General Books

I spoke of the possibility of moral education by means of magnetism, which has been carried out.” * * * “Dr. Bernheim, a Professor of the Medical Faculty in Nancy who is a champion of hypnotism has written a book on ‘Suggestion and its Application in Therapeutics,’ in which a great many hypnotic cures are recorded.” “Dr. —— quotes Franklin against magnetism but Sprengel in his... more...

ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATIONS. THE TEMPLE CHURCH. The Temple Church, London, was erected in the twelfth century; but among antiquarians considerable difference of opinion at various times prevailed as to who were the original builders of these round churches, which form the most striking and beautiful specimens of the architectural skill of our Anglo-Norman ancestors. In England there are four examples... more...

TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND. I suppose that the history of travelling in this country, from the Creation to the present time, may be divided into four periods—those of no coaches, slow coaches, fast coaches, railways. Whether balloons, or rockets, or some new mode which as yet has no name, because it has no existence, may come next, I cannot tell, and it is hardly worth while to think about it; for, no... more...

BRAY CHURCH. Who has not heard of the Vicar of Bray, and his turning, turning, and turning again? Here is his church, and a goodly tower withal, which we, in our turn, have endeavoured to turn to the illustration of our pages. There is no sinister motive in the selection; but if we have hit the white, or rather the black, of such variableness, "let the galled jade wince," and pay the Mirror the... more...

John Chinaman is the logician of hygiene. To his family doctor he says: "I pay you to keep me well. Earn your money." Let him or his fall sick, and the physician's recompense stops until health returns to that household. Being fair-minded as well as logical, the Oriental obeys his physical guardian's directions. Now, it may be possible to criticize certain Chinese medical methods,... more...

UNFASHIONABLE CLUBS.   It is with a feeling doubtless somewhat analogous to that of the angler, that the London shopkeeper from time to time regards the moneyless crowds who throng in gaping admiration around the tempting display he makes in his window. His admirers and the fish, however, are in different circumstances: the one won't bite if they have no mind; the others can't bite if they... more...

TOM MOORE'S FIRST! It is now generally understood that the first poetic effusion of Thomas Moore was entrusted to a publication entitled Anthologia Hibernica, which held its monthly existence from Jan. 1793 to December 1794, and is now a repertorium of the spirited efforts made in Ireland in that day to establish periodical literature. The set is complete in four volumes: and being anxious to see... more...

NOTES. AUTHORSHIP OF HENRY VIII. In my last communication on the subject of Henry VIII., I referred to certain characteristic tricks of Fletcher's style of frequent occurrence in that play, and I now beg leave to furnish you with a few instances. I wish it, however, to be understood, that I advance these merely as illustrative specimens selected at random; as there is scarcely a line of the... more...

TIDINGS OF MAY. The month of May is a grinning satire on the mode of living of human beings of the present day. The May sun, with its magic warmth, gives life to so much beauty, so much value. The dead, grayish brown of the forest and woods is transformed into a rich, intoxicating, delicate, fragrant green. Golden sun-rays lure flowers and grass from the soil, and kiss branch and tree into blossom and... more...

Hon. JOSIAH GARDNER ABBOTT, LL.D. By Colonel John Hatch George. The Honorable Josiah Gardner Abbott, the subject of this biographic sketch, traces his lineage back to the first settlers of this Commonwealth. The Puritan George Abbott, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1630, and settled in Andover, was his ancestor on his father's side; while on his mother's side his English ancestor was... more...