a-trembling, and kicked and plunged franticly, till he got front now presented by the enemy was tine vast) battery,› | Jem sɗt to smo bosba 28w 1 "The fire was rapid, furious, and terribile in execution so the British guns, few in numljen, opened as the line ade vanced, but were, almost of the instant silenced. Their part of this day's glory to say, that the number of the wake of his larger vessel, the Cabinet Cyclopadia. Poems, Sacred and Miscellaneous. By Charles Gilborne Lyons. Dublin. William Curry, jun., and Co. 1831. 12mo. Pp. 118. This volume contains many indications of an aminble, gunners dropped fast, and the cattle fell lacerated or killed but few of a powerful min mind. Mr Lyons is one of that beside them." With the fierceness of the struggle and the numerous class who have enough of the poetical temperafearfulness of the hazard, the undaunted spirit of the gene-ment to make themorejoice in the weaying together of ral rose. He at once aliandomed the guns, and directed an advance with the bayonet. With the main body he soon forced and drove the enemy's right, possessing himself of their guns by a resolute charge odT Essen Sie verses, but not enough to enable those verses to soar TO 191 Nor tempt to doubt the trusting mind, bho W Les all that earth can yield deewý, bas (06031 025 qu Buo leave this heavenly gift behind: biɛ ei Our life is but a meteor gleam,and bed endnut ) : Lit up amid surrounding gloom,inq +16 +994 A dying lamp, a fitful beam, Quench'd in the cold and silent tomb. 19bno "During this moventent, the pickets and 74th regiment were losing men so fast by the fire from Assaye, that a body of Mahratta horse, which hastening to that flank, had moved round the village, charged them, and with severe effect; though the heart or centre of the 4th still held gallantly together, Maxwell, with his dragoons, rode swiftly to their rescue, and spurring hard upon their assail ants, drove them, with great slaughter, dacross the Juah Amid a shower of musketry and grape, this leader and his cavalry rode on through the enemy's left the gallant rein-Oh! steal not thou my faith away, the bus but nant of the pickets and 74th pressed of, and the battle was already wong The sepoys of the main body possessed in great part the very ground on which the enemy had stood, and the guns, which he had fought to the last; the guimers, in many instances, actually suffering themselves to be bay-3 onetted at their posts, in others, lying lead, ns it seemed, under their cannon, These sepoys rushed on in pursuits. Their officers, could not control their elated ardour bud happily the 78th British, upon the left of all this early exultation, stood firm and steady, with unbroken hanks cloud of the enemy's horse hung dark upon the chilkabove, s ready to burst, like a terrenity upon the brave confusion, but i they durst not dash and break, as they must have done, upon that rock. 747 #21579702 ьités) sd‡ to esaun sdi "Some of Scindia's routed battalions clustered confusedly near Assaye, where numbers of the infantry and gunners, who had cast themselves upon the earth to avoid the sabres of the cavalry, by feigning, death, started up, and joined them. This body attempted a deiv formation; again opened: the guns, and renewed the battles 37979 sidsto¤3⁄4 ď′ » "A large column of the enemy, already in fullaratrent, rallied at the hopeful sound, turned, and formed again. These the brave Maxwell checked by a gallant charge, and in this good service, closed his hono honourable life: Among caupon, the last efforts of a day of efforts, was a second attack of the 19 1 There lie beyond that drearysbourne 890099, Bute But, oh ! if all that nerves us here; bait gat "Thou faithless contemner of compact and vow, much desired! Let us give thanks to God, that he has granted us this great honour and advantage. Let us pray to him to guide and aid us to conquer the sea and land which we have discovered, and which Christian has never entered to preach the holy doctrine of the Evangelists. As to yourselves, be as you have hitherto been, faithful and true to me, and, by the favour of Christ, you will become the richest Spaniards that have ever come to the Indies; you will render the greatest services to your king that ever vassal rendered to his lord; and you will have the eternal glory and advantage of all that is here discovered, conquerand converted to our holy Catholic faith.' The tribes of the fearless may rush to the field, Where the folds of thy standard are brightly reveal'd; But the song of the bard is unpurchased and free, And his chords shall be voiceless, Destroyer! for thee. "Away for thy laurels are blighted and red, mot All the bloom which they brought from the forest hath forest hath fled, They are sear'd with the curse of the chainless and brave, They are soil'd with the touch of the dastard and slave; Thy spirit is dark as the waste of the tombyje bus guano When the midnight, had wrapp'il it is tempest and gloomed, Thou hast look'd on the orphan with vengeance and hate, And the prayer of the weak hath been spurn'd at thy gate Thou hast frown'd on the lowly, and warr'd with the free: Go-the wreath of fea renown must not blossom for thee. 1831. Mr Lyons must be contented with the praise contained in the first words of his motto on the title-page-" sunt et mihi carmina," he may safely add, "neque adhuc Varo videor gro?) milli #__mildu eno Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus. By Washington Irving (Being the Family Library No. XVIII. London. John Murray. We are here presented with a good addition to Mr Irving's Life of Columbus. None of the disciples of that great man achieved discoveries/equat to his, and many of them were actuated by motives moreo questionable than the desire to extend our knowledge of the globe on which we live. To secure the first fruits of the pearl fisheries of Paria and Cubaga, or to explore the coast of Veragua, which Columbus had represented as the Aureal Cherso nesus of the ancients, contented the ambition of many of his immediatè followers: Some there were, however, who did more; especially Vasco Nunez de Balboa, whose discovery of the Pacific Ocean forms one of the most beautiful and striking incidents in the history of the New World; and Juan Ponce de Leon, the conqueror of Porto Rico, and discoverer of Florida. Of all the captains and admirals sent out by Spain to follow up what Columbus had begun, Vaseo Nunez is our favourite; and there are points in his history, that make us pause with wonder and admiration at the daring spirit of the man who surmounted, by courage and perseverance, so many appalling difficulties; not the least of which was the piecemeal transportation across the then untraversed mountains of Darien, of the first European ships that ploughed the waves of the Pacific. *** Nunez was a follower worthy of Columbus,[" the whole of the volunteresting chapter in his us, is that which describes atso lo ding ad work for 2 ACAD dt adi! boar as di diabe 1 DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. "The day had scarcely dawned, when Vasco Nunez and his followers set forth from the Indian village, and began to climb the height. It was a severe and rugged toil for men so way worn; but they were filled, with new ardour, at the idea of the triumphant scene, that was so soon to repay them for all their hardships. erand ja blow ad About ten o'clock in the morning, they emerged from the thick forests through which they had hitherto struggled, and arrived at a lofty and airy region of the mountain. The bald summit alone remained to be ascended; and their guides pointed to a moderate eminence, from which they Said the southern sea was visible, od go. "Upon this, Vasco. Nunez commanded his followers to halt, and that no man should stir from his place, Then, with a palpitating heart, he ascended alone the bare mountain top. On reaching the summit, the long-desired prospect burst upon his view. It was as if a new world were unfolded to him, separated from all hitherto known by this mighty barrier of mountains.” 'Below him extended a vast chaos of rock and forest, and green savannas and menudering streams, while at a distance the waters of the promised ocean glittered in the morning sun. "At this glorious prospect, Vasco Nunez sank upon his knees, and poured out thanks to God for being the first European to whom it was given to make that great discoHe then called his people to ascend : • Behold, my friends,' said he, that glorious sight, which we have so very. 6 The Spaniards answered this speech, by embracing Vasco Nunez, and promising to follow him to death. Among them was a priest, named Andres de Vara, who lifted up his voice and chanted Te Deum laudamus-the usual anthem of Spanish discoverers. The rest, kneeling down, joined in the strain with pious enthusiasm and tears of joy; and never did a more sincere oblation rise to the Deity from a sanctified altar, than from that wild mountain summit. It was, indeed, one of the most sublime discoveries that had yet been made in the New World, and must have opened a boundless field of conjecture to the wondering Spasplendid confusion of their thoughts. Was this the great niards. The imagination delights to picture forth the Indian ocean, studded with precious islands, abounding in gold in gems, and spices, and bordered by the gorgeous lonely sea, locked up in the embraces of savage, uncultivated cities and wealthy marts of the East? or was it some continents, and never traversed by a bark, except the light pirogue of the savage? The latter could hardly be the case, for the natives had told the Spaniards of golden realms, and populous, and powerful, and luxurious nations, upon its shores. Perhaps it might be bordered by various peoples, civilized, in fact, though differing from Europe in their and arts and sciences; who might form, as it were, a world civilisation; who might have peculiar laws and customs, of their own, intercommuning by this mighty sea, and carrying on commerce between their own islands and continents, but who might exist in total ignorance and independence of the other hemisphere. Such may naturally have been the ideas suggested by the sight of this unknown ocean. It was the prevalent belief of the Spaniards, however, that they were the first Christians who had made the discovery. Vasco Nunez, therefore, called upon all present to witness that he took possession of that sea, its islands, and surrounding lands, in the name of the sovereigns of Castile; and the notary of the expedition made a testimonial of the same, to which all present, to the number of sixty-seven men, signed their names. He then caused a fair and tall tree to be cut down, from whence he had first beheld the sea. A mound of and wrought into a cross, which was elevated on the spot stones was likewise piled up, to serve as a monument; and the names of the Castilian sovereigns were carved on the neighbouring trees. The Indians beheld all these ceremonials and rejoicings in silent wonder; and while they aided to erect the cross and pile up the mound of stones, marvelled exceedingly at the meaning of these monuments, little thinking that they marked the subjugation of their land. "The memorable event here recorded took place on the 26th of September, 1613.", 01969 973 10 The subsequent fate of poor Nunez was most melancholy, and, as his biographer observes, "might furnish a theme of wonderful interest for a poem or a drama.” On the whole, Washington Irving has done well in rescuing from oblivion, and introducing to the acquaintance of the English reader, the names and fortunes of many enterprising adventurers, who were fast passing into neglect, with the ancient Spanish chroniclers who tell their eventful stories. vanity, bestow on their native land, though not applicable turesque ruin on the pinnacle of an eminence on the to it as a whole, justly appertains to a part. right, is called La Tour des Anglés, once the residence of the barons of that title. Bagneres, situated in one of the finest valleys of the Upper Pyrenees, is resorted to, chiefly in the autumn, "When the crusade, which proved fatal to St Louis, from Barrèges and Cauterets, famed for the marvellous and to so many gallant knights, was about to leave the properties of their mineral waters. Many inhabitants of shores of France for the Holy Land, the Marquis of crowded cities derive enjoyment at these pleasing retreats, Benac, who had been only a few months married to a in the stillness and tranquil grandeur of the beautiful young and beautiful lady, thought that his religion and valley of Campaus, classically termed the Vale of Tempe, his honour imposed on him the sacred duty of participawhere they inhale the invigorating breezes from the Picting in the glorious perils of the East, notwithstanding du Midi, or contemplate the glittering summits of the wild mountain scenery, dark pine forests, and sublime cascades. A more distant ride is the fertile valley of Ossun, its verdant meadows watered by the Gave, and varied by a succession of stately chateaux and massy grey ruins, overshadowed by extensive woods; every baronial castle having its legend, like those on the banks of the Rhine, and "the dark-rolling Danube." T I remember, some years ago, in the month of October, taking an excursion, accompanied by a friend, and attended by a guide, to the Breche de Roland, and the majestic amphitheatre of rocks, which forms the bold natural barrier that separates France from Spain. We were overtaken by one of those violent storms so common in that wild romantic region, where only deep ravines and frightful precipices are seen on every side. We entered a village church, as much for the sake of shelter-for we were neither armed with patience nor umbrellas-as to see the skulls of half-a-dozen Templars, which have ornamented an equal number of niches in it ever since the feudal ages, when the entire surrounding district belonged to the knights of that powerful and licentious order. Being little skilled in the science of phrenology, our examination of the crania was soon over;—not so the rain, which fell in torrents; and never were two unlucky wights more completely saturated than we were, before we reached the miserable auberge at Gavernie, worse than Horace's "Hospitio modico." We found a party of swarthy Spanish contrabandistas already in possession, some of whom were smoking cigars by the kitchen fire, and others were busy unloading their mules. Ascertaining that their cargo consisted of grapes, we soon became purchasers, and they proved the most delicious I ever tasted. must, however, be allowed, that the brawny Arragonese seemed as little regardless about the price of the ostensible objects of their traffic as we did the real one being of a much more hazardous nature, which they were preparing to smuggle across the mountain passes. It During six-and-thirty hours of mist and perpetual rain, without a gleam of sunshine to enliven us, my companion and I, having exhausted every topic of conversation, were beginning to give way to the English malady of ennui, Anglicé, blue devils, when we were aroused by the chattering of a loquacious Frenchwoman, the mother of our host, who, with all the garrulity of age, told us an interminable story about Madame la Dauphine and her suite, who had honoured this same auberge with a compulsory residence of a day the preceding summer, assuring us that we had the felicity of inhabiting the identical room where that illustrious lady had slept on that ever-memorable occasion. Being desirous of obtaining some local information, I discovered that the old dame was versed in legendary lore, and as she seemed too happy to secure a couple of willing listeners, we were favoured with the following tradition, which she related with much circumlocution : "When you passed through the valley of Ossun," said the old lady," you must have remarked the inhabitants of the town of the same name, for they have ever been distinguished from their neighbours by the singularity of their dress, manners, and language. The chateau which crowns the summit of a hill on the left, coming from Pau, formerly belonged to the noble family of Benac, one of the most ancient in Bearn, allied by marriage to the illustrious houses of Noailles and Elbeuf: the pic his previously well-earned military fame, and recent nuptials. The Marquis told his fair spouse, when about to set off for Palestine, that if she received no tidings of him for seven years, she might avail herself of the privilege of marrying again, on condition that the young and hand. some Baron des Anglés already too much esteemed by the Marchioness, to be viewed with a very friendly eye by her husband was not selected in his place. The lady not only promised never to renew her marriage vows, but even added, that if she should be induced to alter her intention, the Seigneur des Anglés would certainly not be the happy man of her choice. Thus re-assured, the brave knight took an affectionate leave of his lovely companion, who had scarcely wiped the tears from her eyes, when she forgot her promise; and the Baron's visits became rather too frequent at the castle. "In the meantime, the valiant crusader, more favoured by Mars than Venus, distinguished himself in many battles against the infidels, but had the misfortune to be taken prisoner at Damietta, and his glorious career was closed by a long captivity. Seven years thus elapsed, and the Marchioness, either forgetting, or wishing to forget, the injunctions of her absent lord, prepared to give her hand to his rival; but an extraordinary incident occurred, which raised an unlooked-for obstacle to their happiness. "The Devil, who never sleeps, appeared to the warrior in his dungeon, announcing the agreeable intelligence of the projected union; adding, however, a tempting proposal, to transport the Marquis to his own castle before the consummation of the marriage, on the trifling condition of obtaining (by voluntary cession) control over his soul. "That belongs to my king and country; but I will give you my supper, which is now before me untouched.' "The Marquis's Satanic ally consented, placed him on his black shoulders, and darted off through the air, at a quicker rate than ever Mercury carried the messages of Jupiter. "Our two lovers, equally anxious to have the ceremony performed, had prepared a splendid banquet, and invited many guests for the occasion, the most important of whom was the Bishop of Tarbes, who had already arrived, and was proceeding to the chapel, in order to bestow the Episcopal sanction, when the Syrian warrior was set down from his aerial voyage at the door of his own castle. But such was the length of his beard, disfigured features, and altered appearance, from suffering and imprisonment, that even the menials in the hall repulsed their old master. He insisted, however, on being brought before his faithless wife, and succeeded just before her wishes were crowned at the altar. 'Madam,' he said, in a voice of thunder, here is one half of your wedding-ring; have you preserved the other?' "Upon this the Marquis was instantly recognised by all; his old dog died at his feet, and his steed neighed in the stable. The bishop, whose services were thus rendered unnecessary, mounted his mule and rode off. The baron made an unceremonious retreat, forgetting in his hurry to congratulate the unwelcome guest on his safe return from the wars. But no one enjoyed the festive board more than the crusader, particularly as he was conscious the feast had not been destined for him; and, in the ex-works, which have not yet arrived; but it will open cess of his generosity, he threw a flask of old vilandric over his shoulder to his cloven-footed assistant, to wash down the supper he had left for him in the dungeon at Damietta. "You may believe this or not as you please," said our Gavernie hostess, observing an incredulous smile on our countenances, "but I can assure you that I have actually seen the Marquis de Benac's helmet and spurs in the mairie of Tarbes, where they remain to this day, for the brave Marquis deposited them himself in the church of the Cordeliers of that town, on his return from the Holy Land." So convincing a proof of her veracity, of course, dispelled all doubt from our minds on the subject. NEWS OF THE FINE ARTS. ΤΑ ΣΠΟΡΑΔΗΝ, OR MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES OF ANTIQUITY, APOTHEGMS, immediately. The catalogue, which we have seen, promises highly. There are in all twenty-nine pictures, mostly by eminent masters, among whom are Vandyke, Titian, Paris Bordone, Sebastian del Piombo, Woovermans, Gaspar Poussin, Tintoretto, Michael Angelo, Carravagio, and Georgione. All the paintings have been purchased by the Institution, and are to form the commencement of a national public Gallery. In reference to the Royal Institution, we may further remark, that it was with sincere pleasure we lately learned that Mr Francis Grant had been chosen a director. An artist himself, he may be of vital use in teaching that body what they owe to artists. We should like to see more artists amongst them; and, in particular, we cannot fancy why the Rev. Mr Thomson has not long ago been elected. Such an We have seen a good many of the paintings preparing office is certainly as compatible with the clerical characfor the Exhibition of the Scottish Academy, and would ter as those of president of a curling-club, or judge at a have no fear of its being more than usually brilliant, but cattle-show,-offices which we know to be most ably and for one circumstance. We do not know who are at pre-efficiently filled by some of his professional brethren. sent the members of the hanging committee, but we know that those of last year discharged their duty in a bungling and inefficient manner. There were many excellent paintings in the Exhibition, which, from the manner they were hung, were entirely without effect; and we remember more than one instance in which individuals whom we know to possess a just and delicate sensibility to the beauties of art, left the rooms under the impression that there was scarcely a good picture in them. Another misfortune of last year's exhibition was the quantity of trash admitted, lowering its character, and, at the same time, over-crowding the walls. As, however, we are not certain whether the power of admission and rejection rests in the same committee to whom are intrusted the care of hanging the pictures, and as we are unwilling to attribute undeserved blame, we pass over this subject at present. Our object is to impress upon the hanging committee of this year, the importance of their duties, and their heavy responsibility. It is an unfortunate circumstance that none but an artist can know what pictures may be safely hung near each other, and that suspicions, not always unjustified, necessarily attach to one who is himself an exhibitor. We do not revert to the past, but if we find such pictures as those which we have seen in the ateliers of Simpson, Lauder, Gordon, and Thomson, (we hope, though we are not certain, that the last will exhibit,) hung so as not to tell in the exhibition, we propose to speak out, and that seriously. The system recently adopted by the Board of Trustees is liberal and praiseworthy. Besides being, as formerly, open for two hours in the evening to the students, the public are now admitted three days in every week by an order, which may be procured at the Board's office, No. 81, George Street. Artists are admitted to draw from the casts every Friday, upon procuring a season ticket from the Secretary, Mr Skene of Rubislaw. The Institution has also thrown open its library of engravings to the inspection of the public. We rejoice to see such unequivocal proofs of the awakening of a liberal spirit; and it is in no captious mood, but solely from our anxiety to purge away every taint of the old leaven, that we advert to the fact, that some of the Directors have been heard to complain, that, now the gallery was opened, the artists did not attend. This is not at all unlikely, for a very simple reason that sufficient pains were not taken to announce the change in the Board's management of its gallery. And even though it had been made more generally known, we were quite prepared to expect that some time must elapse before the majority of our artists became aware of the full worth of the boon that has been conferred upon them. Those who set themselves up to foster infant art and science, must not be testy because they make slow progress. The exhibition of ancient paintings in the building on the Mound, is only delayed on account of some expected By William Tennant. I HAVE not heard of a more ingenious argument proposed for the exercise of unanimity and good agreement, than that made use of by the pinguid orator of Byzantium among his divided fellow-citizens. The forum of Byzantium was raging with faction; the good-humoured orator ascended the tribune, and addressed the people in the following strain:-" Fellow-citizens, ye behold how fat I am!"-looking down upon his sleek, capon-lined rotundity of abdomen; "yet fat as I am," continued he, "my wife is still fatter; nevertheless, fat though we both be, we both sleep in one bed, and that merely because we agree; were we to differ, the whole house could not contain us!" The One of the most extravagant and unseemly entertainments introduced after dinner for the amusement of guests, was that practised at the court of a certain king of Thrace, and recorded by an old Greek writer. Greeks, it is true, had odd enough amusements after dining; such as the performances of quacks, and miraclemen, who swallowed and vomited fire, and danced on their heads upon the points of poniards and scimitars. But the Thracian amusement possesses more originality and extravagance. It was called The Game of Hanging. They attached a strong cord with a noose to the top of the chamber-ceiling. Into this noose one of the guests, alternately as his turn came, or by lot as his chance fell, thrust his head, supporting his feet at the same time on a large voluble stone, set for the purpose of his elevation; he held, at the same time, his drawn sword in his hand, ready for the terrible exigence. When his head was adjusted into the noose, another of the guests approached and kicked from under him the voluble stone, so that his body was left to swing suspended on the cord. had sufficient presence of mind, and steadiness of nerve, during this suspension, he cut the cord and saved himself; if he could not do so, he was allowed to swing on and agitate himself to death-the company all the while enjoying with laughter his convulsions and strainings to extricate himself.-Barbarous and unnatural as such an entertainment may be deemed in our modern conceptions, it is nevertheless in accordance with the manners of the barbarians who practised it; but how shall we apologize for that polished people, our so much-admired Romans, whose young noblemen, after their bacchanalian dinners, were at times wont to introduce a pair or two of gladiators, who fought in their presence till one of two of the parties fell gasping in blood at their feet, while bursts If he Each fish that clings, or swims, or creeps, 9 vi bio gardto 9206596 of applause broke from the admiring revellers? A Ro- It is remarkable that the liking for fish seems to be the enumeration of the heroic dishes, excludes them from tables of Agamemnon and Achilles. In later times, the Greeks became so excessively fond of "Ash, that their word which expresses nearly the meaning of our Scottish word I that meat which denotes fish principally, as persisted to pure dear fish, he was consigned to the city executioner. Isha From famine, we poor fellows fight. There is pretty good evidence for supposing that no less a person than Osiris, the great God of Egypt, was the first distiller of tefishy on record Rot Ahe Egyptians bad, from time almost immemorial, a distillation or brewage from barley, called by the Greeks barley-wine, not infesuperior in strength, to rior, they say, in flavour, wine Allusion is made to this liquor in several passages of ancient writers, The poor people of Egypt drank it with it, just as our poorer people do with whisky. It instead of wine, and were wont to intoxicate themselves been no stranger to the Hebrews; for seems ee to tainly and resorted to by the Old Testament, under the name of "stronger than wine, drinkers for the sake of inebriation. Among the Celta in Spain and France, and so nice about the best m the right of citizenship whereas those drunk with wine fall on their faces! Julian, them, that they presented *་ denominated them The two Mackarels on horseback.The rage of the Roman voluptuaries for delicate fish is well known; notToply did they bring them from the shores of Britain and the furthest islands, but they endeavoured to colonize the sens in the neighbourhood of Rome with breeds of new fish14 Octavias, the admiral of the Roman fleet, brought from some distant sea an immense number of scari, or chats, with which he stocked and peopled the ocean between Ostia' and Campaniay as a nursery of new scari. What success befell this piscatory sort of colonisation is not recorded. the emperor, wrote Greek epigram on this Celtic Whence art thou, thou false Bacchus, fierce and hot? December 18, 1830de deid bas ra với 2. ST ANDREWS AND THE NEW GAZETTEER. 1 bik 416 400 79X "A FRIEND TO ST ANDREWS" requests us to state, that he "considers it as quite unnecessary to enter into controversy with Mr R, Chambers, one of the Editors of the New Gazetteer of Scotland. That the account of St Andrews, given in that work, contains errors as to matters of fact, which the slightest enquiry might have prevented, Mr Chambers does not, because he cannot, deny; thus admitting that, in what is the proper province of a Gazetteer, there is the most culpable failure. His opinion |
