other, when one or both of them fall, and not without some bodily hurt; and, even after the fall, are carried a great distance from each other by the rapidity of the motion, and whatever part of the head comes upon the ice, it is sure to be laid bare." The wooden skates shod with iron or steel, which are bound about the feet and ancles, like the talares of the Greeks and Romans, were most probably brought into England from the low countries, where they are said to have originated, and where it is well known they are almost universally used by persons of both sexes when the season permits. In Hoole's translation of the Vocabulary by Commenius, the skates are called scrick shoes, from the German, and in the print at the head of the section, they are represented longer than those of the present day, and the irons are turned up much higher in the front. Some modern writers have asserted, that "the metropolis of Scotland has produced more instances of elegant skaters, than, perhaps, any other country whatever, and the institution of a skating club, about forty years ago, has contributed not a little to the imI have, provement of this amusement." however, seen, some years back, when the Serpentine river in Hyde Park was frozen over, four gentlemen there, dancing, if I may be allowed the expression, a double minuet in skates, with as much ease, and I think more elegance than in a ball room; others again, by turning and winding with much adroitness, have readily in succession described upon the ice the form of all the letters of the alphabet. Sliding is likewise one of the diversions ascribed by Fitzstephen to the young men of London, but is at present very little practised except by children and such as cannot afford to purchase skates. As far as one can judge from his description of the sport, it differed not in the performance from the method used by the boys of our own time; but he adds another kind of pastime upon the ice that is not now in practice; his words are to this effect:-"Others make a seat of ice as large as a millstone, and having placed one of their companions upon it they draw him along, when it sometimes happens, that moving on slip. pery places, they all fall down headlong." Instead of these seats of ice, among the moderns, sledges are used, which being extended from a centre by means of a strong rope, those who are seated in them are moved round with great velocity, and form an extensive circle. Sledges of this kind were set upon the Thames in the time of a hard frost, at the commencement of the last century, as the following couplet taken from a song written upon See Strutt's Sports and Pastimes. Was three long moons in icy fetters bound. And rase with whiten'd tracks the slippery Here the fat cook piles high the blazing fire, FATHER' whose word has given all being birth, earth, Jehovah hallowed be that awful name, stay; For thine's the power to save the sons of men, J. E. LORD THURLOW was one day called on "You have such a February face, FEBRUARY is derived from Februa, a feast held by the Romans in this month in behalf of the manes of the deceased; when expiatory sacrifices were performed, and the last offices paid to the shades of the defunct. Our desolate-looking, but fine February design above strikes the mind with seasonable impressions, while to the eye it conveys the general appearances of this cold and cheerless month. The observa tions of that pleasant and admirable little volume, Time's Telescope, on February indications, are so justly made, that we are compelled to turn to its instructive pages. It is there noted, that "the weather, which is sometimes very severe throughout the month of February, is more often alternately cold and mild. In our variable climate, we one day experience all the rigidity of winter, and a genial warmth prevails the next; and, indeed, such changes are not unfrequently felt in the same day. If the season be mild, a walk in the garden will discover to us many pleasing objects; among these, the botanist and the admirer of nature's beauties will not consider the snowdrop and the crocus beneath his passing notice. "Towards the end of the month, in mild weather, the bloom-buds of the fruittrees may be seen to swell every day. "About the beginning of the month, the woodlark, one of our earliest and sweetest songsters, renews his note. The thrush now commences his song, and tomtits are seen hanging on the eaves of barns and thatched out-houses, particularly if the weather be snowy and severe. yellow-hammer and chaffinch are heard towards the end of the month." The The husbandman is now eager to commence the work of ploughing, which important business is finished in this month, if the weather permit. Early potatoes are set, hedges repaired, trees lopped, and wet lands drained. osiers, and other aquatics, are planted. Poplars, willows, Two brothers were amusing themselves, something in the style of William the conqueror's sons, by throwing water in each other's faces. The elder one took a true aim and seldom missed his mark; the younger one as constantly failed. At last he could bear it no longer, and cried out in great vexation, "I declare now, Frank, it's not fair; for see you are ever so much nearer to me than I am to you." NORFOLK Naval Column, intended to perpetuate the brilliant victories and fame of the gallant Nelson, stands near the middle of the Yarmouth Denes; and was erected by the contributions of his countrymen of Norfolk, under the direction of William Wilkins, esq., architect. The first stone was laid on the 15th of August, 1817, in the presence of a numerous assemblage of persons, by the honourable colonel Wodehouse, chairman of the subcommittee appointed to execute the work, and was completed in something less than two years. The order is that of the Grecian Doric, beautifully fluted, and ornamented above with the names of the ships on board of which the hero's flag was so valorously maintained; and beneath, with title inscriptions of his most celebrated victories. There is a flight of steps on each of the four sides of the pedestal; the top of which forms a prome. nade round the shaft. The roof is supported by caryatides, surmounted by a ball and figure of Britannia, finely cast, holding a trident and laurel wreath. The structure is composed of white Scottish marble. On the east side of the pedes tal are the names of the committee, architect, and others, engaged in the building. On the west is the following very elegant inscription in Latin, from the pen of Mr. Sergeant Frere, descriptive of the birth and exploits of the renowned admiral. Translation, HORATIO LORD NELSON, Whom, as her first and proudest champion in naval fight, Britain honoured while living with her favour, and when lost, with her tears. Of whom, signalized by his triumphs in all lands, the whole earth stood in awe on account of the tempered firmness of his counsels, and the undaunted ardour of his courage. This great man, Norfolk boasts her own, not only as born there' of a respectable family, and as there hay. ing received his early education, but her own also in talents, manners, and mind. The glory of so great a name, though sure long to outlive all monuments of brass and stone, his fellow-countrymen of Norfolk, have resolved to commemorate by this co lumn, erected by their joint contribu tions. He was born in the year 1758; entered on his profession 1771; and was concerned in nearly 150 naval engagements with the enemy. Being conqueror, among various other occasions, at Aboukir, August 1798; at Copenhagen, April 1801; and at Trafalgar, October, 1805. Which last victory, the crown of so many glorious achievements, he consecrated by a death equally mournful to The column is ascended by an easy flight of 217 steps, and the entire height is 144 feet. BAILIE NICOL JARVIE. SPIRIT OF THE Public Journals. THE CROSS OF THE SOUTH. PERHAPS there is no circumstance which more forcibly reminds a European traveller, when in the southern hemisphere, that he is at an immense distance from his native country, than the extraordinary alteration which he finds in the ap. pearance of the heavens, as surveyed upon a starlight night. Above him, are constellations of unparalleled beauty and brilliancy; but they are not those which he has been accustomed to contemplate, He can no longer observe the bright and glittering groups, which every country of the north designates by some familiar name, the stars which may be termed their own; they have all passed away, and in their stead are others perhaps more bright and more brilliant, but not those with which the eye of a European has been familiar, and therefore not so welcome to his sight. I remember, during the course of my voyage, when I first crossed the Equator, I used nightly to watch the stars which from my own home I had been accustomed to survey; I considered them as friends-I had learnt to designate them in my childhood, and those friends I had left behind could even then observe them as well as myself. I looked upon them as links, which in a manner connected me with home. They gradually sank near to the horizon night by night I saw them less and less, until at length I looked for them in vain. They had disappeared, and then not only the air, but even the firmament of heaven convinced me, that an immense distance separated me from the country of my birth. The southern celestial hemisphere is extremely dissimilar to the northern, not only in the grouping of the stars, but in its whole character. With us there is scarcely a portion of the firmament that is not studded thickly with stars, but in the southern hemisphere, there are large tracts or spaces of extreme blackness, in which no star appears. These black, unlighted spaces give a very peculiar and novel appearance to the brilliant constellations, whose effect is aided by the darkness. Amongst the southern constellations, no one is more beautiful than that called the Cross of the south, known to all the readers of St. Pierre's Paul and Virginia. titude 13; the weather had been cloudy When I first saw it, we were in about lafor several nights, but just before sunset, of the firmament was visible all night, the sky brightened, and the full beauty When the Cross is first seen, it is strongly inverted, but it gradually rises in the fir mament, until it becomes quite erect, Two stars of extreme brilliancy form the top and bottom of the Cross, and these having the same right ascension, the Cross is vertical when it passes the meridian; so that the time of night may always be told by noticing whether it inclines or not. The natives of the south frequently refer to it for this purpose, and amongst the Catholics, its holy form renders it an object of peculiar veneration. Most of our crew had seen it in fornier voyages, and it was a curious, and by no means unpleasant, sight to witness the joy with which they hailed its re-appearance, as if it were indeed an old friend. One man who had been bred a Catholic, immediately fell upon his knees, and muttered an ejaculation, at the same time devoutly In addition to our "Choice Extracts from New Works," we intend giving, from time, to time literary notices of important publications, and briefly acquaint our readers of the nature and character of the work from which we extract. We shall also occasionally allude to the literary novelties of the week; and in thus preserving an accurate feature of the general state of literature, we confidently presume we shall add an additional charm to our " MIRBOR of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction," while we present our readers with information both valuable and useful. SPECIMENS OF SACRED AND entitled Specimens of Serious and Sacred Poetry, consisting of judicious selections from the works of our greatest and best poets, and biographical sketches of their lives. A memoir of James Grahame, the author of a sacred poem, The Sabbath, possesses the charm of exciting the sympathy of the reader merely from the plain, unaffected, and sweet simplicity of style peculiar to the talents of the writer in sketching the memoir. We have room only for one little anecdote extracted from excellent critical remarks on his writings. the life of Grahame, which precedes some It may, however, be observed of this "child of song," that he was extremely diffident of his own powers, and did not even to his wife's affectionate sympathy confide the secret authorship of his principal poem, The Sabbath, which was published about two years after their mar riage: "On the publication of the anonymous poem it was silently laid on his wife's table by the over-sensitive author, trembling before his unconscious and beloved judge. It is related by one of his most intimate friends, that while he walked about the room in agitation, Mrs. Grahame was led by curiosity to examine the new work. After a time, she burst out into enthusiastic admiration of the perband's weak side, very naturally added, formance, and well knowing her hus The Ah! James, if you could produce a poem like this!' Longer concealment was not compatible with the warmth of affection and sympathy of tastes which form the charm of such a union. author of the admired performance was revealed in the husband. The scene is worth preserving. These were the golden moments with which poetry sometimes rewards the sacrifices of its simple votaries Mrs. Grahame, justly proud of her husband's genius, no longer checked its bent."-p. 10. We earnestly recommend these "admirable Specimens of Sacred and Serious Poetry to every parent and every family, as conveying the most moral and impor tant information in a manner the most fascinating and pleasing. CAPTAIN HALL'S INTERVIEW WITH BONAPARTE. (Concluded from page 87.) IN a few seconds after making this remark, Bonaparte asked, with a playful expression of countenance, as if amused with what he was saying, "Have you ever heard your father speak of me?" I replied, instantly, "Very often." Upon We have lately met with a little work which he said, in a quick, sharp tone, SERIOUS POETRY. |