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RECOLLECTIONS OF AMELIA OPIE.

THE name of this venerable lady having appeared in the list of those who have passed away, a few remembrances of one so well known in literary circles, and so well beloved in private life, may not be unacceptable.

The first time that we had the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Opie was on the occasion of a public meeting held in St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich, for expression of sentiments on the subject of capital punishment, a topic at that period brought prominently before the public, more especially in the city of Norwich, where, a short time before, fearful scenes had been presented, when the extreme penalty of the law was inflicted on some miserable criminal. From break of early day each entrance to the grey old town had been thronged with vehicles of all descriptions, bringing in their living loads of holiday people, led by the terrible cravings of depraved hearts to behold the fearful spectacle of a violent death, suffered by a felon, one who had proved himself too vile even for this world of sin. Into the merits of this question we would not enter; but to the members of the Society of Friends any subject bearing on the sacredness of human life has ever been fraught with interest. The President of the meeting was Joseph John Gurney, of whom, not many months subsequently, it was said, "He is no more. Near this friend sat Amelia Opie, the placid, benevolent-looking gentlewoman, the pages from whose pen had delighted us so long before, that we had been wont to think of her as of one who must long since have been gathered to her fathers; but there she sat, a hale old lady still, though then long past seventy.

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Having been so unfortunate as to find her engaged in taking the likeness of a friend, on the occasion of our going to pay our respects to her, we were agreeably surprised the next morning, though one peculiarly inclement, to see her enter, exclaiming, in cheerful tones, "I was determined not to lose the first opportunity of returning thy call." The outer dripping garments being removed, we were in a few moments interested in the lively conversation of our gifted

companion. She had the evening previously formed one of a party at the palace of the late Bishop of Norwich, to whom Harriet Martineau was then paying a farewell visit, before quitting England for a tour in Egypt. From Miss Martineau to mesmerism was an easy transition. Mrs. Opie had herself witnessed some of its marvels in Paris, but spoke of such in a somewhat sceptical tone; though, she added, "One young person so far divined truth as to state that certain symptoms of indisposition arose from taking too much of a condiment of which she was partial :" merrily adding, "True enough." She mentioned having been honoured, whilst a visiter in the gay city, with an invitation to spend an evening with the Queen of France. Proceeding thither at the appointed time, she found gathered to meet her a very select party. In the course of conversation Her Majesty inquired whether Mrs. Opie had “ever read the 'Life of Mrs. Mary Fletcher."" The lady replied in the affirmative; and, being desirous of discovering the extent of Her Majesty's acquaintance with a work she had little expected to find known to the Romanist Queen of France, inquired if she remembered a certain incident mentioned in the volume. Her Majesty replied, "she did;" and said the memoir itself was one of her favourite books.

A fair and delightful picture of honoured, happy age did Amelia Opie present in her own home. On the first occasion of our seeing her there, the morning sun was shining brilliantly; but a softened light only entered the apartment in which she was seated, herself attired in a pale-coloured silk dress, with a train,-for to this "olden fashion" she still adhered. Upon her head the high neat cap of "the Friends'" usual garb, from beneath which beamed a countenance all calm and placid, but an eye bright with the light of intellect. Beside her a prism, dissecting the sun's ray as it fell; while the walls around were hung with choice specimens of her gifted husband's pencil. One represented a fairy figure, radiant with youthful loveliness; a girl with flaxen curls, bearing in hands luxuriant flowers. "Myself when a girl," was the explanatory sentence, as we gazed upon the fair figure. Fair when young, nor much less so

now, methought, though the flaxen curls be replaced by plain bands of silver hair, sweeping down the high forehead, and the picture be of mature age, instead of early youth.

Mrs. Opie shared, in her measure, her husband's talent in the power of sketching portraits. It was a treat to look over her clear, spirited sketches of friends, remarkable fellow town's-people, and hear the lively explanations of the artist herself. She has gone now, in a ripe old age, to another and a better country; but many still hold her memory in respect, and to ourselves very pleasant are the recollections of Amelia Opie.

M. A. COOKE.

RELIGION IN LONDON.

ON the census Sunday, out of a population of 2,362,236, there were 504,914 attendants at religious worship; comprising 276,885 members of the Church of England, 186,321 Wesleyans and Dissenters, 36,334 Romanists, and 5,374 of other bodies.

POETRY.

AN EVENING HYMN.

(From the German.*)

I'm weary, and I fain would rest
Upon my loving Saviour's breast,
And feel His watchful tender care,
While now for slumber I prepare.

O pardon, gracious Lord, I pray,
The sins I've harbour'd all this day;
For Jesu's blood can make like snow

The heart that's deepest dyed, I know.

This hymn occurs in a charming little book; "Louisa Von Plettenhaus; or, the Journal of a Poor Young Lady." Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

O do Thou not alone extend

Thy wing o'er each I call my friend,
But o'er each being, great and small,
Watcher of Israel, guard them all!

To those who're grieved in heart, and weak,
Thy words of comfort softly speak;

And may the moon her silver light
Shed on a tearless world this night.

CELESTIAL OBJECTS.

FEBRUARY, 1854.

"CHILD of the earth! O, lift thy glance
To yon bright firmament's expanse;
The glories of its realm explore,
And gaze, and wonder, and adore!

"Doth it not speak to every sense
The marvels of Omnipotence?

Seest thou not there the' Almighty's name
Inscribed in characters of flame?

"Count o'er these lamps of quenchless light That sparkle through the shades of night: Behold them! can a mortal boast

To number that celestial host?

Mark well each little star, whose rays
In distant splendour meet thy gaze:
Each is a world by Him sustain'd
Who from eternity hath reign'd.

"Each, kindled not for earth alone,
Hath circling planets of its own,

And beings whose existence springs

From Him, the' all-powerful King of Kings.

"What then art thou, O child of clay!

Amid creation's grandeur, say?

E'en as an insect on the breeze,

E'en as a dewdrop, lost in seas!

"Yet fear thou not! The sovereign Hand
Which spread the ocean and the land,
And hung the rolling spheres in air,
Hath, e'en for thee, a Father's care!"

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M denotes the mean anomaly at Greenwich, mean noon of January 1st, 1854.

the longitude of the perihelion.

the longitude of the ascending node.

i the inclination of the plane of the orbit to that of the ecliptic. the arc whose sine is the eccentricity.

a the semi-axis major, that of the Earth's orbit being taken as unity. Some explanation may be acceptable to those who have not turned their attention to this subject.

It is known that the planets revolve in ellipses, having the Sun in one focus. To predict the place of each planet, we must know the position and dimensions of the ellipse which it describes, and the exact time at which it occupies any determinate point in that ellipse. For this purpose six data are necessary and sufficient. The six commonly selected, as most convenient for calculation, are those given in the table. Two of these, and i, determine the position of the plane of the orbit relatively to that of the Earth's orbit; two others, a and, the dimensions of the orbits; expresses the position of the axis major; and from M, in connexion with a and o, can be

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