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sherch. In this way the bird utters five, six, or seven times, very quickly, a hollow noise from within its body, nearly as if one pronounced tou, tou, tou, tou, tou, tou, with the mouth shut, resting upon the last tou a very long time, and terminating by sinking gradually with the same note.

When tamed, the Trumpeter distinguishes its master and benefactor with marks of affection. Having,' (says Vosmaër) "reared one myself, I had an opportunity of experiencing this. When I opened its cage in the morning, the kind animal hopped round me, expanding its wings, and trumpeting, as if to wish me good morning. He showed equal attention when I went out and returned. No sooner did he perceive me at a distance, than he ran to meet me; and even when I happened to be in a boat, and set my foot on shore, he welcomed me with the same compliments, which he reserved for me alone, and never bestowed upon others."

BALL-PLAY OF THE INDIANS. WE set out for the scene of this famous Indian game; and, after wandering about for some time, we found the spot in the bosom of the forest, at the distance of a mile or two from the road. It consisted of an open space about 200 yards in length by 20 yards wide, from which the trees had been cleared away, though the grass was left untouched, nor was the surface even levelled. At each end of this area two green boughs were thrust into the ground, six feet apart from each other, as a sort of wicket. The object of the game, it afterwards appeared, was to drive the ball between these boughs; and whichever party succeeded in accomplishing this, counted one.

By one o'clock the surrounding space was thickly speckled over with Creek women, accompanied by numerous squads of copper-coloured little Creekies; but still the real parties in the contest were nowhere to be seen.

The Trumpeter is easily tamed, and always becomes attached to its benefactor. When bred up in the house, it loads its master with caresses, and follows his motions; and if it conceives a dislike to persons on account of their forbidding figure, or of some injury received, it will pursue them sometimes to a considerable distance, biting their legs, and showing every mark of displeasure. It obeys the voice of its master, and even answers the call of others to whom it bears no ill-will. It is fond of caresses, and offers its head and neck to be stroked; and if once accus-ing one eye black, the other yellow. tomed to these familiarities, it becomes troublesome, and will not be satisfied without continual fondling. It makes its appearance as often as its master sits down to table, and begins with driving out the dogs and cats from the room; for it is so obstinate and bold, that it never yields, but oftentimes, after a tough battle, will put a middle-sized dog to flight. It avoids the bites of its antagonist by rising in the air; and retaliates with violent blows of its bill and claws, aimed chiefly at the eyes. After it gains the superiority, it pursues the victory with the utmost rancour, and if not taken off, will destroy its antagonist. By its intercourse with man, its instincts become moulded like those of a dog; and we are assured it can be trained to attend a flock of sheep. It even shows a degree of jealousy of its human rivals; for when at table, it bites fiercely the naked legs of the negroes and other domestics who approach its master.

From time to time, indeed, we had sufficient indications of their being somewhere in the neighbourhood, from the loud shrieks or yells raised by a great number of voices in chorus, which issued from the forest, but not a soul was yet visible. We walked in the direction of these cries, and came up to forty or fifty naked savages lying flat on the grass; further on, we came to various parties at their toilet. Some of these dandies of the woods were employed in paintSeveral youths,

Almost all these birds have also a habit of following people through the streets, and out of town, even those whom they have never seen before. It is difficult to get rid of them. If a person enters a house, they will wait his return, and again join him, though after an interval of three hours. "I have sometimes," (says M. de la Borde) "betaken myself to my heels; but they ran faster, and always got before me; and when I stopped, they stopped also. I know one that invariably follows all the strangers who enter its master's house, accompanies them into the garden, takes as many turns there as they do, and attends them back again."

In a state of nature the Trumpeter inhabits the barren mountains and upland forests of South America, never visiting the cleared grounds nor the settlements. It associates in numerous flocks. It walks and runs, rather than flies, since it never rises more than a few feet from the ground, and then only to reach some short distance, or to gain some low branch. It feeds on wild fruits; and when surprised in its haunts, makes its escape by the swiftness of its feet, at the same time uttering a shrill cry, not unlike that of a turkey.-BINGLEY'S Animal Biography.

thrusting long black feathers into their turbans, or cloths which they had wound round their heads. Others were fitting their naked bodies with tails, to resemble tigers and lions, having already daubed and streaked themselves all over from head to foot with a variety of colours, intended to set off the coppery tinge of their own red skins-anxious that art might cooperate as far as possible with nature, in making them look as much like wild beasts as possible.

At last, a far louder cry than we had yet heard burst from the woods in the opposite direction. Upon looking up, we saw the Indians of the other party advancing to the ball play-ground in a most tumultuous manner, shrieking, yelling, hallooing, brandishing their sticks, performing somersets, and exhibiting all conceivable antics. At this stage of the game, I was forcibly reminded of the pictures in Cook's Voyages, where multitudes of the South Sea Islanders are represented as rushing forward to attack the boats.

There were fifty of the inhabitants of one village pitted against fifty of another; and the players, being selected from the strongest, nimblest, and most spirited of the whole tribe, the party offered some of the finest specimens of the human form I ever beheld.

The first party, on rushing out of the woods in the manner I have described, danced in the same noisy and tumultuous fashion, round the two green boughs at their end of the ground. After this first explosion, they advanced more leisurely to the middle of the cleared space, where they squatted down in a thick cluster till their adversaries made their appearance. The same ceremonies were observed by the second party, after which they settled down likewise on the grass in a body. The two groups remained eyeing one another for a long time, occasionally uttering yells of defiance.

At a signal from one of the chiefs, the two parties suddenly sprung to their feet, and stood brandishing their sticks over their heads. Every player held one of these implements in each hand. They were formed of light, tough wood, I think willow, about two feet long, and as thick as my thumb. At the end farthest from the hand, the sticks were split and formed into

an oval, three inches long by two wide, across which | leaping to escape a trip, sometimes doubling like a opening, or loop, were stretched two thongs made of hare, and sometimes tumbling at full length, or breakhide. By means of these bats, the ball was struck to ing his shins on a fallen tree, but seldom losing hold a great distance whenever any of the players succeeded of his treasure without a severe struggle. It really in hitting it fairly. This, however, was not very often seemed as if the possessor of the ball upon these octhe case, for reasons which will be stated immediately. casions had a dozen pair of eyes, and was gifted for Generally speaking, the ball was grasped or held be- the time with double speed; for, in general, he had tween the ends of the two sticks, and carried along not only to evade the attacks of those who were close over the head by the fortunate player who had got to him, but to avoid being cut off, as it is called in hold of it. The ball was pretty much like that used seamen's language, by the others farther ahead. These in Tennis-courts, only not so hard, being formed out parts of the game were exciting in the highest degree, of raw hide stuffed with deer's hair, and it almost made the spectators breathless to look at them.

After the parties had stood for some minutes in silence, in two rows facing one another, they stepped forward till they came within the distance of a few feet. Upon some word of command being given by one of the chiefs, every one laid down his sticks before him on the ground. A deputation of the chiefs highest in rank now proceeded to examine and count the parties, in order to make sure of their being an equal number on both sides. All these ceremonies, and various others which I forget, being ended, an old man stood forward and made a speech, or talk, as it is called, which, being interpreted to us, appeared to be formed of injunctions to the combatants to observe fair play, and to do honour to their country upon this important occasion. As soon as he ceased, the Indians scattered themselves over the ground, according to some rules not unlike those of cricket, by which the players might intercept the ball, and send it back again in the right direction. I observed that each of the goals, or wickets, formed by the two boughs at the ends, was guarded by a couple of the most expert players, whose duty it was to prevent the ball passing through the opening-the especial object of the opposite party.

When these long ceremonials and preparations were over, one of the chiefs, having advanced to the centre of the area, cast the ball high in the air. As it fell, between twenty and thirty of the players rushed forward, and, leaping several feet off the ground, try to strike it. The multiplicity of blows, acting in different directions, had the effect of bringing the ball to the ground, where a fine scramble took place, and a glorious clatter of sticks mingled with the cries of the savages. At length an Indian, more expert than the others, contrived to nip the ball between the ends of his two sticks, and having managed to fork it out, ran off with it like a deer, with his arms raised over his head, pursued by the whole party engaged in the first struggle. The fortunate youth was, of course, intercepted in his progress twenty different times by his antagonists, who shot like hawks across his flight from all parts of the field, to knock the prize out of his grasp, or to trip him up-in short, by any means to prevent his throwing it through the opening between the boughs at the end of the playground. Whenever this grand purpose of the game was accomplished, the successful party announced their right to count one by a fierce yell of triumph, which seemed to pierce the very depths of the wilderness. It was sometimes highly amusing to see the way in which the Indian who had got hold of the ball contrived to elude his pursuers. It is not to be supposed he was always allowed to proceed straight to the goal, or wicket, or even to get near it; but, on the contrary, he was obliged, in most cases, to make a circuit of many hundred yards amongst the trees, with thirty or forty swift-footed fellows stretching after or athwart him, with their fantastic tigers' tails streaming behind them; and he, in like manner, at full speed, holding his sticks as high over his head as possible, sometimes ducking to avoid a blow, or

Sometimes the ball, when thrown up in the first instance by the chief, was reached and struck by one of the party before it fell to the ground. On these occasions, it was driven far amongst the pine-trees, quite out of sight to our eyes, but not to those of the Indians, who darted towards the spot, and drove it back again. back again. In general, however, they contrived to catch the ball before it fell, and either to drive it back, or to grasp it and run along, as I have described, towards the end of the ground. Sometimes they were too eager to make much noise; but whenever a successful blow was made, the people on the winning side uttered a short yell, so harsh and wild, that it made my blood run cold every time I heard it, from being associated with tortures, human sacrifices, scalpings, and all the horrors of Indian warfare.

The way of reckoning was most primitive. Two of the oldest and most trustworthy of the chiefs were seated on one side, each with ten small sticks in his hand, one of which was thrust into the ground every time the ball happened to be driven through the wicket. Twenty was game; but I observed these learned sages never counted higher than ten, so that when it became necessary to mark eleven, the whole ten sticks were pulled out, and one of them replaced.

Sometimes the ball fell amongst the groups of lookers-on, the women and children of the different Indian villages. It did not signify a straw, however, who was in their way; all respect of persons, age, and sex was disregarded, in the furious rush of the players, whose whole faculties seemed fixed on the game alone.

A person had previously taught me the art of avoiding the mischief of these whirlwind rushes of the Indians; and it was fortunate for me that he did so. I was standing on one side of the ground, admiring a grand chase, which was going on at some considerable distance, when one of the players, who was watching his opportunity, intercepted the fugitive, and struck the ball out of the other's grasp, though he was bounding along with it at a prodigious rate. The ball pitched within a yard or two of the spot were I was standing. In the next instant a dozen or twenty Indians whizzed past me, as if they had been shot out of cannons. I sprung to the nearest tree, as I had been instructed, and putting my hands and legs round, embraced it with all my might. A poor boy, however, close to me, had not time to imitate my example, and being overwhelmed by the multitude, was rolled over and over half a dozen times, in spite of his screams, which were lost in the clatter of sticks, and the yells and shouts of the combatants, who by this time had become animated by the exercise, and were letting out the secret of their savage nature very fast.

It frequently occurred to me, when looking at this animated game, that it might be introduced with great effect at the public schools in England, and I hope my description may suffice for the purpose of explaining the details. There is no reason, indeed, why the young men of Eton or Harrow should paint one

eye green and the other yellow, or daub their legs or
arms with lamp black. Neither is there any thing
essential in having a tiger's tail behind, or that their
dress should be reduced to the small compass con-
sidered fashionable by these worthy Indians. Nor,
I think, need they consider it right to scarify their
limbs with a comb made of fishes' teeth, or to dance
all the preceding night round a blazing wood fire in
the open air; still less to get drunk on whisky after
the game is over-indispensable conditions amongst
the Creek Indians in the forests of Alabama.
[Abridged from CAPTAIN HALL.]

RUINS OF THE SAVOY PALACE.

THE annexed sketch is that of a Gothic window of the ancient palace of the Savoy, in the Strand, as it appeared at the time it was pulled down, about the year 1816, to form an opening for the new street, now called Wellington Street, leading to Waterloo Bridge. The sketch is from the pencil of Mr. T. W. Kelly, author of "Myrtle Leaves," and other poems, and was taken a short time before the demolition of the structure. The drawing represents the north face, -the most remarkable part of the building as it is that in which John, King of France, is said to have been confined, when a prisoner in this country.

was the remains of some old tenements existing before the erection of the palace.

This beautiful fragment belongs to the Decorated English Style of Architecture; which is distinguished by large and wide windows, divided by mullions, and of which, among other varieties of Old English Architecture, we gave a description and specimen in our first number.

WHAT IS TIME?

BY THE REV. JOSHUA MARSDEN.

I ask'd an aged man, a man of cares,
Wrinkled, and curved, and white with hoary hairs;
"Time is the warp of life," he said, "Oh tell
The young, the fair, the gay, to weave it well!"
I asked the ancient, venerable dead,

Sages who wrote, and warriors who bled;
From the cold grave a hollow murmur flow'd,
"Time sow'd the seed, we reap in this abode!"
I ask'd a dying sinner, ere the tide

Of life had left his veins.-" Time!" he replied;
"I've lost it! Ah, the treasure!"-and he died.
I asked the golden sun and silver spheres,
Those bright chronometers of days and years;
They answered, "Time is but a meteor glare,"
And bade us for Eternity prepare.

I ask'd the Seasons, in their annual round
Which beautify or desolate the ground;
And they replied, (no oracle more wise)

""Tis Folly's blank, and Wisdom's highest prize!"

I ask'd a spirit lost, but oh, the shriek

That pierc'd my soul! I shudder while I speak!
It cried, "a particle! a speck! a mite
Of endless years, duration infinite!"
Of things inanimate, my dial I
Consulted, and it made me this reply-
"Time is the season fair of living well,
The path of glory, or the path of hell."
I ask'd my Bible, and methinks it said,
"Time is the present hour, the past is fled;
Live! live to-day! to-morrow never yet
On any human being rose or set."

I ask'd old Father Time himself at last;
But in a moment he flew swiftly past:-
His chariot was a cloud, the viewless wind
His noiseless steeds, which left no trace behind.
I ask'd the mighty angel, who shall stand
One foot on sea, and one on solid land;

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66

"By Heaven," he cried, "I swear the mystery's o'er; "Time was," he cried, "but Time shall be no more!"

HENRY III of England used to say, that he would rather converse one hour with God in prayer, than hear others speak of him for ten.-ECHARD.

That monarch was defeated and taken prisoner by Edward the Black Prince at the memorable battle of Poictiers, in 1356. He fought with desperate valour; but spent with fatigue, and seeing that all was lost, he determined to yield himself prisoner, and frequently cried out that he was willing to deliver himself to his cousin, the Prince of Wales. The honour of taking him, however, was reserved for an ignoble hand-that of Dennis de Morbec, a Frenchman, who had fled his country for murder. The prince conducted his royal prisoner through London, attended by an immense concourse of people. His modesty w. S. ORR, Paternoster-Row; G. BERGER, Holywell-st.; A. DOUGLAS, on this occasion was remarkable. The French king was dressed in royal apparel, and mounted on a beautiful white charger, while Edward rode by his side, Bath on an ordinary little horse, and plainly attired.

The unhappy monarch was liberated on an agreement for a ransom; but finding himself unable to pay it, in the then distracted state of his kingdom, he returned to prison, declaring that, "though good faith should be banished from the rest of the earth, yet she ought still to retain her habitation in the breast of kings." He lived in the palace of the Savoy till his death, which happened in 1384.

This remain stood almost immediately behind the present office of the Globe evening newspaper, and until the row of houses of which that office is one was built, no doubt faced the Strand. The brick-work which appears between the mullions of the window,

LONDON:

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THE MONTHLY PART, INCLUDING THE
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UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

THE BRIDGES OF LONDON.

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View taken during the Erection of the New London Bridge.

THERE is no feature in the architecture of this immense metropolis calculated to excite so enlarged an idea of the wealth and enterprise of its population, as the five magnificent Bridges, which within a space of little more than two miles are thrown across the Thames. This admiration is almost increased to wonder, when we consider that they have all been erected within ninety years, and three of them within twenty years.

of it, "now this bridge is finished, there is not perhaps another in the world that can be compared to it:" and the praise was then just, although its subject has since been so immeasurably surpassed. Company came from far and near to admire the beauties of its architecture-and assembled in boats with French horns and other wind instruments, under its semicircular arches, to enjoy the novel effect of the strong echo produced by them.

Its glories however were not of long duration. The citizens of London soon followed the example of their brethren of Westminster, and determined to build another new bridge at Blackfriars. The first pile was

Until the middle of the last century, the long narrow defile of old London Bridge formed the sole land communication between the City of London and the suburbs on the Surrey side of the river. A Londoner of the present day, who, according as business directs, or his fancy leads him, can select at pleasure West-driven on the 7th of June, 1760, the first stone laid minster, Waterloo, Blackfriars, the Southwark, or on the 31st Oct. following; a footpath was opened London Bridge, for his passage across the Thames, must across it in 1765, one for horses in 1768, and the feel some surprise that his forefathers contented them- bridge was finally opened for carriages, 19th Novemselves for so long a period with such seemingly in- ber, 1769. The light airy design of this new bridge sufficient accommodation; but inconveniences to formed a strong contrast with the unpretending plainwhich we are "in a manner born," are habitually en- ness of its predecessor, and the superior width of its dured, though, when we summon resolution to remove arches, the smallest of which were only five feet narthem, we wonder the effort has been so long delayed. rower in span than the centre arch of Westminster The Act of Parliament for the erection of Westmin- Bridge, gave it an appearance of grandeur far superior ster Bridge was applied for in 1735, and the first to anything which had been yet seen in England or stone laid 29th January, 1739. This bridge was elsewhere. Unfortunately the work was much better nearly twelve years in building, and was opened as than the materials, which have turned out to be of so a public thoroughfare at midnight of the 17th No-perishable a nature, that it was at one time expected vember, 1750, amidst the sounding of trumpets and that the architect, Mr. Milne, who lived to a very the discharges of cannon. A writer of that day says advanced age, would have survived his work.

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published in the first number of his beautiful Views of the Old and New London Bridges, a work equally valuable to the antiquarian and the lover of the fine arts, and which must long perpetuate the remembrance of the old structure, which has now almost entirely disappeared.

PARISH REGISTERS.

An interval of more than forty years now passed the smallest arches of this bridge exceed the largest over, during which, although new bridges were repeat- of any other stone bridge in the world. London edly talked of, and many places for their erection Bridge took about seven years and a half in building, suggested, nothing was actually undertaken; but in and was opened to the public on the 1st of August, 1811, two were commenced-the Waterloo Bridge, 1831, the King himself assisting at the ceremony. and that at Vauxhall. If Blackfriars Bridge sur- We are indebted for the cut with which this passed in boldness of design its predecessor at West-article is adorned to Mr. E. W. COOKE, who has perminster, it was determined that Waterloo should mitted us to copy it from one of his plates. It is throw both of them far into the background. Westminster Bridge consisted of fourteen arches, the widest seventy-five feet in span; Blackfriars of nine arches, the widest one hundred feet span. The width of the river where the new bridge was to be erected, was much greater than at Blackfriars; yet it was resolved to cross it by the same number of arches, all of an equal span, and that span exceeding the centre arch of Blackfriars by twenty feet. The Middlesex shore in this spot being raised considerably above that on the Surrey side, suggested the idea of making the bridge itself perfectly straight, and carrying the road on the Surrey side by a gradual slope down to the level of St. George's Fields. On this plan a bridge was erected, which, by the common consent of all, whether foreigners or natives, is allowed to be without a rival in the world. The rapidity with which it was built was no less wonderful. Westminster and Blackfriars Bridges had taken the one nearly twelve, and the other nine, years in constructing; that of Waterloo, a much more stupendous undertaking than either, was finished in less than six; the first stone being laid on the 11th October, 1811, and the bridge opened on the 18th June, 1817, the anniversary of the glorious victory from which it derived its name. The ceremony of opening it was conducted with the utmost splendour, the Prince Regent and the Duke of Wellington being present.

THESE very useful chronicles of private life are by no means of such high antiquity as the generality of persons suppose. In a letter written by Mr. Brokesby to Mr. Hearne, (both learned antiquarians, dated Dec. 12, 1708, the writer, speaking of long-lived persons, tells us there was a woman whom he had conversed with in Yorkshire, who gave out that she was six score, and afterwards seven score, and hence had many visitants, from whom she got money. He then adds, "She was born before Registers were kept in country parishes. Hence I could have no light for the time of her baptism."

While Waterloo Bridge was in progress, that at Southwark was undertaken, the first stone being laid on the 23rd of May, 1819; and thus the remarkable spectacle was afforded of two bridges, over a tide river more than one third of a mile broad, being in process of building at the same time, within sight of each other. The substitution of iron for stone in the construction of the arches, admitted of their having a much wider span, so that there were sufficient to embrace the whole breadth. The work was completed in less than four years, and opened without any procession or ceremony at midnight of the 24th March, 1819.

Probably many of our readers would be surprised on reading this. The fact, however, seems to be that the introduction of Parochial Registers in England was in consequence of the injunctions of Thomas, Lord Cromwell, which were set forth in 1538, the thirtieth year of Henry VIII; but they were not much attended to till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who issued injunctions concerning them in the 1st, 7th, and 39th years of her reign. It appears that in Spain they had been in use several years before, and are said to have been instituted by Cardinal Ximenes, in the year 1497, in order to remedy the disorders arising from the frequency of divorces in that country. Till late years, they were kept very negligently in many parts of England; and being in the custody of Churchwardens who changed from year to year, old registers were frequently lost or destroyed. In Northamptonshire, a piece of an old parish register, on parchment, was found on the pillow of a lace-maker, with the pattern of her work pricked upon it.

It was formerly the practice in many places to record in the registers any extraordinary event which took place in the neighbourhood. This might still be done on the cover or the margin, and be the means of preserving much interesting matter, which would otherwise be forgotten. Since the year 1813, the registers are uniform throughout the kingdom, and are kept, with perhaps few exceptions, with very great

care.

is.

In the mean time the veteran London Bridge, which had endured the wear and tear of more than six centuries, was sharing the fate of other old establishments, its former services were forgotten-its inconveniences, which had been quietly submitted to for ages, were industriously magnified, and its destruction loudly called for. There were many, however, and important interests to reconcile, and numerous difficulties to overcome, before such a plan could be carried into effect; and it was not until the year 1824, that the present bridge was commenced. The first THE following words were written by Sir William Jones on pile was driven on the 15th March, in that year; the the blank leaf of his Bible:-"I have carefully and regufirst stone laid on the 27th April, 1825; and the first larly perused the Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion, that arch keyed in, on the 4th August, 1827. We have the volume, independently of its divine origin, contains more seen Blackfriars Bridge surpassing that of Westminster strains of eloquence, than can be collected from all other sublimity, purer morality, more important history, and finer in the span of its arches, and the arches of Black-books, in whatever language they may have been written." friars again considerably exceeded by those of Waterloo Bridge: yet those of the new London Bridge go far beyond either of them, the centre arch being 152 feet span, the next on each side of the centre are 140, and the two shore arches 130: the narrowest arches thus exceeding those of Waterloo Bridge five feet, the centre arch of Blackfriars thirty, and the centre arch of Westminster Bridge fifty-five feet; indeed,

THE taxes are indeed heavy; and if those laid on by government, were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them;-but we have many others, and much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing any abatement.-FRANKLIN.

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