be too local for a general reader to understand. However, we shall be glad to hear oftener from our correspondent, convinced that he has only to point out such abuses in order to remedy them.

STANZAS.

Quam dulcis vitæ exsortem

Abstulit atra dies et funere mersit acerbo.

ED. KAL.

Virg. Æn. vi.

I am not old, yet I have lived

An age in my few years;

With grief and joy by turns have strived,

Have smiled while shedding tears;

Yet this hath all been secretly,

And few that know me wot that I
Have felt Love's anxious fears,

Or groan'd beneath Despair's sad yoke,
Or wept because I never spoke.

Yet in my solitary heart,

Upon itself thrown back,

I've felt each deep and deadly smart,
Go nigh it's strings to crack.

Ah! once I had a Comforter-
But she is gone-depriv'd of her
My energies grow slack:

I thought, indeed—but she has gone,
And left me in the world-alone.

She guided first my feet to walk,
And trembling body stay'd,
And smiled to hear my infant talk,
And cheer me when afraid;

Who form'd my mind, but who, just when I felt the most her value, then

Was hence by death convey'd, And left me in the world depriv'd Of that for which I solely liv'd.

And I was young, was very young,
Yet I could feel her loss;
I felt my little heart unstrung:
No argument could gloss
Over my sorrow for her death:
It seem'd that her last parting breath,
Had changed all earth to dross;

So long was I, or ere again

My soul shook off the gloomy pain.

My mother! it may have been best,
That thou didst perish then,
T' enjoy a calm, unbroken rest,
Unmov'd by care again;

Yet if thy parents' death cost thine,

Think on the grief that then was mine,

When first a guardian's pen

Traced out the gloomy character

Which told my grieving heart-you were.

Now thither oft I fly in thought,

And live it o'er again,

And feel my heart with sorrow fraught,
And heave with grief as then.
And this is all my pleasure now,
Before thy fancied shade to bow,

With joy and mingled pain;

While such-like fancies ease afford,
Like healing balm in ulcers poured.

S.

ETON SOCIETY DEBATERS.

MR. EDITOR,

Happening to take up my residence during a short time near Eton College, I once availed myself of an opportunity of being taken up, as a stranger, into that notable focus of the literary powers of Eton, the venerable society. I was acquainted with one of the members, who, being duly qualified, was enabled to usher me in, at four o'clock on Saturday, to the dark little debating room. Here I took my seat on one of the chairs allotted to the visitors, together with sundry other young Etonians, come for the purpose of being electrified with their school-fellows' eloquence. As yet there was great confusion in "the house;" some members eating ices, others squabbling to get at the marking paper, others sitting in the corner examining their note books. But at length the president ascended his lofty arm chair, and sung out in a most speaker-like manner, "Order, order!" upon which the hubbub was speedily appeased; ices were swallowed with most indecorous haste, and the benches were filled with "Hon. members." Absence was then called, and defaulters noted down by the vice-president, who sits under his superior much after the manner of a parson and his clerk. The subjects

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also for the present, and the two following Saturdays were proclaimed, after which an awful silence ensued, amidst which the opener of the discussion arose, and advancing to the table, grasped the ballot-box with great firmness, which is, indeed, an indispensable article to the orators in this assembly. I did not hear the names of any of the speakers, but perhaps they may be known by description to some of your readers. The opener was a somewhat short and dumpy personage, whose most conspicuous feature was his high and bald forehead. His manner of speaking was remarkable: there was much mouthing, and undue vehemence; together with great restlessness, and agitation of the legs in particular: but upon the whole, both the substance and delivery of the speech were excellent; and he was received with great cheering by the members. I have forgotten now what was the subject of debate; it excited great interest in the house. The next that followed was no taller than the former one, but distinguished by the ornament of a pair of spectacles on his nose, and a head of somewhat unusual size, on a body rather below the usual stature. He walked up to the ballot-box with a peculiar spring step, and was welcomed with considerable applause. His manner was different from that of his rival, there was much less mouthing, and a more subdued voice and tone; his body was in a state of perpetual vibration, like a pendulum, backwards and forwards: he laid hold of the arguments of his opponent one by one, and dissected them with great acuteness, while you might see his adversary noting down both his objections and the answers to them in his paper, as fast as they were uttered. These two, then, seemed to be the opposite leaders; and after they had both finished, on came the lesser warriors of each side. First there arose a member who excited great expectations in me from the eagerness with which he was received. Methought that something

must be forthcoming either worth hearing or worth laughing at; and truly the latter was the case. He seemed, indeed, to be a valuable member, because of the fund of entertainment afforded by his orations; and on this occasion the amusement was increased in the following manner:-he boldly began his speech extempore, and proceeded very smoothly for two or three sentences, but after that he unfortunately was seized with a fit of obliviousness, and after a few ineffectual attempts at recovering his memory, retired from his station amid roars of laughter. The merriment, however, was re-doubled, by his almost immediately returning, furnished with a manuscript, containing the whole of the speech written out quite legibly! From this, then, he delivered his oration very glibly; and it contributed not a little both to the amusement, and even edification of the audience. The most successful joke, was this; having reason to speak of Queen Elizabeth, he bestowed on her the appellation, of which the truth is, perhaps, very questionable, of " Virgin Elizabeth;" which was received with very loud laughter and cheering. The speaker that followed was still more unfortunate; for, having taken his position, and actually said "Mr. President," he could get no farther, but remained bowing repeatedly to the chair, amidst the cheers of the house; till at length, with a bow lower than any other, he begged "to be allowed to collect his ideas" for a short time, and sitting down, refreshed his memory from his note-book. Truly, thought I to myself, a most unparliamentary exhibition. Others there were who followed, who showed great fear and nervousness in their delivery: one, for instance, gabbled his at such a rate, that very little of his speech was audible to the house. But I must not omit to notice more particularly one speaker who seemed to have reserved himself for the last, under the consciousness of being somewhat superior to the ignobile vulgus