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year; but as a few pence, generally purchase a good omen, he seldom prophesies the deaths of his believers. ¶. ¶.

This "Ben Barr," of Helpstone, must be an useful fellow to timid believers in such affairs. He seems to have created for himself a place of trust and profit; if he is only a wag he may enjoy his emoluments with his humour, and do no harm; but should he assume to foretel mischief to his believers, he is, legally speaking, a "sturdy rogue." The seeing of supernatural sights by a paid proxy is a novelty in the annals of superstition. But if Ben Barr is the first, so he is the last of such seers. He will have no successor in office, there will be little demand for such a functionary, the income will fall off, and no one will undertake to see "Satan's invisible world," and warn unbelievers in ghosts, for nothing.

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tasted the "knowledge of good and evil,” and from depth of reflection welled up wisdom he loves only what is good, and attaches himself only to what is great in his species; this is from sympathy, not contact. Silence and time are not of man's make, and hence the wise court solitude from the wrongs and follies of surrounding beings, and enjoy a portion of their existence in contemplating the pure forms of nature. The perverted genius which preferred

"The sweet shady side

Of a grove in Pall Mall"

to rural scenery, by a little further perversion, would have preferred the groves of Moloch to the plains of Mamre.

If one would live by nature's laws,
Regardless of the world's applause;
And be desirous of a spot
Whereon to build a humble cot,
What situation can compare
With that where purest country air
Dispels the vapours and the spleen,
And makes one wear a bealthful mien?

Than in the country tell me where Men freer are from pining care? Where can they sounder sleep enjoy, Or time more harmlessly employ? Do marble pavements more delight, Than the green turf that cheers the sight? Or does the water of the town, From the New-river head brought down Taste sweeter than the crystal rills, That trickle down the verdant hills?

So much are rustic scenes admir'd,
And rural prospects now desir'd,
That in the town one often sees
The houses shaded by tall trees,
Which give them quite a country look,
And fill with envy my lord-duke.
And if a mansion can command
Of Hampstead, or the Surrey hills,
A distant prospect o'er the land

Its site with admiration fills.
Each connoisseur, with wond'ring eyes,
Beholds it, and enraptur'd cries,
"What charming prospect! air how free
"The rus in urbe here we see."
For nature still will have her way,
Let men do whatsoe'er they may.
And still that pure and genuine taste,
In every mind by Heav'n plac'd,
Will show itself some how in part,
Howe'er corrupted by vile art.
Who know not silver from vile dross,
Will not sustain a heavier loss
Than they who truth and falsehood join,
And know not where to strike the line.

Whoe'er with success is elated,
Will be more wretched when ill-fated;
And things which mortals value most
Cause greatest pain when they are lost.
Let not ambition then destroy
Your happiness and heart-felt joy;
Contentment more true pleasure brings
Than all the wealth and pomp of kings.

FLORAL DIRECTORY.

Yellow Erysemum. Erysemum Barbarea.

Dedicated to St. Richarius.

April 27

St. Anthimus, Bp. and many other Martyrs at Nicomedia, A. D. 303. St. Anastasius, Pope, a. D. 401. St. Zita,

A. D. 1272.

CHRONOLOGY.

1742. Nicholas Amhurst, an English political, poetical, and miscellaneous writer, died in poverty and of a broken heart at Twickenham, at the age of thirtysix.

He was author of "Terræ Filius," a severe satire on the university of Oxford, from whence he had been expelled, and he edited the once celebrated "Craftsman," one of the most popular Journals ever printed, and the most effective of all the publications against the

Walpole administration. Bolingbroke and Pulteney with whom he had been associated in the conduct of this paper, and whose interests he had promoted by his wit, learning, and knowledge, deserted him when they had attained their Mr. purposes by Walpole's downfal. A. Chalmers concludes a memoir of him by an observation that ought to be rivetted on the mind of every man who thinks himself a public character. "The ingratitude of statesmen to the persons whom they make use of as the instruments of their ambition, should furnish an instruction to men of abilities in future times; and engage them to build their happiness on the foundation of their own personal integrity, discretion, and virtue." Ralph the historian, in one of his pamphlets, says "Poor Amhurst, after having been the drudge of his party for the best part of twenty years together, was as much forgotten in the famous compromise of 1742, as if he had never been born! and when he died of what is called a broken heart, which happened a few months afterwards, became indebted to the charity of (Richard Francklin) a bookseller for a grave; not to be traced now, because then no otherwise to be distinguished, than by the freshness of the turf, borrowed from the next common to cover it."

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CHRONOLOGY.

1535. Albert Pio, price of Carpi, was buried with extraordinary pomp in the church of the Cordeliers at Paris. He had been deprived of his principality by the duke of Ferara, became an author, and finally a fanatic. Entering one day into one of the churches at Madrid, he presented holy water to a lady who had a very thin hand ornamented by a most beautiful and valuable ring. He exclaimed in a loud voice as she reached the water, "Madam, I admire the ring more than the hand." The lady instantly exclaimed with reference to the cordon with which he was decorated, " And for my part, I admire the halter more than I do the ass." He was buried in the habit of a Cordelier, and Erasmus made a satire upon the circumstance, entitled the "Seraphic Interment."

1772. The counts Struensee, the Danish prime minister, and Brandt, the favourite of the king of Denmark, were executed opposite the eastern gate of Copenhagen. Their alleged crime was an intrigue with the queen of Denmark, the princes Carolina Matilda of England, sister to king George III., on whose entreaty she was removed from confinement in the castle of Cronenburg to Zell in the electorate of Hanover, where she died about three years afterwards.

FLORAL DIRECTORY.

Cuckoo Pink. Arum Maculatum. Dedicated to Sts. Didymus and Theodora

April 29,

St. Peter, Martyr, A. D. 1252. St. Robert, Abbot of Molesme, A. D. 1110. St. Hugh, Abbot of Cluni, A. D. 1109. St. Fiachna, A. D. 630.

CHRONOLOGY.

1779. Died at Pershore in Worcestershire, the Rev. John Ash, L. L. D. He was an eminent minister among the dissenters, but is better known for his grammar and other works in philology. His "Complete English Dictionary," until the appearance of Mr. Todd's octavo edition of Johnson's, was the best compendium of words that could be referred to, and may still be consulted with advantage by the student.

1822. Sir Isaac Heard, garter principal king at arms, died aged ninety-one. He was a good herald and an amiable man.

A Morning in Spring.

The dawn now breaks, the dews distil, The low'ring clouds begin to rise, And zephyrs fan the waving hill; And chilly vapours blot the skies O'er neighb'ring woods the golden ray Emits the blush of op'ning day: The flocks, that leave the verdant brake, The dew-drops from their fleeces shake: The lawns, with gems besprinkled shine; The spider weaves his silky line; The cowslip, mark'd with spots of gold And daisies, all their hues unfold; The violets, more modest, shade The early lark now wings her flight, Their odours in the silent glade; And gaily soars beyond the sight; The tender linnet, and the thrush, Resound from ev'ry dripping bush, And finches, perch'd on many a spray, With dulcet sounds proclaim the day; The housewife now prepares to bake The kneaded bread, or homely cake; Or sets the milk, or tends the race That haunts her yard, or kitchen grace. When nature clothes the various scene With tufts of flow'rs, and robes of green; When limpid streams their lustres give, With lovely nymphs and happy swains, And health, and glad contentment live In humble cots, or tranquil plains, I bless her bounties, and I raise My artless theme to sounds of praise. While others seek for wealth and pow'r, Let me enjoy the sober hour Which converse, or which books bestow, To soothe the heart, and blunt jts woe!

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ing cut off her hair to keep her vow, they made her a kitchen-maid; but her father, one day as he was praying in a corner, seeing the Holy Ghost sitting upon her head in the shape of a dove, she was released from drudgery, and was favoured with a revelation from St. Dominick. She eat no meat, drank only water, and at fast left off bread, sustaining herself by herbs alone, and her grace before meals was, "Let us go take the punishment due to this miserable sinner She so mastered sleep, that she scarcely took any rest, and her bed was only boards. She wore around her body next to the skin a chain of iron, which sunk into her flesh. Three times a day, and for an hour and a half each time, she flogged herself with another iron chain, till great streams of blood ran down; and when she took the black and white habit of the order of St. Dominick she increased her mortification. For three years she never spoke, except at confession; never stirred out of her cell but to go to the church; and sat up all night watching-taking rest in the quire at matins only, and then lying upon the floor with a piece of wood under her head for a bolster. She was tempted by devils in a strange manner described by Ribadeneira: but to drive them away, she disciplined her body with the iron chain so much the more. When the fiend perceived he could make no impression on her virginal heart, he changed his battery. She had undertaken to cure an old woman who had a cancer in her breast so loathsome, that no one would go near her, but by the devil's instigation, the old woman gave out that Catharine was not as good as she should be, and stuck to her point. Catharine, knowing the devil's tricks, would not desist; and, to do her honour,Christ appeared, and offered to her the choice of two crowns one of pure gold, the other of thorns; she took the crown of thorns, pressed it so close upon her head, that it gave her great pain; and Christ commanded her to continue her attendance upon the woman, who, in consequence of a vision, confessed her calumny, to the great confusion of the devil. Ribadeneira says that after this, Christ appeared to her, "opened to her the wound in his side, and made her drink till she was so ravished, that her soul was deprived of its functions." Her love and affection to Christ were so intense, that she was almost always languishing and sick; at last it took away her life, and she was dead for

four hours, in which time she saw strange things concerning heaven, hell, and purgatory. On a certain day he appeared te her, with his mother and other saints, and espoused her in a marvellous and singu lar manner; visited her almost continually with the greatest familiarity and affection, sometimes in their company, though ordinarily he came alone, and entertained her by reciting and singing psalms with her. Once as she was coming home from church, he appeared to her in the disguise of a pilgrim, and begged a coat of her; she returned to the church, and secretly taking off her petticoat, brought it to him, not knowing who he was. He asked her for a shirt; she bade him follow her home, and she gave him her shift. Not content with this, he requested more clothes of her, as well for himself as a companion; but as she had nothing else left, and was much afflicted, in the night, he appeared to her as the pilgrim, and showing her what she had bestowed upon him in the garb he had assumed, promised to give her an invisible garment, which should keep her from all cold both of body and soul. One time she prayed to him to take from her her heart of flesh, and it seemed to her that he came, and opening her side, took out her heart, and carried it away with him. It appeared almost incredible to her confessor when she told him she had no heart; "Yet," says Ribadeneira, "that which happened afterwards was a certain argument of the truth; for, in a few days, Christ appeared to her in great brightness, holding in his hand a ruddy heart, most beautiful to behold, and coming to her, put it into her left side, and said, My daughter Catharine, now thou hast my heart instead of thy own;' and having said this he closed up her side again, in proof whereof a scar remained in her side, which she often showed." By her influence with heaven, she obtained forgiveness for numbers that were ready to fall into hell. Two hardened and impenitent thieves, being led to execution, and tied and tortured on a cart, were attended by a multitude of devils. Catharine begged the favour of going with them in the cart to the city gates, and there by her prayers and intercession, Christ showed himself to the thieves, all bloody and full of wounds, invited them to penance, and promised them pardon if they would repent, which they accordingly did. Through her intercession, her mother, who died

without confession, was raised to life again, and lived till she was fourscore and nine years old. She had the gift of prophecy, healed the sick at the last gasp, cast out devils, and worked miracles. Once making bread of tainted flour, the "queen of angels" came to help her to knead it, and it proved to be most excellent bread, white and savoury. She drew also very good wine out of an empty hogshead. Her numerous victories over the devil enraged him so much, that he tormented her till she was nothing but skin and bones. Sometimes he amused himself with throwing her into the fire, and the marks and prints of the wounds he gave her, appeared all over her body. "At length," says Ribadeneira, "when she was three and thirty years old, she entered into an agony, fought the devil valiantly, and triumphed over him at her death, which happened at Rome on the 29th of April, 1380, her ghost appearing

to Father Raymundus, her confessor, at Genoa, on the same day, and her body working so many miracles, that for the multitude of people resorting thither, it could not be buried for three days." All this may be seen in Ribadeneira's "Lives of the Saints," with more, which, from regard to the reader's feelings, is not even adverted to. It should be added, that the present particulars are from the "Miraculous Host," a pamphlet published in 1821, in illustration of a story, said to have been used in converting two ladies, belonging to the family of Mr. Loveday, of Hammersmith.

THE SEASON.

With the spring comes the lark, and now she carols her rich melody from the earliest beam to the meridian of solar glory. There is no enjoyment more delicious to the ear of nature, than her aerial song in this delightful season :—

THE SKY-LARK.

O, earliest singer! O, care-charming bird.
Married to Morning by a sweeter hymn
Than priest e'er chaunted from his cloister dim
At midnight, or veiled virgin's holier word
At sunrise or the paler evening heard,--

To which of all Heaven's young and lovely Hours,
Who wreathe soft light in hyacinthine bowers,
Beautiful Spirit, is thy suit preferred?
-Unlike the creatures of this low dull earth,
Still dost thou woo, although thy suit be won;
And thus thy mistress bright is pleased ever.
Oh! lose not thou this mark of finer birth-
So may'st thou yet live on, from sun to sun,
Thy joy uncheck'd, thy sweet song silent never.

Barry Cornwall.

THE WEATHER.

To the indications respecting rain by the flight of the swallow, mentioned under April 23, should be added, that when the swallow is observed to fly high, the weather will probably be fair. There are also some other indications in a set of old rules which may be consulted; viz.

Prognostics of the Weather.

To be able to ascertain the future changes of the weather, is of infinite use to the farmer and gardener.

Animals are evidently sooner sensible of the ensuing change of the atmosphere than we are, and from their divers appearance, and apparent sensations, we

may in many instances determine what changes are likely to take place.

The following may be set down as general rules, and upon minute observation we shall find them correct.

When the raven is observed early in the morning at a great height in the air, soaring round and round, and uttering a hoarse croaking sound, we may be sure the day will be fine, and may conclude the weather is about to clear and become fair.

The loud and clamorous quackling of ducks, geese, and other water-fowl, is a sign of rain.

Before rain swine appear very uneasy, and rub in the dust, as do cocks and

hens.

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