known and practically applied, that flame has a tendency to mount upwards; and that air is essentially requisite for supporting it. When the clothes of females take fire, as the fire generally begins at the lower parts of their dress, so long as they continue in an upright posture, the flames naturally ascending, and meeting with additional fuel as they rise, become more powerful in proportion; whereby the neck, the head, and other vital parts of the body are liable to be most injured; and, by running from one part of the room to another, as is most frequently the case, the air, which is the fuel of fire, gains free access to every part of their apparel, and feeds the increasing flame. In such cases, the sufferer should instantly throw her clothes over her head, and roll or lie upon them, in order to prevent the ascent of the flames and the access of fresh air. When this cannot conveniently be done, she may still avoid great agony, and save her life, by throwing herself at full length on the floor, and rolling herself thereon. Though this method may not, in every case, completely extinguish the flame, it will to a certainty retard its progress, and prevent fatal injury to the vital parts. When assistance is at hand, the by-standers should immediately wrap a carpet, a hearth-rug, a great coat, or a blanket, around the head and body of the sufferer, who should be laid in a recumbent position, which will prove a certain preventive from danger. During one year, the author noted down more than ten instances, recorded in the public prints, of females who were burnt to death by their clothes catching fire, all of which might have been prevented, had the simple expedients now stated been resorted to and promptly applied. CORNELIANS. These beautiful stones are found in great abundance in some parts of the East Indies. When first picked up, they appear like common stones found on the beach. After being slightly chipped to ascertain their quality, they are placed in earthern pots in a small trench upon a layer of fuel, which is covered by another, and the whole is then set on fire. The heat brings out their colors and determines their relative value. The white are most difficult to cut without splitting, and are consequently the most valuable; the black are very rare, but the red are common and more easy to break without injuring the stone. SHIP-BUILDING. Here you have a picture of a ship, before she has been launched, and, while, in the language of the carpenters, she is yet upon the stocks. A great number of men must be employed to build a ship. In the first place, the timber is to be cut down, and in doing this, some difficulty is generally found in procuring the crooked sticks, of which many are needed. The timber most in request is oak, pine, chestnut, locust, cedar, and other durable woods. The timber being collected, the workmen, with their tools proceed to shape the differ this time, that the ship is named. When the ship is fairly afloat, it takes no little time and expense to get in the masts, fix the sails and the rigging, and hang the rudder, which is to guide the whole. Above you have a picture of a complete ship sailing in Boston harbor. A steamboat is near, and in the distance are some smaller vessels. ent pieces of wood. As soon as the pieces occasion of some importance, and it is at are prepared, the frame is to be put together. Large blocks are now laid on the ground, in an exact line, and with great care. On these blocks are placed the timbers, which form the keel. The floor timbers are then let into the keel, and every other one is there firmly bolted and riveted. It is necessary that these timbers should be very strong, as they bear the same relation to the ship, as the ribs do to the human body. Long narrow timbers, called ribbands are now nailed lengthwise across the ship, so as to catch all these ribs, and hold them firmly in their places. The workmen may then begin to nail on the planks. The beams are next laid across the vessel, upon which are laid the planks intended to form the decks. All this being finished, the pumps being placed, and a great number of other objects being attended to the carpenter makes room for the calker, who carefully stops all the seams with oakum, and smears them with pitch. The scraper follows the calker; and, water having been pumped into the hold, to ascertain whether there is any leak, the bottom of the ship is ready to be sheathed, or coppered, to protect it from the vorms. The launch of a ship takes place before er masts are put in. This is generally an Those of my young readers, who have been on board a ship, may have heard the terms starboard and larboard in very frequent use. The former term implies the right hand, and the latter the left hand side of the vessel, when a person is standing at the stern and looking towards the head. So fore and aft relate, the first to the front, or fore part of the ship, and the last to the hinder or after part. A proper ship has three masts. The mainmast is the name of the largest and principal one; and where there are three, this is always in the middle; though not exactly in the centre of the ship, but rather nearer to the stern. The fore-mast speaks for itself, and the name of the remaining mast is the mizzenmast. The bowsprit is the beam which projects from the stem or head of the ship. If you look at the main-mast of a ship, you will see that it is divided by a sort of plat form; this is called the round-top. There it is, as it were, jointed; the mast above it is called the main-top-mast. This rises till it comes to another joint, from which springs the main-top-gallant-mast, which is the highest of all. The beams, which you see fastened across the masts, are called yard-arms. When a ship is fully equipped, she is ready to receive her cargo. Those articles, with which a ship may be filled full, are stowed with a single view to economy of space. When the articles are some heavy, and some light, the heavier are placed nearest the bottom, to increase the ship's stability. The ship being ready for sea, and the crew all on board, a fair wind is all that is necessary to carry her out of the harbor. As soon as this desirable object is attained, the anchors are hoisted in, or weighed as the sailors call it, and the sails are unfurled. The loud "heave-a-hoy" of the sailors, as they pull at the ropes, the quick orders of the pilot, and the sound of the wind, make this an occasion of considerable bustle and animation. Before many hours, if the wind be fair and fresh, the ship is almost out of sight of the land, and alone upon the wide, wide sea. And by what means are seamen able to make their way securely over the trackless ocean? Their guide is the compass. I shall tell my young readers about this wonderful instrument in some future number. In the meanwhile I will lay before them the following picture of a Selected. WHO LOVES ME BEST. Who loves me best?-my mother sweet, Whose every look with love's replete ; Who held me, an infant, on her knee,— Who hath ever watched me tenderly; And yet I have heard my mother say, That she some time must pass away; Who then shall shield me from earthly ill Some one must love me better still. Who loves me best?-my father dear, Who loves me best?-the gentle dove, Who loves me best?-my sister fair, Who loves me best?-my brother young, My mother loves me, but she may die: Yes, fair child! there is One above? THE ART OF MAKING PINS. Though pins are apparently simple, their manufacture is, however, not a little curious and complex. When the brass wire, of which the pins are formed, is first received at the manufactory, it is generally too thick for the purpose of being cut into pins. The first operation, therefore, is that of winding it off from one wheel to another with great velocity, and causing it to pass between the two, through a circle in a piece of iron of smaller diameter. The wire being thus reduced to its proper dimensions, is straightened by drawing it between iron pins, fixed in a board in a zigzag manner, but so as to leave a straight line between them; afterwards it is cut in lengths of three or four yards, and then into smaller ones, every length being sufficient to make six pins. Each end of these is ground to a point, which was performed, when I viewed the manufactory, by boys, who sat each with two small grinding-stones before him, which were turned by a wheel Taking up a handful he applies the ends to the coarsest of the two stones, being careful at the same time to keep each piece noving round between his fingers so that the points may not become flat; he then gives them a smoother and sharper point by applying them to the other stone, and by that means a lad of twelve or fourteen years of age is able to point about sixteen thousand pins in an hour. When the wire is thus pointed, a pin is taken off at each end, and this is repeated till it is cut in six pieces. The next operation is that of forming the heads, or, as they term it, head spinning, which is done by means of a spinning-wheel, one piece of wire being thus with astonishing rapidity wound round another, and the inner one being drawn out, leaves a hollow tube between the circumvolutions: it is then cut with shears, every two circumvolutions, or turns of the wire, forming one head; these are softened by throwing them into iron pans, and placing them in a furnace till they are red-hot. As soon as they are cold, they are distributed to children, who sit with hammers and anvils before them, which they work with their feet by means of a lathe, and, taking up one of the lengths, they thrust the blunt ends into a quantity of the heads which lie before them, and catching one at the extremity, they apply them immediately to the anvil and hammer, and by a motion or two of the foot, the top and the head are fixed together in much less time than it can be described, and with a dexterity only to be acquired by practice; the spectator being in continual apprehension for the safety of their fingers' ends. The pin is now finished as to its form, but still it is merely brass; it is therefore thrown into a copper containing a solution of tin and the lees of wine. Here it remains for some time, and when taken out assumes a white, though dull appearance; in order therefore to give it a polish, it is put into a tub containing a quantity of bran, which is set in motion by turning a shaft that runs through its centre, and thus by means of friction it becomes perfectly bright. The pin being complete, nothing remains but to separate it from the bran, which is perfectly similar to the winnowing of corn, the bran flying off, and leaving the pin behind it ready to put in papers. THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. Two gentlemen were riding together, one of whom, who was very choleric and passionate, happened to be mounted on a very spirited horse. The horse grew a little troublesome, at which the rider became very angry, and whipped and spurred him with great fury. The horse, almost as wrongheaded as his master, returned his treatment with kicking and plunging. The companion, concerned for the danger, and ashamed of the folly of his friend, said to him, coolly, "Be quiet, and show yourself the wiser creature of the two." CAPRICES OF THE HUMAN APPETITE. Man is capable of suiting himself to every sort of climate, and of adapting his habits either to those of civilized or savage life. In the selection of food, he is oftentimes more governed by caprice or fashion, than by the natural cravings of his appetite. An old writer gives us an account of a man, whose favorite dish was spiders; and |