Written for the Mother's Assistant. A jeu d'esprit. HOMESICKNESS, AND THE TOOTH-ACHE. BY REV. R. W. CUSHMAN. 'What an odd juxtaposition!' And yet, kind reader, these two diseases fall under the same classification in one respect, namely, that they receive very little commiseration. The toothache, whether it be that it is considered 'no killing matter, or, that it is considered a matter of course, with everybody who has teeth; or, that a tooth is itself considered so small a matter that its troubles are not worth noticing; or whatever else may be the cause, it is generally excluded, as by common consent, from the pale of sympathy, as an ailment invested with too little respectability to be entitled to the concern of anybody except the sufferer, and the man of the lancet and nippers. And home-sickness fares even worse; for it is scarcely ever spoken of but with merriment, by old or young. Now, as to this contempt of tooth-ache, I must enter my protest in behalf of the whole civilized world. If it were a disease afflicting only savages, it might be treated as beneath notice. But it is notorious that its chosen haunts are the mouths of the most refined and luxurious part of mankind. Who ever heard of a dentist's office among wigwams? Beside, has it not done mischief enough to entitle it to respect? If a million of murders make a hero while one makes a villain,' with what dignity should not that disease be invested, which has filled the world with more groans than Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon all put together. Surely, it is no small matter, if a tooth be a small thing, to be tortured, by anguish that forbids eating or sleeping perhaps for weeks together, into a willingness to lose a friend that is 'bone of your bone;' and which has stuck to you when, perhaps, every other friend has left you; a loss which is one of the greatest calamities that can befall a man; for, next to the calamity of having no bread to eat, is the calamity of having no teeth to eat with. I have said that homesickness fares worse, even, than tooth-ache. The treatment which this disease meets is so different from that which might naturally be expected, that I gravely suspect people have unwittingly suffered themselves to be influenced, in their feeling with regard to it, by the doctors; for it is a disease, which they all- Allipathists, and Homeapathists, Hydrapathists, and Thompsonians have to confess they cannot cure. It will not yield to ipecac. or mercury, in large or small doses; to cayenne, or cold water. And the Faculty have probably come to the conclusion, that the only medicine for the complaint is ridicule. But really, if there ever was such a thing as an amiable disease, and one which is an honor to human nature, I think this is one; and, although it may not be desirable to have it run too high, or too far, or too fast, for the patient's sake; and, perhaps I should also add, for the sake of his nurses, inasmuch as homesickness is as profitless to them as to the Faculty, and may be attended, especially when it occurs at school, with the loss of the patient; yet I cannot but think a little of it is very commendable. Some people ridicule it because, they say, it is a childish complaint. But so is scarlet fever. Others, because it is imaginary. But, in this, it has the same type with insanity and lovesickness. In short, I must dissent from the popular judgment respecting it,- even at the risk of being denounced as an odd fellow. I do confess my sympathy, my high esteem, and my most affectionate regards for all children, whether tenderlings, or boarding-school misses, or children of a larger growth,' who sigh and weep for the home that is far away. The thoughts and feelings which are stirred by the magic words, home, mother, father, brother, sister; or wife, husband, child; and which make the heart throb almost to bursting; tell of a nature which is alive and warm, and touched to fine issues. I have hope for the young when I see such indications of affection for their earliest scenes, and for those who have loved them with a love the like of which they will never find in stranger homes; and when I see the manly bosom agitated with such emotions, though others may call them childish, or womanish, I am seized with an irresistible desire of adding such to the list of my friends. "The bird that soars to yonder skies, Though heaven is nigh, still seems unblest; 'Though beauteous scenes may meet its view, It turns to that dear spot it loves: 'Whate'er the joys, the prospects, where I roam, Boston, January, 1846. LITERARY NOTICES. POETRY OF THE HEART, by William B. Tappan. Troy, N. Y. W. & H. Merriam. 1846. A beautiful miniature pocket volume of 256 pages, containing a large number of the choice productions of Mr. Tappan, most appropriately designated - Poetry of the Heart. Mr. Tappan is one of the few poets of this, and indeed of any country, whose pen has not been prostituted in the writing of a single line of an immoral tendency. One of the most popular and useful of Mr. Tappan's productions, is a hymn, written many years ago, and familiarly known, commencing, 'There is an hour of peaceful rest, To mourning wanderers given.' This hymn has, in England, as well as in this country, been ascribed to various authors beside Mr. Tappan. We have a recent instance of this, in the publication of a book of poems, entitled 'Lays for the Sabbath.' THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. New York City. Lane & Tippett. Here is a good edition of this work, with some excellent improvements. The text is accompanied by notes, chiefly selected from Bunyan's own writings, and is divided into chapters. There is also an index. In addition to these, we have a sketch of the life of Bunyan and a succinct history of the Pilgrim's Progress. Illustrated with wood-cuts and a portrait of Bunyan. This is a wonderful book. Its history alone would comprise volumes of deeply interesting matter. It has been translated into French, Dutch, Irish, Modern Greek, Armenian, Arabic, Tamul, Malay, Burmese, Malagassy, Welsh, Chinese, and probably into many other languages. Published by Harper & Brothers, and for sale by Waite, Peirce & Co. PLATO AGAINST THE ATHEISTS. - Plato, who was born about 430, B. C. was an illustrious Grecian philosopher. Among his writings, extant, are his 'Laws,' a dramatic work of ten books. In the tenth book, Plato treats of offences against the public worship and religion, in the discussion of which, there is a powerful argument against atheism. Dr. Taylor Lewis, of the University of New York City, has published the tenth book, in the original, accompanied with critical notes, and followed by extensive dissertations on some of the main points of the Platonic philosophy and theology, especially as compared with the Holy Scriptures. It is a work of great interest and great importance. WRITTEN FOR THE MOTHER'S ASSISTANT, BY LOWELL MASON. 1. My home-what a treasure! How dear to my heartHow rich is the pleas-ure Thy name doth im- part! 9:2 64 } So sweet and So pleasant As that of my birth! -Б 2 The days of my childhood 3 I ne'er shall forget thee, 8. D. PHELPS. THE YOUNG LADY'S FRIEND. Written for the Young Lady's Friend. BEAUTY. BY REV. EDWARD N. KIRK. THAT young ladies should desire to be beautiful is not surprising. But a few words of advice on this subject may be useful. There are two kinds of beauty; that of feature, and that of expression. The one secures admiration; the other, esteem and love. The one consists in a happy arrangement of the several parts of the material frame; the other results from the qualities of the spirit which dwells within it. The one requires a peculiar and rare combination of lines and colors in the face and neck especially. The other requires mental vigor, purity and harmony, with moral healthfulness. We hear much conversation on this subject, which is quite unsatisfactory, and which tends, we are persuaded, to mischievous consequences. We hear mothers, for example, commending to their daughters, certain girls as beautiful, and pretty, and charming, who have no beauty but that which is purely physical; while they express little admiration of those who have mental beauty, and in a high degree; but only that. We hear young ladies discussing the subject of dress in a way which indicates that they place too high a value on physical beauty; that they prize that which creates admiration, more than that which secures love. This operates injuriously on both those who are beautiful, and those who are not. When a young girl ascertains that she is beautiful, (for the possessors of this envied quality generally discover their endowments at an early period,) and observing how it secures the admiration of others, she is strongly inclined not only to think too highly of herself in comparison with others, but to prize her own corporeal qualities above the faculties of her mind. Clara Mason was |