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JULIE.

But this is not my theme; and I return
To that which is immediate, and require
Those who find contemplation in the urn,
To look on One, whose dust was once all fire,
A native of the land where I respire
The clear air for a while-a passing guest,
Where he became a being-whose desire
Was to be glorious; 'twas a foolish quest,
The which to gain and keep, he sacrificed all rest.

Here the self-torturing sophist, wild Rousseau, The apostle of Affliction, he who threw Enchantment over passion, and from woe Wrung overwhelming eloquence, first drew The breath which made him wretched; yet he knew How to make madness beautiful, and cast O'er erring deeds and thoughts a heavenly hue Of words, like sunbeams, dazzling as they past The eyes, which o'er them shed tears feelingly and fast.

His love was passion's essence-as a tree
On fire by lightning; with ethereal flame
Kindled he was, and blasted; for to be
Thus, and enamour'd, were in him the same.
But his was not the love of living dame,
Nor of the dead who rise upon our dreams,

But of ideal beauty, which became

In him existence, and o'erflowing teems

Along his burning page, distemper'd though it seems.

This breathed itself to life in Julie, this
Invested her with all that's wild and sweet ;

This hallow'd, too, the memorable kiss

Which every morn his fever'd lip would greet,

From hers, who but with friendship his would meet; But to that gentle touch, through brain and breast, Flash'd the thrill'd spirit's love devouring heat; In that absorbing sigh perchance more blest Than vulgar minds may be with all they seek possest.

BYRON.

ST. ASAPH CATHEDRAL.

The city of St. Asaph was originally called Llan Elwy, a name derived from the erection of a church on the bank of the river Elwy, by St. Kentigern, otherwise St. Mungo, bishop of Glasgow. That prelate, being driven from his see, took refuge in Wales, where Caswallon, uncle of Maelgwyn Gwynedd, sovereign of the country, assigned him a portion of land. The church erected was of wood, and connected with it was a monastery, said to have contained nearly a thousand brethren, which continued till nearly the commencement of the ninth century, when the monks were dispersed; their lands, however, remaining with the see. Kentigern, being recalled to Scotland, appointed Asaph, or Hassaph, his successor, in honour of whom the name of Llan Elwy was changed. Asaph was a native of North Wales, and on his death, A.D. 596, was buried in the cathedral church; a circumstance which added much to its celebrity, imparting, as was supposed, a more than ordinary sanctity to the building. The history of the see is involved in considerable obscurity, and scarcely any records are extant for many hundred years; though it is well known that both the city and church suffered greatly at various times. In the year 1016 the cathedral church was commenced of stone by king Ethelred and the archbishop of Canterbury, and was completed by Canute. The cathedral and the buildings for the ecclesiastics were burnt to the ground by a body of English forces, during the invasion of Edward I. Through the instrumentality and influence, however, of bishop Anian, or Einion the second, a new cathedred was raised about 1284. There were two bishops of that name; the first consecrated in 1249. The second, here referred to, was distinguished by the surname of Schoneaw, and was confessor to Edward I. After the demolition of this building by Owain Glyndwr, it long remained in a wretched condition, but was restored and partly rebuilt by bishop Redman towards the close of the fifteenth century, which, with the exception of the choir, partly rebuilt in 1770 by the dean and chapter, constitutes the present church. Bishop Hughes, promoted to the diocese in 1573, was a great benefactor both to the cathedral and the city, as was bishop Parry, who succeeded in 1604, who repaired and beautified the cathedral, rebuilt a portion of the parish church, and who died at Ober Kinsi, and was buried in the cathedral in 1651, under the bishop's throne. The cathedral suffered much

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in the great rebellion: the revenues of the see were sequestered by the parliament: the church was converted into a stable, and the episcopal residence into a tavern. Bishops Barrow and Fleetwood, however, laid out great sums for its restoration.

The cathedral is a plain cruciform structure, chiefly in the decorated English style, with a low square embattled tower rising from the intersection of the nave and transepts, and presents comparatively few of those features which add to the interest of many cathedrals, there being no lady chapel, crypt, or cloister. This circumstance, of course, renders this description more brief than those usually given of cathedrals in this maga zine. The nave is separated from the aisles by a lofty range of piers and arches. At the west end is a very elegant window. The transepts are without aisles. The east end of the choir, very small, is ornamented with a window filled with stained glass. In the south transept there is a library and chapter-house, which is also used as a consistory court. The altar tomb of bishop Davydd ap Owen, who died in 1512, is the chief monument: a plain tomb in the church yard, near the west door, records the interment of bishop Isaac Barrow, who died in 1680. A monument of white marble, to the memory of dean Shipley, was erected in 1829. It consists of a full-length figure in canonicals, in a sitting posture. The dimensions of the cathedral are Length from east to west Length of transept from north to south 108 Breadth of nave and aisles..... Breadth of choir.....

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FEET.

179

68

32

60

93

The episcopal palace has been recently reerected by the present bishop, Dr. Carey. The deanery has also been rebuilt by the present dean, about a quarter of a mile off, on the banks of the Elwy. The canons' houses, destroyed by Owain Glyndwr, were never rebuilt. The city itself is described as beautifully situated on the gentle acclivity of an eminence, washed on the eastern side by the river Clwyd, and on the western by the Elwy, which unite at the distance of about a mile to the north. The view of the city is peculiarly striking; its elevated situation on an eminence near the termination of the rich and fertile vale of Clwyd, crowned with the cathedral on its summit, and the parish church at its base, makes it a conspicuous object from every point of view.

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THE NEW

MONTHLY BELLE ASSEMBLÉE.

MARCH, 1846.

SOME PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF A COQUETTE.

BY MRS. ABDY.

Janet Desmond was engaged to be married to Edwin Ferrars; friends were propitious to the union; and the maiden-aunt of the lady, unlike maiden-aunts in general, was particularly well pleased on the occasion, and so far from throwing any obstacles in the way of the celebration of the marriage, was extremely desirous to accelerate it. After all, the engagement was not to be a very tedious one; the gentleman, by a "curious coincidence," had made his offer on St. Valentine's morning, thereby affixing a solid and substantial good to the remembrance of that day, which is generally distinguished by fleeting and profitless memorials of invisible and name.. less admirers, who

"Come like shadows-so depart."

It had been settled by the higher powers of each family, that the young people should be married in "the merry month of May;" none of them holding that theory which was entertained by the gifted Scottish novelist, that May is an unfortunate month for marriages. At the time my story begins, it was the variable, sunny, showery month of April; and just then a misunderstanding occurred between the lovers, which seemed likely to illustrate the burden of an old song

"Love is like an April day."

Janet and her lover were at the assembly of the neighbouring town; a certain Captain Halford was there, who had long been as famous as the "captain bold of Halifax," for the damage he committed on young ladies' hearts. He seldom, however, gave any encouragement to their aspiring hopes; he confined his conversation almost exclusively to married women, looking on girls-and Janet among the rest-with feelings evidently akin to those expressed by Lord Byron in the line

"The nursery lisps out in all they utter." When Janet was engaged, however, she became nearly as attractive in his sight as a young

married woman; because, although she did not actually belong to another person, she had given her promise to do so, and he was unremitting in his attentions to her that evening, and delicately sentimental in his hints of "the happiness that might have been his portion, had he only been permitted to have become fully acquainted with the charms of her mind and manners, before she had irrevocably bestowed her affections on another."

Poor Janet! her affections just then were in a very uncertain locality, and it might have puzzled the most experienced navigator to decide on what was to be their final destination; as far as eye-beams, smiles, and soft tones went, they might be supposed to be all given to the captain. Edwin Ferrars was seriously annoyed and disconcerted. It is not very agreeable to be paraded before the society of a country-town as an engaged lover, even when the lady is all sweetness and sensibility; but to be slighted, disdained— to be put on a level with all the attorneys' clerks and apothecaries' assistants, who are fain to congregate in a corner of the room where captains and lieutenants abound, and to wonder to each other in a low voice, "what young ladies can possibly see in the military!"-to be exposed to this degradation, and to be exposed to it by the fair one who was to promise to "love, honour, and obey" him in three weeks and four days!-the idea was terrible. If the month before marriage were to be thus embittered with gall and wormwood, was it likely that the month after it would be overflowing with honey?

Janet's father and mother did not interfere with her flirtation with Captain Halford, for the best of all reasons, they were perfectly unconscious of it. Mr. Desmond was talking politics in an inner room, where three violent Whigs being opposed to three uncompromising Tories, there was little hope of a speedy termination to the debate, and Mrs. Desmond was engaged at a card-table, and too busy in taking care of her own tricks to concern herself about those of the

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