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I had now resolved to emigrate. I therefore stuck up printed hand-bills in my shopwindows, that contained a great deal about "prodigious sacrifices," "great catch," &c.; and in a few days disposed of all the things I did not intend to take with me.

Every thing went on as well as I could wish; and I sailed on the 10th of July, in the ship Providence, from London for Quebec, with a great assortment of goods.

With respect to our voyage, I will say nothing-neither about my own sickness and fears, nor those of Amelia; but will merely state that, after a wearisome voyage of seven weeks, we arrived at the capital of Lower Canada.

We did not remain long at Quebec, for I was dissuaded from opening shop there by being told that the market was decidedly overstocked, and was advised to go to some of the new settlements, where I should be able to drive a prodigious trade. I therefore determined to set off the next Monday, being the second we had spent in the " false city," as my wife denominated Quebec, giving orders for the construction of an enormous beef-steak pie.

Monday turned out, to our delight, a very fine day, and we started by six in the morning in a vehicle denominated a wagon; which name, however, I cannot say I think appropriate. We were accompanied with three veritable wagons, containing part of our luggage; the other part of which I had agreed with the man to be sent after me.

When we had travelled several hours, we began to feel the admonitions of hunger; and we therefore resolved to breakfast at the place where we then were, as no inn was in view. So, having got it out of the wagon, we placed the ponderous pie on the ground, and satisfied the cravings of nature. Then we spread a cloth over it, while we went to look after the rest of our train, which was just appearing in sight.

We found no damage of a serious nature had befallen our articles; and we therefore prepared to re-enter our conveyance, when Amelia recollected our provisions, and ran to fetch the pie; with which she soon returned and placed it upon the seat, while we got in; which we had barely accomplished, when we perceived the cloth moving.

"What can it be?" said my wife, putting down her hand to lift it. She had hardly touched it when a hiss was heard beneath, and a snake thrust out its had and began to crawl up her arm. She gave such a terrific scream that the horse took fright, and setting off at full speed, ran foul of a stump, and precipitated us, snake and all, to the ground.

"Ah, ah!" shrieked Amelia, in a tone of horror; "I feel it twining down the back of my neck. Oh, oh! take hold of its tailstop it!"

"I'll not touch the reptile," said I: "I'm sure its a rattlesnake. Wait till I

"Oh! I am dying-I feel it stinging me. Ah, ah !—there again," interrupted my wife, throwing herself with all her force upon the ground; and the snake, finding itself, I suspect, in no very comfortable quarters under Amelia, who is corpulently inclined, abandoned its position, and, to its victim's horror, glided across her mouth in its progress. She then got up; and the driver, who was indulging in a fit of laughter at her expense, soon extirpated the reptile, which he pronounced of the most harmless dispositions. However, nothing could induce either of us to taste the pie again; on which the man and his companions breakfasted, and enjoyed a hearty laugh at our expense.

Nothing more occurred till we arrived at the place where I intended to settle, as it is called; and we got to the tavern just before sunset. Here we had some tea; and then went to the balcony, where we remained talking of our prospects in Canada till we were completely discomfited by whole swarms of mosquitoes, that fastened on our hands and faces in such a manner as to occasion us some pain.

In a few moments I became disagreeably itchy; and as we were scratching the blains in very agony, a person told us with a grave face that doing so only made them worse, as if it were possible to help it. In the irritation of my nerves, I answered him very tartly; and on his laughing, grew so angry that I quite forgot myself, and in the end made him equally furious.

From that time to this I have had reason to repent having so given way to my temper; but to the irritation produced by the bites of the mosquitoes I attributed all the misfortunes that I experienced in that part of the country; for I have reason to believe that this person went about the village, and stirred them up against me.

The next day I purchased a convenient house, and removed my goods into it without delay; and after being occupied a fortnight with carpenters, joiners, &c., I placed my commodities in excellent order (the remainder having duly arrived), and was quite prepared to receive customers.

My store, as they called it, being opened, the people of the village immediately flocked to it, and bargained for articles, which, to my astonishment, they were about to carry away without paying; and on my asking them for money, they impertinently shrugged their shoulders, and went away leaving the things behind them. Strange as it may appear, it is the fact that not one of those who entered the shop purchased an article: all without exception, on my demanding the price, muttered some outlandish gibberish and walked

out.

"Well," says I to myself, "these are the poor people of the village, who are trying to get me wheedled out of my property; those that can pay will come to-morrow."

But the next day, and the one following, not the shadow of a customer crossed my threshold, and I began to fidget; but I shall always think that it arose from that quarrel I had at the inn; and what makes me more certain is, that the same individual told me that the reason I had no custom was because I did not give credit, as if I should have trusted persons I never saw in my life before. They were, however, to say the mildest thing of them, barbarians; for they could not speak a Christian tongue, but uttered gibberish, and laughed one with another as they left the shop. As a proof of their utter foolishness, when I was showing some capital cloth to one of these habitans, as they are called, he held up his garment, and said, with a correspouding shrug, “It isn't as goot as dat;" when it was better beyond comparison. But my store-keeping business was fast coming to a conclusion.

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The Observatory at Paris.-Neither wood nor iron were used in the construction of this building. The whole is of stone, and all the rooms and staircases are vaulted. In one apartment, by putting the mouth against a pilaster, and speaking low, the voice may be heard by a person at the opposite pilaster, and by no other person in the room. Upon the floor of another apartment is engraved an universal chart.

Liverpool and Manchester Railway-In one week of the last month, 14,588 passengers travelled the whole length of the line along the Liverpool and Manchester railway. This is exclusive of passengers going short distances, and of those proceeding by the Bolton and other branch railways. The following is the number of passengers along the whole line during the first seven months of the present year: January, 26,572; February, 24,171; March, 26,880; April, 31,300; May, 35,118; June, 56,280; July, 54,642; -Total, 255,053. This number is also exclusive of short distances and branch railway passengers.

A slip of bamboo care, twelve inches high, was planted on the 1st of April, 1833, in a garden at Hières, in the Var, (France,) and has thrown out several shoots of from 20 to 26 feet high. The ground has been constantly irrigated during the hot season; but the degree of cold it is able to bear has not been ascertained, since the late winters have been very mild. One of the shoots, which

appeared above the ground on 3rd Sept.,
1833, had, on 9th October last, reached the
Its circumference at the
height of 25 feet.
base was nine inches, and at about six feet
from the ground, seven inches. If it can be
reconciled to this climate, it will become of
great utility, from the rapidity of its growth.
It is propagated by shoots, which at the end
of five or six months may be separated from
the mother root; and it may also be multi-
plied by cuttings.-Paris Advertiser.

Passage to India.-The first Indian mail by way of Alexandria and the Red Sea, which was despatched from Falmouth on March 3, in the African steamer, arrived at Bombay, April 22, in 50 days from England. The passage by this route may now be generally accomplished in 50 days, viz. 17 days from Falmouth to Malta, 5 from Malta to

Alexandria, and 28 from Alexandria to Bom

bay, including stoppages.-Paris Advertiser.

Eprouvettes. We undestand, by eprouvettes, dishes of acknowledged flavour, of such undoubted excellence, that their bare appearance ought to excite in a human being, properly organized, all the faculties of taste. A distinguished gastronomer proposes eprouvettes by negation. When, for example, a dish of high merit is suddenly destroyed by accident, or any other sudden disappointment occurs, you are to note the expression of your guests' faces, and thus form your estimate of their gastric sensibilities. We will illustrate this matter by an anecdote.-Cardinal Fesch, a name of honour in the annals of gastronomy, had invited a large party of clerical magnates to dinner. By a fortunate coincidence, two turbots of singular beauty arrived as presents to his Eminence on the very morning of the feast. To serve both would appear ridiculous, but the Cardinal was, notwithstanding, most anxious to have the credit of both. He imparted his embarrassment to his chef-"Be of good faith, your Eminence :" was the reply, both shall ap. pear: both shall enjoy the reception which is their due." The dinner was served: one' of the turbots relieved the soup. Exclamations unanimous, enthusiastic, religious, gastronomical-it was the moment of the eprouvette positive. The maître d'hôtel advances: two attendants raise the monster, and carry him off to cut him up; but one of them loses his equilibrium: the attendants and the turbot roll together on the floor. At this sad sight, the assembled Cardinals became pale as death, and a solemn silence reigned in the conclave-it was the moment: of the eprouvette negative-but the maître d'hôtel suddenly turns to the attendant"Bring another turbot," said he, with the most perfect coolness. The other appeared, and the eprouvette positive was gloriously renewed.-Quarterly Review.

66

Louis XIV-In the royal library, at Paris, is a pair of globes, nearly 12 feet in diameter, and 35 in circumference; which are supposed to be the largest in Europe, except one in the University of Cambridge. An inscription on the celestial sphere informs us that "all the planets are laid down in the position they occupied at the birth of Louis le Grand:" and one on the terrestrial globe asserts that "it was constructed to exhibit the countries which that great monarch might have subdued, had not his moderation prescribed

limits to his valour."

Every one has observed that dogs, before they lie down, turn themselves round and round several times. Those who have had an opportunity of witnessing the actions of animals in a wild state, know that they seek long grass for their beds, which they beat down and render more commodious by turning round in it several times. It would appear, therefore, that the habit of our domestic dogs in this respect is derived from the nature of the same species in the wild state. This is a curious fact, and serves to prove how much the instinctive habits of wild animals are retained by their domesticated progeny.-Jesse's Gleanings.

Poverty is, except where there is an actual want of food and raiment, a thing much more imaginary than real. The shame of poverty -the shame of being thought poor-is a great and fatal weakness, though arising in this country, from the fashion of the times themselves. Cobbett.

A Truth.-I cannot form an idea of a mortal more wretched than a man of real talent, compelled to curb his genius, and to submit himself in the exercise of that genius, to those whom he knows to be far inferior to himself, and whom he must despise from the bottom of his soul.-Cobbett.

Onions. In a garden here, (at Old Romney,) I saw some very fine onions, and a prodigious crop-sure sign of most excellent land. Cobbett.

Blackberry Jam.-A Correspondent of the Magazine of Domestic Economy, writes with homely emphasis: "Blackberry jam, I have every reason to believe, is the most salubrious preserve that can be devised for the gratification of human beings. I speak from ample experience, having had made, and seen consumed, many hundred weights of it within the past few years."

Vaudeville.-This species of drama is said to have derived its name from the following circumstance. Oliver Basselin, a fuller in Normandy, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, used to compose humorous songs, which he sang as he stretched out his cloth in the vaux or valleys on the banks of the river Vire. These songs became popular,

and, from being first called Faux-de-Vire, afterwards assumed the name of Vaudeville,

The New York papers announce the death of Enoch Crosby, in the 88th year of his age. He was the original of Fenimore Cooper's character of Harvey Birch, in the novel of The Spy, and rendered important services to General Washington during the American

war.

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well's followers, who filled the important Magisterial Ignorance.-One of Cromstation of an Irish Justice, at the period of 1661, having occasion to write the word usage," contrived to spell it without using a single letter of the original word; his improved orthography was, "yowzitch." When some remarks were made on similar feats, he averred that "nobody could spell with pens made from Irish geese." F. J. S.

Eating Fast.-The habit of eating fast and carelessly is supposed to have paralyzed Napoleon on two of the most critical occasions of his life, the battles of Borodino and Leipsic, which he might have converted into decisive and influential victories by pushing his advantages as he was wont. On each

of these occasions he is known to have been suffering from indigestion. On the third day of Dresden, too, the German novelist Hoffman, who was present in the town, asserts that the Emperor would have done much more than he did, but for the effects of a shoulder of mutton stuffed with onions-a dish only to be paralleled by the pork chops which Messrs. Thurtell and Co. regaled on after completing the murder of their friend Mr. Weare.

Fortune. In the obituary of the year 1799, we find recorded the deaths of two persons, whose circumstances are extraordinary examples of reverse fortune. The first was Mr. James Calvert, who in February died in indigence, having been the sole proprietor of the first ticket ever drawn so high a prize as 20,000. in the English lottery; and in a subsequent lottery he gained 5,000l.: he was originally a capital vinegar-merchant, at the corner of Old-street, in the City Road. In the following month died Mr. Abraham Newman, who was one of the richest citizens of London, and a happy instance of the powers of accumulation by the steady pursuit of honourable industry. Without speculation or adventure, he acquired 600,000l. as a grocer: he retired from trade about four years before his death, but so forcible was his habit, that he came every day to the shop, and ate his mutton at two o'clock, the good old city hour, with his successors.

Printed and published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) London; sold by G. G. BENNIS, 55, Rue Neuve St. Augustin, Paris; CHARLES JUGEL, Francfort; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers.

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194

STATUE OF JAMES WATT,

IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

THIS noble monument, by Chantrey, is placed in St. Paul's chapel, one of the small chapels on the north side of the choir of the chapel of Edward the Confessor. Its pedestal, or base, bears the following eloquent inscription, written by Lord Brougham:

NOT TO PERPETUATE A NAME
WHICH MUST ENDURE WHILE THE
PEACEFUL

ARTS FLOURISH,

BUT TO SHOW

THAT MANKIND HAVE LEARNED TO HONOUR THOSE

WHO BEST DESERVE THEIR GRATITUDE, THE KING,

HIS MINISTERS, AND MANY OF THE NOBLES AND COMMONERS OF THE REALM, RAISED THIS MONUMENT TO

JAMES WATT,

WHO, DIRECTING THE FORCE OF AN ORIGINAL

GENIUS,

FARLY EXERCISED IN PHILOSOPHIC RESEARCH,

TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF

THE STEAM ENGINE,

ENLARGED THE RESOURCES OF HIS COUNTRY,
INCREASED THE POWER OF MAN,
AND ROSE TO AN EMINENT PLACE
AMONG THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS FOLLOWERS

OF SCIENCE

AND THE REAL BENEFACTORS OF THE WORLD,
BORN AT GREENOCK, MDCCXXXVI.
DIED AT HEATHFIELD, IN STAFFORDSHIRE,
MDCCCXIX.

There is not a word of monumental flattery in these emphatic lines; but they assert certain useful truths, upon which are based the interests and happiness of the whole of the human race.

The erection of this monument originated at a meeting held in the Freemason's Hall, on Friday, June 18, 1824,-or upwards of eleven years since. "On this occasion, the ate Earl of Liverpool, then Prime Minister, was in the chair, and was supported by his colleagues, Mr. Peel and Mr. Huskisson. Mr. Canning was also to have been present, but was detained by official business. The other principal speakers were Sir Humphry Davy, Mr. Wilberforce, Sir James Mackintosh, and Mr. Brougham." Of these illustrious men, two only, (Mr. Peel and Mr. Brougham,) have lived to see completed the tribute which their eloquence so honourably advocated. "Lord Liverpool, who first addressed the assembly, concluded his speech by announcing that the King himself had desired him to state how deeply penetrated his Majesty was with the sense of the services rendered to Great Britain by him whose memory they were met to honour, and desired to place his name at the head of the subscrip

Archi

tion list, with a subscription of 500h Humphry Davy, who followed, in clo quent comparison between Watt medes, said that Archimedes.eld abstract science in the highest esteem, while the genius of Watt, on the contrary, transformed every principle upon which it seized into a useful practical application, and might be

said to have called down science from heaven to earth."

"It was at this meeting that Mr. Peel did himself so much honour by his frank and ardent acknowledgment of the debt of grati tude due by himself and his family to the inventer of the steam-engine, to whom he said, they owed all that they possessed. He felt that the class of society from which he had sprung had been ennobled by the genius of Watt. Mr. Brougham dilated eloquently, and, as M. Dupin describes it, in a tone of voice simple, grave, impressive,' on the general character, both intellectual and moral, of his illustrious friend, whose memory they had come together to honour. Not,' he said, 'that his memory needs a monument to make it immortal; for the remembrance of him will be as durable as the power which he has subjected to the use of man; but to consecrate his example in the face of the world, and to show to all the world that a man of extraordinary talent cannot employ it better than in devoting it to the service of the whole human species.'

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The statue is a masterly performance of art, and adds even to the sculptor's high repu tation. It is said by those who knew Watt, to convey his figure and aspect: even a glance will associate his noble genius and capacious brow.

THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. (From the French.)

We find in the History of the French Revolution, by M. Desodoard, a singular remark relative to the Prisoner of the Bastile, so famous under the name of " Iron Mask.”

Immediately after the taking of the Bastile, (says M. Desodoard,) all the doors of the interior were thrown open. The papers which were deposited in this state-prison, (and the preservation of which would have been a great acquisition to history,) were left entirely to the mercy of the multitude. However, the more curious collected together and preserved some of these documents, among

* Our acknowledgment for these particulars of the meeting is due to the Printing Machine. There are two remarkable circumstances connected with this statue, which ought to be noticed. First, the meeting at which it originated is said to have been prompt. ed by the Baron Dupin. Secondly, eleven years have elapsed between the proposition and completion of the monument. Indeed, there is a third fact: Watt was not honoured with burial in Westminster

Abbey, and the Baron Dupin speaks of his remains lying in the obscure retirement of some unknown cemetery.

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