A VISIT TO THE MECHANICS' FAIR. backward. He was permitted to examine a thing as long as he pleased; but not to return, to examine it the second time. One friend of mine told me he was six hours in visiting the whole. And it needed six hours and even more to view the whole as it ought to be viewed. I have already said that it was impossible to describe the exhibition. Mechanics of every sort, and from all parts of New England, had sent in the best specimens of their workmanship: and it would take whole pages of this maga zine to give even the names of them. I took my pencil and began to note down things which pleased me; but I soon concluded to give it up. 323 and all sorts of musical instruments, artificial legs, artificial teeth, surgeons' instruments, cutlery of all sorts, silver ware, cut glass ware, soap, beet sugar, imitation of fruits, &c. But I must hurry you along. When we had gone through Faneuil Hall, we went across a bridge, made for the purpose, from Faneuil Hall to Quincy Hall. Quincy Hall is in the upper part of the Quincy market, one end of which is only separated from Fanueil Hall by a single street. In the Quincy Hall were all sorts of stoves, fire-places, furnaces, grates, machines for making screws, machines for mortising, tenoning and boring timber, planing boards, sawing shingles, clapAmong the more curious specimens boards and laths, moulding doors, makof art and skill were various neatly ing shoemaker's lasts, sawing staves, bound books, blank books, globes, orre- turning bobbins, husking corn, winnowries, air-pumps, electrical machines, ing, making lace, sowing seed, setting blow-pipes, steam engines, miniature rail-roads, lamps, chandeliers, looking glasses, mirrors, pier glasses, wardrobes, centre tables, bureaus, secretaries, toilette tables, chairs and bedsteads. There was an arm chair on wheels, which would move in any direction with the utmost ease. There were also silk worms and coccons, and silk looms, and knitting machines; and I saw one stocking loom and a man weaving with it. There were broadcloths, sattinets, cassimeres, flannels, carpets, stockings, fringes, tas sels, cords, stocks, hats, fur caps, lead pencils, brushes, hair combs, piano fortes, card teeth, cutting marble and free stone, fluting columns, winding and twisting cord, cutting felloes for wheels, &c. The machine for sawing shingles moves by horse power, and will saw 10,000 shingles a day. Here, in this hall, also, were ploughs, straw cutters, axes, hatchets, rakes, pumps, hoes, shovels, horse shoes, coach springs, miniature banks, miniature churches, lead and block tin pipes, buttons, churns, cheese presses, grindstones, egg-boilers, johnny-cake bakers, pails, coffee-pots, bread trays, shaving cups, plate warmers, spice boxes, tea-kettles, bathing machines, small images, dolls, 324 ABOUT THE MECHANICS' FAIR, &c., and among the rest a philosopher's was a silk quilt, containing sixteen cottage. thousand seven hundred and twentyfour pieces; and six hundred and seventy-eight thousand six hundred and fiftysix stitches. But I must tell you a little more about what I saw in Faneuil Hall. I mentioned a rocking chair. It was made, as I suppose, for sick people. It was so contrived that it would rock backwards or forwards, or sideways; or, in a moment, have castors substituted for rockers. It could be used, at pleasure, for a crib, a cradle, or a bed. The bedstead, we mentioned, was very ingenious. The mattress rested on nine elastic strips of steel, instead of resting on cords or sacking. It is a new invention, and is excellent, but rather costly, Indeed this is the great trouble with much of the furniture, &c. exhibited One of the mahogany wardrobes was valued, so we were told, at $800; and I suppose many other things there were costly in proportion. But I must stop. I will only add that judging from what I saw I suppose the exhibition must have been attended by at least 50,000 persons. Such a splendid Mechanics' Fair never was seen before in this country; perhaps not in the whole world. I understand that the number of articles exhibited, of various descriptions, was about fifteen thousand. For myself, I do not like to visit places like this half as well as menageries, or exhibitions of wild animals. But when I think of the cruelty which is practised in getting, and above all in keeping in slavery, in ungenial climes, the greater part of the poor animals, I am compelled to believe that the moral tendency of mechanics' fairs is much more favorable than that of menageries; Among the centre tables, I saw one much more curious than the rest. It was composed of almost innumerable and I certainly say to my young readers small pieces of mahogany, ingeniously put together, so as to resemble what is called Mosaic work. I saw also a very elegant writing desk, on a new plan. Among the articles of bed clothing that should there ever be another mechanics' fair, and should it be very near them, I advise them to ask permission of their parents or other friends to go, just for once, and see it. GUNPOWDER. "A chemist was at work in his labora- powder has materially aided the miner, tory preparing a powder for a certain purpose. A spark fell into the composition and it exploded; and from that day gunpowder was discovered. Gun the founder, and the chemist; and it has made the horrors of war, as now carried on between nations, a much less evil than formerly." because you are my lord's son, and my cousin ; but if you are not better natur ed and behaved, I will love this ing asked, very took great delight. He was scarcely seven years of age, when a boy of good courage, and a year older, falling by accident at blows with him, and exerting his whole strength and agility, his highness not only had the superiority in the contest, when they were parted, but loved his antagonist the better for his spirit ever after. 'While he was a child, he wept much less than most children usually do; and he made very light of bruises or falls. Having once hurt both his hands so that they bled, though the severity of the pain extorted some tears at first, he rose up with a smile, and concealed what he suffered. Looking at another time upon some who were hunting a deer, and being asked whether he liked that sport, he answered, "Yes, but I love another kind of hunting better." And being asked again, what hunting that was, he replied, "Hunting of thieves and rebels, with brave men and horses." 326 THE MAMMOTH CUCUMBER. When the prince was once asked, He was hardly ten years of age, when being desirous of mounting a high-met- "Why he did not swear at play, as others did?" he answered, "that he knew no game worthy of an oath." tled horse, his attendants endeavoured to dissuade him from the dangerous at tempt; but he got up himself from the side of a bank, and spurred the animal to a full gallop, and having thoroughly exercised the horse, brought him back in a gentle pace, and dismounting, said, "How long shall I continue to be a child in your opinion?" His highness was once hunting the stag; it happened that the stag, being hard run, crossed a road, where a butcher and his dog were passing. The dog instantly set upon and killed the stag, which was so large, that the butcher could not carry it away; when the huntsmen and company came up, they expressed great resentment, and endeavored to incense the prince against the butcher. But the prince answered coolly; "What if the butcher's dog killed His tutor was Mr. Adam Newton, a gentleman who was admirably qualified for the office by his skill in the languages, and acquaintance with all parts of solid and polite learning. Nor were the instructions of so able an instructer lost the stag; how could the butcher help upon the royal pupil. He had such an aversion to the profanation of God's name, that he was never once heard to take it in vain, though his father was too apt to be guilty of that fault. it?" They replied, "that if his father had been so served, he would have sworn so that no man could have endured it." "Away!" rejoined the prince; "all the pleasure in the world is not worth an oath." THE MAMMOTH CUCUMBER. HAD I been told, when a boy, that I should live to see a cucumber seven feet long, I should no more have believed it than that I should one day travel in the world of the moon. And yet I have lived to behold such a sight; and to behold it too without going out of the city of Boston. Do you ask where I saw it? I will tell you. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society had a most splendid exhibition of fruits and vegetables, at their rooms in Boston, in September last. It began on There were many cucumbers in the hall more than a foot long; but they were all striplings in length, compared with the great one; though they were nearly or quite as thick. The circumference of the largest was little more than six inches. I tried to learn where and how this ABOUT BEING FROZEN TO DEATH. 327 mammoth cucumber was raised, but were some of the beets and cabbages. A sugar beet, very large, from the farm school at Thompson's Island was said to have been planted the 20th of June, only three months before. could find out nothing about it except that it was raised in Lowell. It was coiled round, somewhat like the letter S. Some people doubted whether it was a real cucumber; but it is not possible that there was any mistake about it. But there were other curious garden vegetables and fruits besides cucumbers. It would have delighted you to see the large and beautiful apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, grapes and plums. Fruits in general are very fine, about Boston, this year; but these were among the choicest I ever saw in my life. Some of the apples and pears would weigh, I should think, a pound each; perhaps more. And there were bunches of grapes there that weighed four or more pounds; and one that weighed above six. There were squashes there almost as large as a man could lift. One of them weighed eighty pounds. Some of the pumpkins were very large too; and so The outside of the hall, as well as a large part of the interior space was nearly filled with curious plants and beautiful flowers. Among the former were many species of the acacia plant; and among the latter was the dahlia, the passion flower, &c. I began this article by telling you something about the mammoth cucumber; but I have gone on to say much more than I had, at first, intended. I have done so, partly because these horticultural exhibitions interest me very much; and partly because they interest a part of my readers much more. How often do I receive letters from my young friends, begging me to tell them what is going on in Boston. I am fully resolved to give them, hereafter, a full account of things in Boston; at least as fast as I can find time to visit them. WHAT TO DO, WHEN YOU ARE ALMOST OR QUITE FROZEN. SOME children, yes, and even some persons who think themselves too old to be called children,will run at once to the fire, when their feet or fingers are very cold, and warm them so speedily as to cause very great pain. And if a part is really frozen, they suffer still more severely. The frozen part, quickly warmed, has its life partly or wholly destroyed; and if it does not mortify and fall off, makes a troublesome and tedious sore. Now if Grandfather Sagely were alive and well, and able to write you on this very subject, he would tell you, at once, not to warn your cold or frost-bitten limbs too suddenly. He would say; |