star.

house of the Cathedral; but it was not of stoled prebends, not lie in your way to record the issue of those importbut of apron'd masons-the representatives of the Grand ant events which annually draw together in that fair Lodge-though without "tiled" door, or other precau- town a great assemblage of the nobility, gentry, and yeotions usual in such cases. I did not see the procession- men of the land, I shall not trouble you with "a full for I was in it but I am assured it was very fine. At and particular account" of the sport-the curious may all events, the tout ensemble, taken in connexion with the find it in the racing calendar. Indeed, I feel so little architecture of the fine streets we passed through, must pleasure in seeing one animal spurred past another, that I have been as superb as glorious weather and a well-dress- should not have made one of the multitude which crowded array of a rather considerable fraction of a million of ed the place, if horse-racing had been the only amusement bodies could make it. Thanks to our Captain of Police, which Ayr afforded; but it possesses at all times many Mr Graham-who was born to command, but always as attractions to visitors, and, on this occasion, to these was a gentleman, and who is amazingly popular here, even added a very powerful auxiliary, in the person of the most with the mob, whose excesses he has to keep under, be- celebrated actor of the day, on the boards of its neat litcause he does it good-humouredly-we at last got to the tle theatre. The recent illness of Mr Kean has led to water-side, through all the perils of Lancers' horses cara- much speculation on the comparative merits of his actcolling, and ladies' eyes sparkling. Certainly, I never saw ing before and since. Some will have him sadly fallen any thing like the display of beauty in Glasgow which I off, while others maintain that he never acted better in witnessed that day. It won't do to sneer at the Glasgow his life. That he has not yet regained his full compleladies any longer; nor will I be cruel enough to hint that ment of bodily vigour is pretty obvious, and that his voice all the best of the sisterhood of beauty came—like the pro- is a full tone lower in the more arduous passages of the vincial lodges-from the country! The greatest quantity parts he enacts than it was wont to be, I think will only of love and smiles was lavished on the Grand Lodge, in be disputed by those who would tell him he "had white which there were certainly some handsome, as they were hairs in his beard ere the black ones were there ;". but he all tall men. Buckingham was among the best-looking; is far from being deficient in energy, or inarticulate. His but he is unfortunately married. The tomfoolery of such eye is quick and clear as ever, and the elastic muscles of affairs—the wine, oil, corn, (or rather oats, as if the Scot- his handsome face are still under his complete command. ticism of reckoning nothing but oats corn had Solomon's He played several nights in Ayr to crowded and fashionsanction,) were poured forth. But there was also given able audiences. I never liked him better in Shylock, one of the most beautiful and impressive prayers I have Richard, and Sir Giles, nor so well in Lear, at any period ever heard, by Dr M'Leod of Campsie. It was full of of his histrionic career. The corps dramatique is Mr unction. Mr Dalgleish, the governor of the hospital, Seymour's regular party, with Miss I. Paton as a minor whose funds chiefly build the bridge, then proceeded to prove how well a fine, benevolent old man may touch your feelings, without one of the usual graces of practised oratory. Our Provost replied in a most feeling, as it was an elegant, speech. Then there were cheers to the welkin—and really the cheers of many thousands is a noble kind of music. Then every man made off for his dinner. All the public bodies had regular feasts that day; and it was quite a harvest to the hotel-keepers in general. I fear Mr Mylne, who furnished the dinner at the opening of the New Exchange, was not so lucky, and would reap little but praise for his profits. Five hundred gentlemen sat down, on this occasion, to eat, in a hall worthy of an emperor, a dinner which might have satisfied an Apicius. It is needless to describe the noble building in which we met, as I could not do it technically; and, to speak in terms of general admiration, would convey few ideas to such as have not seen an edifice and an apartment as yet unrivalled in Scotland. I am acquainted with no one room like it, Westminster Hall and the Parliament House apart-for these admit not of comparison with the classical style of this building. All the partisans of the two local parties into which Glasgow is at present split-and between which I stand mid-way allow this; and so, I think, will even your emigrants from the East, when they see it. It was planned by Hamilton, the architect of Hamilton Palace, another splendid edifice nearly completed. Next to a good dinner, a good chairman was most to be desired; and there is but one man in Glasgow who has at once the eloquence and the tact to conduct a meeting of the kind in proper style, and with unabating spirit. Other very able, and even excellent speakers, we have; but Mr Ewing is by far the most skilful. He was, of course, our President, and navigated the vessel of hilarity in a first-rate manner. But we had other good speakers; the Principal, in particular, was eloquent, dignified, and impressive; Mr May, at once elegant and witty; and Mr Wright ex-ged, "is indifferently drawn, the hair ill massed, and stiff ceedingly neat, though rather elaborate. The evening altogether was a delightful one.

"Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a town surpasses, For honest men and bonnie lasses," was last week the scene of unusual gaiety; but as it does

Every body who goes to Ayr, goes to Burns's monu ment; and, during the race-week, the road thither was constantly crowded with pilgrims. I went also, and while there, admiring the surrounding scenery, I was agreeably surprised by the approach of a band of music playing the beautiful air, "Of a' the airts the wind can blaw." After giving some favourite tunes in the monument, the performers proceeded to the "keystane" of the bridge of Doon, followed by a crowd of people, and played, "Ye banks and braes o' bonny Doon," with much simplicity and good taste. I was greatly pleased with the unexpected treat, and turning to the keeper of the monument, I remarked that it was well judged in the directors to have music there at a time when there were so many visitors. "Oh, sir," said my cicerone, "the musikers are no employed by the directors; they are the Kilmaurs baun, just come to the monument out o' their ain heads." The honours that are now daily heaped on the memory of Burns, and the enthusiasm thus displayed by these rustic, sons of Apollo, and other visitors whom I met at the place of his nativity, are in striking contrast with the unmerited neglect which the poet experienced while living.

The studio of Mr Thom is also a place of great resort in the West. Since your last notice of his works he has nearly finished another Landlady, in which he has carefully avoided the faults, at which you hinted, of his first attempt. The present is a jolly, bouncing, good-natured looking woman, with ample drapery, executed with Mr Thom's characteristic softness and truth. The bust of a gentleman by Mr Thom, which you formerly pronounced a good likeness, and creditable to the artist, has been placed by the gentleman in the exhibition of paintings, &c, presently open in Glasgow, and some would-be critic has attempted, in one of the newspapers of that city, to rob it of all merit. He admits that the bust is sufficiently like to indicate its subject at first sight, but the head, it is alle

in its lines, and the neck somewhat out of proportion, and the whole indicative of incorrect notions of anatomy." Now, if we are to suppose the gentleman whom it represents a perfect Adonis, these remarks may possibly be true; if not, they are unjust. If the gentleman's head unfortunately happens to be an imperfect model- if

This odour comes to soche as thence ane daye's journeye

remayne,

An' the faces of the people all are comelye and amene.

pure,

Cule at noontyde an' als lukewarme at the morninge's chillye houre;

Nevir mot frogge or creepand thinge to breede therein have poure,

shoure.

he habitually wears his hair ill-massed and stiff in its lines-if his neck be thicker in proportion to the size of his head, than that of the Apollo, there would have been no truth in the bust if it had not been so also. The principal object, în portrait sculpture, is surely to make a faith-Thorowe the citye there outsprange fulle manie fountaynes ful and striking likeness; and those who are sufficiently acquainted with Mr Thom's subject to judge of the bust, will admit that he has not been unsuccessful. We " men of the west❞ are proud of our sculptor, and partial to his works; but we are willing to refer the merits of this bust to the respectable arbitrement of the Editor of the Lite-Bot clere an' swete they gushet oute in ane evirlastynge rary Journal; and if, in the course of your rambles, you happen to visit the falls of Clyde, which are now in all their glory, it may be worth your while to follow the stream as far as Glasgow, and settle the point. About five miles below Lanark, you will find the modest Mr Forrest in a quarry by the road side, hammering away at a gigantic equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington; and a mile farther on, in a beautiful loop of the Clyde, you will be readily introduced to that singular genius, John Greenshields, who is now engaged heart and soul in sculpturing a spirited group from the graphic cantata of the Jolly Beggars. Mr Greenshields had just finished a statue of his gracious Majesty, when he began this motley crew of "randie gangrel bodies"-but, vast as the stride undoubtedly is, he has not forgotten the old song,

There's a difference to be seen

'Twixt a beggar and a king

for the "patches" and "wallets" with which he has covered his tatterdemalions, are executed with as much precision and accuracy as the trappings of royalty that adorn his figure of our Sovereign.

Should you be induced to take the short excursion I have pointed out, the palace will be an agreeable lounge while your horse baits at Hamilton, and then a short ride will bring you to the exhibition of paintings in Glasgow, which I hope will be found to deserve the notice of the far-famed periodical over which you preside, upon the Editor's next appearance in his magic slippers.

ORIGINAL POETRY.

BABYLON.

Translated from the Spanish of Don Juan Lorenzo di
Astorga.

[Or this "learned clerk" of Astorga as little is known as, of his poetical contemporary Gonzalo di Berceo, whom we formerly introduced to our readers. (Lit. Jour. vol. i. p. 237) The poem of "Alexander the Great" is all that remains to rescue his name from entire oblivion; and even that is regarded by some critics as only a translation of a Larin poem, of which there also exists a French version. We feel inclined, however, to support Don Lorenzo's claim to originality upon the grounds of internal evidence. His resemblance, in thought and manner, to Di Berceo, is much closer than it could have been had the poem in question been only the translation of a work composed in a different country and in a different age. The following specimen, from the " Alexander," has the same poetical imagery and incident as the "Benedictine's Pilgrimage" we gave in a former number, and completely identifies itself with the same age and state of society in which that was composed-the early part of the 13th century.]

THE dwellaris in that halesome londe na mortelle dollouris dree,

Thair be al maner spycerye, bothe the clove an' citrone tree;

Thair alsua the frankincense swete, the carnatioun fayre

to see,

Ginger, nuttemeg, and spikenarde, most preshyous of the three.

The fragrancye the trees give out, is of vertew so sovráne,
That thaim besyde, nocht potencie hath aney kynde of

payne;

In ane champayne, richt smooth an' wide, it wals fulle dichtlye plast,

Quhar deer wer plentyfulle, an' eke all kynde of huntynge
beast;

The mountaynes also round about with flokkis wer well
ydrest,
Quham nowther springe nor summer mot in aney waye
moleste.

The palaces they reirit weren by ane maister richt grete,
All conyngely bye squarre an' rule they weren situate;
Feste in the livynge rocke, I wot, wer thair foundacions
sette,

That fyre nor water nevir mot thaim laye all desolate.
The portalles off the samyn were off nátyve ivorye,
Pure whyte, an' als fyne chrystele they glancit gloriouslye;
Most conynge the devyces-quhyle highe an' roiallye
Soarit the kinges aun chamberis, quhilk, in suthe, most
kinglye be.

Four hundred ar the pillares this buildynge that upholdde,
Bothe capytale an' base theroffe of verray fynest golde;
Not the live coale it halde not bene mor dazzlande to be-
holdde,

So burnishet an' bricht wer they as mot na all be tolde.
There alsua musicke chauntit wals, with arte bot seenil

knowen,

The deepe bass chordes awakenande the sorrowes of dayes gone,

The gladsume trille o' the dansand layes, the waylinge

semitone,

Wele mot they erne the meid fra soche als no earthlye dwellinge owne.

No not in al this worlde is ane manne als wyse, I ween,
Quha mot the daintye plesaunce shaw that in this place
hath bene;

Mong soch delyte abydande the manne wals nevir seen,
That payne or sorrowe evir tholit, or thirst or hunger
keen.
R. F.

THE AULD MAN'S WIFE'S DEAD,

A PARODY.

By the Ettrick Shepherd.
THE auld man's wife's dead,
The poor body's wife's dead,
The auld man's wife's dead,

An' feint a mair has he.

There was hay to won, an' lint to weed,
An' deuks an' hens an' a' to feed,
An' peats an' turs an' a' to lead—

What meant the wife to dee?
The auld man's wife's dead,
The poor body's wife's dead,
The auld man's wife's dead,

A mile aboon Dundee.
Now when her back is at the wa',
She had a faut, an' maybe twa,
But now she's dead, that's warst of a',
An' what a gouk was she!

Thou didst seek to gain this heart of mine,

Thou didst slight the gift when that heart was thine;
And it still is thine, but how changed art thou—
My wan cheek may tell, and my pale-worn brow,

O! woman's love, like the mountain river,
Expands as it flows, and will flow for ever;
Mid life's noisy pursuits, or her home's happy peace,
The pure fount of affection will never decrease!

I have but one prayer to ask of thee:
Wilt thou visit my grave beneath yonder tree,
And one little tear o'er her memory shed

Whom thy falseness laid low 'mong the dreamless dead?
GERTRUDE.

LITERARY CHIT-CHAT AND VARIETIES.

statues collected in the splendid gallery of the Louvre, and executed THE MUSEE FRANÇAIS.-The engravings from the paintings and at the command of Napoleon, are well-known to every artist and man of taste, under the designation of the Musee Français. The principal engravers of the Continent were employed in its production; and some idea may be formed of the magnitude of the undertaking, when it is stated that the collection consists of 343 engravings, and that the execution of the plates alone cost £75,000. The

costly nature of the work, of course, limited its circulation to a few from the Imperial treasury. A new edition of this magnificent work wealthy connoisseurs, and the expenses were principally defrayed is now about to be issued by A. and W. Galignani, of Paris, and Joseph Ogle Robinson, of London, at one-third of its original price, which will render it the cheapest, as it is by far the most splendid work of art ever offered to the public. We have had an opportunity of examining specimens of the three first numbers, and we beg it to be understood that we are talking Editorially, and consequently with the strictest impartiality, when we say that we have seldom seen a publication which has charmed us more. Each Number contains from twelve to fourteen exquisite engravings on large folio, with letter-press illustrations, and is sold at the astonishingly moderate

Alas, said I, bright bird of Heaven! what cause hast thou price of two guineas. A number is to be issued on the 1st and 15th of

to mourn?

Thou dost not grieve for pleasures gone-gone, never to return!

Thy sweet existence flows away in melody and love— This world's all green beneath thee, those Heavens all bright above!

every month (beginning with the 1st of September) and twenty-five numbers will complete the work. Our pleasure in looking at these admirable plates was not much less than we should have received from the originals themselves, and it may easily be conceived that this was no slight pleasure, when it is recollected that the engravings are taken from the chefs-d'œuvre of such men as Da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, Julio Romano, Caracci, Guido, Albano, Dominichino,

And thou canst sleep in peace, poor bird! regardless of Poussin, Morillo, Rubens, Teniers, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Gerard the morrow,

ing sorrow:

Without a thought to sting thy heart with soul-oppress- Sueur, Vernet, Chatillon, and many others. Dow, Van Ostade, Wouvermans, Backhuysen, Claude Lorrain, Le We should consider ourselves deficient in our duty to the public, did we not earnestly press upon the attention and patronage of every man of taste this noble work. Indeed, no library of any lover of the arts can be complete without it.

Not so with me-I live to die, and die to live again,
In blessedness and innocence, or everlasting pain!

Ah me! a melancholy heart has mine been from its birth, And through its chords my spirit sighs as th' Æolian breath of earth!

Where'er I turn-where'er I rove-in this dark vale of tears,

I droop, surrounded by a cloud of sorrows, cares, and

fears.

Oh God! my God! look down from Heaven, and teach
this soul to rise

In holiness and happiness, home-home into the skies;
To strike the intellectual lyre in rapturous praise to thee,
As now this solitary bird pours forth its love to me!

MORE NEWS OF THE ANNUALS.-Among the contributors to the forthcoming volume of the Literary Souvenir, are-Mrs Hemans, Miss Mitford, Miss Bowles, Miss Jewsbury, J. Galt, J. Montgomery, Maginn, T. K. Hervey, Hartly Coleridge, Derwent Conway, Alaric Professor Wilson, Barry Cornwall, W. M. Praed, T. H. Bayley, Dr A. Watts, D. M. Moir, and the Authors of "Highways and Byways" -"Constantinople in 1828 "—"Tales of the Munster Festivals "— "Recollections of the Peninsula "-" Tales of the O'Hara Family" -"The Kuzzilbash"-" Tales of the Moors," &c.-The Amulet for 1830 is nearly complete; and Mr Hall, we understand, has been very successful in obtaining the co-operation of many of the most distingraving, from the King's picture, of an English cottage, by Mulready, guished writers of the age. Among its illustrations, will be an enanother from Wilkie's painting of the " Dorty Bairn," another from