the sun in the center of the photographic plate, showing that the diminution of light toward the edges of the disk is a real phenomenon, and not wholly due to the camera. In the two of the 4th of August, where the great spot, twenty thousand miles in diameter, appears on the edge, a very distinct notch is seen, and the sun appears to give strong evidence that the spots are cavities; but eye observations and measurements made by others, tend to show that this evidence is not conclusive, there being still a remaining portion of photosphere between the spot and the edge. The phenomena shown in these autographs appear to confirm the views of Sir J. Herschel, that the two parallel regions of the sun where the spots appear are the tropical regions of the earth, where tornadoes and cyclones occur. The focula seem to show that the tropical regions of the sun are highly agitated, and that immense waves of luminous matter thrown up, between which appear the dark cavities of the spots, whose sloping sides are seen in the penumbræ. Other analogies between solar spots and earthly storms are also well known to exist, and, indeed, are laid down by some astronomers as constituting a meteorological law.

are

HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS PROVIDED FOR WAR.-The Governinent, which had not half a million of muskets in all the armories at the commencement of the rebellion, now has, in addition to the million and a half placed in the hands of the men of our armies, enough remaining to equip eight hundred thousand men. There are accouterments enough for eighteen hundred thousand men. It is not likely that, as a nation, we shall ever hereafter be caught unprepared for war, for our present necessities have developed all the resources which are required to supply the materials of war.

GUNPOWDER SUPERSEDED.-M. Schmidt, a captain of artillery at Berlin, is the originator of this discovery, whose idea was subsequently imitated and improved by Col. Von Uchatius. The latest explosive material consists of the flour of starch, which, boiled in a peculiar way with nitric

force than the gunpowder in It has also the great advantag ing the piece to any apprec and, from the nature of the m is produced at a far cheaper r point in its composition w mends its use, is the facility the ingredients are mixed t rendering it possible to keep t until wanted for actual use. the powder is non-explosive.

JAPANESE OPINION OF AMER -The Paris Patrie publishes a journal of the Japanese printed on their return to Je ing of the fair portion of the the Embassadors say: "Of women some are very hand ample, the Empress. They = in general, far less so than the

THOMAS D. BRYAN, of Chic Northwestern Ladies' Fair $ original manuscript of the Emancipation Proclamation, & assurances that it shall not le.

LORD LYNDHURST is said to life at last, not through natur through the plague of an infe house, at a fashionable reso caught the scarlet fever.

GENIUS, TALENT, AND C Genius rushes like a whirl marches like a cavalcade of and heavy horses: cleverness swallow in the summer eve

sharp, shrill note and a suc The man of genius dwells w with nature; the man of talen but the clever man dances he everywhere, like a butterfly in striking every thing and enjo but too light to be dashed to man of talent will attack t clever man will assail the in slander private character. genius despises both; he he fears none, he lives in himself the consciousness of his own interferes with none, and w: example that "eagles fly ald but sheep that herd together.

th, he may tread it under his foot; should cur snarl at him he may chastise him; t he will not, can not attack the privacy another.

A METHODIST minister in Kansas, living a small salary, was greatly troubled to t his quarterly instalment. He at last ld the non-paying trustees that he must ave his money, as he was suffering for the ecessaries of life. "Money!" replied the ustees, "you preach for money! We ought you preached for the good of souls!" Souls!" responded the reverend, "I can't at souls-and if I could, it would take a housand such as yours to make a meal!"

AMONG certain articles dug up at Yorkown, Va., by Northern soldiers, last winter, he Hartford Times says, was a small red tone, which, upon cleaning, proved to be i garnet and a further inspection revealed the interesting fact that it had once formed A part of the signet-ring of the Marquis de Rochambeau, the liberty-loving commander of the French army in this country, who acted in concert with Washington in plans which won for us the battle of Yorktown. It contains the noble count's motto in Latin, and his family crest.

WE can often take a rebuke patiently from a book, which we can not endure from a tongue.

CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY.-Thirty-seven hundred new books have recently been added to the Congressional Library, embracing every variety in politics and his tory. The volumes now on hand number eighty-two thousand. An estimate of $160,000 has been made for the enlargeinent of the library, so as to include the rooms formerly occupied by the Clerk of the House, and those vacant chambers which abut upon the present chamber of the Supreme Court.

AN ANCIENT LAWSUIT.-The supreme tribunal of Madrid has just given final judgment in a suit which had been under litigation 240 years, and which involved the succession to the inheritance of Francis Pizarro, the famous invader and conqueror of Peru in 1532.

PRIVATE TELEGRAPH.-The use of the

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into Montreal, for private convenience, as it has been for public advantage. A firm in that city, largely engaged in wholesale drugs, have established a line between their store in the city and their mills in the country. The wires are similarly used in this city.

AMONG the novelties of the age is a seedless apple. A tree has been found in Dutchess county, New York, bearing this fruit. There are no blossoms, the bud forms, and, without any show of petals, the fruit sets and grows, entirely destitute of seeds. In outward appearance the apple resembles Rhode Island Greenings.

SOME men ought to have a clear conscience-if straining would do it.

A TOAD'S TOILET.-Audubon relates that he saw a toad undress himself. He commenced by pressing his elbows hard against his sides and rubbing downward. After a few smart rubs, his side began to burst open along his back. He kept on rubbing until he had worked all his skin into folds on his side and hips; then grasping one hind leg with both hands, he hauled off one leg of his pants the same as anybody would; then stripped off the other leg in the same way. He then took his cast-off cuticle forward between his forelegs, into his mouth, and swallowing as his head came down, he stripped off the skin underneath until it came to his forelegs, and then grasping one of those with the opposite hand, by considerable pulling stripped the other, and by a slight motion of the head, and all the while swallowing, he drew it from the neck and swallowed the whole. That is economy-what is good for the back answers for the belly.

A BOSTON CORRESPONDENT of the Cincinnati Gazette is responsible for the following: "I heard, the other day, a bonmot made by Longfellow, the poet. Young Mr. Longworth, from your city, being introduced to him, some one present remarked upon the similarity of the first syllable of the two names. 'Yes,' said the poet, 'but in this case I fear Pope's line will apply:'

"Worth makes the man, and want of it the

NEW SYSTEM OF LIGHTING.-The last, and by far the most important of the novelties of structure and decoration attempted, and so successfully, in the new Theatre du Chatelot, in Paris, is the entirely original mode of lighting the salle, so as to secure easy, pleasant, and ample illumination, combined with the highest artistic effect. Not a single chandelier appears, large or small, and yet the house is perfectly lighted, and the richness of the architectural effect, according to the description given, seems absolutely to gain by the absence of

those glittering accessories lights which usually form s features in theatrical interior these there is a ceiling of sparingly decorated with besques, above which, and un of gas, arranged in a conce which pour down a flood of equalized light through the s ent ceiling, and the intensity be heightened or diminished Not only is the glare of the which the view of the stag parts of the house was obsc ally removed, but the unwh and noxious fumes produced number of gas-lights are also, got rid of a most important i

It is a law of human natur be educated by failures and r law which is no less imper school-room than in the gen of the world.

THE true educator should re and teach subjects rather than truth, the principle, the idea, should be valued more than expression; the diamond, not cal setting. Thought is the guage, and language is of little out it.

SCIENCE FOR THE SCHOOL AND FAMILY. PART II., CHEMISTRY. BY WORTHINGTON HOOKER, M. D. New York, Harper & Brothers.

To those who have an experimental acquaintance with Dr. Hooker's other textbooks, and particularly his physiology, the present volume will need no commendation. Few authors have evinced equal aptness in the adaptation of scientific subjects to the work of school instruction, and none have exhibited a more thorough appreciation of the needs alike of teacher and taught. One feature of Professor Hooker's works for school use is, that he never sacrifices scientific precision and accuracy even while catering to the wants of the popular mind. His textbooks belong to that higher type of school

aids which are the product of period, and which augur well of educational progress.

The present treatise differ chemical text-books in the fol ulars :

I. It includes only that whic informed person ought to know ject.

II. It recognizes fully the tween a book for reference an study.

III. Its illustrations, which are drawn from the phenomen life instead of the laboratory of

IV. Its arrangement of topic the most simple and interesti first, and each lesson aids the p derstanding of the succeeding

THE Sunday School Times, edited by JOHN S. HART, LL.D. Published weekly by J. C. Garrigues & Co., Philadelphia.

The Times is conducted with ability and tact. It presents a great variety of interesting and exceedingly useful matter in every department of Sunday School effort. The title of the leading editorial in the number before us, "Teaching not Talking," is an indication of the sensible and practical character of the subjects discussed.

SIMONSON'S CIRCULAR ZOOLOGICAL CHART. -We intended to have noticed at some length a very ingenious and useful Chart of the Animal Kingdom, constructed by Prof. Simonson, of Hartford, Conn., by which the classification of animals into their several subdivisions, species, and varieties, can be seen and distinguished at a glance. This Chart will be published by Schermerhorn, Bancroft & Co., 130 Grand-street, New York, and we commend it to the careful examination of every teacher who wishes to have at hand. on his table, or on the wall of his school, or class-room, a convenient reference, or authority, to settle the classification and characteristics of any disputed specimen of Zoology.—Barnard's American Journal of

Education.

THE January number of the "Atlantic Monthly" contains, among other interesting articles, a Christmas story by the author of "Life in the Iron Mills;" a paper by O. W. Holmes, on Henry Ward Beecher, whom he calls "The Minister Plenipotentiary;" three cantos of Dante's "Paradiso," translated by H. W. Longfellow; Mrs. Stowe's initial chapters of "House and Home Papers, by Christopher Crowfield;" a poem by W. C. Bryant; a tribute in verse to the late Col. Shaw, by J. R. Lowell; "My Book," a brilliant essay, by Gail Hamilton; a graphic story by Miss Prescott, and "External Appearances of Glaciers," by Professor Agassiz. The politi cal article is "A Greeting for the New Year," by W. Hazewell, showing what has been done by the loyal army and navy during the past twelve months. The new number is a very attractive one.

POTTER & HAMMOND'S BOOK-KEEPING BY SINGLE AND DOUBLE ENTRY. New York and Phil., Schermerhorn, Bancroft & Co. Every man and woman should know how to do business. This is an accomplishment which no one can safely dispense with. And yet there are comparatively few who possess it. Why is this? The answer is obvious. It is because book-keeping, which comprises business forms and usages, is so little and so poorly taught in our schools. And the excuse has been the want of text-books at once simple, practical, and adapted alike to the

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But that want exists no longer. What Potter and Hammond have done for penmanship, they have also done for book-keeping. They have reduced it to its elements. They have evolved its principles, and built upon them a system of practice so plain that a wayfaring man, though half a fool, need not err therein. These books are prepared by practical book-keepers and practical teachers. Hence, they meet the wants of both.

If the principles and forms here presented could be, as they should be, taught in every school in the land, we should see ten successful business men where unfortunately we now scarcely see one. Let teachers, especially, begin a reform by studying, using, and practicing the maxims laid down in this series, and we shall speedily find more business men, and less mere mercantile tyros among them and in the community.

MAP OF THE WORLD-THE HEMISPHERES. By ARNOLD GUYOT. New York: Charles Scribner.

We have seen the advanced sheets of this

world picture, belonging to the series of Professor Guyot, to whom the whole country is indebted for the noblest contribution to geographical science, and especially to the aids to geographical instruction, ever brought before the public.

sheet, and are each three feet in diameter. These hemispheres are both on the one The water surface is colored blue, and the great physical features of the globe are presented with the same regard to beauty, boldness, and scientific accuracy, as that which characterizes the other productions of this eminent geographer. We shall reserve a more detailed and extended notice for a future number, and after a more minute examination.

THE HISTORY OF CHARLES THE BOLD, DUKE OF BURGUNDY. By JOHN FOSTER KIRK. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.

We are indebted to the eminent publishers of these splendid volumes for an early copy of the work, which presents not only the history of Charles the Bold, but that of his ancestry; the older branch being the earlier kings of France-the younger, his immediate forefathers. This history is a reality presented to the reader full of vivid life, and as fascinating as any romance ever written. It must give Mr. Kirk one of the foremost places in the rank of modern historians.

Franche Comté, the original Burgundy, being but a small part of their possessions, they had gradually acquired eleven provinces of the Netherlands, comprising nearly all of the present kingdoms of Holland and Belgium. The Dukes of Burgundy were veritable héros de Roman. The setting sun of

sought to acquire fame and do deeds of high emprise.

Philip the Good is represented as the pearl of valiant men, the star of chivalry, and the champion of the Church, affable to all whether of high or low degree. "He looked in the faces of those to whom he spoke, and sealed his promise with his word alone." He was the subject not only of the king of France, but of the emperor of Germany, yet he held the safety of France in his keeping,-the tranquillity of the Occident in his hand. Thus, though not a king, he held a position which kings envied.

We have not space to speak of the character of Charles the Bold, the Rash, the Warlike, the Terrible, the Ambitious. It was he, and not Philip, that indulged the splendid, the vain, the fatal dream of a modern kingdom of Burgundy extending from the Alps

to the German Ocean.

These volumes constitute, in our opinion, one of the richest contributions to historical literature which the present century has produced, full of real-life pictures, and affording & striking illustration of the trite aphorism, that "truth is strange, more strange than fiction."

ROUND-ABOUT PAPERS. BY WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, author of "Vanity Fair," the "Four Georges," &c., with illustrations. Reprinted from the Cornhill Magazine. New York: Harper & Bro's.

This book contains the following interesting papers: On a Lazy, Idle Boy; on Two Children in Black; on Ribbons; on some late Great Victories; Thoms in the Cushion; on Screens in Dining-rooms: Tunbridge Toys; De Juventute; Thomas Hood's Joke; Christmas Tree; Chalk-mark on the Door; Found Out; A Hundred Years Hence; Small Beer Chronicle; Ogres; Mississippi Bubble'; Notes on a Week's Holiday; Nil Nisi Bonum.

This book will prove a pleasant companion for a leisure hour. It teaches some lessons which only Thackeray can teach.

HISTORY OF THE SIOUX WAR, and Massacres of 1862 and 1863. By ISAAC V. D. HEARD, with portraits and illustrations. New York: Harper & Brothers.

The writer of this book has resided in the State of Minnesota twelve years, commencing at a time anterior to the removal of the Sioux from their ancient possessions to their reservations upon the Minnesota river. He was a member of General Sibley's expedition against the savages in 1862, from its arrival at St. Peter's, in August. until its return in November, and acted as Recorder of the mil itary commission which tried some four hundred participants in the outbreak.

He has had every advantage for procuring information, and he has made a reliable history. It will find a welcome place in every school library.

THE BOYHOOD OF MARTIN L Sufferings of the Heroic Li who afterwards became th Reformer. By HENRY MA "Wonders of Science," & Harper & Brothers.

For the honest completion author made a special tour several places which were th ther's early life; and, so tha duly acquainted with the m toms of the people, as well a the localities described in the has been resident among ther and has consulted all kinds of as well as examined many wo documents. Many of the i are entirely new. The book est, and will well repay a per

BOTANY.-We take pleasur attention of our readers to works of Prof. Gray on this Gray is, without question, a theoretical and practical Bot: had greater facilities and be ties to acquire an extensive knowledge of the plants of than any other person. He his extensive knowledge and well-graded, well-written, an sive Series of Class-books. brought up to the best kno present day, as the result of and laborious study in the clo field.

It is a rare gift of mind great scholar to leave the guage, the elevated style, and thought of science, and pres principles of that science in si language, full, clear, and attra the young student by progress a consideration of elementary the more abstruse and elab tions of those principles. Pro author and teacher, has been e cessful in this respect, and hi been commended in unqualifi Dr. Lindley and Dr. Hooker, in of the most eminent of living b by Prof. Torrey, the father Botany; Prof. Agassiz, of Harv ty; Prof. Silliman, of Yale Coll Curtis, the eminent Southern a host of others; and by such jo North American Review, Dubl Natural History, Silliman's Jour National Quarterly Review, and

CATALOGUE OF SCHOOL MER The publishers of the American Monthly have lately prepared a valuable school-books and sch dise. This will interest and pr and school officers, to whom it on application with stamp.