waited on her to her chamber-door. He received her again after her toilet, and for the remainder of the day devoted his utmost powers to her aggrandisement. If talking alone with her, it was to provoke her to some passage of school-girl autobiography, and listen like a charmed stone to the harp of Orpheus. If others were near, it was to catch her stupidities half-uttered, and twist them into sense before they came to the ground. His own clevernesses were prefaced with as you remarked yesterday, Miss Onthank,' or, as you were about to say when I interrupted you.' If he touched her foot, it was so small he didn't see it.' If she uttered an irredeemable and immitigable absurdity, he covered its retreat with some sudden exclamation. He called her pensive when she was sleepy and vacant, and called her romantic when he couldn't understand her. In short, her vanity was embodied-turned into a magician and slave-and, in the shape of Count Chesterfield Potts, ministered to her indefatigably.

But the summer solstice began to wane. A week more was all that was allotted to Saratoga by that great American commander, General Consent. Count Potts came to breakfast in a shawl cravat.-' Off, Potts ?'-' Are you flitting, my dear count?'-'What! going away, dear Mr Potts ? Gracious me! don't go, Mr Potts!' The last exclamation was sent across the table, in a tone of alarm, by Miss C. Sophy, and responded to only by a bow of obsequious melancholy.

Breakfast was over, and Potts arose. His baggage was at the door. He sought no interview with Miss Onthank; he did not even honour the two bombazinites with a farewell. He stepped up to the group of belles, airing their demi-toilettes on the portico, said, 'Ladies! au revoir!' took the heiress's hand and put it gallantly toward his lips, and walked off with his umbrella, requesting the driver to pick him up at the spring.

'He has given Seville a clear field in despair,' said another; and this was the general opinion. The day crept on. But there was an emptiness without Potts. Seville had the field to himself, and, as there was no fear of a new squatter, he thought he might dispense with tillage. They had a very dull drive and a very dull dinner, and in the evening, as there was no ball, Seville went off to play billiards. Miss Onthank was surrounded, as usual, by the belles and beaux, but she was down flat— unmagnetised, ungalvanised. The magician was gone. Her stupid things stayed put.' She was like a glass bead lost from a kaleidoscope.

and Mr Seville's father, mother, and seven sisters, and two small brothers, were in the progress of a betrothal visit-calling on the future Mrs Greville Seville. All of a sudden the door was thrown open, and enter Count Potts! Up jumped the enchanted Chittaline Sophy. 'How do you do, Mr Potts?'

'Good morning, Mr Potts !' said the aunts, in a breath. 'D'ye do, Potts?' said Seville, giving him his forefinger with the air of a man rising from winning at cards. Potts made his compliments all around. He was about sailing for Carolina, he said, and had come to ask permission of Miss Onthank to leave her sweet society for a few years of exile. But as this was the last of his days of pleasure, at least till he saw Miss Onthank again, he wished to be graced with the honour of her arm for a promenade in the Broadway. The ladies and Mr Seville, doubtless, would excuse her if she put on her bonnet without further ceremony. Now, Potts' politeness had such an air of irresistible authority that people fell into their track like cars after a locomotive. While Miss Onthank was bonneting and shawling, the count entertained the entire party most gaily, though the Sevilles thought it unceremonious in the affianced miss to leave them in the midst of a first visit; and Mr Greville Seville had arranged to send his mother home on foot, and drive Miss Onthank out to Harlem.

'I'll keep my horses here till you come back,' he shouted after them, as she tripped gaily down stairs on the count's arm.

And so he did. Though it was two hours before she appeared again, the impatient youth kept the old aunts company, and would have stayed till night, sorrels and all; for in that drive he meant to 'name the day,' and put his creditors at ease.

'I wouldn't even go up stairs, my dear,' said the count, handing her to the waggon, and sending up the groom for his master; 'it's but an hour to dinner, and you'll like the air after your fatigue. Ah, Seville, I've brought her back! Take good care of her for my sake, my good fellow!'

'What the deuce has his sake to do with it, I wonder?' said Seville, letting his horses off like two rockets in harness. And away they went toward Harlem. In about an hour, very much to the surprise of the old aunts, who were looking out of the parlour window, the young lady dismounted from an omnibus! Count Potts had come to dine with them, and he tripped down to meet her with uncommon agility.

for, as Potts knew, they were of that leathery toughness that only shines on you with rough usage. We have said little as yet of Miss Onthank's capacities in the love line. We doubt, indeed, whether she rightly understood the difference between loving and being born again. As to giving away her heart, she believed she could do what her mother did before her, but she would rather it would be one of her back teeth, if that would do as well. She liked Mr Potts because he never made any difficulties about such things.

Seville considered himself accepted, though he made no direct proposition. He had asked whether she preferred to live in country or town-she said 'town.' He had asked if she would leave the choice and management of horses and equipage to him-she said 'be sure." He had asked if she had any objections to his giving bachelor dinners occasionally-she said 'la! no!' As he understood it, the whole thing was most comfortably arranged; he lent money to several of his friends on the strength of it -giving his note, that is to say.

On a certain morning, some ten days after the departure of the count from Saratoga, Miss Onthank and her two aunts sat up in state in their parlour at the City Hotel. They always went to the City Hotel, because Willard remembered their names, and asked after their uncle, the major. Mr Seville's ponies and waggon were at the door,

'Married to Mr Potts!' screamed Aunt Charity. 'Married to Mr Potts!' screamed Aunt Sophy. 'Why-yes, aunties. He said he must go south, if I didn't!' drawled out the bride, with only a very slight blush, indeed. 'Tell aunties all about it, Mr Potts.'

And Mr Potts, with the same smile of infallible propriety, which seemed a warrant for everything he said or did, gave a very sketchy account of his morning's work, which, like all he undertook, had been exceedingly well done properly witnessed, certified, &c. All of which shows the very sound policy of first making yourself indis. pensable to people you wish to manage. Or, put it receipt-wise:-To marry a flat-First, raise her up till she is giddy. Second, go away, and let her down. Third, come back, and offer to support her, if she will give you her hand. Simple comme bon jour,' as Balsac says.

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a characteristic pronunciation of sheriff, viz. shirrah. We call it characteristic, and we are disposed to think that our readers will coincide with us in the opinion that Milton, in the following noticeable passage from his tractate on education, points out the cause, and, what is better, the remedy of this mispronunciation. Here it is: And while this is doing, their speech is to be fashioned to a distinct and clear pronunciation, as near as may be to the Italian. For we Englishmen, being far northerly, do not open our mouths in the cold air wide enough to grace a southern tongue, but are observed by all other nations to speak exceedingly close and inward.' Now, if Englishmen, with a more southern exposure and a milder climate, are from their being far northerly' debarred from pronouncing their words with that rotundo ore, or round mouth, which Horace tells us was the prime grace of the Grecian oratory, how much more are we Caledonians, in our more Borean latitude and inclement clime, under a sort of physical necessity to compress our lips closely, and thus mumble our sentences ? For the same reason it is, but acting with increased force in proportion to the intense cold which prevails in their country, that the remote Laplanders speak a rude and meagre tongue, which can scarcely be called articulate. So much has climate to do in favouring or in retarding the full development and exercise of the organs of speech; and hence arises the evident necessity of the parent, or his representative the teacher, moulding them to a plain, distinct, and deliberate utterance betimes, while they are yet pliant and plastic.

But, to come closer to the subject, and to make these remarks to bear practically upon the word under discussion, viz. sheriff, and our provincial pronunciation of it, shirrah, if trial be made it will be found that shirrah can be pronounced with the mouth nearly closed, and without any perceptible articulation of the lips; whereas, without a sensible and pretty strong movement of the lips, and of a pressure of the upper teeth upon the lower lip, sheriff is absolutely unpronounceable; and this process is dispensed with by those who, as Milton has it, do not open their mouths in the cold air.' The fact is, f is the most labial letter we have (and sheriff has two), being equivalent to the Greek ph.

There are two cognate and exceedingly curious passages in Boswell's Tour to the Hebrides,' which happily confirm these views, and which themselves in turn receive a reciprocal illustration from this doctrine of the physiology of human speech. Here they follow::

'Aberdeen, Sunday, August 22. I was sensible to-day to an extraordinary degree of Dr Johnson's excellent English pronunciation. I cannot account for its striking me more now than any other day: but it was as if new to me; and I listened to every sentence which he spoke as to a musical composition.

'Slains Castle, Tuesday, August 24. Dr Johnson insisted on taking a boat and sailing into the Pot. We did so. He was stout and wonderfully alert. The Buchan-men all showing their teeth, and speaking with that strange sharp accent which distinguishes them, was to me a matter of curiosity. He was not sensible of the difference of pronunciation in the south and north of Scotland, which I wondered at.'

In the above quotations this amiable journalist seems wrapt in a cloud of obscurity and wonder. The nil admirari of the satirist is no favourite maxim to Boswell's turn of mind and expression. With regard to his admiration in the former case, the reason seems to have been this: Boswell either found himself to be, or fancied himself to be, in an atmosphere of less pure English in Aberdeen than in Edinburgh. The pronunciation of 'Auld Reekie' would in his ears, attuned as they were to the tones of her Areopagus, the Parliament-House, sound like an Attic dialect in comparison of the Aberdeen-awa' patavinity. And hence, by contrast, he would naturally enough be more forcibly impressed with the euphonious purity of the great lexicographer's pronunciation, for it can hardly be supposed that Johnson should talk more purely in Aberdeen than elsewhere. Again, with regard to his second

cause of wonder, viz., that Johnson did not distinguish the difference of pronunciation betwixt Edinburgh and Aberdeen, it may be remarked, that the man who is himself conscious of the possession of the correct and classical pronunciation is seldom over-solicitous in scanning the different degrees and noting the distinctive features of variation from the acknowledged standard of accuracy and elegance; and it is a fact of which we are cognisant from a long experience and a close observation of South Britain, that when a native of the same wishes to intimate to you that such and such a person betrays himself, like Peter, by his Norland tongue, he merely says, 'Ha! he's north country!' and this applies to all from beyond the Humber, without exception or distinction, who use the English as their vernacular speech. The Humber is the grand boundary-line-the Rubicon of pronunciation; and, as just remarked, those from beyond this limit, whether canny Yorkshire, the men of the Lothians the folks of Fife, the gentlemen of the north, or the dwellers in the ultima Thule, all are classed by the southern Englishman under one and the same category. He makes, or he can make, no discrimination. He deems the pronunciation of them all faulty or vicious, without a distinction into better

or worse.

We remarked in our previous page that the English bailiff, the overseer of a farm, was derived from Latin villicus, i. e., he who had the charge of the country-seat or villa of an opulent Roman citizen, which we in Scotland designate by one of the forms of sheriff, viz., grieve. But bailiff in Scotland is pronounced bailie and spelt so. Having the same termination as sheriff, the same physical cause indicated by Milton not being counteracted by early exercise of the labial organ, it has of course undergone much the same curtailment or corruption, unless, as ought in fairness to be stated, though it militate against our argument, it be held that we have derived our bailie from the French bailli, which is not so probable as that it has been corrupted analogously with shirrah. It is a sound and a safe rule in such things, as it is in matters of more importance, not to seek for a remote cause of an effect when you have one at hand already, and adequate to account for the effect produced. But, as our critic says, Jam satis.'

The dog seems to have been a general favourite with poets. Pope had his 'Bounce,' Cowper his little spaniel Beau,' and every one has heard of Scott's 'Maida,' which is depicted at the side of his master in Raeburn's celebrated picture of the poet. To these we may add Byron, who was always remarkably attached to the canine species. His first dog, named Boatswain,' had the honour of a tomb in the gardens of Newstead Abbey, and an inscription from the pen of his master. Of this favourite animal he after

wards wrote

'To mark a friend's remains these stones arise;

I never knew but one, and here he lies.' The following scrap from an old newspaper' refers to a subsequent dog of the poet's :-Lord Byron was almost always accompanied by his favourite dog Lyon, who was perhaps his dearest and most affectionate friend. They were, indeed, very seldom separated. Riding or walking, sitting or standing, Lyon was his constant attendant. He can scarcely be said to have forsaken him even in his sleep. Every evening did he go to see that his master was safe, before he lay down himself, and then he took his station close to his door, a guard certainly as faithful, though not so efficient, as Lord Byron's corps of Suliotes. This valuable and affectionate animal was brought to England after Lord Byron's death, and was in the possession of Mr Hobhouse. When his lordship's valet was in the employ of this gentleman, the language of Lord Byron to his dog was sometimes referred to. He would say, Lyon, you are no rogue-thou art an honest fellow,

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Lyon.' The dog's eyes would sparkle, and his tail sweep the floor, as he sat with his haunches on the ground. Thou art more faithful than man, Lyon; I trust thee more.' Lyon would then spring up, and bark, and bound round his master. Lyon, I love thee, thou art my faithful dog.' Then would Lyon jump and kiss his master's hand, as an acknowledgment of the homage paid him. Dogs have a sense of time so as to count the days of the week. There was one which evinced that he knew Saturday when it arrived, by trudging to the market to cater for himself in the shambles. There was another which had belonged to an Irishman, and was sold by him in England, which would never touch a morsel of animal food on a Friday.

On one occasion a Mr Grundy, residing near Bury, in Lancashire, sent a couple of valuable fox-hounds of a peculiar breed to a Captain Charles Grierson, Rockhall. The hounds arrived safely at Carsethorn, per the Nithsdale, and were given in charge to a carrier to conduct them to Dumfries. They were tied to the cart, and were seen safe at Newabbey; but beyond this, one of the hounds, named Driver, managed to slip his collar and escape, unobserved, the evening being dark. The loss of the dog was advertised in the 'Dumfries Courier,' and a reward offered for its recovery, but without effect; no trace, indeed, could be found of the animal. Strange to say, however, Driver made his appearance at his old kennel near Bury, rather thin, but in perfect health; and his wonderful return was duly announced to his owner, who had long given up all hopes of ever hearing of the lost hound. How the dog had managed to find his way through an unknown country, and support himself on his weary journey, must forever remain a problem, since Driver is unfortunately unable to communicate his adventures; if procurable, they would doubtless prove as entertaining as those of many biped tourists. It is possible that the dog may have crossed the Solway at Carsethorn, which, at low water, he might have done without much swimming, otherwise he must have gone round by Annan to Carlisle, and then travelled through Cumberland to Lancashire. Whatever route he may have taken, his sagacity and perseverance in wending his way home, are certainly most wonderful. He must have been more than four weeks on the road.

THE CAT.

A lady residing in Glasgow had a pretty cat sent to her from Edinburgh; it was conveyed to her in a close basket and in a carriage. She was carefully watched for two months; but having produced a pair of young ones at the end of that time, she was left to her own discretion, which she very soon employed in disappearing with both her kittens. The lady in Glasgow wrote to her friend at Edinburgh deploring her loss; and the cat was supposed to have formed some new attachment, with as little reflection as men and women sometimes do. About a fortnight, however, after her disappearance in Glasgow, her wellknown mew was heard at the street-door of her old mistress, and there was she, with both her kittens; they were in the best state, but she was very thin. It is clear that she could carry only one kitten at a time. The distance from Glasgow to Edinburgh is at least forty miles, so that if she brought one kitten part of the way, and then went back for the other, and thus conveyed them alternately, she must have travelled, alone and unbefriended, treble that distance; and this too, in all likelihood, under cloud of night.

A cat belonging to a hat-maker in Montrose, was lately transported to Limekilns; but puss, not relishing the aquatic excursion, no sooner reached the destined port than she thought proper to decamp; and, to the astonishment of her former possessor, she returned to her old quarters, after an absence of four months and fourteen days-the distance between the two places being about a hundred miles; and she must have passed the bridge of Perth. An attachment to a favourite kitten might have induced puss to undertake this extraordinary journey. Puss is very large and fierce, and few dogs would dare to

encounter her.

THE HEDGEHOG.

One afternoon, as Mr Lane, gamekeeper to the Earl of Galloway, was passing by the wood of Calscadden, near Garliestown, he fell in with a hedgehog crossing the road at a small distance before him, carrying on its back six pheasant eggs, which, upon examination, he found had been pilfered from a pheasant's nest hard by. The ingenuity of the creature was very conspicuous, as several of the remaining eggs were holed, which had been done by it when in the act of rolling itself over the nest, in order to make as many adhere to its prickles as possible. After watching the motions of the urchin for a short time longer. Mr Lane saw it deliberately crawl into a furze bush, where its nest was, and where the shells of several eggs were strewed around, which had at some former period been conveyed thither in the same manner.

THE TIGER.

'In Saigon, where dogs are dog cheap,' says the writer of the paragraph now about to be quoted, we used to give the tigress one every day. They were thrown alive into her cage, when, after playing with her victim for a time, as a cat does with a mouse, her eyes would begin to glisten and her tail to vibrate, which were the immediate precur sors of death to the devoted little prisoner, which was immediately seized by the back of the neck, the incisors of the sanguinary beast perforating the jugular arteries, while she would traverse the cage, the bars of which she lashed with her tail, and suck the blood of her prey, which hung suspended from her mouth. One day, a puppy, not at all remarkable, or distinguished in appearance from the common herd, was thrown in, who imme diately, on perceiving his situation, set up a dismal yell, and attacked the tigress with great fury, snapping at her nose, from which he drew some blood. The tigress appeared to be amused with the puny rage of the puppy, and with as good-humoured an expression of countenance as so ferocious an animal could be supposed to assume, she affected to treat it all as play; and sometimes spreading herself at full length on her side, at others, crouching in the manner of the fabled sphynx, she would ward off with her paw the incensed little animal, till she was finally exhausted. She then proceeded to caress him, endeavouring by many little arts to inspire him with confidence, in which she finally succeeded, and in a short time they lay down together and slept. From this time they were inseparable, the tigress appearing to feel for the puppy all the solicitude of a mother, and the dog, in return, treating her with the greatest affection; and a small aperture was left open in the cage, by which he had free ingress and egress. Experiments were subsequently made, by presenting a strange dog at the bars of the cage, when the tigress would manifest great eagerness to get at it; her adopted child was then thrown in, on which she would eagerly pounce; but immediately discovering the cheat, she would caress it with great tenderness. The natives made several unsuccessful efforts to steal this dog.'

THE SEAL.

A gentleman in the neighbourhood of Burntisland has completely succeeded in taming one of these animals. Its singularities daily continue to attract the curiosity of strangers. It seems to possess all the sagacity of the dog, lives in its master's house, and eats from his hand. He usually takes it with him in his fishing excursions, upon which occasions it affords no small entertainment. When thrown into the water, it will follow for miles the track of the boat, and although thrust back by the oars, it never relinquishes its purpose. Indeed, it struggles so hard to regain its seat, that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely overcome the natural predilection for its native element.