though no more than Othello would I have any thing extenuated, or ought set down in malice; yet, like Dick, in The Miller of Mansfield, I shall certainly speak truth, and if that happens to be satire, I cannot help it.

BEAR HUNTING IN FINLAND.

THE favourite weapon of the Finlander, in hunting the bear, is an iron lance fixed at the end of a pole. At about the distance of a foot from the point of the lance is fixed a cross-bar, which prevents the instrument from penetrating too far into the body of the bear, or passing through both sides. When the Finlander has discovered where the bear has taken up his winter quarters, he goes to the place and makes a noise at the entrance of his den, by which he endeavours to irritate and provoke him to quit his strong hold. The bear hesitates and seems unwilling to come out; but continuing to be molested by the hunter, and perhaps by the barking of his dog, he at length gets up and rushes in fury from his cavern. The moment he sees the peasant, he rears himself upon his two hind legs ready to tear him to pieces. The Finlander instantly puts himself in the attitude of defence; that is to say, he brings back the iron lance close to his breast, concealing from the bear the length of the pole, in order that he

may not have time to be upon his guard, and consequently to parry with his paws the mortal blow which the hunter means to aim at his vitals. The Finlander then advances boldly towards the bear, nor does he strike the blow till they are so near each other, that the animal stretches out his paws to tear his antagonist limb from limb. At that instant the peasant pierces his heart with the lance, which, but for the cross-bar, would come out at the shoulder; nor could he otherwise prevent the bear from falling upon him, an accident which might be highly dangerous. By means of the crossbar the animal is kept upright, and ultimately thrown upon his back; but what may seem to some very extraordinary, is, the bear, feeling himself wounded, instead of attempting with his paws to pull out the lance, holds it fast, and presses it more deeply into the wound. When the bear, after rolling upon the snow, ceases from the last struggles of death, the Finlander lays hold of him, and calls for the assistance of his friends, who drag the carcase to his hut and this triumph terminates in a sort of festival where the poet assists, and sings the exploits of the hunter.

PICTURESQUE VIEW OF LONDON.

;

SMOKE, SO great an enemy to all prospects, is the everlasting companion of this great city;

yet it is the smoke of London, emblematick of of its magnificence.

At times when the wind changing from the west to the east, rolls the vast volumes of sulphur towards each other, columns ascend to a great height, in some parts bearing a blue tinge, in others a flame colour, and in a third, accumulated and dense, they darken portions of the city, till the back rooms require candles. A resident in London cannot form an idea of the grand and gloomy scene-it must be viewed

from the environs."

In the spring, before fires are discontinued, during a calm day, Vesuvius itself can scarcely exceed this display of smoke. It is pleasing to observe the black streams which issue from the different manufactories; sometimes darting upwards, while every trifling current gives graceful undulation; at others rolling with low movements, blending with the common air; when the dreary season of November arrives, and the atmosphere is dark and damp, a change in the wind produces an effect dismal and depressing. The smoke sometimes mixes with the clouds, and then they assume an electrick appearance. When the sun breaks through this veil during the summer, its beams have a wonderful effect on the trees and grass; the green is brightened inconceivably beautiful

London is not without attraction on a dark evening; chiefly so in winter, when a strong wind prevails. It is then that the innumerable

lights in the shops and streets send their rays towards heaven; but meeting with the smoke, depressed by a wet air, they are reflected and multiplied, making an arch of splendour, against which the houses and steeples appear in strong outlines. I have found the reflection so powerful as to dazzle my sight, and make the path dark and dangerous. A general illumination occasions great brilliancy.

Let us now view our subject from the surrounding country; and this should be done on a summer morning, before the industrious inhabitants begin their labours. The most perfect and delightful prospect is from HamsteadHeath, when the wind blows strong from the east Then it is that the clear bright field of ground, broken into a thousand grotesque shapes, gives lustre to the projecting front of Highgate, topped with verdure, and serving as a first distance, from which in gradual undulation the fields retire, till lost in a blue horizon. Hence, spread before you, are numberless objects to please the most difficult. The suburbs, like advanced guards, meet the eye in all direc tions, contracting their fawn-coloured sides with the neighbouring trees. Beyond them reposes in full majesty the main body, with its mighty queen, whose lofty cupola overlooks her phaJanx of children, crowned with spires of various sizes and beauty, protected on the south by a chain of hills.

Much of the external splendour of London I conceive must have been lost on the suppres

sion of religious houses. Numerous towers and spires were destroyed, and those of the most venerable character. Several attempts to preserve St. John's, Clerkenwell, and St. Augus tine's, were without success.

LAUGHABLE ANECDOTES

OF IGNORANCE AND CREDULITY.

THE late empress of Russia, the patroness of real learning and of arts, having been informed that there were many incompetent French Tutors in her dominions, nothing unusual in other countries perhaps, issued an order, that all masters of the French language and tutors in pri vate families, should present themselves before a commission, which she named for the of examination.

purpose

Among the thousands of ignoramuses that appeared before this tribunal, there were two who astonished the commissioners by their gross stupidity. One of those able preceptors being examined on the modes of the French verbs, answered with much sang froid," that, as he left Paris fifteen years ago, he could say nothing a bout the actual modes, which were changing every day."

The other was not only ignorant, but an im postor. He was a native of Livonia, had nev