(Cheering)-Would it not be well for the country if ten times as many, that hold their heads high, outside these walls, were now inside them ?-(Cheering.)-I scorn to appeal to your passions; but shall we suffer our honourable straw, our venerable bread and water, our virtuous slumbers, and our useful days, to be invaded, crushed, and calcitrated, by the iron boot-heel of arrogance and audacity? (Cheering.) No: freedom is like the air we breathe, without it we die !-No! every man's cell is his castle. By the law, we live here; and should not all that live by the law, die by the law?-Now, gentlemen, a general cheer! here's Liberty, Property, and Purity of principle! Gentlemen of the jail' (They carry him round the hall. Loud Cheering.) morn. And thus she makes the world, both young and old, Bow down to sovereign Curiosity! We have no doubt but that " Pride shall have a Fall" (we are pretty sure we have written that title in round hand in our copy-book, many a time and oft, for our schoolmaster was a moral writer)—we have no doubt, we say, but that the piece will have a successful run. And if the public desire to be amused with good acting, on foot,-dashing humour,— and pleasing music; they ought to make a resolute squeeze at the doors of Covent Garden Theatre. There has been no novelty at Drury Lane Theatre. A new farce has been promised at the bottom of the bills, but very probably the nuthor has not yet been selected. The horses still eat Mr. Elliston's oats, and Mr. Winston is preparing to make hay, whenever the sun shall shine. ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE. Oh Jonathan! Jonathan! very pleasant art thou to us, we must own. Mathews has at length published his Travels, and those who do not subscribe for a copy of his American Trip, do not know a good work when they see it. He is all fun, Joe Miller, and life! He is every whim, frivolity, pun, song, activity, He goes through his entertainment thing by turns, and something long! hop, step, and jump; and, we are carried through America as though we were on wings. It is not fair to criticise his productions, for they are put together for loud laughers, and not for critics; Indeed, we flatter ourselves, that we can open an Adelphi arch in the middle of the phiz, as well as that fat man in powder; whenever we are in Mr. Mathews's presence. His America is, indeed, a land of promise! He leaves England in company with Jack Topham, a young blood from Saville Row, with a voice, which John Bull has heard often before, and with cousin Bray-a fat delightful lover of old jokes,-than whom we respect no man more! They pass from vessel to land, from land to a boarding-house--from boarding-house to Boston, and so on through the principal towns of America. Fun gathers, like a lump of snow, as they proceed; and we are full of merry riches when we part. It is impossible at this late moment to describe the entertainment, which certainly owes all its pleasantry to the talent of the actor: We cannot, however, help recommending to especial notice the story, told by a Yankee, of his uncle Ben,-and the German magistrate's charge to an American jury, in which the law is right luminously expounded. On the first night, the house was crowded, with curious English and curious Americans; the tone and temper in which the merry_tourist tells of his travels, were such as to delight both sides,-and yet to shake them! Indeed, we are disposed to believe that Mathews's entertainment is more likely to conciliate the two nations, than a thousand books, though written by a thousand men as kind and as clever as Washington Irving. SONNETS FROM THE MOST EMINENT POETS OF ITALY. ANGELO DA COSTANZO. Quella Cetra gentil che 'n sulla riva Non sia chi di toccarmi abbia ardimento: Chè, se non spero aver man sì famosa, Del gran Titiro mio sol mi contento. THE Lyre that on the banks of Mincius sung Daphnis and Melibæus in such strains, That never on Arcadia's hills or plains Have rustic notes with sweeter echoes rung; When now its chords more deep, and tuneful strung, Had sung of rural Gods to listening swains, The shepherd hung it on yon spreading oak, Let none dare touch me of th' unhallow'd throng: 1 LODOVICO ARIOSTO. Chiuso era il Sol da un tenebroso velo, Quando apparir sull' altra tipa il lume E tutto a un tempo i nuvoli d' intorno THE sun was hid in veil of blackest dye, I saw fierce rain or icy storm was nigh, When peering o'er the distant shore the beam Instant the gather'd clouds dispersed away, BERNARDO TASSO. Quest' ombra che giammai non vide il Sole, Col letto pien di calta e di viòle; Dov' un garrulo rio si lagna e duole Con l'onda chiara, che non tiene ascosa Un povero Pastor, ch' altro non ave, Se col tuo sonno e tranquillo e soave THIS SHADE, that never to the sun is known, Where babbling runs a brook with tuneful moan, And wave so clear, the sand o'er which it flows Is dimm'd no more, than is the purple rose When through the crystal pure its blush is shown; S. VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. OUR foreign intelligence for this month is very limited, and, to say the truth, it does not make up in interest what it wants in quantity. The accounts from Spain are such as might naturally have been expected, after the crisis which has occurred, and the way in which it has terminated. Poverty, anarchy, tyranny, distrust, and bigotry, are the general heads under which that unhappy country may be classed. Ferdinand is on a throne-nominally-but to him it must be a throne of torture. The moderate policy of the French will not permit him to follow the bent of his inclination, and the fury of the fanatical monks strongly coincides with his inclination against what he feels to be his interest; so his revenge is reluctantly kept in check by his cunning. No act of Amnesty has however as yet made its appearance-it is alternately promised and procrastinated, and there is little doubt this farce will continue until the deaths of the imprisoned and the despair of the expatriated render an act of amnesty not worth the parchment which will be defiled by its record. There was a report within these few days, that Ferdinand, induced either by his fears or his necessities, had desperately resolved upon something like liberal measures, and was even willing, upon certain pecuniary stipulations, to recognize the independence of the Colonies. Mexico was mentioned as likely to be first in the recognition list, as having probably been the best bidder. This however rests upon mere rumour, and there is no account to be relied on as at all approaching to authenticity. With respect to the Colonies, it signifies very little whether the report has any foundation or not. It appears to us as if the bargain would be at this instant a very uncommercial speculation-one only to be excused on account of their infancy in trade. If they do pay Ferdinand, they are certainly paying him for what he has not to give, and what, if he could give, he would undoubtedly withhold their freedom. Liberty is an article not to be bought with gold; the metal which acquires it isAPRIL, 1824. March 25, 1824. STEEL. It is probable however that the rumour may have originated solely in the notoriously deplorable finance difficulties of the cabinet of Madrid. The last accounts say, that the French are not able to collect enough even to defray the contingent expences of their troops, and that in consequence they will be obliged to apply to the new Chamber for 25 millions of royal bonds, in order to meet some of the extra expences of the late campaign. So far as we can see, the new French Chamber, constituted as it promises to be, will be found not very refractory in the case of any ministerial demand. The situation of the French troops in Spain is represented as none of the most desirable-there is no peace beyond the immediate neighbourhood of their quarters, and not much within itthe liberals are their enemies of course, and the bigoted national pride of the faithful will scarcely deign to recognise them as friends; so that, between foes and friends, and the natural desire which they must have for home, we scarcely wonder, holy allies as they are, that they have dubbed Spain the-Hell of Legitimacy. The phrase, and the cause of it, naturally recall our old friend Merino, the military monk, who has once more appeared upon the scene. Discontented, it seems, with the present order of affairs, he is at the head of 4000 armed men, opposed to the system which the French have established. In Segovia he is said to have taken a great many of the royalists prisoners, and to have immediately dismissed them with a present of a dollar a man and an entreaty that they would turn their arms against the invaders of their country. This fanatic has already_produced such effects that various French detachments have been sent off in pursuit of him. The state of society in Spain must at present be a strange one; private letters from Madrid declare that the servile ladies in various parts of the country are very busy in presenting petitions against the constitutional ladies in their respective neighbourhoods! 2 F The news from the Brazils is of a character which we certainly should not have anticipated, at least so immediately after the abrupt dissolution of the congress, and the violent transportation of the opposition. Certain, however, it is, that the Brazilian Emperor has promulgated a constitution which partakes much of the character even of English freedom. There are two Chambers, in whom the legislative power is vested. Both are elective. The first is called a Senate, and it continues for life. Of this body the Emperor has the nomination of the third part. The senators must be Brazilian citizens, possess a fixed portion of property, no matter whether it arises from land, industry, or commerce, and they are not eligible till they have attained the age of forty; an exception in this last respect is made in favour of the Imperial Princes, who are eligible at twenty-five. The Chamber of Deputies is quartennial. It originates every measure relative to taxation, and to the recruiting of the army, and is to choose a new dynasty on the extinction of the reigning family. They have also the power of inquiring into the conduct of ministers, and of instituting an impeachment, if necessary. To this body, also, a certain portion of property is requisite, and its members receive a salary for their services. Both these bodies are elected by primary assemblies, and the suffrage is withheld only from the army, the clergy, minors, servants, and paupers. The Catholic religion is of course the established religion of the state, but the private worship of other 'sects is to be tolerated; which, after all, for a Catholic, and a Braganza, and a nephew of King Ferdinand into the bargain, is going a great way. When there is such a clamour raised against Protestant intolerance, these examples in our own day of Catholic states, aye, and those professing to be free states too, ought not to be forgotten not that we think the illiberality of one sect should form any excuse for the illiberality of another, but still those who are the first to establish such a system ought not to feel either surprised or aggrieved at its gaining adherents. We have observed with considerable pain, that the very first article in the free, nay, the republi› can constitution of Mexico is, The Ca tholic religion is the established religion of the state, and no other shall be tole rated! Surely one would suppose that such a sentiment was traced, not by a hand which wielded the sword of freedom, but which had been busied about the chains of the Inquisition. Upon the whole, how ever, the Brazilian constitution is much more liberal than could possibly have been expected, and is such, whether it be of Don Pedro's own conception, or forced upon him by the demands of his subjects, as to put an end for ever to the hopes of those ultras in Lisbon, who might have still speculated on regaining an ascendancy in Brazil. In France the chief subject of interest since our last has been the progress of the elections, which have terminated almost universally in favour of the powers that be! There will not, we should suppose, be found in the new Chamber above twenty liberals; so that, in fact, their par liament will be little more than a mere silent registry office of the royal will. The last accounts announce the death of two very celebrated revolutionary characters, Cambaceres, who was in power under the consu late, and afterwards during the empire, and Eugene Beauharnois, Napoleon's adopted son and late Viceroy of Italy. From South America we learn, that a Peruvian force, under Santa Cruz, had been defeated by the royalists under Valdes. This however, it was supposed, was of no consequence whatever, as Bolivar had succeeded in capturing Niva Aguero and his staff; and having that ambitious chieftain in his power, he could now turn his undivided attention to the foreign enemy. Our domestic news is little more than an epitome of the proceedings in parliament, which, however, we shall endeavour to present as faithfully as possible. The first subject in order which occupied the attention of the House of Commons since our last, was a discussion, or rather a resumption of last year's discussion, on the subject of the delay attendant on the present system in the Court of Chancery. This was introduced in a very able speech by Mr. J. Williams, who concluded by moving for a committee to |