[4 blank pages]
NOTHING TO YOU.
[unnumbered page]

[2 blank pages]

[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
Searching a lady’s band-boxes]

NOTHING TO YOU;
OR,
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS;

IN ANSWER TO
“NOTHINGS” in general,
and
“NOTHING TO WEAR” in particular.

BY KNOT-RAB.
With Illustrations by J. H. Howard.

NEW YORK:
WILEY & HALSTED,
No. 851 Broadway.

1857.
[unnumbered page]

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
WILEY & HALSTED,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.

R. ORAIGHEAD, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER,
Carton Building,
81, 88, and 85 Centre Street. [unnumbered page]

NOTHING TO YOU;
OR,
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

It is said in the circles of Madison Square,
That the recent attack on Miss Flora,
For presuming to think she had “nothing to wear,”
While her wardrobe contained an Argosy
From Paris, of all the recherché varieties, [unnumbered page]

Styles, patterns, and prices of the best societies,
Has had such effect on the lady herself,
   That her friends apprehend some calamity;
For, ‘tis everywhere talked of, ‘till scandal itself
  Has grown weary discoursing of vanity.
It is fair we examine both sides of the picture,
Not by raising new issues;—or making fresh slander;
But simply to find if the cause of the stricture
On ladies is just,—and dictated by candor. [page 6]

We shall make it apparent that Harry’s to blame
  For indulging in gossip—unmanly;
And in seeking to injure so charming a name
  Just because he was jilted. How blandly
Soever he tries to make good his assertion,
There’s nothing can save him from general aversion.

He plainly admits, and there’s no one will doubt it,
That Flora’s fine dresses had something to do [page 7]

With the strength of his love, or he wooed her without it;
And I ask the kind world which is best of the two?
   He talks of commodities,
   Hearts and such oddities!
Brocades and affections all in the same breath;
   And he mixes up laces,
   Pins, gloves, and embraces,
With the gaslight above, and the carpet beneath.
   As cold and uncandid,
   As ever a man did
Assail a young lady of beauty and fame, [page 8]

   He seeks to confound her,
   By throwing around her
A coil of derision attached to her name.

I appeal to the honest, the brave, and the loving,—
  Men with hearts and with heads, and with hands for great deeds,
Whether searching a lady’s bandboxes, and proving
Her owner of dresses, far more than she needs,
  Is a fit occupation for one who lays claim to
The rights, and the virtues and wisdom of man. [page 9]

  We snub our fair friends, just as soon as they aim to
Excel us in anything useful, and plan
For them all kinds of little amusements and pastimes;
Then grumble, forsooth, at their want of a few dimes.
We teach them, encourage, compel to be idle;
Then growl at their little diversions, and chide well
Their fancies so pretty, so harmless and artless,
And call them extravagant, reckless, and heartless.
We talk of morality,—practise the vices,— [page 10]

Make rules for young ladies; but none for ourselves,—
  Except it be “House Rules” of clubs, with devices
For spending our money, by sixes or twelves,—
  As it pleases us best:—or we just pass our leisure
In a quiescent way,—with good fellows, you know;
  Or we come and we go, as it jumps with our pleasure,
And permit none to ask us, “why do you do so?”
  We spend both our time and our money as suits us, [page 11]

In Wall Street and stocks, to yield fifty per cent.;
  Or in houses, weeds, meerschaums, fast ladies, or horses;
In “larks,” plays, or hunting, or travel in Lent.
  Should our friends take the trouble to kindly upbraid us,
Volunteering their thoughts, and submitting advice,
They are soon made to know, their attentions have laid us
Under no obligation to hear them speak twice;
For, with exquisite polish, but yet in a trice, [page 12]

We gently inform them, “I do as I do,
“Beyond that I assure you it’s—NOTHING TO YOU.”

NOW, this NOTHING TO YOU may appear at first sight
  A little uncourteous, or headstrong, or wild;
But I think that with me you’ll agree it is right
 In some cases and persons—though not in a child.
We are talking of men, and of ladies just now, [page 13]

Who spend money—make love—form engagements, and so
May be safely included with those who know how
  To arrange their own business, and say yes or no,
Without having to answer to every Jim Crow,
  Or fine fellow who thinks that he ought to know.

The first lesson we learn when turned out on the world,
  Wherever we go or whatever we do,
  Is the simple absurdity—hourly unfurled— [page 14]

  That people will meddle with that, which to you
Seems not to concern them the least, and you say
  So at once, without waiting to ponder it.
The truth is self-evident every day,
  And you wonder how people consent to live under it.
In Madison square, or the Fifth avenue,
  Saratoga, Newport, or yet farther away,
St. James’s or Brighton, Versailles or St. Cloud,
  Masters Meddle are there, and there the will stay;
For there’s one for each tongue, to lead it astray [page 15]

Into mazes of scandal, and gossip, and romance,
Inventing, where plain honest truth can find no chance.
Whatever is strange, or absurd, or ridiculous,
If it only contains point sufficient to tickle us,
Is pronounced a good joke, and passed gaily around
From one tongue to another, until it is found
To vibrate the whole air, with its gosipping sound.

And who are the objects—I might saythe victims [page 16]

[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
Whatever is strange, or absurd, or ridiculous, If it only contains point sufficient to tickle us.]
[blank page]

Of this cruel sport? Very often the young “Prims”
Whose only offence in the matter before us,
Is to couple economy closely with neatness.
Or perchance ‘tis those innocent Kid girls,—so artless,
Not yet having learned the tricks of the heartless;
Who for nothing but that are heartily laughed at,
By the very same man who plays “tattoo” on his hat.
There is even Miss Prudence—minding her business;
Dresses neat,—no display,—and without giddiness, [page 17]

Talks evil of no one—thinks evil as little,
Aud though pretty and lively—don’t care a tittle
For empty brained snobs,—be they ever so “demmy,”
For which reason alone she’s abhorred by those “gemmy.”
They let none escape from their quizzical scrutiny;
  The young are but “chits,” and the old are all “Fogies;”
They strain every nerve to promote a wide mutiny,
By admiring rich dresses,—with critical eulogies. [page 18]

They sneer at Miss Modest; they cut Miss Economy;
  Laugh at Miss Goodsense;—praise Flora with care;
Make jest of Miss Knowsomething;—then read a homily
  On ladies, who think they have “nothing to wear.”

I have heard this same Harry in vein so satirical,
  Tell tales of young ladies with “only one dress;”
Because twice, on occasions of taste somewhat critical, [page 19]

  They wore the same costume,—as I must confess.
Is it candid, or fair, or honest, or true, sir,
To present as you’ve done but one side to our view, sir?
If Flora was faulty you knew it before;
For you say, “thirty” times you had knelt to adore—
Not her, as it seems, but her diamonds and laces;
Yet, you now upbraid her for those very “graces”—
  As you used to term them,—encouraged by you,
Till it pleased your gay whim to like other faces, [page 20]

  Insult,—be insulted,—and play your “tattoo!”

Ambition is given to us all,—and ‘tis well;
For without it we never should care to excel;
And careless in this, there’s an end to improvement;
We should, like the snail, still go back in our movement.
Young ladies are just as ambitious to prosper
In fashion, good taste, and esteem, quite as men are [page 21]

In all that pertains to that high elevation,
For which we are destined by “our education.”
We make them a play toy, and not a companion;
  We dress, then admire them, and flatter and fawn,
And mould their ambition to dress well, until one
  Begins to believe them a gossamer dawn;
Not oppressed with much intellect, souls, or live hearts;
But exquisite models, to whom dress imparts
All the graces,—accomplishments,—sense we desire; [page 22]

This “contingent remainder” set Harry on fire;
And not Harry alone, but that host of deplorers,
“Two hundred and fifty or sixty adorers,”
He tells us he threw in the shade, when selected
By Flora, as worthy to be her elected.
Now, what does this prove, but that Flora’s good sense
Read men as they are,—through their “flimsy” pretence
Of magnificent wisdom,—and dressed herself out
For their fancy, not hers; while there can be no doubt [page 23]

Her ambition was flattered, by daily ovations
Of worshipping men, bowing down to creations
Which Flora designed,—with her milliner’s patience.
Let me ask you to show me a single example
Of innocent goodness,—of charity ample,
Of kindness unbounded,—but lacking external
Of fashion and wealth,—have such a supernal
Amount of proposals;—take Harry for sample!

Must we go in Boudoirs, or over to Paris, [page 24]

Study brocades and silks, laces, satin, and tulle,
  In order the better to learn what man is;
Or say with sincerity, “Oh, what a fool?”
  Nay, come and I’ll show you a wonderful picture,—
A meeting of thousands now held in “The Park.”
  One rises,—looks round,—makes a motion and gesture,—
  Seems wise,—but says nothing,—at last, throws a spark
Of this eloquence out:—“What a glorious day!” [page 25]

Says the orator;—and all the people “hurrah!”
He dresses a few scanty thoughts in fine words,
And the world applauds him,—“fine feathers, fine birds.”
At our clubs, have you never seen “men of the world”
Give a shrug of the shoulder, twist a hair nicely curled,
Say, “Oh, Ah,” “certainly,” “’pon your honor,” “Oh, Lord,”
And so cover themselves with a move or a word;
Imply intimate knowledge, approve or condemn [page 26]

  When referred to,—although knowing naught of the theme!
In our courts, where but wisdom and justice should stand
With a wreath for the good,—for the evil a brand,
Is he not the best lawyer who best can deceive?
Clothe the good in vile colors—make miscreants live
Still in honor,—new dressed in the garb of the law,
By great counsel,—whose forte lies in finding a flaw;
And men say “how clever his legal conception, [page 27]

How astutely he covers his wily deception!”
I might take you through churches and senates and halls,
Where “wise men” congregate;—we might drop into balls
In their season where thousands assemble,
Or Theatres, whose business it is to dissemble,
Or a hundred such places of general resort,
And in all, you’ll observe, that the one common forte
Of success, is the clothing of thoughts or of persons, [page 28]

In style, taste, and richness, all free from perversions
Of fashion—be that what it may—and then dash on.
In all ages the same, if we go back in history
To those ancient times when all men bowed to mystery,
Was it not clothes in most intricate dresses;
The Priests and the Pristesses vieing in tresses?
The masters of men wore long flowing garments,
And governed the world by external adornments! [page 29]

The wise and the great were richly attired;
The fools and the worshippers bowed and admired!
While we talk of the past in disparaging terms,
  It is right we should question our superiority;
And if candidly done, we shall gather those germs
  Of true wisdom, not known to the vulgar majority.
We shall learn that men in all ages and climates,
  Untaught in true science, undeveloped in mind, [page 30]

[blank page]
[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
she filled all her cages With Raroe Aves of whom Harry was Primus.]

Pay homage to gewgaws—become humble prostrates;
  And worship fine dresses, though their goddess be blind.
This Flora knew well by the instinct of genius;
  Man to her was a book with several pages;
When he talked of the “soft sex,” she said, “he can’t mean us:
  Or I’ll prove by Philosophy which are the sages.”
And true to her word, she filled all her cages
With Raroe Aves, of whom Harry was Primus; [page 31]

But that bird flew off, with a crow quite courageous,
To return for revenge with a branch of the Rhamnus
(The which, let me say, is a pretty white bramble,
  Much used in devotions to lacerate sins;
Thought by Pliny to answer for those who are humble,
  Quite as well as torture of needles or pins).
But it was not sufficient to lay it severely
  Over Flora’s white bosom, neck, arms, and sweet face, [page 32]

He attacks her rich dresses she purchased so dearly,
  And demolishes al, with her diamonds and lace,
  Leaving ppor Miss McFlimsey in dreadful disgrace;
Her prospects quite blasted—as every one fears—
And she, beautiful girl, fairly drowning in tears.

  Now all this was bad enough 
   Surely and sad enough—
To appease Harry’s wrath for the loss of the things: [page 33]

But we know there’s no stopping
The chrysalis popping
  Himself on the world, when you give him his wings.
   So Harry commences
   To count the expenses
Of having the comfort of a woman on earth!
   And with lighted cigar,
   Thinking himself the Czar,
  He concludes that the article would not be worth
   Half the requisite money!
   Thinks it deucedly funny
That He should be forced to curtail in the least; [page 34]

[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
We know there’s no stopping The Chrysalis popping Himself on the world when you give him his wings.]
[blank page]

   And decides on inquiring
   If all ladies aspiring
To be Mrs. Harry—insist on being drest!

The answer to this most benevolent question,
  Was not satisfactory to Harry’s view.
But where, think you, he sought for the happy solution?
  Just imagine—he went to the Fifth
   Avenue!
Where ladies with money, and nothing to do,
Have a right to reply—“Sir, it’s NOTHING
   TO YOU.” [page 35]

But now comes the most inexcusable feature,
An attack—to make which, one might think to find no man:
Not confined to one well-dressed and beautiful creature,
  But a ruthless assault on kind nature in Woman!
And by whom?—and for what?—and the manner? you ask;
By a man! for revenge!—and by scandal! The task
Was convinced in self-love;—executed in vanity;
With a sprinkle of cant—and a streak of profanity. [page 36]

[blank page]
[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
But let us examine The monstrous assertion; and afterwards hang him As well he deserves.]

Kind nature in Woman!—is there then one septic
Who doubts it? He must be dyspeptic, 
Or non compos mentis. But let us examine
The monstrous assertion;—and afterwards hang him,
As well he deserves.—Yet, I know, this kind nature
Of Woman will plead for his life;—and poor Flora
Herself try to save the doomed neck of the creature.

When man in his infancy opens his eyes, [page 37]

And the little brat wonders and slobbers and cries,
The kind nature of woman is ever at hand
To perceive every want—to supply each demand.
When the youngster begins to find use for his legs,
And toddles and hobbles and falls from his pegs,
How quickly she runs to restore him again
To his upright position;—consoling his pain.
When at school with his books, or at home with his toys, [page 38]

[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
“Man in his infancy.” ]
[blank page]

And for ever at mischief—the case with all boys—
Kind sympathy still, from fond woman will meet him;
And wherever he is her good blessing will greet him.
When a hobble-de-hoy with no hands, legs, or voice,
And the veriest gosling that offers for choice,
He is none the less cared for and thought of and loved,
By kind woman;—whose goodness so constant is proved.
When a young man of ton with curled hair on his lip, [page 39]

And cigar, cane, and hat—much admired—though a rip,
His little absurdities even are flattered,
By a nature too kind;—by a heart often shattered.
When he does some sad wrong as some gentlemen will,
And is cut by his friends, and the ladies—worse still—
However he merits this cutting disgrace,
He holds yet in his mother’s good heart his own place.
When lofty, true, noble and glorious his aim,
And for goodness and greatness, the world sounds his fame, [page 40]

Oh! when thus he is worthy—as friend, or as foeman,
His name is revered by every true woman.
Then where are those sisters so kind and good hearted,
  So ready to meet us and welcome us home
From our rambles, or sports; they have stayed since we parted,
  In the house with their mother,—what we call “hum-drum.”
 What thousands there are of those fair gentle graces,—
The sisters of men—in all circles and places [page 41]

You find them—good genii—sent to refine us,
By a magic so gentle—that talisman—kindness.
And through all the gay world wherever we rove,
There is nothing so pure as a sister’s sweet love.
When a man’s what he should be, his sisters adore him
With an undying constancy; ever before him
To cheer, to inspire, to encourage his labor,
His study of wisdom and manners, to favor [page 42]

Those weaknesses which we are born to inherit;
And without which, to love us would be little merit.
In acts of devotion and self-sacrificing,
I have witnessed such deeds as are more than surprising
   To hard selfish man.
   I have seen sisters plan
   For a worthless young scamp
   Of a brother, whose stamp
Is not rare, how to save him disgrace if they can.
   We was clerk in a bank.
   Every evening he drank
   Much bad liquor; then played [page 43]

   “Rather deeply,” all said,
Till his pockets were empty, his salary spent,
As had long been his large patrimonial descent.
He thought he might take a few thousands or so,
Never dreaming to steal it. Oh, God forbid! No!
   He would shudder to think,
As he stood on the brink
Of the act, that one well-born
As he, could be so shorn
Of honor, and honesty,
To commit larceny!
But money he wanted,
As nightly he vaunted [page 44]

Himself better born than his fellows so gay;
   And he thought some relation
   Would die, or donation,
Or “God-send” arrive, ere the balancing day.
   So he took it, and spent it,
   Paid I. O. U’s., and lent it:
And the time speeded on when the bank he must pay,
   Or be sent to the Tombs!
   The idea now looms
   Up before him in horror,
   “If I pay not to-morrow,
I am ruined, undone, lost for ever!”
   He thinks [page 45]

Of each artifice; nothing will do, and he drinks
Deeper still, ‘till his brain is quite maddened.
He goes toward home, not much wiser, but saddened.
His favorite sister observes in his face,
A look of anxiety, terror, disgrace.
Her heart is conclusive; she scarcely can ask,
“Dear brother, do tell me what’s happened; unmask
“Your whole soul to your own little “‘Teasy.’”
She asked it so kindly, it made him feel easy. [page 46]

He told her it all, and his sweet little sister
Never thought of applying a censorious blister
To her poor brother’s heart; “but,” says she, “for my part,
“Dearest brother, I’ll give you a check on the bank,
“For what money I’ve left me by poor dear papa.”
“’Twould not do,” he replied, “for there still would be blank,
Twice the sum you possess, on my books.” Then away
  Runs good “Teasy,” and fetches her mother [page 47]

And two other sisters together, to tell
The sad news of the danger awaiting her brother;
They heard it in tears,—for they all loved him well.
  Then says one noble girl, “He may have all I own
To relieve him.” Another said quickly,
   “And mine too.”
  While dear little “Teasy” already had shown
Her good heart. And ’twas thus the three sisters combined to
   Redeem Harry’s name
   From dishonor and shame,
By a self-sacrifice which I thus give to fame. [page 48]

[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
And ’twas thus the three sisters combined to Redeem Harry’s name From dishonour and shame.]
[blank page]

   This is not a mere fiction,
   Got up for its diction;
But as true as the pulpit “excepting the name.”
  It would not have been told,
  Were it not for the bold
  And unsparing attack,
  By one Harry-go-lack,
  On the feminine world;
  Whence, let him be hurled
To his den full of smoke, and his “own easy chair;”
   For a mortal who loves not
   Kind woman, and proves not
Himself her defender, may live anywhere [page 49]

In the regions of smoke—and his own dismal lair.


   I might go on and cite,
   Still to show I am right,
  Our fair cousins, who love at all times to embellish
   What pertains to our pleasure.
   In a word, there’s no measure
  To limit their sweet pretty ways;—so unselfish
Their natures and playful, so free, true, and joyful;
Their smiles are like sunshine; and without any buzz-in, [page 50]

The way it is said; we all like our fair cousin.

  But though mothers are dear, and our sisters are kind,
And our beautiful cousins are playful and true,
  There’s another and dearer affection, entwined
Round the heart of each man; though there may be a few,
   As living exceptions,
   To prove our reflections,
  Who are free from the charge of those loving connexions.
   Such make their flirtations, [page 51]

  By close calculations,
Of “how much she will bring,” what curtailing she’ll bear,
  That He may have money,
  For everything funny,
While She, poor lady, has “Nothing to Wear.”

  If men were but honest, with fewer pretensions
To wealth which they have not—so often the case,
  They would find ladies’ fancies adjust their dimensions
To the real state of things, with an angelic grace. [page 52]

They begin by deceiving them into extravagance,
And rightly deserve the effects of their arrogance.
They teach wives and daughters to live for appearances,
Not for the comfort of home, and endearances,
Higher than wealth;—then assail them with cant about
Fashion and poverty, vice—an still rant about
Ladies and dresses and shows and pretence;
Yet all under man’s rule, if he only had sense [page 53]

To lead kindly and lovingly, onward with reason,
The woman he loves, to all joys in their season;
Whether home, with its duties of saving and care,
And its pleasures and comforts, so new, though not rare;
Or abroad, in the world of high fashion and art,
In rich dresses, large diamonds, nay,—you need not start!
For these things, in themselves, are so honest and true,
That if paid for, and worn right, it’s NOTHING TO YOU. [page 54]

On the moral he draws in satirical way,
I think it but justice to all, if I say,
  ’Tis a task more befitting gay Harry than Flora,
To “climb rickety stairs,” and see squalor and sin;
  To “grope through dark dens,” and preach morals before a
Vile horde of poor “wretches,” foul; without and within;
To breathe poisonous air, from the “dampness and dirt,”
Of “misfortune and guilt,” without almost a shirt!
But ’tis pleasanter far to eat “Flasher’s” good dinner; [page 55]

To accompany ladies to parties at “Stuckups;”
To criticise dresses; be “Harry the sinner”
In slippers, cigars, easy-chair, smoke and wine-cups;
And then, by the way of a little variety—
Just to work off a portion of recent satiety—
Give a sermon in verse on the “curse of society—”
  A lady who thinks she has “nothing to wear;”
Yet has charity, more in the tip of her finger,
  Than he from his foot to his dyed and curled hair. [page 56]

[unnumbered page, includes illustration:
His den full of smoke, and his own dismal lair]
[blank page]

   Out! Out on such teaching!
   Such one-sided preaching!
Such want of all candor!—such gilded hypocrisy!
   This is the true evil,
   The spell of the devil;
He prompts the worst sinner to teach the democracy;
   For he knows “like a book,”
   That the thinking ones look
To the man who talks moral, for an illustration
   Of the way it is done,
   But conceived ’tis all fun!
They rush downward, en masse, to a worse degradation. [page 57]

Thus preaching is ever the curse of a nation,
   Unless marked by sincerity,
   TRUTH and KIND CHARITY.
There’s a fine honest maxim, as good as it’s old,
“Let every man mind his own business.” I’m told
That Great Empires, huge fortunes, vast goodness, and luck
In a general way, have invariably stuck
To this saying—while friendship grows stronger, and friend
After friend rises from it without any end.
’Tis a maxim more worth than the “new California” [page 58]

Which Harry suggests to make life’s path less “thornier.”
It is every man’s business, at once to defend
The fair fame of the ladies, on whom we depend
For so much of life’s pleasure; ’tis ours to provide
For them everything wished for, to gain which we ride
On the ocean of commerce,—or railroads perchance,
Dive deep in professions,—lead political dance,
Or by fair honest toil win the race against chance. [page 59]

It is ours to be generous, honest, and brave;
To love woman as equal, and not as our slave;
To meet the first shock of each earthly misfortune;
To be candid and true, without guile or distortion;
To be foremost in knowledge,—the vast power of science,
The world and its ways,—such a mighty alliance
Must raise us above every small intermeddling
With the business of others—contemptible peddling, [page 60]

In “small talk” and “chit chat” and “poodle dog” questions,
So sadly in vogue among clubs, cliques, and sections
Of men, who have little or nothing to do
But ransack ladies’ wardrobes to make them look “blue,”
And be told as they merit—“it’s NOTHING TO YOU.”

One word on these “NOTHINGS,” and I shall have done
With a subject in form of impromptu begun. [page 61]

There is “Nothing to do” very racily served
As rejoinder, and all will admit well deserved;
It was writ by a lady in recrimination
Of Harry’s assault and his selfish laudation;
Hence it needs no apology being defensive,
In style amazonian—cutting and pensive;
But though some men have “Nothing to do” you will find
Our vast myriads are toiling in body or mind.

Not only has Harry done wrong in particular, [page 62]

  By his satire on Woman—her dresses and laces,
But he gives an example how to ridicule her,
  In all seasons and fashions, occupations and places.
For men in community think not what sense it is,
But follow their leader with sheepish propensities;
   Leaping through hedges—
   And on to the edges
   Of quagmires and rocks—
   In great ovilline flocks.
Hence “NOTHINGS” have grown into late popularity, [page 63]

And the greater their scandal—the more jocularity;
While to render them still more attracttive for fun,
Some fair lady is taken—the gauntlet to run.
Thus, one man without taste
Or good manners, in haste
Writes a satire on dinners,
While yet his own “inners”
Are warmed to their full, by the kind hospitality
Which he amply abuses in rhyming vulgarity.
Another more recent
Is a little more decent;
  But then ’tis a fallacy simple enough; [page 64]

He backs rich against poor,
Goes on charity’s tour
  To make sweeping comparisons;—now that’s “all stuff;”
For kind charity dwells not with cliques or divisions;
  Regards not the lines which we draw in community;
Claims neither the rich nor the poor for her missions;
But looks for good hearts—kind intentions and unity.
These, these are her forces—in rags or in satins,
In mansions or huts—with abundance or rations: [page 65]

The poor man who shares with another his crust,
The rich one who blesses the land with his “dust,”
The woman who runs to console her poor friend,
The lady who guards lest a word should offend—
These are only a few of fair charity’s forms;
She is found in gay circles—in work-houses—storms;
Such as foundered the homeward bound ill-fated steamer
The “Central America”—while yet between her [page 66]

Wrecked hundreds and death rushed two mariners brave—
Burt and Johnson—with crews like themselves—who to save
The dear lives of those sinking—through danger still lay
In the trough of a terrible sea—until day
Showed how useless ’twould be any longer to stray.
I gainsay not the gifts of a Cooper or Astor,
But revere the poor heroes of this sad disaster!
So make no comparisons—Charity never
Speaks loud of her acts—but works quietly ever; [page 67]

Stoops to poverty kindly—mounts to wealth without dizziness,
Defends the assailed—and “MINDS HER
   OWN BUSINESS.”

Finis.
[page 68]

RECENT PUBLICATIONS
OF
WILEY & HALSTED,
351 BROADWAY.

I.
Thoughts, Feelings, and Fancies.
BY C. N. BOVEE.
One vol. 12mo., fancy cloth, bevel boards, gilt top, $1 25

From the Evangelist.

   “Beautiful in conception and terse in expression, the fruits of an extensive observation, and a keen sagacity. The volumes as a whole is a highly suggestive one, abounding in germs of thought, and embodying the results of much and careful reflection. Such a volume, as the product of a single mind, is truly a marvel.”

From the Christian Freeman.

   “This we regard as one of the richest gems of the season. It clearly proves the author to be a healthy, vigorous and original thinker, and we most heartily recommend it to every intelligent reader. No page can be read without entertainment and profit.”

From the Daily Pensylvanian.

   “The perfume from a garden of reading, and the seed of ripened thought. It is distinguished by good sense and careful observation.”

From the Observer.

   “Abounding in striking thoughts on an almost endless variety of subjects, in which the author displays much general reading and thinking.” [unnumbered page]

From the Christian Intelligencer.

   “This is one of the very best parlor-books that has met our eye in many a day. It equals, if it does not excel, Lacon.”

II.
THE STORY OF A POCKET BIBLE.
NEW EDITION.
WITH CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS.
Illustrated with numerous Plates.
One vol., 12mo., $1.

   “It vividly and powerfully portrays the varied experience of the soul under the influence of divine truth, combining with the interest of the novel the pungency of a religious tract, and illustrations of the power of the Bible, which must affect the most careless and indifferent. There is a great variety of scene and character alike truthfully and tastefully drawn. We heartily commend it as a work of absorbing interest, and eminently calculated to do good.”—Evangelist.

   “It will be equally valuable for family reading, and for Sabbath-school and district-school libraries. We trust that it will be widely circulated among the young.”—Independent.

   “Its spirit is good and earnest, and must commend itself to every one who recognizes in literature not merely a pleasant intellectual entertainment, but a useful medium for wholesome discipline and moral culture.”—New Yorker.

   “An ingenious and interesting, as well as very instructive book, beautifully published, in which the various characters into whose hands this Bible falls are exhibited, with such a variety of incident and illustration as to make a strong impression. It is a capital book.”—Observer. [unnumbered page]

III.
JAUFRY THE KNIGHT AND THE
FAIR BRUNISSENDE.
A TALE OF THE TIMES OF KING ARTHUR.
Translated from the French version of Mary Lafon, by ALFRED
ELWES. Illustrated with Engravings. 1 vol. 8vo., $1.

From the Courier and Enquirer.

   “It is a piquant, fanciful, and exceedingly charming tale of knightly romance, abounding in poetry and redolent of chivalry through and through. The poetic rhythm of the original is still retained, and so effectively does it blend with the strange adventures of the story that even the most practical and prosaic reader of the first page will find it very hard to lay down the book until he finishes the last.”

From the Evening Post.

   “The story is full of invention; the incidents, particularly the combats, are related with such narrative power, that the reader will not wonder what works of this kind should have formed the amusement of the closet six hundred years ago.”

IV.
THE ELEMENTS OF DRAWING.
In Three Letters to Beginners.
BY JOHN RUSKIN, M.A.,
Author of “Modern Painters,” “Seven Lamps of Architecture,”
&c., &c.

LETTER I. On First Practice.
   II. Sketching from Nature.
  III. On Color and Composition.
 APPENDIX—Things to be Studied.
1 vol. 12mo., with Fifty Illustrations. Price $1. [unnumbered page]

V.
RUSKIN’S COMPLETE WORKS.
Uniform in Size and Binding.
Nine vols. 12mo. Dark cloth, $11 50.
CONSISTING OF

I.

MODERN PAINTERS. Four vols. 12mo., full dark cloth, $5 50.

II

THE SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE, with fourteen etchings by the Author. 1 vol. 12mo., full dark cloth, $1 25.

III.

THE STONES OF VENICE. The Foundations. 1 vol. 12mo., with numerous wood engravings, full dark cloth, $2.

IV.

PRE-RAPHAELITISM, AND NOTES ON THE CONTRUCTION OF SHEEP-FOLDS. 1 vol. 12mo., full dark cloth, 50 cents.

V.

LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE AND PAINTING, with fifteen illustrations on tinted paper. 1 vol. 12mo., full dark cloth, $1 25.

VI.

THE ELEMENTS OF DRAWING. In Three Letters to Beginners. 1 vol. 12mo., full dark cloth, $1.

   “It is needless to criticise or commend the works of Ruskin. They have an individuality so distinctly marked that the reader receives them as the views of a master who has become absorbed in his theme. The lines of art are embellished with all the graces of an elegant literature, and a work produced that is read with profit by every cultivated mind.”—N. Y. Observer. [unnumbered page]

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