ལ་་་ལས Comprising I. THE FLOWERS OF LITERATURE. II. THE SPIRIT OF THE MAGAZINES. III. THE WONDERS OF NATURE AND ART. IV. THE ESSENCE OF ANECDOTE AND WIT. V. THE DOMESTIC GUIDE. VI. THE MECHANICS' ORACLE. LONDON, SATURDAY, NOV. 20, 1824. [2d of] THE LARGEST SHIP EVER BUILT. NOTE.-Our pleasure, and our interest, are so intimately connected with that of our Readers, that in their estimation we always wish to stand upon the "highest pinnacle" possible. We have, therefore, simply to remark, in justice to ourselves, that the above REPRESENTATION OF THE COLUMBUS was procured by an Artist, who was sent to Blackwall, by our Publisher, expressly to insure a correct resemblance of it, as we were not satisfied with "making up" a picture from a newspaper description, long before the ship reached this country, which must obviously have been the case with some engravings now before the Public, We flatter ourselves the Engraver has done justice to the Artist's drawing, and that it will give satisfaction to our Subscribers.-The subsequent description will be found both accurate and interesting.-EDIT. Wonders of Mature and Art. THE COLUMBUS, THE latter end of the eighteenth century forms a new era in the progress of maritime discoveries, and of those branches of the operative arts which are connected with it. The watery portions of the earth have been traversed in vessels of all sizes and of all descriptions. British seamen have made the marine circuit of the globe in a vessel of fifty tons burthen; in appearance not calculated for any waters but those of the placid Thames. They have, in other ships, literally ploughed up the fields of ice of the polar regions; they have sailed in ships of iron; and have outrivalled the adventurous savage in the light fabric of a canoe. In life-boats they defy submersion; in their steamships they skim the ocean, as it were in mockery of those elements on which their very existence heretofore depended more absolutely than language easily describes. The Columbus is an instance of enterprise which characterises the present age, for to the hour of her launch her navigation of the Atlantic ocean was derided, and pronounced impossible! The event has shown us a triumph of skill and good fortune. We learn, that the keel of this extraordinary vessel was laid in the month of October 1823, and she was launched in safety and grand style on the 20th of July of the present year. She was built in the island of Orleans, seven miles from Quebec, by Mr. C. Wood, buidler, of Port Glasgow, and entirely of oak and elm timbers, planked with fir. Her cargo consists of near 4000 pieces, or sticks of deals, about 60,000 staves and headings, 3000 sticks of red pine, 700 of white pine, and 40 of oak timber. With this immense cargo the Columbus encountered a very rough and stormy passage from Quebec, which she left on the 5th September, and arrived in the Downs on the 1st of the present month. The character of this Leviathan of the deep, is best given in the language of one of her own family:-Her rate of sailing at one period of her voyage was nine knots an hour. She spreads more canvas than any 32-gun frigate, has a complement of 90 men, carries anchors of 81 cwt., with cables of 24 inches in circumference. She has four small boats, and accommodates her officers and crew in a water-tight house, erected in the centre of the ship. The length of her deck is 301 feet, breadth 50 feet six inches, depth from outside the bottom to the top of the gunwale 36 feet; she draws 18 feet water, and is nearly flat-bottomed. Her style of going through the water may be understood by her captain's expression to the writer,"She lays-to in the sea like a duck! and never ships a sea, and she beat up from the Downs to Margate Roads with the same facility as the other ships in company." Her appearance and behaviour on the voyage secured her the good wishes of every seaman who saw her, and establishes the practicability of navigating much larger masses than naval architecture has yet dreamed of! ANNUAL RETURN of MIGRATING BIRDS to the same Spot. THE late Dr. Jenner, in a curious paper on the migration of birds, published since his death in the Phil. Trans. for 1824, mentions the following curious experiment: "At a farm-house in this neighbourhood I procured several swifts, and by taking off two claws from the foot of twelve, I fixed upon them an indelible mark. The year following, their nesting places were examined in an evening, when they had retired to roost, and there I found several of the marked birds. The second and third year a similar search was made, and did not fail to produce some of those that were marked. ceased to make an annual search; but at the expiration of seven years a cat was seen to bring a bird into the farmer's kitchen, and this also proved to be one of those marked for the experiment. THF BLACK SWAN. I now THIS bird is scarcely less rare at the present time than in the days of Juvenal. Two of them were placed as a great curiosity in the garden of Malmaison, they bred, and the produce was sent to Prince Eugene at Munich. Some time after, the female died, and a white swan was put in the lake to supply her place; but neither time nor the snow-white charms of his new companion have had the least effect on the pride of the sable monarch; he turns from her with disgust, will not suffer her to approach him, and prefers living in perpetual widowhood to forming a Mesalliance. THE FATAL MARKSMAN. THE FATAL MARKSMAN. (Continued from page 130.) KATHARINE wept, and avowed her determination to die, sooner than to part from her William. Her mother comforted and scolded her by turns, and at length ended by joining her tears to her daughter's. She was promising to make one more assault upon the old forester's heart, when a knock was heard at the door-and in stepped William.-"Ah, William!"-exclaimed Katharine with streaming eyes,-"we must part: seek some other sweetheart: me you must never marry; father is resolved to give me to Robert, because he is a huntsman. But, if I am to part from you, to my dying day, dear William, I will remain faithful to you." These bursts of wounded feeling were softened in the report of the mother: she explained to the bewildered William, who knew not what to make of Katharine's ejaculations, that Bertram had no objections to him personally; but that, simply with a view to the reversionary interest in his place as forester, he insisted on having a son-in-law who understood hunting. "Is that all?" said William, recovering his composure, and at the same time he caught the sobbing girl to his bosom. "Is that all? Then be of good cheer, dearest Kate. I am not unskilled in hunting: for, at one time, I was apprenticed to my uncle Finsterbusch, the forester-general; and it was only to gratify my god-father the bailiff that I exchanged the gun for the writing-desk. What care I for the reversion of the bailiff's place, unless I may take my Kate into the bailiff's house as mistress? If you can be content to look no higher than your mother did, and Will the forester is not less dear to you than Will the bailiff, then let me die if I won't quit my clerkship this instant." "Oh! thou dear kind lad," said Katharine, whilst the clouds dispersed from her fair forehead, and her eyes swam in a shower of glittering tears, "if thou wilt do this for my sake, then do so and speak to my father without delay before he can make any promise to Robert." "Stay, Kate; I'll go after him this moment. He's gone to the forest in search of the venison, that is to be delivered to-morrow into the office. Give me a gun and a pouch: I'll meet him with a jolly hunter's salutationand offer my services to him as his hunting-boy." The mother and daughter fell upon 163 his neck; helped to equip him to the best of their skill; and looked after him, as he disappeared in the forest, with hope, but yet with some anxiety. "This William's a fine fellow !" exclaimed the forester, as he returned home from the chase: who would have ever looked for such a good shot in the flourisher of a crow-quill? Well: tomorrow I shall speak with the bailiff myself: for it would be a sad pity if he were not to pursue the noble profession of hunting. Why, he'll make a second You know who Kuno was, Kuno. I suppose?" said he, turning to William. William acknowledged that he did not. "Not know who Kuno was! bless my soul! to think that I should never have told you that? Why, Kuno, you're to understand, was my great grand-father's father; and was the very first man that ever occupied and cultivated this farm. He began the world no better, I'll assure you, than a poor riding boy; and lived servant with the young knight of Wippach. Well, once it happened that this young gentleman of Wippach was present with many other knights and nobles at a great hunt held by the duke. And in this hunt the dogs turned up a stag, upon which a man was seated wringing his hands and crying piteously: for, in those days, there was a tyrannical custom among the great lords, that, when a poor man had committed any slight matter of trespass against the forestlaws, they would take and bind him on the back of a stag, so that he was bruised and gored to death by the herd-or, if he escaped dying that way, he perished of hunger and thirst. Well, when the duke saw this-oh lord! but he was angry; and gave command to stop the hunting; and there and then he promised a high reward to any man that would undertake to hit the stag-but threatened him with his severest displeasure in case he wounded the man; for he was resolved, if possible, to take him alive-that he might learn who it was that had been bold enough to break his law. Now, amongst all the nobility, not a man could be found that would undertake the job on these terms: they liked the reward, mind you, but not the risk. So, at last, who should step forward but Kuno, my own great grand-father's father-the very man that you see painted in that picture. He spoke boldly before the duke, and said: "My noble liege, if it is your pleasure, with God's blessing, I will run the hazard: if I miss, my life is at your grace's disposal, and must pay the forteit; for riches and worldly goods I : have none to ransom it: but I pity the poor man; and, without fee or reward, I would have exposed my life to the same hazard if I had seen him in the hands of enemies or robbers." This speech pleased the duke it pleased him right well and he bade Kuno try his luck; and again he promised him the reward in case he hit; but did not repeat his threat in case he missed. Kuno took his gun, cocked it in God's name ; and, commending the ball with a pious prayer to the guidance of good angels, spent no time in taking aim--- but fired with a cheerful faith right into the midst of a thicket: the same moment out rushed the hart, staggered, and fell; the man was unwounded, except that his hands and face were somewhat scratched by the bushes. "The noble duke kept his word, and gave Kuno, for his reward, the farm of the forest to himself and his heirs for ever. But, lord bless us! good fortune never wanted envy; and the favour of Providence, as Kuno soon learned, is followed by the jealousy of man. Many a man there was, in those days, who would gladly have had Kuno's reward; and what did they do but they persuaded the duke that Kuno's shot had hit the mark through witchcraft and black arts: "For," said they, "Kuno never took any aim, but fired at random' a devil's shot;' and a devil's shot, you are to understand, never fails of hitting the mark, for needs must that the devil drives." So hereupon a regulation was made, and from this the custom came, that every descendant of Kuno must undergo a trial, and fire what they call his probationary shot, before he is admitted tenant. William, who had listened to this story with lively interest, rose from his seat when it was ended, pressed the old man's hand-and promised, under his tuition, to make himself a huntsman such as even old father Kuno should have had no cause to blush for. William had scarcely lived one whole fortnight at the forest-house in his capacity of huntsman, when old Bertram, who liked him better every day, gave a formal consent to his marriage with Katharine. This promise, however, was to be kept secret until the day of the probationary shot. Meantime the bridegroom elect passed his time in rapturous elevation of spirits, and forgot himself and all the world in the paradise of youthful love. The fact, however, was, that, froin that very day, William had met with an unaccountable run of illluck in hunting. Sometimes his gun would miss fire; at other times, instead of a deer, he would hit the trunk of a tree. His hunting-bag contained, instead of partridges, daws and crows, and, instead of a hare, perhaps a dead cat. At last the forester began to reproach him in good earnest for his heedlessness; and Kate herself became anxious for the event of his examination. William redoubled his attention and diligence; but, the nearer the day of trial advanced, so much the more was he persecuted by bad luck. Nearly every shot missed; and at length he grew almost afraid of pulling a trigger, for fear of doing some mischief; for he had already shot a cow at pasture, and nar. rowly escaped wounding the herdsman. "I stick to my own opinion," said the huntsman one night, “somebody has cast a spell over William; for in the regular course of nature such things could never happen; and this spell he must undo before he'll have any luck." "Take my word for it, William,” said Rudolph, "it is just what I tell you. Go some Friday at midnight to a crossroad, and make a circle round about you with a ramrod or a bloody sword; bless it three times in the same words the priest uses, but in the name of Samiel—" "Hush!" interrupted the forester angrily: "dost know what that name is? he's one of Satan's host. God keep thee and all christians out of his power!" But William crossed himself, and would hear no more; Rudolph persisted in his opinion. All night long he continued to clean his gun, to examine the screws, the spring, and every part of the lock and barrel; and, at break of day, he sallied forth to try his luck once more. all in vain: the deer flocked round him, almost as it seemed in mockery of his skill. At ten paces distance he levelled at a buck; twice his gun flashed in the pan; the third time it went off, but the deer darted off unhurt through the bushes. Cursing his fate, the unhappy hunter threw himself despondingly beneath a tree; at that moment a rustling was heard in the bushes, and out limped an old soldier with a wooden leg. "Good morning to you, comrade," said the soldier, "why so gloomy, why so gloomy? Is it body or purse that's ailing, health or wealth is it that you're sighing for? Or has somebody put a charm upon your gun? Come, give us a bit of tobacco; and let's have a little chat together." With a surly air William gave him what he asked for, and the soldier threw himself by his side on the grass. The conversation fell on hunting, and William related his own bad luck. (To be continued.) SKETCHES AT A WATERING PLACE. The Flowers of Literature. -00 SKETCHES AT A WATERING PLACE. Driginal. No. II. THE BALL-ROOM. WHAT a gay scene! I think there are few but must derive some pleasure from entering a well-filled, well-dressed ballroom. The enlivining notes of the quadrille, the smiling countenances, the elegant motions, all combine to form a very animated scene. At first sight all seem charming and charmed, but yet, on examining nearer, there does seem to lurk some disappointment beneath the smile of many. One has no partner at all, another has one the very opposite to the secret favourite. The mamma in the corner bears evident marks of displeasure, in the compressed eye-brow and forced gaiety of demeanour. The titled beau, whom she had been manoeuvring to obtain as a partner to her daughter, has escaped, and she has the mortification of seeing her led out by a much humbler admirer. But now let us turn to those two sisters, dancing with such gaiety and animation, and seeming as if no dancing could ever tire them. What a contrast are they to Miss F! I wonder whether she can alter the position of her neck from that affected twist; and her dancing, or rather sliding, with a very little exertion, just at the end of the traversé; this style of dancing seems to be fashionable, for I see Miss S, who is really a pretty girl, disfiguring herself by that affected turn of the head, and languid step. Her partner, however, young S, quite makes up for all her lack of exertion, his dancing reminds us of a painted toy, that moves its arms and legs, with a simultaneous jerk, on pulling a string; and he has been in France too; is he exhibiting this as a Parisian fashion? Here is a lady in this quadrille, whose dancing is the very opposite to Miss F's, but her style pleases me no better. She sets off with her foot up on high, as if mounting a stile; and then her setting to her partner, with her head first on one side, and then on the other! No, elegant dancing is as far removed from this superabundant exertion, as from the affected, drawling step of Miss F. I see the old country dance is quite exploded here, and waltzing introduced instead. 165 Fashion reconciles us to most things; but she has not yet reconciled me to this intruder on the delicacy of the English ladies, more especially when it is, as here, quite an exhibition; the waltzers surrounded by a circle of spectators, like a set of ballad singers in a country town. There is one unfortunate character, who, I think, cannot enjoy a ball-the master of the ceremonies: his is an arduous task, so many to please, and all so difficult to be pleased: and when, as now, beaux are scarce, it is still more arduous. Knowing themselves to be of some value to-night, they endeavour to increase it, by remaining fixed at the repetitions from our president, of,-"C— card-table, in spite of the frequent will «Pon my honour I'would, but I have not you dance this quadrille ?" been out shooting to-day, and positively I cannot move a step!" "But you are so much wanted!" "Indeed! then why don't you make H dance?" Our president then attacks Hwith,-"Now my good fellow, do dance! 1 will introduce you to Miss S, she is a very!pretty girl :" But H-'s reply is still more discouraging; "Indeed, I don't see one pretty girl in the room; besides, you know I never dance." So he resumes his deal, and leaves our poor president in the lurch. But my partner is coming, so I must join the festive groupe, perhaps, in my that I have so liberally bestowed upon turn to excite the same animadversions others. MA LIBERTY. Original. WHEN Liberty first by the captive was seen, nish them both ;. For its verdure would fade, by the poisonous blast That blighted the lily, the charm of its growth. J. C. B. SWEDISH ANACREONTIC. Let us drink, and merry be, Laughing, singing, dancing; Who so blithe, so gay as we, Now the night's advancing? All our daily labour done, Set the cans a clinking; Fill and swill, till morning sun Calls us from our drinking! |