of Covent Garden, and at the tea-gardens at Bagnigge Wells, and that a large reward should be offered for the discovery of any errors. The prospectus informs us, that the work will be divided into three parts. The first, being entirely poetical, will contain love poems of all kinds, gay, melancholy, comic, bold, languishing, despairing, in short, they will run through the whole gamut of the passion; and a hint is held out that the assistance of a celebrated professor in this line may perhaps be obtained. The second part consists of practical directions, adapted to every diversity of time, place, character, and circumstance, forming a body of most valuable information; and to this is subjoined a table shewing the various degrees of approximation between different characters. The third part is a collection of proposals, or declarations, suited to every person, with references to the practical directions; and it likewise contains a vocabulary of love phrases, on which innumerable changes may be rung. If these sentences are once committed to memory, it is impossible for a lover ever to experience a lack of conversation, unless his courtship should last sixty-five years, and he talk incessantly, during that period, eight hours and three quarters a day, a calculation which the Oxonian made, and which is given at length in the prospectus. At the end of the volume, there will be a short treatise written by the dancing-master, on the most accomplished way of kneeling to ladies. We have great pleasure in giving the following extract from the introduction to the first part : "Poetry is, xar', the language of love. It is the language of a race above man, and of a passion above mortality. In poetry and love the soul finds its most exquisite food, for it is an union of the highest thoughts and the richest language which are given to man. With every other passion the dregs of earth are mixed up, but the purity of love is undefiled by the leaven of the world. There are the seeds of selfishness in every other passion. Ambition would sit in the high places, that he may enjoy the upraised eyes of the multitude; charity too often delights in openly bestowing her alms; devotion builds churches to fame; and even patriotism is too frequently satisfied with "the fickle reek of popular breath;" but love, pure and heavenly-minded love, would purchase happiness for the object of its devotion, though every moment of that bliss should be bought with a drop of his own dearest heart's blood. It is he alone who has triumphed over time, and change, and check, and who can find, in his own immutable devotion, his "exceeding great reward." Amongst his highest claims to our gratitude, it was love who first strung the lyre. Since that period, how many hands have passed over it, and yet how seldom it has answered to their touch! Sappho's fingers trembled over them, and melody burst from the chords. Anacreon touched them, and they revelled in gladness. At the command of Petrarch they poured forth a melancholy and tender fall; while the young hand of Shakspeare once more drew rapture from their strains. In our own time they have been awakened to livelier music, and many a youthful heart has been entranced as it listened to the exquisite poetry of Moore. It is in vain to say that love is better told in plain and intelligible prose; we deny the assertion: the shepherd, were he able, would pour forth his passion in numbers, for cold and bloodless indeed must that heart be, which is not exalted by the highest of all human feelings to something above the monotonous dullness of prosaic expression." This extract, which we suspect is written by the younger of the two Templars, is, we confess, a little too flowery for our taste. We cannot, indeed, perceive how it would be possible to intro. duce the question of settlements, with any propriety, in poetical language, and yet, most undoubtedly, that is a very material point in all such transactions. Jointures, and annuities, and estates for life, and remainders to the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sons of the marriage, and powers of leasing, and trustees, are all very awkward words for rhyming; and indeed we question if they could be reduced into poetry by any means, unless by making use of the stanza of Swift's verses by Molly the Cook. The Templar, however, goes on in a more reasonable style : : "It has been said, though we are far from acceding to the truth of the remark, that women are exceedingly fond of flattery. Now flattery, administered in naked plain prose, can scarcely fail of disgusting the object of it; since every compliment, as Dugald Stewart says, is better received in proportion to the remoteness and delicacy of the allusion. The prescriptive language of adulation is poetry, and by its aid you may endow the object of affection your with all the virtues and attractions which were ever possessed by woman. Nay, you may even forsake the earth, and clothe her in the semblance of a goddess, all which, if told in plain prose, would, we are afraid, excite laughter, or indignation, rather than pleasure. We very well remember a young friend of ours, who, finding the lady of his heart inexorable to every persuasion, had recourse at last to the Muses, and transmitted to the object of his adoration a sonnet written on the pure Italian mo. del, the effect of which was so powerful that she relented, and admitted his addresses." The first part of the volume is divided into several sections or heads, such as the Rejected Lover, the Accepted Lover, the Melancholy Lover, &c.; and at the bottom of each page there are various readings given, in order to adapt each piece to the different persons to whom it may be addressed, as in the following: SONNET. Nay, turn away those eyes of heavenly blue, Destroying me, with sweetest death-Now all recal The feelings my unwounded spirit knew. Tho' smooth and still, is painful to the eye "If this sonnet be addressed to a darkeyed beauty, the first line will run thus, Nay turn away those eyes of raven hue, and the epithet blue in the twelfth line will be changed to dark.” Amongst the melancholy verses there are some which, in our opinion, are extremely pathetic, and which indeed affected us almost to tears. Our next extract is entitled CONSOLATION TO A REJECTED LOVER. The love thou bearest hath not been in vain, Though it hath struck upon thy young heart's chords, זי Which have return'd no music-tho' it be Treasured and hidden from the eyes of all And most from her's who woke it. It hath been Virtue delights in. * it bears evident marks of the pensive This is pretty tolerable, but we think soul of the younger Templar; the fol lowing lines, which may, we believe, be attributed to the clergyman, are much more to our taste, though at the lack that deep and sincere feeling which same time it is very evident that they pervades the two pieces we have just be accounted for when we consider the extracted, a circumstance which may clergyman's age, which is said to be seven and forty. TO A DISCONSOLATE LOVER. Though thy brightest dreams are o'er, 7 Though her hard heart hath bereft thée : This bear comfort to thy breast; Bliss by day, and nightly rest. This shall charm away thy sadness, 121 This shall calm each rising sigh; This can make the beam of gladness Sparkle brightly in thine eye. She who thus thy love hath slighted, She was forc'd to leave thee this And by this, thy prospects blighted Once again may beam with bliss, Comfort dwells in old port wine. Though we admire this little effusion very much, and agree with Mr. Barnet in Dr. Moore's "Edward," that good old port can never injure man, woman, or child; we yet think, that as the young Templar possesses too much, the clergyman exhibits too sentiment. We feel no doubt, houmrespecting the efficacy of the remedy," which the elergyman himself is said to have proved. This little piece was very nearly thrown out by the jury of maidens, but the Oxonian (a Brazen-Nose many inade in oration in favour of it, and succeede 6 in securing it a place. For our own part, we believe there is a still surer remedy than even port wine, and that is absence. We shall close our sentimental extracts with the following sonnet, in which the imitation of Mr. Barry Cornwall is somewhat too close and apparent. We fear the author is a disciple of that renowned metropolitan poet; and, if we mistake not, it can be proved that they were seen conversing together in the shades of Gray's Inn Gardens. We earnestly protest against the licentious use of the double rhymes. SONNET. Even now, amid this shadowy light, perchance, The clouds that touch the moon and pass, is Soft spirits, from the shadows that advance, And even now, my love's fair bosom matching "Jealousy and pique, if well managed, are excellent weapons in the hands of a lover; but beware of being worked on by them yourself. A woman will sometimes play with you as a Scotch angler does with a salmon-she will give you plenty of line, and just when you think you have escaped, she will draw you back again, and she will repeat this till she kills you. Pique her, and soothe by turns,' says a man, who understands what he is writing about. "If you are very young, beware how you are entrapped into a declaration, especially if you are residing in Scotland, and there are witnesses by, for you shall assuredly repent of it, as Mr. Edgeworth did of proposing to his first wife: as a precautionary measure, it would, perhaps, be well to repeat the multiplication-table, or something of equal The calm of Nature, from her book is snatching length, ere you make the proposal." A lesson, whose pure wisdom shall enhance Her after-years. My spirit on the air Is trembling too, as fervently as thine, We shall now proceed to give our readers some idea of the second part, which contains the practical directions, and which will be elaborated by the joint exertions of the whole society, the physician, who is a man of great address, bearing a principal part. We quote the following sentences from the preface or introduction to the second part "Hints as to Talking. "If the lady you are addressing be young, it is absolutely requisite that you should learn to talk nonsense. This is a difficult art, but it may be acquired by find sentiment the most useful after this. but not so with sentiment. may "Never look bashful-self-possession is half the battle. You may appear amazed and confounded, but never ashamed. You may shew reverence, but not fear. Casting your eyes on the ground has frequently a good effect. Be not too bold at first, or it may retard your conquest. Humility is always an acceptable gift at the shrine of beauty. NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 83. We are sorry that we have not space to transcribe more of these very useful directions we cannot, however, forbear giving the following Receipt for looking tender. "Lean back in your chair, throw back your head, place your right hand on your heart, shut your eyes, and shew your teeth." With regard to the third part, which contains forms of proposals, declarations, answers, &c. we shall only say, that from the specimens given, we believe it to be a very complete body of useful precedents. To shew the necessity of a work of this kind, we need only relate to our readers two proposals, which we have been assured were actually made. "Dr. having determined to place his housekeeper at the head of his table, one evening, as they were sitting on each side of the fire-place, proposed to her thus: Dr. Nancy!--N. Doctor! Now this is the absolute sal merum of octavo them have heard of the celebrated Dr. If you, Miss Clutterbuck, It may, however, be objected, that the forms given in this work are not selected from actual practice; but to that we are enabled to give a very complete answer, It was resolved that the Oxonian and the younger Templar should each select a lady of their acquaintance, and prosecute their suits, according to the rules of this work, till their consent should be obtained. Some objection was made to this, on the score of the great impropriety of the measure, as the gentlemen never intended to fulfil the engagement; but the opinion of the clergyman was taken, who declared that he thought the beneficial results to society would be great enough to outweigh any chagrin which the ladies might suffer. The physician also undertook to attend them in case their health should suffer; and the dancing master, who also teaches fencing, has engaged to step forward if an affair of honour should be the consequence. When we heard last of the matter, it was proceeding very prosperously, though there was some fear that the young Templar would be entangled in his own net. pretensions to sensibility and taste, cannot fail to visit this spot with peculiar pleasure. The Pike. Sketch of Blenheim Lake and I ANNOUNCE to you my arrival at Woodstock, near to which is Blenheim, the magnificent palace of the Duke of Marlborough. It stands in an extensive park, reported to be fourteen miles in circumference. On entering this park at the grand gate, one of the most beautiful prospects you can imagine presents itself. The palace appears in front; in the vale below to the right, a grand lake expands its winding waters, crossed by a magnificent bridge. A lofty column on the rising ground, a rich variety of hill and dale of the softest verdure, crowned with clumps of trees, and groves, all conspire to strike the eyes with the most attractive charms. I never saw a place where the embellishments of art have been so well applied to improve the beauties of nature. Two sycamore trees of ample size and luxuriant foliage mark the spot where formerly stood a royal palace. Here Elizabeth was confined by her cruel sister, Mary. And in Woodstock's rosy bowers," in a more remote period of our history, Henry the Second indulged his passion for the fair Rosamund; and here he is said to have contrived a labyrinth to secure his peerless mistress from the jealous eyes of his Queen Eleanor. This retreat was near the spring of pellucid water that still bears the name of Rosamund's Well; and every traveller, who has the least have felt in having many of these Imagine, if you can, the gratification beautiful scenes in full view as our boat glided along the bosom of the lake, and we commanded the objects that embellish both its sides. The lake covers an expanse of 500 acres: it is supplied by two streams, the Evenlode and the Glym, and it produces pike, perch, carp, and tench. The pike caught here are probably not larger than those bred elsewhere, but they are very remarkable for delicacy and firmness. In compliment, therefore, to water so favourable to their excellence, I have begun my observations on the pike, and pike-fishing, with this imperfect sketch of the beauties of Blenheim. The nature of the pike is peculiar, as it is a solitary fish. Pikes never congregate in shoals like most other fish; so that you will rarely find more than two in the same hole. They frequent the deepest waters, lie near the banks, and among bull-rushes, reeds and weeds, or under stumps of trees, and at the mouths of ditches and rills. They spawn in February or March, according to the forwardness of the spring, and are then to be seen lying motionless in ditches, where, in an unsportsmanlike manner, they are taken with wire snares. The best pikes are bred in rivers; they are more firm, whiter, and better-tasted than those bred in ponds, and large sheets of stagnant water. The pike bites most keenly in cloudy and windy weather. He is fond of such baits as the roach, dace, minnow, or piece of an eel. One of his favourite morsels is a gudgeon. You may substitute a small perch, but the back fin should be cut off. The fishermen of the lakes in Cumberland and Westmorland bait their night-lines for pike with frogs and mice. After all, no fish is a more alluring bait than a small trout; this is a secret well worth knowing, particularly when you have no other temptation for him. The pleasantest manner of fishing for pike is trolling. I do not enter into a description of the tackle, or a detail of the practice, because I do not think I could convey very clear ideas of them: you may indeed be assured that instruction and observation taken for one day from a good troller will make you more perfect in the art, than the perusal of all the rules given in angling books, not excepting Nolls's famous work upon the subject. April is reckoned a good month for trolling, soon after the pikes have spawned; but September and October are preferable, for then the weeds are in a state of decay, and the water presents less entanglement to your tackle, and the fish are in the highest condition. Trolling comes in well at this time to continue the diversion of the angler, when most other kinds of fishing are going out of season. You will find pleasant sport in spinning a gudgeon, small roach, or dace for a pike, in the same manner as you spin a minnow for a trout. Your tackle must be strong; and if you manage your bait in a dextrous manner, the pike will dart at it with the eagerness that a cat springs at a mouse. You must strike the instant you see the fish bite, and use no ceremony, but with a steady pull bring him ashore as quickly as you can. As I was not pleased with the tardy process of waiting and counting the minutes, which you must do in trolling after the pike has seized your bait, I tried this method, and found it answer my most sanguine expectations of sport. There are three things, in regard to trolling, that are particularly worth your observation. Imprimis, as in troutfishing, you need never make more than two or three casts in the same place; for if a pike be there, and is disposed to bite, he will instantly do so. Secondly, if you troll from the shore, fish at home, that is, play your bait near the bank for a longer time than any where else, and do not snatch it hastily out of the water, because the pike will often seize it at the surface. Thirdly, you can hardly give the pike too much time to gorge the bait, after he has run with it to his hold. Fishing for pike with Leiger lines, or liggers, as they are called in Norfolk, is an excellent method of catching them. You have a double advantage of time, if, after you have laid your leigers, you actively employ yourself in angling. For your bait no one is so good as a gudgeon; the next in excellence is a dace. I have seen a yellow frog tried, but without success. When you have caught a pike, take care how you handle him. The best method of taking him out of the water, if you have not a landing-net, is to press his eyes with your fingers and thumb, and so lift him on land. If you examine his mouth, you will find that his jaws are armed with six rows of large, long, and sharp teeth; and if your hands should come in contact with them, he will lacerate your flesh in a violent manSome say his teeth are venomous: this. I think a vulgar error; but as I have experienced his bite, I feel all the force of the old adage-ictus piscator sapit, and give you a useful caution, ner. The fishermen have a very diverting method of catching pikes in the lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland. A line and a bait (sometimes it is a frog) are fixed to a float of wood, or to a blown bladder, which being thrown into the water to the windward, are driven across the lake, and in their passage the bait is seized by the pike. I refer you to Colonel Thornton's Sporting Tour for a very pleasant description of this kind of fishing. I conclude this letter with expressing a wish, that you may resemble this renowned brother of the angle in one respect-and that is in his uniform success. According to his account, as the historian of his own exploits, he always meets with the finest fish; and such is his infallible skill, that he always catches them. His exertions are equally fortunate when he pursues other diversions; as a Venator and an Auceps; for no hawks fly so high, no greyhounds run so swiftly, as his own. And I think it probable, that when you have perused all he has said of himself, you will be inclined to add to his fame, and declare, that no archer shoots with so long a bow! Adieu. |