GREY STREET, NEWCASTLE, Owes its present magnificent appearance, principally to the splendid talents of the architect, Mr. Grainger, who, by his exertions, has produced a street, certainly not inferior, in point of architectural beauties, to any in England indeed it is by many persons considered to be without a rival in the world; as a street of business, surpassing Regent street, London, for the classical richness and diversity of its architecture; but what may tend to give it a decided advantage, is that the fronts of the houses are of solid stone, and not of brick faced with stucco.

The Central Exchange, with its rich Corinthian front, and splendid cupolas, with the gorgeous bronze plumes sculptured on their summits, form objects worthy of great admiration; but, however rich the outside of this building may be, it is eclipsed by its magnificent interior, presenting a semicircle surrounded by twelve pillars of the Ionic order: the light of this immense building is obtained through rather more than ten thousand square feet of glass in the sides of the roof, and the crown of the dome, which has an exceeding striking effect when viewed from below. During the recent assemblage of the British Association at Newcastle, the meeting was held in this Exchange, which furnished accommodation for nearly six thousand persons. Here also are the exhibition rooms and offices of the North of England Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts; and to the honour of the Newcastle people, as liberal patrons of those arts which tend to harmonize the mind, and soften down the asperities of man, numerous fine specimens of painting and sculpture, many of them being the works of native artists, have here been exhibited; together with a rich display of models for steam machinery, and for the construction of bridges on railways. The pile of building, known as the Northumberland District Bank, and the Branch Bank of England, also in Grey-street, has all the appearance of a grand palace. And as a beautiful and appropriate termination to this magnificent street, is the colossal statue of Earl Grey, erected at the point of entrance to Grey-street and Grainger-street.*

Sykes, in his "Local Records," says, under date 1580, that an ancient house, now called Anderson-place, in Pilgrim-street, Newcastle, was built by Robert Anderson, merchant, (out of the offices, and nearly upon the site of the Franciscan Priory.) In this house King Charles I.t was confined, after having surrendered himself to the Scots, at Newark; and on its site part of Grey-street was built.

An engraving of this statue is given in the 32ud vol. of the Mirror, page 305.

+1646 (May 13.) The king was no where treated with more honour than at Newcastle, as himself confessed. His majesty is said to have lodged

Newcastle has been distinguished as the birth-place of many eminent characters: among whom, are the celebrated Dr. John Scot, usually called "Duns Scotus," who received his education in the Franciscan priory just spoken of; Dr. Nicholas Durham, the zealous opponent of Wickliff: he resided in the priory, in 1360; Elstob, a learned Saxon antiquary and divine, born 1673, died 1714; and his sister, Eliz. Elstob, born 1663, who was also eminent for great knowledge of Saxon literature; she died 1756. Dr. Grey, born 1694, died 1771. Mark Akenside, poet and physician, born 1721, died 1770. Bourne, historian, died 1733. The Rev. J. Brand, born 1743, died 1806. Dr. C. Hutton, the celebrated mathematician, born 1737, died 1823. John Scott, Earl of Eldon, Chancellor of England, born 1751; and William Scott, his brother, Lord Stowell, born 1745. Lord Collingwood, born 1748, died March, 1810. Bewick, the engraver, resided in Newcastle from 1767, till his decease, December, 1795.

at the house now the property and residence of Major George Anderson, a room in which retained the name of the king's bedchamber. In this stood a bed of very antiquated fashion, said to have been the identical one upon which the unfortunate monarch had passed several anxious nights; this was preserved until an incurious domestic removed and sold it as lumber, whilst the present proprietor, who is passionately fond of the autique, was abroad on his travels. Every exertion was used to recover this the king was here his coachman died, as appears by ancient and stately bed, but without effect. Whilst

the following entry in St. Andrew's register:-" December 6, 1646-Hugh Brown, buried the 6 day, in the church, the king's kouchman, i. e. coachman." There is a popular tradition, that the king attempted his escape from this house by the passage of Loch Burn, which runs through the centre of the town, and that he had got down as far as the middle of the side, when he was caught in his attempt to force the been in readiness to receive his majesty. In couseiron grate at its outlet. A ship was said to have quence of the above attempt at escape, a guard of soldiers was placed at the door of his majesty's chambers, both within and without, that deprived him not only of his formal liberty, but also destroyed his future quiet and repose. That the king meditated an escape, receives confirmation from the following, quoted by Chambers in his History of the Rebellions in Scotland, from a memoir of the Sutherland family. About the middle of December, Robert Leslie, brother to Lieutenant general Leslie, came from the king out of Newcastle, with letters and a private commission to the Marquis of Huntley, showing that his majestie had a mind to free himself from the Scots

armie at Newcastle; and if he might escape, he would come to him in some part of the north of Scotland; and therefore, desired him to have in readiness what force he could make." In 1647, an agreement was made between the parliament of England and the Scottish army, that the former should have possession of the king's person, and that the latter, on the recept of £200,000, should quit the kingdom of England; commissioners were deputed from London to receive the king, and convey him from Newcastle. On the 28th of January, the Scottish army having received the price of the king in six-and-thirty covered waggons, delivered his person to the English commissioners, and immediately returned to their own country, where they were disbanded. The commissioners, with his majesty, set out from Newcastle on the 3rd of February."--Syke's Local Records, pages 99-101. Edition 1833.

SONG FOR THE NEW YEAR.

(For the Mirror.)

LET'S merrily sing the New Year in,
And have no thought of sadness;
"Tis right we should a year begin
In joyousuess and gladness.
Oh, let us not refuse to smile,

But with a gladsome feeling,
Let's welcome in the New Year, while
The Old Year's knell is pealing!
So merrily sing the New Year in,
And have no thought of sadness;
'Tis right we should a year begiu
In joyousness and gladness.

What though we may have tasted grief
In the year that's just departed;
That is no cause in my belief

To make us now sad-hearted.
We cannot o'er life's changeful way
Pass without knowing sorrow,
And though we may be sad one day,
We rarely are the morrow.

So merrily sing the New Year in,
And have no thought of sadness;
'Tis right we should a year begin
In joyousness and gladness.
Yes, thanks to the all-gracious Pow'r
Who our live's length doth measure,
Care doth not always on us lour,

We sometimes clasp sweet pleasure.
And so the year whose birth this night
So cheerily we're singing,
To most of men joy and delight
As well as care is bringing.

So merrily sing the New Year in,
And have no thought of sadness;
'Tis right we should a year begiu
In joyousness and gladness.

S. H.

LIFE IN DEATH. INDEED you do me wrong,-I merit not Those hard censorious eyes and dull regards. Because I have not wept, or sighed, or raved, Or sat in a mute madness, though I knew That she, whom we so loved, is gone away. I have lost nothing, why then should I weep? She is to me the same she ever was, A never-ceasing presence, a life-light, In the dark watches of the pleasant night, Or some far darker passages of day. 'If I would weep, or mourn her fancied loss, "The azure fire, that swells from her calm eyes, Laps up my tears, and tells me she is here: If I am sick at heart, she sits beside me, And lays the velvet back of her white hand Upon my cheek, to ask if all be well, Or parts the hair upon my heated brows. Since that one instant, in itself a life, Whey, as commissioned messengers, my eyes Went to her, and brought back into my soul A gift, the greatest of all possible gifts Which God-empowered man can give to man, A notion of the absolute beautiful: Since then, all nature has been one to me, One form impregnated with her sole spirit; I feel the ambient sweetness of her breath lu flowering rosiers and the woods of spring; Her voice is gushing from the nightingale; There's not a cloud that walks the unsullied air, But takes from her its majesty of gait, For space was made to show how she could move. I do not say, that when I saw her lie Hushed to cold sleep by nature's lullabies, (The same that plaintive nurse eternally Sings as she rocks to rest her dearly loved,) I did not for one moment stare aghast, And know the blood stood still about my heart; But soon the wailers left me there alone, And in the quiet of the gloom I saw

The blessed image, moving, ministering,
By me, about me,-just as heretofore.
Oh ye who talk of death, and mourn for death,
Why do you raise a phantom of your weakness,
And then shriek loud to see what ye have made?
There is no death to those who know of life-
No time to those who see eternity.

[From Mr. Monckton Milnes' Poems*-a string of pure and sparkling gems of English poesy.]

"The warrior lies down in the grave, and the peaceful man seeks his repose in the bosom of the earth." WHY stiffen those features! why cold is that brow! Bright soul of the hero! where, where art thou now? Thou art past, like the wild wave that lashes the shore,

One moment tremendous, one moment no more.
In silence departed, thou meek son of
peace,
Thy labours are o'er, and thy troubles shall cease;
To worth and to virtue the tribute is paid,
And sorrow no more shall thy slumbers invade.
Blest, blest are ye both, for the struggle is past,
Ye have reach'd the bright haven of safety at last;
And the place of your future rest ever will be
The abode of the Seraphi, the spotless and free.

C. S.

The

GEORGE II. AND HIS SON FREDERICK, PRINCE OF WALES. (To the Editor of the Mirror.) THE quarrel between the sovereign and his son, is supposed to have originated in the countenance which the latter gave to the party in opposition to the measures of government; it was carried on by the king with a rancour (descending to personality) unknown to the modern disputes of royalty. prince had a separate establishment at Norfolk-House, which was the chief resort of the disaffected to the party in power: no persous visiting the prince were allowed to come to the court of the sovereign. It is stated as a fact that, when the prince died, a messenger was sent to inform the king of the circumstance, who was at the time playing at cards with a large party at the palace; with true German sang froid he continued the game to the end, and then communicated the intelligence to his mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, who was playing at another table, by calmly telling her that "Fritz was dead," but made no motion to interupt the amusements; the duchess, with more feeling and delicacy, immediately broke up the assembly. The following letter was given to me as one in the handwriting of the king, but I have reason to doubt the truth of the allegation; nevertheless, it bears the marks of being a rough draft of it, being altered and interlined, and from its apparent age, there is no doubt of its being written at the time of its date, 1737; there are some grammatical errors in it, which may possibly arise from its being the production of a foreigner, the king was known to be but indifferently skilled in the English language, Moxon, London.

I have transcribed it verbatim et literatim, if you think it worthy a place in your entertaining miscellany.

WM. TOONE.

"The professions you have lately made in your letters of your particular regard to me, are so contradictory to all your actions, that I cannot suffer myself to be imposed upon by them. You know very well you did not give the least intimation to me or to the Queen that the Princess was with child, till within less than a month of the birth of the young Princess; you removed the Princess twice in the week, and immediately preceding the day of her delivery, from the place of my residence, in expectation, as you voluntarily declared, of her labour; and both times, upon your return, you industriously concealed from me and the Queen every circumstance relating to this important affair; and you at last, without giving any notice to me or the Queen, precipitately hurried the Princess from Hampton Court in a condition not to be named; after having thus, in execution of your own determined measures, exposed both the Princess and the child to the greatest perils, you now plead surprise, and your tenderness for the Princess, as the only motive that occasioned these repeated indignities offered to me and the Queen, your mother. This extravagant and undutiful behaviour, in so essential a point as the birth of an heir to my crown, is such an evidence of your premeditated defiance of me, and such a contempt of my authority, and of the natural right belonging to your parents, as cannot be excused by the pretended innocence of your intentions, nor palliated or disguised by specious words only; but the whole tenour of your conduct for a considerable time has been so entirely void to all real duty to me, that I have long had reason to be offended with you, and until you withdraw your regard and confidence from those by whose instigation and advice you are directed and encouraged in your unwarrantable behaviour to me and the Queen, and until you return to your duty, you shall not reside in my palace, which I will not suffer to be made the resort of them who, under the appearance of attachment to you, foment the division you have made in my family, and thereby weaken the common interest of the whole; in this situation I will receive no reply; but when your actions manifest a just sense of your duty and submission, that may induce me to pardon what I at present most justly resent. In the mean time, it is my pleasure that you leave St. James's, with all your family, when it can be done without prejudice or ill-convenience to the Princess. I shall for the present leave to the Princess the care of my granddaughter, until a proper time calls on me to consider on her education. G. R...

Hampton Court, Sept. 10th, 1737.

We had been some few weeks at Paris, and gone the round of all the usual sights, when our attention was arrested one morning, on our way to breakfast in the Rue de la Harpe, (where we regaled ourselves every morning with a basin of café au lait, a petit pain, and a boiled egg, for ten sous,) by a large placard upon the wall where the play-bills were generally pasted up, headed Féte de l'Etoile, and followed by the announcement that on the Sunday, Monday, and Thursday following, a fête would be held on the grass-plot beyond the Triumphal Arch, at the end of the Champs Elysees, when various games would take place, and there would be a ball in the evening. Now, as our idea of a fête had always been confined to a race between two balloons, a hundred thousand additional lamps, the Ravel family, and other attractions to be more fully announced in the bills of the day," we were anxious to see what sort of amusement this would turn out to be; so taking our station in an omnibus, about six o'clock in the evening of one of the appointed days, we were put down at the Barriere de l'Etoile, and marched up the slopes to a scene of gaiety which fully answered our fondest anticipations of what Paris was.

It will not do to say it resembled an English fair, because there were neither farmers, pigs, nor charity-boys, among the gay and really happy-looking throng; neither were there the tin boxes on the top of sticks to be thrown at; but there were shows, stalls, and games going on in all directions, so novel and so different to aught we had seen before, that our attention was arrested at every step. The first thing that struck us on entering the ground was a stand about five feet high, on which were arranged divers little images of plaster of Paris, and at the top was a revolving piece of machinery, embellished with birds of the same material. We were allowed to fire pellets of clay from a cross-how, at the aforesaid images, at the rate of four shots for a sou, and from a distance of about twelve or fourteen feet; and having had the satisfac. tion of knocking off the head of a giraffe, and seriously damaging a parrot, we passed on to the next game, which had another piece of mechanism displayed for the same end. Here was a figure of a soldier on horseback, as large as life, and on hitting a small target

on his breast with the pellet, a grim Bedouin rose from behind, and appeared to be threatening him. Others were fashioned like castles and forts; but the most amusing, and that which attracted most customers, was a representation of the city of Constantine, where, on hitting the great gates, a number of Arabs rushed out, hotly pursued by French soldiers. We next came to a miniature canal, along which a small steam-boat was plying by clock-work; on arriving at the end, its prow struck a lever, which released a ball placed on the top of a castle, and this ball, after performing various evolutions in and out the windows and doors, finally descended into a large round tray, having holes of various colours on its surface, in one of which it rested. You had the privilege of setting the steainboat off yourself, by payment of a sou, (for the games are all the same price,) and during its voyage you named your colour. If, by luck, the ball took the right one, you became the fortunate possessor of six cakes: if not, of course you lost. This game was varied at the different stalls, but all had the same end, viz., the six cakes, which were very deceptive in their appearance, having certainly more air in their composition than flour and sugar. Gambling in any way for money is strictly forbidden by the police; you may, however, pay for your chances at these games, and lose it equally fast. But the drollest game of all, and one which drew a hearty laugh from us, was a sort of tilting match, taking place under the trees at the side of the ground. A large mask, with most ludicrous features, and nearly three feet long, was tied before you, to prevent your seeing; and furnished with a lance, you had to walk forward from a given point, and hit a large target placed at the extremity of the lists. It appeared excessively easy, but there were few who succeeded; and their endeavours, added to their odd appearance, were exceedingly ridiculous. Some shot off at once to the right, amongst the trees; others to the left; but the majority, after getting on very well for a little way, became confused, wavered, and generally returned nearly to where they set off from. The only person who seemed to understand it was the man himself, who kept the lists, and when the mask was placed on him, (which it often was, to incite others,) he contrived to walk straight up to the target. If you succeeded in hitting it, the prize was a small whip, a knife, three metal spoons, or a picture representing some imaginary incident in the life of Napoleon, that never happened, framed and glazed. But the shows were the chief attraction, and certainly an odd assemblage of strong men, fencing-ladies in Roman dresses, large snakes, and savage Indians, had collected together. We paid to go into one which promised amusement from the pictures outside, and we were certainly not

disappointed. F

me very excellent conjuring, that beat our conjectures altogether: next was the performance of a French Hercules, who suffered himself to be tied up by his heels, and then held heavy weights in his teeth, until his face became quite purple ; and the exhibition concluded by the manoeu vres of some learned birds. These poor objects were all asleep in a cage when we entered, but on being awakened, they presented a most ragged assemblage of featherless little bullfinches, in cocked hats and small red coats, with swords and guns tied round them. They drew carts, marched, fired cannon, and sat down to dinner; and when they had finished, walked very orderly into their cage one after another. This was enough, we thought, for two sous. There were also " ups and downs" and "roundabouts" on the same model as in England; but the only difference was, that grown-up people were revolving in the chairs, and on the hobby-horses, instead of children, but evidently with the most intense spirit of enjoyment.

And now we turned towards the ball, which was gradually being illuminated by handsome lamps suspended all round. Five sous was charged for entrance, and on gaining the salon we were indeed astonished. So tastefully fitted up, such order, and so different to the vulgar jostling of the "Crown and Anchor," at Greenwich fair. Figure to yourself, reader, an enormous tent, say one hundred feet long, supported by gilt pillars, and surrounded by trophies and tri-coloured flags, with pretty festoons of red, blue, aud white calico all round. The floor was neatly boarded, and in the centre an excellent orchestra of a dozen musicians, was performing all the favourite and most popular waltzes and quadrilles of Paris. An extra demand of five sous was made for each time you danced, and you were at liberty to ask any fair one your choice might fall upon. The utmost order prevailed; indeed, if any one transgressed the rules of politeness, he was immediately shouldered off by the municipal guards in attendance. It is true, this was all very proper for the sake of order, but we must confess we did not like the appearance of so many grim soldiers in a ball-room. There are no public amusements of any kind in France without them, and their fierce mustachios and tiger-skin helmets, contrast oddly with the gaiety around.

The refreshment department of the ball was well arranged. There was not the immense bar which we see at the Greenwich fair and Egham Race-course dancing assemblies, covered with cold boiled beef, ham, fowls, bottled porter, pipes, and crockery; but then there was a small tent aside from the grand one for lemonade, sirop de groseilles, wine, coffee, and Rheims biscuits, which had an

air of refinement never met with in England at meetings of this kind. Dancing was the sole object of the evening, and dance they did, and so did we too, (as soon as we had got over our thorough English idea that every body was looking at us,) and we can safely say, we enjoyed ourselves much more that evening than we had done at many parties in London. And then the practice in French conversation which it affords. You can speak so easily, so fluently to a pretty grisette, in the middle of a dance, and under the influence of a bottle of Vin Ordinaire at fifteen sous-it beats all the masters, believe us, on our honour, for we speak from experience. After every four quadrilles we had a waltz, extremely well executed by most of the parties concerned; indeed every species of dancing seems natural to them; and they have the politeness not to laugh at a stranger whose style is different, or what appears to them awkward, which indeed is often the case.

We amused ourselves here for about two hours; and then, finding all the omnibuses quite full, determined to walk home down the Champs Elysees, and we were well repaid. It was a lovely summer evening, and the distant lamps of the marchands among the trees gave a pretty effect to this favourite rendezvous of the Parisians. The asphalte promenades of the Place de la Concorde were quietly gleaming in the moonlight, and the last band of noisy students was returning from the Chaumière, as we reached home, much delighted with our fête.

KNIPS.

WIT OF THE ANCIENTS. PROM THE ORIGINAL AUTHORS; WITH REFERENCES.

(For the Mirror.)

ENNIUS, the poet, used to say that it was easier for men of wit to keep burning coals within their teeth, than good sayings Cic. de Orat. ii. 54. [In the original bona dicta, which was applied among the Romans, as good things among us, to facetiæ or witticisms.]

A man once said to Aristippus, "In what respect will my son be the better for being instructed ?" "At least," replied Aristippus, he will gain this advantage, that he

will not sit in the theatre as a stone upon a stone."-Dioj. Laert. ii. 72. [It appears that the seats in the Greek theatre were of stone.]

Philippus, a greedy and unprincipled fellow at Rome, being attacked by Catulus the orator, asked him why he barked? "Because," replied Catulus, "I see thief."-Cic. de Orat. ii. 54.

a

As Diogenes was one day washing herbs for his dinner, Aristippus passed by, "Ah," cried Diogenes, "if you knew how to wash

herbs, you would not be a dependant on kings." "And if you," replied Aristippus, "knew how to be a dependant on kings, you would not wash herbs."-Dioj. Laert. ii. 68, compared with Hor. Ep. i. 17.

gained by the study of philosophy, replied, Aristippus, being asked what he had men."-Dioj. Laert. ii. 68. "To be able to converse readily with all

tion, replied, "To be able to converse with Antisthenes, being asked the same quesmyself."-Dioj. Laert. vi, 6.

Brutus, an orator, who had squandered his patrimony, and sold, among other things, some valuable baths left him by his father, was one day pleading against a man defended by Crassus. Brutus, in the course of his speech, said that he was sweating without reason; meaning that he was labouring to prove what was already plain. "No wonder that you sweat," retorted Crassus, "for you have but just quitted your bath.”- Cica de Orat. ii. 55.

Largius had a mistress at Terracina, with whom Memmius took liberties. Memmius was of a character so morose, and at the same time so violent and passionate, as to give occasion to Crassus to spread a report that he had torn her in pieces. This report he spread in the following manner :Coming from Taracina to Rome, he was asked "what news ?" "None," said he, smiling," but that I observed the walls of the city chalked with the letters M. M. L. L. L." "And what do they mean?" inquired his hearers. "Why I asked a man of the city," said he, "and he told me that they meant Morose Memmius Lacerated Largius's Limbs."-Cic. de Orat. ii 59. [The words in the original form an Iambic verse:

Lucerat Lacertum Largii Mordax Memmius.]