The policeman did not return, and the boys slept until an hour after sunrise. They then rowed down the river to the steamboat landing, where they left their boat in charge of a boatman, and went to a hotel for breakfast. The waiters were rather astonished at the tremendous appetites displayed by the four sunburned boys, and there is no doubt that the landlord lost money that morning. After breakfast,... more...

GREAT MEN OF AMERICA. By MOSE SKINNER DANIEL WEBSTER Was the sort of a man you don't find laying round loose nowadays to any great extent. It's a pity his brains wasn't preserved in a glass case, where the imbecile lunatics at Washington could take a whiff occasionally. It would do 'em good. We are told that as a boy DANIEL was stupid, but this has been said of so many great men... more...

NEAR OXFORD. On a fine morning in September, we set out on an excursion to Blenheim,—the sculptor and myself being seated on the box of our four-horse carriage, two more of the party in the dicky, and the others less agreeably accommodated inside. We had no coachman, but two postilions in short scarlet jackets and leather breeches with top-boots, each astride of a horse; so that, all the way along,... more...

DOMINGO LOMELYN, JESTER TO HENRY VIII. Shakespeare, in the Second Part of Henry IV. act v. sc. 3 makes Silence sing the following scrap:— "Do me right, And dub me knight: Samingo." And Nash, in his Summer's Last Will and Testament, 1600 (reprinted in the last edition of Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. xi. p. 47.) has "Monsieur Mingo for quaffing doth surpass, In cup, in can, or glass;... more...

SICILIAN SCENERY AND ANTIQUITIES. BY THOMAS COLE. A few months only have elapsed since I travelled over the classic land of Sicily; and the impressions left on my mind by its picturesqueness, fertility, and the grandeur of its architectural remains, are more vivid, and fraught with more sublime associations, than any I received during my late sojourn in Europe. The pleasure of travelling, it seems to... more...

I.—ARION. 1. Arion was a famous musician, and dwelt at the court of Periander, King of Corinth, with whom he was a great favorite. There was a musical contest in Sicily, and Arion longed to compete for the prize. He told his wish to Periander, who besought him like a brother to give up the thought. "Pray stay with me," he said, "and be contented. He who strives to win may lose." Arion... more...

Our Holidays King Henry IV, Part I. ST. SATURDAY BY HENRY JOHNSTONEOh, Friday night's the queen of nights, because it ushers inThe Feast of good St. Saturday, when studying is a sin,When studying is a sin, boys, and we may go to playNot only in the afternoon, but all the livelong day. St. Saturday—so legends say—lived in the ages whenThe use of leisure still was known and current among... more...

In my presidential address, which I had the pleasure of reading before this society at our first meeting this year, I called attention, somewhat hurriedly, to the results of a few of my experiments on induction, and at the same time expressed a hope that at a future date I might be able to bring them more prominently before you. That date has now arrived, and my endeavor this evening will be to... more...

THE AUTOMATIC PHYSIOGNOMIST. SCENE—The German Exhibition, near an ingenious machine constructed to reveal the character and future of a person according to the colour of his or her hair, for the small consideration of one penny. A party of Pleasure-seekers are examining it. First Pleasure-seeker (a sprightly young lady of the name of LOTTIE). "Put in a penny and get a summary of your character... more...

MONTESQUIEU. Montesquieu is beyond all doubt the founder of the philosophy of history. In many of its most important branches, he has carried it to a degree of perfection which has never since been surpassed. He first looked on human affairs with the eye of philosophic observation; he first sought to discover the lasting causes which influence the fate of mankind; he first traced the general laws which... more...