menced playing at various games, and those so singular, as to collect round them a crowd of people. One man in particular attracted our attention; he was a corporal, a very handsome young man, of about six feet in height; and with a long stick he was playing such antics that it was impossible not to remark him. He imitated every instrument that can be mentioned so exactly, that we at length sent for him into the house, to exhibit his skill more nearly. He was no whit abashed, and amused us for a good hour; when he had concluded, he told us that he was the fugleman of the regiment, and that he had drilled the present Emperor of the Brazils.How true this story might be, it is difficult to determine; but he was certainly a very fine fellow. He left us with a few Crusado Novos in his pocket, and a hearty Viva. Another party were performing a species of farce, in which their powers of pleasantry seemed to be fully developed, if there were any judging by the peals of laughter which occasionally burst from the crowd. The history of this exceeding facetiousness was soon made public; for the following morning, after the regiment had marched, it was discovered that while these merry groups were amusing the good people of the neighbourhood, their comrades were helping themselves to every thing they could lay their hands on, and many of the inhabitants, if their own account might be credited, had seldom paid so high a price for an evening's amuse ment. One morning while residing in this city, we were startled at about eight o'clock by a cry of fire, and ascertained that it was but three doors from us, round the corner of another street: the scene was singular: the little square, or rather triangle in which we lived, was soon filled with British soldiers; and shortly afterwards the crowd was increased by general-officers, staff-officers, and officers of every description: then came the dessur des cartes;-ladies at their windows à demi mises, muffled in the everlasting cloak of coarse dark cloth -donnas who thenceforth lost half their charms, when too tenacious memories recalled their looks that day; and beaux with the last yawn of half-awakened drowsiness yet quivering about their lips. Of course the inhabitants ran about most jealously, shrieking out "Jesus!" and "Aqua!" with all the power of their lungs, while the English soldiers extinguished the flames; a brave party of the Leiria militia arrived just in time to see the smoking of the ruins; for which gallant exploit they were rewarded by the local authorities with a loaf of bread and a pint of wine each man-after which, they returned home! STRAY SENTENCES ON SEVERAL SUBJECTS. I should think that no people in the world are more susceptible of kindness than the Portuguese;-appear to take an interest in their welfare, bear with their peculiarities, and indulge them in their harmless and amusing vanity, and in return they will do you every service in their power. I met with frequent instances of this, and never forgot the advice of a very clever and intelligent Lisbonese nobleman, who, when he was consulted by a British officer about to settle in the country, as to the best method of becoming popular among the natives, simply replied, "Laugh when they laugh, though you may not comprehend the jest ;-cry when they cry, or, at least, seem to do so, and trust the rest to themselves." That this was the most sensible advice he could have given under the circumstances, there can be no doubt on the mind of any person, who is aware of their tenacious recollection of injury, and their equal unforgivingness. Listen to a Portuguese when he is telling you of an insult offered to him: look at his flashing eye, and hear the grinding of his clenched teeth, and you will feel that he is an enemy to be feared; see him, on the contrary, when he is conscious that you are striving to gratify or amuse him, and you will be as ready to admit that he is worthy to be conciliated. is a natural joyousness in the Portuguese character, which requires but slight excitement to call it forth-a word, a gesture-if they see that it is intended to promote mirth, will make their laugh ring out merrily, and their hearts warm to you at once. And their expressions are so naïve and original, • Water. There that where you are not predetermined to dislike them, you are sure to find some amusement in their conversation. And their English!-but I will give a specimen or two, and let them speak for themselves. A very handsome man one day called upon us, to inquire whether my father would part with an English carriage which we had taken out with us: I quite forget his name, but I perfectly remember his telling us that he was a baron, and the colonel of a militia regiment; he remained with us for a couple of hours, and on our complimenting him upon his English, in which he certainly did contrive to make himself understood, he said that speaking our language was "a great trouble" to him, but that he spoke French like a native. I immediately offered to save him the "trouble," by conversing with him in French; on which he looked rather embarrassed, but replied with some tact, that he disliked the nation so much, that he could not bring himself to speak their language ;-Italian, however, he perfectly idolized. Here again, partly for the sake of jest, I volunteered to gratify him for an instant he seemed absolutely posé, but quickly recovered himself, and with a low bow declared he could not think of paying ladies so poor a compliment as to converse with them in any language but their own. I be lieve I have already remarked on the very inordinate desire which the Portuguese seem universally to have, to be considered great linguists. The baron accordingly continued to sport his English; and commenced giving us an account of his family, in the course of which he said, "Yes, madam, we are large family there is my brother what governs a town in the Alentajo. Then there is the four young ladies which lives with my moder at Buenos Ayres. Then there is me, what am the oldest, which makes six brothers of us altogether." I fear this oration requires hear ing it certainly loses in the telling. Another instance of their whimsical mode of expressing themselves, which arose entirely like the preceding one from their literally rendering the words of their own language into English, without paying sufficient attention to the sense, occurred at Leiria, when a gentleman who resided there, in the course of conversation, mentioned the inconvenience which he experienced from the fact of there not being a barber in the city who was thoroughly versed in the noble art of shaving." But I have a nice plan," said he, with great self-satisfaction, "I will go to this fine fellow, and I will take with me a crusado; and I will say to him so: "Now, my fine fellow, do you see this big bit of silver? If you shave me well, then it is not mine-it is yours: but mind, if you make me blood, I will not pay you my beard.' I do not think I ever laughed so heartily in my life: the pomposity of the tone, and the mode of expression combined, were irresistible. It was a very common occurrence for Portuguese gentlemen whom I encountered in my rides, to request of me to pay a visit to their quintas, in order to let their wives and families see me ;most of them never having had an opportunity before in their lives of seeing an Englishwoman. I never had cause to regret complying with these extraordinary and candid'invitations, beyond the inconvenience to which it sometimes subjected me. I was anxious on my part to see as much as I could of the people among whom I was then residing; and I always knew that wherever I had suffered myself to be thus exhibited, I had made friends. I do not know which excited the greatest attention, my light hair or my ridinghabit; the ladies always evinced the utmost amazement at both; my hair they were in the constant habit of letting down about my shoulders to examine it, and never without an ejaculation on discovering that the premises were untenanted; their own heads being, from the highest to the lowest, always of the most animated description. I saw many very beautiful women, up the country, in the manner I have just described; the wives and daughters of noblemen, and wealthy land-proprietors, who possessed, as I was informed, more than one muito boa quinta, but I universally found their hair, their nails, and their teeth, in the most filthy state of neglect. And, for my own part, I never saw any beauty which could counteract the effect of this dirt upon me. The peasantry are possessed of a great deal of sly humour, and even indulge it at times on * Very fine country-house. the most sacred subjects, and in defiance of the priests. I will mention one instance of this-I could, from knowing a great deal of their habits, manufacture a score; which would pass current, but I prefer not stating any thing, which I do not know to be true. A rich vinegrower, not a hundred miles from Leiria, in a sudden fit of piety, built a small chapel by the side of a cross-road, in a wild part of the country, and dedicated it to "Our Lord of the Crucifixion;" a huge cross, with a figure of our Saviour nailed upon it, occupied the centre of the altar; and, to render the work of righteousness more decidedly popular and edifying in the neighbourhood, the wood which had been made use of for the purpose of constructing it, was purchased of one man in the village, and its formation intrusted to another. It gave, by no means, as may be believed, a very sublime idea of that which it was designed to represent; but the intention was not the less pious, or the artist the less proud. When the building was finished, and the altar fitly arranged, an immense crowd assembled to witness the consecration. During the celebration of the mass, the officiating priest was much impeded in his holy duties by the grimaces of an individual among the crowd, who was making most violent efforts to control his laughter, which, at times broke into an hysterical giggle in despite of him: in vain the astonished and angry curé frowned and stared; still the man shuffled and smirked, and as he raised his eyes to the crucifix, smothered, with increased difficulty, a fresh burst of merriment; his neighbours murmured among themselves that Senhore Joachim was certainly star doudo; the priest looked longer and more sternly on him, but nothing availed, and during the entire mass the incorrigible Senhore continued to cover his face with his hands, and laugh until his brow and ears were crimson. At the conclusion of the ceremony the enraged curé ordered the delinquent before him, and the following dialogue ensued: "Man! are you aware that you have been committing a deadly sin, by treating with contempt the actual presence of your God, in the celebration of the most holy mass?" 66 Sim, mio Senhore."+ * Quite mad. "And wherefore, then, have wilfully and deeply sinned?" "I could not help itburst of laughter. you thus a fresh "Not help it! know that I am greatly displeased." "I hope not, mio Senhore." "But I tell you that I am; and moreover, I tell you, sinner as you are, that 'Our Lord of the Crucifixion,' who was here in the midst of us, fixed on you an eye of anger and of judgment." "Oh, no! he knows better than to do that," raising his eyes to the figure, and once more giving vent to a long and hearty peal of laughter. "Knows better!" again echoed the bewildered priest, who began to imagine that the man had been suddenly bereaved of his wits. "Yes, knows better than to be angry with me," persisted the culprit; "why, Lord bless you, Senhore, he was a bit of my cherry-tree once!!" It were worse than useless to comment on such an occurrence. While I am "i' the vein," I will relate another anecdote, which I had from the mouth of the gentleman to whom the words were addressed. On the occasion of a grand procession in honour of the Virgin at Nazaré, all the most beautiful boys of the neighbourhood were selected to officiate as angels; they were twelve in number, and were gaily attired in garments of gold and silver tissue, with pasteboard wings upon their shoulders. They were to surround the figure of the Virgin, and formed a very striking feature in the procession. They were all carefully dressed, and desired to keep themselves quiet until they were called to take their places by Nossa Senhora. This was, however, not easy to children under six years of age; and accordingly when the priests had taken their places, the candles were lighted, the censers filled, and the Virgin ready to start, two of the "little angels" were missing! Great was the consternation of those who had charge of them-they searched, as they thought, every possible and impossible place; "until at length," said a priest, who was telling the story, "in despair I ran into a stable, the door of which I saw standing open; and there I found the two d-d little angels playing at pitch-and-hustle!" + Yes, sir. VISIONS OF THE PILLOW. VISION I. I FELL asleep, impressed with the necessities of a poor family I had been visiting the preceding day. I dreamed that I set out with the intention of soliciting a subscription for them. I was refused at the first house I tried, and with a dejected heart I turned away. As I went along I passed the house of a man that by some strange intuition I knew to be a miser. I wished to enter, but wanting courage was turning to go away; meanwhile the owner of the house looked from a little window, and desired me to come in. When I had told him my sad story, he bade me take a pen and write seventeen pounds seven shillings as his subscription. My surprise and joy were excessive when he paid into my hand the hard, bright money: a momentary thought crossed my mind whether I might with honour appropriate any part of this large sum to other purposes; but this was soon rejected; again I looked at the gold in my handall was bright and beautiful, but one piece which was beaten out into a thin oblong shape, in the midst of it a black spot; this made me very uneasy. I feared to offend by a direct question, but could not forbear asking in whose reign the gold was coined. I thought his countenance darkened as I spoke, and not liking its expression, I looked round the apartment. The room was dark, but I espied in a corner a little thick, brown, aged book, fastened with silver clasps; as I looked at it very earnestly, the clasps fell apart, and I saw in it many pictures which I knew related to witchcraft. I turned to the old man and said, I must read this book, I am fond of inquiring into these mysteries. "So am I," said he, "it is quite a passion with me, and this book, I can assure you is of the highest antiquity, composed by a Jewish magician; it is a wonderful production, its pictures do actually live and move." With trembling eagerness I opened the book; all at first was confusion and darkness; this soon cleared away, and I saw that the pictures gave the history of a woman whose wickedness was too enormous to be told. The first pictures represented her beauty, her profligacy, her various adventures. My uneasiness increased every moment; at length, to my horror, I saw her lovely face disfigured by a most infernal expression, and as her eye of wickedness met mine I shuddered, and my heart died within me. Presently I saw her leagued with fiends for the most diabolical purposes. The scene was a churchyard, and it seemed as if in sport she summoned the dead from their graves, and demanded from them an account of their actions when alive. The appalling laugh of herself and her horrible associates still sounds in mine ears, at the truths the dead were compelled by her incantations to utter. At length a cold, dead, half-naked female formed the foreground to the picture, in every leaf I turned still she was there. I felt strangely interested and agitated on her account; but what language can paint my feelings when, looking more intently on this poor, pale, wretched creature, I discovered it to be-myself! All then became chaos and horror in my mind. The pictures forsook the book; the old man grinned maliciously at me, the fiends and witches encircled me;-my agonies could no longer be borne-I awoke. VISION II. At length I was overcome by slumber, but the raging blasts of an autumnal equinox upon the seacoast still resounded in my ears. I thought that I was walking on the Southdowns with a celebrated naturalist. As we passed through a chalk-pit I observed a bone sticking in a mass of the chalk, which I drew out, presenting it to my companion, and requesting to know to what animal it once belonged. He viewed it with some attention, and then replied, "This small fragment of bone enables me with precision to determine that the animal to which it belonged was a mammiferous carniverous biped, a creature devouring its prey when dead, carrying aloft its head;-nay, I will from this bit of ossification declare to you its moral qualities; it is greedy, treacherous, malicious." 66 I could refrain no longer, the less I understood, the more I admired. "0 sir," said I," is it possible that science can have reached such heights; and is it possible that I am now familiarly talking with one so highly gifted-so acutely penetrating into the arcana of nature?" He replied with an air of proud humility, "Trifles, my dear trifles, to what I will shortly unfold to you." Presently we met a young shepherd: "Reuben," said I, "have you ever heard your grandfather tell of any battle or any murder that has happened here?" After the usual "What say?" and my explanation, he replied, "Don't know as I have." "Did you know, Reuby, that this was the bone of a man?" "Then he be changed since t'other day, when he was our old horse Jack's, that died o' the gripes down younder, at master's, by token that he was cut up for 'squire Hunter's dogs." "How do you know this bone belonged to your horse ?” 'Cause I cut that are notch in him and stuck him in there, that I might be minded of poor old Jack, when I went there away. We passed on-I did not venture to look at the philosopher; at length he burst out "Ignorant brute! instruct me in science!-Horse's bone, indeed! No, no!-observe this curve ;-I will demonstrate most fully to you that it could only belong to man, the last created and most perfect of animals. By the state of the bone you see it is not fossil, but has, no doubt, been left in its present situation in the last stratum that has been deposited since the crust of earth was broken up by the Noachan deluge." I readily admitted a theory so much more indulgent to an excursive imagination than Reuben's; and as I assured my friend of my credence, and soothed him with admiration, his good humour returned. "It is," said he, "my opinion, and that of many other great philosophers, that in no long interval mankind will be involved in one common ruin; and when from fresh deposits the earth is again fit for habitation, a new race will succeed us, surpassing us in all that is noble and beautiful, as we now surpass the animals that preceded us." But I ventured to reply, "We are assured in the Bible that the earth shall no more be inundated, but must in its next and last visitation be entirely consumed with fire." "We have," said he, with a smile of conscious superiority, we have the misfortune sometimes to differ from the Bible, and-we are sometimes right. I trust that you are now wrong, though these dreadful storms almost nake me fear that you may be right." 66 "O look!" said I, "the storm has risen. Is not that the white foam of the sea? Let us hasten home." The philosopher compromised his dignity so far as to run as fast as I did. Soon after we reached home the wind raged with appalling fury from the south. On looking from the windows, by the fitful moonlight we saw that the waves of the roaring sea had covered all the intervening space, and were within a few yards of the house. "It is too true," said I to the naturalist, "the fountains of the great deep are broken up, and-we must perish!" "Do not be alarmed," he replied. "From the best calculations, what you fear will not-cannot occur, for the space of eighty-one years, three days, one hour, and thirteen minutes; by which time I apprehend that we shall be in a state of partial, if not complete decomposition." Notwithstanding this circumstantial calculation, my fears were every moment gaining strength, especially as I saw the sea was now dashing with wild rage against the casement. I ran up the next flight of stairs, crying out, despite of the entreaties of my companion to be calm, "We are lost-we are lost! See that dreadful wave; nearer, nearer-God save us!" I looked from the window; but no words can truly paint the horrors of that scene: the water deepening all around far as the eye could reach; nothing visible but sights of woe, wrecks, and desolation; nothing to be heard but the shrieks of the dying mingled with the howling wind and raging water. I strained my eyes on all sides for succour. At last I spied a boat making direct to the house. I watched its progress with intense anxiety as it rose to the clouds or was precipitated into the abyss. Only one man who steered it was visible, and a few poor sea-birds who seemed in terror to forget their wildness, while they hovered round the boat presently a wave, higher than the |