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"The last phaeton dashed away, and my chaise advanced to the door. A handsome boy, in a kind of page's dress, immediately came to the window, addressed me by name, and informed me that his Grace was out deer-shooting, but that my room was prepared, and he was ordered to wait on me. I followed him through a hall lined with statues, deers' horns, and armour, and was ushered into a large chamber looking out on a park, extending with its lawns and woods to the edge of the horizon. A more lovely view never feasted human eye.

"Who is at the Castle?" I asked, as the boy busied himself in unstrapping my portmanteau. 'Oh, a great many, sir,' he stopped in his occupation, and began counting on his fingers a long list of lords and ladies. And how many sit down to dinner?' 'Above ninety, sir, besides the duke and duchess.' That will do;' and off tripped my slender gentleman, with his laced jacket, giving the fire a terrible stir up in his way out, and turning back to inform me that the dinner hour was seven precisely.

journey almost from the possession of another human being. I never realized so forcibly the splendid results of wealth and primogeniture.

"The sun set in a blaze of fire among the pointed firs crowning the hills; and by the occasional prance of a horse's foot on the gravel, and the roll of rapid wheels, and now and then a gay laugh and many voices, the different parties were returning to the Castle. Soon after a loud gong sounded through the galleries-the signal to dress; and I left my musing occupation unwillingly, to make my toilet for an appearance in a formidable circle of titled aristocrats, not one of whom I had ever seen, the duke himself a stranger to me, except through the kind letter of invitation lying on the table.

The

"I was sitting by the fire, imagining forms and faces for the different persons who had been named to me, when there was a knock at the door; and a tall, white-haired gentleman, of noble physiognomy, but singularly cordial address, entered with a broad red ribbon across his breast, and welcomed me most heartily to the Castle. The gong sounded at the next moment, and in our way down he named over his other guests, and prepared me, in a measure, for the introductions which followed. The drawingroom was crowded like a soirée. duchess, a tall and very handsome woman, with a smile of the most winning sweetness, received me at the door, and I was presented successively to every person present. Dinner was announced immediately, and the difficult question of precedence being sooner settled than I had ever seen it before in so large a party, we passed through files of servants to the dining-room. It was a large and very lofty hall, supported at the ends by marble columns, within which was stationed a band of music, playing delightfully. The walls were lined with full-length family pictures, from old knights in armour to the modern dukes

"It was a mild, bright afternoon, quite warm for the end of an English September, and with a fire in the room, and a soft sunshine pouring in at the windows; a seat at the open casement was far from disagreeable. I passed the time till the sunset, looking out on the park. Hill and valley lay between my eye and the horizon; sheep fed in picturesque flocks; and small fallow-deer grazed near them; the trees were planted and the distant forest shaped by the hand of taste; and broad and beautiful as was the expanse taken in by the eye, it was evidently one princely possession. A mile from the Castle-wall the shaven sward extended in a carpet of velvet softness, as bright as emerald, studded by clumps of shrubbery, like flowers wrought elegantly in tapestry; and across it bounded occasionally a hare, and the pheasants fed undisturbed near the thickets; or a lady, with flowing riding-in kilt of the Gordon plaid; and on the dress and flaunting feather, dashed into sight upon her fleet blood palfrey, and was lost the next moment in the woods; or a boy put his pony to its mettle up the ascent; or a gamekeeper idled into sight, with his gun in the hollow of his arm, and his hounds at his heels. And

all this little world of enjoyment and luxury and beauty lay in the hand of one man, and was created by his wealth in those northern wilds of Scotland, a day's

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sideboards stood services of gold plate, the most gorgeously massive, and the most beautiful in workmanship I have ever seen. There were, among the vases, several large coursing cups won by the duke's hounds, of exquisite shape and

ornament.

"I fell into my place between a gentleman and a very beautiful woman, of, perhaps, twenty-two, neither of whose names I remembered, though I had but just been

introduced. The duke probably antici-
pated as much; and as I took my seat he
called out to me, from the top of the
table, that I had on my right, lady
'the most agreeable woman in Scotland.
It was unnecessary to say that she was
the most lovely.

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The

"I have been struck everywhere in England with the beauty of the higher classes; and as I looked around me upon the aristocratic company at the table, I thought I had never seen Heaven's image double-stamped as man, and noble, so unequivocally clear. band ceased playing when the ladies left the table; the gentlemen closed up, conversation assumed a merrier cast, coffee and liqueurs were brought in when the wines began to be circulated more slowly, and at eleven there was a general move to the drawing-room. Tea, music, etc., filled up the time till twelve, and then the ladies took their departure, and the gentlemen sat down to supper. I got to bed somewhere about two o'clock; and thus ended an evening which I had anticipated as stiff and embarrassing, but which is marked in my tablets as one of the most social and kindly I have had the good fortune to record on my travels. "I arose late in the morning, and found the large party assembled about the breakfast table. I was struck, on entering, with the different air of the room. The deep windows opening out upon the park, had the effect of sombre landscapes in oaken frames; the troops of liveried servants, the glitter of plate, the music that had contributed to the splendour of the scene the night before, were gone. The duke sat laughing at the head of the table, with a newspaper in his hand, dressed in a coarse shooting jacket and coloured cravat; the duchess was in a plain morning dress and cap of the simplest character; and the highborn women about the table, whom I had left glittering with jewels, and dressed in all the attractions of fashion, appeared in the simplest coiffure and a toilet of studied plainness. The ten or twelve noblemen present were engrossed with their letters or newspapers over tea and toast, and in them, perhaps, the transformation was still greater. The soigné man of fashion of the night before, faultless in costume and distinguished in his appearance, in the full force of the term, was enveloped now in a coat of fustian, with a coarse waistcoat of plaid, a gingham cravat, and hob-nailed shoes, for

shooting; and in place of the gay hilarity of the supper-table, wore a face of calm indifference, and ate his breakfast and read the newspaper in a rarely broken silence. I wondered, as I looked about me, what would be the impression of many people in my own country, could they look in upon that plain party, aware that it was composed of the proudest no| bility and the highest fashion of England.

"Breakfast in England is a confidential and unceremonious hour, and servants are generally dispensed with. This to me, I confess, is an advantage it has over every other meal, I detest eating with twenty tall fellows standing opposite, whose business it is to watch me. The coffee and tea were on the table, with toast, muffins, oat cakes, marmalade, jellies, fish, and all the paraphernalia of a Scotch breakfast; and on the sideboard stood cold meats for those who liked them, and they were expected to go to it and help themselves. Nothing could be more easy, unceremonious, and affable, than the whole tone of the meal. One after another rose and fell into groups in the windows, or walked up and down the long room; and, with one or two others, I joined the duke at the head of the table, who gave us some interesting particulars of the salmon fisheries of the Spey. The privilege of fishing the river within his lands is bought of him at the pretty sum of eight thousand pounds a-year.

"The ladies went off unaccompanied to their walks in the park and other avocations. Those bound for the covers, joined the gamekeepers, who were waiting with their dogs in the leash at the stables; and some paired off to the billiard room. Still suffering from lameness, I declined all invitations to the shooting parties, who started across the park, with the dogs leaping about them in a frenzy of delight, and accepted the duke's kind offer of a pony phaeton to drive down to the kennels. The duke's breed, both of setters and hounds, is celebrated throughout the kingdom. They occupy a spacious building in the centre of a wood, a quadrangle inclosing a court, and large enough for a respectable farmhouse. The chief huntsman and his family, and perhaps a gamekeeper or two, lodge on the premises, and the dogs are divided by palings across the court. I was rather startled to be introduced into the same inclosure with a dozen

gigantic bloodhounds, as high as my breast the keeper's whip in my hand, the only defence. I was not easier for the man's assertion, that, without it, they would have the life out of me in a crack.' They came around me very quietly; and one immense fellow, with a chest like a horse, and a head of the finest expression, stood up and laid his paws on my shoulders, with the deliberation of a friend about to favour me with some grave advice. One can scarce believe that these noble creatures have not reason like ourselves. Those slender, thorough bred heads, large speaking eyes, and beautiful limbs and graceful action, should be gifted with more than mere animal instinct. The greyhounds were the beauties of the kennel, however; I never had seen such perfect creatures. The setters were in the next division, and really they were quite lovely. The rare tan and black dog of this race, with his silky floss hair, intelligent muzzle, good-humoured face, and caressing fondness, quite excited my admiration. There were thirty or forty of these, old and young; and a friend of the duke's would as soon ask him for a church living, as for the present of one of them. The former would be by much the smaller favour. Then there were terriers of four or five breeds; of one family of which, long-haired, longbodied, short-legged, and perfectly white little wretches, the keeper seemed particularly fond.

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"The routine of Gordon Castle was what each one chose to make it. Between breakfast and lunch, the ladies were generally invisible; and the gentlemen rode, or shot, or played billiards, or kept in their rooms. At two o'clock, a dish or two of hot game and a profusion of cold meats were set on the small tables in the dining-room, and everybody came in for a kind of lounging half meal, which occupied perhaps an hour. Thence all adjourned to the drawing-room, under the windows of which were drawn up carriages of all descriptions, with grooms, outriders, footmen, and saddle-horses for gentlemen and ladies. Parties were then made up for driving or riding, and from a pony-chaise to a phaeton and four, there was no class of vehicle which was not at your disposal. In ten minutes, the carriages were usually all filled, and away they flew, some to the banks of the Spey or the sea-side, some to the drives in the park, and with the delightful consciousness, that, speed where you would,

the horizon scarce limited the possession of your host, and you were everywhere at home. The ornamental gates flying open at your approach, miles distant from the Castle; the herds of red deer trooping away from the sound of wheels in the silent park; the stately pheasants feeding tamely in the immense preserves; the hares scarcely troubling themselves to get out of the length of the whip; the stalking gamekeepers lifting their hats in the dark recesses of the forest, -there was something in this, perpetually reminding you of privileges, which, as a novelty, was far from disagreeable. I could not at the time bring myself to feel, what perhaps would be more poetical and republican, that a ride in the wild and unfenced forest of my own country would have been more to my taste.

"The second afternoon of my arrival, I took a seat in the carriage with Lord A, and we followed the duchess, who drove herself in a pony chaise, to visit a school on the estate. Attached to a small gothic chapel, a five minutes' drive from the Castle, stood a building in the same style, appropriated to the instruction of the children of the duke's tenantry. There were a hundred and thirty little creatures, from two years to five or six; and like all infant schools in these days of improved education, it was an interesting and affecting sight. The last one I had been in was at Athens; and though I missed here the dark eyes and Grecian faces of the Egean, I saw health and beauty of a kind which stirred up more images of home, and promised, perhaps, more for the future.

"The number at the dinner table of Gordon Castle was seldom less than thirty; but the company was continually varied by departures and arrivals. No sensation was made by either the one or the other. A travelling carriage dashed up to the door, was disburdened of its load, and drove round to the stables, and the question was seldom asked, 'Who is arrived?' You are sure to see at dinner; and an addition of half a dozen to the party made no perceptible difference in anything. Leave-takings were managed in the same quiet way. Adieus were made to the duke and duchess, and to no one else, except he happened to encounter the parting guest upon the staircase, or were more than a common acquaintance. In short, in every way the géné of life seemed weeded out; and if unhappiness or ennui found its way into

the Castle, it was introduced in the sufferer's own bosom. For me, I gave myself up to enjoyment with an abandon I could not resist. With kindness and courtesy in every look, the luxuries and comforts of a regal establishment at my freest disposal; solitude when I pleased, the whole visible horizon fenced in for the enjoyment of a household, of which I was a temporary portion, and no enemy except time and the gout, I felt as if I had been spirited into some castle of felicity, and had not come by the royal mail-coach at all." | Mr. Howitt considers this to be "one of the most perfect and graphic descriptions of English aristocratical life in the country which was ever written." It would be well, however, if to this account of generous-hearted hospitality to the rich, there were added a sketch of open-handed charity to the poor, and a grateful recognition of His abounding goodness, whose tender mercies are over all his works; for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." Hospitality is an excellent quality, and charity is an inestimable virtue; but "righteousness exalteth a nation.' England should be great in goodness as she is in power; but the highest excellence that can be written on her forehead and graven on her heart is-"The fear of the Lord."

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THE IVORY NUT.

THE ivory nut is the produce of a tree found on the banks of the river Magdalena, in that part of South America formerly called New Granada, but now constituting the republic of Columbia. Humboldt and Bonpland found it at places called Barancas, Vermejas, and Ibague, at the foot of Mount Quindiu, and also on the Rio Opon and Caon di Chucuri. The Spanish botanists Ruiz and Pavon also met with it in the groves of Peru, in the hotter part of the Andes, and named it Phytelephas macrocarpa; the Prussian botanist, Wildenow, changed the name, without sufficient reason, to Elephantasia macrocarpa, but his bad example is not followed. The natives of Columbia call it tagua, or cabeza de negro, (negro's head,) in allusion, we presume, to the figure of the nut. Almost all we know about it is contained in the following memorandum, published by the Spanish writers above mentioned:-"The Indians cover their cottages with the leaves of this most beautiful palm. The fruit at first contains a clear, insipid fluid, by which

travellers allay their thirst; afterwards this same liquor becomes milky and sweet, and it changes its taste by degrees, as it acquires solidity, till at last it is almost as hard as ivory. The liquor contained in the young fruits becomes acid if they are cut from the tree and kept some time. From the kernels the Indians fashion the knobs of walking-sticks, the reels of spindles, and little toys, which are whiter than ivory, and as hard, if they are not put under water; and if they are, they become white and hard again when dried. Bears devour the young fruit with avidity." The tree which furnishes these nuts is a palm, although Humboldt and Kunth have referred it, for some reason with which we are unacquainted, to the order of screw pines (pandanacea), an error which is preserved by all botanists up to the present day. Two species are known, the Phytelephas macrocarpa, or large-fruited, and microcarpa, or small-fruited. The part of the kernel which is thus similar to ivory is what is called the albumen; that is to say, the nutritious substance which surrounds the embryo, and which is destined to feed it when it begins to grow. It is of the same nature, though not of the same consistence, as the flour of corn, the spicy substance of the nutmeg, and the meat of the cocoa-nut, which in other palm-trees becomes very hard: that of the date palm is quite as hard, if not harder; but it is not white enough or large enough to be worth using by the turner. The doum palm, or forking palm of Thebes, the fruits of which are called gingerbread-nuts at Alexandria, has a similar albumen, which is turned into beads for rosaries; and our correspondent, Mr. Murray, informs us that he has a model of the double cocoa-nut, or coco de mer, beautifully carved from a portion of its own albumen, as hard as ivory, and susceptible of a fine polish. He says he has also seen a figure, cut from the same specimen, forming the end of the shaft of a lady's parasol, not to be discriminated from one carved in ivory.-Gardeners' Chronicle.

NECESSITY OF CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE.

ALL our happiness between each other, independent of the grace of God, rests upon very slippery ground. Even the common social and relative duties of life, which so plainly recommend themselves to every man's judgment and conscience, will be ill practised where this Divine principle is wanting.-R. Hill.

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ENGLISH HISTORY.

GEORGE II.

Whitefield Preaching.

THE principal object of Walpole's opponents was to involve the nation in war with Spain. Some instances of severity used by the Spaniards, while repressing the smuggling trade in the West Indies, in which many English vessels engaged, were exaggerated, and dwelt upon to excite the nation. A man, named Jenkins, who had been concerned in this trade, was instructed to represent at the bar of the House of Commons that the Spaniards had cut off one of his ears, although he was not engaged in unlawful trade; the truth of his story has been called in question, but it answered the purpose at the time. The nation was inflamed, and resolutions were passed by both houses of Parliament, calling upon the king to obtain redress for the asserted injuries, pledging to support a war, if negotiations to obtain full redress should fail.

Pulteney proposed an iniquitous bill, under the title of an act for securing the English trade with America, which would have licensed robbery and spoliation. Walpole, with some difficulty, caused it to be rejected, but he was obliged to yield to the national outcry, and make preparations for war. These had the

effect of inducing the Spaniards to offer terms favourable to England.

The main object of the opposition was to displace Walpole, and obtain the direction of affairs; to gain this, they were desirous to plunge the nation in all the evils of war. The king, who thought more highly of soldiers and military proceedings than of anything else, was inclined to favour an opportunity to distinguish himself by warfare. Queen Caroline no longer was at hand to urge wiser measures, while even some of Walpole's own colleagues wished to lessen his power.

In February, 1739, the negotiations were favourable; but the nation still was wickedly bent upon war. The Parliament unwillingly entertained the terms offered by Spain. Pitt, afterwards earl of Chatham, employed all his oratory to aggravate matters, but Walpole prevailed by a small majority; when the leading Tories declared that they could not continue to sit in Parliament, and seceded for a time. Walpole thus enjoyed quict during the rest of the session. The Spaniards were angry at the language used by the opposition, and relied on Walpole's desire for peace; so that they were less disposed to conciliate. Walpole was now convinced that he could not retain his power, or hope that the government

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