WELL, we have made the experiment of a Children and Youth's Magazine, for one year; and must own that we are greatly disappointed. "We thought this would be the result;" you will perhaps say. Ay, but we are most happily disappointed. We never expected, when we set out, to get fifteen or twenty thousand subscribers in a single year. Yes, in one year the Magazine has gained such a circulation, that it is probably now read or heard by 200,000 children. "This is nearly a quarter of a million; and is certainly a very great number;" it will be said. It is so; but if you are in doubt what we mean when we speak of twenty thousand subscribers, and two hundred thousand readers and hearers, we will explain. So In many instances, only one magazine goes into each family of children. far as this is the case, we have probably five or six readers, upon an average, to one subscriber. Some of our young readers take so much interest in the work as to show it to their companions and playmates, whose parents do not choose to subscribe for it, and in some instances to lend each number regularly, to two or three families. In this case, there may be ten or twelve readers to a subscriber. In other instances four boys or girls join in taking the work. Each pays, from his little savings in pocket money, twenty-five cents, and a few cents more for postage. The number of cases of this kind, of which we have heard, is not large, it is true. But again; teachers often take the Magazine, and read it to their pupils, or perhaps lend it to those who are diligent. Sometimes whole classes read from it-first one, and then another taking it and reading a portion, till it has gone round the class.-We speak now of those schools in which few, if any of the pupils take the work; for it is well known that in many schools, whole classes take and use it regularly, as a class book.-Where no one takes it, in a school, but the teacher, the number of readers or hearers to a subscriber, must, as you see, be very large indeed. From these facts and considerations, are we not fully justified in concluding that Parley's Magazine has, at the present time, 200,000 readers and hearers? We have said, thus far, nothing about the parents and teachers who peruse the Magazine regularly; for the curious fact has lately come to light that a great number of both these classes of persons set a very high value on the work, for their own use; and read it with more eagerness, even, than their children; and some say it is worth more to them, as parents, than any periodical they take, unless it is the 'Annals of Education.'-It has long been known that parents are apt to delight in reading that which highly interests their children. But the Magazine is not yet doing all that we could wish. There were in 1830, about 2,500,000 children in the United States, between the ages of 5 and 15 years; and this number is fast approaching to 3,000,000. We should like to have all these children among our constant readers; besides many more, who are beyond the age of fifteen, and some who are below five. short, for all who are old enough to understand it. We inte in 810646 88-1 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE EAST. Employments of the Jews-Weaving-How conducted mans-Kinds of cloth made in the time of David; Solomon; Ezekiel; Homer. The Bible says very little of the trades and manufactures of the Jews; but they evidently had trades, for it was a rule among them, and a good one too,-that every boy, however wealthy his parents might be, should be bred to some employment. We know too, from various accounts, that they had smiths, carpenters, dyers, tentmakers, and every description of craftsmen necesVOL. II. 1 sary in a country where the inhabitants live chiefly by tilling the soil. The Jews had very few regular manufactures. In 1 Chron. iv. 21. we read of those that wrought fine linen, as a single instance of the sort. In other places, we read of potters. There are several beautiful allusions to weaving, in the Bible; but, like spinning thread, it was carried on as a family employment, rather than a regular trade, as it now is among the castern nations. The MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE EAST. loom and instruments for spinning are of the plainest and simplest kind; as simple, and even more so, than the negro loom represented in the engraving. Looms of this kind, are now used in Africa, by the Mandingoes, Jaloffs, and other tribes of Soudan. In them they weave a coarse, but very durable sort of cotton cloth, which when dyed of a rich and permanent blue, becomes a principal article of dress. The process of weaving must, of course, be rather slow; but it is said that one woman will manufacture eight or nine garments in a year; which, when we consider the looseness of their garments, and how much cloth it takes to form one, is not a task to be despised. In the description of a virtuous woman, in Proverbs, we have a full and minute account of the manner in which these family employments were directed by the mistress. Nor was this confined to families of the middle and lower ranks. In the Greek and Roman histories, we read of the wives of kings and generals being thus engaged. Homer, who lived soon after the time of Solomon, describes two queens, Penelope and Helen, employed at their looms. Dr. Shaw found that the women in Barbary, at the present day, were the only persons who wove the hykes or upper garments. These were coarse articles, and they did not use shuttles, but passed the threads of the woof with their fingers. The custom of spinning thread in families, for their own use, was very common in our own country, till within the last fifty years. Even now, in many houses, the females sit down to spia in the afternoon. The thread is sometimes sold to dealers, but more generally sent to weavers, who live near, and v. eave for the different fami lies of the districts. But the general use of machinery has nearly put an end to this simple and desirable industry. It should be observed, that in the instance of Solomon's virtuous woman, the cloth so spun and wove at home was for the use of the family, and it is so usually in our own times. The comfort of such clothing is well expressed: "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet," or (as the margin better expresses it) "with double garments." Solomon's virtuous woman is represented by our translators of the Bible as having clothing of silk; the word rendered silk should be fine cotton cloth or muslin. Silk was then scarcely, if at all, known. Aurelian, the Roman emperor, 1300 years after the time of Solomon, refused his wife a silk gown because it was too expensive. We can, therefore, hardly suppose that a Jewish woman of the middle class could have had such clothing. The fine linen of Egypt, so often mentioned, we should call very coarse such is the improvement in manufactures. Of this there can be no doubt, from an examination of the linen wrapped round the embalmed bodies, or mummies, of persons formerly of high rank in Egypt. David's robe is supposed to have been fine cotton cloth, Mr. Bruce mentions such robes as worn by men of rank in Abyssinia. As an additional proof that the manufactures among the Jews were not expensive, we may refer to Ezekiel xxvii. In that chapter the prophet describes,very minutely, all the articles in which the merchants of Tyre dealt; but we do not find that any of them came from Judea, except wheat, honey, oil, and balın, (ver. 17.) all of which were productions of the soil of that country. Even in the account given of many articles made for the use of the tabernacle, and the temple, we find that they were made by the Israelites, rather as their family employ- ment, than by regular manufacturers. Solomon sent to Hiram, king of Tyre, for a man skilful enough to direct the manufactures of the articles he wished to have made for the temple. Shoes and clothes were also made at home; this was usual in other countries. Homer describes Eumeas, a very respectable steward of king Ulysses, employed in making his own shoes. Sometimes these articles might be sold, but that was rather by way of barter, and there is no mention of regular shoemakers or tailors, as trades. In like manner there were few butchers or bakers. The country people brought meat or other articles of food to the large towns. The men of Tyre did so at Jerusalem, and sold them in the market. In the case of the men of Tyre, just mentioned, we see that the purchase and sale of provisions on the sabbath was forbidden. That bakers were not common, we may suppose from the distress of David, 1 Sam. xxi. 3. He would hardly have been so urgent with the priests of Nob, to give him the shew bread, if he could have bought any. We read, in Jeremiah, of a baker's street; but this was in later times, and at Jerusalem. Our blessed Lord also told his disciples to buy bread for the multitude; and a boy appears to have followed the crowd with a few loaves and fishes for sale. In the New Testament there are mention of several trades. Joseph, a carpenter; Simon, a tanner; Demetrius, a silversmith; Alexander a copper-smith. Paul and Aquila were tent-makers, or what we 5 Uniform dresses; when introduced-Firearms-Mili tary habit of the tenth century. When a company or a regiment of militia is called out for exercise, it is usual to see them in a uniform dress. This varies in different places, and among different bodies of troops, but the difference is greatest in the head dress. Coats have a very general resemblance, and almost always contain more or less of red. Now though this wearing of a uniform military dress has become customary among European nations, yet we must not suppose it a very ancient custom. It was introduced by Louis XIV. king of France, only about one hundred and fifty years ago. |