The Portland daily press., 1869-02-06
Varieties.

pieased 10 speak admiringly of "ShakeSpeare's .
She Stoops TO Conquer"
M. Laboulaye, the eminent French Acad-
emician and fast friend of America Is NOT 10
lecture in New York as reported. He has
written to Miss Mary L Booth, the American
translator of bis books, that the state of his
health and his dislike of sea voyage must
prevent his coming to this country.
The Gardeners Monthly says: "Should
any of our fair readers find her plants, by some
uulucky calculation, frozen in the morning, do
not remove them at once to a warm place, but
dip them in cold water and set them in a dark
spot where they will barely escape freezing
Sunlight will only help the frost's destructive
powers"
Mr.. Henry I. Tuckerman has been deco
rated by King Victor Emanuel with the "Or-
der of Officer of the Crown Of Italy" in ac-
acknowledgement of his eminent services in be-
half of Italian interests, literary aud political.
-Ata a concert in New York week or two
ago, some old English madrigals were sung,
and made such sensation that the papers Of
that city predict the revival of this kind OF
music A madrigal is a short amatory poem
of four or more lines. There is no rule as to
the rhythm or rhyme, or, in some eases, even
to the sense. The older English poets delight
ed in these little love strains, and so did some
of the Greek writers. These amatory lines
speedily suggested ideas to musicians, and
were set TO music in three, four, five OF even
SIX OF seven parts. The old fugue aud canon
styles were preserved in these compositions
hrst produced in Italy, where composers like
Palestrina aud Alessandro Scarlatti often used
the sonnets of Petrarch on which to base their
musical thoughts. English madrigals began
to be written about 1890, and for century
were in great vogue.
-Old travellers, knowing the propensity of
baggage masters to hurl their trunks around,
hrve resorted to various devices to secure the
safety OF their property. Trunks of leather,
entire, or covered with thick plates of zinc,
are made use Of; and recently there was found
among lot of baggage just starting from a
Western city, one trunk thiekly encased in
sheet iron, with the owners name painted
thereon in large letters, and Immediately un-
derneath the somewhat profane sentence,
Throw and be -" (We omit the exple-
tive.) l.
Says discreet observer: 1t is not worth
while to hear what your servants say when
they are angry; what your children say when
they slam the door; what beggaF says whose
petition you have rejected; what your neigh
bors say about your children; what your rivals
say about your business or dress.
Mrs. Stowe says that the faculty Of saying
one distinct thing at time, in a pure and SIM
pie form, unencumberei by unnecessary
words, lies at the foundation of all good writ
ing.
"A French traveller in this country writes
home that the Mdrseillaise is so mutlated here
that if it had been sounded to the volunteers
of '93, they would not have marched TO the
foe with much enthusiasm. After all, he adds,
it is perhaps an effect of climate; notes. like
IDEAS, change with the longitude; what is a
MarseiHaise in France may become pastoral
in America.
AT one of the once fourishing stations on
the overland route, now deserted for the Pa
cific railroad, joker has placed two human
skulls on the steps leading to the doorway of a
desolate hotel.
Tom Cooke tells story of an occurrence
at provincial theatre in Ireland, where Mac
ready was personating Virginius. In prepar-
| ing for the scene in which the body OF Denta-
tus is brought on the stage, the manager call
ed to Pat, his property man, for the bier. Pat,
being of a "heavy" temperament, responded TO
the call by saying that he would fetch it sim
maditly," Pat next made disappearance with
full foaming pot of the right sort, and was
received with thousand and one curses for
his stupidity.-"The bier, you blockheadp'
murdered the manager. "And isn't it here?'
exclaimed Pat, presenting the mug. Not
that, you jackassl 1 mean the barrow for
Dentatus. "Then why don't yousoll things
by their right name?" muttered Pat. "Who
would suppose you meaLt the barrow when
you called for beer?"
"A new volume OF D'Aubigne's "History of
the Reformation in Europe in the Time OF
Calvin" is neariy ready for publication
The Chicago Advance says: "Three-fOurths
of the postofices in the land should be kept by
women. They are strong enough, shrewd
enough and business-wise enough for the
work. They might be more tempted than men
to peep into love missives, but not half as apt
to pilfer money letters How many communi-
| ties viii silence the present masculine wran-
giles for the postoffice and unite in recommend
ing some efficient, self-dependent woman for
the paee?"
Two rival spectators had an encounter
| with fists in the New York Gold Room the 9TH
| er day.
Tue March number Of Lippincott's Maga-
zine will contain a poem by Mr.. Charles G
Leland, with the title, Hans Breitman as a
Politician"
| Mr.. Lecky's new book, the History of Eu-
ropean Morals from Augustus to Charlie
mague," is in press in London.
AT an agricultural dinner a farmer gave as
his toast: "The Game of Fortune-Shddie the
cards as you will, spades must win"
Mr.. William Cullen Bryant read paper
on the genius and character of the late fltz-
Greene Hal eek, before the New York Histor-
| ical Society," on Tuesday evening.
The Prussian Military Gazette says the
German military organization is now COM
| plete, and that "a million of soldiers can, at
any moment, be placed under arms by single
telegram from Berlin" f1.
Two ladies OF Greenfield, N. H., went out
sleigh:ng the other day. They went without a
gentleman to escort them. One is ninety-two
| years of age and the other is two years her
senior They returned without accident.
Wisconsin has. a Legislature OF carpet
baggers. OF the Senate, containing thirty
three members in all, not one WINS born in the
State. The House of Representatives hes one
hundred members, of whom two were born IN
the State. f
The New Bedford Mercury relates tnat
many years ago, when Nantucket was largely
engaged in the whaling business clergyman
of that town preached from the text, IL, Kings,
W. 7. $50. sell thy oil, and pay thy debt, and
live ,bou and thy children off the rest" The
congregation were indignant at the minis
ter,s attempt to meddle with the oil markell
New Years was celebrated at Fort Benton
by "squaw ball" at which the elite Of the for
est maidens were present, among them the ell
egant and charming Miss wagon Box" ar
rayed in striped silk, bed-tick pattern, with va
rious kickshaws and adornments. Also were
present the affable, polite, ETC., Misses "Stom-
ach," "Fatty," "Alike," and others with eu-
phonlous cognomens. The etiquette Of these
| assemblages i, somewhat peculiar. IL is re-
quired that when you want partner for the
next dance you must nudge her with your
thumb and look at her; if she grunts yo" are
all right, and can count on the easaseneen'' :,
but if she says "Sa," you must poke up "no'n
er. Refreshment consists OF pies Gu. ." s',oeS
and handed around with DueAe' Vi zee
water.
novel by Eugene Sue Is = irauu' Seveial hs'ie
sLo,chss written when the afterwards famous
,,o,,a,ist was nineteen years of age, were found
ond an INSCRIPTIONS publisher tried to force a