Devonshire were let out by the year at so much rent per poll. An Exeter perriwig maker went round periodically, cut the locks, and oiled the numskull of each thus left in stubble.

INTERESTING AND FANCIFUL RELIQUE.

The enamelled jewel, of which we give an engraving, was presented by Mary, Queen of Scots, to George Gordon, fourth Earl of Huntley. The precise period at which the gift was made is not now known, though the time was not improbably during the residence of the Queen in France, when the Order of St. Michael was conferred on the Duke of Chatelherault, the Earl of Huntley, and several other Scottish nobles, about 1548. The lock of Mary's

hair which is attached to the small ivory skull, is of a light auburn, inclining to a goldcolour; and if allowance be made for some fading in the course of years, and for the hair of the Queen having generally become darker as she advanced in life, the accuracy of Melvil will be confirmed, when, in speaking of her after her return to Scotland, he says, "her hair was light auburn; Elizabeth's more red than yellow." In this particular little reliance can be placed upon the portraits of Queen Mary; since it is well known, that in the latter part of her life, it was a fashionable practice to wear false hair of various hues, though in some of her pictures the colour of the locks is nearly similar to the hue of that represented in the present. The skull, from which it issues is connected by a twisted skein of

silk with the figure of a Cupid shooting an arrow, standing on a heart enamelled red, transfixed with a dart. heart is a setting for a precious stone, now vacant; in white letters, the words " Willingly Wounded." the heart is a pendant, containing on one side a having the other enamelled blue with an ornament engraving represents one side of the jewel, of the original.

FASTIDIOUSNESS IN DRESS AT AN OLD AGE.

John Benbow, of Northwood, in the parish of Prees, Salop, died 1806, aged 107. His occupation was that of a maker of clocks and watches.

His steadiness of hand, clearness of intellect, and complete command of all his faculties, were such that, till within a very few years of his decease, he was enabled to execute the most intricate and delicate manipulations connected with his business. He lived in three centuries; and, at the time of his decease, had a son, a grandson, and several greatgrandchildren, living in the house with him. He was remarkable for industry, sobriety, early rising, and soon retiring to rest, and was universally respected for his integrity and ingenuity. His favourite beverage was "small beer" brewed of molasses. To the very close of his life he was remarkable for his extreme attention to his dress and everything relating to his personal appearance, as will be seen by the following anecdote. About three years before his death, his tailor brought him home a new coat; on examining which he discovered that the man, either through not being provided with the necessary material or inadvertence, had substituted a cloth collar for a velvet one, which he was accustomed to have added to his garment. Mortified at this circumstance, and learning that the tailor had not velvet of the necessary quality by him, he took up his walking-stick and straitway went off to Whitchurch, a distance of seven miles, to purchase the materials proper to make a new collar, and, to the astonishment of all his family, returned home in a few hours.

SUPERSTITION OF THE JAVANESE.

Nowhere has superstition a greater power over the human mind than among the inhabitants of Java.

When the proper chord is touched, there is scarcely anything too gross for the belief of these islanders. Mr. Crawfurd relates that some years since, it was almost accidentally discovered, that the skull of a buffalo was superstitiously conveyed from one part of the island to another. The point insisted upon was, never to let it rest, but to keep it in constant progressive motion. It was carried in a basket, and no sooner was one person relieved from the load than it was taken up by another; for the understanding was, that some dreadful imprecation was denounced against the man who should let it rest. In this manner, the scull was hurried from one province to another, and after a circulation of many hundred miles, at length reached the town of Samarang, the Dutch governor of which seized it and threw it into the sea, and thus the spell was broken. The Javanese expressed no resentment, and nothing further was heard of this unaccountable transaction. None could tell how or where it originated.

The same writer relates a still more extraordinary instance of infatuation. During the occupation of Java by the English, in the month of May 1814, it was unexpectedly discovered, that, in a remote but populous part of the island, a road, leading to the top of the mountain of Sumbeng, one of the highest in Java, had been constructed. An enquiry being set on foot, it was discovered that the delusion which gave rise to the work had its origin in the province of Banyunas, in the territories of the Susunan, and that the infection had spread to the territory of the Sultan, and thence extended to that of the Europeans. On examination

a road was found constructed twenty feet broad, and from fifty to sixty miles long, and it was wonderfully smooth and well made. One point which appears to have been considered necessary, was, that this road should not cross rivers, and in consequence it wound in a thousand ways. Another point as peremptorily insisted on was, that its straight course should not be interrupted by any private rights; and in consequence trees and houses were overturned to make way for it. The population of whole districts, occasionally to the amount of five or six thousand labourers, were employed on the road, and, among a people disinclined to active exertion the laborious work was nearly completed in two months-such was the effect of the temporary enthusiasm with which they were inspired. It was found in the sequel that the whole work was set in motion by an old woman, who dreamt, or pretended to have dreamt, that a divine personage was about to descend from heaven on the mountain in question. Piety suggested the propriety of constructing a road to facilitate his descent; and it was rumoured that divine vengeance would pursue the sacrilegious person who refused to join in the meritorious labour. These reports quickly wrought on the fears and ignorance of the people, and they heartily joined in the enterprise. The old woman distributed slips of palm-leaves to the labourers, with magic letters written upon them, which were charms to secure them against sickness and accidents. When this strange affair was discovered by the native authorities, orders were issued to desist from the work, and the inhabitants returned without a murmur to their wonted occupations.

SIZE OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS.

The exact size of our own country is a legitimate object of curiosity. We believe the following will be found strictly accurate :The area of England is estimated at

Wales

Scotland

31,929,340 acres. 4,320,000 16,240,000

CASE CONTAINING THE HEART OF LORD EDWARD BRUCE.

Lord Edward Bruce was eldest son of Sir Edward, baron of Kinloss, so created by James I. in 1603, to whom the king gave the dissolved abbey of Kinloss, in Ayrshire, after he had been instrumental in his succession to the crown of England; whither accompanying the king, he was made master of the Rolls in 1604, died in 1610, and was buried in the Rolls chapel. His son, the lord Edward, killed in duel by Sir Edward Sackville in 1613, was succeeded by his brother, who was created Earl of Elgin in 1633, and an English baron in 1641.

Sir Edward Sackville, by whose hand the Lord Edward Bruce_fell, was younger brother to Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset, on whose death he succeeded to the title. He was lord president of the council, a joint lord keeper, and filled several other distinguished offices under Charles I.,

to whom he adhered, by whose side he fought at the battle of Edge-hill, and whose death he took so much to heart, that he never afterwards stirred out of his house in Salisbury-court, but died there on the 17th of July, 1652.

Between these noblemen there arose a quarrel, which terminated in their duel; and all that is, or probably can be known respecting it, is contained in the following correspondence, preserved in a manuscript in Queen's college library, Oxford.

A Monsieur, Monsieur Sackvile.

"I that am in France, hear how much you attribute to yourself in and this time, that I have given the world leave to ring your praises; for me, the truest almanack, to tell you how much I suffer. If you call to memory, when as I gave you my hand last, I told you I reserved the heart for a truer reconcilliation. Now be that noble gentleman, my love once spoke, and come and do him right that could recite the tryals you owe your birth and country, were I not confident your honour gives you the same courage to do me right, that it did to do me wrong. Be master of your own weapons and time; the place wheresoever, I will wait on you. By doing this, you shall shorten revenge, and clear the idle opinion the world hath of both our worths.

"ED. BRUCE."

A Monsieur, Monsieur Baron de Kinloss. "As it shall be always far from me to seek a quarrel, so will I always be ready to meet with any that is desirous to make tryal of my valour, by so fair a course as you require. A witness whereof yourself shall be, who, within a month, shall receive a strict account of time, place and weapon, where you shall find me ready disposed to give honourable satisfaction, by him that shall conduct you thither. In the mean time, be as secret of the appointment, as it seems you are desirous of it.

"E. SACKVILE."

A Monsieur, Monsieur Baron de Kinloss.

"I am at Tergose, a town in Zeland, to give what satisfaction your sword can render you, accompanied with a worthy gentleman for my second, in degree a knight. And, for your coming, I will not limit you a peremptory day, but desire you to make a definite and speedy repair, for your own honour, and fear of prevention; at which time you shall find me there.

Tergose, 10th of August, 1613.

"E. SACKVILE."

A Monsieur, Monsieur Sackvile. "I have received your letter by your man, and acknowledge you have dealt nobly with me; and now I come, with all possible haste, to meet you.

The combat was fierce, and fatal to Lord Bruce.

"E. BRUCE."

It has always been presumed that the duel was fought under the walls of Antwerp; but the combatants disembarked at Bergen-op-Zoom, and fought near that town, and not Antwerp.

In consequence of a tradition, that the heart of Lord Edward Bruce had been sent from Holland, and interred in the vault or buryingground adjoining the old abbey church of Culross, in Perthshire, Sir Robert Preston directed a search in that place in 1808, with the following result:-Two flat stones, without inscription, about four feet in length and two in breadth, were discovered about two feet below the level of the pavement, and partly under an old projection in the wall of the old building. These stones were strongly clasped together with iron; and when separated, a silver case, or box, of foreign workmanship, shaped like a heart, was found in a hollow or excavated place between them.

Its lid was engraved with the arms and name "Lord Edward Bruse;" it had hinges and clasps; and when opened, was found to contain a heart, carefully embalmed, in a brownish coloured liquid. After drawings had been taken of it, as represented in the present engravings, it was carefully replaced in its former situation. There was a small leaden box between the stones in another excavation; the contents of which, whatever they were originally, appeared reduced to dust.

Some time after this discovery, Sir Robert Preston caused a delineation of the silver case, according to the exact dimensions, with an inscription recording its exhumation and re-deposit, to be engraved on a