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The old prejudices are gradually giving way to newer and better forms; and the graceful yachts of to-day are in striking contrast with the clumsy hulls of thirty years ago. National competition has been one great cause of this marked development; and this spirit of commendable rivalry is constantly inspiring yachtsmen to perfect themselves in the subtle subject of yachtbuilding. A wide-spread interest is taken in yachting, for the "Yacht List" of 1861 -the latest data we have on hand-gives the number of yachts owned in England, Scotland, and Wales, alone, as 1173; and the nine organized clubs in the United States, show an aggregate number of 213 yachts. This paper has been hastily prepared, in the hope of creating a more general interest in yachting in Canada.

An Amateur, for one, would like to see an effort―A CANADIAN EFFORT―made to win the Cup which, for twenty years, has remained as a standing challenge to all the world. Surely a cup, which was the gift of our beloved Queen, should stir us to make, at least, an attempt to possess the coveted trophy! If" and there's the rub"-this could be done, what an inviting field would be opened up for our American friends, as a summer cruising ground! Along our magnificent water course, there are points of interest far surpassing any that the sultry tropics afford. The pure sweet water, the broad open lakes, the populous cities on their borders, the beauties of the St. Lawrence, the grandeur of the scenery of Lake Superior, with the infinite intermediate at tractions, are all yet in store for American yachtsmen, should they ever find it necessary to visit our lakes, to win back their lost Cup! This may seem visionary to the timid, but earnest effort may make the idea a reality.

To the zealous and persistent all things are possible. It is true that we are but a comparatively little people, but little folks sometimes do historical things-as the story

of little David with his sling, and little. George Washington with his hatchet, abundantly prove! If we try and fail, we shall do well nevertheless. If we long for the prize, but fail to make an effort to win it, we shall continue to sit in the "shadow," while American yachtsmen bask in the "sunshine" of well-earned victory.

Aside from this consideration, the greatest one of all-is that which will occur to every spirited Canadian yachtsman,-the desirability of fostering yachting among ourselves. The opportunities for yachting along our lakes and rivers are absolutely unsurpassed. From the head waters of Lake Superior to the outlet of the St. Lawrence,-over three thousand miles,—there is one continuous succession of beautiful scenery, thriving cities and convenient harbours. New resources are being constantly developed, and the attractions for yachtsmen are yearly becoming more and more delightful. There is every reason why Canadians should foster and commend a national yachting spirit. Second to no people in the development of the useful arts of peace, we should strive to compete successfully for the honours which fall to victorious yachtsmen in great international regattas. It is a little surprising that thus far, notwithstanding the unsurpassed facilities for yachting and yacht-building, not a single representative Canadian yacht has yet been a contestant in any great international contest. A splendid chance is now open for our yachtsmen to win a worthy fame in foreign fields.

It yet remains for some future yacht club in Canada to enter upon its list of yachts a single one, the victories of which are famous beyond our own borders. How long must this charge hold good? Let the spirited yachtsmen of our Dominion-embracing half a continent within its boundariesanswer the inquiry! The noble sport of yachting is fostered among us by many whose energy, enterprise, and zeal, warrant

us in the prediction that in the near future, -when capital is more largely developed, and the attention of our public-spirited citizens is called to this subject, we shall

look with admiring pride upon Canadian yachts, equal in all their appointments to any in England or the United States.

ELOÏSE.

E

BY MRS. J. C. YULE.

LOISE! Eloise !

It is morn on the seas,

And the waters are curling and flashing ;

And our rock-sheltered seat,

Where the waves ever beat

With a cadenced and rhythmical dashing,
Is here just here:

But I miss thee, dear!

And the sunbeams around me are flashing.
O seat, by the lonely sea,

O seat, that she shared with me,
Thou art all unfilled to-day!
And the plaintive, grieving main
Hath a moan of hopeless pain
That it had not yesterday.

Eloïse! Eloïse !

It is noon; and the breeze

Through the shadowy woodland is straying;

And our green, mossy seat,

Where the flowers kissed thy feet,

While the zephyrs around thee were playing,
Is here just here :

But I miss thee, dear!

And the breezes around me are straying.
O seat, by the greenwood tree,

O seat, that she shared with me,
Thou art all unfilled to-day!
And the sighing, shivering leaves
Have a voice like one that grieves,
That they had not yesterday.

TORONTO.

Eloïse! Eloïse !

It is eve; and the trees

With the gold of the sunset are glowing;
And our low, grassy seat,

With the brook at its feet

Ever singing, and rippling, and flowing,
Is here-just here:

But I miss thee, dear!

And the sunset is over me glowing.
O seat, by the brooklet free,
O seat, that she shared with me,
Thou art all unfilled to-day!
And the brook, to me alone,
Hath a tender, grieving tone,
That it had not yesterday.

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It is night on the seas,

And the winds and the waters are sleeping;
And the seat where we prayed,

'Neath our home's blessed shade,

With the soft shadows over us creeping,
Is here just here:

But I miss thee, dear!

And the drear night around me is sleeping.
O seat, where she prayed of yore,
O seat, where she prays no more,
I am kneeling alone to-night!
And the stern, unyielding grave
Will restore not the gift I gave
To its bosom yesternight.

CONCERNING OLD AGE.

IT

BY C. T. CAMPBELL, M. D.

T has never yet been satisfactorily decided whether "length of days" is a thing to be desired or not. If "the first commandment with blessing" would seem to indicate an affirmative answer to the question, the inconveniences and discomforts so often attendant on old age would as clearly point to a negative. Differences of opinion, however, will depend on the varying circumstances and conditions of the individual. In times of mental depression, bodily illness, or personal poverty, desire may fail and life become a burden. But with favourable surroundings few people will discuss, even theoretically, the advisability of praying for shortness of life. Not many are like the quaint old physician, Sir Thomas Browne, who seemed scarcely to approve of any one who should desire "to surpass the days of our Saviour, or wish to outlive that age wherein He thought fittest to die ;" and for this reason, among others, that "if (as divinity affirms) there shall be no grey hairs in heaven, but all shall rise in the perfect state of men, we do but outlive these perfections in this world to be recalled to them by a greater miracle in the next, and run on here but to retrograde hereafter." Yet we never heard that Sir Thomas lamented greatly the prolongation of his own life to the age of seventy-seven.

Despite any theorising, life certainly seems to the general mind something worthy to be clung to with a most tenacious grasp. He was no unwise observer of men and things who gave it as his opinion that though in philosophic moments Hamlet might gravely soliloquize "To be or not to be !" yet should some one suddenly point a pistol at his head

| he would shout "be" without a moment's hesitation. Even the strongest religious faith, though it may have a confident assurance of a happier home " over the river," will often hesitate on the bank, loath to say farewell to life. The evidence of things not seen may be strong, but it cannot altogether destroy the influence of the things that are seen.

Just how long a man might live or ought to live is another of the disputed questions involved in the consideration of old age. Moses (was it not he?) set down the limit at three score and ten; yet he himself, regardless of consistency, lived out full six score, and even then "his eye was not dim, nor his natural strength abated." Hufeland, who wrote pleasantly on "The Art of Prolonging Life," thought people might reach 20 200 years, if they only took care of themselves. But he died at 74; presumably, he did not take care of himself. Buffon, calculating from the ratio which the life of an animal bears to the years of its growth, held "that the man who did not die of accidental causes, reached everywhere the age of ninety or one hundred." Others who have written and talked on this subject adopt various opinions as to the duration of life. Individually, they have generally tried to live as long as possible.

That people do at times reach an age far beyond the ordinary limit is evidenced by the records of history. It is often difficult, though, to decide how far romance enters into the composition of some of the mar vellous stories of longevity we hear. In the case of a sheik of Smyrna still living at the advanced age of 600, or in that of one Astephius, who claimed for himself not less

than 1,025 years, there need be no question. chemical experiments, rejuvenated her But in the multitude of cases credited with father-in-law, Eson, and, we presume, provarying ages from 100 to 200, there is more longed his life by a very free venesection, room for doubt. Yet the evidence is some- followed by the injection of certain vegetimes very clear. Take the Countess of table juices into his veins. Very probably Desmond for an example, among those this was the origin of the regimen favoured generally accepted as true. Born in 1465 by some medical men-not yet dead-who she is said to have danced with Richard the used to recommend a bleeding every spring, Third while yet Duke of Gloucester, and to followed by a course of bitters to purify the have outlived all the English sovereigns of system. the Houses of York and Tudor, dying during the reign of James I., at the age of 140. A lively old lady she must have been, if the tradition be true, which attributes her death to a fall from a cherry tree! Then there is Henry Jenkins, of whom it was said, that in his youth he was present at the battle of Flodden. He died in 1670, and could not, therefore, have been less than 170. But the evidence is not so satisfactory in his case as in that of Thomas Parr, who was born in 1483. We are told that he married his first wife at the age of 80, and his second at 120. Gay young bridegroom! worse than the perhaps mythical John Weeks who married his tenth wife when he was 106, she being then only "sweet sixteen." Parr survived his second and last matrimonial effort 32 years, dying at the age of 152. There are several other cases on record of whose truthfulness we can have little doubt, where persons have passed the century mile-post of life's journey, and got some distance beyond; but we shall not occupy space with their names.

The best evidence that people think it desirable to live long, is to be found in the exertions that have been made in all ages to accomplish this end. The Egyptians supposed life could be lengthened by the free use of sudorifics and emetics. They tried to "keep the pores open," as the old women-professional and non-professional -say. Two emetics per month were considered the proper thing in Egypt. If classic poets are to be credited, Medea, a philosophic young lady, much given to

The alchemists were all earnest seekers after some elixir vita-some magic potion which should preserve youth and vigour for ever. None succeeded, judging from the fact that they all died themselves; but some of them imagined they had discovered what would prolong if not perpetuate life. Friar Bacon compounded a nostrum of gold, coral, vipers, rosemary, aloes, the bone of a stag's heart, and certain other mysterious ingredients. Arnoldus de Villâ, a French physician, proposed to feed the seeker after long life on pullets fattened on vipers, which, after being whipped to death, were to have their heads and tails cut off, and be stewed in a mixture of rosemary and fennel. This formed the pièce de resistance of the feast; the entremets were composed of emeralds, rubies and other precious stones dissolved. There would not be much objection to the latter articles; but most people would prefer them raw rather than cooked.

Commend us, however, to the prescription of Claudius Hermippus, who taught a school of girls in Rome, and died at the age of 115, having thus prolonged his life, in his own opinion, by "exposing himself, daily, to the breath of innocent young maids." The remedy might not be unpleasant, even if it should not succeed as well in this nineteenth century as in the days of the Roman dominie. If, however, a deeper meaning is to be placed upon it than appears on the surface, it will not be so ridiculous as it looks. Read the prescription in the words of old Marshal de Schomberg, who was

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