who then opposed king Edward IV. and obliged him to retire into Holland, from whence he soon returned, defeated and slew the earl of Warwick at Barnet. However, queen Margaret levied another army, but was overtaken by Edward VI. at Tewksbury, who made her and her son prisoners. The young prince was in the eighteenth year of his age, and was barbarously massacred by some of the principal Yorkists, in the presence of his mother, who was confined in the Tower of London for four years, when she was ransomed by her father for fifty thousand crowns.

Philip de Comines says, that Edward IV. was so remarkable for the beauty of his person, that he owed his restoration chiefly to the inclination which the ladies bore for him; but while he was demanding Bona of Savoy in marriage, who was sister to the queen of France, he accidentally fell in love with, and married Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of Sir John Grey, who was killed in the battle of Bernard's-heath. This marriage occasioned all the resentment of the earl of Warwick against the king, and it also made the French king his enemy. However, the queen had little happiness from this alliance; only the marriage occasioned the birth of a princess, who, after the murder of her two brothers, by their uncle, Richard III. became the happy instrument of uniting the contending houses of York and Lancaster. Besides, this queen was made unhappy by three concubines kept by the king; of whom the celebrated Jane Shore was the greatest favourite; being equally remarkable for her beauty in youth, and her misery in age; for she had been the happy wife of an opulent merchant, the idolized mistress of a potent king, and the fair adultress of a noble lord. The protector was afraid of taking her life, but he stripped her of her fortune: however she did not perish for want, according to the common report; and though Mr. Rowe has beautifully embellished her story, he must have been sensible, that she was alive in the reign of Henry VIII.

Richard the III. married the young widow of the prince of Wales, who was slain after the battle of Tewkesbury, and then caused her death through excess of grief, that he might marry his own niece, the princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward the IV. who expressed the utmost abhorrence at such an union.

The earl of Richmond invaded England, and laid claim to the crown, as the immediate heir to the house of Lancaster. He defeated and slew Richard at Bosworth; after which he was crowned, and united both roses by marrying the princess Elizabeth, who was the most beautiful lady of her time. But Henry VII. was jealous of any thing that might aggrandise the house of York, and so suspicious of any respect that was paid to his queen, that he shewed her very little regard, which occasioned several insurrections.

Henry the VIII. had six wives, and some of them very remarkable for their beauty but none of them enjoyed much felicity. Catharine of Arragon was cruelly divorced: Anne Boleyn was wrongfully beheaded: Jane Seymour died in child-bed: Anne of Cleves was arbitrarily divorced: Catharine Howard was somewhat justly beheaded and Catharine Parr owed her escape more to her own prudence and good fortune, than the humanity of her husband. By the first of the ladies Henry had the princess Mary: by the second, the princess Elizabeth and by the third, Edward VI. who all three succeeded to the throne.

The unfortunate Lady Jane Grey was universally allowed the most uncommon beauty of her age. She was the eldest daughter of the duke of Suffolk, by Frances Brandon; who, in the will of Henry VIII. was next in succession after the princess Elizabeth; but by the will of Edward VI. Lady Jane was ap

pointed his immediate successor. She married the accomplished Dudley Lord Guildford, fourth son of the aspiring duke of Northumberland, whose ambition brought on the destruction of that amiable and excellent pair. It was the duke who persuaded the king to appoint lady Jane his successor: it was he who prevailed upon her to accept the regal dignity: and it was he who attempted to preserve the crown for her by force of arms. She was proclaimed queen in the sixteenth year of her age; but the princess Mary claimed the crown, and won it, though she was a professed papist, and Lady Jane a zealous protestant. Northumberland was unsuccessful, and Lady Jane was deprived of her royalty nine days after she came to it. The duke was first beheaded, then his son the Lord Guildford, and afterwards his unparalleled wife, who was only eighteen years old, the ornament of England, for religion, beauty, and learning.

The death of this princess was soon followed by that of another. This was Mary queen of Scots, grand-daughter to James IV. and to Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII., by virtue of which right, her son, James I. was recognized king of England, after the death of queen Elizabeth, who beheaded the mother. Mary was daughter to James V. king of Scotland, and to Mary of Lorrain, eldest daughter to Claude, duke of Guise, and widow of Lewis, duke of Longu ville. She was married to Francis II. king of France; upon which occasion she assumed the title of queen of England; pretending that Elizabeth was illegitimate, and unworthy to sit on the throne. On the death of her consort, Francis II. in 1561, she returned to Scotland, of which kingdom she was queen; and espoused Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, son to the earl of Lennox, who became jealous of some familiarities between his queen and David Rizzio, the famous Italian musician: but Rizzio was killed in ber presence; after which she became fond of the earl of Bothwel, who killed the Lord Darnley, and married his queen, though she had prince James by the latter. The Scotch lords drove Bothwel into banishment, who lived very miserably in Denmark; while the earl of Murray assumed the supreme authority, in the name of prince James; and the queen took refuge in England, where queen Elizabeth threw her into prison, and kept her there eighteen years, when she brought her to a trial, for being an accomplice in certain conspiracies formed against her person; for which she was beheaded at Fotheringay castle, in the forty-sixth year of her age, though most of the princes of Europe employed very earnest solicitations to procure her liberty.

Such are the illustrious and unfortunate beauties represented in the annals of the English history. Let their examples serve as a melancholy lesson to posterity, "That beauty has frequently lost its force; and that virtue is the greatest ornament that can dignify a woman."

SINGULAR DUEL.

Dr. Young was once on a party of pleasure with a few ladies, going up by water to Vauxha'l, and he amused them with a tune on the German flute. Behind him several officers were also in a boat rowing for the same place, and soon came alongside the boat in which were the doctor and his party. The doctor, who was never conceited of his playing, put up his flute on their approach. One of the officers instantly asked why he ceased to play or put up his flute. "For the same reason," said he, "that I took it out-to please myself." The son of Mars very peremptorily rejoined, that if he did not in

stantly take out his flute and continue his playing, he would throw him into the Thames. The doctor, in order to allay the fears of the ladies, pocketed the insult, and continued to play all the way up the river. During the evening, however, he observed the officer by himself in one of the walks, and making up to him, said, with great coolness, "It was, sir, to avoid interrupting the harmony either of my company or yours, that I complied with your arrogant demand; but that you may be satisfied courage may be found under a black coat as well as under a red one, I expect that you will meet me to-morrow morning at a certain place, without any second, the quarrel being entirely between ourselves." The doctor further covenanted, that the affair should be decided by swords. To all these conditions the officer assented. The duellists met; but the moment the officer took the ground, the doctor took out a horse pistol. "What!" said the officer, "do you intend to assassinate me?" "No," replied the doctor," but you shall instantly put up your sword and dance a minuet, otherwise you are a dead man." The officer began to bluster, but the doctor was resolute, and he was obliged to comply. "Now," said Young, you forced me to play against my will, and I have made you dance against yours; we are therefore again on a level, and whatever other satisfaction you may require I am able to give it.

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THE RECAPTURE.

Jacob Dannefaer, a young man who had served in the war of 1657 against Sweden, was among the number of Danes who were delivered up to Sweden in pursuance of the treaty of Roeskilde. He was, however, taken notice of by admiral Vrangel, who forced him into his service. When the peace was suddenly broken by the Swedes, they invaded Zealand, laid siege to Copenhagen, and took Cronberg, where they found an immense booty. This they shipped in a vessel for Sweden; the crew were entirely Swedes, except Jacob Dannefaer, and a few Danish peasants.

The tale of his country's sufferings, excited in Dannefaer a wish to render Denmark a service, however perilous the attempt. He consulted with his countrymen on board, and proposed that they should endeavour to seize the vessel; this was agreed upon, and in order to carry the project into execution, it was arranged, that as soon as a sufficient number of the crew should quit the deck, Dannefaer should attack the commander, while the peasants were to close the hatches. The wished-for moment arriving, Dannefaer ordered the captain to surrender, but finding himself resisted, he ran him through the body. Dannefaer then turned to the mate, whom he commanded to steer for Copenhagen, and stood over him with his sword drawn, lest he might disobey his orders. The peasants had, in the meantime, performed their part in the patriotic enterprise; and there being no further opposition, Dannefaer carried ship and treasure to Copenhagen, where it was of great service in enabling the king to prosecute the war to a successful issue.

FEAR OF DEATH.

Jaques Coetier, a French physician, was the only person who could awe the turbulent uneven spirit of Louis IX, which he did by making an artful use of that dread of death to which the king was subject, to a degree the most

ridiculous. Coetier, thoroughly acquainted with this infirmity, often said to him, "I suppose one of these days you will dismiss me, as you have done many other servants; but mark my words, if you do, you will not live eight days after it." By repeating this menace, he not only kept himself in his station, but persuaded the pusillanimous king to appease him with valuable presents. He paid, however, great attention to the condition of his royal master's mind; and to amuse him during his indisposition, he contrived to have rural dances performed under his window.

NAVAL COURAGE.

The following is an extract of a letter from an officer on board the Britannia, Admiral Hotham's flag-ship, in the Mediterranean, in 1795:

"The spirited and gallant conduct of Lieutenant W. Walker, who commands the Rose hired armed cutter, attached to this fleet, has for some time been the subject of general admiration. He was making his passage from Leghorn to Bastia with money on board, when, in the morning of the 28th of September, at half-past four o'clock, he fell in with three small republican cruisers, fitted out on purpose to intercept him. Finding himself in the midst of them, he, with a promptitude and resolution that do him high credit, bore down on the largest and most leeward, ran the cutter's bowsprit against her mizen-mast, and carried it away, with part of the stern, raking her as he passed; then shot a-head and tacked, in doing which the cutter's main boom carried away the enemy's fore-yard, and her broadside set her foresail and mizen on fire; she then got under her stern again, and so galled her in that situation, that they soon begged for quarter and struck. The largest of the other two had several shot fired at her between wind and water; and, as she soon disappeared, it is supposed she sunk. The third made her escape. In this unequal combat Mr. Walker's intrepidity and skill are alike conspicuous; for the ship that struck had 29 men on board, chiefly Corsicans, while the cutter had only 14."

END OF THE WORLD.

In the tenth century, there was a prevalent nay almost universal idea, that the end of the world was approaching. Many charters began with these words: "As the world is now drawing to its close." An army marching under the Emperor Otho I, was so terrified by an eclipse of the sun, which it conceived to announce this consummation, as to disperse hastily on all sides. As this notion seems to have been founded on some confused theory of the Millenium, it died away when the seasons proceeded to the eleventh century with their usual regularity.

THE ANACONDA.

The following extract from M'Cleod's voyage of the British ship Alceste, furnishes decisive evidence that the accounts of the celebrated snake, called the Anaconda, are not altogether fabulous.

"After the Alceste was wrecked, and the people taken off, the ship Cæsar, Taylor, was engaged to carry Lord Amherst and his suite, and the officers and

crew of the Alceste, to England. She sailed from Batavia on the 12th of April, 1816.

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Notwithstanding the crowded state of the Cæsar, two passengers of rather a singular nature, were put on board at Batavia, for a passage for England: the one a snake of that species called the Boa Constrictor; the other, an Ourang Outang. The former was somewhat small of his kind, being only about sixteen feet long, and of about thirteen inches in circumference; but his stomach was rather disproportionate to his size, as will presently appear. He was a native of Borneo, and was the property of a gentleman who had two of the same sort; but, in their passage up to Batavia, one of them broke loose from his confinement, and very soon cleared the decks, as every body very civilly made way for him. Not being used to a ship, however, or taking, perhaps, the sea for a green field, he sprawled overboard and was drowned. He is said not to have sunk immediately, but to have reared his head several times, with a considerable portion of his body out of the sea. His companion, lately our shipmate, was brought safely on shore, and lodged in the court-yard of Mr. Davidson's house, at Ryswick, where he remained for some months, waiting for an opportunity of being conveyed hence in some commodious ship sailing directly to England, and where he was likely to be carefully attended. This opportunity offered in the Cæsar, and he was accordingly embarked on board of that ship with the rest of her numerous passengers. "During his stay at Ryswick, he is said to have been usually entertained with a goat for dinner, once in every three or four weeks, with occasionally a duck or a fowl, by way of a dessert. He was brought on board, shut up in a wooden crib or cage, the bars of which were sufficiently close to prevent his escape; and it had a sliding door, for the purpose of admitting the articles on which he was to subsist. The dimensions of the crib were about four feet high, and about five feet square; a space sufficiently large to allow him to coil himself round with ease. The live stock for his use during the passage, consisting of six goats of the ordinary size, put with him on board, five being considered as a fair allowance for as many months. At an early period of the voyage, we had an exhibition of his talent in the way of eating, which was publicly performed on the quarter deck, upon which he was brought. The sliding door being opened, one of the goats was thrust in, and the door of the cage shut. The poor goat, as if instantly aware of all the horrors of its perilous situation, immediately began to utter piercing and distressing cries: butting instinctively at the same time, with its head towards the serpent, in self-defence.

"The snake, which first appeared scarcely to notice the poor animal, soon began to stir a little, and turning his head in the direction of the goat, at length fixed a deadly and malignant eye on the trembling victim, whose agony and terror seemed to increase; for previous to the snake seizing its prey, it shook in every limb, but still continuing its unavailing shew of attack, by butting at the serpent, who now became sufficiently animated to prepare for the banquet. The first operation was that of darting out his forked tongue, and at the same time rearing his head a little; then suddenly seizing the goat by the fore-leg with his mouth, and throwing him down, he was encircled in his horrid folds. So quick, indeed, and so instantaneous was the act, that it was impossible for the eye to follow the rapid convolution of his elongated body. It was not a regular screw-like turn that was formed, but resembling rather a knot, one part of the body overlaying the other, as if to add weight to the muscular pressure, the more effectually to crush his object.