And when they fail'd she sigh'd and said, She pull'd her Lover's letter out, Scarce thicker than a modern quire o To sup upon her Lover's letter. She ate the treasure quite or nearly, I From "Beauteous Queen!" to "Yours sincerely!" And then Despair came o'er her!-down And veil'd her from the look of day; The sea-birds flapp'd their wings, and she Look'd out upon the tumbling sea; And there was nothing on its face But wide, interminable space. Alas! another morning came, And brought no food! the hapless Dame. > She saw the dim light fade away, I sing not where and how the boat And when she woke from her long sleep, Her Captor snored, prodigious Gog! He spared as yet his captive's life; He chang'd his mind-threw down the knife, Linda, like many a modern Miss, She feared not roasting!-but a ring!- *The latter part of Linda's history, My Lord," she said, “I know a plaister, The which, before my sad disaster, I kept most carefully in store She bruis'd some herbs; to make them hot With head bent down, and lips compress'd, You think I shouldn't laugh at this; The Giant-but I think I've done Private Correspondence. III. PEREGRINE OF CLUBS TO GEORGE OF ENGLAND. May it please your Majesty, I am your loyal subject, and an Editor. I am induced to address you in print by three considerations. First, I am like yourself, a King; although my clain to the title is not quite so legitimate as your Majesty's. Secondly, I am an Author, and it is much the fashion with Authors of the present day to indite letters to the Crown. Thirdly, I am enthusiastically fond of novelty in every shape; and I flatter myself I am going to strike one;-A Letter to the King without an ounce of Politics in its composition. I am not going to offer my congratulations upon "glorious accession,' "recent successes," or "the flourishing state of our manufactures;" neither am I going to present you with memorials "excessive taxation,' relating to starving weavers," or "Ilchester Gaol." I am myself too tired of flattery and abuse to offer such insipie dishes to the palate of a Brother Monarch. No! Sire! I am about to offer you some observations upon that part of your Majesty's dominions which falls more immediately under the notice of the King of Clubs The Royal Foundation of Eton. May it please your Majesty, I have been long a member of it, and I am sure that (exceptis excipiendis) you have not in any part of your sovereignty five hundred better-disposed subjects, than are to be met with in its" Antique Towers." I shall not therefore be repulsed with harshness if I lay before you a few of the grievances, or the fancied grievances, under which we labour. I think it was in the year 1814 that I first saw your Majesty at Frogmore. The Emperor of Russia was there, and the King of Prussia, and Blucher, and Platoff, and sundry other worthies, whom were I to attempt to enumerate, the line would reach out "to the crack of doom." One single individual of that illustrious body could have drawn all London to the monument, if he had promised to exhibit himself in the gallery; and we, favoured alumni, had the privilege of staring by wholesale. I never shall forget the reception of those illustrious Potentates. All voices were loud in hurras, all hats were waving in the air; and there was such a squeezing, and pushing, and shouting, and shaking of hands, and treading on toes, that I have often wondered how I escaped in safety from the perils into which my enthusiasm threw me. Never shall I forget the soul-enlivening moment, when your Majesty, stepping into the midst of our obstreperous group, proclaimed aloud-"A whole Holiday for the Emperor of Russia." -(Cheering.)—“ A whole Holiday for the King of Prussia.". (Renewed Cheering.)—" Now, my Boys," you said, with a goodhumoured laugh, that set Whiggism and awe at defiance, "I must add my mite; "-and there was long, loud, reiterated, unanimous, heartfelt, cheering. In that look of yours there were years of intimacy. The distinction which rank had placed between us seemed at once overturned; you raised us up to your own level,—or rather, you deigned to come down for a moment to ours. One could almost have imagined that you had been yourself at Etonian, that you had shared in our amusements, that you had tasted of our feelings! It was a proud evening for Eton, but a troublesome one for those who made it so. The warmth of an English welcome is enough to overpower any one but an Englishman. Platoff swore he was more pestered by the Etonians, than he had ever been by the French; and the kind old Blucher had his hand so cordially wrung, that he was unable to lift his bottle for a week afterwards. To your Majesty the recollection of that evening must have been one of unmingled gratification. You had enjoyed that truly royal pleasure, which springs from the act of bestowing pleasure upon others; you had been applauded by Etonians, as the patron of Etonians ought to be; you purchased more than three hundred whole hearts at the price of only three whole Holidays. It would be needless, as it would be endless, to enumerate all the instances of Royal favour, which since that time have been extended towards our Foundation; I have not room to give an extended narration of the cricketing at Frogmore, nor to describe your Majesty's visit to our Triennial Montem. One subject however there is, the omission of which would be both irksome to myself and ungrateful to your Majesty. I mean the gracious liberality which gave to the School your lamented Father had so constantly esteemed, the permission to attend at his obsequies, and follow their Patron to his grave. That unsolicited attention, and the delicate manner in which the notice of it was conveyed to us, live still in our hearts. They proved to us that you were aware of the loss we had sustained; they proved to us that by your munificence that loss would be alleviated or repaired. Having thus performed what I conceived to be my duty by expressing the sense we entertain of your Majesty's bounty, |