the materials without tearing the texture to pieces. Yet was this effected only by rubbing with their breast, beating with the edges of their wings, and then thrusting in detached pieces of cotton with their beaks, that they succeeded in giving solidity to the fabric, and it must be confessed that it was a work truly admirable, when the slender means of such architects are considered. The whole cost them seven days of persevering labour, and was only completed on the seventh evening, when, as I have already mentioned, the first egg was laid." As I could not hope to produce any thing to equal, much less to excel this beautiful piece of Natural History, I advise those who are anxious to study the interesting architecture of birds, to go to the woods and the fields, where during the whole of " the merry month of May," they may see with their own eyes the little architects at work. Those who have no opportunity for this delightful species of study, I must refer to the second-hand information contained in a little volume on " The Architecture of Birds," just published in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, a work whose chief merit consists in giving the account of original observers of nature in their own words, and in exposing the errors of compilers, by comparing them with facts ascertained by personal observation. J. HE IS GONE! HE IS GONE! HE is gone! he is gone! Like the leaf from the tree; He is fled! he is fled! Like a gallant so free, And sharp sword by his knee; He's away! he's away To far lands o'er the sea And many's the day Ere home he can be ; But where'er his steed prances, Amid thronging lances, Sure he'll think of the glances That love stole from me! He is gone! he is gone Like the leaf from the tree; But his heart is of stone If it ne'er dream of me! For I dream of him ever!- "TRUSTEES OF THE NATION." "The main requisites of a good member of parliament are:-1st, independence, in other words, leisure; 2nd, industry; and 3rd, good natural capacity."-Spectator, 10th April. "We are inclined to reckon obscurity, when united with leisure (in other words independence*) and talent, as a strong recommendation; for in such cases obscurity is another word for modesty or honourable pride.”—Spectator, 16th April. "We strongly recommend Mr. Ignotus Nokes to the electors of Noodleborough, as one eminently qualified to be a National Trustee. He is a man of the right sort, and a profound political economist; for he is a constant reader of, and occasional contributor to, the best family paper.'”—Ibid passim. SIR, To the Editor of the Englishman's Magazine. In common, I presume, with such of your readers as are also readers of the Spectator newspaper, I have been much struck by the discrimination, disinterestedness, modesty of tone, and intimate acquaintance with the obscuri plus obscuriores of literature and law-making, displayed in the article in that journal, entitled "Trustees of the Nation." It is a blessing to the country and to the human race, that such a writer should now be in existence, devoting his unparalleled combination of rare qualities to the welfare of his species. Rome was once saved by the gabbling of geese, and England may yet be preserved by the eagle scribe of "the best family newspaper." What, Sir, would the power of choosing our representatives avail us, if we were ignorant where to seek themand who so qualified to enlighten us on that point as the omniscient and infallible oracle of the Spectator? It was a foolish error-one, indeed, which only common sense could for a moment sanction-to suppose, that the intelligent inhabitants of a county or borough, were as likely to be acquainted with members of their own body to whom they might tender their suffrages; it was the climax of absurdity to imagine that these persons could better determine whether candidates were of "the right sort,"-had honestly discharged the duties of citizenship, and possessed the requisites essential to the beneficial use of Parliamentary trust-fortune, intelligence, and moral worth ;—it was insanity itself to conceive that they could be more competent to pronounce upon these matters than a literary Bobadil, resident in some unobtrusive outlet of the metropolis. The sage in the Spectator, whose exertions can never be too highly estimated by his country, has discovered that the less aspirants to public confidence are known to their constituents, the more entitled are they to the enjoyment of that confidence; that inexperience is the test of capacity; obscurity of renown, and that to form an item in a sort of close borough coterie, is to rank at once with a Chatham and an Adam Smith. Entirely coinciding with the "learned Theban," so far as he has gone, I cannot too warmly express my admiration of the tact evinced by him, in his voyage in search of the great little unknowns—the OUTES * Save in the pages of the Spectator, it might not be very easy to reconcile great industry with great leisure, as, indeed, only in that journal is having nothing to do"in other words-leisure-made synonymous with independence. The unemployed and starving poor in Ireland must feel themselves to be the most independent class of the British community. The Neapolitan lazzaroni must also be considered the proud Spartans of the Italian States. of Cimmeria; but I must, at the same time, demur to his non-acknowledgment of the great little knowns which swarm nearer home. Judging by the samples of future legislators, brought to light by this zealous explorer of “the dark profound," I cannot believe that his silence with respect to still more eligible individuals, with whose names and virtues I propose to grace the pages of the Englishman, can have arisen from any lack of sympathy with, or quick, instinctive perception of their peculiar and retiring excellence. I therefore conclude, that I am only anticipating his intentions in recommending them as fit and proper "Trustees of the Nation." Mr. J. J. Stockdale and Mr. Charles Wright, both eminently qualified to be National Trustees by experience in business, literary acquirements, and knowledge of political economy; but both withheld from "courting celebrity," owing. to that sensitive timidity so characteristic of genius and honourable pride. It is to be hoped that some independent borough will drive them from their retirement, and no longer permit their oratorical sweetness to be wasted on the air of the Opera Colonade. It is needless to point out the inestimable aid which a committee on the Anglo-Gallic wine trade might derive from Mr. Wright, should he be elevated to a seat in the House of Commons; as it would be superfluous to expatiate on the light which an M. P. immunity from arrest would enable Mr. Stockdale to throw on the workings of the Bankrupt Laws. Mr. Stockdale, thanks to the kind interference of creditors anxious to relieve him from the fatigues of business, is a man of great independence-in other words" leisure;" and, like his friend Mr. Wright, an indefatigable reader of the Spectator. John St. John Long, " Esq." F. R. L. S., M. S. A. &c. &c. It is almost a work of supererogation to point out the legislative qualifications of this distinguished personage. I an convinced that he would be prime minister in twelve months, were he but permitted one session's trial at establishing a raw in St. Stephen's.' Surely the Esculapian amateur, whose patients became more numerous the more subjects he afforded to the investigations of the coroner, and that too not among the uneducated poor of his own semi-barbarous kinsmen, but among the rich, the par excellence accomplished classes of a nation of thinkers!", in an age, moreover, loudly vaunting itself on its hostility to fraud and empiricism, he, surely, would have no difficulty in convincing the quidnuncs of the House of Commons, of his extraordinary capacity for state doctorship. If Mr. Driscol, alias John St. John Long, Esq., fail to be returned through the operation of the Reform Bill, it will certainly not be for want of borough patronage under the present system. Were this gifted practitioner vested with senatorial functions, the argument that close boroughs are useful inlets for men of genius, on which the candid Sir Robert rang so many changes, would, for the first time, assume an air of plausibility. Let the patriots of Mary-le-bone be stirring in time to secure the Parliamentary services of John St. John Long, Esq. F.L.S. author of "Discoveries in Medical Science, &c." He is worthy of his titled votaries-they of him. Robert Warren, Esq., 30, Strand, is an occasional inspector of that department of the Spectator which more immediately interests the gentlemen of the Stamp-Office. On the ebony shelves of his library, reposes an uncut сору of Adam Smith's works, ergo he must be a "profound political economist," and well qualified to be a National Trustee. It is not, however, on this ground alone, that I am anxious to see Mr. Warren in parliament; nor even on account of his valuable improvements in the art of polishing, conjoined to his extensive patronage of men and letters; but because he would prevent the member for Preston from possessing a monopoly of the "real jet," among the new members on both sides of the house-monopoly in any shape being, as all "profound political economists" know, baleful to the general weal. Tyrone Power, Esq., T.R.C.G., and Robert Keeley, Esq., T.R.C.G., are steady readers of, and occasional contributors to, the Paul Pry and the Spec., con sequently are of the "right sort," and consequently are worthy of introduction to the Right Honourable the Speaker. It is true that the literary flights of neither have been remarkably successful, but let it be remembered that they are topping comedians, and from the specimens of legislation with which they indulged the public some two or three seasons ago in Peter Wilkins, I should be disposed to augur favourably of their debut in the House at Westminster. Judging by Mr. Power's reviews of a certain novel, there would be little fear of his breaking down through a deficiency in oratorical bronze. At Lady Jersey's, Mr. Keeley recently avowed the authorship of the able articles on the Corn Laws, and the Monetary system, which appeared in the Paul Pry. By these he has proved himself to be a "profound political economist," a man of independence, industry, and "high natural capacity." R. Buckstone, Esq., T.R.A., the modern Lopez de Vega, would also be a desirable acquisition to the legislature. Exclusive of his merits as a performer, and a writer of some of the most splendid pieces ever lauded by the theatrical critics of" the Surrey side," his late controversy with Mr. Almar, a rival in dramatic honours, would stamp him a master of logical fence. As a patron of the Spec. he is of course a sound political economist, and THEREFORE very competent to the duties of a National Trustee. John Timkins, Esq., fabricator of inexpressibles, author of a vigorous article in the Mirror, on mouse-traps and codification, possesses all the Spectatorean essentials for Trusteeship. Though not a householder, he would make an efficient member for the county of Surrey, in which he has condescended to lodge at divers times, during the last eleven years. Mr. Timkins is singularly intimate with the abuses of Horsemonger-lane Jail, having lately been an inmate there for twelve calendar months, at the special entreaty of my Lord Tenterden. The country might count upon his disinterested efforts to improve our Prison Discipline. He is also, in the language of paradox, conspicuously obscure, that is, a man of “modesty and honourable pride." THE EDITOR OF THE PAUL PRY. Since the days of Junius, the curiosity of the political world has not been so powerfully excited as it is at present, and has been for months past, concerning the personal identity of the editor of the Paul Pry, that renowned hebdomadal print. From the vacillating and recanting tone of its articles, touching the Budget and the Civil List, Mr. Powlett Thompson was suspected to be the man in the mask; on the other hand, the hard-hitting perspicuity of its literary paragraphs, induced many, cunning in style, to designate Mr. John Jackson, P.C. as the presiding genius. The fact is, a fact now for the first time promulgated, that these and other eminent persons have contributed to its pages, but the editor must still remain a magni nominis umbra. I know him well, and wish I were at liberty to remove the veil that shadows him, for his name would prove a "tower of strength" against the foes of Reform. My lips must be sealed for the present. Fortunately, however, the illustrious Redacteur has a son who inherits all his parent's genius, and profound and varied erudition, with an eloquence peculiarly his own,-" an eloquence second only if not equal to that of Lord Brougham," so that the inhabitants of any important county, such as Lancashire, Yorkshire, or Devon, who shall perchance lack an adequate representative, may, in the exercise of a wholesome discretion, secure the advocacy of "the Paul" in Parliament, as well as out of doors. That "mighty sire's not unworthy son," with "modesty and honourable pride," in other phrase, “in obscurity,"-gentle reader, is MYSELF. THE MODERN DRAMA.-" ALFRED," BY SHERIDAN KNOWLES. THE English drama is not certainly in so good a state as we could wish, yet we are not disposed to admit that it is at so low an ebb as many persons maintain. The laudator temporis acti, whether in regard to the drama, or any other pursuit or amusement in which mankind engages, is a commonplace character that abounds at all periods. Let Shakespeare be put out of the question, as one who belongs to the whole world and to all time, and we do now know of any era in the literary annals of this country which can be pointed out as that in which the drama attained so high and palmy a state that its condition at no time, either before or since, is to be compared with it. There are fluctuations, no doubt, in every department of literature and art; but the higher the department, the less likely is it that at any given time a constellation of genius will be found casting their lights upon it. Greece, during the whole of her career, produced only three great tragedians; Rome not one, and only a single actor of reputation sufficient to entitle his name to be handed down to posterity. In more modern times, Spain has many dramatic writers, but scarcely any great and pre-eminent tragedian; Germany none but Schiller; France only two or three, modelled after the ancient Greek school; and Italy not one, unless her late poet Alfieri be entitled to the name, which we doubt. From an early period England has unquestionably had good reason to be satisfied with her tragic authors; but every century has had its own popular favourites, and, with scarcely any exception, none of their works have kept a permanent possession of the stage; thus clearly showing that, in most instances, they were contented to address the mere spirit and fashion of the age, instead of appealing, on a grander scale, to the immutable laws of human nature. The works of Beaumont and Fletcher, Massinger, and Forde, and others of the elder dramatists, do not appear to us to offer any contradiction to this view of the matter. We yield to no one in our respect for the talent of these authors, but it was not of that overwhelming nature which renders competition hopeless, and appals the energies of succeeding generations. Accordingly, " Venice Preserved," and "The Fair Penitent," and " Jane Shore," and "The Revenge," and" Cato," and "Douglas," and " Virginius," have all followed at due intervals. We do not say that any of these productions are destined to enjoy an immortality like "Hamlet" or "Othello," but they have all addressed themselves to human feeling, as successfully as was done by the popular dramatists during the reigns of Elizabeth and James. Then if we turn to comedy, which is however to talk of a much lower species of mental achievement, we shall perceive that, although the comic genius of a nation is liable to be continually affected by changes in the political horizon, it has nevertheless flowed on in a pretty equable stream from generation to generation, since its fountains were first opened among us. The coarse but strong humour of the earlier writers, was succeeded by the sparkling licentiousness of the wits of Charles the Second's time; and they, in their turn, were followed by such men as Foote, Garrick, Sheridan, and others. Nor can we admit that the lighter dramatic productions of our own day, do not prove that a satisfactory portion of the vis comica still remains with us. We may not be able to boast of any first-rate worshipper of Thalia, and we are not quite sure that this country ever produced any such, any one like Molière for example; but we have several writers whose lively satire and smart delineation of the passing follies of the times, secure for their productions a ready and not undeserved meed of applause. The same remarks which we have made on dramatic authors, apply, with |