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what they had received from the benevo- || self to the study of it with such assiduity,

lence of Nature. I was present at the opening of the chests, and witnessed the astonishment occasioned by what they contained. The governor knowing that the people in the north of that vast country used clothes, of which I was ignorant, determined to send the chests to Polaslos. If these people had been surprized at the sight of the articles, my astonishment was much greater to see them take possession of them. "Wherefore," said I to myself, "do they keep clothes, when they wear none?"I was just going to inscribe this nation in my tablets among the number of foolish people, but I resolved not to act with such precipitation, but to endeavour to learn what they meant to do with the goods. It will presently be seen what reason I had to congratulate myself on my prudence.

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After travelling without interruption for three months, we reached Polaslos. The report of our arrival was soon spread over the city, and as Nature has not forgotten to mingle curiosity among the ingredients || of which the Polaslians are composed, they thronged in crowds to see us as we passed.

To know what the chests contained, and to determine what was to be done with them, a meeting of ali the learned men of Polaslia was summoned. The assembly was to be held on the first day of the third month. In consequence of a singularity peculiar to that country, the men of science never met but on extraordinary

cases.

It was made known throughout the whole country of Polaslia, that all the learned, and even all those who were accustomed to reason upon a subject and to form conjectures, should meet in the capital for the following purposes:

1. To give an explanation of certain strange creatures, in the shape of Polaslians, who had been cast upon the

coast.

as to make a rapid progress.

The appointed day arrived; Polaslos was inundated by the multitude that assembled from every corner of the empire. There was not a village, not a hamlet, which had not furnished its sage, and when I beheld these crowds, I could not forbear thinking, surely the sciences must have reached their zenith in Polaslia!

The oldest sage presided over this brilliant assembly. An orator gave an account of our shipwreck. In a corner of the hall, which was of immense magnitude, and of which the eye could scarcely discern the farthest extremity, the packages were deposited, and we were placed in another part on an amphitheatre.

Those in whom the greatest confidence was reposed, or who possessed the highest reputation were chosen,

1. To examine us.

2. To discover what relation could exist between our persons, and the articles contained in the packages.

These two questions gave occasion to several subdivisions.

Are the strangers of the same nature as the Polaslians?

Have they ideas?

Are they capable of thinking?
Can they speak?

Are they susceptible of the same functions?

They were proceeding to the discussion of these important questions, when another was accidentally stated. Are they all of the same nation? said one of the commissioners. We were then examined separately.

Lord K-was the first. Full of spirits in prosperity, his courage forsook him in adversity, and like all the rest of his nation, he declared, that the only resource in misfortune, was to put an end to life. Sensible, however, that this resolution, when once executed, is irremediable, his Lord

2. To inspect some curious articles of ship wisely delayed to adopt the desperate an unknown form.

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measure. The philosophy of the English evaporates with the fumes of their punch, and the hiccup of their porter. Ever since our shipwreck, his Lordship had been dull and melancholy; his lips, from which, in France, issued the keenest satires on our countrymen, no longer smiled; his gait

was heavy and his face inclined towards the ground. He was directed to ascend into a kind of alcove, where, after an attentive examination, it was decided.

must be square, or round, or oblong, or sharp-pointed; lastly, that there was a class of men without heads. The dress-hat led them to draw the last inference. I en

1. That his Lordship was not of the deavoured, but to no purpose, to make same nation as the other stranger.

2. That it is doubtful whether he has ideas and is capable of thinking.

3. He appears absolutely dumb.

4. He seems to be habitually in the state of a person afflicted with indigestion.

and took care not to tell them that they were used not only by the same nation, but by the inhabitants of the same town.

them understand that this kind of hat was carried under the arm; they burst into a loud laugh; repeating, that people must be mad to carry under their arms what ought to cover their heads. They imagined that all those different kinds of My countrymen were treated more fa-hats belonged to as many different nations. vourably. Slow in judging, and proceed- || I suffered them to remain in their error, ing with prudent and methodical precaution, the sages of Polaslia agreed that it was probable we could think, that we had ideas, and that we were of a nature somewhat similar to their own. As to the gift of speech, they were not long in doubt on that subject. This opinion was favour-of the brains of Europeans; asserting, that able, but the impression it produced to our advantage was almost entirely effaced by the examination of the packages, and the conjectures to which this inspection gave

rise..

As I knew sufficient of the Polaslian language to act as interpreter, I was selected to fulfil that important duty. Selflove is a native of every country: it is found in every part of the globe, with shades and modifications, which produce the variety that exists in the manners and customs of different nations. The Polaslians entertain a high notion of themselves, and have a great regard for those who speak their language. When I addressed them in their native idiom, they shewed me very great respect.

They proceeded to open the packages. The first contained a quantity of mens' and womens' hats of every form and of every colour: hats a la Prussiene, a la Suwarcw, a l'Anglaise, &c. I was asked what those things were. I replied by two Polaslian words, which signify head-covers. Hence they sagely concluded, that these articles were destined in Europe to cover the head. They examined, with surprise, the variety of all our hats, their form, their depth, their size, their weight, their colour, and their brims. From these circumstances they formed conjectures concerning the shapes of European heads, and agreed that some must be enormously large, and others exceedingly small; while others again, No. I. Vol. I.

On seeing such great variety in the form of these hats, they descanted on the construction of the head, and in particular

according to appearances the men who use dress-hats must be totally destitute of brains; that the brain must be hollow in those that wear hats a l'Anglaise; and that those with Suwarow hats, can have nothing on their shoulders but that part of the head called the cranium.

This was sufficient to convince me in what errors the method of analogy may sometimes lead us.

I shall not repeat the conjectures made on the women's hats; while they approved of the form of the straw hats with edges, they could not possibly conceive that the same person could wear a hat in the form of a cap, and without any edges; and afterwards a hat made of velvet, of stuff, or of silk. Still less could they imagine the use of bows of ribbons, of feathers, &c.

"If there be any relation," said the sage Polaslians, " between all these head-covers and the heads that wear them, there must exist an inconceivable variety in the figure and the construction of all those heads; and if no such relation exist, those countries must be inhabited by mad people." The sage Polaslians could form no conception of any other alternative.

The same variety that they had just discovered in the heads of Europeans, was found, from an examination of their shoes, to exist among their feet. Some of their shoes were round, others square, and others pointed: they concluded that the Europeans must skip along, instead of walking,

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that is, if they were capable of using their feet at all. The shoes that ended in a long peak, led them to suppose, that some of the natives of Europe had tails at the ends of their feet; and in confirmation of this opinion, the most celebrated naturalist of Polaslia transmitted to the museum of the city a pair of those shoes.

The general conclusion from all this was, that the Europeans form a class of

men of a very strange figure. A thick volume soon appeared describing this species of animal, with all his varieties; and another on the tails that grew at the ends of the feet. The last-mentioned work produced a wonderful sensation; and to pacify the ladies of Polaslia, a public notice appeared, stating that among the strangers who had recently arrived, there was not a single foot with a tail.

ORIGIN OF TWELFTH CAKES.

MR. EDITOR,

As I am convinced that the object of your Work is to admit Miscellanies of every class, which relate to the Fashions and Amusements of the Age, and not to reject them though they may appear at first somewhat too abstruse for female investigation, I am induced tø send you the following Inquiry into the origin of Twelfth Cakes.

AMONG the modern nations of Europe, he punctually obeyed the laws of the there are customs, the origin of which table." is lost in the obscurity of remote ages, and which seem to have survived the revolutions of states, the reforms of religion, and the changes of laws and of manners. Such is the custom of the twelfth cake, or, as it is called in France, the cake of kings; a custom constantly kept up in that country, even at a time when its inhabitants could not tolerate it without endangering their lives. At a period when the name of king was not permitted to mingle with the most innocent games, solitary families met, to divide in silence the cake of kings.

The poets and historians of antiquity have given us some curious details concerning this custom; and it is at present matter of astonishment, that, during such a long period, in such different climates, with such opposite manners and religions, men have observed this kind of general approximation.

This profound respect for the kings of the table, was manifested by all the exterior signs which denote the most absolute authority on the one hand, and the most perfect dependence on the other. It even appears that the honours paid to this transient dignity, but which was held under a circumstance considered by the ancients as one of the most important in life, excited a considerable degree of pride in the minds of those who received them. How necessary it was to inculcate the sentiments of modesty on those occasions, is apparent from the advice given to such persons among the Hebrews.

"If thou be made the master of a feast," says Ecclesiasticus, lift not thyself up, but be among them as one of the rest, take diligent care for them, and so sit down. And when thou hast done all thy office, take thy place, that thou mayest be merry with them, and receive a crown for thy well ordering of the feast." Tertullian, indeed, in his treatise, De Corona, censures this custom; but the very asperity of Tertullian is a demonstration of the universal respect paid in his time to this ancient institution.

"At the Saturnalia," says the philosopher Arrian," the king elected by lot, exercises his authority, commanding one to drink, another to pour out wine; ordering this man to go, and that to come." Tacitus observes, that Nero never missed these feasts, and that he was always extremely anxious to be the king of the festival. The kings of the festival were not always "Verres," says Cicero, "had trampled elected by lot. One of the passages quoted upon the laws of the Roman people, but || above, pre-supposes a free and rational

election. Plautus, in one of his comedies, || himself, unless he had been from the be

introduces persons who appoint a king or
a queen over them, and one of the num-
ber addresses these words to a young and
beautiful woman:-"I give this crown of
flowers to her who is in the flower of her
age; you shall be our sovereign." It would,
however, appear, that the most usual me-
thod was to have recourse to the lot in
the disposal of this kind of sovereignty.
It is well known, that at a repast at which
Agesilaus presided, he issued an order, the
equity of which was highly admired by all ||
the friends of the table. He directed that
if there were plenty of wine, each should
have as much as he should chuse to drink;
but if the quantity was small, one was not
to receive more than another; and when
that great man gave this decision, so
gravely recorded by Plutarch, he had been
just elected the king by lot.

were

Anacreon supposes that billets, such as we make use of at present, employed. "Slaves," says he, "bring the billets that I may mix them, and that we may have a king of the festival." Horace gives us to understand, that this innocent crown was conferred by the dice. "When thou shall be in the gloomy mansion of Pluto, says he to his friend Sertus, the dice will no more give thee the sovereignty at the festival." Pollur the rhetorician, and several other men of learning, conceived that these dice were not like ours, but had figures and emblems engraved upon them. These were in general a dog and a Venus, or, according to the statement of Plautus, a vulture and a basilisk. The vulture and the dog excluded the candidate; he who had the basilisk or the Venus, again tried his fortune with those who had been as lucky as

ginning the only one whom the lot had thus favoured. When children elected a king, in their sports, they made use of beans; and in various republics, beans were likewise employed at the election of magistrates. Hence that precept of Pythagoras; A fabis abstine. Abstain from beans; that is, abstain from intermeddling in the affairs of the government. It is well known that the followers of this philosopher shunned public employment, and courted silence and retirement.

When the king was elected, on assuming his dignity he commonly made a speech, of which some of the ancient writers have preserved the following passages: "Let us drink, my friends; let us drain the flowing goblet; let us intoxicate ourselves with this delicious liquor, with this beverage of the gods! O Bacchus! thou who art accompanied by the sports and by the smiles, be present in our circle with a crown upon thy head, and an ample bow! in thy hand: warm our spirits. Haste, ye slaves! give me three cups, then nine, then three times nine; and then give them untold I will resign myself to a delightful madness. Hercules, agitated by the fu ries, broke the bow and the ponderous quiver of Iphitus; Ajax, a prey to rage, struck his buckler with the sword of Hector; but I, with cup in hand, my hair crowned with flowers, without bow and without sword, I will resign myself to a pleasing delirium: I would rather lose my reason than my life."

These amusements were seasoned with wit, mirth, and good humour; it cannot therefore be unprofitable to recall them to our recollection.

FATHER AND SON:

AN EASTERN MORAL.

ABDALLAH, born in the extreme of po- || tion in which they resided. After the faverty, scarcely, by the most assiduous labour, could earn sufficient for his own, and aged father's subsistence. This did not prevent him from marrying the young and lovely Ismena. To her he confided the care of his parent, and the humble habita

tigues of the day he returned with the set-
ting sun to his cot, and spending a happy
evening in the bosom of his family, divid-
ed with them the produce of his toils.
Ismena, presented him with a son.
In the
midst of the joy occasioned by his birth,

Abdallah reflected on the poverty to which || he was too feeble to walk. Abdallah took him on his shoulders, and proceeded towards the hospital. The road being long and broken he was obliged to rest, and, having deposited his burthen in the corner of a street, he sat down to take breath.

this infant was heir. He had hitherto never known what it was to be discontented; nor even then would he have murmured against his fortune, but that he wished his child a happier lot. He perceived it was necessary to accquire some portion of independence, but with his small earnings how could independence be purchased?

From the very moment he departed from the house, the old man groaned most piteously, and shed abundance of tears. Suddenly he ceased, and appeared, during some moments, lost in the most profound meditation. In a short time he leaned towards his son, and embracing him, said, “ I pardon thee, my son, I have merited this treatment. I receive it as a chastisement from heaven. The Almighty Prophet sees into our hearts, and our most secret

Whilst he was employed with these ideas, his mind reverted to his father, enfeebled by age, and rendered incapable of contributing to his own support? for the first time, he regarded him as an incumbrance, and conceived that he alone prevented him from acquiring riches. Ile, now, only saw in him an infirm and troublesome old man, continually complaining, and exact-movements are known to him. He keeps ing the most tiresome attentions. He no longer remembered that he had a right to exact them.

The munificence and humanity of the Sultans of the East had founded public asylums for indigent old age. The riches of these hospitable buildings were converted to every other purpose but the relief of the poor. Avarice had applied to its own use the treasures destined for the support of the charity. The unfortunate beings who were obliged to seek refuge in these abodes of misery, entered them trembling, and fearful of meeting treatment which would abridge their melancholy days.

an exact register of all our actions, and, in tinte, either recompences or punishes them. It is now forty-five years, my child, since I conducted your grandfather into this VERY asylum to which you are now conveying me. I have been ungrateful, you have become so, and perhaps your son will be the same. We have both learned, and propagated the same lesson, and the effects of it will be visited upon us by the retributive justice of heaven in the inhumanity of our children. What I have been to my father, thou hast been to thine, and so will thy son be to thee. Heaven is just, let us not murmur at his will."

Abdallah, who had never seen these re- Abdallah heard him with astonishment, treats without shuddering, now recollected a ray of light flashed across his soul; he that they were open to his father. Eager made no reply, but placing the old man to be discharged from the expence and on his back, returned with him to his trouble, and vexed at some of the caprices house. The project he had formed filled which generally accompany age and in-him with horror, and he testified his refirmities, he announced to him that they pentance ever after by redoubled care and must separate.

The old man sighed without replying,

tenderness.

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