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HAsz§iiin""s (iAZE'.l‘TE DECEMBER, 31.

atscmaxsous.

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Excr:i.i.i:sr Sr..\sr..—l“i-iiiices D. Gage

of St. Louis, a woman of rare good sense,-

whose writings in prose and verse have won for her an en_vi:ihle i-cpiitation, niaikes about the worst-looking and li|0.~‘t illegible inuiiuscript, thiit over puzzled and vexed ii compositor, or torznentt-tl a pi-not-i'e::dcI'. In a recent letter to the ll'umu1i‘s ./Iilvacate she thus " owns upz"

“ Dear friends ‘of tho .‘Iilroe1:,‘e, I write the worst hand in the world; it-.iii‘t read it myself when it gets dry:

The 'l“s tire not crnsseil, the La tire not dulled Seine words iire e.\pung_;i~il, and tlllIt.‘I§ are blolletli

And §t\ltH' are .-pi;|led wrong, oi let:-‘rs li-fl 0-11;, Uni: srnrcelv can tell \\'li:il. l'iii \\ ruling about. My ciipit-il letters are zill on u spree;

l'ivi-rv II is an I., ever) I. is n It; The P's and the Q's urn i-xnetly alike ; The l\l‘s, N's. iiiiil U's am out on it strike 2 Seine letters are lar_vi_-, and -toxins very sinzill; And the words hop :ilmu', like strziw.-A in ii uquzill : No wonder, tliu poor girls can't read it at all. “ You will ask why I do not reform iny- self I can only answer that I do tiy, con- stantly; every letter, every line I write, I think ofit, and am ever striving, seemingly to no purpose. 'l'ill thirty years o'd, I had never a serious thought about the iiiatter—- had taught myself to write——was a constant gcribbler for my own amusement, and fixed my bad habits by years of practice, which it now seems impossible to change. ow a word to the young: Strive in the beginning to write well--that is, a clearly legible hand ——beauty or ﬂourish is not so essential. bad, careless handwritting is a source of annoyance to _both the writter and receiver of manuscript. It deprives the letter of a friend of much ofits relish, ifit is so scrawl- ed as to cause real trouble and guessing to make it out. A business letter, badly writ- ten, often is cause of great pecuniary loss. For ii public_writer, the extent of the mis- fortune can hardly be estimated. Habits are stubborn things, and may not be easily broken,and with is majority, the handwriting is made b habit; and many it will cost hours of persevering trial to attain excel- _lency in this branch of ediicatiun. But it is worth much, veiy much time and pains."

Tun HOUIIHOLD is 0_i.nan TiMss.——A servant who is absent from prayers to be ﬁned one penny; and the same sum for leaving the door open. A line oftwo pence from Lady-day to Micliaelmas, for all who are in bed after seven, or out alter nine. A ﬁne of one penny for any bed unmade, tire unlit, or candle-box uncleaned after eight. A ﬁne of four pence for any man waiting without I trencher, or who is ab- sent at a meal. For any one breaking any of the butler’: glasses, twelve pence. line of two pence for any one who has no laid the table for dinner by hall‘-past ten or the supper by six. A ﬁne of four pence for any-one absent without leave. For any man striliibg another, a ﬁne of one penny. For any follower for visiting the cook, one penny. A ﬁne of one penny for any inan appeiiriag in-a foul shirt, broken hose, untied shoes, or torn doublet. A ‘ﬁne of one easy for any stranger's. room left for four lioura‘, after he beidressed. A line of one penny, if the hall be not cleansed by eight in the winter and seven in the summer. The porter to be fined one penny , if the court gate be not shut during tncals. A ﬁne of three pence if the stairs are not cleansed every Friday after dinner. All these ﬁnes were deducted by the steward at the quarterly payment of the men's’ wages.

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FORTILLING THE Wiinusa.—E. Meri- am of Brooklyn, New'York, who has been called- the “clerk of the weather,” and who for twenty years has made himself a martyr to meteorology by taking hourly ob-

‘' Q]-rations of the thermometer, barometer, '., ‘thus strips the “ weatherwise” ofthcir ' :,of prophecy:—With all my practice and experience in observing atmospheric changes, and recording hour by hour and ay by day thermometricnl and meteorolo- gical observations, and in connection with simultaneous observations made and record- ed else-wliere, I feel more and more con- vinced, that it is notin the power of any

human being to determine even it sin e_

day in adnanee what changes will in e place in the atmosphere.

A Fazsca Sri:i.~ir.a Buiiur IY Eriisii. -—.'I‘lie French sti,-am-packet La France, :during the mouth of ()i:'uher, was burnt‘ tip lin ll.ilii:i li.ii-!.~onr. l"rencliinen are nciitc ,in clieini.-try, but they soinctiines r-vvril«> tl Iiwrk, us uill be seen below. Ether in lieu lofstesini, or as :i:i aiixilinry to coal—:tn in-

y'CllIl4'll of .\l. 'I‘i'€ll|lrl£l} —h:is been‘ in tlse liu the I~‘i-i:i.i:li nary for .~'IIlIiL‘ time past, and ‘in siiceesstiil use, it is Silltl. 'I‘lic rezzsv-ii :for employing t'lllt.‘l' in aid of steiinris be- :(.'ﬂll.~‘t) its hoilin;.; point is very low, viz., 98 ,degt-ees; but it app: airs to have been for- gottcii in sending ii vessel with ether to Brazil, that she would have to Titus through .1 temperature inuch higher, even in the

shade, than the boiling point of this most’ iizllaiiiniiilile liquid; and that, tliercfore, it! could not Fxlal. in the ordinary stowttgei tanks. The result of this want of fore- sight was, that the ether, ﬂoating about inn stage of vapour, caught tire, burned in line ship, and destroyed much property. It was most pi-ovidciitial that the accident occur- red in hnrboiir. At sea it would have been a truly awful occurrence.

Si.ioiiri.v Ex.ioona.irsb.—-\Ve came up Vest-y street the bitter iiliei-noon, looking at the workmen laying down the rails for the Sixth and Eiglitli avenue c:irs—qucry as to Sixtli—ii_nd wondering how they were to work on tl single track, and nllll we won- (lt,'l'Ctl, for no one could tell, and then we looked tip and over across Brotidwtty, at the full length, very uceiirale, lll‘lls-‘llctllly painted portrait of the “ lliissiuii Giiint," standing out from the front of llarniini’s Museum. At tirst we had it iiere suspic- on that ill point of size it iniglig be slightly exaggerated, but then, ugiiiii, when we re- tlecteil that Btirnuin had go'r'io to Europe, and that there was no liiiiiibug now about the “ old curiosity shop,” wdcoiicluded to believe that it was cxiictly what it purport- ed to be, a true portrait ofthe iniinster innn then and there on exhibition. Ye did think of risking our precious self i an at- temnt to cross Broiidwiiy, iind go over and pay it quarter to look at the aforesaid Rus- sian Giant. But, ,citlier from fear to ,at- tempt such tl perilous passage, or because we were it quarter short, or becnusowe

Sizcaers or Vi:s'rii..i'rio.v.—Let the air, enter the house freely by it large aperture,‘ like at common window, and capable of re- gulation in the same way. Let it enter al stove room, and be there completely wann- ed, and then let it pass freely througli the whole house, and enter all the apartments: either at the doors or by express channels. Take off the used air by the chimney and

A an open ﬁre; or, for crowds, provide larger

and express openings; there is no more to one. Houses that we have seen ven- tilated in this simple, iiiipretending, uniny- sterious manner, are the'best ventilated we have ever entered. It is too often the fate ofthe mysterious little pipes, funnels, tubes, and valves, by which ventilation is fre- quently symbolized. rather to indicate ven- tilation than to etl'ect it.--Illustrations of the Theory of Ventilation.

C‘ G

Lain Sursaioa RAii.itoao.—Notice is given in several of the Canadian papers, application will be made at the next ses- sion of Parliament for a charter authorizing * a company to construct a railroad from the shores of Lake Superior to the valley of the Assiniboine, the intention being to con- tinue it on to the shores ofthe Paciﬁc. An exchange says: “ It would not be a feather in the cap ofthe Yankees, if alter they had originated and long discussed the project of a railway line to the Paciﬁc, their Can- adian neighbours stenped in and quietly consummated» the important enterprise. But if the next Congress shall take prompt and vigorous measures preliminary to the construction of the road, and giving ear- nest of the intention on the part of our go- vernment to continue the work tb its com- pletion, we shall probably hear no more of the Canadian scheme." '

A l)oiiii:s'ric I.\iraovsMI:s'r.—Putting down carpets with tacks has always been a trial and tribulation to housekeepers, which ought to have been obviated by some better invention before this. An improvement which will answer the purpose has been an- nounced. It consists of a series of cast iron buttons, with the lower end formed in the shape ofa cam. This is secured to the base-board of the room, and when the car- pet is properly stretched, the cams are turned-down upon it and retain it ﬁrmly in its place. This saves the carpet from the tear and wear of tacks, and the door from the injury of nails being driven into it, be- side making the putting down and removing of carpets but a few minutes’ work.

ANOTIIEP. FASIIIONAIILE AIOMINATION.-— The London Lancet states that the use of the drug belliidona, as practised in Orien- tal hareins, to give brilliancy ‘to the eye,’ is now unblushingly advertised and provided for by the caterers of fashion. The effect of this powerful and deadly drug upon ti‘ eye, is to contract the iris and enlarge the pupil, intensifying its brillinncy, and rapid- ly destroying the organ. But for too many examples of suicidal vanity, which no dread of consequences can restrain, we might li.-ape that this degrading self-torture would be shunned. \\’arning may at least be useful before the sin becomes-it fashion.

had business down Bi-oadivay on the side where we stood, we concluded to defer our visit to the tall gentleiniui until another day

Just as we had come to this sage coiiclu-I

sion, and were about to move on, it farmer- likc looking individual touched us on the elbow to attract our attention, and asked our opinion. \‘\'hetlier he thought we had it wondrous wise look, or whether he took us for one skilled in paintings, from having observed our attention to this one, or whe- ther lie judged from our heard that we were a Turk, and of course knew what a Russian was, and particularly how big tl Russian giant shoul be, we are still in doubt; but he put the question so earnest and direct that we were obliged to answer it with equal directness. -

“ Do you think,” said he, “that that likeness is correct?”

“Undoubtedly," we replied, “except that it may be slightly exaggerated.”

"Slightly exaggerated?" be repeated slowly to himself. That big word was slightly exaggerated beyond his compre- hension , and, while he thought, we said:

-- Wh 2" .

" Well, you see, I live down on Long Island, a good piece from here; I own a farm, I do, down there, and I have ti neigh- bour who ownsafarm, who is about the biggest man, I thought, on earth, and he has been ii talking, right-down earnest lately about showing himself to make mo- ney; an tell you what ‘tis, colonel, it would be worth a quarter to see him; but, gad zooks, if that chap up'there can ﬁl that picture, my neighbor may as well go to bed and lay there, for he would be no show along the road that this Russian tel.- low travels, that is certain.”

“ Now, friend,” we replied, “we can tell you what you can do—just go over and see the ‘ Russian giant,’ and than you elm tell how much bigger he is than your Long Island specimen, and whether _he real y is as big as he looks. And if he is, you may as well tell your neighbor to stick to his farm, and-leave the show business to Barnum & Compan .”

“ By George, old fellow, you are right, and I will do it. Ifl ask him, Ishould say he will pay me back the quarter, ‘cause it is on his account altogether that I shall go to see this chap; for. according to my no- tion, Long Island is hard to beat anyhow.”

e thought so, too, and went our way while he of Long Island went to see whe- ther_the Russian dominions could produce a bigger man than the dominions of this elongated strip of sea sand. We don't think we should have thought of the sub- ject again, if we had not been accosted on our return to the same spot by a man struggling to get through the crush of car- riagcs so as to speak" to us before we were lost in the crowd.

“ Htilln, ’squire! stop a minute. Weorge, I want. to speak to you."

It was our new ncquiiintancc from Long Island, just returning from his visit to the Russian giant.

“ \Vol|,” said we, “have you seen him?” pointing at the same time to the portrait.

“ Seen him! seen him! Yes, I have.”

"You did not,” we suggested, “ ﬁnd the picture much exnggeriited?"

“ Slightly, yes, slightly. I inquired the

i f l i Ci.‘ meamnz 0 tiat word-—-I didn't ' derstaud it; but you were ,.i;,l::,":y':' slightly exaggerated. \Vol1 J’,-0 spam ' quarter" ‘

“ And seen the Russian giant?”

No, but I have seen the elephant Look here, neighbor, you know I went see this fellow solely on account nfm neigliiior, at your suggestion, as it way. only it qiiartm-"_..

I “ \b:liicli he will l|Iltl_0tl.l)l0tll_)’ refund to you, it his Iienrt is its big in proportion gg his body.”

"Do vou think so? I don't; and don't believe you will, when you hear me out “'9”: .V““ 3‘-'0, 1 [mid Iny quarter and went. up. and there stood the giant, his back in me, and I began to think, that my neighbor wonld have to ktiock under it little‘ but Lord, surs I, this fellow an’! so bin mi ii,“

. ' 6 picture, by a long chalk. And so as I could tell my neighbor a pretty good story, and that he needn’t be afraid of this Rus. sian chap, pcrliiips he would pay the qua;-. ter back. Just then the fellow turned round, and I looked at him and he looked at me, and I suppose I looked sort of fool.

jl'°"_"‘.Y lliughi and says he, ‘lVhy, halloo, Smith, don't you know me? How's the fiilks down on the Island?’ VVliew ! Rue. aian giants l VVhy it was my old neighbor only a little stuffed and ﬁxed up with a mustache, and--well, yeg_ ll waking up at tl:ie”picture,” yes, it is slightly exaggerat- e .

“ Then you didn't ask him to refund the quarter?”

“NU. Sir; I paid it to see a man that I had seen‘ a thousand times before, and I was pertectly satisﬁed. I have seen the elephant. Good bye; I am going down to Long Island, right straight." -

RAll.\VA\'S IN was IIOLY LAND.——Sll' John McNeil| passed through Paris on his return to_London from Syria and Palestine, where Sir John has been for some time past engaged in laying out in harbour on the east coast of the Mediterranean, and the |‘¢|ll“"|Y Which is to extend from thence to the_ Persian Gulf. General Cliesney re- mains at Constantinople, to get it). demi. of the firman completed, the general prin- ciples of which had been agreed upon by the Turkish Government before he and Sir John left Constantinople for the East. The other railway on which Sir John has been employed is one of great interest to all the civilized world—namely, that from the an- cient seaport of Joppa, now Jatfa, to Jeru-

I salein, and from thence to Dainascus.

PROTESTANT Scnoot..—'I‘he Bavarian Government has permitted the establish- ment of a Protestant school at Kissingen, which has been endowed by Madame Jenny Lind Goldschmidt and other visitors to that fashionable watering-place the past sum- mer, to the extent of 6,000 ﬁorins.

..ARCTlc Exri:ni'rios.—An Expedition will ‘be prepared forthwith to proceed in seiirch of further traces of Sir John Frank- liii’s party, via Behring’: Straits. The command will, it is said, be conferred upon Captain George II. Richards. I

Tiii: Liiiuzs.-'I‘lie disaters on the Lakes this season far exceed those of former years in number and fatality. The Chica- go Tribune gives an imperfect list of the totally lost vessels, making an aggregate of six_ steamers, nino propellers, two tugs, ﬁve brigs, and twenty-eight schooners. At a low calculation, 200 lives have been lost. Several of the vessels have disappeared and never been heard from.

Tssxvso.v.—'I‘he Poet Laureate has’ newivolume nearly ready for the press. will, we are informed, consist of two poems both of considerable length, and in blan verse, and the subject of each drawn fro the storehouse of Arthurian romance. Literary Gazelle.

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Tiuivet. Aaoi.isucn.—R.eferring to‘ th tremendous speed ofrailivay trains, 'I‘luiclie- ray says, not without reason, that “ we do not tl‘tIV0l now-a- tryri; _we arrive at Plﬁcﬁli” and Ruskin, in his late volume,‘ says, “railway travelling is not travelling at till; it is merely being sent to a place, and very little ditferent from becoming a‘ parcel.”

ish, and at that the fellow broke out into a.

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