Nothing daunted, however, by what they called a factious opposicion, Mr. Coddle and his dozen friends met at the King William, to congratulate each other on their success. What heart-cheering strains of eloquence were vented on this occasion, or what patriotic plans were devised for the advantage of the town, has not as yet been divulged, owing to the modest secresy of the Corporation party, who on this occasion, as well as on all others, were actuated by no vainglorious motives, but by pure earnestness to benefit their fellowtownsmen. On the next day, notice was given by advertisements and placards, that an election of town counsellors was to take place. The day was stated, and the polling places appointed, for which purpose rooms had been hired in all the beer houses. The town authorities issued a notice to such as were adverse to the Charter, not to vote, as thereby they would acknowledge its validity. This advice was acted upon, and the twelve corporators, finding no opposition, elected themselves. Six of their number were appointed to the dignity of Aldermen; and the six Aldermen elected Mr. Coddle Mayor, by acclamation. Having settled every thing so far, very much to their own satisfaction, the Mayor and Aldermen sent a message to the constables and other town authorities, desiring them to deliver up the keys of the Market-house, as his Worship the Mayor intended forthwith to hold the borough court there. It was intimated at the same time, that the town would have no further need of the services of county magistrates, now that they had a Mayor and Aldermen of their own. Astonished as the authorities were at the coolness of the request, they commanded themselves sufficiently to refrain from kicking the messenger down stairs; sending him off, however, with a hint that perhaps they might not be equally gentle-minded if he came again on a similar errand. Baffled in this quarter, the Corporators met to deliberate what was to be done, and how the dignity of the Corporation was to be sustained. As the only newspaper in the town was one which supported the cause of bigotry, intolerance, and exclusiveness, no reporter was admitted to these deliberations. The world was therefore left in the dark as to their proceedings, until, to the astonishment of the honest townsfolk, a new paper made its appearance, under the modest title of The Shuttleton Liberal, or -shire General Advertiser. This paper, it is believed, was edited by one of the Aldermen. However that might be, it is certain that no opportunity was lost in it of extolling the magnanimity and self-devotion of the new authorities. The first number threw a good deal of light on the proceedings of the Corporators. It appeared that Mr. Coddle had written to the Home Secretary, to advise as to what measures were to be pursued. In an account of a meeting of the Town Council, the Mayor was reported to have said, that he had been honoured by a communication from the Home Secretary, who had expressed his surprise that a measure so advantageous to the town as was the Corporation should have met with such an illiberal opposition; that it was evident from the intelligence he had received that the Corporation was supported by all the wealth and talent of the town, and that they had only to persevere for a while, and success must crown their efforts." His Worship further communicated that the Home Secretary, indignant at the ungentlemanly conduct of the constables, had recommended the establishment of a new police, as it was certain that the peace and order of the town could not be effectually preserved by such men as the present peaceofficers. The only difficulty was how the expense was to be met, in case the town should obstinately persist in paying the rates to the old authoritles instead of the new. Mr. Coddle proposed that a subscription should be entered into at once, to set matters a going. At this the Corporators looked rather blank; but Mr. Coddle offering to take upon himself the expense of hiring a room to hold the borough court in, and assuring his friends that, be the expense what it might, they would find means of making the town pay for it hereafter, they readily entered into his plans; and it was resolved that they should have a new police, and that the Mayor should forthwith commence holding the borough court. The large room of the King William was accordingly hired, and Mr. Coddle commenced his sittings. And here, for several weeks, did he and some of his followers sit, day after day, mending their pens, picking their nails, and occasionally impaling the flies which had the temerity to intrude upon their magisterial presence. The old authorities paid no regard to their occasional proclamations; the constables never dreamed of taking a culprit up before the Mayor; the inhabitants might have been supposed ignorant of the existence of a borough court; for they still continued to go to the Market-house for licences and certificates. All this time, however, the Corporators were not idle. They issued advertisements for a number of able bodied men to constitute a new police force. A sufficient number soon presented themselves, mostly strangers in the town, many of whom professed to have come from London, and to be well acquainted with the system of police there. In a few days the new police was organised, to the number of eighty men; inspectors and subinspectors were appointed; and the Shuttletonians had the satisfaction of seeing trains of men dressed in blue coats with white facings, playing at follow-my-leader along the streets and alleys of the town. The Mayor and Council had now full occupation. The new police dragged all offenders before the borough court. Countless were the instances of country lads reprimanded by his Worship the Mayor, for standing gazing about them in the street, to the obstruction of the police. Countless were the cases of barrow-women brought up for insulting the new police, by laughing as they pass. Shopkeepers no longer had the annoyance of little ragged children gaping at their windows. If any half starved child stood looking with longing eye in at the window of a pastry cook's shop, a sharp rap of a police-man's cane was ever sure to give him a lesson of self-denial, which could not but be very advantageous to him in the course of his life. No longer were boys to be seen playing at marbles on the pavement; or heard " whistling as they went, for want of thought." A change seemed to have come over the town; the most extraordinary solemnity and decorum prevailed. Some foolish people complained that the sounds of mirth were no longer heard in the streets, and that the new police had banished all signs of cheerfulness from the town. But these were ignorant bigots, who had no idea of the blessings of peace and order. It was nevertheless observed, after a few weeks, that whenever a thief was apprehended, it was by the instrumentality of the old specials. It was moreover whispered that robberies had of late become more frequent; that gentlemen had their pockets picked; and that ladies' reticules were spirited away in the most mysterious manner. The mystery was in a measure cleared up in a few days. One of the specials turning a corner suddenly, saw sub-inspector Sharples's hand in a gentleman's coat pocket. He instantly gave the alarm, and seized the sub-inspector by the collar, who struggled, and called his men to his assistance. They came running to the number of a dozen, and laying hold of the special constable, took him before the Mayor, who fined him forty shillings for an assault on the police. This transaction opened the eyes of the town to the character of their new protectors. A few days more raised their indignation still higher; for an emissary of the London police having come down in search of a notorious offender, found him in the person of one of the Corporation police: and on his apprehension told the magistrates that were there any truth in the proverb-" set a thief to catch a thief," the town of Shuttleton must be the best protected against robbery of any in the kingdom, since he himself recognised one half of the new police as worthies who had run away from the punishment which awaited them in London. The Mayor and Aldermen were rather taken aback on hearing this; but consoled themselves by declaring that it must be an infamous slander, invented by the county magistrates; and the Mayor, in especial, said at the next meeting, that "it was very well for some people to try to malign superior merit, and to pay false witnesses to come down from London to circulate tales to the disparagement of them, as they couldn't injure by the sacred weapons of truth. He held in his hand a letter which he had received from a private correspondent in London, and he had every reason to believe that Her Majesty meant to confer the honour of knighthood on him (Mr. W. Coddle): yes! he had reason to believe that the Home Secretary was at that moment making out his patent; but that he (Mr. Coddle) was not one to be puffed up beyond his sphere by any assimilation of honours, like the peacock in the fable, with the jackdaw's feathers; but his townsmen should find that Sir Watson Coddle would be no less faithful to the interests of the community than plain Mr. Coddle had hitherto been; and in spite of the rancorous malignity of the corrupt and interested county magistracy, the people would soon have reason to acknowledge the efficiency of the new police, and the blessings of peace and order." (To be continued.) CHORAL SONG OF THE TROJAN MAIDENS. SUNG BY THE CHORAGUS OR LEADER. EURIP. HEC. Soft ocean breeze, soft ocean breeze, Shall rugged Doris be my home, Or where, upon their natal day, Who bounds the Lycian glades among, Or, captive to proud Athens borne, There paint Minerva's warlike deeds, Or those proud earth-born monsters, they I ne'er shall see them more ! And what though I have 'scaped the sword, My home a Grecian shore. Manchester: Printed by CAVE and SEVER, Pool Fold. Sold by C. AMBERY, 91, Market Street; J. & J. HAYWARD, Market Place; and other Booksellers. THE Convent of St. Cuthbert's has long since fallen to ruin. At the time of which we write, its moss-grown and ivied walls, its grey turrets tottering from their foundations, and its massive Gothic porticos, seemed to betoken that it even then possessed no small claims to antiquity; but it had not, like most of its contemporaries, grown wealthy in proportion to its age. Far from adopting the means usually resorted to by the Romish priests, of drawing money out of their poor deluded countrymen by the sale of indulgences, and the accumulation of rich legacies (obtained nominally as an offering to the Virgin, but really to gratify their own covetous and sensual desires),—the fathers of St. Cuthbert's were loved and respected through the whole neighbourhood for their piety and benevolence. From the rich they accepted in general a small gratuity for their spiritual services; from their poorer brethren, never. On the contrary, they were accustomed to employ what little surplus they might have from their own limited means, in acts of charity and benevolence. Eustace and his companion had knocked several times at the gates of the Convent, before it was opened by one of the brotherhood we have described. He courteously bade them enter, and asked if they desired to see the sub-prior, adding that "the principal had been absent some days on business in the south." "Tell the sub-prior," said Louis, " that Father Angelo would speak with him." The Capuchin soon returned, and begged the strangers to follow him. After traversing several gloomy galleries, they were at length ushered into an apartment very rudely furnished, hung with old paintings, for the most part illustrative of the sufferings of their patron saint. These paintings were executed in wood, and under the influence of the worm or moth, were evidently |