THE LONDON AND PARIS LADIES' MAGAZINE FOR JANUARY, 1856. 7 "My author and disposer what thou bidd'st God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise." How consolatory! Well, one comfort is, Eve's daughters, especially British ones, are wiser in their generation: such blind, slavish obedience is repudiated by sensible men, and by wives generally. Isn't it refreshing, dear, to see how inconsistent Milton is. I admire him exceedingly as a poet, but detest his low estimation of the sex: in this respect he is as bad, although not so gross, as Pope and others of inferior note. Why, Bessie, don't we all know that subjection to man was woman's curse, or rather punishment, in consequence of her sin? Now, my own idea is, that the Serpent influenced both Adam and Eve at the same time, and that he knew Eve had more influence over Adam than Adam had over Eve, whose intellect appears to have been quite as great, if not greater, than his. We know that Satan himself had some little difficulty (according to Milton he had to resort to stratagem) to induce Eve to disobey-not her husband, mind you, but -her Maker. She was beguiled by the Serpent's subtlety, whereas Adam could not even excuse himself by saying that he had been deceived his excuse wasn't at all gentlemanly; however, it didn't avail him. Dear, I can't write any more now. I don't care a bit about what the he-writers on composition say. You can understand me, I know; and I wish you would give me your opinion about my views, and then I will continue the subject, and make everything as simple as Sammy and as plain as Kate's beau. Believe me, ever Your loving ANNIE. The Family Economist, and entertaining Companion for streamed from his brow, and the tall, slightly-built frame, told of no very robust strength to bear the bur den. The evening was rapidly closing in. Many miles of our journey lay before us; so we merely paused a moment to speak with him, and to offer him a small piece of money, which he thankfully accepted. But soon afterwards, as we were stopping to procure a drink of milk at a pleasant châlet in the hamlet of Im Boden, he again overtook us. We asked him whether he would like a drink. Ja Freilich!' replied the wearied man, while his honest, kindly countenance beamed with pleasure. We now went on our way in file-the only mode of proceeding of which these unsocial mountain paths in general admit-exchanging now and then a few words with our companion, whom we soon found was the inhabitant of a small hamlet which lay on the path to Meyringen, whither we were hastening for the night. "We were shortly overtaken by the poor man's wife, laden, like himself, with a faggot of sticks, and at the same time busily employed in knitting stockings for her husband, as she trudged along bending beneath her burden. We saw her produce a little store of bread and cheese from her pocket and press her good man to partake of the simple fare; but he seemed too weary to be hungry. They talked to each other for a few moments in an under-tone, and we concluded the poor peasant had been telling his dame of the drink of milk; for she seemed most anxious to direct us to the smoothest path and to help us over every difficulty. "At length, as we lagged a little, they passed us and hastened onwards. We supposed they had gone to their home, and that our brief intercourse was at an end. "But it was not thus the simple, kind-hearted couple meant that we should part. Another quarter of an hour's walking, and a turn of the road brought us in sight of a lowly châlet by the side of the Aar. A single goat stood before the door, and the old couple who had been our companions on the road knelt before it—the man holding a large tumbler, which the poor woman was filling with foaming milk. As we approached, he hastily rose from his knees and earnestly begged us to accept a drink of his goat's milk. We live here,' said he, pointing to his little châlet, and this is all we have to offer you—this and water-nothing more.' We saw we should disap Ir is scarcely necessary to say one word in praise of a work which has been so favourably received by the pub-point the kind-hearted old couple if we did not accept lic. It is in every respect an excellent work, and one which should be in every family. Not only Notes and Recipes for housekeepers, and those advanced in life; but likewise soul-enlivening stories for the young, leading them to the practice of those virtues which is so clearly laid before them in this useful work. We give as an illustration an extract from "The Golden Law; or, The Law of Kindness:" "One day last summer, as we were journeying in Switzerland and descending on foot the rocky mountain valley of the Aar, I overtook a poor man, carrying on his back a load of wood, the provision for his winter fuel. In that barren district he had been obliged to travel far to reach a pine wood in some nook more sheltered than the rest of the valley from the wintry blast and the falling avalanche. Wearied with his burden, the poor man had seated himself down to rest by the roadside. He looked like one accustomed to hard fare and yet harder work, while the perspiration which their proffered hospitality and tell them their draught of milk would refresh us on our way; but, truly, that which did refresh us was their cordial blessing, as they shook us by the hand, and the pleasure that lighted up their weather-beathen countenances, as we wished them blessings more than we could give,' for time and for eternity. "We met but for an hour, and then we parted, perhaps for ever on earth, and yet, if we did return to that Alpine valley, we should feel assured that if that old couple still lived, we had friends dwelling by that mountain torrent-friends such as we might all find gathered around our every step of this life's journey, if only we sought each day more earnestly to lighten some heavy burden, to cheer some drooping spirit, or to comfort some desolate heart, by a word of sympathy and love." CONCESSION.-A little explained, a little endured, a little tolerated as a foible; and lo! the jagged atoms fit like smooth mosaic.-Anon. TUNIS. TUNIS a large and flourishing city on the coast of Barbary, in the Mediterranean, is remarkable for the beauty of its situation, being placed in a vast plain, bounded at a distance of about thirty miles by an amphitheatre of high mountains. It stands on the western side of a lagoon, of an oval shape, about twenty miles in circumference; and is encircled by a high wall, with six gates, around which is another wall, measuring about five miles in circumference, and encompassing the suburbs, and has eleven gates or passes into the country. The town contains about 12,000 houses, and between 15,000 and 20,000 Jews, and about 8000 Christians. Of these latter a large proportion are natives of Malta. In addition to the water which is collected from the rain into tanks, there is a large supply from a neighbouring spring, conveyed by an aqueduct, built when the country was subject to the Emperor Charles V.; and no place enjoys by nature a greater abundance of the necessaries of life. The streets are narrow, irregular, and filthy in the extreme: being unpaved, they are, after a shower of rain, a perfect marsh; while, in the hot, dry weather, they are intolerable, from the dust, the vermin, and the stench of the open drains. These vile combinations of uncleanliness would, in all probability, be the fruitful causes of pestilential diseases, if they were not counteracted by the quantity of mastic, myrtle, rosemary, and other aromatic shrubs, with which the country abounds, and which are daily used in the heating of the ovens and baths. Such is the opinion of Dr. Shaw, who, however, speaks in the strongest terms of the general salubrity of the climate. There are five principal and several smaller mosques, into which no Christian was formerly permitted to enter; but the restriction is not now quite so absolute as it formerly was. The houses in general, according to the custom of Barbary, are only one story high, with a court in the centre and one window looking towards the street. In the middle of the city there is an open space surrounded by shops; and this is the only place which relieves the tiresome monotony of close and dirty streets, dark shops, and dull-looking houses. There is only one building of any magnificence, the mosque built in the reign of Hammooda Bey, the columns and marbles of which were brought from ruins in the interior. The Bey's town palace is a model building, in the Saracenic style, with marble courts and galleries. This remains unfinished, for not being completed in the lifetime of the founder, it continues as he left it, in consequence of a prevailing superstition against the completion of the unfinished house of a dead person. The finest building is the new barracks, near the Citadel, erected out of the fortunes of three of the richest Moors of Tunis, who were arbitrarily taxed for the purpose. It is a quadrangle of two stories, capable of accommodating 4000 men. There is also a theatre, in which Italian operas are sometimes acted. The chief manufactures of the city are linen and woollen cloths and embroidery, for which it has been famous ever since the settlement of the Moors from Spain. But Tunis is most renowed for its woollen cap, which is dyed in the waters of the Zagwan, and is preferred to all others by the Oriental nations. It is said that above 50,000 persons are employed in making this article. Essences of rose, musk, and jasamine, gold ornaments, precious stones, though but roughly set, silks, and firearms, daggers, and swords, are the articles chiefly sold in the bazaars. IN matters of description, poetry is often a more successful vehicle of communication than prose; and a northern clergyman, who long ago furnished, in verse, directions for finding the stars, has amply proved this. Nothing could be more simple and distinct than his opening lines "Where yonder radiant host adorn To deck great Ursa's shaggy form, The third looks twixt the fourth and fifth, The sixth and seventh point near to where Arcturus first to Vega join, 1 The northern Crown you'll spy : And joined'd to Ursa's second star He marks Cor Caroli." A WONDER OF A WOMAN.-Amongst the monuments in St. Lawrence Pountney Church, destroyed in the great fire of London, was one to a marvel of a woman, dated A.D. 1537:: She wrought all needle works that women exercise, She sang, too, in divers tongues; played well on the viol, "Eliza A POSER.-A story is told of a little boy in Virginia, by the Knickerbocker. Long before he had learned the alphabet, his parents had made him familiar with the narrative portions of the Bible, which they were accustomed to read to him. One day he was permitted to have the old family Bible to look at the pictures; and coming to the picture of "Daniel in the Lions' Den," he gazed at it for a few minutes silently, then running to his mother, book in hand, he broke forth in an indignant tone: "Mother, this Bible don't tell the truth!" "Why, my child, what makes you say so ?" "Why, mother, didn't you read to me that when Daniel was thrown into the den, God shut the lions' mouths ?—and see here, they are wide open!" The boy believed the picture, which he could see, rather than the text, which he could not read. FROM OUR FRENCH CORRESPONDENT. BOULEVARD DES ITALIENS. CHERE AMIE, BROCADED silks, droguets, gros de Tours, moires antiques, lampas, materials with broad velvet stripes, and others of new designs rival each other. Applications of velvet on taffetas, imitation of lace brocaded in relief, flounces shaded, or with rich stripes of velvet or plush wove in the material, wreaths decorating the flounces, all aid in varying the general effect of the toilettes this season. The alternate stripes of velvet and taffetas in different colours are greatly increased in elegance by edging the bands of velvet with narrow black lace. Robes of black moire antique are ornamented by bouillonnés of tulle, forming stripes all round the skirt, and crossed by small chain-work of bugles; the bodies are mostly made without jacket or basque, but they are so much regretted that many ladies still wear them. The bodies without basques, however, have lace, guipure, or fringe round the waist; the same applies to braces. Some ladies prefer the bretelles to berthes or square ornaments. The sleeves are also quite according to fancy, with frills, bouffants, creves, bouillons, lace in spirals, and checks of velvet: these checks in velvet are very youthful; flounces are often ornamented by them as well as the body and sleeves; flounces with broad biais of velvet are handsomer and less youthful. Little Polonaise vestes, trimmed with fur, are fashionable for in-door wear; they may be very short, of the Polish hussar form, or long, with basques. Fashion is fond of extremes. The velvet vest is almost tight; the corsages are made of ribbon insertion and lace or embroidery of a square form, with bretelles and barrettes of lace; others are of black velvet and white guipure. The new sleeves, in the form of a cone, are composed of bands narrower at the top than the bottom; the bands are of velvet, embroidery, or ribbon, according to the material used, having an equally good effect on the out-door as the home toilette. A dress of taffetas, with plain body forming guipure, ornamented by a revers, trimmed with two bands of velvet and very narrow fringe, had these conique sleeves, with per pendicular bands of velvet, the edges corresponding with the revers and ruché; the revers on the body turn rounds at the waist, forming little basquine. Some dressmakers are rather opposed to the basque on bodies pointed before and behind; but the same effect may be produced by placing a flounce at the top of the skirt, with heading. Pretty toilettes are composed of lighter silks; the skirt having five biais of velvet placed as flounces a little apart, and each headed by a narrow black lace vandyked; the body high, with bretelles of velvet, trimmed with lace. The toilettes demi-negligés used for morning visits, walking, and in-door dresses are in shades of marron, scabious, and browns. Taffetas dresses of bois colour are pretty, with flounces of the same colour, but in different shades, the darkest being at the bottom on each flounce; three rows of velvet graduated both in colour and size; a basquine of brown velvet, ornamented with chenille fringe, completes this toilette. The ceinture bretelles (braces) are of velvet or taffetas; some form berthes and noeuds fontanges in the centre of body; others of wide and splendid ribbons are simply on one side of the waist. Flowers are used with much profusion on ball dresses; sometimes the corsages are draped with them. The ornaments on moire antique are various; some have rich chenille fringes with bugles, fringes with tassels, galons of velvet or of plush imitating fur, or bands of feather trimmings, which, though worn last winter, are too much approved to be so soon laid aside; effilés, made of the down of the marabout, and feathers are also used to edge the flounces of gauze, tulle, or crape dresses. Crape is always fashionable, and is more particularly used for the robes with double skirts, which may be edged by a bouillonné of tulle of the same colour, wreaths of pompous appearing between the bouillons. The flounces of tulle dresses are finished with ruches and small nœuds of ribbon; the bodies with berthes en cœur to the waist, the centre occupied by a bunch of flowers. Droguets of silk as well as worsted form pretty dresses for children; the droguets mosaique and à disposition are used for little girls; with these nothing accords better than a basquine of cloth, with double face, gray outside, blue or green inside, with a satin bonnet, which may be quilted, having a noud of velvet or plush at the side, with ruche of tulle and loops of velvet inside. Pretty little coiffures or head dresses are made of black |