And meet them, as the gay bird meets the spring,
Brushing the dew-drop from the morning flowers,
And breathing mirth and gladness. Now she came
With movements fashioned to the deep-toned bell :
She came with mourning sire, and sorrowing friend,
And tears of those who at her side were nursed
By the same mother.

Oft o'er the musings of her silent couch,
Came visions of that matron form which bent,
With nursing tenderness, to soothe and bless
Her cradle dream: and her emaciate hand,

In trembling prayer, she raised-that He, who saved
The sainted mother, would redeem the child.
Was the orison lost?-Whence then that peace,
So dove-like settling o'er a soul that loved

Earth and its pleasures ?-Whence that angel smile
With which the allurements of a world so dear
Were counted and resigned,-that eloquence
So fondly urging those whose hearts were full
Of sublunary happiness to seek

A better portion? Whence that voice of joy,
Which from the marble lip in life's last strife
Burst forth to hail her everlasting home?

Cold reasoners! be convinced. And when ye stand
Where that fair brow, and those unfrosted locks
Return to dust, where the young sleeper waits
The resurrection morn,-oh! lift the heart
In praise of Him, who gave the victory.

Lydia Sigourney.

DUTIES OF A HOUSEKEEPER.

TRUST-WORTHINESS is an essential quality in a housekeeper; but, if she be not as vigilant as she is honest, she cannot discharge her duty well. As she is the deputy of her mistress, she should endeavour to regard every thing around her with the keenness and interest of a principal, rather than with the indifference of a servant. She should be constantly on the alert in observing and detecting any thing wrong in the conduct of those under her. It is a part of her duty to see that each fulfils his or her share of the household employments, without appealing to the

heads of the family; unless she finds her authority insufficient to check abuses, and to keep the whole in order.

She should be a good accountant; having books in which she may note down strictly all the current expenses of the house, and which should be cast up weekly, in order to show them to her mistress, and have them settled at a time convenient to her. She should have a book, also, in which those articles of housekeeping, that are brought into the house, and not immediately paid for, should be entered. It is a satisfaction to a master and mistress that this book should be ready to compare with the accounts sent by the tradesmen.

It is her province to have the charge of the store-room, with the preserves, pickles, and confectionery, and to see that no waste takes place in any thing entrusted to her. A clever housekeeper will be able to judge of the consumption which, from the size of the family she superintends, will necessarily take place in each article; and when that quantity is exceeded, she will instantly try to discover the cause and to rectify it, if it proceed from any waste or carelessness of those under her superintendence.

It is absolutely necessary that she should understand the art of cooking, and every thing connected with it. It is true, there are houses in which professed cooks are kept; but where this is not the case, it is necessary that the housekeeper should be well qualified to superintend the whole business of the kitchen. In most places the housekeeper has to prepare all the confectionery; and how far she may be required to take an active part in the cooking, must depend on the qualifications of the cook under her. The housemaids, laundress, and dairymaids, should also be under her eye, so that each should feel aware that her conduct is observed.

Mrs. Parke's Domestic Duties.

ON A WATERFALL.

O, GLORY! glory! mighty one on earth!
How justly imaged in this waterfall!
So wild and furious in thy sparkling birth,
Dashing thy torrents down, and dazzling all,

While hurrying thus sublimely from thy height,
Majestic, thundering, beautiful, and bright.
How many a wondering eye is turned to thee
In admiration lost!-short-sighted men!
Thy furious wave gives no fertility ;

Thy waters, rolling fiercely through the plain,
Bring nought but devastation and distress,
And leave the flowery vale a wilderness.

O fairer, lovelier is the modest rill,

Watering with steps serene, the field-the grove ; Its gentle voice as sweet and soft and still As shepherd's pipe, or song of youthful love, It has no thundering torrent, but it flows Unwearied, scattering blessings as it goes.

Bowring's Trans. of Russian Poetry.

CHINESE DINNER.

THE first course was laid out in a great number of saucers of painted porcelain, and consisted of various relishes in a cold state, as salted earthworms, prepared and dried, but so cut up, that fortunately I did not know what they were until I had swallowed them: salted and smoked fish, and ham, both of them cut into extremely small slices; besides which, there was what they called Japan leather, a sort of darkish skin, hard and tough, with a strong and far from agreeable taste, and which seemed to have been macerat ed sometime in water. All the dishes, without exception, swam in soup. On one side figured pigeon's eggs, cooked in gravy, together with ducks and fowls cut very small, and immersed in a dark-coloured sauce; on the other, little balls made of sharks' fins, eggs, of which both the smell and taste seemed to us equally repulsive, immense grubs, a peculiar kind of sea-fish, crabs, and pounded shrimps.

As I was seated at the right-hand of our host, I was the object of his whole attention, but nevertheless I found myself much at a loss how to use the chop-sticks, which were two little ivory sticks, tipped with silver; these, together with a knife that had a long, narrow, and thin blade, formed the whole of my eating apparatus. I had great difficulty in seizing my prey in the midst of these several bowls

filled with gravy; in vain I tried to hold, in imitation of my host, this substitute for a fork between the thumb and the two first fingers of the right hand; for the chop-sticks slipped aside every moment, leaving the little morsel which I coveted. It is true that the master of the house came to the relief of my inexperience, (by which he was much entertained,) with his two instruments, the extremities of which, a few moments before, had touched a mouth, whence age, and the use of snuff and tobacco, had chased its good looks. I could very well have dispensed with such an auxiliary, for my stomach had already much ado to support the various ragouts, every one more surprising than another, which I had been obliged, whether I would or not, to taste. However I contrived to eat with tolerable propriety a soup prepared with the famous birds' nests, in which the Chinese are such epicures. The substance thus served up is reduced into very fine filaments, transparent as isinglass, and resembling vermicelli, with little or no taste. At first I was much puzzled to find how, with our chopsticks, we should be able taste of the various soups which composed the greater part of the dinner, and had already called to mind the fable of the fox and the stork, when our Chinese entertainers, dipping at once into the bowls with a little saucer, placed at the side of each guest, showed us how to get rid of the difficulty.

To the younger guests, naturally lively, such a crowd of novelties presented an inexhaustible fund of pleasantry, and though unintelligible to the worthy Hong merchant, the jokes did not seem to delight him a bit the less. The wine in the meanwhile circulated freely, and the toasts followed each other in rapid succession. This liquor, which to my taste was by no means agreeable, is always taken hot. We drank it in little gilt cups, having the shape of an antique vase, with two handles of perfect workmanship, and kept constantly filled by attendants holding large silver vessels like coffee pots. The Chinese mode of pledging is singular enough, but has at the same time some little resemblance to the English. The person who wishes to do this courtesy to one or more guests, gives them notice by an attendant; then, taking the full cup with both hands he lifts it to the level of his mouth, and, after maknga comical sign with his head, he drinks off the contents; he waits till the other party has done the same, and finally

repeats the nod of the head, holding the cup downwards before him, to show it is quite empty.

After all these good things, of which it gave me pleasure to see the last, succeeded the second course, which was preceded by a little ceremony, of which the object seemed to me to be a trial of the guests' appetites. Upon the edges of four bowls, arranged in a square, three others are placed filled with stews, and surmounted by an eighth, which, thus forms the summit of a pyramid; and the custom is to touch none of these, although invited by the host. On the refusal of the party, the whole disappeared, and the table was covered with articles in pastry and sugar, in the midst of which was a salad composed of the tender shoots of the bamboo, and some watery preparations that exhaled a most disagreeable odour.

Up to this point, the relishes, of which I first spoke, had been the sole accompaniments of all the successive ragouts; they still served to season the bowls of plain rice, which the attendants now for the first time placed before each of the guests. I regarded with an air of considerable embarrassment the two little sticks, with which, notwithstanding the experience acquired since the commencement of the repast, it seemed very doubtful whether I should be able to eat my rice grain by grain according to the belief of Europeans regarding the Chinese custom. I therefore waited until my host should begin, to follow his example. The Chinese cleverly joining the ends of their chop-sticks, plunged into the bowls of rice, held up to the mouth, which was opened to its full extent, and thus easily shovelled in the rice, not by grains, but by handfuls.

After the second course, which lasted a much shorter time than the first, the attendants cleared away every thing. Presently the table was strewed with flowers, which vied with each other in brilliancy; pretty baskets, filled with the same, were mixed with plates which contained a vast variety of delicious sweetmeats as well as cakes, of which the forms were as ingenious as they were varied.

At length we adjourned to the next room to take tea, the indispensable commencement and close of all visits and ceremonies among the Chinese. According to custom the servants presented it in porcelain cups, each of which