226 company VARIOUS ANECDOTES. namely, attending funerals. When he heard of the death of any great man, through the channel of the newspapers, he made post haste preparations to acit. He often travelled to York and the confines of Scotland to be present at the interment of some nobleman or gentleman; no matter what were their principles or profession of religion; they equally commanded his respect and attention, provided the funeral was magnificent. His highest ambition was to obtain one of the little escutcheons, which he considered as so many trophies of his glory; and as he became known to most of the undertakers, and a constant companion in their peregrinations, they seldom or ever refused his requests. At last, through inattention of his own affairs whilst attending to those of others, he unexpectedly found himself in great distress; but although reduced almost to a want of the common necessaries of life, his passion for death-hunting still prevailed; and though he could no longer afford to ride, he walked. Whenever the journey was too long, he bribed or persuaded the good natured hearsedrivers to let him be an inside passenger with the coffin. In this doleful way he traversed England over and over again, but unfortunately fell a martyr at last to his favorite pursuit. For, being an inside passenger on one of these solemn occasions in very hot weather, and there being no air-holes as usual in the hearse, when they took out the corpse, poor Mr. L. was found dead from suffocation. Good and Bad Luck. ONE person will swallow penknives and yet live on many years; whilst another, in eating, gets a small piece of meat in his windpipe and dies. One has the shaft of a gig pass through his body and recovers; another only runs a thorn into his hand and no skill can save him. One is thrown fifty or a hundred feet down a cliff, and survives; another has his neck broken by a horse in his chaise, on a smooth level plain. We have lately seen an aged and healthy minister who fell from the belfry of a common steeple to the ground a few years ago; but we have also seen a lady die in consequence of falling down gently on a level floor. So that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle always to the strong. Questions and Answers. IF I give away one quarter of a penny apple, why am I like an astronomer's telescope? Because I make a far-thing present. WHY does wood feel warmer than iron in the same room, or in the same atmosphere? ANSWER. Because iron has a stronger affinity for heat than wood, and conducts it from the hand much swifter than the wood; in other terms, it is a good conductor; it appropriates heat to itself as much faster than wood, as wood removes heat to itself faster than feathers or wool. Mourning Colors. VARIETIES. ALL nations give reasons for the colors they have adopted for mourning. It is curious to observe that no two are alike, that taste varies with a boundary line, and yet that all these mournings are appropriate enough. In Europe black is generally used, because it represents darkness-unto which death is like, as it is a privation of life. In China, white is used, because they hope the dead are in heaven, the place of purity. In Egypt, yellow is used, because it represents the decaying of trees and flowers, which become yellow as they die away. In Ethiopia, brown is used, because it denotes the color of the earth from which we came, and to which we return. In some parts of Turkey blue is used, because it represents the sky, where they hope the dead are gone; but in other parts purple and violet, because being a mixture of black and blue, it represents as it were, sorrow on the one side, and hope on the other. The Thrush, vulgarly called Red Thresher. THRUSHES get at the snails on which they principally feed, by taking them into their beak and hammering the shells against a stone until they are broken. A thrush was brought up from the nest, and kept many years. It was so tame as to be allowed to play about the room, when, though it had never seen any oth 227 er thrush, its chief amusement was to take a silver thimble in its beak, and endeavor with great earnestness and perseverance to break it, as the wild thrush breaks the shell of snails, by hammering it violently against any hard substance. All birds have a craving for animal or insect food, and even the graniverous kinds of songsters, when animal or insect food can be had, will subsist principally on this species of food. Illustration of Psalm xxii. 5. 'I confess,' said Captain Wilson, 'that since my return from India, I have been forcibly struck with several things, which prove the scriptures to be an eastern book. To mention an instance. The language of one of the Psalms, where David says, 'Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over,' most likely alludes to a custom which continues to this day. The ceremony was once performed upon myself,in the house of a rich Indian, in the presence of a large company. The gentleman of the house poured upon my hands and arms a delightful and odoriferous perfume, put a golden cup into my hand, and poured wine into it till it run over, assuring me, at the same time, that it was a great pleasure to receive me, and that I should find a rich supply in his house. I think the poet expressed his sense of Divine goodness by this allusion. WHY are French dancers like toad stools or puff-balls? Because they spring up in a night, stand on one leg, and are always puffed. : The Saxons, the Ancestors of Englishmen. THE Saxons had formerly four different ranks; 1. the nobility; 2. the freeman (franklin); 3. the freedman; 4. the serf, or slave and as it was arranged by law that each person should' marry into his own rank, their different orders were preserved uncontaminated; whoever disobeyed this law, expiated the crime by instant death. The most severe laws were used for the punishment of malefactors. They had also many other useful customs and good laws, for the promotion of probity and good order, which would have been the means of producing the most perfect happiness, had they any true knowledge of their Creator. They worshipped, besides their other deities, the trunks and leaves of trees, and filled with them a temple which they named Irmensal. They worshipped Mercury, to whom, on certain days, they offered human sacrifices. They considered their gods as too great and dignified to be shut up in temples, or formed in the likeness of men; they therefore consecrated groves and woods to them, in which their worship was performed. They placed great faith in signs and omens, particularly in the notes and flight of birds, and the snorting and neighing of horses. One of these animals which was kept by the priests was deemed sacred, and when they were a bout to declare war against their enemies he was led out. If he put his right foot forward it was considered a good omen, but if he stepped with his left foot first the omen was considered unlucky, and they desisted from their intended enterprise. They sowed barley and wheat, from which they not only made the finest white bread, but also a peculiar sort of drink, a sort of beer, of which they drank immoderately. It is almost incredible how much of this liquor they consumed at a meal; he who was able to drink the most, acquired not only fame and praises, but was crowned with a garland of roses and sweet-smelling herbs. He who, after many invitations, refused to drink with his companions was considered an enemy. When they drank they were accustomed to pledge each other; that is, the person who was about to drink, asked one of the company, whether he would pledge him,-the other replying that he would, held up his knife or sword, to guard him whilst he drank, to protect him from the treacherous stroke of some secret enemy. At their banquets their diet was rude, consisting of venison, dry sausages, onions, wild apples, curds, creams, and salt butter. At the royal banquets, besides their common drink, they had rich wines, or liquors made of honey, and mulberryjuice mixed with spices. These meetings generally terminated in riotous excessive drinking, not excepting even their religious festivals, at which they swallowed large draughts in honor of their gods. 230 TALES OF THE SAXONS. Hospitality may be justly reckoned fur inwards; they wore round their throats a metal collar bearing their own name, and the name of the noble, or freeman, who owned them. among the national virtues of the Anglo-Saxons, for in social entertainment and hospitality no nation was ever more liberal; they received all comers, without exception, into their houses, and feasted them in the best manner that their circumstances could afford. When all their provisions were consumed, they conducted their guests to the next house, where they were received with the same frankness, and entertained with the same generosity. These people were described by all the ancient writers, as remarkably tall, strong, and hardy in their persons, delighting much in war and military exercises, and accounting it more honorable to take the necessaries of life by force from others, than to provide them by their own industry. They were free and bountiful in their manners, of a cheerful temper, and, though fierce and savage to their enemies, kind and liberal towards each other. Long after their settlement in this island, they were remarkable among the European nations for the symmetry of their shape, the fairness of their complexions, and the fineness of their hair. Their dress was very simple, that of the serf, or peasant, being a loose tunic made of linen or woolen cloth, ornamented with patches of the skins of different animals; they also had large stockings of clumsy manufacture, which reached to the knee, but not unfrequently went barefoot. On the head they wore a rude cap made of skins with the The dress of the king and his nobles was a loose tunic, added to the mantle or cloak, which hung down before and behind, and was fastened on one shoulder with a brooch or buckle. They covered their legs with a kind of bandage, which was wound round, or with a stocking reaching above the knee. They had also a sort of boot, curiously ornamented at the top. The females wore a long loose robe, reaching to the ground. The head was covered with a hood, or veil, which, falling down in front, was wrapped about the neck. The Anglo-Saxons considered fine hair as one of the greatest ornaments to their persons, and took great pains to dress it to advantage. Young unmarried women wore their hair uncovered, and flowing in ringlets over their shoulders, but as soon as they were married, they cut it shorter, tied it up, and put on a head-dress. To have the hair entirely cut off was a great disgrace, so much so, that it was used as a capital punishment. The clergy were obliged to shave the crowns of their heads, and to keep their hair short, which distinguished them from the laity. The men allowed their beards to grow. The Saxons never went to war without consulting their wives, to whose advice they paid the greatest regard. Their arms consisted of a spear or lance, which was carried in the hand, a long sword |