in debt, both fallen from some higher estate, both addicted to every depravity for which society can find some genteel name and plead its most depraving conventionalities as an excuse, they were naturally gentlemen of most unblemished honour themselves, and of great nicety concerning the honour of other people. [The going-out to fight, and the result, are terrifically told : What a contrast, when they reached the street, to the scene they had just left! It was already daybreak. For the flaring yellow light within, was substituted the clear, bright, glorious morning; for a hot, close atmosphere, tainted with the smell of expiring lamps, and reeking with the steams of riot and dissipation, the free, fresh, wholesome air. But to the fevered head on which that cool air blew, it seemed to come laden with remorse for time misspent and countless opportunities neglected. With throbbing veins and burning skin, eyes wild and heavy, thoughts hurried and disordered, he felt as though the light were a reproach, and shrunk involuntarily from the day as if he were some foul and hideous thing. * * So died Lord Frederick Verisopht, by the hand which he had loaded with gifts and clasped a thousand times; by the act of him but for whom and others like him he might have lived a happy man, and died with children's faces round his bed. The sun came proudly up in all his majesty, the noble river ran its winding course, the leaves quivered and rustled in the air, the birds poured their cheerful songs from every tree, the short-lived butterfly fluttered its little wings; all the light and life of day came on, and amidst it all, and pressing down the grass whose every blade bore twenty tiny lives, lay the dead man, with his stark and rigid face turned upwards to the sky. [In the third chapter, the abode of Arthur Gride is thus minutely detailed :— In an old house, dismal, dark and dusty, which seemed to have withered, like himself, and to have grown yellow and shrivelled in hoarding him from the light of day, as he had in hoarding his money, lived Arthur Gride. Meagre old chairs and tables of spare and bony make, and hard and cold as misers' hearts, were ranged in grim array against the gloomy walls; attenuated presses, grown lank and lantern-jawed in guarding the treasures they enclosed, and tottering, as though from constant fear and dread of thieves, shrunk up in dark corners, whence they cast no shadows on the ground, and seemed to hide and cower from observation. A tall grim clock upon the stairs, with long lean hands and famished face, ticked in cautious whispers, and when it struck the time in thin and piping sounds, like an old man's voice, rattled as if 'twere pinched with hunger. [The scene of the old miser and his housekeeper, Peg Sliderskew, with his resolution to be married in the bottlegreen suit which he bought cheap at the pawnbroker's, with a tarnished shilling in the waistcoat pocket-is excellent; as is also the old woman's raillery on her master's ill-assorted nuptials: " she's very frugal, and she's very deaf; her living costs next to nothing, and it's no use her listening at keyholes, for she can't hear."] The Naturalist. BIRTH OF A GIRAFFE. On the 19th ult. a giraffe, at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, gave birth to a male, which died on the 28th; it is supposed, from the parent refusing to nurture it, and the cow's milk, provided as a substitute, not agreeing with it. This interesting little creature was exhibited four days, and attracted many visitors; no less than £75 having been received on the day previous to its death. From some notes read by Professor Owen to the Zoological Society, on June 25, we gather that the mother's period of gestation had been, as nearly as possible, ascertained to be fourteen months, eighteen days, or fifteen lunar months. The young animal, when born, was perfectly motionless, and apparently dead, or strangulated, its lips and nose being tinged with blood; but after gentle friction had been used for a short time, breathing and motion quickly followed; the mother was in no way depressed or debilitated. It came into the world, like other ruminants, with the eyes open, but the hoofs were disproportionately large, and very soft and white at their expanded extremities; the skin was marked as distinctly as in the adult; the horns were represented by stiff and long black hairs, and the mane was well developed. It made many vigorous efforts to stand, raising itself on the fore knees, and was able to support itself on outstretched legs two hours after birth: in ten hours, it had gained sufficient strength to walk. sucked with avidity warm cow's milk from a bottle, and once or twice uttered low gentle grunts, or bleats, like a fawn or calf: the mother had not hitherto shewn signs of affection or parental care, nor were there any symptoms of nourishing her offspring; yet, once having pushed down the young one when hastily moving from it, she stood still, and gazed on the prostrate animal with an expression of maternal feeling. It is related by the keeper of the male giraffes, that whilst one looked upon the mother and her young one with indifference, the other, the sire, shewed great restlessness and impatience to approach them, and, when allowed to do so, licked and caressed the young stranger. The length of the young one, from the muzzle to the setting of the tail is 6 ft. 10 in.; and when standing it could reach with the muzzle six feet. Varieties. It The best Knock.-Lord Erskine always directed his tiger to knock at the house where he intended to call with a postman's knock; his lordship observing, that he had long observed servants always more punctually answered knocks of that kind than any other. -- Tyburn Tree. This "fatal retreat for the unfortunate brave" was marked by a low wooden railing, within which stood the triple tree. Opposite the gallows was an open gallery, or scaffolding, like the stand at a race-course, which, on state occasions, was crowded with spectators. Within the enclosure were reared several lofty gibbets, with their ghastly burthens. Altogether, it was a hideous and revolting sight. From Jack Sheppard, in Bentley's Miscellany. [This is a capital commencement of a new volume. The editor, by the way, excels in suburban scenery: his sketches have none of the miminy-piminy of the Cockaigne school, but abound with nature, and a nice perception of the pic. turesque: some of the bits in the present paper are perfection. Washington Irving has been added to the roll of contributors.] New Steamer.-A steam-vessel of greater magnitude and power than either the British Queen or the Great Western, the largest, we believe, that has ever been built, and, in respect to internal arrangements, the most elegant and commodious, is shortly to be launched, to ply between England and America. This vessel, called "The President," and commanded by Lieut. Campbell, R. N., is expected to make her first voyage for New York on the 1st of August.-Monthly Chronicle. Sang froid. At an Irish festival, not many years since, a fellow cut off his antagonist's hand, which he lifted up and tossed to him, saying coolly: "Arrah! honey, you've dropp'd your glove." English Luxury.-The state and magnificence of the English court, (says Bishop Goodman,) did especially appear in the time of King Henry VIII.: the order and allowance of his house was contrived by Cardinal Wolsey in as magnificent a manner as any prince hath in the world; here was no putting to board-wages; the meanest yeoman had three good dishes of meat; every gentleman's table had five dishes; the clerk comptroller had eight dishes very substantial meat, more than would have served forty or fifty people, and his table cost the King, buying the meat at the King's price, very near £1,000 per annum: the lord chamberlain had sixteen dishes; two joints of meat went for a dish. Norwood.-In this delightful suburb, The South Metropolitan Cemetery, and the Beulah Spa, remind one of "Death and the Doctor." A Hint.-The Princess of Wales, in one of her shrewd letters says, 66 My better half, or my worse, which you choose, has been ill I hear, but nothing to make me hope or fear." The world is wide enough for all. There is nothing new under the sun, "Le beau est mon bien, et je reprend ou je retrouve." The novelty consists in the fashion, the "callida junctura" of the workman; "à l'œuvre on connait l'artisan." [We extract this liberal sentiment from the Quarterly Review, from its bespeaking the precise position which, it is our anxious wish, the Literary World should present to the public.] Pun funebre.-Some years since, Lord Auckland's eldest son, Mr. Eden, was missing under calamitous apprehensions, when a wag could not resist saying, "Oh! they ought to look for him in Eden; he must be there." age of James I. was one Butler, "the Old Physician.-The Esculapius of the great physician of Cambridge, and the first Englishman who applied chemistry to the study of medicine with greater success than any of his predecessors. When Tresham, (one of the gunpowder traitors,) fell very sick in the Tower, Butler, on visiting him, gave him a piece of very pure gold, to be put into his mouth; and upon the taking out of that gold, Butler said that he was poisoned. Knowing himself to be the prince of physicians, Butler would be observed accordingly. Compliments would prevail nothing with him, entreaties but little; surly threatenings would do much, and a witty jest do anything. He died in 1621, and was buried in St Mary's, Cambridge: an expert apothecary was subsequently buried by him; and, Fuller observes, "if some eminent physician were interred on his other side, I would say that Physic lay here in state, with its two pages attending it.'" The Tench has been called the fish's physician, because the slime which is spread all over it, like that of the eel, appears to have a healing quality for wounded fishes; and the ravenous pike himself, is said to be so sensible of this property in the tench, that he will not feed upon him.-Hofland's Angler's Manual. Snuff-taking in South Africa.-One half of the powder having been transferred to the palm of the hand, by means of a small ivory spoon, which is usually hung round the neck, the recipient leisurely seats himself under a convenient bush, drawing every grain into his nostrils at once, with an eagerness which is followed by a copious flood of tears. Fashionable Novels.-Sir Henry Halford attributes to green tea, which injures the pineal gland, and to water parties, which weaken the digestive organs, the wishywashiness of West-end literature.-Quarterly Review. A Georgian Prince.-Nothing could be more primitive than the architecture of his house the principal room was scarcely twelve feet square, and furnished only with a bench and table; the walls were made of trunks of trees, cemented with mortar, and were scarcely proof against the rain, which fell in torrents. Though in name a prince, the occupier was scarcely above the labouring class in station or intelligence he was the owner of a vineyard, by the produce of which he lived, and in which he himself worked, together with his servants.-Wilbraham's Travels. Funerals in Ireland.-A few years since, there were howlers by profession, and of different degrees of excellence, as there are in opera singers. A woman named Sheela, was a Catalani in the science, and people said "Have you bespoken Sheela? Och, she howls iligantly! Ah! God bless you, do get Sheela, or it will not be worth going to." To a Lady's Parasol. By Sidney Smith. Detested shade! thou that dost oft beguile Louis XIV. and Condé.-Louis, when he heard of the arrival of Condé at Versailles, after his last victory, paid him the high honour of coming to the top of the principal staircase to meet him. Condé, scarcely able to mount the steps at all, (for he was suffering severely from the gout,) besought the monarch to pardon him for making him wait. "Cousin," replied the king with a smile, "when one is so loaded with laurels, it is, of course, difficult to walk."-James. Rum.-Calling one morning upon Lord Erskine, (when he lived in Bryanstonestreet,) and waiting to be let in, a trolloping girl came to it with a tea-cup in her hand, covered with a corner of her shawl, which a puff of wind lifted and revealedlo and behold, the cup contained about a quartern of rum! Just at that moment, the ex-chancellor himself opened the door, and observing me smile, smiled too. Diary Times Geo. IV. Dryden.-Lord Erskine getting into an argument respecting the merits of Dryden the poet, and waxing earnest, affirmed that "glorious John" had done nothing excellent but the ode of Alexander's feast; and that, said he, “is a jewel in a sow's snout." Curious Watch.-A few years since, a person at Cork possessed a watch which had belonged to Louis XVI. It was only the size of a common French watch, but was full of mechanism; and comprised, besides the ordinary works of a time-piece, an almanac, a diary of the weather, and various other singular contrivances. Railways. From a recent parliamentary return of all the moneys authorized to be raised under the sanction of the Acts corporated, between the first of January, whereby railway companies have been in1826, and that of January, 1839, a period of thirteen years, it appears that the moneys so authorized to be raised amount to the sum of £57,789,444; of which sum, £41,610,814 are capital in joint stock, the remaining £16,177,630 being made up of the sum which the various companies are authorized to raise by loan or mortgage. Barbel.-Most of the barbel taken in nets are sold by the fishermen to the Jews about Whitechapel, who are very fond of this fish, and are said to have a mode of stewing them, so as to make an excellent dish.-Hofland's Angler's Manual. Maintenance of State.-Shakspeare, (in Henry VIII.) by one little trait, marks the habit of state, a second nature-Catharine, divorced and dying, at peace with all, forgiving all, even Wolsey, forgot all, save that she was a queen, and daughter of a queen. Her Castilian blood boils at the omission of the usual ceremony by the messenger; nor will any excuse appease her: "But this fellow let me never see again."-Henry VIII., iv. 2.— Quarterly Review. Lady Oxford, one of the belles of 1814, was named the "Harleian Miscellany;" the family name being Harley. New Reading. "Auri sacra fames.”—(Ovid.) An uncommonly dear gold frame. Lord Byron.-The Princess of Wales, in one of her odd letters, writes: "Lord Byron was all couleur de rose last evening, and very pleasant; he sat beside me at supper, and we were very merry: he is quite anoder man when he is wid people he like, and who like him, than he is when he is wid oders who do not please him so well. I always tell him there are two Lord Byrons; and when I invite him, I say, I ask the agreeable Lord, not the disagreeable one. He takes my plaisanterie all in good part, and I flatter myself I am rather a favourite with this great bard." LONDON: Published by GEORGE BERGER, Holywell Street, Strand. Printed by WHITEHEAD & Co. 76, Fleet Street, where all Communications for the Editor may be addressed. A JOURNAL OF POPULAR INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT. CONDUCTED BY JOHN TIMBS, ELEVEN YEARS EDITOR OF "THE MIRROR." [HERALD, OR PEACE-MAKER] [WE resume, (from page 147,) our notices of the important country of New Zealand, with the above portraits of two remarkable natives, copied, by permission, from the Messrs. Martin's clever lithographs, from drawings by Mr. Earle. The sole occupation of the Herald, or Peace-maker, is to carry messages between adverse chiefs, to prevent hostile meetings, and to bring about treaties of peace; his person being held sacred under all circumstances. The woman, whose name is Avow, is lawfully married to an English captain, a regular trader at the Bay of Islands, and is the mother of several beautiful children: she is, in every respect, a good and faithful wife, and an affectionate mother; she usually wears European clothes, and only put on her native clothes, at Mr. Earle's request, to sit for her portrait; and our artist used to consider her beautiful.] In general, the New Zealanders are a tall race of men, many of the individuals belonging to the upper classes being six feet high and upwards. They are strong, active, and almost uniformly well shaped. Their hair is commonly straight, but sometimes curly: Crozet says, he saw a few of them with red hair. Cook describes the females as far from attractive; but other observers give a more flattering VOL. I. R account of them. Mr. Savage, for example, assures us that their features are regular and pleasing; and he seems to have been much struck by their "long black hair, and dark, penetrating eyes, as well as "their well-formed figure, the interesting cast of their countenance, and the sweet tone of their voice." Major Cruise's testimony is almost equally favourable. The This race of people bears no affinity to that of the neighbouring continent of Australia, which appears to be identical with the Oriental or Papuan negro. The New Zealander is physically so superior to the Australian, that he regards him with the same contempt that most Europeans do the negro. Mr. Earle remarks: natives of Australia seem of the lowest grade, the last link in the great chain of existence which unites man with the monkey. Their limbs are long, thin, and flat, with large bony knees and elbows, a projecting forehead and pot-belly. The mind, too, seems adapted to this mean configuration; they have neither energy, enterprise, nor industry, and their curiosity can scarcely be excited. A few exceptions may be met with, but these are their general characteristics; while the natives of New Zealand are "cast in beauty's perfect mould." The children are so fine and powerfully made, that each might serve as a model for an 'infant Hercules;' nothing can exceed the graceful and athletic form of the men, or the rounded limbs of their young women. These possess eyes beautiful and eloquent, and a profusion of long, silky, curling hair; while the intellect of both sexes seems of a superior order. All appear eager for improvement, full of energy, and indefatigably industrious." Mr. Nicholas says, in describing a chieftain: "There was an easy dignity in the manners of this man, and I could not behold, without admiration, the graceful elegance of his deportment, and the appropriate accordance of his action. Holding the pattoo-pattoo in his hand, he walked up and down along the margin of the river with a firm and manly step, arrayed in a plain mat, which, being tied over his right shoulder, descended, with a kind of Roman negligence, down to his ankles, and, to the mind of a classical beholder, might well represent the toga, whilst his towering stature and perfect symmetry gave even more than Roman dignity to the illusion." In another place, he says: "Duaterra's two sisters were the most remarkable among the females; one of whom was distinguished for her uncommon beauty, and the other for the facetious vivacity of her manners. The former appeared about seventeen, and would have been deemed, even in England, where there are so many rivals for the palm of beauty, a candidate of the strongest pretensions. Her regular features, soft and prepossessing, displayed an engaging delicacy, the effect of which was heightened by the mild lustre of her eye; and her cheek, lightly tinged with the roseate hue of health, needed not the extraneous embellishment of paint, to which some of our finest belles are so fond of resorting. In her figure she was slender and graceful, whilst the artless simplicity of her manners gave additional interest to her charms." Lieut. Breton observes: "They are a fine race of people, being well formed, athletic, and active.' He then gives some extraordinary instances of their activity and strength whilst employed as sailors on board of English vessels. Mr. Savage says, "The natives are of a very superior order, both in point of personal appearance and intellectual endowments. The men are usually from five feet eight inches to six feet in height, well-proportioned, and exhibit evident marks of great strength. The colour of the natives, taken as a mean, resembles that of an European gipsy; but there is considerable difference in the shades, varying between a dark chestnut and the light agreeable tinge of an English brunette." But it is needless to accumulate evidence, the only value of which is to prove that you have a race of aborigines calculated, by intermarriage with Europeans, to form the basis of a great nation: there is not, as there is in the United States between the American and the negro, any physical repugnance to the complete amalgamation of all classes of settlers, should a colony be founded there, with the native population, as fast as they become civilized; for which they manifest an extraordinary aptitude and desire. One point in their character is very satisfactory,—an invincible dislike to ardent spirits, and a general habit of temperance and sobriety. Captain Cook bears testimony to their modesty, by which he says, they are distinguished from all other inhabitants of the South Seas. They are as ardent in friendship and love as they are cruel in their jealousy, hatred, and revenge. There is a natural politeness and grandeur in their deportment; a yearning after poetry, music, and the fine arts; a wit and eloquence that remind us, in reading all the accounts of them, and in conversing with those who have resided among them, of the Greeks of Homer. Their language is rich and sonorous, abounding in metaphysical distinctions; and they uphold its purity most tenaciously, although they had no knowledge of writing until the missionaries reduced their dialect to a grammatical form. It is radically the same with that of Tahiti, and of the kindred nations. They have an abundance of poetry, of a lyrical kind, of which may be seen many specimens, in a metre which seems regulated by a regard to quantity, as in Greek and Latin. They are passionately fond of music. Mr. Nicholas speaks of a "plaintive and melodious air, which seemed not unlike some of our sacred music, in many of its turns," as it forcibly reminded him of the chanting in our cathedrals. They excel in carving, of which their war canoes, carrying 100 men, are specimens; they display their natural talents also in their pursuit of astronomy. Mr. Nicholas assures us that "they remain awake during the greater part of the night in the summer season, watching the motions of the heavens, and making inquiries concerning the time when such and such a star will appear. They have given names to each of them, and divided them into constellations; and have, likewise, connected with them some curious traditions, which they hold in superstitious veneration. If the star they look for does not appear at the time it is expected to be seen, they become extremely solicitous about the cause of its absence, and immediately relate the traditions which they |