tion is better than cure." Some tell only half a truth, the other half being contained in another Proverb; as "Penny wise and pound foolish," and "Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves ;"other Proverbs require local knowledge to render them intelligible; that about the Goodwin Sands and Tenterden Steeple, for instance. Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More was sent by King Henry the Eighth with a commission into Kent to find out, if possible, the cause of the Goodwin Sands, and the shelf or bar that stopped up Sandwich Haven. Among the witnesses examined was the "oldest inhabitant" of the district, who gave his evidence thus:-"I am an old man, and I remember the building of Tenterden Steeple, and I remember when there was no steeple there at all. And before that steeple was built there was no talk of any flats or sands that stopped up the Sandwich Haven, and I think that Tenterden Steeple is the cause of the Goodwin Sands." This proverb teaches us the absurdity of confounding coincidence with cause. Again, Proverbs convey a warning, as "Look before you leap;" a reproof, as, "If you have too many irons in the fire some will be sure to burn your fingers;" a moral maxim, as "The beaten path is the best road;" a retort, as," Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones;' a gentle hint to idlers, as, "When the tree is down all go with their hatchets;" or a religious admonition, as, "Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, and the years draw nigh in which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." The essence of a good Proverb is its terseness, or the quality of being both brief and smooth-a quality that gives double force to the wisdom it contains. To uncultivated minds Proverbs stand in the place of quotations from the poets, historians, and orators to the learned. They contain the soul of wit and wisdom, and are therefore great favourites with the people. They are used as arguments by the ignorant, and are pleasant forms of speech for the scholar. They teach those who would not otherwise learn, and are of great use even to the wisest in presenting them with phrases common to, and understood by, all classes of men. Proverbs are common to all languages, and many of the most familiar of them are found scattered over distant parts of the world. We say, that "It is useless to carry coals to Newcastle;" the Orientals say, that "It is waste labour to take oil to Damascus;" we say, "The burnt child dreads the fire;" the Hebrews say, "A scalded child dreads hot water," and so of many others. The Italians and Spaniards use a great many Proverbs in their conversation, as those who have read Don Quixote" well know. Indeed, the great charm of this admirable book lies in the endless string of wise and witty sayings of honest Sancho Panza. The French, the Germans, the Dutch, the Russians and the Chinese possess a vast store of capital Proverbs; and even among the Red Indians of America and the savage islanders of the South Seas, the Proverb exercises an influence unknown among civilized nations. They are poems in little, sermons in sentences maxims transmitted from generation to generation, and carried from land to land and language to language, till they link all mankind in one common bond of fellowship and truth-the "touch of nature That makes the world akin." Proverbs often convey hints of national peculiarities, and there are no people who have not some which belong solely to them. The English lay claim to about ten thousand; the French to three thousand; but the Spaniards possess the largest stock of all, their book of Proverbs containing nearly thirty thousand wise and witty sayings. The Scotch proverb, "Count money after your father," betrays the prudence and caution of their The national character. The French say, "A man at the shambles (butchers' shops) has no more credit than a dog," and "Cut out thongs from other people's leather"-two sentences that do no great honour to French morals. The Spaniards say, "War with the World and peace with England," a proverb that may have had its rise from the memory of the failure of their great Armada in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Russians say, "Prayer to God and service to the Czar," an evidence of the state of subjection in which the people of that country have been kept for centuries. Again, they say, "Give to the judge, lest thou get into prison," a practical sarcasm on the administration of law in Russia. How different from the German Proverb:-"Liberty, sings the bird, though the prison be a golden cage." The Arabs know little of gratitude, and this fact they illustrate by the Proverb-"Eat the present and break the dish." Some of the Chinese Proverbs are quaint and truthful: Large fowls do not eat small meals;" "The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man purified without affliction;" "It is as wrong in the king as in the people to break the laws;" "Let every man sweep the snow from his own door before he thinks about his neighbour's tiles," a hint to busy-bodies; "The man in boots does not see the man in shoes," a saying true of the proud and haughty in all countries; "Look not a gift horse in the mouth," a saying that has found its way into many languages, and the opposite of which we recognize in the Russian Proverb-"Give a man a shirt, and he will exclaim, How coarse it is." Many of the Italian Proverbs are extremely quaint. Of old bachelors they say, "Lazy if tall, Cross-grained if small; Though strict Catholics, many of their sayings partake of what we should call heresy; as, for example: "To fast is good, but to forgive better;" "The gate of heaven is not to be forced with a golden hammer;" "Shrouds pockets," a homily in a sentence; have no "He that keeps fast, and else does naught but evil, Some of their Proverbs are very severe upon the morality of their governing classes: Old rogues make new spies;" "Good order is bread, but disorder starvation;""The fish begins to stink from the head;" "Bread and Saints' days stop the mouths of the people." But the best and noblest of them teaches a lesson that we may all take to heart "Work as if thou hadst to live for aye; Worship as if thou hadst to die to day." Some French Proverbs about women are curious: "There are only two good wives in the world; the one is lost and the other is not to be found;" a saying the opposite of ours, "There is only one good husband, and one beautiful child in the kingdom, and every good wife possesses them." The French character is well shown in the following: "Tell a woman that she is pretty, and Satan will tell her the same thing twenty times a day;" "Choose a wife by your ears, and not by your eyes;" "A pretty woman is like an ill-defended city, easy to take but hard to keep ;" "The wind and a woman are difficult to master;" "Smoke and a woman drive a man out of doors;"" Every man fears two things, his wife and thunder;" "Women and cats are best at home;" "Wives are always better next year, but next year, like to-morrow, never comes;" "Two things a woman cannot keep, her reputation and a secret ;" "A woman hides from her lover only that which she does not know." ܂ As examples of Proverbs to be found in many languages, the following may be mentioned :-"No mill no meal;" "A cat in gloves catches no mice;" "One good turn deserves another," which the French have thusA beau jeu beau retour; "Better late than never," the Italian form of which is Meglio tardi che son mai; “All is not gold that glitters ;"New brooms sweep clean;""Money makes the mare to go;""Hunting dogs have scratched faces; Time and tide wait for no man," and many others. 99 66 Many Proverbs are doubtful, others very bad in their morality. Who would like to put faith in such sayings as these "As the Psalmist has said, all men are liars ;" "You may know an honest man by the hair growing in the palm of his hand;" "Honesty is the best policy;" a saying that has done a vast deal of mischief by insinuating that honesty is not a duty, but that it is necessary only to advance men's wordly interests; "In for a penny in for a pound;" "As well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb;" "We must do in Rome as the Romans do." The niggardly use the Proverb "Charity begins at home," to excuse themselves from giving. "Let the shoemaker stick to his last," is often used as a rebuke to people who meddle with other folk's concerns, but if the shoemaker had always stuck to his lipstone, Christian missions and the name of William Carey would not have Leen united; had the tinker kept to his forge, "The Pilgrim's Progress" would never have been written; had Ben Jonson been content with his bricklayer's trowel, the world would have been a great loser; and had Daniel Defoe contented himself with selling stockings in Cheapside, you, my Charley, and all other boys, would never have possessed your fainous Robinson Crusoe." But Proverbs of a better class teach us to "Do what is right, whatever be the result;" remind us that "He that waits for dead men's shoes, goes for a long time bare-foot ;" and tell us that we must "Work or die," for "Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do." BE ACTIVE. Look ye! time is swiftly rolling, Vesper bells will soon be tolling The departure of the day. Rouse thee! rouse thee! use cach muscle: There is much for us to do On this stage of mortal bustle, Wrong to evade, and right pursue. Plant thy standard, bold and fearless, There are hearts that thou may'st cherish, Smitten hopes that may not perish Neath the glow of friendship's ray. CARTOUCHE. Is the environs of Paris, at the extremity of the Faubourg du Temple, is á place well known to the French workman, who, on Sundays and holidays, goes there to enjoy the pleasures of the dance and the booth. This place, which to-day, demands but the slightest amount of attention from the police, was during the last century the rendezvous of sharpers, thieves, drunkards, and, in fact, of all the scum of the capital, and at the same time was constantly invaded by the gensd'armes. In this quarter, which is called La Courtille, Louis Dominique Cartouche first saw the light, at the close of the year 1693. His father, an honest wine-shop keeper, in the place, had amassed during his labours a comfortable independence, the fruit of economy, of hard work, and of very assidous improvement of his time. The worthy tavern-keeper had marked out for his son a glorious future, and with this end had intended to educate him very carefully. He placed him in the college of Louis-le-Grand, where at the time the young Arouet de Voltaire was obtaining the most brilliant success. But Cartouche was not able to settle down to his studies; from the age of twelve years, he began to display an incredible address, an activity of intellect the most mischievous, and an irrestible longing for theft. Already he had committed many acts of petty larceny towards his fellow pupils, though without being discovered, when one of those little peccadilloes was the means of getting him expelled from the college. Having heard that one of his fellow scholars, belonging to a rich and noble family, had lately received the sum of a hundred crowns, he contrived to enter his chamber, obtain the key of the desk, and to make himself master of the precious hoard. Fearing lest he should be discovered, he fled from the college, never to return, and took refuge in his father's house; but the latter, speedily learning the truth, resolved to shut him up in Saint Lazare. As they were conducting him to this establishment he contrived to escape, and for several days wandered about the suburbs of Paris, without home, without asylum, till one day, a gang of wandering thieves, that travelled from town to town to exercise their misdirected energies, seeing in the lad the proinise of a quick and inventive member of their craft, adopted him. In a very little time, young Cartouche became their most valuable assistant. He went with them the tour of France, everywhere distinguishing himself by his address and audacity, and at length returned to Paris an accomplished thief. Each day, numerous complaints were addressed to the authorities, on the audacious robberies that were now committed in the capital; the police redoubled their watchfulness, and Cartouche, fearing to be discovered, requested of M. d'Argenson, at that time lieutenant of police, an audience on business of a very particular nature. The official acceded to his request. Cartouche presented himself, and proposed to the official to put him on the traces of all the thieves which infested the capital. This proposition was accepted, and Cartouche entered the police service at the remuneration of a crown per day. This modest income did not, however, suffice for his debaucheries, and accordingly he combined with his function that of crimp. Till the year 1789 the conscription did not exist in France, and voluntary enlistment going forward but slowly, the army was principally supplied by men paid to entice the young and thoughtless to enlist. These crimps stationed themselves in every street, and in every tavern, causing poor devils to drink, and while drunk making them sign an engagement they were bound to fulfil under penalty of being shot. These crimps had a fee for each victim, and in order to drive a more rapid trade deputy-crimps were employed, with whom their superiors divided the fees. Such was the honourable profession which Cartouche added to that of police spy. His success in this new line of business was so great that the jealousy of his superior officer was excited, and the latter was resolved to get rid of him. One day, in the tavern, which was the scene of Cartouche's exploits, the superior crimp induced him to drink till he became intoxicated, and while in this condition caused him, in his turn, to sign an enlistment paper. When the fumes of wine had waned off, Cartouche was astonished to find himself a soldier of the king. But knowing by experience the military law, which if broken would sentence him to be disposed of by a round of cartridge, he left Paris to join bis regiment. He served during several years, and with distinction; he displayed great courage, gaining the esteem of his officers, and was promoted to the grade of sergeant. Had the war continued, his destiny would, doubtless, have been entirely different; and instead of a villain, his name would have been inscribed in the military annals of his country. But peace was not suited to his energetic temperament, and immediately after the signing of the peace, he applied for and obtained leave of absence, unfortunately with the intention of returning to Paris. Once in the metropolis, his old habits of thieving and burglary grew upon him with increased force. The wild financial schemes of Law, recently exploded, had induced a spirit for gambling and a thirst for gold throughout all classes of society, leaving society in a state of demoralisation. Accordingly Cartouche found accomplices in the most elevated circles. They, by position, aided him to commit his numberless depredations, and divided with him the produce of his infamous ingenuity. His first care was to organize in the capital itself a large and faithful military band. Some soldiers whom he had known while with his regiment, some officers, cashiered for their vile conduct, and who thus found themselves without resources, formed the first members of this gang. Independently of these accomplices, he contrived to press into his services some discharged police officials, former members of the municipal guard, valets, and even the servants of the nobility and court. Afterwards he formed depôts and branch establishments among the provincial towns. He framed a code of laws of the most severe nature, and reserved to himself the right of life and death over the members of this association. One can easily understand what evil effects such an organized band would produce. Very quickly nothing was heard in Paris but robberies and murders; the public vehicles were stopped, the mansions pillaged, hotels and palaces were broken into. The police were exhausted from their fruitless exertions. The magistrates, not knowing by what means to get Cartouche into their hands, offered a large reward to anyone who should succeed in bringing him to justice; but he escaped prison and pursuers as much by the clever disguises he adopted as by his excessive address. The prospect of obtaining the large reward had, however, tempted the cupidity of several members of his band. Their leader, however, learnt that they were about to betray him, and resolved to make a terrible example. He assembled his band at midnight in the forest of Bourget. He walked round his companions, addressing them in severe language, then calling upon a young soldier, belonging to the Royal Guard, whom he suspected of treason, he ordered him to quit the ranks and step forward. Then loading his intended treachery with the most fearful reproaches, he com |