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can, and asks her to be so obliging as to come down and dance with him. She says she has no particular objec. tion, and leaves the window to descend the stairs, or ladder, which leads to her cock-loft. The swain now gathers a nosegay, all ready tied up; twirls round several times, to see that he is all right; hears the door of the cottage opening, trips across to give his bouquet to his love, when it is snatched by Miss Ballin's mother (Madame Simon, or old Barnes), who reprehends the conduct of Mr. Gilbert for coming a-courting at that time of day, tells him to go and work for his bread, and not be idling about there. The rustic swain asks the old lady to feel how terribly his heart beats; the mother informs Mr. Gilbert that his head is more likely to feel the beating.

"Says he," at my heart I've a beating;' Says 1, then take one at your back.

KENNY.

She drives him off, and then goes to market, this market being, in all probability, further than that of Covent Garden,-aud, the cat away, the young folks intend (like the mice) to have some play. So Mr. Gildert re-appears, and clapping his hands, eight of his young companions, Messieurs Heath, Sutton, Conway, Burdett, Jones. Northover, Hartland, and Simpson appear. All these are in such an independent state in happy France, that they are enabled to quit their village toil; and the most singular circumstance is, that all eight are accidentally attired ex• actly alike, with pink vests, straw hats, and light blue smalls, with a black stripe down the seam. (Of these youths the first named is about sixty years of age, and the latter approaching seventy-three, which renders it the more kind of them to come out and fatigue themselves at that time in the morning.) But there appears an excellent reason for this complaisance, because eight young female villagers also dressed alike, (excepting one unfortunate, who has

mislaid her white silk shoes. and is obliged to venture out in black prunella, thereby disarranging the unifor mity which is so pleasing in wellregulated hamlets,) come now to the rendezvous. Each youthful swain in a moment selects his partner,-and sweet is the love that meets return! Then all the sixteen points simultaneously to the cottage, and then touch their hearts and wedding-ring fingers, and then point to Mr. Gilbert, who shrugs his shoulders, extends his arms widely, and nods. At this period Miss Ballin ruus from the cottage-door; Mr. Gilbert is approaching her, when she pretends to be bashful before so many witnesses; so, to bide her blushes, she fetches a spinning wheel from ihe cottage, which will not, and never would revolve. Mr. Gilbert, not liking this move, gently leads the spinster forward, and asks her to take a little dance with him. A pas de deux is performed, the main point of which is to show that a villager may have very elegantly shaped legs. When this is over, the sixteen make a bungling sort of shuffling, forming a good contrast with the principals. Just at the very nick of time three more young ladies arrive, rather over-dressed for the inhabitants of a French village (the coryphées), Misses Froun. Lane, and Hall. They do not take the slightest notice of their assembled friends, but immediately begin to dance with their backs turned towards them, which is certainly anything but genteel behaviour. But what can you expect from rustics? At the conclusion of this, the old lady returns from market, and is naturally surprised and angry to find the young people kicking their heels about, instead of being at labour. After some threatening, and much entreaty, she forgives the enamoured pair; and Mr. Boulanger arrives most opportu nely, as the baillie of the village, joins the hands of the youthful couple, who then dance a matrimonial pas de deur without a single faux pas, and this sets the whole party off in a pas-generale.~~ Bentley's Miscellany.

REGISTER OF WEATHER AT MADAWELLATENNE
FOR OCTOBER 1810.

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Hot & dry:cloudy at inte.
Sul.noon then heav, rain

Fine showers
Showery & Cloudy

The weather in the early part of the mouth being very hot, put a to tal stop to all agricul tural operations, the work being entirely confined to weeding; the only occurrence worth remarking was the appearance of a legi n of Caterpillars, which it is supposed were produced by the unusual dryness of the season; they seemed to have a most peculiar penchant for the young Coffee, eating the young leaves, and quite spoiling the luxuriant appearance of the Plant for a time; they appeared to have been bred on a tree called by the natives "Geduma," the rains which again set in about the middle of the month swept them off, and gave great impulse to the growth of the Coffee which prevents a most luxuriant appearance; the Pluviome ter shows a total of 20 Inches and 31 Cents of water, which is a very fair average; on the 28th there occurred a tremendous fall of rain, of which 4 inches and 41 cents fell in 1 hour, a quantity I Maximum of Thermo. think unprecedented, in sa

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pid torrents sweeping away a number of Paddy fields, and cutting up the roads dreadfully, its full fury seems to have burst over Madawelletenne, as nothing like the fall occurred either in Kandy, or at Kornegal on the other side, the seed Coffee nurseries were totally washed away, but no other damage was done to the plantations here beyond the paths being cut up very considerably; the rain seems fairly from the S. W. even so late in the season, and we may expect heavy weather when the N. E. monsoon fairly sets in.

KOBBE GALLA,

P. S.-I may remark en passant that the quantity of rain which is measured, is taken in a Plain about 1 mile from the Plantations which run up the sides of high hills, which hills naturally attract more raiu than the Plain does, and I constantly see rain on and about the hills when my Pluviometer does not receive a drop, I do not think I am far from correct when I state that a Pluviometer would receive one third more rain on the Plantation than it does in its present position.

METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL KEPT ON THE HUNASGIRIA
RANGE OF MOUNTAINS, AT AN ELEVATION OF
NEARLY 3,000 FEET.

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Fine dry day and night, light breeze.
Fine dry and clear day and night.

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Fine clear day; showers during night.

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changeable throughout the month, as the accompanying table will show: nevertheless it has proved very favorable to the young plants which are putting forth their foliage in the greatest luxuriance and thereby making our newly planted land look rather more like a Coffee Estate then it did a few weeks ago. During the last few days w have had smart breezes from the N. E. which foretell a coming chang in the weather. The grea ter number of the adjoin

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completed the gathering of their crops: the trees appear already to feel the beneficial effects of the gathering, and many that were previously looking very indifferently from the heavy crops on them are beginning to throw ont new wood. Placing

68 heavy rain throughout out young plants & cleardo. do. do. ing weedy ground has been the chief occupation of the month, when the weather permitted: the lat ter is of especial importance previously to the fine weather setting in. There is no lack of labor up here, for the coolies are well aware of the good health of the hill-estates: not the least sign of sickness with us.

S.

DIARY KEPT IN THE VALE OF DOOMBERA-NEAR KANDY,

1840-FROM OCTOBER 17TH TO 24TH.

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The mornings during this week have been fine and bright. Hot in the middle of the day, but cloudy generally in the afternoons, ending the last two days in moderate rains, accompanied with much lightning and thunderGentle breezes from the N. E. during every day this week for the first time and calm in the evenings with a moderate quantity of dew every night. Average of Thermometer-730 6 a. m. 799 2 p.m. 750 8 p. m.

Operations.-Ón account of the ground still remaining soft from the late rains, opening holes and even planting has been going on, but the chief operation has been the most important one of gathering the crop on the Estates in bearing. FROM OCTOBER 24TH TO 31ST.

"Misty and cloudy weather with heavy saturating rains nearly every evening and night. Wind variable but the days have generally been calm and close Thermometer average 71 6 a.m. 75o 2 p. m. 73° 8 p. m.

Operations. Planting all the week and supplying with plants those parts of the Estates which have failed, &c. Picking Coffee has been the chief occupation as last week.

FROM OCTOBER 31ST TO NOVEMBER 7TH.

Calm fair mornings, but daily heavy contd. rains mostly coming on towards the afternoon. Wind variable, but it has been generally calm. Thermometer average-71 6 a. m. 76v 2 p. m. 72° 8 p. m..

Operations. From the constant rainy weather, getting in the crop is a most arduous work, for after pulping the Coffee and washing it in the parchment skin, it requires to be dried by the sau as soon after as possible, and during this season it can only be exposed for this purpose in the mornings, the planter is constantly on the look-out for the first appearance of rain coming, in order to get it housed in time, which is not always an easy task when there is any quantity, and sometimes he sees what has cost him some days to get in fair way for drying, drenched in an instant.

FROM NOVEMBER 7TH TO THE 14TH.

Cloudy with sometimes a little sunshine during the day but constant showers, &c. heavy rains occuring every evening and lasting during the night accompanied with strong winds from the S. W. average of Thermometer 70. 6. A. M. 73. 2. P. M. 71. 8. P. M.

Operations. Planting, whenever the weather is fair enough to admit of it, besides other work, but on the estates here all are chiefly employed picking the Coffee as fast as possible, as this constant showery weather brings on the fruit rapidly to what is called a state of dead ripening. Every thing here conti. nues in a very favourable state-the trees look exceedingly well and are fast getting stripped of their berries; from the fine rains occurring during this season of gathering it speaks well for next year's crop, as the trees soon recover from the state of exhaustion caused by their heavy bearing.

Health.-In this respect the Estates here continue improving rapidly and We hope soon to be free from all sickness.

B. D.

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