KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



375 



the arguments I used; and I am happy to say I 

 did make some impression on the feelings of my 

 auditor. He is to come again soon. Should I 

 convert him to reason, " Our Editor " shall be 

 speedily informed of it. I see you call those who 

 speak out as I do, " philosophers in petticoats." 

 I rather like that idea !— Lucy Norms, Tottenham. 

 [We are proud, Lucy, to record your arguments 

 on the question of social industry. No man or 

 woman can be independent, one of the other. It 

 is not in the provision of Nature that it should be 

 The infant is born helpless; and when he 



so 



grows old, he dies helpless, 

 thus ordained it.] 



True Wisdom has 



Man's Kindness to Man. — I have just returned 

 from New York, where I found Our. own Journal 

 had become a public favorite. Turning over one 

 of the pages, I saw that very excellent article of 

 yours — entitled, " Think gently of the Erring." I 

 marvelled much at the force of your expression 

 about women's inherent enmity for each other. 

 It is strictly true ; and sad as true. But is not 

 man equally cruel to man ? I think so. If a man 

 has fallen in life, every mean advantage is taken 

 of him — both in a pecuniary point of view, as well 

 as in position. I agree with you, that the world 

 is turned upside down. Selfishness is alone 

 worshipped. Gold is our only God. Good- 

 fellowship is banished from amongst us. Tell 

 me, — am I not right ? — Alpha, Begenfs Park. 



[Yes, my dear sir, quite right. Man is, as we 

 have ever said, a savage. But we were speaking, 

 in the instance you allude to, of the sorrows of 

 seduction. No woman, who has thus fallen, can 

 ever rise again. Her own sex would kill her, 

 gladly, if they could, — not because of her fall ; 

 oh no ! It would be from sheer spite. Man, 

 under such circumstances, does not lose caste. In 

 all other misfortunes, however, he is equally per- 

 secuted with the weaker sex. Selfishness and 

 Pharisaical pride keep him out of the pale of 

 forgiveness, and he usually dies broken-hearted : — 



There is mercy both for man and beast 



In God's indulgent plan ; 

 There's mercy for each living thing, 



But Man hath none for Man ! 



And yet we (most of us) talk of immortality, and 

 aspire to Heaven! We richly deserve such a 

 blessing ! Do we not ?] 



The Moustache Movement. — You are, my dear 

 sir, — and you ought to know it — [We do] an 

 especial favorite with the sex called gentle, for 

 having so manfully bearded those horrible speci- 

 mens of English humanity who delight in 

 assimilating themselves to hairy savages — posi- 

 tively puzzling us, sometimes, to declare whether 

 they be human or not. Laying aside the use of 

 the razor, is a sad reflection upon us, as a nation, 

 for cleanliness and decency — to say nothing of 

 common sense ; for no woman can endure the sight 

 of these ruffianly visages. I should be sorry to 

 withhold from you a knowledge of the admiration 

 in which you are held Jiere ; for your noble advo- 

 cacy of the claims of decency, and for your 

 unceasing endeavors to preserve the " humanity" 

 by which an Englishman's face has been hitherto 

 known. The lower classes may do as they like ; 



but surely education should teach us (who know 

 better) the folly of yielding to a brutal fashion. — 

 Argus, Oxford. 



[Thanks, noble sir. We quite agree with you 

 in all you say. By-and-by, when the " novelty" 

 has worn off, people will return, let us hope, to a 

 primitive state of decency. At present, humanity 

 is fearfully outraged. The streets are overrun 

 with the hairy savages of whom you speak.] 



Dissolved Leaves and Skeletons of Plants. — 

 Let the leaves be put into rain water, and allowed 

 to remain without an exchange of water until de- 

 composition is earned to the requisite extent — that 

 they may be freed from their cuticle and pulpy 

 matter. After macerating them for a short time 

 in fresh, clear water, they may be bleached by im- 

 mersion in a diluted solution of chloride of lime 

 (one-sixth chloride to five-sixths water). They 

 must be well washed from this fluid, when suffi- 

 ciently whitened ; and quickly dried before the fire 

 or in the sun. Care must be taken not to allow 

 the decomposition to be carried too far, or the 

 fibrous structure will become injured. Nor must 

 the specimen remain too long in the chloride, or 

 injury will likewise ensue. Leaves with strong 

 fibre should be preferred. The fibrous parts, and 

 also seed vessels, and calyxes, should be cleared 

 with a fine camel-hair brush. When the pulpy 

 matter adheres too strongly, it may be removed 

 by a stream of water poured upon it, assisted by a 

 small brush-tool. When the skeletons of plants 

 are thus prepared and arranged in group, they 

 form an elegant and instructive ornament. Such 

 delicate fabrics of course require a glass shade 

 for their preservation. — Eliza W. 



[In the Museum of the Botanic Gardens at 

 Kew, there are some exquisite specimens of these 

 dissected leaves. To see these alone, a visit would 

 be well bestowed.] 



Biblical Curiosities. — I send you, my dear sir, 

 the following, as being curious. The twenty-third 

 verse of the seventh chapter of Ezra has all the 

 letters of the alphabet in it. The nineteenth 

 chapter of the second book of Kings, and the 

 thirty-seventh chapter of Isaiah,, are alike. And 

 in the book of Esther, which has ten chapters, 

 neither the word Lord nor God is mentioned. — 

 Pink, Hastings. 



" Method" Everything, in the varied Duties of 

 Life. — Will you, my dear sir, be so good as to 

 register the following little apposite anecdote in 

 Our Own ? It requires no comment, but should 

 be read over a dozen times at least. Once upon a 

 time, it is recorded in History books, a lady was 

 complimenting a clergyman on the fact that she 

 could always recollect and recite more of the 

 matter of his sermons than those of any other 

 minister she was in the habit of hearing. She 

 could not account for this, but thought the fact 

 worthy of observation. The reverend gentlemau 

 remarked that he could explain the cause. " I 

 happen," he said, " to make a particular point of 

 classifying my topics ; it is a hobby of mine to do 

 so, and therefore I never compose a sermon with- 

 out first settling the relationship and order of my 

 arguments and illustrations. Suppose, madam, 

 your servant was starting for town, and you were 



