The Gatherer. 'As these old abodes of the civic aristocracy since the westward migration of their former proprietors are now rapidly disappearing, it may not be uniteresting to give a brief descrip. tion of the house in question, to the court-yard of which the great gates of a double Porte Cochere gave entrance from an row street without any claims to architectural beauty, the plain brick edifice had nevertheless, an air of grandeur from its extent, its solidity, and its all-defying seclusion, even in the heart of the city; for when the great gates were closed, it was completely insolated, and might almost have seig The principal portal opened upon a hall sixty or seventy feet long terminating in a large glass door, through which might be seen the lofty trees of the garden beyond. From the middle of the hall you as stoo i ·00 cend the principal stairs, terminating on the frst floor in a spacious picture gallery, ornamented at the time in question by paintings of the Flemish masters, and communicating with a suite of numerous and handsome rooms. The garden, which might be turned extensive, considering its situation, was bounded by an elevated terrace, ascended by a flight of stone steps and shaded by a row of venerable lime trees. At one end of the terrace stood a handsome summer house, paved with coloured marble; and beneath this, having an entrance door from the garden below, was a grotto, studded all over with shells, and decorated with two stone Cupid's perched on the edge of a shell-shaped basin, from the centre of which a mimic jet d'ean threw up slender column of water. This may read like the description of a most corkoregfied Rus in urbe; but its real beauty when glowing with the freshness of spring, and the surprise of being ushered into such a green, spacious, and quiet seclusion from and bustle of the surrounding city, ef the noise fectually lifted it out of any common place or vulgar associations. for the deserted mansions of the civic Alas! magnates! After an interval of many years, this well-remembered spot was lately visited by the writers. Ehen! the quantum mutatus! The northern Porte -where was enclosed and converted into a courting-honse; the principal staircase had been pulled down to make entrance was blocked up; the grand space for new rooms; the whole buil ling was parcelled out into countinghouses and small apartments; the terrace and garden were covered beautiful lime-trees bad disappeared;, with warehouse and out buildings; the bustle of clerks and porters, and the creaking of cranes, were substituted for the stilly hum alluded to in the text. It was a melancholy scene, especially as it served to recal the former occupants, who, like the glory of the mansion, had now passed away for ever.'The Moneyed Man. ANECDOTE FROM THE PERSIAN.-4 sage was asked "what is the best time to dine?" He replied, "For the rich man, when he is hungry; for the poor when he can get it." A foolish muezzin was observed in the desert calling to prayer and then running to a distance and listening. Some one asked him what he was about. He replied, "People tell me that my voice sounds best at a distance, and I am trying to judge for myself whether they are right." Aristotle met a handsome youth in the street and asked him some questions, to which he returned silly answers. "That is a goodly building," said the philosopher, "if it were inhabited." were hundreds of pieces sent promiscuous MANAGERS AND AUTHORS.-Of some during my appearance in that capacity, by unknown writers to the manager, there was but one deemed fit for representation; and amongst those sub. found fraught with danger, and dismitted by men of note many missed accordingly. among the various others to which he As one instance honours, may be mentioned this anecis subjected by candidates for stage dote. A tragedy of nearly 600 pages, and likely ever to remain so, was sent written by an author totally unknown, me by one particular friend of mine, others. The first was a moonlight scene, and strongly recommended by three and in the opening soliloquy thereof the hero, gazing on the unclouded glory of Diana, accused her, despite her besuty and alleged chastity, of intriguing (with whom cau the reader ima gine?) with the "Man in the Moon." I mention this little circumstance merely to designate the difficult position of a manager in only one department of his vocation, for, owing to my rejection of this pyramid, one of the friends in question has never spoken to me since. HOME.-The only fountain in the wilderuess of life, where man drinks of water totally unmixed with bitterness, is that which gushes for him in the calm and shady recess of domestic life. Pleasures may heat the heart with artificial excitement, ambition may delude it with its golden dreams, wai may eradicate its fine fibres, and di- THE SON TO HIS MOTHER. There was a place in childhood that I re- It was a beautiul sentiment of one whom her lord proposed to put away, "Give me, then, back," said she, "that which I brought to you." And the man answered in his rul ar coarseness of soul, "Your fortune I shall return to you." "I thought not of fortune," said the lady; "give me back my real wealth—give me hack my beauty and my youth-give me back the vir ginity of soul-give me back the cheerful mind, and the heart that had never been disappointed."-Mirror. SIMPLE CURE FOR THE RHEUMATISM. -Boil a small pot full of potatoes, and bathe the parts affected with the water in which the potatoes were boiled, as hot as it can be applied, immediately before getting into bed. The pains will be removed, or at least greasy allevi ated, by the next morning. Some of the most obstinate rheumatic pains have been cured by one application of this novel and simple remedy. A VERY LONG NIGHT." Nottingham House used formerly to be in sad disrepair, and the late proprietor was overheard once, when a visitor unexpectedly arrived, calling loudly to his servant, Bring be a fork to open the drawing-room door! Many of the windows were at that time built up; and a clergyman who slept there one night previous to preaching in the parish church, got up next morning and opened bis shutters, but seeing no light, he retired to bed, wondering much what had disturbed him so early. Unable to sleep, he watched impatiently for the first glimpse of dawn, thinking that certainly a sleepless night was a very tedious affair, when at length the clerk rushed into his room, saying that the whole congregation were assembled in their pews, and had waited impatiently for some time. THE EFFECTS OF EXAMPLE.-Sam Slick says, "Whenever a fellow is toď lazy to work, he gets a licencesticks his name over the door-calls it a tavern-and, nine chances or ten, but he makes the whole neighbourhood as lazy and worthless as himself." RECIPROCITY." Will you lend father your newspaper, Sir?-he only wants to read it?" "Yes, my boy-and ask him to lend me his dinner I only just want to eat it?" Extracts from Periodicals. EARLY HISTORY OF PAPER.-In treat ing of printing some reference should be made to the history of paper, but our readers are probably too familiar with all that is kuown of the papyrus of the Egyptians, one of the most an cient substitutes on record, and the gradual improvements in various countries down to the present day, to need our giving more than a passing allusion to it; and to treat this branch worthily, would require a separate reatise. Such of our readers as re quire more information respecting this subject may have recourse to a far better source in Sir J. G. Wilkinson's admirable work on the Manner and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians." Neither is it requisite to dwell on the shoulder blades of sheep, on which the early Arabs engraved their romantic effusions. The papyrus paper, from Egypt, was also in use amongst them, until the introduction of parchment 250 years before our own era, a material for which we are indebted to the ambition of Eumenes, who wishing to possess a more splendid library than that at Alexandria, was frustra ted in his endeavours by the jealous efforts of the Ptolemies, and this cir cumstance led to the invention and employment of a substitute. Parchment held its ground until the use of it was in some measure superseded, by the discovery of the me. thod of making paper from cotton and silk, called carta bombzeina, and is supposed to have been known in the beginning of the twelfth century. It derived its appellation of carta Da mascena from having been introduced into Spain from Syria. The Chinese were acquainted with the art of ma king paper in great perfection from various vegetable substances as early as A. D. 95, and Gibbon tells us "from credible testimony, that paper was first imported from China to Samorcand A. H. 30 (A. D. 662) and invented, or Father introduced at Mecca A. H. 88, (A. D. 710.)" The period at which linen paper was first used has not been accurately ascertained; but, apparently it was not prior to the eleventh century. The Moors introduced it into Spain. The earliest specimen preserved of it, is an Arabic version of the Alpharism of Hippocrates, bearing date of A. D. HICO; and (asiri in his cata logue of Arabic MSS in the library of the Escurial, makes especial mention that many of them are written on this kind of paper. It is certain, however, that linen paper was very rare in Europe until the fifteenth century, and it was not before 1650 that writing or printing paper was made in London-Previous to that period we had our supplies of it from Hol land and France, A kind of mixed paper, however, must have been in use long before, as a letter addressed to Henry II. by Raymond, son of Raymond, Sixth Count of Poulouse, is still preserved in the Tower of London. This, therefore, must have been between the years 1216 and 1272. The binese practised a kind of printing at least 2000 years ago, but not with moveable types This seems to have heen somewhat similar to the mode now in use amongst us of printing wood cuts from blocks; and even in the present day, they still execute works in this manner, as well as by 1 moveable types. The manner in which they do it is by preparing a smooth block of wood, generally from the peartree. Bring planed, the block is squared to the size of two pages, the surface is then rubbed over with size, gene-, rally made from boiled rice, which makes it perfectly smooth. The characters to be printed are written on thin paper the size of the block, which is glued on to it in an inverted position, so that the characters can be perfectly seen through the back. The intermediate parts are then cut away with great skill, and the letters are thus left in relief, and finally the paper is gently removed. The Chinese chronicles state that this mode of printing was indented 50. B. C. but that paper was not manufactured till 95 A. D., so that ping was in use 145 years before the invention of paper. Previous to that time, they used a kind of silk instead of paper.. This was certainly the nearest approach of the modern mode.-Foreign Quarterly Review. THE HOME SICK HEART. (BY JOHN IMLAH) How fondly loves the home-sick heart To ponder o'er the past, Though richer vales and balmier gales May tempt the wanderer's stay, His heart will long be among Some scenes far, far away! O! memory ne'er can charm us so [wear Yet there for joy to come relies The heart when faint and low, Where dawn'd life's chequer'd day, are not here which were cast away, which were by far the greater number." BACON ON PROPHECIES AND PROGKOSTICS (1597)." My judgment is, that that they ought all to be despised, and ought to serve but for winter talk by the fire-side; though, when I say des pised, I mean it as for belief, for otherwise the spreading or publishing of them is in no sort to be despised, for they have done inach mischief, and I see many severe laws made to sup. press them. That that hath given them grace and credit consisteth in three things. First, that men mark when they hit, but never mark when they miss, as they do generally, also of dreams. The second is, that probable conjectures or obscure traditions many times turn themselves into prophecies, while the nature of man, which coveteth divination, thinks it no peril to foretel that which indeed they do bút collect. The third and last, which is the great one, is that almost all of them, being infinite in number, have been impostors, and, by idle and crafty brains, merely contrived and feigned after the event past." Cloth Boats. Some experiments have been making in France with cloth boats, the invention of a Sieur Leclerc. A flotilla of five of these little vessels, carrying twenty eight persons, passed, on Sunday last, from the port of La Rape to St. Cloud, without accident; and the five were taken back by a single man, in a small hand cart. During the transit, they were several times brought to the bank, and lifted out of the water, taken to pieces and put together again, and relaunched in less than five minutes. The weight does not exceed from 12 to 15 kilogrammes. Vegetable Physiology.-When the Almighty clothed the earth with vege tation, he made every species after its kind, with its seed in itself; and this will remain true until the days of our earth shall be numbered; and these six words, simple as they appear, con tain the very essence of vegetable phy. siology. We have all the species, created, "each after its kind," and this puts us in possession of one ge. neration of the entire race of vegetables, Again, the seed of every species is "in itself," and this involves the suc cession of generations.-Florist's Jaurnal. |