class="i2">And zephyrs murmur'd nigh him,

Flowers were blooming at his feet,

And birds were warbling by him:

His eyes soft radiance seem'd to wear,

For tears and smiles were blended there.

JESSE HAMMOND.

MY COMMON-PLACE BOOK.

NO. XXI.

ORDEALS.

Four kinds of ordeals were chiefly used by our German ancestors:—1. "The Kamp fight," or combat; during which the spectators were to be silent and quiet, on pain of losing an arm or leg; an executioner with a sharp axe. 2. "The fire ordeal," in which the accused might clear his innocence by holding red-hot iron in his hands, or by walking blind-fold amidst fiery ploughshares. 3. "The hot-water ordeal," much of the nature as the last. 4. "The cold-water ordeal:" this need not be explained, since it is looked on as supreme when a witch is in question. The cross ordeal was reserved for the clergy. These, if accused, might prove their innocence by swallowing two consecrated morsels taken from the altar after proper prayers. If these fragments stuck in the priest's throat he stood ipse facto—condemned; but we have no record of condemnation.

GEMS.

Forgive not the man who gives you bad wine more than once. It is more than an injury. Cut the acquaintance as you value your life.

If you see half-a-dozen faults in a woman, you may rest assured she has a hundred virtues to counterbalance them. I love your faulty, and fear your faultless women. When you see what is termed a faultless woman, dread her as you would a beautiful snake. The power of completely concealing the defects that she must have, is of itself a serious vice.

If you find no more books in a man's room, save some four or five, including the red-book and the general almanac, you may set down the individual as a man of genius, or an ass;—there is no medium.

The eye is never to be mistaken. A person may discipline the muscles of the face and voice, but there is a something in the eye beyond the will, and we thus frequently find it giving the tongue the lie direct.

I never knew a truly estimable man offer a finger, it is ever a sign of a cold heart; and he who is heartless is positively worthless, though he may be negatively harmless.

Cut the acquaintance of any lady who signs a letter with "yours obediently."

Always act in the presence of children with the utmost circumspection. They mark all you do, and most of them are more wise than you may imagine.

Men of genius make the most ductile husbands. A fool has too much opinion of his own dear self, and too little of women's to be easily governed.

A passion for sweetmeats, and a weak intellect, generally go together.

I have known many fools to be gluttons, but never knew one that was an epicure.

The affection of women is the most wonderful thing in the world; it tires not—faints not—dreads not—cools not. It is like the Naptha that nothing can extinguish but the trampling foot of death.

There is a language in flowers, which is very eloquent—a philosophy that is instructive. Nature appears to have made them as emblems of women. The timid snow-drop, the modest violet, the languid primrose, the coy lily, the flaunting tulip, the smart marigold, the lowly blushing daisy, the proud foxglove, the deadly nightshade, the sleepy poppy, and the sweet solitary eglantine, are all types.

W.C. B—— M.

There are a set of malicious, prating, prudent gossips, both male and female, who murder characters to kill time; and will rob a young fellow of his good name before he has years to know the value of it.—Sheridan.

MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS.

No. XII.

A BURMESE EXECUTION.

The scene took place at Rangoon, and the sufferers were men of desperate characters, who merited death. At a short distance from the town, on the road known to the army by the name of the Forty-first Lines, is a small open space, which formerly was railed in: and here all criminals used to be executed. On this occasion several gibbets, about the height of a man, were erected, and a large crowd of Burmans assembled to feast their eyes on the sanguinary scene that was to follow.

When the criminals arrived, they were tied within wooden frames, with extended arms and legs, and the head-executioner going round to each, marked with a piece of chalk, on the side of the men, in what direction his assistant (who stood behind him with a sharpened knife,) was to make the incision. On one man he described a circle on the side; another had a straight line marked down the centre of his stomach; a third was doomed to some other mode of death; and some were favoured by being decapitated. These preparations being completed, the assistant approached the man marked with a circle, and seizing a knife, plunged it up to the hilt in his side, then slowly and deliberately turning it round, he finished the circle! The poor wretch rolled his eyes in inexpressible agony, groaned, and soon after expired; thus depriving these human fiends of the satisfaction his prolonged torments would have afforded them. The rest suffered in the same manner; and, from the specimens I have seen of mangled corpses, I do not think this account overdrawn. Hanging is a punishment that seldom, if ever, takes place.

The manner in which slighter punishments are made is peculiar to the Burmans, and, as nearly as I can make it out, according to our pronunciation, is called "toung." The delinquent is obliged to kneel down, and a man stands over him with a bent elbow and clenched fist. He first rapidly strikes him on the head with his elbow, and then slides it down until his knuckles repeat the blow, the elbow at the same time giving a violent smack on the shoulders. This is repeated until it becomes a very severe punishment, which may be carried to great excess.—Two Years in Ava.

RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.

BILL OF FARE AT AN ANCIENT INSTALMENT.

The following is a true copy of the original lodged in the Tower of London: