FANCY FAIRS. THERE is nothing which may not be made the subject of satire, and a very few things of human origin, which, if the worst side is only viewed, may not be censured with some appearance of reason. Several writers have lately attacked, with considerable severity, those marts of charity called "Fancy Fairs." The principal objections which they urge are, the injury supposed to be done to the manufacturers of fancy articles, who earn their livelihood by the sale of them; and the imputed violation of that delicacy and modesty, so peculiarly the charm of female virtue and beauty, by the public appearance of ladies as attendants at the stalls on these occasions. The object of these sales is, the support of some charity which will relieve the bodily and intellectual wants of our poorer brethren. It is admitted, therefore, even by these objectors, that this objeet is good; because, if they approved not of the canse which the sales are intended to benefit, they would at once apply their arguments to objections on that ground. The object, then, is one of pure benevolence. Although it is argued, that the mode of effecting it is ingenious, it is stated that the sale of works of taste and fancy, at these bazaars, is detrimental to the interests of those who earn their livelihood by the manufacture of similar articles. Now, we contend that the generality of the goods offered for sale are not such as are usually to be met with in shops; and that, in these cases, the gain to trade is undeniable, because the materials must be purchased. Even in those instances where the ladymanufacturer is actually the rival of her poorer sister, the materials must also be bought; and it is very doubtful, whether the purchaser at the bazaar would lay out one shilling less at the shop. For it must be admitted, that the frequenter of these fairs expend their money to support the charity, and not because they really want the trifles they have in exchange. We must not forget, too, that the sum raised at these bazaars sometimes very considerable, is again circulated by the purchase of clothing, tuition, or medical aid for the objects of the charity, and is thus doubly beneficial. It may be argued, that those who are disposed to contribute to charities -and this observation principally applies to the buyers at the sales-ought to do it in a more direct manner. We reply, that we believe that generally those who are able, do so; and that those who are not, are glad of the opportunity of giving their half-crown or crown in this way-a sum which they would consider too small to be contributed in any other manner. As to the second objection, which applies to the ladies who undergo the unusual fatigue of attending the stalls, it appears equally unfounded. Surely, no philanthropist will scruple to use means for the accomplishment of his benevolent design, in which some degree of human weakness may be blended; and because there may, by possibility, be, in some cases, a slight degree of desire of self-exhibition, are we at once to say that this is the predominant motive, even when it does occur, and to forego all the benefits to be derived from such sales? Only let the conduct and motives of our female nobility and ladies be fairly criticized, and we do not hesitate to say, that they will be found worthy of Christianity, and of their sex, to whom its more gentle and endearing duties more peculiarly belong. She who might have won admiration by the grace and elegance of her unaffected manner, at the boutique of the bazaar, will probably, the next day, be moving in that less congenial atmosphere, where the motives must be high to induce the mind and feelings to overcome the pain which the undisguised misery of the hovel and the cottage too often presents. On the whole, we sincerely believe, that if, unhappily, the sources of benevolence, of which we are speaking, should be stopped, female usefulness and industry, and the means of doing extensive good, will be materially checked and impeded. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. THE present Solstitial season commenced on the 3rd of June; the difference of weather from that of the late Vernal being most distinctly marked. The late Vernal, both of 1833 and the present year, have been distinguished by fine day weather, while that of the Solstitial has been showery. These alternations the writer has noticed to follow with a considerable degree of regularity; and he has also found the commencements, assigned by Dr. Forster to the various seasons, to be generally correct: the commencement of each season is mostly attended with a change; and if the character of the preceding period is ascertained, a pretty correct judgment may be formed of the succeeding. The most interesting phenomenon yet observed during the present Solstitial season, was the thunder shower that occurred on the evening of the 14th: the afternoon had been very fine, the wind south-west,and the motion of the clouds indicating an upper current also south-west, the arrangement and general appearance of the clouds indicated a considerable action from that quarter; the prevailing clouds were the small roundish masses known as the sunder clouds, or cirro cumulus of Howard, and the light fibrous clouds termed cirrus by the same meteorologist; the arrangement of the latter was highly interesting, it consisted of that peculiar variety termed crinis febratus by Mr. Birt, and was stretched across the heavens from the south-west to the north-east points, having a central portion, which appeared denser than the rest, and which suggested the idea of an axis from which the cloud originated. The masses of sunder-cloud partook of the same arrangement, being drawn out towards the same points of the compass. About 7 in the evening, a large cloud of a fibrous character presented itself over some large masses of the cumulus of Howard; this cloud soon occupied the whole of the atmosphere; it has been termed fibrus fasciformis by Mr. Birt, and is not found in Howard's nomenclature. Shortly after its first appearance, distant thunder was heard; and as the cumulus came up from the south-west, it increased, accompanied with vivid flashes of lightning; the colour of the lightning was mostly of an intense violet: towards the close of the storm, some highly heaped clouds (the cumulo-stratus of Howard, and crinis-serratus of Birt,) passed under the large fibrus-fasciformis, which still overhung the heavens as with a curtain, and precipitated a shower of immense hailstones, some of which were the size of a large nutmeg; they appeared to consist partly of a nucleus of ice, surrounded by a semi-transparent envelope; in some cases the centre was semi-transparent, with an envelope of ice, which was again covered with a semi-transparent coating. The fibrus-fasciformis, after the lower clouds had passed away, appeared have a southerly motion, and also to diverge as from a centre; it was seen for a considerable time after the storm had ceased: a very clear evening followed. It would be highly interesting to trace the progress of this phenomenon, together with its breadth, or the space of ground it covered; and the writer would feel greatly obliged by seeing any accounts of this shower in the columns of this Magazine, or addressed to W. B. at the publishers. : to The earth doth worship thee, The hills put on the purple robe and crown, The woods-the solemn woods, The everlasting streams, Stay their wild fury as thy shining beams Look on them calmly still. The sea-the mighty sea, The heavens-the heavens are thine, Thou know'st them all-their worlds-their starstheir light, The immortal and the infinite-they shine The peasant-girl at prayer, When evening husheth round the cottage-flowers, Lifteth her dove-like eyes so meekly fair To thee at twilight hour. The dreamer in the woods Thinketh he hears a melody of thee, As the cool wind's breath in the solitudes Soundeth mysteriously. The flower-girl in the vale, When the wind stirs the moon-like lily's bell, The mourner by the tomb To guide his spirit through the darkening gloom Of desolation's night. But, lo! the lights are set: Darkness is walking o'er the western skies, They are passing through the skies But where, oh, where art thou, Thine evening light is lost amid the glow Yet may the spirit deem That thou art still immortal in the heaven, That thou wilt come with pale and lovely beam Again at morrow-even. Therefore the song must die, As dies the wind upon a 'dimpling well,' IMITATION FROM PHE PERSIAN. LORD! who art merciful as well as just, Alas, but what I can! Father Almighty, who hast made me man, I lay before thee, Lord, with this petition :- ON A BLIGHTED ROSE-BUD. SCARCE had thy velvet lips imbibed the dew, And Nature hailed thee, infant queen of May, Scarce saw thine opening bloom the sun's broad ray, And to the air its tender fragrance threw, When the north wind enamoured of thee grew; And by its cold, rude kiss, thy charms decay: Now drops thy head, now fades thy blushing hueNo more the queen of flowers, no longer gay. So blooms a maid: her guardians-health and joyHer mind arrayed in innocency's vest; When suddenly, impatient to destroy, Death clasps the virgin to his iron breast: She fades-the parent, sister, friend, deplore The charms and budding virtues now no more! REVIEW.-Report on the State of Public Instruction in Prussia; addressed to the Count de Montalivet, Peer of France, Minister of Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical Affairs. By M. Victor Cousin, Peer of France, Councillor of State, Professor of Philosophy, Member of the Institute, and of the Royal Council of Public Instruction. With Plans of School-houses. Trans lated by Sarah Austin. Effingham Wilson. London. 1834. THAT the education of its youth ought to be one of the first and most serious cares of society, is a proposition which no rational being will deny; but the wisest and best men are not agreed as to the nature of the education to be imparted; and there exists a still greater diversity of opinion as to the propriety of entrusting such a power over the minds of the rising generation, to the government. The mechanical improvements of our means of mutual communication consist in the arts of reading and writing; and these are regulated by the will say science of grammar. No person that these ought not to be taught to every individual, however humble his condition in the state. Again, arithmetic, geometry, the pure and mixed mathematics, astronomy, and the physical sciences, geogra phy, and the languages,-constitute a field of unlimited extent, in which education might be permitted an unrestricted range under any persons competent to the task. But there is another species of knowledge, of far superior influence on the character of the individual, and on his intercourse with society, which cannot be confided without great caution to the members of any government, for every government necessarily has a strong interest in the opinions imbibed by its subjects. This knowledge consists in the moral, religious, and political truths, as they are somewhat too boldly called by those who teach them, on which the diversity of customs and laws in different nations, the diversity of religious sects, either openly or secretly prevalent in the same nation, and the various forms of government to which mankind may be said rather to be subjected than to be willingly obedient, are supposed to be founded. It is not for any human being to say that mankind, in the present high state of civilization, is not in possession of real and perfect truths, in the three great branches of public opinion; but it is certain that mankind is not uniformly agreed respecting them, and that the interests of wealth, of power, and of pride, continue in so great a degree to confuse the discussion, that what is advocated as a truth by an individual one day, may, by an alteration in his circumstances and his prospects, sink into a doubt on the morrow. Selfishness-the anxiety to retain or to acquire personal aggrandizement, distinction, or power, throws a mist around us when we contemplate the truths of these three classes, and we attach ourselves and make proselytes to that which is most congenial to our temporal views. Hence arises the danger of committing to any government the power of forming, by education, the social, political, or religious opinions of the rising generation; and, as the danger is increased or diminished according to the nature of the government itself, we should rather look for the growth and display of such truths, from public education in a free state of Switzerland, than from that which is established and superintended by the military despotism of Prussia. The education of youth throughout England is charged, by many of our own writers, and by intelligent foreigners who have visited us, with being very defective; it is certain, however, that between twelve and twenty years of age, boys in England, for the greater part, read more instructive books for mere amusement, than others of the same age read in any other European nation. Within the last half dozen years, the diffusion of desultory knowledge by means of the cheap press, has given a very perceptible degree of excitation to the intellect of those who are now upon the threshhold of manhood; and our mechanics' institutions are daily giving proofs, that the power of systematizing what is acquired by desultory reading, if it be not yet so general as might be desired, is possessed by hundreds who never had the slightest aid from that mental discipline which is the chief advantage of scholastic arrangement. Our boys peruse penny-magazines at the intervals of their sports, and talk about the subjects contained in them to one another, and to their parents; and, in the higher ranks of life, books abounding in the facts of science and history, both natural and political, are numerous, and richly supply the vast and acknowledged deficiencies of a mere classical education. Admitting, then, that education in England is ill-regulated and defective, it may still become a question whether, in comparison with other nations, there is with us an actual deficiency of information. The day-schools and boarding schools of London and its vicinity, and of the principal provincial towns, have been the objects of sarcastic remark both at home and abroad; but the great bulk of the mercantile portion of the community, from the banker to the shopkeeper, received in them the rudiments of that knowledge that has not only secured to them success in their commercial enterprises and varied dealings, but enabled them to enjoy, with considerable taste, the proceeds resulting from their well-informed industry. From the same seminaries of instruction have arisen men who have distinguished themselves in various departments; while the periodical press, which can scarcely be deemed second to any in Europe, has been supported, and of late years considerably improved, by writers who have enjoyed no other source of knowledge. That so many of these schools and academies were formerly very ill-conducted, there is no necessity of denying; but it cannot, at the same time, be asserted, that they have not generally promoted the cause they had in hand, or that the tutors themselves have not gradually and extensively improved, as knowledge, the necessary consequence of education, has itself been improved and enlarged. Education, however, in this country, although it has, of late years, made great progress in imparting to the lowest class of society the arts of reading and writing, is still far from being universal among us. The report read at the anniversary of the British and Foreign School Society, on the 12th of May, described the largest and most important of our manufacturing towns, as being in a state of deplorable ignorance; and from facts mentioned in the same Report, the extensive coal-fields and mineral districts seem to be most shamefully deficient in the means of instruction. The causes of these two defects in our national education are distinct from each other. In the large manufacturing towns, the masses of vice and wretchedness will not easily yield to the exertions made by private and voluntary charities; and the mining districts, are for the most part, beyond the limits of that general sympathy by which the impulse of voluntary contribution is excited. In one case, the misery is too close, too intense, and too numerically appalling, to be dealt with by individual feelings. We are shocked at the magnitude of the evil, and we suffer it to walk abroad day after day, challenging our puny efforts to reply to its gigantic defiance. On the other hand, the colliers and miners are remote and scattered: we hear of their wretchedness with the sigh of commiseration, but the hand of voluntary contribution can scarcely reach them, and the superintendence of educatio among them seems beyond the limits of private exertion. Here then there appears to be a want of the aid of government; and it was these particular cases that urged Mr. Buckingham, at the above-mentioned meeting, to add to the vote of thanks for the grant of £20,000 by parliament, "an earnest hope that this aid will be still further extended, to meet the increasing amount of public support." But then the aid of government or parliament, with respect to education, must be purely pecuniary: we cannot, in England, brook any thing like the public instruction established and conducted under royal authority in Prussia, excellent as that public instruction, according to the report before us, appears to be. We are, as Englishmen, so devoted to the freedom of opinion-to the liberty of thought-that we tremble with apprehension at the idea of committing the rising generation to any thing like mental dogmatism. "You would teach me to think?" said the young German,* * "I am obliged to you, but I must beware lest you compel me to father your thoughts while you strangle mine." And this salutary fear of intellectual tyranny has been a great preservative of our public spirit, and of our religious freedom. At the meeting of the British and Foreign School Society, to which we have already alluded, Mr. Henry Meyer observed, in reply to some statements respecting the progress of education in Italy under German authority, “He was himself a native of Italy, and, if the population there were taught at all, it was by God himself, and not by Austrian sway. All the good that was being effected, was by individual exertions. Government education and national education were two very different things, and the people of England were very apt to confound the one with the other. Government education in Austria was itself made the means of tyranny." The sentiments of the chairman, Lord John Russell, were also of a similar complexion, as will be seen by reference to our abridged report in the present number. But while we trust the extension of education in this country to the, increasing energy of voluntary efforts, we cannot but feel a deep interest in the course which foreign governments have found it necessary to pursue with respect to the progress of knowledge. Knowledge, at the present period, cannot be restrained in any of the civilized nations on the face of the earth; nor is there a government, however despotic, desirous of repressing it altogether, for Goethe's Wilhelm. knowledge, while it can be kept in subserviency to the patronage of power, is сараble of organizing and enforcing its influence, of regulating its finances, of organizing its armies, and of concealing its more disgusting features with the splendours of the fine arts. It is at obtaining the guidance and direction of knowledge, that these governments are aiming; but knowledge will only submit to direction in the early stages of its progress. It will not be confined to leading-strings and the go-cart, when it has acquired sufficient strength to walk alone. As each generation excels that which preceded it, in the possession of physical, historical, and moral facts, so it excels it in approximating to those truths which influence the opinions of society, and gradually determine the conduct of the majority. All establishments, civil and religious, regard the stability of social opinion as their sheet anchor, which will retain them in the same safe moorings amidst the tides of centuries; but the events of the last fifty years have shewn them the futility of such an expectation; and the remaining hope of many of them can, at the best, only be, that they may be able to keep the head of the flood, and to drift along upon it, until they go to pieces by the natural progress of decay. Under a consciousness of their danger from the expanding elevation of public opinion, the continental governments have avowed themselves the patrons of public instruction. Austria, in a desultory and irregular manner, has organized schools in her German and Italian dominions, but in Saxony and Bavaria excellent measures have been taken to promote the education of youth. In Prussia, the seat of military discipline, where the principle of systematizing is at once the ostensible merit and the latent weakness of the government, the organization of public instruction is so complete as particularly to attract the attention, and to excite in some instances the admiration, of the friends of education in the more enlightened countries of France and Britain. In the summer of 1831, M. Victor Cousin was sent, under the direction of the French minister of public instruction, to Berlin, in order to make inquiries respecting the Prussian system, and to draw up a report respecting it. This report has called forth the observations of many writers, on the continent and in this country, who are generally united in their commendations of a plan, which cannot fail of elevating the rising generation throughout the Prussian dominions very considerably in the intel |