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+Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460
+       Volume 18, New Series, October 23, 1852
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: William Chambers
+        Robert Chambers
+
+Release Date: January 4, 2008 [EBook #24158]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                     CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL
+
+  CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
+  INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.
+
+
+  No. 460. NEW SERIES.   SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1852.   PRICE 1-1/2_d._
+
+
+
+
+PRESERVED MEATS AND MEAT-BISCUITS.
+
+
+The many-headed public look out for 'nine days' wonders,' and speedily
+allow one wonder to obliterate the remembrance of that which preceded
+it. So it is with all newspaper topics, and so it has been in respect
+to the preserved-meat question. We all know how great was the
+excitement at the commencement of the present year on this matter.
+Ships' accounts overhauled; arctic stores re-examined; canisters
+opened and rejected; contracts inquired into; statements and
+counter-statements published; questionings of Admiralty officials in
+the two Houses of Parliament; reports published by committees;
+recommendations offered for future guidance; descriptions of the
+preserving processes at different establishments: all went the round
+of the newspapers, and then the topic was forgotten. It deserves to be
+held in remembrance, however, for the subject-matter is really
+important and valuable, in respect not only to the stores for
+shipping, but to the provisioning of large or small bodies of men
+under various exceptional circumstances.
+
+A few of the simple laws of organic chemistry suffice to account for
+the speedy decay of dead animal substances, and for the methods
+whereby this decay is retarded or prevented. In organised substances,
+the chemical atoms combine in a very complex but unstable way; several
+such atoms group together to form a proximate principle, such as
+gluten, albumen, fibrin, &c.; and several of these combine to form a
+complete organic substance. The chemical rank-and-file, so to speak,
+form a battalion, and two or more battalions form the chemical army.
+But it is a law in chemistry, that the more complex a substance
+becomes, the less stable is its constitution, or the sooner is it
+affected by disturbing influences. Hence organic substances are more
+readily decomposed than inorganic. How striking, for instance, are the
+changes easily wrought in a few grains of barley! They contain a kind
+of starch or fecula; this starch, in the process of malting, becomes
+converted into a kind of sugar; and from this malt-sugar or
+transformed starch, may be obtained ale or beer, gin or whisky, and
+vinegar, by various processes of fermenting and distilling. The
+complex substance breaks up through very slight causes, and the simple
+elements readjust themselves into new groupings. The same occurs in
+animal as in vegetable substances, but still more rapidly, as the
+former are more intricate in composition than the latter, and are held
+together by a weaker tie.
+
+What the 'vital principle' may be, neither chemists nor physiologists
+can tell us with any great degree of clearness; but it is this vital
+principle, whatever it may be, which prevents decay in a living
+organic substance, however complex. When life departs, the onslaught
+begins; the defender has been removed, and a number of assailants make
+their appearance. _Air_, _heat_, and _moisture_ are the principal of
+these; they attack the dead organism, and gradually convert it into
+wholly different and inorganic compounds, such as water, carbonic
+acid, ammonia, phosphuretted hydrogen, and many others. What, then,
+would result if these disturbers could be warded off, one or all? It
+is now pretty well ascertained, that if any one of the three--air,
+heat, moisture--be absent, the decay is either greatly retarded or
+indefinitely postponed; and we shall find that in all antiseptic or
+preserving processes, the fundamental principle has simply such an
+object in view.
+
+Sometimes the operation of natural causes leads to the preservation of
+dead animal substances for a great length of time, by excluding one
+out of the above three disturbing influences. If heat be so deficient
+that the animal juices become wholly frozen up, the substance is
+almost proof against decay. Thus, about seventy years ago, a huge
+animal was found imbedded in the ice in Siberia: from a comparison of
+its skeleton with those of existing species, Cuvier inferred that this
+animal must have been antediluvian; and yet, so completely had the
+cold prevented putrefaction, that dogs willingly ate of the still
+existing flesh. At St Petersburg, when winter is approaching, the fish
+in the markets become almost like blocks of ice, so completely are
+they frozen; and in this state they will remain sound for a lengthened
+period. Dead poultry, and other articles of animal food, are similarly
+kept fresh throughout the winter in many rigorous climates, simply by
+the powerlessness of the attacking agents, when heat is not one of the
+number. And that which nature effects on a large scale, may reasonably
+be imitated by man on a more limited one. It is customary to pack many
+kinds of provisions in ice or snow, either for keeping them in
+storehouses, or for sending them to market. Thus it is with the tubs
+of poultry, of veal, and of other kinds of meat, which, killed in the
+country districts of Russia in autumn, are packed in snow to keep cool
+till sold at market; and thus it is with much of the salmon sent from
+Scotland to London. Since the supply of excellent ice from Wenham
+Lake, commenced about nineteen years ago, has become so abundant and
+so cheap, it is worth a thought whether the preservative powers of
+cold might not advantageously be made more available in this country
+than they have yet been. In the United States, housewives use very
+convenient refrigerators or ice-boxes, provided with perforated
+shelves, under which ice is set, and upon which various provisions
+are placed: a large uncooked joint of meat is sometimes kept in one of
+these boxes for weeks. Among the celebrities of the Crystal Palace,
+many will recollect Masters's elegant ice-making machine, in which, by
+combining chemical action with centrifugal motion, ice can be made in
+a few minutes, let the heat of the weather be what it may. This
+machine, and the portable refrigerators manufactured by the Wenham
+Company, together with our familiar, old-fashioned ice-houses, might
+supply us with much more preservative power, in respect to articles of
+food, than we have hitherto practically adopted.
+
+If, instead of watching the effects produced by abstraction of _heat_,
+we direct attention to the abstraction of _moisture_, we shall find
+that antiseptic or preservative results are easily obtainable. All
+kinds of bacon and smoked meats belong to the class here indicated.
+The watery particles are nearly or quite driven out from the meat, and
+thus one of the three decomposing agents is rendered of no effect. In
+some cases, the drying is not sufficient to produce the result,
+without the aid of the remarkable antiseptic properties of salt;
+because decomposition may commence before the moisture is quite
+expelled. In many parts of the country, hams are hung within a
+wide-spreading chimney, over or near a turf-fire, and where a free
+current of air, as well as a warm temperature, may act upon them; but
+the juices become dissipated by this rude process. Simple drying,
+without the addition of salt or any condiment, is perhaps more
+effectual with vegetable than with animal substances.
+
+But it is under the third point of view that the preservative process
+is more important and interesting, inasmuch as it admits of a far more
+extensive application. We speak of the abstraction of _air_.
+Atmospheric air affects dead organic matter chiefly through the agency
+of the oxygen which forms one of its constituents; and it is
+principally to insure the expulsion of oxygen that air is excluded.
+The examples which illustrate the resulting effects are numerous and
+varied. Eggs have been varnished so as to exclude air, and have
+retained the vital principle in the chick for years; and it is a
+familiar domestic practice, to butter the outside of eggs as a means
+of keeping them. The canisters of preserved provisions, however, are
+the most direct and valuable result of the antiseptic action by
+exclusion of air. The Exhibition Jury on Class 3, in their Report on
+this subject, speak thus warmly thereupon:--'It is impossible to
+overestimate the importance of these preparations. The invention of
+the process by which animal and vegetable food is preserved in a fresh
+and sweet state for an indefinite period, has only been applied
+practically during the last twenty-five years, and is intimately
+connected with the annals of arctic discovery. The active measures
+taken to discover a north-west passage, and to prosecute scientific
+research, in all but inaccessible regions, first created a demand for
+this sort of food; and the Admiralty stimulated the manufacturers to
+great perfection in the art. As soon as the value of these
+preparations in cold climates became generally admitted, their use was
+extended to hot ones, and for the sick on board ship under all
+circumstances. Hitherto they had been employed only as a substitute
+for salt beef or pork at sea, and if eaten on shore, it was at first
+as a curiosity merely. Their utility in hot climates, however,
+speedily became evident; especially in India, where European families
+are scattered, and where, consequently, on the slaughter of a large
+animal, more is wasted than can be consumed by a family of the
+ordinary number.'
+
+Whatever improvements may have been introduced by later manufacturers,
+the principle involved in the meat-preserving processes is nearly as
+M. Appert established it forty years ago. His plan consisted in
+removing the bones from the meat; boiling it to nearly as great a
+degree as if intended for immediate consumption; putting it into jars;
+filling up the jars completely with a broth or jelly prepared from
+portions of the same meat; corking the jars closely; incasing the
+corks with a luting formed of quicksilver and cheese; placing the
+corked jars in a boiler of cold water; boiling the water and its
+contents for an hour; and then allowing the cooling process to
+supervene very gradually.
+
+Until the recent disclosures concerning the preserved meats in the
+government depôts, the extent of the manufacture, or rather
+preparation, was very little known to the general public. In the last
+week of 1851, an examination, consequent on certain suspicions which
+had been entertained, was commenced at the victualling establishment
+at Gosport. The canisters--for since Appert's time stone jars have
+been generally superseded by tin canisters--contain on an average
+about 10 pounds each; and out of 643 of these which were opened on the
+first day's examination, no fewer than 573 were condemned as being
+utterly unfit for food. On the next day, 734 were condemned out of
+779; and by the fourth day, the number examined had risen to 2707, of
+which only 197 were deemed fit for food. Such wretched offal had been
+packed in the canisters, instead of good meat, that the stench arising
+from the decomposing mass was most revolting; the examiners were
+compelled to use Sir William Burnett's disinfecting fluid abundantly,
+and even to suspend their labours for two or three days under fear of
+infection. The canisters formed part of a supply sent in by a
+contractor in November 1850, under a warrant that the contents would
+remain good for five years; the filling of the canisters was
+understood to have been effected at Galatz, in Moldavia, but the
+contractor was in England. The supply amounted to 6000 canisters, all
+of which had to be examined, and out of which only a few hundred were
+found to contain substances fit for food. Instead of good meat, or in
+addition to a small quantity of good meat, the examiners found lung,
+liver, heart, tongue, kidney, tendon, ligament, palate, fat, tallow,
+coagulated blood, and even a piece of leather--all in a state of such
+loathsome putridity as to render the office of the examiners a
+terrible one.
+
+Of course nothing can be predicated from such atrocities as these
+against the wholesomeness of preserved food; they prove only the
+necessity of caution in making the government contracts, and in
+accepting the supplies. The Admiralty shewed, during subsequent
+discussions, that large supplies had been received from various
+quarters for several years, for use on shipboard in long voyages and
+on arctic expeditions; that these had turned out well; and that the
+contractor who was disgraced in the present instance, was among those
+who had before fulfilled his contracts properly. Fortunately, there is
+no evidence that serious evil had resulted from the supply of the
+canisters to ships; the discovery was made in time to serve as a
+useful lesson in future to government officials and to unprincipled
+contractors.
+
+The jury report before adverted to, points out how cheap and
+economical these preserved meats really are, from the circumstance,
+that all that is eatable is so well brought into use. It is affirmed
+by the manufacturers, that meat in this form supplies troops and ships
+with a cheaper animal diet than salt provisions, by avoiding the
+expense of casks, leakage, brine, bone, shrinkage, stowage, &c., which
+are all heavy items, and entail great waste and expenditure; and by a
+canister of the former being so much smaller than a cask of the
+latter, in the event of one bad piece of meat tainting the whole
+contents. The contents of all the cases, when opened, are found to
+have lost much of the freshness in taste and flavour peculiar to
+newly-killed meat; they are always soft, and eat as if overdone. As a
+matter of choice, therefore, few or no persons would prefer meat in
+this state to the ordinary unpacked and recently-cooked state. But the
+important fact to bear in mind is, that the nutritious principles are
+preserved; as nutriment, they are unexceptionable, and they are often
+pleasantly seasoned and flavoured.
+
+In the ordinary processes of preparation, as carried on in London and
+other places, the tin canisters have a minute hole, through which the
+air may be expelled, while the meat is simmering or boiling within;
+and in the case of poultry being preserved whole, extra precautions
+are necessary, to insure the expulsion of the air from the hollow
+bones of the birds. Soups are more easily prepared than solid meat, on
+account of the greater facility for getting rid of the confined air.
+The minute air-hole in the canister is soldered down when the process
+is completed.
+
+M. Alexis Soyer, who has a notoriety in London as the prince of cooks,
+and a very ingenious man--a sort of Paxton of the kitchen--wrote to
+the daily journals, about the time of the disclosure at Gosport, to
+offer a few suggestions. He said: 'No canister ought to contain more
+than about six pounds of meat, the same to be very slightly seasoned
+with bay-salt, pepper, and aromatic herbs in powder, such as bay-thyme
+and bay-leaf, a small quantity of which would not be objectionable
+even for invalids. No jelly should be added to the meat; the meat, and
+the meat alone, should produce its own jelly. With the bones and
+trimmings of the above, a good _stock_ should be made without
+vegetables, well reduced and skimmed, to form a very strong
+transparent demi-glaze; six-pound canisters should be filled with the
+same, bearing a special mark, and one of these allowed to every dozen
+of the others. This demi-glaze, when diluted in water, would make six
+gallons of very good broth, with which any kind of soup could be made
+in a very short time.' He also points out how the condition of the
+preserved meat may be guessed by the external appearance of the
+canister. If either the top or bottom of the canister be convex, like
+the upper surface of a watch-glass, the contents are in a state of
+decomposition; the bulging being occasioned by the gases generated
+during the chemical changes. If the contents of the canister be sound,
+the top and bottom will be either quite flat, or slightly concave.
+
+The Jury on Food, at the Great Exhibition, had quite an _embarras des
+richesses_; they were surrounded by hundreds of canisters of preserved
+provisions, all of which they were invited to open and taste. They
+say, or their reporter says, that the merits of the contributions
+'were tested by a selection from each; the cases were opened in the
+presence of the jury, and tasted by themselves, and, where advisable,
+by associates. The majority are of English manufacture, especially the
+more substantial viands; France and Germany exhibiting chiefly
+made-dishes, game, and delicacies--of meat, fish, soups, and
+vegetables.' It is an important fact for our colonies, that viands of
+this description are as well prepared in Australia, Van Diemen's Land,
+Canada, and the Cape of Good Hope, as in the mother-country. 'Animal
+food is most abundant and cheap in some of those colonies. In
+Australia, especially, during seasons of drought, it is wasted in
+extraordinary quantities; flocks are slaughtered for the tallow alone,
+and herds, for their bones and hides. Were the meat on these occasions
+preserved, it cannot be doubted that it could be imported into
+England, and sold at a cheaper rate than fresh meat in our
+metropolitan markets, to the great benefit of the lower-classes.' This
+is a statement well worth being borne in mind by some of those who are
+at present dazzled with gold-digging wonders.
+
+In respect to the preserved meats at the Great Exhibition, many were
+merely cured or dried meats. From Canada, for instance, they comprised
+hams, bacon, tongues, and barrels of beef and pork. Among the
+miscellaneous contributions were grated beef, canisters of fresh
+salmon, 'admirable boiled mutton in tin cases,' dried mullets,
+'_mouton rôti_,' fish, meats preserved in a fresh state by simple
+drying--on a plan practised in Switzerland--and preserved larks. Not
+the least remarkable was a preserved _pig_, which reclined in all its
+glory on the floor of the south-west gallery, and was a successful
+example of curing on a large scale. Still more striking than this, was
+the large partridge-pie, placed somewhat out of general notice in the
+'Netherlands' department; a formidable pie it truly was, for it
+contained 150 partridges, with truffles, and weighed 250 pounds: it
+had been made a year before it was forwarded to London. But among the
+contributions more immediately relating to our present subject, may be
+mentioned those of Mr Gamble, which comprised, among others, a
+canister of preserved boiled mutton, which had been prepared for the
+arctic expedition in 1824; many such canisters were landed at Fury
+Beach in Prince Regent's Inlet; they were found by Sir John Ross at
+that spot in 1833 in a perfect state, and again by Sir James Ross in
+1849, the meat being as sweet and wholesome as when prepared a quarter
+of a century before.
+
+The range of these preserving processes is singularly wide and varied.
+If we take the trade-list of one of the manufacturers, such as that of
+Messrs Hogarth of Aberdeen, and glance through it, we shall find ample
+evidence of this. There are nearly twenty kinds of soups selling at
+about 2s. per quart-canister. There is the concentrated essence of
+beef, much more expensive, because containing the nutriment of so much
+more meat; and there are, for invalids, concentrated broths of
+intermediate price. There are about a dozen kinds of fish, some fresh
+and some dried. There are various kinds of poultry, roast and boiled;
+hare, roast and jugged; and venison, hashed and minced. There are
+beef, veal, and mutton, all dressed in various ways, and some having
+the requisite vegetables canistered with them, at prices varying from
+l0d. to 15d. per pound. There are tongues, hams, bacon, kidneys,
+tripe, and marrow; and there are cream, milk, and marmalade. Lastly,
+there are such vegetables as peas, beans, carrots, turnips, cabbage,
+and beet, at 6d. to 1s. per pound-canister. The canisters for all
+these various provisions contain from one pound to six pounds each. It
+was Messrs Hogarth, we believe, who supplied the preserved meats and
+vegetables to the arctic ships under Sir E. Belcher which sailed in
+the spring of 1852.
+
+M. Brocchière, a French manufacturer, has lately extended these
+economical processes so far, as to attempt to produce concentrated
+food from the blood of cattle. He dries up the liquid or serous
+portions of the blood, and forms into a cake, with admixture of other
+substances, the coagulable portion, which contains fibrin, the source
+of flesh and muscle. Unless a more delicate name could be given to
+this preparation, prejudice would have some influence in depriving it
+of the chance of fair play. The dry blood is in some cases combined
+with a small portion of flour, and made into light dry masses, like
+loaves or cakes, to be used as the basis of soups; while in other
+cases it is combined with sugar, to make sweet biscuits and bon-bons.
+Another kind of preserved animal fluid is the _ozmazome_, prepared by
+Messrs Warriner and Soyer. This consists of the nutritious matter or
+juice of meat, set free during the operation of boiling down fat for
+tallow in Australia; it is afterwards concentrated, and preserved in
+the form of sausages. A great amount of nutriment is thus obtained in
+a portable form; when boiled with gelatine, it forms a palatable diet,
+and it is also used to form a gravy for meat.
+
+Masson's method of preserving vegetables seems to be very effective,
+as applied to white and red cabbages, turnips, Brussels sprouts, and
+such like. The process, as conducted in France, is very simple. The
+vegetables are dried at a certain temperature (104 to 118 degrees
+Fahrenheit), sufficient to expel the moisture without imparting a
+burnt taste; and in this operation they lose nearly seven-eighths of
+their original weight. The vegetables are then pressed forcibly into
+the form of cakes, and are kept in tinfoil till required for use.
+These vegetables require, when about to be eaten, rather more boiling
+than those in the ordinary state. Some of the French ships of war are
+supplied with them, much to the satisfaction of the crews. Dr Lindley
+has stated, on the authority of a distinguished officer in the
+antarctic expedition under Sir James Ross, that although all the
+preserved meats used on that occasion were excellent, and there was
+not the slightest ground for any complaint of their quality, the crew
+became tired of the meat, but never of the vegetables. 'This should
+shew us,' says Dr Lindley, 'that it is not sufficient to supply ships'
+crews with preserved meats, but that they should be supplied with
+vegetables also, the means of doing which is now afforded.' Generally
+speaking, the flavour of preserved vegetables, whether prepared on
+Masson's or on any other process, is fresher than that of the
+meats--especially in the case of those which abound in the saccharine
+principle, as beet, carrot, turnips, &c. The more farinaceous
+vegetables, such as green peas, do not preserve so well.
+
+One of the most remarkable, and perhaps valuable recent introductions,
+in respect to preserved food, is the American _meat--biscuit_,
+prepared by Mr Borden. A _biscuit-beef_ is prepared by a Frenchman, M.
+Du Liscoet, resembling an ordinary coarse ship-biscuit; but this is
+said to have 'an animal, salt, and not very agreeable taste.' The
+American meat-biscuit, however, is prepared in a way which renders its
+qualities easily intelligible. It contains in a concentrated form all
+the nutriment of meat, combined with flour. The best wheaten flour is
+employed, with the nutriment of the best beef, and the result is
+presented for use as food in the form of a dry, inodorous, flat,
+brittle cake, which will keep when dry for an unlimited period. When
+required for use, it is dissolved in hot water, boiled, and seasoned
+at pleasure, forming a soup about the consistence of sago. One pound
+of the biscuit contains the nutritive matter--fat excepted--of five
+pounds of prime beef, mixed with half a pound of wheaten flour. One
+ounce of the biscuit, grated and boiled in a pint of water, suffices
+to form the soup. It can also be used in puddings and sauces. The
+manufacture of the meat-biscuit is located at Galveston, in Texas,
+which abounds in excellent cattle at a very low price. It is said that
+the meat-biscuit is not liable to heating or moulding, like corn and
+flour, nor subject to be attacked by insects. The meat-biscuit was
+largely used by the United States' army during the Mexican campaign;
+the nutriment of 500 pounds of beef, with 70 pounds of flour, was
+packed in a twenty-two-gallon cask.
+
+Dr Lindley, as one of the jurors for the Great Exhibition, and as a
+lecturer on the subject at the Society of Arts, commends the
+meat-biscuit in the very highest terms. 'I think I am justified in
+looking upon it,' he says, 'as one of the most important substances
+which this Exhibition has brought to our knowledge. When we consider
+that by this method, in such places as Buenos Ayres, animals which are
+there of little or no value, instead of being destroyed, as they often
+are, for their bones, may be boiled down and mixed with the flour
+which all such countries produce, and so converted into a substance of
+such durability that it may be preserved with the greatest ease, and
+sent to distant countries; it seems as if a new means of subsistence
+was actually offered to us. Take the Argentine Republic, take
+Australia, and consider what they do with their meat there in times of
+drought, when they cannot get rid of it while it is fresh; they may
+boil it down, and mix the essence with flour--and we know they have
+the finest in the world--and so prepare a substance that can be
+preserved for times when food is not so plentiful, or sent to
+countries where it is always more difficult to procure food. Is not
+this a very great gain?' A pertinent question, which intelligent
+emigrants would do well to bear in mind.
+
+
+
+
+THE BUYER OF SOULS:
+
+A Russian Story.
+
+
+All over the world, the essential elements of human nature are the
+same. And it is very fortunate for me that they are so, else I should
+find myself in considerable difficulty in endeavouring to place before
+my readers a correct picture of the little, out-of-the-way town of
+Nikolsk. Making due allowances for the differences in national manners
+and customs; for Nikolsk being under the dominion of his autocratic
+majesty the emperor of all the Russias, instead of the mild,
+constitutional government of Queen Victoria, there is no great
+discrepancy between Nikolsk and any equally out-of-the-way town in
+England. It has the same dearth of excitement, the same monotonous
+uniformity of life; it lives in the same profound ignorance of the
+great incidents that the drama of human existence is developing on the
+theatre of the world at large; it has its priest, its doctor, its
+lawyer, its post-office where a seal is not so sacred as it might be,
+or rather where the problem of getting at the news, without breaking
+the wax, has been successfully solved; it has the same thirst for
+scandal, the same intense interest for the most contemptible
+trivialities, the same constantly impending danger of suicide from
+ennui, did not human nature adapt itself to its environments, and sink
+into pettiness as naturally as though there were no such things as
+towns and cities, and enlarged views of man and nature in the world:
+all these it has the same as any British Little Pedlington. Then it
+has its circles of social intercourse, as rigidly defined and as
+intensely venerated as the rules of court precedence. The difference
+in the social scale between a landowner, a tenant, a member of the
+professions, a tradesman, a publican, a sweep, and a beggar, is
+accurately prescribed and religiously observed--with this addition,
+however, that in Nikolsk the owners of land are also owners of the
+serfs upon the land, and that the numerous representatives of that
+most centralised of all governments cut an important figure in the
+snobberies of the place. In fine, there is one little English word
+that describes Nikolsk completely, and that is--_dull_. It is
+dull--beyond comprehension dull. No town in the universe can be
+duller; because, from its quintessential dulness, there is but one
+step to total inanition.
+
+Thus, in Nikolsk, the ancient saying, that there is nothing new under
+the sun, was daily and hourly verified. Week after week, and year
+after year, the governor pillaged the people; the inspector of
+charities pillaged the charities; the inspector of nuisances
+sedulously avoided inspecting at all, lest, by removing them, the need
+for his services should cease; the landowner ground down the serfs;
+the tax-assessor ground the landowners; and everybody, in return for
+the favours a paternal government showered upon them through its
+immaculate representatives, cheated and defrauded that government with
+a persistency and perseverance approaching the sublime. Mothers of
+daughters were in despair, for in Nikolsk there were no 'nice young
+men,' no eligible matches; fathers of sons despaired in their turn,
+for as everybody robbed everybody, and the government robbed the
+robbers, there were no heiresses; ladies wore the fashions of 1820 in
+1840, under the impression that they were the newest from Paris; the
+reading portion of the community were just beginning to hear of
+Voltaire as a promising writer; and the general public laboured under
+the fixed idea, that somewhere or other Napoleon was still prosecuting
+his leviathan campaigns, happily _not_ in Russia. The only thing that
+ever broke the monotony of existence was the prevalence of cholera, or
+the governor essaying some loftier flight of tyranny than usual by
+hanging up a score of defaulters to the revenue, or knouting a bevy of
+ladies whose tongues outran their prudence.
+
+Such being the state of affairs in Nikolsk, it will be easily
+imagined, that when mine host of the Black Eagle, in a very important
+and mysterious manner, announced to a select few that a singular and
+eccentric stranger, rolling in money, had arrived at his hostelry,
+with the intention of staying some time in Nikolsk, the news flew like
+a telegraphic message, or a piece of scandal among a community of old
+maids, through the place; and that in a few hours after his arrival,
+nobody, from governor to serf, thought or spoke of anything or anybody
+else than the mysterious stranger, who, under the name of Tchitchikof,
+occupied the best suite of apartments in the Black Eagle, and, as the
+landlord affirmed on oath, was eccentric to a degree, and revelled in
+untold gold.
+
+Now, whatever had been the station in society of M. Tchitchikof, his
+means or his idiosyncrasy, the mere fact of his being a stranger had
+been enough to make the good people of Nikolsk pounce down upon him
+like a hawk on its quarry, and morally tear him to pieces with
+rapacious analysis to satiate their ravenous curiosity. But as to the
+fact of his being a stranger, was added the piquancy of a reputation
+for eccentricity, and the irresistible recommendation of wealth, the
+Tchitchikof mania spread over all ranks of society, and raged with the
+fury of a tornado by the evening of the very day upon which the host
+of the Eagle first delighted them with the news. In fact, so intense
+was the rage regarding him, that the landlord of that hostelry reaped
+a fortune from the constant drain upon his potables by inquisitive
+callers, and would have assuredly ceased to dispense strong drinks for
+evermore, had not the governor, in his vexation at the sequel of
+Tchitchikof's visit, found some pretext to despoil him of his gains,
+and a good round sum to boot. Various were the speculations as to the
+occupations and antecedents of Tchitchikof, and the business that had
+called him to Nikolsk. Enterprising mothers of families hoped that he
+was a Cossack Coelebs in search of a wife, and began, on the strength
+of the surmise, to lay plots for ensnaring him, justly considering
+that a fool with money is preferable to a sage without; landowners
+trembled at the idea of his being a government assessor, come to
+examine into the state of the properties, and assess accordingly;
+while government _employés_, knowing too well that a paternal
+government does not tolerate plundering in subordinates, shuddered,
+conscience-stricken, at the idea that he must be a St Petersburg
+inspector, come to Nikolsk with powers of scrutiny, and equally
+unlimited powers of knouting. Every class, therefore, received with
+joy the assurance, that, he was simply a private gentleman of fortune,
+travelling over Russia at his own sweet will. This mine host
+positively stated that he had heard Tchitchikof say with his own lips.
+This announcement delighted the officials and landowners, by removing
+their fears of the knout and taxes, and equally delighted the
+enterprising mammas, by increasing the probability of his visit being
+intimately connected with matrimonial intentions. It being thus
+definitely settled that there was nothing to be feared from
+Tchitchikof, the good folks of Nikolsk naturally took up the next
+position--that, being a stranger, and rich and eccentric, there was
+something to be gained from him. The leading passions of the
+Nikolskians being curiosity and avarice, their dealings with strangers
+were generally twofold--to scatter their ennui for a few days, by
+discovering their histories and affairs, and, where facts failed,
+calling in the aid of fancy; and when there was nothing more to be
+discovered or invented, to lighten their money-chests by all the
+tyranny that power dare venture on, or the effrontery that cunning
+could devise and execute. Their curiosity regarding Tchitchikof was
+soon baffled, by discovering, like Socrates, that all they knew was,
+that nothing could be known. In vain did mine host essay to pump him:
+with a show of the most voluble confidence, Tchitchikof contrived
+always virtually to tell nothing. In vain the postmaster looked among
+the letters with a lynx eye; not one word of writing ever came to
+Tchitchikof through the medium of the post. Their knowledge of him
+speedily resolved itself into this: that he was a dashing, handsome
+young man, of most refined and polished manners, eminently gifted with
+that self-possession which is the never-failing accompaniment of
+good-breeding and intercourse with what is termed good society,
+elegant in dress, and, as the host of the Eagle announced, decidedly
+eccentric. This eccentricity manifested itself in one way, and one
+only, and that altogether incomprehensible to the greedy
+Nikolskians--namely, a morbid desire to part with his money. If
+Tchitchikof met a serf on the highway, he would offer him a ruble for
+a stick, a cap, or any other article he wore, intrinsically not worth
+a handful of corn; and when the bewildered serf hesitated, would
+manifest the utmost anger and impatience until he had gained
+possession of the coveted article. With possession, his value for it
+ceased, and the dear purchase was generally consigned to the fire a
+few minutes after it was bought. However varied his freaks might be in
+detail, in spirit they were ever essentially the same; they ever
+consisted in making some worthless piece of lumber an excuse for
+lightening his purse of a ruble or two.
+
+The priest of the place was the first to find a solution of
+Tchitchikof's conduct. He asserted that Tchitchikof, in his love for
+money, had committed some fraud or some misdeed to obtain it, and that
+his conscience smiting him, he had sought ghostly solace from some
+minister, by whom he had been ordered, as adequate penance, to get off
+a certain portion per annum in bad bargains--thus at once doing good
+to the sellers and torturing the avaricious spirit of the penitential
+purchaser. To this the governor objected, with much force, that, money
+being the end of human existence, the gaining of it, by any means
+short of murder, must be laudable, and could sit heavily on no sane
+man's conscience; but being warned by the priest, that such arguments
+bordered on heresy, he shifted his ground, and maintained that
+Tchitchikof was much too young and too far from death to dream of
+penitence, even if he had committed such a crime; though he was
+evidently too reckless and devil-may-care to leave any dash of the
+miser in his composition. But the inspector of highways effectually
+knocked the clerical argument on the head, by saying, that had any
+priest thought it necessary, for the good of Tchitchikof's soul, that
+he should part with his money, he would have taken due care that,
+instead of it being squandered in Nikolsk, it had all gone to swell
+the revenues of Mother Church. The inspector of the hospital finally
+settled it to the satisfaction of all parties, by shewing, from
+attentive observation of Tchitchikof's conduct at the hospital, that
+he must be a monomaniac, whose particular insanity took the form of
+philanthropy; but that, believing that a gift debases the recipient,
+he dexterously contrived to _give_ his assistance under the cloak of a
+purchase. Although his companions could not see how any man could be
+so insane as to fancy a serf could be debased, this opinion was
+unanimously adopted, and the whole community set their wits to work to
+make themselves objects of charity for the nonce, and so obtain a
+share in the plunder.
+
+Space will not permit, neither would the end of our story be advanced
+by, a detail of the numerous and adroit dodges the Nikolskians
+invented in order to work upon Tchitchikof's supposed philanthropy.
+Suffice it to say, that they were not in the least degree successful.
+It seemed as though you had only to appeal directly to Tchitchikof's
+charity to close up his bowels of compassion, and render him at once
+callous and niggardly. Perhaps, too, as some thought, he was as acute
+as he was eccentric, and could distinguish between real and feigned
+distress. However it might be, it was soon remarkably clear that
+Tchitchikof, madman though he was, was not to be done; and the baffled
+conspirators did not hesitate to say, that, after all, he was no such
+remarkable friend of his species; that he kept a keen eye on the main
+chance; and if it were his gratification to do good, he made a little
+go as far as it could, and was singularly blind to meritorious
+poverty. Accordingly, Tchitchikof having now been a fortnight in
+Nikolsk, was fast ceasing to be an object of interest, when his
+eccentricity broke out in a fresh place, and there seemed some
+likelihood of the children of Nikolsk, in the end, spoiling that
+Egyptian.
+
+It so happened, that at that time the landowners, or rather
+serf-owners, constituted the most depressed 'interest' in that portion
+of the Russian Empire. Not that they were suffering from free-trade of
+any kind, or clamouring for open or disguised protection: the cause of
+their depression was the prevalence of a deadly epidemic, which
+reduced the number of their serfs with remorseless vigour--combined
+with the tax which a paternal government levied on them, as a
+consideration for its maintaining them in their humane and Christian
+property. One of the principles of Russian taxation is this: that as
+every individual in the empire, European or Asiatic, is the child of
+the czar, owes him fealty and obedience, and receives protection,
+light, and glory from him, as from a central sun, so every individual
+owes in return a direct contribution to the fund by which the
+czar-father supports that light and glory. This is the theory of
+Russian taxation; but against its actual carrying out in fact, is
+opposed the old difficulty, that from him who has nothing, nothing can
+possibly be extracted; and as the poor serfs have no more means of
+paying taxes than the hogs and cattle their fellow-slaves, a
+considerate paternal government drops its theory, and makes the
+landowner pay the poll-tax for the slaves he possesses, much as an
+English gentleman pays taxes for his horses and dogs, horses and dogs
+being as little able to pay tax themselves as the Russian serf. Now,
+in a kind of deep irony, a serf is called a _soul_. M. K---- or M.
+T---- owns so many _souls_, Miss L----'s marriage-portion was so many
+_souls_, Madame B----'s dowry was a hundred _souls_; and this word
+soul only applies to the male serfs--women and children being given
+in, or there being only one soul per family among serfs. Well, a
+landowner paying so much per soul to the government, and it being a
+work of much time and trouble to take a census of souls every year, an
+estimate is made at long intervals--say ten or twenty years--and the
+landowner is compelled to pay accordingly till the period expires,
+whether the number of his serfs increase or diminish. It is therefore
+self-evident, that if the former occur--that if his serfs propagate
+their species with due rapidity--the serf-owner is a clear gainer
+during the interval between the soul-censuses, as he will be paying
+tax for a given number, while he is actually reaping the profit of the
+labour of treble or quadruple that number; while, if cholera, fever,
+or any other of the ills that flesh, and especially serf-flesh, is
+heir to, come and slay their thousands, the exact converse obtains,
+and he will be paying tax for a certain number, while he only reaps
+the profit of a third. In the latter case were the landowners of
+Nikolsk. Cholera had more than decimated the serfs; the impoverished
+owners regarded their unreaped fields and untilled lands and
+impoverished exchequers with a sigh--a sigh which deepened into a
+shudder, when they reflected how soon the collector would arrive with
+his inexorable demand for soul-tax. The landed interest is in no
+country, we believe, celebrated for bearing reverses with dignified
+composure; and the depressed condition of the serf-owning interest was
+as much noised abroad in that district, as a certain professedly
+depressed interest connected with the soil has been, and is, in
+another country we know of much nearer home.
+
+About a dozen miles from Nikolsk there dwelt a widow, Madame
+Korobotchka by name, who lived on her late husband's estate, and had
+suffered more than her neighbours by the prevalent serf mortality.
+Late one evening, when a violent storm was raging without, a stranger,
+who had been surprised in the storm, demanded the shelter of Madame
+Korobotchka's château till the morning; and as hospitality is a sacred
+duty in Russia, his demand was not only granted, but in a few minutes
+the stranger was seated as her _vis-à-vis_ at the best repast her
+impoverished condition could afford.
+
+'You appear to have a nice property here, _matouchka_,' said the
+stranger, by way of opening a conversation. 'How many peasants have
+you?'
+
+'Peasants, _batiouchka_! At present, about eighty; but these are awful
+times. This year, we have had a frightful loss of them. Providence
+have pity on us!'
+
+'Nevertheless, your men look well enough, and----But, pardon me--allow
+me to inquire to whom I am indebted for this hospitality? I am quite
+confused--arrived so suddenly and so late--I'----
+
+'My name is Korobotchka--my paternal name Nastasie Petrovna.'
+
+'Nastasie Petrovna! Beautiful name.'
+
+'And you, sir?' inquired Nastasie. And then added, palpitating with
+terror: 'Are you--surely not--are you--an assessor?'
+
+'O no!' was the reply. 'My name is Tchitchikof. I am no assessor; I
+travel on purely private business.'
+
+'I see: you have come to buy. How annoying! I've just sold all my
+honey to those thieves of merchants.'
+
+'It is of no consequence. I do not buy honey.'
+
+'Indeed! hemp, then? Dear me, and I have next to none.'
+
+'Never mind, matouchka,' said Tchitchikof. 'My business in these parts
+is different. You were mentioning that you have had many deaths here?'
+
+'Alas, yes! eighteen souls,' said Nastasie, sighing; 'and such fine
+fellows: and the worst is, I shall have to pay for them. The assessor
+arrives, you must pay what he demands--pay to a soul. Eighteen die--it
+is all one--you pay the same. They are frightful, they are ruinous,
+these deaths!'
+
+'Ah, Nastasie,' said Tchitchikof, 'it is the will of God: we must not
+murmur against Providence! But tell me--will you let me have them?'
+
+'Let you have what?'
+
+'Your dead souls.'
+
+'How can I let you have _them_?'
+
+'Nothing easier. Sell them to me: I will give you money for them.'
+
+'How! what! Do you want to disinter them?'
+
+'Disinter them! what nonsense; no!' cried Tchitchikof. 'You hand them
+over to me by a regular conveyance, and I pay you whatever we agree
+upon for them.'
+
+'And what will you do with them?' asked Nastasie in great surprise.
+
+'That is my business,' said Tchitchikof.
+
+'But you see they are dead.'
+
+'And who, in the name of goodness, said they were living?' cried he.
+'It's a misfortune for you that they are dead, isn't it? You pay the
+tax for them, don't you?--and that'll half-ruin you, you say. Well, I
+clear you of the tax for these eighteen dead ones--do you
+understand?--not only clear you of the tax, but give fifteen rubles
+into the bargain. Is that clear, or is it not?'
+
+'No--yes--I can't tell what to say. You see, I have never sold _dead_
+peasants before, and'-----
+
+'It would be queer if you had,' cried Tchitchikof. 'Who'd buy them, do
+you think? It's my humour, my whim, to have them. I gain nothing by
+them--how can I?--and you gain everything. Cannot you see that?'
+
+'Yes--but--really I don't know what to say. What puzzles me is, that
+they are dead.'
+
+'She hasn't the brains of a bullock,' exclaimed Tchitchikof
+indignantly. 'Listen, matouchka. Pay attention. You pay for them as if
+they were living: that will ruin you.'
+
+'Ah, that is true indeed, batiouchka. In three months, I must pay one
+hundred and fifty rubles, and bribe the assessor to boot.'
+
+'Well, then, I save you all that trouble. I pay for these eighteen--I,
+not you. When you sign the contract, I hand over the money. Do you
+understand now?'
+
+As Nastasie's cupidity excelled her stupidity, she did begin to
+understand; and after a little more hesitation and explanation,
+Tchitchikof drew up a formal conveyance of the eighteen souls,
+precisely as though they were bodies and souls, inserting their names,
+however, as a guarantee against his claiming any of Nastasie's living
+stock. Nastasie signed it, Tchitchikof paid the money, and, after a
+good night's rest, departed for Nikolsk, with the title-deed of the
+dead souls safely in his possession.
+
+Of course this new freak of Tchitchikof's was soon noised abroad, and
+in the eyes of the Nikolskians proved two things:--_1st_, That he was
+unmistakably mad, or philanthropic to a high degree; _2d_, That there
+was now a prospect of gaining something by said madness or
+philanthropy. Accordingly, all the serf-owners made it their business
+to drop in upon Tchitchikof in a purely casual manner; and contrived,
+after more or less higgling, to depart with a larger quantity of the
+current coin of Russia in their possession than they possessed on
+first seeking the interview. In a few days, Tchitchikof found himself
+possessed of 2000 souls, at the moderate cost of 19,500 rubles. Dead
+souls were getting quite a scarce article; and, on the true principles
+of supply and demand, some enterprising Nikolskians were about to
+import some defunct souls from a distance, when suddenly, one morning,
+the host of the Eagle announced, that at dead of the previous night,
+Tchitchikof had departed, bag and baggage and souls.
+
+This sudden departure created a great sensation. All the old theories
+about Tchitchikof revived; and the general opinion seemed to be, that
+it was all a deep-laid scheme of some irresponsible man in authority,
+the end whereof was to be suffering in some shape or other to the good
+people of Nikolsk; until the inspector of the hospital, the Nikolsk
+Socrates, proved clearly, by unassailable argumentation, that
+Tchitchikof was mad; that his exit was in exact keeping with his
+conduct during his sojourn; and that they might repose in the peace of
+easy consciences, proud that they had made the most of his insanity.
+
+Now for the _dénouement_. At St Petersburg is or was a bank
+established by a paternal government for this most laudable purpose:
+what with deaths, taxes, and the natural extravagance that seems to
+accompany the possession of land in all countries, the Russian
+landowners are often embarrassed, and were driven, before this bank
+was established, to seek assistance from usurious Jews, the end of
+which was frequently total ruin, and a Hebraicising of the race of
+landowners, not pleasant to a Russian and a Christian czar. Therefore
+this bank was established to lend money to distressed members of the
+landed interest; compelled by its charter to lend 200 rubles per soul,
+at a given interest and time, to every landowner who should deposit
+his title-deeds with the bank. On a certain day very soon after
+Tchitchikof's abrupt exit from Nikolsk, a solicitor applies at this
+bank for a loan of 400,000 rubles on the security of 2000 souls. The
+title-deeds are examined--found correct; the money is paid; and in a
+few days afterwards M. Tchitchikof and the money are both out of the
+jurisdiction of the czar.
+
+The time for repayment arrives. The bank hears nothing of M.
+Tchitchikof. A letter is sent to Nikolsk: no reply. Another of a
+threatening nature: still no reply. Finally, a special agent is
+despatched, and finds neither Tchitchikof nor security; but gradually
+collects the particulars of his visit, as narrated above, and returns
+to report progress, or no progress, to his superiors. There is nothing
+for it, one would think, but to write off the 400,000 rubles as a
+clear loss, and think no more of it. But a paternal government knows
+better than that. It adjudges that the Nikolskians are virtually
+accessaries to the fraud; apportions the loan among the sellers of the
+souls, and compels repayment. So that the Nikolskians have to
+conclude, in reflecting on M. Tchitchikof, not without acerbity and a
+certain uncharitableness of spirit, that if he were a friend of his
+species, he limited _his_ species to himself; and if he were mad,
+there was a very clear and profitable method in his madness.
+
+Meantime the principal actor in this little Russian episode, as the
+Baron von Rabenstein, captivates the hearts of our English ladies at
+the ball-room, and empties the pockets of our English gentlemen at the
+_rouge et noir_ table in the fashionable German watering-place of
+Lugundtrugbad. And without disparaging his patriotism, or natural love
+of country, we believe we speak advisedly when we state, that he has
+not the slightest idea of returning, within anything like a limited
+period, to the territories of his autocratic majesty.
+
+
+
+
+SPELLING-BOOK _VERSUS_ HORN-BOOK.
+
+
+Nothing is considered a more shocking mark of defective education than
+_false spelling_, or _bad spelling_, or _misspelling_--all which terms
+are used to express one's spelling a word in some way which the critic
+does not approve; that is, does not consider the right way. But this
+is plainly assuming that there is but one right way. Begging his
+pardon, is he quite certain that there must be true and false, good
+and bad, right and wrong ways of spelling every word in every
+language, or even in our own? It seems very doubtful. At all events,
+we must, I think, tether the critic to his own particular period, and
+not let him range up and down at his pleasure, condemning the past and
+legislating for the future.
+
+No doubt there is at this time a common and usual way of spelling most
+words, which may claim to be called the right way, or _orthography_.
+It is equally certain, that for any individual writer to depart from
+that way, is anything but a mark of wisdom. At the same time, it would
+not be difficult to specify a considerable number of words, of which
+the spelling has only recently been made what it is, and about which,
+even now, doubts may be raised.
+
+But this is hardly worth mentioning, for it is clear that there is,
+generally speaking, a mode of spelling the English language which is
+followed by all well-educated persons; and as, according to
+Quintilian, the _consensus eruditorum_ forms the _consuetudo
+sermonis_, so this usage of spelling, adopted by general consent of
+the learned, becomes a law in the republic of literature. My object is
+not to insist on what is so plain and notorious, but rather to call
+attention to a fact which many readers do not know, and many others do
+not duly consider. I mean this fact--that three or four hundred years
+ago there was no such settled rule. Not that a different mode was
+recognised, but that there was no recognised mode. There was no idea
+in the minds of persons who had occasion to write, that any such thing
+existed, for in fact it did not exist; and the adoption of this or
+that mode was a matter of taste or accident, rather than of duty or
+propriety. Thus it was that the writer who spelt (or spelled, for we
+have some varieties still) a word variously in different parts of the
+same book or document, and even the printer whose own name appeared
+one way on the title-page and another on the colophon, was not
+contradicting his contemporaries or himself: he was not breaking the
+law, for there was none to break--or, at least, none that could be
+broken in that way. He would, perhaps, have said to the same effect,
+though not so elegantly as Quintilian: 'For my part, except where
+there is any established custom to the contrary, I think everything
+should be written as it is sounded; for the use of letters is to
+preserve sounds, and render them, as things which they have been
+holding in trust, to the reader.' In short, the people of England, in
+these old times, had a law of their own, though it did not manifest
+itself in a fixed mode of spelling, but differed from ours, and,
+indeed, was based on a very different principle. Perhaps I might say,
+that they were brought up, not to the Spelling-book, but the
+Horn-book.
+
+By this, I mean that the critic of modern times has been no doubt well
+drilled in the spelling-book, soundly rated if he was guilty of a
+misspelling, and made to understand that it was next to impossible
+for him to commit a more disgusting barbarism; while his
+many-times-great-grandfather (the scholar of Lily, perhaps we might
+almost say of Busby) went through no such discipline. He was, as I
+have said, brought up on the horn-book.
+
+Now, I grant that, generally, the major includes the minor; and a
+man's being able to read is _prima facie_ evidence that he knows his
+letters; yet it is possible that the modern many-times-great-grandson
+may indulge in as much laxity respecting _letters_, as his ancestor
+did with regard to _words_. Just try the experiment. Go round to
+half-a-dozen printers, and ask them to print for you the first letter
+of the alphabet. They will understand you, and you will understand me,
+without my puzzling the workman who is to print this--if it is
+printed--by naming the letter here. Apply to them, I say, successively
+to print this letter for you. It is not likely that any one of them
+will ask you: 'What shape will you have it?' because that is not a
+technical mode of expression among printers; but if any one should do
+so, you would perhaps answer with some surprise: 'Why, the right shape
+to be sure. Do not you know your letters, and are not your first,
+second, and third letters, and all through the alphabet, of the right
+shape? Only take care that you do not make this first one in the shape
+of the second, or third, or any of those which follow, for the whole
+set are distinguished from one another simply and purely by their
+_shape_.'
+
+As I have said, however, if you applied to a practical man, he would
+not put the question in this form. At the same time, he certainly
+would put it in another. He would perhaps say: 'What type will you
+have? Shall it be Roman, Italic, Black-letter, Script, or any of the
+grotesque inventions of modern fancy?' You immediately become aware
+that your order is too indefinite to be acted on without some further
+specification. As, however, it is immaterial to you in a matter of
+mere experiment, you say at once 'Roman.' Does that settle it?--not at
+all: the question of form and shape is as wide open as ever. The Upper
+Case and Lower Case in a printing-office differ as much as the Upper
+House and Lower House in parliament or convocation. Is it to be a
+great 'A,' or a little 'a?' A great 'A,' I need not tell you, though
+quite the same in sound and value, is no more like a little 'a,' than
+a great 'B' is like a little 'b.'
+
+As to writing also, as well as printing--set half-a-dozen critics
+separately and apart to write a capital 'A,' and see how far the
+letters which they will produce agree in form and shape--I do not say
+with any in the printer's stock, for not one will do that, we may be
+certain, but with each other. One scribe will probably make something
+like an inverted cornucopia, or wiredrawn extinguisher; and one will
+cross it with a dash, and another with a loop; while another will make
+a letter wholly different--something that shall look like a pudding
+leaning against a trencher set on edge--something that is only a great
+'A' by courtesy, being in fact nothing but an overgrown little 'a;'
+bearing the same proportion to a common 'a' as an alderman does to a
+common man, and looking as if it had been invented by some municipal
+scribe or official whose eye was familiar with the outline of
+recumbent obesity.
+
+But notwithstanding these and many other variations, you freely allow
+that each of your friends has made a capital 'A.' You do not dream of
+saying that one is right, and all the rest are wrong. The taste and
+the skill of their penmanship may be various, and the judgment of good
+and bad goes so far, but it knows better than to go further. Your
+toleration on this point is unbounded. If you can but make it out, you
+say, without the least emotion of resentment or contempt: 'Mr A.
+always makes _his_ Bs in this way;' and 'Mrs C. always makes her Ds in
+that way.' _Their_ Bs and Ds forsooth! Yes: 'every man his own
+alphabet-maker.' Why not, if you do but understand him? Right or
+wrong, the fact is that, come in what shape it may, you take what
+stands for 'A' to _be_ 'A,' with all the rights and qualities annexed
+to that letter. Except so far as taste is concerned, you do not think
+of rebuking the self-complacent type-founder, who prides himself on
+having produced a new form which all the world will admit to be a
+genuine 'A,' as soon as they make out that it was meant for one.
+
+I have thought it worth while to say all this about letters, because I
+believe that it will illustrate what was once upon a time nearly true
+as to words. The principle of those who had occasion to write in those
+early times was, so far as circumstances allowed, just opposite to
+that of the modern critics who find fault with their practice. They
+made that which, notwithstanding its fluctuations, we may call 'the
+constant quantity' to be the sound, exactly as we do with the
+multiform As and Bs just noticed. On the other hand, modern purists
+consider, not altogether incorrectly as to the fact, that the notation
+has somehow been settled and fixed, and they are disposed to force the
+sound into conformity. 'B, y, spells by,' said Lord Byron; and what he
+settled for himself, the spelling-book has settled for the rest of the
+world and all the words in it.
+
+The circumstances of those who wrote English some centuries ago, may
+be considered as bearing some analogy to those of modern English
+authors who have occasion to write down Oriental words in English
+letters, and who are therefore obliged to make the characters which we
+use represent sounds which we do not utter. Of course there can only
+be an approximation. Writers feel that there is a discretion, and use
+it freely. It is easy for one after another to imagine that he has
+improved on the spelling of his predecessors. How many variegations
+and transmogrifications has the name of one unhappy Eastern tongue
+undergone since the days when Athanasius Kircher discoursed of the
+Hanscreet tongue of the Brahmins? I am almost afraid to write the name
+of Vishnoo, for I do not remember to have seen it in any book
+published within these five years; and what it may have come to by
+this time, I cannot guess. To a certain point, I think, this
+progressive purification of the mode of representing Eastern sounds
+has been acceptable to the world of letters; but the reading-public
+have shewn that there is a point at which they may lose patience. They
+not long ago decided that Haroun Alraschid, and Giafar, and Mesrour,
+and even the Princess Badroulboudour, and the fair slave
+Nouzhatoul-aouadat, had all 'proper names,' and refused to part with
+the friends of their youth for a more correctly named set of persons
+never before heard of.
+
+This by the way, however; for the main object of these remarks is to
+convey and impress the idea, that what naturally seems to us the
+strange and uncouth spelling of former times, was not a proof of the
+gross, untaught ignorance which it would now indicate. The purpose of
+the writer in those days was, not to spell accurately words which
+there was no strict rule for spelling, but to note down words in such
+a way as to enable those who had not heard them to reproduce them, and
+to impart their sense through the eye to those who should only see
+them. One of the finest proofs and specimens of this which we possess,
+is to be found in a sort of historical drama, now about three hundred
+years old, written by Bishop Bale, one of the most learned men of his
+time, and still existing, partly in his hand-writing, and partly in
+another hand, with his autograph corrections.[1] Certainly the prelate
+and the scribe between them did, as we should consider it, most
+atrociously murder the king and queen's English--for I suppose it
+would be hard to say how much of it belonged to Edward, and how much
+to Elizabeth; and there is something quite surprising in the prolific
+ingenuity with which they evade what we should consider the obvious
+and natural spelling. For instance, one of the _dramatis personæ_, and
+a very important one, is an allegorical person called 'Civil Order;'
+but I believe that the word 'civil' thus spelled never occurs in the
+whole work, though seven other modes of spelling it are to be found
+there. What then? You know what the writer means by cyvill, cyvyll,
+cyvyle, sivyll, syvyll, sivile, and syvile. Only say it out, and don't
+be afraid. It is mere nervousness that hinders people from reading old
+spelling. Clear your throat, and set off at full speed, and the top of
+your voice, with the following paragraph. Do not stop to think; take
+the raspers without looking at them, and you will find that you get
+over the ground wonderfully:--
+
+'The suttle munkych rewlars in furdewhodes rewled the pepell with
+suttyll rewles. But some of the pepyll were sedycyows scysmatyckes,
+and did puplyshe them for dysgysyd ipocryts, full of desseyvable gylle
+and covytous hydolatrie of luker. And these sysmatykes could in no
+wysse indewer that lords, nowther dewks, nor yet the kings mageste,
+nor even the empowr, should ponnysh any vylayn. Because, say they,
+peples in general, as well as peplys in particular (that is, yehe man
+and his ayers), hath an aunchant and ondowghted right to do his
+dessyer attonys. "Yea sewer," said a myry fellawe (for such as be
+myrie will make myrye jests)--"even as good right as a pertre to yield
+peres, and praty pygys to eat them."'
+
+It is, of course, only for the spelling, or various spellings, of
+these words that the bishop is responsible, they being here
+arbitrarily brought together from various parts of his work merely to
+form a specimen. There can be no doubt that he would have pronounced
+the words 'people' and 'merry' in one uniform manner wherever they
+occur; but it is curious to consider how little we can judge
+respecting the pronunciation of our forefathers. Their _litera scripta
+manet_; but how they vocalised it, we cannot always decide. If the
+reader takes up any edition of Sternhold and Hopkins, printed less
+than a hundred years ago, he may, I believe, read in Psalm lxxix--
+
+  O God, the Gentiles do invade,
+    thine heritage to spoil:
+  Jerusalem an heap is made--
+    thy temple they defile.
+
+Any one who is aware how many of what are called 'vulgarisms' in
+pronunciation are in fact 'archaisms,' will naturally think that the
+ancient pronunciation of 'spoil,' like the modern vulgar one, was
+'spile.' But if he goes to one old black letter--say that printed by
+John Windet for the assignees of Richard Day in 1593--he will find in
+the fourth line 'defoile;' and if he goes to another edition he may
+find 'defoyle;' and he will learn that in speculating on such matters,
+he must be on his guard against modernisers, and go to originals. Even
+then the rhymes of our ancestors teach us much less of their
+pronunciation than we might expect; and the curious glimpses which we
+sometimes get from them, and from other sources, are only enough to
+make us wish for more. Take, for instance, Master Holofernes's
+vituperation of Don Adrian de Armado in _Love's Labour Lost_, and see
+what you can make of it: 'I abhor such phantasms, such insociable and
+point-devise companions, such rackers of orthography, as to speak
+_dout_ fine, when he should say _doubt_; _det_, when he should
+pronounce _debt_; d, e, b, t; not d, e, t; he clepeth a calf, _cauf_;
+half, _hauf_; neighbour vocatur _nebour_; neigh abbreviated _ne_: this
+is abominable, which we would call _abhominable_.' Such a passage is
+curious, coming from one of whom it was asked: 'Monsieur, are you not
+lettered?' and answered: 'Yes, yes; he teaches boys the Horn-book.'
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Kynge Johan_, a Play in Two Parts. By John Bale. Edited for the
+Camden Society by J. Payne Collier, Esq., F. S. A., from the
+Manuscript of the Author in the Library of the Duke of Devonshire.
+1838.
+
+
+
+
+A FEW WORDS ABOUT ROOMS AND THEIR ORNAMENTS.
+
+
+The sun shines brightly to-day, and his beams glance lovingly from the
+flowers without to those within the room, and rest upon the 'Eve' that
+stands among them; the light is toned into softness by this green
+drapery, and reminds us of the leaves and tracery which peep in at the
+windows. We find, in the effect of the whole, such a delicate reflex
+of the nature outside, that we live with a half-conscious perception
+that but a tent-like division exists between us and the birds and
+blossoms in the garden. We love this room as we do few others, not for
+the evidences of wealth in it, though these exist, but because the
+idea regulating its arrangement is predominant through all its
+details. Affection and love of beauty were present at its creation for
+home-life, and worked it into harmony. All rooms might have this kind
+of beauty, subject only to slight modifications from position and
+wealth.
+
+Character, in reality, has everything to do with it. Rooms tell us
+much of their inhabitants. No one will doubt who remembers the stiff,
+formal arrangement of the drawing-room 'at school,' where the chairs
+stood in the primmest rows and couples, and the whole place breathed
+such an air of strict propriety, that we doubted whether a hearty
+laugh would not be unbecoming in it; or the uncomfortable, seldom
+used, conventional drawing-room, which has such fine-looking,
+unreadable books on its polished tables; or the cheerful tiny room of
+the friend who has very little money, but very much taste, and who
+hangs an engraving there, and puts flowers here, and makes a shrine
+out of an ordinary garret. In some rooms, we see that life is
+respectably got through in a routine of eating, sleeping,
+comfort-loving; in others, that it glances to the stars, and lives
+with the flowers; in others, again, that it finds out good in shady
+nooks or crowded cities, and is filled with affection and
+intelligence.
+
+There are very few rooms, except among the poorest and most degraded,
+that have not in them some indications of the love of beauty, which is
+so universal in human nature. Influenced by the same feeling, the
+cottager's wife scours her tins, arranges her little cupboard of cups
+and saucers, buys barbarous delineations of 'Noah in the Ark,' or
+'Christ with the Elders,' from the pedler; and the nobleman collects
+around him all he thinks precious in bronze or painting. Cleanliness
+and order are certainly the simplest manifestations of the love of the
+beautiful in the household--the germ, which the feeling in its highest
+development must include; but too many among us remain satisfied with
+the lower form, and from some reason or other, fail to see the further
+gratification that is possible to all. Nature, however, stimulates and
+satisfies this love everywhere, and society in many directions is
+following in her footsteps. Let us see what can be done in the matter.
+After all, rooms must still retain the impress of the character of
+their inhabitants. Yes; but there are certain general rules which all
+who do arrange them would do well to remember. In the first place,
+they should be well lighted, and as thoroughly ventilated as they can
+be made; the eye should be pleased with their general effect; no
+detail of colouring or furniture should mar it; they should be filled
+with gentle relief, not uniformity of colour; and there should be as
+many waving lines, instead of angles, as possible. They should contain
+all things necessary to their several characters, but nothing very
+superfluous; and their whole arrangement should indicate, and be
+subservient to, the idea that prompted it. Above all, they should have
+in them some thing, or things, to soothe the thoughts, stimulate the
+fancy, and suggest something higher than the ordinary uses which they
+serve. Human beings, even in the life of a day, experience many
+fluctuations of mood, of joy or sadness; and there should be some
+thing, if not person, in their homes, that would suggest to them mute
+sympathy and comfort.
+
+Are we sad? It is winter now, and these hyacinth bulbs are unsightly,
+but spring will bring flowers to them, as time and patience will to
+us. Are we glad? These roses and geraniums glow in the sunbeams, and
+we rejoice together. Are we dull? That beautiful Greek form rouses us
+into activity again. Are we weary of climbing, and dissatisfied with
+our want of success? Turn to that Raphael, and let us remember, that
+all who faint not by the way, and aspire worthily, shall at length be
+transfigured in the light of truth and beauty. There are few if any
+rooms that need be without some such suggestion and comfort. Nature
+offers them lavishly to all who care to seek them; and first, and most
+generously, her loveliest of treasures, flowers, which are the
+brightest of drawing-room accessories, as well as the sweetest of
+cottage adornments. Sea-weed, too--which is more difficult to get, but
+when arranged with taste, is so exquisite in colour--is a sweet
+remembrance of sea-side beaches and the odour of the spray. Bits of
+pine-bark and fir-cones are beautiful as to colour, and bring back to
+us pictures of woods gleaming in the western light, and well-known
+landscapes seen through vistas of tall stems; sprays of clematis and
+bryony, a group of ivy-leaves, or bunch of ripe corn, require nothing
+but a little graceful arrangement to throw a light of beauty over many
+a dull corner. But some of these ornaments are perishable, and can but
+delight us for awhile. We must have something more permanent. Ah,
+then, there are shells which still echo faintly the delicious murmur
+of the waves, and reflect all the colours of sea and sky together; one
+or two of them we must secure: the graceful nautilus, from whose mouth
+shall hang in summer some pendent blossoms; and that Venus's ear,
+which glitters in the sunbeams as it lies upon the table, and bears
+the impress of spirits' wings upon its inner surface. Bronzes,
+marbles, and paintings can be purchased only by the wealthy, so we
+will not speak of them; we will see them as often as we can in public
+galleries, and meanwhile rejoice that such fine substitutes in plaster
+and engraving may become ours. These are yearly becoming more common
+among us; and treasures of antique and modern art, Grecian gods, and
+Italian Madonnas, may be our own household delights by the expenditure
+of a few shillings. Of course, to the taste and requirements of each
+individual must be left the selection of the kind and character of the
+beauty he desires to have around him.
+
+Some subjects in art are best suited for enjoyment in rooms destined
+for solitary use, others for those of general resort--some touch us
+peculiarly in one mood, some are welcome to us in all. Of this last
+character 'St Catherine borne by Angels' is a specimen: the earth
+sinks beneath them, they fly so swiftly and yet so calmly! we are in
+the air too with them, and mark how small the world looks, with its
+burdens of wrong and suffering, as we cleave our way through the
+fields of ether up towards the stars; and that lovely one the spirits
+hold so tenderly, how still and calm is every line!--she is at peace
+after the storm and the agony, and for a space we lie still as she in
+those angel arms. Of the same class is Raphael's 'Transfiguration,'
+which is magnificent if we only contemplate the grouping of the
+figures, but truly sublime in the ideas it suggests. Flaxman's
+'Mercury and Pandora' likewise, elegant and graceful in the highest
+degree, is peculiarly suited for generally used rooms and constant
+delight. But specimens crowd into our recollection for which we have
+not space. General sitting-rooms can bear a _variety_ of subject and
+suggestion--they will have a variety of inhabitants or visitors; and
+while bearing the impress of a certain unity, they should contain
+pleasure for all, and stimuli for differing minds. We would not
+habitually admit in them works of art which rouse too painful a class
+of emotions. Fuseli's picture of 'Count Ugolino in Prison,' in which
+the stony fixedness of despair deprives us, as we gaze, almost of the
+living hope within us, we could not bear to have near us habitually.
+That wonderfully beautiful marble of Francesca di Rimini and her
+lover, which appeared in the Great Exhibition last year, would come
+under the same law of banishment. It realised so perfectly the
+hopelessness of hell, that at sight of it we swooned in spirit as
+Dante did in reality. Life has so many stern realities for most of us,
+that in art we need relief, and generally desire to find renewed hope
+and faith through delight and gladness.
+
+In rooms where we need care to please only ourselves, we can follow
+our own tastes more entirely and freely. In them, shall we not have a
+Madonna whose 'eyes are homes of silent prayer?'--a copy of De la
+Roche's 'Christ,' so touching in its sad and noble serenity? or some
+bust or engraving of poet or hero, which shall be to us as a
+biography, never failing to stimulate us in the best direction? Or
+shall we have a copy of that fine Mercury, who stands resting lightly
+on the earth with one foot, and raised, outstretched arms, in the act
+of ascending from it--the embodiment of aspiration? All these things
+are symbols of noble thought, and they may belong to us as easily now
+as a copy of Bacon or Shakspeare. Here is great cause for rejoicing.
+Fantastic furniture, old china, and such-like things, will one day be
+superseded in drawing-rooms, just as the old, barbarously-coloured
+'Noahs' and 'Abrahams' of the cottage may now easily be by pictures in
+better perspective and purer taste. Then there will be danger of
+crowding rooms with good things--a great mistake also: an ornament
+should have a simple background, should 'shew like metal on a sullen
+ground.' Rooms, from temptations of wealth or taste, should never
+become mere pretty curiosity-shops. Forbearance and self-control are
+necessary in this as in all things. 'To gild refined gold' is worse
+than useless.
+
+Let us not question the need of such thought and care for mere
+dwelling-places. Are not rooms the nurseries of the young spirits
+among us, the resting-places of all others on their pilgrimage? And
+because everything is important that influences and educates the
+soul, love and thought shall work together in our homes, and create in
+all details something akin to the universal harmony they should
+typify.
+
+
+
+
+INVESTMENTS!
+
+
+What is to be done with the money which is realised in the ordinary
+course of affairs, has latterly become a kind of puzzle. There it goes
+on accumulating as a result of industry; but what then? A person can
+but eat one dinner in the day; two or three coats are about all he
+needs for the outer man; he can but live in one house at a time; and,
+in short, after paying away all he needs to pay, he finds that he has
+not a little over for--investment. Since our young days, this word
+investment has come remarkably into use. All are looking for
+investments; and as supply ordinarily follows demand, up there rise,
+at periodical intervals, an amazing number of plans for the said
+investments--in plain English, relieving people of their money. A few
+years ago, railways were the favourite absorbents. Railways, on a
+somewhat more honest principle, may possibly again have their day.
+Meanwhile, the man of money has opened up to him a very comprehensive
+field for the investment of his cash: he can send it upon any mission
+he chooses; he may dig turf with it, or he may dig gold; he may catch
+whales, or he may catch sprats, or do fifty other things; but if he
+see it again after having relinquished his hold upon it, he must have
+exercised more discretion than falls to the lot of the majority of Her
+Majesty's lieges in their helter-skelter steeple-chasing after 20 per
+cent. Our present business, however, is not with legitimate
+speculation, but with schemes in which no discretion is exercised, or
+by which discretion is set to sleep--in a word, with bubble
+investments; and the history of many of the most promising of these
+speculations may be read in the following brief and not altogether
+mythical biography, of an interesting specimen which suddenly fell
+into a declining way, and is supposed to have lately departed this
+life.
+
+The Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company was
+born from the brain of Aurophilus Dobrown, Esq., of Smallchange Dell,
+in the county of Middlesex, between the hours of ten and eleven at
+night on the 14th of October 1851. It was at first a shapeless and
+unpromising bantling; but being introduced to the patronage of a
+conclave of experienced drynurses, it speedily became developed in
+form and proportion; and before it was ten days old, was formally
+introduced, with official garniture, to the expectant public, by whom
+it was received with general approbation and favour. The new company,
+in a dashing prospectus, held forth a certain prospect of enormous
+advantages to shareholders, with an entire exemption from
+responsibility of every sort. The shares were a million in number, at
+one pound each, without any further call--on the loose-cash principle,
+and no signing of documents. Aurophilus Dobrown was chairman of the
+committee of management.
+
+The intentions of the company, as detailed at length in their eloquent
+prospectus, were to invade the gold regions of the Australian
+continent with a monster engine, contrived by the indefatigable
+Crushcliff, and which, it was confidently expected, would devour the
+soil of the auriferous district at a rate averaging about three tons
+per minute. It was furnished, so the engineer averred, with a stomach
+of 250 tons capacity, supplied with peristaltic grinders of steel of
+the most obdurate temper, enabling it with ease to digest the hardest
+granite rocks, to crush the masses of quartz into powder, and to
+deposit the virgin gold upon a sliding floor underneath. The machine
+was to be set in motion by the irresistible force of 'the pressure
+from without,' and 1000 pounds-weight of pure gold per diem was
+considered a very low estimate of its powers of production. These
+reasonable expectations being modestly set forth in circulars and
+public advertisements, and backed by the august patronage of the
+respectable and responsible individuals above named, the Long Range
+Excavator Company speedily grew into vast repute. The starving herd
+encamped in Stagg's Alley, flew at once to pen, ink, and paper, and
+applications for shares poured in by thousands. Referees were hunted
+up, or they were not--that is no great matter. Half a million of the
+shares were duly allotted; and that done, to the supreme delectation
+of the stags, Mr Stickemup the broker, in conjunction with his old
+friend and colleague Mr Knockemoff, fixed the price of shares by an
+inaugural transaction of considerable amount, at 25 per cent. above
+par, at which they went off briskly. Now were the stags to be seen
+flying in every direction, eager to turn a penny before the inevitable
+hour appointed for payment on the shares. It was curious to observe
+the gradual wane of covetousness in the cerval mind; how, as the
+fateful hour approached, their demand for profit grew small by degrees
+and beautifully less. From 4s. premium per share to 3s.; from 3s. to
+2s.; from 2s. to 1s.; and thence to such a thing as 9d., 8d., 7d., and
+still downwards, till, as the hand of the dial verged upon the closing
+stroke of the bell, they condescended to resign their Long Range
+Excavators to the charge of buyers who _could_ pay for the shares they
+held. The company was now fairly afloat. By the aid of
+
+  A few clever riggers to put on the pot,
+  To stir it round gently, and serve while 'twas hot,
+
+the shares rose higher than had been expected. Aurophilus Dobrown sold
+his 50,000 at a handsome premium, and realised what he was pleased
+privately to term 'something substantial' by the speculation. The
+public became enthusiastic on the subject of the Long Range
+Excavators, and for a few short weeks they were the favourite
+speculation of the market. By and by, however, a rumour began to be
+whispered about on the subject of the monster-machine, the stomach of
+which, it was secretly hinted, was alarmingly out of order, and
+resisted all the tonics of the engineer. It was currently reported
+among parties most interested, that from late experiments made,
+previous to embarkation, it had been ascertained beyond a doubt, that
+though the peristaltic apparatus digested pints with perfect ease, it
+yet rejected quartz--a defect which it was but too plain would be
+fatal to the production of gold. The effect of this rumour was most
+alarmingly depressing upon the value of the shares. In a few days,
+they fell 50 per cent. below par, with few buyers even at that. At
+this juncture, it was discovered that one of the directors was
+actively bearing the market; but the discovery was not made before
+that disinterested personage, who had previously disposed of the whole
+of his original allotment at a handsome premium, had secured above
+10,000 new shares at a cost of about half their upset value. A
+colleague openly accused him of this disgraceful traffic at a general
+meeting of the directors, and declared that he had not words to
+express his disgust at one who, for the sake of his own personal
+profit, could condescend to depreciate the property of his
+constituents. The accused retorted, and the meeting growing stormy and
+abusive, ended late at night with closed doors.
+
+A few days after, affairs again began to take a turn upwards. The
+failure of the engine was declared to be an erroneous and altogether
+unfounded report. It was boldly asserted, that the small model-engine
+of one inch to the foot, had actually crushed several masses of Scotch
+granite, and eliminated seven or eight ounces of pure metal; and these
+specimens were exhibited under a glass-case in the office of the
+company, in proof of their triumphant success. Now the shares rose
+again as rapidly as they had lately fallen, and honourable gentlemen
+who had held on, had an opportunity of turning themselves round. It is
+to be supposed that some of them at least did that to their
+satisfaction; at anyrate, the respectable and responsible concocters
+of the Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company
+very soon began to turn their backs upon the public altogether. By
+degrees, the whole body of directors, trustees, counsel and agents,
+dwindled down to a solitary clerk paring his nails in a deserted
+office. Shares at a discount of 60, 70, 80, 90 per cent. attested the
+decline of the speculation. Honourable gentlemen were reported to have
+gone upon their travels. The office was at first 'temporarily closed,'
+and then let to the new company for Bridging the Dardanelles on the
+Tubular Principle. The engine of the Long Range Excavators, according
+to the last report, had foundered--but whether in the brain of
+Crushcliff, the engineer, or on the Scilly Rocks, we could not clearly
+make out. The only one of the original promoters who has latterly
+condescended to gratify the gaze of the public, is the Baron
+Badlihoff, who, a few days ago, made his appearance on the
+monkey-board of an omnibus, whence he was suddenly escorted by
+policeman B. 1001, to the presence of a magistrate, who
+unsympathisingly transferred him to Clerkenwell Jail, for certain
+paltry threepenny defalcations, due to a lapse of memory which our
+shameful code persists in regarding as worthy of incarceration and
+hard labour. He is now an active member of a company legally
+incorporated under government sanction, for grinding the wind upon the
+revolving principle. It is not precisely known when the first dividend
+on the Long Range Excavators will be declared. Sanguine speculators in
+the L. R. E., and the Thames Conflagration Company, expect to draw
+both dividends on the same day. In the meantime, the books are safe in
+the custody of Messrs Holdem Tight and Brass, of Thieves' Inn; and
+ill-natured people are not wanting, who insinuate that they constitute
+the only property available for the benefit of the shareholders.
+
+Let us now take a glance at a snug little commercial bubble, blown
+into being by 'highly respectable men,' a private affair altogether,
+which never had a name upon 'Change, and was managed--we cannot say to
+the satisfaction of all parties--by the originating contrivers,
+without making any noise in the papers, or exciting public attention
+in any way. We will call it, for the sake of a name, 'The Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company.' Lowriver is a pleasant, genteel
+little village, which has of late years sprung suddenly into existence
+on the coast of ----shire, and has been growing, for the last seven
+years, with each succeeding summer, more and more a place of favourite
+resort with the inhabitants of Babel. Mr Montague Whalebone took an
+early liking to the place, and built a row of goodly houses by the
+water-side, and a grand hotel at the end of the few stumps of pitchy
+stakes dignified by the name of the pier. But the hotel lacked
+customers, and the houses wanted tenants; and the whole affair
+threatened to fall a prey to river-fog and mildew, when the Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company came to the rescue, and placed it
+upon a permanent and expansive footing. Of the original constitution
+of this snug company, it is not easy to say anything with certainty.
+All we know is, that, some seven years ago, it was currently spoken of
+in private circles as a capital investment for money, supposing only
+that shares could be got: _that_ was the difficult thing. Large
+dividends were to be realised by building four steamers, and running
+them between Babel and Lowriver. Upon the neat hot-pressed prospectus,
+privately and sparingly circulated--it was whispered that it was too
+good a thing to go a begging--appeared the names of Erebus Carbon,
+Esq., of Diamond Wharf; of Montague Whalebone, Esq., of Lowriver; of
+Larboard Starboard, Esq., ship-builder; and Piston Rodd, Esq., of the
+firm of Boiler & Rodd, engineers, as directors. The shares were L.20
+each, liable to calls, though no calls were anticipated; and it was
+reckoned an enormous favour to get them. Traffic in shares was
+discountenanced: the company had no wish to be regarded as a cluster
+of speculators, but rather as a band of brothers, co-operating
+together for their common benefit. Of course, the necessary legal
+formalities were gone through--that could not safely be dispensed
+with.
+
+In spite of the difficulty of obtaining shares, a pretty large number
+of them got into the hands of the respectable portion of the public,
+and the whole were soon taken up. The boats were built by Larboard
+Starboard, Esq.; and the engines, as a matter of course, were put on
+board by Messrs Boiler & Rodd; Erebus Carbon, Esq., supplied, at the
+current rates, the necessary fuel; and at all hours of the day the
+vessels ran backwards and forwards, carrying customers to Mr Montague
+Whalebone's hotel, and lodgers to the new tenements, which soon began
+to rise around it in all directions. Lowriver took amazingly, and rose
+rapidly in public estimation; the boats filled well, and the
+speculation promised great things. When, however, after several mouths
+of undeviating prosperity, the shareholders began to look for some
+return for their capital in the shape of a dividend, each one of them
+was individually surprised by a 'call:' L.5 a share was wanted to
+clear off urgent responsibilities. 'The outfitting costs had been
+greater than was foreseen,' and the demands upon the shareholders were
+not likely to be limited to the first call. The victims rushed, as
+they were invited to do, to the office, to inspect the accounts. The
+engineer was there to receive them, and, all suavity and politeness,
+submitted every fact and figure to their investigation. There was
+nothing to be found fault with--everything was fairly booked; but
+there was a heavy balance dead against the company. The engineer
+himself put a long face upon the affair, and shrugged his shoulders,
+and mumbled something about having burned his own fingers, &c. After
+this, reports soon got abroad very prejudicial to the value of the
+investments. Then came the winter, during which few passengers
+travelled to Lowriver; and with Christmas came another L.5 call.
+People grew tired of paying 20 per cent. for nothing, and many
+forfeited their shares by suffering them to be sold to pay the calls.
+This game went on for nearly three years--all 'calls' and no
+dividends; until at length it would have been difficult to find five
+persons out of the original 500 who held shares in the Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company, and there was next to nobody left
+to _call_ upon.
+
+Years have rolled on since then. Lowriver has grown into a popular and
+populous marine summer residence. Mr Montague Whalebone, who knew what
+he was about, having bought and leased the building-ground, has become
+the owner of a vast property increasing in value every day. Larboard
+Starboard, Esq., is on the way to become a millionaire, and has
+several new boats building for the company's service at the present
+moment. Messrs Boiler & Rodd have quintupled their establishment, and
+are in a condition to execute government contracts. Erebus Carbon,
+Esq., has found a market in the company for hundreds of thousands of
+tons of coal, and, from keeping a solitary wharf, has come to be the
+owner of a fleet of colliers. At this hour, the company consists of
+six individuals--the four original projectors, and a couple of old
+codgers--'knowing files,' who had the penetration, in the beginning,
+to see through the 'bearing dodge,' and would not be beaten or
+frightened off. They paid up every call upon shares, and bought
+others--and then, by shewing a bold front, asserted a voice in the
+management, and crushed in to a full and fair share of the profits.
+They have made solid fortunes by the speculation; while the original
+shareholders, whose money brought the company into existence, have
+reaped nothing but losses and vexation in return for their capital.
+
+But enough, and more than enough, on the score of the delusive farces
+which, with pretences almost as transparent as the above, are from
+time to time played off for the purpose of easing the public of their
+superfluous cash. Let us glance briefly at a speculation of a
+different kind, no less a bubble as it proved, but one whose tragic
+issues have already wrought the wreck of many innocent families, and
+which, at the present moment, under the operation of the Winding-up
+Act, is darkening with ruin and the fear of ruin a hundred humble
+abodes. We have good reason to know its history too well; and we
+shall, in as few words as possible, present the facts most important
+to be known to the reader's consideration, with the view of
+inculcating caution by the misfortunes of others, and shewing at the
+same time how possible it is, under the present law regulating
+joint-stock partnerships, for an honest man, by the most inadvertent
+act, to entail misery upon himself, and destitution upon his
+offspring.
+
+It is some fifteen or twenty years ago, since a company of two or
+three speculative geniuses issued a plan for establishing, in a
+delightful glen situated but a few miles from a well-known Welsh port
+in the Bristol Channel, a brewery upon an extensive scale. The
+prospectus, as a matter of course, promised to the shareholders the
+usual golden advantages. The crystal current which meandered through
+the valley was to be converted into malt-liquor--so great were the
+natural and artificial advantages which combined to effect that
+result--at one-half the cost of such a transformation in any other
+locality; and the liquor produced was to be of such exquisite relish
+and potency, that all Britain was to compete for its possession. So
+plausible was everything made to appear, that men of commercially
+acquired fortune, of the greatest experience, and of long-tried
+judgment, invested their capital in the fullest confidence of success.
+Following their example, tradesmen and employers did the same; and, in
+imitation of their betters, numbers of persons of the classes of small
+shopkeepers and labouring-men invested their small savings in shares
+in the 'Romantic Valley Brewery.' The number of joint-proprietors
+amounted in all to some hundreds, holding L.20 shares in numbers
+proportioned to their means or their speculative spirit. Not one in
+fifty of them knew anything of the art of brewing, or had any
+knowledge of the locality where the scheme was to be carried out; but
+no doubt was entertained of the speedy and great success which was
+promised.
+
+The land was bought, the necessary buildings were substantially
+erected, and the three principal concocters of the scheme, one of whom
+was a lawyer, were appointed to manage the concern, and empowered to
+borrow money in case it should be wanted, to complete the plant, and
+to work it until the profits came in. They had every advantage for the
+production of a cheap and superior article: labour, land-carriage, and
+water-carriage, were all at a low charge in the neighbourhood; and
+materials, upon the whole, rated rather under than over the average.
+Year after year, however, passed away, and not a farthing of dividend
+came to the shareholders; promises only of large profits at some
+future period--that was all. It happened that none of the shareholders
+had invested any very large sums, and this was thought a fortunate
+circumstance, as none of them felt very deeply involved. The rich had
+speculated with their superfluity, and they could bear to joke on the
+subject of the Romantic Valley, though they shook their heads when the
+supposed value of the shares was hinted at. The poor felt it more, and
+some of the neediest sold their single shares or half-shares at a
+terrible discount, while they would yet realise something. As time
+rolled on, several of the older proprietors died off, and willed away,
+with the rest of their property, the Romantic Valley Brewery shares to
+their friends and relatives. A considerable number of them thus passed
+from the first holders to the hands of others, one and all of whom
+naturally accepted the legacies devised to them, and gave the
+necessary signatures to the documents which made the shares their own.
+
+Meanwhile, the managers went on working an unprofitable business,
+borrowing money on the credit of the joint proprietors; and in the
+face of all the advantages upon which they plumed themselves, plunged
+deeper and deeper into debt, until, being forced to borrow at a high
+rate of interest to pay for the use of former loans, they found their
+credit, in the thirteenth year of their existence, completely
+exhausted; and then the bubble burst at once in ruin, utter and
+complete, overwhelming all who were legally connected with it, either
+by original purchase, by transfer, or by inheritance. Independent
+country gentlemen, west-country manufacturers, and merchants of
+substantial capital, were summarily pounced upon by the fangs of the
+law, and all simultaneously stripped of everything they possessed in
+the world. Professional men, the fathers of families genteelly bred
+and educated, were summarily bereft of every farthing, and condemned
+in the decline of life to begin the world afresh. Not a few, seized
+with mortal chagrin at the horrible consummation of an affair which
+had never been anything but a source of loss and annoyance, sunk at
+once into the grave. Others--accustomed perhaps for half a century to
+the appliances of ease and luxury, and who were the owners of
+hospitable mansions, the centres of genteel resort--at the present
+moment hide their heads in cottages, and huts, and eleemosynary
+chambers, where they wither in silence and neglect under the cold
+breath of alien charity. Some, at threescore, are driven forth from a
+life of indulgence and inactivity, to earn their daily bread. Young
+and rising tradesmen, who had had the misfortune to inherit from a
+relative or a patron but a few shares, or even a single one, saw
+themselves at once precipitated into bankruptcy. One case, for which
+we can personally vouch, is beyond measure distressing: a gentleman of
+good fortune dying, had bequeathed to each of a large family of
+daughters a handsome provision; shortly before the bursting of the
+fearful bubble, the mother also died, dividing by will her own fortune
+among the young ladies, and leaving to each one a few shares in the
+Romantic Valley Brewery. The transference of these shares to the
+several children made the whole of them liable to the extent of their
+entire property; and the whole six unfortunates were actually beggared
+to the last farthing, and cast upon the world to shift as they might.
+To detail the domestic desolation caused by this iniquitous affair,
+would require the space of a large volume. It has wrought nothing but
+wretchedness and ruin to those to whom it promised unexampled
+prosperity, and it is yet working still more--nor is it likely to
+stop, for aught that we can see, so long as it presents a mark for
+legal cupidity. All that could be got for the creditors has been
+extorted long ago from the wealthier portion of the victims; but the
+loans are not yet all liquidated, and the claim yet remaining
+unsatisfied, is now the pretext under which the lawyers are sucking
+the life-blood from the hard-working and struggling class of
+shareholders, who, while industriously striving for a respectable
+position, are considered worth crushing for the sake of the costs,
+though they will never yield a penny towards the debt.
+
+Besides the persons who have the settlement of affairs in their hands,
+the original concocters of the company are the only persons who have
+profited from its operations. They indeed ride gloriously aloft above
+the ruin they have wrought. The process by which they have managed to
+extract a lordly independence for themselves, from a scheme which has
+resulted in the destitution and misery of every other participator, is
+a mystery we do not pretend to fathom in this case--though it is one
+of by no means unusual occurrence in connection with bubble-companies
+of all sorts.
+
+
+
+
+THE OSTRICH.
+
+
+For the following particulars relative to the habits of the ostrich,
+and the various modes of taking it, we are indebted to a gentleman
+who spent many years in Northern Africa, and collected these
+details from native sportsmen, his principal informant being
+Abd-el-Kader-Mohammed-ben-Kaddour, a Nimrod of renown throughout the
+Arab tribes of this region.
+
+The ostrich country, says Ben-Kaddour, may be described as a
+rectangle, of which the towns of Insalah, Figig, Sidi-Okba, and
+Warklah form the angles; that is, it comprises the northern skirts of
+the Saharian desert, where water and herbage are plentiful in
+comparison with the arid plains of the centre. Throughout this region,
+ostriches may frequently be seen travelling in pairs, or in companies
+of four or five couples; but wherever there has been a recent fall of
+rain, one is almost sure to find them grazing together in large
+numbers, appearing at a distance like a herd of camels. This is a
+favourable opportunity for ostrich-hunting, especially if the weather
+is very warm; for the greater the heat, the less vigour have the birds
+for prolonging the chase. It is well known, that though the ostrich
+cannot raise itself into the air, it is nevertheless so swift of foot,
+that it cannot be fairly run down even by the horses of this region,
+which, on an emergency, are known to run 180 miles in a single day. An
+ostrich-hunt is, therefore, undertaken by at least ten horsemen
+together, who, being apprized of the spot where a large group are
+feeding, approach with extreme caution, and form a cordon round them.
+To prevent the birds from escaping from the circle thus formed, is all
+they attempt, and it requires their utmost dexterity. The terrified
+creatures run hither and thither; and not managing their breath as
+they would do in an ordinary pursuit, they at length become exhausted,
+and betray it by flapping their wings. The sportsmen now fall
+deliberately upon them, and either lead them away alive, or fell them
+with a blow on the head. Their first care is to remove the skin, so as
+to preserve the feathers uninjured; the next is to melt down the fat,
+and pour it into bags formed of the skin of the thigh and leg,
+strongly tied at the lower end. The grease of an ostrich in good
+condition fills both its legs; and as it brings three times the price
+of common butter, it is considered no despicable part of the game. It
+is not only eaten with bread, and used in the preparation of kooskoos,
+and other articles of food, but the Arabs reckon it a valuable remedy
+in various maladies. In rheumatic attacks, for instance, they rub it
+on the part affected till it penetrates thoroughly; then lay the
+patient in the burning sand, with his head carefully protected. A
+profuse perspiration comes on, and the cure is complete. In bilious
+disorders, the grease is lightly warmed, mixed with salt, and
+administered as a potion. It acts thus as a powerful aperient, and
+causes great emaciation for the time; but the patient, say the Arabs,
+having been thus relieved from all the bad humours in his body,
+afterwards acquires robust health, and his sight becomes singularly
+good. The flesh of the ostriches, dressed with pepper and meal, forms
+the supper of the sportsmen.
+
+Ostrich-shooting is conducted in quite a different manner, and as it
+is practised only or chiefly during the period of incubation, it is to
+it we are principally indebted for the acquaintance which the Arabs
+have gained with the habits of these singular birds.
+
+The pairing-season is the month of August. The _reumda_ (female) is
+generally shy, and the _delim_ has often to pursue the object of his
+choice at full speed for four or five days, during which he neither
+eats nor drinks. When, however, she has consented to be his, she never
+again quits him till the young ones are reared; and the bond between
+them is equally respected by all their companions: there is no
+fighting about mates, as among some other gregarious species.
+
+The period of incubation begins in the month of November, and presents
+the best opportunity for shooting the ostrich. At this season, also,
+the feathers are in the finest condition, though the fat is much less
+abundant. Five or six sportsmen set out together on horseback, taking
+with them two camels laden with provisions for a month, besides an
+abundant supply of powder and ball. They search for places where rain
+has lately fallen, or where pools of water occur, for in such
+localities there is likely to be that plentiful herbage which never
+fails to attract the ostrich. Having discovered its footprints, the
+sportsmen examine them with care. If they appear only here and there
+on the bare spots, they indicate that the bird has been here to graze;
+but if they cross each other in various directions, and the grass is
+rather trampled down than eaten, the ostrich has certainly made her
+nest in the neighbourhood, and an active but cautious search for it is
+commenced. If she is only making her nest, the operation may be
+detected at a great distance, as it consists simply of pushing out the
+sand from the centre to the circumference of a circle, so as to form a
+large hole. The sand rises in dense clouds round the spot, and the
+bird utters a pining cry all day long. When the nest is finished, she
+cries only towards three in the afternoon. The female sits on the eggs
+from morning till noon, while her mate is grazing; at noon, he takes
+her place, and she goes to the pasture in her turn. When she returns,
+she places herself facing her mate, and at the distance of five or six
+paces from the nest, which he occupies all night, in order to defend
+it from enemies, especially from the jackals, which often lie in
+ambush, ready to take advantage of an unguarded moment. Hunters often
+find the carcasses of these animals near ostriches' nests.
+
+In the morning, while the reumda is sitting, the sportsmen dig on each
+side of the nest, and at about twenty paces from it, a hole deep
+enough to contain a man. In each of these they lodge one of their best
+marksmen, and cover him up with long grass, allowing only the gun to
+protrude. One of these is to shoot the male, the other the female. The
+reumda, seeing this operation going forward, becomes terrified, and
+runs off to join her mate; but he does not believe there is any ground
+for her terror, and with somewhat ungallant chastisement, forces her
+to return. If these preparations were made while the delim was
+sitting, he would go after her, and neither would return. The reumda
+having resumed her place, the sportsmen take care not to disturb her;
+it is the rule to shoot the delim first, and they patiently wait his
+return from the pasture. At noon, he takes his place as usual, sitting
+with his wings outspread, so as to cover all the eggs. In this
+position, the thighs are extremely prominent, and the appointed
+marksman takes aim at them, because, if he succeeds in breaking them,
+there is no chance of escape, which there would be if almost any other
+part were wounded. As soon as he falls, the other sportsmen, attracted
+by the report, run up and bleed him according to the laws of the
+Koran. They hide the carcass, and cover with sand every trace of the
+blood that has been shed. When the reumda comes home at night, she
+appears not uneasy at the absence of her mate, but probably concluding
+that he was hungry, and has gone for some supper, she takes his place
+on the eggs, and is killed by the second marksman in the same way as
+the delim. The ostrich is often waylaid in a similar manner at its
+usual drinking-place, a good shot being concealed in a hole, whence
+he fires on it. The ostrich drinks nearly every five days when there
+is water; otherwise it can do without it for a much longer time.
+Nothing but excessive thirst induces it ever to approach a human
+habitation, and then it flies as soon as it is satisfied. It has been
+observed, that whenever the flashing lightning announces an
+approaching storm, it hastens towards the water. Though single birds
+may often be shot on these occasions, it is a much less certain sport
+than killing them on the nest, and less profitable, as in the latter
+case the eggs form no contemptible part of the spoil.
+
+The nest of an ordinary pair contains from twenty-five to thirty eggs.
+But it often happens that several couples unite to hatch together: in
+this case, they form a great circular cavity, the eldest couple lay
+their eggs in the centre, and the others make a regular disposition of
+theirs around them. Thus, if there are four younger couples, they
+occupy the four angles of a square. When the laying is finished, the
+eggs are pushed towards the centre, but not mixed; and when the eldest
+delim begins to sit, all the rest take their places where their eggs
+have been laid, the females observing similar order. These
+associations are found only where the herbage is very plentiful, and
+they are understood always to be family groups, the centre couple
+being the parents of the rest. The younger birds lay fewer and smaller
+eggs--those of one year old, for instance, have only four or five. The
+period of incubation is ninety days.
+
+In the case of several couples associated thus in the same nest, the
+sportsmen do not attempt to destroy any but the old ones; for if they
+were to set about making as many holes as there were ostriches, the
+whole company would take fright and decamp. But perhaps it is
+determined to leave them all in peaceable possession for the present,
+and rather make a prey of the brood when hatched. The watching of the
+nests in such cases has led to further observations. The eggs of each
+pair are disposed in a heap, always surmounted by a conspicuous one,
+which was the first laid, and has a peculiar destination. When the
+delim perceives that the moment of hatching has arrived, he breaks the
+egg which he judges most matured, and at the same time he bores with
+great care a small hole in the surmounting egg. This serves as the
+first food of the nestlings; and for this purpose, though open, it
+continues long without spoiling, which is the more necessary, as the
+delim does not break all the eggs on the same day, but only three or
+four, and so on, as he hears the young ones stirring within. This egg
+is always liquid, but whether by a provision of nature in its original
+composition, or through the instinct of the parent-birds in avoiding
+to keep it covered like the rest, is not ascertained. The young ones,
+having received this their first nourishment, are immediately dried in
+the sun, and begin to run about; in a few days they follow the
+parent-birds to the pastures, always returning to shelter under their
+wings in the nest.
+
+The paternal affection of the delim is remarkable: he never leaves his
+offspring; he faces every danger, and combats every foe in their
+defence. The reumda, on the contrary, is easily terrified, and leaves
+all to secure her own safety; so that it is usual to compare a man who
+bravely defends his tent to a delim, and a pusillanimous soul to a
+reumda. The delim finds himself more than a match for the dog, the
+jackal, the hyæna, or the eagle: man is his only invincible foe; yet
+he dares to wage the unequal war when the young are in danger. If the
+Arabs desire to make a prey of the ral, as the young ostriches are
+called, they follow their footmarks, and having nearly overtaken them,
+they begin to shout; the terrified birds run to their parents, who
+face about, and stand still to fight for them; so the Arabs lead away
+the ral before their eyes, in spite of the bravadoes of the delim, who
+then manifests the liveliest grief. Sometimes the greyhound is
+employed in this sport: the delim attacks him, and while they are
+fighting, the men carry off the young ones, to bring them up in their
+tents.
+
+The ral are easily tamed; they sleep under the tent, are exceedingly
+lively, and play with the children and dogs. When the tents are struck
+for a flitting, the pet ostriches follow the camels, and are never
+known to make their escape during the migration. If a hare passes, and
+the men start in pursuit of it, the ostrich darts off in the same
+direction, and joins the chase. If she meets in the douar (village of
+tents) a child holding any eatable thing in its hand, she lays him
+gently on the ground, and robs without hurting him. But the tame
+ostrich is a great thief, or rather is so voracious, it devours
+everything it finds--even knives, female trinkets, and pieces of iron.
+The Arab on whose authority these details are given, relates that a
+woman had her coral-necklace carried off and swallowed by an ostrich;
+and an officer in the African army affirms, that one of them tore off
+and ate the buttons of his surtout. The ostrich is, at the same time,
+exceedingly dexterous; so that she will tear a date from a man's mouth
+without hurting him. The Arabs are distrustful of her, and know where
+to lay the blame if, on counting their money, they find two or three
+dollars missing.
+
+It is no uncommon thing to see, at some distance from a douar, a
+wearied child riding on the back of an ostrich, which carries its
+burden directly towards the tent, the young Jehu holding on by the
+pinions. But she would not carry too heavy a load--a man, for
+instance--but would throw him on the ground with a flap of her wing.
+
+When ostriches are taken to market in Africa, their legs are tied
+almost close together with a cord, another cord attached to this one
+being held in the hand.
+
+
+
+
+PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+The official statement of the United States' census, published at
+Washington in December last, furnishes us with the means of knowing
+what our American brethren have been doing in the ten years from 1840
+to 1850. In that decennial period, the whole territory had increased
+from 2,055,163 to 3,221,595 square miles, exclusive of the great lakes
+in the interior, and deeply-indenting bays on the coast. The gross
+population in June 1850, numbered 23,246,201; an increase from June
+1840 of 6,176,848. Of these, 19,619,366 were whites; 3,198,298 were
+slaves; and free blacks, 428,637; the increase having been
+respectively, 5,423,371--711,085--42,392. The whole increase was
+equivalent to 3-1/2 per cent.; while in Europe, it is not more than
+1-1/2 per cent.; and if it continue as at present, the population
+will, forty years hence, exceed that of England, France, Spain,
+Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland put together. The deaths in the last
+of the ten years were 320,194, being 1 to each 72.6, or 10 to each 726
+of the inhabitants; this return is, however, supposed to involve an
+error, as the mortality is less in proportion than in the most
+favoured parts of Europe; whereas the reverse is generally considered
+to be the fact. In the same year, 1467 slaves were manumitted, and
+1011 escaped. The number of emigrants from foreign countries during
+the 10 years was 1,542,850.
+
+Among the individual states, the most populous are New York, which
+numbers 3,097,394 inhabitants; Pennsylvania, 2,311,786; Ohio,
+1,980,408; Virginia, 1,421,661; Massachusetts, 994,499; Indiana,
+988,416; Kentucky, 982,405; Georgia, 905,999. Taking the whole 31
+states, the proportion of inhabitants is 15.48 to the square mile: the
+free states comprise 13,605,630, and the slave states, 9,491,759 of
+population.
+
+To supply this population, there are 2800 newspapers: 424 in the New
+England states; 876 in the middle states; 716 in the southern states;
+and 784 in the western states. Three hundred and fifty are _dailies_,
+150 three times a week, 125 twice a week, 2000 weekly, 50 fortnightly,
+100 monthly, and 25 quarterly: the aggregate circulation being
+422,600,000 yearly. There is 1 periodical for every 7161 free
+inhabitants.
+
+The capital invested in manufactures, excluding the establishments
+under 500 dollars of annual value, amounted to 530,000,000 dollars;
+the value of raw material was 550,000,000; the amount paid for labour
+(in one year we presume), 240,000,000; value of articles manufactured,
+1,020,300,000; persons employed, 1,050,000. There were 1094 cotton
+'establishments' in operation, which produced 763,678,407 yards of
+sheeting; 1559 woollen establishments, which produced 82,206,652 yards
+of cloth; 2190 iron establishments, which produced 1,165,544 tons of
+iron of various kinds.
+
+Of improved lands, there were 112,042,000 acres; of wheat, 104,799,230
+bushels were grown in the last year; 591,586,053 bushels of Indian
+corn; 199,532,494 pounds of tobacco; 13,605,384 tons of hay;
+32,759,263 pounds of maple-sugar were made; 314,644 hogsheads of
+cane-sugar of 1000 pounds each; 312,202,286 pounds of butter; and
+103,184,585 pounds of cheese.
+
+
+
+
+EFFECT OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION ON LOCOMOTION.
+
+
+The following is from _Herapath's Journal_ on the effect of the
+earth's rotation on locomotion: 'Mr Uriah Clarke, of Leicester, has
+called our attention to an article in the _Mechanic's Magazine_, by
+himself, on the influence of the earth's rotation on locomotion. It is
+well known, that as the earth revolves on its axis once in twenty-four
+hours, from west to east, the velocity of any point on its surface is
+greater nearer the equator, and less further from it, in the ratio of
+the cosine of the latitude. Mr Clarke says: "Some rather important
+conclusions in relation to railway travelling arise out of the view
+now taken. The difference between the rotative velocity of the earth
+in surface-motion at London and at Liverpool is about twenty-eight
+miles per hour; and this amount of lateral movement is to be gained or
+lost, as respects the locomotion in each journey, according to the
+direction we are travelling in from the one place to the other; and in
+proportion to the speed will be the pressure against the side of the
+rails, which, at a high velocity, will give the engine a tendency to
+climb the right-hand rail in each direction. Could the journey be
+performed in two hours between London and Liverpool, this lateral
+movement, or rotative velocity of the locomotive, would have to be
+increased or diminished at the rate of nearly one-quarter of a mile
+per minute, and that entirely by side-pressure on the rail, which, if
+not sufficient to cause the engine to leave the line, would be quite
+sufficient to produce violent and dangerous oscillation. It may be
+observed, in conclusion, that as the cause above alluded to will be
+inoperative while we travel along the parallels of latitude, it
+clearly follows, that a higher degree of speed may be attained with
+safety on a railway running east and west than on one which runs north
+and south." There is no doubt of the tendency Mr Clarke speaks of on
+the right-hand rail, but we do not think it will be found to be so
+dangerous as he says. It will be greatest on the Great Northern and
+Berwick lines, and least on the Great Western.'
+
+
+
+
+FOREST SCENERY OF AMERICA.
+
+
+The forests between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, where the
+country is very flat and wet, are composed almost entirely of black
+cypress; they grow so thick that the tops get intermixed and
+interlaced, and form almost a matting overhead, through which
+the sun scarcely ever penetrates. The trees are covered with
+unwholesome-looking mosses, which exhale a damp earthy smell, like a
+cellar. The ground is so covered with a rank growth of elder and other
+shrubs, many of them with thorns an inch long, and with fallen and
+decayed trunks of trees, that it is impossible to take a step without
+breaking one's shins. Not a bird or animal of any kind is to be seen,
+and a deathlike silence reigns through the forest, which is only now
+and then interrupted by the rattle of the rattlesnake (like a clock
+going down), and the chirrup of the chitnunck, or squirrel. The sombre
+colour of the foliage, the absence of all sun even at mid-day, and the
+vault-like chilliness one feels when entering a cypress swamp, is far
+from cheering; and I don't know any position so likely to give one the
+horrors as being lost in one, or where one could so well realise what
+a desolate loneliness is. The wasps, whose nests like great gourds
+hang from the trees about the level of one's face; the mosquitoes in
+millions; the little black flies, and venomous snakes, all add their
+'little possible' to render a tramp through a cypress swamp
+agreeable.--_Sullivan's Rambles_.
+
+
+
+
+THE BETTER THOUGHT.
+
+
+  The Better Thought! how oft in days
+  When youthful passion fired my breast,
+  And drove me into devious ways,
+  Didst thou my wandering steps arrest,
+  And, whispering gently in mine ear
+  Thine angel-message, fraught with love,
+  Check for the time my mad career,
+  And melt the heart naught else could move!
+
+  Thine was no stern and harsh rebuke;
+  No 'friend's advice,' so true, so cold;
+  No message wise, such as in book,
+  Or by the teacher oft is told,
+  Which, like the pointless arrow, falls,
+  And rings perhaps with hollow sound,
+  But ne'er the wanderer recalls,
+  And ne'er inflicts the healing wound.
+
+  Thy voice was gentle, winning, mild;
+  Thy words told thou wert from above,
+  Like those with which the wayward child
+  Is wooed by a fond mother's love;
+  Or like a strain of music stealing
+  Across the calm and moonlit seas,
+  Which moves the heart of sternest feeling,
+  And wakes its deeper harmonies.
+
+  Sweet was thy presence, welcomed guest;
+  And I, responsive to thy call,
+  Arose, and felt within my breast
+  A power that made the fetters fall
+  From off my long enthrallèd soul,
+  And woke, as with a magic spell,
+  Griefs which yet owned the soft control
+  Of hopes that all might still be well.
+
+  But ah, thou wast an injured guest!
+  How soon departed, soon forgot,
+  Were all the hopes of coming rest
+  That clustered round the Better Thought--
+  The tender griefs, the firm resolves,
+  The yearnings after better days,
+  Like transient sunlight which dissolves,
+  And leaves no traces of its rays!
+
+  Yet I despair not--through the night
+  That long has reigned with tyrant sway,
+  E'en now I see the opening light,
+  The harbinger of coming day;
+  To Heaven I now direct my prayer--
+  O God of love, forsake me not!
+  Grant that my waywardness may ne'er
+  Quench the returning Better Thought!
+
+  GARVALD.                         J. F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh.
+Also sold by W. S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D. N. CHAMBERS, 55 West
+Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
+Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent to
+MAXWELL & CO., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom all
+applications respecting their insertion must be made.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460, by Various
+
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460
+       Volume 18, New Series, October 23, 1852
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: William Chambers
+        Robert Chambers
+
+Release Date: January 4, 2008 [EBook #24158]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL</h1>
+
+<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents">CONTENTS</a></h2>
+
+<div class="contents">
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p class="left">
+<a href="#PRESERVED_MEATS_AND_MEAT-BISCUITS"><b>PRESERVED MEATS AND MEAT-BISCUITS.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_BUYER_OF_SOULS"><b>THE BUYER OF SOULS: A RUSSIAN STORY.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#SPELLING-BOOK_VERSUS_HORN-BOOK"><b>SPELLING-BOOK VERSUS HORN-BOOK.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#A_FEW_WORDS_ABOUT_ROOMS_AND_THEIR_ORNAMENTS"><b>A FEW WORDS ABOUT ROOMS AND THEIR ORNAMENTS.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#INVESTMENTS"><b>INVESTMENTS!</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_OSTRICH"><b>THE OSTRICH.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#PROGRESS_OF_THE_UNITED_STATES"><b>PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#EFFECT_OF_THE_EARTHS_ROTATION_ON_LOCOMOTION"><b>EFFECT OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION ON LOCOMOTION.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#FOREST_SCENERY_OF_AMERICA"><b>FOREST SCENERY OF AMERICA.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_BETTER_THOUGHT"><b>THE BETTER THOUGHT.</b></a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[pg 257]</a></span></p>
+
+<img src="images/banner.png"
+          width="100%"
+          alt="Banner: Chambers' Edinburgh Journal" />
+
+<h4>CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
+INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &amp;c.</h4>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<table width="100%"
+        summary="Volume, Date and Price">
+<tr>
+<td align="left"><b><span class="sc">No.</span> 460.&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="sc">New Series.</span></b></td>
+<td align="left"><b>SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1852.</b></td>
+<td align="right"><b><span class="sc">Price</span> 1&frac12;<i>d</i>.</b></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2><a name="PRESERVED_MEATS_AND_MEAT-BISCUITS" id="PRESERVED_MEATS_AND_MEAT-BISCUITS"></a>PRESERVED MEATS AND MEAT-BISCUITS.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">The</span> many-headed public look out for 'nine days' wonders,' and speedily
+allow one wonder to obliterate the remembrance of that which preceded
+it. So it is with all newspaper topics, and so it has been in respect
+to the preserved-meat question. We all know how great was the
+excitement at the commencement of the present year on this matter.
+Ships' accounts overhauled; arctic stores re-examined; canisters
+opened and rejected; contracts inquired into; statements and
+counter-statements published; questionings of Admiralty officials in
+the two Houses of Parliament; reports published by committees;
+recommendations offered for future guidance; descriptions of the
+preserving processes at different establishments: all went the round
+of the newspapers, and then the topic was forgotten. It deserves to be
+held in remembrance, however, for the subject-matter is really
+important and valuable, in respect not only to the stores for
+shipping, but to the provisioning of large or small bodies of men
+under various exceptional circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>A few of the simple laws of organic chemistry suffice to account for
+the speedy decay of dead animal substances, and for the methods
+whereby this decay is retarded or prevented. In organised substances,
+the chemical atoms combine in a very complex but unstable way; several
+such atoms group together to form a proximate principle, such as
+gluten, albumen, fibrin, &amp;c.; and several of these combine to form a
+complete organic substance. The chemical rank-and-file, so to speak,
+form a battalion, and two or more battalions form the chemical army.
+But it is a law in chemistry, that the more complex a substance
+becomes, the less stable is its constitution, or the sooner is it
+affected by disturbing influences. Hence organic substances are more
+readily decomposed than inorganic. How striking, for instance, are the
+changes easily wrought in a few grains of barley! They contain a kind
+of starch or fecula; this starch, in the process of malting, becomes
+converted into a kind of sugar; and from this malt-sugar or
+transformed starch, may be obtained ale or beer, gin or whisky, and
+vinegar, by various processes of fermenting and distilling. The
+complex substance breaks up through very slight causes, and the simple
+elements readjust themselves into new groupings. The same occurs in
+animal as in vegetable substances, but still more rapidly, as the
+former are more intricate in composition than the latter, and are held
+together by a weaker tie.</p>
+
+<p>What the 'vital principle' may be, neither chemists nor physiologists
+can tell us with any great degree of clearness; but it is this vital
+principle, whatever it may be, which prevents decay in a living
+organic substance, however complex. When life departs, the onslaught
+begins; the defender has been removed, and a number of assailants make
+their appearance. <i>Air</i>, <i>heat</i>, and <i>moisture</i> are the principal of
+these; they attack the dead organism, and gradually convert it into
+wholly different and inorganic compounds, such as water, carbonic
+acid, ammonia, phosphuretted hydrogen, and many others. What, then,
+would result if these disturbers could be warded off, one or all? It
+is now pretty well ascertained, that if any one of the three&mdash;air,
+heat, moisture&mdash;be absent, the decay is either greatly retarded or
+indefinitely postponed; and we shall find that in all antiseptic or
+preserving processes, the fundamental principle has simply such an
+object in view.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes the operation of natural causes leads to the preservation of
+dead animal substances for a great length of time, by excluding one
+out of the above three disturbing influences. If heat be so deficient
+that the animal juices become wholly frozen up, the substance is
+almost proof against decay. Thus, about seventy years ago, a huge
+animal was found imbedded in the ice in Siberia: from a comparison of
+its skeleton with those of existing species, Cuvier inferred that this
+animal must have been antediluvian; and yet, so completely had the
+cold prevented putrefaction, that dogs willingly ate of the still
+existing flesh. At St Petersburg, when winter is approaching, the fish
+in the markets become almost like blocks of ice, so completely are
+they frozen; and in this state they will remain sound for a lengthened
+period. Dead poultry, and other articles of animal food, are similarly
+kept fresh throughout the winter in many rigorous climates, simply by
+the powerlessness of the attacking agents, when heat is not one of the
+number. And that which nature effects on a large scale, may reasonably
+be imitated by man on a more limited one. It is customary to pack many
+kinds of provisions in ice or snow, either for keeping them in
+storehouses, or for sending them to market. Thus it is with the tubs
+of poultry, of veal, and of other kinds of meat, which, killed in the
+country districts of Russia in autumn, are packed in snow to keep cool
+till sold at market; and thus it is with much of the salmon sent from
+Scotland to London. Since the supply of excellent ice from Wenham
+Lake, commenced about nineteen years ago, has become so abundant and
+so cheap, it is worth a thought whether the preservative powers of
+cold might not advantageously be made more available in this country
+than they have yet been. In the United States, housewives use very
+convenient refrigerators or ice-boxes, provided with perforated
+shelves, under which ice is set, and upon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[pg 258]</a></span>which various provisions
+are placed: a large uncooked joint of meat is sometimes kept in one of
+these boxes for weeks. Among the celebrities of the Crystal Palace,
+many will recollect Masters's elegant ice-making machine, in which, by
+combining chemical action with centrifugal motion, ice can be made in
+a few minutes, let the heat of the weather be what it may. This
+machine, and the portable refrigerators manufactured by the Wenham
+Company, together with our familiar, old-fashioned ice-houses, might
+supply us with much more preservative power, in respect to articles of
+food, than we have hitherto practically adopted.</p>
+
+<p>If, instead of watching the effects produced by abstraction of <i>heat</i>,
+we direct attention to the abstraction of <i>moisture</i>, we shall find
+that antiseptic or preservative results are easily obtainable. All
+kinds of bacon and smoked meats belong to the class here indicated.
+The watery particles are nearly or quite driven out from the meat, and
+thus one of the three decomposing agents is rendered of no effect. In
+some cases, the drying is not sufficient to produce the result,
+without the aid of the remarkable antiseptic properties of salt;
+because decomposition may commence before the moisture is quite
+expelled. In many parts of the country, hams are hung within a
+wide-spreading chimney, over or near a turf-fire, and where a free
+current of air, as well as a warm temperature, may act upon them; but
+the juices become dissipated by this rude process. Simple drying,
+without the addition of salt or any condiment, is perhaps more
+effectual with vegetable than with animal substances.</p>
+
+<p>But it is under the third point of view that the preservative process
+is more important and interesting, inasmuch as it admits of a far more
+extensive application. We speak of the abstraction of <i>air</i>.
+Atmospheric air affects dead organic matter chiefly through the agency
+of the oxygen which forms one of its constituents; and it is
+principally to insure the expulsion of oxygen that air is excluded.
+The examples which illustrate the resulting effects are numerous and
+varied. Eggs have been varnished so as to exclude air, and have
+retained the vital principle in the chick for years; and it is a
+familiar domestic practice, to butter the outside of eggs as a means
+of keeping them. The canisters of preserved provisions, however, are
+the most direct and valuable result of the antiseptic action by
+exclusion of air. The Exhibition Jury on Class 3, in their Report on
+this subject, speak thus warmly thereupon:&mdash;'It is impossible to
+overestimate the importance of these preparations. The invention of
+the process by which animal and vegetable food is preserved in a fresh
+and sweet state for an indefinite period, has only been applied
+practically during the last twenty-five years, and is intimately
+connected with the annals of arctic discovery. The active measures
+taken to discover a north-west passage, and to prosecute scientific
+research, in all but inaccessible regions, first created a demand for
+this sort of food; and the Admiralty stimulated the manufacturers to
+great perfection in the art. As soon as the value of these
+preparations in cold climates became generally admitted, their use was
+extended to hot ones, and for the sick on board ship under all
+circumstances. Hitherto they had been employed only as a substitute
+for salt beef or pork at sea, and if eaten on shore, it was at first
+as a curiosity merely. Their utility in hot climates, however,
+speedily became evident; especially in India, where European families
+are scattered, and where, consequently, on the slaughter of a large
+animal, more is wasted than can be consumed by a family of the
+ordinary number.'</p>
+
+<p>Whatever improvements may have been introduced by later manufacturers,
+the principle involved in the meat-preserving processes is nearly as
+M. Appert established it forty years ago. His plan consisted in
+removing the bones from the meat; boiling it to nearly as great a
+degree as if intended for immediate consumption; putting it into jars;
+filling up the jars completely with a broth or jelly prepared from
+portions of the same meat; corking the jars closely; incasing the
+corks with a luting formed of quicksilver and cheese; placing the
+corked jars in a boiler of cold water; boiling the water and its
+contents for an hour; and then allowing the cooling process to
+supervene very gradually.</p>
+
+<p>Until the recent disclosures concerning the preserved meats in the
+government dep&ocirc;ts, the extent of the manufacture, or rather
+preparation, was very little known to the general public. In the last
+week of 1851, an examination, consequent on certain suspicions which
+had been entertained, was commenced at the victualling establishment
+at Gosport. The canisters&mdash;for since Appert's time stone jars have
+been generally superseded by tin canisters&mdash;contain on an average
+about 10 pounds each; and out of 643 of these which were opened on the
+first day's examination, no fewer than 573 were condemned as being
+utterly unfit for food. On the next day, 734 were condemned out of
+779; and by the fourth day, the number examined had risen to 2707, of
+which only 197 were deemed fit for food. Such wretched offal had been
+packed in the canisters, instead of good meat, that the stench arising
+from the decomposing mass was most revolting; the examiners were
+compelled to use Sir William Burnett's disinfecting fluid abundantly,
+and even to suspend their labours for two or three days under fear of
+infection. The canisters formed part of a supply sent in by a
+contractor in November 1850, under a warrant that the contents would
+remain good for five years; the filling of the canisters was
+understood to have been effected at Galatz, in Moldavia, but the
+contractor was in England. The supply amounted to 6000 canisters, all
+of which had to be examined, and out of which only a few hundred were
+found to contain substances fit for food. Instead of good meat, or in
+addition to a small quantity of good meat, the examiners found lung,
+liver, heart, tongue, kidney, tendon, ligament, palate, fat, tallow,
+coagulated blood, and even a piece of leather&mdash;all in a state of such
+loathsome putridity as to render the office of the examiners a
+terrible one.</p>
+
+<p>Of course nothing can be predicated from such atrocities as these
+against the wholesomeness of preserved food; they prove only the
+necessity of caution in making the government contracts, and in
+accepting the supplies. The Admiralty shewed, during subsequent
+discussions, that large supplies had been received from various
+quarters for several years, for use on shipboard in long voyages and
+on arctic expeditions; that these had turned out well; and that the
+contractor who was disgraced in the present instance, was among those
+who had before fulfilled his contracts properly. Fortunately, there is
+no evidence that serious evil had resulted from the supply of the
+canisters to ships; the discovery was made in time to serve as a
+useful lesson in future to government officials and to unprincipled
+contractors.</p>
+
+<p>The jury report before adverted to, points out how cheap and
+economical these preserved meats really are, from the circumstance,
+that all that is eatable is so well brought into use. It is affirmed
+by the manufacturers, that meat in this form supplies troops and ships
+with a cheaper animal diet than salt provisions, by avoiding the
+expense of casks, leakage, brine, bone, shrinkage, stowage, &amp;c., which
+are all heavy items, and entail great waste and expenditure; and by a
+canister of the former being so much smaller than a cask of the
+latter, in the event of one bad piece of meat tainting the whole
+contents. The contents of all the cases, when opened, are found to
+have lost much of the freshness in taste and flavour peculiar to
+newly-killed meat; they are always soft, and eat as if overdone. As a
+matter of choice, therefore, few or no <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[pg 259]</a></span>persons would prefer meat in
+this state to the ordinary unpacked and recently-cooked state. But the
+important fact to bear in mind is, that the nutritious principles are
+preserved; as nutriment, they are unexceptionable, and they are often
+pleasantly seasoned and flavoured.</p>
+
+<p>In the ordinary processes of preparation, as carried on in London and
+other places, the tin canisters have a minute hole, through which the
+air may be expelled, while the meat is simmering or boiling within;
+and in the case of poultry being preserved whole, extra precautions
+are necessary, to insure the expulsion of the air from the hollow
+bones of the birds. Soups are more easily prepared than solid meat, on
+account of the greater facility for getting rid of the confined air.
+The minute air-hole in the canister is soldered down when the process
+is completed.</p>
+
+<p>M. Alexis Soyer, who has a notoriety in London as the prince of cooks,
+and a very ingenious man&mdash;a sort of Paxton of the kitchen&mdash;wrote to
+the daily journals, about the time of the disclosure at Gosport, to
+offer a few suggestions. He said: 'No canister ought to contain more
+than about six pounds of meat, the same to be very slightly seasoned
+with bay-salt, pepper, and aromatic herbs in powder, such as bay-thyme
+and bay-leaf, a small quantity of which would not be objectionable
+even for invalids. No jelly should be added to the meat; the meat, and
+the meat alone, should produce its own jelly. With the bones and
+trimmings of the above, a good <i>stock</i> should be made without
+vegetables, well reduced and skimmed, to form a very strong
+transparent demi-glaze; six-pound canisters should be filled with the
+same, bearing a special mark, and one of these allowed to every dozen
+of the others. This demi-glaze, when diluted in water, would make six
+gallons of very good broth, with which any kind of soup could be made
+in a very short time.' He also points out how the condition of the
+preserved meat may be guessed by the external appearance of the
+canister. If either the top or bottom of the canister be convex, like
+the upper surface of a watch-glass, the contents are in a state of
+decomposition; the bulging being occasioned by the gases generated
+during the chemical changes. If the contents of the canister be sound,
+the top and bottom will be either quite flat, or slightly concave.</p>
+
+<p>The Jury on Food, at the Great Exhibition, had quite an <i>embarras des
+richesses</i>; they were surrounded by hundreds of canisters of preserved
+provisions, all of which they were invited to open and taste. They
+say, or their reporter says, that the merits of the contributions
+'were tested by a selection from each; the cases were opened in the
+presence of the jury, and tasted by themselves, and, where advisable,
+by associates. The majority are of English manufacture, especially the
+more substantial viands; France and Germany exhibiting chiefly
+made-dishes, game, and delicacies&mdash;of meat, fish, soups, and
+vegetables.' It is an important fact for our colonies, that viands of
+this description are as well prepared in Australia, Van Diemen's Land,
+Canada, and the Cape of Good Hope, as in the mother-country. 'Animal
+food is most abundant and cheap in some of those colonies. In
+Australia, especially, during seasons of drought, it is wasted in
+extraordinary quantities; flocks are slaughtered for the tallow alone,
+and herds, for their bones and hides. Were the meat on these occasions
+preserved, it cannot be doubted that it could be imported into
+England, and sold at a cheaper rate than fresh meat in our
+metropolitan markets, to the great benefit of the lower-classes.' This
+is a statement well worth being borne in mind by some of those who are
+at present dazzled with gold-digging wonders.</p>
+
+<p>In respect to the preserved meats at the Great Exhibition, many were
+merely cured or dried meats. From Canada, for instance, they comprised
+hams, bacon, tongues, and barrels of beef and pork. Among the
+miscellaneous contributions were grated beef, canisters of fresh
+salmon, 'admirable boiled mutton in tin cases,' dried mullets,
+'<i>mouton r&ocirc;ti</i>,' fish, meats preserved in a fresh state by simple
+drying&mdash;on a plan practised in Switzerland&mdash;and preserved larks. Not
+the least remarkable was a preserved <i>pig</i>, which reclined in all its
+glory on the floor of the south-west gallery, and was a successful
+example of curing on a large scale. Still more striking than this, was
+the large partridge-pie, placed somewhat out of general notice in the
+'Netherlands' department; a formidable pie it truly was, for it
+contained 150 partridges, with truffles, and weighed 250 pounds: it
+had been made a year before it was forwarded to London. But among the
+contributions more immediately relating to our present subject, may be
+mentioned those of Mr Gamble, which comprised, among others, a
+canister of preserved boiled mutton, which had been prepared for the
+arctic expedition in 1824; many such canisters were landed at Fury
+Beach in Prince Regent's Inlet; they were found by Sir John Ross at
+that spot in 1833 in a perfect state, and again by Sir James Ross in
+1849, the meat being as sweet and wholesome as when prepared a quarter
+of a century before.</p>
+
+<p>The range of these preserving processes is singularly wide and varied.
+If we take the trade-list of one of the manufacturers, such as that of
+Messrs Hogarth of Aberdeen, and glance through it, we shall find ample
+evidence of this. There are nearly twenty kinds of soups selling at
+about 2s. per quart-canister. There is the concentrated essence of
+beef, much more expensive, because containing the nutriment of so much
+more meat; and there are, for invalids, concentrated broths of
+intermediate price. There are about a dozen kinds of fish, some fresh
+and some dried. There are various kinds of poultry, roast and boiled;
+hare, roast and jugged; and venison, hashed and minced. There are
+beef, veal, and mutton, all dressed in various ways, and some having
+the requisite vegetables canistered with them, at prices varying from
+l0d. to 15d. per pound. There are tongues, hams, bacon, kidneys,
+tripe, and marrow; and there are cream, milk, and marmalade. Lastly,
+there are such vegetables as peas, beans, carrots, turnips, cabbage,
+and beet, at 6d. to 1s. per pound-canister. The canisters for all
+these various provisions contain from one pound to six pounds each. It
+was Messrs Hogarth, we believe, who supplied the preserved meats and
+vegetables to the arctic ships under Sir E. Belcher which sailed in
+the spring of 1852.</p>
+
+<p>M. Brocchi&egrave;re, a French manufacturer, has lately extended these
+economical processes so far, as to attempt to produce concentrated
+food from the blood of cattle. He dries up the liquid or serous
+portions of the blood, and forms into a cake, with admixture of other
+substances, the coagulable portion, which contains fibrin, the source
+of flesh and muscle. Unless a more delicate name could be given to
+this preparation, prejudice would have some influence in depriving it
+of the chance of fair play. The dry blood is in some cases combined
+with a small portion of flour, and made into light dry masses, like
+loaves or cakes, to be used as the basis of soups; while in other
+cases it is combined with sugar, to make sweet biscuits and bon-bons.
+Another kind of preserved animal fluid is the <i>ozmazome</i>, prepared by
+Messrs Warriner and Soyer. This consists of the nutritious matter or
+juice of meat, set free during the operation of boiling down fat for
+tallow in Australia; it is afterwards concentrated, and preserved in
+the form of sausages. A great amount of nutriment is thus obtained in
+a portable form; when boiled with gelatine, it forms a palatable diet,
+and it is also used to form a gravy for meat.</p>
+
+<p>Masson's method of preserving vegetables seems to be very effective,
+as applied to white and red cabbages, turnips, Brussels sprouts, and
+such like. The process, as conducted in France, is very simple. The
+vegetables <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[pg 260]</a></span>are dried at a certain temperature (104 to 118 degrees
+Fahrenheit), sufficient to expel the moisture without imparting a
+burnt taste; and in this operation they lose nearly seven-eighths of
+their original weight. The vegetables are then pressed forcibly into
+the form of cakes, and are kept in tinfoil till required for use.
+These vegetables require, when about to be eaten, rather more boiling
+than those in the ordinary state. Some of the French ships of war are
+supplied with them, much to the satisfaction of the crews. Dr Lindley
+has stated, on the authority of a distinguished officer in the
+antarctic expedition under Sir James Ross, that although all the
+preserved meats used on that occasion were excellent, and there was
+not the slightest ground for any complaint of their quality, the crew
+became tired of the meat, but never of the vegetables. 'This should
+shew us,' says Dr Lindley, 'that it is not sufficient to supply ships'
+crews with preserved meats, but that they should be supplied with
+vegetables also, the means of doing which is now afforded.' Generally
+speaking, the flavour of preserved vegetables, whether prepared on
+Masson's or on any other process, is fresher than that of the
+meats&mdash;especially in the case of those which abound in the saccharine
+principle, as beet, carrot, turnips, &amp;c. The more farinaceous
+vegetables, such as green peas, do not preserve so well.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most remarkable, and perhaps valuable recent introductions,
+in respect to preserved food, is the American <i>meat&mdash;biscuit</i>,
+prepared by Mr Borden. A <i>biscuit-beef</i> is prepared by a Frenchman, M.
+Du Liscoet, resembling an ordinary coarse ship-biscuit; but this is
+said to have 'an animal, salt, and not very agreeable taste.' The
+American meat-biscuit, however, is prepared in a way which renders its
+qualities easily intelligible. It contains in a concentrated form all
+the nutriment of meat, combined with flour. The best wheaten flour is
+employed, with the nutriment of the best beef, and the result is
+presented for use as food in the form of a dry, inodorous, flat,
+brittle cake, which will keep when dry for an unlimited period. When
+required for use, it is dissolved in hot water, boiled, and seasoned
+at pleasure, forming a soup about the consistence of sago. One pound
+of the biscuit contains the nutritive matter&mdash;fat excepted&mdash;of five
+pounds of prime beef, mixed with half a pound of wheaten flour. One
+ounce of the biscuit, grated and boiled in a pint of water, suffices
+to form the soup. It can also be used in puddings and sauces. The
+manufacture of the meat-biscuit is located at Galveston, in Texas,
+which abounds in excellent cattle at a very low price. It is said that
+the meat-biscuit is not liable to heating or moulding, like corn and
+flour, nor subject to be attacked by insects. The meat-biscuit was
+largely used by the United States' army during the Mexican campaign;
+the nutriment of 500 pounds of beef, with 70 pounds of flour, was
+packed in a twenty-two-gallon cask.</p>
+
+<p>Dr Lindley, as one of the jurors for the Great Exhibition, and as a
+lecturer on the subject at the Society of Arts, commends the
+meat-biscuit in the very highest terms. 'I think I am justified in
+looking upon it,' he says, 'as one of the most important substances
+which this Exhibition has brought to our knowledge. When we consider
+that by this method, in such places as Buenos Ayres, animals which are
+there of little or no value, instead of being destroyed, as they often
+are, for their bones, may be boiled down and mixed with the flour
+which all such countries produce, and so converted into a substance of
+such durability that it may be preserved with the greatest ease, and
+sent to distant countries; it seems as if a new means of subsistence
+was actually offered to us. Take the Argentine Republic, take
+Australia, and consider what they do with their meat there in times of
+drought, when they cannot get rid of it while it is fresh; they may
+boil it down, and mix the essence with flour&mdash;and we know they have
+the finest in the world&mdash;and so prepare a substance that can be
+preserved for times when food is not so plentiful, or sent to
+countries where it is always more difficult to procure food. Is not
+this a very great gain?' A pertinent question, which intelligent
+emigrants would do well to bear in mind.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_BUYER_OF_SOULS" id="THE_BUYER_OF_SOULS"></a>THE BUYER OF SOULS:</h2>
+
+<h3>A Russian Story.</h3>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">All</span> over the world, the essential elements of human nature are the
+same. And it is very fortunate for me that they are so, else I should
+find myself in considerable difficulty in endeavouring to place before
+my readers a correct picture of the little, out-of-the-way town of
+Nikolsk. Making due allowances for the differences in national manners
+and customs; for Nikolsk being under the dominion of his autocratic
+majesty the emperor of all the Russias, instead of the mild,
+constitutional government of Queen Victoria, there is no great
+discrepancy between Nikolsk and any equally out-of-the-way town in
+England. It has the same dearth of excitement, the same monotonous
+uniformity of life; it lives in the same profound ignorance of the
+great incidents that the drama of human existence is developing on the
+theatre of the world at large; it has its priest, its doctor, its
+lawyer, its post-office where a seal is not so sacred as it might be,
+or rather where the problem of getting at the news, without breaking
+the wax, has been successfully solved; it has the same thirst for
+scandal, the same intense interest for the most contemptible
+trivialities, the same constantly impending danger of suicide from
+ennui, did not human nature adapt itself to its environments, and sink
+into pettiness as naturally as though there were no such things as
+towns and cities, and enlarged views of man and nature in the world:
+all these it has the same as any British Little Pedlington. Then it
+has its circles of social intercourse, as rigidly defined and as
+intensely venerated as the rules of court precedence. The difference
+in the social scale between a landowner, a tenant, a member of the
+professions, a tradesman, a publican, a sweep, and a beggar, is
+accurately prescribed and religiously observed&mdash;with this addition,
+however, that in Nikolsk the owners of land are also owners of the
+serfs upon the land, and that the numerous representatives of that
+most centralised of all governments cut an important figure in the
+snobberies of the place. In fine, there is one little English word
+that describes Nikolsk completely, and that is&mdash;<i>dull</i>. It is
+dull&mdash;beyond comprehension dull. No town in the universe can be
+duller; because, from its quintessential dulness, there is but one
+step to total inanition.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, in Nikolsk, the ancient saying, that there is nothing new under
+the sun, was daily and hourly verified. Week after week, and year
+after year, the governor pillaged the people; the inspector of
+charities pillaged the charities; the inspector of nuisances
+sedulously avoided inspecting at all, lest, by removing them, the need
+for his services should cease; the landowner ground down the serfs;
+the tax-assessor ground the landowners; and everybody, in return for
+the favours a paternal government showered upon them through its
+immaculate representatives, cheated and defrauded that government with
+a persistency and perseverance approaching the sublime. Mothers of
+daughters were in despair, for in Nikolsk there were no 'nice young
+men,' no eligible matches; fathers of sons despaired in their turn,
+for as everybody robbed everybody, and the government robbed the
+robbers, there were no heiresses; ladies wore the fashions of 1820 in
+1840, under the impression that they were the newest from Paris; the
+reading portion of the community were just beginning to hear of
+Voltaire as a promising writer; and the general <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[pg 261]</a></span>public laboured under
+the fixed idea, that somewhere or other Napoleon was still prosecuting
+his leviathan campaigns, happily <i>not</i> in Russia. The only thing that
+ever broke the monotony of existence was the prevalence of cholera, or
+the governor essaying some loftier flight of tyranny than usual by
+hanging up a score of defaulters to the revenue, or knouting a bevy of
+ladies whose tongues outran their prudence.</p>
+
+<p>Such being the state of affairs in Nikolsk, it will be easily
+imagined, that when mine host of the Black Eagle, in a very important
+and mysterious manner, announced to a select few that a singular and
+eccentric stranger, rolling in money, had arrived at his hostelry,
+with the intention of staying some time in Nikolsk, the news flew like
+a telegraphic message, or a piece of scandal among a community of old
+maids, through the place; and that in a few hours after his arrival,
+nobody, from governor to serf, thought or spoke of anything or anybody
+else than the mysterious stranger, who, under the name of Tchitchikof,
+occupied the best suite of apartments in the Black Eagle, and, as the
+landlord affirmed on oath, was eccentric to a degree, and revelled in
+untold gold.</p>
+
+<p>Now, whatever had been the station in society of M. Tchitchikof, his
+means or his idiosyncrasy, the mere fact of his being a stranger had
+been enough to make the good people of Nikolsk pounce down upon him
+like a hawk on its quarry, and morally tear him to pieces with
+rapacious analysis to satiate their ravenous curiosity. But as to the
+fact of his being a stranger, was added the piquancy of a reputation
+for eccentricity, and the irresistible recommendation of wealth, the
+Tchitchikof mania spread over all ranks of society, and raged with the
+fury of a tornado by the evening of the very day upon which the host
+of the Eagle first delighted them with the news. In fact, so intense
+was the rage regarding him, that the landlord of that hostelry reaped
+a fortune from the constant drain upon his potables by inquisitive
+callers, and would have assuredly ceased to dispense strong drinks for
+evermore, had not the governor, in his vexation at the sequel of
+Tchitchikof's visit, found some pretext to despoil him of his gains,
+and a good round sum to boot. Various were the speculations as to the
+occupations and antecedents of Tchitchikof, and the business that had
+called him to Nikolsk. Enterprising mothers of families hoped that he
+was a Cossack C&oelig;lebs in search of a wife, and began, on the
+strength of the surmise, to lay plots for ensnaring him, justly
+considering that a fool with money is preferable to a sage without;
+landowners trembled at the idea of his being a government assessor,
+come to examine into the state of the properties, and assess
+accordingly; while government <i>employ&eacute;s</i>, knowing too well that a
+paternal government does not tolerate plundering in subordinates,
+shuddered, conscience-stricken, at the idea that he must be a St
+Petersburg inspector, come to Nikolsk with powers of scrutiny, and
+equally unlimited powers of knouting. Every class, therefore, received
+with joy the assurance, that, he was simply a private gentleman of
+fortune, travelling over Russia at his own sweet will. This mine host
+positively stated that he had heard Tchitchikof say with his own lips.
+This announcement delighted the officials and landowners, by removing
+their fears of the knout and taxes, and equally delighted the
+enterprising mammas, by increasing the probability of his visit being
+intimately connected with matrimonial intentions. It being thus
+definitely settled that there was nothing to be feared from
+Tchitchikof, the good folks of Nikolsk naturally took up the next
+position&mdash;that, being a stranger, and rich and eccentric, there was
+something to be gained from him. The leading passions of the
+Nikolskians being curiosity and avarice, their dealings with strangers
+were generally twofold&mdash;to scatter their ennui for a few days, by
+discovering their histories and affairs, and, where facts failed,
+calling in the aid of fancy; and when there was nothing more to be
+discovered or invented, to lighten their money-chests by all the
+tyranny that power dare venture on, or the effrontery that cunning
+could devise and execute. Their curiosity regarding Tchitchikof was
+soon baffled, by discovering, like Socrates, that all they knew was,
+that nothing could be known. In vain did mine host essay to pump him:
+with a show of the most voluble confidence, Tchitchikof contrived
+always virtually to tell nothing. In vain the postmaster looked among
+the letters with a lynx eye; not one word of writing ever came to
+Tchitchikof through the medium of the post. Their knowledge of him
+speedily resolved itself into this: that he was a dashing, handsome
+young man, of most refined and polished manners, eminently gifted with
+that self-possession which is the never-failing accompaniment of
+good-breeding and intercourse with what is termed good society,
+elegant in dress, and, as the host of the Eagle announced, decidedly
+eccentric. This eccentricity manifested itself in one way, and one
+only, and that altogether incomprehensible to the greedy
+Nikolskians&mdash;namely, a morbid desire to part with his money. If
+Tchitchikof met a serf on the highway, he would offer him a ruble for
+a stick, a cap, or any other article he wore, intrinsically not worth
+a handful of corn; and when the bewildered serf hesitated, would
+manifest the utmost anger and impatience until he had gained
+possession of the coveted article. With possession, his value for it
+ceased, and the dear purchase was generally consigned to the fire a
+few minutes after it was bought. However varied his freaks might be in
+detail, in spirit they were ever essentially the same; they ever
+consisted in making some worthless piece of lumber an excuse for
+lightening his purse of a ruble or two.</p>
+
+<p>The priest of the place was the first to find a solution of
+Tchitchikof's conduct. He asserted that Tchitchikof, in his love for
+money, had committed some fraud or some misdeed to obtain it, and that
+his conscience smiting him, he had sought ghostly solace from some
+minister, by whom he had been ordered, as adequate penance, to get off
+a certain portion per annum in bad bargains&mdash;thus at once doing good
+to the sellers and torturing the avaricious spirit of the penitential
+purchaser. To this the governor objected, with much force, that, money
+being the end of human existence, the gaining of it, by any means
+short of murder, must be laudable, and could sit heavily on no sane
+man's conscience; but being warned by the priest, that such arguments
+bordered on heresy, he shifted his ground, and maintained that
+Tchitchikof was much too young and too far from death to dream of
+penitence, even if he had committed such a crime; though he was
+evidently too reckless and devil-may-care to leave any dash of the
+miser in his composition. But the inspector of highways effectually
+knocked the clerical argument on the head, by saying, that had any
+priest thought it necessary, for the good of Tchitchikof's soul, that
+he should part with his money, he would have taken due care that,
+instead of it being squandered in Nikolsk, it had all gone to swell
+the revenues of Mother Church. The inspector of the hospital finally
+settled it to the satisfaction of all parties, by shewing, from
+attentive observation of Tchitchikof's conduct at the hospital, that
+he must be a monomaniac, whose particular insanity took the form of
+philanthropy; but that, believing that a gift debases the recipient,
+he dexterously contrived to <i>give</i> his assistance under the cloak of a
+purchase. Although his companions could not see how any man could be
+so insane as to fancy a serf could be debased, this opinion was
+unanimously adopted, and the whole community set their wits to work to
+make themselves objects of charity for the nonce, and so obtain a
+share in the plunder.</p>
+
+<p>Space will not permit, neither would the end of our story be advanced
+by, a detail of the numerous and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[pg 262]</a></span>adroit dodges the Nikolskians
+invented in order to work upon Tchitchikof's supposed philanthropy.
+Suffice it to say, that they were not in the least degree successful.
+It seemed as though you had only to appeal directly to Tchitchikof's
+charity to close up his bowels of compassion, and render him at once
+callous and niggardly. Perhaps, too, as some thought, he was as acute
+as he was eccentric, and could distinguish between real and feigned
+distress. However it might be, it was soon remarkably clear that
+Tchitchikof, madman though he was, was not to be done; and the baffled
+conspirators did not hesitate to say, that, after all, he was no such
+remarkable friend of his species; that he kept a keen eye on the main
+chance; and if it were his gratification to do good, he made a little
+go as far as it could, and was singularly blind to meritorious
+poverty. Accordingly, Tchitchikof having now been a fortnight in
+Nikolsk, was fast ceasing to be an object of interest, when his
+eccentricity broke out in a fresh place, and there seemed some
+likelihood of the children of Nikolsk, in the end, spoiling that
+Egyptian.</p>
+
+<p>It so happened, that at that time the landowners, or rather
+serf-owners, constituted the most depressed 'interest' in that portion
+of the Russian Empire. Not that they were suffering from free-trade of
+any kind, or clamouring for open or disguised protection: the cause of
+their depression was the prevalence of a deadly epidemic, which
+reduced the number of their serfs with remorseless vigour&mdash;combined
+with the tax which a paternal government levied on them, as a
+consideration for its maintaining them in their humane and Christian
+property. One of the principles of Russian taxation is this: that as
+every individual in the empire, European or Asiatic, is the child of
+the czar, owes him fealty and obedience, and receives protection,
+light, and glory from him, as from a central sun, so every individual
+owes in return a direct contribution to the fund by which the
+czar-father supports that light and glory. This is the theory of
+Russian taxation; but against its actual carrying out in fact, is
+opposed the old difficulty, that from him who has nothing, nothing can
+possibly be extracted; and as the poor serfs have no more means of
+paying taxes than the hogs and cattle their fellow-slaves, a
+considerate paternal government drops its theory, and makes the
+landowner pay the poll-tax for the slaves he possesses, much as an
+English gentleman pays taxes for his horses and dogs, horses and dogs
+being as little able to pay tax themselves as the Russian serf. Now,
+in a kind of deep irony, a serf is called a <i>soul</i>. M. K&mdash;&mdash; or M.
+T&mdash;&mdash; owns so many <i>souls</i>, Miss L&mdash;&mdash;'s marriage-portion was so many
+<i>souls</i>, Madame B&mdash;&mdash;'s dowry was a hundred <i>souls</i>; and this word
+soul only applies to the male serfs&mdash;women and children being given
+in, or there being only one soul per family among serfs. Well, a
+landowner paying so much per soul to the government, and it being a
+work of much time and trouble to take a census of souls every year, an
+estimate is made at long intervals&mdash;say ten or twenty years&mdash;and the
+landowner is compelled to pay accordingly till the period expires,
+whether the number of his serfs increase or diminish. It is therefore
+self-evident, that if the former occur&mdash;that if his serfs propagate
+their species with due rapidity&mdash;the serf-owner is a clear gainer
+during the interval between the soul-censuses, as he will be paying
+tax for a given number, while he is actually reaping the profit of the
+labour of treble or quadruple that number; while, if cholera, fever,
+or any other of the ills that flesh, and especially serf-flesh, is
+heir to, come and slay their thousands, the exact converse obtains,
+and he will be paying tax for a certain number, while he only reaps
+the profit of a third. In the latter case were the landowners of
+Nikolsk. Cholera had more than decimated the serfs; the impoverished
+owners regarded their unreaped fields and untilled lands and
+impoverished exchequers with a sigh&mdash;a sigh which deepened into a
+shudder, when they reflected how soon the collector would arrive with
+his inexorable demand for soul-tax. The landed interest is in no
+country, we believe, celebrated for bearing reverses with dignified
+composure; and the depressed condition of the serf-owning interest was
+as much noised abroad in that district, as a certain professedly
+depressed interest connected with the soil has been, and is, in
+another country we know of much nearer home.</p>
+
+<p>About a dozen miles from Nikolsk there dwelt a widow, Madame
+Korobotchka by name, who lived on her late husband's estate, and had
+suffered more than her neighbours by the prevalent serf mortality.
+Late one evening, when a violent storm was raging without, a stranger,
+who had been surprised in the storm, demanded the shelter of Madame
+Korobotchka's ch&acirc;teau till the morning; and as hospitality is a sacred
+duty in Russia, his demand was not only granted, but in a few minutes
+the stranger was seated as her <i>vis-&agrave;-vis</i> at the best repast her
+impoverished condition could afford.</p>
+
+<p>'You appear to have a nice property here, <i>matouchka</i>,' said the
+stranger, by way of opening a conversation. 'How many peasants have
+you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Peasants, <i>batiouchka</i>! At present, about eighty; but these are awful
+times. This year, we have had a frightful loss of them. Providence
+have pity on us!'</p>
+
+<p>'Nevertheless, your men look well enough, and&mdash;&mdash;But, pardon me&mdash;allow
+me to inquire to whom I am indebted for this hospitality? I am quite
+confused&mdash;arrived so suddenly and so late&mdash;I'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'My name is Korobotchka&mdash;my paternal name Nastasie Petrovna.'</p>
+
+<p>'Nastasie Petrovna! Beautiful name.'</p>
+
+<p>'And you, sir?' inquired Nastasie. And then added, palpitating with
+terror: 'Are you&mdash;surely not&mdash;are you&mdash;an assessor?'</p>
+
+<p>'O no!' was the reply. 'My name is Tchitchikof. I am no assessor; I
+travel on purely private business.'</p>
+
+<p>'I see: you have come to buy. How annoying! I've just sold all my
+honey to those thieves of merchants.'</p>
+
+<p>'It is of no consequence. I do not buy honey.'</p>
+
+<p>'Indeed! hemp, then? Dear me, and I have next to none.'</p>
+
+<p>'Never mind, matouchka,' said Tchitchikof. 'My business in these parts
+is different. You were mentioning that you have had many deaths here?'</p>
+
+<p>'Alas, yes! eighteen souls,' said Nastasie, sighing; 'and such fine
+fellows: and the worst is, I shall have to pay for them. The assessor
+arrives, you must pay what he demands&mdash;pay to a soul. Eighteen die&mdash;it
+is all one&mdash;you pay the same. They are frightful, they are ruinous,
+these deaths!'</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, Nastasie,' said Tchitchikof, 'it is the will of God: we must not
+murmur against Providence! But tell me&mdash;will you let me have them?'</p>
+
+<p>'Let you have what?'</p>
+
+<p>'Your dead souls.'</p>
+
+<p>'How can I let you have <i>them</i>?'</p>
+
+<p>'Nothing easier. Sell them to me: I will give you money for them.'</p>
+
+<p>'How! what! Do you want to disinter them?'</p>
+
+<p>'Disinter them! what nonsense; no!' cried Tchitchikof. 'You hand them
+over to me by a regular conveyance, and I pay you whatever we agree
+upon for them.'</p>
+
+<p>'And what will you do with them?' asked Nastasie in great surprise.</p>
+
+<p>'That is my business,' said Tchitchikof.</p>
+
+<p>'But you see they are dead.'</p>
+
+<p>'And who, in the name of goodness, said they were living?' cried he.
+'It's a misfortune for you that they are dead, isn't it? You pay the
+tax for them, don't you?&mdash;and that'll half-ruin you, you say. Well, I
+clear you of the tax for these eighteen dead ones&mdash;do you
+understand?&mdash;not only clear you of the tax, but give fifteen rubles
+into the bargain. Is that clear, or is it not?'</p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[pg 263]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'No&mdash;yes&mdash;I can't tell what to say. You see, I have never sold <i>dead</i>
+peasants before, and'&mdash;&mdash;-</p>
+
+<p>'It would be queer if you had,' cried Tchitchikof. 'Who'd buy them, do
+you think? It's my humour, my whim, to have them. I gain nothing by
+them&mdash;how can I?&mdash;and you gain everything. Cannot you see that?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes&mdash;but&mdash;really I don't know what to say. What puzzles me is, that
+they are dead.'</p>
+
+<p>'She hasn't the brains of a bullock,' exclaimed Tchitchikof
+indignantly. 'Listen, matouchka. Pay attention. You pay for them as if
+they were living: that will ruin you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, that is true indeed, batiouchka. In three months, I must pay one
+hundred and fifty rubles, and bribe the assessor to boot.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, then, I save you all that trouble. I pay for these eighteen&mdash;I,
+not you. When you sign the contract, I hand over the money. Do you
+understand now?'</p>
+
+<p>As Nastasie's cupidity excelled her stupidity, she did begin to
+understand; and after a little more hesitation and explanation,
+Tchitchikof drew up a formal conveyance of the eighteen souls,
+precisely as though they were bodies and souls, inserting their names,
+however, as a guarantee against his claiming any of Nastasie's living
+stock. Nastasie signed it, Tchitchikof paid the money, and, after a
+good night's rest, departed for Nikolsk, with the title-deed of the
+dead souls safely in his possession.</p>
+
+<p>Of course this new freak of Tchitchikof's was soon noised abroad, and
+in the eyes of the Nikolskians proved two things:&mdash;<i>1st</i>, That he was
+unmistakably mad, or philanthropic to a high degree; <i>2d</i>, That there
+was now a prospect of gaining something by said madness or
+philanthropy. Accordingly, all the serf-owners made it their business
+to drop in upon Tchitchikof in a purely casual manner; and contrived,
+after more or less higgling, to depart with a larger quantity of the
+current coin of Russia in their possession than they possessed on
+first seeking the interview. In a few days, Tchitchikof found himself
+possessed of 2000 souls, at the moderate cost of 19,500 rubles. Dead
+souls were getting quite a scarce article; and, on the true principles
+of supply and demand, some enterprising Nikolskians were about to
+import some defunct souls from a distance, when suddenly, one morning,
+the host of the Eagle announced, that at dead of the previous night,
+Tchitchikof had departed, bag and baggage and souls.</p>
+
+<p>This sudden departure created a great sensation. All the old theories
+about Tchitchikof revived; and the general opinion seemed to be, that
+it was all a deep-laid scheme of some irresponsible man in authority,
+the end whereof was to be suffering in some shape or other to the good
+people of Nikolsk; until the inspector of the hospital, the Nikolsk
+Socrates, proved clearly, by unassailable argumentation, that
+Tchitchikof was mad; that his exit was in exact keeping with his
+conduct during his sojourn; and that they might repose in the peace of
+easy consciences, proud that they had made the most of his insanity.</p>
+
+<p>Now for the <i>d&eacute;nouement</i>. At St Petersburg is or was a bank
+established by a paternal government for this most laudable purpose:
+what with deaths, taxes, and the natural extravagance that seems to
+accompany the possession of land in all countries, the Russian
+landowners are often embarrassed, and were driven, before this bank
+was established, to seek assistance from usurious Jews, the end of
+which was frequently total ruin, and a Hebraicising of the race of
+landowners, not pleasant to a Russian and a Christian czar. Therefore
+this bank was established to lend money to distressed members of the
+landed interest; compelled by its charter to lend 200 rubles per soul,
+at a given interest and time, to every landowner who should deposit
+his title-deeds with the bank. On a certain day very soon after
+Tchitchikof's abrupt exit from Nikolsk, a solicitor applies at this
+bank for a loan of 400,000 rubles on the security of 2000 souls. The
+title-deeds are examined&mdash;found correct; the money is paid; and in a
+few days afterwards M. Tchitchikof and the money are both out of the
+jurisdiction of the czar.</p>
+
+<p>The time for repayment arrives. The bank hears nothing of M.
+Tchitchikof. A letter is sent to Nikolsk: no reply. Another of a
+threatening nature: still no reply. Finally, a special agent is
+despatched, and finds neither Tchitchikof nor security; but gradually
+collects the particulars of his visit, as narrated above, and returns
+to report progress, or no progress, to his superiors. There is nothing
+for it, one would think, but to write off the 400,000 rubles as a
+clear loss, and think no more of it. But a paternal government knows
+better than that. It adjudges that the Nikolskians are virtually
+accessaries to the fraud; apportions the loan among the sellers of the
+souls, and compels repayment. So that the Nikolskians have to
+conclude, in reflecting on M. Tchitchikof, not without acerbity and a
+certain uncharitableness of spirit, that if he were a friend of his
+species, he limited <i>his</i> species to himself; and if he were mad,
+there was a very clear and profitable method in his madness.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the principal actor in this little Russian episode, as the
+Baron von Rabenstein, captivates the hearts of our English ladies at
+the ball-room, and empties the pockets of our English gentlemen at the
+<i>rouge et noir</i> table in the fashionable German watering-place of
+Lugundtrugbad. And without disparaging his patriotism, or natural love
+of country, we believe we speak advisedly when we state, that he has
+not the slightest idea of returning, within anything like a limited
+period, to the territories of his autocratic majesty.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="SPELLING-BOOK_VERSUS_HORN-BOOK" id="SPELLING-BOOK_VERSUS_HORN-BOOK"></a>SPELLING-BOOK <i>VERSUS</i> HORN-BOOK.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">Nothing</span> is considered a more shocking mark of defective education than
+<i>false spelling</i>, or <i>bad spelling</i>, or <i>misspelling</i>&mdash;all which terms
+are used to express one's spelling a word in some way which the critic
+does not approve; that is, does not consider the right way. But this
+is plainly assuming that there is but one right way. Begging his
+pardon, is he quite certain that there must be true and false, good
+and bad, right and wrong ways of spelling every word in every
+language, or even in our own? It seems very doubtful. At all events,
+we must, I think, tether the critic to his own particular period, and
+not let him range up and down at his pleasure, condemning the past and
+legislating for the future.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt there is at this time a common and usual way of spelling most
+words, which may claim to be called the right way, or <i>orthography</i>.
+It is equally certain, that for any individual writer to depart from
+that way, is anything but a mark of wisdom. At the same time, it would
+not be difficult to specify a considerable number of words, of which
+the spelling has only recently been made what it is, and about which,
+even now, doubts may be raised.</p>
+
+<p>But this is hardly worth mentioning, for it is clear that there is,
+generally speaking, a mode of spelling the English language which is
+followed by all well-educated persons; and as, according to
+Quintilian, the <i>consensus eruditorum</i> forms the <i>consuetudo
+sermonis</i>, so this usage of spelling, adopted by general consent of
+the learned, becomes a law in the republic of literature. My object is
+not to insist on what is so plain and notorious, but rather to call
+attention to a fact which many readers do not know, and many others do
+not duly consider. I mean this fact&mdash;that three or four hundred years
+ago there was no such settled rule. Not that a different mode was
+recognised, but that there was no recognised mode. There was no idea
+in the minds of persons who had occasion to write, that any such thing
+existed, for in fact it did not exist; and the adoption of this or
+that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[pg 264]</a></span>mode was a matter of taste or accident, rather than of duty or
+propriety. Thus it was that the writer who spelt (or spelled, for we
+have some varieties still) a word variously in different parts of the
+same book or document, and even the printer whose own name appeared
+one way on the title-page and another on the colophon, was not
+contradicting his contemporaries or himself: he was not breaking the
+law, for there was none to break&mdash;or, at least, none that could be
+broken in that way. He would, perhaps, have said to the same effect,
+though not so elegantly as Quintilian: 'For my part, except where
+there is any established custom to the contrary, I think everything
+should be written as it is sounded; for the use of letters is to
+preserve sounds, and render them, as things which they have been
+holding in trust, to the reader.' In short, the people of England, in
+these old times, had a law of their own, though it did not manifest
+itself in a fixed mode of spelling, but differed from ours, and,
+indeed, was based on a very different principle. Perhaps I might say,
+that they were brought up, not to the Spelling-book, but the
+Horn-book.</p>
+
+<p>By this, I mean that the critic of modern times has been no doubt well
+drilled in the spelling-book, soundly rated if he was guilty of a
+misspelling, and made to understand that it was next to impossible for
+him to commit a more disgusting barbarism; while his
+many-times-great-grandfather (the scholar of Lily, perhaps we might
+almost say of Busby) went through no such discipline. He was, as I
+have said, brought up on the horn-book.</p>
+
+<p>Now, I grant that, generally, the major includes the minor; and a
+man's being able to read is <i>prima facie</i> evidence that he knows his
+letters; yet it is possible that the modern many-times-great-grandson
+may indulge in as much laxity respecting <i>letters</i>, as his ancestor
+did with regard to <i>words</i>. Just try the experiment. Go round to
+half-a-dozen printers, and ask them to print for you the first letter
+of the alphabet. They will understand you, and you will understand me,
+without my puzzling the workman who is to print this&mdash;if it is
+printed&mdash;by naming the letter here. Apply to them, I say, successively
+to print this letter for you. It is not likely that any one of them
+will ask you: 'What shape will you have it?' because that is not a
+technical mode of expression among printers; but if any one should do
+so, you would perhaps answer with some surprise: 'Why, the right shape
+to be sure. Do not you know your letters, and are not your first,
+second, and third letters, and all through the alphabet, of the right
+shape? Only take care that you do not make this first one in the shape
+of the second, or third, or any of those which follow, for the whole
+set are distinguished from one another simply and purely by their
+<i>shape</i>.'</p>
+
+<p>As I have said, however, if you applied to a practical man, he would
+not put the question in this form. At the same time, he certainly
+would put it in another. He would perhaps say: 'What type will you
+have? Shall it be Roman, Italic, Black-letter, Script, or any of the
+grotesque inventions of modern fancy?' You immediately become aware
+that your order is too indefinite to be acted on without some further
+specification. As, however, it is immaterial to you in a matter of
+mere experiment, you say at once 'Roman.' Does that settle it?&mdash;not at
+all: the question of form and shape is as wide open as ever. The Upper
+Case and Lower Case in a printing-office differ as much as the Upper
+House and Lower House in parliament or convocation. Is it to be a
+great 'A,' or a little 'a?' A great 'A,' I need not tell you, though
+quite the same in sound and value, is no more like a little 'a,' than
+a great 'B' is like a little 'b.'</p>
+
+<p>As to writing also, as well as printing&mdash;set half-a-dozen critics
+separately and apart to write a capital 'A,' and see how far the
+letters which they will produce agree in form and shape&mdash;I do not say
+with any in the printer's stock, for not one will do that, we may be
+certain, but with each other. One scribe will probably make something
+like an inverted cornucopia, or wiredrawn extinguisher; and one will
+cross it with a dash, and another with a loop; while another will make
+a letter wholly different&mdash;something that shall look like a pudding
+leaning against a trencher set on edge&mdash;something that is only a great
+'A' by courtesy, being in fact nothing but an overgrown little 'a;'
+bearing the same proportion to a common 'a' as an alderman does to a
+common man, and looking as if it had been invented by some municipal
+scribe or official whose eye was familiar with the outline of
+recumbent obesity.</p>
+
+<p>But notwithstanding these and many other variations, you freely allow
+that each of your friends has made a capital 'A.' You do not dream of
+saying that one is right, and all the rest are wrong. The taste and
+the skill of their penmanship may be various, and the judgment of good
+and bad goes so far, but it knows better than to go further. Your
+toleration on this point is unbounded. If you can but make it out, you
+say, without the least emotion of resentment or contempt: 'Mr A.
+always makes <i>his</i> Bs in this way;' and 'Mrs C. always makes her Ds in
+that way.' <i>Their</i> Bs and Ds forsooth! Yes: 'every man his own
+alphabet-maker.' Why not, if you do but understand him? Right or
+wrong, the fact is that, come in what shape it may, you take what
+stands for 'A' to <i>be</i> 'A,' with all the rights and qualities annexed
+to that letter. Except so far as taste is concerned, you do not think
+of rebuking the self-complacent type-founder, who prides himself on
+having produced a new form which all the world will admit to be a
+genuine 'A,' as soon as they make out that it was meant for one.</p>
+
+<p>I have thought it worth while to say all this about letters, because I
+believe that it will illustrate what was once upon a time nearly true
+as to words. The principle of those who had occasion to write in those
+early times was, so far as circumstances allowed, just opposite to
+that of the modern critics who find fault with their practice. They
+made that which, notwithstanding its fluctuations, we may call 'the
+constant quantity' to be the sound, exactly as we do with the
+multiform As and Bs just noticed. On the other hand, modern purists
+consider, not altogether incorrectly as to the fact, that the notation
+has somehow been settled and fixed, and they are disposed to force the
+sound into conformity. 'B, y, spells by,' said Lord Byron; and what he
+settled for himself, the spelling-book has settled for the rest of the
+world and all the words in it.</p>
+
+<p>The circumstances of those who wrote English some centuries ago, may
+be considered as bearing some analogy to those of modern English
+authors who have occasion to write down Oriental words in English
+letters, and who are therefore obliged to make the characters which we
+use represent sounds which we do not utter. Of course there can only
+be an approximation. Writers feel that there is a discretion, and use
+it freely. It is easy for one after another to imagine that he has
+improved on the spelling of his predecessors. How many variegations
+and transmogrifications has the name of one unhappy Eastern tongue
+undergone since the days when Athanasius Kircher discoursed of the
+Hanscreet tongue of the Brahmins? I am almost afraid to write the name
+of Vishnoo, for I do not remember to have seen it in any book
+published within these five years; and what it may have come to by
+this time, I cannot guess. To a certain point, I think, this
+progressive purification of the mode of representing Eastern sounds
+has been acceptable to the world of letters; but the reading-public
+have shewn that there is a point at which they may lose patience. They
+not long ago decided that Haroun Alraschid, and Giafar, and Mesrour,
+and even the Princess Badroulboudour, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[pg 265]</a></span>and the fair slave
+Nouzhatoul-aouadat, had all 'proper names,' and refused to part with
+the friends of their youth for a more correctly named set of persons
+never before heard of.</p>
+
+<p>This by the way, however; for the main object of these remarks is to
+convey and impress the idea, that what naturally seems to us the
+strange and uncouth spelling of former times, was not a proof of the
+gross, untaught ignorance which it would now indicate. The purpose of
+the writer in those days was, not to spell accurately words which
+there was no strict rule for spelling, but to note down words in such
+a way as to enable those who had not heard them to reproduce them, and
+to impart their sense through the eye to those who should only see
+them. One of the finest proofs and specimens of this which we possess,
+is to be found in a sort of historical drama, now about three hundred
+years old, written by Bishop Bale, one of the most learned men of his
+time, and still existing, partly in his hand-writing, and partly in
+another hand, with his autograph corrections.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> Certainly the prelate
+and the scribe between them did, as we should consider it, most
+atrociously murder the king and queen's English&mdash;for I suppose it
+would be hard to say how much of it belonged to Edward, and how much
+to Elizabeth; and there is something quite surprising in the prolific
+ingenuity with which they evade what we should consider the obvious
+and natural spelling. For instance, one of the <i>dramatis person&aelig;</i>, and
+a very important one, is an allegorical person called 'Civil Order;'
+but I believe that the word 'civil' thus spelled never occurs in the
+whole work, though seven other modes of spelling it are to be found
+there. What then? You know what the writer means by cyvill, cyvyll,
+cyvyle, sivyll, syvyll, sivile, and syvile. Only say it out, and don't
+be afraid. It is mere nervousness that hinders people from reading old
+spelling. Clear your throat, and set off at full speed, and the top of
+your voice, with the following paragraph. Do not stop to think; take
+the raspers without looking at them, and you will find that you get
+over the ground wonderfully:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'The suttle munkych rewlars in furdewhodes rewled the pepell with
+suttyll rewles. But some of the pepyll were sedycyows scysmatyckes,
+and did puplyshe them for dysgysyd ipocryts, full of desseyvable gylle
+and covytous hydolatrie of luker. And these sysmatykes could in no
+wysse indewer that lords, nowther dewks, nor yet the kings mageste,
+nor even the empowr, should ponnysh any vylayn. Because, say they,
+peples in general, as well as peplys in particular (that is, yehe man
+and his ayers), hath an aunchant and ondowghted right to do his
+dessyer attonys. "Yea sewer," said a myry fellawe (for such as be
+myrie will make myrye jests)&mdash;"even as good right as a pertre to yield
+peres, and praty pygys to eat them."'</p>
+
+<p>It is, of course, only for the spelling, or various spellings, of
+these words that the bishop is responsible, they being here
+arbitrarily brought together from various parts of his work merely to
+form a specimen. There can be no doubt that he would have pronounced
+the words 'people' and 'merry' in one uniform manner wherever they
+occur; but it is curious to consider how little we can judge
+respecting the pronunciation of our forefathers. Their <i>litera scripta
+manet</i>; but how they vocalised it, we cannot always decide. If the
+reader takes up any edition of Sternhold and Hopkins, printed less
+than a hundred years ago, he may, I believe, read in Psalm lxxix&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">O God, the Gentiles do invade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">thine heritage to spoil:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jerusalem an heap is made&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">thy temple they defile.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Any one who is aware how many of what are called 'vulgarisms' in
+pronunciation are in fact 'archaisms,' will naturally think that the
+ancient pronunciation of 'spoil,' like the modern vulgar one, was
+'spile.' But if he goes to one old black letter&mdash;say that printed by
+John Windet for the assignees of Richard Day in 1593&mdash;he will find in
+the fourth line 'defoile;' and if he goes to another edition he may
+find 'defoyle;' and he will learn that in speculating on such matters,
+he must be on his guard against modernisers, and go to originals. Even
+then the rhymes of our ancestors teach us much less of their
+pronunciation than we might expect; and the curious glimpses which we
+sometimes get from them, and from other sources, are only enough to
+make us wish for more. Take, for instance, Master Holofernes's
+vituperation of Don Adrian de Armado in <i>Love's Labour Lost</i>, and see
+what you can make of it: 'I abhor such phantasms, such insociable and
+point-devise companions, such rackers of orthography, as to speak
+<i>dout</i> fine, when he should say <i>doubt</i>; <i>det</i>, when he should
+pronounce <i>debt</i>; d, e, b, t; not d, e, t; he clepeth a calf, <i>cauf</i>;
+half, <i>hauf</i>; neighbour vocatur <i>nebour</i>; neigh abbreviated <i>ne</i>: this
+is abominable, which we would call <i>abhominable</i>.' Such a passage is
+curious, coming from one of whom it was asked: 'Monsieur, are you not
+lettered?' and answered: 'Yes, yes; he teaches boys the Horn-book.'</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> <i>Kynge Johan</i>, a Play in Two Parts. By John Bale. Edited
+for the Camden Society by J. Payne Collier, Esq., F. S. A., from the
+Manuscript of the Author in the Library of the Duke of Devonshire.
+1838.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="A_FEW_WORDS_ABOUT_ROOMS_AND_THEIR_ORNAMENTS" id="A_FEW_WORDS_ABOUT_ROOMS_AND_THEIR_ORNAMENTS"></a>A FEW WORDS ABOUT ROOMS AND THEIR ORNAMENTS.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">The</span> sun shines brightly to-day, and his beams glance lovingly from the
+flowers without to those within the room, and rest upon the 'Eve' that
+stands among them; the light is toned into softness by this green
+drapery, and reminds us of the leaves and tracery which peep in at the
+windows. We find, in the effect of the whole, such a delicate reflex
+of the nature outside, that we live with a half-conscious perception
+that but a tent-like division exists between us and the birds and
+blossoms in the garden. We love this room as we do few others, not for
+the evidences of wealth in it, though these exist, but because the
+idea regulating its arrangement is predominant through all its
+details. Affection and love of beauty were present at its creation for
+home-life, and worked it into harmony. All rooms might have this kind
+of beauty, subject only to slight modifications from position and
+wealth.</p>
+
+<p>Character, in reality, has everything to do with it. Rooms tell us
+much of their inhabitants. No one will doubt who remembers the stiff,
+formal arrangement of the drawing-room 'at school,' where the chairs
+stood in the primmest rows and couples, and the whole place breathed
+such an air of strict propriety, that we doubted whether a hearty
+laugh would not be unbecoming in it; or the uncomfortable, seldom
+used, conventional drawing-room, which has such fine-looking,
+unreadable books on its polished tables; or the cheerful tiny room of
+the friend who has very little money, but very much taste, and who
+hangs an engraving there, and puts flowers here, and makes a shrine
+out of an ordinary garret. In some rooms, we see that life is
+respectably got through in a routine of eating, sleeping,
+comfort-loving; in others, that it glances to the stars, and lives
+with the flowers; in others, again, that it finds out good in shady
+nooks or crowded cities, and is filled with affection and
+intelligence.</p>
+
+<p>There are very few rooms, except among the poorest and most degraded,
+that have not in them some indications of the love of beauty, which is
+so universal in human nature. Influenced by the same feeling, the
+cottager's wife scours her tins, arranges her little cupboard of cups
+and saucers, buys barbarous delineations of 'Noah in the Ark,' or
+'Christ with the Elders,' from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[pg 266]</a></span>the pedler; and the nobleman collects
+around him all he thinks precious in bronze or painting. Cleanliness
+and order are certainly the simplest manifestations of the love of the
+beautiful in the household&mdash;the germ, which the feeling in its highest
+development must include; but too many among us remain satisfied with
+the lower form, and from some reason or other, fail to see the further
+gratification that is possible to all. Nature, however, stimulates and
+satisfies this love everywhere, and society in many directions is
+following in her footsteps. Let us see what can be done in the matter.
+After all, rooms must still retain the impress of the character of
+their inhabitants. Yes; but there are certain general rules which all
+who do arrange them would do well to remember. In the first place,
+they should be well lighted, and as thoroughly ventilated as they can
+be made; the eye should be pleased with their general effect; no
+detail of colouring or furniture should mar it; they should be filled
+with gentle relief, not uniformity of colour; and there should be as
+many waving lines, instead of angles, as possible. They should contain
+all things necessary to their several characters, but nothing very
+superfluous; and their whole arrangement should indicate, and be
+subservient to, the idea that prompted it. Above all, they should have
+in them some thing, or things, to soothe the thoughts, stimulate the
+fancy, and suggest something higher than the ordinary uses which they
+serve. Human beings, even in the life of a day, experience many
+fluctuations of mood, of joy or sadness; and there should be some
+thing, if not person, in their homes, that would suggest to them mute
+sympathy and comfort.</p>
+
+<p>Are we sad? It is winter now, and these hyacinth bulbs are unsightly,
+but spring will bring flowers to them, as time and patience will to
+us. Are we glad? These roses and geraniums glow in the sunbeams, and
+we rejoice together. Are we dull? That beautiful Greek form rouses us
+into activity again. Are we weary of climbing, and dissatisfied with
+our want of success? Turn to that Raphael, and let us remember, that
+all who faint not by the way, and aspire worthily, shall at length be
+transfigured in the light of truth and beauty. There are few if any
+rooms that need be without some such suggestion and comfort. Nature
+offers them lavishly to all who care to seek them; and first, and most
+generously, her loveliest of treasures, flowers, which are the
+brightest of drawing-room accessories, as well as the sweetest of
+cottage adornments. Sea-weed, too&mdash;which is more difficult to get, but
+when arranged with taste, is so exquisite in colour&mdash;is a sweet
+remembrance of sea-side beaches and the odour of the spray. Bits of
+pine-bark and fir-cones are beautiful as to colour, and bring back to
+us pictures of woods gleaming in the western light, and well-known
+landscapes seen through vistas of tall stems; sprays of clematis and
+bryony, a group of ivy-leaves, or bunch of ripe corn, require nothing
+but a little graceful arrangement to throw a light of beauty over many
+a dull corner. But some of these ornaments are perishable, and can but
+delight us for awhile. We must have something more permanent. Ah,
+then, there are shells which still echo faintly the delicious murmur
+of the waves, and reflect all the colours of sea and sky together; one
+or two of them we must secure: the graceful nautilus, from whose mouth
+shall hang in summer some pendent blossoms; and that Venus's ear,
+which glitters in the sunbeams as it lies upon the table, and bears
+the impress of spirits' wings upon its inner surface. Bronzes,
+marbles, and paintings can be purchased only by the wealthy, so we
+will not speak of them; we will see them as often as we can in public
+galleries, and meanwhile rejoice that such fine substitutes in plaster
+and engraving may become ours. These are yearly becoming more common
+among us; and treasures of antique and modern art, Grecian gods, and
+Italian Madonnas, may be our own household delights by the expenditure
+of a few shillings. Of course, to the taste and requirements of each
+individual must be left the selection of the kind and character of the
+beauty he desires to have around him.</p>
+
+<p>Some subjects in art are best suited for enjoyment in rooms destined
+for solitary use, others for those of general resort&mdash;some touch us
+peculiarly in one mood, some are welcome to us in all. Of this last
+character 'St Catherine borne by Angels' is a specimen: the earth
+sinks beneath them, they fly so swiftly and yet so calmly! we are in
+the air too with them, and mark how small the world looks, with its
+burdens of wrong and suffering, as we cleave our way through the
+fields of ether up towards the stars; and that lovely one the spirits
+hold so tenderly, how still and calm is every line!&mdash;she is at peace
+after the storm and the agony, and for a space we lie still as she in
+those angel arms. Of the same class is Raphael's 'Transfiguration,'
+which is magnificent if we only contemplate the grouping of the
+figures, but truly sublime in the ideas it suggests. Flaxman's
+'Mercury and Pandora' likewise, elegant and graceful in the highest
+degree, is peculiarly suited for generally used rooms and constant
+delight. But specimens crowd into our recollection for which we have
+not space. General sitting-rooms can bear a <i>variety</i> of subject and
+suggestion&mdash;they will have a variety of inhabitants or visitors; and
+while bearing the impress of a certain unity, they should contain
+pleasure for all, and stimuli for differing minds. We would not
+habitually admit in them works of art which rouse too painful a class
+of emotions. Fuseli's picture of 'Count Ugolino in Prison,' in which
+the stony fixedness of despair deprives us, as we gaze, almost of the
+living hope within us, we could not bear to have near us habitually.
+That wonderfully beautiful marble of Francesca di Rimini and her
+lover, which appeared in the Great Exhibition last year, would come
+under the same law of banishment. It realised so perfectly the
+hopelessness of hell, that at sight of it we swooned in spirit as
+Dante did in reality. Life has so many stern realities for most of us,
+that in art we need relief, and generally desire to find renewed hope
+and faith through delight and gladness.</p>
+
+<p>In rooms where we need care to please only ourselves, we can follow
+our own tastes more entirely and freely. In them, shall we not have a
+Madonna whose 'eyes are homes of silent prayer?'&mdash;a copy of De la
+Roche's 'Christ,' so touching in its sad and noble serenity? or some
+bust or engraving of poet or hero, which shall be to us as a
+biography, never failing to stimulate us in the best direction? Or
+shall we have a copy of that fine Mercury, who stands resting lightly
+on the earth with one foot, and raised, outstretched arms, in the act
+of ascending from it&mdash;the embodiment of aspiration? All these things
+are symbols of noble thought, and they may belong to us as easily now
+as a copy of Bacon or Shakspeare. Here is great cause for rejoicing.
+Fantastic furniture, old china, and such-like things, will one day be
+superseded in drawing-rooms, just as the old, barbarously-coloured
+'Noahs' and 'Abrahams' of the cottage may now easily be by pictures in
+better perspective and purer taste. Then there will be danger of
+crowding rooms with good things&mdash;a great mistake also: an ornament
+should have a simple background, should 'shew like metal on a sullen
+ground.' Rooms, from temptations of wealth or taste, should never
+become mere pretty curiosity-shops. Forbearance and self-control are
+necessary in this as in all things. 'To gild refined gold' is worse
+than useless.</p>
+
+<p>Let us not question the need of such thought and care for mere
+dwelling-places. Are not rooms the nurseries of the young spirits
+among us, the resting-places of all others on their pilgrimage? And
+because <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[pg 267]</a></span>everything is important that influences and educates the
+soul, love and thought shall work together in our homes, and create in
+all details something akin to the universal harmony they should
+typify.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="INVESTMENTS" id="INVESTMENTS"></a>INVESTMENTS!</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">What</span> is to be done with the money which is realised in the ordinary
+course of affairs, has latterly become a kind of puzzle. There it goes
+on accumulating as a result of industry; but what then? A person can
+but eat one dinner in the day; two or three coats are about all he
+needs for the outer man; he can but live in one house at a time; and,
+in short, after paying away all he needs to pay, he finds that he has
+not a little over for&mdash;investment. Since our young days, this word
+investment has come remarkably into use. All are looking for
+investments; and as supply ordinarily follows demand, up there rise,
+at periodical intervals, an amazing number of plans for the said
+investments&mdash;in plain English, relieving people of their money. A few
+years ago, railways were the favourite absorbents. Railways, on a
+somewhat more honest principle, may possibly again have their day.
+Meanwhile, the man of money has opened up to him a very comprehensive
+field for the investment of his cash: he can send it upon any mission
+he chooses; he may dig turf with it, or he may dig gold; he may catch
+whales, or he may catch sprats, or do fifty other things; but if he
+see it again after having relinquished his hold upon it, he must have
+exercised more discretion than falls to the lot of the majority of Her
+Majesty's lieges in their helter-skelter steeple-chasing after 20 per
+cent. Our present business, however, is not with legitimate
+speculation, but with schemes in which no discretion is exercised, or
+by which discretion is set to sleep&mdash;in a word, with bubble
+investments; and the history of many of the most promising of these
+speculations may be read in the following brief and not altogether
+mythical biography, of an interesting specimen which suddenly fell
+into a declining way, and is supposed to have lately departed this
+life.</p>
+
+<p>The Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company was
+born from the brain of Aurophilus Dobrown, Esq., of Smallchange Dell,
+in the county of Middlesex, between the hours of ten and eleven at
+night on the 14th of October 1851. It was at first a shapeless and
+unpromising bantling; but being introduced to the patronage of a
+conclave of experienced drynurses, it speedily became developed in
+form and proportion; and before it was ten days old, was formally
+introduced, with official garniture, to the expectant public, by whom
+it was received with general approbation and favour. The new company,
+in a dashing prospectus, held forth a certain prospect of enormous
+advantages to shareholders, with an entire exemption from
+responsibility of every sort. The shares were a million in number, at
+one pound each, without any further call&mdash;on the loose-cash principle,
+and no signing of documents. Aurophilus Dobrown was chairman of the
+committee of management.</p>
+
+<p>The intentions of the company, as detailed at length in their eloquent
+prospectus, were to invade the gold regions of the Australian
+continent with a monster engine, contrived by the indefatigable
+Crushcliff, and which, it was confidently expected, would devour the
+soil of the auriferous district at a rate averaging about three tons
+per minute. It was furnished, so the engineer averred, with a stomach
+of 250 tons capacity, supplied with peristaltic grinders of steel of
+the most obdurate temper, enabling it with ease to digest the hardest
+granite rocks, to crush the masses of quartz into powder, and to
+deposit the virgin gold upon a sliding floor underneath. The machine
+was to be set in motion by the irresistible force of 'the pressure
+from without,' and 1000 pounds-weight of pure gold per diem was
+considered a very low estimate of its powers of production. These
+reasonable expectations being modestly set forth in circulars and
+public advertisements, and backed by the august patronage of the
+respectable and responsible individuals above named, the Long Range
+Excavator Company speedily grew into vast repute. The starving herd
+encamped in Stagg's Alley, flew at once to pen, ink, and paper, and
+applications for shares poured in by thousands. Referees were hunted
+up, or they were not&mdash;that is no great matter. Half a million of the
+shares were duly allotted; and that done, to the supreme delectation
+of the stags, Mr Stickemup the broker, in conjunction with his old
+friend and colleague Mr Knockemoff, fixed the price of shares by an
+inaugural transaction of considerable amount, at 25 per cent. above
+par, at which they went off briskly. Now were the stags to be seen
+flying in every direction, eager to turn a penny before the inevitable
+hour appointed for payment on the shares. It was curious to observe
+the gradual wane of covetousness in the cerval mind; how, as the
+fateful hour approached, their demand for profit grew small by degrees
+and beautifully less. From 4s. premium per share to 3s.; from 3s. to
+2s.; from 2s. to 1s.; and thence to such a thing as 9d., 8d., 7d., and
+still downwards, till, as the hand of the dial verged upon the closing
+stroke of the bell, they condescended to resign their Long Range
+Excavators to the charge of buyers who <i>could</i> pay for the shares they
+held. The company was now fairly afloat. By the aid of</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>A few clever riggers to put on the pot,<br /></span>
+<span>To stir it round gently, and serve while 'twas hot,<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>the shares rose higher than had been expected. Aurophilus Dobrown sold
+his 50,000 at a handsome premium, and realised what he was pleased
+privately to term 'something substantial' by the speculation. The
+public became enthusiastic on the subject of the Long Range
+Excavators, and for a few short weeks they were the favourite
+speculation of the market. By and by, however, a rumour began to be
+whispered about on the subject of the monster-machine, the stomach of
+which, it was secretly hinted, was alarmingly out of order, and
+resisted all the tonics of the engineer. It was currently reported
+among parties most interested, that from late experiments made,
+previous to embarkation, it had been ascertained beyond a doubt, that
+though the peristaltic apparatus digested pints with perfect ease, it
+yet rejected quartz&mdash;a defect which it was but too plain would be
+fatal to the production of gold. The effect of this rumour was most
+alarmingly depressing upon the value of the shares. In a few days,
+they fell 50 per cent. below par, with few buyers even at that. At
+this juncture, it was discovered that one of the directors was
+actively bearing the market; but the discovery was not made before
+that disinterested personage, who had previously disposed of the whole
+of his original allotment at a handsome premium, had secured above
+10,000 new shares at a cost of about half their upset value. A
+colleague openly accused him of this disgraceful traffic at a general
+meeting of the directors, and declared that he had not words to
+express his disgust at one who, for the sake of his own personal
+profit, could condescend to depreciate the property of his
+constituents. The accused retorted, and the meeting growing stormy and
+abusive, ended late at night with closed doors.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after, affairs again began to take a turn upwards. The
+failure of the engine was declared to be an erroneous and altogether
+unfounded report. It was boldly asserted, that the small model-engine
+of one inch to the foot, had actually crushed several masses of Scotch
+granite, and eliminated seven or eight ounces of pure metal; and these
+specimens were exhibited under a glass-case in the office of the
+company, in proof of their triumphant success. Now the shares <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[pg 268]</a></span>rose
+again as rapidly as they had lately fallen, and honourable gentlemen
+who had held on, had an opportunity of turning themselves round. It is
+to be supposed that some of them at least did that to their
+satisfaction; at anyrate, the respectable and responsible concocters
+of the Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company
+very soon began to turn their backs upon the public altogether. By
+degrees, the whole body of directors, trustees, counsel and agents,
+dwindled down to a solitary clerk paring his nails in a deserted
+office. Shares at a discount of 60, 70, 80, 90 per cent. attested the
+decline of the speculation. Honourable gentlemen were reported to have
+gone upon their travels. The office was at first 'temporarily closed,'
+and then let to the new company for Bridging the Dardanelles on the
+Tubular Principle. The engine of the Long Range Excavators, according
+to the last report, had foundered&mdash;but whether in the brain of
+Crushcliff, the engineer, or on the Scilly Rocks, we could not clearly
+make out. The only one of the original promoters who has latterly
+condescended to gratify the gaze of the public, is the Baron
+Badlihoff, who, a few days ago, made his appearance on the
+monkey-board of an omnibus, whence he was suddenly escorted by
+policeman B. 1001, to the presence of a magistrate, who
+unsympathisingly transferred him to Clerkenwell Jail, for certain
+paltry threepenny defalcations, due to a lapse of memory which our
+shameful code persists in regarding as worthy of incarceration and
+hard labour. He is now an active member of a company legally
+incorporated under government sanction, for grinding the wind upon the
+revolving principle. It is not precisely known when the first dividend
+on the Long Range Excavators will be declared. Sanguine speculators in
+the L. R. E., and the Thames Conflagration Company, expect to draw
+both dividends on the same day. In the meantime, the books are safe in
+the custody of Messrs Holdem Tight and Brass, of Thieves' Inn; and
+ill-natured people are not wanting, who insinuate that they constitute
+the only property available for the benefit of the shareholders.</p>
+
+<p>Let us now take a glance at a snug little commercial bubble, blown
+into being by 'highly respectable men,' a private affair altogether,
+which never had a name upon 'Change, and was managed&mdash;we cannot say to
+the satisfaction of all parties&mdash;by the originating contrivers,
+without making any noise in the papers, or exciting public attention
+in any way. We will call it, for the sake of a name, 'The Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company.' Lowriver is a pleasant, genteel
+little village, which has of late years sprung suddenly into existence
+on the coast of &mdash;&mdash;shire, and has been growing, for the last seven
+years, with each succeeding summer, more and more a place of favourite
+resort with the inhabitants of Babel. Mr Montague Whalebone took an
+early liking to the place, and built a row of goodly houses by the
+water-side, and a grand hotel at the end of the few stumps of pitchy
+stakes dignified by the name of the pier. But the hotel lacked
+customers, and the houses wanted tenants; and the whole affair
+threatened to fall a prey to river-fog and mildew, when the Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company came to the rescue, and placed it
+upon a permanent and expansive footing. Of the original constitution
+of this snug company, it is not easy to say anything with certainty.
+All we know is, that, some seven years ago, it was currently spoken of
+in private circles as a capital investment for money, supposing only
+that shares could be got: <i>that</i> was the difficult thing. Large
+dividends were to be realised by building four steamers, and running
+them between Babel and Lowriver. Upon the neat hot-pressed prospectus,
+privately and sparingly circulated&mdash;it was whispered that it was too
+good a thing to go a begging&mdash;appeared the names of Erebus Carbon,
+Esq., of Diamond Wharf; of Montague Whalebone, Esq., of Lowriver; of
+Larboard Starboard, Esq., ship-builder; and Piston Rodd, Esq., of the
+firm of Boiler &amp; Rodd, engineers, as directors. The shares were L.20
+each, liable to calls, though no calls were anticipated; and it was
+reckoned an enormous favour to get them. Traffic in shares was
+discountenanced: the company had no wish to be regarded as a cluster
+of speculators, but rather as a band of brothers, co-operating
+together for their common benefit. Of course, the necessary legal
+formalities were gone through&mdash;that could not safely be dispensed
+with.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the difficulty of obtaining shares, a pretty large number
+of them got into the hands of the respectable portion of the public,
+and the whole were soon taken up. The boats were built by Larboard
+Starboard, Esq.; and the engines, as a matter of course, were put on
+board by Messrs Boiler &amp; Rodd; Erebus Carbon, Esq., supplied, at the
+current rates, the necessary fuel; and at all hours of the day the
+vessels ran backwards and forwards, carrying customers to Mr Montague
+Whalebone's hotel, and lodgers to the new tenements, which soon began
+to rise around it in all directions. Lowriver took amazingly, and rose
+rapidly in public estimation; the boats filled well, and the
+speculation promised great things. When, however, after several mouths
+of undeviating prosperity, the shareholders began to look for some
+return for their capital in the shape of a dividend, each one of them
+was individually surprised by a 'call:' L.5 a share was wanted to
+clear off urgent responsibilities. 'The outfitting costs had been
+greater than was foreseen,' and the demands upon the shareholders were
+not likely to be limited to the first call. The victims rushed, as
+they were invited to do, to the office, to inspect the accounts. The
+engineer was there to receive them, and, all suavity and politeness,
+submitted every fact and figure to their investigation. There was
+nothing to be found fault with&mdash;everything was fairly booked; but
+there was a heavy balance dead against the company. The engineer
+himself put a long face upon the affair, and shrugged his shoulders,
+and mumbled something about having burned his own fingers, &amp;c. After
+this, reports soon got abroad very prejudicial to the value of the
+investments. Then came the winter, during which few passengers
+travelled to Lowriver; and with Christmas came another L.5 call.
+People grew tired of paying 20 per cent. for nothing, and many
+forfeited their shares by suffering them to be sold to pay the calls.
+This game went on for nearly three years&mdash;all 'calls' and no
+dividends; until at length it would have been difficult to find five
+persons out of the original 500 who held shares in the Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company, and there was next to nobody left
+to <i>call</i> upon.</p>
+
+<p>Years have rolled on since then. Lowriver has grown into a popular and
+populous marine summer residence. Mr Montague Whalebone, who knew what
+he was about, having bought and leased the building-ground, has become
+the owner of a vast property increasing in value every day. Larboard
+Starboard, Esq., is on the way to become a millionaire, and has
+several new boats building for the company's service at the present
+moment. Messrs Boiler &amp; Rodd have quintupled their establishment, and
+are in a condition to execute government contracts. Erebus Carbon,
+Esq., has found a market in the company for hundreds of thousands of
+tons of coal, and, from keeping a solitary wharf, has come to be the
+owner of a fleet of colliers. At this hour, the company consists of
+six individuals&mdash;the four original projectors, and a couple of old
+codgers&mdash;'knowing files,' who had the penetration, in the beginning,
+to see through the 'bearing dodge,' and would not be beaten or
+frightened off. They paid up every call upon shares, and bought
+others&mdash;and then, by shewing a bold front, asserted a voice in the
+management, and crushed in to a full and fair share of the profits.
+They have made <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[pg 269]</a></span>solid fortunes by the speculation; while the original
+shareholders, whose money brought the company into existence, have
+reaped nothing but losses and vexation in return for their capital.</p>
+
+<p>But enough, and more than enough, on the score of the delusive farces
+which, with pretences almost as transparent as the above, are from
+time to time played off for the purpose of easing the public of their
+superfluous cash. Let us glance briefly at a speculation of a
+different kind, no less a bubble as it proved, but one whose tragic
+issues have already wrought the wreck of many innocent families, and
+which, at the present moment, under the operation of the Winding-up
+Act, is darkening with ruin and the fear of ruin a hundred humble
+abodes. We have good reason to know its history too well; and we
+shall, in as few words as possible, present the facts most important
+to be known to the reader's consideration, with the view of
+inculcating caution by the misfortunes of others, and shewing at the
+same time how possible it is, under the present law regulating
+joint-stock partnerships, for an honest man, by the most inadvertent
+act, to entail misery upon himself, and destitution upon his
+offspring.</p>
+
+<p>It is some fifteen or twenty years ago, since a company of two or
+three speculative geniuses issued a plan for establishing, in a
+delightful glen situated but a few miles from a well-known Welsh port
+in the Bristol Channel, a brewery upon an extensive scale. The
+prospectus, as a matter of course, promised to the shareholders the
+usual golden advantages. The crystal current which meandered through
+the valley was to be converted into malt-liquor&mdash;so great were the
+natural and artificial advantages which combined to effect that
+result&mdash;at one-half the cost of such a transformation in any other
+locality; and the liquor produced was to be of such exquisite relish
+and potency, that all Britain was to compete for its possession. So
+plausible was everything made to appear, that men of commercially
+acquired fortune, of the greatest experience, and of long-tried
+judgment, invested their capital in the fullest confidence of success.
+Following their example, tradesmen and employers did the same; and, in
+imitation of their betters, numbers of persons of the classes of small
+shopkeepers and labouring-men invested their small savings in shares
+in the 'Romantic Valley Brewery.' The number of joint-proprietors
+amounted in all to some hundreds, holding L.20 shares in numbers
+proportioned to their means or their speculative spirit. Not one in
+fifty of them knew anything of the art of brewing, or had any
+knowledge of the locality where the scheme was to be carried out; but
+no doubt was entertained of the speedy and great success which was
+promised.</p>
+
+<p>The land was bought, the necessary buildings were substantially
+erected, and the three principal concocters of the scheme, one of whom
+was a lawyer, were appointed to manage the concern, and empowered to
+borrow money in case it should be wanted, to complete the plant, and
+to work it until the profits came in. They had every advantage for the
+production of a cheap and superior article: labour, land-carriage, and
+water-carriage, were all at a low charge in the neighbourhood; and
+materials, upon the whole, rated rather under than over the average.
+Year after year, however, passed away, and not a farthing of dividend
+came to the shareholders; promises only of large profits at some
+future period&mdash;that was all. It happened that none of the shareholders
+had invested any very large sums, and this was thought a fortunate
+circumstance, as none of them felt very deeply involved. The rich had
+speculated with their superfluity, and they could bear to joke on the
+subject of the Romantic Valley, though they shook their heads when the
+supposed value of the shares was hinted at. The poor felt it more, and
+some of the neediest sold their single shares or half-shares at a
+terrible discount, while they would yet realise something. As time
+rolled on, several of the older proprietors died off, and willed away,
+with the rest of their property, the Romantic Valley Brewery shares to
+their friends and relatives. A considerable number of them thus passed
+from the first holders to the hands of others, one and all of whom
+naturally accepted the legacies devised to them, and gave the
+necessary signatures to the documents which made the shares their own.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the managers went on working an unprofitable business,
+borrowing money on the credit of the joint proprietors; and in the
+face of all the advantages upon which they plumed themselves, plunged
+deeper and deeper into debt, until, being forced to borrow at a high
+rate of interest to pay for the use of former loans, they found their
+credit, in the thirteenth year of their existence, completely
+exhausted; and then the bubble burst at once in ruin, utter and
+complete, overwhelming all who were legally connected with it, either
+by original purchase, by transfer, or by inheritance. Independent
+country gentlemen, west-country manufacturers, and merchants of
+substantial capital, were summarily pounced upon by the fangs of the
+law, and all simultaneously stripped of everything they possessed in
+the world. Professional men, the fathers of families genteelly bred
+and educated, were summarily bereft of every farthing, and condemned
+in the decline of life to begin the world afresh. Not a few, seized
+with mortal chagrin at the horrible consummation of an affair which
+had never been anything but a source of loss and annoyance, sunk at
+once into the grave. Others&mdash;accustomed perhaps for half a century to
+the appliances of ease and luxury, and who were the owners of
+hospitable mansions, the centres of genteel resort&mdash;at the present
+moment hide their heads in cottages, and huts, and eleemosynary
+chambers, where they wither in silence and neglect under the cold
+breath of alien charity. Some, at threescore, are driven forth from a
+life of indulgence and inactivity, to earn their daily bread. Young
+and rising tradesmen, who had had the misfortune to inherit from a
+relative or a patron but a few shares, or even a single one, saw
+themselves at once precipitated into bankruptcy. One case, for which
+we can personally vouch, is beyond measure distressing: a gentleman of
+good fortune dying, had bequeathed to each of a large family of
+daughters a handsome provision; shortly before the bursting of the
+fearful bubble, the mother also died, dividing by will her own fortune
+among the young ladies, and leaving to each one a few shares in the
+Romantic Valley Brewery. The transference of these shares to the
+several children made the whole of them liable to the extent of their
+entire property; and the whole six unfortunates were actually beggared
+to the last farthing, and cast upon the world to shift as they might.
+To detail the domestic desolation caused by this iniquitous affair,
+would require the space of a large volume. It has wrought nothing but
+wretchedness and ruin to those to whom it promised unexampled
+prosperity, and it is yet working still more&mdash;nor is it likely to
+stop, for aught that we can see, so long as it presents a mark for
+legal cupidity. All that could be got for the creditors has been
+extorted long ago from the wealthier portion of the victims; but the
+loans are not yet all liquidated, and the claim yet remaining
+unsatisfied, is now the pretext under which the lawyers are sucking
+the life-blood from the hard-working and struggling class of
+shareholders, who, while industriously striving for a respectable
+position, are considered worth crushing for the sake of the costs,
+though they will never yield a penny towards the debt.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the persons who have the settlement of affairs in their hands,
+the original concocters of the company are the only persons who have
+profited from its operations. They indeed ride gloriously aloft above
+the ruin they have wrought. The process by which they have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[pg 270]</a></span>managed to
+extract a lordly independence for themselves, from a scheme which has
+resulted in the destitution and misery of every other participator, is
+a mystery we do not pretend to fathom in this case&mdash;though it is one
+of by no means unusual occurrence in connection with bubble-companies
+of all sorts.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_OSTRICH" id="THE_OSTRICH"></a>THE OSTRICH.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">For</span> the following particulars relative to the habits of the ostrich,
+and the various modes of taking it, we are indebted to a gentleman who
+spent many years in Northern Africa, and collected these details from
+native sportsmen, his principal informant being
+Abd-el-Kader-Mohammed-ben-Kaddour, a Nimrod of renown throughout the
+Arab tribes of this region.</p>
+
+<p>The ostrich country, says Ben-Kaddour, may be described as a
+rectangle, of which the towns of Insalah, Figig, Sidi-Okba, and
+Warklah form the angles; that is, it comprises the northern skirts of
+the Saharian desert, where water and herbage are plentiful in
+comparison with the arid plains of the centre. Throughout this region,
+ostriches may frequently be seen travelling in pairs, or in companies
+of four or five couples; but wherever there has been a recent fall of
+rain, one is almost sure to find them grazing together in large
+numbers, appearing at a distance like a herd of camels. This is a
+favourable opportunity for ostrich-hunting, especially if the weather
+is very warm; for the greater the heat, the less vigour have the birds
+for prolonging the chase. It is well known, that though the ostrich
+cannot raise itself into the air, it is nevertheless so swift of foot,
+that it cannot be fairly run down even by the horses of this region,
+which, on an emergency, are known to run 180 miles in a single day. An
+ostrich-hunt is, therefore, undertaken by at least ten horsemen
+together, who, being apprized of the spot where a large group are
+feeding, approach with extreme caution, and form a cordon round them.
+To prevent the birds from escaping from the circle thus formed, is all
+they attempt, and it requires their utmost dexterity. The terrified
+creatures run hither and thither; and not managing their breath as
+they would do in an ordinary pursuit, they at length become exhausted,
+and betray it by flapping their wings. The sportsmen now fall
+deliberately upon them, and either lead them away alive, or fell them
+with a blow on the head. Their first care is to remove the skin, so as
+to preserve the feathers uninjured; the next is to melt down the fat,
+and pour it into bags formed of the skin of the thigh and leg,
+strongly tied at the lower end. The grease of an ostrich in good
+condition fills both its legs; and as it brings three times the price
+of common butter, it is considered no despicable part of the game. It
+is not only eaten with bread, and used in the preparation of kooskoos,
+and other articles of food, but the Arabs reckon it a valuable remedy
+in various maladies. In rheumatic attacks, for instance, they rub it
+on the part affected till it penetrates thoroughly; then lay the
+patient in the burning sand, with his head carefully protected. A
+profuse perspiration comes on, and the cure is complete. In bilious
+disorders, the grease is lightly warmed, mixed with salt, and
+administered as a potion. It acts thus as a powerful aperient, and
+causes great emaciation for the time; but the patient, say the Arabs,
+having been thus relieved from all the bad humours in his body,
+afterwards acquires robust health, and his sight becomes singularly
+good. The flesh of the ostriches, dressed with pepper and meal, forms
+the supper of the sportsmen.</p>
+
+<p>Ostrich-shooting is conducted in quite a different manner, and as it
+is practised only or chiefly during the period of incubation, it is to
+it we are principally indebted for the acquaintance which the Arabs
+have gained with the habits of these singular birds.</p>
+
+<p>The pairing-season is the month of August. The <i>reumda</i> (female) is
+generally shy, and the <i>delim</i> has often to pursue the object of his
+choice at full speed for four or five days, during which he neither
+eats nor drinks. When, however, she has consented to be his, she never
+again quits him till the young ones are reared; and the bond between
+them is equally respected by all their companions: there is no
+fighting about mates, as among some other gregarious species.</p>
+
+<p>The period of incubation begins in the month of November, and presents
+the best opportunity for shooting the ostrich. At this season, also,
+the feathers are in the finest condition, though the fat is much less
+abundant. Five or six sportsmen set out together on horseback, taking
+with them two camels laden with provisions for a month, besides an
+abundant supply of powder and ball. They search for places where rain
+has lately fallen, or where pools of water occur, for in such
+localities there is likely to be that plentiful herbage which never
+fails to attract the ostrich. Having discovered its footprints, the
+sportsmen examine them with care. If they appear only here and there
+on the bare spots, they indicate that the bird has been here to graze;
+but if they cross each other in various directions, and the grass is
+rather trampled down than eaten, the ostrich has certainly made her
+nest in the neighbourhood, and an active but cautious search for it is
+commenced. If she is only making her nest, the operation may be
+detected at a great distance, as it consists simply of pushing out the
+sand from the centre to the circumference of a circle, so as to form a
+large hole. The sand rises in dense clouds round the spot, and the
+bird utters a pining cry all day long. When the nest is finished, she
+cries only towards three in the afternoon. The female sits on the eggs
+from morning till noon, while her mate is grazing; at noon, he takes
+her place, and she goes to the pasture in her turn. When she returns,
+she places herself facing her mate, and at the distance of five or six
+paces from the nest, which he occupies all night, in order to defend
+it from enemies, especially from the jackals, which often lie in
+ambush, ready to take advantage of an unguarded moment. Hunters often
+find the carcasses of these animals near ostriches' nests.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning, while the reumda is sitting, the sportsmen dig on each
+side of the nest, and at about twenty paces from it, a hole deep
+enough to contain a man. In each of these they lodge one of their best
+marksmen, and cover him up with long grass, allowing only the gun to
+protrude. One of these is to shoot the male, the other the female. The
+reumda, seeing this operation going forward, becomes terrified, and
+runs off to join her mate; but he does not believe there is any ground
+for her terror, and with somewhat ungallant chastisement, forces her
+to return. If these preparations were made while the delim was
+sitting, he would go after her, and neither would return. The reumda
+having resumed her place, the sportsmen take care not to disturb her;
+it is the rule to shoot the delim first, and they patiently wait his
+return from the pasture. At noon, he takes his place as usual, sitting
+with his wings outspread, so as to cover all the eggs. In this
+position, the thighs are extremely prominent, and the appointed
+marksman takes aim at them, because, if he succeeds in breaking them,
+there is no chance of escape, which there would be if almost any other
+part were wounded. As soon as he falls, the other sportsmen, attracted
+by the report, run up and bleed him according to the laws of the
+Koran. They hide the carcass, and cover with sand every trace of the
+blood that has been shed. When the reumda comes home at night, she
+appears not uneasy at the absence of her mate, but probably concluding
+that he was hungry, and has gone for some supper, she takes his place
+on the eggs, and is killed by the second marksman in the same way as
+the delim. The ostrich is often waylaid in a similar manner at its
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[pg 271]</a></span>usual drinking-place, a good shot being concealed in a hole, whence
+he fires on it. The ostrich drinks nearly every five days when there
+is water; otherwise it can do without it for a much longer time.
+Nothing but excessive thirst induces it ever to approach a human
+habitation, and then it flies as soon as it is satisfied. It has been
+observed, that whenever the flashing lightning announces an
+approaching storm, it hastens towards the water. Though single birds
+may often be shot on these occasions, it is a much less certain sport
+than killing them on the nest, and less profitable, as in the latter
+case the eggs form no contemptible part of the spoil.</p>
+
+<p>The nest of an ordinary pair contains from twenty-five to thirty eggs.
+But it often happens that several couples unite to hatch together: in
+this case, they form a great circular cavity, the eldest couple lay
+their eggs in the centre, and the others make a regular disposition of
+theirs around them. Thus, if there are four younger couples, they
+occupy the four angles of a square. When the laying is finished, the
+eggs are pushed towards the centre, but not mixed; and when the eldest
+delim begins to sit, all the rest take their places where their eggs
+have been laid, the females observing similar order. These
+associations are found only where the herbage is very plentiful, and
+they are understood always to be family groups, the centre couple
+being the parents of the rest. The younger birds lay fewer and smaller
+eggs&mdash;those of one year old, for instance, have only four or five. The
+period of incubation is ninety days.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of several couples associated thus in the same nest, the
+sportsmen do not attempt to destroy any but the old ones; for if they
+were to set about making as many holes as there were ostriches, the
+whole company would take fright and decamp. But perhaps it is
+determined to leave them all in peaceable possession for the present,
+and rather make a prey of the brood when hatched. The watching of the
+nests in such cases has led to further observations. The eggs of each
+pair are disposed in a heap, always surmounted by a conspicuous one,
+which was the first laid, and has a peculiar destination. When the
+delim perceives that the moment of hatching has arrived, he breaks the
+egg which he judges most matured, and at the same time he bores with
+great care a small hole in the surmounting egg. This serves as the
+first food of the nestlings; and for this purpose, though open, it
+continues long without spoiling, which is the more necessary, as the
+delim does not break all the eggs on the same day, but only three or
+four, and so on, as he hears the young ones stirring within. This egg
+is always liquid, but whether by a provision of nature in its original
+composition, or through the instinct of the parent-birds in avoiding
+to keep it covered like the rest, is not ascertained. The young ones,
+having received this their first nourishment, are immediately dried in
+the sun, and begin to run about; in a few days they follow the
+parent-birds to the pastures, always returning to shelter under their
+wings in the nest.</p>
+
+<p>The paternal affection of the delim is remarkable: he never leaves his
+offspring; he faces every danger, and combats every foe in their
+defence. The reumda, on the contrary, is easily terrified, and leaves
+all to secure her own safety; so that it is usual to compare a man who
+bravely defends his tent to a delim, and a pusillanimous soul to a
+reumda. The delim finds himself more than a match for the dog, the
+jackal, the hy&aelig;na, or the eagle: man is his only invincible foe; yet
+he dares to wage the unequal war when the young are in danger. If the
+Arabs desire to make a prey of the ral, as the young ostriches are
+called, they follow their footmarks, and having nearly overtaken them,
+they begin to shout; the terrified birds run to their parents, who
+face about, and stand still to fight for them; so the Arabs lead away
+the ral before their eyes, in spite of the bravadoes of the delim, who
+then manifests the liveliest grief. Sometimes the greyhound is
+employed in this sport: the delim attacks him, and while they are
+fighting, the men carry off the young ones, to bring them up in their
+tents.</p>
+
+<p>The ral are easily tamed; they sleep under the tent, are exceedingly
+lively, and play with the children and dogs. When the tents are struck
+for a flitting, the pet ostriches follow the camels, and are never
+known to make their escape during the migration. If a hare passes, and
+the men start in pursuit of it, the ostrich darts off in the same
+direction, and joins the chase. If she meets in the douar (village of
+tents) a child holding any eatable thing in its hand, she lays him
+gently on the ground, and robs without hurting him. But the tame
+ostrich is a great thief, or rather is so voracious, it devours
+everything it finds&mdash;even knives, female trinkets, and pieces of iron.
+The Arab on whose authority these details are given, relates that a
+woman had her coral-necklace carried off and swallowed by an ostrich;
+and an officer in the African army affirms, that one of them tore off
+and ate the buttons of his surtout. The ostrich is, at the same time,
+exceedingly dexterous; so that she will tear a date from a man's mouth
+without hurting him. The Arabs are distrustful of her, and know where
+to lay the blame if, on counting their money, they find two or three
+dollars missing.</p>
+
+<p>It is no uncommon thing to see, at some distance from a douar, a
+wearied child riding on the back of an ostrich, which carries its
+burden directly towards the tent, the young Jehu holding on by the
+pinions. But she would not carry too heavy a load&mdash;a man, for
+instance&mdash;but would throw him on the ground with a flap of her wing.</p>
+
+<p>When ostriches are taken to market in Africa, their legs are tied
+almost close together with a cord, another cord attached to this one
+being held in the hand.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="PROGRESS_OF_THE_UNITED_STATES" id="PROGRESS_OF_THE_UNITED_STATES"></a>PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">The</span> official statement of the United States' census, published at
+Washington in December last, furnishes us with the means of knowing
+what our American brethren have been doing in the ten years from 1840
+to 1850. In that decennial period, the whole territory had increased
+from 2,055,163 to 3,221,595 square miles, exclusive of the great lakes
+in the interior, and deeply-indenting bays on the coast. The gross
+population in June 1850, numbered 23,246,201; an increase from June
+1840 of 6,176,848. Of these, 19,619,366 were whites; 3,198,298 were
+slaves; and free blacks, 428,637; the increase having been
+respectively, 5,423,371&mdash;711,085&mdash;42,392. The whole increase was
+equivalent to 3&frac12; per cent.; while in Europe, it is not more than
+1&frac12; per cent.; and if it continue as at present, the population
+will, forty years hence, exceed that of England, France, Spain,
+Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland put together. The deaths in the last
+of the ten years were 320,194, being 1 to each 72.6, or 10 to each 726
+of the inhabitants; this return is, however, supposed to involve an
+error, as the mortality is less in proportion than in the most
+favoured parts of Europe; whereas the reverse is generally considered
+to be the fact. In the same year, 1467 slaves were manumitted, and
+1011 escaped. The number of emigrants from foreign countries during
+the 10 years was 1,542,850.</p>
+
+<p>Among the individual states, the most populous are New York, which
+numbers 3,097,394 inhabitants; Pennsylvania, 2,311,786; Ohio,
+1,980,408; Virginia, 1,421,661; Massachusetts, 994,499; Indiana,
+988,416; Kentucky, 982,405; Georgia, 905,999. Taking the whole 31
+states, the proportion of inhabitants is 15.48 to the square mile: the
+free states comprise 13,605,630, and the slave states, 9,491,759 of
+population.</p>
+
+<p>To supply this population, there are 2800 newspapers: 424 in the New
+England states; 876 in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[pg 272]</a></span>middle states; 716 in the southern states;
+and 784 in the western states. Three hundred and fifty are <i>dailies</i>,
+150 three times a week, 125 twice a week, 2000 weekly, 50 fortnightly,
+100 monthly, and 25 quarterly: the aggregate circulation being
+422,600,000 yearly. There is 1 periodical for every 7161 free
+inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>The capital invested in manufactures, excluding the establishments
+under 500 dollars of annual value, amounted to 530,000,000 dollars;
+the value of raw material was 550,000,000; the amount paid for labour
+(in one year we presume), 240,000,000; value of articles manufactured,
+1,020,300,000; persons employed, 1,050,000. There were 1094 cotton
+'establishments' in operation, which produced 763,678,407 yards of
+sheeting; 1559 woollen establishments, which produced 82,206,652 yards
+of cloth; 2190 iron establishments, which produced 1,165,544 tons of
+iron of various kinds.</p>
+
+<p>Of improved lands, there were 112,042,000 acres; of wheat, 104,799,230
+bushels were grown in the last year; 591,586,053 bushels of Indian
+corn; 199,532,494 pounds of tobacco; 13,605,384 tons of hay;
+32,759,263 pounds of maple-sugar were made; 314,644 hogsheads of
+cane-sugar of 1000 pounds each; 312,202,286 pounds of butter; and
+103,184,585 pounds of cheese.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="EFFECT_OF_THE_EARTHS_ROTATION_ON_LOCOMOTION" id="EFFECT_OF_THE_EARTHS_ROTATION_ON_LOCOMOTION"></a>EFFECT OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION ON LOCOMOTION.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p>The following is from <i>Herapath's Journal</i> on the effect of the
+earth's rotation on locomotion: 'Mr Uriah Clarke, of Leicester, has
+called our attention to an article in the <i>Mechanic's Magazine</i>, by
+himself, on the influence of the earth's rotation on locomotion. It is
+well known, that as the earth revolves on its axis once in twenty-four
+hours, from west to east, the velocity of any point on its surface is
+greater nearer the equator, and less further from it, in the ratio of
+the cosine of the latitude. Mr Clarke says: "Some rather important
+conclusions in relation to railway travelling arise out of the view
+now taken. The difference between the rotative velocity of the earth
+in surface-motion at London and at Liverpool is about twenty-eight
+miles per hour; and this amount of lateral movement is to be gained or
+lost, as respects the locomotion in each journey, according to the
+direction we are travelling in from the one place to the other; and in
+proportion to the speed will be the pressure against the side of the
+rails, which, at a high velocity, will give the engine a tendency to
+climb the right-hand rail in each direction. Could the journey be
+performed in two hours between London and Liverpool, this lateral
+movement, or rotative velocity of the locomotive, would have to be
+increased or diminished at the rate of nearly one-quarter of a mile
+per minute, and that entirely by side-pressure on the rail, which, if
+not sufficient to cause the engine to leave the line, would be quite
+sufficient to produce violent and dangerous oscillation. It may be
+observed, in conclusion, that as the cause above alluded to will be
+inoperative while we travel along the parallels of latitude, it
+clearly follows, that a higher degree of speed may be attained with
+safety on a railway running east and west than on one which runs north
+and south." There is no doubt of the tendency Mr Clarke speaks of on
+the right-hand rail, but we do not think it will be found to be so
+dangerous as he says. It will be greatest on the Great Northern and
+Berwick lines, and least on the Great Western.'</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="FOREST_SCENERY_OF_AMERICA" id="FOREST_SCENERY_OF_AMERICA"></a>FOREST SCENERY OF AMERICA.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p>The forests between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, where the
+country is very flat and wet, are composed almost entirely of black
+cypress; they grow so thick that the tops get intermixed and
+interlaced, and form almost a matting overhead, through which the sun
+scarcely ever penetrates. The trees are covered with
+unwholesome-looking mosses, which exhale a damp earthy smell, like a
+cellar. The ground is so covered with a rank growth of elder and other
+shrubs, many of them with thorns an inch long, and with fallen and
+decayed trunks of trees, that it is impossible to take a step without
+breaking one's shins. Not a bird or animal of any kind is to be seen,
+and a deathlike silence reigns through the forest, which is only now
+and then interrupted by the rattle of the rattlesnake (like a clock
+going down), and the chirrup of the chitnunck, or squirrel. The sombre
+colour of the foliage, the absence of all sun even at mid-day, and the
+vault-like chilliness one feels when entering a cypress swamp, is far
+from cheering; and I don't know any position so likely to give one the
+horrors as being lost in one, or where one could so well realise what
+a desolate loneliness is. The wasps, whose nests like great gourds
+hang from the trees about the level of one's face; the mosquitoes in
+millions; the little black flies, and venomous snakes, all add their
+'little possible' to render a tramp through a cypress swamp
+agreeable.&mdash;<i>Sullivan's Rambles</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_BETTER_THOUGHT" id="THE_BETTER_THOUGHT"></a>THE BETTER THOUGHT.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+
+<span><span class="sc">The</span> Better Thought! how oft in days<br /></span>
+<span>When youthful passion fired my breast,<br /></span>
+<span>And drove me into devious ways,<br /></span>
+<span>Didst thou my wandering steps arrest,<br /></span>
+<span>And, whispering gently in mine ear<br /></span>
+<span>Thine angel-message, fraught with love,<br /></span>
+<span>Check for the time my mad career,<br /></span>
+<span>And melt the heart naught else could move!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>Thine was no stern and harsh rebuke;<br /></span>
+<span>No 'friend's advice,' so true, so cold;<br /></span>
+<span>No message wise, such as in book,<br /></span>
+<span>Or by the teacher oft is told,<br /></span>
+<span>Which, like the pointless arrow, falls,<br /></span>
+<span>And rings perhaps with hollow sound,<br /></span>
+<span>But ne'er the wanderer recalls,<br /></span>
+<span>And ne'er inflicts the healing wound.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>Thy voice was gentle, winning, mild;<br /></span>
+<span>Thy words told thou wert from above,<br /></span>
+<span>Like those with which the wayward child<br /></span>
+<span>Is wooed by a fond mother's love;<br /></span>
+<span>Or like a strain of music stealing<br /></span>
+<span>Across the calm and moonlit seas,<br /></span>
+<span>Which moves the heart of sternest feeling,<br /></span>
+<span>And wakes its deeper harmonies.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>Sweet was thy presence, welcomed guest;<br /></span>
+<span>And I, responsive to thy call,<br /></span>
+<span>Arose, and felt within my breast<br /></span>
+<span>A power that made the fetters fall<br /></span>
+<span>From off my long enthrall&egrave;d soul,<br /></span>
+<span>And woke, as with a magic spell,<br /></span>
+<span>Griefs which yet owned the soft control<br /></span>
+<span>Of hopes that all might still be well.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>But ah, thou wast an injured guest!<br /></span>
+<span>How soon departed, soon forgot,<br /></span>
+<span>Were all the hopes of coming rest<br /></span>
+<span>That clustered round the Better Thought&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span>The tender griefs, the firm resolves,<br /></span>
+<span>The yearnings after better days,<br /></span>
+<span>Like transient sunlight which dissolves,<br /></span>
+<span>And leaves no traces of its rays!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>Yet I despair not&mdash;through the night<br /></span>
+<span>That long has reigned with tyrant sway,<br /></span>
+<span>E'en now I see the opening light,<br /></span>
+<span>The harbinger of coming day;<br /></span>
+<span>To Heaven I now direct my prayer&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span>O God of love, forsake me not!<br /></span>
+<span>Grant that my waywardness may ne'er<br /></span>
+<span>Quench the returning Better Thought!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span><span class="sc">Garvald.</span><span class="spacious">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>J. F.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<p>Printed and Published by W. and <span class="smcap">R. Chambers</span>, High Street, Edinburgh.
+Also sold by W. S. <span class="smcap">Orr</span>, Amen Corner, London; <span class="smcap">D. N. Chambers</span>, 55 West
+Nile Street, Glasgow; and <span class="smcap">J. M'Glashan</span>, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
+Dublin.&mdash;Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent to
+<span class="smcap">Maxwell &amp; Co.</span>, 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom all
+applications respecting their insertion must be made.</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460, by Various
+
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+Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460
+       Volume 18, New Series, October 23, 1852
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: William Chambers
+        Robert Chambers
+
+Release Date: January 4, 2008 [EBook #24158]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
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+
+
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+
+
+
+
+                     CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL
+
+  CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
+  INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.
+
+
+  No. 460. NEW SERIES.   SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1852.   PRICE 1-1/2_d._
+
+
+
+
+PRESERVED MEATS AND MEAT-BISCUITS.
+
+
+The many-headed public look out for 'nine days' wonders,' and speedily
+allow one wonder to obliterate the remembrance of that which preceded
+it. So it is with all newspaper topics, and so it has been in respect
+to the preserved-meat question. We all know how great was the
+excitement at the commencement of the present year on this matter.
+Ships' accounts overhauled; arctic stores re-examined; canisters
+opened and rejected; contracts inquired into; statements and
+counter-statements published; questionings of Admiralty officials in
+the two Houses of Parliament; reports published by committees;
+recommendations offered for future guidance; descriptions of the
+preserving processes at different establishments: all went the round
+of the newspapers, and then the topic was forgotten. It deserves to be
+held in remembrance, however, for the subject-matter is really
+important and valuable, in respect not only to the stores for
+shipping, but to the provisioning of large or small bodies of men
+under various exceptional circumstances.
+
+A few of the simple laws of organic chemistry suffice to account for
+the speedy decay of dead animal substances, and for the methods
+whereby this decay is retarded or prevented. In organised substances,
+the chemical atoms combine in a very complex but unstable way; several
+such atoms group together to form a proximate principle, such as
+gluten, albumen, fibrin, &c.; and several of these combine to form a
+complete organic substance. The chemical rank-and-file, so to speak,
+form a battalion, and two or more battalions form the chemical army.
+But it is a law in chemistry, that the more complex a substance
+becomes, the less stable is its constitution, or the sooner is it
+affected by disturbing influences. Hence organic substances are more
+readily decomposed than inorganic. How striking, for instance, are the
+changes easily wrought in a few grains of barley! They contain a kind
+of starch or fecula; this starch, in the process of malting, becomes
+converted into a kind of sugar; and from this malt-sugar or
+transformed starch, may be obtained ale or beer, gin or whisky, and
+vinegar, by various processes of fermenting and distilling. The
+complex substance breaks up through very slight causes, and the simple
+elements readjust themselves into new groupings. The same occurs in
+animal as in vegetable substances, but still more rapidly, as the
+former are more intricate in composition than the latter, and are held
+together by a weaker tie.
+
+What the 'vital principle' may be, neither chemists nor physiologists
+can tell us with any great degree of clearness; but it is this vital
+principle, whatever it may be, which prevents decay in a living
+organic substance, however complex. When life departs, the onslaught
+begins; the defender has been removed, and a number of assailants make
+their appearance. _Air_, _heat_, and _moisture_ are the principal of
+these; they attack the dead organism, and gradually convert it into
+wholly different and inorganic compounds, such as water, carbonic
+acid, ammonia, phosphuretted hydrogen, and many others. What, then,
+would result if these disturbers could be warded off, one or all? It
+is now pretty well ascertained, that if any one of the three--air,
+heat, moisture--be absent, the decay is either greatly retarded or
+indefinitely postponed; and we shall find that in all antiseptic or
+preserving processes, the fundamental principle has simply such an
+object in view.
+
+Sometimes the operation of natural causes leads to the preservation of
+dead animal substances for a great length of time, by excluding one
+out of the above three disturbing influences. If heat be so deficient
+that the animal juices become wholly frozen up, the substance is
+almost proof against decay. Thus, about seventy years ago, a huge
+animal was found imbedded in the ice in Siberia: from a comparison of
+its skeleton with those of existing species, Cuvier inferred that this
+animal must have been antediluvian; and yet, so completely had the
+cold prevented putrefaction, that dogs willingly ate of the still
+existing flesh. At St Petersburg, when winter is approaching, the fish
+in the markets become almost like blocks of ice, so completely are
+they frozen; and in this state they will remain sound for a lengthened
+period. Dead poultry, and other articles of animal food, are similarly
+kept fresh throughout the winter in many rigorous climates, simply by
+the powerlessness of the attacking agents, when heat is not one of the
+number. And that which nature effects on a large scale, may reasonably
+be imitated by man on a more limited one. It is customary to pack many
+kinds of provisions in ice or snow, either for keeping them in
+storehouses, or for sending them to market. Thus it is with the tubs
+of poultry, of veal, and of other kinds of meat, which, killed in the
+country districts of Russia in autumn, are packed in snow to keep cool
+till sold at market; and thus it is with much of the salmon sent from
+Scotland to London. Since the supply of excellent ice from Wenham
+Lake, commenced about nineteen years ago, has become so abundant and
+so cheap, it is worth a thought whether the preservative powers of
+cold might not advantageously be made more available in this country
+than they have yet been. In the United States, housewives use very
+convenient refrigerators or ice-boxes, provided with perforated
+shelves, under which ice is set, and upon which various provisions
+are placed: a large uncooked joint of meat is sometimes kept in one of
+these boxes for weeks. Among the celebrities of the Crystal Palace,
+many will recollect Masters's elegant ice-making machine, in which, by
+combining chemical action with centrifugal motion, ice can be made in
+a few minutes, let the heat of the weather be what it may. This
+machine, and the portable refrigerators manufactured by the Wenham
+Company, together with our familiar, old-fashioned ice-houses, might
+supply us with much more preservative power, in respect to articles of
+food, than we have hitherto practically adopted.
+
+If, instead of watching the effects produced by abstraction of _heat_,
+we direct attention to the abstraction of _moisture_, we shall find
+that antiseptic or preservative results are easily obtainable. All
+kinds of bacon and smoked meats belong to the class here indicated.
+The watery particles are nearly or quite driven out from the meat, and
+thus one of the three decomposing agents is rendered of no effect. In
+some cases, the drying is not sufficient to produce the result,
+without the aid of the remarkable antiseptic properties of salt;
+because decomposition may commence before the moisture is quite
+expelled. In many parts of the country, hams are hung within a
+wide-spreading chimney, over or near a turf-fire, and where a free
+current of air, as well as a warm temperature, may act upon them; but
+the juices become dissipated by this rude process. Simple drying,
+without the addition of salt or any condiment, is perhaps more
+effectual with vegetable than with animal substances.
+
+But it is under the third point of view that the preservative process
+is more important and interesting, inasmuch as it admits of a far more
+extensive application. We speak of the abstraction of _air_.
+Atmospheric air affects dead organic matter chiefly through the agency
+of the oxygen which forms one of its constituents; and it is
+principally to insure the expulsion of oxygen that air is excluded.
+The examples which illustrate the resulting effects are numerous and
+varied. Eggs have been varnished so as to exclude air, and have
+retained the vital principle in the chick for years; and it is a
+familiar domestic practice, to butter the outside of eggs as a means
+of keeping them. The canisters of preserved provisions, however, are
+the most direct and valuable result of the antiseptic action by
+exclusion of air. The Exhibition Jury on Class 3, in their Report on
+this subject, speak thus warmly thereupon:--'It is impossible to
+overestimate the importance of these preparations. The invention of
+the process by which animal and vegetable food is preserved in a fresh
+and sweet state for an indefinite period, has only been applied
+practically during the last twenty-five years, and is intimately
+connected with the annals of arctic discovery. The active measures
+taken to discover a north-west passage, and to prosecute scientific
+research, in all but inaccessible regions, first created a demand for
+this sort of food; and the Admiralty stimulated the manufacturers to
+great perfection in the art. As soon as the value of these
+preparations in cold climates became generally admitted, their use was
+extended to hot ones, and for the sick on board ship under all
+circumstances. Hitherto they had been employed only as a substitute
+for salt beef or pork at sea, and if eaten on shore, it was at first
+as a curiosity merely. Their utility in hot climates, however,
+speedily became evident; especially in India, where European families
+are scattered, and where, consequently, on the slaughter of a large
+animal, more is wasted than can be consumed by a family of the
+ordinary number.'
+
+Whatever improvements may have been introduced by later manufacturers,
+the principle involved in the meat-preserving processes is nearly as
+M. Appert established it forty years ago. His plan consisted in
+removing the bones from the meat; boiling it to nearly as great a
+degree as if intended for immediate consumption; putting it into jars;
+filling up the jars completely with a broth or jelly prepared from
+portions of the same meat; corking the jars closely; incasing the
+corks with a luting formed of quicksilver and cheese; placing the
+corked jars in a boiler of cold water; boiling the water and its
+contents for an hour; and then allowing the cooling process to
+supervene very gradually.
+
+Until the recent disclosures concerning the preserved meats in the
+government depots, the extent of the manufacture, or rather
+preparation, was very little known to the general public. In the last
+week of 1851, an examination, consequent on certain suspicions which
+had been entertained, was commenced at the victualling establishment
+at Gosport. The canisters--for since Appert's time stone jars have
+been generally superseded by tin canisters--contain on an average
+about 10 pounds each; and out of 643 of these which were opened on the
+first day's examination, no fewer than 573 were condemned as being
+utterly unfit for food. On the next day, 734 were condemned out of
+779; and by the fourth day, the number examined had risen to 2707, of
+which only 197 were deemed fit for food. Such wretched offal had been
+packed in the canisters, instead of good meat, that the stench arising
+from the decomposing mass was most revolting; the examiners were
+compelled to use Sir William Burnett's disinfecting fluid abundantly,
+and even to suspend their labours for two or three days under fear of
+infection. The canisters formed part of a supply sent in by a
+contractor in November 1850, under a warrant that the contents would
+remain good for five years; the filling of the canisters was
+understood to have been effected at Galatz, in Moldavia, but the
+contractor was in England. The supply amounted to 6000 canisters, all
+of which had to be examined, and out of which only a few hundred were
+found to contain substances fit for food. Instead of good meat, or in
+addition to a small quantity of good meat, the examiners found lung,
+liver, heart, tongue, kidney, tendon, ligament, palate, fat, tallow,
+coagulated blood, and even a piece of leather--all in a state of such
+loathsome putridity as to render the office of the examiners a
+terrible one.
+
+Of course nothing can be predicated from such atrocities as these
+against the wholesomeness of preserved food; they prove only the
+necessity of caution in making the government contracts, and in
+accepting the supplies. The Admiralty shewed, during subsequent
+discussions, that large supplies had been received from various
+quarters for several years, for use on shipboard in long voyages and
+on arctic expeditions; that these had turned out well; and that the
+contractor who was disgraced in the present instance, was among those
+who had before fulfilled his contracts properly. Fortunately, there is
+no evidence that serious evil had resulted from the supply of the
+canisters to ships; the discovery was made in time to serve as a
+useful lesson in future to government officials and to unprincipled
+contractors.
+
+The jury report before adverted to, points out how cheap and
+economical these preserved meats really are, from the circumstance,
+that all that is eatable is so well brought into use. It is affirmed
+by the manufacturers, that meat in this form supplies troops and ships
+with a cheaper animal diet than salt provisions, by avoiding the
+expense of casks, leakage, brine, bone, shrinkage, stowage, &c., which
+are all heavy items, and entail great waste and expenditure; and by a
+canister of the former being so much smaller than a cask of the
+latter, in the event of one bad piece of meat tainting the whole
+contents. The contents of all the cases, when opened, are found to
+have lost much of the freshness in taste and flavour peculiar to
+newly-killed meat; they are always soft, and eat as if overdone. As a
+matter of choice, therefore, few or no persons would prefer meat in
+this state to the ordinary unpacked and recently-cooked state. But the
+important fact to bear in mind is, that the nutritious principles are
+preserved; as nutriment, they are unexceptionable, and they are often
+pleasantly seasoned and flavoured.
+
+In the ordinary processes of preparation, as carried on in London and
+other places, the tin canisters have a minute hole, through which the
+air may be expelled, while the meat is simmering or boiling within;
+and in the case of poultry being preserved whole, extra precautions
+are necessary, to insure the expulsion of the air from the hollow
+bones of the birds. Soups are more easily prepared than solid meat, on
+account of the greater facility for getting rid of the confined air.
+The minute air-hole in the canister is soldered down when the process
+is completed.
+
+M. Alexis Soyer, who has a notoriety in London as the prince of cooks,
+and a very ingenious man--a sort of Paxton of the kitchen--wrote to
+the daily journals, about the time of the disclosure at Gosport, to
+offer a few suggestions. He said: 'No canister ought to contain more
+than about six pounds of meat, the same to be very slightly seasoned
+with bay-salt, pepper, and aromatic herbs in powder, such as bay-thyme
+and bay-leaf, a small quantity of which would not be objectionable
+even for invalids. No jelly should be added to the meat; the meat, and
+the meat alone, should produce its own jelly. With the bones and
+trimmings of the above, a good _stock_ should be made without
+vegetables, well reduced and skimmed, to form a very strong
+transparent demi-glaze; six-pound canisters should be filled with the
+same, bearing a special mark, and one of these allowed to every dozen
+of the others. This demi-glaze, when diluted in water, would make six
+gallons of very good broth, with which any kind of soup could be made
+in a very short time.' He also points out how the condition of the
+preserved meat may be guessed by the external appearance of the
+canister. If either the top or bottom of the canister be convex, like
+the upper surface of a watch-glass, the contents are in a state of
+decomposition; the bulging being occasioned by the gases generated
+during the chemical changes. If the contents of the canister be sound,
+the top and bottom will be either quite flat, or slightly concave.
+
+The Jury on Food, at the Great Exhibition, had quite an _embarras des
+richesses_; they were surrounded by hundreds of canisters of preserved
+provisions, all of which they were invited to open and taste. They
+say, or their reporter says, that the merits of the contributions
+'were tested by a selection from each; the cases were opened in the
+presence of the jury, and tasted by themselves, and, where advisable,
+by associates. The majority are of English manufacture, especially the
+more substantial viands; France and Germany exhibiting chiefly
+made-dishes, game, and delicacies--of meat, fish, soups, and
+vegetables.' It is an important fact for our colonies, that viands of
+this description are as well prepared in Australia, Van Diemen's Land,
+Canada, and the Cape of Good Hope, as in the mother-country. 'Animal
+food is most abundant and cheap in some of those colonies. In
+Australia, especially, during seasons of drought, it is wasted in
+extraordinary quantities; flocks are slaughtered for the tallow alone,
+and herds, for their bones and hides. Were the meat on these occasions
+preserved, it cannot be doubted that it could be imported into
+England, and sold at a cheaper rate than fresh meat in our
+metropolitan markets, to the great benefit of the lower-classes.' This
+is a statement well worth being borne in mind by some of those who are
+at present dazzled with gold-digging wonders.
+
+In respect to the preserved meats at the Great Exhibition, many were
+merely cured or dried meats. From Canada, for instance, they comprised
+hams, bacon, tongues, and barrels of beef and pork. Among the
+miscellaneous contributions were grated beef, canisters of fresh
+salmon, 'admirable boiled mutton in tin cases,' dried mullets,
+'_mouton roti_,' fish, meats preserved in a fresh state by simple
+drying--on a plan practised in Switzerland--and preserved larks. Not
+the least remarkable was a preserved _pig_, which reclined in all its
+glory on the floor of the south-west gallery, and was a successful
+example of curing on a large scale. Still more striking than this, was
+the large partridge-pie, placed somewhat out of general notice in the
+'Netherlands' department; a formidable pie it truly was, for it
+contained 150 partridges, with truffles, and weighed 250 pounds: it
+had been made a year before it was forwarded to London. But among the
+contributions more immediately relating to our present subject, may be
+mentioned those of Mr Gamble, which comprised, among others, a
+canister of preserved boiled mutton, which had been prepared for the
+arctic expedition in 1824; many such canisters were landed at Fury
+Beach in Prince Regent's Inlet; they were found by Sir John Ross at
+that spot in 1833 in a perfect state, and again by Sir James Ross in
+1849, the meat being as sweet and wholesome as when prepared a quarter
+of a century before.
+
+The range of these preserving processes is singularly wide and varied.
+If we take the trade-list of one of the manufacturers, such as that of
+Messrs Hogarth of Aberdeen, and glance through it, we shall find ample
+evidence of this. There are nearly twenty kinds of soups selling at
+about 2s. per quart-canister. There is the concentrated essence of
+beef, much more expensive, because containing the nutriment of so much
+more meat; and there are, for invalids, concentrated broths of
+intermediate price. There are about a dozen kinds of fish, some fresh
+and some dried. There are various kinds of poultry, roast and boiled;
+hare, roast and jugged; and venison, hashed and minced. There are
+beef, veal, and mutton, all dressed in various ways, and some having
+the requisite vegetables canistered with them, at prices varying from
+l0d. to 15d. per pound. There are tongues, hams, bacon, kidneys,
+tripe, and marrow; and there are cream, milk, and marmalade. Lastly,
+there are such vegetables as peas, beans, carrots, turnips, cabbage,
+and beet, at 6d. to 1s. per pound-canister. The canisters for all
+these various provisions contain from one pound to six pounds each. It
+was Messrs Hogarth, we believe, who supplied the preserved meats and
+vegetables to the arctic ships under Sir E. Belcher which sailed in
+the spring of 1852.
+
+M. Brocchiere, a French manufacturer, has lately extended these
+economical processes so far, as to attempt to produce concentrated
+food from the blood of cattle. He dries up the liquid or serous
+portions of the blood, and forms into a cake, with admixture of other
+substances, the coagulable portion, which contains fibrin, the source
+of flesh and muscle. Unless a more delicate name could be given to
+this preparation, prejudice would have some influence in depriving it
+of the chance of fair play. The dry blood is in some cases combined
+with a small portion of flour, and made into light dry masses, like
+loaves or cakes, to be used as the basis of soups; while in other
+cases it is combined with sugar, to make sweet biscuits and bon-bons.
+Another kind of preserved animal fluid is the _ozmazome_, prepared by
+Messrs Warriner and Soyer. This consists of the nutritious matter or
+juice of meat, set free during the operation of boiling down fat for
+tallow in Australia; it is afterwards concentrated, and preserved in
+the form of sausages. A great amount of nutriment is thus obtained in
+a portable form; when boiled with gelatine, it forms a palatable diet,
+and it is also used to form a gravy for meat.
+
+Masson's method of preserving vegetables seems to be very effective,
+as applied to white and red cabbages, turnips, Brussels sprouts, and
+such like. The process, as conducted in France, is very simple. The
+vegetables are dried at a certain temperature (104 to 118 degrees
+Fahrenheit), sufficient to expel the moisture without imparting a
+burnt taste; and in this operation they lose nearly seven-eighths of
+their original weight. The vegetables are then pressed forcibly into
+the form of cakes, and are kept in tinfoil till required for use.
+These vegetables require, when about to be eaten, rather more boiling
+than those in the ordinary state. Some of the French ships of war are
+supplied with them, much to the satisfaction of the crews. Dr Lindley
+has stated, on the authority of a distinguished officer in the
+antarctic expedition under Sir James Ross, that although all the
+preserved meats used on that occasion were excellent, and there was
+not the slightest ground for any complaint of their quality, the crew
+became tired of the meat, but never of the vegetables. 'This should
+shew us,' says Dr Lindley, 'that it is not sufficient to supply ships'
+crews with preserved meats, but that they should be supplied with
+vegetables also, the means of doing which is now afforded.' Generally
+speaking, the flavour of preserved vegetables, whether prepared on
+Masson's or on any other process, is fresher than that of the
+meats--especially in the case of those which abound in the saccharine
+principle, as beet, carrot, turnips, &c. The more farinaceous
+vegetables, such as green peas, do not preserve so well.
+
+One of the most remarkable, and perhaps valuable recent introductions,
+in respect to preserved food, is the American _meat--biscuit_,
+prepared by Mr Borden. A _biscuit-beef_ is prepared by a Frenchman, M.
+Du Liscoet, resembling an ordinary coarse ship-biscuit; but this is
+said to have 'an animal, salt, and not very agreeable taste.' The
+American meat-biscuit, however, is prepared in a way which renders its
+qualities easily intelligible. It contains in a concentrated form all
+the nutriment of meat, combined with flour. The best wheaten flour is
+employed, with the nutriment of the best beef, and the result is
+presented for use as food in the form of a dry, inodorous, flat,
+brittle cake, which will keep when dry for an unlimited period. When
+required for use, it is dissolved in hot water, boiled, and seasoned
+at pleasure, forming a soup about the consistence of sago. One pound
+of the biscuit contains the nutritive matter--fat excepted--of five
+pounds of prime beef, mixed with half a pound of wheaten flour. One
+ounce of the biscuit, grated and boiled in a pint of water, suffices
+to form the soup. It can also be used in puddings and sauces. The
+manufacture of the meat-biscuit is located at Galveston, in Texas,
+which abounds in excellent cattle at a very low price. It is said that
+the meat-biscuit is not liable to heating or moulding, like corn and
+flour, nor subject to be attacked by insects. The meat-biscuit was
+largely used by the United States' army during the Mexican campaign;
+the nutriment of 500 pounds of beef, with 70 pounds of flour, was
+packed in a twenty-two-gallon cask.
+
+Dr Lindley, as one of the jurors for the Great Exhibition, and as a
+lecturer on the subject at the Society of Arts, commends the
+meat-biscuit in the very highest terms. 'I think I am justified in
+looking upon it,' he says, 'as one of the most important substances
+which this Exhibition has brought to our knowledge. When we consider
+that by this method, in such places as Buenos Ayres, animals which are
+there of little or no value, instead of being destroyed, as they often
+are, for their bones, may be boiled down and mixed with the flour
+which all such countries produce, and so converted into a substance of
+such durability that it may be preserved with the greatest ease, and
+sent to distant countries; it seems as if a new means of subsistence
+was actually offered to us. Take the Argentine Republic, take
+Australia, and consider what they do with their meat there in times of
+drought, when they cannot get rid of it while it is fresh; they may
+boil it down, and mix the essence with flour--and we know they have
+the finest in the world--and so prepare a substance that can be
+preserved for times when food is not so plentiful, or sent to
+countries where it is always more difficult to procure food. Is not
+this a very great gain?' A pertinent question, which intelligent
+emigrants would do well to bear in mind.
+
+
+
+
+THE BUYER OF SOULS:
+
+A Russian Story.
+
+
+All over the world, the essential elements of human nature are the
+same. And it is very fortunate for me that they are so, else I should
+find myself in considerable difficulty in endeavouring to place before
+my readers a correct picture of the little, out-of-the-way town of
+Nikolsk. Making due allowances for the differences in national manners
+and customs; for Nikolsk being under the dominion of his autocratic
+majesty the emperor of all the Russias, instead of the mild,
+constitutional government of Queen Victoria, there is no great
+discrepancy between Nikolsk and any equally out-of-the-way town in
+England. It has the same dearth of excitement, the same monotonous
+uniformity of life; it lives in the same profound ignorance of the
+great incidents that the drama of human existence is developing on the
+theatre of the world at large; it has its priest, its doctor, its
+lawyer, its post-office where a seal is not so sacred as it might be,
+or rather where the problem of getting at the news, without breaking
+the wax, has been successfully solved; it has the same thirst for
+scandal, the same intense interest for the most contemptible
+trivialities, the same constantly impending danger of suicide from
+ennui, did not human nature adapt itself to its environments, and sink
+into pettiness as naturally as though there were no such things as
+towns and cities, and enlarged views of man and nature in the world:
+all these it has the same as any British Little Pedlington. Then it
+has its circles of social intercourse, as rigidly defined and as
+intensely venerated as the rules of court precedence. The difference
+in the social scale between a landowner, a tenant, a member of the
+professions, a tradesman, a publican, a sweep, and a beggar, is
+accurately prescribed and religiously observed--with this addition,
+however, that in Nikolsk the owners of land are also owners of the
+serfs upon the land, and that the numerous representatives of that
+most centralised of all governments cut an important figure in the
+snobberies of the place. In fine, there is one little English word
+that describes Nikolsk completely, and that is--_dull_. It is
+dull--beyond comprehension dull. No town in the universe can be
+duller; because, from its quintessential dulness, there is but one
+step to total inanition.
+
+Thus, in Nikolsk, the ancient saying, that there is nothing new under
+the sun, was daily and hourly verified. Week after week, and year
+after year, the governor pillaged the people; the inspector of
+charities pillaged the charities; the inspector of nuisances
+sedulously avoided inspecting at all, lest, by removing them, the need
+for his services should cease; the landowner ground down the serfs;
+the tax-assessor ground the landowners; and everybody, in return for
+the favours a paternal government showered upon them through its
+immaculate representatives, cheated and defrauded that government with
+a persistency and perseverance approaching the sublime. Mothers of
+daughters were in despair, for in Nikolsk there were no 'nice young
+men,' no eligible matches; fathers of sons despaired in their turn,
+for as everybody robbed everybody, and the government robbed the
+robbers, there were no heiresses; ladies wore the fashions of 1820 in
+1840, under the impression that they were the newest from Paris; the
+reading portion of the community were just beginning to hear of
+Voltaire as a promising writer; and the general public laboured under
+the fixed idea, that somewhere or other Napoleon was still prosecuting
+his leviathan campaigns, happily _not_ in Russia. The only thing that
+ever broke the monotony of existence was the prevalence of cholera, or
+the governor essaying some loftier flight of tyranny than usual by
+hanging up a score of defaulters to the revenue, or knouting a bevy of
+ladies whose tongues outran their prudence.
+
+Such being the state of affairs in Nikolsk, it will be easily
+imagined, that when mine host of the Black Eagle, in a very important
+and mysterious manner, announced to a select few that a singular and
+eccentric stranger, rolling in money, had arrived at his hostelry,
+with the intention of staying some time in Nikolsk, the news flew like
+a telegraphic message, or a piece of scandal among a community of old
+maids, through the place; and that in a few hours after his arrival,
+nobody, from governor to serf, thought or spoke of anything or anybody
+else than the mysterious stranger, who, under the name of Tchitchikof,
+occupied the best suite of apartments in the Black Eagle, and, as the
+landlord affirmed on oath, was eccentric to a degree, and revelled in
+untold gold.
+
+Now, whatever had been the station in society of M. Tchitchikof, his
+means or his idiosyncrasy, the mere fact of his being a stranger had
+been enough to make the good people of Nikolsk pounce down upon him
+like a hawk on its quarry, and morally tear him to pieces with
+rapacious analysis to satiate their ravenous curiosity. But as to the
+fact of his being a stranger, was added the piquancy of a reputation
+for eccentricity, and the irresistible recommendation of wealth, the
+Tchitchikof mania spread over all ranks of society, and raged with the
+fury of a tornado by the evening of the very day upon which the host
+of the Eagle first delighted them with the news. In fact, so intense
+was the rage regarding him, that the landlord of that hostelry reaped
+a fortune from the constant drain upon his potables by inquisitive
+callers, and would have assuredly ceased to dispense strong drinks for
+evermore, had not the governor, in his vexation at the sequel of
+Tchitchikof's visit, found some pretext to despoil him of his gains,
+and a good round sum to boot. Various were the speculations as to the
+occupations and antecedents of Tchitchikof, and the business that had
+called him to Nikolsk. Enterprising mothers of families hoped that he
+was a Cossack Coelebs in search of a wife, and began, on the strength
+of the surmise, to lay plots for ensnaring him, justly considering
+that a fool with money is preferable to a sage without; landowners
+trembled at the idea of his being a government assessor, come to
+examine into the state of the properties, and assess accordingly;
+while government _employes_, knowing too well that a paternal
+government does not tolerate plundering in subordinates, shuddered,
+conscience-stricken, at the idea that he must be a St Petersburg
+inspector, come to Nikolsk with powers of scrutiny, and equally
+unlimited powers of knouting. Every class, therefore, received with
+joy the assurance, that, he was simply a private gentleman of fortune,
+travelling over Russia at his own sweet will. This mine host
+positively stated that he had heard Tchitchikof say with his own lips.
+This announcement delighted the officials and landowners, by removing
+their fears of the knout and taxes, and equally delighted the
+enterprising mammas, by increasing the probability of his visit being
+intimately connected with matrimonial intentions. It being thus
+definitely settled that there was nothing to be feared from
+Tchitchikof, the good folks of Nikolsk naturally took up the next
+position--that, being a stranger, and rich and eccentric, there was
+something to be gained from him. The leading passions of the
+Nikolskians being curiosity and avarice, their dealings with strangers
+were generally twofold--to scatter their ennui for a few days, by
+discovering their histories and affairs, and, where facts failed,
+calling in the aid of fancy; and when there was nothing more to be
+discovered or invented, to lighten their money-chests by all the
+tyranny that power dare venture on, or the effrontery that cunning
+could devise and execute. Their curiosity regarding Tchitchikof was
+soon baffled, by discovering, like Socrates, that all they knew was,
+that nothing could be known. In vain did mine host essay to pump him:
+with a show of the most voluble confidence, Tchitchikof contrived
+always virtually to tell nothing. In vain the postmaster looked among
+the letters with a lynx eye; not one word of writing ever came to
+Tchitchikof through the medium of the post. Their knowledge of him
+speedily resolved itself into this: that he was a dashing, handsome
+young man, of most refined and polished manners, eminently gifted with
+that self-possession which is the never-failing accompaniment of
+good-breeding and intercourse with what is termed good society,
+elegant in dress, and, as the host of the Eagle announced, decidedly
+eccentric. This eccentricity manifested itself in one way, and one
+only, and that altogether incomprehensible to the greedy
+Nikolskians--namely, a morbid desire to part with his money. If
+Tchitchikof met a serf on the highway, he would offer him a ruble for
+a stick, a cap, or any other article he wore, intrinsically not worth
+a handful of corn; and when the bewildered serf hesitated, would
+manifest the utmost anger and impatience until he had gained
+possession of the coveted article. With possession, his value for it
+ceased, and the dear purchase was generally consigned to the fire a
+few minutes after it was bought. However varied his freaks might be in
+detail, in spirit they were ever essentially the same; they ever
+consisted in making some worthless piece of lumber an excuse for
+lightening his purse of a ruble or two.
+
+The priest of the place was the first to find a solution of
+Tchitchikof's conduct. He asserted that Tchitchikof, in his love for
+money, had committed some fraud or some misdeed to obtain it, and that
+his conscience smiting him, he had sought ghostly solace from some
+minister, by whom he had been ordered, as adequate penance, to get off
+a certain portion per annum in bad bargains--thus at once doing good
+to the sellers and torturing the avaricious spirit of the penitential
+purchaser. To this the governor objected, with much force, that, money
+being the end of human existence, the gaining of it, by any means
+short of murder, must be laudable, and could sit heavily on no sane
+man's conscience; but being warned by the priest, that such arguments
+bordered on heresy, he shifted his ground, and maintained that
+Tchitchikof was much too young and too far from death to dream of
+penitence, even if he had committed such a crime; though he was
+evidently too reckless and devil-may-care to leave any dash of the
+miser in his composition. But the inspector of highways effectually
+knocked the clerical argument on the head, by saying, that had any
+priest thought it necessary, for the good of Tchitchikof's soul, that
+he should part with his money, he would have taken due care that,
+instead of it being squandered in Nikolsk, it had all gone to swell
+the revenues of Mother Church. The inspector of the hospital finally
+settled it to the satisfaction of all parties, by shewing, from
+attentive observation of Tchitchikof's conduct at the hospital, that
+he must be a monomaniac, whose particular insanity took the form of
+philanthropy; but that, believing that a gift debases the recipient,
+he dexterously contrived to _give_ his assistance under the cloak of a
+purchase. Although his companions could not see how any man could be
+so insane as to fancy a serf could be debased, this opinion was
+unanimously adopted, and the whole community set their wits to work to
+make themselves objects of charity for the nonce, and so obtain a
+share in the plunder.
+
+Space will not permit, neither would the end of our story be advanced
+by, a detail of the numerous and adroit dodges the Nikolskians
+invented in order to work upon Tchitchikof's supposed philanthropy.
+Suffice it to say, that they were not in the least degree successful.
+It seemed as though you had only to appeal directly to Tchitchikof's
+charity to close up his bowels of compassion, and render him at once
+callous and niggardly. Perhaps, too, as some thought, he was as acute
+as he was eccentric, and could distinguish between real and feigned
+distress. However it might be, it was soon remarkably clear that
+Tchitchikof, madman though he was, was not to be done; and the baffled
+conspirators did not hesitate to say, that, after all, he was no such
+remarkable friend of his species; that he kept a keen eye on the main
+chance; and if it were his gratification to do good, he made a little
+go as far as it could, and was singularly blind to meritorious
+poverty. Accordingly, Tchitchikof having now been a fortnight in
+Nikolsk, was fast ceasing to be an object of interest, when his
+eccentricity broke out in a fresh place, and there seemed some
+likelihood of the children of Nikolsk, in the end, spoiling that
+Egyptian.
+
+It so happened, that at that time the landowners, or rather
+serf-owners, constituted the most depressed 'interest' in that portion
+of the Russian Empire. Not that they were suffering from free-trade of
+any kind, or clamouring for open or disguised protection: the cause of
+their depression was the prevalence of a deadly epidemic, which
+reduced the number of their serfs with remorseless vigour--combined
+with the tax which a paternal government levied on them, as a
+consideration for its maintaining them in their humane and Christian
+property. One of the principles of Russian taxation is this: that as
+every individual in the empire, European or Asiatic, is the child of
+the czar, owes him fealty and obedience, and receives protection,
+light, and glory from him, as from a central sun, so every individual
+owes in return a direct contribution to the fund by which the
+czar-father supports that light and glory. This is the theory of
+Russian taxation; but against its actual carrying out in fact, is
+opposed the old difficulty, that from him who has nothing, nothing can
+possibly be extracted; and as the poor serfs have no more means of
+paying taxes than the hogs and cattle their fellow-slaves, a
+considerate paternal government drops its theory, and makes the
+landowner pay the poll-tax for the slaves he possesses, much as an
+English gentleman pays taxes for his horses and dogs, horses and dogs
+being as little able to pay tax themselves as the Russian serf. Now,
+in a kind of deep irony, a serf is called a _soul_. M. K---- or M.
+T---- owns so many _souls_, Miss L----'s marriage-portion was so many
+_souls_, Madame B----'s dowry was a hundred _souls_; and this word
+soul only applies to the male serfs--women and children being given
+in, or there being only one soul per family among serfs. Well, a
+landowner paying so much per soul to the government, and it being a
+work of much time and trouble to take a census of souls every year, an
+estimate is made at long intervals--say ten or twenty years--and the
+landowner is compelled to pay accordingly till the period expires,
+whether the number of his serfs increase or diminish. It is therefore
+self-evident, that if the former occur--that if his serfs propagate
+their species with due rapidity--the serf-owner is a clear gainer
+during the interval between the soul-censuses, as he will be paying
+tax for a given number, while he is actually reaping the profit of the
+labour of treble or quadruple that number; while, if cholera, fever,
+or any other of the ills that flesh, and especially serf-flesh, is
+heir to, come and slay their thousands, the exact converse obtains,
+and he will be paying tax for a certain number, while he only reaps
+the profit of a third. In the latter case were the landowners of
+Nikolsk. Cholera had more than decimated the serfs; the impoverished
+owners regarded their unreaped fields and untilled lands and
+impoverished exchequers with a sigh--a sigh which deepened into a
+shudder, when they reflected how soon the collector would arrive with
+his inexorable demand for soul-tax. The landed interest is in no
+country, we believe, celebrated for bearing reverses with dignified
+composure; and the depressed condition of the serf-owning interest was
+as much noised abroad in that district, as a certain professedly
+depressed interest connected with the soil has been, and is, in
+another country we know of much nearer home.
+
+About a dozen miles from Nikolsk there dwelt a widow, Madame
+Korobotchka by name, who lived on her late husband's estate, and had
+suffered more than her neighbours by the prevalent serf mortality.
+Late one evening, when a violent storm was raging without, a stranger,
+who had been surprised in the storm, demanded the shelter of Madame
+Korobotchka's chateau till the morning; and as hospitality is a sacred
+duty in Russia, his demand was not only granted, but in a few minutes
+the stranger was seated as her _vis-a-vis_ at the best repast her
+impoverished condition could afford.
+
+'You appear to have a nice property here, _matouchka_,' said the
+stranger, by way of opening a conversation. 'How many peasants have
+you?'
+
+'Peasants, _batiouchka_! At present, about eighty; but these are awful
+times. This year, we have had a frightful loss of them. Providence
+have pity on us!'
+
+'Nevertheless, your men look well enough, and----But, pardon me--allow
+me to inquire to whom I am indebted for this hospitality? I am quite
+confused--arrived so suddenly and so late--I'----
+
+'My name is Korobotchka--my paternal name Nastasie Petrovna.'
+
+'Nastasie Petrovna! Beautiful name.'
+
+'And you, sir?' inquired Nastasie. And then added, palpitating with
+terror: 'Are you--surely not--are you--an assessor?'
+
+'O no!' was the reply. 'My name is Tchitchikof. I am no assessor; I
+travel on purely private business.'
+
+'I see: you have come to buy. How annoying! I've just sold all my
+honey to those thieves of merchants.'
+
+'It is of no consequence. I do not buy honey.'
+
+'Indeed! hemp, then? Dear me, and I have next to none.'
+
+'Never mind, matouchka,' said Tchitchikof. 'My business in these parts
+is different. You were mentioning that you have had many deaths here?'
+
+'Alas, yes! eighteen souls,' said Nastasie, sighing; 'and such fine
+fellows: and the worst is, I shall have to pay for them. The assessor
+arrives, you must pay what he demands--pay to a soul. Eighteen die--it
+is all one--you pay the same. They are frightful, they are ruinous,
+these deaths!'
+
+'Ah, Nastasie,' said Tchitchikof, 'it is the will of God: we must not
+murmur against Providence! But tell me--will you let me have them?'
+
+'Let you have what?'
+
+'Your dead souls.'
+
+'How can I let you have _them_?'
+
+'Nothing easier. Sell them to me: I will give you money for them.'
+
+'How! what! Do you want to disinter them?'
+
+'Disinter them! what nonsense; no!' cried Tchitchikof. 'You hand them
+over to me by a regular conveyance, and I pay you whatever we agree
+upon for them.'
+
+'And what will you do with them?' asked Nastasie in great surprise.
+
+'That is my business,' said Tchitchikof.
+
+'But you see they are dead.'
+
+'And who, in the name of goodness, said they were living?' cried he.
+'It's a misfortune for you that they are dead, isn't it? You pay the
+tax for them, don't you?--and that'll half-ruin you, you say. Well, I
+clear you of the tax for these eighteen dead ones--do you
+understand?--not only clear you of the tax, but give fifteen rubles
+into the bargain. Is that clear, or is it not?'
+
+'No--yes--I can't tell what to say. You see, I have never sold _dead_
+peasants before, and'-----
+
+'It would be queer if you had,' cried Tchitchikof. 'Who'd buy them, do
+you think? It's my humour, my whim, to have them. I gain nothing by
+them--how can I?--and you gain everything. Cannot you see that?'
+
+'Yes--but--really I don't know what to say. What puzzles me is, that
+they are dead.'
+
+'She hasn't the brains of a bullock,' exclaimed Tchitchikof
+indignantly. 'Listen, matouchka. Pay attention. You pay for them as if
+they were living: that will ruin you.'
+
+'Ah, that is true indeed, batiouchka. In three months, I must pay one
+hundred and fifty rubles, and bribe the assessor to boot.'
+
+'Well, then, I save you all that trouble. I pay for these eighteen--I,
+not you. When you sign the contract, I hand over the money. Do you
+understand now?'
+
+As Nastasie's cupidity excelled her stupidity, she did begin to
+understand; and after a little more hesitation and explanation,
+Tchitchikof drew up a formal conveyance of the eighteen souls,
+precisely as though they were bodies and souls, inserting their names,
+however, as a guarantee against his claiming any of Nastasie's living
+stock. Nastasie signed it, Tchitchikof paid the money, and, after a
+good night's rest, departed for Nikolsk, with the title-deed of the
+dead souls safely in his possession.
+
+Of course this new freak of Tchitchikof's was soon noised abroad, and
+in the eyes of the Nikolskians proved two things:--_1st_, That he was
+unmistakably mad, or philanthropic to a high degree; _2d_, That there
+was now a prospect of gaining something by said madness or
+philanthropy. Accordingly, all the serf-owners made it their business
+to drop in upon Tchitchikof in a purely casual manner; and contrived,
+after more or less higgling, to depart with a larger quantity of the
+current coin of Russia in their possession than they possessed on
+first seeking the interview. In a few days, Tchitchikof found himself
+possessed of 2000 souls, at the moderate cost of 19,500 rubles. Dead
+souls were getting quite a scarce article; and, on the true principles
+of supply and demand, some enterprising Nikolskians were about to
+import some defunct souls from a distance, when suddenly, one morning,
+the host of the Eagle announced, that at dead of the previous night,
+Tchitchikof had departed, bag and baggage and souls.
+
+This sudden departure created a great sensation. All the old theories
+about Tchitchikof revived; and the general opinion seemed to be, that
+it was all a deep-laid scheme of some irresponsible man in authority,
+the end whereof was to be suffering in some shape or other to the good
+people of Nikolsk; until the inspector of the hospital, the Nikolsk
+Socrates, proved clearly, by unassailable argumentation, that
+Tchitchikof was mad; that his exit was in exact keeping with his
+conduct during his sojourn; and that they might repose in the peace of
+easy consciences, proud that they had made the most of his insanity.
+
+Now for the _denouement_. At St Petersburg is or was a bank
+established by a paternal government for this most laudable purpose:
+what with deaths, taxes, and the natural extravagance that seems to
+accompany the possession of land in all countries, the Russian
+landowners are often embarrassed, and were driven, before this bank
+was established, to seek assistance from usurious Jews, the end of
+which was frequently total ruin, and a Hebraicising of the race of
+landowners, not pleasant to a Russian and a Christian czar. Therefore
+this bank was established to lend money to distressed members of the
+landed interest; compelled by its charter to lend 200 rubles per soul,
+at a given interest and time, to every landowner who should deposit
+his title-deeds with the bank. On a certain day very soon after
+Tchitchikof's abrupt exit from Nikolsk, a solicitor applies at this
+bank for a loan of 400,000 rubles on the security of 2000 souls. The
+title-deeds are examined--found correct; the money is paid; and in a
+few days afterwards M. Tchitchikof and the money are both out of the
+jurisdiction of the czar.
+
+The time for repayment arrives. The bank hears nothing of M.
+Tchitchikof. A letter is sent to Nikolsk: no reply. Another of a
+threatening nature: still no reply. Finally, a special agent is
+despatched, and finds neither Tchitchikof nor security; but gradually
+collects the particulars of his visit, as narrated above, and returns
+to report progress, or no progress, to his superiors. There is nothing
+for it, one would think, but to write off the 400,000 rubles as a
+clear loss, and think no more of it. But a paternal government knows
+better than that. It adjudges that the Nikolskians are virtually
+accessaries to the fraud; apportions the loan among the sellers of the
+souls, and compels repayment. So that the Nikolskians have to
+conclude, in reflecting on M. Tchitchikof, not without acerbity and a
+certain uncharitableness of spirit, that if he were a friend of his
+species, he limited _his_ species to himself; and if he were mad,
+there was a very clear and profitable method in his madness.
+
+Meantime the principal actor in this little Russian episode, as the
+Baron von Rabenstein, captivates the hearts of our English ladies at
+the ball-room, and empties the pockets of our English gentlemen at the
+_rouge et noir_ table in the fashionable German watering-place of
+Lugundtrugbad. And without disparaging his patriotism, or natural love
+of country, we believe we speak advisedly when we state, that he has
+not the slightest idea of returning, within anything like a limited
+period, to the territories of his autocratic majesty.
+
+
+
+
+SPELLING-BOOK _VERSUS_ HORN-BOOK.
+
+
+Nothing is considered a more shocking mark of defective education than
+_false spelling_, or _bad spelling_, or _misspelling_--all which terms
+are used to express one's spelling a word in some way which the critic
+does not approve; that is, does not consider the right way. But this
+is plainly assuming that there is but one right way. Begging his
+pardon, is he quite certain that there must be true and false, good
+and bad, right and wrong ways of spelling every word in every
+language, or even in our own? It seems very doubtful. At all events,
+we must, I think, tether the critic to his own particular period, and
+not let him range up and down at his pleasure, condemning the past and
+legislating for the future.
+
+No doubt there is at this time a common and usual way of spelling most
+words, which may claim to be called the right way, or _orthography_.
+It is equally certain, that for any individual writer to depart from
+that way, is anything but a mark of wisdom. At the same time, it would
+not be difficult to specify a considerable number of words, of which
+the spelling has only recently been made what it is, and about which,
+even now, doubts may be raised.
+
+But this is hardly worth mentioning, for it is clear that there is,
+generally speaking, a mode of spelling the English language which is
+followed by all well-educated persons; and as, according to
+Quintilian, the _consensus eruditorum_ forms the _consuetudo
+sermonis_, so this usage of spelling, adopted by general consent of
+the learned, becomes a law in the republic of literature. My object is
+not to insist on what is so plain and notorious, but rather to call
+attention to a fact which many readers do not know, and many others do
+not duly consider. I mean this fact--that three or four hundred years
+ago there was no such settled rule. Not that a different mode was
+recognised, but that there was no recognised mode. There was no idea
+in the minds of persons who had occasion to write, that any such thing
+existed, for in fact it did not exist; and the adoption of this or
+that mode was a matter of taste or accident, rather than of duty or
+propriety. Thus it was that the writer who spelt (or spelled, for we
+have some varieties still) a word variously in different parts of the
+same book or document, and even the printer whose own name appeared
+one way on the title-page and another on the colophon, was not
+contradicting his contemporaries or himself: he was not breaking the
+law, for there was none to break--or, at least, none that could be
+broken in that way. He would, perhaps, have said to the same effect,
+though not so elegantly as Quintilian: 'For my part, except where
+there is any established custom to the contrary, I think everything
+should be written as it is sounded; for the use of letters is to
+preserve sounds, and render them, as things which they have been
+holding in trust, to the reader.' In short, the people of England, in
+these old times, had a law of their own, though it did not manifest
+itself in a fixed mode of spelling, but differed from ours, and,
+indeed, was based on a very different principle. Perhaps I might say,
+that they were brought up, not to the Spelling-book, but the
+Horn-book.
+
+By this, I mean that the critic of modern times has been no doubt well
+drilled in the spelling-book, soundly rated if he was guilty of a
+misspelling, and made to understand that it was next to impossible
+for him to commit a more disgusting barbarism; while his
+many-times-great-grandfather (the scholar of Lily, perhaps we might
+almost say of Busby) went through no such discipline. He was, as I
+have said, brought up on the horn-book.
+
+Now, I grant that, generally, the major includes the minor; and a
+man's being able to read is _prima facie_ evidence that he knows his
+letters; yet it is possible that the modern many-times-great-grandson
+may indulge in as much laxity respecting _letters_, as his ancestor
+did with regard to _words_. Just try the experiment. Go round to
+half-a-dozen printers, and ask them to print for you the first letter
+of the alphabet. They will understand you, and you will understand me,
+without my puzzling the workman who is to print this--if it is
+printed--by naming the letter here. Apply to them, I say, successively
+to print this letter for you. It is not likely that any one of them
+will ask you: 'What shape will you have it?' because that is not a
+technical mode of expression among printers; but if any one should do
+so, you would perhaps answer with some surprise: 'Why, the right shape
+to be sure. Do not you know your letters, and are not your first,
+second, and third letters, and all through the alphabet, of the right
+shape? Only take care that you do not make this first one in the shape
+of the second, or third, or any of those which follow, for the whole
+set are distinguished from one another simply and purely by their
+_shape_.'
+
+As I have said, however, if you applied to a practical man, he would
+not put the question in this form. At the same time, he certainly
+would put it in another. He would perhaps say: 'What type will you
+have? Shall it be Roman, Italic, Black-letter, Script, or any of the
+grotesque inventions of modern fancy?' You immediately become aware
+that your order is too indefinite to be acted on without some further
+specification. As, however, it is immaterial to you in a matter of
+mere experiment, you say at once 'Roman.' Does that settle it?--not at
+all: the question of form and shape is as wide open as ever. The Upper
+Case and Lower Case in a printing-office differ as much as the Upper
+House and Lower House in parliament or convocation. Is it to be a
+great 'A,' or a little 'a?' A great 'A,' I need not tell you, though
+quite the same in sound and value, is no more like a little 'a,' than
+a great 'B' is like a little 'b.'
+
+As to writing also, as well as printing--set half-a-dozen critics
+separately and apart to write a capital 'A,' and see how far the
+letters which they will produce agree in form and shape--I do not say
+with any in the printer's stock, for not one will do that, we may be
+certain, but with each other. One scribe will probably make something
+like an inverted cornucopia, or wiredrawn extinguisher; and one will
+cross it with a dash, and another with a loop; while another will make
+a letter wholly different--something that shall look like a pudding
+leaning against a trencher set on edge--something that is only a great
+'A' by courtesy, being in fact nothing but an overgrown little 'a;'
+bearing the same proportion to a common 'a' as an alderman does to a
+common man, and looking as if it had been invented by some municipal
+scribe or official whose eye was familiar with the outline of
+recumbent obesity.
+
+But notwithstanding these and many other variations, you freely allow
+that each of your friends has made a capital 'A.' You do not dream of
+saying that one is right, and all the rest are wrong. The taste and
+the skill of their penmanship may be various, and the judgment of good
+and bad goes so far, but it knows better than to go further. Your
+toleration on this point is unbounded. If you can but make it out, you
+say, without the least emotion of resentment or contempt: 'Mr A.
+always makes _his_ Bs in this way;' and 'Mrs C. always makes her Ds in
+that way.' _Their_ Bs and Ds forsooth! Yes: 'every man his own
+alphabet-maker.' Why not, if you do but understand him? Right or
+wrong, the fact is that, come in what shape it may, you take what
+stands for 'A' to _be_ 'A,' with all the rights and qualities annexed
+to that letter. Except so far as taste is concerned, you do not think
+of rebuking the self-complacent type-founder, who prides himself on
+having produced a new form which all the world will admit to be a
+genuine 'A,' as soon as they make out that it was meant for one.
+
+I have thought it worth while to say all this about letters, because I
+believe that it will illustrate what was once upon a time nearly true
+as to words. The principle of those who had occasion to write in those
+early times was, so far as circumstances allowed, just opposite to
+that of the modern critics who find fault with their practice. They
+made that which, notwithstanding its fluctuations, we may call 'the
+constant quantity' to be the sound, exactly as we do with the
+multiform As and Bs just noticed. On the other hand, modern purists
+consider, not altogether incorrectly as to the fact, that the notation
+has somehow been settled and fixed, and they are disposed to force the
+sound into conformity. 'B, y, spells by,' said Lord Byron; and what he
+settled for himself, the spelling-book has settled for the rest of the
+world and all the words in it.
+
+The circumstances of those who wrote English some centuries ago, may
+be considered as bearing some analogy to those of modern English
+authors who have occasion to write down Oriental words in English
+letters, and who are therefore obliged to make the characters which we
+use represent sounds which we do not utter. Of course there can only
+be an approximation. Writers feel that there is a discretion, and use
+it freely. It is easy for one after another to imagine that he has
+improved on the spelling of his predecessors. How many variegations
+and transmogrifications has the name of one unhappy Eastern tongue
+undergone since the days when Athanasius Kircher discoursed of the
+Hanscreet tongue of the Brahmins? I am almost afraid to write the name
+of Vishnoo, for I do not remember to have seen it in any book
+published within these five years; and what it may have come to by
+this time, I cannot guess. To a certain point, I think, this
+progressive purification of the mode of representing Eastern sounds
+has been acceptable to the world of letters; but the reading-public
+have shewn that there is a point at which they may lose patience. They
+not long ago decided that Haroun Alraschid, and Giafar, and Mesrour,
+and even the Princess Badroulboudour, and the fair slave
+Nouzhatoul-aouadat, had all 'proper names,' and refused to part with
+the friends of their youth for a more correctly named set of persons
+never before heard of.
+
+This by the way, however; for the main object of these remarks is to
+convey and impress the idea, that what naturally seems to us the
+strange and uncouth spelling of former times, was not a proof of the
+gross, untaught ignorance which it would now indicate. The purpose of
+the writer in those days was, not to spell accurately words which
+there was no strict rule for spelling, but to note down words in such
+a way as to enable those who had not heard them to reproduce them, and
+to impart their sense through the eye to those who should only see
+them. One of the finest proofs and specimens of this which we possess,
+is to be found in a sort of historical drama, now about three hundred
+years old, written by Bishop Bale, one of the most learned men of his
+time, and still existing, partly in his hand-writing, and partly in
+another hand, with his autograph corrections.[1] Certainly the prelate
+and the scribe between them did, as we should consider it, most
+atrociously murder the king and queen's English--for I suppose it
+would be hard to say how much of it belonged to Edward, and how much
+to Elizabeth; and there is something quite surprising in the prolific
+ingenuity with which they evade what we should consider the obvious
+and natural spelling. For instance, one of the _dramatis personae_, and
+a very important one, is an allegorical person called 'Civil Order;'
+but I believe that the word 'civil' thus spelled never occurs in the
+whole work, though seven other modes of spelling it are to be found
+there. What then? You know what the writer means by cyvill, cyvyll,
+cyvyle, sivyll, syvyll, sivile, and syvile. Only say it out, and don't
+be afraid. It is mere nervousness that hinders people from reading old
+spelling. Clear your throat, and set off at full speed, and the top of
+your voice, with the following paragraph. Do not stop to think; take
+the raspers without looking at them, and you will find that you get
+over the ground wonderfully:--
+
+'The suttle munkych rewlars in furdewhodes rewled the pepell with
+suttyll rewles. But some of the pepyll were sedycyows scysmatyckes,
+and did puplyshe them for dysgysyd ipocryts, full of desseyvable gylle
+and covytous hydolatrie of luker. And these sysmatykes could in no
+wysse indewer that lords, nowther dewks, nor yet the kings mageste,
+nor even the empowr, should ponnysh any vylayn. Because, say they,
+peples in general, as well as peplys in particular (that is, yehe man
+and his ayers), hath an aunchant and ondowghted right to do his
+dessyer attonys. "Yea sewer," said a myry fellawe (for such as be
+myrie will make myrye jests)--"even as good right as a pertre to yield
+peres, and praty pygys to eat them."'
+
+It is, of course, only for the spelling, or various spellings, of
+these words that the bishop is responsible, they being here
+arbitrarily brought together from various parts of his work merely to
+form a specimen. There can be no doubt that he would have pronounced
+the words 'people' and 'merry' in one uniform manner wherever they
+occur; but it is curious to consider how little we can judge
+respecting the pronunciation of our forefathers. Their _litera scripta
+manet_; but how they vocalised it, we cannot always decide. If the
+reader takes up any edition of Sternhold and Hopkins, printed less
+than a hundred years ago, he may, I believe, read in Psalm lxxix--
+
+  O God, the Gentiles do invade,
+    thine heritage to spoil:
+  Jerusalem an heap is made--
+    thy temple they defile.
+
+Any one who is aware how many of what are called 'vulgarisms' in
+pronunciation are in fact 'archaisms,' will naturally think that the
+ancient pronunciation of 'spoil,' like the modern vulgar one, was
+'spile.' But if he goes to one old black letter--say that printed by
+John Windet for the assignees of Richard Day in 1593--he will find in
+the fourth line 'defoile;' and if he goes to another edition he may
+find 'defoyle;' and he will learn that in speculating on such matters,
+he must be on his guard against modernisers, and go to originals. Even
+then the rhymes of our ancestors teach us much less of their
+pronunciation than we might expect; and the curious glimpses which we
+sometimes get from them, and from other sources, are only enough to
+make us wish for more. Take, for instance, Master Holofernes's
+vituperation of Don Adrian de Armado in _Love's Labour Lost_, and see
+what you can make of it: 'I abhor such phantasms, such insociable and
+point-devise companions, such rackers of orthography, as to speak
+_dout_ fine, when he should say _doubt_; _det_, when he should
+pronounce _debt_; d, e, b, t; not d, e, t; he clepeth a calf, _cauf_;
+half, _hauf_; neighbour vocatur _nebour_; neigh abbreviated _ne_: this
+is abominable, which we would call _abhominable_.' Such a passage is
+curious, coming from one of whom it was asked: 'Monsieur, are you not
+lettered?' and answered: 'Yes, yes; he teaches boys the Horn-book.'
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Kynge Johan_, a Play in Two Parts. By John Bale. Edited for the
+Camden Society by J. Payne Collier, Esq., F. S. A., from the
+Manuscript of the Author in the Library of the Duke of Devonshire.
+1838.
+
+
+
+
+A FEW WORDS ABOUT ROOMS AND THEIR ORNAMENTS.
+
+
+The sun shines brightly to-day, and his beams glance lovingly from the
+flowers without to those within the room, and rest upon the 'Eve' that
+stands among them; the light is toned into softness by this green
+drapery, and reminds us of the leaves and tracery which peep in at the
+windows. We find, in the effect of the whole, such a delicate reflex
+of the nature outside, that we live with a half-conscious perception
+that but a tent-like division exists between us and the birds and
+blossoms in the garden. We love this room as we do few others, not for
+the evidences of wealth in it, though these exist, but because the
+idea regulating its arrangement is predominant through all its
+details. Affection and love of beauty were present at its creation for
+home-life, and worked it into harmony. All rooms might have this kind
+of beauty, subject only to slight modifications from position and
+wealth.
+
+Character, in reality, has everything to do with it. Rooms tell us
+much of their inhabitants. No one will doubt who remembers the stiff,
+formal arrangement of the drawing-room 'at school,' where the chairs
+stood in the primmest rows and couples, and the whole place breathed
+such an air of strict propriety, that we doubted whether a hearty
+laugh would not be unbecoming in it; or the uncomfortable, seldom
+used, conventional drawing-room, which has such fine-looking,
+unreadable books on its polished tables; or the cheerful tiny room of
+the friend who has very little money, but very much taste, and who
+hangs an engraving there, and puts flowers here, and makes a shrine
+out of an ordinary garret. In some rooms, we see that life is
+respectably got through in a routine of eating, sleeping,
+comfort-loving; in others, that it glances to the stars, and lives
+with the flowers; in others, again, that it finds out good in shady
+nooks or crowded cities, and is filled with affection and
+intelligence.
+
+There are very few rooms, except among the poorest and most degraded,
+that have not in them some indications of the love of beauty, which is
+so universal in human nature. Influenced by the same feeling, the
+cottager's wife scours her tins, arranges her little cupboard of cups
+and saucers, buys barbarous delineations of 'Noah in the Ark,' or
+'Christ with the Elders,' from the pedler; and the nobleman collects
+around him all he thinks precious in bronze or painting. Cleanliness
+and order are certainly the simplest manifestations of the love of the
+beautiful in the household--the germ, which the feeling in its highest
+development must include; but too many among us remain satisfied with
+the lower form, and from some reason or other, fail to see the further
+gratification that is possible to all. Nature, however, stimulates and
+satisfies this love everywhere, and society in many directions is
+following in her footsteps. Let us see what can be done in the matter.
+After all, rooms must still retain the impress of the character of
+their inhabitants. Yes; but there are certain general rules which all
+who do arrange them would do well to remember. In the first place,
+they should be well lighted, and as thoroughly ventilated as they can
+be made; the eye should be pleased with their general effect; no
+detail of colouring or furniture should mar it; they should be filled
+with gentle relief, not uniformity of colour; and there should be as
+many waving lines, instead of angles, as possible. They should contain
+all things necessary to their several characters, but nothing very
+superfluous; and their whole arrangement should indicate, and be
+subservient to, the idea that prompted it. Above all, they should have
+in them some thing, or things, to soothe the thoughts, stimulate the
+fancy, and suggest something higher than the ordinary uses which they
+serve. Human beings, even in the life of a day, experience many
+fluctuations of mood, of joy or sadness; and there should be some
+thing, if not person, in their homes, that would suggest to them mute
+sympathy and comfort.
+
+Are we sad? It is winter now, and these hyacinth bulbs are unsightly,
+but spring will bring flowers to them, as time and patience will to
+us. Are we glad? These roses and geraniums glow in the sunbeams, and
+we rejoice together. Are we dull? That beautiful Greek form rouses us
+into activity again. Are we weary of climbing, and dissatisfied with
+our want of success? Turn to that Raphael, and let us remember, that
+all who faint not by the way, and aspire worthily, shall at length be
+transfigured in the light of truth and beauty. There are few if any
+rooms that need be without some such suggestion and comfort. Nature
+offers them lavishly to all who care to seek them; and first, and most
+generously, her loveliest of treasures, flowers, which are the
+brightest of drawing-room accessories, as well as the sweetest of
+cottage adornments. Sea-weed, too--which is more difficult to get, but
+when arranged with taste, is so exquisite in colour--is a sweet
+remembrance of sea-side beaches and the odour of the spray. Bits of
+pine-bark and fir-cones are beautiful as to colour, and bring back to
+us pictures of woods gleaming in the western light, and well-known
+landscapes seen through vistas of tall stems; sprays of clematis and
+bryony, a group of ivy-leaves, or bunch of ripe corn, require nothing
+but a little graceful arrangement to throw a light of beauty over many
+a dull corner. But some of these ornaments are perishable, and can but
+delight us for awhile. We must have something more permanent. Ah,
+then, there are shells which still echo faintly the delicious murmur
+of the waves, and reflect all the colours of sea and sky together; one
+or two of them we must secure: the graceful nautilus, from whose mouth
+shall hang in summer some pendent blossoms; and that Venus's ear,
+which glitters in the sunbeams as it lies upon the table, and bears
+the impress of spirits' wings upon its inner surface. Bronzes,
+marbles, and paintings can be purchased only by the wealthy, so we
+will not speak of them; we will see them as often as we can in public
+galleries, and meanwhile rejoice that such fine substitutes in plaster
+and engraving may become ours. These are yearly becoming more common
+among us; and treasures of antique and modern art, Grecian gods, and
+Italian Madonnas, may be our own household delights by the expenditure
+of a few shillings. Of course, to the taste and requirements of each
+individual must be left the selection of the kind and character of the
+beauty he desires to have around him.
+
+Some subjects in art are best suited for enjoyment in rooms destined
+for solitary use, others for those of general resort--some touch us
+peculiarly in one mood, some are welcome to us in all. Of this last
+character 'St Catherine borne by Angels' is a specimen: the earth
+sinks beneath them, they fly so swiftly and yet so calmly! we are in
+the air too with them, and mark how small the world looks, with its
+burdens of wrong and suffering, as we cleave our way through the
+fields of ether up towards the stars; and that lovely one the spirits
+hold so tenderly, how still and calm is every line!--she is at peace
+after the storm and the agony, and for a space we lie still as she in
+those angel arms. Of the same class is Raphael's 'Transfiguration,'
+which is magnificent if we only contemplate the grouping of the
+figures, but truly sublime in the ideas it suggests. Flaxman's
+'Mercury and Pandora' likewise, elegant and graceful in the highest
+degree, is peculiarly suited for generally used rooms and constant
+delight. But specimens crowd into our recollection for which we have
+not space. General sitting-rooms can bear a _variety_ of subject and
+suggestion--they will have a variety of inhabitants or visitors; and
+while bearing the impress of a certain unity, they should contain
+pleasure for all, and stimuli for differing minds. We would not
+habitually admit in them works of art which rouse too painful a class
+of emotions. Fuseli's picture of 'Count Ugolino in Prison,' in which
+the stony fixedness of despair deprives us, as we gaze, almost of the
+living hope within us, we could not bear to have near us habitually.
+That wonderfully beautiful marble of Francesca di Rimini and her
+lover, which appeared in the Great Exhibition last year, would come
+under the same law of banishment. It realised so perfectly the
+hopelessness of hell, that at sight of it we swooned in spirit as
+Dante did in reality. Life has so many stern realities for most of us,
+that in art we need relief, and generally desire to find renewed hope
+and faith through delight and gladness.
+
+In rooms where we need care to please only ourselves, we can follow
+our own tastes more entirely and freely. In them, shall we not have a
+Madonna whose 'eyes are homes of silent prayer?'--a copy of De la
+Roche's 'Christ,' so touching in its sad and noble serenity? or some
+bust or engraving of poet or hero, which shall be to us as a
+biography, never failing to stimulate us in the best direction? Or
+shall we have a copy of that fine Mercury, who stands resting lightly
+on the earth with one foot, and raised, outstretched arms, in the act
+of ascending from it--the embodiment of aspiration? All these things
+are symbols of noble thought, and they may belong to us as easily now
+as a copy of Bacon or Shakspeare. Here is great cause for rejoicing.
+Fantastic furniture, old china, and such-like things, will one day be
+superseded in drawing-rooms, just as the old, barbarously-coloured
+'Noahs' and 'Abrahams' of the cottage may now easily be by pictures in
+better perspective and purer taste. Then there will be danger of
+crowding rooms with good things--a great mistake also: an ornament
+should have a simple background, should 'shew like metal on a sullen
+ground.' Rooms, from temptations of wealth or taste, should never
+become mere pretty curiosity-shops. Forbearance and self-control are
+necessary in this as in all things. 'To gild refined gold' is worse
+than useless.
+
+Let us not question the need of such thought and care for mere
+dwelling-places. Are not rooms the nurseries of the young spirits
+among us, the resting-places of all others on their pilgrimage? And
+because everything is important that influences and educates the
+soul, love and thought shall work together in our homes, and create in
+all details something akin to the universal harmony they should
+typify.
+
+
+
+
+INVESTMENTS!
+
+
+What is to be done with the money which is realised in the ordinary
+course of affairs, has latterly become a kind of puzzle. There it goes
+on accumulating as a result of industry; but what then? A person can
+but eat one dinner in the day; two or three coats are about all he
+needs for the outer man; he can but live in one house at a time; and,
+in short, after paying away all he needs to pay, he finds that he has
+not a little over for--investment. Since our young days, this word
+investment has come remarkably into use. All are looking for
+investments; and as supply ordinarily follows demand, up there rise,
+at periodical intervals, an amazing number of plans for the said
+investments--in plain English, relieving people of their money. A few
+years ago, railways were the favourite absorbents. Railways, on a
+somewhat more honest principle, may possibly again have their day.
+Meanwhile, the man of money has opened up to him a very comprehensive
+field for the investment of his cash: he can send it upon any mission
+he chooses; he may dig turf with it, or he may dig gold; he may catch
+whales, or he may catch sprats, or do fifty other things; but if he
+see it again after having relinquished his hold upon it, he must have
+exercised more discretion than falls to the lot of the majority of Her
+Majesty's lieges in their helter-skelter steeple-chasing after 20 per
+cent. Our present business, however, is not with legitimate
+speculation, but with schemes in which no discretion is exercised, or
+by which discretion is set to sleep--in a word, with bubble
+investments; and the history of many of the most promising of these
+speculations may be read in the following brief and not altogether
+mythical biography, of an interesting specimen which suddenly fell
+into a declining way, and is supposed to have lately departed this
+life.
+
+The Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company was
+born from the brain of Aurophilus Dobrown, Esq., of Smallchange Dell,
+in the county of Middlesex, between the hours of ten and eleven at
+night on the 14th of October 1851. It was at first a shapeless and
+unpromising bantling; but being introduced to the patronage of a
+conclave of experienced drynurses, it speedily became developed in
+form and proportion; and before it was ten days old, was formally
+introduced, with official garniture, to the expectant public, by whom
+it was received with general approbation and favour. The new company,
+in a dashing prospectus, held forth a certain prospect of enormous
+advantages to shareholders, with an entire exemption from
+responsibility of every sort. The shares were a million in number, at
+one pound each, without any further call--on the loose-cash principle,
+and no signing of documents. Aurophilus Dobrown was chairman of the
+committee of management.
+
+The intentions of the company, as detailed at length in their eloquent
+prospectus, were to invade the gold regions of the Australian
+continent with a monster engine, contrived by the indefatigable
+Crushcliff, and which, it was confidently expected, would devour the
+soil of the auriferous district at a rate averaging about three tons
+per minute. It was furnished, so the engineer averred, with a stomach
+of 250 tons capacity, supplied with peristaltic grinders of steel of
+the most obdurate temper, enabling it with ease to digest the hardest
+granite rocks, to crush the masses of quartz into powder, and to
+deposit the virgin gold upon a sliding floor underneath. The machine
+was to be set in motion by the irresistible force of 'the pressure
+from without,' and 1000 pounds-weight of pure gold per diem was
+considered a very low estimate of its powers of production. These
+reasonable expectations being modestly set forth in circulars and
+public advertisements, and backed by the august patronage of the
+respectable and responsible individuals above named, the Long Range
+Excavator Company speedily grew into vast repute. The starving herd
+encamped in Stagg's Alley, flew at once to pen, ink, and paper, and
+applications for shares poured in by thousands. Referees were hunted
+up, or they were not--that is no great matter. Half a million of the
+shares were duly allotted; and that done, to the supreme delectation
+of the stags, Mr Stickemup the broker, in conjunction with his old
+friend and colleague Mr Knockemoff, fixed the price of shares by an
+inaugural transaction of considerable amount, at 25 per cent. above
+par, at which they went off briskly. Now were the stags to be seen
+flying in every direction, eager to turn a penny before the inevitable
+hour appointed for payment on the shares. It was curious to observe
+the gradual wane of covetousness in the cerval mind; how, as the
+fateful hour approached, their demand for profit grew small by degrees
+and beautifully less. From 4s. premium per share to 3s.; from 3s. to
+2s.; from 2s. to 1s.; and thence to such a thing as 9d., 8d., 7d., and
+still downwards, till, as the hand of the dial verged upon the closing
+stroke of the bell, they condescended to resign their Long Range
+Excavators to the charge of buyers who _could_ pay for the shares they
+held. The company was now fairly afloat. By the aid of
+
+  A few clever riggers to put on the pot,
+  To stir it round gently, and serve while 'twas hot,
+
+the shares rose higher than had been expected. Aurophilus Dobrown sold
+his 50,000 at a handsome premium, and realised what he was pleased
+privately to term 'something substantial' by the speculation. The
+public became enthusiastic on the subject of the Long Range
+Excavators, and for a few short weeks they were the favourite
+speculation of the market. By and by, however, a rumour began to be
+whispered about on the subject of the monster-machine, the stomach of
+which, it was secretly hinted, was alarmingly out of order, and
+resisted all the tonics of the engineer. It was currently reported
+among parties most interested, that from late experiments made,
+previous to embarkation, it had been ascertained beyond a doubt, that
+though the peristaltic apparatus digested pints with perfect ease, it
+yet rejected quartz--a defect which it was but too plain would be
+fatal to the production of gold. The effect of this rumour was most
+alarmingly depressing upon the value of the shares. In a few days,
+they fell 50 per cent. below par, with few buyers even at that. At
+this juncture, it was discovered that one of the directors was
+actively bearing the market; but the discovery was not made before
+that disinterested personage, who had previously disposed of the whole
+of his original allotment at a handsome premium, had secured above
+10,000 new shares at a cost of about half their upset value. A
+colleague openly accused him of this disgraceful traffic at a general
+meeting of the directors, and declared that he had not words to
+express his disgust at one who, for the sake of his own personal
+profit, could condescend to depreciate the property of his
+constituents. The accused retorted, and the meeting growing stormy and
+abusive, ended late at night with closed doors.
+
+A few days after, affairs again began to take a turn upwards. The
+failure of the engine was declared to be an erroneous and altogether
+unfounded report. It was boldly asserted, that the small model-engine
+of one inch to the foot, had actually crushed several masses of Scotch
+granite, and eliminated seven or eight ounces of pure metal; and these
+specimens were exhibited under a glass-case in the office of the
+company, in proof of their triumphant success. Now the shares rose
+again as rapidly as they had lately fallen, and honourable gentlemen
+who had held on, had an opportunity of turning themselves round. It is
+to be supposed that some of them at least did that to their
+satisfaction; at anyrate, the respectable and responsible concocters
+of the Long Range Excavator Rock-Crushing and Gold-Winning Company
+very soon began to turn their backs upon the public altogether. By
+degrees, the whole body of directors, trustees, counsel and agents,
+dwindled down to a solitary clerk paring his nails in a deserted
+office. Shares at a discount of 60, 70, 80, 90 per cent. attested the
+decline of the speculation. Honourable gentlemen were reported to have
+gone upon their travels. The office was at first 'temporarily closed,'
+and then let to the new company for Bridging the Dardanelles on the
+Tubular Principle. The engine of the Long Range Excavators, according
+to the last report, had foundered--but whether in the brain of
+Crushcliff, the engineer, or on the Scilly Rocks, we could not clearly
+make out. The only one of the original promoters who has latterly
+condescended to gratify the gaze of the public, is the Baron
+Badlihoff, who, a few days ago, made his appearance on the
+monkey-board of an omnibus, whence he was suddenly escorted by
+policeman B. 1001, to the presence of a magistrate, who
+unsympathisingly transferred him to Clerkenwell Jail, for certain
+paltry threepenny defalcations, due to a lapse of memory which our
+shameful code persists in regarding as worthy of incarceration and
+hard labour. He is now an active member of a company legally
+incorporated under government sanction, for grinding the wind upon the
+revolving principle. It is not precisely known when the first dividend
+on the Long Range Excavators will be declared. Sanguine speculators in
+the L. R. E., and the Thames Conflagration Company, expect to draw
+both dividends on the same day. In the meantime, the books are safe in
+the custody of Messrs Holdem Tight and Brass, of Thieves' Inn; and
+ill-natured people are not wanting, who insinuate that they constitute
+the only property available for the benefit of the shareholders.
+
+Let us now take a glance at a snug little commercial bubble, blown
+into being by 'highly respectable men,' a private affair altogether,
+which never had a name upon 'Change, and was managed--we cannot say to
+the satisfaction of all parties--by the originating contrivers,
+without making any noise in the papers, or exciting public attention
+in any way. We will call it, for the sake of a name, 'The Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company.' Lowriver is a pleasant, genteel
+little village, which has of late years sprung suddenly into existence
+on the coast of ----shire, and has been growing, for the last seven
+years, with each succeeding summer, more and more a place of favourite
+resort with the inhabitants of Babel. Mr Montague Whalebone took an
+early liking to the place, and built a row of goodly houses by the
+water-side, and a grand hotel at the end of the few stumps of pitchy
+stakes dignified by the name of the pier. But the hotel lacked
+customers, and the houses wanted tenants; and the whole affair
+threatened to fall a prey to river-fog and mildew, when the Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company came to the rescue, and placed it
+upon a permanent and expansive footing. Of the original constitution
+of this snug company, it is not easy to say anything with certainty.
+All we know is, that, some seven years ago, it was currently spoken of
+in private circles as a capital investment for money, supposing only
+that shares could be got: _that_ was the difficult thing. Large
+dividends were to be realised by building four steamers, and running
+them between Babel and Lowriver. Upon the neat hot-pressed prospectus,
+privately and sparingly circulated--it was whispered that it was too
+good a thing to go a begging--appeared the names of Erebus Carbon,
+Esq., of Diamond Wharf; of Montague Whalebone, Esq., of Lowriver; of
+Larboard Starboard, Esq., ship-builder; and Piston Rodd, Esq., of the
+firm of Boiler & Rodd, engineers, as directors. The shares were L.20
+each, liable to calls, though no calls were anticipated; and it was
+reckoned an enormous favour to get them. Traffic in shares was
+discountenanced: the company had no wish to be regarded as a cluster
+of speculators, but rather as a band of brothers, co-operating
+together for their common benefit. Of course, the necessary legal
+formalities were gone through--that could not safely be dispensed
+with.
+
+In spite of the difficulty of obtaining shares, a pretty large number
+of them got into the hands of the respectable portion of the public,
+and the whole were soon taken up. The boats were built by Larboard
+Starboard, Esq.; and the engines, as a matter of course, were put on
+board by Messrs Boiler & Rodd; Erebus Carbon, Esq., supplied, at the
+current rates, the necessary fuel; and at all hours of the day the
+vessels ran backwards and forwards, carrying customers to Mr Montague
+Whalebone's hotel, and lodgers to the new tenements, which soon began
+to rise around it in all directions. Lowriver took amazingly, and rose
+rapidly in public estimation; the boats filled well, and the
+speculation promised great things. When, however, after several mouths
+of undeviating prosperity, the shareholders began to look for some
+return for their capital in the shape of a dividend, each one of them
+was individually surprised by a 'call:' L.5 a share was wanted to
+clear off urgent responsibilities. 'The outfitting costs had been
+greater than was foreseen,' and the demands upon the shareholders were
+not likely to be limited to the first call. The victims rushed, as
+they were invited to do, to the office, to inspect the accounts. The
+engineer was there to receive them, and, all suavity and politeness,
+submitted every fact and figure to their investigation. There was
+nothing to be found fault with--everything was fairly booked; but
+there was a heavy balance dead against the company. The engineer
+himself put a long face upon the affair, and shrugged his shoulders,
+and mumbled something about having burned his own fingers, &c. After
+this, reports soon got abroad very prejudicial to the value of the
+investments. Then came the winter, during which few passengers
+travelled to Lowriver; and with Christmas came another L.5 call.
+People grew tired of paying 20 per cent. for nothing, and many
+forfeited their shares by suffering them to be sold to pay the calls.
+This game went on for nearly three years--all 'calls' and no
+dividends; until at length it would have been difficult to find five
+persons out of the original 500 who held shares in the Babel and
+Lowriver Steam Navigation Company, and there was next to nobody left
+to _call_ upon.
+
+Years have rolled on since then. Lowriver has grown into a popular and
+populous marine summer residence. Mr Montague Whalebone, who knew what
+he was about, having bought and leased the building-ground, has become
+the owner of a vast property increasing in value every day. Larboard
+Starboard, Esq., is on the way to become a millionaire, and has
+several new boats building for the company's service at the present
+moment. Messrs Boiler & Rodd have quintupled their establishment, and
+are in a condition to execute government contracts. Erebus Carbon,
+Esq., has found a market in the company for hundreds of thousands of
+tons of coal, and, from keeping a solitary wharf, has come to be the
+owner of a fleet of colliers. At this hour, the company consists of
+six individuals--the four original projectors, and a couple of old
+codgers--'knowing files,' who had the penetration, in the beginning,
+to see through the 'bearing dodge,' and would not be beaten or
+frightened off. They paid up every call upon shares, and bought
+others--and then, by shewing a bold front, asserted a voice in the
+management, and crushed in to a full and fair share of the profits.
+They have made solid fortunes by the speculation; while the original
+shareholders, whose money brought the company into existence, have
+reaped nothing but losses and vexation in return for their capital.
+
+But enough, and more than enough, on the score of the delusive farces
+which, with pretences almost as transparent as the above, are from
+time to time played off for the purpose of easing the public of their
+superfluous cash. Let us glance briefly at a speculation of a
+different kind, no less a bubble as it proved, but one whose tragic
+issues have already wrought the wreck of many innocent families, and
+which, at the present moment, under the operation of the Winding-up
+Act, is darkening with ruin and the fear of ruin a hundred humble
+abodes. We have good reason to know its history too well; and we
+shall, in as few words as possible, present the facts most important
+to be known to the reader's consideration, with the view of
+inculcating caution by the misfortunes of others, and shewing at the
+same time how possible it is, under the present law regulating
+joint-stock partnerships, for an honest man, by the most inadvertent
+act, to entail misery upon himself, and destitution upon his
+offspring.
+
+It is some fifteen or twenty years ago, since a company of two or
+three speculative geniuses issued a plan for establishing, in a
+delightful glen situated but a few miles from a well-known Welsh port
+in the Bristol Channel, a brewery upon an extensive scale. The
+prospectus, as a matter of course, promised to the shareholders the
+usual golden advantages. The crystal current which meandered through
+the valley was to be converted into malt-liquor--so great were the
+natural and artificial advantages which combined to effect that
+result--at one-half the cost of such a transformation in any other
+locality; and the liquor produced was to be of such exquisite relish
+and potency, that all Britain was to compete for its possession. So
+plausible was everything made to appear, that men of commercially
+acquired fortune, of the greatest experience, and of long-tried
+judgment, invested their capital in the fullest confidence of success.
+Following their example, tradesmen and employers did the same; and, in
+imitation of their betters, numbers of persons of the classes of small
+shopkeepers and labouring-men invested their small savings in shares
+in the 'Romantic Valley Brewery.' The number of joint-proprietors
+amounted in all to some hundreds, holding L.20 shares in numbers
+proportioned to their means or their speculative spirit. Not one in
+fifty of them knew anything of the art of brewing, or had any
+knowledge of the locality where the scheme was to be carried out; but
+no doubt was entertained of the speedy and great success which was
+promised.
+
+The land was bought, the necessary buildings were substantially
+erected, and the three principal concocters of the scheme, one of whom
+was a lawyer, were appointed to manage the concern, and empowered to
+borrow money in case it should be wanted, to complete the plant, and
+to work it until the profits came in. They had every advantage for the
+production of a cheap and superior article: labour, land-carriage, and
+water-carriage, were all at a low charge in the neighbourhood; and
+materials, upon the whole, rated rather under than over the average.
+Year after year, however, passed away, and not a farthing of dividend
+came to the shareholders; promises only of large profits at some
+future period--that was all. It happened that none of the shareholders
+had invested any very large sums, and this was thought a fortunate
+circumstance, as none of them felt very deeply involved. The rich had
+speculated with their superfluity, and they could bear to joke on the
+subject of the Romantic Valley, though they shook their heads when the
+supposed value of the shares was hinted at. The poor felt it more, and
+some of the neediest sold their single shares or half-shares at a
+terrible discount, while they would yet realise something. As time
+rolled on, several of the older proprietors died off, and willed away,
+with the rest of their property, the Romantic Valley Brewery shares to
+their friends and relatives. A considerable number of them thus passed
+from the first holders to the hands of others, one and all of whom
+naturally accepted the legacies devised to them, and gave the
+necessary signatures to the documents which made the shares their own.
+
+Meanwhile, the managers went on working an unprofitable business,
+borrowing money on the credit of the joint proprietors; and in the
+face of all the advantages upon which they plumed themselves, plunged
+deeper and deeper into debt, until, being forced to borrow at a high
+rate of interest to pay for the use of former loans, they found their
+credit, in the thirteenth year of their existence, completely
+exhausted; and then the bubble burst at once in ruin, utter and
+complete, overwhelming all who were legally connected with it, either
+by original purchase, by transfer, or by inheritance. Independent
+country gentlemen, west-country manufacturers, and merchants of
+substantial capital, were summarily pounced upon by the fangs of the
+law, and all simultaneously stripped of everything they possessed in
+the world. Professional men, the fathers of families genteelly bred
+and educated, were summarily bereft of every farthing, and condemned
+in the decline of life to begin the world afresh. Not a few, seized
+with mortal chagrin at the horrible consummation of an affair which
+had never been anything but a source of loss and annoyance, sunk at
+once into the grave. Others--accustomed perhaps for half a century to
+the appliances of ease and luxury, and who were the owners of
+hospitable mansions, the centres of genteel resort--at the present
+moment hide their heads in cottages, and huts, and eleemosynary
+chambers, where they wither in silence and neglect under the cold
+breath of alien charity. Some, at threescore, are driven forth from a
+life of indulgence and inactivity, to earn their daily bread. Young
+and rising tradesmen, who had had the misfortune to inherit from a
+relative or a patron but a few shares, or even a single one, saw
+themselves at once precipitated into bankruptcy. One case, for which
+we can personally vouch, is beyond measure distressing: a gentleman of
+good fortune dying, had bequeathed to each of a large family of
+daughters a handsome provision; shortly before the bursting of the
+fearful bubble, the mother also died, dividing by will her own fortune
+among the young ladies, and leaving to each one a few shares in the
+Romantic Valley Brewery. The transference of these shares to the
+several children made the whole of them liable to the extent of their
+entire property; and the whole six unfortunates were actually beggared
+to the last farthing, and cast upon the world to shift as they might.
+To detail the domestic desolation caused by this iniquitous affair,
+would require the space of a large volume. It has wrought nothing but
+wretchedness and ruin to those to whom it promised unexampled
+prosperity, and it is yet working still more--nor is it likely to
+stop, for aught that we can see, so long as it presents a mark for
+legal cupidity. All that could be got for the creditors has been
+extorted long ago from the wealthier portion of the victims; but the
+loans are not yet all liquidated, and the claim yet remaining
+unsatisfied, is now the pretext under which the lawyers are sucking
+the life-blood from the hard-working and struggling class of
+shareholders, who, while industriously striving for a respectable
+position, are considered worth crushing for the sake of the costs,
+though they will never yield a penny towards the debt.
+
+Besides the persons who have the settlement of affairs in their hands,
+the original concocters of the company are the only persons who have
+profited from its operations. They indeed ride gloriously aloft above
+the ruin they have wrought. The process by which they have managed to
+extract a lordly independence for themselves, from a scheme which has
+resulted in the destitution and misery of every other participator, is
+a mystery we do not pretend to fathom in this case--though it is one
+of by no means unusual occurrence in connection with bubble-companies
+of all sorts.
+
+
+
+
+THE OSTRICH.
+
+
+For the following particulars relative to the habits of the ostrich,
+and the various modes of taking it, we are indebted to a gentleman
+who spent many years in Northern Africa, and collected these
+details from native sportsmen, his principal informant being
+Abd-el-Kader-Mohammed-ben-Kaddour, a Nimrod of renown throughout the
+Arab tribes of this region.
+
+The ostrich country, says Ben-Kaddour, may be described as a
+rectangle, of which the towns of Insalah, Figig, Sidi-Okba, and
+Warklah form the angles; that is, it comprises the northern skirts of
+the Saharian desert, where water and herbage are plentiful in
+comparison with the arid plains of the centre. Throughout this region,
+ostriches may frequently be seen travelling in pairs, or in companies
+of four or five couples; but wherever there has been a recent fall of
+rain, one is almost sure to find them grazing together in large
+numbers, appearing at a distance like a herd of camels. This is a
+favourable opportunity for ostrich-hunting, especially if the weather
+is very warm; for the greater the heat, the less vigour have the birds
+for prolonging the chase. It is well known, that though the ostrich
+cannot raise itself into the air, it is nevertheless so swift of foot,
+that it cannot be fairly run down even by the horses of this region,
+which, on an emergency, are known to run 180 miles in a single day. An
+ostrich-hunt is, therefore, undertaken by at least ten horsemen
+together, who, being apprized of the spot where a large group are
+feeding, approach with extreme caution, and form a cordon round them.
+To prevent the birds from escaping from the circle thus formed, is all
+they attempt, and it requires their utmost dexterity. The terrified
+creatures run hither and thither; and not managing their breath as
+they would do in an ordinary pursuit, they at length become exhausted,
+and betray it by flapping their wings. The sportsmen now fall
+deliberately upon them, and either lead them away alive, or fell them
+with a blow on the head. Their first care is to remove the skin, so as
+to preserve the feathers uninjured; the next is to melt down the fat,
+and pour it into bags formed of the skin of the thigh and leg,
+strongly tied at the lower end. The grease of an ostrich in good
+condition fills both its legs; and as it brings three times the price
+of common butter, it is considered no despicable part of the game. It
+is not only eaten with bread, and used in the preparation of kooskoos,
+and other articles of food, but the Arabs reckon it a valuable remedy
+in various maladies. In rheumatic attacks, for instance, they rub it
+on the part affected till it penetrates thoroughly; then lay the
+patient in the burning sand, with his head carefully protected. A
+profuse perspiration comes on, and the cure is complete. In bilious
+disorders, the grease is lightly warmed, mixed with salt, and
+administered as a potion. It acts thus as a powerful aperient, and
+causes great emaciation for the time; but the patient, say the Arabs,
+having been thus relieved from all the bad humours in his body,
+afterwards acquires robust health, and his sight becomes singularly
+good. The flesh of the ostriches, dressed with pepper and meal, forms
+the supper of the sportsmen.
+
+Ostrich-shooting is conducted in quite a different manner, and as it
+is practised only or chiefly during the period of incubation, it is to
+it we are principally indebted for the acquaintance which the Arabs
+have gained with the habits of these singular birds.
+
+The pairing-season is the month of August. The _reumda_ (female) is
+generally shy, and the _delim_ has often to pursue the object of his
+choice at full speed for four or five days, during which he neither
+eats nor drinks. When, however, she has consented to be his, she never
+again quits him till the young ones are reared; and the bond between
+them is equally respected by all their companions: there is no
+fighting about mates, as among some other gregarious species.
+
+The period of incubation begins in the month of November, and presents
+the best opportunity for shooting the ostrich. At this season, also,
+the feathers are in the finest condition, though the fat is much less
+abundant. Five or six sportsmen set out together on horseback, taking
+with them two camels laden with provisions for a month, besides an
+abundant supply of powder and ball. They search for places where rain
+has lately fallen, or where pools of water occur, for in such
+localities there is likely to be that plentiful herbage which never
+fails to attract the ostrich. Having discovered its footprints, the
+sportsmen examine them with care. If they appear only here and there
+on the bare spots, they indicate that the bird has been here to graze;
+but if they cross each other in various directions, and the grass is
+rather trampled down than eaten, the ostrich has certainly made her
+nest in the neighbourhood, and an active but cautious search for it is
+commenced. If she is only making her nest, the operation may be
+detected at a great distance, as it consists simply of pushing out the
+sand from the centre to the circumference of a circle, so as to form a
+large hole. The sand rises in dense clouds round the spot, and the
+bird utters a pining cry all day long. When the nest is finished, she
+cries only towards three in the afternoon. The female sits on the eggs
+from morning till noon, while her mate is grazing; at noon, he takes
+her place, and she goes to the pasture in her turn. When she returns,
+she places herself facing her mate, and at the distance of five or six
+paces from the nest, which he occupies all night, in order to defend
+it from enemies, especially from the jackals, which often lie in
+ambush, ready to take advantage of an unguarded moment. Hunters often
+find the carcasses of these animals near ostriches' nests.
+
+In the morning, while the reumda is sitting, the sportsmen dig on each
+side of the nest, and at about twenty paces from it, a hole deep
+enough to contain a man. In each of these they lodge one of their best
+marksmen, and cover him up with long grass, allowing only the gun to
+protrude. One of these is to shoot the male, the other the female. The
+reumda, seeing this operation going forward, becomes terrified, and
+runs off to join her mate; but he does not believe there is any ground
+for her terror, and with somewhat ungallant chastisement, forces her
+to return. If these preparations were made while the delim was
+sitting, he would go after her, and neither would return. The reumda
+having resumed her place, the sportsmen take care not to disturb her;
+it is the rule to shoot the delim first, and they patiently wait his
+return from the pasture. At noon, he takes his place as usual, sitting
+with his wings outspread, so as to cover all the eggs. In this
+position, the thighs are extremely prominent, and the appointed
+marksman takes aim at them, because, if he succeeds in breaking them,
+there is no chance of escape, which there would be if almost any other
+part were wounded. As soon as he falls, the other sportsmen, attracted
+by the report, run up and bleed him according to the laws of the
+Koran. They hide the carcass, and cover with sand every trace of the
+blood that has been shed. When the reumda comes home at night, she
+appears not uneasy at the absence of her mate, but probably concluding
+that he was hungry, and has gone for some supper, she takes his place
+on the eggs, and is killed by the second marksman in the same way as
+the delim. The ostrich is often waylaid in a similar manner at its
+usual drinking-place, a good shot being concealed in a hole, whence
+he fires on it. The ostrich drinks nearly every five days when there
+is water; otherwise it can do without it for a much longer time.
+Nothing but excessive thirst induces it ever to approach a human
+habitation, and then it flies as soon as it is satisfied. It has been
+observed, that whenever the flashing lightning announces an
+approaching storm, it hastens towards the water. Though single birds
+may often be shot on these occasions, it is a much less certain sport
+than killing them on the nest, and less profitable, as in the latter
+case the eggs form no contemptible part of the spoil.
+
+The nest of an ordinary pair contains from twenty-five to thirty eggs.
+But it often happens that several couples unite to hatch together: in
+this case, they form a great circular cavity, the eldest couple lay
+their eggs in the centre, and the others make a regular disposition of
+theirs around them. Thus, if there are four younger couples, they
+occupy the four angles of a square. When the laying is finished, the
+eggs are pushed towards the centre, but not mixed; and when the eldest
+delim begins to sit, all the rest take their places where their eggs
+have been laid, the females observing similar order. These
+associations are found only where the herbage is very plentiful, and
+they are understood always to be family groups, the centre couple
+being the parents of the rest. The younger birds lay fewer and smaller
+eggs--those of one year old, for instance, have only four or five. The
+period of incubation is ninety days.
+
+In the case of several couples associated thus in the same nest, the
+sportsmen do not attempt to destroy any but the old ones; for if they
+were to set about making as many holes as there were ostriches, the
+whole company would take fright and decamp. But perhaps it is
+determined to leave them all in peaceable possession for the present,
+and rather make a prey of the brood when hatched. The watching of the
+nests in such cases has led to further observations. The eggs of each
+pair are disposed in a heap, always surmounted by a conspicuous one,
+which was the first laid, and has a peculiar destination. When the
+delim perceives that the moment of hatching has arrived, he breaks the
+egg which he judges most matured, and at the same time he bores with
+great care a small hole in the surmounting egg. This serves as the
+first food of the nestlings; and for this purpose, though open, it
+continues long without spoiling, which is the more necessary, as the
+delim does not break all the eggs on the same day, but only three or
+four, and so on, as he hears the young ones stirring within. This egg
+is always liquid, but whether by a provision of nature in its original
+composition, or through the instinct of the parent-birds in avoiding
+to keep it covered like the rest, is not ascertained. The young ones,
+having received this their first nourishment, are immediately dried in
+the sun, and begin to run about; in a few days they follow the
+parent-birds to the pastures, always returning to shelter under their
+wings in the nest.
+
+The paternal affection of the delim is remarkable: he never leaves his
+offspring; he faces every danger, and combats every foe in their
+defence. The reumda, on the contrary, is easily terrified, and leaves
+all to secure her own safety; so that it is usual to compare a man who
+bravely defends his tent to a delim, and a pusillanimous soul to a
+reumda. The delim finds himself more than a match for the dog, the
+jackal, the hyaena, or the eagle: man is his only invincible foe; yet
+he dares to wage the unequal war when the young are in danger. If the
+Arabs desire to make a prey of the ral, as the young ostriches are
+called, they follow their footmarks, and having nearly overtaken them,
+they begin to shout; the terrified birds run to their parents, who
+face about, and stand still to fight for them; so the Arabs lead away
+the ral before their eyes, in spite of the bravadoes of the delim, who
+then manifests the liveliest grief. Sometimes the greyhound is
+employed in this sport: the delim attacks him, and while they are
+fighting, the men carry off the young ones, to bring them up in their
+tents.
+
+The ral are easily tamed; they sleep under the tent, are exceedingly
+lively, and play with the children and dogs. When the tents are struck
+for a flitting, the pet ostriches follow the camels, and are never
+known to make their escape during the migration. If a hare passes, and
+the men start in pursuit of it, the ostrich darts off in the same
+direction, and joins the chase. If she meets in the douar (village of
+tents) a child holding any eatable thing in its hand, she lays him
+gently on the ground, and robs without hurting him. But the tame
+ostrich is a great thief, or rather is so voracious, it devours
+everything it finds--even knives, female trinkets, and pieces of iron.
+The Arab on whose authority these details are given, relates that a
+woman had her coral-necklace carried off and swallowed by an ostrich;
+and an officer in the African army affirms, that one of them tore off
+and ate the buttons of his surtout. The ostrich is, at the same time,
+exceedingly dexterous; so that she will tear a date from a man's mouth
+without hurting him. The Arabs are distrustful of her, and know where
+to lay the blame if, on counting their money, they find two or three
+dollars missing.
+
+It is no uncommon thing to see, at some distance from a douar, a
+wearied child riding on the back of an ostrich, which carries its
+burden directly towards the tent, the young Jehu holding on by the
+pinions. But she would not carry too heavy a load--a man, for
+instance--but would throw him on the ground with a flap of her wing.
+
+When ostriches are taken to market in Africa, their legs are tied
+almost close together with a cord, another cord attached to this one
+being held in the hand.
+
+
+
+
+PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+The official statement of the United States' census, published at
+Washington in December last, furnishes us with the means of knowing
+what our American brethren have been doing in the ten years from 1840
+to 1850. In that decennial period, the whole territory had increased
+from 2,055,163 to 3,221,595 square miles, exclusive of the great lakes
+in the interior, and deeply-indenting bays on the coast. The gross
+population in June 1850, numbered 23,246,201; an increase from June
+1840 of 6,176,848. Of these, 19,619,366 were whites; 3,198,298 were
+slaves; and free blacks, 428,637; the increase having been
+respectively, 5,423,371--711,085--42,392. The whole increase was
+equivalent to 3-1/2 per cent.; while in Europe, it is not more than
+1-1/2 per cent.; and if it continue as at present, the population
+will, forty years hence, exceed that of England, France, Spain,
+Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland put together. The deaths in the last
+of the ten years were 320,194, being 1 to each 72.6, or 10 to each 726
+of the inhabitants; this return is, however, supposed to involve an
+error, as the mortality is less in proportion than in the most
+favoured parts of Europe; whereas the reverse is generally considered
+to be the fact. In the same year, 1467 slaves were manumitted, and
+1011 escaped. The number of emigrants from foreign countries during
+the 10 years was 1,542,850.
+
+Among the individual states, the most populous are New York, which
+numbers 3,097,394 inhabitants; Pennsylvania, 2,311,786; Ohio,
+1,980,408; Virginia, 1,421,661; Massachusetts, 994,499; Indiana,
+988,416; Kentucky, 982,405; Georgia, 905,999. Taking the whole 31
+states, the proportion of inhabitants is 15.48 to the square mile: the
+free states comprise 13,605,630, and the slave states, 9,491,759 of
+population.
+
+To supply this population, there are 2800 newspapers: 424 in the New
+England states; 876 in the middle states; 716 in the southern states;
+and 784 in the western states. Three hundred and fifty are _dailies_,
+150 three times a week, 125 twice a week, 2000 weekly, 50 fortnightly,
+100 monthly, and 25 quarterly: the aggregate circulation being
+422,600,000 yearly. There is 1 periodical for every 7161 free
+inhabitants.
+
+The capital invested in manufactures, excluding the establishments
+under 500 dollars of annual value, amounted to 530,000,000 dollars;
+the value of raw material was 550,000,000; the amount paid for labour
+(in one year we presume), 240,000,000; value of articles manufactured,
+1,020,300,000; persons employed, 1,050,000. There were 1094 cotton
+'establishments' in operation, which produced 763,678,407 yards of
+sheeting; 1559 woollen establishments, which produced 82,206,652 yards
+of cloth; 2190 iron establishments, which produced 1,165,544 tons of
+iron of various kinds.
+
+Of improved lands, there were 112,042,000 acres; of wheat, 104,799,230
+bushels were grown in the last year; 591,586,053 bushels of Indian
+corn; 199,532,494 pounds of tobacco; 13,605,384 tons of hay;
+32,759,263 pounds of maple-sugar were made; 314,644 hogsheads of
+cane-sugar of 1000 pounds each; 312,202,286 pounds of butter; and
+103,184,585 pounds of cheese.
+
+
+
+
+EFFECT OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION ON LOCOMOTION.
+
+
+The following is from _Herapath's Journal_ on the effect of the
+earth's rotation on locomotion: 'Mr Uriah Clarke, of Leicester, has
+called our attention to an article in the _Mechanic's Magazine_, by
+himself, on the influence of the earth's rotation on locomotion. It is
+well known, that as the earth revolves on its axis once in twenty-four
+hours, from west to east, the velocity of any point on its surface is
+greater nearer the equator, and less further from it, in the ratio of
+the cosine of the latitude. Mr Clarke says: "Some rather important
+conclusions in relation to railway travelling arise out of the view
+now taken. The difference between the rotative velocity of the earth
+in surface-motion at London and at Liverpool is about twenty-eight
+miles per hour; and this amount of lateral movement is to be gained or
+lost, as respects the locomotion in each journey, according to the
+direction we are travelling in from the one place to the other; and in
+proportion to the speed will be the pressure against the side of the
+rails, which, at a high velocity, will give the engine a tendency to
+climb the right-hand rail in each direction. Could the journey be
+performed in two hours between London and Liverpool, this lateral
+movement, or rotative velocity of the locomotive, would have to be
+increased or diminished at the rate of nearly one-quarter of a mile
+per minute, and that entirely by side-pressure on the rail, which, if
+not sufficient to cause the engine to leave the line, would be quite
+sufficient to produce violent and dangerous oscillation. It may be
+observed, in conclusion, that as the cause above alluded to will be
+inoperative while we travel along the parallels of latitude, it
+clearly follows, that a higher degree of speed may be attained with
+safety on a railway running east and west than on one which runs north
+and south." There is no doubt of the tendency Mr Clarke speaks of on
+the right-hand rail, but we do not think it will be found to be so
+dangerous as he says. It will be greatest on the Great Northern and
+Berwick lines, and least on the Great Western.'
+
+
+
+
+FOREST SCENERY OF AMERICA.
+
+
+The forests between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, where the
+country is very flat and wet, are composed almost entirely of black
+cypress; they grow so thick that the tops get intermixed and
+interlaced, and form almost a matting overhead, through which
+the sun scarcely ever penetrates. The trees are covered with
+unwholesome-looking mosses, which exhale a damp earthy smell, like a
+cellar. The ground is so covered with a rank growth of elder and other
+shrubs, many of them with thorns an inch long, and with fallen and
+decayed trunks of trees, that it is impossible to take a step without
+breaking one's shins. Not a bird or animal of any kind is to be seen,
+and a deathlike silence reigns through the forest, which is only now
+and then interrupted by the rattle of the rattlesnake (like a clock
+going down), and the chirrup of the chitnunck, or squirrel. The sombre
+colour of the foliage, the absence of all sun even at mid-day, and the
+vault-like chilliness one feels when entering a cypress swamp, is far
+from cheering; and I don't know any position so likely to give one the
+horrors as being lost in one, or where one could so well realise what
+a desolate loneliness is. The wasps, whose nests like great gourds
+hang from the trees about the level of one's face; the mosquitoes in
+millions; the little black flies, and venomous snakes, all add their
+'little possible' to render a tramp through a cypress swamp
+agreeable.--_Sullivan's Rambles_.
+
+
+
+
+THE BETTER THOUGHT.
+
+
+  The Better Thought! how oft in days
+  When youthful passion fired my breast,
+  And drove me into devious ways,
+  Didst thou my wandering steps arrest,
+  And, whispering gently in mine ear
+  Thine angel-message, fraught with love,
+  Check for the time my mad career,
+  And melt the heart naught else could move!
+
+  Thine was no stern and harsh rebuke;
+  No 'friend's advice,' so true, so cold;
+  No message wise, such as in book,
+  Or by the teacher oft is told,
+  Which, like the pointless arrow, falls,
+  And rings perhaps with hollow sound,
+  But ne'er the wanderer recalls,
+  And ne'er inflicts the healing wound.
+
+  Thy voice was gentle, winning, mild;
+  Thy words told thou wert from above,
+  Like those with which the wayward child
+  Is wooed by a fond mother's love;
+  Or like a strain of music stealing
+  Across the calm and moonlit seas,
+  Which moves the heart of sternest feeling,
+  And wakes its deeper harmonies.
+
+  Sweet was thy presence, welcomed guest;
+  And I, responsive to thy call,
+  Arose, and felt within my breast
+  A power that made the fetters fall
+  From off my long enthralled soul,
+  And woke, as with a magic spell,
+  Griefs which yet owned the soft control
+  Of hopes that all might still be well.
+
+  But ah, thou wast an injured guest!
+  How soon departed, soon forgot,
+  Were all the hopes of coming rest
+  That clustered round the Better Thought--
+  The tender griefs, the firm resolves,
+  The yearnings after better days,
+  Like transient sunlight which dissolves,
+  And leaves no traces of its rays!
+
+  Yet I despair not--through the night
+  That long has reigned with tyrant sway,
+  E'en now I see the opening light,
+  The harbinger of coming day;
+  To Heaven I now direct my prayer--
+  O God of love, forsake me not!
+  Grant that my waywardness may ne'er
+  Quench the returning Better Thought!
+
+  GARVALD.                         J. F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh.
+Also sold by W. S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D. N. CHAMBERS, 55 West
+Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
+Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent to
+MAXWELL & CO., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom all
+applications respecting their insertion must be made.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460, by Various
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