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Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th December 1851, Edition 2 of 2, Page 3, HiDtrote

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      Protestant Novelists December 27, 1851. ...

      December 27 , 1851 . _ __ _ fcT rt ^ ^ _ _ Z THE NORTHERN STAR .

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      Ode Os The Lite Coup D'Etat •Tekloose Th...

      ODE OS THE LITE COUP D'ETAT Tekloose thy hell-hounds , man of Wood , Bat not against the foe'Gain st those who in thy quarrel stood j ? ot three short years ago ; 'Gainst harmless burghers , whom the ham Of marching troops or beating drum Brings back to peaceful homes , or calls To windows and soon batter'd walls ; Or ' gainst some unoffending passer-by , A stranger in thy land , the grave of liberty .

      Jring forth the prisoners!—never wait To bind their streaming eyea : "What matter how they meet their fate ? -. Cnrae on yon women ' s cries ! i ? ow fire , my men , nor stop your mirth—Sweep the Socialists from earth ! Far better they should piecemeal lie Than trouble our" humanity !" lo these the triumphs of thy murderous crew , Thou reckless , ruthless chief , ungrateful and untrue .

      Bring forth the prisoners , mea of mark , "Who well have played their part—Away with them to dungeon dark , Handcuffed in prison cart : Stifled and starved in crowded room , There let them ponder on their doom , While anguish ' s wife and children wait Xo hear their step approach the gate . And this the courteous Prince , who smirk'd and bowed , And won with honeyed lies the praises of tbt » crowd !

      ¦ Was't not enough -with lawless zeal , Through many a vile intrigue , 'Gainst men who loved tbeir country ' s weal , Nor hated thee , to league , Bat thou must tarnish freedom ' s name With sanguine deeds of needless shame ? Where is thy foes' pretended plot , The shadowy mask of many a shot ? Qh ! had they but that strength ; it soon wera shown , And we would own thy truth , hurled from thy blood-stain'd throne !

      'lis sad , when raised hy high desires Above law ' s level plain , Some mighty spirit of earth aspires So rightful heights to gain ; Yet , while we mourn his illstarr'd aim , We grant the unwilling meed of fame ; And wisdom , virtue , once were known To flourish ' neath a tyrant ' s throne : But these were men to whom a land mi ght bow , And scarcely feel her shame—alas ! how different thou !

      'lis sad , when o ' er a people ' s soul , By long oppression ground , Steals bitter wrath that spurns control . And soon a cause is found , And , onward by fierce passions led , Tbey spoil for pelf who strove for bread : Or when some wrong , too soon believed , Goads on the willingly deceived ; And many a tear has Freedom shed for those Whom her own trumpet-blast first summoned from repose :

      But thee , nor Freedom ' s sacred cause , To noblest souls a snare , 2 sb majesty of outraged laws , Nor e en a bold despair , But heartless lust of power or pelf Has rais'd awhile above thyself , And there thou sitt ' st , uncheer'd alone , A bloody cordon round thy throne Thy only passport to that post of shame A cheated nation's chill—a soil'd ancestral name Not ours to prophecy thy fate :

      But blood , and want , and wo , In ambush gathering round thee wait . Some victim ' s desperate blow , Or sweeping gust of furious grief Prom warriors who have lost their chief—The fickle crowd ' s rebounding scorn , ( Thy borrow'd cloak onee threadbare worn}—Wbate ' er the meanest , bloodiest tyrants dread , Still must thou daily view suspended o ' er thy head Betake thee to thy priests—to them Thy treason ' s guilt confess ; And though thy God must needs condemn , Ask erring man to bless ; And kneeling , while thy troops patrol , Pray for each murder ' d victim ' s soul In yonder shrine , which thou in vain Hast given to Mercy ' s God again : Or rather , hie thee to some island hay , And there , self-exiled , weep thy wickedness away .

      God help thee ! fair and glorious Land , With whom but late we seem'd Xink'd by a new and loving band , While not of this we dreamed : God help thee , prostrate ' neath the rule Of daring knave and willing tool ! 3 for let some foe thy discord view , And long-repress'd attacks renew ; Unlike our Isle , who mourns her sister ' s fall , Aud this , the darkestvilest , saddest scene of all

      , J . E . B . From the Spectator

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      Scenes From Italian Life. By L. Mamoth. ...

      Scenes from Italian Life . By L . Mamoth . London : Newby . The author of this book is well known to the public by his 'Italy : Past and Present ; ' a work which has taken a hig h position on account ofthe extensive reading and observation , combined with a keen judgment and powerful sty le , -which pervades it . Mariotti , like Kossuth , has mastered the English language , and ¦ writes it with fluency , freedom , and force . In the volume before us betas passed from history to fiction , though still with a decided

      historical and political object , because his 'Scenes' are obviously intended to interest other nations in Italian affairs , and to make them acquainted with the Italian people , b y a "vigorous and dramatic exhibition of the manners , feelings , opinions , and actions of individual types of classes . The series of tales displays Italian character in its national aspects , and are remarkable for their knowledge of Italian life , conveyed in an unrestrained , and , at the same time , terse style . The first sketch is entitled * Jacopo Kuflmi , ' the name of a Piedmontese who committed

      suicide in prison for his connexion with the affair of 1833 . The tale in its telling resembles ' The Last Bays of a Condemned ; ' and is supposed to be a journal of Euflini ' s feelings and thoughts in prison , with g limpses of the criminal procedure of Charles Albert ' s Ministers . * Montenero' is another piece on a similar subject . It is the supposed autobiograph y of an Italian of genius and spirit , who , finding all avenues of hig h distinction closed against him in Ital y , conspires , is exiled , wanders over the world in search of excitement or a field for his energies ; iu despair becomes a monk of

      St . Bernard , but finds that , ' except perhaps thedarlingdogs , thelifeiscommon-placeeuough on a closer inspection . * He is finall y supposed to have joined the Milanese or Piedmontese army in 1848 , and fallen at the Bridge of Goito . ' Savelli' seems designed to illustrate the effects of celibacy en a conscientious Romish priest . It is skilful and powerful as a tale , aud in * : addition to a knowledge of the human heart , displays an acquaintance with the coarser manners of the liomisb priesthood . *¦ Marcella is a clever sketch of the ignorant superstition of the peasantry , and the equall y ignorant sceptisra of the town serving maid ° as ' JSatale Ferroni' exhibits the latter kind of bravado in a dissipated

      student or ' fast' fellow ; while both are vehicles for painting Italian manners in the respective classes of society to which the actors belong . ' Anguissola' is the tale of a "au whose reason is lost with the loss of his hetrothed , through the interference of the family confessor : it seems designed to denounce the influence which the priesthood exercise in families especially of weak and common-place persons . There are a few other stories with a less definite purpose , though still exhibitive of Ital y ; aud a powerfullywritten tale of 'seduction , ' the scene of which is laid at some German court . Ia all t « at Mariotti does , he is separated from the common tale-writer b y the possession of a purpose .

      . As a seasonable extract " from this interest" > g book , we take from the tale of * 2 fatale ferroni , » a description of the Christmas aadnight- mass in Ital y . Premising that a spectre appears to the hero of the story m ^ anstmas Eve , and converts him from a dissipated Student into a ' resneebiMe man . '

      Scenes From Italian Life. By L. Mamoth. ...

      Protestant novelists , especiall y those ofthe Rock wood and Tower-of-Londoa school have made the most of the awful solemnities of those midnight high masses . To read them one would fancy that mass \» neve * « a tut at midni ght ; at least that mass is said every night at that witching tine throughout the Catholic world . It may have bean so , for aught I know or care , in the good old times ; but priests in modern ages have an eye to their comforts , and it is a fact that there is now no midnight mass , high or low , except Christ-mass ; ana that , far from having any of the harrowing horrors attributed to it by romance , is , I am compelled to say , with great concern for the lovers of the terrific , rather a jolly affair than otherwise . JIass , it must be kept in mind , is daily bread to many a poor priest of the lowest classes . The Mourning ceremonies of theholv week , which for

      eight-and-forty hours swathe up in black hangings all the altars m Catholic Christendom , have the effect of robbing those poor starvelings of their customary fees . Stopping their mass is actually cutting off their subsistence ; and it is with a view to indemnify them for the losses they have to subtain at the Easter season , that a bountiful church allows them to celebrate three masses instead of one on the Feast of the Hativity , and pays them accordingly . The first of these masses is said at midnight , the second at early dawn , the last at noon on Christ mag-day these arrangements , of course , for the high mass only . The lower clergy have to go through their work at any time between midnight and day , in which any nook or corner of tbe church is left vacant for them ; anyhow , anywhere , whereever a pair of yellow tapers may be stuck up and a missal opened .

      Two out ofthe three performances before alluded to are , properly speaking , only mock masses or rehearsals . Inasmuch as the mass is nothing but a communion service , and as the sacrifice implies the strictest fast , and can only be taken once in twentyfour hours , it follows that only one of the three Christ-masses is the real thing—the celebration of what is called " the bloodless sacrifice . " Now tbe midnight high mass on Christmas-eve is said in every-one ofthe ei ghty-four parish-churches of the city of Parma , to say nothing of abbeychurches , oratorios , and private chapels ; and at every mass tbe bagpipe tunes are generally pliyed on the organ . Still there is nothing like the bagpipe tunes on the organ at the Santasslma Annunziata . Those good Franciscans keep one of their order for that purpose merely . They have always

      had one , time out of memory . His business is to fatten and play upon the organ . In all matters , too , he may be only an average performer ; but as to bagpipe tunes , he is expected to beat not only all other organists in the world , not only all imitations ofthe bagpipe , but actually to beat the bagpipe itself . Christmas seems to belong to the jolly Franciscans by right : ever since their foundation they made it their especial study , and it is their business so to trick out their shop at this season as to draw all the custom to themselves . They have fairness enough to withdraw from competition in other solemnities ; and will gladly , for instance , allow some ofthe rival gloomier fraternities to exercise an equal monopoly over the tragedy of Passion week and the construction of the Santo Sepolcro .

      Tbe performance of Christmas devolves upon them ; and an egregious pantomime they do make of it . The Presepio at the Santissimi Annunziata is not merely a bas-relief , or a tableau vivant , as in other churches—not merely a mummery or a dumb-show ; it may well be called a downright opera , inasmuch as it has its stage decorations , its orchestra and choruses . The stage is erected on the left-hand side of the main altar ; as the midnight hour approaches tbe curtain is drawn aside . The happy mother is discovered in a half-kneeling , half-sitting posture on the straw ; the putative father , about whom the Italians have a great many ribald jokes , is seen resting on his long crook behind her ; tbeir two dumb and patient

      companions looking on , grave and wise ; the angelsheads and wings without bodies—hovering above the family group in the air . The divine infant—( for aught that may seem profanation the monks are alone responsible , inasmuch as nothing ever slips from my pen but what 1 may testif y as an eye-witness )—the divine infant is taken from the manger ; a wax doll , with flaxen curls and blue glass-bead eyes , all swaddled in brocade and decked out in tinsel and sham jewellery , is held up before tbe gazing audience amidst tbe -joyous strains ofthe piping organ ; and is then nuvle to go tbe whole round of the choir , with all the alacrity of a decanter of port-wine at the convivial board . Each

      of those frolicsome friars , all flushed with their Christmas-eve supper , takes it from his neighbour ' s hands , hugs and dandles it with all the dexterity of an expert monthly nurse , and tosses it up in tbe air ; while their anthems ( quaint sorry old ditties , in the best style of refectory literature ) keep time with the swelling organ peals , singing , Lo ! the holy babe is born , White and rosy as the morn , Curly-healed , plump , aud . ' ound—Take it , brother , pass it round ! Such is the prelude to the midnight mass on Christmas-eve .

      In the tale of 'SaTelli' we get the fo *' lowing glimpses of the business-like way i " which the priests pursue their vocation , an of the ' houses of call' which abound in Rome-—In London we have , or had , the Chapter Coffee-house , a * house of call' for divines who work b y the job ; in Rome , it appears , they have many such , and in a larger way of business as regards the bargains to be struck . This sketch is from the opening of ' Savelli' : — Paris is said to be the paradise of women . Borne may , most undoubtedly , be looked upon as the Eden of priests ; only of those priests , however , who have interest enough to grease the hinges of St Peter ' s gate . To the rest it is worse than limbo .

      There are soft-dangling roomy coaches and mellow courtesans for cardinals and prelates of princely families ; fat capons and old Orvieto for doublechinned canons and deacons ; hut lean masses and shabby funerals , wrangling and squabbling , heartburning expectation , squalor and sheer starvation for an innumerable rabble of unbeneficed shavelings . For the use and advantage of these wretched step-sons of Mother-Church there are ecclesiastical exchanges and bazaars .

      _ ,, , .. There are certain wine and spirit shops ( bettoiini ) and lottery-offices betteg bini del lotto ) in every city in Italy—and no less than a hundred in Rome alone-where Christ is sold to tbe highest bidder . Masses , processions , and other windfalls of the ghostlv trade , are there accurately reported , put up for competition , and tbeir respective merits deligentlv weighed aud sifted . There are reverend mass-brokers , wholesale and retail dealers in benedictions , matins , and vespers . The bargains are

      struck over a salted tar-tine and A glass of strong waters . Happy the man who , by obtaining early information is able to forestall bis brethren and secure the hig hest fees . He may afterwards be able to make over his minor engagements , to dispose of ihem at a considerable premium , even as a Bond-street music-seller will manage with a ticket for a pit-stall at Her Majesty ' s Theatre . He has a pocketfull of Misereres at three pauls , and Te Deums at a testone . He will overreach himself sometimes , nevertheless ; drop a good bone tojump

      at its shadow , Such are the sayinss and doings of the lower clergy in Rome ; such the p ious devices and practices for the continuation ot which the Catholic world will henceforth be indebted to the Crusaders and Paladins ofthe successor of Charlemagne the fated interpreter of Sapoleonian ides-the "Nephew of his Uncle . ' , , .. . . ., Pio Kono is pledged to the perpetuation of all that . He has tapped now at one , now at the other , of the rotten stones of the Catholic edifice He is now happily restored , with a conviction that any attempt at repair is sure to bringdown the whole fabric about his ears .

      It may or may not have survived the reforming velieities of that amiable Pope ; it may or may not have withstood the blast of Republican storms ; but in the good golden times of Gregory the Sixteenth , aud precisely to wards the close of his pontificate , one ofthe most flourishing haunts of all the loose priests about town—the very massmonger hall par excellence—was a notorious liquorship in the Borgo , which bore the sign of the Apostle St . Jude , but which the keen-witted townspeople of Pasquin had moreappropriately nicknamed the bettolino of Judas Isoariot . Such is the mass of corruption , obscenity , selfishness , oppression , and demoralisation , which the p riestshavecontrired toinaanfactnre out of the mission of Him who came to preach 'Peace on Earth , and Good-will towards Men ! '

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      HouseMd Words . London : Office , Wellington-street . Charles Dickens has disappointed ns hy not givin « ushis usual Christmas tale this year . In lieu thereof , we must put up with the ' extra number for Christmas ' of his Household Words . 'intended to whatthattrulyEng h festival is to everybody . It overflows with the spirit of the season , and is provocative of eeritle and kindly thoughts and words , and of hospitable deeds . Cheap though the penodi-™ lis . wemiaht do many things less appro-

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      priate than transfer a few extracts to onr columns . Passing over the introduction—which pathetically describes what Christmas is as we grow older—the description of the preparations for its due celebration iu town and country , and the Id y l for Christmas indoors , we come to what Christmas is in the company of John Doe . ' Mr . Prupper having made most of his preparations for tbe coming

      day ; wanders forth to g ive the finishing touch to them on Christmas Eve , and is accosted by Mr . Aminadab , an officer of tbe Sheriff : appeals to friends produce the usual unsatisfactory result , and after a short stayat Mr . Blowman ' s in Cursilor-street , the captive resolves to proceed to Whitecrossstreet at once rather than pay the high charges of the hostil kept b y that worth y functionary . Mr . Prupper is on his progress to prison .

      I had already been three hours in captivity , and it was getting on for eight o clock . The cab was proceeding along Holbom , and I thought , involuntarily , of Mr . Samuel Hall , black and grimy , making his progress through the same thoroughfare , by the Oxford-road , and so on to Tyburn , bowing to the crawd and cursing tbe Ordinary . The foot-pavement on either side was thronged with people at their Christmas marketing , or , at least , on some Christmas business—so it seemed to me . Goose Clubs were being held at the publichouses—sweeps for sucking pigs , plumb-puddings , and bottles of gin . Some ladies and gentlemen had begun their Christmas rather too early , and were meandering unsteadily over the flag-stones . Fiddlers were in great request , being sought for in

      all small beer-shops , and borne off bodily from bars , to assist at Christmas Eve merry makings . An immense deal of hand-shaking was going on , and I was very much afraid , a good der . 1 more "standing" than was consistent with the strict rules of temperance . Everybody kept saying that it was " only once a year , " and made that an apology ( so prone are mankind to the use of trivial excuses !) for their sins against Father Matbow . Loud laughter rang through the frosty air . Pleasant jokes , innocent *« chaff , " passed ; grocers' young men toiled lustily , wiping their hot faces ever and anon ; butchers took no rest ; prize beef melted away from very richness before my eyes ; and in the midst of all the bustle and jollity , the crowding , laughing , drinking , and shouting , I was still on my unvarying way to Whitecross-street .

      There was a man resting a child ' s coffin on a railing , and chattering with a pot-boy , with whom he shared a pot of porter , " with the sharp edge taken off . " There are heavy hearts—heavier purchance than yours , in London ibis Christmas Eve , my friend Prupper , thought I . To-morrow ' s dawn will bring sorrow and faint-heartedness to many thousands—to oceans of humanity , of which you are but a single drop . The cab had conveyed me through Smithfieldmarket , and now rumbled up Barbican . Wy companion , the gentleman with the crab-stick ( to whose care Mr . Aminadab had consigned me ) beguiled the time with pleasant and instructive conversation . He told me that he had " nabbed a many

      parties . " That he bad captured a Doctor of Divinity going to a Christmas , a bridegroom starting for tbe honeymoon , a Colonel of Hussars in full fig for her Majesty ' s drawing-room . That he had the honour once of " nabbing" the eldest son of a peer of the realm , who , however , escaped from him through a second-floor window , and over the tiles . That he was once commissioned to " nab" the celebrated Mr . Wix , of the Theatres Royal . That Mr . Wix , being in the act of playing the Baron Spolaccio , in the famous tragedy of " Love , Ruin , and Revenge , " he , Crabstick , permitted him , in deference to tbe interests of the drama , to play the part out , stationing an assistant at each wing to prevent escape . That tho delusive Wix " bilked" him , by going down a trap . That he , Crabstick , captured him , notwithstanding ,

      under the stage , though opposed by the gigantic Wix himself , two stage carpenters , a demon , and the Third Citizen . That Wix rushed on tho stage and explained his position to the audience , whereupon the gallery ( Wix being an especial favourite of theirs ) expressed a strong desire to have his ( Crabstick ' s ) blood ; and , failing to obtain that , tore up the benches ; in the midst of which operation the recalcitrant Wix was removed . With these and similar anecdotes of the nobility , gentry , and the public in general , he was kind enough to regale me , until the cab stopped . I alighted in a narrow dirty street ; was hurried up a steep flight of steps ; a heavy door clanged behind me ; and Crabstick , pocketing his small gratuity , wished me a good night and a merry Christmas . A merry Christmas ! ugh !

      That night I slept in a dreadful place , called the Reception ward , —on an iron bedstead , in a room with a stone floor . I was alone , and horribly miserable . 1 heard the Waits playing in the distance , and dreamed I was at a Christmas party . Christmas morning in Whitecrosa-street Prison ! A turnkey conducted me to the " Middlesex side " —a long dreary yard—on either side of which were doors leadin g into wards , or coBec-rooms , on the ground floor , and , by stone-staircases , to sleeping apartments above . It was all very cold , very

      dismal , very gloomy . 1 entered the ward allotted to me , Number Seven , left . It was a long room , with barred windows , cross tables and benches , with an isle between ; a large fire at the further end ; "Dum spiro , spero , " painted above the mantel-piece . Twenty or thirty prisoners and their friends were sitting at the tables , smoking pipes , drinking beer , or reading newspapers . But for the unmistakeable gaol-bird look about the majority of the guests , tbe unshorn faces , the slipshod feet , the barred windows , and the stone floor , I mig ht have fancied myself in a large tap-room ,

      There was holly and mistletoe round the gaspipes ; but how woful and forlorn they looked ! There was roast beef and plum-pudding preparing at the fire-place ; but they had neither the odour nor the appearance of free beef and pudding . I was thinking of the cosy room , the snug fire , the well-drawn curtains , the glittering table , the happy faces , when the turnkey introduced me to tho steward of the ward ( an officer appointed by the prisoners , and a prisoner himself ) who " tables you off , " i . e ., who allotted me a seat at one of the cross-tables , which was henceforward mine for all purposes of eating , drinking , writing , or sraokine ; in consideration of a payment on my part of one guinea sterling . This sum made me also free of the ward , and entitled to have my boots cleaned , my bed made , and my meals coked .

      I sauntered forth into the yard , and passed fifty or sixtv fellow-unfortunates , sauntering as listlessly iis myself . Strolling about , I came to a large grating , somewhat similar to Mr , Blowman ' s bird cage , in which was a heavy gate called tho "lock , " and which communicated with the corridors leading to the exterior of tbe prison . Here sat , calmly surveying his caged birds within , a turnkev—not a repulsive , a-ruff-voiced monster , with a red neckerchief and top boots , and a bnnch of kevs , as turnkeys are popularly supposed to nebula pleasant jovial man enough , in sleo' * black . He had a little lodge behind , where a bright fire burned ,

      and where Mrs . Turnkey , and the little Turnkeys lived . ( I found a direful resemblance between the name of his office and that of the Christmas bird ) . His Christmas dinner bung to tbe iron bars above him . in the shapeofamagnificentpiece of ( eef . Happy turnkey , to be ablo to eat it on tbe outer side of that dreadful grating ! In another part of the yard hung a large black board , inscribed in half effaced characters , with the enumerations of divers donations , made in former times by charitable persons for the benefit in perpetuity of poor prisoners . To-day , so much beef and so much strong beer was allotted to each prisoner .

      But what were beef and beor , what was unlimited tobacco , or even the plum pudding , when made from prison plums , boiled in a prison copper , and eaten in a prison dining room ? What though surreptitious gin were carried in , in bladders , beneath the under garments of the fairer portion of the creation : what though brandy were smuggled into the wards , disguised as black draughts , or extract of saraaparilla ? A pretty Christmas market . I had brought my pigs to ! Chapel was over ( I had come down too late from the " Reception" to attend it ); and the congregation ( a lamentably small one ) dispersed m the yard and wards . I entered my own ward , to chaneefif anvthing could change ) tbe dreary scene

      Smoking and cooking appeared to Oe tlie cniei employments and recreations of the prisoners . An insolvent clergyman , in rusty black , was gravely rolling out puff-paste on a p ie bowl ; aud a . man m his shirt sleeves , covering a veal cutlet with egg and bread-crum , was an officer of dragoons ! J round no lack of pers ons willing to enter into conversation with me . I talked full twenty minutes with a seedy captive , with a whitehead , and a coat buttoned and pinned up to the chin . Whitecross-street , he told mo ( or Burden ' s Hotel , as in the prison slang he called it ) , was the only place where any "life" was to be seen . The

      Fleet was pulled down ; the Marshalsea had gone ths way of all brick-and-mortar ; the Queen a Prison , the old " Bench , " was managed on a strict system of classification , and general discipline ; and Horsemonger Lane was but rarely tenanted by debtors ; but in favoured Whitecrossstreet , the sooi old features of imprisonment for debt yet flourished . Good dinners were still occasionally given : "fives" and football were yet played ; and , from time to time , obnoxious attorneys , or importunate process-servers—" rats ' as they were called—were pumped upon , floured , and bonnetted . Yet , even Whitecross-street , he said

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      with a sigh , was falling off . The Small Debts Ac * » nd those revolutionary County Courts would be too many for it 80011 . That tall , robust , busby-whiskered man , ( he said ) in the magnidcently-flowered dressing-gown , the crimson Turkish smoking-cap , the velvet slippers , and the ostentatiousl y displayed gold <* uardchain , was a " maco-man ; " an individuaf who Jived o 3 his wits , and on the want of wit in others . Ho had had many names varying from Plantagenet and DeCourcy , to "Edmonstonahd Co , " or plain Smith or Johnson , He was a real gentleman once upon a time—a very long time ago . Since then , he had done a little on the turf , and a great deal in French hazard , roulette , and rouge et noir . He had cheated bill discounters , and bad discounted bills

      himself . Ho had been a picture-dealer , and a winemerchant , and one of those mysterious individuals called a " commission agent . " He had done a little on the Stock Exchange , and a little billiardmarking , and a little skittle-sharping , and a little thimblerigging . He was not particular . Bills , however , were his passion . He was under a cloud just now , in consequence of some bill-dealing transaction , which the Commissioner of Insolvency had broadly hinted to bo like a bill-stealing one . However , be had wonderful elasticity , and it was to be hoped would soon get over his little difficulties . Meanwhile , he dined sumptuously , and smoked oigars of price ; occasionally condescending to toss half-crowns in a hat with any of tbe other " nobs " incarcerated .

      That cap , and the battered worn-out sickly frame beneath , ( if I would have the goodness to notice them ) were all that were left of a spruce , rosy-cheeked , glittering young ensign of infantry . Ho was brought up by an old maiden aunt , who spent her savings to buy him a commission in the army . He went from Slowcheater Grammar School , to Fastchester Barracks . He was to live on his pay . He gambled a year ' s pay away in an evening . He made thousand guinea bets , and lost thorn . So tho old denouement of tbe old story came round as usual . The silver dressingcase , got on credit , pawned for ready money ; the credit horses sold ; more credit horses bought ; importunate creditors in the barrack-yard ; a letter from the colonel ; sale of his commission ; himself

      sold bought up ; then Mr . Aminadab , Mr . Blowman , Bunion ' s Hotel , Insolvent Court , a year ' s remand ; and , an after life embittered by tho consciousness of wasted time and talents , and wantonly-neglected opportunities . My informant pointed out many duplicates of the gentleman in the dressing-gown . Also , divers Government clerks , who had attempted to imitate tbe nobs in a small way , and had only succeeded to the extent of sharing the same prison ; a mild greyheaded old gentleman who always managed to get committed for contempt of court ; and the one ineyitable baronet of a debtor ' s prison , who is traditionally supposed to have ei ght thousand a year , and to stop in priaou because he likes it—though , to say the truth , this baronet looked as if he did ' nt like it at all .

      I was sick of all these , aud of everything else in Whitecross-street , before nine o ' clock , when I was at liberty to retire to my cold ward . So ended my Christmas-day—my first , and , I hope and believe , my last Christmas-day in prison . Another chapter presents a vivid idea of the feelings of a man , who , after sixteen years' residence and successful exertion in Australia , finds himself in England for the purpose of gratifying a longing that has been growing stronger in each of all these successive years—namely , to find himself once more at the Christmas table among the well-remembered faces : — It was mid-winter when I landed at a small fishing village in the extreme west of England ; for my impatience made me take advantage , during a calm in the Channel , of the first fisher ' s boat that boarded us .

      The nearer we approached the shore , the more impatient I grew to land . I insisted on giving my help to one of tbe heavy oars ; and no sooner had we touched the ground , than , throwing myself into the water , I waded on shore . Oh , easy-going men of the great world , there are some pleasures you can never taste ; and among them is the enthusiasm the heartfelt , awe-stricken admiration of the dweller among pastoral plains when he finds himself once more at home among the gardens of England .

      Garden is the only word to express the appearance of England , especially the west , where the bright green myrtle lingers through the winter , and the road-side near every town is bordered with charming cottages . At every mile I found some now object of admiration , above all , the healthful fresh cheeks of the people ; especially the sturdy , yet delicatecomplexioued lasses tripping away , basket in hand , from the markets in numbers , startling to one who had lived long where the arrival of one fair white face was an event .

      The approach to the first great town was signalised by tokens less pleasing—nay , absolutely painful ;—beggars , as I passed , stood in their rags and whined for alms ; and others , not less pitiful in appearance , did not beg , but looked so wan and miserable , that it made my heart bleed . I gave to all , so that the man who drove me stared . He stared still more , when I told him that I came from a country where there were no poor , save the drunken and the idle .

      Entering a great town , the whirl , the commotion of passers on foot , on horseback , and in vehicles of all kinds , made me giddy ; it was like a sort of ni g htmare . The signs of wealth , the conveniences provided for every imaginable want , were very strange to me , fresh from a country where ablebodied labour was always in demand , while a man thought himself equal to tlie longest journey , through an untrodden country , with a blanket , and a tinpot for all his furniture , and all his cooking apparatus .

      When I called in the landlord of tbe Inn to eonsuit about getting on to Yorkshire in two days , as I wished to be with my friends as soon as possible , he said , ''If you stay and rest to night , you can get there by the railroad to-morrow morning , in good time to eat your Christmas dinner . " I had never thought of that , and had only a vague idea what a railroad was like . I reached the starting-place next morning , just in time to take my seat in a departing train . I started wben , vcith a fearful sound of labouring

      machinery , we moved : then whirled away . I was ashamed of my fears ; yet there were many in that train to whom a sea voyapo would have only boen less terrible than the solitary land journeys on horseback through the Bush of Australia , which were to me a mere matter of course . Without accident , I reached the station near York , where I had to tike a conveyance to reach by a cross country road the house where I knew that one of my brothers , farming a few hundred acres of his own land , assembled as many of our family as possible at Christmastime .

      The little inn was able to supply a gig , driven by a decayed post-boy . Plunging at once into questioning conversation , I found an old acquaintance in the driver , without revealing who I was . Not many years older than myself , soured , disappointed , racked in health , he took a ditferent view of life to anything I had yet beard . All along my road through England I had boon struck by the prosperous condition of the well-to-do people 1 bad met in first-class carriages . His occupation , his dory , was departed ; ho was obliged to do anything , and wear anything , instead of his once smart

      costume , and once pleasant occupation—instead of his gay jacket , and rapid ride , and handsome presents from travellers , and good dinners from landlords . In doleful spirits he had a score of tales to tell of others worse off than himself—of landlords , of posting-liousea in the workhouse , and smart four-inband coachmen bogging their bread—of farmers sunk down to labourers ; and other doleful stories of the fate of those who wore not strong enough for the race of life in England . Then I began to see there are two sides to the life that looked so brilliant out of the plate-glass windows of a firstclass carriage .

      The luxuries and comforts which taxes and turnpikes buy , are well worth the cost to those who can pav them ; those who cannot will do better to make shift in a colony . Thus thinking and talking as I approached the place where , unexpected , I was to appear before a gathering of my relations , my flow of spirits died away . The proud consciousness of having conquered fortune , tho beauty of tho winter scenery ( for winter , with its boar frost shading the trees and foliage , has strange dazzling beauty to tbe eyes of those who have boen accustomed to the one perpetual green-brown of semitropical Australia ) bad filled me full to overflowing with bounding joyousness . Gaily I answered back to the " Good night , master , " of the passing peasantry , and vigorously puffed at my favourite pipe , in clouds that rivalled and rolled along with the clouds of mist that rolled from the sweating horses , But the deoeyed postilion ' s stories of misery , in

      which he seemed to revel damped me . My pipe wi nt out , and my | chin sunk despondingly on my breast . At length I asked , " Did he know tho Barnards ? " "Oh , yes , he knew them all . " Mr . John had been very lucky with the railroad through one of bis farms . " He had ridden a pair at Miss Margaret ' s wedding , and driven a mourning coach at M iss Mary's funeral . Tbe mare in the gig bad belonged to Mr . John , and had been a rare good hunter . Mr . Robert had , doctered him for his rheumatics . " Did he know any more ? " "Oh , yes , there was Master Charles ; ne went abroad somewhere to furren parts . Some people say he ' s dead , got killed , or hung , or something ; and some say he ' s made a power of money . He was a wild slip of a lad , Many a time he ' s been out in the roads with some ^ one I know very well , snaring hares and smoking of pheasants . There ' s a mark on my forehead new , where I fell , w-hen ho put a

      Housemd Words. London: Office, Wellingto...

      furze bush under the tail of a colt I was breakin g . Hewasadrollchap . surel y . " There was Mariefy a kind feelmg in the poor man ' s breast . The loss of his occupation , poverty , and drink , had sadly changed the fine country lad , barely ten vears older than myself , whom I had left behind in England . So turning , I said , " Well Joe , you don't seem to remember me ; I am Charles Barnard . " "Lord , sir , " he answered in a whining tone , " I beg your pardon . You are a great gentleman ; I always thought you would be . " So you are going to dine with Mr . John ? Well , sir , I hope you won ' t l ge » . » C ^ istmas-box , for old acquaintance SEIKO i We wish that our next extract referred to earth , and not to Fairy Land .

      Jf ROUND GAMB OF THE CHRISTMAS BOWt . [ This Round Game , which comes , originally , from Fairy-Land , is thus played . The Pool of the game is a capacious circular bowl , or basin , made of ice . It is some sixty or seventy feet in circumference , and all round the rim there is stuck a hedge of holly-boughs , in full berry , interspersed with coloured lamps and silver bells . Everybody who is inspired by Christmas festivities comes t ' o put into the Pool . He is to put in something which is his pride . In doing this ho generally throws in something which is equally his trouble ; and thus by doing a generous act at Christmas , in throwing away his pride , be at the same time gets rid of one of his worst troubles . ] fOje ftnpttW ; Here is a Poo ) , all made of ice ,

      For a great round Christmas Game ! Its rim is set with green holly boughs , And lamps of colour'd flame ; With silver bells that tinkle and gingle As each one his offering comes to mingle , — Whether ingot of gold , or a grey sea shinde . Who comes first ?— 'Tis the King , I declare , With the crown in his hand , and the frost in his hair ! Close to the Pool he brings his crown , And tOSB 66 it o ' er the holly ! So , away to the bottom goes ail his pride , And bis royal melanchol y ; While gingle ! tinkle ! gingle ! How tho sweet bells ring ! And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing ! Who comes next

      ?'Tis a Minister of State , With a Puzzle made of weights and wheels , and balanced on his pate ! To the Pool of Christian Offerings The Treasury Lord advances ; { Souse over , goes his Puzzle , And away his Lordship dances ! While gingle ! tingle ' . g ingle ! How the sweet bells ring ! And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing . ' Who comes next ? 'Tis the First Gold Stick ! With the First Cock'd Hat ! And the First General Brick ! In the Pool they toss their darlings-Sword—hat—stick—garniture ! And retire to the allegro Of the Minuet de la Cour ! But while they caper back ,

      Three Slaves-to-Dress advance , In splendid , killing curls and rouge , — The last bright thought of France ! They say— " 'Tis Christmas time ; To the Hound Game we will come ; Let us throw away our fashions , And—for once— ' let ' s look at home !'" While gingle ! tinkle ! gingle ! How the sweet bells ring ! And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing ! But who comes now ? 'Tis the Bishop in his carriage , Whose shoulders bear tho pain and pride Of Church and State ' s mis-marriage : A huge bale of lawn and purple He heaves into the Pool , And , nodding to his coachman , Trips off , relieved and cool !

      The Millionnaire comes next , With a loan to help a war , On the wrong side of all justice—And his " interest "—not so sure . He inflates—and he collapses—His mind grows sick and dim Oh , the pangs of breeding money !—His loan flutters o ' er the brim ! With gingle 1 tingle 1 gingle ! How the aweet bells ring ! As round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing ! Who is this in red and gold ? 'Tis the Soldier with his sword , And riding on a

      cannon—Bedizen'd , bless'd adored ! Round his neck he wears a chain , For a show and a pretence , But engraved with fiery letters Claiming blind obedience : His pride and bane are loosed—They fly o ' er the holly fence I Next , a Lawyer , with his costs-Making full a thousand pounds , With a score of breaking hearts , And five years of waste and wounds His face is cold and wretched—His life is but a span—A red tape-worm , at the best , In a black coat stuff'd with bran : He tosses o ' er his bill of costs !—He is quite another man ! With gingle ! tinkle ' . gingle ! How the sweet bells ring !

      And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing ! The Merchant brings his bargain , Which would beggar half a town ;—The Schemer shows a " spec , " But deserves each good man ' s frown ;—The Scholar brings his book , Where hia soul , all moulting , lies;—The Poet brings hia laurel And his castle in the skies ;—Tho Lover brings his mistress Who has treated him with scorn ;—The Shepherd brings his favourite lamb , With its curly fleece unshorn ;—All these into the Pool

      Are cast , with various smarts , As valued Christmas Offerings , Inspired with Christmas hearts ! While gingle ' . tiuklo ' . gwvgle ' . How the sweet bells ring ! And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing ! [ The crowd of players at tho Game , having joined hands in this concluding dance , now whirl round the Pool of Ice , gambolling and singing ; and they continue to do this , till the charm begins to work , and the heat of the Christmas hearts

      outside causes the Offcrin * r which each has thrown in , to warm to such a genial glow , that the heat thus collectively generated , melts the ice . The Pool gradually dissolves—the players of the game , one after another , sink down exhausteii , and fall into a delightful reverie ; while the melted Pool overflows , and floats every one of them to hia home , as he seems to lio in a mother-of-pearl boat , with a brunch of holly at the prow , and a coloured lamp amidst the green leaves and red berries . Each one , soon alter , recovers his senses just enough to find himself lying comfortably in bed , and listening to the waits !]

      M. Kossuth Ash The United States Senate....

      M . Kossuth ash the United States Senate . —A telegraphic message , via , Boston , states that the President ' s son , Mr . M . P . Fillmore , waited upon M . Kossuth at the Irving Bouse , and informed him Chat his father , the President , would be pleased to see and welcome him at the seat of government , and that he desired to know when it was his intention to be in Washington . M . Kossuth replied that his movements were somewhat uncertain , and that it was somewhat doubtful whether he should go to Washington at all ; the action of the Senate was far from being agreeable , and that circumstances would govern his future actions in regard to visiting Washington and other places .

      The Modern Jack Siieppard . —A letter from New York states that there can be no doubt of the identity of the notorious George Hackett with the person who on the i ! 7 th of June last broke into tbe stores of Mr . Williams , of Newark , Sew Jersey , and stole from thence watches and jewellery to the value of 5 , 000 dollars . He was subsequently arrested in a house in Kew York , known as the Five Points , in company with another Englishman , and all the stolen property found in his possession . The thieves , who passed under the names of Shields and Thomas , made a desperate resistance , woundin g the officers severely with clubs , but were ultimately secured , and committed to prison . Here Hackett

      made a most daring attempt to escape , and astonished the turnkeys by the never ending supply of files he seemed to have in bis possession . It was found necessary to remove him to a new cell every dav , so frequent and ingenious were his attempts to break from prison . On being brought up for trial ho pleaded Guilty of the burglary , and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in the State Prison , and two more for the attempt t ? escape . On hearing his sentence he coolly requested the judge to " put on the other eight , so as to make tbe even twenty . " His accomplice was sentenced to eleven years , and both arenow in " snug quarters , " which the gaoler guarantees will " hold them to eternity , if necessary . " His Royal Highness Prince Albert has become the patron of the Royal Polytechnic Institution .

      Dannie*.

      Dannie * .

      A Vuloar Yankee Catholic Is So Fond Of A...

      A vuloar Yankee Catholic is so fond of a winking Madonna over there that he calls her a " canvass-hacked duck !!"—Punch . A Scotchman has left on record this important aphorism— " Love and sheep ' s-head broth effectually impair a man ' s appetite . " A clock never lies so much as when it stands , Tue reverse of this takes place in Common Law , tor there an action never stand * so well as when it lies . Dissimulation . —No man , for any considerable period , can wear Sne face to himself , and another to the multitude , without , finnUy getting bewildered as to -which may be the truer .

      Vitriol and Sooa . — The annual consumption of sulphuric acid ( oil of vitriol ) in Great Britain , is estimated at . 70 , 000 tons . The quantity of sodamanufactured is ci-inpiited at 200 , 000 tons . An Embuack . —Miss D . says , that the first time a young man squeezed her dress she felt as she was in the land where rainbows come from . How poetic a little hugging makes people . ' IitRiiATiSG . —After roiling all night in your berth at sea till you are miserably sick , to have a steward open your door in tbe morning and ask you if you will have a /« si roll for breakfast . Figurative . —A late philosopher says , before people take the leap through the wedding ring , they should be quite curtain that the blanket of connubial contentment i * held tight on the other side .

      Coal Tax . —To toast untaxed bread at a taxed Bre , or boil foreign mutton which has paid no duty on English coais > which have come under the exciseman , is the daily function of a London cook . — Times . A new sect of religionists si called , has sprung up in Yates county , New York , called " Sweezites , or Holy Rollers , " an appellation applied on account of their exercises being those of rolling upon the floor . Hints to Parbnts . —Lay it down us a rule never to smile , nor in any way show approval or merriment at any trait in a child which you should not wish to grow with its growth aud strengthen with iis strength .

      An Ikish postboy havma driven a gentleman a long- stage during torrents of rain , tbe gentleman said to him , " Paddy , are you not very wet ?""Arrah ! I don ' t care about baing very wet ; but , plaso your honour , I ' m very dry . " Happiness . —There are two ways of being happy . We may either diminish our wants or augment our means—either will do—tbe result is the same ; and it is for each man to decide for himself , and to do that which may happen to be tbe easier . Discovery of Copper Orb . —Near Julianohaab , in Greenland , an abundance of copper ore is reported to have been found on a level with the surface . Masses , of 200 lbs . to 300 lbs . weight , were rolled down the mountain , contaiug sixty per cent , of pure copper .

      A Saint Deposed , —Dr . Culleu , who styles himself the "Primate of all Ireland , " has formally deposed Saint Patrick , and announces that the Synod of Thuries have agreed that the Blessed Virgin is in future to take his place as the patron saint of Ireland . What next ? Marriage . — "Ven you ' re a married man , Sammy , you'll understand a great many things as you dou ' t understand now ; but vether it ' s vorth vhile goin ' through so much to learn so little , as the charity hoy said ven he got to the end of the alphabet , is a matter o' taste . I think it isn ' t . " A Bao Bargain . —A Highland horse-dealer who lately effected a sale , was offered a bottle of porter to coufess the animal's failings . The bottle was drunk , and he then said the horse had but two faults . When turned loose ia the field , he was "bad to catch , " and he was " of no use when caught . "

      To Parents and Guardians . — The thinnings ot a rough young birch-wood are on sale . Also a cargo of bamboos , just arrived from the Mauritius . Tawse , of superior leather , with the ends of the tails carefully burnt , are also constantly on sale . Apply at Floggum Hall , Clapliami— C ' omk Almanack , Extraordinary Fackalty Discoveries . —lis been discuvard at a sarvanflass can hear t ' saand ov hur sweetheart ' s whissal rannd t ' corners a fifteen hausrs , an t fall ov biz fooit t'length ov a street . Its heen discuvard abasarvtmt lass nivver forgats when it wor her Sunday aght . Its been discuvard at a prentis lad can get ajht a bed sooiner on a Sunday morning then onny uther morning it week beside . Its been discuvard at a prentis lad can see ta polish hiz breikfast , when he caant see ta polish hiz maister ' s booits .

      Its been discuvard at a missis is reddyer c callin a sarvant lass aght a bed , then shoo iz e callin hur ta go to it . Its been discuvard at a maister naws t'lastday it week better then he naws t'last time at hiz wife wor in a draper ' s shop . —jPoomoor 0 ? mcnacfc . A Postscript . —The most striking illustration of the saying "that the pith of a lady ' s letter is the postscript , " which we ever heard of , was that of a young lady who , having gone out to India and writing home to her friends , concluded in these words : — " You will see by my signature ihat I cmh married . "

      Nightmare . —The expression " nightmare is , Sir William Temple says , from Mara , in oid Runic , who was a goblin said to seizu upon sleeping iuen , and lake from them speech and motion ; for in those days medical science had not m » . Je it plain to every one , as it has now , that the goblin in question is simply indigestion . CfTi Reform . —We sro told in tha papers ihafc thecoiincil-room of the Mansion House wants ventilating . This is not the only room for improvement , we are afraid , in the Mansion House ; for , if you ask u- . we think that lhe whole system of management thpi ia pursued U-ure , and iu uther ofnees ol \\ v ,- corporation , stands in the greatest need of ventilation . — Ihmch .

      A Faulk . —Dr . Paris has just heen with mo . Pulsa languid ; he has prescribed a tonic . He talked of the folly of patients prescribing for themselves , and quoted a fable ot Camerarius . An ass laden with salt was crossing a brook ; the water diluted the salt , and lightened the burden . He ccimnimicated his discovery to a brother donkey laden with wool . The latter tried _ the same experiment , and found his load double iu weight . -- James Smith ' s Memoirs . Irish Humour . —Mr . Curran once passed through Pill Lane ( the Billings / rate of Dublin ) , when he was addressed by " Ilappy Jack" ( a drunken fellow well known there ) : " llillo , counshellor dear \ here ' s a mighty fine sammon . "—Mr . Curran wii 3 notajudge of fish , but he understood that , to be good , it should not be limber . " Why , Jack , the fish is not stiff 1 " — "No , my jewel , " was the reply , " no more will you be ' till you re dead . 'Tis because the salmon ' s alive that ' tis so beautiful and limber !"

      The Fast Day . —That reminds me of what happened to mo , going up in a boat : —It was a Friday , and the dinner , as you may suppose , was not very good , but there was a beautiful cut of salamn just before me . about a pound and a half , maybe two pounds ; this I slipped quietly on my plate , observing' to the company , in this way— " Ladies and sentlemfn , this is fast day with me , " —when a b-g felloe , « ith bi # whisker-., stooped across the table , cut my bit offish in two halves , calling out as he carried off one— "Bad scran to ye , d ' ye think nobody has , a sowl to be saved but yourself ?"—Jack Hint on .

      Queer Reading . — A clergyman in Massachusetts , more than a century ago , addressed a letter to the General Court on some subject of interest which wa- ) then under discussion . The clerk read the letter , iu which there seemed to be this very remarkable sentence : — " I address ycu , not as magistrates , but as Indian devils . " The clerk hesitated and looked carefully , and said— "Yes , he addresses you as Indian devil ? , " The wrath of the honourable body was aroused ; they passed a vote of censtue , ami wrote to the reverend gentleman for an explanation , from which it appeared that he did not address them as magistrates , Out as individuals .

      Wai . ki . vo oNa Ceiling . — Some interest has been excited in Pittsburg by the performance of Mr . iVl'Cormick , who walks bead downwards , on ( or rather under ) a slab of polished marble , to which his feet attach themselves , as he asserts , by atmospheric pressure . He made some six or seven steps , the slab being only under nine feet long . This experiment is said to be tbe result of many years of research and labour , and involving philosophical principles , though shoes are used , it is stated , with mechanical contrivances in imitation of the fleet of flies , which insects have heretofore been tho solo performers of this kind of gymnastics . A large number of prominent citizens witnessed this and other expeiimetits of his , upon the discoveries of others . They resolved that Mr . M'Cormick be requested to deliver a public course of lec . urcB in Pittsburg , and itiat the meeting pledge themselves to assist him in lhe prosecution of his scientific researches . —Monti ea I Courier .

      Fatal Uenbkosity . —The negro preachers are often marked by t : reat shrewdness and mother-wit ; and will not only point tbe truth , but barb it so that , if once in , it will stick fast . One of these was once descanting with much earnestness on the different ways in vi \ v , cli i ? . en lose ibeir souls . Under one head of remaik he » aid that men often lose their souls thvou » h exce .-5-ive generosity . " What ! " he exclaimed , " stm tell me you never heavd i- tf that beforr . You say , minister often ttlls us we lose our

      souls for our slingine .-s , and for being covetous ; but who ever-heard ef a man that h . urt hiisaself by going too far t ' other way ? 1 tell you how they do it . They sit down under the sermon , and when the preacher touches upon this sin or that sin , they no take it to themselves , but give this part of the sermon to one brother , and that part to another brother . And so they giveaway the whole sermon , and it do thorn no good . Ai-uthats' the way they lose their soiti-a by being too generous . " *— Christian Treasury .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 27, 1851, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_27121851/page/3/