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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



insurmountable. They persevered ; they tri- 

 umphed. Oh, Mr. Editor, your words often fall 

 pleasingly on my ear. There is indeed many a 

 valuable lesson to be learnt, many a reproof ad- 

 ministered by the so-called " lower world." 

 They "improve" their talent; we "bury" ours! 

 Verax. 



" A Man Oveiboard." — I have read, Mr. Edi- 

 tor, with great pleasure as well as much pain, the 

 most interesting but truly distressing little narra- 

 tive of yours referring to the poor sailor who was 

 drowned off Erith. What must his poor mother 

 have suffered? (I, also, have a most fond mother.) 

 How great — how intense her agony, for the loss 

 of "her son, her only son!" Do you know if 

 the body was ever recovered? I have seen no 

 account of any "inquest" having been held 

 upon it. — An only Daughter. 



[Your feelings, Mademoiselle, do you honor. 

 We have seen a sight which we hope you nrmy 

 never see. As you are an " only daughter," you 

 can indeed estimate the loss of " an only son," — 

 his mother's joy — the delight of her eyes — the 

 hope of her life. Let his fate endear your fond 

 mother more than ever to you. A mother! In 

 that sacred name dwell heaven and earth. We, 

 too, are thus blest. Dearest of all dear mothers ! 



The utmost measure of a child's affection, 

 Never can, even to the half, repay 

 The force and fulness of thy tender love ! 



Happy and blessed indeed are they who can esti- 

 mate the value of a mother. We can replace 

 every thing but that! The body of the poor 

 sailor was picked up off Gravesend, the day 

 after his death; and it is something to know that 

 his dear aged mother did, after all, "see the last 

 of him." God bless her withered heart ! say we. 

 It will soon be in eternal rest.] 



On Shaking Hands. — Will you, dear Mr. 

 Editor, oblige me by giving your opinion on the 

 common mode of salutation — the shaking of 

 hands? I have had many arguments on the 

 subject; and maintain that you may " safely" 

 judge of a person's character by the " feel" of the 

 hand as it comes in contact with your own. Am 

 I right? I hope so; for I am " alone" among 

 many, who call me " a little fool !" -r- Pink, 

 Hastings. 



[Yes, modest Pink, you are indeed right; 

 quite right. In no one external circumstance of 

 life, is a man or woman's character more clearly 

 discerned than in the mode of salutation by the 

 hand. Some people greet you with a finger; 

 some with two ; 6ome with three. Some give you 

 a lump of cold flesh, to shake or not, as you will. 

 Inanimate itself, as its owner, it passively sub- 

 mits to your operations on it. It either remains 

 an icicle in your hand, or it falls back, lifeless, 

 beside its master or mistress. Some people take 

 your hand, and jerk it — once or twice — up, or 

 down. Cold are they, cold is " it" (their hand). 

 Avoid all such statues and statuettes If you 

 really like a person, you must show it — you 

 can't help it. You take their hand; you grasp 

 it, you grip it. You convey by the squeeze, what 

 are your feelings, what your disposition, towards 

 your friend or visitor; but how soon do you 



withdraw your hand when you meet with no 

 response! We are great observers of these 

 matters, and invariably judge people by their 

 shaking of hands. We are very seldom wrong 

 in our judgment; and consequently have few 

 " false friends." Only make us your friend, 

 dear Pink, and let us come and see you. Then 

 shall you have a" specimen" of how kindred spirits 

 ought to shake hands. We shall give you both 

 hands, and our undivided heart ; for we are rare 

 judges of character by handwriting, and yours 

 delights us beyond measure. We love your sen- 

 timents, too, dearly. You are a treasure at 

 home — a treasure as a friend, and will be, some 

 day (or we are very short-sighted), a treasure as 

 a wife. What you say about your mamma, 

 brothers, and sisters, and their observations on 

 the general emptiness of worldly ceremonies 

 (we have not printed these, as being unconnected 

 with our present subject), convinces us that you 

 are " a united happy family." We shall be re- 

 joiced if an early opportunity be permitted us, 

 of giving you " the first lesson in shaking 

 hands." It will be " first"— and final. You 

 know already enough of the cold shake; and 

 glad are we that you detest it. The warm shake 

 of cordial regard shall, when we meet, animate 

 our whole system, and make us " one " Love 

 never changes. As Milton says — " It knows no 

 change, save only to increase."] 



Notes on the Hollyhock. — People who have 

 given large prices for hollyhocks, seem quite 

 astonished that when they grow them they do 

 not come half so large, nor look so noble; but, 

 on the contrary, they come up with side stems 

 and crowded buds, the leaves turn yellow, the 

 blooms perish before they are half opened, and so 

 forth. We begin to think that nurserymen 

 should either issue printed directions, or refer the 

 buyers to our treatise, or give some verbal direc- 

 tions, to prevent disappointment. However, we 

 will offer a few remarks on the hollyhock, 

 because, though a very old inhabitant of the 

 garden, growing up of itself, without care, there 

 is as much difference wanted in the management 

 of the double novelties now sent out, as com- 

 pared with the carelessness with which we used 

 to heat the old same double kinds, as there is 

 between the growth of two plants. When you 

 first get your plants, put them in the open 

 ground with rich soil, and water them in. This 

 we should prefer to do in the spring ; when they 

 begin to ijrow, confine them to a single shoot, 

 and if there be more, take them off close to the 

 plant, and make another plant of the pieceif 

 you like. When they start off in earnest, and 

 throw up their blooming shoot, remove all hide 

 shoots from the main stem, and now, as it ad- 

 vances, recollect that the bloom buds must be 

 thinned out as carefully as you would thin the 

 berries on a bunch of grapes. Two out of every 

 three, and sometimes more than this, must be 

 taken away ; for, remember that the flowers will 

 be six inches across. However, you must be a 

 judge of what can be spared as you go on. Place 

 a straight stake upright close to the stem, and so 

 fasten it here and there as to prevent the wind 

 from having any power over the plant. You are 

 not to thin the buds all at once, but first remove 



