The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-06 00:00:00

TABOGGINNING.

Tabogginning, the next amusement on our list, is sug-
gestive of nothing but romps and tumbles, and "muffining"
under difficulties. The taboggin is a very simple contri-
vance two thin strips of pliable wood, each about a foot
wide and ten feet long, are fitted together by a groove, and
secured by wooden cross-pieces; two hickory rods are run
along the inside edge ;the top end is bent down to the floor
at both corners, and secured by thongs, to serve, as it were,
for a splashboard. The vehicle is then complete. Let the
reader fancy himself at the top of Fort Henry, the day fine
and frosty, his hair and whiskers white, as with a respec-
table old age, and each point of his moustache the base of
an incipient iceberg. The hill is of the proverbial steep-
ness of the side of a house, covered with glistening snow,
and below him stretches a mile or two of ice, some two feet
thick, with patches of snow drifted over its level black sur-
face. He and his companions are provided with taboggins,
and half-a-dozen ladies are of the party; for in Canada
ladies are essential accompaniments of merry-making both
indoors and out. A favourable slide is chosen, which is
considered none the worse for having two or three minor
precipices in its course to the ice. The steersman of
.the
party provide themselves with short pointed pieces of stick,
with which they shape their course down the slippery de-
scent. A gentleman kneels down at the first taboggir?
holds it carefully to prevent a false start; tucks
in the lateral superfluities of dress belonging to
the lady, who has seated herself in the prow of his
ship with her feet pressing against the turned-i) end ; cau-
tiously seats himself on the floor behind her, sticks in hand
—a friendly shove, and they are off 1 Yes, off they go

acquiring greater speed with every yard, raising a cloud of
snow
with "the digs" necessary to keep the taboggin
straight before a clear channel is worn, shoot the little falls
without mishap, and, after dipping the base of the incline,
are seen sailing along once more in a horizontal direction
over the ice below. But every pleasure has its " drawback,"
and so has taboggining; for the impetus lost, the party have
to get out; and putting himself into string traces attached
to the front of the taboggin, the gentleman proceeds to drag
" liumpty-dumpty" up again. As faithful ehroniclers,we
are obliged to add that unnecessary delay is often remarked
in the ascent of " self and partner" to what lawyers call,
the place of beginning. we have only described the de-
scent of a skilled voyageur ; half the fun is in the amusing
accidents of less skilful practitioners. The beginner digs
too hard on one side, when round goes the head of the ta-
boggin at a tangent to the other ; so to speak, it gets across
the stream, and in obedience to the Jaws of gravity—
though hardly with a grave demeanour—the pilot and his
companion roll down the remainder of the hill, without
their taboggin. A favourite place for this diversion, where
it is carried on with small hand-sleighs, instead of 'tabog-
gins, and is attendel withfrcoonstihdeerFaabllles ofris mk,
oins
traat
otrheencici,e;
cone formed by the spray w
few miles below Quebec.

No. IX. of " Viows of Society," depicts
Belgravia out of doors, which is clever like all
its predecessors. " Commission of Lunacy," refers
to the way in which they arc carried out, and the
unnecessary expense often sustained, and the re-
forms required in general, citing the Windburn
else as an example. Mrs. Beecher Stowe's story,
"Agnes of Sorrento," advances, but contains
nothing particularly fresh.

Macmillan's Magazine.
This magazine commences with the first and
second chapters of a new tale, which is very stupid.
It relates to the vagaries of an old bachelor, and
which, as far as we can judge from what is before
us, contains neither point nor plot, and is very
unnatural. In the second chapter the scene is in
the north of Switzerland. " The Raised Beach of
Great Britain, and How Scotland Rose in the
World" describes the formation of the vast shingle
bulwark which surrounds the greater part of the
British coast. The advance and retirement of
the sea on the coast of Scotland is chiefly
treated of, but the south coast of England is as
good a sample as can be found anywhere. Some
of the Cinque porta are far inland, and where once
ships rode at anchor cattle now feed. "Ravens-
hoe" progresses. Charles, having become a trooper,
is ordered to the East, but has an interview with
Mary before his departure, in which she discovers
to him her love unintentionally. The scene is well
described. The conduct of that fine old woman,
Lady Ascot, is beautiful, which is shown up in
grand relief by the stupidity of her handmaid. An
amusing conversation between Father Tiney and
Father Mackworth, which is concluded by the
tragic end of poor Cuthbert, who is doomed a red-
nosed oyster :
Ravenshoe bay again, then—in the pleasant summer
drought I have been speaking of before 1 Father Mack-
worth and the two Tiernays were lying on the sand, look-
ing to sea. Cuthbert had gone off to send away some boys
who were bathing too near the mouth of the stream and
hunting his precious salmon. The younger Tiernay had
recently taken to collect " common objects of the shore"—a
pleasant, healthy mania which prevailed about that time,
He had been dabbling among the rocks at the western end
of the bay, and had just joined his brother and Father
Muckworth with a tin box full of all sorts of creatures, and
he turned them out on the sand and called their attention
to them.
" A very good morning's work, my brother," he said.
" These anemones are all good end rare ones."
" Bedad," said the jolly priest, "they'd need be of some
value, for they a'int pretty to look at ; what's this cockle
now wid the long red spike coming out of him ?"
" Cardium tuberculatum."

"See here, Mackworth," said Tiernay, rolling over to-
wards him.on the sand with the shell in his hand. " Here's
the rid-nosed oysther of Carlingford. Ye remember the
legend about it, surely?"
" I don't, indeed," said Mackworth, angrily, pretty sure
that Father Tiernay was going to talk nonsense, but not
exactly knowing how to stop him.
" Not know the legend ?" said Father Tiernay. " Why
when St. Bridget was hurrying across the sand, to attend
St. Patrick in bis last illness, poor dear, this divvle of a
oysther was sunning himself on the shore, and, as she went
by, he winked at her holiness with the wicked eye of 'um,
and he says, says he, ' Nate ankles enough anyhow,'
he says, Ye're drunk ye spalpeen,' says St. Bridget, to
talk like that at an honest gentleman.' Sorra a bit of me,'
says Ihe oysther. Ye'ro always drunk,' says St. Bridget.
' Drunk yourself,' says the oysther; 6 I'm fastin from licker
since the tide went down." 'What makes yer nose so red,
ye scoundrel ?' says St. Bridget. 'No ridder nor yer verown,'
says the oysther, getting angry. For the saint was stricken
in years, and red-nosed by rayson of out_bemgsered
all
weathers, seeing to this and to that. Yer nose is
throuh drink,' says she, 'and yer nose shall stay as rid as
mine is now, till the day of judgment. And that's the
legend about St. Bridget and the Carlingford oysther, and
ye ought to be ashamed that ye never heard it before."
"I wish, sir," said Mackworth, "that you could possi-
bly stop yourself from talking this preposterous, indecent
nonsense. Surely the first and noblest of Irish saints may
claim exemption from your clumsy wit."
An article on the present " Prospects of Co-opera-
' tive Societies" relates to joint stock and other com-
panies. The Hon. Mrs. Norton furnishes some
beautiful lines to the memory of the late Prince
Concort. 'rho best notice we can give of them is
by the following extracts :
What—He, whose busy brain had planned
So much for his adopted land
He, who had yet scarce turned the page
Dating past youth to middle age,
The counsellor of wisdom proved,
The chosen of a Queen beloved,
In prime of life and princely rank,—
Gone ?—gone : fill up the blank 1
Gone 1 Even now, to wintry gales
The foreign ships have spread their sails,
Bringing the beauty and the boast
Of other realms to Britain's coast.
The busy rout of lading past,
The shifting cargoes all made fast,
Freed from the shouting and the din,
The motley treasures rest within.
Tasks toiled at with a loving pain,
The anxious work of hand and brain,
Lie buried in each silent hold :
Rich stuffs, and carcanets of gold,
And cereal things, whose gathered store
Competing greets our fertile shore,
And sculptured statues, soon to rise
Like apparitions on our eyes,.
And complicated wheels, which rest
In muffled coverings, strangely drest,
Till the bright slave of human skill,
Set free to work his master's will,
With whirring hum and dim low moan,
Some wondrous motive-power makes known.
These come :—He schemed their meeting here :
To Him that rivalry was dear :
His tourney of the arts of peace,
The world's production and increase.
These come :—and, with them, many a man
Of earnest thought and active plan :
His voice should praise,—His smile should thank,—
Gone I gone 1 fill up the blank I
• •
And for this Prince, let England give,
Praise for the life he learned to live;
And say—read here a royal name
Shut from the common paths of fame,
Who taught his soul a way to be,
Yet famous with all modesty ;
And like a generous stream, whose course
Is prisoned by impeding force,
Which, in a marble circle bound,
Forbid to flow through freer ground,
Leaps from the narrow darkness nigh,
In silver torrents to the sky,
Making a fountain of delight
To
quen he could,ohou
thirsthe adnidde_chaene
did,—and
sight;oguarve
Sowhat
Free service, cordial, true, and brave,
To those who, when he knew them, young,
Were strangers with a foreign tongue ;
To those who, when he died, were then
His brothers and his countrymen.
Forget not, then, the blameless life
But for her sake, no more a wife,
Whose bitter mourning England shares,
Whose sorrow came so unawares,
Fill—past the mark of shortened days—
A measure of com'leted praise :
And while we say of many a plan,
This work he ended—that began—
Plant the fair column in our land,
Where centuries shall see it stand ;
And for her grief, and for our pride,
Tell how he lived, and how he died ;
So memory's sentinels shall prove
Twin angels—Gratitude and Love.
" Ten Days in the Crimea," a sketch of visit of visit
paid to the historical peninsular by one who was
there in 1854-5, and showing

" What is now, and what has been."
Suggestion for the improvement of our Represen-
tative System, and retrospect of the American diffi-
culty, complete the number,

_London Society. No. I.
One would hardly imagine that among the crowd
of serials there could be room for a fresh competitor.
Nevertheless, here is a new comer, full of enter-
tainment and variety, with abundance of illustra-
trations. Among the best papers are " A Stroll in
the Park," " London Flowers,' and an essay
entitled, " Why Germany Glories in the Memory
o f Schiller."
them
There are also tales in plenty,
one
giving an amusing account of the
melancholy fate of an amatfur choir in a country
church. The pictures are certainly above the
average, and the whole magazine is very promising
for a first number.

Temple Bar.

ig Aurora Floyd" is continued in some very
exciting chapters. She refuses two offers, but,
unfortunately for one of the gentlemen, relents in
his favour at last. Some dark hints are thrown
out relative to the mystery which hangs over her
previous career. This is a very forcibly-written
tale, sure to attract considerable notice. " Captain
Dangerous also proceeds. It is not so generally
entertaining as its predecessor, and the old English
style renders it more uninteresting; but it pos-
sesses the usual ability which always appears con-
spicuously in all writings of its author. " Invited
and Declining" is a touching poem that blends
successfully fun and feeling, and serves to remind
us how vain are the days of earth's jubilees if the
spirit's affections are laid with the sleepers
in the tomb. For them no days of re-
joking will dawn till the last Great
may not One of meeting where Death

intrude, and where partings shall come no more for
ever. "My Louisa" is a slight sketch sufficiently
amusing to dwell upon. There is a good article on
the " Lifeboat." Treatises on this subject are gcee -
rally attractive, and this one does not fall below the
average amount of merit. It is justly said that the
hope has been entertained that all knowledge on
this topic will possess interest for the frit nd of
humanity, and when a fierce gale howls around
" we may have a greater appreciation of, and a re-
newed confidence in, those wonderful boats, in
which some of the noblest of England's sons aro
hastening to the rescue, and are braving the direst
hardships—it may be death—for their fellow-
creatures' sake."

The British lr orkman.
This excellent periodical has lost none of its
attractions. It is crowded with woodcuts and
arranged with its accustomed skill. We would,
however, suggest to the editors, that if piety and
temperance Nr ere not so continually inculcated the
effect would be better, and the indifferent or
the scornful reader would be more likely to profit:*
In the part for the first week in February there is
a really beautiful engraving of the late Prince Con-
sort from Wyon's celebrated medallion. It is far
superior to many more expensive likenesses.

The Sixpenny Magazine.
In this particularly cheap periodical the cha-
racter is well sustained ; and although it contains
no writing of a high class, yet the light stories
are amusing. " Scenes in the Life of Haydn" are
concluded. " Bacon's Essays," which are extracts
from the diary of a learned pig, is a satire on human
depravity. "Lady Audley's Secret" and "Flynt-
shire" are short and entertaining. The only scien-
tific paper is " Animal Lifb in the Ocean," which
contains much information.

The Paris Elegant and journal of Fashion is a
charming addition to oar stores of beau monde ad-
visers, and this one is a delightful pioneer along
the silken paths, which wherever they lead as to
ultimate profit, for the present are always pleasing.
The plates are really elegant and well bear out the
promise of the title page. At this juncture, when
the portals of fashion roll back, it is doubly wel-
come to meet with so bright and entertaining a
periodical, and so fascinating an intelligencer of the
modes and manners of polite society, and it is to be
hoped that a success coeval with its merits will
attend its admission to those circles to which it pe-
culiarly appertains, and wherelit will be of utility in
various ways in precept as well ad in example.

MISCELLANEOUS.
The Eclectic Review is always worth reading, and
the present number has some good and attractive
papers. Good Words is so welcome a visitor at so
many firesides that we need hardly descant on its
merits. The Editor himself, the Rev. Hugh S.
Brown, and Principal Leitch are among this month's
contributors. Prominent among its lighter attrac-
tions is the continuation of Miss Muloch's pleasant
story of " Mistress and Maid. " A paper
by the late Rev. Edward Irving is also
published in this part.--The London Medi-
cal Review has a good deal of discussion on
matters interesting to the profession to which it is
addressed. A review of Dr. Sharp's answer to Sir
B. Brodie's famous letter on Homoeopathy, suggests
a very sensible and practical test of the merits of
that system.—Newton's London Journal has a paper
on " Patent Law Reform" and its usual list of
has
of re-
cent patents.—Duffy's Ilibernian Magazine
plenty amusing and striking papers. Its ,polities
lntd,uestirnitaelresMagazineinterests
r a isd e sa,.:
publicationuarseefguelnui n e genuinely Ir is
devotedh. 7 he
to h
men and artisans.—Routledge 's Illustrated Natural
History is the best work of the kind published.--
Le Follet has a charming array of fair ladies fasci-
natingly attired, and a lull account of the goddess
of fashion's vagaries.— The Intellectual Observer
published by Groombridge, contains much.
curious and varied information.—Beeton's publica-
tions are continued with their accustomed excellence
and moderation. This enterprising publisher sup-
plies a perfect treasury for boys, while ladies will
find The Englishwoman's Magazine a complete
domestic manual.— Young England is a new penny
periodical for the young, upholding temperance
principles.—The If orkman's Friend has also com-
menced a career of utility and attraction. It is
carefully edited.—Another of the many publica-
tions for the young is issued by Messrs. Routledge,
under the pleasant title of Every Boy's Magazine,
which name it-certainly deserves, for there is no
boy who would not be fascinated by its contents.—
CasselFs illustrated Family Bible is continued with
unabated excellence.