ORIGINAL POETRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 304, 26 September 1857, Page 5

ORIGINAL POETRY.

WHAT IS BEAUTY? What is Beauty ? We see it in th# rising sun, Soon as the morning star is gone, As he leaves his .bed in the raving sea To shine all day o'er land and sea. What is Beauty ? We see it in the rainbow bright, Glistening above in Heaven's own light ; Its colours blended together in one, The raindrops shining in the sun. What is Beauty ? We see it in the heaving deep, When the etormy winds are all asjeep ; Or when in wild play the waves arise, And lift their proud crescents to the skies. j What is Beauty ?We see it in the violet's flower, Sparkling with drops from the recent shower. It is an emblem of modesty true, Aa under its leaves it hides from view. What is Beauty ? We see it in the gentle child, Kneeling beside his mother mild, Breathing to God his evening prayer j The spirit of Beauty surely is there. A French Agricultural Invention. — At the last silting of the congress of learned societies of the departments, M. 'd'llliers, of Orleans, gave the agricultural section some interesting details respecting the coating of corn, of which he is the inventor. This system consists in enveloping the grain, by means of some glutinous substance, with manure, such as animal black. The results of the experiments made in the Sologne, on land of so worthless a description as to be let at 3f. the hectare (2| acres,) have been he states, of the most satisfactory description. The coating is effected by means of a cylinder, invented by M. d'llliers, and the patent was disposed of by him to Messrs. Parker and Co., of London, corn factors, for a sum of £20,000. The expense of coating amounts to about 35f. per hectolitre of corn. This system may also- be employed in all articles of garden produce, beefroot, &c. The congress warmly thanked, M, diliiers fox his commQni<&\>iva,~*Qatigncfiti'g Mesmger*

Economy in a Familt.— There is nothing which goes so far towards placing young fteo* pie beyond the reach of poverty as economy hi the management of , their domestic affairs* It matters not whether a man furnish little or" much for his family, if there is a continual leakage in his kitchen or in his parlour, it nlnS away he knows not how, and that demon waste" cries " more," like the horse-leech's daughter* until he that provided has no more to give.It is the husband's duty to bring into the house, and it is the duty of the wife to see that none goes wrongfully out of it. A man gets A wife to look after his affairs, and to assist hini in his journey through life ; to educate and prepare his children for a proper station in life* and not to dissipate his property. The husband's interest should be the wife's care, and her greatest ambition carry her no farther thari his' welfare or happiness, together with that oi her children. This should be her sole ainij and the theatre of her exploits in the bosom of* her family, where she may do as much towards making a fortune as he can in the countings house or the workshop. It is not the money* earned that makes a man wealthy — it is what he saves from his earnings. Self-gratulatiori in dress, or indulgence in appetite, or more company than his purse can well entertain, are equally pernicious. The former fastens a doctor's bill to a long butcher's account, and the" latter brings intemperance, the worst of all evil?, in its train. The Ideal Woman. — The true woman, for whose ambition a husband's love and her children's adoration are sufficient, who applies her" military instincts to the discipline of her house-* hold, and whose legislative instincts exercise" themselves in making laws for her nurse ; whose" intellect has field enough for her in communication with her husband, and whose heart asks 1 no other honours than his love and admiration ; a woman who does not think it a weakness to 1 attend her toilet, and who does not disdain to be beautiful; who believes in the virtue of glossy hair and well-fitting gowns, and who 1 eschews rents and ravelled edges, slip-shod and audacious make-ups; a woman who speaks low, and does not speak much ; who is patient and gentle, and intellectual and industrious i who lives more than she reasons, and yet does not blindly ; who never scolds and never argues, but adjusts with a smile ; such a woman is the wife we have all dreamed of in our lives? and is the mother we still worship in the backward distance of the past. — Cliarles Dickens. Matrimony. — Ain't it curious, squire, weddin' is , never out of women's heads? They' think of nothin' else. A young gal is always thinking of her own. As soon as she is married she is match-makin' for her companions j and when she is a grain older her darter's weddin' is uppermost again. Oh, it takes great study to know a woman ! How cunning they are ! Ask a young gal the rrew's, she'll tell you all the deaths in the place, to make you think she don't trouble herself aboutlaaTriage. Ask an old woman, she'll tell you of all the marriages, to make you think she is takin' an interest in the world that she ain't. They, certainly do beat all, do women. — Sam Slich. ** TfiE Home of Taste. — How 'easy it is to be neat — to be clean* How easy to arrange the rooms with the most graceful propriety. How" easy it is to invest our houses with the truest elegance. Elegance resides not with the up* j holsterer or the draper ; it is not put up with the hangings and curtains; it is not in the" mosaics, the carpetings, the rosewood, the mahogany, the candelebra, or the malable ornament; it exists in the spirit presiding over the apartments of the dwelling. Contentment must always be most graceful ; it sheds serenity over the scene of its abode; it transforms a waste into a garden. The home lighted by these intimations of a nobler and brighter life, may be wanting in much which the discontented desire ; but to its inhabitants it will be a palace, far outvying the oriental in brilliancy and glory. A Child's Sympathy.. — A child's eyes? these clear wells of undefined thought; what on earth can be more beautiful ? Full of hope y love, and curiosity, they meet your own. In" prayer, how earnest, in joy how sparkling, in sympathy how tender. The man who never tried the companionship of a little child has carelessly passed by one of the greatest pleasures of life, as one passes a rare flower without plucking or knowing its value. A child cannot understand you, you think ; speak to it of the holy things of your religion, of your grief for the loss of a friend, of your love for some one you fear will not love in return; it will take, it is true, no measure or soundings of thought, it will not judge how much you should believe, whethpr your grief is rational in pro-* portion to your loss, whether you are worthy or fit to attract the love you seek ; but its whole soul *ill incline to yours, and engraft itself, as.it were, on the feeling which is your feeling for the hour. — Hon. Mrs. Norton. Guinea Grass. — This seed has been recently imported from France to New South "Wales, and thence here. It is said to produce a rich saccharine grass, more nutritious than barley* and may" be cut four or five times a-year. It has- the advantage of growing upon a very moderate soil, and 1 may be sown light broad cast* We have some of the seed to experiment withy and shall let our readers know the re* salt*— J^ach and Figures, Melbourne*