116 PHILADELPHIA PORT FOLIO: A WEEKLY JOURNAL URBAIN GRANDIER. The people of the town of Loudun, for some Among his other accomplishments the handreason or another, were desirous of possessing writing satires, and had, it seems, amused himsome curé was understood to possess the art of a convent of Ursuline nuns, and signified their desires in form to the bishop of Poictiers. self in an unlucky moment, in exercising this This worthy prelate, who appears to have talent at the expense of the Cardinal de Richeshared all the superstition and profligacy of perceive some secret connexion between this lieu. Observing persons thought they could manners of the times in which he lived, very readily yielded to their wishes, and under-gined that the hand which struck the cure fact, and the accusation of sorcery, and imastanding that in the convent of Poictiers there were several nuns whose reputations were a reached all the way from Paris. At present little the worse for the wear, he selected those the fact is pretty well ascertained; and we pious and charitable sisters, and placing the can add to the other claims of the "Grand most debauched of them all at their head, deCardinal" to the admiration of mankind, that spatched them in all haste to the good town of having caused a poor handsome young man of Loudun. On their arrival at the place of to be burned alive, for having made himself their destination, they found that there was no too merry with his beard. convent prepared to receive them, and that it would be necessary to put up for the present with an old haunted house, which was greatly fallen to decay. Neither was there at first any other provision than bread and water, a species of diet to which few persons resort from preference. Our nuns, who were persons of taste and judgment, soon gave affairs another turn. They laboured, acquired money, furnished their convent, and then began to look about for handsome confessors. Two persons presented themselves to perform this office for the nuns of Loudun, a priest with the very handsome name of Mignon, and Urbain Grandier, who possessed a person still handsomer than the name of his rival. M. Mignon, however, was not the man tamely to submit to rivalry in a matter of this kind, where the question was, who should possess the right to the consciences of some score or two of pretty nuns. He, therefore, set himself seriously to work to get rid of his adversary, not by the ordinary means prevalent among the vulgar, but by a fine, subtle, and curious policy which none but a monk could have devised. He determined to remove his enemy by burning him alive. To effect this a certain degree of ingenuity was necessary, but no very extraordinary genius for mischief, for mankind seem to have lent themselves in those times with wonderful facility to further the designs of any rogue whatever. In the first place the nuns, whose intellects seem to have been somewhat deranged by the spirit of licentiousness, were to be persuaded that their evil desires had been inflamed, not by the conversation and the arts usually prevailing at that time in convents, and not to be repressed so long as human nature shall remain unchanged, but by the magical practices of Urbain Grandier. This part of the business was of course not very difficult, for the nuns, incapable of concealing their wanton propensities, were exceedingly willing to shift the Mame from their own shoulders, even though It should rest on those of the handsome curé. Be this as it may, Mignon, terrified lest Grandier should rob him of his prey, pushed the matter to extremities, and with all the veheinence of a man urged on at once by the love of woman and the love of gain. Other passions, more or less malignant, united their force with these, perhaps, to hurry on the criminal in his course of guilt; but without any other motives, these were of themselves sufficient to account, under the circumstances, for his actions. There is a singularly comic view in this horrible tragedy, which provokes laughter in Abbé Mignon having discovered that the pretty the midst of the most fearful scenes. The nuns were possessed by the spirit of lust, who, Astaroth, hitherto supposed by the learned to when interrogated, replied that his name was have been a female demon, brought the whole them to repair to the convent, to be present at affair before the magistrates, and requested the exorcisms, and to behold the wonders which accompanied them. The baillie and the civil lieutenant accepted of their invitalady abbess and one of the inferior sisters, in tion, and repairing to the convent, found the and surrounded by Carmelite friars, a canon, an apartment furnished with seven little beds, trates, the lady abbess, who probably expeand a surgeon. At the sight of the magismoment, uttered a piercing shriek, like a little rienced some slight access of terror at that pig, and hid herself under the sheets of the bed; and then putting out her head again, she made the most horrible grimaces, in order to convince the man of authority that the seven devils to which she laid claim were actually in her bed at the time. 66 ing up his courage, he answered boldly, then stopped. At length, however, pluckHe paused again-then endeavoured to speak quality) said Mignon; and the devil having "Grandier." "Dic qualitatem," (mention his dos" (a priest). now passed the Rubicon, continued "Sacerchurch ?) Cujus ecclesia?" (of what "Sancti Petri." (of St. Peter.) brought the flowers?) "Diabolica." (Made"Quæ persona attulit flores?" (what person moiselle Diabolique.) After these words the Latin, and the lady prioress coming to herself, devil grew sulky, or could muster no more collation, to recruit her strength after so great repeated her Benedicite, and partook of a slight an exertion. It now came to the turn of sister Clara's could speak no Latin. When greatly pressed, devil to be interrogated, but he turned out to be a demon of inferior accomplishments, and he merely replied in French, "To the other! to the other!" Upon this the magistrates appear to have begun to understand the matter, they retired. Mignon, however, was not to but without making any remark on the subject, be wearied by disappointment. He procured the favour of a second meeting, and the pri oress, who was resolved to maintain the character of her devils for energy and activity, now foamed at the mouth, lolled out her tongue already commenced when the magistrates argrimaces. The ceremony of exorcising had like a mad dog, and made the most frightful rived; but it was now no longer the abbé Migbigoted priest. In the midst of the operations curé of a neighbouring parish, a fierce, sombre, non who performed the conjuror. It was the a sudden terror was struck through the whole assembly. A cat, an animal in the form of after throwing the whole assembly into an which the devil often appears, dropped down the chimney in the midst of the exorcism, and ly reality in the midst of them. Every man priestess's bed. Here then was Satan, in bodiagony of horror, sprang upon the top of the ly persuaded they had got the devil among crossed himself, and the exorcising curé, firmbling hand flung up a flood of holy water at them at last, lifted up the cross, and with tremthe cat. Instead of vanishing in a cloud of smoke, the feline devil recovered a little from his fright, and altogether misunderstanding the affair, began to fawn and purr at his pursuers; and at length the lady prioress discovered that than her own tom-cat. the devil on the top of the bed was no other ed to the satisfaction of the Carmelites and This part of the farce having been performcising book, and commenced the reading of the Abbé Mignon, the latter took up his exorthose questions to which it was desirable that ed, that in those times all devils were supthe devils should reply. It should be remarkposed to be extremely well educated, and to possess, among other accomplishments, a competent knowledge of all languages, ancient as well as modern. Their favourite dialect, however, was the Latin, and in order to accommoput questions in that language. date himself to their taste, the Abbé Mignon quam causam?" said he to the devil Astaroth, cisers for some time, but they soon returned to "Propter The affair of the tom-cat amazed the exor"ingressus es corpus hujus virginis?" (that is, their old humour, and longed for a more ex"for what reason hast thou entered the body citing spectacle. On one particular occasion candour which does him great credit, immediof this virgin?") The devil, with a degree of a Scotchman, who happened to be present at ately replied, "Per animositatem" ("through requested the conjuror to put a question or the ceremony, and was somewhat sceptical, spite"). This point having been settled, and it being now clear that it was not for love, ing that if it pleased God, Satan could speak two to the devil in Gaelic. The curé observMignon continued, which, perhaps, the abbé previously suspected, Gaelic, as well as any other language, consentwhat covenant?) flowers,) said the devil. "Per quod pactum?" (by ed, and the Scotchman put a few short ques"Per Flores," (by that of tions to his Satanic majesty, in the language question for which all the others had been sort?) "Quales?" (what of the Highlands. Satan, however, in all his Rosas;" (roses). But now came the travels, had never thought of visiting that part contrived. "Quis misit?" (who sent them?) of the world, and could make nothing of this Here Astaroth, like a devil of some conscience, non volo," (God, I will not,) which was merenew jargon; he therefore replied pertly, "Deus, who betrayed his master with reluctance, hesi-ly a cunning way of saving his credit. tated for a short time, but at length muttered the mark, but not hitting it; there might be Grandier was now accused of having cast into the convent certain thorns and roses pre-forth "Urbanus." This was coming close to pared by magic, which excited, in as many of the nuns as inhaled their scent, an irresistible passion for the magician. The cure seems, in fact, to have been in possession of that kind of magical art, which is all-powerful over the heart of woman, but which cannot be defined or described. Mignon, however, had resolved that his triumph in the world should be short. The accusation of sorcery was pushed with vigour, the nuns were interrogated, found to be possessed by whole troops of devils in the pay and service of M. Grandier, and the master of these faithless and unruly servants was apprehended and cast into prison. "Some natural tears he dropped, but wiped ing for a great linguist, Satan got out of huHaving been defeated in his design of passaffair, and hurried on, as fast as possible, the mour, began to give a tragical turn to the condemnation of poor Grandier. The events which succeeded were no less indecent than ing the fearful termination the affair was likehorrible. Several of the nuns, however, seeand accusing an innocent person. This only ly to have, now became alarmed, and confessed aloud that they had been playing the hypocrite, hastened the punishment of Grandier, who was brought before a mock tribunal, tried, and the tremendous pains which could be inflicted condemned. The poor man, after enduring all by torture, was at length carried forth to exe cution: between four and five o'clock in the afternoon he was taken from the prison by the executioners, who conveyed him to the place of punishment upon a kind of rope litter. On the way the unfortunate man conjured those whom he met to pray to God for him. He was then placed in a small car, and brought out before the church of St. Peter, to make the "amende honourable;" but he could not keep himself upon his knees, his legs having been broken to pieces by the torture he had endured, and falling flat upon his face, he lay in that posture until the executioners came and lifted him up. He then repeated his entreaties to the bystanders to pray for him. At this moment a Cordelier, whom he had vainly requested to see for the purpose of confession came up to him, and embraced him, saying, " remember the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are a man of intellect, do not forget yourself. I bring you the blessing of your mother, who joins me in praying God to have mercy on you." This, however, was by no means agreeable to the enemies of Grandier, and therefore the good and pious monk was beaten, and driven away with brutal violence by the archers, at the command of their superiors. It was not thought prudent that the people should understand what pious sentiments the unhappy Grandier entertained. The Provost's lieutenant, regretting the part he was compelled to perform, begged the accused to forgive him: you have not offended me," replied Grandier, "you have performed your duty with humanity." A curé also, but whether one of those who had been leagued against him is not mentioned, came to ask his forgiveness, and to conjure him to pardon the injuries which had been heaped upon him. "I forgive every one," Grandier replied, as I hope God will forgive me." The funeral pile, as it may justly be termed, was now ready, the executioner seized upon his victim, and fastened him with an iron collar to a post, which had been fixed in the earth. The multitude, which consisted of persons from all parts of France, who had come purposely to see the show, was immense. Scarcely could the judges who had condemned him, and who were coming to witness the effect of their righteous sentence, make their way through the crowd. Hovering over the pile a flock of pigeons were seen, which would not by any means be frightened away. "They are, said one party, the devils, who are waiting for his soul. They are innocent doves, exclaimed others, come hither to bear testimony to the innocence of Grandier." THE STORK. THE WOODPECKER. Rap, rap, rap, rap, I hear thy knocking bill, still. Thus am I ever labouring for my bread, And thus give thanks to find my table spread. the sufferer. Then one of them took a lighted Pheasant, forsake the country, come to town; THE RAVEN. Thin is thy plumage, death is in thy croak; THE PARROT. Camest thou from India, Popinjay, and why? A large fly also came buzzing about his head; and one of the Capuchin friars, who had heard that the word Beelzebub signifies "Prince of Flies," exclaimed, "It is Beelzebub!" This same friar, with another brother of the same order, stood near the pile, book in hand, sprinkling about holy water, and exorcising the wood and the air. A promise had been made to Grandier, that, previous to his execution, he should be permitted to speak to the people; but even this miserable consolation was denied him; for when he would have spoken, the two bearded monsters threw so large a quantity of holy water in his face that he could not speak. A moment or two afterwards he made a second attempt to speak, but one of the friars stopped his mouth with a kiss. "There" said Grandier, "is a true Judas's kiss," which put the monk-Words have I learn'd?—and without meanin so great a fury that he struck the victim several times in the face with the crucifix, under pretence of making him kiss it. According to some relations the crucifix had been made warm, in order, we presume, to burn his lips. The last favour which his persecutors promised the unfortunate victim was, that, before the flames reached him, he should be strangled; but the two Capuchin friars contrived to intertwist the cord in such a manner that it was impossible it should compress the neck of THE MAGPIE. Magpie, thou too hast learn'd, by rote, to speak ing too? Mark well,-my masters taught me all they knew. THE CORNCRAKE. Art thou a sound, and nothing but a sound? You find my voice for ever changing ground; * Milton's Comus. WHEATON'S TRAVELS. Since the publication of Professor Silliman's Tour, we have not found a book of travels in Europe so entertaining as the volume just published in Hartford by the Rev. Mr. Wheaton, from which we have furnished several extracts. Mr. Wheaton's visit was made in 1823-4. Ho resided eight months in London, and spent some time in other parts of the United Kingdom and in France. His letters of introduction procured him access to the refined circles of the English metropolis. He attended the sessions of the most distinguished literary and philosophical societies; visited the Universities; enjoyed the company of their eminent professors, and was accustomed to meet mem It will be necessary that the tourist should penetrate a considerable distance into Switzer. land, before he can form a correct judgment of the varieties of Swiss scenery, and more particularly of Swiss character. The inhabitants of Geneva and Lausanne can hardly be termed Switzers, in the true sense of the word; so mixed are they with foreigners, and their habits and manners so imbued with foreign association. The character of the sturdy Swiss can scarcely be recognised among the pliant graces of more polished nations. As the traveller posts from town to town in the interior, or rambles with more humility, but with far greater pleasure, from village to hamlet, he will soon discover the marked superiority of the hardy Swiss peasant over the effeminate Mr. Wheaton heard every where professions of the utmost kindness to America. Our literature, habits, laws, &c., were the subjects of constant inquiry-he heard our institutions and distinguished men spoken of in the most flattering terms. At a dinner of the Royal Society, the works of Barton, Nuttall, Wilson, and other naturalists, were mentioned with commendation. Sir Humphry Davy "spoke highly of our chemists and mineralogists, with whose labours he is well acquainted." The Professor of Modern History in Cambridge University, a strong whig, lecturing on the American Revolution, quoted freely from our historians: "he is well acquainted with our literature." Bishop Dehon's popularity is said to be unbounded: a gentleman assured the author that no sermons had been so much preach-inhabitant of the city. ed as his. Mr. Wilberforce desired him to trace on a Map of the United States, which he produced, the routes of the Canals formed or surveyed to connect the Valley of the Mississippi with the Atlantic. The Dean of Winchester "was eager in his inquiries about America, and snatching up his pen, began to note down my replies. "Where could he find the best account of the United States-of the state of society-who had written the best history?" After hearing a large number of preachers, Mr. Wheaton concludes that English sermons evince a very defective theological education. He represents them as possessing very little impressiveness in their composition or delivery. The clergy have literature enough, but a practical sermon is of rare occurrence. This is a general statement, to which he found several individual exceptions. Mr. Wheaton cautions his countrymen against the habit of feeing servants, lest they should render them as shameless in their extortions as they are in England, of which he gives many disgraceful examples, from the University printers to the lowest inenials and street scrapers. He pays the following testimony to the good feelings which exist towards this country: "In bidding adieu to this country of my forefathers, where I have passed the greatest part of a year, I should not do justice to my feelings, were I to withhold my testimony to the long established character of its inhabitants for cordial hospitality; and, to what seems yet a matter of doubt with many of my countrymen, the manifestation of none but kind feelings towards the American people. With regard to the latter, I have scarcely met with a single instance to shake my belief, that the mass of the English population view their descendants in the United States with a feeling of friendliness, which they entertain for the people of no other nation; and I can say with truth, that the attentions I have received from the great variety of persons to whom I have been introduced, have in no instance been less than I had reason to expect from liberal and enlightened men, and often far more than equal to the just claims of an obscure foreigner." Morning Journal. ST. MAURICE. THERE is an air, which oft among the rocks Of his own native land, at evening hour, Is heard, when shepherds homeward pipe their flocks. Oh, every note of it would thrill his mind With tenderest thoughts, and bring around his knees The rosy children whom he left behind, And fill each little angel eye With speaking tears, that ask him why He wander'd from his hut to scenes like these. The road to St. Maurice, after leaving the lake of Geneva, continues along the banks of the Rhone, whose majestic waters glide rapidly along in their course to the lake, shaded by the exuberant foliage of beech and walnut trees, and rendered picturesque by masses of rocks which rise from its banks. The town is approached by a magnificent stone bridge, which crosses the Rhone where it is very deep and rapid. It is two hundred feet long, and consists of a single arch, having on each side for its foundation an immense rock, which rises on the banks of the river, forming gigantic abutments, known by the familiar name of the Dent de Morcles, and the Dent du Midi. This bridge, independently of its situation, boasts the ancient and honourable distinction of having Julius Cæsar for its founder. At one end is a tower which is now a chapel, and at the other is an ancient castle, through which the road has been made to St. Maurice. The town of St. Maurice is singularly wild and beautiful. It is situated at the base of a line of rocks, many of which are formed into complete habitations, and almost always form part of the houses of the inhabitants. At a short distance from the town is a spot rendered interesting by tradition as the scene of the massacre of six thousand soldiers, called the Theban legion, by order of Maximian, for their stubborn adherence to the Christian faith. The abbey of St. Maurice, which yet exists, was founded in commemoration of the supposed event, by Sigismund King of Burgundy, as a catholic atonement for the crimes of fratricide, and the murder of half his family. Notwithstanding the desire of gain which so frequently induces them to quit their native hills and valleys in quest of foreign adventure, the Swiss are remarkable for attachment to their country; and after a life spent in hardship and toil, they rarely fail to return with their hard-earned gains to pass the evening of their existence in their native canton. There are few who do not die there. The secret and powerful impulse that sends them abroad to seek their fortune, never fails to reunite them at last. Even when absent from their homes Near St. Maurice is the celebrated valley of for years, their earlier recollections are liable Chamouni, which, with Mont Blanc and its to be awakened by the most minute circum-glaciers, and the still more wonderful Mer de stance. In the French armies, the air of the "Rans des Vaches," sung by the Swiss cowherds and milk-maids, was forbidden to be played; the recollections of home which the music created melting the hardy Swiss soldier to tears, and invariably producing desertion. Pasturage is the chief produce of a Swiss farm. Early in the summer the cattle leave the valleys, and are conducted by the cowherds to the accessible parts of the mountains, while as the snow disappears, they gradually ascend, thus following the productions of nature which are continually springing to life as they proceed. Those who have the care of the cows generally account to the owners for the proceeds, or pay a certain sum for what they can make. A considerable number of swine are supported by the herds of cows, and thus form another source of profit. Scheucher describes, in his "Journey to the Alps," the different productions which the mountaineers make from the milk, which constitute their chief luxuries. The greatest harmony prevails between the cow-keeper and his herd; indeed they may be considered as one family. He conducts them from pasture to pasture, erecting his temporary habitation at each resting place, and thus they pass their lives in constant migration, until the commencement of the winter obliges them to retire into the valleys. Round the necks of the cows are attached bells, which are made to harmonise with the Rans des Vaches, the constant strain of their keepers. The bells are of different sizes, and the merit of each individual cow is distinguished by the size and tone of her bell; indeed it is affirmed, that if by any accident the most meritorious cow (she who wears the bell) has forfeited her rank, and the insignia are transferred to another, all the jealous and angry feelings are exhibited, which a deprivation of honours might be expected to occasion among mankind. In the Pays de Vaud, however, no herds of cattle are seen grazing, and thus one picturesque feature in the country is lost. The farmers of that district know better than to allow them to ramble over their rich pastures, destroying as much as they consume; but keep them in sheds, and supply them with food cut for them without waste. Glace, are the most surprising natural curiosities ever witnessed in this or in any other country. This extraordinary valley, strange as it may appear, was wholly unknown to the inhabitants of the country till the year 1741, when it was discovered by two adventurous English travellers, who explored the valley, ascended the Montanvert to the Mer de Glace, penetrating those recesses where the human voice was never before heard, and treading the paths before unvisited, except by the chamois and by the goat of the rocks. It was a singular instance of enterprise, and it deserves to be recorded, that although within eighteen leagues of the city of Geneva, it was reserved for the adventure and courage of Englishmen to disclose to the world the hidden wonders of the Alps. An immense block of granite on the Montanvert, on which the adventurous travellers dined, is called, to this day, "la pierre des Anglais." Mons. de Saussure some years afterwards visited the valley, and was the first to ascend the Mont Blanc. His great work on the Alps rendered the country so famous that thousands of travellers flocked from all countries to see this hitherto unknown and wonderful territory; and it is now become a regular summer lounge for half the idle tourists of Europe. The valley of Chamouni is about a mile wide. The base of Mont Blanc forms its southern wall, and Mont Bremen, followed by a long chain of hills, is on the opposite side. The first view on entering the valley is unique and wonderful. The monarch of mountains on the one side, raising his majestic head, and overlooking the world, whose successive ages and changes he has quietly witnessed; the gloomy forests that clothe the base, partly borne down and intersected by immense glaciers, which slowly but irresistibly force their way from the accumulated pressure of snow, and seem, like a skirting drapery to the mountain, of dazzling whiteness; the bursting torrents which force their way through immense fragments of other worlds; and the contrast which these sublime monuments afford to the beautiful and verdant clothing of the smiling valley are all justly calculated to inspire the mind with the most vivid and lofty concep tion of the works of that great Architect, in comparison with which all efforts of human skill betray their feeble origin and sink into insignificance. The tourist who would wish to view Mont Blanc in all its grandeur, must ascend Mont Bremen on the opposite side. He will then, standing at about half the elevation of Mont Blanc, be fully impressed with the magnitude of the greatest mountain in Europe. By looking upwards from the valley it scarcely seems higher than its compeers, but from Mont Bremen its superiority becomes awfully conspicuous. (To be concluded.) Amusing Anecdote of the Court of Strelitz.A singular and ludicrous anecdote occurred to me at that court, which I cannot forbear relating as a testimonial of the hospitality and kindness of the late Duke of Mecklenberg Strelitz -a prince who was beloved and respected not only by his subjects, but by all who knew him; and who marked by a particular kindness all English visiters and residents in his states. I had ordered myself, on arriving very late at night in the town, to be driven to the inn; but being sound asleep in my carriage with my aids-de-camp, on entering the gates, my chasseurs and orderly from the box showed my passports. I was not aware that orders had been sent from the palace to the guard-house to send my cortege to the reigning duke's brother's house in the town. On alighting, I found myself shown into magnificent apartments, lighted up, with numerous servants, and with a grand couvert laid for supper.Congratulating myself with my companions on our capital inn, we proceeded to call about us, ordering and making free precisely as if in the first Paris hotel. The wines were excellent; more and more were ordered up; a provision directed to be laid aside to carry forward on the next day's march; in short, we all went to bed in the sweetest delirium. But the consternation that followed the next morning was appalling: when awaking, I was informed that the Duke's brother was in the ante-room, waiting to know" Si son excellence etoit content de sa reception?" The ridicule attached to me for this anecdote did not leave me during the few very happy days I spent at the delightful palace of the Duke of Mecklenberg, at Strelitz, and in the most enchanting society that then embellished it.-Marquess of Londonderry's Narrative of the War in Germany and France in 1813, and 1814. Lord Byron's Works-At a trade sale amongst other things submitted for sale were the copyrights of 65 of Lord Byron's poems. Mr. Hanson, (one of Lord Byron's executors,) and the great publishers, Mr. Murray and Messrs. Colburn and Bentley, were present. Upon the lot being put up, Mr. Murray was the first bidder, at 500 guineas. The bidding went on smartly till it amounted to the sum of 3,700 guineas, when it was knocked down to Mr. Murray. At this moment Messrs. Colburn and Bentley claimed the purchase, and much altercation ensued, when the room became in a state of complete confusion, Mr. Murray contending, on the one hand, that it was his, and Messrs. Colburn and Bentley, on the other hand, that it was theirs. It was a very considerable time before Mr. Colburn could obtain a hearing, when he submitted the case to the company. He stated that the auctioneer had had unlimited authority to go on bidding for himself and Mr. Bentley, until he should be desired to stop; which the auctioneer admitted. Messrs. Colburn and Bentley, at the same time very handsomely gave the purchase up to Mr. Murray, which information was received by the company in terms of acclamation. The business of the day then proceeded. The copyright of "Don Juan," was the next lot sold, which was bought in by the executors of Lord Byron for 300 guineas. A self-taught man.-In looking over the list of new publications in the last North American Review, our eye rested on the following in the division, Astronomy. "Mecanique Celeste. By the Marquis de la Place. Translated with a Commentary, by Nathaniel Bowditch. pp. 746." Now then, we said to ourselves, the fruits of many years of solitary application are exhibited to the world. Now there exists an enduring monument of how much genius can effect, in the midst of difficulties, and unaided by the cheering voice of encouragement. There yet live many whose memories can carry them back to the time, when Nathaniel Bowditch was a clerk in the store of a Ship Chandler, in the town of Salem, in Massachusetts. They can remember how diligently he then improved every hour, constantly employ ing himself with a book or a pencil, when there was no occasion for his services at the counter. They can trace his progress from that station to the responsible trust of a Supercargo on board of an East Indiaman; to the honourable office of President of an Insurance Company, in Salem. They can testify to the zeal which never abated in the pursuit of knowledge to his acquisition of the Latin and French and Italian languages, that he might extend his researches, in that branch of the science, for which his mind always discovered an intuitive aptitude. They can call to mind the gratification they experienced, when Foreign Academies received him as a worthy brother, and the Universities of our own coun. try admitted him to their fellowship. There are thousands now who render to him a will : ing tribute of gratitude and respect for the efficient aid he has rendered to the cause of improvement, in organising the Mechanic's Institution in Boston, in fostering and enlarging its Atheneum, and in giving a new impulse to the energies of its neighbouring University. And there are many who hold him in their affections, for those excellencies of character, of which we cannot speak, without intrusion on the sacredness of private life. The work of which Mr. Bowditch has now published a translation is known to the learned every where: the translation has been made in the hours usually given to repose. We have drawn this hasty sketch in the hope that the example would stimulate some to enter on that course of honourable exertion, which is open to all by our free institutions, and of which the reward is sure and enduring. -Detroit Journal. Punctuality-One has only to attend a meeting of a London committee, to appreciate the advantages of punctuality and method, in the transaction of business. Almost while the clock is striking, the members enter and take their seats; the business of the meeting is entered upon at once; every thing else is excluded; there is no rambling conversation, on irrelevant subjects; and the meeting is dissolved, the moment the business is despatched. M. Chabert, the fire eater,--the Prussic acid drinker, the man who goes into an oven with a beef-steak, and stays till it is cooked :—this man, upon whom all the ordinary modes of killing have been proved to be ineffectual has challenged the editor of the Lancet to "give him the satisfaction which is due to a gentleman."-This is one of the most unreasonable reHow quests we have ever heard of. can any body know what would satisfy such a man. Suppose you were to run him through the body, it might do him no harm: if you were to shoot him through the head, he would laugh at you-and even if you were to take the course prescribed by somebody who was not a good shot, to his challenger who was, that is, that both should sit on a keg of powder, each with a lighted match, and that the point should be, which should set it off first-even if such a course were taken in despair, a sleight-of-hand man, like M. Chabert, would know how to direct his course through the air to his own advantage. The offence was given by the editor of the Lancet having brought Prussic acid of his own making to M. Chabert, who declined taking it, no doubt for good reasons-upon which there was a most unreasonable attack upon him in the Lancet. In becoming sovereign Prince of Greece, Leopold is to cease to be the pensioner of England. By the marriage contract he was to receive £50,000 a year during life, instead of which he is to be paid at once £750,000, equal to nearly four millions of dollars. The civil disabilities of the Jews are likely to be removed in Great Britain, for it is said that although Lord Wellington refuses to make their removal a government question, he will not oppose it. In the Philadelphian of April 9, the Rev. editor (Dr. Êly,) has published a spirited "dialogue between Col. Johnson, of Kentucky, and not a few of his We do not mean to fellow citizens." have any part in the controversy, but may venture an opinion that this is one of the best pieces on its side. The parties to the conversation are Col. Johnson--Petitioners-All--Roman Catholics-Sabbatarians-Lord's Day Advocates-Infidels-Universalists- Brummell,-Before the Laurence Kirk snuffboxes came into general use, Brummell was exhibiting one of singular delicacy at the table of the Duke of R., when a nobleman in company, baffled by the ingenuity of the hinge, took up a gilt dessert knife to assist him in opening the box. "Your Lordship will please to observe," said Brummell mildly, "that it is Socinians-Formalists-Hypocritesnot an oyster." Literary Port Folio. NOTES ON THE PAST WEEK. EditorPatriots--Night WalkersAtheists-Christians--Sons of the Pilgrims--Protestants of Germany -Irish Catholics-Casuists-the Pi ous. Monday-Late intelligence from France has been received. Two thirds of the House of Deputies are in opposition to the government. It is said that a dispute exists in Paris concerning the name to be given to Algiers after it shall have been taken. The English ministry have very large majorities in both houses. The New York Evening Post gives part of a letter recently received from Canton, in Indiana, the writer of which thinks the Garden of Eden was situated in that western region. Canton," says the letter, "is situated on a high bottom land, surrounded with bluffs. On this high bottom are a number of mounds, which were no doubt made by man, and probably before the flood. They are from six to fifteen feet high, and are full of human bones, which are found to be a great deal larger than those of the present race of men. I come to the opinion that this country was inhabited before the flood-first, because these human bones are the largest in the world, and man, it is known, decreased in stature as his years were shortened; secondly, because the wood found in digging wells, &c. at a depth of 30 feet under the surface of the earth, shows evidently that it has been cut with an axe, and iron tools are also found, of the use and mode tended for others has been visited on himself; A Scotchman, in Edinburgh, slipped off the roof of a habitation sixteen stories high; and when midway in his descent through the air, he arrived at a lodger looking out at the window of the eighth floor, to whom (as he was an acquaintance) he observed, "eh, Sandy, man, sic a fa' as I shall hae!" dent. An axe and a hatchet manufactured in Chambersburg, have been presented to the Presi "Poor old soul!" sorrowfully ejaculated a sympathetic housekeeper, "I wonder where he will put all these things they give him!" They would certainly make a general assortment if all were put into the same place. Some printers in London are preparing an edition of Paradise Lost, in letters of gold. We value the book too highly to have a copy of such an edition, which we could not read. A society has been formed at Paris for the Union, and embraces amongst its members of making which the Indians were ignorantin England. It is called the Encyclopedie Mauch Chunk, April 8. The rumbling noise of the railway cars, and the flash of their swiftly revolving wheels in the sunlight, as they whirl down from the mine, loaded with glittering wealth; the thumping, banging, whanging, and rattling of hammers, chains, planks, and boards, in the boat-shed; the cheerful horn of the tow path boy, together with a thousand other things which we have not time to mention, afford positive evidence that our navigation has commenced, and are certain harbingers of a busy season. - Port Gibson, (Miss.) March 20. An awful occurrence, and one which affords an unerring index to the ultimate end of vice, took place at Chittaloosa, on Wednesday night last. A robber, in attempting to enter the store of Messrs. C. and A. Haring, received a stab in the breast from Mr. A. Haring, who was in the store, and died in a few minutes. He had loosened the window shutter, raised the sash, and extended his body half into the store, and was in the act of turning round a desk to rifle it of its contents, when he received the blow. He instantly fled, but fell dead after running about twenty paces. He is a stranger, probably from the upper country, and had nothing with him by which his name could be discovered. He was armed with a loaded pistol, which was stuck in a handkerchief tied round the outside of his dress; and in his pocket was a bunch of keys, of different sizes and forms. He evidently intended to effect his object even at the price of blood; but by the decree of a just Providence, that which was in Charleston, S. C. March 30, 1830. It is with deep regret we have to communicate the death of STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Esq of our city. He died suddenly, between the hours of 9 and 10 on Sunday night last. His life had been one of public usefulness and honour. It had been devoted to the promotion of all beneficial works among us. To the establishment of our colleges, in one of which he was a Professor, and in the other a Trustee and Director-to the encouragement of the arts and General Literature-to the cultivation of the infant Sciences. He was the founder and Editor of the Southern Review, a work which ranks second to none of its kind in this country, and holds an honourable sta- Mr. Elliott, we understand, was in his 58th Review. How awful was the transition from this most elevated evidence of life, to the chilling certainty of death.-City Gaz. Departed this life at Georgetown, Delaware, on the 1st inst. in the 72d year of his age, the Hon. NICHOLAS RIDGELY Chancellor of the State of Delaware. In the morning he was actively engaged in the discharge of his official functions in the Court of Chancery, and in a short time after the adjournment of the Court in the afternoon of the same day, was taken suddenly ill, and almost immediately expired. For nearly thirty years he had most faithfully and honourably filled the first judicial office in the gift of his native state. Endowed with great discrimination of mind, of indefatigable industry, of unsullied integrity of character, and high in the confidence of his fellow citizens, he was enabled to exercise the paternal authority of his station, with great reputation to himself and benefit to the suitors of his Court. widow and the Orphan ever found in him a vigilant and unwearied protector from fraud and oppression, and all men felt that the Chancery Powers of the State were vested in an honest, intelligent and upright Judge. In all the relations of life his deportment was dig. nified, kind and winning. The In private life he was remarkable for the affability as well as candour of his manner. The friendships which he formed were lasting. He was the tried, and unwavering friend of those whose intimacy he cultivated, and his counsel and assistance by those he regarded were never sought in vain. Throughout his long life he was the uniform enemy of immorality, whether it was to be encountered in public or private life. The cause of good morals, virtue and religion ever found in him a fearless and steady supporter. In the belief and profession of the Protestant Episcopal Church he lived and died-by all who knew him lamented, a public and private loss, he has sunk to his rest. May his mantle fall on some worthy successor !-Am. Daily Adv. B. MUSEUM OF FOREIGN LITERATURE CONTENTS. Plate.-Condemnation of Anne Boleyn. The Wishing. Gate. The First Grey Hair. Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. Country Clergymen. Boyhood. Biographical Memoir of M. Corvisart, North American Forest Scenes. The Prodigal's Vow. Arnott's Physics. The Moonbeam. The Ancient Roads of the Peruvians. Salgues on Repu tations. Pilgrimage to Mekka and Medina. Account ef Casper Hauser. Preservation of Firemen exposed to Flames. Rev. Isaac Taylor. Hymn. Cottage Poetry. Once upon a Time. Miscellany. Literary Intelligence. 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