Literary Extracts.

VERSAILLES AND ITS MEMORIES.-Versailles is a royal suburb of Paris, distant eleven miles by rail from the capital, on the western side of which it lies. It is the chief town of the department of the Seine-et-Oise, and is a place of some importance independently of its association with the Court. Until the reign of Louis XIII. it was a mere village; but in 1627 that monarch built here a small hunting-seat, to which Louis XIV. made a series of additions between the years 1661 and 1672, which resulted in the creation of one of the most magnificent palaces in Europe. The front towards the town consists of a centre and two wings, enc'osing three sides of a court, which is open on the fourth or east side to the Place d'Armes. There are also two wings at the back,.extending into the park, which is laid out in terraces, parterres, and alleys, with statues and sculptures, ornamental water, and fountains that are among the sights of Paris, whenever (which is only once in a way) their glittering columns and quaintly interwoven devices are set in motion. In this park are the two royal seats called the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon, with their respective gardens; names intimately associated with the personal history of the reigns of Louis XIV. and Louis XV.-with their gaiety, their gallantry, their intrigue, their license-with a world of heat and passion that has long burnt itself out, and now lies still and cold in the ashes of old memoirs and letters, and with some better traditions of love that was not venal and courage that was not braggart. Shades of the Louis, and of their wives and favourites-of Madame de Maintenon and of Marie Antoinette-of the great, the witty, the beautiful, and the profligate -haunt these palaces, parks, and gardens, and present to the inner eye the whole history of France during that brilliant, laughing, cynical, sportive, terrible eighteenth century, from the elegant comedy of its commencement to the squalid tragedy of its close. Memories of later days swell the pageant of suffering and of splendour. Napoleon I. delighted in the retirement of the Great Trianon; and it was in the Little Trianon that Marie Louise, his Empress, had an interview with her father after the abdication of 1814. In the theatre of the Palace of Versailles Louis Philippe gave a public dramatic entertainment on the marriage of his son, the Duke of Orleans, June 10th, 1837, after the building had remained closed for nearly half a century; and in the same theatre the Emperor Napoleon III. gave a series of magnificent fêtes to Queen Victoria in 1855. Little did he then think that in fifteen years from that time the King of Prussia would camp with his armies at Versailles and direct the siege of Paris.-Cassell's History of the War.

THE RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. - In a few days they arrived at the large and wealthy city of Gymnias, thought by some to correspond to the Erzerum of modern times. Here the governor sent out a guide to conduct them through a country with which his own people were at war. And the guide told them that in five days he would lead them to a place whence they could see the Euxine, and that if he failed in this they might kill him. As soon as they had entered the hostile country, he exhorted them to burn and plunder, which doing, they marched on. And on the fifth day they came to the mountain called Theches, held sacred in the neighbourhood; and when the front ranks had reached the summit and caught sight of the sea, they raised a great shout. Xenophon and the rear-guard, hearing it, thought that the army was being attacked in front, for the people whose country they had devastated were hanging about them. But the noise continually increased, as fresh men kept getting to the top and immediately joined in the shouts of the others, and Xenophon thought something extraordinary must have happened. So, mounting his horse, he took the cavalry with him, and galloped forward to give aid, when presently they made out that the soldiers were shouting "Thalatta! thalatta!" (The sea! the sea!) and cheering one another. Then all began to run, rearguard and all; and the baggage cattle and horses were put to their speed. And when all had got to the top, the men embraced each other, and embraced their generals and captains, weeping. And on a sudden impulse they brought stones, and raised a mighty mound, and made on it a trophy decorated with the hacked shields of their enemies, to commemorate their deliverance. And then, to reward their guide for fulfilling his promise, they loaded him with presents from the public stock, while many soldiers pulled the rings off their fingers and gave them to him, and thus sent him away rejoicing. Such was the famous incident which has so struck the fancy of the world, that the shout of the Grecks on this occasion has become a household word for subsequent ages. Xenophon records the scene in the most simple terms, merely as an outward fact, without adding a single sentiment or reflection of his own. On the one hand, this may be regarded as a stroke of high art,

which would dictate simplicity in relating what was in itself so touching; on the other hand, it was a part of that Greek reserve and concentration of style which forms so great a contrast to the Gothic sentimentalism of modern times, and which led Xenophon to narrate the march through so many wild and im pressive mountain passes without a word of allusion to the grandeur of the scenery. But he doubtless felt instinctively, without developing into words, all that was implied to his com rades in their first returning glimpse of the sea. Universally to the Greeks the sea was the emblem of home, or of easy access to their home. To be taken far up-country, deep into the continent of Asia, had always hitherto been a thought of vague fear to the Greek soldier, while he was ready for any thing within a short distance from the coast. No Greek force before the Ten Thousand had ever ventured anything like so far away from the Egean; and they had gone, not of deliberate purpose, but being lured on gradually under the influence of Cyrus. The silver gleam of the distant Euxine was to them the restoration of the object of long yearnings, and sudden relief and ecstacy found a vent in the spontaneous shout of Thalatta! and in passionate tears.-"Xenophon," by Sir Alexander Graut, Bart., LL.D.

MARVELLOUS AGILITY OF THE GIBBON.-A female of this species was exhibited some years ago in London, awakening the admiration of all who witnessed the velocity and precision with which she swept from branch to branch, at distances from twelve to eighteen feet, without intermission and for a great length of time, and with such an air of nonchalance, as if to intimate that these feats were performed with the greatest ease. She seemed only to touch the branches with her hands, and yet to acquire so great an impetus by the act that it could not be doubted that in her native forests a succession of flights, still more astounding, might be taken with equal facility. She would even stop suddenly in her most rapid flight, when would be supposed that cessation must be gradual, when, seizing a branch with one hand, a rapid and energetic movement raised her body up; the branch was then grasped by the hind hands, and there she sat calmly gazing at the astonisted spectators. With the same abruptness she launched herself into intense activity. So precise were her movements, and so quick was her eye, that when apples or other fruits were thrown at her, or so as to pass near her in her flight, she caught them without stopping on her way, and with the utmost facility. Ever and anon she uttered her loud call-notes, formed by the syllables Oo-ah, oo-ah, in a graduated succession of semitones, ascending in the scale till an exact octave was reached, when a rapid series of descending notes, producing a shake, was accom panied by the vibration of the lips and the quivering of the entire frame. As if wrought up to an extraordinary pitch of excitement, she now shook with all her might the branch to which she was clinging, or the netting around, the cords of which she firmly grasped. This interesting creature was timid and gentle, but intelligent and observant, attentively scruti nising the persons and movements of all that approached her, When a person had once gained her confidence she would descend from a branch as often as invited, allow her hands to be taken and her soft fur to be stroked; but she greatly preferred females to men, it was supposed from some recollection of injury from them. The power of her shoulders and chest was very great; the reach of her strong arms, when extended, was about six feet, and her height, when erect, was about three feet.-Cassell's Natural History.

DIAMOND-DIGGING IN SOUTH AFRICA.-A broad valley, with a gentle sweep, through which winds a river about a hundred yards wide. Willow-trees skirt its banks, and they are the only signs of vegetation visible. Little rounded hills, called Kopjes," also stand along the stream. Wagons, carts, and vehicles of every kind; tents of all shapes; buildings, hastily put up, of plank, iron, and brick. Ant-like figures swarming everywhere, especially near the water's edge; boats plying on the river, and a like scene of activity on the other side. A great buzz and hum. Such are one's first impressions. Getting nearer, and traversing the centre of this busy scene, ones struck with the intentness with which all do their work. Some are shovelling gravel and dirt out of their claims, some are driving this to the river-bank, where the cradles are at work: some are engaged in washing, rocking, or sorting the dirt when it gets there. Day after day the process goes on. A few hours work in the morning, a siesta at noon, more work towards evening. Some ardent searchers toil on even by torchlight. You hear a shout, the report of a gun, and follow a rush to a certain spot, where a lucky digger has made a find. Week by week he has laboured on for nought. His fingers have been scarified, and his nails worn down, to no purpose. Now, all at once, his eyes have fallen across the long-looked-for prize-this tiny bit of crystal, with its rare secretion of light. And off, with redoubled zest, the envious spectators rush to their work again. -"Quest of Diamonds," in the Cornhill Magazine.

The Garden.

THE FUCHSIA.

Is there a more graceful flower than the fuchsia? We think not; and we are quite sure there is not one that is more easily grown.

The varieties are endless, they want no great care, and a person fond of them could find a dozen, if necessary, quite different from each other.

Some have the outside petals, or rather sepals, white, and the corolla, which hangs down inside, purple, scarlet, crimson, rose, and lilac; others have scarlet outside, and the same variety of colour inside, with the addition of white.

Others, again, have pink, rose, and fawn colour outside, with all the varieties within. In the old-fashioned fuchsias, the outside or sepals hung down, and partly covered the corolla. Now, unless the sepals curl up, they are thrown

away.

The fuchsia may be called a hardy green-house plant, for it will bear a good deal of ill-usage; and people who keep them over the winter put them under the stage, or anywhere in the dark, or otherwise.

The leaves fall, and the plant is as bare as a deciduous tree, unless it he kept growing in a hot-house; but generally it is left all the winter to starve, and no notice is taken till it buds.

It is easily struck from cuttings under a hand-glass in the common border, shaded from the sun, any time of the year.

Presuming you have a cutting, or, as some call it, a slip, there is a joint at every leaf, and the lower part should be cut up to a leaf, and the lower leaves taken off close with a sharp knife. The cutting is always to be from the young wood, or shoot.

The best cuttings are young shoots that come out from the old wood, and are taken off close when from an inch and a half to two inches long, and these shoots are most plentiful in spring, but the top of any shoot will do.

In winter or early spring these cuttings may be put in a pot, about half or three quarters of an inch of it below the surface, and it may be covered with a wine-glass or tumbler. In summer it may be put in the ground out of doors; in either case it will strike in about three weeks, when it may be put in a small pot of good rich soil-say two-thirds loam and onethird dung rotted to mould.

It then only requires light, air, and moisture. The watering is essential, but it must never have any while the surface is moist.

As soon as the roots reach the side of the pot, a change to one a size larger will be necessary. If you want the plant bushy, nip the top off; if you prefer pyramid shape, let it

grow on.

By constantly shifting the pots as fast as the present ones fill with roots, the plants will reach a good size, and when once they begin they will continue blooming the whole season.

Those who are anxious for quick growth should pick off the buds as fast as they appear; but we think a fuchsia cannot bloom too small; for this reason we prefer top shoots, which have their bloom buds already on them.

As the winter approaches they get shabby and drop their leaves, and they then may be put aside in any place, for they neither want light nor air in any quantity, nor do they require moisture while the soil is even damp.

In the spring they begin to show their growing buds, and theu is the time to prune away all the weak shoots, and cut back the strong, so as to form a respectable skeleton."

All this may be done year after year with no other conve. nience than a window.

Fuchsias may be raised from seed, and as soon as they are large enough potted out singly, and treated in all respects like cuttings.

SEASONABLE HINTS.

Some amateur gardeners are too fond of the watering pot. Evening watering of so much of the garden as is in sight makes it look nice and black, and washes the foliage clean, but it also induces the roots and fibres to come upwards, instead of growing downwards, and, if once left off, the plants are distressed in twenty-fours of hot, dry weather.

Weeding forms a most important part of the garden operations, for some of these plagues will come up, bloom, and drop their seed again, in an incredibly short time.

If you have any annuals to plant out, and there seems no likelihood of rain, give the ground a good soaking for some depth before you put them in.

You may prick out young plants from the seed beds. Turn out the camellias, azalias, and hardy greenhouse things into a sheltered spot in the garden.

Wit and Humour.

A POET says, "Oh, she was fair, but sorrow came and left its traces there." What became of the rest of the harnoss he does not state.

"WHAT," said Margarita to Cecilla, "what, dearest, do you really think is the food of Cupid?" and Cecilla answered, "Arrow root."

A NEW mode of suicide has been invented in Illinois. A man filled his mouth with gunpowder, and, putting caps between his teeth, chewed them until an explosion took place.

YOUNG lady physicians are multiplying throughout our country, and as a result, it is said, the young men ar becoming more sickly than they used to be.-New York Herald.

THEY mean to raise tall students out in Wisconsin, where it has been resolved by the Board of Education to erect a building large enough to accomodate 500 students three storeys high.

"ARE these pure canaries?" asked a young gentleman who was negotiating for a gift for his fair. "Yes, sir," said the dealer, confidentially; "I raised them 'ere birds from canary seed."

MRS. EDDY, of Lincoln, caught her better half kissing the servant girl. The doctor was sent for. He says he can patch Mr. Eddy's face, but he'll always be baldheaded.-American up Paper.

My dear Polly, I am surprised at your taste in wearing another woman's hair on your head," said Smith to his wife. "My dear Joe, I am equally astonished that you persist in wearing another sheep's wool on your back."

CAUSES AND EFFECTS.-"It is a settled principle, your honour," said a lawyer, "that causes always produce effects." They always do for the attorney," blandly responded the judge; "but I've sometimes known a single cause to deprive a

client of all his effects."

MRS. STANTON says she wants to go to Ann Arbor to live, if she can convince her sons and daughters, "and a certain venerable old gentleman, chained to two thousand musty old statute books and the dingy courts of the metropolis, that this would be a desirable change."

GUNTER the pastrycook was mounted on a runaway horse with the king's hounds, and excused himself for riding against Lord Alvanley by saying, "Oh, my lord, I can't hold him, he's so hot!" "Ice him, Gunter-ice him!" was the consoling re

joinder.

LONG ACQUAINTANCE.-"I was not aware that you knew him," said Tom Smith to an Irish friend, the other day. "Knew him!" exclaimed he, in a tone that comprehended the knowledge of more than one lifetime. "I knew him when his father was a boy."

SOJOURNER TRUTH lectured at Syracuse the other night. She says of the published accounts of her life, that "what Mrs. Stowe writ was true, but since that it had growed and growed, and now it was a great book, and there wasn't a word of truth in it, and what there was that was true was all hind side afore."

A MAN named Markley some time since stole a horse in Jasper county. He was arrested, tried, and convicted. Judge M'Henry, of Des Moines, was his lawyer, and received $100. The other night Markley broke gaol. The night after Judge M'Henry lost two fine horses. Markley has not yet been

arrested.

NO SUCH PLACE.-In reply to a young friend leaving a town because some things in it were not exactly to her taste or content, an old lady of experience said, "My dear, when you have found a place where everybody and everything are always pleasant, and nothing whatever is disagreeable, let me know, and I'll move there too."

THE FORCE OF IMAGINATION.-A good story is told by a physician about one of his patients. The sick man had rhucmatic pains, which the doctor thought would be relieved by "nitrate of potash." The patient took the medicine for some time, but was not much benefited, and asked for another remedy, which the doctor prescribed. A few days after he met him, and asked after his health. "Oh, I am getting well, doctor," was the reply; "but 'taint your medicine. I tried that for some time, till a neighbour told me of something he took for his rheumatism-a very simple remedy. I tried it, and it's done me a great deal of good." "What is it?" asked the doctor. "Oh, it's so simple I'm afraid you'll laugh at me if I tell you.". The doctor promised to control his risibles, and the patient, after much urging, informed him that it was saltpetre." The doctor was not true to his promise. He laughed heartily, and told the astonished patient that "nitrate of potash" was the chemical name of the substance known to commerce as "saltpetre."

remarks may be productive of one advantage-they may induce some persous to procure Messrs. Cassell's splendid tribute to our great poet, and examine it for themselves." The Illustrated London News described it as one of the finest monuments that typography and the art of book-decoration have ever furnished to the honour of one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest but one, of our English poets."

A large edition of the magnificent volume thus referred to was published at £5, of which only a very few copies remain, and it is rapidly becoming a scarce book.

In order, therefore, to bring so choice a production within the reach of a large section of readers as lovers of Fine Art, the Publishers have now determined to publish it in SIXTEEN MONTHLY PARTS AT TWO SHILLINGS EACH.

Subscriptions are now received by all Booksellers, where Specimens can be seen. CASSELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN, LUDGATE HILL, LONDON, E.C.

THE

IMPORTANT FACTS.

It is now admitted by every well-educated medical man that depression of nervous power is the cause and consequence of disease and death-a truth which was publicly made known in the

"ANTI-LANCET"

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A copy may be obtained gratis of most respectable Chemists, or direct from the Author,

Dr. ROOKE, Scarborough,

ou forwarding address and two penny stamps for postage.

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SPECIAL NOTICE TO LADIES.

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NOTICE TO THE
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