we shall all of us be contemporaries, and make our appearance together." The whole of this passage deserves unqualified praise. We do not think that it contains anything faulty in point of expression, and the sentiments conveyed are admirably suited to the solemnity of the occasion. Each succeeding sentence rises above that which precedes it, in elevation of thought, and the last contains the natural climax of the whole train of reflection. From reflections on the more common chances of life and death, the author ascends to such as relate to the fate of those who were prominent in the world for rank, for genius, or for learning, and at length reaches that great consummation which connects time with eternity, and the circumstances of our globe, and all who it inherit, with the unseen realities of the world beyond the grave.

IR

ON TAKING LEAVE OF ABERDEEN.

FAIR blows the wind, the lagging waves

With murmurs seek the shore, The flowing tide our vessel laves, Old ocean spreads before,

And, rolling on his sandy couch,
Methinks, seems now to smile
To night's fair queen, and fondly crouch,
Though lashed to rage erewhile.

But time and tide must fail at last,

The pilot chides our stay,

The canvas wings our straining mast,

We bound across the bay!

Sure some there are-on shore-on board

On whom the pilot's call

Came like the knell of all adored

By them on earth; 'tis gall

To mark th' embrace-all speech aboveThe scarcely breathed-" Adieu !"

The eloquence of looks which love

Interprets" Still be true."

And then-the fixed-the straining eye

Bright glistening through a tear. And, mingled with a stifled sigh, The oft-repeated cheer!

Though no such strong emotions shake
My heart, it cannot well,

Of much that has been dear now take,
Without one throb, farewell.

What though each dear familiar scene
No more may greet mine eye!
Nor time nor place my soul shall wean
From days long long gone by!

Those days on which fond mem'ry throws
A soft reflective gleam,

Sweet as the smile my country shows

All in the moon's mild beam!

Farewell! farewell! thrice-honoured land!

Still clings my heart to thee!

Though urged my course, by fate's command, Far, far across the sea!

ROYAL VISITS TO ABERDEEN IN

OLDEN TIMES.

AT a time when the ancient and ever loyal City of Bon-Accord is about to receive a passing visit from our most gracious and beloved Queen, it may be deemed not inappropriate to the auspicious occasion to present a few notes of the circumstances under which some of her Majesty's royal predecessors have honoured Aberdeen with their presence.

Some of our old chroniclers will have it, that Aberdeen was one of the residences of the usurper Grig, commonly called Gregory the Great, whose misty history belongs to the latter half of the ninth century. They assure us, that he had what they magniloquently call a "palace" in Aberdeen; that he bestowed on the city its first charter; and that he was so specially fond of it, as to speak of it as "his own city." These statements, however, are not borne out by any trustworthy evidence, and must be regarded as in a great measure, if not wholly, fabulous.

It is most likely that Aberdeen owed its first

charter, if not its origin, to the munificence and enlightened patriotism of David I., since the oldest charters extant are partly confirmatory of privileges conferred on the citizens by that monarch, but make no reference to earlier marks of royal favour.

The first monarch of whose residence in Aberdeen there is authentic evidence is King William the Lion, grandson of David I. He appears to have resided frequently, either in the city or county, between the years 1179 and 1214. The oldest extant charter of the city was granted by him, and is believed to be of the former date. It is still in good preservation. William appears to have had a house in Aberdeen, which, about 1211, he bestowed on the order of Trinity, Red, or Maturine Friars, whose chief business it was to collect funds for the redemption of Christians held in slavery by the Infidels in Palestine. Of this palace nothing now remains; the site is occupied by the Old Trades Hall. But there is still to be seen in the new Hall a ponderous table, at which tradition says the leonine monarch used to preside. It is a very curious piece of furniture, consisting of a massive slab of artificial stone, smoothly polished, and set in a beautiful oak frame of much later date; the style of the ornaments showing that it belongs to the early part of the seventeenth century. The framework bears the arms of Dr. Guild, who purchased and