1881.] LEGISLATIVE BARBARISM. His hair and eyes disclosed his Hebrew stock even more than the anatomy of the face, though in the nose there were characteristics generally found in the Israelite, for instance, the broad nasal bone and the wide alæ. The head was broad at the base, especially in the region of the temples and neighboring the ears, indicating superior vital powers, endurance, and tenacity. The forehead was narrow and high, widening somewhat as it neared the eyebrows, where it was prominent and rounded, indicating a sharp and specific type of perception, great ability in construing character, and power of close and minute criticism. The head rose loftily in the crown, impressing the character with steadfastness of purpose, love of praise, and great ambition. The occipital region was developed strongly in the region of courage and self-defensiveness, contributing to his well-known persistence in carrying out his plans, and undaunted demeanor when opposed, criticised, or censured. He was more audacious than circumspect, more shrewd and skillful in plan than cautious-in fact he had little fear, his objects being kept steadily in view-timidity or hesitation had no place in his counsels. We can not but admire the tact, skill, audacity, and persistence of the man who breasted the tide of English prejudice and sentiment, and fought his way from comparative obscurity to the first rank in English society and English authority. He is an illustrious example of what boldness and perseverance, backed, | to be sure, by some great intellectual gifts, will accomplish. Yet we question the value of his example to the young men of the English-speaking nations, for we think that time will show that in all that this profound party 327 leader did, self-aggrandizement was the actuating motive, and not the welfare and solid glory of people and country. He was a toady of the most brilliant order, at once flattering and cajoling the aristocratic and titled sons of fortune, and molding them to his will, and as such his remarkable connection with the English Government, records no great accomplishment for which civilization will inscribe his name on the golden roll of nation-benefactors. LEGISLATIVE BARBARISM. F there be a remnant of barbarism in IF our civilization, it is certainly as manifest in politics as anywhere else. In New York City, and in the legislative center of the State of New York, lately occurred one of the most unreserved and audacious exhibitions of unmixed barbarism in its treatment of questions of the highest public importance. Directly in the face of an organized movement, supported by the best citizens of New York— a movement having for its object the thorough cleansing of streets in our great metropolis, laden with the accumulations of a long and severe winter, directly in the face of the warnings of sanitary science, and the dictates of common reason, the men whose duty it is to remove the waste of the city refused to do it, and the men who control the political machinery of the State openly set at naught the claims of justice and duty, and refused to institute a measure for so essential a work. We doubt whether a more obstinate piece of barbarism could be furnished by the natives of Patagonia or New Guinea. A good deal of indignant criticism has been published by our moralists with regard to the conduct of profit, and also Wood's "Natural History of Man," Bray's "Manual of Anthropology," Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," and Lyell, Tyler, Denison, Baldwin, are highly esteemed authors on the subject of ethnology. MR. HUXLEY'S POSITION.--J. W. MCC. -Mr. Huxley is an avowed disciple of Evolution, claiming that the evidences are sufficient to war the war in the Transvaal by English gen- recent. You can read them, however, with erals, and with regard to the sanguinary strife between Chili and Peru, but, taking everything into consideration, we think that New York politicians are more deserving of a premium for deliberate malignancy than any South African or South American military tiger of whom we have received accounts. Selfishness and propensity in the savage are productive of coarse and brutal deeds, but in the educated, or so-called civilized politician, they appear to lead sometimes to conduct that is Satanic. THE INSTITUTE OF PHRENOLOGY.-The session of the American Institute of Phrenology, for 1881, will be opened on the first Tuesday in October next, and all who contemplate attending it will learn full particulars by addressing Fowler & Wells, 753 Broadway, N. Y., and asking, for "Institute Circular." It is well for applicants to do this early enough to have time for perusing the works necessary before the date on which the course begins. There is no other institute for giving instruction in character-reading according to Phrenology, and this Institute holds but one session each year. To Our Correspondents, QUESTIONS OF GENERAL INTEREST" ONLY will be answered in this department. But one question at a time, and that clearly stated, must be pro pounded, if a correspondent shall expect us to give him the benefit of an early consideration. IF AN INQUIRY FAIL TO RECEIVE ATTENtion within two months, the correspondent should repeat it; if not then published, the inquirer may conclude that an answer is withheld, for good reasons, by the editor. WE CAN NOT UNDERTAKE TO RETURN UNavailable contributions unless the necessary postage is provided by the writers. IN ALL CASES, persons who communicate with us through the post-office should, if they expect a reply, inclose the return postage, or what is better, a prepaid envelope, with their full address. Anonymous letters will not be considered. ETHNOLOGY.-Question: Are Nott and Gliddon's "Types of Mankind" and "Indigenous Races," the best works on the subject? C. E. C. Answer: They are standard works, but not rant the belief that man has risen from a lower animal type. Hence his scientific writing is pervaded with that bias. 66 BLIZZARD."-According to a correspondent of our friendly contemporary, the New York Evening Post, “blizzard" is a term much used of late to denote a severe and piercing storm. The word reaches us from Texas and from the plains of the far West, and is of Spanish origin, as are many of the quaint-sounding idioms adopted by us from that part of the country. It is identical in derivation with the English word of so much less forcible meaning, breeze. The Spanish brisa, pronounced breeza, and meaning primarily a stiff north-east wind, was easily corrupted by collation into the sound of bleeza. This into bleezad was easy, and hence blizzard. LOVER OF NOVELTY.-G. A. C.--Persons with large perceptive or observing organs, a relatively narrow head, active temperament, and but moderate Firmness and Caution, are naturally inclined to seek variety or novelty. A large endowment of Faith contributes to the moral phase of the disposition of the person seeking variety of experience and association in matters of moral and religious association. TAKING PLASTER CASTS.-Question: Will you please tell me how to make a cast of my head? J. A. B. Answer: It would be a very difficult, if not impossible matter for you to take a cast of your head yourself, as the process involves a good deal of manipulation. See the "Combined Annuals," Old Series, for a complete description of the methods of taking casts in plaster of different objects. WESTERN ALKALI LANDS.-Question: Will you please inform me through THE JOURNAL of the nature of the soil and the cause of the alkali lands in our Western States and Territories, and oblige a subscriber? M. Answer: These alkali lands are as a class flat or slightly basin-shaped, the soil being of a stiff clay, nearly impervious to water. In the wet seasons of the past, water accumulated upon them, the drainage of the higher levels bringing with it lime, soda, potash, ammonia, etc., in so lution. As the water evaporated the alkaline matter was deposited, and when dry the flat 1881.] WHAT THEY SAY. ground became hard and incrusted with the alkali. In those regions were or are mineral springs which contribute their substance to the deposit. The springs of Nevada, for instance, are well-known bearers of saline matter, some localities having extensive deposits of salt, and there are in the north-west and central parts of that State "mud lakes," which are nothing more than alkaline land in process of formation. BABY FEEDING.-J. C.-Your questions are in great part answered in the article entitled "Baby" in our last Number. The book "How we Fed the Baby" will be of service to you. Most mothers and nurses overfeed their young charges, and that is the reason for most of the stomach disorders which make babyhood a period of anxiety. CARRIE B. H.-We can not open THE JOURNAL to give descriptions of character to any who may send us photographs. If we were to do so every page of it would soon be so occupied. We wrote to tell you so, but not having your full name, the letter is just returned to us. If you will send for "Mirror of the Mind," you will learn from that the conditions necessary for having a full description of character of yourself or any friend made from photographs. ERRATUM.-Mr. Todd's full name was incorrectly given in our last Number. It should have been Woodward H. Todd instead of Wil liam H. Todd. What They Say. Communications are invited on any topic of interest; the writer's personal views, and facts from his experience bearing on our subjects, being preferred. NECESSITY OF A KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE.—(From a letter to the Publishers of the PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL). Men in public life are dependent upon the public largely for their success. Many intelligent and well-meaning men have become complete failures, simply because they understood not Human Nature. They knew not how to strengthen their friends or disarm their enemies. How often we hear it said, "Poor fellow, he means well, but is always in hot water." While of another, who is far from brilliant, 'tis said, "He is lucky, as usual." As though chance or luck had anything to do with the success of the one or the failure of the other. 329 who our friends are than to be ignorant of our and attack. There are times when a retreat is presented by living men; the presentation of these to us by force of our surroundings, be they by choice or otherwise, go to make our peace or disquietude in proportion as we have learned how to disarm our foes, be they men, women, or circumstances. I have learned by closely observing, that my chances for success are enhanced by having certain persons as my enemies rather than as my friends. One popular preacher has said, "The Lord deliver me from my friends." Politicians ofttimes have been defeated simply because they have chosen the wrong men to advocate their claims. Unworthy persons have been elevated to positions of trust because of the influence exerted over the people by "stump speakers" of large hearts and smart heads. How often, when special work in a church is to be done, and the persons to undertake it must be chosen in haste, sad mistakes are made by the pastor in following the advice of certain advisers, who are ever free, but seldom competent, to give advice. The Scriptural injunction of Paul to Timothy, "Study to show thyself approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word," etc., would at least remind us of the importance of not only understanding the words but the natures and dispositions of those who are to hear. I will not underestimate the benefit and importance of the study of Greek and Hebrew by the theological student, but I am perfectly safe in saying that an insight into the study of human nature by the channel of Phrenology and Physiognomy will prove a greater blessing to him, to his people, and hence to his Maker, than the mastery of the dead languages. We should be acquainted with the strong fortifications of those who are friendly to us or to The preacher who preaches to his people, the business of our life, and learn to see the ex- rather than over them, to the ceiling, or under posed places and breeches in those of our enemies, them, to the floor; he who looks his congregaor the enemies of the cause for which we hope to tion in the face, watches the changes which take make them friends. place, the expression upon the countenance, will In truth 'twere better for us not to know enjoy the study of "Brain and Mind.” It will start him on an investigation of the powers of his own mind and desires of his own heart, and he will not rest satisfied until he has made some improvement in himself, and thereby becomes the more competent as a molder and fashioner of the thoughts and feelings of his hearers. WILLIAM HOLLINSHED, Pastor of M. P. Church, Lebanon. INJUSTICE TO THE HOG.-The Rev. Dr. Dobbs warmly defends the animal to which society is indebted for lard, ham, and other porcine productions, against certain common animadversions of the day, thus: In the course of my researches at the State Fair, I naturally devoted some attention to the apartments occupied by the swine. Never was I more impressed with the gross and grievous injustice that has been done these, our fellowmortals. As I saw them lying in the enjoyment of innocent felicity (though unconscious of their blessings); as I watched the faces, unfurrowed by care or guilt; as I remarked them, in the exercise of cultivating benevolence, cating for the good of others, putting upon their ribs and on their quarters the deposits which others will enjoy after they (the swine) shall have passed away, I could hardly repress my tears. Especially was I moved when I recalled the odium which is undeservedly heaped upon them. PERSONAL. WILLIAM LAWTON, formerly a merchant of New York City, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the American Institute, died at his house in New Rochelle, April 28th last, at the age of eighty-five years. Mr. Lawton is well known in connection with the highly-esteemed variety of blackberry which he first cultivated, and which was named after him. MRS. HUGHES, the mother of Thomas Hughes, has been so pleased with what she has heard of the new Tennessee colony that she has determined to visit it, although more than eighty-three years old. THE Oak frame in which Mrs. Hayes' White House portrait is placed was carved by Cincinnati lady-artists, with representations of oakleaves, acorns, grapes, lilies, sunflowers, and hawthorn. The frame was paid for by a few prominent ladies of Cincinnati. REV. DR. MIX, of the First Presbyterian Church at Orange, N. J., in consequence of some dissatisfaction in the congregation, recently gave notice of his intention to resign his pastorate. The church, by a very large majority, refused to consent to the resignation. JUDGE JAMES GARLAND, of Lynchburg, Va., has just completed his eighty-eighth year. Of him a paper of that city says: "He practiced law for fifty-eight years, for ten years was Judge of the Corporation Court of this city, and for eleven years was in public life as a member of the Legislature or Congress. To-day he is sitting and patiently trying cases and delivering opinions, showing great vigor of mind and considerable physical force." WISDOM. "Think truly, and thy thought Shall be a fruitful seed." VIRTUE is the politeness of the soul.-Balzac. REPORT is a quick traveler, but not a safe guide. It is often the case that men, for the sake of getting a living, forget to live THE power to do great things generally arises from the willingness to do small things. RECOLLECT that trifles make perfection, and that perfection is no trifle.-Michael Angelo. A MAN with a very small head is like a pin without any, very apt to get into things beyond his depth. THROUGH WOе we are taught to reflect, and we gather the honey of earthly wisdom, not from flowers, but from thorns. ONE of the illusions is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. -EMERSON. FARTHER On-ah! how much farther? EVERY individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not.-HAWTHORNE. How narrow our souls become when absorbed of the future that makes them great. in any present good or ill. It is only the thought MIRTH. A little nonsense now and then Is relished by the wisest men." "WHAT Ladies Wear," is the title of an article of an exchange. The right kind usually wear well. Ir a young man hain't got a well-balanced head I like to see him part his hair in the middle. Don't you?-BILLINGS. "LET us remove temptation from the path of youth," as the frog said when he plunged into the water on seeing a boy take up a stone. 1881.] MIRTH-LIBRARY. 331 A DETROIT lady called at a drug store the the confidence she exhibits by showing "Minother day and said: "I want a tooth-brush-anie's " letter, full as it is of gossip relating to the real nice one. I want it for a spare bedroom." A LITTLE boy was told by his mother to take a powder she had prepared for him. "Powder! powder!" said he; "mother, I ain't a gun." A NEW YORK man has discovered an "invisible soap." It must be the same article that our small boys have used in their daily ablutions from the most remote periods. NAUTICAL. Husband (jokingly), "O, I'm the mainstay of the family." Wife, "Yes, and the jib-boom-and the-and the-" Small boy (from experience), "And the spanker, too, mamma." [Applause]. EX-SUPERINTendent KiddLE, of New York, sent recently the following toast to a social gathcring: "Our Public Schools-may their influence spread Until statesmen use grammar and dunces are dead; Until no one dare say in this land of the free, He's 'done' for he 'did'; or it's 'her' for it's she.'" parson and herself, to that gentleman. And the disclosures of personal experience, or love-life, on both sides, form the climacterics of the story. The gossips drive Una from the town, and render "Doctor Thorne," the parson, unhappy, of course. But patience, seeking, and waiting have their final reward, and two yearning hearts triumph over all malice, envy, and spite, and in the happiness of union forget past suffering. Miss Buckingham has impressed her volume with warmth and vigor which at times border on sensation, but her motive is high and the lesson she would teach healthful. PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG. By J. H. Kellogg, M.D., Member of American Public Health Association, American Society for Advancement of Science, etc. 12mo, pp. 512. Segner & Condit, Publishers, Burlington, Iowa. There is no lack of treatises, medical and moral, on the evils growing out of the ignorance, indifference, and willfulness of people in their sexual relations, but these evils are so great and obstinate that we are always ready to welcome a new book from an earnest, sincere teacher of physiological truth and moral purity. The more laborers in this field the better for society, Library. for too much can scarcely be said to warn and In this department we give short reviews of such New Books as publishers see fit to send us. In these reviews we seek to treat author and publisher satisfactorily and justly, and also to furnish our readers with such information as shall enable them to form an opinion of the desirability of any particular volume for personal use. It is our wish to notice the better class of books issuing from the press, and we invite publishers to favor us with their recent publications, especially those related in any way to mental and physiological science. We can usually supply any of those noticed. From prose to poetry and then back to prose, certainly indicates versatility in a writer. Miss Buckingham has evidently grown stronger with her author experience, for in this new venture she spreads before the reader's eye a broader view of human nature than appears in her "Self-Made Woman." She shows, too, a specific appreciation of individual character, as some of her personages are well developed; 'Captain Nat," for instance, is nicely delineated, and supplies the reader with much amusing material. "Tabitha Goodenough," too is by no means a weak production. We think the author must have drawn her from some living embodiment among her acquaintances. One thing which seems to us almost incredible, in view of the delicacy which invests "Una Riverton," is instruct old and young in regard to the impro- OUTLINE OF ELOCUTION AND COMPREHENSIVE The author of this new treatise on elocution gives us a well-digested arrangement of the theoretical principles and practical methods involved in vocal culture, and has evidently striven to render a subject which has not a few difficulties clear to the general student, so that one who desires to pursue the study of elocution, and can not avail himself of the aid of a teacher, may take this manual and follow its directions with full confidence. The selections are excellent, comprising most of the masters of English literature, and sufficiently abundant to cover a broad field of thought and sentiment. |