The Ottawa free trader., 1872-01-27
LITERARY NOTICES.
SCrlbnerss Monthly.

lhe February number of this superbly con-
Quoted magazine, comes to US filed with the
choicest reading. 1t is reple.e with articles Of
rare literary merit, and from authors of the
highest excellence, whose several productions,
independent of the respective names of the
writer's, stamp each of them as being of the
highest order.
lhe February number contains among it's
many fine articles, such as: THE Fox Hun
ters," illustrated poem; The Wonders of the
West No. 3" illustrated; "The Mormons," il
Illustrated, Charities OF the Fatherland," illus
trated; "Defects of the National Banking
SYSTEM two chapters of at his Gate; y" How
one Woman kept her Husband > two chapters of
OF "Wilfrid Cumbermede; : Christine Nilsson
and her Maestro,.' &c.
We select the following most sensible article
on the subject OF ventilation Of our homes, from
this magazine:
Entering the door Of one OF our "comforta.
BILE" modern houses, what meets US? A puff Of
scorched air from a register, redolent of burning
lron,-or OF boiled air from steam heater. The
| thermometer is standing at about "a We ad-
vance to the parlor. There matters are even
| worse, for no outside cold has entered with
momentary freshness. The plants in the window
! look yellow and forlorn. Ominous cracks are
| visible here and there in the furniture-nay,
strip of ornamental veneer has actually split off
| from the piano and lies on the carlet. Our
hostess, coming forward to greet Us, is wrapped
in little shawl, and remarks that it is an awful
day; that she hasn't been out, of course but
even Ia the warm house has felt the cold. In
effect she looks blue and punched. Whereat We
wc.1cr, for the room feels insufferably hot but
We place eurself beside her where she sits
covering over the register. and conversation
goes on with what spirit it may under these
circumstance,
AT the end of an hour we are surprised to find
ourselves a little chilly. That il, our head is
hot enough little too hot perhaps-but both
hands and feet are cold and we are inclined to
agIee with our friend when she opines that "the
girl" must have let the fire 60 down. But CLAN.
cling at the thermometer, We stare to see that the
mercury has risen instead Of falling. It 10 now
at 50 deg. And, after all, why should we won.
der? Nature is inevitable in her retributions
and we, no less than the poor gsranium in the
window, must suffer the penalty Of deranged
circulation when we violate her laws OF ten.
perature.
Bad enough, if THIS were all One can live
and be useiul under the triiing discomfort of
cold c&tremities as cur worthy forefathers suffi-
GENTLY proved. But how much of life and of
hfe's best energies, Of thought OF wit, of good
humor Of aspiration, goes down through chose
holes in the foor into neither silence? As from
some kobolds cave, the invisible gnomes of the
furnace climb, e-nerge and steal from us the
choicest finest, most tangible part Of ourselves
No man eyer lived and worked his best in a
room heated over IS deg.--a sentence we should
Ike TO engrave in letters Of gold the iron
Mate of rem .ka and T.. front ,f
steam heater in the land from this day forth and
forever