loose bow of narrow ribband, high in front, and is ornamented with footing lace, and an elegant tiara broach. Head dress of white satin, ornamented with flowers. Lace caps are now more universally worn than ever by our most fashionable females; the mob has not entirely disappeared, yet the small round cap seems to be more admired and the most prevalent; caps made of silk and lace, with flowers of the same colour, will be fashionable for Lord Melville's trial, with spencers à l'Espagnole, mantles, &c. &c. made of silk, with a new trimming, or silk covered with sprigged lenons, muslin, or spider-web. Long shawls are much on the decline, square shawls are the most general. Few feathers or flowers are to be seen, they have almost entirely given place to ribbands of various descriptions-the French ribband is making rapid advances in the process of fashion; lavender is a new colour and much worn, dove, fawn, pale-pink, and blue, are the colours at present most admired.

Fashions during the last month have exhibited but little of novelty, compared with the preceding. Indeed so ungenial has been the general temperature of the weather throughout April, that it would seem the republic of Belles have been induced to imitate, in some measure, the vegetable creation, and to have deferred the assumption of their summer gaieties until the warm suns of May shall secure them from the chilling influence of vernal breezes.

A new State-bed is preparing for the Prince of Wales. It is supported by pillars, covered with crimson velvet, ornamented with gold; the furniture of blue satin chintz and white muslin; the top is in the form of a dome, in the middle of which is an elegant mirror, supported by small pillars; when complete, is will be the most magnificent piece of furniture that ever was seen in this country; the chairs for the room are of an antique form, covered with crimson velvet, trimmed with gold fringe.

novelties which caught observation were the | Spanish cloak, with embroidered Egyptian border, and fashioned of various materials and colours, as velvet, taffeta, lace, and cassimere ; of those the most elegantly attractive were of || royal purple, taffeta lined with Pomona green Persian, and elegantly bordered with an embroidery and fringe of primrose or gold-coloured silk; and those of ethereal blue or fawn-coloured satin, trimmed with white broad lace, which had a very charming effect.

Scarlet and purple shawls were much worn, but in a style so graceful as very much to change the effect of that favourite garment. They were generally worn corner ways, simply attached to the shoulders behind by a loop, and descending to the ground in a picqued flowing train, loooked extremely elegant. Spencers of various coloured velvets and lighter materials were still very prevalent the most elegant were of royal purple, or sky blue taffeta, with hats and turbans of the same, but scarcely any beaver. The simple and elegant material of straw still maintains its ground-and turbans, hats, and bonnets of that fabric, with artificial roses, or sprigs of other flowers, seemed to be the prevailing favourites. The hair is still worn in the Egyptian style.

The under-dress still continues to be of snow white muslins, certainly a species of drapery the most congenial ever invented, to the graceful elegance of the female form. Buskins of velvet and nankin, laced with different coloured ribband, were also much in wear.

ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION

OF THE

HEART OF A COQUETTE.

piece in the same work relative to the examination of the brain of a petit maitre, which, in his bands, would probably have been still more interesting than that which is here presented to the reader.

O, charming sex! O, lovely women! if in my verses I have sometimes ventured to excite the mirth of my readers at your gallant customs, I know, however, that so far from reproaching me, you have joined in the laugh, because I never armed myself with the lash of satire to censure your morals, or to wound your delicacy. Continue, I beseech you, to do justice to my sentiments, and believe that to please you will ever be my most ardent wish.

of the deceased.

To satisfy, however, if it be possible, those who think that there is too much folly in my productions; I will now treat of things both grave and important. I perceive your extreme astonishment. You hesitate to believe me.-Ladies, deign to honour me with your attention, I am going to speak of-anatomy!

Ye tender and delicate beauties, be not alarmed at my audacious undertaking. I will not distress your eyes with the disgusting spectacle of an amphitheatre; I will not wound your ears with those hard technical words, which it was useless labour to go so far to seek, for the purpose of rendering them so difficult to the tongue and so disagreeable to the ear.

A physician, an old friend of mine, took me the other day into a spacious hall, where a skilful professor of anatomy was going publicly to dissect the heart of a young and beautiful woman.

During the whole course of her life, she had manifested the most extraordinary caprices in her ideas and in her actions, loving to day what she hated yesterday, and in a few hours renouncing this new inclination and adopting another. She was continually in such an agitation of sentiments, that she reminded you of the spectacle of the sea, which, sometimes calm, at others lightly ruffled by the zephyrs, and often perturbed by boisterous winds, is incessantly presenting a new aspect to the view.

The concourse of the curious was already considerable, when the professor, in a long black venerable robe, his head covered with an ample peruque, his nose adorned with a large pair of spectacles, with an austere look and deliberate motion, took up his chirurgical instruments, and began his interesting dissection.

He first sought with attentive eye, whether any nervous fibres branched off from the heart for the purpose of keeping up an easy and habitual communication with the tongue, and whether, as the frequent oaths of the young lady had in duced a belief, there had been any correspondence between those two organs. But his search was in vain, and the anatomist was obliged to declare positively, that there had never existed

I must not omit to tell you, that scarcely had the knife laid open the first channels of the heart, than a thousand fires appeared, all twisted together and entangled. On examining them with care, it was found that some were short and others long; while the former re. strained motions, the latter hastened them. All the spectators unanimously agreed that this must have been the real cause of those strange caprices of the heart which had excited in them so much astonishment during the life of our coquette, and which had been so often compared to the effects of a rocket, which, wandering through the air with infinitely varied motions, first rises majestically, then suddenly darts to the right and to the left, rises again, and at length explodes with

a crash.

The substance of the heart was soft and light; it contained hundreds of small channels which penetrated the different concentric strata, similar to the bulbs of certain plants. On each of these strata were perceived the images of her numerous lovers, which were so faintly sketched that a touch of the finger was sufficient to efface them. They might have been compared to the spots formed on crystal, or on polished marble, by the humidity of the breath.

What a spectacle! what a singular assemblage did these thousands of different figures exhibit! Prelates, canons, and young lawyers were confusedly mingled with generals, magistrates, financiers, princes, and common citizens.

After unfolding all the strata of the heart, the professor at last came to its most secret part, its centre. And in what state do you think he found that part of which none had before been able to

form any idea? Entirely empty; but in the vacuum might be seen flitting shadows which succeeded each other with the greatest rapidity. These were diamonds, feathers, carriages, dresses, ribbands, in a word all those things for which the young lady had sighed during her life. Permit me to compare this amusing spectacle with the gratification which a child is so eager to obtain in the cold winter nights when he hears the ravishing sound of the barrel organ of the puppetshow-man. He beholds towns and countries, and armies and animals of different kinds, the sun, moon, &c. passing in rapid succession before him; all these objects afford him pleasure, for this very reason, that none of them are stationary.

The professor held the heart, the object of his investigation, near a lighted taper, placed before a looking-glass. The veins adhering to it were instantly seen to swell, and the by-standers heard a low murmur remembling that which sometimes escapes from the bosom of a timid female of deli

Orcobrand, Genius of the Forest, Mr. Raymond. Ardenelle, Fairy of the Lake,.. Mrs. H.Siddons.

Principal Sylph,.. Gossamer,

Mrs Sharp.

Miss C. Bristow. SCENE-Bagdad, and the adjoining Forest. This piece has been so long talked of, that a kind of popularity was bespoken for it, and it issued into the world a favourite by anticipation. But vain are the hopes of man! we must, indeed, confess, that The Forty Thieves have much disappointed us. The original simplicity of the story is nowise preserved. The fable is pressed down by an incumbering machinery of fairies, genii, and hobgoblins. The admirable quaintness in the original character of the Cobler is lost; and Ali Baba excites no one emotion whatever. The Amazonian spirit, and desperate subtlety of Morgiana, are entirely obliterated. In a word, a fine towering palm is taken from the Arabian garden, and transplanted into a bed of barren sand, where its leaves fall off, its head bows, and it turns to a mere dry and withered stick. Had this piece been handled with suitable talent, much, much indeed might have been made of it. As it is, we can commend nothing but the music, the admirable exertions of the performers (particularly of Bannister, Miss De Camp, and Mathews), and a sumptuousness and magnificence of scenery, which evince a bold defiance of expence in the Managers of Drury-lane Theatre.

The plot of this Opera. if indeed it can he said to have any, is borrowed from the admirable poem, entitled "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," by Walter Scot, Esq. For any thing of a dramatic structure, this plot is too scanty. Laird Ronald is believed to have been drowned, when is fact he is not drowned. This is the only mystery of the piece. A jealous and insidious rival endeavours to supplant him in the favour of his mistress and the fortunes of her father. In this he succeeds, till the proper time in which the catastrophe of the piece required the appearance of Laird Ronald, the vindication of his rights, and the punishment of his rival-Upon such meagre materials, what could be erected?

In a word there was but one character in this piece; that of Christopher Kilspindie; and he was a bad imitation of Lingo.-Laird Ronald and Edward sang their songs, and did nothing. — The ladies merely walked across the stage. There was some attempt at character in Sir Alfred, and the excellent actor to whom it belonged, did every thing for it; but e nihilo nihil fit; it had nothing of merit but what it derived from Munden.

The favour with which the piece was received, was principally owing to the music, which is chiefly composed or selected by Reeve. Some of the songs were encored. Fawcett came in for his full share of applause, particularly in his song about Eneis aud Dido, which, we believe, we have frequently heard from the author of the piece, in divers places, with great pleasure; and we were very happy to find that what had given so inuch satisfaction in more private circles, was received with such approbation in a public theatre.

Very little expence has been incurred in the scenery and decorations. We did not observe any new scene till we came to the last, which was rather novel, and certainly produced a good effect. It was so contrived as to represent an amphitheatre; two circular rows of seats were Occupied by various persons, in different characters, and on the back scene was painted a succession of rising seats, forming on the whole five or six stages, filled with spectators of the combat proposed between the Danish Chief, Guthred, and the English Chieftain, Edward, which was prevented by the appearance of Ronald, who was supposed to have been slain, and whose murder was charged upon Edward by Guthred, who intended to murder him, but had been prevented. Guthred, on his detection, is carried off by the soldiery, harmony ensues, the union between the families take place, and the denouement of the piece is concluded by separate dances of the English and Scotch visitors.