is entirely beyond the power of any modern pen to essay a description of: suffice it to say that it was an immense pyramid of hair, raised perpendicularly from her head, and on the very extre mity of which was nicely poised a small turban; her cheeks have the usual complement of paint, and her eyebrows are neither more nor less pencilled than those belonging to the generality of ladies of her time; her neck is bare to a depth considerably lower than would be consistent with our notions of propriety, and when we at length find an article of dress (which we had almost despaired of seeing), it is an elegantly-laced stomacher; the robing of the gown, and the flounces which skirt it, are not dissimilar to those of the present day: but there is one ornament, which I do not remember to have seen on any similar dress; from the elbows, where the sleeves terminate, depend a pair of long lace ruffles, elaborately fringed, worked, and ornamented. And this was the ladies' dress in fashion in the year of our salvation 1771. Let us now glance at a portrait of a somewhat later date. Ho! ho! what buxom lady is this? or is it only the bust of a female, placed upon the top of a sugar-hogshead? Nay; now I have it-it is the hoop, to which I have heard my grandmother so frequently allude, that extends this costly petticoat, until it at last appears like a Montgolfier balloon of respectable dimensions. I remember reading a humorous letter in an old magazine, in which a husband complains that he had lately married a lady of apparently comely proportions, who, in her déshabille, became a dwarf of scarce four feet in height; and how, think you, gentle reader, did this deception arise? Her head-dress measured some eighteen inches, and the heels of her shoes elevated her to the extent of at least six more so that, when divested of these ornaments, which gave her the appearance of six feet of flesh and bone, she became reduced to little more than half that height; but her circumference decreased to a still more alarming degree, on the removal of the hoop-the stately pyramid of silks and satins which had stalked along all day, dwindled down at night to an insignificant pigmy of half the artificial size which she had assumed. Hey, presto, fly! the scene is again changed; and here we are, sitting in a theatre, at the early part of the eight eenth century. But what is to be seen? Not a single female countenance meets our eye-they are all concealed (not, as subsequently, by paint, but) by masks! Let us begone, since beauty hides her face. We are now in more civilised times; it is the year 1750. But, be cautious! tread carefully; or, perchance, you may step upon the train of the lady who is by some scores of yards in advance of you, and which is collecting and elevating the dust, greatly to the discomfort and inconvenience of the succeeding passengers' eyes. Once more a change has come o'er the spirit of the scene, and I am sitting at my desk, plying my pen as steadily as when I was first led in search of the peculiar fashions of the eighteenth century. Travellers occasionally exercise their license of exaggeration to an extravagant degree, and why should not aged persons enjoy the same privilege? they have been travellers, also, in a region which time has rudely closed against our exploring; they have been pilgrims through years long since gone by, and, if they occasionally exaggerate the adventures which they have encountered in their pilgrimage, may they not be excused as readily as a voyager to a foreign clime? This digression I have deemed it necessary to make in order to obtain a pardon for my very respectable informant, who I fear, has been guilty of a little exaggeration, for when, in writing the present chapter, I made enquiries of her eighteenth century, and of the practice on the subject of ladies' dresses in the of painting, in particular, she solemnly assured me that she had seen ladies, sitting in the boxes of the theatre, deliberately as publicly, draw forth their painting cases, and lay a fresh coating on their cheeks when perspiration or any other cause, had removed the rouge. tempera! O fœminæ ! CYNATUS. Emportant Enventions. GOVER'S PATENT No. I. REMOVABLE WINDOW SASH. THE painful, and often fatal, accidents to which servants are daily exposed in cleaning the outside of windows, as at present constructed, have given rise to several attempts to discover an efficient and easy means of obviating such danger and exposure; but hitherto nothing has been devised short of removing the bead-a process which, we believe, most persons concerned consider too troublesome to counterbalance the risk of breaking their necks. Several months ago, the inventor of the plan we are now about to describe, while residing at Ramsgate, was just in time to rescue a female servant from falling from the upper window of his house, while engaged in cleaning the windows on the outside; and his attention being thus providentially directed to the subject, has resulted in a remedy as simple and beautiful as it is efficient. By the principle of this patent, the sashes may be taken with facility into the room, by merely casting off certain metal stops, fitted to each sash; the width of the sash is only equal to the distance between the pulley-stile and the front of the opposite bead, which is fiveeighths or three-fourths of an inch thick, the difference being made up by the four stops fixed into the side corners of the sash. The two upper stops of each sash are so constructed that the pulley-rope is fixed to the stop on each side, the stops being fixed in the sash by moveable pins. The sashes may thus be taken into the room at pleasure by merely withdrawing the pins and removing the stops, which (to prevent them from running to the top of the window-frame by the falling of the weight in the box) may, by means of a hole in the bottom or side, be hung on hooks at the side of the window, the weights being thus suspended till wanted again for the sashes. When the stops are replaced on the sides of the sash, the five-eighths are, of course, gained in the breadth, which again becomes equal to the entire width of the sash-frame. We have ourselves inspected the invention, both in the model, and in the window-sash, at Mr. Gover's house (No. 8, Chester-square, Pimlico), and feel perfectly satisfied as to the extreme facility and perfection of the mode adopted. We have requested the inventor to allow the model to be left with us for a short while, and, in the course of the week, we shall be able to eke out our necessarily imperfect description, by showing the model to any of our readers, who will favour us with a call at The Mirror office. No. II. PAYNE'S PROCESS FOR METALLIZING WOOD. IN a late number of "The Illustrated London News" we perceive a very interesting account, with illustrative woodcuts, of the wooden viaduct lately constructed under the superintendence of Mr. Cubitt, between the Bricklayers' Arms and New Cross, being the termination of the Dover Railway. At the conclusion of the article it is stated that all the timber in this great work has been paynised, or rendered capable of resisting the ravages of insects or of dry rot, and, to a great extent, incombustible. The process, by means of which the commonest wood is endowed with the enduring properties of iron, is one of immense value to the engineering arts, and we feel pleasure in laying before the readers of The Mirror a more detailed account of its nature. Several ingenious persons-among whom may be mentioned Messrs. Kyan, Margary, Burnett, and Boucherie-have, at various times, propounded the means of preserving wood by metallic preparations, these solutions, generally of copper or mercury, being injected or infused into the timber by means of exhaustion and pressure. But the objection has been alleged against these-first, of the expensiveness of processes employing as their basis the more costly metals; and, secondly, of their partial efficacy, on account of the liability to disunion, in the course of time, of the component elements of the solution. The curious invention under notice obviates both of these objections; and, in the judgment of engineers and chemists, consulted by the British, and some of the foreign, governments, will be of incalculable value in the construction of railways, in ship-building, wood-paving, and other public works requiring large quantities of timber. The basis employed is the cheapest of all the metals-iron; and, from calculations which have been made, it appears that the process is accordingly so inexpensive, that the sleepers, generally 2,000 in number, on a mile of railway, may be metallised for less than £80, the impregnation of a load of timber, or 50 cubic feet, costing only 10s. or 11s. But the cheapness is of comparatively trivial moment in such works, when the question of efficiency is con cerned. This is secured by what forms the peculiar merit of the invention— namely, that by means of chemical_decomposition, the wood is actually made a new substance, or, so to speak, fossilised; and thus, all risk of a future disunion of the component parts of the solution is effectually precluded. The process is thus described. The wood, which may be impregnated after being made up into furniture, sleepers for railways, or parts of any mechanical structure, is first placed in a vacuum in a large iron cylinder, in a solution of sulphate of iron, which is made to permeate the cells from which the air is extracted. Thereafter, the wood is withdrawn, and similarly placed in the vacuum, in a solution of muriate of lime, which, on coming into combination with the iron, chemically decomposes it, forming an insoluble sulphate of lime within the wood. now no doubt that in process of time the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committees on employing steam-carriages on common roads, will be largely adopted, especially in the constructing of subsidiary junction lines for railways, involving the extensive use of metallised timber, and to the manifest benefit both of railway and turnpike interests. To all the interests of "ships, colonies, and commerce," the process is fraught with momentous consequences. Reviews. English Prose, being extracts from the works of English Prose Writers, with Notes of their Lives. [Moore. WHOEVER he may be, the writer or compiler of this volume has performed a most Herculean task, and a valuable book has been produced. Such a one, as we conundertake, in the hope that the improveceive, only the father of a family would ment of his children would requite him for that labour, which, if his time were of moderate value, would not be paid for in the course of his natural life, either by a high-minded bookseller, or a liberal and discerning public. the On a wooden tramway, constructed for experimental observation, at Vauxhall, a traffic equal to 9,000 miles of a great line made no perceptible impression on the saw-marks of the timber, and in consequence of this successful trial, the whole of the Guildford Junction Railway, the bill for which has just passed through Parliament, is to be constructed (the rails, as well as sleepers) of wood thus prepared. This line will extend to eight or nine miles in length. Mr. George Stephenson, Mr. Cubitt, Mr. Giles, and other eminent engineers, accord their highest praise to the importance of the results to be anticipated from the general employment of the process; and the "Woods and Forests" largely employ it in several of the government works. The only disadvantage to be apprehended from the use of wood, as a substitute for iron, on rails, is the liability of the edge of the rail to abrasion, from the flange of the locomotive wheels now in use; but an invention to meet this objection has lately been made of a bevel wheel, now exhibited in action, at the Adelaide Gallery, which renders the use of the flange unnecessary. Our space prevents our dilating further on the details and merits of an invention which promises, especially on the continent, abounding with timber, and comparatively deficient in iron, to effect a revolution in several important branches of industry. But it appears hardly necessary to expatiate upon the value of a process which makes the softest and the most porous woods harder than British oak. There can be The book opens with a list of authors, and the extent of their writings. It is specifying the periods at which they lived arranged on a plan equally original and exhibit, at one view, the names and comperspicuous, and admirably calculated to Of these, the three first periods are subparative labours of contemporary genius. joined as a specimen :— "Born from 1480 to 1580. BORN. DIED. More, Sir T.....1480........ July 6, 1535 Born from 1580 to 1630. : ...1608 ..... Selden, John....Dec. 16,1584..Nov. 30,1654 Strafford, Lord..April 13,1593 May 12, 1641 Walton, Isaak..Aug. 9, 1593 Dec.15, 1683 Chillingworth..... Oct., 1602.....Jan. 30, 1644 Browne, Sir T..Oct. 19, 1605..Oct. 19, 1682 Fuller, T. .Aug.16,1661 Clarendon, Lord.. Feb. 18, 1608.Dec. 9, 1674 Milton, John.....Dec. 9, 1608.. Nov. 8, 1674 Taylor, Jeremy..Aug., 1613..Aug.13,1667 Cudworth, R....1617 ........ June 26, 1668 Cowley, A. .1618........July 28, 1667 Patrick, S. ...Sept. 8, 1626. May 31,1707 Temple, Sir W...1628. ..January 1699 Bunyan, John..1628 ...Aug.12,1688 Barrow, Isaac..October 1630 May 4, 1677" It may not, however, be supposed that this volume will wholly escape censure. From the nature of the plan it must be imperfect one life would scarcely suffice to read all the prose authors of England, and without reading all, how can the compiler be sure that he makes extracts from the best? This author (so it will be seen he may be called) must do, therefore, what cannot be other than repugnant to the feelings of a man of his diligence, taste, and mental independence, take a good deal on trust. He must be directed, in not a few instances, to the authors most worthy to be consulted by common literary report, leaving "Full many gems of purest ray serene,' remain in undeserved gloom. This, however, was one of the conditions of his enterprise, from which he could not escape; and he must, therefore, only aspire to have said of him what Dr. Johnson remarked on Dr. Watts, "he has performed better than many-a task which no man ever performed well.”. But the main object of the book-that of forming youthful minds in a superior mould, by placing before them in their early days, unexceptionable specimens of the most powerful writers-is never lost sight of for a moment, and the important duty which the writer has imposed upon himself is faithfully performed. His style is clear, and fine writing as it is called, he is careful to avoid. Sometimes, however, he gets neglectful, and his vigorous business style is momentarily abandoned for childish repetition. Thus we are told of Lamb that, "he flings out his thoughts and feelings, and affections, and wild fancies, and quaint phrases," a reiteration of the conjunctive, which we think unnecessary, and being unnecessary, not in good keeping, with the general manly straight-forward character of "English Prose." At other times he begins half a dozen sentences in succession with the same word, which is hardly setting before young readers the perfect example on which he is anxious their attention should be fixed. It has already been hinted that he cannot satisfy all readers, Many who have their favourites will think they are not duly attended to, and others even from the specimens given, it will be urged are not here sufficiently brought forward, but the passages which have been selected are good. Few of them can be pointed out which are not calculated to make the reader wiser and better; and the whole assemblage will give him a just idea of the power, variety, and general affluence of the English language. That reading must have been very extensive which enabled the author to select so much, and select so well. From this praise we must except a brief passage from Cobbett, which seems to be part of a longer article, and to have been inserted by accident. To enumerate the subjects on which this work brings before us the thoughts of distinguished men, would fatigue the reader. Suffice it to say, they embrace almost every topic in which men can take an interest. They are calculated to stimulate the mind to energetic, honourable exertion. Such a book must be useful at home and abroad; to the tyro and the veteran scholar. These 500 compact pages should be packed up with the sandwich-box on a journey. The work will be equally in its place when required to furnish the traveller with a literary luncheon, or to the student at home who has leisure to dine, as it will present him not only with a bill of fare, but with a sample of the principal dishes before they are placed on the table. The lives of Lord Bacon and one or two more authors, are written with great care. Some notice of these will be taken next week. For the present we shall only say they exhibit an enlarged mind, honestly resolute to think for itself, and to speak what it thinks. The Gatherer. Reason in the Wasp.-Dr. Darwin relates an incident, to which he was an eyewitness, of a wasp having caught a fly almost of her own size; she cut off its head and tail, and tried to fly away with the body; but finding that, owing to a breeze then blowing, the fly's wings were an impediment to her own flight, and turned her round in the air, she came to the ground and cut off the fly's wings one after the other with her mouth. She then flew away with the body, unmolested by the wind. Consistency of the Popes.-To this day the Court of Rome remains immoveable and faithful to the ancient traditions which lighted the funeral pyres of Savonarola and Giordano Bruno: it condemns with out reservation all books which dare to speak of liberty, or to unveil any of the disgraceful histories of the successors of St. Peter. Literary Union.-M. Mazzini conceives the march of events will combine all the great names of literature, till individuality is forgotten. "As in the Greek federations," says the writer, "a temple shall be the soul of this union-a temple where all literatures shall burn incense to the common thought, to the IDEA; and since all literatures live by a ray of that ideasince each has manifested a line, a word, a syllable of that thought, and all have glorious, great, and solemn records-that temple collects all, and arranges all in order. From Genius, the minister born from that Pantheon, the numerous spirits that constitute and feed the various literatures, will ask the conception of the era; then they will replace themselves in the way to demand the forms and expressions of that conception from the sky, the climate, the earth, the past, the present, the traditions, the national songs, and the people of their country. English Patriotism.-A French traveller gravely tells his readers that a "patriot Englishman" bought for five guineas the tree under which the Duke of Wellington sat at Waterloo, and transported it, "à grands frais en Angleterre, où il est maintenant l'objet des hommages et des délices des badauds de la Tamise." It is a pity he did not specify the exact locality in which this tree may be seen. Modern Comedy of Error.-Some odd instances of one person being mistaken for another, have sometimes occurred. An Englishman so strongly resembled a French player, named Davide, that Frogere, another performer, who had been established in Russia, under the auspices of the Emperor Paul, accosted him, on meeting him at Paris, as Davide, and could hardly be persuaded that he was in error. Ancient Posting. - Sardis, the ancient capital of the Lydian kings, stood in an extensive plain at the foot of Tmolus, on one of the tributary streams of the Hermus. Under the Persians it became the headquarters of the king when he visited Wes tern Asia, and the chief residence of the Satrap of Lydia. It continued to be, as it was in the time of Croesus, one of the great commercial emporiums of Asia, the resort of Greeks from the coast, and of the nations of the interior. Here the luxurious Persian found in the slave-market the male and female captive suited to his taste, who were qualified to guard the harem. From Sardis there was a royal road to Susa, beyond the Tigris, where the king generally resided. This route is minutely described by Herodotus, who gives us the number of royal stations or posts. To have a ready communication with western Asia, and the Greek towns on the coast of Ionia, was essential for preserving the integrity of the monarchy, and the dependency of one of its fairest portions. On this route, at certain intervals, about a day's journey distant, horses and men were always kept in readiness. When the royal commands were issued, the messenger from the first station carried them to the second with all possible speed; from the second they were as speedily transmitted to the third, and thus forwarded to their destination. "There is no human thing," says Herodotus," that can be compared in speed with this system of posts-neither snow, nor rain, nor the burning sun, nor the darkness of night, prevents the postmen from accomplishing their prescribed distance with all possible speed." Some critics have converted this royal posting establishment into a regular posting system for the benefit of all the people, which opinion is at variance with what we learn from Herodotus, and entirely inconsistent with Asiatic notions. In their political systems the king is everything. Comets. Of the actual number of comets which obey the attraction of the sun, it is impossible to form any idea. Almost all those which are visible to us come within the orbit of the earth; and if we supposed them to be equally distributed in space, the number which has been actually observed would lead to the inference that not less than 250,000 comets approach nearer to the sun than the planet Uranus. |