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Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th December 1851, Edition 1 of 2, Page 3

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      Untitled Article

      0 OS THE LATE COUP D'ETAT . Hoose thy hell-bounds , mau of blood , ^ at not against the foe-, rJnst those who in thy quarrel stood $ ob three short yairsago ; » rafost harmless burghers , -whom the hum nf marching troops or beating dram Brines back to peaceful homes , or calls ^ wi ndows and soon batter'd walls A , ' gainst some unoffending passer-by , i SaW » u thyland > the grave of hberfcy « Brio » forth the prisoners!—never wait W bind their streaming ejes : what matter how they meet their fate ?— . Corse on yon women ' s cries ! 1 Vow fire , my «? en » nor 8 t 0 P y ° mirth—Sweep the Socialists from earth ! Yar better they should piecemeal lie Tban trouble our " h « manity 1 " To tbese the triumphs of thy murderous crew , ™ u reckless , ruthless chief , ungrateful and untrue .

      Brin * forth the pr isoners , men of mark , "Who well have played their part—1 iray with them to duugeon dark , Handcuffed in prison cart : Stifled and starred in crowded room , There let them ponder on their doom , ¦ ffhile anguish'd wife and children wait To near their step approach the gate . ^ Hd this the ' courteous Prince , who smirk'd and bowed , ± n& won with honeyed lies the praises of the ciowd !

      ¦ tfaa't not enough with lawless zeal , Through many a vile intrigue , 'Ga inst men who loved their country's weal , 3 Ior hated thee , to league , Bnt tbou mast tarnish Freedom ' s name jfith sanguine deeds of needless shame ? ¦ fltoare is thy foes' pretended plot , Ihe shadowy mask of many a shot I Oh ! had they but that strength , it soon were shown , lad we would own thy truth , hurled from thy blood-stain'd throne !

      5 sad , when raised by high desires Abore law ' s level plain , gome mighty spirit of earth aspires > ' o rightful heights to gain ; let , while we mourn his ill-starr'd aim , TVe grant the unwilling meed of fame ; And wisdom , virtue , once were known To flourish ' neath a tyrant's throne : Sat these were men to whom a land might how , And scarcely feel her Bhame—alas ! how different tbou !

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

      Bat thee , nor Freedom ' s sacred cause , To noblest souls a snare , 5 o majesty of outraged laws , i ' or e'en a bold despair , Bat heartless lust of power or pelf HaB rais'd awhile above thyself , And there thou sitt ' st , uncheer'd alone , A bloody cordon round thy throne Toy only passport to that post of shame A cheated nation ' s chill—a soilM ancestral name Xotours to prophecy tbv fate :

      Bat 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 Tebtmwling scorn , ( Thy borrow ' d cloak once 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 , hiethee 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 lank'd by a new and loving baud , While aot of this we dreamed : God help thee , prostrate ' neath the rule Of daring knave and willing tool ! Xor let some foe thy discord view , And tong-Tepress'd attack . 8 renew ; Unlike our Isle , who mourns her sister ' B fall , And this , the darkest , vilest , saddest scene of all . J . E . B . From the Spectator

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      Scenes from Italian Life . By L . AlABlOin London : Newby . Tiie author of this book is well known to the public by his ' Italy : Past and Present ; * a work which lias taken a high position on account of the oxtenBive reading and observation , combined -with a keen judgment and powerful style , which pervades It . Mariotti , like Kossuth , has mastered theEnglish language , and TOitos it with fluency , freedom , and force . In the volume before us he has passed from historv 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 ¦ ri gorous 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 knowled ge of Italian life , conveyed in an unrestr ained , aud , at the same time , terse style . She first sketch is entitled * Jacopo Ruffini , '

      the name of a Piedmontese who committed Enicide in prison for his connexion with the a £ » : r of 1833 . The talo in its telling resem-Wes « The Last Days of a Condemned ; ' and is snpj osed to be a journal of Ruffini ' s feelings any thoughts in prison , with glimpses of the criminal procedure of Charles Albert ' s Ministers . ' Slontenero * is another piece on a similar subject . It is the supposed autobiography oi an Italian of genius and spirit , who , finding all avenues of high distinction closed against h « n in Italy , conspires , is exiled , wanders over the world in search of excitement or a neld lot

      Ins energies ; in despair becomes a monk of St . Bernard , but finds that , * except perhaps thedarlingdogs . thelifeiscommon . placeenough on a closer inspection . He is finally supposed to have joined the Milanese or Piedmontese army in 1848 , and fallen at the Bridge of Goito . * Savelli * seems designed to illustrate the effi -eta of celibacy en a conscientious Romish Priest . It is skilful and powerful as a tale , and infaddition to a knowledge of the human heart , displays an acquaintance with tbe coarser manners of the Roinish priesthood . Marcella * is a clever sketch of the

      Jguoranfc superstition of the peasantry , and the equally ignorant sceptism of the town Eer ving maid ; as ' NataleFerroni' exhibits * he latter kind of bravado in a dissipated student or « fast' fellow ; while both are Chicles for painting Italian manners in the respective classes of society to which the actors belong . * Anguissola' is the tale of a ni au whose reason is lost with the loss of his betrothed , through the interference of to

      ™ e family confessor : it seems designed "enounce the influence which the priesthood Kereise in / amilies especially of weak and G annon-p lace persons . There are a few other £ fe » ries with a less definite purpose , though ^ exhibitive of Ital y ; and a powerfully" ^ Jiten tale of 'seduction / the scene cf *"' cu iH laid at some German conrt . In all that Mariotti does , he is separated from the c ° mmon tale-writer by the possession of a Purpose .

      . As a seasonable extract from this interest-JE hook , we take from the iaieoi ' Jfatale ¦ tpiT oni , ' a description of the Christmas «« img ht mass in Italy . Premising that a jpectre appears to the hero of the story " on ^ nnatmas EYe , and converts Mm from a disrated- student into a respectable man . '

      Untitled Article

      Protestant novelists , especially those of the Rook " wood and Tower-of-London sohool have made the most of the awful solemnities of . those midnight nigh masses . To read them one would fancy thai mass is never said but at midnight ; at least that mass w said every nighf at that witching time throughout the Catholic world . It may have been 80 , for aught I know or care , in the good , bid 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 : and that , far from having any of the harrowing non-ore 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 .

      Mass , it must be kept in mind , is daily bread to many a poor priest of the lowest classes . The mourning ceremonies of the holy week , which for eight-and-forty hours swathe up in black hangings all the altars in Catholic Christendom , have the effect of robbing thosa poor starvelings of their customary feBS . Stopping their mass is actually cutting off their subsistence ; and it is with a view to indemnify them for the losses they have to sustain at the Easter season , that a bountiful church

      allows them to celebrate three masses instead of one on the Feast of the Nativity , and pays them accordingly . The first of these masses is said at midnight , the second at early dawn , the last at noon on Christ mas-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 the church is left vacant for them ; anyhow , anywhere , whereever a pair of yellow tapers may be stuck up and a ( nissal opened .

      Two out of the three performances before alluded to are , properly speaking , only mook masses or re * hearsals . Inasmuch as the mass is nothing but a communion service , and as the sacrifice implies the strictest faat , 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 . " Sow the midnight high mass on Cbristmas-eve is said in eyery-oneof the eighty-four parish-chuvchea of the city of Parma , to say nothing of abbeychurches , oratorios , and private chapels ; and at

      every mass the bagpipe tunes are generally played on the organ . Still there is nothing like the bagpipe tunes on the organ at the Santassima 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 . la 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 of the 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 of the rival gloomier fraternities to exercise an equal monopoly over the tragedy of Passion week and the construction of the Santo Sepolcro .

      The performance of Christmas devolves upon them ; and an egregious pantomime they do make of it . The Presepio at the Santisaimi 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 the 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 : their 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 I may testify 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 the gazing audience amidst the joyous strains of the piping organ ; and is then made to go the

      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 flashed 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 ttie 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 , Carly-beaded , plump , and found—Take it , brother , pass it round . '

      Such is the prelude to the midnight mass on Christmas-eve . In the tale of « Savelli' wo get the following 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 hare , or had , the Chapter Coffee-house , a ' house of call' for divines who work by 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 . Rome may , most -undoubtedly , be looked upon as the Eden of priests ; only of those priests , however , who have interest enoug h 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 donblachinned canons and deacons ; but lean masses . and shabby funerals , wrangling and squabbling , heartburning expectation , squalor and sheer starvation for an innumerable rabble of unbeneficed shave-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 ( bettolini ) and lottery-offices besteghini del lotto ) in every city in Italy—and no less tban a hundred in Rome alone-where Christ is sold to the highest bidder . Masses , processions , and other windfalls of the Mostly trade , are there accurately reported , put up for competition , and their respective merits deligentlv weighed and sifted . There are reverend mass- ' brokers , wholesale and . retail dealers in benedictions , matins , and vespers . The bargains are struck over a salted tartine and a glass of strong waters . Happy the man who , by obtaining early information is able to forestall his brethren and ceeure the highest- fees . He may afterwards be able to make over his minor engagements , to

      dispose of them 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 r pocketfull of Misereres at three pauls , and le Deums at a teatone . He will overreach himself sometimes , nevertheless ; drop a good bone tojamp * Such anTttie sayings and doings of the lower clergy in Rome ; such the pious devices and [ practices for the continuation of which the Catholic world will henceforth be indebted to the Crusaders and Paladins of the successor of Cuarleir . ajrne the fated interpreter of Xapoleoman ides-the 'Nephew ° pio Nono ' 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 e . lifice .. He « now happily restored , with a eoroohon f » t any attempt at repair is sure to bring down the whole

      fabric about his ears . . „ , „_ .=. It may or may not have survived the reforming velleities of that amiable Pope ; it may ovm $ j not have withstood the blast of Republican storms ; but in the good golden times of Oregory ihe Sixteenth , and precisely towards the close oi his pontificate , one of the 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 hadmoreappropriately nicknamed the bettolino' of Judas Iscariot , Such is the mass of corruption , obscenity , selfishness , oppression , and demoralisation , which the p riestshavecontrivedtomanufacture out of the mission of Him who came to preach ' Peace on Earth , and Good-will towards Men !'

      Untitled Article

      Household Words . London : Office , Wellington-street . Charles Dickens has disapp ointed us by not giving us his usual Christmas tale this year . In lieu thereof , we must put up with the ^ extra number for Christmas' of his ' HousehoJdWords , ' . intendedto whatthattrulyEiigh 8 h festival is to everybody . It overflows with the spirit of the season , and is provocatm , of gentle and kindly thoughts and words ,, and of Lpitabledeeds ; Cheap though . the-pjno * . oolis , we might do manythfog * less appro-

      Untitled Article

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

      day , wanders forth to give the finishing touch to them on Christmas Eve , and is accosted by Mr . Aminadab , an officer of the Sheriff : appeals to friends produce the usual unsatisfactory result , and after a short stay at Mr . Blowman's in Cursitor-street , the captive resolves to proceed to Whitecrossstreet at once , rather than pay the high charges of the hostil kept by that worthy functionary . Mr . Prupper is on his progress topriaon .

      I had already been three hours in captivity , and it was getting on for eight o ' clock . The cab was proceeding along Holborn , 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 crowd and cursing the 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 CJuba were being held at toe 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 desl more " standing" than was consistent with the strict rules oi 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 Mathetr . Loud laughter rang through the frosty air . Pleasant jokea , innocent " chaff , " passed j 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 Bhouting , I was 3 till 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 nhom he shared a pot of porter , " with the sharp edge taken off . " There are heavy hearts—heavier purchance than yours , in London this Christmas Eve , my friend Prupper , thought I . To-morrow ' s dawn will bring sorrow and faint-heartednesa to many thousands—to oceans of humanity , of which you are but a single drop . The cab had conveyed me through Smithueldmarket , and now rumbled up Barbican . My 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 had captured a Doctor of Divinity going to a Christmas , a bridegroom starting for the honeymoon , a Colonel of Hussars in full fig for her Majesty ' B 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 Spolaceio , in the famou 3 tragedy of " Love , Ruin , and Revenge , " he , Crabstick , permitted him , in deference to the interests of the drama , to play the part out , stationing an assistant at each wing to prevent escape . That the

      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 the stage and explained his position , to the audience , whereupon the gallery ( Wix being an especial favourite of theirg ) expressed a strong desire to have his ( Crabstick's ) blood ; and , failing to obtain that , tore up the benches ; in the midsl 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 dirtv street ; was hurried up a steep flight

      of steps ; a heavy door clanged behind me ; an < l 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 svt a Christmas party . Christmas morning in Whitecross-street Prison A turnkey conducted me to the " Middlesex side " —a long dreary yard—on either side of which were doors leading into wards , or coffee-rooms , on the

      ground floor , and , by stone-staircases , to sleeping apartments above . It was all very cold , very dismal , very gloomy . 1 entered tho 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 prisonera and their friends were sitting at the tables , smoking pipes , drinking beer , or reading newspapers . But for tho unmistakeablo gaol-bird look about the majority of the guests , the unshorn faces , the slipshod feet , tho barred windows , and the stone floor , I mi » bthave fancied myself in a large tap-room .

      There was holly and mistletoe round the caspipes ; 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 nov the appearance of free beef and pudding-. I was thinking of the cosy room , the snug fire , the well-drawn curtains , the glittering table , tho happy faces , when the turnkey introduced me to the steward of the ward ( an officer appointed by the prisoners , and a prisoner himself ) who "tables you off , " i . 6 ., who allotted roe a Beat at one of the cross-tables , which was henceforward mine for all purposes of eating , drinking , writing , or smoking ; 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 co ' -ked .

      I sauntered forth into tho yard , and _ passed fifty or sixty fellow-unfortunates , sauntering as listlessly as myself . "Strolling about , I came to : t large grating , somewhat similar to Mr . Blowman ' s bird cage , in which waa a heavy gate called the "lock , " and which communicated with the cor . ridors leading to the exterior of tbc prison . Here sat , calmly surveying his caged birds within , a turnkey—not a repulsive , ^ ruff-voiced monster , with a red neckerchief and top boot ? , and a bunch of keys , as turnkeys are popularly supposed to bebutapleasant jovial man enough , inslee ' ; black , lie

      had a little lodge behind , where a bright fare 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 hung to the iron bars above hiro . intheahapeofamagnlSeenlpieeeofheef ' . Hnppr turnkey , to be able to eat it on the outer side of that dreadful gratins ! In another part of tho yard hung a large black board , inscribed in half effaced characters , with the enumerations of Hirers 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 ; ind beer , what was unlimited tobacco , or even the plum puddine , when made from prison plums , boiled in a prison copper , and eaten in a prison dining room ? ^ hat though surreptitious gin " were carried in , in bladders , beneath the under garments of the fairer portion of the creation ; what thou ? U brandy were smuggled into the wards , disguised as black draughts , or extract of sarsaparilla ? A pretty Christmas market I had brought my pigs to ! down too late

      Chapel was over ( I had come from the " Reception" to attend it ); and the congregation ( a lamentably small one ) dispersed in the yard and ward * I entered my own ward , to change ( if anything could changeU he dreary scene Smoking and cooking appeared to be the chief employments and recreations of the prisoners . An insolvent clereyman , in rusty black , was gravely rolling out puff-paste on a pie board ; and p man in his shirt sleeves , covering a veal cutlet w th egg and bread-crum , was an officer of drapoons . I found no lack of persons willing to enter into conversation with me . I talked fall t ^ ntv minutes with a seedy captive , with a white head , and a coat buttoned and pinned up to the chin . Whitecross-stTeet , he told me ( or Buvdon s Hotel , as in the prison slang he called it ) , was the only place where any "life" was to be seen . The Fleet was pu lled down ; the Maren alsea had gone the way of all brick-and-mortar ; the Queen s Prison , the old " Bench , " was managed on a strict system of classification , and general discipline : and Horsemon ^ er Lane was but rarely tenanted by debtors ; bufc in favoured Wlntecrossstreet , the good old features of imprisonment lov debt yet flourished . Good dinners were still occasionally given : "fives" and football were yet played ; and , from time Mo time , obnoxious attorneys , or importunate process-servers— l'a « .. ae fhev were called-were pumped upon , floured , and horinetted . Yofc , even Whiteecossrstreet , he said

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      with a 8 igh , was falling off .- The Small Debts Ac and those revolutionary County Courta would be too many for it soon . That tall , robust , bushy-whiskered man , ( he said ) in the magnificently-flowered dressing-gown , thecrimBon Turkish Bmoking-cap , the velvet slippers , and the ostentatiously displayed gold guardchain , was a " mace-man ; " an individual who lived on his wits , and on the want of wit in others . He had had many names varying from Plantagenet andDeCourcy , to " Edmonston ahd 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 had 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 Stook Exchange , and a little billiardmarking , and a little skittle-sharping , and a little thimbleri gging . 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 bad broadly hinted to be like a bill-stealing one . However , ho had wonderful elasticity , and it was to be hoped would soon get over his ' little ' difficulties . Aloanwhile , he dined sumptuously , and smoked oigars of price ; occasionally condescending to toaa half-crowns in a hat with any of the other " nobs " incarcerated . .

      -that cap ,, and the battored 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 . He was brought up by an old maiden aunt , who spent her savings to buy him a commission in the army . He went from Slowchester 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 them . So the old denouement of the old story came round as usual . Tho 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 the 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 eight thousand a year , and to stop in prisou because lie likes it—though , to say the truth , this baronet looked as if he did ' nt like u at all .

      1 was sick of all these , and of everything else in Wbitecross-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 Cbristmas-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 tho extreme west of England ; for my impatience made me take advantage , during a calm in tho 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 lelp to one of the heavy oars ; and no sooner had we touched the ground , than , throwing myself into tho 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 tho 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 new object of admiration , above all , tho healthful fresh cheeks of the people ; especially the sturdy , yet delieatecomplexiontd 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 firet 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 ifc made my heart bleed . I gave to all , so that tho man who drove mo 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 nightmare . Tho signs of wealth , the conveniences provided for every imaginable want , were very strange to mo , fresh from a country where ablebodied labour was always in demand , while a man thought himself equal to the longest journey , through an untrodden country , with a blanket , and a tinpot for all his furniture , and all his cooking apparatus . t .

      _ When I called in the landlord of the Inn to consult 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 hud 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 when , with a fearful sound of labouring

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

      Tho 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 different view of life to anything I had yet heard . All along my road through England I had been struck by the prosperous condition of the well-to-do people 1 had mot in first-class carriages . His occupation , his glory , was departed ; he was obliged to doanytliing , and wear anything , ' instead of his once smart

      costume , and once pleasant occupation—instead of hia gay jacket , and rapid ride , and handsome presents from travellers , and good dinners from landlords . In doleful spirits , iio had a score of tales to tell of others worse off than himself—of landlords , of postina-houses in the workhouse , and smart four-inhand coachmen begging their bread—of farmers sunk down to labourers ; and other doleful stories of the fate of those who were 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 . _ . . . ....... __ 3 comforts which taxes and

      Tho luxuries and turnpikes buy , are well worth the cost to those who can pay 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 spiritB died away . The proud consciousness of having conquered fortune , the beauty of tbo winter scenery ( for winter , with it ' s hoar frost shading the trees and foliage , has strange dazzling beauty to the eyes of those who have been accustomed to the one perpetual green-brown of semitropical Australia ) had filled me full to overflowing with boundintrjoyousness . 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 clo . uds of mist that rolled from the sweating horses . But the deceyed postilion ' s stories of misery , in

      which he seemed to revel damped me . My pipe w ; nt out , and " mygchin sunk despondingly on my breast . At length I asked , " Did ho know the Barnards ? " " Oh , yes , he knew them all . Mr . John had been very lucky with the railroad through one of his farms . He had ridden a pair at Miss Margaret ' s wedding , and driven a mourning coach at Miss Mary ' s funeral . The mare in the gig had belonged to Mr . John , and had been a rare good hunter . Mr , Robert had doctered hfm for his rheumatics . " Did he know any more ? " "Oh , yes , there was Master Charles ; ne went abroad somewhere tofurren parts . Some people say he ' s dead , got killed , or bung , or something ; and some say he ' s made a power of money . He was a wild slip of a lad , Many a time he 8 been out in the roads with someone 1 knowvftry well , snaring hares and smoking of pheaeants . There ' s ft mark on my forehead new , where I fell , when ho put a

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      furze bush under the tail of a colt I was breaking RiSttiiiS ^ 9 Urely ' " TnereTas Sefy a kind feeling m the poor man ' s breast . The loss of his occupation , poverty , and drink , had sadly changed the fine country lad , barely ten years older than myself , whom I had left behind in England . So turniog , I said , " Well Joe , you don't seem to remember me ; I am CharleB Barnard . " " Lord , sir , " he answered , in a whining tone " " I beg your pardon . , You are a great gentleman ; I alwayi thought you would be . So you are going to dine with Mr . John ? Well ,. sir , I hope you won't forget a Christmas-box , ' for old acquaintance sake ?" We wish that our next extract referred to earth , and not to Fairy Land .

      THE ROUND OAUB OF THK CHRI 8 IMA 8 BOWB . _ [ This Hound Game , which comes , originally , from Fairy-Land , is thus played . Tbe Pool of the game is a oapacious circular bowl , or baain , made of ice . It is some sixty or seventy feet in circumferenoe , and all round the rim there is . stuck a hedge of holly-boughs , in full berry , interspersed with coloured lamps and silver belh . Everybody who is inspired by Christmas festivities comes to put into the Pool . He is to put in something which is hia pride . In doing this he generally throws in something which ia equally his trouble ; and thus , by doing a generous aoc at Christmas , in throwing away hia pride , he at the same time gets rid of one of his worst troubles . ]

      ttfte mtmt : Hero ia a Pool , all made of iee , 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 shingle . Who comes first ?— 'Tis the King , I deolare , With the crown in his hand , and the frost in his hair ! Close to the Pool he brings hia crown , And tosBea it o ' er the holly 1 So , away to the bottom goes all his pride , And his royal melancholy ; While gingle ! tinkle ! gingle !

      How the sweet bells ring ! And round about the li ghted Fool We gambol , dance , and sing I Who comeB 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 ! gingle ! How the sweet bells ring ! " And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing I 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 tho 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 Round Game we will come ; Let us throw away our fashions , And—for once— ' let ' s look at home !' IJ While ginglo ! tinkle . ' gingle ! How the sweet bells ring ! And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing I But who comes now ? 'Tis the Bishop in his carriage , Whose shoulders bear the 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 siok and dim Oh , the pangs of breeding money !—His loan nutters o'er the brim ! With gingle ! tingle ! gingle ! How the sweet bells ring ! As round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , and sing I

      Who ia 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 arc loosed—They fly o'er the holly fence ! Next , a Lawyer , with his costs-Making full a thousand pounds , With a score of breaking hearts , And live years of waste and wounds . His face is cold and wretched—" His life i 8 but a span—A red tape-worm , at the best , Ia a black coat stuffd with bran : He tosses o ' er his bill of costs !—He is quite another man ! Witu gingle ! tinkle ! gingle ! How the swoefc bells ring ! And round about the lighted Pool We gambol , dance , aDd sing ! The Merchant brings his bargain , Which would beggar half n town ;—The Schemer shows a " spec , " Bufc deserves each good man ' s frown ;—The Scholar brings his book , Whei'e his soul , all moulting , lies ;—The Poet brings his laurel And his castle in the skiea ;—The Lover brings his mistress Who has treated him with scowl ;—The Shepherd brings his favourite lamb , W \\ h its cttvly fleece vmshoxn ;—All these into the Pool Are cast , with various smarts , As valued Christmas Offerings , Inspired with Christmas hearts ! While gingle ! tinkle ! gingle I 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 tlie 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 Offering 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 exhausted , and fall into a delightful reverie ; while the melted Pool overflows , and floats every one of them to his home , as he seems to lie in a mother-of-pearl boat , with a branch of holly at tho prow , and a coloured lamp amidst the green leaves and red berries . Each one , soon after , recovers hia senses just enough to find himself lying comfortably in bed , and listening to the waits \]

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      A voxaAR Yankee Catholic is so fond of a wink , ing Madonna over there that he calls her a " cailvasa-backed duck ! , ' *'—Punch . A Scotchman has left on record this important aphorism— " Lore and sheep's-head broth effectually impair a man ' s appetite . " A clock never lies go much as when it stands , Tue reverse of this takes place in Common Law , for there an fiction never stands so well a 3 when it Uts . . Dissimulation . —No man , for any considerable period , cim wear ene face to himself , and another to the multitude , without finally gettiog bewildered as to which may be the truer . , Vitriol and Soda —The annual consumption of sulphuric acid ( oil of vitriol ) in Great Britain , is estimated at 70 , 000 tons . The quantity of sod * manufactured is computed at 200 , 000 tons .

      An Embrace . —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 iittle hugging makes people ! Irritating . —Alter rolling all night in your berth at sea till you are mi « erably sick , to have a steward open your door in the morning and ask you if you will have Afresh roll for breakfast . Figurative . —A late philosopher says , before people take the leap through the wedding ring , they should be quite certain that the blanket of connubial contentment ia held tight on the other side . Coai- Tax . —To toast untaxed bread at a taxed fire , or boil foreign mutton which has paid no duty on English coats which have come under the excise * man , is the daily function of a London cook . — Times .

      A new sect of religionists so called , has sprung up ia Yates county , New York , called " Swcezitee , or Holy Rollers , " an appellation applied on account of their exercises being those of rolling upon the floor . Hikts to Parbnts .- —Lay it down as a rule never to smile , nor in any nay show approval or merriment at any trait in a child which you should not wish to grow with its growth and strengthen with its strength . An Irish postboy having driven a gentleman a long stage during torrents of rain , the gentleman said to him , " Paddy , are you not very wet ?"" Arrah ! i don't care about being very wet ; bat , plase your honour , I ' m very dry . " Happiness . —There are two ways of being happy . We may either diminish our wants or augment onr means—either will do—the result is the same ; and it is for each man to decide for himself , and to do that which may happen to be the easier .

      Discov « ry of Copper Obb . —Near Julianohaab , in Greenland , an abundance of copper ore ia re * ported to have been found on a level with the surface . Masses , of 200 lbs . to 800 lbs . weight , were rolled down the mountain , containg sixty per cent , of pure copper . A Saist Deposed . —Dr . Cullen , who styles himself the " Primale of all Ireland , " has formally deposed Saint Patrick , and announces that the Synod of Thurles 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 don ' t understand now ; but vether it ' s vorth vhile goin * through so much to learn so little , as the charity boy said ven he got to the end of the alphabet , is a matter o' taste . I think it isn ' t . "

      A Bad Bargain . —A Highland horse-dealer who lately effected a sale , was offered a bottle of porter to confess the animal's failings . The bottle was drunk , and he then said the horse had but two faults . When turned loose is the field , he waa "bad to catch , " aud he was " of no use when caught . " To Pautjnts and Guahduns . — The thinnings of 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 , Clapham . —ComU Almanack , Extraohdinary Fackaltv Discuveries . —Its been discuvard at a sarvant lass can hear t ' saand oy hur sweetheart's whis « al raand i ' cornera a fifteen haws , an't fall ov hiz fooit t'length ov a street . Its been discuvard at a sarvant lass nivver forgats when it wor her Sunday aent .

      ics Seen cttscuvard ax & pventis lid can get a » at a bed aooiner 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 caanfc see ta polish hiz maister ' s booits . Its been discuvard at a missis is reddyer e callin a savvant lass aght a bed , then shoo iz e callin hur ta go to it . Itsbeen discuvard at a waister naws t'lastday it week better then he naws t'last time at hiz wife wor iu a draper ' s shop . —Pogmoor Olmenack . A Postscript . —The most striking illustration of the saying " that ihe 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 zoill see I }/ my signature that I mm married . "

      Nightmare . —The expression " nightmare" is , Sir William Temple says , from Mara , in old Runic , who was : v goblin said to seize upon sleeping men , and take from them speech and motion ; for in those days medical science had not made it plain to every one , as it has now , that the goblin in question is simply indigestion . City IIupoiiu . —We are told in the papers that thecouncil-i-oom 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 the whole system of management thac is pursued there , and in other offices of the corporation , stands in the greatest need of ventilation . — Punch .

      A Fable . —Dr . Paris lias juafc befn with me . Pulse 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 si brook ; the water diluted the salt , and lightened the burden , tie communicated his discovery to a brother donkey laden with wool . The latter tried the same experiment , and found his load double in weight . —James Smith ' s ihmoirg . Irish Humour . —Mr . Curran once passed through Pill Lano ( the Billingsgate of Dublin ) , when he -was addressed by " Happy Jack" ( a drunken fellow well known there ); " Hillo , counshellor dear ' . here ' s a mighty fine sammon . "—Mr . Curran was not a judge of fish , but he understood that , ts be good , it should not be limber . " Why , Jack , the fish is not stitt !" — "No , my jewel , " was the reply , " no more will rou be ' till vou ' re dead . 'Tis because the salmon ' s

      alive that ' tis so beautiful and Umber ' . " The Fast Day . —That reminds me of what happened to me , 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 salmon just before me , about a pound and a half , maybe two pounds J this 1 slipped quietly on my plate , observing- to the company , in this vray— " Ladies and gentlemen , this is fast day with me , "—when a b'g fellow , with big whiskers , stooped across the table , cut my bit offish in two halves , calling out ashe carried off one—" Bail scran to ye , d ' ye think nobody ha ^ a sowl to be saved but yourself ?"—Jack Jlinfon . Queer Reading . — A clergyman in Massachusetts , more than a century ago , addressed a letter to the General Court on some subject of interest which was then under discussion . The clerk

      read the letter , in which there seemed to bo this very remarkable sentence : — " I address you , not . as magistrates , but as Indian devils . ' The clerk hesitated and looked carefully , and said—" Yes , he addresses you as Indian devils , " The wrath of the honourable " uody was aroused ; they passed a vote of censure , and wrote to the reverend gentleman for an explanation , from which it appeared that lie did not address them as magistrates , but as individuals . Walkixo on a Ceiling . —Some interest haa been excited in Pittsburg by the performance of Mr . lvl'Cormick , who walks head 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 the 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 sole performers of this kind of gymnastics . A large number , of prominent citizens witnessed this and other experiments of his , upon the dissoveries of others . They resolved that Mr . M'Corraick be requested to deliver a public course oi lectures in Pittsburg , and that the meeting pledge themselves to assist him in the prosecution of his scientific researches . —Montreal Courier .

      Fatal Generosity . — The negro preachers are often marked by ureat shrewdness and mother-wit J and will not only point the truth , but barb it so that , if once in , it will stick fast . One of these was once descanting with much earnestuesa on the different ways in which inen . lose ibeir souls . Under . one head of remark he said Shut men often lose their souls through excessive generosity . " What !" he exclaimed , " you tell me you never heard of that before . You say , minister often tells us we lose our souls for our stiugmess , and for being coOetous ;

      but who ever heard of a man that lsurt himself by going too far t ' other'way ? > 1 tell you how they do it . They , sit down under the sermon , and when tbe pveacheAouchea upon-this sin or that sin , ' they no take it ' to themselves , but give this part of the ser-. mon ' to .-one brother , and that part to anobker brother . And so they give away tbe whole sermon , and it do them no good . ' Andthats' the way they lose their souls by being too generous . ' '— Ohriatian Treasury . 3

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      O ^ MBEK 2 V 1851 : ___ THE ! NQRTsM STAR . , -

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      M . KOSSUTK AND THE UNITED STATES SENATE . —A telegraphic message , via Boston , states that tho President's son , Mr . M . P . Fillrnore , waited upon M . Kossuth at the Irving House , and informed him that 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 ; tbe 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 Shkppakd . —A letter from New York states that there can be no doubt of the identity of the notorious Ceorge Hackett with the person who on the iJ 7 th of June last broke into the stores of Mr . Williams , of Newark , New Jersey , and stole from thence watches and jewellery to tbe value of 5 , 000 dollars . He was subsequently arrested in a house in Newr York , known as the Five Poiuts , 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 , wounding 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 lie seemed to have in his possession . It was found necessary to remove him to a now ceil every day , so frequent and ingenious were his attempts to ' break from prison . On being brought lip for trial he pleaded Guilty of the burglary , arid was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in tho State Prison , and two more for the attempt to escape . On bearing'his . sentehce- he . coolly requested- the judge to " put on the other-eight , so aato make the even twenty ;' His ^ ccoiBpliee waa sentenced to eleven years , andjbo ' th arc now in " snug quarters , " whieh . the gaoler , guarantees will" 11 hold them ^ tp eternity , if necessary . " .:. ¦ ,.,. . His Royal Highness Prince Albert has become ihe patron of the Royal Polytechnic Institution .

  • 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/vm2-ncseproduct1658/page/3/