son by his side. Just at this moment, a retainer of de Clifford's called off Albert from the assistance of his father, to defend himself against him. A very short time sufficed to lay in the dust the faithful vassal, and Albert turned eagerly to assist his parent. Alas! he reached him just in time to receive his last word :-" Revenge my death on bloody Clifford," he said, and expired. Albert raged round the field, like a lioness robbed of her whelps; and soon found Clifford engaged with a host of enemies. "Base murderer," he cried, "thou hast made me an orphan; come and take thy reward from this dutiful hand." "Fly, young man," said de Clifford, 66 return home, and tempt not this hand to cut off in one day the father and the son."

The eyes of Albert flashed fire at these words he answered not, but waved his sword, and aimed a deadly blow at the insulting warrior. It descended upon his casque, but the faithless steel broke short off at his hand, and the glittering fragments fell at his feet. The next moment, Clifford's never-failing blade pierced his side, and with one groan he fell upon the field, and expired. When the battle was over, the corpse remained for some days upon the field, and was at length buried on the spot where he fell. For twenty years I lay undisturbed about a foot below the surface; at the end of that time, a labourer, guiding a plough, drove against the collar-bone, and, upturning the earth, brought me to light. I was perfectly bare. For the first six months after the decease of the young and beautiful Albert, the worms had revelled in my halls, but they had long since perished, and I was then in much the same condition that I am now. The labourer carried me home to his wife, and, as he placed me upon the table, observed, "Shouldn't wonder, wife, if this belonged to Jack's father, down at the mill, that died, you know, in the battle there, twenty years agone, it may be, or more.' "That may be, or that may'nt be, William,” answered the good wife. I would have corrected their error if I could, but it was twenty long years since that eloquent tongue had uttered its loved sounds in my arches, and I was wholly unable to give expression to my feelings.

"Well, be that or not," answered he; "it may e'en remain there till its owner chooses to ask for it :" and, with a sort of chuckle at his wit, he set me upon a small bright oak table, that stood in one corner of the little hut. Often did his " wee things" put their little fingers into my eye

holes, and laugh, and ask what those holes were for; and as often did the good wife their mother answer, "To see through, my dears," till I really grew tired of the monotony of a labourer's cottage.

At last, a young gentleman, about fifteen years of age, happening to step in, saw me, and inquired where I came from; offered a groat for me, which was thankfully accepted, and thus, twenty-five years after my master's death, I migrated again into the family of a nobleman.

Soon after my introduction, my eyes, or rather my eye-holes, were filled with beeswax, a mast was stuck in the hollow of the throat, a sail hoisted upon it, and I performed a voyage across his lordship's lake, much to the satisfaction of my purchaser. It would be useless to relate all the indignities I suffered here. In fifteen years, my owner succeeded to the titles and estates; and in arranging his library, he happened to fall upon me; and, to give his study a greater air of sanctity, I was set upon a pedestal of marble, four feet high, in one corner, and in that place I continued with few interruptions for sixty years. In that time, however, I had become in some parts highly polished, by handling; the lower jaw had been united to the upper by a spring; so that, until opened by the hand, the teeth remained firmly clutched.

At the end of that time I was left, in the division of sundry articles, by the will of the possessor, to an old maiden lady, together with the pedestal. She professed to have a very great veneration for me, and laid an inscribed card upon the pedestal, which, though upside-down, having lain there for no less than seventy years, I have long since got by memory! Judge of my astonishment, when I first deciphered the following: "This is ye sculle of Harolde, kinge of England, quho felle at ye battel of Haystengs; ye endenture over ye lefte eye being ye marke of ye arrow by quhich he felle. Presearvede in my fammily for ye laste 300 years, E. B. C."

It may readily be supposed, that with this inscription I attracted some notice, and that many doubts were raised concerning the authenticity of the account: nothing, however, offended the old lady more than any thing of the sort. "Have you seen my skull?" was her favourite question to her visitors and I was compelled passively to hear the same falsehoods told over and over again, at least twenty times in a year. She loved to hold disputations on the antiquity of her skull; and when she wished to express displeasure at some monstrous absurdity, she would say, I suppose next

you would deny the authenticity of my skull?" Poor thing! She laid her own in the dust, after I had stood there twenty years, but left an injunction in her will, that should the heir to her property presume to remove or have removed "my skull," the whole of the property should revert to the next heir. Under the provisions of this will, I remained in a dark room, locked up for fifty years; and never during that time saw the face of any human being.

At the end of that half century, the master of the mansion died; his successor, in searching over the house, found the dark room, and, opening the shutters, discovered me; he read the card, smiled with an incredulous air, took me up, conveyed me into another room, and placed me at the bottom of an old chest. He then threw some tapestry upon me, and I saw him

no more.

Soon after, I found, by the directions I over-heard, that I was removed to the garret at the very top of the house. Here I remained, will the reader believe it, one hundred and twenty years! For the first ten, all was as still as when I lay with kindred bones on the plain where my dear master fell about that time I heard a gnawing in the side of the chest, next to me, and, having heard the same noise repeated for some months together, a mouse at length made his appearance.

He entered by my throat, and five others followed they sat down in a circle, and held a consultation together: at last four of them departed, and the other two began to make a nest in my mouth: for several years things went on very quietly; numerous colonies sprung up, and migrated from thence, and new ones rose to supply their place; at last three enterprising mice succeeded by main strength in forcing my jaws open; a nail in the side of the chest retained it in that position, and I gaped very wide indeed for three years. Another door-way was bored in the chest just before it; so that it seemed the gate of the castle, with a magnificent portcullis over it. At length an ill-starred mouse loosened the lower jaw, while in the act of crossing the threshold: the teeth gnashed together, and held the unlucky wight fast, his head protruding through the gateway. In due time, he became a prey to worms, rotted, fell away, and left only his skeleton, which I continued to grasp until I was removed from the chest, when the discovery afforded much mirth, and an epigram was made on it, which sailed quietly down the stream of oblivion, about eighty years ago. When I was brought out, I found things

strangely altered: the tapestry fell to pieces as soon as it was touched: the dress, the manners of the people, were so different, that I was astonished. I now again entered the busy world. My owner, who disturbed my long repose, gave me to his children for a plaything, and sometimes I was placed in the garden on the top of a pole about six feet high, the pole clothed in the fashion of the day, a hat stuck upon me, and myself a butt for the arrows of the young marksmen. Fortunately, they were poor hands at the sport; my hat was once pierced through, but I escaped altogether, and was for a time discarded.

I lay then for some months in a dark corner of the stable; at length the elder of the two boys walked slyly in, drew me forth, and, with some little trouble, placed me on the top of a thick post that stood over the manger, and, introducing a small piece of lighted candle behind each eyehole, retired. Presently came the groom, to put up his horses for the night: when, on catching a glimpse of me, he ran roar. ing into the house, saying that he had seen either Death or the Devil standing in the manger. Soon after, some of the other servants came out, but none of them could be induced to enter the stable. I could have laughed to hear their foolish fears and exclamations, but since the death of my beloved master I have never smiled. In a short time, the candles burnt out, and one of the most courageous approaching the door, looked in, and, seeing nothing, advanced a step further, the rest following with a light, and I was soon discovered, and, with a great many expressions of surprise, deposited in my old corner.

In a few days my facetious young master removed me thence, and took it into his head to polish me all over, which with a great deal of labour he accomplished. I was then considered sufficiently ornamental for a place in the library; accordingly, I ascended to the top of an elegant book-case, between the busts of Homer and Virgil, and remained there seventeen years. It is true, I was sometimes brought down, when the curiosity of a friend desired it, but, being soon replaced, I do not consider that equivalent to a removal. I was surprised to find myself in so perfect a condition at the end of so many years; the springs to my lower jaw had been several times renewed, but the only wound I had, was the "endenture" over the left eye, which I had when my dear master was living.

In the year 1770, the whole of the effects and estate of my owner were brought to

the hammer. The sale took place on the premises a little ticket was placed upon my forehead, and I remained undisturbed in my place till my turn came. While there, I heard much conversation between two attendants who stood just below me, to hand up the things. At last I became the subject of conversation. "That old skull there too, Jack, I always said the old fellow was a body-snatcher." "I hopes it's nothing worse?" answered his companion. "Worse," said the other, "what can be worse?" Just then a deep voice vociferated, "Bill, bring forward that most curious and valuable skull, for the gentlemen to see." I was instantly dismounted, and found myself immediately in a very motley company.

"This skull, gentlemen," said the auctioneer, “is one of the prettiest remains of antiquity, that has been brought to the hammer these last three hundred years. Gentlemen, I am informed, on the very best authority, that this is the skull of Julius Cæsar!" I was astonished; my teeth literally chattered; the audience laughed outright; but the auctioneer proceeded, nothing abashed: "You may doubt the fact, gentlemen, but I can prove it beyond the power of contradiction. We find that Julius Cæsar, according to the account that Homer gives of him." "Homer!" said a gentleman, near his elbow!". "you mistake there, Mr. Jenyns." "Sir," said the sceptred monarch in a doubtful tone. "You must mean, Suetonius!" said the other, not unwilling to display his learning. "Well, sir, Homer, or Suetonius, I don't remember which just now, but both lived much about the same time,-Suetonius, then, asserts, that the great Julius received his death from a wound over his left eye. See, gentlemen, here is the very mark of the dagger of Brutus, brute as he was, in this skull: and, to put the matter beyond all doubt, it was brought from Rome by a gentleman who was very fond of antikities, who gave no less than five hundred pounds to be possessed of this inestimable treasure! What shall I say for it, gentlemen: £200, to begin with?" All were silent. At length a little boy in one corner bid all his wealth, -A shilling! "Thank you, sir," said the auctioneer; a shilling bid for the skull of the real Julius Cæsar: I assure you, gentlemen, you will not find a duplicate of it in all the three kingdoms." "You don't say so, Mr. Jenyns," said a young lady near the rostrum. At length, no one offering more, the lot was knocked down to the little boy for a shilling! "Take it away, Bill," said Mr. J, very much discon

certed at the total failure of his scheme. I was put into a basket, and, when again emancipated, I found myself in a neat parlour, with my purchaser and his mamma. But I must not be too long.

One day the young gentleman, who was very ingenious, covered me with a piece of waxed cloth, in the manner of a skin, placed an old wig of his father's upon me, stuck a pair of leather ears upon me, inserted a cork nose under the cloth, and put in a pair of glass eyes: and having painted the face the proper colour, I looked really like a living head. Finding he had succeeded so far, he thought of adding other requisites, and making additional improvements, when he was taken suddenly ill, and, as I understood, died soon after. His mother now abhorred the sight of me, and I was given away to two brothers, who soon quarrelling about me, the elder, who was about twelve years of age, ran with me into the garden, and secreted me at the bottom of a hole six feet deep, which was filled up the same day. Here I remained, as far as I could judge, thirty-nine years. In 1810 I was found by the gardener, who carried me into the house again; here, from the first remarks that were made upon me, I learned that, the day after my burial, the elder brother had been run over by a chaise, and killed on the spot; hence no one knew where I had been placed.

My polish was now gone; the enamel of my teeth was no more; and I felt that this second inhumation had shaken my constitution more than the whole course of my adventures above ground. The younger brother, was so affected by the circumstance of my being discovered, that he wrapped me up in silver paper, and afterwards in brown paper; and placed me on the top shelf of a cupboard in his bed-room. He lived sixteen years after this. On his death, I again saw the light, and was placed in the parlour on the chimney-piece, the room being hung round with black: the old servant saying, as she placed me there, that it was as well to remind the persons who came to the funeral, that they were mortal. I thought that if the situation of their "dear brother departed this life," did not remind them of this, no warning that I could give them would have any effect.

At length the mourners dropped in, to the number of fifteen; and sat round the room, some with white handkerchiefs to their eyes, others with rueful long countenances. The late owner of the property had left no immediate heirs: as soon, therefore, as decency would permit, they began to whisper condolence to each other, inter

spersing inquiries about the value of the property, and the likelihood of finding a will. Upon this point, they agreed but little : all affirmed, however, that the deceased was a most eccentric character. They were summoned soon after to attend the funeral; and in about three hours they returned, the windows were opened, wine and refreshments distributed, and all sat down to hear the will, which had been found in the lawyer's pocket, read.

"Take away that dirty skull; the very smell of it makes me quite nervous," said one of the party. However, no one caring to trouble himself, I remained undisturbed on the mantel-piece. At length the will was opened after many pages had been discussed, of which I understood but little, I heard my own name mentioned. "The skull," said the lawyer; "we come now, gentlemen, to a very interesting clause." He gave a gentle giggle. "I bequeath this skull,"-here the lawyer cleared his throat: “I bequeath this," - here his cough became quite ungovernable.-"I bequeath this skull," he continued again; "Well, sir, does he bequeath it to the bone-house or the dogs?" said the gentleman who had before spoken. "You shall hear, sir," said the gentleman of the quill, with the most unperturbed gravity. "I bequeath this skull,-get out, Paragraph," said he, kicking a dog which began to whine piteously.-Once more, “I bequeath this skull, together with ten thousand pounds, to any one of my relations who shall attend my funeral, and who will engage, under the most solemn affidavit, guaranteed in such manner as my executors shall see fit, to drink his breakfast out of it every morning for one year, from the time of possession: if there shall be more than one competitor for it, they shall draw lots." He ceased, and looked up. Dismay sat on every countenance. "Ten thousand pounds!" said one. "A whole year!" said another. "And an affidavit," mumbled a third! "Stay," said the lawyer, "there is a clause in the codicil I had almost forgot; the skull shall not be lined with any substance whatever, and the liquor shall be sassafras tea."

At length seven of them drew lots: when the lot fell upon that gentleman who had protested so loudly against my offensive smell. I was removed soon after, and for twelve months was I the breakfast cup of this worshipper of mammon: on the three hundred and sixty-fifth day, I was sent to the parish bone-house.

I did not, however, remain there long : for a collector of curiosities having applied

to the sexton for a perfect skull, he selected me. Ever since that time, I have remained on a cheffonier, together with many large and beautiful shells: I am not now, however, left wholly at peace; for my owner's favourite dog never comes into the room without barking at me; and the cat, too, has several times spit in my face. However, I have ceased to mind trifles, and am well content to have so peaceful a repose as I now enjoy. I have often thought, if men could but know the vicissitudes of life, how little room there would be for . vanity or pride !

With what astonishment would my beloved Albert, were he capable, now read this account of my peregrinations, and how shocked would he be at all the indignities that have been put upon his head! All is vanity!-I was once the receptacle of a mind, so noble, so generous; I was once covered by a form almost angelic; I have since been the football of the world, the plaything of children, the tea-cup of a miser;-surely, surely, I have little cause for vanity!

Moralizing on my own changes, I have been led to do so on those of others. I looked back into old time: The labourer turned me up from my silent bed; it reminded him not that his head must one day lie as low: the young nobleman set me afloat upon the lake; he remembered not the sea upon which he was sailing, nor the shore to which he must soon come : every day, for twenty years, the maiden lady cast her eyes upon me, but never once did it remind her of the long home to which she was hastening: the children who shot their arrows at me, thought not of that sure archer, who soon sent unerring shafts into their bosoms: the ingenious youth who put a covering of false skin upon me, was totally unmindful that in a year's time his would be as bare as myself: the poor little boy, who put me in a hole six feet below the surface of the ground, little thought that in one week he would lie as low, and as unconcerned, as myself: the poor worshipper of mammon remembered not that he could carry nothing with him in his final retreat over that bourn from which no traveller returns: the collector of curiosities regarded me as a token of man's faded glory, yet acted as though his own had been unchangeable : in short, I have passed through almost every stage of life, the emblem of death, and have, I fear, never excited one proper feeling upon the subject.

Oh! how callous is the heart of man! He needs, indeed, to be reminded with line upon line, and precept upon precept, if by

any means he will arise and consider his latter end. His stony heart needs to be broken with a hammer in pieces, ere it will see its real interests.

I have seen all things that are under the sun, and behold all are vanity and vexation of spirit. Favoured as I have been with so long a view of the things of this world, I would give my last word unto the sons of men. You are all now living; I can assure you, and my own situation will be my warrant, that you must all die. There is nothing common-place in this; oh! no: it is its very importance that makes it so little attended to; all are gone astray: they fix their minds on trifles, and neglect the weightier matters: and that which of all is the most weighty, most certain, and most irrevocable, is, as if by common consent, never mentioned at all. Would not a stranger to our orb, and species, exclaim, "Surely they are all mad!"-when he saw them toiling for bubbles, and neglecting realities; catching at shadows, and spurning the substance.

My own experience will shew how little it avails that men lay up riches, make great works, build houses, plant vineyards ;there is no remembrance of the wise man more than of the fool for ever. And how dieth the wise man? As the fool.

There is one point of consequence: eternity is in the question. Then grant me one word more, and I will address it to the youth: would that my beloved master could now hear, and profit by my warning! Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them! Very shortly shall your dust return to the earth as it was, and your spirit shall return to God who gave it.

This is the warning, silent warning, that I have given all along. I called, but they refused to hear and now for them I speak in vain for ever. To you then that live yet; or ever the silver cord be loosed, attend to my last parting words: "Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

periodical work, the columns of which are open to the discussion of interesting and important subjects, I beg leave to request the insertion in the Imperial, of a rejoinder to the reply of Argus to my former essay, which a friend has just handed to me, as contained in your Number for December, 1831, p. 556. The importance of the subject at the present eventful crisis, will, I trust, plead successfully with both yourself and your readers, as an apology for my present intrusion on their attention; and which, I assure you, shall finally terminate the controversy on my part.

If the main question at issue be, as I presume it is, the abstract one, whether, or not, a national church is necessarily a national evil, in reference to the religion of the country in which it exists,-I think there can be no doubt whatever, of its negative decision against all the hostile arguments of your sharp-sighted correspondent: for the highest possible authority in the universe has not only sanctioned, but, in the only theocracy that ever existed, instituted a "church establishment," to the full extent of the definition thereof, which this watchful guardian of British piety has given us. It is true, sir, that establishment, being imperfect and typical in its institutions, in due time yielded up its ceremonious appendages, to make way for the introduction of a more simple, yet efficacious mode of worship, "established" by the same authority, and consequently, equally binding upon all its subjects; while the latter, possessing the imperative command of its divine Author for its universal acceptation, that mandate extends the moral obligation of its reception and observance from Judea to the whole habitable globe, and to every individual, and consequently to every nation, and every political state also, therein-which are necessarily composed of individuals.

The fact, therefore, of God having himself instituted an "established national church," and saddled the country in which it was erected with its support, proves, beyond the possibility of refutation, that such an establishment can have no natural or necessary tendency to injure the interests of religion.

But there is another important question affecting the basis of your correspondent's conclusions, viz. whether, or not, the political state, which embraces the religion of such a church, and, admitting that religion to correspond in all its principles with the rules laid down in the divine oracles, as the accredited guide of both its faith and practice,-whether that state has, or has