GIFT OF SEELEY W. MUDD and GEORGE I. COCHRAN MEYER ELSASSER DR.JOHN R. HAYNES WILLIAM L. HONNOLD JAMES R. MARTIN MRS. JOSEPH F. SARTOR! to the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN BRANCH .I50WWI AT LOS ANGELES UBRARY TWELFTH-NIGHT at tl ic entmia Wi> January 6 1858 ,0^ »*• c « • I '' « NEW YORK D. APPLET ON & COMPANY 1858. 844r,3 Entered according to Act of Congrefs in the year 1858, BY D. APPLETON & CO., In the Clerks' Office of the Diftrift Court for the Southern Diftrift of New York. • c c « CCCCtC •■*€• «. < « ^ < t \C c ' c c * c c •^<' '> '< *? Q-T' 49 15" ^'m>itMi:}-m<&£)^. -•-♦♦- CQ G> H CD ■H The Twelfth-Night feftival of merry Old England correfponds with, and is founded upon, the Epiphany of the ecclefiaftical year, as obferved by the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Church in the Eaft and in Ruflia, and by several Proteftant Churches in Europe and America. It is the anniver- fary celebration of the firfl: manifeftation of the promifed Mefliah to the Gentiles, as rep- refented by the adoration of the Magi or wife men who came from the Eaft to wor- fliip the new-born King. As a commemo- rative religious feftival, it dates from the earUeft ages of the Chriftian Church, being mentioned by writers of the third century as then a common obfervance. A widely spread popular tradition, which may be traced back above a thoufand years, though it has no sanction either from written hiftory, sacred or profane, or from any exprefs Church authority, has elevated thefe Magi, the learned men, the sages, and aftronomers of the Eaft, into Kings. Some of the theologians of the middle ages adopted the same opinion, on the suppoHtion that thefe were the perfonages foretold in prophetic poetry. " The kings of Tarfhifh and the ifles fhall bring prefents ; the kings of Sheba and Seba fhall brino; gifts." This traditional or fanciful verfion of the Gofpel narrative not only conferred the regal dignity 5 on thefe Eaftern sages, but alfo defignated their number, their names, the nature of their several gifts, and even their personal appearance. They were but three in num- ber : One was an aged venerable long-bearded man, who was named Melchior, and who of- fered a gift of gold. The second crowned head was that of a beardlefs very young man, to whom tradition affigned the name of Jaf- per, and who made an offering of frankin- cenfe. The third was a ftately swarthy Moor, named Balthazar, whofe offering was of myrrh. The Church feftival, in addition to its more solemn religious obfervances, soon paffed into a popular and domeftic holiday, and as such became general both in Europe and the East, as early as the seventh century, perhaps ftill earlier. The tradition of the Three Kings accompanied and ftamped itfelf upon the obfervance of the feafl. Hence, in France, it is popularly known as the Feafl: of the Kings, *' Fete des Rois" ; in Holland and Flanders as the day of the Three Kings, '' Driekoningendag " ; and throughout all Germany as the '* Feaft of the Three Holy Kings," or the '' Tag der Heiligen dree Konige." So fixed and gen- eral were the belief and veneration of thefe Eaftern sages, as the Three Kings, that ever fince the reign of Charlemagne, their fkulls and other relics have been enllirined at the once imperial city of Cologne, where they are il:ill lliown, and the city itfelf is confidered by its inhabitants, as specially under the guardianlliip of the Kings. Hence in old popular phrafe, they were called in France, the Kings of Cologne j in Italy of Colonia ; in Germany, of Koln, or Coin ; in the Netherlands, of Keuleun ; in our older Englilh tongue of Cullen, all 7 of them being national variations of the same name. This same tradition soon pafled into the arts of defign. The Adoration of the royal Magi has long been a favorite subject for the arts, and it has always been reprefented, under the traditional forms of Three Kings, one aged, one boyilh, and one black, from the Pre-Raphaelites in Italy, and Van Eyck, and his old Dutch and Flemifh pupils, down to the works of modern continental artifts. Rubens, for example, painted " the Adoration of the Magi," repeatedly, and with his ufual fertility varied his whole compofi- tion in each pidure, but in every one he preferved the three Magi as Kings, with their known legendary charaderiftics. The subjcd is fimilarly reprefented in the spirited Belgian wood carvings and in the bas-relief and other sculptured ftone-work of old cathedrals. s It is undoubtedly from some affociation with this tradition of wide-spread popidar beHef as well as of liigh art, that the fefHve and extra-ecclefialHeal celebration of the Feaft of the Epiphany has throughout Chrif tendom taken as its principal feature the se- lection by some sort of lot of a Twelfth- Night King and Queen, who rule with des- potic authority and receive unqueftioned voluntary homage during their brief span of power and dignity. The reafon of such an alTociation of ideas thus refulting in a univerliil cuftom is not very obvious ; but the fa6l is certain that the traditional opinion and the feftive cuftom have always gone together, for many centuries and in many different lands. Even in England, where the feftival has never borne the name of '' the Kings," the same ufage prevails. In- deed, we have the exprefs authority of Selden 9 the moft philofophical as well as the moft learned of Englifh antiquarians, as given in his agreeable and moft inftructive little volume of '' Table Talk," that " the Encr lifli cuftom of choofmg king and queen at Twelfth-Night is from the tradition of the Three Kings of Cullen." In old England the popular as well as the literary and poetical name of this fefti- val has always been Twelfth-Day, or Twelfth- Night, it being the twelfth from Chriftmas, concluding the Chriftmas holidays, and univerfally kept as "the blitheft and the laft." For the laft hundred years paft, it has been very commonly known among the Englifti people as " Old Chriftmas," this being the day when Chriftmas would fall according to the old ftyle which was ufed in Great Britain until 1752, when the reformed or Gregorian lO computation was adojuctl b\ law, and the k'tral almanac conformed to the '' nev. Ayle" by dr(oj:)jMng eleven days, as well as by provid- ing againil future error by divers other ar- rangements of the calendar. Hiis, liow- ever, has little to do with the popularity of Twelfth-Night, which, as one of the mofl joyous of Engliih holidays, dates back much beyond the formation of our prefent Engliih language. The ancient royal houfehold books which have been of late years brought to light and printed by the Antiquarian and Archaeological Societies, contain directions for the magnificent and precife ceremonial of ^' Twelfe-Day " ; while the poets and dramatifts give equal evidence how dear this feftival was to the people, and how general and joyous was its celebration in town and country. Thus we find the houfehold regulations II of Henry VII. prefcribing the very robes the true King was to wear on that day when he went to offer gold, incenfe, and myrrh, walking in ftate, '' with his laffe before him." For the benefit of the reader who may hap- pen to be unfkilled in early Englifh phrafe- ology, it muft be added that the "laffe " was not, as he may imagine, a favourite court lady, but the great " cutlafs " or sword of ftate. The same books provide both ruler and funds for the wild revelry of the evening, under the management of the Lord of Mifrule, who was the defpotic did:ator of the sports in court and city during the Chriftmas Holi- days, ending with the acceffion of a cake- elecSled sovereign to rule till morning. The sports and ufages of '' Twelfe-Day," under the earlier Plantagenets, are defcribed in rhyming Latin verfe by a learned and jolly monk of thofe days, Nargeorgus ; and some- 12 time later by Ikirnaby Gouge in Englilh rliyme which can hardly be called verfc. Tlie gayeil and moil graceful oi Shake- fpeare's comedies bears the title oi 7\velith- Night, doiibtlefs becaiife it was fir{\ prcfented on that feiHval ; for the ingenuity and learn- ing of his legion of commentators, have not been able to aifign any other reafon for the title, and this feftival, we know from other sources, was always chofen ior the firil: preienting oi any new dramatic piece. Her- rick, the Anacreon of old Engliili litera- ture, luxuriates in the details of Twelith- Night feafting and frolicking, to which he gives a diftinguiilied place in enu- merating the feftal splendours and gaieties of his country. " Thy sports, thy pageantries and plays. Thy mummeries — Thy Twelfe-Tide Kings And Queens — thy Chriftmas revellings." 13 The election of King and Queen by some sort of lot, appears to have been everywhere and at all times of the very effence of this feftivity. In old England it was effected generally by a pea and a bean, or sometimes a ring or coin in a plum cake, to be cut into flices ; the fortunate drawers of thofe containing the pea and bean being inftanta- neoufly elevated to royal honour. Herrick chants forth the myfteries of the King-and- Queen-making bean and pea ; thus deciding, " Who ftiall for the prefent delight, here. Be a King by the lot. And who fhall not Be Twelfth-Day Queen for the night." The merry old Anglican prieft, for such was Herrick, joys mofi: luftily over " the mighty cakes, full of plums," to be devour- ed after they had served to decide this great queftion of eled:ive sovereignty. He then, with that authority due to old experience. prcfcribcs the ingredients and compofition of the " WaiTailing bowl." " Addc sugar, nutmegs and ginger. With ftore of ale too. Aye, thus ye muft do To make the WafTail, a swinger." Nor is he lefs authoritative- and peremp- tory as to quantity, than he is to tlie rightly- compounded quality of the myftic beverage, for, to correfpond fittingly with his '' mighty cakes," he thus adds, " Fill me a mighty bowl Up to the brim." But it is not for his own exclusive confump- tion that the frolickfome old prieft requires this liberal proviiion, for he trolls forth to all ''his merry, merry boys," " Honor to you who fit Near by this well of wit. And drink your fill of it." Moreover, the Boar's Head, dreffed after some moft elaborate receipt of the times, 15 and carried aloft in great ftate, was alfo an important, and in ancient times abfo- lutely an effential, feature of an EnglilTi Twelfth-Tide. This was accompanied by various carrols, chants, glees, or songs, sev- eral of which, with the appropriate mufic, have come down to our time. One of thefe preferved by Oxonian tradition, ran to this meafure : The boare is dead, Loe heare is his head, &c. But the decidedly favourite chant, which the antiquarians pronounce to be the one in conftant ufe from the reign of Edward I., when our prefent Englifh tongue had par- tially evolved itfelf from its Saxon and An- glo-Norman elements, down through all the Plantagenets and the Tudors, is ftiU annually ufed at Oxford, though obfolete elfewhere. It was happily preferved by i6 the prefs of Waynkyn dc Wordc, witli the date of MDXXI., with the very air then iifed. Its intermixture of Latin verfe attefts its origin from the conventual dining hall of some merry monks. Caput Apri dcfen Reddens laudcs Domino. The Bore's head in hande bring I, With Garlandcs gay and rofemarie, I pray you all synge merrily, Que estis in convivio. The Bore's head I underftande Is the chiefe servyce in this lande, Looke wherever it be founde Servite cum cantico. Be gladde, Lordes both more and lafse Far this hath ordayncd our stewarde To cheer you all this Chriftmafle The bore's head with muftarde. Our older Englifh anceftors seem to have relifhed high flomatic ftimulants in all their cookery, and were "very ftrong upon ginger and muftard." Dr. King, the play- 17 ful and poetical praditioner of civil law in Doctors' Commons, and afterwards an admi- ralty judge in Ireland, whofe almoft forgot- ten volumes sparkle throughout with wit, original yet learned, and innocent though sportive, in giving poetical direftions how " to send up the Brawner's head," enjoins specially, " Sauce like himfelf offensive to his foes. The roguifh muftard dangerous to the nofe." King wrote in the firft years of the laft century, but the muftard, which in his day had dwindled down to a mere sauce or mi- nor adjunct, figured much more prominently in the ftill older days of England's feftivities. In the antique carrols it is frequently intro- duced, rhyming moft incongruously in senfe though matching in sound, with '^ custard; " whilst in one of the old rituals of Twelfe- Day, it was commanded, '' De par le Roy," i8 that the bearer of the Boar's head, the goodhefl: man and higheft in ftatiire that could be found, ihould walk between '^ two pages yclad in tafatye sarcenet, each bearing a good niefs of nuifl-ard." The members and guells of the Century Club, need not to be informed of what it is nevertheleis due to ourfelves to mention in this place, for the inflruction and guidance of the public tafte, as well as the vindication of our own kitchen, that this venerable afTociation does not follow the rules and cookery of the old Engliili Twelve-Tide, in the preparation of their annual Boar's head. Upon a very erudite and scientific report, made by their official Standing committee of Supplies, after deliberate examination of the authorities and repeated scientific prac- tical experiments, the Century solemnly refolved that the aforesaid Annual Twelfth- 19 Night Boar's head, fhould always be cooked with sugar and vinegar, and without muftard, after " the high Roman fafhion," according to a very precife receipt for the preparation of Boar's flefh, whether wild or tame, brought from Italy some years ago by the eminent artift, whofe great national painting of the " Embarkation of the Pilgrims," adorns the Rotunda of the Capitol of our Union. The report of the Committee was fortified by the authority of another eminent artift, whofe works alfo adorn our national Capitol. John G. Chapman, one of the moft honoured and beloved fathers of the club, now and for some years part a refident at Rome, particularly certified, as the refult of his own perfonal inveftigation, that it had been well settled that this receipt was proved by indubitable artiftic tradition, as well as by unimpeachable literary evidence. 20 to have been the one iifed for the Epiphany feafts of which Michael Angelo, and Ra- phael, and Titran annually partook, and which had on a special occafion, received the exprefs approbation of that critical judge of good-living, Italy's favourite poet, Ludovico Ariofto. It was therefore unanimoufly re- folved, that on this matter the more grace- ful and eflhetic pradice of Italy and all Southern Europe, fhould supersede the narrow and merely insular Englifh ufage. It is alfo specially worthy of remark, that the mofi: erudite and acute of Europe's claffical scholars, the excellent Cardinal Angelo Mai has intimated an opinion, that this prefent Roman fafhion of cooking the Boar's flefh, has come down from the high and palmy days of Rome's luxury, and is the very same ufed in the kitchens of Lucullus, of Apicius, and of Mark Anthony, with the 21 mere subftitute of our sugar to the honey ufed by the culinary artifts of old Rome. The logical connection of the subjedt here compells us to speak on another collat- eral point, on which the Century Club has upon principle not hefoated to depart from the old Englifh regulations of Twelfth- Night, and the high authority of the ven- erable Herrick. It was upon the maturefl: advifement that they refolved that, on this and other high feftivities, their Waffail should not, like that of Herrick and his compeers, confifl: only, or even chiefly, of thofe liquid compounds whereof malt forms the chemical bafis. Not at all partaking of the ariftocratic contempt of Tacitus for malt liquors, which the sneering old wine-drink- ing patrician infolently terms, " a liquor from barley or wheat, corrupted into a cer- tain semblance of wine," ''in quandam ? o similitiidincm vini corriiptum," hut indeed liolding them in honour as national heverages of hrave and lloiit men, they yet thought it to be due alike to the artiflic and the literary character of their own afToeiation, and the mixed anceftry of their own members, to ex- hibit this prominent feature of such celebra- tions in more efthetic forms, indicating a larger nationality, a more catholic com- prehenfivenefs than could find room within the infular narrownefs of the Englilli rule. The Hio;h Stewards of their feftivals there- fore, on such occafions, are directed, in ad- dition to sufficient supplies of malted com- pounds, for thofe w^ho prefer them, alfo to crown the feftive boards with such fluids as may beft recall the glories and the joys of other races and other fatherlands. Thefe learned and discriminating officers, have ac- cordingly always prefented for the Centurial 23 Waffail, wines of Champaigne, such as had erst ripened under the golden fkies which Claude painted, had foamed and mantled in the grand declamations of Corneille, and giv^en their own fervent life to many a song of Beranger — wines of Bordeaux in Thofe royal purple ftreams. Coloured by the sun's red beams ; such as had infpired the eloquence of the haplefs Gironde, and the wit and wifdom of Montaigne and Montesquieu — tall flafks fraught with old vintages from the mountain vineyards of the Rhine, every one of them eloquent with the memory of Schiller and Goethe, and the arts of Munich or Duffel- dorf — grave and ftately wines of Spain, some from the rocky vineyards of La Mancha, of the very growths made claffical by the praifes of Sancho Panza, and others again from Xeres, breathing the scent of the cTufliccl Camomile flower that I.opcz dc la Vega loved, and all of them bright with the glories of Cer\'antes and Miirillcj. Moreover, ftrietly abitinent as thefe high funetionaries ever are from all '' hot and rebellions liquors,'- they found that their high senfe of right obliged them, upon principle, to add to their XA'afTliil duly compounded preparations of the more potent fluid which Ireland loves, and which Scotland honours, whose smoky flavour gains added zest from the recolledions of the eloquence and genius of Curran, and the Emmets, and Tom Moore, of Burns, and of Walter Scott. It is trufled that enough has now been said without any more formal reply to the malign- ers of the Centurial Waflliil, and the cook- ing of the Boar's head to prove that in both the Century is at once antiquarian and efthetic, catholic, and cofmopolitan. 25 It has been learnedly and moft zealoufly maintained by some Englifh, and certain French antiquarians, that the obfervances and rites of Twelfth-Tide, such as the Boar's Head, the Waflail, with many others which we are compelled to pafs over in the prefent fketchy outlines, are certainly of Celtic, and probably of Druidical origin. On the contrary, several great scholars of Germany and of Italy are equally poiitive that all the ceremonials and ufages have come down from ancient Rome, and its annual Saturnalia, and were at an early period engraffed in Italy, upon the previous purely religious church feftival. The Century Club cannot, with the pre- fent imperfedl lights on the subjed:, venture to pronounce any decided opinion on this intricate and very important archaeological queftion, and therefore sufpend their judg- 26 mcnt thereon until further arguments are submitted by tlie learned of Oxford, of Leyden, of Paris, Ikrlin, and Rome. JUit whatever may be the origin of thefe ufages, the extent of their adoption is truly remarkable, for '' Le Roi de la Fevc," in Franee, and the ^' Duca di Maggio " in Italy, are eleeted with as mueh solemnity, and reign as defpotieally, on this feftival, as the Eng- lilli Twelfth-Night Kings and Queens; whilft Holland, even in the moft republican days of the Seven United Provinces, and in Germany, even in our ow^n time, in the proud little republics of Hamburgh and Bremen, not a fingle murmur of rebellion was ever raifed againfl: the royal authority of the cake-elected sovereigns of the Dutch <' Driekoningendag," or of the German " Tag der heiligen drei Konige." On Italy's claffic soil the morning of the 27 feftival is welcomed with solemn religious pomp, as the Epifania (the Epiphany), whilft under its endeared colloquial name of La Befania, for the reft of the day it is every where celebrated with unreftrained and boy- ifli jocularity, with mirth, and feaft, and dance, and song ; so that — if we may venture to imitate Webfter's grand image of the re- port of England's morning gun circling the globe — the mixed sound of mufic, of laugh- ter, and of feftive fhouts, flows along, wave after wave, over the sunny land of the myrtle and the vine, from village to village, from city to city, without a paufe from Palermo to Nice. The Befania is alfo in Italy a fixed epoch for annual prefents, like the Chriftmas gifts and boxes of England, and the New- Year's Day for etrennes of France. If any of our readers fhould be defirous 28 of knowing how this klHval was kept in older days of Italy's glory, and wealth, and art, we nuiii he eontent to reler him to the pages of their brilliant eonteniporary authors, who told with patriot pride of " her palaees, her ladies, and her pomp," and efpeeially to thofe Hernesei poets (for so they are termed), the poets of the sehool of the spirited and playful Berni, who, like him, pais rapidly from grave to gay, mixing the droll with the brilliant in the very tafte and spirit of our own Halleck. We have already alluded to the " Jour des Rois " in France, and its King of the Bean. In former days this was celebrated with as much ftate and as much frolic as in Italy, as the curious reader can satisfy himfelf very pleaiantly, by looking into some of the writings of French antiquarians or hiftorians, who, ftrikingly contraft to the writers of 29 other nations upon fnnilar topics, ordi- narily as dry and heavy as the subjeds them- selves ; for many a French antiquary has drefled the moft unpromifing themes of this sort with the same grace and HveH- nefs with which Count Hamilton told his fairy tales in the laft century, or Scribe and his affociates conftrud: a farce in the prefent day. The national adoption of Le Jour de I'An, New Year's Day, for the exclulive diflribu- tion of prefents to friends and children, and gifts to servants, and employes, has fhorn Twelfth-Night in Paris of some of the special honour and affed:ions of humbler and of youthful minds, which in some other countries it divides with Chriftmas. Besides, as to Paris, what with revolutions and specu- lations, politics and the Bourse, the Parifians have certainly become a sadder if not a 30 w'ifcT pLoplc. 1 f()\vc\'cr, thu Day ol the Kings is iHIl lionoiircci there more or lefs, and in nianv a uortliv I^ourgeois family and in many a laded I lotel ot the I'aiihourg St. Germain inhabiteti hv noble names, it is wel- comed uith warm hearts and beaming faces. In a large part ol the prov inees it (HI! keeps its ground, \aried w ith sundry local ceremo- nies and euiloms. 'I heir majeilies are some- times cholen hv the bean in the cake, some- times by the finding in the selected ilice a I'llver or gold coin, and sometimes (as in what was formerly Lower Normandy) by the more primitive method of a boy blinded under the table calling out as by chance the fortunate names. There too, in spite of changes in governments, in manners, and in names, nay even in spite of rail-roads, many an old ufage yet lingers, that was practised centuries ago ; they dance juft as 31 they did more than a hundred years ago, to the mufic of the traveller poet, Alike all ages, dames of ancient days Still lead their children through the mirthful maze, And the gay grandsire (killed in geflic lore. Still frifks beneath the burden of three score. The laugh-provoking ciiftom, known as " Le Roi boit," prefcribing certain penal- ties or prizes, whenever his Majefty drinks, is of French origin, though it has spread elfewliere. Throughout univerfal Germany, the Day of the Three Holy Kings (der Tag de Heil- igen Drei Koninge) has perhaps a ftronger hold upon the people than anywhere else. Its form of obfervance varies somewhat in Northern Cicrmany from that in Southern, and in Roman Catholic from Proteftant cities or ftates. Local habits and chara6lers, alfo, caufe some variety. Cologne of courfe celebrates with great 32 |)()in|), ami noise, aiui public iLiUvitv, the day of tlu- MiuTntrd Kings \vho(e rclic<i sin- giiauis. Lillic, hut rciiowncd (iottiiigcn, cjuict aiul ihidious, welcomes the day in her own lalliion, uilh children's gilts and frolics, some fhident jollification, and in the evening with a *' the danlant," of tea and cake, nuif'ie and walt/ing, at the nKnleii reiidenee of some eminent j^rotellor, wiio jfndies and teaches fifteen hours a day, and is an oracle of the uhole learned world in Mathematics, or in (ireek or I lehrew, or ecclefiafUcal his- tory, or Biblical criticism. But it is e\erywhere the children's favour- ite holiday. In many places fairs are held with booths full of toys, trinkets, and con- fedionary ; while masked or fantaftically decc^rated proceffions roam about the fl-reets, headed by three crowned children. Even in sober, methodical, commercial Lutheran Hamburg, bufinefs is sufpended; even that famous bank, which deals in cur- rency only, meddles with no paper but its own, and whole notes are always worth more than gold or filver, is clofed. Friend- ly prefents are given, and all the children made happy bv their holiday wealth as well as by their holiday frolics. The morning opens witii merry chimes from the church towers, the ftreets are vocal all dav with the chaunts and carols of choriiler boys ; in houles public and private rifcs the smell of the feaft, mixed with the perfumes of flowers, and of Rhein-Wein, and the fimies of choice Canafler ; or elfe, blended with the more plebeian odours of Lager Bier, and the thick smoke of Rauch- taback. On that fixth of January night, in that fir northern city swept by keen blafts from the North Sea, it mufl be a wild night 3 3+ iiuiccd, which can prc\'cnt the iirccts from being \'ocal with nuiiic and scjng, and with many a serenade, even at midnight, not lefs melodious, and hir more cordially received by the blue-eyed maidens of Hamburg, tlian thofe in milder climes at which Milton scolled in his sneer at " Mix'd dance or wanton maflc, or midnight hnll. Or scrcnatc, which the ftarvcd lover fingi To his proud fair, bcft quitcd with difJain.'' Throughout the Netherlands, whetlicr Belgian or l^atavian, in both branches of the separated but kindred people, Flemilli and Low Dutch, this same feil:i\al, '^ de Driekon- ingenfeeft," is obferved by all claffes. It is kept more as a social holiday by the Holland- ers, and in Flanders with more of the external ceremonial of Cologne ; but in both the gen- eral cuftom of eledlion by lot prevails, and in both, there is a difplay and confumption 35 of cakes and "cookies" of all sorts, which would put Herrick's " mighty cakes " out of countenance, as zingerkoek, zoetekoek, pannekoekj olikoek and waafEls, with many artocreatic dainties, some of which ftill linger at the tea-tables of burghers of old defcent in New York and Albany, but moft have sunk into oblivion, together with that sonorous and expreffive tongue that was once as much at home on the banks of the Hudfon, as on the dykes of the Y. The chara6ler and ftyle of the family cel- ebration, as well as its antiquity in Flanders and Brabant, is shown in one of the moft popular and brilliant paintings of the Flem- iili school, the " Le Roi Boit" of Joerdans, the worthy pupil of Rubens. The life-like original, gay and glowing in colour, and beaming withjoyousexpreffion; is well known ro tnivcllud artiils and connoillciirs, and sev- eral sjiirited cFi<j;ra\ iiigs have made it laniiliar to thoiilaiuls more. To the ciri/Lii^ ol this nutch-foiiiulcd city, w liLTc the names ami blooci ot I loHand abound, and many a eiiltom ol Holland iHll lingers, the hiltory, aneetlotes and speeial uiaires of the '^ Neder-Dmtseh Driekonin- ^renfeefK" would of eoiiiie have peculiar in- tereli. With the aid of good lather Cats, he whoftill moulds the hearts of Dutch children and 'Milb the ianey on the fide of truth," and of the fertile and various \'ondel, the Dutch Dryden, and with aceefs to the choice col- ledion of Duteh hiftory and literature in the Alter Library, it would be eafy to fill pages with paffages of sonorous or of jocofe verfe, touchino; this feftivity in the earlier days of the Seven United Provinces, or with Twelfth-Day anecdotes, some of them 11 lofty and deviating, and others of fun broad enough to provoke the loudefl: laughter of Burgomaftcrs. To thefe there might be added some perhaps not unpidurefque fketches, drawn from our own obfervations and recolledions of the Dutch Day of Kings in later times. But from this we muft refrain; partly becaufe we fear to weary the patience of thofe of our readers whofe blood " boafts no drop from that immortal line," but chiefly becaufe we dare not trefpafs on the peculiar domain of that exclufive and venerable body, the High and Mighty the St. Nicholas Society of New York, the legitimate and jealous con- servators of all that pertains to the social ufiges of the founders of our city. Their Board of Stewards, into which no man can be elected whofe name does not boaft of the prehx of a Van, has for years been engaged 844G3 i« on a great work upon ** the Ritual of Santa Clans nnrl rlu- Ifolidavs cxi llullaiul/' wlu-rr all the learning on sueh snhjecfls is enilxKiieil. It will he iilueil on next Pinxtcr Monday from the prefs of the Appletons in lour imperial (.jiKiilob, and to this noble uuik we mui^ re- fer our reailers, as an ample suhlHtute for the meagre aeeoiint that our spaee could now allow us to give. Vet there is one Twelfth- Day incident in the earlv maritime hiitory of Holland which we cannot omit to mention; partly becaufc it ha^ ne\ei Oeiore been Uvtrrated in connec- tion with this subject ; but chiefly becaufc the llory, interefting and touching in itfelf, prefents alio and enforces an impreflivc lellon ot the great practical and moral value of such national and domellic feftivc anni- vcriliries, which, endeared bv the pleafures of childhood and early youth, and confecrated 39 by the remembrance of domeiiic and social jovs, bring back with them as they recur in after life, together with the recollections, something of the reality of the joys and the piirit\- of youth and of home. It has alfo a IHll additional intereil in this coimtry and at this time, from its parallel \yith some of the recent Arctic ad\entures of our own c()iintr\ men, and their aflociation with the memory of Dr. Kane, who whilit living filled the |)ublic minti, and whole death has saddened the public heart. Neyer was the spirit of maritime enter- prife more ardent and eflective than in Hol- land, during the continuance of the pro- tracted war for the independence of the United Netherlands, after the firft: terrible ftruggle was oyer, and national soyereignty was subftantially achieyed. Near the clofe of the sixteenth century, seyeral expeditions 40 lor maritime cllfcoNcry were fitted out, some for tile American eoails, ami others lor a tlifeoxery ol a lliorter |)airage In the North to China and [ajKin, whither Dutch com- merce had already found its wav bv the lon<j; and te^iiou^ .Southern pallage hv the Cape of (Jooil I lope. Ihe conuiiercial en- terprife thrected to the W'elkrn Indies, as our whole 1 lemilphere was then denomina- ted, led a few years alter to the difcovcry antl settlement of New Amfterdam. It was the enterprile and capital ol the same far-seeing merchants, which under lefs hap- py aufpices projected and equipped the ex- pedition o\ 1596 lor the dilcovery of a North- wel} palTage to the Indies. There was more than one of thele expeditions, but we speak of that under the command of Ian Cornelius- on and Jacob \^an Heemllcirk, which sailed from Amil:erdam in Mav 1596. Cornelius- 4-1 on was an experienced navigator; Heem- ikirk a young man, (he was but twenty- seven,) of kind manners, bright talents, and high moral worth. Their veiTels were of the kind ufed for the intricate and fhallow navigation of the iikmds and inlets of Holland and Zealand, and were preferred by the Dutch for pur- pofes of coafl: and river exploration, being broad, capacious, and of little draught of water. They were called by them '' Vlie boots," from their being firfl: ufed to navigate the Vlie, a name which has palled with flight changes into nautical ufe in other languages. We mention this flidt, though not important to our ftorv, becaufe it was in a veflel of this sort, the fly -boat '' HaalvT Maan " or the Half Moon, originally selected and fitted out for another voyage of Ardfic exploration, that Hendrick Hudfon, twelve years after, 42 firfl broke the unknown wave of the Har- bour of New York, and thence sounded his slow and doubtful way up tlie broad Maha- kaneghtuek, "thcCireat riwrof the Moun- tains." The narrative of this expedition of i 596, is given minutely and ehron(jlogieally in the annals of Peter Hor Chriftianzoon, known in his days as a lawyer, and a fbtesman, high in office but now remembered only as the con- scientious, laborious, and graphic annalifl of the Netherlands, from 1550 to 1605 the brighefl: period of the early antl heroic age of the Dutch Republic. The hnc copy of his annals in the Aftor Library, whence we chiefly draw our information, is in seven mafTy parchment-covered folios, and is illuftrated amongfl many other spirited engravings of heroes, battles, and great events, with several prints reprefenting the 4 '-» Ardic scenes of the exploration of 1596- 1597, perils from combats with huge bears and elephantine sea-lions, from mountains of ice and other Ardic incidents, and show- ing, from such scenes being intermixed with engravings of great national events and the fine portraits of chiefs and llatesmen, the deep interefl: felt in tliis ilory by the author and his readers. The two vefiels penetrated together so far North as to difcover the mofi: Northern land which was reached for two centuries and a half afterwards, thofe iflands and fteep mountains to which Heemfkirk gave the defcriptive appellation of Spitzbergen, (or Iharp-pointed mountains,) which they ftill bear. Tliey then parted company, Corne- liuson taking a weflern courfe. Heemfkirk attempted a paillige by the North of Nova Zembla, but though it was yet early autumn +4 soon found his way iniiKticd and dangerous from lali-niaking ice, ami hclorc the end of October his \Lilel was locked in the ice near the North coafl^ of \o\'a Zemhhi, only hiteen degrees from the North Pole. The days luui (lirunk to an hour's length, and were fall liiniinilliing, ami there was no hope of extricating the veird, lor the ocean was fro/en as I'ar as it could he seen. The crew had therefore only to prepare to jxifs the winter on lliore, as heft they might. They dismantled their veiTel, and landed their sea-ftores, and then, with some large drift wood and timber which they found on that totally barren ifland, together with materials from their velTel, conftructed a laree low hut, near a ftream that remained un- frozen in spite of the severity of the cold they already experienced. It was probably one of thofe hot springs not uncommon in 4-5 high Northern hititudes. They provided themfelvTS from the drift-wood on the fhore with a tolerable supply of fuel for the win- ter, but they found nothing elfe on the ifland likely to contribute to their comfort, save immenfe white bears, some of which, while daylight yet lafted, they killed, preferving the flefli for food, and the fat for a subftitute for oil when that Ihould fail for their lamps. On the 4.th of November the sun set in the lowerino; Weft for the laft time it fhould rife again, until after a night of almoft the third of a year. The ikies were covered with fogs and snow, all was in utter dark- nefs without. The hiftorian tells us that it was " bitter cold " (bitter koud) when the adventurers landed, but when the sun left them, he says, it became yet more exceed- ingly bitter cold ; '' uytermater bitter koud." Their limbs were numbed, their blood chilled, their hearts sunk within them. Chrilhnas eunie, ami iloubtlefs, as may be inferred from I [eenilkirk's eliaracter as it a|)|)earetl in after life, was re\'erentlv ohleiNetl as their Re- lormecl C-hiireh ol I lollaml preferihed; but if C>hriihnas br()U<j^ht with it piuus reiignation, or reliirious eonlohition, it was unaccom- paniecl by any of its aeeiiRomecl train of mirthful tealls and Hght-hearted sports. i he New ^'ear eame in, but there rofe no New Year's sun either in the heavens or in their hearts. At hiil: the telli\al of the Three Kings approaehed. Then after conlultation among thcmfelves, on the eve before the IWelfth- Day, some of the oldeil: and wilell sailors rel'pectfully addrelTed Sehipper Heemfkirk, and told him that it would not do to pafs their time like a pack of white bears, be- tween growling and flecping, that they muft 4-7 keep the '' Drickoningendag," as the good people did at home ; they therefore requefted that due order fhoiild be taken for such celebration as their means could afford, and that they might choofe a king by the ufual lot, and have a hearty frolic. The Cap- tain cordially affented to this requeft, which was probably made from his own sugges- tion. The ship-ftores laid in by Dutch prudence, and their coarfe bear's meat, afforded subllantials enough, but luxuries were scarce. Probably the '' jenever-vat " afforded some humbler materials for their Waffail bout, but Bor tells us that the Captain brought forth a little wine that had been kept for special ufes, that they had even a eood allowance of white- bread, and that, moreover, they fortunately had meal enough whereof to enable them to bake pan-cakes, '' pannekoeken af bak- 48 ten." With thcTc hiinil^lc luxuries, the) feafted and frolicked, says the worthy Bor, as jovially as '' they eouKI have frolicked with the mof} coftlv victuals and drinks." The choice of King fell upon the '' high- boatswain," who ruled that night the undif- puted " King of Nova Zenibla," as the hiftorian calls him. Thev could not want a queen, for our readers may learn from Mot- ley's admirable hiftory, how the Dutch women of the coafl:, particularly thofe of the iflands of Zealand, fhared in the maritime hardiliips -and contells of their hulbands and fathers. Yet it is to be feared that the Queen of Nova Zembla, on the 6th of January, 1597, was neither quite as young or as handfome as thofe whom the accurately difcriminating chance of the Century Club elects to rule on fimilar feftivals. But they frolicked with a hearty good will ; they sung, they 49 danced, they huzzaed, they jumped, and they wreftled. Their toils, their wants, were all forgot. Their prefent fate, their future lot. And lighted up each faded eye With all the sailor's ecftafv. The noify and merry frolic was doubtlefs prolonged for many an hour, for their fleep was sound, and they all arofe fortified and refrefhed. The hour of gloom had pafled away from their souls. They now braced themfelves up to bear their privations and their perils as became men who had sailed under the three-coloured ftripes of Holland, and fought under the Lion-crefted banner of Orange. They now kept their limbs from ftiffening, and their blood warm by athletic exercifes ; and waited with cheerful confi- dence for that sun which was to rife on the sixteenth of February. But on the 24.th of January, they were surprifed and cheered 50 by the ap|K"arancc of light ; and the light continued and inereafetl. Whether it was from Northern Lights, or whether this was the firll and long prohjnged daybreak (jf an ar6lie winter's night, is doubtful ; but ne\'er was the ''Holy Light, offspring of I lea\en's firfl-born," hailed with more re\ercntial joy and gratitude. J he men now ifTued forth from their liut, boldly breathed the cold pure air, hunted the bears, and fhot smaller animals whieh now began to appear in numbers. But even when the night liad almoil: wholly lied before the long Northern summer days, his veflel befidcs being serioufly dam- aged, was ftill fall: locked in a mountain of ice. Heemfkirk now perceived that it was hopelefs to exped: it to be extricated, and that if their return was long delayed winter mio;ht ao;ain overtake them. He had had the forefight to secure the boats on lliore, 51 and in two of the ftouteft of thefe, fitted out as well as mio;ht be from the means his Fly-boat gave him, he determined to embark, trufting to reach Norway. It was not till the 15th of June that he could effed: even this. The two boats were fortunate in being able to keep company. After nearly three months of dreadful and ceafelefs hardfhips, in which the seamen were supported, cheered, and guided by the kindnefs, the spirit, energy, and refources of their young captain, they reached a harbour on the coalT: of Norway. On entering it they defcried a sail ; but their joy was re- doubled when they made out the three- coloured flag, and the flout Fly-boat of their comrade Corneliuson. He had win- tered with some comfort in Norway, and was now returning, as soon as the ice would permit, to Holland, there to report the dif- 52 covcry of S|)it/hcrgL'n, and his opinion of the improbability of any Arctic pafTiigc to the Indies. It need not be told ]]()\v joyous this meeting was. They returned with Cor- neliiison in his lliij^ to Amllerdam. They were all received as the li\ ing from the dead ; with a warmer greeting than if they had re- turned vidors from a sea-fight with the Spaniili navy, or laden with ingots taken in galleons from Mexico. They were followed with huzzas, feailed by the l^urgomaflers, received by the city with illuminations and lliouts, and every man among them was a '' lion " in his own circle. All of them were promoted, employed, or penfioned, ac- cording to their several deferts. Van Heemfkirk himfelf was promoted to the naval service. From a bold Arctic ex- plorer he became a great naval commander. S3 Ten years after, as Vice Admiral of the United Provinces, he gained the famous victory in the Bay of Gibraltar, over the Spanifh fleet of more than double his force, moored near fhore and supported by the batteries of the town and caftle. In this adion he anticipated by almoft two centuries Nelfon's brilliant naval tadics, by breaking the enemy's line and doubling his fhips infide and outfide on the van of the Spanifh fleet. Here he was killed in the very moment of vidlory — a vidlory deciflve of his country's independence. He fell in the meridian of his life and talent, in the full triumph of his genius and patriotism. This vidtory in the Bay of Gibraltar, was at once his Aboukir and his Trafalgar to this Nelfon of Holland. It might not be (as Shakespeare says) " to conlider it too curioufly," were we to trace, 5+ Hl'P by ftcp, how, in the mylkrious order of ProvitlciKc, the chLcrrul and innocent cele- bration of a popiihir and trailitional old feftival tended to prefervc ami |)repare a hero to serve his country in the a|)pointed hour of his glorious delHny ; how the efpeeial value of his services was proved by an originality of tadiical genius such as he alone polTefled in that age, and such as was not attain witneffed on the ocean till nearly two hundred years had pail: ; how the victory so achieved preferved and secured the civil and relieious liberties of Holland; how thofe liberties, soon and powerfully and long influenced the deftinies of Europe; how from the effeds so produced there has been spread a wide and lafting influence over the whole civilized world, promoting the beft interefis of the human race. This rude Twelfth-night fefl:ivity of a 55 party of sailors on a barren ifland in 1597, might thus appear to be not an unimportant link in that mighty and myfterious chain of secondary caufes and effects, which not only produced the foundation, profperity, and commercial greatnefs of our own New York, but the vaft and grand refults of the settle- ment of our whole land by enlightened races, fitted for the rights and duties of self- government, and of the Independence and the liberties of these United States. But this is not the place for so high an argument requiring at each ffep the guidance of a reverent and cautious philosophy. Let us pafs on to another, and to us very ftriking afped: of this Nova Zembla Feafl: of the Three Kings. Looking at dates, names, and some collat- eral circumftances, it is by no means out of the range of probability, that amongfl: 56 that brilliant throng who partook of the Century Club Twelfth-Night rY-fli\'al of 1858, may have been some of the great- grandsons, and great-great-granddaughters, in the ninth or tenth generation of that noble-hearted Captain and erew who in the midfl: of an Ar6tie winter's night, in whieh the sun was not to rife before seven long weeks more had expired, on a barren ifland at the 75th degree of North Latitude, cele- brated with hearty enjoyment, the same fes- tival in 1597. It is quite certain that many of that gay Twelfth-Night affembly of 1858, in New York, were defcendants of the countrymen and companions of Van Heemfkirk and his Ardic explorers, of thofe who fitted out their expedition, or welcomed their return. How pidurefque, how poetical, how touching is the contrafl: between the bare and S7 low interior of that Nova Zemblan hut, feebly lighted with two or three glimmering lamps fed with bear's-grease, and noify with the rude jollity of some twenty brave and honefl: sailors, and perhaps one or two as brave and ftout-hearted " vrouween " ; and that spacious and lofty hall in our New Am- fterdam, as it was seen on the 6th of Jan- uary 18585 blazing with lights, refounding with mufic, song, and laughter, fragrant as June with frefh-gathered flowers, rich with works of art, gay with the elegant splendours of modern fafhion quaintly mixed with the theatrical pomp of mediaeval coftume, and the whole scene bright and radiant with youth and merriment and grace and beauty. However ftrong a contrafi- thefe two scenes may fhow in their external afped:, yet there was a common element pervading both, and impreffing upon both its own character. It 5« was this, that the hilarities and cnjoviiK-nts of each were not entirely ol the moment and the individual ncjr lor the moment and the individual ; hut that thefe were elevated and purified by ennobling or endearing alTocia- tions, that the\' were connected in the mind with the paii or the diftant, and thus in some degree tranijK)rted beyond the bounds ol *' this ignorant i^refent." The Century Club had obser\ed with re- gret that the ancient fellival, with its p(K-tical and reverential airociations, and its pleafant and pidliirefqiie iifages, which had for ages contributed every year to the innocent enjoy- ments and social affedtions of the Dutch, Englifh, French, Irilli, and German anceftors of our cofmopolitan New York, was falling into difufe in this overworked and care-worn city. They therefore felt that it belonged to their proper vocation, to endeavour to 59 revive the love and honour due to this joy- ous Inftitution. How tar thev have succeeded in this at- tempt it is for their kind and fair guefts to judge, and their memory of the evening and their judgment upon it, may be aided by this little volume. For themselves they cherifh the lively hope that the antique pageantry and fan- tartic ceremonial, mixed with more ufual social joys, as presented at the Century Club's Twelfth-Night of 1858, will by no means. Like unfubftantial pageants faded. Leave not a rack behind ; But will rather, as the great Poet himself teaches, " Witness more than Fancy's images. And tend to something of great conflancy." Ccnturn UoomS, Shrove Tuesday, February i6, 1858. 6o ^*OtCG. Wines of Spain. P. 23. Some of our readers, cfpccially our fair readers, may be fo little flcillcd in the more recondite myfteries of the winc-prcfs as to require fomc further explanation of the allusions on this paffage. The "wines of La Mancha" — Don Quixotte's native province, as every one knows — here specially dcfig- nated, are grown on a rocky foil, and one of the beft growths, is indicated by the name of \''al de Pcfias, or " Valley of Stones." It was glowingly eulogized by Sancho Panza, for whofe unerring inftinftive judgment on wines Cervantes ftrongly vouches. It is only of late years that the fame of this wine has fpread beyond the Caftilles, but fmce it has become known in England and this country, Sancho's judgment has been affirmed by judges from whofe decifion there can be no appeal. The kind of Sherry or Xcres wine, particularly referred to, is the delicate pale wine, of a flavor and fmcU refembling thofc of the camomile, and thence called Manzanilla, that being the Spanifh word for camomile. It receives fpecial honor in this place, not merely for its excellence as a wine, but be- caufe it is more efteemed by the natives than any of the wines of Andalu- fia (the Sherry-growing province), and has been clofely aflbciated with the hiftory, literature, and arts of Spain fmce the fifteenth century. 6i Van Heemskirk. P. 40. The very brief account of Van Hcemfkirk's Arftic adventures here given is chiefly from Bor's great hiftory. But they are also fully re- corded, from the journal of his pilot Barentfen, by De Veer in Latin and alfo in antiquated French of that day. This work has been condenfed and infcrted by Prevoft, in his " Hiftoirc Generale de Voyages," in more modern French. Van Heemfldrk's great naval viftory is related by fevcral original authorities, by Metteren and others in Dutch, by Grotius and by De Thou in claffical Latin, and in French by Sully. The latter, while he relates the aftion itfclf more briefly, points out efpecially, as was natural from his pofition as a llatcfman, the efFcd of this viftory in forcing Spain to the treaty which acknowledged and fccured the Independence of the Seven United Provinces. The whole Hfe and achievements of Van Heemlkirk are ad- mirably fummed up, with Tacitus-like concifenefs, in the Latin epitaph on his monument in Amfterdam erefted by the States-General. But it is a curious faft that whilft all writers, whether contemporary or more modern, who have related this naval achievement, agree in the accounts of the greatnefs of the viftory and of its efFefls, and of the perfonal heroilm of the commanding admiral, they attribute the refult mainly to that and the valor and fkill of his officers and men, without apparently perceiving how much was due to the originality and ability of his naval taftics. Nautical men muft have underftood it at the time, but it required the fplendid com- mentary of Nelfon's great vidlories, nearly two hundred years after, and the 62 difcuflions and explanations to which they gave rife, to prove the remarkable merit of Van Hccmfkirk. This is, perhaps, the firft time in which they have been diftindly pointed out in tliis light, unlefs it may have been done by fome quite modern Dutch author. Nelfon's viftory of the Nile, in the Bay of Aboukir, was a pcrfcd and remarkable parallel with the vidlory of 1607 in the Bay of Gibraltar, in its tadlics and incidents. In both, the vanquifhcd fleet, fuperior in force, was drawn up and attacked in the fame manner, and in both the admiral's fhip of the defeated, greatly fuperior in force to any of the afTailants — (the Span- ifli admiral boafted that his fliip was a match for the whole aflailing fleet) — was blown up and the admiral killed. Again, Van Hccmfkirk's death in the viftory of the Bay of Gibraltar Angularly refcmbled that of Nelfon in his laft vi£lory of Trafalgar. That battle was fought and won on another application of the fame principle of nautical taftics which feems alfo to have been ufed by Van Hccmfkirk on a change in the Spanifli line. Both ad- mirals lived long enough to be aflured of viftory, and to see it won under their orders by their feconds in command after thcmfelves receiving the fatal wound. Van Heemfkirk was a great, a virtuous, and an admirable man ; his perfonal charader feems quite exempt from thofe weaknefTes which dimmed the luftre of Nelfon's fame. The Angle fault which his contemporaries rather infmuate than charge, is too large a portion of that " laft infirmity of noble minds," ambition and the defire of glory. Hiftory has not yet done full juftice to Van Heemlkirk ; but it is doubtlefs referved to be amply paid him by the fame hand which has fo faithfully and fo glowingly depifted the deeds and charader of William the Silent— the Wafhington of the fixteenth century— by our countryman, the hiftorian Motley. PROCLAMATION and ORDINANCE. (Dac0 I (D}]C0 ! ®iic0 ! tPc. tl)c Ccntttig, , By Patent of wit and art, from the Supreme Power of the State of New York, Cenfor of Tafte, Critic of the Times, and Fofterer of Letters, in the Ifland of Manatta, Forafmuch as the people of our realm are burdened with affairs, and much worn with toil for gain, whereby their fpirits lofe all cheer, and their nimble wits grow dull, and fmce a certain peftilent invention, yclept Bufmefs, doth fteal their hearts and lure their brains away from all blithefomenefs ; We being, alfo, aware of the wife ufage 66 of our forcrathcrs, Hill upholclcn in their Iflaiul of Hritain, to lii^htLn care by ohlerv- aiKL, w ith well-orciered nurriiiient, of niaiiy feiHvals, faints' days, aiul holidays, whereof miieh good cometh to the people, Haye deemed it fitting to ordain, that in eaeh year there he celebrated at our Palace, a folemn Rcyel, with meet attendance of mufic, mafques, and banqueting, whereiinto fliall be bidden the ladies of our realm, whofe fweet influence may aid in uplifting our sub- jects from the low^ and pitiable eflate of men of bulmefs. And for the more feemly conduct of what gamefome devices may then be prefented, we do command to be recorded in our Ar- chives as a guide and pattern, this order w4iich followeth of a quaint di\ertifement lately performed before us, upon the twelfth night of this prefent year. 67 The Great Hall prefenting a Throne Room, by erection upon a dais of two chairs of State, and by lit difpofal over the arras of feftoons and pictures meet for the eyes of princes, and the banqueting halls being hung with antlers, armor, and the fkins of hearts, and decked with holly and seafonable greens, and with torches in colors, surrounding a tranfparerbcy wherein is depicted the ancient ceremonial of the twelfth night. The Prefident being seated upon a chair of ftate, there enters to him, attended by folemn mufic, (Tlic proccesiott. Led by the Herald, with tabard and trum- pet, whom follows the Hunter, his head and 68 shoulders supporting the liorns and hide of a flag. Next, a mighty J^oar's head, borne aloft upon a iiher trenelier by servitors at- tired in riiflet drefses of the chafe. Behind thefe come ioiir chorilkrs, of tender years, clothed in flowing robes of white. I hen follow the Jefters, two, in particolored suits, orange and crimson, bravely decked with ribbons and flafhes, wearing mock crowns, and bearing flaves. After thefe, fix pages, pretty youths in gay and seemly habits, all diverfe, bearing the velvet banner of the Century, and, on cufhions, the sceptre and crowns. Next in order paces the Chan- cellor, with sad-colored ample garments, his gray locks covered by a crimfon fkuU cap. Then four maids of honor, wearing snowy ftoles, with ivy chaplets, attended by as many lords in w^aiting, plumed and splendidly arrayed. 69 Thus difpofed, the proceflion traverfes the Hall, when the Herald, ftanding before the Prefident, makes proclamation that the elec- tion will begin. Whereupon, at the lower end of the Hall the Great Cake is cut, and diftributed, the chorifters meanwhile fmging in parts, to a quaint and well conceited air words as follow : I. Now the myftic rite beginning. Here the facred board prepare, Crown and sceptre wait the winning. Who fhall prove the royal pair ? From amidft the congregation Shall a King and Queen arife, Try the venture, rank and ftation Are for thofe who gain the prize. yo II. Now upon the royal dais Sec our Lord and Lady wait, Now let lord and lady pay his Coiirtcfy to the crown and ihitc. So the inftallation ended, Let the Herald's voice proclaim By no other queen tranlcended Is our gracious royal dame. The Kino; and Queen, havino; now been chofen by their fortunate finding of the rings, approach the Prefident, who rifes, and with grave words of welcome receives them. This done, the King being robed by his lords in waiting, while the maids of honor 71 perform the same office for the Queen, af- cends his throne. The Jefters being seated upon the fteps, and the court ranged in a half circle about, the King places the crown upon his head, and crowns alfo the Queen. Upon this, the Herald making lignal, there goes up a mighty fhout of "Vive le Roi," which being quieted, the King thus speaks : We welcome our loyal subjects to thefe our Feftive Halls, and greet moft gracioufly this goodly company. This is not '' Twelfth Night, or what you will," but Twelfth Night, or what we will. Be it therefore proclaimed to all the leffer potentates of earth that they have our beft wifhes, and full permiffion to reign or fhine. And now, in order that our royal spoufe and you our faithful people may know the grandeur of our empire, we bid you liften, 72 while our venerable Chancellor makes full report of the condition of our realm. Thereafter the Chancellor with serious accent readeth his Ucpovt- May it pleafe your Majefly, I congratulate your Majefty on the aufpi- cious event which has raifed your Majefty to the throne of your royal anceftors. The Cakes upon which your Majefty's throne is founded, afford sure guarantee that it can never crumble into ruin. I congratulate your Majefty upon the general profperity of the realm. It is true, a smart commercial crifis has swept over the nation, but it has done no injury to thofe whofe property was in gold and filver. 73 Notwithftanding the crilis, thefe precious metals retain their ufual value throughout your Majefty's dominions. The receipts into your Majefty's exchequer during the paft year were three hundred and fixty-one millions, and the expenditures dur- ing the same period were fix hundred and ninety-two millions, leaving the small defi- ciency of three hundred and thirty millions to be added to the national debt, which sum is but a flight addition to the eafy burden of your Majefty's moft patient and loyal sub- jects. The caufes of this increafe in the nation- al debt are threefold. First. The enormous importation of crinolines for the adornment of the ladies of her Majefty's houfehold. Second. The vast importation of for- 74- eign wines and tobacco, and of the works of the old mailers, by your Majefty's loyal male siibjcds. Third. The expenditures for the build- ing and furniOiing of the new Royal Palace, erected for your Majefty's ufe and convenience, and which \vl ha\'e the lujnor of inaugurating on this glorious and aufpi- cious occafion. With regard to the firft of thefe caufes, it is humbly recommended to your Majefty to caufe a law to be pafled, limiting the ex- tenfion of the crinoline to a circumference of fifty yards, and also a sumptuary law, restricting your subjects to ten bottles of wine per diem, always excepting from its pains and penalties your Majefty 's moft faith- ful and devoted Lord Chancellor, who fhall be unreftricted in the number he may re- 1^ quire, in which to drink the health of your moft excellent Majefty. The expenditures on the new Royal Palace, erected under the supervifion of your Majefty 's Board of Commiffioners, conftsting of The Lord Harry Pierson, Earl Rossiter, and your Majefty 's renowned architect, Sir Joseph Wells, have exceeded the eftimates by the trifling sum of thirty millions. This sum has been adequately provided for by being merged into the national debt, which has given great satisfaction to your Majefty 's subjects, as it removes the burden from themfelves to their defcendants. I am proud to be able to congratulate 76 your Majcfly on the happy progrcfs which which has been made throughout your realm in Learning, Science, and the Arts. By your Majefty's command, the higheit: dignities of the ftate have been conferred on the following named subjedts, lor their emi- nent services to the caufe of Literature. Irving, Bryant, Bancroft, Longfellow, Verplanck, and Bayard Taylor, and alfo upon thefe, for their equally emi- nent services in the Fine Arts. DURAND, Kensett, Gignoux, Lang, 77 Hicks, Gray, and others. Thefe gifted men add glory and dignity to your reign, and a luftre to the age in which they live. The adminiftration of Juftice and the Law is moft perfed: throughout yourMajefty's Kingdom. Crime is now unknown, and difhonefty meets its rapid and appropriate reward. We commend to your Majefty's gracious confideration, the propriety of raifing to the peerage My Lord Chief Justice Duer, My Lords Daly, bosworth, Slosson, and Woodruff, 78 with a pcnfion for ten lives of thirty thou- fmd a year, for their diftinguilhed services in the adminiftration of your Majefty's hiws. The great syftem of internal improvements, projected by your Majefty's command, has been succefsfully completed. The Railroad which unites your Majefty's caftle of Tillie- tudlem with the port of Communipaw is in excellent condition. Its coft has been greater than was antici- pated, but the deficiency has been met by an iffue of third mortgage bonds which were negotiated on very favorable terms. The firft and second mortgage bonds will not be iffued until an anticipated contin- gency occurs. The receipts during the paft year fell fhort of the expenditures by the small sum of twenty millions, but with the referve of unnegotiated bonds on hand. 79 that sum will be amply provided for, with- out any further aid from your Majefty's Royal Exchequer. We congratulate your Majefty that you are at peace with all the world. The trifling difference of opinion which exifl:s between your Majefty 's government and the powerful and pugnacious Republic of the United States has been left to the ar- bitration of your Majefty'smoft faithful allies, Her Majefty the Queen of England, and His Imperial Majefty Napoleon 3d, and will doubtlefs be settled to the entire satisfaction of your Majefty. We have aflurances from your Royal allies of the moft friendly difpofttion, and it will be the duty and the pleafure of your Majefty 's Minifters to promote the good feeling which now exifts. 8o Your Majcfty's royal court is surround- ed by the Ambafladors of thefe great na- tions. Their prefence adds dignity to the augufl ceremony of your coronation. We welcome them with the cordiality which is due to their diftinguifhed rank. The fair lady who fhares your Majefty's throne, and whofe beauty and accomplifh- ments have won the hearts and the affections of all your Majefty's subjedls, will receive the homage of our undivided loyalty. The noble retinue of brilliant and ac- complifhed ladies who surround the throne, will continue to give splendor and magnifi- cence to her court. Long may your Majefties reign in the af- fections of a loyal people, and may your 8i throne remain, as it now is, the pride and glory of the Century in which we Hve. (Boh Bavt tl]c (Dttccn ! To whom the King refponds, Well haft thou spoken, worthy Chancellor, and well thy duty done. Our cofFers over- flow with gold; let therefore some millions be devoted to our royal confort's private purse, ten millions, say, for pins ; thirty millions for her laces ; and thrice thirty millions for her robes of ftate. We will remember thee, good Chancellor. Perchance haft not forgot thyfelf ! So good an office fhould be elective ! there muft be many perquisites. But where's our Laureate Bard, to give us joy in song on this aufpicious night? 82 Hereon the Herald with sound of trum- pet summons tlie Poet. Come forth, O Poet, at the King's com- mand ! This perfonage faihng to appear, the Jes- ters irreverently make reply. Dialoc\uc. First Jester. Second Jester. First " Second " First " Second " First " Second " King. First Jester. Second First Second First Second My Licgc, there's not a finglc one on hand. Your Highnefs' dearth of Poets is alarming. There's Cozzens, Curtis, Mitchel, wived and farming, Taylor is anglicifing Saxon ladies. And Bryant spurring Pegafus at Cadiz. Ward's nought to do, and Butler nought to wear. And all the mufes fall into dis-pair. Beaumont and Fletcher-like, let's make a Poet ! Your Majefty confents? Ay! Brother, go it. Defcend ye Mufes ! Five a piece ! Oh ! nine! Our Oueen's the tenth. And more than all divine. 83 i-iRST Jester. Second (C Both. First Jester. Second tt First t( Second c< First i{ Second i( First (C Second it First iC Second (< First (( \ Second i( First a Second (< First <c Second i< First t( Second (< First King. First Jester, Second " For her we've wandered late your kingdom o'er. From Burnham wood to Coney Ifland ftiore. And at her feet Manatta's tribute pour. Alack ! what worlds of mifery I saw ! And I, what oyfters at Communipaw ! What hunger mobs, by confcript fathers led ! And I, the bulls and bears a raifm' Ned. Mine eyes have wept at barefoot children's pleadings. I've blubbered over Fanny Kemble's readings. Whole blocks of filent factories I've seen. And I, wide acres swept by crinoline. I saw a Mayor's neft, filled with eggs of Wood ! Old Tieman broke thofe yolks ! One Schell held good, I saw a Court, fleered by a caudal Finn ! Why, that's the Judge that didn't quite get in ! I heard the crafh of fortunes ! Paper-founded ! While notes of proteft through the reahn refounded. I saw ten thoufand fools! All drefled as we ? Nay ! they're the real fools ; we only seem to be. We kneel to you, great King, to right thefe wrongs. Turn all thefe tears to smiles, thefe fighs to songs. Or, if our King will truft his faithful Jefters, We'll mix a charm fhall heal the kingdom's fellers. Your Majefty confents ? It is my wifh. Bring forth the caldron ! Ho ! a chafing difh ! 84 [ The Incantation followcth, over and about the chafing-difli. ] First Jester. Second " First " Second " Both. First Jester. Second " First " Both. Second First Second First Second First Second First Both. Second Jester. First " Second " First " I'll gather in the flircds and patchei, I'll light the flame of brimrtone matches. Thrice the City bells have toll'd ! And thrice an alderman been sold ! Mingle Folly, Want, and Crime, Harper cries, 'tis time, 'tis time. Round about the caldron go, In the vilcft humbugs throw. By the pricking of my thumbs. Something wicked this way comes ! A City contraft. Swindling got. Boil thou firft i' the charmed pot. Double, double, joint-flock bubble. Railroad smafli, and specie trouble ! Fill it high with auction sherr)-. Pitch in — Law's new one cent ferry. A merchant-prince's peddled ftock. The rus in urbe pavement rock. Party pledges ! Tweedledee ! Broken fkuUs from Tammany ! Double, double, joint-flock bubble. Railroad smafh, and specie trouble ! The Bar's good manners. Kanfas thunder. Fighting parfons. Throw 'em under. 85 Second Ji ester First (I Second a First « Second a First ({ Second c< First (t Both. First Je; ;ter. Second <t First te Second (< First (. Second c( First (( Both. First Jester. Second <( Both. Stewart's half a million offer. Stealings from the city coffer. The laft new hugger-mugger dance A native comedy. — From France ! Huge hoop, and Lilliputian bonnet. The Atlantic Magazine's laft sonnet ; Governor Walker's proclamations. General Walker's new-made nations. Double, double, joint-ftock bubble. Railroad smafh, and specie trouble. I hurl in new glafs ballot boxes, I, fifty thoufand railroad proxies, I, an eledlive Judge's ermine, I, aldermen, and such small vermin. Policeman's eye. And Nandy Wood, Enough, the mixture's flab and good. Round the caldron thrice we've gone. In the trafh and humbugs thrown. Let them simmer, hifs, and boil. The charm is ended, and our toil. So our great king may kindly say. Our duties did his welcome pay. Thus addrefled, and being well contented or well wearied therewith, the King con- tinueth. 86 Let now the imperial jointrels of this happy ftate receive our homage, and to our people be more clofely bound, by wearing from this time forth the order of our Cen- tury, wherewith we now inveft her. Thus speaking, he difpofes about the neck of the Oueen the p;olden order (;f the Cen- tury, and thereon thus to his subjects : Good friends now join us in our banquet halls. My lords and ladies, follow us, while mulic's harmonious sounds attend. Which royal command being uttered, the Herald proclaims the banquet, and precedes the King and Oueen, after whom follows the proceffion, grouped in due order as be- fore, marching solemnly thrice around the Hall, while all voices chant as followeth, the S7 Hail to our gracious Queen, Well has she chofen been. Hail gracious Queen ! Freely we own thy sway. Gladly we all obey Hail gracious Queen! Honor the newly crowned, Raife high the feftive sound, Hail gracious Queen ! Here on this feftive night. Gathered to grace our rite. Subjects we all unite. Hail gracious Queen ! Earth knows no Queen like ours. Strew then her path with flowers, Hail gracious Queen ! 88 Here on our bended knee, Homage we pay to thee, Oueen of the Century, Hail gracious (^ueen ! After which, to supper, and thereafter a measure, with much gay converfe of the well-pleafed guests, and so an end of THE CENTURY'S Winter Festival, Jan. 6, 1858. 89 [The following graphic flcetch of the Century Twelfth-Night Feftival, January 1858, appeared in the Crayon, a monthly Journal of New York, zealou/ly and ably directed to the service of tafte and art. As it contains some particulars of intereft relating to the architeftural charafter and artiftic decorations of the apartments in which the feftival was held, and some inci- dents of the feftival itfelf not contained in the preceding solemn and official documents, it has been thought proper to add it in this place.] 2:l)c ^entur}) JesttuaL The Century Club, on the 6th of January laft, on the occafion of the inauguration of its new building, held a Twelfth-Night Feftival, which ftands forth prominently among the pleafant social entertainments of the winter. The whole building, like the baronial hall of the olden time, was devoted to the feftivities. Before we mention the order of entertainment, we must glance at the elegant reception-room on the second ftory, a magnificent apartment that well illuftrates architefturally and decoratively, the artiftic spirit which animates the club. This room is 28 by 48 feet in area, and is 18 feet high, lighted by three windows on one fide, and a fine Iky-Iight. Over the entrance door is an orcheftra-balcony, which on this occafion was well and efFedively filled. At either end are richly carved mantels of continuous defign, extend- 90 ing to the ceiling, forming a rich frame for the mirrors. The ceiling is divided into panels, the central compartment being the (ky-light ; the decorations of which are painted in dillemper, representing allegorically Painting, Sculp- ture, Mufic, and Architecture ; and under the cornice arc a scries of panels, arranged to form a frieze, into which it is intended to infcrt the portraits of diftinguiflicd members of the club. The walls are hung with crimfon hang- ings, and the windows with rich deep blue curtains ; the furniture, of black wahiut, being covered with a material of the same color as the curuins ; the chandeliers and brackets are of elegant and appropriate defign, as is likewife the carpet, the whole forming an apartment that may be referred to as a model of decorative tafte and refinement. On this Twelfth-Night fcftival the walls were adorned with several large and fine piftures, including " Hcfter and Little Pearl," by Leutzc ; "The Dorcas Society," by Lang; " Hagar and Ishmael," by Gray ; " A View in South America," by Church ; " Lake Nemi," by GifFord ; " Primeval Forcft," by Durand ; " Bafhbifh Fall " and " View near Newport," by Kenfctt ; " Portrait," by Baker; a " Winter Scene," by Gignoux. Added to this was a throne erefted under the recess of the great window, upon which were placed two chairs elaborately carved in the richeft style of Belgian workmanfhip. Two pretty boudoirs, one at either end, opening into the large reception-room, with a spacious ante- chamber, added to the variety and accommodation of the (late apartments. The room being brilliantly illuminated, and prepared for the reception of guefts, the honored Prefidcnt of the Century flood at the spacious entrance to receive them as they arrived. At half-pafl ten o'clock, the company had afTembled, when the Herald, richly clothed in an official coflume, approached the Prefidcnt and handed him a baton of office, and then preceded him to the foot of the throne, making way among the crowd as he pafTed. The Prefidcnt announced that an election for King and Queen of Twelfth-Night would take place, according to time-honored ufage, and he direded the Herald to make proclamation to that effeft, which duty that officer per- formed with a fiourifh of his trumpet, calling upon the afTcmbly to attend to 91 this auguft ceremony. The eleftion was held in keeping with ancient form, the symbols of the royal office being depofited in a Twelfth-Night cake, which was cut up and handed around on-maffive filver salvers. During this ceremony and the proceedings of eleftion, the whole court advanced in pro- ceffion, an impofmg retinue of charafteriftic perfonages, with pages in white satin, bearing the two crowns on splendid red cuftiions, whilft choriilers in antique garbs, chanted alternately, the Boar's-Head hymn to an ancient tune, supported in chorus by numerous voices, and with a moft effeftive orcheftra. The Herald then advanced forward, and prefented to the Prefident a large ftatc document, which, on being unrolled, was announced to be the certificate of cleftion of the King and Queen of Twelfth-Night : this was read by the Prefident, after which he direfted it to be proclaimed by the Herald, who announced the elcdlion of Egbert the 31st, and Amelia the ist. The pro- clamation was made with great formality in the midft of the cheers and re- joicings of the loyal and delighted aflembly. The King and Queen eleft advanced, and were received by the Prefident rifing ; they were then robed by the lords and ladies in waiting, and crowned by the Prefident's own hands, upon which the Prefident kifled her Majefty's hand, and retired from the throne. His Majefty invested the Queen with the order of the Century, after which the orcheftra ftruck up the air of God Save the Queen, the chorifters finging appropriate and original words, and the entire aflembly accompanying them. His Majefty addrefled his liege subjeds in a very dignified manner, and then called upon the officers of the crown. The Lord Chancellor, in his robes of ftate, ftepped forward, and addrefled the throne, setting forth the financial ftate of the realm, and recommending many promotions and rewards to diftinguiftied merit, literary, artiftic, and profeffional. After this speech, which was moft gracioufly received, the King called upon his poets laureates, whereupon the two jefters, in their motley garb, arofe, and announced, in alternate rhymes, that the various poets were all abfenc or abroad ; Bryant in Spain, Halleck on the Sound, Bayard Taylor in 92 Germany, teaching his Saxon wife Enghlli, and Allan Butler with "Nothing to Wear." They then encouraged each other to undertake to supply all defi- ciencies. They accordingly proceeded in a spirited, brilliant, and witty vcr- fified dialogue, to allude rapidly to all the prominent follies of the day, end- ing with a ludicrous parody of the witches' incantation-scenc, in Macbeth, throwing in corporation contrafts, American plays from France, politicians' pledges, railroad bubbles, and other salient points of political and social intercft. After this their Majellies invited their loyal subjeds prcfcnt to a banquet, themfelves leading the way in proceflion to the room below, decorated in true baronial ftyle, the hall hung with countlefs banners, and the infignia of the chafe, such as elk and flag-horns and fkins of buffaloes, bears, leopards, panthers, etc., with magnificent suits of genuine antique armor, and a splcn did colleaion of ancient swords, lances, and maces, the whole gay with ever- greens and frefh flowers. All this was harmonized by a soft, rofy light as it came into the room, tempered by numerous tranfparencies. The ban- quet was served at the end of the apartment, the King and Queen fitting in antique chairs, and the reft of the company generally ftanding, except such ladies as chofe to find accommodation in large adjoining apartments. The luxurious table was arranged in truly regal ftyle, abundantly supplied, on a complete and very elegant filver service. The interfperfion of gilding and superb flowers, the mingling of colors on the royal board spread out beneath the brilliant painting, reprefenting a Twelfth-Night pro- ceffion in the Middle Ages, together with the banners, devices, mottoes, and tranfparencies, difplayed upon the walls of the room, all presented a ftriking and harmonious efFcft, and a highly impofmg scene. The regal hall of reception and coronation, had now become a ball-room, and the feftivities there, as well as in the banqueting rooms below, were lengthened into a late hour of the night, some of the graver perfonages re- tiring between twelve and one. Beauty, over which the fairy Queen prefided, did, indeed, grace the Century that night, and not only beauty, but men and women distinguifhed in Art, Literature, and Mufic, including a ftrong 9 '■> reprefentation of the Bench and the Bar, for all thefe avocations were fully and powerfully reprefented. Having thus glanced at the prominent points of this charming fellival, it will not be deemed inappropriate to mention that for the artiftic elements of its attraftivenefs, the Century and its guefts were indebted chiefly to Mr. Louis Lang, who defigned and painted the " ProcefTion in the Middle Ages," and other tranfparencies, and whofe tafte and knowledge directed the ar- rangement of the entire system of decoration. To Mr. Joseph C. Wells is alfo due much of the pleafure of the evening. The beautiful reception-room was defigned and completed under his superintendence, and it elicited the moft unquahfied admiration. \ %. ^^C 3 0/949 JAN 5 19513 MAR 1 4 IdSO DEC 7 1*354 This book is DUE on the last date stumped below bATE SENT FEB 21999 DUE 3 WEEKS FROM DATE RECEIVED i A UriUkL i fFP m m. HEC'D LO-URl B«?0 1J5A3F* .' ■■ if .'"■■^ DlSCHAl^Gt yc SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 702 792 3 158 00818 3658