ceeded to the Mediterranean command, and acquitted himself so well, that at the downfall of Napoleon, occasioned by the Russian campaign, Sir Edward was created, even before his return home, Baron Exmouth of Canonteign, a mansion and estate in South Devon he had previously purchased. This was no empty honour; for a pension was added to it.

The return of Napoleon from Elba soon required a British force in the Mediterranean, and Lord Exmouth having been selected for this service, again performed, with his usual prudence and energy, all the duties which the position of affairs required or admitted. Marseilles had shown some disposition to favour the Bourbons, and Marshal Brune was marching from Toulon upon that city, avowedly to destroy it. Lord Exmouth, on this emergency, took upon himself to embark about 3000 men, part of the garrison of Genoa, with whom he sailed to Marseilles. Forty years before, he had landed at this port a poor penniless boy turned out of his shiphe now entered it a British admiral and peer, and, what was still more gratifying to him, a conqueror and deliverer! The inhabitants, grateful for their preservation, were unceasing in their attentions to the fleet and army, and, as a mark of their sense of his important services to their city, they presented him with a large and beautiful piece of plate executed in Paris, bearing a medallion of the noble admiral, and a view of the port of Marseilles, and the Boyne, his flag-ship, entering it full sail, with this simple and expressive inscription:-" A l'Amiral Lord Exmouth-La Ville de Marseilles reconnoissante."-[To the Admiral Lord Exmouth; the town of Marseilles, grateful.]

The final overthrow of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo secured that peace which has not even yet been broken in Europe; and we now approach Lord Exmouth's most splendid naval achievement on the coast of Africa.

While the fleet was still assembled in the Mediterranean, the British government thought its presence there would be a good opportunity of putting down the abominable system of piracy carried on by the Barbary states. Lord Exmouth, amongst other duties, went on shore at Algiers to endeavour to extract a pledge from the Dey that slavery should be abolished-a promise which he had already drawn from the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli. But at Algiers both himself and his officers were insulted. This, with several other aggressions, and an obstinate refusal of the demands of the British government, induced the issue of orders for the bombardment of Algiers; the execution of which was confided to Lord Exmouth.

the Algerines, from the eastern battery, fired the first shot at the Impregnable, which was astern, when Lord Exmouth, having seen only the smoke of the gun, and, before the sound reached him, said with great alacrity, "That will do!-fire, my fine fellows." I am sure that before his lordship had finished these words, our broadside was given with great cheering, which was fired three times within five or six minutes; and at the same instant the other ships did the same.' Of the action, Lord Exmouth gave an account in a letter to one of his brothers. Amongst other things, he relates, 'It was a glorious sight to see the Charlotte take her anchorage, and to see her flag towering on high, when she appeared to be in the flames of the mole itself: and never was a ship nearer burnt; it almost scorched me off the poop. We were obliged to haul in the ensign, or it would have caught fire. Everybody behaved nobly. I was but slightly touched in thigh, face, and fingers-my glass cut in my hand, and the skirts of my coat torn off by a large shot; but as I bled a good deal, it looked as if I was badly hurt, and it was gratifying to see and hear how it was received even in the cockpit, which was then pretty full. I never saw such enthusiasm in all my service.' After the bombardment, which was completely successful, Salamé, on meeting his lordship on the poop of the Queen Charlotte, observed, that his voice was quite hoarse; and he had two slight wounds, one on the cheek, and the other on his leg. It was indeed astonishing to see the coat of his lordship, how it was all cut up by the musket-balls and by grape. It was as if a person had taken a pair of scissors and cut it all to pieces.'

The effect of this engagement was, that piracy and slavery were put an end to in that quarter of the world for ever-a result of no small importance. On his return to England, he was created a viscount, with an honourable augmentation to his already so honoured escutcheon, and the word Algiers as an additional motto. He received from his own sovereign a gold medal struck for the occasion, and from the kings of Holland, Spain, and Sardinia, the stars of their orders-a sword from the city of London; and, finally-what was likely to please such a man most of all-an unusually large proportion of distinction and promotion acknowledged the merits of the brave men who had served under him. On the death of Admiral Duckworth in 1817, he was appointed to the chief command at Plymouth, where he continued till the 21st February 1821, when he struck his flag, terminated his active service, and retired to the pleasant neighbourhood of Teignmouth. Viscount Exmouth had served his country during the long space of fifty years and three months, and with such indefatigable activity, that out of that time his periods of inactivity only amounted to eight years altogether. In 1822 he obtained the high station of Vice-admiral of England.

His lordship lived on in placid retirement-which was only occasionally broken by attendance on his place in the House of Lords-enjoying to the full the affection of his beloved partner, and the comforts of rest. Bodily infirmities crept upon him, and on the 23d of January 1833 he expired, surrounded by his family, and in full and grateful possession of his faculties. His viscountess and five of his six children survived him.

* Salamé's Expedition to Algiers, p. 39.

His contemporaries spoke of him as the beau ideal of a British sailor. He knew and could perform all the duties of a ship, from the furling of a sail in a storm to the manoeuvring of a fleet in a battle; and there was nothing he ever attempted that he did not do well. Amidst all the violent and demoralising tendencies of warfare, he never forgot his religious duties. Every hour of his life is a sermon,' said an officer who was often with him; I have seen him great in battle, but

never so great as on his deathbed. Full of hope and peace, he advanced with the confidence of a Christian to his last conflict; and when nature was at length exhausted, he closed a life of brilliant and important service with a death more happy, and not less glorious, than if he had fallen in the hour of victory.'

THREE ROMANCES OF REAL LIFE. THE French newspapers have recently reported, amongst their accounts of law proceedings, three traits of struggling poverty, so affecting and instructive, that we produce them for the edification of our readers.

The first came before the authorities in the shape of a fraud on the revenue, but one attended by circumstances which have softened the hearts of the otherwise rigid and exact functionaries on whom it was perpetrated. It had been remarked at one of the post-offices that a letter, coming from the frontiers of Siberia, and of course entailing heavy postage expenses, arrived regularly every three months in Paris, addressed to a Polish count. A few days after each letter reached its destination, a tall man, with thick black mustaches, and a military bearing, came to claim it. Little difficulty was of course made in giving the missive into his hands, the clerk at the same time informing him of the price of the postage. The Pole, attentively examining the superscription, after shaking his head with emotion, would return it, saying that the letter bore his name, but was not intended for him. The same circumstance, repeated at stated intervals for several years running, awakened curiosity. The opening of the letters after the time appointed by the rules of the post-office, afforded no elucidation to this mystery, for the contents were in blank paper. Some indiscretion at length revealed the secret; and it turned out that the Polish count was one of a family who took an active part in the revolution of Poland, and, after the events of 1831, was, together with his father, his three brothers, and two uncles, condemned to banishment in Siberia. He alone escaped, and found an asylum in France; but, reduced to the utmost straits, unable to pay postage from so great a distance, and longing to receive tidings of his relations, they agreed upon the following plan, which they carried on with success for several years-On the cover of the letter, each word in the address was written by the different members of his family; thus the unfortunate Pole, from his exact knowledge of the handwriting of each, obtained, by mere examination of the outside, certitude of the existence of his captive relations, and of their continuing together on the same spot. On hearing this pitiable statement, the functionaries overlooked the fraud on the revenue in the affection which prompted, and the ingenuity which contrived, the scheme.

The second incident is of a more tragic cast, and resembles one of those strange coincidences which are met with in fictions. A young workman of good character supported a sorrowing mother, whose husband had many years previously basely abandoned her to great pecuniary distress. Though generally a sober and industrious person, he was, one Saturday night, enticed by several fellow-artisans to visit a publichouse near the Barrier d'Enfer. The wine circulated freely; but after a little indulgence, the young man stopped short, saying that he could not afford to spend any more money away from his mother and his home. Accordingly he left the house, and walked towards his residence, a little confused, it is true, by the quantity of wine he had swallowed. Presently one of the boon companions, an elderly stranger, overtook him, and after commending his forbearance, and expressing much admiration of the sentiments he had uttered, offered to treat' him at the first house of entertainment they passed. The youth assented. They entered a wine shop, drank, and in a short time the guest felt his senses gradually overcome. Still, he retained sufficient sense to understand what was going

The third little romance, perhaps the most affecting of all, is derived from the Gazette de Tribunaux. One day in October, a widow, who keeps a book-stall near the bridge of St Michael, was accosted by an old man, who seemed borne down with hunger and wretchedness. From under a worn and tattered coat he drew forth a thick volume, which was torn, and bore other marks of long use.

He offered it for sale, owning that its intrinsic worth was little, though,' he continued, 'it is and always has been valuable to me, and I shall part with it most unwillingly; but I have not the courage to allow myself to die of hunger while I have even this treasured relic to sell. Give me for it anything you please.' The stall-keeper examined the book, and found it to be the first edition of the History of Astronomy amongst all Nations,' by Bailly, but in so bad a condition, that it was scarcely worth buying at all: but, out of compassion, the benevolent woman bought it for a franc. The old man immediately entered a baker's shop, brought out a loaf, and, sitting down beside the river, ate it greedily, and in solitude. It happened that a canon of Notre Dame, who is an indefatigable collector of old books, had witnessed the whole proceeding; and when the old man had left the stall, he took up the book. On examining the back of the title-page, he found the following lines traced with a firm hand with ink, which had now faded to the colour of rust :- My young friend, I am condemned to die at this hour to-morrow I shall be no more. I leave you friendless in the world-in time of dreadful trouble; and that is one of my bitterest griefs. I had promised to be a father to you; God wills that my promise shall not be performed. Take this volume as the pledge of my earnest love, and keep it in memory of me.-BAILLY.'* This, then, was a presentation copy sent fifty years ago from the unfortunate author, on the eve of his execution-to the distressed individual who had but now sold it to keep himself from starving. The canon, throwing down two francs to the good stall-keeper for her bargain, hastened to the old man, who still sat eating his cheerless crust. From him he learned that he was the natural son of a person of high rank, and had, after the death of his parents, been committed to Bailly's care, whose adopted child and

* John Sylvanus Bailly was born in 1736; and, besides being an astronomer, was a poet of considerable fame. On presenting the above work to the French Academy in 1784, he was admitted one of its members, and at the Revolution was made president of the first National Assembly. Afterwards he became mayor of Paris; but his humane conduct in repressing tumult, and the honest sympathy he evinced towards the royal family, made him so unpopular, that he was obliged to resign his office. In 1793 he was denound by the anarchists of the day, and guillotined.

pupil he became up to the day before his execution, when the above inscription was written, and the book sent. The worn old man has since laboured in the capacity of instructor of children; but having been attacked by illness, and compelled to resign his duties, he gradually sank to such a state of destitution, that he was driven to turn the last gift of his friend and benefactor into bread. The priest took the old man to his home, fed and comforted him, till he was enabled to procure him admission into an asylum specially instituted for receiving respectable persons fallen into decay-the hospital of Larochefoucauld. There he now remains, to end his days in peace.

Column for Young People.

THE LAKE AND ITS INHABITANTS.

A GENTLE shower had moderated the heat of a glowing summer day, and had cooled and refreshed the green face of nature, without throwing a damp on its beauties: it was near sunset when our evening walk brought us to the margin of a little lake. Some of our party had gone on before; and when I arrived, Elizabeth was seated on the trunk of an old fallen tree, busily occupied sketching the scene before us. It was a landscape worthy of Cuyp. The water of the lake was as still and transparent as the blue sky above. On its margin were scattered numerous birches, with their drooping branchlets and hoary trunks; the latter reflected like silvery pillars in the deep blue waters. Two cows were standing knee-deep near the rushy shore, and a little ragged herd-boy was leaning over a few palingbars, eagerly watching the fate of his baited hook suspended from a rude fishing-rod. A gleam of the full red sky coming through the distant break between the surrounding hills, lighted up the whole with a glow and softness which mellowed every object into beauty. We paused over the scene for a full quarter of an hour, till fancy had her fill,' and then proceeded to find out what could occupy the judgment as well as the imagination. We had not proceeded far, till Henry called our attention to a beautiful wild drake gliding among the rushes, and which at intervals darted out its green neck, and with quick bill picked up some bodies from the surface of the water. Its quick eye discovered our nearer approach, and, darting under water, in a few minutes we saw him rise up far on the other side.

I should like to know what Mr Wilddrake has been supping on,' said Henry; and we walked up to the place to make a minute examination. We saw some minnows in the water; but they were too deep to be taken in the manner we observed. We searched among the rushes, and could see nothing. At last Anna called our attention to some creatures floating on the surface of the water. We recognised them at once to be several species of shell snails -the physa, planorbis, and lymnca. These little animals were floating on the water, their shells reversed, and their soft bodies buoyed up by a little globule of air which they retained within the orifice of their breathing apparatus. On touching and alarming any one of them, it was seen instantly to throw off the air globule, and by this means being rendered heavier than the surrounding water, at once sunk to the bottom. We saw dozens of these animals thus floating about, and had no doubt but such had formed the prey of the wild drake.

'Look here,' cries Henry, at this large fresh-water mussel among the pebbles, with his shell widely expanded; he no doubt is enjoying the evening sunset too; but let him beware, else he may form a supper to some wild drake also.' Is not that the pearl mussel ?' observed Elizabeth. It is,' I replied; and sometimes pearls of a very good size and lustre have been found here, and in several of the rivers of Scotland.'

pieces of wood, and small pebbles, and thus forms a defence against his enemies.'

'Oh, I see myriads of those empty shells on the beach,' cries Elizabeth-shells of various kinds. I have picked up at least half-a-dozen different ones; and, let me remember, where was it that you showed us shells of this kind under a very different form?'

'I suppose you allude,' said I, 'to those marl beds which the workmen dug up in the field the other day? You now have an example from what sources it is that such beds of marl are derived. The whole bed of this lake is probably one mass of such shells, which have been accumulating for ages; and were it drained and dug into, it would present the same appearance as the marl beds which we lately inspected. There, you recollect, there were various layers on layers of a soft crumbling limestone, to the depth of eight and ten feet, intermixed with mud, fragments of reeds, wood, and shells of various animals; thus affording, on a small scale, an example of the way in which many of the deepest strata of the earth's surface have been accumulated.'

We now came to a little stream which poured its crystal current into the lake. Farther up the sloping hill-side, from whence it derived its source, it chafed and dashed over and among the rocky fragments opposing its course; but here, like other more noted rivers, it swelled out near its termination into a calm diffused estuary, with many a flower and aquatic plant peeping up amid its shallow waters. We rested here, at the request of Henry, to examine some objects which had arrested his attention. He pointed out to us, on the leaves of some of the aquatic plants, a number of brown, jelly-looking substances, about the size of a pin-head or small pea. On watching them attentively, we clearly perceived motion and life. These little points would in an instant suddenly expand to the size of half an inch, and thrust out little arms on all sides, by which they entangled and caught substances floating by. I at once recognised them to be the Hydra, or fresh-water polype; those singular animals which, when first discovered by Trembly, a naturalist of France, made so much noise in the scientific world. I am quite pleased that you have made this discovery for us, Henry. These are perhaps the simplest of all organised beings, and their habits and properties afford us a singular insight into the humblest manifestations of life. They are, as you see, composed of a pulpy, grayish jelly. They have few parts: only a body, with a hollow in the centre, corresponding to the stomach of other animals; a mouth leading to this stomach; and, surrounding this opening or mouth, eight filaments or arms, which they spread out all around, and with which they seize hold of their food, which consists of small worms, or pieces of any animal matter. They have no organs of sense, and no sensations but that of touch. They are very retentive of life, and may be cut into various pieces, and every separate picce will in a short time become a perfect polype. Their young are produced by a gem or bud which grows out from the body of the parent, and when it has arrived at a mature state, it drops off to enjoy a separate existence. Not unfrequently before this scion drops off from its parent, another bud is seen to spring out of its own body, and thus two or three generations are seen in progress at one time. They are very voracious and very lively, moving about from leaf to leaf by first pushing forward and attaching the mouth to any object; and then drawing forward the other end, attaching it in the same way, and again pushing forward the head. They will thus travel over a whole plant in the course of an hour or two. You may now take this magnifying lens, make your observations cautiously, and tell us what farther you can discover.' 'I see them distinctly and beautifully now,' whispers Henry. Three of them are within view, attached to the mid-rib of this leaf. They appear now somewhat like a clove, or a very little nail or tack standing on its point. How they ply their thin slender arms all around, now lengthening them out into a small hair or thread, and now again contracting them into a thick knob or point! These are in miniature somewhat like the horns of a snail, and as soft and pliant. I declare one has seized upon a small worm

6

worm struggles and wriggles out of his grasp-it is instantly seized in the middle by another polype, doubled up, and a piece of it swallowed-the two ends of the worm dangle out on each side-the first polype seizes one of the ends→ they now both tug and fight hard.'

No. 101. NEW SERIES.

A BALL AT A LUNATIC ASYLUM. ABOUT two miles south of Edinburgh is situated the picturesque little village of Morningside, under the shadow of Blackford hill, where

'Lord Marmion stayed; For fairer scene he ne'er surveyed.'

The known salubrity of this locality, which attracts many invalids to reside in it, induced the projectors of the asylum for lunatics, assisted by government, to erect it on the favoured spot. This institution consists of two edifices; one built some thirty years since, for the reception of invalids of the higher classes, and the other, a more extensive structure, for the reception of pauper patients. Within the asylum, these two establishments are denominated, from their situation, the East and the West departments. The system pursued in both is that of kindness and personal freedom, as far as is consistent with the safety of the inmate; the old method, which included strict discipline and restraint, being entirely abolished. Occupation and amusements take the place of listless and irksome personal bondage, and the results have been extremely beneficial. Among the most extraordinary, is that which allows of as many of the patients as may choose, to assemble every Thursday evening, and indulge in the exhilarating exercise of dancing. Favoured by an invitation, we attended one of these soirées; certainly the most interesting, instructive, but, moreover, saddening, we ever assisted at.

The night was somewhat dark, and as the gates of the asylum closed on us, and we drove along the thicklyhedged avenue which leads to the older mansion, a feeling of sadness and of dread could not be suppressed. The heavy pressure of ideas which are awakened by the sight of an abode of the insane, was not even lessened by the cheering lights which gleamed from the windows, or by the smiling faces which welcomed us on the threshold. Still, at every step, something occurred to dispel sombre thoughts. Habit and past experience induce us to associate with persons who have charge of the insane a certain degree of sterness, or, at the least, decision of manner and characer. Indeed these were requisites for carrying out the ld system of practice. But the first introduction to The officers of the Morningside establishment, by no means bore out this preconception. The suavity and lacid politeness of the chief physician struck us at once sa guarantee of the mode in which the unhappy people nder his care are treated. The immense responsibility hich rests with him and his equally humane associces, appears to be worn with the lightness of a thorough onfidence in the system, and in the orderly and proper haviour of the inmates. Indeed, so far as we could serve and hear, the house had the appearance of a

PRICE 14d.

well-ordered gentleman's residence. Yet we afterwards learnt that much of it was managed by patients: for instance, the horse which brought, and the man who drove us, were handed over to the care and companionship of an insane groom.

As the soirées are held in the building devoted to the poor classes, we were conducted through the grounds to the more humbly appointed, but much larger structure. The careful unlocking and locking of the doors of each gallery, as we entered and left it, was the only indication of restraint which we met with. This is necessary, to keep the various classes of patients within those parts of the building which are assigned for their residence; though,' said our guide, we would do without locks if we could.' Ascending a flight of stairs, we saw, by the bustle apparent at the end of a long gallery, that we were approaching the scene of festivity, and presently the opening of folding doors revealed the strange scene.

Around a large square apartment were ranged two rows of seats. On one side females sat; on the other males. The end seats were occupied by the inmates of the East Department,' the musicians occupying benches in the midst. The instruments were a violin, played by a demented dancing-master, and a violoncello, the performer on which was also a patient. After taking the places allotted to us, a survey of the scene imparted a feeling of awe; and now, for the first time, one could appreciate the sentiment which is felt in the East for idiots and madmen.* It was, indeed, an awful sight to look round upon the staring or vacant faces by which we were surrounded. In fact it cost some effort to suppress a rising fear; for, to be enclosed within four walls with from a hundred and fifty to two hundred lunatics, seemed a situation not altogether devoid of peril. Nor was a detailed investigation of the company calculated to lessen the feeling. Though sitting quite close to each other, we could see but few conversing together; each appeared too much occupied with his or her own cogitations, to bestow time or attention on a neighbour. This was explained to us as more or less characteristic of all kinds of derangement. The insane are less communicative than the sane. Monomaniacs, in particular, have, as might be expected, a tendency to dwell upon the one subject on which they have gone wrong, until moved by some external cause. This was exemplified at the ball; for whenever a dance was announced, abstraction ceased in all capable of partaking of the amusement, and they rose on the instant to choose partners. Some, alas! were incapable

* Mahomedans believe insanity to be rather an inspiration from

above, than a misfortune; hence, persons afflicted with it are treated by the poorer classes with a respect almost amounting to

reverence.