munity, it is, like everything he proposes, ingenious and plausible, and based upon high principles of philanthropy. There nothing but Peace, Temperance, and Cleanliness are to dwell. The Vices are to be expelled, to the sole dominion of the Virtues. Labour is to be limited, education to be gratuitous, law and medicine likewise. Churches, yet freedom of conscience-walks, fountains, museums, and concert-rooms, are to diversify the aspect; Beauty is to go hand-in-hand with Convenience, and Pleasure with Health. It is a noble prospectus on paper; but who will venture to say, knowing the fallen condition of man, how it would work practically?

Several of the most important moral and political problems are also discussed at length in this extensive scheme, which, however visionary, is still, in its principles, a credit to its Author's head and heart.

PANORAMA OF THE NILE.

THE introduction of moving panoramas of scenery into this country by the Americans, has been most beneficial to the progress of knowledge. We know of nothing by which so much new and varied information can be obtained in so little time, and in so pleasurable a manner, as by one of these geographical paintings. The advantages of such pictures, it is to be hoped, will insure them popularity, increase in number, and improvement in style. The Rhine, the Danube, and a hundred noble rivers, await to be conveyed to the canvass. In the mean time, Egypt being nothing more than a narrow strip, watered by the Nile's overflow, almost all its great cities and temples visible from the river, and the oldest and largest buildings in the world being made to revolve before the spectator, it presented itself as peculiarly fitted for this kind of representation. Mr. Bonomi, an old and well-known traveller and artist, had the sketches necessary for the undertaking at hand; and, assisted by such distinguished artists as Messrs. Warren and Fahey, a panorama has been produced, the fidelity and accuracy of which can be relied upon; the wondrous architectural remains, the existing towns, the boats, inhabitants, animals, and plants, the river and land scenery, are all as true to nature and art as representations of the kind can well be. There is this great advantage in the panorama of the Nile, that it can be depended upon as a representation of that which is. Even the little guide-book has been written by a firstrate hand-by the author of the best history of Egypt.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

A VERY large class of readers will be sorely grieved to find that that most amusing work of its class, Pepys' Diary, has come to an end with the fifth volume just published. It is as racy, if not more so, at the conclusion as at the commencement. The twenty-first volume of Mr. G. P. R. James's works contains Castelneau, a story the interest of which is made to depend upon the education of a young woman by a man not tied to her by blood, and the results that ensue to both.-Cherville's First Step to French, and Le Page's French Master for the Nursery, are books exceedingly well adapted for what they propose-to facilitate a first acquaintance with the French language.-We have received and read with interest Dr. Loewe's two pamphlets, one On the Supposed Jewish Medal found at York, the other On an Unique Cufic Gold Coin.-The Statement of Facts, &c., in relation to the proceedings instituted by her Majesty and the Prince Consort in reference to the royal etchings, relate to a subject objectionable, as one for discussion in these pages, on every ground.-Mr. Gilks has successfully shown what can be done, even on a large scale, in wood-engraving, in his illustrations of Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Life. Some of the original designs of this remarkably cheap publication are,,however, very far from faultless.-Mr. Wright's History of Ireland has reached a fourteenth number.-M. Fancourt has favoured us with A New Double System of Short Hand Writing. Messrs. D'Almaine and Co. with Numbers I. and II. of a cheap yet valuable addition to the musical library, Sir Henry Bishop's Edition of Handel's Works. The first number, price sixpence, contains Acis and Galatea; the second, Israel in Egypt. Also two pretty melodies, "Of what are you thinking, Jenny ?" and "I'm thinking of thee, Jamie !" and Jeanie and Donald, a ballad composed by G. A. Hodson,

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

POSTHUMOUS MEMOIR OF MYSELF.

BY HORACE SMITH, ESQ.

AUTHOR OF "BRAMBLETYE HOUSE," &c. &c.

CHAPTER V.

FORLORN as was my state, and frightful as was the prospect before me, the dawning light and the twittering of the birds that announced a new day fell cheerily upon my ear. At this early hour my daughter reappeared in the chamber, and recoiling with a slight shudder as she kissed me, exclaimed, in a voice broken by emotion," Cold, quite cold! I fear there is no hope. My poor, dear father!" She did not despair, however, for she again knelt down and prayed fervently for my recovery, after which she retired weeping from the room. Inexpressibly grateful to me was this proof of filial affection, although it was not unmingled with self-reproach, for I felt that my recent conduct to the poor girl had hardly entitled me to such a tender devotedness.

Various matin sounds now reached me from without; the ploughman's whistle, the whetting of the mower's scythe, the lowing and bleating of cattle, the crowing of cocks challenging each other; and as I listened complacently to this rural chorus, I distinctly and vividly saw-by a species of clairvoyance for which I am utterly unable to account-the whole morning landscape commanded by my drawing-room windows. The leaves of the white ash trees, flashing and fading in the ray, looked like so many twinkling eyes; the pines and poplars waving in the breeze, seemed to be stretching themselves out to shake off sleep; the river, dimpled by the air, threw sunny smiles at every flower it passed; the gilded summits of the distant hills sparkled in the blue sky, while their bases were still wreathed in vapour, which gradually floated upwards, and all became bright and joyous as if it were the wedding-day of heaven and earth. How long I remained gazing in delight upon this beautiful revelation I know not, but probably some hours must have thus glided away, for the day had made good progress when my attention was arrested by the opening of the parlour-door, and I heard the well-known footsteps of my son George.

On reaching the bedside, he gazed at me for a few seconds in silence, after which he exclaimed, in an accent of unfeeling surprise" Hang me if I see much alteration in the governor's appearance; a little paler, perhaps, nothing more." Laying his hand upon my cheek, and subseOct.-VOL. LXXXVII. NO. CCCXLVI.

L

me;

son.

66

quently upon my heart, he continued-"No pulsation! and the cold, clammy feel of a corpse! Ay, ay, he's dead enough at last. The only wonder is that he should hold out so long." Oh! how I wished for a sudden resuscitation, that I might start from the bed, grapple him by the throat, and shout aloud, "Villain! did you not assert, over and over, that I should recover rapidly, if I would but swallow double doses of your infernal restorative? and now you wonder that it did not kill me sooner!" But, alas! so far as corporeal energy was concerned, I was indeed a corpse. "I must have a peep at the will," were the next words I heard. "Father told me its contents some time ago; nearly everything left to but seeing is believing: I should find it, he said, in the small drawer of the black escritoire." To this article of furniture, which stood in the adjoining parlour, he accordingly betook himself; and as the door of communication between the two rooms was left open, I was enabled to watch all his proceedings, and to overhear his comments. Having withdrawn the will from its place of deposit, he opened the shutters, seated himself by the window, and slowly perused it, ejaculating at intervals, " All right— all right-everything mine-of course-couldn't be otherwise; an only But what on earth could my father mean by leaving so much to Sarah? What do women want with money ? Only makes them a prey to fortune-hunters. Glad to see, though, that she is to be cut off if she marries the pauper curate. Don't want any beggars or beggars' brats in the family, always pestering you for assistance. Hallo! what's this? another paper!" So saying, he took up and opened the codicil, ran his eyes over its contents, and starting up as he finished, angrily ejaculated, "Damnation! here's a pretty go-all to be forfeited to the county hospital if ever I marry Julia Thorpe, the only girl in the whole wide world that I wish to marry; a girl, moreover, who is passionately attached to me, and who-Why, it would be a downright robbery! Never heard of anything so cruel, so atrocious, so unnatural. But I won't submit to be plundered in this way; not such an ass. I'll have Julia, and I'll have the fortune too, as sure as my name is George; and what's more, I won't lose another moment in securing both. governor yonder can't peach, for dead men tell no tales; no more can a burnt codicil, so here goes." With these words he again closed the window-shutters-locked the inner door, so as to prevent observation or interruption-committed the codicil to the parlour-fire, closely watching its combustion-and then said, in a triumphant tone, as he looked tauntingly towards the bed, "Well, old gentleman! you haven't gained much by that dodge. The estates will be mine, and Julia will be mine, and all the codicils in the world cannot keep me out of them. Fairly outwitted the governor. Ha! ha! ha!"

The

Indescribably hideous and revolting, not to say demoniacal, did that laugh appear, coming from a wretch who stood in the presence of his victim, and that victim a father who had never denied him a request! His self-betrayals in the soliloquy to which I had been listening, and his nefarious destruction of the codicil, had dispelled that belief of his innocence to which I had so fondly and so pertinaciously clung; and I could no longer repel the horrible conviction that he must have well known the poisonous nature of the restorative, and that he had probably concocted it with his own parricidal hands. The successful destruction of the

codicil seemed to have elevated him into a state of almost drunken excitement, for he threw his arms wildly about, walked rapidly up and down the parlour, strode into the bed-chamber, snapped his fingers in triumph, and talked incoherently of his immediate marriage with Julia, of inviting his Newmarket friends to the wedding, of buying hounds and hunters, and of stocking his cellars with the rarest wines that money could command. In the midst of these riotous anticipations a tapping was heard at the parlour door, when the exulting expression of his features was instantly changed into a look of alarm, and his voice betrayed agitation as he demanded, "Who's there? - who's there? What do you want?"

I could not catch the reply, but the door was unlocked and opened, and my daughter entered, inquiring why he had locked himself in; to which he made no answer, but eagerly asked,

"When did you say Doctor Linnel was to return?"

"The day after to-morrow."

"Confound it, so early! how deuced unlucky!"

"I thought you would be glad to know that we shall see him on Friday night or Saturday morning."

"Sarah, the funeral must take place on Friday-do you hear?-on Friday."

"My dear George, how can you talk so wildly! My poor father will only have been dead three days. What earthly motive can there be for hurrying the interment before the usual time?'

"What motive? A thousand-ten thousand, and each stronger than the other. I presume you are at last satisfied that our father is dead?" "Alas! I can no longer doubt it." "And you will admit, I suppose, won't be more dead than he is now ?"

if we keep him for six mouths, he

"That is no reason for so much indecent haste, and for such a total want of all filial feeling and respect. What would the world say to your conduct? What reason would you assign for it?"

"The world is very slow to censure a man who has seven or eight thousand a year; and if my motive satisfies myself, that's quite enough. Hark ye, Sarah! Before I left Newmarket I received an impertinent and prying letter from Doctor Linnel, asking fifty questions about Raby's Restorative. I need not tell you what an obstinate and suspicious old fellow he is, and that he piques himself upon discovering the cause of everybody's death. It is his hobby, his monomania, under the influence of which I have not the smallest doubt that he will insist upon having the body opened. Now, you know what an insuperable objection my father had to this sort of mutilation. My own feelings are equally opposed to so barbarous and irreverent a practice; and so, to avoid all controversy and all annoyance, I have determined that the funeral shall take place immediately.

"But you might await the Doctor's return, and refuse to indulge him in what you term his monomania."

"That might excite ugly suspicions, and give rise to a thousand inuendos and insinuations which it is much better to avoid."

"It seems to me that such an unusual precipitation is still more calculated to excite unpleasant comments."

"My dear Sarah, you know nothing about these matters. I am sole executor; I may do as I like: I choose to have my father buried on Friday, and I have summoned the undertaker to be here this afternoon for orders; so you need not say a word more on the subject."

CHAPTER VI.

It was now clear, manifest, indisputable, that I had been intentionally poisoned by my most ungrateful and unnatural son; and that I was to be hurried into the grave with a scandalous precipitation, lest the return of Doctor Linnel, and an examination of the body, might lead to a detection of the villany! To the lingering hope by which I had been hitherto sustained-the chance of reviving during the week that usually intervenes between death and interment- -now succeeded an utter despair, aggravated by an intense rage against the miscreant to whose machinations I had fallen a victim, and a feeling of unutterable loathing and horror at the prospect of being buried alive. This volcano of fiery passion burnt inwardly with the more terrific energy, because it was denied all outward vent, either by voice or gesture. Groans and cries, fierce invective or convulsive violence, are the outbursts which nature has provided for the manifestation and relief of mental or corporeal agony; but while my anguish was probably more acute than human being had ever previously suffered, while my life might yet be saved by the utterance of a sound or the movement of a finger, I remained dumb, helpless, and immovable—a living corpse! It might have been thought that the misery of my plight was hardly susceptible of increase, yet the necessity of listening to the heartless, the atrocious language of my son, rendered my tongue-tied impotency a thousand times more intolerable.

Alas! I was quickly doomed to hear still more revolting, still more coldblooded orders issued by the parricide-for such might he be termed in intention, though his guilty purpose had not yet been consummated. Not very long after the retirement of my daughter from the parlour, the undertaker made his appearance, wearing his professional face of inconsolable woe, and walking as noiselessly as if he feared that his footfall might revive the deceased, and so occasion the loss of a lucrative job.

"Well, Tomkins," said the young reprobate, who had been solacing his grief with a bottle of Madeira and some sandwiches, "you guess, I dare say, why I have sent for you."

"Yes, sir; melancholy business, sad affair; very sorry to hear it."

"Come, come, Mr. Tomkins; no humbug, no flummery! What undertaker was ever sorry to hear of a death? Nonsense! people must die—always have, and always will; nothing new, so you needn't look so confoundedly miserable. Now to business. I should wish the old gentleman to have a handsome funeral."

'Oh, certainly, sir, certainly. A gentleman of your fine fortune would desire, of course, to have everything suitable."

"Yes, but I am not going to leave it to you. Here are my orders, all written down. No extras, you see; everything can soon be got ready, and so we will have the funeral on Friday.'

"Dear me, did you say Friday, sir? That will be only three days after