was mixed with it, though he was certain, from, the symptoms, that there was something poisonous in it. Mr. Terry gave himself up as a dead man, and was in the greatest distress. "Do not be too much depressed," said Clinton, "send the fatal bottle to Dr. Rickden; he is a chemist he will discover at once, by analysis, the poison, and will suggest a proper antidote." Immediately a servant was dispatched to him, and Clinton accompanied him. The doctor was ill in bed-too ill to come over; but he rose and examined the remainder of the wine. "This wine," he said, "is mixed with sugar of lead. Mr. Terry has procured it of some vile manufacturer of made wines, who poisons his customers for the sake of filling his pocket" "No," said Clinton; "he made this himself." "Then there must have been some sugar of lead in the bottle," said Rickden; "but I hope porter brewers, like Mr. Terry, do not also make use of the same abominable ingredients to cheat the public, and run the risk of poisoning themselves! He has sometimes laughed at me for my attention to botany and chemistry, but if I had known no more of them than Dr. Sheepshanks, I should have been equally ignorant of a remedy, and he must have died! Hasten with all your speed, and administer to him this strong decoction of bark. It has a great affinity to oxygen, and will therefore effectually counteract the sugar of lead dissolved in the wine, which, being a metallic poison, is baneful, on account of the oxygen it contains." Clinton lost no time in hastening to Mr. Terry. He was much worse, and the poison had made considerable progress through his frame; two of his limbs had lost their use, and he was under serious apprehension of speedy death. Dr. Sheepshanks instantly administered the bark, while Clinton explained to him the nature of the antidote and of the poison, which Dr.

Rickden was certain had been mixed with the wine, and which his remedy was to counteract. Terry recollected then, that when he had bottled off the wine, he had ordered some bottles to be cleansed, and had set two on a shelf in haste, and, returning to fetch them in the dark, supposed he must have taken one which contained some sugar of lead, as he had frequently placed bottles of this poisonous liquid on that shelf. They had the satisfaction, before long, of witnessing his recovery; but so much delay had been occasioned before the antidote was administered, that it was some weeks before he perfectly recovered the use of his limbs.*

The friends took a sympathising leave of Mr. Terry, and returned together by the coach to town. Rowland, after exacting a promise from his friend Darnley, that he would write to him from time to time an account of his proceedings, took leave of him. Charles accompanied Clinton to Mr. Peachman's, who invited them both to accompany him the next day to a party consisting principally of Irish gentlemen and ladies, where they might expect to meet with considerable novelty and amusement. Charles thanked him for his polite invitation, took his leave early, and returned to his friend Hadley, whom he entertained with an account of the events of the day, and apprised him of the party whom he was about to meet. Hadley much encouraged his going. "For though," said he, " I do not think you will meet with religion among them-for that, alas! is a jewel of which few of the Irish as yet know the value, and which England has been neglectful of imparting to them; and though they are fettered by the absurd superstitions

* A remarkable instance of this kind is related in Park's Chemical Catechism, p. 7.

of popery, and the Protestants participate little in the spirit of piety which separated their fathers from the Roman heresies-yet you will find among them a fire of genius, a readiness of thought, a vigour of expression, and a vivacity of fancy, seldom surpassed, or even equalled. Blessed will be the day for Erin, when the songs of Zion shall form her most admired melodies, and the word of God be read by rich and poor, through her numerous but ignorant population."

THE IRISH PARTY-THE COMBATANTS-WOMAN THE PRIZE.

CHARLES repaired early in the afternoon to Mr. Peachman's to accompany his friend Rowland to the Irish party, and they all set off, with various expectations, to spend an evening at the house of the Irish gentleman. Peachman told them, as they went, that they might calculate on great amusement, as they would there see an epitome of the Irish character, and participate in some of the intellectual pleasures which form a great part of their social entertainments.

The party, which consisted of four ladies, four Irish gentlemen, a clergyman, an English officer, together with Peachman and the two friends, shed a lustre around it, which might well have illuminated a more extensive circle-in fact, wit, poesy, and eloquence were the order of the day. It would baffle description to give a true account of that vein of humour which ran through the several speeches made on the occasion-and it must be here premised, that it always requires an Irishman to deliver an Irish speech in its true strain of native drollery. That head-hardening, heart-softening beverage, whiskeypunch, for a while lent its powerful aid to exhilarate their spirits and give fire to the imagination; the ladies tasted, and declared it to be exquisite, while the gentlemen testi

fied their approbation by taking copious libations, whose effect would certainly have proved rather strong, if it had not been softened by a palatable potation of coffee, prepared a la Français.

Our host, O'Dea, a descendant from the ancient and celebrated family of that name, was a man whose vein of humour seemed a little retarded by the disappointments of life; but when animated by the native cheering beverage of the emerald isle, he showed that he could occasionally produce a flow of spirits in the company. Shall I describe his guest, the indescribable Fingal? I cannot; he is a true original; his looks, his sentiments, his expressions, his manner-in short, his sum total, carries with it such a mass of originality, that after labouring to give the truest description, I should still be as remote from a representation as if I had not begun the picture. It is quite a mistake to suppose that this mild beverage checks in any measure the intellectual current; and the greatest humour may often be employed as the field in which to exercise the most brilliant talents. If, however, those of our host and guests partook not of this order, there reigned among them a something I never witness at the pipe-smoking fire-side of blunt, honest John Bull. So thought our respected and reverend friend Mentor, whose innocent though lively deportment, and animated and penetrating judgment, entitled him to the epithet of the first man in the assembly.

Fingal commenced the entertainment by challenging, in the chivalrous spirit of Irish humour, his friend O'Dea, to a trial of powers at music and oratory. Mentor and the ladies were constituted the judges on this interesting occasion; they began with the flute-and whether the politeness of O'Dea yielded to the other, I cannot tell, but Fingal bore away the palm.