pecuniary trifle to pay from twenty to thirty quaint and humorous fancies, for they were all per cent on your whole expenditure for being associated with memories of illness and anxiety. an Englishman-and you cannot avoid it; Although Hood's Comic Annual,' as he himbut it is still more vexatious to the spirit self used to remark with pleasure was in every and offensive to the mind to be everlastingly house seized upon, and almost worn out by the engaged in such a petty warfare for the de- frequent handling of little fingers, his own children did not enjoy it till the lapse of many years fence of your pocket, and equally revolting had mercifully softened down some of the sad to the soul to be unable to repose confidence recollections connected with it. The only article on the word or honesty of any human being that I can remember we ever really thoroughly around you." The only fruit of his visit to enjoyed, was Mrs. Gardiner, a Horticultural Germany which might not as well have been Romance,' and even this was composed in bed. matured in England, was his Up the Rhine, But the illness he was then suffering from was the sale of which was spoiled by the dishon- only rheumatic fever, and not one of his dangeresty of his agent. The book is now entirely ous attacks, and he was unusually cheerful. He out of print; why is it suffered to remain so? sat up in bed, dictating it to my mother, interTurning his back with delight on Cob-rupted by our bursts of irrepressible laughter, as lentz, Hood went in June, 1837 to Ostend, a while laughing and relishing it as much as we joke after joke came from his lips, he all the place which was very much to his liking did. But this was a rare-indeed almost soliuntil he found himself the victim of its ma-tary-instance; for he could not usually write larious atmosphere, of which he felt the so well at any time as at night, when all the effects as long as he lived. In July or Au- house was quiet. Our family rejoicings were gust, 1840, he finally returned to England, generally when the work was over, and we were utterly broken in health, but as strong in too thankful to be rid of the harass and hurry, to mind and as gallant in spirit as ever. The care much for the results of such labor." B- mentioned in the following extract. from a letter, dated February, 1841, was the agent of whom we have already spoken.

"You will be gratified to hear that, without any knowledge of it on my part, the Literary Fund (the members of the committee having frequently inquired about my health, and the B business, of Dilke), unanimously voted me £50, the largest sum they give, and, setting aside their standing rules, to do it without my application. I, however, returned it (though it would have afforded me some case and relief), but for many and well-weighed reasons. I am, however, all the better for the offer, which places me in a good position. It was done in a very gratifying and honorable manner, and I am the first who has said 'no.' But I am in good spirits, and hope to get through all my troubles as independently as heretofore."

In the August of the same year he was made comparatively affluent by succeeding, on the death of Theodore Hook, to the editorship of the New Monthly, but he soon resigned it to edit Hood's Magazine which began with the year 1844, and ended with its proprietor's life on the 3d of May, 1845. That life had been truly a long disease, aggravated in its last ten years by care and annoyances that "fell with a double weight on the mind overtasked by such constant and harassing occupation." Very touchingly does his daughter say :

"The income his works now produce to his children, might then have prolonged his life for many years; although when we looked on the calm, happy face after death, free at last from the painful expression that had almost become habitual to it, we dared not regret the rest so long prayed for, and hardly won."

66

"... His own family never enjoyed his

.. He had, for years past, known, as well as his doctors, his own frail tenure of existence,

and had more than once, as he said himself, 'been so near death's door, he could almost fancy he heard the creaking of the hinges;' and he was now fully aware that at last his feeble step was on its very threshold. With this knowledge he wrote the following beautiful letter to Sir Robert Peel-worthy of being the last letter of such a man.

"Dear Sir,-We are not to meet in the flesh. Given over by my physicians and by myself, I am only kept alive by frequent instalments of mulled port wine. In this extremity I feel a comfort, for which I cannot refrain from again thanking you, with all the sincerity of a dying man, and at the same time, bidding you a respectful farewell.

"Thank God! my mind is composed and my reason undisturbed, but my race as an author is in a steel pen, otherwise I would have written run. My physical debility finds no tonic virtue evil, or the danger of it, arising from a literary one more paper-a forewarning one-against an movement in which I have had some share, a one-sided humanity, opposite to that Catholic Shakspearian sympathy, which felt with king as well as peasant, and duly estimated the mortal temptations of both stations. Certain classes at the poles of society are already too far asunder; it should be the duty of our writers to draw them nearer by kindly attraction, not to aggramoral gulf between rich and poor, with hate on vate the existing repulsion, and place a wider

the one side and fear on the other. But I am too weak for this task, the last I had set myself; it is death that stops my pen, you see, and not the pension.

"God bless you, sir, and prosper all your measures for the benefit of my beloved country. "I have the honor to be, sir, your most grateful and obedient servant.

From The Spectator.

ANGLING AT HOME AND ABROAD.*

even

THERE are hills beyond Pentland, and streams beyond Forth. The rivers of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Norway, do not monopolize all the salmon fishing of the world. The author of one of the books before us begins his first chapter by laying down this fundamental proposition, that any one who doubts that Canada has its share of the sport is mistaken. He believes there is as good-salmon fishing in Canada as in any other part of the world, "and better, much better, than in a great many highly vaunted countries." His editor is more emphatic, and declares that on the lakes and rivers of British America frequented by the great maskanonge, salmon, bass, white fish, etc., the fisherman from the old country, would find such scope for his art that home fishing would appear to him "Take," says the auvery tame ever after. thor, " a map of Canada, find out Quebec; then run your eye eastward along the left hand or northern side of the river and Gulf of St. Lawrence; you will see many streams marked there; almost every one of them is a salmon river, and in every one of them that has been fished, excellent sport has been had, and heavy fish killed." It is a pity he did not tell us this a few months earlier in the year, for we ought to have been off from Liverpool on the first Saturday in May in order to arrive at Quebec about the middle of the month, and have time to see that strange old city and its magnificent environs, and to make the necessary preparations for the angling cruise, upon which we should have started about the 10th of June. The salmon-fishing season is generally at its height on the Canadian rivers in the last week of June or the first week of July. We shall, therefore, not see Quebec this year, nor Montreal, chief of Canadian cities, clean, handsome, and solid in appearance, on which a Yankee pronounced his opinion; "Well, I guess it looks like a city that was bought and paid for." One might, perhaps, even yet arrive in time to intercept a few belated "water-angels," as a Yankee writer calls salmon; and even should this hope fail the enthusiastic sportsman, he would have whale fishing in the St. Lawrence to fall back upon, or he might immortalize himself by being the first to drag to shore another ferocious and hitherto uncaptured monster occasionally to be met in that river. Says our author:

* Salmon Fishing in Canada. By a Resident. Edited by Colonel Sir James Edward Alexander, Knt., K.C.L.S., Fourteenth Regiment, Author of "Explorations in America, Africa, etc." With Illustrations. Published by Longman and Co.

"At this moment I have before me an official 'Report of the Commissioners for exploring the country lying between the Rivers Saguenay, Saint Maurice, and Saint Lawrence,' ordered to be printed by the House of Assembly on the 22d of March, 1831. These commissioners are gentlemen of the highest respectability and intelligence, Messieurs Andrew and David Stuart, who would not be likely to be deceived in a matter of the kind, and would be the last men to attempt a deception upon others. At pp. 16 and 17 of their report, are the following words, being an extract from the journal kept upon the

occasion:

"Sunday, August 26th, 1829.-Embarked at seven A.M. to go down to Baic de l'Echaffaud du Basque, or Rivière aux Canards; but, when we reached the Point of Baie des Roches, the wind blew too hard for us to proceed, and we put ashore in a little cove till noon, when we embarked again, and kept close in shore, with the tide and wind in our favor. We had not proceeded far, when we were pursued by a monstrous fish of prey, in consequence of which wo put ashore again. The animal was four hours about us, and apparently watching us. It came sometimes within twenty feet of the rock on which we were. It was at least from twenty to twenty-five feet long, and shaped exactly like a pike; its jaws were from five to six feet long, with a row of large teeth on each side, of a yellowish color. It kept itself sometimes for nearly

a minute on the surface of the water. At five P.M., seeing nothing more of it we embarked again, keeping close in shore, and at seven P.M. put in for the night at the fishing-hut at EchafSimard and Coton Felion, who were on their faud du Basque. Two men, named Baptiste way to Malbay, hunting for seals, put in at the same time as we did. Thermometer 71°, 77o, and 69°.'”

This book, besides being full of special, and we doubt not authentic, information, is very amusing, and is adorned with head and tail pieces in an original and highly comic dent in Canada, is a capital story-teller, a style. The author, an Irishman long resiclever draughtsman, and a parson par-dessus le marché, in proof whereof he actually treats his readers to a sermon-a regular sermon on the text "I go a fishing" (John xxi, 3).

Mr. Simeon, the author of a very pleasant volume of Stray Notes teaches his readers not only how to catch all sorts of fish in fresh water and salt, but how to cook a fish when they have caught him.

"There is a way of dressing fish, which may be resorted to by the side of the water with pleasure (and not without advantage should your stock of provisions run short), during the middle of the day, when fish do not generally feed so freely as at the other times, and when your sport is often improved by giving them, as well as yourself, a rest. It is managed as follows: first collect a lot of small dry wood and set it on fire-when a sufficient quantity of ashes has been thus obtained, which will be soon done,

take a sheet of paper (an old newspaper will do) than the following mode of preparing Skate for and wet it thoroughly; shake the drops off it, the table, the ingenuity of which is only surand then, filling the mouth of your fish with salt, passed by its exceeding nastiness, and which I wrap him up in it just as he is, uncleaned, sim-was not a little taken aback at finding adopted plex immunditiis,' and digging a grave for him in a corner of our own enlightened kingdom. in your ash-heap, put him bodily into it, cover- The fish, when cleaned (a somewhat unnecessary ing him well up afterwards with hot ashes. preliminary one would think), is buried in wet When you think he ought to be done, allowing horse-dung, where it is allowed to soak for about from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour accord-twenty-four hours. It is then taken out (washed, ing to his size, partially uncover him and tear off a small piece of his winding-sheet. If his skin comes off with it he is sufficiently done, and out with him. Should, however, the paper come off minus the skin, cover him up again, and give him a little more law, until this test shows him to be perfectly done. On being turned out of his envelope, the whole of his skin should adhere to it. As for his inside, you may disregard it altogether, or opening him, turn it out, which you will find there is not the slightest difficulty in doing en masse. Pepper and salt him, if you have such condiments by you, and you will only be sorry that your own kitchen does not afford you the means of dressing your

POETRY.-Saint Brandan, 386. Glory in the Grasp of France, 386.

SHORT ARTICLES.-Coloring Adulterated Wines, 400. Deadening Walls and Ceilings, 400. Growth of the Bamboo, 400. Lakes in Africa, 412. Map of Jeddo, 416. Bay of New York, 416. Musical Pitch, 416. British Museum, 416. Cobwebs for Fevers, 416. Tour through the whole Island of Great Britain, 419. Rock of Ages, 419. Mural Burial, 447. A Father's Justice, 447. George II. Halfpenny, 447. "Withered Violets,” 447.

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