without any one to guard it, and although I gave a shout of recognition, it remained unanswered. Surprised at such an unusual occurence, I rode up to the boiler, and, peering into the interior, quickly espied two Maltese sailors, coiled up like reptiles, and somewhat ashamed at being thus found neglecting their watch. To a rather sharp questioning, as to the reason of their thus secreting themselves, the only answer was, 66 Oh, sir! oh, sir! there has been such a strange figure walking about on the hill-side-a thing all in white, and so tall!" I could not help laughing, as I rode away, at the superstitions of the Maltese, following them wherever they went; for it was evident, although they did not acknowledge it, that it was St. Simon himself, whom they believed had been paying them a nocturnal visit.

These Maltese, with the exception of two or three, who became useful as cooks, turned out, generally speaking, very useless fellows, and they soon got disgusted with the labours and privations of the transport, and terrified by the prevalent sickness, and one after another, they hurried away to the seaports, from whence they worked their way home to their patron saints.

Opportunities, however, presented themselves, amidst these occupations, of more minutely exploring the district of Casiotis, and more especially of carrying on researches for fossils, illustrative of the country. On one of these occasions, Thomson and myself had gone out to an abrupt and desolate valley, a few miles south of Antioch, where a naked terrace of rock offered us a great variety of shells. Busily engaged in extricating these from their matrix, evening overtook us in our employment, when we were suddenly interrupted by the barking of jackals close by. Turning round, our surprise may be imagined, at observing the valley below peopled by a troop of these frolicksome beasts, who were alternating their contemplations of ourselves with rude gambols, and still more uncouth howls.

Our first concern, having no arms, was to effect a safe retreat, and in order to do this, we laid aside the fossils, and taking up more available fragments of rock, began to pelt the enemy. The wily jackals were not, however, to be easily driven away, for, coiling up their backs like angry cats, they crept behind large fallen masses of rock, still closer to us, and yet out of reach of our missiles. We were obliged, therefore, to make a dash at them, and clearing a way, we hurried into a deeper and more wooded valley, making with a sharp pace towards town. What was our horror, however, before we had gained half a mile upon our antagonists, to hear them coming after us in full cry. Had all the jackals of the country been assembled for one grand chase, we could not, in our terror, have imagined that a more numerous pack could have been collected. On and on they came, sweeping down the valley, every rock re-echoing their wild cries, above which the dreadful pattering of their feet was heard, like the sound of rain amidst a storm. Thomson and I looked at one another like devoted beings, and large drops trickled down our foreheads as we awaited their attack, with only a few stones for our defence. But as the fiendish crew came on, the leaders, after a look and a snarl, swept by, making a slight deviation to the right, and followed by the whole pack. A moment more, and they had passed like a hurricane, and we breathed like men who had just escaped an imminent peril. This adventure taught us to act like the natives, and never to go about unarmed.

The boldness and ferocity of the jackals was indeed very great; and there were few of those engaged in the transport who had not their experiences concerning them to relate. Charlewood was, I believe, attacked by one in his sleep, and had to defend himself with his pistols. And a more melancholy case happened at the "Pretty Tower," to which the natives, from being ferried over by our men, had got into the habit of repairing. One night, a man and woman, with a child, came down, after the pontoon raft had been taken to pieces, and there being no means to ferry them over, they remained on the opposite bank during the night, and were there attacked by the jackals, who, notwithstanding the obstinate defence of the parents, severely bit them, and destroyed the infant.

At this time, the grand line of levels was also begun by Murphy, assisted by Lieutenant Cockburn, and others at intervals, till interrupted by sickness, more especially by that of Murphy himself, who nearly fell a victim to a dysentery brought on by indulging too much in grapes, the chain being often carried through luxuriant vineyards. This levelling was a stupendous undertaking, when considered solely in the light of measuring with a chain, and taking the exact level of every inch of ground, from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, a distance of one hundred and eleven miles; and after many interruptions, this great work was ultimately terminated by Mr. Thomson, after the loss of the Tigris steamer.

Accidents also now began to happen, more especially among the number of natives, who were employed in assisting to drag the heavy weights over obstacles in the way. It was truly remarkable, under such circumstances, to observe the unflinching and patient confidence with which the Syrians submitted to whatever operations were deemed necessary to their relief.

At or about this time, also, poor old Serjeant Sym sank under repeated attacks of malaria. There were at the time only the members of the surveying party, an artilleryman, and one or two domestics, to do the honour of the last obsequies; but such were not on that account neglected. A solid coffin was constructed in the town, and the remains of our fellow labourer were conveyed by Armenians through the streets of Antioch to their last resting-place, followed by ourselves in mournful procession.

On this occasion, an open indignity was offered to the corpse by an Egyptian soldier, who, standing under an arch with some jeering comrades, thought proper to manifest his contempt for a different faith, by spitting upon the coffin. We were not, however, in a humour, when performing so serious a duty, to put up with an insult, and one or two hands, hastily carried, with no feigned intention either, to their sword-hilts, caused the cowardly miscreant to take himself away at a rapid pace.

On the slope of the rampart-encircled hill of Antioch, and at the entrance of the remarkable ravine, which, as before described, cuts that hill in two, are several rock chapels, remains of what were used as churches, probably when the doors of the apostolic see were closed by the successive persecutions of the Roman emperors. One of these, situated on the east side of the ravine, is dedicated to the Apostle Paul, whose sacred mission to the Gentiles began at this favoured city. In the interior of this natural temple, where, possibly, many fathers of the church had ministered, was a little basin of pellucid

water, like the baptismal lake, with the creeping path of stone purification in the Helio-Arkite mysteries, and in front, there was a very limited, available piece of ground covered with greensward. In this, we had the grave dug, to which, after reading the prayers of our church, we committed the mortal remains of the serjeant. It was a calm and beautiful evening; and never did we look down upon Antioch, the holy city, with feelings of such sad solemnity, or when our hearts were so much in harmony with her desolation.

THE RAT-CATCHER.

(From the German of Karl Simrock.*)

BY JOHN OXENFORD.

Next morning dawns-a sound is ringing,
As when the nightingales are singing;
The tones of song and flute beginning,
Dwell on the ear, so softly winning.
Again, again

He comes, 'tis plain,
The vermin-slayer-
The wondrous player.

The children-boys and maidens, too-
Must follow him, a motley crew.

And now still sweeter sounds are ringing,
As when the heav'nly choir is singing;
Out comes the burgomaster's daughter,
The music to the door has brought her.
She flies along,

With all the throng;
The mice, too, leap,
In many a heap-

All must pursue that wondrous sound,
Till in the Weser they are drown'd.

Now to the gates the parents haste,
But not a footstep can be traced.
No trusty Eckart† comes to save them,
The hunter in his toils must have them.
But two return,

And nought we learn;

For they have come,
One blind-one dumb.

The mothers must in anguish wail;
The man's revenged-thus ends the tale.

*To Karl Simrock, those who have a taste for the German literature of the Middle Ages, and at the same time have not courage to attack the old language, are immensely indebted for his translations of the "Nibelungenlied," and the works of "Wolfram von Eschenbach."-J. O. † According to another story, many people were lured to the Hill of Venus by a dwarf, who employed means similar to those used by the rat-catcher. This "Hill of Venus" was much such a place as the "Hall of Eblis" in "Vathek." An old trusty knight, named Eckart, was rewarded, after his death, with the office of warning the heedless against these allurements, and his ghost always appeared to those who were on the road to the hill, as a sort of guardian angel. The tale of "Trusty Eckart" is one of the most beautiful in Tieck's "Phantasus," and has been translated by Mr. Carlyle.-J. O.

166

CRUISING FOR A CUTLET; OR, THE MEMOIRS
OF A DINER-OUT.

"I knew him in his livelier London days

A brilliant diner-out."-BYRON.

"Take you me for a sponge, my lord? "—SHAKSPEARE.

THE genus to which our hero, the Honourable James-or, as he was more familiarly called, Jemmy Teviot, belonged-has, from time immemorial, been the subject of comment. Many English and foreign writers have introduced him into their works, and upon the stage, parties who, like our "sponge," were devoted to dining-out. Beazley, in his admirable farce of "Where shall I Dine?" has given a perfect specimen of the class. The French dramatist, Scribe, too, in "Le Gastronome sans argent," has shewn that our continental neighbours are equally addicted to this passion; for, as in the present case, as I shall presently shew, it is often carried to the extent of a passion. But to our history: the Hon. James Teviot was the younger son of a noble Scotch earl. Before our hero had attained his sixteenth year, his father died, leaving him a lofty-sounding name, with a miserable pittance of ten thousand pounds. The elder brother, upon his accession to the title and property, generously added two thousand pounds, for the purpose of purchasing a commission in a regiment of light dragoons, and of giving the young cornet his fit out. Unfortunately for our hero, he shortly got into difficulties, which were not a little added to by the marriage of his elder brother, who took this opportunity of paying off his younger brothers' fortunes, instead of continuing to them the interest of five per cent. upon their property. Teviot was now compelled to dispose of his commission; and, after paying his just and lawful debts, found himself the possessor of ten thousand pounds in the three per cents., with nine hundred pounds ready money, which he invested in the purchase of the lease of a small house in the most fashionable part of London. "Nothing like keeping up appearances!" argued Jemmy to himself. "How many dinners men lose by having no fixed residence; only get your name into Boyle's Court Guide,' and upon the occasion of a disappointment, a host knows at once where to find a substitute!"

Such were our hero's thoughts, as he took possession of No. ——, "Blank-blank Square." Our man about town now set to work in earnest to secure his favourite object-dining out; and it was curious to watch his proceedings. No sooner had he finished his breakfasta meal which, en passant be it said, he generally invited a friend to partake of, thinking it a good investment to bring out a dinner-than he proceeded to pay his morning visits, and sow his cards. When we make use of this term, which your regular punster would, of course, denounce as a seedy one, we do it advisedly, for no horticulturist ever took greater pains to sow seeds to bring up a succession of vegetables than did our hero to sow cards to bring up a succession of dinners. Perhaps we cannot enlighten our readers better, with respect to our hero, than by giving one of his day's adventures, when, according to the phraseology of a popular naval character, Jemmy Teviot was "cruising for a cutlet."

At eleven o'clock, the noble diner-out was to be seen at the guardmounting at St. James's Palace, where there was the chance of an invite to the dinner prepared for the officers on duty; if that failed, Jemmy would "drop in" at some intimate friend's house, lead to a conversation touching the dulness of London, hint at the play, or Jullien's concert, in the hope of being asked to partake of the family fare. Failing in this, the Honourable James would commence his cruise, "touching" at all the clubs he was a member of. About three o'clock, he would again get "under weigh," and after "running" down St. James's-street, would "beat" up Pall Mall, "tacking" in Regent-street, and "scudding" along Bond-street. Every dinnergiving "craft" that came in view he hailed; first, a richlyfreighted" merchant-man might chance to cross his track, into whom he would fire a broadside; but the prize was not worth having. Next, a noble yachter hove in sight; Jemmy tried to get the weather side of him, but no dinner-flag seemed likely to be hoisted that day. Whilst "laying to" off Bond-street, an East Indiaman might be seen under heavy canvas, steering for his haven, Hanover-square; our hero would then "clap on" all sail, and run under his "lee." But the India man was not "homeward bound," having ordered his mulligatawny soup and rabbit-curry at the "Oriental;" with a West Indiaman, he would be equally unlucky. Returning to St. James's-street, some foreign craft might be seen in the horizon; but despite of all our hero's tact, no friendly summons was issued for seven o'clock. Two chances alone were left-the officers of the household brigade at the horseguards, who sometimes dined at their own guard-room, or the sheriffs' dinner at the Old Bailey.

"Pass we the long, unvarying (and hitherto unsuccessful) track,” and bring our readers to four o'clock, when the cruiser ran down to the horseguards, and fell in with a "Man of War" inspecting his "crew." But here again he was doomed to disappointment-all were engaged. Nothing daunted, Jemmy again "set sail," steering due east, and passing the Fleet, soon reached what, to carry on our nautical metaphor, might be termed the hulks and dockyard-namely, Newgate and the Old Bailey. There bringing himself to an anchor, he entered the latter court, and lost no time in forwarding his card to one of the sheriffs, politely asking for a seat on the bench. This courtesy was readily granted, and was speedily followed by another, of greater interest to our hero-namely, an invitation to meet the judge at the sheriffs' table, at five o'clock. Teviot was all smiles and thanks; and apologizing for his morning toilet, accepted the invitation. During the quarter of an hour that preceded the dinner, Jemmy turned that generally admitted dull time to no little account-having accepted two invitations for the following week-one to the goldsmiths', and the other to the Mansion House.

Our aristocratic Sponge had, by dint of inuendoes and hints, quite entrammelled two aldermen in his chains. Hence the introduction to the chief magistrate of the City, and its result. Dinner was now announced; and instead of finding "hung beef," as a wicked wag had told Teviot he inevitably would find at the Old Bailey, our diner-out, who was a bit of a gourmet, was agreeably surprised at seeing as good a dinner as could be put upon the table-a turtle dinner, worthy of Heliogabulas, or Doctor Kitchener. It would be tedious to give a more detailed account of the sayings and doings of our hero, in the daily pur