I shall ne'er look about me at barn and at mow,

But confess they are filled by the drops from your brow;
Nor see, rich in plenty, the smiles of my land,
But own, next to God, they were raised by your hand;
And I ever would heal the fatigues of your horn,

At eve with a bumper of John Barleycorn.

Oh! the proud in their palace may revel in wealth,
But ours, merry men, are the riches of health;

And whilst pomp scarce can hide the frail form and pale cheek,
Our faces are glowing with Nature's own streak.
And the viands of foplings we ever must scorn,

When contrasted with those of hale John Barleycorn.

Then huzzah, brother farmers, we'll fill the cup yet,
'Tis a home-harvest trophy we dare not forget.
And as in the field we confess but one rule,
Here, here, altogether we'll pull a strong pull;
Huzza, fellow-labourers, we've housed the rich corn,
We'll now worship, we'll tipple, Sir John Barleycorn.

I flowed my delights-I overwhelmed the young squire, and the rest, with my gratitude, until I so insinuated myself into their good graces, that I really began to tremble lest the repeated and incessant drains upon my treasury, which in the shape of a portly barrel ornamented one corner of the kitchen, would not exhaust the ways and means of my four or five hours' empire. Reels, however, in which the performers soon become naturally, and spite of themselves, perfect, and other merry dances, acted as interludes between the comedy of enough and the farce of too much; and I ultimately retired, conqueror of all, to our landlord's parlour, and drank a gigantic rummer of excellent punch to the next merry meeting, fortified and strengthened in my assurances, that not even at so desperate yet so glorious an engagement as an home-harvest, can friend or foe defeat or deny the omnipotence and majesty of

JOHN BARLEYCORN.

THE TURNCOCK.

Most persons who perambulate the metropolis can bear testimony to the fidelity of the physiognomy, character, and costume of the New River Turncock, as delineated by George Cruikshank. The livery of his blue coat and shining hat, with N. R. painted on it, together with the implement of his profession, the turncock, carelessly thrown on his shoulder, renders him a very conspicuous public character: that he is an important one every person will acknowledge, for a cessation of his duties, for one day, puts a whole neighbourhood into an uproar, and sows the seeds of disaffection; for then complaints of an ill supply of water pour in upon the board of directors, coupled with louder outcries against the impurities of the stream. Whilst on this head, perhaps we cannot do better than avail ourselves of the opportunity of giving publicity to the following statement, abridged from the Report of the Commissioners appointed by parliament to investigate the quality and salubrity of the water, and published in the Companion to the Almanack. The commissioners were, Dr. Roget, M. Brande, and Mr. Telford.

QUALITY AND SALUBRITY OF THE WATER.

Assuming the supplies to be derived directly from the river, and to be subjected to no intermediate progress tending to purification, it is sufficiently obvious that the state of the weather will materially affect the purity of the water, which is sometimes comparatively pure and clear, and at others loaded with various matters in mechanical suspension, rendering it more or less coloured and turbid. In the latter state, when thrown into cisterns, &c., it is unfit for use; but being allowed to rest, it forms a certain quantity of deposit, and becomes sufficiently clear for ordinary purposes. This deposit is the source of several evils: it renders the cisterns foul, and runs off into those pipes which issue from, or near the bottom of the reservoirs. By the agitation which accompanies every fresh influx of water, this deposit is constantly stirred up, and becomes a renewed source of contamination to the whole mass; and although chiefly consistent of earthly substances in a state of minute division, it is apt also to con

tain such proportion of organic matters, as will occasion a degree of putrefaction when collected in any quantity, especially in warm weather. Of this deposit more or less is always collected, especially where the service is direct from the river; and although some of the companies have reservoirs of such magnitude as to enable them to serve water partially purified by deposition, still the water is frequently supplied in a turbid state. In other cases the companies' reservoirs, however eminently useful in cases of fire, become objectionable in regard to the purity of the water, since the mud accumulates in them, and also proportionately in the main and branch pipes.

The greater number of complaints respecting the quality of the water have originated in the cause just alluded to. Some of the companies have attempted to obviate the difficulty by suffering the water to remain at rest for a sufficient time to become clear before the public are supplied. In some instances they have so far succeeded as materially to improve their service. When, however, from land-floods, or other causes, the river is very thick, they cannot allow due time for such subsidence; and even when most perfectly performed, the insects contained in the water, so far from being got rid of, become perhaps even more numerous. This is another just cause of complaint regarding the water, especially in hot

seasons.

To obtain an effectual supply of clean water, free from insects and all suspended matters, the commissioners have taken into consideration various plans for filtering the River water through beds of sand and other materials: and find that it is possible to filter the whole supply at a limited expense, and with such rapidity as not to interfere with the regularity of

service.

Insects and suspended impurities only, are separated by filtration. Whatever substances may be employed in the construction of filtering-beds, the purity of the water, as dependant upon matters held in a state of solution, cannot be improved by any practicable modification of the process. If, therefore, the water taken from the parts of the river whence the companies draw their supplies is contaminated by substances dissolved, or chemically combined, the most perfect system of filtering can effect only a partial purification.