againe, plentifully bestowing of his owne amongst the retinue; besides, he gave many rich gifts to the king, and other nobles and knights which dined with him, to the great glorie of the citizens of London in those days."

In 1454, Sir John Norman, maior, was the first that was rowed by water to Westminster. For joy whereof the watermen made a song in his prayse, beginning

"Row thy boate Norman."

He caused a barge to be built at his owne charge, and every company had several barges well decked and trimmed, to passe along with him. The aldermen (before) rode by land on horseback to Westminster, early, and visited the tombs in the abbey.

In 1520, the maiors began to be knighted by courtesie of the king.

In 1556, when Sir William Garret was maior, seven aldermen dyed in London in lesse than ten months.

In 1557, Sir Thomas Offley first ordained the night bellman.

In 1564, when Sir John White was maior, there was no feast, by reason of the plague.

In 1610, when Sir Thomas Cambell was maior, the shews long left off, were now revived againe by order from the king.

In 1617, Sir John Leman was the second bachelor maior; the first was John Matthew, in 1491. P. T. W.

MAGNIFICENT CITY FEASTS.

(For the Mirror.)

IN January, 1644, the city gave a splendid entertainment at Merchant Taylors' Hall, to both houses of parliament, the Earls of Essex, Warwick, and Manchester, with other lords, the Scotch commissioners, and the principal officers of the army. The company assembled at "Sermon, in Christ Church, Newgate-street, and thence went on foot to the hall." The lord-mayor and aldermen led the procession; and as they went through Cheapside, on a scaffold, many Popish pictures, crucifixes, and superstitious relics were burnt before them." This entertainment (says Brayley) was given in consequence of the discovery of a design to read a letter from the king at a common-hall, the obvious tendency of which was to destroy the prevailing unanimity of the citizens in favour of the parliament.

On the 19th of June, 1645, both houses of parliament were magnificently entertained by the citizens, in Grocers' Hall, on occasion of the decisive vic

tory obtained by Fairfax and Cromwell, over the king's army at Naseby ;" and after dinner they sang the 46th Psalm, and so parted.'

On the 7th of January, 1649, the lord-mayor and common-council gave a splendid entertainment to the house of commons, and principal officers of the army, at Grocers' Hall, in commemoration of the late suppression of the Levellers.

In February, 1653, Cromwell dined with the corporation of the city, at Grocers' Hall, and the entertainment was conducted with regal splendour; on this occasion Cromwell exercised one of the functions of a sovereign, by conferring the honour of knighthood on the lord-mayor.

On Lord Mayor's Day,' 1677, the sovereign, with his Queen, the Duke of York, and his two daughters, Mary and Anne, the Prince of Orange, and most of the nobility were sumptuously feasted by the citizens in Guildhall, in testimony of the general satisfaction of the nation, at the recent marriage (on November the 4th,) of the Prince of Orange with the Princess Mary.

On Lord-Mayor's day, 1689, their majesties accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Denmark, and both houses of parliament, were sumptuously entertained at Guildhall.

On Lord Mayor's day, 1727, the royal family, with all the great officers of state, and a numerous train of nobility and foreign ministers, were entertained by the citizens at Guildhall; on which occasion his majesty ordered £1,000. to be paid to the sheriffs, for the relief of insolvent debtors. The whole expense of the feast amounted to about £4,890. P. T. W.

In the explanation of "York and Lancaster," at page 285, of our No. 455, the reference should be to Henry VI. Part I. Act ii. Scene 5.for which correction we thank an old subscriber.-TYPO.

The Selector ;

AND

LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS.

ANNUALS FOR 1831.

WE give a spice of pathos and humour from "Friendship's Offering" and the New Comic Annual; so that our extracts may be said to be of "smiles, and sighs, and tears." The special merits of these and similar volumes stand over for our customary Supplements from the Annuals:

"I stood upon a pleasant hill,

Which overlooks the home

I once called mine, before I learned
From my own land to roam-

"I felt like one who has returned
From exile o'er the deep,

Who will not smile until he knows
He has no cause to weep.

"It was high summer noon, the sun,
O'er the sweet sylvan world,

The banner of his majesty

Most gorgeously unfurled.

"In all my days, I never saw

The mountains seem so near,

Or town and tower, wood, lake, and stream So vividly appear

"Yet, far or near, I could not mark

The form of living thing,

By forest, flood, or field, not even
An insect on the wing!

"A sultry silence reigned around,
Unbroken by a breath,

As it had been a paradise,

Of which the lord was Death!

"The garden that my sister loved,
With flowers and fruit-trees fair,
Bloomed brighter than in by-gone times-
But Mary was not there!

"The orchard where my grey-haired sire
Retired in summer's heat,
Flung its broad shadows o'er the grass-
But 'twas not his retreat!

"I was the youngest son of seven,
The rest remained behind,

To till the ground and tend the flocks-
Yet none my eye could find!
"Not one of all that goodly band,
Who prized the lightsome air

Of their youth's haunts like life itself,
Could I see anywhere.

"I left the hill-1 quickly passed
The meadow and the lane ;

Our own old hall was darkened with
My shadow once again!

III.

"The shadow of his youngest son
Darkened my father's hall-
It was the only thing that might
The dream of life recall,

The sole thing left to mourn with me,
My kindred vanished all!

"There swept a sickness o'er my sonl-
A sickness without name;

God! 'twas a fearsome sight to see
All household forms the same,
Save that the place was tenantless,
And on the hearth no flame.
"I had been happy to have heard
The dog bark as of yore!

I could have blessed a little mouse
For sporting on the floor!
"I bent me o'er my father's bed,

His night gear still was there,
And many an antique ornament
My mother used to wear.
"I call'd on each beloved one,
None answered me again-

I prayed that storms might rise and break
The stillness; but in vain!

"Through the barred lattice of the room
Entered the shimmering sun,

And settled where my sire of old
Made frequent orison.

"Twas a tall chair of polished oak,
And on its seat there lay

The holy book the good man read,
Devoutly, every day :

"Twas open where the names of all
Our house inscribed had been;

I took it up, in haste, to note

What changes were therein

"Woe and despair! Death's dismal seal
Marked every name but mine,
And it avenging Heaven had stamped
With a heart-withering sign.

"I dashed the blessed book to earth-
I staggered to the bed-
My hody battled with my soul-
I knew that I was dead.

IV.
"It was as if a voice had cried,
'Let him and his appear!'

I felt it so, although no sound
Commanding did I hear.

"And, instantly, I stood before
The awful judgment seat,

Where Adam's sin-bewildered race

Their last award shall meet.

"Within was light, fierce light, as of

Ten thousand suns in one;

Though freed from earthly bonds, its power I could not choose but shun.

"The outward space was dark, death-dark, No object blessed the sight,

Save an old man, who stood with all
His household on the right-
"O not with all! One son of seven
Gloomed on the left alone-
His the sole eye reflecting not

The glory of God's throne-
"His the sole ear that greeted not

The mystic thunder note,
Which through Eternity's dim halls
On silence seemed to float-
"Twas the dread charge, omnipotent,
To show what we had been
Ere closed our dying lids upon
Earth's transitory scene.

"For every form arose a form,
A mirror of the past,

And each shone wondrous beautiful
And happy, save the last.

"That was a damned sulphur shape,
A record of the times

In which the loathsome clay had marred
My spirit by its crimes.

"It seared my soul with agony,

A hopelessness and shame

The wine, my girl-the curse still clings Unto this fainting frame!

"To melody, deep melody, They passed in light away; I to abide in endless night,

They in eternal day.

"In vain I called-the youngest born-
On my mild-featured mother,
My patient sire, my sister kind,
And every dear-loved brother.
"Away-away-they passed away—
Gazing with soft, bright faces

On him who ne'er might follow them
To their appointed places.
"To part from lover, or from friend
Or kindred, is severe
To the distracted sojourner
In this uncertain sphere;
"But O! the anguish infinite,
In torture doomed to sever
From all we love, without a hope

That we shall meet them ever!

"Twas thus with me-and yet not thusFor I had still a mate,

"I could have borne my doom, perchance, Had I been desolate

"I could have suffered any thing But that I see it now

As I'm a man, I think I see

Hell's brand upon thy brow ¡
"Full many a fathom deep, my girl,
In guilt's black tide we've been-
Last night I bore the punishment,
Last night I shared the sin.

"Dream that the honey of our hearts
Is turn'd to fellest gall-
Dream that our vows are curses, dire
As ever fiend let fall.

"Fancy my frame a cankered thing,
A foul and festering sore-
And thou a folded snake, that gnaws
Endurance to the core-

"And then-O no!-not even then-
Couldst thou the tithe discover
Of that which came last night to blast
The slumbers of thy lover!"

whose descendant, Nestor Ironside, appointed himself guardian to all the minors in England. One of this branch was attached to a certain General Buonaparte, whom he assisted in turning the world upside down. His immediate posterity, as might have been expected, from such a parentage, are a couple of notorious scoundrels, most paternally acquainted with whipping-posts and prisons-Commons-Side and Debtors-Side, the first of whom is an incorrigible cribbage player, while the latter gets into every tradesman's books from Piccadilly to Pie- Corner. These slippery personages will not own kindred with Under-Side, who has gone wonderfully down in the world; and in their turn they are disclaimed by Upper-Side, a snug old fellow, who would not give sixpence to save the twain of them from the gallows.

"In-Side and Out-Side are both men of letters; the former is a universal correspondent, and the latter is distinguished by his particular address. They have made so much money in the travelling line-In-Side by publishing his tours, and Out-Side by driving the mail-that each has got into Parliament; where the main business has ever since been to turn In-Side out. They met there a brace of cousins, Right-Side, who was returned for the borough of Suppleton, and Wrong-Side, who represents the county town of Oldways. The former, after voting against a certain question through the last twenty years, voted for it the other day, and retained his office; the latter stuck to his opinions, and lost * [Here the MS. is blotted so as to be quite illegible.-Printer's Devil.]

*

a pair of Londoners among us, respectable folks enough in their way: Bank-Side, who occupies a whole quay near Blackfriars; and Cheap-Side, who cuts calicoes somewhere about St. Paul's. The magnates of the family are not over fond of those gentry, though each of them has very lately been Lord Mayor, I assure you. We are, however, prodigiously fond of Broad-Side and AlongSide; two worthy Admirals, without whose services, we flatter ourselves, Nelson would have done but small service at Trafalgar. They were equally busy at Algiers with one Sir Edward, who was created Lord Exmouth; and at Navarin with the other Sir Edward, who has not been created Lord Anything. The old lads are at present rusticating with their cousin Sea-Side; who, by the by, complains sadly of his retirement being disturbed every summer by loungers and ladies. It would be pleasanter, he

says, to be shut up at home with a body's wife, looking out for squalls. They are, however, still more annoyed by a pair of dull prosers, called Sober-Sides, whom they cannot persuade to relish grog or flip; so they occupy themselves with preparing a new edition of their works, which may perhaps be published ere long under royal patronage. It is odd, however, that they should agree almost as ill with their honest kinsman, FireSide, whose domestic qualities and warm feelings recommend him to every Briton, being quite a family man, and never giving his visiters a cold reception. The sailors, to be sure, are out of their element in his company; yet if an enemy were to give them the slip, and venture upon his territories, how he would fight pro aris et focis!

"Our vanity is somewhat abated in Counsellor Either-Side, whose practice was double that of any other Westminster Blue Bag. He had an ancestor who was executed in Greece, under the statute of Neutrality, 2nd Solon, chap. 5, section 42. This unlucky gentleman's name was Neither-Side.

"A-Side was a celebrated actor, whose mode of delivery gave occasion to the phrase a playhouse whisper. Alder man Left-Side was of a peculiarly hearty constitution; but Governor Right-Side (not the member) was notorious for a bad liver-thanks to his East India residence. He died at Cheltenham, under the care of Mother Bed-Side: a very experienced matron, who had attended the clinical lectures of Surgeon HeavySide. His rupees went to his nephews, Weak-Side and Blind-Side. There is honest old Rough-Side, who never told a lie or said a civil thing in his life: whereby you may safely infer him to be one of our poor relations: the opposite in all points of Bobby Smooth-Side, who never uttered a truth beyond the fact of a fine day, or contradicted a customer. Bob has sneaked himself into an alderman's gown, is a great man at public meetings, and tags M.P. to his name. Dark-Side and Bright-Side are his worship's humble imitators, and almost as illustrious at the small clubs; where the first will persuade you that the empire is about to be blown up by gas and steam, and the second, that beer is going to be a penny a pot. These gentlemen are almost as eloquent, in their way, as the illustrious orator who used to travel about Westmorland, crying Ye men of Ambleside !'

"We have some illegitimate slips amongst us, who must in all candour be mentioned: Side-Curls, a journey

man hair-dresser at Macalpine's; SidesBone, a tailor's apprentice who is always to be found in the Poultry; Side-Scene, a call-boy at the Coburg; Side-Board, who is butler to a bishop; and SideTable, who is his lordship's chaplain. Neither must Sides-Man be forgotten, the deputy-churchwarden of St. Omnibus, who has grown fatter than the rector himself, upon vestry feeding.Then there is that puppy, Side-Look, cocking his eternal eye-glass, and squinting like the Saracen's head--Side-Box and Side-Saddle, too, a brace of dandies, who fancy the ladies cannot show a nose in the Haymarket without them. As for Side-Blow, Side- Ways, Side-Wind, and Side-Long, honest men will do wisely to keep them at a civil distance. The last of these worthies, an insinuating rascal! affects to pass for the son of our straight-forward friend Along-Side ; but if the old gentleman comes up with him, he'll rectify his crabs-ancles, I warrant you.

"I wish those people would learn to spell, who assert Regicide, Parricide, and Suicide to be our relations, or that supple scoundrel Coincide.

"As to my own connexion with the Side family, I need tell neither my name nor quality, for the reader must have long since been satisfied that I am

"BE-SIDE MYSELF."

By the way, of the "smaller growth," we have received Mrs. S. C. Hall's Juvenile Forget-me-not, for which we have reserved a page in our next Number. We have as yet only glanced at the plates: one of them, the frontispiece, Docility, must rivet the interest of young and old.

We chanced to fall upon a pretty, if not novel simile of the mind to an album: we have never seen Locke's great moral position more tenderly illustrated:

FOR MY SISTER'S ALBUM. My gentle sister, let this leaf A moral point, a lesson bear; It may be prosing, dull as brief, Yet much may be recorded there. Mine is the power this page to fill With stains, or words far worse than stains;

Yet be my language good or ill,

The tracing of my pen remains.

So with the mind-the stamp it takes
In youth, to age it will retain ;-
Then watch and pray for that which makes
An impress deep without a stain.

S. C. H.

on

In our last volume we inserted an original paper of some half-dozen columns, the propriety of "Burying in Vaults," then a question of immediate interest. The arguments of the writer appeared to us as convincing as they were ingenious; and the importance attached to the subject drew forth another paper, by the same writer, "On crowded Churchyards, and a Metropolitan Cemetery.' The above Cut, in connexion with the latter paper especially, is worthy of the reader's attention, inasmuch as it represents the very efficient furtherance of the writer's views.

The object of the Liverpool Cemetery, and the regulations adopted for its management may be thus briefly stated: The new cemetery, called the "Low Hill General Cemetery," has been established by a number of persons of various religious faith and persuasions, with a view of altering the custom that has hitherto prevailed of interring the dead amidst a dense population; and also at the same time of giving that decency and retirement to the ceremony, and security against depredations, that is so peculiarly gratifying to surviving friends.

The cemetery contains about 24,000 superficial square yards. The form of the enclosure is an oblong square, secured by a thick brick wall, thirteen feet high.

The house of the registrar, and the chapel, are in the Grecian style of architecture, built after a design of Mr. John Foster, jun. of Liverpool. The front of the buildings and the adjoining wall are of cut stone. A border of ten feet wide, immediately adjoining the interior side of the wall, and surrounding

the whole ground, is set apart for an arcade, or colonnade, roofed with slate, and railed in by ornamental iron-work, set upon a stone plinth; this border will be used for tombs and any monumental inscription, tablet, or work of sculpture, that may be erected, will be placed against the wall at the head of the respective tombs.

The centre of the ground is appropriated to vaults and graves, laid out in regular order, and numbered according to a plan that may be seen at the registrar's office. Each corpse interred is regularly registered in the books of the institution.

The chapel will be at the service of such persons who may wish to use it; and any religious funeral ceremony may be performed in it by the minister, or other person chosen by the parties who may require its use, provided such ceremony is not an outrage upon the decencies of life, or offensive to civilized society; but, if the friends of the person to be interred prefer the ceremony being performed by the registrar of the cemetery, it is his duty to perform it, according to a prescribed form, which may be seen on application to him, and without any charge of fee for such performance; or, if preferred, the interment may be made without any form or religious rite.

Such part of the ground as is not immediately wanted for graves is planted with ornamental shrubbery, under the direction of Mr. Shepherd, Curator of the Botanic Garden.

For the purpose of greater security, a watchman will at all times of the night be upon the ground.

A committee will at all times have a superintending control, and will take care that nothing offensive, ludicrous, or