as we hoped, leaned in a most mortifying manner against the kitchen wall, where the canvass was3 stretched and painted, much too large to be got through any of the doors, and the jest of all our neighbours. One compared it to Robinson Crusoe's long boat, too large to be removed; another thought it more resembled a reel in a bottle; some wondered how it could be got out, but still more were amazed 10 how it ever got in.

GOLDSMITH, "Vicar of Wakefield."

SYDNEY SMITH* AND THEODORE HOOK.+

At dinner to-day there was an attempt made by two very clever men to place Theodore Hook above Sydney Smith. I fought with all my might11 against both. It seems to me that a mind must be strangely warped that could ever place on a par 12 two men with aspirations and purposes so different, 13 whether we consider them 14 merely as individuals, or called before the bar of the public as writers.15 I do not take to16

1 We hoped, nous l'avions espéré-2 leaned, etc......against, resta piteusement adossé à-3 was, avait été to be got through any, pour passer par aucune-5 the jest of, en but aux railleries de-6 one, l'un d'eux to be removed, pour démarrer-8 it more resembled, il ressemblait plutôt à—9 some, etc......got out, quelques uns se demandaient comment il pourrait sortir-10 but, etc....... amazed, d'autres en plus grand nombre s'étonnaient.

11 With all my might, de toutes mes forces-12 it seems, etc......on a par, il faut, ce me semble, qu'un esprit soit étrangement malade pour jamais songer à mettre de niveau-13 with......so different, si différents dans leurs..... _14 whether we consider them, que nous les considérions 15 or called before......as writers, ou comme appelés, en qualité d'écrivains, à......-16 I do not take to, je n'ai de faible pour.

pas

The Rev. Sydney Smith was born at Woodford, in Essex, in 1769, and died in 1845.

+ Theodore Edward Hook was born in London, in 1788, and died in 1841.

8

Sydney Smith personally, because my nature feels the want of the artistic and imaginative in his nature;1 but what he has done for humanity, for society, for liberty, for truth-for us women!3 What has Theodore Hook done that has not perished with him? Even as wits 5-and I have been in company with both 6-I could not compare them; but they say the wit of Theodore Hook was only fitted for9 the company of men-the strongest proof 10 that it was not genuine of its kind, that when most bearable 12 it was most superficial. I set aside the other 13 obvious inference, that it required to be excited by stimulants,11 and those 15 of the coarsest, grossest kind. The 16 wit of Sydney Smith almost always involved a thought worth remembering17 for its own sake,18 as well as worth remembering for 19 its brilliant vehicle; the value of ten thousand pounds sterling of sense concentrated into a cut 20 and polished diamond.

It is not true, as I have heard it said,21 that after leaving 22 the society of Sydney Smith you only remembered how much you had laughed, not the good things at which you had laughed.23 Few men-wits

His nature, sa nature à lui-2 what he has done, que n'a-t-il pas fait-3 for us women, pour nous autres femmes- that has not, qui n'ait pas-5 wits, beaux-esprits-6 I have been in company with both, je me suis trouvée dans la société de l'un et de l'autre I could not, je ne saurais but they say, mais, dit-on-9 was only fitted for, ne s'adaptait bien qu'à -10 the strongest proof, c'est là la plus forte preuve -11 genuine of its kind, naturel-12 when most bearable, quand il était le plus supportable-13 the other, cette autre-14 it required, etc...... stimulants, il lui fallait des stimulants-15 and those, et encore 16 the, mais l' -17 worth remembering, qui valait la peine qu'on s'en souvînt 18 for its own sake, pour elle-même-19 as well as worth remembering for, aussi bien que pour-20 cut, taillé-21 I have heard it said, je l'ai entendu dire 22 after leaving, après avoir quitté 23 at which you had laughed, qui vous avaient fait rire.

by1 profession-ever said so many memorable things as those recorded2 of Sydney Smith.

MRS. JAMESON.

WRITING MATERIALS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. The most ancient mode of writing was on bricks, tiles, and oyster-shells, and on tables of stone; afterwards on plates of various materials, on ivory, on barks of trees, on leaves of trees.

6

To write on these substances they used an iron bodkin, called a stylus. This was made sharp at one end to write with,7 and blunt and broad at the other to efface and correct easily; hence the phrase vertere stylum, to turn the stylus, was used to express blotting out. But the Romans forbad the use of this sharp instrument, from the circumstance of many persons having used them 10 as11 daggers. A schoolmaster was killed with the Pugillares, or table-books, and the styles 12 of his own scholars. They substituted a stylus 13 made of the bone of a 14 bird, or other animal; so that their writing resembled engraving. When they wrote upon softer materials they employed reeds and canes split like our pens at the point, which the Orientalists still use 15 to lay their colour or ink neater 16 on the paper.

By, de-2 as those recorded, qu'on en rapporte.

3 Writing materials, matériaux d'écriture- materials, matières— 5 they used, on se servait de-6 this was made sharp, que l'on faisait pointu- to write with, pour servir à écrire-8 hence the phrase...... was used, de là l'expression......que l'on employait 9 to express blotting out, pour signifier effacer-10 from the circumstance of......having used them, parceque......s'en étaient servies-11 as, en guise de12 styles, poinçons-13 stylus, stylus-14 of the bone of a, d'un os d'15 which the Orientalists still use, comme les Orientaux en emploient encore de nos jours-16 to lay their......neater, pour mieux fixer la..............

The pumice stone was a writing material1 of the ancients; they used it to smooth the roughness of their parchment, or to sharpen their reeds.

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In the progress of time the art of writing consisted in painting with different kinds of ink. This novel mode occasioned them to3 invent other materials proper to receive their writing; the thin bark of certain trees and plants, or linen; and at length, when this was found apt to become mouldy, they prepared the skins of animals; on the dried skins of serpents were once written the Iliad and Odyssey. The first place where they began to dress these skins was Pergamus, in Asia; whence the Latin name is derived of Pergamena or parchment. These skins, are, however, better known amongst the authors of the purest Latin under the name of membrana, so called from the membranes of various animals of which they were composed. The ancients had parchments of three different colours-white, yellow, and purple. At Rome, white parchment was disliked, because it was more subject to be soiled 10 than the others, and dazzled the eye." They generally wrote in letters of gold and silver on purple or violet parchment. This custom continued 12 in the early 13 ages of the church; and copies of the Evangelists of this kind are preserved in the 14 British Museum.

When the Egyptians employed for writing the

1 A writing material, au nombre des matériaux d'écriture-2 in the progress of time, avec le temps-3 occasioned them to, les amena à— 4 when this was found apt to, s'étant aperçus que cette substance était apte à-5 on the...were once written..., on écrivit une fois...sur des... 6 where they, où l'on-7 dress, apprêter-8 amongst, chez-9 Latin, latinité-10 to be soiled, à se salir-11 and dazzled the eye, et qu'il éblouissait-12 continued, existait encore-13 early, premiers-14 in the, au.

bark of a plant or reed, called papyrus, or paperrush, it superseded all materials1 hitherto employed. Formerly it grew in great quantities on the sides of the Nile. This plant3 has given its name to our paper, although the latter is now composed of linen and rags, and formerly had been of cotton wool, which was brittle and yellow; and improved by using cotton rags, which they glazed. After the eighth century the papyrus was superseded by parchment. The Chinese make their paper with silk. The use of paper is of great5 antiquity. It is what the ancient Latinists call charta or charta. Before the use of parchment and paper passed to the Romans they used the thin peel found between the wood and bark of trees. This skinny substance they call liber, from whence the Latin word liber, a book, and library and librarian in the European languages, and the French livre for book; but we of northern origin derive our book from the Danish bog, the beech-tree, because that being the most plentiful in Denmark, was used to engrave on.9 Anciently, instead of folding this bark, this parchment, or paper, as we fold ours, they rolled it according as they wrote on it; 10 and the Latin name which they gave to these rolls has passed into our language as well as the other. We say a volume, or volumes, although our books are composed of leaves bound together. The books of the ancients on the shelves of their libraries were rolled up on a pin," and placed erect, titled on the

1 Materials, substances-it, cette plante-3 this plant, elle by using, par l'emploi de-5 of great, d'une haute-6 passed to, eût passé chez-found, qui se trouve-8 that, cet arbre-9 was used to...... on, on s'en servait pour......dessus-io according as......on it, selon la manière dont......dessus-11 pin, baguette.