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young perverted and corrupted; the hearts of the old wrung with sorrow; I have seen children bring anguish on their parents, and parents compelled to behold the best years of their children's lives wasted in a prison. What poverty, what violence, what ruin, what grief, what remorse, have I beheld! These are the consequences of rioting.""

Of the important lessons conveyed in the dialogues of this little work, we have been unable to give anything like a fair specimen. But we have perhaps given enough to attract that attention to this new token of Miss Martineau's philanthropy and talents, which it so well merits.

THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. THE twenty-third number of Mr and Mrs Hall's beautiful and most interesting work on Ireland brings the subject of the celebrated Round Towers prominently into notice, and suggests our giving our readers some general account of those extraordinary and mysterious buildings.

generally laudable, but it should not be carried too of their being of Christian origin-they are unlike any
far. If the Round Towers were of Christian origin at structure in use by the Christian clergy of any other
all, it is incomprehensible that the history of the early country. It is most unlikely that this peculiar form
priesthood of Ireland says so little about them, and of building would be invented by the missionaries who
does not speak of the building of a single individual Christianised Ireland and Scotland; for, if such had
of the number. The few notices of them obtained in been the case, we might have expected that some of
early Irish history mention them under the names of the holy men of Ireland, who became distinguished
Turaghan and Feidh nemedh, but make no mention of on the continent, would have transferred the same
their erection, era, or use-thus seeming to show that form of building thither, which in no instance have
they were ancient buildings of unknown origin a they done. Three of the towers, it is true, namely,
thousand years ago, as they are now. One of the Donaghmore, Antrim, and Brechin, have Christian
earliest events of Irish history, the overthrow of the emblems on the doorways; but in two instances these
Firbolg power by the Danaans, is stated to have oc- have been shown to be modern. "It is certain that
curred at a place called, from the vicinity of towers, the early ecclesiastics, in appropriating to themselves
Muigh Tuireth na bh Fomorach (the plain of the Fo- the old Pagan places of worship everywhere, took care,
morian Tower). Tor inis (Tory Island), the Island very generally, to impose emblems of their religion on
of the Tower, is also noticed at a like early period, the converted structures." Supposing, then, that the
and so is the Tower of Temur or Tara, &c. The round tower was not an invention of the Irish mis-
annals of the four Masters, at 898, mention the Tura-sionaries, we are forced to presume for them an origin
ghan Ancoire (the Fire Tower of the Anchorite) at in some earlier heathen system, and perhaps a diffe-
Inniscailtre, or Holy Island, already mentioned. The rent race.
Ulster annals at 996 say that lightning destroyed
Armagh, sparing neither the infirmaries, the cathe-
dral, the Erdam, nor the Fedneamead. The same has
Tigernach at that year, except for Erdam he substi-
tutes Cloichteach (a belfry). Of the erection of churches
we have abundant mention in these annals, whilst of
the towers we have only those just given; and compar-
ing the magnitude and importance of the respective
buildings, we may reasonably suppose that, did these
towers appertain to the same era with the churches,
the annals would not have been so silent regarding
them-a further evidence, in our estimation, of their
extreme antiquity.

For the benefit of those who never have heard of the subject of this paper, let us explain that the Round Towers of Ireland are ancient structures, of a peculiar and striking form, scattered all over the sister island, with no distinct record of their original use or purpose. The number formerly existing was much greater than it now is, when only about eighty-three can be enumerated, of which little more than twenty are entire. As may well be supposed, they are objects of no small degree of popular wonder, and a highly interesting study for the local antiquary. And, indeed, they are not unworthy of attention beyond the shores of Ireland; for, overlooking for the meantime two We must confess that at one time our own opinion specimens in Scotland, there is no example of the was in favour of their being anchorite establishments; same class of buildings in any part of Christian Europe. but against this and the belfry theory alike, very They clearly bespeak an age far beyond the dawn of strong objections are adduced. If they had been dehistory in our portion of the world, and in this re-signed for anchorites, "there was no necessity for raisspect are scarcely less remarkable than those won- ing them to so great a height, and of such materials; drous and forlorn cities of central America, with whilst the adjoining churches were low and small, and which Mr Stephens has of late made us so well ac- many of them of timber. It is true that Anchoritism quainted. did greatly prevail in early Ireland, but the recluse selected far humbler retreats than lofty towers. We have still near many of our older churches small cells, which served them as hermitages, as at Ardfert, Scattery, and Glendalough. The cell of Declan at Ardmore-his residence in life, his grave in death-still subsists, and is called the Bonachan. The cell of Marianus Scotus was a similar lowly building. But although the towers were assuredly not erected for the reception of Anchorites, yet in after ages some few of them may have been used by these people for their penitential abodes. Such was the case with the Turaghan Ancoire (the Fire Tower of the Anchorite) on Holy Island, in the Shannon. The name refers at once to its original Pagan, and subsequent Christian use. Harris mentions the tradition, that an Anchorite lived at the top of the tower of Drumlahan, in Cavan, which on that account retained the name of Cloich-Ancoire, or the stone building of the Anchorite. Probability is not in favour of their having been originally raised as belfries; their form, as well as their separation and distance from the church, being so unlike to the belfries of all other countries. As at periods long subsequent to their foundation, in some few instances they may have been availed of by hermits, so in others a bell may have been suspended; this has been the case at Cloyne for the last 150 years, and at Castledermot. In the Irish annals, after the introduction of belfries into Ireland at the close of the ninth century, we have frequent notices of the Cloichteach, or Campanile. It is expressly distinguished from the Turaghan or Fidneimhedh. The Cloichteach, or Clochier, seems to have been generally of timber, as mention occurs of some of them having been consumed by fire. These buildings, so recorded, are placed in localities where no round tower appears to have ever been; as at Slane, Clonard, Emly, Telcha, &c. We have still subsisting two specimens of the Cloichteach at Cashel-the earliest structures of the kind probably in Ireland. They stand at either side, and form part of Cormac's chapel, a structure of the ninth century; are square, and built with well cut stones. A round tower, of very different stone and architecture, built in layers not horizontal, stands several yards north of these structures. If its purpose had been that of a belfry, there was scarcely any necessity for building the two towers just mentioned. A similar instance of a round tower near a square steeple occurs at Swords, and at Devenish. We have, adjoining several other towers, old churches with bell gables; as at Donaghmore, Killicullen, Tulloherin, Kilree, Fertagh, &c. These would not have been thought necessary if the round tower had been a belfry.

One peculiar and unvarying figure attaches to all the Round Towers of Ireland, as well as to the two which exist in Scotland. They are in every instance tapering as well as round, generally about a hundred feet in height, having a conical cap on the top. The diameter at the bottom varies between eight and fifteen feet; the door is generally ten or twelve feet above the ground; there are usually appearances of three or four floors having been placed in them, each provided with a small window; and, generally, close under the cap, there are four small windows corresponding to the cardinal points (only two towers having six in this situation). Though a hundred feet is about the average height of the perfect towers, there are some considerably shorter (one at 84, another at 60), and some considerably taller, one being imperfect at 110. The variations of form are very limited: the tower at Kinneagh is hexagonal at the base, and rotund above; Ardmore has three external belts, Dysart one, and Devenish presents a belt of sculptured work under the cap. The door is in some instances arched, in others a plain oblong. The masonry is, in all cases that we are acquainted with (and this description includes the two Scottish towers), composed of regular courses of freestone, neatly laid and finely joined, while the interior is rougher, the mortar invariably appearing of the finest and firmest consistence. It may therefore be readily imagined that the Round Towers do not appear the production of a rude people. They bear evidence, on the contrary, of having been reared by a nation which had made considerable advances in the arts, and perhaps also in science. On this last point, the arrangement of the windows seems to afford strong proof. The entireness of so many of these buildings after a lapse of centuries, probably not less than twelve, but probably several more, and the neatness of the workmanship, strike the mind very forcibly. It has been stated, with respect to that at Brechin in Scotland, that its upper part is observed to bend backwards and forwards in a high wind, and we have no doubt that such is the fact. One peculiarity of position is also attached to all these structures-they are invariably situated in the close neighbourhood of churches.

It was not till a very recent period that the Irish antiquaries first turned their attention to the Round Towers. In the absence of all record of their origin, conjecture has been busily employed respecting them, and they have been represented by different writers as belfries-as beacons as penitentiaries-and as anchorite stations analogous to the pillars of the eastern saints. In 1830, the Royal Irish Academy proposed a prize for a satisfactory essay on the subject, and ultimately gave prizes to two gentlemen who advocated different views with superior ability, Mr O'Brien and Mr Petrie. The former has since published his essay, and that of the latter gentleman is, we understand, about to appear. By Mr O'Brien, the Round Towers are represented as the production of a heathen people, and connected with the East. Mr Petrie considers them as of less remote origin, as in fact built by the early Christians in Ireland as belfries and places in which to store valuables belonging to churches and monasteries.

We suspect that Mr Petrie's theory only proceeds from a wish to diminish the sense of wonder respecting the origin of the Round Towers. Such a wish is

Their situation next to churches (keeping out of
view, however, their severance and isolation from
them) it is which has mainly led into the error of
supposing that they were the works of Christian eccle-
siastics. But, as remarked by Mr Weld, it might
be stated conversely, perhaps with as much propriety,
that the churches were built contiguous to the towers;
and he illustrates this by the well-known disposition
manifested by the early Christian missionaries to ac-
commodate their worship to that of their Pagan pro-
selytes; amongst many evidences of which was the
eager appropriation of heathen temples and places
consecrated to their gods, to Christian uses."
One thing contends strongly against any supposition

The opinion of Mr Windele, author of "Historical and Descriptive Notices of Cork," who seems to have furnished the materials for Mr and Mrs Hall's treatment of this subject, is that the round towers were temples used in the system of fire-worship, which anciently prevailed in Ireland. The arguments by which he supports his hypothesis are very plausible. It appears that in India there still are similar round towers, formerly used by the fire-worshippers. "Lord Valentia was particularly struck by the resemblance which he observed between two round towers at Bhangulpore, in India, and those of Ireland. The doors were elevated; there were four windows at top, and the roofs were arched with stone." "Pennant, speaking of the Polygars of India, says that they retain the old religion; and he describes their pagodas as buildings of a cylindrical or round tower shape, with their tops either pointed or truncated, frequently ornamented with a ball or spike, intended to represent the sun-an emblem of the deity of the place." "Hyde has given a drawing of one of the Eastern structures, with its four upper windows emitting volumes of smoke." Caucasus, the country of the ancient Iberians, of whom were the first colonists of Ireland, still abounds in round towers; and in Sardinia, which was colonised by Iberians, such structures are numerous under the name of nuraggi. Some countenance is afforded to this view by the vernacular name given to the round towers of Ireland, cilleagh or golcagh, a compound of two sacred words meaning fire and divinity. The particular names of several bear, likewise, allusion to fire. It is also to be remarked that "the worship of fire by the ancient Irish is a fact sufficiently vouched by the Irish annals and saints' lives, as well as by existing practices on the eves of May, Midsummer, &c. Its votaries were divided into two sects, one which lighted the sacred fire in the open temple, as at Gall-ti-mor (the flame of the great circle), Gall-Baille (the flame of the community), &c.; and the other which enclosed it in the Sun-Tower (Turaghan) or in low over-arched buildings, such as the Boens, the cells at Gall-erous, &c. The tower and low square temple were equally common to the Persians, with whom, as well as, indeed, with most of the other early Pagan nations, fire or the sun formed a main object of adoration."

found

"The researches conducted in 1841 by Messrs Odell, Abell, Hackett, Wall, Horgan, and Windele, by which nine of these structures have been examined, have established the sepulchral character of many of the Irish towers. In the base of the Tower of Ardmore the remains of two skeletons were found deposited in a bed of sifted earth. Above this was a floor of concrete, over which were four successive layers of large stones, closely fitted to each other, and over these was laid another floor of smoothed concrete. Here a care and precaution were displayed indicating the importance of the personages interred, whilst the absence of any remains of coffin, or crosier, or ring, or other ornament, afforded a fair presumption that the deased were not Christian. Three skeletons have be in the base of Cloyne Tower. Human remains were also discovered in the Tower of Ram Island (Antrim). Similar discoveries have been recently made in the Tower of Roscrea, by E. Wall, Esq., of that town. The Tower of Dromboe has been submitted to a like examination. In this, at several feet below a deposit of rubbish, earth, human bones, horns, and stones, which had undergone the action of fire, a concrete floor similar to that found in the towers of Ardmore, Cloyne, Roscrea, &c., was reached. Beneath this was found a stratum of dark loamy earth, under which, even with the foundation of the building, lay a skeleton nearly perfect. Of the skull, a cast has been taken for the Belfast Natural History Society. But what beyond all question decides the Paganism of these buildings, is the discovery of an urn, in the Tower of Timahoe, and of fragments of others in those of Brechin and Abernethy, in Scotland; in the latter, beside a portion of an urn of green clay, Mr Black, the author of a "History of Brechin," says that bones were got laid below flat stones; thus in the same sepulchre exhibiting cremation and inhumation together, as has been found in Etruscan tombs. These discoveries justify the name of one of the Irish towers, Fertagh, the sepulchral fire-tower; and clearly assimilate those structures to the Nuraggi, the Gozo Tower, the Dagobas of Ceylon, and other most ancient structures appertaining to sun worship."

It may be remarked, in connexion with this subject,

though not in illustration of it, that the Irish have a mythic hero of the art of architecture, to whom, in their popular legends, they attribute many of these curious buildings. They call him the Goban Saer, and allege that he was employed in his professional capacity in other countries besides Ireland. The name of this imaginary being, observes Mrs Hall, "will live while the Irish race shall retain their vernacular tongue, or his maxims of wisdom are the oracles of unlettered instruction. I have not learned the particular period at which he flourished, but tradition says that he was superior to all his contemporaries in the art of building; even in that dark age, when so little communication existed between countries not so remotely situated, his fame extended

to distant lands."

SCHOOL FOR RECLAIMING BOYS.

IN October 1841, an institution of a somewhat peculiar nature was opened in Aberdeen, its object being to reclaim the most destitute children from a life of crime, or at least of street vagrancy and wretchedness. In its character, the institution, which is connected with the House of Refuge, partakes of the nature of an asylum and a school. It feeds and educates, but does not lodge or clothe, leaving these duties to the parents of the children. No money has been laid out in erecting a building for the institution, but a place is hired for its accommodation, which answers every desired purpose. For all who are admitted, the entire cost of management and education is L.103 a-year, exclusive of the expense of food, which is about 3d. per day for each boy, or L.4, 10s. per annum. To meet the general expenditure, the inmates are required to give their labour, such as it is. By working at net-making, picking oakum, hair, and senna, each boy earns at least 1d. a-day, or 30s. a-year. It is expected that the profits from the labour will in future exceed this sum, as the children are now partly trained, and a plentiful supply of work has been procured. The routine of a day's employment embraces five hours for work, four hours for instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and singing, and three hours for meals and play. On Sundays, the pupils attend for religious instruction. Another important fact connected with the institution is, that the benevolent founder of the school, Mr Sheriff Watson, has, at his own expense, hired a garden containing about an acre and a half, for which he pays a rent of L.9, 15s. a-year; and it is believed that from this field of labour no small benefit in many respects will be de

rived.

own maintenance. These appear good docile boys, on a dirty courtyard lumbered up with tubs, an old cart,
rescued, for the present, from a degrading occupation. and a barrel or two of earth containing ore to be analysed.
Some boys who had been inmates of the House of But the room itself was even worse than its situation,
Refuge, but who, according to the determination of and its multifarious contents more difficult to analyse
the committee of management, could not be continued than the ore. It contained in one corner a small dirty
longer, were transferred to the school, by which means bed; and on one side was a book-case, from the dusty
their previous training is continued, and their steadi-top shelf of which, by mounting upon one of the three
ness put to the test. In their case, it is surely of other side stood an antique clock, its face covered with
old crazy chairs, he handed a book down to me. On an-
great importance that the connexion which had been figures and divers circles, emblematic, no doubt, of the
of advantage to them has not been entirely severed; mystic religion of Norway. On the wall were hanging
their continued improvement is confidently looked for. thermometers, barometers, and hydrometers, and every
In conclusion, there cannot be a doubt of the utility other sort of ometer, numberless, dusty, and mysterious;
of the scheme. It has hitherto wrought much more loadstones with weights attached to them: scales, pen-
pleasantly than was anticipated; and while there has dulums, and an endless et cetera. Opposite to these was
been little to discourage, there has been much, very an old bureau full of mineralogical curiosities, among
much, which can be better felt than expressed by those which he showed me an earth previously unknown, which
who come in contact with these poor children, to ani- he had lately discovered, and a crystal not yet observed
mate to still greater exertions for their advantage. by any other person, and such like marvels. All these
Without being over sanguine as to the effects that basins, crucibles, receivers, retorts, bottles of every sort,
were lying in confusion confounded, amidst pots and pans,
may flow from this and similar schemes, looking with shape, and size, and flanked with glasses of every kind
confidence for the Divine blessing, we hesitate not to
and form. His large table, covered with tablets, manu-
believe that the beneficial results will be, ultimately, scripts, and books, cups, funnels, and every denomination
fully commensurate with our largest expectations." of vessels, baffled all description. When I disturbed him,
The following encouraging statement is from the he was engaged in analysing some specimens of minerals;
report of the superintendent of police in Aberdeen but, to my taste, he was by far the most extraordinary
for the year 1841, and was written when the Indus- specimen of all. Fancy a little dirty old man, with blear
trial School had been opened three months :-
eyes, whose face looked as if it had not been washed any
"In the cases of theft for the by-past year, the pro- more than his originally white, now dark brown, night-
perty stolen was, for the most part, of very trifling cap, since his spectacles were made; and the furrow they
value, and consisted principally of small sums of money
had worn upon his nose showed their use had been of
taken from the person, and articles of wearing appa- black plaster was stuck on one temple. He wore a dirty
some years' standing: and to augment his beauty, a huge
rel; and it may be mentioned, that, in many of the shirt crusted with snuff, a gay coloured waistcoat reaching
cases, the offenders were wives who had been deserted
over his hips, a brown coat and trousers far too wide for
by their husbands; boys and girls deserted by their his shrunken shanks, while a pair of immense slippers
parents; and, in many cases, by boys and girls who completed the costume of this subterranean octogenarian,
were known to have been sent out by their parents to or, I may say, Mediterranean prodigy. Despite his rough
beg, and, as is suspected, in many instances, to steal. and unpromising exterior, his manners were not only
During the last three or four months, however, thefts agreeable, but polished; and he very kindly showed me
by these juvenile offenders have been less frequent his collection of minerals, which is valuable and well
than during the previous months of the year; indeed, arranged. He was a pupil of Werner's, and is a man of
I may say that, during the former period, only three considerable talent.-Milford's Norway.
boys, two of whom were previously known to the
police, have been convicted of that crime; and I am
only able to attribute this state of things to the School
of Industry, in connexion with the House of Refuge,
lately established under the superintendence of Mr
Reid. There are upwards of sixty boys at present
attending that institution, from 9 in the morning
until 8 in the evening, a great number of whom, pre-
vious to their being admitted into it, had no visible
means of earning a livelihood, unless by begging or
stealing; and whose parents, from their situation and
habits of life, were unable to render them assistance,
but, on the contrary, sent them out to beg, or at least
under that pretence.

Previous to the opening of this establishment, numerous complaints were made at the watch-house by families in town regarding these young offenders, and on market-days in particular, by country people, as well as the inhabitants, of having had money or other articles stolen from their baskets or persons. These complaints, however, during the period alluded to, have not been so frequent.

In the lately issued Prison Report for Scotland, in which these particulars are enumerated, a statement respecting the progress of the institution is given by its superintendent, Mr Reid, from which we make the following extract:"The number of names on the roll is about sixty, and the average attendants fifty. This state of matters is accounted for, by observing, that attendance is quite voluntary, and that many of those who have been brought forward by the police officers and others, as proper objects of the charity, preferring their old ways, have, after a very limited period It is much to be regretted that a similar establish(say two or three days), left us. Those, however, who ment has not been set on foot for the reception of have continued any time, have in general been most young girls, a number of whom are constantly prowlregular, and their conduct deserves marked approba-ing about the streets, under the pretence of begging, tion. These appear to be making very considerable but who generally avail themselves of every opporprogress in education and good order. To speak defi- tunity to steal. Unless they be secured in some way nitively of the effect of the school scheme from so against bad example and advice, their reformation will short an experiment, seems unadvisable; good, doubt be in a great measure hopeless. less, in various ways has resulted from the means used, but the permanence of the effect produced has yet to be seen. Indeed, it would scarcely be fair to expect, taking all the circumstances into consideration, that a very distinct and lasting impression should be produced by a period of training so brief. It may be mentioned, by way of encouragement, in passing, that of the boys brought forward by the police officers at the opening the school, two have got employment, and two boys, very unpromising in appearance, have continued in attendance during the eight months with the greatest regularity. The one has not been absent a single day, and the other only twice or thrice. The former is a good scholar, attentive and very industrious at work, although very untidy in his habits; in these, too, a slight improvement is apparent; the latter is more backward at his lessons, and more thoughtless in every way, but still, from his steady attendance, improvement in due course may reasonably be expected. A boy, who had been thrice convicted of theft, attended with considerable regularity for six months, and then obtained a small piece of work; but, as his character was very unsettled, it is to be feared that little durable effect can have been produced in As, however, he has gone on hitherto pretty well, it may be hoped good advice has not altogether been thrown away on him.

his case.

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Another boy, who had a very bad character also, when brought forward by the police officers, and who was one of three found pilfering from the school (the only cases known since the commencement), has seemingly become much more steady, and is making improvement in knowledge and good conduct. Two brothers may also be mentioned, who had no means of living but by begging. Nothing bad was known of their character. These boys and their mother appear very grateful for the privileges of the school, by which they are saved the necessity of asking charity from door to door, and are enabled to do a little for their

In addition to the above, it may be stated that no boys were tried at the last circuit, except two, who had been committed before the Industrial School was opened, and that not a single boy has been brought before the sheriff for trial since that period. That the local authorities think the Industrial School serves to diminish crime, is shown by the fact, that the town council have contributed L.20 to it out of the fund used for the prosecution of offenders (called the Rogue Money fund), and by the Commissioners of Police having given 20 guineas out of their funds.”

CONDITION OF WEAVERS IN AMERICA. [From Thomson's Travels of a Tradesman.]

THERE are numerous handloom weavers throughout all these [Western] states, who make a very comfortable living. The way they carry on their work is pretty much the same as that of the country weavers in Scotland, only they have longer webs, and are rather better paid. The kind of work most common is wincey, satinets, and flannel; the latter article is very generally used by the country people for shirts to the men and petticoats to the women. It is always woven white, and the yarn is very good. An ordinary hand with the fly-lay can weave ten or twelve yards easily; the usual price is about sixpence sterling per yard; no allowance for warping or gearing. In the agricultural districts, any man that can do this kind of work may get through the world very easily. Many of the farmers have looms in their own houses; but this is more a matter of necessity than choice, and they consider a weaver in the neighbourhood an acquisition; will help him to build a house, sell him a few acres of land, and take an interest in his success. I have been told by weavers and people about the mills, that a good many leave their places and buyeven sometimes get a few acres of land, and commence in this way.

Emigrants of the handicraft class come crowding to the manufacturing towns and well-known districts, where they frequently cannot get work until their means are expended: besides, they glut the labour market, when other places are in want of them; instead of which, if they would just shut their eyes, and walk twenty miles straight into any ordinary wellsettled district, they would find profitable employment in this and many other ways.

A number of weavers find employment in all the cities and towns, weaving clouty carpets; but this field is pretty well occupied. Still, there are hundreds in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, &c., who make a living in this way.

Mr Hill, the framer of the Report, concludes the I wrought at two carding-mills in Canada, and subject with the following judicious observations:- had twenty dollars a-month in both places, and boarded. "Although the foregoing report cannot be regarded These establishments are of great value to the farmers, as highly satisfactory, and although I am convinced many of whom have looms in their houses, from that such an institution as the Industrial School of which they have a supply of home-made stuffs; and Aberdeen is productive of a large balance of good, it here, too, as in the States, there is a numerous class must not be forgotten, that any institution, which, like of country weavers, who make a very good living, this school, is open only to the destitute, is attended working for the farmers, and cultivating a piece of with danger, and that unless great caution be taken, land for themselves. There was one of these, in the such an establishment may silently be weakening the last-named township, that I used to visit, of whom I motives to industry and providence among the work-shall take particular notice, as he is a fair example of ing-classes, and thereby impairing the general frame- this class of tradesmen. His name was John Kelly, work of society. Parents who have brought children an Irishman: he came out here five years ago, and into existence, whom, from their own idleness, drun- all the knowledge he had of the business was learned kenness, or improvidence, they are unable to maintain, in weaving linen dowlas at a factory near Belfast. and whom they cast as a burden on others, ought, in He had a wife, two children, and five sovereigns my opinion, themselves to be placed in a state of dis- when he arrived in Toronto. He said himself he cipline and restraint, so that the evil may at least be had only thirty shillings, but his wife told me he stopped. But the double object of training neglected had five pounds, and I believed her; besides, he and destitute children aright, and of putting their had some friends to advise and assist him. Now he parents under control, can scarcely be attained in the has a nice little frame house, with a butt and a ben, and present state of the Scottish poor law." a stair leading between the apartments up to a roomy garret, where he has his warping stakes. He has also a cow and a calf, two swine, lots of cocks and hens, four children, with dogs and cats, and all the et ceteras of a thriving household. His loom was in a corner of the apartment they lived in, just beside the fire-place, and all around were heavy bundles of woollen yarn. He

A PROFESSOR OF MINERALOGY AT CHRISTIANIA.
I found the learned gentleman in a low rooni about ten
feet square, at the end of a dark covered way, which was
entered from the street, and across which was a gate
with broken hinges; the window of this apartment looked

unlucky Sisyphus had to push it up again. Now, our
gardener, who cuts up his weeds just in time to let
them sow themselves again, is only a Sisyphus in a small
way; with this difference, however, that he rolls his
stone at his master's expense, and not his own. When
the master complains of the scandalous state of his gar-
den, our horticultural Sisyphus bustles about; exclaims,
"I'll put it all to rights directly, sir;" plies the hoe and
rake, and, presto, the garden is clean, and, in seeming,
what it should be; but the first shower of rain brings up
all the seeds that have been sown, and there is a green
carpet of groundsel, chickweed, and their fellows.
There is no excuse for this sort of mismanagement,
because it costs less to destroy such weeds in the right
way than in the wrong. The plain and obvious rule is to
pull them up as they appear, and while still in the state
of seedlings. Then, every plant that is removed is effec-
tually destroyed, and leaves no young ones behind it.
tinguish them; and if the plan is persevered in, there
Any boy, at half-a-crown a-week, can be taught to dis-
will very soon be nothing for the boy to do. Strict at-
tention must, however, be paid to their thorough extir-
pation when young; it will not do to pull up almost all,
and to leave the remainder to seed; for in that case the
labour has to be all gone over again, just as if a gardening
Sisyphus had been at work.

wrought with the hand-shuttle; his children filled the
pirns, and he taught them to read while at work. He
has four acres of cleared land, plenty of potatoes, oat-
meal, Indian corn, &c. The wife said, such a thing as
wanting provisions for themselves or children never
came into her mind, for John had more work than he
could do; and she would be perfectly happy if she
could just see Ould Ireland once more before she died.
I often thought it a pity that so many of my coun-
trymen, who have been brought up to the weaving
business, should have to labour twelve or sixteen hours
a-day for the privilege of being half-starved, and
brought to a premature grave, when there is such a
wide and continually increasing field open to them
all over Canada and the northern and western states
of the Union; although Lower Canada is probably not
the best place to emigrate to. The condition of the
customer weavers all over the States and Canada is
equal, if not superior, to that of the country weavers
in Scotland some forty years ago, when every one had
a cow and a little bit of land, and when they spent the
long winter evenings as often by the fireside as they
did between what is now appropriately called the
"four stoops o' misery." But although there are as
good prospects for this class of tradesmen, both in the People are hardly aware of the rate at which such a
United States and Canada, as for any other, I feel plant as groundsel increases. A little calculation will
great hesitation in advising any to emigrate; so much make that evident. Each flower-head of the groundsel
depends on individual courage, perseverance, tact, and produces about sixty seeds, furnished with feathery
management. Their previous habits, too, are much wings, whereon to fly from place to place. A very mode-
against their chance of comfort and success, in begin-rate specimen of the plant bears twenty heads capable of
ning a comparatively new mode of life; but the greatest up; therefore, every neglected plant of the groundsel,
producing ripe seeds at the same time, even when cut
difficulty of all is in the want of means. I cannot con-
even if eventually destroyed, fills the soil with twelve
ceive how a weaver, with even a small family, could hundred seeds, every one of which will in all probability
leave this country and commence as a customer weaver
grow. This, however, is a very low computation; and if
in any part of America, unless he could raise some
a single plant, instead of being pulled up, is allowed to
L.30 or L.35 at the least; and where is he to get it? stand and flourish, and scatter its seed abroad upon the
wings of the wind, twelve thousand, or even ten times
twelve thousand, seedlings will be produced; and that is
a pretty considerable stone for a garden Sisyphus to roll
up-hill again. Every precaution should therefore be
taken to prevent one single specimen of the groundsel
producing even its flowers, not to say seeds, in a well-
managed garden.

WEEDS.

[From the "Gardeners' Chronicle."]

Is there any manure that will kill weeds? is a question that is not unfrequently put to us. Will nitrate of soda, or nitrate of ammonia, or guano, or urates? That such questions should be asked proves one thing at least, that there is a general desire to know how to extirpate weeds. We wish we could add, that they also indicate some

acquaintance with the rudiments at least of vegetable

physiology.

Weeds, like other plants, have each their peculiar constitution, prefer certain kinds of food, and perish upon the application of others. We have seen a pound of nitrate of soda administered to a seakale plant without visible effect; half an ounce would probably destroy a rhododendron. Common stable manure is prejudicial to coniferous plants, and in over doses will kill them; an oak feeds greedily upon it. So it is with weeds. Excessive doses of salt will destroy all ordinary vegetation, weeds included, but promote the growth of asparagus in a most remarkable degree, as has been shown by one of our correspondents; thus proving itself to be a poison to one plant and a nutritious food to another. But salt cannot be used in large doses to extirpate weeds generally, because some may imitate the asparagus, and may flourish under its action, and most crops will certainly be destroyed by it. Professor Henslow succeeded in destroying moss and weeds on gravel walks by means of corrosive sublimate, green vitriol, and blue vitriol, especially the last. But corrosive sublimate destroys every living form of vegetation as well as the weeds; and the two sorts of vitriol have no permanent action, encouraging the subsequent growth of many plants, and so promoting the vegetation of weeds rather than destroying it.

In practice, these chemical agents can only be employed for the destruction of weeds in certain special cases, such as the asparagus, which thrives under doses of salt which kill most other plants; or as seakale, which seems to be affected in the same way; or as tobacco, which feeds greedily upon quantities of nitrate of soda which would destroy any ordinary vegetation. In general, we must look to other means for ridding ourselves of troublesome weeds, and we shall find those means in industry and common sense. The two, separate, are good things, but they are better mixed together.

Among the more troublesome weeds are common_annuals, such as chickweed, groundsel, sowthistle, and fat hen. In slovenly gardens they are abundant; in a wellkept garden they are unknown; in neglected places they overrun everything for a time. It is discreditable to a gardener that any one of them should ever be seen upon the premises bigger than a seedling; in that state they must be found, because their seeds are brought from a distance by the air, by manure, and by other means. Yet we do see them, far too often, in full bloom, and in places where better things should be expected. When the slovenly gardener is remonstrated with for their presence, his answer usually is, "Why, I am always hoeing them up; but they breed so fast, that there is no keeping them down." To be sure they do. They were created to produce food for small birds, and an unusual power of reproduction is given them, in order to furnish such creatures with a constant supply of seed. But there is no occasion to make a garden into a bird-farm; the woods and the fields afford ample space for the harvest of our feathered friends. "But," says the slovenly gardener, "I am always hoeing them up; what can I do more than that ?" and this, he thinks, settles the question. If, however, we cast only a glance at the sloven's proceedings, we find those weeds which he is always hoeing up lying on the ground in full flower, ripening there, and scattering all around them a new crop of seedlings; so that the sloven, by his own act, is perpetually renewing his labour. The ancients had a fable of a hero, named Sisyphus, a great freebooter, who, for his misdeeds, was condemned by Pluto to the punishment of pushing to the top of a mountain a large stone, which, as soon as it reached the summit, rolled back into the plain below, whence the

What is true of groundsel is equally true of sowthistle, chickweed, shepherd's-purse, sun-spurge, and the whole race of weeds, whether annual or perennial, multiplied steadily persevered in, will save a large amount of it at by seeds. A little labour, well applied at first, and last, and is the only effectual means that exists of extirpating this large class of plants.

Perennial weeds, which multiply by their creeping stems, or their roots, require special considerations, which we must defer till another opportunity.

water or menaced with danger by fire. His curiosity, which was unbounded, prompted him to hatch different kinds of bird's eggs by the natural warmth of his body: and he afterwards raised the motley brood with all the tenderness of a parent, so that, on visiting him, it was no uncommon thing to see various singing birds perched upon his head, and warbling the artificial notes he had taught them. Naturally possessed of a good constitution and an active mind, his house was the general coffee-room of the village, where the affairs of both church and state were discussed with the utmost freedom. This singular man had acquired by his ingenuity and industry an honourable independence, and died possessed of considerable property. He married about three weeks before his death. From the brief history of James Sandy, we may learn these very instructive lessons, that no difficulties are too great to be overcome by industry and perseverance; and that genius, though it should sometimes miss the by its own fault, to secure competency and respectability. distinction it deserves, will seldom fail in the end, unless

-Perth Courier.

ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK AT STRASBURG.

An astronomical clock, of remarkable ingenuity, has lately been constructed at Strasburg, by a M. Schwilgué. It is composed of three parts, respectively indicating the time of the day, the day of the month and year, and the movements of the constellations. The central moving power, which is another and very exact time-piece, shows on the face the hour and its subdivisions, strikes the hours and the quarters, and puts in motion several curious allegorical figures. The cock-crow, which had been mute since 1789, has been reproduced, and a procession of the apostles takes place daily at noon.

The

calendar shows the months, the days, and the dominical letter, as well as the Catholic calendar, showing every saint's day in the year. The plate or face on which these figures and signs appear, makes one revolution in 365 days for the common, and 366 for the bissextile year, always reproducing the irregularity which takes place three times in every four secular years. The moving fasts and feasts are shown by an extremely ingenious process. On the 31st of December, at midnight, Easterday, and the other moving feasts for the year, appear in the calendar. The third division is the triumph of the artist's skill. A complete orrery, after the Copernican system, is produced. The movements of all the planets, visible to the naked eye, are represented. The earth is shown accompanied by her satellite the moon, which accomplishes her revolution in one month. The different phases of the moon are represented on a different and separate globe. Another globe represents the apparent movement of the heavens, making one revolution in the sidereal day. This movement is subjected to that almost imperceptible power, known by the name of the procession of the equinoxes. The mechanism, besides many other things, shows the apparent movements of the sun and moon with wonderful precision, and for an

ON SEEING A CHILD FALL ASLEEP AMID ITS indefinite period, so that the rising and setting of the

SPORTS.

BY MISS PARDOE.

WEARIED with pleasure! Oh, how deep
Such slumber seems to be-
Thou fairy creature! I could weep
As thus I gaze on thee;

Ay, weep, and with most bitter tears,
Wrung from the spirit's core,
To think that in a few short years
Thou'lt sleep that sleep no more.
Wearied with pleasure! what a sound
To greet a world worn ear!
Can we who tread life's giddy round,
Sleep like the cherub here?
Alas! for us joy's brightest hours
All fever as they fly,

And leave a blight-as sun-struck flowers
Of too much glory die.

Wearied with pleasure! Does the wing
Of angels fan thy brow?
Sweet child, do birds about thee sing,
And blossoms round thee blow?

Is thy calm sleep with gladness rife?
Do stars above thee shine?

Oh, I would give whole years of life
To dream such dreams as thine!

EXTRAORDINARY MECHANIC.

In the town of Alyth, there lived a man of much provincial celebrity, of the name of James Sandy. The originality of genius and eccentricity of character which distinguished this remarkable person have rarely been surpassed. Deprived, at an early age, of his legs, he contrived, by dint of ingenuity, not only to pass his time agreeably, but to render himself a useful member of society. He soon displayed a taste for mechanical pursuits, and contrived, as a workshop for his operations, a sort of circular bed, the sides of which being raised about eighteen inches above the clothes, were employed as a platform for turning-lathes, tables, vices, and for tools of all kinds. His genius for practical mechanics was universal. He was skilled in all sorts of turning, and constructed some very curious lathes, as well as clocks and musical instruments of every description, no less admired for the sweetness of their tone than the elegance of their execution. He excelled, too, in the construction of optical instruments, and made some reflecting telescopes, the specula of which were not inferior to those furnished by the most eminent London artists. He suggested some important improvements in the machinery for spinning flax; and we believe he was the first who made the wooden-jointed snuff-boxes, generally called Laurencekirk boxes, some of which, fabricated by this self-taught artist, were purchased and sent as presents to the Royal family-one, in particular, was returned from Brighton to the maker, with a request to be opened. To James's other endowments, he added an accurate knowledge of drawing and engraving, and in both of these arts produced specimens of the highest excellence. For upwards of fifty years, he quitted his bed only three times, and on these occasions his house was either inundated with

sun, its passage to the meridian, the eclipses of the sun and moon, &c., are all represented on the face of the apparent time in a most ingenious manner.-Newspaper paragraph,

GAMBLING IN MANCHESTER.

In an article in the North of England Magazine for December 1842, pointing out the impropriety of detaining young shop-assistants till a late hour, the following observations are made on the appetite for gambling which prevails among this order of persons:-"There are about 143 houses in Manchester, where public gambling of some sort is carried on; there are three or four men, known to the police, each of whom makes in this town at least L.1000 a-year by betting, and an immense number who, from the same source, add considerably to their income. Those who are fleeced by them, or the 'pigeons,' as they are sportingly and sportively termed, are principally young men who have charge of the property of their employers, and three out of five embezzlers have betting books found on their persons. Now, of 357 persons taken into custody for gambling (and principally young men who have charge of the property of their employers'), not one has received a good education. We might, did the nature of the subject permit, pursue such inquiries further, and prove that, in other departments of vice, with a minute reference to which we will not sully our pages, the educated employés of Manchester are equally conspicuous above their uneducated brethren; from the facts above given, the conclusion, we think, is undeniable, that it is the direct interest of the employer to give to his dependents full opportunity for instruction."

We do not doubt that much petty gambling is caused by lack of education; but as it is notorious that welleducated persons gamble to a greater extent than those in inferior stations, the conclusion of the writer is illogical. To root out the practice, severe police regulations ought to be enforced, and the higher classes should cease to set that example of betting and gambling-at horseraces, for example- by which they systematically corrupt the morals of the humbler orders.

Now issued, price 1s. 6d.,

IN CONNEXION WITH CHAMBERS'S PEOPLE'S EDITIONS,
A TOUR IN SWITZERLAND, IN 1841.

BY W. CHAMBERS.

Also, price 1s. 6d.,

IN CONNEXION WITH CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COUrse,
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. PART II.

BY A. J. D. D'ORSEY, HIGH SCHOOL, GLASGOW.

No communications in prose or verse are wanted. Messrs
Chambers would feel particularly obliged by correspondents at-
tending to this frequently repeated announcement.
LONDON: Published, with permission of the proprietors, by
W. S. ORR, Paternoster Row.

Printed by Bradbury and Evans, Whitefriars,

[graphic]

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF "CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,"

"CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE," &c.

NUMBER 572.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 1843.

THE HELPFUL AND HELPLESS. "OH! if I had but the power-if I were but rich-I would do so much good, I would be so charitable !" is a phrase, if not exactly expressed, very often implied, in the conversation of well-meaning people; and undoubtedly wealth is a possession for the use of which we are accountable in exact proportion to the extended range of action it affords. Still, few individuals are so unhappily placed as not to have in some degree the power of benefiting their fellowcreatures; and as a long list of insignificant items will make up a large sum, so is it astonishing how large an amount of happiness arises from the small charities and trifling kindnesses of life. The sphere may be limited; but for those who really take pleasure in doing "a good turn" to a fellow-creature, the opportunities are innumerable; and despite the dark colours in which some writers love to paint human nature, we believe the proportion who do take such pleasure to be a very large one. "Ah, but there is so much ingratitude in the world!" exclaims some reader; "to be a philanthropist is one of the young dreams' of early life, which we wake from at the touch of the rough teacher-experience. There is so much ingratitude; and even if you do not mind this, your efforts are often in vain, for you cannot help people if they will not help themselves." Exactly so, and herein lies the pith of our argument. Benevolent persons who, lacking judgment, indiscriminately bestow their money or time-the latter often the more generous gift-not only frequently meet with ingratitude, but find their kindest intentions prove abortive. There is little wonder that such results sour the temper, and wither up the best feelings of the heart; and it is to avoid them, as well as to increase the amount of good that would be effected, that, on the one hand, we urge the expediency of helping those who are willing to help themselves, and, on the other, the desirableness, or rather necessity, of the helpless becoming equally helpful.

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In the little town of Sinton lived two ladies, almost equally noted for their charitable and amiable dispositions; and certainly there never beat two warmer hearts, or existed two better-intentioned persons; and yet were they in almost every other attribute very different characters. As the perfect metals come undefiled from the furnace, so are the nobler characters strengthened and purified by the fire of adversity; and so had Margaret Bromley been tried, and not found wanting. To be sure many people would say that a little old maid who told the year she was born, and so allowed the inquisitive to calculate that she was far advanced on the shady side of forty-who retained, save in a soft but lustrous eye, no traces of beauty, and yet called in neither rouge nor false hair to her assistance; and, moreover, had neither high connexions nor a large fortune, must be a very uninteresting person; but we know that there is yet in Sinton many a heart that thrills at the mention of her name, and many an eye that moistens at the recollection of her goodness. Miss Bromley's own history may be told in few words. She had been left a portionless orphan, or dowered only with a good education, and on that was she thrown, when under twenty, for her support; and the next fifteen years of her life she passed as a governess in different families. For the last seven years of that period, however, she had given her affections to one who was in every respect worthy of her, but, unfortunately, he, too, was poor; and when, after long years of patience and toil in a foreign land, he came into the possession of a few thousand pounds, bequeathed to him by a cousin, and hastened to England to claim his bride, his death, only one week before the marriage

was to have taken place, dashed from her the cup of happiness which had lately seemed so brimming. Among his papers, however, a will was found, dictated by tenderness and affection, and rendered doubly prudent by the consciousness he felt that his constitution had suffered from the wear and tear of a hot climate. His lately acquired three hundred a-year thus passed to Miss Bromley, and, in the bereavement of a really widowed heart, she received an independence not only as a consoling proof of his love, but, after long years of suffering and dependence, as a talent for which she must henceforth be accountable. She longed for leisure and retirement, and the opportunity of doing good; and nowhere could she have found them more pleasantly than in the picturesque neighbourhood of Sinton.

Her friend, Mrs Greville, was a widow lady, some few years her junior, who, reared in the lap of affluence, and surrounded for many years with the blessings that affection scatters, had known no real trouble, until deprived, by death, of her husband. She was childless; and by some of those accidents which often befall the most estimable, she had, within a few years, gradually become separated from her dearest associates. Bowed down by an affliction so similar to that of Miss Bromley, and choosing Sinton for a residence from motives very like her own, there is little wonder that the two ladies soon became intimate. At the time, how ever, to which this sketch refers, ten years had poured their healing balm upon the two sorrowing hearts; and though they were allowed to be equally amiable and benevolent, ten years had presented many opportunities of contrasting the schooling of adversity with that of prosperity.

"If I were inclined to be superstitious, my dear friend, I should consider you a very lucky person," said Mrs Greville, as the two ladies were sauntering down one of the green lanes near Sinton, in the "incense breathing" month of May. "Every one you assist or advise," she continued, "seems from that day forward to be successful; while I am constantly discovering that my humble attempts at assistance produce, after all, no good result. Do counsel me, my dear Miss Bromley, how I had better act with regard to the Smiths. I have promised that they shall not want; and though I do not wish it talked about, you know, when I took them from the workhouse, I furnished the cottage for them, clad the mother and children from head to foot, and recommended Smith himself to farmer Wilson, and so procured a regular employment for him. When I returned from my trip to Brighton last month, I suspected, from the appearance of the children, that there was something wrong, but could get no direct answer to my questions; and only yesterday did I find out that Smith lost his situation while I was away; and as nobody in the place would trust them for a loaf of bread, they have been selling the furniture bit by bit, till they are just as

destitute as when I found them in the workhouse." "Why did farmer Wilson discharge him?" asked Miss Bromley.

66

Why, I am sorry to say, I am almost afraid it was from-because he was found tipsy," replied Mrs Greville, in a hesitating tone, almost as if the kind-hearted lady were confessing some offence of her own.

"If I remember rightly," said Miss Bromley, "it was drunkenness that brought him to his former destitute condition?"

"Yes; but I really believed he was quite reformed, or, of course, I would not have recommended him to Wilson."

"Dear Mrs Greville, will you let me tell you where I think you erred?"

PRICE 1d.

"Pray do, for I only wish I knew how to do as much good as yourself."

"Well, then, I must tell you that you were wrong in surrounding Smith and his family all at once with the comforts of which his own faults had deprived him. It would have been wiser to have, in the first place, ascertained whether he was willing to help himself properly, if put in the right track; and at least to have bestowed assistance by degrees, and made him feel that continued aid depended on his own good conduct. Things too easily obtained are little prized; and I think you were wrong in recommending him to Wilson, until the certainty of his reformation had been tried by exposure to temptation."

"That is what pains me. I feel that, in trying to serve Smith, I have injured the honest farmer. And yet, Miss Bromley, only last year you saved from destruction that poor Williams who had actually been confined in the penitentiary for some petty theft."

"True; but though the offence seems greater, and the consequences were more dangerous, yet, in my humble opinion, the cases bear no comparison." "Why not?"

"In the first place, I ascertained that, before the offence for which he was punished, he had borne an excellent character, and that the bread he stole was literally to save a young wife and her infant from starvation. It appeared to me precisely the case in which a helping hand should be stretched forth to reclaim the offender. Yet I acted very cautiously. I first found him some trifling employment in the garden, paying him but a very trifle for his services; yet I remarked that he was early and late at his work, assiduous to please, and grateful even for the poor earnings, which yet kept actual starvation from his door.

I next admitted him occasionally into the house, leaving little articles of plate or of small value, unprotected by lock and key; and when this state of things had lasted for a few weeks, I chose him to be the bearer of my watch, the spring of which I had broken, to W, where I had it repaired. I shall never forget the morning I intrusted him with this commission. While I was giving him the message he was to deliver, the tears sprang to his eyes, though he checked rather than made any parade of his emotion; and when he wiped them away with his rough sleeve, and murmured in a husky voice, God bless you, ma'am,' I felt certain that he was not only thankful for the confidence I placed in him, but that he understood the value of it the better from having won it by degrees; and that he had recovered in some degree that proper feeling of self respect, which is no mean aid in keeping people from crime or error. In short, before I procured Williams the situation of trust he now fills, I assured myself, as far as human reason could be assured, that he was worthy of confidence, and willing to help himself; and by leading an honest and industrious life for the future, make the best atonement for the past. But here I am at home; do walk in, dear Mrs Greville, and see some finery I received yesterday from London."

The "finery" consisted in dresses, bonnets, and other articles of ladies' attire, which, according to her request, a friend of Miss Bromley's had selected for her; and with kind thoughtfulness, several paper patterns of new-fashioned capes, sleeves, &c., which Miss Bromley had not ordered, were packed up also. In a little outof-the-way country place, this was quite a valuable acquisition; and the possessor, with her usual kind consideration, had bethought her that the new patterns would be of great service to a certain Mary Allan, who was endeavouring to establish herself, and support her mother, as a humble village dress-maker.

Accordingly she had been sent for, and Mary was awaiting Miss Bromley's return home, when the two ladies entered the house. Her pretty face sparkled with pleasure and animation as the all-important papers were unrolled; but just as, with much dexterity, she was on the point of cutting their precise shapes, it occurred to Mrs Greville that she should very much like to have them herself, as she had a workwoman at home making up some summer dresses, and she thought she might just as well have them made in the fashion as not. Perhaps Mary Allan, in her heart of hearts, was not quite pleased to think that a rival should also have the advantage of the new patterns; but her good sense reminded her that they were given to herself only by an act of kind condescension, and she cut the paper double without any visible signs of regret. When this was done, however, a difficulty beset her, for two or three of the patterns were very complicated, and she could not understand how they were to be put together; a certain sleeve, especially, on which was written "very pretty" as if to make the case more vexatious and tantalising-baffled her comprehension completely. Still, she was not daunted, but packed up her treasures, with hearty and sincere thanks to Miss Bromley for her acceptable gift.

simple too; do look how lovely this sleeve is!" and
continuing with all the enthusiasm of a modiste to in-
dulge in strong terms of panegyric, she removed from
portant sleeves and capes made up in some cheap
their imposing situation at the window the all-im-
material. No wonder Miss Bromley had failed to
recognise the results of her gift; though these appen-
dages, suspended by almost invisible twine within the
bright little window, which never before had been
graced by anything but a white curtain, produced the
change in the exterior of the cottage which Miss
Bromley had noticed, without being able to define in
what it consisted.

"You see, ma'am, the mistake was in thinking this
was the front, though it really looked so in the flat
paper pattern. Seven times did I put it together,
making some alteration every time, but always finding
something more like a bag than a sleeve, before I
thought of twisting it round; but then I had got the
top wrong; however, I persevered, for I was deter-
mined to try every possible way. I think that it was
the twelfth or thirteenth time that I made it as you
see, and I am sure it is right, it is so beautiful. I wish
I could remember whether it was the twelfth or
thirteenth, for I am sure it was a lucky number."
founded," said the lady, with a smile. Mary blushed
"Merited success and luck, Mary, are sometimes con-
at the implied praise, and Miss Bromley continued
«You must have worked very hard; when did you
find out the right method?"

"Mother, I was afraid of forgetting," interrupted Mary, as if rather ashamed of her own perseverance; "besides, I thought it would be a great thing to have the patterns in the window to-day, because, as Miss Gibbons also"- and here the young sempstress stopped abruptly, fearful that she had said something which might offend. Miss Bromley, however, had too much sense to misconstrue her words, and good naturedly supplied their meaning, saying, with a smile, "The truth is, you were afraid Miss Gibbons should be beforehand with you-was it not so ?"

The next day Miss Bromley paid Mrs Greville a "She has scarcely been in bed at all, ma'am," said visit, and in her turn was shown some recent pur- Mary's mother, who had hitherto remained silent, chases of the latter. "Miss Gibbons, dress-maker," but who had stood listening with a sort of tearful as she styled herself on the brass plate which orna-pleasure; "it was late last night before she succeeded; mented her door, "not being," as she said, "very and notwithstanding my intreaties that she would busy just then," had condescended to come to Mrs take proper rest, she was up again at four o'clock this Greville's house to make the dresses, instead of work- morning." ing at home. It was quite true that she was "not busy," for, somehow or other, she had latterly failed in giving her employers perfect satisfaction. It was not that they found any great and prominent faults with her, but the truth was, she was more prone to be satisfied with, and adhere to her own notions of things, than follow out the wishes of her patronesses. She referred everything to the "time when she was apprenticed," and instead of cheerfully striving to keep up with those changes of fashion which she could not, in her humble sphere, control, either from indolence, or a dogged self-sufficiency, she had fallen sadly behind in the race; and dress-making is not by any means the humblest occupation - though, from its peculiar subjection to change, it is well suited for the illustration of the fact-in which, in an age essentially progressive, constant watchfulness, and an active spirit prepared to advance, are necessary to maintain a fortunate position, even if it be once achieved. The portals to every arena are thronged with eager aspirants, ready to rush in and take the place of the faltering; and many there are who are made painfully conscious of this truth, although they do not perhaps pause to reason on cause and effect.

"After all, I have been obliged to have the old make," said Mrs Greville, in a slight tone of regret; Miss Gibbons could not understand the pattern at all."

"But you have been in a sad hurry about it, my friend," exclaimed Miss Bromley, who saw, at a glance, that, from the advanced state in which the new dress was, that very little time could have been spent in trying to overcome the difficulty: "perhaps Mary Allan could have assisted you, for she is very persevering, and if she should have succeeded in finding out what seems such a riddle, I am sure she is good natured enough to tell you; at least I think," continued Miss Bromley, after a pause, and then broke off abruptly, for she did not feel quite sure that, under all the circumstances, she had a right to demand, even if Mary had the power to grant it, such a concession to her rival. Miss Gibbons, however, had no idea that this could possibly be the case, for she replied in a manner that, considering all things, might have been a little more respectful. "It is not very likely, ma'am, that Mary Allan should understand those Frenchified patterns; for you know she never regularly served her time, and the little she has learnt he has picked up nobody can tell how."

It was precisely because Mary had the habit of picking up" information, and making good use of it hen acquired, that Miss Bromley had a strong hope e would overcome the present difficulty; and as, on er return home, she must pass the door of her progé, she determined to call and inquire. It was not il after she had entered the cottage, that Miss Bromley scovered what it was that had made the exterior ear a strange appearance, but she felt there was mething to which her eye was unaccustomed. The antily-furnished room in which the lady found herIf was scrupulously clean, and perfectly neat, save

in that sort of litter which more or less must accompany the handicraft of the sempstress, though Mary seemed recently to have finished some employment, instead of being at that moment occupied. She looked rather paler than usual; and her hair, which commonly fell in two or three curls from under her neat cap, was braided straight across her forehead; nevertheless, her face lighted up when she recognised Miss Bromley, and it did not seem to have been either sickness or sorrow which had paled her cheek. "Oh, ma'am," exclaimed Mary, "I was just coming to your house, to show you the beautiful patternsthey are so beautiful, now they are made up; and so

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Yes, Miss Bromley, that is the real truth; not that I wish to injure hier, but I have nothing to look to but my own industry, and I must do the best I can for myself; indeed, ma'am, I think you wished to be of service to me when you sent for me yesterday."

"You are quite right, and I must commend you for your exertions. I am afraid, however, you are tempting me to a piece of extravagance, for I really must have another new dress, if only for the sake of wearing your beautiful sleeve. I am going to spend Friday evening with some friends; if I purchase the material to-day, can you make me a dress by then?"

lazily before it. As Puss seemed to be well taken care of, it is probable her mistresses were able to take care of themselves; in short, that they were prosverous, as the industrious deserve to be.

The pleasing consequences of well-directed industry which have been exemplified in the preceding sketch, may be taken to heart by all who are seeking the path to competence. It is clear that success, though often promoted or retarded by adventitious circumstances, is, in the long run, chiefly dependent on circumstances under one's own control. How impossible it is to assist beneficially those who take little pains to help themselves, is painfully evident to many who almost may be said to spend a fortune in the exercise of a boundless philanthropy. The very assistance which we afford is often calculated to make the helplessness more fixed and ineradicable. Either incompetent or unwilling to think and act determinedly for themselves, they fondly cling to all sorts of aid held out to them, and, if left but for a short period to their own resources, are full of complaints that friends do so little when they could do so much for them. While, therefore, to many, all that is done in a spirit of benevolence seems to be little better than thrown away, the amount of good is quite incalculable which often results from a slight but timely aid to those who are eager and ready to make stepping-stones of the opportunities which present themselves. These mount to fame, honour, fortune, or competence, as the path or their own powers may lead; while the former remain at or near the starting-place. To the benevolent mind, it is the highest pleasure to do good to others; but in the one case, the kind and charitable seem to sink capital-in the other, to make a lucrative investment. We cannot wonder that the wise prefer helping those who are willing to help themselves.

"RURAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE IN GERMANY."*

THE indefatigable William Howitt, husband of our amiable and gifted friend Mrs Mary Howitt, has presented to the world a new and goodly specimen of his literary industry, in the form of the elegant volume whose title heads the present article. Resident for some years at Heidelberg with his family, and occasionally making excursions into southern and northern Germany, Mr Howitt has been afforded ample means for investigating the national manners of the great Teutonic family of central Europe, and of picking up characteristic sketches of its cities and its scenery. Germany has been so frequently written about, that to many the subject may seem hacknied; but innumerable points of an exceedingly pleasing and instructive kind, as it is now seen, have remained to be gathered, and we can conscientiously say, that a more agreeable book of fire-side gossip than that of Mr Howitt, has not appeared during the present season.

But such books as these effect, beyond their Of course a grateful promise was given, and the amusing qualities, higher objects. By affording an kind-hearted lady selected a dress on her road home. intimate insight into the domestic state of foreigners, We are afraid she had reason to plead guilty to the they furnish tests by which to compare our own social charge of extravagance, inasmuch as she stood in no condition. Every-day habit blinds us to the defects, need of a new dress; but it occurred to her that she and causes us to undervalue the benefits, of our native could not more appropriately assist Mary Allan, and social manners. Such works are as mirrors in which reward her perseverance, than by giving her the opwe see our own features reflected by the side of those portunity of displaying her skill. The event proved of another people, with whose help we can perceive, her judgment, and was even more fortunate for Mary by comparison, our own deformities or excellences. than her patroness could have expected. The com- Nor do books of this kind give-like some of higher pany who composed the tea-party she graced with pretension-distorted views of what they pretend to her presence, were quite astonished at the stylish reflect. The man who goes to a country, and places appearance of the usually plainly-dressed little old himself for two or three years in continual intercourse maid; for a decidedly new mode in a lady's dress, with its people who eats, drinks, talks, lodges, barparticularly if it be graceful and becoming, strikes gains, and enters into amusements with them; and the eye very forcibly, and often gives an air of then gives a faithful and plain account of what he has fashion, although the fabric may not be costly. The scen and heard, and will keep his own opinions as few strangers who were in the room admired in much as possible in the back-ground-is, of all others, silence, but her intimate acquaintances ventured the person to write a useful and instructive book on openly to express their approbation, and to inquire of foreign countries. The present is essentially a work Miss Bromley the name of her dress-maker. Briefly, of this class, and for faithful delineation, may be placed then, to shorten a long, and perhaps a trifling, story, alongside Lane's "Modern Egyptians," Davis's "ChiMary Allan obtained two fresh employers from the nese," and Kohl's "Russia," all of which give a clear, admiration bestowed on Miss Bromley's dress, who, because plain and unsophisticated account, of what on her part, felt quite repaid by such a result, for the authors saw and experienced. This it is which having submitted for a whole evening to be "the ob-creates the charm of Mr Howitt's sketches of German served of all observers."

A scene which might have been witnessed late in the autumn of that year, will perhaps afford some clue to Mary Allan's future fortunes. She and her mother had formerly occupied but two rooms (the cottage consisted of four); now, however, the whole was at their disposal. One room was exclusively used as, and called the work-room; and on the present occasion, Mary being extremely busy, Miss Gibbons had been engaged to assist her. Whatever feeling of rivalry had once existed, it was now apparently over; for though it is probable that Miss Gibbons never forgot that Mary had once condescended to be her assistant, she now quietly submitted to receive instructions from her, and execute the work under her direction. Certainly she often felt astonished at the daring manner in which the inexperienced Mary slashed the rich silks and satins with which she was now not unfrequently intrusted; nay, she had even had "a wedding outfit," a lucky hit, as Miss Gibbons remarked, which had never fallen to her own lot. Altogether, the cottage was pervaded by an air of comfort which is more easily felt than described. The fire burnt brightly, and a sleek well-fed cat purred

life. Upon every page truth is legibly stamped, and, lest the reader or the writer himself may be led away from it, even unintentionally, the first chapter commences with an essay on a principal source of error. This should be perused not only by every writer, but by every reader of travels. It is entitled,

FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

"It is only in the first moments in which you witness something which is entirely new to you, that you feel that novelty in all its vividness, and perceive really how widely divided is the nature and aspect of what you then contemplate from the objects of your former knowledge. Every hour that you continue to regard what strikes you with its newness, carries off that newness, and your impressions fade and bedim themselves in proportion. You are soon surprised to find how little there is to surprise you; how familiar all about you is become, as if you had conversed with it all your life. This is especially the case in regard

* Rural and Domestic Life in Germany. By William Howitt. 1 vol. 8vo. Embellished with wood engravings. London: Longman and Co. 1842.

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