first dressed in under-robes of a violet colour (the mourning for cardinals), with their rich antique lace, scarlet trains, and mantles of ermine, suddenly put off these accoutrements, and arrayed themselves in most splendid vestments, which had the appearance of being made of carved gold. The tedious ceremony of each separately kissing the pope's hand, and making their three little bows, being gone through, and some little chaunting and fidgetting about the altar being got over, two palm branches, of seven or eight feet in length, were brought to the pope, who, after raising over then a cloud of incense, bestowed his benediction upon them: then a great number of smaller palms were brought, and a cardinal, who acted as the pope's aid-decamp on this occasion, presented one of these to every cardinal as he ascended the steps of the throne, who again kissed the pope's hand and the palm, and retired. Then came the archbishops, who kissed both the pope's hand and toe, followed by the inferior orders of clergy, in regular gradations, who only kissed the toe, as they carried off their palms.

The higher dignitaries being at last provided with palms, the deacons, canons, choristers, cardinals, train-bearers, &c. had each to receive branches of olive, to which, as well as to the palms, a small cross was suspended. At last, all were ready to act their parts, and the procession began to move: it began with the lowest in clerical rank, who moved off two by two, rising gradually in dignity, till they came to prelates, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, and terminated by the pope, borne in his chair of state (sedia gestatoria) on men's shoulders, with a crimson canopy over his head. By far the most striking figures in the procession were the bishops and patriarchs of the Armenian church. One of them wore a white crown, and another a crimson crown glittering with jewels. The mitres of the bishops were also set with precious stones; and their splendid dresses, and long wavy beards of silver whiteness, gave them a most venerable and imposing appearance.

The procession issued forth into the Sala Borgia (the hall behind the Sistine chapel), and marched round it, forming nearly a circle; for by the time the pope had gone out, the leaders of the procession had nearly come back again; but they found the gates of the chapel closed

against them, and, on admittance being demanded, a voice was heard from within, in deep recitative, seemingly inquiring into their business, or claims for entrance there. This was answered by the choristers from the procession in the hall; and after a chaunted parley of a few minutes, the gates were again opened, and the pope, cardinals, and priests, returned to their seats. Then the passion was chaunted; and then a most tiresome long service commenced, in which the usual genuflections, and tinkling of little bells, and dressings and undressings, and walking up and coming down the steps of the altar, and bustling about, went on; and which at last terminated in the cardinals all embracing and kissing each other, which is considered the kiss of peace.

The palms are artificial, plaited of straw, or the leaves of dried reeds, so as to resemble the real branches of the palmtree when their leaves are plaited, which are used in this manner for this ceremony in the catholic colonies of tropical climates. These artificial palms, however, are topped with some of the real leaves of the palm-tree, brought from the shores of the gulf of Genoa.*

Palm Sunday in Spain.

The following is a description of the celebration of this day in the cathedral of Seville :

Early in the morning, the melancholy sound of the passion-hell announces the beginning of the solemnities for which the fast of Lent is a preparation. This bell, the largest of several which are made to revolve upon pivots, is moved by means of two long ropes, which by swinging the bell into a circular motion, are twined, gently at first, round the massive arms of a cross, of which the bell forms the foot, and the head its counterpoise. Six men then draw back the ropes, till the enormous machine receives a sufficient impetus to coil them in an opposite direction; and thus alternately, as long as ringing is required. To give this bell a tone appropriate to the sombre character of the season, it has been cast with several large holes disposed in a circle round the topa contrivance which without diminishing the vibration of the metal, prevents the distinct formation of any musical note, and converts the sound into a dismal clangour.

Rome in the Nineteenth Century.

The chapter, consisting of about eighty resident members, in choral robes of black silk with long trains and hoods, preceded by the inferior ministers, by thirty clergymen, in surplices, whose deep bass voices perform the plain or Ambrosian chaunt, and by the band of windinstruments and singers, who execute the more artificial strains of modern or counterpoint music, move in a long procession round the farthest aisles, each holding a branch of the oriental, or date palm, which overtopping the heads of the assembled multitude, nod gracefully, and bend into elegant curves at every step of the bearers. For this purpose a number of palm-trees are kept with their branches tied up together, that, by the want of light, the more tender shoots may preserve a delicate yellow tinge. The ceremony of blessing these branches is solemnly performed by the officiating priest, previously to the procession, after which they are sent by the clergy to their friends, who tie them to the iron bars of the balconies, to be, as they believe, a protection against lightning.

In the long church-service for this day, the organ is silent, the voices being supported by hautboys and bassoons. All the altars are covered with purple or grey curtains. The holy vestments, during this week, are of the first-mentioned colour, except on Friday, when it is changed for black. The four accounts of our saviour's passion, appointed as gospels for this day, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, are dramatized in the following manner: Outside of the gilt-iron railing which encloses the presbytery, are two large pulpits of the same materials, from one of which, at the daily high mass, the subdeacon chaunts the epistle, as the deacon does the gospel from the other. A movable platform with a desk, is placed between the pulpits on the passion-days; and three priests or deacons, in albesthe white vestment, over which the dalmatic is worn by the latter, and the casulla by the former-appear on these elevated posts, at the time when the gospel should be said. These officiating ministers are chosen among the singers in holy orders, one a bass, another a tenor, and the third a counter-tenor. The tenor chaunts the narrative without changing from the keynote, and makes a pause whenever he comes to the words of the interlocutors mentioned by the evangelist. In those passages the words of our saviour are

sung by the bass in a solemn strain. The counter-tenor, in a more florid style, per sonates the inferior characters, such as Peter, the maid, and Pontius Pilate. The cries of the priests and the multitude are represented by the band of musicians within the choir.*

PALM SUNDAY CUSTOM

in Lincolnshire.

The following letter is from a correspondent on the spot where the custom is still preserved.

To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.

Sir,-There is a singular ceremony at Caistor church, Lincolnshire, every Palm Sunday, which you may think worth describing from this account of it.

A deputy from Broughton brings a very large ox-whip, called here a gad-whip. Gad is an old Lincolnshire measure of ten feet; the stock of the gad-whip is, perhaps, of the same length. The whip itself is constructed as follows. A large piece of ash, or any other wood, tapered towards the top, forms the stock; it is wrapt with white leather half way down, and some small pieces of mountain ash are enclosed. The thong is very large, and made of strong white leather. The man comes to the north porch, about the commencement of the first lesson, and cracks his whip in front of the porch door three times; he then, with much ceremony, wraps the thong round the stock of the whip, puts some rods of mountain ash lengthwise upon it, and binds the whole together with whip-cord. He next ties to the top of the whip-stock a purse containing two shillings, (formerly this sum was in twenty-four silver pennies,) then taking the whole upon his shoulder, he marches into the church, where he stands in front of the reading desk till the commencement of the second lesson: he then goes up nearer, waves the purse over the head of the clergyman, kneels down on a cushion, and continues in that position, with the purse suspended over the clergyman's head, till the lesson is ended. After the service is concluded, he carries the whip, &c. to the manor-house of Undon, a hamlet adjoining, where he leaves it. There is a new whip made every year; it is made at Broughton, and left at Undon.

Certain lands in the parish of Broughton are held by the tenure of this annual

* Doblado's Letters from Spain.

custom, which is maintained to the present time. I am, Sir, &c. G. P. J.

On the 19th of March, 1755, three women in the village of Bergemnoletto, near Piedmont, were buried for thirty-seven days in the ruins of a stable, by a heavy fall of snow. They survived their confinement, and the facts relating to it were published by Ignazio Somis, professor in the university of Turin. With the case of these poor creatures, that, related at p. 176, of our Elizabeth Woodcock, who remained so imprisoned eight days, is scarcely to be compared. Her sufferings highly interest the feelings; a narration of theirs would too deeply wound them.

It is related in the Scottish newspapers that about the year 1770, a Selkirkshire farmer, a great original in his way, and remarkable for his fondness of a "big price" for every thing, attended at Langholm fair, and, notwithstanding his parsimonious habits, actually sold his lambs to a perfect stranger upon his simply promising to pay him punctually at the next market. On his return home, the farmer's servants, who regularly messed at the same table, and seldom honoured him with the name of master, inquired "Weel, Sandy, hae ye sell't the lambs?" "Atweel hae I, and I gat saxpence mair a-head for them than ony body in the market." "And a' weel paid siller?" "Na, the siller's no paid yet, but its sure eneuch." "Wha's your merchant, and, and what's your security?" "Troth I never spiered, but he's a decent lookin' man wi tap boots, and a bottlegreen coat." The servants, at this, laughed outright, and tauntingly told him he would never get a farthing. Sandy, however, thought differently, and having accidentally hurt his leg so as to prevent him from travelling, he sent a shepherd to Langholm, with instructions to look for a man with a bottle-green coat, whom he was sure he said, to find standing near a certain sign. The shepherd did as he was bid, and, strange to say, discovered a

person standing at the identical spot, who, on learning his errand, inquired kindly for his master, and paid the money to the uttermost farthing. Sandy, who piqued himself on his skill in physiognomy, heard the news without emotion, and merely said, "I wad at any time trust mair to looks than words, and whan I saw Colly smeiling about hun sae kindly, I ken't weel eneuch he couldna be a scoundrel." This result differs from one which might have been expected. Sandy believed in a "second sight," which, in these times, a knowledge of the arts of life disqualify most persons for indulging on such an occasion.

In an early edition of vol. i. p. 374, the death of sir Isaac Newton is stated to have happened on this day in the year 1727; and it is added, that he was born on the 25th of December 1742, instead of the proper year 1642.

On the same page the death of the celebrated earl Mansfield, is mentioned to have taken place on the same day in the year 1793. He was aged eighty-nine, and his autograph is now added for the gratification of those who desire to be acquainted with the hand-writing of distinguished persons.

Man's feel

NATURALISTS' CALENDAR.

Mean Temperature. . 42. 81.

March 21.

Benedict.

Concerning this saint in our almanacs, see vol, i. p. 380.

A SURPRISING CALCULATION.

For the Every-Day Book. In the summer of 1825, a meeting was held at Tunbridge in Kent, by some gentlemen interested in the formation of a rail road, in that neighbourhood; at which was a present a young gentleman well known for astonishing celerity in resolving difficult calculations by the aid of memory alone. One of the company, a great snuff-taker, and good mathemati

cian, proposed the following, (as he thought,) puzzling question;

"If I take so many (a given quantity) of pinches of snuff every quarter of an hour, how many pinches shall I have taken in fifteen years?"

The young gentleman in little more than a minute gave his answer.

The snuff-taker called for pen, ink, and paper, to examine the answer, when after a considerable time he declared it erroneous; upon hearing which, the calculator asked the snuff-taker if he had allowed for the leap-years? being answered in the negative, the snuff-taker was requested to add them, when the calculator's answer was found to be correct to a single pinch, to the no small astonishment and delight of the assembled party.

A. S.

The preceding anecdote is wholly new, and, after a "pinch of snuff," the editor introduces a topic somewhat corresponding.

Sir,

"TOBACCO."

"EX FUMO dare lucem."

"Nicotiana. (From M. Nicot, who first brought it into Europe.) Tobacco." "1st. The name of a genus of plants in the Linnean system. Class Pentandria; order, Monogynia."

"2nd. The former pharmacopeial name of the officinal tobacco," &c. &c. Hooper's Medical Dictionary,

4th edit. p. 594.

In that elegant work, "Flora Domestica," the botanical summary says, this genus is named from Jean Nicot of Nismes, agent from the king of France to Portugal, who procured the seeds from a Dutchman, and sent them to France. Tobacco, from the island Tobago. The French have many names for it; as, le tabac: Nicotiane from its first introducer; petum [the original Indian appellation ;] herbe du grand prieur; herbe à la Reine; herbe sacrìe; herbe propre à tous maux; herbe de St. Croix; &c. &c. Italian, tabacco; terna bona."

Flora Domestica, 1823. p. 365. Of these names, the Italian one of "terna bona," is very singular, and as arbitrary as need be, for example, what connection can there be between tobacco,

66

"

The use of tobacco, " that stinking weed so much abused to God's dishonour," as Stow expresses himself, having become so common, as to be almost "naturalized on English ground;" perhaps a short article on the subject at this seasonable period, may not be unacceptable to the numerous readers of the Every-Day Book. Let me however be understood in the outset.

I do not mean to write a historical nor yet critical-nor yet a poetical essay on my subject-no! I merely wish to "cull a few leaves" from the "fragrant herb," and leave them for you to burn, or your readers to cut up, or smoke, at their good pleasure. Dropping ali metaphor, the subject is worth attention, and treated with judgment, might be rendered highly interesting. Resigning all pretension however to that quality, I have merely collected a few "passages," which, I hope, will be considered worthy of a place in your interesting miscellany.

"Commencing our commencement," says the old French proverb, my medical dictionary, (Hooper's) has the following under this head :

"Tobacco. See Nicotiana."

Of all the subjects which have employed the pens of writers, perhaps no one has called forth so great a diversity of opinion as this; and we may perhaps go further, and say, that no other (save only, love and war) has attracted so much notice since its introduction. Popes, poets, historians, kings, and physicians, have dwelt upon its use and abuse, and even historians have condescended to mention it. But to proceed.

66

With regard to its first introduction into England, Hume says, chap. xli. Eliz. 1558, 1603," at the close of the narration of Drake's attack on the Spanish provinces in the West Indies. "It is thought that Drake's fleet first introduced the use of tobacco into England."

In an after part of his work "Appendix, James I. 1603-1625," he adds,

"After supplying themselves with provisions more immediately necessary for the support of life, the new planters began the cultivating of tobacco; and James, notwithstanding his antipathy to that drug, which he affirmed to be pernicious

to men's morals as well as health, gave them permission to enter it in England; and he inhibited by proclamation all importation of it from Spain."

At this period originated the story of the wetting poor sir Walter Raleigh, received from the hands (and bucket) of his servant; this, however, is too common to deserve transferring to your pages. The following facts, however, are not so "On the first introgenerally known. duction of tobacco, our ancestors carried its use to an enormous excess, smoking even in the churches, which made pope Urban VIII. in 1624, publish a decree of excommunication against those who used such an unseemly practice; and Innocent XII. A.D. 1690, solemnly excommunicated all those who should take snuff or tobacco, in St. Peter's church at Rome." Flora Domestica, p. 367.

This excess is perhaps only equalled by the case of William Breedon, vicar of Thornton, Bucks, a profound divine, but absolutely the most polite person for nativities in that age;" of whom William Lilly, "student in astrology,' says, "when he had no tobacco, (and I suppose too much drink,) he would cut the bell ropes and smoke them."-History of Lilly's Life and Times. p. 44.*

To the eulogist of tobacco, who, on column 195 of your present volume, defies "all daintie meats," and

"" keeps his kitchen in a box, And roast meat in a pipe,"

take as an antidote the following from Peter Hausted's Raphael Thorius: London, 1551.

Let it be damn'd to Hell, and call'd from thence,

Proserpine's wine, the Furics' frankincense,
The Devil's addle eggs.

Hawkins Brown, esq., parodying Ambrose Philips, writes thus prettily to his pipe :

With my finger gently brac'd ; &c. In our own times the following have appeared.

"La Pipe de Tabac," a French song to music, by Geweaux, contains the following humorous stanzas :"Le soldat baille sous la tente,

Le matelot sur le tillac,
Bientôt ils ont l'âme contente,
Avec la pipe de tabac;

Si

pourtant survient une belle,
A l'instant le cœur fait tic tac,
Et l'Amant oublie auprès d'elle,
Jusqu'à la pipe de tabac.

"Je tiens cette maxime utile,

De ce fameux Monsieur de Crac,
En campagne comme à la ville,
Font tous l'amour et le tabac,
Quand ce grand homme allait en guerre
Il portait dans son petit sac,
Le doux portrait de sa bergère,
Avec la pipe de tabac."

In the accompanying English version, they are thus imitated :—

See, content, the soldier smiling
Round the vet'ran smoking crew
And the tar, the time beguiling,

Sighs and whiffs, and thinks of Sue.
Calm the bosom; naught distresses ;-
Labour's harvest's nearly ripe ;-
'Susan's health ;'-the brim he presses,—
Here alone he quits his pipe.

Faithful still to every duty

Ne'er his faithful heart will roam;
Mines of wealth, and worlds of beauty,
Tempt him not from Susan's home.
From his breast-wherever steering,
Oft a sudden tear to wipe,
Susan's portrait,-sorrow cheering,

First he draws-and then his pipe!

Our immortal Byron, in his poem of "The Island," sings thus the praises of "the Indian weed:"