Distracted thus 'twixt hopes and fears,

Thy victim to destroy,

Thou wring'st my breast with sorrow's tears,

Or draw'st forth tears of joy.

But that sad fate which now I seek,

Shall ev'ry pang remove,

Thy scorn this aching heart shall break, And I forget to love.

Thus the frail bark upon the main,

O'ertaken by a storm.
Strives with the foaming surge in vain,
That rends her airy form.

But should the sun with placid light
Thro' a receding cloud,
Illume in beauty to the sight

Each tap'ring mast and shroud;
Refitted, o'er the tranquil tides

She speeds her prosp'rous way,
Whilst round her sails and curving sides
The flatt'ring breezes play;

'Till caught within the whirlwind's blast,
Far from the friendly shore,
Her gilded hull a wreck is cast
To grace the waves no more.

Δ.

On seeing an old withered Yew-tree by the side of ST. OSWALD'S WELL.

HERE as I listen to the breeze,

That seems to sob in Fancy's ear, While dew-drops trickle from the trees, In many a heavy falling tear: Methinks I hear, though none can see, The weeping Naiad of the well, Lamenting o'er her aged tree,

Yon wither'd guardian of her cell.
Oft hast thou heard, O nymph forlorn,
Embosom'd in that blighted yew,
Wild music wake the eye of morn,

Or sweetly hail the evening dew:
And oft those ruin'd arms have spread,
Unrifled by the winter's rage,
Their dark green foliage o'er thy bed,
A screen from every ill but age.
And now thy friend is sad to view,

His branches bare, his warblers fled;
Yet mourn not thou, for ages flew

Ere time could touch his verdant head: But oh! our joys are like the flowers,

That bend so feebly o'er thy waves; We see them bloom in summer hours;-Perhaps they wither on our graves. W. E.

Go, hie thee to the couch of Pain,
Where anguish'd wretches weep,
And calling on thy name in vain
Unwelcome vigil keep:
With lib'ral hand thy balm dispense
To soothe the tortur'd breast,
Till sweetly ev'ry throbbing sense
Is lapp'd in downy rest.

And should this fragile frame refuse
To bear me through the night,
Steep me in those delicious dews
That shed a mild delight;

Oh let me trace the moments o'er

My dawn of being knew,
When all my playful wishes wore
Young Fancy's golden hue.
When lightly ev'ry feeling rose
Unbiass'd, unconfin'd;

As yet unfelt the worst of woes-
The slav'ry of the mind!-
But if a vision pure as this,

Dull Pow'r, thou canst not bring, I will not bear a meaner blissAgain, avert thy wing!

arouud

TO SPRING.

SEASON of Love! when Nature blooms [moves In wild luxuriance, when each passion In sweetest concord with Creation's works, I woo thee, Spring! thee, harbinger of joy. Sweet is the aspect of the Autumnal field When o'er the rip'ning corn the moonbeam plays [mer eve: With chequer'd brilliancy: sweet the SumBut the green leaf just op'ning to the sun, The shrill-ton'd chorus which at dawning day [plant, Hymn their Creator's praise; when every And flower, and shrub, breathes incense in [meads the gale; The playful lamb disporting o'er the With all the joyous innocence of youth; The genial influence which the season sbeds

Spring;

O'er every mind, to contemplation dear. Dear to the Poet: these are thine, O [ditation, These raise the mind to heavenly meTo Him, whom seasons, winds, and storms obey.

to die,

W. B.

His

In the Commons, the same day, Lord Castlereagh appeared at the bar with the following Message:-GEORGE P. R. Royal Highness the Prince Regent, acting in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, has given orders that there be laid before the House of Commons, papers containing information respecting certain practices, meetings, and combinations, in the Metropolis, and in different parts of the kingdom, evidently calculated to endanger the public tranquillity, to alienate the affections of his Majesty's subjects from his Majesty's person and goreroment, and to bring into hatred and contempt the whole system of our laws and constitution. His Royal Highness recommends to the House of Commons to take these papers into their immediate serious consideration. GEORGE P. R.

A petition was presented by Lord Archibald Hamilion from the boy Dogood, complaining of being sent to prison and kept there for 10 days, for pulling down a posting bill, entitled "Mr. Hunt hissed Out of Bristol." This petition produced a spirited debate; in the course of which several Members considered the boy as very ill-used; and at length the motion for a reference to a Committee was withdrawn, on a pledge that the Home Department would investigate the matter.

HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 4. Viscount Sidmouth, in moving that the Prince Regent's message be taken into consideration, said, that their Lordships night believe that it was not without the most painful feelings that his Royal Highness found himself under the necessity of making such a communication. It was, indeed, a most afflicting circumstance GENT, MAC, March, 1817.

both to that illustrious Personage and to his advisers, to feel themselves called upon by their sense of duty to the Country and the Constitution, to inform their Lordships' House that there did exist meetings and combinations in different parts of the country, for the purpose of endeavouring to alienate from his Majesty the affections of his subjects, to bring his person and government into hatred and contempt, to endanger the liberty of the subject, and to overthrow the whole scheme and system of our laws and constitution : and their Lordships might easily believe that such a communication would not have been made without the strongest conviction of its urgent and indispensible necessity. Their Lordships would, he had no doubt, concur in the Address which he should have the honour to propose in answer to the Message, as it would pledge their Lordships to nothing except to an examination of the evidence; for, as to the ulterior proceedings, he not only did not call on their Lordships to give any pledge, but he would not choose to be himself considered as pledged. When this motion should be disposed of, he should propose that the papers communicated by his Royal Highness be referred to a Committee of Secrecy. After having said this, he need not state that he did not purpose at present to enter into particulars. He would refrain from all reference to any ulterior proceedings, and recommended that nothing should be said or done until the report of the Committee should be laid before the House. All that he had to request in the mean time was, that their Lordships would abstain from making up their minds until the whole subject should be investigated. There was only one other point to which he felt it his duty to call the attention of their Lordships, as it was material that it should be noticed. The atrocious outrage lately committed against the Prince Regent was certainly regarded with the utmost horror and reprobation by an overwhelming majority of the Nation; and he felt it his duty to state, that the present communication was not at all connected with that outrage. Though that atrocious, that horrid outrage against the royal dignity, bad not been committed, his Royal Highness's advisers, with the information in their possession, would have still felt it their indispensible duty to have brought forward this proceeding, origi.

nating

nating in a message from the Prince Regent, to be followed up by a reference of the papers to a Committee of Secrecy.

Earl Grosvenor said, that the papers must go to a Committee; but he was convinced that meetings and combinations, if they did exist, were mainly provoked by the conduct of the Ministers, who had set their faces against economy and retrenchment.

Lord Holland remarked that Ministers must not only prove that such meetings and combinations existed, but that a remedy for the evil was not to be had from the ordinary, law of the land; for nothing short of this would justify their calling for the interference of Parliament.

Lord Liverpool denied that there was any charge of disloyalty or disaffection intimated or insinuated in the speech or message against the general body of the Nation. A vast majority was, no doubt, sincerely attached to the laws and constitution; but many even of the well-disposed, but misinformed, might be misled by the artful and designing, and more particularly in a season of general and severe pressure.

Earl Grey and the Marquis of Buckingham spoke to the same effect as Lord Holland.

An address to the Prince Regent was agreed to; and the papers on the table ordered to be referred to a Committee of Secrecy, consisting of eleven Lords, to be then chosen by ballot.

In the Commons, Lord Castlereagh, in calling the attention of the House to the Prince Regent's message, said, that the proposition he should submit could not be productive of any discussion.. It had no other tendency than merely to call upon the House to acknowledge the gracious communication it has received, and of its intention to proceed to the examination of the documents that his Royal Highness had ordered to be laid before it. All be had to request was, that Parliament would preserve a mind free and unbiassed, until it shall have received the Report of that Committee to which it was intended, under the confidence of the House, to refer the examination of the documents. There was, however, one point on which he was solicitous fully to explain. A rumour had been propagated that the present Message had grown out of the late tumultuous outrage in the metropolis-an outrage on which there existed but one sentiment on every side of the House-(Cries of Hear, hear! particularly from the Opposition Benches.)-When the House was in possession of the proper information, it would feet, he had no doubt, satisfied, that had that disgraceful scene of turbu

lence and depredation never existed, his Majesty's Government could not have avoided to advise the present Message without an abandonment of those high duties that they owed the House and the Country.

An Address of Thanks to the Prince Regent was voted; and Lord Catlereagh having stated that the precedent of 1794 would be strictly followed, it was agreed, that the papers should be referred to a Committee of Secrecy, and that the Commitee should consist of 21 Members, to be chosen by ballot.

February 5.

The names of the Members returned as the Committee of Secrecy were read as follows:-Lord Milton, Mr. Ponsonby, Mr. Wm. Elliott, Lord Castlereagh, Lord Lascelles, Mr. C. Bathurst, Hon. Mr. Lamb, Sir Arthur Piggott, Mr. F. Robinson, Sir John Nicholl, the Attorney General, The Solicitor General, Mr. Geo. Canning, Mr. Charles York, Mr. Wilbra. ham Egerton, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Bootle Wilbraham, Mr. W Dundas, Mr. Rose, Sir W. Curtis, Admiral Frank.

In a Committee of Supply the following sums were granted: 11,000,000l. to pay Exchequer Bills, issued in 1816; and 13,000,000/. for the same purpose; 1,435,000l. in Irish currency, for Exchequer Bills issued in 1816, in Ireland ; and 4,080,000l. for the same purpose.

February 7.

A sum of 24,000,0007, was voted for the payment of outstanding Exchequer Bills.

Mr. Calvert presented a petition of the Corporation of London, praying for a Reform in Parliament.

On the motion of Lord Castlereagh, the House went into a Committee on that part of the Regent's 'Speech which related to the finances of the country. The labours of the Committee, he was convinced, would be directed to the same object which His Majesty's Government had in view, a system of practical economy, commensurate with the interests, and at the same time with the security of the country; The estimates intended to be submitted for approbation would include the army

in France and India; the former of which was supported by the contributions of that power, and the latter by the Government in India. The amount voted last year was 99,000 men; that is, for the United Empire 53,000, for Colonial purposes and abroad 46,000. The estimates for the present year would proceed upon a reduction in point of numbers and expences; in the Home Service the diminution would be 5000; in the Colonial, a diminution of 15,000, making an actual reduction of 18,000; thus leaving the army at 81,000 instead of 90,000 men. The reduction had been made under a strong sense of the pressure of the moment, and from a conviction that the military defence might be dispensed with, and the protection of the Colonies entrusted to the police. With respect to Home defence, the House, perhaps, would not think any price too high which should secure its safety, particularly at a moment when the Civil magistrates could not administer the laws without the aid of the Military. The total amount of the force voted last year, with reference to the Contingent Alliance, was 150,000. This year he should only call for 123,000, or 81,000 for home and abroad, rank and file. The charge of the army, at present, was 6,538,000l. ; for disembodied militia 220,0007.; and for regiments abroad 220,0007.; making a total of 7,050,000. The Commissariat Department would amount to 500,000l. The Extraordinaries of the Army last year was 10,564,000/-for the present they would amount to 9,230,000. The Ordnance for last year was 1,696,000; it would now be 1,246,000. These reductions would make a total saving of 1,784,000l. The House would be aware that in this expence was included the half-pay, pensions, &c. so that the real prospective Vote for the army was under 4,000,0007. excluding the half-pay, &c. to which the faith of Parliamentis pledged.-The Noble Lord then adverted to the Navy Charge last session; the number of seamen voted was 33,000, looking to a reduction of 10,000. Since then the pressure of the times had induced a further reduction, and instead of 23,000, the establishment would be 18,000, or taking it roundly at 19,000, because the Royal Marines would not be diminished. The charge for this branch Jast

year was 10,114,000. now it would amount to 6,397,000. The Noble Lord having recapitulated the items, observed, that the total charge was 18,372,000l. to be provided for. In framing the Estimates, Government had in view, as far as consistent with our safety, to bring the expenditure of the country within the scale of its means in the course of the present year. He trusted the House would feel it no discouraging prospect,

that, after so tremendous a struggle in war, Ministers should have been able, in the first year of peace, to remit eighteen millions of direct taxation; and so soon after, to make stil! further reductions, to the amount he had already stated. He trusted the House would see that these estimates were cast in the scale of economy and retrenchment. Still it could not be concealed that this was a year of peculiar pressure; and that there was no individual in the country, however high or low, but who must feel the band of Providence upon his means. This distress was general through Europe; and perhaps it had been less felt here than on the Continent. Still the distress of the people had been very great, but the hand of Benevolence had kept pace with it. Ile could assure the House that in no place had more anxiety been shewn to relieve those distresses than in the highest quarter of all. The Regent had come to a determination not to accept more of the Civil List than his confidential servants would advise him to take for the dignity of the Crown. For that reason he was to give up one-fifth of the Civil List, which would amount to 50,000l. a year. (Hear, hear. His Highness would have given more, but his Ministers could not advise him, without endangering the dignity of the Crown, and embarrassing the Civil List. It was also the intention of the Regent's public servants to give up a sum of 90,000/. from the Government, Army and Navy, &c. it was but a small sum in proportion to the distress of the country, but he trusted the people would receive it, as it was meant, in the pure spirit of œconomy and retrenchment. He proposed that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the financial state of the country, and that a Committee should be formed by ballot for that purpose. He trusted both sides of the House would consider the question as for the public good, and not as a means of triumphing over one another. He then moved for a Select Committee to consider the receipt and expenditure for 1817, 18, and 19; and to report from time to time what reductions might be made in the expenditure.

Mr. Tierney was glad that Ministers at last saw, what every body else had long seen, that the expences of the country should be reduced to some reasonable proportion with its means. From the best estimate which he could make, he had no reason to believe that his results differed from those of the Noble Lord; there would be, under all circumstances, a sum of three millions to be made good. He was glad to hear that the Sinking Fund was to be spared. Nothing but evident and ab solute danger, nothing but the prospect

of