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NOTICES.

NOTICES.

12 PHILOSOPHY OF LIVING; or, the way to enjoy Life and its forts. By Caleb Ticknor, A. M., M. D. New York: Harper & Brothers, No. 82 Cliff-street. 1840.-The design of this work is sufficiently set forth in its title. In the Preface the author announces that his book aims a blow at American Radicalism, by which he means that "up side down" state of things which prevails throughout our country. There are undoubtedly at this period, an unusual number of conflicting ultraisms amongst us, which, however humanely intended some of them may be, threaten disastrous consequences to society. A

good and wise citizen will, in such circumstances, act with great caution, and strive to cast oil on the stormy sea of human passions. But the book before us does not intermeddle with

political and ecclesiastical affairs. It is a home thrust. Domestic economy and comforts are its themes. Its second chapter is on Diet, in which it treats sectionally of Aliment-of Vegetable against Animal Diet-of Food, solid or fluid-of Differences in Animal Food-of Mastication-of the Quantity and Quality of Food-of the Time of Eating and of the Different Articles of Food, as of Bread, the process of making it, Adulterations, Graham Bread and its Mischiefs, &c.

The third chapter is on Drinks, in which Ale receives due attention, and is represented as a mixture of nearly all the evils of nature. The author says that besides hops, (which he thinks, with many other eminent physicians, a powerful medicine, and to be used only as such,) are Indian cockle, nur vomica, bitter bean, grains of paradise, Indian bark, coriander seed, leghorn juice, red pepper, orange powder, coloring, hartshorn, shavings, Spanish juice, ginger, with many others. He adds:

"If the imagination of man ever conceived a more horrid mixture, Shakspeare put it in his witches' caldron; and it is not improbable that the brewers' tubs suggested the idea of his

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| prevalent than that of chewing it; and some inveterate snuffers understand the philosophy of the nose so well as to greatly enhance the luxury of the practice; they use but one nostril at a time; thus keeping on fresh and in health, when the sensibility of the other becomes blunted. The constant habit of snuffing induces pain in the head and eyes, causes a determination of blood to the head and face, and excites in the head numberless indescribable nervous sensations; and I can now call to mind several females of my acquaintance, advanced in life, whose health of both body and mind is seriously injured, attained by the practice of snuffing; and if no other good refrom no other cause. One important and most happy end is

sults from it, this alone should commend it to our countenance, and compel us to speak in its favor-I mean nothing less than Providence (with reverence be it spoken) bestowed upon us destroying the supernumerary sense of smell, which a kind through some mistaken notions of usefulness or benevolence." The fifth chapter is on Dress, and it takes up the subject of respiration with lacing somewhat after the manner of Dr. Muzzy. The following remarks are from this chapter:

"We look with astonishment at the foot of a Chinese belle, and wonder at the perverted taste and misguided reason which leads her to make so great a sacrifice to attain so great a degree of deformity. She might, with equal propriety, wonder at the singular and unnatural taste of American ladies in deforming their persons, many-fold more to the injury of their health, by the painful operation of tight lacing. The Chinese lady confines her foot in an iron shoe till her system arrives at maturity, . when the shoe gives place to simple bandages; our own lovely country-women are, at an early age, incased in an apparatus of whale-bone, wood, or steel, and inelastic and unyielding substances, which are retained, not only till adult life, but as long

as life itself endures.

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"Nature uniformly does her work far better than man can do it for her; and as evidence of this fact in relation to the human

'hell-broth.' Let him describe his own infernal mixture, and form, we have but to look at the aboriginals of our own country.

if any thing on earth can equal it, malt liquor is the thing. Root of hemlock, digged i' the dark,

Liver of blasphemous Jew,

Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Slivered in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe-
Make the gruel thick and slab;
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble,
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.'
'Cool it with a baboon's blood,

Then the charm is fine and good.""

We are sure that our readers will not be very forward to use drinks of this character.

The fourth chapter is on the great pleasure of using Tobacco. Here is something for the ladies. We are surprised to find that they are suspected of such a fault as is here implied against them. It runs thus:

All the corsets, whale-bone, padding, and busks, ever made or worn by the civilized and christianized world, never rendered a form half so symmetrical and beautiful, or so nearly resembling that of the goddess of love and beauty, as thousands of those to be found in our western wilderness. There is little reason or consistency in the present prevailing fashion of diminutive waists, and enormously large arms-or large sleeves. Whence comes this remarkable propensity to magnify and diminish, is impossible to conjecture; but it is evidence of the perversion of taste, and the facility with which our judgment may be hoodwinked by fashion."

Other subjects are, the management of children, amusements, exercise, education, climate and season, air and locality, temperament, age, sex, and marriage.

This is a valuable book for families, especially for parents and teachers.

For sale at the Western Book Concern.

the inspection of the public, and each succeeding year has strengthened the popular confidence in its efficiency and usefulness. Its Annual Reports are exceedingly interesting to all who love religion, and desire its universal diffusion.

TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT of the American Bible Society, presented May 14, 1840; with an Appendix containing the Addresses of the Anniversary, etc.-The American Bible "Could any one, entirely unacquainted with the unaccounta- Society is truly a catholic institution. Its objects should enlist ble habits and propensities of man, after knowing the proper- the blended donative and active charities of all evangelical ties of tobacco, be made to believe that half the adult inhabi- Protestants. And this it does to a great extent. During onetants of America, are passionately addicted to its use? And || fourth of a century the doings of the society have been under were he told that America's fairest daughters use it too, would he not be perfectly incredulous? And were he told, further, that ladies of the greatest respectability, the most genteel and accomplished, in one of our largest cities, carry their little jars or boxes of snuff into the social circle, and, with a delicate ivory spoon, feed their sweet mouths with this most delicious and agreeable poison, would he not be petrified with astonishment? How delightful it must be to have an amiable spouse rendered doubly sweet, and bewitchingly interesting, and most charmingly stupid and idiotic, by the constant practice of chewing snuff; and what a fine example to children, of the pure, cultivated taste, and self-control of the mother!" Snuffing is thus eulogized:

"The custom of taking snuff by the nose is altogether more

On opening the 24th Report, the first thing that attracts our notice is the amount of receipts for the past year-$97,355,09, being an increase over the previous year of $2,226,83. The Managers' Report shows that the number of Bibles and Testaments issued during the year was 157,261, being an increase of 22,324 over the issues of the preceding year, and making an aggregate since the formation of the society, of 2,645,496 copies. The principal matters touched upon in the Report are as fol lows.

First, Auxiliary Societies. It is inquired whether it is best

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to continue the distribution of the Scriptures through these associations. It is decided in the affirmative, because it is ascer

tained that more is effected by auxiliaries than in any other mode. The Managers therefore urge the support of these auxiliaries.

Second, the policy of employing traveling agents is consid. ered, and the Managers conclude that in some parts of the country they should be encouraged, and in others dispensed

with. In the older states they will not be needed; in remote states they must be sustained.

EDITORS' TABLE. REPORTED DISCOVERY.-Hitherto, all efforts to ascertain the

parallax of the fixed stars have failed. Of course, nothing could be done towards discovering the distance of these foreign

bodies, from our globe. It is now current in some German papers that the discovery has been made. Should it prove true, stars. The following is a paragraph from one of the German

accurate calculations can be made as to the distance of the

papers:

Third, Translations from the Vulgate, or the Latin Ver- the following interesting paragraph from a German paper on "Interesting Astronomical Discovery.-It would appear from sion, have been published because the founders of the society the distance of the fixed stars, that unless the German philosoexpected it, and to put in circulation such versions as the Ro-pher has missed a figure or two in his calculations, a most im

man Catholics will receive.

Since the preceding Annual Report, twenty life directors and

three hundred and sixteen life members have become connect

ed with the society. Twenty-five new auxiliaries have been

formed

The account given of foreign operations shows that the institution is diffusing its influences as extensively and efficiently

as possible.

REPORT OF THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY FOR 1841.-The above notice of the state and prospects of the society in 1840 is inserted that the reader may compare the reports of '40 and '41. The latter has not reached us in pamphlet form; but from the papers we have gathered the following facts.

Three millions of Bibles and Testaments have been circulated from its Depository, and means have been furnished to publish two hundred thousand copies more in foreign countries and languages-namely, in five of the American Indian tongues, in seven of the European, in five of Asiatic Turkey, in seven of India, in the Chinese, the Hawaiian, the Sandwich Islands, and in the Grebro tongue, on the western coast of Africa. Means have also been furnished to purchase and distribute the Scriptures in twenty additional tongues, making about fifty languages in which the society has been instrumental in giving the

Bible to the world.

Four hundred persons have, during the year, become life members and life directors; and nineteen new auxiliaries have been formed, principally in the western states.

The receipts from all sources amount to $118,860,41, being an increase, as the reader will perceive, of more than $21,000 over those of the preceding year.

The whole number of Bibles and Testaments printed during the year was 166,875; distributed, 150,202; less by 8,096 than the previous year!! One Female Bible Society contributed more than two thousand dollars for this holy cause. May the blessing of the Father of Lights rest upon this enterprise of philanthropy and mercy!

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.-This office has adopted Webster as umpire in all questions relating to orthography. This has provoked criticism, especially from those who scarcely know that Webster wrote a Dictionary, or who never looked at the work. If our censors will examine this imperishable monument of American genius and industry, they can better pronounce on its claims to public favor and patronage.

Americans are more philanthropic than patriotic. Rather, their patriotism is of a militant stamp, and has little to do with domestic book-making. It is almost enough to consign to ob livion any book of literature among us, that it is not trans-atlantic. To say the least, presumption is in favor of what comes from beyond sea, while suspicion rests upon American produc

tions.

portant problem has been solved:

"Mr. Bessel, a German astronomer, has made one of the parallax of the double star 61 Cygni. He found, from repeated greatest discoveries of modern times, by having ascertained the observations, made from August, 1837, to March, 1840, that the second, which places the distance of that star from us at nearly parallax of a Cygna did not exceed thirty-one hundredths of a

670,000 that of the sun, or which is nearly sixty-four millions of millions of miles, or, more nearly, 63,650,000,000,000 miles. This immense distance can better be conceived when we state, that if a cannon ball were to traverse this vast space at the rate of twenty miles a minute, it would occupy more than six mil. lions of years in coming from that star to our earth; and if a body could be projected from our earth to 61 Cygni, at thirty miles an hour, which is about the same rate as carriages on railroads travel, it would occupy at least ninety-six millions of years. Light, which travels more than eleven millions of miles in a minute, would occupy about twelve years in coming from that star to our earth.""

SCENERY IN UPPER CANADA.-Rev. J. Ryerson, who is traveling in Canada, to visit the Churches and make missionary collections, gives in his journal the following sketch of the scenery

on the Ottawa river:

"On Wednesday we returned to Upper Canada, crossing the Ottawa at Point Fortune, a small village which takes its name from the late Col. Fortune, whose estate embraced the village and much of the surrounding country. In the afternoon, a ride of sixteen miles along the banks of the magnificent Ottawa brought us to L'Original, the district town of the Ottawa district. The Ottawa, with the exception of the St. Lawrence and perhaps the river St. Johns, is the largest stream of water in British North America; but there are numerous rapids in it which of course greatly obstruct the navigation.

"A short distance above Bytown there is a fall of some thirty or forty feet in the river, which, for wildness and grandeur, is middle of the river, on the verge of the fall, there is an island scarcely exceeded by the grand cataract of Niagara. In the of rock, the summit of which rises 15 or 20 feet above the level Lower Canada shore, the sheet of water is 100 or 150 rods wide; of the river. On the north side of the island, towards the into a narrow space of a few feet. The terrific violence with but, on the Upper Canada side, full half of the river is pressed which the mighty stream is precipitated down the fall through this narrow pass, together with mountainous piles of broken and irregular rocks, the bold and overhanging battlements of towering cliffs on either side of the gulf-present a scene to the eye the most grand, wild, and imposing of any thing I ever be. held. They have never been able to find the bottom of the river at the foot of this fall: some people say it has no bottom.' Whether this is true or not, I shall not pretend to determine-one thing is certain, the depth of water is very great; up to this time it has not been fathomed. The scenery of Bytown and the surrounding country is picturesque, and deserves the

It is true that we can tolerate domestic school-books, and have borne with some scientific treatises adapted to academies and colleges. But whenever an American has attempted the higher walks of literature, and, like Johnson or Walker, proposed rules to govern the orthography or orthoepy of our lan-attention of all who are fond of the sublime." guage, we have, to our infinite disgrace, met the effort with sus- THE REPOSITORY.-This number was delayed a few days to picion. These remarks are elicited by a declaration of Pro-arrange for stereotyping, to which it was necessary to resort in fessor Jamieson, of Edinburgh, who says, in a letter recently pub-consequence of the unexpectedly rapid increase of subscriptions. lished, that "the American Dictionary of Dr. Webster is as TO CORRESPONDENTS. Several articles are on hand, but they great an improvement on Johnson's Dictionary, as the latter happen to be mostly in rhyme. We advise all to practice wriwas on those of his predecessors." ting prose five years before they attempt verse.

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NORTH BEND.

(SEE ENGRAVING.)

marred the beauty of the landscape; yet, on the whole, taking into view private convenience and public utility, THIS is a view of the family residence of the late it adds interest to the scene, especially as the tunnel President of the United States. It is situated nearly through the hill in the rear and a little to the left of the at the apex of a curve in the Ohio, which reaches the dwelling is a work of considerable magnitude, which most northern point within the limits of the "Pur-will be examined by many with a high degree of curichase," and for two hundred miles above. osity and gratification.

The Harrison estate is fifteen miles below this city, and probably two miles north of it. It was patented to J. C. Symmes, Esq., Mrs. Harrison's father, and was purchased by General Harrison at an early date. If we mistake not, the original purchase consisted of about one thousand acres, of which several tracts have since been sold, while some others have been added. The land is said not to be very productive, which may be owing not so much to native poverty of soil, as to the public duties which frequently drew the attention of the owner from its proper cultivation.

The cove on the left and in front of the picture, stamps the scenery with still greater variety. The reader, however, must not mistake this for the river, into which the "Tippecanoe" is preparing to escape, after having "come to," as one might suppose, to receive two or three passengers.

Hills of unequal elevation, from one to two hundred feet above high water mark, encircle this plain on every side except the south, where it is bordered by the Ohio. It fortunately happens that without any specific design at the time when it was taken, this view embraces the hills on the west. Glancing your eye over the left hand border of the picture, you will observe a minute representation of a monument. It crowns the summit

This picture embraces a plain extending from three to four hundred yards along the bank of the Ohio and perhaps as far northward, with the hills which bound it on the west and north. It is a beautiful vale, water-of a beautiful tumulus, or gentle eminence, separated ed by springs from the bases of the hills, and by a brook, called Indian Creek, which empties into the Ohio about two hundred yards east of the dwelling. The view from the river is generally very fine, but is interrupted at present, by the rude fixtures necessary to prosecute the public works.

from the hill in its rear by a slight depression, which is indicated by a dark line of shrubbery close at hand. There the tomb of Harrison is now (June 30th) being constructed. We are informed that it is a sightly spot. It is distinctly visible from the river, and from almost every part of the plain.

In the mean time, the gentlemen delegated from this city and vicinity to that sad office, are probably on their return from the City of Washington, bearing along

They will soon be deposited in the soil which he so gallantly defended when its settlers were few and fee||ble, and amidst the grounds which he loved to cultivate in after life.

It will be seen that the improvements and ornaments are such as are common to many of the farmers in the Miami valley, and such as are within reach of nearly all. The dwelling itself is remarkably plain. It con-with them the remains of the deceased President. sists of a main building of two low stories, with wings of one story, presenting a front of about seventy feet, unrelieved by piazza or portico, and entirely free from architectural ornaments. The east end of the main building is of logs, and the remainder is frame. The Thus, as is meet, all that is mortal of the hero and whole is weather-boarded, so that its external appear-statesman, will repose in that retired spot which witance is uniform. The principal embellishments are supplied by nature, under the guiding hand of its occupant; viz., the products and fashioning of the surrounding grounds. The lawn in front of the dwelling is beautiful, and throws enchantment over the whole scene.

nessed his serious meditations on the subject of relig ion, and his offerings upon the altar of charity. Thither, morning and evening, will his amiable consort pensively repair in a spirit of chastened devotion, to converse with the grave and with eternity. Often she will

now and then by some of those numerous friends, who were attached to him in his life-time by the sinterest affection, and can never forget him in his grave. The public, too, will cherish an interest in the place of his repose. Philanthropy and patriotism will kindle into

It is this alone that renders the tout en-be joined by his surviving children and relatives, and semble so comely, that to the passer by it wears the aspect of a gentleman's residence, and not of the plain domicil of a country farmer. Yet a good location and half a dozen years of skill and care in training a few ornamental trees, would give a large proportion of the farm-houses in the country an appearance equally gen-ardor at the sight of his tomb. We do not over estiteel and attractive.

mate his virtues or his fame, when we venture the pre

The Whitewater canal, which passes, as represented, diction that North Bend will be the Mount Vernon of in front of the house, has broken the soil and rather the west.

Vol. I.-25

H.

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