CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL

 CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE, ' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE, ' &c. 

 No. 460. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d. _

PRESERVED MEATS AND MEAT-BISCUITS. 

The many-headed public look out for 'nine days' wonders, ' and speedilyallow one wonder to obliterate the remembrance of that which precededit. So it is with all newspaper topics, and so it has been in respectto the preserved-meat question. We all know how great was theexcitement at the commencement of the present year on this matter. Ships' accounts overhauled; arctic stores re-examined; canistersopened and rejected; contracts inquired into; statements andcounter-statements published; questionings of Admiralty officials inthe two Houses of Parliament; reports published by committees;recommendations offered for future guidance; descriptions of thepreserving processes at different establishments: all went the roundof the newspapers, and then the topic was forgotten. It deserves to beheld in remembrance, however, for the subject-matter is reallyimportant and valuable, in respect not only to the stores forshipping, but to the provisioning of large or small bodies of menunder various exceptional circumstances. 

A few of the simple laws of organic chemistry suffice to account forthe speedy decay of dead animal substances, and for the methodswhereby this decay is retarded or prevented. In organised substances, the chemical atoms combine in a very complex but unstable way; severalsuch atoms group together to form a proximate principle, such asgluten, albumen, fibrin, &c. ; and several of these combine to form acomplete organic substance. The chemical rank-and-file, so to speak, form a battalion, and two or more battalions form the chemical army. But it is a law in chemistry, that the more complex a substancebecomes, the less stable is its constitution, or the sooner is itaffected by disturbing influences. Hence organic substances are morereadily decomposed than inorganic. How striking, for instance, are thechanges easily wrought in a few grains of barley! They contain a kindof starch or fecula; this starch, in the process of malting, becomesconverted into a kind of sugar; and from this malt-sugar ortransformed starch, may be obtained ale or beer, gin or whisky, andvinegar, by various processes of fermenting and distilling. Thecomplex substance breaks up through very slight causes, and the simpleelements readjust themselves into new groupings. The same occurs inanimal as in vegetable substances, but still more rapidly, as theformer are more intricate in composition than the latter, and are heldtogether by a weaker tie. 

What the 'vital principle' may be, neither chemists nor physiologistscan tell us with any great degree of clearness; but it is this vitalprinciple, whatever it may be, which prevents decay in a livingorganic substance, however complex. When life departs, the onslaughtbegins; the defender has been removed, and a number of assailants maketheir appearance. _Air_, _heat_, and _moisture_ are the principal ofthese; they attack the dead organism, and gradually convert it intowholly different and inorganic compounds, such as water, carbonicacid, ammonia, phosphuretted hydrogen, and many others. What, then, would result if these disturbers could be warded off, one or all? Itis now pretty well ascertained, that if any one of the three--air, heat, moisture--be absent, the decay is either greatly retarded orindefinitely postponed; and we shall find that in all antiseptic orpreserving processes, the fundamental principle has simply such anobject in view. 

Sometimes the operation of natural causes leads to the preservation ofdead animal substances for a great length of time, by excluding oneout of the above three disturbing influences. If heat be so deficientthat the animal juices become wholly frozen up, the substance isalmost proof against decay. Thus, about seventy years ago, a hugeanimal was found imbedded in the ice in Siberia: from a comparison ofits skeleton with those of existing species, Cuvier inferred that thisanimal must have been antediluvian; and yet, so completely had thecold prevented putrefaction, that dogs willingly ate of the stillexisting flesh. At St Petersburg, when winter is approaching, the fishin the markets become almost like blocks of ice, so completely arethey frozen; and in this state they will remain sound for a lengthenedperiod. Dead poultry, and other articles of animal food, are similarlykept fresh throughout the winter in many rigorous climates, simply bythe powerlessness of the attacking agents, when heat is not one of thenumber. And that which nature effects on a large scale, may reasonablybe imitated by man on a more limited one. It is customary to pack manykinds of provisions in ice or snow, either for keeping them instorehouses, or for sending them to market. Thus it is with the tubsof poultry, of veal, and of other kinds of meat, which, killed in thecountry districts of Russia in autumn, are packed in snow to keep cooltill sold at market; and thus it is with much of the salmon sent fromScotland to London. Since the supply of excellent ice from WenhamLake, commenced about nineteen years ago, has become so abundant andso cheap, it is worth a thought whether the preservative powers ofcold might not advantageously be made more available in this countrythan they have yet been. In the United States, housewives use veryconvenient refrigerators or ice-boxes, provided with perforatedshelves, under which ice is set, and upon which various provisionsare placed: a large uncooked joint of meat is sometimes kept in one ofthese boxes for weeks. Among the celebrities of the Crystal Palace, many will recollect Masters's elegant ice-making machine, in which, bycombining chemical action with centrifugal motion, ice can be made ina few minutes, let the heat of the weather be what it may. Thismachine, and the portable refrigerators manufactured by the WenhamCompany, together with our familiar, old-fashioned ice-houses, mightsupply us with much more preservative power, in respect to articles offood, than we have hitherto practically adopted. 

If, instead of watching the effects produced by abstraction of _heat_, we direct attention to the abstraction of _moisture_, we shall findthat antiseptic or preservative results are easily obtainable. Allkinds of bacon and smoked meats belong to the class here indicated. The watery particles are nearly or quite driven out from the meat, andthus one of the three decomposing agents is rendered of no effect. Insome cases, the drying is not sufficient to produce the result, without the aid of the remarkable antiseptic properties of salt;because decomposition may commence before the moisture is quiteexpelled. In many parts of the country, hams are hung within awide-spreading chimney, over or near a turf-fire, and where a freecurrent of air, as well as a warm temperature, may act upon them; butthe juices become dissipated by this rude process. Simple drying, without the addition of salt or any condiment, is perhaps moreeffectual with vegetable than with animal substances. 

But it is under the third point of view that the preservative processis more important and interesting, inasmuch as it admits of a far moreextensive application. We speak of the abstraction of _air_. Atmospheric air affects dead organic matter chiefly through the agencyof the oxygen which forms one of its constituents; and it isprincipally to insure the expulsion of oxygen that air is excluded. The examples which illustrate the resulting effects are numerous andvaried. Eggs have been varnished so as to exclude air, and haveretained the vital principle in the chick for years; and it is afamiliar domestic practice, to butter the outside of eggs as a meansof keeping them. The canisters of preserved provisions, however, arethe most direct and valuable result of the antiseptic action byexclusion of air. The Exhibition Jury on Class 3, in their Report onthis subject, speak thus warmly thereupon:--'It is impossible tooverestimate the importance of these preparations. The invention ofthe process by which animal and vegetable food is preserved in a freshand sweet state for an indefinite period, has only been appliedpractically during the last twenty-five years, and is intimatelyconnected with the annals of arctic discovery. The active measurestaken to discover a north-west passage, and to prosecute scientificresearch, in all but inaccessible regions, first created a demand forthis sort of food; and the Admiralty stimulated the manufacturers togreat perfection in the art. As soon as the value of thesepreparations in cold climates became generally admitted, their use wasextended to hot ones, and for the sick on board ship under allcircumstances. Hitherto they had been employed only as a substitutefor salt beef or pork at sea, and if eaten on shore, it was at firstas a curiosity merely. Their utility in hot climates, however, speedily became evident; especially in India, where European familiesare scattered, and where, consequently, on the slaughter of a largeanimal, more is wasted than can be consumed by a family of theordinary number. '

Whatever improvements may have been introduced by later manufacturers, the principle involved in the meat-preserving processes is nearly asM. Appert established it forty years ago. His plan consisted inremoving the bones from the meat; boiling it to nearly as great adegree as if intended for immediate consumption; putting it into jars;filling up the jars completely with a broth or jelly prepared fromportions of the same meat; corking the jars closely; incasing thecorks with a luting formed of quicksilver and cheese; placing thecorked jars in a boiler of cold water; boiling the water and itscontents for an hour; and then allowing the cooling process tosupervene very gradually. 

Until the recent disclosures concerning the preserved meats in thegovernment depôts, the extent of the manufacture, or ratherpreparation, was very little known to the general public. In the lastweek of 1851, an examination, consequent on certain suspicions whichhad been entertained, was commenced at the victualling establishmentat Gosport. The canisters--for since Appert's time stone jars havebeen generally superseded by tin canisters--contain on an averageabout 10 pounds each; and out of 643 of these which were opened on thefirst day's examination, no fewer than 573 were condemned as beingutterly unfit for food. On the next day, 734 were condemned out of779; and by the fourth day, the number examined had risen to 2707, ofwhich only 197 were deemed fit for food. Such wretched offal had beenpacked in the canisters, instead of good meat, that the stench arisingfrom the decomposing mass was most revolting; the examiners werecompelled to use Sir William Burnett's disinfecting fluid abundantly, and even to suspend their labours for two or three days under fear ofinfection. The canisters formed part of a supply sent in by acontractor in November 1850, under a warrant that the contents wouldremain good for five years; the filling of the canisters wasunderstood to have been effected at Galatz, in Moldavia, but thecontractor was in England. The supply amounted to 6000 canisters, allof which had to be examined, and out of which only a few hundred werefound to contain substances fit for food. Instead of good meat, or inaddition to a small quantity of good meat, the examiners found lung, liver, heart, tongue, kidney, tendon, ligament, palate, fat, tallow, coagulated blood, and even a piece of leather--all in a state of suchloathsome putridity as to render the office of the examiners aterrible one. 

Of course nothing can be predicated from such atrocities as theseagainst the wholesomeness of preserved food; they prove only thenecessity of caution in making the government contracts, and inaccepting the supplies. The Admiralty shewed, during subsequentdiscussions, that large supplies had been received from variousquarters for several years, for use on shipboard in long voyages andon arctic expeditions; that these had turned out well; and that thecontractor who was disgraced in the present instance, was among thosewho had before fulfilled his contracts properly. Fortunately, there isno evidence that serious evil had resulted from the supply of thecanisters to ships; the discovery was made in time to serve as auseful lesson in future to government officials and to unprincipledcontractors. 

The jury report before adverted to, points out how cheap andeconomical these preserved meats really are, from the circumstance, that all that is eatable is so well brought into use. It is affirmedby the manufacturers, that meat in this form supplies troops and shipswith a cheaper animal diet than salt provisions, by avoiding theexpense of casks, leakage, brine, bone, shrinkage, stowage, &c. , whichare all heavy items, and entail great waste and expenditure; and by acanister of the former being so much smaller than a cask of thelatter, in the event of one bad piece of meat tainting the wholecontents. The contents of all the cases, when opened, are found tohave lost much of the freshness in taste and flavour peculiar tonewly-killed meat; they are always soft, and eat as if overdone. As amatter of choice, therefore, few or no persons would prefer meat inthis state to the ordinary unpacked and recently-cooked state. But theimportant fact to bear in mind is, that the nutritious principles arepreserved; as nutriment, they are unexceptionable, and they are oftenpleasantly seasoned and flavoured. 

In the ordinary processes of preparation, as carried on in London andother places, the tin canisters have a minute hole, through which theair may be expelled, while the meat is simmering or boiling within;and in the case of poultry being preserved whole, extra precautionsare necessary, to insure the expulsion of the air from the hollowbones of the birds. Soups are more easily prepared than solid meat, onaccount of the greater facility for getting rid of the confined air. The minute air-hole in the canister is soldered down when the processis completed. 

M. Alexis Soyer, who has a notoriety in London as the prince of cooks, and a very ingenious man--a sort of Paxton of the kitchen--wrote tothe daily journals, about the time of the disclosure at Gosport, tooffer a few suggestions. He said: 'No canister ought to contain morethan about six pounds of meat, the same to be very slightly seasonedwith bay-salt, pepper, and aromatic herbs in powder, such as bay-thymeand bay-leaf, a small quantity of which would not be objectionableeven for invalids. No jelly should be added to the meat; the meat, andthe meat alone, should produce its own jelly. With the bones andtrimmings of the above, a good _stock_ should be made withoutvegetables, well reduced and skimmed, to form a very strongtransparent demi-glaze; six-pound canisters should be filled with thesame, bearing a special mark, and one of these allowed to every dozenof the others. This demi-glaze, when diluted in water, would make sixgallons of very good broth, with which any kind of soup could be madein a very short time. ' He also points out how the condition of thepreserved meat may be guessed by the external appearance of thecanister. If either the top or bottom of the canister be convex, likethe upper surface of a watch-glass, the contents are in a state ofdecomposition; the bulging being occasioned by the gases generatedduring the chemical changes. If the contents of the canister be sound, the top and bottom will be either quite flat, or slightly concave. 

The Jury on Food, at the Great Exhibition, had quite an _embarras desrichesses_; they were surrounded by hundreds of canisters of preservedprovisions, all of which they were invited to open and taste. Theysay, or their reporter says, that the merits of the contributions'were tested by a selection from each; the cases were opened in thepresence of the jury, and tasted by themselves, and, where advisable, by associates. The majority are of English manufacture, especially themore substantial viands; France and Germany exhibiting chieflymade-dishes, game, and delicacies--of meat, fish, soups, andvegetables. ' It is an important fact for our colonies, that viands ofthis description are as well prepared in Australia, Van Diemen's Land, Canada, and the Cape of Good Hope, as in the mother-country. 'Animalfood is most abundant and cheap in some of those colonies. InAustralia, especially, during seasons of drought, it is wasted inextraordinary quantities; flocks are slaughtered for the tallow alone, and herds, for their bones and hides. Were the meat on these occasionspreserved, it cannot be doubted that it could be imported intoEngland, and sold at a cheaper rate than fresh meat in ourmetropolitan markets, to the great benefit of the lower-classes. ' Thisis a statement well worth being borne in mind by some of those who areat present dazzled with gold-digging wonders. 

In respect to the preserved meats at the Great Exhibition, many weremerely cured or dried meats. From Canada, for instance, they comprisedhams, bacon, tongues, and barrels of beef and pork. Among themiscellaneous contributions were grated beef, canisters of freshsalmon, 'admirable boiled mutton in tin cases, ' dried mullets, '_mouton rôti_, ' fish, meats preserved in a fresh state by simpledrying--on a plan practised in Switzerland--and preserved larks. Notthe least remarkable was a preserved _pig_, which reclined in all itsglory on the floor of the south-west gallery, and was a successfulexample of curing on a large scale. Still more striking than this, wasthe large partridge-pie, placed somewhat out of general notice in the'Netherlands' department; a formidable pie it truly was, for itcontained 150 partridges, with truffles, and weighed 250 pounds: ithad been made a year before it was forwarded to London. But among thecontributions more immediately relating to our present subject, may bementioned those of Mr Gamble, which comprised, among others, acanister of preserved boiled mutton, which had been prepared for thearctic expedition in 1824; many such canisters were landed at FuryBeach in Prince Regent's Inlet; they were found by Sir John Ross atthat spot in 1833 in a perfect state, and again by Sir James Ross in1849, the meat being as sweet and wholesome as when prepared a quarterof a century before. 

The range of these preserving processes is singularly wide and varied. If we take the trade-list of one of the manufacturers, such as that ofMessrs Hogarth of Aberdeen, and glance through it, we shall find ampleevidence of this. There are nearly twenty kinds of soups selling atabout 2s. Per quart-canister. There is the concentrated essence ofbeef, much more expensive, because containing the nutriment of so muchmore meat; and there are, for invalids, concentrated broths ofintermediate price. There are about a dozen kinds of fish, some freshand some dried. There are various kinds of poultry, roast and boiled;hare, roast and jugged; and venison, hashed and minced. There arebeef, veal, and mutton, all dressed in various ways, and some havingthe requisite vegetables canistered with them, at prices varying froml0d. To 15d. Per pound. There are tongues, hams, bacon, kidneys, tripe, and marrow; and there are cream, milk, and marmalade. Lastly, there are such vegetables as peas, beans, carrots, turnips, cabbage, and beet, at 6d. To 1s. Per pound-canister. The canisters for allthese various provisions contain from one pound to six pounds each. Itwas Messrs Hogarth, we believe, who supplied the preserved meats andvegetables to the arctic ships under Sir E. Belcher which sailed inthe spring of 1852. 

M. Brocchière, a French manufacturer, has lately extended theseeconomical processes so far, as to attempt to produce concentratedfood from the blood of cattle. He dries up the liquid or serousportions of the blood, and forms into a cake, with admixture of othersubstances, the coagulable portion, which contains fibrin, the sourceof flesh and muscle. Unless a more delicate name could be given tothis preparation, prejudice would have some influence in depriving itof the chance of fair play. The dry blood is in some cases combinedwith a small portion of flour, and made into light dry masses, likeloaves or cakes, to be used as the basis of soups; while in othercases it is combined with sugar, to make sweet biscuits and bon-bons. Another kind of preserved animal fluid is the _ozmazome_, prepared byMessrs Warriner and Soyer. This consists of the nutritious matter orjuice of meat, set free during the operation of boiling down fat fortallow in Australia; it is afterwards concentrated, and preserved inthe form of sausages. A great amount of nutriment is thus obtained ina portable form; when boiled with gelatine, it forms a palatable diet, and it is also used to form a gravy for meat. 

Masson's method of preserving vegetables seems to be very effective, as applied to white and red cabbages, turnips, Brussels sprouts, andsuch like. The process, as conducted in France, is very simple. Thevegetables are dried at a certain temperature (104 to 118 degreesFahrenheit), sufficient to expel the moisture without imparting aburnt taste; and in this operation they lose nearly seven-eighths oftheir original weight. The vegetables are then pressed forcibly intothe form of cakes, and are kept in tinfoil till required for use. These vegetables require, when about to be eaten, rather more boilingthan those in the ordinary state. Some of the French ships of war aresupplied with them, much to the satisfaction of the crews. Dr Lindleyhas stated, on the authority of a distinguished officer in theantarctic expedition under Sir James Ross, that although all thepreserved meats used on that occasion were excellent, and there wasnot the slightest ground for any complaint of their quality, the crewbecame tired of the meat, but never of the vegetables. 'This shouldshew us, ' says Dr Lindley, 'that it is not sufficient to supply ships'crews with preserved meats, but that they should be supplied withvegetables also, the means of doing which is now afforded. ' Generallyspeaking, the flavour of preserved vegetables, whether prepared onMasson's or on any other process, is fresher than that of themeats--especially in the case of those which abound in the saccharineprinciple, as beet, carrot, turnips, &c. The more farinaceousvegetables, such as green peas, do not preserve so well. 

One of the most remarkable, and perhaps valuable recent introductions, in respect to preserved food, is the American _meat--biscuit_, prepared by Mr Borden. A _biscuit-beef_ is prepared by a Frenchman, M. Du Liscoet, resembling an ordinary coarse ship-biscuit; but this issaid to have 'an animal, salt, and not very agreeable taste. ' TheAmerican meat-biscuit, however, is prepared in a way which renders itsqualities easily intelligible. It contains in a concentrated form allthe nutriment of meat, combined with flour. The best wheaten flour isemployed, with the nutriment of the best beef, and the result ispresented for use as food in the form of a dry, inodorous, flat, brittle cake, which will keep when dry for an unlimited period. Whenrequired for use, it is dissolved in hot water, boiled, and seasonedat pleasure, forming a soup about the consistence of sago. One poundof the biscuit contains the nutritive matter--fat excepted--of fivepounds of prime beef, mixed with half a pound of wheaten flour. Oneounce of the biscuit, grated and boiled in a pint of water, sufficesto form the soup. It can also be used in puddings and sauces. Themanufacture of the meat-biscuit is located at Galveston, in Texas, which abounds in excellent cattle at a very low price. It is said thatthe meat-biscuit is not liable to heating or moulding, like corn andflour, nor subject to be attacked by insects. The meat-biscuit waslargely used by the United States' army during the Mexican campaign;the nutriment of 500 pounds of beef, with 70 pounds of flour, waspacked in a twenty-two-gallon cask. 

Dr Lindley, as one of the jurors for the Great Exhibition, and as alecturer on the subject at the Society of Arts, commends themeat-biscuit in the very highest terms. 'I think I am justified inlooking upon it, ' he says, 'as one of the most important substanceswhich this Exhibition has brought to our knowledge. When we considerthat by this method, in such places as Buenos Ayres, animals which arethere of little or no value, instead of being destroyed, as they oftenare, for their bones, may be boiled down and mixed with the flourwhich all such countries produce, and so converted into a substance ofsuch durability that it may be preserved with the greatest ease, andsent to distant countries; it seems as if a new means of subsistencewas actually offered to us. Take the Argentine Republic, takeAustralia, and consider what they do with their meat there in times ofdrought, when they cannot get rid of it while it is fresh; they mayboil it down, and mix the essence with flour--and we know they havethe finest in the world--and so prepare a substance that can bepreserved for times when food is not so plentiful, or sent tocountries where it is always more difficult to procure food. Is notthis a very great gain?' A pertinent question, which intelligentemigrants would do well to bear in mind. 

THE BUYER OF SOULS:

A Russian Story. 

All over the world, the essential elements of human nature are thesame. And it is very fortunate for me that they are so, else I shouldfind myself in considerable difficulty in endeavouring to place beforemy readers a correct picture of the little, out-of-the-way town ofNikolsk. Making due allowances for the differences in national mannersand customs; for Nikolsk being under the dominion of his autocraticmajesty the emperor of all the Russias, instead of the mild, constitutional government of Queen Victoria, there is no greatdiscrepancy between Nikolsk and any equally out-of-the-way town inEngland. It has the same dearth of excitement, the same monotonousuniformity of life; it lives in the same profound ignorance of thegreat incidents that the drama of human existence is developing on thetheatre of the world at large; it has its priest, its doctor, itslawyer, its post-office where a seal is not so sacred as it might be, or rather where the problem of getting at the news, without breakingthe wax, has been successfully solved; it has the same thirst forscandal, the same intense interest for the most contemptibletrivialities, the same constantly impending danger of suicide fromennui, did not human nature adapt itself to its environments, and sinkinto pettiness as naturally as though there were no such things astowns and cities, and enlarged views of man and nature in the world:all these it has the same as any British Little Pedlington. Then ithas its circles of social intercourse, as rigidly defined and asintensely venerated as the rules of court precedence. The differencein the social scale between a landowner, a tenant, a member of theprofessions, a tradesman, a publican, a sweep, and a beggar, isaccurately prescribed and religiously observed--with this addition, however, that in Nikolsk the owners of land are also owners of theserfs upon the land, and that the numerous representatives of thatmost centralised of all governments cut an important figure in thesnobberies of the place. In fine, there is one little English wordthat describes Nikolsk completely, and that is--_dull_. It isdull--beyond comprehension dull. No town in the universe can beduller; because, from its quintessential dulness, there is but onestep to total inanition. 

Thus, in Nikolsk, the ancient saying, that there is nothing new underthe sun, was daily and hourly verified. Week after week, and yearafter year, the governor pillaged the people; the inspector ofcharities pillaged the charities; the inspector of nuisancessedulously avoided inspecting at all, lest, by removing them, the needfor his services should cease; the landowner ground down the serfs;the tax-assessor ground the landowners; and everybody, in return forthe favours a paternal government showered upon them through itsimmaculate representatives, cheated and defrauded that government witha persistency and perseverance approaching the sublime. Mothers ofdaughters were in despair, for in Nikolsk there were no 'nice youngmen, ' no eligible matches; fathers of sons despaired in their turn, for as everybody robbed everybody, and the government robbed therobbers, there were no heiresses; ladies wore the fashions of 1820 in1840, under the impression that they were the newest from Paris; thereading portion of the community were just beginning to hear ofVoltaire as a promising writer; and the general public laboured underthe fixed idea, that somewhere or other Napoleon was still prosecutinghis leviathan campaigns, happily _not_ in Russia. The only thing thatever broke the monotony of existence was the prevalence of cholera, orthe governor essaying some loftier flight of tyranny than usual byhanging up a score of defaulters to the revenue, or knouting a bevy ofladies whose tongues outran their prudence. 

Such being the state of affairs in Nikolsk, it will be easilyimagined, that when mine host of the Black Eagle, in a very importantand mysterious manner, announced to a select few that a singular andeccentric stranger, rolling in money, had arrived at his hostelry, with the intention of staying some time in Nikolsk, the news flew likea telegraphic message, or a piece of scandal among a community of oldmaids, through the place; and that in a few hours after his arrival, nobody, from governor to serf, thought or spoke of anything or anybodyelse than the mysterious stranger, who, under the name of Tchitchikof, occupied the best suite of apartments in the Black Eagle, and, as thelandlord affirmed on oath, was eccentric to a degree, and revelled inuntold gold. 

Now, whatever had been the station in society of M. Tchitchikof, hismeans or his idiosyncrasy, the mere fact of his being a stranger hadbeen enough to make the good people of Nikolsk pounce down upon himlike a hawk on its quarry, and morally tear him to pieces withrapacious analysis to satiate their ravenous curiosity. But as to thefact of his being a stranger, was added the piquancy of a reputationfor eccentricity, and the irresistible recommendation of wealth, theTchitchikof mania spread over all ranks of society, and raged with thefury of a tornado by the evening of the very day upon which the hostof the Eagle first delighted them with the news. In fact, so intensewas the rage regarding him, that the landlord of that hostelry reapeda fortune from the constant drain upon his potables by inquisitivecallers, and would have assuredly ceased to dispense strong drinks forevermore, had not the governor, in his vexation at the sequel ofTchitchikof's visit, found some pretext to despoil him of his gains, and a good round sum to boot. Various were the speculations as to theoccupations and antecedents of Tchitchikof, and the business that hadcalled him to Nikolsk. Enterprising mothers of families hoped that hewas a Cossack Coelebs in search of a wife, and began, on the strengthof the surmise, to lay plots for ensnaring him, justly consideringthat a fool with money is preferable to a sage without; landownerstrembled at the idea of his being a government assessor, come toexamine into the state of the properties, and assess accordingly;while government _employés_, knowing too well that a paternalgovernment does not tolerate plundering in subordinates, shuddered, conscience-stricken, at the idea that he must be a St Petersburginspector, come to Nikolsk with powers of scrutiny, and equallyunlimited powers of knouting. Every class, therefore, received withjoy the assurance, that, he was simply a private gentleman of fortune, travelling over Russia at his own sweet will. This mine hostpositively stated that he had heard Tchitchikof say with his own lips. This announcement delighted the officials and landowners, by removingtheir fears of the knout and taxes, and equally delighted theenterprising mammas, by increasing the probability of his visit beingintimately connected with matrimonial intentions. It being thusdefinitely settled that there was nothing to be feared fromTchitchikof, the good folks of Nikolsk naturally took up the nextposition--that, being a stranger, and rich and eccentric, there wassomething to be gained from him. The leading passions of theNikolskians being curiosity and avarice, their dealings with strangerswere generally twofold--to scatter their ennui for a few days, bydiscovering their histories and affairs, and, where facts failed, calling in the aid of fancy; and when there was nothing more to bediscovered or invented, to lighten their money-chests by all thetyranny that power dare venture on, or the effrontery that cunningcould devise and execute. Their curiosity regarding Tchitchikof wassoon baffled, by discovering, like Socrates, that all they knew was, that nothing could be known. In vain did mine host essay to pump him:with a show of the most voluble confidence, Tchitchikof contrivedalways virtually to tell nothing. In vain the postmaster looked amongthe letters with a lynx eye; not one word of writing ever came toTchitchikof through the medium of the post. Their knowledge of himspeedily resolved itself into this: that he was a dashing, handsomeyoung man, of most refined and polished manners, eminently gifted withthat self-possession which is the never-failing accompaniment ofgood-breeding and intercourse with what is termed good society, elegant in dress, and, as the host of the Eagle announced, decidedlyeccentric. This eccentricity manifested itself in one way, and oneonly, and that altogether incomprehensible to the greedyNikolskians--namely, a morbid desire to part with his money. IfTchitchikof met a serf on the highway, he would offer him a ruble fora stick, a cap, or any other article he wore, intrinsically not wortha handful of corn; and when the bewildered serf hesitated, wouldmanifest the utmost anger and impatience until he had gainedpossession of the coveted article. With possession, his value for itceased, and the dear purchase was generally consigned to the fire afew minutes after it was bought. However varied his freaks might be indetail, in spirit they were ever essentially the same; they everconsisted in making some worthless piece of lumber an excuse forlightening his purse of a ruble or two. 

The priest of the place was the first to find a solution ofTchitchikof's conduct. He asserted that Tchitchikof, in his love formoney, had committed some fraud or some misdeed to obtain it, and thathis conscience smiting him, he had sought ghostly solace from someminister, by whom he had been ordered, as adequate penance, to get offa certain portion per annum in bad bargains--thus at once doing goodto the sellers and torturing the avaricious spirit of the penitentialpurchaser. To this the governor objected, with much force, that, moneybeing the end of human existence, the gaining of it, by any meansshort of murder, must be laudable, and could sit heavily on no saneman's conscience; but being warned by the priest, that such argumentsbordered on heresy, he shifted his ground, and maintained thatTchitchikof was much too young and too far from death to dream ofpenitence, even if he had committed such a crime; though he wasevidently too reckless and devil-may-care to leave any dash of themiser in his composition. But the inspector of highways effectuallyknocked the clerical argument on the head, by saying, that had anypriest thought it necessary, for the good of Tchitchikof's soul, thathe should part with his money, he would have taken due care that, instead of it being squandered in Nikolsk, it had all gone to swellthe revenues of Mother Church. The inspector of the hospital finallysettled it to the satisfaction of all parties, by shewing, fromattentive observation of Tchitchikof's conduct at the hospital, thathe must be a monomaniac, whose particular insanity took the form ofphilanthropy; but that, believing that a gift debases the recipient, he dexterously contrived to _give_ his assistance under the cloak of apurchase. Although his companions could not see how any man could beso insane as to fancy a serf could be debased, this opinion wasunanimously adopted, and the whole community set their wits to work tomake themselves objects of charity for the nonce, and so obtain ashare in the plunder. 

Space will not permit, neither would the end of our story be advancedby, a detail of the numerous and adroit dodges the Nikolskiansinvented in order to work upon Tchitchikof's supposed philanthropy. Suffice it to say, that they were not in the least degree successful. It seemed as though you had only to appeal directly to Tchitchikof'scharity to close up his bowels of compassion, and render him at oncecallous and niggardly. Perhaps, too, as some thought, he was as acuteas he was eccentric, and could distinguish between real and feigneddistress. However it might be, it was soon remarkably clear thatTchitchikof, madman though he was, was not to be done; and the baffledconspirators did not hesitate to say, that, after all, he was no suchremarkable friend of his species; that he kept a keen eye on the mainchance; and if it were his gratification to do good, he made a littlego as far as it could, and was singularly blind to meritoriouspoverty. Accordingly, Tchitchikof having now been a fortnight inNikolsk, was fast ceasing to be an object of interest, when hiseccentricity broke out in a fresh place, and there seemed somelikelihood of the children of Nikolsk, in the end, spoiling thatEgyptian. 

It so happened, that at that time the landowners, or ratherserf-owners, constituted the most depressed 'interest' in that portionof the Russian Empire. Not that they were suffering from free-trade ofany kind, or clamouring for open or disguised protection: the cause oftheir depression was the prevalence of a deadly epidemic, whichreduced the number of their serfs with remorseless vigour--combinedwith the tax which a paternal government levied on them, as aconsideration for its maintaining them in their humane and Christianproperty. One of the principles of Russian taxation is this: that asevery individual in the empire, European or Asiatic, is the child ofthe czar, owes him fealty and obedience, and receives protection, light, and glory from him, as from a central sun, so every individualowes in return a direct contribution to the fund by which theczar-father supports that light and glory. This is the theory ofRussian taxation; but against its actual carrying out in fact, isopposed the old difficulty, that from him who has nothing, nothing canpossibly be extracted; and as the poor serfs have no more means ofpaying taxes than the hogs and cattle their fellow-slaves, aconsiderate paternal government drops its theory, and makes thelandowner pay the poll-tax for the slaves he possesses, much as anEnglish gentleman pays taxes for his horses and dogs, horses and dogsbeing as little able to pay tax themselves as the Russian serf. Now, in a kind of deep irony, a serf is called a _soul_. M. K---- or M. T---- owns so many _souls_, Miss L----'s marriage-portion was so many_souls_, Madame B----'s dowry was a hundred _souls_; and this wordsoul only applies to the male serfs--women and children being givenin, or there being only one soul per family among serfs. Well, alandowner paying so much per soul to the government, and it being awork of much time and trouble to take a census of souls every year, anestimate is made at long intervals--say ten or twenty years--and thelandowner is compelled to pay accordingly till the period expires, whether the number of his serfs increase or diminish. It is thereforeself-evident, that if the former occur--that if his serfs propagatetheir species with due rapidity--the serf-owner is a clear gainerduring the interval between the soul-censuses, as he will be payingtax for a given number, while he is actually reaping the profit of thelabour of treble or quadruple that number; while, if cholera, fever, or any other of the ills that flesh, and especially serf-flesh, isheir to, come and slay their thousands, the exact converse obtains, and he will be paying tax for a certain number, while he only reapsthe profit of a third. In the latter case were the landowners ofNikolsk. Cholera had more than decimated the serfs; the impoverishedowners regarded their unreaped fields and untilled lands andimpoverished exchequers with a sigh--a sigh which deepened into ashudder, when they reflected how soon the collector would arrive withhis inexorable demand for soul-tax. The landed interest is in nocountry, we believe, celebrated for bearing reverses with dignifiedcomposure; and the depressed condition of the serf-owning interest wasas much noised abroad in that district, as a certain professedlydepressed interest connected with the soil has been, and is, inanother country we know of much nearer home. 

About a dozen miles from Nikolsk there dwelt a widow, MadameKorobotchka by name, who lived on her late husband's estate, and hadsuffered more than her neighbours by the prevalent serf mortality. Late one evening, when a violent storm was raging without, a stranger, who had been surprised in the storm, demanded the shelter of MadameKorobotchka's château till the morning; and as hospitality is a sacredduty in Russia, his demand was not only granted, but in a few minutesthe stranger was seated as her _vis-à-vis_ at the best repast herimpoverished condition could afford. 

'You appear to have a nice property here, _matouchka_, ' said thestranger, by way of opening a conversation. 'How many peasants haveyou?'

'Peasants, _batiouchka_! At present, about eighty; but these are awfultimes. This year, we have had a frightful loss of them. Providencehave pity on us!'

'Nevertheless, your men look well enough, and----But, pardon me--allowme to inquire to whom I am indebted for this hospitality? I am quiteconfused--arrived so suddenly and so late--I'----

'My name is Korobotchka--my paternal name Nastasie Petrovna. '

'Nastasie Petrovna! Beautiful name. '

'And you, sir?' inquired Nastasie. And then added, palpitating withterror: 'Are you--surely not--are you--an assessor?'

'O no!' was the reply. 'My name is Tchitchikof. I am no assessor; Itravel on purely private business. '

'I see: you have come to buy. How annoying! I've just sold all myhoney to those thieves of merchants. '

'It is of no consequence. I do not buy honey. '

'Indeed! hemp, then? Dear me, and I have next to none. '

'Never mind, matouchka, ' said Tchitchikof. 'My business in these partsis different. You were mentioning that you have had many deaths here?'

'Alas, yes! eighteen souls, ' said Nastasie, sighing; 'and such finefellows: and the worst is, I shall have to pay for them. The assessorarrives, you must pay what he demands--pay to a soul. Eighteen die--itis all one--you pay the same. They are frightful, they are ruinous, these deaths!'

'Ah, Nastasie, ' said Tchitchikof, 'it is the will of God: we must notmurmur against Providence! But tell me--will you let me have them?'

'Let you have what?'

'Your dead souls. '

'How can I let you have _them_?'

'Nothing easier. Sell them to me: I will give you money for them. '

'How! what! Do you want to disinter them?'

'Disinter them! what nonsense; no!' cried Tchitchikof. 'You hand themover to me by a regular conveyance, and I pay you whatever we agreeupon for them. '

'And what will you do with them?' asked Nastasie in great surprise. 

'That is my business, ' said Tchitchikof. 

'But you see they are dead. '

'And who, in the name of goodness, said they were living?' cried he. 'It's a misfortune for you that they are dead, isn't it? You pay thetax for them, don't you?--and that'll half-ruin you, you say. Well, Iclear you of the tax for these eighteen dead ones--do youunderstand?--not only clear you of the tax, but give fifteen rublesinto the bargain. Is that clear, or is it not?'

'No--yes--I can't tell what to say. You see, I have never sold _dead_peasants before, and'-----

'It would be queer if you had, ' cried Tchitchikof. 'Who'd buy them, doyou think? It's my humour, my whim, to have them. I gain nothing bythem--how can I?--and you gain everything. Cannot you see that?'

'Yes--but--really I don't know what to say. What puzzles me is, thatthey are dead. '

'She hasn't the brains of a bullock, ' exclaimed Tchitchikofindignantly. 'Listen, matouchka. Pay attention. You pay for them as ifthey were living: that will ruin you. '

'Ah, that is true indeed, batiouchka. In three months, I must pay onehundred and fifty rubles, and bribe the assessor to boot. '

'Well, then, I save you all that trouble. I pay for these eighteen--I, not you. When you sign the contract, I hand over the money. Do youunderstand now?'

As Nastasie's cupidity excelled her stupidity, she did begin tounderstand; and after a little more hesitation and explanation, Tchitchikof drew up a formal conveyance of the eighteen souls, precisely as though they were bodies and souls, inserting their names, however, as a guarantee against his claiming any of Nastasie's livingstock. Nastasie signed it, Tchitchikof paid the money, and, after agood night's rest, departed for Nikolsk, with the title-deed of thedead souls safely in his possession. 

Of course this new freak of Tchitchikof's was soon noised abroad, andin the eyes of the Nikolskians proved two things:--_1st_, That he wasunmistakably mad, or philanthropic to a high degree; _2d_, That therewas now a prospect of gaining something by said madness orphilanthropy. Accordingly, all the serf-owners made it their businessto drop in upon Tchitchikof in a purely casual manner; and contrived, after more or less higgling, to depart with a larger quantity of thecurrent coin of Russia in their possession than they possessed onfirst seeking the interview. In a few days, Tchitchikof found himselfpossessed of 2000 souls, at the moderate cost of 19, 500 rubles. Deadsouls were getting quite a scarce article; and, on the true principlesof supply and demand, some enterprising Nikolskians were about toimport some defunct souls from a distance, when suddenly, one morning, the host of the Eagle announced, that at dead of the previous night, Tchitchikof had departed, bag and baggage and souls. 

This sudden departure created a great sensation. All the old theoriesabout Tchitchikof revived; and the general opinion seemed to be, thatit was all a deep-laid scheme of some irresponsible man in authority, the end whereof was to be suffering in some shape or other to the goodpeople of Nikolsk; until the inspector of the hospital, the NikolskSocrates, proved clearly, by unassailable argumentation, thatTchitchikof was mad; that his exit was in exact keeping with hisconduct during his sojourn; and that they might repose in the peace ofeasy consciences, proud that they had made the most of his insanity. 

Now for the _dénouement_. At St Petersburg is or was a bankestablished by a paternal government for this most laudable purpose:what with deaths, taxes, and the natural extravagance that seems toaccompany the possession of land in all countries, the Russianlandowners are often embarrassed, and were driven, before this bankwas established, to seek assistance from usurious Jews, the end ofwhich was frequently total ruin, and a Hebraicising of the race oflandowners, not pleasant to a Russian and a Christian czar. Thereforethis bank was established to lend money to distressed members of thelanded interest; compelled by its charter to lend 200 rubles per soul, at a given interest and time, to every landowner who should deposithis title-deeds with the bank. On a certain day very soon afterTchitchikof's abrupt exit from Nikolsk, a solicitor applies at thisbank for a loan of 400, 000 rubles on the security of 2000 souls. Thetitle-deeds are examined--found correct; the money is paid; and in afew days afterwards M. Tchitchikof and the money are both out of thejurisdiction of the czar. 

The time for repayment arrives. The bank hears nothing of M. Tchitchikof. A letter is sent to Nikolsk: no reply. Another of athreatening nature: still no reply. Finally, a special agent isdespatched, and finds neither Tchitchikof nor security; but graduallycollects the particulars of his visit, as narrated above, and returnsto report progress, or no progress, to his superiors. There is nothingfor it, one would think, but to write off the 400, 000 rubles as aclear loss, and think no more of it. But a paternal government knowsbetter than that. It adjudges that the Nikolskians are virtuallyaccessaries to the fraud; apportions the loan among the sellers of thesouls, and compels repayment. So that the Nikolskians have toconclude, in reflecting on M. Tchitchikof, not without acerbity and acertain uncharitableness of spirit, that if he were a friend of hisspecies, he limited _his_ species to himself; and if he were mad, there was a very clear and profitable method in his madness. 

Meantime the principal actor in this little Russian episode, as theBaron von Rabenstein, captivates the hearts of our English ladies atthe ball-room, and empties the pockets of our English gentlemen at the_rouge et noir_ table in the fashionable German watering-place ofLugundtrugbad. And without disparaging his patriotism, or natural loveof country, we believe we speak advisedly when we state, that he hasnot the slightest idea of returning, within anything like a limitedperiod, to the territories of his autocratic majesty. 

SPELLING-BOOK _VERSUS_ HORN-BOOK. 

Nothing is considered a more shocking mark of defective education than_false spelling_, or _bad spelling_, or _misspelling_--all which termsare used to express one's spelling a word in some way which the criticdoes not approve; that is, does not consider the right way. But thisis plainly assuming that there is but one right way. Begging hispardon, is he quite certain that there must be true and false, goodand bad, right and wrong ways of spelling every word in everylanguage, or even in our own? It seems very doubtful. At all events, we must, I think, tether the critic to his own particular period, andnot let him range up and down at his pleasure, condemning the past andlegislating for the future. 

No doubt there is at this time a common and usual way of spelling mostwords, which may claim to be called the right way, or _orthography_. It is equally certain, that for any individual writer to depart fromthat way, is anything but a mark of wisdom. At the same time, it wouldnot be difficult to specify a considerable number of words, of whichthe spelling has only recently been made what it is, and about which, even now, doubts may be raised. 

But this is hardly worth mentioning, for it is clear that there is, generally speaking, a mode of spelling the English language which isfollowed by all well-educated persons; and as, according toQuintilian, the _consensus eruditorum_ forms the _consuetudosermonis_, so this usage of spelling, adopted by general consent ofthe learned, becomes a law in the republic of literature. My object isnot to insist on what is so plain and notorious, but rather to callattention to a fact which many readers do not know, and many others donot duly consider. I mean this fact--that three or four hundred yearsago there was no such settled rule. Not that a different mode wasrecognised, but that there was no recognised mode. There was no ideain the minds of persons who had occasion to write, that any such thingexisted, for in fact it did not exist; and the adoption of this orthat mode was a matter of taste or accident, rather than of duty orpropriety. Thus it was that the writer who spelt (or spelled, for wehave some varieties still) a word variously in different parts of thesame book or document, and even the printer whose own name appearedone way on the title-page and another on the colophon, was notcontradicting his contemporaries or himself: he was not breaking thelaw, for there was none to break--or, at least, none that could bebroken in that way. He would, perhaps, have said to the same effect, though not so elegantly as Quintilian: 'For my part, except wherethere is any established custom to the contrary, I think everythingshould be written as it is sounded; for the use of letters is topreserve sounds, and render them, as things which they have beenholding in trust, to the reader. ' In short, the people of England, inthese old times, had a law of their own, though it did not manifestitself in a fixed mode of spelling, but differed from ours, and, indeed, was based on a very different principle. Perhaps I might say, that they were brought up, not to the Spelling-book, but theHorn-book. 

By this, I mean that the critic of modern times has been no doubt welldrilled in the spelling-book, soundly rated if he was guilty of amisspelling, and made to understand that it was next to impossiblefor him to commit a more disgusting barbarism; while hismany-times-great-grandfather (the scholar of Lily, perhaps we mightalmost say of Busby) went through no such discipline. He was, as Ihave said, brought up on the horn-book. 

Now, I grant that, generally, the major includes the minor; and aman's being able to read is _prima facie_ evidence that he knows hisletters; yet it is possible that the modern many-times-great-grandsonmay indulge in as much laxity respecting _letters_, as his ancestordid with regard to _words_. Just try the experiment. Go round tohalf-a-dozen printers, and ask them to print for you the first letterof the alphabet. They will understand you, and you will understand me, without my puzzling the workman who is to print this--if it isprinted--by naming the letter here. Apply to them, I say, successivelyto print this letter for you. It is not likely that any one of themwill ask you: 'What shape will you have it?' because that is not atechnical mode of expression among printers; but if any one should doso, you would perhaps answer with some surprise: 'Why, the right shapeto be sure. Do not you know your letters, and are not your first, second, and third letters, and all through the alphabet, of the rightshape? Only take care that you do not make this first one in the shapeof the second, or third, or any of those which follow, for the wholeset are distinguished from one another simply and purely by their_shape_. '

As I have said, however, if you applied to a practical man, he wouldnot put the question in this form. At the same time, he certainlywould put it in another. He would perhaps say: 'What type will youhave? Shall it be Roman, Italic, Black-letter, Script, or any of thegrotesque inventions of modern fancy?' You immediately become awarethat your order is too indefinite to be acted on without some furtherspecification. As, however, it is immaterial to you in a matter ofmere experiment, you say at once 'Roman. ' Does that settle it?--not atall: the question of form and shape is as wide open as ever. The UpperCase and Lower Case in a printing-office differ as much as the UpperHouse and Lower House in parliament or convocation. Is it to be agreat 'A, ' or a little 'a?' A great 'A, ' I need not tell you, thoughquite the same in sound and value, is no more like a little 'a, ' thana great 'B' is like a little 'b. '

As to writing also, as well as printing--set half-a-dozen criticsseparately and apart to write a capital 'A, ' and see how far theletters which they will produce agree in form and shape--I do not saywith any in the printer's stock, for not one will do that, we may becertain, but with each other. One scribe will probably make somethinglike an inverted cornucopia, or wiredrawn extinguisher; and one willcross it with a dash, and another with a loop; while another will makea letter wholly different--something that shall look like a puddingleaning against a trencher set on edge--something that is only a great'A' by courtesy, being in fact nothing but an overgrown little 'a;'bearing the same proportion to a common 'a' as an alderman does to acommon man, and looking as if it had been invented by some municipalscribe or official whose eye was familiar with the outline ofrecumbent obesity. 

But notwithstanding these and many other variations, you freely allowthat each of your friends has made a capital 'A. ' You do not dream ofsaying that one is right, and all the rest are wrong. The taste andthe skill of their penmanship may be various, and the judgment of goodand bad goes so far, but it knows better than to go further. Yourtoleration on this point is unbounded. If you can but make it out, yousay, without the least emotion of resentment or contempt: 'Mr A. Always makes _his_ Bs in this way;' and 'Mrs C. Always makes her Ds inthat way. ' _Their_ Bs and Ds forsooth! Yes: 'every man his ownalphabet-maker. ' Why not, if you do but understand him? Right orwrong, the fact is that, come in what shape it may, you take whatstands for 'A' to _be_ 'A, ' with all the rights and qualities annexedto that letter. Except so far as taste is concerned, you do not thinkof rebuking the self-complacent type-founder, who prides himself onhaving produced a new form which all the world will admit to be agenuine 'A, ' as soon as they make out that it was meant for one. 

I have thought it worth while to say all this about letters, because Ibelieve that it will illustrate what was once upon a time nearly trueas to words. The principle of those who had occasion to write in thoseearly times was, so far as circumstances allowed, just opposite tothat of the modern critics who find fault with their practice. Theymade that which, notwithstanding its fluctuations, we may call 'theconstant quantity' to be the sound, exactly as we do with themultiform As and Bs just noticed. On the other hand, modern puristsconsider, not altogether incorrectly as to the fact, that the notationhas somehow been settled and fixed, and they are disposed to force thesound into conformity. 'B, y, spells by, ' said Lord Byron; and what hesettled for himself, the spelling-book has settled for the rest of theworld and all the words in it. 

The circumstances of those who wrote English some centuries ago, maybe considered as bearing some analogy to those of modern Englishauthors who have occasion to write down Oriental words in Englishletters, and who are therefore obliged to make the characters which weuse represent sounds which we do not utter. Of course there can onlybe an approximation. Writers feel that there is a discretion, and useit freely. It is easy for one after another to imagine that he hasimproved on the spelling of his predecessors. How many variegationsand transmogrifications has the name of one unhappy Eastern tongueundergone since the days when Athanasius Kircher discoursed of theHanscreet tongue of the Brahmins? I am almost afraid to write the nameof Vishnoo, for I do not remember to have seen it in any bookpublished within these five years; and what it may have come to bythis time, I cannot guess. To a certain point, I think, thisprogressive purification of the mode of representing Eastern soundshas been acceptable to the world of letters; but the reading-publichave shewn that there is a point at which they may lose patience. Theynot long ago decided that Haroun Alraschid, and Giafar, and Mesrour, and even the Princess Badroulboudour, and the fair slaveNouzhatoul-aouadat, had all 'proper names, ' and refused to part withthe friends of their youth for a more correctly named set of personsnever before heard of. 

This by the way, however; for the main object of these remarks is toconvey and impress the idea, that what naturally seems to us thestrange and uncouth spelling of former times, was not a proof of thegross, untaught ignorance which it would now indicate. The purpose ofthe writer in those days was, not to spell accurately words whichthere was no strict rule for spelling, but to note down words in sucha way as to enable those who had not heard them to reproduce them, andto impart their sense through the eye to those who should only seethem. One of the finest proofs and specimens of this which we possess, is to be found in a sort of historical drama, now about three hundredyears old, written by Bishop Bale, one of the most learned men of histime, and still existing, partly in his hand-writing, and partly inanother hand, with his autograph corrections. [1] Certainly the prelateand the scribe between them did, as we should consider it, mostatrociously murder the king and queen's English--for I suppose itwould be hard to say how much of it belonged to Edward, and how muchto Elizabeth; and there is something quite surprising in the prolificingenuity with which they evade what we should consider the obviousand natural spelling. For instance, one of the _dramatis personæ_, anda very important one, is an allegorical person called 'Civil Order;'but I believe that the word 'civil' thus spelled never occurs in thewhole work, though seven other modes of spelling it are to be foundthere. What then? You know what the writer means by cyvill, cyvyll, cyvyle, sivyll, syvyll, sivile, and syvile. Only say it out, and don'tbe afraid. It is mere nervousness that hinders people from reading oldspelling. Clear your throat, and set off at full speed, and the top ofyour voice, with the following paragraph. Do not stop to think; takethe raspers without looking at them, and you will find that you getover the ground wonderfully:--

'The suttle munkych rewlars in furdewhodes rewled the pepell withsuttyll rewles. But some of the pepyll were sedycyows scysmatyckes, and did puplyshe them for dysgysyd ipocryts, full of desseyvable gylleand covytous hydolatrie of luker. And these sysmatykes could in nowysse indewer that lords, nowther dewks, nor yet the kings mageste, nor even the empowr, should ponnysh any vylayn. Because, say they, peples in general, as well as peplys in particular (that is, yehe manand his ayers), hath an aunchant and ondowghted right to do hisdessyer attonys. "Yea sewer, " said a myry fellawe (for such as bemyrie will make myrye jests)--"even as good right as a pertre to yieldperes, and praty pygys to eat them. "'

It is, of course, only for the spelling, or various spellings, ofthese words that the bishop is responsible, they being herearbitrarily brought together from various parts of his work merely toform a specimen. There can be no doubt that he would have pronouncedthe words 'people' and 'merry' in one uniform manner wherever theyoccur; but it is curious to consider how little we can judgerespecting the pronunciation of our forefathers. Their _litera scriptamanet_; but how they vocalised it, we cannot always decide. If thereader takes up any edition of Sternhold and Hopkins, printed lessthan a hundred years ago, he may, I believe, read in Psalm lxxix--

 O God, the Gentiles do invade, thine heritage to spoil: Jerusalem an heap is made-- thy temple they defile. 

Any one who is aware how many of what are called 'vulgarisms' inpronunciation are in fact 'archaisms, ' will naturally think that theancient pronunciation of 'spoil, ' like the modern vulgar one, was'spile. ' But if he goes to one old black letter--say that printed byJohn Windet for the assignees of Richard Day in 1593--he will find inthe fourth line 'defoile;' and if he goes to another edition he mayfind 'defoyle;' and he will learn that in speculating on such matters, he must be on his guard against modernisers, and go to originals. Eventhen the rhymes of our ancestors teach us much less of theirpronunciation than we might expect; and the curious glimpses which wesometimes get from them, and from other sources, are only enough tomake us wish for more. Take, for instance, Master Holofernes'svituperation of Don Adrian de Armado in _Love's Labour Lost_, and seewhat you can make of it: 'I abhor such phantasms, such insociable andpoint-devise companions, such rackers of orthography, as to speak_dout_ fine, when he should say _doubt_; _det_, when he shouldpronounce _debt_; d, e, b, t; not d, e, t; he clepeth a calf, _cauf_;half, _hauf_; neighbour vocatur _nebour_; neigh abbreviated _ne_: thisis abominable, which we would call _abhominable_. ' Such a passage iscurious, coming from one of whom it was asked: 'Monsieur, are you notlettered?' and answered: 'Yes, yes; he teaches boys the Horn-book. '

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Kynge Johan_, a Play in Two Parts. By John Bale. Edited for theCamden Society by J. Payne Collier, Esq. , F. S. A. , from theManuscript of the Author in the Library of the Duke of Devonshire. 1838. 

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ROOMS AND THEIR ORNAMENTS. 

The sun shines brightly to-day, and his beams glance lovingly from theflowers without to those within the room, and rest upon the 'Eve' thatstands among them; the light is toned into softness by this greendrapery, and reminds us of the leaves and tracery which peep in at thewindows. We find, in the effect of the whole, such a delicate reflexof the nature outside, that we live with a half-conscious perceptionthat but a tent-like division exists between us and the birds andblossoms in the garden. We love this room as we do few others, not forthe evidences of wealth in it, though these exist, but because theidea regulating its arrangement is predominant through all itsdetails. Affection and love of beauty were present at its creation forhome-life, and worked it into harmony. All rooms might have this kindof beauty, subject only to slight modifications from position andwealth. 

Character, in reality, has everything to do with it. Rooms tell usmuch of their inhabitants. No one will doubt who remembers the stiff, formal arrangement of the drawing-room 'at school, ' where the chairsstood in the primmest rows and couples, and the whole place breathedsuch an air of strict propriety, that we doubted whether a heartylaugh would not be unbecoming in it; or the uncomfortable, seldomused, conventional drawing-room, which has such fine-looking, unreadable books on its polished tables; or the cheerful tiny room ofthe friend who has very little money, but very much taste, and whohangs an engraving there, and puts flowers here, and makes a shrineout of an ordinary garret. In some rooms, we see that life isrespectably got through in a routine of eating, sleeping, comfort-loving; in others, that it glances to the stars, and liveswith the flowers; in others, again, that it finds out good in shadynooks or crowded cities, and is filled with affection andintelligence. 

There are very few rooms, except among the poorest and most degraded, that have not in them some indications of the love of beauty, which isso universal in human nature. Influenced by the same feeling, thecottager's wife scours her tins, arranges her little cupboard of cupsand saucers, buys barbarous delineations of 'Noah in the Ark, ' or'Christ with the Elders, ' from the pedler; and the nobleman collectsaround him all he thinks precious in bronze or painting. Cleanlinessand order are certainly the simplest manifestations of the love of thebeautiful in the household--the germ, which the feeling in its highestdevelopment must include; but too many among us remain satisfied withthe lower form, and from some reason or other, fail to see the furthergratification that is possible to all. Nature, however, stimulates andsatisfies this love everywhere, and society in many directions isfollowing in her footsteps. Let us see what can be done in the matter. After all, rooms must still retain the impress of the character oftheir inhabitants. Yes; but there are certain general rules which allwho do arrange them would do well to remember. In the first place, they should be well lighted, and as thoroughly ventilated as they canbe made; the eye should be pleased with their general effect; nodetail of colouring or furniture should mar it; they should be filledwith gentle relief, not uniformity of colour; and there should be asmany waving lines, instead of angles, as possible. They should containall things necessary to their several characters, but nothing verysuperfluous; and their whole arrangement should indicate, and besubservient to, the idea that prompted it. Above all, they should havein them some thing, or things, to soothe the thoughts, stimulate thefancy, and suggest something higher than the ordinary uses which theyserve. Human beings, even in the life of a day, experience manyfluctuations of mood, of joy or sadness; and there should be something, if not person, in their homes, that would suggest to them mutesympathy and comfort. 

Are we sad? It is winter now, and these hyacinth bulbs are unsightly, but spring will bring flowers to them, as time and patience will tous. Are we glad? These roses and geraniums glow in the sunbeams, andwe rejoice together. Are we dull? That beautiful Greek form rouses usinto activity again. Are we weary of climbing, and dissatisfied withour want of success? Turn to that Raphael, and let us remember, thatall who faint not by the way, and aspire worthily, shall at length betransfigured in the light of truth and beauty. There are few if anyrooms that need be without some such suggestion and comfort. Natureoffers them lavishly to all who care to seek them; and first, and mostgenerously, her loveliest of treasures, flowers, which are thebrightest of drawing-room accessories, as well as the sweetest ofcottage adornments. Sea-weed, too--which is more difficult to get, butwhen arranged with taste, is so exquisite in colour--is a sweetremembrance of sea-side beaches and the odour of the spray. Bits ofpine-bark and fir-cones are beautiful as to colour, and bring back tous pictures of woods gleaming in the western light, and well-knownlandscapes seen through vistas of tall stems; sprays of clematis andbryony, a group of ivy-leaves, or bunch of ripe corn, require nothingbut a little graceful arrangement to throw a light of beauty over manya dull corner. But some of these ornaments are perishable, and can butdelight us for awhile. We must have something more permanent. Ah, then, there are shells which still echo faintly the delicious murmurof the waves, and reflect all the colours of sea and sky together; oneor two of them we must secure: the graceful nautilus, from whose mouthshall hang in summer some pendent blossoms; and that Venus's ear, which glitters in the sunbeams as it lies upon the table, and bearsthe impress of spirits' wings upon its inner surface. Bronzes, marbles, and paintings can be purchased only by the wealthy, so wewill not speak of them; we will see them as often as we can in publicgalleries, and meanwhile rejoice that such fine substitutes in plasterand engraving may become ours. These are yearly becoming more commonamong us; and treasures of antique and modern art, Grecian gods, andItalian Madonnas, may be our own household delights by the expenditureof a few shillings. Of course, to the taste and requirements of eachindividual must be left the selection of the kind and character of thebeauty he desires to have around him. 

Some subjects in art are best suited for enjoyment in rooms destinedfor solitary use, others for those of general resort--some touch uspeculiarly in one mood, some are welcome to us in all. Of this lastcharacter 'St Catherine borne by Angels' is a specimen: the earthsinks beneath them, they fly so swiftly and yet so calmly! we are inthe air too with them, and mark how small the world looks, with itsburdens of wrong and suffering, as we cleave our way through thefields of ether up towards the stars; and that lovely one the spiritshold so tenderly, how still and calm is every line!--she is at peaceafter the storm and the agony, and for a space we lie still as she inthose angel arms. Of the same class is Raphael's 'Transfiguration, 'which is magnificent if we only contemplate the grouping of thefigures, but truly sublime in the ideas it suggests. Flaxman's'Mercury and Pandora' likewise, elegant and graceful in the highestdegree, is peculiarly suited for generally used rooms and constantdelight. But specimens crowd into our recollection for which we havenot space. General sitting-rooms can bear a _variety_ of subject andsuggestion--they will have a variety of inhabitants or visitors; andwhile bearing the impress of a certain unity, they should containpleasure for all, and stimuli for differing minds. We would nothabitually admit in them works of art which rouse too painful a classof emotions. Fuseli's picture of 'Count Ugolino in Prison, ' in whichthe stony fixedness of despair deprives us, as we gaze, almost of theliving hope within us, we could not bear to have near us habitually. That wonderfully beautiful marble of Francesca di Rimini and herlover, which appeared in the Great Exhibition last year, would comeunder the same law of banishment. It realised so perfectly thehopelessness of hell, that at sight of it we swooned in spirit asDante did in reality. Life has so many stern realities for most of us, that in art we need relief, and generally desire to find renewed hopeand faith through delight and gladness. 

In rooms where we need care to please only ourselves, we can followour own tastes more entirely and freely. In them, shall we not have aMadonna whose 'eyes are homes of silent prayer?'--a copy of De laRoche's 'Christ, ' so touching in its sad and noble serenity? or somebust or engraving of poet or hero, which shall be to us as abiography, never failing to stimulate us in the best direction? Orshall we have a copy of that fine Mercury, who stands resting lightlyon the earth with one foot, and raised, outstretched arms, in the actof ascending from it--the embodiment of aspiration? All these thingsare symbols of noble thought, and they may belong to us as easily nowas a copy of Bacon or Shakspeare. Here is great cause for rejoicing. Fantastic furniture, old china, and such-like things, will one day besuperseded in drawing-rooms, just as the old, barbarously-coloured'Noahs' and 'Abrahams' of the cottage may now easily be by pictures inbetter perspective and purer taste. Then there will be danger ofcrowding rooms with good things--a great mistake also: an ornamentshould have a simple background, should 'shew like metal on a sullenground. ' Rooms, from temptations of wealth or taste, should neverbecome mere pretty curiosity-shops. Forbearance and self-control arenecessary in this as in all things. 'To gild refined gold' is worsethan useless. 

Let us not question the need of such thought and care for meredwelling-places. Are not rooms the nurseries of the young spiritsamong us, the resting-places of all others on their pilgrimage? Andbecause everything is important that influences and educates thesoul, love and thought shall work together in our homes, and create inall details something akin to the universal harmony they shouldtypify. 

INVESTMENTS!

What is to be done with the money which is realised in the ordinarycourse of affairs, has latterly become a kind of puzzle. There it goeson accumulating as a result of industry; but what then? A person canbut eat one dinner in the day; two or three coats are about all heneeds for the outer man; he can but live in one house at a time; and, in short, after paying away all he needs to pay, he finds that he hasnot a little over for--investment. Since our young days, this wordinvestment has come remarkably into use. All are looking forinvestments; and as supply ordinarily follows demand, up there rise, at periodical intervals, an amazing number of plans for the saidinvestments--in plain English, relieving people of their money. A fewyears ago, railways were the favourite absorbents. Railways, on asomewhat more honest principle, may possibly again have their day. Meanwhile, the man of money has opened up to him a very comprehensivefield for the investment of his cash: he can send it upon any missionhe chooses; he may dig turf with it, or he may dig gold; he may catchwhales, or he may catch sprats, or do fifty other things; but if hesee it again after having relinquished his hold upon it, he must haveexercised more discretion than falls to the lot of the majority of HerMajesty's lieges in their helter-skelter steeple-chasing after 20 percent. Our present business, however, is not with legitimatespeculation, but with schemes in which no discretion is exercised, orby which discretion is set to sleep--in a word, with bubbleinvestments; and the history of many of the most promising of thesespeculations may be read in the following brief and not altogethermythical biography, of an interesting specimen which suddenly fellinto a declining way, and is supposed to have lately departed thislife. 

The Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company wasborn from the brain of Aurophilus Dobrown, Esq. , of Smallchange Dell, in the county of Middlesex, between the hours of ten and eleven atnight on the 14th of October 1851. It was at first a shapeless andunpromising bantling; but being introduced to the patronage of aconclave of experienced drynurses, it speedily became developed inform and proportion; and before it was ten days old, was formallyintroduced, with official garniture, to the expectant public, by whomit was received with general approbation and favour. The new company, in a dashing prospectus, held forth a certain prospect of enormousadvantages to shareholders, with an entire exemption fromresponsibility of every sort. The shares were a million in number, atone pound each, without any further call--on the loose-cash principle, and no signing of documents. Aurophilus Dobrown was chairman of thecommittee of management. 

The intentions of the company, as detailed at length in their eloquentprospectus, were to invade the gold regions of the Australiancontinent with a monster engine, contrived by the indefatigableCrushcliff, and which, it was confidently expected, would devour thesoil of the auriferous district at a rate averaging about three tonsper minute. It was furnished, so the engineer averred, with a stomachof 250 tons capacity, supplied with peristaltic grinders of steel ofthe most obdurate temper, enabling it with ease to digest the hardestgranite rocks, to crush the masses of quartz into powder, and todeposit the virgin gold upon a sliding floor underneath. The machinewas to be set in motion by the irresistible force of 'the pressurefrom without, ' and 1000 pounds-weight of pure gold per diem wasconsidered a very low estimate of its powers of production. Thesereasonable expectations being modestly set forth in circulars andpublic advertisements, and backed by the august patronage of therespectable and responsible individuals above named, the Long RangeExcavator Company speedily grew into vast repute. The starving herdencamped in Stagg's Alley, flew at once to pen, ink, and paper, andapplications for shares poured in by thousands. Referees were huntedup, or they were not--that is no great matter. Half a million of theshares were duly allotted; and that done, to the supreme delectationof the stags, Mr Stickemup the broker, in conjunction with his oldfriend and colleague Mr Knockemoff, fixed the price of shares by aninaugural transaction of considerable amount, at 25 per cent. Abovepar, at which they went off briskly. Now were the stags to be seenflying in every direction, eager to turn a penny before the inevitablehour appointed for payment on the shares. It was curious to observethe gradual wane of covetousness in the cerval mind; how, as thefateful hour approached, their demand for profit grew small by degreesand beautifully less. From 4s. Premium per share to 3s. ; from 3s. To2s. ; from 2s. To 1s. ; and thence to such a thing as 9d. , 8d. , 7d. , andstill downwards, till, as the hand of the dial verged upon the closingstroke of the bell, they condescended to resign their Long RangeExcavators to the charge of buyers who _could_ pay for the shares theyheld. The company was now fairly afloat. By the aid of

 A few clever riggers to put on the pot, To stir it round gently, and serve while 'twas hot, the shares rose higher than had been expected. Aurophilus Dobrown soldhis 50, 000 at a handsome premium, and realised what he was pleasedprivately to term 'something substantial' by the speculation. Thepublic became enthusiastic on the subject of the Long RangeExcavators, and for a few short weeks they were the favouritespeculation of the market. By and by, however, a rumour began to bewhispered about on the subject of the monster-machine, the stomach ofwhich, it was secretly hinted, was alarmingly out of order, andresisted all the tonics of the engineer. It was currently reportedamong parties most interested, that from late experiments made, previous to embarkation, it had been ascertained beyond a doubt, thatthough the peristaltic apparatus digested pints with perfect ease, ityet rejected quartz--a defect which it was but too plain would befatal to the production of gold. The effect of this rumour was mostalarmingly depressing upon the value of the shares. In a few days, they fell 50 per cent. Below par, with few buyers even at that. Atthis juncture, it was discovered that one of the directors wasactively bearing the market; but the discovery was not made beforethat disinterested personage, who had previously disposed of the wholeof his original allotment at a handsome premium, had secured above10, 000 new shares at a cost of about half their upset value. Acolleague openly accused him of this disgraceful traffic at a generalmeeting of the directors, and declared that he had not words toexpress his disgust at one who, for the sake of his own personalprofit, could condescend to depreciate the property of hisconstituents. The accused retorted, and the meeting growing stormy andabusive, ended late at night with closed doors. 

A few days after, affairs again began to take a turn upwards. Thefailure of the engine was declared to be an erroneous and altogetherunfounded report. It was boldly asserted, that the small model-engineof one inch to the foot, had actually crushed several masses of Scotchgranite, and eliminated seven or eight ounces of pure metal; and thesespecimens were exhibited under a glass-case in the office of thecompany, in proof of their triumphant success. Now the shares roseagain as rapidly as they had lately fallen, and honourable gentlemenwho had held on, had an opportunity of turning themselves round. It isto be supposed that some of them at least did that to theirsatisfaction; at anyrate, the respectable and responsible concoctersof the Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Companyvery soon began to turn their backs upon the public altogether. Bydegrees, the whole body of directors, trustees, counsel and agents, dwindled down to a solitary clerk paring his nails in a desertedoffice. Shares at a discount of 60, 70, 80, 90 per cent. Attested thedecline of the speculation. Honourable gentlemen were reported to havegone upon their travels. The office was at first 'temporarily closed, 'and then let to the new company for Bridging the Dardanelles on theTubular Principle. The engine of the Long Range Excavators, accordingto the last report, had foundered--but whether in the brain ofCrushcliff, the engineer, or on the Scilly Rocks, we could not clearlymake out. The only one of the original promoters who has latterlycondescended to gratify the gaze of the public, is the BaronBadlihoff, who, a few days ago, made his appearance on themonkey-board of an omnibus, whence he was suddenly escorted bypoliceman B. 1001, to the presence of a magistrate, whounsympathisingly transferred him to Clerkenwell Jail, for certainpaltry threepenny defalcations, due to a lapse of memory which ourshameful code persists in regarding as worthy of incarceration andhard labour. He is now an active member of a company legallyincorporated under government sanction, for grinding the wind upon therevolving principle. It is not precisely known when the first dividendon the Long Range Excavators will be declared. Sanguine speculators inthe L. R. E. , and the Thames Conflagration Company, expect to drawboth dividends on the same day. In the meantime, the books are safe inthe custody of Messrs Holdem Tight and Brass, of Thieves' Inn; andill-natured people are not wanting, who insinuate that they constitutethe only property available for the benefit of the shareholders. 

Let us now take a glance at a snug little commercial bubble, blowninto being by 'highly respectable men, ' a private affair altogether, which never had a name upon 'Change, and was managed--we cannot say tothe satisfaction of all parties--by the originating contrivers, without making any noise in the papers, or exciting public attentionin any way. We will call it, for the sake of a name, 'The Babel andLowriver Steam Navigation Company. ' Lowriver is a pleasant, genteellittle village, which has of late years sprung suddenly into existenceon the coast of ----shire, and has been growing, for the last sevenyears, with each succeeding summer, more and more a place of favouriteresort with the inhabitants of Babel. Mr Montague Whalebone took anearly liking to the place, and built a row of goodly houses by thewater-side, and a grand hotel at the end of the few stumps of pitchystakes dignified by the name of the pier. But the hotel lackedcustomers, and the houses wanted tenants; and the whole affairthreatened to fall a prey to river-fog and mildew, when the Babel andLowriver Steam Navigation Company came to the rescue, and placed itupon a permanent and expansive footing. Of the original constitutionof this snug company, it is not easy to say anything with certainty. All we know is, that, some seven years ago, it was currently spoken ofin private circles as a capital investment for money, supposing onlythat shares could be got: _that_ was the difficult thing. Largedividends were to be realised by building four steamers, and runningthem between Babel and Lowriver. Upon the neat hot-pressed prospectus, privately and sparingly circulated--it was whispered that it was toogood a thing to go a begging--appeared the names of Erebus Carbon, Esq. , of Diamond Wharf; of Montague Whalebone, Esq. , of Lowriver; ofLarboard Starboard, Esq. , ship-builder; and Piston Rodd, Esq. , of thefirm of Boiler & Rodd, engineers, as directors. The shares were L. 20each, liable to calls, though no calls were anticipated; and it wasreckoned an enormous favour to get them. Traffic in shares wasdiscountenanced: the company had no wish to be regarded as a clusterof speculators, but rather as a band of brothers, co-operatingtogether for their common benefit. Of course, the necessary legalformalities were gone through--that could not safely be dispensedwith. 

In spite of the difficulty of obtaining shares, a pretty large numberof them got into the hands of the respectable portion of the public, and the whole were soon taken up. The boats were built by LarboardStarboard, Esq. ; and the engines, as a matter of course, were put onboard by Messrs Boiler & Rodd; Erebus Carbon, Esq. , supplied, at thecurrent rates, the necessary fuel; and at all hours of the day thevessels ran backwards and forwards, carrying customers to Mr MontagueWhalebone's hotel, and lodgers to the new tenements, which soon beganto rise around it in all directions. Lowriver took amazingly, and roserapidly in public estimation; the boats filled well, and thespeculation promised great things. When, however, after several mouthsof undeviating prosperity, the shareholders began to look for somereturn for their capital in the shape of a dividend, each one of themwas individually surprised by a 'call:' L. 5 a share was wanted toclear off urgent responsibilities. 'The outfitting costs had beengreater than was foreseen, ' and the demands upon the shareholders werenot likely to be limited to the first call. The victims rushed, asthey were invited to do, to the office, to inspect the accounts. Theengineer was there to receive them, and, all suavity and politeness, submitted every fact and figure to their investigation. There wasnothing to be found fault with--everything was fairly booked; butthere was a heavy balance dead against the company. The engineerhimself put a long face upon the affair, and shrugged his shoulders, and mumbled something about having burned his own fingers, &c. Afterthis, reports soon got abroad very prejudicial to the value of theinvestments. Then came the winter, during which few passengerstravelled to Lowriver; and with Christmas came another L. 5 call. People grew tired of paying 20 per cent. For nothing, and manyforfeited their shares by suffering them to be sold to pay the calls. This game went on for nearly three years--all 'calls' and nodividends; until at length it would have been difficult to find fivepersons out of the original 500 who held shares in the Babel andLowriver Steam Navigation Company, and there was next to nobody leftto _call_ upon. 

Years have rolled on since then. Lowriver has grown into a popular andpopulous marine summer residence. Mr Montague Whalebone, who knew whathe was about, having bought and leased the building-ground, has becomethe owner of a vast property increasing in value every day. LarboardStarboard, Esq. , is on the way to become a millionaire, and hasseveral new boats building for the company's service at the presentmoment. Messrs Boiler & Rodd have quintupled their establishment, andare in a condition to execute government contracts. Erebus Carbon, Esq. , has found a market in the company for hundreds of thousands oftons of coal, and, from keeping a solitary wharf, has come to be theowner of a fleet of colliers. At this hour, the company consists ofsix individuals--the four original projectors, and a couple of oldcodgers--'knowing files, ' who had the penetration, in the beginning, to see through the 'bearing dodge, ' and would not be beaten orfrightened off. They paid up every call upon shares, and boughtothers--and then, by shewing a bold front, asserted a voice in themanagement, and crushed in to a full and fair share of the profits. They have made solid fortunes by the speculation; while the originalshareholders, whose money brought the company into existence, havereaped nothing but losses and vexation in return for their capital. 

But enough, and more than enough, on the score of the delusive farceswhich, with pretences almost as transparent as the above, are fromtime to time played off for the purpose of easing the public of theirsuperfluous cash. Let us glance briefly at a speculation of adifferent kind, no less a bubble as it proved, but one whose tragicissues have already wrought the wreck of many innocent families, andwhich, at the present moment, under the operation of the Winding-upAct, is darkening with ruin and the fear of ruin a hundred humbleabodes. We have good reason to know its history too well; and weshall, in as few words as possible, present the facts most importantto be known to the reader's consideration, with the view ofinculcating caution by the misfortunes of others, and shewing at thesame time how possible it is, under the present law regulatingjoint-stock partnerships, for an honest man, by the most inadvertentact, to entail misery upon himself, and destitution upon hisoffspring. 

It is some fifteen or twenty years ago, since a company of two orthree speculative geniuses issued a plan for establishing, in adelightful glen situated but a few miles from a well-known Welsh portin the Bristol Channel, a brewery upon an extensive scale. Theprospectus, as a matter of course, promised to the shareholders theusual golden advantages. The crystal current which meandered throughthe valley was to be converted into malt-liquor--so great were thenatural and artificial advantages which combined to effect thatresult--at one-half the cost of such a transformation in any otherlocality; and the liquor produced was to be of such exquisite relishand potency, that all Britain was to compete for its possession. Soplausible was everything made to appear, that men of commerciallyacquired fortune, of the greatest experience, and of long-triedjudgment, invested their capital in the fullest confidence of success. Following their example, tradesmen and employers did the same; and, inimitation of their betters, numbers of persons of the classes of smallshopkeepers and labouring-men invested their small savings in sharesin the 'Romantic Valley Brewery. ' The number of joint-proprietorsamounted in all to some hundreds, holding L. 20 shares in numbersproportioned to their means or their speculative spirit. Not one infifty of them knew anything of the art of brewing, or had anyknowledge of the locality where the scheme was to be carried out; butno doubt was entertained of the speedy and great success which waspromised. 

The land was bought, the necessary buildings were substantiallyerected, and the three principal concocters of the scheme, one of whomwas a lawyer, were appointed to manage the concern, and empowered toborrow money in case it should be wanted, to complete the plant, andto work it until the profits came in. They had every advantage for theproduction of a cheap and superior article: labour, land-carriage, andwater-carriage, were all at a low charge in the neighbourhood; andmaterials, upon the whole, rated rather under than over the average. Year after year, however, passed away, and not a farthing of dividendcame to the shareholders; promises only of large profits at somefuture period--that was all. It happened that none of the shareholdershad invested any very large sums, and this was thought a fortunatecircumstance, as none of them felt very deeply involved. The rich hadspeculated with their superfluity, and they could bear to joke on thesubject of the Romantic Valley, though they shook their heads when thesupposed value of the shares was hinted at. The poor felt it more, andsome of the neediest sold their single shares or half-shares at aterrible discount, while they would yet realise something. As timerolled on, several of the older proprietors died off, and willed away, with the rest of their property, the Romantic Valley Brewery shares totheir friends and relatives. A considerable number of them thus passedfrom the first holders to the hands of others, one and all of whomnaturally accepted the legacies devised to them, and gave thenecessary signatures to the documents which made the shares their own. 

Meanwhile, the managers went on working an unprofitable business, borrowing money on the credit of the joint proprietors; and in theface of all the advantages upon which they plumed themselves, plungeddeeper and deeper into debt, until, being forced to borrow at a highrate of interest to pay for the use of former loans, they found theircredit, in the thirteenth year of their existence, completelyexhausted; and then the bubble burst at once in ruin, utter andcomplete, overwhelming all who were legally connected with it, eitherby original purchase, by transfer, or by inheritance. Independentcountry gentlemen, west-country manufacturers, and merchants ofsubstantial capital, were summarily pounced upon by the fangs of thelaw, and all simultaneously stripped of everything they possessed inthe world. Professional men, the fathers of families genteelly bredand educated, were summarily bereft of every farthing, and condemnedin the decline of life to begin the world afresh. Not a few, seizedwith mortal chagrin at the horrible consummation of an affair whichhad never been anything but a source of loss and annoyance, sunk atonce into the grave. Others--accustomed perhaps for half a century tothe appliances of ease and luxury, and who were the owners ofhospitable mansions, the centres of genteel resort--at the presentmoment hide their heads in cottages, and huts, and eleemosynarychambers, where they wither in silence and neglect under the coldbreath of alien charity. Some, at threescore, are driven forth from alife of indulgence and inactivity, to earn their daily bread. Youngand rising tradesmen, who had had the misfortune to inherit from arelative or a patron but a few shares, or even a single one, sawthemselves at once precipitated into bankruptcy. One case, for whichwe can personally vouch, is beyond measure distressing: a gentleman ofgood fortune dying, had bequeathed to each of a large family ofdaughters a handsome provision; shortly before the bursting of thefearful bubble, the mother also died, dividing by will her own fortuneamong the young ladies, and leaving to each one a few shares in theRomantic Valley Brewery. The transference of these shares to theseveral children made the whole of them liable to the extent of theirentire property; and the whole six unfortunates were actually beggaredto the last farthing, and cast upon the world to shift as they might. To detail the domestic desolation caused by this iniquitous affair, would require the space of a large volume. It has wrought nothing butwretchedness and ruin to those to whom it promised unexampledprosperity, and it is yet working still more--nor is it likely tostop, for aught that we can see, so long as it presents a mark forlegal cupidity. All that could be got for the creditors has beenextorted long ago from the wealthier portion of the victims; but theloans are not yet all liquidated, and the claim yet remainingunsatisfied, is now the pretext under which the lawyers are suckingthe life-blood from the hard-working and struggling class ofshareholders, who, while industriously striving for a respectableposition, are considered worth crushing for the sake of the costs, though they will never yield a penny towards the debt. 

Besides the persons who have the settlement of affairs in their hands, the original concocters of the company are the only persons who haveprofited from its operations. They indeed ride gloriously aloft abovethe ruin they have wrought. The process by which they have managed toextract a lordly independence for themselves, from a scheme which hasresulted in the destitution and misery of every other participator, isa mystery we do not pretend to fathom in this case--though it is oneof by no means unusual occurrence in connection with bubble-companiesof all sorts. 

THE OSTRICH. 

For the following particulars relative to the habits of the ostrich, and the various modes of taking it, we are indebted to a gentlemanwho spent many years in Northern Africa, and collected thesedetails from native sportsmen, his principal informant beingAbd-el-Kader-Mohammed-ben-Kaddour, a Nimrod of renown throughout theArab tribes of this region. 

The ostrich country, says Ben-Kaddour, may be described as arectangle, of which the towns of Insalah, Figig, Sidi-Okba, andWarklah form the angles; that is, it comprises the northern skirts ofthe Saharian desert, where water and herbage are plentiful incomparison with the arid plains of the centre. Throughout this region, ostriches may frequently be seen travelling in pairs, or in companiesof four or five couples; but wherever there has been a recent fall ofrain, one is almost sure to find them grazing together in largenumbers, appearing at a distance like a herd of camels. This is afavourable opportunity for ostrich-hunting, especially if the weatheris very warm; for the greater the heat, the less vigour have the birdsfor prolonging the chase. It is well known, that though the ostrichcannot raise itself into the air, it is nevertheless so swift of foot, that it cannot be fairly run down even by the horses of this region, which, on an emergency, are known to run 180 miles in a single day. Anostrich-hunt is, therefore, undertaken by at least ten horsementogether, who, being apprized of the spot where a large group arefeeding, approach with extreme caution, and form a cordon round them. To prevent the birds from escaping from the circle thus formed, is allthey attempt, and it requires their utmost dexterity. The terrifiedcreatures run hither and thither; and not managing their breath asthey would do in an ordinary pursuit, they at length become exhausted, and betray it by flapping their wings. The sportsmen now falldeliberately upon them, and either lead them away alive, or fell themwith a blow on the head. Their first care is to remove the skin, so asto preserve the feathers uninjured; the next is to melt down the fat, and pour it into bags formed of the skin of the thigh and leg, strongly tied at the lower end. The grease of an ostrich in goodcondition fills both its legs; and as it brings three times the priceof common butter, it is considered no despicable part of the game. Itis not only eaten with bread, and used in the preparation of kooskoos, and other articles of food, but the Arabs reckon it a valuable remedyin various maladies. In rheumatic attacks, for instance, they rub iton the part affected till it penetrates thoroughly; then lay thepatient in the burning sand, with his head carefully protected. Aprofuse perspiration comes on, and the cure is complete. In biliousdisorders, the grease is lightly warmed, mixed with salt, andadministered as a potion. It acts thus as a powerful aperient, andcauses great emaciation for the time; but the patient, say the Arabs, having been thus relieved from all the bad humours in his body, afterwards acquires robust health, and his sight becomes singularlygood. The flesh of the ostriches, dressed with pepper and meal, formsthe supper of the sportsmen. 

Ostrich-shooting is conducted in quite a different manner, and as itis practised only or chiefly during the period of incubation, it is toit we are principally indebted for the acquaintance which the Arabshave gained with the habits of these singular birds. 

The pairing-season is the month of August. The _reumda_ (female) isgenerally shy, and the _delim_ has often to pursue the object of hischoice at full speed for four or five days, during which he neithereats nor drinks. When, however, she has consented to be his, she neveragain quits him till the young ones are reared; and the bond betweenthem is equally respected by all their companions: there is nofighting about mates, as among some other gregarious species. 

The period of incubation begins in the month of November, and presentsthe best opportunity for shooting the ostrich. At this season, also, the feathers are in the finest condition, though the fat is much lessabundant. Five or six sportsmen set out together on horseback, takingwith them two camels laden with provisions for a month, besides anabundant supply of powder and ball. They search for places where rainhas lately fallen, or where pools of water occur, for in suchlocalities there is likely to be that plentiful herbage which neverfails to attract the ostrich. Having discovered its footprints, thesportsmen examine them with care. If they appear only here and thereon the bare spots, they indicate that the bird has been here to graze;but if they cross each other in various directions, and the grass israther trampled down than eaten, the ostrich has certainly made hernest in the neighbourhood, and an active but cautious search for it iscommenced. If she is only making her nest, the operation may bedetected at a great distance, as it consists simply of pushing out thesand from the centre to the circumference of a circle, so as to form alarge hole. The sand rises in dense clouds round the spot, and thebird utters a pining cry all day long. When the nest is finished, shecries only towards three in the afternoon. The female sits on the eggsfrom morning till noon, while her mate is grazing; at noon, he takesher place, and she goes to the pasture in her turn. When she returns, she places herself facing her mate, and at the distance of five or sixpaces from the nest, which he occupies all night, in order to defendit from enemies, especially from the jackals, which often lie inambush, ready to take advantage of an unguarded moment. Hunters oftenfind the carcasses of these animals near ostriches' nests. 

In the morning, while the reumda is sitting, the sportsmen dig on eachside of the nest, and at about twenty paces from it, a hole deepenough to contain a man. In each of these they lodge one of their bestmarksmen, and cover him up with long grass, allowing only the gun toprotrude. One of these is to shoot the male, the other the female. Thereumda, seeing this operation going forward, becomes terrified, andruns off to join her mate; but he does not believe there is any groundfor her terror, and with somewhat ungallant chastisement, forces herto return. If these preparations were made while the delim wassitting, he would go after her, and neither would return. The reumdahaving resumed her place, the sportsmen take care not to disturb her;it is the rule to shoot the delim first, and they patiently wait hisreturn from the pasture. At noon, he takes his place as usual, sittingwith his wings outspread, so as to cover all the eggs. In thisposition, the thighs are extremely prominent, and the appointedmarksman takes aim at them, because, if he succeeds in breaking them, there is no chance of escape, which there would be if almost any otherpart were wounded. As soon as he falls, the other sportsmen, attractedby the report, run up and bleed him according to the laws of theKoran. They hide the carcass, and cover with sand every trace of theblood that has been shed. When the reumda comes home at night, sheappears not uneasy at the absence of her mate, but probably concludingthat he was hungry, and has gone for some supper, she takes his placeon the eggs, and is killed by the second marksman in the same way asthe delim. The ostrich is often waylaid in a similar manner at itsusual drinking-place, a good shot being concealed in a hole, whencehe fires on it. The ostrich drinks nearly every five days when thereis water; otherwise it can do without it for a much longer time. Nothing but excessive thirst induces it ever to approach a humanhabitation, and then it flies as soon as it is satisfied. It has beenobserved, that whenever the flashing lightning announces anapproaching storm, it hastens towards the water. Though single birdsmay often be shot on these occasions, it is a much less certain sportthan killing them on the nest, and less profitable, as in the lattercase the eggs form no contemptible part of the spoil. 

The nest of an ordinary pair contains from twenty-five to thirty eggs. But it often happens that several couples unite to hatch together: inthis case, they form a great circular cavity, the eldest couple laytheir eggs in the centre, and the others make a regular disposition oftheirs around them. Thus, if there are four younger couples, theyoccupy the four angles of a square. When the laying is finished, theeggs are pushed towards the centre, but not mixed; and when the eldestdelim begins to sit, all the rest take their places where their eggshave been laid, the females observing similar order. Theseassociations are found only where the herbage is very plentiful, andthey are understood always to be family groups, the centre couplebeing the parents of the rest. The younger birds lay fewer and smallereggs--those of one year old, for instance, have only four or five. Theperiod of incubation is ninety days. 

In the case of several couples associated thus in the same nest, thesportsmen do not attempt to destroy any but the old ones; for if theywere to set about making as many holes as there were ostriches, thewhole company would take fright and decamp. But perhaps it isdetermined to leave them all in peaceable possession for the present, and rather make a prey of the brood when hatched. The watching of thenests in such cases has led to further observations. The eggs of eachpair are disposed in a heap, always surmounted by a conspicuous one, which was the first laid, and has a peculiar destination. When thedelim perceives that the moment of hatching has arrived, he breaks theegg which he judges most matured, and at the same time he bores withgreat care a small hole in the surmounting egg. This serves as thefirst food of the nestlings; and for this purpose, though open, itcontinues long without spoiling, which is the more necessary, as thedelim does not break all the eggs on the same day, but only three orfour, and so on, as he hears the young ones stirring within. This eggis always liquid, but whether by a provision of nature in its originalcomposition, or through the instinct of the parent-birds in avoidingto keep it covered like the rest, is not ascertained. The young ones, having received this their first nourishment, are immediately dried inthe sun, and begin to run about; in a few days they follow theparent-birds to the pastures, always returning to shelter under theirwings in the nest. 

The paternal affection of the delim is remarkable: he never leaves hisoffspring; he faces every danger, and combats every foe in theirdefence. The reumda, on the contrary, is easily terrified, and leavesall to secure her own safety; so that it is usual to compare a man whobravely defends his tent to a delim, and a pusillanimous soul to areumda. The delim finds himself more than a match for the dog, thejackal, the hyæna, or the eagle: man is his only invincible foe; yethe dares to wage the unequal war when the young are in danger. If theArabs desire to make a prey of the ral, as the young ostriches arecalled, they follow their footmarks, and having nearly overtaken them, they begin to shout; the terrified birds run to their parents, whoface about, and stand still to fight for them; so the Arabs lead awaythe ral before their eyes, in spite of the bravadoes of the delim, whothen manifests the liveliest grief. Sometimes the greyhound isemployed in this sport: the delim attacks him, and while they arefighting, the men carry off the young ones, to bring them up in theirtents. 

The ral are easily tamed; they sleep under the tent, are exceedinglylively, and play with the children and dogs. When the tents are struckfor a flitting, the pet ostriches follow the camels, and are neverknown to make their escape during the migration. If a hare passes, andthe men start in pursuit of it, the ostrich darts off in the samedirection, and joins the chase. If she meets in the douar (village oftents) a child holding any eatable thing in its hand, she lays himgently on the ground, and robs without hurting him. But the tameostrich is a great thief, or rather is so voracious, it devourseverything it finds--even knives, female trinkets, and pieces of iron. The Arab on whose authority these details are given, relates that awoman had her coral-necklace carried off and swallowed by an ostrich;and an officer in the African army affirms, that one of them tore offand ate the buttons of his surtout. The ostrich is, at the same time, exceedingly dexterous; so that she will tear a date from a man's mouthwithout hurting him. The Arabs are distrustful of her, and know whereto lay the blame if, on counting their money, they find two or threedollars missing. 

It is no uncommon thing to see, at some distance from a douar, awearied child riding on the back of an ostrich, which carries itsburden directly towards the tent, the young Jehu holding on by thepinions. But she would not carry too heavy a load--a man, forinstance--but would throw him on the ground with a flap of her wing. 

When ostriches are taken to market in Africa, their legs are tiedalmost close together with a cord, another cord attached to this onebeing held in the hand. 

PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The official statement of the United States' census, published atWashington in December last, furnishes us with the means of knowingwhat our American brethren have been doing in the ten years from 1840to 1850. In that decennial period, the whole territory had increasedfrom 2, 055, 163 to 3, 221, 595 square miles, exclusive of the great lakesin the interior, and deeply-indenting bays on the coast. The grosspopulation in June 1850, numbered 23, 246, 201; an increase from June1840 of 6, 176, 848. Of these, 19, 619, 366 were whites; 3, 198, 298 wereslaves; and free blacks, 428, 637; the increase having beenrespectively, 5, 423, 371--711, 085--42, 392. The whole increase wasequivalent to 3-1/2 per cent. ; while in Europe, it is not more than1-1/2 per cent. ; and if it continue as at present, the populationwill, forty years hence, exceed that of England, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland put together. The deaths in the lastof the ten years were 320, 194, being 1 to each 72. 6, or 10 to each 726of the inhabitants; this return is, however, supposed to involve anerror, as the mortality is less in proportion than in the mostfavoured parts of Europe; whereas the reverse is generally consideredto be the fact. In the same year, 1467 slaves were manumitted, and1011 escaped. The number of emigrants from foreign countries duringthe 10 years was 1, 542, 850. 

Among the individual states, the most populous are New York, whichnumbers 3, 097, 394 inhabitants; Pennsylvania, 2, 311, 786; Ohio, 1, 980, 408; Virginia, 1, 421, 661; Massachusetts, 994, 499; Indiana, 988, 416; Kentucky, 982, 405; Georgia, 905, 999. Taking the whole 31states, the proportion of inhabitants is 15. 48 to the square mile: thefree states comprise 13, 605, 630, and the slave states, 9, 491, 759 ofpopulation. 

To supply this population, there are 2800 newspapers: 424 in the NewEngland states; 876 in the middle states; 716 in the southern states;and 784 in the western states. Three hundred and fifty are _dailies_, 150 three times a week, 125 twice a week, 2000 weekly, 50 fortnightly, 100 monthly, and 25 quarterly: the aggregate circulation being422, 600, 000 yearly. There is 1 periodical for every 7161 freeinhabitants. 

The capital invested in manufactures, excluding the establishmentsunder 500 dollars of annual value, amounted to 530, 000, 000 dollars;the value of raw material was 550, 000, 000; the amount paid for labour(in one year we presume), 240, 000, 000; value of articles manufactured, 1, 020, 300, 000; persons employed, 1, 050, 000. There were 1094 cotton'establishments' in operation, which produced 763, 678, 407 yards ofsheeting; 1559 woollen establishments, which produced 82, 206, 652 yardsof cloth; 2190 iron establishments, which produced 1, 165, 544 tons ofiron of various kinds. 

Of improved lands, there were 112, 042, 000 acres; of wheat, 104, 799, 230bushels were grown in the last year; 591, 586, 053 bushels of Indiancorn; 199, 532, 494 pounds of tobacco; 13, 605, 384 tons of hay;32, 759, 263 pounds of maple-sugar were made; 314, 644 hogsheads ofcane-sugar of 1000 pounds each; 312, 202, 286 pounds of butter; and103, 184, 585 pounds of cheese. 

EFFECT OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION ON LOCOMOTION. 

The following is from _Herapath's Journal_ on the effect of theearth's rotation on locomotion: 'Mr Uriah Clarke, of Leicester, hascalled our attention to an article in the _Mechanic's Magazine_, byhimself, on the influence of the earth's rotation on locomotion. It iswell known, that as the earth revolves on its axis once in twenty-fourhours, from west to east, the velocity of any point on its surface isgreater nearer the equator, and less further from it, in the ratio ofthe cosine of the latitude. Mr Clarke says: "Some rather importantconclusions in relation to railway travelling arise out of the viewnow taken. The difference between the rotative velocity of the earthin surface-motion at London and at Liverpool is about twenty-eightmiles per hour; and this amount of lateral movement is to be gained orlost, as respects the locomotion in each journey, according to thedirection we are travelling in from the one place to the other; and inproportion to the speed will be the pressure against the side of therails, which, at a high velocity, will give the engine a tendency toclimb the right-hand rail in each direction. Could the journey beperformed in two hours between London and Liverpool, this lateralmovement, or rotative velocity of the locomotive, would have to beincreased or diminished at the rate of nearly one-quarter of a mileper minute, and that entirely by side-pressure on the rail, which, ifnot sufficient to cause the engine to leave the line, would be quitesufficient to produce violent and dangerous oscillation. It may beobserved, in conclusion, that as the cause above alluded to will beinoperative while we travel along the parallels of latitude, itclearly follows, that a higher degree of speed may be attained withsafety on a railway running east and west than on one which runs northand south. " There is no doubt of the tendency Mr Clarke speaks of onthe right-hand rail, but we do not think it will be found to be sodangerous as he says. It will be greatest on the Great Northern andBerwick lines, and least on the Great Western. '

FOREST SCENERY OF AMERICA. 

The forests between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, where thecountry is very flat and wet, are composed almost entirely of blackcypress; they grow so thick that the tops get intermixed andinterlaced, and form almost a matting overhead, through whichthe sun scarcely ever penetrates. The trees are covered withunwholesome-looking mosses, which exhale a damp earthy smell, like acellar. The ground is so covered with a rank growth of elder and othershrubs, many of them with thorns an inch long, and with fallen anddecayed trunks of trees, that it is impossible to take a step withoutbreaking one's shins. Not a bird or animal of any kind is to be seen, and a deathlike silence reigns through the forest, which is only nowand then interrupted by the rattle of the rattlesnake (like a clockgoing down), and the chirrup of the chitnunck, or squirrel. The sombrecolour of the foliage, the absence of all sun even at mid-day, and thevault-like chilliness one feels when entering a cypress swamp, is farfrom cheering; and I don't know any position so likely to give one thehorrors as being lost in one, or where one could so well realise whata desolate loneliness is. The wasps, whose nests like great gourdshang from the trees about the level of one's face; the mosquitoes inmillions; the little black flies, and venomous snakes, all add their'little possible' to render a tramp through a cypress swampagreeable. --_Sullivan's Rambles_. 

THE BETTER THOUGHT. 

 The Better Thought! how oft in days When youthful passion fired my breast, And drove me into devious ways, Didst thou my wandering steps arrest, And, whispering gently in mine ear Thine angel-message, fraught with love, Check for the time my mad career, And melt the heart naught else could move!

 Thine was no stern and harsh rebuke; No 'friend's advice, ' so true, so cold; No message wise, such as in book, Or by the teacher oft is told, Which, like the pointless arrow, falls, And rings perhaps with hollow sound, But ne'er the wanderer recalls, And ne'er inflicts the healing wound. 

 Thy voice was gentle, winning, mild; Thy words told thou wert from above, Like those with which the wayward child Is wooed by a fond mother's love; Or like a strain of music stealing Across the calm and moonlit seas, Which moves the heart of sternest feeling, And wakes its deeper harmonies. 

 Sweet was thy presence, welcomed guest; And I, responsive to thy call, Arose, and felt within my breast A power that made the fetters fall From off my long enthrallèd soul, And woke, as with a magic spell, Griefs which yet owned the soft control Of hopes that all might still be well. 

 But ah, thou wast an injured guest! How soon departed, soon forgot, Were all the hopes of coming rest That clustered round the Better Thought-- The tender griefs, the firm resolves, The yearnings after better days, Like transient sunlight which dissolves, And leaves no traces of its rays!

 Yet I despair not--through the night That long has reigned with tyrant sway, E'en now I see the opening light, The harbinger of coming day; To Heaven I now direct my prayer-- O God of love, forsake me not! Grant that my waywardness may ne'er Quench the returning Better Thought!

 GARVALD. J. F. 

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