A Hundred Years Ago
THE " SPECTATOR," NOVEMBER 14TH, 1829.
BIAS.
A boy of the name of Lurchin was fully committed at Lambeth Street on Wednesday, on charges of theft preferred against him by his grandmother. His thievish propensities had proved incurable. He had been sent from Edinburgh at five years old, to have this bias removed, but in vain. He had robbed his ancient relative on sys- tem, and disposed of the articles to pawnbrokers.
TILE CHURCH.
Of the three great divisions of Christianity, the Roman Catholic is chiefly addressed to the senses, the Presbyterian to the mind. the English Episcopal is an attempt to mingle the bettor parts of both. It may admit of a question whether the search after a golden moan in matters ecclesiastical has not failed, as it has generally done in things of less importance. The forms of the Episcopal Church have a close resemblance to those of its Catholic progenitor ; but with the one they are types, with the other they are realities. The superstitious part of its adherents are therefore in momentary danger of falling off from Episcopacy to Romanism. On tho other hand, even the tolerated existence of ceremonies that are acknowledged to be non-essential is offensive to the fanatical part of her followers, and leads to a falling off from Episcopacy to Presbyterianism, or some one of its numerous modifications, where religion is stripped of its comprehensible clothing, and addresses itself to the mind of the worshipper in undefined mystery and magnitude.
GEORGE CRUM/DIANE.
The pencil of this modern liogarth is never idle. We have now lying before us the second part of some Sketches and Scraps, which he is pouring out to the world with his wonted fecundity.
The first plate is a sketch of " London Going out of Town " ; and from the clouds of smoke pervading the course of its march, it would appear as if it were high time for other folks to think of such a migration as well as the great town itself. In this progress of bricks, mortar and scaffolding, we see hods and trowels suddenly become animate, and assisting in the great remove ; while, on the other hand, hay-cocks, and trees touched with the same portion of Promethean fire, are equally active in their endeavour to get out of the way of this Vandal-like descent with which they are threatened. The whole scene is whimsically crowded with in-town and out-of- town incidents ; and the sprawling tree, only called into life to be suffocated by the fine lime which is finding its way through a range of sieves, makes an admirable climax to these " miseries of human life."
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