here were several
circumstances of favour added, people having the protection of a holiday,
and being allowed freedom from arrests, upon the score of any difference
not arising upon the spot. They had likewise a jurisdiction allowed them
to do justice to those that came thither; and therefore the most
inconsiderable fair with us has, or had, a court belonging to it, which
takes cognizance of all manner of causes and disorders growing and
committed upon the place, called _pye powder_, or _pedes pulverizati_.
Some fairs are free, others charged with tolls and impositions. At free
fairs, traders, whether natives or foreigners, are allowed to enter the
kingdom, and are under the royal protection in coming and returning.
They and their agents, with their goods, also their persons and goods,
are exempt from all duties and impositions, tolls and servitudes; and
such merchants going to or coming from the fair cannot be arrested, or
their goods stopped. The prince only has the power to establish fairs of
any kind. These fairs make a considerable article in the commerce of
Europe, especially those of the Mediterranean, or inland parts, as
Germany. The most famous are those of Frankfort and Leipsic; the fairs
of Novi, in the Milanese; that of Riga, Arch-angel of St. Germain, at
Paris; of Lyons; of Guibray, in Normandy; and of Beauclaire, in
Languedoc: those of Porto-Bello, Vera Cruz, and the Havannah, are the
most considerable in America.

HALBERT.

* * * * *

THE VIRGINAL.

(_For the Mirror_.)

A rare and beautiful relic of the olden time was lately presented to the
museum of the Northern Institution, by William Mackintosh, Esq. of
Milbank--an ancient virginal, which was in use among our ancestors prior
to the invention of the spinnet and harpsichord. Mary, Queen of Scots,
who delighted in music, in her moments of "joyeusitie" as John Knox
phrases it, used to play finely on the virginal; and her more fortunate
rival, Queen Elizabeth, was so exquisite a performer on the same
instrument, that Melville says, on hearing her once play in her chamber,
he was irresistibly drawn into the room. The virginal now deposited in
the museum formerly belonged to a noble family in Inverness, and is
considered to be the only one remaining in Scotland. It is made of oak,
inlaid with cedar, and richly ornamented with gold. The cover and sides
are beautifully painted with figures of birds, flowers, and leaves,