of September.  The amusements, which are of great variety, continue for a fortnight; but, for civic purposes, the guild books are open for one entire month.  The corporation are obliged to hold this carnival, on pain of forfeiting their elective franchises, and their rights as burgesses.  The guild appears to be of the nature of the ancient frank-pledge:  it is of Saxon origin, and derived from the word gile, signifying money, by which certain fraternities enter into an association, and stipulate with each other to punish crimes, make losses good, and acts of restitution proportioned to offences;—­for which purposes, they raised sums of money among themselves, forming a common stock; they likewise endowed chantries for priests to perform orisons for the defunct.  Fraternities and guilds were, therefore, in use, long before any formal licenses were granted to them; though, at this day, they are a company combined together, with orders and laws made by themselves, under sanction of royal authority.  The several trades of Preston are incorporated; twenty-five chartered companies go in procession on the guild festival.

W.G.C.

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EPIGRAM.

  Bob scrubs his head, in search of wit,
  And calls his follies phrenzy fit;
  But Bob forgets, with all his wit,
  Poeta nascitur, non fit!

P.T.

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COMPLETION OF VOL.  XVI.

WITH THE PRESENT NUMBER

A SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER,

With a Portrait of the Queen, and a Memoir of her Majesty; with
Title-page, Preface, and Index to Vol.  XVI.

* * * * *

[***] Books are flocking fast around us.  Among them are Mr. Boaden’s Life of Mrs. Jordan—­the Romance of History—­Vols. 13 and 14 of Lardner’s Cyclopaedia—­Dr. Dibdin’s Sunday Library—­Vol 1 of the Cabinet Library—­and three other volumes of the periodical libraries.  Our preference of Moore’s Byron is, we hope, borne out by its paramount interest.

* * * * *

Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; and by all Newsmen and Booksellers.