ENGLISH MANNERS. Society, as it now exists, is less picturesque than in former times, when the privileged few might enact a thousand wild follies with impunity: yet it

is said that modern education in females, is wholly calculated to enable them to show off in public. The present system may be defective, and capable of great and necessary improvement; but there can be no doubt that it has tended to make women more rational companions, by opening new sources of mental cultivation to the inhabitants of town and

country. Dress and dissipation no longer entirely absorb the ideas of the one, and the vulgar detail of household economy, the ingredients necessary to make a pudding, and the quilting of a counterpane, are not permitted to engross the minds of females bred in retirement; and most assuredly even the leaders of fashion are infinitely more guarded in their conduct and behaviour than the belles of former times, who, if we may form a judgment from the novels and comedies of their day, were insatiate in their endeavours to obtain notoriety. Ladies in this æra are usually so quiet and circumspect, that they pass without remark; they dare not, as heretofore, set scandal openly at defiance; and, though slander finds an equal number of victims, the frailty of the human heart in the weak, and the malice of the envious, which will discover spots in the purest, are the food upon which this foul pest is sustained. With less pains and proparation than are usual with the other sex, women attain a certain degree of ease and elegance of manner, so as to be fitted for any circle to which an exalted marriage or any similar circumstance may introduce them.

In mixed societies the difference of rank is scarcely distinguishable, and we are still more puzzled to trace the professions. A military man, unless he happens to have lost a limb in the service, is liable to be disregarded, whilst the mustachioed beau, whose campaigns have never extended farther than Bondstreet, is mistaken for the hero of many

battles in the Peninsula.-Barristers

leave all the dust of the courts with their wigs and gowns; and authors, no longer hanging to the skirts of a patron, are frequently pointed out enacting le cavalier seul in the centre of a quadrille.

It is still the fashion to assume a nom

de guerre; but the grave designations of Bickerstaff and Ironside are as completely cast aside as powder and perriwigs. We have the more romantic as

sumptions of Barry Cornwall and St. John Dorset ; and the fancy, upon reading poetry thus undersigned, pictures the charms and graces of youth. The fraternity are likewise grown bold: as half of the world read, the other half necessarily write: and, without the ceremony of preface or dedication, we boldly commit our lucubrations to the press, and periodical works have become so plentiful, that we can scarcely go to a rout without stumbling upon a popular editor, or, at the least, a contributor. But the general knowledge of polite literature, which is absolutely necessary to fit us for companions to our equals, ought to have a stronger effect upon our manners than is perceptible. We have still much to learn and to unlearn; the art of conversation, the means of pleasing, are not sufficiently studied. We are too selfish, too apt to pride ourselves upon the advantages of birth, fortune, or education, and fancy that we may command attention when we should endeavour to win it; whilst those

whom some fortuitous circumstances

have advanced in the world, and who have imbibed their early ideas from the mean habits of low parents, unconscious of their deficiencies, will betray their origin at the very moment when they fancy that they are showing off to the greatest advantage.

where every honour is open to the forIn a commercial country like England, tunate adventurer, who in his career has preserved any thing like a character, it may seem perhaps illiberal to deny the power of such a person to assume the appearance and the manners of a gen

tleman.

To a mild temper, and an uncorrupted heart, the task may not be difficult, because the frame of such a mind cannot suggest any thing offensive, and quiet unassuming manners must always pass uncensured; but, when the disposition is violent, and the heart malevolent, the best imitator of elegance, he who is most cautious and pains-taking in his endeavours to pass for a man of polish and breeding, will be betrayed into the disclosure of a base sentiment, or into the performance of a degrading action, whenever he is thrown off his guard by a sudden impulse or a powerful temptation. The colour of the mind will show itself; and, though with a plebeian, the acts, or the manner a gentleman may be equally a villain in which each performs them, will be widely contrasted.

Lady's Magazine.

The situation of Spain at present occupies so large a share of the public attention, that we shall readily be excused, if even we do not get the thanks of our readers, for adverting to the subject. Though we have no attachment to politics, and have an ample and more agreeable field to range in, yet we cannot but participate in that general feeling in favour of Spanish liberty, which pervades all ranks in this country, from the Peer to the Peasant. What may be the result of the approaching struggle between France and Spain, we do not pretend to foretell; but that it threatens as much danger to the former, as to the latter, seems to be a general opinion.

We need not here enter into a long history of the events of Spain during the last twelve or fourteen years. It is sufficient to observe, that Bonaparte's insatiable ambition led him to attempt the subjugation of Spain; that he entrapped the present King Ferdinand VII., a weak and faithless monarch, who had superseded his father on the throne. Ferdinand resigned his crown to Napoleon, who placed it on the head of his brother Joseph; but notwithstanding that, he poured immense armies into Spain, the spirit of the people was roused, and with the aid of England, under our great Captain, the Duke of Wellington, the French, after several years' hard fighting, were driven from the Peninsula, and at the peace of 1814, Ferdinand VII. was restored to his throne.

During the time that this King was

a prisoner at Valency, in France, a constitutional and representative government was organized in Spain. under the auspices of England. The Spanish constitution had the concurrent sanction of all the sovereigns of Europe, and Ferdinand himself swore to maintain it; but he had scarcely reached Madrid, when he violated his oath, and overturned the Constitution, sending to dungeons and death, the brave Patriots who had fought and bled to restore him. The Spaniards had, however, tasted the blessings of freedom, and though borne down for a time, their spirit was not subdued. Various attempts were made to restore the Constitution, but without success until, on the 1st of January, a new revolution was effected, principally through the means of those brave men, Quiroga, Riego, Aguero, and Banos, of whom we present to our readers correct and spirited portraits. Although the revoIntion had been organized, yet, before it could be carried into effect, Quiroga and Arco Aguero were arrested and thrown into different prisons; the troops, however, with whom the insurrection originated, determined to liberate them, and elected Quiroga Commander-inChief, and Aguero had the direction of the Staff. These two Patriots were liberated. Riego with three battalions dashed into the town of Arcos, where Calderon, the royalist general, had ten thousand troops, yet he arrested Calderon and the whole of his staff, and proclaimed the Constitution. Quiroga in the mean time surprised the garri

son of San Fernando, incorporated the troops with his own, and fortified it against every external assault. The month of January passed without the Patriots making any progress, while the royalist chief Freyre, had collected an army of 15,000 men to oppose them. The leaders of the Patriots found themselves shut up in La Isla, near Cadiz, with only five thousand men.

Riego, prompted by one of those inspirations which occur only to great minds, suggested the idea of marching at the head of a flying column, to spread the seeds of liberty in the provinces, while the rest of the army should maintain its position at San Fernando.Having selected 1500 men he set for ward on his daring but noble exploit; and although thinned by fatigue and repeated skirmishes, and at length compelled to disperse, yet Riego so far accomplished his object as to excite the flame of patriotism in the provinces through which he passed.

In the mean time Freyre invited the army of San Fernando to Cadiz, and promised to proclaim the constitution on the 10th of March; but suspecting some treachery, it was agreed that a deputation composed of Aguero, Banos, and Galiano, should represent the national army at the approaching spectacle, while Quiroga remained at his post.

After a night of festivity, the morning of the 10th dawned, and Cadiz exhibited a scene of indescribable animation; the deputation from San Fernando were received in triumph, some threw their cloaks on the ground to serve as carpets, and they were everywhere hailed as liberators. General Freyre however treacherously ordered his soldiers to fire on the assembled populace, upwards of five hundred of whom were killed and wounded.

The provinces of Galicia and Navarre had by this time proclaimed the constitution, and the spirit of patriotism extending, Ferdinand VII. yielding to the empire of necessity, promised to accept the political code of 1812, and convoke the Cortes (the legislative assembly of Spain); and on the 9th of July, he again swore to maintain it. Of his subsequent conduct we shall say nothing; but it is certain that the factious, who have kept up the flame of civil war in Spain, and oppose the constitution, are not numerous, and would have been extinguished before now but for foreign aid and encouragement.

To Quiroga, Řiego, Aguero and Ba

nos, Spain is indebted for her politionl freedom; and these patriots, as virtuous as they are brave, are not less to be admired for their moderation, than for their courage and patriotism. Having restored their country to its liberties, they aspired not to any other honours, and although they have all had appointments either military or ministerial, yet they have exhibited no anxiety for office, or sought to turn their talents, their reputation, and their influence, to their personal advantage.

SHIPWRECK IN THE GREENLAND SEAS.

On the 14th of April, 1794, the Wilhelmina, commanded by James H. Broerties sailed from the Texel for the whale fishery, and, on the 22d of June, arrived near the western coast of Greenland, alongside vast plains of moving ice that overspread the sea. They cast anchor, and made preparations for the fishery. Fifty other ships had repaired to the same ports, attracted by the great number of whales frequenting them. On the 25th of June huge flakes of ice environed and pressed on the ship on all sides. The crew then, for eight days and nights together, had to cut and saw their way through the ice, thirteen feet in thickness, trying to get the ship clear. Several vessels got away; but the Wilhelmina and ten others were locked in the ice.

On the 25th of July the ice began to separate, and left a sort of opening, through which the Wilhelmina attempted to pass; but, after incessant rowing for four days, they found their passage again intercepted by another field of ice; and here they were shut up, as it were, within a bason. Four other ships reached the same place. The ice showing no signs of opening, the Captain determined to shorten each man's allowance. The flakes of ice drove with such force against the ships, that the Wilhelmina was shattered, and almost broken up, five or six feet above the water line. Shipwreck now appeared inevitable to all; and two out of five vessels had already been lost, and the crews distributed among the remaining ones, with all the provisions that could be saved. The ice continued to accumulate to the height of twentyfour feet above the ships.

On the 25th of August, the three remaining ships were immovable in the ice. The captains dispatched twelve men to four other ships, at some distance, in the same position as them

selves. From these they learned, that two ships had been crushed by the pressure of the ice, and that two others were in a truly deplorable state. Two Hamburgh vessels, somewhat more distant, had perished in a similar

manner.

Though locked up in the ice, the ships kept driving before the wind. On the 30th of August they had sight of Iceland. Two days after, a part of the ice was so agitated, that two captains, profiting by the circumstance, in all likelihood gained the open sea, as they soon lost sight of them.

Though the Wilhelmina was hourly threatened with destruction, it was the 13th of September ere it took place. On that day a mountain of ice came suddenly rushing down against it, with a prodigious noise, crushing every thing in its way. So sudden was the accident, that the sailors in their hammocks had not time to dress, and were obliged to escape half naked over the ice, exposed to all the injuries of the weather. With great difficulty could they save any provisions, for the ship was intersected, as it were, one part being about ten feet above the surface of the water, and the other entirely destroyed, or buried under an enormous heap of ice.

In this way another ship had been overwhelmed and lost on the 7th of September. The crew fled for an asylum to the ship of Capt. Castricum; with much toil they had stopped up all the leaks, and in other respects the ship was in good condition. But the crew had no small trouble to reach the Castricum. The ice was not uniformly solid; clefts and crevices, opening under their feet, exposed them to the risk of a fresh wreck. At length they set up a tent on the solid part of the ice, and, to guard as much as possible against the excessive cold, they kindled a fire with the wreck of the ship. Relying with confidence on the Divine Providence, they expected relief, though it must obviously come in some extraordinary way. One inconvenience, as may readily be conceived, would intrude upon their wretched asylum; the heat of the fire melted the ice, and they had to dig holes in different places, to get rid of the water: without this precaution they must have been continually shifting their habi

tation.

Some rest, which these unfortunate men enjoyed in the night, served to re-animate their courage. Next day

they redoubled their efforts to reach the Castricum. A flame in motion, that was on its mainmast, indicated its liberation from the ice; a sight of this rekindled their ardour. The three shipwrecked captains, Broerties, De Groot, and Volkert Jansz, proceeded each at the head of their crew. Their route was very dangerous; for they were obliged to leap from one iceflake to another, and, every time, ran no small risk of plunging into the water.

On the 1st of October, they judged they had arrived at the end of their sufferings; but a frightful scene opened, that almost drove them to despair; the vessel was in a condition_much more deplorable than before. It had been carried to a considerable distance; every moment it was in danger of being crushed by overhanging ice: at last, they were fortunate enough to reach it. Scarcely were they on board, when there came up fifty men of the crew of the Hamburgh ship, that had been lost on the 30th of September. The harpooner, with twelve sailors, were drowned, in trying to reach Iceland on floating fragments of the

wreck.

As well as these unfortunate men were able to judge, they were then in 64° N. lat. A new misfortune threatened them: the provisions on board the Castricum were too scanty to suffice for all who had repaired to it; they were soon exhausted, and these destitute mariners were obliged to feed on pieces of flesh left on the skeletons of the whales. They then fell to eating the dogs that had been in the vessels that were lost. To quench their thirst, they drank snow-water, wherein was an infusion of chips. They were now looking for death to terminate their sufferings, when the ship, that kept still driving towards the coast, came within the distance of five or six miles from the Continent. Several sailors tried, but in vain, to reach the land; they found, however, a desert island, where they gathered some blackberries off the bushes: they were obliged to remain there.

On the 10th of October, a tempest arose, which threatened the ship with instant destruction : it was still preserved, however, by the crew. The next day enormous ice-flakes fell on the ship, so as to crush, and in a manner overwhelm it. This accident was so sudden, that the men on-board could save nothing to make a fire with; they

had only time to collect some sails, and bring together eleven small boats: but these precautions were useless; their safety lay in flight, and in running from one ice-flake to another, to find one solid and large enough to hold them all. No language can describe the wretchedness of their situation. Exposed to all the rigours of cold, on an immense island of ice, which was liable every instant to be dashed to pieces, almost entirely destitute of food and clothing, they could only expect dying of hunger and cold, or of being buried under blocks of ice.

It is only at the last extremity that hope abandons man. These sufferers, unwearied in their exertions to save their lives, set up two tents with the sails which they had saved; wherein they had shelter, patiently waiting for the will of Providence: but, after the 13th of October, they were under the necessity of quitting the mass of ice that supported them, as it was drifting out to sea. Then 250 men set out on a trial to reach the Continent; thirtysix others, who reckoned it impossible, remained on the ice. Those who ventured to go, being of different opinions as to the route to be taken, separated into different companies. The Captains Jansz de Groot, Hans Christiansz, and Martin Jansz, accompanied by forty sailors, set out on the 13th of October. Each man had thirty biscuits for his whole stock of provisions. After a short, but very toilsome march, they arrived on the shore of some island, where they passed the night. On the following day they were for trying to get at the Continent, but were disappointed; their way being partly obstructed by an immense quagmire, or floating marsh. To their great surprise, they found some inhabitants; and it was fortunate that some of the mariners understood their language. Assistance was implored, and these savages, generally considered as inhospitable, were very ready to afford it, removing the shipwrecked crews in their canoes to their huts, and helping them to some dried fish, to the flesh of seals, and to some vegetables, to appease their hunger.

They spent several days with these their benefactors; but, fearful of encroaching on the laws of hospitality, by consuming all the provisions, they resolved to continue their route, în hopes of finding a Danish colony, where they might obtain relief ade

quate to their necessities. In their long and wearisome march they passed through different tribes of the Greenlanders, with some of whom they had a kind reception, but from others they had ill treatment; being frequently, also, in danger of perishing by hunger and thirst. A little moss, scratched from the surface of the rocks under the snow, and the raw flesh of the dogs which they killed, added to that of a few animals which they caught, were the only resources within their reach. At length, after numberless accidents and fatigues, they arrived on the 13th of March at Frederickshaab, a Danish settlement, where they experienced a truly generous treatment, and all possible aid was administered to them. Here they remained till they could get their health re-established, and embark for Denmark. At last they were fortunate enough to arrive in Holland.

The Captains Castricum and Broerties, with such as had taken their route to the north, arrived in like manner, without any particular accident, at Frederickshaab; with the exception of Broerties, who died on the road.

Their companions in misfortune, who could not come to a resolution of joining them, had preserved a canoe, and a small quantity of provisions. The mass of ice on which they were was driving towards Staatems Hock; it would not bear them much longer, as the sea was rolling, and, with the movement, the ice was gradually diminishing in fact, they were in the greatest danger of being lost. In that crisis, the wind changed to the northwest, and thereby enabled them to reach the land without difficulty. On the 6th of October, they found a small boat, which the crew of the Castricum had abandoned, and a man in it, who, being unable to accompany the rest, was only looking for death. On the same day, three of their comrades, that had been left behind, overtook them, having been obliged to abandon an old man on the extremity of an iceflake, where he must have perished. They all, however, embarked, and were long tossed up and down before they could reach Greenland. The savage tribes were hospitable, sharing their wretched provisions with them. They, at last, also arrived at a Danish settlement, where provisions were in no great plenty; but they were kindly entertained with the best. At Hol