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calculated to afford the comforts of life, at a moderate expense, to ladies of respectability and small fortune, agreed to form an association for the purpose of promoting establishments of that nature." Lady Isabella King is the person to whom the merit of having originated this association is due, and the still higher merit of having hitherto superintended the institution which by her means was formed. The most frequent objection which she had heard advanced against her favourite object was, that a society of women-of English women belonging to the Church of England-could never be expected to live together in peace. With the fervent hope of proving that such reflections on her sex, her country, and her religion were unfounded, Lady Isabella . quitted a life more congenial with her taste and inclinations, and engaged in this undertaking. It was agreed that a sum from ten to fifteen thousand pounds should be raised by the association, as an endowment for the primary establishment; and that, as an additional support, a limited number of apartments should be allotted to such ladies, friends of the undertaking, as would agree to reside there, paying a high yearly rent for their rooms, and conforming equally with the other inmates to the rules of the institution. The Queen contributed three hundred pounds, and signified her intention to subscribe annually one hundred pounds; the late Princess Charlotte, and the other Princesses, contributed fifty pounds each. But notwithstanding this distinguished patronage, the whole sum which could be collected in the course of a year fell considerably short of five thousand pounds, whereas it had been hoped that from ten to fifteen thousand might be raised, and less could not suffice for putting the institution upon a permanent establishment. Anxious, however, that the institution should no longer be delayed, and hoping that, when its practicability should have been tried and proved, the good would be so manifest as to ensure success in a future appeal for public support, Lady Isabella King offered to take upon herself whatever risk or re16 ATHENEUM VOL. 14.

sponsibility might attend it, and proposed to give two hundred pounds a year for a furnished house in Derbyshire. Lady Willoughby was of opinion that it would be better to have the institution in the immediate vicinity of Bath, and offered to pay the difference of rent which this arrangement would occasion. Accordingly a lease of Braybrook House, near that city, was taken for three years, at a rent of four hundred pounds a year.

It had originally been designed that for each fifty pounds accruing yearly to the institution, from the interest of the collected fund, one lady should be admitted, paying on her part fifty pounds annually for her apartment and board. But the first step taken by the residing managers was to make known their determination of not drawing upon the fund, but leaving it to accumulate for three years, during which time the society engaged to defray every expense of the establishment, rent and taxes included.

The three years devoted to the experiment have elapsed; and to those who consider the formation of such institutions desirable, it will be gratifying to learn, that all who are personally concerned in promoting this undertaking, all who have actually visited the establishment, and made themselves thoroughly acquainted with its arrangements, are cordially desirous of its continuance. The experiment was fairly tried, and it has perfectly succeeded. It has been proved that such a society of ladies may live in harmony; that they consider themselves fixed, though bound by no vows; and that they are contented and happy their retirement, though not upon compulsion. The late Queen inspected the establishment in person during the last year of her life. She expressed the most unqualified approbation of its principles and rules, and emphatically pronounced it "a blessed asylum." Though nothing was drawn from the fund, eight lady associates had been received on the original plan. The establishment was enabled to afford this, by the ladies president and vice president residing in it at considerable ex

pense; but it is observed, that such a mode of upholding it cannot be rested upon as permanent; and it was soon found that many ladies looked with an anxious but hopeless eye to this retreat, because their total want of fortune precluded their admission, though, for all circumstances of birth, education, prin

ciples, and manners, they would have been inmates peculiarly desirable; a few official situations in the establishment were therefore instituted, within the last year, for ladies thus circumstanced, and they were admitted gratuitously.

ABSENCE.

BY MRS. CORNWALL BARON WILSON.

Lond. Mag.

I shed no tear, I heave no sigh,
Though lonely I am left again ;-
My heart is still, my cheek is dry,
And none have heard my lips complain!
But buried in this bleeding breast,

And deep within this burning brain,
Exist the thoughts that ne'er can rest,

Till thou return'st to me again!

Perchance, e'en now, as on my bed,

Restless, with anxious care I lie, In these dark hours of storm and dread, Perchance thou brav'st the inclement sky,

Far from thy much-lov'd, peaceful home,

Far from the heart that holds thee dear; Thro' midnight wilds thou'rt doom'd to roam,

With none to gladden, or to cheer!

What is our life? a fever'd dream-
Few are its hours of real bliss ;
And distant far our footsteps seem

From calm domestic happiness ;—
Oh would that on some lonely wild,

Where no intruding feet could stray, Where none but love and nature smil'd, That we might dream our days away! Far from this crowded, busy scene,

Far from a world of storm and strife; Where blighted hopes still intervene,

Like clouds, to damp the sun of life; There, like those placid streams that run, Where never ocean ebbs or flows, Our days should gently glide in oneOne peaceful scene of calm repose ! Sept. 1823.

(Extracted from Smiles for all Seasons, a new work.)

THE CLEVER IDIOT.

A Boy, as Nursery records tell,
Had dropp'd his drum-stick in the well;
He had good sense enough to know
He would be beaten for't, and so
Silly (tho' silly from his cradle)
Took from the shelf a silver ladle,
And in the water down it goes,
After the drum-stick, I suppose.

The thing was miss'd, the servants blamed,
But in a week, no longer named ;
Now this not suiting his designs,
A silver cup he next purloins,
(To aid his plan, he never stopp'd)
And in the water down it dropp'd.

This caused some words, and much in-
quiry,

And made his parents rather iry:
Both for a week were vex'd and cross,
And then submitted to the loss.
At length, to follow up his plan,
Our little, clever, idiot man
His father's fav'rite silver waiter
Next cast into the wat'ry crater.

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MR. EDITOR,

HAVING taken in your very superior Miscellany, from its earliest day to the present, I know you as the friend of man. Upon this ground, I am confident that you will grant the request I make, of inserting the short notice I now send in your very first Number, that those labouring under deafness may reap, from the improvement which I have made upon the Ear Trumpet, the advantages which I so unexpectedly enjoy..

Many years ago, in consequence of a cough of most uncommo severity, an injury was done to some part of the internal structure of my left ear, which completely robbed me of hearing thro' that organ. Immediately after this accident, I was seized with a tinnitus aurium, which held out the dismal prospect of entire deafness. For this malady, I had recourse to snuff, and its effects upon the tinnitus were soon perceptible. Still, however, the hearing upon the right ear remained obtuse,and extremely contracted my social enjoyments. I applied in every quarter, including his Majesty's Aurist, for the most approved ear-trumpet. From none of these instruments was the most trivial benefit derived.

My thoughts being much employed upon the subject, it occurred to me that every ear-trumpet which had been sent to me conveyed the collected sound through a very small tube, the orifice of which was inserted in the ear; and now a prospect opened which afforded hope. I immediately ordered an instrument to be constructed, of the finest block-tin, one end of which included the whole external ear, and the other, (circular also,) of larger diameter, collected the sound, which was conveyed by a straight tube, of some capacity, into the ear.

The result was most gratifying, indeed, beyond my most sanguine expectation, enabling me to carry on a conversation with a friend, with the utmost ease to myself, and without exertion to the person addressing me.

It is the establishment of the principle of this improvement upon the EarTrumpet to which I am solicitous to give publicity, leaving to younger men to make experiments upon the length and diameter of the tube, and of other parts of the instrument.

The only attempt towards improvement which I made, was the making a transverse section of the smaller circle, so as to approach nearly to the shape

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Ingenious and useful Inrention.---Among

the new inventions for which Paris is famous, is a coffee-pot constructed of three pieces: the first is a plain boiler: over that is a double filterer; and at the top is an inverted coffee-pot, which fits on exactly. Cold water is placed in the first vessel, and the coffee in the filtering-box. Under the whole is a spirit lamp, which in the course of five or six minutes causes the water to boil, the vapour arising from which completely saturates the coffee. When the water boils, which is ascertained by the discharge of the vapour from the spout of the inverted coffee-pot, the whole machine is lifted from the lamp, and completely inverted; so that the pot, which was uppermost, is at the bottom, and the boiling water, which had saturated the coffee, flows through the filterer, clear, into what was before the inverted coffee-pot, where in the space of two minutes it is ready for use. This mode of preparing coffee is a saving of at least 25 per cent., and it secures the fine flavour of the berry. In another part of the service is a coffee-roaster, of glass, over another lamp of a long wide flame. The process of roasting requires about three minutes, and even so small a quantity as an ounce may be thus prepared.

Prevention of Fire.---M. Cadet Vaux, considering that fires in dwelling-houses begin, in numerous instances, in the chimney, and that means cannot always be applied in time to extinguish the fire at its commencement, turned his thoughts to the discovery of some method for effecting this purpose. He reflected that combustion cannot be carried on without the presence of vital air, and consequently if the air in a chimney on fire could be rendered mephitic, the fire must go out. This object he obtained by the simple means of throwing flour of sulphur on the fire in the grate, the mephitic exhalation of which extinguished the fire, as it would suffocate any living creature. A Roman nobleman has not only repeated this experiment with entire success, but, being desirous of ascertaining whether an ignited body suspended in the chimney would be extinguished in the same mauver, he caused a faggot to be suspended in a chimney, nearly at the summit, and set on fire though by its situation it was nearly in contact with the external air, the flames were instantaneously extinguished by throwing

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Preservation of Fish, &c.-For ensuring the sweetness of fish conveyed by land-carriage, the belly of the fish should be opened, and the internal parts sprinkled with powdered charcoal.--The same material will restore impure or even putrescent water to a state of perfect freshness. The inhabitants of Cadiz, who are necessitated to keep in tanks the water for culinary uses, were first indebted to our informant, during the late Peninsular war, for the foregoing simple yet efficacious remedy of an evil which they had long endured.

Dandy Looms.---A hand-loom, on a new construction, and which has received the appellation Dandy Loom, has recently been introduced. Its principal advantage over the common hand-loom consists in its being much smaller, and in the application of a crank, by which, as in steam-looms, the number of picks of weft in an inch is regulated, and the cloth consequently made more even. We understand also that the new hand-loom weaves the yarn without dressing, which is an expensive process; whilst, by the use of a cop-shuttle, the necessity of winding the weft is superseded. The loom measures only about thirty inches in depth, from the cloth to the yarn beam, and its cost in wood is not more than 35s, or 36s, or in iron than 52s. 6d. A fair weaver, with tolerable exertion, will weave a piece of twenty-five yards in eight or nine hours. By many manufacturers, we understand, the improvement is considered of some importance. Indeed, it is conceived that it will ultimately supersede the handloom on the old construction; and perhaps on some particular goods, successfully contest the farther progress of power-looms.

The length of streets now lighted with gas in London extends over 215 miles; the main pipes belonging to the four Gas Light Companies in London reaching to this almost incredible distance, from which ramify the smaller pipes conveying the light to shops, alleys, and private dwellings, and which may be calculated at a distance greater than that of the mains. 1. The London Gas Light Company have their works in Peter street, Westminster, Bricklane, and Curtain-road; they supply 125 miles of main pipes, and consume annually 20,678 chaldrons of coals: this company lights 27,635 lamps. 2. The City Gas Light Company, in Dorset-street, supply fifty miles of main: they consume 8840 chaldren of coals annually, and light 7836 lamps. 3. The South London Company at Bankside, supply near forty miles of mains, consume 3640 chaldrons of coals, and light 4038 public lamps. 4. The Imperial Gas Light Company, in Hackneyroad, is recently established.

ERRATUM.-In the lines," Go dig you a tomb,” in our last Number, for luxury pants read luxury faints.

ORIGINAL ANECDOTES, LITERARY NEWS, INCIDENTS, &c.

The property of the Morning Chronicle has been transferred within the month to Mr. Clement, for the unparalleled price of 40,000. The amount sounds high; but it is the honestest and best conducted paper in London; and, preserving its integrity, yields, as it deserves, from 7 to 8,000l. per annum. Twenty-fourth shares in the Courier fetch nearly 2,000l.; and the Times yields about 20,000l. per annum for advertisements only. The increase of readers has rendered all standard literary property of higher certain value, and must tend to improve literature by heightening the recompence of successful exertion. We have recently experienced this in our own concerns; having within the month obtained 20,000l. for a third of the interest in the books connected with the Interrogative System of Education. We therefore consider Mr. Clement as having made a prudent bargain, while his liberal views entitle him to special praise, from their tendency to exalt the value of literary property.

Mr. Dallas, the author of Perceval and other popular Novels, has a tragedy in the press, founded on the history of Adrastus, a young Phrygian prince.

Lady Morgan has, we are told, a work in preparation: a Life of Salvator Rosa.

The continuation of Mr Booth's Analytical Dictionary of the English Language, with the first specimen of which we expressed ourselves well satisfied, is now in the press, and the several parts are announced to be published, successively, at short in

tervals.

A circumstance has transpired before the Commissioners of government respecting Ireland, which in this age of mental illumination can scarcely be believed, but which

fully explains all the follies of Orangeism and Catholicism, and the backwardness of knowledge, in that unhappy country,-it is, that in eleven counties there is not a single bookseller's shop!

NEW WORKS.

Malcolm's Memoir of Central India, 2 vols. 8vo. 328.-Prince on the Exchanges of Bengal, 8vo. 5s. 6d.-Memoirs of Baron de Kolli, and the Queen of Etruria, Svo. 10s.6d. -Guthrie on the Eye, 8vo. 21s.-Hemet's

Abridgement of Sturm, 12mo. 48. 6d.--Holden on Fall of Man, 8vo. 10s. 6d.-History of Moses, 18mo. 3s.-Bible Atlas, 8vo. 12s. plain; 16s.col.-Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society, Vol.4, Part 2, 8vo.

10s 6d-Mortimer's Commercial Dictiona

ry, a new edit. revised by W. Dickinson, Esq. 8vo. 30s.-Warner's Old Church of England Principles, (new ed.) 3 vols. 12mo. 208-Whittingham's French Classics, vol. 2, 2s. 6d. Sketches of the Lives of Corregio and Parmegiano, 8vo. 10s. 6d.—The Hermit Abroad, 3 & 4, 12mo. 16s.-Lizar's Views of Edinburgh, No. 2, 4to. 5s.; Ind. proofs, 10s. 6d. The Rivers of England, No. 1, royal 4to. 10s. Proofs 14s.-Estimates of Household Expenses, 12mo. 2s.-Home's Comparative Anatomy, Vols. 3 & 4, 4to.

£7.7s. ; large paper, £10 10s.-History of Alexander's Successors, 2 vols. 12mo. 88.Memoirs of Boys as they are, 18mo. 2s.-Memoirs of Philip de Comines, 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s.-Hooper's Memoirs of the Rev. W.Evans, 12mo.3s.6d.—Beauties of Dwight, 4 vols.18mo, 12s.-Reason and Revelation, 12mo. 4s.-An Inquiry into the Accordancy of War with Christianity, 8vo.5s.-Burgess' Three Catechisms, 12mo. 6s-Lockhart's Idioms of the Greek Language, 12mo. 3s.— The British Essayists, (new edit.) 38 vols. royal 18mo. £8 8s.-Hunter's Memoirs of a Captivity among the North American Indians, with a portrait, Svo 12s.-The Fire Eater,12mo.8s.-Court of Oberon, or Tempie of the Fairies, 12mo. 6s. plain : 7s. 6d. col.-Hooke's History of Rome, (new edit.) 6 vols. 8vo.---£3 3s.---Choice Pleasures for Youth, 12mo 4s.---Hirsch's Integral Tables, 8vo 108.6d.---Fellinger's Dictionary of Idioms, 8vo. 108.6d.---Harris's Church Fellowship, 18mo. 2s. 6d.---Zouch's Life of Walton, small 12mo. 12s.; 8vo. 18s.---Reid on Nervons Affections, new edit. 8vo. 12s.

Memoirs of the Marchioness de Bonchamps on La Vendée; edited by the Countess de Genlis. Translated from the French. 12mo. 5s.

Whoever has read the Memoirs of Madame de la Rochejaquelin, which appeared some years ago, cannot fail to feel an interest in this little publication, which contains the history of another Vendean heroine. Madame de Genlis, who has brought forward the French edition of these Memoirs, asserts that no romance exists whose perusal can be so attractive. This character is rather hyperbolical; for in fact the greater portion of the pages before us are occupied with details of military proceedings. The part which relates more particularly to the personal sufferings of Madame de Bonchamps certainly possesses a very deep interest. After the death of her husband she continued to follow the Royal army, with her two children, by the advice of Rochejaquelin; but being at last compelled to provide for her own safety, she wandered about the country disguised as a peasant and sustaining the extremity of hardship. When concealed in a barn, she and her little son were attacked by the small pox, which destroyed the boy, and before the mother was recovered, she and her daughter were forced to retreat into a hollow tree, where it was impossible to

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