Pleasant to breathe beside a brook,

And count the bubbles-love-worlds-there;
To muse within some minstrel's book,

Or watch the haunted air;

To slumber in some leafy nook,-
Or-idle anywhere.

And then, a draught of nature's wine,
A meal of summer's daintiest fruit;
To take the air with forms divine;
Clouds, silvery, cool, and mute;
Descending, if the night be fine,
In a star-parachute.

Give me to live with love alone,
And let the world go dine and dress;
For love hath lowly haunts-a stone
Holds something meant to bless.
If life's a flower, I choose my own-
"Tis "Love in Idleness!"

HOUSE-HUNTING.*

NEXT to the election of a lady as "a companion for life," there is, perhaps, nothing on earth so perplexing as the choice of a house. The requisites admitted, by universal consent, to be indispensable both for the comfort and convenience of persons of even moderate ambition, are of so multiform and diverse a nature, that it is next to impossible to find them united in any one tenement (however eligible it may appear on a first "view") under the canopy of heaven. It is in vain that you fortify your memory with all the desiderata which the most experienced House-Hunter may have it in his power to suggest for your information; for, although the illegibilities turn out to be ever so numerous and important, there is always some little piddling nuisance to weaken and impair the freshness of a "first impression ;"'--some objection which, to borrow the language of the law, is sure to be "fatal," and to overturn all our plans of colonization. Sometimes, indeed, the point is "reserved" for the opinion of that most righteous of all "judges,” a discreet wife; but one trifling evil in posse, in such cases at least, is

*From "Scenes of Life and Shades of Character. Edited by Alaric A Watts." Lond. 1831.

uniformly allowed to counterbalance a whole host of conveniences in esse.

Now, as I have the good fortune to be united to a woman, who is allowed by all her neighbours to be one of the best managers in the country, and whose opinion on every question of domestic economy, is (according to her own belief) infallible, it will readily be believed that the vexations and disappointments which I have been called upon to endure, in the course of my various changes of domicile, have been such as no ordinary foresight could have averted. Blessed with an adviser of surpassing clearness of perception, I must inevitably have escaped all inconvenience, had not my perplexities been of a very peculiar character.—But I am anticipating the disclosure of my miseries.

Some few months ago, a maiden aunt of my wife, from whom we had, in reality, no reasonable expectations (although my penetrating spouse has repeatedly declared, that she should not be surprised if aunt Grizzy were to leave us something comfortable,) died and bequeathed us two thousand pounds in the three per cents. This God-send, for such, indeed, it was to us, occasioned a good deal of discussion in our little circle. The point in debate was not whether we wanted such an accession to our fortune-for it was admitted, nem. con. that nothing could have been more seasonablebut to what purposes it should be applied? After repeated deliberations, it was proposed, by my daughter Monimia (a lively girl of sixteen), and seconded by her mother, that we should straightway remove to a larger and more commodious residence. They both affected to feel convinced, that the difference of rent between a small and what they were pleased to term a respectable house, would be more than compensated for by the increased convenience to papa, for whose fatiguing walks to and from town, they had just then begun to feel the most poignant concern. Independently of this, and other weighty reasons which I was not prepared to controvert, the dearness of all the necessaries of life at our distance from the great city, and the impossibility of passing a social evening with a friend, or of witnessing a new play, or a new opera, without a most grievous taxation in the shape of coach-hire (not to mention the shoe-leather destroyed, and dresses dilapidated in wading through suburban mire), were all thrown into the scale; no wonder, therefore, that it should have kicked the beam in the twinkling of an eye. To say the truth, although I affected to object to our removal, I was by no means inclined to oppose it a l'outrance. So far from it, indeed, that I had a strong inclination to locate in a more agreeable neighbourhood myself, and was only restrained from giving expression to my sentiments by the apprehension, that

my too ready acquiescence might produce an unfavourable alteration in my wife's opinions; who, notwithstanding that she is possessed of innumerable good qualities, is not without the common failing of her sex. Perhaps, too, I was the more anxious that the matter should appear to originate solely with herself, as I was well assured that if it did not turn out quite so favourably as we anticipated, she would lay the whole burthen of the failure entirely at my door;-for, although I am allowed a very limited share in the credit of any new scheme that may happen to be successful in its results, of which I am the author, I am pretty secure of bearing the full brunt of the odium, should it chance to miscarry.

The question of expediency having been decided in the affirmative, the next point for consideration was, when we should carry our intentions into effect, and where we should choose a "place of rest" better suited to the improved state of our finances, and the increased importance of our station in society, than the hovel (for such Monimia was pleased to entitle it) in which we had been vegetating for so many years. This was a knotty point, and one upon which we found it extremely difficult to agree. I intimated my preference to the east end of London, on account of its proximity to my place of business; but my wife and daughter were excruciated at the idea. "Surely, papa," expostulated Monimia, 66 you would never think of settling within the sound of Bow-bells! We had better remain where we are, than migrate to so vastly ungenteel a neighbourhood. We have only four rooms and a half that are habitable, in our present residence, it is true-but then we have a string of excellent excuses always at hand for whatever inconveniences we may sustain; in the extraordinary salubrity of the air; our proximity to an excellent friend Lady Dashwood (who, by the way, had only done us the honour of calling upon us once, and then merely to shelter herself from a shower of rain, which had overtaken her before she could reach her own lodge-gate); the great facility of conveyance to and from the metropolis, &c., &c. The East-my gracious! I see mamma is ready to expire at the thought! If it come to that, we shall certainly be exhibited along with Mr Deputy Dip, of the Ward of Farringdon Without, ir some future lucubration of the Smiths." Here my wife took up the strain; "Beside, my dear, there's our Monimia is just verging into womanhood, and must be introduced. She is older, and a far greater proficient on the harp than Dr Tympanum's daughter, who was brought out a year ago. What advantages, in the way of society, shall we be able to afford her, if we take up our abode in the purlieus of all that is odious and disagreeable? Only reflect how Mrs and Miss one door from the pump, at Aldgate,' would

read upon a card. For heaven's sake, my love, abandon the idea of immolating our gentility at the shrine of vulgar mercantile convenience! What think you of some nice street out of Portland Place? or leading to either Portman, Cavendish, or Grosvenor Squares? or-" She would have proceeded with her enumeration, but I cut her short by reminding her, that the rent and taxes of a house, in any one of the fashionable situations for which she appeared to have imbibed so peculiar a predilection, would amount to something more than our entire annual income,—a consideration worthy the attention of matter-of-fact people addicted to the plebeian practice of eating and drinking. This poser appeared to startle her not a little; and as it was an argument which no ingenuity could controvert, she made a virtue of necessity, and like a good housewife, as she is, admitted the importance of the objection with all imaginable deference and good humour. It was, however, mutually agreed, that there must be a number of quiet streets in the west end (for on this point she continued inexorable), in which it might not be difficult to meet with a habitation suited both to our means and our ambition. It was accordingly resolved, that we should devote a certain portion of every day of the ensuing week to various peregrinations of discovery. The lease of our Cottage Ornee had, to be sure, two years to run; but we entertained no doubt whatever of letting it at a few days' notice.

Determined not to proceed precipitately or unadvisedly in the matter, we consumed the whole of Sunday, (a breach of propriety, to which the pious reader will no doubt refer all our subsequent mishaps) in concocting and digesting a series of questions for our guidance in House-Hunting, which would, we fondly imagined, secure us from the possibility of mischance. In this memorandum we fancied we had glanced at every "particular" to which it could be necessary to advert in taking a house. It was as follows:

I. The annual rent; and whether there be an after-clap in the shape of a premium?

II. The amount of taxes-for some parishes are rated lower than others; and whether the preceding tenant will be disposed to produce his receipts for the same, up to the period of his departure,— parish officers not being particular as to whether the taxes have been incurred by you or your predecessor, provided there be enough of your furniture on the premises to satisfy their claims?

III. The character of the said predecessor? For if he have left the neighbourhood in debt, you will stand a fair chance of being cheated by your trades-people, to make amends for his defalcations.

IV. Do the chimneys smoke?

V. Has the house an offensive breath? In other words-are the sewers and cesspools adequate to the purposes for which they were excavated?

VI. What quantity of old iron, brass cocks, and leaden mains is to be foisted upon you, under the denomination of "fixtures ?" and whether you are to take them at a fair valuation-which means twice as much as you are ever likely to get for them again ;—or at your landlord's own estimate-which is sure to be half as much again as they cost at first hand?

VII. Whether the floors and walls are given to cold perspirations? And, above all, whether a boat will be necessary, at certain periods of the year, to enable your servants to navigate your kitchen and cellars?

VIII. Whether the house is in good and tenantable repair?

With this document reduced to black and white, and tucked into one of my gloves, in order that we might be able to refer to it at a moment's notice, did my wife, my daughter, and myself, commence our first day's peregrinations. Not a single empty house, from about the scale we considered likely to suit us, to the town mansion of the peer, did we suffer to escape our observation. To paraphrase a passage in Scott's admirable translation of Burger's "Leonora,"

Tramp-tramp along the path we sped,
Splash-splash across the road!

Wherever we saw a placard, containing the words "This house to be let-Inquire within," thither did we forthwith direct our steps. It was in vain that I reminded my companions, that many of the edifices into which they seemed bent upon penetrating, were obviously too large and too expensive for our means; they would persist in tramping through them, in order to see "what kind of places they were." "Beside, my dear," my wife would sometimes exclaim, "who knows but we may, some day or other, want such a house!" Our first day's expedition afforded us a tolerable insight into the mysteries of house-hunting: and what with ascending and descending stairs, and exploring cellars and servants' offices, we found ourselves pretty considerably fatigued before we reached home.

To attempt to give any thing like a detailed account of our adventures would be to fill a volume. Some persons were most obsequious in their civilities; others, surveying us with a degree of scrutiny which seemed by no means unmingled with suspicion, demanded (before we had passed the threshold of their doors) if