Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

the body closely round the waist like a vest, but descends over the hips behind in a tail. The seams are down the sides under the arms, and it appears, as if to get into this garb the wearer must push his head and body up into it. Round the cuffs and all the lower parts of the garment, is a white fur trimming, of the most Exquisite fashion. Mittens

loose, and descend below the knee, cover the hands. The breeches are where two rows of elegant trimming this part of the dress is outward. Boots are also sewed on. The rough side o ment; and so well is this figure formfitting the leg complete the male equiped that it balances itself, and can nearly stand alone.

[graphic]

The female is still more grotesque. Her upper garment has the fur side out, and from the Capote, which comes round the face and leaves only a little of it exposed, descend on each side two long hairy appendages, covering two love-locks of her own black hair like queues, only not so stiff. The vest in front of this squab little personage falls into a stomacher point. But the oddest portion of her equipment is the boots, which come up much higher than any fisherman's, and are nearly as much in circumference as her body. The fur is inside, as also in her mittens and her breeches. We despair, however,

of conveying a perfect idea of these
droll performances, which must be seen
to afford a proper notion of Esquimaux
art and ingenuity. We have only to
add, that their smell is not the most del-
icate; but this accidental quality of the
ill-dressed skins may not be inappro-
priate to the general likeness. Our
Prints represent the figures very accu-
rately. No features are given.

boots will not escape the eye of the
The magnificent size of the lady's
slightest judge of portraiture and cos-
tume. In fact, these are the most es-
sential parts of the Esquinaux' dress:
they are their pockets, their tool-boxes,

their provision cupboards: Hudibras' holster was nothing to them. This will be allowed when we state, that one day a lady of the tribe, enamoured of a wash-hand basin, took the liberty of appropriating it secretly to herself; but unluckily for her the theft was discovered, and she was turned over for search-proh pudor! the basin was found concealed in one of her boots!

But our sailors were compensated for all their losses of this sort by the amusement the natives afforded them. Their dog-sledges were cheerfully lent; and some of our blue-jackets became at length perfect fours-in-hand at driving eight of these animals in a team. Otherwise, the time even of the officers, who had other resources, passed uniformly and heavily enough. Their routine, day after day, was-rise at 7, breakfast at 8, muster on deck at 9; walk or visit fox-traps, &c. till noon, dine at 1; sleep, read, or play at chess, back-gammon, cards, &c. till 5, when tea made a new interruption; muster again at 6, do what they could to kill the enemy till supper at 8, drinking grog, smoking and chatting till the final hour of turning in. Such were their recreations; and no wonder the Esquimaux were welcome visitors, though some of the newspapers tell us that a native skull or two, brought to England, display portentously the organ of destructiveness, according to the phrenological school.

In addition to our geographical details, we have to notice that Repulse Bay is pretty correctly laid down by Middleton. On the east side of Southampton Island (according to the old navigators,) the Expedition discovered a large Bay, which being entered on

the commander-in-chief's birth-day,was named the Duke of York's Bay; but exploring it led to no useful result.

Fahrenheit's thermometer should be understood as that on which the degrees of cold were ascertained: the lowest experienced, as we stated, was 35° below zero in the first, and 45° in the second year. In the most northern of the Hudson Bay Company's stations on the continent, the extreme cold in winter is commonly 50° below zero.

Among the botanical specimens brought home, are considerable quantities of the tripe-de-roche; on which Captain Franklin and his brave comrades so long sustained existence.

It is a curiosity in natural history, that of the mixed breed between the English lurcher and the Esquimaux dog, there were one half, three, of the pups without tails, though both parents had them. One of these is the strong and fine animal between decks in the Hecla, and which apparently stood not only the climate, but the galley fire, much better than its companions.

On Monday, Admiralty orders were received at Deptford to dismantle the Fury and Hecla, and reland their stores; from which it might be anticipated that no further attempts of this kind were (for the present at least) intended. The only expectation of the contrary is founded on the non-removal of the heating fixtures.

Before concluding this addendum, we trust we may be permitted publicly to express our warm acknowledgment to the Officers of the Expedition, and also to a valued mercantile friend, by whose assistance we have been enabled to amuse our general friends with the Esquimaux Icon in our present Number.

SONG.

THE ring you gave, the kiss you gave, The curl of raven hair,

Pledges of truth and gifts of love,

Where are they now?-oh where?

The ring is broken,-and by whom?
The kiss has been profaned;

And many, many, bitter tears

That shining curl has stained!

Yes, each and all are wholly changed,-
More changed they could not be ;

But the worst change is that which time,
False one! has wrought on thee.
Nov. 1, 1823.

L. E. L.

THE

PARISIAN ORIGINAL ANECDOTES.

(Lit. Gaz. Nov.)

Paris, October 24, 1823.

HE Mémoires Anecdotiques pour servir à l'Histoire de la Revolution, par M. Lombard de Langres, have been impatiently expected, and are now eagerly perused. Formerly ambassador in Holland, member of the Court of Cassation under the Directory, &c. &c. M. Lombard de Langres lived among the most remarkable persons who took part in public affairs during the revolution, the consulate, and the empire, and he has drawn their portraits with a master's hand. No romance can be more amusing than these Memoirs, and at the same time the anecdotes which they contain have every mark of authenticity and fact. With out entering on a regular analysis of the work, I shall give you some extracts by which you may judge of its spirit and composition.

TOILETTE DE MORT.

"The truth is sometimes so improbable, that it loses its credit. The following fact, for instance, is incredible-— Lisez cependant: One day that the revolutionary tribunal of one section had condemned in less than two hours 28 individuals, the executioner, or, to speak more properly, one of the executioners, after having tied the hands and cut the hair of his victims, counted them over, in order to see that his number was complete. In spite of all his efforts, he could enumerate but 27; nor could he better succeed in his attempts to discover the one that was missing. At length he terminated his trouble and perplexity by turning to the prisoners in the Conciergerie, as yet uncondemned, and exclaiming to those present at this toilette de mort, Messieurs, arrangez vous comme vous voulez; mais ce qu'il y a de sur, c'est qu'il m'en faut encore un, et que je ne pars pas sans cela.Ma foi, (said one of the prisoners looking on,) as well to-day as to-morrow; amenez-moi, si vous voulez.' The executioner, determined to complete his number, took the volunteer at his word, and cut off first his hair and afterwards his head. This wretch was

never questioned nor troubled for the wanton murder of a man, innocent, because he had not been tried."

FENELON.

"Est-il sublime, that Fenelon, who, adding lustre to a name already illustrious, when mounting the carriage that conveyed him to the scaffold, said to his aged servant, who bathed him with his tears, Go, my friend, and console thyself, it is not so difficult to die as I thought.'

MOREVAL.

'Est-il sublime, that Isabeau de Moreval, who, being placed at the bar of the revolutionary tribunal, in the great hall where he had long sat as a member of the parliament, replied to the anthropophage Fouquier, who demanded of him if he recognized the place; Yes, I know the place: it was here that formerly innocence punished crime; it is here that crime now murders innocence.'

[ocr errors]

DALLERAY.

"Est-il sublime encore, that Angrand Dalleray, that old magistrate, who, dragged into the same hall for having sent money to his emigrant children, replied to the emissary of his exceutioners, who, moved by his venerable appearance, suggested to him the denial of the fact, Remerciez ces Messieurs; ce qui me reste de vie ne vaut pas la peine d'être rachété par un mensonge.'

BAILLY.

"Est-il sublime enfin, that Bailly, whose martyrdom was prolonged by their transporting from place to place, before his eyes, the guillotine that was to sever his head from his body; whose hands were untied that he might labour at the erection of the scaffold that was to be covered with his blood; who, stripped of his clothes, and exposed to torrents of rain, and receiving on his face the spittle of the executioner, who cried to him, You are afraid, Bailly, you tremble; mildly replied, Non, mon ami, j'ai froid.'--- Que toutes ces paroles sont belles! quelle fatalité, qu'il faille des grand crimes pour faire éclorre de grandes vertus !'

[ocr errors]

6

JOSEPH II.

"It is well known that Joseph II. disliked parade and ostentation, and indulged his taste for simple and private habits. One day, when riding out in a small calèche, which he drove himself, and attended only by one servant, he was overtaken by heavy rain, and returned towards Vienna. He was yet at some distance, when a person on foot, who was also going in that direction, hearing the noise, turned and made a sign to the driver to stop.. Joseph 11. stopped his horse. Sir,' said the soldier (for the traveller was a sergeant,) "if it be not taking too great a liberty, should be glad of a lift; you have room enough, and I should save my uniform, which I put on new this morning.'Let us save the uniform, my brave fellow, (said Joseph,) place yourself here. Where do you come from just now? Ah! ah! where do I come from? I come from the house of a game-keeper, one of my friends, who has given me a famous breakfast.'What had you, then? Guess.'Nay how can I guess ? beer soup P 'Well done! yes, a soup, mieux que ça. Some choucroute? Mieux que ça. A breast of veal?'-Mieux que ça.'-- Mieux que ça ! then I can guess no longer,' said the facetious sovereign. Why then, a pheasant, my worthy,--a pheasant killed on the preserve of his Majesty,' exclaimed the sergeant, slapping at the same time Joseph

[ocr errors]

II. on the shoulder. Ah! killed on the Emperor's preserve? it must have been all the better for that. Je vous en reponds.' As they approached the city, and the rain continued to fall, Joseph asked his companion where he wished to be set down. The sergeant made his excuses. 6 No, no, (said Joseph,) your street? And at length the sergeant informed his Majesty where he lodged, and begged to know to whom he was indebted for so many civilities. It is your turn now, (said Joseph,)guess.' Monsieur est militaire, sans doute ? Comme dit, Monsieur.' Lieutenant? Ah! mieux que ça.' - Capitaine ?”— Mieux que ça.'-• Colonel, peutêtre ?-Mieux que ca.' Comment diable,' (said the poor sergeant, shrinking into the corner of

the calèche,) seriez-vous Field-Marechal? Mieux que ca.'- Ah ! mon Dieu, c'est l'Empereur - Himself,' said Joseph 11., unbuttoning his plain coat, and showing his decora tions. The poor fellow, in an agony, entreated the Emperor to let him alight. Non pas, non pas, (said Joseph,) après avoir mangé mon faisand, vous seriez trop heureux de vous debarrasser de moi aussi promptement; j'entends bien que vous ne me quittiez qu'à votre porte.'... Et il l'y descendit."

THE LATE POPE.

"Pope Pius VII., when at Paris, visited one day the galerie of the Louvre. The crowd threw themselves at his feet to receive his benediction; but two young men remained erect, and affected to giggle and sneer as the Pontiff approached them. Gentlemen, (said Pius VII.) the blessing of an old man is not to be despised.'

LOUIS XVI.

The following anecdote of Louis XVI. is in Barbier's Dictionary of Publications.

“The third literary undertaking of Louis XVI. was a translation of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." After having completed five volumes, the Dauphin (which he then was) not wishing to be known, enjoined M. le Clerc de Sept-Chênes, his private reader, to get them printed in his own name. M. le Clerc de Sept-Chênes having requested M. le Garde-des-sceaux to appoint a censor to the work, it was sent to the Abbé Aubert, who returned it with marked and distinguished approval. About two years afterwards, M. le Comte de Vergennes, the minister for foreign affairs, inquired for the censor of the work. The Abbé Aubert accordingly waited on the minister,who, presenting him with a copy bound in red morocco and gilt on the edges, said,

I am desired by the translator to give you this copy, and to thank you for the trouble which you took in examining his translation, and for the approbation which you bestowed upon it." On the Sept-Chênes might have dispensed with censor's observing that M. le Clerc de so magnificent a binding, M. de Veris the translator, and who commissioned gennes added, "It is the Dauphin who me to make you this present."

IT

(Lond. Mag.)

THE LUCRECE OF FRANCE.

T was a grand and stately building, that castle of Argentueil, where once resided the gentle lady of Carogne; where she lived long in her beauty and her youth, a faithful wife to her brave lord; and was loved, and looked up to by her menials, and many attendants, both male and female. The knight of Carogne had been for a while absent upon an enterprize beyond sea for the advancement of his honour. Alas! it seemed not, in one plain sense, to have been for the advancement of the brave knight's honour, that he had departed from his castle in the marches of Perche, and from his fair and sorrowful lady. The time of his return drew nigh, and the lady Aline had been apprised thereof. There was a tall narrow tower, which stood out from the front wall of the castle, and rose far above the loftiest roofs of the ancient pile. On the summit of that tower the noble lady was used to stand for hours, watching for her lord's approach, and looking with anxious eyes far, far over the distant country. Ah, what a beauteous vision did she seem, when standing alone there in calm and earnest dignity, motionless for many minutes: when her eyes were wearied with gazing vainly for the dearest object of her earthly love, and when the abstraction of her mind had drawn away her thoughts from all external objects. Almost like a statue of pure marble did she appear, when the wild breeze had for a short space died away, and lifted not her long hair, and ceased to flutter in the folds of her white garments. But if aught like the figure of him whom she sought appeared, and gathered in in its approach a nearer resemblance to bis loved person, how quickly the trance of her stillness was broken, how every feature, and every limb, woke into expression, while eagerness and joy that was half indulged darted like a sun-beam into her eyes, and the crimson blood rushed over her pale cheeks, and glowed in her parted lips! Then most carelessly her soft white arms were flung over the rough para

pet, and her tender bosom pressed against the cold stones with heavings of tumultuous delight. Now, the knight of Carogne looked in vain, as he rode along, for the wknown form of his loving wife. Anously he strained his sight, but she stood not as usual on the high tower.

Aline had received the messenger that told of his approach, and she afterwards left not the ball till her husband arrived. With slow and trembling steps she traversed the upper end thereof, and sometimes she stopped and leaned against the wall in the thoughtfulness of sorrow. There was no colour upon her wan cheek, save the flitting tints which were thrown from the stained glass of the casements toward the west, and her eyes were seldom raised from the veiling of their heavy lids. The shouts of her rejoicing domestics told her that the knight was at hand, and the lady Aline hasted to meet him. The joyous knight sought to clasp her in his embrace, but silently she glided from his arms, and when he raised her tenderly from the ground, the life seemed to have parted from her feeble frame. He bore her out into the open air, and gradually she revived. "Thou art not well, my own dear love," said the knight, and tenderly he pressed her to his bosom. Still the poor lady resisted with quiet meekness the eagerness of her lord's affection. "I do suffer in the sickness of my heart," she replied, "I am not altogether well, my dearest husband.--Forgive my weakness and believe how joyed I am to see thee.-Yes," she repeated mournfully, "overjoyed, although I weep." "I will kiss away those tears, my best beloved," replied the knight, as he beheld the tears trickling over his lady's face; but Aline withdrew herself gently from his arms, and said, "Not yet, my husband, not yet I have a vow upon me.-Ask nothing now.-Thou wert ever kind and tenderly indulgent to thy wife.Bear with her seeming coldness now.

Enter again the hall of your castle, refresh yourself, and let me lean upon your arm as I go in with you." There

« AnteriorContinuar »