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Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th December 1845, Edition 2 of 4, Page 3, DOUGLAS JERROLD'S SHILLING MAGAZINE. Dec...

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      -Wreath Ii.. Wmriate To The Season, And ...

      -WREATH II . . wmriate to the season , and certain doings ' * pPS tiierewith , We cull the following bit of ^ "f-wise fr ont the last number of our right trusty ^ iKloT ed friend P ^ . - - VOICE FBOSt HAMMHIBE OS THE PAT CATTIE SHOW . 4- punch , Zur , —If you plase , zur , I be a Hampshire - floW I writes to you cause I knows you wunt mind « DtbM a scoUurd , and ool excuse bad spellun and "llsi . Lookun over the pceaper tother market-day at * :. clieiter , Izeeacount o ' the Prize Cattle Show up in aua . I wanted to know what a sed abont the pigs ; l xliey was and where they came worn . I vound ns i , jc 23 t , lcre wam ' t a zingie hog worn Hampshire among % lo ~ Toa knows thnt ' I dare 2 SJ ' ai Wcl 1 M * do ;

      - , ' i very Uke yon be astonished at it , zummut . TeU ' ee f ^ 'tis , wr . We volks ia Hampshire breeds pigs as ^ . oa . ut to be , and dwoant goo vattanun on em up till K ' Jr < a « 't wag . We sez Pork ° aS « t to have lane as well U andwelikes ourbihaaconstrakey , Zame wi ' cattle . ^ j ,. re " s the sense or razon o' stuffun and crammun a . j ] H a beant yeable to zee out o'his eyes ? What is t jf u > e o" aU that ere fat , I wants to know ? Who is £ & £ as ates it ! The ile-cake , turmuts , manglewurzle , sB ic-il > bidgeas is wasted in raakun one bullicka monks ' , ood goo to keep dree or voo t vine boxen in good c-j naishn- Wiy , zar , they med just as well fat up stags eBd hares and rabbats , ay , and pheasants and paatridges , rflr die matter o' that

      yell eewhat , JKasir-PiUMJi , if , 'stead o' vlingun away £ » e J prorender to turn horned animals into Dauul Lam-^ jrts , they wasto bestow bread and mate , and taters , and « rtnuts on Christians , and make zome o' them a little ££# than they he , they'd do more good a precious right j anii ' ia bound yon be o' the same opinion . I be , Zar , your bajient Zar rent , John Occurs . Ifew is a right hearty Christmas Song by one of wr sweetest and most popular of minstrels : —

      WE'LL SIXG ANOTHER CHRISTMAS SONG . BT ELIZA CODE . Vf <; ' 31 sin » another Christmas song , for who shall ever tire , ? o hear the olden ballad theme around a Christmas fire ? We'll sin * another Christmas song , and pass the wassail cup , for fountains that refresh the heart should never be dried up . Se ' er tell us that each Yule tide brings more silver to our

      hair : lime seldom scatters half the snow tbr * quickly gathers there . The goading of Ambition ' s thorns—the toiling heed of gonitis thess do mora than rolling years in making us grow old : liien shake old Christmas by the hand—in kindness let him dwell , for he ' s kins of light good company , and we Should trtat him weU .

      - SThv sbcddwe let pale Discontent fling canker on the hourstnia ?! regrets lurk round tho soul like snakes in leafy bowers ; Jad though the flood of Plenty ' s tide upon our lot may pour , lio w oft the lip will murmur still , the horse-leesh cry for " more . " Tfe sig h for wealth—wapaut for place—and getting what we crave , -ffe often find it only coils fresh chains about the slave , Tear after year may gently help to turn the datk locks white , Bat time ne ' er fades % flower so soon as cold and worldly blight : Ihtn shake old Christmas by the hand—in kindness let him dwell , Per he's king of right good company , and we would treat him well .

      Be glad—be glad—stir up the blase , and let our spirits yitld The incense that is grateful as the lilies of the fisld ; - " Goad mil to aU "—" tis sweet and rich , and helps to keep away The wrinkled pest of frowning brows—and mildew shades of grey .. Be glad—be glad—and though we have some cypress in oar wreath , Forget not there are rosebuds too , that ever peep beneath . And though long years may line the cheek , and wither up tlis heart , It is not Time but selfish Care , that does the saddest part : Then shake Old Christmas by the hand—in kindness let him dwell , lor he ' s king of right goodewnpapy , and we should treat him well .

      We now come to the " great fact" of the last few days . On Saturday last was published

      Efje arricjitf on t & e IBtfivflj . —a dFattg © ate of | £ } 0 im % SI CHASLKS JMCKXN 5 . London .- Bradbury and Evans , SO , Fketetrcet . A beautiful tale this is ; and though a widely differeat , and in some respects inferior story to either -the " Carol" or the " Chimes , " it « , nevertheless , a right worthy successor to both , and cannot fail to famish entertainment , and diffuse delight , wherever it appears . Tneview we take of Mr . Dickens's three Christmas offerings , may be thus briefly expressed : — The first ( the "Carol" ) , while exhibiting the crime Md folly df grasping selfishness , at the same time teaches the great lesson , that the happiness of each

      individual is only to be ensured by ; each labouring to promote the happiness of all . This moral , illustrated bv a storv perfect in every sense , makes the " Carol " a model for Christmas stories ; and , viewed as such , lie "Carol" at present stands , and probably for ever will stand , unrivalled . The second ( the "Chimes" ) , viewed politically , is the best of the author's works . As an exposition of the wrongs and sufferings endured by the many , and a vindication of their rights and claims to justice , —so regarded , the "Chimes" is superior to the "Carol . " Mr . Dickess' 3 present production , considered ^ as a Christmas story , will not bear comparison with the "Carol : " indeed it might have been published at

      Midsummer instead of Christmas , as it contains Borbing relatitng to Christmas , excepting a slight description of wintry weather , the time of the story bang laidinthenionthof January . Viewed politically , tie present " story is not to be placed in competition with the " Chimes ; " indeed it is a totally different storv . Air . Dickexs , in his " Cricket on the Dearth , " has ' devoted himself wholly to the work of portraying home-scenes and home-feelings . Love , jealousy , and parental affection , these are the themes of which the 1 Cricket" sings ; and inferior , in many respects , as this story is to both its predecessors , it , nevertheless , has beauties of its own to which neither the "Carol" nor the " Chimes" can lay claim .

      The story is divided into three divisions , called "Chirps . " * We begin at the beginning , and take t > ur first quotation from

      < £ lj . tn t | e ifttst . If the reader has an eye and ear for poetry , he will no : read much of the beautiful description of the dear delightful domestic scene , contained in the following extract , before lie finds himself gratified to his heart ' s fulness : — .

      THE KETTtK AKD THE CBICKET . - Irs . Peerybinsle going out into the raw twilight , and Catkin- over the we : stones in a pair of pattens that v :-: kti innumerable rough impressions of the first pro . p . yuoiiin Euclid all about the yard—Mrs . Peerybingle SM tha Kettle at the water butt . Presently returning , Iks the paitsns : and a good deal less , for they were ta and Mrs . Peerybingle was but short : she set the Isife on the fire . In doing which she lost her temper , tr mislaid it for an instant ; for the water—being uuw-jifortablycold , andin that slippy , slushy , sleety sort t ' slate wherein it seems to penetrate through every lad of substance , patten rings included—had laid hold

      w Mrs . Pcnybingle's toes , and even splashed her legs . -iasl when we rather plume ourselves ( with reason too ) nj « a our legs , and Seep ourselves particularly neat in Viae o ! stockings , we find this , for the moment , hard to * - "• Besides , the Kettle was aggravating and obstinate . I : ^ urfa ' t allow itself to be adjusted on the top bar ; it woaMuj hear of accommodating itself kindly to the fcwb ? of coal ; it would lean forward with a drunkrn air , a a 3 A-iba ! e , a very Idiot of a kettle , on the Hearts . It ^ iMrreisome ; and hissed and spluttered morosely at *»&* . To sum up all , the lid , resisting ilrs . Peeryfc fA ' s fingers , first of all turned topsy-turvy , and then , * iia aa ingenious pertinacity dessrvinjr of a better cause , 'feSsaevvays in _ downto the very bottom of theKettie ;_ A = d the hull of tha Boyal George has never made iah ' ii ; - Monstrous resistance in coining out of the water , *& ii - . he jjQ of jjjat Nettie employed againit Mrs . " ttryliag ]^ before she got it up again . It looked SlUta aad pig-headed enoug h , erea then ; carrying

      r Jacdie with an ai * of defiance , and cocking 315 spent partly and mocking ly at Mrs . Peerybingle , ai 3 f « said , "I won t boil . Nothing shall induce J ? ' But Mrs . Peerybingle , wifhrestored good humour , * --S * r chubby little hands against each other , and ?« - « a before the Kettle : laughing . Meantime , the . - " ? kce uprose and fell , flashing and gleaming on the . -- % inaker at the top of the Dutch clock , until ons ** iave thought he stood stock still before the ^ a Palace , and nothing was in motion but the flame , ^ as oa the move , however , and had his spasms , two ^ Sfeona , all right and regular . But his sufferings ^ . * e clock was going to strike , were frightful to be-J ; aaavtbea a Cuckoo looked out of a trap-door in * ' a : e . and gave notice six times , it shook him , each «" v L ^ spec ^ i voice—or like a something wiry , a ** " ' *«* less . It was not until a violent com-, JJ aad a whirring noise among the weights and 1 ^ = Mow him had auite subsided , that this terrified he

      ^ A ^ ^ beeanw himself again . Nor was startled t 5 o T at reaso " ; for these rattling , bony skeletons of I a % xer 5 disconcerting in their operation , and a 5 , 3 e - * very nrach bow anv set of men , but most of til n ntchmen , ' can have had a liking to invent Jf' , Tor ftere i 5 a popciar bdief th £ t Dutch-Own i * broad cases and much clothing for their 10 *« sdves ; and thev might know better than

      -Wreath Ii.. Wmriate To The Season, And ...

      ureS Son-V " * ° VC 1 T iank ^ unprotected Kfnd t ? r J y r ° U ' "" *' that the ^ tle began '. T"" 'A Sit ! - * Wa ? tllat the Ke »* - "Lnfr , , " USil : ,, be » an t 0 b » " ir » pre « ible gorghngs in , « throat , and to indul g . in short vocal mat 'S t rdied h ' bud ' -iHt hadn't quit toat , aftcr ttr ., or three such vain attempts to stifle its convinal segments , it threw off aU moroseness , , 11 reserve , and burst wto a stream of song so cosy and hila EriTi'T , ° htin t ' ale J « formed the least derttL tvl . ' T r . , < i 6 S y ° ' rai = 'M haVe »» - Jerstood it hke a book-be tter than some books you and I could name perhaps . With its warm breath gushmform in a li ht cloud , which merril y and « XS ascended a few feet , then L „ ug about & MmSSSZ

      » i j own domestic heaven , it trolled its song with that strong energy ofcheerfulness , that iu iron body hummed and stirred upon the fire ; and tlie lid itself , the recently rebellious hd-such is th « influence of a bright example —performed a sort of jig , and clattered like a deaf and dumb young cymbal that had never known the use of its town brother . That this song of the Kettle ' s was a song of invitation and welcome to somebody out of doorsto somebody at that moment coming on , towards the snug small home and the crisp fire—there is no doubt whatever . Mrs . Peerybingle kncw it , perfectly , as she sat musing before the hearth . It ' s a dark ni"kt sang the Kettle , and the rotten leaves are l ying by the way ; aud above , aU is mist and darkness , and below all is mire and clay ; and there ' s only one relief in all the

      sad and murk y air ; and I don't know that it is onp , for it ' s nothing but a glare , of deep and angry crimson , « We the sun and wind together , set a brand upon the clouds , for being guilty of such weather ; and the widest op » n country is a long dull streak of black ; aud there ' s hoarfrost on the fm er-post , and thaw upon the traek ; and the ice it isn ' t water , and the water isn ' t free-, and you couldn ' t s ? y that anything is what it ought to be ; bu * he ' s coming , coming , coming . '—And here , if yoolike the Cricket did chime in ! with a Chirrup , Chirrup , Chirrup of such magnitude , byway of chorus ; with a voice , so astoundingly disproportionate to its size , as compared with the Kettle ; ( size ; you couldn ' t See it !) that if it had then and there burst itself like an overcharged gun ; if It had fallen a victim on the spot , and

      ohirrupped its little body into fifty pieces : it would have seemed a natural and inevitable consequence , for which it had expressly laboured . The Kettle bad had the last of its solo performance . It persevered with undiminished ardour ; but tlie Cricket took Jir 3 tfiddleand '_ -ept it . Good Heaven , how it chirped ! Its shrill , sharp , piercing voice resounded through the house , aud seemed to twinkle in the outer darkness Uke a Star . There was on indescribable little trill and tremble in it at its loudest , which suggested its being carried off its legs , and made to leap again , by its own intense enthusiasm . Yet they went very woll together , the Cricket and the Kettle . The burden of the song was still the same ; and louder , louder , louder still , they sang it in their emulation . # * * There was aU the excitement of a race aboutit . Chirp ,

      chirp , chirp ! Cricket a mile ahead . Hum , hum , humin—m t Kettle making play in the distance , like a great top . Chirp , chirp , chirp J Cricket round the corner . Hum , hum , hum—in—m ! Kettle sticking to him in his own way ; no idea of giving in . Chirp , chirp , chirp ! Cricket fresher than ever . Hum , hum , hum—m—m ! Kettle slow and steady . Chirp , chirp , chirp ! Cricket going in to finish him . Hum , hum , hum—m—m ! Kettle not to be finished . Until , at last , they got so jumbled together , in the hurry-skurry , helter-skelter , of the match , that whether the Kettle chirped and the Cricket hummed , or the Cricket chirped and the Kettle hummed ) or they both chirped and both hummed , it would have taken a clearer

      head than your ' a or mine to have decided with anything like certainty . But of this , there is no doubt : that the Kettle and the Cricket , at one and the same moment , and by some power of amalgamation best known to themselves , sent , each , his fireside song of comfort streaming into a ray of the candle that shone out through the window ; and a long way down the lane . And this light , bursting on a certain person who , on the instant , approached towards it through the gloom , expressed the whole thing to him . literally in a twinkling , and cried , « ' Welcome home , old fellow ! Welcome home , my Boy !" This end attained , the Kettle , being dead beat , boiled over , and was taken off the fire .

      JOHN FEEnTBIXGM , THE CARRIER , At this moment Mrs . Peerybingle runs to the door to meet the person whose approach had been so cheerily heralded by the kettle and the cricket . This person , as might be anticipated , is Mrs . Peerybingle ' s bigger half , her husband , a worthy but somewhat stolid personage , possessing an excellent heart , but lumbering and slow in his ideas ; often commit ting half a joke , but never finishing it . Mrs . Peery ~ bingle , as already described , ia very little , and very young , her husband , who is a carrier , is both much bigger and much older . Speaking of the honest carrier , Air . Dickens beautifully observes : — "Oh ! Mother Nature ! give thy children the true poetry of heart . thathiditselfinthispoorcirrier ' sbreasf . andwe can bear to have them talking prose , and leading lives of prose ; and bear to bless thee for their company 1 " In allusion we suppose to her littleness , the carrier

      famiiarly calls his wife " Dot" ( her real name ia Mary ); a baby appears in this scene with its nurse , a queer looking character , named " Tilly Slowboy , " who has " a rare and surprising talent for getting the baby into difficulties , " by letting it fall , or bringing its head in contact with deal doors , dressers , stairrails , bed-posts , < fcc . Numerous little endearments pass between the husband and wife which we must pass over The Cricket on the Hearth in the meantime is chirruping away louder than ever , to the great delightof both "John" and his wife , the latter remark ing that "to have a Cricket on the Hearth is the luckiest thing ia all the world . " " Boxer , " the dog , is a prominent character in this scene , and will be a groat favourite with the reader . The Carrier is seated at his meal , his wife is busying herself in arranging the parcels , when putting the question " so these are all the parcels , are they , John V

      " 'That ' s all , ' said John . * why — no—I—* laying down his knife and fork , and taking a long breath , ' I declare—Pve clean forgotten the old gentleman ! ' « The old gentleman ! ' 'In the cart , ' said John . ' He was asleep , among the straw , the last time I saw him . I ' ve very nearly remembered him twice , since I came in ; but he went out of my head again . Halloa ! Yahip there ! rouse up ! That's iny hearty !" The " old gentleman" had "longwhite hair ; good features ; singularly bold and well defined ; and dark , bright , penetrating eyes . " The stranger appears to be extremely deaf , and the Carrier and his wife have peatdifficultyinmalunghim comprehend their replies to his questions . Another character is now introduced , one " Caleb Plummer , " a toymaker , who , never losing sight of his profession , " misses no

      opportunity of turning _ passrag circumstances to account ; thus having ail order far " barking dogs , " he requests permission of Mrs . i ' eerybmglc to be allowed to pinch Boxer ' s tail , that he may make Boxer bark , that so , in making his toy-dogs , he may be enabled to go as close to Natur' as he possibly can , for sixpence ! The reader must not suppose , however , that Caleb's mind being thus intent on business , that therefore poor Caleb is a huxtering money-grubber ; a very different character is he . The poor working toymaker has an employer , the evil genius . : of the story , by name " Tackleton , " pretty generallyknown as " Gruff and Tackleton" —for that was the firm , though Gruff had been bought out long ago ; only leaving his name , and , as some said , his nature , according to its Dictionary , meaning , in the business .

      TACKtETOS , THE TOT MEKCHAKT , was a man whose vocation had been quite misunderstood by his Parents and Guardians . If they had made him a Money-Lender , or a sharp Attorney , or a Sheriffs Officer , or a Broker , he might hare sown his discontented oats in his youth , and after having had the full-run of himself in ill-natured transactions , might have turned out amiable , at last , for the sake of a little freshness and novelty . But , cramped and chafing in the peaceable pursuit of toy-making , be was a domestic Ogre , who had been living on children all his life , and was their implacable enemy . He despised all toys ; wouldn ' t have bought one for the world ; delighted , in his malice , to insinuate grim expressions into the faces of brown-paper farmers who drove pigs tomarket , bpUmenwhoadvertisedlostlawyers ' consciences ,

      moveable old ladies who darned stockings or carved pies ; and other like samples of his stock in trade . In appalling masks ; hideous , hairy . red-eyed Jacks in Boxes ; Vampire Kites ; demoniacal Tumblers who wouldn ' t lie down , aud were perpetually flying forward , to stare infants out of countenance ; his soul perfectly revelled . They were his only relief , and safetyvalve . He was great in such inventions . Anything suggestive of a Pony-nightmare , was delicious to him . He had even lost money ( and he took to that toy very kindly ! by getting up Goblin slides for magic lanterns , whereon the Powers of Darkness were depicted as a sort of supernatural shell-fish , with human faces . In intensifying the

      portraiture of Giants , he had sunk quite a little capital ; and , though no painter himself , he could indicate , for the instruction of his artists , with a piece of chalk , a certain furtive leer fo r the countenances of those monsters , that was safe to destroy the peace of mind of any young gentleman between the ages of six and eleven , for the whole Christmas or Midsummer Vacation . What he was in toys , he was ( as most men are ) in all other tilings . You may easilv suppose , therefore , that within the great green cape , " which reached down to the calves of his legs , there was buttoned up to the chin an uncommonly pleasant fellow ; and that he was about as choice a spirit and as agreeable a companion , as ever stood in a pair of bullheaded looking boots with mahogany coloured tops .

      And this d elightful gentleman was about to be married , married too to a young and beautiful woman , one " May Fielding , " who , despairing of the return of an absent lover , and persecuted by the importunities of her silly but " genteel' mother , b ^ d reluctantly consented to this unnatural union . ladieton being in his element when trying to make other folks miserable , attempts , in a conversation w ^ th the Carrier , to make honest John doubt that he ( the Carrier ) is really so happy with his good little wife as he says he his . While this conversation is bein < r carried on " aside , " all parties present arc startled and alarmed by hysteric screams from little Dot This first frightens , and then annoys , the Carrier who , somehow , cannot help connecting hiswife ' s strange demeanour with the presence of the old deaf stranger . His perplexity is further increased , Tackleton and Caleb having departed , by the stranger unex pectedly requesting permission to sleep , va . the

      -Wreath Ii.. Wmriate To The Season, And ...

      Carrier ' s house for that night , and which request the wife immediatel y , and with very suspicious alacrity , a * sents to , even before the Carrier can say aye or no Thv ' - stranger retires for the night , and John turns to his p ipe for relief from his perplexities , and finds it in tht Showing

      HAPPI VISIONS . Then . ° t : quite well Hgaiu , she said : quite well again : arranged . * be great chair in the chimney-corner for her husband ' , . fiHed his pipe and gave it him ; and took her usual little * , stool beside him on the hearth , She always would git on that little stool ; I hnkshe must have had a kind of notio . a 'bat it was a coaxing , wheedling , little stool . She wat'out and out , the very best filler of a pipe , I should say , in . die four quarters of the globe . To see her put that chub . ' V little fingor in the bowl , and then blow down tlie pipe to clear the tube ; and when she had done so , affect to thh tk that there was really something in the tube , and blow . a dozen times , and hold it to her eye like a telescope , witi ' ' most provoking twist in her capital little faci-, as Si ' " looked down it ; was quite a

      brilliant thing . As to the tobacco , she was perfect mistress of the subject ; ai , u" her lighting of the pipe , with a wisp of paper , when the- Carrier had it in bis mouthgoing so very near his nwe ; . and yqt not scorching itwas Art ; high Art , Sir . Ai' id tlie Cricket and the Kettle , turning up again , acknowlt dged it ! The bri ght fire , blaiing up again , acUnowlet ' ged it ! The litte Mower onflio clock , in his unbeefieil work , acknowledged it ! The Carrier , in his smoothing' forhead and expanding face , acknowledged it , the rwe iest of all . And as he soberly and thoughtfully pafttraii ' his old pipe ; and as the Butch clock ticked ; and as tat' red fire gleamed ; and as the Cricket chirped ; that Geni us of his Hearth and Home ( for such the Cricket was ) tan > e out , in fairy shape , into the room , and summoned J = a ny forms of Home about hun . Dots of all ages , and of all sizes , filled the chamber . Dots who were merry children , running on before him , gathering flowers , ia tlwa fields ; coy Dots ,

      half shrinking froui , half yieldingtsj 4 ht ; j .-leadingof his own rough image ; newly married Dot » alighting at the door , and takiug wondering possession of the . household keys : motherly little Dots attended by fictitious Slowboys , bearing babies to be christened ; matavuily Dots , still young and blooming , watching Dots ot daughters , as they danced at rustic balls ; fat Dots encircled ) and beset by troops of rosy grand-children ; withered Do t * , who leaned Oft sticks , and tottered as they crept along . Old Carriers , « so , appeared , and blind old Boxers lying at their feet ! and newer carts with younger drivers ( "Peerybingle Brothers on the tilt "); and sick old Carriers , tended by the gentlest hands ; and graves of dead amS gone old Carriers , green in the churchyard . And as the Cricket shewed him all these things—he saw them plainly , though his eyss were fixed upou the fire—the Carrier's heart grew light and happy , and he thanked his lloaseliold ( iods with all his might , and cared no more for Gruff iinil Tackleteo than you do .

      ( Sfcirp the Secona Makes ns more intimately acquainted with the eccentric but noble-hearted Caleb Plummer , and Introduces us to his daughter who is blind . She is net only physically blind , but she is also mentally blind to the circumstances connected with her father audi hcrhome . Theformershe believes to be a hale , hearty , and happy man , and the latter a lictle paradise Of neatness and comfort ; whereas the reverse of these is the truth in both cases . Her delusion arises from the fact of her father having , througli pity and intense love for his child , so represented all things to her as to ensure her happiness , at tlie expense to himself of additional pain and trouble . A most interesting couple are

      TIIE TOY JI 1 KEE AND HIS BLIND DA 6 GHTEB , Tlie Blind Girl never knew that ceilings were discoloured ; walls blotched , and bare of plaster here and there ; high crevices unstopped , and widening every day ; beams mouldering and tending downward . The Blind Girl never knew that iron was rusting , wood rotting , paper peeling off ; the very siz » , and shape , and true proportion of tlie dwelling , withering away . The Blind Girl never knew that ugly shapes of delf and earthenware were on the board ; that sorrow and fuuit-heartedness were in the house ; that Caleb ' s scanty hairs were turning greyer and more grey before her sightless face . The Blind Girl never knew they had a master , cold , exacting and uninterested : never knew that Tackleton was Tackleton in short ; but lived in the belief of an eccentric humourist who loved to have bis jest with them ; and while he was

      the Guardian Angel of their lives , disdained to hear one word of thankfulness . And all was Caleb ' s doing ; all the doing of her simple father ! But he too had a Cricket on his Hearth ; aud listening sadly to its music when the motherless Blind Child was very youug , that Spirit had inspired him with the thought that even her great deprivation might be almost changed into a blessing , and the girl nuide happy by these little means . For all the Cricket Tribe are potent Spirits , even though the people who hold converse with them do not know it ( which is frequently tho case ); and there are not in the Unseen World , Voices more gentle and more true ; that may be so implicitly relied on , or that are so certain to give none but teudtrest counsel ; as the Voices iu which the Spirits of the fireside and the Hearth , address themselves to human kind .

      Into this very poor , but—at least to one of the inmates thereof—charmed home , the evil genius of the story , Tackleton , thrusts his ill-looking head , catching poor Caleb in the fact of pretending to be very merry , and singing something about a Sparkling Bowl . Soon after the appearance of this worthy , company more pleasant arrive , in the persons of Mr . and Mrs . Peerybingle , who regularly , ence a fortnight since their marriage , have been used to hold an indoor Pic-Nic at the toymaker ' s . May Fielding and her " genteel" mother are also present , together with the self-invited delectable Tackleton . The ride in the Carrier ' s cart of the Pcerybingle ' s to Caleb Plummer ' s ( the two parties live in separate towns or villages ) is most graphically described . Here is a charming picture of our four-foo ; ed friend

      BOXEK . Then , Boxer gave occasion to more good-natured recognitions of and by the Carrier , than half a dozen Christians could have done ! Everybod y knew him , all along the road , especially tho fowls and pigs , who , when they saw him approaching with his body all on one side , and his ears pricked up inquisitively , and that knob of a tail making the most of itself in the air , immediately with * drew into remote back settlements , without waiting for the honour of a nearer acquaintance , He had business everywhere ; going down all the turnings , looking into all the wells , bolting in and out of all the cottages , dashing ii . ro the midst of all the Dame-Schools , fluttering all tlie pigeons , magnifying the tails of all the cats , and trotting into the public-houses like a regular customer . Where , evar he went , somebody or other might have been heard to cry , " Halloa ! Here ' s Boxer !"

      At length all parties are seated at the Pic-Nic board ,

      the " old mas A \ n " oot ! He saw her with the old man ; old no longer , but erect and gallant , bearing in his hand the false white hair that had won his way into their desolate and miserable home . He saw her listening to him , as he bent his head to whisper in her ear ; and , suffering him to clasp her round the waist , as they moved slowly down the dim wooden gallery towards the door by which they had entend it . He saw them stop , and saw her turn—to have the face , the face he loved so , so presented to his view!—and saw her , with her own hand , adjust the Lie upon his head , laughing , as she did it , at his unsuspicious nature ! The poor Carrier ' s agony may be conceived . The party shortly after breaks up , and the Carrier and his wife return home .

      To render clear what follows , we should premise that , previously to the Carrier discovering his wife and the pretended old man so suspiciously together , the stranger has engaged to take up his abode at the Carrier's for a time , where he now is , asleep , or supposed to be so . The opening of © Ijitp tlje € Tjt ' rB is the most powerfully written portion of the story . Though the extract we are about to give is lengthy it needs no excuse , ( unless , indeed , we excuse ourselves to the author , for what he may consider the great liberty we are taking with his work in quoting so freely from it ) , its power and beauty sufficiently commend it .

      TOE CNHAPPT HCSBASD , The Dutch clock in the corner struck Ten , when the Carrier sat down by his fireside . So troubled and griefworn , that he seemed to scare the Cuckoo , who , having cut his ten melodious announcements as short as possible , plunged back into the Moorish Palace again , and clapped his little door behind him , as if tho unwonted upectacle were too much for his feelings . If the li . tl : Haymaker bad been armed with the sharpest of scytlie ; , and had cut at every stroke * into the Carrier ' s heart , he never could have gashed and wounded it , as Dot had done . It was a heart so full of love for her ; so boun I up and held together by innumerable thr . a ! sof winnin : remembrance , spun from the daily working of her many qualities of endearment ; it was a heart in which she had enshrined herself so gently and so closely ; a heart so

      single and so earnest in its Truth : so strong in right , so weak iu wrong : that it could cherish neither passion nor revenge at first , and had only room to hold the broken imago of its Idol . But slowl y , slowly ; as the Carrier sat brooding on his hearth , now cold and dark ; o ther and fiercer thoughts began to rise within him , as an angry wind comes rising in tlie night . The Stranger was beneath his outraged roof . Three steps would take him to his chamber door . One Wow would beat it in . "You might do Murder before you know it , " Tackleton had said . How could it be Murder , if he gave the Villain timo tc- grapple with him hand to hand ! He was the youngec man . It was an ill-timed thought , bad for the dark mood of his mind . It was an angry thought , goadinghim . ts . aome avenging act , that should change the eheeifal , house into a haunted p lace which lonely travellers- wouM dread to pass by night : and where the timid -vjauluisec shadows struggling

      -Wreath Ii.. Wmriate To The Season, And ...

      In the rumed windows when the moon was dim , and hear wild noises , a tho stormy weather . He was the younger man . 1 es , yes ; some lover who had won the heart thnt he had never touched . Some lover of her early choice : of wham she had thought and dreamed : for whom she l . a-i pmed and pined : when he had fancied her so happy by his side . Oh agony to think of it ! She had been above stairs with the Bab y , getting it to bed . Ashe sat brooding on the hearth , she came close beside him , Without his knowledge—in tho turning of the rack of his great misery , he lost all other soundsand put her little stool at his feat . Ho only knew it , when he felt her hand upon his own , and saw her looking up into his face . With wonder i No . H was his first impression , and he was fain to look at her

      agam , to set it right . No , not with wonder . With an eager aud inquiring look ; but not with wonder . At first it was alarmed and serious ; then it changed into a strange , wild , dreadful smile of recognition of his thoughts ; then tl . ere was nothing but her clasped har . t ' j oh her brow , and her bent head , and her falling hair . Though tlie power of Omnipotence had been his to wield at that moment , he had too much of its Diviner property of Mercy in his breast , to have turned one feather ' s weight of it against her . But he could not bear to see her crouching down upon the little seat where he had often

      looked Oil her , With love and pride , so Innocent and gay ; aud when she rose and left him , sobbing as she went , he fclt it a . relittf to have the vacant place beside him rather than her so long cherished presence . This in itself was anguish keener than all ; reminding him how ' desolato lit was become , and how the great bond of his life was rent asunder . The more he felt this , and the more he knew he could have better borne to see her lying prematurely dead before llim With ller little child upon her breast , the higher and the stronger rose Ins wrath against his enemy .

      TEMPTATION AND DELIVERANCE . He looked about him for a weapon . Then ; was a Gun , hanging on the wall . He took it down , and moved a pace or two towards the door of tlie perfidious Stranger ' s room . He knew the gun was loaded . Some shadowy idea that it was just to shoot this man like a Wild Beast , seized him ; and dilated in his mind until it grew into a monstrous demon in complete possession of him , casting out all milder thoughts and setting up its undivided empire . That phrase is wrong . Mot casting out his milder thoughts , but artfully transforming them . Changing them into ssurges to driv * him on . Turning w » s * r into blood , uorer into hate , Gentleness into blind ferwriti y . Her image , sorrowing , lrauibled , but still pleading to his tenderness and mercy with resistless ; powO T , never left his mind ; but staying there , it urged him tcsJie door ; raised t % e weapon to- his shoulder ; fitted and nerved his finge ? to the triggir ; and cried

      "Killhim > : In his Bed ! " 09 reversed the-Sun to beat the stoc & ispon the door ; lie rA-ead y held it Xfted in tbf air ; some- Sndistinct design wk » in his though & of calling out to him ; - to fly for God ' s sakSr , by the window—when , suddenly , tile struggling fire illuminated tli * whole chimney with . a glow of light ; and the CricUe * on the Hearth begar . iio'chirp ! No sound he could havirheard ; no human voidas . not even her ' s , cculd so have movid and j softened him . TDtte artless words in which she limS told 1 him of her love £ br this same CricSet , were once raore ISreshl y spoken y her trembling , enrwest manner uii the aaoment , was agaib befoiehim ; bcrrpleasant voice—oh wJiatavoiceit was-fiw making household music atttKi fais-ide of an honesfrman;—thrilled through and through life better nature , and awoke it into life-and action . lib recEiled from the doer , like a man wa . lt < nur m his sleep , awakened from a frig htrM dream ; and putt the Gun aside . Clashing his hands beS > ra his face , he-then sat down agaim beside the fire , aafl found relief in t 99 » s .

      THE CBICKE 3 T AND TIIE PAIBISfli . The Critket on the Hearth came out into the room , and stood in- Fairy shape before him . "I love-it , " said the Fairy Trice , repeating wli & t he well remembered , " for tha many times I have heard it , and the many thoughts its harmless music has givea > sne . " " She said > ao ! " cried the Carries-. " True ! " " This has been a happy Home , John ; and I love the Cricket for its sake ! "' " It has been , Heaven knows , " retuvn 9 < 3 the Carrier , " SRie made it happy , always—until now . " " So gracefully sweettempered ; so domestic , joyful ,. Susy , and light-hearted !" said the Voice . "OtherwiseI never could have loved her as I did / ' returned tho Carrfer . The Voice , cewectinghim , said , "Do . " The Carrier repeated "as I did . " But not firmly . His faltering tongue resisted his control , and would speak in its own way , for himself and Mm

      Tho Figure , in an attitude of invocation , raised its hand and said : " Upon your own hearth * - — " The hearth she has blighted , " interposed the Carrier . " The hearth she lias—how often!—blessed and brightened , " said the Cricket : " the hearth which , but for her , were only a few stones and bricks and rusty bars , but which has been , through her , the Altar of your Homo ; on which you have nightly sacrificed some petty passion , selfishness , or care , and ottered up the homage of a tranquil mind , a trusting nature and an overflowing heart ; so that tlie smoke from this poor chimney has gone upward with a better fragrance than the richest incense that is burnt before the richest shrines in all the gaudy Temples of this world!—upon your own hearth ; in ite quiet sanctuary ; surrounded by its gonth influences and associations ; hear her ! hear me ! Hear

      everything that speaks the language of your hearth and home ! " "And pleads for her ?" enquired the Carrier . " All things that speak the language of your hearth and home , must plead for her ! ' * returned the Cricket . "For they speak the Truth . " And while the Carri * , with his head upon his hands , continued to sit meditating in lilt chair , the Presenoestood beside him ; suggesting his reflections by its power , and presenting them before him , as in a Glass or Picture . It was not a solitary Presence . From the hearthstone , from the chimney , from the clock . the pipe , the k-. ttle , and the cradle ; from the floor , the walls , the ceiling , and the stairs ; from the cart without and the cupboard within , and the household implements ;

      from everything aud over place with which she had ever been familiar , and with which she had ever entwined oil ' recollection of herself in lei unhappy husband's mind ; Fairies came trooping forth . Not to stand beside liini as the Cricket did , but to busy and bestir themselves . To do all honour to Her image . To pull him by th « skirts and point to him when it appeared . To cluster round it , aad embrace it , and strew flowers for it to tread on . To trytj crown its fair head with their tiny hands . To show that they were ftmd of it and loved it ; and that there was not one ugly , wicked , or accusatory creature t « . claim knowledge of it—none but their playful and approving selves . "

      For the remainder of this powerfully-written description of tho poor Carrier's jealous thoughts ami reflections , we must refer the reader to tlie work itself . Finally tlie unfortunate husband's better nature triumphs , and while he pities his wife , lie blames himself for his present misery , in having married one so nr-ich younger than himself , at tinsame time that her heart , as he now feels assured , was engaged to another of her own ago . Early in the morning ( the Carrier has sat by the fireside all night ) Tackleton arrives , evidently with the charitable intent of making himself happy (?} oy witnessing the Carrier ' s misery . Shortly afterwards it is discovered that the deceiving stranger has

      clandestinely left the house . The Carrier and lackkton engage in conversation , in the course of which the former expatiates upon his own selfishness and folly iu marrying poor little " Dot" & o much younger , and . in many respects , so much unlike himself . lie expresseshis unabated love for his wife , but determined to release her from all connexion with himself , he declares his intention of sending her home to hor father and mother , but adds , that as long as he may live he shall love her to the last . This conversation has been overheard by the wife , unobserved by the husband . " Dot" begs that he will wait liil tlie clock lias struck again . lie assents , and now comes the denouement .

      Bef > rc the clock strikes , Caleb Plummer and Bertha ( the blind girl ) arrive ; a most affecting scene occurs between these two , in which the father undeceives his poor blind daughter as to all her delusions , but this we must not attempt to describe . Presently the wheels of a carriage are heard , tlie carriage stops , and in another moment ay « ung man rushes into the room , bearing with him May Fielding . This young man proves to be the sailor-son of _ Caleb Plummer , supposed to have long since died in the " Golden South Americas . " Caleb and Bertlui are iu a moment made happy by the recovery of a long-lost son and brother , and as quickly the three are locked in each others arms . At this moment the clock strikes , and the Carrier enters . Advancing to meet the sailor , he recognises the features of the pretended deaf old

      man , who had caused him so much trouble . Explanations ensue , in the midst of which Tackleton , who lias lost May Fielding , arrives , to claim that young lady to accompany him to church . She declines , her name being no longer May FicWinq , \) ul May Plummer , she having made the change that morning by marrying tlie sailor . Edward Mummer hearing , on his return to England , that his sweetheart ( May ) was about to bestow her hand upon Tackleton , had determined to ascertain if the match was by her own desire , and if not , to take steps to prevent it . Hence his assuming the- disguise , hence the hysteric screams uttered by Mrs-. Petrybingli on the night of his arrival , she- having recognised him . Hence the secret meeting : in Tmkltton ' s warehouse , to concert measures So-save May

      and foil Tackleton ; and hence too , ths- jealousy and misery suffered by the poor Carrier . The rapturous r . conciliation of honest John with lias-wife , auist be read in full to be enjoyed ; and ne-san- have we read anything we have more enjoyed . The g » oo !! little "Dot . " crying , smiling , breathisss . in he * haste to clear herself of the taint implied in her husband ' s misgivings . The dumbfouudersd condttioa ai" Jo / m , his penitence , his anxiety to atcne for his foolishness ; the little woman keeping lma off at arm ' s length , and crying , " Not yet » Jolnu & m ' t love me yet , John , till I have explained all ; " and finally , John , no longer to be kept bach , hugging " Dot" in his arms : —all combine to foriri a picture of domestic love , joy , and overflowing hap pinoss ^ such as Charles Dickk . vs only could picture , and caly bis magic pen describe .

      Lastly , all are ' iHado happy ; even the " genteel " mother of May , whose pride is conquered by . her daughter ' s love ; raore than her , even Taekleton relents , and bee ., mes soft-hearted and mirthful (!) ; attends the w jdding-tlinner of his wife that wasto be , givesjlie wf . ^ ding-cake he had bought for his own marriage to . the new-married couple , and brings toys for the ba . 1 ) ^ vy opposite too of ugly . In short ,

      -Wreath Ii.. Wmriate To The Season, And ...

      he becomes a changed man . The whole concludes with a gh / rious dance ; in which Edward Plummer and May take t . ie lead , followed by John , the Carrier , and " Dot , " and all others present , even including the reformed Taekliion , and the inimitable Titty Slowboy whoso dancing , likethat of Trolly Veck's , is like unto no other persons , and , therefore , must be deemed something original , if not very captivating . Perhaps , the only unlikely idea in the story , is the conversion of Tackleton . Such conversions but very rarely take place , and we should fancy are still more rarely effected by the means set forth in this story .

      lo deprive a selfish old grip of his intended bride , at the moment he is about to lead his victim to the altar ( of sacrifice ) , is a most unlikely means of mollifying his heart , and amendinir his feelings . But no matter , the reformation of Tackleton only proves that the author would have the real world filled with the good , tho bright , the beautiful , with no alloy of baseness and evil . Hence , in the little domestic pnradiso ho has idealised in this story , he has left no one creeping , crawling thing to mar its beauty ; on the contrary , the very genius of evil , as embodied in the toy-merchant , he transforms into an ansel of light .

      To Mr . Dickbns we return our heart-felt thanks for this new gift to his fellow creatures , assured as we are , that no one can become acquainted with its lessons of sympathy and goodness without becoming better and happier therefrom . We take our leave of this little book heartily recommending it to our readers , reminding each and all of good , sweet , dear little " JDot ' * " amiable superstition—a superstition in which we must share—that " To have a ' Crickkt o . v the Hearth ' is the luckiest thing in all the world !"

      Ftebftto&

      ftebftto &

      Douglas Jerrold's Shilling Magazine. Dec...

      DOUGLAS JERROLD'S SHILLING MAGAZINE . Decembkb . London : Punch Office , 02 , Fleet-street . We must apologise for not noticing the December number of tin ' s excellent magazine earlier in the month . Unfortunately , too , we are now prevented giving it more than a cursory notice ; but this is not of much importance , seeing that we have so often , and at considerable length , devoted our columns to making known its merits and beauties to our readers . In the present number we have a continuation of the

      editor ' s story , " St . Giles and St . James , " rich with gems of thought and feeling , so honourable to the head and heart of Douoias Jekrow . " The Social Position and Character of the Bar . " " An Accomplished Villain , " "The Englishm ^ in Prussia , " " The Hedgehog Letters / ' and the continuation of "A History for Young England" ( Henry the Second and his Sons ) , are all admirable articles , written with great abilhy , and breathing the purest and loftwst spirit , ffiie " reviews , " though brief , arc well -written . We give the following extracts from the editor ' s story : — .

      GOLD . Afte ? much caution ,. Mr . Tangle approached a closet , unlocked the door , and , pointing to an iron-bound box , observed ? " AH is safe—ati new , Mr . FoWl'r—all spa rilling and burning from the miat . What a beautiful sufcHnnc * is gold only to look at ! " oried Tangle , with enthusiasm ; at the samo- moment unlocking the bo 3 , and lifting the lid . " There ' s a blaze I" fee cried , with a- volupturens Umnckiug o § the mouth . "How they twinkle ! " ) i » jaddo 1 ; whersupon the parliamentary agsnt clutched a . 'handful of bright guineas , an & poured tliem from hand to { hand , bis eye aatching yellow lustre froi » the golden is & ower . And thus for some brief minute or two did

      'H ' aflglu play witKianinted gold . We are told 'ihnt soalteclnu'iners of the east are wont to-ensnare the reptiles with dulfeet music . Tito snake ApolJb 1 plays a melody npon some magic pipe ; whereupon torpid snakes COiled : inhOlea and : araunics gradually untwist themselves , and feelitheir bloodiquicken and their scales rust !« ,. aiid they glide and undulate towards the sound—readily us school . girlsun to a ball .. Grciitis the wire of gold . What a range too-it has ! Sow , breathing the profoundest notes of persuasion—deep and earnes t * as a hermit's homily—and now , carryingraway the hears and senses with its light and laughing ; trills , delicious ,, fascinating as- the voiee of bacchante- Gold , too , is-the earth's great veiitrilotjaisf ,, speaking from and to the felly of immortal man , and en . slaving unit juggling him with its many voices *

      " ¦ SUM "— " IMMOlKBALlTV "— " C 0 I . WN 5 . " As the old war horse pricks his ears at the murderous music of the trumpet—as some retired and uruwhilc sharp * attorney , reading some successful juggle , juggled in the name » f justice , feels his heart tiickle as it ran red ink , and dreams himself again in court—so did the-sound of the gold , as it fell from hunt ! to hand , awaken iu the soul of Tangle all its Pluteau strength . Nay , his soul for a moment left him , and docked and dived , and took its liquid pleasure in that golden river—that Paetolus embanked in a box—like a triton wallowing in a foamy sc . « , he felt he was in his true element—and eloquence flowed from his lips , free as a silver thread of rivulet from some old granite-hearted rock . " Wonderful invention , gold coin , sir ! Wonderful thing ! If there ' s anything , sir , that shows man to be the creature that lie is , —it's this ,

      Scholars , when they want to raise a man above tin monkey—Heaven forgi » e the atheists—call him a laughing animal—a tool-making animal , a cooking animal . Sir , they've all missed the true meaning ; they should call him a coining animal . I've thought of the nutter much , and this "—and Tangle rattled the coin— " this is tha true weapon against the atheism . They may call men what they like , —but I sec proofs of the immortality of the soul in this . No unbelief can stand against this . " * * * ' A glorious invention coining , sir , " ag . iin cried Tangle , expanding with tke subject . " Son ; look iicre , these ; u ! neus are , I may say , nothing more than the representatives of the voters of Liquorish . Here , wo have ' emnere , I take ' em up with my hand ; any number of ' em , body and soul . " Whereupon Tangle scooped up the guineas in hU palm , and poured them down again .

      " Here they are , men , women , and children , all packed close , all snug ! Sir , a man who . carries thesi * , carries heaps of his fellow creatures with him . Tliey talk about the invention of printing ; why , what was coining but printing ? That is the better part of printing ; the soul , t may say of it , is without its wickedness . There ' s no dangerous notions in these , sir ; no false ideas ; no stuff to dizzy the heads of fools , making them think themselves as good as their betters ; 20 treachery , sir , but all plain ind above board . " And again , Tangle took up the coin and dropt it again , his heart-strings vibrating to the music . And the church bell rang out its summons to the world . And , for one monirnt , the eloquent ninn heard it not . He only listened to his church bells—the rinsing that sounded of his heaven . Still , he plavs with the gold ; still , the church bell sounds . Toll , toll—chink , chinktoll—chink—toll—chink ! How oftan do many think

      those notes in unison ! What beautiful harmony to mtre ears of clay ! What grating discord to diviner sense !" The best recommendation wc can give this publication is to remind our readers that the present number closes the second volume ; a new volume will commence on the 1 st of January next . Such of our readers as may not hitherto have been readers of this magazine will find this a favourable opportunity to begin . Thousands may afford a shilling a month , and the poorc-st can , at any rate , club their pence together for this excellent shilling ' s worth monthly . Douglas Jen-old ' s Magazine is , emphatically , the Magazine for the Millions : —their guide , their advocate , their instructor and champion . Working for , and devoted to the cause of the " Millions , " it has a right to the support of the " Millions , " and to them we earnestly and heartily recommend it .

      Tiie Connoisseur. Dbokmdbr. London: F. M...

      TIIE CONNOISSEUR . Dbokmdbr . London : F . Mackenzie , 111 , Fleet-street , This month's number opens with a very able and interesting article entitled " Art as connected with Political Economy . '' The theme of the article is " the unreasonable prejudice which assumes tlie qualities of the painter , tlie actor , tlie singer ; and the dancer to be unproductive and inappreciable in value to the country in which they are esteemed and fostered . " Combatting this erroneous prejudice , the writer carries immediate conviction to the-minds of his readers by the soundness and force @ i his argu ments . The article is altogether an admirable vindication of the rights and claims of nature ' s noble . " The Life of Mozart" is concluded . " -The Return of Macready" is the title of an elaborate , hsucst , and exceedingly clever criticism on tha- " OtheHo" of the great tragedian . " The Study & ti ' Arehiteeturo " and " Picture Dealing" are ably wnitten articles- ; their titles sufficiently bespeak the s-ubiect * discussed .

      A number of minor articles , all evincing good taste and judgment , together with the asnnl criticisms-en , the dramatic and musical perfonnances « the paat month , complete the present nurJier . Stop ; . wc-axe not exactly correct in so saying ; . for this aumliccaJso contains an original ballad ( with miiiyc ) . by Mm . Hesrt Strackv , and , last not least , a beautiful engraving of Julio Koma . vo , fram a portrait b $ -himself . We will not attempt to ^ bscribe fsbc beauties 0 $ this engraving , enough thai , it is She living ma » rather than his portrait , wluob . looks- at us . from- t ' ao paner . One won ! more , ( pr » ss of Matter compels us to " make this notice brief , ) , bhe present number con * eludes the first volume ; tUe- ^ ecund volume will commence with the new yea : * . and affords a favourable opportunity for new sul .- # > yiber $ to commence their acquaintance with the Connoisseur . Wc advise all our readers who have ,, w would cultivate , a taste for tho beauties of art , tciferthwith give their orders fcr the January number of this publication . Wo are confident that those : who act on this advice will not regret it .

      Simmonds's Colonial Magazine. December. ...

      SIMMONDS ' S COLONIAL MAGAZINE . December . London : Simmonds and Ward , Cornhill . We have only room to say that the articles in the present number fully sustain the character of this very useful and well-conducted magazine . The principal articles are "An Account of Prince of Wales Island , " "The Emigrant , " "The Serpent of Martinique and St . Lucia , " '' Sketches of Grenada Scenery , " "The Liberated African Establishment at St . Helena , " "Tho Vegetable origin of Basaltic Columns , " " Reminicences of the Island of Cuba , " and a continuation of the able article , by the editor , on " Colonial Railways and their Prospects . " A new volume commences on the 1 st of January , and will , we hope , be even still more successful than the volumes which have already been completed . Such success is well merited .

      Cft . Sflg.

      Cft . Sflg .

      Tnv- Old Dukk.—The National Admiration T...

      Tnv- Old Dukk . —The national admiration tor the old duh . fi has led the public to have almost as man / portraits flf him as of Field-Mai aiial Prince Albert * When a people adores a man , a hct of astute publishers matin-ally go to work to re-produce the belovett inline , and all Mr . Moon ' s idtop would not contain the Wellington picture gallery . We have had him in all shapes—The Duke before Salamanca ; The Duke reconnoitring before Vittoria ; The Duke after ' ditto ; The Duke shaving before Ciodad liodrigo , Ac , < tc , ;—from that noble portrait of Lawrence , where he ia represented holding the sword of England ( it was in 1815 , and he could wield it then ) , down to the last Daguerreotype of the n « at , whitehaired , old gentleman , whom we have all seen rolling

      upon his horse in the Park and Pall-mall —» wonder to all bystanders that he did not topple over . At last they have got him in a sixpenny pictnre > news- » paper at church . Church is a very good piaee for him—whether artists could not be better employed there than in muking pictures of that venerable hooked nose , is neither here nor there . But , let ifr be conceded that lie is getting old , as lias been the ? lot of military commanders before him . " Tears of dotage , " we know , flowed " from Marlborough ' s eyes . " There can be no manner of doubt that A lexander the Great , or Napoleon , if they had lived long enough , would have grown old too . The Duke ' s horse , which he rode at Waterloo , grew old , and was turned out to grass to pass a comfortable senility ,

      anddied , greatly honoured and lamented , Ioiik ago . Whykeep the master in harness for ever ? Recommend him quiet and a sunshiny paddock at Strathlieldsaye . It is nonsense to say that because he won the great Waterloo stakes in 1 S 15 he is able to run with other horses now—it is not fair that others should slacken their pace out of regard to him . We want to move on . Here is the old gentleman , because he couldn't go the pace in the anti-corn law coach , has stopped the carriage , sent back the horses on their haunches * upset the coachman , and set the whole team iu dis » order . It may be perceived that we are writing with the utmost gentleness . Great and strong our . « elve 8 > we reverence the brave who lived before us . We are not going to bully the old duke , but wc assert that his time for going to grass has arrived . The Times

      says he is the leader of the aristocracy . Let him go > and lead the dukes . He is fit for that ; but not any longer for governing us . Suppose that statue of his " , which is turned with his horse ' s tail to the Exchange , should be removed by his adorers in the City , and placed , for greater honour , let us say in the middle arch of Temple-bar . It might look very well there , and the noble image would be sheltered from the rain ; but the street would be incommoded , the omnibuses would not Hke it : tho people going tobusiness would curse that aquiline-nosed barrier which Interposed between their livelihood and themthe moral is obvious . Punch means that the old duks should no longer block up the great thoroughfare of civilization—that he should be quietly and respect-I ' nlly eliminated , For the future , let us have him . and admire him—in history . — Punc ' .

      The Dukk of Norpoui ' s Cookkry . — We under " stand that the present Duke of Norfolk inherits the skill he has lately shown in cookery from one of his ancestors , whose name has become identified with that delicious edible , the Norfolk dumpling . The Uoware ? family are believed to be closely related to > tho aelebrated- DuUv Ikmpherv , whose hospitality " was-exactly of the kind that the Norfolk cookery seems specially adapted for .. It is expected that the - Duke will shortly publish a culinary guide for the benefit of tlie poor .. Th : bnchmrir called M How t »

      Live oiii a Hundred a Year , " wiU be superseded by a pamphlet entitled "How to Live on » Pineh of Curry . "' The following will be tlie style of the valu » able receipts-contained iu the Duke of Norfolk ' s new cookery book :, — " A Capital Soup ; Take a saucepan * or ,, if you' have not one , borrow one . Throw in about a galloiv of good waler , and let it warm oveir a fire till it boils-.. Now be ready with yo-ar curry , which you may >' keep > in a snuff-box . if yon like , and take av pinch , of it .. Pop the pinch of curry into the hotwater ; , and serve out , before going to- bed to jour hungry eliildtien . —Pmich .

      . 'liA'iiawe- it A . is * . —A few days ago- a genuine son of the " Gim of the Sae" was-informed by his landlady that in consequence of the wet harvest and the potatoe ' ¦ ' disase-,. " thu loaf would be Op a penury iit a day or-two . " Arrah , by St . Patrick-, "' says he " and what ' s- that to < me—what care 1 if it were half-acrown—sure ye know I buy all loafs in pcn / oi'tus . " A MosnM . itf . iiC . — There lives- at liurlin an old woman who absurdly believes she will live to see the day when Prussia will receive the constitution . Lt has been promised so often . —Punch . IpDILllY OP fFffi . LetouR " 11 . "—A person of thenauie of Hill oeing present when some people were discussing the utility of the letter 11 , he remarked that if it had not been for the letter II he would have been ill all his life .

      O'CO-N . N'ELI . TO PtfNCII . Arbau , Pimeh ! is it joking you are ? if it is , Take my word , as a prosperous joker , ( Since by jesting our incomes are equally r « Sure a feather will tickle a smile from the phis Of a man—quite as soon as a poker . ' Then why lay upon me liuu a . stolco » Puncli asthore ! Sure 'twas timting—that patriot traJe , j-ez must onrn > To si jaimis inventWc as min « is ; It has prospei'M—and now I can ' t lave it alone . Oeb ! just think hoivyour own heart would burst > virf » groan , To conclude your next number will " Finis . " Let a hiau live , wliatuver his line is ! i ' lnw / ianhore !

      I don t care for the Times , or tho rest , not a rush , Wid their stories of rapine and riot ; I can give them the lie when it comes to the push . If a middle-man drops by a ball from a bush , Don't I advocate peace 1 Who 'II deny it ? Agitation 'tis keeps thim so quiet ! Punch asthoro ! Sure I gather no more than they'd spend in ' potem , And 'tis friendship to keep tliem from dhrinkin ' : Don't I send round Toa Steele , wid his peace-branch so green . If I shout for repaid , don't I shouf for the Qpee . v ; Though one eye , through a eowld , I keep wink ' m ' , There's no treason in weakness , I'm thiiikin' ! Punch asthore ! Semper Idem . — The Tims . commissioner has proved O'Connell to be a " middle-man . " — Wo always thought him between the knave aiul a mountebank . —Punch .

      Filial Afeectios . — "Weel . Sandy , " said a neighbour to a little boy in tho south of Fife , whose mother had been seriously indisposed , " how is your mother to-day ? " " Deed , 1 dinna ken very weel iioo she is , " replied Sandy , scratching his head ; " but the cow ' s ta ' en ill , andthat ' s waur nor iny liiithcr !" UOYAL AND N 015 L 13 UKMEDIES FOR FAMINE . In good old Bourbon times a starving croud Were oucc around the Louvre clamouring loud . A gentle princess heard the dismal cry , Aud a « ked its meaning of a courtier nigh . Quoth lie , " The people cry for want of bread . " " What silly folks , " the s < - 'ntlu princess said , " 1-or want of nasty common loaves to cry , ' * When half a franc such nice new cakes will buy . " An English Duke hoars labourers bewail That bre :-d is scarce , and that potatoes fail . " Cheer up , "he Sitys , " to starve yon need not hurry ,

      " When you may toast off hot water and curry , " C . S . B . Norfoxk Curry . —Take a duke , no matter bowfoolish , but the fatter the better , stew him down with , " peppers , and a variety of things of that description , " and serve him up ? . 3 the principal dish at ant aurieultiuiiil meeting—any foe 4 ea » cut him tip . This is-a very warm dish to the stomach ; if " not palatable at first , "' wash it duwa with a ghm or two of nadc puncli . —Yours- truiy , Hjaxs . vis tSiAss-u , Beetsteak Gliiix IDec . 32 .

      A NEW S . 2 JSSACUEIHE , SiivttotxHitraanio down 011 the- Cora-law * so . bold . Amd- his . backers-felt savage ,, and sorry * aad sold . ; Uut tbe-Vruiniw-of vofa * bad a , nwjjjfity , Avmcisntingi ia alt , toabowt niafity tlivM , As sheep foliow the- wether * submissive and , mean , That host at tbe-liasfa-ofcheSs-leiuler mmswn ; \ s-sheep . BcatteB wide whea you . loave them alone ,. 1 hat hosi , lays-lLa ' Mmc & , are now bsolte :-. ud oVrtWivn . If or tho Irou Piikc set Ms fate- e » the c-ast „ A . ad uailed , for the Goi-a-taws , Ms lias S « - tho mast -, And sbe Cabinet ' s , bojxfs felt a sensibU- i-bill , Whea ttwy thought of the Duke * aud hu pot cat" I will . ' * Aad there sat tho Premier . Uis bead oa one side ; His argurawitspooh-poohtol , bis sVstomyy . ls iVmu-il ; And tlio * ho tried hard , lie bad need of Lis nerve , A decent composure of face to preserve .

      And there sat grim tTVuhamo , so nervous and pale , With his hat on his hoad , and his mouth to bis nail ; And their measures were done for , their plans overthrown ^ And Teel had to leave his own trumpet , v . iibiown . And Conservative gentry arc loud in their wail , That the country is ruined if Peel should turn tail ; And repeal of the Corn-laws , we soon shall record , Has been won , not by Peel , but a certain small lord — Punch , A Remedy for Cvedmsism . —It is said that a girl in Pittslield was struck dumb by the firing of a cannon . Since then a number of married men , it is said , have invited the artillery companies to come and discharge their pieces on their premises . A Gbhat Calf . —Sir William B , being at a

      parish meeting , mads some proposals objected to by a farmer . Highly says he to the farmer , "do you been to two Universities , and at two University ? " " Well , sir , " said the of that ? I had a calf that sacked observation I made was , the more greater calf lie grew .

      That Averet Enragda/'.-Sir,'? Knowfthiti...

      that Averet enragda /' .-Sir , ' ? knowfthitIhava Cqfi & j ^ f-ia . each ; laftfl | w . |& wnat > two ^ -s ^ M & th' tU . hv ^ 8 $ a '"{ Uft ' - ^ % W f *^ s £ - ] I " , sals that -were jnra jjda /' . Sir , ' ? . no \/ thtttIhava . ; : ¦ ' :. \ CqM & ineacli . < jy . ;' .-A t aftflfeS-wnatv '; -.. '; V' } - ^\ vo ^/ Mitb &^ - ^ J ^! x ^ w-m / y &^ i Hw J ' 'H V X V : " W 8 Hl VCty &

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 27, 1845, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_27121845/page/3/