holy-water-brush in hand, sprinkling it all about, and washing the doors with it; nay, they poured it into the mouth of the poor Vroucolacas. We so often repeated it to the magistrates of the town, that in Christendom we should keep the strictest watch a-nights upon such an occasion, to observe what was done, that at last they caught a few vagabonds, who undoubtedly had a hand in these disorders; but either they were not the chief ringleaders, or else they were released too soon. For two days afterwards, to make themselves amends for the Lent they had kept in prison, they fell foul again upon the wine tubs of those who were such fools as to leave their houses empty in the night: so that the people were forced to betake themselves again to their prayers. One day as they were hard at this work, after having stuck I know not how many naked swords over the grave of this corpse, which they took up three or four times a-day, for any man's whim; an Albaneze that happened to be at Mycone, took upon him to say, with a voice of authority, that it was to the last degree ridiculous to make use of the swords of Christians in a case like this. Can you not conceive, blind as ye are, says he, that the handles of these swords being made like a cross, hinders the devil from coming out of the body? Why do you not rather take the Turkish sabres? The advice of this learned man had no effect: the Vroucolacas was incorrigible, and all the inhabitants were in a strange consternation; they knew not now what saint to call upon, when of a sudden, with one voice, as if they had given each other the hint, they fell to bawling out all through the city, that it was intolerable to wait any longer; that the only way left was to burn the Vroucolacas entire; that after so doing, let the devil lurk in it if he could; that it was better to have recourse to this extremity than to have the island totally deserted; and indeed whole families began to pack up, in order to retire to Syre or Tinos. The magistrates therefore ordered the Vroucolacas to be carried to the point of the island St George, where they prepared a great pile with pitch and tar, for fear the wood, as dry as it was, should not burn fast enough of itself. What they had before left of this miserable carcase, was thrown into this fire, and consumed presently. It was on the 1st of January, 1701. We saw the flame as we returned from Delos; it might justly be called a bonfire of joy, since after this no more complaints were heard against the Vroucolacas; they said that the devil had now met with his match, and some ballads were made to turn him into ridicule.-Tournefort. In Dalmatia, the Morlachians, before a funeral, cut the hamstrings of the corpse, and mark certain characters upon the body with a hot iron; they then drive nails or pins into different parts of it, and the Sorcerers finish the ceremony by repeating certain mysterious words; after which, they rest confident that the deceased cannot return to the earth to shed the blood of the living.-Cassas. "That Heaven has chasten'd thee. Behold this vine." P. 86. In these lines I have versified a passage in Bishop Taylor's Sermons, altering as little as possible his unimprove able language. "For so have I known a luxuriant vine swell into irregular twigs and bold excrescences, and spend itself in leaves and little rings, and afford but trifling clusters to the wine-press, and a faint return to his heart which longed to be refreshed with a full vintage; but when the Lord of the vine had caused the dressers to cut the wilder plant and made it bleed, it grew temperate in its vain expence of useless leaves, and knotted into fair and juicy branches, and made accounts of that loss of blood, by the return of fruit." "And difficult the way, of danger full.”—P. 87. It appears from Hafiz, that the way is not easily found out. He says, "Do not expect faith from any one; if you do, deceive yourself in searching for the Simorg and the philosopher's stone." And away! away! away!-P. 95. My readers will recollect the Lenora. The unwilling resemblance has been forced upon me by the subject. I could not turn aside from the road, because Burger had travelled it before. The "Old Woman of Berkely" has been foolishly called an imitation of that inimitable ballad: the likeness is of the same kind as between Macedon and Monmouth. Both are ballads, and there is a horse in both. Mohareb in the robes of royalty, &c.-P. 96. How came Mohareb to be Sultan of this Island? Every one who has read Don Quixote, knows that there are al ways islands to be had by adventurers. He killed the former Sultan, and reigned in his stead. What could not a Domdanielite perform? The narration would have interrupted the flow of the main story. The Minth Book. Conscience!... Poor plodding Priests and preaching Friars may make Of churches ring, with that round word: but we, B. JONSON. MORTIMER'S FALL. |