been duly apprized of all that passed, and made capital sport of it with a few of his familiar acquaintance, when the Vicar came up to him, calling aloud for the officers of justice to be sent after Nepo de Galationa, to have him apprehended and burned for sorcery, said to him only, "Most Reverend Vicar, let us, in God's name proceed coolly in this business of Nepo; but what say you as to Master Manente ?"-" I say, verily," answered the Vicar," that there is no longer any manner of doubt but that this is the very same, and that he never changed this life for another." "That being the case," rejoined the Magnifico, "I am now prepared to pass sentence, to the end that these unfortunate litigants may at length be extricated from this web of entanglements." So saying, he sent for the brother goldsmiths, (who came, although very reluctlantly, seeing how matters were likely to go against them) and insisted on their forthwith embracing the long-lost Manente; after which he gave judgment to the effect following, (viz.) That for the remainder of that day Michel Angelo should remain in possession, for the purpose of packing up all the goods and chattels which he bad brought with him into the house of the physician that Monna Brigida, with only four shifts besides her gown and petticoat, should withdraw to the house of her brother Niccolajo, and there remain till she was brought to bed that after that event had taken place, it should be in the option of Michel Angelo to take charge of the infant, and, in case of his refusal, the physician might adopt him; or, if neither, then that it should be sent to the Innocents that the expenses of her confinement should be entirely defrayed by Michel Angelo that Master Manente should, in the meanwhile, reenter into possession of his own house, and have his son restored to him; and that, at the end of the term of her confinement, Monna Brigida should return to live with him, and he be compelled to receive her back again, for better or worse, as if nothing had happened to disturb their conjugal felicity.

This was applauded by all present as a most righteous judgment; where

upon the two goldsmiths and the physician returned their thanks with all due humility, and forthwith departed, in order to give effect to its provisions. And so complete was the reconciliation when all parties perceived that it was in vain to think of placing matters on a different footing, that they all supped together with Monna Brigida that same evening, in the house of Master Manente, Burchiello bearing them company. His reverence the Vicar was the only person among them who did not appear to be satisfied, as he had set his heart upon a bon-fire of the conjuror; but Lorenzo would not listen to him, and answered to all his solicitations, that it was much better to pursue the affair no farther, and that, as for Nepo, it was quite in vain to think of taking him, since he could, at any time he pleased, render himself invisible, or change his figure into that of a serpent, or any other animal, to the certain discomfiture of those who attempted it— a power which was permitted him (doubtless) for some wise purposes, although such as human reason was unable to fathom; added to which, the danger of provoking so great an adversary was by no means to be overlooked or despised; all which having duly considered, his reverence, (who was in the main a good-natured, easy man, by no means difficult to be persuaded,) entered at last into all his views, and declared himself fully convinced that it was the best and safest course to think no more about it. Indeed, the last of the reasons assigned by Lorenzo more powerfully affected the good Vicar than any of the preceding; nor could he help being apprehensive that he had already incurred the chastisement of some grievous malady by his mere proposal for the arrest of the sorcerer; insomuch that, until his dying day, nobody ever heard him, from that time forward, so much as pronounce the name of Nepo, or give the least hint of such a person's existence.

It is unnecessary to say more with regard to the remaining actors of this eventful drama, than that Lorenzo's judgment was punctually carried into execution, and that, Monna Brigida having, in due time, given birth to a

male offspring, the worthy goldsmith acknowledged it, and brought it up as his own until his death, which happened about ten years after, the boy was then placed in the monastery of Santa Maria Novella, and in process of time was admitted into that holy brotherhood, where he became distinguished for learning, and a celebrated preacher, for his acute reasoning and sugared eloquence known among the people by the appellation of Fra Succhiello. As for Master Manente, he never believed otherwise than in the whole truth of the story fabricated by Nepo for the occasion; and very frequently observed, in allusion to it, that the pear which the father eats is apt to set on edge the teeth of the son-a saying which passed into a proverb, and has remained amongst us to the present day. Nor was he at any time, so long as he lived,

undeceived on this subject, although not only Burchiello, but Lorenzo himself, as well as Monaco, and the grooms very often delighted themselves and their friends, by recounting the whole history of this most admirable of hoaxes. He was, moreover, so thoroughly persuaded of the efficacy of the prayer of Saint Cyprian, in counteracting the effects of witchcraft, that he not only always carried it about his own person, as a preservative, but made his Brigida wear it also.

worthy doctor lived many years afterAnd (to conclude) the wards with his loving mate, in all joy and contentedness, increasing in wealth and in children, and, every year, so long as his life lasted, celebrated the festival of Saint Cyprian, whom he adopted for his own tutelary saint, and ever held him in the highest veneration.

In youth's gay hours,'mid pleasure's bowers,
When all was sunshine, mirth, and flowers,
We met.-I bent th' adoring knee,
And told a tender tale to thee.

'Twas summer's eve,-the heavens above, Earth, ocean, air, were full of love ; Nature around kept jubilee,

When first I breath'd that tale to thee.

The crystal clouds that hung on high
Were blue as thy delicious eye;
The stirless shore, and sleeping sea,
Seem'd emblems of repose and thee.
I spoke of hope,-I spoke of fear,-
Thy answer was a blush and tear;

"A turban girds her brow, white as the sea-foam,
Whence, all untrammelled, her dark thin hair
Streams fitfully upon her storm-beat front;
Her eye at rest, pale fire in its black orb
Innocuous sleeps-but, roused, Jove's thunder-cloud
Enkindles not so fiercely."-Duke of Mantua.
"This was the Sybil."

Ladye, throw back thy raven hair,
Lay thy white brow in the moonlight bare,
I will look on the stars, and look on thee,
And read the page of thy destiny.

Little thanks shall I have for my tale,—
Even in youth, thy cheek will be pale;
By thy side is a red rose tree,--
One rose droops wither'd, so thou wilt be.
Round thy neck is a ruby chain,
One of the rubies is broke in twain;
Throw on the ground each shattered part,
Broken and lost they will be like thy heart.

L.E.L.

--

NAVAL PORTraits.

HO! the Gazette a-hoy! Heave to, and take a weather-beat en old Tar aboard. Zounds! would you make sail and leave me aground? almost lost my passage; aye, and so would you, Mr. Editor, if you'd one foot in the grave, and was compelled to hobble along sideways like a crab, as I do. Well, well; there, now I'm fairly shipp'd let's look about and take a survey of my fellow-passengers-all worthy souls, no doubt. How are you, gemmem, how are you? Hearty.'That's right; long may you float on the tide of public favour, and scud before the breeze of prosperity; and as for our foes, may they be condemned to hunt butterflies clad in a pair of halfworn cobweb small-clothes, fastened together with bachelor's buttons, mounted on the back of an Irish hunter as rough as a hedge-hog, with a hip-bone you may hang your hat on. Aye, aye, I'm no polish'd moon-seer or star-gazer, but a plain blunt Sailor. I'm proud of your company, though, gemmen, indeed I am, and hope you won't despise me 'cause I shake a cloth in the wind they are only a few Sailor's memorandums- poor, poor dumb mouths.' Fine feathers make fine birds, they say; but a wig no more makes a lawyer, than a lawyer could make a wig, unless it be an ear-wig; and remember that an honest Tar is not to be despised--he may carry all his wealth upon his back; and as for his cash, it may be like a wild colt on a common, obliged to be driven up in a corner of his pocket to be caught;-but a man's a man, for a' that.' And arn't I commenced minatour-painter,-a sort of my-crow-cause-mug-roughy? (there's a word for you.) But this is a tumbledown-and-get-up-again world, and the wheel is in constant motion. A man must either have a handle before his name, or tail like a comet after it, to get into notice and expose himself-D. D. M.D. or LL.D. which Jeddy O'Shaug

nessy latinizes Leg-em Lather-em, Doctor. But avast! let's get on shipshape- All hands a-hoy!' tumble up there, and don't lie skulking in your births when I want to display your poortraits. None of your grinning, Jack Rattlin; you look like the head of a Dutchman's walking-stick with a face as long as you can remember, and a mouth, not from ear to ear, but from there to yonder. The flowers of the navy, eh? Ah, so Lord Melville called you; sweet nosegays, to be sure, if we may guess by the grog-blossoms on your nose! They would have made you a gunner, Jack, but they were afraid of trusting that volcano near the magazine. This, gemmen, is the identical son of that Jack Rattlin that Smollett speaks of in his Roderic-Random, and he's his father's child every inch of him. There, don't hold your fin up-I know all about it; and once get you upon Duncan's action, there'll be no clapping a stopper on your tongue. I know what you are going to say now. 'Close alongside! close alongside!' was echoed from the lower and main-deck as you ranged up to the Dutch Hercule, and the Captain answered, Aye, aye, my men, I'll lay you close enough, never fear: don't fire till you hear the quarter-deck.'

6

And so when you got at a tolerable shake-hands distance, you rattled your pepper-boxes at them, and made them sneeze a bit.. Aye, aye, I understand all about it In the language of one of your beautiful Latin poets, Horace, Homer, Cæsar, or Jupiter, I forget which-Pill-'em, Mill-'em, Board-'em, Sword-'em, Pike-'em,Strike'em, and that's a battle. Ha, Donald, my boy! how's aw wi' you, mon?"

Brawly, brawly, thanks to ye for speering; how's aw wi' yoursel'?'There's a fine picture, gemmen: look at Donald's wig; it resembles that one cut in stone in the British Museum, and fits as well-not one hair is out of place; indeed, his head seems to have been made for it. Look at his counte

nance! If some of our great masters want to study from nature here's the face. But it's of no use talking-I must get some of you into the Exhibition, and then take you to look at your, pictures. Hold up your head, Donald, as you've been used to do every ropeyarn Sunday, when you muster'd by divisions with a clean shirt and a shave. There, gemmen, upwards of 80, with the bloom of a child, teeth like a young colt, and as active too. This was the man that won the running-match-seven left against seven right wooden pins, in a narrow lane; the left wooden legs, on the right hand, and the right wooden legs on the left hand. My eyes, what a clattering as they rattled along and struck against one another. Half a dozen Merry Andrews beating Paddy O'Rafferty on the lids of as many saltboxes was nothing to it! Donald lost his leg at Trafalgar with the brave Lord Collingwood; indeed he has sailed with him ever since he was a midshipman.-Where's Barney ?" Here I am sure." And so you are. This, gemmen, is Barney Bryan, the one-eyed carpenter's mate of the Foudroyant. He is a native of Tipperary, though he tries to pass for a countryman of Sir Isaac Coffin's. He lost his eye by the accidental flash of a priming at the battle of the Nile; and has a particular aversion to a Welshman. Old Davy Jenkins, the purser's steward, and he were perpetually wrangling about ancestry, and they frequently threatened to box it out. One day, I remember, (for Barney is an old shipmate of mine,) Tom Miller and myself set out upon a sporting excursion on Sir Sidney's estate at Rio Janeiro. We had struggled through the woods, torn our clothes and flesh with the brambles, and were almost suffocated with the heat, without shooting so much as a rat; when my messmate, who was some paces ahead, singing

poor

the

(said Tom in a whisper,) look there!' Close to the edge of the saw-pit sat old Barney fast asleep, snoring most sonorously, and, as if to beat time, his head kept respectfully bowing to the measure. A huge he-goat at a short distance, whether attracted by Barney's nasal organ (for music hath charms,' &c.) or expecting the repeated nods were a challenge of skill, is uncertain ; but at every bend of the one-eyed carpenter's head, up sprung goat on his hind legs, and shook his tremendous horns in a menacing manner. I wish I could spell a snort, for snoring began to get out of the question now. A plot! a plot !' whisper'd Tom, almost convulsed with laughter. I'll bet five pounds on the old clothesman. I say it is a good plot-a brave plot, in all its ramy-fications." Xxhhrnt," said old Barney. Up went the goat again; but whether the apostrophe was longer than usual, or the nod more terrific to this hero bearded like the pard,' away sprung Billy, and with one butt capsized the old man backwards into the saw-pit. Haugh, haugh, haugh!' roar'd Tom. "Murder! murder!" bellow'd old Barney. "Haugh! haugh! haugh !" went Tom again. I ran to see if he was hurt; but there he lay half buried in dust and shavings, with his blind side uppermost. Halloo, Barney! what's the matter?' says Tom. "Oh, Mr. Miller! (replied the old man,) Í didn't think you would have used me in this manner."— I! (said Tom ;) No, no, I could never have done it so clean if I'd served a seven years' apprenticeship at it. But rouze up, old Barney, at him again; it was Davy Jenkins; here he stands, and says he an't done with you yet." The rascal! the backbiting, assassinating dog! But stop a minute, I'll make him skip like one of his mountain goats, the villain ! I'll teach him to take advantage of me. Stop a minute, (rising, and climbing up) I'll soon show him

"But scarcely

did he pop his head above the level of the ground, when the animal made another run, and happy it was for the old veteran he dipp'd out of the way.

What! bob at a shot!' cried Tom. "Aye, aye, (said Barney, crawling out

on the opposite side,) I might have guess'd as much where you're concerned, Mr. Miller." In the evening, when the workmen came aboard," Lay hold of my axe there below," cried the carpenter's mate down the hatch-way. Baah,' was the reply. "Ah, your baaing-a fool's bolt is soon shot."'Baa-aa-aah,' flew along the main deck; and from that hour poor old Barney has been almost baa'd out of his senses. -Who have we next? Oh, Dick Wills. Here, gemmen, is a pretty perpendicular figure, six feet four in his shoes; his head resembles a purser's lantern stuck on a spare topmast. There's a visage! The barber's afraid to shave him, lest he should cut his fingers through both his cheeks. He walks on his toes, and appears as if he was always looking on a shelf. He was coxswain to Lord Hew Seymour when he commanded the Sans Pareil. Dick has read, or rather swallowed, several authors, without digesting them, and now they lie heavy on his memory. He is a bit of a poet too; but history is his forte. A pun is beneath his notice, and Jeddy often gets a severe dressing for torturing words; however, 'tis taken all in good part, with an acknowledgment that a pun is the very punchinello of the vocabulary, and if wanting pungency, merits punition; and when a punitor becomes punitive, he should not punish with a puny punctilio.-Now comes my respected friend Sam Hatchway. Age has not dimm'd the lustre of that eye; and though the winter of life has spread its snow upon thy head, yet is thy heart as warm as ever. Thus have I seen the frost of ages gathered on the lofty mountain, while in the valley the luxuriant vine has spread its beauteous foliage, bow'd with the purple cluster,rich in dispensing joy around. Sam sailed the first two voyages round the world with the immortal Cook; and he never to this hour mentions his name without a tear, although he sneezes, coughs, blames the weather, and a hundred contrivances to conceal the real cause.

Nearly ninety summers have swept down the tide of time, and he is looking forward to a peaceful mooring in the blessed haven of eternal rest. How calm, how dignified that look by care unruffled! Yes, it is the sweet smile of hope that looks beyond this cold, dull sphere that bounds us. There may we meet again, where hope is unknown, where all is certainty, for all is heaven.

Next comes Johnny Dumont, a native of Canada. He was with Wolfe at Quebec, and saw that gallant hero fall; was present at both Copenhagen affairs, the taking of the Isle of Anholt, and the storming of San Sebastian, at which latter place he lost his right arm in attempting to stop a six-pound shot fired from the citadel. He is a quiet, inoffensive man, and consequently has nothing very striking about him. But I must once crave your indulgence for the rest, as Sam Quketoes has just hobbled up to inform me that my presence is requested at the Jolly Sailor, to decide a dispute between Ben Marlin and Jem Breeching, whether the first invention of our ingenious ancestors was a pig's yoke or a mouse-trap,-a subject well worthy of attention in this age of mechanical speculation. Sam, who has lately been studying craniology, has an idea, that the brain actually takes the particular form of any object on which the fancy or ingenuity broods. one man's coils away like a patent chain cable; and another's resembles a steam engine with a fly wheel; a third takes the shape of a cork screw; a fourth of a tread mill in constant motion; a fifth of a roasting jack; while an author's is constantly changing from a crust of bread to a round of beef— from a sovereign to the king's benchfrom his last work to a critical review. Good bye, gemmen, good bye-you shall see me again before long. Keep a look out, for perhaps I shall come disguised as a gentleman; till thenDon't bother me, Sam, I'm a-comingtill then, Meum and Tuum."

Thus,

AN OLD SAILOR