were always to be helped first; why, was a mystery to me). I touch not upon the indignities I went through, of being unceremoniously thrust out of the room, whenever my sisters had any secrets to chat over with little girls of their own age (how often I have wondered what on earth they could be whispering about!) I complain not of the being made to fetch and carry for five whimsical mistresses from morning to night, to the utter neglect of all my own little plans (John, my dear, do this.-John, sir, come here. John, you ill-natured thing, come directly). I am willing to forget the very few glimpses I could get of the fire during the cold days, while five elaimants stood firmly fixed round the fender, surprised that a boy could be so chilly. I will not call to mind the complete indifference with which my school sorrows and triumphs were treated; nor the coolness with which I was received on my return home for the holidays; nor the provoking carelessness with which my departures were viewed. I scorn to complain of the superior deference which my five sisters always paid to other brothers; for I gradually discovered, to my excessive gratification, that this feeling was not confined to my own relatives. -Of none of these do I complain. sir, I turn to griefs of a far more important character: I turn to the days which have gone by, since holidays and dolls, smiles and short lessons, have all disappeared me miserum,-to what a period do I come!

No,

You spoke, sir, in a previous paper, of a sister (Maria, you call her; perhaps a Lady Maria) and a guitar. Happy man, to have your miseries reduced within so small and manageable a compass! Sir, I have five sisters; and they all play the guitar from ten to two, every day (such is the superabundance of my happiness) I am fairly guitarred up into the remotest corner of the house. But the matter does not end here: besides the guitar, all my sisters play the piano; all sing, and three play the harp. I leave you to imagine the succession of sounds from morning to night. Being extremely fond of a moderate quantity of music, I would not complain so much, if any of them liked duets and trios; for besides the change, the ground would be got over quicker; but no,-nothing but solos will do; so that the day is barely long enough for their multifarious practisings; and to avoid putting each other out, they occupy every room in the house. I need hardly say, I am tolerably surfeited of

sweet sounds but would you believe it, I am considered little less than a Goth, for even hinting at the possibility of such an occurrence: I am not allowed to be tired of music; it is insisted I must be gratified at their persevering practisings: were I to hint at the expediency of a little cessation, the whole five would be up in arms. You can conceive the situation in which I am thus placed, when, listening of an evening to their doings, some young unmarried man turns round to me, and exclaims in an insinuating loud whisper, "how very beautiful that was! can't we have it again ? ”—if I fail to cry bravo as loud as he does, I am sure to be found out, and get snubbed the next day: "How indifferent you were with the music last night, John; you do chill everybody so." Mais revenons a nos moutons; I was speaking of the difficulty of finding a room unoccupied. The only place where my troubled spirit can be at peace, under this incessant cultivation of the science of harmony, is in a room at the very top of the house; in fact, in one of the (why should I hesitate) attics. In this ignoble place, I hear little of the fiddlements going on in the lower part of the building; and to it I now remove, immediately after breakfast. But alas! I fear even this poor refuge is about to be wrested from ine! the other day, I came in with a hole in my glove; I threw it on the table (my sisters all present), and " supposed nobody would mend it for me" (I am used to neglect, sir): it hardly reached the table, before three of them flew at it and the conqueror began stitching immediately. wind now, said I to myself;-Hetty hoped I was quite well, and Charlotte begged me to explain when she ought to castle at chess. I began to be alarmed; Susan put my hair to rights, and Johanna smoothed my hat. I threw my. self desperately into a chair: "My dear John," said Hetty, "would you do us a great favour; you need not look so: it is only to allow Johanna just to practise her guitar in your room of a morning, she does put us out so here."- "Now do, John," chorussed the whole five. I bounced up, and ran out of the room, putting a determined veto on the matter. I escaped it is true, but the consequence of it is, that three of them have done nothing but pout at me since; and the other two are at open war, and amuse themselves with letting off, every now and then, some apparently careless twoedged remark, one side of which I can

What's in the

not help taking to myself.-They have been complaining, I suppose, to the superior powers; for yesterday evening, my respected mother, who had been dozing in the arm chair by the fire, was pleased all at once to lift up her head, and, half awake, to express herself “surprised I could be so unkind to my sisters; why did I not let them practise in my room?" Really, Mr. Editor, I do not know what to do.

These are only samples of my musical miseries: you will readily understand I endure very many others. Most people look forward to the London season with great delight; need I say, I dread it? Engagements of all kinds ensue; and with only one brother to do walkingstick, of course no small share of fag must fall on his shoulders. My sisters find a large quantity of morning visits to pay, exhibitions to see, shoppings to go through; and I, no leave asked, must do propriety whenever I am wanted; just as if my own private engagements were to be considered as nothing (you know, sir, there are, now and then, little matters in this line, which it is very distressing to be obliged to put off). You have undergone, I suppose, the process of shopping? What a very pretty bracelet this is, John, is it not? The poor be wildered brother, knowing what is coming, calls up a look of calm contempt for the trash; and he is in return fairly pounced upon with a "Now do buy it for me, John; it is not so very dear; and Caroline does so want that chain ! It is awful the money spent this way by brothers, in gloves, ribands, jewellery, scents, and other the like nicknacks; and the worst of it is, our ringleted plagues seem to go upon the principle, that it is a mere duty we owe them to supply their amiable wants as fast as they can fancy them; so that we get no thanks for our compliance (it is true we are only too glad to do all they wish us); and if we refuse, oh, mercy, what torrents of eloquence ensue !

Talk of the comfort of having sisters indeed! Only imagine the going to parties with so many female relatives! "Mrs. B., Mr. B., and the Miss B.'s," shouts one servant; "Mrs. B., the Miss B.'s, and Mr. B.," shouts another-and in we walk in a body. I dread to look round, for I am sure to see a titter on the faces of the people in the room, at such a wholesale supply. I once suggested, as regarded my sisters, the propriety of some two or three having colds on these occasions, taking it by turns for every invite; but bless me, I got into

such hot water, that I have not dared to interfere since it was fairly asserted, and considered as proved, that I wanted to keep them all at home, that I was ashamed of them, that I hated them; that, in short, I was a sort of a monster of a brother!

When we have a full house here, you will easily conceive the fever I am put into. My sisters have each their several plans and views, and ideas; and for two or three days previously, it is " hinted,” and "wished," and "requested," and "of coursed," I will be particular to do this, and not to do the other. Attention to the confusing wishes of five people is so very difficult, that sometimes a little error will occur, and then the next day I am victimized; I am assured that my non-compliance with their wishes was extremely unkind; indeed they are not certain it was not intentional. "How could you, John, do so and so? you know I wanted you to draw out Mr. A., and not to argue with Mr. B., or to back Miss C.-And you went away from the piano just when Mr. D. was going to sing' Idolo mio;' it was so rude of you.

-And when Mr. E. asked you if we sung, you said you did not know.-And you left that poor Miss G. alone twice in the evening, when you know mamma wants you to be civil to her.- And when aunt asked us for Perfida Clore,' which is Charlotte's best, you told her you had quite forgotten your part; you might have stood up, at all events-And you looked so grave when Mr. H. told that story over again, about the man and his dog.-And when Caroline wanted to dance, you left her with that disagreeable Mr. L., whom you know she abominates.

And when Johanna got out in the guitar passage, you did nothing to cover it, but stood silent; you might have laughed, or coughed. And when Miss M. was playing her tiresome variations, I could hear you talking to Mrs. O.And when Hetty wanted you to find some music, you would not look our way, but pretended to listen to Miss P.-And when you were sitting next Miss R., you did not say a word to her. And when Mr. S. came over to you, you never introduced him to us. To all these complaints I listen patiently, only turning my head from this side to that, to receive the shots as they pour in vigorous succession from my five offended sisters. Any attempt at a defence, I find, only makes the matter worse; so I submit, wondering what is to be the next accusation.

If I break off here, it is not that I have exhausted the list of my miseries—

rien moins que cela-but that Hetty and Charlotte want to make a few calls this morning, and I must go. H. F. G.

NOTES OF A READER.

IN Sir Grenville Temple's Excursions in the Mediterranean, we find the following amusing anecdotes: they are highly characteristic of the Tunisians, as well as of the other Barbary States:

SUMMARY JUSTICE.

DURING the reign of Hammooda Basha, the Kaeed, or Governor, of Tunis, who, according to custom, had made his rounds, and had ascertained from different travellers what they had paid for their provisions, found that one of them had purchased a certain quantity of bread, which was found deficient in weight when placed in the Kaeed's scales. The party proceeded to the baker's, whose scales gave correctly the weight at which he had sold the bread; on this the Kaeed had them broken, when they were found to contain a quantity of quicksilver in a hollow tube, which could thus be made to throw its balance on either side. The baker's oven happened at the moment to be properly heated, and the Kaeed, without any further trial, ordered the culprit to be imHammooda mediately thrown into it. having heard of this, remonstrated with the Kaeed on his precipitancy, when he answered" I have done great good; bakers will in future deem it preferable to heat their ovens for bread of a proper weight, than to bake themselves, of whatever weight they may chance to be."

THE ENGLISH ALMOST MAHOMETANS.

THE learned men told me that they looked upon the English nearly in the light of Mussulmen, stating that Muhammed the prophet had sent to acquaint them with his announcement of the true faith, and to request them to range themselves in the number of his disciples. The English answered that they felt deeply the truth of his religion, but that previous to openly adopting it, they requested explanations upon one or two trifling points, chiefly regarding the abolition of wine; unfortunately, however, before this letter reached Mecca, the prophet had been taken up to the seventh heaven. Had his death been for a short time delayed, he would have explained any little difficulties, and we should have been faithful followers of the tenets of Muhammedan ism. They also told me that England was the nearest country to Tunis, and

that the Moors and English were, and always had been, the greatest friends.

DANGEROUS BATHING

In these shallow waters are caught great quantities of fish, by forming curved lines or pallisades some way out to sea, with palm branches, by which the fish which come up with the high water are retained when it recedes. The horrid polypus, which is, however, greedily eaten, abounds, and some are of an enormous size; they prove at times highly dangerous to bathers. An instance of this occurred two years since; a Sardinian captain bathing at Jerbeh, felt one of his feet in the grasp other foot he tried to disengage himself, of one of these animals: on this, with his but this limb was immediately seized by another of the monster's arms; he then with his hands endeavoured to free him

self, but these also in succession were firmly grasped by the polypus, and the poor man was shortly after found drowned, with all his limbs strongly bound together by the arms and legs of the fish; and it is extraordinary that where this happened the water was scarcely four feet in depth. MISCELLANIES.

ACCURACY.

No doubt the Yankees sometimes laugh at the account which our travellers give of them and their manners; but we question whether we have not in the than cannot parallel. Mr. Grant Thorfollowing extract something which Jonahe is called, has just published a second burn, "the original Laurie Todd," as work, which he entitles "Men and Manners in Britain." Among other absurd things, he says "Nothing can exceed the good-natured humility of many ladies and gentlemen of the British metropolis; for instead of employing their coachmen and grooms to drive them, they frequently undertake the office of their servants, and mount the coach-box, or the dicky, while the servants are lounging by their sides, lolling within the carriage. The coach-box tête-à-tête between ladies and their grooms, has a most engaging effect in the crowded streets of London, particularly if Thomas happens (which is sometimes the case), to have his arms round the waist of his mistress, to prevent her falling-into worse hands. The drive in Hyde Park, and that noisy, crowded thoroughfare, Bond-street, that puppet-show stage of fashion, presents many scenes of this kind." After this, who will not own that "travellers see strange things!"

EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

(For the Parterre.)

Ar the time when the struggle for mastery with our American colonies was at its height, and the communication betwixt the mother country and the different ports of America not in possession of the insurgents, of almost daily occurrence; a vessel was one evening observed standing off at some distance, on the Lancashire coast, near Black Pool. She was evidently by her build, a trader, and her destination, from her hovering about the coast beating up for a favourable wind, to cross the Atlantic. At some distance from the village of Black Pool, a boat had been run in shore, and the crew, with the exception of one who remained in charge, were gone to have what they called a "jollification," and for this purpose, under the pilotage of one Matthew Brain, were in quest of a neat little road-side inn, called the "Three Bells," standing as Matthew asserted, somewhere about these parts.

Now Matthew knew too well the situation of the Three Bells, to remain long in doubt as to which way to steer,

for he had often sought the house of late, since he had been desperately smitten by the attractions of one Mary Willis, the niece of my landlady of the Three Bells; for he and Mary had been born and bred in the neighbouring town of Poulton, and when Mary became an orphan, and went to reside with her aunt as an humble companion, even in their humble sphere still did Matthew follow in her footsteps, striving to make himself agreeable in many ways; but such is the waywardness of our feelings, that every means by which he urged his suit, served only to strengthen the dislike Mary bore towards him, and which had even been increased since her residence with her aunt; but this, however, might be accounted for in some degree, by stating that Mrs. Jerrold, the landlady of the Three Bells, had an only son, Harry Jerrold, who was in many respects the counterpart of Matthew: he was wild and reckless, yet in outward form nature had been favourable to him; and though Mary could see the faults of Matthew Brain, which were but too palpable, still was she blind to those of Harry Jerrold, which to all other eyes were gross enough. It has been often said, that the mild,