tells us still further, that, in the magnificent system of his government, there exists no evil; that the appearances, which to our limited and temporary view seemed pregnant with destruction, are, in the mighty extent of his providence, the source of returning good; and that, in the very hours when we might conceive nature to be deserted and forlorn, the Spirit of the Almighty is operating with unceasing force, and preparing in silence the renovation of the world.-HEARTSEASE, Hants.

The Misseltoe.-My attention was recently directed to this plant; and the thought struck me that it would be highly desirable to find out some plan by which it might be successfully cultivated. Apart from its interesting historical associations, as the sacred plant of the Druids, it is in itself eminently worthy of notice, as being one of the very few parasitical plants found wild in this country. Its wild habitats are evidently decreasing in number; and, unless there be devised some efficient means for its culture, I fear we are in danger of losing by degrees to a very great extent, if not entirely, one of the most interesting of our native plants. On looking over the Gardeners' Magazine, for 1835, I met with some remarks bearing upon this subject, which I thought would be worth transcribing. They are from the pen of of Mr. D. Beaton. Mr. B. says:-" Mr. Moss has hit upon an excellent plan for the successful propagation of the Misseltoe for sale; which is, getting young shoots of apple and pear-trees or which the Misseltoe is established, and grafting them in his nursery.

grasp; dewdrops that exhale as our eye catches their sparkle. The warm heart, chilled by selfishness, fenced in by doubts, and thrown back upon itself. Eye, lip, and brow, trained to tell no tale at the portal of what passes within the temple. Tears locked in their fountain, save when our own household gods are shivered. The great strife, not which shall "love most,” but “which shall be the greater; and aching hearts the stepping stones to wealth and power. Immortal, yet earth wedded! Playing with shells upon the shore of time, with the broad ocean of eternity before us! Careful and troubled about trifles, forgetting to "ask God to take care of Johnny "-and so, the long night of death comes on, and we sleep our last sleep!"-Can any reflecting mind peruse the above, without feeling a reproof,-deep as the ocean? Oh, it touches us all! May the saying,"Ask God to take care of Johnny," find a resting place in each one of our hearts!-Lucy N.

[Amen! good, kind, amiable Lucy. That saying" shall, at all events, rest in our heartand "thyself" with it.]

Hammersmith Concerts,-" The Black Swan," dec.-During the past month, several Concerts have been given at the Albion Hall, Hammersmith. At one of these we had the pleasure of seeing the celebrated "Black Swan,"-protegee of the Duchess of Sutherland; and a remarkably “plump" bird she is! We also had the pleasure of hearing her. She has, in addition to a "fine plumage,' two sets of voices. With the "one," she sang "Home, sweet Home" very sweetly. With the

Innocence of Childhood.-All who know you, my dear sir, know the bent of your "natural disposition. Nor is it any secret how much you love children. I quite enjoy a perusal of your remarks as to the manner in which they should be brought up; for alas, what "oddities" some of them are now! I send you, taken from your own Fanny Fern," the following beautiful morceau, apropos of "innocence."-"I asked God to take care of Johnny, and then I went to sleep," said a little boy giving an account of his wandering in the wood. How sublime! how touching! Holy childhood! Let me sit at thy feet, and learn of thee. How dost thou rebuke me with thy simple faith and earnest love! Oh earth!-what dost thou give us in exchange for its loss?-Rainbows that melt as we gaze; bubbles that burst as we

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other,"-but no, "we will not mention it." The "second" voice may be more wonderful,—it is so. But it really terrifies one to have two such voices in one and the same body. De profundis, or Deeper and deeper still," on the one hand; and Coming thro' the Rye on the other, makes a body afraid of the "wide difference." We could not compass it; nor stomach it in private. By the way, this warbling swan is not destitute of personal attractions, albeit the tint thrown on them is ray-ther beyond our view of the "line of beauty." Her eyes are vivacious, her manner pleasing, her legs what she need not be at all ashamed of, her feet "trim" and pretty. Altogether, she is an attraction. The veteran BRAHAM was there on this occasion, and all his family. His son, AUGUSTUS, was one of the vocalists, and acquitted himself (as he always does) excellently well. He sang "The Bay of Biscay" with much spirit. We hardly need say how his sire seemed to "relish " his own favorite. Often have we heard him make a lofty hall tremble beneath his voice, while dwelling on Biscay-Oh!" A Mr. Charles Cotton was also among the vocalists. He has a good bass voice, and he gave us "the Wolf" with some effect. But why is he so habitually dolorous, lugubrious, "hard ?" He would seem to think smiling, or laughing, a crime! Did he ever laugh? We wonder at his “ odd temper," seeing that the lovely JOSEPHINE BROUGHAM was one of the choir. What a sweet, lady-like girl it is! How lively,how playful,-how good-tempered! And what a delicious voice she has! She never opens her mouth but out comes a diamond or a pearl. No false notes; no ridiculous flourishes; no," punishing" of

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the simple airs by meretricious "ornament!" She comes of a good school; and never fails to open wide her smiling mouth, when needful to give full effect to the author's meaning. A true "Miss Paton" is she, in this sensible matter. What funny thoughts sometimes pass through one's mind! We could not look at Josephine Brougham and her arch sister, in their becoming dresses and playful bearing, without thinking of Christmas-and also, of something mysteriously "hinted at" (in connection with certain fondlycherished wild berries) in our Mirror of the Months (ante p. 295). Two such "Swans" would sing some lovely Christmas Carols! They would be "Waits" worth listening to. Ever since we heard Josephine Brougham warble Kathleen Mavourneen, our head has been filled with little else.* We do so love these simple melodies! By the way the pianoforte engaged here, appeared as if it had an attack of cholera. It groaned audibly and horribly. Nor could the good-tempered efforts of Miss E. Brougham and Miss Ward, united, "draw it out." A more obstinate "performer" never surely fell to the lot of any manager in distress!"-W. K.

The Prevailing Opinions concerning "“Beauty." -What different ideas are formed, my dear sir, in different nations concerning the beauty of the human shape and countenance! A fair complexion is a shocking deformity on the coast of Guinea; thick lips and a flat nose are a beauty. In some nations, long ears that hang down upon the shoulders are the objects of universal admiration. In China, if a lady's foot is so large as to be fit to

*Since this Notice was in type, another Concert has been given at Albion Hall at which, among others present as vocal performers, was our earliest friend, Miss POOLE; also the two Miss BROUGHAMS. We were truly pleased once again to hear the voice "so familiar to the ear" of our younger days. Chaste as ever, sweet, melodious, and purely natural, were the well-known strains we listened to; and to say that Miss POOLE was what she ever has been, is the highest compliment we can pay her. We seemed to greet her as she entered, as the friend of our youth; for she has sent us home "happy," times out of number. Such are the charms of real music! We had, on this occasion, an opportunity of hearing the Misses BROUGHAM sing together. (Miss E. Brougham had 80 severe a cold on her former appearance, that she presided at the piano only). enables us to pay both sisters the well-merited compliment of their being-not only excellent musicians and "sweet singers," but alike in form, figure, and vivacity; in every sense of the words" a pretty pair of White Swans." Not to be too severe on the Concert of which we are speaking, we feel bound to say that-but for Miss Poole, the Misses Brougham, Miss Hodson, and Mr. J. W. Sharp, the whole affair was below contempt. What ever was Mr. A. R. Read thinking about, when he made

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walk upon, she is regarded as a monster of ugliness. Some of the savage nations of North America tie four boards round the heads of their children, and thus squeeze them, while the bones are tender and grisly, into a form that is quite unnatural. [The Aztec Children, as an example.] Europeans are astonished at the "absurd barbarity of this practice, to which some missionaries have imputed the singular stupidity of those nations among whom it prevails. But when they condemn those 'savages," they do not reflect that the ladies in England have been devoted for the last half-century, sleeping and waking, to the habit of deforming themselves in every possible way,-so that their Divine origin might remain a mystery. They have nearly accomplished this. They are of all imaginable shapes and sizes,-very little insides, but very large outsides. You would sometimes (if you "naturally" inclined towards the sex,) try to get near them. You would, I say, but cannot. There is an impassable barrier between you. regular "Jack in the Green" swings round at your approach, and a scream proclaims that " you must not touch." What with pins, pegs, "palpable facts," hoops, roundabouts, and internal machinery which I dare only hint at (lest there should be a screw loose), our "English beauties" cut a singular "figure indeed! Then their head,-perhaps there is "nothing" in that. But there is something in their face,-I love to be face-tious. There is as triplex there. Let them construe this, and not put a wrong construction on it. Ours is the "Age of Brass." This will furnish a cue. Oh that you, and I, and ARGUS, and ARCHER, could fairly bonnet our English women! Such revenge would go half-way towards making them look "modest," and we should feel all the happier. You once said, that if our women were to assume a virtue if they had it not," such deception would, under circumstances, be pardonable. Aye; marry would it." We should then not know our misery, but charitably judge from appearances. If to walk through London streets, and see the

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performers "there in their present dress and undress, be a curiosity-what is it, my dear sir, to note the "winter preparations" for their disfigurement in the windows of Williams, Sowerby, Hodge, Sykes, and other wide-awake Miss-fitters? I positively groaned with agony the other day (as I fled through Oxford and Regent Streets), to contemplate what is coming upon us (or upon some one else!) in the way of startling novelties. Well, let us wait. We four shall be ready for a

pounce upon the hideous enemy. "War" is the cry abroad. There shall soon be war here. Shame shall either hide her head, or the turf shall cover all our bones. Eh? [Hurrah, WALTER!] As for the men-monkeys, let them go on. They will assuredly get shot by the hundred some day, if they venture too near our cockney sportsmen. The latter would be acquitted even of manslaughter, should they tell the judge they were shooting at baboons.* I shall be in town again

about nothing?" His next" grand annual Concert" must be better, or he will lose caste. We never paid twelve shillings with less satisfaction. All our party were of one mind in this matter. It was "slow" indeed!

men," were assuredly a misnomer. From the highest to the lowest, they seem to out-rival each other in acts of bestiality. Their faces are monkey-faces, exact; and their ensemble is becoming everything but human. Where will this end ?-ED. K. J.

soon, and on the look-out for more targets. I hear we shall have many "rich displays" this Christmas, of London taste-not "virtu." They shall be attended to, rely on it, by-WALTER, Cambridge. P.S.-Thanks-ten thousand thanks, for your noble endeavor to introduce ringlets again. The modern "fashion" of plastering over every pretty face with huge breadths of matted hair, drawn down as you say by 'high art," is truly disgusting.

How to avoid Catching Cold.-Accustom your self to the use of sponging with cold water every morning, on first getting out of bed. It should be done quickly, and followed with a good deal of rubbing with a rough towel. This has considerable effect in giving to the skin, and maintaining, a proper action in it; and thus proves a safeguard to the injurious influence of cold, and sudden changes of temperature. Therefore a person who is in the habit of thus fortifying the skin will be much less likely to suffer injury from heated rooms, and the change from a hot room to the cold air. Sir Astley Cooper once said:"The methods by which I preserve my own health, are-I speak feelingly, temperance, early rising, and sponging the body every morning with cold water, immediately after getting out of bed; a practice which I have adopted for thirty years. And, though I go from the hot theatre into the squares of the hospital, in the severest winter nights, yet I scarcely ever have a cold."-Puss.

Large Deciduous Cypress.-There is in the garden of the vicarage here a deciduous Cypress, measuring in girth 9 feet 4 in. at 2 feet from the ground, and 7 feet 3 in. at 6 feet. Its height is about 60 feet, its shape symmetrical, the spread of the lower branches, which feather down to the ground-say 45 feet. It stands on the edge of a small pond, in which its roots luxuriate exceed ingly. The soil seems a strong loam on a hard chalky bottom.-S. R. F., Boxley, Kent.

Fancy Pigeons.-I have taken quite a fancy to the keeping of pigeons; and I do wish you would commence a series of articles on that subject. They could not fail to be interesting. Pigeons are such fond-loving creatures, that you, of all people, must delight in recording their habits, tastes, and playful ways. Can you tell me where I can "safely "deal-so as not to be cheated in my purchases? I am really terrified to enter our common bird-shops. They are so dirty!-REBECCA E.

[We shall be delighted, dear Rebecca, to assist so loving a heart as thine in pursuing what was with us, in our early days, the fondest of our delights. We used to be "noted" for affectionate pigeons. Perhaps they taught us to be affectionate. When we sat down, and called them to us, we were immediately covered with them. We used to fill our waistcoat and other pockets with hemp-seed, our mouth also was well stocked. The saucy rogues would then come and help themselves from every suspicious-looking corner of our apparel; and they all loved us,-oh, how fondly! Shoulders, knees, arms, head-on every place where they could rest, they did rest. have no doubt that some one of our kind corres

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Deep Sea Soundings.-Hitherto a continuous series of soundings in deep water has been rendered difficult by the fact of each sounding costing the ship a fresh line: however strongly the line was made, when once out it has never been recovered. The Americans have invented a mode by which the weight, on touching the bottom, is detached, so that the line may be drawn back with ease. A hole is drilled through a 64 lb. or heavier shot, sufficiently large to admit a rod about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This rod is about twelve or fourteen inches in length, and, with the exception of about one and a half inches at the bottom, perfectly solid. At the top of the rod are two arms extending one from each side. These arms, being upon easily-acting hinges, are capable of being raised or lowered with very little power. A small branch extends from the outside of each of them, which is for the purpose of holding, by means of rings, a piece of wire by which the ball is swung to the rod. A piece of rope is then attached by each end to the arms, to which again is joined the sounding line. The ball is then lowered into the water, and upon reaching the bottom the strain upon the line ceases, and the arms fall down; allowing the ball to detach itself entirely from the rod, which is then easily drawn in, the drilled portion of which is discovered to be filled with a specimen of that which it has come in contact with at the bottom. With this apparatus, aided by the host of assistants whom Lieut. Maury's recent visit to Europe will doubtless bring to the great work of exploration, the ocean bed may become in time as well known to us as the bed of the Thames, or that of the Hudson.W. C., Woolwich.

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Forgiveness-A deaf and dumb person being asked to give his idea of forgiveness, took up pencil and wrote: It is the sweetness which flowers yield when they have been trampled upon."-VIOLET, Worcester.

Nest of the Titmouse.-A large half-peck garden-pot was inverted amongst some laurels; and through the hole, a Parus Major, or Great Titmouse, found its way to build its nest. The interior of the pot was half filled with dry leaves next the ground: and then a quantity of feathers. In the centre of this warm receptacle, the eggs were deposited. I on several occasions lifted up the pot whilst the old bird was away, and invariably found that the eggs were covered during her absence.-J. F. WOOD, The Coppice, Nottingham.

Sagacity of the Horse.-Some years ago, a person living at Beeston, near Nottingham, had two horses in a swampy piece of ground called the "Hassocks." One night he was aroused from bed by a neighing at the gate in front of his house.

the hens do fierce battle together. They are jealous; and therefore will not, I know, get any pity from you. [Certainly not. Let them fight it out!] The robins, too, are collecting in large numbers. These are still more jealous. [Yes; but they are constant," and "affectionate." This covers a multitude of their little sins."] We have a hawk fluttering about here occasionally. He is an enemy, I think, we might "conscientiously" get rid of. [Most assuredly. Let the gun be got ready; and let his account be settled at once. Our pets are getting tamer than ever. As for " Lark-y and "Took-ey❞—when you see them again, you will find they are (if possible) more endearing than ever.-HEARTSEASE, Hants.

[The swallows lingered late this year in many places. Their last brood of young were hatched early in October. We saw, if you remember, a nest of young swallows, recently hatched, under the eaves of Baddesley Church. This was quite at the end of September. We have seen (this present season) several pairs of swallows passing over Acton, Ealing, Hammersmith, and Kew,as late as the first week in November. Not one of these will tarry in England. Their instinct will carry them safely, and quickly, to the shores of Africa. We are glad those charming pets of yours,—“ Lark-y and "Took -ey," are thriving so nicely. We really do feel more than a common interest to behold them again. Rest assured they are "curiosities." It only shows what kindness will do.]

Hurrah, Boys and Girls! "The Misseltoe for Ever !"

Sweet emblem of returning peace,

The heart's full gush, and love's release!
Spirits do with fondness flow,-
Come! greet the pearly Misseltoe!

Many a maiden's cheek is red
By lips and laughter thither led;
And flutt'ring bosoms come and go
Under the Druid Misseltoe.

a theft"

Dear is the memory of "
When love and youth and joy are left ;-
The passion's blush, the roses' glow,
Accept the Cupid Misseltoe.

Oh! happy, tricksome time of mirth,
Giv'n to the stars o' sky and earth!
May all the best of feeling know,
The custom of the Misseltoe!

Spread out the laurel and the bay,
For chimney-piece and window gay;
Scour the brass gear-a shining row,
And Holly place with Misseltoe.

Married and single, proud and free,
Yield to the season, trim with glee.
Time will not stay-he cheats us so--
A kiss?-'tis gone!-the Misseltoe!!
A ROMP.

["Meet me by moonlight,—alone! "]

recently been signed, and the first portion of the money paid in advance. It was let in three parts, and for one year only, to the undermentioned contractors: Benjamin Abbot, for St. Mary's Rectory and All Souls, £3,640; H. Tame, Christchurch, £1,500; G. Tilley, Trinity, £511; total, £5,651.-A LOOKER-ON.

"Little Things."-The noble article you gave us recently, thus headed, has travelled far and near. As "Christmas is coming," I send you as a pendant to your remarks, the following, which appeared without any signature in the Worcester Herald, of November 5th. They have a voice. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!"

'Tis little things that make the sum
Of the hopes and fears of men;
"Tis little moments speeding on,
Make threescore-years and ten.
In a little lump of sugar

How much of sweetness lies!
And most of mischief oft lies hid
Within the smallest eyes.

An acorn-cup is very small,

Yet from it springs the oak;

The wind-harp breathes the sweetest tones
That ever zephyr woke.

And most of meaning oft is found

In little words,-you know;
How happy "Yes" will make some folk,
How miserable "No!"

A single thought will sometimes turn
The current of our lives;

For thoughts the springs of action are,—
Who thinketh "right" is wise.
A glad smile is a little thing,

Yet how it cheers the heart!
A tear-drop's small, yet speaketh much
When friends and lov'd ones part!

The mock-bird and the nightingale
Are small, with tiny wing;
Yet sweeter, clearer music make
Than all the birds that sing.
The smallest flow'r has brightest lines,
And most of fragrance brings,-
Our earth is made of particles,

And oceans come from springs!

Are not these sentiments beautiful, my dear Sir? If, as you say, people would but " think," in what a much better state of society we should all live!-ANGELINA.

[Your remark, Mademoiselle, is very just. All our labor is, to try and get people to reflect. We thank you very much for your esteemed and valuable favor.]