The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-07-16

and falling to thc motion Of her hands. ani The sst
gray hair underpeaeh toehed hurriedly back 81 the
ear On one side, where y had thresssnsd 70 Be- in
the way.
You should have seen her In tina. large sylins bot
ospacious lap and & shazp .cAopping knife in her
hight hand; With what SOFT easy motion The chop
ping knife fell with what aquiet and smiling air
dear old lady would take mp quantity OF the pow,
showered soitly down to the tray again. thai "meat
chopped too hDe for miuce plea was sure poison"
Then the lsuRh--the quiet, mellow chuckie with
which she regarded the astonished look OF the Irish
girl, who could not understand the mystery OF this
ancient saying. l.as fts LIN
Yes, you should have seen Mrs. Gray at this very
time In order to appreciate fully the Of
an old fashioned New England housewife. They
are departing from the land Railroads and steam
boats are sweeping them away: In little time,
providing our humble tale u not first sent to obli-
Won, this very description viii have the dignity OF
An antique subject. Women who cook their own
dinners and take care OF the work hands are getting
to be legendary even now. rs.. -
PurNAAs MONTHLY MAsAzTNE-The July num-
Der of this ably conducted periodical contains some
Of the best papers that have yet appeared In it.
Although the names Of the authors are In accord
ance with invarable rule Of the publication with
held from us, the wen known pecularities Of their
different styles enables at once to FIX their pc
ternity. Thus, for instance, In the quaint philo-
sophy, pleasant irony, and exuberant imagery Of
the article entitled Sea from Shore" we recog-
nize the sharp, ncisive pen Of the author Of the
(" Potiphar Papers," wreathed for the nonce with
garands Of flowers, and dipped in honey instead Of
gall. There is vein Of kindly indulgence for the
foiblcs Of humanity, and Of charity for its graver
faults pervadng its whole tone, which presents the
mind Of the writer under another and more pleasing
phase and proves the justice Of the observation that
like the surgeon who steels his nerves against the
agonies that he is compelled to cause, but whose
eyes grow moist at tale of misery-the satirist
who lasbes with the greatest severity the ollies and
vices Of mankind, may yet be the most sensible
himself 70 the spectacle Of human suffering. There
is good deal in the style Of this article that re-
minds Of the quaint method Of the older
but its seDtimentality is rendered pqusn: by the
naturally caustic turn Of the writer's mind. The
following will show at once Mr.. Curtis power Of
mental analysis, and his force of descriptions
In the month of June, Prue and like to walk
upon the Battery towards sunset, and watch the
pleasant places along the coast where people pass
the hot months. Sea side lodgings are not very
comfortable, am told, but who would not be a 1T
tie pinched in Lis chamber, il his windows looked
upon the scar In such praises Of the ocean do /
indulge at such times aud SO respectfully do re-
gard the sailors who may chance to pass, that Prue
often says, with her sarewd smile that my mind Ia
kind Of Chelsea Hospital, full Of abortve marine
hopes and wishes, broken legged intentions, blind
regrets, and desires, whose hands have been shot
away in some hard battle Of experience, so that
they cannot grasp the results towards which they
reach. She y right, as usual. Such hopes and in.
tentions do lie, ruined and hopeless now, strcwn
about the placid conssntnent Of my mental life as
the old pensioners sit about the grounds ut Chelsea
MANNED and musing in the quiet morning sunshine.
Many one among them thinks what Nelson he
would have been if both his legs had not been pre-.
maturely carried away; or in what Trafalgar Of
triumph he would have ended, it, unfortunately, he
had not happened to be blown blind by the explo-
sion Of that unlucky magazine. So dream, some
times, of straight scarlet collar, stiff with gold
lace, around my neck, Instead Of this limp white
cravat; and have even brandished my quill az the
Office SO cutass-wse, that ritbottom has paused in
his additions and looked at me "a II he doubted
caih. Yet he understands 4. Ttbottcm was born
in Nantucket.
That is the secret of my fndness for the sea- /
was born by it. Not more surely do Savoy ards pine
for the mountains, or Cockneys for the sound Of
Bow bells, than those who are born within sight and
fealty In dreams the children Of the sea bear its
voice. have read in some book OF travels that
certain tribes vi Arabs have name for the ocean,
ana that when they cane 10 the shore for the Grst
time, they asked with eager sadness, as II penctra
ted BY the conviction of . supcrior beauty, "yhat
Is that desert OF water more beautiful than the
land !" And ia the TRANSACTIONS Of German stories
which Adonirum and the other children read, and
into which occasionally look In the evening when
they are gone to led for like to know what in
terests my children--I find that the Germans, who
do not live Lear the sea- love the fairy lore Of water
a. tell the sweet stories Of Undiae and Melusina
as II tbey had especial charm for them, because
their country Ia inland.
We who know the sea have less fairy feeling
about il, but our realities are romance My earliest
remembrances are Of q hong range of old half dapi
dated stores red brick with steep wooden roofs
and stone window fralnes and door frames, which
stood upon docks built as IL for immense trade with
all quarters Of the globe. Generally there were
only few sloops m0ored to the tremendous posts,
which ! fancied could easily hold fast Spanish
Armada In tropical hurricane. But sometimes
great ship, an East lndaman, came sailing up the
harbor, slowly, azy, with rusty, scanned, blistercd
sides, and dngy sails, with air OF indoent self.
importance and consciousness Of superiority, which
inspired me with profound respect. Ii the ship had
ever CHANGED to run down q rowboat or q sloOp, oc
any specimen Of smaller craft, should only have
wondered at the tenierityO of any floating thing in
crossing the path OF such supreme majesty. The
ship was chained and cabIed to the old dock, and
then came the discmb0weilinR. Al
How the stately monster had been fattened upon
foreign spoils How II had gorged itself (sach
galeOns did never seem 10 me OF the feminine gen.
der) with the luscious treasures Of the tropics p
had lain its lazy length along the shores Of ChinS
and sucked in whole fowery harvests Of tea. The
equatorial sun flashed through the strong wicker
prisons, bursting with banepas and Dectarean fruits
that eschew the temperate zone. Steams Of cam.
pbor, of sandal wood, arose from the hold. Sailors
chanting cabalistic strains, that had 70 my ear q
shiill and monotonous pathos, Ike the uniform
rising and falling OF an autumn wind, tnrned
cIanks that lifted the bales, and boxes, and crates,
and swung them ashore. Bat to my mind the spell
o. their singing raised the frs grant freight, and not
the crank. Madagascar and Ceylon appeared at the
mystic bidding Of the song. The placid sun.
shine Of the docks was perfumed with India. The
universal calm Of southern seas poured from the
bosom Of the ship over the quiet, half decaying old
northern port. Long after the confusion Of unload
ing was over, and the ship lay II all voyages We
ended, dared to creep timorously along the cd.
OF the dock and at great risk Of falling in the BLACK
water OF Its huge shadow, placed my hand upon the