hardly less startling than the three heads of Cerberus, yet this offensive foolery is urged on in every village where half a dozen spinsters can be conglomerated over their tea; they fancy themselves into public characters, and in due time forth comes an address, painted by the last pupil of the drawing-school, and pinned up in silver paper by the dowager saint of the sisterhood." Thus we learn that "the petition to the Queen from the ladies of Derby, praying her Majesty to extend her influence to procure the abolition of slavery in our colonies, has received about 1200 signatures. The petition is beautifully written, and enclosed between two richly-embossed card-boards. One of them is ornamented by the figure of a liberated female slave, in Indian ink, exquisitely executed by a young lady of that town. They ought to be put on a short allowance of rouge and flirtation for the next six months. Superstition. The following little anecdote shows that the great English chemist of the 19th century was not more exempt from a childish superstition on some occasions, than the great English lexicographer of the 18th century. "Mr. Underwood informs me, that on the 17th Nov. (1813), he met Humboldt at dinner at Sir Humphry Davy's hotel; and adds: 'I do not know whether you are aware that Davy had a superstitious dislike at seeing a knife and fork placed crosswise on a plate at dinner, or upon any other occasion; but I can assure you such was the fact; and when it occurred in the company of his intimate friends, he always requested that they might be displaced whenever this could not be done, he was evidently very uncomfortable.'" : Russia. In one of the foreign scientific journals there is a calculation, according to which the Russian empire exceeds the terra firma in the moon by 123,885 square leagues. The diameter of the moon is 893 leagues; the surface is therefore 2,505,261 square leagues. If in the moon, as in our earth, the fluid part, which we call sea, covers two-thirds of the surface, only 835,087 square leagues remain for the terra firma. Now, according to calculations made in the year 1818, the Russian empire extends over a surface of 958,972 square leagues, the possessions in America included; consequently the excess remains as above stated. According to another calculation, the Russian empire extends over 174 of longitude, and 361-2° of latitude. It contains about 2-19th parts of the terra firma, the 14th part of our hemisphere, and the 28th part of our earth. Its population is about 45,271,469 souls; one million of savages, and 340,000 noblemen, not included. A Generous Singer and a Generous Tailor-Farinelli, the Italian opera-singer, whose voice and abilities seem to have surpassed the limits of all anterior vocal excellence, having ordered a superb suit of clothes for a gala at court, when the tailor brought it home, he asked him for his bill. "I have made no bill, sir," says the tailor, nor ever shall make one. Instead of money," continued he, "I have a favor to beg. I know that what I want is inestimable, and only fit for monarchs; but since I have had the honor to work for a person of whom every one speaks with rapture, all the payment I shall require will be a song." Farinelli tried in vain to prevail on the tailor to take his money. At length, after a long debate, giving way to the humble entreaties of the tradesman, and flattered perhaps more by the singularity of the adventure than by all the applause he had hitherto received, he took him into his music-room, and sung to him some of his most brilliant airs, taking pleasure in the astonishment of his ravished hearer; and the more he seemed surprised and affected, the more Farinelli exerted himself in every species of excellence. When he had done, the tailor, overcome with ecstacy, thanked him in the most rapturous and grateful manner, and prepared to retire. No," said Farinelli, "I am a little proud; and it is perhaps from that circumstance that I have acquired some small degree of superiority over other singers; I have given way to your weakness, it is but fair that in your turn you should indulge me in mine;" and taking out his purse, he insisted on his receiving a sum amounting to nearly double the worth of the suit of clothes. You Description of an Aide-de-Camp's Duties. -When carrying orders, let your eye be directed to the very point aimed at. have nothing to do with the flying shots, if they have nothing to do with you. If you should lose your horse, travel on foot. If you should lose a leg, you must hop on one. If you should lose both, you must try how you can travel on the other extremity. But should you lose your head, you had better stop, for you cannot deliver a verbal message. Should an aide-decamp have a sealed message, and find his escape from the enemy quite impossible, it is better that he should eat the written command, than that the enemy should digest it. During one of the engagements I was in, says Shipp, with the 87th regiment, the bugler was ordered to sound a retreat. He replied, "I never learnt it, your honor." "And why?" said the captain. "Please your honor," was the answer, "the boys told me it would be of no use.' An Irish soldier, who was in the Duke of York's retreat from Dunkirk, being asked how they retreated, replied, "Sure we did not retreat at all, at all." "Well," said the gentleman, "how did you get to your shipping?" lon movement, sideways!" "Why, by an eschel |