A CHILD'S EYES. THOSE clear wells of undefiled thought-what on earth can be more beautiful? Full of hope, love, and curiosity, they meet your own. In prayer, how earnest; in joy, how sparkling; in sympathy, how tender! The man who never tried the companionship of a little child, has scarcely passed by one of the greatest pleasures of life, as one passes a rare flower, without plucking it, or knowing its value. A child cannot understand you, you think. Speak to it of the holy things of your religion, of your grief for the loss of a friend, of a love for some one you fear will not love in return-it will take, it is true, no measure or soundings of your thought-it will not judge how much you should believe; whether your grief is rational in proportion to your loss; whether you are worthy or fit to attract the love which you seek; but its whole soul will incline to yours, and engraft itself, as it were, on the feelings which is your feeling for the hour. HENRY THE FOURTH'S SOLILOQUY ON SLEEP. Why rather, sleep, ly'st thou in smoky cribs, Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee, And hushed by buzzing night flies to thy slumber; Than in the perfumed chambers of the great, Under the canopies of costly state, And lulled with sounds of sweetest melody? O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile In loathsome beds, and leavest the kingly couch, Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast, Seal up the ship boy's eyes, and rock his brains And in the visitation of the winds Which take the ruffian billows by the top, Curling their monstrous heads, and hanging them That with the hurly, death itself awakes: Can'st thou, O partial sleep, give the repose To the wet sea boy in an hour so rude; Yet in the calmest and stillest night, With all appliances and means to boot, Deny it to a king? Then happy, low, lie down ; Uneasy lies the head which wears a crown. TOO TRUE. IT is in the power of every man to preserve his probity; but no man living has it in his power to say that he can preserve his reputation while there are so many evil tongues. CONVERSATION. AVOID quotations, unless you are well studied in their import, and feel their pertinence. My friend, the other day, while looking at the skeleton of an ass, which had been dug out of a sandpit, and admiring and wondering at the structure even of that despised animal, made a very mal adroit use of one. "Ah!" said he, with the deepest humility, and a simplicity worthy of La Fontaine, "we are all fearfully and wonderfully made.". AN ENCUMBERED ESTATE. A FRIEND was commiserating an Irish gentleman, the other day, on the sale of his estate, under a decree of the commissioners, at which he thought much below the value of such considerable property. "Oh! it is all right enough!" replied the light-hearted ex-proprietor; "I put a few hundreds in my pocket, and the encumbrances are quite cleared off me-a widow, mother-in-law with thirteen children. BEHAVIOUR IN COMPANY. On the subject of behaviour in company, Leigh Richmond gives the following excellent advice to his daughters :-" Be cheerful, but not gigglers. Be serious, but not dull. Be communicative, but not forward, Be kind, but not servile. Beware of silly, thoughtless speeches; although you may forget them, others will not. Remember that God's eye is in every place, and His ear in every company. Beware of levity, and familiarity with young men; a modest reserve, without affectation, is the only safe path. Court and encourage serious conversation with those who are truly serious and conversable; and not go into valuable company without endeavouring to improve by the intercourse permitted you. Nothing is more unbecoming, when one part of a company is engaged in profitable and interesting conversation, than that another party should be trifling, and talking comparative nonsense to each other. MEDICINE GOING THE WRONG WAY. OLD ELWES, having heard a very eloquent discourse on charity, remarked--" This sermon on the necessity of alms, is unanswerable: I have almost a mind to beg." "IF it wasn't for hope the heart would break," as the old lady said when she buried her seventh husband, and looked anxiously amongst the funeral crowd for another. A CHEERFUL face is nearly as healthful as good weather. A GOOD heart often betrays the best head in the world, HOW TO SPEND PRIZE MONEY. COLONEL LAUNDMAN relates, that in the early part of the present century, while at Plymouth, then the scene of much excitement, he noticed one of the many ingenious ways devised by drunken sailors to get rid of their pay and prize money. A foremast man, who had just received £700 and twenty-four hours leave of absence, hired three carriages and four-one for his hat, another for his stick, and another for himself-and in this fashion rode about the streets of Plymouth, from public house to public house, until morning. AMUSEMENTS, COSTUME, AND LIVING, IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. BESIDES pitching the bar, shooting with broad arrow, playing at racket, quoits, nine holes, and leaping hedges and ditches, their most favourite diversion was baiting different animals. Hetzner, after giving a description of the baiting of bulls and bears, adds:"To this entertainment there follows that of whipping a blind bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing circularly, with whips, which they exercise on him without mercy, as he cannot escape from them because of his chain. He defends himself with all his force and skill, throwing down those that come within his reach, and are not active enough to get out of it, and tearing their whips out of their hands, and breaking them. Elizabeth partook of these rude sports." In the Sydney papers it is said:"This day she appoints a Frenchman to do feats upon a rope in the Conduit Court, to-morrow she has commanded the beares, the bull, and the asses, to be bayted in the Tylt Yard; and on Wednesday, will have solemne dawncing." Like her subjects, the Queen was fond of noisy entertainments; during her meals she listened to "twelve trumpets, and two kettle drums, which together with fifes, cornets, and side-drums, made the hall ring for half-an-hour together." Luxury in costume made a great progress. The pocket handkerchiefs of the ladies were frequently wrought with gold and silver, and the chemise richly embroidered. The chopine is sometimes mentioned, it was an Italian shoe, with a heel ridiculously high. The fly cap was in great vogue. Aldermen's wives had bonnets of velvet, large and showy. Chains and bracelets were ornaments used mostly by women of rank. The ruffs, made of lawn and cambric, stiffened with yellow starch, were immoderately large. The poking of these gracefully behind was considered a most important attainment. The waist was made enormously long; the bodice or stays furnished with a most extended point in front at bottom; and to render the appearance still more inconvenient and grotesque, the upper part of the gown, near the shoulders, was considerably enlarged by wool or other stuffing. The farthingale, a Spanish petticoat, bulky over the hips, now VOL. J. 3 с went out of fashion; it was introduced by Philip and Mary, and Howel intimates, that it was invented to conceal unlicenced pregnancy. When Hentzer saw Elizabeth, then in her 67th year, she had in her ears two pearls with very rich drops. She wore false hair, and that red; her bosom was uncovered, "as all the English ladies have till they marry." She was dressed in white silk, bordered with pearls the size of beans; and over it a mantle of black silk, shot with silver threads; and instead of a chain, she had an oblong collar of gold and jewels. Needles and pins were now in common use. The making of the former was commenced in 1566, by Grouso, a German. Pins were known in the time of Henry VIII., and afforded the ladies a convenient substitute for ribbons, loop holes, tags, clasps, and skewers made of wood, brass, silver, and gold. The introduction of silk and worsted hose, was a great improvement. Mrs. Montague, Elizabeth's silk woman, in her third year, presented her Majesty with a pair of black silk knit stockings, which pleased the Queen so much, that she never afterwards wore cloth hose. Soon after, Thomas Burdet, an ingenious apprentice, living opposite Saint Martin's Church, presented Lord Pembroke with a pair of worsted stockings, the first knit in this country. The beard was on the wane. In the reign of Mary it throve luxuriantly. Those of Bishop Gardiner and Cardinal Pole, in their portraits, are represented of an uncommon size. It gradually dwindled down into the mustachoes or whiskers. The hair was cut close on the top of the head, and grew long on the sides. Showy young men wore jewels in the ears, and sometimes ribbons. The hat had superseded the woollen cap and hood. The crown of the hat was made high, narrowed towards the top, and had sometimes a rich hat-band, adorned by goldsmith's work, and precious stones, which, with a feather and scarlet cloak, marked the man of distinction. Before the introduction of coaches, by Lord Arundel, the Queen, on public occasions, rode behind the chamberlain. The novelty and convenience of the new vehicle soon brought it into general use by people of fortune. Hackney coaches were not known till fifty years afterwards. The style of living had much improved. Lamb, and a great variety of delicate meats, mark the luxury of Elizabeth's reign. There were several courses, and each had its appropriate sauce. Beef began to be deemed too gross; brawn, however, was a favorite. A dessert of fruit, spices, and jellies, was not unusual. Breakfast was little used. If anything was taken, it was a glass of ale, and a slice of bread. Rural life may be learned from Tusser's Pointes of Husbandrie. "The farmer and family diet is fixed to be red herrings, and salt fish in Lent. At other times, fresh beef, pork, &c. A Christmas ' good drinkie,' a good fire in the hall, brawne, pudding, and souse, and mustard, withal; capon or turkey, cheese, apples, and nuts, with jolie carrols. The prudent house-wife is advised to make her own candles. Servants are directed to go to bed at ten in summer, and nine in winter; and to rise at five in winter, and four in summer. The holidays throughout the year are appointed for the working men. The gayest of these festivals seems to have been the wake-day, or vigil of the parish saint, "when every wanton maide danse at her wille."" The hour of dinner with people of fortune, was at eleven before noon; and of supper, between five and six in the afternoon; while the merchants took each of their meals an hour later, and the husbandmen one hour later than the merchants. Thus the fashion is entirely changed, the opulent and leisure classes taking their meals later than the industrious orders. Why the meals became later as the times became more refined, is a curious fact. The chief cause seems to be, as Hume intimates, that, in rude ages, men have few amusements or occupations, but what daylight allows; whereas, in ages of refinement, reading, study, and conversation afford employment, which can be as conveniently pursued in the night as the day. TO KEEP YOUNG. No surer destroyer of youth, of youth's privileges, and powers, and delights, than stifling the spirit to the empire of ill-temper and selfishness. We should all be cautious, as we advance in life, of allowing occasional sorrowful experience to overshadow our perception of the preponderance of good. Faith in good is at once. its own vicissitude and reward. To believe good, and to do good, truly and trustfully, is the healthiest of humanity's conditions. To take events, cheerfully, and to promote the happiness of others, is the way to insure an enduring spring of existence. Content and kindness are the soft vernal showers and fostering sunny warmth which keeps a man's nature and being fresh and green. "Lord keep my existence fresh and green," would be no less wise a prayer than the one so beautifully recorded respecting a man's memory behind us, and there is no way better to secure it than by living graciously. A cheerful and benign temper, that buds forth pleasant blossoms, and bears sweet fruit for those who live within its influence, is sure to produce an undying growth of green remembrances, that shall flourish immortally, after the present stock is decayed and gone. "Now waiter, what's to pay ?" "What have you had, sir ?" "Three fish, waiter." Only brought up two, sir.' No, three; I had two mackerel, and one smelt." [Exit waiter.] RAILWAY SIGNALS-Signal extortion, signal neglect, and signal impudence. |