POWER OF MATERNAL PIETY.

WHY gaze ye on my hoary hairs,
Ye children young and gay ?
Your locks, beneath the blast of cares,
Will bleach as white as they.

I had a mother once, like you,
Who o'er my pillow hung,

Kissed from my cheek the briny dew,
And taught my faltering tongue.

She, when the nightly couch was spread,
Would bow my infant knee,
And place her hand upon my head,
And, kneeling, pray for me.

But, then, there came a fearful day;
I sought my mother's bed,

Till harsh hands tore me thence away,
And told me she was dead.

That eve, I knelt me down in woe,
And said a lonely prayer;

Yet still my temples seemed to glow
As if that hand was there.

Years fled, and left me childhood's joy,
Gay sports and pastimes dear;

I rose a wild and wayward boy,
Who scorned the curb of fear.

Fierce passions shook me like a reed;
In youth, yet ere I slept,
That soft hand made my bosom bleed,
And down I fell and wept.

In foreign lands I travelled wide,
My pulse was bounding high,
Vice spread her meshes at my side,
And pleasure lured my eye;

Yet still that hand, so soft and cold,
Maintained its mystic sway,

As when, amid my curls of gold,
With gentle force it lay.

And with it breathed a voice of care,
As from the lowly sod-

"My son-my only one-beware!
Nor sin against thy God!"

Ye think, perchance, that age hath stole
My kindly warmth away,

And dimmed the tablet of the soul;—
Yet when, with lordly sway

This brow the plumed helm displayed,
That guides the warrior throng,
Or beauty's thrilling fingers strayed
These manly locks among,-

That hallowed touch was ne'er forgot!—
And now, though time hath set
His frosty seal upon my lot,

These temples feel it yet.

And if I e'er in heaven appear,
A mother's holy prayer,

A mother's hand, and gentle tear,
That pointed to a Saviour dear,

Have led the wanderer there.-Mrs. Sigourney.

EFFECTS OF ART IN CHANGING THE FORM AND FEATURES OF THE HUMAN BODY.

ALL nations, even in their infancy, have recourse to such customs and fashions as gratify their feelings of vanity. It is not alone in civilised society that fashion exercises her tyranny; she extends her influence over even the most uninformed of the human race. Savages almost universally delight in painting their bodies, in hanging rings through their noses and lips; and the natives of almost all countries, at an early period of their history, have undertaken to fashion particular parts of their bodies into a happier mould. In infancy, especially just after birth, all the bones of our frame are soft and pliable, and admit of being compressed into shapes such as was never designed by our Maker. The head, the configuration of

manner.

which, in early infancy, is changed with great facility, has been submitted to many alterations in figure. The Scythians, as a sign of their nobility, chose to have it shaped like a sugar-loaf, which was effected by binding the infant's head with cloth bands. A remarkable length of head was, by other nations, conceived a beauty. This the ancient Portuguese produced in the same artificial The Germans esteemed a short head the best; and we are informed that the German mothers took especial care to lay the children in their cradles in such a manner that the back part of the head should be compressed. Other nations preferred round heads, a fashion which was affected by the Greeks, and also by the Turks, who considered it the most commodious form for the turbans they wear; and the Turkish skull, at the present day, is observed to be remarkably round. In the province of Old Port, in the West Indies, the square head being admired, that form was obtained by compressing the infant's head between boards, which enclosed it on all sides like a square wooden box. The forehead has, in like manner, been made the subject of many capricious fashions. The Mexicans judged those to be most beautiful who had little foreheads. The Spaniards, on the contrary, accounted a high forehead a happy distinction; wherefore the ladies drew back their hair, to extend its height beyond its natural dimensions. The Russiaus

admired broad foreheads, to acquire which, they compressed the head from above, so as to increase its breadth. The Italians, on the other hand, endeavoured, by artificial means, to render the forehead more prominent than natural. A more singular fancy, if possible, prevailed with some nations, who were accustomed to burn letters on their foreheads. The Siamese, Thracians, and the people of Malabar, adopted this fashion: among whom both men and women cut into the flesh of their foreheads, crosses, letters, and numerous fanciful characters. A very receding, or sloping forehead, has been and is still considered a beauty by many of the African tribes, and this they give their children, by making them wear a flat compressing instrument, which has often been exhibited in this country.

Not only has the head been subjected to these capri

cious changes, but the nose and the ears have likewise been submitted to the ingenious contortions of fashion. "The Indians," says an old author, "have their noses slit like broken-winded horses." The truth seems to be that they made an incision in the centre, down the length of the nose, and used to keep the aperture gaping by pieces of bone or wood stuck in as ornaments. The Chinese consider a short nose a beauty; but some tribes in Africa, and also the Peruvians, esteem a large nose the most desirable. The inhabitants of the island of Zanzibar turned the nose from its point upwards. The Tartars and Caffres, and many tribes both in North and South America, took particular pains to flatten the nose in infancy; and this still is a feature desired, and prevailing among most of the nations of Africa. In consequence of their king, Cyrus, having had a hawk-like nose, the Persians considered this shape a mark of nobility, and adopted every artifice to produce it. Another very preposterous custom has been that of lengthening by artificial means, the lobes of the ear, and the length to which they have been dragged is almost incredible. In the West Indies, among some tribes, the same fashion prevailed, and the elongation was effected by hanging weights to them, which they gradually increased. Not only were the ears subjected to this species of torture, but many nations esteemed it a very great beauty to have the lobe pierced with a large hole, the great dimensions of which constituted its principal charm. This was effected by means of pegs of wood, the diameter of which they gradually enlarged. "The gentlewomen of Hindostan," says an amusing old author, "have the flaps or nether part of the ear bored when they are young, which they daily stretch and make wider, by rings made for that purpose, until it at last becomes large enough to hold a ring as big as a little saucer; besides which, round about their ears they make other holes for pendants, that when they please they may wear rings in them also."

In China, from the very earliest period, small feet have been considered so essential to the beauty of personal appearance, that the custom of bandaging the feet of infants to retard their growth prevails among all

classes. If a mother, says a traveller, were to break this custom, she would incur the note of infamy, and be punished.

While we are gratifying our curiosity, and smiling at these fantastical customs adopted by other nations, we must not forget that we have ourselves, even in these enlightened times, given way to customs as absurd, and as injurious to the healthy condition of the human body. We are all too well acquainted with the false notion adopted by ladies, who fancy that a preternaturally small waist contributes to the beauty and gracefulness of their figure; to acquire which, the pernicious habit of tight lacing was introduced, which has given rise to curvatures of the backbone, and deformities of the chest. Another abominable practice is, or very recently has been general in this country, that of binding tightly the tender limbs and delicate body of the child just born; another most obvious means of producing deformity in after life. It may be laid down as an axiom, that if we wish to give the body a graceful form, we should encourage its natural and healthy development, and allow all its muscles full freedom of action.-Chambers.

THE STARS.

No cloud obscures the summer sky,
The moon in brightness walks on high,
And, set in azure, every Star

Shines, a pure gem of heaven, afar!

Child of the earth! oh! lift thy glance
To yon bright firmament's expanse ;
The glories of its realm explore,
And gaze, and wonder, and adore!

Doth it not speak to every sense,
The marvels of Omnipotence?
Seest thou not there the Almighty name,
Inscribed in characters of flame?