by the united backs of four lions, admirably sculptured in white marble. The pillars themselves are carved with arabesque devices and foliages, executed in mirror, painting, and gilding; some twisting spirally, others winding in golden wreaths, or running into stars or network circles, and every other intricacy of ornament. The ceilings are equally emblazoned with flowers, fruits, birds, butterflies, in gold and silver and painting, and thousands of compartments of glittering looking-glass. Lord Byron must have somewhere seen the extraordinary effects of such numerous scattered reflections to have given rise to that beautiful and affecting passage in one of his poems, when he describes the fractured state of his mind, thus multiplying the image of his dead mistress to so many haunting spectres, that his oppressed senses could discover no refuge from the infinite presence of her he loved and mourned. At the extremity of this immense open gallery, appear two pillars of similar taste; and from their superb capitals spring the limbs of a spacious arch, forming the entrance to a grand interior saloon, where all the costly inventions of Persian luxury have been lavished with unsparing profusion. The decorations are beyond description; indeed its columns, walls, and ceiling, might afford a study of ages for designs in the art. The floors of both apartments are spread with the richest carpets, of the manufacture of at least a hundred years ago, and look fresh as if just from the loom-a proof of the purity of the climate. From the second saloon two folding-doors lead into a very wide and lofty banqueting hall, hung on every side with pictures, generally pourtraying convivial scenes, fully declaring the purpose of the chamber. Wine, the peculiar passion and bane of the descendants of Shah Abbas, seemed to have been here in all its glory; an air of carousal being evident in most of the figures, while the goblets mantled every where with the anacreontic juice. Dancing-girls varied the groups by their attitudes and costumes, shewing the different countries whence they came; while the gay personages they assisted to entertain sat in large turbans, full mustachios, and with smooth-shaven chins, producing an effect the very opposite to the high narrow black cap of sheep-skin, and the long bushy beard, now the mode amongst the fashionables of Persia.-But there was one picture which particularly engaged my attention-nay two, partners to each other. The first arose from the following circumstance, and I listened delighted to its little history, while contemplating the gracefully chivalric figures it described. The time was when Shah Abbas held his second campaign against the Turks. The Ottoman troops were collecting in great numbers on the north-western frontiers of Persia, and to watch their movements, or mar their progress, the Shah, who led his army himself, encamped on the banks of that noble river called the Kur (anciently the Cyrus); which, rising in the Caucasus, winds magnificently round Georgia," famed for lovely maids," and other provinces bordering the Caspian, till it unites its darkly-rolling waters with that celebrated inland sea. One day, previously to the opening of actual hostilities, the royal commander, with two or three of his generals, happened to be riding close to the southern margin of the river. A party of Turkish officers were at their games on the opposite shore; and not guessing the Persians they saw to be of any superior military rank to their own, they gaily invited them across, to share their pastime and soldiers' fare. Abbas, with that generous confidence natural to the highest order of the brave, frankly accepted the proposal, and passed the river with his generals. They were hailed like good comrades, and well entertained; and it was the joyous group, seated at the festive board, I saw depicted before me. At parting with his merry hosts, it appears that the Shah, in his turn, gave them a warm invitation to the Persian quarters. "We will come with double pleasure," cried the gayest of the Turkish party, "if you promise to contrive us a sight of your young king, whose bold arm has set all our old heroes on their mettle!" The Shah smiled, and engaged to gratify them, if they would as confidently trust themselves to a certain point on the southern bank of the river, as he and his friends had done, on their word, to the north. This was assented to; and, accordingly, at the specified hour next day, the jocund By Turks arrived at the place of rendezvous; memorial of his fame, as a monarch and a 3,000 feet across) and surrounded by the From the roof of this palace-gate a very The bounds of the Chaher Bagh lie so extensive panorama of the city presents near one side of the Maidan Shah, the itself; which, in the days of its prosperity, other finest monument of the Great Abbas's must have been glorious as imagination magnificence, it seems only a natural pro- can conceive. At present, with the exgress, to pass from the gardens of his ception of the fairy pavilions in the Chaher recreation immediately into that superb || Bagh, the whole appears a mass of ruinous streets, houses, and mosques; though certainly soothingly to the eye, relieved by the intervening shade of poplars, chinar, and even fruit trees, which "mark where the gardens have been" that formerly showed each inhabited mansion. The prospect beyond shews the country in similar abandonment; the brilliant waters of the Zeinderood winding their way between wasted spots, which had once been cultivated fields; and hamlets lying in heaps, without human voice wandering through the desolation. Happy, then, is the traveller who rather takes his last impression of this setting sun of departed greatness from the groves of its still remaining paradises! who strives to remember Ispahan in her roses, jessamines, and clustering garlands of many flowers; who hears her latest sigh in the thrill of her nightingale; and, if he cannot see her still all alive in the glories of health, yet sheds his parting tear on the beautiful remains-pale, cold, lifeless, yet breathing sweets, embalming memory and the grave! P. J. (To be continued.) They minister unto our spirits yet.— Ay-they are with us in our pilgrimage, Cheering us on with gentle whisperings Look on the fond, fond fruitless tears we shed, Looks up and cries, " Father, thy will be done!" -FATHER!-O, when that great, that ONE great name Trembles upon our lips in secret prayerWhen the deep worship of the contrite heart Rises to His high throne-lo, they are nigh!— Of holy hope, and peace, and heaven-born joy. They, whom we prayed with in the days of Though veiled from our dim eyes, their radiant forms Hover around our path, to guard our steps As angels speak, when they first meet in heaven. -Do we not hear them when the winds are still, Of other days rolls back upon our senses, sorrow Fade into nothing, like a dream of night Chased by the morning.-When the twinkling stars youth At God's own Altar-and we feel their presence In the pure peace that rests upon that hour. Seraphs of bliss!-ye who still love us-say, When we have travelled through the wastes of time, To the dark portals of that unknown bourne Amid the toil of death-the agony bowersThe home that waits us in the world of spirits? -Yes! we shall hear ye!-your sweet songs of joy Will steal to our lone couch; and faith, and hope, Will nerve us then-making us strong in death. L. S. S. TO A. M. H. LADY, forgive the earnest gaze I would not dare to meet the rays Of thy sweet glance, but that I see Which, once in our short lives of sorrow, Wraps heart and brain-and though the mor row May bring us other pleasures, yet We cannot quite that dream forget. I gaze on thee-I gaze on thee, I gaze on thee, and strive to read There's not a day I've set apart Then why should I still hope and pine Yet Hope I cannot think will be I gaze on thee, and thoughts arise Bright as the glance that meets my eyes! The waves are rough, and the winds are high, The big clouds gather round me fast, And my form is chill'd by the tempest's blast; That shines, like a star, on the billow's breast; One warm, bright beam, o'er my 'lorn wreck breaking, -Like a spirit of light from chaos waking- But if its light must pass away, Of my last-last hope, and light, bereft, Records of the Beau-Monde. FASHIONS FOR JULY, 1826. EXPLANATION OF THE PRINTS OF THE FASHIONS. No. 1.-CARRIAGE DRESS. A PELISSE of gros de Naples, the colour of the Persian lilac: the pelisse is close fastened down in front, where a pointed ornament is carried down each side; the points bound round with narrow rouleaux, and separated, over the fastening of the skirt, by one large full-wadded rouleau. Round the border of the skirt, about three inches above the shoe, is an ornament set on straight across, of an entwined rouleau, forming a tire-bouchon. The body is made quite plain, and the collar remarkably narrow. Neither ruff nor colerette is worn with this pelisse, but a row of large pearls encircles the throat. The bonnet is white, and of the new cotton manufacture, in imitation of chip, with a narrow Vandyke blond at the edge of the brim: it is handsomely trimmed about the crown with scrolls of Japanese gauze, edged with white satin rouleaux, and very slightly ornamented with Provence roses, one of which is placed under the left side of the brim: the strings are in a loop, and are of rich white ribbon, broad, and edged round with narrow blond. A parasol, of sea-green, with a broad white fringe, completes the costume. No. 2.-AFTERNOON HOME DRESS. A ROUND dress of fine jaconot muslin, with five narrow flounces, set on very full, and pointed. The sleeves full, and in the chemisette style; the width confined all the way up the arm, at separate distances, by bands of embroidered muslin. An elegant pelerine of the same material as the dress, and richly ornamented with lace, is worn over the shoulders: it is left partially open in front, whence a falling kind of collar turns back on each side, forming an ornament something similar to a lapelle; this is also trimmed with lace: the corsage of the dress, however, is entirely concealed in front by this appendage; and though it seems to form a part of the dress, it is not of the canezou kind, but of a style perfectly novel. The hair is beautifully arranged in clustered curls, smaller than those which have, of late, so disguised the female countenance: a small cap is worn over it, of rich blond, with a large full-blown rose on one side, and very long lappets depending over each shoulder. The cap is placed more forward than has been the mode for this sort of head-covering for some time. The jewellery ornaments are ear-rings,necklace, and bracelets, of pearls and rubies, set || à l'antique. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON FASHIONS AND DRESS. THE fine weather that succeeded to the constant rains on the early days of June has infused new life among our fashionable females, and imparted gaiety and novelty to their attire. We have eagerly seized the occasion offered us of inspecting the produce of some of our most approved Magasins de Modes, and availed ourselves of that rare indulgence; nor have we been backward in attending the different haunts of fashion, now thronged by her most brilliant votaries. de Pelisses of gros de Naples, that fasten imperceptibly in front, appearing like a high dress, are most in favour for outdoor costume, particularly for the promenade. They are made as plain as possible, and we much admire their elegant simplicity. Nevertheless, we have cided aversion to extremes; and the total abolition of lace frills, and even of collars, is not a mark of good taste: the form in which the most fashionable pelisses are now made at the throat, without either of these becoming appendages, imparts the idea of un homme sans chemise. It is true the ruffs and frills were at one time growing enormous; but the narrow quilling of lace |