A TRAVELLER'S - SINGULARITIES. Balthazar GRATIAN, Author of the Courtier, has frequently very singular strokes of imagination. In one of his works, he supposes his Hero to travel in search of a true Friend. Among the most singular curiosities he meets with in his travels, are to be distinguished the following ones-A poor Judge, with his wife, neither of whom had any fingers to their hands; agreat Lord, without any debts; a Prince who was never offended at the truth being told him to his face; a Poet, who became rich by the produce of his works; a Monarch who died without any suspicion of having been poisoned; a humble Spaniard; a silent Frenchman; a lively Englishman; a German, who disliked wine ; a learned Man recompensed; a chaste Widow; a Madman discontented; a sincere Female; and, what was more singular than all these singularities, a true Friend.

MUSICAL ANECDOTE.

The Minuet of the Ox.-Haydn, one day, was not a little surprised at seeing a butcher call upon him, who being not less sensible than the majority of that great composer's admirers, to the charms of his productions, said freely to him "Sir, I know you are both good and obliging, therefore I address you with confidence of succeeding in my wishes. You excel in all kinds of musical compositions; but I am particularly fond of your minuets, and very much wish for a new one, for my daughter's approaching wedding. Haydn, always kindly disposed, smiled at this curious instance of homage to his talents, complied with the solicitation, and desired his visitor to call again the next day. The amateur returned at the appointed time, and received with gratitude the precious gift. Shortly after the joyful sound of instruments struck the composer's ear: he listened; and thinking he recognized the passages of his own minuet, went to the window; when he beheld a superb ox with gilded horns, adorned with festoons, and surrounded by an ambulatory orchestra, which presently stopped under his balcony. The butcher knocked at the door; when being admitted, he respectfully approached Haydn, and again expressing his admiration, ended his speech by saying, "Sir, you have done me a very great favour; and I thought a butcher could not better express his thanks for so beautiful a composition as your minuet, than by presenting you with the finest ox in his possession: I there

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fore request your acceptance of this." He persisted in pressing the offering upon the composer, till, affected by the frank generosity with which it was urged, he accepted the living present. From that day, the minuet written for the butcher, was known throughout Vienna by the appellation of the Minuet of the Ox.

STANZAS,

Supposed to have been written on the envelope to a lock of hair.

By Alaric A. Watts.

Pledge of a love as pure and deep

I

As ever thrilled in mortal breast;
would not, could I break thy sleep,
Recall thee from the couch of rest,
Where thou art now in peace reclining,
A stranger to the world's repining!
No! bright as was thy brief career,
In this wild waste of storm and gloom,-
And much as I have wished thee here,

My soul's dark sorrows to illume,-
In loneliness I'd rather languish,
Than have thee here to share my anguish,
Besides, would even Heaven allow

Thy advent to this earth again;
That boon to thee were cruel now,
Since human ills-a numerous train-
Would cross thee in thy path of life,
And stir thy young sweet thoughts to strife.
Yet looking on this sun-bright tress

Unlocks the source of dried-up tears;
And thoughts, intense and maddening, press
On my hot brain;-though hopes or fears,
Since thou and thy sweet mother perished,
Have ne'er by me been felt or cherished.

BLOSSOM OF LOVE! Yes, on my mind
The flood-gates of my heart unbind,
Strange and unusual feelings rush;

And bid its waters wildly gush,—
As gazing on these threads I see
The all that now remains of thee.
BLOSSOM OF LOVE!-Farewell!-Farewell!
I go to join the noisy throng;
But, in my soul's deep, inmost cell,

Thoughts that to thine and thee belong,
Will ever bloom as fresh and fair
As when they first were planted there.

And, ob, if tears of woe may nourish

The flowers of Memory in the breast;
Then those in mine will surely flourish,

And each succeeding hour invest
Till we three meet to part no more!
Their stems with charms unknown before,→

ON THE DEATH OF A YOUNG GIRL. Beauty and virtue crown'd thee;

Death in thy youth hath found thee:

Thou'rt gone to thy grave,
By the soft willow wave,
And the flow'rets are weeping around thee,
The sun salutes thee early,
The stars begem thee rarely:

Then why should we weep,
When we see thee asleep,
'Mid a world that loves thee so dearly?

THE GREEK CHIEFS. No. II.

DEMETRIUS YPSILANTI.

THE above-named person, of whom we have made slight mention in our last Number, is the brother of Alexander Ypsilanti. He formerly held the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Russian army; but, unlike his brother, he had never been present in the field of battle. About three months after the first appearance of Alexander Ypsilanti in the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, Demetrius contrived to make his way through the Austrian dominions incognito, and having embarked at Trieste, he landed at Hydra. On his arrival at that island he was received with the greatest honours, as the brother of Alexander; from whom he brought a letter, introducing him to the authorities there, and naming him as generalissimo of Greek armies in the Morea.

To some this arbitrary appointment may seem somewhat premature-not to say presumptuous. But the truth is,' that certain families of Phanari have always considered themselves to be the only persons capable of ruling in Greece, and they have never ceased to intrigue even in the Divan itself, and in opposition to the views of each other. Fortunately, however, the people of Grecce perceived the interested views of these families, and they could scarcely fail to be sensible that persons partaking in all the vices and corruptions of a Turkish court, were unfit for the leaders of & people who were struggling for liberty and moral improvement.

Demetrius Ypsilanti was, soon after his arrival in Greece, appointed dictator of the Morea. But he knew little of the value and importance of the station which he was ambitious to hold, and was

moreover unsuccessful in all his undertakings. Nay, he even aspired to the throne of the Greek empire, without possessing any one quality which could fit him for being the arbiter of the destnies of a brave people determined to be

free.

But the worst act that Ypsilanti committed, in order to further his ambitious views, was to declare publicly,

that his brother Alexander was at the head of a numerous army in Wallachia, and that the Emperor of Russia himself was about to send a powerful force against the Turks. In reply, however, to these assertions, the news speedily arrived of his brother's total defeat; and the Emperor of Russia issued a diplomatic note, announcing his solemu dis

approval of the views pursued by the Greek revolutionists, and dismissing Ypsilanti from his army for taking part in those views.

This at once exposed the character of Demetrius Ypsilanti, and proved that his objects were those of personal ambition and aggrandisement, rather than patriotism and a love of freedom. Accordingly, he was speedily a mark for the suspicion of all parties; and especially of those who believed that the true policy of Greece consisted in proving to the world, that it was capable and desirous of achieving its emancipa., tion by its once unassisted efforts. Demetrius Ypsilanti, therefore, was speedily deprived of all active responsibility and power; and he has since that period led a private life in the Morea, almost unnoticed, except by his immediate con

nections.

(From Blackwood's Magazine.) AMERICAN PAINTERS. No. I.-Mr. LESLIE,

Historical and Portrait Painter.

MR. LESLIE was born in this coun

try (a circumstance not generally known,) went to America in his childhood, attracted some attention there, while he was a clerk in a book store, by a few spirited sketches of George Frederick Cooke, and some other actors: he was persuaded to return to this country, and study this art of painting as a profession. He has been here twice, (in the whole, from ten to a dozen years), and has now a reputation of which we, his countrymen, as well as the Americans, have reason to be proud. His portraits are beautiful, rich, and peculiar; bis compositions in history graceful, chaste, and full of subdued pleasantry. There is nothing overcharged in the work of Mr. Leslie. If anything, there is too strict an adherence to propriety. His last picture, "Sancho before the Duchess," though very beautiful, is nevertheless rather tame as a whole. This, of course, proceeds from his constitutional fear of extravagance and caricature, which is evident in almost every thing that he has done, or, perhaps, it would be better to say, from his exceedingly delicate sense of what is classical. But that must be got over. A classical taste is a

bad one, where men are much in earnest, or disposed to humour. Whatever is classical is artificial, and, of course, opposed to what is natural. One is marble, the other flesh; one statuary, the other painting. No great man was ever satisfied with what is classical.

MATRIMONIAL LOTTERY.

A RECENT traveller in the United States gives a curious account of a matrimonial lottery, which was formed there with beneficial effects, however singular it may seem.

On the 21st day of December last," says he, "I was passing through the State of South Carolina, and in the evening arrived in the suburbs of the town of, where I had an acquaintance, on whom I called. I was quickly informed that the family was invited to a wedding in a neighbouring house; and, on being requested, I changed my clothes, and went with them. As soon as the young couple were married, the company was seated, and a profound silence ensued. A young lawyer then arose, and addressed the company very eloquently; and in finishing his discourse, begged leave to offer a New Scheme of Matrimony, which he believed would be beneficial; and, on obtaining leave, he proposed-That one man in the company should be selected as president; that this president should be duly sworn to keep entirely secret all the communications that should be forwarded to him in his official department that night; that each unmarried lady and gentleman should write his or her name on a piece of paper, and under it place the name of the person they wished to marry; then hand it to the president for inspection ; and if any lady or gentleman had reci procally chosen each other, the president was to inform each of the result; and those who had not been reciprocal in their choice, kept entirely secret.'

After the appointment of the president, communications were accordingly handed up to the chair, and it was found twelve young gentlemen and ladies had made reciprocal choices; but whom they had chosen, remained a secret to all but themselves and the president. The conversation changed, and the company respectively retired.

"Now hear the conclusion. I was

passing through the same place on the 14th of March following, and was informed that eleven of the twelve matches had been solemnized; and that the young gentlemen of eight couple of the eleven had declared that their diffidence was so

great, that they certainly should not have addressed their respective wives, if the

above scheme had not beeu introduced."

MARRIAGE BROKERS.

IN Genoa there are marriage-brokers, who have pocket-books filled with the

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names of the marriageable girls of the different classes, with notes of their figures, personal attractions, fortunes, &c. These brokers go about endeavouring to arthey get a commision of two or three per rauge connections, and when they succeed, cent. upon the portion. Marriage at Genoa, is quite a matter of calculation, generally settled by the parents or relations, who often draw up the contract before the parties have seen one another; and it is only when every thing else is arranged, and a few days previous to the marriage ceremony, that the future husband is introduced to his intended partner for life. Should he find fault with her manners or appearance, he may break off the match, on condition of defraying the brokerage, and any other expences incurred.

AUTOMATOUS HARPSICHORD. sichord let there be fixed a barrel someUNDER the keys of a common harp thing like that in a chamber organ, with stops or pins corresponding to the tunes you would have it play. These stops must be moveable, so that the tunes may be varied at pleasure. From each of the keys let there go a wire perpendicular down: the ends of these wires must be turned up for about one fourth of an inch. Behind these wires let there be an iron bar, to prevent them from going too far back. Now, as the barrel turns round, its pins take the ends of the wires, which pull down the keys, and play the harpsichord. The barrel and wires are to be all inclosed

in a case.

the harpsichord stands, or at least in In the chimney of the same room where one adjacent, there must be a smoke jack, from whence comes down a wire, or cord, that, passing behind the wainscot adjoining the chimney, goes under the floor, and up one of the legs of the harpsichord, into the case, and round a small wheel fixed on the axis of that first mentioned. There should be pullies at different distances, behind the wainscot and under the floor, to facilitate the motion of the cord.

This machinery may be applied to any other keyed instrument, as well as to chimes, and to many other purposes where a regular continued motion is required.

An instrument of this sort may be considered as a perpetual motion, according to the vulgar acceptation of the term; for it will never cease going till the fire be extinguished, or some parts of the machinery be worn out.

i

No. XLI.-THE PEASANT. In the sweat of thy face, shalt thou eat bread. GEN. iii. 19.

Bread for thyself, by labour great,,

Thou shalt thyself obtain; Nor from the ground, without great toil, Thy sustenance shalt gain.

Yet after all thy cares below,

And numerous labours past,

Pale Death to all thy hopes and toils Shall put an end at last.

SINKING OF THE EATRH AT
TIVOLI.

IN the night of the 10th of August, a considerable sinking of the earth suddenly took place, from whence was seen to issue an abundance of the purest water, which, in the space of a few days, has formed a complete lake. Its circumference is estimated at about a hundred and thirty palms, and its greatest depth about twenty-eight. We are still ignorant of the cause of this phenomenon.

THE LEARNED TORTOISE.

AT the waters of Baden is to be seen at present a tortoise, which performs the military exercise with precision. The owner of this animal has given several exhibitions at the small private theatre, and has made much money.

10 SOLDIER.

When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when sa stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. LUKE xi. 21, 22. Undaunted and secure in arms,

While strength and life remain, The brave his mansions, and his wealth, In safety dares maintain.

But Death with greater force shall wage
Against him war ere long,

And for the grave shall make him quit
His post, however strong.