appears as soon as the goods are washed; therefore it merely makes them more attractive to the eye of the purchaser. The practice was originally deceptive: but it can scarcely be called so now that it is generally adopted, and is perfectly well known to the great majority of buyers.

The method of applying the starch is by a stiffening mangle, formed of rollers of brass and wood

DAMPING MACHINE.

pressed together by levers, the pressure being regulated by the quantity of starch required to be left in the material. The starch is contained in a trough, into which a roller dips, and the cloth, in passing under this roller, becomes filled with starch, the superfluous part of which is pressed out again by the upper rollers and falls back into the trough. The next operation is drying, which, in the more substantial goods, is effected by passing the goods over large tinned iron or copper cylinders (see drying cylinders in calico-printing), heated by being filled with steam; but, for muslins, the process merely consists of stretching out the material on long frames in a warm room. This is done with such celerity, that two young women can stretch a piece twenty-five yards long, and fasten it to the frame, by pressing down numerous clamps prepared for that purpose, in the space of two minutes. The piece is from ten to fifteen minutes in drying, and is then transferred to the making-up room. But, in some cases, it receives on the frames what is called the patent finish; that is, as soon as it is stretched, the two long sides of the frame are made to work backwards and forwards in opposite directions, giving the muslin a diagonal motion, which is continued till it is quite dry. The effect of this is to remove the harsh and stiff appearance which the starch would otherwise produce, and to make the muslin

very clear and elastic. It has, in fact, the same effect as the beating and clapping of muslin articles by the laundress, in what is called clear-starching.

The finish for cotton goods often consists of a glazing, which is distinctively and especially known as calendering, and which gives a bright and beautiful gloss to the material. But this must first be damped by passing slowly over the damping or

degging-machine, containing a circular brush, the points of which, as they rapidly revolve, just touch the surface of the water, and dash up a cloud of fine spray against the cloth. This being completed, and the whole of the cloth uniformly damped, it now passes to the calendering machine-a number of rollers contained in a massive framework. The rollers are connected with a long lever loaded with weights at the further extremity, by which, or by means of screws, almost any amount of force may be obtained, and the surface texture of the cloth varied at pleasure. With considerable pressure between smooth rollers, a soft and silky lustre is given by the equal flattening of all the threads. By passing two folds at the same time between the rollers, the threads of one make an impression on the other, and give a wiry appearance with hollows between the threads. This may be varied at pleasure. The article of "watered silk" is produced in the same manner. Two pieces of ribbed silk are run between cylinders, which has the effect of watering each piece. By folding a silk handkerchief in the middle, and holding it up to the light, an idea may be formed of the principle of watering. It will be taken for granted by those who have never witnessed the operations, that the rollers are all of iron; but this is not the case: they are of cast-iron, wood, paper, or calico, according to the uses for which they are designed. Great care is taken in the construction of the rollers, whatever the material; and those of paper are far from being so fragile as the nature of the substance would seem to imply, for they are, in fact, a mass of circular disks of pasteboard, threaded upon a square bar of wrought iron, and secured by iron disks at each end. These disks are screwed down tightly together, making a solid cylinder, which is placed in a stove and kept at a high temperature for several days, to drive off all moisture, when the screws are tightened and the cylinder becomes remarkably dense and hard, so much so that, in being finished at a turning-lathe, it blunts all the tools employed, and requires two men to be kept constantly at work sharpening them. Copper-embossed rollers are also kept in great variety for producing figures and patterns on velvet goods. The water surface is produced by passing the goods in a very damp state through the calender with hot or cold rollers, plain or indented, and sometimes with a slight lateral motion. The roller is heated by the insertion into

it of a red-hot cylinder. One of these embossing machines is shown in our engraving. From the great weight of calendering machines, it is necessary they should be fixed on the basement-floor. After the cloth has received its final gloss at these machines, it is smoothly folded on a clean board, and taken to the making-up room to be measured preparatory to being rolled or folded for sale.

The calenderer usually undertakes many of the operations of packing, sheeting, and preparing goods for shipment. In order to suit the great extent and variety of manufacture, and to adapt goods to the tastes or prejudices of an extensive range of customers, a multiplicity of foldings or lappings has been adopted. The objects proposed to be attained thereby appear to have been: 1. To preserve effectually the dressed surface of the goods from acute creases; 2. To imitate the external appearance of some descriptions of foreign goods; 3. To impart a peculiar external appearance to goods. This object is accomplished in England by stamping the words "British Manufacture" on the ends of the pieces, to show where they are made. In Irish cambrics and linens, a foreign fold has been adopted; the French flax, from superiority of climate and other causes, leading to the production of a superior fabric. Irish cambrics are therefore folded so as to imitate the French fold. The pieces, after being folded into lengths of about twelve inches, and twice laterally doubled, until the whole breadth of thirty-four inches is reduced to about eight and a half inches, are powerfully compressed, until fully flattened. They are then packed in purple-colored wrappers or papers, and a small engraved card or ticket is attached to each piece, stating the length, which is generally eight or eight and a half yards. As the importation of manufactured cambrics was illegal in England, the cards, in real French cambrics, were attached by a silken string, so as to be easily cut away, to avoid seizure. The same method was adopted with the Irish goods.

In linens, hollands, and sheetings, and also in cotton shirtings and sheetings, the foreign fold is that of a cylindric roll, somewhat flattened by subsequent compression, for the purpose of safety to the goods, and diminution in space in carriage. The Irish and British linens, &c., are made up in the

same manner.

Cotton prints, and the extensive varieties of cotton cloths are also lapped in imitation of the rude Indian method practised in Hindostan long before the art of calico-printing was known to us. The method is, to double a piece of twenty yards, to reduce its length to ten yards, which, by again doubling, is reduced to five; and in this way they continue to redouble until the piece is reduced to a

moderate length, capable of being packed in a chest or bale.

Muslins are usually folded to a yard in length, with a small allowance for extra measure: the folding is alternately from right to left, so that every part can be opened and examined with ease, like the leaves of a book, before it is cut open. The piece, when folded, is reduced by doubling it lengthwise to about nineteen inches, and it is then folded across the breadth of about thirteen inches. A writer on calendering says, "Even the Indian ornaments of gilt silver threads, which were at first

CALENDERING-MACHINE.

woven into one end of each piece, although they did not exceed the value of twopence each, have been either greatly curtailed or totally given up, upon principles of economy. Even the cost of this trivial ornament has been computed to have amounted annually, in Glasgow and Paisley, to about 30,000Z."

Some kinds of handkerchiefs are folded in dozens; but for the African and a few other markets they are made up in pieces containing only eight handkerchiefs. Indeed, so successful have been the imitations of Indian and other foreign goods, in texture, in dye, in pattern, in finishing, and in the packages, that instances have occurred of seizure at the English custom-house, as India goods either illegally imported, or stolen from some of the company's ships.

At many of the calendering works, the goods are measured, preparatory to being lapped or folded, either at a long table or at the hooking-frame. The measuring-table is a long smooth plank, with a scale

of inches, feet, and yards marked at the side. A man stands at one end of the table, with the goods to be measured, and there is a boy at the other end. A length of cloth being spread out, the boy holds its extremity down at a line drawn on the table, while the man at his end marks a length of a certain number of yards, usually about five, with a piece of red or white chalk, according to the color of the goods, the red being used for white stuffs. The boy then draws the cloth towards him, until the chalk-mark comes opposite to the line on the table,

HOOKING-FRAME.

when he stops: the man then makes a second mark; the boy draws the length towards him until this mark arrives at the line, when the man repeats the mark, and so on until the proper length for a piece of goods is run off. Goods for the foreign market are measured by what is called short stick; those for the home market by long stick. In short stick, the yard is made to consist of "thirty-five inches and a thumb," which is, in fact, thirty-six inches, the usual length of the yard, or it may be a trifle more. In long stick, the yard contains "thirty-six inches and a thumb," which is equivalent to thirtyseven inches. There is also middle stick, containing "thirty-five and a half inches and a thumb" to the yard, and this is equal to thirty-six and a half inches.

The measuring-table is used chiefly for goods that are made up into rolls: when made up in folds, the hooking-frame is used. This consists of an iron bar, rather more than four feet long, graduated into inches and parts, supported by a wooden frame, and capable of being raised to different heights. At one extremity of the bar is a projecting needle, which is fixed: a second needle, attached to an iron slide, can be moved along the bar, and fixed at any point by means of a screw. The length of the yard varies at the hooking-frame as at the measuring-table. This length being determined for the goods to be measured, the children who act as hookers hang the

cloth in regular folds upon the hooks, until a sufficient quantity is collected to form a piece, which is then cut off and removed, to be made up.

There are upwards of a hundred different methods of making up goods, and each method has its own particular name, such as the falling lap, the Wigan way, the cloth way, the Preston way, &c. Muslin, as already noticed, is made up in book-folds, in pieces of twenty-four yards; but usually two halfpieces, called demis, are made up in one book, with yellow paper under the first fold, to show the pat tern, and the corners are secured with variegated silk thread. Tickets containing various devices in gold or bronze, upon a blue or red ground, are pasted upon each piece, varying according to the market. Some of these tickets are of large size, and very costly. The devices on these tickets are as various as their appearance.

A notice of calendering would not be complete without an allusion to the common domestic mangle. This, though very inferior to the machines described above, is yet a useful means of improving the surface of linen, and approaches in its results the more perfect operations of the calendering-machine. It is simply an oblong wooden chest filled with stones, resting upon two cylinders which roll backwards and forwards over the linen, spread upon a polished table beneath. Formerly the chest was moved by means of a handle attached to an upper roller or windlass, to which straps from each end of the chest were attached. In this case, the linen was wrapped round the cylinders, and the motion of the chest had frequently to be arrested and changed. This was laborious work, and it was a valuable improvement when a continuous motion of the handle in one direction would effect the object, and when a flywheel was added to equalize the motion.

THE MUSE.

A BEING of beauty is ever before me,

A halo of glory encircles her brow,
And an eye full of loftiest meaning dwells on me,
As, in 'rapt adoration, before her I bow.

And sometimes a smile, though so doubtful its meaning,
I scarcely may tell if in favor or scorn,
Plays on those lips of such classical seeming,

My soul with both rapture and anguish is torn.

For it is rapture too wild, too intense to believe

That, by my fond worship, her favor I win;
And the simoom scathes not like the thought I deceive
My own soul, and am fostering hopes that are vain.

Transcendent immortal! oh, tune thou my lyre!
And then shall I sing, as the mighty before,
The strain that dies while the ages expire,

The strain that shall thrill until time is no more.

"I AM hopeless!" said the young man, in a voice that was painfully desponding. "Utterly hopeless! Heaven knows I have tried hard to get employment! But no one has need of my service. The pittance doled out by your father, and which comes with a sense of humiliation that is absolutely heart-crushing, is scarcely sufficient to provide this miserable abode, and keep hunger from our door. But for your sake, I would not touch a shilling of his money, if I starved."

"Hush, dear Edward!" returned the gentle girl, who had left father, mother, and a pleasant home, to share the lot of him she loved; and she laid a finger on his lips, while she drew her arm around him.

"Agnes," said the young man, "I cannot endure this life much longer. The native independence of my character revolts at our present condition. Months have elapsed, and yet the ability I possess finds no employment. In this country, every avenue is crowded."

The room in which they were overlooked the

sea.

"But there is another land, where, if what we hear be true, ability finds employment and talent a gure reward." And, as Agnes said this, in a voice of encouragement, she pointed from the window towards the expanse of waters that stretched far away towards the south and west.

"America!" The word was uttered in a quick, earnest voice.

"Yes."

"Agnes, I thank you for this suggestion! Return to the pleasant home you left for one who cannot procure for you even the plainest comforts of life, and I will cross the ocean to seek a better fortune in that land of promise. The separation, painful to both, will not, I trust, be long."

"Edward," replied the young wife, with enthusiasm, as she drew her arm more tightly about his neck, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee! Where thou goest I will go, and where thou liest I will lie. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

"Would you forsake all," said Edward, in surprise, "and go far away with me into a strange land?"

"It will be no stranger to me than it will be to you, Edward."

"No, no, Agnes! I will not think of that," said

Edward Marvel, in a positive voice. "If I go to that land of promise, it must first be alone." "Alone!" A shadow fell over the face of Agnes. "Alone! It cannot-it must not be!"

"But think, Agnes. If I go alone, it will cost me but a small sum to live until I find some business, which may not be for weeks, or even months, after I arrive in the New World."

"What if you were to be sick?" The frame of Agnes slightly quivered as she made this suggestion.

"We will not think of that."

"I cannot help thinking of it, Edward. Therefore entreat me not to leave thee, nor to return from following after thee. Where thou goest, I will go." Marvel's countenance became more serious.

"Agnes," said the young man, after he had reflected for some time, "let us think no more about this. I cannot take you far away to this strange country. We will go back to London. Perhaps another trial there may be more successful."

After a feeble opposition on the part of Agnes, it was finally agreed that Edward should go once more to London, while she made a brief visit to her parents. If he found employment, she was to join him immediately; if not successful, they were then to talk further of the journey to America.

With painful reluctance, Agnes went back to her father's house, the door of which ever stood open to receive her; and she went back alone. The pride of her husband would not permit him to cross the threshold of a dwelling where his presence was not a welcome one. In eager suspense, she waited for a whole week ere a letter came from Edward. The tone of this letter was as cheerful and as hopeful as it was possible for the young man to write. But, as yet, he had found no employment. A week elapsed before another came. It opened in these words:

"MY DEAR, DEAR AGNES! Hopeless of doing anything here, I have turned my thoughts once more to the land of promise; and, when you receive this, I will be on my journey thitherward. Brief, very brief, I trust, will be our separation. The moment I obtain employment, I will send for you, and then our reunion will take place with a fulness of delight such as we have not yet experienced."

Long, tender, and hopeful was the letter; but it brought a burden of grief and heart-sickness to the

tender young creature, who felt almost as if she had been deserted by the one who was dear to her as her own life.

Only a few days had Edward Marvel been at sea, when he became seriously indisposed, and, for the remaining part of the voyage, was so ill as to be unable to rise from his berth. He had embarked in a packet ship from Liverpool bound for New York, where he arrived, at the expiration of five weeks. There he was removed to the sick wards of the hospital on Staten Island, and it was the opinion of the physicians there that he would die. "Have you friends in this country ?" inquired a This nurse who was attending the young man. question was asked on the day after he had become an inmate of the hospital.

"None," was the feebly uttered reply. "You are very ill," said the nurse.

The sick man looked anxiously into the face of his attendant.

"You have friends in England?"

"Yes."

"Have you any communication to make to them?" Marvel closed his eyes, and remained for some time silent.

"If you will get me a pen and some paper, I will write a few lines," said he, at length.

"I'm afraid you are too weak for the effort," replied the nurse.

"Let me try," was briefly answered.

The attendant left the room.

"Is there any one in your part of the house named Marvel?" asked a physician, meeting the nurse soon after she had left the sick man's room. "There's a young woman down in the office inquiring for a person of that name.'

"Marvel-Marvel?" The nurse shook her head. "Are you certain ?" remarked the physician. "I'm certain there is no one by that name for whom any here would make inquiries. There's a young Englishman who came over in the last packet, whose name is something like that you mention. But he has no friends in this country."

The physician passed on, without further remark. Soon after, the nurse returned to Marvel with the writing materials for which he had asked. She drew a table to the side of his bed, and supported him as he leaned over and tried, with an unsteady hand, to write.

"Have you a wife at home?" asked the nurse; her eyes had rested on the first words he wrote. "Yes," sighed the young man, as the pen dropped from his fingers, and he leaned back heavily, exhausted by even the slight effort he had made. "Your name is Marvel ?"

"Yes."

"A young woman was here just now inquiring if we had a patient by that name."

"By my name?" There was a slight indication of surprise.

"Yes."

Marvel closed his eyes, and did not speak for

some moments.

"Did you see her ?" he asked at length, evincing some interest. "Yes."

"Did she find the one for whom she was seeking?"

"There is no person here, except yourself, whose name came near to the one she mentioned. As you said you had no friends in this country, we did not suppose that you were meant."

"No, no." And the sick man shook his head slowly. There is none to ask for me. Did you say it was a young woman?" he inquired, soon after. His mind dwelt on the occurrence.

"Yes. A young woman with a fair complexion and deep blue eyes."

Marvel looked up quickly into the face of the attendant, while a flush came into his cheeks. "She was a slender young girl, with light hair, and her face was pale, as from trouble."

The invalid, without unclosing his eyes, slowly shook his head. A little while the attendant lingered in his room, and then retired.

"Dear, dear Agnes !" murmured Edward Marvel, closing his eyes, and letting his thoughts go, swiftwinged, across the billowy sea. "Shall I never look on your sweet face again? Never feel your light arms about my neck, or your breath warm on my cheek? Oh, that I had never left you! Heaven give thee strength to bear the trouble in store!"

For many minutes he lay, thus alone, with his eyes closed, in sad self-communion. Then he heard the door open and close softly; but he did not look up. His thoughts were far, far away. Light feet approached quickly; but he scarcely heeded them. A form bent over him; but his eyes remained shut, nor did he open them until warm lips were pressed against his own, and a low voice, thrilling through his whole being, said"Edward!"

"Agnes!" was his quick response, while his arms were thrown eagerly around the neck of his wife. "Agnes! Agnes! Have I awakened from a fearful dream?"

Yes, it was indeed her of whom he had been thinking. The moment she received his letter, informing her that he had left for the United States, she resolved to follow him in the next steamer that sailed. This purpose she immediately avowed to her parents. At first, they would not listen to her; but, finding that she would, most probably, elude their vigilance, and get away in spite of all efforts