THE CENTURY—ITS FRUITS AND ITS FESTIVAL. VI. THE DISPLAY—INTRODUCTORY. FAÇADE OF THE SPANISH DIVISION, MAIN BUILDING.All things being ready for their reception, how were exhibits, exhibitors and visitors to be brought to the grounds? To do this with the extreme of rapidity and cheapness was essential to a full and satisfactory attendance of both objects and persons. In a large majority of cases... more...

A Chemist of merit, Mr. A. Müntz, who has already made himself known by important labors and by analytical researches of great precision, has been led to a very curious and totally unexpected discovery, on the subject of which he has kindly given us information in detail, which we place before our readers.[1] Mr. Müntz has discovered that arable soil, waters of the ocean and streams, and the... more...

SAINTS WHO HAVE HAD BODIES. All doubtless remember the story which is told of the witty Charles II. and the Royal Society: How one day the King brought to the attention of its members a most curious and inexplicable phenomenon, which he stated thus: "When you put a trout into a pail full of water, why does not the water overflow?" The savans, naturally enough, were surprised, and suggested many... more...

In 1821, as a contribution to a periodical work—in 1822, as a separate volume—appeared the "Confessions of an English Opium-Eater." The object of that work was to reveal something of the grandeur which belongs potentially to human dreams. Whatever may be the number of those in whom this faculty of dreaming splendidly can be supposed to lurk, there are not perhaps very many in whom it is... more...

ON THIS SIDE. IX. Among the inhabitants of the United States there are none that stand so firmly on the national legs as the Virginians,—though it would be more correct to contract this statement somewhat, substituting "State" for "national," since it has never been the habit of Virginians to make themselves more than very incidentally responsible for thirty-eight States and ten... more...

EXETER 'CHANGE, STRAND. Who has not heard of Exeter 'Change? celebrated all over England for its menagerie and merchandize—wild beasts and cutlery—kangaroos and fleecy hosiery—elephants and minikin pins—a strange assemblage of nature and art—and savage and polished life. At page 69 of the present volume we have given a brief sketch of the "Ancient Site of the Exeter... more...

I. It is my intention, in this series of papers, to give the history of the progress in Natural History from the beginning,—to show how men first approached Nature,—how the facts of Natural History have been accumulated, and how those facts have been converted into science. In so doing, I shall present the methods employed in Natural History on a wider scale and with broader generalizations than if... more...

The Fairies’ Sabbath. What is a fairy? Read! [“A Wood near Athens.—Enter a Fairy on one side, and Puck on the other.]“Puck.How now, Spirit! whither wander you? Fairy.Over hill, over dale,Thorough bush, thorough brier,Over park, over pale,Thorough flood, thorough fire,I do wander ever where,Swifter than the moones sphere;And I serve the Fairy Queen,To dew her orbs upon the green:The cowslips... more...

LITERARY COTERIES IN PARIS IN THE LAST CENTURY. The revolutions of society are almost as sure if not as regular as those of the planets. The inventions of a generation weary after a while, but they are very likely to be revived if they have once ministered successfully to pleasure or ambition. The famous coteries in which learning was inter-blended with fashion in the golden age of French intelligence,... more...

The troubles between Greece and Turkey are still unsettled, and though the war clouds look lower and more threatening, the storm has not as yet broken. Several matters have, however, been made clearer to us. The first and most important is that there is no such thing as a Concert of the Powers. It has been hinted for some time past that the Powers were not agreed as to the course they should take with... more...