bouquet," answered the gardener. "Well, send me half, that will be sufficient." The bargain was agreed to, 12 francs paid, and the Count received at his hotel an hour after a parcel on which was written, "Half the bouquet bought by the Count." The Count opened it, and found all the stalks of the bouquet, but not a rose: Mr. Karr had divided it fairly, but horizontally. The political world is still occupied with what we call "the procès des treize"-the thirteen persons condemned, for being an assembly of more than twenty persons, last election. All the most eloquent advocates in Paris assembled for the defence and the pleading was admirable; but every one expects that they will lose again, eloquence being nothing in a cause like theirs. The Court, after a brilliant season at Compiègne, is back again at the Tuileries. The fair Bellanger also thought she would like a peep of home again, and reappeared on a sudden in the field of her glory, but was as suddenly sped off again the same day, much against her wish: decidedly her reign is over. I told you that the fashion was to dye the little white pet dogs all colours; but dyeing is not considered costly enough, so now they are gilded-to resemble, I imagine, their mistresses, who have adopted red for the colour of their hair. This operation for dogs costs a thousand francs-£40-and the poor little animals rarely survive a second gilding. What will be imagined next? I wonder! The death of Monsieur Mocquard, the Emperor's secretary, has deprived his Majesty of one of his devoted friends, and the Bonaparte family of one of its oldest supporters. The Emperor himself wrote a letter of condolence to M. Mocquard's children, in which he assures them of his protection. M. Mocquard is a personage in the life of Napoleon III. He was educated for the bar, but a disease in the throat disenabled him for that profession, and he accepted a place of Sous-préfet under Louis Philippe. It is said that during that time he accompanied the Duke d'Orléans in an ascension of a mountain. The Préfet Bar, being of the party, insisted in walking in front of the Duke, his immense back masking completely the view from his Royal Highness. The Duke at last begged Monsieur the Sous-préfet, who was behind, to change places with the Préfet, and thus allow him to enjoy in peace the landscape before him. In 1840, however, M. Mocquard sent in his resignation, and joined (in London) the Prince Louis Napoleon, whose interests he has never since abandoned. M. Mocquard was also a talented writer, and has composed several comedies, which have been successfully played in Paris: "La prise de Pekin" was performed two hundred nights. He was also a journalist, and for some time was chief editor of two Bonaparte papers. It is said that his first publication was in defence of the Queen Hortense, the Emperor's mother, by an anonymous biography in reply to a biography attacking that lady, published by Arnaud. As the author was unknown, they attributed it to an historian of the Empire, who received a magnificent present in

return. A little while after, M. Mocquard being at Arenemberg, the Prince Eugène happened to be alone in the latter's room one day, and discovered the manuscript of the anonymous biography: he immediately carried it off to his sister, the Queen. "Ah! this is how you betray your friends," exclaimed Hortense, a few minutes after, as Monsieur Mocquard entered her apartment. Betray!" answered he, in surprise, "how?" "Yes, yes," added Prince Eugène, enjoying the puzzled look of his friend, "and we must punish you for it: Hortense, let us give him our mother's watch." The enigma was soon explained, and M. Mocquard has since then preciously preserved the Empress Josephine's watch, thus given to him by her grateful children. There is another anecdote related of him. Between his estate at St. Cloud and the Imperial residence there existed a large property, on which M. Mocquard often cast a longing eye, and he had the habit of frequently saying before the Emperor, "When I can afford it, I shall buy that estate; and I shall throw down the wall, make a door, and then, your Majesty, I shall be your neighbour." But the place was dear, and M. Mocquard not rich enough to purchase it. One day he was beginning again, "When I am rich enough." The Emperor, with a smile, interrupted him: "I have bought the estate, Monsieur Mocquard, I have thrown down the wall, I have made a door, and now you are my neighbour;" and he presented him the key of the long-coveted property. It was thought that Monsieur Duruy, the Minister of Public Instruction, would be M. Mocquard's successor; but happily-I say happily, and that in the cause of public instruction-Monsieur Duruy remains at his post, and M. Mocquard's place is to be divided into three. He was also a senator.

With the compliments of the season, yours truly, S. A

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. A Novel in three volumes. By Mrs. Mackenzie Daniel. (T. Cautley Newby, 30, Welbeck-street, Cavendish Square.)-Wanting the force and passion which the title leads us to expect, and for the true working out of which the authoress held all the elements in her hand, "Reaping the Whirlwind" is nevertheless a well-told story of considerable power, and exhibits the writer's knowledge of the better nature of her sex in a marked and intelligent manner. Nothing can be more real, more loveable and womanly, than the character of Ethel Beamish, nothing more true to nature than the imaginary sorrows of her early married life-her aching jealousy, her morbid fears for the continuance of her husband's love, her exigence, which arises not from selfishness so much as from her own excess of affection as time passes and, on, the gradual recognition of her husband's true regard, and of the rationale of wedded life. With Gertrude, her sister, we cannot profess much sympathy; she walks apart, even by the side of an only and younger sister, and makes us feel the coldness of her self-contained and haughty nature, repelling from the very first. But the inhabitant of Primrose Cottage, and the two maiden sisters, the Miss Downings, and their niece and protegée Jane Norton, are charmingly real, and with all the "miching mallecho" of the lively little widow, Mrs. Vivian, and the peculiarities of the spinster's, pleasant persons in village society But Mrs. Mackenzie Daniel shall describe them herself:

Miss Downing was a lady of about forty years of age, with a tall, stately figure, and the remains of considerable personal attractions. She was strongminded, healthy, energetic, and of very decided literary tastes, which had more than once induced her, it was said, to open a correspondence with the editor of a local paper, and to offer to supply both the poetry and the leading articles on very moderate terms, as well as to regale the editor (who lived at Boltby) with tea and toast whenever he felt inclined to walk as far as Graybourne. No one seemed very clear as to the result of these overtures; but Miss Downing was always suspected of being the author of several heroic and didactic compositions, which from time to time had appeared in the poet's corner of The- -shire Instructor, and which were signed "Semiramis." In temper and disposition Miss Downing was really a pattern to elderly spinsters in general, being cheerful, contented, and, as far as appeared on the surface, entirely reconciled to her lot. The little widow at Primrose Cottage said, indeed, that she had by no means relinquished all hope of escaping from the despised sisterhood yet; but then that little widow wasn't a bit charitable towards other women, and could not quite forgive Harriet Downing for looking so well and handsome at forty years of age,

The second sister, Miss Dora, was an invalid and very romantic. She had long fair hair, which she wore in ringlets that were always out of curl, and somewhat wiry in texture; but her blue eyes were soft and pensive, and there were some sweet tones in her low and rather melancholy voice, which, state, gave her a claim to be reckoned by most perunited with her general appearance and invalid sons of the other sex as an interesting woman. Jane Norton, the niece, whom these kind-hearted ladies had adopted on the death of her parents, was a bright-eyed girl of about eighteen; not pretty, not graceful, certainly not clever, and yet with a quaint odd charm about her that it would be very difficult to define. Her aunts were very fond of her, and allowed her to do exactly what she pleased; and the consequence was she did nothing (when she was not playing with the cat) but a little needlework on her own account, and spent altogether as idle and profitless a life as could well be imagined. Her fat good humour, keen observance, and love of soft-furred animal pets, culminating in her affection for "Blabberty Cutsoms" (a pet dormouse), makes her, in Mrs. Mackenzie Daniel's hands, quite a character. It is only where the wicked people, with their wicked ways, come on the stage of the story, that the author dwarfs her own conceptions and disappoints the expectations of her readers by her evident fear of entering the list of the sensationalists. But the character of Meta belongs of right to that class of novels, and loses half its vigour by being transposed to the calm foreground of respectable domesticity. Her unscrupulous deeds lack action, and become tame enough when recorded at second hand. Also her lover Guy, who is meant to represent the unreasoning recklessness of a blind, infatuated, ill-regulated passion, exhibits no passion whatever in the presence of the reader; but is, in point of fact, boyish, and weak and insipid enough to conciliate us to his wife's indifference. Her "active wickedness degenerates, in the last volume, into a weakness for brandy-andwater, and involves Guy, who for love of her had given up the profession of the church, and the aspiration of his genius, in the gathering of the weird harvest which she had sown, and which gives the title to these volumes. Walter Kenyon, the spoiled darling of fashion-the man of good impulses and weak will-amiable and irresolute-is well depicted; and the character of the vicar of Graybourn, though perhaps a little overshaded, is one well calculated to account for the tenderness and reverence with which Ethel Beamish regards him. But the charm of the story is in its telling. All the events but those which refer to Meta, and the mystery which surrounds her, evolve themselves quite naturally, and have that pleasant air of vraisemblance that the autobiographic style in which it

This border may be made any width, and is suitable for trimming bed-furniture, dimity window curtains, &c. After making a foundation, net 2 plain rows. 2nd row: Net 4 plain, wind the cotton 3 times round the mesh, putting the needle each time into the stitch, but not netting it; then, to knot the stitch firmly, pass the needle round the 3 loops without putting the thread over the mesh, and secure it in the same manner as a buttonhole stitch would be made at the edge of embroidery. This, we think, will explain the mode of fastening the stitch. This makes a little feather, the arrangement of which, in triplets or diamonds, may be left to the worker,

and the pattern can be varied as taste dictates, making the diamonds larger, so decreasing the quantity of plain netting. When the top of the border is finished, the fringe is commenced with the largest mesh. 1st row: Net 4 stitches into every alternate loop, and secure in the same manner as the smaller feathers or fancy stitches. The 2nd row is netted plain with the smaller mesh. The 3rd row the same with the large mesh. 4th row: With the large mesh take 4 loops of preceding row, and make 1 stitch of them; repeat. 5th row same as 1st. 6th row same as 2nd.

The season has now arrived for making these useful articles; which are so comfortably worn over a pair of kid gloves, when the weather is intensely cold. The portion of the gauntlet that covers the glove is knitted, and the gauntlet is made of plush or velvet lined with silk and wadding, ornamented with a bow and ends of ribbon. Having only the glove to knit, a pair of these gauntlets would be quickly executed. The glove is knitted backwards and forwards (not round) in the following manner: Cast on 62 stitches. 1st row: Slip 1, * make 1, purl 1, knit 1, repeat from *, knit 1. 2nd: Slip 1, make 1, purl 1, knit 1, repeat from *, knit 1. It will thus be seen that the stitch that was purled in the preceding row will be knitted in the next, and so on. After having knitted 30 rows in this manner, the thumb must be commenced. This is made by casting on 10 stitches at each end of the knitting, making altogether

82 stitches. Fifty rows are required to make the thumb; and in knitting the extra 10 stitches at each end they must be diminished every now and then by knitting together the 4th and 5th stitch at the beginning and end. This diminishing must be done gradually, and at the end of the 50 rows there should be on the needle the same number of stitches as was commenced with; 20 more rows have now to be knitted, and the mitten is finished: the thumb is neatly sewed up, leaving a small opening at the top. It is further ornamented on the back of the hand with 3 stripes of embroidered silk. This is very easily accomplished by taking 2 ribs of the knitting, and working over them in coarse herring-bone stitch. The depth of the plush cuff is 4 inches, the length round 14 inches. This cuff should be shaped a little towards the glove portion, to suit the size of the bottom of the knitting.

With the wool cast on 130 stitches, and knit a row. Purl the next; and knit and purl alternately six rows. Join on the coloured wool. Purl the first row and knit the next. Repeat these alternately until six coloured rows are done. Do the two stripes alternately three times more, then cast off loosely, dropping every fourth stitch, and subsequently undoing it to the foundation. Sew the edges together, and draw up the ends.

THE TASSELS.-Take some white wool, and also coloured, and wind together round a strong cord about twenty-four times. Tie the strands tightly at even distances of three-quarters of an inch. Cut them between every two ties, and string the balls thus formed on wool, with a rug needle, to form the tassels. Chenille tassels also look very pretty.