6-English Firesides. S. B. We have not space to publish your remarks on the inconveniences of a continental residence; but most assuredly we agree with you in praise of our English homes. Most foreigners admit that we understand the word comfort, in its true sense, better than themselves. The poet Cotton has well remarked that: "If solid happiness we prize, And they are fools who roam : The world has nothing to bestow; From our own selves our joys must flow, And that dear hut, our home." 7-French Bread. T. W. C.-We hear much in England of French bread; and those who visit France for the first time usually conceive high notions of its excellence: but this expectation is sure to be disappointed; for to one who has been accustomed either to the bread of the London public bakers, or to the wholesome household bread baked in the country, nothing can be more insipid than the white saltless bread made throughout the greater part of France. The reason why French bread is baked without salt is satisfactory; there being a high duty upon salt the same reason operates in preventing salt being put into butter; but this want, if felt to be a want, is capable of being supplied, whereas the fault in the bread is irremediable. 8-Plain Cookery. H.-You are right. The culinary art engages no small share of attention among mankind; but, unfortunately, cooks are seldom chemists, nor, indeed, do they understand the most simple of the chemical principles of their art; hence their labour is most frequently employed, not in rendering wholesome articles of food more digestible-which is the true object of cookery-but in making unwholesome things palatable, foolishly imagining that what is agreeable to the palate, must be also healthful to the stomach. A greater fallacy can scarcely be conceived; for though, by a beautiful arrangement of Providence, what is wholesome is seldom disagreeable, the converse is by no means applicable to man, since those things which are pleasant to the taste are not unfrequently very injurious. Animals, indeed, for the most part, avoid instinctively all unwholesome food, probably because everything that would be prejudicial is actually distasteful to them; but as regards man, the choice of articles of nourishment has been left entirely to his reason. 9-Muscular Power of the Body. B. S. M.-By constantly exercising the muscles, you will ob tain great influence over them. A Turkish porter will trot at a rapid pace, carrying a weight of six hundred pounds. Milo, a celebrated wrestler from Crotona, accustomed himself to carry the greatest burthens, and by degrees became a monster in strength. It is said, that he carried on his shoulder an ox, four years old, weighing upwards of one thousand pounds, for above forty yards; and afterwards killed it with one blow of his fist. Haller mentions that he saw a man whose finger being caught in a chain at the bottom of a mine, by keeping it forcibly bent, supported by that means, the weight of his whole body, one hundred and fifty pounds, until he was drawn up to the surface, a height of six hundred feet. Augustus XI., King of Poland, could roll up a silver plate like a sheet of paper, and twist the strongest horse-shoe asunder. But the most prodigious power of muscle is exhibited by fish. The whale moves with a velocity through the dense medium of water that would carry him, if continued at the same rate, round the world in little less than a fortnight: and a sword-fish has been known to strike his weapon quite through the oak plank of a ship. 10-Waste of Fuel. M.-Gilbert White has well observed that "the very poor are always the worst economists; and, therefore, must continue very poor;" the truth of which remark is strikingly evident in the mode in which the poorer classes use the fuel they have, than which nothing can be much worse or less judicious. Indeed, poor persons make less of the little fuel they have than the richer classes. Still, the poor must not be altogether blamed; for the improvements in fire-places by scientific men, have done a great deal for the fire-places of the rich, but nothing for the habitations of the poor. It is true that about thirty or forty years ago, Count Rumford published some Essays on this branch of economy; but it was not then to the taste of the people to study the subject, and very few architects understood the Essays. If the advantages were clearly shown to the poor, they would avail themselves of the improvements; for the poorer classes are not, in this country, wedded to old systems: "there are so many novelties exhibiting every day, that they do not believe that the world is always to be as it is now." It is wasteful to wet fuel, because the moisture in being evaporated carries off with it as latent, and therefore useless heat, a considerable proportion of what the combustion produces. It is a very common prejudice that the wetting of coal, by making it last longer, is effecting a great saving; but while, in truth, it restrains the combustion, and for a time makes a bad fire, it also wastes the heat. 11-First Comedy in England. T. B. D.-The first regular comedy which appeared in England, was "Gammer Gurton's Needle." The precise time of its representation is unknown, but an edition of it is said to have been printed in 1551. 12-Taking Notes. J. R. E.- Written abstracts of what you read will not only assist your memory in recollecting dates and facts, but will aid you in arranging, comparing, and reflecting upon what you have acquired. They should be frequently referred to, and occasionally studied very thoroughly, if you would reap the full benefit of them. 13-Want of Temper in Invalids. T. B.Whatever infirmities of temper are betrayed by the sick, consider yourself bound by the charities of your office, as nurse, to bear them patiently, and never to speak of them. The only legitimate use to be made of them is that of learning to avoid similar faults, when you are yourself equally tempted. 14-Best Time for Eating. C.-Where three meals are eaten, seven, twelve, and five o'clock, are undoubtedly the best hours. A general recommendation is to breakfast about nine, and dine between two or three; but of course this must depend upon the constitution of an individual and the nature of his employments. A medical man will be the best judge in all cases. 15-Cause of Cold. J.-The true cause of cold, or rather the direct cause, is to be found in the winter excess of west wind, every winter with excess of west wind being followed by a cold summer; and if there is no cold before, or during a first excess, then a second excess of west wind in winter occasions a still colder summer than the first. It also appears, by repeated experience, that cold does not extend to more than two years at a time. 16-Origin of the Term " Quaker." W. W.This was a title applied in derision when George Fox, the first of this sect, was committed to Derby gaol for promulgating their opinions openly, by preaching the necessity of the life of God in the soul. When brought before the magistrate, he told him to tremble at the word of the Lord. The derision has long since passed away, and the term Quaker is become respectable. 17-Hair-Dyes. S.-We would dissuade you altogether from the use of dyes. Gray hair is by no means a deformity, nor is it worth while to resort to so imperfect and troublesome a process as dyeing. This system produces an irritating influence on the hair-glands, enfeebling them in their action, so much so, frequently, as to add baldness to the original change. Some have, even among their ingredients, agents of a nature and power which may be felt, after a prolonged use of them, by the system at large. 18-Lentils. T.-Your question why lentils are not eaten in England may be answered by observing that the French lentil is of much larger growth than the plant we cultivate in England, and is altogether more worthy of attention as an article of food. In most parts of the Continent they are much esteemed, and the seeds are made into soups or become an ingredient in other culinary preparations. The plant is rarely raised in our own country, and then only as food for cattle. 19-Progress of London. W. J. B.-We must refer you to official statistical reports for information on the subject. Undoubtedly the wonderful progress of the great city is of comparatively modern date. In the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, her customs rented for £20,000 per annum; her lands at Pentonville, and in the other vicinities of the capital, rented for one shilling per acre. The greatest estates in the kingdom did not exceed £20,000 per annum; and the city of London did not include one brick-house. 20-Household Duties. A. M.-By all means, give your daughter an insight into matters of domestic economy. Whether rich or poor, young or old, married or single, a woman is always liable to be called to the performance of every kind of domestic duty, as well as to be placed at the head of a family; and nothing short of a practical knowledge of the details of housekeeping can ever make those duties easy, or render her competent to direct others in the performance of them. 21-Dress. M. -Our space will not permit us to give you advice on this subject. As to the dress which is most becoming to the wearer, we think less of the mere appearance or texture of a robe than the virtues which are the true ornament of woman. As Mrs. Griffiths justly ob serves, "Do you, my friend, endeavour to possess 22-Obedience in Servants. T. R.-Do not think it degrades you to endeavour to please your employer. It surely adds to your respectability, for it shows that you live with people you respect. You are bound to please your employers as far as you honestly can while you receive your wages. No person hires a domestic to be idle, cross, or disrespectful. It is worse than theft to take wages from your employers which you must know you have not earned, if you have been unfaithful, impertinent, and quarrelsome, and made them constant trouble. 23-Fires in Bed-rooms. T.-A fire in the bedroom is recommended as a means of ventilation, and undoubtedly is so as long as it is burning briskly, if kept well replenished, and if the chimney draws well; but when, during the hours of sleep, the fire gets low, and the draught up the chimney is diminished, the air vitiated by the burning embers is very apt to become diffused through the apartment, and with it, sulphurous and other fumes. This point is one frequently overlooked, and from the very injurious consequences which may result, requires strict attention. 24-Causes of Trance. F. C.-Magnetic sleep, or trance, has served at all times to perplex the world by the strange breach it seems to make between the bodily and mental functions, by its unexpectedness in some cases, and by the peculiar agency producing it in others. Dr. Hol land observes that, "as respects magnetic sleep, or trance, in all its alleged shapes, there is no well-authenticated fact making it needful to believe that an influence is received from without, beyond those impressions on the senses which are capable, according to the temperament and other circumstances of existing disordered as well as healthy actions, throughout every part of the nervous system, and especially in the sensorial functions." happy in another; and this facility of disposition wants but little aid from philosophy; for health and good humour are almost the whole affair. Many run about after felicity, like an absent man hunting for his hat while it is on his head or in his hand. Though sometimes small evils, like invisible insects, inflict great pain, and a single hair may stop a vast machine, yet the chief secret of comfort lies in not suffering trifles to vex one, and in prudently cultivating an under-growth of small pleasures, since very few great ones, alas! are let on long leases. ing apparatus in use in the primitive days of 27-Carding Machine. T.-The original card cotton manufacture was very simple; the cotton was spread upon the surface of a series of teeth projecting from a piece of wood; another similarly-furnished piece was used to comb the cot ton thus placed between them. The operation was repeated until the fibres were all lying, as near as could be effected, parallel to one another. This method, so far as correct information has been obtained, is supposed to have been in use up to about 1779. It was in 1748 that the first grand improvement in the process was effected which placed it on a permanent and efficient basis. This improvement was carried out by Lewis Paul, of Birmingham, who patented it on the 30th of August of the above-mentioned year; it consisted of the application of rotary power to the carding teeth and surfaces. This formed the key to all the improvements which have since been effected in this beautiful machine. 28-Proper Quantity of Food. W. C. J.-We will endeavour to satisfy you on this point. As a general fact, those who can obtain sufficient food eat much more than is required for their sustenance. Children should never be fed or tempted to eat when appetite is satisfied; and grown 25-Mariner's Compass. A. A.-The manner of using the compass may be better explained by allusion to its construction. A magnetised needle is balanced on a pivot raised from a circular card, on which the points of the compass is described; the chief of them, or the cardinal points as they are termed-from the word carda, a hinge or pivot, showing those which are inter-persons should also be careful of eating beyond mediate between the east, west, north, and south. This card is also connected sideways by similar pivots to a frame formed of what are called concentric circles. These are represented by two hoops, placed so as to cross each other, and the card is suspended just in the centre of the two, so that whichever way the vessei may lurch, the card is always in an horizontal position, and is certain to point the true direction of the head of the ship. that point. The indigestion so much complained of, and which causes so many disorders and sufferings in the human system, is a wise provision of nature, to prevent the repletion which would otherwise ensue, when too much food is taken. The power of digestion is limited to the amount of gastric juice the stomach is capable of provid. ing: exercise in the open air promotes the secretion of the gastric juice. It is a good and safe rule to proportion our meals to the amount of exercise we have taken; if that exercise has been in the open air, there is less danger of excessThe delicate lady, who scarcely walks abroad, should live very sparingly, or she will be troubled with nervousness, headache, and all the horrors of indigestion. 29-Stability of English Education. E. We must beg leave to differ from you. English schools are especially adapted to form the character, and German the intellect. In England, the greater stress is laid upon what a man is able to do-in Germany, upon what he knows. The true strength of English education consists precisely in this, that it has sprung from the powerful and vital morality of religious and family life. 30-Order in Daily matters Indispensable. G. C. E.-You can only accomplish the purpose you have in view by the most minute regularity. If, in all the little matters of daily business or domestic arrangement, a system of order be observed, it will become so impressed upon the mind, as to show itself in things of more importance. From adopting, in things of lesser moment, an orderly arrangement, you will naturally pursue an orderly arrangement in all your more important affairs, and thus ensure success, which would otherwise have been extremely doubtful. 31-Unrequited Affection. W.-We can sympathize with you, but it is difficult, when the real circumstances of the case are not known, to advise you. True love for a worthy object sel dom fails to exert an elevating influence; and the high ambition inspired in a manly heart, to prove that it deserved what it failed to attain, is a noble stimulus to effort. It would be a curious investigation to trace all that has been achieved in literature, in science, the arts, or in alone for character. The case reminds us of the Of late he's grown brim-full of pride and pelf: Why so?-you see he has forgot himself! 34-Crowded Evening Parties. J. R.-Your remarks are just. From "the signs of the times," there is great reason to hope that the period is fast approaching when large, crowded, and extravagantly luxurious parties will become obsolete. Surely the most rational, agreeable, and in every respect the most eligible manner of keeping up social intercourse, is to see friends frequently, but in small numbers; instead of once or twice in the season giving what is called a squeeze, asking everyone you may happen to know (and consequently many whom you do not care for), and incurring a great and sometimes very inconvenient expense, and a vast deal of fatigue, for a purpose that, after all, affords no real pleasure, either to the family or their guests. 35-Occupation of Females. S.-There are some excellent remarks in the manuscript you have forwarded, but we cannot agree with you in the opinion that the trades and professions now occupied by men, should be shared by the gentle sex. Men and women have different tendencies of nature, and different tasks to occupy and enterprises for the advancement of human hap- develop those tendencies; to bring them into the piness, under the natural impulse to impress with respect, at least, some heart which failed to appreciate true worth. same field of employments would be as absurd as to make the value of porcelain consist in its power to do the work of iron. Woman has a 32-Avoid Extremes of Heat and Cold. E. W. higher pursuit than the industrial arts afford; -The extremes of heat and cold are unfavourable to constant industry, but much may be done by intellectual beings to obviate the tendencies of climate. A great deal of time is wasted in winter, in hovering over the fire and talking of the cold; in delaying to set about a piece of work, because it requires one to leave a warm room. But a little resolution will remedy all this. You can make yourselves as comfortable by taking your work or book, and sitting at a moderate distance from the fire, as by hanging idly over it; and if you run off briskly after what you need, the exercise will warm you better than the parlour fire. The 33-Wealthy Relatives. J. J. B.-The slights you have received from your relation should not change your manner towards him. feeling should be pity, it is not right to despise any one. Very likely when the first burst of gratified cupidity is over, your rich cousin may see his error, and the folly of trusting to wealth a better inheritance than earth can offer is in her keeping- -to raise humanity towards the angelic, is her office. The most important vocation on earth is that of the Christian mother in her nursery. 36-Etiquette for Young Ladies. M.-In the Third Volume of our First Series of the Family Friend, you will find several chapters devoted to this subject. We will merely mention in reply to your question, that in meeting your elderly friends in the street, look at them enough to give them the opportunity of recognizing you; and if they do so, return their salutations respectfully, not with the familiar nod that you would give to one of your own age. Never remain sitting, whilst your elder is standing before you and talking to you. Nothing is a greater mark of Never lounge on a disrespect and ill manners. sofa, whilst there are those in the room whose years give them a better claim to that sort of indulgence. 37-Cultivation of Literature by Ladies. G. T.We cannot possibly see any objection to the pursuit of literature by the fair sex. There are, surely, many leisure hours which may be thus profitably employed; and, considering the uncertainties of life, a means of existence may be procured by the employment of the pen. The time is gone past when such tastes are admitted as a stigma upon the social relation of any woman. That she can write an able review is no longer considered an excuse for a neglected household, and there is nothing inconsistent in a mind that can fashion a dainty lyric, and trim a becoming cap. Let the needle and the pen lie side by side, they will not wrangle; for the one induces long, pleasant reveries, and the other can give them expression. 38-Real Value of Etiquette. F. M.-You are wrong in characterising, as absurd, the rules which regulate society. In what manner would you propose to replace this necessary barrier to the rudeness and vulgarity to which we should often be subjected? There are, undoubtedly, eccentricities of fashion, but these must be overlooked in the order and dignity maintained by prescribed regulations for conduct. Etiquette is intended to save us from some of the inconveniences attendant on a large acquaintance; and, by settling certain points, it enables us to keep up a ceremonious acquaintance with a circle too large for friendly visiting, as that consumes far more time than could be given to the number of persons whom you must be acquainted with, if you live in a city. All innocent customs should be welcomed, which prevent the waste of time, and allow a person to choose the best way of employing it. 39-Change of Climate Conducive to Health. C.-There are of course various opinions on this subject, and without arrogating to ourselves any particular knowledge on this point, we think that there are few diseases, which do not derive either temporary or permanent relief from change of air and climate; but some are more strikingly benefited than others: they are particularly diseases of a neuralgic, intermittent, or spasmodic character, of which hooping-cough and asthma are good examples. Chronic rheumatism, scrofula, weakness of the constitution generally, including pulmonary consumption, and dyspepsia may also be mentioned. Perhaps no air exerts such universally tonic effects as that of the sea, but to some it is too stimulating in some particular localities. Unquestionably some amount of the beneficial influence of change of climate is due to the stimulating effect upon the mind, which excitement and change of scene produce. 40-Natural Water-purifiers. T. B. S.-We believe that the case you allude to, is that of a Mr. Warrington, who has for a year past kept twelve gallons of water in a state of admirably balanced purity, by the action of two gold fish, six water-snails, and two or three specimens of that elegant aquatic plant, known as Valisperia sporalis. Before the water-snails were introduced, the decayed leaves of the Valisperia caused a growth of slimy mucus, which made the water turbid, and threatened to destroy both plants and fish. But under the improved arrangement, the slime, as fast as it is engendered, is consumed by the water-snails, which reproduce it in the shape of young snails, whose tender bodies, again, furnish a succulent food to the fish; while the Valisperia plants absorb the carbonic acid exhaled by the respiration of their companions, fixing the carbon in their growing stems and luxuriant blossoms, and refreshing the oxygen (during sunshine, in visible little streams) for the respiration of the snails and the fish. The spectacle of perfect equilibrium thus simply maintained between animal, vegetable, and inorganic activity, is striking and beautiful; and such means may possibly hereafter be made available on a large scale for keeping tanked water clean and sweet. 66 41-Good Manners. D. - It is impossible that we can satisfy you on the various points you have raised, for we have many claimants to the brief space allotted to our social intercourse with our friends. There are a great many little offences committed against good manners, which people are hardly aware of at the time. It is not polite, for instance, to tease a person to do what he has once declined; and it is equally impolite to refuse a request or an invitation in order to be urged, and accept afterwards. Comply at once; if your friend be sincere, you will gratify him; if not, you will punish him, as he deserves to be. It is not polite, when asked what part of a dish you will have, to say, Any part-it is quite indifferent to me;" it is hard enough to carve for one's friends, without choosing for them. It is not polite to entertain our visitors with our own family history, and the events of our own household. It is not polite for married ladies to talk in the presence of gentlemen, of the difficulty they have in procuring domestics, and how goodfor-nothing they are when procured! It is not polite to put food upon the plate of your guest without asking his leave, or to press him to eat more than he wants. It is not polite to stare under ladies' bonnets, as if you suspected they had stolen the linings from you, or wore something that was not their own. |
