384 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



portion of my dormant German enthu- 

 siasm. Indeed, I think no foreigner of 

 education approaches the English shore 

 without a strong sensation of interest. 

 Whether for praise or for blame — whether 

 as an object of respect or admiration, or 

 dread and dislike — still he has heard Eng- 

 land talked about from his infancy. 

 Standing aloof and isolated from the world, 

 she is yet mixed up with all its hopes and 

 fears, and struggles ; and in every conti - 

 nental collision the unceasing question is, 

 what may, can, or will be done by Eng- 

 land ? And then the piled-up glories of her 

 literature, reaching unto the highest heaven! 

 Whatever may be thought of that literature 

 by the polished, fluent, flippant, superficial, 

 sophisticated Frenchman, who cannot, be- 

 cause of the largeness of his vanity and 

 the smallness of his soul, feel and compre- 

 hend it; yet to a true German, sprung 

 from the Saxon stock, it is the mightiest 

 congregation of intellect ever furnished by 

 a nation ; and lie assigns, without a particle 

 of envy, or even reluctance, a place in the 

 regions of Glory to a Shakspeare or a 

 Milton, far above the Goethes and Schillers 

 of his beloved " father-land." 



My first seven daj^s in London passed 

 with unmingled satisfaction. Amply fur- 

 nished with funds by my uncle, I went 

 everywhere, saw everything, and squan- 

 dered my cash with the careless freedom of 

 a young man. Oh ! pleasant is it to be the 

 medium through which cash flows briskly 

 to the admiring public, softening the as- 

 perities and fertilising the feelings of the 

 grateful receivers ! My letters furnished 

 me with introductions to the houses of the 

 first merchants, and everywhere was I re- 

 ceived with the most unvarying civility 

 and kindness. To the house of the worthy 

 Mr. Simpkins, in particular, I was invited — 

 pressed and feasted to an almost uneasy 

 sense of repletion, both with physical nutri- 

 ment and intellectual condiments : for the six 

 Misses Simpkins, though tolerably pretty, 

 were most intolerably accomplished, and 

 seemed to be afflicted with a perfect Ger- 

 man mania. They danced German dances, 

 sang German songs, admired German 

 authors, and chattered about the Rhine and 

 the Hartz Mountains for the hour together. 

 Indeed, had I been a vain man, I might 

 have been inclined to think their attentions 

 personal ; for Miss Lydia went so far as to 

 remark that — "they might say what they 

 pleased about Italian skies and Italian sun- 

 sets, but for her part she should prefer a 

 permanent residence in Germany to that of 

 any other country. It was so strangely 

 interesting ! such a divine mysticism hung 

 over it ! In fact, there was a fascination 

 about it which she was utterly unable to 



account for ! " All this was very gratifying 

 to me : but indeed, wherever 1 went, all was 

 j oy and sunshine ; and on the seventh night 

 I retired to my bed, firmly impressed with 

 the conviction that the English were the 

 most cordial, civil, hospitable, kind-hearted 

 people on the face of the globe. 



The eighth morning brought a change. I 

 sat dallying over my breakfast, deeply im- 

 mersed in the study of my favorite author, 

 when a neighboring clock reminded me 

 that it was considerably past the time I had 

 purposed waiting upon a gentleman to 

 whom T had a letter, and who was absent 

 from town on my first arrival. On becom- 

 ing aware of the lateness of the hour, 

 I hurriedly snatched up my hat, and rushed 

 precipitately down stairs. In passing the 

 door, I had the misfortune to bring my 

 body in very forcible contact with that of 

 a staid, grave citizen, who was walking 

 leisurely down the street. I apologised ac- 

 cordingly; but the old gentleman continuing 

 to look as gloomy as a Walcheren fog, I 

 proceeded to say — " that upon my honor, 

 the untoward circumstance was perfectly 

 accidental" — when I was interrupted by a 

 coarse laugh of vulgar derision from the old 

 person, who insultingly asked — " what the 

 deuce such a fellow as I had to do with 

 honor ? " and furthermore expressed his 

 opinion that the middle of the pavement 

 was the fittest place for such an outcast 

 from society ! " An outcast from society ! " 

 what can he mean, thought I, and I felt 

 mightily inclined to resent this insulting 

 language ; but, as I said before-, he was a man 

 far advanced in life, and I was in a great 

 hurry, so I passed onward without further 

 parley, leaving the uncivil piece of corpu- 

 lency to recover its good humor at its 

 leisure. 



{End of Parti.) 



NOTICE. 



OUR FIUST QUARTERLY VOLUME 

 (With Index, Title Page and Preface), 



Price 2s. 6cL cloth lettered, post-free 3s., 

 IS NOW READY. Also Part V., price 7cl. 



THE SECOND QUARTERLY VOLUME 

 Will be ready in a few days; 



AND 



Part VL, (containing Six Numbers), Price lOd., 

 on the 26th Instant. 



London : Published for William Kidd, by William 

 Spoonek, 379, Strand, (to whom all Letters, Parcels, 

 and Communications, Addressed to "the Editor," 

 and Books for Review, are to be forwarded) ; and 

 Procurable, by order, of every Bookseller and News- 

 vendor in the" Kingdom. Agents: Dublin, Edward Mil- 

 liken ; Edinburgh, JohnMenzies; Glasgow, Murray 

 and Son. 



Loudon: M. S. Myers Printer, 22, Tavistock Street, Co vent Garden. 



