urged against him; instead of a clear refutation, or a manly confession of mistake and error,-there is little else in this pamphlet but a most general and unconnected repetition of his former (why former?) theories and assertions. We see in it only the signs of an imbecile irritability, evidently sensible to reproach ;-conscious that it is but too well founded,--but unwilling to confess its justice, and unable to avoid its sting."

Now, Mr Editor, I maintain, contrary to this very arrogant assertion, that there never appeared a more complete triumph of truth over injustice,-over the most illiberal, unfair, unphilosophical modes of attack, than is contained in Dr Spurzheim's pamphlet. A. M. will find himself mistaken in supposing that Spurzheim's doctrine has lived its little hour." If it dies, it will not probably fall by his hand, whose head, I am persuaded, would, if exhibited, confirm its existence. The method which I took to satisfy myself whether Spurzheim was worth attending to (for I had at first very great doubts of the doctrine being any thing but quackery) was to examine my own cranium. I am not ashamed to confess to those who know me, that some evil propensities annoy me; and having found that there appeared more brain in those places which Spurzheim pointed out in his lecture, as belonging to these propensities, than in corresponding places of heads of persons who, I knew, had them not in so great a degree, I determined to listen with attention, and to read Spurzheim's work without prejudice. I would advise A. M. to follow the same course, for it is by observation alone that the doctrine can be confirmed or destroyed. But to be able to observe well requires much practice; and it is also necessary to observe the conditions which are requisite for the action of any organ, as they are laid down by Spurzheim. The doctrine may be confirmed without any appeal to anatomy, but it is probable that anatomical observations will yet be sufficiently multiplied in support of it. S. R.

June 23d, 1817.

P. S. The word craniology is an invention of Spurzheim's enemies. It is not of the bone he treats, but of the manifestations of the mind as dependent on organization. Phrenology would be a more appropriate word.

STORY OF ARISTUS AND DEINUS.

IN this lower world there are two hostile energies constantly at work, plotting and countermining each other, known among philosophers by the names of the Good and the Evil Principles. Previous to the fall of Adam, according to the most modern historical divines, the former was uniformly uppermost; but in the memory of man, when the dispute has proceeded on any thing like equal terms, the latter has now and then got the ascendency. You may, by an easy effort of abstraction, divide the body politic into two halves, and by comparing the sections, satisfy yourselves in regard to the present state of the controversy; meanwhile I shall tell my other readers a short story.

Under the reign of Abdalonimus, on whom Alexander had bestowed the government of Sidon, flourished two young noblemen of the highest rank and expectations. Having gone through the same course of studies together at Athens, an intimacy subsisted between them, as cordial as a radical difference of character, discernible from their earliest years, admitted of. Open, courteous, and brave, Aristus had employed talents of the first order to the best purposes, enriching his mind with useful and polite knowledge. He studied himself, however, more than the world, and fashioned his principles rather on the abstract excellence of virtue, than after the practice of the times. But of the latter he was by no means ignorant. He saw and confessed the necessity of reserve and secret management in conducting human affairs, and was not unprepared to yield, as far as honour and good faith would permit, to the incurable errors of society. Deinus, with an understanding equally strong, had prepared himself for the stations he was likely to fill in a manner somewhat different. Sagacious, observant, and selfish, he investigated the dispositions of men with the eye of an artist, and marked their vices and virtues merely as the handles by means of which he could render them obedient to his designs. Impartial in his choice of good or bad men, the equal patron of all who could serve him effectually, he acknowledged the distinction of utility alone. A true politician, he neither loved nor hated. Avarice and ambition being his sole passions, his

actions were generous or detestable, as circumstances affected their gratification. Among their academical friends, Aristus was universally beloved and cherished, while his countryman enjoyed a certain undefined respect and deference, rather bordering on suspi

cion than veneration.

In their persons the distinction was equally striking. The one exhibited a tall and powerful structure, exquisitely proportioned, with a masculine cast of features, softened by an expression of bewitching sweetness and candour. The other was of rather a dwarfish stature. His legs, being limber and short, were but indifferently fitted to a very thick trunk and deep chest. His head was a good deal larger than the proportion of his other parts warranted. Dark penetrating eyes moved with inconceivable rapidity beneath a pair of bushy eyebrows, of a deep black colour, which, from the faculty of knitting his brows, having often approached each other, formed a junction in the middle. But the equability of his temper, over which, though naturally impetuous, he had obtained a perfect command, prevented any very harsh features from predominating in his countenance; and a constant flow of something like wit and humour, made him pass among the superficial for an agreeable companion.

Having left the Academy, and returned to their native city at the same time, they entered, under auspices almost equally favourable to each, on the great race of public life. At court their interest was so strong, that when either laid pretensions to any office or employment, every other competitor withdrew. When they happened to be rivals, however, it was remarked that Deinus was uniformly successful; a circumstance which excited some indignation in the breasts of many, since the recognised attributes of each seemed averse to this preference. As his method of solicitation is never practised in modern times, I may give an instance of it, to prevent its being utterly forgotten.

A malicious report, to the prejudice of his Sidonian Majesty's integrity, having reached the court of Alexander, that ardent monarch being, at the time he heard it, a little heated with wine, swore some terrible oaths about cutting off his head, and rendering him a terror to all royal peculators present

and to come. An imperious summons was instantly despatched, commanding him to appear at Babylon on a certain day, either in person or by deputy, to state his defences; a hint being subjoined by the secretary, that if the latter method was adopted, Aristus, who, when in Greece, had been presented to Alexander, and enjoyed much of his esteem, was the likeliest person to succeed. Abdalonimus, though conscious of innocence, and of the impartiality of the tribunal before which he had to plead, having once before escaped on a similar occasion, yet entertaining no very magnificent idea of his royal brother's talent for deliberate investigation, judged it most prudent to remain at home. He was accordingly attacked at once by a violent fit of gout and asthma, which rendered a personal interview impossible; and preparations were ordered for the most splendid embassy which had ever left that city. The choice of an ambassador seemed a matter of no difficulty. Aristus was expressly pointed out, not more by the secretary of Alexander than by the estimation and confidence of all good men. His friends had solicited the minister warmly in his behalf, and had even obtained a promise, which, however positive, was considered by those who knew that statesman to be not exactly equivalent to his signature; and as he had experienced a formidable opposition from the interest and intrigues of Deinus, he continued to prosecute his suit with unremitting assiduity to the last moment, that no vacant time might be afforded for the intervention of cross accidents. The day was arrived on which the court was to declare its determination, and Aristus waited on the minister a little earlier than the usual hour of audience, to assist him in making up his mind. The gentleman in waiting assured him, that his honour could not be seen till an hour later, being deeply busied with the most important affairs; but on receiving a handsome gratuity, he seemed convinced that the intrusion of such a visitor was not so unreasonable as he at first supposed, and Aristus was admitted. The great man was seated before a small mirror, at which he was polishing his beard and eyebrows; boxes of various paints, and pots of ointment, were placed before him, and

behind his chair stood a tall strapping damsel, who scratched his bald head with a comb, and who stared at the bold mortal, as he approached, with an impudent face of curiosity. Aristus deposited on the table before him a little casket of gold curiously wrought, and filled with precious stones, and was proceeding to make a speech, when he was interrupted with, "Yes, yes, sir, upon my honour you shall have it,-your credentials are already made out, and shall be delivered to you this afternoon. Bring us back good news.' So saying, he arose, with a paint brush in one hand, and a sponge stained with the purple juice of the murex in the other, and conducted the favoured candidate to the door, bowing at every step, and repeating, "Yes sir, yes sir," till he was out of hearing. Aristus departed not quite so happy as his patron. In truth, he was confounded at the meanness he had been guilty of, and internally blamed his over-zealous friends who had pushed him to this extremity. Their arguments, however, respecting the king's safety and the general good, recurred. "Tis what all men do," said he, "and being brought to a level by bribes, our merits determine the balance after all." With this opiate he quieted his scruples, and went home to prepare for his expedition.

Deinus, in the mean time, though less known as a candidate, was not less active. Foreseeing the wealth and importance a dexterous man might squeeze out of such an appointment, he had set his heart upon it from the first, and had from time to time made considerable presents both to the mistress and the minister, obtaining in return considerable promises. But the game, to use a huntsman's phrase, was still on its feet, and he resolved on this very morning to give it the finishing blow. He arrived a few minutes after Aristus had withdrawn, and forced admittance by the same means; but though he urged his claims with unusual earnestness, he could extract nothing except general and evasive answers from the cautious statesman. "I shall see! I shall see! my whole influence shall be exerted in your favour. Believe me! believe me!" Deinus thought reserve unnecessary, and mentioned plainly an enormous sum which he would hold out in one hand, while he received his appointment with

"I be

the other, but not sooner. lieve that will do," said the minister, for when certain characters understand each other, a bargain of one kind is as soon struck as another. "Come to court in the afternoon.' Deinus obeyed, and the whole matter was speedily adjusted.

"'Tis what I deeply merited," said Aristus to a friend who condoled with him on his ill success, "and may I reap eternal disappointments when I listen to any suggestions unsanctioned by the voice of honour and virtue."

There resided at that time in Sidon, a young lady of singular attractions. She was reputed the richest heiress in that part of the world, and being lately declared marriageable, was, of course, pursued in all public places by an ocean of fops and fortune-hunters. Her mother having died a few months after her birth, and her father and brothers having fallen before the town surrendered to the Greeks, she grew up under the protection of an aunt, who possessed the advantage of being able to enforce, by her own example, her lectures on severe virtue, and contempt for the other sex. Aristus visiting one afternoon at the house of an elderly female relation, with whom he was a great favourite, was informed that she would have the pleasure of introducing him to the orphan daughter of a very deserving man, who, having spent the whole of his life in promoting the best interests of the state, had in consequence left his family in very narrow circumstances. "Helen,' tinued she," has retired wholly from the gay world, and disdaining little delicacies, lives happily with her aged mother and two younger sisters, all of whom she supports by weaving purple; and you, my friend, will have the satisfaction of seeing an accomplished young female, clothed in the works of her own hands." This description excited something stronger than mere curiosity in the auditor, and his heart leapt quicker than was to be accounted for by the approach of an indifferent stranger, when the door opened, and the most splendid phenomenon he had ever beheld walked lightly into the room. A mantle of bright Tyrian dye hung loosely from her shoulders, half shrouding a bosom of exquisite delicacy, beneath which it was fastened by a gold button. Her hair, which seemed to float at every

con

motion, descended in profuse soft ringlets from her head, without concealing a round slender neck, whiter than alabaster. On our young gentleman's name being mentioned, she turned towards him a countenance so majestic, illuminated with a smile so divinely beautiful, as actually deprived him for some moments of his understanding. The conversation was neither slow in its commencement nor progress; but Aristus was incapable of throwing in a single remark, all his faculties having retired to his eyes. His assistance was not wanted. The fair enchantress set out with an animated encomium on the young Greek officers, who had done prodigious things during the siege,-an event which, though several years old, was still regarded as very respectable news in the absence of more recent calamities. She enlarged on the superiority of their manners, courage, and accoutrements, to those of her own countrymen, and declared herself immensely in love with Alexander, whom she described as the most engaging little man she had ever seen in her life. The other lady, though, as I said, an elderly matron, could, notwithstanding, talk as fast as other people, but as both addressed themselves to Aristus, and often at the same time, she did not receive all that preference of attention her superior years and wisdom seemed to require.

"What a charming lady," exclaimed Aristus, as the lovely visitor retired. "Ah," replied his friend, "had my sweet little Helen come, you would have seen more beauty, and heard less noise."- "Who is this, then ?" for he had all this while supposed the interesting orphan was before him.-"Her name is Lalista, she is the wealthiest ward in Sidon." Though somewhat abashed at this discovery, and chagrined at the sinister interpretation the conduct he had already determined to pursue might be subjected to, he went home, however, devising schemes to bring about a second interview. The wards of those times were rather more strictly guarded than those of our days. But, by securing the confidence of the aunt, he soon succeeded in enjoying large opportunities of access to the precious jewel she had in her possession. Aristus was a man of fortune, talent, and fine accomplishments; and the perfect integrity of his heart imbued his

manners with a familiar simplicity, the great charm, and almost inseparable companion of superior minds. Lalista, though gay and talkative in public, possessed more valuable qualities than a first-sight judge would have been inclined to allow. Preparation for uninterrupted exhibitions, which great beauty seems to entail on its possessors, left no time for reflection, and concealed her true character from herself, while her conversation, extempore in the strictest sense, and not unfrequently at variance with the cool dictates of a judgment naturally sound, and a very affectionate bosom, rendered it as great a mystery to others. The more he discovered of his mistress, the more was Aristus satisfied with the reasonableness of his passion, which he found it impossible any longer to conceal; and he delighted himself with the idea of snatching her from the dissipating whirlpool of fashionable life, where the fruit of all her virtues was perishing, from the impossibility of their acting for a sufficient length of time in one direction, and of maturing the noble principles of her nature in the bosom of comparative retirement. One day, when her looks were even more complacent than usual, and some indistinct suspicion of a certain rival had made him resolve to hasten an explanation, he ventured to declare his love in the precise language used by ardent young men on such occasions. Though his eyes had expressed the same thing a thousand times, and she had long wondered at the slow progress his ideas made towards his tongue, Lalista contrived to listen to this avowal as a young fawn does to an unexpected clap of thunder. At first she was thrown into the most amazing confusion, and frowned with fascinating sweetness on the object of her terror. By and by she begins to think measures necessary for her safety,-spoke seriously of withdrawing, or of calling in some third person to turn the conversation on less alarming topics,—and concluded by permitting him to fold her in his arms, and impress his very soul on her lips.

But this state of matters was too delicious to continue; for as those persons who are acquainted with the extravagant temper of fortune know assuredly, when that goddess puts on too smiling an aspect, and prates in

terms of remarkable tenderness and affection, that she is just on the point of sousing you in a torrent of abuse. Scarcely had they exchanged vows to love each other for an incredible length of time, when a random visitor was announced, on whose approach, almost at the same instant with his prolocutor, the lady seemed confused in good earnest, and hastily retired.This was no other than Deinus, of whose proceedings I must now take a short review.

Deinus had accomplished the purposes of his embassy with a success that never failed him, and on his return, proceeded in the road of preferment with augmented celerity. Having gone, on the death of his father, to look after his estates in the country, he discovered a very handsome domain contiguous to one of his, for which he accordingly conceived an unfeigned attachment; and no sooner understood that it appertained to a young heiress of unbounded expectations besides, than he hastened back to town to secure his prize. His first reception would not have been very palatable to the primitive and harmless lovers met with in modern novels. The lady laughed immoderately at his bandy legs, censured the whole plan of his construction, and made all her acquaintance merry with stories of her amorous dwarf. But Deinus was not a person to allow his centre to be shaken by a battery of this sort. He knew that deformity needs only to be made familiar to be forgotten; and that the supposed generosity of this act renders the mind so well satisfied with itself, that a portion of its complacency reverts, by a kind of natural justice, to the object of what now appears unreasonable contempt. He presented himself, therefore, before her as often as he could invent a tenable pretext, continuing to supply her, at a trifling expense to his own pride, with fresh materials for family and visiting amusement, till the idea of him was familiarized, and constituted a part of the furniture of her mind. This point being gained, he seized a more advanced post, and proceeded to instruct her regarding the management of her domain, on the sorry state of which he descanted with great feeling and pathos. A considerable portion of it, he said, if not absolutely over

flowed, was in perpetual danger of being so, an event which would utterly deface it, as it was surrounded on all sides but one by cross-grained neighbours, who, envying her beauty and accomplishments, would not permit an outlet to be formed for the water through their possessions. Leaving her to perplex herself a few days with this dilemma, he returned with the plan of a monstrous drain he had formerly projected through his own grounds to the verge of hers, which, being carried a little farther, would entirely obviate the dreaded calamity. The lady was hugely pleased with the ingenuity of this expedient, and the lover, pushing his advantage, explained the propriety of uniting the estates for ever, hinting intelligibly enough at the means by which it might be accomplished. After a laborious fit of laughter, upon mature reflection, she could not certainly discover wherein lay the absurdity of this proposal; and though at that time she loved Aristus with all her strength, she found that something or other had made a powerful diversion in favour of his rival. Matters were in this doubtful state when the events above mentioned took place; and having enlightened the reader on this point, I return to the main body of the narrative.

The two friends saluted very civilly, and as they had ever done, with a hearty contempt for each other. Aristus was too full of ecstacy to converse long with an uninspired person, and Deinus too glad of his absence to be very eager to detain him. What he had already learned made him tremble for his success, and he began to curse the unwarrantable tardiness of his former operations. Lalista returned, however, but with a countenance which boded him no good. Contempt, anger, and disdain, were expressed in every feature. Indeed she seemed horribly chagrined, and ready to burst into a passion of tears. evidently came to chide, and if once high words arose, it was hard to guess how far she might inflame herself. Deinus, therefore, with the dexterity of a cunning man on the point of being blown up, drew from his pocket a string of pearls, reserved for such an emergency, so large, so genuine, and so numerous, that her eyes were instantly dazzled, and before she could

She