cerned by any person not previously apprized of them. His hand was generally the first arranged, and it was not uncommon for him to complain of the party that they were tedious in sorting the cards. He could tell the precise time by a watch. He knew the number of persons in a room when he entered it; would direct his voice to each person in particular-even to strangers after they had once spoken; and would miss any one who was absent, and I could tell who that was. In a word, his conceptions of youth, beauty, symmetry, and shape, were, for a person in his condition, truly wonderful attainments. So delicate and susceptible was his ear, that he was able to accompany any lesson with thorough bass, though he had never heard it before; thus anticipating the harmony before the chords were sounded, and accompanying it in a manner suitable to its character. INFLUENCE OF CLOTHING ON THE IT HEALTH OF THE SKIN. is a fact which must be apparent to every one, that clothing, in itself, has no property of bestowing heat, but is chiefly useful in preventing the dispersion of the temperature of the body, and, in some instances, in defending it from that of the atmosphere. This power of preserving heat is due to the same principle, whatever form the raiment may assume, whether the natural covering of birds and animals, or whether the most beautiful and elegant tissues of human manufacture. In every case it is the power which the coverings possess of detaining in their meshes atmospheric air that is the cause of their warmth. We have an exemplification of this principle in the lightness of all articles of warm clothing, as compared with water; the buoyancy, for example, of a fleece of wool, or the lightness of a feather. In the eider-duck or the sea-bird, it is the accumulation of warm air within their downy covering that defends them, alike from the temperature of the water, and from its contact. The furs from the piercing regions of the North, which we prize so highly as articles of dress, are, to the animals they invest, so many distinct atmospheres of warm air, and the same principle is carried out in the clothing of man. Our garments retain a stratum of air kept constantly warm by its contact with the body, and as the external temperature diminishes, we increase the number of layers by which the person is enveloped. Every one is practically aware that a loose dress is much warmer than one that fits close, that a loose glove is warmer than a tight one, and that a loose boot or shoe, in the same manner, bestows greater warmth than one of smaller dimensions. The explanation is obvious; the loose dress incloses a thin stratum of air, which the tight dress is incapable of doing, and all that is required is that the dress should be closed at the upper part to prevent the dispersion of the warm air and the ventilating current which would be established from below. The male summer dress in this climate consists of three layers, which necessarily include two strata of atmospheric air; that of females contains more; and, in the winter season, we increase the number to four, five, or six. As the purpose of additional layers of dress is to maintain a series of strata of warm air within our clothes, we should, in going from a warm room into a cold, put on our defensive coverings some little time previously, in order that the strata of air which we carry with us may be sufficiently warmed by the heat of the room, and may not be in need of borrowing from our bodies. Otherwise we must walk briskly in order to supply heat, not only to keep up the warmth of the strata of atmosphere nearest ourselves, but also to furnish those which we have artificially made by our additional coverings. When we have been for some time in the air, if we could examine the temperature or climate between the several layers of our dress, we should find the thermometer gradually falling as it was conveyed from the inner to the outer spaces. These observations on dress have reference to the number of layers of which the covering is composed, but they are equally applicable to the texture of the garment itself. The materials employed by man in the manufacture of his attire, are all of them bad conductors of heat-that is to say, they have little tendency to conduct or remove the heat from the body; but, on the contrary, are disposed to retain what they receive; hence they are speedily warmed, and, once warm, preserve their temperature for a lengthened period, and convey the sensation of warmth to the hand. They are also bad conductors of electricity, and on this account become sources of safety in a thunder-storm. They are all derived from the organic world-some from the vegetable, and some from the animal kingdom: for instance, hemp and flax are the fibers of particular plants, while cotton is the covering of the seed of a plant. Silk, wool, hair, feathers, and leather, are animal productions; of these materials, the first five are chiefly employed as articles of clothing, and in order to be fitted for that purpose, are spun into threads, and then woven into a tissue of various degrees of fineness and closeness. It is evident that this tissue will have the effect of retaining a quantity of air proportioned to the size of its meshes; hence, besides the strata of atmosphere imprisoned between the different articles of clothing, each article is, in itself, the depository of an atmosphere of its own. Thick textures are warmer than thin ones made of the same material, because the body of air retained in their meshes is greater, as we see illustrated in blankets and woolen garments. To the inhabitants of cold climates, feathers are a source of peculiar comfort, but, from their bulk, are not easily convertible into body garments. Linen is a bad conductor and bad radiator. On this account it is that, despite its excellence in other particulars, it feels cold when it touches the skin. From the porosity of its fiber, it is very attractive of moisture, and when the body perspires, it absorbs the perspiration actively, and displaces the air, which in a dry state is held within its meshes: so that in place of an atmosphere of dry air, it becomes the means of maintaining a layer of moisture. Now, water is one of the best conductors of heat, and removes it so rapidly from the body, as to cause a general chill. But this is not all; the moisture in the tissue of the linen has so great a capacity and attraction for heat, that it continues to rob the body of more and more of that element, until the whole of the fluid is evaporated. These circumstances have caused the entire abandonment of linen as a covering next the skin, in hot climates, where the apparel must be necessarily thin. But in temperate and cold climates we get over the inconvenience by wearing over the linen a woolen or leather covering in the winter, and a cotton or thin woolen in the summar. BRONZES-HOW THEY ARE MADE. IN N a former article we spoke of the process of producing a marble statue: we now propose to speak of bronzes.. Bronze is essentially a compound of copper and tin, which metals appear to have been among the earliest known. Copper is not unfrequently found in its metallic state, and fit for immediate use; and tin, though not so met with, often occurs near the surface, and its ore is easily reduced. These metals, though neither of them possesses the hardness requisite for making instruments either for domestic or warlike purposes, appear to have been early found capable of hardening each other by combination; the bronze, which is the result of this combination, consisting of different proportions of them, according to the purposes to which it is to be applied. Bronze is always harder and more fusible than copper; it is highly malleable when it contains 85 to 90 per cent. of copper; tempering increases its malleability; it oxydizes very slowly even in moist air, and hence its application to so many purposes. The density of bronze is always greater than that of the mean of the metals which compose it: for example, an alloy of 100 parts of copper and 12 parts of tin is of specific gravity 8.80, whereas by calculation it would be only 8.63. The green hue that distinguishes ancient bronzes is acquired by oxydation and the combination with carbonic acid; and the moderns, to imitate the effect of the finer antique works, sometimes advance that process by artificial means, usually by washing the surface with an acid. Vasari alludes to this practice among the artists of his time, and to the means they adopted to produce a brown, a black, or a green color in their bronze. Bronze was well known to the ancients. Among the remains of bronze works of art found in Egypt, none are of large dimensions. Many specimens of bronze works found in India are doubtless very ancient. In the time of Homer, arms, offensive and defensive, are always described as being made of bronze, or perhaps copper alone, which it is possible they had some means of tempering and hardening. The art of casting statues seems to have been first practiced in Asia Minor, Greece, properly so called, being then prob ably too uncivilized to undertake such works. The first and most simple process among the Greeks, appears to have been hammer-work, in which lumps of the material were beaten into the proposed form; and when the work was too large to be made of one piece, several were shaped, and the different parts fitted and fastened together by means of pins or keys. The art of metal-casting in regular molds was undoubtedly known very early, though its adoption in European Greece is probably of a comparatively late date. Its progress was evidently marked by three distinct stages. The first was beating out the metal, either as solid hammer-work or in plates. The next was casting it into a mold or form, the statue being of course made solid. The last stage was casting it into a mold, with a center or core to limit the thickness of the metal. Bronzecasting seems to have reached its perfection in Greece about the time of Alexander the Great. The ancient statuaries seem to have been extremely choice in their selection and composition of bronze; and they seem also to have had a method of running or welding various metals together, by which they were enabled to produce more or less the effect of natural color. Some works are described that were remarkable for the success which attended this curious and, to us, unattainable process. They also tinted or painted their bronze with the same view of more closely imitating nature. Pliny states that there were three sorts of the Corinthian bronze the first, called candidum, received its name from the effect of silver which was mixed with the copper; the second had a greater proportion of gold; the third was composed of equal quantities of the different metals. The Romans never attained any great eminence in the arts of design. Their earliest statues were executed for them by Etruscan artists. Rome, however, was afterward filled with a prodigious number of works of the best schools of Greece; and artists of that country, unable to meet with employment at home, settled at Rome. Zenodorus executed some magnificent works in the time of Nero. But Pliny, who lived in the reign of Vespasian, laments the decline of the art, and the want of skill of the artists, in his time. The practice of gilding bronze statues does not seem to have prevailed till taste The practice of had much deteriorated. art among the Romans declining rapidly, and with but few interruptions, ceases to interest us about A. D. 200. In the beginning of the thirteenth century, at the taking of Constantinople, we read that some of the finest works of the ancient masters were destroyed for the mere value of the metal. Among the few works saved are the celebrated bronze horses which now decorate the exterior of the church of St. Mark at Venice. Passing over the intermediate age of barbarism, we arrive at the epoch of the revival of art in Italy, under the Pisani and others, about the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The celebrated bronze gates of the Baptistery at Florence, by Ghiberti, which M. Angelo said were fit to be the gates of Paradise, are among the more remarkable works of the time. In the succeeding century we find Guglielmo della Porta practicing the art with great success; and he is distinguished by Vasari for adopting a mode of casting that was considered quite original, in executing his colossal statue of Paul III. The metal, when run from the furnace, was carried downward by a duct, and then admitted to the under side or bottom of the mold, and thus, acted upon by a superior pressure, as in a common fountain, was forced upward till the mold was entirely filled. It is necessary in this process that the mold should be kept in a state of great heat, in order that the metal may not cool before the whole is run. But among the artists who are celebrated for their skill in bronze-casting, Benvenuto Cellini holds a distinguished rank: there are few collections that cannot boast some specimens of his smaller productions, while the larger works that remain, particularly at Florence, prove that his high reputation was not undeserved. In his process, the metal was allowed to flow at once from the furnace into the channels or ducts of the molds. The modern practice of the English, French, Italian, and German artists does not differ materially in its principle from that of the earlier Italians. Before any article can be cast in metal it is necessary that a model of it be prepared. The models must be made of various substances: clay or wax, or sand with clay, are those usually employed; but they may also be made of wood, stone, or any other material. Upon those models molds must be made. These are commonly composed of plaster of Paris, mixed with brick-dust, sometimes sand, or sand with a mixture of cow-hair. For molds for iron and brass work a yellowish sharp sand is preferred, which is prepared by mixing it with water and then rolling it on a flat board till it is well kneaded and fit for use. If the article is cylindrical, or of a form that admits of it, it is molded and cast in two pieces; these two parts are then carefully joined together, and the edges or seams carefully cleaned. For the smaller class of works, instead of running the metal at once from a large furnace, earthen crucibles are used, into which the metal is thrown in small pieces: the crucible is placed in a strong heat in a close stove, and as the metal is melted and sinks, more is added till the vessel is full. It is then lifted out by means of iron instruments adapted to the purpose, and the metal is poured from it into the molds, in which channels or ducts for receiving it have been previously made. In noticing the different ways of casting, mention has been made of one in which a core is used. The core, as its name denotes, is a part or portion situated within the body of the cast; and its purpose is to form a center to the work, by which the thickness or substance of the metal may be regulated. In coring, the mold is first made complete; into this, clay or wax, or any other fit substance or material, is then squeezed or pressed in a layer of uniform thickness; in large works it is usually from half an inch to an inch thick. This layer represents the metal. The mold, if in parts, is then put together, the abovementioned layer being left within it, and into the open space in the center a composition (usually of plaster of Paris with other substances mixed with it) is introduced, and made to adhere to the clay or wax, or rather is filled up to it. This is the core, and it is often made to occupy the whole interior of the mold. When this is set, or dry, the mold is taken to pieces, and the material which has been made to represent the metal removed. The mold is then again put carefully together round its core or nucleus, the two portions being secured from contact by stops and keys properly arranged for that purpose. The mold and core are dried, to dissipate moisture; and large molds are strengthened with iron hoops. Channels or ducts are made for the entrance of the melted metal, and others are also made for allowing the air to escape as the melted metal enters the mold; these are called vents. With respect to placing the mold, it is only important to secure a sufficient inclination of plane from the mouth of the furnace to the mold that the metal may run easily and uninterruptedly, and not have time to grow cool and therefore sluggish. The usual method in bronze works of large size is to bury the mold in a pit a little below the level of the furnace, and by ramming sand firmly round it to insure its not being affected by any sudden or violent shock, or by the weight of the metal running into it. When everything is ready, and the metal found to be in a state fit for running, the orifice or mouth of the furnace (which is usually plugged with clay and sand) is opened, when the metal descends, and in a few minutes the mold is filled. The metal is allowed to run till it overflows the mouths of the channels into the mold. The work is then left to cool, after which the mold is scraped or knocked off, and the cast undergoes the necessary processes (such as cleaning, chasing, &c.) to render it fit for the purpose designed. Large bells and statues are cast in the way first described. Brass ordnance is always cast solid. The model is made round a nucleus of wood called a spindle, and the mold of loam and sand made over it. When this is perfectly dry, the model and spindle within are removed, and the mold is well dried or baked. When ready for casting, it is placed upright in the pit, and the metal is allowed to run into it till filled. What is called a dead-head is left at the upper and smaller, or mouth end of the gun, which presses the metal down, and prevents its becoming porous as it settles and cools. After a few days the mold is knocked off, and the gun is ready for finishing. The dead-head is turned off, and the boring, which is an operation requiring great care, is effected. After the founding, the metal cast is often finished by chasing, burnishing, lacquering, plating, or gilding. One of the largest cylinders, cast and bored in iron, is that employed at the Mostyn colliery in Flintshire. It was made at the Haigh Foundery at Wigan, in 1848. It is 17 feet long, by 8 feet 4 inches in diameter; it weighs 22 tons; and the quantity of metal brought to a liquid state for the purpose of casting was 30 tons. A silver statue was cast at Paris in 1850. In the preceding year M. Pradier exhibited at the Luxembourg a bronze statue of Sappho, which was much admired for its beauty; and a silver copy of this statue was prepared in 1850, as a prize for a sort of Art Union lottery. The founding was intrusted to M. Simonet, who has produced many beautiful specimens in this department of art. The weight of silver used was about four thousand ounces. The largest cast statue of recent times is the allegorical figure of Bavaria, placed in front of the Rühmeshalle on the Theresien meadow near Munich. The figure is 63 feet high, and stands on a granite base 30 feet high; so that the wreath held in the uplifted hand of the figure is nearly 100 feet from the ground. A winding staircase leads entirely up the interior of the statue. It is said that no fewer than twenty-six musicians were placed within the head of the statue on the occasion of the inauguration. The length of the forefinger, 38 inches, will give an idea of the size of the statue. The statue was modeled by the great sculptor Schwanthaler, who hastened his death by his intense application to it. The founding or casting was intrusted to Stiglmayer; but, as he also died, the work was carried out to a successful completion by his pupil Ferdinand Miller. The statue was cast in many pieces, one of which required 380 cwt. of molten bronze! WINTER. BY MRS. H. C. GARDNER. Wild wail the wintry winds; The fitful Northern blast A thousand echoing crannies finds Within its circuit vast. The bleak and leafless woods, The mountains rude and hoar, The valley's mossy solitudes Look desolate once more. How bright in yonder bower The summer fountain play'd! How beautiful was shrub and flower, And leafy colonnade! The same clear gushing rill Goes gurgling down the glen, But are the green leaves waving still As they were waving then? |