ing friendly converse with the civilised posterity of the savages of the Sandwich Islands, so rapid had been the progress the world had made in less than half a century. Lyndon paused at the threshold, and, with the aid of Bude lustres, diffusing a light even more brilliant than day, was able, with a single glance, to take within the disc of vision the whole scene we have so imperfectly described. Having seated himself at an unoccupied table, he began leisurely to examine the various groups in detail. The one nearest to him first claimed his attention. It was composed of four young men, varying in age from twenty-two to twenty-eight years. Their gay laughter and joyous faces proclaimed in clear language that the iron finger of care had not yet been permitted to leave a mark on the glorious brow of youth. By their dress and manners, they seemed to be gentlemen, and they were listening with rapt attention to a fifth individual, whose age might have been sixty; but he looked ten years younger, so lightly had he been touched by the revolutions of time. "Yes, you may laugh," he was saying, as Lyndon entered; "but it is nevertheless a fact, that new-year's-eve always makes me melancholy. Reflection opens the gates of Memory; so that, looking beyond a vista of years, and stepping over graves, I perceive troops of friends peopling the scenes of a buried past. But away with sentimentality," he exclaimed, grasping, as he spoke, a crystal goblet of Burgundy: "here's to the master-spirits of the far time, who, in the teeth of difficulty, and in the face of danger, inaugurated the enterprise which has raised our city to its present position of opulence and grandeur!" He drained the goblet to the bottom, at a draught, and his young companions were not slow to honour the toast with similar enthusiasm. "What a pity it was," continued the senior, surveying the beaming eyes of his younger companions with that benignant glance with which mellow age ever regards the dawn and the noon of youth, "that your ancestors and mine were unable to enjoy the vintage of Burgogne cooled in Hi malayan snow, the same as we do now!" 66 I have heard," said the eldest of the young men, "that you were at one time dependent upon American lakes, ice ships, and other uncertainties, for the refrigeration of your wines, and consumptive fluids generally; and as I have seen the model of the 'Ice-house' of former days, I am not surprised that our fathers were occasionally peevish after dinner. It appears simply to have been a stone pepper-castor, or muffineer on a large scale, without the usual dome perforations." "Where saw you this model, Moreland?" asked one of his companions. "I have lived in Bombay, boy and man, with the exception of occasional holiday flights over the globe,-for well-nigh a quarter of a century, and I never either heard of an ice-house, or saw its model !" Moreland smiled, as he replied,"Why, I have heard your father say that he remembered your grandfather mentioning that the old marine curiosities at present scattered over the Victoria Gardens, and labelled 'steamships of the late Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company,' were at one time entirely dependent upon the ice-depôt of Bombay for their ordinary supply of the frozen element. But it is of no use talking to you, Wildrake, you never look to the past; to enjoy the present and anticipate the future are happily the predominant qualities of your nature. Your creed seems to be to 66 'Sip the sweets from every flower, And revel in the passing hour'-A true disciple of Epicurus, without the philosopher's morality to curb your indulgences, or render life disagreeable." 'Nay, nay, Moreland !" returned the youth who had been addressed as Wildrake,-" strike not so hard, I pray. You know that I am always ready to make sacrifices to duty and friendship. Have I not tiffined with you in the rude and damp caves of Elephanta, accompanied you through the dreary caverns of Kanari, ventured with you into that dismal swamp which was once the Lake of Vehar, and made a pilgrimage to the venerable-looking ruin which some half a century ago was regarded by our grandfathers as a pleasant place of public amusement. In fact, I believe the proprietors of the shed had the audacity to call it a "Theatre'!" His companions seemed to support Wildrake, who, thus encouraged, continued: "A votary of pleasure, forsooth! Why, did we not all accompany you, only last week, on an excursion flight to the railway ruins of the Bhore Ghaut, giving up, at the same time, a pic-nic party to Pekin, and thereby incurring the displeasure of some of the most engaging girls of the island ?" "If the Rose of Cashmeer had been of the party," said Moreland, wickedly, you would have preferred a polka in Pekin to your dreary wanderings through the tunnels at Khandalla !" 66 but I have found, since my return, that the subject is hackneyed; and that there is scarcely an album in the city in which my pencillings can find a place!" "I tried," said another, "photography on 'Raj Munchee'; but the result was not satisfactory: the forts and the mountain seemed one, the distance being too great for any distinction to be made, even by the most powerful camera. "And you, Wildrake ?" "Oh! I, as you know, sat by your side, and mentally moralised while you serenely meditated, sipped 'Leoville' to improve the circulation, accompanied you through the curved tunnel, and finally prevailed upon you to venture as far as the 'Berkley Arms,' where our friends and tiffin awaited us." "By the way, Douglas," he continued, turning to his elderly companion, who was busy reading the first portion of the evening's debate in the House of Commons, which had just been telegraphed from London, “I think I have heard you mention that you were acquainted with the eminent engineers who constructed those vast works ?" "Yes, Wildrake, you are right; I knew two of them as intimately as I knew your father-the men who began and completed the Incline, and but for whose exertions a failure instead of a success would in all probability have been the melancholy result. I had also the distinguished honour of taking a part in the inaugural triumph, and— when the train swept into Khandallaof being one of the first to shake hands with Sir James Berkley, and congratulate him upon the splendid engineering feat which his genius had just achieved." "Ah! that was a day worth remembering," continued Douglas, his eye brightening as he spoke. "The suite of tents in which the entertainment was given covered several acres. The speeches were as sparkling as the wines, and the cheers of the guests made the hills and ravines ring as each speaker, in polished periods, alluded to the magnificent work which had just been accomplished. I sat amongst men whose names are now illustrious in history, and participated in one of the greatest engineering triumphs ever achieved in any age or country!" "It is singular," observed Moreland, "that a man possessed of the genius of Sir James Berkley should never have turned his attention to aërial navigation !" "Just fancy," said Wildrake, "the effect that would have been produced, had Douglas risen up and gravely informed the excursion party at Khandalla, on the occasion he has mentioned, that in less than a quarter of a century the railway along which they had just ridden would be in ruins, and the vast viaducts and rock-cut tunnels only visited as objects of curiosity, like the caves of Karlee, or the temples of Ellora! I imagine he would either have been regarded as a madman, or as a gentleman who would require a course of soda-water, and a variety of diffusible stimulants, on the following morning." "Most undoubtedly," said Douglas : "all of us believed at that time, that the railway and the electric telegraph were the culminating points of scientific discovery. Aërial navigation was regarded as a delusion, like the philosopher's stone, or perpetual motion; and instantaneous communication over the entire globe was looked upon, even by electricians, as a dream, the fulfilment of which verged upon the impossible." "Well!" exclaimed Moreland, "let us drink again to our fathers, and the days of 'auld lang syne.' If they did not know how to traverse the air, they at all events knew how to plough the ocean; and we have the testimony of Douglas, as well as the authority of published statistics, that they were able to convey themselves along the earth from place to place with a rapidity which, considering the poor appliances they possessed, must ever excite our warmest admiration. Besides, it was the perfection of their railway system which first directed the attention of the spirit of scientific research from the realms of matter to those of ether. Drink, then, Douglas, and let us join the dancers; the music is inviting, and as a new century has now relieved the old, let us, as Wildrake does, give a zest to Time by promoting, and participating in, Enjoyment." "Agreed," rejoined Douglas: "although the framework is now old, yet the heart is still young. As Moore says, As onward we journey, how pleasant To pause, and inhahit a while Cries" Onward," and spurs the gay hours : The rich voice of Douglas, which the music from the upper saloons; time had not impaired, almost drowned and Lyndon was therefore able to perceive, at a glance, the glorious link which in the present case united youth to age. Starry song was the bond of sympathy; and it was pleasant to perceive, what while the old man was loved as a companion by his young associates, he was at the same time both respected and revered as a gentleman whose word and honour were sterling and unquestionable. It is only amongst the base where hearts are found corroded with age; in the good their freshness is eternal ! As the group which we have endeavoured to sketch rose to depart, Wildrake inquired where they were to spend the holidays. "That was settled long ago, or at least I understood it to have been," "We start to-morreplied Moreland. row to shoot wood-cocks along the pine-clad shores of the Polar Ocean." With these words, Moreland and his companions disappeared from Lyndon's gaze, and in a minute more had joined the revellers in the upper saloons. A CHAPTER ON HORSES. INDIA boasts about the best horses, At He must have done so in Germany, if he ever travelled there on horseback, and he can do so here. The most dreadful purgatory for a horse is a badly ventilated stable, and nothing produces a broken-winded horse sooner. Many of the stables in India are altogether devoid of either effective ventilation or drainage; the ground is allowed to get sloppy and uneven, and the horse dead lame. A senseless rope is tied round the neck, and again tied to an upright post, at such a point as prevents the animal raising his head to any unusual level. The mangers are never cleaned, unless their being scraped, monkey-like, by the syce's dirty fingers, is called cleaning; the stall-boards are suffered to accumulate the filth of months and years; the hay, instead of being eaten from racks, as in most civilised countries, is thrown recklessly to the horse's feet, and is too often unworthy of the name of hay; and, as a grande finale, the animal is turned round with his tail where his head ought to be, for the purpose of being-groomed. (?) What dirt and dust the syces are fortunate enough to extract, fill the air, and settle upon everything in the stable. horses, tasting this, become disinclined for their food, fall off in condition, contract diseases, and have, probably, to be shot. Some ignorant horse-owners allow Natives, who tramp from one stable to another, to shoe their horses, and who know no more about the need and construction of the frog than they do of shoeing an eagle. The feet are never stopped, except when they ought not to be, and the hoofs are defiled with blacking or bad oil, greatly to the syce's artistic delight. The A pure Arab, or thorough-bred English horse, or good Australian, should never have a curry-comb applied. In the best stables in England, such as Lord Norfolk's; or in Wales, at Sir W. Watkin Wynn's, such a thing as a currycomb is unknown. At the latter stable, we have seen fifty high-bred hunters all ready for that day's "meet," and have chosen one for our own riding indiscriminately, as good a stepper, and with as clean a coat, as ever horse could be, or have. These horses are too well bred to suffer the irritation of the curry-comb; they become fretful and peevish. This rule has its exceptions in countrybreds, South Americans, and Burmahs. All the articles requisite to clean a high-bred horse are--a wisp (fresh every day), a hard and soft brush (washed twice a week), a good large sponge, and a neatly made comb with circular teeth--for the mane, tail, and forelock. When the horse comes home hot, as he is apt to do in India, let not the smallest drop of water touch him. Fasten him on the cleaning ground, and wisp him dry to a single hair, especially his mane and forelock. If these remain wet at the ends, they are very likely to give the horse cold. Then give him three or four turns round the compound, take him into the stable, and feed him. If possible, a loose-box should always be used, especially for a horse getting up his condition. Never disturb a horse during the night. The plan adopted here, by the syces, of sleeping in an adjacent empty stall, if there is one, is very bad: they chatter so much during the night, that the horse gets no sound sleep. In this hot, overpowering country, the saddle, bridle, and harness of a hack should be made as light as possible. Every superfluous piece of leather should be cast away. If the Native gentry wish to keep their high-steppers, let them peel the mountings off their horses' blinkers, and hang them up at home; or have an extra syce to carry them at the gharry side. Ride and drive with a snaffle, if possible; but if the horse is bad-tempered, and vicious, try a pelham. A stout arm can hold any horse on a snaffle. In jumping, however, or in any heavy riding, with a snaffle, fasten a spare rein round your waist; We have had reins break, which is awkward. When this does happen, sling yourself off, keeping your arms round the animal's neck, until you can seize the head-piece, and fasten the relay rein on. For saddle-work, a light made horse, with easy action, and lengthy pasterns, is the best; a heavy horse is seldom pleasant riding, except for crossing thick country, and then, the weight of the rider should be religiously studied. A well kept, well groomed horse, in In England, a horse should work well at twenty, or even twenty-five. We have ridden in the field with one thirty-four years of age. A relative "Oh! Love will come and steal your flower, "His flashing eyes will softer burn "Her trust placed in his stalwart arm; The Angel ceased, and smiled on Time; CULTIVATION OF COFFEE. G. C. of ours had a horse which died at forty-eight. It had long been idle, however, but it never was lame in its life. A London apprentice will knock a sound horse up in one Sunday, and sauce the stable-keeper. If a man wants his horse to live and look "THE COFFEE-PLANTER of St. Dowell, and last a lifetime, he must take mingo; by P. J. LABORIE, LL.D.,” is the superintendence of the groom's the title of a valuable treatise of 204 duties upon himself. Some persons in 8vo pages on the cultivation of the India think themselves doing so, by hav-coffee-plant, and on the preparation of ing their horses fed before the drawing- the coffee. room window. This is a great error. Always let a horse feed in the stall. It is his special chamber, and where he feels most at home. It would be better to have him cleaned before the window, and then walk to the stable, see the feed put in the manger, feel if his bed is dry, and let him alone undisturbed for eight full hours. Pursue this course, always ride him yourself, and he will not be "aged" at eight years. AN ANNIVERSARY. This little work, now out of print, contains a vast amount of information on coffee-culture likely to prove especially useful to our enterprising countrymen in Wynaad and other coffeegrowing districts, and we are therefore induced to reprint some portions of it for the benefit of those interested. There is no work on the subject to be met with so practical in its character, and so full in its details, as that now under notice; and it is hoped that its reproduction, while affording information to the planter long unobtainable in print, will prove acceptable to all coffee-drinkers, by enabling them to learn how the berry is planted, tended, "Where shall I place this rose ?" asked Time gathered, and sent to market, and how Of an Angel from the starry clime; "The bud has burst: behold the flower! Enrich'd with Beauty's rarest dower. "I've called you from your home afar, "Touch her not, lest a charm should fade!- to distinguish a good from a bad sample by its form, colour, and aroma. Part I. of our reproduction comprises the "choice of the ground, and whatever relates to the grubbing of it; the first plantations; and more particularly all the accessory articles"; Part II.-" full details of the cultivation of the coffee-tree, tracing it through the several stages of its growth and duration." The work consists of four chapters, the second and fourth of which relate almost exclusively to the management of negroes and cattle: |