for all that entanglement and extrication-and when to all these items you add the half hour consuming and consumed at Ecclerigg, you will find that not more than eight minutes were occupied by positive match-trotting between the antique mile-stone where took place the first great original start, and the spot where occurred our latest disasterif disaster it may be called that led to a breakfast in one of the pleasant est cottages in Westmoreland-close to the nearest ash-tree, on the left hand side, to the Oasis of Assesalias the Donkey's Isle. Hitherto our mind had been so much engaged, that we had had neither time nor opportunity to observe the day-and knew little more of it than that it was dry, and dusty, and hot. Now we fell not to such perusal of her face as we would draw it, but we chucked Miss Day under the chin, and looking up she acknowledged our courteous civilities with a heart-beaming smile! The Day was not comely only, but beautiful-never saw we before nor since more heavenly blue eyes, sunnier clouds of golden hair, or a nobler forehead ample as the sky. The weather was not dry-for there had been some rain during the early hours of the night, and its influence still lay on the woods, along with that of the morning dew. It was not dustyhow could it be-when every rill was singing a new song? If madmen will trot at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, and gallop at the rate of fifty, they will perspire; but their odious condition does not prove the air to be hot; and now, at seven of a midsummer morning, it was cool as that of a whole continent of cucumbers. Ah, far more than cool! We hear too much and too often of warm kisses; but the sweetest of all kisses in this weary world are the sweet, fresh, fragrant, almost, but not quite, cold kisses of those virgin twin-sisters, Air and Light! Such, for a few moments, had been the innocent dalliance of Aurora Day with Christopher North, when the eyes of that amorist caught a peep of Lowood; and over its then proud lake-side pine-grove, now ruefully thinned, and the two or three remaining trees, the ghosts of what they were-and the worst of all ghosts are the dead alivebower-embosomed half way up its own silvan hill, the delightful DoveNest. Collected in front of the Inn, a vast crowd! and in the midst of it as sure as that China oranges are cheap in Pekin-Sam Sitwell, on Shuffler, ready to start! We felt we could afford to ride up to him-and, besides, we were curious to hear him prate of his hereabouts. Could it be that he was on his return from the goal at Grassmere? No. But we soon had a solution of the mystery—or, rather, except to ourselves there was no mystery at all. For, having met us flying home, as he was entitled to believe, at the rate of a young hawk's flight, Sam, who had not then recovered the effects of that ugly fall, wisely decided to breakfast at Lowood. And, according to his account, which we fully credited, Mrs Ladyman had given him a superb déjeûné à la fourchette. Shuffler had all the while stood at the door feeding kindly out of a nose-bag, to be ready at the first symptom of our return; and never saw we so great a change wrought in so short a time, by judicious treatment, as well on man as on horse. Sam was quite spruce-even pert― and rosy about the gills as an alderman. As for Shuffler, we could have thought we saw before us Eleanor herself, had that glorious creature, who was then carrying every thing before her, plates, cups, and all, not been of a different colour. Yet we were proud to find that Christopher on Colonsay divided the popular admiration, and as the rivals shook hands, a shout rent the sky. We now remembered that it was Grassmere Fair-day, which accounted for the crowd being greater than could have been brought together perhaps even by the bruit of our match. There could not have been fewer than a thousand souls, and the assemblage began to drop off towards Ambleside. It could not but occur to our humane minds that the lieges would be subjected to great peril of life, were we to start at score, and make play through the fragments of that crowd. And start at score and make play we must, if we were now to resume the contest, for our cattle were pawing to be let go, and you might read desperate thoughts in the faces of the riders. Hitherto the struggle had been severe, though it had not been throughout exactly a neck-and-neck affair it was now a near thing indeed, for if we had been delayed half an hour in Ecclerigg, so had Sitwell in Lowood -and though nothing had occurred to us so personally painful as his accident, we had had severer Trials of Temper. In suffering as in patience we might be fairly enough said to have been on a par. At that moment a beautiful breeze, that had been born at the head of Langdale, came carolling and curling across the Lake, and met another as beautiful as itself from Belle-Isle, so lovingly that the two melted into one, and brought the Endeavour suddenly round Point-Battery, with all sails set, and all colours flying, a vision glorifying all Lowood Bay. Billy Balmer, all the while holding the rim of his hat, advocated most eloquently a proposal emanating from mine host, that the nags should be stabled for an hour or two, and that we should give Mr Sitwell a sail. Indeed he began to drop hints that it would be easy by signal to collect the whole musquitto fleet; and his oratory was so powerful that at the close of one of his speeches-in reply -we verily believed that a Trottingmatch between horses was about to be changed into a Regatta like that of Cowes. And a regatta there is, at bidding of the Invisibles of air, whose breath is on the waters, now provided with a blueground, whitening with breakers, commonly called cats-heads. Five minutes ago, what shadowy stillness of vacant sleep-now what sunny animation of busy lifeiness all over face and breast of Winander! What unfurling, and hoisting, and crowding of canvass "in gentle places, bosoms, nooks, and bays!" and, my eye, how every craft cocks her jib at the Endeavour! That is the Elizaso named after one of the finest women in England-since christened the "Ugly Cutter" by some malignant eunuch, squeaking the lie as he broke a vinegar cruet on her bows. That schooner is the Roscoe-and Lorenzo was then alive with "his fine Roman hand" and face; and so was Palafox, whose name that threemasted latine-rigged beauty bearssee how, with the wind on her beam like a flamingo, she flies! Yet she cannot overhaul the Liverpoolianthough that Wonder has not yet shaken out two reefs in her mainsail that tell a silent tale of yesterday's squalls. Is! was! what a confusion of moods and tenses! But the Past is all one with the Present. Imagi nation does what she likes with Time; she gives a mysterious middle voice to every verb-and genius pursues them through all their conjugations, feeling that they have all one rootand that the root of the Tree of Knowledge, of Good and of Evilplanted in the heart-and watered sometimes with dewdrop-looking tears, and as often with tears of blood! And lo! beauty-laden-a life-boat indeed-behold the Barge! The Nil Timeo! Old Nell, as she is lovingly called by all the true sons of Winander! The Dreadnought and Invincible Old Nell Nil Timeo! No awning but one of parasols! Herself seemingly sunk by fair freight and bright burden down to the rowlocks, but steady in her speed as a dolphin; and is she not beautifully pulled, ye Naiads? The admiral's gig resplendent now among a fleet of wherries, skiffs, canoes; and harkwhile the female voices that can sing so divinely are all mute-swelling in strong heroic harmony the Poet Laureate's Song! For ages, Winander, unsought was thy shore, Nought disturb'd thy fair stream save the fisherman's oar; When the Goddess of Love View'd the scene from above, And determined from Cyprus her court to remove; Though for far distant regions we ne'er set our sails, When the swift whirlwind rushes from Langdale's dark form, To the force of the blast Whilst the heart to the moorings of courage is fast; To us are consign'd the gay fête and the ball, Of the heart-rending pain, And confess that our motto is boasting and vain; To us it is given to drain the deep bowl, Soon soft visions arise, From the black fleet of sorrow we fear no surprise, Whene'er we pass o'er, without compass, the line, Love, friendship, and wine, On our bark then the bright star of pleasure shall shine; And now "sharpening its mooned horns," the whole Fleet close inshore drops anchor; and all the crews give Christopher three cheers. If this be not a regatta, pray what is a regatta ? Colonsay paws the beach as if impatient to board the Flag-Ship like a horse-marine. The Shuffler draws up in style on our right flank Steady, Sam! Steady!" Billy applies a red-hot poker to the touchhole of the pattareroe-and in full view of the Fleet-AGAIN we start. END OF FYTTE FIRST. INDEX TO VOLUME XXXV. Almacks, effects of that institution, 72 Aristocracy, Hints to the, 68-Causes of Aurelius Verus, character of, 966 Avidius Cassius, rebellion of, 978 dignity, 39-His exposé of the state of Byron, Lord, personal appearance and traits Bailly, the French philosopher, account of, Caesars, Chap. IV. The Patriot Emperors, 31 Baronet's Bride, the, 81 Baron Smith, 443-His triumphant vindi- Barrington, Sir Jonah, extracts from his Historic Memoirs of Ireland, 204, 396 of the Constitution, 339 Bertrand, Countess, account of, 55 Bob Burke's duel with Ensign Brady of the Brougham, Lord, his skilful and perseve- British Army, refutation of aspersions on, 961 Cambridge, University of, difference in its Campbell, Sir J., rejected at Dudley, and Castlereagh, Lord, recollections of, 399 Chalmers, Dr, examination of his opinions 608-In what light his apparent egotism Christianity, error of supposing it no essen- in North Wales, by Mrs He- mans, 634 political improvements, 956-Its security Cities, effect of their increase on the power Clifton, scenery of, 547 Colonial trade, its importance to Britain, Colours, medium for preserving, 553 Combination Laws, arguments for their re- Crawford, Mr, his estimate of the inequality cular to the electors of Mary-le-bone, 545 II. 459-Chap. III. 587-Chap. IV. 899 Diary of a Late Physician, passages from the, Dissenters, ministerial promises to, 543- Economists, Burke's character of the, 524 England, her chief danger is from France, Exports and imports, unfavourable state of Family Poetry, No. V. A tale of the Rhine, 481 Flowers, the Moral of, 802 Gardeners, Loudon on the education of, 691 392 Gregory Hipkins, Esquire, surnamed the Hadrian, principles of his policy, 961 Heart's Prison, the, by C. M., 267 in his speech at Hull, and proceedings in Hindu Drama, the, No. II. The Toy-cart, Hints to the Aristocracy. A Retrospect of House of Commons, vacillation of, 538- Hume, Mr, remarks on his statement as to Huskisson, Mr, his proposal for altering the Ildefonso, the Conde de, a tale of the Spa- |