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at): walnuts! macaw.

INCRfiASE OF CR1 M E.

The calendar at the late Assizes for the Gore District, ex- hibits startling evidence ofthe fearfiil increase of crime in our community. No fower than four rational beings hava been sentenced to death, three ofthem tor murder. Here, then, ifthcse sentences are put in execution, are seven units

deducted from the sum ofhuuian existence, not by the “act!

of God," but by the agency of human crime. Such ti fact, more especially as it is far front being an isolated one, is well calculated to awaken deep and serious reflection. The crime of murder, which, till within a few years, was of rare occur fence, and when discovered was invariably visited with stern Ind relentless retribution, has now become, as it were, part and parcel oftlie social economy—a merely ordinary subject ofspeculatiou. Men of depraved atid vicious habits have always been accustomed to rob and steal for a livelihood, or forms means of gratifying their evil propensities; but mur- ‘“'i “I In Ovary day sigmoftbe times, is a new thing alto- gether. How is this startling frequency ofa crime so shock~ mg to the common feelings of humanity to be accounted for? The law requiring the forfeiture of life for life is still unre- pealed; and innocent blood cries asloudly from the ground for vengeance as over; yet so it is that the destruction of human life by violence has become so common as to be re- garded with a less degree of horror than that which accrues from the ravages ofan epldeniie disease. However parit- doxical it may appear, we have no hesitation in attributing, in a great measure, the increase ofthis terrible crime to that morbid, maudlin spirit of sympathy, which characterises the ,agc. so anger is the hunt after subjects ofexcitiug sympa- thy and interest, that a murder is regarded as a God-Send. Tears are so plentiful in those days that il'there were tio- ' body murdered, halfofthe people would be drowned in their own tears, But the tiinrderer’s victims are far too few to satisfy the craving appetite of weeping sentimentalism, and they are done to death with too little preparation and pa- rade to auswor the purpose ol'ejéct. There is no thrilling suspense, no exciting anticipation ol'the dread event in their case—tho world knows nothing of the deed till it is done; and being deprived of the “.liixury oftears” over the bleed- ing and mangled corpse ofthc murdered, the world pours them forth in a full flood over the impending doom ofthe unhappy murderer. He becomes the “ohservud ofall obser- vers, ’ the “ cynostire ot‘all eyes"—lie is so penitcnt, so inter- esting, or so insane, that the majesty oljustice gets sub- merged in an ocean ofindiscrimiiuitiug and overweening mercy. How cruel, then, it becomes to hang the hoary mis- crestit—he is a " venerable gentleman ;” or the young villain —-he is an “interesting youth,” “ ol'prepossessing manners, respectable connections,” and all that sort of thing. Now, this liouizing of murderers has a direct tendency to make the perpetration oftbe crime of murder an object ofambition to ill-regulated and vicious minds, and the inaudlin mercy which falls into fits at the mention of a gallows, and turns ,up the whites ofits eyes, in pious horror at the violation of the sanctuary oflife, by the stern requirements of law, is cteoped to the very lips in unconscious cruelty. The crime of murder is as repugnant to the laws of nature, as deeply Itamped with the sentence of condemnation by the laws of God, as it ever was, and ever against it still stands recorded on the statute book of every land of civilization the doom of death. But the law, or rather the lawlessness, of popular feeling has arrayed itselfagaiust the infliction ofthc punish- ment ofdeath, aml just in proportion to the growth ofthat feeling has been the increase of the very evil which it depra- catos—dveath by violence. The arm of the law has been paralized, and that of the assassin doubly iierved by the in- terposition ofthis diseased seiitiuientalism. It is time, there- fore, for legislation to inquire, not into the expediency of abrogating the punishment ofdeath for murder, in order to ‘ reconcile the law with the practice, as is frequently and- properly done in other cases—the law of(.‘od says any to that—but into the propriety of admitting, iii any case, the plea ofitisanity, as an excuse for, or palliation of, this horri- le crime. In England. this plea has lately supercetletl the necessity of making any other. In the United States, no plea is necessary but the public feeling against capital punish- ment iii any case, except the colour of the criminal be tinged with black. Both are beginning to gain strength in this country, and the efl'ects of the influence ofboth are every year showing themselves more and more in the progressive march of crime. God forbid that we should advocate the adoption or maintenance ol'n Draconic code of laws; but when We see that crime is increasing in proportion to the leniency with which it is treated, we cannot help feeling it to be our duty todirect the attention ofthe Legislature to a subject ofsuch paramount importance. The flood-gates of murder, so widely open itfthe neighbouring States, are open- ing here; and it is time to think of devising some means of closing them before the land shall be deluged with unrequit- ed blood.—-Brantford {Canada} Courier.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS AMONG THE ANCIENTS.

The ancients, it must be owned, contrived better than we do to attract the crowd to their games and races, to excite the surprize and constantly vary the amusement of the spec— tators. Who is it :that is get acquainted with the wonders exhibited at, a‘ud the enormous sums lavished upon the Cir—

'ctis? At times the arena was converted into a forest, and those impromptu woods hnrhonred a thousand ostriclies, ti thousand slugs, a thousand (leer, a thousand wild boars, which on a signal given by the Emperor, were yielded to the impetuous ardour of the people., \Vhere secular trees bad arisen, the waters of a lake would spread on another oc- casion, with crocodiles and sea-horses swimming iii them.

~ One (lay twenty zebras, twenty cameleopards, or other nui-

npds renowned for their beauty and gentleness, were exhi- bited to.tho multitude; on another, animals whose titnidity or ferocity had been overcome. Despite ofhis achievements, Mr. Van Anibiirgh, as is seen, is very far from producing these marvellous results.

Pompey was the first who yoked elephants to a car ; Anthony harnessed lions, and those monarizhs of the desert gently dragged lllll‘. through the wondering crowd. I forget

_ which Emperor of Rome subjected to the yoke, ata later pe- riod, stags and tigers. ’ -

Like us,_tlis ancients sat a great value on the primitive characteristics or inipmved qualities of animals, such as strength, beauty, and swiftness. They had carried to a high- or degree than We have the art ofsolteiiiug their nature, or developing yheir intelligence. The qiindrille performed at our Circus, in the Champs Elysees,snrprises and delights us, but the art ol'the rider subdues, supplies, and directs his steed, whilst at the combat ofgladiators given by Germani- cos, elephants executed by themselves a ballet, danced the Pyrrbic, walked along an inclined rope, both backwards and forwards, and four of them carried a fifth with prudence and carefulness, according to Pliny. One ofthoiie animals had learnt to.write some Greek letters, and would, with his pro- boscis, inscribe the following sentence upon sand :—“ l have myself written these words, and consecrated ‘Celtic spoils.”

As for thallion, he who first tamed him had to pay dearly for the feat. It was Hanno, the famous Cartliageuiau, whb had the merit and glory ofit. For the achievement only, his countrymen banished him, it appearing to- them thiit freedom had too much to dread from a man who had con- tryvsd tosubdue ferocity itsel£—' ‘his art was carried further still afler him. That efli‘amiuate prince, Helagabal, fed tam- ed bears, lions, and tigers; and when his guests, atupified by wine, elumbéred upon the purple beds which lay in his gol~ deli rooms, he introduced those formidable animals, that their sight at daylight, or their touch at night, might strike his guests with terror when they opened their eyes. Several died of fright. After him Nuiuerianus and Cat-inns, in the games given in their reign, admitted among the actors in pantomimes,bears that successfully represented various comic personages; those formidable perlorniers were much ap- plauded by the people, and much liked by their comrades.

Anion? useful industry hail obtained better things from the intelligence of horses; a large number had been taught

to pick tip with their teeth the darts scattered over a field of

battle, and 16 present them to their masters. But the taste, fondness, and enthusiasm of the Romans for horses were above all excited when they beheld in their instinct an omen of the greatness of Rome. Races were given at Votes, and

Ratumena won the prize. On his return, he fell from his car; but his horses pursued their course, and arrived at the capital hearing his crown. Rome heiiceloi-th expected ovei - itliiug from her fortunes, courage and horses. I

l Those heroes who quitted the plough to command armies, :valued, sought for, and fed, tit first in their humble fields, land, later, in their vast and rich lurius, the breeds ol animals the most remarkable and the most uselul to rural labours. Varro says that the Senator Axiua paid 1000 sestercs or 90,000 francs for an ass! \Vbat must he have paid for hor- ses? To the English alone, after the Romans, belong the art and honour ofimproring.r the breeds ofnninials by judici- ons selections, and of imparting to every species the lorms best suited to their destination. ‘

Rome displayed both recherche and grandeur in her public amusements. The Circus was crowded with marble and decked with statues; around its vast enclosure arose eighty rows ofs’eats, also of marble, covered with cushions, where- upon 80,000 spectators sat at ease. Rich draperies, extended over their heads, sheltered them from the sun or rain, spout- ing waters cooled the air, which flourers ofthe most exquisite odours perfumed. The arena, upon which the finest sand was scattered, assumed the most varied aspect, exhibiting at one time the l‘Icsperider gardens, at another the caverns ol Thrace.

On many occasions, the decorations were ofgold, silver, or amber; gold nets protected the people against the leaps of wild beasts: the spectators had but a choice of pleasures, and {he Emperor Aurelianus was the first who carried his attention to the public ‘so far, as to .supply them with little haudkerchiefs, either to applaud, adfavorem, or to wipe their faces, ad sudorcm, according in ii more leiirucil reading.

What attraction must not have been prfieutcd by such perlormauces, enhanced by such splendour? To please the people, the Emperors lavished the state treasures upon the amphitheatre: Ncro and Coniniodious figured in it, audall nssidubnsly attended it. Marcus Aurelius, indeed, read whilst the circus {IHI‘IH’R proceeded, and this habit gave the Roman people cause to doubt his virtues. Consuls, pricfects, knights, senators, princesses, and Roman ladies, in all the pomp of their rank, and :ill the splendour of the most elegant tl-rcss, flocked to the place. It was there that tidings from Germany oi‘,tho East, from the army and fleet, and palace and court news,circulatetl. It Was there, above all, that love intrigues were carried on; in his “Art of Loving,” (as ifit were an art!) Ovid urges the beginner in seduction first to be pale, “palleat omnis omens,” and then to exhibit himself at Poni— pey’s Porticos, and the Aiiiphithentre games, for the women, says he, repair thither iii large numbers, both to see and to be seen—

Spertatum vcnnint, vcnuiiit spcrtentur tit ipsm.

\Ve can but observe, in couclusionJhut most modern play or race-gouty women follow their Roman predecessors in the last-mentioned respect.-—Poris Print.

'l‘iii: Bonnet—As regards the resources of the‘country, and its present position, the most important debate which has occurred in the Hpuse of Commons for main a day, took place on the 8th instant, when the annual Budget was laid before the House by the Chanctillor ofthe Exchequer.

year, has been sadly out in his calculations, as Mr. Goulburn demonstrated, every bruhch of the revenue, with the excep— tion of the Post—office, having fallen off. In the Customs, there has been a deficiency of £750,000; in the Excise it is even greater—£1,200,000. The gross revenue would pro- duce, Sir Robert calculated, £47,li40,000; it has only yield— dcd £45,600,000—n fiilling,r ofl‘to the extent ofuearly two mil- lions. Fortunately, the Incnme 'l‘ax has far exceeded the minister’s calculations, and the Chinese silvcr has come in very oppoi'tunely, and the Corn duties, which were not cal- culated upon, have realised it very handsome stun. But for these resources, which could not have bci'u anticipated—— God‘scrids they have been very appropriately termed—tho. actual deficiency would have been three millions and a half on the year! This affords a melancholy index ofthe utter prostration of commerce, and the sufferings under which the great hulk ofthe people have of late been labouring. Under these circumstances, the remission ofthe Income Tax before the time fixed for its expiration—two years hence— uiust not be looked for; and unless the commerce of the country takes an unexpected bound during the interval, it is diflicult to see how it can be dispensed with then. It will yield upwards of £5,000,000 a-year, which is more than Sir ’tobcrt Peel estimated by nearly two millions. The total income (his year is reckoned at £50,150,000, the expenses £49,387,000, leaving a surplus, towards the deficiency oflast year, of£7in,GOO. Little reliance, however, is to be placed on these estimates, which are little better than guesses, while it is certain that two heavy payments will have to be made —-nnuiely, a million and a quarter to the owuci's ofthc opium seized in China, and £800,000 to the East Iiulin Company, towards the expenses oftlie war. At present, England is in the uueuviable spendtbrifl condition ofthe man whose out- lay far exceeds his income.

Tut: MOUSTACHE.—A gentleman never afl'ccts military air or costume if he is not a military man, and even then avoids professional rigidity and swagger as much as possible; he never sports spurs or a riding whip, except when he is upon horseback, contrary to the rule observed by liis‘antngonist, the snob, who always sports spurs and riding-whip, but who never mounts higher than a ilu'eepcuny stride on a lliimp- stcatl donku. Nordoes a gentleman ever \vcara moustache, unless he belongs to one ofthe regiments of Hussnrs, or the Household Cavalry, who alone are ordered to display that ornamental exuberance. Foreigners, military or tion-mili- tary, are recognised as wearing hair on the upper lip with propriety, as it is the custom of their country; but no gen- tleman here thinks ofsucb tithing, any more than he would think ofsportint,‘y the uniform ofthe 10th llussars. There is an affectation among the vulgar clever ofivenriiiu the mous- tnchc, which they clip and cutr‘z la Vandyke. This is useful, as affording a ready means ofdistiiiguishiug between a man of talent and an ass: the former, trusting to his head, goes clean shaved,aud looks like an Englishmanuhe latter, whose strength lies altogether in his hair, exhausts the power of Macasear iii endeavouriugto make himselfa's like an ourang- outaug as. possible. Another thing must be observed bv all who would successfully ape the gentleman—never to smoke cigars in the street in midday. No hettersigu can you have than this ofa fellow reckless ofdecency and behni/iour; a gentleman smokes, if he smokes at all, where he offends not the olfactories oftha passers-hy. Nothing, he is aware, ap- proaches more nearly the most offensive personal insulttluin to compel ladies and gentlemen to inhale, after you, the ejec- ted fragrance ofynur penny Cuba, or your three half-penny mild Havannala—Blacktvood.

Tue Ran SEL—Afler a tedious passage from India, we entered the straits ofJitbel; and few countries present them- selves to the imagination ofthe traveller under circum- stances so well calculated to awaken a deep and lasting iii- tereet as those around us. From the earliest dawn of his- tory, the nether shores of the Red Sea have figured as the scene of’eveuts which both religious and civil records have omitted to render memorable. Here Moses and the patriarclis tended their fl0cks, and put in motion those springs of civi- lization which from that period have never ceased to urge forward the human race iii the career ofiinprovcment. On one hand, the Valley of the Wanderings commenced near the site of Memphis, and opening upon the Red Sea con- ducts the fancy along the track pursued by the Hebrews, during their flight out of'Egypt. On the other hand is Mount Sinai, bearing an“ upon its face the impress of miraculous events; and beyond it that strange, stormy, and gloomy- looking sea, once frequented by Phoenician nierchants’ ships, by the'fleete ofSolomon and Pharaoh, and those barks of later times which bore the incense, the gold, the gems and spices of the east, to be consumed or lavishly squandered upon favourite at the courts of Macedonia or Rome. But the countries lying along this ofl'shot ofthe Indian Ocean have another kind of interest peculiar to tliemse1ve,_ on the Arabian side we find society much what it was four thousand years ago; for amidst the children oflsbmael it has under- gone but trifling modifications. Their tents are neither bet- ter nor worse than they were when they purchased Joseph of hi brethren on their way to Egypt; the sheikhs possess no other power or influence than they possessed then; the

- . | Sir Robert l'ccl, who dcvelopcd the financial scheme last

relations oftlie sexes have sufi'ered little or. no changes; they eat, drink, clothe themselves, educate their children, matte war and peace, just as they did in the day of the Lxgdus. But on the opposite shores all has been change, fluctuation, and decay. While the Bedouins have‘waudered Wllll their camels and their flocks, unuspiriug, uniiiiproving, they have looked across the gulf, and beheld the Egyptian overthrown by the Persian; the Persian by the Gretk ; the Greek by the Roman; and the Roman in his turn by a daring band from their own burning deserts. They have seen empires grow up like Jonah’s gourd. \Vur has swept away some; the vanities and luxuries of peace have undermined and brought oil-ere to the ground; and eVery spot along these shores is celebrated—Lieul. Wetlsted’s Travels in Jirabia.

Priosocaniiv.——A late English work has the following account of a new discovery, viz., the art of writing by sound; ——Anoihcr art has been lately added to various forms ofab- breviated writing, which seems far more available than any which has been hitherto invented. It is called phonography, or literally writing by sound; that is, writing each word ex- actly as it is pronounced. It does away altogether with the tedious method ol'spelling, for it liuedistinct signs forall the sounds of the human voice. It is applicable to all languages. We have before us a hook coutuiniuga part ofthe Scriptures in English, French, and German, Chinese, and. Hebrew, all written in the plionographic character. Nothing has yet been invented which comes so .near to the ‘uuiversul cha- racter,’ su much desired by Bishop Wilkins. . l_l_ generally introduced, it would be a very valuable acquisition to the deaf and dumb, enabling them to express their thoughts with almost as much rapidity as We can do by speech.

Wiio Waors 'rnt: BIBLE ?—A Sabbath-schoolteacher gave out the following question to her class:-—“ What proof can you assign that the Bible \vas written by good men P” A ht- tle girl, four years old, rose and replied, “Bad men would not have written so much against themselves.” , , _

Srunmo Poraroes.—The whole mystery consists in suffering the steam to escape, and at the same time keeping the potatoes hot. When the cook throws off'the water, llll- der the jurisdiction ot'tlie cooking book, what is she to do next? The steam rushes out, and she places the vessel op- positc the fire, but fearful that the potatoes inny cool in the meanwhile, she puts on the cover. Thus she undoes one process by the other, for the steam no sooner escapes from the potatoes than being confined by the lid, it condenses rapidly, and falls back in water upon the vegetables. And thus, through the ignorance and obstinncy of otir cooks, we are perpetually served with what are familiarly called wet potatoes—a sort of vague excuse, which helps to throw the fault upon the season or the gardener, or any thing or any body rather than the real culprit. The Irisli peasant woman, wholly ignorant ofscience, but with instinctive sagacity, gets rid ofthe difficulty by the simplest process imaginable. Placing the vessel without the cover in a slanting direction opposite the. fire, so as to hasten the process of steaming by the action ofthe external hei‘it, she throws a napkin over the potatoes, which receives and retains so much of'tlie steam as does not effect its escape, while it performs the equally es— sential office of preserving the heat to the vegetables below. -—Engli,rh Paper.

SYSTEM.—~S_\‘Sleni is as essential in farming asxin any other occupation oflil'c. Let the farmer, therefore, who has ne- ver reduced his methods to order, commence now; let him examine his farm, make a map ofit, number each field, and having provided himself with a memorandum book, (a few sheets of paper doubled will do, ifa better one cannot be had,) and a regular debt and credit kept with each field. Charge to the field the mantire, labour, seed, &c., and credit to it the crop taken from it, whether ofgrass or grain. It is only in this way that anything like an estimate of profit or loss can be correctly formed. In another part of your book, enter in separate columns all the cash received or paid out by you- Look it over occaSiounlly, and see if any purchases have been iiiiprovideutly or needlessly made—This will be particularly necessary ifyou are in the habit of purchasing articles on credit, one ofthe very worst practices, in our opinion, into which a farmer can liill.

\

To CLEAR a VViwre Vain—Use whito soap, and water about a blood bent, {or getting out the dirt, taking care to handle the veil gently ;- ep rinse it well and finally in spring water, to which a little ' tid blue_has been added, or fine blue from a saucer: then starch and beat between the hands until dry. \ ' t ‘