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Attention has been called in Parliament to the proceedings of the various Revolutionary Committees composed of foreign refugees, and headed by Mazzini, Ledru-Rollin, and Klapka. Their proceedings were charged with being a violation of the obligations they incurred when they came to seek the protection of English laws. Members of Government expressed their decided disapprobation of the course pursued by the refugees in endeavoring to excite insurrection in foreign countries.
A Miss Talbot, heiress to a fortune of L80,000, has entered a convent as "postulant" with the intention of taking the vail in a few months, when it is supposed that her fortune will pass to the church. This has occasioned some excitement against convents, and a bill has been introduced intended to prevent the forcible detention of females in houses in which the inmates are bound by religious or monastic vows. It provides that all such establishments shall be registered, and subject to semi-annual visitation by public officers, who shall have power to remove any female who desires it. Concealment of any part of the premises, or of any person therein, false lists of the inmates, and any obstruction to the visitors, are to be punished as misdemeanors. Measures are also proposed regulating legacies made for religious purposes.
At Chelmsford a man and woman were hung for murder, attended by the usual disgraceful accompaniments of a public execution. Crowds gathered from all the surrounding country; at the moment of execution 40,000 or 50,000 persons are said to have been present. Venders of edibles plied their vocation in the most gross and revolting manner; pickpockets, as usual, were in attendance, and the general deportment of the spectators, men, women, and children, was disgusting and brutal. The man confessed his guilt. The woman, whose crime was poisoning with arsenic, died protesting her innocence.
"A monster address" signed by 61 noblemen, 110 members of the House of Commons, and 321,240 other persons, lay members of the church of England, has been presented by Lord Ashley to the Queen. It beseeches her Majesty to resist the Papal aggression; and goes on to speak of that act having been occasioned and invited by the conduct of many of the clergy of the church of England, who have shown a desire to assimilate the doctrines of their church to those of Rome. After specifying the sacramental system and "histrionic arrangements" in the churches, it says that "by the constitution and existing laws, there is vested in your Majesty as the earthly head of our Church, a wholesome power of interposition, which power we entreat your Majesty now to exercise."
Charges have been made in the House of Commons against Lord Torrington, late Governor of Ceylon. He is accused of gross misgovernment, wanton cruelty in suppressing native insurrection, and the production of false evidence. Lord John Russell announced that he should postpone the Budget and the Income Tax, until this charge, which was in effect one against Government, had been disposed of. Upon which the mover announced that he should postpone his motion until after the introduction of these measures. Lord Torrington, in the House of Lords, came forward and challenged the prosecution of these charges.
A coal-pit disaster occurred near Glasgow, involving a terrible loss of life. While 63 men and boys were at work in the mine, an explosion of fire-damp occurred. Of those in the mine all but two perished.
A searching investigation is going on into the adulterations of articles of food. It is asserted that there is scarcely an article which is in any way susceptible of mixture, that is not mingled with others not merely of inferior value, but in many cases of the most loathsome and disgusting nature. Ground coffee is specified as particularly subject to adulteration.
A somewhat singular controversy has arisen in reference to a body of refugees from Hungary, who have recently arrived at Liverpool. They number 262, of whom the majority are Poles, the remnant of the Polish legion in Hungary. Government wishes to send them to America, and offers a bounty of L8, to each man who will go. They wish to remain in England, evidently anticipating an uprising in some part of Europe, where their services may be called into requisition. They are entirely destitute of means of support, and in England can only maintain themselves by begging.
The frigate St. Lawrence, having on board the contributions to the Exhibition from the United States, arrived at Portsmouth on the 13th of March. A meeting of the American exhibitors has been held at London, at which great dissatisfaction was expressed with many of the arrangements. They object in particular to the appointment of jurors to decide upon the merits of foreign productions; to bronze medals being awarded as prizes, when more valuable ones had been promised; to the high price of season tickets; to contributors being compelled to pay for admission, and be at the expense of their own fittings; and to the delay in affording protection to the articles which require a patent. Some leakage has occurred in the roof of the Exhibition Building; but it is hoped that it may be obviated. All opinion adverse to the suitability of the painting of the interior has passed away. The theoretical views of the decorator have been abundantly justified by the practical effect.
Another expedition in search of Sir John Franklin is to be fitted out this season. The little "Prince Albert" is to be sent out, it is hoped, under happier auspices than attended her former voyage. It is expected to reach Lancaster Sound, by the middle of June. The vessel will be laid up for wintering in Prince Regent's Inlet. The party will then proceed in boats as far as practicable. When these can no longer be worked, native "kyacks" will be used, which will enable the explorers to reach a point some one or two hundred miles further than boats could carry them, as the kyacks can be hauled up and dragged over the ice. The expedition will remain out for at least one season; and a very extensive search to the westward of Boothia is proposed. It will be under the command of Capt. W. Kennedy, who has had no small experience in these icy regions. We do not learn whether Mr. Snow, from whose interesting book we copied so largely last month, is to be attached to this new expedition.
FRANCE.
The most striking incident which has occurred since our last has been a debate on a proposition to repeal the law exiling the Bourbon family. M. Berryer, acting in the name of the Legitimists, opposed the motion on the ground that the Count of Chambord is not an exiled Frenchman, but an extruded king, who could not stoop to accept a permission to re-enter his own hereditary dominions. M. Thiers, as the organ of the Orleanists, advocated the proposition. The Minister of Justice, in the name of Government, was favorable to the principle of the bill, but was opposed to pressing it at present. The Assembly was thrown into violent agitation by a speech from M. Dufraisse, one of the most able and earnest of the Montagnards, who delivered a speech which would not have been misplaced in the mouth of Robespierre or Danton. "The pale head, compressed lips, and intense expression of the young lawyer of the Mountain," says an eyewitness, "reminded the auditors, not without a shudder, of such a thoroughbred Jacobin as St. Just." He declared that the laws of proscription were just, and ought to be maintained. "The Revolution can not ask pardon of the dynasties it has justly upset. Have the family of Orleans laid aside the claims of their birth? Have they rendered homage to the sovereignty of the nation? Do not the descendants of St. Louis continually dispute the independence and the conquests of the people? You tell us that royalty never dies; we reply, Nor does its punishment. If the principle of sovereignty is eternal, so shall its punishment be eternal. The law ought to chastise the voluntary representatives, the willing heirs of a principle which the people have abolished." He went on to vindicate the execution of Louis XVI., and declared that those who voted against the death of that monarch, meditated a return to royalty, and reminded the Assembly that among those who voted for the execution, was the grandfather of the princes whose banishment was sought to be repealed. The speech caused a perfect storm of passion in the Assembly. Members rushed to the tribune, and shook their fists in the speaker's face. M. Berryer proposed the adjournment of the question for six months, as he could not vote on the same side with those who advocated such doctrines. This, which is looked upon as equivalent to a rejection of the proposition, was carried by acclamation.
Rumors have for some time been rife of an intended fusion between the Bourbon and Orleans interests, with a view to a speedy restoration of the monarchy. These would seem to be put to rest by a letter from the Orleans princes in England to the Orleans Committee in Paris, in which they declare that they will negotiate only on the soil of France, and while out of their country will take no part in political questions. The prolongation of the term of the President is urged in many quarters as the only practicable safeguard against socialism and anarchy. The present aspect of affairs seems to indicate that he will be continued in office in some shape or other.
The Bishop of Chartres, in a pastoral letter, attacks a late circular of the Archbishop of Paris, recommending the clergy to abstain from politics, and to yield obedience to the laws of their country. The bishop considers that when destructive principles are advanced, the clergy should be found ready to oppose their progress; and he sees no reason why the ecclesiastical body should be enjoined to take no part in public affairs. The archbishop, in reply, denounces the conduct of the bishop, as an unwarrantable interference with his jurisdiction, and as a breach of the respect due to him as metropolitan: and refers the bishop's letter to the provincial council to be held during the present year at Paris.
The Professors of the College of France held a meeting at the Sorbonne to take into consideration the tendency of the lectures of M. Michelet, which were considered prejudicial, in a moral and political point of view to the students. He himself declined to attend, but defended himself in a letter stating that his lectures were blamed only by the Jesuits and the enemies of French nationality. His colleagues, by a vote of 17 out of 21 decided upon a vote of censure against him, and that the minutes of their proceedings should be transmitted to the Minister for approval. It is said that M. Michelet his resigned his chair.
GERMANY.
The German mists grow thicker. All that can now be affirmed with certainty is, that the Dresden Conference has been no more able to improvise a German Empire than was the Frankfort Parliament. A month ago, and it seemed that Austria had outgeneraled Prussia, and made herself absolute mistress of Germany, and was in a fair way to become ruler from the Rhine to the Alps. The petty states of Germany were in alarm; the kingdoms of the second rank began to see themselves in danger, and to talk of a central power, from which the constitutional element was not altogether excluded. It is now said that the King of Prussia is again ambitious of playing the first part on the German stage, and has refused to sanction the concessions made by his minister. It seems probable that Germany will fall back upon the old Frankfort Confederation. In the mean time, we present the following, as what seems to us the condition and designs of the principal parties; premising that the very next intelligence may present them under an altogether new aspect:—Austria wishes to enter the Germanic Confederation with all her vast and heterogeneous population; thus binding all Germany to assist her, in the event of any new Hungarian or Italian outbreak. She also wishes to secure the Federal Executive. If she succeeds in these projects, the weight of her foreign possessions gives her the preponderance in Germany, while Germany secures to her the control of her foreign territories. The interests of the people and princes of Germany for once coincide in opposing this claim. The vacillating policy of Prussia has arisen from doubt, whether more could be made out of Austria by putting herself at the head of the German States, or out of these States, by joining with Austria. The ultimate decision of this question is more likely to be effected by accident than by settled policy.
ITALY.
The feelings of uneasiness, and vague apprehension of insurrection throughout the Italian Peninsula are nowise abated. Austrian troops are concentrating within her Italian territories. The railroad across the Milan Alps, from Cilly to Trieste, is advancing with great rapidity. The completion of this road will enable Austrian troops to be sent from Vienna to Milan in twenty-four hours.
The Austrian Government has issued an ordonnance directing that in those parts of Italy which are still considered in a state of siege, no journal shall mention in any way, directly or indirectly, the titles of the prohibited revolutionary books and pamphlets which are in circulation among the people.
Radetzky has issued a proclamation, under date of Feb. 21, from Verona, directed against revolutionary proclamations and pamphlets, threatening death against all who are engaged in circulating them. Every one into whose hands such a pamphlet may fall is directed to deliver it to the nearest person in office, though but a gendarme, and at the same time to declare how it came into his possession; the punishment for failure to do this is imprisonment in irons for a period of from one to five years.
Washington's Birthday was celebrated at Rome with great enthusiasm. At a public dinner, Mr. Cass, our Charge, presided and made a speech. Two odes, by Mrs. Stephens, were sung. Among the guests were Archbishop Hughes, and Mr. Hastings, the American Protestant Chaplain. The report that the American Protestant chapel at Rome had been closed is authoritatively contradicted by Mr. Hastings, who speaks in terms of high praise of the liberality which has been manifested toward him by the papal authorities.
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, ART, PERSONAL MOVEMENTS, ETC.
UNITED STATES.
The Exhibition of the National Academy of Design is now open. It is universally admitted that the paintings surpass those of any previous year The opening of the Exhibition was celebrated, according to custom, by a dinner, attended by artists, amateurs, and men of letters. Admirable speeches were made by Rev. Doctors BELLOWS and BETHUNE, who, though pole-wide apart in the sphere of theology, spanning the distance between Arius and Calvin, find common grounds of sympathy in their love for, and appreciation of Art. Mr. DURAND, the President, in a very felicitous speech, narrated his experience as an artist and as one of the founders of the Academy.
Mr. GREENOUGH, at Florence, has nearly completed his group of the Pioneer, for the Capitol at Washington. It represents a backwoodsman rescuing his wife and child from an Indian who is in the act of smothering them in the folds of his blanket. The action of the group symbolizes the one unvarying story of the contest between civilized and uncivilized man. The pioneer, standing almost erect, in the pride of conscious superiority, has dashed upon one knee the Indian, whose relaxed form, and cowering face upturned despairingly, express premonitions of the inevitable doom awaiting him, against which all his efforts would be unavailing. The heavy brow, compressed lip, and firm chin of the white man announce him one of a race born to conquer and rule, not so much by mere physical strength as by undaunted courage and indomitable will. Those who have seen the group pronounce it to be a sublime conception grandly executed.
A portrait of Mr. Calhoun, painted at Paris by Mr. HEALEY for the Common Council of Charleston, was exhibited at the Exposition in Paris, where it was pronounced one of the best portraits of the season. The size is seven feet ten inches, by four feet seven. The sum paid for it is one thousand dollars. We believe it has been forwarded to Charleston.
Among the pictures by our artists, completed or in progress, we notice one by Mr. WRIGHT, representing the well-known story of Washington and the damaged cherry-tree, which is executed with decided cleverness.—Mr. DUGGAN is engaged upon a David and Goliath, one of those massy subjects affording ample scope for the bent of the artist's genius.—Mr. STEARNS has upon his easel a painting of the Interview between Tecumseh and General Harrison, at Vincennes, in 1811. By some oversight no seat had been provided for the Indian chief. The unintentional discourtesy was corrected by General Harrison, with the words, "Warrior, your father, General Harrison, offers you a seat." Tecumseh drew up his stately form to its full height, and raising his hand to heaven, exclaimed proudly, "My father! The Great Spirit is my father, and the Earth my mother; she feeds me and clothes me, and I recline upon her bosom!"—Mr. T. A. RICHARDS has recently completed a painting which might appropriately enough be named "Recollections of Lake Winnipiseogee," portraying rather the general characteristics of that lake, than depicting the particular features of any one portion. The scene is an autumn morning, with the sun bursting forth from the train of a passing shower which has sprinkled diamonds over foliage and flower.
JENNY LIND is verging New York-ward. Her next concert here is announced for May 12. The New York firemen have procured a testimonial to be presented to her in acknowledgment of her munificent donation of $3000 to the funds of the Department. It consists of a complete copy of Audubon's Birds and Quadrupeds of America, in a beautiful case; and a gold box, appropriately ornamented, containing a copy of their vote of thanks to her. The following ratherish pretty and altogether German lines were contributed by her to the album of a gentleman in Washington;
"In vain I seek for rest In all created good. It leaves me still unblest, And makes me cry for God. And sure, at rest I can not be Until my heart finds rest in thee."
The renowned TUPPER is undergoing the process of lionization. He has introduced a new feature into his representation of the part, by the recitation in public of his own verses. He has produced for the Great London Exhibition a "Hymn for all Nations," which is to be translated into thirty different languages, set to music, and printed. This polyglott will be a philological curiosity, if no more.
Mr. CRALLE, the intimate friend and confidential secretary of Mr. CALHOUN, is engaged in preparing for publication the Works of the great southern statesman, to be accompanied by a Biography. The whole will be comprised, probably, in six octavo volumes. The first volume, which is now printed, and will soon be ready for publication, is occupied by an elaborate disquisition on Government, and a Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States. These treatises have always been spoken of as the "great work" of Mr. Calhoun's life, setting forth in a systematic manner his views upon the philosophy of civil government. The treatises were commenced many years since, but never received the final revision and correction which the author intended to bestow upon them.
The Complete Works of ALEXANDER HAMILTON are now in course of publication by C. S. Francis & Co. They are mainly printed from the manuscripts purchased by Congress, under the direction of the Library Committee. The collection will extend to seven octavo volumes.
It has long been suspected that colors were depicted on Daguerreotype plates, if they could only be developed. Mr. HILL, of this State, announces that he has succeeded in producing pictures in which every tint and shade is accurately represented. We are assured by one of our most eminent operators, one of the very few who have seen the pictures, that there is no doubt of the fact. The inventor as yet keeps his process a secret, though we understand that he is preparing a memoir in relation to it.
BAYARD TAYLOR'S El-Dorado has been translated into German by C. Hartman, author of a Geographical and Historical Description of California.
Mr. SAMUEL MAVERICK, of Pendleton, S. C., who is still living, assisted in packing the first bale of cotton ever sent from the United States to Liverpool. It was sent in the seed, and the consignee informed his South Carolina correspondent that the article was useless, could not be sold, and advised him to send no more.
Dr. GOADBY, who has recently delivered in this city a very interesting course of lectures upon insects, has a most valuable series of dissections, prepared at a cost of labor which would seem almost incredible. The anatomy of a caterpillar, comprising three distinct preparations—its nervous system, its organs of respiration, and its organs of nutrition—occupied the undivided labor of thirteen weeks, at the rate of fourteen hours a day.
Gen. HENDERSON, who was on trial at New Orleans on the charge of being implicated in the Cuban invasion, has been discharged, the jury being unable to agree. The District Attorney therefore entered a nolle prosequi in the case of Governor Quitman and all others under indictment.
EUROPEAN.
The new Leipzig Deutsches Museum (Westermann Brothers, New York,) promises to meet the want which we have for some time found it impossible to supply, of a German literary Magazine. In the recent revolutionary storms this class of periodicals generally went down, so that for information as to the working of the German mind we have been forced to rely upon chance notices in the political journals, or trust to foreign sources. It is published semi-monthly. Its cost in Leipzig is 12 Thalers; and is furnished here for the same number of dollars.
Under the title of Causeries du Lundi M. St. Beauve has just put forth a volume of sketches of contemporary French authors, which almost forces us to envy the happy land blessed with such a number of men, the worst of whom exceeds our ideas of any attainable height of perfection. A word or two of criticism is awarded to Lamartine, but too bland to wound even the vanity of the gentle Alphonse. But Girardin and Villemain, Cousin and George Sand, Thiers and Montalembert receive a most unqualified apotheosis. The title of "Monday Chat" simply indicates that the book is made up of articles which appeared on Mondays in the Constitutionnel newspaper.
Pictures by the "Old Masters," as all the world knows, are manufactured as readily, and almost as extensively, as calico. It is not, however, so well known that "old and rare editions" of books are produced nowadays. The passion of book-collectors has given a new impulse to this business. Within a few months the beautiful editions of the classics of the Elzevirs and the Stephens have been reproduced with wonderful skill. In paper, type, ink, and binding there is no perceptible difference; while the precise air of antiquity desired is produced by chemical means.
M. Feuillet de Conches, a Parisian virtuoso, and great admirer of La Fontaine, has spent a vast sum in having printed for his own sole use a single copy of the works of the famous fabulist. It is illustrated in the most gorgeous style, by the first artists of the day; and is accompanied with notes and prefaces by the most eminent writers, and is a very miracle of expensive typography and binding.
Victor Hugo has published nothing for some years, having been paid by a publisher not to print. Report says that he will, at the close of his term, which soon expires, make amends for his long silence by issuing poems to the amount of three volumes, and romances to that of twelve.
A work by Origen, the celebrated Father in the Church, hitherto unknown, has been discovered and published by the librarian of the National Assembly—so M. Villemain announced at a recent meeting of the Academie des Belles Lettres at Paris. The work traces the heresies of the third century to the writings of the Pagan Philosophers, and throws new light upon ancient manners, literature, and philosophy.
In the album presented to the King of Bavaria by the artists of Muenich, is an admirable composition by Huebner. It is an expression of the feelings of a large portion of Upper Germany. It represents a female prostrate upon the ground, with the arms crossed, the face entirely hidden, in an attitude of the deepest despair. The long hair floats over the arms, and trails along the ground. The whole figure is a mixture of majesty and utter abandonment. The simple title of the piece is—"Germania, 1850."
Yeast: a Problem, is the Sartor-Resartorish title of a collection of papers reprinted from Fraser's Magazine, where they have excited no little attention. It purports to be a sample of what is fermenting in the minds of large classes of young men of the present day, and leavening the whole mass of society. Though published anonymously, it is known to be written by the author of "Alton Locke," and partakes largely of the merits and defects of that remarkable work. It is to be republished by the Harpers.
In WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR the material for an admirable newspaper writer has been thrown away. Witness the following double-handed hitting in a letter to Lord Duncan, who lately won a victory over the Ministers, "... A quarrel about hats, caps, and stockings, and the titles they confer, is too ridiculous. Is a hunchback to be treated with gravity, with severity, because an ignorant rabble calls him my lord. If I chose to call myself Lord Duncan, I should only be laughed at. People would stare; some would ask, 'Is this the great Lord Duncan who won the Battle of Camperdown?' Others would answer, 'No; nor is it he who won as great a one in Westminster the other day. He is an impostor: haul him out; but don't hurt him:' I have the honor to be, etc."
Dahomey and the Dahomans, by Frederick E. Forbes, gives an interesting account, drawn from personal observation, made during the last two years, of the manners and customs of this savage people. Among the most revolting is the Ek-que-noo-ah-toh-meh or "Throwing of Presents," in which the king occupies himself for many hours in throwing gifts from a raised platform, to the people below. The last of these gifts consists of a number of live prisoners, who have been exhibited bound upon the platform; they are flung down to be cut and torn in pieces by the savages. On the occasion when the author was present there were fourteen of these victims, of whom he succeeded in saving the lives of three. The object of the expedition was to induce the king to abandon the slave-trade, and was altogether unsuccessful.
The Dynamical Theory of the Formation of the Earth, two mighty octavo volumes, elicits the following complimentary remarks from the Athenaeum. "This work is saved from being mischievous only by the circumstance of the excessive dullness diffused over these twelve hundred pages—which will in all probability prevent their being much read.... Of no one department of science does the author appear to have a correct conception. His views are all distorted. He is false alike in his Mechanics, in his Geology, in his Natural History, in his Chemistry, in his Electricity—in every other consideration of the physical agencies, and still more false in that which we suppose we must bring ourselves to call his Logic."
Memoirs of a Literary Veteran, by R. P. Gillies is a book almost worth reading, quite worth looking at. The author, nephew to the celebrated historian of Greece, born to a fair estate, and with a propensity to make verses, spent the one without turning the other to any special account. Amidst much idle matter, whose only purpose is to swell the bulk of the volumes, are some rather interesting anecdotes of literary celebrities. Some over-laudatory epistles from Sir Egerton Brydges, and a characteristic letter or two from Wordsworth, containing among other matters, a criticism upon Scott's Guy Mannering, in which considerable praise is awarded to the management of "this lady," as he solemnly denominates Meg Merrilies, are perhaps the best things in the book. It reminds one, but at a wide interval, of Leigh Hunt's Autobiography.
A Life of Hartley Coleridge prefixed to a volume of his poems, tells a sad story of powers neutralized and a life thrown away. He was the eldest son of the Coleridge, and with a portion of his father's genius combined a large share of his infirmity of purpose and feebleness of will. He gained a college fellowship, and forfeited it within a year, by intemperance; after which he maintained himself by his pen. The Life is by his brother, Derwent Coleridge. The Poems are of decided merit. They are to be followed by a collection of his prose writings.
OBITUARIES.
ISAAC HILL, formerly Governor of New Hampshire, and Senator in Congress, died at Washington, March 22d, aged about 63. He was born at Charlestown, N. H., the son of a farmer, and at an early age learned the trade of a printer. He established the first Democratic paper at Concord. To his able conduct is in a great measure to be ascribed the ascendency which his party acquired in the State, about the year 1828. Though possessing few of the external qualifications for a popular leader, being feeble in person, and altogether destitute of oratorical power, his unrivaled tact and untiring industry gave him an uncontrolled influence in the State. He was chosen State Senator; and subsequently United States Senator, which office he held from 1831 to 1836, when he resigned, in consequence of having been elected Governor of New Hampshire. He filled the executive chair for two or three terms, and then retired to private life. In 1840 he was appointed Sub-Treasurer at Boston; but the repeal of the Sub-Treasury Act the following year vacated his office. He then returned to New Hampshire; but his star had waned. He disagreed with his party on the subject of corporations and other radical questions, lost his political influence, and fell into comparative insignificance, as a politician, though he always adhered to his party. For a number of years he edited an agricultural paper of considerable merit. He suffered much from impaired health during the last years of his life; and died in moderate pecuniary circumstances.
MORDECAI MANASSEH NOAH, long known as an able editor and active politician, died in New York, March 28. He was born at Philadelphia, July 19, 1784, and has thus attained to within three years of three score and ten. He was apprenticed to a carver and gilder; but early abandoned that trade and devoted himself to literature and politics. He removed to Charleston, S. C., in the early part of the present century, where he took an active and influential part in public affairs. Having declined the offer of the consulship at Riga, he was appointed, in 1813, consul at Tunis, and was charged with a mission to Algiers. This latter he accomplished, after some adventures, and repaired to Tunis. At the expiration of ten months he was recalled, under charge, we believe, of some pecuniary defalcations. Upon his return to this country, he became connected with the political press. In 1822, he was elected Sheriff of the City and County of New York, which office he held but a single year. In 1829, he was appointed Commissioner of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Surveyor of the port of New York. In the mean while, he had formed the project of collecting his brethren the Jews, and rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. He issued a singular proclamation, appointing Grand Island, near Niagara Falls, as the place of rendezvous, and summoned the scattered tribes to transmit their contributions. We have no means of knowing how far he was in earnest in this scheme. At all events, it came to nothing. In 1840, he was elected Judge of the Court of General Sessions, which he held till the law constituting the court was changed. Mr. Noah was, however, more known as an editor than as a politician. Though without any very lofty aims, or high qualifications, he was an agreeable and sprightly paragraphist, possessed of an unfailing good-humor, and a large fund of general information. He was connected successively with a number of papers, and at the time of his death was editor of a Sunday paper, The Messenger and Times. He also published at different times a number of works of a miscellaneous character, chiefly essays and plays, some of which met with great success at the time of publication; but none of them possessed sufficient vitality to take a permanent place in the literature of the country. His death was the consequence of a paralytic stroke. He lived and died a believer in the faith of his fathers, the Hebrew religion; and was buried with the solemn ceremonies practiced by the ancient chosen people. He was of a most generous and genial nature, and enjoyed the warmest good-will of all with whom he was brought into personal relations.
GEORGE M. BROOKE, Brevet Major-General in the United States army, died at San Antonio, Texas, on the 19th of March. He was a native of Virginia, and entered the army in 1808. He was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel in 1814, for "gallant conduct in the defense of Fort Erie." A month later he received the rank of Brevet Colonel, for "distinguished and meritorious services in the sortie from Fort Erie." In 1824, he was made Brevet Brigadier-General for "ten years' faithful service as Colonel." In 1848, he was brevetted as Major-General for "meritorious conduct, particularly in the performance of his duties in the prosecution of the war with Mexico."
ALEXANDER S. WADSWORTH, Commodore in the United States Navy, died at Washington, April 9, in the 61st year of his age. He was a native of Maine. He entered the service in 1804, and for many years served with distinction. His commission of post-captain, bears date from 1825. His name stood the seventh on the naval list. Severe and protracted illness had for many years disabled him from active duty.
SAMUEL FARMAR JARVIS, D.D., died at Middletown, Conn., March 26th. He was born in January, 1787. He had the reputation of being one of the ripest scholars in the Episcopal Church, and was a member of the principal literary and historical societies in this country. His extensive acquirements, and fondness for accurate investigation procured for him the appointment of "Historigrapher of the Church," which was conferred upon him in 1838, with a view to his preparing a faithful "Ecclesiastical History, reaching from the Apostles' time, to the formation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States." The first volume, forming a Chronological Introduction, was published in 1845. It is understood that a continuation of the work was nearly ready for press at the time of his death.
JOHN S. SKINNER, Editor of the "Plough, the Loom, and the Anvil," and well known for his agricultural writings, died at Baltimore, March 21, aged about 70 years. He was universally esteemed for his social qualities, unassuming demeanor, and generous impulses. His death was occasioned by a fall into the basement in the Post Office at Baltimore.
Literary Notices
Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have issued The House of the Seven Gables, a Romance, by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, which is strongly marked with the bold and unique characteristics that have given its author such a brilliant position among American novelists. The scene, which is laid in the old Puritanic town of Salem, extends from the period of the witchcraft excitement to the present time, connecting the legends of the ancient superstition with the recent marvels of animal magnetism, and affording full scope for the indulgence of the most weird and sombre fancies. Destitute of the high-wrought manifestations of passion which distinguished the "Scarlet Letter," it is more terrific in its conception, and not less intense in its execution, but exquisitely relieved by charming portraitures of character, and quaint and comic descriptions of social eccentricities. A deep vein of reflection underlies the whole narrative, often rising naturally to the surface, and revealing the strength of the foundation on which the subtle, aerial inventions of the author are erected. His frequent dashes of humor gracefully blend with the monotone of the story, and soften the harsher colors in which he delights to clothe his portentous conceptions. In no former production of his pen, are his unrivalled powers of description displayed to better advantage. The rusty wooden house in Pyncheon-street, with its seven sharp-pointed gables, and its huge clustered chimney—the old elm tree before the door—the grassy yard seen through the lattice-fence, with its enormous fertility of burdocks—and the green moss on the slopes of the roof, with the flowers growing aloft in the air in the nook between two of the gables—present a picture to the eye as distinct as if our childhood had been passed in the shadow of the old weather-beaten edifice. Nor are the characters of the story drawn with less sharp and vigorous perspective. They stand out from the canvas as living realities. In spite of the supernatural drapery in which they are enveloped, they have such a genuine expression of flesh and blood, that we can not doubt we have known them all our days. They have the air of old acquaintance—only we wonder how the artist got them to sit for their likenesses. The grouping of these persons is managed with admirable artistic skill. Old Maid Pyncheon, concealing under her verjuice scowl the unutterable tenderness of a sister—her woman-hearted brother, on whose sensitive nature had fallen such a strange blight—sweet and beautiful Phebe, the noble village-maiden, whose presence is always like that of some shining angel—the dreamy, romantic descendant of the legendary wizard—the bold, bad man of the world, reproduced at intervals in the bloody Colonel, and the unscrupulous Judge—wise old Uncle Venner—and inappeasable Ned Higgins—are all made to occupy the place on the canvas which shows the lights and shades of their character in the most impressive contrast, and contributes to the wonderful vividness and harmony of the grand historical picture. On the whole, we regard "The House of the Seven Gables," though it exhibits no single scenes that may not be matched in depth and pathos by some of Mr. Hawthorne's previous creations, as unsurpassed by any thing he has yet written, in exquisite beauty of finish, in the skillful blending of the tragic and comic, and in the singular life-like reality with which the wildest traditions of the Puritanic age are combined with the every-day incidents of modern society.
Harper and Brothers have published a translation of Buttmann's Greek Grammar, by Professor EDWARD ROBINSON, from the eighteenth German edition, containing additions and improvements by ALEXANDER BUTTMANN, the son of the original author. Since the publication of the thirteenth edition in 1829, which was the last that the author lived to complete, gradual changes have been introduced into the Grammar, especially in the department of syntax, which has been expanded and re-written, with the aid of the extensive investigations of the last twenty years. The translation bears the same impress of diligence, accuracy, and philological tact, which is never looked for in vain in the productions of the indefatigable and distinguished author.
Ecclesiastical Manual, by LUTHER LEE (published at the Wesleyan Methodist Book Room), is a brief treatise on the nature of Church Government, defending the right of visible church organization against prevailing latitudinarian and transcendental views on the one hand, and maintaining liberal principles of polity against the high claims of Episcopacy and the assumptions of the clergy on the other. The argument is conducted with candor and moderation, though not without spirit, and may be studied to advantage by all who would understand the points at issue.
William Penn, An Historical Biography, by WILLIAM HEPWORTH DIXON (published by Blanchard and Lea), is a new and complete life of the founder of Pennsylvania, derived from contemporary papers that have been brought to light within a recent period, and from original and unpublished documents. The view given by the author, of the religious system of Fox and Penn, as coinciding with the principles of republican freedom, is a reproduction of the admirable exhibition of Quakerism presented by Bancroft in his History of the United States. In the Appendix, the charges against William Penn by Macaulay are submitted to a rigid examination; the evidence on the subject is skillfully and thoroughly sifted; and the strongest case made out for the accused against the insinuations of the ingenious and eloquent historian. With his warm sympathies in favor of the subject of his narrative, and the familiar knowledge of his career gained by the researches of several years, Mr. Dixon has produced a genial and instructive piece of biography, sustaining the claims of the illustrious Quaker to the noble and elevated rank in which he has been placed by the general voice of tradition.
Physico-Physiological Researches on the Dynamics of Magnetism, &c., by Baron CHARLES VON REICHENBACH, translated from the German, by JOHN ASHBURNER, M.D., is a scientific treatise, showing the relations of magnetism, electricity, heat, light, crystallization, and chemism to the vital forces of the human body. It is founded on an extensive series of experiments, which tend to bring the mysterious phenomena of Mesmerism within the domain of physics, and in fact to reduce the whole subject of physiology to a department of chemical science. The papers, of which it is composed, were originally intended as contributions to the "Annals of Chemistry," conducted by the celebrated Professor Liebig, in which periodical they appeared in the year 1845. In the present collected form, they have received some necessary corrections, but their spirit and substance are presented without alteration. The investigations, of which the results are here described, are of a singularly curious character, exhibiting the most astonishing developments, with a philosophical calmness that is rare even among German savants.
The Rangers; or, The Tory's Daughter, is the title of a novel illustrative of the revolutionary history of Vermont, by the author of "The Green Mountain Boys," published by B. B. Mussy and Co., Boston. It gives many agreeable descriptions of Vermont scenery, with sketches of its social life during the war of the Revolution, and shows considerable skill in combining the prominent historical facts of that day with the fictitious incidents of a lively and exciting plot.
The Ballads and Songs of WILLIAM PEMBROKE MULCHINOCH (published by T. W. Strong), is a collection of fugitive poetry, inspired with the genuine breathings of Irish patriotism, frequently displaying great facility and sweetness of versification, and pervaded throughout with a winning sentiment of tenderness and human sympathy.
Harper and Brothers have published a neat volume, entitled Nature and Blessedness of Christian Purity, by Rev. R. S. FOSTER, with an Introduction by EDMUND S. JANES, D.D., one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Without aiming at any rivalry with other writers on the subject, the author devotes his work to the maintenance of the views which are set forth by the standard Wesleyan authorities. Avoiding all considerations of a purely speculative character, he presents the practical aspects of his theme, with discrimination, earnestness, and force. His style, which is always animated and effective, betrays the influence of profound and accurate thought, and is equally adapted to make a favorable impression on the understanding and on the heart of the attentive reader. The well-written Preface by Bishop Janes, gives a lucid summary of the contents of the volume, with a warm commendation of the manner in which it is executed.
Lyra Catholica (published by E. Dunigan and Brother), is a collection of the Hymns of the Roman Breviary and Missal, with others adapted for every day in the week, and the Festivals and Saints' Days throughout the year. The translation of the Breviary, by Mr. Caswell, is adopted without change, and forms the first part of the present work, while the second part consists of hymns and anthems from various sources, especially from the contributions of Rev. F. W. Faber, Matthew Brydges, Esq., and Rev. William Young. The third part is devoted to sacred poetry of a less strictly devotional cast. In addition to a few pieces from modern poets, it contains a selection from the compositions of Catholic writers belonging to an earlier age of English literature, including "the simple and earnest strains of Southwell, a poet, priest, and martyr, whose unshaken soul passed away in song from the fires of persecution; Crashaw, whose tender fancy and graceful zeal have extorted the highest praises of unfriendly judges; the manly virtue of Habington, pure in an age of license; the later compositions of Dryden, the atonements laid by his repentant muse on the altar of religion."
The Soldier of the Cross, by the Rev. JOHN LEYBURN, D.D. (published by Carter and Brothers), is a popular and attractive exposition of Ephesians vi. 10-18, consisting of a series of discourses delivered from the pulpit, but recast into the form of plain and practical essays, written with considerable force. The talents of the author and the taste of the publishers have made an addition to our religious literature, of which the public estimation is indicated by the early call for a second edition.
The Irish Confederates, and the Rebellion of 1798, by HENRY M. FIELD (published by Harper and Brothers), is a lively historical sketch of the movements of the Irish patriots in behalf of the freedom of their nation toward the close of the last century. The volume opens with a rapid survey of Irish history, traces the love of liberty among the people, describes the causes of their national characteristics, and minutely portrays the events of the fruitless struggle, which terminated in the complete subjection of their beautiful island to the British crown. Among the biographical sketches, those of Curran, Tone, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the Emmets, McNevin, and Sampson of course occupy a prominent place, and are drawn with an affectionate sympathy, which delights to linger around every memorial of their noble and chivalrous characters. Mr. Field has enjoyed peculiar facilities for the composition of this volume. A visit to Ireland some four years since awakened a strong interest in the fortunes of her people. At a subsequent period, he formed an intimate acquaintance with several of the families of the Irish exiles in New York, and from the narratives thus obtained, was furnished with some of the most valuable materials for his story. Nor has he neglected the study of the different historians of the time. His work, accordingly, combines the vivacity of a personal narrative, with the accuracy of thorough research. It is deeply imbued with a love of Ireland, with a sense of indignation at the outrages which she has endured, and with admiration of the valor and devotion of her gallant sons; though in no case, do the evident partialities of the writer appear to have interfered with his strict historical fidelity, or to have tempted him to an uncritical use of the facts at his command. His style is simple and unaffected, warmed with a persuasive earnestness, and animated with a chaste enthusiasm, but owing none of its interest to the allurements of rhetoric. Indeed, a more elaborate construction would often have been in better keeping with the dignity of the subject, while the almost exclusive use of short sentences at length overcomes the reader with a painful feeling of monotony. There are also occasional instances of careless and unauthorized expression, which, in a writer of such real ability and cultivation as Mr. Field, excite the surprise of the fastidious reader.
Harper and Brothers have issued an edition of the History of Greece, by Dr. LEONHARD SCHMITZ, which forms an appropriate companion to the History of Rome, published by the accomplished author four years since. The purpose of Dr. Schmitz in each of these Histories is to give, in a popular form, the result of the researches by modern scholars which have placed the subject in a new light. In the composition of this volume, the author has availed himself of the erudite labors of Bishop Thirlwall, abridging his great work in some portions, and interweaving his masterly views into the texture of his narrative, where a free style was more suitable to the subject. As a manual for young students in Grecian history, and a work for general and family reading, this volume is not surpassed by any production of the present day. The experience of the author as a practical educator, his admirable classical attainments, and the caution and soundness of his historical judgments, give him peculiar qualifications for the task he has undertaken. His style is simple and condensed; his illustrations are singularly apposite; and his grouping of topics is picturesque and forcible. For popular use, we have no doubt, that both the Grecian and Roman Histories of Dr. Schmitz will speedily take the precedence of all others in this country, as they have done, to a very considerable degree, in Great Britain.
The popular series of Franconia Stories, by JACOB ABBOTT (published by Harper and Brothers), is completed by the publication of Mary Bell and Beechnut. The excellent author has placed the whole juvenile community under new obligations by the issue of these delightful stories. He is so perfectly at home in every phase of country life, and so ingenious in working up its daily occurrences into a charming narrative, that he can never fail of a listening audience. Few American authors have the power of so impressing themselves on the memory and the heart of their readers. The present series will doubtless add to his beautiful influence and to his fame.
The Third Number of London Labor and The London Poor, by HENRY MAYHEW, is issued by Harper and Brothers, and will be found to increase the interest with which that remarkable series has been received by the public. His pictures of the condition of the laboring classes in London have a minuteness and vividness of detail which would not disgrace a Dutch painting.
The Roman Republic of 1849, by THEODORE DWIGHT (published by R. Van Dien), is a brief historical view of the recent revolutionary movements in Italy, with biographical sketches of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Avezzana, Filopanti, Foresti, and other leading Italian Republicans.
Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have issued the fourth volume of their beautiful edition of the Collective Writings of THOMAS DE QUINCY, containing The Caesars, a work characterized by the subtilty of reflection, curious learning, and original felicities of expression, for which the author is pre-eminent.
Life on the Plains of the Pacific, by Rev. GUSTAVUS HINE (published by Geo. H. Derby and Co., Buffalo), is the title of a work devoted to the history, condition, and prospects of Oregon, with a description of its geography, climate, and productions, and of personal adventures among the Indians. It contains a detailed history of the Oregon Mission, drawn from the most authentic sources, including the notes and journals of the first missionaries on that station. The journal of the author, commencing with the departure of the missionaries from New York in 1839, presents an interesting narrative of the largest expedition of this kind that ever sailed from an American port, and is enriched with a great variety of facts and incidents that occurred in the wide field of observation that forms the subject of the volume. Without pretending to the graces of literary composition, the writer has produced a work of sterling value. His authority will no doubt be appealed to with confidence on all matters pertaining to the important scene of his labors.
Hints to Sportsmen, by E. J. LEWIS (published by Blanchard and Lea, Philadelphia), is a regular-built treatise on all the mysteries of the sporting craft. The author writes like an experienced shot. His book is not only a valuable manual for the sportsman, but a tempting volume for the lovers of spirited description.
Curran and his Contemporaries, by CHARLES PHILLIPS (published by Harper and Brothers), is a reproduction of the celebrated work of Counselor Phillips, having been subjected by the author to a thorough revision and amendment. It describes the interesting period of Irish history during which Curran was the leading member of the Bar, with great vivacity and force. Touching lightly on the politics of the times, it presents a series of personal delineations, which are drawn to the life by the enthusiastic and genial author. The freshness of his recollections affords an abundance of piquant anecdote, which, with his warm sympathies with the Irish character, gives a perpetual liveliness and glow to the narrative, redeeming it from every approach to dullness, and sustaining the interest of the reader to the close of the volume.
Louisiana: Its Colonial History and Romance, by CHARLES GAYARRE (published by Harper and Brothers), is a republication of the lectures of the author on "The Poetry, or the Romance of the History of Louisiana," with the addition of seven new lectures, bringing the subject down to the departure of Bienville, the founder of the colony, in 1743. Among the interesting topics discussed in the second series of lectures, are the formation of the Mississippi Company, the History of Law's financial career, the foundation of New Orleans, the Manners and Customs of the Natchez tribe, the wars between the Indians and the Colonists, and others, which bring the romantic incidents connected with the colonization of Louisiana into prominent view. The period was fertile in singular adventures, presenting abundant materials for the poet or novelist. Mr. Gayarre has made a felicitous selection of topics, which, under the brilliant coloring of a lively imagination, are presented in a picturesque and attractive form. The substance of his work is founded on the conclusions of exact historical research, while the drapery in which its scenes and characters are arrayed form a graceful accompaniment to the severity of truth. With a perpetual vivacity of style, and a profusion of glowing imagery, Mr. Gayarre never becomes tedious or insipid. His volume is always delightful as a poem, if it is not complete as a record, and will hold a high place among the popular contributions to the "Romance of History."
E. C. and J. Biddle have published An Elementary Treatise on Statics, by GASPARD MONGE, translated by WOODS BAKER, a work which has obtained a distinguished reputation in the scientific literature of France, by its clear and correct style, its rigorous demonstrations, and its well-connected propositions. It is adapted to fill a place, for which no adequate provision has been made by the usual treatises on the subject in the English language. Most of these are voluminous, and suited only to the more advanced classes of students, or else composed chiefly of practical and descriptive details. The present volume treats the subject in the synthetic method, and can be understood without difficulty by those who are familiar with Euclid's Elements.
Warreniana.—Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have issued a reprint of this celebrated jeu d'esprit, which still retains its popularity, together with the Rejected Addresses, to which it forms an appropriate companion. The peculiarities of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey, Christopher North, Washington Irving, Scott, Moore, Brougham, Wilberforce, and other names of sufficient eminence to provoke a quiz, are hit off with capital success. The most astringent features are always relaxed in the perusal of these amusing pages.
J. S. Redfield has issued an edition of JUNG STILLING'S Theory of Pneumatology, and of CAHAGNET'S Celestial Telegraph, which are filled with the latest information on the whole subject of ghosts, presentiments, visions, and the world of spirits, obtained professedly from the most authentic sources. Stilling's work is introduced with a Preface by Rev. Dr. BUSH, highly commending its purposes and character. The "Celestial Telegraph" beats Jackson Davis and the Rochester Knockings all hollow. Whoever is curious in the literature of the supernatural will find enough here to satisfy the most craving love of the marvelous.
Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have published a volume of Poems, by HENRY T. TUCKERMAN, distinguished for the sweet and graceful fancies, the fluent aptness of expression, the joyous sympathy with nature, and the refined delicacy of taste by which most of the writings of the author are characterized. The vein of tranquil reflection which pervades them, and the chastened utterance of feeling which vails rather than embodies strong emotion, though not among the elements of popular poetry, will recommend them to the congenial reader.
J. W. Moore, Philadelphia, has published a useful little volume for students in design, entitled The Theory of Effect, by An Artist. It is intended not only for the use of beginners, but of those who have attained a proficiency in the art, while they are unacquainted with the principles on which the correctness of their pictures depends. The rules of Effect are laid down with great precision and minuteness, and illustrated with several neat engravings by Hinckley.
The Volcano Diggings is the title of a lively story, by a Member of the Bar, illustrating the administration of the law in California. Several scenes, which are evidently taken from the life, are described with a good deal of spirit, and throw a strong, but not altogether flattering light on the condition of society at the placers. (Published by J. S. Redfield).
George P. Putnam has issued The Wing-and-Wing, forming another volume of the Collected Works of J. FENIMORE COOPER. In the Preface to this edition, the author remarks, that "he acknowledges a strong paternal feeling in behalf of this book, placing it very high in the estimate of its merits, as compared with other books from the same pen; a species of commendation that need wound no man."
The same publisher has issued a new and revised edition of The Conquest of Florida, by THEODORE IRVING. The author expresses his gratification in finding his account of De Soto's expedition confirmed by the most recent investigations. His work is justly entitled to the reputation which it has obtained, as a classic authority, on an interesting period of American history.
Phillips, Sampson, and Co. have published a valuable collection of financial essays, entitled The Banker's Commonplace Book, containing Mr. A. B. Johnson's pithy treatise on the Principles of Banking and the Duties of a Banker, Gilbart's Ten Minutes' Advice on Keeping a Bank, with several articles on Bills of Exchange, and a summary of the Banking Laws of Massachusetts. It will prove a useful manual on the subject to which it is devoted.
TWO LEAVES FROM PUNCH.
DIPLOMACY AND GASTRONOMY.
It is a very generally received opinion that gammon is the basis of diplomacy; but the fact is, that it is impossible to conduct international negotiations on the foundation of that humble and economical fare, even when rendered more palatable by the addition of spinach. MR. RIVES, it is said, has written a letter to MR. WEBSTER, complaining that the American Embassadorship can not be done at Paris under L9000 a year, and adds that
"According to MR. PAKENHAM, good dinners are half the battle of diplomacy, and the most favorable treaties are gained by liberal feeding."
This aphorism suggests important reflections.
A main point to be attended to in the formation of a diplomatic corps is the commissariat; and the force must be well armed with knives and forks, in addition to being supplied with plate armor.
The trenches in diplomatic warfare must be manned by regular trenchermen.
Rivals in diplomacy must be cut out by actual carving; and in order to dish them, recourse must be had to real dishes.
If one diplomatist wishes to turn the tables on another, it is requisite that he and his suite should keep the better tables.
The politeness of diplomatic intercourse should be qualified, in some measure, with sauce, and its gravity tempered with gravy.
Treating, in diplomacy, is best managed by giving "a spread."
Bold diplomatists are those "who greatly daring, dine."
The most liberal foreign policy is that of giving grand banquets.
A plenipotentiary should have unlimited powers of cramming.
An embassador has been defined to be, "a man sent abroad to lie for the sake of the commonwealth;" but the definition must be enlarged to express the fact, that he is also a person deputed to a foreign country to eat and drink for the interest of his native land.
The most important diplomatic functions are those of digestion.
CONVERSATION-BOOKS FOR 1851.
It is said that Publishers are getting up a series of Conversation-Books for the use of foreigners, visiting the Great Exhibition. But the spoken and written language of London are so different that it is feared these books will be of little use. Mr. PUNCH furnishes the following corrections of the two most important chapters, by the diligent study of which it is hoped that visitors may be enabled to ride and dine.
TO CONVERSE WITH A CABMAN.
What the Book said. What the Man said.
Do you wish, Sir, to ride in C'b? (from every driver on my cabriolet? the rank, and as many fingers held up as there are Cabmen.)
Where do you wish, Sir, that Vere to? (and a look.) I should drive you?
I wish to go to the Exposition.
Thank you, Sir. I will drive Vere? (not understanding you thither without delay. the foreigner's English.)
What is your fare?
I have driven you two miles. Two bob and a tanner. My legal fare for driving you that distance is one shilling and four-pence.
As you have driven fast, there is one shilling and sixpence.
Thank you, Sir, I am very much obliged Vot's this? (and a look of to you. contemptuous curiosity at the coin presented.)
I shall be happy to drive you in future. Vel, if hever I drives a scaly furrinrr again, I'm blessed!
Good morning to you, Sir. Ollo! You ain't a-goin' hoff in this 'ere way.
You have paid me handsomely. Oh—you calls yourself a gentleman!
TO CONVERSE WITH A WAITER.
Waiter, what have you for dinner?
You can have what you choose to order, Sir. Din'r, Sir!—Yezzir!
Here is the bill of fare, Sir. S'p, f'sh, ch'ps, st'ks, cutl't, Sir! r'nd o' b'f, Sir!—nice cut, Sir!—sad'l mt'n, Sir!—Yezzir! —JOHN, att'nd to the gnl'm.—Yezzir!—JEM, mon'y—com'n, Sir!—'Ere, Sir!—Yezzir!
Waiter, how much have I to pay?
Here, Sir, is your bill. Money! (calling.)
Permit me to ask you what you Now, Sir? (and an have had to eat, Sir? interrogative look.) St'k, Sir? Yezzir! shill'n, Sir! 'taters, Sir? I have had a beef-steak, with boiled Yezzir! twop'nce, that's one-and-three, and potatoes; I have also had a fried sole, bread a penny, one-and-three and some bread, and two is one-and-five, with Cheshire cheese, and sole, you said, Sir? Yezzir! and a pint of porter. that's one shilling: one-and-eight and five, thirteen, Sir, the price of all that is two that's two-and-six; and cheese? shillings. Yezzir! two-and-eight and four, that's three shill'n; and porter is four; three, four, eight, ten, fifteen—four-and-two. Thank you, Sir! Waiter, Sir? Thank you, Sir. Good afternoon, Sir.
TO FIND ROOM IN A CROWDED OMNIBUS.
Conductor.—Would any gentleman mind going outside, to oblige a lady?
Unfortunate Gentleman (tightly wedged in at the back).—I should be very happy, but I only came, yesterday, out of the Fever Hospital.
[Omnibus clears in a minute!
A FILE TO SMOOTH ASPERITIES.
The Sheffield Times describes an extraordinary file, which is to be sent from Sheffield to the Great Exhibition. This remarkable file is adorned with designs as numerous as those on the original shield of ACHILLES, all cut and beaten out with hammer and chisel. How much more sensible and friendly to show distinguished foreigners files of this sort, than to exhibit to them files of soldiers!
THE LOWEST DEPTH OF MEANNESS.
A FARCE, FOUNDED ON FACT.
MR. and MRS. SKINFLINT are discovered in a Parlor in a Fashionable Square. The Wife is busy sewing. The Husband is occupied running his eye, well drilled in all matters of domestic economy, over the housekeeping account of the previous week.
Mr. Skinflint.—You've been very extravagant in my absence, my dear.
Mrs. Skinflint.—It's the same story every week, JOHN.
Mr. Skinflint.—But, nonsense, Madam, I tell you, you have. For instance, you had a Crab for supper last night.
Mrs. Skinflint (startled).—How do you know that? It's not down in the book.
Mr. Skinflint (triumphantly).—No—but I found the shell in the dust-bin!!!!
FASHIONS FOR MAY.
This is the season when Fashion is more perplexed than at any other, in her endeavors to give humanity a seasonable garb. Boreas and Zephyrus often bear rule on the same day, one reigning with mildness in the morning, the other despotically at evening. Those votaries of Fashion are the wiser, who pay court to the former; for, generally, it is almost June, in our Northern States, before we may be certain that the chilling breath of early Spring will be no more felt.
This being the season for rides and promenades, our illustrations for this month are devoted chiefly to the representation of appropriate costume for those healthful exercises in the open air. The large figure in our first plate, represents an elegant style of promenade dress. Pardessus are much worn at this season, made in a lighter manner than those used earlier. Velvet pardessus with silk or satin linings, but not padded, are used. Our illustration represents one of black velvet, trimmed with several narrow rows of satin of the same color. The dress is amber-colored figured silk, with a very full plain skirt. Capotes or bonnets of satin are also worn. An elegant style is made of violet velvet and satin, ornamented with heart's-ease almost hidden within coques of satin and velvet, which are arranged in a tasteful manner upon the exterior of the capote, the interior being decorated with heart's-ease to match, which may or may not be intermixed with lace or tulle, according to the taste of the wearer.
Costumes for young misses are also represented in our first illustration. The larger one has a dress of a pale chocolate cachmere, trimmed with narrow silk fringe; the double robings on each side of the front as well as the cape, on the half-high corsage, ornamented with a double row of narrow silk fringe. This trimming is also repeated round the lower part of the loose sleeve. Chemisette of plaited cambric, headed with a broad frill of embroidery; full under-sleeves of cambric, with a row of embroidery round the wrist. Open bonnet of pink satin, a row of white lace encircling the interior next the face. Boots of pale violet cachmere and morocco. Trowsers of worked cambric. The smaller figure has a frock of plaided cachmere. Paletot of purple velvet, or dark cachmere; a round hat of white satin, the low crown adorned with a long white ostrich feather. Trowsers and under-sleeves of white embroidered cambric. Button gaiter boots of chocolate cachmere.
Figure 2 represents a most elegant costume for an evening party, or a ball. It is composed of a beautifully embroidered white satin dress, the skirt looped up on the right side, and decorated with a bunch of the pink honey-plant, heading three pink and white marabout tips, from which depend three ends of deep silk fringe, pink and white. Low pointed corsage, the top of which is encircled with a small embroidered pointed cape, edged as well as the short sleeves with a deep pink and white fringe, and confined upon the centre with a cluster of feathers and flowers, decorated in the centre with a butterfly composed of precious stones. The hair is simply arranged with a narrow wreath of pink and white velvet leaves, finished on the right side with two small marabout feathers, and two ends of fringe drooping low.
Figure 3 is a morning promenade costume. A high dress of black satin, the body fitting perfectly tight; a small jacket cut on the bias, with two rows of black velvet laid on a little distance from the edge. The sleeves are rather large, and have abroad cuff turned back, which is trimmed to correspond with the jacket. The skirt is long and full; the dress ornamented up the front in its whole length by rich fancy silk trimmings, graduating in size from the bottom of the skirt to the waist, and again increasing to the throat. Bonnet of plum-colored satin; a bunch of heart's-ease, intermixed with ribbon, placed low on the left side; the same flowers, but somewhat smaller, ornament the interior.
Figures 4 and 5 represent different styles of head-dresses for balls or evening parties. Figure 4 is a combination of flowers and splendid ribbons, with a fall on each side, of the richest lace. Figure 5 is very brilliant. It is a wreath of Ceres form, composed of small flowers in rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, perfectly resembling natural flowers, with ears of wheat freely intermingled. At this season the head-dresses are chiefly of the floral description. Feathers and flowers intermixed, form a very beautiful coiffure.
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