to appear at their nocturnal meetings, and submit to the indecent ceremonials which are observed at them? Every reflection made his holiness judge that Don Torribio would not only be useless, but even troublesome to him ; and this point being decided, he was in no difficulty what answer to make. This is literally his answer:

"We have learned with grief, that under pretext of the occult sciences, you hold a correspondence with the prince of darkness and of liars; which we not only exhort you to expiate by a penitence proportionate to the enormity of such a crime, but also order you to quit the territories of the church within three days, under pain of being given up to the secular arms, and the rigour of the flames."

Don Torribio, without being disconcerted, repeated backwards the three mysterious words, which the reader ought to have remembered; and, opening a window, he bawled out as loud as he could," Jacintha! put only one partridge to the fire, for the dean will not sup here to night."

This was a thunder-clap to the pretended pope; he recovered suddenly from a kind of ecstasy, which the three magical sounds had first thrown him into; he saw that instead of being in the Vatican, he was still at Toledo in the study of

Don Torribio; by looking at the clock, he found he had scarce been an hour in this fatal study where the dreams were so delightful.

In less than an hour he had fancied himself magician, bishop, archbishop, cardinal, pope, and found himself at last really a dupe and a knave. Every thing had been illusion except his own deceit, and the proofs he had given of his treachery and badness of heart. He left the room in silence, found his mule where he had left him, and returned again to Badajoz, without having learned to cast a nativity.

THE BEE, Vol. vii. p. 203, February 8, 1792.

This tale is translated from the French of the Abbé Blan. chet; who was indebted, for the outline of it, to an old book much esteemed in Spain, called El Conde Lucanor,

No. CLIV.

Prisca gens mortalium.

HORAT.

Our forefathers' rustic life.

BOSCAWEN.

ONE of our celebrated writers has observed, that there is nothing so indifferent to us, that we can say without a disagreeable sensation, "we have seen the last of it." To the truth of this remark, every man who has lived long in the world can give his testimony. I am myself a man of little more than fifty years of age, and yet I have nearly out-lived divers species of men and animals, as well as a variety of customs, fashions, and opinions; and I can truly say, that, although some of them were not the most agreeable, I cannot help recollecting them with a degree of complacency closely bordering on regret.

When I was a young man, there existed in the families of most unmarried men or widowers of the rank of gentlemen, residents in the country, a certain antiquated female, either maiden or widow, commonly an aunt or cousin. Her dress I have now before me; it consisted of a stiff starched cap and hood, a little hoop, a rich

silk damask gown with large flowers. She leant on an ivory-headed crutch-cane, and was followed by a fat phthisicky dog of the pug kind, who commonly reposed on a cushion, and enjoyed the privilege of snarling at the servants, occasionally biting their heels with impunity.

By the side of this good old lady jingled a bunch of keys, securing, in different closets and corner-cupboards, all sorts of cordial waters, cherry and raspberry brandy, washes for the complexion, Daffy's elixir, a rich seed-cake, a number of pots of currant-jelly and raspberry-jam, with a range of gallipots and phials, containing salves, electuaries, juleps, and purges, for the use of the poor neighbours. The daily business of this good lady was to scold the maids, collect eggs, feed the turkeys, and assist at all lyings-in that happened within the parish. Alas! this being is no more seen; and the race is, like that of her pug dog and the black rat, totally extinct.

Another character, now worn out and gone, was the country squire, I mean the little independent gentleman of three hundred pounds per annum, who commonly appeared in a plain drab or plush coat, large silver buttons, a jockey cap, and rarely without boots. His travels never exceeded the distance of the county town, and that only at assize and session time, or to at

tend an election. Once a week he commonly dined at the next market-town, with the attor nies and justices. This man went to church regularly, read the weekly journal, settled the parochial disputes between the parish officers at the vestry, and afterwards adjourned, to the neighbouring ale-house, where he usually got drunk for the good of his country. He never played at cards but at Christmas, when a family pack was produced from the mantle-piece. He was commonly followed by a couple of greyhounds and a pointer, and announced his arrival at a neighbour's house by smacking his whip, or giving the view-halloo. His drink was generally ale, except on Christmas, the fifth of November, or some other gala days, when he would make a bowl of strong brandy punch garnished with a toast and nutmeg. A journey to London was, by one of these men, reckoned as great an undertaking, as is at present a voyage to the East Indies, and undertaken with scarce less precaution and preparation.

The mansion of one of these squires was of plaster striped with timber, not unaptly called callimanco-work, or of red brick, large casemented bow-windows, a porch with seats in it, and over it a study; the eaves of the house well inhabited by swallows, and the court set round