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"We had strayed some distance from Peronne, when we were accosted by an old man, who, in a supplicating tone, craved our charity. A more finished figure of penury and wretchedness I had scarcely ever beheld : distress was pourtrayed in every feature of his brown, wrinkled face, where hardships and misfortunes had left indelible marks of their ravages. He wore an old blue jacket, patched and torn in almost every part, and seeming even now as ready to fall from his back. On his head he had an old cocked-hat, where still might be perceived the remains of a feather; while a tattered pair of what once were white trowsers, finished the catalogue of his dress; for, alas! poor fellow, he had neither shoes nor stockings. Across his shoulder was a stick, to which hung a small bundle, probably containing all he was worth in the world.

"Such was the object which now appeared before me; and, as I viewed him with a look of pity, I saw a tear tremble on his withered cheek. I could not resist this appeal to my compassion; and, taking a franc from my purse, presented it to the old soldier. The hand which received it fell from its former position, and now hung, as if useless, by his side. Not a word of thanks broke from his lips, for, indeed, he seemed unable to speak the gratitude he felt. A look was all he gave; but it was a look which spoke the feelings of his heart. I waited a moment, expecting he would say something; but, after a short reflection, instead of pouring forth that abundance of common-place thanks we so generally meet with on these occasions, he began to dance and sing, in such a manner as quite astonished me. His old cocked-hat he pulled from his head, and throwing it into the air, played as many antics as a monkey. What an alteration did this trifling gift make in the poor old veteran! raising him from the worst apparent misery to this extravagance of joy! The diligence had now overtaken us; and, when seated in it, I frequently looked out after him, and perceived him still dancing and waving his hat with every demonstration of gratitude, till distance entirely divided us from the sight of each other."

NOVEMBER.

THIS month was under the protection of Diana. The Emperor Commodus gave it the name of Exuperatorius, but this name it retained no longer than Commodus himself was in existence.

On the first there was a feast in honour of Jupiter, and games in the circus. The Neptunalia, dedicated to Neptune, began on the fifth, and the sports lasted du'ring eight days. Arbours were constructed of branches, on the banks of the Tiber, in which the Romans diverted themselves. A bull was sacrificed to Neptune. The seventh was one of the three days of the year in which the temple called Mundus Patens was opened. On the thirteenth was the Cœna Capitolina, or supper given to Jupiter in the Capitol. It was the custom of the Romans, on some occasions, to give entertainments to their deities, and to provide them with seats, and act as if they were really present. This kind of feast, which was called also Lectisternium, was intended to propitiate them. On the fifteenth popular games began in the circus, which lasted during three days. The pontiffs had a supper on the nineteenth, in honour of Cybele. The Liberalia were held on the twenty-first, and were devoted to Bacchus. This day was a day, not merely of gaiety, but of the utmost licentiousness. Libations of honey were poured out to the god, because he was believed to have taught the use of it, and a camel or a goat was sacrificed to him, the latter because of its being destructive to the vines. The ceremonies and sacrifices of this festival were performed by females, crowned with ivy. On the twenty-second, offerings were made to Pluto and Proserpine. The Brumalia began on the twenty-fourth, and continued for several days. They were instituted by Romulus, in honour of Bacchus, and during the continuance of them he used to give entertainments to the senate. The mortuary sacrifices, in the Forum Boarium, took place on the twenty-seventh.

The sun, during this month, is in the signs Scorpio and Sagittarius.

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DETACHED THOUGHTS.

"NEWTON is justly extolled. The reasoning power which he displayed in the mathematical forms of syllogizing, has seldom been approached, never surpassed. A sterling instance of his à priori penetration is the inference from its refractive power that the diamond would be found inflammable, though he knew no method of exposing it to combustion. His use of words is less skilful than his use of signs. Such combinations of phrase as vis inertia, where the terms are interdestructive, and of course unintelligible, occur in his writings. His chronology disappoints; it wants erudition; it wants sagacity; the very ground-work of the system reposes on authorities, which deserved appreciation, but not confidence."

"Time was when literary epitomizers were in fashion, when a Wynne obtained a reputation by stripping Locke of his driftless ambiguity and voluminous tautology. Time is, when literary expanders are in vogue, and the materials of a pamphlet, in order to be rendered saleable, must be diluted into a quarto. Time will be, when acres of barren paper will be willingly exchanged for a small but fertile garden; and when merit will be meted not by the magnitnde but by the quality of its efforts."

"Every religious sect which unites itself with the state, is favourable either to despotism or revolution, as it suits its interests. The Catholics were the first moderns who justified tyrannicide, and the Presbyterians brought back Charles the Second. The established clergy concurred with Charles the First in every act of tyranny, and they expelled his son.'

"The great, except upon public occasions, are not liberal according to their means; it seems as if they had little sense of sufferings which they never can themselves experience. The travelling mendicant goes to the farm or to the cottage door rather than to the great house; and it is a well-known fact, that street beggars receive the greatest part of their alms from female servants. Want blunts the feelings; wealth hardens the heart; it was for this reason that He who best knew the human heart said, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." A. A. R.

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