The colonel mured up his young bird, but gave her a gilded cage. He surrounded her with all luxuries, she lived in the state of a queen, had carriages and servants at her beck, and seemed happy; perhaps she was happy, or indifferent, until an hour came when her free heart rebelled at the golden thrall, and duty for Oro fled her heart forever. She loved, as she should not have done, and a wrong beginning led on and on into a maze of wrongs, and, struggling with the bonds that held her, she took her place with thousands

Oro's matrimonial bars, and general happiness was the result.

It is unnecessary to say that she never made a mistake in the same direction a second time. She had seven more children than the conventional number-one-and didn't die at their birth, which was a great blessing, as she was really a very good person and gave her money freely, as she always insisted on retaining the purse and made a better use of it than her husband possibly could, as she thought. The present number commences a new vol

The great Oro-Slumgullion marriage became a reproach, the old colonel did not long survive its shame, and the agency of the Universal Patent Toothpick Company passed to another.

The heiress of the Slumgullion family, however, came home to her father's house, after a while, reconciliation ensued between all the parties, including a nice young man, whose ardent affection had not been stayed by Col.

assured that the proprietors will endeavor to make it more attractive than ever to their patrons by the introduction of new features and new contributors, in addition to the old, and a general effort be made for improvement. Prominent in this regard will be the change in printing, which, in competent hauds, will render the Magazine more acceptable than ever before; and make it one of the handsomest as it is the cheapest periodical of its kind in the land.

CRYSTAL PALACE.

In 1851, Joseph Paxton, ornamental gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, who from a very humble beginning had won the favor of the duke and been promoted by him to be principal gardener and architect at Chatsworth, submitted plans for the erection of a palace, of iron and glass, in Hyde Park, for the accommodation of the World's Fair about to be held in London. The plans, the most stupendous of modern time, were accepted, and the palace erected, that fulfilled all the expectations of the architect and the people, and realized for England a measure of fame that her public acts had failed to give her for many years. Paxton was knighted, and the world honored him. Even Americans imitated the palace, in a small way, two years later, in a structure on what is now Central Park, New York, that was afterwards burnt, which was the scene of an exhibition, similar in type to that of London, though as much less in extent as the difference betwixt the original and the imitation palace. The Hyde Park structure was so splended that the people were reluctant to have it destroyed, and it was accordingly taken down and the material transported to Sydenham, in the county of Kent, on the London and Craydon railroad, six miles from London, where it was again put together, and forms one of the most attractive objects of attention to tourists. Morford says "it rivals the British Museum in the wonderful variety of its collections, and yet nothing within the building can compare with the wonderful size and beauty of the creation of glass and iron itself an exaggeration, eight or ten times the size, of our lost New York palace. The grounds are only second to the building in beauty; and scarcely a day occurs, in summer, that some musical festival is not given in the afternoon, enabling the visitor to combine two enjoyments." Recently it was made the scene of a grand charitable festival -dramatic, musical and acrobatic-attended by the Prince of Wales and many of the nobility, and the charities were received in little purses, or bags, laid at the feet of the Princess of Wales; and so numerous were they that my Lord Abercorne found as much as he could do, with his cane, to thrust them into position. The occasion was a benefit of the Royal Dramatic College fund, of which the queen is patron, and the attendance was fully

twenty thousand. A large part of these, however, were season ticket-holders, but the receipts were very large. Each year some exhibition has been held for the benefit of this organization, until people have grown weary. The present was a happy suggestion and complete success.

The "Palace" belongs to every class, and all can enjoy themselves within its delightful precincts just as the humor suits. Throughout its vast extent the keenest point of individual satisfaction can be realized, and at a cost that suits the humblest resources. It is undoubtedly the cheeriest place of popular resort about London, and the managers, from their tact, skill and variety of enterprises, are well entitled to that commendation which an appreciative British public are not chary to bestow. In all seasons the Crystal Palace affords a genial welcome to every description of comer; but it never wore a more smiling aspect than when its portals were thrown open to the sacred cause of charity. At such times all the best influences on human conduct are in their full radiance, and the heart, beating to the noblest of impulses, receives that liberal and well-earned tribute of gratification which endows it with strength to beat on in the performance of equally important duties.

A little variation in style exists between the present structure and that of Hyde Park, made with assent of Sir Joseph Paxton, or by his direction. Though not so long as its predecessor, it greatly exceeds it in its general dimensions, by the increased height of each part, the introduction of two additional transepts, the larger size of the central transept, and an under story rendered necessary on the garden side by the slope of the ground. Some of the chief defects of the former building have also been removed, by the arched roofs given to the centre divisions, and the projection internally of pairs of columns for the support of the main arched ribs. The entire length is 1608 ft.; the length of centre transept, 408 ft.; length of end transepts, 312 ft.; the width of nave is 72 ft.; the width of centre transept, 120 ft.; and the width of end transept, 72 ft. The height from the floor to the centre of the roof of the nave, and of the end transept, is 106 ft.; and height from the floor to the centre of the roof of the centre transept, 170 ft. In addition to all that was done in Hyde Park for the illustration of mod

partment of the palace, as it appears since its restoration from the ruin that befell it, by fire, some years since. All traces of the devouring element have been removed, and tropical growths meet the visitor with almost native luxuriance. The date palm, the productions of the Indies, East and West, the plants of Mexico and Australia, meet the visitor at every turn, fountains render the bland air humid with their vapor, and the delicious atmosphere of the tropics creates in the lounger the languor that seizes upon the denizens of zones where the sun is ardent and exertion is inimical to inclination. This point is frequented by botanists for scientific purposes, but much by those who come to dream away an hour amid pleasant perfumes, and the music of fountains that lull their senses into momentary forgetfulness; though coarser moulded people see nothing in the shrubs but vegetables and in the fountains a waste of waters. To such a Victoria Regia would be of no more value than a cabbage, and a Spirito Santo not worth a dandelion for greens. Thank Heaven for the love of the beautiful, that commutes grace into wealth, and gives the fair things of earth the highest and holiest uses. We wish there were some such structure here, to impart exaltation to our people through a new medium.

IMPROVEMENTS ON THE THAMES.

The river Thames, though not much of a river outside of New England, is there regarded great, and has a claim to respectability of size, if not purity-running in a direct course to the German Ocean 124 miles, and indirect 215 miles. At London bridge the width of the river is 870 feet, at Woolwich 1470 feet, at Gravesend 2400 feet, and, three miles below, 3870 feet. The basin of the Thames, in which the banks of the river are washed, has an area of 6160 square miles. This stream is very precious to Londoners, who swear by it and speak of it affectionately as "Father Thames," though this is mere hyperbole. It has been, however, honored in song and, story from time immemorial, Scott, and Ainsworth, and Dickens have made it contribute to the machinery of their plots, and every rhymer, capable of exalting a couplet, has sung its praises. Kings, and queens, and royal navies have floated upon it in times past, and of late years more peaceful armadas have found harborage in its basin. But as population increased along its banks, it became a great sewer and sent up unwholesome exhalations to offend

the nigh-dwellers, many of whom are the aristocracy, therefore something must be done to relieve the atmosphere of that which offended the nostrils of his lordship, or his grace, or his royal highness-noses that were not made to endure offensive smells.

Our illustration represents a recent improvement that has been made to obviate the villanous smells alluded to-the Victoria Embankment, from Westminster Bridge to Somerset House, that was opened on the 13th of July last. It originated in the mind of Sir Christopher Wren, after the great fire in 1666, but was reserved for Queen Victoria to build it. It has been about seven years in construction, and no public work has before excited such marked attention. The Victoria Embankment is nearly a mile and a quarter in length, and the total area of the land reclaimed from the river is about 37 acres, 29 of which have been devoted to carriage and footway; 71-4 acres have been by special Act of Parliament conveyed to the Crown, the societies of the Middle and Inner Temple, and persons holding land close by. The main roadway of the embankment is 100 feet in width throughout, with two footway3the one on the land side being 16 feet wide, and that near the river 20 feet, with trees at intervals of 20 feet. The wall of the embankment is constructed principally of brickwork, faced with granite, and is carried down to a depth of 32 1-2 feet below high-water mark, and 14 feet below low-water, the foundation being of Portland cement concrete. The English public are delighted at the fact that at length, after years of agitation, thought and design, the Thames has obtained a noble quay much needed. But more than the quay itself is the expanse of space won from the old muddy margin of the river, and conferred forever as a boon on the cooped-up denizens of Central London.

A London journal thus speaks of the improvement, and those familiar with the localities named will appreciate the wisdom of the suggestions:

"This Victoria Embankment is our one boulevard, but it is a grand promise of what is to come. London can afford to pay for almost any improvement; and, in every point of view, picturesque as well as pecuniary, improvement would repay almost any expense. The whole city is grandly situated, its site sloping gently from the noble Thames to the fine breezy northern heights; stretching along the winding stream upward to Kew; on the

east lining the river with docks, and loading it with heavy ships, and on the south sending out detachments of houses towards the wooded Surrey slopes. It is full of old great and historic buildings, huddled out of sight by thousands of mean, miserable, unhealthy houses. To make London a place of great beauty and great health, we need not merely this one riverside avenue, but a dozen more. "Charing-Cross and the north ought to be linked by a boulevard that would be an improved continuation of Tot

tenham-court-road.

The en

virons of the New Law Courts should be so cleared as to have ample space around them-a new lung' in the heart of the town. In any other city St. Paul's would be opened up to full view from the river by a broad approach, and Northumberland House would be carted

away, so as to make CharingCross and the Thames acquainted by sight. These things, perhaps, would be too much to expect; yet there is no doubt that the improvements of Paris 'pay.' Everything that makes a great national metropolis beautiful makes it the centre for an extending suburban territory, and an object for hosts of native and foreign visitors. Parisians have had to pay largely for the adornment of their city; but they levy indirect taxation of their own on employers, on visitors, and on all who require their services. The same process would take effect on the improvement of London. Rents would rise, but so would prices and wages in proportion, and the money would came back indirectly in a thousand ways."

THE THAMES EMBANKMENT.

Our engraving is chiefly occupied with modern additions to the architecture and history of the Thames. The Charing-Cross Railway-station is a fine structure of its class, and the New Library of the Temple, which is

conspicuous in the rear of the embankment, from our artist's point of view, is a building offering to the critical eye much to admire. The Victoria Embankment, with a fine perspective, is, of course, the chief object.