and build on great men's promises, which are generally forgotten as soon as made.

At fifty, and even at sixty years of age, they still continue to go to the ball. They must try and get off their daughters; they seek a patron for their grandsons, and make it appear also to every one, that they are still in the vigour of life, and that it would be a shame for them to think of burying themselves in retirement. Frenchmen, therefore, are seen during all their lives IN THE BALLROOM!

SEA-SICKNESS.-Dr. Thomson, in his Travels in Sweden, mentions a remedy for sea-sickness. It is brisk bottled porter, a few glasses of which (says he), taken after the sickness has continued a day or so, I have never seen fail to produce almost immediate relief. This may, perhaps, depend in some measure upon the briskness of the porter; but not altogether, for ale, although equally brisk, has not the same effect.

LEECHES. An interesting memoir on this subject was published in 1823, by M. Noble, in which he states that these useful animals may be preserved and bred in troughs, with a little care, and a few simple contrivances; the great mortality which occurs among them when crowded into small vessels, being owing to the stronger devouring the weaker for the sake of nourishment. M. Noble constructed a trough seven feet long, three feet wide and as many deep, with sloping sides, lined with clay. It had a constant stream of water passing through it, and in one of the corners rushes were planted. It was exposed to the sun, but sheltered from the north wind. In November he placed 200 grey and green leeches in it, where they passed the winter buried in the mud. Towards the end of the following spring, several young ones were seen sticking to the old ones, and swimming occasionally, as if to try their strength. In August he observed several conical holes in the

mud, each of which contained a little oval cocoon, as big as that of a silk worm, and porous outwardly. Some of these were perforated at each end and empty, some were filled with a transparent jelly, and the rest contained from nine to twelve young leeches, which in a few days pierced their envelope, and swam vigorously about. M. Noble could not observe the formation of any of the cocoons; but the mode of producing them has been long known to the people in the department of Finisterre, who are thus enabled to supply Paris with leeches. The workmen dig them up from the bottom of the little muddy pool, and place them in small ponds prepared for that purpose. Six months afterwards the young are removed into larger ponds, on the banks of which cows and horses are brought to feed, experience having taught the country people, that the leech is never prolific till it has sucked blood,

Is situated on the South-West side of the town of St. Albans, Herts, upon the summit of a hill anciently called Holynhurst or Holmhurst, the Saint of that name being supposed to have suffered martyrdom here; the building has little external ornament to boast of, but from the boldness of its situation, has a striking effect when viewed from a distance. Its shape is that of a long cross, and it consists of a square embattled bell-tower, a nave, choir, Lady Chapel, and transepts. The dimensions are as follow ;-from the West door to the high altar is 411 feet, and from thence to the East end of the Lady Chapel 189 feet,-in all 600. The breadth of the transept is nearly 32 feet, its extreme length

174 feet, and the nave with its ailes is 74 feet broad.

The material of which the Abbey is constructed is a reddish brick; time and the weather have given it the appearance of stone on the outside, but if a fragment be broken off, the pristine colour is immediately discernible. At the dissolution of monasteries, the towns-people paid £400 to prevent this Abbey from being demolished, and have since converted it into a parish church, nor are there many buildings in England which deserve more particular regard for their extent, beauty and antiquity. It once contained a very noble font of solid brass, in which, it is said, the children of the kings of Scotland were

formerly baptized, and which was brought from Edinburgh by Sir Philip Lea, but during the civil wars it was taken away. In the year 1710 there was discovered in this church the tomb of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and when the leaden coffin was opened, the body was found to be petty entire, having been pre served in a kind of pickle. The liquid has since evaporated, but the bones still remain, and the coffin, being much injured by time, has been placed in a wooden shell. To satisfy the curiosity of travellers, a flight of stairs affords an entrance to the vault, the opening to which is closed by a trap-door. The South-side of the church is graced by a large and magnificent altar-tomb, erected to the memory of the Duke.

ENGLISH DRAMATISTS.

(Resumed from p. 69.)

[Among she Rev. Joseph's Spence's

"Anecdotes of Books and Men" which, after remaining in MS. £ nearly a century, were given to the world in two different editions, about four years since), are scattered many interesting notices of the English Dramatic Writers. These we have selected, for the satisfaction of such of our readers as love the Theatre and every thing connected with it; and here present them, alphabetically arranged.]

ADDISON wrote the first four acts of his "Cato" abroad; at least, they

were written when I met him accidentally on his return, at Rotterdam. TONSON.

The love part was flung in after, to comply with the popular taste; and the last act was never written till six or seven vears after he came home. An audience was laid for "The Distressed Mother," and, when they found it would do, it was prac tised again, yet more successfully, for "Cato." Lord Bolingbroke's carrying his friends to the house, and pre

CONGREVE. None of our writers have an easier way for comedy than Congreve. I never knew any body that had so much wit as Congreve.

(LADY M. W. MONTAGUE.)

Speaking of Congreve, who had died a year or two before, Pope said, with a sigh," Ay, he was Ultimus Romanorum."

Garth, Vanbrugh, and Congreve, were the three most honest-hearted and good men of the poetical members of the Kit Cat Club.

(POPE AND TONSON.)

Congreve was very intimate for years with Mrs. Bracegirdle, and lived in the same street. His house was very near hers, until his acquaintance with the young Duchess of Marlborough; he then quitted that house. The Duchess shewed me a

diamond necklace that cost seven thousand pounds, and was purchased with the money, Congreve left her. How much better would it have been to have given it to poor Mrs. Brace girdle. (YOUNG.)

two of the coolest, most insignificant fellows I ever met with on the stage." This, if it was not spoken out of resentment, betrayed a great want of judgment; for, Smith and Johnson are men of sense, and should certainly say but little to such stuff: only enough to make Bayes shew on. (LOCKIER, DEAN OF PETERBOROUGH.) I don't think Dryden so bad a writer as you seem to do. There are many things as finely said in his plays, as almost by any body*. Besides his three best ("All For Love," "Don Sebastian, and "The Spanish Fryar,") there are others that are good, as "Sir Martin "Cleomenes," Mar-all,' ," "Limberham," and "The Conquest of Mexico." His " Wild Gallant" was written while he was a boy, and is very bad. All his plays are printed in the order in which they

were written.

Dryden lived in Gerrard Street, and used most commonly write in the ground-room, next the street. For some time he wrote a play (at least) every year; but, in those days, ten broad pieces was the usual highest price for a play; and, if they got 501. more in the acting, it was reckoned very well. It was Dryden who made Will's Coffee-house the great resort for the wits of his time. After his death, Addison transferred it to Button's, who had been a servant of his.

(POPE)

Addison was so eager to be the first name, that he and his friend Sir Richard Steele used to run down Dryden's character as far as they could. Pope and Congreve used to support it. (TONSON.)

DAVENANT. The notion of Sir W. Davenant's being more than a poetical child of Shakspeare, was common in town; and Sir William himself seemed fond of having it taken for truth. (POPE.)

In No. 1 of "The Retrospective Review," an interesting Essay on the merits of Dryden's Plays is given, and many beautiful passages selected from them, which sufficiently shew the correctness of Pope's assertion.-ED.

ENGLISH PLAYS, said Voltaire, are like English puddings: nobody has any taste for them, but themselves. (FANSHAW.)

ETHERIDGE. Sir George Etheridge was as thorough a fop as ever I saw was exactly his own SIR TOPLING FLUTTER; and yet he designed DORIMANT, the genteel rake of wit, for his own picture.

(LOCKIER, DEAN of Peterbough.)

EEARLY DRAMATISTS. Webster, Marston, Goff, Kyd, and Massinger, were the persons Pope instanced as tolerable writers of Tragedy in Ben Jonson's time.

(Resumed at p. 90.)

SMOKERS SMOKED.

Iondon, Feb. 14, 1825.

66

MR. EDITOR,-I address you on a subject which, as you are always ready to aim at correcting the various evils attending upon a perambuovergrown lation through this town*," I have no doubt you will submit to the consideration of your numerous readers,-I allude to the disagreeable practice of smoking ia the public streets, which is carried to such an extent, that no persons, hav ing any regard for their olfactory nerves, can walk along without being annoyed by gentlemen's cigars and labourers' pipes.

"to

because,

The supporters of this disagreeable practice may be divided into three distinct classes, viz.: First, gentlemen, who must needs smoke cigars, beguile the tedious way, poor souls, they have no object for reflection, no food for the mind to digest, nothing to employ their ideas upon: I pity them from my heart; for myself, I can always find something to think of, let my walk be ever so long and lonely, without the aid of either cigar or pipe. This class of smokers is the more offensive, às they do not confine their operations to a fixed time, if they did, it would greatly lessen the evil, as persons

See particularly vol. ii. p. 42.