the historians; and the writers concede also, that she preserved her honour at all times. Louis would have proclaimed her queen of France, but for the opposition of his minister Louvois. He treated her, in the presence of the court, army, and people, with more consideration than he had ever displayed towards his deceased consort, or any of his beautiful favourites; and she exercised until his death more influence over the affairs of court and state, than any queen of France, or mistress of any French monarch had ever enjoyed. The Duke de St. Simon, in his "Memoirs," holds this language:-"The royal authority, the public and universal homage, the ministers and generals, the whole royal family, in a word, every thing was at her feet: through her alone all were happy, and without her all were miserable. Men and things, honours, justice, and favours, nay even religion itself, were all in her hands, and the king and the state were her victims. What an incomprehensible sorceress! How she ruled, more than thirty years, without interruption, without obstruction, or the smallest cloud! Such a spectacle Europe had never yet beheld !" St. Simon was her enemy, but he was an eye-witness, and could not exaggerate on those heads. The particulars of her aggrandizement and sway are marvels through"out-her triumph and its duration create more and more wonder and interest as they are revolved in connexion with the circumstances of her youth, the original sentiments and general character of Louis, and that imposing prescription and almost universal laxity of morals and opinions, which caused the post of mistress to be esteemed enough for the ambition, and, as it were, for the virtue, of any subject of majesty.

After all, she led a miserable life from the time she appeared at court, until she retired from it on the death of Louis, in 1715. At no period of her existence was her lot to be envied; but least, assuredly, while she shone within the royal circle. We have her own testimony in her fine letters, models of composition, and that of her intimate associates, respecting the perpetual vexations and fatigues which she impatiently suffered ;she groaned and wept in secret, execrating the cruel servitude of favour and power. We shall extract a passage from the biographical sketch, which may convey a notion of court pleasures for the darlings of royalty :

"The monarch, accustomed from his station to refer every thing to self, considered others only as they were subservient to his pleasures or caprice. His mistresses, even in the early periods of his life, and during the moments of his fondest attachment, were neither by indisposition, nor the inconveniences of pregnancy, excused at any time from travelling, or conforming to the ceremonies of the court. They were obliged always

to appear in full dress, to be ready to take a journey, to dance, to sit at table, to attend every festival, and to appear uniformly gay and cheerful; to set out, without a murmur, at a minute's warning, and to bear heat, wind, cold, or dust, when seated in the royal carriage, which was generally open, without repining. A single complaint would for ever exclude the complainer from the honour of attending the king, to which ladies only were in general admitted. Even their appetites must be under government. The monarch, though he seldom tasted any thing himself between meals, took a pleasure in seeing others eat. He usually carried with him in the carriage a store of provisions, confectionary, sweetmeats, fruit, &c. By the time they had travelled two or three miles, he would insist on the lady's taking some refreshment; and eat she must, whether sick or well, whether with or without inclination, or offend her royal companion. As the infirmities of age grew upon him, Madame de Maintenon gradually shook off the yoke of this petty despotism; but there were other vexations to which she was still liable. Louis had acquired the habit of living in her chamber, as if it were his own, without considering how much he incommoded her by the bustle his presence occasioned. 'I have seen her,' says St. Simon,

set out for Marley during a fit of sickness, and travel as far as Fontainbleau, at the hazard of her life. In whatever state she might be, the king, with all his attendants, went without scruple to her apartment at his usual hour. Sometimes, while she was in a dangerous fever, he would come into her chamber, and, because he wanted air, cause the windows to be thrown open, whatever might be the weather. If he wished to have an entertainment with music and dancing, neither a head-ach, nor any other complaint could excuse her from attending: she was obliged patiently to suffer not only the noise, but the blaze of a hundred candles in her eyes.""

Madame de Maintenon died four years after Louis, aged eighty-four, leaving a personal and political reputation very different from what belongs to any other woman of her country, who was ever placed in similar circumstances. Her exhortation to her pensioners of St. Cyr deserves to be repeated to all mankind :-Faisons toujours te bien; il est rarement perdu devant les hommes, et jamais devant Dieu."

WHAT is Love? A reckless feeling,
O'er the captive senses stealing;
A something that we scarce can tell;
"Tis now a heaven and then a hell;
A mixture made of joy and sorrow,
Sunshine to-day, and clouds to-morrow.

VARIETIES.

West's Pictures. The "Christ Rejected" West could have sold for eight thousand guineas; but when the offer was made, and good advisers would have had him take it, his reply was, "No, if it is worth their while to offer me that sum to have it, it's worth my while to keep it." This and the other large picture, "Death on the Pale Horse" are, we believe, bought for exhibition in America. Other reports ascribe the purchase of the former to have been made for the Duke of Orleans. Whichever may be the fortunate possessor, we cannot but regret that, for the credit of British taste and British gratitude, they should be withdrawn from this country. "The Death of Nelson" might have fetched thousands. When this picture was engraved by the elder Heath, the subscriptions poured in without number. Mr. Heath says they sold to the amount of 100%. a day; when West checked the sale, and would not allow any more to be taken off. Heath expostulated with him: but his answer was "I will not in my own person have the arts mercenary-the picture and a few copies of the engraving are sufficient for their glory."

Large Fruit.-It is stated in a French horticultural work, that at the last exhibition of the Horticultural Society at Courtrai, pears of bons-chretiens species were exhibited, which weighed from fifteen to seventeen French ounces each; a colmor pear weighed one pound and a half; and an English rennet one pound and two ounces.

To Increase a Potatoe Crop.-It is stated in a French paper, that by removing the flowers from the potatoe-plant as soon as they are fully blown, the quantity of the crop of the potatoe is increased one fourth.

Announcement.The following curious notice appeared in a French paper of the 25th ult. "Nautical carriages.-To-morrow at six o'clock in the evening, and on Monday the 27th, at seven o'clock, several nautical experiments will be made at the basin of Villette. A man will walk upon the water in such a way, that his feet will not go below the surface; and several nautical tilburys will traverse the basin. An experiment was made with one of these carriages at Bagatelle, on the 20th of April last, in the presence of the Duke of Bourdeaux, who walked some time upon the water. The inventor, who has obtained a patent, received the most flattering testimonies from his Royal Highness and all the persons of the court, of the satisfaction which they had derived from this ingenious invention."

George the First and Second.-George the First could never learn to speak English, and his successor George the Second, spoke

it badly, and neither ever felt themselves at home in this country; and they were always going over to Hanover, where they found themselves lords and masters, while here, though they had been raised so much higher, their dignity never sat easy upon them. They did not know what to make of their new situation. A great personage is said to mimic George the Second, and make sport of his bad English (though it can only be from hearsay); he used to call out when he was provoked at any thing-"God d-n what I am, God d-n what you be." He laid great stress on the minutest trifles, and insisted on wearing his shirts in the order in which they were numbered, and flew into a violent passion if they brought him the wrong number. "Why am I to wear No. 16, when I have not had No. 15? Why am I to do nothing that I like? Am I King of England or am I not? That is what I want to know." And then he would fall to kicking his hat about the room to vent his anger, and rating any of the ministers that came in, in his outlandish jargon. Once he was going to kick the Duke of Argyll, who laid his hand upon his sword, and withdrew in high dudgeon. Meeting Sir Robert Walpole on the stair case, he complained of what had happened, to which the other replied, "Oh! that's nothing, he has treated me so a hundred times."-" Yes but," said the Scotch peer, "there is some difference between John,' Duke of Argyll, and Robert Walpole."

;

The Great American Bittern.-A most interesting and remarkable circumstance ve learn from the "Magazine of Natural History," attends the great American Bittern it is that it has the power of emitting a light from its breast equal to the light of a common torch, which illuminates the water so as to enable it to discover its prey. As this circumstance is not mentioned by any naturalist, the correspondent of the journal in question took every precaution to determine, as he has done, the truth of it.

Speed of Pigeons.A wager was lately taken by some merchants at Maestricht, that no pigeon could fly from London to that city in six hours. A graduated scale of premiums was agreed to be given for the pigeons, according to the time within which they arrived, and bets to some amount depended on the number that should arrive at all. The steamboat from Rotterdam on Thursday, brought the result of the wager. The principal one was lost, by a few minutes, as one of the pigeons did arrive in six hours and a quarter from the time of leaving England, and this in spite of a heavy rain which fell during the whole time. The minor wagers were won; the second pigeon arriving in seven hours, the third in seven hours and ten minutes, and the fourth in seven hours and a half, and in

four days, more than twenty of the pigeons had reached Maestricht. The first pigeon must have travelled (assuming that it took a straight line) at the rate of forty-five miles an hour.-Spectator.

Substitute for Oil in Clocks, &c.-It is well known that the gradual change of oil, when applied as a lubricating medium to those parts where friction takes place in clocks, watches, and other fine mechanical arrangements, has induced numerous persons to endeavour so far to purify the oil as to prevent, or retard the injury occasioned to the going of the machine as much as possible, Mr. Hebert appears to have overcome this difficulty by discarding the oil at once, and using instead, well prepared plumbago. He first prepares the plumbago by repeatedly grinding and washing it over, by which means the gritty particles that occur, even in the best black lead, are removed, and which if allowed to remain, would neutralize every advantage the pure plumbago is found to give. This done, the prepared substance is applied with a camel hair pencil, either in the state of powder, or mixed up with a drop or two of pure spirit of wine. It readily adheres to the surface of a steel pivot, as well as to the inside of the hole in which it runs, so that the rubbing surfaces are no longer one metal upon another, but plumbago upon plumbago. These surfaces, by their mutual action, speedily acquire a polish only inferior to that of the diamond, and then the retardation of the machine from friction, reduced almost to nothing, and wear and tear from this cause is totally pre yented. An astronomical clock of Mr. Herbert's own making, of which the pivots, and holes, and teeth of the escape wheel, had been covered, on their rubbing parts with fine plumbago fourteen years ago, was taken to pieces by a committee of the Society of Arts and examined; the surfaces of plum, bago were found to be for the most part unbroken and highly polished, and neither the pivots nor sockets appeared, on examination with high magnifiers, to have undergone the slightest degree of wear.

Novel Brooch. Amongst the curiosities of the day in Paris, is a tooth of Napoleon, which a dentist is said to have sold for five thousand francs to a rich Jew who has had it set in diamonds, and wears it as a brooch. The bones and the hair of this extraordinary man are in the possession of so many, that he must have had a rare quantity, and in time no doubt they will increase and multiply, as has the holy cross, and other holy relics, of which every nun, priest, and friar possesses a relic.-Literary Gazette.

Pavement Chalkers. From a recent in vestigation, it appears that there are in this metropolis, forty mendicant impostors, who endeavour to excite public charity, by writing

in chalk upon the flag-stones in the most populous streets of London, and that their joint collections average seven thousand pounds per annum.

Fashionable Sleeves. It is now the custom at Parisian dinner-parties, from a laudable regard for the dresses of the fair guests, who may happen to be present, to hand round a pincushion on the company taking their seats, in order that the ladies may pin up their sleeves, which would otherwise prove a formidable obstacle to the operations of the table.

Hardening Steel by a Current of Compressed Air-From the observations of travellers, that the manufacture of Damascus blades was carried on only during the time when north winds occurred, M. Anozoff made experiments on the hardening of steel instruments, by putting them when heated into a powerful current of air, instead of From the exquenching them in water. periments already made he expects ultimate He finds that for very sharp edged success. instruments this method is much better than the more rapid its stream the greater is the the ordinary one; that the colder the air and

effect. The effect varies with the thickness of the mass to be hardened. This method, succeeds well with case-hardened goods.Bull. Univ.

The Princess Victoria.-The Princess Vic

toria, presumptive heiress to the English throne, is remarkably small of her age, being in her eleventh year, and only about four feet high. Her Royal Highness enjoys excellent

health.

to which she attends very closely, she is When not engaged at her studies, generally out taking exercise in Kensington Gardens. She often walks in Hyde Park, a carriage following at a short distance. The young princess bears a strong resemblance in the face to her late father the Duke of Kent. In her manners and quickness of comprehension she very much resembles the late Princess Charlotte. The princess has very few companions or play-fellows. is very fond of music, and has made great proficiency in it. Her royal mother causes her to attend very closely to her religious duties, and accompanies her to divine service every Sunday.-Court Journal.

She

English Lobster Company in Norway.Some Norwegian newspapers at Arendal, noticing the exports and imports of the last three months, mentioned that from one place forty-eight thousand lobsters had been sent. And who (was naturally the inquiry that followed), who were the lobster eaters. Why the Londoners. There is an English lobster-company, and their agents are busy all along the coasts. Twice or thrice a week their packets sail from Christiansand. Walderhong I was addressed, "So, you are an Englishman, come, I suppose, to inquire about lobsters." I afterwards found the

At

trade in these creatures with London is so great, that all the way from Stadtland to Lindences an Englishman and a devourer of lobsters are almost synonymous terms. Everest's Journey.

Origin of the Peopling of Bristol. The story how Bristol came to be so thickly peopled, is, that when Jamie came to the throne of his cousin Elizabeth, he ordered some troops to Bristol for embarkation, and, on their arrival there, learned they were deficient in the necessary supplies of shoes and stockings, wherefore he commanded an order to be dispatched to a certain town in the north country for a cargo of hose and brogues; but the secretary not being a remarkably distinct amanuensis, the constituted authorities mistook the words for hores and rogues, according to the then mode of orthography; and so, to the great scandal of the good town, an emigration of that nature took place accordingly.-Blackwood's Magazine.

SLEEP.

SLEEP, though it bids the wearied body rest,
And brings repose to many an aching breast,
Is but an emblem of that solemn hour,
When death's dark shadows in their silence lower ;.
Yet in the grave no feverish dream can break
The sleeper's stillness, or bid him awake;
No torturing thoughts, no shadows flit around
The ocean's bed, or churchyard's heaving mound ;
No fearful fancy, no corroding care,
Disturbs the rest of all who slumber there.
But here, alas! a thousand fancies teem,
When he that dreams seems dead to every dream;
When sense and vision sink in deep repose,
And breath alone the power of being shows;
The murmuring lip by some strange fancy stirred,
May breathe at times an unconnected word-
"Tis then the scenes we never saw are seen-
'Tis then we are what we have never been-

'Tis then we think on what we ne'er have thought
'Tis then we beg for what we ne'er had sought-
"Tis then we speak to those we long have lost,
Nor deem the midnight guest some stealthy ghost.
We laugh, we weep, we think the palace ours,
Or the dull dungeon with its gloomy towers:
And wildly awful's been the startling scream,
When we have woke, and all was but a dream.
Yet there's resemblance-look upon the face
Of him that sleeps, and life you scarce can trace.
'Tis but a night the slumberers both enjoy,
A time when darkness shuts the wearied eye;
With both the spirit does not feel the change,
But takes a lower or a wider range.
The one awakes to weep or smile with joy,
The other in bliss or woe to lift its eye;
The one sleeps on 'midst visions dark or bright,
The other enjoys a long but dreamless night.
Sleep while ye may, on earth 'twill soon be o'er,
And he that wakes from death will sleep no more.

HISTORY OF LITHOGRAPHY.*

THIS is the age of wonders-of gas, steam, and lithography! How little did our grandfathers dream, as they sat by their cheerful fire-side of a winter's evening, some fifty years' since, with the kettle boiling for tea, and the well-buttered muffins standing on the hearth;-how little did they-good easy souls-dream that the hissing smoke which now and then flickered from a partially heated coal, was destined to give a new and brilliant light to the world that the vapoury cloud, which ascended from the simmering kettle, would proudly assert its triumph over the elements of air and water

and that in the simple occurrence of an unmannerly cat upsetting the plate of buttered muffins, but a moment before the kettle had boiled over, on the hearth-stone, should be revealed the secret, as it was called, of lithography-that grease and water will not combine.

Lithography, or the art of printing from stone, was invented at Munich, between the years 1795 and 1798, by Alois Senefelder. Peter Senefelder, the father of the inventor, was an actor at the theatre royal in that city, and intending to bring up his son to the law, placed him at the University of Ingolstadt. The dramatic inclination of young Sene felder, however, displayed itself in private theatricals; and, in 1789, he composed and printed a little comedy, called Die Mädr chenkenner," from which he obtained some applause and profit. This success, and the death of his father, by which he was placed in reduced circumstances, fixed his determi- . nation of quitting the university, and attaching himself to the theatres. For two years he seems to have experienced all the miseries of a life of green-room vicissitudes, and then to have taken up the no less uncertain profession of authorship.

As a play which he had written could not be got ready in time for the Easter book fair at Leipzig, his second publication produced but barely sufficient to pay for the printing, to accelerate which he had passed much time in the printing-office, an anxious, and, as it will appear, no inattentive spectator. "I thought it so easy," says Senefelder, in his work on Lithography, wished for nothing more than to possess a -small printing-press, and thus to be the composer, printer, and publisher of my own productions."

that I

After a variety of experiments made with