BY MEYERS HEYS OKD.
WHOLE #O. 2776. VOL 33.
f *;!
' Select |J oe t v *.
A SPANISH ROMANCE.'
®V CK.IXCIfS K. OSr.OOT).
■' !
Bright ft-H iby jnjillijg fit fa t
f>isj Auroral
tVr>er AlVuraiio l'd.
H/edming -or Mora !'
'
I a Ilie/icnt stole a youth
„ jpn?lv as morning,
i .*• • gy tf#s his mien in sooth
*i e* i nil of proud-scorning.
* -'Sif 1 > J .. / I
Bright, wavy locks fell o'er
Eyes wildly beaming,
Deep the plumeil cap he wore
Shadow etl their gleaming.
L To his pale cheek there came
Hue-, tike The sunset,
For his light, fragile frame
Thrilled for the onset.
j ' i"i ' - >• o.- I
| Fiercely In* sword he drew,
1 Bplil vr us his bearing. .
V \Vhile on ttie knight he threw
1 Words of wild daring.
1
\ Crying—"Thou craven tiilwe I"
\ Dark the knight lowered—
J •'H w lu> ill b.ilile halts
\ Proves hiio a coward."
J|j|k
'• Long ha'd he calmly heard
j eachdating word
<"* bravado.
;<£ that littler name
en| ttf lp cif drug.
TOKfikwK|w.il sword—a llanie
* life air whirling*.
sat
Proud as his prinpvdy foe,
rf " iiatodb s# Jti dai:ger,
tufel Springing rti meet jiie blow
Sprartg the blight straueer,
till ; "J
IjllJ; ( s Jloine'-'lrw. Idthe slvef—sndfak! j
. ' ' At hi- M lying, -
I Tale a- the waning *ar— * • M * s
At IV/w is it dy tug !.
the **•- - - ■■■■■. :*■ - --ev-a *V *
l " e rtack bill the cap and plume,
it f Back the bright tresse, —
No more her 10-y bloom
.Meet. Ins caresses.
Sit
Lightly her lovely hair
Ire floats o'er ills shoulder.
To his heart's mad despair
Nut bis arms fold her.
on
•' tin* iia\," he cried,
Leniir.i!
S( J. I left thee, ray hride!
For the false .Mora I
i KC
tri Then in her wistful eyes,
Bpk Blue as you heaven,
•' He saw her ouf ari-e,
]{ Sighing ••Forgiven I"
II fe But her pale, parted |;ps
| V ( Silent I v quiver.
, And in Death 1 * dark eciip'e
• ' f alls -he forever I
Cot.
Sad fell thy sunny ray,
MeX Has y Aurora,
Where Alvarado lay
By his Lenora.
t- iiTS 5E
t oil -TOUCHING THE LOR 3 HAMLET.
er tf
( i ,< Matty persons are aware that the slory of;
'Hamlet is taken hum the D.i;iis!i historian Sax i
<Jra.umaticus. At the saim* time, few persons
c "' have read so itaich as a line of Snvi-Grammai
'ss.-ios lor he wrote in La!in, an i I.is LoU i- *
|jo itili i. Kv writing in Lauu, a matt .--wim > uu
) mortality x.t the exp-'iis •of prijui ar:t v What
1 jhe gains an chtrati in he l-s> sin <'\ten-> hi. Nor
ire lolios opened at the present <h,v with avid,
a] 1 Mv. People like to r-ad in an p;-it<i.io,
p| o/'ussibly with l-gs It >rizohtally placed, and t-i
ei old a light volume in !h.<j- hands. A folio,
|>ol ...... '
fiili s "" 2 * r, * a !n1 - d'-sk, dene- ~v . , at
()|.rr.;t at luxurious indolence.
J u.'ler th- sc citum.>Unces, il is probable that
■ persons know exceedingly little.of the
1 ditionary character of Hamlet,and that when
' C y heard him hint to his friendsih.it he is
ireeut '-to j-ut an antic disposition*' on, they !
j, j,) V thai the orave pleasantries o| !he tragedy
rt , , the { >le COfHeqije|£e of biis voluntary ec-i
' i.cilv. H-nce, at the risls of offending an
v'r ' d3 ries by the narration of a (to them) well- j
.•'V vote p. n jale 3 we show* to the general reader j
5e •! ede of a lunny person Hamlet really was—that)
;,i in j r Saxo-Graikimaticus be a faithful histoiian. j
rovi l , v upon a time—and a very long time ago
, ' s, for Hiiric was th<* son ol Hoder, wltoj
_, ' " ' J Kaliter. son of the god Odiu-nrOiic- up :rt a
1:i suit vv hen Rurie .••d ov.-r lletimark, the
■et oft nee ol Jutland was governed hy two bmtii
-I,n \ • Secrurned Horwendil, slew the King ol \or
ol ttie' n s ''igle combat, and presented co iarge a j
of Norwegian booty tr> Untie, that the
ful monarch bestowed upon hiirj the hand j
J ' tl Kit daughter Gerutha. Ol lliis sttange
t * nri ■ JJamlet was the result.
r " : *' mier ,'hK° the other viceroy, instead of rejoicing
dec' ' ' ; brother's good fortune, murdejed him out
Thetl ' ''(. r envy, and married Gerutha himself.—
these! " '-count ftr this singular proceeding, he ex
-7 e will M(o King Ruric, that the deceased was in
sales of maltreating his wile to such a de-
Chal murder was absolutely ije^ejsary,
ofta \<S felieve a most charming ami ii,oli'eii
an exceeding disagreeable posi
-1 **£ , yptK*iV?B' l,r ' c w ho tenderly loved his
t 1 a cl, this explanation perfectly sat-;
Drj asa q Affirmed the second marriage.
• l,le 'natter blew over ;. but
° H)e boy Hamlet, thinking th?t
i/e rrtighl be murdered in his turn, began to feign
jfliocv, that he might thus appear too msignifi- j
/cant for his uncle's suspicions. He jabbered a
great deal of nonsense; he contrived that his j
, figure should approach as nearly as possible to
: 1 list of i scarecrow, and he smutted over his
face, so that his features were scarcely discern- )
ibie. However, when he made certain wooden
hooks, and having baked them in the fire, con
cealed them carefull v, saving that they were r
--, rows for his father's-murderer, the more shrewd
j persons ot the court, notwithstanding the laugh
ter of the fools, deeenied there was s ur>e "me
. thud in his madne.-s," and communicated their
doubts to the viceroy.
Kengo. therefore, detei mined to watch his
njfphew closely ; and, on one occasion when |
Hamlet took a ride into the woods wilh some
•vouth of his own age, it was expected that his '
f true chai acter would he rev-aled. Rut his los- |
fer-brother warned him that he was surrounded j
jby spies and- accordingly, to sustain lo> char-;
acter foT irrihecili'v, he mounted his horse w-ifh J
his head toward the tail Which he used as a fui
dle th-ret.y causing much laughter and diver- j
sion.
Had HamM lived at the end of Hie seven
teenth centufv, instead >i floiu Isfiirtg at the j
conirnencement of th- year nothing, we should 1
have concluded that tie franked hi-sham charac
ter o;; the model ol Charles she Second, as de
scribed by that fa mo us epigram, which says :
j_tliat tlu- M-rrv Monarch
"n-ver sai'l a footi-h Ibing,
Ami nev-r <lbt aw ise on<S."
Siilfe, while by the e.\ci .s.-ive .-tiipirlily ot his <
acts, l;e maintained bis reputation for insanity,
lie constant M sjiook the V-IV belief lie W Islieil
j to e-tahli-'i fv sa\ nigs of iemarkable shrewd
ii e. Tims, on la- occasion ol I tie notable ride
. into the wood, a wolf happened to cioss his i
, path :
"What's that ?" said Hamlet.
"A young foal," replied one of the attend- i
j ants ; winking, no doubt, at the rest.
"Aha," yp; dh ffan l-l, -there are many
I stit-f fiiaik at Kengo's couit."
fore the siing occiisioU-il ' v this sarcasm had '
quite ceaseo'to tingle, the jiarty arrived at the j
sea shore, where the rudder''of a wrecked sfiip j
was the first ohj-ct that met their gaze. The
gracep .-s vouHis, intending once more to "poke ,
llieir ('off" at t.'i - demented prince, exclaimed :
_! - "Look, writ a tiig knife we haVe ibnrid i"
Rut Htup.lrf fetfi''cliH fir a while, and then ,
said grave 10 ; " (*;j ,i truth Ift" ham must be
: large, that a k//e was ti- <:"--•
thereby rel|iiiing to the s-a, and possihfy the
sa'tness th/feof. Rut, not quieted by tfiis sharp
retort, hi- facetious Comrade's prhceech d to -x
--• 11,i111 to him hat the sand on Hie shore was j
flour, and ihat the pebble- were groats. But
Hamlet -ail: "Such four a- that has li-ii
ground bv the storm and the white foaming bii- i
low-."
These jokes ma v not app- ar very brilliant
now, fuii tftey made a great sensation in the;
v ar nothing, and the court of King Ruric was
often convulsed with laughter on hearing of
"Hamlet's last." Indeed, there is no doubt that
lln,l t and. Yorick were hist • rico!i\ one and the
sanie person.
How ever, delightful as Hie mad prince's jokes
were considered t>v other persons, they were rr it
liked bv in- uncle, F'engo, who always suspect
ed that some mischief wax bro nling, ami was
, defer mined to worm nut hi- nephew's r-.l char
acter. He, theie'ore, t>v Hie c luns- l'of a friend
feigned to 1-nve the country on - >me urgent ;
; matfer, tliat during fos supposed absence, Ham- !
li t might have in intervi-w -v i!i iii- mother, at
winch (tie same friend engage ) • , fie present,
unseen. The jn|er\iew tool: place, and IVngn s
. fiieitd, according t > pron ise, hid himself under
a heap of straw, that constituted an important .
! part of th* furniture of the roval apartment.— i
With hi- usual shrewdness, I lam let gne-s- d I here
was something wrong in the room, arid to as
certain whether fus suspicions v.-re correct, !
danced upon the straw. < lapping Ins hands and
crowing like a cock, to t.he great astonishment
, of his mother and the infinite annoyance of the
listening friends, wlin had !> endure ai! the
: weight ol Hie prince's eccentricities. Naturally
: enough something began t< move beneath the
straw, and lhat something which the reader
lll.iv, if lie pleases, call I'olonius—was immedi
alelv transfixed by the sword ol Hamlet. (,iueen
Geri.tha, shocked at tbi- lieu- inanif -slation of
; madness, began to w, -p aloud, hot Hamlet,;
dropping the mask, lead fief a s-v-r- lei (tire on
tiie impropriety of her position. His words)
seemed to have an < fleet, as, indeed, well they ;
might, for they marked b\ a ruffianly
coarseoens w hu it could nut !>e exceeded, and of -
whifh Shakespeare d i-s not convey the -ligfit
j est idea. In the fullest sense of the expressi m.
Hamls-t gave his mother a "bit ot his mind,
| anil a very unsavory it w a.
i Fengo, on his return, mi-sed his friend, for
Hamlet had not only killed that most unfortu-
I nate of courtiers, but had troiled down bis limbs
and thrown them into the fewer to-be devouied :
by t lie pigs. This deed tiie prince openly avow
ed, but those who heard him merely thought that
he was uttering one ol his mad pleasantries, and
laujftied as usual. Indeed, at the court of Jut
land evei vbotlv seems to have been an a I rant
i blockhead, with Hi- single exception of fengo
himself. That worthy viceroy would have killed j
his nephew without further ado, had he not j
feared to offend King Ruric, who as we have
net-n, was the lad's maternal grandfather. To
i get rid of J} unlet, stratagem was necessary, and ;
accordingly the good youth was vent on an em
bassy to Britain —a proceeding which, as !)'• was j
a reputed maniac, must have been ib-en -d Righ
:iv complimentary to the British court. iwo j
j Danish muit'eiie-n whom the read r n ay, if he
pleases, call Rosehcrantz and Guildenstern
wer-, moreover, appointed to accompany him,
and secretly carried with them thy turns, we
presumeja hit of wood with certain letters carved
: upon it, requesting the King <d Britain to put
Hamlet to death. It may be observed that, in
the days of King Ruric, bits of carved wood j
were the approved means for carrying on an
V" " •
BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 25,1857.
epistolary correspondence. With all tiie clever- ■
j ru-ss that seems to have been inherent iri the
j Jutland Cuit, the two confident ial gentlemen
went to sleep one night in Hamlet's presence!
with the precious document in one of their pick
ets. Of course the pockets were rummaged by
| the artful prince, and of course he found the
j wooden dispatch, Which lie had no sooner read
than he shaved offtljie inscription and carved
another, in which he not only named the two
j sleepers as the persons to be killed, but also ;
: formed a request from Fengo, that the King o!
Britain would be kind enough to give his daugli
. r r> O
j ter to Hamlet for a wife.
The policy pursued by Hamlet during his so- 4
journ in Britain was the very iever.se of that
! which he had adopted while he was at home in
Jutland. Among the Danes he wished to pass
; or a fool or a madman; bv tiie Britons he wished >
[to. bethought a mode! ol wisdom. He first ex- !
j cited the gejieral wonder bv refusing to taste a .
' single morsel, or to drink a single drop at the :
| very munificent banquet which the king of ;
Britain had provided for his reception. Indeed,
Iso much wa> the hospitable monarch surprised
Iby in abstinence so unusual in the good old
times, that when Hamlet and his at!enclants re
tired to their sleeping . apartments he ordered
j-one of his servants to listen at the door, apd
pick up as much as he could of t'je conversation.
Hamlet s attendants, who shared the general ru
! riosity, no sooner fiursd themselves alone with
! him, than thev inquired into 1 fie cause of hj
mystei ions "abstinence. He quietly told them
that' the bread was stained w ilh bloody 'ha! tiie
j drink tasted of iron, am! that the meat smelt
I like a buqiaq corpse—all good and .weighty rea
sons for noFmakitig a hearty meal. His com
panions further asked hint wlrat lie thpuglil f
the king and queen of Britain his ,answer
i showed thai liis opinion of tfie illustrious pair
was not very exalted. The,king, be sajd, had
j the eyes of a srf, and as for the que.-n, she be
tiayed her slavi-b origin bv three distinct >igns.
Now, the king of Britain was natu.rn!'V of a
kimfly arl disposition, with'' the STidi
) ti.mal tjnaldicatron of thai fbndable spirit A f
j curiosity that in later davs has been s? \ led tji- ;
> desire of knowledge. So instead Vif fiyiug ini I
a passion when his serr ants informed bigwd 1
H tin let's disresjiectful observatitms. Mi-'dhoiht
i they Were worthy of -a Cool and .-eft! CIS impߣ\ !
Reginning with ,the sul ji-ct of litmwr, he..lied
vi iere the bread came from, ami fimn
t "d, on the authori'v of the court l-ito-r
on ..f v. nich 1! v.-A" i- w i-Ihe wMggxn W
I\l eil'b i -ij ■ ■!: :
which liad been selected bv in-licious iigricullu
, lists on account of its excessive t. itilitv.— 1
Glearly, Hamlet was no* so wrong about H-.e
I bread ;so the admiring king pursued his in vex- I
ligations with reference to the bacon, when it j
turned out that the pigs oi the royi.f sly had <
; 011 one occasion, broken !-l-e, and Pasted on 1
the corpse of a malefactor who has! paid the Inst >
I penalty o! tiie law. Moreover, in Hie well from •
j which the water had been drawn for the supply !
of the royal (able, sundry rusty sword- were >
found, and this accounted fir Hie taste of iron, t
The fine taste and tile fine nose of Hamlet could !
not be sufficient!v admired by ttie excellent king
!of Britain, who was resolved to look into those I
: little family mailer* that had been likewise :
j touched ujon hv his Danish guest. According- <
Iv, lie sent lor his mother, the Queen dowager i
j of Britain, and having asked her, v-rv serious
ly, why he had tile eves of a Self, received the I
: agreeable information that a certain slave, who <
had been made p i- merofwar, field a more im- i
p >rlant jiosition in the i"\.il pedigree than had <
'generally been imagined. Hamlet was right <
again ! He was theref>re personally question*d I
jas to the three signs o! slavish origin he had re- I
jiiiaiked m tli' 1 behaviors of the queen consort. I
■ Not in the bast daunted, HamM replied, that
: in the first place the illustrious ladv was in the I
j haliit c>f wearing tlm hood ol her cloak over her <
h< ad, contiai v to the usages of what f tat ic calls l
"sedt society:'' that in the second place, when 1
-he walk*"' she lucked up her gown by the gir- .
die; and that in tiie third place, when after din- j
ner -lie us*-d tier tnofh-pick she swallowed the 1
extracted particles of food instead of spitting t
' them out with royal dignity.
Oh, happv were the davs when Ruric xvas l
king of Denmark, when Fengo was lord lien- i
tenant ol Jutland, and when What's his name 1
reigned over this island ! Talent had a chance •'
>1 being rewarded then, especially at the Brit- ]
i-h court, par from reproving Hamlet for his
matchless impertinence, the enlightened king of
I Britain was in exstariesat his nrutetiess, and 1
I . •
;at once gave him his daughter in marriage, '
thanking the gods fir sending him such a clever '
son-in-law. That the wedding might not uant
its proper solemnity, the fwo attendants w pre I
duly hung up the very dav after the ceremony. 1
The advantage which Hamlet took of this latter
citcuuistance can scarcely he called handsome. 1
Although he had artfully contrived the destruc
tion of his comrades, he pretended to he exces
sively enraged at their death, and the king of
Britain, who felt great awe a! Danish indigna
fi m, gave him, bv way of compensation, a large
sum in gold, which the astute Hamlet melted,
and poured into two hollow sticks.
Afrer he had lived in Britain about a year,
lie thought he would like to see his native Jut
land once more, so,having asked the king for
j leave of absence, and obtained the sanie, he set
j off with his two loaded sticks, to visit the "Old
I folks at home." The firs-t spectacle that met
his eye m the roval paiace, was the celebration
iof his funeral, held on the strength of a report
; that he ha<l died in Britain ; and greatly astoun
i ded were th'p mourners, when he re-appeared
amongst (hem, looking as sillv and Girtv as
; ever. When he was asked what had become of
his two companions, he showed the two sticks,
j and said. "Here they ore, the pair of them.'"—
1 Of course this reply was set down to the account
of the old imbecility, ami caused explosions of
laughter, for these Jutlanders were not aware
that the sticks contained the worth in bullion of
the two executed gentlemen; nor had they reach-
I ed the high philosophy of Hamlet, which taught
him that a man's money value is, in fact, the
J
Freedom of Thought and Opinion.
• man himself.
Neither was it suspected in Denmark, that |
tfie funeral ceremonies, which were so strangely |
! interrupted by the safe return of the deceased,
qad Iwen contrived bv that very person. Be
re Ilamlet had set out for Britain, he had a
Sbcond interview with his mother, in the course
of which he requested her to pretend, after his
ybsence for a year, tfiat she had received news ;
jof his death, to perform as much of a funeral a
is possible when the corpse is wanting, and to
Sang the great hall of the pialace with netted
tapestry. By Queen Gerutha, who was of a
lemarkahle pliant disposition, all these orders!
ifcvere carefully followed, though she knew well
-though that she would see her son again at the
'end of a twelvemonth.
"Most obstreperous was Hamlet in congratula
ting himself on his own happy return. The j
! auar;iity of wine that he procured for the re
. fteshmerit of the couiiers was enormous, and he
; added a practical joke to his verbal pleasantries,
j dancing about with a drawn sword, that he'
flourished in the most reckless fashion, so that
all were at their u its' end for fear thev might 1
receive some unlucky gash or thrust. IDs own
fingers he reailv did cut, and the couriers took j
advantage of the circumstance to fasten the,
; swoid to the scabbard with a nail.
Through ail the-- proceedings, a great deal
; of drinking went on, till at last every one ot the ;
omineis had fallen from his bench, and was ly
ing senseless nn the floor. Hamlet now took
from (ii- hiding place the wooden books that had
caused so much mirth in early days, removed ■
the net-hangings from the walls, and so fastened
them over the t-leepers, bv means of the hooks,
that esc ape was impossible. This done, he sirn
plv set fire to the palace, arid prope-eriing to (
Fen go's chamber, took down the sword that was
hanging over the sleeping king, and hung iifi his
own in its place. Great was the consternation
of Fengo when he was aw akeii-d fiv a voice that
said, in no pleasant tone, "Fengo, vour brave
men are burning to ashes, and Hamlet is here to
avenge the death of bis father." The first im
pulse of Fengo was to reach dou n the suspended ,
sword,hut as that nnlurkv weapon was fastened
to its -heath, it proved a sorry defence against
the sharp lilad*' welded by Hamlet, and •'•••
fratricide viceroy now received his moduli
blow.
Now, it was quite possible tfiat Hamlet's con- ,
duct on this e vent In! night night nut be in ac
cordance with the views of Jutland generally,
jy prudence that was bis leading virtue
h- retired, therefore, to a safe hiding place, ;
whence fie could watch the aspect of the politi
cal horizon. When the break of dav revealed
Urn gloom v spectacle of a palace in ruins arid a
heap of half-burned corpses, the early rising
part of the population, not seeing anv one who!
c in!.:! t> 11 them how it had all J ippened. were
not a little puzzled. Sentiments were varied
- nr.e w-ere indignant at Hi*' wholesale -laughter,
- une wept, while a third partv, which seems to j
have been that of the majority, hinted that the;
event tube regarded as rather fortunate j
than otherwise. On this hint, Hamlet issued
from his nook, and made an affecting speech, in ;
which he avowed what he had done, gloried that
lie had avenged his fatfier's murder; and, in
shart, managed matters so well, that a gen- !
era I shout proclaimed him the succesuor ol
I'ellgO.
When lie was firmlyVstahli-hed in-his prov- ■
inre, HemM fitted up three ships in a most
expensive manner, and paid a visit to his father
in-law in Britain. His- numerous attendants
carried gilded shields, while his own target w as
ornamented with a pictorial record of the deeds j
he had done. Never had the Britons seen so [
fine a sight. The good king, however, found !
himself in a moral difficult v. He had. it seems, 1
solemnly sworn to Fengo lhat he would avenge
his death, it it occurred otherwise than by the'
course ol nature, and now Fengo was slam by
the peison whom the king esteemed above
everybody else in the world.' Hamlet must be
got rid of somehow orothn - ; but, if he were
put to death i:: 'he palace, the laws of hospital
ity would be star 1 eful 1 y violated. It was clear '
that he must be -*-nt somewhere else in order to
he killed, and Scotland at last suggested itself
for the purpose. Scotland was at this time
governed by a maiden Queen, named Herme- >
truda, w ho was so fierce, and withal enteitained 1
such a dislike to matrimony, that if a suitor;
presented himself, the popping of the question !
was instantly followed by a public execution. 1
Hamlet was to solicit the hand of this ladv for j
tl*e King of Britain, who had recently become a
widower, arid the Scottish Queen, it was hoped
would dispatch him according to precedent.;
Thus would Fengo be avenged, and tiie British '
king would be released from his moral diffi
culty.
However, when Hamlet reached the Scottish
court, affairs took a turn which the king of i
Britain didn't contemplate. The terrible queen 1
was greatly struck by a picture on Hamlet's j
shield, and to'd I'.im in a few words, t hat if lie
would woo her on his own account, instead of;
courting fiv proxy, she would gladly bestow her j
hand opoi) him. The queen was not only fierce j
hut fair,and Hamlet's heart had even been sua- ,
ceptiple to feminine beauty. Therefore, we
grieve to 1 elate, he jumped at (be offer, regard
less oi the tie in the South ol (be island, and
having married the Queen of Scotland, had the
consummate assurance to return to the King of
Brit ai.) with his new wife, arid a train of young
Scots it his heels.
Harriet's first wife, the British princess, was
a gentle, forgiving creature, who was so delight- !
ed at I * r husband's safe return, that she vowed
not on v to love him still, but to love his- second j
wife a':so. With these professions she met him ,
on the raod. bearing in her arms an infant fo
which she ha.! lately given birth. At the same j
linw l e warned him that her father ihd not en- j
teit:iii the. same liberal views on the subject of,
family affronts and that he had better be on bis 1
guard against stratagem. \V lien this amiable
discourse bail proceeded so far, the old king j
came up, embraced Hamlet as if nothing bad ;
happened, and invited him to a banquet in the
| paiace. Hamlet was nothing loth ; but, as his
! old prudence did not forsake him, he managed
i to put on a suit of armor, which was concealed
jby his upper garments. Nor did this precati
! tion prove useless, for no sooner did Hamlet
make liis appearance at the palace gate, than
' the king flung a spear that would have gone
j through the bod}- of the Dane, bad it n ! been*
checked try the unexpected obstacle.' Tli" eri
! niyte of the king being thus revealed, Hamlet
retreated to the spot where fm had left his Scot
tish adherents, fiut was immediately pursued
, bv his enemy, ho muted the lull*' force of
j Scotsmen, and would have destroyed every man
j of them, had ii" not been interrupted by the
approach of night. When darkness had set in,
HamM did one of those clever things that had
justly earned him immortality inthe Danish
chronicles. Instead of resting himself,he care
fully pick"d up the bodies of the slain, and rais
ing some into the perpendicular with the aid of
sticks and big stones, while he place ! others on
horseback, he made them present a very formi
dable appearance. Hence, when the morning
i broke and the Britons saw the new force, thev
I stood stupidly staring,,wondering whence the
, auxiliaries coul J have come. Hamlet was not
the man to lose an opportunity : at the h*-ad of
the remaining Scotsmen, he charged the gaping
Britons, whereupon a general tout ensued,
I in which the king was slain,
j Matters being thus settled in Britain. HamM
returned wih both his wives to Jutland, where
he found bin self involved in a constitutional
: difficulty. The people had, it is true, raised
him to ttie head ofthe provincial government,
on the death of Fengo, but then litis post was
the gjft of 1 be DanLh crown : and though Ham
let's maternal grandfather Ruric, from family
considerations, might have been induced lo
forego some of his rights that venerable mon
arch was no more, arid his successor, H igiet.h.
was a person who would not bate an inch of
liis privileges. Imb ed, the new king had al
ready despoiled Gerutha ol all her possessions,
on account of the delinquency of her son. A
, war between the king and the irregularly elec
ted viceroy resulted irom this false position, but
when the two armies came in sight of each oth-r
Hamlet, who had several gloomy forebodings,
wished to shun tiie contest. At last he yipfd
, e.i to the persuasions of his second wife Her
metruda, who promised that she would fol
low him, and kill herself in the event of iiis
j death. -V conflict ensued, in whieh Hamlet was
slain, whereupon Hermelruda immediately mar
| riej VYigleth, and thus became Queen <. 1 Den
mark.
LIFE OF A LIO.V
Let us sketch the story of a lion's life, begin
ning with his marriage, which takes place to
wards the end of January. He lias first to seek
liis wife, but as the males are more abundant
than females, who are often cut off in infancy,
it is not rare to find a young lady pestered by <
; the adresses of three or four gallants, who quar
rel with the acerbitv of jealous lovers. If one
does not succeed in disabling or driving awav
the others, madam, impatient and dissatisfied,
leads them into tiie presence of an old lion,
whom she lias appreciated at a distance. The
iovers'tly at him with thetermerity ol vouth and
exasperation the old fellow receives them
with calm assurance, breaks the neck of the
first with his terrible jaws, smashes the leg of
the second, and tears out the eye of the third.
No sooner is the dav won and the field clear,
than the lion tosses his mane in the air, as he
roars, and then crouches by the side ofthe ladv,
j who, as a reward for his courage, lick-- in
■ wounds caressingly. When two adult lions
are the rivals the encounter is more serious.
An Arab perched in a tree one night saw a
lioness followed by a tawny with a full grown
! inane; she lay down at the foot of a tree, the
lion stopped on his path, and seemed to listen.
The Arab then heard the distant growling of a
iion, which was instantly replied to bv the
lioness under the live. This made her husband 1
roar furiously. . ,
The distant lion was heard approaching, and
as he came nearer the lioness roared louder,
which seemed to agitate her husband for he
marched towards her as if to force her lobe si- |
lent, and then sprang hack to bis old post, roar
ing defiance at lii-- distant rival.
This continued about an hour, when a black ;
iion made firs appearance on the plaro. The
lioness rose to go towards him, but her husband, ;
I guessing i*er intention, hounded towards Itisii- ;
val. The two crouched and sprang at * ach 1
other, lolling on the grass in the embrace of
death. Their bones cracked, their flesh was r
torn, their cries of r age and agonv rent tf*• ■ air,
and all this time the lioness crouched, and wag
ged her tail slowly in sign of satisfaction. When
the combat ended, and both warriors were
stretched on the plain, she rose, smelt them,
! satisfied herself that they were dead, arid trot- '
ted off", quite regardless ofthe uncomplimentary
epithet which the indignant Arab shouted after
her.
This, Gerard tells us. is an example of the
j conjugal fidelity of my lady ; whereas the lion
, never quits his wife, unless forced, and is quite
a pattern of conjugal affection.
Our lion, then, is married, let us sav. He is
the slave of his wife. It is she who aiways
lakes precedence : when she stops he stops. On
arriving at the douar (the collection, of tents—
what we call a'village,') for their supper, she
j lies down while he leaps into the in closure-, and
1 brings to her the booty. He watches her
while she eats, taking care that 110 one disturbs
her; and not till her appetite is satisfied does he
j begin bis meal. Tow ards the end of December
, they seek an isolated ravine, and there she pre
sents her lord with one, two and sometimes
; three puppies, generally one male and one fe
; male. If the reader has ever seen or handled a
puppy lion, he will undeistand the idolatry of
! the father and mother. She never quits them
for an instant, and he only quits them to bring
; home supper. When they are three months
1 old their weaning commences. The mother
accustoms them gradually to it, by absenting
. ,<aS" >saw" •MH*
TERJIK, E'ER YEAR.
NEW SERIES VOL 1, NO. 21.
hersejf i'r lunger am! ionger periods, and bring
• n - tliem pieces (.i mutton carefully skinned. The
father whose habitual d-meanor is grave, be
comes fatigued with the frivolous sports of
children, and I'M- th- SAKE of tranquility removes
his lodging to a distance—within reach, how
ever, to render assistance if required. At the
age of lour or five months the children follow
their mother to the border of the forest, where
their lather brings them their supper. At six
months old they accompany their father and
mother on ail their nocturnal expeditions. From
eight lo twelvemonths they learn to attack
sheep, goats, and even bulls: but they are so
awkward they usually wound ten for one they
kill; it is not until they are two years old that
they kill a horse or bull at one bite. While
their education is thus in progress thev are ten
times more ruinous to the Arabs, since the fam
ily does not content itself with killing the cat
tle requir-,! fir Its own consumption, but kill
ing that the children may Jearri how to kill. At
three years old the children quit home and set
up for themselves, becoming lathers and moth
ers in their turn. Their places are occupied
by another brood. At eight veais old the lion
reaches maturity and livvs to thirty or forty.
When adult, he i? a magnificent creature, very
different in >jye, a-pect, color and disposition
from the lions to be seen in the menageries and
zoological gardens—animals taken from the
mother's breast bred like rabbits, deprived of the
fresh mountain air arid ample nourishment. As
an indication of the size attained bv lions in a
state ot nature, we may fite the fact mentioned
by Gerard, that the strongest man in the caval
ry regiment to which he belonged was unable
to carry the skin and head of the lion Gerard
had killed.— West minuter Review.
HONESTY OI ( OUNTRY GIRLS.—An amusing
incident look place in one of the large drv
goods store- of our citv J short time since. A
good-looking, honest-faced country girl came
to town wit:, lid 'teilei to (lo a trifle of shop
ping.
The magnitude - fib store,the piles on piles
of goods, the dazzling ariav of articles, the row*
of busy clerks, the Hitting cash bo vs. nuite over
powered our good friend, who scarcely knew
what to do. Her 'felin obstinately refused to
go in, bo', loitered about the door.
The clerks being'all busy just at the moment,
the young ladv w..s obliged 'o remain standing
a few moments. At length a dapper fellow
with gold watch-chain and flourishing mous
tache, came bowing anu smiling up to the blush
ing customer with,
'Anybody rvatting on you, madam V
The color deepened in her cheeks, as she
Imsiated and drew a long breath, till finally,
with a nod of her head toward the door, she fal
tered out, 'Yes, sir, be is.'
DIDN'T KNOW HIS OWN BABV.—A citizen
of Jamaica Plain, L. 1., went to answer
a ring at the front door, on the request
of his wife, where he found nothing but a
basket. On the covering being romoved. a
beautiful little child appeared, some five months
old. The iady screamed, one of the ladv visi
tors took up the baby ami found a note pinned
to its dress, which charged the gentleman of
the house with being its father, and implored
him to support it. A rii h scene ensued between
the injured wife and the indignant husband, the
latter utterly denying all knowledge of the
little one and asserting his irnocejjce. The
friends interfered, and at last th- wife was
induced to forgive t.'ie husband, although hestii!
stood to it like a Trojan tnat lie had always
been a faithful husband. Finally the lady very
roguishly told her husband that it was strange
that he should not know bis own child, for it
was their mutual offspring, which had just bpen
taken from its cradle up stairs by the nurse, fur
the very purpose oi play ine the joke.
EXQUISITE SENTIMEN . "What esc lamed
th- accomplished and fashionable Fitzwiggie to
the ■ xquisitely lovely bliss De La Sparrow
grass; "what would you be, dearest, if 1 should
press the stamp of I n'e upon those sealing-wax
lips ?"
"J," responded the fairy-like cteature, "should
be— stationery !"
AUKM felt among the bachelors on
account of the decision, by the courts, that a few
visits and friendly attentions to a lady might b*
construed into an engagement is subsiding, under
the following method of protection. Out West,
the bachelors provide themsives with cards duly
labelled, "Good for this call only !" which are
sufficient evidence of no serious intentions.
(E^" , "MY DEAR, com' in and go to bed," said
the wife of a jolly son ofErin, who had just re
turned from the lair, in a decidedly "how
come-you-so" state. "You must be "dreadful
tired, sure with your long walk of six miles."
"Arrah ! get away with vour nonsense," said
Pat ; "it wasn't the /./ig/A of the wav, at all
that fatigued me—'twas the bread/hat' it."
tldP'A conductor ofa night train on one of the
rail roads approached a sleepy passenger the
other night, and asked him for his check.
"Check ' replied the sleepy passenger, half
aw ake,"l've stopped a giving of them. ]\lv last
Would draw no cash." He must be one olthose
chaps who were recently affected by the panic.
\ ankee, who had just come from Flor
ence, being asked what he had seen and admired,
and whether he was not in raptures with the
Venus de Medici, replied, "Well, to tell the
truth, I don't rare much about these stone gals."
T• *" lii EY SAY- said Kerchberg.
"It is not true exclaimed Faustina.
"What i< not true. Countess ?" asked he in
amazemedt.
"Whatever begins with 'thev is on the
face of it not true." *
was never determined until recently
who struck Billv Patterson. No one doubts
now that he was struck by the panic.