-Is she not a handsome woman?-Has she not borne you five children?" In answer to all which questions, slipping off his shoe, he held it up, and interrogating them in his turn, "Is not this shoe," said he, "a very handsome one?-Is it not quite new? Is it not extremely well made? How then is it that none of you can tell me where it pinches?"

Duck-breeding among the Celestials. In China the rearing of ducks is an object of great moment. The major part of them are hatched by artificial heat; the eggs, being laid in boxes of sand, are placed on a brick hearth, to which is given a proper heat during the time required for hatching. The ducklings are fed with crawfish and crabs, boiled and cut small, and afterwards mixed with boiled rice; and in about a fortnight they are able to shift for themselves. An old step-mother then leads them where they are to find provender, being first put on board a sampane, or boat, which is destined for their habitation, and from which the whole flock, often, it is said, to the amount of three or four hundred, go out to feed, and return at command.

-

Tales of the Dormitory. "Wiffen, the translator of Tasso," says William Howitt, "and I used to sleep in a large chamber, with sixty other boys; and as we went to bed at eight o'clock, we used to entertain the lads with relating such stories as came into our heads without any forethought or preparation. Night after night it continued, and became as exciting and absorbing as one of the tales of the Arabs round their evening fires in the desert. Every night, so soon as all were in bed, there was an eager cry of Well, now then, go on with the hatch-up!""

The Most Unhappy Man.-In a conversetion held before Charles IX, by several learned men, it was disputed what condition in life was the most unfortunate. "In my opinion," said Tasso, "it is that of an impatient old man, depressed with poverty. For," added he, "the state of that person is doubtless deplorable who has neither the gifts of fortune to preserve him from want, nor the principles of philosophy to support him under affliction,"

What is Genius? "Genius," says Buffon, "is Patience;" or (as another French writer has explained his thought) -"La Patience cherche, et le Génie trouve ;" and there is little doubt that to the co-operation of these two powers, all the brightest inventions of this world are owing;-that Patience must first explore the depths where the pearl lies hid, before Genius boldly dives and brings it up full into light.-Moore.

Mussulmans and Christians.-Early in the 13th century, even when the recent outrages

of the crusaders had roused a bitter spirit of vengeance in the minds of the eastern Mohammedans against Christians in general, a good understanding existed between different classes of both, in many respects. Leibnitz has abridged a treaty made by the Florentines and the Soudan of Egypt, stipulating for a free admission of our merchants into that country, -for their safe residence, and for liberty to depart at their pleasure. They were also to be allowed to build a church, and to have a consul and magistrates. At the same time the Mohammedans had consuls in the south of Europe, with liberty to be governed by their own laws in matters arising among themselves when trading there.

Involuntary Homage. The philosopher's wife complained to the philosopher that certain two-legged animals without feathers spake evil of him, spitefully criticised his goings out and comings in; wherein she too failed not of her share : "Light of my life," answered the philosopher, "it is their love of us, unknown to themselves, and taking a foolish shape; thank them for it, and do thou love them more wisely. Were we mere steam-engines working here under this rooftree, they would scorn to speak of us once in a twelvemonth."Teufelsdreck.

A Physical Hell disputed and affirmed.Origen wrote against the literal interpretation of the physical descriptions in Scripture; his allegorical explanations of heaven and hell were assailed by St Jerome, who set the example of dwelling on the material torments of hell with a minuteness and precision which even Egidius de Columna, in his Treatise on the Geography of the Infernal Regions,' has scarcely equalled. A physical hell and a physical purgatory became so strongly established as articles of faith, that it was deemed impiety to doubt of their having a real and local existence.

The Bewitched.-To be bewitched seems to have been regarded as a disease. There appears in the register of burials of St Olave's, Hart street, the residence, during the reigns of Elizabeth and some of her successors, of several noble and distinguished families. "1579. 16 MAYE.Was buried Agnes Peirsonn, Sv'ant, to Mr Paule Banninge, aged 30 years; WITCHED. It was imperative on the parish officers, at that time, to note down the complaint of which the party had died.

BE

Character of King William III.-Few monarchs were more highly rated than was King William in his time. We are told that "at the age of eighteen the prince's good sense, knowledge of affairs, and seasonable concealment of his thoughts, attracted the attention of Gourville. St Evremond, though himself distinguished chiefly by vivacity and accomplishments,

Harmony in Ireland.-When George the Fourth, in 1821, determined on visiting Ireland, it was boldly predicted that his coming would put an end to all political differences. Lord Bloomfield, then Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, arrived in Dublin before his master, and intimated the Royal anxieties that all differences should be laid aside. It was agreed that a public dinner should be held at Morrison's tavern, where the leaders of both factions should pledge each other in libations of everlasting amity. This took place; and from the vehement protestations on both sides, it was believed by many that a lasting reconciliation had been effected. Master Ellis and Mr O'Connell almost embraced each other.

St Marylebone Bank for Savings.-The fourteenth annual general meeting of this institution was held on Thursday, the eighth of this month. It appeared from the several reports read to the meeting, that no less than 2,435 new deposits have been made in the last year. 14,130 deposit accounts remained open on the 20th of November last, of which 8,819 held balances averaging less than 47. 8s. 10d. each. Upwards of 319,4967. was then invested with the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt; this amount has since risen to 329,0967. 3s. 10d., and is rapidly on the advance. The evidence thus afforded of the growing disposition of the working classes to provide against the casualties of life, will prove a source of gratification to all reflecting minds.

The Hogging of Ships.-The weight which a body has when it is immersed in water is always the weight of as much of that water as is equal in bulk to itself; that is, a vessel displaces a volume of water equal to its own immersed bulk; consequently, the stern-quarters, rudder, &c., not receiving any support from the fluid, naturally fall, and cause what is nautically termed "a broken back." This is believed to have caused the catastrophe of the President.'

A Useful Dream.-"Dreams," says Le Sage, "are liars that sometimes tell the truth." The 'Plymouth Times' gives the following curious tale :-" On Friday week, the wife of a farmer named Croker, of Gabwell, dreamt three several times that a villager of Maidencombe, called Eales, was coming to murder her. She was much frightened, and desired her husband to

go to Eales's house, which is not far off, and see if he was home: this was about twelve or one o'clock in the night. Croker got up, and proceeding towards Eales's house overtook him and two of his sons laden with a quantity of hay and straw, which they had stolen from his (Croker's) yard, and he had lost some several times before, but had been unable to detect the thief. He procured the constable, and had them taken before the magistrates, by whom they were committed to Exeter gaol."

Prize Essay.-A twelvemonth or more since the proprietors of the 'Atlas' newspaper proposed prizes for the best essays on the remedies for our present presumed national distress. These prizes have been awarded-to Mr Samuel Laing, late Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, the first premium of 100l.; to the writer of the essay bearing the initials B. C. E., the second premium of 50l.; and to Mr Edward Baines, editor of the Leeds Mercury,' and author of the History of the Cotton Manufacture,' &c., the third premium of 25l.

Falls of Niagara.-In a work published by the French missionary, Father Hennipen, in which a view is given of the Falls as they appeared in 1678, Goat Island is represented dividing the waters as at present; but besides the two existing cascades, a third is depicted on the Canada side, crossing the Horse-shoe Fall at right angles, and appears to have been produced by a projection of the Table Rock. In the description Father Hennipen states, that this smaller cascade fell from west to east, and not like the other two, from south to north. Seventy-three years afterwards, in 1751, a letter on the Falls, by Kalm, the Swedish botanist, was published in the 'Gentleman's Magazine." It is illustrated by a plate, in which the third Fall is omitted; but the writer states in a note, that at that point the water was formerly forced out of its direct course by a projecting rock, and turned obliquely across the other Fall.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We are obliged to W. E. N. for his courteous offer, of which, if necessary, we shall avail ourselves. The "Soldier's Funeral" must be declined.

If an Old Correspondent would look over his poem received this week again, we think he would materially improve it, especially in the third and fifth stanzas. Without a pun, we deem "Watery Bier" objec

tionable.

0.-To make Oil of Amber.-Put amber into an alem. bic-distil in a sand-bath, and gradually increase the heat. Distil the product over twice more.

LONDON: Published by JOHN MORTIMER, Adelaide Street, Trafalgar Square; and sold by all Booksellers and Newsmen.

Printed by REYNELL and WEIGHT, Little Pulteney street, and at the Royal Polytechnic Institution.

the subject of our cut was fashioned, with a view to its speedy erection after the expected grant of the charter. The caprice of James and the course of events changed its destination in a very remarkable manner, and that which was intended to be an enduring mark of respectful gratitude was speedily converted into the means of sounding his disgrace. The following curious narrative of what took place, with the cut, we copy from Richardson's Local Historian's Table-Book,' an interesting and laborious work, of which a more detailed notice will shortly appear.

"A little before the revolution there was erected before the Exchange, in the midst of the Sandhill, Newcastle, a most beauti. ful equestrian statue of King James II, cast in copper, of the size of the famous equestrian statue of Charles I, at Charing cross, London. The horse stood raised upon its hind feet. The king was clothed in a coat of mail, booted and gauntleted; by his side hung a Roman flaming sword, his right hand held the truncheon, his left the bridle; down his breast hung the George by the collar of his coronation; on his head a wig, and round his temples a wreath of laurel. The statue was raised upon a pedestal of white Italian marble, fourteen feet from the base, which was of black marble polished. On the dexter side of the pedestal was curiously carved, in basso relievo, all the trophies of war surrounding the king's name, &c. On the sinis ter side was carved the town's arms, the names of the mayor, recorder, and sheriff. On the ends was the representation of a sea-fight, and the whole surrounded with iron palisadoes. It was the work of Mr William Larson, was approved of by Sir Christopher Wren, and cost the town 8001. sterling. In November, 1688, when the town received the Lord Lumley, and declared for the Prince of Orange and a free parliament, this statue was demo lished by the mcb, who dragged the statue and its horse upon the quay, and turned them over into the river. The statue was afterwards cast into a set of bells, as appears by the following extract from the common-council books :- " April 1, 1695, All Saints' parish humbly requests the metal of the statue (of James II, on Sandhill), towards the repair of their bells.' St Andrew's parish made a similar request. Ordered, that All Saints' have the metal belonging to the horse of the said statue, except a leg thereof, which must go towards the casting of a new bell for St Andrew's parish. A print of this statue was published, price 5s., at Newcastle, by Joseph Barber, music and copper-plate printer. Mr Barber's proposals for this print were circulated in June, 1742, and its being ready for delivery was announced by advertisement, February 19, 1743.

Inscription upon the Pedestal. JAMES the II,

By the Grace of God,
of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland,
King, Defender of the Faith,
Sir William Creagh, Knight,
Mayor,

Samuel Gill, Esq.,
Sheriff,
.1685.

"The preceding account is chiefly gleaned from Bourne and Brand, the Newcastle historians. There are strong grounds, however, for supposing that the statue had never been put up. The only entries in the books of the corporation of Newcastle of disbursements made on this head, amounting to little more than 770l., are on account of the statue alone; no payment whatever occurs for either the marble pedestal on which it was represented to have stood, or the iron palisadoes, or for the charges which would necessarily be incurred in its erection. From these circumstances, and the distracted state of the country at the period, it is not improbable that it may have remained on the quay, where it had been landed only a short time previous to the disturbances in November, 1688, when its contiguity to the river would readily suggest to the mob the idea of overturning it into the water. The date, 1685, in the inscription, is clearly an error, as Sir William Creagh was not appointed mayor of the town until January 3, 1687-8."

JOHN PERROTT, THE BANKRUPT

OF FOUR SCORE YEARS AGO. BANKRUPTS and insolvents have latterly occupied so much of public attention, that it may be useful to look back at the course which was taken with one eminent bankrupt of the last century.

At the close of George the Second's reign a laceman, named John Perrott, carried on trade in Blow-bladder street, in the City of London. His attention to business and exemplary punctuality gained him a high reputation. Fortune appeared to crown his labours with deserved success. He emerged from the street which has been named, and established himself on Ludgate hill. From the great progress he had already made, every one was prepared to see him go on prosperously in the same career, realize a fortune, and attain the highest civic honours.

He had commenced business in 1747; he established himself in Blow-bladder street in 1749, and removed, as already stated, to Ludgate hill in 1752. Up to 1759 his returns were large, and his name unblemished. He, however, about the period last mentioned, began to take up goods on a great scale, and contracted for various

articles to the amount of 30,000l., and actually got property into his possession that cost 25,000l. He then employed one Henry Thompson, who had before acted as his agent, to sell off the goods for ready money. Thompson had a small house in Monkwell street, to which the goods were sent in the evening, and some of the principal traders were invited to inspect them, it being represented that they had been consigned to him by the manufacturers. This practice has been continued by certain parties we could name down to a very recent date, and it may be regarded in particular quarters as one of the causes of late hours. They were of course sold great bargains, frequently 15 or 20 per cent. under cost price.

Having in this manner realized a large sum, the next step was to call his creditors together. They were accordingly invited to meet at the Half-moon tavern in Cheapside, Jan. 17th, 1760. There his conduct was so plausible that it made a very favourable impression on them. It was, however, thought advisable that a commission of bankruptcy should issue. He approved of the step: the commission issued on the 19th of that month, and he surrendered accordingly.

He appeared before the commissioners on the 4th of February, but declared that he was not prepared to render his accounts. Further time was granted, and two of his creditors having discovered a great deficiency, he was summoned before the commissioners again on the 26th of that month, and examined more strictly than before, when he admitted that since 1758 he had bought goods to the amount of 20,000l., and sold them for 15 to 20 per cent. under cost price. He had taken a house in Hide street, Bloomsbury square, and furnished it at an expense of 1301. for a lady; but he swore he had taken no other lodging, and had paid rent for no other person.

According to custom, his books were found in great confusion. It was disco vered that on the third day after the commission issued, a paper parcel had been sent from Perrott to Thompson by his apprentice, sealed with three seals, which he desired him to take particular care of. The day after his first examination it had been claimed again, and Thompson declared that he never knew its contents. When called before the commissioners, on the 4th of March, Perrott caused them to be served with the Lord Keeper's order, which he had obtained without the knowledge of his creditors, enlarging the time for rendering his accounts by 46 days. It was then found out that about a fortnight after the commission issued, two large boxes had been sent by him to one Donelly, a peruke maker, in Bell yard, Temple bar, and from his care they were removed to

the last house in a court out of Queen square, Holborn, kept by a Mrs Ferne. That person, on the 28th of March, was examined, and she declared upon oath that she had known the bankrupt about a year, but swore he had deposited no property with her excepting wearing apparel, and that the paper parcel sealed with three seals had contained nothing but love letters, which had been destroyed.

In this situation of things it occurred to Perrott to do what many thieves of his class have since done. He pretended that one of his creditors, a friend whom he had most basely deceived, had sought and taken usurious interest. To the kindness and confidence of a Mr Whitton he owed his introduction to trade, his constant support; and this, as is the custom of these blackhearted swindlers, was made the pretext for calumniating, in order to heap greater ruin on a man whose only fault was, that he had unwisely placed confidence in a scoundrel.

At length, on the 19th of April, he rendered his accounts on oath, when there appeared a deficiency of 13,5137. This he attempted to explain by mentioning certain losses which he said he had incurred, and he added, "he was sorry to say he had been very extravagant and spent large sums of money." His answers were so unsatisfactory that he was immediately committed to Newgate.

Then it was that he showed his habits were as elegant, and his tastes as refined, as those of a genteel bankrupt or insolvent ought to be. Mrs Ferne constantly visited him in Newgate. She went to the prison in a chariot, or post-chaise, attended by a servant in livery, or a female attendant, or both. Within the walls Mr Perrott and Madam feasted as he thought became persons of their quality, and green peas at 5s. per quart were obtained for the worthy pair, with of course champagne and other delicacies which people of a certain description are fond of taking at the expense of others.

720

After being in prison six weeks, Perrott undertook to give a more satisfactory account of his estate. Among the items were the following :Clothes, hats, wigs, shoes, and other £. wearing-apparel, during my stay there (at Ludgate hill) Horses and keeping them, saddles and bridles, and farrier's bill during my residence on Ludgate hill and Blow-bladder street Tavern expenses, coffee-house expenses, and places of diversion during the above term Expenses attending the connexion I had with the fair sex

575

920

5,500

With the aid of these items he pretended to make up the deficiency, but the