Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

SOME POPULAR REMEDIES . Remedies are popular from a variety of causes . Among the humbler classes of society a remedy becomes popular because it is economical , not difficult to procure , and easily applied . Such , for instance , is a cobweb put on a cut finger to stop bleeding . Though this , by the way , is a very uncleanly remedy—as the cobweb , generally from some neglected corner , is charged with dirt—it is , nevertheless , a somewhat effective one . In the

Midsummer Nights Dream we find Bottom , the weaver , exclaiming to the fairy cobweb : " If I cut my finger , I shall make bold with you , Good Master Cobweb . " Blood has a tendency , from the albumen contained in it , to clot more rapidly if a substance is brought in touch with it , presenting a multiplication of points of contact ; thus the cobweb checks bleeding from small blood vessels . The leaf of the matico plant , which is used by

dentists to stop bleeding after the extraction of a tooth , is generally supposed to have a similar mechanical action . When Frank Buckland , the naturalist , was out fishing he had the misfortune to cut one of his fingers , which bled profusely , so he took the down-like seed from the head of a bulrush and pressed it on the wound , when a clot soon formed around the seed , and the bleeding ceased . In the dark ages boiling tar was a common

remedy to arrest the flow of blood from a bleeding - artery ; and , among some barbarous races , this very painful method is still adapted . During the American Civil War old tarred rope , carded , was used to dress the wounded . In our hospitals a finer picked oakum has been employed called " tenak " and " madine lint , " which is tow impregnated with tar . Tar taken internally as " Tar water " was once a popular remedy . It is not

a pleasant medicine to take unless its taste is artfully concealed by more agreeable flavours . Dickens makes little Pip , in " Great Expectations , " say of his sister , Mrs . Joe Gargary , that she had " a belief in its virtues , correspondent to its nastiness , " and " so much of this elixir was administered to me as a choice restorative , that I was conscious of going about smelling like a new fence . " Bishop Berkeley—to whom Alexander Pope

ascribed " every virtue under heaven "—pronounced a eulogy on tar water , similar to that he himself received from ths poet . When he was accused of imagining that he had discovered a panacea in tar water , he acknowledged with perfect frankness that he suspected he had . Berkeley ' s tar was , of course , not coal tar , but tar from pine trees . Tar water has received some commendation of late as a remedy lor bronchial affections . There is not so

much domestic pharmacy as there was , science having plainly shown that many of the " herbes of virtue , " which were credited by the old herbalists with possessing such wonderful powers to cure , are of little medicinal value . Still there exists among some rustic folk a predilection for old remedies , which can be freshly prepared by their own hands , from vegetables and herbs they are well acquainted with , and , therefore , free from the impurities

that may come from long keeping and the adulterations of the market . Moreover , economy is another reason . Herb teas are very popular . A kettle and teapot are almost always ready to hand , and the process of preparation is a simple one . Again , medicine appears less objectionable to take when it is made in the form of a beverage , and called a tea . Saffron , camomile , and linseed are

taken largely in this way , and indiscriminately administered for a great number ol complaints , not only in the country , but by the working classes in towns—often when more potent and valuable remedies ought to be administered . Saffron is commonly accounted a sort of specific for measles—for no known reason . Children , therefore , suffering from this fever often receive no other treatment , and sink under it . Camomile has

been held by country villagers from time immemorial to be a strong tonic , and the smell from beds of the flower is supposed to be , and perhaps correctly , very invigorating for invalids . Large quantities of the plant are grown at Mitcham , in Surrey . Linseed tea is made from the seeds of the common flax plant , and is pronounced to be " very healing . " The testa , or envelope of the seed , yields a mucilaginous substance , which soothes and

protects inflamed and irritable parts . Hence the discomforting sensation produced by a sore throat is alleviated by this simple old remedy . Other teas are made with sage , hyssop , and elder-dower . With the making of elder-flcwer tea Hans Andersen introduces to us one of his charming little fairy stories— " A Tale in the Tea-pat . " A little boy takes a chill , and

after having two tea-cupfuls of elder-flower tea , which " warms one so nicely , " falls into a comfortable slumbsr , while a friendly old man is narrating a story . Taken thus , in large quantities , warm drinks doubtless produce an agreeable sense of warmth in the body at an early stage in colds , and increasing the action of the skin relieve the congestion of internal parts . The soporific effect of the elder-flower has been overrated . ( To be continued . )

Minor Painters In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

MINOR PAINTERS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH .

{ Continued ) . There was one gentleman in this reign , who really attained the perfection of a master , Sir Nathl . Bacon , a younger son of the Keeper , and half brother of the great Sir Francis . He travelled into Italy , and studied painting there , but his manner and colouring is nearer the Flemish school . Peacham on Limning , says , " But none , in my opinion , deserveth more

respect and admiration for his skill and practice in painting than master Nathaniel Bacon , of Broome , in Suffolk ( younger son to most honourable and bountiful minded Sir Nicholas Bacon ) , not inferior , in my judgment , to our skillfullest masters . " At Culford , where he lived , are preserved some of his works , and at Gorhambury , his father ' s seat , is a large picture in oil by him , of a cook maid with dead fowls , admirably painted with great nature

, neatness and lustre of colouring . In the same house is a whole length of him , by himself , draw . ng on a paper , his sword and pallet hung up , and a half length of his mother by him . At the same period , was introduced the custom of publishing representations of magnificent funerals . There is a long roll , exhibiting the procession at the obsequies of Sir Phili p Sidney . It was ( as is said at the bottom of it ) contrived and invented by

Thomas Lant , gentleman servant to the said honourable knight , and graven in copper , by Derick , or Theodjr de Brie , in the City of London , 15 S 7 . It contains about 34 plates . Prefixed is a small oval head of Mr . Lant , cut 32 . The same person wrote a treatise of Heraldry . The eastern side of thecollege of Gonville and Caius , at Cambridge , in which , previous to the extensive alterations which took place some years ago , were the Porta" Virtutis , et

Minor Painters In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

Sapientice , was built in the years 1566 and 1567 . These were joined by two long walls , to the Porta Humilitaiis , and in these are two little Doric frontispieces , all in appearance of the same date , and showing the Roman architecture , reviving with little columns and pilasters , well enough proportioned in themselves , and neatly executed , though , in no proportion to the building they were intended to adorn . On the

entries of the College , under the year 1575 , are these words : " Porta quae honoris dicitur , et ad scholas publicus , aperit , a lapide quadrato duroque extruabatur , ad earn , sculicet formam et effigiem quam Doctor Caius , dum viveret , architecto proe scripserat elaborata . " This gate cost ^ 128 95 . Dr . Caius died July 29 th , 1573 . In the same year are these words : " Positum est Joh . Caio , ex alabastro monumentum , summi decoris , et artificii

, eodem in sacelli loco , quo Corpus ejus antea sepeliebatur cui pr .-eter insculpta , illius insignia , et annotatum cetatis obit usque , diem et annum ( uti viorus executoribus ipse prceceperat ) duas tantummodo sententias has inscripsimus . Vivit post funera , Virtus—Fui Faius . " This monument —made to stand upon the ground , is a sarcophagus with ribbed work and

mouldings , somewhat antique , placed on a basement , supporting pretty large Corinthian columns of alabaster , which uphold an entablature , and form a sort of canopy over it . The capitals are gilt , and painted with ugly scrolls and compartments in the taste of that reign . ( To be continued . )

Reminiscences Of Henry Russell.

REMINISCENCES OF HENRY RUSSELL .

The late Henry Russell said that he once sat out a lecture by an American on his dead self and his works . " Hearing myself talked of as ' gone before , ' at last got on my nerves , and I had to quit the hall . " It is a curious fact that Russell had for years so dropped out of the world ' s ken that he was frequently spoken of , and written about , as no more . He may be said to have retired from the platform comparatively early . His

audiences delighted in singing the choruses of his songs , and he invariably complimented them , saying somewhat in these words : " I thank you for the hearty way in which you have taken part in the choruses , ana I am delighted to notice how much your voices have improved since my last visit . " One ol his stereotyped stories was in connection with his song of" Woodman , spare that tree ,

Touch not a single bough ; In youth it sheltered me , And I'll protect it now . " " In connection with which " he used to say , " I will tell you a little story . Recently in a great hall , after I had sung the song as I have to-night , a gentleman rose in the midst of the audience , and exclaimed , ' Mr . Russell ,

Mr . Russell 1 Did the woodman spare that tree'J' " Mr . Russell was a fine pianist . His accompaniments seemed to speak the words of his dramatic songs . He had the trick of composing descriptive passages that imitated the motion of the waves , the wailing of the storm , and the ripple of peaceful waters . He had a comparatively poor singing voice , but he did

wonders with it ; his recitatives , with which several of his songs begun , were admirably delivered . He was a genius in his way . His " To the West " sent thousands of emigrants to the New World , and his rhythmic compositions were played by pretty well every military band . Our troops marched out of London for the Crimea to the mos t popular of Henry Russell ' s tunes .

Paderewski Outdone.

PADEREWSKI OUTDONE .

Not long since , in Boston , a marvellous executant was announced , an imitator of Paderevvski . He was widely advertised . There was a great audience . He appeared made up like the master ; he sat down and played in the most extraordinary way . The variations of a simple melody which he achieved would have taxed the power of half-a-dozen hands ; his fingers flew over the key-board . The applause was deafening . The performer ,

his hands still upon the keys , rose and bowed , and then gracefully withdrew , but the piano still went on with thrilling power . It was a piano which they wound up . It is told of a lady that when she was a girl , in the little village where she lived , they had in their church a barrel organ ; one Sunday it went on playing the Old Hundreth . Nobody could stop it ; they carried it out into the churchyard , and piled the church matting upon it .

Lyric Theatre.

LYRIC THEATRE .

Mr . Robert Ganthony has contrived to give a new aspect , and a funny one , to bigamy , by making the justly-jealous wife of an intending bigamist impersonate her rival , and under this guise try to remarry her own husband . This diverting idea furnishes the rivulet of humour trickling through the farce of " The Ring Mistress , " with which that lively comedian , Miss Kate Phillips , has started her first essay in management for a season of matinees ,

at the Lyric Theatre . The diversion was continued by the errant husband being turned aside from his felonious purpose on seeing the two ladies , identically apparelled , seated together , and taking one for the ghost of the other . The impersonation of a circus rider , posing as a sham photographer , and his wife and erring mistress , was genially developed by Mr . Robb Harwood and Miss Phillips .

GENERAL NOTES . Mr . Benson has secured the services of Miss Calhoun for the part of Portia in "The Merchant of Venice . "

Sonnet For The Month Of January.

SONNET FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY .

A little child steps gladly forth to meet us . With eager , stately , welcome in his stride ; He stretches out his chubby hands to greet us , His eyes all fraught with smiles of love and pride . God bless his gay and bonny , winsome face , Whereon is seen no trace or thought of fear . List his sweet voice , as with a winning grace , He wishes us a bright and Happy Year . O I would that he could be for ever young—No cloud of care to dim his beaming eyes ; With nought to stop his merry , prattling tongue , Or change his sunshine to an eve of sighs . No anguish and no pain to wring his brow , Which haply wears such joyous beauty now 1 Bradford . CHAS . F . FORSHAW , LL . D ,