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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
VOL. XLVIII.
An Antidote, 188
Anecdote of Byron, 130.
A Pleasant Letter, 152
A Story of Valentine's Day, by _Mrs. Abdy_, 137
Aunt Tabitha's Fireside, by _Edith Woodley_, 150
A Valentine, by _Clara Moreton_, 165
A Warning to Lovers, 187
Babylon, Nineveh, and Mr. Layard, 134
Braid Patterns, 172
Boardman & Gray's Dolce Campana Attachment Piano-Fortes, 101
Broderie Anglaise for Flouncing, 173
Caps, 170
Celestial Love Letters, 118
Celestial Phenomena, by _D. W. Belisle_, 131
Centre-Table Gossip, 187
Chemistry for Youth, 185
Decorated Parlor Windows, 97
Development of the Lungs, 107
Dying, by _Bell_, 165
Editors' Table, 175
Edna, by _Ellen Alice Moriarty_, 164
Embroidered Collar, 174
Embroidered Screen, 171
Embroidery for Shirts, 169
Enigmas, 185
Fashions, 189
Godey's Arm-Chair, 181
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing, 115
Ingenuity of Bees, 133
Instantaneous Flowering of Plants, 161
Instructions for making Ornaments in Rice Shell-Work, 154
Juvenile Books.--From Evans & Brittan, 188
Letters Left at the Pastry Cook's, _Edited by Horace Mayhew_, 128
Literary Notices, 177
Literature for Ladies, 175
Mantillas, from the celebrated Establishment of
G. Brodie, New York, 100, 167, 168
"Mustard to Mix."--A Receipt for Young Housekeepers,
by _The Author of_ "_Miss Bremer's Visit to Cooper's
Landing_," _etc._, 158
Novelties for the Coming Season, 170
Our Practical Dress Instructor, 168
Parlor Work, 188
Patterns for Embroidery, 172
Petticoat Trimming.--In Broderie Anglaise, 173
Receipts, &c., 186
Remember the Poor, by _Mrs. C. H. Esling_, 165
Sonnets, by _Wm. Alexander_, 163
The Borrower's Department, 184
The Children-Angels, by _James A. Bartley_, 162
The Evening Walk, by _Richard Coe_, 162
The Fountain Very Far Down, by _Virginia F. Townsend_, 145
The Miser, by _Charles Leland Porter_, 163
The New Sewing-Machine, 127
The Orphan Boy, by _Robert G. Allison_, 163
The Scotch Piper, 184
The Toilet, 187
The Trials of a Needle-Woman, by _T. S. Arthur_, 119
To the Gánd'hraj, by _Mrs. E. Lock_, 165
Transplanting Roses, 188
Valentine's Day, 156
Vegetable Physiology, by _Harland Coultas_, 148
Veteran Sailor's Song, by "_Caryl_," 164
Virginia Percy.--A Sketch of Southern Life,
by _Pauline Forsyth_, 108
Woman the Physician of her own Sex, 176
Working and Dreaming, by _Mrs. A. L. Lawrie_, 162
EMBELLISHMENTS, &c.
_February._
The Evening Walk.
Godey's Colored Fashions.
Embroidered Dressing-Gown.
Broderie Anglaise Flouncing.
The Farm Yard.
Window Curtains.
MUSIC.--Andante and Waltz, by _Thos. A'Becket_.
The Moscow Wrapper.
Boardman & Gray's Dolce Campana Attachment Piano-Fortes.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
The New Sewing-Machine.
Babylon and Nineveh.
Vegetable Physiology.
Instructions for making Ornaments in Rice Shell-Work.
The Salamanca.
Polka Jacket and Diagrams.
Embroidery for Shirts.
The Pelisse, a favorite style of outside garment.
Caps.
Embroidered Screen.
Patterns for Embroidery.
Braid Pattern.
Petticoat Trimming.--In Broderie Anglaise.
Embroidered Collar.
The Scotch Piper.
[Illustration: THE EVENING WALK.
_Engraved by H. G. Armstrong for Godey's Lady's Book._]
[Illustration: GODEY'S COLORED FASHIONS.]
[Illustration: EMBROIDERED DRESSING GOWN.]
[Illustration: BRODERIE ANGLAISE FLOUNCING.]
[Illustration: The Farm Yard.]
FASHION PLATES
FOR DECORATING PARLOR WINDOWS
THE LATEST STYLES.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1. Fig. 2.
From W. H. CARRYL'S celebrated depot for Curtains, Furniture Coverings,
Window Shades, and all kinds of parlor trimmings, No. 169 Chestnut
Street, corner of Fifth, Philadelphia. (For description, see page
166.)]
ANDANTE AND WALTZ.
COMPOSED EXPRESSLY FOR GODEYS' LADY'S BOOK.
BY THOMAS A'BECKET.
[Illustration: ANDANTE AND WALTZ. COMPOSED EXPRESSLY FOR GODEYS' LADY's
BOOK.
_PIANO FORTE._]
[Illustration: WALTZ.]
[MUSIC]
[Illustration: THE MOSCOW WRAPPER.
[From the establishment of G. BRODIE, No. 51 Canal Street, New York.]]
GODEY'S
LADY'S BOOK.
PHILADELPHIA, FEBRUARY, 1854.
EVERYDAY ACTUALITIES.--No. XVI.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PEN AND GRAVER.
BOARDMAN & GRAY'S DOLCE CAMPANA ATTACHMENT PIANO-FORTES.
(Concluded.)
The Piano-Forte Action Regulator adjusts the action in all its
operations. Those parts are supplied and fitted that are still wanting
to complete it. The depth of the touch is regulated, the keys levelled,
the drop of the hammer adjusted, and all is now seemingly in order for
playing; but in Messrs. Boardman & Gray's Factory, the instrument has
to undergo another ordeal in the way of regulating; for, after standing
for several days or weeks, and being tuned and somewhat used, it passes
into the hands of another and last regulator, who again examines
minutely every part, readjusts the action, key by key, and note by
note, until all is as it were, perfect. And now its tone must be
regulated, and the "hammer finisher" takes it in charge, and gives it
the last finishing touch; every note from the bass to the treble must
give out a full, rich, even, melodious tone. This is a very important
branch of the business; for great care and much experience are required
to detect the various qualities and shades of tone, and to know how to
alter and adjust the hammer in such a way as to produce the desired
result. Some performers prefer a hard or brilliant tone; others a full
soft tone; and others, again, a full clear tone of medium quality.
It is the hammer-finisher's duty to see that each note in the whole
instrument shall correspond in quality and brilliancy with the others.
The piano-fortes of Messrs. Boardman & Gray are celebrated for their
full organ tone, and for the even quality of each note; for the rich,
full, and harmonious music, rather than the noise, which they make; and
a discriminating public have set their stamp of approbation on their
efforts, if we may judge by the great and increasing demand for their
instruments.
The instrument, after being tuned, is ready for the ware-room or parlor.
[Illustration: PIANO-FORTE ACTION REGULATOR.]
But several operations we have purposely passed by, as it was our wish
to give a clear idea of the structure of the piano-forte by exhibiting,
from stage to stage, the progress of the manufacture of the musical
machinery. Let us now look after the construction of the other parts of
the instrument.
The "leg-bodies," as they come from the machine, are cut out in shape
in a rough state, ready for being veneered (or covered with a thin
coating of rosewood or mahogany); and, as they are of various curved
and crooked forms, it is a trade by itself to bend the veneers and
apply them correctly. The veneers are curved and bent to the shapes
required while hot, or over hot irons, and then applied to the
leg-bodies by "calls," or blocks of wood cut out to exactly fit the
surface to be veneered. These calls are heated in the steam ovens. The
surface of the leg having been covered with glue, the veneer is put on,
and then the hot call is applied and screwed to it by large handscrews
holding the veneer closely and firmly to the surface to be covered. The
call, by warming the glue, causes it to adhere to the legs and veneer;
and, when cold and dry, holds the veneer firmly to its place, covering
the surface of the leg entire, and giving it the appearance of solid
rosewood, or of whatever wood is used for the purpose. Only one surface
can be veneered at a time, and then the screws must remain on until
it is cold or dry; and, as the legs have many distinct surfaces, they
must be handled many times, and, of course, much labor is expended on
them. After all the sides are veneered, they must be trimmed, scraped,
and finished, and all imperfections in the wood made perfect, ready for
being varnished.
The desks are made by being so framed together as to give strength,
then veneered, and, after being varnished and polished, are sawed out
in beautiful forms and shapes by scroll saws, in the machine-shop. They
have thus to pass through quite a number of processes before they are
ready to constitute a part of a finished piano-forte. The same can be
said of many other parts of the instrument that are made separate, and
applied when wanted in the instrument, such as lyres, leg-blocks, or
caps, &c. And, as each workman is employed at but one branch alone, and
perfects his part, it is evident that, when put together correctly, the
whole will be perfect. And, as Messrs. Boardman & Gray conduct their
business, there are from twenty to twenty-four distinct kinds of work
or trades carried on in their establishment. Thus, the case-maker makes
cases; the leg-maker legs; the key-maker keys; the action-maker action;
the finisher duts the action into the piano; the regulator adjusts it;
and thus each workman bends the whole of his energies and time to the
one branch at which he is employed. The result of this division of
labor is strikingly shown in the perfection to which Messrs. Boardman
& Gray have brought the art of piano-forte making, as may be seen in
their superior and splendid instruments.
The putting together the different parts of the piano-forte, such as
the top, the legs, the desk, the lyre, &c., to the case, constitutes
what is called fly-finishing. The top is finished by the case-maker
in one piece, and remains so until varnished and polished; then the
fly-finisher saws it apart, and applies the butts or hinges, so that
the front will open over the keys; puts on all the hinges; hangs the
front or "lock-board" to the top; and completes it. He also takes the
legs as they come from the leg-maker, and fits them to the case by
means of a screw cut on some hard wood, such as birch or iron-wood,
one end of which is securely fastened into the leg, and the other end
screws into the bottom of the piano. The fly-finisher also puts on the
castors, locks, and all the finishing minutiæ to complete the external
furniture of the instrument, when it is ready for the ware-rooms, to
which it is next lowered by means of a steam elevator, sufficiently
large to hold a piano-forte placed on its legs, together with the
workman in charge of it.
The following plate exhibits a piano-forte on the elevator passing
from the fly-finisher's department to the ware-rooms. Of these steam
elevators there are two, one at each end of the building; one for
passing workmen, as well as lumber, to and from the machine-shop and
drying-rooms, and one for passing cases and pianos up and down to the
different rooms. Much ingenuity is shown in their construction, being
so adjusted as to be sent up or down by a person on either floor, or
by one on the platform, who, going or stopping at will, thus saves an
immense amount of hard labor.
Water from the Albany water-works is carried throughout the building
on to each floor, with sinks, hose, and every convenience for the
workmen, so that they may have no occasion to leave the premises during
the working hours. One thing we must not forget to point out, and
that is the Top Veneering-Press, made on the plan of "Dicks's Patent
Anti-Friction Press" (shown in the following engraving on the upper
floor at left hand), and we believe the only press of the kind in the
world. It was made to order expressly for Messrs. Boardman & Gray, and
its strong arms and massive iron bed-plates denote that it is designed
for purposes where power is required. It is used in veneering the tops
for their piano-fortes, and it is warranted that two men at the cranks,
in a moment's time, can produce a pressure of one hundred tons with
perfect ease. It is so arranged that the veneers are laid for several
tops at one time. Tops made and veneers laid under such a pressure
will remain level and true and perfectly secure. Messrs. Boardman &
Gray have used this press upwards of eighteen months, and find that
it works excellently, and consider it a great addition to their other
labor-saving machines.
[Illustration: STEAM ELEVATOR, AND DICKS'S PATENT TOP VENEERING PRESS.]
Having thus given a passing glance at most of the mechanical parts
of the piano-forte, we will now examine the varnishing and polishing
departments, consisting of some five or more large rooms. As the
different layers of varnish require time to dry, it is policy to let
the varnish harden while the workmen are busy putting in the various
internal parts of the piano. Thus the case, when it comes from the
case-maker, goes first to the first varnishing-room, and receives
several coats of varnish; and, when the workman is ready to put in the
sounding-board and iron frame, it is taken from the varnish-room to his
department; and, when he has finished his work, it is again returned
to the varnishing department, where it remains until the finisher wants
it, who, when done with it, returns it to the varnishing-room. Thus,
these varnishing-rooms are the store-rooms for not only the cases, but
all the parts that are varnished; and the drying of the varnishing
is going on all the time that the other work is progressing. In this
establishment, from 150 to 200 pianos are being manufactured in the
course of each day. In the varnish-rooms, from 100 to 150 cases are at
all times to be seen; others are in the hands of the workmen in the
different rooms, in the various stages of progress towards completion.
Besides the cases in the varnish-rooms, we may see all the different
parts of the pianos in dozens and hundreds, legs, lyres, tops, desks,
bars, &c. &c., forming quite a museum in its way. The processes of
varnishing and polishing are as follows: The cases, which are all of
rosewood, are covered first with a spirit-varnish made with shellac
gum, which, drying almost instantly, becomes hard, and keeps the gum
or pitch of the rosewood from acting on the regular oil varnish. After
the case has been "shellacked," it then receives its first "coat of
varnish" and left to dry; and then a second coat is applied, and again
it is left to dry. The varnish used is made of the hardest kind of
copal gum, and prepared for this express purpose. It is called scraping
varnish; it dries hard and brittle, and is intended to fill in the
grain of the wood. When it becomes thoroughly dry and hard, these two
coats are scraped off with a steel scraper. The case then receives
several coats of another kind of varnish; when this is dried, it is
ready for rubbing, which is effected by means of an article made of
cloth fastened on blocks of wood or cork; and the varnish is rubbed on
with ground pumice stone and water (a process somewhat similar to that
of polishing marble). A large machine, driven by the engine, is used
for rubbing the tops of pianos and other large surfaces. When the whole
surface is perfectly smooth and even, it receives an additional coat
of varnish. Each coat having become dry, hard, and firm, the surface
receives another rubbing until it is perfectly smooth, when it receives
a last flowing coat. After it is thoroughly dried and hardened, it is
ready for the polishing process, which consists in first rubbing the
surface with fine rotten stone, and then polishing with the fingers and
hands until the whole surface is like a mirror wherein we can
"See ourselves as others see us."
[Illustration: POLISHING AND RUBBING DEPARTMENTS.]
In the preceding statement, we have simply given an outline of the
mechanical branches of the business, and a general description of
the lumber required, and its peculiar seasoning and preparation
prior to use. Large quantities of rosewood are used for veneering
and carved work, slipping, &c. Just now, this is the fashionable
wood for furniture; nothing else is used in the external finish of
the piano-fortes of Messrs. Boardman & Gray. A view of their large
veneer-room would excite the astonishment of the novice. Rosewood is
brought from South America, and is at present a very important article
of commerce, a large number of ships being engaged in this trade alone,
to say nothing of the thousands employed in getting it from its native
forests for shipping, and the thousands more busy in preparing it for
the market after it has reached this country. Much that is used by
Messrs. Boardman & Gray is sawed into veneers, and prepared expressly
for them at the mills at Cohoes, N. Y. They buy large quantities at a
time, and, of course, have a large supply on hand ready for immediate
use. They always select the most richly-figured wood in the market,
believing that rich music should always proceed from a beautiful
instrument. Thick rosewood is constantly undergoing seasoning for
those portions which require solid wood. And one thing, dear reader,
we would say; and that is, where rosewood veneers are put on hard
wood well seasoned, and prepared correctly, they are much more durable
than the solid rosewood would be, not being so liable to check and
warp. They also make use of a large quantity of hardware in the form of
"tuning pins"--upwards of a ton per year. Of iron plates they use some
twenty-five tons. Their outlay for steel music wire amounts to hundreds
of dollars per year; not to speak of the locks, pedal feet, butts and
hinges, plated covering wire for the bass strings, bridge pins, centre
pins, steel springs, and screws of various kinds and sizes, of which
they use many thousand gross annually. Of all these, they must keep a
supply constantly on hand, as it will not do for their work to stop
for want of materials. A large capital is at command at all times;
and, as many of these things require to be made expressly to order,
calculation, judgment, and close attention are needed to keep all
moving smoothly on.
Cloth is used for a variety of purposes in the establishment of Messrs.
Boardman & Gray. It is made and prepared expressly for their use, from
fine wool, of various thicknesses and colors, according to the use for
which it is designed. Whether its texture be heavy or thick, firm or
loose, smooth or even, soft or hard, every kind has its peculiar place
and use. Here we would give a word of caution to the reader. So much
cloth is used in and about the action of the piano-forte, that we must
beware of the insidious moth, which will often penetrate and live in
its soft folds, thereby doing much damage to the instrument. A little
spirits of turpentine, or camphor, is a good protection against them.
Ivory is another article which is largely used. Being expensive, no
little capital is employed in keeping an adequate supply at all times
on hand.
And then there is buckskin of various kinds and degrees of finish,
sand-paper, glue, and a variety of other things, all of which are
extensively employed in the business.
So far, we have treated merely of materials and labor. We have said
nothing of the science of piano-forte making. If, after all the pains
taken in selecting and preparing the materials required, the scale
of the instrument shall not be correctly laid down on scientific
principles; that is to say, if the whole is not constructed in a
scientific manner, we shall not have a perfect musical instrument. So
the starting-point in making a piano-forte is in having a scale by
which to work. This scale must be of the most improved pattern, and
laid out with the utmost nicety, and with mathematical precision. By
the scale, we mean the length of each string, and the shape of the
bridges over which it passes. The length of the string for each note,
and its size, are calculated by mathematical rules, and perfected by
numerous experiments; and by these experiments alone can perfection
be attained in the manufacture of the instrument. Messrs. Boardman &
Gray use new and improved circular scales of their own construction, in
which they have embodied all the improvements which have from time to
time been discovered. They are determined that nothing shall surpass,
if anything equals, their DOLCE CAMPANA ATTACHMENT.
[Illustration: VIEW OF ONE OF BOARDMAN AND GRAY'S ORNAMENTAL FINISHED
PIANO-FORTES.]
The great improvement of this age in the manufacture of the piano-forte
is the Dolce Campana Attachment, invented by Mr. Jas. A. Gray, of
the firm of Boardman & Gray, and patented in 1848 not only in this
country, but in England and her colonies. It consists of a series of
weights held in a frame over the bridge of the piano-forte, which is
attached to the sounding-board; for the crooked bridge of the piano, at
the left hand, is fast to and part of the sounding-board. The strings
passing over, and firmly held to this bridge, impart vibration to the
sounding-board, and thus tone to the piano. These weights, resting in
a frame, are connected with a pedal, so that when the pedal is pressed
down, they are let down by their own weight, and rest on screws or
pins inserted in the bridge, the tops of which are above the pins that
hold the strings, and thus control the vibrations of the bridge and
sounding-board. By this arrangement, almost any sound in the music
scale can be obtained, _ad libitum_, at the option of the pianist; and
as it is so very simple, and in no way liable to get out of order, or
to disturb the action of the piano, of course it must be valuable.
But let us listen for ourselves. We try one of the full rich-toned
pianos we have described, and, pressing down the pedal, the tone is
softened down to a delicious, clear, and delicate sweetness, which is
indescribably charming, "like the music of distant clear-toned bells
chiming forth their music through wood and dell." We strike full chords
with the pedal down, and, holding the key, let the pedal up slowly, and
the music swells forth in rich tones which are perfectly surprising.
Thus hundreds of beautiful effects are elicited at the will of the
performer. This Dolce Campana Attachment is the great desideratum
which has been required to perfect the piano-forte, and by using it
in combination with the other pedals of the instrument, the lightest
shades of _altissimo_, alternating with the _crescendo_ notes, may
be produced with comparative ease. Its peculiar qualities are the
clearness, the brilliancy, and the delicacy of its touch. Those who,
in the profession, have tested this improvement have, almost without
an exception, given it their unqualified approbation; and amateurs,
committees of examination, editors, clergymen, and thousands of others
also speak of it in terms of the highest praise. Together with the
piano-forte of Messrs. Boardman & Gray, it has received ten first class
premiums by various fairs and institutes. And we predict that but a few
years will pass ere no piano-forte will be considered perfect without
this famous attachment.
We must now examine its structure and finish. The attachment consists
of a series of weights of lead cased in brass, and held in their places
by brass arms, which are fastened in a frame. This frame is secured, at
its ends, to brass uprights screwed into the iron frame of the piano;
and the attachment frame works in these uprights on pivots, so that the
weights can be moved up or down from the bridge. The frame rests on a
rod which passes through the piano, and connected with the pedal; and
the weights are kept raised off the pins or screws in the bridge by
means of a large steel spring acting on a long lever under the bottom
of the piano, against which the pedal acts; so that the pressing down
of the pedal lets the attachment down on to its rests on the bridge,
and thus controls the vibrations of the sounding-board and strings.
The weights and arms are finished in brass or silver. The frame in
which they rest is either bronzed or finished in goldleaf, and thus the
whole forms a most beautiful addition to the interior finish of the
piano-forte.
[Illustration: BOARDMAN AND GRAY'S STORE (INTERIOR VIEW), ALBANY, N. Y.]
Messrs. Boardman & Gray have applied upwards of a thousand of these
attachments to piano-fortes, many of which have been in use four and
five years, and they have never found that the attachment injured the
piano in any way. As their piano-fortes without the attachment have
no superiors for perfection in their manufacture, for the fulness and
sweetness of their tone, for the delicacy of their touch and action, it
may easily be seen how, with this attachment, they must distance all
competition.
And now, dear reader, we have attempted to show you how good
piano-fortes are made; to give you an idea of the varied materials
which are requisite for this purpose; and to describe the numerous
processes to which they are subjected, before a really perfect
instrument can be produced.
The manufacturing department is under the immediate supervision of
Mr. James A. Gray, one of the firm, who gives his time personally
to the business. He selects and purchases all the materials used in
the establishment. He is thoroughly master of his vocation, having
made it a study for life. No piano-forte is permitted to leave the
concern until it has been submitted to his careful inspection. If, on
examination, an instrument proves to be imperfect, it is returned
to the workman to remedy the defect. He is constantly introducing
improvements, and producing new patterns and designs, to keep up, in
all things, with the progress of the age.
The senior partner of the firm, Mr. Wm. G. Boardman, attends to the
sales, and gives his attention to the financial department of the
business. Thus, the proprietors reap the benefit of a division of
labor in their work, and each is enabled to devote his entire time and
energies to his own duties. Their great success is a proof of their
industry and honorable devotion to their calling. They are gentlemen in
every sense of the word, esteemed by all who know them, and honored and
trusted by all who have business connections with them. They liberally
compensate the workmen in their employ, and act on the principle that
the "laborer is worthy of his hire." Their workmen never wait for
the return due their labor. Their compensation is always ready, with
open hand. The business of the proprietors has increased very rapidly
for the last few years, and, although they are constantly enlarging
and improving their works, they find themselves unable to satisfy
the increasing demand for their piano-fortes. Their establishment is
situated at the corner of State and Pearl Streets, Albany, N. Y., well
known as the "_Old Elm-Tree Corner_."
Their store is always open to the public, and constantly thronged with
customers and visitors, who meet with attention and courtesy from the
proprietors and persons in attendance. We would advise our readers,
should business or pleasure lead them to the capital of the Empire
State, to call on Messrs. Boardman & Gray at their ware-rooms, even
though they should not wish to purchase anything from them; for they
may spend an hour very pleasantly in examining and listening to their
beautiful and fine-toned piano-fortes with the Dolce Campana Attachment.
INSTRUCTIONS.
Have your piano-forte tuned, at least four times in the year, by an
experienced tuner; if you neglect it too long without tuning, it
usually becomes flat, and troubles a tuner to get it to stay at concert
pitch, especially in the country. Never place the instrument against an
outside wall, or in a cold, damp room. Close the instrument immediately
after your practice; by leaving it open, dust fixes on the sound-board
and corrodes the movements, and, if in a damp room, the strings soon
rust.
Should the piano-forte stand near or opposite a window, guard, if
possible, against its being opened, especially on a wet or damp day;
and, when the sun is on the window, draw the blind down. Avoid putting
metallic or other articles on or in the piano-forte; such things
frequently cause unpleasant vibrations, and sometimes injure the
instrument. The more equal the temperature of the room, the better the
piano will stand in tune.
* * * * *
DEVELOPMENT OF THE LUNGS.
Much has been said and written upon diet, eating and drinking, but I
do not recollect ever noticing a remark in any writer upon breathing,
or the manner of breathing. Multitudes, and especially ladies in easy
circumstances, contract a vicious and destructive mode of breathing.
They suppress their breathing and contract the habit of short, quick
breathing, not carrying the breath half way down the chest, and
scarcely expanding the lower portions of the chest at all. Lacing the
bottom of the chest also greatly increases this evil, and confirms a
bad habit of breathing. Children that move about a great deal in the
open air, and in no way laced, breathe deep and full in the bottom of
the chest, and every part of it. So also with most out-door laborers,
and persons who take a great deal of exercise in the open air, because
the lungs give us the power of action, and the more exercise we take,
especially out of doors, the larger the lungs become, and the less
liable to disease. In all occupations that require standing, keep
the person straight. If at table, let it be high, raised up nearly
to the armpits, so as not to require you to stoop; you will find the
employment much easier--not one half so fatiguing, whilst the form
of the chest and symmetry of the figure will remain perfect. You
have noticed that a vast many tall ladies stoop, whilst a great many
short ones are straight. This arises, I think, from the table at
which they sit or work, or occupy themselves, or study, being of a
medium height--for a short one. This should be carefully corrected and
regarded, so that each lady may occupy herself at the table to suit
her, and thus prevent the possibility or the necessity of stooping. It
will be as well not to remain too long in a sitting position, but to
rise occasionally, and thus relieve the body from its bending position.
The arms could be moved about from time to time.
VIRGINIA PERCY.--A SKETCH OF SOUTHERN LIFE.
BY PAULINE FORSYTH.
One evening, at a large party, my attention was attracted by a tall,
distinguished-looking young gentleman, whom I had never seen before.
Though a stranger to me, he was evidently well known by most in the
room, for he was speaking familiarly to several who stood near him, and
bowing occasionally to others as they passed; yet all the time he was
thus occupied, his eyes constantly sought the quiet corner to which,
according to my usual habit, I had retreated. Strangers being rare
in Louden, and gentlemen of his appearance remarkable in any place,
I was at first disposed to gratify a natural curiosity with regard
to him, but my eyes, sent out on their exploring expedition, met his
so often, that at last, in a state of great confusion, I fastened
them on the floor and resolved I would not raise them again for ten
minutes. Meantime, I asked Virginia Percy, who was sitting by me, "Who
that strange gentleman by the piano was? He looks like an officer," I
continued.
"He is," she replied; "he is Lieutenant Marshall, a son of that Mr.
Marshall who lives on the next plantation to us."
"Don't you know him?" asked I, surprised that, while greeting all his
friends, he had not yet approached her.
"Oh, yes, of course," said she, quickly; "I have known him all my life."
Virginia, like most Southern girls, was a thorough-bred aristocrat, and
I ascribed her evident want of appreciation of Lieutenant Marshall,
and of interest in him, to the fact that his father's family, while
respectable, did not belong to the "upper ten"--to use the only phrase
that describes appropriately the class to which it refers--for they
are distinguished neither by goodness, wit, nor birth, but they have
become, by some concatenation of circumstances in this ever-shifting
kaleidoscope of society, the upper stratum, and the position, once
obtained, though it sometimes requires a severe struggle to gain it, is
easy enough to keep.
"He is the most strikingly handsome man I ever saw," said I.
Virginia made no answer. Piqued at her indifference, and resolved to
show my freedom from all narrow and illiberal prejudices with regard to
society or position, I went on:--
"He has what handsome men so often want. They have generally something
feminine about them; but he is essentially manly and dignified. I think
that his expression would be perhaps a little too stern; only, when he
speaks or even listens, his smile has so much warmth and kindness in
it."
"You have seen a great deal in a little while," said Virginia.
"Yes, and under great difficulties too." Here I was interrupted by
the approach of the person of whom we were speaking, accompanied by
the lady of the house. He was introduced to me, and acknowledging
Virginia's presence by a low bow, he seated himself by me and commenced
a conversation. Much as I had admired him at a distance, this was an
attention with which I would willingly have dispensed, for, naturally
very shy, to attempt to entertain a stranger was distressing to me.
Therefore, though I wondered a little that Virginia still retained
her seat near me, so that she was obliged occasionally to join in the
conversation with one whom she seemed to consider beneath her, yet I
was pleased by her doing so, and attributed it to her friendship for
me, and her consideration for my peculiarities.
During all the evening, Lieutenant Marshall paid me marked attention,
so much so that, by the time we were ready to go home, I had become
the target for all the jokes and witticisms that are kept laid up
for such occasions. In a little place like Louden, where everybody
knew everybody, and there was but little going on to talk about,
any circumstance that would afford scope for harmless gossip and
teasing was "nuts" to the good people, and before noon the next day
it was generally understood, throughout Louden and its vicinity, that
"Lieutenant Marshall was desperately smitten with Miss Forsyth."
My own vanity being thus supported by the openly expressed opinions
of the discerning public, it is hardly to be wondered at if for a
while I shared their delusion and their belief. But, being even then a
little given to metaphysics and analytic investigations of all mental
phenomena that fell under my notice, instead of putting the pretty
rosebud that Mr. Marshall offered me next my heart, I set myself to
pulling it to pieces, and presently discovered that it was not a real
rose at all, only a patchwork, scentless imitation.
In other words, I had ideas of my own on the subject of love. As the
six-year-old New Yorker said, when he was asked if he had no one little
girl whom he loved better than any one else in the world, "show me the
boy of my age in New York that hasn't!" so I can say, show me the girl
of seventeen who does not think herself an adept in all the signs and
tokens of true love. And I soon settled it in my own mind, that, when
brought to the test of severe and impartial criticism, Mr. Marshall did
not exhibit one evidence of real love, beyond an apparent preference
for my society. That the preference was apparent and not real his
abstraction and indifference convinced me. At first, considering it a
duty I owed to society to talk to those with whom I was thrown, unless
they would kindly relieve me of this obligation, I tasked myself to
weariness to find some topic of mutual interest between my constant
attendant and myself. My remarks were all politely listened and replied
to, and then he fell back into his state of reverie and silence. If
there had not been a shade of melancholy about him, I should hardly
have felt so patiently towards him for engrossing so much of my time,
while his thoughts were evidently far away. But I had settled it in my
own mind that he had been in love, and that the lady of his love had
died--this accounted for his sadness and abstraction; and that some
resemblance between the lost lady and myself attracted him to me.
This little romance gave him quite an interest to me, which was
somewhat lessened by the discovery that he shared in the village love
of gossip. I found that the only subjects that could interest him at
all were the petty daily events that occurred to Virginia and myself,
for we were constantly together. About these he was never weary of
hearing, and would ask me the minutest questions, and by his pleased
attention beguile me into long talks about such mere trifles that
I used to blush to recall them, and then, as soon as I entered on
some topic of higher or more general interest, it needed but little
discernment to discover that courtesy alone prompted the attention he
gave me.
At last I began to grow quite weary of attentions which I could not
persuade myself were prompted by anything but recollections of the
dead, and spoke of Lieutenant Marshall to Virginia, my only confidant,
constantly, as "that tiresome man." Perhaps it was owing to her desire
to relieve me of one of my heaviest burdens that she so often made
one in our _tête-à-têtes_, and by infusing a great deal more spirit
and life in our conversation, assisted me greatly. I do not know how
it happened, but we both brightened wonderfully when Virginia joined
us, and although I might have been half asleep with intense dulness a
few moments before, I generally found myself very soon wide awake, and
with auditors so attentive and easily pleased that I began to be quite
uplifted with elevated ideas of my own newly developed conversational
powers. One evening, there was a little gathering of young people in
a house where the hostess did not approve of dancing. We were all
seated in a stiff circle round the room doing our best to amuse and
be amused by rational conversation. The appearance of things was very
unpromising, and the lady of the house seemed quite uneasy; at last
she proposed a promenade, and anything to break up the monotony was
eagerly caught at. The ladies and gentlemen, like prisoners marching
for exercise, were soon walking in at one door and out at another with
great precision and order. I expected Mr. Marshall to ask me to join
the staid procession, but perhaps marching seemed too much like work
to him, for he proposed instead a game of backgammon. This had always
appeared to me an uninteresting, rattling, flighty sort of a game; but
to amuse so sorrow-stricken a man I would even have played checkers.
Before we had finished the first game, I felt a hand lightly resting on
my shoulder, and looking round, saw Virginia seated close behind me.
This was very kind in her, and I felt it to the depths of my heart. She
was a great favorite in Louden, and to leave all who would have exerted
themselves to please and amuse her, to sit quietly with me in a dull
corner looking over a game of backgammon, was an effort of friendship
of which I hardly thought that, in similar circumstances, I should
have been capable. When the game was ended, I made a movement to close
the board, but Mr. Marshall asked me so earnestly for one more, just
one more, that I consented. However, I took an opportunity, while he
was stooping to pick up some of the men that had dropped, to whisper.
"You need not stay here, Virginia. You'll be dreadfully tired, and I
don't mind much being left alone; there's Charles Foster looking quite
distressed because you won't walk with him."
"No, dear," said Virginia, very affectionately, "there is not a person
in the room I like half so well to stay with as you."
A stranger, far away from home, these words of affection from one
whom I had loved from the first, touched me powerfully, and almost
involuntarily I pressed my lips to her cheek as it was bent towards me.
Fortunately this little _effusion_ passed unobserved, and Mr. Marshall
and I resumed our game. But I turned several times to look at Virginia,
attracted by a beauty in her that I had never noticed before. Her
features were regular and her countenance pleasing, but her complexion
was so colorless, and her expression so composed and unvarying, that
I had never heard her called even pretty; but that night she looked
positively beautiful. Her lips were crimson, her cheeks delicately
flushed, and there was a glow and light over her whole face, and a
glittering sparkle in her eye, as though some internal flame was
informing her whole being with warmth and brightness. I did not wonder
that Mr. Marshall was so struck by the change that his eyes rested
often and admiringly upon her, so that he hardly seemed to know what he
was doing.
"Virginia! Pauline! do come here," said a laughing girl, looking
in from the piazza to which the whole party but our little group
had retreated. I started up to obey the summons, for the sounds of
merriment and laughter, mingled with the notes of a favorite negro
melody, drew me with an irresistible attraction. Mr. Marshall and
Virginia did not move.
"Finish my game for me, will you?" said I to Virginia; "I will return
in a moment." But my moment lengthened into nearly half an hour, for
four gentlemen of the party who were noted for their musical skill had
been persuaded to send for their instruments and sing and play for
us. This they did so well that it was with reluctance that at last I
fulfilled my promise of returning.
Virginia was playing with the backgammon men as I entered, and
Lieutenant Marshall was talking to her in a low tone.
"There he is, just as tiresome as ever," thought I; but we do not live
in the palace of Youth now, so that I said, as I approached them--
"Well, which has been victorious?"
Virginia looked as though she had never heard of a game of backgammon,
and it was a minute or two before I was answered. At last Mr. Marshall
said--
"I was--that is, I mean Miss Virginia was"--and he did not seem exactly
to know what he did mean.
"Do come out on the porch," said I, benevolently intending to relieve
Virginia from a great bore; "we are having some delightful singing, and
it is a very pleasant night." And I succeeded in inducing them both to
accompany me.
That same evening, Virginia proposed to me to fulfil a promise we
had made some time before of visiting her cousins Nannie and Bettie
Buckley. I was very willing to do so, having conceived a great
admiration for these ladies, which I am afraid had no better foundation
than that they were very tall, and dressed more showily and expensively
than any one that I had ever seen. Every summer they went to the
North, where they enjoyed the reputation of being great heiresses, and
consequently received much attention. Their father's wealth, though by
no means so large as was supposed, was still ample enough to allow them
to keep up their character as heiresses by a free expenditure at the
principal shops in New York and Philadelphia, and they returned home
with more magnificent brocades, flashy-looking cashmeres and bareges,
and fantastic ball-dresses than would have sufficed for ten years at
Louden. I do not think that my friends there appreciated them any the
more highly on account of these brilliant robes, but I was still in
that state of inexperience when "fine feathers make fine birds," and I
was very much inclined to respond cordially to their warmly proffered
offers of intimacy, and wondered that Virginia showed so little desire
to seek the society of such relations. I was so pleased to find that
she was at last willing to accompany me there, that I at once consented
to go the next afternoon, spend Saturday and Sunday with the Misses
Buckley, and return early on Monday morning.
We were to go on horseback, and when the time arrived, I found that
Virginia's brother and younger sister were to accompany us. We galloped
on in that glow of spirits and enjoyment that riding on horseback
so often imparts; when, as we passed Mr. Marshall's plantation, the
Lieutenant, as though he had been expecting and waiting for us, opened
the gate and joined us.
"That man is becoming a perfect _bête noir_ to me," said I to Ellen
Percy; "I can never go anywhere without him, lately."
I had hardly finished my speech, before it struck me that there was
something a little peculiar in the greeting between Virginia and
Lieutenant Marshall, and a half-formed, undefined suspicion rose in my
mind. I banished it immediately, however, for I looked upon Virginia as
the soul of truth, and if there had been anything between herself and
the man who had been so openly attentive to me, I felt sure she would
have told me. Therefore, much against my will, I allowed Ellen and
George to ride on, whilst I checked my horse, as fond of a race as its
rider, to the slow pace that seemed to suit my other two companions.
It was not long, however, before I intercepted one or two glances that
"spoke volumes"--ten folios could not have revealed more to me--and
all at once I was seized with the oppressive consciousness of being
_de trop_. My next thought was how I should contrive to join Ellen,
whose swift horse had carried her far in advance of us. I could think
of no excuse that did not seem to me so transparent as to be more than
useless. At last, murmuring some unintelligible words, I fairly ran
off. Afterwards apologizing to Virginia for my abrupt mode of leaving
her, saying that I had tried in vain to manage it more skilfully, she
replied with some surprise--
"My dear, I thought you managed it beautifully, and so I have no doubt
Lieutenant Marshall did."
"If he thought at all about it," answered I; and she smiled.
"Has it ever struck you--have you ever heard anything about Lieutenant
Marshall's being in love with Virginia?" I asked, when I had overtaken
Ellen.
"A long time ago I heard it talked about a little, but nothing has been
said about it for the last year or two. I have always thought, though,
that Virginia cared more about him than any one else."
"It is strange she never has alluded to him to me," said I; and I was
inexpressibly pained at this want of confidence on her part, revealed
at a time when I thought every feeling of her heart was laid bare to
me. Nor could I reconcile the clandestine way in which they had carried
on their love-affair, with the previous high opinion I had formed both
of Virginia and Mr. Marshall, as persons of the highest integrity and
principle. An indistinct feeling of annoyance at having been used
as a blind, and of disappointment at the tarnish which had suddenly
obscured, in my eyes, the bright purity of Virginia's character,
prevented me for a time from enjoying my ride. But deeper griefs than
mine would not long have been proof against the exhilaration produced
by rapid motion, through southern woods, on a cool and balmy afternoon
in early spring.
Nature has no secrets in that genial clime. She does not elaborate her
delicate buds and leaflets within the closely enveloping bark until
they burst suddenly upon you, full-formed and perfect, but her workshop
is the open air, and one might almost fancy he could see her dainty
fingers patiently adding, day by day, one touch after another, until
her work is complete. I have watched the slow development of an oak,
from the first red tassel to its full leaved glory, till I have felt
quite sure that if, by any of those marvellous metamorphoses we read of
in the old mythology, I should ever feel myself taking root and shape
like it, I should know exactly what would be expected of me. And so, my
eye caught and charmed by one beauty after another, of flower, or tree,
or cloud, I had regained all my cheerfulness by the time we halted at
the plantation, to allow the lovers to overtake us.
They had loitered so far behind, that we had to wait at least half an
hour before they joined us, but we were forbearing, and said nothing
to remind them of their want of consideration, though I am afraid my
silence was as much owing to wounded feeling as anything else.