Читать книгу: «The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 372, May 30, 1829», страница 5

ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES

The discouragement of colonization is certainly not the feeling of the great majority of the people of England, and it is equally certain that it is not the policy of this empire. Whatever may be the fate of the several British colonies at some future and distant period, it is something at least to have spread our laws and language, and moral character, over the most distant parts of the globe. The colonies that speak the language of Old England—that preserve her manners and her habits—will always be her best customers; and their surplus capital will always centre in the mother country. It was not the opinion of our ancestors, that colonies were an incumbrance; they—good, stupid souls—imagined that colonies enlarged the sphere of commerce–that commerce required ships—that ships created seamen for manning the royal navy, and that the whole contributed to individual wealth, to the national revenue, and the national strength; and such we believe still to be the opinion of men of sound practical knowledge, whose minds are unwarped by abstract systems and preconceived theories, to which every thing must be made to bend. Such, too, was the feeling of that extraordinary man, who, with the solitary exception of England, exacted homage from every crowned head of Europe. This man, in the plenitude of his power, felt that something was still wanting to enable him to grapple with one little island, invulnerable by its maritime strength, the sinews of which he knew to be derived from its colonies: he felt that, deprived as he was of "ships, colonies, and commerce," England was able to stand alone among nations, and to bid defiance to his overwhelming power. That cunning fox, too, by whose councils he was occasionally guided, knew too well the degree of strength that England derived from her colonies, which he described to be her very vitals, and which could only be reached by a powerful navy. He designated them as the sheet anchor of Great Britain—the prop that supported her maritime superiority—the strongholds of her power. "Deprive her of her colonies," said Talleyrand. "and you break down her last wall; you fill up her last ditch."—Fas est et ab hoste doceri.—Quarterly Review.

INVITATIONS

As a certificate of your intention to be punctual, you may send your friends, a similar billet to the following:—

My dear Sir,

The honour of your company is requested to dine with – on Fryday, 1828.

The favour of a positive answer is requested, or the proffered plate will be appropriated as it was when—

Sir Ill-bred Ignorance returned the following answer:—"I shall be quite happy to come if I possibly can." Such words the committee voted were equivalent to these—I'll come, if in the mean time I am not invited to a party that I like better.—Dr. Kitchiner.

GENEVA

Has very little, as a city, to recommend it. It is characterized by much active industry within doors, the savans and mechaniciens being pent up in their closets and ateliers, and very little gaiety pervades the promenades. Some parts of the town are sufficiently picturesque; the overhanging roofs, for which it is remarkable, are, however, too lofty to screen the pedestrian from the rain, especially if accompanied by a high wind, and form no shade from the sun. The pavement of the streets is bad, and their irregularity is a considerable drawback from the internal appearance. The pavement of the inclined plane in the Hotel de Ville, by which we gain the arduous ascent that conducts to the Passport office, is a curiosity of its kind, and perhaps unique. The city is tolerably well fenced in with walls within walls, draw and suspension bridges, and gates; while stakes and chains secure from surprise on the part of the lake. The small canton of Geneva, though in the vicinity of the Great Alpine chain and the mountains of the Jura, includes no mountains. The name of the city and canton has been traced by the etymologists to a Celtic origin; Gen, a sally-port or exit, and av, a river, probably because the Rhone here leaves the Leman lake. The eagle on the escutcheon of the city arms indicates its having been an imperial city; and it is believed the key was an adjunct of Pope Martin V., in the year 1418. The motto on the scroll, "Ex tenebris lux," appears to have existed anterior to the light of the Reformation. The number of inhabitants may now be estimated at about 22,000; but it appears, by a census in 1789, to have been 26,148. In this moral city, it is computed that every twelfth birth is illegitimate. The number of people engaged in clock and watch-making and jewellery, may be safely rated at 3,000. In years favourable to these staple manufactures 75,000 ounces of gold are employed, which is almost equally divided between watches and jewellery. The daily supply of silver is about 134 ounces. Pearls form an article of considerable value in the jewellery, and have been rated at no less a sum that 1,200 francs daily. 70,000 watches are annually made, only one-twelfth of which are in silver. More than fifty distinct branches are comprised in the various departments, and each workman, on the average, earns about three shillings a-day.—Mr. John Murray's Tour.

HANDEL

Some folks eat two or three times as much as others—for instance, our incomparable and inspired composer, Handel, required uncommonly large and frequent supplies of food. Among other stories told of this great musician, it is said that whenever he dined alone at a tavern, he always ordered "dinner for three;" and on receiving an answer to his question—"Is de tinner retty?"—"As soon as the company come."—He said, con strepito, "Den pring up te Tinner prestissimo, I am de gombany."

BAD WRITING

From one of Dr. Parr's Letters.

His letters put me in mind of tumult and anarchy; there is sedition in every sentence; syllable has no longer any confidence in syllable, but dissolves its connexion as preferring an alliance with the succeeding word. A page of his epistle looks like the floor of a garden-house, covered with old, crooked nails, which have just been released from a century's durance in a brick wall. I cannot cast my eyes on his character without being religious. This is the only good effect I have derived from his writings; he brings into my mind the resurrection, and paints the tumultuous resuscitation of awakened men with a pencil of masterly confusion. I am fully convinced of one thing, either that he or his pen is intoxicated when he writes to me, for his letters seem to have borrowed the reel of wine, and stagger from one corner of the sheet to the other. They remind me of Lord Chatham's administration, lying together heads and points in one truckle-bed.

WINE AND WATER

The same quantity of wine diluted intoxicates sooner than the same quantity drank in the same time without dilution; the wine being applied to a larger surface of the stomach, acts with proportionably greater quickness—though wine diluted sooner intoxicates, its effects are sooner over.—Dr. Kitchiner.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Of the total population of New South Wales, which, in round numbers, may be taken at 40,000, the Free Emigrants

OMEN

As Cooke, the solicitor-general, was beginning to open the pleadings at the trial of Charles I, the king gently tapped him on the shoulder with his cane, crying "Hold, hold!" At the same moment the silver head of the cane fell off, and rolled on the floor.

COTTAGE GARDENS

The comforts and benefits to be derived from a well cultivated garden, by a poor man's family, are almost beyond calculation. What a resource for hours after work, or when trade is dull, and regular work scarce! What a contrast and counteraction is the healthy, manly, employment which a cottage garden affords, to the close, impure, unwholesome air, the beastliness and obscenity, the waste of time, the destruction of morals, the loss of character, money, and health, which are the inmates of too many common ale-houses!—Gardener's Mag.

PAINTING

Painting, were the use of it universal, would be a powerful means of instruction to children and the lower orders; and were all the fine surfaces, which are now plain, and absolutely wasted, enriched with the labours of the art, if they once began to appear, they would accumulate rapidly; and were the ornamented edifices open to all, as freely as they ought to be, a wide field of new and agreeable study would offer itself. A person, who thoroughly understood the well-chosen subjects, and was qualified to explain them to a stranger, could not be devoid of knowledge, nor could his mind want food for constant contemplation. The sense of beauty has hitherto been little cultivated in Great Britain; but it certainly exists, and shows itself principally in laying out gardens and pleasure-grounds with unrivalled skill.—Edin. Review.