REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF MAG

NANIMITY.

:

In France, such is the severity of the laws of honour, (as they are falsely called) that nothing but the death of one of the parties can expiate a blow. Captain Douglas, a gallant Scotch officer, playing at trictrace, with a very intimate friend, in a coffee-house in Paris, amidst a circle of French officers who were looking on; some dispute arose about a cast of the dice upon which Douglas said, in a gay thoughtless manner- Oh! what a story!" There was an instant murmur among the bystanders; and, his antagonist feeling the affront, as if the lie had been given him, in the violence of his passion, snatched up the tables, and hit Douglas a blow on the head. The moment he had done it, the idea of his imprudence, and its probable consequences to himself and his friend, rushed upon his mind he sat, stupified with shame and remorse-his eyes rivetted on the ground, regardless how the other's resentment might prompt him to act. Douglas, after a short pause, turned round to the spectators-"You think," said he, "that I am ready to cut the throat of that unfortunate young man; but I know, that at this moment, he feels anguish a thousand times more keen than any sword could inflict. I will embrace him—thus-and try to reconcile him to myself; but I will cut the throat of any man among you who shall dare to breathe a syllable against my honour !" "Bravo! bravo!" cried an old chevalier de St. Louis, who stood immediately

behind him. The sentiment of France overcame its habit, and a bravo! bravo! echoed from every corner of the room. Every heart felt the magnanimity of Douglas; nor is there a man of principle that reads this anecdote (for false honour is out of the question), that will not readily allow, that it requires infinitely less courage to fight, than not to fight a duel.

A MERMAID.

Extract of a letter from the rev. Dr. Philip, representative of the "London Missionary Society," at Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, dated April 26, 1822 :

"I have to-day seen a Mermaid, now exhibiting in this town. I have always treated the existence of this creature as fabulous; but my scepticism is now removed. As it is probable no description of this extraordinary creature has yet reached England, the following particulars respecting it may gratify your curiosity and amuse you :

'The head is almost the size of that of a baboon. It is thinly covered with black hair, hanging down, and not inclined to frizzle. On the upper lip and on the chin there are a few hairs, resembling those upon the head. The ossa malarum, or cheek-bones, are prominent. The forehead is low, but, except in this particular, the features are much better proportioned, and bear a more decided resemblance to the human countenance than those of any of the baboon tribes. The head is turned back, and the countenance has an expression of terror,

which gives it an appearance of a caricature of the human face; but I am disposed to think that both these circumstances are accidental, and have arisen from the manner in which the creature met its death: it bears the appearance of having died in great agony.

The ears, nose, lips, chin, breasts and nipples, fingers and nails, resemble those of a human figure.

The spinous process of the vertebræ are very prominent, and apparently arranged as in the human body.

From the position of the arms, and the manner in which they are placed, and from such an examination as could be made in the circumstances in which I was placed at the time I saw it, I can have no doubt that it has clavicles; an appendage belonging to the human subject, which baboons are without.

The appearance of the teeth afford sufficient evidence that it is full grown; the incisores being worn on the upper surface. There are eight incisores, four canine, and eight molares. The canine teeth resemble those of a full-grown dog; all the others resemble those of a human subject.

'The length of the animal is three feet; but not having been well preserved it has shrunk considerably, and must have been both longer and thicker when alive than it is now. Its resemblance to the human species ceases immediately under the mamma. On the line of separation, and directly under the breast are two fins. From the point where the human figure ceases, which is about twelve

inches below the vertex of the head, it resembles a large fish of the salmon species. It is covered with scales all over. On the lower part of the animal the scales resemble those of a fish ; but on that part of the animal which resembles the human form, they are much less, and scarcely perceptible, except on a near inspection. On the lower part of the body it has six fins, one dorsal, two ventrical, two pectoral, and the tail.

'The pectoral fins are very remarkable; they are horizontal, and evidently formed as an appa¬ ratus to support the creature when in an erect posture, like that in which it has been sometimes represented combing its hair.

'The figure of the tail is exactly that which is given in the usual representations of the mermaid.'

"The proprietor of this extraordinary animal is captain Eades, of Boston, in the United States of America. Since writing the above description, he has called upon me, and I have learned from him the following particulars

"It was caught somewhere on the north of China by a fisherman, who sold it for a trifle; after which it was brought to Batavia. Here it was purchased by captain Eades for five thousand Spanish dollars, and he has since been offered ten thousand Spanish dollars for it, but he refuses to part with it for that sum. Captain Eades is a passenger on board the American ship, Lion, now in Table bay; he leaves this port in about a fortnight, and the Lion visits the Thames on her passage to America, so that

it will probably be soon exhibited in London."

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

A few days before the publication of Mr. O'Meara's work, an interesting little pamphlet, detailing a conversation with Bonaparte, came out, understood to be from the pen of Mr. Vivian, brother of the distinguished general officer of that name. The author was restrained by delicacy from publishing it during the life time of Nepoleon. The profits he has assigned to a public charity. The following extract will serve as a specimen:

"He asked me how congress went on ?-I told him that there were plenty of fetes, but that little progress was said to be made in business. I added, that Poland was understood to be a stumbling-block; that it was said the emperor of Russia wanted to form a kingdom of it, but that the other powers, it was supposed, feared Russia becoming too formidable.-He remarked that it was a power that went on increasing; a very rising power. He then said that the treaty of peace between himself and the allies should have been signed at Frankfort; separating Germany entirely from France, and taking Holland, Italy, and Spain from him; but that he never would have consented to leave France less in territory, than it was when he ascended the throne. I asked him why he did not make peace at Dresden, when those termes were offered to him? He said that the allies were not sincere, and that be sides les choses at that time were different; that had peace been

'for instance,

then made, England would have saved some thousands of men and much money; that he considered it very bad policy of England to appropriate Belgium to herself; that it would be a constant source of expence, and would probably draw her into a war; for that any other continental power would be sure of France as an ally, by offering Begium as a bribe. 'Supposing,' said he, Russia were to say to France -do you take Belgium and let me have Poland-in short,' added he, England cannot maintain herself as a power of the first rank on the continent ;Belgium must be lost on the first coup de cannon. The English goverment should have covered and fortified Holland, but Antwerp is the object; for a battle fought and lost before Brussels, which is close to the gates of Paris, would open the road to Holland. England, with her immense colonies, instead of being obliged to keep up a large army to cover Belgium, should withdraw within her island, and act when and where she chooses.' He spoke of the Dutch troops, and appeared to have but a poor opinion of them. He expressed himself with much contempt of the Austrian soldiers, who would not fight without a bellyfull.' Referring to the campaign in France, he said that he should have beaten the allies, had he not been betrayed; for that the peasants were taking arms in their rear. I asked him by whom he had been betrayed; whether by Talleyrand, whom I had heard acccused. He answered so as give me to understand he had been a party; but he

principally blamed Marmont and Augereau.-The latter, he told me, had a fine army, superior to the Austrians, and was to have joined him (Bonaparte) in his last movement; but that he had made his terms with the allies a fortnight before, and that he had narrowly escaped being massacred by the soldiers for his conduct.

"When," continued Napoleon, "I was at Tilsit, with the emperor Alexander and the king of Prussia, I was the most ignorant of the three in military affairs. These two sovereigns, especially the king of Prussia, were completely au fait, as to the number of buttons there ought to be in front of a jacket, how many behind, and the manner in which the skirts ought to be cut. Not a tailor in the army knew better than king Frederick, how many measures of cloth it took to make a jacket. In fact,' continued he, laughing, "I was nobody in comparison with them. They continually tormented me with questions about matters belonging to tailors, of which I was entirely ignorant, though, in order not to affront them, I answered just as gravely as if the fate of an army depended upon the cut of a jacket. When I went to see the king of Prussia, instead of a library, I found he had a large room, like an arsenal, furnished with shelves and pegs, in which were placed fifty or sixty jackets of various modes. Every day he changed his fashion, and put on a different one. Hs was a tall, dry looking fellow, and would give a good idea of Don Quixote. He attached more importance to the cut of a

dragoon or a hussar uniform, than was necessary for the salvation of a kingdom. At Jena, his army performed the finest and most shewy manœuvres possible, but I soon put a stop to their cognioleri, and taught them, that to fight and to execute dazzling manoeuvres and wear splendid uniforms, were very different affairs. If," added he, "the French army had been commanded by a tailor, the king of Prussia would certainly have gained the day, from his superior knowledge in that art; but as victories depend more upon the skill of the general commanding the troops than upon that of the tailor who makes their jackets, he consequently failed."-Voice from St. Helena.

HONOUR.

Thuanus relates a beautiful example of chastity, and of an uncommon return to a sense of honour :

"In 1578, during the civil wars in the low countries, one of the Spanish officers would have forced the daughter of an advocate of Lisle, at whose house he lodged. This young person, in defending herself, seized the poniard of her ravisher, plunged it in his bosom, and instantly fled. The captain perceiving his wound to be mortal, called for a confessor, and, impressed with the deepest remorse, entreated his attendants to bring this virtuous young woman to him. 'I earnestly implore you,' says he, 'to pardon my atrocious attempt. To make you all the reparation in my power, I now declare myself your husband. Since my crime and your virture have

rendered it impossible for me to be united to such excellence, receive, at least, with my name, the rights of my wife to all my fortune. Let those who shall be informed of the violence I would have committed, learn, at the same time, that, by an honourable marriage, I have expiated my odious attempt to dishonour you, and have recompensed the courage with which you have de

fended yourself.' On finishing these words, the noble Spaniard, with the consent of her father, and in presence of his confessor, espoused the virgin. He expired soon after; leaving all in doubt which most to admire, the magnanimity with which he had atoned for his crime, or the courage which the virtuous girl had displayed in the defence of her honour."

DEAN SWIFT.

The dean was both fond of conversing with the Irish common people and of amusing himself with their credulity. One day he observed a great rabble assemble before the deanery door, and was told they had met to see the eclipse. He sent for the beadle of the town, and told him what to do. Away ran Dary for his bell; and, after ringing it some time, bawled out "O yes! O yes! all manner of persons concerned, take notice, that it is the dean's pleasure to put off the eclipse till this time to-morrow. So God save the king and the dean!" The mob, except a few, immediately dispersed; and those few swore they would not lose another afternoon; for that the dean, who was a very comical man, might take it into his head to put off the eclipse again, and so make fools of them a second time.

The dean, travelling in Ireland, called at the house of a friend. The lady of the mansion, rejoiced

to have so distinguished a guest, ran up to him, and teazed him with a number of questions, as to what he would like to have for dinner. "Will you have an apple-pie, sir? Will you have a gooseberry-pie, sir? Will you have a cherry-pie, sir? Will you have a pigeon-pie, sir?" "Any pie, madam," replied the fatigued dean," but a magpie."

He was asked at court, what he thought of an ambassador and his train, who were all embroidery and lace-full of bows, cringes, and gestures. He said " it was Solomon's importation, gold and apes.'

He said that those who were always observing others, are like those who are always abroad, or at other men's houses, reforming every thing there, while their own run to ruin."

THE LATE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE-At the close of an election at Lewes, he was so delighted with the conduct of a casting voter, that he almost fell upon his neck and kissed him. 66 My dear friend, I love you dearly!