eron.' idea as that of making wayfarers amuse each | Charles Jones, of the 15th Hussars, was other by the telling of stories. In the second descended from an old Norman family, setplace, Chaucer's fable' is thoroughly English, tled in the Welsh Marches, and was equerry and widely different from that of the Decam- to the late Duke of Cumberland, who be Its Englishness we recognize at a glance came King of Hanover under the title of -the inn, the company, the good fellowship, Ernest I. The King was Mr. Jones's god. the common purpose (so different from mere father. Major Jones bought an estate in running away or retirement), the straightfor-Holstein, and remained there with his famward look of the pilgrims in the poet's picture ily till 1838. His son Ernest composed a all this is, I repeat, thoroughly English, and number of poems when very young, which as peculiar to Chaucer as anything English can were afterwards published by Nesler, of be." Hamburg. At 11 years of age he disappeared from home, and was found with a bundle under his arm trudging across Lauenberg to "help the Poles," who were then in insurrection. Later he achieved some distinction at the College of St. Michael Luneberg. In 1838 Major Jones removed to England with his family, and in 1841 young Ernest was presented to the Queen by the late Duke of Beaufort. He married Miss Atherly, of Barfield, Cumberland, whose father and uncle were the heads of uld Conservative families, but Mr. Jones clung to his Radical prepossessions. this year appeared the first of his larger works, a romance entitled "The Wood Spirit," published anonymously by Boone of New Bond-street. Some songs and poems followed, and in Easter term, 1844, Mr. Jones was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple. In Considering the immense multitude of facts contained in such a work as the present, we have remarked singularly few errors, and these are of slight consequence. In one place the author quotes Hallam to show that in the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth chimneys were unknown in this country; and that some time later, in certain parts, "the fire was in the midst of the house, or against a hob of clay, while the oxen lived under the same roof." But to find, as the normal condition of cottage-life, a fire in the middle of the earthern floor, with a hole in the roof to let the smoke out, the family bed on one side, and the cattle ranged upon the other, with no partition between, Mr. Browne has only, in these present times, to visit the western isles of Scotland. Elsewhere he remarks on the probable emotions of a modern artist in cookery if asked to prepare for dinner, He now commenced what promised to be among other things, a peacock. A visit to a successful professional career on the Leadenhall Market, at certain seasons of Northern Circuit, but, in an evil hour for the year, would show our author that the his position and prospects as a barrister, he taste for peacock is not quite obsolete; and joined the Chartists, and rapidly became a practical trial of the bird would further their leader. This was in 1845, when Sir convince him that our ancestors, in eating Robert Peel's government was in power. peacock, showed a sound gastronomic judg- Long before this, however, the Chartists ment. On the question of porpoise we are had contrived to attract to their proceedings not in a position to say anything; while a considerable share of the public attention. tansy-pudding is offensive in its very name. The body was called into existence soon These, however, are but trifling slips in a after the passing of the Reform Act of 1832, work which deals with a profoundly inter- and they demanded what they termed the esting subject, in a manner which is charac-six points of the People's Charter, viz:terized by extreme freshness and intellectual force. From The Magazine of Biography. A GENTLEMAN whose name, twenty years ago, was prominently before the public in connection with the Chartist movement, Mr. Ernest Jones, died at Manchester, after a brief illness, on the 26th of January, having just completed his 50th year. Mr. Jones was born on the 25th of January, 1819, at Berlin. His father, Major Universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual parliaments, payment of the members, the abolition of the property qualification, and equal electoral districts. To this day the only point which has been conceded is the abolition of the property qualifications for members of the House of Commons, and this was adopted in the same session that witnessed the admission of Jews to Parliament, that of 1858, when the Conservatives were in power. Seven years before Mr. Jones took a prominent part in the agitation, the Chartists had assembled in great force in various parts of the kingdom, armed with guns, pikes, and other weapons, and carrying torches. They conducted themselves so tumultuously that on the 12th December, | stituted authorities trembled - the Chart1838, the Melbourne ministry found it ex- ists proposed to hold a mass meeting of pedient to issue a proclamation against 200,000 men on Kennington-common, to them. At that time their headquarters was march them in procession to the house of the borough of Birmingham, and the late parliament, and in this way to present a Mr. Thomas Atwood was one of their most petition to the House of Commons. This active leaders. In August 1838 a monster obvious endeavour to overawe the legislapetition was agreed to at Birmingham at a ture was, however, frustrated by the enerso-called "National Convention," and a getic action of the authorities. The Bank few months afterwards it was presented to and other public establishments were parliament by Mr. Atwood. On the 15th guarded by military, and the approaches to July in this year they committed great out- Westminster bridge were commanded by rages in the hardware capital, but the most artillery. The consequence was that not extraordinary part of their proceedings up more than 20,000 men assembled on the to this time was reserved for the borough common, the monster petition which had of Newport, in Monmouthshire. The Chart- been prepared was sent to the House of ists, on the 4th of November, collected Commons in detached rolls, and no fewer from the mines and collieries in the neigh- than 150,000 persons of all classes, includbourhood to the number of 10,000, armed ing the present Emperor of the French, with guns, pikes, and clubs. They divided were sworn in as special constables. themselves into two bodies, one being under the command of Mr. John Frost, an ex-magistrate, while the other was under the leadership of his son. They met in front of the Westgate Hotel, where the magistrates were assembled with about thirty soldiers of the 45th Regiment, and a few special constables. The rioters commenced breaking the windows of the house, and fired on the inmates, wounding the mayor and several others. The soldiers returned the fire, dispersing the mob, which at the same time, were declared guilty, with its leaders fled from the town, leaving twenty dead, and many others dangerously wounded. For his share in this fatal affray, Frost and others of the leaders were sentenced to death, but the punishment was commuted to transportation for life. They received a pardon on the conclusion of peace with Russia in 1856. Such was the class of men with which Mr. Ernest Jones became connected in 1845. To advocate the Chartist cause he not only gave up what promised to be a good and increasing practice at the bar, but he refused to accept any emolument for his services, and spent large sums in supporting what he believed to be the interests of the people. Both on the platform and in the press he was indefatigable in enforcing the claims of the political section to which he belonged. From time to time he issued The Labourer, Notes of the People, and other periodicals: and he established also The People's Paper," which remained the organ of the Chartists for eight years. In 1847 he unsuccessfully contested Halifax; but it was the following year which marked a memorable incident in his chequered career. On the 10th of April, 1848 – a day when, according to the late Sir James Graham, the throne of Europe rocked, and con During this excitement Mr. Jones delivered an inflammatory speech on 4th June, 1848, in Bishop Bonner's Fields, London. This speech the law officers of Lord John Russell's government held to be seditious. A warrant was accordingly issued against Mr. Jones, who was apprehended at Manchester on the night of the 6th, and immediately taken to London. The trial took place on the 10th of July, and Mr. Jones, together with the other prisoners arraigned and sentenced to long periods of imprisonment. The sentence against Mr. Jones was two years' solitary confinement, and he was further ordered to find two sureties of 100%. each, and to be bound in his own recognizances for 2007. to keep the peace for three years. His own published account of the severity of his treatment provoked a good deal of indignation. He was kept in solitary confinement on the silent system, enforced with the utmost rigour; for nineteen months he was neither allowed pen, ink, nor paper, but confined in a small cell, 13 feet by 6, varied only by a solitary walk in a small high-walled prison-yard. He obeyed all the prison regulations, excepting as to picking oakum, observing that for the sake of public order he would seek to conform to all forms and rules, but would never lend himself to voluntary degradation. To break his firmness on this point he was again and again imprisoned in a dark cell and fed on bread and water. On one occasion, while cholera was raging in London, this punishment was enforced, though the object of it was suffering from dysentery at the time, and he was consigned to a dark cell from which a man dying from cholera had just been removed. But such efforts were in vain. The prison authorities never ure to the weather aggravated his cold, for succeeded in making him perform the de- | home by cab, and incautiously left the wingrading labour task. In the second year of dow open. It is supposed that the exposhis imprisonment Mr. Jones was so broken in health that he could no longer stand upright. He was found lying on the floor of his cell, and then only taken to the prison hospital. He was told that if he would petition for his release, and promise to abjure politics, the remainder of his sentence would be remitted. But he refused his liberty on those conditions, and was reconsigned to his cell. While in prison he composed an epic, published after his release in 1851, entitled "The Revolt of Hindostan," entirely written with his blood on the leaves of the prison prayer-books. Soon after his release from prison his uncle Mr. John Halton Annesley sent for His remains were conveyed to their last him and asked if he would give up the resting-place in Ardwick Cemetery, Manprinciples by which he was disgracing "chester, on the 31st of January. Several his family. Mr. Jones was the old man's only relative. The answer he got from the advocate of democracy may be imagined from the fact that Mr. Annesley left all his property, said to be worth 2,000l. a-year, to his gardener, a man named Carter. 66 thousand persons joined in the procession. The pall-bearers were Mr. Edward Hooson, Mr. Jacob Bright, M.P., Mr. Elijah Dixon, Mr. Edmond Beales, Mr. Alderman Heywood, Mr. T. B. Potter, M.P., Sir É. Armitage, Mr. F. Taylor, Mr. James CrossIn 1853 Mr. Jones unsuccessfully con- ley, the Rev. H. M. Steinthall, Mr. H. tested Nottingham, and in 1857 he again Rawson, and Mr. Thomasson, of Bolton. tried his fortunes in that borough, but with- The carriers were Mr. Benjamin Whiteley, out avail. Meanwhile his name had come Mr. John Bowes, Mr. J. Cunliffe, and Mr. before the public as the author of several T. Topping (one of the Chartists arrested poems, and amongst these were "The Bat-like Mr. Jones in 1848). After the funertle Day" (1855), "The Painter of Flor- al service had been read, and the coffin ence " (1856), "The Emperor's Vigil "deposited in a temporary grave (until a (1856). These were followed by "Beldagon Church" and "Corayda" in 1860. After the extinction of Chartism Mr. Jones returned to his practice on the Northern Circuit, and his name will be remembered in connection with the defence of the Fenian prisoners Allen, Gould, and Larkin, who were tried at Manchester in November 1867 for the murder of Police-Sergeant Brett. vault has been constructed), Mr. Beales At the general election which took place in November 1868, Mr. Jones stood as the third liberal candidate for Manchester, but although he received 10,746 votes he was not elected. On the Friday and Saturday preceding his death, in the novel experi- The Daily News remarks that Mr. Jones ment of a test ballot in that city, Mr. Jones" was one of those men of poetic temperareceived 7,382 votes, against 4,133 recorded ment to whom any cause which they may for Mr. Milner Gibson as the candidate for espouse becomes a passion and a faith. the liberal party, should Mr. Birley lose his The very exaggerations of his career may seat. After a short illness he died at his res-be traced to the loftiness of his purpose and idence in Wellington-street, Higher Brough- the simplicity of his motives. His devotion ton. Mr. Jones was suffering from severe to the popular cause made his life a contincold in the early part of the week, but was ual sacrifice to what he conceived to be its induced to leave his bedroom to attend a interests, and if he represented the turbumeeting of the Hulme and Choriton Work- lent period of popular Radicalism, he was ing Men's Association on the 20th of Janu- also one of the central figures of its martyr ary. He left a heated atmosphere to return age. Mr. Jones's extreme opinions on some points were the result of his enthusi- | ladies of the harem. We were taken to astic temperament, but his devotion to those see the Grotto, a place in itself worthy of opinions, his sacrifices for them, and his much note, it being at least sixty feet high, eloquent defences of them, had at length won universal respect. The affection with which a large class of working men regarded him was shown in his unsuccessful contests at Nottingham and Manchester, and had just received conclusive proof in the ballot in the latter city. It is gratifying to see that the people can appreciate unselfish service. Mr. Jones had lived down much of the suspicion and dislike of one class without having outlived the affection of the other. Men of very different political views from his own would have been glad to see him in Parliament, where he would have been received as the earnest, honest, and eloquent exponent of views which are not now represented there. He has died comparatively young, but he had lived through the troublous time of his own career and of our domestic politics, and the esteem and regret of all classes will follow him to his grave. In the most turbulent sphere of English political life, in the sphere which has always had unusual temptations for self-seeking, he lived and died an honest man." From The Pall Mall Gazette. A CORRESPONDENT sends a long account of the Viceroy's ball given on the 4th inst. at his new palace at Gezireh, on the banks of the Nile, about five miles' drive from Cairo. On reaching the gates (the writer says) we were stopped by a crowd of Turkish officials who asked for our tickets, and who on receiving them saluted us, and we passed on through the gates into the grounds. We were at once struck with the beauty and magnificence of the place the drive on either side studded with trees of the densest foliage, and here and there lamps whose posts were gilded, and whose soft and blended lights had a beautiful effect. We arrived at the palace too soon, for after having given up our hats and cloaks, we were asked by one of the officials if we would not like to go out in the grounds for half an hour. There was evidently some reason for wishing to get us away, as we soon found out, for at that moment the Viceroy himself appeared, and told one of the attendants to take us out and show us the grounds. The fact was, he wished to show the palace when lighted up and before the guests arrived to the with walks right through it, leading to its summit, and little streamlets of water running and trickling at every niche and corner, and lamps, with the same sort of globes as those in the gardens, interspersed throughout, while here and there was a mimic little waterfall whose streams ran over stained glass lighted from behind, giving to the water the colour of the glass on which it ran. From this we were conducted to the Viceroy's hall of reception in the grounds. This is a large open terrace whose roof is supported by marble pillars, with floor of the same, and in the centre stood a large fountain, which, however, was dry. While walking through the gardens on our way back to the palace we heard voices laughing and talking, and soon found out that the ladies of the harem were returning through the grounds to their palace. Our guide said we must walk out of their way, but unfortunately we were too late for compliance. Our only refuge was under one of the lamps, where the ladies passed us. With them, and walking in front, were the Viceroy's daughters, at least so our guide told us; and these ladies on seeing us put up their eyeglasses, astonished at the presence of such curious people. On We now return to the palace. On entering the portico one could not fail to be struck with the magnificence of the interior. Facing us and leading to the upper part of the palace were the stairs, of the purest white, and inlaid with strips of black marble, highly polished. Stationed at either corner and at the turns of the stairs were Nubian soldiers clad in tunics of chain armour and helmets whose visors extended in a bar of steel below the nose. reaching the top of the stairs we entered one of the large state rooms, with floor of polished wood, sofas and chairs of crimson velvet surrounding it, and a gigantic ottoman in the centre, of the same material, sufficiently large to accommodate at least twenty-five people. In front of this room was the verandah, where the dancers after each dance resorted for fresh air. The verandah was filled with rich and rare plants, whose soft colours, in contrast with the gorgeous fittings around, gave relief and pleasure to the eye. On the left of this, and about the size of the first room, but more richly furnished, was the reception-room, where the visitors on entering made their obeisance to the Viceroy, who appeared to receive every one very cordially, shaking hands with many of the ladies. On leaving 248 CHINESE CHARITIES. given for that purpose. this we walked across the first room to the ball and refreshment rooms, where the brought to these establishments are infants Most children dancing was going on. Here were officers whose parents are too poor to support them. in divers uniforms, civilians (many whose The great majority of them are girls. decorations appeared sufficiently heavy to They are put in the charge of foster-momake them almost bow their heads), Turks thers, who generally live at their own in the Viceroy's uniform and tarboosh cap, homes, and are required to present them all dancing with ladies. such as ices and every conceivable cooling month, when they receive their regular stiRefreshments, for inspection at the asylum every halfdrink, were being constantly handed round pend. When the children are about two on large chased silver trays by English years old they are brought back to the State servants in red coats, powdered wigs, establishment, and several are put under &c. Supper was laid down stairs in three the care of one nurse. or four rooms. Fruits and vegetables, both arrived at a suitable age, boys are put out in and out of season, were to be had, and as apprentices to learn trades, or sent to When they have wine in abundance. On the other side, free schools; girls are sold to the poorer again, were the coffee and smoking rooms. classes, according to the custom of the counI believe there was not one vacant seat in try, as wives. the large card room. Children of both sexes, however, are not unfrequently adopted, own. and treated by their benefactors as their We returned to the ball-room A.M. The dancing was evidently beginning -now four to flag, and many of the people were already and by five the last carriages Chekiang, I found, in connection with a In Hang-chow, the provincial capital of gone; were being called up. During the whole variety of benevolent institutions, an Asytime the Viceroy was walking about the lum for Old Men, in which I became parrooms making himself very agreeable ticularly interested, and which I frequently amongst his guests amongst whom were visited. It contained, in 1859, about five Sir John Lawrence, the Duke of Suther- hundred inmates. The building was large, land, M. de Lesseps, of the Suez Canal, the beneficiaries were made very comfortaand many distinguished foreigners. The ble, and everything connected with the guests numbered 3,000, 4,000 invitations establishment was carried on with as much having gone out. All the guests residing order and system as in a similar institution at Alexandria and Suez were taken to Cairo in our own country. and back by special trains, provided by the immense dining-room, kitchen and sleeping In addition to an Viceroy's orders. apartments, conveniences were afforded in separate buildings for making different articles of handicraft, and the inmates were at liberty to spend as much time as they chose working at some trade, and to make such use as they pleased of whatever they might earn in this way. CHINESE CHARITIES. (Nevius's "China and the Chinese.") THAT benevolent societies are found in a heathen land may appear strange to West- widows are very common, and exist either Societies for affording pecuniary aid to ern readers; but it is a fact that they exist independently or in connection with societies in China in numbers and variety hardly ex- embracing several distinct objects conceeded in Christian lands. In comparing jointly. Immediately after the death of these institutions with those of the West, her husband, the widow receives a larger one is also struck with the similarity which stipend than at any subsequent time, in exists in their nature and objects. have here orphan asylums, institutions for young children. This allowance is graduWe order to assist her in providing for her the relief of the widows, as well as for the ally diminished; and as old age approaches, aged and infirm, public hospitals, and free women of this class, if they have no chilschools, together with other kindred institu- dren able to support them, are sometimes tions more peculiarly Chinese in their char- transferred to another establishment which acter. Moral tracts are also distributed to provides for the wants of the aged and a great extent. widow is in want, and the limited number infirm. When a respectable and worthy of beneficiaries in the public asylums is complete, private individuals frequently make contributions to afford relief in these particular cases. in this class of women is due to the views The peculiar interest felt Orphan asylums are found in almost every eity, and frequently in country villages. They are established by a wealthy individual, or several individuals associated together, and are sometimes supported by a permanent fund, or the proceeds of lands |