hot in London. I took a pretty box for him in Giles Chalfont, a mile from ne, of which I gave him notice: and intended to have waited on him, and seen him well settled in it, but was prevented by that imprisonment. But now being released and returned home, I soon made a visit to him to welcome him into the country. After some common discourses had passed between us, he called for a manuscript of his, which being brought he delivered to me, bidding me take it home with me, and read it at my leisure, and when I had so done, return it to him with my judgment thereupon.

When I came home, and had set myself down to read it, I found it was that excellent poem, which he entitled PARADISE LOST. After I had with

the best attention, read it through, I

made him another visit, and returned him his book, with due acknowledgment of the favour he had done me, in communicating it to me. He asked me how I liked it, and what I thought of it: which I modestly but freely told him; and after some further discourse about it, I pleasantly said to him, thou hast said much here of Paradise Lost, but what hast thou to say of Paradise Found? He made me no answer, but sate some time in a muse, then brake off that discourse, and fell upon another subject.

After the sickness was over, and the city well cleansed and become safely habitable again, he returned thither, and when afterwards I went to wait on him there, (which I seldom failed of doing, whenever my occasions drew me to London) he shewed me his second poem, called PARADISE REGAINED; and in a pleasant tone said to me, "this is owing to you: for you put it into my head, by the question you put to me at Chalfont, which before I had not thought

of."

to every good housewife, especially to those of labourers in husbandry, as well as that for this purpose nothing of apparatus is needful, but such as ought to be in common use with every cottager in the country. A few pounds per barrel, of treacle, or the coarsest Muscovada sugar, would be a cheap improvement as to strength, which indeed might be increased to any degree required. Thus might be induced large consumption of colonial produce during its unprecedented state of depression, if the method here recommended were generally adopted by the labouring community. HUMANITAS.

Oct. 1821.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR,

literary encouragement and purNOWING your predilection for suits, and also for the no less valuable propensity to social intercourse, I send you for insertion (if you think fit) a short account of a book-society in this town, of which I am a member, and can therefore speak with the authority of long and personal observation. If experience is the best ordeal of merit, this society can boast an uninterrupted succession, in which few, if any, similar institutions can rival it. Like the venerable pyramids of Egypt, (serving at once for illustration and contrast) our antiquity is beyond the each of historic record; but I have every reason to assert that it has been established little, if any thing short of a century; and I have a document now before me, proving that my father belonged to the society fifty-eight years ago. The last person who filled the office of actuary, held it during a period of 30 years, and the present one not less than six. The number of members is limited to 24, and as a proof of the stability and reputation of the society, there is no instance on record of any vacancy in the list remaining more than a month or two at one time. There must of course be some good reasons for this continued prosperity, so as to render this institution an object for enquiry and imitation, and these I believe, principally consist in the simplicity of its arrangements and the economy of its finances, the detail of which may not be altogether unacceptable to the public. The members are voted in by not less than a majority of two thirds, thereby ensuring the probability of a similarity

of

of tastes and companionship. Any one may propose what book he pleases, the consent of the majority present decides on their admission; but it is considered as a point of courtesy, that if the proposer will guarantee half price at the sale, it would be unfriendly to reject it. The society meet once a fortnight at 8 o'clock in the evening, at a tavern; the forfeit for each non-attendance is 3 pence, and four quarterly nights in the year have a forfeit of one shilling for each absentee. An annual dinner is appointed at an average expence of about 15s. for each member who attends, absentees from which incur a settled forfeit of 7s. At this meeting all the books which have completed their circulation are sold by auction to which strangers are admitted, and the books generally bring a fair average of half the cost; the periodical works somewhat below this standard, and the more expensive ones usually above it. We allot five days generally to pamphlets to each member, and for other works, seven, ten, or fourteen days, according to their bulk or interest, and a list being attached to each book, every member signs his name upon it, specifying the dates when received and forwarded; and to ensure regularity in the circulation, a forfeiture of two pence per day is incurred by delay, or for shortening the time allotted. To equalize the advantages of succession as near as may be, each member is continued at the head of the list for three months, the inconvenience of a longer or shorter continuance having been proved by experience; at the expiration of that time, the preceding name is advanced in rotation, so that even with this short period it is six years before any member's turn is repeated; whereas a quicker return makes an unavoidable confusion and irregularity in the circulation.

Our periodical works are the Monthly Magazine, the Monthly Review, the Monthly Repository, the Edinburgh Review, and the Pamphleteer; these occupy about 20 days of each month in their circulation, thus leaving about ten days for other works. The class of reading usually preferred is of the lighter kind; having amusement for its principal aim, but not unmindful of instruction: and an indispensable consideration, as far as can be previously ascertained, is that nothing be introduced that would be improper for the family breakfast table or the social evening. Thus we have had all the Waverly

series, and have now in circulation, Franklin's Memoirs and Writings; Edgeworth's Memoirs; Mills's Crusades; Barton's Poems; the Sketch Book; Diary of an Invalid; Annals of the Parish, &c. &c. ; these I consider proper to mention, as shewing the choice most likely to suit a mixed society like ours. Most of our members are tradesmen, actively engaged in the necessary pursuits of life, and of course unqualified for abstract studies or dry speculations, and besides the younger branches of their families have no inconsiderable claim on their good will and accommodation. Our social meetings may be considered as a powerful auxiliary towards the permanence of the institution; about eight or nine may be taken as the average number of attendants, and being at a tavern makes no domestic inconvenience. Moderation is our constant guide, and we seldom exceed the hour of ten for our breaking up. To hold ourselves at perfect liberty to call for as little as we please, we allow the house to charge a certain sum for the use of the room, and a glass of water is no unusual fare.

The whole management of the society is free of expence, and is certainly attended with considerable trouble to the actuary; but perhaps a more suitable or pleasant job could hardly he devised for a sociable, active, sexagenarian, who begins to think that there is some other enjoyment in store to cheer declining life, than the sordid and everlasting drudgery of calculating pounds, shillings and pence. There is no little gratification in receiving the monthly packet, casting a rapid glance over the contents, (especially if he have any communications of his own to expect to see) and even the cutting of the leaves, may fill a vacant half hour to advantage, where the disposition is cultivated to seek for amusement in its simple haunts, and where disappointment can never intrude. There is also the uninterrupted priviledge of the first perusal-spick and span new-and after all, the important office of leader, be the society ever so small, has perhaps as powerfula bias in the regions of fancy as the sway of empires in the more boundless range of ambition.

Our bookseller's bill averages about 201. per annum, the sales, as before observed, produce about one half, and the forfeits the remainder; so that a cautious attentive member may pass (which

capacity of master and servant, director and secretary at the same time, but standing in their due relation, and acting upon an accountability, imposed both by interest and continual observation, to perform the various duties prescribed. In institutions that have been duly organised, this necessary arrangement must take place, or their interests will be in complete jeopardy; and as the objects of many of them, from the state of society, are never likely to retire or cease, so does it behove the managers to make such appointments as may permanently conduce to its interests. Gentlemen who kindly assume the character of managers for such societies, should never forget that they are acting for the benefit of the public, and as trustees for the poor, that they are violating every honest and conscientions obligation by rendering these situations subservient to the advancement of unworthy persons or private individuals, whose interests they solely wish to advance. These few desultory observations I commend to your notice; all of them I believe, might receive apt and direct illustration by reference to numerous institutions: but as my object is general advantage and correction, I purposely decline (however for the present) from specifying some frightful circumstances that have lately occurred in good and large associations. But I think it must be palpable to every reflect mind that no secretaries should be appointed whose conduct and character are not unimpeachable; who would be contented to act their parts without arrogance, and who could give ample and undeniable security for the trust they are appointed to discharge. Without such essential qualifications they ought not to be admitted to receive legacies, donations, and monies, arising from other sources, which would unnecessarily be exposed and perhaps applied to private and unworthy ends. CANDIDUS.

born and bred among the peaceful solitudes which she adorns. There

-Like a lily on the mountain's side, She blooms in vestal purity, far and securely removed from the tumultuous cares and temptations of a dangerous and discontented world.

As we were preparing to leave the afflicted but hospitable family, the sound of approaching footsteps announced the arrival of some enquiring friend, and in marched a man and two women, who greeted the inmates, ourselves included, in their native language, and deposited on a dresser at one end of the room, a small cheese, a loaf of white wheaten bread, and a bottle of some cheering beverage. The widow's daughter now beckoned them to follow her, and led the way into the apartment from which she first issued. They quickly returned, and sat down at the long table to eat their fill of the provisions with which it was spread. We now took leave of the widow and her daughter, the latter, as W- shook her by the hand, said a few words in Welsh, smiling gratefully in her asliction as she spoke, thanked us in English for the honour we did the house in calling there at such a time, and begged that if ever we visited that part of the country again we would not fail to call and refresh ourselves, when we should be heartily welcome to all they could afford. As we walked home we asked our friend for an explanation to the singular ceremony the three visitors had undergone. "It is a custom,' said he, "very seldom dispensed with at the funerals of the lower orders here. The evening before the burial the friends of the family repair to the house of death, each bearing some trifling present, of an eatable character, to contribute to the feast on the morrow. Having presented their offering, they are conducted into the chamber to see the corpse, and then invited to partake of such cheer as the house affords, and the person who receives them on this occasion is invariably a female. We shall meet some more of these visitors before we reach Barmouth, as the ceremony will be prolonged to a late hour."We consequently did meet several groupes of peasants hastening to the abode of death and sorrow; and just as we were entering the town, a serene, benevolent looking gentleman passed by us on horseback; who, W- told us, was the parish minister, repairing to the

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same

same spot, to console with his prayers the widow and her family.

As we sat at breakfast the next morning, Mr. W proposed, as we had nothing better to do, that we should go again to the cottage, and see the burial. "You will have an opportunity," said our friend, " of witnessing a Welsh funeral, the peculiarities of which are of a very interesting character, and the poor widow and her friends will think themselves highly honoured by our visit." We willingly agreed to the proposal, and set off about 10 o'clock. On our way to the cottage we overtook several persons, whom by the black colour of their clothes, and their dejected demeanor, we guessed to be flocking to the funeral; nor were we mistaken. When we arrived we found about a dozen people already there, and their number was quickly augmented to more than twenty. We beheld, when we entered, a scene of some little bustle, inconsistent, we thought, with the melancholy occasion; but a sad and mournful silence was diffused over the whole, which impressively told that the meeting was not one of mirth or gaiety. There was, indeed, an air of painful sorrow in the scene. The women, with their long black cloaks, and the men with their dark gloomy dresses, with the solemn and downcast countenances of them all, communicated to us a sympathetic feeling, and we felt fully inclined to share in the sorrow for the loss of the poor mountain peasant. We no sooner made our appearance than the widow's daughter immediately hastened to us, and led us to a small table on one side. She thanked us in the name of her mother, who was not present, for the honour we were pleased to confer upon them by our attendance at the burial, and then placed before us some wheaten cakes, a bowl of milk, some butter and cheese, and a bottle of excellent currant wine; begging we would not be sparing of them, she quitted us, to administer to the wants of her other guests. About 11 o'clock, the clergyman, whom we met on the preceding evening, arrived, and was greeted with the most cordial and gratifying respect by the company assembled. Having returned their salutations, he spoke a few words in Welsh, and entered the inner chamber, where the corpse lay, followed by us all. Here we observed the poor widow and her

boy, seated near the bier which supported the coffin of the deceased. She rose as the clergyman advanced, who, as soon as his auditors were settled, pronounced in his native tongue the sublime and emphatic injunction, "Let us pray!" All knelt round the bier, and the pious minister, the shepherd of this mountain flock, prayed long and fervently over the corpse of the departed. Although we understood but little of the language in which he addressed the Father, we could not listen unmoved to his impressive supplications. The rude and rugged hearts of the peasantry were touched to the very core, the women wept aloud, and the weather-beaten features of the men were plentifully moistened with tears. We glanced round the group before we rose from prayer, and saw the disconsolate widow restingher head on the bosom of her lovely daughter, whose sobs plainly indicated the internal agony she endured. After the minister had implored the extension of the Divine Mercy towards the family of the brother they had just lost, he exhorted his auditors to be patient and resigned under their afflictions, and to trust in Him, who would succour them. Having finished his exhortation, we arose, and prepared to perform the remainder of the mournful ceremony. The cottage was nearly a mile from the parish church, and the procession of the mourners was soon arranged. Six young women led the way, then followed the clergyman, and next to him the bier, supported by four of the dearest friends of the deceased. The widow, as chief mourner, was followed by her daughter, leading by the hand her little brother, the rest of the company in pairs came after, and we walked in the rear. We no sooner began to move onwards than the young women, who led the procession, commenced a mournful and dirgelike chaunt, of great pathos and simplicity. It is impossible to describe the effect of this funeral lament. The wildness of the scenery through which we passed, the mournful occasion on which we were assembled, and the ex. quisite melody of the hymn itself, tol d at once to the heart, and fixed ne imagination to a sad and awful subject. The singing was continued till we reached the church porch, when the bier was placed on the ground, and the Lord's Prayer pronounced over the corpse by the clergyman. We the nen

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tered