saw him, " in my mind's eye," driving tandem on a nest of tea-boards; nor could I ever contemplate his cockney exhibitions of horsemanship, but my mischievous imagination would picture him spurring a cask of hardware, like rosy Bacchus bestriding a beer barrel, or the little gentleman who be-straddles the world in the front of Hutching's Almanack. Straddle was equally successful with the Giblets, as may well be supposed; for though pedestrian merit may strive in vain to become fashionable in Gotham, yet a candidate in an equipage is always recognised, and like Philip's ass. laden with gold, will gain admittance everywhere. Mounted in his curricle or his gig, the candidate is like a statue elevated on a high pedestal; his merits are discernible from afar, and strike the dullest optics. Oh! Gotham, Gotham! most enlightened of cities! how does my heart swell with delight when I behold your sapient inhabitants lavishing their attention with such wonderful discern ment! Thus Straddle became quite a man of the town, and was caressed, and courted, and invited to dinners and balls. Whatever was absurd or ridiculous in him before, was now declared to be the style. He criticised our theatre, and was listened to with reverence. He pronounced our musical entertainments barbarous; and the judgment of Apollo himself would not have been more decisive. He abused our dinners; and the god of eating, if there be any such deity, seemed to speak through his organs. He became at once a man of taste for he put his malediction on every thing; and his arguments were conclusive for he supported every assertion with a bet. He was likewise pronounced by the learned in the fashionable world, a young man of great research and deep observation-for he had sent home as natural curiosities, an ear of Indian corn, a pair of moccasins, a belt of wampum, and a four-leaved clover. He had taken great pains to enrich this curious collection with an Indian, and a cataract, but without success. In fine, the people talked of Straddle and his equipage, and Straddle talked of his horses, until it was impossible for the most critical observer to pronounce whether Straddle or his horses were most admired, or whether Straddle admired himself or his horses most. Straddle was now in the zenith of his glory. He swaggered about parlours and drawing-rooms with the same unceremonious confidence he used to display in the taverns at Birmingham. He accosted a lady as he would a bar-maid; and this was pronounced a certain proof that he had been used to better company in Birmingham. He became the great man of all the taverns between NewYork and Haerlem; and no one stood a chance of being accommodated until Straddle and his horses were perfectly satisfied. He d-d the landlords and waiters with the best air in the world, and accosted them with true gentlemanly familiarity. He staggered from the dinner table to the play, entered the box like a tempest, and staid long enough to be bored to death, and to bore all those who had the misfortune to be near him. From thence he dashed off to a ball, time enough to flounder through a cotillion, tear half a dozen gowns, commit a number of other depredations, and make the whole company sensible of his infinite condescension in coming amongst them. The people of Gotham thought him a prodidigious fine fellow; the young bucks cultivated his acquaintance with the most persevering assiduity, and his retainers were sometimes complimented with a seat in his curricle, or a ride on one of his fine horses. The belles were delighted with the attention of such a fashionable gentleman, and struck with astonishment at his learned distinctions between wrought scissors and those of cast-steel; together with his profound dissertations on buttons and horse flesh. The rich merchants courted his acquaintance because he was an Englishman, and their wives treated him with great deference, because he had come from beyond seas. I cannot help here observing that your salt water is a marvellous great sharpener of men's wits, and I intend to recommend it to some of my acquaintance in a particular essay. 66 Straddle continued his brilliant career for only a short time. His prosperous journey over the turnpike of fashion, was checked by some of those stumblingblocks in the way of aspiring youth, called creditors or duns:-a race of people who, as a celebrated writer observes, are hated by gods and men." Consignments slackened, whispers of distant suspicion floated in the dark, and those pests of society, the tailors and shoemakers, rose in rebellion against Straddle. In vain were all his remonstrances, in vain did he prove to them that though he had given them no money, yet he had given them more custom, and as many promises as any young man in the city. They were inflexible, and the signal of danger being given, a host of other prosecutors pounced upon his back. Straddle saw there was but one way for it; he determined to do the thing genteelly, to go to smash like a hero, and dashed into the limits in high style, being the fifteenth gentleman I have known to drive tandem to the-ne plus ultra the d-l. Unfortunate Straddle! may thy fate be a warning to all young gentlemen who come out from Birmingham to astonish the natives! I should never have taken the trouble to delineate his character, had he not been a genuine Cockney, and worthy to be the representative of his numerous tribe. Perhaps my simple countrymen may hereafter be able to distinguish between the real English gentleman, and individuals of the cast I have heretofore spoken of, as mere mongrels, springing at one bound from contemptible obscurity at home, to day light and splendour in this good natured land. The true born, and true bred English gentleman, is a character I hold in great respect; and I love to look back to the period when our forefathers flourished in the same generous soil, and hailed each other as brothers. But the Cockney! too when I contemplate him as springing from the same source, I feel ashamed of the relationship, and am tempted to deny my origin. In the character of Straddle is traced the complete outline of a true Cockney, of English growth, and a descendant of that individual facetious character mentioned by Shakespeare, "who, in pure kindness to his horse, buttered his hay." THE BLACKHEATH ASSEMBLY. On Monday myself was politely invited To go to a Ball on the top of Blackheath: I was told that with beauty I'd there be delighted, And must tumble in love, in spite of my teeth; So I dress'd by my glass, till I look'd like Apollo, And put on a smile that was perfectly killing, Made sure that a dozen of conquests would follow, And then, heigho! for the cooing and billing. Ti loura, ti loura, dum dee. Oh! the dear little creatures were daintily drest all, To choose which was loveliest only was puzz ling; Not an elderly lady but look'd like a vestal, I felt myself lost in a crowd of Divinities, That one of the party should ever be Ti loura, ti loura, dum dee. So I made up my mind, ere the evening was over, To some pretty partner to make my advances, A waltz or quadrille has fix'd many a lover, And Cupid is famous for flirting at dances. Then I gave my fair partner a look like a love letter, And verily thought the expression had caught her, But my friend wish'd me joy, said my next hit might prove better, For the lady was blest with six sons and a daughter! 'Pi loura, ti loura, dum dee. As soon as I heard it my heart was my own again, For I couldn't maintain a whole set of quad rillers; But, in the next dance, oh! the wanton was gone again, For the Ball-room was full of these pretty men-killers, The Spanish dance tempted to cast a fond look again, My precautions again were beginning to vanish, But my friend spied my meaning, and brought me to book again, For my partner he told me, had none of the Spanish. Ti loura, ti loura, dum dee. Oh! Emily, Anna, Kate, Fanny and Mary, Amelia, and Lucy, and Bessy, and Catherine-Not one of you present but look'd like a fairy, And set a fond Irishman's heart a wool "Revenge! Revenge!" in accents hoarse, "Betray'd by friendship and by love, Fierce vengeance on the Danes. "Revenge! Revenge! my soul inspires To loved Editha's manes, I vow till fleeting breath expires, Fell vengeance on the Danes." THE idea upon which this little rhapsody is founded, though arising from an historical source, is merely legendary. It is stated, that the Danes, in their piratical excursions, frequently ravaged the coast of Kent, and sometimes carried their inroads, and pursued their depredations up the country. Dartford where there was a seminary of noble virgins, which probably might have been founded by Ethelbert, under the auspices of Austin, was ravaged, and burnt, and, says tradition, the holy inmates, among whom was Editha, the daughter of a Saxon king, treacherously violated and barbarously murdered. This, whether true or fabulous, is merely stated to show its antiquity, because we know that few of the Fables of early ages either floated on the pinions of local tradition, or were chained to the desks of monastic libraries, except they were in some degree, how ever small, supported by facts. In the age to which we allude, the Nunnery of Dartford, of the remains of which we furnish an engraving from an original design, was founded by that gallant and magnificent monarch, Edward III., and it is curious enough to observe, that in this instance, war and religion took their turns like day and night. In the year 1331, the king held a Tournament at Dartford,-Tournaments were in those times not only scenes of unbounded splendour and luxury, but we fear, sometimes of pleasure that degenerated into licentiousness. Be this as it may, whether the ladies, in process of time, found any reason to repent, or the monarch deemed such an establishment commemoratory, he, in the year 1355, founded a Nunnery, which, it will be observed by the plate, was built in the plainest monastic style. Yet it seems, either from its extent, interior decorations, or lands appended to it, to have been a place of very considerable importance: for it was at the time of the Reformation valued at £380. per annum. This building the historian Lombardy, says, Henry VIII. converted it into a house for himself and successors. Of the structure, once governed by Bridget of York, the fourth daughter of Edward IV. only a gateway, the south wing adjoining, and the stone walls in the garden, remain. These vestiges are, however, sufficient to urge the mind to a contemplation of that system once so prevalent, under which numbers of both sexes were taken out of society, at a time of life when their talents would have rendered them useful, and whenever their conduct, if we may presume that they in seclusion, encountered rather than avoided temptation, would probably have been more exemplary. The town of Dartford which contains 2,406 inhabitants, has an air of great antiquity. In it was solemnized the marriage (by proxy) of Frederick II. Emperor of Germany, with Isabella, sister of Henry III., and hospitals and alms'-houses were here built in the reign of Henry IV. And this town is also memorable for that great rebellion headed by Wat Tyler, which was occasioned by the indecent behaviour of one of the Collectors of the Poll-Tax. Rapin erroneously says, that Wat Tyler resided at Deptford; this error, excusable in a foreign historian, has been suffered to pass uncorrected by his Editor. A. M. CHRISTMAS GAMES OF THE JAMAICA NEGROES. ALTHOUGH slavery is a bitter cup, however it may be disguised, yet the situation of the negroes in the West India Islands has been considerably ameliorated of late years. They have neither been worked so hard, or treated with so much severity as formerly. They have also been allowed a few days of uncontrolled passtime to lighten the weary chain of slavery. Christmas shines a holiday to the sable son of woe as well as to his fairer taskmaster, as will be seen by the following account of the Christmas racket of the negroes, which is communicated in a letter from Jamaica, written some years ago: Falmouth, Jamaica, MY DEAR C.-About a fortnight before Christmas last, I was awakened one morning before day, with a very unusual sound of mirth. I heard a drum beating, and, as near as I could conjecture, about three or four dozen of voices singing, La, la, la, in great style. On inquiry, I found that it was a parcel of black women, marching up and down, beginning the Christmas racket. Now, you must know, that at that merry season, the Negroes have four days entirely to themselves, namely, Christmas day, the day before, the day after, and New Year's day; dur ing that time they are free, and a pretty sort of freedom they make of it. To prepare for this momentous period is the business of the whole year; every penny is scraped together, by begging, borrowing, and stealing. In Falmouth, there are two parties, the blues and the reds, and the whole of the business is, which of these shall excel in dress, numbers, beauty, and fine singing; their masters and mistresses are also brought mto the scrape; for example, Mr. is a Blue house, that is, all our Negroes are of the Blue party, and we must, of course, be of the same colour. The Negroes of our next neighbour may be Reds; that again is called a Red house : with the Whites it is merely a nominal distinction, but with the Browns and Blacks, it is a serious affair. About a fortnight before Christmas, then, the negro women begin to prepare. They get up long before day, shoulder their water-buckets, and off to the tank for water. The tank is a reservoir, which stands in the middle of the town, where every body gets their water, like your public wells in Edinburgh; but, instead of minding their business, down go the buckets. The Blues collect in one corner; the Reds in another; and there they begin. Some stout negro man joins each party, who can beat, and rattles away at their head on an old drum, keeping time to their voices; this continues till after day-break, when they are obliged to muster up their scattered utensils, and trudge home. This is what I call the rehearsal, and the nearer it draws to Christmas, the more assemble, and the longer the said rehearsal lasts. The much wished for morning dawns at last, to the great joy of the whole black race, and to the great annoyance of all lovers of peace and good order. Buckra's (white person) house is left to take care of itself; out set the negroes, one and all, to the jubilee, and about day-light the uproar begins; drums, fifes, tambourines, fiddles, and voices, la, la, la. I pulled on my clothes last Christmas morning, and set out determined to see the dust. I followed the sound of the hurricane that was nearest me, and met the Blues plump in the face. Lord have mercy on us, such a sight! They were dressed exactly alike: first and foremost, a white muslin turban, spangled with silver, was twisted round their curly locks; in the front of which stuck something like a feather, and beneath peeped their round and black faces as Fair as the star of the morning." Their necks were uncovered; and to mark their colour, they each wore a short spencer of light blue silk, or Persian, tastefully trimmed with white, and bound at the bottom with an orangecoloured sash, tied in a large knot behind, with the ends hanging down to their heels, likewise adorned with spangles. A short white muslin petticoat, with a wrought border, white stockings, and fancy shoes and gloves, made up the dress. In the front marched the drummer; on each side of him a standard bearer (men) carrying, one a silk flag of light blue, and the other a white, famously decorated. Round these were collected all the idlers, or mobility, some playing on one thing, some another, all keeping good time. Close following came the Queen, (each party has a King and Queen,) supported on each side by a maid of honour, glit tering in finery; after her followed the principal ladies, two and two, arm and arm; betwixt them, again marched the rest, in regular succession, two and two, according to their size, the smallest bringing up the rear. The drums beat and the ladies sing. The glittering colours wave in the sun-beams, and the multitude rejoice. The Reds follow the same order, only red is their predominant colour. You will naturally ask where do slaves get all this? I'll tell you: the Mulattos take a principal part in the fray. The elderly brown women in Falmouth, many of whom are well to do, head the different parties in private, regulate the ceremonies, and purchase the dresses out of their own purse, while the young brown girls make them; and to such a height is the spirit of emulation carried, that the brown woman who headed the Reds last year, said publicly, that, "before the Blues should gain the day, she would sell a negro, and spend every farthing of the money." In this order, then, and with the greatest glee imaginable, do the two parties parade up and down, from one corner of the town to the other, all day. The first day of the year is the last and grandest exhibition, and it is then that the great trial of strength takes place, and the King makes his appearance. In the forenoon it is not known who will gain the day, for many additions take place on both sides. About five in the evening both parties make their appearance complete. The music comes first; then comes the King, superbly dressed in blue or red, covered with gold or silver lace, a sword at his side, and a cocked hat. On his right walks her Majesty; on his left the chief maid of hour. Immediately behind comes his Majesty's chief officer, with other two principal dames on each arm; and so on in succession, a gentleman being now placed between each two ladies, all attired in court dresses. The King and his retinue are generally the handsomest young negroes in the town. The King himself is always a free black. Immediately at dusk, a thousand candles are lighted up, and the procession moves by candle light. About seven of each party takes their station before the principal house of their colour. The Blues last year encamped before our door, and the King made the piazza the hall of audience. The Reds were almost oppo site at another house. In our piazza, a table was set forth covered. On it stood a cake six stories high, round each story smaller as it drew towards the top, powdered over with sugar, and on each side of it stood half a dozen of Madeira, glasses, &c. &c. At this table sat their Majesties attended, and the piazza was perfectly full of people of all descriptions. Mr. and Mrs. and some company which we had that day at dinner, came all down to pay their respects. They drank a glass of wine with the sovereigns, and marched up stairs again. The rest at this time had formed a circle at the door, and there they dance, surrounded by the candle holders and an immense mob. At ten the procession moves off in order; the King and Queen are escorted to their abode; he bows, and she curtsies to their subjects; the subjects bow in return. Three loud cheers are given; the drums beat, and the colours wave. Their Majesties retire. The candles are put out, and I conclude my letter. LINES ON THE DEATH OF RIEGO. (By the Illustrator of Ossian's Poems.) (For the Mirror.) Shall freedom's agents, forc'd by slavery, fly ---Freedom shall make slaves blush at Riego's name! tell Benighted fools, in bigotry's dark gloom PETER PINDARICS, OR, JOE MILLER VERSIFIED. THE ROBBER ROBB'D. A merry grig, whose greedy mind Took out the gold; and blotting out |