A person in this metropolis happened to have bow-shins. A part of his duties was, to teach ladies to draw and paint, and in the prosecution of this branch of his profession, he found his bow-shins, as he himself declared to me, a very great evil. He felt that his merits were less fairly appreciated, and his instructions less kindly received, by reason of the convexity of his shins; in short, that his bow-shins stood between him and his preferment. Under this impression, he went to a very noted person in this town, and shewing him his bone, said to him, " Pray, sir, do you think you can make my legs straight!" Sir," said the doctor, "I think

66

I can if you will take a lodging in my neighbourhood: I think I can scrape down your shins, and make them as straight as any man's.'

A lodging was taken, the father of the patient assisted in the operation, and all three of them, the father, the son, and the doctor, took a turn in scraping down the convex shins. A great deal of rasping was required; an incision of very considerable extent was made in the shin, the integument was turned aside, and an instrument which was at that time contained in the surgeon's case, called a rougee, was employed to scrape the shin-bone. When the doctor was tired of rasping, the father took a spell, and the patient-in his turn-relieved his father. At last the shell of the bone became so thin that the doctor said they must proceed no further with that leg. The other leg was then rasped in a similar manner, and thus large wounds were produced in both the shin-bones. The surfaces granulated very kindly, and very little exfoliation of the bones took place; but unluckily the granulations would form a bone, so that up jumped the bones of the shin again. The doctor, however, was resolved not to be defeated, and accordingly put a layer of arsenic over the whole surface. It was in consequence of the effects of this application that I saw the patient. The arsenic was absorbed into the system, and he became paralytic in his arms and lower extremities. A great number of exfoliations took place in his legs; and he shewed me a large box, in which the exfoliated portions of bones were contained. I recommended him to go into the country, and he went to Bath, where he stayed for some time, and got rid of his paralysis.

The case made a good deal of noise in town; and there were some surgeons who expressed a strong wish to prosecute the doctor. I recommended them, however, not to take any steps until I had seen the patient himself; and when he next came to me, I asked him whether he thought his legs improved, and whether he would again undergo the same operations, at a similar hazard of his life, to have his legs made a little straighter? He replied that he would, and under these circumstances I was of opinion, that as the young man was content, it was a folly to think of prosecuting the doctor. The patient, in this case, appeared to be as great a fool as the doctor of whom he consulted, and deserved to be punished for

his folly. I have no wish to injure individuals, and I shall not, therefore, mention the name of the operator.

Some time has elapsed since the case occurred, and the transaction is now almost buried in oblivion. One of the parties is since dead; not the person, however, who underwent the operation, for he still lives, and is proud of his improved legs.

A VISION,

BY THE AUTHOR OF "6 THE HARP OF INNISFAIL."

'Twas the first hour of eve, and sleep
Melted upon my soul, in deep

And dreamy quiet; calm and still
Played the wild breeze o'er vale and hill:
Purple and golden clouds on high,

Hung varied wreaths around the sky;
And fading on the sunset air,

Sank, in a roseate glory, there.

Sleep was upon me, and I seemed

To be in a land of blissful day,

Where, all the heart most bright has deemed,
Scattered about in lustre lay

The beautiful of earth and sea,

And all that best and rarest be.

The myrtle's scent and song's rich sound,
Wasted their wealth of pleasure round;

And bowers of every leafy kind

Were placed to woo the wanton wind:
And streams, that run in silver play,
Telling soft music as they went

With waters blue, which seemed to stray,

Like rills, from heaven's own fountains sent:

And girls, with eyes that languished down
Upon the heart they wished their own;
And smiles, to lure their giddy slave,
Who, to those smiles, his freedom gave.
All these around me, seemed to be
Flung to this earth to dazzle me.

Happy and bounding beat my heart,
Seeking to play it's own sweet part;
And a deep tide of passion came
Rushing and thrilling o'er my frame;
As though the mines of earth had given
All that could turn this earth to heaven.
Dreamy I lay, in flowers and joy,

Encurtain'd by Eve's heaven of roses,
Which garland the last gleam of sky,
That night's descending veil discloses ;
I felt as then the heart might prove
All the sweet fear and hope of love,
And in it's fond delirium lie,
Drinking existence from a gentle eye.
The dream passed on, and as I caught
It's hues upon my soul, methought
That Rosa stood beside me-bright,
My own heart's child of love and light!
With her voluptuous eyes and lips,
Shading the crowd in their eclipse.
Brightening my soul, as angels do
In converse with earth's sinless few,
Her dark full hair, in Nature's braid,
Exquisitely o'er her bosom strayed.
And the loose robe, carelessly flung
O'er her fine limbs, in beauty hung,
Swelling and falling in the air,
That wantoned with all graces there.
She stood beside me, and the days

Of our first hopes came gathering fast
Upon my brain, in a wild maze

Of wildering thoughts, too wild to last.
Again I pressed those lips, which oft
Had dwelt on mine, when warm and soft
They breathed love; when they had wasted
Their odours on no heart but mine,

Nor other lip had ever tasted

The draught, whose dregs were then divine : Again, all innocent and true,

She looked as young and playful too;

As when, at eve, we've wandered o'er
The green groves of our own lake's shore,
When, gazing on her, I would speak
All tales, that blushed her pretty cheek;
For though she loved to hear the tale,
She'd droop her head, look bright and pale,
Or beam a conscious glance, and then
Look fond, yet doubtingly again.
These images of pleasure came

O'er me, with their reflective flame ;-
Those dreams of boyhood, and the showers
Of hope; that sprinkled life with flowers,
When Rosa's cheek and Rosa's lyre,
Were all that youth and love desire!
It seemed to me, as even now
The glow of faith was on her brow;
And she was fond and beaming yet,
As when, in early years, we met.
But it is past; that dream is gone,
And I am still alone-alone.
Sleep took it's skyward course away,
And gave me to the world and day;
I waked unto the sun's fresh glare,
I waked, but Rosa was not there!
London.

THE GAMBLER'S COURTEZANS.

D. S. L.

The following narrative of an adventure in the house of a celebrated courtezan in Paris, known under the name of the Countess de Grasse, a Neapolitan by birth, may be relied on as facts. It may serve as another warning, to the many already on record, to those whose thoughtless and dissipated habits lead them into scenes of gaming and of vice that too often brings them not only to destruction but to death. The intended victim of the Countess thus narrates the diabolical affair.

I was returning home, one evening, after having passed it at a gaming house, where I had won 400 louis, which sum was paid me in gold. It was just midnight. The streets were silent;