the leaves of the lilac are ready to burst forth at the
first favourable call. The laurustinm still braves the
winds and the frosts, and blooms in blithe defiance
of ihem. So does the China rase; but meekly, and
like a maiden who unll not droop though her lover be
away, — ^because she knows that he is true to her, and
will soon return. — Now, too, the visible heralds of
spring appear ; but tiiey have not yet put on their gor-
geMts tabards or surcoats of.many coloiirsJ The
chief of these are the tulips ; who are now just show-
ing themselves, shrouded closely in their sheltering
alcoves of dull green. The hyacinths too have sent
up their trim fences of green, and are just peeping up
from the midst of them in their green veils— the cheek
of each floNret-bud pressed and clustering against that
of its fellow, like a host of little heads peeping out
from the porch of an ivy-bound cottage, as Ihe Lon-
dmi coach passes. Now, too, those pretty orphans,
die croesses and snowdrops^ — those foundlings, that
belong neiAer to Winter nor Spring — that aie neither
lingering remnants of the one, nor early heralds of

* To the Snowdrop.v-;
Beneath the chanspefnl skies of eartyspring,
Emblem of human life and frail as fair.

Pale Yisitant of earth,

I marh thy modest bloom.

Herald of brighter scenes and calmer joys,
When the sweet lark, enamoured of the dawn.

Above the cottage r6of

Shan pour his melting lay ;

Though surly winter passing from the plain
Reluctant with his storms (while, rude and wild.

Stem desolation marks

His long and lonely track) > ^ .

b2

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64 THB VAtXftiAiA^B CflAllY.

the other — iriiow their modest faces scarcely an inch
above the dark earthy as if they were afraid ta tise
from it^ lest a stray * March wind' should whistle them
away. — The Months, 'So. II.

The hyacinth, narcissus, polyanthus, Persian iris,
mig^ionette, and sweet briar, compose and difihse a
detightfol and luxurious odour for the drawing room,
at this season of the year.

The days are now visibly longer, and we are bnsfly
engaged in the pleasing occup&tion of crtiservlng the
renovation cf nature. Every tree and every shrub
presents something new ; and to those who are fond
of botany, the present season of the year* is pecu-
liarly interesting. What can be more delightful
to an intelligent mind than to view the opening bud —
the expanded leaf— the first appearance of the flower
bud — ^its perfection-^and, last of all> its wonderful
fructification !

What lore witb tranquil pleasure better fills
The mind, fkir Bot/iny ! than thine !
Thy paths
Astirecl, witb thy own flowers are ever strewed^
Tl^ own fresh garlands ever grace thv brow.
Wnere*er thy votaries thou leadest, whether
Along the silent vale, or verdant lane.
By hedgiHTow sheltered, or o'er the loneheactb^
Wheitber to mshy pool, greep-mantled, or
Through the wild forest's thick-entangled maze.
Whether by softly murm'ring^rook, that bright

ReQects its guy-enamelled bank ; or long

■ ■ _ . " . .. -■ »■'.,■■ ,-> —

Oft wraps tby beauty in a wreath of snowi
And gems with icicles that fai^^ly shine . .

Below with imaged beftm

Thy cold but lovely brow ;

I see thee smile like innocence ai£ite|
Beneath his idle rage and parting storms,

Secure of happier hpWs

And skies without a cloud.

So piety, upheld by faith and hopCj
Endures serene the passing storms of lifei

With eye intent on Heaven,

And thougliit already there*



Ok/M.



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ClFLtKARY mCWABtMi. 5t

— '^"™— *^^— ^^"^"^ II — <»i—i— — ^1— — — »

^ Th<» rocky sbore, datbed by the foMring wav«s
Of Ocean wide ; or up the steep Mceat
Of m^ed moaotain, rising to die clouds ;
Still pleasure, profit, health, thy steps attend*.

DESCRIPTION (i/^CULINARY VEGET^BLE^t

[Continued from p» 38.]

Bfi^NS« — Crops of beans are very ornamental to
Ifae kitdhen garden, from the delightfnl odonr Aey
dispense when in flower. What can be more agree*
at^ or more conducive to healthy than
To lift the early la|ch, and try betimes
The garden's walk- delicious, where the heim
Gives forth its fragrant treasures?

or to Stray throng^ the open champaign^ ^bmriung
with hasty steps the dew away/ and observe how

Neat lies the surface of the weedless^&i,
Where springs the beau'^top martially disposed
File within file, a lusty brotherhood.

The common garden bean (vuAafaba) is said to
have be^i brought originally from Egypt; aiid has
beeih for many ages cultivated not only throughout
Europe, but even in China and Japah. The first and
1>estsbrt o^eariy beans is brought from a Porti^^ese
setflement on the coast of Africa, just witiiout tiie
Straits of Gibraltar: it is called the Maziagan bean.
If it be sown in October under a warm hedge, pale^
or wan, and carefully earthed' up when Ihe plants
we advanced, tfiey will be fit for the table by the
middle of May. The stems are very slender; if
therefore they be supported by strings close- to the
hedge or pale, that will preserve them from breaking
down, and shelter them from Ihe morning frosts in
the spring. Both this and the sort called Aotm bean
bear.plentffully and ripen nearly together. That palled
the edrty Lisbon hean, is merely the Mazagan bean

' Spbing ; a Poem, by the datsical Tutor at Clarence House Aca-
demy, Chenea.



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58 cuttiTAay vbjbbta^jlbs.

sowed in Portog^ ; but . it is not so well tasted, and
shoald never be preferred, though the gardeners plant
It for their first crop. The small Spanish bean is
better, and th^t called tho broad Spanish, which is a
little later than the other, but comes in before the
common sort, and being a good sort is frequently
planted. This is sacceeded by the Sandwich, which
is almost as large as the Windsor bean, but being
hardier is generally sown a month sooner^ it is f|
plentiful bearer, but not very delicate eatiqg. Al]K>Qt
the same time as the Sandwich comes l£e Toker,
which is a coarse kind, though much planted, merely
because it is a great bearer. The white and the
black blossoms are by some much esteemed. The
former when boiled are almost as green as peas, and»
being tolerably. sweet, are more valuable; but both
are very apt to degenerate, unless their seeds be
preserved with great care.

The white blossomed bean jSiS itrepects the flowers is
an anomaly, having none of the black marks on their
wings. The seed is semi-transparent, and having less
of the peculiar bean flavour when young than ^J^^
the others, it is on that account much esteemed. The
Windsor sort, when planted on a good soil with sufli-
oient room, will produce plenty of large seeds, which
if gathered young will be ttie sweetest and best tasted
of all the sorts. It should be carefully preserved by
pulling out such of the plants as are imperfectly
formed, and sorting out all the good from the bad
seed. It is seldom planted before Christmas, be*
cause it will not bear tike frost so well as many other
kinds. The best way is to plant it for the great crop
to come in June and. July .

The hug-poddedjifeaxk is a yard or more in height,
and a great bearer. There are several varieties of
this k^d, as the early tall Turkey, ^c. The dwarf
Fan or cluster bean is chiefly planted for curiosity :
the branches spread like a fan, and the flowers are
succeeded by small pods, both in clusters. All tb^



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CULINARY VB6BTABLBS. 57

early beans are generally planted on warm borders ^
under walls, pales and hedges; those which are de-
signed to come op first being usually planted in a
single row, pretty close to the fence. Those which
are planted early in October, will come up by the
beginning of November; and as soon as they are an
inch above ground, the earth must be carefully drawn
up to their stems with a hoe: this must be several
times repeated as they advance in height, which
will protect them from the frost and increase their
strength. In severe winters coyer them with peas
holm, fern, or similar light covering, which will
secure them from the injury of the frost; but con-
stantly take off the covering in mild weather, other-
wise fliey will draw up tall and weak, and come to
little: if the surface of ihe border be covered with
tanners' bark, that will effectually defend the roots
from frost and other injuries. Mr. Phillips states
that he found it an excellent plan, in procuring late
beans, to cut down the stalks after the crop is ga-
thered for the kitchen; they then soon sprout up
again, and, if showery weather succeeds, yield abetter
supply than is obtained by late planting.

lliis pulse is . generally dished up in foreign coun*
tries without the oute# coat, and in that undress
proves a most delicate food. The green pods
boiled, after the beans are taken out, is a dish that
some persons prefer to the beans themselves ; and
the young bean leaves boiled in broth are said to be
very emollient. Why Pytiiagoras should have for-
bidden the use of beans to his disciples, has been a
mighty subject for the ingenuity of commentators.
Some have asserted that it was on account of their
causing indigestion and flatulency ; others, because,
they were sacred to Isis and Osiris, Egyptian deities,
of whom the Samian sage had heard and believed
mach from the priests of Memphis. Some take the
prohibition aliegorically, and hold that to abstain
Irom them only meant to shun public assemblies,.



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58 CULIN'ARV VKGETABLBS.

where the suffrages were given by casts of beans..
There is still prevalent among the vulgar, a belief,
that, when beans are in blossom, mad people become
intractable, and wise men nearly mad. Horace styles -
the bean akin to Pythagoras, Faba PythagoriB cog-
fiata, as if the promulgator of the metempsychosical
system had been afraid lest, in eating beanS;^ he
should have devoured some of his departed relations.
There is a very antient and singular custom in
many parts of the continent which takes place on the
eve of the Epiphany, relating to the above-mentioned
sacredness of the bean.~See T.T. for 1822, p. 4.

The classical reader knows that most of the an-
tient Roman families derived their names from agri-
cultural or horticultural pursuits. Fab^B, beans,
named the great house of the Fabii ; Pisum, peas, that
of the Pisones, &c. SiC,

Bean flour, called Lomenfum, was used by the Bo-
man ladies as a cosmetic, to smooth the skin and
remove wrinkles. Bean flowers very much resemble
butterflies' wings; they also emit a most agreeable
perfume.

Long let us walk
Where the breeze blows from yon extended field
Of blossomed beans. Arabia cannot boast
A fuller gale of joy than liberal thence
Breathes through the sense and takes the ravished soul.

THOMSON.

And there, that breeze
Pleads with me, and has won thee to the smile
That speaks conviction. 0*er yon blossomed field
0( beans it can^e, and thoughts of bacon rise.

southey's Piff.

The kidney bean is so called from the shape of the
seed. It is a native of the East Indies, introduced
into England from the Netherlands. The varieties
of this species are very numerous: the principal are
tlie small white dwarf, the black dwarf or negro, and
tiie liver-coloured bean for early crops. There are
also ilie Battersea and Canterbury, and the large



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CULINARY VEGSTABtES. 59

Dutcb^ which last grows very tall; also the scarlet
bean, tiie twining stalks of which will rise to the
height of twelve or fourteen feet wheti ^supported.
Its leaves are. smaller than those of the common gar-
den bean. The flowers grow in large spikes, and are
of a deep scarlet colour. The pods are large and
roughs the seeds generally purple marked with black,
though sometimes pare white. The three sorts of
kidney bean usually cultivated for early crops, are
the small white dwarf; the dwarf black, which is
called the negro bean ; and the liver-coloured bean.
They are planted in hotbeds under frames, or in pots
to be placed in stoves, to come ea^ly in the spring,
but they are inferior in quality to many others
which yet cannot be obtained at the same time. —
The best sorts for culinary purposes are the scarlet-
blossom bean, above-mentioned, and a white bean of
the same size and shape, which is only a variety in
cqIout, but the same in size and flavour. The seeds
must not be sown in the open air before the middle
of April. They require a warm situation and a dry
soil. The second crop should be sown about the
middle of May. It will come into bearing before the
early kinds are over, and will continue yielding good
fruit until the frost destroys the plants.

The pea, bean, and kidney-bean, are liable to the
attacks of various insects, especially the aphides in
dry seasons. The bruchtis pisi is particularly de-
structive to the pea, and its larva is often found in the
ripe pod. In gardens, the only mode of keeping
them under is to cut off the part infested, and remove
it with the insects attached.

This pulse is eaten at two difTerent periods. In
summer with the enwrapping pod, which is still green
and tender; in autunm apd winter, when the bean
ia full maturity is taken out and boiled without the
pod, v^rhich, on account of its form, gave its name tq
a kind of skiff used in the Mediterranean, especially



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60 RBMARKABLB DAYS

aboiit the. mouth of the Nile. In antient English
authors it is called 'Beaus of Rojne^' a mistranslation
of ' F^res de Rame/ from ramus, the twig .or pole
around which the plant loves to climb.

The green legnmens of the large, white-flowered
Tariety of kidney bean^ often called Dutch runner,
were observed to be in great plenty in August, in the
market at Amsterdam, tfhder the name of snyboanen-
^es. For the most part the legumens were so old as
to be considered tough and stringy in England; but
in Holland they are nicely shredded down, so as to
render them, when cooked, extremely palatable. In
France, it the month of September, great numbers of
women are employed in shelling kidney-beans, which
are dried and stored up in large quantities against
winter, when they are sold under the name of hari-
cots blancs. — Horticultural Tour, pp. 129, 434.

[To be continued.]



AMONQ the Romans, March, from Mars, was
the first month ; and marriages made in this montH
were accounted unhappy.

In MARCH 1835.
1.— SAINT DAVID.

Saint David was the great ornament and pattern
of his age. He cpntinued in the see of St. David's
many years; and having founded several monaste-
ries, and been the spiritual father of many saints,
both British and Irish, he died about the year 544,
at a very advanced age.-— The custom among the
Cambrians of wearing a leek in their hats on this
day, has been explained in our former volumes.



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IN MARCH 1825. 61

*1. 1767.— ALEXANDER BALPOUR BORN,

Author of ' Contemplation, and other Poems/
and of the ' Addressi' prefixed to our present volume.
He was bom in the parish of Monikie, county of
iPorfar, in Scotland. He was for fifteen years a
manufacturer of sail-cloth and a linen merc^hant, and
had realized a considerable portion of the good things
of this life, with a fair prospect of worldly pros-
perity before him, when in the disastrous year 1815,
so fatal to the commerce of Britain, by the failure
of a commercial^ house in London with which he
was deeply concerned, he was involved in bank-
ruptcy and ruin. This stroke of misfortune preyed
upon his health and spirits, but left him still capable
of bodily exertion, and he for three years had the
charge of a respectable and extensive spinning esta-
blislunent; after which he removed to Edinburgh,
with the view of establishing his family in some
way of business ; but there he was doomed to drink
deeply of a more bitter cup of adversity, being
seized with paralysis which has totally deprived him
of the use of his limbs ; his articulation, also, has
gradually failed, and now he has almost entirely lost
the power of speech. Yet his intellectual faculties
are not in the slightest degree impaired, as is evident
from the productions of his pen, which he is still
capable of wielding, although with less manual
dexterity than formerly. He has now beeil from
four to five years deprived of his locomotive powers,
and the writer of this article has frequently seen
him confined in his wheeled chair, incapable of com-
municating his ideas except by his pen, yet not only
resigned to his fate, but always cheerfril, although
evidently, struggling with the accumulated priva-
tions arising from worldly misfortune and incurable
debility. Having always possessed a tast^ for ele-
gant literature, he had \^ritten many poetical pieces
as the amusement of his leisure hours in his happier

p



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62 RBM&EKABUDIAY9

days : and wb&n incapable of bodily exertion^ he
published a volume of these, entitled ' ContemtilH-
tion, and other Poems/ which was well received by
the pnblic^ and bad an extensive circulation^ chiefly
on account of its own merits^-r-partly perhaps from
a general sympathy felt for the author's situation.
This volume was noticed with much ap|>robatioir iti
the MonthlyMagitzine^ Constable's Edinbwgh Maga-
zine, and several other periodicaj publications;

We annex, his ' Conclusion/ being tiie last piece
in the volumei^ as descriptive of his privations and
feelings. Although he there takes leave of the muse,
we are happy to say that she still continues to be-
guile (he brooding cares of his languid hours, and
are of opinion that some of her most felicitous
iavours have been bestowed since his days^^ of adver-
sity. Although Mr. Balfour has affixed his name to
no publication except the volume mentioned, it icon-
sists with our knowledge to state, that he has pub-
lished at least three Novels, and that he .continues
a regular contributor, in prose »id verse, to some
very respectable periodical wOrk$.

A sad, a long farewell — dear, artless lyre !

My trembling hand now vainly strikeai lh;j^ 4iAAgk^: i
The frost of age has chilled niy w<Mlted fire; . '

No longer glides the stteai^i from Fancy's springs : .

And waving wide her raven-coloured wings, . .
DuU Melancholy hovers o'er my head ;

Parent of phantom shapes; and shaclowy tiiingly' '
That crowd the {iath^my <weary/l(9et.niii)if tlclid; '' '
With visionary forms,'of Joys for ev^f flffd. •• '^ ' • r . • -

For Memory' stiii wi A fond regret will rove .

By sea-beat shore, gray rock, or winding «tream ;
Again she guides me tptilie woodland gr9«o, 4. > r

Where i^a^cy whispered many a youtfafal dream;

But, ah ! it is the meteor's fleeting gleam.
Portentous, shooting o'er a stormy sky ;

Where no kind star displays its cheering beam,
To glad the weary wanderer's hopeless eye.
Or point his trackless way, ^here dreary desserts lie.



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IN MARCH 1825. . 63



For, ah ! no more to me the boon is g^ven
^ To mark the varied charms of Nature's face ;
Abroad, to breathe the balmy air of heaven.
My fond eye gazing over ample space :
From virgin Spring, to Autamn's matron grace,
To me, alas ! each blossom blows in vain ;

No more my feet the mountain path can trace,
Nor brush the dew-drops from the daisied plain ;
My trembling limbs fast locked in adamantine chain I

And yet these limbs, in chilling torpor bound,

, A shade can startle, and a breath can shake ;
The throbbing heart heaves at a passing sound,
As ruffling winds disturb the glassy lidce :
At trivial ills the shattered frame will quake.
Each quivering nerve with keen sensati(m thrill,

And feeliop exquisite to anguish wake
The sigh, the tear; triumphing o'er the will,
While Reason vainly tries to hush the tempest stiU.

Yet, kind companion of my happier days.

Thou hast not scorned me in this evil hour^
Tby song has soothed me in the wildering maze,

And strewed my tiresome couch with many a flower.

Enchantress! stay— haply, thy magic power^
Again may chase my lingering hours of care ;

May ishow my sorrows^ like an April shower,
A passing cloud, the pilgrim to prepare
. Far scenes of endless day, and s^^ies for ever fair.

Yes, flioa tiie song^of heaven-bom Hope canst weave :

Tby bright eye beaming vrith celestial day ;
Thy whispers, softer than the breath of eve,

Wheta setting sun-beams on the waters play ;

Then touch &e chord can soothe a child of clay,
Who, struggling, s^eks above his griefs to rise.

Set fair in sight that pure ethereal ray.
Which guides -the drooping mournerV downcast eyes
To that calm haven of rest prepared above the skies !

2. — SAINT CHAD.

St. Ceadda or Chad was edueatedin tbemonastery of
lindisfarne, under St. Aidan ; was afterwards Bisnop
of Lichfield, and died in the great pestilence of 673.

7. — PERPETUA.

Perpetua, a Aoble lady of Carthi^e, only twenty-
two years of age, suffered martyrdom in 203, by or*
der of Minutius Firmianuft, under the persecution of
the Bmperor Severus.



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64 hemarkablb days

12.— SAINT GREGORY.

Saint Gregory, sumamed the Great, was bom about
the year 640. He was consecrated Pope about the
year 590, and died in 604. Before his advancement
to the see/Gregory projected the. conversion o( the
English nation, but did not accomplish his wishes
until he had assumed the papal chair.

13. — MIDLENT SUNDAY.

The middle or fourth Sunday in Lent was formerly
called the Sunday of the Five Loaves, the Sunday
of Bread, and the Sunday of Refreshment, in allusion
to the gospel appointed, for this day. It was also
nam^d Rose Sunday, from the Pope's carrying a
golden rose in his hand, which he exhibited to the
people in the streets as he went to celebrate the
eucharist, and at his return. — Some curious cere-
monies on this day, in the SckUh of Spain, are de-
scribed in our last volume, p. 75.

*13. 1824. — SOPHIA LEE DIED,

Authoress of the 'Recess,' the first romance in
the English language which blended history with
fiction, and enriched both by pathos and descriptive
scenery. Miss Lee also wrote *The Life of a
Lover/ in six volumes; some Dramatic Pieces —
and, in conjunction with het sister Harriet, .the
* Canterbury Tales,' of which the Young Lady's Tale
and the. Clergyman's alone were her's.

17. — SAINT PATRICK.

The tutelar saint of Ireland was bom in the year
371, in a village called Bonaven Taherhm, probably
Kilpatrick, in Scotland, between Dunbarton and Glas -
gow.' He died at the good old age of 123, and was
buried at Down, in iflster. — See our last volume^,
p. 68, for some curious particulars in the life of this
Saint.

18. — EDWARD, KING OP THE WEST SAXONS.

He was stabbed in the back, by order of his
mother-in-law, Elfrida, at Corfe Castle, in Dorset-
shire. — See our last volume, p. 09, and Morelts
Studies in History, vol. i, p. 91.

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IN MARCH 1825. 6S



20.— FIFTH SUNDAY IN LBNT.

Domwica in PasHone, or Passion Sonday, was the
name given to this day in missals ; as tfie church now
began to advert to the sufferings of Christ In the
noith^ it is called CarUng Sunday, and giey peas^
first steeped a night in water, and fried with butter,
form the usual repast.

21.— SAINT BENEPICT.

Benedict, or Betwet, founded the monastery of
Cassino, in 529 : it was built on the brow of a very
hi^ mountain, on the top of which there was an old
temple of Apollo, surrounded with a grove. The
BenetUctine order of moi&s, first instituted by' our
sainl^ was, in the ninth century, at its height of glory.

*23. 1824. — MR. an6£bstbin's oallbry of pic*

TURBS PURCRASBD BY OOVBRNMBNT.

We cannot but hail with pleasure this first step
towards fornung a 'National Gallbry of Pio-
TiTRBS,' so long a desideratum in this country. This
gattery is npw open to the public, in the house of
the late Mr. Angerstein, in Pall Mall, where it is
understood it will remain for the present.

In reference to this national collection, we sobr
join the following lines, descriptive of the prodnc*
ttons of Home master-painters, which will ever be
flie theme of our admiration.

Tbcre rote a Gsrlo JDafee or a TMi%

t>r wilder groap of savage Salvatore's;
Here danced Alfatu/s boys, and here fhe sea shore

In Veme^g ocean lights ; and there the stories
Of martjra awed, by i^ptf^piiollBil^*-^'

• ♦ ♦

Here sweetly spread a huidseape of Lmrmiu:

There JtMR^niiidir made fan darkness equal Ught,
Or gloonr^ CmriMiggio*n gloomier stain

Imnsed o'er some lean and stoic Anchorite:— *
Bti^ 1o ! a Teidsrt woos, and not in rt&n^
' Your eyeir to rerel in a lovelier sight :