,

And bowing, and scraping, and singing, and dancing,

Making eyes at Miss Portia, and doing his best

To perform the polite, and to cut out the rest;

And, if left to herself, he, no doubt, had succeeded,

For none of them waltz'd so genteelly as he did;

But an obstacle lay, Of some weight, in his way,

The defunct Mr. P. who was now turned to clay,

Had been an odd man, and, though all for the best he meant,

Left but a queer sort of 'Last will and testament,'--

Bequeathing her hand,

With her houses and land,

&c., from motives one don't understand,

As she rev'renced his memory, and valued his blessing,

To him who should turn out the best hand at guessing!

Like a good girl, she did

Just what she was bid,

In one of three caskets her picture she hid,

And clapp'd a conundrum a-top of each lid.

A couple of Princes, a black and a white one,

Tried first, but they both fail'd in choosing the right one.

Another from Naples, who shoe'd his own horses;

A French Lord, whose graces might vie with Count D'Orsay's;--

A young English Baron;-- a Scotch Peer his neighbour;--

A dull drunken Saxon, all moustache and sabre;

All follow'd, and all had their pains for their labour.

Bassanio came last -- happy man be his dole!

Put his conjuring cap on,-- considered the whole,--

The gold put aside as

Mere 'hard food for Midas,'

The silver bade trudge

As a 'pale common drudge;'

Then choosing the little lead box in the middle,

Came plump on the picture, and found out the riddle.

Now, you're not such a goose as to think, I dare say,

Gentle Reader, that all this was done in a day,

Any more than the dome Of St. Peter's at Rome

Was built in the same space of time; and, in fact,

Whilst Bassanio was doing

His billing and cooing,

Three months had gone by ere he reach'd the fifth act;

Meanwhile that unfortunate bill became due,

Which his Lordship had almost forgot, to the Jew,

And Antonio grew In a deuce of a stew,

For he could not cash up, spite of all he could do;

(The bitter old Israelite would not renew,)

What with contrary winds, storms, wrecks, and embargoes, his

Funds were all stopp'd, or gone down in his argosies,

None of the set having come into port,

And Shylock's attorney was moving the Court

For the forfeit supposed to be set down in sport.

The serious news

Of this step of the Jew's,

And his fix'd resolution all terms to refuse,

Gave the newly-made Bridegroom a fit of 'the Blues,'

Especially, too, as it came from the pen

Of his poor friend himself on the wedding-day,-- then,

When the Parson had scarce shut his book up, and when

The Clerk was yet uttering the final Amen.

'Dear Friend,' it continued, 'all's up with me -- I

Have nothing on earth now to do but to die!

And, as death clears all scores, you're no longer my debtor;

I should take it as kind

Could you come -- never mind --

If your love don't persaude you, why,-- don't let this letter!'

I hardly need say this was scarcely read o'er

Ere a post-chaise and four

Was brought round to the door

And Bassanio, though, doubtless, he thought it a bore,

Gave his Lady one kiss, and then started at score.

But scarce in his flight

Had he got out of sight

Ere Portia, addressing a groom, said, 'My lad, you a

Journey must take on the instant to Padua;

Find out there Bellario,a Doctor of Laws,

Who, like Follett, is never left out of a cause,

And give him this note,

Which I've hastily wrote,

Take the papers he'll give you -- then push for the ferry

Below, where I'll meet you, you'll do't in a wherry,

If you can't find a boat on the Brenta with sails to it

-- Stay, bring his gown too, and wig with three tails to it.'

Giovanni (that's Jack)

Brought out his hack,

Made a bow to his mistress, then jump'd on its back,

Put his hand to his hat, and was off in a crack.

The Signora soon follow'd herself, taking as her

Own escort Nerissa her maid, and Balthasar.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'The Court is prepared, the Lawyers are met,

The Judges all ranged, a terrible show!'

As Captain Macheath says,-- and when one's in debt,

The sight's as unpleasant a one as I know,

Yet still not so bad after all, I suppose,

As if, when one cannot discharge what one owes,

They should bid people cut off one's toes or one's nose;

Yet here, a worse fate,

Stands Antonio, of late

A Merchant, might vie e'en with Princes in state,

With his waistcoat unbutton'd, prepared for the knife,

Which, in taking a pound of flesh, must take his life;

-- On the other side Shylock, his bag on the floor,

And three shocking bad hats on his head, as before,

Imperturbable stands,

As he waits their commands

With his scales and his great snicker-snee in his hands:

-- Between them, equipt in a wig, gown and bands,

With a very smooth face, a young dandified Lawyer,

Whose air, ne'ertheless, speaks him quite a top-sawyer,

Though his hopes are but feeble,

Does his possible

To make the hard Hebrew to mercy incline,

And in lieu of his three thousand ducats take nine,

Which Bassanio, for reasons we well may divine,

Shows in so many bags all drawn up in a line.

But vain are all efforts to soften him -- still

He points to the bond He so often has conn'd,

And says in plain terms he'll be shot if he will.

So the dandified Lawyer, with talking grown hoarse,

Says, 'I can say no more -- let the law take its course.'

Just fancy the gleam of the eye of the Jew,

As he sharpen'd his knife on the sole of his shoe

From the toe to the heel, And grasping the steel,

With a business-like air was beginning to feel

Whereabouts he should cut, as a butcher would veal,

When the dandified Judge puts a spoke in his wheel.

'Stay, Shylock,' says he, Here's one thing -- you see

This bond of yours gives you here no jot of blood!

-- The words are 'A pound of flesh,'-- that's clear as mud --

Slice away, then, old fellow -- but mind!-- if you spill

One drop of his claret that's not in your bill,

I'll hang you, like Haman?-- By Jingo I will!'

When apprised of this flaw, You never yet saw

Such an awfully mark'd elongation of jaw

As in Shylock, who cried, 'Plesh ma heart! ish dat law?'--

Off went his three hats,

And he look'd as the cats

Do, whenever a mouse has escaped from their claw.

'-- Ish't the law?'-- why the thing won't admit of a query --

'No doubt of the fact,

Only look at the act;

Acto quinto, cap. tertio, Dogi Falieri --

Nay, if, rather than cut, you'd relinquish the debt,

The Law, Master Shy, has a hold on you yet.

See Foscari's 'Statutes at large'--'If a Stranger

A Citizen's life shall, with malice, endanger,

The whole of his property, little or great,

Shall go, on conviction, one half to the State,

And one to the person pursued by his hate;

And, not to create

Any farther debate,

The Doge, if he pleases, may cut off his pate.'

So down on your marrowbones, Jew, and ask mercy!

Defendant and Plaintiff are now wisy wersy.'

What need to declare

How pleased they all were

At so joyful an end to so sad an affair?

Or Bassanio's delight at the turn things had taken,

His friend having saved, to the letter, his bacon?--

How Shylock got shaved, and turn'd Christian, though late,

To save a life-int'rest in half his estate?

How the dandified Lawyer, who'd managed the thing,

Would not take any fee for his pains but a ring

Which Mrs. Bassanio had given to her spouse,

With injunctions to keep it on leaving the house?--

How when he, and the spark

Who appeared as his clerk,

Had thrown off their wigs, and their gowns, and their jetty

coats,

There stood Nerissa and Portia in petticoats?--

How they pouted, and flouted, and acted the cruel,

Because Lord Bassanio had not kept his jewel?--

How they scolded and broke out,

Till having their joke out,

They kissed, and were friends, and, all blessing and blessed,

Drove home by the light

Of a moonshiny night,

Like the one in which Troilus, the brave Trojan knight,

Sat astride on a wall, and sigh'd after his Cressid?--

All this, if 'twere meet,

I'd go on to repeat,

But a story spun out so's by no means a treat,

So, I'll merely relate what, in spite of the pains

I have taken to rummage among his remains,

No edition of Shakspeare, I've met with, contains;

But, if the account which I've heard be the true one,

We shall have it, no doubt, before long, in a new one.

In an MS., then sold

For its full weight in gold,

And knock'd down to my friend, Lord Tomnoddy, I'm told

It's recorded that Jessy, coquettish and vain,

Gave her husband, Lorenzo, a good deal of pain;

Being mildly rebuked, she levanted again,

Ran away with a Scotchman, and, crossing the main,

Became known by the name of the 'Flower of Dumblane.'

That Antonio, whose piety caused, as we've seen,

Him to spit upon every old Jew's gaberdine,

And whose goodness to paint

All colours were faint,

Acquired the well-merited prefix of 'Saint,'

And the Doge, his admirer, of honour the fount,

Having given him a patent, and made him a Count,

He went over to England, got nat'ralis'd there,

And espous'd a rich heiress in Hanover Square.

That Shylock came with him; no longer a Jew,

But converted, I think may be possibly true,

But that Walpole, as these self-same papers aver,

By changing the y in his name into er,

Should allow him a fictitious surname to dish up,

And in Seventeen-twenty-eight make him a Bishop,

I cannot believe--but shall still think them two men

Till some Sage proves the fact 'with his usual acumen.'

MORAL.

From this tale of the Bard

It's uncommonly hard

If an editor can't draw a moral.--'Tis clear,

Then,-- In ev'ry young wife-seeking Bachelor's ear

A maxim, 'bove all other stories, this one drums,

'PITCH GREEK TO OLD HARRY, AND STICK TO CONUNDRUMS!!'

To new-married ladies this lesson it teaches,

'You're "no that far wrong" in assuming the breeches!'

Monied men upon 'Change, and rich Merchants it schools

To look well to assets -- nor play with edge tools!

Last of all, this remarkable History shows men,

What caution they need when they deal with old-clothesmen!

So bid John and Mary

To mind and be wary,

And never let one of them come down the are'!

NOTES

1. 'Nec imbellem feroces

Progenerant aquilæ columbam.'-- Hor.

From St. Mark to St. Lawrence -- from the Rialto to the

Escurial -- from one Peninsula to another!-- it is but a hop,

step, and jump -- your toe at Genoa, your heel at Marseilles,

and a good hearty spring pops you down at once in the very

heart of Old Castille. That Sir Peregrine Ingoldsby, then a

young man, was at Madrid soon after the peace of Ryswick there

is extant a long correspondence of his to prove. Various

passages in it countenance the supposition that his tour was

partly undertaken for political purposes; and this opinion is

much strengthened by certain allusions in several of his

letters addressed, in after life, to his friend, Sir Horace

Mann, then acting in the capacity of Envoy to the Court of

Tuscany. Although the Knight spent several months in Spain, and

visited many of her principal cities, there is no proof of his

having actually 'seen Seville,' beyond the internal evidence

incidentally supplied by the following legend. The events to

which it alludes were, of course, of a much earlier date,

though the genealogical records of the 'Kings of both the

Indies' have been in vain consulted for the purpose of fixing

their precise date, and even Mr. Simpkinson's research has

failed to determine which of the royal stock rejoicing in the

name of Ferdinand is the hero of the legend. The conglomeration

of Christian names usual in the families of the haute noblesse

of Spain adds to the difficulty; not that this inconvenient

accumulation of prefixes is peculiar to the country in

question, witness my excellent friend Field-Marshal Count

Herman Karl Heinrich Socrates von der Nodgerrie zü Pfefferkorn,

whose appellations puzzled the recording clerk of one of our

Courts lately,-- and that not a little.

That a splendid specimen of the genus Homo, species Monk,

flourished in the earlier moiety of the 15th century, under the

appellation of Torquemada, is notorious,-- and this fact might

seem to establish the era of the story; but then his name was

John -- not Dominic -- though be was a Dominican, and hence the

mistake, if any, may perhaps have originated -- but then again

the Spanish Queen to whom he was Confessor was called Isabella,

and not Blanche -- it is a puzzling affair altogether.

From his own silence on the subject it may well be doubted

whether the worthy transcriber knew himself the date of the

transactions he has recorded; the authenticity of the details,

however, cannot be well called in question.-- Be this as it

may, I shall make no further question, but at once introduce my

'pensive public' to,

THE AUTO-DA-FÉ: A LEGEND OF SPAIN.

With a moody air, from morn till noon,

King Ferdinand paces the royal saloon;

From morn till eve

He does nothing but grieve;

Sighings and sobbings his midriff heave,

And he wipes his eyes with his ermined sleeve,

And he presses his feverish hand to his brow,

And he frowns and he looks I can't tell you how;

And the Spanish Grandees,

In their degrees,

Are whispering about in twos and in threes,

And there is not a man of them seems at his ease,

But they gaze on the monarch, as watching what he does,

With their very long whiskers, and longer Toledos.

Don Gaspar, Don Gusman, Don Juan, Don Diego,

Don Gomez, Don Pedro, Don Blas, Don Rodrigo,

Don Jerome, Don Giacomo join Don Alphonso

In making inquiries

Of grave Don Ramirez,

The Chamberlain, what it is makes him take on so;

A Monarch so great that the soundest opinions

Maintain the sun can't set throughout his dominions.

But grave Don Ramirez

In guessing no nigher is

Than the other grave Dons who propound these inquiries;

When, pausing at length, as beginning to tire, his

Majesty beckons, with stately civility,

To Señor Don Lewis

Condé d'Aranjuez,

Who in birth, wealth, and consequence second to few is,

And Señor Don Manuel, Count de Pacheco,

A lineal descendant from King Pharaoh Neco,

Both Knights of the Golden Fleece, highborn Hidalgos,

With whom e'en the King himself quite as a 'pal' goes.

'Don Lewis,' says he,

'Just listen to me;

And you, Count Pacheco,-- I think that we three

On matters of state, for the most part agree,--

Now you both of you know

That some six years ago,

Being then, for a King, no indifferent Beau,

At the altar I took, like my forbears of old,

The Peninsula's paragon,

Fair Blanche of Aragon,

For better, for worse, and to have and to hold --

And you're fully aware,

When the matter took air,

How they shouted, and fired the great guns in the Square,

Cried 'Viva!'-- and rung all the bells in the steeple,

And all that sort of thing

The mob do when a King

Brings a Queen-Consort home for the good of his people.

'Well!-- six years and a day

Have flitted away

Since that blessed event, yet I'm sorry to say --

In fact it's the principal cause of my pain --

I don't see any signs of an Infant of Spain!--

Now I want to ask you,

Cavaliers true,

And Counsellors sage -- what the deuce shall I do?--

The State -- don't you see?-- hey?-- an heir to the throne --

Every monarch, you know, should have one of his own --

Disputed succession -- hey?-- terrible Go!--

Hum -- hey?-- Old fellows -- you see!-- don't you know?

Now Reader, dear,

If you've ever been near

Enough to a Court to encounter a Peer

When his principal tenant's gone off in arrear,

And his brewer has sent in a long bill for beer,

And his butcher and baker, with faces austere,

Ask him to clear

Off, for furnish'd good cheer,

Bills, they say, 'have been standing for more than a year,'

And the tailor and shoemaker also appear

With their 'little account'

Of 'trifling amount,'

For Wellingtons, waistcoats, pea-jackets, and -- gear

Which to name in society's thought rather queer,--

While Drummond's chief clerk, with his pen in his ear,

And a kind of a sneer, says,'We've no effects here!'

-- Or if ever you've seen An Alderman keen

After turtle, peep into a silver tureen,

In search of the fat call'd par excellence 'green.'

When there's none of the meat left -- not even the lean!--

-- Or if ever you've witness'd the face of a sailor

Return'd from a voyage, and escaped from a gale, or

Poeticè 'Boreas,' that 'blustering railer,'

To find that his wife, when he hastens to 'hail' her,

Has just run away with his cash -- and a tailor --

If one of these cases you've ever survey'd,

You'll, without my aid,

To yourself have portray'd

The beautiful mystification display'd,

And the puzzled expression of manner and air

Exhibited now by the dignified pair,

When thus unexpectedly ask'd to declare

Their opinions as Councillors, several and joint,

On so delicate, grave, and important a point.

Señor Don Lewis

Condé d'Aranjuez

At length forced a smile 'twixt the prim and the grim,

And look'd at Pacheco -- Pacheco at him --

Then, making a rev'rence, and dropping his eyes,

Cough'd, hemm'd, and deliver'd himself in this wise:

'My Liege!-- unaccustom'd as I am to speaking

In public -- an art I'm remarkably weak in --

I feel I should be -- quite unworthy the name

Of a man and a Spaniard--and highly to blame,

Were there not in my breast

What--can't be exprest,--

And can therefore,-- your Majesty,-- only be guess'd --

-- What I mean to say is -- since your Majesty deigns

To ask my advice on your welfare -- and Spain's,--

And on that of your Majesty's Bride -- that is, Wife --

It's the -- as I may say -- proudest day of my life!

But as to the point -- on a subject so nice

It's a delicate matter to give one's advice,

Especially, too,

When one don't clearly view

The best mode of proceeding,-- or know what to do:

My decided opinion, however, is this,

And I fearlessly say that you can't do amiss,

If, with all that fine tact

Both to think and to act,

In which all know your Majesty so much excels --

You are graciously pleased to -- ask somebody else!'

Here the noble Grandee

Made that sort of congée,

Which, as Hill used to say, 'I once happen'd to see'

The great Indian conjuror, Ramo Samee,

Make, while swallowing what all thought a regular choker,

Viz. a small sword as long and as stiff as a poker.

Then the Count de Pacheco, Whose turn 'twas to speak o-

mitting all preface, exclaim'd with devotion,

'Sire, I beg leave to second Don Lewis's motion!'

Now a monarch of Spain

Of course could not deign

To expostulate, argue, or, much less, complain

Of an answer thus giv'n, or to ask them again;

So he merely observ'd, with an air of disdain,

'Well, Gentlemen,-- since you both shrink from the task

Of advising your Sovereign -- pray whom shall I ask?'

Each felt the rub,

And in Spain, not a Sub,

Much less an Hidalgo, can stomach a snub,

So the noses of these Castilian Grandees

Rise at once in an angle of several degrees,

Till the under-lip's almost becoming the upper,

Each perceptibly grows, too, more stiff in the crupper;

Their right hands rest

On the left side the breast

While the hilts of their swords, by their left hands deprest

Make the ends of their scabbards to cock up behind,

Till they're quite horizontal instead of inclined,

And Don Lewis, with scarce an attempt to disguise

The disgust he experiences, gravely replies,

'Sire, ask the Archbishop -- his Grace of Toledo!--

He understands these things much better than we do!'

-- Pauca Verba!-- enough,

Each turns off in a huff

This twirling his moustache, that fingering his ruff,

Like a blue-bottle fly on a rather large scale,

With a rather large corking-pin stuck through his tail

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

King Ferdinand paces the Royal saloon,

With a moody brow, and he looks like a 'Spoon,'

And all the Court Nobles, who form the ring,

Have a spoony appearance, of course, like the King,

All of them eyeing King Ferdinand

As he goes up and down, with his watch in his hand,

Which he claps to his ear as he walks to and fro,--

'What is it can make the Archbishop so slow?'

Hark!-- at last there's a sound in the courtyard below,

Where the Beefeaters all are drawn up in a row,--

I would say the 'Guards' for in Spain they're in chief eaters

Of omelettes and garlick, and can't be call'd Beefeaters,

In fact, of the few

Individuals I knew

Who ever had happened to travel in Spain,

There has scarce been a person who did not complain

Of their cookery and dishes as all bad in grain,

And no one I'm sure will deny it who's tried a

Vile compound they have that's called Olla podrida.

(This, by-the-bye 's a mere rhyme to the eye,

For in Spanish the i is pronounced like an e,

And they've not quite our mode of pronouncing the d.

In Castille, for instance, it's given through the teeth,

And what we call Madrid they sound more like Madreeth),

Of course you will see in a moment they've no men

That all correspond with our Beefeating Yeomen;

So call them 'Walloons,' or whatever you please,

By their rattles and slaps they're not 'standing at ease,'

But, beyond all disputing,

Engaged in saluting,

Some very great person among the Grandees;--

Here a Gentleman Usher walks in and declares,

'His Grace the Archbishop's a-coming up stairs!'

The most Reverend Don Garcilasso Quevedo

Was just at this time, as he

Now held the Primacy,

(Always attached to the see of Toledo,)

A man of great worship officii virtute

Versed in all that pertains to a Counsellor's duty,

Well skill'd to combine

Civil law with divine;

As a statesman, inferior to none in that line;

As an orator, too,

He was equall'd by few;

Uniting, in short, in tongue, head-piece, and pen,

The very great power of three very great men,

Talleyrand,-- who will never drive down Piccadily more

To the Travellers' Club-House!-- Charles Phillips -- and

Phillimore.

Not only at home

But even at Rome

There was not a Prelate among them could cope

With the Primate of Spain in the eyes of the Pope.

(The Conclave was full, and they'd not a spare hat, or he

'd long since been Cardinal, Legate à latere,

A dignity fairly his due, without flattery,

So much he excited among all beholders

Their marvel to see

At his age -- thirty-three

Such a very old head on such very young shoulders.)

No wonder the King, then, in this his distress,

Should send for so sage an adviser express,

Who, you'll readily guess,

Could not do less

Than start off at once, without stopping to dress,

In his haste to get Majesty out of a mess.

His Grace the Archbishop comes up the back way --

Set apart for such Nobles as have the entrée,

Viz. Grandees of the first class, both cleric and lay --

Walks up to the monarch, and makes him a bow,

As a dignified clergyman always knows how,

Then replaces the mitre at once on his brow;

For in Spain, recollect,

As a mark of respect

To the Crown, if a grandee uncovers, it's quite

As a matter of option, and not one of right;

A thing not conceded by our Royal Masters,

Who always make noblemen take off their 'castors,'

Except the heirs male

Of John Lord Kinsale,

A stalwart old Baron, who, acting as Henchman

To one of our early Kings, kill'd a big Frenchman;

A feat which his Majesty deigning to smile on,

Allow'd him thenceforward to stand with his 'tile' on;

And all his successors have kept the same privilege

Down from those barbarous times to our civil age.

Returning his bow with a slight demi-bob,

And replacing the watch in his hand in his fob,

'My Lord,' said the King, 'here's a rather tough job,

Which it seems, of a sort is,

To puzzle our Cortes,

And since it has quite flabbergasted that Diet, I

Look to your Grace with no little anxiety

Concerning a point Which has quite out of joint

Put us all with respect to the good of society:--

Your Grace is aware

That we've not got an Heir;

Now, it seems, one and all, they don't stick to declare

That of all our advisers there is not in Spain one

Can tell, like your Grace, the best way to obtain one;

So put your considering cap on -- we're curious

To learn your receipt for a Prince of Asturias.'

One without the nice tact

Of his Grace would have backt

Out at once, as the Noblemen did,-- and, in fact

He was, at the first, rather pozed how to act --

One moment -- no more!-- Bowing then as before,

He said, 'Sire, 'twere superfluous for me to acquaint

The 'Most Catholic King' in the world that a Saint

Is the usual resource In these cases,-- of course

Of your influence your Majesty well knows the force;

If I may be, therefore, allowed to suggest

The plan which occurs to my mind as the best,

Your Majesty may go

At once to St Jago,

Whom, as Spain's patron Saint, I pick out from the rest:

If your Majesty looks

Into Guthrie, or Brooks,

In all the approved Geographical books

You will find Compostella laid down in the maps

Some two hundred and sev'nty miles off; and, perhaps,

In a case so important you may not decline

A pedestrian excursion to visit his shrine;

And, Sire, should you choose

To put peas in your shoes,

The Saint, as a Gentleman, can't well refuse

So distinguish'd a Pilgrim, especially when he

Considers the boon will not cost him one penny!'

His speech ended, his Grace bow'd, and put on his mitre

As tight as before, and perhaps a thought tighter,

'Pooh! pooh!' says the King, 'I shall do no such thing!

It's nonsense,-- Old fellow -- you see -- no use talking --

The peas set apart, I abominate walking--

Such a deuced way off too -- hey?-- walk there -- what me?

Pooh!-- It's no Go, Old fellow!-- you know -- don't you see?'

'Well, Sire,' with much sweetness the Prelate replied,

'If your Majesty don't like to walk -- you can ride!

And then, if you please,

In lieu of the peas,

A small portion of horse-hair, cut fine, we'll insert,

As a substitute under your Majesty's shirt;

Then a rope round your collar instead of a laced band,--

A few nettles tuck'd into your Majesty's waistband,--

Assafoetida mixed with your bouquet and civet,

I'll warrant you'll find yourself right as a trivet!'

'Pooh! pooh! I tell you,'

Quoth the King, 'It won't do!'--

A cold perspiration began to bedew

His Majesty's cheek, and he grew in a stew,

When Jozé de Humez, the King's privy-purse-keeper,

(Many folks thought it could scarce have a worse keeper,)

Came to the rescue, and said with a smile,

'Sire, your Majesty can't go --'twould take a long while,

And you won't post it under TWO SHILLINGS A MILE!!

Twenty-seven pounds ten

To get there -- and then

Twenty-seven pounds ten more to get back agen!!!

Sire, the tottle's enormous -- you ought to be King

Of Golconda as well as the Indies, to fling

Such a vast sum away upon any such thing!'

At this second rebuff

The Archbishop look'd gruff,

And his eye glanc'd on Humez as if he'd say 'Stuff!'

But seeing the King seem'd himself in a huff,

He chang'd his demeanour, and grew smooth enough;

Then taking his chin 'twixt his finger and thumb,

As a help to reflection, gave vent to a 'Hum!'

'Twas the pause of an instant -- his eye assumed fast

That expression which says, 'Come, I've got it at last!'

'There's one plan,' he resumed, 'which with all due respect to

Your Majesty, no one, I think, can object to --

-- Since your Majesty don't like the peas in the shoe -- or to

Travel -- what say you to burning a Jew or two?

Of all cookeries, most

The Saints love a roast!

And a Jew's of all others the best dish to toast;

And then for a Cook

We have not far to look--

Father Dominic's self, Sire, your own Grand Inquisitor,

Luckily now at your Court is a visitor;

Of his Rev'rence's functions there is not one weightier

Than Heretic-burning -- in fact, 'tis his métier.

Besides Alguazils

Who still follow his heels,

He has always familiars enough at his beck at home,

To pick you up Hebrews enough for a hecatomb!

And depend on it, Sire, such a glorious specific

Would make every Queen throughout Europe prolific!'

Says the King, 'That'll do!

Pooh! pooh!--burn a Jew?

Burn half a score Jews -- burn a dozen -- burn two --

Your Grace, it's a match! Burn all you can catch,

Men, women, and children -- Pooh! pooh!-- great and small --

Old clothes -- slippers -- sealing-wax -- Pooh!-- burn them

all!

For once we'll be gay,

A Grand Auto-da-fé

Is much better fun than a ball or a play!'

So the warrant was made out without more delay,

Drawn, seal'd, and delivered, and

(Signed)

YO EL RE!

CANTO II.

There is not a nation in Europe but labours

To toady itself and to humbug its neighbours--

'Earth has no such folks -- no folks such a city,

So great or so grand, or so fine, or so pretty,'

Said Louis Quatorze, 'As this Paris of ours!'

-- Mr. Daniell O'Connell exclaims, 'By the Pow'rs,

Ould Ireland's on all hands admitted to be

The first flow'r of the earth, and first Gim of the sea!'--

-- Mr. Bull will inform you that Neptune,-- a lad he,

With more of affection than rev'rence, styles, 'Daddy,'--

Did not scruple to 'say To Freedom, one day,'

That if ever he chang'd his aquatics for dry land,

His home should be Mr. B.'s 'Tight little Island.'--

He adds, too, that he,

The said Mr. B.,

Of all possible Frenchmen can fight any three;

That, with no greater odds, he knows well how to treat them

To meet them, defeat them, and beat them, and eat them.--

-- In Italy, too, 'tis the same to the letter;

There each Lazzarone

Will cry to his crony,

'See Naples, then die!< 1> and the sooner the better!'

The Portuguese say, as a well understood thing,

'Who has not seen Lisbon< 2> has not seen a good thing!'--

While an old Spanish proverb runs glibly as under,

'QUIEN NO HA VISTO SEVILLA

NO HA VISTO MARAVILLA!

'He who ne'er has viewed Seville has ne'er view'd a Wonder!'

And from all I can learn this is no such great blunder.

In fact, from the river,

The famed Guadalquiver,

Where many a knight's had cold steel through his liver,< 3>

The prospect is grand. The Iglesia Mayor

Has a splendid effect on the opposite shore,

With its lofty Giralda, while two or three score

Of magnificent structures around, perhaps more,

As our Irish friends have it, are there 'to the fore:'

Then the old Alcazar,

More ancient by far,

As some say, while some call it one of the palaces

Built in twelve hundred and odd by Abdalasis,

With its horse-shoe shaped arches of Arabesque tracery,

Which the architect seems to have studied to place awry,

Saracenic and rich;

And more buildings 'the which,'

As old Lily, in whom I've been looking a bit o' late,

Says, 'You'd be bored should I now recapitulate;'< 4>

In brief, then, the view

Is so fine and so new,

It would make you exclaim, 'twould so forcibly strike ye,

If a Frenchman, 'Superbe!'--if an Englishman, 'Crikey!'

Yes! thou art 'WONDERFUL!'--but oh,

'Tis sad to think, 'mid scenes so bright

As thine, fair Seville, sounds of woe,

And shrieks of pain and wild affright,

And soul-wrung groans of deep despair,

And blood, and death should mingle there!

Yes! thou art 'WONDERFUL!'-- the flames

That on thy towers reflected shine,

While earth's proud Lords and high-born Dames,

Descendants of a mighty line,

With cold unalter'd looks are by

To gaze, with an unpitying eye,

On wretches in their agony.

All speak thee 'Wonderful'-- the phrase

Befits thee well -- the fearful blaze

Of you piled faggots' lurid light,

Where writhing victims mock the sight,--

The scorch'd limb shrivelling in its chains,--

The hot blood parch'd in living veins,--

The crackling nerve -- the fearful knell

Wrung out by that remorseless bell,--

Those shouts from human fiends that swell,--

That withering scream,-- that frantic yell,--

All, Seville,-- all too truly tell

Thou art a 'Marvel'-- and a Hell!

God!-- that the worm whom thou hast made

Should thus his brother worm invade!

Count deeds like these good service done,

And deem THINE eye looks smiling on!!

Yet there at his ease, with his whole Court around him,

King Ferdinand sits 'in his Glory'-- confound him!--

Leaning back in his chair,

With a satisfied air

And enjoying the bother, the smoke and the smother,

With one knee cocked carelessly over the other;

His pouncet-box goes

To and fro at his nose,

As somewhat misliking the smell of old clothes,

And seeming to hint, by this action emphatic,

That Jews, e'en when roasted, are not aromatic;

There, too, fair Ladies

From Xeres, and Cadiz,

Catalinas, and Julias, and fair Iñesillas,

In splendid lace veils, and becoming mantillas;

Elviras, Antonias, and Claras and Floras,

And dark-eyed Jacinthas and soft Isidoras,

Are crowding the 'boxes,' and looking on coolly as

Though 'twas but one of their common tertulias,

Partaking, as usual, of wafers and ices,

Snow-water, and melons cut out into slices,

And chocolate,-- furnished at coffee-house prices;

While many a suitor,

And gay coadjutor

In the eating-and-drinking line scorns to be neuter;

One, being perhaps just return'd with his tutor

From travel in England, is tempting his 'future'

With a luxury neat as imported, 'The Pewter,'

And charming the dear Violantes and Iñeses

With a three-corner'd Sandwich, and soupcon of 'Guinness's;'

While another, from Paris but newly come back,

Hints 'the least taste in life' of the best cogniac.

Such ogling and eyeing,

In short, and such sighing

And such complimenting (one must not say l--g),

Of smart Cavaliers with each other still vying,

Mix'd up with the crying,

And groans of the dying

All hissing, and spitting, and broiling, and frying,

Form a scene which, although there can be no denying

To a bon Catholique it may prove edifying,

I doubt if a Protestant smart Beau, or merry Belle,

Might not shrink from it as somewhat too terrible.

It's a question with me if you ever survey'd a

More stern-looking mortal than old Torquemada,

Renown'd Father Dominic, famous for twisting dom-

estic and foreign necks all over Christendom;

Morescoes or Jews,

Not a penny to choose,

If a dog of a heretic dare to refuse

A glass of old port, or a slice from a griskin,

The good Padre soon would so set him a frisking,

That I would not, for -- more than I'll say -- be in his skin.

'Twas just the same thing with his own race and nation,

And Christian Dissenters of every persuasion,

Muggletonian or Quaker,

Or Jumper or Shaker,

No matter with whom in opinion partaker,

George Whitfield, John Bunyan, or Thomas Gat-acre,

They'd no better chance than a Bonze or a Fakir;

If a woman, it skill'd not -- if she did not deem as he

Bade her to deem touching Papal supremacy,

By the Pope, but he'd make her! From error awake her,

Or else -- pop her into an oven and bake her!

No one, in short, ever came half so near, as he

Did, to the full extirpation of heresy;

And if, in the times of which now I am treating,

There had been such a thing as a 'Manchester Meeting,'

'Pretty pork' he'd have made 'Moderator' and 'Minister,'

Had he but caught them on his side Cape Finisterre;--

Pye Smith, and the rest of them once in his bonfire, hence-

forth you'd have heard little more of the 'CONFERENCE.'

And -- there on the opposite side of the ring,

He, too, sits 'in his Glory,' confronting the King,

With his cast-iron countenance frowning austerely

That matched with his en bon point body but queerly,

For, though grim his visage, his person was pursy,

Belying the rumour

Of fat folks' good humour;

Above waves his banner of 'Justice and Mercy,'

Below and around stand a terrible band adding

much to the scene -- viz. The 'Holy Hermandad,'

That's 'Brotherhood,'-- each looking grave as a Grand-dad.

Within the arena

Before them is seen a

Strange, odd-looking group, each one dress'd in a garment

Not 'dandified' clearly, as certainly 'varment,'

Being all over vipers and snakes, and stuck thick

With multiplied silhouette profiles of Nick;

And a cap of the same,

All devils and flame,

Extinguisher-shaped, much like Salisbury Spire,

Except that the latter's of course somewhat higher;

A long yellow pin-a-fore

Hangs down each chin afore,

On which, ere the wearer had donn'd it, a man drew

The Scotch badge, a Saltire, or Cross of St. Andrew;

Though I fairly confess I am quite at a loss

To guess why they should choose that particular cross,

Or to make clear to you

What the Scotch had to do

At all with the business in hand,-- though it's true

That the vestment aforesaid, perhaps from its hue,

Viz. yellow, in juxta-position with blue,

(A tinge of which latter tint could but accrue

On the faces of wretches, of course, in a stew

As to what their tormentors were going to do,)

Might make people fancy, who no better knew,

They were somehow connected with Jeffrey's Review;

Especially too

As it's certain that few

Things would make Father Dominic blither or happier

Than to catch hold of it, or its Chef, Macvey Napier.--

No matter for that -- my description to crown,

All the flames and the devils were turn'd upside down

On this habit, facetiously term'd San Benito,

Much like the dress suit

Of some nondescript brute

From the show-van of Wombwell, (not George,) or Polito.

And thrice happy they,< 5>

Dress'd out in this way

To appear with éclat at the Auto-da-fé,--

Thrice happy indeed whom the good luck might fall to

Of devils tail upward, and 'Fuego revolto,'

For, only see there,

In the midst of the Square,

Where, perch'd up on poles six feet high in the air

Sit, chained to the stake, some two, three, or four pair

Of wretches, whose eyes, nose, complexion, and hair

Their Jewish descent but too plainly declare,

Each clothed in a garment more frightful by far, a

Smock-frock sort of gaberdine, call'd a Samarra,

With three times the number of devils upon it,--

A proportion observed on the sugar-loaf'd bonnet,

With this farther distinction -- of mischief a proof --

That every fiend Jack stands upright on his hoof!

While the pictured flames, spread

Over body and head,

Are three times as crooked, and three times as red!

All, too, pointing upwards, as much as to say,

'Here's the real bonne bouche of the Auto-da-fé.'

Torquemada, meanwhile,

With his cold, cruel smile,

Sits looking on calmly, and watching the pile,

As his hooded 'Familiars' (their names, as some tell, come

From their being so much more 'familiar' than 'welcome,')

Have, by this time, begun

To be 'poking their fun,'

And their firebrands, as if they were so many posies

Of lilies and roses,

Up to the noses

Of Lazarus Levi and Money Ben Moses;

While similar treatment is forcing out hollow moans

From Aby Ben Lasco and Ikey Ben Solomons,

Whose beards -- this a black, that inclining to grizzle --

Are smoking, and curling, and all in a fizzle;

The King, at the same time, his Dons and his visitors,

Sit, sporting smiles, like the Holy Inquisitors,--

Enough!-- no more!-- Thank Heaven, 'tis o'er

The tragedy's done! and we now draw a veil

O'er a scene which makes outraged humanity quail;

The last fire's exhausted, and spent like a rocket,

The last wretched Hebrew's burnt down in his socket!

The Barriers are open, and all, saints and sinners,

King, Court, Lords, and Commons, gone home to their dinners,

With a pleasing emotion Produced by the notion

Of having exhibited so much devotion,

All chuckling to think how the Saints are delighted

At having seen so many 'Smouches' ignited:--

All, save Privy-purse Humez,

Who sconced in his room is,

And, Cocker in hand, in his leather-backed chair,

Is puzzling to find out how much the 'affair'

(By deep calculations, the which I can't follow,) cost,--

The tottle, in short, of the whole of the Holocaust.

Perhaps you may think it a rather odd thing,

That, while talking so much of the Court and the King,

In describing the scene

Through which we've just been

I've not said one syllable as to the Queen;

Especially, too, as her Majesty's 'Whereabouts,'

All things considered, might well be thought thereabouts;

The fact was, however, although little known,

Sa Magestad had hit on a plan of her own,

And suspecting, perhaps, that an Auto alone

Might fail in securing this 'Heir to the throne,'

Had made up her mind,

Although well inclined

Towards galas and shows of no matter what kind,

For once to retire,

And bribe the Saints higher

Than merely by sitting and seeing a fire,--

A sight, after all, she did not much admire;

So she locked herself up,

Without platter or cup,

In her Oriel, resolved not take bite or sup,

Not so much as her matin-draught (our 'early purl')

Nor put on her jewels, nor e'en let the girl,

Who helped her to dress, take her hair out of curl,

But to pass the whole morning in telling her beads,

And in reading the lives of the Saints, and their deeds

And in vowing to visit, without shoes or sandals,

Their shrines, with unlimited orders for candles,

Holy water, and Masses of Mozart's and Handel's.< 6>

And many a Pater, and Ave, and Credo

Did She, and her Father Confessor, Quevedo,

(The clever Archbishop, you know, of Toledo,)

Who came, as before, at a very short warning,

Get through, without doubt, in the course of that morning;

Shut up, as they were,

With nobody there

To at all interfere with so pious a pair;

And the Saints must have been stony-hearted indeed,

If they had not allow'd all these pains to succeed.

Nay, it's not quite clear to me but their very ability

Might, Spain throughout,

Have been brought into doubt,

Had the Royal bed still remain'd cursed with sterility;

St. Jago, however, who always is jealous

In Spanish affairs as their best authors tell us,

And who, if he saw

Anything like a flaw

In Spain's welfare, would soon sing, 'Old Rose, burn the

bellows!'

Set matters to rights like a King of good fellows:

By his interference,

Three-fourths of a year hence,

There was nothing but capering, dancing, and singing,

Cachucas, Boleros, and bells set a ringing,

In both the Castilles,

Triple-bob-major peals,

Rope-dancing, and tumbling, and somerset-flinging,

Seguidillas, Fandangos,

While ev'ry gun bang goes;

And all the way through, from Gibraltar to Biscay,

Figueras and Sherry make all the Dons frisky,

(Save Moore's 'Blake's and O'Donnell's,' who stick to the

whisky;)

All the day long

The dance and the song

Continue the general joy to prolong;

And even long after the close of the day

You can hear little else but 'Hip! hip! hurray!'

The Escurial, however, is not quite so gay,

For, whether the Saint had not perfectly heard

The petition the Queen and Archbishop preferred,--

Or whether his head, from his not being used

To an Auto-da-fé, was a little confused,--

Or whether the King, in the smoke and the smother,

Got bother'd, and so made some blunder or other,

I am sure I can't say;

All I know is, that day

There must have been some mistake?-- that, I'm afraid, is

Only too clear,

Inasmuch as the dear

Royal Twins,-- though fine babies,-- proved both little Ladies!

MORAL.

Reader!-- Not knowing what your 'persuasion' may be,

Mahometan, Jewish, or even Parsee,

Take a little advice which may serve for all three!

First --'When you're at Rome, do as Rome does!' and note all

her

Ways -- drink what She drinks! and don't turn Tee-totaller!

In Spain, raison de plus,

You must do as they do,

Inasmuch as they're all there 'at sixes and sevens,'

Just as, you know, They were some years ago,

In the days of Don Carlos and Brigadier Evans;

Don't be nice, then -- but take what they've got in their

shops,

Whether griskins or sausages, ham or pork-chops!

Next -- Avoid Fancy-trousers!-- their colours and shapes

Sometimes as you see, may lead folks into scrapes!

For myself, I confess

I've but small taste for dress,

My opinion is, therefore, worth nothing -- or less --

But some friends I've consulted,-- much given to watch one's

Apparel -- do say

It's by far the best way,

And the safest, to do as Lord Brougham does -- buy Scotch ones!

I might now volunteer some advice to a King,--

Let Whigs say what they will, I shall do no such thing,

But copy my betters, and never begin

Until, like Sir Robert, 'I'm duly CALLED IN!'

NOTES

1. 'Vedi Napoli e poi mori!'

2. 'Quem não tem visto Lisboa Não tem visto cousa boa.'

3. 'Rio verde, Rio verde, &c.'

'Glassy water, glassy water,

Down whose current clear and strong,

Chiefs, confused in mutual slaughter,

Moor and Christian, roll along.'--

Old Spanish Romance.

4. Cum multis aliis quæ nunc perscribere longum est.-- Propria

quæ maribus.

5. O fortunati nimium sua si bona norint!

6. That is, She would have ordered them -- but none are known,

I fear, as his,

For Handel never wrote a Mass, and so She'd David Perez's--

Bow! wow! wow!

Fol, lol. &c. &c.'

(Posthumous Note by the Ghost of James Smith, Esq.)

In the windows of the great Hall, so well as in those of

the long Gallery, and the Library at Tappington, are, and have

been many of them from a very early period, various 'storied

panes 'of stained glass, which, as Blue Dick's exploits <1> did

not extend beyond the neighbouring city, have remained

unfractured down to the present time. Among the numerous

escutcheons there displayed, charged with armorial bearings of

the family and its connexions, is one in which a chevron

between three eagles suisses, sable, is blazoned quarterly with

the engrailed saltire of the Ingoldsbys. Mr. Simpkinson from

Bath,-- whose merits as an antiquary are so well known and

appreciated as to make eulogy superfluous, not to say

impertinent,-- has been for some time bringing his heraldic

lore to bear on these monumenta vetusta. He pronounces the coat

in question to be that of a certain Sir Ingoldsby Bray, who

flourished temp. Ric. I. and founded the Abbey of Ingoldsby, in

the county of Kent and diocese of Rochester, early in the reign

of that monarch's successor. The history of the origin of that

pious establishment has been rescued from the dirt and mildew

in which its chartularies have been slumbering for centuries,

and is here given. The link of connection between the two

families is shown by the accompanying extract from our

genealogical tree.

Peter de Ingoldsby, Lord of Tappington,

temp. Stephen, killed at the battle of Lin-

coln ex parte regis. ===

I

-------------

I I

Vitalis de===Alice de Geoffrey===Joan Richard Ingoldsby, of Tap-

Engaine. I Lizures, de Brai. I only pington aforesaid. A quo

I 2d. wife I dau. HODIERNUS INGOLDSBY.

I I I

I I / \

---------- ------------------------

I I I

Alicia == Ingoldsby de Brai, Chiv'ler Reginald de Bray, 2d son,

dau.& afterwards assumed his mo- heir to his brother, from

heir, ther's name, founder of In- whom descended Edmund

sus. goldsby Abbey, A.D. 1202, Lord Bray, summoned to

per ob. S, P. circiter 1214. Parliament 21 to 28

coll Hen. 8.

I

/ \

In this document it will be perceived that the death

of Lady Alice Ingoldsby is attributed to strangulation

superinduced by suspension, whereas in the veritable legend

annexed no allusion is made to the intervention of a halter.

Unluckily Sir Ingoldsby left no issue, or we might now be

'calling Cousins' with (ci devant) Mrs. Otway Cave, in whose

favour the abeyance of the old Barony of Bray has recently been

determined by the Crown.

To this same Barony we ourselves were not without our

pretensions, and, teste Simpkinson, had 'as good a right to it

as any body else.' The 'Collective wisdom of the Country' has,

however, decided the point, and placed us among that very

numerous class of claimants who are 'wrongfully kept out of

their property and dignities -- by the right owners.'

I seize with pleasure this opportunity of contradicting a

malicious report that Mr. Simpkinson has, in a late

publication, confounded King Henry the Fifth with the Duke of

Monmouth, and positively deny that he has ever represented

Walter Lord Clifford, (father to Fair Rosamond,) as the leader

of the O. P. row.

THE INGOLDSBY PENANCE: A LEGEND OF PALESTINE -- AND WEST KENT

I'll devise thee brave punishments for him!-- SHAKESPEAR.

Out and spake Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

A stalwart knight, I ween, was he,

'Come east, come west,

Come lance in rest,

Come faulchion in hand, I'll tickle the best

Of all the Soldan's Chivalrie!'

Oh! they came west, and they came east,

Twenty-four Emirs and Sheiks at the least,

And they hammer'd away

At Sir Ingoldsby Bray,--

Fall back, fall edge, cut, thrust, and point,--

But he topp'd off head, and he lopp'd off joint;

Twenty and three,

Of high degree,

Lay stark and stiff on the crimson'd lea,

All -- all save one -- and he ran up a tree!

'Now count them, my Squire, now count them and see!

'Twenty and three!

Twenty and three!--

All of them Nobles of high degree;

There they be lying on Ascalon lea!'

Out and spake Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

'What news? what news? come, tell to me!

What news? what news, thou little Foot-page?--

I've been whacking the foe, till it seems an age

Since I was in Ingoldsby Hall so free!

What news? what news from Ingoldsby Hall?

Come tell me now, thou Page so small!'

'Oh, Hawk and Hound

Are safe and sound,

Beast in byre, and Steed in stall;

And the Watch-dog's bark,

As soon as it's dark,

Bays wakeful guard around Ingoldsby Hall!'

--'I care not a pound

For Hawk or for Hound,

For Steed in stall, or for Watch-dog's bay:

Fain would I hear

Of my dainty dear;

How fares Dame Alice, my Lady gay?'

Sir Ingoldsby Bray, he said in his rage,

'What news? what news? thou naughty Foot-page!'--

That little Foot-page full low crouch'd he,

And he doff'd his cap, and he bended his knee,

'Now lithe and listen, Sir Bray, to me:

Lady Alice sits lonely in bower and hall,

Her sighs they rise, and her tears they fall:

She sits alone,

And she makes her moan;

Dance and song

She considers quite wrong

Feast and revel

Mere snares of the devil;

She mendeth her hose, and she crieth "Alack!

When will Sir Ingoldsby Bray come back?"'

'Thou liest! thou liest, thou naughty Foot-page,

Full loud dost thou lie, false Page, to me!

There, in thy breast,

'Neath thy silken vest,

What scroll is that, false Page, I see?'

Sir Ingoldsby Bray in his rage drew near,

That little Foot-page he blench'd with fear;

'Now where may the Prior of Abingdon lie?

King Richard's Confessor, I ween, is he,

And tidings rare

To him do I bear,

And news of price from his rich Ab-bee!'

'Now nay, now nay, thou naughty Page!

No learned clerk, I trow, am I,

But well, I ween,

May there be seen

Dame Alice's hand with half an eye;

Now nay, now nay, thou naughty Page,

From Abingdon Abbey comes not thy news;

Although no clerk,

Well may I mark

The particular turn of her P's and her Q's!'

Sir Ingoldsby Bray, in his fury and rage,

By the back of the neck takes that little Foot-page;

The scroll he seizes,

The Page he squeezes,

And buffets,-- and pinches his nose till he sneezes;

Then he cuts with his dagger the silken threads

Which they used in those days, 'stead of little Queen's-heads

When the contents of the scroll met his view,

Sir Ingoldsby Bray in a passion grew,

Backward he drew

His nailed shoe,

And he kicked that naughty Foot-page, that he flew

Like a cloth-yard shaft from a bended yew,

I may not say whither -- I never knew.

'Now count the slain

Upon Ascalon plain,--

Go count them, my Squire, go count them again!'

'Twenty and three! There they be,

Stiff and stark on that crimson'd lea!--

Twenty and three?--

--Stay -- let me see!

Stretched in his gore

There lieth one more!

By the Pope's triple crown there are twenty and four?

Twenty-four trunks, I ween, are there,

But their heads and their limbs are no-body knows where!

Ay, twenty-four corses, I rede, there be,

Though one got away and ran up a tree!'

'Look nigher, look nigher,

My trusty Squire!'--

'One is the corse of a bare-footed Friar!!'

Out and spake Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

'A boon, a boon, King Richard,' quoth he,

'Now Heav'n thee save, A boon I crave,

A boon, Sir King, on my bended knee;

A year and a day

Have I been away,

King Richard, from Ingoldsby Hall so free;

Dame Alice, she sits there in lonely guise,

And she makes her moan, and she sobs and she sighs,

And tears like rain-drops fall from her eyes,

And she darneth her hose, and she crieth 'Alack!

Oh! when will Sir Ingoldsby Bray come back?'

A boon, a boon, my Liege,' quoth he,

'Fair Ingoldsby Hall I fain would see!'

'Rise up, rise up, Sir Ingoldsby Bray,'

King Richard said right graciously,

'Of all in my host

That I love the most,

I love none better, Sir Bray, than thee!

Rise up, rise up, thou hast thy boon;

But -- mind you make haste, and come back again soon!'

FYTTE II.

Pope Gregory sits in St. Peter's chair,

Pontiff proud, I ween, is he,

And a belted Knight,

In armour dight,

Is begging a boon on his bended knee,

With signs of grief and sounds of woe

Featly he kisseth his Holiness' toe.

'Now pardon, Holy Father, I crave,

O Holy Father, pardon and grace!

In my fury and rage

A little Foot-page

I have left, I fear me, in evil case:

A scroll of shame

From a faithless dame

Did that naughty Foot-page to a paramour bear:

I gave him a 'lick'

With a stick, And a kick

That sent him -- I can't tell your Holiness where!

Had he as many necks as hairs,

He had broken them all down those perilous stairs!'

'Rise up, rise up, Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

Rise up, rise up, I say to thee;

A soldier, I trow,

Of the Cross art thou;

Rise up, rise up from thy bended knee:

Ill it beseems that a soldier true

Of holy Church should vainly sue:--

-- Foot-pages, they are by no means rare,

A thriftless crew, I ween, be they,

Well mote we spare

A Page -- or a pair,

For the matter of that -- Sir Ingoldsby Bray.

But stout and true Soldiers, like you,

Grow scarcer and scarcer every day!

Be prayers for the dead

Duly read,

Let a mass be sung, and a pater be said;

So may your qualms of conscience cease,

And the little Foot-page shall rest in peace!'

--'Now pardon, Holy Father, I crave,

O Holy Father, pardon and grace!

Dame Alice, my wife,

The bane of my life,

I have left, I fear me, in evil case!

A scroll of shame in my rage I tore,

Which that caitiff Page to a paramour bore;

'Twere bootless to tell how I storm'd and swore;

Alack! alack! too surely I knew

The turn of each P, and the tail of each Q,

And away to Ingoldsby Hall I flew!

Dame Alice I found,--

She sank on the ground,--

I twisted her neck till I twisted it round!

With jibe and jeer, and mock, and scoff,

I twisted it on -- till I twisted it off!--

All the King's Doctors and all the King's Men

Can't put fair Alice's head on agen!'

'Well-a-day! well-a-day! Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

Why really I hardly know what to say:--

Foul sin, I trow, a fair Ladye to slay,

Because she's perhaps been a little too gay.--

-- Monk must chaunt and Nun must pray

For each mass they sing, and each pray'r they say,

For a year, and a day,

Sir Ingoldsby Bray

A fair rose-noble must duly pay!

So may his qualms of conscience cease,

And the soul of Dame Alice may rest in peace!'

'Now pardon, Holy Father, I crave,

O Holy Father, pardon and grace!

No power could save

That paramour knave;

I left him, I wot, in evil case!

There, 'midst the slain Upon Ascalon plain,

Unburied, I trow, doth his body remain,

His legs lie here, and his arms lie there,

And his head lies -- I can't tell your Holiness where!'

'Now out and alas! Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

Foul sin it were, thou doughty Knight,

To hack and to hew

A champion true

Of Holy Church in such pitiful plight!

Foul sin her warriors so to slay,

When they're scarcer and scarcer every day!--

-- A chauntry fair,

And of Monks a pair,

To pray for his soul for ever and aye,

Thou must duly endow, Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

And fourteen marks by the year must thou pay

For plenty of lights

To burn there o' nights--

None of your rascally 'dips'-- but sound,

Round, ten-penny moulds of four to the pound;--

And a shirt of the roughest and coarsest hair

For a year and a day, Sir Ingoldsby, wear!

So may your qualms of conscience cease,

And the soul of the Soldier shall rest in peace!'

'Now nay, Holy Father, now nay, now nay!

Less penance may serve!' quoth Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

'No champion free of the Cross was he;

No belted Baron of high degree;

No Knight nor Squire Did there expire;

He was, I trow, but a bare-footed Friar!

And the Abbot of Abingdon long may wait

With his monks around him and early and late

May look from loop-hole, and turret, and gate,

He hath lost his Prior -- his Prior his pate!'

'Now Thunder and turf!' Pope Gregory said,

And his hair rais'd his triple crown right off his head --

'Now Thunder and turf! and out and alas!

A horrible thing has come to pass!

What!-- cut off the head of a reverend Prior,

And say he was "only (!!!) a bare-footed Friar!"

'What Baron or Squire,

Or Knight of the shire

Is half so good as a holy Friar?'

O, turpissime!

Vir nequissime!

Sceleratissime!-- quissime!-- issime!

Never, I trow, have the Servi servorum

Had before 'em

Such a breach of decorum,

Such a gross violation of morum bonorum,

And won't have again sæcula sæculorum!--

Come hither to me,

My Cardinals three,

My Bishops in partibus, Masters in Artibus,

Hither to me, A.B. and D.D.

Doctors and Proctors of every degree.

Go fetch me a book!-- go fetch me a bell

As big as a dustman's!-- and a candle as well--

I'll send him -- where good manners won't let me tell!'

--'Pardon and grace!-- now pardon and grace!'

-- Sir Ingoldsby Bray fell flat on his face --

'Mea culpa!-- in sooth I'm in pitiful case.

Peccavi! peccavi!-- I've done very wrong!

But my heart it is stout, and my arm it is strong,

And I'll fight for holy Church all the day long;

And the Ingoldsby lands are broad and fair,

And they're here, and they're there, and I can't tell you

where,

And Holy Church shall come in for her share!'

Pope Gregory paused, and he sat himself down,

And he somewhat relaxed his terrible frown,

And his Cardinals three they pick'd up his crown.

'Now, if it be so that you own you've been wrong,

And your heart is so stout, and your arm is so strong,

And you really will fight like a trump all day long;

If the Ingoldsby lands do lie here and there,

And Holy Church shall come in for her share,--

Why, my Cardinals three,

You'll agree

With me

That it gives a new turn to the whole affair,

And I think that the Penitent need not despair!

-- If it be so, as you seem to say,

Rise up, rise up, Sir Ingoldsby Bray!

'An Abbey so fair Sir Bray shall found,

Whose innermost wall's encircling bound

Shall take in a couple of acres of ground;

And there in that Abbey all the year round,

A full choir of monks, and a full choir of nuns,

Shall live upon cabbage and hot-cross buns.

And Sir Ingoldsby Bray,

Without delay,

Shall hie him again

To Ascalon plain,

And gather the bones of the foully slain:

And shall place said bones, with all possible care,

In an elegant shrine in his Abbey so fair;

And plenty of lights

Shall be there o' nights;

None of your rascally 'dips,' but sound,

Best superfine wax-wicks, four to the pound;

And Monk and Nun

Shall pray, each one,

For the soul of the Prior of Abingdon!

And Sir Ingoldsby Bray, so bold and so brave,

Never shall wash himself, comb, or shave,

Nor adorn his body,

Nor drink gin-toddy,

Nor indulge in a pipe,-- But shall dine upon tripe,

And blackberries gathered before they are ripe,

And for ever abhor, renounce, and abjure

Rum, hollands, and brandy, wine, punch, and liqueur:

(Sir Ingoldsby Bray

Here gave way

To a feeling which prompted a word profane,

But he swallow'd it down, by an effort, again,

And his Holiness luckily fancied his gulp a

Mere repetition of O, mea culpa!)

'Thrice three times upon Candlemas-day

Between Vespers and Compline, Sir Ingoldsby Bray

Shall run round the Abbey, as best he may,

Subjecting his back

To thump and to thwack,

Well and truly laid on by a bare-footed Friar,

With a stout cat-o' ninetails of whipcord and wire;

And nor he, nor his heir

<2> Shall take, use, or bear

Any more, from this day,

The surname of Bray,

As being dishonour'd; but all issue male he has

Shall, with himself, go henceforth by an alias!

So his qualms of conscience at length may cease,

And Page, Dame, and Prior shall rest in peace!'

Sir Ingoldsby (now no longer Bray)

Is off like a shot away and away,

Over the brine

To far Palestine,

To rummage and hunt over Ascalon plain

For the unburied bones of his victim slain.

'Look out, my Squire,

Look higher and nigher,

Look out for the corpse of a bare-footed Friar!

And pick up the arms, and the legs, of the dead,

And pick up his body, and pick up his head!'

FYTTE III.

Ingoldsby Abbey is fair to see,

It hath manors a dozen, and royalties three,

With right of free warren (whatever that be);

Rich pastures in front, and green woods in the rear,

All in full leaf at the right time of year;

About Christmas, or so, they fall into the sear,

And the prospect, of course, becomes rather more drear:

But it's really delightful in spring-time,-- and near

The great gate Father Thames rolls sun-bright and clear;

Cobham woods to the right,-- on the opposite shore

Laindon Hills in the distance, ten miles off or more;

Then you've Milton and Gravesend behind,-- and before

You can see almost all the way down to the Nore.<3>

So charming a spot It's rarely one's lot

To see, and when seen it's as rarely forgot.

Yes, Ingoldsby Abbey is fair to see,

And its Monks and its Nuns are fifty and three,

And there they all stand each in their degree,

Drawn up in the front of their sacred abode,

Two by two in their regular mode,

While a funeral comes down the Rochester road.

Palmers twelve, from a foreign strand,

Cockle in hat, and staff in hand,

Come marching in pairs, a holy band!

Little boys twelve, dressed all in white,

Each with his brazen censer bright,

And singing away with all their might,

Follow the Palmers -- a goodly sight;

Next high in air

Twelve Yeomen bear

On their sturdy necks, with a good deal of care,

A patent sarcophagus firmly rear'd,

Of Spanish mahogany (not veneer'd),

And behind walks a Knight with a very long beard.

Close by his side

Is a Friar, supplied

With a stout cat-o'-ninetails of tough cow-hide,

While all sorts of queer men Bring up the rear -- Men

-at-arms, Nigger captives, and Bow-men, and Spear-men.

It boots not to tell

What you'll guess very well,

How some sang the requiem, some toll'd the bell;

Suffice it to say,

'Twas on Candlemas day

The procession I speak about reach'd the Sacellum;

And in lieu of a supper

The Knight on his crupper

Received the first taste of the Father's flagellum;

That, as chronicles tell,

He continued to dwell

All the rest of his days in the Abbey he'd founded,

By the pious of both sexes ever surrounded,

And, partaking the fare of the Monks and the Nuns,

Ate the cabbage alone, without touching the buns;

-- That year after year, having run round the Quad

With his back, as enjoin'd him, exposed to the rod,

Having not only kiss'd it, but bless'd it, and thank'd it, he

Died, as all thought, in the odour of sanctity,

When,-- strange to relate! and you'll hardly believe

What I'm going to tell you,-- next Candlemas eve

The Monks and the Nuns in the dead of the night

Tumble, all of them, out of their beds in affright,

Alarm'd by the bawls,

And the calls, and the squalls

Of some one who seem'd running all round the walls!

Looking out, soon

By the light of the moon,

There appears most distinctly to ev'ry one's view,

And making, as seems to them, all this ado,

The form of a Knight with a beard like a Jew,

As black as if steep'd in that 'Matchless!' of Hunt's,

And so bushy, it would not disgrace Mr. Muntz;

A bare-footed Friar stands behind him, and shakes

A flagellum, whose lashes appear to be snakes;

While more terrible still, the astounded beholders

Perceived the said Friar has NO HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS,

But is holding his pate

In his left hand out straight,

As if by a closer inspection to find

Where to get the best cut at his victim behind,

With the aid of a small 'bull's-eye lantern,'-- as placed

By our own New Police,-- in a belt round his waist.

All gaze with surprise,

Scarce believing their eyes,

When the Knight makes a start like a race-horse, and flies

From his headless tormentor, repeating his cries,--

In vain,-- for the Friar to his skirts closely sticks,

'Running after him,'-- so said the Abbot,--'like Bricks!'

Thrice three times did the Phantom Knight

Course round the Abbey as best he might,

Be-thwack'd and be-smack'd by the headless Sprite,

While his shrieks so piercing made all hearts thrill,--

Then a whoop and a halloo,-- and all was still!

Ingoldsby Abbey has passed away,

And at this time of day

One can hardly survey

Any traces or track, save a few ruins, grey

With age, and fast mouldering into decay,

Of the structure once built by Sir Ingoldsby Bray;

But still there are many folks living who say

That on every Candlemas Eve, the Knight,

Accoutred and dight

In his armour bright,

With his thick black beard,-- and the clerical Sprite,

With his head in his hand, and his lantern alight,

Run round the spot where the old Abbey stood,

And are seen in the neighbouring glebe-land and wood;

More especially still, if it's stormy and windy,

You may hear them for miles kicking up their wild shindy

And that once in a gale

Of wind, sleet, and hail,

They frighten'd the horses, and upset the mail.

What 'tis breaks the rest Of these souls unblest

Would now be a thing rather hard to be guess'd,

Though some say the Squire, on his death-bed, confess'd

That on Ascalon plain,

When the bones of the slain

Were collected that day, and pack'd up in a chest

Caulk'd and made water-tight,

By command of the Knight,

Though the legs and the arms they'd got all pretty right,

And the body itself in a decentish plight,

Yet the Friar's Pericranium was nowhere in sight;

So, to save themselves trouble, they pick'd up instead,

And popp'd on the shoulders a Saracen's Head!

Thus the Knight in the terms of his penance had fail'd,

And the Pope's absolution, of course, nought avail'd.

Now though this might be,

It don't seem to agree

With one thing which, I own, is a poser to me,--

I mean, as the miracles wrought at the shrine

Containing the bones brought from far Palestine

Were so great and notorious, 'tis hard to combine

This fact with the reason these people assign,

Or suppose that the head of the murder'd Divine

Could be aught but what Yankees would call 'genu-ine.'

'Tis a very nice question -- but be 't as it may,

The Ghost of Sir Ingoldsby (ci-devant Bray),

It is boldly affirm'd, by the folks great and small,

About Milton, and Chalk, and around Cobham Hall,

Still on Candlemas-day haunts the old ruin'd wall,

And that many have seen him, and more heard him squall.

So, I think, when the facts of the case you recall,

My inference, reader, you'll fairly forestall,

Viz.: that, spite of the hope Held out by the Pope,

Sir Ingoldsby Bray was d--d after all!

MORAL.

Foot-pages, and Servants of ev'ry degree,

In livery or out of it, listen to me!

See what comes of lying! don't join in a league

To humbug your master, or aid an intrigue!

Ladies!-- married and single, from this understand

How foolish it is to send letters by hand!

Don't stand for the sake of a penny,-- but when you

've a billet to send

To a lover or friend,

Put it into the post, and don't cheat the revenue!

Reverend gentlemen!-- you who are given to roam,

Don't keep up a soft correspondence at home!

But while you're abroad lead respectable lives;

Love your neighbours, and welcome,-- but don't love their

wives!

And, as bricklayers cry from the tiles and the leads

When they're shovelling the snow off, 'TAKE CARE OF YOUR

HEADS!'

Knights!--whose hearts are so stout, and whose arms are so

strong,

Learn,-- to twist a wife's neck is decidedly wrong!

If your servants offend you, or give themselves airs,

Rebuke them -- but mildly -- don't kick them down stairs!

To 'Poor Richard's' homely old proverb attend,

'If you want matters well managed, Go!-- if not, Send!'

A servant's too often a negligent elf;

-- If it's business of consequence, DO IT YOURSELF!

The state of society seldom requires

People now to bring home with them unburied Friars,

But they sometimes do bring home an inmate for life;

Now -- don't do that by proxy!-- but choose your own wife!

For think how annoying 'twould be, when you're wed,

To find in your bed

On the pillow, instead

Of the sweet face you look for -- A SARACEN'S HEAD!

NOTES

1. Richard Culmer, parson of Chartham, commonly so called,

distinguished himself, while Laud was in the Tower, by breaking

the beautiful windows in Canterbury Cathedral, 'standing on the

top of the city ladder, near sixty steps high, with a whole

pike in his hand, when others would not venture so high.' This

feat of Vandalism the cærulean worthy called 'rattling down

proud Becket's glassie bones.'

2. His brother Reginald, it would seem by the pedigree,

disregarded this prohibition.

3. Alas! one might almost say that of this sacred, and once

splendid, edifice, perierunt etiam ruinæ. An elderly gentleman,

however, of ecclesiastical cut, who oscillates between the

Garrick Club and the Falcon in Gravesend, and is said by the

host to be a 'foreigneering Bishop,' does not scruple to

identify the ruins still to be seen by the side of the high

Dover road, about a mile and a half below the town, with those

of the haunted Sacellum. The general features of the landscape

certainly correspond, and tradition, as certainly, countenances

his conjecture.

Alas, for Ingoldsby Abbey!-- Alas that one should have to

say

Perierunt etiam Ruinae!

Its very Ruins now are tiny!

There is a something in the very sight of an old Abbey --

family associations apart -- as Ossian says (or MacPherson for

him), 'pleasing yet mournful to the soul!' nor could I ever yet

gaze on the roofless walls and ivy-clad towers of one of these

venerable monuments of the piety of bygone days without

something very like an unbidden tear rising to dim the

prospect. Something of this, I think, I have already hinted in

recording our pic-nic with the Seaforths at Bolsover. Since

then I have paid a visit to the beautiful remains of what once

was Netley, and never experienced the sensation to which I have

alluded in a stronger degree;-- if its character was somewhat

changed before we parted, it is not my fault. Still, be the

drawbacks what they may, I shall ever mark with a white, stone

the day on which I for the first time beheld the time-worn

cloisters of

NETLEY ABBEY.

A LEGEND OF HAMPSHIRE.

I saw thee, Netley, as the sun

Across the western wave

Was sinking slow,

And a golden glow

To thy roofless towers he gave;

And the ivy sheen,

With its mantle of green,

That wrapt thy walls around,

Shone lovelily bright

In that glorious light,

And I felt 'twas holy ground.

Then I thought of the ancient time --

The days of thy Monks of old,--

When to Matin and Vesper, and Compline chime,

The loud Hosanna roll'd,

And thy courts, and 'long-drawn aisles' among,

Swell'd the full tide of sacred song.

And then a Vision pass'd

Across my mental eye;<1>

And silver shrines, and shaven crowns,

And delicate Ladies, in bombazeen gowns,

And long white veils, went by;

Stiff, and staid, and solemn, and sad,--

-- But one, methought, wink'd at the Gardener-lad!

Then came the Abbot, with mitre and ring,

And pastoral staff, and all that sort of thing,

And a Monk with a book, and a Monk with a bell,

And 'dear little souls,'

In clean linen stoles,

Swinging their censers, and making a smell.--

And see where the Choir-master walks in the rear,

With front severe,

And brow austere,

Now and then pinching a little boy's ear

When he chaunts the responses too late, or too soon,

Or his Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La's not quite in tune.

(Then you know,

They'd a 'moveable Do,'

Not a fix'd one as now -- and of course never knew

How to set up a musical Hullah-baloo.)

It was, in sooth, a comely sight,

And I welcom'd the vision with pure delight.

But then 'a change came o'er'

My spirit -- a change of fear --

That gorgeous scene I beheld no more,

But deep beneath the basement floor

A dungeon dark and drear!

And there was an ugly hole in the wall --

For an oven too big,-- for a cellar too small!

And mortar and bricks

All ready to fix,

And I said, 'Here's a Nun has been playing some tricks!--

That horrible hole!-- it seems to say,

'I'm a grave that gapes for a living prey!''

And my heart grew sick, and my brow grew sad --

And I thought of that wink at the Gardener-lad.

Ah me! ah me!--'tis sad to think

That Maiden's eye, which was made to wink,

Should here be compell'd to grow blear, and blink,

Or be closed for aye

In this kind of way,

Shut out for ever from wholesome day,

Wall'd up in a hole with never a chink,

No light,-- no air,-- no victuals,-- no drink!--

And that Maiden's lip,

Which was made to sip,

Should here grow wither'd and dry as a chip!

-- That wandering glance and furtive kiss,

Exceedingly naughty, and wrong, I wis,

Should yet be consider'd so much amiss

As to call for a sentence severe as this!--

And I said to myself, as I heard with a sigh,

The poor lone victim's stifled cry,<1>

'Well, I can't understand

How any man's hand

Could wall up that hole in a Christian land!

Why a Mussulman Turk Would recoil from the work

And though, when his Ladies run after the fellows, he

Stands not on trifles, if madden'd by jealousy,

Its objects, I'm sure, would declare, could they speak,

In their Georgian, Circassian, or Turkish, or Greek,

'When all's said and done, far better it was for us,

Tied back to back,

And sewn up in a sack,

To be pitch'd neck-and-heels from a boat in the Bosphorus!'

--Oh! a Saint 'twould vex

To think that the sex

Should be treated no better than Combe's double X!

Sure some one might run to the Abbess, and tell her

A much better method of stocking her cellar.'

If ever on polluted walls

Heaven's red right arm in vengeance falls,--

If e'er its justice wraps in flame

The black abodes of sin and shame,

That justice, in its own good time,

Shall visit for so foul a crime,

Ope desolation's floodgate wide,

And blast thee, Netley, in thy pride!

Lo where it comes!-- the tempest lours,--

It bursts on thy devoted towers;

Ruthless Tudor's bloated form

Rides on the blast, and guides the storm;

I hear the sacrilegious cry,

'Down with the nests, and the rooks will fly!'

Down! down they come -- a fearful fall --

Arch, and pillar, and roof-tree, and all,

Stained pane, and sculptured stone,

There they lie on the greensward strown --

Mouldering walls remain alone!

Shaven crown,

Bombazeen gown,

Mitre, and Crozier, and all are flown!

And yet, fair Netley, as I gaze

Upon that grey and mouldering wall,

The glories of thy palmy days

Its very stones recall!--

They 'come like shadows, so depart'--

I see thee as thou wert -- and art --

Sublime in ruin!-- grand in woe!

Lone refuge of the owl and bat;

No voice awakes thine echoes now!

No sound -- Good Gracious!-- what was that?

Was it the moan,

The parting groan

Of her who died forlorn and alone,

Embedded in mortar, and bricks, and stone?--

Full and clear On my listening ear

It comes--again--near, and more near--

Why 'zooks! it's the popping of Ginger Beer!

-- I rush'd to the door -- I tread the floor,

By Abbots and Abbesses trodden before,

In the good old chivalric days of yore,

And what see I there?-- In a rush-bottom'd chair

A hag, surrounded by crockery-ware,

Vending, in cups, to the credulous throng,

A nasty decoction miscall'd Souchong,--

And a squeaking fiddle and 'wry-neck'd fife'

Are screeching away, for the life!-- for the life!--

Danced to by 'All the World and his Wife.'

Tag, Rag, and Bobtail, are capering there,

Worse scene, I ween, than Bartlemy Fair!--

Two or three Chimney-sweeps, two or three Clowns,

Playing at 'pitch and toss,' sport their 'Browns,'

Two or three damsels, frank and free,

Are ogling, and smiling, and sipping Bohea.

Parties below, and parties above,

Some making tea, and some making love.

Then the 'toot--toot--toot'

Of that vile demi-flute,--

The detestable din Of that crack'd violin,

And the odours of 'Stout,' and tobacco, and gin.

'-- Dear me!' I exclaim'd, 'what a place to be in!'

And I said to the person who drove my 'shay,'

(A very intelligent man, by the way,)

'This, all things consider'd, is rather too gay!

It don't suit my humour,-- so take me away!

Dancing! and drinking!-- cigar and song!

If not profanation, it's 'coming it strong,'

And I really consider it all very wrong.--

-- Pray, to whom does this property now belong?'

-- He paused, and said,

Scratching his head,

'Why I really do think he's a little to blame,

But I can't say I knows the Gentleman's name!'

'Well -- well!' quoth I,

As I heaved a sigh,

And a tear-drop fell from my twinkling eye,

'My vastly good man, as I scarcely doubt

That some day or other you'll find it out,

Should he come in your way,

Or ride in your 'shay,'

(As perhaps he may,)

Be so good as to say

That a Visitor, whom you drove over one day,

Was exceedingly angry, and very much scandalized,

Finding these beautiful ruins so Vandalized,

And thus of their owner to speak began,

As he order'd you home in haste,

"NO DOUBT HE'S A VERY RESPECTABLE MAN,

But -- I can't say much for his taste."'<3>

NOTES

1. In my mind's eye, Horatio!-- Hamlet.

2. About the middle of the last century a human skeleton was

discovered in a recess in the wall among the ruins of Netley.

On examination the bones were pronounced to be those of a

female. Teste James Harrison, a youthful but intelligent cab-

driver of Southampton, who 'well remembers to have heard his

grandmother say that "Somebody told her so."'

3. Adieu, Monsieur Gil Blas: je vous souhaite toutes sortes de

prospérités, avec un peu plus de goût!--

Gil Blas.

My very excellent brother-in-law, Seaforth, late of the

Bombay Fencibles, (lucky dog to have quitted the service before

this shocking Afghan business!) seems to have been even more

forcibly affected on the evening when he so narrowly escaped

being locked in at Westminster Abbey, and when -- but let him

describe his own feelings, as be has done, indeed, in the

subjoined

FRAGMENT.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A feeling sad came o'er me as I trod the sacred ground

Where Tudors and Plantagenets were lying all around:

I stepp'd with noiseless foot, as though the sound of mortal

tread

Might burst the bands of the dreamless sleep that wraps the

mighty dead!

The slanting ray of the evening sun shone through those

cloisters pale,

With fitful light on regal vest, and warrior's sculptured mail,

As from the stain'd and storied pane it danced with quivering

gleam,

Each cold and prostrate form below seem'd quickening in the

beam.

Now, sinking low, no more was heard the organ's solemn swell,

And faint upon the listening ear the last Hosanna fell:

It died -- and not a breath did stir;-- above each knightly

stall

Unmoved, the banner'd blazonry hung waveless as a pall.

I stood alone!-- a living thing 'midst those that were no more

--

I thought on ages past and gone -- the glorious deeds of yore -

-

On Edward's sable panoply, on Cressy's tented plain,

The fatal Roses twined at length -- on great Eliza's reign.

I thought on Naseby -- Marston Moor -- on Worc'ster's 'crowning

fight;'

When on mine ear a sound there fell -- it chill'd me with

affright,

As thus in low, unearthly tones I heard a voice begin,

'-- This here's the Cap of Giniral Monk!-- Sir! please put

summut in!' . . .

Cætera desiderantur.

That Seaforth's nervous system was powerfully acted upon

on this occasion I can well believe. The circumstance brings to

my recollection a fearful adventure -- or what might perhaps

have proved one -- of my own in early life while grinding

Gerunds at Canterbury. A sharp touch of the gout, and the

reputed sanatory qualities of a certain spring in St. Peter's

Street, then in much repute, had induced my Uncle to take up a

temporary abode within the Cathedral 'Precinct.' It was on one

of those temporary visits which I was sometimes permitted to

pay on half-holidays, that, in self-defence, I had to recount

the following true narrative. I may add, that this tradition is

not yet worn out: a small maimed figure of a female in a

sitting position, and holding something like a frying-pan in

her hand, may still be seen on the covered passage which

crosses the Brick Walk, and adjoins the house belonging to the

sixth prebendal stall.-- There are those, whom I know, who

would, even yet, hesitate at threading the dark entry on a

Friday --' not' of course 'that they believe one word about'

NELL COOK: A LEGEND OF THE 'DARK ENTRY' -- THE KING'S SCHOLAR'S

STORY

'From the "Brick Walk" branches off to the right a long

narrow vaulted passage, paved with flagstones, vulgarly known

by the name of the "Dark Entry." Its eastern extremity

communicates with the cloisters, crypt, and by a private

staircase, with the interior of the cathedral. On the west it

opens into the "Green-court," forming a communication between

it and the portion of the "Precinct" called the "Oaks."'-- A

Walk round Canterbury, &c.

Scene -- A back parlour in Mr. John Ingoldsby's house in the

Precinct.-- A blazing fire --- Mine Uncle is seated in a high-

backed easy chair twirling his thumbs, and contemplating his

list shot -- Little Tom, the 'King's Scholar,' on a stool

opposite.-- Mrs. Johp Ingoldsby at the table, busily employed

in manufacturing a cabbage-rose (cauliflower?) in many-coloured

worsteds.-- Mine Uncle's meditations are interrupted by the

French clock on the mantelpiece.-- He prologizeth with

vivacity.

'Hark! listen, Mrs. Ingoldsby,--the clock is striking nine!

Give Master Tom another cake, and half a glass of wine,

And ring the bell for Jenny Smith, and bid her bring his coat,

And a warm bandana handkerchief to tie about his throat.

'And bid them go the nearest way, for Mr. Birch has said

That nine o'clock's the hour he'll have his boarders all in

bed;

And well we know when little boys their coming home delay,

They often seem to walk and sit uneasily next day!'

'-- Now, nay, dear Uncle Ingoldsby, now send me not, I pray,

Back by that Entry dark, for that you know's the nearest way;

I dread that Entry dark with Jane alone at such an hour,

It fears me quite -- it's Friday night!-- and then Nell Cook

hath pow'r!'

'And, who's Nell Cook, thou silly child?--and what's Nell Cook

to thee?

That thou should'st dread at night to tread with Jane that dark

entrée?'

--'Nay, list and hear, mine Uncle dear! such fearsome things

they tell

Of Nelly Cook, that few may brook at night to meet with Nell!'

'It was in bluff King Harry's days,-- and Monks and Friars were

then,

You know, dear Uncle Ingoldsby, a sort of Clergymen.

They'd coarse stuff gowns, and shaven crowns -- no shirts,--

and no cravats,

And a cord was placed about their waist--they had no shovel

hats!

'It was in bluff King Harry's days, while yet he went to

shrift,

And long before he stamped and swore, and cut the Pope adrift;

There lived a portly Canon then, a sage and learned clerk;

He had, I trow, a goodly house, fast by that Entry dark!

'The Canon was a portly man -- of Latin and of Greek,

And learned lore, he had good store,-- yet health was on his

cheek.

The Priory fare was scant and spare, the bread was made of rye,

The beer was weak, yet he was sleek -- he had a merry eye.

'For though within the Priory the fare was scant and thin,

The Canon's house it stood without;-- he kept good cheer

within;

Unto the best he prest each guest with free and jovial look,

And Ellen Bean ruled his cuisine.-- He called her 'Nelly Cook.'

'For soups, and stews, and choice ragouts, Nell Cook was famous

still!

She'd make them even of old shoes, she had such wond'rous

skill:

Her manchets fine were quite divine, her cakes were nicely

brown'd,

Her boil'd and roast, they were the boast of all the 'Precinct'

round;

'And Nelly was a comely lass, but calm and staid her air,

And earthward bent her modest look -- yet was she passing fair;

And though her gown was russet brown, their heads grave people

shook:

-- They all agreed no Clerk had need of such a pretty Cook.

'One day, 'twas on a Whitsun-Eve -- there came a coach and

four;--

It passed the 'Green-Court' gate, and stopped before the

Canon's door;

The travel-stain on wheel and rein bespoke a weary way,--

Each panting steed relax'd its speed -- out stept a Lady gay.

'"Now, welcome! welcome! dearest Niece,"-- the Canon then did

cry,

And to his breast the Lady prest -- he had a merry eye,--

"Now, welcome! welcome! dearest Niece! in sooth, thou'rt

welcome here,

'Tis many a day since we have met--how fares my Brother dear?"-

-

'"Now, thanks, my loving Uncle," that Lady gay replied:

"Gramercy for thy benison!"-- then "Out, alas!" she sighed;

"My father dear he is not near; he seeks the Spanish Main;

He prays thee give me shelter here till he return again!"--

'"Now, welcome! welcome; dearest Niece; come lay thy mantle

by!"

The Canon kiss'd her ruby lip -- he had a merry eye,--

But Nelly Cook askew did look,-- it came into her mind

They were a little less than 'kin,' and rather more than

'kind.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Three weeks are gone and over -- full three weeks and a day,

Yet still within the Canon's house doth dwell that Lady gay;

On capons fine they daily dine, rich cates and sauces rare,

And they quaff good store of Bordeaux wine,-- so dainty is

their fare.

'And fine upon the Virginals is that gay Lady's touch,

And sweet her voice unto the lute, you'll scarce hear any such;

But is it "O Sanctissima!" she sings in dulcet tone?

Or "Angels ever bright and fair?"-- Ah, no!-- it"s "Bobbing

Joan!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'The Canon's house is lofty and spacious to the view;

The Canon's cell is ordered well -- yet Nelly looks askew;

The Lady's bower is in the tower,-- yet Nelly shakes her head -

-

She hides the poker and the tongs in that gay Lady's bed!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Six weeks were gone and over -- full six weeks and a day,

Yet in that bed the poker and the tongs unheeded lay!

From which, I fear, it's pretty clear that Lady rest had none;

Or, if she slept in any bed -- it was not in her own.

'But where that Lady pass'd her night, I may not well divine,

Perhaps in pious oraisons at good St. Thomas' Shrine,

And for her father far away breathed tender vows and true --

It may be so -- I cannot say -- but Nelly look'd askew.

'And still at night, by fair moonlight, when all were lock'd in

sleep,

She'd listen at the Canon's door,-- she'd through the keyhole

peep --

I know not what she heard or saw, but fury fill'd her eye --

-- She bought some nasty Doctor's-stuff, and she put it in a

pie!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'It was a glorious summer's eve -- with beams of rosy red

The Sun went down -- all Nature smiled -- but Nelly shook her

head!

Full softly to the balmy breeze rang out the Vesper bell--

-- Upon the Canon's startled ear it sounded like a knell!

'"Now here's to thee, mine Uncle! a health I drink to thee!

Now pledge me back in Sherris sack, or a cup of Malvoisie!"--

The Canon sigh'd -- but, rousing, cried, "I answer to thy call,

And a Warden-pie's a dainty dish to mortify withal!"

'"Tis early dawn -- the matin chime rings out for morning

pray'r --

And Prior and Friar is in his stall -- the Canon is not there!

Nor in the small Refect'ry hall, nor cloister'd walk is he --

All wonder -- and the Sacristan says, "Lauk-a-daisy-me!"

'They've search'd the aisles and Baptistry -- they've search'd

above -- around --

The 'Sermon House'-- the 'Audit Room'-- the Canon is not found.

They only find that pretty Cook concocting a ragout,

They ask her where her master is--but Nelly looks askew.

'They call for crow-bars-- "jemmies" is the modern name they

bear --

They burst through lock, and bolt, and bar -- but what a sight

is there!--

The Canon's head lies on the bed -- his Niece lies on the

floor!

-- They are as dead as any nail that is in any door!

'The livid spot is on his breast, the spot is on his back!

His portly form, no longer warm with life, is swoln and black!-

-

The livid spot is on her cheek,-- it's on her neck of snow,

And the Prior sighs, and sadly cries, "Well -- here's a pretty

Go!"

'All at the silent hour of night a bell is heard to toll,

A knell is rung, a requiem's sung as for a sinful soul,

And there's a grave within the Nave; it's dark, and deep, and

wide,

And they bury there a Lady fair and a Canon by her side!

'An Uncle -- so 'tis whisper'd now throughout the sacred fane,-

-

And a Niece -- whose father's far away upon the Spanish Main --

The Sacristan, he says no word that indicates a doubt,

But he puts his thumb unto his nose, and he spreads his fingers

out!

'And where doth tarry Nelly Cook, that staid and comely lass?

Ay, where?-- for ne'er from forth that door was Nelly known to

pass,

Her coif and gown of russet brown were lost unto the view,

And if you mention'd Nelly's name -- the Monks all looked

askew!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'There is a heavy paving-stone fast by the Canon's door,

Of granite grey, and it may weigh some half a ton or more,

And it is laid deep in the shade within that Entry dark,

Where sun or moon-beam never play'd, or e'en one starry spark.

'That heavy granite stone was moved that night, 'twas darkly

said,

And the mortar round its sides next morn seem'd fresh and newly

laid,

But what within the narrow vault beneath that stone doth lie,

Or if that there be vault or no -- I cannot tell -- not I!

'But I've been told that moan and groan, and fearful wail and

shriek

Came from beneath that paving-stone for nearly half a week --

For three long days and three long nights came forth those

sounds of fear;

Then all was o'er -- they never more fell on the listening ear.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'A hundred years were gone and past since last Nell Cook was

seen,

When worn by use, that stone got loose, and they went and told

the Dean.--

-- Says the Dean, says he, 'My Masons three! now haste and fix

it tight;'

And the Masons three peep'd down to see, and they saw a

fearsome sight.

'Beneath that heavy paving-stone a shocking hole they found --

It was not more than twelve feet deep, and barely twelve feet

round;

-- A fleshless, sapless skeleton lay in that horrid well!

But who the deuce 'twas put it there those Masons could not

tell.

'And near this fleshless skeleton a pitcher small did lie,

And a mouldy piece of 'kissing-crust,' as from a Warden-pie!

And Doctor Jones declared the bones were female bones and,

'Zooks!

I should not be surprised,' said he, 'if these were Nelly

Cook's!'

'It was in good Dean Bargrave's days, if I remember right,

Those fleshless bones beneath the stones these Masons brought

to light;

And you may well in the 'Dean's Chapelle' Dean Bargrave's

portrait view,

'Who died one night,' says old Tom Wright, 'in sixteen forty-

two!'

'And so two hundred years have passed since that these Masons

three,

With curious looks, did set Nell Cook's unquiet spirit free;

That granite stone had kept her down till then -- so some

suppose,--

-- Some spread their fingers out, and put their thumb unto

their nose.

'But one thing's clear--that all the year, on every Friday

night,

Throughout that Entry dark doth roam Nell Cook's unquiet Sprite

On Friday was that Warden-pie all by that Canon tried;

On Friday died he, and that tidy Lady by his side!

'And though two hundred years have flown, Nell Cook doth still

pursue

Her weary walk, and they who cross her path the deed may rue;

Her fatal breath is fell as death! the Simoom's blast is not

More dire --(a wind in Africa that blows uncommon hot).

'But all unlike the Simoom's blast, her breath is deadly cold,

Delivering quivering, shivering shocks unto both young and old,

And whoso in that Entry dark doth feel that fatal breath,

He ever dies within the year some dire untimely death!

'No matter who -- no matter what condition, age, or sex,

But some "get shot," and some "get drown"d," and some "get"

broken necks;

Some "get run over" by a coach;-- and one beyond the seas

"Got" scraped to death with oyster-shells among the Caribbees!

'Those Masons three, who set her free, fell first!-- it is

averred

That two were hang'd on Tyburn tree for murdering of the third:

Charles Storey,<1> too, his friend who slew, had ne'er, if

truth they tell,

Been gibbeted on Chartham Downs, had they not met with Nell!

'Then send me not, mine Uncle dear, oh! send me not I pray,

Back through that Entry dark to-night, but round some other

way!

I will not be a truant boy, but good, and mind my book,

For Heaven forfend that ever I foregather with Nell Cook!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The class was call'd at morning tide, and Master Tom was there;

He looked askew, and did eschew both stool, and bench, and

chair.

He did not talk, he did not walk, the tear was in his eye,--

He had not e'en that sad resource, to sit him down and cry.

Hence little boys may learn, when they from school go out to

dine,

They should not deal in rigmarole, but still be back by nine;

For if when they've their great-coat on, they pause before they

part,

To tell a long and prosy tale,-- perchance their own may smart!

MORAL.

-- A few remarks to learned Clerks in country and in town --

Don't keep a pretty serving-maid, though clad in russet brown!-

-

Don't let your Niece sing 'Bobbing Joan!'--don't, with a merry

eye,

Hob-nob in Sack and Malvoisie,-- and don't eat too much pie!

And oh! beware that Entry dark,-- especially at night,--

And don't go there with Jenny Smith all by the pale moon-

light!--

So bless the Queen and her Royal Weans,-- And the Prince whose

hand she took,--

And bless us all, both great and small,-- and keep us from Nell

Cook!

NOTES

1. In or about the year 1780, a worthy of this name cut the

throat of a journeyman paper-maker, was executed on Oaten Hill,

and afterwards hung in chains near the scene of his crime. It

was to this place, as being the extreme boundary of the City's

jurisdiction, that the worthy Mayor with so much naïveté wished

to escort Archbishop M-- on one of his progresses, when he

begged to have the honour of 'attending his Grace as far as the

Gallows.'

Kind, good-hearted, gouty Uncle John! how well I remember

all the kindness and affecttion which my mischievous

propensities so ill repaid -- his bright blue coat and

resplendent gilt buttons -- his 'frosty pow' si bien poudre --

his little quill-like pigtail!-- Of all my praiseworthy actions

-- they were 'like angel visits, few and far between'-- the

never-failing and munificent rewarder; of my naughty deeds --

they were multitudinous as the sands on the sea-shore -- the

ever-ready palliator; my intercessor, and sometimes even my

defender against punishment, 'staying harsh justice in its mid

career!'-- Poor Uncle John! he will ever rank among the dearest

of my

NURSERY REMINISCENCES.

I remember, I remember,

When I was a little Boy,

One fine morning in September

Uncle brought me home a toy.

I remember how he patted

Both my cheeks in kindliest mood;

'Then,' said he, 'you little Fat-head,

There's a top because you're good.'

Grandmamma--a shrewd observer--

I remember gazed upon

My new top, and said with fervour,

'Oh! how kind of Uncle John!'

While mamma, my form caressing,--

In her eye the tear-drop stood,

Read me this fine moral lesson,

'See what comes of being good!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I remember, I remember,

On a wet and windy day,

One cold morning in December,

I stole out and went to play;

I remember Billy Hawkins

Came, and with his pewter squirt

Squibb'd my pantaloons and stockings,

Till they were all over dirt!

To my mother for protection

I ran, quaking every limb:

-- She exclaimed, with fond affection,

'Gracious Goodness! look at him!'--

Pa cried, when he saw my garment,

--'Twas a newly-purchased dress --

'Oh! you nasty little Warment,

How came you in such a mess?'

Then he caught me by the collar,

-- Cruel only to be kind --

And to my exceeding dolour,

Gave me -- several slaps behind.

Grandmamma, while yet I smarted,

As she saw my evil plight,

Said --'twas rather stony-hearted --

'Little rascal! sarve him right!'

I remember, I remember,

From that sad and solemn day,

Never more in dark December

Did I venture out to play.

And the moral which they taught, I

Well remember; thus they said --

'Little Boys, when they are naughty,

Must be whipped and sent to bed!'

POOR UNCLE JOHN!

'After life's fitful fever he sleeps well,' in the old family

vault in Denton chancel -- and dear Aunt Fanny too!-- the

latter also 'loo'd me weel,' as the Scotch song has it,-- and

since, at this moment, I am in a most soft and sentimental

humour -- (--whisky toddy should ever be made by pouring the

boiling fluid -- hotter if possible -- upon the thinnest lemon-

peel,-- and then -- but everybody knows 'what then--') I

dedicate the following 'True History' to my beloved

AUNT FANNY: A LEGEND OF A SHIRT.

Virginibus, Puerisque canto.-- Hor.

Old Maids and Bachelors I chant to!-- T. I.

I sing of a Shirt that never was new!!

In the course of the year Eighteen hundred and two,

Aunt Fanny began

Upon Grandmamma's plan,

To make one for me, then her 'dear little man.'

-- At the epoch I speak about, I was between

A man and a boy,

A hobble-de-hoy,

A fat, little, punchy concern of sixteen,--

Just beginning to flirt,

And ogle,-- so pert,

I'd been whipt every day had I had my desert,

-- And Aunt Fan volunteer'd to make me a shirt!

I've said she began it,--

Some unlucky planet

No doubt interfered,-- for, before she, and Janet

Completed the 'cutting-out,' 'hemming,' and 'stitching,'

A tall Irish footman appear'd in the kitchen;--

-- This took off the maid,

And, I'm sadly afraid,

My respected Aunt Fanny's attention, too, stray'd;

For, about the same period, a gay son of Mars,

Cornet Jones of the Tenth (then the Prince's) Hussars,

With his fine dark eyelashes,

And finer moustaches,

And the ostrich plume work'd on the corps' sabre-taches,

(I say nought of the gold-and-red cord of the sashes,

Or the boots far above the Guards' vile spatterdashes,)--

So eyed, and so sigh'd,

and so lovingly tried

To engage her whole ear as he lounged by her side,

Looking down on the rest with such dignified pride,

That she made up her mind

She should certainly find

Cornet Jones at her feet, whisp'ring 'Fan, be my bride!'--

-- She had even resolved to say 'Yes,' should he ask it,

-- And I -- and my Shirt -- were both left in the basket.

To her grief and dismay

She discovered one day

Cornet Jones of the Tenth was a little too gay;

For, besides that she saw him -- he could not say nay --

Wink at one of the actresses capering away

In a Spanish bolero, one night at the play,

She found he'd already a wife at Cambray;--

One at Paris,-- a nymph of the corps de ballet;--

And a third down in Kent, at a place call'd Foot's Cray.--

He was 'viler than dirt!'--

Fanny vowed to exert

All her powers to forget him,-- and finish my Shirt.

But, oh! lack-a-day! How time slips away!--

Who'd have thought that while Cupid was playing these tricks

Ten years had elaps'd, and -- I'd turn'd twenty-six?--

'I care not a whit,

-- He's not grown a bit,'

Says my Aunt, 'it will still be a very good fit,'

So Janet and She,

Now about thirty-three,

(The maid had been jilted by Mr. Magee,)

Each taking one end of 'the Shirt' on her knee,

Again began working with hearty good-will,

'Felling the Seams,' and 'whipping the Frill,'--

For, twenty years since, though the Ruffle had vanish'd,

A Frill like a Fan had by no means been banish'd;

People wore them at playhouses, parties, and churches,

Like overgrown fins of overgrown perches.--

Now, then, by these two thus laying their caps

Together, my 'Shirt' had been finish'd, perhaps,

But for one of those queer little three-corner'd straps,

Which the ladies call 'Side-bits,' that sever the 'Flaps;'

-- Here unlucky Janet

Took her needle, and ran it

Right into her thumb, and cried loudly, 'Ads cuss it!

I've spoiled myself now by that 'ere nasty Gusset!'

For a month to come

Poor dear Janet's thumb

Was in that sort of state vulgar people call 'Rum.'

At the end of that time,

A youth, still in his prime,

The Doctor's fat Errand-boy,-- just such a dolt as is

Kept to mix draughts, and spread plaisters and poultices,

Who a bread-cataplasm each morning had carried her,

Sigh'd,-- ogled,-- proposed,-- was accepted,-- and married her!

Much did Aunt Fan

Disapprove of the plan;

She turn'd up her dear little snub at 'the Man.'

She 'could not believe it,'--

'Could scarcely conceive it

Was possible -- What! such a place!-- and then leave it!--

And all for a 'Shrimp' not as high as my hat--

A little contemptible 'Shaver' like that!!

With a broad pancake face, and eyes buried in fat!'

-- For her part, 'She was sure

She could never endure

A lad with a lisp, and a leg like a skewer!--

Such a name too!-- ('twas Potts!)-- and so nasty a trade --

No, no,--s he would much rather die an old maid!--

He a husband, indeed!-- Well, mine, come what may come,

Shan't look like a blister, or smell of Guaiacum!'

But there!

She'd 'declare,

It was Janet's affair --

-- Chacun à son goût,

As she baked she might brew --

She could not prevent her --'twas no use in trying it --

Oh, no -- she had made her own bed, and might lie in it.

They "repent at leisure who marry at random."

No matter -- De gustibus non disputandum!'

Consoling herself with this choice bit of Latin,

Aunt Fanny resignedly bought some white satin,

And, as the Soubrette

Was a very great pet

After all,-- she resolved to forgive and forget,

And sat down to make her a bridal rosette,

With magnificent bits of some white-looking metal

Stuck in, here and there, each forming a petal.--

-- On such an occasion one couldn't feel hurt,

Of course, that she ceased to remember -- my Shirt!

Ten years,-- or nigh,--

Had again gone by,

When Fan accidentally casting her eye

On a dirty old work-basket, hung up on high

In the store-closet where herbs were put by to dry,

Took it down to explore it -- she didn't know why.--

Within, a pea-soup colour'd fragment she spied,

Of the hue of a November fog in Cheapside,

Or a bad piece of ginger-bread spoilt in the baking.

-- I still hear her cry,--

'I wish I may die

If here isn't Tom's Shirt, that's been so long a-making!

My gracious me!

Well,--only to see!

I declare it's as yellow as yellow can be!

Why it looks just as though't had been soak'd in green tea!

Dear me did you ever?--

But come--'twill be clever

To bring matters round; so I'll do my endeavour

"Better Late," says an excellent proverb, "than Never!"--

It is stain'd, to be sure; but "grass-bleaching" will bring it

To rights "in a jiffy."-- We'll wash it, and wring it;

Or, stay,--"Hudson's Liquor"

Will do it still quicker,

And--' Here the new maid chimed in, 'Ma'am, Salt of Lemon

Will make it, in no time, quite fit for the Gemman!'

So they 'set in the gathers,'-- the large round the collar,

While those at the wristbands of course were much smaller,--

The button-holes now were at length 'overcast;'

Then a button itself was sewn on--'twas the last!

All's done!

All's won!

Never under the sun

Was Shirt so late finish'd -- so early begun!--

-- The work would defy

The most critical eye.

It was 'bleach'd,'-- it was wash'd,-- it was hung out to dry,--

It was mark'd on the tail with a T, and an I!

On the back of a chair it

Was placed,--just to air it,

In front of the fire.--'Tom to-morrow shall wear it!'

-- O cæca mens hominum!--Fanny, good soul,

Left her charge for one moment -- but one -- a vile coal

Bounced out from the grate, and set fire to the whole!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Had it been Dr. Arnott's new stove -- not a grate:--

Had the coal been a 'Lord Mayor's coal,'-- viz.: a slate;--

What a different tale had I had to relate!

And Aunt Fan -- and my Shirt -- been superior to Fate;--

One moment -- no more!--

-- Fan open'd the door!

The draught made the blaze ten times worse than before;

And Aunt Fanny sank down -- in despair -- on the floor!

You may fancy perhaps Agrippina's amazement,

When, looking one fine moonlight night from her casement,

She saw, while thus gazing,

All Rome a-blazing,

And, losing at once all restraint on her temper, or

Feelings, exclaimed, 'Hang that Scamp of an Emperor,

Although he's my son!--

-- He thinks it prime fun,

No doubt!-- While the flames are demolishing Rome,

There's my Nero a-fiddling and singing 'Sweet Home!''

-- Stay -- I'm really not sure 'twas that lady who said

The words I've put down, as she stepp'd into bed,--

On reflection, I rather believe she was dead;

But e'en when at College, I

Fairly acknowledge, I

Never was very precise in Chronology;

So, if there's an error, pray set down as mine a

Mistake of no very great moment -- in fine, a

Mere slip --'twas some Pleb's wife, if not Agrippina.

You may fancy that warrior, so stern and so stony,

Whom thirty years since we all used to call BONEY,

When, engaged in what he styled 'fulfilling his destinies,'

He led his rapscallions across the Borysthenes,

And had made up his mind

Snug quarters to find

In Moscow, against the catarrhs and the coughs

Which are apt to prevail 'mongst the 'Owskis' and 'Offs.'

At a time of the year

When your nose and your ear

Are by no means so safe there as people's are here,

Inasmuch as 'Jack Frost,' that most fearful of Bogles,

Makes folks leave their cartilage oft in their 'fogles.'

You may fancy, I say,

That same BONEY's dismay,

When Count Rostopchin

At once made him drop chin,

And turn up his eyes, as his rappee he took,

With a sort of a mort-de-ma-vie kind of look,

On perceiving that 'Swing,'

And 'all that sort of thing,'

Was at work -- that he'd just lost the game withont knowing it:

That the Kremlin was blazing -- the Russians 'a-going it,'--

Every plug in the place frozen hard as the ground,

And the deuce of a Turn-cock at all to be found!

You may fancy King Charles at some Court Fancy-Ball,

(The date we may fix

In Sixteen sixty-six,)

In the room built by Inigo Jones at Whitehall,

Whence his father, the Martyr,-- (as such mourn'd by all

Who, in his, wept the Law's and the Monarchy's fall,)

Stept out to exchange regal robes for a pall --

You may fancy King Charles, I say, stopping the brawl,<1>

As bursts on his sight the old church of St. Paul,

By the light of its flames, now beginning to crawl

From basement to buttress, and topping its wall --

-- You may fancy old Clarendon making a call,

And stating in cold, slow, monotonous drawl,

'Sire, from Pudding Lane's End, close by Fishmongers' Hall,

To Pye Corner, in Smithfield, there is not a stall

There, in market, or street,-- not a house, great or small,

In which Knight wields his falchion, or Cobbler his awl,

But's on fire!!'-- You may fancy the general squall,

And bawl as they all call for wimple and shawl!--

-- You may fancy all this -- but I boldly assert

You can't fancy Aunt Fan -- as she looked on MY SHIRT!!!

Was't Apelles? or Zeuxis?--I think 'twas Apelles,

That artist of old -- I declare I can't tell his

Exact patronymic -- I write and pronounce ill

These Classical names -- whom some Grecian Town-Council

Employ'd,-- I believe, by command of the Oracle,--

To produce them a splendid piece, purely historical,

For adorning the wall

Of some fane, or Guildhall,

And who for his subject determined to try a

Large painting in oils of Miss Iphigenia

At the moment her Sire,

By especial desire

Of 'that Spalpeen, O'Dysseus' (see Barney Maguire),

Has resolved to devote

Her beautiful throat

To old Chalcas's knife, and her limbs to the fire;

-- An act which we moderns by no means admire,--

An off'ring, 'tis true, to Jove, Mars, or Apollo cost

No trifling sum in those days, if a holocaust,--

Still, although for economy we should condemn none,

In an ANAZ ANDRON, like the great Agamemnon,

To give up to slaughter

An elegant daughter,

After all the French, Music, and Dancing they'd taught her,

And Singing,-- at Heaven knows how much a quarter,--

In lieu of a Calf!-- It was too bad by half!

At a 'nigger' <2> so pitiful who would not laugh,

And turn up their noses at one who could find

No decenter method of 'Raising the Wind?'

No doubt but he might,

Without any great Flight,

Have obtain'd it by what we call 'flying a kite.'

Or on mortgage -- or sure, if he couldn't so do it, he

Must have succeeded 'by way of annuity.'

But there -- it appears,

His crocodile tears,

His 'Oh!s' and his 'Ah!s,' his 'Oh Law!s' and 'Oh dear!s,'

Were all thought sincere,-- so in painting his Victim

The Artist was splendid -- but could not depict Him,

His features and phiz awry

Shew'd so much misery,

And so like a dragon he,

Look'd in his agony,

That the foil'd Painter buried -- despairing to gain a

Good likeness -- his face in a printed Bandana.

-- Such a veil is best thrown o'er one's face when one's hurt

By some grief which no power can repair or avert!--

-- Such a veil I shall throw o'er Aunt Fan -- and My Shirt!

MORAL.

And now for some practical hints from the story

Of Aunt Fan's mishap, which I've thus laid before ye;

For, if rather too gay, I can venture to say,

A fine vein of morality is, in each lay

Of my primitive Muse, the distinguishing trait!--

First of all -- Don't put off till to-morrow what may

Without inconvenience, be managed to-day!

That golden occasion we call 'Opportunity'

Rarely's neglected by man with impunity!

And the 'Future,' how brightly soe'er by Hope's dupe colour'd,

Ne'er may afford You a lost chance restored,

Till both you, and YOUR SHIRT, are grown old and pea-soup-

colour'd!

I would also desire

You to guard your attire,

Young Ladies,-- and never go too near the fire!--

-- Depend on't there's many a dear little Soul

Has found that a Spark is as bad as a coal,--

And 'in her best petticoat burnt a great hole!'

Last of all, gentle Reader, don't be too secure!--

Let seeming success never make you 'cock-sure!'

But beware!-- and take care,

When all things look fair,

How you hang your Shirt over the back of your chair!--

-- There's many a slip

'Twixt the cup and the lip!'

Be this excellent proverb, then well understood,

And DON'T HALLOO BEFORE YOU'RE QUITE OUT OF THE WOOD!!!

NOTES

1. Not a 'row' but a dance,

The brave Lord Keeper led the brawls,

The seals and maces danced before him.'

-- GRAY

-- And truly Sir Christopher danced to some tune.

2. Hibernicè 'nigger,' quasi 'niggard,' Vide B. Maguire passim.

It is to my excellent and erudite friend, Simpkinson, that

I am indebted for his graphic description of the well-known

chalk-pit, between Acol and Minster in the Isle of Thanet,

known by the name of the 'Smuggler's Leap.' The substance of

the true history attached to it he picked up while visiting

that admirable institution, the 'Sea-bathing Infirmary,' of

which he is a 'Life Governor,' and enjoying his otium cum

dignitate last summer at the least aristocratic of all possible

watering-places.

Before I proceed to detail it, however, I cannot, in

conscience, fail to bespeak for him the reader's sympathy in

one of his own

MISADVENTURES AT MARGATE: A LEGEND OF JARVIS'S JETTY.

MR. SIMPKINSON (loquitur).

'Twas in Margate last July, I walk'd upon the pier,

I saw a little vulgar Boy -- I said, 'What make you here?

The gloom upon your youthful cheek speaks anything but joy;'

Again I said, 'What make you here, you little vulgar Boy?'

He frown'd, that little vulgar Boy,-- he deem'd I meant to

scoff --

And when the little heart is big, a little 'sets it off;'

He put his finger in his mouth, his little bosom rose,--

He had no little handkerchief to wipe his little nose!

'Hark! don't you hear, my little man?-- it's striking Nine,' I

said,

'An hour when all good little boys and girls should be in bed.

Run home and get your supper, else your Ma' will scold -- Oh!

fie!

It's very wrong indeed for little boys to stand and cry!'

The tear-drop in his little eye again began to spring,

His bosom throbb'd with agony,-- he cried like any thing!

I stoop'd, and thus amidst his sobs I heard him murmur --'Ah!

I haven't got no supper! and I haven't got no Ma'!!--

'My father, he is on the seas,-- my mother's dead and gone!

And I am here, on this here pier, to roam the world alone;

I have not had, this live-long day, one drop to cheer my heart,

Nor "brown" to buy a bit of bread with,-- let alone a tart!

'If there's a soul will give me food, or find me in employ,

By day or night, then blow me tight!' (he was a vulgar Boy;)

'And now I'm here, from this here pier it is my fixed intent

To jump, as Mister Levi did from off the Monu-ment!'

'Cheer up! cheer up! my little man -- cheer up!' I kindly said,

'You are a naughty boy to take such things into your head:

If you should jump from off the pier, you'd surely break your

legs,

Perhaps your neck -- then Bogey'd have you, sure as eggs are

eggs!

'Come home with me, my little man, come home with me and sup;

My landlady is Mrs. Jones -- we must not keep her up --

There's roast potatoes at the fire,-- enough for me and you --

Come home you little vulgar Boy -- I lodge at Number 2.'

I took him home to Number 2, the house beside 'The Foy,'

I bade him wipe his dirty shoes,-- that little vulgar Boy,--

And then I said to Mistress Jones, the kindest of her sex,

'Pray be so good as go and fetch a pint of double X!'

But Mrs. Jones was rather cross, she made a little noise,

She said she 'did not like to wait on little vulgar Boys.'

She with her apron wiped the plates, and as she rubbed the

delf,

Said I might 'go to Jericho, and fetch my beer myself!'

I did not go to Jericho -- I went to Mr. Cobb -- <1>

I changed a shilling--(which in town the people call 'a Bob')--

It was not so much for myself as for that vulgar child--

And I said, 'A pint of double X, and please to draw it mild!'--

When I came back I gazed about -- I gazed on stool and chair --

I could not see my little friend -- because he was not there!

I peep'd beneath the table-cloth -- beneath the sofa too --

I said, 'You little vulgar Boy! why what's become of you?'

I could not see my table-spoons -- I look'd, but could not see

The little fiddle-pattern'd ones I use when I'm at tea;

-- I could not see my sugar-tongs -- my silver watch -- oh,

dear!

I know 'twas on the mantelpiece when I went out for beer.

I could not see my Macintosh -- it was not to be seen!--

Nor yet my best white beaver hat, broad-brimm'd and lined with

My carpet-bag -- my cruet-stand, that holds my sauce and soy,--

My roast potatoes!-- all are gone!-- and so's that vulgar Boy!

I rang the bell for Mrs. Jones, for she was down below,

'Oh, Mrs. Jones, what do you think?-- ain't this a pretty go?--

-- That horrid little vulgar Boy whom I brought here to-night,

-- He's stolen my things and run away!!'-- Says she, 'And sarve

you right!!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Next morning I was up betimes -- I sent the Crier round,

All with his bell and gold-laced hat to say I'd give a pound

To find that little vulgar Boy, who'd gone and used me so;

But when the Crier cried, 'O Yes!' the people cried, 'O No!'

I went to 'Jarvis' Landing-place,' the glory of the town,

There was a common sailor-man a-walking up and down,

I told my tale -- he seem'd to think I'd not been treated well,

And call'd me 'Poor old Buffer!'-- what that means I cannot

tell.

That Sailor-man he said he'd seen that morning on the shore,

A son of -- something --'twas a name I'd never heard before,

A little 'gallows-looking chap'--d ear me; what could he mean?

With a 'carpet-swab' and 'muckingtogs,' and a hat turned up

with green.

He spoke about his 'precious eyes,' and said he'd seen him

'sheer,'

-- It's very odd that Sailor-men should talk so very queer --

And then he hitch'd his trousers up, as is, I'm told, their

use,

-- It's very odd that Sailor-men should wear those things so

loose.

I did not understand him well, but think he meant to say

He'd seen that little vulgar Boy, that morning, swim away

In Captain Large's Royal George, about an hour before,

And they were now, as he supposed, 'somewheres' about the Nore.

A landsman said, 'I twig the chap -- he's been upon the Mill --

And 'cause he gammons so the flats, ve calls him Veeping Bill!'

He said 'he'd done me wery brown,' and nicely 'stow'd the

swag,'

-- That's French, I fancy, for a hat -- or else a carpet-bag.

I went and told the constable my property to track;

He ask'd me if 'I did not wish that I might get it back?'

I answered, 'To be sure I do!-- it's what I'm come about.'

He smiled and said, 'Sir, does your mother know that you are

out?'

Not knowing what to do, I thought I'd hasten back to town,

And beg our own Lord Mayor to catch the Boy who'd 'done me

brown.'

His Lordship very kindly said he'd try and find him out,

But he 'rather thought that there were several vulgar boys

about.'

He sent for Mr. Withair then, and I described 'the swag,'

My Macintosh, my sugar-tongs, my spoons and carpet-bag;

He promised that the New Police should all their powers employ!

But never to this hour have I beheld that vulgar Boy!

MORAL.

Remember, then, that when a boy I've heard my Grandma tell,

'Be warn'd in time by others' harm, and you shall do full

well!'

Don't link yourself with vulgar folks, who've got no fixed

abode,

Tell lies, use naughty words, and say they 'wish they may be

blow'd!'

Don't take too much of double X!-- and don't at night go out

To fetch your beer yourself, but make the pot-boy bring your

stout!

And when you go to Margate next, just stop, and ring the bell,

Give my respects to Mrs. Jones, and say I'm pretty well!

NOTES

1. QUI FACIT PER ALIUM, FACIT PER SE -- Deem not, gentle

stranger, that Mr. Cobb is a petty dealer and chapman, as Mr.

Simpkinson would here seem to imply. He is a maker, not a

retailer of stingo,-- and mighty pretty tipple he makes.

And now for his Legend, which, if the facts took place

rather beyond 'the memory of the oldest inhabitant,' are yet

well known to have occurred in the neighbourhood 'once on a

time;' and the scene of them will be readily pointed out by any

one of the fifty intelligent fly-drivers who ply upon the pier,

and who will convey you safely to the spot for a guerdon which

they term 'three bob.'

THE SMUGGLER'S LEAP: A LEGEND OF THANET.

'Near this hamlet (Acol) is a long-disused chalk-pit of

formidable depth, known by the name of "The Smuggler's Leap."

The tradition of the parish runs, that a riding-officer from

Sandwich, called Anthony Gill, lost his life here in the early

part of the present (18th) century, while in pursuit of a

smuggler. A fog coming on, both parties went over the

precipice. The smuggler's horse only, it is said, was found

crushed beneath its rider. The spot has, of course, been

haunted ever since.'--

See 'Supplement to Lewis's History of Thanet, by the Rev.

Samuel Pegge, A.M., Vicar of Gomersham.' W. Bristow,

Canterbury, 1796, p. 127.

The fire-flash shines from Reculver cliff,

And the answering light burns blue in the skiff,

And there they stand,

That smuggling band,

Some in the water and some on the sand,

Ready those contraband goods to land:

The night is dark, they are silent and still,

-- At the head of the party is Smuggler Bill!

'Now lower away! come, lower away!

We must be far ere the dawn of the day.

If Exciseman Gill should get scent of the prey,

And should come, and should catch us here, what would he say?

Come, lower away, lads -- once on the hill,

We'll laugh, ho! ho! at Exciseman Gill!'

The cargo's lower'd from the dark skiff's side,

And the tow-line drags the tubs through the tide,

No trick nor flam,

But your real Schiedam.

'Now mount, my merry men, mount and ride!'

Three on the crupper and one before,

And the led-horse laden with five tubs more;

But the rich point-lace,

In the oil-skin case

Of proof to guard its contents from ill,

The 'prime of the swag,' is with Smuggler Bill!

Merrily now in a goodly row,

Away and away those Smugglers go,

And they laugh at Exciseman Gill, ho! ho!

When out from the turn

Of the road to Herne,

Comes Gill, wide awake to the whole concern!

Exciseman Gill, in all his pride,

With his Custom-house officers all at his side!

-- They were called Custom-house officers then;

There were no such things as 'Preventive men.'

Sauve qui peut!

That lawless crew,

Away, and away, and away they flew!

Some dropping one tub, some dropping two;--

Some gallop this way, and some gallop that,

Through Fordwich Level -- o'er Sandwich Flat,

Some fly that way, and some fly this,

Like a covey of birds when the sportsmen miss;

These in their hurry

Make for Sturry,

With Custom-house officers close in their rear,

Down Rushbourne Lane, and so by Westbere,

None of them stopping,

But shooting and popping,

And many a Custom-house bullet goes slap

Through many a three-gallon tub like a tap,

And the gin spirts out

And squirts all about,

And many a heart grew sad that day

That so much good liquor was so thrown away.

Sauve qui peut! That lawless crew,

Away, and away, and away they flew!

Some seek Whitstable -- some Grove Ferry,

Spurring and whipping like madmen -- very --

For the life! for the life! they ride! they ride!

And the Custom-house officers all divide,

And they gallop on after them far and wide!

All, all, save one -- Exciseman Gill,--

He sticks to the skirts of Smuggler Bill!

Smuggler Bill is six feet high,

He has curling locks, and a roving eye,

He has a tongue and he has a smile

Trained the female heart to beguile,

And there is not a farmer's wife in the Isle,

From St. Nicholas quite

To the Foreland Light,

But that eye, and that tongue, and that smile will wheedle her

To have done with the Grocer and make him her Tea-dealer;

There is not a farmer there but he still

Buys gin and tobacco from Smuggler Bill.

Smuggler Bill rides gallant and gay

On his dapple-grey mare, away, and away,

And he pats her neck and he seems to say,

'Follow who will, ride after who may,

In sooth he had need

Fodder his steed,

In lieu of Lent-corn, with a Quicksilver feed;

-- Nor oats, nor beans, nor the best of old hay,

Will make him a match for my own dapple-grey!

Ho! ho!-- ho! ho!' says Smuggler Bill --

He draws out a flask and he sips his fill,

And he laughs 'Ho! ho!' at Exciseman Gill.

Down Chislett Lane, so free and so fleet

Rides Smuggler Bill, and away to Up-street;

Sarre Bridge is won --

Bill thinks it fun;

'Ho! ho! the old tub-gauging son of a gun --

His wind will be thick, and his breeks be thin,

Ere a race like this he may hope to win!'

Away, away

Goes the fleet dapple-grey,

Fresh as the breeze and free as the wind,

And Exciseman Gill lags far behind.

'I would give my soul,' quoth Exciseman Gill,

'For a nag that would catch that Smuggler Bill!--

No matter for blood, no matter for bone,

No matter for colour, bay, brown or roan,

So I had but one!' A voice cried 'Done!'

'Ay, dun,' said Exciseman Gill, and he spied

A Custom-house officer close by his side,

On a high-trotting horse with a dun-coloured hide.--

'Devil take me,' again quoth Exciseman Gill,

'If I had but that horse, I'd have Smuggler Bill!'

From his using such shocking expressions, it's plain

That Exciseman Gill was rather profane.

He was, it is true,

As bad as a Jew,

A sad old scoundrel as ever you knew,

And he rode in his stirrups sixteen stone two.

-- He'd just utter'd the words which I've mention'd to you,

When his horse coming slap on his knees with him, threw

Him head over heels, and away he flew,

And Exciseman Gill was bruised black and blue.

When he arose

His hands and his clothes

Were as filthy as could be,-- he'd pitch'd on his nose,

And roll'd over and over again in the mud,

And his nose and his chin were all cover'd with blood;

Yet he screamed with passion, 'I'd rather grill

Than not come up with that Smuggler Bill!'

--'Mount! Mount!' quoth the Custom-house officer, 'get

On the back of my Dun, you'll bother him yet.

Your words are plain, though they're somewhat rough,

'Done and Done' between gentlemen's always enough!--

I'll lend you a lift -- there -- you're up on him -- so,

He's a rum one to look at -- a devil to go!'

Exciseman Gill

Dash'd up the hill,

And mark'd not, so eager was he in pursuit,

The queer Custom-house officer's queer-looking boot.

Smuggler Bill rides on amain,

He slacks not girth and he draws not rein,

Yet the dapple-grey mare bounds on in vain,

For nearer now -- and he hears it plain --

Sounds the tramp of a horse --'Tis the Gauger again!'

Smuggler Bill

Dashes round by the mill

That stands near the road upon Monkton Hill,--

'Now speed,-- now speed,

My dapple-grey steed,

Thou ever, my dapple, wert good at need!

O'er Monkton Mead, and through Minster Level,

We'll baffle him yet, be he gauger or devil!

For Manston Cave, away! away!

Now speed thee, now speed thee, my good dapple-grey,

It shall never be said that Smuggler Bill

Was run down like a hare by Exciseman Gill!'

Manston Cave was Bill's abode;

A mile to the north of the Ramsgate road.

(Of late they say

It's been taken away,

That is, levell'd and filled up with chalk and clay,

By a gentleman there of the name of Day,)

Thither he urges his good dapple-grey;

And the dapple-grey steed,

Still good at need,

Though her chest it pants, and her flanks they bleed,

Dashes along at the top of her speed;

But nearer and nearer Exciseman Gill

Cries 'Yield thee! now yield thee, thou Smuggler Bill!'

Smuggler Bill, he looks behind,

And he sees a Dun horse come swift as the wind,

And his nostrils smoke and his eyes they blaze

Like a couple of lamps on a yellow post-chaise!

Every shoe he has got

Appears red-hot!

And sparks round his ears snap, crackle, and play,

And his tail cocks up in a very odd way;

Every hair in his mane seems a porcupine's quill,

And there on his back sits Exciseman Gill,

Crying 'Yield thee! now yield thee, thou Smuggler Bill!'

Smuggler Bill from his holster drew

A large horse-pistol, of which he had two!

Made by Nock;

He pull'd back the cock

As far as he could to the back of the lock;

The trigger he touch'd, and the welkin rang

To the sound of the weapon, it made such a bang;

Smuggler Bill ne'er missed his aim,

The shot told true on the Dun -- but there came

From the hole where it enter'd -- not blood,-- but flame,

-- He changed his plan,

And fired at the man;

But his second horse-pistol flashed in the pan!

And Exciseman Gill with a hearty good will,

Made a grab at the collar of Smuggler Bill.

The dapple-grey mare made a desperate bound

When that queer Dun horse on her flank she found,

Alack! and alas! on what dangerous ground!

It's enough to make one's flesh to creep

To stand on that fearful verge, and peep

Down the rugged sides so dreadfully steep,

Where the chalk-hole yawns full sixty feet deep,

O'er which that steed took that desperate leap!

It was so dark then under the trees,

No horse in the world could tell chalk from cheese --

Down they went -- o'er that terrible fall,--

Horses, Exciseman, Smuggler, and all!!

Below were found

Next day on the ground

By an elderly Gentleman walking his round,

(I wouldn't have seen such a sight for a pound,)

All smash'd and dash'd, three mangled corses,

Two of them human,-- the third was a horse's --

That good dapple-grey, and Exciseman Gill

Yet grasping the collar of Smuggler Bill!

But where was the Dun? that terrible Dun?

From that terrible night he was seen by none!--

There are some people think, though I am not one,

That part of the story all nonsense and fun,

But the country-folks there,

One and all declare,

When the 'Crowner's 'Quest' came to sit on the pair,

They heard a loud Horse-laugh up in the air!--

-- If in one of the trips

Of the steam-boat Eclipse

You should go down to Margate to look at the ships,

Or to take what the bathing-room people call 'Dips,'

You may hear old folks talk

Of that quarry of chalk:

Or go over -- it's rather too far for a walk,

But a three-shilling drive will give you a peep

At that fearful chalk-pit -- so awfully deep,

Which is call'd to this moment 'The Smuggler's Leap!'

Nay more, I am told, on a moonshiny night,

If you're 'plucky,' and not over subject to fright,

And go and look over that chalk-pit white,

You may see, if you will,

The Ghost of Old Gill

Grappling the Ghost of Smuggler Bill,

And the Ghost of the dapple-grey lying between 'em.--

I'm told so -- I can't say I know one who's seen 'em!

MORAL.

And now, gentle Reader, one word ere we part,

Just take a friend's counsel, and lay it to heart.

Imprimis, don't smuggle!-- if bent to please Beauty

You must buy French lace,-- purchase what has paid duty

Don't use naughty words, in the next place,-- and ne'er in

Your language adopt a bad habit of swearing!

Never say 'Devil take me!'

Or 'shake me!'--or 'bake me!'

Or such-like expressions -- Remember Old Nick

To take folks at their word is remarkably quick.

Another sound maxim I'd wish you to keep,

Is, 'Mind what you're after, and -- Look ere you Leap!'

Above all, to my last gravest caution attend --

NEVER BORROW A HORSE YOU DON'T KNOW OF A FRIEND!!!

For the story which succeeds I am indebted to Mrs.

Botherby. She is a Shropshire lady by birth, and I overheard

her, a few weeks since, in the nursery ehaunting the following,

one of the Legends peculiar to her native county, for the

amusement and information of Seaforth's little boy, who was

indeed 'all ears.' As Ralph de Diceto, who alludes to the main

facts, was Dean of St. Paul's in 1183, about the time that the

Temple Church was consecrated, the history is evidently as

ancient as it is authentic, though the author of the present

paraphrase has introduced many unauthorized, as well as

anachronismatical interpolations.-- For the interesting note on

the ancient family of Ketch, I need scarcely say, I am obliged

to the Simpkinson.

Bloudie Jacke of Shrewsberrie.

THE SHROPSHIRE BLUEBEARD.

A LEGEND OF 'THE PROUD SALOPIANS'

Hisce ferè temporibus, in agro Salopiensi, Quidam, cui nomen

Johannes, Le Sanglaunt deinde nuncupatus, uxores quamplurimas

ducit, enecat et (ita referunt) manducat; ossa solùm cani miræ

magnitudinis relinquens. Tum demùm in flagrante delicto, vel

'manu rubrâ,' ut dicunt Jurisconsulti, deprensus, carnifice vix

opprimitur.--

Radulphus de Diceto.

Oh! why doth thine eye gleam so bright,

Bloudie Jacke?

Oh! why doth thine eye gleam so bright?--

The Mother's at home,

The Maid may not roam,

She never will meet thee to-night!

By the light

Of the moon -- it's impossible -- quite!

Yet thine eye is still brilliant and bright,

Bloudie Jacke!

It gleams with a fiendish delight --

''Tis done -- She is won!

Nothing under the sun

Can loose the charm'd ring, though it's slight!

Ho! ho!

It fits so remarkably tight!'

The wire is as thin as a thread,

Bloudie Jacke!

The wire is as thin as a thread!--

'Though slight be the chain,

Again might and main,

Cannot rend it in twain --S he is wed!

She is wed!

She is mine, be she living or dead!

Haw! haw!!'

Nay, laugh not, I pray thee, so loud,

Bloudie Jacke!

Oh! laugh not so loud and so clear!

Though sweet is thy smile

The heart to beguile,

Yet thy laugh is quite shocking to hear,

O dear!

It makes the blood curdle with fear!

The Maiden is gone by the glen,

Bloudie Jacke!

She is gone by the glen and the wood--

it's a very odd thing

She should wear such a ring,

While her tresses are bound by a snood.

By the rood!

It's a thing that's not well understood!

The Maiden is stately and tall,

Bloudie Jacke!

And stately she walks in her pride;

But the young Mary-Anne

Runs as fast as she can,

To o'ertake her, and walk by her side!

Though she chide --

She deems not her sister a bride!

But the Maiden is gone by the glen,

Bloudie Jacke!

Mary-Anne she is gone by the lea;

She o'ertakes not her sister,

It's clear she has miss'd her,

And cannot think where she can be!

Dear me

'Ho! ho!-- We shall see! we shall see!'

Mary-Anne is gone over the lea,

Bloudie Jacke!

Mary-Anne she is come to the Tower!

But it makes her heart quail,

For it looks like a jail,

A deal more than a fair Lady's bower,

So sour

Its ugly grey walls seem to lour.

For the Barbican's massy and high,

Bloudie Jacke!

And the oak-door is heavy and brown;

And with iron it's plated

And machicolated,

To pour boiling oil and lead down;

How you'd frown

Should a ladle-full fall on your crown!

The rock that it stands on is steep,

Bloudie Jacke!

To gain it one's forced for to creep;

The Portcullis is strong,

And the Drawbridge is long,

And the water runs all round the Keep;

At a peep

You can see that the Moat's very deep!

The Drawbridge is long, but it's down,

Bloudie Jacke!

And the Portcullis hangs in the air;

And no Warder is near,

With his horn and his spear,

To give notice when people come there.--

I declare

Mary-Anne has run into the Square!

The oak-door is heavy and brown,

Bloudie Jacke!

But the oak-door is standing ajar,

And no one is there

To say, 'Pray take a chair,

You seem tired, Miss, with running so far --

So you are --

With grown people you're scarce on a par!'

But the young Mary-Anne is not tired,

Bloudie Jacke!

She roams o'er your Tower by herself;

She runs through, very soon,

Each boudoir and saloon

And examines each closet and shelf,

Your pelf,

All your plate, and your china -- and delf.

She looks at your Arras so fine,

Bloudie Jacke!

So rich, all description it mocks;

And she now and then pauses

To gaze at your vases

Your pictures, and ormolu clocks;

Every box,

Every cupboard, and drawer she unlocks.

She looks at the paintings so rare,

Bloudie Jacke!

That adorn every wall in your house;

Your impayable pieces,

Your Paul Veroneses,

Your Rembrandts, your Guidos, and Dows,

Morland's Cows,

Claude's Landscapes,-- and Landseer's Bow-wows.

She looks at your Statues so fine,

Bloudie Jacke!

And mighty great notice she takes

Of your Niobe crying,

Your Mirmillo dying,

Your Hercules strangling the snakes,--

How he shakes

The nasty great things as he wakes!

Your Laocoon, his serpent and boys,

Bloudie Jacke!

She views with some little dismay;

A copy of that I can

See in the Vatican,

Unless the Pope's sent it away,

As they say,

In the Globe, he intended last May.<1>

There's your Belvidere Phoebus, with which,

Bloudie Jacke!

Mr. Milman says none other vies.

(His lines on Apollo

Beat all the rest hollow,

And gain'd him the Newdigate prize.)

How the eyes

Seem watching the shaft as it flies!

There's a room full of satins and silks,

Bloudie Jacke!

There's a room full of velvets and lace,

There are drawers full of rings

And a thousand fine things,

And a splendid gold watch with a case

O'er its face,

Is in every room in the place.

There are forty fine rooms on a floor,

Bloudie Jacke!

And every room fit for a Ball,

It's so gorgeous and rich,

With so lofty a pitch,

And so long, and so broad, and so tall;

Yes, all,

Save the last one -- and that's very small!

It boasts not stool, table, or chair,

Bloudie Jacke!

But one Cabinet, costly and grand,

Which has little gold figures

Of little gold Niggers,

With fishing-rods stuck in each hand.--

It's japann'd,

And it's placed on a splendid buhl stand.

Its hinges and clasps are of gold,

Bloudie Jacke!

And of gold are its key-hole and key,

And the drawers within

Have each a gold pin,

And they're number'd with 1, 2, and 3,

You may see

All the figures in gold filigree!

Number 1's full of emeralds green,

Bloudie Jacke!

Number 2's full of diamond and pearl;

But what does she see

In drawer Number 3

That makes all her senses to whirl,

Poor Girl!

And each lock of her hair to uncurl?--

Wedding Fingers are sweet pretty things,

Bloudie Jacke!

To salute them one eagerly strives,

When one kneels to 'propose'--

It's another quelque chose

When cut off at the knuckles with knives,

From our wives

They are tied up in bunches of fives.

Yet there they lie, one, two, three, four!

Bloudie Jacke!

There lie they, five, six, seven, eight!

And by them, in rows,

Lie eight little Great-Toes

To match in size, colour, and weight!

From their state,

It would seem they'd been sever'd of late.

Beside them are eight Wedding-rings,

Bloudie Jacke!

And the gold is as thin as a thread --

'Ho! ho!-- She is mine --

This will make up the Nine

Dear me! who those shocking words said?--

-- She fled

To hide herself under the bed.

But, alas! there's no bed in the room,

Bloudie Jacke!

And she peeps from the window on high;

Only fancy her fright

And the terrible sight

Down below, which at once meets her eye!

'Oh My!!'

She half utter'd,-- but stifled her cry.

For she saw it was You and your Man,

Bloudie Jacke!

And she heard your unpleasant 'Haw! haw!!'

While her sister, stone dead,

By the hair of her head,

O'er the bridge you were trying to draw,

As she saw,--

A thing quite contra-ry to law!

Your Man has got hold of her heels,

Bloudie Jacke!

Bloudie Jacke! you've got hold of her hair!--

But nor Jacke nor his Man

Can see young Mary. Anne,

She has hid herself under the stair,

And there

Is a horrid great Dog, I declare!

His eye-balls are bloodshot and blear,

Bloudie Jacke!

He's a sad ugly cur for a pet;

He seems of the breed

Of that 'Billy,' indeed,

Who used to kill rats for a bet;

-- I forget

How many one morning he ate.

He has skulls, ribs, and vertebræ there,

Bloudie Jacke!

And thigh-bones;-- and, though it's so dim,

Yet it's plain to be seen

He has pick'd them quite clean,--

She expects to be torn limb from limb,

So grim

He looks at her -- and she looks at him.

She has given him a bun and a roll,

Bloudie Jacke!

She has given him a roll and a bun,

And a Shrewsbury cake,

Of Hailin's<2> own make,

Which she happened to take ere her run

She begun --

She's been used to a luncheon at One.

It's 'a pretty particular Fix,'

Bloudie Jacke!

-- Above,-- there's the Maiden that's dead;

Below -- growling at her --

There's that Cannibal Cur

Who at present is munching her bread,--

Instead

Of her leg,-- or her arm,-- or her head.

It's 'a pretty particular Fix,'

Bloudie Jacke!

She is caught like a mouse in a trap;--

Stay!-- there's something, I think,

That has slipp'd through a chink,

And fall'n, by a singular hap,

Slap,

Into poor little Mary-Anne's lap!

It's a very fine little gold ring,

Bloudie Jacke!

Yet, though slight, it's remarkably stout,

But it's made a sad stain,

Which will always remain

On her frock -- for Blood will not wash out;

I doubt

Salts of Lemon won't bring it about!

She has grasp'd that gold ring in her hand,

Bloudie Jacke!

In an instant she stands on the floor,

She makes but one bound

O'er the back of the hound,

And a hop, skip, and jump to the door,

And she's o'er

The drawbridge she'd traversed before!

Her hair's floating loose in the breeze,

Bloudie Jacke!

For gone is her 'bonnet of blue.'

-- Now the Barbican's past!--

Her legs 'go it' as fast

As two drumsticks a-beating tattoo,

As they do

At Réveille, Parade, or Review!

She has run into Shrewsbury town,

Bloudie Jacke!

She has called out the Beadle and May'r,

And the Justice of Peace,

And the Rural Police,

Till 'Battle Field' swarms like a Fair,--

And see there!--

E'en the Parson's beginning to swear!!

There's a pretty to-do in your Tower,

Bloudie Jacke!

In your Tower there's a pretty to-do!

All the people of Shrewsbury

Playing old gooseberry

With your choice bits of taste and virtù;

Each bijou

Is upset in their search after you!

They are playing the deuce with your things,

Bloudie Jacke!

There's your Cupid is broken in two,

And so too, between us,

is Each of your Venuses,

The 'Antique' ones you bought of the Jew,

And the new

One, George Robins swears came from St. Cloud.

The CALLIPYGE'S injured behind,

Bloudie Jacke!

The DE MEDICI'S injured before!

And the ANADYOMENE

's injured in so many

Places, I think there's a score,

If not more,

Of her fingers and toes on the floor.

They are hunting you up stairs and down,

Bloudie Jacke!

Every person to pass is forbid,

While they turn out the closets

And all their deposits --

'There's the dust-hole -- come lift up the lid!'

So they did --

But they could not find where you were hid!

Ah! Ah!-- they will have you at last

Bloudie Jacke!

The chimneys to search they begin;--

They have found you at last!--

There you are, sticking fast,

With your knees doubled up to your chin,

Though you're thin!

-- Dear me! what a mess you are in!--

What a terrible pickle you're in,

Bloudie Jacke!

Why, your face is as black as your hat!

Your fine Holland shirt

Is all over dirt!

And so is your point-lace cravat!

What a Flat

To seek such an asylum as that!

They can scarcely help laughing, I vow,

Bloudie Jacke!

In the midst of their turmoil and strife;

You're not fit to be seen!

-- You look like Mr. Kean --

In the play where he murders his wife!--

On my life

You ought to be scraped with a knife!

They have pull'd you down flat on your back,

Bloudie Jacke!

They have pull'd you down flat on your back!

And they smack, and they thwack,

Till your 'funny bones' crack,

As if you were stretched on the rack,

At each whack!--

Good lack! what a savage attack!

They call for the Parliament Man,

Bloudie Jacke!

And the Hangman, the matter to clinch,

And they call for the Judge,

But others cry 'Fudge!

Don't budge Mr. Calcraft,<3>

Mr. Lynch!<4>

Will do very well at a pinch!'

It is useless to scuffle and cuff,

Bloudie Jacke!

It is useless to struggle and bite!

And to kick and to scratch

You have met with your match,

And the Shrewsbury Boys hold you tight,

Despite

Your determined attempts 'to show fight.'

They are pulling you all sorts of ways,

Bloudie Jacke!

They are twisting your right leg Nor-West,

And your left leg due South,

And your knee's in your mouth,

And your head is poked down on your breast,

And it's prest,

I protest, almost into your chest!

They have pulled off your arms and your legs,

Bloudie Jacke!

As the naughty boys serve the blue flies;

And they've torn from their sockets,

And put in their pockets

Your fingers and thumbs for a prize!

And your eyes

A Doctor has bottled -- from Guy's.<5>

Your trunk, thus dismember'd and torn,

Bloudie Jacke!

They hew, and they hack, and they chop;

And, to finish the whole,

They stick up a pole

In the place that's still called the Wylde Coppe,

And they pop

Your grim gory head on the top!

They have buried the fingers and toes,

Bloudie Jacke!

Of the victims so lately your prey.

From those fingers and eight toes

Sprang early potatoes,

'Ladyes' Fyngers' they're called to this day;

-- So they say,--

And you usually dig them in May.

What became of the dear little girl?

Bloudie Jacke!

What became of the young Mary Anne?

Why, I'm sadly afraid

That she died an Old Maid,

For she fancied that every Young Man

Had a plan

To trepan her like 'poor Sister Fan!'

So they say she is now leading apes,

Bloudie Jacke!

And mends Bachelors' small-clothes below;

The story is old,

And has often been told,

But I cannot believe it is so--

No! No!

Depend on't the tale is 'No Go!'

MORAL.

And now for the moral I'd fain,

Bloudie Jacke!

That young Ladies should draw from my pen,--

It's --'Don't take these flights

Upon moon-shiny nights

With gay, harum-scarum young men,

Down a glen!--

You really can't trust one in ten!'

Let them think of your terrible Tower,

Bloudie Jacke!

And don't let them liberties take,

Whether Maidens or Spouses,

In Bachelors' houses;

Or, some time or another, they'll make

A Mistake!

And lose -- more than a Shrewsberrie Cake!

NOTES

1. 'The Pope is said -- this fact is hardly credible -- to have

sold the Laocoon and the Apollo Belvidere to the Emperor of

Russia for nine millions of francs.'--

Globe and Traveller.

2. Oh, Pailin! Prince of cake-compounders! the mouth liquefies

at thy very name -- but there!

3. Jehan de Ketche acted as Provost Marshal to the army of

William the Conqueror, and received from that monarch a grant

of the dignity of Hereditary Grand Functionary of England,

together with a 'croft or parcel of land,' known by the name of

the Old Bailie, Co. Middx., to be held by him, and the heirs

general of his body, in Grand Serjeantry, by the yearly

presentation of 'ane hempen cravatte.' After remaining for

several generations in the same name, the office passed, by

marriage of the heiress, into the ancient family of the Kirbys,

and thence again to that of Callcraft (1st Eliz. 1558).--

Abhorson Callcraft, Esq., of Saffron Hill, co. Middx. the

present representative of the Ketches, exercised his 'function'

on a very recent occasion, and claimed and was allowed the fee

of 13 1/2d. under the ancient grant as Hangman's Wages.

ARMS.-- 1st and 4th, Quarterly, Argent and Sable; in the first

quarter a Gibbet of the second, noosed proper, Callcraft. 2nd,

Sable three Night-caps Argent, tufted Gules, 2 and 1, Ketche.

3rd, Or, Nosegay fleurant, Kirby.

SUPPORTERS.-- Dexter: A Sheriff in his pride, robed Gules,

chained and collared Or.-- Sinister: An Ordinary display

proper, wigged and banded Argent, nosed Gules.

MOTTO.-- SIC ITUR AD ASTRA!

4. The American Justinian, compiler of the 'Yankee Pandects.'

5. A similar appropriation is said to have been made, by an

eminent practitioner, of those of the late Monsieur

Courvoisier.

Her niece, of whom I have before made honourable mention,

is not a whit behind Mrs. Botherby in furnishing entertainment

for the young folks. If little Charles has the aunt to sol fa

him to slumber, Miss Jenny is equally fortunate in the

possession of a Sappho of her own. It is to the air of 'Drops

of Brandy' that Patty has adapted her version of a venerable

ditty, which we have all listened to with respect and affection

under its old title of

THE BABES IN THE WOOD; OR, THE NORFOLK TRAGEDY.

AN OLD SONG TO A NEW TUNE.

When we were all little and good --

A long time ago I'm afraid, Miss --

We were told of the Babes in the Wood

By their false, cruel Uncle betray'd, Miss;

Their Pa was a Squire, or a Knight;

In Norfolk I think his estate lay--

That is, if I recollect right,

For I've not read the history lately.<1>

Rum ti, &c.

Their Pa and their Ma being seized

With a tiresome complaint, which, in some seasons,

People are apt to be teased

With, who're not on their guard against plum-seasons,

Their medical man shook his head

As he could not get well to the root of it;

And the Babes stood on each side the bed,

While their Uncle, he stood at the foot of it.

'Oh, Brother!' their Ma whisper'd faint

And low, for breath seeming to labour, 'Who'd

Tnink that this horrid complaint,

That's been going about in the neighbourhood,

Thus should attack me,-- nay, more,

My poor husband besides,-- and so fall on him!

Bringing us so near Death's door

That we can't avoid making a call on him!

'Now think, 'tis your Sister invokes

Your aid, and the last work she says is,

Be kind to those dear little folks

When our toes are turned up to the daisies!--

By the servants don't let them be snubb'd,--

-- Let Jane have her fruit and her custard,--

And mind Johnny's chilblains are rubb'd

Well with Whitehead's best essence of mustard.

'You know they'll be pretty well off in

Respect to what's called 'worldly gear,'

For John, when his Pa's in his coffin,

Comes in to three hundred a-year;

And Jane's to have five hundred pound

On her marriage paid down, ev'ry penny,

So you'll own a worse match might be found,

Any day in the week, than our Jenny!'

Here the Uncle pretended to cry,

And, like an old thorough-paced rogue, he

Put his handkerchief up to his eye,

And devoted himself to Old Bogey

If he did not make matters all right,

And said, should he covet their riches,

He 'wished the old Gentleman might

Fly away with him, body and breeches!'

No sooner, however, were they

Put to bed with a spade by the sexton,

Than he carried the darlings away

Out of that parish into the next one,

Giving out he should take them to town

And select the best school in the nation,

That John might not grow up a clown,

But receive a genteel education.

'Greek and Latin old twaddle I call!'

Says he, 'While his mind's ductile and plastic,

I'll place him at Dotheboys Hall

Where he'll learn all that's new and gymnastic.

While Jane, as, when girls have the dumps,

Fortune-hunters, by scores, to entrap 'em rise,

Shall go to those worthy old frumps,

The two Misses Tickler of Clapham Rise!'

Having thought on the How and the When

To get rid of his nephew and niece,

He sent for two ill-looking men,

And he gave them five guineas a-piece.--

Says he, 'Each of you take up a child

On the crupper, and when you have trotted

Some miles through that wood lone and wild,

Take your knife out and cut its carotid!'

'Done' and 'done' is pronounced on each side,

While the poor little dears are delighted

To think they a-cock-horse shall ride,

And are not in the least degree frighted;

They say their 'Ta! Ta!' as they start,

And they prattle so nice on their journey,

That the rogues themselves wish to their heart

They could finish the job by attorney.

Nay, one was so taken aback

By seeing such spirit and life in them,

That he fairly exclaim'd, 'I say, Jack,

I'm blow'd if I can put a knife in them!'--

'Pooh!' says his pal, 'you great dunce!

You've pouch'd the good gentleman's money,

So out with your whinger at once,

And scrag Jane, while I spiflicate Johnny!'

He refused, and harsh language ensued,

Which ended at length in a duel,

When he that was mildest in mood

Gave the truculent rascal his gruel;

The Babes quake with hunger and fear,

While the ruffian his dead comrade, Jack, buries;

Then he cries, 'Loves, amuse yourselves here

With the hips, and the haws, and the blackberries!

'I'll be back in a couple of shakes;

So don't, dears, be quivering and quaking,

I'm going to get you some cakes,

And a nice butter'd roll that's a-baking!'

He rode off with a tear in his eye,

Which ran down his rough cheek, and wet it,

As he said to himself with a sigh,

'Pretty souls!-- don't they wish they may get it!!'

From that moment the Babes ne'er caught sight

Of the wretch who thus wrought their undoing,

But pass'd all that day and that night

In wandering about and 'boo-hoo'-ing.'

The night proved cold, dreary, and dark,

So that, worn out with sighings and sobbings,

Next morn they were found stiff and stark,

And stone-dead, by two little Cock-Robins.

These two little birds it sore grieves

To see what so cruel a dodge I call,--

They cover the bodies with leaves,

An interment quite ornithological;

It might more expensive have been,

But I doubt, though I've not been to see 'em,

If among those in all Kensal Green

You could find a more neat Mausoleum.

Now, whatever your rogues may suppose,

Conscience always makes restless their pillows,

And Justice, though blind, has a nose

That sniffs out all conceal'd peccadilloes.

The wicked old Uncle they say,

In spite of his riot and revel,

Was hippish and qualmish all day,

And dream't all night long of the d--l.

He grew gouty, dyspeptic, and sour,

And his brow, once so smooth and so placid,

Fresh wrinkles acquired every hour,

And whatever he swallow'd turn'd acid

The neighbours thought all was not right,

Scarcely one with him ventured to parley,

And Captain Swing came in the night,

And burnt all his beans and his barley.

There was hardly a day but some fox

Ran away with his geese and his ganders;

His wheat had the mildew, his flocks

Took the rot, and his horses the glanders;

His daughters drank rum in their tea,

His son, who had gone for a sailor,

Went down in a steamer at sea,

And his wife ran away with a tailor!

It was clear he lay under a curse;

None would hold with him any communion,

Every day matters grew worse and worse,

Till they ended at length in The Union;

While his man being caught in some fact,

(The particular crime I've forgotten,)

When he came to be hanged for the act,

Split, and told the whole story to Cotton.

Understanding the matter was blown,

His employer became apprehensive

Of what, when 'twas more fully known,

Might ensue -- he grew thoughtful and pensive;

He purchased some sugar-of-lead,

Took it home, popp'd it into his porridge,

Ate it up, and then took to his bed,

And so died in the workhouse at Norwich.

MORAL.

Ponder well now, dear Parents, each word

That I've wrote, and when Sirius rages

In the dog-days, don't be so absurd

As to blow yourselves out with Green-gages!

Of stone-fruits in general be shy,

And reflect it's a fact beyond question

That Grapes, when they're spelt with an i,

Promote anything else but digestion.--

-- When you set about making your will,

Which is commonly done when a body's ill,

Mind, and word it with caution and skill,

And avoid, if you can, any codicil!

When once you've appointed an heir

To the fortune you've made, or obtain'd, ere

You leave a reversion beware

Whom you place in contingent remainder!

Executors, Guardians, and all

Who have children to mind, don't ill treat them,

Nor think that, because they are small

And weak, you may beat them, and cheat them;

Remember that 'ill-gotten goods

Never thrive;' their possession's but cursory,

So never turn out in the woods

Little folks you should keep in the nursery.

Be sure he who does such base things

Will ne'er stifle Conscience's clamour;

His 'riches will make themselves wings,'

And his property come to the hammer!

Then He,-- and not those he bereaves,

Will have most cause for sighings and sobbings,

When he finds himself smother'd with leaves

(Of fat catalogues) heap'd up by Robins!

NOTES

1. See Bloomfield's History of the County of Norfolk, in which

all the particulars of this lamentable history are (or ought to

be) fully detailed, together with the names of the parties, and

an elaborate pedigree of the family.

The incidents recorded in the succeeding Legend were

communicated to a dear friend of our family by the late

lamented Sir Walter Scott. The names and localities have been

scrupulously retained, as she is ready to testify. The

proceedings in this case are, I believe, recorded in some of

our law reports, though I have never been able to lay my band

upon them.

THE DEAD DRUMMER: A LEGEND OF SALISBURY PLAIN.

Oh, Salisbury Plain is bleak and bare,--

At least so I've heard many people declare,

For I fairly confess I never was there;--

Not a shrub nor a tree,

Nor a bush can you see:

No hedges, no ditches, no gates, no stiles,

Much less a house, or a cottage for miles;--

-- It's a very sad thing to be caught in the rain

When night's coming on upon Salisbury Plain.

Now, I'd have you to know

That a great while ago,--

The best part of a century, may be, or so,--

Across this same plain, so dull and so dreary,

A couple of Travellers, way-worn and weary,

Were making their way;

Their profession, you'd say,

At a single glance did not admit of a query;

The pump-handled pig-tail, and whiskers worn then,

With scarce an exception, by sea-faring men,

The jacket,-- the loose trousers 'bows'd up together'--all

Guiltless of braces, as those of Charles Wetherall,--

The pigeon-toed step, and the rollicking motion,

Bespoke them two genuine sons of the Ocean,

And show'd in a moment their real charácters,

(The accent so placed on this word by our Jack Tars).

The one in advance was sturdy and strong,

With arms uncommonly bony and long,

And his Guernsey shirt

Was all pitch and dirt,

Which sailors don't think inconvenient or wrong.

He was very broad-breasted,

And very deep-chested;

His sinewy frame correspond with the rest did,

Except as to height, for he could not be more

At the most, you would say, than some five feet four.

And, if measured, perhaps had been found a thought lower.

Dame Nature, in fact,-- whom some person or other,

-- A Poet,-- has call'd a 'capricious step-mother,'--

You saw when beside him,

Had somehow denied him

In longitude what she had granted in latitude.

A trifling defect

You'd the sooner detect

From his having contracted a stoop in his attitude.

Square-built and broad-shoulder'd, good-humour'd and gay,

With his collar and countenance open as day,

The latter --'twas mark'd with small-pox, by the way,--

Had a sort of expression good-will to bespeak;

He'd a smile in his eye, and a quid in his cheek!

And, in short, notwithstanding his failure in height,

He was just such a man as you'd say, at first sight,

You would much rather dine, or shake hands, with than fight!

The other, his friend and companion, was taller,

By five or six inches, at least, than the smaller;--

From his air and his mien

It was plain to be seen,

That he was, or had been,

A something between

The real 'Jack Tar' and the 'Jolly Marine.'

For, though he would give an occasional hitch,

Sailor-like to his 'slops,' there was something, the which,

On the whole savour'd more of the pipeclay than pitch.--

Such were now the two men who appear'd on the hill,

Harry Waters the tall one, the short 'Spanking Bill.'

To be caught in the rain,

I repeat it again,

Is extremely unpleasant on Salisbury Plain;

And when with a good soaking shower there are blended

Blue lightnings and thunder, the matter's not mended;

Such was the case

In this wild dreary place,

On the day that I'm speaking of now, when the brace

Of trav'llers alluded to quicken'd their pace,

Till a good steady walk became more like a race

To get quit of the tempest which held them in chace.

Louder, and louder

Than mortal gunpowder,

The heav'nly artillery kept crashing and roaring,

The lightning kept flashing, the rain too kept pouring,

While they, helter-skelter,

In vain sought for shelter

From what I have heard term'd, 'a regular pelter;'

But the deuce of a screen

Could be anywhere seen,

Or an object except that on one of the rises,

An old way-post show'd

Where the Lavington road

Branch'd off to the left from the one to Devizes;

And thither the footsteps of Waters seem'd tending,

Though a doubt might exist of the course he was bending,

To a landsman, at least, who, wherever he goes,

Is content, for the most part to follow his nose;--

While Harry kept 'backing

And filling'-- and 'tacking,'--

Two nautical terms which, I'll wager a guinea, are

Meant to imply

What you, Reader, and I

Would call going zig-zag, and not rectilinear.

But here, once for all, let me beg you'll excuse

All mistakes I may make in the words sailors use --

'Mongst themselves, on a cruise,

Or ashore with the Jews,

Or in making their court to their Polls and their Sues,

Or addressing those slop-selling females afloat -- women

Known in our navy as oddly-named boat-women.

The fact is, I can't say,I'm versed in the school

So ably conducted by Marryat and Poole;

(See the last-mentioned gentleman's 'Admiral's Daughter')

The grand vade mecum

For all who to sea come,

And get, the first time in their lives, in blue water;

Of course in the use of sea terms you'll not wonder

If I now and then should fall into some blunder,

For which Captain Chamier, or Mr. T. P. Cooke

Would call me a 'Lubber,' and 'Son of a Sea-cook.'

To return to our muttons -- This mode of progression

At length upon Spanking Bill made some impression,

--'Hillo, messmate, what cheer?

How queer you do steer!'

Cried Bill, whose short legs kept him still in the rear,

'Why, what's in the wind, Bo?-- what is it you fear?'

For he saw in a moment that something was frightening

His shipmate much more than the thunder and lightning.

'Fear?' stammer'd out Waters, 'why, HIM!-- don't you see

What faces that Drummer-boy's making at me?'

-- How he dodges me so

Wherever I go?--

What is it he wants with me, Bill,-- do you know?'

'What Drummer-boy, Harry?' cries Bill in surprise,

(With a brief explanation, that ended in 'eyes,')

'What Drummer-boy, Waters?-- the coast is all clear,

We haven't got never no Drummer-boy here!'

--'Why, there?-- don't you see

How he's following me?

Now this way, now that way, and won't let me be!

Keep him off, Bill -- look here --

Don't let him come near!

Only see how the blood-drops his features besmear!

What, the dead come to life again!-- Bless me!-- Oh dear!'

Bill remark'd in reply, 'This is all very queer --

What, a Drummer-boy -- bloody, too -- eh!-- well, I never --

I can't see no Drummer-boy here whatsumdever!'

'Not see him!--why there;--look!--he's close by the post--

Hark!-- hark!-- how he drums at me now!-- he's a Ghost!'

'A what?' returned Bill,-- at that moment a flash

More than commonly awful preceded a crash

Like what's call'd in Kentucky 'an Almighty Smash.'--

And down Harry Waters went plump on his knees,

While the sound, though prolong'd, died away by degrees:

In its last sinking echoes, however, were some

Which, Bill could not help thinking, resembled a drum!

'Hollo! Waters!-- I says,'

Quoth he in amaze,

'Why, I never see'd nuffin in all my born days

Half so queer

As this here,

And I'm not very clear

But that one of us two has good reason for fear --

You to jaw about drummers with nobody near us!--

I must say as how that I thinks it's mysterus.'

'Oh, mercy!' roar'd Waters, 'do keep him off, Bill,

And, Andrew, forgive!-- I'll confess all!-- I will!

I'll make a clean breast,

And as for the rest,

You may do with me just what the lawyers think best

But haunt me not thus!-- let these visitings cease,

And your vengeance accomplish'd, Boy, leave me in peace!'

-- Harry paused for a moment,-- then turning to Bill,

Who stood with his mouth open, steady and still,

Began 'spinning' what nauticals term 'a tough yarn,'

Viz.: his tale of what Bill call'd 'this precious consarn,'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'It was in such an hour as this,

On such a wild and wintry day,

The forked lightning seem'd to hiss,

As now, athwart our lonely way,

When first these dubious paths I tried --

Yon livid form was by my side!--

'Not livid then -- the ruddy glow

Of life, and youth, and health it bore!

And bloodless was that gory brow,

And cheerful was the smile it wore,

And mildly then those eyes did shine --

-- Those eyes which now are blasting mine!

'They beam'd with confidence and love

Upon my face,-- and Andrew Brand

Had sooner fear'd yon frighten'd dove

Than harm from Gervase Matcham's hand!

-- I am no Harry Waters -- men

Did call me Gervase Matcham then.

'And Matcham, though a humble name,

Was stainless as the feathery flake

From Heaven, whose virgin whiteness came

Upon the newly-frozen lake;

Commander, comrade, all began

To laud the Soldier,-- like the Man.

'Nay, muse not, William,-- I have said

I was a soldier -- staunch and true

As any he above whose head

Old England's lion banner flew;

And, duty done,-- her claim apart,--

'Twas said I had a kindly heart.

'And years roll'd on, and with them came

Promotion -- Corporal -- Sergeant -- all

In turn -- I kept mine honest fame --

Our Colonel's self,-- whom men did call

The veriest Martinet -- ev'n he,

Though cold to most, was kind to me!--

'One morn -- oh! may that morning stand

Accursed in the rolls of fate

Till latest time!-- there came command

To carry forth a charge of weight

To a detachment far away,--

-- It was their regimental pay!--

'And who so fit for such a task

As trusty Matcham, true and tried,

Who spurn'd the inebriating flask,

With honour for his constant guide?--

On Matcham fell their choice -- and He,--

'Young Drum,'-- should bear him company!

'And grateful was that sound to hear,

For he was full of life and joy,

The mess-room pet -- to each one dear

Was that kind, gay, light-hearted boy.

-- The veriest churl in all our band

Had aye a smile for Andrew Brand.--

'-- Nay, glare not as I name thy name!

That threatening hand, that fearful brow

Relax -- avert that glance of flame!

Thou see'st I do thy bidding now!

Vex'd Spirit, rest!--'twill soon be o'er,--

Thy blood shall cry to Heav'n no more!

'Enough -- we journey'd on --the walk

Was long,-- and dull and dark the day,--

And still young Andrew's cheerful talk

And merry laugh beguiled the way;

Noon came, a sheltering bank was there,--

We paused our frugal meal to share.

'Then 'twas, with cautious hand, I sought

To prove my charge secure,-- and drew

The packet from my vest, and brought

The glittering mischief forth to view,

And Andrew cried,--No!--'twas not He!--

It was THE TEMPTER spoke to me!

'But it was Andrew's laughing voice

That sounded in my tingling ear,

--"Now, Gervase Matcham, at thy choice,"

It seem'd to say, "are gauds and gear.

And all that wealth can buy or bring,

Ease,-- wassail,-- worship,-- every thing!

'"No tedious drill, no long parade,

No bugle call at early dawn;

For guard-room bench, or barrack bed,

The downy couch, the sheets of lawn;

And I thy Page,-- thy steps to tend,

Thy sworn companion,-- servant,-- friend!"

'He ceased -- that is, I heard no more,

Though other words pass'd idly by,

And Andrew chatter'd as before,

And laugh'd -- I mark'd him not -- not I.

'"Tis at thy choice!" that sound alone

Rang in mine ear -- voice else was none.

'I could not eat,-- the untasted flask

Mock'd my parch'd lip,-- I pass'd it by.

"What ails thee, man?" he seem'd to ask.--

I felt, but could not meet his eye.--

'"Tis at thy choice!"-- it sounded yet--

A sound I never may forget.

--'"Haste! haste! the day draws on," I cried,

"And Andrew, thou hast far to go!"--

"Hast far to go!" the Fiend replied

Within me,--'twas not Andrew -- no!

'Twas Andrew's voice no more --'twas He

Whose then I was, and aye must be!

-- On, on we went:-- the dreary plain

Was all around us -- we were Here!

Then came the storm,-- the lightning,-- rain,--

No earthly living thing was near,

Save one wild Raven on the wing,

-- If that, indeed, were earthly thing!

'I heard its hoarse and screaming voice

High hovering o'er my frenzied head,

'"Tis Gervase Matcham, at thy choice!

But he -- the Boy!" methought it said.

-- Nay, Andrew, check that vengeful frown,--

I loved thee when I struck thee down!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

''Twas done! the deed that damns me -- done

I know not how -- I never knew;--

And Here I stood -- but not alone,--

The prostrate Boy my madness slew,

Was by my side -- limb, feature, name,

'Twas HE!!-- another -- yet the same!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Away! away! in frantic haste

Throughout that live-long night I flew --

Away! away!-- across the waste,--

I know not how -- I never knew.--

My mind was one wild blank -- and I

Had but one thought,-- one hope -- to fly!

'And still the lightning plough'd the ground,

The thunder roar'd--and there would come

Amidst its loudest bursts a sound

Familiar once -- it was -- A DRUM!--

Then came the morn,-- and light,-- and then

Streets,-- houses,-- spires,-- the hum of men.

'And Ocean roll'd before me -- fain

Would I have whelm'd me in its tide,

At once beneath the billowy main

My shame, my guilt, my crime to hide;

But HE was there!-- HE crossed my track,--

I dared not pass -- HE waved me back!

'And then rude hands detain'd me -- sure

Justice had grasp'd her victim -- no!

Though powerless, hopeless, bound, secure,

A captive thrall, it was not so;

They cry 'The Frenchman's on the wave!'

The press was hot -- and I a slave.

'They dragg'd me o'er the vessel's side;

The world of waters roll'd below;

The gallant ship in all her pride

Of dreadful beauty sought her foe;

-- Thou saw'st me; William in the strife --

Alack! I bore a charmed life!

'In vain the bullets round me fly,

In vain mine eager breast I bare;

Death shuns the wretch who longs to die,

And every sword falls edgeless there!

Still HE is near;-- and seems to cry,

"Not here, nor thus, may Matcham die!"--

'Thou saw'st me on that fearful day,

When, fruitless all attempts to save,

Our pinnace foundering in the bay,

The boat's-crew met a watery grave,--

All, all -- save one -- the ravenous sea

That swallow'd all -- rejected Me!

'And now, when fifteen suns have each

Fulfill'd in turn its circling year,

Thrown back again on England's beach,

Our bark paid off -- HE drives me Here!

I could not die in flood or fight--

He drives me HERE!!'--

'And sarve you right!

What! bilk your Commander!-- desart -- and then rob!

And go scuttling a poor little Drummer-boy's nob;

Why, my precious eyes! what a bloodthirsty swab!--

There's old Davy Jones,

Who cracks sailors' bones

For his jaw-work, would never, I'm sure, s'elp me Bob,

Have come for to go for to do sich a job!

Hark ye, Waters,-- or Matcham,-- whichever's your purser-name,

-- T'other, your own, is, I'm sartain, the worser name,--

Twelve years have we lived on like brother and brother!

Now -- your course lays one way, and mine lays another!'--

'No, William, it may not be so;

Blood calls for blood!--'tis Heaven's decree!

And thou with me this night must go,

And give me to the gallows-tree!

Ha!-- see -- He smiles -- He points the way!

On, William, on!-- no more delay!'

Now Bill,-- so the story, as told to me, goes,

And who, as his last speech sufficiently shows,

Was a 'regular trump,'-- did not like to 'turn Nose;'

But then came a thunder-clap louder than any

Of those that preceded, though they were so many:

And hark!--as its rumblings subside in a hum,

What sound mingles too?-- By the hokey-- A DRUM!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I remember I once heard my Grandfather say,

That some sixty years since he was going that way,

When they show'd him the spot

Where the gibbet -- was -- not --

On which Matcham's corse had been hung up to rot;

It had fall'n down -- but how long before, he'd forgot;

And they told him, I think, at the Bear in Devizes,

The town where the Sessions are held,-- or the 'Sizes,

That Matcham confess'd,

And made a clean breast

To the May'r; but that after he'd had a night's rest,

And the storm had subsided, he 'pooh-pooh'd' his friend,

Swearing all was a lie from beginning to end;

Said 'he'd only been drunk --

hat his spirits had sunk

At the thunder -- the storm put him into a funk,--

That, in fact, he had nothing at all on his conscience,

And found out, in short, he'd been talking great nonsense.'--

But now one Mr. Jones

Comes forth and depones

That fifteen years since, he had heard certain groans

On his way to Stonehenge (to examine the stones

Described in a work of the late Sir John Soane's,)

That he'd follow'd the moans, And, led by their tones,

Found a Raven a-picking a Drummer-boy's bones!--

-- Then the Colonel wrote word

From the King's Forty-third,

That the story was certainly true which they'd heard,

For, that one of their drummers, and one Sergeant Matcham,

Had 'brush'd with the dibs,' and they never could catch 'em.

So Justice was sure, though a long time she'd lagg'd,

And the Sergeant, in spite of his 'Gammon,' got 'scragg'd;'

And people averr'd

That an ugly black bird,

The Raven, 'twas hinted, of whom we have heard,

Though the story, I own, appears rather absurd,

Was seen (Gervase Matcham not being interr'd),

To roost all that night on the murderer's gibbet;

An odd thing, if so, and it may be a fib -- it,

However's a thing Nature's laws don't prohibit.

-- Next morning they add, that 'black gentleman' flies out

Having picked Matcham's nose off, and gobbled his eyes out!

MORAL.

Avis au Voyageur.

Imprimis.

If you contemplate walking o'er Salisbury plain,

Consult Mr. Murphy, or Moore, and refrain

From selecting a day when it's likely to rain!

2°

When trav'lling, don't 'flash'

Your notes or your cash

Before other people -- it's foolish and rash!

3°

At dinner be cautious, and note well your party!--

There's little to dread where the appetite's hearty,--

But mind and look well to your purse and your throttle

When you see a man shirking, and passing his bottle!

4°

If you chance to be needy,

Your coat and hat seedy,

In war time especially never go out

When you've reason to think there's a press-gang about!

5°

Don't chatter, nor tell people all that you think,

Nor blab secrets,-- especially when you're in drink.--

But keep your own counsel in all that you do!

-- Or a Counsel may, some day or other, keep you.

6°

Discard superstition!-- and don't take a post,

If you happen to see one at night, for a Ghost!

-- Last of all, if by choice or convenience you're led

To cut a man's throat, or demolish his head,

Don't do 't in a thunder-storm -- wait for the summer!

And mind, above all things, the MAN'S NOT A DRUMMER!!

Among a bundle of letters I find one from Sucklethumubkin,

dated from London, and containing his version of perhaps the

greatest theatrical Civil War since the celebrated 'O. P. row.'

As the circumstances are now become matter of history, and poor

Doldrum himself has been, alas! for some time the denizen of a

far different 'House,' I have ventured to preserve it. Perhaps

it may be unnecessary to add, that my ilonourable friend has of

late taken to Poetry and goes without his cravat.

A ROW IN AN OMNIBUS (BOX): A LEGEND OF THE HAYMARKET.

Omnibus hoc vitium cantoribus.-- Hor.

DOL-DRUM the Manager sits in his chair,

With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air,

And he says, as he slaps his hand on his knee,

'I'll have nothing to do with Fiddle-de-dee!'

--'But Fiddle-de-dee sings clear and loud,

And his trills and his quavers astonish the crowd;

Such a singer as he

You'll nowhere see;

They'll all be screaming for Fiddle-de-dee!'

--'Though Fiddle-de-dee sings loud and clear,

And his tones are sweet, yet his terms are dear!

The "glove won't fit!"

The deuce a bit.

I shall give an engagement to Fal-de-ral-tit!'

The Prompter bow'd, and he went to his stall,

And the green baize rose at the Prompter's call,

And Fal-de-ral-tit sang fol-de-rol-lol;

But, scarce had he done

When a 'row' begun,

Such a noise was never heard under the sun.

'Fiddle-de-dee!--

Where is he?

He's the Artiste whom we all want to see!--

Dol-drum!-- Dol-drum!--

Bid the Manager come

It's a scandalous thing to exact such a sum

For boxes and gallery, stalls and pit,

And then fob us off with a Fal-de-ral-tit!

Deuce a bit!

We'll never submit!

Vive Fiddle-de-dee! à bas Fal-de-ral-tit!'

Dol-drum the Manager rose from his chair,

With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air!

But he smooth'd his brow

As he well knew how,

And he walked on, and made a most elegant bow,

And he paused, and he smiled, and advanced to the lights

In his opera hat, and his opera-tights;

'Ladies and gentlemen,' then said he,

'Pray what may you please to want with me?'

'Fiddle-de-dee!--

Fiddle-de-dee!'

Folks of all sorts and of every degree,

Snob, and Snip, and haughty Grandee,

Duchesses, Countesses, fresh from their tea,

And Shopmen, who'd only come there for a spree,

Halloo'd, and hooted, and roar'd with glee

'Fiddle-de-dee!--

None but He!--

Subscribe to his terms, whatever they be!--

Agree, agree, or you'll very soon see

In a brace of shakes we'll get up an O.P.!'

Dol-drum the Manager, full of care,

With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air,

Looks distrest,

And he bows his best,

And he puts his right hand on the side of his breast,

And he says,-- says he,

'We can't agree;

His terms are a vast deal too high for me,--

There's the rent, and the rates, and the sesses, and taxes--

I can't afford Fiddle-de-dee what he axes.

If you'll only permit

Fal-de-ral-tit--'

The 'Generous Public' cried 'Dence a bit!

Dol-drum!-- Dol-drum!--

We'll none of us come.

It's "No Go!"--it's "Gammon!"--it's "all a Hum:"--

You're a miserly Jew!-- "Cock-a-doodle-do!"

He don't ask too much, as you know -- so you do --

It's a shame -- it's a sin -- it's really too bad --

You ought to be 'shamed of yourself -- so you had!'

Dol-drum the Manager never before

In his lifetime had heard such a wild uproar.

Dol-drum the Manager turn'd to flee;

But he says -- says he, 'Mort de ma vie!

I shall nevare engage vid dat Fiddle-de-dee!'

Then all the gentlefolks flew in a rage,

And they jump'd from the Omnibus on to the Stage,

Lords, Squires, and Knights, they came down to the lights,

In their opera-hats, and their opera-tights.

Ma'am'selle Cherrytoes

Shook to her very toes,

She couldn't hop on, so hopp'd off on her merry toes.

And the 'evening concluded' with 'Three times three!'

'Hip -- hip!-- hurrah! for Fiddle-de-dee!'

Dol-drum the Manager, full of care,

With a troubled brow and dissatisfied air,

Saddest of men,

Sat down, and then

Took from his table a Perryan-pen,

And he wrote to the 'News,'

How MacFuze and Tregooze,

Lord Tomnoddy, Sir Carnaby Jenks of the Blues,

And the whole of their tail, and the separate crews

Of the Tags and the Rags, and the No-one-knows-whos,

Had combined Monsieur Fal-de-ral-tit to abuse,

And make Dol-drum agree

With Fiddle-de-dee,

Who was not a bit better singer than he.

-- Dol-drum declared 'he never could see,

For the life of him, yet, why Fiddle-de-dee,

Who in B flat, or C,

Or whatever the key,

Could never at any time get below G,

Should expect a fee the same in degree

As the great Burlybumbo who sings double D.'--

Then slily he added a little N.B.,

'If they'd have him in Paris he'd not come to me!'

The Manager rings,

And the Prompter springs

To his side in a jiffy, and with him he brings

A set of those odd-looking envelope things,

Where Britannia (who seems to be crucified) flings

To her right and her left, funny people with wings

Amongst Elephants, Quakers, and Catabaw Kings;

And a taper and wax

And small Queen's heads in packs,

Which, when notes are too big, you're to stick on their backs.

Dol-drum the Manager seal'd with care

The letter and copies he'd written so fair,

And sat himself down with a satisfied air;

Without delay

He sent them away,

In time to appear in 'our columns' next day!

Dol-drum the Manager, full of care,

Walk'd on to the stage with an anxious air,

And peep'd through the curtain to see who were there.

There was MacFuze,

And Lieutenant Tregooze,

And there was Sir Carnaby Jenks of the Blues,

And the Tags, and the Rags, and the No-one-knows-whos;

And the green-baize rose at the Prompter's call,

And they all began to hoot, bellow, and bawl,

And cry 'Cock-a-doodle,' and scream and squall

'Dol-drum!-- Dol-drum!--

Bid the Manager come!'

You'd have thought from the tones

Of their hisses and groans,

They were bent upon breaking his (Opera) bones.

And Dol-drum comes, and he says -- says he,

'Pray what may you please to want with me?'--

'Fiddle-de-dee!--

Fiddle-de-dee!--

We'll have nobody give us sol fa but He!

For he's the Artiste whom we all want to see.'

-- Manager Dol-drum says -- says he --

(And he looks like an owl in 'a hollow beech-tree')

'Well, since I see

The thing must be,

I'll sign an agreemeut with Fiddle-de-dee!'

Then Mac Fuze, and Tregooze,

And Jenks of the Blues

And the Tags, and the Rags, and the No-one-knows-whos,

Extremely delighted to hear such good news,

Desist from their shrill 'Cock-a-doodle-doos.'

'Vive Fiddle-de-dee!

Dol-drum and He!

They are jolly good fellows as ever need be!

And so's Burlybumbo, who sings double D!

And whenever they sing, why, we'll all come and see!

So, after all

This terrible squall,

Fiddle-de-dee

's at the top of the tree,

And Dol-drum and Fal-de-ral-tit sing small!

Now Fiddle-de-dee sings loud and clear

At I can't tell you how many thousands a year,

And Fal-de-ral-tit is considered 'Small Beer;'

And Ma'am'selle Cherrytoes

Sports her merry toes

Dancing away to the fiddles and flutes,

In what the folks call a 'Lithuanian' in boots.

So here's an end to my one, two, and three;

And bless the Queen -- and long live She!

And grant that there never again may be

Such a halliballoo as we've happen'd to see

About nothing on earth but 'Fiddle-de-dee!'

We come now to the rummaging of Father John's stores. The

extracts which I shall submit from them are of the same

character as those formerly derived from the same source, and

may be considered as theologico-historical, or Tracts for his

times.

With respect to the first legend on this list, I have to

remark that, though the good Father is silent on the subject,

there is every reason to believe that the 'little curly-wigged'

gentleman, who plays, though passively, so prominent a part in

it, had Ingoldsby blood in his veins. This conjecture is

supported by the fact of the arms of Scroope, impaling

Ingoldsby, being found, as in the Bray case, in one of the

windows, and by a very old marriage-settlement nearly, or

quite, illegible, a fac-simile of the seal affixed to which is

appended to this true history.

THE LAY OF ST. CUTHBERT; OR THE DEVIL'S DINNER-PARTY:

A LEGEND OF THE NORTH COUNTREE.

'Nobilis quidam, cui nomen Monsr. Lescrop, Chivaler, cum

invitasset convivas, et, hora convivii jam instante et apparatu

facto, spe frustratus esset, excusantibus se convivis cur non

compararent, prorupit iratus in hæc verba: "Veniant igitur

omnes dæmones, si nullus hominum mecum esse potest!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Quod cum fieret, et Dominus, et famuli, et ancillæ, a

domo properantes, forte obliti, infantem in cunis jacentem

secum non auferunt. Dæmones incipiunt comessari et vociferari,

prospicereque per fenestras formis ursorum, luporum, felium, et

monstrare pocula vino repleta. Ah, inquit pater, ubi infans

meus? Vix cum hæc dixisset, unus ex Dæmonibus, ulnis suis

infantem ad fenestram gestat, &c.'-- Chronicon de Bolton.

It's in Bolton Hall, and the Clock strikes One,

And the roast meat's brown and the boil'd meat's done,

And the barbecu'd sucking-pig's crisp'd to a turn,

And the pancakes are fried, and beginning to burn;

The fat stubble-goose

Swims in gravy and juice,

With the mustard and apple-sauce ready for use;

Fish, flesh, and fowl, and all of the best,

Want nothing but eating -- they're all ready drest,

But where is the Host and where is the Guest?

Pantler and serving-man, henchman and page,

Stand sniffing the duck-stuffing (onion and sage),

And the scullions and cooks,

With fidgety looks,

Are grumbling and mutt'ring, and scowling as black

As cooks always do when the dinner's put back;

For though the board's deckt, and the napery, fair

As the unsunn'd snow-flake, is spread out with care,

And the Dais is furnish'd with stool and with chair,

And plate of orfèverie costly and rare

Apostle-spoons, salt-cellar all are there,

And Mess John in his place,

With his rubicund face,

And his hands ready folded, prepared to say Grace,

Yet where is the Host?-- and his convives -- where?

The Scroope sits lonely in Bolton Hall,

And he watches the dial that hangs by the wall,

He watches the large hand, he watches the small,

And he fidgets and looks

As cross as the cooks,

And he utters -- a word which we'll soften to 'Zooks!'

And he cries, 'What on earth has become of them all?--

What can delay

De Vaux and De Saye?

What makes Sir Gilbert de Umfraville stay;

What's gone with Poyntz, and Sir Reginald Braye?

Why are Ralph Ufford and Marney away?

And De Nokes and De Stiles, and Lord Marmaduke Grey?

And De Roe?

And De Doe?--

Poynings, and Vavasour -- where be they?

Fitz-Walter, Fitz-Osbert, Fitz-Hugh, and Fitz-John,

And the Mandevilles, père et filz (father and son)?

Their cards said 'Dinner precisely at One!'

There's nothing I hate, in

The world, like waiting!

It's a monstrous great bore, when a Gentleman feels

A good appetite, thus to be kept from his meals!'

It's in Bolton Hall, and the clock strikes Two!

And the scullions and cooks are themselves in 'a stew,'

And the kitchen-maids stand, and don't know what to do,

For the rich plum-puddings are bursting their bags,

And the mutton and turnips are boiling to rags,

And the fish is all spoil'd,

And the butter's all oil'd,

And the soup's got cold in the silver tureen,

And there is nothing, in short, that is fit to be seen!

While Sir Guy Le Scroope continues to fume,

And to fret by himself in the tapestried room,

And still fidgets and looks

More cross than the cooks,

And repeats that bad word, which we've soften'd to 'Zooks!'

Two o'clock's come, and Two o'clock's gone,

And the large and the small hands move steadily on,

Still nobody's there,

No De Roos, or De Clare,

To taste of the Scroope's most delicate fare,

Or to quaff a health unto Bolton's Heir,

That nice little boy who sits there in his chair

Some four years old, and a few months to spare,

With his laughing blue eyes, and his long curly hair,

Now sucking his thumb, and now munching his pear.

Again, Sir Guy the silence broke,

'It's hard upon Three!--I t's just on the stroke!

Come, serve up the dinner!-- A joke is a joke!'--

Little he deems that Stephen de Hoaques,<1>

Who, 'his fun,' as the Yankees say, everywhere 'pokes,'

And is always a great deal too fond of his jokes,

Has written a circular note to De Nokes,

And De Stiles, and De Roe, and the rest of the folks,

One and all, Great and small,

Who were asked to the Hall

To dine there and sup, and wind up with a ball,

And had told all the party a great bouncing lie, he

Cook'd up, that 'the fête was postponed sine die,

The dear little curly-wigg'd heir of La Scroope

Being taken alarmingly ill with the croup!'

When the clock struck Three,

And the Page on his knee

Said 'An't please you, Sir Guy Le Scroope, On a servi!'

And the Knight found the banquet-hall empty and clear,

With nobody near

To partake of his cheer.

He stamp'd and he storm'd -- then his language!-- Oh dear!

'Twas awful to see, and 'twas awful to hear!

And he cried to the button-deck'd Page at his knee,

Who had told him so civilly 'On a servi,'

'Ten thousand fiends seize them, wherever they be!

-- The Devil take them! and the Devil take thee!

And the DEVIL MAY EAT UP THE DINNER FOR ME!!'

In a terrible fume

He bounced out of the room,

He bounced out of the house -- and page, footman, and groom,

Bounced after their master; for scarce had they heard

Of this left-handed Grace the last finishing word,

Ere the horn at the gate of the Barbican tower

Was blown with a loud twenty-trumpeter power,

And in rush'd a troop

Of strange guests!-- such a group

As had ne'er before darken'd the doors of the Scroope!--

This looks like De Saye -- yet -- it is not De Saye --

And this is -- no, 'tis not -- Sir Reginald Braye --

This has somewhat the favour of Marmaduke Grey --

But stay!-- Where on earth did he get those long nails?

Why, they're claws!-- then Good Gracious!-- they've all of them

tails?

That can't be De Vaux -- why his nose is a bill,

Or, I would say a beak!-- and he can't keep it still!--

Is that Poynings?-- Oh Gemini!-- look at his feet!!

Why, they're absolute hoofs!-- is it gout or his corns

That have crumpled them up so?-- by Jingo, he's horns!

Run! run!-- There's Fitz-Walter, Fitz-Hugh, and Fitz-John,

And the Mandevilles, père et filz (father and son),

And Fitz-Osbert, and Ufford -- they've all got them on!

Then their great saucer eyes --

It's the Father of lies

And his Imps -- run! run! run!-- they're all fiends in

disguise,

Who've partly assumed, with more sombre complexions,

The forms of Sir Guy Le Scroope's friends and connexions,

And He -- at the top there -- that grim-looking elf --

Run! run!-- that's the 'muckle-horned Clootie' himself!

And now what a din

Without and within!

For the court-yard is full of them.-- How they begin

To mop, and to mowe, and make faces, and grin!

Cock their tails up together,

Like cows in hot weather,

And butt at each other, all eating and drinking,

The viands and wine disappearing like winking,

And then such a lot

As together had got!

Master Cabbage, the steward, who'd made a machine

To calculate with, and count noses,-- I ween

The cleverest thing of the kind ever seen,--

Declared, when he'd made,

By the said machine's aid,

Up, what now's called the 'tottle' of those he survey'd,

There were just -- how he proved it I cannot divine --

Nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety, and nine.

Exclusive of Him,

Who, giant in limb,

And black as the crow they denominate Jim,

With a tail like a bull, and a head like a bear,

Stands forth at the window,-- and what holds he there,

Which he hugs with such care,

And pokes out in the air,

And grasps as its limbs from each other he'd tear?

Oh! grief and despair!

I vow and declare

It's Le Scroope's poor, dear, sweet, little, curly-wigg'd Heir!

Whom the nurse had forgot, and left there in his chair,

Alternately sucking his thumb and his pear!

What words can express

The dismay and distress

Of Sir Guy, when he found what a terrible mess

His cursing and banning had now got him into?

That words, which to use are a shame and a sin too,

Had thus on their speaker recoil'd, and his malison

Placed in the hands of the Devil's own 'pal' his son!--

He sobb'd and he sigh'd,

And he scream'd, and he cried,

And behaved like a man that is mad, or in liquor,-- he

Tore his peak'd beard, and he dash'd off his 'Vicary,'<2>

Stamped on the jasey

As though he were crazy,

And staggering about just as if he were 'hazy,'

Exclaimed, 'Fifty pounds!' (a large sum in those times)

'To the person, whoever he may be, that climbs

To that window above there, en ogive, and painted,

And bring down my curly-wi'--' here Sir Guy fainted!

With many a moan,

And many a groan,

What with tweaks of the nose, and some eau de Cologne,

He revived,-- Reason once more remounted her throne,

Or rather the instinct of Nature,--'twere treason

To Her, in the Scroope's case, perhaps, to say Reason,--

But what saw he then?-- Oh! my goodness! a sight

Enough to have banished his reason outright!--

In that broad banquet hall

The fiends one and all,

Regardless of shriek, and of squeak, and of squall,

From one to another were tossing that small

Pretty, curly-wigg'd boy, as if playing at ball:

Yet none of his friends or his vassals might dare

To fly to the rescue, or rush up the stair,

And bring down in safety his curly-wigg'd Heir!

Well a day! Well a day!

All he can say

Is but just so much trouble and time thrown away;

Not a man can be tempted to join the mêlée,

E'en those words cabalistic, 'I promise to pay

Fifty pounds on demand,' have, for once, lost their sway,

And there the Knight stands,

Wringing his hands

In his agony -- when on a sudden, one ray

Of hope darts through his midriff!-- His Saint!-- Oh, it's

funny,

And almost absurd, That it never occurr'd!--

'Ay! the Scroope's Patron Saint!-- He's the man for my money!

Saint -- who is it?-- really I'm sadly to blame,--

On my word I'm afraid,-- I confess it with shame,--

That I've almost forgot the good Gentleman's name,--

Cut -- let me see -- Cutbeard?-- no!-- CUTHBERT!-- egad

St. Cuthbert of Bolton!-- I'm right -- he's the lad!

Oh, holy St. Cuthbert, if forbears of mine --

Of myself I say little,-- have knelt at your shrine,

And have lashed their bare backs, and -- no matter -- with

twine,

Oh! list to the vow

Which I make to you now

Only snatch my poor little boy out of the row

Which that Imp's kicking up with his fiendish bow-wow,

And his head like a bear, and his tail like a cow!

Bring him back here in safety!-- perform but this task,

And I'll give!-- Oh!-- I'll give you whatever you ask!--

There is not a shrine

In the County shall shine

With a brilliancy half so resplendent as thine,

Or have so many candles, or look half so fine!--

Haste, holy St. Cuthbert, then,-- hasten in pity!'

-- Conceive his surprise

When a strange voice replies,

'It's a bargain!-- but, mind, sir, The best Spermaceti!'--

Say, whose is that voice?-- whose that form by his side,

That old, old, grey man, with his beard long and wide,

In his coarse Palmer's weeds,

And his cockle and beads?--

And, how did he come?-- did he walk?-- did he ride?

Oh! none could determine,-- oh! none could decide,--

The fact is, I don't believe any one tried,

For while ev'ry one stared, with a dignified stride,

And without a word more,

He march'd on before,

Up a flight of stone steps, and so through the front door,

To the banqueting-hall, that was on the first floor,

While the fiendish assembly were making a rare

Little shuttlecock there of the curly-wigg'd Heir.--

-- I wish, gentle Reader, that you could have seen

The pause that ensued when he stepp'd in between,

With his resolute air, and his dignified mien,

And said, in a tone most decided, though mild,

'Come!-- I'll trouble you just to hand over that child!

The Demoniac crowd

In an instant seem'd cowed,

Not one of the crew volunteer'd a reply,

All shrunk from the glance of that keen-flashing eye,

Save one horrid Humgruffin, who seemed by his talk,

And the airs he assumed, to be Cock of the walk,

He quailed not before it, but saucily met it,

And as saucily said, 'Don't you wish you may get it?'

My goodness!-- the look that the old Palmer gave!

And his frown!--' twas quite dreadful to witness --'Why, slave!

You rascal!' quoth he, 'This language to ME!!

-- At once, Mr. Nicholas! down on your knee,

And hand me that curly-wigg'd boy!-- I command it --

Come!-- none of your nonsense!-- you know I won't stand it.'

Old Nicholas trembled,-- he shook in his shoes.

And seem'd half inclined, but afraid, to refuse.

'Well, Cuthbert,' said he, 'If so it must be,

-- For you've had your own way from the first time I knew ye;--

Take your curly-wigg'd brat, and much good may he do ye!

But I'll have in exchange'-- here his eye flash'd with rage--

'That chap with the buttons -- he gave me the Page!'

'Come, come,' the Saint answer'd, 'you very well know

The young man's no more his than your own to bestow --

Touch one button of his if you dare, Nick -- no! no!

Cut your stick, sir -- come, mizzle!-- be off with you!-- go!'-

-

The Devil grew hot --' If I do I'll be shot!

An you come to that, Cuthbert, I'll tell you what's what;

He has asked us to dine here, and go we will not!

Why, you Skinflint,-- at least

You may leave us the feast!

Here we've come all that way from our brimstone abode,

Ten million good leagues, Sir, as ever you strode,

And the deuce of a luncheon we've had on the road --

--'Go!'--'Mizzle!' indeed -- Mr. Saint, who are you,

I should like to know?--'Go?'-- I'll be hanged if I do!

He invited us all -- we've a right here -- it's known

That a Baron may do what he likes with his own --

Here, Asmodeus -- a slice of that beef;-- now the mustard!--

What have you got?-- oh, apple-pie -- try it with custard!'

The Saint made a pause

As uncertain, because

He knew Nick is pretty well 'up' in the laws,

And they might be on his side -- and then he'd such claws!

On the whole, it was better, he thought, to retire

With the curly-wigg'd boy he'd pick'd out of the fire,

And give up the victuals -- to retrace his path,

And to compromise --(spite of the Member for Bath).

So to Old Nick's appeal,

As he turn'd on his heel,

He replied, 'Well, I'll leave you the mutton and veal,

And the soup à la Reine, and the sauce Bechamel

As The Scroope did invite you to dinner, I feel

I can't well turn you out --'twould be hardly genteel --

But be moderate, pray,-- and remember thus much,

Since you're treated as Gentlemen, show yourselves such,

And don't make it late,

But mind and go straight

Home to bed when you've finish'd -- and don't steal the plate!

Nor wrench off the knocker, or bell from the gate.

Walk away, like respectable Devils, in peace,

And don't 'lark' with the watch, or annoy the police!'

Having thus said his say,

That Palmer grey

Took up little Le Scroope, and walk'd coolly away,

While the Demons all set up a 'Hip! hip! hurray!'

Then fell, tooth and claw, on the victuals, as they

Had been guests at Guildhall upon Lord Mayor's day,

All scrambling and scuffling for what was before 'em,

No care for precedence or common decorum.

Few ate more hearty

Than Madam Astarte,

And Hecate,--c onsidered the Belles of the party.

Between them was seated Leviathan, eager

To 'do the polite,' and take wine with Belphegor;

Here was Morbleu (a French devil), supping soup-meagre,

And there, munching leeks, Davy Jones of Tredegar

(A Welsh one), who'd left the domains of Ap Morgan

To 'follow the sea,'-- and next him Demogorgon,--

Then Pan with his pipes, and Fauns grinding the organ

To Mammon and Belial, and half a score dancers,

Who'd joined with Medusa to get up 'the Lancers;'

-- Here's Lucifer lying blind drunk with Scotch ale,

While Beëlzebub's tying huge knots in his tail.

There's Setebos, storming because Mephistopheles

Gave him the lie,

Said he'd 'blacken his eye,'

And dash'd in his face a whole cup of hot coffee-lees;--

Ramping and roaring,

Hiccoughing, snoring,

Never was seen such a riot before in

A gentleman's house, or such profligate revelling

At any soirée -- where they don't let the Devil in.

Hark!-- as sure as fate

The clock's striking Eight!

(An hour which our ancestors called 'getting late,')

When Nick, who by this time was rather elate,

Rose up and addressed them. ''Tis full time,' he said,

'For all elderly Devils to be in their bed;

For my own part I mean to be jogging, because

I don't find myself now quite so young as I was;

But, Gentlemen, ere I depart from my post,

I must call on you all for one bumper -- the toast

Which I have to propose is,-- OUR EXCELLENT HOST!

-- Many thanks for his kind hospitality -- may

We also be able,

To see at our table

Himself, and enjoy, in a family way,

His good company down stairs at no distant day!

You'd,

I'm sure, think me rude

If I did not include

In the toast my young friend there, the curly-wigg'd Heir!

He's in very good hands, for you're all well aware

That St. Cuthbert has taken him under his care;

Though I must not say 'bless,'--

-- Why you'll easily guess,--

May our curly-wigg'd Friend's shadow never be less!'

Nick took off his heel-taps -- bow'd -- smiled -- with an air

Most graciously grim,-- and vacated the chair.--

Of course the élite

Rose at once on their feet,

And followed their leader, and beat a retreat;

When a sky-larking Imp took the President's seat,

And, requesting that each would replenish his cup,

Said, 'Where we have dined, my boys, there let us sup!'--

-- It was three in the morning before they broke up!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I scarcely need say

Sir Guy didn't delay

To fulfil his vow made to St. Cuthbert, or pay

For the candles he'd promised, or make light as day

The shrine he assured him he'd render so gay.

In fact, when the votaries came there to pray,

All said there was nought to compare with it -- nay,

For fear that the Abbey

Might think he was shabby,

Four Brethren thenceforward, two cleric, two lay,

He ordained, should take charge of a new-founded chantry,

With six marcs apiece, and some claims on the pantry;

In short, the whole County Declared, through his bounty

The Abbey of Bolton exhibited fresh scenes

From any displayed since Sir William de Meschines,<3>

And Cecily Roumeli came to this nation

With William the Norman, and laid its foundation.

For the rest, it is said,

And I know I have read

In some Chronicle -- whose, has gone out of my head- -

That, what with these candles, and other expenses,

Which no man would go to if quite in his senses,

He reduced, and brought low

His property so,

That, at last, he'd not much of it left to bestow;

And that, many years after that terrible feast,

Sir Guy, in the Abbey, was living a Priest;

And there, in one thousand -- and something,-- deceased.

(It's supposed by this trick

He bamboozled Old Nick,

And slipped through his fingers remarkably 'slick.')

While, as to young Curly-wig,-- dear little Soul,

Would you know more of him, you must look at 'The Roll,'

Which records the dispute,

And the subsequent suit,

Commenced in 'Thirteen sev'nty-five,'-- which took root

In Le Grosvenor's assuming the arms Le Scroope swore

That none but his ancestors, ever before,

In foray, joust, battle, or tournament wore,

To wit, 'On a Prussian-blue Field, a Bend Or;'

While the Grosvenor averred that his ancestors bore

The same, and Scroope lied like a -- somebody tore

Off the simile,-- so I can tell you no more,

Till some A double S shall the fragment restore.<4>

MORAL.

This Legend sound maxims exemplifies -- e.g.

1mo. Should anything tease you

Annoy, or displease you,

Remember what Lilly says, 'Animum rege!'<5>

And as for that shocking bad habit of swearing,--

In all good society voted past bearing,--

Eschew it! and leave it to dustmen and mobs,

Nor commit yourself much beyond 'Zooks!' or 'Odsbobs!'

2do. When asked out to dine by a Person of Quality,

Mind, and observe the most strict punctuality!

For should you come late, And make dinner wait,

And the victuals get cold, you'll incur, sure as fate,

The Master's displeasure, the Mistress's hate.

And -- though both may, perhaps, be too well-bred to swear,--

They'll heartily wish you -- I need not say Where.

3tio. Look well to your Maid-servants!-- say you expect them

To see to the children, and not to neglect them!

And if you're a widower, just throw a cursory

Glance in, at times, when you go near the Nursery.

-- Perhaps it's as well to keep children from plums,

And from pears in the season,-- and sucking their thumbs!

4to. To sum up the whole with a 'Saw' of much use,

Be just and be generous,-- don't be profuse!--

Pay the debts that you owe,-- keep your word to your friends,

But -- DON'T SET YOUR CANDLES ALIGHT AT BOTH ENDS!!--

For of this be assured, if you 'go it' too fast,

You'll be 'dish'd' like Sir Guy,

And like him perhaps, die

A poor, old, half-starved, Country Parson at last!

NOTES.

1. For a full account of this facetious 'Chivaler' see the late

(oh! that we should have to say 'late!') Theodore Hook's

'History of the illustrious Commoners of Great Britain,' as

quoted in the Memoirs of John Bragg, Esq., page 344 of the 75th

Volume of the Standard Novels. In the third Volume of Sir

Harris Nicolas's elaborate account of the Scroope and Grosvenor

controversy, commonly called the 'Scrope Roll,' a Stephen de

Hoques, Ecuyer, is described as giving his testimony on the

Grosvenor side. Vide page 247.

2. A peruke so named from its inventor. Rober de Ros and Eudo

Fitz-Vicari were celebrated perruquiers, who flourished in the

eleventh century. The latter is noticed in the Battle-Abbey

roll, and is said to have curled William the Conqueror's hair

when dressing for the battle of Hastings. Dugdale makes no

mention of him, but Camden says, that Humfrey, one of his

descendants, was summoned to Parliament, 26 Jan. 25 Edw. I.

(1297). It is doubtful, however, whether that writ can be

deemed a regular writ of summons to Parliament, for reasons

amply detailed in the 'Synopsis of the British Peerage.'--(Art.

Fitz-John.) A writ was subsequently addressed to him as 'Humfry

Fitz-Vicari, Chivr.' 8 Jan. 6 Edw. II. (1313), and his

descendants appear to have been regularly summoned as late as 5

and 6 of Phillip and Mary, 1557-8. Soon after which Peter Fitz-

Vicari dying, S. P. M. this barony went into abeyance between

his two daughters, Joan, married to Henry de Truefit of

Fullbottom, and Alice, wife of Roger Wigram, of Caxon Hall, in

Wigton, co. Cumb. Esq., among whose representatives it is

presumed to be still in abeyance.

3. Vide Dugdale's Monasticon, Art. Prioratus de Bolton, in

agre Eboracensi.

4. It is with the greatest satisfaction I learn from Mr.

Simpkinson this consummation, so devoutly to be wished, is

about to be realised, and that the remainder of this most

interesting document, containing the whole of the defendant's

evidence, will appear in the course of the ensuing summer,

under the same auspices as the former portion. We shall look

with eagerness for the identification of 'Curly-wig.'

5. Animum rege! qui nisi paret, imperat.-- LILLY'S Grammar.

For the Legend that follows Father John has, it will be

seen, the grave authority of a Romish Prelate. The good Father,

who, as I have before had occasion to remark, received his

education at Douai, spent several years, in the earlier part of

his life, upon the Continent. I have no doubt but that during

this period he visited Blois, and there, in all probability,

picked up, in the very scene of its locality, the history which

he has thus recorded.

THE LAY OF ST ALOYS: A LEGEND OF BLOIS.

'S. Heloïus in hâc urbe fuit episcopus, qui, defunctus,

sepulturus est a fidelibus. Nocte autem sequenti, veniens

quidam paganus lapidem, qui sarcophagum, tegebat, revolvit,

erectumque contra se corpús Sancti spoliare conatur. At ille,

lacertis constrictum, ad se hominem fortiter amplexatur, et

usque mane, populis spectantibus, tanquam constipatum loris,

ita miserum brachiis detinebat . . . . . Judex loci sepulchri

violatorem jubet abstrahi, et legali poenæ sententiâ

condemnari; sed non laxabatur a Sancto. Tunc intelligens

voluntatem defuncti, Judex, factâ de vitâ promissione,

absolvit, deinde laxatur, et sic incolumis redditur: non vero

fur demissus quin se vitam monastericam amplexurum

spopondisset.'-- Greg: Turonens: de Gloriâ Confessorum.

Saint Aloys

Was the Bishop of Blois,

And a pitiful man was he,

He grieved and he pined

For the woes of mankind,

And of brutes in their degree,--

He would rescue the rat

From the claws of the cat,

And set the poor captive free;

Though his cassock was swarming

With all sorts of vermin,

He'd not take the life of a flea!--

Kind, tender, forgiving

To all things living,

From injury still he'd endeavour to screen 'em,

Fish, flesh, or fowl,-- no difference between 'em--

NIHIL PUTAVIT A SE ALIENUM.

The Bishop of Blois was a holy man,--

A holy man was he!

For Holy Church

He'd seek and he'd search

As a Bishop in his degree.

From foe and from friend

He'd 'rap and he'd rend,'

To augment her treasurie.

Nought would he give, and little he'd lend,

That Holy Church might have more to spend --

'Count Stephen'<1> (of Blois) 'was a worthy Peer,

His breeches cost him but a crown,

He held them sixpence all too dear,

And so he call'd the Tailor lown!'--

Had it been the Bishop instead of the Count,

And he'd overcharged him to half the amount,

He had knock'd that Tailor down!--

Not for himself!--

He despised the pelf;

He dress'd in sackcloth, he dined off delf;

And, when it was cold, in lieu of a surtout,

The good man would wrap himself up in his virtue,<2>

Alack! that a man so holy as he,

So frank and free in his degree,

And so good and so kind, should mortal be!

Yet so it is -- for loud and clear

From St. Nicholas' tower, on the listening ear,

With solemn swell

The deep-toned bell

Flings to the gale the funeral knell;

And hark!-- at its sound, as a cunning old hound,

When he opens, at once causes all the young whelps

Of the cry to put in their less dignified yelps,

So -- the little bells all,

No matter how small,

From the steeples both inside and outside the wall,

With bell-metal throat

Respond to the note,

And join the lament that a prelate so pious is

Forced thus to leave his disconsolate diocese,

Or, as Blois' Lord May'r

Is heard to declare,

'Should leave this here world for to go to that there.'

And see, the portals opening wide,

From the Abbey flows the living tide;

Forth from the doors

The torrent pours,

Acolytes, Monks, and Friars in scores,

This with his chasuble, that with his rosary,

This from his incense-pot turning his nose awry,

Holy Father, and Holy Mother,

Holy Sister, and Holy Brother,

Holy Son and Holy Daughter,

Holy Wafer, and Holy Water;

Every one drest

Like a guest in his best,

In the smartest of clothes they're permitted to wear

Serge, sackcloth, and shirts of the same sort of hair

As now we make use of to stuff an arm-chair,

Or weave into gloves at three shillings a pair,

And employ for shampooing in cases rheumatic,-- a

Special specific, I'm told, for Sciatica.

Through groined arch, and by cloister'd stone,

With mosses and ivy long o'ergrown,

Slowly the throng

Come passing along,

With many a chaunt and solemn song,

Adapted for holidays, high-days, and Sundays,

Dies iræ, and De profundis,

Miserere, and Domine dirige nos,--

Such as, I hear, to a very slow tune are all

Commonly chaunted by Monks at a funeral,

To secure the defunct's repose,

And to give a broad hint to Old Nick, should the news

Of a prelate's decease bring him there on a cruise,

That he'd better be minding his P's and his Q's,

And not come too near,-- since they can, if they choose,

Make him shake in his hoofs -- as he does not wear shoes.

Still on they go,

A goodly show,

With footsteps sure, though certainly slow,

Two by two in a very long row;

With feathers, and Mutes

In morning suits,

Undertaker's men walking in hat-bands and boots,--

Then comes the Crozier, all jewels and gold,

Borne by a lad about eighteen years old;

Next, on a black velvet cushion, the Mitre,

Borne by a younger boy, 'cause it is lighter.

Eight Franciscans, sturdy and strong,

Bear, in the midst, the good Bishop along;

Eight Franciscans, stout and tall,

Walk at the corners, and hold up the pall;

Eight more hold a canopy high over all,

With eight Trumpeters tooting the Dead March in Saul.--

Behind, as Chief Mourner, the Lord Abbot goes, his

Monks coming after him, all with posies,

And white pocket-handkerchiefs up at their noses,

Which they blow whenever his Lordship blows his --

And oh! 'tis a comely sight to see

How Lords and Ladies, of high degree,

Vail, as they pass, upon bended knee,

While quite as polite are the Squires and the Knights,

In their helmets, and hauberks, and cast-iron tights.

Ay, 'tis a comely sight to behold,

As the company march

Through the rounded arch

Of that Cathedral old!--

Singers behind 'em, and singers before 'em,

All of them ranging in due decorum,

Around the inside of the Sanctum Sanctorum,

While, brilliant and bright,

An unwonted light

(I forgot to premise this was all done at night)

The links, and the torches, and flambeaux shed

On the sculptured forms of the Mighty Dead,

That rest below, mostly buried in lead,

And above, recumbent in grim repose,

With their mailed hose,

And their dogs at their toes,

And little boys kneeling beneath them in rows,

Their hands join'd in pray'r, all in very long clothes,

With inscriptions on brass, begging each who survives,

As they some of them seem to have led so-so lives,

To Praie for the Sowles of themselves and their wives.-

-

-- The effect of the music, too, really was fine,

When they let the good prelate down into his shrine,

And by old and young The 'Requiem' was sung;

Not vernacular French, but a classical tongue,

That is -- Latin -- I don't think they meddled with Greek --

In short, the whole thing produced -- so to speak --

What in Blois they would call a Coup d'oeil magnifique!

Yet, surely, when the level ray

Of some mild eve's descending sun

Lights on the village pastor, grey

In years ere ours had well begun --

As there -- in simplest vestment clad,

He speaks beneath the churchyard tree,

In solemn tones,-- but yet not sad,--

Of what Man is -- what Man shall be!

And clustering round the grave, half hid

By that same quiet churchyard yew,

The rustic mourners bend, to bid

The dust they loved a last adieu --

-- That ray, methinks, that rests so sheen

Upon each briar-bound hillock green,

So calm, so tranquil, so serene,

Gives us to the eye a fairer scene,--

Speaks to the heart with holier breath

Than all this pageantry of Death.--

But chacun à son gout -- this is talking at random --

We all know 'De gustibus non disputandum!'

So canter back, Muse, to the scene of your story

The Cathedral of Blois --

Where the Sainted Aloys

Is by this time, you'll find, 'left alone in his glory,'

'In the dead of the night,' though with labour opprest,

Some 'mortals' disdain 'the calm blessings of rest;'

Your cracksman, for instance, thinks night-time the best

To break open a door, or the lid of a chest;

And the gipsy who close round your premises prowls,

To ransack your hen-roost, and steal all your fowls,

Always sneaks out at night with the bats and the owls,

-- So do Witches and Warlocks, Ghosts, Goblins, and Ghouls,

To say nothing at all of those troublesome 'Swells'

Who come from the playhouses, 'flash kens,' and 'hells,'

To pull off people's knockers, and ring people's bells.

Well --'tis now the hour

Ill things have power!

And all who, in Blois, entertain honest views,

Have long been in bed, and enjoying a snooze,--

Nought is waking

Save Mischief and 'Faking,'<3>

And a few who are sitting up brewing or baking,

When an ill-looking Infidel, sallow of hue,

Who stands in his slippers some six feet two,

(A rather remarkable height for a Jew),

Creeps cautiously out of the churchwarden's pew,

Into which, during service, he'd managed to slide himself--

While all were intent on the anthem, and hide himself.

From his lurking place,

With stealthy pace,

Through the 'long-drawn aisle' he begins to crawl,

As you see a cat walk on the top of a wall,

When it's stuck full of glass, and she thinks she shall fall.

-- He proceeds to feel

For his flint and his steel,

(An invention on which we've improved a great deal

Of late years -- the substitute best to rely on

's what Jones of the Strand calls his Pyrogeneion,)

He strikes with despatch!-- his Tinder catches!--

Now, where is his candle?-- and where are his matches?--

'Tis done!-- they are found!--

He stands up, and looks round

By the light of a 'dip' of sixteen to the pound!

-- What is it that now makes his nerves to quiver?--

His hand to shake -- and his limbs to shiver?--

Fear?-- Pooh! it is only a touch of the liver--

All is silent -- all is still--

It's 'gammon'-- it's 'stuff!'-- he may do what he will!

Carefully now he approaches the shrine,

In which, as I've mentioned before, about nine,

They had placed in such state the lamented Divine!

But not to worship -- No!-- No such thing!--

His aim is -- TO 'PRIG' THE PASTORAL RING!!

Fancy his fright

When with all his might

Having forced up the lid, which they'd not fasten'd quite,

Of the marble sarcophagus --'All in white'

The dead Bishop started up, bolt upright

On his hinder end,-- and grasped him so tight,

That the clutch of a kite

Or a bull-dog's bite

When he's most provoked and in bitterest spite,

May well be conceived in comparison slight,

And having thus 'tackled' him -- blew out his light!!

Oh, dear! Oh, dear! The fright and the fear!--

No one to hear!-- nobody near!--

In the dead of the night!-- at a bad time of year!--

A defunct Bishop squatting upright on his bier,

And shouting so loud, that the drum of his ear

He thought would have split as these awful words met it--

'AH, HA! MY GOOD FRIEND! DON'T YOU WISH YOU MAY GET IT?'--

Oh, dear! Oh, dear!

'Twas a night of fear!

-- I should just like to know, if the boldest man here,

In his situation would not have felt queer?

The wretched man bawls,

And he yells and he squalls,

But there's nothing responds to his shrieks save the walls,

And the desk, and the pulpit, the pews, and the stalls.

Held firmly at bay,

Kick and plunge as he may,

His struggles are fruitless -- he can't get away,

He really can't tell what to do or to say,

And being a Pagan, don't know how to pray;

Till through the east window, a few streaks of grey

Announce the approach of the dawn of the day!

Oh, a welcome sight

Is the rosy light

Which lovelily heralds a morning bright,

Above all to a wretch kept in durance all night

By a horrid dead gentleman holding him tight,--

Of all sorts of gins that a trespasser can trap,

The most disagreeable kind of a man-trap!

-- Oh! welcome that bell's Matin chime, which tells

To one caught in this worst of all possible snares,

That the hour is arrived to begin Morning Prayers,

And the monks and the friars are coming down stairs!

Conceive the surprise Of the Choir -- how their eyes

Are distended to twice their original size,--

How some begin bless,-- some anathematize,--

And all look on the thief as Old Nick in disguise.

While the mystified Abbot cries, 'Well!-- I declare!--

-- This is really a very mysterious affair!--

Bid the bandy-legg'd Sexton go run for the May'r!'

The May'r and his suite

Are soon on their feet,--

(His worship kept house in the very same street,--)

At once he awakes, 'His compliments' makes,

'He'll be up at the Church in a couple of shakes!'

Meanwhile the whole Convent is pulling and hauling,

And bawling and squalling

And terribly mauling

The thief whose endeavour to follow his calling

Had thus brought him into a grasp so enthralling.--

Now high, now low,

They drag 'to and fro,'--

Now this way, now that way they twist him -- but -- No!--

The glazed eye of St. Aloys distinctly says 'Poh!

You may pull as you please, I shall not let him go!'

Nay, more;-- when his Worship at length came to say

He was perfectly ready to take him away,

And fat him to grace the next Auto-da-fé,

Still closer he prest

The poor wretch to his breast,

While a voice -- though his jaws still together were jamm'd --

Was heard from his chest, 'If you do, I'll --' here slamm'd

The great door of the Church,-- with so awful a sound

That the close of the good Bishop's sentence was drown'd!

Out spake Frère Jehan,

A pitiful man,

Oh! a pitiful man was he!

And he wept and he pined

For the sins of mankind,

As a Friar in his degree.

'Remember, good gentlefolks,' so he began,

'Dear Aloys was always a pitiful man!--

That voice from his chest

Has clearly exprest

He has pardoned the culprit -- and as for the rest,

Before you shall burn him -- he'll see you all blest!'

The Monks, and the Abbot, the Sexton, and Clerk

Were exceedingly struck with the Friar's remark,

And the Judge, who himself was by no means a shark

Of a Lawyer, and did not do things in the dark,

But still leaned (having once been himself a gay spark,)

To the merciful side,-- like the late Allan Park,--

Agreed that, indeed,

The best way to succeed,

And by which this poor caitiff alone could be freed,

Would be to absolve him, and grant a free pardon,

On a certain condition, and that not a hard one,

Viz.--'That he, the said Infidel, straightway should open

His mind to conviction, and worship the Pope,

And "ev'ry man Jack" in an amice or cope;

And that, to do so,

He should forthwith go

To Rome, and salute there his Holiness' toe;--

And never again

Read Voltaire or Tom Paine,

Or Percy Bysshe Shelley or Lord Byron's Cain;--

His pilgrimage o'er, take St. Francis's habit;--

If anything lay about never to "nab" it;

Or, at worst, if he should light on articles gone astray,

To be sure and deposit them safe in the Monast'ry!'

The oath he took --

As he kiss'd the book,

Nave, transept, and aisle with a thunder-clap shook!

The Bishop sat down with a satisfied look,

And the Thief, releas'd

By the Saint deceas'd

Fell into the arms of a neighbouring priest!

It skills not now

To tell you how

The transmogrified Pagan perform'd his vow;

How he quitted his home,

Travell'd to Rome,

And went to St. Peter's and looked at the Dome,

And obtain'd from the Pope an assurance of bliss,

And kiss'd -- whatever he gave him to kiss --

Toe, relic, embroidery, nought came amiss;

And how Pope Urban

Had the man's turban

Hung up in the Sistine chapel, by way

Of a relic -- and how it hangs there to this day.--

Suffice it to tell,

Which will do quite as well,

That the whole of the Convent the miracle saw,

And the Abbot's report was sufficient to draw

Ev'ry bon Catholique in la belle France to Blois,

Among others, the Monarch himself, Francois,

The Archbishop of Rheims, and his 'Pious Jackdaw,'<4>

And there was not a man in Church, Chapel, or Meeting-house,

Still less in Cabaret, Hotel, or Eating-house,

But made an oration,

And said 'In the nation

If ever a man deserved canonization,

It was the kind, pitiful, pious Aloys.'--

So the Pope says -- says he, 'Then a saint he shall be!'--

So he made him a Saint,-- and remitted the fee.

What became of the Pagan I really can't say;

But I think I've been told,

When he'd enter'd their fold,

And was now a Franciscan some twenty days old,

He got up one fine morning before break of day,

Put the Pyx in his pocket -- and then ran away.

MORAL.

I think we may coax out a moral or two

From the facts which have lately come under our view.

First -- Don't meddle with Saints;-- for you'll find if you do

They're what Scotch people call, 'kittle cattle to shoe!'

And when once they have managed to take you in tow,

It's a deuced hard matter to make them let go!

Now to you, wicked Pagans!-- who wander about,

Up and down Regent Street every night, 'on the scout,'--

Recollect the Police keep a sharpish look-out,

And if once you're suspected, your skirts they will stick to

Till they catch you at last in flagrante delicto!--

Don't the inference draw

That because he of Blois

Suffer'd one to bilk 'Old father Antic the Law,'

That our May'rs and our Aldermen -- and we've a City full --

Show themselves, at our Guildhall, quite so pitiful!

Lastly, as to the Pagan who play'd such a trick,

First assuming the tonsure, then cutting his stick,

There is but one thing which occurs to me -- that

Is,-- Don't give too much credit to people who 'rat!'

-- Never forget Early habit's a net

Which entangles us all, more or less, in its mesh;

And 'What's bred in the bone won't come out of the flesh!'

We must all be aware Nature's prone to rebel, as

Old Juvenal tells us, Naturam expellas

Tamen usque recurret! There's no making Her rat!

So that all that I have on this head to advance

Is,--whatever they think of these matters in France,

There's a proverb, the truth of which each one allows here,

'YOU NEVER CAN MAKE A SILK PURSE OF A SOW'S EAR!'

NOTES

1. Teste Messire Iago, a distinguished subaltern in the

Venetian service, circiter A.D. 1580. His Biographer, Mr.

William Shakspeare, a contemporary writer of some note, makes

him say 'King Stephen,' inasmuch as the 'worthy peer'

subsequently usurped the crown of England. The anachronism is a

pardonable one.--

Mr. Simpkinson of Bath.

2.-- Meâ Virtute

me involvo.-- HOR.

3. 'Nix my dolly, pals, Fake away!'-- words of deep and

mysterious import in the ancient language of Upper Egypt, and

recently inscribed on the sacred banner of Mehemet Ali. They

are supposed to intimate, to the initiated in the art of

Abstraction, the absence of all human observation, and to

suggest the propriety of making the best use of their time --

and fingers.

4. Vide supra, The Jackdaw of Rheims.

In the succeeding Legend we come nearer home.-- Father

Ingoldsby is particular in describing its locality, situate

some eight miles from the Hall -- less, if you take the bridle-

road by the Church-yard, and so along the valley by Mr.

Fector's Abbey.

In the enumeration of the various attempts to appropriate

the treasure (drawn from a later source), is omitted one, said

to have been undertaken by the worthy ecclesiastic himself,

who, as Mrs. Botherby insinuates, is reported to have started

for Dover, one fine morning, duly furnished with all the means

and appliances of Exorcism. I cannot learn, however, that the

family was ever enriched by his expedition.

THE LAY OF THE OLD WOMAN CLOTHED IN GREY: A LEGEND OF DOVER.

Once there lived, as I've heard people say,

An 'Old Woman clothed in grey,'

So furrow'd with care,

So haggard her air,

In her eye such a wild supernatural stare,

That all who espied her,

Immediately shied her,

And strove to get out of her way.

This fearsome Old Woman was taken ill;

-- She sent for the Doctor -- he sent her a pill,

And by way of a trial,

A two-shilling phial

Of green-looking fluid, like lava diluted.

To which I've professed an abhorrence most rooted.<1>

One of those draughts they so commonly send us,

Labell'd 'Haustus catharticus, mane sumendus;'

She made a wry face,

And, without saying Grace,

Toss'd it off like a dram -- it improved not her case.

-- The Leech came again;

He now open'd a vein,

Still the little Old Woman continued in pain.

So her 'Medical Man,' although loth to distress her,

Conceived it high time that her Father Confessor

Should be sent for to shrive, and assoilzie, and bless her

That she might not slip out of these troublesome scenes

'Unaneal'd and Unhouseled,' whatever that means.<2>

Growing afraid,

He calls to his aid

A bandy-legg'd neighbour, a 'Tailor by trade,'<3>

Tells him his fears,

Bids him lay by his shears,

His thimble, his goose, and his needle, and hie

With all possible speed to the Convent hard by,

Requests him to say

That he begs they'll all pray,

Viz.: The whole pious brotherhood, Cleric and Lay,

For the soul of an Old Woman clothed in grey,

Who was just at that time in a very bad way,

And he really believed couldn't last out the day;--

And to state his desire

That some erudite Friar,

Would run over at once, and examine, and try her;

For he thought he would find

There was 'something behind,'

A something that weigh'd on the Old Woman's mind,--

'In fact he was sure, from what fell from her tongue,

That this little Old Woman had done something wrong.'--Then he

wound up the whole with this hint to the man,

'Mind and pick out as holy a friar as you can!'

Now I'd have you to know

That this story of woe,

Which I'm telling you, happen'd a long time ago;

I can't say exactly how long, nor, I own,

What particular monarch was then on the throne,

But 'twas here in Old England: and all that one knows is,

It must have preceded the Wars of the Roses.<4>

Inasmuch as the times

Described in these rhymes,

Were as fruitful in virtues as ours are in crimes;

And if'mongst the

Laity Unseemly gaiety

Sometimes betray'd an occasional taint or two

At once all the Clerics

Went into hysterics,

While scarcely a convent but boasted its Saint or two;

So it must have been long ere the line of the Tudors,

As since then the breed

Of Saints rarely indeed

With their dignified presence have darken'd our pew doors.

-- Hence the late Mr. Froude, and the live Dr. Pusey

We moderns consider as each worth a Jew's eye;

Though Wiseman and Dullman <5> combine against Newman,

With Doctors and Proctors, and say he's no true man.

-- But this by the way.-- The Convent I speak about

Had Saints in scores -- they said Mass week and week about;

And the two now on duty were each, for their piety,

'Second to none' in that holy society,

And well might have borne

Those words which are worn

By our 'Nulli Secundus' Club -- poor dear lost muttons

Of Guardsmen -- on Club days, inscribed on their buttons.--

They would read, write, and speak Latin, Hebrew, and Greek,

A radish-bunch munch for a lunch,-- or a leek;

Though scoffers and boobies

Ascribed certain rubies

That garnished the nose of the good Father Hilary

To the overmuch use of Canary and Sillery,

-- Some said spirituous compounds of viler distillery --

Ah! little reck'd they

That with Friars, who say

Fifty Paters a night, and a hundred a day,

A very slight sustenance goes a great way --

Thus the consequence was that his colleague, Basilius,

Won golden opinions, by looking more bilious,

From all who conceived strict monastical duty

By no means conducive to personal beauty;

And being more meagre, and thinner, and paler,

He was snapt up at once by the bandy-legg'd Tailor.

The latter's concern

For a speedy return

Scarce left the Monk time to put on stouter sandals,

Or go round to his shrines, and snuff all his Saint's candles;

Still less had he leisure to change the hair-shirt he

Had worn the last twenty years -- probably thirty,--

Which not being wash'd all that time, had grown dirty.

-- It seems there's a sin in

The wearing clean linen,

Which Friars must eschew at the very beginning,

Though it makes them look frowsy, and drowsy, and blowsy,

And -- a rhyme modern etiquette never allows ye.--

As for the rest,

E'en if time had not prest,

It didn't much matter how Basil was drest,

Nor could there be any great need for adorning,

The Night being almost at odds with the Morning.

Oh! sweet and beautiful is Night, when the silver Moon is high,

And countless Stars, like clustering gems, hang sparkling in

the sky,--

While the balmy breath of the summer breeze comes whispering

down the glen,

Aud one fond voice alone is heard -- oh! Night is lovely then!

But when that voice, in feeble moans of sickness and of pain,

But mocks the anxious ear that strives to catch its sounds in

vain,--

When silently we watch the bed, by the taper's flickering

light,

Where all we love is fading fast -- how terrible is Night!!

More terrible yet, If you happen to get

By an old woman's bedside, who, all her life long,

Has been, what the vulgar call 'coming it strong'

In all sorts of ways that are naughty and wrong.--

As Confessions are sacred, it's not very facile

To ascertain what the old hag said to Basil;

But whatever she said,

It filled him with dread,

And made all his hair stand on end on his head,--

No great feat to perform, inasmuch as said hair

Being clipped by the tonsure, his crown was left bare,

So of course Father Basil had little to spare;

But the little he had

Seem'd as though 't had gone mad,

Each lock, as by action galvanic, uprears

In the two little tufts on the tops of his ears.--

What the old woman said

That so 'fill'd him with dread,'

We should never have known any more than the dead,

If the bandy-legg'd Tailor, his errand thus sped,

Had gone quietly back to his needle and thread,

As he ought; but instead,

Curiosity led,--

A feeling we all deem extremely ill-bred,--

He contrived to secrete himself under the bed!

-- Not that he heard

One half, or a third

Of what passed as the Monk and the Patient conferred,

Put he here and there managed to pick up a word,

Such as 'Knife,' And 'Life,'

And he thought she said 'Wife,'

And 'Money,' that 'source of all evil and strife;'<6>

Then he plainly distinguished the words 'Gore,' and 'Gash,'

Whence he deem'd -- and I don't think his inference rash --

She had cut some one's throat for the sake of his cash!

Intermix'd with her moans,

And her sighs and her groans,

Enough to have melted the hearts of the stones,

Came at intervals Basil's sweet, soft, silver tones,

For somehow it happened -- I can't tell you why --

The good Friar's indignation,-- at first rather high,--

To judge from the language he used in reply,

Ere the Old Woman ceas'd, had a good deal gone by;

And he gently address'd her in accents of honey,

'Daughter, don't you despair!--WHAT'S BECOME OF THE MONEY?'

In one just at Death's door it was really absurd

To see how her eye lighted up at that word --

Indeed there's not one in the language that I know,

(Save its synonyms 'Spanish,' 'Blunt,' 'Stumpy,' and 'Rhino,')

Which acts so direct,

And with so much effect

On the human sensorium, or makes one erect

One's ears so, as soon as the sound we detect --

It's a question with me

Which of the three,

Father Basil himself, though a grave S.T.P.

(Such as he have, you see, the degree of D.D.)

Or the eaves-dropping, bandy-legg'd Tailor,-- or She

Caught it quickest -- however traditions agree

That the Old Woman perk'd up as brisk as a bee.--

'Twas the last quivering flare of the taper,-- the fire

It so often emits when about to expire!

Her excitement began the same instant to flag,

She sank back, and whisper'd, 'Safe!-- Safe! in the Bag!!'

Now I would not by any means have you suppose

That the good Father Basil was just one of those

Who entertain views

We're so apt to abuse,

As neither befitting Turks, Christians, nor Jews,

Who haunt death-bed scenes,

By underhand means

To toady or teaze people out of a legacy,--

For few folk indeed, had such good right to beg as he,

Since Rome, in her pure Apostolical beauty,

Not only permits, but enjoins, as a duty,

Her sons to take care

That, let who will be heir,

The Pontiff shall not be choused out of his share,

Nor stand any such mangling of chattels and goods,

As, they say, was the case with the late Jemmy Wood's;

Her Conclaves, and Councils, and Synods in short main-

tain principles adverse to statutes of Mortmain;

Besides you'll discern

It, at once, when you learn

That Basil had something to give in return,

Since it rested with him to say how she should burn,

Nay, as to her ill-gotten wealth, should she turn it all

To uses he named, he could say, 'You shan't burn at all,

Or nothing to signify,

Not what you'd dignify

So much as even to call it a roast,

But a mere little singeing, or scorching at most,--

What many would think not unpleasantly warm,--

Just to keep up appearance -- mere matter of form.'

All this in her ear,

He declared, but I fear

That her senses were wand'ring -- she seem'd not to hear,

Or, at least, understand,-- for mere unmeaning talk her

Parch'd lips babbled now,-- such as 'Hookey!'-- and 'Walker!'

--She expired, with her last breath expressing a doubt

If 'his Mother were fully aware he was out?'

Now it seems there's a place they call Purgat'ry -- so

I must write it, my verse not admitting the O --

But as for the venue, I vow I'm perplext

To say if it's in this world, or if in the next --

Or whether in both -- for 'tis very well known

That St. Patrick, at least, has got one of his own,

In a 'tight little Island' that stands in a Lake

Call'd 'Lough-dearg'-- that's 'The Red Lake,' unless I mistake

--

In Fermanagh -- or Antrim -- or Donegal -- which

I declare I can't tell, But I know very well

It's in latitude 54, nearly their pitch

(At Tappington, now, I could look in the Gazetteer,

But I'm out on a visit, and nobody has it here).

There are some, I'm aware,

Who don't stick to declare

There's 'no differ' at all 'twixt 'this here' and 'that there.'

That it's all the same place, but the Saint reserves his entry

For the separate use of the 'finest of pisentry,'

And that his is no more Than a mere private door

From the rez-de-chaussée,--as some call the ground floor,--

To the one which the Pope had found out long before,

But no matter -- lay

The locale where you may;

-- And where it is no one exactly can say--

There's one thing, at least, which is known very well,

That it acts as a Tap-room to Satan's Hotel.

'Entertainment's' there worse

Both for 'Man and for Horse;'

For broiling the souls They use Lord Mayor's coals;--

Then the sulphur's inferior, and boils up much slower

Than the fine fruity brimstone they give you down lower.

It's by no means so strong --

Mere sloe-leaves to Souchong,

The 'prokers' are not half so hot, or so long,

By an inch or two, either in handle or prong;

The Vipers and Snakes are less sharp in the tooth,

And the Nondescript Monsters not near so uncouth;--

In short, it's a place the good Pope, its creator,

Made for what's called by Cockneys a 'Minor The-átre.'

Better suited, of course, for a 'minor performer,'

Than the 'House,' that's so much better lighted and warmer,

Below, in that queer place which nobody mentions,--

-- You understand where

I don't question -- down there

Where in lieu of wood blocks, and such modern inventions,

The Paving Commissioners use 'Good Intentions,'

Materials which here would be thought on by few men,

With so many founts of Asphaltic bitumen

At hand, at the same time to pave and illumine.

To go on with my story,

This same Purga-tory,

(There! I've got in the O, to my Muse's great glory,)

Is close lock'd, and the Pope keeps the keys of it -- that I

can

Boldly affirm -- in his desk in the Vatican;

-- Not those of St. Peter -- Those of which I now treat, are

A bunch by themselves, and much smaller and neater--

And so cleverly made, Mr. Chubb could not frame a

Key better contrived for its purpose -- nor Bramah.

Now it seems that by these

Most miraculous keys

Not only the Pope, but his 'clargy,' with ease

Can let people in and out just as they please;

And -- provided you 'make it all right' about fees,

There is not a friar, Dr. Wiseman will own, of them,

But can always contrive to obtain a short loan of them;

And Basil, no doubt,

Had brought matters about,

If the little old woman would but have 'spoke out,'

So far as to get for her one of those tickets,

Or passes, which clear both the great gates and wickets;

So that after a grill,

Or short turn on the Mill,

And with no worse a singeing, to purge her iniquity,

Than a Freemason gets in the 'Lodge of Antiquity,'

She'd have rubb'd off old scores,

Popp'd out of doors,

And sheer'd off at once for a happier port,

Like a white-wash'd Insolvent that's 'gone through the Court.'

But Basil was one

Who was not to be done

By any one, either in earnest or fun;--

The cunning old beads-telling son of a gun,

In all bargains, unless he'd his quid for his quo,

Would shake his bald pate, and pronounce it 'No go.'

So unless you're a dunce,

You'll see clearly, at once,

When you come to consider the facts of the case, he,

Of course never gave her his Vade in pace;

And the consequence was, when the last mortal throe

Released her pale Ghost from these regions of woe,

The little Old Woman had nowhere to go!

For, what could she do? She very well knew

If she went to the gates

I have mention'd to you,

Without Basil's, or some other passport to shew,

The Cheque-takers never would let her go through;

While, as to the other place, e'en had she tried it,

And really had wished it, as much as she shied it,

(For no one who knows what it is can abide it,)

Had she knock'd at the portal with ne'er so much din,

Though she died in, what folks at Rome call, 'Mortal sin,'

Yet Old Nick, for the life of him, daren't take her in,

As she'd not been turn'd formally out of 'the pale:--'

So much the bare name of the Pope made him quail,

In the times that I speak of, his courage would fail

Of Rome's vassals the lowest and worst to assail,

Or e'en touch with so much as the end of his tail;

Though, now he's grown older,

They say he's much bolder,

And his Holiness not only gets the 'cold shoulder,'

But Nick rumps him completely, and don't seem to care a

Dump -- that's the word -- for his triple tiara.

Well -- what shall she do?--

What's the course to pursue?--

'Try St. Peter?-- the step is a bold one to take;

For the Saint is, there can't be a doubt, 'wide awake;'

But then there's a quaint

Old Proverb says "Faint

Heart ne'er won fair Lady," then how win a Saint?--

I've a great mind to try --

One can but apply;

If things come to the worst why he can but deny --

The sky

's rather high

To be sure -- but, now I

That cumbersome carcass of clay have laid by,

I am just in the "order" which some folks -- though why

I am sure I can't tell you -- would call "Apple-pie."

Then "never say die!"

It won't do to be shy,

So I'll tuck up my shroud, and here goes for a fly!'

-- So said and so done -- she was off like a shot,

And kept on the whole way at a pretty smart trot.

When she drew so near

That the Saint could see her,

In a moment he frown'd, and began to look queer,

And scarce would allow her to make her case clear,

Ere he pursed up his mouth 'twixt a sneer and a jeer,

With 'It's all very well,-- but you do not lodge here!'

Then, calling her everything but 'My dear!'

He applied his great toe with some force au derrière,

And dismissed her at once with a flea in her ear.

'Alas! poor Ghost!' It's a doubt which is most

To be pitied -- one doom'd to fry, broil, boil, and roast,--

Or one bandied about thus from pillar to post,--

To be 'all abroad'-- to be 'stump'd' not to know where

To go -- so disgraced

As not to be 'placed,'--

Or, as Crocky would say to Jem Bland, 'To be Nowhere.'--

However that be,

The affaire was finie,

And the poor wretch rejected by all, as you see!

Mr. Oliver Goldsmith observes -- not the Jew --

That the 'Hare whom the hounds and the huntsmen pursue,'

Having no other sort of asylum in view,

'Returns back again to the place whence she flew,'

A fact which experience has proved to be true.--

Mr. Gray,-- in opinion with whom Johnson clashes,--

Declares that our 'wonted fires live in our ashes.'--<7>

These motives combined, perhaps brought back the hag,

The first to her mansion, the last to her bag,

When only conceive her dismay and surprise,

As a Ghost how she open'd her cold stony eyes,

When there,-- on the spot where she'd hid her 'supplies,'--

In an underground cellar of very small size,

Working hard with a spade,

All at once she survey'd

That confounded old bandy-legg'd 'Tailor by trade.'

Fancy the tone

Of the half moan, half groan,

Which burst from the breast of the Ghost of the crone!

As she stood there,-- a figure 'twixt moonshine and stone,

Only fancy the glare in her eyeballs that shone!

Although, as Macbeth says, 'they'd no speculation,'

While she utter'd that word

Which American Bird,

Or James Fenimore Cooper, would render 'Tarnation!!'

At the noise which she made

Down went the spade!--

And up jump'd the bandy-legg'd 'Tailor by trade'

(Who had shrewdly conjectured, from something that fell, her

Deposit was somewhere conceal'd in the cellar;)

Turning round at a sound

So extremely profound,

The moment her shadowy form met his view

He gave vent to a sort of a lengthened 'Bo-o--ho-o!'--

With a countenance Keeley alone could put on,

Made one grasshopper spring to the door -- and was gone!

Erupit! Evasit!

As at Rome they would phrase it --

His flight was so swift, the eye scarcely could trace it,

Though elderly, bandy-legg'd, meagre, and sickly,

I doubt if the Ghost could have vanish'd more quickly;

He reach'd his own shop, and then fell into fits,

And it's said never rightly recover'd his wits,

While the chuckling old Hag takes his place and there sits!

I'll venture to say,

She'd sat there to this day,

Brooding over what Cobbett calls 'vile yellow clay,'

Like a vulture, or other obscene bird of prey,

O'er the nest full of eggs she has managed to lay,

If, as legends relate, and I think we may trust 'em, her

Stars had not brought her another guess customer --

'Twas Basil himself!--

Come to look for her pelf:

But not, like the Tailor, to dig, delve, and grovel

And grub in the cellar with pickaxe and shovel:

Full well he knew

Such tools would not do,--

Far other the weapons he brought into play,

Viz. a Wax-taper 'hallow'd on Candlemas-day,'

To light to her ducats,--

Holy water, two buckets,

Made with salt -- half a peck to four gallons -- which brews a

(Strong triple X 'strike,'-- see Jacobus de Chusa).

With these, too, he took

His bell and his book --

Not a nerve ever trembled,-- his hand never shook,

As he boldly marched up where she sat in her nook,

Glow'ring round with that wild indescribable look,

Which Some may have read of, perchance, in 'Nell Cook,'<8>

All, in 'Martha the Gipsy,' by Theodore Hook.

And now, for the reason I gave you before,

Of what pass'd then and there I can tell you no more,

As no Tailor was near with his ear at the door;

But I've always been told,

With respect to the gold,

For which she her 'jewel eternal' had sold,

That the old Harridan,

Who, no doubt, knew her man,

Made some compromise -- hit upon some sort of plan,

By which Friar and Ghost were both equally pinn'd --

Heaven only knows how the 'Agreement' got wind;

But its purport was this,

That the things done amiss

By the Hag should not hinder her ultimate bliss;

Provided --'Imprimis,

The cash from this time is

The Church's -- impounded for good pious uses --

-- Father B. shall dispose of it just as he chooses,

And act as trustee --

In the meantime that She,

The said Ghostess,-- or Ghost,-- as the matter may be,--

From 'impediment,' 'hindrance,' and 'let' shall be free,

To sleep in her grave, or to wander, as he

The said Friar, with said Ghost, may hereafter agree.--

Moreover -- The whole

Of the said cash, or 'cole,'

Shall be spent for the good of said Old Woman's soul!

'It is further agreed -- while said cash is so spending,

Said Ghost shall be fully absolv'd from attending,

And shall quiet remain

In the grave, her domain,

To have, and enjoy, and uphold, and maintain,

Without molestation, or trouble or pain,

Hindrance, let, or impediment (over again)

From Old Nick, or from any one else of his train,

Whether Pow'r -- Domination,-- or Princedom,-- or Throne,<9>

Or by what name soever the same may be known,

Howsoe'er called by Poets, or styled by Divines,--

Himself,-- his executors, heirs, and assigns.

'Provided that,-- nevertheless,-- notwithstanding

All herein contain'd,-- if whoever's a hand in

Dispensing said cash,-- or said 'cole,'-- shall dare venture

To misapply money, note, bill, or debenture

To uses not named in this present Indenture,

Then that such sum, or sums, shall revert, and come home again

Back to said Ghost,-- who thenceforward shall roam again,

Until such time, or times, as the said Ghost produces

Some good man and true, who no longer refuses

To put sum, or sums, aforesaid, to said uses;

Which duly performed, the said Ghost shall have rest,

The full term of her natural death, of the best,

In full consideration of this, her bequest,

In manner and form aforesaid,-- as exprest:--

In witness whereof, we, the parties aforesaid,

Hereunto set our hands and our seals -- and no more said,

Being all that these presents intend to express,

Whereas -- notwithstanding -- and nevertheless.

'Sign'd, sealed, and deliver'd, this 20th of May,

Anno Domini, blank, (though I've mentioned the day,)

(Signed)

BASIL.

OLD WOMAN (late) CLOTHED IN GREY.'

Basil now, I am told,

Walking off with the gold,

Went and straight got the document duly enroll'd,

And left the testatrix to mildew and mould

In her sepulchre, cosy, cool,-- not to say cold.

But somehow -- though how I can hardly divine,--

A runlet of fine

Rich Malvoisie wine

Found its way to the convent that night before nine,

With custards, and 'flawns,' and a 'fayre florentine,'

Peach, apricot, nectarine, melon, and pine;--

And some half a score Nuns of the rule Bridgetine,

Abbess and all, were invited to dine

At a very late hour,-- that is after Compline.--

-- Father Hilary's rubies began soon to shine

With fresh lustre, as though newly dug from the mine;

Through all the next year,

Indeed 'twould appear

That the Convent was mnch better off, as to cheer,

Even Basil himself, as I very much fear,

No longer addicted himself to small beer;

His complexion grew clear,

While in front and in rear

He enlarged so, his shape seem'd approaching a sphere.

No wonder at all, then, one cold winter's night,

That a servant girl going down stairs with a light

To the cellar we've spoken of, saw, with affright

An Old Woman, astride on a barrel, invite

Her to take, in a manner extremely polite,

With her left hand, a bag, she had got in her right;--

For tradition asserts

That the Old Woman's purse

Had come back to her scarcely one penny the worse!

The girl, as they say,

Ran screaming away,

Quite scared by the Old Woman clothed in grey;

But there came down a Knight, at no distant a day,

Sprightly and gay

As the bird on the spray,

One Sir Rufus Mountfardington, Lord of Foot's cray,

Whose estate, not unlike those of most of our 'Swell' beaux,

Was, what's, by a metaphor, term'd 'out at elbows;'

And the fact was, said Knight was now merely delay'd

From crossing the water to join the Crusade

For converting the Pagans with bill, bow, and blade,

By the want of a little pecuniary aid

To buy arms and horses, the tools of his trade,

And enable his troop to appear on parade;

The unquiet Shade

Thought Sir Rufus, 'tis said,

Just the man for her money,-- she readily paid

For the articles named, and with pleasure convey'd

To his hands every farthing she ever had made;

Bnt alas! I'm afraid

Most unwisely she laid

Out her cash -- the beaux yeux of a Saracen maid

(Truth compels me to say a most pestilent jade)

Converted the gallant converter -- betray'd

Him to do everything which a Knight could degrade,

-- E'en to worship Mahound!-- She required -- He obey'd,--

The consequence was, all the money was wasted

On Infidel pleasures he should not have tasted;

So that, after a very short respite, the Hag

Was seen down in her cellar again with her bag.

Don't fancy, dear Reader, I mean to go on

Seriatim through so many ages bygone,

And to bore you with names

Of the Squires and the Dames,

Who have managed, at times, to get hold of the sack,

But spent the cash so that it always came back;

The list is too long

To be given in my song,--

There are reasons beside, would perhaps make it wrong;

I shall merely observe, in those orthodox days,

When Mary set Smithfield all o'er in a blaze,

And show'd herself very se-

vere against heresy,

While many a wretch scorned to flinch, or to scream, as he

Burnt for denying the Papal supremacy,

Bishop Bonner the bag got,

And all thought the Hag got

Releas'd, as he spent all in fuel and faggot.--

But somehow -- though how

I can't tell you, I vow --

I suppose by mismanagement -- ere the next reign

The Spectre had got all her money again.

The last time, I'm told,

That the Old Woman's gold

Was obtained,-- as before,-- for the asking --'twas had

By a Mr. O-- Something -- from Ballinafad;

And the whole of it, so 'tis reported, was sent

To John Wright's, in account for the Catholic Rent,

And thus -- like a great deal more money -- it went!'

So 'tis said at Maynooth,

But I can't think it's truth;

Though I know it was boldly asserted last season,

Still I can not believe it; and that for this reason,

It's certain the cash has got back to its owner!'

-- Now no part of the Rent to do so e'er was known,-- or,

In any shape, ever come home to the donor.

Gentle reader!-- you must know the proverb, I think,--

'To a blind horse a Nod is a good as a Wink!'

Which some learned Chap,

In a square College cap,

Perhaps, would translate by the words 'Verbum Sap!'

-- Now should it so chance

That you're going to France

In the course of next Spring, as you probably may,

Do pull up, and stay,

Pray,

If but for a day,

At Dover, through which you must pass on your way,

At the York,-- or the Ship,-- where, as all people say,

You'll get good wine yourself, and your horses good hay,

Perhaps, my good friend, you may find it will pay,

And you cannot lose much by so short a delay.

First DINE!-- you can do

That on joint or ragoût--

Then say to the waiter,--'I'm just passing through,--

Pray,-- where can I find out the old Maison Dieu?

He'll show you the street --(the French call it a Rue,

But you won't have to give here a petit écu).

Well,-- when you've got there,-- never mind how you're

taunted,--

Ask boldly, 'Pray, which is the house here that's haunted?'

-- I'd tell you myself, but I can't recollect

The proprietor's name; but he's one of that sect

Who call themselves 'Friends,' and whom others call 'Quakers,'-

-

You'll be sure to find out if you ask at the Baker's,--

Then go down with a light,

To the cellar at night!

And as soon as you see her don't be in a fright!

But ask the old Hag,

At once, for the bag!--

If you find that she's shy, or your senses would dazzle,

Say, 'Ma'am, I insist!-- in the name of St. Basil!'

If she gives it you, seize

It, and -- do as you please --

But there is not a person I've ask'd but agrees,

You should spend -- part at least -- for the Old Woman's ease!

-- For the rest -- if it must go back some day -- why --let

it!--

Meanwhile, if you're poor, and in love, or in debt, it

May do you some good, and --

I WISH YOU MAY GET IT!!!

NOTES

1. Vide Supra 'The Black Mousquetaire,' Canto 2.

2. Alack for poor William Linley to settle the point! His

elucidation of Macbeth's 'Hurlyburly' casts a halo around his

memory. In him the world lost one of its kindliest Spirits, and

the Garrick Club its acutest commentator.

3. All who are familiar with the Police Reports, and other

Records of our Courts of justice, will recollect that every

gentleman of this particular profession invariably thus

describes himself, in contradistinction to the Bricklayer, whom

he probably presumes to be indigenous, and to the Shoemaker,

born a Snob.

4. 'An antient and most pugnacious family,' says our Bath

Friend. 'One of their descendants, George Rose, Esq., late M.P.

for Christchurch (an elderly gentleman now defunct), was

equally celebrated for his vocal abilities and his wanton

destruction of furniture when in a state of excitement.--'Sing,

old Rose, and burn the bellows!' has grown into a proverb.

5. The worthy Jesuit's polemical publisher.-- I am not quite

sure as to the orthography; it's idem sonans, at all events.

6. Effodiuntur Opes Irritamenta Malorum.-- Lilly's Grammar.

7. 'E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires!'-- GRAY.

'A position at which Experience revolts, Credulity hesitates,

and even Fancy stares!'-- JOHNSON.

8. Vide Supra, 'Nell Cook'

9. 'Thrones! Dominations! Princedoms! Virtues! Powers!'--

MILTON.

To whom is the name of Cornelius Agrippa otherwise than

familiar, since a 'Magician,' of renown not inferior to his

own, has brought him and his terrible 'Black Book' again before

the world?-- That he was celebrated, among other exploits, for

raising the Devil, we are all well aware;-- how be performed

this feat,-- at least one, and that, perhaps, the most certain

method, by which he did it,-- is thus described.

RAISING THE DEVIL: A LEGEND OF CORNELIUS AGRIPPA.

'And hast thou nerve enough?' he said,

That Grey old Man, above whose head

Unnumber'd years had roll'd,--

'And hast thou nerve to view,' he cried,

'The incarnate Fiend that Heaven defied!

-- Art thou indeed so bold?'

'Say, canst Thou, with unshrinking gaze,

Sustain, rash youth, the withering blaze

Of that unearthly eye,

That blasts where'er it lights,-- the breath

That, like the Simoom, scatters death

On all that yet can die!

--'Darest thou confront that fearful form,

That rides the whirlwind, and the storm,

In wild unholy revel!

The terrors of that blasted brow,

Archangel's once,-- though ruin'd now --

-- Ay,-- dar'st thou face THE DEVIL?'--

'I dare!' the desperate Youth replied,

And placed him by that Old Man's side,

In fierce and frantic glee,

Unblench'd his cheek, and firm his limb

--'No paltry juggling Fiend, but HIM!

-- THE DEVIL!-- I fain would see!--

'In all his Gorgon terrors clad,

His worst, his fellest shape!' the Lad

Rejoined in reckless tone.--

--'Have then thy wish!' Agrippa said,

And sigh'd and shook his hoary head,

With many a bitter groan.

He drew the mystic circle's bound,

With skull and cross-bones fenc'd around;

He traced full many a sigil there;

He mutter'd many a backward pray'r,

That sounded like a curse--

'He comes!'-- he cried with wild grimace,

'The fellest of Apollyon's race!'--

-- Then in his startled pupil's face

He dash'd -- an EMPTY PURSE!!

One more legend, and then, gentle Reader, 'A merry

Christmas to you and a happy New Year!'-- We have travelled

over many lands together, and had many a good-humoured laugh by

the way;-- if we have, occasionally, been 'more merry than

wise,' at least we have not jostled our neighbours on the

road,-- much less have we kicked any one into a ditch.

So wishing you heartily all the compliments of the season,

and thanking you cordially for your good company, I, Thomas

Ingoldsby, bid you heartily farewell, and leave you in that of

SAINT MEDARD: A LEGEND OF AFRIC.

'Heus tu! inquit Diabolus, hei mihi! fessis insuper humeris

reponenda est sarcina; fer opem quæso!'

'Le Diable a des vices;-- c'est là ce qui le perd.-- Il est

gourmand. Il eut dans cette minute-là l'idée de joindre l'âme

de Medard aux autres âmes qui'il allait emporter.-- Se rejeter

en arrière, saisir de sa main droite son poignard, et en percer

l'outre avec une violence et un rapidité formidable,-- c'est ce

que fit Medard. Le Diable poussa un grand cri. Les âmes

délivrês s'enfuirent par l'issue que le poignard venait de leur

ouvrir, laissant dans l'outre leurs noirceurs, leurs crimes, et

leurs méchancetés,' &c., &c.

In good King Dagobert's palmy days,

When Saints were many, and sins were few,

Old Nick, 'tis said,

Was sore bested

One evening,-- and could not tell what to do.--

He had been East, and he had been West,

And far had he journey'd o'er land and sea;

For women and men

Were warier then,

And he could not catch one where he'd now catch three.

He had been North, and he had been South,

From Zembla's shores unto far Peru,

Ere he fill'd the sack

Which he bore on his back --

Saints were so many, and sins so few!

The way was long, and the day was hot;

His wings were weary; his hoofs were sore;

And scarce could he trail

His nerveless tail,

As it furrow'd the sand on the Red Sea shore!

The day had been hot, and the way was long;

-- Hoof-sore, and weary, and faint, was he;

He lower'd his sack,

And the heat of his back,

As he lean'd on a palm-trunk, blasted the tree!

He sat himself down in the palm-tree's shade,

And he gazed, and he grinn'd in pure delight,

As he peep'd inside

The buffalo's hide

He had sewn for a sack, and had crammed so tight.

For, though he'd 'gone over a good deal of ground,'

And game had been scarce, he might well report

That still, he had got

A decentish lot,

And had had, on the whole, not a bad day's sport.

He had pick'd up in France a Maître de danse,--

A Maîtresse en titre,-- two smart Grisettes,

A Courtier at play,--

And an English Roué --

Who had bolted from home without paying his debts.--

-- He had caught in Great Britain a Scrivener's clerk,

A Quaker,-- a Baker,-- a Doctor of Laws,--

And a jockey of York--

But Paddy from Cork

'Desaved the ould divil,' and slipp'd through his claws!

In Moscow a Boyar knouting his wife

-- A Corsair's crew, in the Isles of Greece --

And, under the dome Of St. Peter's, at Rome,

He had snapp'd up a nice little Cardinal's Niece.--

He had bagg'd an Inquisitor fresh from Spain --

A mendicant Friar -- of Monks a score,

A grave Don, or two,

And a Portuguese Jew,

Whom he nabb'd while clipping a new Moidore.

And he said to himself, as he lick'd his lips,

'Those nice little Dears!-- what a delicate roast!--

-- Then, that fine fat Friar,

At a very quick fire,

Dress'd like a Woodcock, and serv'd on toast!'

-- At the sight of tit-bits so toothsome and choice

Never did mouth water more than Nick's;

But,-- alas! and alack!--

He had stuff'd his sack

So full that he found himself quite 'in a fix:'

For, all he could do, or all he could say,

When, a little recruited, he rose to go,

Alas! and alack!--

He could not get the sack

Up again on his shoulders 'whether or no!'

Old Nick look'd East, Old Nick look'd West,

With many a stretch, and with many a strain,

He bent till his back

Was ready to crack,

And he pull'd, and he tugg'd,-- but he tugg'd in vain.

Old Nick look'd North, Old Nick look'd South;

-- Weary was Nicholas, weak and faint,--

And he was aware

Of an old man there,

In Palmer's weeds, who look'd much like a Saint.

Nick eyed the Saint,-- then he eyed the Sack--

The greedy old glutton!-- and thought, with a grin,

'Dear heart alive!

If I could but contrive

To pop that elderly gentleman in!--

'For were I to choose among all the ragoûts

The cuisine can exhibit-- flesh, fowl, or fish,--

To myself I can paint

That a barbecued Saint

Would be for my palate the best side-dish!'

Now St. Medard dwelt on the banks of the Nile,

-- In a Pyramis fast by the lone Red Sea.

(We call it 'Semiramis,'

Why not say Pyramis?--

Why should we change the S into a D?)

St. Medard, he was a holy man,

A holy man I ween was he,

And even by day,

When he went to pray,

He would light up a candle, that all might see!

He salaam'd to the East,-- He salaam'd to the West;--

-- Of the gravest cut, and the holiest brown

Were his Palmer's weeds,--

And he finger'd his beads

With the right side up, and the wrong side down.--

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Hiatus in MSS. valde deflendus.)

St. Medard dwelt on the banks of the Nile;--

He had been living there years fourscore,--

And now, 'taking the air,

And saying a pray'r,'

He was walking at eve on the Red Sea shore.

Little he deem'd -- that holy man!--

Of Old Nick's wiles, and his fraudful tricks,--

When he was aware

Of a Stranger there,

Who seem'd to have got himself into a fix.

Deeply that Stranger groan'd and sigh'd,

That wayfaring Stranger, grisly and grey:--

'I can't raise my sack

On my poor old back!--

Oh, lend me a lift, kind Gentleman, pray!--

'For I have been East, and I have been West,

Foot-sore, weary, and faint am I,

And, unless I get home

Ere the Curfew bome,

Here in this desert I well may die!'

'Now Heav'n thee save!'-- Nick winced at the words,

As ever he winces at words divine --

'Now Heav'n thee save!--

What strength I have,--

It's little, I wis,-- shall be freely thine!

'For foul befall that Christian man

Who shall fail, in a fix,-- woe worth the while!--

His hand to lend

To foe or to friend,

Or to help a lame dog over a stile!'

-- St. Medard hath boon'd himself for the task:

To hoist up the sack he doth well begin;

But the fardel feels

Like a bag full of eels,

For the folks are all curling, and kicking within.--

St. Medard paused -- he began to 'smoke'--

For a Saint,-- if he isn't exactly a cat,--

Has a very good nose,

As this world goes,

And not worse than his neighbour's for 'smelling a rat.'

The Saint look'd up, and the Saint look'd down;

He 'smelt the rat,' and he 'smoked' the trick;

-- When he came to view

His comical shoe,

He saw in a moment his friend was Nick!

He whipp'd out his oyster-knife, broad and keen --

A Brummagem blade which he always bore,

To aid him to eat,

By way of a treat,

The 'natives' he found on the Red Sea shore;--

He whipp'd out his Brummagem blade so keen,

And he made three slits in the Buffalo's hide,

And all its contents,

Through the rents, and the vents,

Come tumbling out,-- and away they all hied!

Away went the Quaker -- away went the Baker,

Away went the Friar -- that fine fat Ghost,

Whose marrow Old Nick

Had intended to pick,

Dress'd like a Woodcock, and served on toast!

-- Away went the nice little Cardinal's Niece,--

And the pretty Grisettes,-- and the Dons from Spain--

And the Corsair's crew,

And the coin-clipping Jew,--

And they scamper'd, like lamplighters, over the plain.--

-- Old Nick is a black-looking fellow at best,

Ay, e'en when he's pleased; but never before

Had he look'd so black

As on seeing his sack

Thus cut into slits on the Red Sea shore.

You may fancy his rage, and his deep despair,

When he saw himself thus befool'd by one

Whom, in anger wild,

He profanely styled,

'A stupid, old, snuff-colour'd son of a gun!'

Then his supper -- so nice!-- that had cost him such pains --

-- Such a hard day's work -- now 'all on the go!'

--'Twas beyond a joke,

And enough to provoke

The mildest and best-temper'd Fiend below!

Nick snatch'd up one of those great, big stones,

Found in such numbers on Egypt's plains,

And he hurl'd it straight

At the Saint's bald pate,

To knock out 'the gruel he call'd his brains.'

Straight at his pate he hurl'd the weight,

The crushing weight of that great, big stone;--

But St. Medard

Was remarkably hard,

And solid, about the parietal bone.

And, though the whole weight of that great, big stone,

Came straight on his pate, with a great, big thump,

It fail'd to graze

The skin,-- or to raise

On the tough epidermis a lump, or bump!--

As the hail bounds off from the pent-house slope,--

As the cannon recoils when it sends its shot,--

As the finger and thumb

Of an old woman come

From the kettle she handles, and finds too hot;--

-- Or, as you may see, in the Fleet, or the Bench,--

-- Many folks do in the course of their lives,--

The well-struck ball

Rebound from the wall,

When the Gentlemen jail-birds are playing at 'fives:'

All these,-- and a thousand fine similes more,--

Such as all have heard of, or seen, or read

Recorded in print,

May give you a hint

How the stone bounced off from St. Medard's head!

-- And it curl'd, and it twirled, and it whirl'd in air,

As this great, big stone at a tangent flew!

-- Just missing his crown,

It at last came down

Plump upon Nick's Orthopedical shoe!

Oh! what a yell and a screech were there!--

How did he hop, skip, bellow, and roar!

--'Oh dear! oh dear!'--

You might hear him here,

Though we're such a way off from the Red Sea shore!

It smash'd his shin, and it smash'd his hoof,

Notwithstanding his stout Orthopedical shoe;

And this is the way

That, from that same day,

Old Nick became what the French call Boiteux!

Quakers, and Bakers, Grisettes, and Friars,

And Cardinal's Nieces,-- wherever ye be,

St. Medard bless!

You can scarcely do less

If you of your corps possess any esprit.--

And, mind and take care, yourselves,-- and beware

How you get in Nick's buffalo bag!-- if you do

I very much doubt

If you'll ever get out,

Now sins are so many, and Saints so few!!

MORAL.

Gentle Reader, attend

To the voice of a friend!

And if ever you go to Herne Bay or Southend,

Or any gay wat'ring-place outside the Nore,

Don't walk out at eve on the lone sea-shore!

-- Unless you're too saintly to care about Nick,

And are sure that your head is sufficiently thick!--

Learn not to be greedy!-- and, when you've enough,

Don't be anxious your bags any tighter to stuff --

Recollect that good fortune too far you may push,

And, 'A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH!'

Then turn not each thought to increasing your store,

Nor look always like 'Oliver asking for more!'

Gourmandise is a vice -- a sad failing, at least;--

So remember 'Enough is as good as a feast!'

And don't set your heart on 'stew'd,' 'fried,' 'boil'd,' or

'roast,'

Nor on delicate 'Woodcocks served up upon toast!'

Don't give people nicknames!--don't, even in fun,

Call any one 'snuff-coloured Son of a gun!'

Nor fancy, because a man nous seems to lack,

That, whenever you please, you can 'give him the sack!'

Last of all, as you'd thrive, and still sleep in whole bones,

IF YOU'VE ANY GLASS WINDOWS NEVER THROW STONES!!!

PREFACE TO THE THIRD SERIES

SOME few words are necessary by way of explanation, in

submitting the present volume to the reader. It is enough to

state, as regards its object, that a wish was conveyed to his

family by certain of the late Mr. Barham's friends, and through

them by many also who knew him only from his writings, that a

collection should be made of the remaining 'INGOLDSBY LEGENDS,'

and printed uniformly with the first and second Series, and

that at the same time a more complete Memoir of his Life should

be prefixed than any that had hitherto appeared in the public

prints. Such a request was of course entitled to every

attention; the more so, as it came strongly backed by the

judgment of the gentleman who proposed to undertake the

publication in question.

It may, perhaps, be questioned whether, under any

circumstances, a very near relative is a fit person to fill the

office of Biographer: independently of the prepossession by

which he must almost necessarily be swayed, and of the

restraint which a consciousness of its existence induces,

expressions both of eulogy and the reverse seem to fall

ungracefully from his pen. The writer has no immunity to plead

in the present instance from the effects of this law. There

were considerations, however, which precluded his entrusting

the task to another; among the most weighty of which was an

unwillingness to submit correspondence and memoranda, written

with that unguarded openness for which Mr. Barham was

remarkable, to the eye of a third person; the unavoidable

exposure indeed of matters of confidence, of which he was the

depositary, would have rendered it highly improper to do so.

There are two classes of readers, in particular, to whom

this imperfect sketch will doubtless prove unsatisfactory;

those who may take it up in the expectation of finding a budget

of confidential letters, and private anecdotes of the gifted

individuals still living, with whom it was the lot of its

subject to be associated; and those who may desire a more

regular and detailed biography, and who may be apt to consider

the following pages of too uncoanected and too light a

character to answer to the title which they bear. For the first

of these we have no answer; but we would entreat the second

bear in mind, that it is only in a literary point of view only

as a poet, whose wit and origin ality attracted no ordinary

notice -- only, in short, as 'Thomas Ingoldsby,' that Mr.

Barham is brought before the public at all; and it is to these

traits of character that we have been mainly confined, as being

alone of sufficient general interest to demand or bear

illustration.

On the other hand, should it be urged that the poetical

trifles here appended are not of a quality to advance the

author's reputation, we must reply, at the risk of being taxed

with a tendency to argue in a circle, that a reputation of the

kind was not an object of his ambition. To say that he was

indifferent to applause and censure, would be to invest him

with a degree of stoicism which he was among the last either to

profess or feel; but the fact of all his productions having

appeared either anonymously or pseudonymously, is sufficient to

show tbat he possessed no inordinate craving after fame.

Writing, in a word, was to him an amusement, the more agreeable

if it chanced to conduce to that of others. It is in a similar

spirit that the present collection is laid before the public:

and a hope is entertained that it may not altogether do

discredit to the partiality of those at whose suggestion it has

been made.

Most of these poems have been previously published in

various periodicals; some few are now printed for the first

time. In the selection of the former, which are of an

evanescent character, for the most part bearing upon the gossip

of the day, attention has almost of necessity been paid more to

the comparative notoriety of the subject than to the degree of

humour evinced in the performance.

There remains, in conclusion, but to express a hope that

no one will feel aggrieved by the appearance of any of the

historiettes, &c., which have been inserted; the great variety

of amusing matter of this kind contained in Mr. Barham's

memoranda, furnished perpetual temptations to transgress; how

they have been resisted it is for others to decide. The

anecdotes recorded of living persons are few in number, and

refer principally to men raised by their genius above the

common level of society, and who, as a necessary condition to

the eminence they enjoy, must be content to dispense with much

of that privilege of privacy which their less distinguished

brethren have a right to claim; it is a kind of quit-rent of

popularity which they are doubtless not indisposed to pay.

R. H. D. BARHAM.

LOLWORTH,

Nov. 17th, 1847.

THE LORD OF THOULOUSE: A LEGEND OF LANGUEDOC.

Veluti in speculum.-- Theatre Royal Cov. Gard.

Count Raymond rules in Languedoc,

O'er the champaign fair and wide,

With town and stronghold many a one,

Wash'd by the wave of the blue Garonne,

And from far Auvergne to Rousillon,

And away to Narbonne,

And the mouths of the Rhone;

And his Lyonnois silks and his Narbonne honey,

Bring in his lordship a great deal of money.

A thousand lances, stout and true,

Attend Count Raymond's call;

And Knights and Nobles, of high degree,

From Guienne, Provence, and Burgundy,

Before Count Raymond bend the knee,

And vail to him one and all.

And Isabel of Arragon

He weds, the Pride of Spain,

You might not find so rich a prize,

A Dame so 'healthy, wealthy, and wise;'

So pious withal -- with such beautiful eyes --

So exactly the Venus de Medicis size --

In all that wide domain.

Then his cellar is stored

As well as his board,

With the choicest of all La Belle France can afford;

Chambertin, Chateau Margaux, La Rose, and Lafitte,

With Moet's Champagne, 'of the Comet year,' 'neat

As imported,'--'fine sparkling,'-- and not over sweet;

While his Chaplain, good man, when call'd in to say grace,

Would groan, and put on an elongated face

At such turtle, such turbot, John Dory, and plaice,

Not without blushing, pronouncing a benison,

Worthy old soul! on such very fat venison,

Sighing to think

Such victuals and drink,

Are precisely the traps by which Satan makes men his own,

And grieving o'er scores

Of huge barbecued Boars,

Which he thinks should not darken a Christian man's doors,

Though 'twas all very well Pagan Poets should rate 'em

As 'Animal propter convivia natum.'

He was right, I must say,

For at this time of day,

When we're not so precise, whether cleric or lay,

With respect to our food, as in time so passé,

We still find our Boars, whether grave ones or gay,

After dinner, at least, very much in the way,

(We spell the word now with an E, not an A;)

And as honest Père Jacques was inclined to spare diet, he

Gave this advice to all grades of society,

'Think less of pudding -- and think more of piety.'

As to his clothes,

Oh! nobody knows

What lots the Count had of cloaks, doublets, and hose,

Pantoufles, with bows

Each as big as a rose,

And such shirts with lace ruffles, such waistcoats, and those

Indescribable garments it is not thought right

To do more than whisper to oreilles polite.

Still in spite of his power, and in spite of his riches,

In spite of his dinners, his dress, and his -- which is

The strangest of all things -- in spite of his Wife,

The Count led a rather hum-drum sort of life.

He grew tired, in fact, of mere eating and drinking,

Grew tired of flirting, and ogling, and winking

At nursery maids

As they walk'd the Parades,

The Crescents, the Squares, and the fine Colonnades,

And the other gay places, which young ladies use

As their promenade through the good town of Thoulouse.

He was tired of hawking, and fishing, and hunting,

Of billiards, short-whist, chicken-hazard, and punting;

Of popping at pheasants,

Quails, woodcocks, and -- peasants:

Of smoking, and joking,

And soaking, provoking

Such headaches next day

As his fine St. Peray,

Though the best of all Rhone wines can never repay,

Till weary of war, women, roast-goose, and glory,

With no great desire to be 'famous in story,'

All the day long,

This was his song,

'Oh, dear! what will become of us?

Oh, dear! what shall we do?

We shall die of blue devils if some of us

Can't hit on something that's new!'

Meanwhile his sweet Countess, so pious and good,

Such pomps and such vanities stoutly eschew'd,

With all fermented liquors and high-seasoned food,

Deviled kidneys, and sweetbreads, and ducks and green peas;

Baked sucking-pig, goose, and all viands like these,

Hash'd calve's-head included, no longer could please,

A curry was sure to elicit a breeze,

So was ale, or a glass of Port wine after cheese.

Indeed, any thing strong,

As to tipple, was wrong;

She stuck to 'fine Hyson,' 'Bohea,' and 'Souchong,'

And similar imports direct from Hong Kong.

In vain does the family doctor exhort her

To take with her chop one poor half-pint of porter;

No!-- she alleges

She's taken the pledges!

Determined to aid

In a gen'ral Crusade

Against publicans, vintners, and all of that trade,

And to bring in sherbet, ginger-pop, lemonade,

Eau sucrée, and drinkables mild and home made;

So she claims her friends' efforts, and vows to devote all hers

Solely to found 'The Thoulousian Teetotallers.'

Large sums she employs

In dressing small boys

In long duffle jackets, and short corduroys,

And she boxes their ears when they make too much noise;

In short, she turns out a complete Lady Bountiful,

Filling with drugs and brown Holland the county full.

Now just at the time when our story commences,

It seems that a case

Past the common took place,

To entail on her ladyship further expenses,

In greeting with honour befitting his station

The Prior of Arles, with a Temperance Legation,

Despatched by Pope Urban, who seized this occasion

To aid in diluting that part of the nation,

An excellent man,

One who stuck to his can

Of cold water 'without'-- and he'd take such a lot of it!

None of your sips

That just moistens the lips;

At one single draught he'd toss off a whole pot of it,

No such bad thing

By the way, if they bring

It you iced, as at Verey's, or fresh from the spring,

When the Dog Star compels folks in town to take wing,

Though I own even then I should see no great sin in it,

Were there three drops of Sir Felix's gin in it.

Well, leaving the lady to follow her pleasure,

And finish the pump with the Prior at leisure,

Let's go back to Raymond, still bored beyond measure,

And harping away,

On the same dismal lay,

'Oh dear! what will become of us?

Oh dear! what can we do?

We shall die of blue devils if some of us,

Can't find out something that's new!'

At length in despair of obtaining his ends

By his own mother wit, he takes courage, and sends,

Like a sensible man as he is, for his friends,

Not his Lyndhursts or Eldons, or any such high sirs,

But only a few of his 'backstairs' advisers;

'Come hither,' says he,

'My gallants so free,

My bold Rigmarole, and my brave Rigmaree,

And my grave Baron Proser, now listen to me!

You three can't but see I'm half dead with ennui.

What's to be done?

I must have some fun,

And I will too, that's flat -- ay, as sure as a gun,

So find me out 'something new under the sun,'

Or I'll knock your three jobbernowls all into one;--

You three

Agree!

Come, what shall it be?

Resolve me -- propound in three skips of a flea!'

Rigmarole gave a 'Ha!' Rigmaree gave a 'Hem!'

They look'd at Count Raymond -- Count Raymond at them

As much us to say 'Have you nihil ad rem?'

At length Baron Proser

Responded, 'You know, sir,

That question's some time been a regular poser;

Dear me!-- Let me see,--

In the way of a 'spree'

Something new?-- Eh!-- No!-- Yes!-- No!--' tis really no go,

sir.'

Says the Count, 'Rigmarole

You're as jolly a soul,

On the whole, as King Cole, with his pipe and his bowl;

Come, I'm sure you'll devise something novel and droll'--

In vain -- Rigmarole with a look most profound,

With his hand to his heart and his eye to the ground,

Shakes his head as if nothing was there to be found.

'I can only remark,

That as touching a 'lark'

I'm as much as your Highness can be, in the dark;

I can hit on no novelty -- none on my life,

Unless, peradventure you'd 'tea' with your wife!'

Quoth Raymond, 'Enough!

Nonsense!-- humbug!-- fudge!-- stuff!

Rigmarole, you're an ass,-- you're a regular Muff!

Drink tea with her ladyship?-- I?-- not a bit of it!

Call you that fun?-- faith I can't see the wit of it;

Mort de ma vie!

My dear Rigmaree,

You're the man, after all,-- come, by way of a fee,

If you will but be bright, from the simple degree

Of a knight I'll create you at once a Mar-quis!

Put your conjuring cap on -- consider and see,

If you can't beat that stupid old 'Sumph' with his 'tea!

'That's the thing! that will do!

Ay, marry, that's new!'

Cries Rigmaree, rubbing his hands, 'that will please --

My 'Conjuring cap'-- it's the thing;-- it's 'the cheese!'

It was only this morning I picked up the news;

Please your Highness a Conjuror's come to Thoulouse;

I'll defy you to name us,

A man half so famous

For devildoms,-- Sir, it's the great Nostradamus!

Cornelius Agrippa 'tis said went to school to him,

Gyngell's an ass, and old Faustus a fool to him,

Talk of Lilly, Albertus, Jack Dee!-- pooh! all six

He'd soon put in a pretty particular fix;

Why he'd beat, at digesting a sword, or 'Gun tricks'

The great Northern Wizard himself all to sticks!

I should like to see you,

Try to sauter le coup

With this chap at short whist, or unlimited loo,

By the Pope you'd soon find it a regular 'Do:'

Why he does as he likes with the cards,-- when he's got 'em,

There's always an Ace or a King at the bottom;

Then for casting Nativities!-- only you look

At the volume he's published,-- that wonderful book!

In all France not another, to swear I dare venture, is

Like, by long chalks, his 'Prophetical Centuries'--

Don't you remember how, early last summer, he

Warned the late King 'gainst the Tournament mummery?

Didn't his Majesty call it all flummery,

Scorning

The warning,

And get the next morning

His poke in the eye from that clumsy Montgomery?

Why he'll tell you, before

You're well inside his door,

All your Highness may wish to be up to, and more!'

'Bravo!-- capital!-- come, let's disguise ourselves -- quick!

-- Fortune's sent him on purpose here, just in the nick;

We'll see if old Hocus will smell out the trick;

Let's start off at once -- Rigmaree, you're a Brick!'

The moon in gentle radiance shone

O'er lowly roof and lordly bower,

O'er holy pile and armed tower,

And danced upon the blue Garonne;

Through all that silver'd city fair,

No sound disturbed the calm, cool air,

Save the lover's sigh alone!

Or where, perchance, some slumberer's nose

Proclaim'd the depth of his repose,

Provoking from connubial toes

A hint -- or elbow bone;

It might, with such trifling exceptions, be said,

That Thoulouse was as still as if Thoulouse were dead

And her 'oldest inhabitant' buried in lead.

But hark! a sound invades the ear,

Of horses' hoofs advancing near!

They gain the bridge -- they pass -- they're here!

Side by side

Two strangers ride,

For the streets in Thoulouse are sufficiently wide,

That is I'm assured they are -- not having tried.

-- See, now they stop

Near an odd looking shop,

And they knock, and they ring, and they won't be denied.

At length the command

Of some unseen hand

Chains, and bolts, and bars obey,

And the thick-ribbed oaken door, old and gray,

In the pale moonlight gives, slowly, way.

They leave their steeds to a page's care,

Who comes mounted behind on a Flanders mare,

And they enter the house, that resolute pair,

With a blundering step but a dare-devil air,

And ascend a long, darksome, and rickety stair;

While, armed with a lamp that just helps you to see

How uncommonly dark a place can be,

The grimmest of lads with the grimmest of grins,

Says, 'Gentlemen, please to take care of your shins!

Who ventures this road need be firm on his pins!

Now turn to the left -- now turn to the right --

Now a step -- now stoop -- now again upright --

Now turn once again, and directly before ye

's the door of the great Doctor's Labora-tory.'

A word! a blow!

And in they go!

No time to prepare, or to get up a show,

Yet every thing there they find quite comme il faut;

Such as queer-looking bottles and jars in a row,

Retorts, crucibles, such as all conjurors stow,

In the rooms they inhabit, huge bellows to blow

The fire burning blue with its sulphur and tow;

From the roof a huge crocodile hangs rather low,

With a tail, such as that, which, we all of us know,

Mr. Waterton managed to tie in a bow:

Pickled snakes, potted lizards, in bottles and basins

Like those at Morel's, or at Fortnum and Mason's,

All articles found, you're aware without telling,

In every respectable conjuror's dwelling.

Looking solemn and wise,

Without turning his eyes,

Or betraying the slightest degree of surprise,

In the midst sits the doctor -- his hair is white,

And his cheek is wan -- but his glance is bright,

And his long black roquelaure, not over tight,

Is marked with strange characters much, if not quite,

Like those on the bottles of green and blue light

Which you see in a chymist's shop-window at night.

His figure is tall and erect -- rather spare about

Ribs,-- and no wonder -- such folks never care about

Eating or drinking,

While reading and thinking,

Don't fatten -- his age might be sixty or thereabout.

Raising his eye so grave and so sage,

From some manuscript work of a bygone age,

The seer very composedly turns down the page,

Then shading his sight,

With his hand from the light,

Says, 'Well, Sirs, what would you at this time of night?

What brings you abroad these lone chambers to tread,

When all sober folks are at home and abed?'

'Trav'lers we,

In our degree,

All strange sights we fain would see,

And hither we come in company;

We have far to go, and we come from far,

Through Spain and Portingale, France and Navarre;

We have heard of your name,

And your fame, and our aim,

Great Sir, is to witness, ere yet we depart

From Thoulouse,-- and to-morrow at cock-crow we start --

Your skill -- we would fain crave a touch of your art!'

'Now naye, now naye -- no trav'lers ye!

Nobles ye be

Of high degree!

With half an eye that one may easily see,--

Count Raymond, your servant!-- Yours, Lord Rigmaree!

I must call you so now since you're made a Mar-quis;

Faith, clever boys both, but you can't humbug me!

No matter for that!

I see what you'd be at --

Well -- pray no delay,

For it's late, and ere day

I myself must be hundreds of miles on my way;

So tell me at once what you want with me -- say!

Shall I call up the dead

From their mouldering bed?--

Shall I send you yourselves down to Hades instead?--

Shall I summon old Harry himself to this spot?'--

--'Ten thousand thanks, No! we had much rather not.

We really can't say

That we're curious that way;

But, in brief, if you'll pardon the trouble we're giving,

We'd much rather take a sly peep at the living?

Rigmaree, what say you, in

This case, as to viewing

Our spouses, and just ascertain what they're doing?'

'Just what pleases your Highness -- I don't care a sous in

The matter -- but don't let old Nick and his crew in!'

--'Agreed!-- pray proceed then, most sage Nostradamus,

And show us our wives -- I dare swear they won't shame us!'

A change comes o'er the wizard's face,

And his solemn look by degrees gives place

To a half grave, half comical, kind of grimace.

'For good or for ill,

I work your will!

Yours be the risk and mine the skill;

Blame not my art if unpleasant the pill!'

He takes from a shelf, and he pops on his head,

A square sort of cap, black, and turned up with red,

And desires not a syllable more may be said;

He goes on to mutter,

And stutter, and sputter

Hard words, such as no men but wizards dare utter.

'Dies mies!-- Hocus pocus --

Adsis Demon! non est jokus!

Hi Cocolorum!-- don't provoke us!--

Adesto!

Presto!

Put forth your best toe!'

And many more words, to repeat which would choke us,--

Such a sniff then of brimstone!-- it did not last long,

Or they could not have borne it, the smell was so strong.

A mirror is near,

So large and so clear,

If you priced such a one in a drawing room here,

And was ask'd fifty pounds, you'd not say it was dear;

But a mist gather'd round at the words of the seer,

Till at length as the gloom

Was subsiding, a room

On its broad polish'd surface began to appear.

And the Count and his comrade saw plainly before 'em,

The room Lady Isabel called her 'Sanctorum.'

They start, well they might,

With surprise at the sight,

Methinks I hear some lady say, 'Serve 'em right!'

For on one side the fire

Is seated the Prior,

At the opposite corner a fat little Friar;

By the side of each gentleman, easy and free,

Sits a lady, as close as close well may be,

She might almost as well have been perch'd on his knee.

Dear me! dear me!

Why one's Isabel -- she

On the opposite side's La Marquise Rigmaree!--

To judge from the spread

On the board, you'd have said

That the partie quarrée had like aldermen fed,

And now from long flasks, with necks covered with lead,

They were helping themselves to champagne, white and red.

Hobbing and nobbing,

And nodding and bobbing,

With many a sip

Both from cup and from lip,

And with many a toast followed up by a 'Hip!--

Hip!-- hip!-- huzzay!'

-- The Count, by the way,

Though he sees all their doing, can't hear what they say,

Notwithstanding both he

And Mar-quis Rigmaree

Are so vex'd and excited at what they can see,

That each utters a sad word beginning with D.

That word once spoke,

The silence broke,

In an instant the vision is cover'd with smoke!

But enough has been seen. 'Horse! horse! and away!'

They have, neither, the least inclination to stay,

E'en to thank Nostradamus, or ask what's to pay.--

They rush down the stair,

How, they know not, nor care,

The next moment the Count is astride on his bay,

And my Lord Rigmaree on his mettlesome grey;

They dash through the town,

Now up, and now down;

And the stones rattle under their hoofs as they ride,

As if poor Thoulouse were as mad as Cheapside;<1>

Through lane, alley, and street,

Over all that they meet;

The Count leads the way on his courser so fleet,

My Lord Rigmaree close pursuing his beat,

With the page in the rear to protect the retreat.

Where the bridge spans the river, so wide and so deep,

Their headlong career o'er the causeway they keep,

Upsetting the watchman, two dogs, and a sweep,

All the town population that was not asleep.

They at length reach the castle, just outside the town,

Where -- in peace it was usual with Knights of renown --

The portcullis was up, and the drawbridge was down.

They dash by the sentinels --'France et Thoulouse!'

Ev'ry soldier (--they then wore cock'd hats and long queues,

Appendages banish'd from modern reviews),

His arquebus lower'd, and bow'd to his shoes;

While Count Raymond pushed on to his lady's boudoir -- he

Had made up his mind to make one at her soirée.

He rush'd to that door,

Where ever before,

He had rapped with his knuckles, and 'tirled at the pin,'

Till he heard the soft sound of his Lady's 'Come in!'

But now, with a kick from his iron-heel'd boot,

Which, applied to a brick wall, at once had gone through't,

He dash'd open the lock;

It gave way at the shock!

(-- Dear ladies, don't think in recording the fact,

That your bard's for one moment defending the act,

No -- it is not a gentleman's -- none but a low body

Now could perform it) -- and there he saw -- NOBODY!!

Nobody?-- No!!

Oh, ho!-- Oh, ho!

There was not a table -- there was not a chair

Of all that Count Raymond had ever seen there

(They'd maroon-leather bottoms well stuff'd with horse-hair),

That was out of its place!--

There was not a trace

Of a party -- there was not a dish or a plate --

No sign of a tablecloth -- nothing to prate

Of a supper, symposium, or sitting up late;

There was not a spark of fire left in the grate,

It had all been poked out, and remained in that state.

If there was not a fire,

Still less was there Friar,

Marquise, or long glasses, or Countess, or Prior!

And the Count, who rush'd in open mouth'd, was struck dumb,

And could only ejaculate, 'Well!-- this is rum!'

He rang for the maids -- had them into the room

With the butler, the footman, the coachman, the groom.

He examined them all very strictly -- but no!

Notwithstanding he cross-and re-question'd them so,

'Twas in vain -- it was clearly a case of 'No Go!'

'Their Lady,' they said,

'Had gone early to bed,

Having rather complain'd of a cold in her head --

The stout little Friar, as round as an apple,

Had pass'd the whole night in a vigil in chapel,

While the Prior himself, as he'd usually done,

Had rung in the morning, at half-after one,

For his jug of cold water and twopenny bun,

And been visible, since they were brought him, to none.

But,' the servants averr'd,

'From the sounds that were heard

To proceed now and then from the father's sacellum,

They thought he was purging

His sins with a scourging,

And making good use of his knotted flagellum.'

For Madame Rigmaree,

They all testified, she

Had gone up to her bed-chamber soon after tea,

And they really supposed that there still she must be,

Which her spouse, the Mar-quis,

Found at once to agree

With the rest of their tale, when he ran up to see.

Alack for Count Raymond! he could not conceive

How the case really stood, or know what to believe;

Nor could Rigmaree settle to laugh or to grieve.

There was clearly a hoax,

But which of the folks

Had managed to make them the butt of their jokes,

Wife or wizard, they both knew no more than Jack Nokes;

That glass of the wizard's

Stuck much in their gizzards,

His cap, and his queer cloak all X's and Izzards;

Then they found, when they came to examine again,

Some slight falling off in the stock of champagne,

Small, but more than the butler could fairly explain.

However, since nothing could make the truth known,

Why,-- they thought it was best to let matters alone.

The Count in the garden

Begg'd Isabel's pardon

Next morning for waking her up in a fright,

By the racket he'd kicked up at that time of night;

And gave her his word he had ne'er misbehaved so,

Had he not come home as tipsy as David's sow.

Still, to give no occasion for family snarls,

The friar was pack'd back to his convent at Arles,

While as for the prior,

At Raymond's desire,

The Pope raised his rev'rence a step or two higher,

And made him a bishop in partibus -- where

His see was I cannot exactly declare,

Or describe his cathedral, not having been there,

But I dare say you'll all be prepared for the news,

When I say 'twas a good many miles from Thoulouse,

Where the prelate, in order to set a good precedent,

Was enjoin'd, as a sine quâ non, to be resident.

You will fancy with me,

That Count Raymond was free,

For the rest of his life, from his former ennui;

Still it somehow occurr'd that as often as he

Chanced to look in the face of my Lord Rigmaree,

There was something or other -- a trifling degree

Of constraint -- or embarrassment -- easy to see,

And which seem'd to be shared by the noble Mar-quis,

While the ladies -- the queerest of all things, by half in

My tale, never met from that hour without laughing!

MORAL.

Good gentlemen all, who are subjects of Hymen,

Don't make new acquaintances rashly, but try men,

Avoid above all things your cunning (that's sly) men!

Don't go out o' nights

To see conjuring sleights,

But shun all such people, delusion whose trade is;

Be wise!-- stay at home and take tea with the ladies.

If you chance to be out,

At a 'regular bout,'

And get too much of 'Abbot's Pale Ale' or 'Brown Stout,'

Don't be cross when you come home at night to your spouse,

Nor be noisy, nor kick up a dust in the house!

Be careful yourself, and admonish your sons,

To beware of all folks who love twopenny buns!

And don't introduce to your wife or your daughter,

A sleek, meek, weak gent -- who subsists on cold water!

NOTES

1. 'The stones did rattle underneath,

As if Cheapside were mad.'

-- Gilpin's Tour in Middlesex and Herts .

The main incident recorded in the following excerpta from out

family papers has but too solid a foundation. The portrait of

Roger Ingoldsby is not among those in the gallery, but I have

some recollection of having seen, when a boy, a picture

answering the description here given of him, much injured, and

lying without a frame in one of the attics.

THE WEDDING-DAY; OR, THE BUCCANEER'S CURSE: A FAMILY LEGEND.

It has a jocund sound,

That gleeful marriage chime,

As from the old and ivied tower,

It peals, at the early matin hour,

Its merry, merry round;

And the Spring is in its prime,

And the song-bird, on the spray,

Trills from his throat, in varied note,

An emulative lay --

It has a joyous sound!!

And the Vicar is there with his wig and his book,

And the Clerk with his grave, quasi-sanctified look,

And there stand the village maids all with their posies,

Their lilies, and daffy-down-dillies, and roses,

Dight in white,

A comely sight,

Fringing the path to the left and the right;

-- From our nursery days we all of us know

Ne'er doth 'Our Ladye's garden grow'

So fair for a 'Grand Horticultural Show'

As when border'd with 'pretty maids all on a row.'

And the urchins are there, escap'd from the rule

Of that 'Limbo of Infants,' the National School,

Whooping, and bawling,

And squalling, and calling,

And crawling, and creeping,

And jumping, and leaping,

Bo-peeping 'midst 'many a mouldering heap' in

Whose bosom their own 'rude forefathers' are sleeping;

-- Young rascals!-- instead of lamenting and weeping,

Laughing and gay,

A gorge deployée --

Only now and then pausing -- and checking their play,

To 'wonder what 'tis makes the gentlefolks stay,'

Ah, well a-day!

Little deem they,

Poor ignorant dears! the bells, ringing away,

Are any thing else

Than mere parish bells,

Or that each of them, should we go into its history,

Is but a 'Symbol' of some deeper mystery --

That the clappers and ropes

Are mere practical tropes

Of 'trumpets' and 'tongues,' and of 'preachers,' and popes,

Unless Clement the fourth's worthy Chaplin, Durand, err,

See the 'Rationale,' of that goosey-gander.

Gently! gently, Miss Muse!

Mind your P's and your Q's!

Don't be malapert -- laugh, Miss, but never abuse!

Calling names, whether done to attack or to back a schism,

Is, Miss, believe me, a great piece of jack-ass-ism,

And as, on the whole,

You're a good-natured soul,

You must never enact such a pitiful rôle.

No, no, Miss, pull up, and go back to your boys

In the churchyard, who're making this hubbub and noise --

But hush! there's an end to their romping and mumming,

For voices are heard -- here's the company coming!

And see!-- the avenue gates unfold,

And forth they pace, that bridal train,

The grave, the gay, the young, the old,

They cross the green and grassy lane,

Bridesman, Bridesmaid, Bridegroom, Bride,

Two by two, and side by side,

Uncles, and aunts, friends tried and prov'd,

And cousins, a great many times removed.

A fairer or a gentler she,

A lovelier maid, in her degree,

Man's eye might never hope to see,

Than darling, bonnie Maud Ingoldsby,

The flow'r of that goodly company;

While whispering low, with bated voice,

Close by her side, her heart's dear choice,

Walks Fredville's hope, young Valentine Boys.

-- But where, oh where,--

Is Ingoldsby's heir?

Little Jack Ingoldsby?-- where, oh where?

Why he's here,-- and he's there,

And he's every where --

He's there, and he's here;

In the front -- in the rear,--

Now this side, now that side,-- now far, and now near --

The Puck of the party, the darling 'pet' boy,

Full of mischief, and fun, and good humour and joy;

With his laughing blue eye, and his cheek like a rose,

And his long curly locks, and his little snub nose;

In his tunic, and trousers, and cap -- there he goes!

Now pinching the bridesmen,-- now teazing his sister,

And telling the bridesmaids how 'Valentine kiss'd her;'

The torment, the plague, the delight of them all,

See he's into the churchyard!-- he's over the wall --

Gambolling, frolicking, capering away,

He's the first in the church, be the second who may!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

'Tis o'er;-- the holy rite is done,

The rite that 'incorporates two in one,'

-- And now for the feasting, and frolic, and fun!

Spare we to tell of the smiling and sighing,

The shaking of hands, the embracing, and crying,

The 'toot -- toot -- toot'

Of the tabour and flute,

Of the white wigg'd Vicar's prolonged salute,

Or of how the blithe 'College Youths,'-- rather old stagers

Accustom'd, for years, to pull bell ropes for wagers --

Rang, faster than ever, their 'triple-bob-majors;'

(So loud as to charm ye,

At once and alarm ye;

--'Symbolic,' of course, of that rank in the army.)

Spare we to tell of the fees and the dues

To the 'little old woman that open'd the pews,'

Of the largesse bestow'd on the Sexton and Clerk,

Of the four-year-old sheep roasted whole in the park,

Of the laughing and joking,

The quaffing and smoking.

And chaffing, and broaching -- that is to say, poking

A hole in a mighty magnificent tub

Of what men, in our hemisphere, term 'Humming Bub.'

But which gods,-- who, it seems, use a different lingo

From mortals,-- are wont to denominate 'Stingo.'

Spare we to tell of the horse-collar grinning;

The cheese! the reward of the ugly one winning;--

Of the young ladies racing for Dutch body-linen,--

-- The soapy-tailed sow,-- a rich prize when you've caught

her,--

Of little boys bobbing for pippins in water;

The smacks and the whacks,

And the jumpers in sacks,

These down on their noses and those on their backs;--

Nor skills it to speak of those darling old ditties,

Sung rarely in hamlets now -- never in cities,

The 'King and the Miller,' the 'Bold Robin Hood,'

'Chevy Chase,' 'Gilderoy,' and the 'Babes in the Wood!'

-- You'll say that my taste

Is sadly misplaced,

But I can't help confessing these simple old tunes

The 'Auld Robin Grays,' and the 'Aileen Aroons,'

The 'Gramachree Mollys' and the 'Sweet Bonny Doons'

Are dearer to me,

In a tenfold degree,

Than a fine fantasia from over the sea;

And, for sweetness, compared with a Beethoven fugue, are

As 'best-refined loaf,' to the coarsest 'brown sugar;'<1>

-- Alack, for the Bard's want of science! to which he owes

All this misliking of foreign capricios!--

Not that he'd say

One word, by the way,

To disparage our new Idol, Monsieur Duprez --

But he grudges, he owns, his departed half guinea

Each Saturday night when devoured by chagrin, he

Sits listening to singers whose names end in ini.

But enough of the rustics -- let's leave them pursuing

Their out-of-door gambols, and just take a view in

The inside the hall, and see what they are doing;

And first there's the Squire,

The hale, hearty sire

Of the bride,-- with his coat-tails subducted and higher,

A thought, than they're commonly wont to aspire;

His back and his buckskins exposed to the fire;--

-- Bright, bright are his buttons,-- and bright is the hue

Of his squarely-cut coat of fine Saxony blue;

And bright the shalloon of his little quilled queue;

-- White, white as 'Young England's,' the dimity vest

Which descends like an avalanche o'er his broad breast,

Till its further progression is put in arrest

By the portly projection that springs from his chest,

Overhanging the garment -- that can't be exprest;

-- White, white are his locks,-- which, had Nature fair play,

Had appeared a clear brown, slightly sprinkled with grey,

But they're white as the peaks of Plinlimmon to-day,

Or Ben Nevis, his pate is si bien poudré!

Bright, bright are the boots that envelope his heels,

-- Bright, bright is the gold chain suspending his seals,

And still brighter yet may the gazer descry

The tear-drop that spangles the fond father's eye

As it lights on the bride --

His belov'd one -- the pride

And delight of his heart,-- sever'd now from his side;--

But brighter than all,

Arresting its fall,

Is the smile, that rebukes it for spangling at all,

-- A clear case, in short, of what old poets tell, as

Blind Homer for instance, En dakresi gelas.

Then, there are the Bride and the Bridegroom, withdrawn

To the deep Gothic window that looks on the lawn,

Ensconced on a squab of maroon-coloured leather,

And talking -- and thinking, no doubt -- of the weather.

But here comes the party -- Room! room for the guests!

In their Pompadour coats, and laced ruffles, and vests,

-- First, Sir Charles Grandison

Baronet, and his son,

Charles,-- the mamma does not venture to 'show'--

-- Miss Byron, you know,

She was call'd long ago --

For that lady, 'twas said, had been playing the d--l,

Last season, in town, with her old beau, Squire Greville,

Which very much shock'd, and chagrin'd, as may well be

Supposed, 'Doctor Bartlett,' and 'Good Uncle Selby.'

-- Sir Charles, of course, could not give Greville his gruel,

Order to prove his abhorrence of duelling,

Nor try for, deterr'd by the serious expense, a

Complete separation, a thoro et mensâ,

So he 'kept a calm sough,' and, when asked to a party,

A dance, or a dinner, or tea and ecarté,

He went with his son, and said, looking demurely,

He'd 'left her at home, as she found herself poorly.'

Two Foreigners near,

'Of distinction,' appear;

A pair more illustrious you ne'er heard of, or saw,

Count Ferdinand Fathom,-- Count Thaddeus of Warsaw,

All cover'd with glitt'ring bijouterie and hair -- Poles,

Whom Lord Dudley Stuart calls 'Patriot,'-- Hook 'Bare Poles;'

Such rings, and such brooches, such studs, and such pins!

'Twere hard to say which

Were more gorgeous and rich,

Or more truly Mosaic, their chains on their chins!

Next Sir Roger de Coverley,-- Mr. Will Ramble,

With Dame Lismahago, (née Tabitha Bramble),--

Mr. Random and Spouse,-- Mrs. Pamela Booby,

(Whose nose was acquiring a tinge of the ruby,

And 'people did say'-- but no matter for that,. . .

Folks were not then enlighten'd by good Father Mat.) --

-- Three friends from 'the Colonies' near them were seen,

The great Massachussetts man, General Muff Green,--

Mr. Jonathan W.Doubikins,-- men

'Influential some,'-- and their 'smart' Uncle Ben;--

Rev. Abraham Adams (preferr'd to a stall),--

-- Mr. Jones and his Lady, from Allworthy Hall;

-- Our friend Tom, by the way,

Had turn'd out rather gay

For a married man -- certainly 'people did say.'

He was shrewdly suspected of using his wife ill,

And being as sly as his half-brother Blifil.--

(Miss Seagrim, 'tis well known, was now in high feather,

And 'people did say,' they'd been seen out together,--

A fact, the 'Boy Jones,' who, in our days, with malice

Aforethought, so often got into the Palace,

Would seem to confirm, as, 'tis whispered he owns, he's

The son of a natural son of Tom Jones's.)

Lady Bellaston, (mem. she had not been invited!),

Sir Peregrine Pickle, now recently knighted,--

All joyous, all happy, all looking delighted!

-- It would bore you to death should I pause to describe,

Or enumerate, half of the elegant tribe

Who filled the back ground,

And among whom were found

The elîte of the old county families round,

Such as Honeywood, Oxenden, Knatchbull, and Norton,

Matthew Robinson,<2> too, with his beard, from Monk's Horton,

The Faggs, and Finch-Hattons, Tokes, Derings, and Deedess,

And Fairfax, (who then called the castle of Leeds his;)

Esquires, Knights, and Lords,

In bag-wigs and swords;

And the troops, and the groups

Of fine Ladies in hoops;

The pompoons, the Toupées, and the diamonds and feathers

The flowered-silk sacques

Which they wore on their backs,--

-- How?-- sacques and pompoons, with the Squire's boots and

leathers?--

Stay! stay!-- I suspect,

Here's a trifling neglect

On your part, Madame Muse -- though you're commonly accurate,

As to costume, as brown Quaker, or black Curate,

For once, I confess,

Here you're out as to dress;--

You've been fairly caught napping, which gives me distress,

For I can't but acknowledge it is not the thing,

Sir Roger de Coverley's laced suit to bring

Into contact with square-cut coats,-- such as George Byng,

And poor dear Sir Francis appeared in, last spring.--

So, having for once been compelled to acknowledge, I

've made a small hole in our mutual chronology,

Canter on, Miss, without farther apology,--

Only don't make

Such another mistake,

Or you'll get in a scrape, of which I shall partake;--

Enough!-- you are sorry for what you have done,

So dry your eyes, Miss, blow your nose, and go on!

Well -- the party are met, all radiant and gay,

And how every person is dress'd -- we won't say;

Suffice it, they all come glad homage to pay

To our dear 'bonnie Maud,' on her own wedding-day,

To dance at her bridal, and help 'throw the stocking,'

-- A practice that's now discontinued as shocking.

There's a breakfast, they know --

There always is so

On occasions like these, wheresoever you go.

Of course there are 'lots' of beef, potted and hung,

Prawns, lobsters, cold fowl, and cold ham, and cold tongue,

Hot tea, and hot coffee, hot rolls, and hot toast,

Cold pigeon-pie (rook?), and cold boil'd and cold roast,

Scotch marmalade, jellies, cold creams, colder ices --

Blancmange, which young ladies say, so very nice is,--

Rock-melons in thick, pines in much thinner slices,--

Char, potted with clarified butter and spices,

Renewing an appetite long past its crisis --

Refined barley-sugar, in various devices.

Such as bridges, and baskets, and temples, and grottos --

And nasty French lucifer snappers with mottoes.

-- In short, all those gimcracks together were met

Which people of fashion tell Gunter to get

When they give a grand dejeuner à la fourchette --

(A phrase which, though French, in our language still lingers,

Intending a breakfast with forks and not fingers.)

And see! what a mountainous bridecake!-- a thing

By itself -- with small pieces to pass through the ring!

Now as to the wines!--'Ay, the wine!' cries the Squire,

Letting fall both his coat-tails,-- which nearly take fire,--

Rubbing his hands,

He calls out, as he stands,

To the serving-men waiting 'his Honour's' commands,

'The wine!-- to be sure -- here you Harry -- Bob -- Dick --

The wine, don't you hear?-- bring us lights -- come, be quick!-

-

And a crow-bar to knock down the mortar and brick --

Say what they may

'Fore George, we'll make way

Into old Roger Ingoldsby's cellar to-day;

And let loose his captives, imprison'd so long,

His flasks, and his casks, that he bricked up so strong!'--

--' Oh dear! oh dear! Squire Ingoldsby, bethink you what you

do!'

Exclaims old Mrs. Botherby,<3> -- she is in such a stew!--

'Oh dear! oh dear! what do I hear?-- full oft you've heard me

tell

Of the curse 'Will Roger' left upon whoe'er should break his

cell!

'Full five-and-twenty years are gone since Roger went away,

As I bethink me, too, it was upon this very day!

And I was then a comely dame, and you, a springald gay,

Were up and down to London town, at opera, ball, and play;

Your locks were nut-brown then, Squire -- you grow a little

grey!--

''Wild Roger,' so we call'd him then, your grandsire's youngest

son,

He was in truth,

A wayward youth,

We fear'd him, every one,

In ev'ry thing he had his will, he would be stayed by none,

And when he did a naughty thing, he laugh'd and call'd it fun!

-- One day his father child him sore -- I know not what he'd

done,

But he scorn'd reproof;

And from this roof

Away that night he run!

'Seven years were gone and over --' Wild Roger' came again,

He spoke of forays and of frays upon the Spanish Main;

And he had store of gold galore, and silks, and satins fine,

And flasks, and casks of Malvoisie, and precious Gascon wine!

Rich booties he had brought, he said, across the western wave,

And came, in penitence and shame, now of his sire to crave,

Forgiveness and a welcome home -- his sire was in his grave!

'Your Father was a kindly man -- he played a brother's part,

He press'd his brother to his breast -- he had a kindly heart,

Fain would he have him tarry here, their common hearth to

share,

But Roger was the same man still,-- he scorn'd his brother's

pray'r!

He call'd his crew,-- away he flew, and on those foreign shores

Got kill'd in some outlandish place -- they call it the

Eyesores;<4>

But ere he went,

And quitted Kent,

-- I well recall the day,--

His flasks and casks of Gascon wine he safely 'stow'd away;'

Within the cellar's deepest nook, he safely stow'd them all,

And Mason Jones brought bricks and stones, and they built up

the wall.

'Oh! then it was a fearful thing to hear 'Wild Roger's ban!

Good gracious me! I never heard the like from mortal man;

'Here's that,' quoth he, 'shall serve me well, when I return at

last,

A batter'd hulk, to quaff and laugh at toils and dangers past;

Accurst be he, whoe'er he be, lays hand on gear of mine,

Till I come back again from sea, to broach my Gascon wine!'

And more he said, which filled with dread all those who

listen'd there;

In sooth my very blood ran cold, it lifted up my hair

With very fear, to stand and hear 'Wild Roger' curse and

swear!!

He saw my fright, as well he might, but still he made his game,

He called me 'Mother Bounce-about,' my Gracious, what a name!

Nay, more 'an old'-- some 'boat-woman,'-- I may not say for

shame!--

Then, gentle Master, pause awhile, give heed to what I tell,

Nor break, on such a day as this, 'Wild Roger's' secret cell!'

'Pooh! pooh!' quoth the Squire,

As he mov'd from the fire,

And bade the old Housekeeper quickly retire,

'Pooh!-- never tell me!

Nonsense -- fiddle-de-dee!

What?-- wait Uncle Roger's return back from sea?--

Why he may, as you say,

Have been somewhat too gay,

And, no doubt, was a broth of a boy in his way;

But what's that to us, now, at this time of day?--

What, if some quarrel

With Dering or Darrell --

-- I hardly know which, but I think it was Dering,--

Sent him back in a huff to his old privateering,

Or what his unfriends chose to call Buccaneering,

It's twenty years since, as we very well know,

He was knock'd on the head in a skirmish, and so

Why rake up 'auld warld' tales of deeds long ago?--

-- Foul befall him who would touch the deposit

Of living man, whether in cellar or closet!

But since, as I've said,

Knock'd on the head,

Uncle Roger has now been some twenty years dead,

As for his wine,

I'm his heir, and it's mine!

And I'd long ago work'd it well, but that I tarried

For this very day --

And I'm sure you'll all say

I was right -- when my own darling Maud should get married!

So lights and a crow-bar!-- the only thing lies

On my conscience, at all, with respect to this prize,

Is some little compunction anent the Excise --

Come -- you, Master Jack,

Be the first, and bring back

Whate'er comes to hand -- Claret, Burgundy, Sack --

Head the party, and mind that you're back in a crack!'

Away go the clan,

With cup and with can,

Little Jack Ingoldsby leading the van;

Little reck they of the Buccaneer's ban,

Hope whispers, 'Perchance we'll fall in with strong beer too

here!'

Blest thought! which sets them all grinning from ear to ear!

Through cellar one, through cellars two,

Through cellars three they past!

And their way they took

To the farthest nook

Of cellar four -- the last!--

Blithe and gay, they batter away,

On this wedding-day of Maud's,

With all their might, to bring to light,

'Wild Roger's' 'Custom-house frauds!'

And though stone and brick

Be never so thick,

When stoutly assailed, they are no bar

To the powerful charm

Of a Yeoman's arm

When wielding a decentish crow-bar!

Down comes brick, and down comes stone,

One by one --

The job's half done!--

'Where is he?-- now come -- where's Master John?'--

-- There's a breach in the wall three feet by two,

And Little Jack Ingoldsby soon pops through!

Hark!-- what sound's that?-- a sob?-- a sigh?--

The choking gasp of a stifled cry?--

'-- What can it be?--

Let's see!-- let's see!

It can't be little Jack Ingoldsby?

The candle -- quick!'--

Through stone and through brick,

They poke in the light on a long split stick;

But ere he who holds it can wave it about,

He gasps, and he sneezes -- THE LIGHT GOES OUT!

Yet were there those, in after days,

Who said that pale light's flickering blaze,

For a moment, gleam'd on a dark Form there,

Seem'd as bodied of foul black air!--

-- In Mariner's dress,-- with cutlass braced

By buckle and broad black belt, to its waist,--

-- On a cock'd-hat, laced

With gold, and placed

With a degagée, devil-may-care, kind of taste,

O'er a balafré brow by a scar defaced!--

That Form, they said, so foul and so black

Grinn'd as it pointed at poor little Jack.--

-- I know not, I, how the truth may be,

But the pent up vapour, at length set free,

Set them all sneezing,

And coughing, and wheezing,

As, working its way

To the regions of day,

It, at last, let a purer and healthier breeze in!

Of their senses bereft,

To the right and the left,

Those varlets so lately courageous and stout,

There they lay kicking and sprawling about,

Like Billingsgate fresh fish, unconscious of ice,

Or those which, the newspapers give us advice,

Mr. Taylor, of Lombard-street, sells at half-price!

-- Nearer the door, some half dozen, or more!

Scramble away

To the rez de chaussée,

(As our Frenchified friend always calls his ground-floor,)

And they call, and they bawl, and they bellow and roar

For lights, vinegar, brandy, and fifty things more.

At length, after no little clamour and din,

The foul air let out and the fresh air let in,

They drag one and all

Up into the hall,

Where a medical Quaker, the great Dr. Lettsom,

Who's one of the party, 'bleeds, physicks, and sweats 'em.'

All?-- all -- save One --

--' But He!-- my Son?--

Merciful Heaven!-- where -- WHERE IS JOHN?'

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

Within that cell, so dark and deep,

Lies One, as in a tranquil sleep,

A sight to make the sternest weep!--

-- That little heart is pulseless now,

And cold that fair and open brow,

And closed that eye that beam'd with joy

And hope --' Oh, God! my Boy!-- my Boy!'

Enough!-- I may not,-- dare not,-- show

The wretched Father's frantic woe,

The Mother's tearless, speechless -- No!

I may not such a theme essay --

Too bitter thoughts crowd in and stay

My pen -- sad memory will have way!

Enough!-- at once I close the lay,

Of fair Maud's fatal Wedding-day!

It has a mournful sound,

That single, solemn Bell!

As to the hills and woods around,

It flings its deep-toned knell;

That measured toll!-- alone -- apart,

It strikes upon the human heart!

-- It has a mournful sound!--

MORAL.

Come, come, Mrs. Muse, we can't part in this way,

Or you'll leave me as dull as ditch-water all day.

Try and squeeze out a Moral or two from your lay!

And let us part cheerful, at least, if not gay!

First and foremost then, Gentlefolks, learn from my song,

Not to lock up your wine, or malt-liquor, too long!

Though Port should have age,

Yet I don't think it sage

To entomb it, as some of your connoisseurs do,

Till it's losing in flavour, and body, and hue;

-- I question if keeping it does it much good

After ten years in bottle and three in the wood.

If any young man, though a snubb'd younger brother,

When told of his faults by his father and mother,

Runs restive, and goes off to sea in a huff,

Depend on't, my friends, that young man is a Muff!

Next -- ill-gotten gains

Are not worth the pains!--

They prosper with no one!-- so whether cheroots,

Or Havanna cigars,-- or French gloves, or French boots,--

Whatever you want, pay the duty!-- nor when you

Buy any such articles, cheat the revenue!

And 'now to conclude,'--

For it's high time I should,--

When you do rejoice, mind,-- whatsoever you do,

That the hearts of the lowly rejoice with you too!--

Don't grudge them their jigs,

And their frolics and 'rigs,'

And don't interfere with their soapy-tail'd pigs;

Nor 'because thou art virtuous,' rail, and exhale,

An anathema, breathing of vengeance and wail,

Upon every complexion less pale than sea-kail!

Nor dismiss the poor man to his pump and his pail,

With 'Drink there!-- we'll have henceforth no more cakes and

ale!!

NOTES

1. Ad Amicum, Servientem ad legem --

This rhyme, if, when scann'd by your critical ear, it

Is not quite legitimate, comes pretty near it.-- T.I.

2. A worthy and eccentric country gentleman, afterwards the

second Lord Rokeby, being cousin ('a great many times removed')

and successor in the barony to Richard, Archbishop of Armagh,

who first bore that title.-- His beard was truly Patriarchal.--

Mr. Muntz's -- pooh!--

3. Great grandmamma, by the father's side, to the excellent

lady of the same name who yet 'keeps the keys' at Tappington.

4. Azores?-- Mrs. Botherby's orthography, like that of her

distinguished contemporary Baron Duberly, was 'a little loose.'

'MOX Regina filium peperit a multis optatem et a Deo

sanctificatum. Cumque Infans natus fuisset, statim clara voce,

omnibus audientibus, clamavit "Christianus sum! Christianus

sum! Christianus sum!" Ad hanc vocem Presbyteri duo, Widerinus

et Edwoldus, dicentes Deo Gratias, et omnes qui aderant

mirantes, cœperunt cantare Te Deum laudamus. Quo facto rogabat

Infans cathecumenum a Widerino sacerdote fieri, et ab Edwoldo

teneri ad praesignaculum fidei et Eomwoldum vocari'-- NOV.

LEGEND. ANGL. IN VITA SCTI ROMUALDI.

THE BLASPHEMER'S WARNING: A LAY OF ST. ROMWOLD.

In Kent, we are told,

There was seated of old,

A handsome young gentleman, courteous and bold,

He'd an oaken strong-box, well replenish'd with gold,

With broad lands, pasture, arable, woodland, and wold,

Not an acre of which had been mortgaged or sold;

He'd a Plesaunce and Hall passing fair to behold,

He had beeves in the byre, he had flocks in the fold,

And was somewhere about five-and-twenty years old.

His figure and face,

For beauty and grace,

To the best in the county had scorn'd to give place.

Small marvel then,

If, of women and men

Whom he chanced to foregather with, nine out of ten

Express'd themselves charm'd with Sir Alured Denne.

From my earliest youth,

I've been taught, as a truth,

A maxim which most will consider as sooth,

Though a few, peradventure, may think it uncouth;

There are three social duties, the whole of the swarm

In this great human hive of ours, ought to perform,

And that too as soon as conveniently may be;

The first of the three --

Is, the planting a Tree!

The next, the producing a Book -- then, a Baby!

(For my part, dear Reader, without any jesting, I

So far at least, have accomplished my destiny.)

From the foremost, i.e.

The 'planting the Tree,'

The knight, may, perchance, have conceiv'd himself free,

Inasmuch as that, which way soever he looks

Over park, mead, or upland, by streamlets and brooks

His fine beeches and elms shelter thousands of rooks;

In twelve eighty-two,

There would also accrue

Much latitude as to the article, Books;

But, if those we've disposed of, and need not recall,

Might, as duties, appear in comparison small,

One remain'd, there was no getting over at all,

-- The providing a male Heir for Bonnington Hall;

Which, doubtless, induced the good Knight to decide,

As a matter of conscience, on taking a Bride.

It's a very fine thing, and delightful to see

Inclination and duty unite and agree,

Because it's a case

That so rarely takes place;

In the instance before us then Alured Denne

Might well be esteem'd the most lucky of men,

Inasmuch as hard by,

Indeed so very nigh,

That her chimneys, from his, you might almost descry,

Dwelt a Lady at whom he'd long cast a sheep's eye,

One whose character scandal itself could defy,

While her charms and accomplishments rank'd very high,

And who would not deny

A propitious reply,

But reflect back his blushes, and give sigh for sigh.

(A line that's not mine, but Tom Moore's, by-the-bye.)

There was many a gay and trim bachelor near,

Who felt sick at heart when the news met his ear,

That fair Edith Ingoldsby, she whom they all

The 'Rosebud of Tappington' ceased not to call,

Was going to say,

'Honour, love, and obey'

To Sir Alured Denne, Knight, of Bonnington Hall,

That all other suitors were left in the lurch,

And the parties had even been 'out-asked' in church,

For every one says,

In those primitive days,

And I must own I think it redounds to their praise,

None dream'd of transferring a daughter or niece

As a bride, by an 'unstamp'd agreement,' or lease,

'Fore a Register's Clerk, or a Justice of Peace,

While young ladies had fain

Single women remain,

And unwedded maids to the last 'crack of doom' stick,

Ere marry, by taking a jump o'er a broomstick.

So our bride and bridegroom agreed to appear

At holy St. Romwold's, a Priory near,

Which a long while before, I can't say in what year,

Their forebears had join'd with the neighbours to rear,

And endow'd, some with bucks, some with beef, some with beer,

To comfort the friars, and make them good cheer.

Adorning the building,

With carving and gilding,

And stone altars, fix'd to the chantries and fill'd in;

(Papistic in substance and form, and on this count

With Judge Herbert Jenner Fust justly at discount.

See Cambridge Societas Camdeniensis

V. Faulkner, tert. prim. Januarii mensis,

With 'Judgment reversed, costs of suit, and expenses;)'

All raised to St. Romwold, with some reason, styled

By Duke Humphrey's confessor,<1> 'a Wonderful Child,'

For ne'er yet was Saint, except him, upon earth

Who made 'his profession of faith' at his birth,

And when scarce a foot high, or six inches in girth,

Converted his 'Ma,' and contrived to amend a

Sad hole in the creed of his grandsire, King Penda.

Of course to the shrine

Of so young a divine

Flow'd much holy water, and some little wine,

And when any young folks did to marriage incline,

The good friars were much in request, and not one

Was more 'sought unto' than the Sub-prior, Mess John;

To him, there and then,

Sir Alured Denne

Wrote a three-corner'd note with a small crow-quill pen,

To say what he wanted, and fix 'the time when,'

And, as it's well known that your people of quality

Pique themselves justly on strict punctuality,

Just as the clock struck the hour he'd nam'd in it,

The whole bridal party rode up to the minute.

Now whether it was that some rapturous dream,

Comprehending 'fat pullets and clouted cream,'

Had borne the good man, in its vision of bliss,

Far off to some happier region than this --

Or, whether his beads, 'gainst the fingers rebelling,

Took longer than usual that morning in telling;

Or whether, his conscience with knotted cord purging,

Mess John was indulging himself with a scourging,

In penance for killing some score of the fleas,

Which, infesting his hair-shirt, deprived him of ease,

Or whether a barrel of Faversham oysters,

Brought in, on the evening before, to the cloisters,

Produced indigestion,

Continues a question,

The particular cause is not worth a debate;

For my purpose it's clearly sufficient to state

That, whatever the reason, his rev'rence was late,

And Sir Alured Denne,

Not the meekest of men,

Began banning away at a deuce of a rate.

Now here, though I do it with infinite pain,

Gentle reader, I find I must pause to explain

That there was -- what, I own,

I grieve to make known --

On the worthy knight's character one single stain,

But for which, all his friends had borne witness I'm sure,

He had been sans reproche, as he still was sans peur.

The fact is, that many distinguish'd commanders

'Swore terribly (teste T.Shandy) in Flanders.'

Now into these parts our knight chancing to go, countries

Named from this sad, vulgar custom, 'The Low Countries,'

Though on common occasions as courteous as daring,

Had pick'd up this shocking bad habit of swearing.

And if any thing vex'd him, or matters went wrong,

Was giv'n to what low folks call, 'Coming it strong.'

Good, bad, or indifferent then, young or old,

He'd consign them, when once in a humour to scold,

To a place where they certainly would not take cold.

-- Now if there are those, and I've some in my eye,

Who'd esteem this a crime of no very deep dye,

Let them read on -- they'll find their mistake by and bye.

Near or far

Few people there are

But have heard, read, or sung about Young Lochinvar,

How in Netherby Chapel, 'at morning tide,'

The Priest and the Bridegroom stood waiting the Bride;

How they waited, 'but ne'er

A Bride was there,'

Still I don't find, on reading the ballad with care,

The bereaved Mr. Graham proceeded to swear,

And yet to experience so serious a blight in

One's dearest affections, is somewhat exciting.

'Tis manifest then

That Sir Alured Denne

Had far less excuse for such bad language, when

It was only the Priest not the Bride who was missing --

He had fill'd up the interval better with kissing.

And 'twas really surprising,

And not very wise in

A Knight to go on so anathematising,

When the head and the front of the Clergyman's crime

Was but being a little behind as to time: --

Be that as it may

He swore so that day

At the reverend gentleman's ill-judged delay,

That not a bystander who heard what he said,

But listen'd to all his expressions with dread,

And felt all his hair stand on end on his head;

Nay many folks there

Did not stick to declare

The phenomenon was not confined to the hair,

For the little stone Saint who sat perched o'er the door,

St. Romwold himself, as I told you before,

What will scarce be believed,

Was plainly perceived

To shrug up his shoulders, as very much grieved,

And look down with a frown

So remarkably brown,

That all saw he'd now quite a different face on

From that he received at the hands of the mason;

Nay, many averr'd he half rose in his niche,

When Sir Alured, always in metaphor rich,

Call'd his priest an 'old son of --' some animal -- which,

Is not worth the inquiry -- a hint's quite enough on

The subject -- for more I refer you to Buffon.

It's supposed that the Knight

Himself saw the sight,

And it's likely he did, as he easily might;

For 'tis certain he paused in his wordy attack

And, in nautical language, seem'd 'taken aback.'

In so much that when now

The 'prime cause of the row,'

Father John, in the chapel at last made his bow,

The Bridegroom elect was so mild and subdued

None could ever suppose he'd been noisy and rude,

Or made use of the language to which I allude;

Fair Edith herself, while the knot was a tying,

Her bridemaids around her, some sobbing, some sighing,

Some smiling, some blushing, half-laughing, half-crying,

Scarce made her responses in tones more complying

Than he who'd been raging and storming so recently,

All softness now, and behaving quite decently.

Many folks thought too the cold stony frown

Of the Saint up aloft from his niche looking down,

Brought the sexton and clerk each an extra half-crown,

When, the rite being over, the fees were all paid,

And the party remounting, the whole cavalcade

Prepared to ride home with no little parade.

In a climate so very unsettled as ours

It's as well to be cautious and guard against showers,

For though, about One,

You've a fine brilliant sun,

When your walk or your ride is but barely begun,

Yet long ere the hour hand approaches the Two,

There is not in the whole sky one atom of blue,

But it 'rains cats and dogs,' and you're fairly wet through

Ere you know where to turn, what to say, or to do;

For which reason I've bought, to protect myself well, a

Good stout Taglioni and gingham umbrella,

But in Edward the First's days I very much fear

Had a gay cavalier

Thought fit to appear

In any such 'toggery'-- then 'twas term'd 'gear'--

He'd have met with a highly significant sneer,

Or a broad grin extending from ear unto ear

On the features of every soul he came near;

There was no taking refuge too then, as with us,

On a slip-sloppy day, in a cab or a 'bus,

As they rode through the woods

In their wimples and hoods,

Their only resource against sleet, hail, or rain

Was, as Spenser describes it, to 'pryck o'er the plaine,'

That is to clap spurs on, and ride helter-skelter

In search of some building or other for shelter.

Now it seems that the sky

Which had been of a dye

As bright and as blue as your lady-love's eye,

The season in fact being genial and dry,

Began to assume

An appearance of gloom

From the moment the Knight began fidget and fume,

Which deepen'd and deepen'd till all the horizon

Grew blacker than aught they had ever set eyes on,

And soon, from the far west the element's rumbling

Increased, and kept pace with Sir Alured's grumbling,

Bright flashes between,

Blue, red, and green,

All livid and lurid began to be seen;

At length down it came -- a whole deluge of rain,

A perfect Niagara, drenching the plain,

And up came the reek,

And down came the shriek

Of the winds like a steam-whistle starting a train;

And the tempest began so to roar and to pour,

That the Dennes and the Ingoldsbys, starting at score,

As they did from the porch of St. Romwold's church door,

Had scarce gain'd a mile, or a mere trifle more,

Ere the whole of the crew

Were completely wet through.

They dash'd o'er the downs, and they dash'd through the vales,

They dash'd up the hills, and they dash'd down the dales,

As if elderly Nick was himself at their tails;

The Bridegroom in vain

Attempts to restrain

The Bride's frighten'd palfry by seizing the rein,

When a flash and a crash,

Which produced such a splash

That a Yankey had called it 'an Almighty Smash,'

Came down so complete

At his own courser's feet

That the rider, though famous for keeping his seat,

From its kickings and plungings, now under now upper,

Slipp'd out of his demi-pique over the crupper,

And fell from the back of his terrified cob

On what bards less refined than myself term his 'Nob.'

(To obtain a genteel rhyme's sometimes a tough job).--

Just so -- for the nonce to enliven my song

With a classical simile cannot be wrong --

Just so -- in such roads and in similar weather,

Tydides and Nestor were riding together,

When, so says old Homer, the king of the Sky,

The great 'Cloud-compeller,' his lightnings let fly,

And their horses both made such a desperate shy

At this freak of old Zeus,

That at once they broke loose,

Reins, traces, bits, breechings were all of no use;

If the Pylian Sage, without any delay,

Had not whipp'd them sharp round and away from the fray,

They'd have certainly upset his cabriolet,

And there'd been the -- a name I won't mention -- to pay.

Well, the Knight in a moment recover'd his seat

Mr. Widdicombe's mode of performing that feat

At Astley's could not be more neat or complete,

-- It's recorded, indeed, by an eminent pen

Of our own days that this our great Widdicombe, then

In the heyday of life, had afforded some ten

Or twelve lessons in riding to Alured Denne,--

It is certain the Knight

Was so agile and light

That an instant sufficed him to set matters right,

Yet the Bride was by this time almost out of sight;

For her palfrey, a rare bit of blood, who could trace

Her descent from the 'pure old Caucasian race,'

Sleek, slim, and bony, as

Mr. Sidonia's

Fine 'Arab steed'

Of the very same breed,

Which that elegant gentleman rode so genteelly

-- See 'Coningsby' written by 'B. D'Israeli'--

That palfrey, I say,

From this trifling delay

Had made what at sea's call'd 'a great deal of way.'

'More fleet than the roe-buck' and free as the wind,

She had left the good company rather behind;

They whipp'd and they spurr'd and they after her prest;

Still Sir Alured's steed was 'by long chalks' the best

Of the party, and very soon distanced the rest,

But long ere e'en he had the fugitive near'd,

She dash'd into the wood and at once disappear'd.

It's a 'fashious' affair when you're out on a ride,

-- Ev'n supposing you're not in pursuit of a bride,

If you are it's more fashious, which can't be denied,--

And you come to a place where three cross-roads divide,

Without any way-post, stuck up by the side

Of the road, to direct you and act as a guide,

With a road leading here, and a road leading there,

And a road leading no one exactly knows where.

When Sir Alured came

In pursuit of the dame

To a fork of this kind,-- a three-prong'd one -- small blame

To his scholarship if in selecting his way

His respect for the Classics now led him astray;

But the rule, in a work I won't stop to describe, is

In medio semper tutissimus ibis,

So the knight being forced of the three paths to enter one,

Dash'd, with these words on his lips, down the centre one.

Up and down hill,

Up and down hill,

Through brake and o'er briar he gallops on still

Aye banning, blaspheming, and cursing his fill

At his courser because he had given him 'a spill;'

Yet he did not gain ground

On the palfrey, the sound,

On the contrary, made by the hoofs of the beast

Grew fainter, and fainter,-- and fainter -- and -- ceased!

Sir Alured burst through the dingle at last,

To a sort of a clearing and there -- he stuck fast;

For his steed, though a freer one ne'er had a shoe on,

Stood fix'd as the Governor's nag in 'Don Juan,'

Or much like the statue that stands, cast in copper, a

Few yards south-east of the door of the Opera,

Save that Alured's horse had not got such a big tail,

While Alured wanted the cock'd hat and pig-tail.

Before him is seen

A diminutive Green

Scoop'd out from the covert -- a thick leafy screen

Of wild foliage, trunks with broad branches between

Encircle it wholly, all radiant and sheen,

For the weather at once appear'd clear and serene,

And the sky up above was a bright mazarine,

Just as though no such thing as a tempest had been,

In short it was one of those sweet little places

In Egypt and Araby known as 'oases.'

There, under the shade

That was made by the glade,

The astonish'd Sir Alured sat and survey'd

A little low building of Bethersden stone,

With ivy and parasite creepers o'ergrown,

A Sacellum, or cell

In which Chronicles tell

Saints and anchorites erst were accustom'd to dwell;

A little round arch, on which, deeply indented,

The zig-zaggy pattern by Saxons invented

Was cleverly chisell'd, and well represented,

Surmounted a door,

Some five feet by four,

It might have been less or it might have been more,

In the primitive ages they made these things lower

Than we do in buildings that had but one floor.

And these Chronicles say

When an anchorite gray

Wish'd to shut himself up and keep out of the way

He was commonly wont in such low cells to stay,

And pray night and day on the rez de chaussée.

There, under the arch I've endeavoured to paint,

With no little surprise,

And scarce trusting his eyes,

The Knight now saw standing that little Boy Saint!

The one whom before,

He'd seen over the door

Of the Priory shaking his head as he swore --

With mitre, and crozier, and rochet, and stole on,

The very self-same -- or at least his Eidolon!

With a voice all unlike to the infantine squeak,

You'd expect, that small Saint now address'd him to speak;

In a bold, manly tone, he

Began, while his stony

Cold lips breath'd an odour quite Eau-de-Cologne-y;

In fact, from his christening, according to rumour, he

Beat Mr. Brummell to sticks, in perfumery.<2>

'Sir Alured Denne!'

Said the Saint, 'be atten-

tive! Your ancestors, all most respectable men,

Have for some generations being vot'ries of mine,

They have bought me mould candles, and bow'd at my shrine,

They have made my monks presents of ven'son and wine,

With a right of free pasturage, too, for their swine.

And, though you, in this

Have been rather remiss,

Still I owe you a turn for the sake of 'Lang Syne.'

And I now come to tell you, your cursing and swearing

Have reach'd to a pitch that is really past bearing.

'Twere a positive scandal

In even a Vandal,

It ne'er should be done, save with bell, book, and candle:

And though I've now learn'd, as I've always suspected,

Your own education's been somewhat neglected;

Still, you're not such an uninformed pagan, Ihope,

As not to know cursing belongs to the Pope!

And his Holiness feels, very properly, jealous

Of all such encroachments by paltry lay fellows.

Now, take my advice,

Saints never speak twice,

So take it at once, as I once for all give it;

Go home! you'll find there all as right as a trivet,

But mind, and remember, if once you give way

To that shocking bad habit, I'm sorry to say,

I have heard you so sadly indulge in to-day,

As sure as you're born, on the very first trip

That you make -- the first oath that proceeds from your lip,

I'll soon make you rue it!

-- I've said it -- I'll do it!

'Forewarn'd is forearmed,' you shan't say but you knew it;

Whate'er you hold dearest or nearest your heart,

I'LL TAKE IT AWAY, if I come in a cart!

I will, on my honour! you know it's absurd,

To suppose that a Saint ever forfeits his word

For a pitiful Knight, or to please any such man --

I've said it! I'll do't -- if I don't, I'm a Dutchman?'--

He ceased -- he was gone as he closed his harangue,

And some one inside shut the door with a bang!

Sparkling with dew,

Each green herb anew

Its profusion of sweets round Sir Alured threw,

As pensive and thoughtful he slowly withdrew,

(For the hoofs of his horse had got rid of their glue,)

And the cud of reflection continued to chew

Till the gables of Bonnington Hall rose in view.

Little reck'd he what he smelt, what he saw,

Brilliance of scenery,

Fragrance of greenery,

Fail'd in impressing his mental machinery;

Many an hour had elapsed, well I ween, ere he

Fairly was able distinction to draw

'Twixt the odour of garlic and bouquet du Roi.

Merrily, merrily sounds the horn,

And cheerily ring the bells;

For the race is run,

The goal is won,

The little lost mutton is happily found,

The Lady of Bonnington's safe and sound

In the Hall where her new Lord dwells!

Hard had they ridden, that company gay,

After fair Edith, away and away:

This had slipp'd back o'er his courser's rump,

That had gone over his ears with a plump,

But the Lady herself had stuck on like a trump,

Till her panting steed

Relax'd her speed,

And feeling, no doubt, as a gentleman feels

When he's once shown a bailiff a fair pair of heels,

Stopp'd of herself, as it's very well known

Horses will do, when they're thoroughly blown,

And thus the whole group had foregather'd again,

Just as the sunshine succeeded the rain.

Oh, now the joy, and the frolicking, rollicking

Doings indulged in by one and by all!

Gaiety seized on the most melancholic in

All the broad lands around Bonnington Hall.

All sorts of revelry,

All sorts of devilry,

All play at 'High Jinks' and keep up the ball.

Days, weeks, and months, it is really astonishing,

When one's so happy, how Time flies away;

Meanwhile the Bridegroom requires no admonishing

As to what pass'd on his own wedding day;

Never since then,

Had Sir Alured Denne

Let a word fall from his lip or his pen

That began with a D, or left off with an N!

Once, and once only, when put in a rage,

By a careless young rascal he'd hired as a Page,

All buttons and brass,

Who in handling a glass

Of spiced hippocras, throws

It all over his clothes,

And spoils his best pourpoint, and smartest trunk hose,

While stretching his hand out to take it and quaff it (he

'd given a rose noble a yard for the taffety),

Then, and then only, came into his head,

A very sad word that began with a Z,

But he check'd his complaint,

He remember'd the Saint,

In the nick -- Lady Denne was beginning to faint!

That sight on his mouth acted quite as a bung,

Like Mahomet's coffin, the shocking word hung

Half-way 'twixt the root and the tip of his tongue.

Many a year

Of mirth and good cheer

Flew over their heads, to each other more dear

Every day, they were quoted by peasant and peer

As the rarest examples of love ever known,

Since the days of Le Chivaler D'Arbie and Joanne,

Who in Bonnington chancel lie sculptured in stone.

Well -- it happen'd at last,

After certain years past,

That an embassy came to our court from afar --

From the Grand-duke of Muscovy -- now call'd the Czar,

And the Spindleshank'd Monarch, determined to do

All the grace that he could to a Nobleman, who

Had sail'd all that way from a country which few

In our England had heard of, and nobody knew,

With a hat like a muff, and a beard like a Jew,

Our arsenals, buildings, and dock-yards to view,

And to say how desirous,

His Prince Wladimirus

Had long been with mutual regard to inspire us,

And how he regretted he was not much nigher us,

With other fine things,

Such as Kings say to Kings

When each tries to humbug his dear Royal Brother, in

Hopes by such 'gammon' to take one another in --

King Longshanks, I say,

Being now on his way

Bound for France, where the rebels had kept him at bay,

Was living in clover

At this time at Dover,

I' the castle there, waiting a tide to go over.

He had summon'd, I can't tell you how many men,

Knights, nobles, and squires to the wars of Guienne,

And among these of course was Sir Alured Denne,

Who, acting like most

Of the knights in the host,

Whose residence was not too far from the coast,

Had brought his wife with him, delaying their parting,

Fond souls, till the very last moment of starting.

Of course, with such lots of lords, ladies, and knights,

In their Saracenettes,<3> and their bright chain-mail tights,

All accustom'd to galas, grand doings, and sights,

A matter like this was at once put to rights;

'Twould have been a strange thing,

If so polish'd a king,

With his Board of Green Cloth, and Lord Steward's department,

Couldn't teach an Ambassador what the word 'smart' meant

A banquet was order'd at once for a score,

Or more, of the corps that had just come on shore,

And the King, though he thought it 'a bit of a bore,'

Ask'd all the élite

Of his levée to meet

The illustrious Strangers and share in the treat;

For the Boyar himself, the Queen graciously made him her

Beau for the day, from respect to Duke Wladimir.

(Queer as this name may appear in the spelling,

You won't find it trouble you,

Sound but the W,

Like the first L in Llan, Lloyd, and Llewellyn!')

Fancy the fuss, and the fidgetty looks

Of Robert de Burghersh, the constable's, cooks;

For of course the cuisine

Of the King and the Queen

Was behind them at London, or Windsor or Sheene,

Or wherever the Court ere it started had been,

And it's really no jest,

When a troublesome guest,

Looks in at a time when you're busy and prest,

Just going to fight, or to ride, or to rest,

And expects a good lunch when you've none ready drest.

The servants no doubt,

Were much put to the rout,

By this very extempore sort of set out,

But they wisely fell back upon Poor Richard's plan,

'When you can't what you would, you must do what you can!'

So they ransack'd the country, folds, pig-styes, and pens,

For the sheep, and the porkers, the cocks and the hens;

'Twas said a Tom-cat of Sir Alured Denne's,

A fine tabby-gray

Disappear'd on that day,

And whatever became of him no one could say;

They brought all the food

That ever they cou'd,

Fish, flesh, and fowl, with sea-coal and dry wood,

To his Majesty's Dapifer, Eudo (or Ude),

They lighted the town up, sat ringing the bells,

And borrow'd the waiters from all the hotels.

A bright thought moreover, came into the head

Of Dapifer Eudo, who'd some little dread,

As he said, for the thorough success of his spread.

So he said to himself, 'What a thing it would be

Could I have here with me

Some one two or three

Of their outlandish scullions from over the sea!

It's a hundred to one if the Suite or their Chief

Understand our plum-puddings, and barons of beef;

But with five minutes' chat with their cooks or their valets

We'd soon dish up something to tickle their palates!'

With this happy conceit for improving the mess,

Pooh-poohing expense, he dispatch'd an express

In a waggon and four on the instant to Deal,

Who dash'd down the hill without locking the wheel,

And, by means which I guess but decline to reveal,

Seduced from the Downs, where at anchor their vessel rode,

Lumpoff Icywitz, serf to a former Count Nesselrode,

A cook of some fame,

Who invented the same

Cold pudding that still bears the family name.

This accomplish'd, the Chef's peace of mind was restor'd,

And in due time a banquet was placed on the board

'In the very best style,' which implies in a word,

'All the dainties the season' (and king) 'could afford.'

There were snipes, there were rails,

There were woodcocks and quails,

There were peacocks served up in their pride (that is tails),

Fricandeau, fricassees,

Ducks and green peas,

Cotelettes à l'Indienne, and chips à la Soubise

(Which last you may call 'onion sauce' if you please),

There were barbecu'd pigs

Stuff'd with raisins and figs,

Omelettes and haricots, stews and ragouts,

And pork griskins, which Jews still refuse and abuse.

Then the wines,-- round the circle how swiftly they went!

Canary, Sack, Malaga, Malvoisie, Tent;

Old Hock from the Rhine, wine remarkably fine,

Of the Charlemagne vintage of seven ninety-nine,--

Five cent'ries in bottle had made it divine!

The rich juice of Rousillon, Gascoygne, Bourdeaux,

Marasquin, Curacoa,

Kirschen Wasser, Noyeau,

And Gin which the company voted 'No Go;'

The guests all hob-nobbing,

And bowing and bobbing;

Some prefer white wine, while others more value red,

Few, a choice few,

Of more orthodox goût,

Stick to 'old crusted port,' among whom was Sir Alured;

Never indeed at a banquet before

Had that gallant commander enjoy'd himself more.

Then came 'sweets'-- served in silver were tartlets and pies --

in glass,

Jellies composed of punch, calves' feet, and isinglass,

Creams, and whipt-syllabubs, some hot, some cool,

Blancmange, and quince-custards, and gooseberry fool.

And now from the good taste which reigns it's confest

In a gentleman's, that is an Englishman's, breast,

And makes him polite to a stranger and guest,

They soon play'd the deuce

With a large Charlotte Russe;

More than one of the party dispatched his plate twice

With 'I'm really ashamed, but -- another small slice!

Your dishes from Russia are really so nice!'

Then the prime dish of all! 'There was nothing so good in

The whole of the Feed'

One and all were agreed,

'As the great Lumpoff Icywitz' Nesselrode pudding!'

Sir Alured Denne, who'd all day, to say sooth,

Like Iago, been 'plagued with a sad raging tooth,'

Which had nevertheless interfered very little

With his -- what for my rhyme I'm obliged to spell -- vittle,

Requested a friend,

Who sat near him to send

Him a spoonful of what he heard all so commend,

And begg'd to take wine with him afterwards, grateful

Because for a spoonful he'd sent him a plateful.

Having emptied his glass -- he ne'er balk'd it or spill'd it --

The gallant Knight open'd his mouth -- and then fill'd it!

You must really excuse me -- there's nothing could bribe

Me at all to go on and attempt to describe

The fearsome look then

Of Sir Alured Denne!

-- Astonishment, horror, distraction of mind,

Rage, misery, fear, and iced pudding -- combined!

Lip, forehead, and cheek -- how these mingle and meet

All colours, all hues, now advance, now retreat,

Now pale as a turnip, now crimson as beet!

How he grasps his arm-chair in attempting to rise,

See his veins how they swell! mark the roll of his eyes!

Now east and now west, now north and now south,

Till at once he contrives to eject from his mouth

That vile 'spoonful'-- what

He has got he knows not,

He isn't quite sure if it's cold or it's hot,

At last he exclaims, as he starts from his seat,

'A SNOWBALL by --!' what I decline to repeat,--

'Twas the name of a bad place, for mention unmeet.

Then oh what a volley!-- a great many heard

What flow'd from his lips, and 'twere really absurd

To suppose that each man was not shock'd by each word;

A great many heard too, with mix'd fear and wonder

The terrible crash of the terrible thunder,

That broke as if bursting the building asunder;

But very few heard, although every one might,

The short, half-stifled shriek from the chair on the right,

Where the lady of Bonnington sat by her Knight;

And very few saw -- some -- the number was small,

In the large ogive window that lighted the hall,

A small stony Saint in a small stony pall,

With a small stony mitre, and small stony crosier,

And small stony toes that owed nought to the hosier,

Beckon stonily downward to some one below,

As Merryman says 'for to come for to go!'

While every one smelt a delicious perfume

That seem'd to pervade every part of the room!

Fair Edith Denne,

The bonne et belle then,

Never again was beheld among men!

But there was the fauteuil on which she was placed,

And there was the girdle that graced her small waist,

And there was her stomacher brilliant with gems,

And the mantle she wore, edged with lace at the hems,

Her rich brocade gown sat upright in its place,

And her wimple was there -- but where -- WHERE WAS HER FACE?

'Twas gone with her body -- and nobody knows,

Nor could any one present so much as suppose

How that Lady contrived to slip out of her clothes!

But 'twas done -- she was quite gone -- the how and the where,

No mortal was ever yet found to declare;

Though inquiries were made, and some writers record

That Sir Alured offered a handsome reward.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

King Edward went o'er to his wars in Guienne,

Taking with him his barons, his knights, and his men,

You may look through the whole

Of that King's muster-roll,

And you won't find the name of Sir Alured Denne;

But Chronicles tell that there formerly stood

A little old chapel in Bilsington wood;

The remains to this day,

Archæologists say,

May be seen, and I'd go there and look if I could.

There long dwelt a hermit remarkably good,

Who lived all alone,

And never was known

To use bed or bolster, except the cold stone;

But would groan and would moan in so piteous a tone,

A wild Irishman's heart had responded 'Och hone!'

As the fashion with hermits of old was to keep skins

To wear with the wool on -- most commonly sheep-skins

He, too, like the rest was accustom'd to do so;

His beard, as no barber came near him, too, grew so,

He bore some resemblance to Robinson Crusoe,

In Houndsditch, I'm told, you'll sometimes see a Jew so.

He lived on the roots,

And the cob-nuts and fruits,

Which the kind-hearted rustics, who rarely are churls

In such matters, would send by their boys and their girls;

They'd not get him to speak,

If they'd tried for a week,

But the colour would always mount up in his cheek,

And he'd look like a dragon if ever he heard

His young friends use a naughty expression or word.

How long he lived, or at what time he died,

'Twere hard, after so many years, to decide,

But there's one point on which all traditions agree,

That he did die at last, leaving no legatee,

And his linen was marked with an A and a D.

Alas! for the glories of Bonnington Hall!

Alas, for its splendour! alas for its fall!

Long years have gone by

Since the trav'ler might spy

Any decentish house in the parish at all.

For very soon after the awful event,

I've related, 'twas said through all that part of Kent

That the maids of a morning, when putting the chairs

And the tables to rights, would oft pop unawares

In one of the parlours, or galleries, or stairs,

On a tall, female figure, or find her, far horrider,

Slowly o' nights promenading the corridor;

But whatever the hour, or wherever the place,

No one could ever get sight of her face!

Nor could they perceive,

Any arm in her sleeve,

While her legs and her feet too, seem'd mere 'make-believe,'

For she glided along with that shadow-like motion

Which gives one the notion

Of clouds on a zephyr, or ships on the ocean;

And though of her gown they could hear the silk rustle

They saw but that side on't ornée with the bustle.

The servants, of course, though the house they were born in,

Soon 'wanted to better themselves,' and gave warning,

While even the new Knight grew tired of a guest

Who would not let himself or his family rest;

So he pack'd up his all,

And made a bare wall

Of each well-furnish'd room in his ancestors' Hall,

Then left the old Mansion to stand or to fall,

Having previously barr'd up the windows and gates,

To avoid paying sesses, and taxes and rates,

And settled on one of his other estates,

Where he built a new mansion, and called it Denne Hill

And there his descendants reside, I think, still.

Poor Bonnington, empty, or left, at the most,

To the joint occupation of rooks and a Ghost,

Soon went to decay,

And moulder'd away,

But whether it dropp'd down at last I can't say,

Or whether the jackdaws produced, by degrees, a

Spontaneous combustion like that one at Pisa

Some cent'ries ago,

I'm sure I don't know,

But you can't find a vestige now ever so tiny,

'Perierunt,' as some one says, 'etiam ruinæ.'

MORAL.

The first maxim a couple of lines may be said in,

If you are in passion, don't swear at a wedding!

Whenever you chance to be ask'd out to dine,

Be exceedingly cautious -- don't take too much wine!

In your eating remember one principal point,

Whatever you do, have your eye on the joint!

Keep clear of side dishes, don't meddle with those

Which the servants in livery, or those in plain clothes,

Poke over your shoulders and under your nose;

Or, if you must live on the fat of the land,

And feed on fine dishes you don't understand,

Buy a good book of cookery! I've a compact one,

First rate of the kind, just brought out by Miss Acton,

This will teach you their names, the ingredients they're made

of,

And which to indulge in, and which be afraid of,

Or else, ten to one, between ice and cayenne,

You'll commit yourself some day, like Alured Denne.

'To persons about to be married' I'd say,

Don't exhibit ill-humour, at least on The Day!

And should there perchance be a trifling delay

On the part of officials, extend them your pardon,

And don't snub the parson, the clerk, or churchwarden!

To married men this -- For the rest of your lives,

Think how your misconduct may act on your wives!

Don't swear then before them, lest haply they faint,

Or what sometimes occurs -- run away with a Saint!

NOTES

1. Honest John Capgrave, the veracious biographer of 'English

Saints,' author, or rather compiler of the 'Nova Legenda

Angliæ,' was chaplain to Humphrey, 'the Good Duke' of

Gloucester. A beautiful edition of his work was printed by

Wynkyn de Worde.

2. 'In eodem autem prato in quo baptizatus Sanctus Romualdus

nunquam gratissimus odor deficit; neque ibi herbæ pallescunt,

sed semper in viriditate permanentes magna nectaris suavitate

redolent.-- Nov. Legend. Angl

3. This silk, of great repute among our ancestors, had been

brought home, a few years before by Edward, from the Holy Land.

A serious error, similar to that which forms the subject

of the following Legend, is said to have occurred in the case

of one or rather two gentlemen named Curina, who dwelt near

Hippo in the days of St. Augustine. The matter was set right,

and a friendly hint at the same time conveyed to the ill-used

individual, that it would be advisable for him to apply to the

above-mentioned Father, and be baptized with as little delay as

possible. The story is quoted in 'The Doctor,' together with

another of the same kind, which is given on no less authority

than that of Gregory the Great.

THE BROTHERS OF BIRCHINGTON: A LAY OF ST. THOMAS À BECKET.

You are all aware that

On our throne there once sat

A very great king who'd an Angevin hat,

With a great sprig of broom, which he wore as a badge in it,

Named from this circumstance, Henry Plantagenet.

Pray don't suppose

That I'm going to prose

O'er Queen Eleanor's wrongs, or Miss Rosamond's woes,

With the dagger and bowl, and all that sort of thing,

Not much to the credit of Miss, Queen, or King.

The tale may be true,

But between me and you,

With the King's escapade I'll have nothing to do;

But shall merely select, as a theme for my rhymes,

A fact, which occurr'd to some folks in his times.

If for health, or a 'lark,'

You should ever embark

In that best of improvements on boats since the Ark,

The steam-vessel call'd the 'Red Rover,' the barge

Of an excellent officer, named Captain Large,

You may see, some half way

'Twixt the pier at Herne Bay

And Margate, the place where you're going to stay,

A village call'd Birchington, fam'd for its 'Rolls,'

As the fishing-bank, just in its front, is for Soles.

Well,-- there stood a fane

In this Harry Broom's reign,

On the edge of the cliff, overhanging the main,

Renown'd for its sanctity all through the nation,

And orthodox friars of the Austin persuasion.

Among them there was one,

Whom if once I begun

To describe as I ought I should never have done,

Father Richard of Birchington, so was the Friar

Yclept, whom the rest had elected their Prior.

He was tall and upright,

About six feet in height,

His complexion was what you'd denominate light,

And the tonsure had left, 'mid his ringlets of brown,

A little bald patch on the top of his crown.

His bright sparkling eye

Was of hazel, and nigh

Rose a finely arch'd eyebrow of similar dye,

He'd a small, well-form'd mouth with the Cupidon lip,

And an aquiline nose, somewhat red at the tip.

Indoors and out

He was very devout,

With his Aves and Paters -- and oh, such a knout!!

For his self flagellations! the Monks used to say

He would wear out two penn'orth of whip-cord a-day!

Then how his piety

Shows in his diet, he

Dines upon pulse, or, by way of variety,

Sand-eels or dabs; or his appetite mocks

With those small periwinkles that crawl on the rocks.

In brief, I don't stick

To declare Father Dick --

So they call'd him, 'for short'-- was a 'Regular Brick,'

A metaphor taken -- I have not the page aright --

Out of an ethical work by the Stagyrite.

Now Nature, 'tis said,

Is a comical jade,

And among the fantastical tricks she has play'd,

Was the making our good Father Richard a Brother,

As like him in form as one pea's like another;

He was tall and upright,

About six feet in height,

His complexion was what you'd denominate light,

And, though he had not shorn his ringlets of brown,

He'd a little bald patch on the top of his crown.

He'd a bright sparkling eye

Of the hazel, hard by

Rose a finely-arch'd sourcil of similar dye;

He'd a small, well-shaped mouth, with a Cupidon lip,

And a good Roman nose, rather red at the tip.

But here, it's pretended,

The parallel ended;

In fact, there's no doubt his life might have been mended,

And people who spoke of the Prior with delight,

Shook their heads if you mention'd his brother, the Knight.

If you'd credit report,

There was nothing but sport,

And High Jinks going on night and day at 'the court,'

Where Sir Robert, instead of devotion and charity,

Spent all his time in unseemly hilarity.

He drinks and he eats

Of choice liquors and meats,

And he goes out on We'n'sdays and Fridays to treats,

Gets tipsy whenever he dines or he sups,

And is wont to come quarrelsome home in his cups.

No Paters, to Aves;

An absolute slave he's

To tarts, pickled salmon, and sauces, and gravies;

While as to his beads -- what a shame in a Knight!--

He really don't know the wrong end from the right!

So, though 'twas own'd then,

By nine people in ten,

That 'Robert and Richard were two pretty men,'

Yet there the praise ceased, or, at least the good Priest

Was consider'd the 'Beauty,' Sir Robert the 'Beast.'

Indeed, I'm afraid

More might have been laid

To the charge of the Knight than was openly said,

For then we'd no 'Phiz's,' no 'H. B.'s,' nor 'Leeches,'

To call Roberts 'Bobs,' and illustrate their speeches.

'Twas whisper'd he'd rob,

Nay murder! a job

Which would stamp him no 'brick,' but a 'regular snob,'

(An obsolete term, which, at this time of day,

We should probably render by mauvais sujet.)

Now if here such affairs

Get wind unawares,

They are bruited about, doubtless, much more 'down stairs,'

Where Old Nick has a register-office, they say,

With commissioners quite of such matters au fait.

Of course, when he heard

What his people averr'd

Of Sir Robert's proceedings in deed and in word,

He asked for the ledger, and hastened to look

At the leaves on the creditor side of this book.

'Twas with more than surprise

That he now ran his eyes

O'er the numberless items, oaths, curses, and lies,

Et cetera, set down in Sir Robert's account,

He was quite 'flabbergasted' to see the amount.

'Dear me! this is wrong!

It's a great deal too strong,

I'd no notion this bill had been standing so long --

Send Levybub here!' and he filled up a writ

Of 'Ca sa,' duly prefaced with 'Limbo to wit.'

'Here Levybub, quick!'

To his bailiff, said Nick,

'I'm "ryled," and "my dander's up," "Go a-head slick"

Up to Kent -- not Kentuck -- and at once fetch away

A snob there -- I guess that's a Mauvais Sujet.

'One De Birchington, knight --

'Tis not clear quite

What his t'other name is -- they've not enter'd it right,

Ralph, Robert, or Richard? they've not gone so far,

Our critturs have put it down merely as 'R.'

'But he's tall and upright,

About six feet in height,

His complexion, I reckon, you'd calculate light,

And he's farther "set down" having ringlets of brown,

With a little bald patch on the top of his crown.

'Then his eye and his lip,

Hook-nose, red at tip,

Are marks your attention can't easily slip;

Take Slomanoch with you, he's got a good knack

Of soon grabbing his man, and be back in a crack!'

That same afternoon

Father Dick, who, as soon

Would 'knock in' or 'cut chapel' as jump oe'r the moon,

Was missing at vespers -- at compline -- all night!

And his monks were, of course, in a deuce of a fright.

Morning dawn'd --'twas broad day,

Still no Prior! the tray

With his muffins and eggs, went untasted away;--

He came not to luncheon -- all said, 'it was rum of him!'

-- None could conceive what on earth had become of him.

They examined his cell,

They peep'd down the well;

They went up the tow'r, and looked into the bell,

They dragg'd the great fish-pond, the little one tried,

But found nothing at all, save some carp -- which they fried.

'Dear me! Dear me!

Why, where can he be?

He's fall'n over the cliff?-- tumbled into the sea?'

'Stay -- he talk'd,' exclaimed one, 'If I recollect right,

Of making a call on his brother, the Knight!'

He turns as he speaks,

The 'Court Lodge' he seeks,

Which was known then, as now, by the queer name of Quekes,

But scarce half a mile on his way had he sped,

When he spied the good Prior in the paddock -- stone dead!

Alas! 'twas too true!

And I need not tell you

In the convent his news made a pretty to do;

Through all its wide precincts so roomy and spacious,

Nothing was heard but 'Bless me!' and 'Good Gracious!!'

They sent for the May'r

And the Doctor, a pair

Of grave men, who began to discuss the affair,

When in bounced the Coroner, foaming with fury,

'Because,' as he said, ''twas pooh! pooh!-ing his jury.'

Then commenced a dispute,

And so hot they went to't,

That things seem'd to threaten a serious emeute,

When, just in the midst of the uproar and racket,

Who should walk in but St. Thomas à Becket.

Quoth his saintship, 'How now?

Here's a fine coil, I trow!

I should like to know, gentlemen, what's all this row?

Mr. Wickliffe -- or Wackliffe -- whatever your name is --

And you, Mr. May'r, don't you know, Sirs, what shame is?

'Pray what's all this clatter

About?-- what's the matter?'

Here a monk, whose teeth funk and concern made to chatter,

Sobs out, as he points to the corpse on the floor,

''Tis all dickey with poor Father Dick -- he's no more!'

'How!-- what?' says the saint,

'Yes he is -- no he ain't! <1>

He can't be deceased -- pooh! it's merely a faint,

Or some foolish mistake which may serve for our laughter,

"He should have died," like the old Scotch Queen, "hereafter."

'His time is not out;

Some blunder no doubt,

It shall go hard but what I'll know what it's about --

I shan't be surprised if that scurvy Old Nick's

Had a hand in't; it savours of one of his tricks.'

When a crafty old hound

Claps his nose to the ground,

Then throws it up boldly, and bays out, 'I've found!'

And the pack catch the note, I'd as soon think to check it,

As dream of bamboozling St. Thomas à Becket.

Once on the scent,

To business he went,

'You Scoundrel, come here, Sir,' ('twas Nick that he meant,)

'Bring your books here this instant -- bestir yourself -- do,

I've no time to waste on such fellows as you.'

Every corner and nook

In all Erebus shook,

As he struck on the pavement his pastoral crook,

All its tenements trembled from basement to roofs,

And their nigger inhabitants shook in their hoofs.

Hanging his ears,

Yet dissembling his fears,

Ledger in hand, straight 'Auld Hornie' appears,

With that sort of half sneaking, half-impudent look,

Bankrupts sport when cross-question'd by Cresswell or Cooke.

'So Sir-r-r! you are here,'

Said the saint with a sneer,

'My summons, I trust, did not much interfere

With your morning engagements -- I merely desire,

At your leisure, to know what you've done with my Prior?

'Now, none of your lies,

Mr. Nick! I'd advise

You to tell me the truth without any disguise,

Or-r-r!!' The Saint, while his rosy gills seem'd to grow

rosier,

Here gave another great thump with his crosier.

Like a small boy at Eton,

Who's not quite a Crichton,

And don't know his task but expects to be beaten,

Nick stammer'd, scarce knowing what answer to make,

'Sir, I'm sadly afraid here has been a mistake.

'These things will occur,

We are all apt to err,

The most cautious sometimes as you know, holy Sir;

For my own part -- I'm sure I do all that I can --

But -- the fact is -- I fear -- we have got the wrong man.'

'Wrong man!' roar'd the Saint --

But the scene I can't paint,

The best colours I have are a vast deal too faint --

Nick afterwards own'd that he ne'er knew what fright meant,

Before he saw saint under so much excitement.

'Wrong man! don't tell me --

Pooh!-- fiddle-de-dee!

What's your right, Scamp, to any man!-- come, let me see;

I'll teach you, you thorough-paced rascal, to meddle

With church matters, come, Sirrah, out with your schedule!'

In support of his claim

The fiend turns to the name

Of 'De Birchington' written in letters of flame,

Below which long items stand, column on column,

Enough to have eked out a decent-sized volume!

Sins of all sorts and shapes,

From small practical japes,

Up to dicings, and drinkings, and murders, and rapes,

And then of such standing!-- a merciless tick,

From an Oxford tobacconist,-- let alone Nick.

The Saint in surprise

Scarce believed his own eyes,

Still he knew he'd to deal with the father of lies,

And 'So this!-- you call this!' he exclaimed in a searching

tone,

'This!!! the account of my friend Dick de Birchington!'

'Why,' said Nick, with an air

Of great candour, 'it's there

Lies the awkwardest part of this awkward affair --

I thought all was right -- see the height tallies quite,

The complexion's what all must consider as light;

There's the nose, and the lip, and the ringlets of brown,

And the little bald patch on the top of the crown.

'And then the surname,

So exactly the same --

I don't know -- I can't tell how the accident came,

But some how -- I own it's a very sad job,

But -- my bailiff grabb'd Dick when he should have nabb'd Bob.

'I am vex'd beyond bounds

You should have such good grounds

For complaint; I would rather have given five pounds,

And any apology, Sir, you may choose,

I'll make with much pleasure, and put in the news.'

'An apology!-- pooh!

Much good that will do!

An "apology" quoth a!-- and that too from you!--

Before any proposal is made of the sort,

Bring back your stol'n goods, thief!-- produce them in Court!'

In a moment, so small

It seem'd no time at all,

Father Richard sat up on his what-do-ye-call --

Sur son séant -- and, what was as wondrous as pleasing,

At once began coughing, and snifting, and sneezing.

While, strange to relate,

The Knight, whom the fate

Of his brother had reach'd, and who'd knock'd at the gate,

To make further enquiries, had scarce made his bow

To the Saint, ere he vanish'd, and no one knew how!

Erupit -- evasit,

As Tully would phrase it,

And none could have known where to find his Hic jacet --

That sentence which man his mortality teaches --

Sir Robert had disappear'd, body and breeches!

'Heyday! Sir, heyday!

What's the matter now -- eh?'

Quoth à Becket, observing the gen'ral dismay,

'How, again!--'pon my word this is really too bad!

It would drive any saint in the calendar mad.

'What, still at your tricking?

You will have a kicking?

I see you won't rest till you've got a good licking --

Your claim, friend?-- what claim?-- why you show'd me before

That your old claim was cancell'd -- you've cross'd out the

score!

'Is it that way you'd Jew one?

You've settled the true one;

Do you mean to tell me he has run up a new one?

Of the thousands you've cheated

And scurvily treated,

Name one you've dared charge with a bill once receipted!

In the Bankruptcy Court should you dare to presume

To attempt it, they'd soon kick you out of the room,

-- Ask Commissioner Fonblanque, or ask my Lord Brougham.

'And then to make under

So barefaced a blunder,

Your caption!-- why what's the world come to, I wonder?

My patience! it's just like his impudence, drat him!

-- Stand out of the way there, and let me get at him!'

The Saint raised his arm,

But Old Nick, in alarm,

Dash'd up through the skylight, not doing much harm,

While, quitte pour la peur, the Knight, sound on the whole,

Down the chimney came tumbling as black as a coal!

Spare we to tell

Of what after befell!

How the Saint lectured Robert de Birchington well,

Bade him alter his life, and held out as a warning

The narrow escape he'd made on that morning.

Nor need we declare

How, then and there,

The jury and Coroner blew up the May'r

For his breach of decorum as one of the quorum,

In not having Levybub brought up before 'em.

Nor will you require

Me to state how the Prior

Could never thenceforth bear the sight of a fire,

Nor ever was heard to express a desire

In cold weather to see the thermometer higher.

Nor shall I relate

The subsequent fate

Of St. Thomas à Becket, whose reverend pate

Fitzurse and De Morville, and Brito and Tracy

Shaved off, as his crown had been merely a jasey.<2>

Suffice it to say,

From that notable day

The 'Twin Birchington Brothers' together grew gray;

In the same holy convent continued to dwell,

Same food and same fastings, same habit, same cell.

No more the Knight rattles

In broils and in battles,

But sells, by De Robins, his goods and his chattels,

And counting all wealth a mere Will-o'the-wisp,

Disposes of Quekes to Sir Nicholas Crispe.

One spot alone

Of all he had known

Of his spacious domain he retain'd as his own,

In a neighbouring parish, whose name, I may say

Scarce any two people pronounce the same way.

Re-cul-ver some style it,

While others revile it

As bad, and say Re-culver --'tisn't worth while, it

Would seem to dispute, when we know the result immat-

erial -- I accent, myself, the penultimate.

Sages, with brains

Full of 'Saxon remains,'

May call me a booby, perhaps, for my pains,

Still I hold, at the hazard of being thought dull by 'em,

Fast by the quantity mark'd for Regulbium.

Call't as you will

The traveller still,

In the voyage that we talk'd about, marks on the hill

Overhanging the sea, the 'twin towers' raised then

By 'Robert and Richard, those two pretty men.'

Both tall and upright,

And just equal in height;

The Trinity House talked of painting them white,

And the thing was much spoken of some time ago,

When the Duke, I believe -- but I really don't know.

Well-there the 'Twins' stand

On the verge of the land,

To warn mariners off from the Columbine sand,

And many a poor man have Robert and Dick

By their vow caused to 'scape, like themselves, from Old Nick.

So, whether you're sailors

Or Tooley-street tailors,

Broke loose from your masters, those sternest of jailers,

And, bent upon pleasure, are taking your trip

In a craft which you fondly conceive is a ship,

When you've pass'd by the Nore,

And you hear the winds roar

In a manner you scarce could have fancied before,

When the cordage and tackling

Are flapping and crackling,

And the boy with the bell

Thinks it useless to tell

You that 'dinner's on table,' because you're unwell;

When above you all's 'scud,'

And below you the flood

Looks a horrible mixture of soap-suds and mud,

When the timbers are straining,

And folks are complaining

The dead-lights are letting the spray and the rain in,

When the helm's-man looks blue,

And Captain Large too,

And you really don't know what on earth you shall do.

In this hubbub and row

Think where you'd be now,

Except for the Birchington boys and their vow!

And while o'er the wide wave you feel the craft pitch hard,

Praie for ye sowles of Robertte and Rychard!

MORAL.

It's a subject of serious complaint in some houses,

With young married men who have elderly spouses,

That persons are seen in their figures and faces,

With very queer people in very queer places,

So like them that one for the other's oft taken,

And conjugal confidence thereby much shaken:

Explanations too often are thought mere pretences,

And Richard gets scolded for Robert's offences.

In a matter so nice,

If I'm ask'd my advice,

I say copy King Henry to obviate that,

And stick something remarkable up in your hat!

Next, observe, in this world where we've so many cheats,

How useful it is to preserve your receipts!

If you deal with a person whose truth you don't doubt

Be particular, still, that your bill is cross'd out;

But, with any inducement to think him a scamp,

Have a formal receipt on a regular stamp!

Let every gay gallant my story who notes

Take warning, and not go on 'sowing wild oats!'

Nor depend that some friend

Will always attend,

And by 'making all right' bring him off in the end,

He may be mistaken so let him beware,

St. Thomas à Beckets are now rather rare.

Last of all, may'rs and magistrates, never be rude

To juries! they are people who won't be pooh-pooh'd!

Especially Sandwich ones -- no one can say

But himself may come under their clutches one day;

They then may pay off

In kind any scoff,

And, turning their late verdict quite 'wisey wersey,'

'Acquit you,' and not 'recommend you to mercy.'<3>

NOTES

1. Cantise for 'is not;' St. Thomas, it seems, had lived long

enough in the country to pick up a few of its provincialisms.

2. Nec satis fuit eis sanguine sacerdotis et nece ecclesiam

prophanare, nisi, corona capitis amputata, funestis gladiis jam

defuncti ejicerent cerebrum.-- Matt. Paris.

3. At a Quarter Sessions held at Sandwich, (some six miles from

Birchington,) on Tuesday the 8th of April last, before W. F.

Boteler, Esq., the recorder, Thomas Jones, mariner, aged 17,

was tried for stealing a jacket, value ten shillings. The jury

after a patient hearing, found him 'not guilty,' and

'recommended him to mercy.'-- See the whole case reported in

the 'Kentish Observer,' April 10, 1845.

THE KNIGHT AND THE LADY: A DOMESTIC LEGEND OF THE REIGN OF

QUEEN ANNE.

'Hail, wedded love! mysterious tie!'-- Thomson -- or Somebody.

The Lady Jane was tall and slim,

The Lady Jane was fair,

And Sir Thomas, her Lord, was stout of limb,

But his cough was short, and his eyes were dim,

And he wore green 'specs,' with a tortoiseshell rim,

And his hat was remarkably broad in the brim,

And she was uncommonly fond of him,

And they were a loving pair!--

-- And the name and the fame

Of the Knight and his Dame,

Were ev'rywhere hail'd with the loudest acclaim;

And wherever they went, or wherever they came,

Far and wide,

The people cried,

Huzza! for the Lord of this noble domain,--

Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!-- once again!--

Encore!-- Encore!--

One cheer more!--

-- All sorts of pleasure, and no sort of pain

To Sir Thomas the Good, and the Fair Lady Jane!!

Now Sir Thomas the Good,

Be it well understood,

Was a man of a very contemplative mood --

He would pore by the hour

O'er a weed, or a flower,

Or the slugs that come crawling out after a shower;

Black-beetles, and Bumble-bees,-- Blue-bottle flies,

And Moths were of no small account in his eyes;

An 'Industrious Flea' he'd by no means despise,

While an 'Old Daddy-long-legs,' whose 'long legs' and thighs

Pass'd the common in shape, or in colour, or size,

He was wont to consider an absolute prize.

Nay, a hornet or wasp he could scarce 'keep his paws off'-- he

Gave up, in short,

Both business and sport,

And abandon'd himself, tout entier, to Philosophy.

Now, as Lady Jane was tall and slim,

And Lady Jane was fair,

And a good many years the junior of him,--

And as he,

All agree,

Look'd less like her Mari,

As he walk'd by her side, than her Père,<1>

There are some might be found entertaining a notion

That such an entire, and exclusive devotion

To that part of science, folks style Entomology,

Was a positive shame,

And, to such a fair Dame,

Really demanded some sort of apology;

-- No doubt, it would vex

One half of the sex

To see their own husband, in horrid green 'specs,'

Instead of enjoying a sociable chat,

Still poking his nose into this and to that,

At a gnat, or a bat, or a cat, or a rat,

Or great ugly things,

All legs and wings,

With nasty long tails arm'd with nasty long stings;

And they'd join such a log of a spouse to condemn,

-- One eternally thinking,

And blinking, and winking

At grubs,-- when he ought to be winking at them.--

But no!-- oh no!

'Twas by no means so

With the Lady Jane Ingoldsby -- she, far discreeter,

And, having a temper more even and sweeter,

Would never object to

Her spouse, in respect to

His poking and peeping

After 'things creeping;'

Much less be still keeping lamenting, and weeping,

Or scolding at what she perceived him so deep in.

Tout au contraire,

No lady so fair

Was e'er known to wear more contented an air;

And,-- let who would call,-- every day she was there,

Propounding receipts for some delicate fare,

Some toothsome conserve, of quince, apple, or pear,

Or distilling strong waters,-- or potting a hare,--

Or counting her spoons and her crockery-ware;--

Or else, her tambour-frame before her, with care

Embroidering a stool or a back for a chair,

With needle-work roses, most cunning and rare,

Enough to make less-gifted visitors stare,

And declare, where'er

They had been, that, 'they ne'er

In their lives had seen aught that at all could compare

With dear Lady Jane's housewifery -- that they would swear.'

Nay more; don't suppose

With such doings as those

This account of her merits must come to a close;

No;-- examine her conduct more closely, you'll find

She by no means neglected improving her mind;

For there, all the while, with air quite bewitching,

She sat herring-boning, tambouring, or stitching,

Or having an eye to affairs of the kitchen,

Close by her side,

Sat her kinsman, MacBride,

Her cousin, fourteen-times-removed,-- as you'll see

If you look at the Ingoldsby family tree,

In 'Burke's Commoners,' vol. xx., page 53.

All the papers I've read agree,

Too, with the pedigree,

Where, among the collateral branches, appears

'Captain Dugald Mac Bride, Royal Scots Fusileers;'

And I doubt if you'd find in the whole of his clan

A more highly-intelligent, worthy young man;--

And there he'd be sitting,

While she was a-knitting,

Or hemming, or stitching, or darning and fitting,

Or putting a 'gore,' or a 'gusset,' or 'bit' in,

Reading aloud, with a very grave look,

Some very 'wise saw' from some very good book,--

Some such pious divine as

St. Thomas Aquinas:

Or, equally charming,

The works of Bellarmine;

Or else he unravels

The 'voyages and travels'

Of Hackluytz -- (how sadly these Dutch names do sully verse!) -

-

Purchas's, Hawksworth's, or Lemuel Gulliver's,--

Not to name others, 'mongst whom there are few so

Admired as John Bunyan, and Robinson Crusoe.--

No matter who came,

It was always the same,

The Captain was reading aloud to the Dame,

Till, from having gone through half the books on the shelf,

They were almost as wise as Sir Thomas himself.

Well,-- it happened one day,

-- I really can't say

The particular month;-- but I think 'twas in May,--

'Twas, I know, in the Spring-time,-- when 'Nature looks gay,'

As the Poet observes,-- and on tree-top and spray

The dear little dickey-birds carol away;

When the grass is so green, and the sun is so bright,

And all things are teeming with life and with light,--

That the whole of the house was thrown into affright,

For no soul could conceive what was gone with the Knight!

It seems he had taken

A light breakfast -- bacon,

An egg -- with a little broiled haddock -- at most

A round and a half of some hot butter'd-toast,

With a slice of cold sirloin from yesterday's roast.

And then -- let me see!--

He had two -- perhaps three

Cups (with sugar and cream) of strong Gunpowder tea,

With a spoonful in each of some choice eau de vie,

-- Which with nine out of ten would perhaps disagree.--

-- In fact, I and my son

Mix 'black' with our 'Hyson,'

Neither having the nerves of a bull, or a bison,

And both hating brandy like what some call 'pison.'

No matter for that --

He had call'd for his hat,

With the brim that I've said was so broad and so flat,

And his 'specs' with the tortoiseshell rim, and his cane

With the crutch-handled top, which he used to sustain

His steps in his walks, and to poke in the shrubs

And the grass, when unearthing his worms and his grubs --

Thus arm'd, he set out on a ramble -- alack!

He set out, poor dear Soul?-- but he never came back!

'First dinner-bell' rang

Out its euphonous clang

At five -- folks kept early hours then -- and the 'Last'

Ding-dong'd, as it ever was wont, at half-past,

While Betsey, and Sally,

And Thompson, the Valet,

And every one else was beginning to bless himself,

Wondering the Knight had not come in to dress himself.--

-- Quoth Betsey, 'Dear me! why, the fish will be cold!--

Quoth Sally, 'Good gracious! how 'Missis' will scold!'--

Thompson, the Valet,

Look'd gravely at Sally,

As who should say 'Truth must not always be told!'

Then, expressing a fear lest the Knight might take cold

Thus exposed to the dews,

Lambs'-wool stockings, and shoes,

Of each a fresh pair,

He put down to air,

And hung a clean shirt to the fire on a chair.--

Still the Master was absent -- the Cook came and said, 'he

Much fear'd, as the dinner had been so long ready,

The roast and the boil'd

Would be all of it spoil'd,

And the puddings, her Ladyship thought such a treat,

He was morally sure, would be scarce fit to eat!'

This closed the debate --

''Twould be folly to wait,'

Said the Lady, 'Dish up!-- Let the meal be served straight;

And let two or three slices be put on a plate,

And kept hot for Sir Thomas.-- He's lost sure as fate!

And, a hundred to one, won't be home till it's late!'

-- Captain Dugald MacBride then proceeded to face

The Lady at table,-- stood up, and said grace,--

Then set himself down in Sir Thomas's place.

Wearily, wearily, all that night,

That live-long night, did the hours go by;

And the Lady Jane,

In grief and in pain,

She sat herself down to cry!--

And Captain MacBride,

Who sat by her side,

Though I really can't say that he actually cried,

At least had a tear in his eye!--

As much as can well be expected, perhaps,

From very 'young fellows' for very 'old chaps;'

And if he had said

What he'd got in his head,

'Twould have been 'Poor old Buffer! he's certainly dead!'

The morning dawn'd,-- and the next,-- and the next,

And all in the mansion were still perplex'd;

No watch-dog 'bay'd a welcome home,' as

A watch-dog should, to the 'Good Sir Thomas;'

No knocker fell

His approach to tell,

Not so much as a runaway ring at the bell --

The Hall was silent as Hermit's cell.

Yet the sun shone bright upon tower and tree,

And the meads smiled green as green may be,

And the dear little dickey-birds caroll'd with glee,

And the lambs in the park skipp'd merry and free --

-- Without, all was joy and harmony!

'And thus 'twill be,-- nor long the day,--

Ere we, like him, shall pass away!

Yon Sun, that now our bosoms warms,

Shall shine,-- but shine on other forms;--

Yon Grove, whose choir so sweetly cheers

Us now, shall sound on other ears,--

The joyous Lamb, as now, shall play,

But other eyes its sports survey,--

The Stream we loved shall roll as fair,

The flowery sweets, the trim Parterre

Shall scent, as now, the ambient air,--

The Tree, whose bending branches bear

The One loved name -- shall yet be there;--

But where the hand that carved it?-- Where?'--

These were hinted to me as

The very ideas

Which passed through the mind of the fair Lady Jane,

Her thoughts having taken a sombre-ish train,

As she walk'd on the esplanade, to and again,

With Captain MacBride,

Of course, at her side,

Who could not look quite so forlorn,-- though he tried,

-- An 'idea,' in fact, had got into his head,

That if 'poor dear Sir Thomas' should really be dead,

It might be no bad 'spec.' to be there in his stead,

And, by simply contriving, in due time, to wed

A Lady who was young and fair,

A Lady slim and tall,

To set himself down in comfort there

The Lord of Tapton <2> Hall.--

Thinks he, 'We have sent

Half over Kent

And nobody knows how much money's been spent,

Yet no one's been found to say which way he went!--

The groom, who's been over

To Folkstone and Dover,

Can't get any tidings at all of the rover!

-- Here's a fortnight and more has gone by, and we've tried

Every plan we could hit on -- the whole country-side,

Upon all its dead walls, with placards we've supplied,--

And we've sent out the Crier, and had him well cried --

'MISSING!!

Stolen, or stray'd,

Lost, or mislaid,

A GENTLEMAN;-- middle-aged, sober, and staid;--

Stoops slightly;-- and when he left home was array'd

In a sad-coloured suit, somewhat dingy and fray'd;--

Had spectacles on with a tortoiseshell rim,

And a hat rather low-crown'd, and broad in the brim.--

Whoe'er

Shall bear,

Or shall send him with care,

(Right side uppermost) home;-- or shall give notice where

The said middle-aged GENTLEMAN is;-- or shall state

Any fact, that may tend to throw light on his fate,

To the man at the turnpike, called TAPPINGTON GATE,

Shall receive a Reward of FIVE POUNDS for his trouble,--

(N.B.-- If defunct the REWARD will be double!!)'

'Had he been above ground

He must have been found.

No; doubtless he's shot,-- or he's hang'd,-- or he's drown'd!--

Then his Widow -- ay! ay!--

But, what will folks say?--

To address her at once -- at so early a day!

Well -- what then?-- who cares?-- let 'em say what they may --

A fig for their nonsense and chatter!-- suffice it, her

Charms will excuse one for casting sheep's eyes at her!'

When a man has decided

As Captain MacBride did,

And once fully made up his mind on the matter, he

Can't be too prompt in unmasking his battery.

He began on the instant, and vow'd that 'her eyes

Far exceeded in brilliance the stars in the skies,--

That her lips were like roses -- her cheeks were like lilies --

Her breath had the odour of daffy-down-dillies!'--

With a thousand more compliments equally true,

And expressed in similitudes equally new!

-- Then his left arm he placed

Round her jimp, taper waist --

-- Ere she'd fix'd to repulse, or return, his embrace,

Up came running a man, at a deuce of a pace,

With that very peculiar expression of face

Which always betokens dismay or disaster,

Crying out --' twas the Gardener,--' Oh, Ma'am! we've found

Master!'--

--' Where? where?' scream'd the lady; and Echo scream'd --'

Where?'--

-- The man couldn't say 'There!'

He had no breath to spare,

But, gasping for air, he could only respond

By pointing -- he pointed, alas!-- TO THE POND!!

--' Twas e'en so -- poor dear Knight!-- with his 'specs' and

his hat

He'd gone poking his nose into this and to that;

When, close to the side

Of the bank, he espied

An 'uncommon fine' Tadpole, remarkably fat!

He stooped;-- and he thought her

His own;-- he had caught her!

Got hold of her tail,-- and to land almost brought her,

When -- he plump'd head and heels into fifteen feet water!

The Lady Jane was tall and slim,

The Lady Jane was fair,

Alas, for Sir Thomas!-- she grieved for him,

As she saw two serving-men, sturdy of limb,

His body between them bear.

She sobb'd, and she sigh'd; she lamented, and cried,

For of sorrow brimful was her cup;

She swoon'd, and I think she'd have fall'n down and died,

If Captain MacBride

Had not been by her side,

With the Gardener; they both their assistance supplied,

And managed to hold her up.--

But, when she 'comes to,'

Oh! 'tis shocking to view

The sight which the corpse reveals!

Sir Thomas's body,

It look'd so odd -- he

Was half eaten up by the eels!

His waistcoat and hose, and the rest of his clothes

Were all gnaw'd through and through;

And out of each shoe

An eel they drew;

And from each of his pockets they pull'd out two!

And the Gardener himself had secreted a few,

As well we may suppose;

For, when he came running to give the alarm,

He had six in the basket that hung on his arm.

Good Father John <3>

Was summon'd anon;

Holy water was sprinkled,

And little bells tinkled,

And tapers were lighted,

And incense ignited,

And masses were sung, and masses were said,

All day, for the quiet repose of the dead,

And all night no one thought about going to bed.

But Lady Jane was tall and slim,

And Lady Jane was fair,--

And, ere morning came, that winsome dame

Had made up her mind -- or, what's much the same,

Had thought about -- once more 'changing her name,'

And she said, with a pensive air,

To Thompson, the valet, while taking away,

When supper was over, the cloth and the tray,--

'Eels a many

I've ate; but any

So good ne'er tasted before!--

They're a fish, too, of which I'm remarkably fond.--

Go -- pop Sir Thomas again in the Pond --

'Poor dear!-- HE'LL CATCH US SOME MORE!!

MORAL.

All middle-aged Gentlemen let me advise,

If you're married, and have not got very good eyes,

Don't go poking about after blue-bottle flies!--

If you've spectacles, don't have a tortoiseshell rim,

And don't go near the water,-- unless you can swim!

Married Ladies, especially such as are fair,

Tall, and slim, I would next recommend to beware

How, on losing one spouse, they give way to despair;

But let them reflect, 'There are fish, and no doubt on't --

As good in the river as ever came out on't!'

Should they light on a spouse who is given to roaming

In solitude -- raison de plus, in the 'gloaming,'--

Let them have a fix'd time for said spouse to come home in!

And if, when 'last dinner-bell''s rung, he is late,

To insure better manners in future -- Don't wait!--

If of husband or children they chance to be fond,

Have a stout iron-wire fence put all round the pond!

One more piece of advice, and I close my appeals --

That is -- if you chance to be partial to eels,

Then -- Crede experto -- trust one who has tried --

Have them spitch-cock'd,-- or stew'd -- they're too oily when

fried!

NOTES

1. My friend, Mr. Hood;

In his comical mood,

Would have probably styled the good Knight and his Lady

Him --'Stern-old and Hopkins,' and her 'Tête and Braidy.'

2. The familiar abbreviation for Tappington Everard still in

use among the tenantry,-- Vide Prefatory Introduction to the

Ingoldsby Legends.

3. For some account of Father John Ingoldsby, to whose papers I

am so much beholden, vide introduction to The Jackdaw of

Rheims. This was the last ecclesiastical act of his long and

valuable life.

THE HOUSE-WARMING!!: A LEGEND OF BLEEDING-HEART YARD.

Did you ever see the Devil dance?-- OLD QUERY.

Sir Christopher Hatton he danced with grace,

He'd a very fine form and a very fine face,

And his cloak and his doublet were guarded with lace,

And the rest of his clothes,

As you well may suppose,

In taste were by no means inferior to those;

He'd a yellow-starched ruff,

And his gloves were of buff,

On each of his shoes a red heel and a rose,

And nice little moustaches under his nose;

Then every one knows

How he turned out his toes,

And a very great way that accomplishment goes,

In a Court where it's thought, in a lord or duke, a

Disgrace to fall short in 'the Brawls'-- (their Cachouca).

So what with his form, and what with his face,

And what with his velvet cloak guarded with lace,

And what with his elegant dancing and grace,

His dress and address

So tickled Queen Bess

That her Majesty gave him a very snug place;

And seeing, moreover, at one single peep, her

Advisers were, few of them, sharper or deeper,

(Old Burleigh excepted), she made him Lord Keeper!

I've heard, I confess with no little surprise,

English history called a farrago of lies,

And a certain Divine,

A connexion of mine,

Who ought to know better, as some folks opine,

Is apt to declare,

Leaning back in his chair,

With a sort of a smirking, self-satisfied, air,

That 'all that's recorded in Hume, and elsewhere,

'Of our early "Annales"

A trumpery tale is,

Like the "Bold Captain Smith's," and "the luckless Miss

Bayley's"--

That old Roger Hoveden, and Ralph de Diceto,

And others (whose names should I try to repeat o-

ver, well I'm assured you would put in your veto),

Though all holy friars,

Were very great liars,

And raised stories faster than Grissel and Peto --

That Harold escaped with the loss of a 'glim'--

-- That the shaft which killed Rufus ne'er glanced from a limb

Of a tree, as they say, but was aimed slap at him,--

'That Fair Rosamond never was poisoned or spitted,

But outlived Queen Nell, who was much to be pitied;--

That Nelly her namesake, Ned Longshanks's wife,

Ne'er went Crusading at all in her life,

Nor suck'd the wound made by the poison-tipped knife!

For as she,

O'er the sea,

Towards far Galilee

Never, even in fancy, march'd carcass or shook shanks,

Of course she could no more suck Longshanks than Cruikshanks,

But, leaving her spindle-legged liege-lord to roam,

Staid behind, and suck'd something much better at home,--

That it's quite as absurd

To say Edward the Third,

In reviving the Garter, afforded a handle

For any Court-gossip, detraction, or scandal,

As 'twould be to say,

That at Court 'tother day,

At the fête which the newspapers say was so gay,

His Great Representative then stole away

Lady Salisbury's garters as part of the play.--

-- That as to Prince Hal's being taken to jail,

By the London Police, without mainprize or bail,

For cuffing a judge,

It's a regular fudge;

And that Chief-Justice Gascoigne, it's very well known,

Was kicked out the moment he came to the throne.--

-- Then that Richard the Third was a 'marvellous proper man'--

Never killed, injured, or wrong'd of a copper, man!--

Ne'er wished to smother

The sons of his brother,--

Nor ever stuck Harry the Sixth, who, instead

Of being squabashed, as in Shakspeare we've read,

Caught a bad influenza, and died in his bed,

In the Tower, not far from the room where the Guard is

(The octagon one that adjoins Duffus Hardy's).

-- That, in short, all the "facts" in the Decem Scriptores,

Are nothing at all but sheer humbugging stories.'

Then if, as he vows, both this country and France in,

Historians thus gave themselves up to romancing,

Notwithstanding what most of them join in advancing

Respecting Sir Christopher's capering and prancing,

'Twill cause no surprise

If we find that his rise

Is not to be solely ascribed to his dancing!

The fact is, Sir Christopher, early in life,

As all bachelors should do, had taken a wife,

A Fanshawe by family,-- one of a house,

Well descended, but boasting less 'nobles' than nous;

Though e'en as to purse

He might have done worse,

For I find, on perusing her Grandfather's will, it is

Clear she had 'good gifts beside possibilities,'<1>

Owches and rings,

And such sort of things,

Orellana shares (then the American Stocks),

Jewell'd stomachers, coifs, ruffs, stilk-stockings with clocks,

Point-lace, cambric handkerchiefs, nightcaps, and -- socks --

(Recondite apparel contained in her box),

-- Then the height of her breeding

And depth of her reading

Might captivate any gay youth, and, in leading

Him on to 'propose,' well excuse the proceeding:

Truth to tell, as to 'reading,' the Lady was thought to do

More than she should, and know more than she ought to do;

Her maid, it was said,

Declared that she read

(A custom all staid folks discourage) in bed;

And that often, o' nights,

Odd noises and sights

In her mistress's chamber had giv'n her sad frights,

After all in the mansion had put out their lights,

And she verily thought that hobgoblins and sprites

Were there, kicking up all sorts of devil's delights;--

Miss Alice, in short, was supposed to 'collogue'-- I

Don't much like the word -- with the subtle old rogue, I

've heard call'd by so many names -- one of them's 'Bogy'--

Indeed 'twas conceived,

And by most folks believed,

-- A thing at which all of her well-wishers griev'd --

That should she incline to play such a vagary,

Like sage Lady Branxholm, her contempo-rary,

(Excuse the false quantity, reader, I pray),

She could turn a knight into a waggon of hay,

Or two nice little boys into puppies at play,

Raison de plus, not a doubt could exist of her

Pow'r to turn 'Kit Hatton' into 'Sir Christopher;'

But what 'mighty magic,' or strong 'conjuration,'

Whether love-powder, philtre, or other potation

She used, I confess,

I'm unable to guess,--

Much less to express

By what skill and address

She 'cut and contrived' with such signal success,

As we Londoners say, to 'inwiggle' Queen Bess,

Inasmuch as I lack heart

To study the Black Art;

Be that as it may,-- it's as clear as the sun,

That, however she did it, 'twas certainly done!

Now, they're all very well, titles, honour, and rank,

Still we can't but admit, if we choose to be frank,

There's no harm in a snug little sum in the Bank!

An old proverb says,

'Pudding still before praise!'

An adage well known I've no doubt in those days,

And George Colman, the Younger, in one of his plays,

Makes one of his characters loudly declare

That 'a Lord without money,'-- I quote from his 'Heir-

At-Law'--''s but a poor wishy-washy affair!'--

In her subsequent conduct I think we can see a

Strong proof the Dame entertain'd some such idea,

For, once in the palace,

We find Lady Alice

Again playing tricks with her Majesty's chalice

In the way that the jocose, in

Our days, term 'hocussing;'

The liquor she used, as I've said, she kept close,

But, whatever it was, she now doubled the dose!

(So true is the saying,

'We never can stay, in

Our progress, when once with the foul fiend we league us.')

-- She 'doctor'd' the punch, and she 'doctor'd' the negus,

Taking care not to put in sufficient to flavour it,

Till, at every fresh sip

That moisten'd her lip,

The Virgin Queen grew more attach'd to her Favourite.

'No end' now he commands

Of money and lands,

And, as George Robins says, when he's writing about houses,

'Messuages, tenements, crofts, tofts, and outhouses,'

Parks, manors, chases, She 'gives and she grants,

To him and his heirs, and his uncles and aunts;'

Whatever he wants, he has only to ask it,

And all other suitors are 'left in the basket,'

Till Dudley, and Rawleigh

Began to look squally,

While even grave Cecil, the famous Lord Burleigh,

Himself, 'shook his head,' and grew snappish and surly.

All this was fine sport,

As our authors report,

To dame Alice, become a great Lady at Court,

Where none than her Ladyship's husband look'd bigger,

Who 'led the brawls' <2> still with the same grace and vigour,

Though losing a little in slimness and figure;

For eating and drinking all day of the best

Of viands well drest,

With 'Burgess's Zest,'

Is apt, by degrees, to enlarge a man's vest;

And, what in Sir Christopher went to increase it, he

'd always been rather inclined to obesity;

-- Few men in those times were found to grow thinner

With beefsteaks for breakfast, and pork-pie for dinner.

Now it's really a difficult problem to say

How long matters might have gone on in this way,

If it had not unluckily happened one day

That Nick,-- who, because

He'd the gout in his claws,

And his hoofs -- (he's by no means so young as he was,

And is subject of late to a sort of rheumatic a

ttack that partakes both of gout and sciatica,)--

All the night long had twisted and grinn'd,

His pains much increased by an easterly wind,

Which always compels him to hobble and limp,

Was strongly advised by his Medical Imp

To lie by a little, and give over work,

For he'd lately been slaving away like a Turk,

On the Guinea-coast, helping to open a brave trade

In Niggers, with Hawkins <3> who founded the slave-trade,

So he call'd for his ledger, the constant resource

Of your mercantile folk, when they're 'not in full force;'

-- If a cold or catarrh makes them husky and hoarse,

Or a touch of gout keeps them away from 'the Bourse,'

They look over their books as a matter of course.

Now scarce had Nick turn'd over one page, or two,

Ere a prominent item attracted his view,

A Bill!-- that had now been some days overdue,

From one Alice Hatton, nêe Fanshawe -- a name

Which you'll recognise, reader, at once as the same

With that borne by Sir Christopher's erudite dame!

The signature -- much more prononcêe than pink,

Seem'd written in blood -- but it might be red ink --

While the rest of the deed

He proceeded to read,

Like ev'ry 'bill, bond, or acquittance' whose date is

Three hundred years old, ran in Latin,--'Sciatis

(Diaboli?) omnes ad quos hæc pervenient --'

-- But courage, dear Reader, I mean to be lenient,

And scorn to inflict on you half the 'Law-reading'

I picked up 'umquhile' in three days' special-pleading,

Which cost me -- a theme I'll not pause to digress on --

Just thirty-three pounds six-and-eightpence a lesson --

'As I'm stout, I'll be merciful,' therefore, and sparing

All these technicalities, end by declaring

The Deed so correct

As to make one suspect,

(Were it possible any such person could go there)

Old Nick had a Special Attorney below there:

'Twas so framed and express'd no tribunal could shake it,

And firm as red wax and black ferret could make it.

By the roll of his eye

As Old Nick put it by,

It was clear he had made up his mind what to do

In respect to the course he should have to pursue,

When his hoof would allow him to put on a shoe!!

No, although the Lord Keeper held under the crown, house

And land in the country -- he'd never a Town-house,

And, as we have seen,

His course always had been,

When he wanted a thing, to solicit the Queen,

So now, in the hope of a fresh acquisition,

He danced off to Court with his 'Humble Petition.'

'Please your Majesty's Grace,

I have not a place,

I can well put my head in, to dine, sup, or sleep!

Your Grace's Lord Keeper has nowhere to keep,

So I beg and intreat,

At your Majesty's feet,

That your Grace will be graciously pleas'd for to say,

With as little delay

As your Majesty may,

Where your Majesty's Grace's Lord Keeper's to stay --

-- And your Grace's Petitioner ever will pray!'

The Queen, when she heard

This petition preferr'd,

Gave ear to Sir Christopher's suit at a word;--

Odds Bobs, my good Lord!' was her gracious reply,

I don't know, not I,

Any good reason why

A Lord Keeper, like you, should not always be nigh

To advise -- and devise -- and revise -- our supply --

A House! we're surprised that the thing did not strike

Us before -- Yes!-- of course!-- Pray, whose House would you

like!

When I do things of this kind, I do them genteelly,

A House?-- let me see! there's the Bishop of Ely!

A capital mansion, I'm told, the proud knave is in,

Up there in Holborn, just opposite Thavies' Inn --

Where the Strawberries grow so fine and so big,

Which our Grandmother's Uncle tucked in like a pig,

King Richard the Third, which you all must have read of --

The day,-- don't you know?-- he cut Hastings' head off --

And mark me, proud Prelate!-- I'm speaking to you,

Bishop Heaton!-- you need not, my lord, look so blue --

Give it up on the instant! I don't mean to shock you,

Or else by --! (The Bishop was shocked!) -- I'll unfrock you!!'

The Queen turns abruptly her back on the group,

The Courtiers all bow as she passes, and stoop

To kiss, as she goes, the hind flounce of her hoop,

And Sir Christopher, having thus danced to some tune,

Skips away with much glee in his best rigadoon!

While poor Bishop Heaton,

Who found himself beaten,

In serious alarm at the Queen's contumelious

And menacing tone, at once gave him up Ely House

With every appurtenance thereto belonging,

Including the strawberry beds 'twas so strong in;

Politely he bow'd to the gratified minion,

And said, 'There can be, my good lord, in opinion

No difference betwixt yours

And mine as to fixtures,

And tables, and chairs --

We need no survey'rs --

Take them just as you find them, without reservation,

Grates, coppers, and all, at your own valuation!'

Well! the object is gain'd!

A good town-house obtained,

The next thing to be thought of, is now

The 'house-warming' party -- the when and the how --

The Court ladies call,

One and all, great and small,

For an elegant 'Spread,' and more elegant Ball,

So, Sir Christopher, vain as we know of his capering,

No sooner had finished his painting and papering,

Than he sat down and wrote,

A nice little pink note

To every great Lord, whom he knew, and his spouse,

From our poor place on Holborn-hill (late Ely House),

Lord Keeper and Dame Alice Hatton request,

Lord So-and-so's (name, style, or title exprest)

Good company on

The next Eve of St. John,

Viz: Friday week, June 24th, as their guest,

To partake of pot-luck,

And taste a fat buck.

N.B. Venison on table exactly at 3,

Quadrilles in the afternoon.

R. S. V. P.

For my good Lord of So-and-so these, and his wife;

Ride! ride! for thy life! for thy life! for thy life!'

Thus, courtiers were wont to indorse their expresses

In Harry the VIIIth's time, and also Queen Bess's.

The Dame, for her part, too, took order that cards

Should be sent to the mess-rooms of all the Hussards,

The Household troops, Train-bands, and horse and foot Guards.

Well, the day for the rout

At length came about,

And the bells of St. Andrew's rang merrily out,

As horse-litter, coach, and pad-nag, with its pillion,

(The mode of conveyance then used by 'the Million,')

All gallant and grand,

Defiled from the Strand,

Some through Chancery (then an unpaved and much wetter) Lane,

Others through Shoe (which was not a whit better) Lane,

Others through Fewtar's (corrupted to Fetter) Lane;

Some from Cheapside, and St. Mary-le-Bow,

From Bishopsgate Street, Dowgate Hill,<4> and Budge Row,

They come and they go,

Squire and Dame, Belle and Beau,

Down Snore Hill (which we have since whitewashed to Snow),

All eager to see the magnificent show,

And sport what some call 'a fantastical toe;'

In silk and in satin,

To batten and fatten

Upon the good cheer of Sir Christopher Hatton,

A flourish, trumpets!-- sound again!--

He comes, bold Drake, the chief who made a

Fine hash of all the pow'rs of Spain,

And so serv'd out their Grand Armada:

With him come Frobisher and Hawkins,

In yellow ruffs, rosettes, and stockings.

Room for my Lord!-- proud Leicester's Earl

Retires a while from courtly cares,

Who took his wife, poor hapless girl!

And pitch'd her neck and heel down stairs;

Proving, in hopes to wed a richer,

If not her 'friend,' at least her 'pitcher.'

A flourish, trumpets! strike the drums!

Will Shakspeare, never of his pen sick,

Is here -- next Doctor Masters comes,

Renown'd afar for curing men sick,--

Queen's Serjeant Barham <5> with his bums

And tipstaves, coif, and wig forensic;

(He lost, unless Sir Richard lies, his

Life at the famous 'Black Assizes.')

Room! Room! for great Cecil!-- place, place, for his Dame!--

Room! Room! for Southampton -- for Sidney, whose name

As a Preux Chevalier, in the records of Fame

'Beats Banagher'-- e'en now his praises, we all sing 'em,

Knight, Poet, Gentleman!-- Room for sage Walsingham!

Room for Lord Hunsdon!-- for Sussex!-- for Rawleigh!--

For Ingoldsby!! Oh! it's enough to appal ye!

Dear me! how they call!

How they squall! how they bawl!

This dame has lost her shoe -- that one her shawl --

My lord's got a tumble -- my lady a fall!

Now a Hall! a Hall!

A Brawl! a Brawl!

Here's my Lord Keeper Hatton, so stately and tall,

Has led out Lady Hunsdon to open the Ball!

Fiddlers! Fiddlers! fiddle away!

Resin your catgut! fiddle and play!

A roundelay!

Fiddle away!

Obey! obey!-- hear what they all say!

Hip!-- Music!-- Nosey!!-- play up there!-- play!'

Never was any thing half so gay

As Sir Christopher Hatton's grand holiday!

The clock strikes twelve!-- Who cares for the clock?

Who cares for -- Hark!-- What a loud Single-knock!

Dear me! dear me!

Who can it be?--

Why, who can be coming at this time of night,

With a knock like that honest folk to affright?--

'Affright?'-- yes, affright!-- there are many who mock

At fear, and in danger stand firm as a rock,

Whom the roar of the battle-field never could shock,

Yet quail at the sound of a vile 'Single-knock!'

Hark?-- what can the Porter be thinking of?-- What!--

If the booby has not let him in I'll be shot!--

Dear me! how hot

The room's all at once got!--

And what rings through the roof?--

It's the sound of a hoof!--

It's some donkey a-coming upstairs at full trot!

Stay!-- the folding-doors open! the leaves are thrown back,

And in dances a tall Figurant -- ALL IN BLACK!!

Gracious me what an entrechat! Oh, what a bound!

Then with what an a-plomb he comes down to the ground!

Look there! look there!

Now he's up in the air!

Now he's here!-- now he's there -- now he's no one knows

where!--

See! see!-- he's kick'd over a table and chair!

There they go!-- all the strawberries, flowers, and sweet

herbs,

Turn'd o'er and o'er,

Down on the floor,

Ev'ry caper he cuts oversets or disturbs

All the 'Keen's Seedlings' and 'Wilmot's Superbs!'

There's a pirouette!-- we're

All a great deal too near!

A ring!-- give him room or he'll 'shin' you -- stand clear!

There's a spring again!-- oh! 'tis quite frightful!-- oh dear!

His toe's broke the top of the glass chandelier!!

Now he's down again!-- look at the congees and bows

And salaams which he makes to the Dame of the House,

Lady Alice, the noble Lord Treasurer's spouse!

Come, now we shall view

A grand pas de deux

Perform'd in the very first style by these two

-- But no!-- she recoils -- she could scarce look more pale if

Instead of a Beau's 'twas the bow of a Bailiff!--

He holds out his hand -- she declines it, and draws

Back her own -- see!-- he grasps it with horrid black claws,

Like the short, sharp, strong nails of a Polar Bear's paws!!

Then she 'scream'd such a scream!'

Such another, I deem,

As, long after, Miss Mary Brown<6> scream'd in her dream,

Well she might! for 'twas shrewdly remark'd by her Page,

A sharp little boy about twelve years of age,

Who was standing close by

When she utter'd her cry,

That the whole of her arm shrivell'd up, and grew dry,

While the fingers and thumb of the hand he had got

In his clutches became on the instant RED HOT!!

Now he whirls and he twirls

Through the girls in their curls

And their rouge, and their feathers, and diamonds, and pearls;

Now high,-- now low,--

Now fast, and now slow,

In terrible circumgyration they go;

The flame-coloured Belle and her coffee-faced Beau!

Up they go once! and up they go twice!--

Round the hall!-- round the hall!-- and now up they go thrice!

Now one grand pirouette, the performance to crown!

Now again they go up!!-- and they NEVER COME DOWN!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

The thunder roars!

And the rain it pours!

And the lightning comes in through the windows and doors!

Then more calling, and bawling,

And squalling, and falling,

Oh! what a fearful 'stramash' they are all in!

Out they all sally,

The whole corps de ballet --

Some dash down Holborn-hill into the valley,

Where stagnates Fleet Ditch at the end of Harp Alley,

Some t'other way, with a speed quite amazing,

Nor pause to take breath till they get beyond Gray's Inn.

In every sense of the word, such a rout of it,

Never was made in London, or out of it!

When they came the next day to examine the scene,

There was scarcely a vestige of all that had been;

The beautiful tapestry, blue, red, and green,

Was all blacken'd and scorch'd, and look'd dirty and mean.

All the crockery broken, dish, plate, and tureen!

While those who look'd up could perceive in the roof,

One very large hole in the shape of a hoof!

Of poor Lady Hatton, it's needless to say,

No traces have ever been found to this day,

Or the terrible dancer who whisk'd her away;

But out in the court-yard -- and just in that part

Where the pump stands -- lay bleeding a LARGE HUMAN HEART!

And sundry large stains

Of blood and of brains,

Which had not been wash'd off notwithstanding the rains,

Appear'd on the wood, and the handle, and chains,

As if somebody's head with a very hard thump,

Had been recently knock'd on the top of the pump.

That pump is no more!-- that of which you've just read,--

But they've put a new iron one up in its stead,

And still, it is said,

At that 'small hour' so dread,

When all sober people are cosey in bed,

There may sometimes be seen on a moonshiny night,

Standing close by the new pump, a Lady in White,

Who keeps pumping away with, 'twould seem, all her might,

Though never a drop comes her pains to requite!

And hence many passengers now are debarr'd

From proceeding at nightfall through Bleeding Heart Yard!

MORAL.

Fair ladies attend!

And if you've a 'friend

At Court,' don't attempt to bamboozle or trick her!

-- Don't meddle with negus, or any mix'd liquor!--

Don't dabble in 'Magic!' my story has shown,

How wrong 'tis to use any charms but your own!

Young Gentlemen, too, may, I think, take a hint,

Of the same kind, from what I've here ventured to print,

All Conjuring's bad! they may get in a scrape,

Before they're aware, and whatever its shape,

They may find it no easy affair to escape.

It's not every body that comes off so well

From leger-de-main tricks as Mr. Brunel.

Don't dance with a Stranger who looks like a Guy,

And when dancing don't cut your capers too high!

Depend on't the fault's in

Your method of waltzing,

If ever you kick out the candles -- don't try!

At a ball or a play,

Or any soirée,

When a petit souper constitutes the 'Après,'

If strawb'ries and cream with CHAMPAGNE form a part,

Take care of your HEAD!-- and take care of your HEART!

If you want a new house

For yourself and your spouse,

Buy, or build one,-- and honestly pay, every brick, for it!

Don't be so green as to go to old Nick for it --

-- Go to George Robins -- he'll find you 'a perch,'

(Dulce domum's his word,) without robbing the Church!

The last piece of advice which I'd have you regard

Is, 'don't go of a night into Bleeding Heart Yard,'

It's a dark, little, dirty, black, ill-looking square,

With queer people about, and unless you take care,

You may find when your pocket's clean'd out and left bare,

That the iron one is not the only 'PUMP' there?

NOTES

1. 'Seven hundred pounds and possibilities is good gifts.'--

Sir Hugh Evans.

2. The grave Lord Keeper led the brawls, The seals and maces

danced before him.-- Gray.

3. Sir John Hawkins for 'his worthye attempts and services,'

and because 'in the same he had dyvers conflights with the

Moryans and slew and toke dyvers of the same Moryans' received

from Elizabeth anhonourable augmentation to his coat armour,

including, for his crest, 'A Demi-Moor sable, with two manacles

on each arm, or.'

4. Sir Francis Drake's house, 'the Arbour,' stood here.

5. Called by Sir Richard Baker 'The famous Lawyer.'-- See his

Chronicle.

6. Vide the celebrated ballad of 'Giles Scroggins.'-- Catnach's

ed. 7 Dials, Lond., 1841.

THE FORLORN ONE.

Ah! why those piteous sounds of woe,

Lone wanderer of the dreary night?

Thy gushing tears in torrents flow,

Thy bosom pants in wild affright!

And thou, within whose iron breast

Those frowns austere too truly tell,

Mild pity, heaven-descended guest,

Hath never, never deign'd to dwell.

'That rude, uncivil touch forego,'

Stern despot of a fleeting hour!

Nor 'make the angels weep' to know

The fond 'fantastic tricks' of power!

Know'st thou not 'mercy is not strain'd,

But droppeth as the gentle dew,'

And while it blesseth him who gain'd,

It blesseth him who gave it, too!

Say, what art thou? and what is he,

Pale victim of despair and pain,

Whose streaming eyes and bended knee

Sue to thee thus -- and sue in vain?

Cold, callous man!-- he scorns to yield,

Or ought relax his felon gripe,

But answers,--' I'm Inspector Field!

And this here warment's prigg'd your wipe.'

JERRY JARVIS'S WIG: A LEGEND OF THE WEALD OF KENT

'The wig 's the thing! the wig! the wig!'-- Old Song.

'JOE,' said old Jarvis, looking out of his window,-- it

was his ground-floor back,--'Joe, you seem to be very hot, Joe,

and you have got no wig!'

'Yes, sir,' quoth Joseph, pausing and resting upon his

spade, 'it 's as hot a day as ever I see; but the celery must

be got in, or there'll be no autumn crop, and --'

'Well, but Joe, the sun's so hot, and it shines so on your

bald head, it makes one wink to look at it. You'll have a coup-

de soleil, Joe.'

'A what, sir?'

'No matter; it 's very hot working; and if you'll step in

doors, I'll give you --'

'Thank ye, your honour, a drop of beer will be very

acceptable.'

Joe's countenance brightened amazingly.

'Joe, I'll give you -- my old wig!'

The countenance of Joseph fell, his grey eye had glistened

as a blest vision of double X flitted athwart his fancy; its

glance faded again into the old, filmy, gooseberry-coloured

hue, as he growled in a minor key, 'A wig, sir!'

'Yes, Joe, a wig. The man who does not study the comfort

of his dependants is an unfeeling scoundrel. You shall have my

old worn-out wig.'

'I hope, sir, you'll give me a drop o' beer to think your

honour's health in, it is very hot, and --'

'Come in, Joe, and Mrs. Witherspoon shall give it you.'

'Heaven bless your honour;' said honest Joe, striking his

spade perpendicularly into the earth, and walking with more

than usual alacrity towards the close-cut, quickset hedge which

separated Mr. Jarvis's garden from the high road.

From the quickset hedge aforesaid he now raised, with all

due delicacy, a well-worn and somewhat dilapidated jacket, of a

stuff by drapers most pseudonymously termed 'everlasting.'

Alack! alack! what is there to which tempus edax rerum will

accord that epithet? In its high and palmy days it had been

all of a piece; but as its master's eye now fell upon it, the

expression of his countenance seemed to say with Octavian,

'Those days are gone, Floranthe!'

It was now, from frequent patching, a coat not unlike that of

the patriarch, one of many colours.

Joseph Washford inserted his wrists into the corresponding

orifices of the tattered garment, and with a steadiness of

circumgyration, to be acquired only by long and sufficient

practice, swung it horizontally over his ears, and settled

himself into it.

'Confound your old jacket,' cried a voice from the other

side the hedge; 'keep it down, you rascal! don't you see my

horse is frightened at it?'

'Sensible beast!' apostrophized Joseph, 'I've been

frightened at it myself every day for the last two years.'

The gardener cast a rueful glance at its sleeve, and

pursued his way to the door of the back kitchen.

'Joe,' said Mrs. Witherspoon, a fat, comely dame, of about

five-and-forty, 'Joe, your master is but too good to you; he is

always kind and considerate. Joe, he has desired me to give you

his old wig.'

'And the beer, Ma'am Witherspoon?' said Washford, taking

the proffered caxon, and looking at it with an expression some

what short of rapture; 'and the beer, ma'am?'

'The beer, you guzzling wretch! -- what beer? Master said

nothing about no beer. You ungrateful fellow, has not he given

you a wig?'

'Why, yes, Madam Witherspoon; but then, you see, his

honour said it was very hot, and I'm very dry, and --'

'Go to the pump, sot! 'said Mrs. Witherspoon, as she

slammed the back-door in the face of the petitioner.

Mrs. Witherspoon was 'of the Lady Huntingdon persuasion,'

and Honorary Assistant Secretary to the Appledore branch of the

'Ladies' Grand Junction Water-working Temperance Society.'

Joe remained for a few moments lost in mental abstraction;

he looked at the door, he looked at the wig; his first thought

was to throw it into the pig-stye,-- his corruption rose, but

he resisted the impulse; he got the better of Satan; the half-

formed imprecation died before it reached his lips, He looked

disdainfully at the wig; it had once been a comely jasey

enough, of the colour of over-baked gingerbread, one of the

description commonly known during the latter half of the last

century by the name of a 'brown George.' The species, it is to

be feared, is now extinct, but a few, a very few of the same

description might, till very lately, be occasionally seen,--

rari nantes in gurgite vasto -- the glorious relics of a bygone

day, crowning the cerebellum of some venerated and venerable

provost, or judge of assize; but Mr. Jarvis's wig had one

peculiarity; unlike most of its fellows, it had a tail!--

'cribbed and confined,' indeed, by a shabby piece of faded

shalloon.

Washford looked at it again; he shook his bald head; the

wig had certainly seen its best days; still it had about it

some what of an air of faded gentility; it was 'like ancient

Rome, majestic in decay,'-- and as the small ale was not to be

forthcoming, why -- after all, an old wig was better thaa

nothing!

Mr. Jeremiah Jarvis, of Appledore, in the Weald of Kent,

was a gentleman by Act of Parliament; one of that class of

gentlemen who, disdaining the bourgeois-sounding name of

'attorney-at-law,' are, by a legal fiction, denominated

solicitors. I say by a legal fiction, for surely the general

tenor of the intimation received by such as enjoy the advantage

of their correspondence has little in common with the idea

usually attached to the term 'solicitation.' 'If you don't pay

my bill, and costs, I'll send you to jail,' is a very energetic

entreaty. There are, it is true, etymologists who derive their

style and title from the Latin infinitive 'solicitare,' to

'make anxious,'-- in all probability they are right.

If this be the true etymology of his title, as it was the

main end of his calling, then was Jeremiah Jarvis a worthy

exemplar of the genus to which he belonged. Few persons in his

time had created greater solicitude among his Majesty's lieges

within the 'Weald.' He was rich, of course. The best house in

the country-town is always the lawyer's, and it generally

boasts a green door, stone steps, and a brass knocker. In

neither of these appendages to opulence was Jeremiah deficient;

but then he was so very rich; his reputed wealth, indeed,

passed all the common modes of accounting for its increase.

True, he was so universal a favourite that every man whose will

he made was sure to leave him a legacy; that he was a sort of

general assignee to all the bankruptcies within twenty miles of

Appledore; was clerk to half the 'trusts;' and treasurer to

most of the 'rates,' 'funds,' and 'subscriptions,' in that part

of the country; that he was land-agent to Lord Mountrhino, and

steward to the rich Miss Tabbytale of Smerrididdle Hall; that

be had been guardian (?) to three young profligates who all ran

through their property, which, somehow or another, came at last

into his hands, 'at an equitable valuation.' Still his

possessions were so considerable, as not to be altogether

accounted for, in vulgar esteem, even by these and other

honourable modes of accumulation; nor were there wanting those

who conscientiously entertained a belief that a certain dark-

coloured gentleman, of indifferent character, known principally

by his predilection for appearing in perpetual mourning, had

been through life his great friend and counsellor, and had

mainly assisted in the acquirement of his revenues. That 'old

Jerry Jarvis had sold himself to the devil' was, indeed, a

dogma which it were heresy to doubt in Appledore;-- on this

head, at least, there were few schismatics in the parish.

When the worthy 'Solicitor' next looked out of his ground.

floor back, he smiled with much complacency at beholding Joe

Washford again hard at work -- in his wig -- the little tail

aforesaid oscillating like a pendulum in the breeze. If it be

asked what could induce a gentleman, whose leading principle

seems to have been self-appropriation, to make so magnificent a

present, the answer is, that Mr. Jarvis might perhaps have

thought an occasional act of benevolence necessary or politic;

he is not the only person, who, having stolen a quantity of

leather, has given away a pair of shoes, pour l'amour de Dieu,-

- perhaps he had other motives.

Joe, meanwhile, worked away at the celery-bed; but truth

obliges us to say, neither with the same degree of vigour or

perseverance as had marked the earlier efforts of the morning.

His pauses were more frequent; he rested longer on the handle

of his spade; while ever and anon his eye would wander from the

trench beneath him to an object not unworthy the contemplation

of a natural philosopher. This was an apple-tree.

Fairer fruit never tempted Eve, or any of her daughters;

the bending branches groaned beneath their luxuriant freight,

and dropping to earth, seemed to ask the protecting aid of man

either to support or to relieve them, The fine, rich glow of

their sun-streaked clusters derived additional loveliness from

the level beams of the descending day-star. An anchorite's

mouth had watered at the pippins.

On the precise graft of the espalier of Eden,

'Sanchoniathon, Manetho, and Berosus' are undecided; the best-

informed Talmudists, however, have, if we are to believe Dr.

Pinner's German Version, pronounced it a Ribstone pippin, and a

Ribstone pippin-tree it was that now attracted the optics, and

discomposed the inner man of the thirsty, patient, but

perspiring gardener. The heat was still oppressive; no beer had

moistened his lip, though its very name, uttered as it was in

the ungracious tones of a Witherspoon, had left behind a

longing as intense as fruitless. His thirst seemed

supernatural, when at this moment his left ear experienced 'a

slight and tickling sensation,' such as we are assured is

occasionally produced by an infinitesimal dose in homceopathy;

a still, small voice -- it was as though a daddy long-legs were

whispering in his tympanum -- a small voice seemed to say,

'Joe! -- take an apple, Joe!!'

Honest Joseph started at the suggestion; the rich crimson

of his jolly nose deepened to a purple tint in the beams of the

setting sun; his very forehead was incarnadine. He raised his

band to scratch his ear,-- the little tortuous tail had worked

its way into it,-- he pulled it out by the bit of shalloon, and

allayed the itching, then cast his eye wistfully towards the

mansion where his master was sitting by the open window. Joe

pursed up his parched lips into an arid whistle, and with a

desperate energy struck his spade once more into the celery-

bed.

Alack! alack! what a piece of work is man!-- how short his

triumphs! -- how frail his resolutions!

From this fine and very original moral reflection we turn

reluctantly to record the sequel. The celery-bed, alluded to as

the main scene of Mr. Washford's operations, was drawn in a

rectilinear direction, nearly across the whole breadth of the

parallelogram that comprised the 'kitchen garden.' Its northern

extremity abutted to the hedge before mentioned, its southern

one -- woe is me that it should have been so!-- was in fearful

vicinity to the Ribstone pippin-tree. One branch, low bowed to

earth, seemed ready to discharge its precious burden into the

very trench. As Joseph stooped to insert the last plant with

his dibble, an apple of more than ordinary beauty bobbed

against his knuckles.--'He's taking snuff, Joe.' whispered the

same small voice; -- tbe tail had twisted itself into its old

position. 'He is sneezing!-- now, Joe!-- now!' and, ere the

agitated horticulturist could recover from his surprise and

alarm, the fruit was severed, and -- in his hand!

'He! he! he!' shrilly laughed, or seemed to laugh, that

accursed little pigtail.-- Washford started at once to the

perpendicular;-- with an enfrenzied grasp he tore the jasey

from his head, and, with that in one hand, and his ill-acquired

spoil in the other, he rushed distractedly from the garden!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

All that night was the humble couch of the once happy

gardener haunted with the most fearful visions. He was stealing

apples,-- he was robbing hen-roosts,-- he was altering the

chalks upon the milk-score,-- he had purloined three chemises

from a hedge, and he awoke in the very act of cutting the

throat of one of Squire lodge's sheep! A clammy dew stood upon

his temples,-- the cold perspiration burst from every pore,--

he sprang in terror from the bed.

'Why, Joe, what ails thee, man?' cried the usually

incurious Mrs. Washford; 'what be the matter with thee? Thee

hast done nothing but grunt and growl all t'night long, and now

thee dost stare as if thee saw summut. What bees it, Joe?'

A long-drawn sigh was her husband's only answer; his eye

fell upon the bed. 'How the devil came that here?' quoth

Joseph, with a sudden recoil: 'who put that thing on my

pillow?'

'Why, I did, Joseph. Th'ould nightcap is in the wash, and

thee didst toss and tumble so, and kick the clothes off, I

thought thee mightest catch cowld, so I clapt t'wig atop o'

thee head.'

And there it lay,-- the little sinister-looking tail

impudently perked up, like an infernal gnomon on a Satanic

dial-plate -- Larceny and Ovicide shone in every hair of it!

'The dawn was overcast, the morning lower'd

And heavily in clouds brought on the day,'

when Joseph Washford once more repaired to the scene of his

daily labours; a sort of unpleasant consciousness flushed his

countenance, and gave him an uneasy feeling as he opened the

garden-gate; for Joe, generally speaking, was honest as the

skin between his brows; his hand faltered as it pressed the

latch. 'Pooh, pooh ! 'twas but an apple, after all!' said

Joseph. He pushed open the wicket, and found himself beneath

the tempting tree.

But vain now were all its fascinations; like fairy gold

seen by the morning light, its charms had faded into very

nothingness. Worlds, to say nothing of apples, which in shape

resemble them, would not have bought him to stretch forth an

unhallowed hand again; he went steadily to his work.

The day continued cloudy: huge drops of rain fell at

intervals, stamping his bald pate with spots as big as

halfpence; but Joseph worked on. As the day advanced, showers

fell thick and frequent; the fresh-turned earth was itself

fragrant as a bouquet.-- Joseph worked on; and when at last

Jupiter Pluvius descended in all his majesty, soaking the

ground into the consistency of a dingy pudding, he put on his

party-coloured jacket, and strode towards his humble home,

rejoicing in his renewed integrity. ''Twas but an apple, after

all! Had it been an apple-pie, indeed!'--'An apple-pie!' the

thought was a dangerous one -- too dangerous to dwell on. But

Joseph's better Genius was at this time lord of the ascendant;

-- he dismissed it, and passed on.

On arriving at his cottage, an air of bustle and confusion

prevailed within, much at variance with the peaceful serenity

usually observable in its economy. Mrs. Washford was in high

dudgeon! her heels clattered on the red-tiled floor, and she

whisked about the house like a parched pea upon a drum-head;

her voice generally small and low,--'an excellent thing in

woman,'-- was pitched at least an octave above its ordinary

level; she was talking fast and furious. Something had

evidently gone wrong. The mystery was soon explained. The

'cussed ould twoad of a cat' had got into the dairy, and licked

off the cream from the only pan their single cow had filled

that morning! And there she now lay, purring as in scorn. Tib,

heretofore the meekest of mousers, the honestest, the least

'scaddle' of the feline race,-- a cat that one would have sworn

might have been trusted with untold flsh,-- yes,-- there was no

denying it,-- proofs were too strong against her,-- yet there

she lay, hardened in her iniquity, coolly licking her whiskers,

and reposing quietly upon -- what?-- Jerry Jarvis's old wig!!

The patience of a Stoic must have yielded;-- it had been

too much for the temperament of the Man of Uz. Joseph Washford

lifted his hand -- that hand which had never yet been raised on

Tibby, save to fondle and caress -- it now descended on her

devoted head in one tremendous 'dowse.' Never was cat so

astonished,-- so enraged -- all the tiger portion of her nature

rose in her soul. Instead of galloping off, hissing and

sputtering, with arched back, and tail erected, as any ordinary

Grimalkin would unquestionably have done under similar

circumstances, she paused a moment,-- drew back on her

hauncbes,-- all her energies seemed concentrated for one

prodigious spring; a demoniac fire gleamed in her green arid

yellow eyeballs, as, bounding upwards, she fixed her talons

firmly in each of her assailant's cheeks!-- many and many a day

after were sadly visible the marks of those envenomed claws --

then, dashing over his shoulder with an unearthly mew, she

leaped through the open casement, and was seen no more.

'The Devil's in the cat!' was the apostrophe of Mrs.

Margaret Washford. Her husband said nothing, but thrust the old

wig into his pocket, and went to bathe his scratches at the

pump.

Day after day, night after night, 'twas all the same --

Joe Washford's life became a burden to him; his natural upright

and honest mind struggled hard against the frailty of human

nature. He was ever restless and uneasy; his frank, open, manly

look, that blenched not from the gaze of the spectator, was no

more: a sly and sinister expression had usurped the place of

it.

Mr. Jeremiah Jarvis had little of what the world calls

'Taste,' still less of Science. Ackerman would have called him

a 'Snob,' and Buckland a 'Nincompoop.' Of the Horticultural

Society, its fetes, its fruits, and its fiddlings, he knew

nothing. Little recked he of flowers -- save cauliflowers -- in

these, indeed, he was a connoisseur; to their cultivation and

cookery the respective talents of Joe and Madame Witherspoon

had long been dedicated; but as for a bouquet!-- Hardham's 37

was 'the only one fit for a gentleman's nose.' And yet, after

all, Jerry Jarvis had a good-looking tulip-bed. A female friend

of his had married a Dutch merchant; Jerry drew the

settlements; the lady paid him by a cheque on 'Child's,' the

gentleman by a present of a 'box of roots.' Jerry put the

latter in his garden -- he had rather they had been schalots.

Not so his neighbour, Jenkinson; he was a man of 'Taste'

and of 'Science;' be was an F.R.C.E.B.S., which, as he told the

Vicar, implied, 'Fellow of the Royal Cathartico-Emetico-

Botanical Society,' and his autograph in Sir John Frostyface's

album stood next to that of the Emperor of all the Russias.

Neighbour Jenkinson fell in love with the pips and petals of

'neighbour Jarvis's tulips.' There were one or two among them

of such brilliant, such surpassing beauty,-- the 'cups' so well

formed,-- the colours so defined. To be sure, Mr. Jenkinson had

enough in his own garden; but then 'Enough,' says the

philosopher, 'always means a little more than a man has got.'--

Alas! alas! Jerry Jarvis was never known to bestow,-- his

neighbour dared not offer to purchase from so wealthy a man;

and, worse than all, Joe, the gardener, was incorruptible --

aye, but the Wig?

Joseph Washford was working away again in the blaze of the

mid-day sun: his head looked like a copper saucepan fresh from

the brazier's.

'Why, where 's your wig, Joseph?' said the voice of his

master from the well-known window; 'what have you done with

your wig?' The question was embarrassing,-- its tail had

tickled his ear till it had made it sore; Joseph had put the

wig in his pocket.

Mr. Jeremiah Jarvis was indignant; he liked not that his

benefits should be ill appreciated by the recipient. 'Hark ye,

Joseph Washford,' said he, 'either wear my wig, or let me have

it again!'

There was no mistaking the meaning of his tones; they were

resonant of indignation and disgust, of mingled grief and

anger, the amalgamation of sentiment naturally produced by

'Friendship unreturn'd,

And unrequited love.'

Washford's heart smote him: be felt all that was implied

in his master's appeal. 'It 's here, your Honour,' said he; 'I

had only taken it off because we have had a smartish shower;

but the sky is brightening now.' The wig was replaced, and the

little tortuous pigtail wriggled itself into its accustomed

position.

At this moment neighbour Jenkinson peeped over the hedge.

'Joe Washford!' said neighbour Jenkinson.

'Sir, to you,' was the reply.

'How beautiful your tulips look after the rain!'

'Ah! sir, master sets no great store by them flowers;'

returned the gardener.

'Indeed! Then perhaps he would have no objection to part

with a few?'

'Why, no!-- I don't think master would like to give them,-

- or anything else,-- away, sir;' and Washford scratched his

ear.

'Joe!!' said Mr. Jenkinson --'Joe!!'

The Sublime, observes Longinus, is often embodied in a

monosyllable --'Joe!!!'-- Mr. Jenkinson said no more; but a

half-crown shone from between his upraised fingers, and its

'poor, poor dumb mouth' spoke for him.

How Joseph Washford's left ear did itch! He looked to the

ground-floor back -- Mr. Jarvis had left the window.

Mr. Jenkinson's ground-plot boasted, at daybreak next

morning, a splendid Semper Augustus, 'which was not so before,'

and Joseph Washford was led home, much about the same time, in

a most extraordinary state of 'civilation,' from 'The Three

Jolly Potboys.'

From that hour he was the Fiend's!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

'Facilis descensus Averni!' says Virgil. 'It is only the

first step that is attended with any difficulty, says --

somebody else,-- when speaking of the decollated martyr St.

Dennis's walk with his head under his arm. 'The First Step!'--

Joseph Washford had taken that step! -- he had taken two --

three -- four steps; and now, from a hesitating, creeping,

cat-like mode of progression, he had got into a firmer tread --

an amble -- a positive trot! He took the family linen 'to the

wash:' one of Madame Witherspoon's best Holland chemises was

never seen after.

'Lost?-- impossible! How could it be lost?-- where could

it be gone to?-- who could have got it? It was her best -- her

very best!-- she should know it among a hundred -- among a

thousand! -- it was marked with a great W in the corner!--

Lost?-- impossible -- She would see!'-- Alas! she never did see

-- the chemise -- abiit, erupit, evasit! -- it was

'Like the lost Pleiad, seen on earth no more;'

-- but Joseph Washford's Sunday shirt was seen, finer and

fairer than ever, the pride and dulce decus of the Meeting.

The Meeting?-- aye, the Meeting. Joe Washford never missed

the Appledore Independent Meeting House, whether the service

were in the morning or afternoon,-- whether the Rev. Mr.

Slyandry exhorted or made way for the Rev. Mr. Tearbrain. Let

who would officiate, there was Joe. As I have said before, be

never missed;-- but other people missed -- one missed an

umbrella,-- one a pair of clogs. Farmer Johnson missed his

tobacco-box,-- Farmer Jackson his greatcoat,-- Miss Jackson

missed her hymn-book,-- a diamond edition, bound in maroon-

coloured velvet, with gilt corners and clasps. Everything, in

short, was missed -- but Joe Washford; there he sat, grave,

sedate, and motionless -- all save that restless, troublesome,

fidgetty little Pigtail attached to his wig, which nothing

could keep quiet, or prevent from tickling and interfering with

Miss Thompson's curls, as she sat back to back with Joe, in the

adjoining pew. After the third Sunday, Nancy Thompson eloped

with the tall recruiting sergeant of the Connaught Rangers.

The summer passed away,-- autumn came and went,-- and

Christmas, jolly Christmas, that period of which we are

accustomed to utter the mournful truism, it 'comes but once a-

year,' was at hand. It was a fine bracing morning; the sun was

just beginning to throw a brighter tint upon the Quaker-

coloured ravine of Orlestone Hill, when a medical gentleman,

returning to the quiet little village of Ham Street, that lies

at its foot, from a farm-house at Kingsnorth, rode briskly down

the declivity.

After several hours of patient attention, Mr. Moneypenny

had succeeded in introducing to the notice of seven little

expectant brothers and sisters a 'remarkably fine child,' and

was now hurrying home in the sweet hope of a comfortable

'snooze' for a couple of hours before the announcement of tea

and muffins should arouse him to fresh exertion. The road at

this particular spot had, even then, been cut deep below the

surface of the soil, for the purpose of diminishing the

abruptness of the descent, and, as either side of the

superincumbent banks was clothed with a thick mantle of tangled

copsewood, the passage, even by day, was sufficiently obscure,

the level beams of the rising or setting sun, as they happened

to enifiade the gorge, alone illuminating its recesses. A long

stream of rosy light was just beginning to make its way through

the vista, and Mr. Moneypenny's nose had scarcely caught and

reflected its kindred ray, when the sturdiest and most active

cob that ever rejoiced in the appellation of a 'Suffolk Punch,'

brought herself up in mid career upon her haunches, and that

with a suddenness which had almost induced her rider to

describe that beautiful mathematical figure, the parabola,

between her ears. Peggy -- her name was Peggy -- stood stock-

still, snorting like a stranded grampus, and alike insensible

to the gentle hints afforded her by band and heel.

'Tch! -- tch! -- get along, Peggy!' half exclaimed, half

whistled the equestrian. If ever steed said in its heart, 'I'll

be shot if I do!' it was Peggy at that moment. She planted her

forelegs deep in the sandy soil, raised her stump of a tail to

an elevation approaching the horizontal, protruded her nose

like a pointer at a covey, and with expanded nostril continued

to snuffle most egregiously.

Mr. Geoffrey Gambado, the illustrious 'Master of the Horse

to the Doge of Venice,' tells us, in his far-famed treatise on

the Art Equestrian, that the most embarrassing position in

which a rider can be placed is, when he wishes to go one way,

and his horse is determined to go another. There is, to be

sure, a tertium quid, which, though it 'splits the difference,'

scarcely obviates the inconvenience; this is when the parties

compromise the matter by not going any way at all -- to this

compromise Peggy and her (soi-disant) master were now reduced;

they had fairly joined issue. 'Budge!' quoth the doctor.--

'Budge not!' quoth the fiend,-- for nothing short of a fiend

could, of a surety, inspire Peggy at such a time with such

unwonted obstinacy.-- Moneypenny whipped and spurred -- Peggy

plunged, and reared, and kicked, and for several minutes to a

superficial observer the termination of the contest might have

appeared uncertain; but your profound thinker sees at a glance

that, however the scales may appear to vibrate, when the

question between the sexes is one of perseverance, it is quite

a lost case for the masculine gender. Peggy beat the doctor

'all to sticks,' and when he was fairly tired of goading and

thumping, maintained her position as firmly as ever.

It is of no great use, and not particularly agreeable, to

sit still, on a cold frosty morning in January, upon the

outside of a brute that will neither go forwards nor backwards

-- so Mr. Moneypenny got off, and muttering curses both 'loud'

and 'deep' between his chattering teeth, 'progressed' as near

as the utmost extremity of the extended bridle would allow him,

to peep among the weeds and brushwood that flanked the road, in

order to discover, if possible, what it was that so exclusively

attracted the instinctive attention of his Bucephalus.

His curiosity was not long at fault; the sunbeam glanced

partially upon some object ruddier even than itself -- it was a

scarlet waisteoat, the wearer of which, overcome perchance by

Christmas compotation. seemed to have selected for his 'thrice

driven bed of down,' the thickest clump of the tallest and most

imposing nettles, thereon to doze away the narcotic effects of

superabundant juniper.

This, at least, was Mr. Moneypenny's belief, or he wonld

scarcely have uttered, at the highest pitch of his contralto,

'What are you doing there, you drunken rascal? frightening my

horse!'-- We have already hinted, if not absolutely asserted,

that Peggy was a mare; but this was no time for verbal

criticism. --'Get up, I say,-- get up, and go home, you

scoundrel!'-- But the 'scoundrel' and 'drunken rascal' snswered

not; he moved not, nor could the prolonged shouting of the

appellant. aided by significant explosions from a double-

thonged whip, succeed in eliciting a reply. No motion indicated

that the recumbent figure, whose outline alone was visible, was

a living and a breathing man!

The clear, shrill tones of a plougbboy's whistle sounded

at this moment from the bottom of the hill, where the broad and

green expanse of Romncy Marsh stretches away from its foot for

many a mile, and now gleamed through the mists of morning,

dotted and enamelled with its thousand flocks. In a few minutes

his tiny figure was seen 'slouching' up the ascent, casting a

most disproportionate and ogre-like shadow before him.

'Come here, Jack,' quoth the doctor,--'come here, boy, lay

hold of this bridle, and mind that my horse does not run away.'

Peggy threw up her head, and snorted disdain of the

insinuation,-- she had not the slightest intention of doing any

such thing.

Mr. Moneypenny meanwhile, disencumbered of his restive

nag, proceeded by manual application to arouse the sleeper.

Alas! the Seven of Ephesus might sooner have been awakened

from their century of somnolency. His was that 'dreamless sleep

that knows no waking;' his cares in this world were over.

Vainly did Moneypenny practise his own constant precept, 'To be

well shaken!'-- there lay before him the lifeless body of a

MURDERED MAN!

The corpse lay stretched upon its back, partially

concealed, as we have before said, by the nettles which had

sprung up among the stumps of the half-grubbed underwood; the

throat was fearfully lacerated, and the dark, deep, arterial

dye of the coagulated blood showed that the carotid had been

severed. There was little to denote the existence of any

struggle; but as the day brightened, the sandy soil of the road

exhibited an impression as of a body that had fallen on its

plastic surface, and had been dragged to its present position,

while fresh horse-shoe prints seemed to intimate that either

the assassin or his victim had been mounted. The pockets of the

deceased were turned out, and empty; a hat and heavy-loaded

whip lay at no great distance from the body.

'But what have we here?' quoth Doctor Moneypenny; 'what is

it that the poor fellow holds so tightly in his hand?'

That hand had manifestly clutched some article with all

the spasmodic energy of a dying grasp -- IT WAS AN OLD WIG!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* *

Those who are fqrtunate enough to have seen a Cinque Port

Court-house may possibly divine what that useful and most

necessary edifice was some eighty years ago. Many of them seem

to have undergone little alteration, and are in general of a

composite order of architecture, a fanciful arrangement of

brick and timber, with what Johnson would have styled

'interstices, reticulated, and decussated between

intersections' of lath and plaster. Its less euphonious

designation in the 'Weald' is a 'noggin.' One half the basement

story usually of the more solid material, the other, open to

the street,-- from which it is separated only by a row of dingy

columns, supporting a portion of the superstructure,-- is paved

with tiles, and sometimes does duty as a market-place, while,

in its centre, flanking the board staircase that leads to the

sessions-house above, stands an ominous-looking machine, of

heavy perforated wood, clasped within whose stern embrace 'the

rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep' oil occasionally the

drowsiness produced by convivial excess, in a most undignified

positions an inconvenience much increased at times by some

mischievous urchin, who, after abstracting the shoes of the

helpless detenu, amuses himself by tickling the soles of his

feet.

It was in such a place, or rather in the Court-room above,

that in the year 1761 a hale, robust man, somewhat past the

middle age, with a very bald pate, save where a continued tuft

of coarse, wiry hair, stretching from above each ear, swelled

out into a greyish-looking bush upon the occiput, held up his

hand before a grave and enlightened assemblage of Dymchurch

jurymen. He stood arraigned for that offence most heinous in

the sight of God and man, the deliberate and cold-blooded

butchery of an unoffending, unprepared fellow-creature,--

homicidium quod nullo vidente, nullo auscultante, clam

perpetratur.

The victim was one Humphry Bourne, a reputable grazier of

Ivychurch, worthy and well-to-do, though, perchance, a thought

too apt to indulge on a market-day, when 'a score of ewes' had

brought in a reasonable profit. Some such cause had detained

him longer than usual at an Ashford cattle-show; he had left

the town late, and alone; early in the following morning his

horse was found standing at his own stable-door, the saddle

turned round beneath its belly, and much about the time that

the corpse of its unfortunate master was discovered some four

miles off, by our friend the pharmacopolist.

That poor Bourne had been robbed and murdered there could

be no question.

Who, then, was the perpetrator of the atrocious deed?--

The unwilling hand almost refuses to trace the name of --

Joseph Washford.

Yet so it was. Mr. Jeremiah Jarvis was himself the coroner

for that division of the county of Kent known by the name of

'The Lath of Scraye.' He had not sat two minutes on the body

before he recognized his quondam property, and started at

beholding in the grasp of the victim, as torn in the death-

struggle from the murderer's head, his own OLD WIG,-- his own

perky little pigtail, tied up with a piece of shabby shalloon,

now wriggling and quivering, as in salutation of its ancient

master. The silver buckles of the murdered man were found in

Joe Washford's shoes,-- broad pieces were found in Joe

Washford's pockets,-- Joe Washford had himself been found,

when the hue-and-cry was up, hid in a corn-rig at no great

distance from the scene of slaughter, his pruning-knife red

with the evidence of his crime --'the grey hairs yet stuck to

the heft!'

For their humane administration of the laws, the lieges of

this portion of the realm have long been celebrated. Here it

was that merciful verdict was recorded in the case of the old

lady accused of larceny, 'We find her Not Guilty, and hope she

will never do so any more!' Here it was that the more

experienced culprit, when called upon to plead with the

customary, though somewhat superfluous, inquiry, as to 'how he

would be tried?' substituted for the usual reply 'By God and my

country,' that of 'By your worship and a Dymchurch Jury.' Here

it was -- but enough! -- not even a Dymchurch jury could resist

such evidence, even though the gallows (i.e. the expense of

erecting one) stared them, as well as the criminal, in the

face. The very pig-tail alone!-- ever at his ear!-- a clearer

cease of suadente Diabolo never was made out. Had there been a

doubt, its very conduct in the Court-house would have settled

the question. The Rev. Joel Ingoldsby, umquhile chaplain to the

Romney Bench, has left upon record that when exhibited in

evidence, together with the blood-stained knife, its twistings,

its caperings, its gleeful evolutions quite 'flabbergasted' the

jury, and threw all beholders into a consternation. It was

remarked, too, by many in the Court, that the Forensic Wig of

the Recorder himself was, on that trying occasion, palpably

agitated, and that its three depending, learned-looking tails

lost curl at once, and slunk beneath the obscurity of the

powdered collar, just as the boldest dog recoils from a rabid

animal of its own species, how ever small and insignificant.

Why prolong the painful scene?-- Joe Washford was tried --

Joe Washford was convicted -- Joe Washford was hanged!

The fearful black gibbet, on which his body clanked in its

chains to the midnight winds, frowns no more upon Orlestone

Hill; it has sunk beneath the encroaching hand of civilization;

but there it might be seen late in the last century, an awful

warning to all bald-pated gentlemen how they wear, or accept,

the old wig of a Special Attorney,

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes!

Such gifts, as we have seen, may lead to a 'Morbid Delusion,

the climax of which is Murder!'

The fate of the Wig itself is somewhat doubtful; nobody

seems to have recollected, with any degree of precision, what

became of it. Mr. Ingoldsby 'had heard' that, when thrown into

the fire by the Court-keeper, after whizzing, and fizzling, and

performing all sorts of supernatural antics and contortions, it

at length whirled up the chimney with bang that was taken for

the explosion of one of the Feversham powder-mills, twenty

miles off; while others insinuate that in the 'Great Storm'

which took place on the night when Mr. Jeremiah Jarvis went to

his 'long home,'-- wherever that may happen to be,-- and the

whole of 'The Marsh' appeared as one broad sheet of flame,

something that looked very like a Fiery Wig -- perhaps a

miniature Comet -- it had unquestionably a tail -- was seen

careering in the blaze,-- and seeming to 'ride on the whirlwind

and direct the storm.'

UNSOPHISTICATED WISHES.

BY MISS JEMIMA INGOLDSBY, AGED 15.

(Communicated by her cousin Tom.)

Oh! how I should like in a Coach to ride,

Like the Sheriffs I saw upon Lord Mayor's day.

With a Coachman and little Postilion astride

On the back of the leader, a prancing bay.

And then behind it, oh! I should glory

To see the tall serving men standing upright,

Like the two who attend Mister Montefiore,

(Sir Moses I should say) for now he's a Knight.

And then the liveries, I know it is rude to

Find fault -- but I'll hint as he can't see me blush,

That I'd not have the things I can only allude to

Either orange in hue or constructed of plush;

But their coats and their waistcoats and hats are delightful,

Their charming silk stockings -- I vow and declare

Our John's ginger gaiters so wrinkled and frightful,

I never again shall be able to bear.

Oh! how I should like to have diamonds and rubies,

And large plume of feathers and flowers in my hair,

My gracious! to think how our Tom and those boobies,

Jack Smith and his friend Mister Thompson, would stare.

Then how I should like to drive to Guildhall,

And to see the nobility flocking in shoals,

With their two-guinea tickets to dance at the ball

Which the Lord Mayor gives for relief of the Poles.

And to look at the gas so uncommonly pretty,

And the stars and the armour all just as they were,

The day that the Queen came in state to the city

To dine with the whole Corporation and Mayor.

Oh! how I should like to see Jane and Letitia,

Miss Jones and the two Misses Frump sitting still,

While dear Ensign Brown, of the West Kent Militia,

Solicits my hand for the 'Supper' Quadrille.

With his fine white teeth and his cheek like a rose,

And his black cravat and his diamond pin,

And the nice little mustache under his nose,

And the dear little tuft on the tip of his chin.

And how I should like some fine morning to ride

In my coach, and my white satin shoes and gown,

To St. James's Church, with a Beau by my side,

And I shouldn't much care if his name was Brown.

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS

The foregoing pages complete the Series of Poems, &c.,

published under the name of Thomas Ingoldsby; of these, 'The

Legend of Languedoc,' 'The Buccaneer's Curse,' 'The House-

warming,' 'The Lay of St. Romwold,' and 'The Brothers of

Birchington,' appeared in the 'New Monthly Magazine,' the

remainder in 'Bentley's Miscellany.'

The following articles, which are added for reasons stated

elsewhere, though prior in point of date, are by the same

author, and, with few exceptions, of a similar character with

his better known effusions. The first three are versions of

dramas produced: 'Hermann,' at the English Opera House;

'William Rufus,' we believe, at Drury Lane; and 'Marie Mignot,'

at the Haymarket Theatre. The concluding lines are those

alluded to in the Memoir, as having been the last that fell

from Mr. Barham's pen, and which were written during one of

those weary nights of watchfulness occasioned by his disease.

HERMANN; OR, THE BROKEN SPEAR.

An Emperor famous in council and camp,

Has a son who turns out a remarkable scamp;

Takes to dicing and drinking,

And d--mning and sinking,

And carries off maids, wives, and widows, like winking!

Since the days of Arminius, his namesake, than Hermann

There never was seen a more profligate German.

He escapes from the City;

And joins some banditti

Insensible quite to remorse, fear, and pity;

Joins in all their carousals, and revels, and robberies,

And in kicking up all sorts of shindies and bobberies.

Well, hearing one day

His associates say

That a bridal procession was coming their way,

Inflamed with desire, he

Breaks into a priory,

And kicking out every man Jack of a friar, he

Upsets in a twinkling the mass-books and hassocks,

And dresses his rogues in the clergyman's cassocks.

The new married folks

Taken in by this hoax,

Mister Hermann grows frisky and full of his jokes:

To the serious chagrin of her late happy suitor,

Catching hold of the Bride, he attempts to salute her:

Now Heaven knows what

Had become of the lot

It's Turtle to Tripe they'd have all gone to pot --

If a dumb Lady, one

Of her friends, had not run

To her aid, and, quite scandalized, stopp'd all his fun!

Just conceive what a caper

He cut, when her taper

Long fingers scrawled this upon whitey-brown paper,

(At the instant he seized, and before he had kissed her) --

'Ha, done, Mister Hermann! for shame! it's your sister!'

His hair stands on end,-- he desists from his tricks

And remains in 'a pretty particular fix.'

As he knows Sir John Nicholl

Still keeps rods in pickle,

Offences of this kind severely to tickle,

At so near an escape from his court and its sentence

His eyes fill with tears, and his breast with repentance:

So, picking and stealing,

And unrighteous dealing,

Of all sorts, he cuts, from this laudable feeling:

Of wickedness weary

With many a tear, he

Now takes a French leave of the vile Condottieri:

And the next thing we hear of this penitent villain,

He is begging in rags in the suburbs of Milan.

Half starv'd, meagre, and pale,

His energies fail,

When his sister comes in with a pot of mild ale:

But though tatter'd his jerkins

His heart is whole,-- workings

Of conscience debar him from 'Barclay and Perkins.'

'I'll drink,' exclaims he,

'Nothing stronger than tea,

And that but the worst and the weakest Bohea,

Till I've done -- from my past scenes of folly a far actor --

Some feat shall redeem both my wardrobe and character.'

At signs of remorse so decided and visible

Nought can equal the joy of his fair sister Isabel,

And the Dumb Lady too

Who runs off to a Jew

And buys him a coat of mail spick and span new,

In the hope that his prowess and deeds as a Knight

Will keep his late larcenies quite out of sight.

By the greatest good luck, his old friends the banditti

Choose this moment to make an attack on the city!

Now you all know the way

Heroes hack, hew, and slay,

When once they get fairly mixed up in a fray:

Hermann joins in the mélée,

Pounds this to a jelly,

Runs that through the back, and a third through the belly.

Till many a broken bone, bruised rib, and flat head,

Make his ci-devant friends curse the hour that he ratted.

Amid so many blows,

Of course you'll suppose

He must get a black eye, or, at least bloody nose:

'Take that!' cried a bandit, and struck, while he spoke it,

His spear in his breast, and, in pulling out broke it.

Hermann fainted away

When, as breathless he lay,

A rascal claimed all the renown of the day;

A recreant, cowardly, white-livered knight,

Who had skulked in a furze bush the whole of the fight.

But the Dumb Lady soon

Put some gin in a spoon,

And half strangles poor Hermann, who wakes from his swoon,

And exhibits his wound, when the head of the spear

Fits its handle, and makes his identity clear.

The murder thus out, Hermann's fêted and thankéd,

While his rascally rival gets tossed in a blanket:

And to finish the play --

As reformed rakes, they say,

Make the best of all husbands -- the very same day

Hermann sends for a priest, as he must wed with some -- lady,

Buys a ring and a licence, and marries the Dumb Lady.

MORAL.

Take warning, young people of every degree,

From Hermann's example, and don't live too free!

If you get in bad company, fly from it soon!

If you chance to get thrash'd, take some gin in a spoon;

And remember, since wedlock's not all sugar-candy;

If you wish to 'scape 'wigging,' a dumb wife's the dandy!

HINTS FOR AN HISTORICAL PLAY;

TO BE CALLED

WILLIAM RUFUS; OR THE RED ROVER.

Act 1.

Walter Tyrrel, the son of a Norman Papa,

Has, somehow or other, a Saxon Mama:

Though humble, yet far above mere vulgar loons,

He's a sort of a sub in the Rufus dragoons;

Has travelled, but comes home abruptly, the rather

That some unknown rascal has murder'd his Father;

And scarce has he pick'd out, and stuck in his quiver,

The arrow that pierced the old gentleman's liver,

When he finds, as misfortunes come rarely alone,

That his sweetheart has bolted,-- with whom is not known.

But, as murder will out, he at last finds the lady

At court with her character grown rather shady:

This gives him the 'blues,' and impairs the delight

He'd have otherwise felt, when they dub him a Knight.

For giving a runaway stallion a check,

And preventing his breaking King Rufus's neck.

Act 2.

Sir Walter has dress'd himself up like a Ghost,

And frightens a soldier away from his post;

Then, discarding his helmet, he pulls his cloak higher,

Draws it over his ears and pretends he's a Friar.

This gains him access to his sweetheart, Miss Faucit;

But, the King coming in, he hides up in her closet;

Where oddly enough, among some of her things,

He discovers some arrows he's sure are the King's,

Of the very same pattern with that which he found

Sticking into his father when dead on the ground!

Forgetting his funk, he bursts open the door,

Bounces into the Drawing-room, stamps on the floor,

With an oath on his tongue, and revenge in his eye,

And blows up King William the Second, sky-high;

Swears, storms, shakes his fist, and exhibits such airs,

That his Majesty bids his men kick him down stairs.

Act 3.

King Rufus is cross when he comes to reflect,

That as King, he's been treated with gross disrespect;

So he pens a short note to a holy physician,

And gives him a rather unholy commission,

Viz, to mix up some arsenic and ale in a cup,

Which the chances are Tyrrel may find and drink up.

Sure enough, on the very next morning, Sir Walter

Perceives in his walks, this same cup on the altar.

As he feels rather thirsty, he's just about drinking,

When Miss Faucit in tears, comes in running like winking;

He pauses of course, and, as she's thirsty too,

Says, very politely, 'Miss, I after you!'

The young lady curtsies, and being so dry,

Raises somehow her fair little finger so high,

That there's not a drop left him to 'wet t'other eye;'

While the dose is so strong, to his grief and surprise,

She merely says, 'Thankee, Sir Walter,' and dies.

At that moment the King, who is riding to cover,

Pops in en passant on the desperate lover,

Who has vow'd, not five minutes before, to transfix him,

-- So he does,-- he just pulls out his arrow and sticks him.

From the strength of his arm, and the force of his blows,

The Red-bearded Rover falls flat on his nose;

And Sir Walter, thus having concluded his quarrel,

Walks down to the foot-lights, and draws this fine moral.

'Ladies and Gentlemen,

Lead sober lives;--

Don't meddle with other folks' Sweethearts or Wives!--

When you go out a sporting, take care of your gun,

And -- never shoot elderly people in fun!'

MARIE MIGNOT.

Miss Marie Mignot was a nice little Maid,

Her Uncle a Cook, and a Laundress her trade;

And she loved as dearly as any one can

Mister Lagardie, a nice little man.

But Oh! But Oh!

Story of woe!

A sad interloper, one Monsieur Modeau,

Ugly and old,

With plenty of gold,

Made his approach

In an elegant coach,

Her fancy was charmed with the splendour and show,

And he bore off the false-hearted Molly Mignot.

Monsieur Modeau was crazy and old,

And Monsieur Modeau caught a terrible cold,

His nose was stuffed, and his throat was sore,

He had physic by the quart and Doctors by the score.

They sent squills

And pills,

And very long bills,

And all they could do did not make him get well,

He sounded his M's and his N's like an L.

A shocking bad cough

At last took him off,

And Mister Lagardie her former young beau,

Came a courting again to the Widow Modeau.

Mister Lagardie, to gain him éclat,

Had cut the Cook's shop and followed the law;

And when Monsieur Modeau set out on his journey,

Was an Articled Clerk to a Special Attorney.

He gave her a call

On the day of a ball,

To which she'd invited the court, camp and all;

But 'poor dear Lagardie,'

Again was too tardy,

For a Marshall of France

Had just asked her to dance;

In a twinkling, the ci-devant Madame Modeau

Was wife of the Marshall Lord Marquis Dinot.

Mister Lagardie was shocked at the news,

And went and enlisted at once in the Blues.

The Marquis Dinot

Felt a little so so --

Took physic, grew worse, and had notice to go --

He died, and was shelved, and his Lady so gay

Smiled again on Lagardie now placed on full pay,

A Swedish Field Marshall with a guinea a day;

When an old Ex-King

Just showed her the ring:

To be Queen, she conceived was a very fine thing;

But the King turned a Monk,

And Lagardie got drunk,

And said to the Lady with a deal of ill-breeding,

'You may go to the d--l and I'll go to Sweden.'

Thus between the two stools,

Like some other fools,

Her Ladyship found

Herself plump on the ground;

So she cried, and she stamped, and she sent for a hack,

And she drove to a convent and never came back.

MORAL.

Wives, Maidens, and Widows, attend to my lay!

If a fine moral lesson you'd draw from a play,

To the Haymarket go

And see Marie Mignot,

Miss Kelly plays Marie, and Williams Modeau;

Mrs. Glover and Vining

Are really quite shining,

And though Thompson for a Marquis,

Has almost too much carcass,

Yet it's not fair to pass him or

John Cooper's Cassimir,

And the piece would be barren

Without Mr. Farren;

No matter, go there, and they'll teach you the guilt

Of coquetting and ogling, and playing the jilt,

Such folks gallop awhile, but at last they get spilt;

Had Molly Mignot

Behaved comme il faut,

Nor married the Lawyer nor Marquis Dinot,

She had ne'er been a nun, whose fare very hard is,

But the mother of half-a-score little Lagardies.

THE TRUANTS.

Three little Demons have broken loose

From the National School below!

They are resolved to play truant to-day,

Their primer and slate they have cast away,

And away, and away they go!

'Hey boys! hey boys! up go we!

Who so merry as we three?'

The reek of that most infernal pit,

Where sinful souls are stewing,

Rises so black, that in viewing it,

A thousand to one but you'd ask with surprise

As its murky columns met your eyes,

'Pray is Old Nick a brewing?'

Thither these three little Devils repair,

And mount by steam to the uppermost air.

They have got hold of a wandering star,

That happened to come within hail.

O swiftly they glide!

As they merrily ride

All a cock-stride

Of that Comet's tail.

Oh the pranks! Oh the pranks!

The merry pranks, the mad pranks,

These wicked urchins play!

They kissed the Virgin and filled her with dread,

They popped the Scorpion into her bed;

They broke the pitcher of poor Aquarius,

They stole the arrows of Sagittarius,

And they skimmed the Milky Way.

They filled the Scales with sulphur full,

They halloed the Dog-star on at the Bull,

And pleased themselves with the noise.

They set the Lion

On poor Orion;

They shaved all the hair

Off the Lesser Bear!

They kicked the shins

Of the Gemini Twins --

Those heavenly Siamese Boys!--

Never was such confusion and wrack,

As they produced in the Zodiac!--

'Huzza! Huzza!

Away! Away!

Let us go down to the earth and play!

Now we go up, up, up,

Now we go down, down, down,

Now we go backwards and forwards,

Now we go round, round, round!'

Thus they gambol, and scramble, and tear,

Till at last they arrive at the nethermost air.

And pray now what were these Devilets called?

These three little Fiends so gay?

One was Cob!

Another was Mob!

The last and the least was young Chittabob!

Queer little Devils were they!

Cob was the strongest,

Mob was the wrongest,

Chittabob's tail was the finest and longest!

Three more frolicsome Imps I ween,

Beelzebub's self hath seldom seen.

Over Mountain, over Fell,

Glassy Fountain, mossy Dell,

Rocky Island, barren Strand,

Over Ocean, over Land;

With frisk and bound, and squeaks and squalls,

Heels over head, and head over heels;

With curlings and twistings, and twirls and wheeleries,

Down they drop at the gate of the Tuilleries.

Courtiers were bowing and making legs,

While Charley le Roi was bolting eggs:

'Mob,' says Cob,

'Chittabob,' says Mob,

'Come here, you young Devil, we're in for a job!'

Up jumps Cob to the Monarch's ear,

'Charley, my jolly boy, never fear;

If you mind all their jaw

About Charter and Law,

You might just as well still be the Count d' Artois!

No such thing,

Show 'em you're King,

Tip 'em an Ordinance, that's the thing!'

Charley dined,

Took his pen and signed;

Then Mob kicked over his throne from behind!

'Huzza! Huzza! we may scamper now!

For here we have kicked up a jolly good row!'

'Over the water and over the Sea,

And over the water with Charlie;'

Now they came skipping and grinning with glee.

Not pausing to chaff or to parley,

Over, over,

On to Dover;

On fun intent,

All through Kent

These mischievous devils so merrily went.

Over hill and over dale,

Sunken hollow, lofty ridge,

Frowning cliff, and smiling vale,

Down to the foot of Westminster-bridge.

'Hollo,' says Cob,

'There's the Duke and Sir Bob!

After 'em Chittabob, after 'em Mob.

Mob flung gravel, and Chittabob pebbles,

His Grace c--'d them both for a couple of rebels:

His feelings were hurt,

By the stones and the dirt --

In went he,

In an extasy,

And blew up the nobles of high degree.

'Mr. Brougham, Mr. Hume,

May fret and may fume --

And so may all you whom I see in this room;

Come weal, come woe, come calm, come storm --

I'll see you all -- blessed -- ere I give you Reform!'

'Bravo!' says Chittabob, 'that's your sort,

Come along, schoolfellows, here's more sport.

Look there! look there!

There's the great Lord May'r!

With the gravest of Deputies close to his chair;

With Hobler, his Clerk!

Just the thing for a lark;

Huzzah! huzzah! boys, follow me now;

Here we may kick up another good row.'

Here they are,

Swift as a star,

They shoot in mid air, over Temple Bar!

Tom Macaulay beheld the flight,

Of these three little dusky sons of night,

And his heart swell'd with joy and elation --

'Oh, see!' quoth he,

'Those Niggerlings three,

Who have just got emancipation!'

Lord Key took fright:

At the very first sight,

The whole Court of Aldermen wheel'd to the right;

Some ran from Chittabob -- more from Mob,

The great locum tenens jump'd up upon Cob,

Who roar'd and ran,

With the Alderman

To the Home Office, pick-a-back -- catch 'em who can!

'Stay at home -- here's a plot,

And I can't tell you what,

If you don't I'll be shot,

But you'll all go topot'

Ah little he weened while the ground he thus ran over,

'Twas a Cob he bestrode -- not his white horse from Hanover.

Back they came galloping through the Strand,

When Joseph Lancaster, stick in hand,

Popped up his head before 'em.

Well we know,

That honest old Joe,

Is a sort of High Master down below,

And teaches the Imps decorum.

Satan had started him off in a crack,

To flog these three little runaways back.

Fear each assails;

Every one quails;

'Oh dear! how he'll tickle our little black tails!

Have done, have done,

Here's that son f a gun;

Old Joe, come after us,-- run, boys, run.'

Off ran Cob,

Off ran Mob.

And off in a fright ran young Chittabob

Joe caught Chittabob just by the tail,

And Cob by his crumpled horn;

Bitterly then did these Imps bewail,

That ever they were born!

Mob got away,

But none to this day,

Know exactly whither he went;

Some say he's been seen about Blackfriars'-bridge,

And some say he's down in Kent.

But where'er he may roam,

He has not ventured home,

Since the day the three took wing,

And many suppose,

He has changed his clothes;

And now goes by the name of 'Swing.'

THE POPLAR.

Ay, here stands the Poplar, so tall and so stately,

On whose tender rind --'twas a little one then --

We carved her initials; though not very lately --

We think in the year eighteen hundred and ten.

Yes, here is the G which proclaimed Georgiana;

Our heart's empress then; see, 'tis grown all askew;

And it's not without grief we perforce entertain a

Conviction, it now looks much more like a Q.

This should be the great D too, that once stood for Dobbin,

Her lov'd patronymic -- ah! can it be so?

It's once fair proportions, time too, has been robbing;

A D?-- we'll be Deed if it isn't an O!

Alas! how the soul sentimental it vexes,

That thus on our labours, stern Chronos should frown;

Should change our soft liquids to izzards and X es,

And turn true-love's alphabet all upside down!

MY LETTERS.

'Litera scripta manet.'-- Old Saw.

Another mizzling, drizzling day!

Of clearing up there's no appearance;

So I'll sit down without delay,

And here, at least, I'll make a clearance!

Oh ne'er 'on such a day as this,'

Would Dido with her woes oppressèd,

Have wooed Æneas back to bliss,

Or Troilus gone to hunt for Cressid!

No, they'd have stayed at home, like me,

And popped their toes upon the fender,

And drank a quiet cup of tea:--

On days like this one can't be tender.

So, Molly, draw that basket nigher,

And put my desk upon the table --

Bring that Portfolio -- stir the fire --

Now off as fast as you are able!

First here's a card from Mrs. Grimes,

'A Ball!'-- she knows that I'm no dancer --

That woman's asked me fifty times,

And yet I never send an answer.

'Dear Jack,--

Just lend me twenty pounds,

Till Monday next, when I'll return it.

Yours truly,

HENRY GIBBS.'

Why Z -- ds!

I've seen the man but twice -- here, burn it.

One from my Cousin Sophy Daw --

Full of Aunt Margery's distresses;

'The Cat has kittened in 'the draw,'

And ruined two bran-new silk dresses.'

From Sam, 'The Chancellor's motto,'-- nay

Confound his puns, he knows I hate 'em;

'Pro Rege, Lege, Grege,'-- Ay,

'For King read Mob!' Brougham's old erratum.

From Seraphina Price --'At two'--

Till then I can't, my dearest John, stir;'

Two more because I did not go,

Beginning 'Wretch' and 'Faithless Monster!'

'DEAR SIR,--

'This morning Mrs. P.--

Who's doing quite as well as may be,

Presented me at half-past three

Precisely, with another baby.

'We'll name it John, and know with pleasure

You'll stand'-- Five guineas more, confound it!--

I wish they'd called it Nebuchadnezzar,

Or thrown it in the Thames and drowned it.

What have we next? A civil Dun:

'John Brown would take it as a favour'--

Another, and a surlier one,

'I can't put up with sich behaviour.'

'Bill so long standing,'--'quite tired out,'--

'Must sit down to insist on payment,'

'Called ten times,'-- Here's a fuss about

A few coats, waistcoats, and small raiment!

For once I'll send an answer, and in-

form Mr. Snip he needn't 'call' so;

But when his bill's as 'tired of standing'

As he is, beg 'twill 'sit down also.'

This from my rich old Uncle Ned,

Thanking me for my annual present;

And saying he last Tuesday wed

His cook-maid, Molly -- vastly pleasant!

An ill-spent note from Tom at school,

Begging I'll let him learn the fiddle;

Another from that precious fool,

Miss Pyefinch, with a stupid riddle.

'D'ye give it up?' indeed I do!

Confound these antiquated minxes;

I won't pay 'Billy Black' to a 'Blue,'

Or Œdipus to such old sphinxes.

A note sent up from Kent to show me,

Left with my bailiff, Peter King;

'I'll burn them precious stacks down, blow me!

'Yours most sincerely,

'CAPTAIN SWING.'

Four begging letters with petitions,

One from my sister Jane, to pray

I'll 'execute a few commissions'

In Bond Street, 'when I go that way.'

And buy at Pearsal's in the City

Twelve skeins of silk for netting purses:

Colour no matter, so it's pretty;--

Two hundred pens --' two hundred curses!'

From Mistress Jones: 'My little Billy

Goes up his schooling to begin,

Will you just step to Piccadilly,

And meet him when the coach comes in?

'And then, perhaps, you will as well, see

The poor dear fellow safe to school

At Dr. Smith's in Little Chelsea!'

Heaven send he flog the little fool!

From Lady Snooks: 'Dear Sir, you know

You promised me last week a Rebus;

A something smart and apropos,

For my new Album?'-- Aid me, Phoebus!

'My first is followed by my second;

Yet should my first my second see,

A dire mishap it would be reckon'd,

And sadly shocked my first would be.

'Were I but what my whole implies,

And passed by chance across your portal;

You'd cry 'Can I believe my eyes?

I never saw so queer a mortal!'

'For then my head would not be on,

My arms their shoulders must abandon;

My very body would be gone,

I should not have a leg to stand on.'

Come that's dispatch'd -- what follows?-- Stay

'Reform demanded by the nation;

Vote for Tagrag and Bobtail!' Ay,

By Jove a blessed Reformation!

Jack clap the saddle upon Rose --

Or no!-- the filly -- she's the fleeter;

The devil take the rain -- here goes,

I'm off -- a plumper for Sir Peter!

NEW MADE HONOUR.

(IMITATED FROM MARTIAL.)

A friend I met, some half hour since --

'Good-morrow, Jack!' quoth I;

The new-made Knight, like any Prince

Frowned, nodded, and passed by;

When up came Jem --'Sir John, your Slave!'

'Ah, James! we dine at eight --

Fail not --(low bows the supple knave)

Don't make my lady wait.'

The King can do no wrong? As I'm a sinner,

He's spoilt an honest tradesman and my dinner.

THE CONFESSION.

There's somewhat on my breast, father,

There's somewhat on my breast!

The livelong day I sigh, father,

And at night I cannot rest.

I cannot take my rest, father,

Though I would fain do so;

A weary weight oppresseth me --

This weary weight of woe!

'Tis not the lack of gold, father,

Nor want of worldly gear;

My lands are broad, and fair to see,

My friends are kind and dear.

My kin are leal and true, father,

They mourn to see my grief;

But oh! 'tis not a kinsman's hand,

Can give my heart relief!

'Tis not that Janet's false, father,

'Tis not that she's unkind;

Tho' busy flatterers swarm around --

I know her constant mind.

'Tis not her coldness, father,

That chills my labouring breast,

It's that confounded cucumber

I've eat and can't digest.

SONG.

I.

There sits a bird on yonder tree,

More fond than Cushat Dove;

There sits a bird on yonder tree,

And sings to me of love.

Oh! stoop thee from thine eyrie down!

And nestle thee near my heart.

For the moments fly,

And the hour is nigh,

When thou and I must part

My love!

When thou and I must part.

II.

In yonder covert lurks a Fawn,

The pride of the sylvan scene;

In yonder covert lurks a Fawn,

And I am his only queen;

Oh! bound from thy secret lair,

For the sun is below the west;

No mortal eye

May our meeting spy,

For all are clos'd in rest,

My Love!

Each eye is closed in rest.

III.

Oh, sweet is the breath of morn!

When the sun's first beams appear;

Oh! sweet is the shepherd's strain,

When it dies on the listening ear;

And sweet the soft voice which speaks

The Wanderer's welcome home;

But sweeter far

By yon pale mild star,

With our true Love thus to roam,

My Dear!

With our own true love to roam!

EPIGRAM.

Brave L--, so says a knight of the pen,

'Has exposed himself much at the head of his men,'

As his men ran away without waiting to fight,

To expose himself there's to be first in the flight.

Had it not been as well, when he saw his men quail,

To have stayed and exposed himself more at their tail?

Or say, is it fair, in this noblest of quarrels,

To suffer the chief to engross all the laurels?

No! his men, so the muse to all Europe shall sing,

Have exposed themselves fully as much as their king.

EPIGRAM.

EHEU FUGACES!

What Horace says is,

Eheu fugaces

Anni labuntur, Postume, Postume!

Years glide away, and are lost to me, lost to me!

Now, when the folks in the dance sport their merry toes,

Taglionis and Ellslers, Duvernays and Ceritos,

Sighing I murmur, 'O mihi præteritos!'

SONG.

Tis sweet to think the pure etherial being,

Whose mortal form reposes with the dead,

Still hovers round unseen, yet not unseeing,

Benignly smiling o'er the mourner's bed!

She comes in dreams, a thing of light and lightness;

I hear her voice, in still small accents tell,

Of realms of bliss, and never fading brightness;

Where those who lov'd on earth, together dwell.

Ah! yet a while, blest shade, thy flight delaying,

The kindred soul with mystic converse cheer,

To her rapt gaze, in visions bland displaying,

The unearthly glories of thy happier sphere!

Yet, yet remain! till freed like thee, delighted,

She spurns the thraldom of encumbering clay;

Then as on earth, in tenderest love united,

Together seek the realms of endless day!

AS I LAYE A-THYNKYNGE.

THE LAST LINES OF THOMAS INGOLDSBY.

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Merrie sang the Birde as she sat upon the spraye;

There came a noble Knyghte,

With his hauberke shynynge brighte,

And his gallant heart was lyghte,

Free and gaye;

As I lay a-thynkynge, he rode upon his waye.

As I lay a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Sadly sang the Birde as she sat upon the tree!

There seem'd a crimson plain,

Where a gallant Knyghte laye slayne,

And a steed with broken rein

Ran free,

As I laye a-thynkynge, most pitiful to see!

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Merrie sang the Birde as she sat upon the boughe;

A lovely Mayde came bye,

And a gentil youth was nyghe,

And he breathed many a syghe

And a vowe;

As I laye a-thynkynge, her hearte was gladsome now.

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Sadly sang the Birde as she sat upon the thorne;

No more a Youth was there,

But a Maiden rent her haire,

And cried in sadde despaire,

'That I was borne!'

As I laye a-thynkynge, she perished forlorne.

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Sweetly sang the Birde as she sat upon the briar;

There came a lovely childe,

And his face was meek and mild,

Yet joyously he smiled

On his sire;

As I laye a-thynkynge, a Cherub mote admire.

But I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

And sadly sang the Birde as it perch'd upon a bier;

That joyous smile was gone,

And the face was white and wan,

As the downe upon the Swan

Doth appear,

As I laye a-thynkynge -- oh! bitter flow'd the tear!

As I laye a-thynkynge, the golden sun was sinking,

O merrie sang that Birde as it glitter'd on her breast

With a thousand gorgeous dyes,

While soaring to the skies,

'Mid the stars she seem'd to rise,

As to her nest;

As I laye a-thynkynge, her meaning was exprest: --

'Follow, follow me away,

It boots not to delay,'--

'Twas so she seem'd to saye,

'HERE IS REST!'

T.I.