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may actually smell five o'clock in the streets; for at that time arises on every side the fragrance of stews, the exquisite odours of ragoût, and the unaccommodating and tenacious scent of onions. Cooks, arrayed in all the grandeur of their mightiness, prepare the dishes that are to crown them with immortal fame. Aldermen begin to be brilliant, and merchants to lay aside the calculating laws of arithmetic, for the more sensible laws of digestion. The rich, who have money to expend on the pampered appetite, now smile at the probable idea of their gratification; and the poor, who have nothing to waste on the superfluities of the palate, sigh over the shivering remains of a bone of stewed mutton, and shudder at the increasing ratio of their digestive faculties. Now the city epicure, with a napkin tucked under his three tiers of chin, prolongs his enjoyments till the fifth button of his waistcoat rubs hard against the dinner table, and his face glows with his corporeal exercitations. The late Dr. Brown, of Oxford, was a hero of this digestive prowess, and was never in his element till filled with the good things of the palate. One unhappy day, however, he was observed, contrary to his usual custom, to be extremely low-spirited at the conclusion of dinner. In reply to the affectionate solicitations of his friends, he remarked, that his mental depression proceeded from a natural cause; that he was accustomed to partake of the pleasures of the palate until his stomach, which was, in the onset, stationed six inches from the table, touched it with facility. "But now," he continued, "it refuses to approximate by the unwonted distance of three inches, and I must, consequently, have lost my health, and debilitated my powers of digestion." "Let not this circumstance alarm you, my friend," returned one of the doctor's most intimate associates of the college; "I purposely removed the table at least six inches from its usual position, and instead of losing, you have gained a renewal of appetite by three inches." The doctor was transported at the intelligence; he pledged his friend in

a magnum of claret, and resumed his wonted vivacity, which was ever afterwards punctually regulated by the elysian hour of five, and his own consequent approximation to the dinner table.

The Dejeuné.

A TALE OF THE CAVERN.

[The islands of Hoonga and Vavaoo, mentioned in this tale, are two of the cluster known under the general name of the Tonga Islands; they are situated in the South Pacific Ocean, and were named by Captain Cook, who only visited a part of them, the Tonga Islands.]

He

IN former times there lived a tooi (governor) of Vavaoo, who exercised a very tyrannical deportment towards his people: at length, when it was no longer to be borne, a certain chief meditated a plan of insurrection, and was resolved to free his countrymen from such odious slavery, or to be sacrificed himself in the attempt: being however treacherously deceived by one of his own party, the tyrant became acquainted with his plan, and immediately had him arrested. was condemned to be taken out to sea and drowned, and all his family and relations were ordered to be imassacred, that none of his race might remain, One of his daughters, a beautiful girl, young and interesting, had been reserved to be the wife of a chief of considerable rank, and she too would have sunk, the victim of the merciless destroyer, had it not been for the generous exertions of another young chief, who a short time before had discovered the cavern of Hoonga. This is a peculiar cavern, situated on the western coast, the entrance to which is at least a fathom beneath the surface of the sea at low water, and was first discovered by him when diving for turtle. The nature of this will be better understood if we imagine a hollow rock rising

sixty feet or more above the surface of the water, into the cavity of which there is no known entrance but one, and that is on the side of the rock as low down as six feet under the water, into which it flows; consequently the base of the cavern may be said to be the sea itself. The medium height within is about forty feet. The roof is hung with stalactites in a very curious way, resembling Gothic arches and ornaments of an old church.

This discovery he had kept within his breast a profound secret, reserving it as a place of retreat for himself, in case he should be unsuccessful in a plan of revolt which he also had in view. He had long been enamoured of this beautiful young maiden, but had never dared to make her acquainted with the soft emotions of his heart, knowing that she was betrothed to a chief of higher rank and greater power. But now the dreadful moment arrived when she was about to be cruelly sacrificed to the rancour of a man, to whom he was a most deadly enemy. No time was to be lost; he flew to her abode, communicated in a few short words the decree of the tyrant, declared himself her deliverer if she would trust to his honour, and, with eyes speaking the most tender affections, he waited with breathless expectation for an answer. Soon her consenting hand was clasped in his: the shades of evening favoured their escape; whilst the wood, the covert, or the grove, afforded her concealment, till her lover had brought a small canoe to a lonely part of the beach. In this they speedily embarked, and as he paddled her across the smooth wave, he related his discovery of the cavern destined to be her asylum, till an opportunity offered of conveying her to the Fiji islands. She, who had entrusted her personal safety entirely to his care, hesitated not to consent to whatever plan he might think promotive of their ultimate escape: her heart being full of gratitude, love and confidence found an easy access. They soon arrived at the rock; he leaped into the water, and she, instructed by him, followed close after: they rose into the cavern, and rested from their fears and their

fatigue, partaking of some refreshment which he had ́brought there for himself, little thinking, at the time, of the happiness that was in store for him. Early in the morning he returned to Vavaoo to avoid suspicion: but did not fail, in the course of the day, to repair again to the place which held all that was dear to him. He brought her mats to lie on, the finest gnatto for a change of dress, the best of food for her support, sandalwood oil, cocoa nuts, and every thing he could think of to render her life as comfortable as possible. He gave her as much of his company as prudence would allow, and at the most appropriate times, lest the prying eye of curiosity should find out his retreat. He pleaded his tale of love with the most impassioned eloquence, half of which would have been sufficient to have won her warmest affections, for she owed her life to his prompt and generous exertions at the risk of his own: and how was he delighted when he heard the confession from her own lips, that she had long regarded him with a favourable eye, but a sense of duty had caused her to smother the growing fondness, till the late sad misfortune of her family, and the circumstances attending her escape, had revived all her latent affections, to bestow them wholly upon a man to whom they were so justly due! How happy were they in this solitary retreat! Tyrannic power now no longer reached them: shut out from the world and all its cares and perplexities ;-secure from all the eventful changes attending upon greatness, cruelty, and ambition;-themselves were the only powers they served, and they were infinitely delighted with this simple form of government. But although this asylum was their great security in their happiest moments, they could not always enjoy each other's company: it was equally necessary to their safety that he should be often absent from her, and frequently for a length of time together, lest his conduct should be watched. The young chief therefore panted for an opportunity to convey her to happier scenes, where his ardent imagination pictured to him the means of procuring for

her every enjoyment and comfort which her amiable qualifications so well entitled her to: nor was it a great while before, an opportunity offering, he devised the means of restoring her with safety to the cheerful light of day. He signified to his inferior chiefs and matabooles, that it was his intention to go to the Fiji islands, and he wished them to accompany him with their wives and female attendants; but he desired them on no account to mention to the latter the place of their destination, lest they should inadvertently betray their intention, and the governing chief prevent their departure. A large canoe was soon got ready, and every necessary preparation made for their voyage. As they were on the point of their departure, they asked him if he would not take a Tonga wife with him. He replied, no! but he should probably find one by the way. This they thought a joke, but in obedience to his orders they said no more, and, every body on board, they put to sea. As they approached the shores of Hoonga, be directed them to steer to such a point, and having ap proached close to a rock, according to his orders, he got up, and desired them to wait there while he went into the sea to fetch his wife; and without staying to be asked any questions, he sprang into the water from that side of the canoe farthest from the rock, swam under the canoe, and proceeded forward into the sanctuary which had so well concealed his greatest and dearest treasure. Every body on board was greatly surprised at his strange conduct, and began to think him insane; and after a little lapse of time, not seeing him come up, they were greatly alarmed for his safety, imagining a shark must have seized him. Whilst they were all in the greatest concern, debating what was best to be done, whether they ought to dive down after him, or wait according to his orders, for that perhaps he had only swam round and was come up in some niche of the rock, intending to surprise them; their wonder was increased beyond all powers of expression, when they saw him rise to the surface of the water,

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