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KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



As for female society, generally, their com- 

 pany is as indispensable as it is delightful. 

 Whilst in their company, we breathe an at- 

 mosphere pure and wholesome. 'Tis a wise 

 provision of Nature that it should be so. 

 What would our " pic-nics," our rambles, 

 our walks, our gambols, our little harmless 

 games be — if they were prohibited to share 

 in them ? Our Correspondent is " pecked," 

 surely ? Fie ! Fie ! ! 



Why, these " Minor Constellations" with 

 their twinkling orbs of light, only cause the 

 radiance of the Wife's smiles to dazzle the 

 more. We disguise not the fact — why 

 should we? — that we are 

 " Eve's lovely daughters." 

 tural and highly proper. 

 aux Damoiselles, Mademoiselles, et aux 

 Dames! Let us all join in the cry! 



In the one case, we have " Admiration." 

 We behold, are fascinated — delighted. In 

 the other, our whole happiness is centred in 



ONE GRAND OBJECT. 



The Wife is the " Angel of Life ;" and be 

 it ever remembered by all admirers of St. 

 Valentine, that — 



"Love" is an egotism, divisible (only) 

 by Two. 



CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. 

 A Short Winter's Eamble. 



admirers of all 

 It is both na- 

 So — Hommage 



Have you not sometimes seen an early flower 

 Open its bud, and spread its silken leaves 

 To catch sweet airs, and odors to bestow ; 

 Then, by a keen blast nipt, pull in its leaves? 



How few people seem to contemplate 

 Nature with their own eyes ! 



" I have ' brushed the dew away ' in the 

 morning ! " says Mary Wolstonecraft ; " but 

 pacing over the fruitless grass, I have won- 

 dered that, in such delightful situations, the 

 sun was allowed to rise in solitary majesty, 

 'while my eyes alone hailed its beautiful beams. 

 The webs of the evening have still been 

 spread across the hedged path, unless some 

 laboring man, trudging to work, disturbed 

 the fairy structure; yet, in spite of this 

 supineness, when I joined the social circle, 

 every tongue rang changes on the pleasures 

 of the country ! ! " This is a very shrewd 

 and sensible remark, Miss W.; hitting scores 

 of " country " people '' very hard ; " and we 

 can confirm, by repeated observations, the 

 truth of it. Those who live in the country 

 must, to enjoy it, be possessed of a soul. — 

 This, by the way. 



Do any of our readers chance to recollect 

 Saturday, January 24 ? It was a cold, chilly, 

 wintry, ague-ish day; and at night, rain 

 poured down like a deluge. It affected us, 

 it affected everybody. " All in the Downs ! " 

 was the burden of our ditty on that day. 



We tucked our head beneath our wing, we 

 remember, overnight, anticipating a sorrow- 

 ful, gloomy Sabbath morn. 



To our great surprise (the voice of chan- 

 ticleer, at early dawn, causing us to take a 

 sly peep from the chamber window by way of 

 reconnoitring), the morning was bright and 

 beautiful. The elements were calm, and the 

 whole external aspect "lovely," — there is 

 no other word so • apt ' to express it. 



To spring from our couch was the work 

 of a single moment ; nor were we long in 

 equipping ourselves to get into the open air. 

 We found the wind had been ' mischievous ; ' 

 the rain heavy, and the night boisterous. 

 But the scene Avas now so placid, the moon 

 so beautiful in her paleness, and the retiring 

 stars so eloquent in their silent grandeur, 

 that we rejoiced exceedingly at having 

 bounded forth. 



The morning meal over — " Editors " are 

 ' famous hands ' at anything ' savory ' and 

 piquant ! — the toilette was quickly made ; 

 and certain of our ' Household Gods ' being 

 unable from illness to take our arm as usual, 

 we trotted off to church alone. Acton, dear 

 little Acton ! was the village that attracted 

 our steps. The Kev. Clergyman who 

 officiates here, Mr. Antrobus, is a talisman 

 that attracts many. It is worth a much 

 longer walk than ours, to listen to the words 

 of wisdom which ever and anon fall from his 

 lips. We have profited oft, and hope to do 

 so yet many times more, by the sound 

 instructions that he has gently labored to 

 inculcate. Let us bid him God-speed ! 



Arrived before the little village church, 

 we found the hands of the clock pointing 20 

 minutes past 11 ! Horrified at our neglect 

 of being in time, we deliberated what to do. 

 Should we go in ? or, should we not ? Some- 

 thing whispered — " It is shameful to set so 

 bad an example by going in late. You ought 

 to be ashamed of yourself ! " We felt that 

 the monitor within us was a faithful one. 

 We obeyed it. Turning for the fifth time 

 away from the porch door, we thought, as 

 "a child of nature," we would range the 

 fields ; and there, as the poet has it, — 



*' Look through Nature up to Nature's God." 



The resolve once made, was as quickly 

 acted upon. Wheeling to the left, we soon found 

 ourselves, with a majestic, glorious sun above 

 our heads, travelling onwards — first towards 

 Friar's Place, and ultimately towards Har- 

 lesdon Green and Harrow. We have drawn 

 attention to the previous day, January 24. 

 That was a day to be forgotten. This was 

 as lovely, bright, and splendid a morning as 

 we ever remember seeing, even in May. 

 Here and there we saw an early opening 

 flower. The sheep were browsing on the 

 slopes, the cattle were feeding in the pad- 

 docks ; the rain-drops, like spangles, trembled 



