Among the most agreeable of the correspondents of Sir James, is a young Swiss gentleman, Mr. Davall of Orbe, enthusiastic in his love of botany, and nature, and of their high priest in England. His letters are highly pleasing.

scientific correOne of his works

Lecturing, composing his works, and extending his spondence, the life of Sir James passed smoothly on. was dedicated to the Marchioness of Rockingham, and a Most Honourable letter is received from her, delicately expressive of her alarm at some terrible blunder in the style of address, lest offence be given to noble Duchesses by an infringement of their exclusive honours and rights. Lady Smith has been over-anxious for the preservation and promulgation of these testimonials of the nobility; nor can we help noticing, to the credit of his tact, that Sir James seems to have known the full value of female patronage.

After his marriage, he removed to Hammersmith to be near the nurseries, but spent the greater part of every year in Norwich, going to London to deliver his lectures. He also lectured on botany in other large towns in England, still going on with his own periodical works, and his contributions to those published by different booksellers.

By 1814, Sir James had so far overcome the bad odour of his Tour of 1788, that he received the honour of knighthood.

The miscellaneous correspondence which occupies so much of these volumes, would bear to be sifted and much diminished; yet there are interspersed many agreeable letters from Roscoe, from a warm-hearted Irish friend, named Caldwell, and from other persons eminent in science or in rank. Among the best of the letters of the remaining part of the work, is one from himself to Mrs. Cobbold, vindicating Mrs. Barbauld's poem, entitled "Eighteen Hundred and Eleven," which gave so much offence in certain High-Church and High-Tory quarters, that we believe, a Scottish literary lady was moved to put her pen in shaft against the Barbauld heresies. Mrs. Cobbold was indignant at the praises lavished upon America by the poetess, a subject on which no Tory can keep his Sir James vinditemper quietly; and, at the deprecation of the war. cates the poetess with energy and fervour, and, it is very probable, shared her views. He, however, concludes very kindly ; Now, my dear friend, forget all party, and be (not a false, but) a true Christian philosopher, take this excellent woman to your heart as a congenial spirit; for if you knew her as well as I do, I will do you the justice to believe you would love and admire her as much."

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In 1818 Sir James was induced to offer himself a candidate for the botanical chair of Cambridge, though neither a member of the University, nor of the Church of England, and though holding opinions materially opposed to the Church creed. His peculiar tenets may be given in his own words, and those of his editor, for we are rather at a loss how to designate them. They were those :—

"That a man can be no Christian, as to faith, who does not judge for himself; no, as to practice, who does not allow others to do so without presuming to censure or to hinder them.

"His opinions were formed from the same source whence many, with equal sincerity, derive very different ones. His creed was the New Testament, and he read it as a celebrated divine recommends; that is, as a man would read a letter from a friend, in the which he doth only seek after what was his friend's mind and meaning, not what he can put upon his words.'

"He was a firm believer in the divine mission of Jesus Christ; and, in maintaining the doctrine of the strict unity of God, as one of the truths our great Master was commissioned to teach, he considered his opinion truly apostolical.

"I look up,' he says, in a letter to a friend, 'to one God, and delight in referring all my hopes and wishes to him; I consider the doctrine and example of Christ as the greatest blessing God has given us, and that his character is the most perfect and lovely we ever knew, except that of God himself. This is my religion; I hope it is not unsound.'

"Let it not be supposed that Sir James was indifferent to opinions, and considered all systems equally good; on the contrary, he preserved his own through good report and evil report, and no temptation of interest ever made him swerve one moment from the maintenance and vindication of those he had adopted: but among these, the first was charity; exclusiveness he considered as the very characteristic of Antichrist and pride. There was no sect of Christians, among the good and sincere, with whom he could not worship the Great Spirit to whom all look up, enter into their views, excuse what he might consider as their prejudices, and respect their piety and whether it were in the pope's chapel, or the parish church, he felt the social glow,

To gang together to the kirk,

And altogether pray;

Where each to his great Father bends,
Old men, and babes, and loving friends,

And youths and maidens gay.'

The affection he thus felt for others, he in general had the happiness of finding reciprocal, for love must owe its origin to love.' No one had less of a sectarian spirit; nor did he ever attempt to make converts, except to Christian charity."

After this it is almost unnecessary to say that his attempt to obtain the botanical chair at Cambridge was unsuccessful. This good and amiable man died in March 1828, after the illness of a single day. His character is summed up by Lady Smith, with the natural leanings of affection; and it is impossible it should be otherwise, though nothing is said that is not warranted by the whole tenor of the life of her husband, and by the documents and correspondence placed before us. And her estimate is exceeded by the praises of his other friends. We shall give but one sample, and in her own words. "Of the poor and humble it gave him heartfelt pleasure to enter into their scanty pleasures, their little vanity, or even weakness; but the knowledge of the sacrifices they made to humanity and duty, of their kindnesses to each other, their fortitude in distress, melted his heart, and willingly would he have wiped all tears from their eyes. He truly felt that "God hath made of one blood all the families of the earth;" and his benevolent sympathies extended to the whole human race.

Having so high an opinion of the moral tendency of the early memoirs of Sir James Edward Smith, and being so much pleased with the amiable and tender spirit in which his editor, has fulfilled her task, it may seem ungracious to whisper, at parting, that the work is far too bulky, that it contains much that is of little importance, and a great deal that is of none whatever. Nor is the arrangement what it might be, nor the narrative clearly developed. We should certainly also have liked to have seen a little more of the fire-side of a man, who at college, filled us with so much interest of a familiar and domestic kind. The youth who wrote so delightfully home, and to Kindersley his cousin, and Batty his friend, could not all at once lose this faculty. If the modesty of the writer has kept back letters, because addressed to herself, we are sorry for it. A few more of Sir James' own familiar letters were worth all the complimentary epistles in the volumes, and of these we have scarce one after his return to England in 1787. Still we owe Lady Smith thanks and gratitude for having given us so much that is instructive, and of most winning example; in the history of her husband, and in the character of his parents.

ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF DANDO, THE OSTRACIDE.

The subject of the following verses having become "better known than trusted," among the proprietors of coffee-shops and eating-houses in the metropolis, was fain to make a predatory excursion, a few months before his death, into Kent; and to gratify his taste for ocean delicacies, confined his esurient researches to the principal towns along the coast. Here the fresh sea-breezes gave a keener edge (if possible) to his inordinate appetite,-by the unlawful indulgence of which he frequently committed himself, and was as frequently committed by the civil magistrates,-until at length he was arrested, once for all, in his career of gastronomical glory, by the unrelenting bailiff who makes his caption at the suit of nature, and whose prison is the grave. To this circumstance alone we may ascribe the preservation of the native tribes (of oysters!) from total extinction.

"Ever eating, never cloying,
All-devouring, all-destroying."

Dando was won't to exclaim, with ancient Pistol,-" The world's mine oyster," &c.-and oysters indeed to him were the dearest objects to him in the world; albeit he contrived to obtain for nothing the enormous quantities he consumed of them. But since he has paid the debt of nature, although unable to discharge any other of his debts, de mortuis nil nisi bonum.

OH, death! what havoc in this world you make!

From kings to cobblers,-nay below the last,-
Now from his throne an emperor you shake,
Anon a beggar sinks before the blast;
What though of health incessant care we take,
And bleed, or blister, physic, feed, or fast;
'Tis all the same to you, who cut us short all,
For I suspect that even I am mortal!
Dando's defunct, the chief of sponging caitiffs,—
How will the cook-shop keepers all deplore!
Who saw him oft astonish so the natives-
Scores upon scores,-and never pay his score:

An idler, yet the first of oper-atives,

Who, when his work was done, still long'd for more

To plunge in pepper, vinegar, and mustard,

Then bolt-as would an alderman a custard!

Yet though his thoughts were always on his belly,
Dando, at times, evinced poetic taste,—

Lamb he devour'd, and his delight was Shelley,
Gloated on Crabbe, and sometimes Sprat embraced :
Though little versed in rhymes of L. E. L., he
Could give his I. O. U.-for that I've traced-
And when he'd banqueted on sweetest soles,
He always loved to wash them down with Bowles!
Milton to him was aye an honour'd name,-
But there are Milton oysters,-which explains it;
Chaw-cer he thought well merited his fame;
And Cow-ley had the charm that always gains it;
Boil-cau, though French, put forth a potent claim,
But Doctor Kitchener's (and who arraigns it ?)
Still was the spell that made the rest seem flummery ;
He dress'd a devil-better than Montgomery!

In a snug cook-shop, which hot joints supplied,—

A dish that brought the water o'er his beard,

"Say what is taste ?—I'll try,—though scullions chide"

So in he popp'd, and his intestines cheer'd;

But when he'd pick'd the bone, off ran the glutton,

And gave but leg-bail for the leg of mutton!

Yet seldom this impunity he found,

When thus to break his fast he broke the law,—

Has been, for eating lobsters, in Lob's pound ;‡

Though sometimes he got off, and with a claw! (eclat.)

By magistrates in gaol he hath been bound,
Because a maw-solemn was his mqw,-
Entombing fish, flesh, fowl, in spacious rooms,
Within his paunch's boundless catacombs !

In vain would prudence with his craving cope,—
A satisfied appearance he could sham ill;
Nor would he fast for Perceval,—if Pope,-
Whenever he could break through hunger's trammel:
He ne'er believed that Pleasures dwelt with Hope,
And, sooner than such lays, he'd bolt a camel,-
Old Sherry's dramas,-though beneath the turf he's,-
Not much could move him, but he relish'd Murphy's."

Though not a great philosopher he was,

He'd heard of comets, and a monstrous tale he
Had deem'd our sages' theories and laws,-
Fictitious, though sublime, like songs of Bayley:
Yet he was always making out the cause!

And when his face I saw, I thought 'twas Paley;
But he abhor'd a Lock(e), or I'm mistaken,
Near any library that held his Bacon!

"Tis true, he thought but little of philosophy;
Piscivorous was his craving, and he sought
(I do not mean to offer an apology)
Where he might batten on a feast unbought:
Perhaps he then was studying conchology,
And oyster-eating was a help, he thought;
But this I know, he had not vow'd in cloisters
To lead a life austere, eschewing oysters.

Oh, it would cheer the cockles of his heart,
And set the muscles of his jaws in motion,
To see as many as might fill a cart
Of those delicious denizens of ocean!
When once set down, he knew not to depart,
Nor had he of repletion the least notion,
Devouring all he saw,-'twas really cruel,-
But oysters to his appetite were fuel.

Yes, oysters ever were his fav'rite fare,

Of which for lunch, 'tis doubtful, if a dollar a
Sufficiency could purchase for this spare,
Gaunt epicure, whose stomach so intolera-
Ble would demand a barrel for his share,
And stuff in stern defiance of the cholera!

His thoughts were constantly, and eke his wishes,—
Just like a statesman's,-on the loaves and fishes!

Rejoice, testaceous tremblers! ope your lips,
And show the shining pearls that lie between;
Whose snowy lustre can so far eclipse
The dental masticators of a queen:

No more your foe shall take his coastwise trips,
With maw insatiate,- yet with looks so lean,-
To banquet on six bushels, for a meal,

At Hythe or Dover, -where he ate a Deal!

I've often grieved to think how many fears

Disturb'd your oozy rest beneath the waters,

Which rose, like spring-tides, with your briny tears,
Anticipating Dando's daily slaughters:

But hush your apprehensions, little dears!

The gourmand's gone,-with stomach like an otter's,-So (of his yarn since Atropos the threads

Hath cut) you may sleep easy on your beds!

Query-Murphy's Plays, or Murphies, alias potatocs.

THE PRESENT STATE OF IRELAND.

BEFORE this article reaches our readers, the result of nearly all the Irish elections will have been known, and conjecture as to the effective strength of the various parties will therefore have been superseded by certainty. A short statement, however, of the nature, objects, and means of those parties will not be useless. While it forms a necessary preparation for any future observations on Ireland, it will have its value even for the past. The ground occupied by the contending armies during the elections will be understood, and many perplexities and apparent contradictions will be cleared up, as soon as the position of each is delineated. There are at present in Ireland three great parties-the Conservative-Orange; the Government, or Juste Milieu; and the People. The object of the first, however absurd it may appear, is the recovery of their ancient ascendency. For this they sometimes praise, and for this they always oppose the Government. According as they perceive the Government incline towards themselves, or, staggered by the weight of public opinion, adopt a more rational and honourable policy, their organs flatter or denounce it. When the Yeomanry were armed, when the tithe war commenced, when a county was placed under the Peace Preservation Act, as it is wittily termed, they were soothed into a sort of sullen approval; but when any symptoms of deference to general opinion appear, when any attempt is made to heal ancient party divisions, they stun Heaven with clamour, and pour every sort of abuse upon the devoted heads of the Ministers. It is not, however, to be imagined, that in their most cordial moods of gratitude they would not dash out the brains of the present government. On the contrary, their hatred knows no ebb. Instinct tells them that a Whig government must often bow to the declared sense of the nation, and that the very support they receive from it is in the teeth of all its principles and professions for the last fifty years. While, therefore, they accept favours from it, all their force, either secretly or openly, is directed to its overthrow. Reform never can be forgiven; but the very announcement of a real revision of the Church Establishment has driven them nearly frantic. "War to the knife," is their motto at present,-" Overthrow the government at all hazards, -the Tories must come in, and then farewell reform," expresses the sole object of the Conservative Club at Tims's. This party has been shaken, first, by the slight absurdity (for the conviction is gradually making way) of expecting that Protestant Ascendency can be restored by any government,-that the Catholics can be stripped of property, of education, and the elective franchise, all of which, the very notion of ascendency, implies: and, secondly, by the advancing distress amidst the lower and middling classes of Orangemen, which is driving them into the ranks of repeal, slowly indeed in the country, but in a more decided manner in the towns.

The Government party, besides those who in all countries lick the hand that dispenses for the time being the public money, includes those who are opposed to Repeal; some from conscientious motives, no doubt ; some because they fear the name of agitator, and therefore require, that before they join Repeal, the country should be so completely beyond recovery, that the most timid would acknowledge it was time to attempt a cure; but the majority, because they are already so rich, that no increase of general prosperity could be expected to add anything to their