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 their secret agents: however, the mystic appearance of Amanuel's presence, which had affected my senses so powerfully, lost its awfulness entirely through that oversight. I was no stranger to the artifices wrought through natural magic; and also not ignorant what a powerful influence a heated, overflowing, and transported imagination produces on our senses. The whole now appeared to me a mere scarecrow for children. The mystic farce was continued too long, and afterwards betrayed the whole confederacy. The mysterious veil was removed from that memorable moment, and my imagination being rectified by cool reflection, the miserable artifices of the confederates rather filled me with contempt than with awe. James's apparition in my neighbourhood opened my eyes; and my mind, being now liberated from the thraldom of a deluded imagination, firmly begins a new, decided career.

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text: Sunset Gun/Rhyme Against Living

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Coda

 * "Coda", a poem by Dorothy Parker (1928)
 * "Coda", a poem by Ezra Pound (1916)

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 The Count was very much grieved at the sudden departure of the dear stranger, as he used to call him. I was already, in the beginning, strongly tempted to predict it; but cannot conceive what prevented me from doing so; and my friend was, soon after that incident, a second time obliged, by his affairs, to leave me, before I could conclude my history, and elucidate many mysterious events to him; for the various occupations in which I was engaged did not allow me, as I already have informed the reader, more leisure hours for the continuation of my memoirs than I could spare from the time of nocturnal rest.

My friend remained a long time absent, being detained by the unaccountable intricacy of his affairs. It really seemed as if they intended to exhaust his patience by juridical chicanes and petty artifices, to make him waste his precious time in the most useless manner. I very seldom received letters from him, and he always

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 concluded them by informing me that he should not return so soon. Being convinced that I was completely acquainted with his ideas, he did not trouble himself about the management of his estates, which was an additional motive for me to be the more careful. There never was a period in my whole life, in which I knew so well to fill up every moment with such exactness; every one of them, from morning till night, being counted and designed for some employment. These tedious occupations did not at first please me much on account of their tiresome sameness; however, after a few weeks reluctant exertion, they grew so easy, and at last so amusing to me, that I could not disuse myself therefrom. I now exercised more authority over the Count's people than he ever did himself, because he had not acquired that knowledge of the inferior classes which I possessed: I conversed with every one, listened to every proposal of theirs, and frequently improved my

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Rh nine or ten months of the year, surrounded by frost, snow, and ice. Though more elevated than France and Italy, they lose sight of the sun every day, two or three hours before we do. Yet, in certain parts of Mount Cenis, flowers and butterflies are seen in the midst of the snow, at all seasons. Patches of verdure appear here and there, surrounded by snow, and the lake which is in a hollow of the mountain, is frozen during only six months of the year. Those who wish to be acquainted with the natural history of Mount Cenis, should read the learned works of Saussure, Lalande, Bourrit, and others who have visited the Alps. As for me, I am satisfied with describing the cheerful or melancholy feelings which this journey of pleasure awakened in my mind, and to which reflexion sometimes gives a moral character.

The plain on the summit of Mount Cenis is about three quarters of a league in extent; Napoleon, when forming his gigantic schemes, intended to build here a town, and the triumphal arch, which he afterwards destined for the great army, when victory began to be inconstant to him. In 1809, Prince Borghese, Govenor-general of the departments beyond the Alps, came here, attended by all his court, to place the first stone of the immense barracks, which have been finished since. On the plain of Mount Cenis stands the hospital of the good fathers who have devoted their lives to the exercise of humanity and the duties of hospitality; they live contented in the contemplation of the happiness and satisfaction which they procure for others; they accept no remuneration from travellers, who are received by them with a kindness due to brothers; and, under the superintendence of their worthy superior, Don Dubois, they divide their time between study, the exercise of charity, and the practice of a religion free from fanaticism.

Having arrived at the extremity of the plain, we descended the southern side of the mountain. The north wind became by degrees less severe; we no longer sat motionless upon our saddles; we began to talk and sing.

We were involved by the clouds that were floating towards us, and afterwards saw them hovering around the icy summit of Mount Cenis, which apppeared above them, gilt by the rays of the setting sun.

It was soon hid in the darkness of night. There was no noise, except that made by our mules, and the roaring of the waters that fell in torrents down the steeps.

We saw moving lights in the distant valley which we were approaching, and felt somewhat alarmed as they came nearer to us, at a loss to conjecture what motive could induce any one to carry them among these gloomy defiles. We were told that the kind and hosbitable inhabitants of Novalése, for the reward of two or three francs came out every night with lanterns, to meet caravans, and even solitary travellers coming from Mount Cenis, and to light them on their way.

Attended by these good people, we arrived at Novalèse nearly in the same order that we had reached la Grand’-Croix. Our supper was cheered by the Montmelian wine, which has, perhaps, no more claim to the name given to it, than that which is offered by the restaurateurs of Paris, under the name of Beaune, has to the title bestowed upon it. We slept at Novalèse, a gloomy village of Piedmont, built in a narrow cleft, where we had nothing more to do than to eat our suppers and go to bed. The bread consisted of long narrow rolls, with a brittle crust, like that of gingerbread, and of a very agreeable flavour. We were told that we should find bread of the same kind at Turin, and even beyond Alexandria; but different kinds of bread, adapted to all tastes, were placed on the table, both here and at la Grand’-Croix.

The next day, before we arrived at Suza, we were much struck by the appearance of the fort of la Brunette, situated on the top of an isolated mountain. This fort, which seems to be impregnable, was taken by storm by the French, an achievement of which the possibility can hardly be imagined. At length we entered Suza, the first little town of Piedmont, and situated half way up Mount Cenis. It is said that it was built by a Roman colony, established here, when Augustus opened a road into Dauphiné. This colony was, without doubt, fixed here for the purpose of trading with the people of Gaul, as the spot is by no means attractive. The town is ill built and irregular, and the pavement uneven. There are still to be seen here the remains of a triumphal arch, raised in honour of Augustus.

The distance from Suza to Turin is forty miles. After having traversed half of it, we found ourselves in a plain. The mildness of the air bespoke a warmer climate. We met peasant girls of Piedmont, dressed in short petticoats and round hats of felt adorned with black feathers. The elms were entwined with the branches of the vine; the road was bordered with rows of mulberry trees; and the mowers were cutting down the new grass in the green meadows.

We reached Rivoli, a country house belonging to the Kings of Sardinia, situated on a hill, or rather at the foot of Mount Cenis. This chateau resembles not, in its style of beauty, the palaces built in the neighbourhood of Paris. A broad and beautiful avenue, about eight miles in length, leads from Rivoli to Turin, down a gentle declivity. This road is thickly strewed with the stones that roll from the mountain on the right. The fertile plain on the left is watered by numerous canals, supplied by the waters of the Doire. This plain extends into Lombardy, as far as the Gulf of Venice. Full of the agreeable sensations, experienced on beholding a civilized country, we entered Turin by the gate of Suza, and the street of la Doire, which is, without exception, the finest street in Europe.

Liverpool.

Chapter 1st, in which Mr. Jeremiah Schnackenberger is introduced.—The sun was just setting, and people of delicate health had already betaken themselves to their respective residences, when the discordant horns from the watch-tower announced the arrival of a new guest. The windows were immediately filled with young and old, with plain and pretty faces, and a smile hovered upon them all, when the object of the general solicitude came distinctly within sight.

On a small fleshless white horse sat a tall, stout, and well-fed young man, in a pea-green surtout, which seemed to have been much exposed to sun and rain; the weather-beaten head of the horseman, which contrasted singularly with the delicate colour of his coat, was adorned with a cocked hat of such enormous size, that one of its points projected between the ears of the Rosinante, whilst the other covered the animal’s very modest tail: a pair of boots, which would have been too long for the horse itself, hung in a sloping direction on both sides, and were thickly covered with particles of the soil which they had grazed, whilst an immense pipe, of great value, was dangling in front, and sent forth clouds of smoke, which would have warranted the supposition that he was a travelling steam-engine. The whip seemed to have been taken merely for fashion’s sake, for the horse walked so leisurely, that even the most lazy children had full time to get out of the way; and the animal appeared as conscious as the rider, that it would be altogether unreasonable to require greater speed, under existing circumstances.

The long sword, which rattled on the pavement, gave the salutary hint, that it might be as well for the spectators not to interfere with the pleasure of Jeremiah Schnackenberger; and this warning was rendered still more effectual by a Danish bull-dog, of nearly the horse’s size, which marched very deliberately in the rear, exhibiting, now and then, two rows of teeth, which commanded universal respect for the joint travellers.

The crowds in the windows were scrutinized by the rider in his turn, and this review absorbed him to such a degree, that he had actually suffered his pipe to go out: but he became no sooner aware of the fact, than he took out his tinder-box to rekindle it, when his horse took advantage of the opportunity to turn into a lateral-street, and to proceed, as by instinct, to the inn of the Golden Sow. The gold on the sign was rather tarnished, and the whole appearance of the premises was not very inviting; but Jeremiah would not contradict his poor beast; and, after having in vain called for the ostler, he first entered the house, and then proceeded into the open travellers’ room.

Chapter 2d.—Of the accommodations in the Golden Sow.—A strolling troop of players had lately given a representation of ; and Mrs. Barbara Liquorice, the landlady, very naturally took our hero for the old commander, when she awoke out of her afternoon’s rest, which a little extra glass had prolonged beyond its usual extent. She felt greatly alarmed at the visit, and inquired into its object; but as she became aware that she had to deal with mere creatures of flesh and bone, she feared neither dog nor master, and expostulated with the latter in her accustomed manner, about the impropriety of his entering on horseback into a dwelling-room.

Jeremiah stated, very calmly, the absence of the domestic, and appeased the angry fair one so effectually, that she asked pardon for her rashness, and conducted the horse to the stable. The traveller made himself comfortable, and was much amused with the portraits of half-a-dozen fat pigs, which hung against the wall, together with their pedigree, and a short description of their lives, in order to show the landlord’s skill in the noble art of rearing and fattening their species. The silence and dullness which prevailed throughout the house, indicated, however, that it had ceased to be the scene of activity; and the returning hostess put the matter beyond doubt. She related, without being much pressed, that she had been left a widow in the very prime of life, and with rather more property than she could conveniently manage herself, having to contend against an envious and enterprizing neighbour at the Fox, who contrived to get all her customers, by bribing the postillions and others to injure her fair fame. She made it pretty well understood, that she did not think it likely an inn could ever thrive without a master; whilst, on the other hand, her’shers [sic] would afford a fine opportunity to a young man of spirit, to make his way in the world. A few years more, on the female side, appeared to her rather an advantage, since it offered additional security of steadiness and fidelity to the husband.

Mr. Schnackenberger listened with a great deal of good-nature to this exposition, interrupting it merely now and then with an “Indeed!” but more frequently addressing Jupiter (his dog) who was consuming the supper which had been brought in, and for which his master showed no particular relish. The lady drew rather a favourable augury from the latter circumstance; and, after having conducted her guest to a bed-room, she left him to ruminate on what had been said.

Chapter 3d.—An improper visit.—Our weary traveller had been fast asleep, when he was almost lifted out of his bed by Jupiter, who started from under it with a most tremendous howl, to receive a man with a whip in his hand, whom the hostess introduced by means of a master-key, because he pretended to come on very urgent business. Jeremiah held the candle to the intruder’s countenance, and recognised him as the proprietor of the horse, who suspected him to have left the University for good, and to have hired the animal with the intention of taking it home with him. He had traced him all the way; and he insisted on immediate payment and satisfaction. A well-filled purse was forthwith produced; and the sight of it convinced the horse-dealer, at once, of his error. He now begged to be excused, and desired his much-honoured


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Rh patron to keep the quadruped as long as it might be his pleasure; but the money was laid before him in silence; and, as he still continued to proffer his services, a significant glance at Jupiter made both him and the hostess evacuate the room in an instant, and go down the stairs much more quickly than they had come up.

Chapter 4th.—A more serious disturbance.—All had long become quiet; but Jeremiah could not recover his sleep. Daylight began already to appear, when he thought he perceived something like smoke. He got up, opened the door, and found that he had not been mistaken: the staircase was in full blaze, and a violent fire raged below. He quickly filled his pipe, took his surtout on his arm, and looked out of the window to see what could be done that way. A leap upon the pavement appeared to be rather dangerous; but the chief sign of the house (a large sow of gilded stone) was placed over the entrance-gate at a little distance from the building, and he might hope to reach it. He succeeded to his wishes; and as soon as he was safely astride on the stone-representative, he began to bawl out lustily for help. It was some time before he could engage any one’s attention; because the house stood by itself, and there was none opposite: some early workmen took him for a drunkard, or for a madman, who was playing with his dog, to the annoyance of the neighbourhood. The cries of Jupiter were, indeed, quite as loud as his master’s, because he had not been able to follow, and his danger was greater: the flame had already penetrated into the room; and it was only then that the watchman saw what was the matter, and rang the fire-bell. Assistance was now speedily procured; but the engines were sooner at hand than the ladders, and the most efficacious way of preserving the man on the sow, seemed to be to drench him well with water, which was done accordingly. He bore this with great resignation; and when a ladder was finally produced, he entreated, for God’s sake, that it might be employed first in the preservation of his companion. The assistants thought themselves insulted by the request, and refused to comply with it; but when he offered a louis d’or to him who should do the deed, the competition became so great, that the dog would probably have perished, if he had not taken the resolution to escape by a courageous leap upon a water-cart, which happened to come within his reach.

Chapter 5th, which explains the object of the journey, and introduces a person of rank.—Jupiter was as unrivalled in the university as his namesake had formerly been at Olympus; and all the students envied his fortunate master, who had often refused the most brilliant offers, and whom even the greatest distress for money had never been able to tempt to the idea of parting with his dog; although he could not conceal from himself than the keep of the animal was infinitely more expensive than his own, which was itself none of the cheapest. Jupiter was in the constant practice of visiting all the kitchens to which he could get access, and to consider every thing as a fair prize that came within his reach: the fierceness of his aspect prevented the lawful proprietors from using violent means in keeping him off; they found it much more convenient to let him have the articles, which he had laid under sequestration, and to present his master with a bill of the damage, in which some slight indemnification for the alarm was either directly charged or tacitly laid on. An account of this description was one day given in by a tavern-keeper, whose whole stock of provisions had been attacked, and notably injured by the voracious brute. Mr. Schnackenberger happened, in his first emotion, to ask his friend Fabian Sebastian, whether he would still abide by the offer which he had lately made for the destroyer? the answer was affirmative; but as the purchase-money was of considerable amount, the buyer requested eight days to raise it. To this the seller consented; but, having received a remittance from home before the stipulated term was expired, he repented of the bargain, and laboured hard to annul the same; finding it, however, impossible to set any negociation on foot, he bestrode the first horse he could meet with, and set off for a celebrated bathing-place, with the intention to stop there as long as his money would last, and to enjoy the exclusive society of his dear Jupiter without interruption, until they should be finally separated.

The oddity of his situation, during the fire, produced, however, a circumstance which he could neither have foreseen nor expected. There was, among the various bathing-guests, a daughter of his own sovereign, whom the alarm had likewise brought to the spot, and who had no sooner understood that the sufferer was her countryman, than she interested herself with particular solicitude in his safety, congratulated him with her usual affability on his escape, and, finally, invited him to a ball which she intended to give in the evening. This operated a sudden and total revolution in the ideas of Jeremiah, and he accepted of the invitation, although attendance in ball-rooms was rather foreign from the character of his usual pursuits.

The fire had not spread very far, for there was a strong partition-wall between the part in which it had broken out, and the rest of the premises. Mrs. Liquorice had already prepared fresh quarters in an out-building, and she showed herself very anxious to make her lodger as comfortable as circumstances would admit. The side-glance which she had taken at his full purse, and his noble behaviour, during the night and in the morning, had inspired her with deep respect, and confirmed her in the favourable opinion which his manly person had made her conceive at first sight.

The following short Essay on Murder, appeared lately in the Sheffield Iris: it is, no doubt, from the pen of the elegant poet, Mr. Montgomery, the editor of that paper:

“There is one crime, the earliest on record, that was committed out of Paradise, which all nations, barbarian or civilized, have agreed to punish in kind. “Blood for blood” has been the law of nature from the beginning, and whatever modern refinement in jurisprudence may propose in lieu of the punishment of death in cases of wilful murder, the universal practice to the contrary proves that instinctive and eternal antipathy to this species of violence, which is so identified in the human bosom with the love of life, that they grow up together like twin plants of opposite qualities from the same seed, for in moral cases this is no anomaly, every root bearing a twofold offspring of antagonist principles. Murder—taking it in the general signification of one person killing another, not by accident—is usually perpetrated for revenge or for plunder. In the first instance, it is frequently an act of sudden passion, under aggravated provocation, and accompanied by circumstances which palliate its atrocity, and reduce its character, in the eye of the law, to what is denominated manslaughter. But when it has been premeditated for the purpose of robbery, it is almost always accomplished with a degree of cruelty, from which nature recoils, and to which no consideration can reconcile the mind of any man, not himself hardened to the desperation of doing the like, should temptation and opportunity combine to inveigle him. At a late meeting of the Literary and Philosophical Society here, an ingenious paper by a member was read, exemplifying the natural relationship of the sciences, the aid which they alternately receive and communicate, and their increasing approximation in their progress towards perfection. Murder, of the latter class aforementioned, is the consummation of all villany; and seldom does an extraordinary instance of this occur, in which its direct or remote connexion with every other vice of superlative malignity, may not be clearly traced. The sins that corrupt, degrade, and destroy individuals, as well as disturb the peace of society, are all of one kindred: there is a mutual dependence, a reciprocal intercourse, an inevitable assimilation among them; nobody was ever addicted to one only.—Lying, cheating, and all the petty knaveries of the nursery are common, though in different proportions, to the child who is notorious for any one of them. Drunkenness, swearing, sabbath-breaking, and other vulgar offences against religion and good manners, are bosom companions, not solitary inmates, with those adults who are particular slaves to any of these excesses. In the highest ranks of wickedness, gambling, debauchery, forgery, rapacity, murder, and self-destruction, are in like manner so associated, that few of their votaries and victims are ever guilty of the greatest, without having graduated though all of the inferior, and continuing, as avarice or passion prompts, to riot in each.

“Such reflections have been naturally awakened by the circumstances of a recent murder, in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, the report of which has filled the whole country with horror and consternation. Whatever share the accused, or the suspected not yet in custody, may have had in the deed itself, the details of evidence, and the numberless rumours, false and true, on the subject, show that this crime originated in other crimes, of the most diabolical nature, in which all parties, from the assassin to the sufferer (including accomplices, and associates not immediately accessaries) were awfully implicated. The Hells, as they are called by those who are themselves in the habit of playing the devil in them (the gambling-houses, in ordinary English) have, on this occasion, opened their gates, and let out some of their lost spirits to betray their secrets, and exemplify their evils, when the infatuation which possesses their frequenters has reached its paroxysm. We mean not, however, to dwell upon these particulars at present; we have noticed the universal consent of all mankind in past ages to punish wilful murder with certain death, as testifying the implacable aversion of the whole species to this most hideous of outrages. The intense, absorbing, and increasing interest which has been excited in the late instance, notwithstanding the length and minuteness of the daily intelligence published concerning it, proves, that so far as our common nature is unsophisticated, there exists not in it an antipathy so deeply rooted, nor yet so agonizingly sensitive, as that against the deliberate spilling of human blood. The shipwreck of nearly two hundred vessels on our coast during the late gales, the drowning of so many seamen, and the miseries brought on ten times that number of persouspersons [sic] affected by this tremendous visitation from heaven,—these have been nearly overlooked, amidst the public sympathy provoked by a solitary murder. Fifty-five industrious colliers, in the exercise of their honest labours, were swept into eternity by one blast of subterranean fire, and numerous families were made fatherless in a moment, yet the account was read with emotion, almost as transient as the destruction, while every body that could feel pity for misfortune or detestation of crime, was bewailing the fate of a gamester butchered by some of his own gang, and execrating the cruelty and perfidiousness of the wretch by whom the blow was dealt. This was not wrong; we do not blame it; we participate both in the compassion and the indignation of our countrymen; but we state the fact itself to show once more the character of that antipathy to murder, which Providence has implanted in the human heart with the love of life; of which, indeed, it is the guardian principle. Yet, as members of society, we are so artificially modified by authority, by custom, by passive assent to what is familiar, that two men—princes of the blood, nobles, privy-counsellors, legislators, or persons of any degree above ‘the swinish multitude,’—shall meet, on account of some verbal offence, with loaded pistols levelled at each other’s heads—shall fire, miss, hit, fall, or survive,—and then, after having attempted to take away life, and to commit suicide by proxy (both necessarily involved by duelling) whether they miscarry, or whether they succeed, they shall ever after be deemed men of honour! So goes the world in this respect. But there is another respect, in which it goes a million times further in absurdity and atrocity—we need only name war, and add,

“There were many occasions, during the revolutionary contest, when the massacre in battle of thousands and tens of thousands of our fellow men roused far less commotion throughout all the states of Europe, whose subjects were among the slain, than has been roused among the people of this country,—which knows not what war is,—by the death of poor Weare, in a lonely lane, on a dark evening!”

A gentleman’s house in the neighbourhood of Blackburn had a narrow escape last week from being destroyed by fire, in consequence of the servant, after sweeping up the ashes, and dusting the grate, putting the brush and cloth into a cupboard, which was set on fire. It is supposed that a hot cinder had adhered either to the cloth or brush. Fortunately a gentleman discovered the smoke issuing from the cupboard, and the flame was immediately extinguished.


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Rh the 15th of Messidor, in the year 4 (3d of July, 1798) the French occupied the citadel with the consent of the King of Sardinia. Suwarrow took possession of it the following year after an obstinate battle between the town and the citadel, which are contiguous. I saw, in the palace of Lascaris, cannon-balls, fixed in the places where they were first lodged, among glasses, pictures, and gildings. In 1802, Piedmont, having been annexed to France, was divided into departments, and, by a decree of 1807, erected into a general government of the departments beyond the Alps. Turin was its chief place. This government comprehended, besides Piedmont, the state of Genoa, and a short time after were added to it the two grand duchies of Parma and Placentia.

But I will no longer encroach on the province of the historian. I continued walking during two hours; I then entered the coffee-house of the Rondeau at the gate of the Po, where I met with a little humpbacked man, whom I had formerly known at Paris, at the beginning of the revolution. I shall conceal his name, but all those who have been at Turin will easily recognise him. He was full of humour, wit, and vivacity; he had received very little education, but nature had gifted him with the best of hearts, and the most correct judgment. His deformity did not prevent him from being a favourite with the fair sex; and it was impossible to be more gallant than he was. When I met him, he was with a tall, fine woman of Valpian, a town of Piedmont, whose name was la Volpianina. After having chatted some time with him, I went away, fearful lest I should interrupt his tête-à-tête; thanks to the information he had given me, I was not at a loss how to employ the rest of my day; he had told me that a good French restaurateur, of the name of Dufour, had established himself in the square of the Castle; that, not far from his shop, I should find an excellently selected literary cabinet, at the library of Charles Bocca, and that there was to be performed, that evening, at the theatre of Carignano, la Donna Soldato, an opera by Pavedi, in which I should hear the famous Gafforini. I first went to Dufour’s, where I could almost have fancied myself at Paris, from the manner in which I was entertained, and from the numbers of French who were seated at most of the tables. The Count of S—, a nobleman of Piedmont, who came there regularly, was pointed out to me; two officers of the seventh regiment of cuirassiers, whose dépot was then at Turin, hearing that I had arrived from Paris that day, entered into conversation with me, and informed me who this gentleman was, whose stern countenance had attracted my attention. For the last ten years, the Count of S— had not spoken a word to any one; he pointed with his knife to whatever he wished to be helped to. He often rode on horseback, and frequented the theatre and public walks; but nothing could induce him to break the vow of eternal silence which he had imposed on himself when he was twenty years old, being at that time in possession of a considerable fortune. He had had the misfortune, at that age, to commit an indiscretion, which had occasioned a duel. His most intimate friend had fallen in it, and he had resolved from that time never more to pronounce a single word, upon any temptation or inducement soever.

I arrived at the door of the Carignano theatre, situated opposite the immense, but clumsily-built, palace of that name, which was then the Hotel of the Prefecture. I entered a very small door near a small office, and asked for a ticket giving admission to the best part of the house. A ticket was put into my hands, for which I was charged only twenty sous. I went up the staircase and walked through the galleries, seeking a box-keeper, but no one appeared to assist me in my perplexity. I ascended another flight of stairs, but with no better success. At length I returned to the person in attendance at the door, and endeavoured to make him understand that I wished to be shown into a box. He answered in a jargon as barbarous as it was incomprehensible, no more resembling Italian hanthan [sic] French; and concluded by putting into my hands a key, for which he demanded four francs. I feared that he had not understood my meaning; and I knew not what I might not have asked for, instead of admittance into the box of a theatre. However, several persons coming up, a gentleman from among them perceived my embarrassment, and very politely explained to me, in good French, whence it proceeded. The ticket which I had at first received, was one which gave admittance into the pit; and it conferred upon me the privilege of paying visits in the boxes, provided there was any one of my acquaintance to receive me there. The key admitted me to a box, appropriated entirely to my use; a label attached to it indicated the number of the box, and the side of the house on which it was placed. I wished to enter into conversation with some of my neighbours; but I found that I was quite separated from the rest of the company. As all the other boxes were nearly filled, I found that my solitary situation exposed me to inquisitive glances from all sides; but it was difficult to gratify the curiosity which gave rise to them, as the only lights in the house were two at the entrance of the pit, and two on each side of the stage. The women do not attend the theatre in full dress; and as the price of subscriptions, as well as of boxes engaged for a whole season, is not high, means of amusement are afforded, not beyond the reach of families only moderately rich. Visits are paid and received all evening in the boxes. Some people take a box for a whole season upon speculation. They sometimes send their key to the coffee-house of the theatre, or let it out for an evening. This plan, repeated twenty or thirty times during the three months that the autumn theatre is open, secures to them the use of their box gratis for the rest of the season.

The silk curtains, ornamented at the top with drapery of the same colour, in front of each box, attracted my attention. I was much pleased by the novel and agreeable effect produced by the regular distribution, in each row of boxes, of the colours of blue, red, green, buff, and purple. The house appears more completely furnished than our French theatres, and the absence of spectators is much less perceptible.

I knew by fame la Donna Soldato, and la Gafforini for whom that opera had been composed; they both surpassed my expectations. These counter-alto voices possess an indescribable charm. No Italian actress, before Madam Pasta, whom we have heard at Paris, ever sung and acted with so much expression as la Gafforini. It is even asserted that the effect produced by her was so powerful, that the Viceroy of Italy, immediately after his marriage with the Princess of Bavaria, forbade Gafforini to sing at Milan, the air che vuoi la bella rosa, which she introduced in every opera. This actress enjoyed also a celebrity of a different nature; but I know not how far she had deserved it, notwithstanding the assurances given me on the subject by my witty little hump-backed friend, who is the living chronicle of all upper Italy.

After the first act of la Donna Soldato, I was much astonished to see the performance interrupted, when the curtain was raised the second time. A grand serious ballet was played, in which I saw for the first time i signori groteschi. Among them was il famosissimo Calabrese, then a little on the decline, but whose performance was still astonishing. These buffoons, both men and women, rushed upon the stage, emulating each other in the extravagance of their attitudes, while the pit rung with almost frantic cries of bravi, bravi. Let the reader imagine a crowd of men and women, in unceasing and violent motion; performing feats of agility, running, leaping, and whirling round, with a rapidity which the eye cannot follow, but without any regard to the rules of grace, and he will have a just idea of this performance. The dancing of the buffoons, which is at once heavy and light, has been well described by saying that they rise from the ground like feathers and that they return to it like lead. The art of buffoonery seems to me to be the romance of dancing, and there will be found to exist the same difference between the dangerous leaps of these jumping gentry, and the dancing of Albert and Vestris, that there is between the novels of Le Sage, and the somewhat grotesque productions of M. d’Arlincourt.

After the ballet the opera was continued, which was followed by a second comic opera, in which the buffoons exhibited new feats, as surprising as the former. When the play was over I returned to the hotel of la Bonne Femme, where I made a few notes of the first impressions made on my mind by what I had seen in the most remarkable town in Italy, though I had, at that time, no idea of imparting them to the public.

Liverpool.

Chapter 6th.—Preparations for the Ball.—Jeremiah Schnackenberger was not naturally of a ferocious disposition; but a military dress had been introduced by some young men of his acquaintance, and he had adopted it, because it freed him from the company of fops, who were his decided aversion. He never began a quarrel himself; but, when he was engaged in one, he made the best of it, and gave as good as he received. For the rest, he attached no great importance to the dress of other people; and he thought they had no right to take notice of his own. He dried himself at a large fire, without caring whether the ablution had improved or disfigured his appearance; yet, as he cast, from time to time, a glance through the window, he could not help remarking, that, among all the passengers, there was not one that looked at all like himself and his friends, and that he should make himself rather too conspicuous by going to a ball in his usual costume: he resolved, therefore, to effect some slight alteration in that respect.

He sent for several tailors, and desired to have either a new coat or to have his surtout shortened in such a manner as to make it look like one: but the tailors declared, unanimously, that they could not enter into any fresh engagements for the day, because they had already more work on hand than they could possibly finish; but, that any day after the present, they should be most happy to serve him. The shoe-makers were not more accommodating; for, although some of them had a stock on hand, their shoes were all too small for his feet. He addressed himself, in this emergency, to his landlady, and she kindly opened forthwith all her trunks and chests for his service: the wardrobe of her late husband had been considerable, but unfortunately his shoes would not fit, and his coats were not only half-an-ell too short, but they had also such a butcher-like appearance, that they could not be turned to any use. Urged to desperation, by so many disappointments, Jeremiah seized at last a pair of large scissors, and cut off the superfluous part of his surtout, which was thus transformed into a dress-coat, in spite of what the tailors had said about the impossibility of the thing and the shortness of the time. This having been accomplished, the boots were also sacrificed, and cut down to a pair of ball-shoes, which had every desirable solidity, and no other defect but that of a rigid stiffness, which would not allow the slender and elegant buckles to take sufficient hold; so that it was necessary for him to move his foot with great caution, to prevent them from springing off. This circumstance proved the more troublesome, as such a manner of walking was in direct opposition to Mr. Schnackenberger’s general habits, and formed a complete contrast to the rest of his demeanour; but it could not be helped. All other needful articles of dress were easily procured; and the hostess declared, upon her conscience, that there would not be a better-looking man than her guest in the whole room. She promised to take care of Jupiter; but was of opinion that the fine silver-chased pipe ought to be taken


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Rh by way of ornament; and to this recommendation the proprietor lent a willing ear.

Chapter 7th.—Jeremiah Schnackenberger falls in love with the Princess.—The ball was given in honour of the King’s birth-day, and the company was of the most brilliant description; it may, therefore, easily be imagined what kind of sensation the grotesque appearance of our hero excited; many of the persons present recognised him, either as the horseman of the preceding day, or as the swine-rider of the morning; but both events were forgottonforgotten [sic] in the surprise produced by his present entrance. The lining of his ci-devant surtout was loosened from the cloth, and the pockets protruded between the openings, because one was weighed down by his heavy purse, and the other by his large pipe, of which the mouth-piece projected also at the top of its temporary residence. Jeremiah paced along with great deliberation and almost maidenly demureness, lest he should lose his shoe-buckles; his eyes sought the Princess, but he had already been pointed out to her, and she very kindly sent one of her attendants to meet him for the purpose of pointing out to him the disorder that reigned in his toilet, and of offering to assist him to remedy it. Mr. Schnackenberger scarcely knew whether he should laugh at what was pointed out to him, or be ashamed of it; but he availed himself, with great glee, of the proffered service; he stepped with the messenger into a side-room, where another coat and a decent pair of shoes were procured and appropriated to his use; after this he re-entered the saloon and cut a tolerable figure. He took the first opportunity to join his patroness, and to express his thanks. Her friendly and condescending manners placed him so much at his ease, that he candidly told her the reason of his singular appearance; she was amused with these details, and as she thought that the man was, after all, not quite so foolish as he looked, she prolonged the conversation, in order to procure him also the favourable opinion of the public by her apparent countenance. Jeremiah felt more and more at home; for, although he had nothing of the fop about him, he judged quite as advantageously of his own merits as most people do, and he thought that there was no harm in pushing one’s fortune if one happened to have a good opportunity of doing so. He kept as close to the fair lady as possible; and as, in the course of conversation, she had declared that she was fond of botany, he offered her, without ceremony, to spend the principal part of his time in her company, in order to direct her studies in a branch of science to which he had particularly devoted himself. Upon this the Princess thought it high time to break off the conference: she said, in a loud and almost angry tone, that she would take his proposal into consideration, and withdrew suddenly from him. The latter was astounded at this unexpected retreat; and his surprise amounted to confusion, when he perceived himself to be the laughing-stock of a Mr. De Pilsen, who seemed to have observed him with scrutinizing attention from the very beginning. He retired into an anti-room, and threw himself upon a sofa, without taking any notice of what was passing around him; he sat there for a considerable time with his hands upon his eyes; but when he finally changed his position, he found a paper upon his knees, which contained the following words, in apparently female characters: “We are too much observed here. To-morrow morning, at nine o’clock; the parts of the neighbouring mountain, which abound in fine plants, afford a convenient rendezvous.” This must be from her, thought Jeremiah: he put the note into his pocket, and was himself again.

Chapter 8th, in which Jupiter acts the principal part.—When Mrs. Liquorice engaged to keep the dog within her premises, she undertook rather more than she was able to accomplish; she treated him, indeed, with a most splendid supper, and his attention was further rivetted to the spot, as long as there was any appearance of cooking and eating going on in the house; but as soon as every transaction of the kind was finally settled for that night, nothing could prevent him from tracing the steps of his master. The numerous servants of the Princess were, at first, unwilling to admit him; but, on second consideration, it was found more advisable to entice him into the back-yard, where a kennel and a strong chain happened to be vacant. A clever scullion succeeded in fastening him, unawares, to the latter; and all would have been well, if the favourite cat of an old Countess had not passed through the yard before the door could be fastened. This sight enraged Jupiter to such a degree that he broke chain, kennel, and all, to fly at the enemy. The cat fled for protection to the assembly-room, and, in her anxiety, over the table of refreshments, with her pursuer close at her heels. Punch, lemonade, and glasses went smash to the ground; the dance was interrupted, and the most dreadful confusion prevailed at the moment, when Jeremiah returned to the room; his voice made Jupiter immediately desist, but the mischief was done. Several people had been hurt; and it was some time before any thing like gaiety could be restored. It required no great skill in physiognomy to read upon the countenances of the assembly what were the general sentiments; and when the beast was led away by its master, the latter heard, in passing, such remarks about would-be gentlemen, as he would not have put up with on any other occasion.

Chapter 9''th. Birth-day Amusements.''—“My good friends,” said Mr. de Pilsen to some of his cronies, “when the fellow comes again, we must have him at table.”—“He come again!” replied some, “No, no; he has had enough of balls for all his life.” “We shall see that presently,” said the former, “I am much mistaken if he gives in so easily, and I repeat it, let us stick together and keep him warm. I should like to see him drunk.”

Mr. De Pilsen was right in his conjecture, for Jeremiah came back in a short time: the joyous troop surrounded him forthwith; and its leader succeeded in overcoming the suspicion which the student had at first conceived of him, on account of his satirical sneers. He protested that he had been highly amused with Jupiter’s frolic, and that he should be very happy to cultivate Mr. Schnackenberger’s acquaintance. With regard to the latter point, the addressed person had no objection; but as to the frolic, he would give one half of his future property if it had not happened. The party took great pains to persuade him that it was a most exquisite addition to the festivity; but he thought the Princess did not look so friendly as before, and nothing could overcome his grief on that account. This was, perhaps, the chief reason why his new friends were so successful in making him drink whatever was poured out for him; the poor man wanted to drown his sorrow, and so he did.—He was already far gone when Jupiter made his second appearance. The company showed great deference for him by getting out of his way; and he was thereby enabled to join his master, and to lay his fore-paws upon the table whilst he demolished whatever happened to be the contents of the nearest plates and dishes. A servant attempted to interfere, but was told that he had better let it alone; and a glance from the head of the table confirmed the injunction. Mr. De Pilsen and his friends were nearly bursting with laughter, when, at last, the pipe was produced, and a thick cloud of smoke enveloped the two guests: but Jeremiah interrupted the merriment by saying again—“You laugh, Gentlemen, but I could soon cure you of that, and make you look as demure as grave-diggers: one word to my dog, and he clears the room as completely as if a hurricane were to sweep away the company; I need say seize only.”—Upon this, the animal actually resigned every other engagement, and, beginning the war-whoop, looked with great earnestness at his commander for further orders. The wags now declared that they were perfectly satisfied, and required no farther proof: but Jeremiah insisted on a little experiment, by way of joke. He pointed towards Mr. De Pilsen, whose elegant, embroidered waistcoat was in a moment torn to tatters, and who was half dead with fear, when the collegian released him, and said that there was no danger as long as he did not also say bite! This scene, served, however, as a signal for a general breaking-up; and Jeremiah rose like the others, without once imagining that the disturbance was occasioned by his joke. He found some difficulty in preserving his equilibrium, and entrusted himself to the guidance of two stout servants, who were appointed to lead him home; but who brought him, by mistake, to the Fox instead of the Sow. The waiter, who was not very sober himself, and more than half asleep, showed him to a bed-room, and wished him a good night.

Chapter 10th.--FreskFresh [sic] troubles.–About half-an-hour later came the lawful occupant of the room, who had likewise his full cargo, and threw himself on the bed in his clothes. This awoke Schnackenberger; but as he only felt a weight upon him, without knowing what it was, he recollected the large feather-bed, under which he had been sweating the preceding night, rolled the man up in the blanket, and threw both out of bed. The ejected person was sometime in disentangling himself; but as soon as he had succeeded, he made a most determined attack upon the intruder, and, being not quite so far gone, would probably have got the better of him, if friend Jupiter had not just arrived at the time: he had been detained in the neighbourhood of the larder by the smell of a venison-pie, with which he found an opportunity of regaling himself; but as soon as he had dispatched that business, he followed his master, and saved him from an awkward predicament. The ensuing noise set the whole house in an uproar, and the various inhabitants made their appearance in every description of night-dress and attitude, forming the most picturesque groups. In the mean time the smuggled lodger would have been turned out by the landlord, if the word of command to Jupiter had not produced such an effect as to put such a measure altogether out of the question.

Chapter 11th.—Slighted love aims at revenge.—When Mr. ShnackenbergerSchnackenberger [sic] opened his eyes the next morning, at about half-past ten o’clock, he found the landlady of the Golden Sow sitting in his room, and before he could get out of his bed, he heard himself addressed as follows:—“So, so, my fine gentleman, you are a pretty person to be received and taken care offof [sic] by an honest widow.” “Well, what is the matter? old woman,” said Jeremiah.—“Old woman, indeed! if I am a few years older than some people, I am also somewhat more discreet: how dare you insult me in that manner? you base betrayer.” “The poor creature has surely been bit by a Tarantula. I ask once more, what do you want? speak out, that I may know it.” “Speak! ay, that I will: I will scream it out so loud that it may be heard throughout the town, and that every body may be upon their guard against you; you cruel, unfeeling monster! You come first riding into my room, like a fool; and I am good enough to pardon it; to bring you meat and drink myself, and to keep you company all evening: in the midst of the night I am called up for your sake; and you are the cause of a fire which consumes one half of my inn: I say not a word about it, and do every thing in my power to cheer you up. You seem to be thankful; and I open all my stores to fit you out for the assembly. You put the marriage-shirt of my late poor dear innocent husband upon your wicked body, and so you set off, leaving me your voracious dog, to spoil all my provisions, and to kill all my rabbits and geese: at last the beast follows you, but you bring it back again, and return to your fine ladies, who persuade you to go to another inn.” “This is the first word I have heard of it, said the student, rubbing his eyes, and looking around him; according to this account I am no longer in your house?” “Oh! mighty well, pretend to be innocent and to clear yourself; but I’ll get satisfaction, I warrant you.” “My good friends,” said Jeremiah to a couple of waiters who had come up in the mean time to listen to the altercation, “my good friends, if such is the case, pray rid me with all possible dispatch of this brute.” “What?” cried Mrs. Liquorice, putting herself in a position of defence,


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Rh “turn me out!” But a few unguarded expressions against the Fox, and all its inmates, decided the wavering attendants, and the lady was actually bundled out with the utmost expedition. She vented the rest of her fury in the middle of the street, to the no small amusement of the bystanders; and she finally betook herself to the habitation of a well-known pettifogging attorney.

The Collegian inquired into the particulars of what had happened during the night; and when he understood that a gentleman had actually been wronged by him, he repaired immediately to his apartment, to ask his pardon, and to offer every reparation in his power. This done, he perceived to his utmost consterationconsternation [sic] that it was already eleven o’clock, whilst he had an invitation to the Mount, for nine: he was happy to hear that he could get a horse in the house, and ordered it to be saddled forthwith.

Liverpool.

Sept. 1.

 ,—As Goldsmith’s Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog may amuse some of your readers, at this particular time, I send you a copy for insertion, LOVE ME LOVE MY DOG.


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Rh would hardly be thought fit for the use of a broker’s clerk at Paris; in the commerce of Turin, luxury and bankruptcies are alike unknown. You will see a crowd of men who call themselves lawyers; but this is merely a title assumed by such as are neither noblemen nor tradesmen. As for me, I am on equally good terms with the nobles and with the lawyers, because, as I came into this country when it was first under the French administration, I took care to make myself useful to all. The only thing to be regretted in this country is the indolence to which the youth are condemned. The children of all the first families loiter away their lives, seated on benches at the outside of coffee-houses, or playing in the inside at a game called barziga. The young ladies, brought up in seclusion, are never allowed to appear in the world. When they are married, being no longer under any restraint, their virtue is entirely in their own hands, though their husbands are as jealous as the Sicilians; but, all things considered, no town in Italy is more remarkable for the morality of its inhabitants than Turin. The Piedmontese were, under the ancient kings of Sardinia, the best-governed people in the world. Their government was truly patriarchal. The meanest peasant in Turin had free access to the King, and received justice at his hands: but no one knew what administration was; and the custom of paying people in office was so little known that the principal officers had no fixed salaries, and depended entirely on the fees they got.” “Whence comes it, then, that so many of the nobility are now attached to the French Government, and fill the offices of Chamberlain, and Master of the Horse, to the Emperor or Prince?” “How can it be otherwise? The people are accustomed to a court and cannot do without one; the person of the Prince is in general beloved, and the circumstance of his being a native of the country renders him more fit to govern it, although he affects never to speak a word of Italian. Among the nobles, I could mention several who did not accept the situations which they fill, without first writing to Cagliari, to ask the consent of the King of Sardinia. I can easily believe that their attachment to France is not very sincere, and it must be allowed that it is hard enough to see Frenchmen, who arrived here pennyless in the suite of General Menou, now driving their carriages, and looking down upon the natives with all the arrogance of superiority. You will see every one on Monday evening; for, if I am not mistaken, there will be a supper as well as a ball.”—“When Napoleon came hither, how was he received?”—“He was received as all men are who know the characters of those they have to deal with; he flattered the prejudices of the country; he declared that the Piedmontese soldiers and these of la Bretagne were the best in his army. When he entered the opera-house, which you cannot have seen, because it is open only during the Carnaval,—‘It has only one fault,’ said he—that is, that it is not at Paris.’ In the evening, the opera-house was converted into a ball-room, being most magnificently lighted with wax, and decorated in the most splendid manner. He took care that the ball should be opened by a montferrine, the dance of the country. I must tell you an anecdote of this ball. As Mademoiselle Alessi was dancing by the side of Napoleon, she happened to tread upon his foot. “You compel me to retreat Mademoiselle,” said he, stepping backward. “It is then for the first time,” she replied. Nothing else was talked of all evening but the ready answer of Mademoiselle Alessi, and it was remarked that she appeared much out of spirits the day after the ball. Meanwhile we had finished our dinner, and I, for the first time since my arrival at Turin, drank a cup of good coffee, which I owed entirely to the circumstance of its having been made for my hump-backed friend. When I wished to ask for the bill, “We will each of us pay half,” said he; “but permit me to ask for the bill instead of you, and we shall, by that means, be charged one-half less.” I was, in fact, surprised at the moderate charge made for so excellent a dinner, and gratitude requires me here to pay my just tribute of praise to the excellent white truffles of Piedmont, which were far superior to those so much boasted by Perigord.

Before we took leave of each other we made an appointment to meet that day week, at six in the morning, on leaving the hall, and to make two excursions extra muros; one to see the church of Superga, and the other to visit the country palace of Stupinis.

Liverpool.

Chapter 12th.—An accident.—Having cut his boots to pieces, Jeremiah was obliged to set off in shoes and silk stockings; and he did this with so much expedition that Jupiter was unable to follow. Enraged at so unusual a behaviour, the animal began to make such a noise that the rider was obliged to slacken his pace to avoid a fresh uproar. The journey was, therefore, continued very peaceably; and, after a little while, the Princess was actually discovered, in an open landau, with another lady and a gentleman. The heart of our hero began to beat with anxiety, for he had but a confused recollection of what had happened at supper, and he was anxious to know the extent of the mischief. He mustered up all the powers of his mind, in order to begin a neat speech; but the company in the carriage had no sooner perceived him, than their faces were turned, with marked displeasure, to the opposite side of the road, as if to avoid every communication; whilst Mr. De Pilson and his friends passed by in full gallop. A newly-painted turnpike alarmed, at the same time, the luckless adventurer’s horse; and, in his endeavours to pass, he got entangled with an old soldier’s wife, who had been fetching a fresh stock of brandy and other commodities, which the horse kicked into the mire. The virago attacked, thereupon, the traveller with such fury, and kept such fast hold of his coat, that Jupiter was obliged to tear it to pieces before he could free his master. The woman was, of course, indemnified beyond her demand, and the horse was led by the bridle; but it was a grievous thing, that the Princess and all the rest should have witnessed the scene—and yet that was the melancholy truth; for the cries of the Amazon had been heard at a great distance, and the whole party had stopped to see the issue of the contest. Jeremiah was more anxious than ever to come to an explanation, and to clear himself of the ridicule to which this new affair must have exposed him. He was determined to risk every thing for a tête-a-tête; but, for the present he could do nothing but return.

Chapter 13''th. Fresh accidents.''—Except the attention which was attracted to Jeremiah by his torn coat, he met with no disagreeable occurrence on his way home. A billet had been left at the Fox, with the following contents: “Excuse, if you can, the neglect you met with this morning, and be more punctual in the evening. I shall be at the play; and I will endeavour to get rid of my companions.”

This was glorious news; but there came also a messenger of evil in the shape of an attorney, who called on the part of Mrs. Liquorice, in order to obtain a final answer to her claims, and to insist upon Jeremiah’s declaring, in a legal manner, whether he intended to fulfil her just expectations, or to let the law have its course?

The student laughed in the ambassador’s face; but the latter continued very seriously and coolly. He said that his client could not have dreamt all the circumstances which she had stated, and that the giving up of her late husband’s marriage-shirt was in itself a proof of her having received positive declarations from its present wearer. At the same time, the gentleman presented a bill of the incurred expenses; stating, that no further mention should be made of the latter, in case of an accommodation on the main point. To avoid juridical interference, Mr. Schnackenberger declared, in his turn, that he would pay the enormous charges without dispute, if the hostess would sign a promise of resigning all other claims. The solicitor went to make the proposal; and the landlord of the Fox, who had been consulted on the occasion, gave it as his decided opinion, that it was by far the best way to get out of the scrape; and that his guest might think himself well off if the affair ended there; for nobody could come near the Sow without becoming a sufferer. The often-mentioned surtout had been sent back by a servant, who received in return the borrowed coat, and was commanded to give the best respects of the revived adventurer, including a delicate allusion to the next meeting; whilst an experienced taylor undertook the necessary reparation of his outward appearance.

Chapter 14th and 15''th. A fur great coat, and its effects.''—The knight of the thimble was not as good as his word; for, instead of bringing home the coat, he went to the play himself, without caring for Mr. ShnackenbergerSchnackenberger [sic], who was now worse off than ever. The landlord and the principal waiters were likewise gone, and a poor, snivelling, little fellow, who kindly offered his Sunday-rigging, could not render him the service he wished; because the clothes were far too narrow and short. At last the waiter recollected a dealer in second-hand clothes, and set off for his dwelling; but he soon returned with the melancholy news that the man had gone to a neighbouring fair, and had left nothing at home but a huge fur great coat, for which he could not expect to find a customer at the present time of the year. “Never mind,” cried Jeremiah; “fetch me the fur coat, and I will wear it. It is impossible to struggle against fate.” The waiter represented, in vain, how the people would stare: he was despatched for the article, to which a round hat was added, in order to render the incognito more complete. For the same reason, it was also resolved that Jupiter should stay behind; and means were taken to secure him effectually.

The heat was most oppressive on that day, and the play-house likely to become very full; the people there assembled could, therefore, hardly believe their eyes, when they saw a man enter, who was dressed in an unusually heavy great coat, and who had drawn his hat over both ears, as if afraid of catching cold. The bench on which the figure had sat down was immediately evacuated, and so were other places in the neighbourhood; for the general idea was, that the creature had escaped from a mad-house, and its great bulk gave it a most formidable appearance. At last the manager ventured to address it, urged by the fear that his profits might be lessened, or the play disturbed through this circumstance. The cries of “turn him out” became at the same time pretty general, when suddenly three soldiers appeared to arrest the individual, by order of the police. Mr. Schnackenberger made no resistance, but felt rather relieved; because he hoped to find the means of providing himself with a more suitable dress which would enable him to return forthwith, and to appear with more advantage. He doubted not a moment of his being able to arrange every thing to his satisfaction as soon as he should state the case, such as it was; and he was not a little surprised at his been hurried along, among a noisy crowd of idlers, and conducted straight forward to the town’s prison, the door of which was turned and locked upon him before he could enter into any explanation. The jailor told him, for his greater comfort, that he would not be examined in a hurry, because the magistrate was better engaged for the evening, and the next day would be a holy-day, on which there was no court held. Jeremiah was very near knocking the man down; but he just recollected in time that this would not mend the matter.

Chapter 16''th. Escape from Prison.''—A fine moonlight night made confinement more irksome, and the prisoner shook in his rage the iron-bars of the window, when, to his great astonishment, they gave way, and remained in his hand. Apparently, one of his predecessors in the cell had thus prepared the way without having time to take advantage of his dexterity. Jeremiah hesitated not an


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Rh instant to avail himself of the discovery; the height was not considerable, and, as soon as the sentinel turned round, he threw out his great-coat, jumped upon it, and stood on the parapet.

“Who goes there?” asked the sentinel.—“Nobody,” answered the fugitive.—“I must shoot,” rejoined the former.—“Do, if you can,” said the latter, shaking him by the breast, after having covered his face with fur. The trembling soldier fell on his knees, and begged for his life: he was a poor hair-dresser who had only entered into service very lately, in order to add something to his earnings.

The conqueror could scarcely refrain from laughing; but he granted the request of the vanquished soldier in exchange for his military coat, hat, and sword. He then hung the fur upon the poor man’s shoulders, put the round hat upon his head, and bid him to walk up and down, as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 17''th. A Visit to the Burgomaster.''—As the first magistrate lived in a very conspicuous part of the town, it was easy to find his dwelling. His housekeeper was quite alarmed at the unusual violence with which the bell was rung; and, when she perceived a town’s soldier at the door, she threatened him with exemplary punishment for his insolence.—“I come on business,” was the reply.—“No matter,” said the old woman, “Master is asleep, and business must sleep too until he awakes; that has always been the custom.”—“Well, but this time I must speak to him forthwith.”—“If you will, take all the responsibility upon yourself; but consider well what you are about: you eat corporation-bread, and it may be taken from you; that’syou.”—“That’s [sic] my business.”—“O, ho! very well.”—“Iwell. I [sic] have given you fair warning; but come on.’on.” [sic]—With these words she led the way to the great man’s room, and the appearance of the stranger excited quite as much wonder there as had been expressed before by the servant; but the Burgomaster stared still more when he perceived that the man was none of the chosen twelve, who constituted the military force of the town. Mr. Schnackenberger, however, allowed him not much time for consideration; he told him that he had been arrested without lawful cause, and that, having made his escape, he now wanted satisfaction.

“What! an escaped prisoner?” said the justice, trembling in every limb, and endeavouring to get near to the bell. “Stop,” said the visitor, who perceived his aim and witheld him, “I am the man in the fur coat; why have I been so shamefully treated?” After much shuffling and mutual misunderstanding, it came out, at last, that the unlucky fur had been described in a list of stolen goods, and that the magistrate had thought himself fully authorised to arrest the wearer of it. Jeremiah conceived, after this explanation, that his anxiety to conceal his face must have served to strengthen the suspicion against him: and he now only asked why a better [prisonprison [sic] had not been assigned to him until after examination? But this was easily cleared up by the fact that the one in which he had been was the only one in the place. The collegian related now, in his turn, how he had become involved in this difficulty, and he offered to remain in the house until the next day: but the Burgomaster though it was better to let even a criminal escape than to break his promise by keeping a stranger. He very politely replied that he felt perfectly convinced of the gentleman’s innocence, and that he was very glad to have made his acquaintance; he even attended him down stairs himself.

Chapter 18''th. Bad company.''—The door of the Fox was still open; and there was light in Jeremiah’s room. He walked, therefore, up to it, without making any inquiries below. To his utmost surprise he was stopt at the threshhold, by two gigantic domestics, who spoke to him in a anguagelanguage [sic] which he did not understand; and, on his persisting in going forward, he felt himself suddenly lifted up and carried down stairs. Several people had joined those whom he had first seen; and, although he struggled with all his might, they succeeded in getting him out of the house, into a building of much smaller dimensions, in which he had every reason to wish rather for the stone image of his former inn, and more particularly for the pure air which he had enjoyed during his ride upon it.

He now exerted the power of his lungs to the utmost, and he had actually the satisfaction of hearing that several windows were opened, and that various people insisted on an inquiry into the cause of the disturbance; but unfortunately he heard also the waiter excuse himself from immediately complying with the request, under pretence of having lost the key to the yard. Jeremiah’s situation was shocking; he could neither stand upright nor stir: and he regretted his former prison, the more so, as it is certainly better to be alone than in bad company.

Chapter 19''th. Better prospects.''—It was near day- break when a drawling servant made his appearance to release the prisoner; he put a piece of gold into his hand, in order to indemnify him for what had passed, and to induce him to silence. “So, so,” said the sufferer; “you put your guests into the pig-stye, and you think to pacify them with a paltry piece of money.” “Good God!” exclaimed the man, “who could have imagined that it were you! You have been taken for an agent of the police, and treated accordingly.” The fact was, that a faro-bank had been kept during the night; and as the arrest of Mr. Schnackenberger had soon come to the ears of the landlord, he had not hesitated to give up the room to the gamblers, who paid a high price, and had their own set of foreign servants, so that neither he nor any of his people had need to go near them. The military appearance and demeanour of the student had left no doubt in the minds of the attendants as to the object of his visit, and they had, consequently, secured him until the company had dispersed. The apartment was now at his service, and he was just preparing for rest when he found the following note upon his pillow. “I suppose you have been waiting for me at the door of the theatre, but I was not able to shake off my party, without setting propriety at open defiance. There may be a better opportunity at to-morrow’s chace. Will you come as a spectator?” This was not only very well in itself, but it became doubly agreeable by the conviction which it afforded of his not having been discovered by the Princess as the man in the fur.

Chapter 20''th. A good deed.''—Jeremiah inquired whether the attorney of Mrs. Liquorice had not called again, and he was sorry to receive a negative answer; on the other hand he was very glad to get his coat early in the morning, and to find that it looked quite as well as could be expected. The corporal of the militia called at the same time, for the accoutrements of the hair-dresser, and gave to understand that the latter would smart for the transaction. This could not be allowed, and the burgomaster was waited upon for the second time. Preparations for the intended punishment were already in considerable forwardness; but Mr. Schnackenberger had them suspended, and he represented to his worship, that courage was not at the command of every one. The incensed gentleman would not listen to any expostulations; but when he was reminded of his own pusillanimity during the night, and when he was, moreover, told that an engraver at the University had a particular knack of producing good caricatures, he became a little more tractable, and acknowledged that man was but a frail creature. He engaged to acquit the barber, on condition of his not being mentioned to the engraver.

Chapter 21st. Jupiter again.—A confused noise wawas [sic] heard at the moment of the above-named convention; and Jeremiah, on looking through the window, perceived a great multitude pursuing Jupiter with brick-bats and stones; he was just in the act of turning round upon his tormenters, when the voice of his master bid him to desist, and to appear in court; the crowd followed, and lodged heavy complaints against the quadruped. A couple of children were bleeding, and the coat of a respectable looking man was shockingly torn. It appeared, nevertheless, an examination, that the bipeds had been the aggressors; the fathorfather [sic] of the children had enticed the dog, by means of a piece of sausage, to draw a little waggon, and the animal had honestly endeavoured to earn the reward by galloping with all his might; but taking a rather short turn round a corner, the carriage had upset, and the children had hurt themselves: at this the man had become enraged, and offering to strike the dog, he had been soundly shaken until released by the mob. The magistrate told him to let in future other people’s dogs alone, and to be thankful, for the present, for having got off so well. The student was aware that the hint about the caricature had mainly assisted in giving this turn to the affair, and he intended to scold the waiter at the inn for his negligence; he learned, however, that the man was not much to blame, because the dog had, most unexpectedly, forced his way through the window of a lower room, which he now offered to barricade so firmly as to remove all apprehension of another escape.

Chapter 22d. Disappointments.—“Pray, are not you Mr. Schnackenberger?” asked a young man at the gate of the town, when the bearer of that name proceeded towards the forest; and, on receiving an affirmative answer, he said, in half a whisper, “At eleven o’clock, in the forest-house; but without mentioning any thing of what has passed.passed.” [sic] The addressed person recollected then to have seen the speaker’s face among the attendants at the ball-room: and, after having rewarded him in proportion to the importance of the news he imparted, he continued his road in high glee. Yet the nearer he came to the appointed place, the more he slackened his pace, in order to reflect on the import of the message with regard to what had passed: he thought, at last, that it could only relate to the torn coat, and he entered the court-yard, in which he perceived the carriage of the Princess among many other vehicles of various descriptions. A singularly-shaped old coach struck him as very tasteless: it was very substantially built and profusely gilt; but, instead of armorial bearings, the panels represented nothing but sausages, hams, and other objects of the like nature. He was musing on the oddity of the devices, whilst entering the travellers’ room; but there he immediately discovered the owner in the landlady of the Golden Sow, who was sitting by herself in all her glory: she had taken off her mourning-weeds, and she shone forth in a most conspicuous dress, which exhibited all the colours of the rainbow. He was very glad that the still-existing quarrel dispensed him from taking any notice of her; and he went out again to seek for the sole loadstone of his wishes. It was only half-past ten by the clock, and he felt comforted by the idea that he needed not to hurry himself, when, to his great vexation, he saw himself followed by Mrs. Liquorice, who held out her fat hand, in sign of reconciliation, and said, “We have been both rather hasty, Mr. Schnackenberger, and I have now learned that you got into the Fox by mistake: we will, by and by, ride home together, and then all may be well again.” The student replied, very drily, that he had nothing at all to do with her, but just to pay his bill and to get back his sword: but the lady seized him tenderly by the arm and asked, whether he found her person so absolutely repulsive as to forget at once his good resolutions, when the time was come for putting them into execution? “What resolutions?resolutions?” [sic] exclaimed he, with astonishment. “Nay, do not deny now that you have appointed me to come hither, and that you have you haveyou have [sic] yourself made the first offer for peace: nothing shall now separate us again; for, what Heaven joins”Jeremiah stared: he looked alternately at the speaker and the spectators, who had assembled in the mean time to watch the progress of the affair: when suddenly the sentimental fair one threw her arms around his neck, and breathed the spirit by which she was animated into his astonished face. This was rather too much to be borne; and the young man’s patience was fairly worn out; he pushed the assailant with great violence among the bystanders, and bid her to seek for lovers whereever she liked, but to let him alone. The fury of the


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Rh slighted widow became now greater than ever. She appealed to the audience to bear witness to the atrocious conduct of the gay deceiver, who had himself arranged the meeting, in order to settle every thing to their mutual satisfaction. A letter, which she produced at the same time seemed to confirm her depositions, and although the student denied that he had any knowledge of the writing, it availed him nothing, and the indignation against him became pretty general. Several travelling mechanics, and other people, thought it very wrong to abuse thus the good nature and credulity of a lone widow; and a stout butcher distinguished himself particularly by the warmth with which he took up the affair; he offered himself as formal champion to the offended beauty, and Jeremiah thought it advisable to withdraw from the unequal contest. He was fortunate enough to reach the thick part of the forest in safety, and without being pursued; but his feelings were of the most unpleasant description. He had perceived many of the court-attendants among the crowd; and Mr. De Pilsen, in particular, had not escaped his hasty glances: he was now fully convinced, that the whole scene had originated in a contrivance, and that the hostess must have been misled in the same manner as he had been taken in himself by the message of the lacquey at the gate of the town. He feared much that his pretended connexion with the hostess would come to the ears of the Princess, and his greatest wish was, that he might meet her during the chase, and so justify himself from so odious a charge.

Liverpool.

Liverpool.

Everton.

 ,—Perceiving that you have amused many of your readers with a specimen you have given of the sublime, I am induced to contribute from the portfolio of memory another example, which I consider no mean one, of the bathos, or false sublime, as follows:

A letter from Molinella, in the legation of Bologna, of the 6th, says, that within the few last days a great number of meteoric stones have fallen in the neighbourhood of the village of Arenazo.


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Rh her debts. She had sold gradually all her furniture, she had nothing left but this cross, bequeathed to her by her late mistress, and she had come to pawn it to procure for herself an asylum in l’Hospice des Menages. Man is naturally benevolent, the twenty persons round her, who heard the story, all gave her some tokens of the interest excited by it, and fortunately there were some so situated as to be able to lend her the money she wanted, requesting her to keep the pledge in her own hands.

My turn came; I presented my duplicate; I was desired to come again the following day. I asked the reason of a delay I had not before observed; I was told the article I wanted must be sent for from the head office, or I must go there and claim it myself. This was an opportunity for seeing an establishment, of which I as yet knew only one of the subdivisions, I submitted to the usual formalities, and set out for the rue des Blancs Manteaux: where the Mont de Piètè has established its grand depôt.

The magnificence of the building, its vast offices, the air of business about it, give at once an idea of the importance of such an establishment. Large warehouses occupy the first floor; and the pledges of every kind are arranged in admirable order. An immense hall, so managed as to prevent disorder and confusion, is open to the crowd of borrowers, who, with their packets, sometimes wait a whole day for the turn of the ticket they receive on their entrance. It is not unusual to see two or three hundred persons assembled in this apartment. They generally belong to the lower classes of society. The chief office seldom receives from the first hand, laces, trinkets, shawls, all those gew-gaws of luxury, all those ruinous superfluities, the value of which is only estimated in the circles where they are used. It is by means of the agents that the higher ranks communicate with the head; and it is to the discretion of these brokers that the luxurious, extravagant, and vain, confide the secret of their wants. The number of the ticket that had been given me, convinced me that it would not be possible for me to get the family watch before the evening, I therefore gave up the business, determining to come earlier another day. A clerk, who saw me going away, advised me not to come on a Saturday, when the people came in crowds to get money for their Sunday pleasures; and equally to avoid a Monday, the day when people come to borrow money to make up for the foolish expenses of the preceding day. This observation, which had been made in different words, by the agent, might form the foundation of serious reflections; but those who are interested in them have already made them, and those who are not would think it lost time to read them.

Chapter 23''. In which the hero does not appear to advantage.''—Jeremiah had been wandering during several hours to no purpose. The hunting party seemed to have withdrawn to another part of the forest; and he began to grow so weary and hungry, that he resolved to return to the forest-house, whatever might be the consequences; because his wants were of such a nature, that they could not be trifled with any longer. One of them became, indeed, so pressing, that, rejecting the distant hostelry altogether, he resolved to satisfy it there and then; but as, notwithstanding the universally acknowledged exigency of such cases, decency required retirement, he cast his eyes about in all directions, and, having ascertained that there was no human creature within sight, he did what he could not help. Yet before he could recover his usual attitude and appearance, he heard the sound of horns at no great distance, and, almost at the same time, the hounds were upon him: they had probably lost the track of their real game, and appeared to regard him as a welcome substitute; they formed a circle around him, and called for their commanders with loud and unanimous barking.

Jeremiah had several times been a hunting himself, and he knew that the dogs will do nothing but bark, as long as the boar remains quiet; but that they rush upon him the moment he offers to stir; consequently his life and limbs were at stake, and it behoved him to preserve the position he was in, although it was the more unpleasant, as one foot happened to stand in the midst of an ant’s-hill, the inhabitants of which were already creeping upon the disturber of their republic. In the mean time, the hunters had come up, and they called in the dogs as soon as their laughter would permit. Jeremiah still flattered himself that the Princess might not be amongst them, as with her mild disposition it was not likely that she should be a lover of this kind of sport; but the hunting party having been chiefly arranged on her account, she could not have avoided joining it, and the poor sufferer had the mortification to distinguish her otherwise so welcome voice, as she was giving the needful directions; and his grief became boundless when he understood that he was recognized, although he had used the precaution of shutting his own eyes from the very beginning of the scene.

The hunters and dogs withdrew at last, and Mr. Schnackenberger was left to enjoy the wished-for privacy; but he was now in no humour for it. His appetite had, indeed, completely forsaken him, and he had also forgotten his lassitude; but he was, nevertheless, resolved to go in search of a dwelling-house, because the ants were tormenting him in every part of his body, and he was under the absolute necessity of stripping. He had the good luck to fall in with the landlord of the Forest-house, and so far to move him by the exposition of his distressful circumstances, that he actually managed to smuggle him into a little room, where he might relieve himself. The place was snug and retired, yet not so much so but that he could hear the loud bursts of laughter which the returning hunters set up at his expense. He heard plainly that he was called the master of the sow, and that his riding upon the stone-image, his supposed connexion with Mrs. Liquorice, and his being taken by the hounds for a boar, were all mixed up in so ludicrous a manner by the company, that his belonging to the swinish multitude could scarcely be doubted by any body to whom the facts were thus represented.

Chapter 24''th. Explanations.''—Before the collegian ventured to emerge from his retirement, he learned, by a pretty loud conversation which took place in an adjoining room, that Mr. De Pilsen had been at the bottom of the tricks by which he had been deluded into a belief of the appointments to meet the Princess. One of the chamber-maids in the suite of the Princess had written the notes which deceived him, and a bribed male attendant had undertaken to play upon the feelings of the widowed hostess. The instigator of the intrigue boasted highly of his performance; and he stated, moreover, that he thought Jeremiah a mere poltroon, notwithstanding his warlike and Herculean outside; in consequence of which he invited all present to give him the meeting at the Fox, where he intended to give the fellow a complete dressing in the evening.

This information was very agreeable to the listener, who had already made up his mind to drop his claims to the heart of the Princess. He felt that after the scene in the forest nothing could possibly place him again in an advantageous light with her; her fancy would ever represent him to her in the unglorious attitude in which he had there presented himself; and even the finest protestations of eternal love and devotion could only produce involuntary fits of laughter. Convinced of this truth, he had already thought of the farewell letter which it would be necessary to write; and he quite rejoiced when he perceived that there was no occasion for such a measure.

The landlord of the forest-house gave him also another piece of comfort, by telling him that Mrs. Liquorice and the valiant butcher had come to such terms with each other as would secure him from the further amorous attacks of that lady.

Chapter 25''th. Jupiter in danger.''—A messenger from the corporation was in waiting for Mr. Schnackenberger, at the turnpike, in order to request his attendance at the Town-hall; where, for the first time, a full court was held on a holiday. The cause of this extraordinary proceeding was Jupiter. His howlings had been so intolerable at the inn, that the ostler had taken upon himself to give him his liberty, and this had no sooner been done than he ran directly towards the residence of the Princess. It has never been fully ascertained whether he did so in the hope of finding his master or merely for the sake of plunder: but chance would so have it that he got a sight of the same cat which he had previously pursued with so much eagerness; he renewed the chase forthwith; and a frightened female had but just time to receive grimalkin into her apron, and to retire with her charge into a room. This saved the cat; but it brought on the loss of semethingsomething [sic] infinitely more valuable, viz.—a trimming of lace, which the fille de chambre had been busy washing in milk in the anti-room, and which the voracious dog lapped up in no time. The Princess was highly incensed at this new and daring misdemeanour; and she had sent word to the magistrate, that she fully expected to be freed from such intrusions by the speedy removal of the animal.

The Burgomaster told his old acquaintance that the request was not only just in itself, but that, coming from such a quarter, it required immediate attention, and that it was absolutely necessary to take some steps to pacify her Highness. The student replied that the dog should not leave his side again, if he could get him within his call; and that he would remain answerable for any damage that might be done by him. The Justice, who had not yet recovered from his dread of being caricatured, was anxious to avoid falling out with the gentleman. He was just preparing a submissive reply to the request, in order to assuage the gathering storm, when a new blast made all his endeavours vain. The Recorder came bouncing into the room, and stated that the liver of the finest goose that had ever been hatched and reared in the town, from time immemorial, had just been fetched out of his own kitchen. It was to have been the chief ornament of a supper which he intended to give in honour of his lady’s birth-day: but, alas! the remorseless brute which had been introduced from foreign parts had seized and consumed it. He vowed vengeance on the perpetrator of the atrocious deed: and nothing would satisfy him but a formal declaration of outlawry, by which this enemy of public peace and comfort would be removed beyond the boundaries within twelve hours; and, after this period, it would be lawful in any individual to use such means, in just self-defence, as would lead to the ultimate destruction of the devourer.

The Recorder’s speech quite electrified the Council. The broken china, the torn cloths, the murdered rabbits, the swallowed lace, and all the various other encroachments upon domestic happiness, were so artfully brought forward in the discourse, that the Burgomaster was fairly outvoted: he entreated the student, with tears in his eyes, not to make him suffer for the obstinacy of his colleagues; and signed the verdict with a trembling hand.

Chapter 26''th. Acme of misfortune.''—Oppressed by the events of the day, Jeremiah looked out of his window, and the clouds of smoke which he blew forth from his mouth, seemed to indicate that something of vast importance was then passing through his head. Jupiter had but a short time to stop; his enemies were too numerous and powerful to leave any hope of alleviation of his fate; and the magistrates seemed to be in earnest, although they were not remarkable for energy on other occasions. The beadle was making his round with a drum, in order to proclaim, at every corner, the banishment which had been decreed against him. The assembled rabble received the news with shouts of approbation: but at that very moment the quadruped made an attack on a listening cake-merchant, and scattered the contents of his baskets on the ground. The proprietor cried “Murder!” and Schnackenberger lost patience himself. “Woe unto thee,” he exclaimed, throwing his pipe at the animal, and then he hastened down stairs. He rushed out of the house in a great passion; but dog and mob were gone: he found only his pipe under the window, his fine and valuable pipe, the pride of the University, and the object of general envy; which had been so long and so carefully wrapped up in silk handkerchiefs, that pipe he found smashed to atoms! oh cruel! cruel!