The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 540, March 31, 1832

And truly much I should have blunder'd,
Had I not given another hundred
To dear Earl Paulett's second son,
Who dearly loves a little fun.
Unto my nephew, Stephen Langdon,
Of whom none says he e'er has wrong done,
The civil laws he loves to hash,
I give two hundred pounds in cash.
One hundred pounds to my niece, Tudor,
(With luring eyes one Clark did view her,)
And to her children just among 'em,
A hundred more—and not to wrong 'em,
In equal shares I freely give it,
Not doubting but they will receive it.
To Betsy Mudford and Mary Lee,
If they with Mrs. Mudford be,
Because they round the year did dwell
In Davies-street, and serv'd full well.
The first ten pounds, the other twenty,
And girls, I hope that will content ye.
In seventeen hundred and sixty-nine,
This with my hand I write and sign,
The sixteenth day of fair October,
In merry mood, but sound and sober.
Past my threescore and fifteenth year,
With spirits gay and conscience clear—
Joyous and frolicksome, though old,
And like this day, serene, but cold;
To foes well wishing, and to friends most kind,
In perfect charity with all mankind.
For what remains I must desire,
To use the words of Matthew Prior.
Let this my will be well obey'd,
And farewell all, I'm not afraid,
For what avails a struggling sigh.
When soon, or later, all must die?
M. DARLEY."

Joshua West, who was known in his sphere "as the poet of the Six Clerks' Office," made his will in rhyme; it is dated 13th December, 1804:

"Perhaps I die not worth a groat,
But should I die worth somewhat more,
Then I give that, and my best coat,
And all my manuscripts in store,
To those who will the goodness have
To cause my poor remains to rest,
Within a decent shell and grave,
This is the will of JOSHUA WEST."

In 1654, Henry Phillips published the "Purchasers' Pattern," in which he gives advice to purchasers of estates of inheritance, in verse.

There is also a long article in verse, "On the Distribution of Intestates' Effects: it begins—

"By the laws of the land,
It is settled and planned,
That intestates' effects shall be spread,
At the end of the year,
When the debts are all clear,
'Mong the kindred as here may be read."

Before the conclusion, the author says,

"To the rest that succeed,
We need not proceed,
Enough has already been penn'd,
And now it's high time,
For our doggrel rhyme
To come, lest it err, to an end."

This hint I shall apply to myself, lest my article become as dry and uninteresting as my subject, and conclude with a declaration in which I heartily concur:

"Fee simple, and a simple fee,
And all the fees in tail,
Are nothing when compared to thee,
Thou best of fees—female."

W.A.R.

FINE ARTS

THE NINTH EXHIBITION OF THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS

We are happy to learn that the "British Artists" continue to flourish. Their association, we believe, originated in the inefficiency of similar Institutions. They started in a spirit of generous rivalry, and, above all things, with the view to aid aspiring merit. It could, however, scarcely be called rivalry to any other Institution, and to this line of conduct we attribute much of the success of the Society of British Artists. As the Secretary states in an Address to the Public, prefixed to this year's Catalogue, "they have never opposed, either directly or indirectly, any existing Institution for the promotion of the Fine Arts, but have uniformly sought to go hand in hand with whatever tended to their general advancement." It appears likewise, that works in Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and Engraving, to the amount of £18,000. and upwards, have been sold from the walls of the Exhibition, since the formation of the Society, and numerous commissions given in consequence of the talent thus displayed; and that all future donations will be devoted towards completing the purchase of the galleries occupied by the Society, in Suffolk-street.

The full attendance at the private view on Friday, accorded with these gratifying statements. Suffolk-street and Pall Mall East were crowded with the carriages of visiters, and in the rooms was an abundant sprinkling of nobility, patrons of art, men of letters, and some note of purchases at the keeper's table. There are upwards of 800 Pictures, and about 100 specimens of Sculpture and Engraving. The crowded state of the rooms during the hour that we were there, allowed us only to note a few works.

1. Cardinal Weld; a well painted portrait, by James Ramsey, of the benevolent owner of Lulworth Castle. The features are dignified and finely intellectual. We could, too, associate their expression with the philanthropic act of the Cardinal's affording an asylum to fallen royalty.

13. Ruins. D. Roberts. A delightful composition, from these exquisite lines by Mrs. Hemans:

""There have been bright and glorious pageants here,
"Where now grey stones and moss-grown columns lie—
There have been words, which earth grew pale to hear,
"Breath'd from the cavern's misty chambers nigh:
"There have been voices through the sunny sky,
And the pine woods, their choral hymn-notes sending,
"And reeds and lyres, their Dorian melody,
With incense clouds around the temple blending,
"And throngs, with laurel boughs, before the altar bending."