Crispin's day? Were it Charles the Fifth himself, I'd not do a stitch for him now; but if you'll come in and drink St. Crispin, do, and welcome: we are as merry as the emperor can be." The sovereign accepted his offer; but while he was contemplating on this rude pleasure, instead of joining in it, the jovial host thus accosted him: What, I suppose you are some courtier-politician or other, by that contemplative phiz ; nay, by that long nose you may be a bastard of the emperor's; but be who or what you will, you're heartily welcome: drink about! here's Charles the Fifth's health!" "Then you love Charles the Fifth," replied the emperor. "Love him?" said the son of Crispin ;" ay, ay, I love his long noseship well enough, but I should love him much more, would he but tax us a little less; but what have we to do with politics? round with the glass, and merry be our hearts!" After a short stay, the emperor took his leave, and thanked the cobbler for his hospitable reception. That," cried he, you're welcome to; but I would not to-day have dishonored St. Crispin, to have worked for the emperor.' 66 Charles, pleased with the honest good-nature and humour of the fellow, sent for him next morning to court. His surprise may be imagined, when he found that his late guest was his sovereign; he feared the joke on his long nose must be punished with death. The emperor, however, thanked him for his hospitality, and, as a reward for it, bade him ask for what he most desired, and to take the whole night to settle his surprise and ambition. Next day the cobbler appeared, and requested that, for the future, the cobblers of Flanders might bear for their arms a boot, with the emperor's crown upon it: that request was granted. So moderate was his ambition, that the emperor bade him make another: " If," said he, "I am to have my utmost wishes, command that, for the future, the company of cobblers shall take place of the company of shoemakers:" it was accordingly so ordained; and to this day there is to be seen a chapel in Flanders, adorned all round with a boot and an imperial crown on it. In all processions, the company of cobblers now take place of the company of shoemakers. ITALY. This poem, which has been privately circulated, has been attributed to SAMUEL ROGERS, ESQ., author of "Pleasures of Memory." Many, however, who have seen it, are of opinion, in which, from various corroborative reasons we join, that it is the production of " the poet of all circles, and the idol of his own" THOMAS MOORE, ESQ. power, When I view thy proud trophies of glory long past, Had sons to wave dauntless their flag o'er the foam; And still the Italian was master at home. But now must Pisani or Doria's descendant E'en a sigh for his country-dear name-disavow; In the chains of the German disgrac'd and dependant,weep for thee, Italy, weep for thee now! I Thou hast daughters whose eyes might a hero inspire; To consume in their palace the Lords of the Night! THE DYING EXILE. BY J. J. CALLANAN. All racked on his feverish bed he lay, Frequent and deep were the groans he drew, But oh! what anguish his bosom tore! When he thought of the friends he should never see more When he thought of the distant maid of his heart, No last farewell ere his spirit depart, Must he leave her unseen, and for ever? One sigh for that maid he darkly heav'd, And his eyes to that land for whose woes he had griev'd On a cliff that by footstep is seldom prest, A rude stone marks the place of his rest, Yet think not, dear youth, though far, far away O yes, when the hearts that have wail'd thy young flight, The thought of thy doom will come over their light, And the maid that so long held her home in thy breast, Will vainly embrace as it comes from the west, SUPERNATURAL APPEARANCES. A belief that supernatural beings sometimes make themselves visible, and that the dead sometimes revisit the living, has prevailed among most nations, especially in the rudest stages of society. It was common among the Jews, among the Greeks, and among the Romans, as we find from the scriptures, and from the poems of Homer and Virgil. Celestial appearances were, indeed, so often exhibited to the Jews, that the origin of their belief is not difficult to be explained. The Divine Being manifested himself to each of the patriarchs by some sensible sign, generally by a flame of fire, as he did to Moses. Under this semblance, also, did he appear to the Israelites during their abode in the desert, and after they obtained a settlement in the land of Canaan. Nor did they believe that heavenly beings alone assumed a sensible appearance: they believed that deceased men also sometimes revisited this world. When Saul went to consult the witch at Endor, he asked her to bring up the person whom he should name unto her; a proof that he considered his demand as easy to be performed, and therefore that he probably acted under the influence of popular opinion. The same opinions had been generally entertained at a much earlier period; for necromancy and witchcraft, the arts by which the dead were supposed to be raised, had been prohibited while the Israelites were in the wilderness, and yet untainted with the vices of the Canaanites. They must therefore have derived them from Egypt, the cradle of superstition, as well as of the arts and Sciences. Among the Greeks and Romans, the apparition of spectres was generally believed. On innumerable occasions the gods are said to have discovered themselves to the eyes of mortals, to have held conferences, and to have interposed their aid. The ghosts of the dead, too, are said to have appeared. When Eneas, amidst the distraction and confusion of his mind in flying from the destruction of Troy, had lost his wife by the way, he returned in search of her. Her shade appeared to him-for she herself had been slain-with the same aspect as before, but her figure was large: she endeavoured to assuage the grief of her unhappy husband, by ascribing her death to the appointment of the gods, and by foretelling the illustrious honors which yet awaited him. But, when Æneas attempted to clasp her in his arms, the phantom immediately vanished into air. From this story we may observe, that the ancients believed that the umbræ, or shades, retained nearly the same appearance after death as before; that they had so far the resemblance of a body as to be visible; that they could think and speak as formerly, but could not be touched. This description applies equally well to those shades which had passed the river Styx, and taken up their residence in the infernal regions. Such were the shades of Dido, of Delphobus, and all those which Æneas met with in his journey through the subterraneous world. It appears from the writings of modern travellers who have visited rude and savage nations, that the belief of spectres is no less common among them. Bruce tells us that the priest of the Nile affirmed, that he had more than once seen the spirit of the river in the form of an old man with a white beard. Among the Mahometans the doctrine of spectres seems to be reduced to a regular system by the accounts which they give of genii. Whoever has read the Arabian Nights Entertainments must have furnished his memory with a thousand instances of this kind. Their opinions concerning genii seem to be a corrupted mixture of the doctrines of the Jews and the ancient Persians. In Christian countries, too, notwithstanding the additional light which their religion has spread, and the great improvements in the sciences to which it has been subservient, the belief of ghosts and apparitions is very general, especially among the lower ranks. They believe that evil spirits sometimes make their appearance in order to terrify wicked men, especially those who have committed murder. They suppose that the spirits of dead men assume a corporeal appearance, hover about church yards, and the houses of the deceased, or haunt the places where murders have been committed. In some places it is even believed that beings have been seen bearing a perfect resemblance to men alive. So general has the belief of spectres been, that this circumstance alone may be thought by some sufficient to prove that it must have its foundation in human nature, or must rest upon rational evidence. When any doctrine has been universally received by all nations, by generations living several thousand |