.‘s

king phantasy ofa boy’s mind [Watt], as he sat and, in

one colonial narrate. ‘

ifthey do, it is absurd to speculate upon whether they will or can marry. (

It has been laid down very clearly in all the books, that in general all persons are able to marry unless they are unable, and the fine old constitutional maxtm, that “ A man may not marry his Grandmother,” ought to be written in letters of gold over every domestic hearth in the British dominious. There are some legal disabili- ties to a marriage, such as the slight impediment of be- ing married already; and one or two other obstacles, which are too well known 10 require dwelling on.

It‘s father’s heart should happen to be particularly flinty, a child, under age has no remedy; but a stony guardian. maybe macadamized by the Court-of Chan- cery; that, is to say, a marriage 'to which he objectsmay be‘ordered to take place in spite of him. Another inca- pacity is want of-reason in either ofthe parties; but if want of reason really prevented a marriage from taking place, there would be an end to half the matches that are entered into. _

:A considerable deal ofthe sentiment attaching to a love affair has been smashed by the 61b and 7th of Wil- liam IV., c. 85, explained by the lst Victoria, c. 2'2,— for- one act is always unintelligible until another act is passed to say what it means. This statute enables a pair of ardent levers to rush to the office of the superin— tendent registrar, instead of to Gretna Green: and there, is no doubt that if Romeo cotild have availed himselfofl the-wholesome sanction iii the act alluded to, Juliet need not have paid a premature visit to the “ tomb of all the’Capulets.”

Marriages could formerly only be dissolved by death or divorce; but the New Poor-Law puts an end to the union between man and wife directly they enter into a parochial Union. Divorce, except in the instance just alluded to, is a luxury confined only to those who can afford to pay for it; and the husband is compelled to al- lowymouey—called ali-money—to the wife he seeks to be divorced from. Marriages, it is said,.are made in Heaven, btit unless the office of the registrar be a little Paradise, we don’t see hOW a marriage made before that functionary can come under the category alluded to.

A husband and wife are one in law—though there is often anything but unity in other matters. A man can- not enter into a legal agreement- with his wife, but they often enter into disagreements which are thoroughly mutual. If the wife be in debt before marriage, the ‘liusband. in making love to the lady, has been actually courting the cognovits she may have entered into; and if the wife is under an obligation for which she might be legally attached, the husband finds himself the vic- tim of an unfortunate attachment. A wife cannot be sued without the husband, unless he is dead in law; and law is ready enough to be the death of any one. A bus- band or wife cannot be witness for or against One ano— ther, though‘a wife sometimes gives evidence ofthe bad taste ofthe husband in selecting her.

A wife cannot execute a deed; which is, perhaps, the reason wliy Shakespeare, who was a first-rate lawyer, made Macbeth do the deed, which Lady Macbeth would have done so much better, had not a deed done by a wo- man been void, to all intents and purposes.

By the old law, a husband might give his wife mode- rate‘correction ; but it is declared in. black and white that hemay not beat her black and blue, though the civil law alloived any man on whom a woman had be-' stein/ed her hand, to bestow his fists upon her at his own discretion. Thegcommon people, who are much'attach- ed to the common law, still exert the privilege of beating their wives; and a woman in the lower ranks of life, if she falls in love with a man, is liable, after marriage, to be a good deal struck by him.

Such'are the chief legal effects of marriage, from which it is evident, says Brown, that the law regards the fair sex with peculiar favour; but Smith maintains that such politeness on the part of the law, is like amiability from a hyaena.—Pimc/i. ’

TREATMENT on THE LITERARY Titian IN Barnum——

Of all disorganized orders of men, theliterary is with us the roost disorganized, unrecognized, repudiated, un- trusted. The sin of authorship is held to exclude an individual from situations which otherwise he might ea- sily compass. He is left, therefore, to cater for the pub- lic taste, to adapt himselfto it, and is too often compel- led to reflect popular prejudices, that he may obtain pop- ular support, and have a chance ofsnbsistence. All this is neither the faultof individuals nor ofthe class; the literary order no more than any other has a tendency to this. It is the fault ofthe system, both towards indi- viduals and the class. We wish not to advocate the practice of giving pensions to literary men, which, in- deed, we think equally absurd in itself and derogatory to them; but we see no reason why offices which require no more, or little more, than personal attendance, with some routine duties daily, should not be bestowed on men of talent. By preferring the literary to the illiterate can- didate; we should put at ease the mind of a gifted fellow- creature in respect to his pecuniary circumstances, and thus relieve him from the dreadful need of appealing to the passions or appetites ofthe vulgar for a subsistence; and secure to him, in the evening of every day, hours of leisure, which he might devote to the cultivation of what was most genial to a mind ofdelicate tastes and habits, and the production of what would be calculated for a permanent benefit to the world, in place ofthose ephe- meral efforts which now, with indecent haste and reck- less profusion, are thrown on the over-excited and ill-in- formed popular mind—Athenwum.

STEAM.—~Steam has made this old world ofours a new one. It makes ocean~ voyages pleasure trips; it binds cities together, literally with iron hands; it brings kingdoms into as close contiguity as parishes. ‘ What does it not do for man? services the most miabty and the most trivial. It hurries him across the Abtlantic in ten, days, and grinds coffee in grocers’ shops; it has power enough to pump up volumes of water from the bowels ofthe earth, and delicacy enough to drive a shot- tle and weave fine linen. Mighty as is its strenoth, the childhood of intellect can guide it. Up and dbwn fly

the huge beams and cylinders, with a force that hundreds ,

of horses would in vain crack sinews and muscle to con- trol; and yet, let there be but the touch ofa guiding lever—the stopping of a valve—demanding no more than a child’s strength, and the vast moving fabric at once becomes motionless and passive—only so many tons of wrought and hammered metal ...... ..And ouoht it not to be alesson to those who laugh at noveltiecs, and put no faith in inventions, to consider that this complex fabric ———this triumph of art and science, was once the lunch- ing—stock ofjeering thousands, and once only the ba-

seeming idleness, watched a little column of vapour rise from the spout of a tea-kettle.—Illuminatcd ZlIagazine.

Tun OR‘iotN on Tonacco.—An American Indian, af- ter listening to a. Swedish Missionary,

‘ I I . _ rose up to repay mm wrth a tradition,

in return for his narrative ofthe

l

carry them slung across their backs.

Fall. In the beginning (said the Indian) our fathers had only the flesh of animals to subsist on ; and if their hunt- ing was unsuccessful they were starving. Two {olonr young hunters having killed a deer, made a fire in the woods to broil some part of it. When they were about to satisfy their hunger, they beheld a beautiful young woman descend from the clouds, and seat herselfon that bill which you see yonder among the blue mountains. They said to each other, “it is a spirit that has smelt our venison, and wishes to eat of it—let us offer some to her.” They presented her with the tongue. She was pleased with the taste of it, and said, “ your kindness shall be rewarded; come to this place afterthirteen moons, and you shall find something that shall be ofgreat bene- fit in nourishing you and your children to the latest géiie< rations.” They did so, and, to their surprise, found plants they had never seen before, but which from that ancient time have been constantly cultivated among US, to our great advantage. Where her right hand had touched the ground, they found‘maize; where her left hand had touched it, they found kidney beans; and the place on which she sat yielded tobacco !

ARCADIAN Sucrunnns 0s To-ou'.—'I‘hese herdsmen

DonLLirve IN THE LAST Guinean—The character of Sir Lucius O'Trigger, in Sheridan’s Rivals, is scarcely an exaggeration of the duellist of the last century. The levity with which the practice was spoken of can scarcely be be— lievetI in the present day. Such a one was a fine fellow who had winged half'a dozen iiieti, and lie tooka sort of breve! rank in society, according to the number of persons he had maimed or murdered. Asuow, the custom was more pi‘eVulcnt among the Irish than the English, and exceedingly rare among the Scotch, who have been always noted for their discretion in this matter; and yet I imagine it never entered into anybody’s head to suspect them ofcowurdice. ‘ As a specimen of the extent to 'which‘men were compelled, by public opinion, to follow tip their vengeance iintil death, I will cite an Occurrence which took place at Cnen, in March, 1787, and which will be found in the newspapers of the period. Two officers quarrelled, and one of them in his tinge gave theother a blow—this was returned—and they immediately went out ofthe town to decide the matter with swords. In a short time, both were wounded severely, and neither of them being,r able to stand. they were carried back to their quarters; but the wounds did not prove mortal. The Colonel convened all the officers ofthe corps, and it was decided in solemn conclavo that us soon‘ as the combatants were sufficiently recovered, they must go outiigain and fight till one oftliein should be killed, it being the unanimous opi‘

were to me very striking. They wander with their great flocks of sheep and goats hither and thither; their tents] and baggage come after them on horses and asses. Thel men are armed with guns, pistols, and long knives, and} wear long, white woollen garments. Their weapons they’ carry for self defence against the klephts, but they pro- bably also with them play the robbers themselves. 'I'he‘ women have their children wrapped in sheep-skins, and; Thus didI findl the shepherds of Arcailia.—IVi'llio/It Ilrimitt,’s transla— tion of “ IVrtnrlerings ofa Journeyman Tailor." ManNiTunn on THE SOLAR Svs'rnar—Clmme any well levelled field or bowling green. On it place a globe.‘ two feet in diameter; this will represent the sun ; Mer- cury will be represented by a grain of mustard seed, on the circumference of a circle of 164 feet in diameter from its orbit; Venus, a pea on a circle 234 feet in dia- meter; the Earth, also a pea on the circle of 430 feet;l

.Mars, a rather large pin’s head, on a circle of654 feet; l

Juno, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas, grains of sand, in orbits of front 1000 to 1200 feet; Jupiter, a moderate sizedl orange, in a circle nearly half a mile across; Saturn, a small orange, on a circle of four-fifths ofa mile; and Uranus, a full-sized cherry or small plum, upon a cir~ cumference of a circle more than a mile and a half in diaineter.—SirJ Ilersc/iel.

REMEDY IN CASE or Pomona—Instantly administer two-tea-spoonfnls of made mustard mixed in warm water. It acts as an emetic. This is a certain remedy, if in stantly administered, and may, under Providence, save a fellow-creature from an untimely end.

Ansence or MiND.——La Fontaine is recorded to have been one ofthe most absent ofmen ; and Furetiere relates a most singular instance of this absence of mind. La Fontaine attended the burial ofoue ofhis friends, and some time afterwards he called to visit him. At first he was shocked at the information of his death; but re- covering from his surprise, observed, “ True! true I— 1 recollect Iwent IO'lllS funeral I”

Ret.iei0N.——Religion is exalted reason, refined from the grosser parts ofit; it is both the foundation and crown of all virtue: it is morality improved and raised to its height by being carried nearer to heaven, the only place where perfection resides.

WASTE 0F TiMi‘..——We all complain ofthe shortneSs oftime, and yet have inucb more than we know what to

iiion of the regiment that one ofthe party must die—(mind,

render, one ofthe party 1 not the aggressor! it was immaterial

which of them, but the potiit oflionour required that one of them should die.) As they were not likely to be again able

to fight with swords. their brother officers (tender appella-

tion !) decided that they should fight with pistols. The

inuiuied combatants were therefore carried to the field in

chairs, and ten oftlieir brother officers attended the exe-

cution of their humane purpose! The first shot was fired

by the officer who received the first blow, and the ball

lodged in his antagonist’s body; he wusuble, however. to

return the fire. but from his torture missed his opponent.

The third shot was then fired by the latter, which took

effect in the breast, and the sufferer sank down almost lifeless

:iiid unable to hold the pistol and take due satisfaction!

They were carried home, and their brother officers (ferocious

ruffians, but not courageous enough to brave public opiuion,)

called another meeting of the corps; the matter vans dis-

cussed iu due form, and it was decided that ifthe wounded

men should recover, they should again take the field till one

oftliein should die on the spot. The two pistol balls had,

however, their due effect, and the poor wretcli died. The~ brother of the survivor had arrived a few days before, in

order to take his place and revenge his honour-should he

be killed—sweet Christiansl—England Sizly Years flgofin‘ Jerrold’s Illuminated Magazine.

:51

GREAT BRITAIN. Socun roa PROMOTING CHRISTIAN I{NOWLEDGE.—At the monthly (March) meeting of this Society, the Rev. Dr. Russell, Rector of'St. Rotolph, in the chair, a letter was read from the Bishop OfNova Scotia, in which he solicited a grant for a new church at Pugwash, on the shore ofthe Giilpli of St. Lawrence. No clergyman resided within forty miles of the place, and the people were extremely anxious to have one settled amongst them. His Lordship also solicited a grant iii aid of King‘s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, and transmitted letters from several clergymen in his diocese, requesting grants of books. The stun of £150 was granted by the society towards the support of the divinity students at King’s College, Nova Scotia, and £15 towards the erec- tion of a church at Pugwash. Sets of books were also granted for several parishes. The secretary announced that Mr. B. Harrison had in his possession £1000, placed iii his hands by a friend, to be applied to religious and charitable purposes in connection with that society. At the request of Mr. Harrison, one-fourth Of'this sum will be placed at the disposal ofthe Bishop of New-Zeuland, one-fourth will be given to the Bishop ofAustralia, one fourth will be assigned to some special purpose at the discretion of the committee, and the reiiininiiig fourth will be applied as the society may deem expedient. The £250 to be assigned for spectal pur- poses it was unanimously agreed should be appropriated to-

/

do with :——our lives are spent in doing nothing at all, or in doing nothing to the purpose, or in doing nothing thatwe ought to do. We are always complainin days are few, and acting as though there would end to them.

CONSCIENCE.——-A starvmg man, who committed theft,

be no

was asked by a pious person if his conscience had not,

cried out to him to forbear. “Alas!” replied he, “ if it did, the cries of my stomach were so much louder. that they prevented me hearing those of my conscience.”

New Pi.oUGiI.—-Mr. Lowcock has had the honour of submitting to the inspection of her Majesty and Prince Albert the model ofa plough on a new principle. This plough is an ingenious contrivance to avoid turning, and has a coulter both ways.

Remain—The great man ofa village being at dinner, allowed one of his tenants to stand while he conversed with him. “ VVbat news, my friend 1” said the squire. “ None that I know of,” replied the farmer, “ except that asow of mine has had a litter oftliirteen pigs, and she has only twelve teats.” “What will the thirteenth do ‘l” asked the landlord. “ [Do as I do,” returned Hodge: “ it will stand anti look on while the others eatl’

The largest room that was ever constructed is that iii which theTobaccoStores are kept in the London Docks. It is said to cover nearly six acres, being, of course, uti- der one roof. It is a curious circumstance, that this enormous apartment should be devoted to an article Of mere luxury; not one of the necessaries oflife—meat or bread, or drink of any kind~but an article cfenjoyment, that either ends in a sneeze or in smoke!

On the recent marriage of one ofthe Russian Princes» ses to the Crown Prince of Denmark, the Emperor pre- sented the bride with a set of diamonds valued at £75,000.

A project has been issued for cutting a “ canal of the Pyrenees,” to connect the Mediterranean with the At- lantic, and avoid the circuitous route by the coast of Spain. I

A portable gas has been exhibited at Lyons which is applicable to the smallest candlesticks, and may be car-‘ ried about with the greatest facility.

It is asserted that death caused by'Prussic acid is only apparent. Life, saysthe German papers, can be imme- diately restored by pouring acetate of potash and com- mon salt dissolved in water upon the spine and head. Dr. Rogerson, a chemist, has successfully treated rabbits, poisoned with this acid, by pouring cold water upon these parts of their bodies.

An upright tree, nine feet high, has been found in the coal mines of St. Helen’s, near Liverpool.

AN lNDuN’s Commie—An Indian complained to a re- tailer that the price of his liquor was too high. The ' latter, injustification, said that it cost as much to keep a hogsheud of brandy as to keep a cow. The Indian replied “Maybe he drink as much water, but he not eat so much hay !”

Lotto WELLiue'roN IN A Bastian—Lord VVelliugton had entered Salamanca with Sir Rowland Hill and our division ' but when he found the right ofthe army well on, and every3 thing satisfactory, he started for the left, to supei'intend its operations and hasten its movements. In this rapid journey he crossed the Douro under for more dangerous circum- stances than those of the rope bridge at Alcantara, where 1 had the honour to meet him ; for at Miranda he ventured itito a small basket, hung on a rope, stretching from One rock to another, across the boiling stream; and thus in his giddy seat, 300 feet above the water, did this fearless man traverse a river, which has derived the main part of its modern celebrity from his great deeds upon its banks.— Events of a Miltttzry Lift, . ' '

, wards the fund for the eiidotvnient ofa hishopric at New lBrunswick. The society granted £100 towards the erection

E 0‘” l ofu church at Penworthain, in the diocese of New Zealuiid.

‘Sevei'ul other grants were made, and donations to the amount Of£743, and legacies to the amount of £300, were announced. Eighty-six new members were admitted.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY (IRILAtvn) BILL.—A bill to ena- i ble Roman Catholic arclibishops, bishops, and priests in Ireland to take grants or conveyances to them and their stic- cessors, without the intervention of trustees, has just been brougbtinto Parliament by Mr. D. O’Connell, Mr. M. O’Con- nell, and Mr. D. Pigot, the late Solicitor General for Ireland. It contains only five clauses. The first clause enacts “ that every Roman Catholic archbishop, bishop or. priest, of any district or parish in Ireland for the time being, shall, by the name or description ol'Roman Catholic archbishop, bishop, or priestof‘snch parish, be, for the purposes of this Act, a body politic and corporate, and shall have perpetual succes- sion, and may receive and take to him and his successm‘s, any real or personal estate, &c. whatever, which any person or body corporate may give or grant to him by deed or otherwise, according to law.” In this clause the gist of the measure is contained. ‘

Tun CoNri-ICTIONERY TRADE—Thursday, a numerous meeting ofthe journeyman engaged in the manufacture of hard confectionery was held in the Jacob’s-well, Barbican, for the purpose of memorializng the President ofthe Board of Trade relative to the importation ofconfectionei'y from Halifax, Nova Scotia, at the nominal ditty ofoue penny per pound. It appeared that the annual amount of'duty paid by the wholesale bard confectioners of the United Kingdom for sugar used in the trade was about £2,000,000, and in this department alone the enormous quantity of from 3000 to 4000 tons ofsugar are used in the metropolis. Upon the tarifi‘coming into a law, the importation of confectionery was prohibited. The manufacturer has directed his atten- tion to Halifax, and as a sugar superior in quality can there be purchased for 30s., for which the home manufacturer is paying 84s., iiiiil the goods in the manufactured state can be brought over. at a freight of from 25. to 35. per ton, it pre- vents competition.