Year: 1866

Dickens All the Year Round, in an arti,
Gle on 1.-THE pleasures of Illness" says:


Nothing astonishes a weakly person who
has been accustomed to illness, so much as
an unusually long period of good health.
1t is something he did not expect it is
like gift to him. Robust persons who
have never been accustomed to physical
suffering will find it difficult to understand
this feeling. Their wonder is that they
should ever be i'll at all | have noticed


that the moral effect of illness upon the
strong man is the moral effect of health up
on the weak man. When strong man is
stricken down he takes TO his prayers. But
the time when the weak mans thoughts are
more elevated towards spiritual things is
when he is we'll The latter is too thank
lul TO Heaven for its abundant mercics to
begin whining the moment he is laid upon
bed of sickness. To my mind, that which
produces spirit of thanktulness is the
best chastener Of the heart 1t is not Il
scourge, but purifier | have no belief III
the rod, either moral or physical When l
am in health, and have the full enjoyment
of all my faculties, and when the SUI
shines, and all nature is beautiful arounI
me, then | am good. | ca mot say that my
heart is touched in the same way by atflic-
ton and gloom. 1t is not then in a spirit
ual way that | profit by illness. but simply
because it enables me to throw off my
cares as | throw off my clothes, and put
my mind to rest with my body. To de-
scend to some commonplace particulars in
illustration of the pleasures of illness,


will mention first of all the delight of being
able to think without a purpose. When
am well, my thinking must take a practi-
/ cal direction. have no time to indulge in
loose fancy. Whatever thoughts may en-
ter my head, | must mould and shape them
for use | must parcel out and pigeon
hole them. And there is the involutc pro-
cess of thinking about thoughts, overhaul
ing the aforesaid mental pigeon-holes to
see that everything is ready to hand-a
process which is very weary and painful


But sitting here by the fireside, utterly i'll
capactated, give free rein to my fancy
aud set myself to thinking about nothing
! And when you don't try to think, then
pleasant thoughts enter your head unbid


den You call upon the divine Nine, OF
any other source of inspiration, until you
are hoarse, without bringing the pleasant
| fancy which pops upon you like fairy
girt. You sit by the fire with your feet
among the tenders, staring vacantIy at the
Goals, and a vision of beauty reveals irsel


in the flame. These are the pleasant day


dreams which the mind enjoys when it has
an opportunity of playing the idler.


The ART OF PRINrING--Disreli believes


and brings up mass of evidence to sus


tain him, that the art tof printing was known


to tn, Romans. but that they rejected it al


unsuited to their civilization, and that TIN


Emperors were bitterly opposed to it, as il
it they recognized powerful enemy thei


tyranny. They did, however. make use Q


it on small scale. The Emperor Justin


ian had stamp on which were engraved O


carved the letters of his name, and he mad


constant use of this for signing documents


Theodoric did the same. The movable let


tiers with which the Roman potters stampe


their wares were similar to those used b.
the book-binders of the present day for le
tering &c. The Romans were also perec
; ly familiar with printing ink, and their r(
fusal to make use of the printing pres
1 must be attributed either to the opposltlo
of the Emperors, or the popular belief tha
3 it was not suited to such high civilization.