that his own existence might then become of much greater importance to the public, than of late it has been.

That your Petitioner, with a view of shewing how this might be brought about, takes the liberty of stating it to be his opinion, that in the present day when such a cloud of literary works are issuing from the press, as to make it impossible for individuals to purchase a tenth part of them; and when by reason of the extension of education, so many are capable of writing who cannot afford to publish, it would tend to the general good to have cheap Local Publications, in which extracts from choice works might be brought forward, and the talents of the young and diligent find a place for their development.

That your Petitioner is informed that a Local Publication of the sort alluded to, is about to issue from the Press of Mr. COULTER at Sittingbourne, wherein every thing of every sort is to be contained, which is free from excitement either in politics or religion, correct in expression, sound in principle, and likely to amend the heart, as well as instruct the head and please the fancy.

That your Petitioner has reasons to believe that the Editor of the said Local Publication is a young man, just set up in business, and anxious by a diligent and right employment of his "Press," to serve the public faithfully, and earn an honest livelihood as his fathers have done before him.

Your Petitioner therefore prays "THE ENLIghtened PuBLIC" that they,-on whom all his actions depend for good or evil, and with whom rest the various destinations which may await him, will forthwith be pleased to issue an order, mandate, or decree, in the Persian fashion, that he, your Petitioner, on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and again on the first day of every succeeding month in the same year, and every subsequent year until the end of time, may be sent to the aforesaid Editor, in company with a Servant or Servants, Postman or Postmen, or other Messenger or Messengers, and that he may be made the means with such assistance, of sending forth and circulating as widely as possible, the aforesaid Local Publication, to be called "The Country Miscellany and Literary Selector;" and that nothing be suffered

to let, hinder, or prevent such a monthly application of his powers; whereby at length may be seen the prosperity of an individual, arising in happy combination with public benefit and general service. And your Petitioner shall, as in duty bound, ever pray, &c. &c. &c.

Witness my Seal.

SIXPENCE

LADY JANE GREY.

(To the Editor of the Country Miscellany.)

"On the morning of the execution of Lady Jane Grey, Lord Guilford requested a final interview with her, but she declined a scene which she thought would too strongly affect the feelings of both, and intimated to him by message, that the fortitude and tranquillity of mind, which would disarm their approaching fate of its sting, would rather be shaken than confirmed by that meeting, which he so affectionately desired."— Vide History of England.

Ah! is it mine to bid us meet no more?

To break the spell which might the past restore?
Ah! is it mine to bid the parting word,

From lips whose voice is love, no more be heard?
Yes, Dudley, I have nerv'd my soul to bear,
And I have lean'd upon the strength of prayer;
The fading toys of earth are nought to me,
But my heart falters when I think on thee:
How could I bear one last embrace of thine?
How dar'st thou trust the parting one of mine?
Our early love, our dreams of past delight,-
Would rush too vividly upon the sight:

For we had joys, not of the court or throne,
But those which humbler breasts may haply own.
O! who shall tell, when time hath softly shed
Its dew of pity o'er our lowly bed :-

O! who shall tell that 'twas ambition's ray,
That lured us from domestic peace away?
No! 'twas the want of daring to arise
And say, "Take back the crown we do not prize.
Insulted England! we shall soon have paid

The ransom, which upon thy wrong was laid!
Our youth, imprudence, and untimely doom,
Shall be the moral rising from our tomb.

Time shortens death approaches-oh! how blest,
To hail his coming as a guide to rest :
How brightly treasured in my spirit lies

The germ of Hope, which blossoms in the skies;
And while there yet remains one hour to me,
How fondly would I pray, Belov'd, for thee ;-
Be thine the hopes which in my soul arise,
And thine the joy that in perspective lies ;-
And take my Love, 'tis the last gift I send,
The dearest token, to the dearest friend;
Whose tried affection knew no lighter flame,
Whose life, and death, and fortunes, were the same.
W. H. P-

Faversham.

ANECDOTE.

It was a dreary cold morning in the month of December, and the rain descended in that steady manner which denotes a continuance of it, when a young woman, apparently from the country, whose countenance was tinged with the brilliancy of the rose, made her appearance at the post-office of a neighbouring town and eagerly asked if there was a letter for Eliza Snowdrop. The post-master, after examining his packet, answered in the negative. An involuntary sigh burst from her lips, and, lingering a few moments unmindful of the weather, she asked in a desponding manner, "do you think, sir, there will be one for me to-morrow?"—L. L. E.

ON WRITING.

(For the Country Miscellany.)

The art of writing is so advantageous, and has proved so beneficial to mankind, that any comment on its usefulness must be needless. According to the most careful antiquarian researches it appears, that Moses was the first who delivered grammar or letters to the Jews, that the Samaritan is the oldest language, and that cutting on stone (as the Law of Mount Sinai) is the most ancient species of record. Practices very similar were afterwards adopted by many nations. Hard substances, such as metals and stones, were generally made use of for edicts and matters requiring public notoriety. The celebrated Laws of the Twelve Tables among the Romans, were so denominated from being written or engraved on twelve slabs or tablets of brass, and hung up for the inspection of the public.

Montfaucon, in his "Journey through Italy," says that in the palace of Strozzi at Rome, he saw a book made of marble, the leaves of which were cut to a wonderful thinness, so that when turning them over, you might behold all the several kinds of marble.

The ancient Chaldeans stamped or engraved their astronomical observations upon bricks; and, within a few years, considerable quantities of such bricks have been dug up in the vicinity of Hilleh, the real or supposed site of the ancient Babel.

Diogenes Laertius tells us that the Greek philosopher, Cleanthes, "being poor, and wanting money to buy paper, was accustomed to write the lectures and discoveries of his master, Zeno, on small shells and bones of oxen. ""

According to Pliny, one of the most ancient methods of writing was upon the leaves of the palm tree, and upon the inner bark of trees. This mode of writing is still common in the East. In Tanjore, and other parts of India, the palmyra leaf is used, on which they engrave with an iron style or pen; and so expert are the natives, that they can write fluently what is spoken deliberately. They do not look much at their ôllas, or leaves, while writing; the fibre of the leaf serving to guide the pen. Dr. F.

Buchanan, in his essay "On the Religion and Literature of the Burmas," informs us that "in their more elegant books, the Burmas write on sheets of ivory, or on very fine white palmyra leaves. The ivory is stained black, and the margins are ornamented with gilding, while the characters are enamelled or gilded. On the palmyra leaves the characters are in general of black enamel, and the ends of the leaves and margins are painted with flowers in various bright colours. In their more common books, the Burmas, with an iron style, engrave their writing on palmyra leaves. A hole through both ends of each leaf, serves to connect the whole into a volume, by means of two strings, which also pass through the two wooden boards that serve for binding. In the finer binding of these kinds of books, the boards are lacquered, the edges of the leaves cut smooth and gilded, and the title is written on the upper board; the two cords are by a knot or jewel, secured at a little distance from the boards, so as to prevent the books from falling to pieces, but sufficiently distant to admit of the upper leaves being turned back, while the lower ones are read. The more elegant books are in general wrapped up in silk cloth, and bound round by a garter, in which the Burmas have the art to weave the title of the book."

We remember seeing a beautifully written Indian manuscript. The characters were minute and neatly executed. They were written or engraved so as to enter into the substance of the leaf. The whole was composed of seven distinct portions of leaf, each portion being 16 inches in length, and 14 inch in breadth, the lines running parallel to each other from end to end of the leaf. Two holes were made in each leaf about six inches asunder. A string passed through the holes at each end secured the whole; but the leaves being written on both sides were untied before they could be read.

The skins of fishes were also sometimes employed for writing upon; and Zonoras relates, that the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer were written upon the intestines of a serpent, in characters of gold, forming a roll one hundred feet in length. This singular work is said to have been consumed in the dreadful fire which happened at Constantinople in the fifth century, and destroyed nearly the whole