moment awakens it; so there sleeps often, in 

 gracious and amiable characters (deep in the back 

 ground) a quite vulgar spirit, which starts into 

 life when something rudely comical penetrates into 

 the less frequented chambers of the mind. — A 

 Free-thinker (!). 



Correction of Children. — " Never strike your 

 child," says Eliza Cook. I love her for those 

 words. This sentiment may seem to be rather 

 ultra in principle, but it is the only proper ground 

 of treatment. Let us first examine and ascertain 

 the desired result. Suppose your child does 

 wrong, — your first wish is to teach him that the 

 act is wrong. Now, having become aware that a 

 certain act is wrong, he again commits it. You 

 demand obedience. Obedience to what ? To the 

 wishes of a parent ; not obedience to a mere blow. 

 The obedience desired is from a knowledge of 

 right, — not from a mere slavish fear. For if the 

 child's obedience be founded upon fear alone, then 

 — in the absence^of the cause of that fear, he will 

 have no incentive to the obedience ; but, on the 

 other hand, if the child's obedience be founded 

 upon a knowledge of what is right, then the in- 

 centive is always present, — for knowledge once 

 attained will always remain, and the child will 

 obey because he wants to do so. But a blow never 

 created a desire to do right. It may operate to 

 the prevention of the overt act, but the same 

 feelings which prompted to obedience are still 

 there; and rather made more turbulent than other- 

 wise. Those feelings in the child's bosom which 

 the parent aims to bring into requisition, or at 

 least which should be brought into requisition — 

 feelings of love and filial duty — are at once sub- 

 merged by the baser passions upon the infliction 

 of a blow, — and the spirit of resentment is the 

 only result. All of us who have children, must 

 (if we be kind-hearted) see the folly and wicked- 

 ness of thus punishing a child. We are, in fact, 

 "answerable," if we so correct him, for all his 

 future conduct ; at all events in degree, — Phcebe. 



the police, it is utterly inert and useless as regards 

 measures for cleanliness. Oh, that our streets 

 could be put into the hands of professed picture- 

 cleaners ! How they would revel in " restoring " 

 them to their original purity ! Dressed as our 

 women are now, of course it is to their interest to 

 complain to the shopkeepers. If these latter 

 would look to the "contractors," or the parish 

 authorities, — then would the matter be set right 

 at once. It is sad to see our women splashed as 

 they are. They put a bold face on it, I grant ; 

 and grumble pretty loudly. But it is they who 

 must carry the day after ail. They are just pass- 

 able " above," but look at their et infra. Their 

 feet, stockings, and dependencies thereto belong- 

 ing," are a mere " moving bog." And " who " 

 pays for this, my dear sir ? We, — we unhappy 

 " heads of houses ! " I was " in town," two days 

 lately, — but I soon flew homewards. I was 

 agonised at your " goings on." Adieu. Au revoir. 

 — Argus, Oxford. 



Travelling by Steam^ round the Planet Uranus. 

 — The circumference of the orbit in which Uranus 

 revolves about the sun is 11,314,600,000 of miles, 

 through which it moves in 30,686 mean solar days, 

 or about 84 years; it is the slowest-moving planet 

 in the system, and yet it pursues its course at the 

 rate of 15,000 miles an hour, Were a steam 

 carriage to move round the immense orbit of this 

 planet at the continued speed of about thirty miles 

 an hour, t would require no less than 64,570 years 

 before this ample circuit could be completed ; and 

 yet a globe 80 times larger than the earth finishes 

 this vast tour in eighty-four years. — Dick. 



How to produce Varieties in Vegetation. — If 

 any one wishes to satisfy himself as to the change 

 he may produce in many articles of vegetation, by 

 selecting the seed from his plants; let him this 

 spring plant two rows of bush beans of the same 

 sort. On one row pi'eserve the earliest pods that 

 appear, removing all which appear afterwards. 

 When ripe, let them be gathered and put by them- 

 selves. On the other row, preserve those pods 

 only which come forth from the stalks late, re- 

 moving all the earlier ones. When these are ripe, 

 also keep them by themselves. Next spring, 

 plant a row of each sort side by side, and you will 

 be astonished at the difference. The first ripened 

 beans will be as much earlier in bearing than the 

 last, as was the difference of time between 

 gathering the seed from the two rows planted this 

 spring. Nor is this all, the first will be literally 

 a bush bean, growing stiff and low; whilst the 

 other will send out vines and reach quite high. 

 The beans, too, within the pods, as to size, full- 

 ness, and even of color, will differ. — Emma D. 



Our London Streets. — Was there ever any thing- 

 comparable to the state of our streets in January, 

 1854? Never! One dares "swear "it. There 

 were scavengers " once upon a time ; " and laws 

 for cleanlines" and the proprieties of the trivia 

 were enforced by the police. And most properly ; 

 for the urbanity of a people ought to be seen in 

 more than their personal manners. Dirty streets 

 are a rudeness, an incivility to the passengers ; dan- 

 gerous streets are an inhumanity. And how easy 

 and how salutary would be the reformation of these 

 nuisances ! But parishes are remiss, and as for 



Heathenism in London. — I have been com- 

 paring notes between the condition of the hea- 

 then of London and the heathen of India; and 

 I am compelled to say that, contrasted with the 

 outrages and wild orgies of Indian heathenism, 

 there are lamentable proofs that heathenism is 

 actually surpassed in wickedness by the metro- 

 polis of England. — Eev. Dr. Duff. 



Statistics of Bailways. — According to a return 

 just issued, the mileage of railways, in England is 

 5288 miles, 5 furlorgs, and 211 yards; and in 

 Wales, 348 miles, 5 furlongs, and 203 yards. Out 

 of 8,557,763 acres and 30 perches of land in the 

 various parishes of the several counties in 

 England, 61,496 acres, 3 roods, and 23 perches 

 are occupied by railways; whilst in Wales, out of 

 639,427 acres, 2 roods, and 18 perches, 3550 acres 

 and 23 perches are occupied by railways. The 

 railway companies in England and Wales con- 

 tributed towards the poor-rates £187,614 in 1851, 

 and £186,539 in 1852 ; while the total amount 

 collected in the parishes through which they pass 

 amounted to £3.189,135 in 1851, and 3,113,926 

 n 1852.— W.T. 



