all its characters, with the description given above. The whole appearance, and especially the condition of the teeth, bespoke that it was a young animal. Consequently, the yellow colour of the throat, in this instance, could not have been, -as the advocates for the identity of the two species confidently assert that it is, the effect of advancedage. Still, it must be acknowledged, the distinctive characters of these two of the most interesting of British digitigrade animals, are, by no means, at present clearly or satisfactorily established. I feel great anxiety to acquire some more correct and precise information than we hitherto possess, on this subject. Birmingham, December, 1834. I have omitted to cite, among other valuable works for reference on the present subject, the first volume of Dr. Turton's General System of Nature. The following is a nearly literary translation from the second volume (page 340) of the Elémens des Sciences Naturelles, by Duméril,-a publication very little known in this country, but containing much information, of great utility to the student in Natural History: "Species of the Mustela genus are found on both continents. They subsist principally upon eggs, and the blood and brains of small animals strangled by them. They are divided into three sub-genera: the Otters (les Loutres) which have the posterior toes palmated; the legs short; the tail broad at the base; the muzzle rounded; and the head flat. They swim and dive with great facility; feed upon fishes; and their fur is very valuable. The Weasels (les Belettes) have separate toes; short claws; the body and neck elongated; and back arched. There are many species of this genus, as the common weasel, ferret, pole-cat, marten, pine-marten, sable, and stoat. The skins of the (three) latter are principally in request. The Skunks (les Mouffettes) have long claws; the body much broader posteriorly than anteriorly; the tail very hairy. They give out a most unplesant odour. They inhabit America." SONNET ON THE NORTH HILL, MALVERN. LET him a murmurer at this "world of woe," And let him now, but for an instant, gaze, On that fair scene that greets his dazzled eye; The gorgeous picture that the sky displays, As clouds float o'er clouds in heaven's bright arch of blue- F. H. W. BRAP ASSOCIATION QUIZZING. In the present very refined state of society, many accomplishments are sedulously practised, about which our great-grandmammas-good souls! -never dreamt in their afternoon nap; and which (could they but hear of them) would, I verily believe, cause them to lift up their hands and eyes in mute and marvellous astonishment. Among these novel acquirements-these offspring of the nineteenth century-quizzing stands paramount, a gem of the first water, a star of the first magnitude. It is, indeed, as necessary to the exclusive as a moustache to a cavalry officer, or a billet-doux to the belle of the boarding-school, and as such must be considered "part and parcel" of the legitimate accomplishments of one fitted to go forth into the paths of the beau-monde and mingle with those illustrious individuals who shine, planet-like, in the brilliant hemisphere of ton. To be incapable of quizzing-to be either too diffident or obtuse, too compassionate or abstracted to seize certain points of the ridiculous in the mien, manner, garb, or garniture of your friends or intimate, the modest stranger seen for the first time, or the shrinking novice trembling under the agonies of a debût, argues a want of spirit, tact, and discrimination sufficient to sink you into utter insignificance, and consign you, for the term of your natural life, to the supercilious pity of your associates as "a very well-meaning sort of personage-somewhat maudlin, and indeed destitute of esprit." To avoid this disastrous conclusion, to escape the shrugs and sneers and commiserating looks of your friends, it is necessary to cultivate the talent of ridicule, in fact to become, by due training, a quizzer-a free, genuine, downright quizzer-and that your studies may be, in some measure, facilitated by the suggestions of experience, I venture to throw together a few desultory hints, to which you can, occasionally, refer for assistance in your career. My brief reflections are principally intended for the benefit of country gentlemen, and Tyros from Oxford, emulous of becoming skilful and dexterous quizzers, but I must avow that I would fain comprehend among my pupils, the young and beautiful of the fairer and better part of creation, those bright and sylphid creatures who, catching the reflection of their loveliness in the mirror, turn, half-blushing, from the bewitching vision, and feel, for the first time, the desire of conquest. It is true-too true, that I am a bachelor-and I confess, with a sigh, an elderly one-but Time has not yet frozen my heart, although the inexorable despot has, long since, forced upon me the assumption of wig, spectacles, and gouty pantouffles. I can, still, gaze with emotion upon a brilliant eye, lucid with tenderness, or gemmed with the pearls of compassion; still view with delight a cheek suffused with a bright damask blush, and welcome a lip vivid as the ruby, illumined with the exquisite spells of a smile. "Who can curiously behold The smoothness and the sheen of beauty's cheek, - Childe Harold; Canto III. Since, then, I am neither so juvenile as to incur the risk of being set down as a presumptuous greenhorn, nor so aged as to be Burked as a crabbed, crusty, old cross-sticks, whose costume and opinions are as venerable as the hills, I may enter upon my voluntary duty with an anxious and encouraging expectation that my advice will be hearkened to with deference, if not with eagerness. To become a superlative quizzer requires the unceasing exercise of your faculty of observation, of your memory, your imagination, and judgment; the first is as necessary as a telescope to an Admiral, or turtle and venison to a Lord Mayor's festival; the second will be wanted to assist you in recognising your victims; the third in inventing new weapons and modes of attack, and the fourth in arranging your battery and carrying on the war. Presuming that you have been at the University (I address myself, here, to the ruder half of mankind), it is natural for me to infer that you have succeeded in divesting yourself of that awkward and positively rustic attribute, entitled modesty; that you seldom look down but to admire your extremities, and that you never change colour but with the juice of the grape, or the influence of a midsummer sun. I, furthermore, take it for granted that you have acquired a certain position in the circles of fashion, a station preparatory to one still more enviably distinguished, the ascent to which will be wonderfully aided by a successful practice of the very act upon which I am about to deliver some hints. Well-you thirst and hunger to be considered a quizzer, an unflinching, inveterate, and immoveable quizzer-one who shall throw a whole dinner-party into a fever, and fill with alarms indescribable the ball-room or card-table; bend an ear then and listen, for as Nature, lavish though she be, has not given unto all an intuitive perception of what is fit and becoming in the character, the whisperings of experience cannot be thrown away. In the first place devote yourself duly and unremittingly to the practice of staring : commence by degrees, lengthening the duration of the stare until from the furtive and momentary glance, it swells into the calm, cold, open-eyed, and deliberate gaze of some five minutes by your repeater. You may exercise before the glass, or with a brother student: the latter mode is to be preferred, as the advantage is reciprocal, and you become mutually hardened. All agitation of the eye-brow, lid, or lash, and all tendency to aqueous effusion will, in time, utterly subside; but, of course, until you can, despotically, command the organ of sight, perfection is not attained. If you possess eyes large, dark and lustrous, black or hazel, you are, very certainly, felicitous in the admirable opportunity for display afforded by your quizzing operations; and these eyes, be it known, are wondrously adapted to excel in the profession. The one-minute stare of a deep hazel eye is an absolute dead-shot, and effects on the spot, all that the piercing grey or blue orb, though keen as the falcon's, can accomplish in five times the period. Still much may be indeed is wrought by a well-sustained stare from a small, round, light, or twinkling eye, and, with due discipline, the ferret's-eye, owl's-eye, cat's-eye, and mouse-eye may be rendered killingly impressive. Blue eyes-those which the song-makers designate as "celestial" or "sapphire" blue, are, however, difficult of management; and it is a question whether or not it is possible to dispense with a quizzing-glass of the most approved fashion and brilliant design. Having accomplished yourself in the first step, and found staring "made easy," you may proceed to the next, and after trying the effect of a laugh of sardonic character, run through a scale of sneers from the slight and almost imperceptible, to the marked, withering, and contemptuous curve, which speaks more potently than words. A fåde smile is, also, an invaluable auxiliary, and has been known to abash modest worth and artless loveliness as triumphantly as the most imperious stratagem. A loud voice will, invariably, have the effect of disconcerting the timid, but it appertains to the less refined style of quizzing, and with the practice of "hoaxing," may be made over to the junior ornaments of his Majesty's army and navy, the younger members of the two Universities, and the upper forms of Eton and Westminster. To you I should recommend the sneer that accompanies the audible whisper, for this, like the basilisk, is never without its sting, and is certain to kill. In fact nothing can be more fatal aimed at a diffident, quiet, and unobtrusive book-worm from College, and when coupled with a supercilious survey of his whole, from head to foot, it may be esteemed as infallibly destructive as the aqua-tofana. I can scarcely tarnish your pretensions with the suspicion that you would exhibit yourself at a country ball, unless under some powerful inducement, yet could your "exclusiveness" so far unbend as to permit your appearance on this scene, you would be, amply, compensated for your condescension. Imagine the company! imagine the innumerable shades and grades of form, face, feature, look, tone, gesture, garb, and ornament! and figure to yourself, if possible, any more fertile theatre of amusement. Allow me to think it possible that your political interests magnetically draw you into the vortex-you tremble with apprehension, and turn pale at the thought of vulgar contagion; courage! mon ami! a brilliant dawn is before you, and you may dwell for a day and a half on the glories of the hour! Act as follows:Select the prettiest girl in the room, if one of the youngest tant mieux ! but beware of the reigning belles-eschew them! they are dangerous, and would fling back your dart. Having effected an introduction to your victim, station yourself behind her during the quadrille in which she dances, whisper the most bewitching compliments, and in florid piments, terms express your admiration till her cheek deepens to the damask rose; when she ceases dancing, offer your arm for a promenade, which must be continued till another quadrille is on the point of being commenced; at this juncture, gradually draw her into the centre of the room, still besieging her with "honeyed words," and now your victory is near! at the very instant when your fair companion, innocent of your design, expects you to conduct her to the set new-forming, extricate your arm, make a slight bow, accompanied with the words, "I see my party is just entering the room:" and retire, leaving the deserted fair covered with confusion, and gloriously exposed to the flying artillery of her before envying companions. This is gallant adventure, but the crowning of your triumph has not yet arrived: hasten then, take a brother of the shrug-and-sneer, lounge, carelessly, by the disappointed girl, drawling out, languidly, "rather pretty than not;-no style-un peu gaucheune coiffure à faire horreur!" and dispute with your aid-de-camp whether the floral ornaments in her hair are intended to represent "peonies, poppies, or roses." By this stroke you will, to a certainty, achieve the misery of the lady, and wrest from her expectant hopes the not-often-tasted gratification of the evening. Voila! the glory of quizzing is complete! a And now most gentle belles! ye flowers in the garden of beauty! ye gems in the circle of life! a silver-haired bachelor, assuming the privilege of years, ventures to address this portion of his paper to your consideration and bright eyes. I must repeat that my suggestions are designed entirely for the "exclusives," and that I must, positively, prohibit all gathering into corners, all tittering or loud laughing (that absolute death to good breeding), and all petits cries aigues-one and all these must be looked upon as the express artillery of the school-girl and hoyden. To you, fair exclusives! I can permit no more actual demonstration of merriment than a tempered laugh or a sweet smile: transient, indeed, must be the expression of contempt that curls your upper lipvanishing almost in the instant-and but just sufficient to communicate your sentiments to your companion, whom we will suppose to be the accomplished quizzer into which the preceding instructions have aided to raise him. Staring" with you, fair girl, is out of the question-a thing not to be dreamt of, but a slight glance of astonishment or surprise will, with you, prove a brilliant assistance. I need scarcely forewarn you not to derange the exquisite repose of your features by any indication of feeling; leave this to the vulgar, with whom nature is ever paramount to art; let me presume you, languidly, leaning on the arm of your friend, and promenading the aforesaid ball-room in search of the grotesque: yourself and companion can interchange remarks on the crowd around you, and may consider all your legitimate game-all fit marks for the keen shafts of your quiver. Worth, talents, learning, goodness, beauty, and modesty-what are they?-mere smoke and vapour! let the oldfashioned and ridiculous-the dreamers of the days that are gone-let these view them as shields of defence from the arrows of quizzing-you spare them not. If the coat be not "built" by Stultz or Nugée; the millinery by Victorine, and the bijoutrie furnished by Howell and James -if the proprietors smile out of place or of form, er become guilty of any heresy in ton, spare them not! they are yours, and may be dispatched "without benefit of clergy." In an open country at noon-day, it is strange if a traveller loses his path, but in the tangled woods by midnight a guide and a torch are absolute blessings; so here let me whisper how to poise the weapon when the prey is slippery or dangerous. The minister is thrown out, or the member is dead, an election for the county approaches-all is expectation and tumult, and promises and patriotism become as drugs in the market; the gentlemen of your family are suddenly transformed into the most condescending, free, jovial, gallant, rattle-pated cavaliers imaginable, with a warm shake of the hand for the "brave," and a merry glance and sly kiss for the "fair;" while the ladies go forth robed in smiles and loveliness, and all courtesy, sweetness, and melting tenderness, ask after the health of old cobblers, and caress dirty-faced babes with extraordinary rapture. A ball is projected to open the hearts of the voters, and you are obliged to lay aside the mantle of dignity, and dance with the son of some large landed-proprietor; the temptation to quiz is irresistible: but few persons are so utterly obtuse as not to discover when they are ridiculed to conciliate the voter is a point with your party, but your amusement must be enjoyed. "How?" you inquire; nothing more easy! listen to his stories of horses and dogs, of hunting and shooting, with winning suavity and apparent interest, and having "fool'd him up to his bent," your diversion is secure; the few smiles you have bestowed have raised him to the pinnacle of self-complacency, his cheeks blush with pride, he stands on tip-toe, and his exertions in the dance become more daringly conspicuous, till at the finale, leading you to a seat he gives you a fox-hunter's "squeeze of the hand," and vows that "your Ladyship is a very nice girl." His attentions doom you to martyrdom, but take courage! faint not! the election ensues, he votes for your father or brother, and receives his congée, falling at once from the sublime heights of ambition and love, February. Vol. II. NO. VII. E |