most demoniac, he mildly
replied, that _he_ had removed it, _because the object for which he
had erected it, about twelve months before_, had ceased to exist, and
he had taken the stones to repair the wall close by where it had
stood!

The shock which the nervous system of our worthy friend Monkbarns
received when the exclamation of Edie Ochiltree fell upon his ear, of
'Pretorium here, pretorium there, _I_ mind the biggin' o't,' was not
greater than that which mine sustained on receiving this death-blow to
all my hopes of rescuing this interesting relic of antiquity from its
unmerited oblivion. Gulping down my mortification as I best could, I,
in as indifferent a manner as I could assume, craved the liberty of
inquiring what the circumstances were which had led to such a
fanciful employment of his time. He told me that he had been a
carpet-manufacturer in Oxfordshire, but had been unsuccessful in
business, and had come here and set up his present establishment for
the cleaning of the articles which he formerly manufactured; and that,
wishing to add to his income by every legitimate means within his
power, he had been supplied regularly with a quantity of Banbury
cakes, for the sale of which he had erected a temporary wooden-hut in
one corner of his field; that one morning early, about eighteen months
ago, as he was lying awake in bed, the thought struck him, that as
there were a great many large flat stones lying in a corner of the
field, he would erect them, in front of the hut, into the form of the
well-known cross of equestrian nursery-rhyme notoriety. He immediately
rose, and, summoning his workmen, succeeded in making a very tolerable
imitation of the world-wide-known cross; but that, after about twelve
months' trial of his cake-speculation, finding it did not succeed, he
gave it up; and removing the cross of which it was the sign, turned
the stones to a more useful purpose.

Thus ended my day-dream connected with this _interesting relic_; and
nothing, I am sure, but that indomitable enthusiasm which
distinguishes all genuine disciples of the Monkbarns school, could
have sustained me under my grievous disappointment.

'TWENTY-FOUR HOURS OF A SAILOR'S LIFE AT SEA.'

In the article with the above title, in No. 431, the pay of seamen is
stated at from L.2, 10s. to L.3 a month; but this does not bring the
information down to the latest date. At _present_, we are informed,
the very best A. Bs. (able-bodied