question as to whether Schönbein's ozone has or has not anything to do with the matter, although Bibra lays some stress on the observation, that there is a formation of ozone during the volatilisation of phosphorus in the atmosphere. It will now be intelligible why the work people employed in certain departments of the manufacture of lucifers are more liable to be attacked than others. The dippers are necessarily more exposed to the fumes of phosphorus, which, as the fused composition is poured on the slab before them, are evolved in great quantities immediately under their nostrils. The more rapidly the work is done, the greater will be the risk. The process of counting and packing also causes a considerable evolution of phosphorus fumes; and we find accordingly that in Nürnberg the counters and packers are affected like the dippers. Dr Geist discusses the prevention of the disease in the forensic portion of the work, and makes the following suggestions: 1. In those manufactories which produce such a large quantity of lucifers that the process of drying is constantly going on, and therefore giving rise to a constant evolution of fumes, the drying others were pointed out who had equally preserved perfect health, although engaged in the manufacture of the matches for many years. The precautions used are, that the work people are required to wash their hands night and morning in soda, which, our informant assured us, was the only means which completely removed all the phosphorus ; they receive tea or cocoa night and morning, eat their meals at the manufactory, and work from morning to night without going home. The dippers, with the exception of the girl above mentioned, wear sponges before their mouths. Still even these precautions would scarcely have prevented the influence of the fumes, unless proper means had been taken to prevent their accumulation; and this was done so effectually, that, although our visit was quite unexpected, and occurred while the workpeople were all fully engaged, we scarcely perceived any unpleasant smell. The ventilation had been effected at a considerable outlay, by the introduction of large and numerous ventilating shafts, so that it is constant and effective. It is evident that a temporary opening of the windows must be inetticient to remove fumes which are being permanently and copiously evolved; it is only by providing a regular circu room should be entirely detached from the other workrooms. 2. In those manufactories in which the drying is effected dur-lation of pure air that they can be carried off, or sufficiently ing the night, or during the absence of the workpeople, the drying- diluted. room may communicate with the other workrooms, and it will be merely necessary to air the former well after the drying process is completed, to provide the room with a ventilating shaft, and not to employ it as a workroom. In both cases the drying should not be carried on at a higher temperature than 65 deg. Fahr. 3. The composition should not be made, and the dipping not conducted, in the presence of the other workpeople, but in a detached room. 4. The counting and packing-room should be well ventilated, and not be too much crowded with workpeople. 5. The same to be the rule with regard to the room in which the matches are arranged in frames. 6. All the rooms must be ventilated three times a day, for an hour at a time, by opening the windows and doors, viz., before the work begins, during dinner-time, and after the work is over. 7. The workpeople to be prohibited keeping their victuals and consuming them in the workshops, because the fumes combine with them, and, by being introduced into the stomach, give rise to gastric disturbance. 8. The purification by ignition of the frames, crucibles, and other utensils, to which phosphorus and sulphur remain attached, should be prohibited.' The attention which the continental governments, and more especially those of Germany, have long paid, and continue to pay, to sanitary questions is well known; but the English manufacturer dislikes this kind of paternal supervision; and the difficulty of insisting upon measures of precaution, which generally involve a primary outlay of capital, is notorious. We have found in the course of our inquiries a frequent neglect of all precautionary measures; but in the case of small manufacturers, it does not appear that a corresponding amount of injury ensues. A considerable amount of phosphoric fumes is requisite; and a continued and uninterrupted occupation in the impregnated atmosphere appears to be a necessary condition to the production of the jaw-disease. We are happy to say, that what even the government measures have not yet effected in Germany, we have found carried out in a large manufactory in London, in consequence of the wise and benevolent views of the proprietors. We would advert to this case the more, as, both from our personal examination, and from the testimony of a distinguished physician who has long been acquainted with the parties, we are able to vouch for an absence of all collusion. We would advert to it also as a proof, that, even among the lower orders, a knowledge of the value of sanitary arrangements, and a due appreciation of their bearings, is gradually making its way, and enforcing conviction, in a manner which affords the most gratifying proof, that the labours of the medical profession and of others have not been thrown away. The proprietors of the lucifer manufactory in Prince's Square, Finsbury, employ fifteen girls and fifty boys, some of whom have been engaged there for eight years, and eleven men, some of whom have worked there for ten years, and no case of the disease has occurred among them. We saw one girl who had been exclusively engaged in dipping matches for seven years without being ill, and who still looked perfectly healthy and robust; ORIGINAL POETRY. FLOWERS IN THE CITI. Here is the Columbine, whose horn And close when rival stars begin to glimmer In the pale sky; and with these Woodbine wreathed, That smells as though an angel near us breathed. For you the Fuchsia drops its bells, The chaste Tuberose its perfume sheddeth; And the rich bloom the Poppy spreadeth; Mayhap a sister's cheek doth borrow Co-dwellers all with wo and want, Should these flowers reach one squalid haunt, Let your hearts soften while ye see them shine, And hear them whisper of a Love Divine! H. H. O. WILLIAM KNIB B. THE subject of the present sketch was born at Kettering, in Northamptonshire, in the year 1803, of parents who were placed in the middle class of society, and who, it appears, from the character they bore, were particularly anxious for the welfare of their children. Of the mother of Knibb, a highly respected minister who well knew her. thus writes: I was well acquainted with Mrs Knibb, and I think her character, mental and moral, contributed, in no small degree, under God, to prepare her sons for the distinction to which they afterwards rose. There was that about her which would excite love and reverence. Her piety was not only above the common rate, but it was highly intelligent and attractive. She passed most of her life in most trying circumstances, under which she uniformly displayed a magnanimity and quiet cheerfulness that could not fail to be observed by her children, even at an early age. With much calmness of temper she combined great energy in all her undertakings; and there was a strength of intellect, a breadth and depth in her views on all subjects, religious and others, and a certain mild eloquence, and felicity of language, and benignity of manner, which, at the same time, inspired respect for her understanding and affection to her person.' Such was Knibb's mother; and before we knew thus much of her, we were inclined to prophesy, as Campbell once did when he met with a hero (though of an entirely opposite class to Knibb), 'A noble mother must have bred so brave a son.' The reader will see to what extent our conclusions were realised. The early education of Knibb was conducted by a Mr Hogg, the teacher of a free school of a superior order in Kettering. While there, which was for the space of three years, Knibb was not remarkable for his attainments, excepting in arithmetic; but on all occasions he conducted himself with a degree of propriety and amiability which always ensured him esteem and respect from those with whom he came in contact. When his education was completed, he was apprenticed to a Mr Fuller, of Bristol, a printer and bookseller by trade, with whom his brother Thomas was residing in the same capacity. Here, we believe, while furnishing reports of missionary societies and the like, was first engendered an ardent desire to engage in the missionary enterprise. Thomas, his brother, was also bent upon the same pursuit. One day,' says Mr Fuller, their master, on some allusion being made to the native preachers, Thomas burst into tears. On inquiring into the cause, I found he was greatly afraid that, as native preachers were rising up so rapidly, by the time he should be old enough to go, European missionaries would not be required. Some time after, they were heard earnestly conversing on the same subject, Thomas, as usual, indulging his apprehensions; William, however, was a stranger to such feelings-he always hoped. 'Never mind, Thomas,' said he, the society cannot do without printers, and I am sure Mr Fuller will recommend us, and then we can preach too if we like.' In the year 1822, Thomas, under the direction of the Baptist Missionary Society, left England for Jamaica, to superintend a free school which was then being established in Kingston, over which he continued to preside until his death, which took place on the 15th of April, 1823, after an illness of only three days. When the intelligence of his brother's decease was communicated to William by Mr Fuller, his feelings were strongly excited; but immediately after the first burst of feeling had subsided, he rose from table and said, 'Then, if the society will have me, I will go and take his place!' This eventually led to his engaging in his favourite work, the evangelisation of the heathen. Love being the ruling principle of William Knibb's soul, it called into exercise other faculties most essential to his success. He must be regarded as not only the property of the Baptist Missionary Society, but as the property of the world. His was a character admirably constituted to enrich the church and adorn the world. In him we behold a generous benevolence, a determinate perseverance, an unflinching firmness. The fire of holy love once a-blaze in his breast, it continued to burn and to emit the most genial rays on and about his path. He sought with anxious earnestness to elevate his race, and for them he determined to spend and be spent.' His was not so much the labour for display as effect. He was not like the tipsy spray, throwing about in the face of heaven its silvery element, and dazzling the beholder by its peculiar brilliancy, but the mountain-wave, rushing across the 6 trackless main in the face of every obstacle, and leaving behind it marks of its amazing power. The purpose for which Knibb went to Jamaica was, as already stated, to occupy the station rendered vacant by his brother's decease; but after a comparatively short period had elapsed he was inducted into the pastoral office, in which capacity he expended a degree of ability and energy almost incredible, and which was productive of immense good; in short, his anti-slavery labours and the duties of the pastoral office combined could not have been performed by any one short of a spiritual Hercules. The object he had in view, either as a teacher or a preacher, was emphatically to spiritualise the world. In him there was a full embodiment of the idea, all men are brethren.' Directly he set foot upon the oppressed island he became the friend of the slave, and not a friend passive only, but also a friend active; his judgment indignantly denounced the accursed system, whose overthrow he afterwards consummated, and the bowels of his compassion yearned over the subjects of its yoke. His pen and his voice became the outlets to his feeling, and in a little time he was endeared to and valued by the slave, and, as a natural consequence, hated and persecuted by his oppressor. It now became his object to teach the slave his own value, and to teach the world the first letter in the alphabet of our humanity; he knew that to advance his heavenly mission he must engage himself in an earthly one; and although the spirit of the times was decidedly averse to missionaries becoming practical politicians, he soon found, as a citizen of the world and a soldier of the Cross, that an interference with the civil regulations of the slave was to lay a foundation on which he might with safety build a spiritual temple on which to inscribe Holiness to the Lord.' On the 15th of April, 1831, Mr Fowell Buxton brought forward, in the House of Commons, a motion relating to British colonial slavery. Upon this occasion his majesty's ministers, although not accepting the terms of Mr Buxton's motion, announced their fixed determination to take up the subject of it, and to redeem the pledges which had been given by the cabinet and parliament in 1823. As soon as this became known to the Jamaica planters, a degree of excitement was produced, both amongst the planters and the slaves themselves, which was followed by the insurrection known as the period of the reign of terror in Jamaica. Knibb and his coadjutors were seized, incarcerated, and ignominiously treated by the legislative powers; they were dragged about from place to place, under the surveillance of despotic and bloodthirsty authorities, and taunted and buffeted without limitation or degree. The chapels belonging to the Baptist and other denominations were razed to the ground by the infuriated whites, whose traffic in human gore had made them so opulent and important that, rather than abolish it or conduct it on less inhuman terms, they would allow themselves to become frantic with rage and excitement, and attempt the lives of those who wished for a better state of things, and if necessary bury Jamaica itself in its own ruins. And why were Knibb and his coadjutors more especially seized, and made the subjects of their wrath? the reader may ask. This brings us to a point on which we can dwell with the utmost satisfaction. The reason the Baptists were made to suffer was because they were honest men, and would not blink their sentiments. They knew slavery to be an abomination and a curse, and they treated it accordingly. They knew from actual observation that the blood of the negro was crying to heaven, like Abel's, from the very ground on which they trod, and they sought, as men, and in a rational manner, to extirpate the evil. Knibb and his friends were charged with inciting the slaves to rebellion, through prejudicing their minds against a system under which they knew them so long to have groaned; and not only were they publicly persecuted under the sanction of the government of Jamaica, but they had to encounter a private conspiracy, in connection with paid agencies, whose object was either to cause the missionaries to abandon the island altogether, or to shed their blood in upholding that accursed system from which they had been so long deriving an exorbitant pecuniary return. On one occasion, Knibb's biographer asserts, a number of persons, amounting to about fifty, approached the house, hallooing, hooting, and throwing stones. His friends opened the window, and Knibb, being awake, said, Who is there?' The only answer to this was a volley of stones, some of which entered the apartment. His friends said, What are we to do if they come? If we cry murder, we are afraid nobody will come.' He said, Cry fire!' They rejoined, ' Where are we to say it is?' He replied, 'Tell them it is in hell for those who tar and feather persons.' On the cry of fire the valorous company ran away. This process was repeated three successive nights. The result of such bitter and continuous persecution was that, from circumstances over which man had no control, he was permitted to leave the island and return to England, a single incident in connection with which we will relate, as it so distinctly conveys Knibb's hatred of slavery and his settled determination to exert himself for its downfall: On the pilots coming on board in the English Channel, his first question was, ' Well, pilot, what news?' The Reform Bill has passed.' Thank God,' he rejoined, 'now I'll have slavery down. I will never let it rest day or night until I have destroyed it root and branch." His presenting himself in England was not one of the most pleasurable positions in which an individual could be placed. His determination was to destroy slavery, root and branch,' and that was to be done while he remained a sojourner on British soil. He had first to convince the public of the evil of slavery, and then he had to turn the tide of opinion at the fountainhead of power, the British senate. During his stay in his native land his time was chiefly occupied in agitating this important question; and meetings were held both in Ireland and in Scotland for the same purpose. vigorously pursued; and wherever he pushed forward the 6 Kindred in Christ, for his dear sake,, The popularity of Knibb reached to the entire extent of his indefatigable labours. Of his reception in Scotland, and as a specimen of his oratory in general, we will give an extract from one of his speeches, delivered in Glasgow on the 16th of January, 1833: I have been three months in Scotland, where I was not known before my arrival but as an incendiary and a fanatic, and I shall never forget the kindness and urbanity with which I have been received in every part of the country. Throughout the hills and dales of Scotland I have proclaimed the wrongs of Africa, Four years after this period, the total abolition of and everywhere I have met a hearty response. I plead slavery was announced. We are told that the 1st of for thousands of the children of Scotsmen in slavery-August, 1838, was a day of unparalleled rejoicing in the children left by their parents, unheeded and disregarded, British West Indies,' and Jamaica nobly took the lead in to all the horrors of West Indian slavery. I I have seen the demonstration made by the emancipated. With more Scotsmen sold and flogged; and when I advocate the than his usual energy, Knibb took part in the proceedings. cause of the African I plead their cause. I wish to break It was with a gratified heart undoubtedly that he joined the bonds of thousands of the descendants of Scotsmen. in their excessive glee. In the liberation of the West InI call upon you by all the tender sympathies of your na- dian slave from his oppressive bondage, he was seeing ture-by your patriotism, by your justice, your humanity, of the travail of his own soul, and he sought intelligentand your religion-to unite in a great and holy bond, and ly to make an exhibition of it. In his chapel he connever desist till the West Indian slave shall stand forth vened an immense assembly, who very properly engaged as free and as unshackled as yourselves. I call on chil- themselves in devotional exercises until the period of dren to join in their efforts to relieve from bondage the their liberation came. This was a moment of the inchildren of another land. I call on fathers and husbands tensest excitement, and beautiful does the picture look, of to unite in the sacred cause, and free the slave from the Britannia taking the sledge-hammer of justice, and breakheart-rending separation of husband and wife, parent and ing asunder the negro's iniquitous and soul-galling chain. child. I call, above all, on ministers of the Gospel to Sublime is the thought, that in that one act the strong mingle the cause of the oppressed African with the duties crying and tears,' the wounded bodies, and the wounded of their holy calling, and in the pulpit, as in private, to souls of thousands of the sons and daughters of Adam were lift up their voices to God that this abomination may be taken into the embraces of the foster-mother of earth. washed from the face of the earth, and that freedom may A few minutes before the clock struck twelve, on that without delay be extended to all. In Jamaica they have memorable occasion, the audible voices engaged in supplilooked to Glasgow as the great den of colonial slavery. cating the Divine blessing were hushed in the anticipation I have been represented in Glasgow as a gravedigger; but of its striking. Knibb took advantage of the silence, I have come to dig the grave of colonial slavery, to en- and, stationing himself before the clock, he said, with tomb the greatest curse that ever rested on Britain; and magic emphasis, The hour is at hand-the monster is I will not leave off till the proud flag of freedom wave dying. The first note then struck gratefully upon the victorious over the isles of the West, and till I hear them ear of the assembled multitude, when he further said, resound with the impressive cry, Africa is free! Halle-The clock is striking;' and, having waited for the final lujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! The Lord God omnipotent reigneth!'' The efforts of Knibb for the extinction of slavery were stroke, he exclaimed, "The monster is dead." The aspect in which we are called on to view this ambassador of truth is not on some giddy elevation, where rare gifts and extraordinary endowments had placed him --not as the statesinan, whose sagacity and influence had made the world to acknowledge his power-not as the poet, whose voice had echoed through the earth's wide range, and to which the sons and the daughters of song had sent up a response; but as the Christian orator-the unflinching advocate of the rights of man-and the generous self-denying missionary, who, in the one case, is worthy to be ranked with a Clarkson or a Wilberforce, aud, in the other, to take his place by the side of the most intrepid missionary that ever spake of a Saviour's love to uncivilised men. To be enabled to accomplish such things in a comparatively short period, would redound no little to the credit of any individual, however many might have been his privileges, and however numerous his endowments; and England so concluded when Knibb stood forth and smote with a giant hand the evils which he sought with such energy to annihilate. Yes! England had a wreathe to place upon the conqueror's brow; and when Knibb last visited his native land, he wore it with a meekness and a humility which rendered its beauty more apparent, aud the justice of its position more evident. What he had accomplished was done for no particular body, but for all who had any sympathy with one who had sacrificed all his interests, and even life itself, in the cause of humanity. Posthumous fame is now giving him, as far as we can appreciate his labours, that praise which he deserves. But here he sought no recompense, and now we plant the flowers of sympathy and admiration upon his grave. He has fought his fight,' he has finished his course,' and now the recompense of the reward' consists not in such petty bubbles of approbation as we could award him, but in the beatitudes of an eternal sphere of existence. William Knibb died at Lucea in 1845. The hour of his death cast a gloom over the whole region. It is estimated that nearly 8000 people were present on the occasion of his interment. Persons of all classes,' says the Falmouth Post,' 'joined the mournful procession; and the cry of lamentation that was raised afforded a convincing proof of the estimation in which the deceased was held even by those who had been strongly opposed to his political movements.' THE TWO WEDDINGS. A SKETCH OF AMERICAN LIFE. It was the first of January [New Year's Day] 1843. A carriage drew up to the door of the Astor-house, and in stepped two young men, both well-dressed, both handsome, but very different in feature, manner, and style. The most striking in appearance of the two was a tall, dashing, manly-looking fellow, with bold, black eyes, and hair of the same hue, a dark but brilliantly-coloured complexion, a Roman nose, and a mouth expressive of great resolution and energy of character. The other, inore modest, more unassuming in mien, was perhaps on that very account by far the most interesting of the two. His head and face were perfectly Grecian; a profusion of remarkably beautiful hair, of a light brown, fine, soft, and wavy, seemed to harmonize with the expression of his hazel eyes and his delicately-chiselled mouth. His whole tone, in look and demeanour, was that of refinement, purity, moral and intellectual elevation. After ordering the coachman to drive to Union Square, they commenced a conversation, of which the following is an abstract: 'Do you know, Fred,' said the last-mentioned of the two, I have a sort of presentiment that my fate will be decided this day for life!' And do you know, Charlie, that I, too, have a sort of presentiment of the very same kind. For I fully intend this day, if appearances warrant, to propose to the beautiful widow in Union Sare.' 'Beautiful! You are joking! Where can her beauty be?' 'In her diamonds, to be sure. They are a fortune in themselves, if real, and, as I intend to have a pretty close survey of them to-day, I cannot be deceived on that point.' But you do not seriously mean to marry the woman! Why, she is almost an idiot, and old enough to be your mother.' 'So much the better for me, my dear fellow. The truth is, Vernon, my purse is getting low, and my bills are getting long, and if I don't fill the one and settle the other soon, why I shall be settled myself, that's all.' 'But how can you possibly hope to succeed? Senseless as she is, she has a certain cunning which will be sure to penetrate your motives.' 'Let me alone for that. She thinks herself a beauty still, and lends as willing and as confident an ear to the voice of flattery as she did at sixteen. But once touch the string of vanity in such a woman's heart, and that on caution rings in vain; but once whisper your admiration of her eyes, and she forgets her diamonds.' 'Well, Richmond, I cannot wish you success, for if you do succeed, I shall pity both you and your victim from my heart.' 'Spare your pity, if you please, sir, and explain your presentiment.' You 'I intended to have done so; but I cannot now. would only laugh at it in your present reckless mood.' As Richmond was about to reply, the carriage stopped at a door in Union Square. The friends were shown into a gaudily-furnished drawing-room, where, on an orangecoloured lounge, reclined the lady of the mansion, a little, sallow, withered, peevish-looking woman, who forced not a smile, but a smirk, as they entered, and bade them, in a small, cracked voice, be seated. Frederick Richmond drew a chair close to her sofa, while his friend, sauntering through the spacious room, surveyed its furniture and its occupant with a look of mingled pity and surprise. There was a vulgar and glaring ostentation in both, which was revolting to his taste. The ornaments of the room were rather showy than rich, but the lady's apparel was blazing with a profusion of the most brilliant diamonds. Her dress was a bright, rosecoloured silk, deepening, by contrast, the sallow tint of her skin. A smile of gratified vanity broke over her thin and wasted features, like moonlight o'er a sepulchre,' as she listened to the extravagant compliments of Richmond; but the glare of light from bracelet, brooch, ferroniere, and necklace seemed so bitter a mockery of the ruin it illumined, that Vernon turned away with a sigh, and hurried from the house. He had waited but a few moments in the carriage when his friend joined him, with an exulting smile on his thin disdainful lip. 6 The diamonds are mine, Vernon!' he exclaimed, as he seated himself, and next week I shall want your services as bridesman.' 'You must choose some other, Frederick. It would be very painful to me to countenance so heartless a proceeding.' As you will, sir. I shan't quarrel with you for your ridiculous fastidiousness. Let us talk of something else.' They proceeded, in accordance with custom, to pay New Year visits to their numerous friends and acquaintance. It was eight o'clock in the evening of the same day. The ladies' drawing-room at the Astor was brilliantly lighted, and Charles Vernon, fatigued with the social duties of the day, threw himself on a sofa beside a very beautiful woman, who welcomed him with her sweetest smile, as he exclaimed 'I have left but one visit unpaid, and that must remain so, for I am weary, stupid, flat, and unprofitable. I have exhausted all spirit, wit, and sentiment, and have but one idea left, and that is' 'What?' said the lady, tapping her foot impatiently. That I would rather be here than anywhere else in the universe.' 'But how can you presume to be here after the acknowledgment you have just made, that you have brought neither wit, spirit, nor sentiment to amuse me with?' For that very reason did I come, knowing that the fortune-hunter, striking his clenched hand upon his foremagic of your presence would restore them if anything head, hurried from the room, and soon after from the could.' country.' And whose is the name on your list that you treat with such neglect?' It is a pretty one; but I never saw the original. I was introduced to her on board a steamboat, by her father, last summer; but she had a thick green veil over her face-I always had a blue horror of green veils. Her form, however, was beautiful; and on the strength of that I promised her father to call upon them.' And what is her name?' 'Amy Arnold.' Amy Arnold! She is one of my pets! Go this moment and fulfil your promise! You will not regret it.' But I am so tired.' "Go!' 'But I am so happy here.' "Go!' 6 Well, then, since you will be so cruel, I must quote my friend Miss Squeers, of Dotheboy's Hall, artful and designing Tilda, I leave you.'' The lady laughed, and the gentleman, with a sublime shake of the head, departed. It was a pleasant scene upon which young Vernon intruded about an hour afterwards. A large, old-fashioned parlour, lighted by a blazing fire-Amy Arnold, blindfolded, in the midst of a dozen little boys and girls, pursuing them with outstretched arms, her dark hair braided smoothly on her brow, her beautiful lips parted in the excitement of the chase, and her form seen to advantage in a rich silk of silver grey, plainly but very gracefully made. The merry shouts of the children had prevented her hearing the door open, and one roguish little urchin had pushed the intruder almost into her arms ere she was aware of his presence. She laid her soft hand eagerly, but gently, on his shoulder, exclaiming, Ah, papa! is it you I have caught? I am so glad. Untie the blinder for me, do! for I am really tired,' and she bent her beautiful head before him. Taken by surprise, poor Vernon could only obey without a word; but, in his confusion, he fumbled so long at the knot, that she put up her own hand to assist him. She started at his touch-it was not the rough clasp of Captain Arnold that she felt. The blinder fell! and she raised to our hero's face a pair of grey eyes. Vernon thought them the loveliest he had ever seen; and there they stood for a full minute gazing on each other she with colour deepening in her fair young cheek and a look full of wonder, dismay, and confusion, and he with an expression of mingled embarrassment and admiration. Fortunately, at this moment Captain Arnold himself came in, and greeted his young friend with a cordial welcome to his house, while the little frolicsome Harry, who had caused all the trouble, sprung to his father's knee, and, relating the contre temps with infinite glee, set them all laughing together, so that ease was at once restored. And when, at eleven o'clock, Vernon rose to take his leave, he could not help blessing in his heart the fair lady on the sofa in the Astor-house drawing-room, who had insisted so imperiously upon his leaving her three hours before. 'My dear,' said Mr Frederick Richmond, in his softest voice, three weeks after his wedding with the widow, you have never shown me your splendid set of diamonds since the happy day on which you promised to be mine.' 'My set of diamonds? What do you mean, Mr Richmond?' replied the lady, in a sharp tone, which grated rather harshly upon his musical ear. Don't trifle with my feelings, love. I mean the set you wore last New Year's Day.' 'I told you you would never regret it,' said the fair belle of the Astor, as she stood, a few weeks after the above colloquy with Charles Vernon and his beautiful Amy, no longer Amy Arnold, in the library of an elegant mansion on the banks of the Hudson; and Amy lifted her dark eyes fondly to his face and whispered, with a sportive smile, Do you regret it, Charles?' COMMERCE. SECOND ARTICLE. In the middle ages, commerce depended altogether for vitality, not upon monarchies or empires, but upon corporations of merchants, who, driven into union by the injustice of warlike nations, seemed to abandon patriotism for individuality, and owned no obligation of national unity save that of interest or trade. Men congregated together on the shores of rivers, and, building cities, which they walled round, in order to keep away robbers, devoted themselves with renewed energies to their peaceful and humanising employments. It was thus that Venice, Geuoa, and Pisa rose; and if they had contented themselves with their legitimate employment, the world would not have had to deplore so soon their decay and fall; but, as they grew in wealth, they became infected more and more with the spirit of acquirement or conquest, until, involv ing themselves in wars, they soon opened the yawning floodgates by which Carthage and other preceding commercial states had madly drained the wealth and prosperity that flowed from their industrial energies and trade. Venice long carried on a prosperous intercourse with Constantinople and the East. All the products of India, diverted from their usual way of transit on the Red Sea by the Saracens, were conveyed up the Indus as far as possible, and were then carried by land to Oxus, down whose river they were transported to the Caspian Sea. Leaving this great inland sea, the vessels entered the Wolga, and sailed up this river to its nearest point with the Don. The merchandise was then conveyed by land-carriage to the latter stream, and thence in boats to the Euxine or Black Sea, where vessels from Constantinople waited their arrival. Another and more direct commercial route from India was to sail from the Malabar coast to the Persian Gulf, and thence up the Tigris to Bagdad, or up the Euphrates to latitude 34 deg. north. At this point the merchandise was debarked and taken across the desert to the city of Palmyra, itself a most magnificent example of the perseverance of man, and of the wealth which peace, and labour, and trade could develop even in a desert. From Palmyra the goods were conveyed by camels to the coasts. This was a dangerous route, however, on account of the predatory character of the Ishmaelites, so that when political circumstances again opened up the Red Sea to the trade of India, the merchants of Constantinople, Venice, and Pisa gladly availed themselves of it. It was during the Crusades that these republics, as they are termed, flourished most in wealth; and it was during these insane exhibitions of brutal fanaticism, that Genoa also attained to her highest state of prosperity. Venice and Genoa, however, began to fight with each other, and their inhabitants began to fight amongst themselves; and, as this was not the game by which they had acquired their position among the nations, they fell by the mutually destructive acts committed in the spirit of pride upon each other, and became ultimately subject to other far less civilised powers. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Venice, Genoa, and Pisa continued to be the principal ports of Italy. It was to them that the Crusaders came to embark on their way to Syria; and it was with the utmost surprise that they beheld the high art, and signs of wealth and order exhibited in the fine buildings, crowded ports, and regular streets of the Italian commercial cities. During |