doors. She now turned pedlar, selling
"points and pins," and occasionally crying
"Maids, have you any coney-skins." The
end of her career was fast approaching. She
turned fortune-teller;

"And something leaned to cutpurse of quick hand."

For one "Sim," whose surname is not stated,
she undertook to secure the affections of
"Mistress Annis Low." Failing in this, the
ungallant Sim called her witch, "beat her
then with all his might," (a reminiscence of
her early bangings) and tore her hair out by
handsful. After kicking her piteously in
addition, the ruffian took his departure.
And now comes the catastrophe of this most
moving of epics. It is sudden, it is terrible,
but it is not very clear;

      " Ashame of all such arts, quoth Gill,
        In vain I make my moan,
        Shall I be fortune teller still
        And cannot tell my own.
        With that she stepped aside
        Not thinking any ill,
        And there came one in height of pride
        And did poor Gillian kill."

Who was " one in height of pride ? " Why
and how did he kill Gillian?

In the " Northern Garland," printed at
Newcastle in this present year, we have "The
life and death of Sir Hugh of the Grime,"
the " Blythesome Wedding," the " Sporting
Haymakers," "Sawney and Teague," and
half-a-score more old ballads which you may
hear roared forth to this day in North Country
alehouses. Sir Hugh of the Grime was a
great character.

      " As it befel upon a time
        About Midsummer of the year
        Every man was tart of his crime
        For stealing the Lord Bishop's mare
        The Good Lord Screw saddled a horse
        And rid after him for some time
        Before he got over the Moss
        There he was aware of Sir Hugh of the Grime."

The knightly horse-stealer, as some of our
readers may have heard before, was
vanquished to the good Lord Screw, and with
the assistance of ten yeomen, who came
through the moss, captured and conveyed to
"Garland Town," where the good Lord
Bishop, sitting as judge in his own cause,
condemned him to be hanged; and,
notwithstanding the intercession of "Lord
Bowles," and "good Lady Ward," hanged
was Sir Hugh accordingly. This fine old
border ballad was otherwise known as
Johnny Armstrong.

Newcastle, and this "present year," are
yet rich in " Histories and Merriments," but
I can do little else than enumerate them.
There is the " merry piper," being the second
part of the "Friar and the Boy"—the
further progress of Jack's frolicsome
intrigues, full of mirth and reception. Jack's
exploits were principally devoted to the
annoyance of his step-mother, who had
used him cruelly. There is a gorgeous
history of Jack Horner, containing not only the
Christmas pie-eating performances of that
young gentlemen, but also his " witty tricks
and pleasant pranks which he played from
his youth to his riper years; " how he
"frightened the poor taylor for cabbaging
cloth out of his livery coat;" how he " served
six fidlers;" how he " slew a monstrous giant,"
and at last came to marry a knight's daughter.

There, in this " canny " book, is to be found
the " Welsh Traveller," or the unfortunate
Welshman; the "History of Adam Bell,
Clim of the Clough, and William of Cloudesdale;
"the curious old story of " Ambrose
Gwynnett," and finally, a " Relation of the
Surprising Adventures of Houran Banow, a
Turkish Merchant, as related by himself
before the Great Mogul." From one of
Houran Banow's adventures I find has been
taken the plot and incidents of the farce of
the "Illustrious Stranger," in which we all
remember the inimitably humorous
performance of Mr. Harley.

With the surprising adventures of Houran
Banow, I shut up my canny little Newcastle
book.

CHIPS.

PRIMOGUET.

THE departure of the French fleet from
the harbour of Brest has been nearly as
interesting an event to the English as the
sailing of our own fleet from Spithead.
Several magnificent vessels of war were towed
out into the open sea by a steamer named the
Primoguet. Among them were the ninety-
gun ship, the Jean Bart, and afterwards the
glorious ninety-gun ship, the Duguesclin.
Almost every one knows who Jean Bart, the
famous sailor of Dunkirk, was, and most people
who have crossed the Channel in that direction
have seen the gallant French hero's bust set up
in the principal square of that somewhat dull,
but very important maritime town; and as
for the Breton hero Duguesclin, he is as well
known as the Black Prince himself; but in
England, very few, when they read the name
given to the steamer of four hundred horsepower
which has done so much useful
service, can tell who Primoguet was.

Primoguet was a gallant captain of Brittany,
who defended the fleet from the attacks of
the English, at the time when Henry the
Eighth of England, joined with the Emperor
Maximilian of Austria, was on bad terms with
Louis the Twelfth of France, who had united
the province of Brittany to the mother-
country, by his marriage with the Duchess
Anne, widow of his predecessor, Charles the
Eighth.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany, came into
possession of her sovereignty at the age of
fourteen; she was full of spirit, courage, and
dignity, as well as beauty and accomplishments,