Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, November 10, 1877, Page 9

LITERAT wThe Story of Avis,” by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. Transcaucasia and Ararat--- An Ascent of the Moun. tain, D¢, Mandsloy on the Physiology of Mind---The Nibelungen- Lied, Playing-Cards--Art Notes---Ger- mau Universities--Modern French Pottery and Porcelain, Flora Round About Chicago: The Spurgeworts==-Vitality of Antses-African Ex. ploration. LITERATURE. AV, THE STORY OF AVIS. Ity Erizamern Stwant TurLes, Anihor of *The (ates Ajar.* Tioston: Jame 3t Oszood & Ca, Chieazo: dansen, Mee Clurg & Co.. and fladley Bros. & Co. pp. 407 Pnice, $1.50. P 1t Is to be supposed that ** The Story of Avis was writlen to cnlist sympathy in the heart- breakine trials add eorrows which marriage im- poses upon o woman lifted above the ordinary Jevel of humanity by the posscesion of genfus and an utter destitntion of practical knowledge, It this be its purpose,—and none other can reasonably be ascribed to it,—It must meet with elgnal fallure, rave, possibly, in the unbappy wses where it mddresses iaclf to women ax miscrably adapted to the vommon cxigencies of 1ife as was the heroine of the narrative. Aviswas the daughter of a Profeasor In an Eastern Unlvereity,—inheriting from her moth- er, who dicd in the daughter's early childhood, the artlstie temperament, and a passion, founded pon genuine talent, for pafnting, Ier girlish life, passed under the home-are of a wilowed ount, and surrounded by tho tutellectuat intiu- ences peevading the household of s lterary man, sud the soclut atmosplicreof a New-Eugland uni- versity-town, was marked by no espectal traits, cxeepta development of thedreams and ehimeras peculfar to o poctic vature, and of o rooted antlpathy to affairs of every sort partaking of a domestic or materdal character. At 19, having completed her school-education, Avis went to Eurupe to recelve the fintshing refinement of manners amd mind which travel abrosd is ex- pected to afford, Instead of returning at the end of a year's wandering, as had been anticle valed, she obtatned permission of her father (o remain for the purpoese of studying Art, and fttiug herself for what she bad long before de- clded shoult be her Itte-vocation. Six years were spent n Florence, Rome, and Paris, i the dili- gent purstift of lier ai,~—the Inst two years under the mstrietion of Couture, who “pro- nounced her his most promising pupll, and pre- dicted for her o elorfous cureer, AL d—a tolernbly mature age for a woman of her unusnally wise experiences,—~Avis re- turned to her ‘native land and hee father's bouse, filled with Lhe ardent hopes and hygh ns plrationz of a younr and gilted artist. It s at thia point thut ** The Story of Avis' opens. Atn mecting of the Poetry Club,—one of the nu- merous lterary fustitutions patronized by the young people of Hannouth,—she resumen her assuclutons with her old iriends and acqumint- ance, atid I8 tueroduced to Phillp Ostrander, n tutor fn the Umversity, with the build and as. pect of a benctictent god in the Norse mvibol. ogy, with o remnrkably musieal velee, fine per- centions, commanding faculties, aud a- brilltant Tuture alrcady assured. Avis aud Pilip recognizo from the first the aflinities which attract them to one another fr- reststibly, | For muny months the strong reso- lutlon of the womar {0 dedieate hersetl solely totheurt shie loves with the fnstinet and in. tensity o! zentur, halda aut acatust the wootny of the lover; and then she surrenders to a pas- tou beconio stronger even than that for paluge 12mo., gz, Avis s 27, ar thercabout, when she becomes the wife of Ostrunder. 1t had been previously arranged between the two, with the deliclous imbeaility of lovers, that Pillp was not 10 ex- ot Avis, when e married lier, to become his ousckeeper, er dgnoranco of all practical matt oer incapacity to cope with them, and her hutred of the bother they fufifet, wers mutually Mknuwle(l'.:('\l and accepted, She Was to continue a high-priestess of Art, and in thy ttudio (uterurer the sucred oracles articu- luted by Vier genius, with the sume devotian Wwhen a wife as when i malden, Fura uiore the fmnrried palr realized the pure, 's pussible to the connubial state. They Mad entered upon the expeelment of Viousekeening tmunediately after the bridal trlp, und somehow—thy myucr}' s not re- Yealed—the donmestle machinery for & time re- voived without apparent hiteh or disaster, The extraordinury fgnorance, or we will call ft “dinine duliness,”"—borrowing the daimy Vhrase from the suthor.—of Avls concernin tho slmplest. wuul:\ul‘v duties, ls demonstrates It incidents ke the followl; J. While the prep- aratlons for her marriage and the equipment of lerhouse were In progress, her Aunt Chioe had been so Liresonie 08 to speak to Avis on the sub- cet of bed-1inen and napery, with which some- ¥ must of necessity bo troubled. . * What fs it,"* she sald to Coy one day, sltting fo the cheerful parsonago-parlor, *that hus appened mulY in the cotton-market! Aunt Chiloe keeps telling we how cheap unbleached fulton ds, I think v 18 25 cents,—or real'y, per- 1":&'.' nl [ rllvln‘.‘ Isthata h‘wl' 50 hvllnl to dnm ests of the country that I ou cre stand it F3HAnT Al o, it Un hearfng. In cxplanation, that sheets have to bo provided for sesvants' bede, Avis innocent- ¥ conting * Luever thoughts o , . And b thut whot she meant, too, about towelsi Fhe! s beeu exhausting tho subject of towels, Coy. There {8 something very remarkable about them, T think you cut the tringe, or clse you fell—1et e see, No, I think yOUu overcast it, {mmnll,( it was very ill-mannered in Aunt Poor, fil-treated Avis, before whom such iz Boble facts were cruclly thrust, was now 3 years old, remember, and had Yeen usioe towels all lier duys, and hud been resyed in femily i tnoderate” gircumatances, which wllowed of the Keeping buta ngle vervant. Yet, a8 we are suately told, ** Across hier picture or her poem, Lasking up a little biludly, she bad latened to : e houseliold chatter of women with a gentie t|nmlgn. such as one feels over the habits of the Fe us. Unbleacked cotton, like z the algebru, represented an unknown quantity {,’“’" pressive but extremely distaot fact ow w she brought herself Into a world where the frince of u wwel must become a subject requir- lug fised opinfoua it She had, however, found herselt In a world hose chicf business it 15 to atteud faithfully to Waierial things ; and, moreover, she voluutanly Paced beraelf, after arriving at years ol discre- Yon, 1 8 pusition where a knowledge and super- Yirlm ot 3 portion of the world's work 1 Yery tesentlal With what fitoess she came to the z.‘\ Hinpoeed dutivs of a wife and bousekeeper feen auew 1n u briel colloguy with the lrish Krecln who held sway in ber kitchen, > 1t's the drain, wem, s 14 Dlayin' the fool o e, bk luck 10 i1 oot g Mra Ostrander's shird **gird"—third that ts in gulnl Of coulinuity. vot fn contemuoraneity—met 312 86 thy frout dour with thewe portentour words. ";u. Usirander, radl & nt from an bour 1o her uld i ber father's orchard, came in, shutting LUt the August mornimg. and repested. with s per- fé‘rf.“d. ‘,'."",'"fi“f‘&h h:'n had -lllgm:b 2‘ the ou- 34 101 been something at once bltifal and o )«dx:muz % rain r™ ¥ The kitchen-draim. mem. as bss refased en- L‘I\Iyw take the cisue tea-lesves from tne mnk. N&;flfi‘_y them back upou we bauds, the vag: o -1 did 1ot know there bad to be draivs 1n ks sald Mra. Oetrander with au expression of bm"L **1 never examined one. LCould not ours o mfl:,l‘n. work witbout? Whas must we do sbout Yer must nave 8 wag toat. mem,* s31d she of WL & sweet, supenar smlie, Very well."" said Mrs, Ostrander with s sigh of 1. **Wo will end fora carpenter al once. : Ustrander whall siicnd tore )™ pane o After thiy naight futo Avis' management of e dotnestle economy, we_are expected to con- sidee It bratal m My Ostrauder to murgaur *vur a breaklast of souey cracked wheas, sour eam, muddy coflee, anu cold bee! ample, we may ry of the diet on which by had been fed for more than a twelvemontls, rre he arrved at the polnt of audible protestation. Being wiweetly remimicd that he dld at tmarre: Avis” to be “his liousekeeper, the sclfiah, hard. reased creature blurted aut between hia closed eeth, * Yes, | remember, [ don’t know what we were either of us thinking of " 11 18 not signlar that Avis' reasitive feellnes were {njured by this uncuarded admisslon of thelr fatal mistuke; yet was she not, as the author would have us feel throughuut her story, the omly martyr. There were two of ‘them. It Is just that Ostran- der's defeore shoul) be uridertaken, and that he one-sided caee inade out by Miss I'helps in hehall of Avis should not wo unchallen ‘The buok Ia meant, fn a subtle way, to ar upon the creat auestion af the adjustment of the relatire duties of tmen and women fn the maritsl relation; and the untatr presentation of Lhie cause of the women provokes at least s word of remunstrance, Avis atrove nobly, it must be granted, to master the uncumfurtable situatton In- whith ahe had put heeaell. She pattently endured the necessity which houscholdares that could not Le shirked, and the birth ot children, produced, ol putting by her brushes and easel untit sume Tndefin nture time of lelsure. She likewlse toiled cheerfully to perform properly the sery. fres required of 2 housewife; out still (L was alwavs i the aping ol a greatly wronged aml outraged woman. Ostrauder {8, on the other band, even made to appear in & vague way s carelesaand thoughtless uppressor, and marrtage fteell un inetruaent of cruciiston, aind tunfuly because Avis found it banl to be occupled with the petty, vet {mportant, detatls of Wfe, sl fo deacend from the' realnis of thngrination. which sbe felt were her peenliar province, to the plaln realittes of the common- place warld,—{0 answering the homely, hiuman demanda of g hustand and soung chitldren, The errors and shortcomings of Ostrander—which were of no very lietnons character-—ara macnie fied to the utniost, whilo not a hint is dropped that Avis was pullty of an error,~nav, tnore than that, of a ein, in marrvine without une matter-of-fact notion of what the condition im. plies, or of the serious, thorough traintug every waman 1# i dinty bound to go through, i order 10 bie capalile of beartng her ehare of the respon- sibilities which the malntenauce of a bousehold fovoyves. 113 sliort, as hss been already. atated. the story. of Avisiaa grossly-partial pisa tn {avor of 2 gitted. Incompetent woman, who weakly, rash. Iy undertovk—Iitke too many of lier sex—the onerous, vet sanctified, duties of o wife; and then threw ttpou tate and her husband the blame for hardships for which her owis criminal gnorance und seitiahuuss cinetly stiould be beld to un necount, Ho much suace has been oreupled with the moral of Miss Phelos’ stary that but little can be given ta the gnethods” by which slie has worked L oul. We pas without criticfein the unnatural detertoration of the chacacter ot Os- trander. [t ]s possible that o umon with an ftealist Uke Avis, who ean paint macnlticeut pictures, but has mrown up thinking it hot worth bLer while to know anytisiog of the sunplest proce csses lnvolved tn alally heing, or of the dignity and dellght of ministering to buman nature's cammnon fieeds, inight rupidly demoralize n man having the rarcly fine trafis bestowed upon Ehllip i the becinning. Tlad this been given as the reagon for his swift decline tn mantioess, it would have been toferably satfsfactory. As it 1, we tmust accuse the nuthor of an unjust treatinent of e case, The literary style of Miss Phelps hae always been opew to'censure, and does not amend with practice. It becomes extremely wearlsume to strucgle with obscure mennings of her pe- duntc sente and forced rhetorfeal flgures. What fs the sicnificance, for example, of “liquid moods.” “unaccentuatod natures,' “nromnucmjoymcnl"' Sihie purple whieness of 1he Flurentine sky,”” and iinger-ips tichten- Ing ke "“growing shells” ¢ And who wifl ex- plain to persons of strafuhit-formed speech bropositious like these: ** Avis was not without capabiiity of relishing a certain quality of pois. on, nottoo fully flavored, of prismatic tints, and inallv's shape, like hyacinths," *Avis wos o carewort woman; Cand, ke most people with whom life hus dealt intensely and introspectively. the pressure of the advaiemg upon the retreating generation touched her per- sunality more than hee phllanthropy or philos. ophy "t Of imagery stratned until ‘it becomes nonsense we quole i minule specimien: * The first Virginla dawn unfolded liko a tea-rose leaf. Down through the great barrens the pas- slons grew; cternal fire *sat sentinel upon Lhe low horfzon of Carolina: Georgin took up the torch, and ran with it, like a will-o’thewisp, swamp to swamp, swift to the everglades, cre Florida kneeled fn purple and searlet, like a Queen who was crowned fu prayer.!” fudeedio MToARARAT. TRANECAUCASIA AND ARARAT: Brixa Notes P A VACATION Toun 1N THE AUTUMN oF 1870, Ty Jaurs Baver, Author of **The ffvly Roman Empire.” London: Macmillan & Co. Chicazo: 3'-":5&"" MeClurg & o, 12mo.. pp. 420, Prico, The sutbor of “The Ioly Roman Emplre plninly shows s scholarly proclivities fn these notes of atraveler. They form by no meaus the lght and popular narrative which we nre accustomed to recclve from the summer-tour- 1at, but partake rather of the wolid character of n political or historleal disquisition, As the book owes Its publication to the unexpected promivence which the outbreak of the present war has given to the countrics it describes, & goud deaf of {ts space {s devoted to the author's convictions with rezard to the tnovemnents of Russia {n the East, her ajtas fu the extension of Ly boundaries Tndia-ward, aud the ifluence of Ley Government upon the territories and trives thus far brought under her dominton, ‘The spaco so filled is not the least interesting portion of the book, as it shows that English- men of broad mind and liberal culture are capable of judiing a rival nation dispussion- otely, und of according to {t the pussesaion of principles as cnlightencd nnd ressonuble as those which deaide the policy of their own administration. ‘T'wo thousaud miles of 3r. Bryce’s joumey to M, Ararat van across the ereat plamn, or steppe, which 1lies between the Gulf of Bothnaond the Caucasus, From 8t, Peters- burg by 1all to Nijin-Novgorod, the seat of the great foir annually held by the Russians; thence by steamer on the Volga to Saratof, a city of 80,000 inhabitants; oud again by rail to Viadikavkaz, at the foot of the Caucasus, describes the route by which the Czar's Europeau domalu was traversed, The 120 wiles of mountain-road stretching from this polut to Titlis were performed by carrlage and post-horses, which, according 1o the Russian custum, were traveled on by nigut as by day,~the stations along the route affording no accommodation for the weary guest, beyond boiling wuter for his tea, with which he provides bimseif; and, possibly, room to lle on the floor wrubped in bls own blsukets, if fatigue, or the lack of horsvs at the timg res quired, enforees a pause i his progroes, Titls, tho Capital ol Transcaucasia,standa on the awift, turbad Kur, inclused by high, bare, brown bills, which shut it 1 on every side. The climute is warm and equable 1 winter, but w sutiwer {¢ jutolerably hot. The eity, comprise ing in all sbout 61,000 Inhablitants, 18 divided tne tothreevortions. Firstfsthe Kussian town,where the Court abides, and the fashion and wealth are cougrecated. 1t has been bullt ubout sty {enn, sd its streets aro wide and straght, and ts Louses as moderu and five us thoss of Paris or Chicago. The second partiot. is 4 wen- ulue Eastern city, with narrow, vrooked, flithy streets, and low yet glc(umque bouscs, fuhab- ned by Georglans, Persians, Armenians, uud Tartars, The thrd district is a German settlo- ment, called *The Colong,” and as distinctively mational - Ccharacter as any town 1o Wurtemberg, from which whe an- cestors of its present citizeus emigrated some WO generations agu, 10us. shrifty y of Gerwans follow !mncx My the diter- €nt trades or tle pursuitof candeuiny, and keep themselves 16 all goual and religious matters nieidly npars from tha races yurrounding tbein. Titlls bas ¢rown, stuce the Russiun oceupation, from an insiguiticant toww 10 its present consid- erable size, aud is still 1acreasing 1o population aud prosperity, From Titlis scross Russian Armenis to the bage ot Mi. Ararat, the route hies over s deso- late steppe, treeless and uncuttivated. There 1# vlenty of truthic along the yoad to Ertvan, the Capital of Russian Armema, ln? woity of 3u.. Q0u anbabitants.—processions of lader. camels, veuieles pearing merchonts and officials, and solitary riders, passing over 1L lu dear sucves- sion. Five bours' nde beyond Envan, the trav- eler to MC. Ararat ieaves the post-road aud stnkes across the Open country Lo the mouu- wun's base, whick rises fiom tbe vlaw sbout thirty-six wiles distant trow e city, ively bittle has been written about g eite, consecrated 10 sacred hia- tory, a4 few Evglub or Am T travelers have ever found their wiy to st The frat recorded ascent uf the woustan way wade i 1829; the secoud was accomplished fu 1834, abd tue thrd 11545, In conductiug the triangutation survey of Transcaucasia, G eu. Cuadzko remaived three daye with a large u;zQu upon the top of the wountan: aud tu L a party of Enztanen sscended from the Turkish side. Nuiwithitand- 1ug these severyd asvents, it is the tirm beitef of LG Arwemans, Who regard the MVULTAD With THE CIICAGO TRIBUNE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1877—~TWELVE PAGES. that ftg aummit b been trod sinae the days of Noah by a hu- man fuotstep. Mr. Bryce undertook the nscent with his tray. eHaz comipanion nnd un escort of Comsacka anl made the Jast 500 fect entirely alone. At, Ararat, with the nelehboring~ peak called Little "Ararat, forms an eltiptical mass about twcntydive miles i length from northwest to southeast, amd about twelve miles m wilth, It e fsolated on all sules cxeept the northwest, where it i8 connected with n fong tidee of voleanic motntains by n col about 7,000 feel high. The whole mountaln Is singularly bLare of wuod,—hicre and there a single tree of dwarled helght occurring (nshettered situations about 5,000 or 6,000 feet above the sea. The en- Ure flora of the mountain 18 scanty; and, as might be expected (n the ahsence of woud aud shelter, the fauna embraces but few specles sparsely represented, “The noble thine about Ararat.” sags Me, Brree, “ s not the parts, but the wiofe, § know nothing so sublinse as the weneral nspect of Lhis huwe yel geacelul mass secn from the surroutd- Ing plains; no view wiich fills the beholler with # profounder setwe of randenr snd space than that which s uulolded when, on climbiug It tolty side, he gees the Inr-stretehing slopes le- neath and the boundless waste of mountaine beyond, apread out under s cye. Fhe very shmplleltyy or aven monotony, of both torm and volor, fncreases its majesty, One's eye is not diverted by 3 variety o points of interest: il the fincs lead straight up to the towenng, Anowy suinmit, which 18 steep enoutth on the apper part te be beautiful, while M broad-spread hase and rocky butiresses ive it a sort of slately solidity. The color 18 as stmple a8 the form. From s gently-dnedined pedestal of gencrally whitish hue, tormed, us hae been aabil. ol volcanie sand aml ashes, the ateep slopes rias dn o belt of green 5000 feet wide; above thts is another zone of biack volcanie rovk, streaked with enow-ledds thest of all, the eap of dazzting ve takes i all these 2ones of clinate and vegetntion, from the awellering plain to the foy ponacle, runging throueh more than 14,000 f Ueal height. There ean be but few of m the workd where so Jofty 2 peak (17,000 foct) soars aw suchdenly from e plain so fow, 4000 1o 00 feet above Lhe sca, and consequently few views equally arand."” 1t 18 a sinzalar fact that Ararat forms the inceting-place of three great Empires, On the top of its lower peik, the dominions of the Crar, the Sultau, and “the Shal converge to 1 polnt, From this foctie the frontier between Perata and Turkey trends to the southi-southwest s and Liat of Turkey and Russfa runs afong the crest of Great Ararat and passes off 10 u northwesterly ddirection ‘The feat of ascending the lofty peak of Ara- rat liaviog been satlsfactorily secomplished, Mr, Bryee retraced hts steps to Tils, und thenve turnied westward to Potl, on the coast of the mu:k Sea, and, taking a steamer, slowly passed fo Constantiuople, where he takes leave of the reader. It fnal chanter of his work, Mr. liryce sums up his conclusions concerning “the attitude of Rusett, aud ats possible fluence wpon the (- terests of England. He acknowledzes that he entered the territory of the Czar with a mind which had been prejudiced since ebildhood acainst the power that moaaren sdmintsters,— believing it to be o despotism secking every- where to opvress and deatroy freadom, Je has d from his tour with opinions. radically changed respecting the motives aml the move. ments of the Rugsian Government, Be now considere that the Caar does not desire, and cantiot alford, to make further tesritorial con- Guests: and that the amdition which some mili- tary men nay have in this direetion does not represent the poliey of the ruler or the aptrit of the chlightencd classcs, The nation i suffer- g from a lack of men and of money; and Uns eneenders many of the dilienlties 1L expert- ences in dealing with: the Caucasiau and Aslatle provinees, Mr. Bryce has no fear that any advantages which the Czar mav gam fn the present war will atfect materially the foterests of England as tha mistress of Ihdia: and he candid! y dle- tlares that great injuetice has been dope 10 the Fentitents and “purposes of the Empire, + which, If not ideally disinterested, are probus bly 1o more selfish thau thuse of the Uther great European Powers.” These views have » peculiar value ne cominge from o gentlemun of fine culture, of widy traves, and of distinguish- ed ability as n historfan. Throughout the present work, Mr. Bryce dis. cluses his studious and reflective habits, pre- senting, in connection with bis persons) obser: vations upon cach country and clty visited, 2 careful sicetch of its history from the eurliest records down to Lhe present date. PIYSIOLOGY OF MIND, THE PHYSIOLOGY OF MIN PARTOV & Titiun Emrion=-IEvinxn AN IN GREAT IPANT REWRITTEN—O! IOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY 0! By Hexny . Appicton & 120, pp. Mavirrzy, M. . New K2 t‘r; @hicago: Hndley Bros. & Co, 47 “ - It fs ten years since the first cditlon of Dr. Maudsley's treatise on “The Physiology and Pathology of the Mind * was given to the public, A twelvemontls later the sccond edition ap- peared, and the book was then suffered to pass out of priut,—the asuthor, fromn his own account, not belng able to Hnd lelsure for revising it, and alse aving no eageriess for the task, from 8 fecliug that what of value hie bad already sald needed no renctition, or, i fu did, would soon Le said agguin by somebody clsc, Then, too, he lappily confesses, one is * more critical, na wei! us less enthusiastic and confident, at 40 than 80 yeard of sge: und a resull of the more sober mood [s, that what seemed very {mvortunt, aud wuch needing 1o be satd. at the carlier date, tloes not seem of g0 much consequence, or any wise to press for delivery. nt the later date.” At 42, his cxactage at the present thne, Dr. Maudsley 18 in truth very much of a philoso- oher. Nevertheless, to adapt hla treatlse tothe present state of Sclence, he kins at Just caretully worked IL over, rewritiug much of the origimas matter, and adding to it so largely that the first part alone, dealing with the physiology of mind, has been expanded to the compaes of a volume, and Is presented by {tsclf,—tho sccond part to Le treated in o shuilar manner, and published in due time, "The major portion of he book as [t now stands ls for the student of Befence, nnd demands afow and laborous diges- tion; fiuz the reader of average thoughiftiness will find much tu 1t that may be readily snd protitably nn{;roprhud‘ Dr. Moudsloy & classed among the Materiale fsts, bus Ld is une of the ablest writers of the day on subjects con- nected with the phenomnena of the bratn and nervous system: and, inaddition to the purely sclentific instrucion which lie primarlly conveys, lie communicates s large amouny of ethival teaching of the highest value, e believes that mind doea not exlst in nuture apart from the brain; but, s to its real eesence, he docs not protend to any more know)- cdize than sefivlars liave of the real essence of ruvitation, electricity, or cheniicat atiunty, The ippaut ussertion that “The brain sccretes thought s Lhe liver aceretes bile," he showa tu bea tallucy. Very little ds kuown exactly of the compoaitiun of the nerve-clementa; but that they undergo changes i every process of thought, 18 clearly demonstruted, = Buill, the waste matters resulting frum the disiutegration of the nervecells during the exerase of thought cannot Le dustenated mind, Thut subtle, mar velous fore I intangible, impalpa. ble, and detlea obmervition exeept throtgh the alterations in matter which are the conditions of its munifestation. Hence 1t {8 inaccurate and milsleading Lo 1nstitute » comparison between the bran und the liver, Neither, in the opluion of the author, Is $ho oind a2 apiritual entity, *ihe independent source of power aud ecifsullicient cause of It1s micrely the Wighest development of torce, aud {a dependent for its exhatence upon all the lower natural furces. In bis whote experience, the physioiogist has never met with gruvitation Witlout a beavy budy, chemleal {urce wittout chiemical subatanees, ilfe without orgaule matter, Lhogght without nervous tis- sue; and Lbe hypotbesis thas thenind 8 an entity, having a cupacity for ltfe scparate from the orgau through whose functious it exhibnts 114 phienomens, is oue with which he bas noth- e 0 do. He lunits hunsel! exclusively to a study of the wuys and means by which this highest of all the forees playe, 10 116 exercise aud develop- Mmeul Upon its cepecial 1nstrument, the bruin AU BEFVOUs systutn. . 1o the aeverai chnpters of this work, Di Maudsley treats of The Method ot sne study Mind, Mind and the Nervous Svstem, The upm-\ Cord and Retlex Action: The Sensory Centres snd Sensation; The suprewe Cereorai Centres and ldeativa, Zmotious or Affections ot Mind: Yolitivu: Actustion: snd Mewory ahd {wagiuation. tis sulely trom the vhysolowical pomt of view 1hab be descants upon the diler- eut tections of s theuie,—basing his metnod of WwquIry ypon thie theory that atl weotai lunctivn Lies 1 thie organic life of the brai, the cuarke- teristic of which in heafth is, that 1t procecds witliout consctouaness. The favonite ayvstem founded upou the imterrogation of self-cone gcousness. be regards as lnadequate o 106 cone Struction of & trus wental scieuce, which ree quires the rigorous prosecution of the vojective wethod 1ntervreted by subjective lignt, T, Maudaley cossiaers the bumao be m with svincthiog ol the piticss ine ereucy with wbica Nature segards { Kurda, but, all fnline bim towand the eod. he | 3 n et of e rentfon Why atontl any one” heasks, " great or little, fret aml fume: teeaure hie 1 likely roon to be forrotten? what more i8 the (ndividual than 2 parking phase of buing, und what matters it if he be foreotten in life or death? “The work Which lie hias dane, whether it has been good or bad, will {u ns case b: forgotten of the Uni verse.” Andagain, in treating of the growth and development of the brain, he remarks: +* The anly way hy which the low savage could he ralsed (o the capacity of Ideas and feelines | betongine Lo the highest reach of human evalu. ton, would be by cultivation continued through many venerations: It would be necea- sary that he should undergo a gradual process of humanization belore he could attain to the cupacity of civilization. Certalnly it does not spuear Hkely that he will survive the process is it has beew gndertaken and carrded out by the els of Commerce and Christisulty, It there ts no need to be sorry on that account, for why should we labor to catry on the evoln. ton of the race by slow and tedions exaltation of the lowest apcctmens, when we have higher Kbedmens at hand available fur the purpose! hus Nature, in- the accomplishme scliemes runnliiz throuzh the nzes, deems the Iife of an udividual, of 2 race, of small uerount, =Mllotting either ottt when they fall in the way of her rrand intentfons, with apparently as little compiinction as we blot ont of - cxistence the in- feeine antmals which cross aur path Interferiug. Iv. [t 1s a practical Dmrnlhnx of the principle that the preatesy gowml to the greatest number st be seeured, and, is the enforcement of this governtiz law af the universe, it matters ot whio ur how rany go under, TIE NIBGLUNG ECHOES FROM MIST-LAND: o, Tur Ninrtan. urveLay, Revealed to Lovers of iomance an Chivalry by Ausen Fones Uhicaga: 8. C. Grigga X Co. 12mo., py Trice, $1.50, ‘The ereat epic poem of the Miditte Agus, the higliest product of an cra conspicuous I the bistory of Germany for the prevatence of hards and minstrels who set the famous deeds of nythic heroes to sticring melodies, ts here ren: dered 10 u sunple prose veson. The Nibelun- geu-Lied hus been known! o modern schotars #luee 1t wus tecovered frof s hidlug-place In an old mouastic fibrary N5, and it has been translated (uto various ladguages, lending itsel! with especal ease to the forms of Enelish metre. Many critics and commentators have aleo expended time and tibught uven {ts study, and given to the world thdtruits of therlearned Investizations. | ‘The pouin ossumed its gresent shape in the Tatter part of the twelfth o the beginming of tue thirteenth century, Ity suthior 18 unknown, but it iy suppoeed to be, like the epic of Homer, areproduction or recompolition of earliersoug: 1t has much of the tragicaf nnd stately cliarac- ter of the Tliad, and manyiof the licidents it re- cites recall the adventures related o the older classieal There 1s, mure grwe In the vonstruction of the tiredan story, but in the ruder Germun nareative there sre characters of neble virtuo and chivalrle courteay that do not find thelr equals i the [llad or the Odyssey, The GO0 lines of which the Nibelungen-Lay i5 composed are divided foto thirty-nine sec- tions, called Adventures: and again, nto two nearly cqual parts, or books, The oricinal are rangement 8 retained fu this 1atest trunslation, Which follows the text of Karl Shtnrock, ace curately adhering to the structure of the incl- dents, and conveylug the sptrt of the oricing) os perfectly as a” prose yersion in a forelen Janguage mav. An lotroduction of nearly fifty pawes furnishies as much of the history of the pocin ae 1a krown, with s synonsis ot the story, nm} some account of the soarces from whichit is slrawn. In recusting the venerable las in the form here exhibited, Mr. Forestier has” taken a long step toward popularizing 1ty s chitdren even will now read it with avidity, while cultivated renders, attracted by fis dramatic power and hirtorical Interest, will be led to seek o deeper acquaintance with the pocm, and with the rich store of inyths aud sagas to which it {s related, THE FRENCH PARNASSUS, A TIOOK OF FRENC 1650 TO THE Pl AANER PARTON, Cu, Chicazo: ‘Hudley I 3o Price, $% The avove vollection of géma {rom the metric- al Uterature u! France represcnta ahove fifty poets who have flourished during the past three centuriea. With the exception of a fuw short pleceahy Roneard and Desgbries, the selections do notinelude poems writtan before the French Ianguoge had been molded bo its me&m form. Lo viie iidonof untbnre abiended L ¢ 8 ume, briel Nographical notes aresiiserie which give the few leading events distinguts) {uir the life of cach poet. The volume, com- prising Letween four and five bundred sclee- tons, varefully chosen with reference to - their moral punty 4s well as poet Leauty, will be cordially welconed by Amencans who are fa- mihar with the French tongue. LOGIC, 3 PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE. A TroEarisk Braxiey JuvoNs, Ll. D, (Edinburg), M. A. (London), ¥, 1L &,, Fellow of and Professor of Folitieal Economy in Cniversily College, Lon don nd _Editon, levwad, —Lendon and New Yo Macmillan & Co, _Chicagu: Hadley iiros, & Co. “Hvo,. o, T80, Price, $1. This fs & sccond editon of Prot. Jevons® nd- vauced work on Logic, forming o sequel (o bis lementary Lessons in Loge It Is divided Into five books, trenting respectively of Formal Loete, Doluctive and Inductive: Number, Va- riety, ond Erobatility; Methods of Measure- ment; Inductive Investication and Generaliza- uon; Analogy aud Classification. His treat. ment of the subject 1s exnaustive and profound, but vpry abstruse, and demands of the veader u tharough wequamtance with the first princi- ples of the sctence, and of the more elementary treutises on the subject. ——— ENGLISII SCENERY. ENGLISI PICTURES DRAWN WITH PEN AND PENCIL, My the Hev. SauuvEL Masyiva, 1. and the Jev, 8. . Gueey, D, Londos "Thie Welllous Tract Socicty,” 'Chicago: Jansen, &X}tg},um & Co. Large bvo., pp. 216, Frce, Selected by B, Usgood & 12100, By, i & Co, ‘This bandsome volume lllustrates with en- graving and |otter-press the beauties of the scenery of England, Views adown the River Thamus, tn the Lake Country, Derbyshire, the Isle of Wight, Houth Wales, sud many ather purtious of the lsland, reveal the diveraity of really churming landscape which England {n- closes within its boundarics. 'The ruthors of the volume rightly assert tuat, with such gttrac tive scenes, commbining the advantages of pure air, Jovely pature, aud quiey scclusion, lying fmumcdlately around them, Englishinen do not need to Jeave thelr native soif o tind rest aud retreshment during thefr anuual summiers vacations, % FAIR ORIES, WONDERWORLD STORILS. Fros Freneh, Genan, lleorew, 1hinao urian, Jrish, Jtahag, Japuncsc, A Bl i Tarkish, . Colleted and ) i ted by Matitz Pauks aud Manoruy DEane, New York: G. . Putnam’e Suns, A buok wearing o bollday-aspect, and crowded with falry-etorica, will not go a-begping for childrop's favors,” The legends and tales of en- chantment brought together here have been culled from the wonder-lore of many lands, and are otfered fy o pleasant Engtish verslon, sor e cutertaitiment of youny readers. A COMEDY OF MOLIERE'S, Prof. A.J. Staco has translated, aud Prof. Joseph A, Lyons has edited, Molicre's comedy of **Lu Bourgeols Gentilbomme,” This En- glielt version, adapted for sevresentation by characters only, has been perforined on severul occasions with success ut the University ot Nutre Dane, and Las recently been published m neat pauiphles form, Tue comedy necessari 1y losea nruch ol ita vivacity b the et dau of femals characters and tho changes fuct- dent thereto; dut the satire rejuning, sud much fun vas be got out ot frasit ks, BOOKS RECEIVED. THE LIFE OF EDWIN FOIR Wiri Ren- EMe KNCES AND PRE:0NAL JtEcoLLECTIONS, By » Reks 000 CoLLey CinnEn®™). Wi Pore ond Autograpl, Prfladeiphla T, B, Fee Lol Uyos. Chicogo: Hadlvy Bros, & Co. 1amo, bpe 534 Price, §1, THE & ANTED MUCCASINS; axp Ornxn LEGENDA OF THE AMEICAN ISDIaNs, Coul- licd from Ongiual Sources. By CousgLivs ATTHEWS. WRE Dlustralions. -~ New York: G. k. ' licago: Jonsen. e [y 4. Price. $1.50. S, A Purvial Accorst ¥ OCk FiELba, Funkary, Gan. otars. DLiustratvd with Four nd 268 Woodcuts. Ly 8. Packany, £ of ** Guide 101k Stady of lusects. ™ Eat Clicago: adley Clurg & vo. 12mu., By the Author of * Philadeipnla. T. B, ko Madley Brow. & Co. ONY OF TIHE REFORMED CON. . A3 WELATED T0 TIE PRESENT ATE OF EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY. Dy Fiuitr Scuary. Professur of Sacred Lilvrature 1&: toe Untow "fbevlogical Sciwinary, Now York. Sew Yors: Load, & Cu. Chleago; Hud- 2 a3, Price, § 223, Price, T GIRL OF ‘bat Lover o Feterion & b fey firos, & to, R cents, FORBIDDEN FREFIT. From the Gorman of F. N. Faernaxore, Atthor of ** Artit omance, of Botun: Enten & Jayern, Mellurg & Co. e, 41,50, "8 Caorce Janse ). & Co.paper, BILEMAYoR. My FaTir 1L D, BLACK Mg, Au cte. New Yorg: lia daneen, McClurg & Co. i & Bro hicazo: per. Price, 50 cents, RIOHICALNY RECEIVED, INTE| TIONAL _REVIEW for November- December (A. 8, Barres & Co.. New Vork and flostan), Contents: *In Memory of John Lo- throp Motley ™ (a Sopnet), by Willlam Cnllun Biry.rt, New York; +*Preacnt Phases of the Currrney Question,** by florace White, [llinofs; *“Tue Nou-Lramatic in Shakrepeate,* by I, Behuetz Wileon, Enzlat; **Judicial Pastion. i L. by Francis Whaeton, L. D., Masra. ch 3 e, Malian on the American War," . dnmes [1, Wilson, Mizeour; and Ui Ottoman Ermpiee,® by 3. D, Chaplain U N **The ) Chatles Gindr )'Iulu-lmh‘y y €, ¥, ** Matley's Ap ceal by tistory, ™ by Tohn Jav, New Yark smporary Literature, Arl, and Events. AMERICAN SATURALIST for November (i1, 0, Hlunzhion & Co., Haston), LIBRARY JOURNAL lor October (K. Leypoldt, New York). 1) NTATE REGISTER for 1878 (AL lanford, Galveston), FAMILIAR ’l‘:;l.K. PLAYING-CARDS, * A Deeeriptive Catalogue of avine and Other Cards In the British Musem,” recently pubhished 1n London, contstns a great deal of recondite iblotination pdatiig Lo the bistory of playing-cards, the forms ey have sssumed, aul the theories that tave been held coneerning thelr origin. ‘The reviewer in the dcauemy es- pectally commends the clear and fair manner in which the claims of the European and Eastern origin ot cards are presented by the author,-- the evidence on both sides being Bnpartially given, and 1 dectsion fn favor of efther heinge wisely withtiela. It 13 a ponutar idea that cards were invented to” amuse K Charlés V1. of” France,—that hetween the years 13% and 1400,~but It dues not 1¢at upon conclusive au- thority. The tnajurity of opinions Incline in favor of their Eastern origm. 1t has been asaerted that cands were bronght to Europe bv the Gypeies; yet they were ) at least fu ermany, befors 1391, and the Zin- tzari did not probably anpear in Europe earlier tlian 1417, There Is no satfsfactory evilence that cards orizinated in India. Mention fs not made of them in the Arablan Ny 4 which were compffed ubont the elose of the fifteenth ventury, while cargs w Europe o as n( continuous knter- with lndin. Neither {8 there any authen- nsstinption that 4. In a matter mmcum{, 1t is t safe te liold the verdict susvended. No eubstantful arcumente can be sdvaneed to ehow that s existed in Europe earlier than 1350, or rs agro, 1L 18 possible, as aome have assumed, that ftaly was their birthnigee, still they cannot be traced so far back by any documntary evidence, I'etrarch mentiong games of chunce in s MSS,, but makes no ally. sfon to cards. he earliest “notice of then i Germany orcurs in the Pllicibucher of Nurn- berz, anno B84, An ordinanee. of the Town Counctl of Ul auno 1395, probibite ¢helr em- plogment. 1u 1441 they were eo largely tmpart - ed from Germuny into Venlee that” aft upipent was made to the Senate to stop the supply, on account of the injury done to Nallan malkcre. The first mention of cards in France was made in 192, In the accounts of Charles Tou- vart, Treasurcr to Charles VI, 1t is_supposed that they may have been (i use some brief time wrevious to this date, yet they nre ot specitied in he fung Ifst of games prohfbited by Charles V. 0 1360, No evidence cun ve cited Of thelr {lrst appearance In Spalu. They were not fntroduced foto Enzland before the itcenth century. An a:t of Henry IV, dated 1409, directs the en- forcement of 1he statute of Ricburd IL, wnno 1358, forbidding cortain gpames, us **covtes, dyees, gettre de pere, Keyles,™ aud ' oultres tielx Jeues Importunes*s bul no ollusiun s smude fo carns. A statute of Edward IV., anno 14854, forbkdx their jmportation, sbowing that they bad then become eomnon. ART-N S Mr. Holiman Hunt bias beendetained (n Egypt oy the aangervus tiucosof bis Mitle daushier, Mesars. Osgood & Co.. wi) soon add to their galleries of the Great Masters two large quartos containfng each twenty-four heliotype. engrav-. inzs. One will reproduce the be st works of Millals and the other of Faed. “The Soclety of the Liverpool Art Club has opencd au exbibition of fans embracing nearly 200 apecimens. Prefucing the deseriptive cata- logue of the exhibition is a pleasant account of the art and history of fan-tmaking. The French Governinent has placed the four pletures purchased this year in the great hal) of the Luxembourg. They are **La Vierge Cousn latrice,” by Bougereau: * Ls Glaneuse,” b Jules Bretan, o portrait of Emile Angier, by Edouard Dubutes apd u laudscape by Belly. The imurfes which Strashourg Cathedral suf- fered during the Franco-German war, togethier with those juflicted by the slow waste of time, are being thoronghly repalred. Sculptures nnd piunacles are betng replaced, or erected In posi- tions not before oveupled. Imperial stutues on horsebuck are prominent oo the new sculp- tures used i the restoration. Mr. Mudox-Brown bas just. corypleted one of his hest pletures, which prescnts Cromwell, Milton, aud Andrew Marvell, fn the house of Milton, dtscussing the document wineh the Limd poet sent to the King of France in 1059, pro(estiog nralnst the harbarous course of the uke of Bavoy toward the Vaudols, The paint~ me 18 cutitled * Cromwell, Protector of the Vandaws." Seventy pleces of sculpture and architecture which were found in i dense forest-growth aloniz the banks of the Tonkinge River, fu Cam- bodts and Siam, have been placed provisionally in the Chateau of Compelgne, there bemg no room for them in the Louvre, Severul remorks able statucs of Buddii, and » wroup of two gianta—one with five heads and ten urms—are Included I the collection, whichwus brought by M, Louts Detaporte to France, ‘The Van Looncollection of painting st Amster- dam, Iately purehased by the Rothschilds for LOULON! [ranice, 18 to bo divided into five parts, ont o which will fal) by lot 1o earh braned of the family, who divide the cost equally. The collection comprises two magmtleent Rewmn. brundts,—portrits of Willem Dacy, magsistrare of Alkmasr, auid bis wife, dated 1553 and 143 TespLeLIV ‘They were purchased from o de- scendant of the futitly fn 1743 for 4,000 forins, and sold s vear luter Tor 10,000 florins, or about £3,000. Their present cost v 150,00, Amonte other pictures fu the collection are two small Faul Pottors, examples of Cayp, Wouvermans, Van de Velde, ete. — MODERN FRENCIH POTTERY AND © “PORCELAING A [ow wteresting notes regarding the prog. ress of French manufucturers in the art of pol. tery and poreelait ure furnished by the dcadeny. Ou the bonks of the Loire, where the art cun- spieuously ounshed two ceuturies ago, it i otll practiced with much refinement in the methods of production. At &ifen, the styles of oruament of the French and Jtalian Renalssance are still preserved; but the ware, not belg band-patuted, 18 lable to mdetinite multiphea- tiun. 1t beauty sud comparative cheavnvss commend ¢ o those Who must use ceohuny in the induleence of a toste Jor artistic ching. ~ A hand-patnted pottery has {ately been introduced at Bluis by a gifted artst, Ulysse, Tue forms of he Hean-Deux ware, and of the best work ol he Lalian Renalssance, are uscd alternately, with a combination of rich aud heautitul colorin: and chaste ornamentation. It 1s predicted that the work of M. Ulysze will, in thue tu conn command hlen [prluu and o universal recos tion of tee loveliness. There are mvals of M, Ulysse at Blols, who are not without mierit, aud yetare jolerior to bt s the dbstinguishing graces of the art, teveral large factones are in operation at Neve At that of M. Siznoret, the work 1s all band-painted. Some o it fmitates the ware of Urbino whth rare success. The old jalence de Neters, und the varous stiles Kuown as of Roueu, are also reproduced with more or less exactness. Modern derluns are likewise eme pioyed, but ft §s said they <u BULcompete favors LI§ with that which b fispired by the old vrua- ment of the best pesivd of decurative destgn. GERMAN UNIVERSITIES, 1n discuasing the comparative expenditure of the English and German nations upon thelr uni- versities, Mr. Hay Laukester remarks that the Nortb-German States anuually graot 10 the tweuty universities belonging to toem wmore thay §2,500,000. The new Univeriity of Stras- buwrg Lad alone recelved tu one year thosuw of [ $34.500. The Unisersity of Leipsic annually rertives from the Saxon Government over £250,- 000, There are elght universities in North Ger- many which are hearly as costty, aud the eleven rmatler aniversities reeefve each from $40,000to £102,000 per annum. *In North Germany,” sags Mr. Lankester, there I8 one univeraity to every 2,000,000 fn- labitants; in Austria, there 18 one to every 5000,000; tn Switzerland, ene for each 1,0, x; In England, one to esery 7,000,000, In the twenty North-German universitics there are 1,250 Professors, In the British Islaude we ought to have sixteen universitics and 1,000 professoratiips {n order to come up to the same level in this respect as North Germany. The stipend (apart from fees) of a Professor in & Uerman university rangen from £109 to L4600 n year. Asartlc, at theae of five-and-thirty, & man in this career toay (in Germany) count on an wssured ncome of L40 a year (with retiring rmmmm. The cxpenditure” un attendants, ihrarics, laboratorte:s, und officials may b eulaled s belng (in 2 well-condueted uniseesity, mnre thun equal fo amount to the total ot th |‘ruhvunu',nlxmnd.«. Tukinz the averaye Go man wrafedsorial stivend sl only £200 n yenr, wo liml that £2530,00 must be spent anniaily ot this ftem afone: i the N 8 ** I order to equty and earry on sixt versities tn this rountry w it should arison with the Uurinan universit anire: not fess than an immedlate ex, of L1000 sterling in buildings and app 1S, utid g unnnial - expenditure of from £, L) oy L4000, 100, “The: Targest ncome recneded of a foretzn uni- verstty is that ol e Swedish Umiversity at Ppsata, which s, scrording to a Jate writer, LU0 bat Mr. Lankester questions the . curacy of the Ggures, SPARKS OF SCIENCE. FLOILA ROUNTY ABOUT CHICAGO. Tur Srvrogwonts.—'The Spurgeworts, Ege phorblacee, Toris a vast and venomous Urder of trees, shrubs, and berbaccous plants. ‘The great majority of the species distill oy aerid, niilky juice; the stumcus and pistils are not tnclosed In the same Eowers; aud the fruit usually consists of a threc-lubed posl, which divides into us nany separate parts when ripc. Althourb some striking exceptions to the zen- eral structure of the Spurgeworts oceur witlin the tride, as 8 whole the Iawily Is tmore unifor than most othiers of jts size, 10 the plan naud dis- purition of the organs of the vanous speciea. Lindley estimated the number of the Order to be 2,500, and sitce his time mauy hove heey wlded in the exploratiun of new distrcts of country. A luree proportion of the species aro ratives of the warmer parts of Awertos; in- deedd, the family ts enjefly devetoned within the Truples of the New und of the Oid World,-=the epecles thinning as they recede from the ¥ tor. In Europe there are abont 120 speacs, ten of which ure found in Engtand and seven tn Bweden, Bomewhat mwre than ity spectes are cnumerated in the flurs ot the Cuited States, and a few of these extend into Canata. The Boxwood, Busus Sempervirens tree ylelding finegrained timber, s the most northerly of the shrutby Spungeworts. Dl ol surictics of this are much used for eime garden-plats. The common Box 1s a tree of slow grrowth, reactiiizz in Euglaud the light of only twelve or fourteen feet. but in wirmer countries often nttsining fwice thut altitude 1ts woud s bieavier thun that of suy other Eue TUPCAR tree, Jeing the onlv kind growing on the Continent that will sink tu water. It fy unrur- vassed for wood-enirruvinz, and is hignty prized for the manufucture of flutes and other wind- fustruments. Muny of the Spurgeworts are very sucenlent; and several of the Troplend spectes closely re- semble the Coctaceie, betnz Teafless, nnd thesr swollen stewns beset witls suines. Iu Africa aml Arla these Jeafless Buphorblus arc often planted for fences,nud they admirably servo the pur- pose,—theht spines not ondy tearlme the tlesn of those who woulld force o pussase through thein, Brepomineg the wou The Egphortia’l truoull tsa comman hedge-plant in Wb Madrns Presidency. Nacattle whl - tauch Its ingies, ning (uumw?- sear the plants form o tolerade barder. Many of the Spurgeworts Inhabit Akjea, parficnlariy the aucenlent and cactus-like sieclon, The Eue rhotbln Officinarum is one of these, rrowing in tufts, and its many angles armea with douable spiucs. The E. Antiquorum 13 motler, n Lri- angular branching spedes, with sdupons and apiny ., ougtles. 10 I8 these. tvo -species, with the E. Couarlensts, from vhich the werkl gan reatn, Euphorblisn, v obtained. Incisfans are made fu the branchea, whenve a corromve milky ulee exndes, anl Lapdeus in the sun futo w yelipwish-gray wasen wnaes. The substance fr so Pleonotis that thow who gather ftare oblized o protect the month wd notrils, s the particles innaled caure nresant sneezing ad violent nflammsution of tua mu. cous membrane. 3. Montelro speaks of atall, cactussithc cus phorbia which (s abuamt oo the coust of zotu, 11 senda up u atri AN, wikeh viden | suddenty, ut the hight ¢ *mber of fect, tite Qoeurvt gy 0ches, The joce 1 Elve goris 18 ared by the to polsan thelr are ska. ‘Tlie Yenomons prineiple pervading the an Qar reatdes cdiety an the mithy seeretion, 84 Warles gereatiy dn the degree of It virule 20V In some It s ao ity st be o valuable 1 PG ial agens, and in ot it 1s an petive and Readly poleon The baletul Erll'l]nule uppeurs to be volatile, us 1t b disalpated ¥ heat. )ch of the most virulent mewbers of the G der s the Manchiveel, Hippomane Mancinelly 0 native of ‘Tropical Amerin Laree furests o this tree once exasted in the Infand of Marty nique, and have been destroyed by burnhie, drop of the pure white Juiee of the Munchin falling upon the shin, hurns Jike u lHving and produces a very obwtinate uleer. 1t has hieen sald that to slecp uiiler the shailowy of the tree la fatal, 1ts exhalations are s Vetomons; ond it i certaln that the drp ol rain or dew from the leaves is injurious. The beautiul frng resembles 10 forn and color au ppple, nmd hay the fragrance of eltron; but ita wernd taste 14 o sufegnunt aealnst fts polson, which, boweser, 1s andlder than in ouy otier part of the tree. The nut in the ventre of the Irilk 38 abont the size of achestnut. The natives poison thelr arrows with the juice of the Manchaneel, Tl womd of the tree 14 adapted by ts Goe quatty to oring- mental cabluet-work. “The enus Pedilanthius ts wo less polsonous than the '\lnliyrhun. and the fulce of Hurn i A crepita xeevarls Agallochia I8 quite as fatal n fts nature, The simoke of the lalter plant when burnlug eausce intalerable pain o yess und the Julee, if applicd (v them, vro- duces violent fntlamstion, sud often destroys the sight. Cunutchiouc is obtatned from se Bpurgeworts. ‘The Siphonia cf of Gulnne and Brazil, atfords the rubber, Which is prepured by sime: molds with repeated Iayers of the drying them successively in smoke. Th tlans chew the hanmless gummy substunce that exudes from the Alenrites triloba; sud the mte of the tree are caten, and roported 10 be aphrodistae Guin-lac 5afforded Ly the A, la- «ifera, ot Ceylon. Awonz the Spurgeworts, some are for their aromatic burk, and of these the Crotm contains the most lmportant, i 4 sial] Lree g lurntshes the wi Vark; and other species, zrowing I Mesivo, aflord the Copalehe vark. Toth varieties are l us w substitute for Cinchoua “The buek of the Hoswond bas the gualities of Gaiavims, white the leaves are Litter and purgative. 1t is that where the Box abonuds, in portions ol i, the cumel cannot be employed, a8 it perabats Ju feediug on the (ullage, whivh is fatal 101, Not theleast vajuable product of this Onder is thu oil which 33 extructed from the seeds, The powerful purgutive, Croton oil, §s denived frum croton Thiluin aud C. Pavaua, small trecd be- longing fu Judie Castor oil 15 obiaised Srom the seeds of the Ricinus communis, o plunt often cultivated | gardeus for the suke of its vrua- uiental {ultaze. 1t Is an annnul with us. but is A tree I is pathve chimote,—that vl Atriea and Asta, The seeds of Stillingia sevifera, o tree common in most Tropical countries, are fmbedded o a falty utter from which caudies are mad whnle Ol s expressed frow the sceds. Iruit of the Aleuriies trilobu, which bus been abready mentioned, §s 8 Leart-shaped wug with a bard shicll, and tue size of o walnul, The kernel is eaten godsted. When raw, an excellent blayd ofl 1s obtamned from i, which 18 wsed for ook tur, and olso ua o lawp-all, Toe Soclety-lalaud- en manutactuic the 1uts iuto rude torchies, by strlning them on rushes aster shigbitly baklng the, and mclosing four or five of L strings mhe lead of the serew-pluc. The seeds of u long list of other Sourgeworts yicli oll pos- scealt various usciul quabitics; but coougl bave been named un the present oceaston. A fow ppecies produce edible frusts. The sceds of the Omphales, called Cobuuts, or Hos- nuts, in Jawaics, are dellcous aud wiolesowie Af tue enbrso 1 extracted; otberwise they et 86 u catbartie. The succulent {ruit of Cleca dis- tichia aod recewoss 1§ sub-acld, cooliug and eral of the eu, 0 native TheC. 2 o the West own Cascarhlla harmices: and the aceld fruit of the Embliea olliinalls Is In Imlla made into a pickle. The Mandioe, or Cassava, Manthot lndmsmnn, s however, the great food-plant of the Ornle This is a native of. Tropieal Amerlen, but 18 ex= tensisely enltivated - other wann countries. The eteins of the hushy shrab zrow six or cight teet high, and bear near the extremities Jarce, fdeeply. seven-pirted leaves, The roota, nlmperi ke turnipe, aml a foot or twe long, furin cluaters ol fiom three to cizht,—the whola wetzhing sometimes thirty pounds, Tho julco of thesa roots 1s an acrid noison, its virulent vrineiple 1s quickly dissipated by he Thick- cned by Loiling, ‘it forms an ctecllent sance called Casarcen. ‘This con liinent 18 largely em- ploved [n Gulana to flavor foud. and in the West Indles forins the ehiel Snereidient of tho dish called Pepper pot. it is a ndwerful antiseptte, and wil pregerve meat for a long time, even in a torrfd elimate, The'Juiw of the Mandioe root fe also fermented with molasses and the result s an fntoxicating drivk called Ouzran. ‘The prlp of the ront, zrated and dried on hot lates, forins the sowalled Crosava, Farinal, or Arrawraor, which fa an hnvortant article ot et t South Americn and ciher eountrica whera the plant is grown, From the pe starch atumtantly stored In the ooty Taptoca §s made. itie roots ‘of the Mamhot apf are sweet nnd harmless when eaten elther raw or cooked. The Spurgeworts with other productr, dyes of ‘diflerent colors, The famitiar purple dres, Tuerscle, which tcones bine on the ap- plication of aminonia, Ix thedrul juiceof Crozo. bhorta Unetoria, growing in Southern Lurope, The roots aund Ui alyv-covered capsules of Rottlera tinctoria eive a scarlet volor, and Ma- prounza Lrasitlensty vields a black dye. he wond known as Atrican Teali, or Oak. is tha produce of Oldfeldia Afrlcavas and a tin- Ber wsed n Abyasinka for purposes of 1 onstrie- tion twubtamen flom Euphorbia Aby sinicu. Thers: are u fow Npureeworts in valttvatlon s awl ul these, the Policet! wiehi their broad tosettes of scariet foral leaves, are among the showicst utnates o the greenhonae. A haifdvzen vepresentutives of the famtly ozeur in vur flora. and, with, one exe:ption, bes long 1o the genus Euphorbia. 1i Uy I cact apparent lower consists of u clusterof staminate thwers sulitary pistillate flower, i i sed fnvoluere sirronnting Howers mature, L central ool ovary. Y, Juice. and are y recoguized, althouzh in somne cases it ks fHicult to deteemine the s vis, The Enplortaa aoniiolin is common In Fanuy sofl along the Lahestiore. 11 sles flat o the erouml, Like a Jittle mat, amd e siriies aclrete in its outlipes, The: k. sacnia. ta 18 alen abundant, fubalitiog rondsides and® I oshate plant, and s # hrownishopsl spol i the centie, wrivilidia 45 an L hwerb, srowme fiom ot fo twa fect, The leaves Len marked by n ved spot wra red pesen, e species 1 Tess common Limn the precedine, bt 1 found in o the vidmty ot Fakn aul Cat - Pine Statioi. i ) vornls lata, — our pretiest rpreies, js et with every whers du dey wad, The' T, falre lobes of the mvuine the petals of 4 eorutl SOYTETTR an fhterestiue speties, ot only oo ks g Nz aspent, gt frone M e pigely Jor our neksuborhond, It s L the east Lank of_1he Dosp tlroad. “The E. 1 plant, with a laree he Horal Teaves, s ervagan Tt the Lake, 0pToirtysthi (te The e honn ot this spevies ¢ tpeet W0 U4, Yol it avonmodates it v 1o our solt nndd ol mate, < tor NE} ) nI whi 3 n el Bave rende, o e orth of e ¥h, s bansdsome et al the T YITATLITY OF AN The Ptocecdings of the desdewy of Natusal Saenee e Phlluicphla coutain sotae ntersle fug oteervations of the Rev, 1 €. MeCuooli on the power of etidunng heat and o bossessed Dy wtta. A nest ol Peonspivanie) s tablished on an vk bouzh was expored 1o the old of a4 moontaisasiater withuut Cestroying the tnwmaten, A wumber of the M teatites were drophed Bpon ees £ were fotitd alive at the enid of Jurty-ckeld lows=tte Loy of each Basina made o shight deproesion fu the i by fts Lwate T specica Forufa was active He formicary witl: the thermometvr deg, Fuyoond elupzish at 20 des, The 1 Penusyle vama did not sutler drom the et ot the 8 walllng w camiefice, to which they bl \ driven from Weir position fu u Lurndog rtuni, The fate Dr, Lineemmnn whe made arany ol Vitions We Avaoul'ural Anty Ut fire wag urna Luw of Al et 1 umang e dye eoibers Without injary, - MeZ MeCook one noted w By Ante (F raia) which hat ho Houted with tive fuebes of wate floated oot on e fund, o1 varentdv Wleless, el houre, Lut we Bually altnst aly restuied] Lo stination, Lin:ecun «serred that the Swrienltnral Ants were often seen Hoatit, clintig i maases orange, oy the surface of ng v this sftuacton ! Arswn up by wely il provea to be alive, Auts will diown witer u rubiicrzence of wx minutes 1 watee, L the fnsects componig Thuse guafises sk Lave Lt alive Ly the bl 1evolving continuadly With the strug: ol the toviividuas, or by b fnstiictive sud ordusly muvement of the outer tia, AVRICAN EXI'LO ‘The Dalian traveters. Bowe Mattruw, are propanne for o Aral AJriea, proposing 4w ol the Sobat inte Kald, where the ho, the Marchese Autiuor! and ks cotupanions, The travelers have Leen supplied with alibe: by the Mahan Guvernment, leared oentics, and the public. 3 The Afruan explorer, Mr. Allred E, Craven, Ias arrived at Zanzibar, but will, befoiz starting for the Lak: distyivt, whend s Ume at Mazita, acquiring the Swahili langtauzes Under Enghish ausgices, a rordia 4 ehig cons structed fron Kalwa tp Nysss, ou the Zanzibar coast, The tiret sectivn extends to Mesue; ond the second, to bake Nyassn, will prolully be e <! ve, who was sent last var by te Purifaent i the Cape Colony togalin fxluvmnuun respecthud the cauntry, trites tilabitin: Darnaty and Great Namagua Lands, bus presented aleeport futl of statfstical umd eeographieat futelleence, and allording he tirat gyateinatle neconnt of the reglon. Ihe Eunzlteh coutempiate the aunexatlon of thae territone sters which would have the advine tapes, wceording do | the dendemy, S df putting un end Lo the fevastating wars which becuk out trom time td taie between e e wara Kuatles and the Namagua Hottentots; gaining the vontrol of afl the ‘trade of tie fn- terlurs audetpating thel Noers nud orlicrs con- cerned n establislune b ey Republlc theres ond preventmss any Tulijre extension of Portus £uvse boundaries southwied,” orus HRIEE NOTH The Parie Exposition yill devote a specla) Qivision” Lo “electrivity, . order that ali the systems of electric fighung may be tested comparatively, Mr. A, Boucard, whe has spent five months ing the vrnitholozy of Costa i cullect- spraes of birds, nuny of which are new to Sefence, atind ot hiers yre of rare occurrence, The Paria Nutlonal Library bas lately added 10 its internal machinery a pucumatic Lube lead- Juge toall parts of the Luilding, throuch which 'v::_\;ln: acut votes from readers iuquirive fou uk s, The {-y clLGo\'emmunl fs taki to trrfzul ah& Departments of the Mediterrun- can_region, The waters of the Rhone wiil be utitized o supply systemativally thiat barge and fertile countey With the molsture that Las been Litherto Jacking, Capt. B, F. Burton bas written a book on Midian, containime the results of his visit tothat ul awaits the Khadive's per- ot o publish & R @ the author's purs $oat Lo LrEULIZeE o DeW expioration of the coun. try, and a pariial {uvestivatlon of the mincs Which he discovered there. ‘The Committee of the Polestine Exploration Fund will pubhsh a pooular aveount of the cu- tire work of the survey, writtes eat, Con- A prumment feature ot the book will be o description of toe uative pupulation, thele customs, Janguaze, ete, A chapter will 4 to Dawascus, Hermon, and Bal- Lecks ana one ta the fertility of the country atd tho prospects of colonization., - A writer gy NVutyre suzgusts that it is the odur, and not :g‘cw oy of Towers which attracts mseets. He had ubserved that bees particularly, aud also butterllics, conting their visits to » par- tieular specics of Hower, althongb others of the sawe bue inay be growiug inclose Juxtaposition. The object of this discritutvative " sclection sp- veurs bo b fentilizatiou, so ar us the Yower I8 coucerned ; and it probally subserves some pur- Euu ot the same thue futho eonomy of the