The Mirror, , Issue No. 321 by Various
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Produced by The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and InstructionJon Ingram, Charles Franks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamTHE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
*[NO. 321.] SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1828. [PRICE 2d.]
*EATON HALL, CHESHIRE,_The Seat of the Rt. Hon. Earl Grosvenor_.[Illustration]This mansion is a princely specimen of G and is inevery respect calculated for the residence of its noble possessor, whosetaste and munificence in patronizing the Fine Arts are well known to ourreaders. Nevertheless, it is worthy of special remark, that not only isthe name of GROSVENOR conspicuous in this patronage, but his lordshiphas further evinced his love of art in the construction of one of themost splendid buildings in the whole empire,--the present mansion havingbeen completed within a few years.[1] Here the noble founder seems tohave realized all that the ingenious Sir Henry Wotton consideredrequisite for a man's "house and home--the theatre of his hospitality,the seat of self-fruition, a kind of PRIVATE PRINCEDOM; nay, to thepossessors thereof, an epitome of the whole world."
[1] At this moment, Earl Grosvenor has in progress a splendid
gallery for the reception of his superb collection of pictures,
adjoining his town mansion, in Grosvenor-street. This is one of
the few "Private Collections" to which, through the good taste
and courtesy of the proprietor, the public are admitted, on
specified days, and under certain restrictions. The nucleus of
Earl Grosvenor's collection, was the purchase of Mr. Agar's
pictures for L30,000; since which it has been enlarged, till it
has at length become one of the finest in England. In the
drawing-room at Eaton are, _Our Saviour on the Mount of Olives_,
by Claude Lorraine, which is the largest painting known to have
and _A Port in the Mediterranean_, by
Vernet. In the dining-room, _Rubens with his Second Wife_; by and _The Judgment of Paris_, a copy, by Peters, after
Rubens. In the dressing-room of the state bed-room, _David and
Abigail_, also by Rubens. Over the ornamented chimney-pieces of
the hall are, West's _Dissolution of the Long Parliament_, and
_The Landing of Charles the Second_._Eaton_ is situated about three miles to the south of Chester, on theverge of an extensive park, thickly studded with fine old timber. Thepresent "Hall" occupies the site of the old mansion, which is describedas a square and spacious brick building erected by Sir Thomas Grosvenor,in the reign of William III. The architect was Sir John Vanbrugh, wholikewise laid out the gardens with straight walks and leaden statues, inthe formal style of his age. In the reconstruction, the fine vaultedbasement story of the old Hall was preserved, as were also the externalfoundations, a but the superstructure was alteredand entirely refitted, and additional apartments erected on the northand south sides, so as to make the area of the new house twice thedimensions of the old one.The style of architecture adopted in the new Hall is that of the age ofEdward III, as exhibited in that Parthenon of Gothic architecture, YorkM although the architect, Mr. Porden, has occasionally availedhimself of the low Tudor arch, and the forms of any other age thatsuited his purpose, so as to adapt the rich variety of our ancientecclesiastical architecture to modern domestic convenience. Round theturrets, and in various parts of the parapets are shields, charged inrelievo with the armorial bearings of the Grosvenor family, and ofother ancient families that, by intermarriages, the Grosvenors areentitled to quarter with their own. The windows, which are "richlydight" with tracery, are of cast-iron, moulded on both sides, andgrooved to receive the glass. The walls, battlements, and pinnacles,are of stone, of a light and beautiful colour, from the Manly quarryabout ten miles distant.The annexed engraving represents the west-front of the house, in thecentre of which is the entrance, by a vaulted porch, which admits acarriage to the steps that lead to the Hall, a spacious and lofty room,occupying the height of two stories, with a groined ceiling, embellishedwith the Grosvenor arms, and other devices, in the bosses that cover thejunction of the ribs. The pavement is of variegated marble incompartments. At the end of the Hall, a screen of five arches support agallery which connects the bed-chambers on the north side of the housewith those on the south, which are separated by the elevation of theHall. Under this gallery, two open arches to the right and left conductto the grand staircase, the state bed-room, and and opposite to the door of the hall is the entrance to the saloon. Thegrand staircase is elaborately ornamented with niches and canopies, andwith tracer and in the principal ceiling, which issurmounted with a double skylight of various coloured glass. The statebed-room is lighted by two painted windows, with tracery and armorialbearings. In the saloon are three lofty and splendidly painted windows,which contain, in six divisions,--the portraits of the conqueror'snephew, Gilbert le Grosvenor, the founder of the Grosvenor family, and of William the Conqueror, with whom Gilbert came into Ethe Bishop of Bayeux, un the heiress of the houseof E and Sir Robert le Grosvenor, who signalized himself in thewars of Edward III.The saloon is a square of thirty feet, formed into an octagon by archesacross the angles, which give to the vaultings a beautiful form.Opposite to the chimney piece is an organ richly decorated. On the leftof the saloon is an ante-room leading to the dining- and on theright, another leading to the drawing-room: the windows of these roomsare glazed with a light Mosaic tracery, and exhibit the portraits of thesix Earls of Chester, who, after Hugh Lupus, governed Cheshire as aCounty Palatine, till Henry III bestowed the title on his son Esince which time the eldest sons of the kings of England have alwaysbeen Earls of Chester.The dining-room, situated at the northern extremity of the east front,is about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide, exclusive of a bay-window offive arches, the opening of which is 30 feet. In the centre window isthe portrait of Hugh L which, with the portraits of the six Earlsof Chester, in the ante-room windows, were executed from cartoons, atLongport, Staffordshire. The ceiling is of bold and rich tracery, with aprofuse emblazoning of heraldic honours, and a large ornamented pendantfor a chandelier.The drawing room, which is at the southern extremity of the east front,is of the same form and dimensions as the dining-room, with the additionof a large window to the south, commanding the luxuriant groves ofmeadows of Eaton, and the village and spire of Oldford above them. Allthe windows of this room are adorned with heads and figures of theanc also the portraits of the present Earl andCountess, in a beautiful brown _chiaro-scuro_. The ceiling is tracery ofthe nicest materials and workmanship emblazoned with the arms of theGrosvenor family, and those of Egerton, Earl of Wilton, the father ofthe present Countess Grosvenor.Eaton became the property of the Grosvenor family through the marriageof Ralph Grosvenor, in the reign of Henry VI with Joan, daughter of JohnEaton, then owner of this estate. The Grosvenor family, as we havealready intimated, came into England with William the C theyderived their name from the office of chief huntsmen, which they held inthe N and, when "chivalry was the fashion of the times,"says Pennant, "few families shone in so distinguished a manner: noneshewed equal spirit in vindicating their rights to their looms." He thenmentions the celebrated legal contest with Sir Richard le Scroope, forthe family arms--_Azure, a bend or_. This cause was tried before theHigh Constable and the Earl Marshal of England, in the reign of RichardII. I kings, princes of the blood, and most of thenobility, and among the gentry, Chaucer, the poet, gave evidence on thetrial. "The sentence," says Pennant, " that bothparties shoul but the _Grosvenours avec une bordured'argent_. Sir Robert resents it, and appeals to the king. The judgment but the choice is left to the defendant, either to use the_bordure_, or bear the arms of their relations, the ancient Earls ofChester, _azure, a gerb d'or_. He rejected the mortifying distinction,and chose a _gerb_: which is the family coat to this day."Hitherto we have only spoken of the artificial splendour of Eaton. Thenatural beauties with which it is environed will, however, presentequal, if not superior, attraction for the tourist. The stiff, formalwalks of Vanbrugh no longer disfigure the grounds, which are now made toharmonize with the contiguous landscape, and are enlivened by an inletof the Dee, which intervenes between the eastern front of the mansion,and the opposite plantations. These alterations have, however, been madewith great judgment, and a few of the venerable beauties of the parkremain. Thus, a fine aged avenue extends westward to a Gothic lodge inthe hamlet of Belgrave, about two miles distant from the Hall. Anotherlodge, in a similar style of design, is approached by a road, whichdiverges from this avenue towards Chester, and crosses the park, throughluxuriating plantations, which open occasionally in glade views of theBroxton and Welsh Hills. The most pleasing approach to this noblemansion is one which has been cut through the plantations, towards thenorth-east angle of the house, so as to throw the whole building intoperspective.Viewed from either of the beautiful sites with which the park abounds,Eaton is a magnificent display of towers, and turrets, pinnacles andbattlements, partly embosomed in foliage, and belted with one of therichest domains in England. Indeed, its splendour seldom fails to strikethe overweening admirer of art with devotional fondness, which is notlessened by his approach to the fabric.[1] The most favourable distantviews are from the Aldford road, and from the romantic banks of the Dee,whence there is a proud display of architectural grandeur. In everypoint, however, the grounds and mansion of Eaton will abundantly gratifythe expectations of the visiter. Altogether, they present a rich sceneof nature, diversified and embellished by t and theadmiration of the latter will be not a little enhanced by the reflectionthat the building of this sumptuous pile provided employment for a largeportion of the poor of Chester during one of the most calamitous periodsof the late war.
[1] One view from the interior deserves special mention: viz. from
the saloon, upon a terrace 350 feet in length, commanding one
of the richest landscapes on the banks of Dee. The boasted
terrace at Versailles is but 400 yet, how many
Englishmen, who have seen the latter, are even ignorant of
that at Eaton.The noble founder of Eaton has indeed learned to "build stately," and"" and has thus made the personal fruition of his wealthsubservient to its real use--the distribution.
*ORIGIN OF CHESS.(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.)SIR,--In vol. 3, page 211, of the MIRROR, is an account of the origin ofthe scientific game of chess, the invention of which, your correspondent_F. H. Y._ has attributed to a brahmin, named Sissa. But I believe it isentirely a matter of doubt, both as to where, and by whom it was it is evidently of very high antiquity, and if we recur to theoriginal names of the pieces with which it is played, we shall readilybe convinced it is of Asiatic original. The honour of inventing it, iscontended for by several nations, but principally by the Hindoos, theChinese, and the Persians. In support of the first, we are told, by SirWilliam Jones, in the 2nd vol. of his _Asiatic Researches_, that thegame of chess has been immemorably known in Hindostan, by the name ofChaturanga, or the four members of an army, viz. elephants, horses,chariots, and foot soldiers. And yet, the same learned author observes,that no account of the game has hitherto been discovered in theclassical writings of the brahmins. Mr. Daines Barrington supposed theChinese to be the inventers, and in this he is supported by a paperpublished in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, for 1794, vol.5, by Mr. Eyles Irwin. It states, that when Mr. Irwin was at Canton, ayoung mandarin, on seeing the English chess-board, recognised itssimilarity with that used for and brought his boardand equipage for Mr. Irwin's inspection, and soon after gave him amanuscript extract from a book, relating the invention of the Chinesegame, called by them chong-he, or the royal game, which it attributed toa Chinese general (about 1,965 years ago) who by its means reconciledhis soldiers to passing the winter in quarters in the country of Shensi,the cold and inconvenience of which were likely to have occasioned amutiny among them. Other writers contend that chess is a game of Persianinvention, since _scah muth_ is the Persic term for check- andsince the Persians were sedulous in recommending it to their youngprinces, as a game calculated to instruct kings in the art of war. Ithas been attributed to Palamedes, who lived during the T butit was a game played with pebbles, or cubes, of which he was theinventer. Palamedes was so renowned for his sagacity, that almost everyearly discovery was ascribed to him. Whether the Greeks or Romans wereacquainted with this game is doubtful. Of the three contending nations,the claim of the Persians appears to me to be least eligible, and thatof the Chinese the most._Near Sheffield._J. M. C-D.
*THREE SONNETS TO JOHN KEATS.(_For the Mirror_.) I can think of thee! now that the light spring
Showers live in the rich breezes, and the dyes
Of the glad flowers are won from her blue eyes E whilst loud songs, on the fleet wing Of the Earth's seraphs, bear her welcoming
From it to heaven, and, up to the far skies,
From turf-born censers floods of incense rise. I can think of
And when the heart leaps up within to bless
The sights of love and beauty, on each hand,--
The pouring-out of sky-sprung happiness
Over the dancing sea and the green land,
Thought wakes one saddening thrill of bitterness--
Thou canst not o'er this Eden smiling stand! Yes! even as the quick glow of Spring's first smile
Is unto the renewed spirit,--even
As that abundant gush of wine from Heaven Loosens the dreary grasp of Cares which coil Round the lone heart like serpents,--the sweet toil
Of draining the dear dream-cup thou hast given
Is unto me,--and thoughts which long have striven
With joyousness, flit far away the while
My lips are prest to it. By the fire-light,
Or in full gaze of sun-set, when the choirs
Of winged minstrels, waking out of light,
Ring requiem meet to those departing fires--
Let me be with thee then--forgetting quite
The world, its scornfulness, and its desires. O! I could weep for thee! and yet not tears
Of hopelessness, but triumph, and sit down
And weave for thee wet wild-flowers for a crown-- Then up, and sound rich And teach thee, that sweet lips, in coming years,
Shall lisp the songs which cold dull hearts disown,--
That all which hope could pant for is thine own,--
Dimmed, for a moment's space, with human fears.
Then watch the new-born glories in thine eye,
Glancing like lightning from its chariot cloud,
And list these words, which know not how to die,--
Joy's inspiration gushing forth aloud:
Then back again unto the world and sigh,
And wrap my heart up in a dusky shroud.THOMAS M---- S.
*CHOOSING OF BAILIFFS AT BRIDGNORTH.(_For the Mirror_.)The bailiffs of Bridgnorth are chosen out of the twenty-four aldermenupon St. Matthew's Day in the following manner:--The court having met,the names of twelve aldermen being separately written on small pieces ofpaper, are closely rolled up by the town clerk, and thrown into a purse,which is shaken by the two chamberlains standing upon the chequer, (alarge table in the middle of the court,) and held open to the bailiffs,when each, according to seniority, takes out a roll. By this means thecallers are decided, who, mounting the chequer, alternately call thejury of fourteen out of the burgesses present. They are then swornneither to eat nor drink till they, or twelve of them, have chosen twofit persons, who have not been bailiffs for three years before, to servethat office
they are locked up till they haveagreed, which sometimes occasions long fastings. In 1739, the juryfasted seventy hours. The persons chosen are sworn into office onMichaelmas Day.--W. H.
*ON COALS, AND THE PERIOD WHEN THE COAL MINES IN ENGLAND WILL BEEXHAUSTED.(_From Bakewell's Introduction to Geology, 3rd Edition, 1828_.)Coal was known, and partially used, at a very early period of ourhistory. I was informed by the late Marquis of Hastings, that stonehammers and stone tools were found in some of the old workings in hismines at Ashby W and his lordship informed me also, that similarstone tools had been discovered in the old workings in the coal-mines inthe north of Ireland. Hence we may infer, that these coal-mines wereworked at a very remote period, when the use of metallic tools was notgeneral. The burning of coal was prohibited in London in the year 1308,by the royal proclamation of Edward I. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth,the burning of coal was again prohibited in London during the sitting ofparliament, lest the health of the knights of the shire should sufferinjury during their abode in the metropolis. In the year 1643, the useof coal had become so general, and the price being then very high, manyof the poor are said to have perished for want of fuel. At the presentday, when the consumption of coal, in our iron-furnaces andmanufactories and for domestic use, is immense, we cannot but regard theexhaustion of our coal-beds as involving the destruction of a greatportion of our private comfort and national prosperity. Nor is theperiod very remote when the coal districts, which at present supply themetropolis with fuel, will cease to yield any more. The annual quantityof coal shipped in the rivers Tyne and Wear, according to Mr. Bailey,exceeded three million tons. A cubic yard of coals weighs nearly one and the number of tons contained in a bed of coal one square milein extent, and one yard in thickness, is about four millions. The numberand extent of all the principal coal-beds in Northumberland and Durham and from these data it has been calculated that the coal inthese counties will last 360 years. Mr. Bailey, in his Survey of Durham,states, that one-third of the coal being already got, the coal districtswill be exhausted in 200 years. It is probable that many beds ofinferior coal, which are now neglected, may but theconsumption of coal being greatly increased since Mr. Bailey publishedhis Survey of Durham, we may admit his calculation to be anapproximation to the truth, and that the coal of Northumberland andDurham will be exhausted in a period not greatly exceeding 200 years.Dr. Thomson, in the Annals of Philosophy, has calculated that the coalof these districts, at the present rate of consumption, will last 1,000years! but his calculations are founded on data manifestly erroneous,and at variance wit for he assumes the annualconsumption of coal to be only two million eight hundred thousand tons,and the waste to be one-third more,--making three million seven hundredthousand tons, equal to
whereas he has just beforeinformed us, that two million chaldrons of coal, of two tons and aquarter each chaldron, are exported, making four million five hundredthousand tons, beside inland consumption, and waste in the working[1].According to Mr. Winch, three million five hundred thousand tons of coalare consumed annually
to which if we add the wasteof small coal at the pit's mouth, and the waste in the mines, it willmake the total yearly destruction of coal nearly double the quantityassigned by Dr. Thomson. Dr. Thomson has also greatly overrated thequantity of the coal in these districts, as he has calculated the extentof the principal beds from that of the lowest, formany of the principal beds crop out, before they reach the westerntermination of the coal-fields. With due allowance for these errors, andfor the quantity of coal already worked out, (which, according to Mr.Bailey, is about one-third,) the 1,000 years of Dr. Thomson will notgreatly exceed the period assigned by Mr. Bailey for the completeexhaustion of coal in these counties, and may be stated at three hundredand fifty years.
[1] The waste of coal at the pit's mouth may be stated at one-sixth
of the quantity sold, and that left in the mines at one-third.
Mr. Holmes, in his Treatise on Coal Mines, states the waste of
small coal at the pit's mouth to be one-fourth of the whole.It cannot be deemed uninteresting to inquire what are the repositoriesof coal that can supply the metropolis and the southern counties, whenno more can be obtained from the Tyne and the Wear. The only coal-fieldsof any extent on the eastern side of England, between London and Durham,are those of Derbyshire and those in the west riding of Yorkshire. TheDerbyshire coal-field is not of sufficient magnitude to supply, for anylong period, more than is required for home consumption, and that of theadjacent counties. There are many valuable beds of coal in the westernpart of the west riding of Yorkshire whi but thetime is not very distant when they must be put in requisition, to supplythe vast demand of that populous manufacturing county, which at presentconsumes nearly all the produce of its own coal mines. In the midlandcounties, Staffordshire possesses the nearest coal districts to themetropolis, but such is the immense dailyconsumption of coal in the iron-furnaces and founderies, that it isgenerally believed this will be the first of our own coal-fields thatwill be exhausted. The thirty-feet bed of coal in the Dudley coal-field and in the present mode of working it, more thantwo-thirds of the coal is wasted and left in the mine.If we look to Whitehaven or Lancashire, or to any of the minorcoal-fields in the west of England, we can derive little hope of theirbeing able to supply London and the southern counties with coal, afterthe import of coal fails from Northumberland and Durham. We may thusanticipate a period not very remote, when all the English mines of coaland ironsto and were we disposed to indulge ingloomy forebodings, like the ingenious authoress of the "Last Man," wemight draw a melancholy picture of our starving and decliningpopulation, and describe some manufacturing patriarch, like the latevenerable Richard Reynolds, travelling to see the last expiring Englishfurnace, before he emigrated to distant regions.[1]
[1] The late Richard Reynolds, Esq., of Bristol, so distinguished
for his unbounded benevolence, was the original proprietor of
the great iron-works in Colebrook Dale, Shropshire. Owing, I
believe, partly to the exhaustion of the best workable beds of
coal and ironstone, and partly to the superior advantages
possessed by the iron-founders in South Wales, the works at
Colebrook Dale were finally relinquished, a short time before
the death of Mr. Reynolds. With a natural attachment to the
scenes where he had passed his early years, and to the pursuits
by which he had honourably acquired his great wealth, he
travelled from Bristol into Shropshire, to be present when the
last of his furnaces was extinguished, in a valley where they
had been continually burning for more than half a century.Fortunately, however, we have in South Wales, adjoining the BristolChannel, an almost exhaustless supply of coal and ironstone, which areyet nearly unwrought. It has been stated, that this coal-field extendsover about twelve hundred square miles, and that there are twenty-threebeds of workable coal, the total average thickness of which isninety-five feet, and the quantity contained in each acre is 100,000tons, or 65,000,000 tons per square mile. If from this we deduct onehalf for waste and for the minor extent of the upper beds, we shall havea clear supply of coal, equal to 32,000,000 tons per square mile. Now ifwe admit that the five million tons of coal from the Northumberland andDurham mines is equal to nearly one-third of the total consumption ofcoals in England, each square mile of the Welsh coal-field would yieldcoal for two years' and as there are from one thousand totwelve hundred square miles in this coal-field, it would supply Englandwith fuel for two thousand years, after all our English coal-mines areworked out.It is true, that a considerable part of the coal in South Wales is of aninferior quality, and is not at present bur but inproportion as coal becomes scarce, improved methods of burning it willassuredly be discovered, to prevent any sulphureous fumes from enteringapartments, and also to economize the consumption of fuel in all ourmanufacturing processes.
*SONG.(_For the Mirror._) Thou hast not seen the tear-drops fill
The eye The deepest curse, the darkest ill, Hovers above--around me--still
There are no tears for me! Thou canst not know, why I should kneel
For tears to heaven-- The thousand changeless pangs we feel,-- The precious drops, perchance, might heal,--
They will not start again! Thou canst not know what hopes will spring
When I can gaze on thee, Even in the
Oh! thou to whom that heart must cling,
Art more than tears to me!THOMAS M---- S.
*HINTS FOR HEALTH.
["A very old and active correspondent," _Tim Tobykin_, has furnished
us with the following interesting extracts from Dr. Rennie's
_Treatise on Gout and Nervous Diseases_, just published. These,
however, are but a portion of our correspondent' and as
they are written in a popular style and appear to be equally
applicable to the welfare of all classes, they will doubtless be
acceptable to our readers. We are not friendly to the introduction
of purely professional matters into the pages of the MIRROR, but the
following extracts are so far divested of technicality as to render
their utility and importance obvious to every reader.]CLIMATE, LOCALITY, AND SEASONS.I shall first inquire, says Dr. Rennie, what are the effects of climateon healthy constitutions, as respects heat, cold, moisture, and including also the diurnal and annual revolutions.Cold applied to the body acts as a direct sedative. It diminishes thenervous sensibility, represses the activity of the circulation, detractsfrom the sum of the animal heat, and thereby diminishes stimulation. Inthe cessation of excitement and sensibility that ensues, the whole vitalactions are moderated, existing i and in the samemanner as sleep recruits the wasted powers, so does cold restore andinvigorate the nerves when overstimulated, and in fact promotes the toneand vigo when again a warmer atmosphere succeeds acolder, the animal heat increases in its sum, the surface of the body isre-excited, nervous sensibility returns, and a reaction of thecir so that the blood diffuses itself in greaterabundance towards the remote and superficial parts of the body, and thesecretions are also promoted.Alternations of cold and heat therefore in healthy constitutions withincertain limits, promoting, on the one hand, the vigour and on the other, the due activity and excitement of thevarious functions.The temperature occasioned by day and night, and also those moreprogressive and slow alternations of heat and cold, on the large scale,attending the annual revolution of the seasons, are a natural provisionadmirably adapted to effect these
constituted asour bodies are, such a constant and regular succession of heat and coldis just such as the necessities of the human frame require. Thealternations of day and night, of winter and summer, are far from beingmerely incidental and unimportant circumstances in the generaladaptation of the earth to man's
neither do theybear reference solely to the productions of the earth for his use. Theyexert a continual and direct influence on his constitution, calculatedto aid the vigorous and healthy performance of the various functions ofthe body each in its due degree and order, and they conduce mainly tothe perfection and longevity of the species.Let us therefore trace the effects of these changes on the human body.During the winter, the prevailing cold acts as a universal sedative andtonic, soothing the nervous excitement and sensibility, allaying theactivity of the circulation, moderating the functions of the skin, anddiminishing the various secretions.As the Spring opens, the sun gains daily in influence, generating agradually increasing atmospheric warmth. The body therefore becomessubject from this heat to a reactive effect, during which the nervoussensibility and circulation are gradually re-excited, the blood is moreequally diffused towards the surface and extremities of the body, andthe secretion by the skin is increased.If the cold of winter were to continue unmitigated from year to year,without the genial influence of summer, the human race, as is apparentin polar regions and upland mountainous districts, would degenerate intodwarfishness.If the heat of summer were continually maintained the whole year round,a tendency to degeneracy of the race would be also observed, as we seein tropical latitudes. It is in the medium betwixt these extremes, wherea moderate and regular winter cold is succeeded by a mild, genial summertemperature, that the species approaches most to perfection in stature,health, strength, and longevity.In observing also the influence of day and night on the constitution,there is a sedative effect produced in the morning before the sun is up,a reactive tendency promoted towards noon under the solar influence, andagain towards evening this reaction is repressed by the sedative effect and this sedative effect is at its maximum atmidnight. Hence those who sit up late feel unusually chilly anddepressed towards midnight, partly owing to exhaustion from want ofsleep, but chiefly from the total absence of solar influence in theatmospherical temperature. In regular habits this sedative effect isnever th for before midnight, the constitution,enveloped in warm blankets, has experienced the reaction arising fromthe accumulation of heat in bed. Whence the common remark, that onehour's sleep before midnight is worth three after that hour, is actuallytrue to a certain extent. By early retirement to rest, the sedativeeffect on the constitution, to an extent such as to disturb thefunctions, is escaped.If we connect these two influences, the annual and diurnal successionsof cold and heat, in their joint effect, we find, that about, or alittle after the summer solstice, the influence of the sun being at itsmaximum, the nervous sensibility, heat, circulating excitement, andcutaneous secretions of the body, are also at their maximum. Thetemperature of the day and night differ so little, that the sedativeeffects of evening and morning are not sufficient to restore the frameby soothing the sensibilities, overexcited and irritable from theprevious warmth. Whence the languor and irritability felt in summer,when the heat is long continued, and the nights are spent inrestlessness and anxious oppression. Exhaustion and relaxation of theframe are the consequence.As the autumnal equinox verges on, the mornings and evenings get coolerin relation to the mid- and about the equinox, the differencein the temperature of mid-day and midnight is at its maximum. We havetherefore a powerful sedative effect in the morning, which braces and a powerful reactive effect at mid-day, whichrouses and stimulates the actions and sensib andagain towards evening a sedative effect, from the increasing coldreaching its maximum at midnight.As the season passes on from the Equinox towards the winter solstice,the heat of the sun daily diminishes, and the cold gains a dailypreponderance. The sedative effect on the body goes on progressivelyincreasing, being less and less counteracted by any genial influencefrom the solar heat at mid- whence the gloom and depression souniversally experienced by the nervous in November and December, whichis more and more felt till the shortest day. So soon as the minimum ofsolar influence and maximum of sedative effect on the body has passedover, the sun gradually acquires more of meridian influence, and a dailyincreasing ascendancy over the prevalent cold. The human constitution atthe same time is subject to a proportionate
whichreaction is felt most at noon, and it daily becomes more and moreapparent till the vernal equinox, when we have the difference betwixtthe meridian and midnight temperature again at a maximum. We have dailya powerful sedative effect in the morning, a powerful meridian reaction,which again subsides into a sedative condition on the access of theevening. This daily effect on the constitution is exactly similar tothat at the autumnal equinox, only it occurs under differentcircumstances. In autumn it is connected with departing heat andprogressi in Spring it is connected withprogressively diminishing cold and advancing heat. After the vernalequinox, the difference in the meridian and midnight temperature the daily sedative effect at morning and eveningbecomes less and less apparent as general atmospheric warmth prevails,till towards the summer solstice, the general effect on the constitutionis stimulation and excitement by atmospheric heat.
*NOTES OF A READER.BYRON'S "FARE THEE WELL."On one occasion of a mediator waiting upon Lord Byron upon the subjectof a reconciliation with his wife, he produced from his desk a paper onwhich was written "fare thee well," and said, "Now these are exactly myfeelings on the subject--they were not intended to be published, but youmay take them."--_Lit. G._EARLY HOURS.Dr. Franklin published an ingenious Essay on the advantages of earlyrising.--He called it "an economical project," and calculated the savingthat might be made in the city of Paris, by using the sunshine insteadof the candles--at no less than 4,000,000l. sterling.SENSITIVE PLANTS.Light exercises a very remarkable influence upon the irritability of thesensitive plant. Thus, if a sensitive plant be placed in completedarkness, by carrying it within an opaque vessel, it will entirely loseits irritability, and that in a variable time, according to a certainstate of depression or elevation of the surrounding temperature.At Brussels, the demand for labour is so great, in consequence of thenumber of new buildings, that tradesmen consider they confer a favour ona customer by the execution of his orders. The lower classes havebecome, within the last seven years, extremely dissipated, owing it issupposed to the increase in the wages of the mechanics and labourersemployed in the numerous buildings erected within that period. Duringthe Kaermess annual feast of three days, it is calculated 80,000_litres_ (pots) are drunk each day!Cooper, the American novelist, has just published two volumes of"Notions" of his countrymen, in the course of which he bestows on themthe following surperlative epithets: "most active, quick-witted,enterprising, orderly, moral, simple, vigorous, healthful, manly,generous, just, wise, innocent, civilized, liberal, polite, enlightened,ingenious, moderate, glorious, firm, free, virtuous, intelligent,sagacious, kind, honest, independent, brave, gallant, intellectual,well-governed, elevated, dignified, pure, immaculate, extraordinary,wonderful," &c. He then calls them the "most improving," which ispainting, nay coating, the lily, to "wasteful and ridiculous excess."OSTRICHESImpart a lively interest to a ride in the Pampas. They are sometimesseen in coveys of twenty or thirty, gliding elegantly along theundulations of the plain, at half pistol-shot from each other, likeskirmishers. The young are easily domesticated, and soon become attachedto t but they are for,stalking about the house, they will, when full grown, swallow coin,shirt-pins, and every small article of metal within reach. Their usualfood, in a wild state, is seeds, herbage, the flesh is areddish brown, and if young, not of bad flavour. A great many eggs arelaid in the same nest. Some accounts exonerate the ostrich from beingthe most stupid bird in the creation. This has been proved by theexperiment of taking an egg away, or by putting one in addition. Ineither case she destroys the whole by smashing them with her feet.Although she does not attend to secrecy, in selecting a situation forher nest, she will forsake it if the eggs have been handled. It is alsosaid that she rolls a few eggs thirty yards distant from the nest, andcracks the shells, which, by the time her young come forth, being filledwith maggots, and covered with insects, form the first repast of herinfant brood. The male bird is said to take upon himself the rearing ofthe young. If two cock-birds meet, each with a family, they fight forthe for which reason an ostrich has sometimes underhis tutelage broods of different ages.--_Mem. Gen. Miller._Dr. Kitchiner recommends a gentleman who has a mind to carry thearrangement of his clothes to a nicety, to have the shelves of hiswardrobe numbered 30, 40, 50, and 60, and according to the degree ofcold pointed to by his thermometer, to wear a corresponding defenceagainst it.Dr. Harw one he suffered to sleep after dinner,another he forced to take exercise. In the stomach of the one who hadbeen quiet and asleep, all t in the stomach of theother, that process was hardly begun.SIR WALTER'S LAST.At page 354 of our last vol., the reader will find an eloquentdescription of Perth, from the Wicks of Beglie, quoted from St.Valentine's Eve. This turns out to be a topographical blunder, for the"fair city" cannot be seen at all from the said Wicks, whereas theauthor has described it as the best point of view. As our readers havelong since enjoyed the description, we shall doubtless be pardoned forthus noticing the mistake.TELEGRAPHS.The system of telegraphs has arrived at such perfection in thepresidency of Bombay, that a communication may be made through a line of500 miles in eight minutes.--_Weekly Rev._One of the drawing-room critics who uphold the literature of lords andladies, sums up the merits of fashionable novel-writing asfollows:--"After all, it is something to scrutinize lords and ladies,recline on satin sofas, eat off silver dishes--whose nomenclature is theglory of _l'artiste_--though only in a book."MAHOGANY.The largest and finest log of mahogany ever imported into this countryhas been recently sold by auction at the docks in Liverpool. It waspurchased for 378l., and afterwards sold for 525l., and if it open well,it is supposed to be worth 1,000l. If sawed into veneers, it is computedthat the cost of labour in the process will be 750l. The weight on theking's beam is six tons thirteen hundred weight.Dugald Stewart, the celebrated metaphysician, of whom Scotland has justreason to be proud, died a short time since at Edinburgh, at the age ofseventy-five. He recently published two volumes, of which adistinguished gentleman in Edinburgh thus speaks:--"June 16. DugaldStewart is to be buried to-morrow. A great light is gone out, or rathergone down,--for its glory will long be in the sky, though its orb be nomore visible above the horizon. He corrected his last two volumes withhis own hand within these three months. What philosopher, especiallypalsy-stricken ten years ago,--could ring in better. Glorious fellow! Ihear his splendid sentences and exquisite voice sounding in mine ear atthe distance of nearly thirty winters. His peculiar merit was the purityand loftiness of his moral taste. For about forty years he raised thestandard of thought and feeling among successive generations of youngmen, to a range it would never otherwise have attained."OLD AND NEW VAUXHALL.Of old, a half-crown at the door, and the price of such comestibles aswere devoured, were grumb but now the accountstands in a fairer form, because you are charged distinctly for everyitem, so that you know what you are paying for, and may choose orreject, as you think fit. Thus Mr. Bull, from Aldgate, with Mrs. Bull,and only four of the younger Bulls and Cows, numbering six in all, makegood their entry at the cost of 1l. 4s.--Books to tell them what theyare to see and hear, the when and the how are 3s. Seats for thevaudeville (average of modest places) 9s. Ditto for the ballet 6s. Dittofor the battle 6s. Ditto for the fire-works 6s.--Total 2l. 14s.--Butthen they are not charged
there is no charge forwal there is no charge for looking at the there is no charge for casting a glance at the there is no charge for staring there isno charge for bowing or talking to an acquaintance, if you meet one--all and if you neither eat nor drink, there is no chargefor witnessing those who do mangle the long-murdered honours of thecoop, and gulp down the most renovating of liquors, be they hale orstout, vite vine, red port, or rack punch.--_Lit. Gaz_.Bruges, (celebrated as the birthplace of John Van Eyck, said to haveinvented the art of oil-painting), is now in a very dilapidatedcondition. It was formerly a place of great commerce, and the merchantsof Bruges were the wealthiest in Europe. The population is reduced from100,000 to 25,000.--_Brussels Companion_.DISTURBING THE DEAD.Mr. Crawfurd, in his recent Mission to _Hue_, wished to visit themausol "but," says he, "we were politely informedthat the king was always reluctant to permit the visits of strangers,whose presence," he said, "might 'trouble the repose of the spirits ofhis ancestors.'"Dine with a march-of-intellect man, and only observe the downcast eyesof his pale-faced, trembling wife--the knit brows of his sullensons--the sulky sorrows of his joy-denied daughters. All that comes ofyour hard-hearted, hard-headed, music-painting-and-poetry-despising,utilitarian, intellectual, all-in-all educationists, who know nothing soadmirable as a steam-engine, and would wish to see the whole worldworked by machinery."FASHIONABLE" NOVELS.Here is a specimen of the _slip-slop_ with which so many thousand reamsof paper have lately been spoiled. "Tea was announced, and the ladiesadj Lady Harriet and Lady Charlotte, discussing, asthey went in together, the difficult question, whether it was or was notan improvement in modern arrangements to have tea _en-buffet_. One ofits advantages the ladies were perfectly aware of, namely, that itafforded a _point de reunir_, for both beaux and belles, which is alwaysso much wanted bef and calculating on thisimportant circumstance, Lady Charlotte possessed herself of the chairwhich was the most accessible of the whole group. Miss Mortimer, withequal foresight, stationed herself at the fire:--"Good generalship,"whispered Lady Hauteville to the duchess, as the two experienced matronscommunicated together _sur les petites ruses_, which the actors fanciedwere unperceived, &c."Dr. Walsh, in his _Journey from Constantinople_, describes a species ofwoodpecker, about the size of a thrush, of a light, blue colour, withblack marks beside the bill. "It entered my room," says he, "with allthe familiarity of an old friend, hopped on the table, and picked upthe crumbs and flies. It had belonged to the doctor's child, justburied, and by a singular instinct, left the house of the dead, andflew into my room. Its habits were curious, and so familiar, that theyw it climbed up the wall by any stick or cord nearit, devouring flies. It sometimes began at my foot, and at one race,ran up my leg, arm, round my neck, down my other arm, and so to thetable. It there tapped with its bill with a noise as loud as a hammer.This was its general habit on the wood in ev whenit did so, it would look intently at the place, and dart at any fly orinsect it saw running. Writers on Natural History say it makes thisnoise to disturb the insects concealed within, so to seize them whenthey appear."At Brussels apartments are not to be procured for a shorter term thansix months.In the prison at Ghent, spirits are sold, but pens and paper cannot beobtained without a special application to the governor.Mr. Brande, in his recent Lecture on Vegetable Chemistry, says, "Salthas been very much e I believe that a great dealmore has been said of it certainly destroysinsects, but I do not believe what has been said of its value. We arenot to infer that because a manure is found to be useful on one soil ina certain climate, that it shall prove equaexperience must direct us in this particular."STROLLING SCHOOLS.In Prussia there exist, what are termed _Strolling Schools_, having nofixed place. The teacher, with his scholars or his classical furniture,establishes himself in all the houses or a village successively, wherehe and his stay is determined by the number ofpersons he is called upon to instruct under each roof, a week being theallotted term, for each child, during which period the parents supplyall the wants of the _Domine.--Athenaeum._
*RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGSThe following extracts from a "roll of the expenses of Edward I., atRhuddlan Castle, in Wales, in the tenth and eleventh years of his reign"(1281 and 1282), may perhaps amuse our readers, as showing the rates ofwages paid to different workmen, tradesmen, archers, &c. at that period.Under the head of _necessaries_, are some curious items. Rhuddlan Castlewas the head quarters of Edward, during an insurrection of the Welsh,under Llewellin, Prince of Wales, at which time it had many additionsmade to it:--Paid to Master Peter de Brompton for the wages of 100 carpenters, eachreceiving 4d. per day, and their constable receiving 8d. ofwhich five are overseers of twenty, and each receives 6d. per day forhis wages, from Sunday 23rd of August for the seven following days,12l. 3s. 9d.To two smiths, one receiving 4d. per day, and the other 3d. for theirwages, from Sunday 23rd of August to Sunday 12th of September, _each daybeing reckoned_, for twenty one days, 12s. 3d.Two shoeing smiths by the day, at 3d.Paid to forty-seven sailors of the king for their wages,each receiving per diem 3d., except seven, each of whom received 6d. perday, 4l. 14s. 6d.Paid to Geoffry le Chamberlin for the wages of twelve cross-bowmen andthirteen archers for twenty- each cross-bowman receiving bythe day 4d, and each archer 2d.,--7l. 8s.Paid to one master mason, receiving 6d. per diem, and five masons at4d., and one workman at 3d.; for twenty-eight days, 3l. 7s. 8d.Sunday next, after the feast of St. John Baptist, paid to twenty-twomowers, each receiving 1-1/2d. per day for four days, 11s.Wednesday following paid to twenty-three mowers, each receiving 6d. perday for their wages of two days, 1l. 3s.Paid to fourscore and sixteen _spreaders of hay_ for one day's wages,whereof fourscore received each per day 1-1/2d, and each of the others2d., l2s. 8d.Paid to 160 spreaders of hay for their wages, Sunday and Monday, 16s.6d._Necessaries._For six carts, each with three horses, hired to carry the hay from themeadows to the castle of Rothelan, for one day, 6s. 10d.For the carriage of turf, with which the house was covered in which thehay was placed, 1s. 5d.For an iron fork bought to turn the hay, 3d.For making a ditch about the house where the said hay was put, 1s. 8d.For putting and piling up one rick of hay in the house, 1s. 8d.Wages of two turf-cutters, seven days, at 5d. per day, 5s. 10d.For the carriage of turves to cover the king's kitchen, 7s. 6d.For twenty-two empty casks, bought to make paling for the queen's courtyard, 18s. 4d.To Wildbor, the fisherman, receiving 10d. per day, and his sixcompanions, the queen's fishermen, at 3d. per day each, fishing in thesea, forty-two days, 4l. 18s.Repairing a cart of the king's, conveying a _pipe of honey_ fromAberconway to Rothelan, 1s. 4d.To six men carrying shingles to cover the hall of the castle, at 2-1/2deach per day, seven days, 8s. 9d._Gifts._To a certain female spy, as a gift, 1s.To a certain female spy, to purchase her a house, as a gift, 1l.To Ralph le Vavasour, bringing news to the queen of the taking ofDolinthalien, as a gift, 5l.To John de Moese, coming immediately after with the same news, withletters of the Earl of Gloucester, by way of gift, 5l.To a certain player, as a gift, 1s._Swan with Two Necks._It appears from the roll of swan's marks, in the time of Henry VIII.,that the king's swans were _doubly_ marked, and had what were called_two nicks_, or notches. The term, in process of time, not beingunderstood, a double animal was invented, with the name of "The Swanwith _Two Necks_." But this is not the only ludicrous mistake that hasarisen on the subject, since "swan-upping," or the taking up of swans,performed annually by the swan companies, with the Lord Mayor at theirhead, for the purpose of marking them, has been changed, by an unluckyasperite, into swan-_hopping_, which is perfectly unintelligible._Trial of the Pix._The invention of it, in this kingdom, or at least its introduction intoour courts, is probably of high antiquity, being mentioned in the timeof Edward I., as a mode well known and of common usage. At present it isseldom required, except on the removal of the master of the Mint fromhis office. Upon a memorial praying for a trial of the Pix by thisofficer, a summons issues to certain members of the privy council tomeet on a day fixed. The Lord Chancellor also directs a precept to thewardens of the Goldsmith's company, requiring them to nominate acompetent number of able freemen of their company, skilful to judge of,and to present the defaults of the coin, if such be found, to be of ajury. When the court is formed, twelve of these persons are sworn, whoare directed by the president to examine whether the moneys were madeaccording to the indenture, and standard trial pieces, and within theremedies. But in 1754, Lord Chancellor Talbot directed the jury toexpress precisely how much the money was and thepractice which he thus enjoined is still continued. The Pix, or boxcontaining the coins to be examined, is then delivered to the jury, whoretire to the court room of the Duchy of Lancaster, whither the Pix isremoved, together with the weights of the Exchequer and Mint, and wherethe scales used on this oc the beam of which is sodelicate, that it will turn with _six grains_, when loaded with thewhole of those weights, to the amount of 48 lbs. 8 oz. in each scale.The Pix is then opened, and the money which had been taken out of eachdelivery, and enclosed in a parcel under the seals of the warden,master, and comptroller of the Mint, is given to the foreman, who readsaloud the endorsement, and compares it with the account which lies he then delivers the parcel to one of the jury, who opens itand examines whether its contents agree with the endorsement. When allthe parcels have been opened, and found right, the moneys contained inthem are mixed together in wooden bowls, and afterwards weighed. Out ofthe said moneys so mingled, the jury take a certain number of eachspecies of coin, to the amount of one pound for the assay by fire. Andthe indented trial pieces of gold and silver, of the dates specified inthe indenture, being produced by the proper officer, a sufficientquantity is cut from either of them, for the purpose of comparing withit the pound weight of gold or silver which is to be tried by the usualmethods of assay. The jury then return their verdict, stating how muchthe coins examined have varied from the weight and fineness required,and whether the variations exceed or fall short of the remedies which and according to the terms of the verdict, the master'squietus is either granted or withheld._Note_.--The _remedies_ are an allowance of one sixth of a carat, orforty grains, in the pound weight of gold, and of two pennyweights inthat of silver, considered either as to fineness or weight, or both of the moneyers are, however, at this time so expert,that these quantities are much greater than are necessary.
*SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY_Society of Civil Engineers_.A charter of incorporation has just received the royal signature,constituting an institution of Civil Engineers, and naming Mr. Telfordits president. The objects of such institution, as recited in thecharter, are, "The general advancement of mechanical science, and moreparticularly for promoting the acquisition of that species of knowledgewhich constitutes the profession being the art ofdirecting the great sources of power in nature for the use andconvenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states,both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction ofroads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation, and docks, forinternal inte and in the construction of ports,harbours, moles, breakwaters, and light-houses, and in the art ofnavigation by artificial power, for the
and in theconstruction and adaptation of machinery, and in the drainage of citiesand towns."_Toads as Ant-eaters_.In the autumn of last year, a pit, wherein I grew melons, was so muchinfested with ants, as to threaten the destructiwhich they did, first by perforating the skin, and afterwards eatingthei and, after making several unsuccessfulexperiments to destroy them, it occurred to me that I had seen the toadfeed on them. I accordingly put about half a dozen toads into the pit,and, in the course of a few days, scarcely an ant was to befound.--_Corresp. Gard. Mag.__Laying out Part of the Calton Hill as Pleasure-Ground_.We observe with pleasure plans advertised for in the Edinburghnewspapers, for this purpose. There is no city in Britain which presentsgreater facilities for public walks and gardens than Edinburgh,notwithstanding the immense injury which it has sustained in apicturesque point of view by the earthen mound, and the mean buildingswhich cover great part of the bottom and sides of the valley of theNorth Loch. That valley ought to have been laid out in terraces, someopen, or covered with glazed verandas, for winter use, and others shadedby trees for summer walking. The great art in laying out walks forrecreation and ease on sloping surfaces, is so to direct them as not torender them more fatiguing than straight walks on level ground. But thegrand subject of improvement at Edinburgh, in the way of planting in thepublic walks, is the hill of Arthur's Seat, which, planted and built on,might be rendered one of the most unique scenes in Europe.--_Gard. Mag.__Vegetables._Watering gives vegetables long exposed a fresher colour, and a morea but repeated waterings are highly pernicious, asthey neutralize the natural juices of some, render others bitter, andmake all others vapid or disagreeable.--_Ibid.__Mortar._The use of lime in mortar, is to fill up the hollow spaces or vacuitiesbetween the grains of sand, and to cement them together, thereby forminga kind of artificial stone. To add any more lime than is sufficient tofill up these spaces, seems to be useless, and to add much more must but, if too little lime be used, there will becavities left between some of the grains of sand, and the mortar willconsequently be short or brittle: therefore, when we cannot ascertainthe best proportions of lime and sand, it is better to use too much limethan too little.--_Ibid.__Treatment of Gold and Silver Fish._These beautiful objects of the animal kingdom, though long agointroduced into Europe from China, their native country, seldom breed insuch numbers as they might be expected to do. It has been latelydiscovered that in ponds heated by waste water discharged from steamfactories, the gold and silver fish breed abundantly. From thiscircumstance, it has been suggested, that, as heating hothouses by warmwater is now so generally adopted, a portion of this, led occasionallyinto a garden basin, would keep the water in such a temperament as wouldnot only always be agreeable to the fish, but promote theirbreeding.--_Ibid.__Climate._Professor Schow, of Copenhagen, has lately read a paper "On the supposedChanges in the Climate of the different parts of the Earth, during theperiod of Human History," from which, as far as it has appeared in ourlanguage, it seems to be his opinion, that, on a general view, climatesare the same now as in ancient times. The identity of the climate ofPalestine, now and during antiquity, is thus beautifully made out:--"Itwill be convenient to begin with Palestine, the Bible being the oldest,or one of and, although great uncertainty existsabout the determination of the plants which are mentioned in it, yet twoof them do not admit of any doubt, (and these are sufficient for thedetermination of the climate of Palestine, in former times,) viz. thedate-tree and the vine. The date-tree was frequent, and principally inthe southernmost part of the country. Jericho was called Palm-town. Thepeople had palm branches in their hands. Deborah's palm-tree ismentioned between Rama and Bethel. Pliny mentions the palm-tree as beingfrequent in Judea, and principally about Jericho. Tacitus and Josephusspeak likewise of woods of palm-trees, as well as Strabo, DiodorusSiculus, and Theophrastus. Among the Hebrew coins, those with date-treesare by no means rare, and the tree is easily recognised, as it isfigured with its fruit. The vine, also, was one of the plants mostcultivated in Palestine, and not merely for the grapes, but really forthe preparation of wine. The feast of the tabernacle of the Jews was afeast on account of the wine harvest. From a passage where thecultivation of the vine is mentioned, in the Valley of Engeddy, it isevident that the vine not only grew in the northernmost mountainous partof the country, but also in its southern lower part. Besides these,there are other ancient testimonies in favour of the vine. This plant,indeed, sometimes occurs on the same coin with the date palm. Thedate-tree, in order to bring its fruit to perfection, requires a meantemperature of 78 deg. Fahr. The vine, on the other hand, cannot becultivated to any extent if the mean temperature be above 72 deg. Fahr.Such, then, must have been the temperature of Palestine,and by all that is known of its present climate, the mean temperatureseems to be the same now. Nor has the time of harvest undergone anychange. Snow and ice, which were known, though rarely, in ancient times,are occasionally met with now and at present, as in former times. Theinhabitants make use of artificial heat to warm themselves."--_Dr.Brewster's Journal_.
*SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.NUISANCES OF SOCIETY.It is quite true that the largest part of conversation turns uponeating and drinking, the weather, the vices and follies of ourneighbours, and a thousand other trifles that andit must be admitted that it is bad companionship to be eternallycanvassing the greater interests of life, and forcing upon societyopinions upon things in general. There are, indeed, themes in plentywhich belong to the neut but it is very pitiablethat they should so ill bear repetition. All the world, if they daredavow as much, are heartily tired of them. Like cursing and swearing,they are merely unmeaning expletives to supply the lack of sense, togain time, and to give a man the satisfaction of sometimes hearing hisown voice. With all the assistance of cards, music, dancing, andchampagne, society is at best but a dreary business, and it requires nolittle animal spirits to undergo the infliction with decency. Are youadmitted on terms of familiarity to the domestic hearth of your friend,that privilege confers on you the opportunity of becoming intimatelyacquainted with the faults of his servants, and (what is worse) withthe merits of his children.A dinner of ceremony is a fune an assembly is amob, and a ball a compound of glare, tinsel, noise, and dust. Howeveramusing in their freshness, after a few repetitions, they are onlyrendered endurable by the prospect of some collateral gain, or thegratification of personal vanity. To exhibit the beauty of a young wife,or the di to be able to say the best thing that is to sport a red ribbon or a Waterloo medal in their first to carry a point with a great man, or to borrow money from arich one, may pass off an evening very well, with those who happen to beinterested
but, these things apart, the arrantesttrifler in the circle must get weary at last, and be heartily rejoicedwhen the conclusion of the season spares him all further reiteration ofthe mill-horse operation. It is this insipidity of society that forcesso many of its members upon desperate adventures of gallantry, and upondeep play. Any thing, every thing is good to escape from the languor andlistlessness of a converse from which whatever interests is banished.Many a woman loses her character, and many a man incurs a verdict ofruinous damages, in the simple search of that rarest of all rare thingsin society--a sensation. Neither is the matter much mended, if, barringthe insipidity of bon-ton company, you plunge into the formal gravity ofthe middle classes, or into the noisy, empty mirth of the lower. The manof sense and feeling, wherever he goes, will find himself in a minority,in which few will speak his language or comprehend his ideas. He willseldom return to his home without a weary sense of the "stale, flat, andunprofitable" nothings he has been compelled to entertain in hisintercourse with the world,--without the recollection of some outrage onhis independence, some dogmatism that he dared not question, someimpertinence that he dared not confute. With his ears ringing withblue-stocking literature, threadbare sophistries, forms erected intoimportant principles, mediocrity elevated into consideration, and thepre-eminence of the vain, the ignorant, and the contemptible, he willshut himself up in his solitude, and say with the Englishman at Paris_Je m'ennuis tres bien ici_. Against the recurrence of these annoyances,day after day renewed, what nerves can hold out? As life advances, timebecomes precious, every moment is counted, every eand while the effort necessary for pleasing and being pleased becomesgreater, the motive for making that exertion grows less. When thesources of physical gratification are dried up, and the illusions oflife are dissipated, there remains nothing for enjoyment but a tranquilfireside, and the mastery of our own ideas and of our own habits in theprivacy of home. But then, to enjoy these, you must not have a methodistwife, and you must have a porter who can lie with a good grace, a fellowwho could say "not at home," though death himself knocked at the door.Neither should you read the newspapers, nor walk the streets. The timesare long gone by since "wisdom cried out there." Folly, impertinence,sheer impertinence, has exclusive possession of the king' anda dog with a tin-kettle at tail has as good a chance as the wretch whodares to tread the pavement without partaking of the ruling insanity.Oh! Mr. Brougham, Mr. Brougham! your schoolmaster has a great deal yetto do: pray heaven his rods and his fools' caps may hold out!--_NewMonth. Mag._
*TO "BEAUTY." The morn is up! wake, Beauty, wake!
The flower is on the lea, The blackbird sings within the brake,
The t Forth to the balmy fields repair,
And let the breezes mild Lift from thy brow the falling hair,
And fan my little child-- Yet if thy step be 'mid the dews, Beauty! be sure to change your shoes! 'Tis noon! the butterfly springs up,
High from her couch of rest, And scorns the little blue-bell cup
Which all night long she press'd. Away! we'll seek the walnut's shade,
And pass the sunny hour, The bee within the rose is laid,
And vei Mark not the lustre of his wing, Beauty! be careful of his sting! 'Tis eve! but the retiring ray
A halo deigns to cast Round scenes on which it shone all day,
And gilds them to the last: Thus, ere thine eyelids close in sleep,
Let Memory deign to flee Far o'er the mountain and the deep,
To cast one beam on me! Yes, Beauty! 'tis mine inmost prayer-- But don't forget to curl your hair!_Blackwood's Mag._
*GOG AND MAGOG.--(_A Fragment._)Pensively and profoundly was I meditating, seated one evening upon astone bench in Guildhall, when, as the gathering gloom invested thesolemn faces of Gog and Magog, rendering them mysteriously dim andindistinct, methought I saw them slowly shut their eyes, nod theirheads, fall asleep, and actually begin to snore. Never did I hear anything more sonorously grand and awful than that portentous inbreathingof Gog and Magog, resounding through the Gothic vastness of Gbut, behold! how omnipotent is the dreaming imagination! I myself had the sound of my own nose, transferred by a metonymy of thefancy to the nostrils of those wooden idols, had become, as it were, theliving apotheosis of a snore, which had subdued me by its sublimity.Most fortunate was it that I for, on attentively inspecting thefaces of the figures, I saw them working and writhing with all thecontortions of the Pythoness or the Sibyl, labouring in the very throesof inspiration, struggling with the advent of the prophetical afflatus.At length their lips parted, when, in a low, solemn voice, that thrilledthrough the dark, deserted, and silent hall, they poured forthalternatel