Once when upon a visit to the king at London, happen. ing to drop his glove in the bedchamber, and no other person being present, James, though old and stiff, stooped and lifted it up, say saying, My predecessor Queen Elizabeth thought she did a favour to any man who was speaking with her, when she let hen glove fall, that he might take it up and give it to her again; but, sir, you may say that a king lifted up your glove.'

A poor Ayrshire woman, who was blind one day, in bringing home an earthen vessel containing some liquor, which she designed to serve asher comfort during the ensuing winter, was so unfortunate as to drop it, when, though not broken, it was almost equally lost to her, by rohing away down a bank which skirted the way-side, and settling beyond her reach Tonadd to her distress, the bang proved unfaithful to its charge; and the poor woman, as she groped along the bank, endeavouring to discover the place where the vessel had finally rested, had the mortification of hearing the precious contents playing deliberately out of the hole, with that peculiar pulsatoryisound caused by the alternate emission of the liquor and admission of the air. A per son who happened to be byt heard the woman, in her dilemma, pronounce a sort of lapostrophe to her lost grey-beard, in which the ridiculousband the pathetic seem to be successfully mingled. Oh, wae's my heart," cried she, for that bowk bowk bowk o' thine; for weel do Lhear thee; but what signifies that, if I canna see thee la bo

William, eighth Davl of Douglas, in 1451, having been invited by King James the Second to Stirling Cas. tle, and splendidly entertained, the monarch, after supper, took him aside into a secret chamber, and there proceeded to remonstrate with him concerning a rebellious league he had entered into with the Darls of Crawford and Rosser The haughty Douglas positivelyores fused to break the confederacy; when the kingdrew short sword and stabbed him, exclaiming, If you will not break this league, Lishall

The exclantation of James the Fifth, when on this death bed, he heard the news of his queen having been delivered of a female child, was long remembered by his people. Hesturned his face to the wall, and was heard to mutter, off I became with a class, and it will go with a lass devil go with it ? These, his last words, referred to the circumstance of his family havingi aca quired the crown by marriage.

Boece was the first to record the following remarkable expression, which has latterly been rendered classical as well as credible, by by being admitted into the pure pages of Robertson, Robert Bruce, though he perhaps did more to the advancement of the nobles than any other king, by the immense grants which he gave to his friends, is said to have called a parliament of his barons, in order tquenquire into the nature of their tenures; when they started forward, and, laying their hands upon their swords, exclaimed, ". By these we acquired our rights, and with these we shall maintain then der

Lindsay, in his Chronicles, records a remarkable sayo ing of Gavin Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, the elegant Scottish poet. In 1515, when party spirit ran high between the Earls of Afran and Angus, the two most powerful noblemen in the kingdom, and who both aim. ed at the powers of regency, the accomplished bishop went, in behalf of his nephew Angus, to the Blackfriars' Kirk at Edinburgh, in order to beseech that prelate to attempt a reconciliation of the hostile factions) Bea toun, who designed to take an active share in the expected contentions, and had armour concealed under his rochet, falsely swore, by this soul, striking his breast at the same time with his hand, that he knew nothing of the matter. His emphatic gesture caused the plaits of his jack to sound, when Douglas observed, with a poignant sneer, " My lord, your conscience is not guid, for I hear it clattering." This bore a double meaning the

word clattor at once implying the idea of unsoundness, and the disclosure of a secret.

The Gaelic language is said, by its admirers, to be peculiarly calculated for emphatic expression. It is for this reason that so many of the names of families and places throughout the country took their rise from occasional sayings, such as those we are now collecting. An instance of whatowel meant is found in the popular tradition of the origin of the name Douglas of the first of this family came to distinction on account of his achievements in one of Bruce's battles. When the conflict had ceased, Bruce enquired after the hero whose feats he had such particular occasion to admire and, in doing so, described him as the alhuiglas that is, "the darkgrey man. This supplied him with a name.

Some years ago, an instance of very emphatic Gaelic occurred in the saying of a man in Kintyre. He had been summoned by the collector of excise before a justice of the peace, for having been concerned in the great Highland sin of smuggling. Phe name of the justice was Campbell; and his local designation (that of his estate) was a composition of two Gaelic words, signifying "the wood of sighs." The poor old man was fined so severely, that he considerd himself perfectly ruined, and of course felt very disconsolate. When the trial was over, and all the people had left the court-room, he came up to his judge, and said in Gaelic, Laird, I have this day divided your title with you. How so? said the Justice. Because, quoth the old man, with a most dolorous shake of the heady " I am become lord of the sighs, while you remain lord of the woods. This has a much more affecting poignancy in the original languagesmest

Someovery remarkable expressions occurred at the taking by King James V. of the unfortunate Johnnie Armstrong. Though this hero was what an old historian calls if ane lous leivand man," (and maintained a band of twenty-eight well-horsed able gentleman, whose sole duty was plunder, his death was greatly lamented by the people, on account of his being the boldest man on the border, and his never harming any one but " the auld enemies of England Armstrong came to pay his obeisance to the king at a hunting match, and was so unfortunate as to excite theorbyal displeasure by the splendour of his apparel and the number of his train. "What wants yon knave," said the monarch, turning away his fade, if that a king should have?" The bordérer, perceiving that the king desired to take his life, attempted to avert his fate by offering to maintain forty men constantly in the royal service, and to be ever ready to bring any subject in England, duke, earl, lord, or baron, within a given day, to his majesty's feet. Seeing, however, that James treated all his offers with contemptohe exclaimed with veliemence, I am but ane fule to seele grace at ane graceless face. But had I knawin, sir, that ye would have taken my life this day, shoud have, leeved upon the borders in despite of King Havie and you baith; for I know King Harie would weigh down my best horse with gold to know that I were condemned this daydt He was immediately led to the scaffold and executed, along with all his gallant companieinsgd da

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One of the numerous popular stories told in ridicule of the Scottish Highlanders, is pointed by a very droll and laconic expression. A north-country man travelling one day upon a rond met a black snail, which, under the mistaken idea that it was a dried plum, he took up and proceeded to eat. On biting off and swallowing a part of the body, he discovered what it was, whereupon, being unwilling to acknowledge his disgust, and wishing rather to conceal if possible from himself the real sentiment under an affected one, he threw away the remainder of the creature, with this angry ejaculation, "Cot, tam-tak you tat for bein sae like a plhumtaimas!"

The perfection of contemptuous indifference was expressed by Mary of Guise, Queen-Regent of Scotland, when, on receiving a letter from John Knox, containing some severe animadversions on her conduct, and especially on her attachment to the Catholic faith, she handed it to the Archbishop of Glasgow, with the words, "Please you, my lord, to read a pasquil."

Acts of heroism have sometimes been accompanied by very brief and very emphatic expressions. The Scottish sirname Dalyell is said to have originated in one of such. King Kenneth the Second, upon one occasion, having expressed a regret that the body of a near and favourite kinsman was ignominiously exposed upon a gibbet by his enemies, and having made offer of a great reward to any one who would rescue it and bring it to him, none of his barons could be found possessed of sufficient hardihood to undertake so hazardous an enterprise, till at length an obscure man started forward, exclaiming, "Dal yell," that is, in the old Scots language, I dare. This hero performed the exploit to the king's complete satisfaction, and afterwards was honoured with a permission to bear in his armorial coat the figure of a man hanging on a gibbet, together with the words I dare for a motto; both of which the Dalyells still assume.

Of a similar character is the spirit-stirri spirit-stirring anecdote related of Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. This brave gentleman, having rescued Kinmonth Willie, the celebrated reiver, from his place of confinement at Carlisle, was summoned by Elizabeth, to answer for his misdeed at her court. On being introduced to the presence of her majesty, she upbraided him with great bitterness, and concluded by saying, that she wondered how he dared to do what he had done. "Madam," said the high-spirited borderer, turning away from her with contempt, "what is there that a man dare not do?"

A legendary story told in Tweeddale, traces the origin of the name Horseburgh, to one of those accidental phrases to which so much attention seems to have been paid at the period of the creation of sirnames. A Scottish king, when on a hunting visit to Peebles, was one day enjoying the sport of hawking along the valley of the Tweed, about two miles below the town. The hawk happening to pursue its prey across the river, which was then at flood, the king and all his nobles experienced a mortification similar to that of being thrown out in the chase. What increased the distress of the royal party was the impossibility, under these circumstances, of reclaiming the hawk, which was a valuable one, and a favourite with his majesty. An husbandman, who was ploughing his field on the opposite side, observing their dilemma, exerted himself to recall the lost bird, and, when he had succeeded, adopted the resolution of taking it across the water at all hazards, in order to restore it to the king's own hands. He, therefore, unyoked his horse from the plough, and plunged into the stream, with the hawk upon his hand. The king admited, of course, the courage of the man, and felt an interest in him, over and above what was thereby excited, on account of his precious charge. Seeing the danger which he ran from the stream, and anxious that the horse should prove sufficient to sustain him under its impetuosity, the monarch cried out, Horse, bruik weel!" which was as much as to say, "May the horse bear well up against the current." The sturdy animal did succeed in bearing its master across, and the hawk was duly delivered. The grateful monarch immediately conferred upon the

* The monastery of Red Friars attached to the Cross Church of Peeb'es is said to have been the usual residence of at least

"the Jameses," if not earlier sovereigns, when it was the royal pleasure to hunt in the forests which then abounded in this district. The place called King's Meadows, about a mile from Peebles, where the beautiful seat and plantations of Sir Jon Hay, of Hayston and Smithfield, bart., have of late years succeeded to

aboriginal sterility and desolation, is supposed to have derived its

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MR HUME AND MARISCHAL COLLEGE.
(From an Aberdeen Correspondent.)

Mr HUME, M. P., as Lord Rector of the Marischal College of Aberdeen, has been pleased, at the conclusion of his Rectorship, Rectorshi

to offer to the students

two

prizes, (each consisting of a gold medal, and five sovereigns,) for the best English Essays on the two following subjects:

1st. On the evils of intolerance towards those who differ from us in religious opinions."

2d. "On the comparative importance of scientific and classical instruction in the general education of mankind; and how far the curriculum in the universities of the United Kingdom and on the Continent of Europe, is suited to effect these objects."

To me it appears that Mr Hume has acted in this matter unwisely and improperly, manifesting not only inexperience in things which require taste and literary skill, but also such an eager desire to press his own modes of thinking upon the attention of others as leads him to sacrifice sound sense and proper feeling in the attempt. First, Mr Hume prescribes for Essay the subject of religious toleration, and to whom? Not to the student of theology alone, not to any one class of students, but to all the students attending college, from the boy who has hardly mastered the Greek rudiments, up to the learned Theologue, to whom the history of the church from the persecutions of Nero downwards is familiar. If it was, as it ought to have been, the Lord Rector's object, in offering prizes, to reward and give encouragement to talent, industry, and distinguished progress among the students generally, surely he ought to have proposed trials suited to the respective stages of progress of the students in the different classes. There can be no doubt that prizes given upon this principle, (which was that adopted last year by Mr Hume's predecessor, Sir James M'Gregor,) are eminently calculated to promote the interests of learning. But Mr Hume gravely proposes a prize to the students at large, towards which it would be utter presumption for the vast majority of them even to cast an eye.

I am strongly disposed to think that nothing but an excessive anxiety to press the subject of religious toleration upon the attention of the students, could have blinded Mr Hume to the impropriety of the course he has taken; an idea which is not a little confirmed by the manner in which the subject is proposed, viz. "On the evils of intolerance," &c. Who that knows Mr Hume's sentiments on religious toleration, can fail to see that the choice of this subject, thus expressed, was not so much the result of an impartial and enlightened consideration of the method best fitted to promote the academical improvement of the students, as of a desire, honest and upright, no doubt, on Mr Hume's part, that the youth at our universities should early imbibe the same spirit of political indifference towards religious distinctions, the same all-embracing liberalism of principle as Mr Hume and his friends have long manifested and gloried in? I am not finding fault with Mr Hume's political opinions; but I do object to his taking the advantage of his rectorship in order to force these opinions upon our youth, both out of season and out of place. Mr Hume ought to know that most of the young men at a college are so far from being able to judge of " the evils of intolerance towards those who differ from us in religious opinions," that they can, scarcely be said to have religious opinions at all. It is easy for any body, especially for one who has no fixed religious opinions, to talk and declaim against bigotry and intolerance. But, before a man can be fitted to form an impartial and enlightened judgment on the intricate question of religious toleration, it is necessary = that he be convinced that there is truth in religion, and

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that the truth is but one; and, moreover, that he be cordially persuaded what the truth is, in opposition to the many forms of error.

But if the first subject of Essay is unfit for most of the students, the second (as above) is unfit for all of them. Where could Mr Hume have found a subject on which the information requisite for its discussion was more certainly placed without the reach of young men quietly pursuing their studies at a Scotch college, than that of the respective curricula of the Continental and British universities? Did Mr Hume intend that I betwixt this time and the first of May, (when the Essays must be given in,) the young men should open a correspondence with Paris, Berlin, Goettingen, Vienna, Copenhagen, Upsal, Madrid, &c., in all of which universities the curriculum is different? Or, supposing this difficulty got over, and information obtained, did Mr Hume suppose that it was as easy to decide between the respective merits of the curricula in the different universities of Europe as to calculate the army and navy estimates for the year? And lastly, did Mr Hume contemplate the absurdity of setting down a young man, learning his daily tasks under masters according to a certain curriculum, to pronounce upon the merits of that course of study which is prescribed to him-prescribed without consulting him, for this reason, no doubt, among others, that he is too raw and inexperienced to judge of the matter for himself?

The election of a successor to Mr Hume took place on Monday last. Of the four nations into which the students (eléctors) are on these occasions divided, two voted for the re-election of Mr Hume, and two for Sir James M'Gregor. It appears that the Charter does not, as at Glasgow, give the casting vote to the last Rector; and as no similar case, strange to say, has before occurred, the Senatus Academicus, I understand, are to place the matter before the Royal Commission. Aberdeen, 4th March, 1829.

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Hark! the owl, that spirit foul, Asketh a boon of the fading moon; Whilst in cloister dim he of the cowl Is raising his matin tune..

Hush! the cock-the village clockCroweth shrill, and from the hill

Sly Echo replies from her rock,

Commix'd with the hum of the rill.

The playful breeze, like distant bees,
Soundeth his horn, as if in scorn

Of the tears which he shakes from the trees,
And the leaves from the violets torn.

"!

Far f the west, by labour oppress'd,

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The moon hath gone, with her stars every one,

In the measureless ocean to rest,

Till sinketh the wide blazing sun.

And lo! on high, the rosy eye

Of wild'ring day, over the bay

Beginneth to peep through the sky;

Ha! ha! spirits vanish!-away! away!"

T