"THE BIBLE CLERKS."

A young man, says the Philadelphia Merchant, joined two others as a clerk in the same establishment, and as room-mate, in a certain city. When the first Sunday morning came after he had entered his new situation, he thought of the old custom at home of reading a portion of Scripture as a preparation for the day, but he hesitated to take his Bible from his trunk because of the presence of the other clerks. Still he could not be easy. He went towards his trunk and then returned to his seat, till his uneasiness was noticed by one of his companions, who said-" What's the matter? You are as restless as a weathercock." He hesitated in answering, but conscience got the better of his pride, and he told the truth; and, as though the moral feeling of the young man was contagious, the other clerks exclaimed that they had each a Bible in their trunks, but had not taken it out for fear of each other—a fear of ridicule, the one from the other. The three Bibles were now taken out, and a portion was read in concert; the practice was continued, its influence was felt, and when the story got out and their habit was known, they went by the name of the Bible clerks.

And what were their characters? Did the influence of the Bible prevent the development of any of the true mercantile qualities? They were young men of integrity, of method, order, precision, and dignity. By familiarity with the Bible they were in constant intercourse with the best models of character, and they proved that the Scriptures not only kindle lights of guidance when philosophy and reason fail, but they hold up and stimulate to the imitation of the highest order of manliness.

A manufacturer and merchant related to us one day the history of two young men who, in his establishment, became "free" at the same time, the one a Bible clerk," and the other not so. They both married early after their "freedom," and the one valuing the Bible, valued its institutions, and thus honored the Sabbath and the sanctuary, and brought up his family in virtue and prosperity. The other "couldn't afford to pay church rates;" his employer offered to furnish a pew, but he was too proud to accept the favor-spending the Sabbath here and there he was known as no churchgoer, and became an object for the vicious; and to nothing but his waste of the Sab bath could be traced the habits of expenditure and dissipation that ruined the man. "Now," said the employer, "the one lives in his own house, virtuous and happy; the other needs charity to keep him along."

A CAMEL MARKET: BARGAINING BY PANTOMIME.

Huc, in his Travels in Tartary, says:-The Blue Town is especially noted for its great trade in camels. The camel market is a large square in the center of the town. The animals are ranged here in long rows, their front feet raised upon a mud elevation constructed for that purpose, the object being to show off the size and hight of the creatures. It is impossible to describe the uproar and confusion of this market, with the incessant bawling of the buyers and sellers as they dispute, their noisy chattering after they have agreed, and the horrible shrieking of the camels at having their noses pulled, for the purpose of making them show their agility in kneeling and rising. In order to test the strength of the camel, and the burden it is capable of bearing, they make it kneel, and then pile one thing after another upon its back, causing it to rise under each addition, until it can rise no longer. They sometimes use the following expedient. While the camel is kneeling, a man gets upon his hind heels, and holds on by the long hair of its hump; if a camel can rise then it is considered an animal of superior power. The trade in camels is entirely by proxy: the seller and the buyer never settle the matter between themselves. They select indifferent persons to sell their goods, who propose, discuss, and fix the price; the one looking to the interests of the seller, the other to those of the purchaser. These "sale speakers" exercise no other trade; they go from market to market to promote business as they say. They have generally a great knowledge of cattle, have much fluency of tongue, and are, above all, endowed with a knavery beyond all shame. They dispute by turns, furiously and argumentatively, as to the merits and defects of the animal; but as soon as it comes to a question of price, the tongue is laid aside as a medium, and the conversation proceeds altogether in signs. They seize each other by the wrist, and beneath the long wide sleeves of their jackets indicate with their fingers the progress of the bargain. After the affair is concluded they partake of the dinner, which is always given by the purchaser, and then receive a certain number of sapeks, according to the custom of different places.

TRICKS OF TAILORS.

The Home Journal, in a pleasant homily upon the ways of tailors, shows up sonie of the tricks of trade.

Tailors must live; at least they think so, and we have no objection. Yet they are great tyrants, and have ingenious ways of torturing their victims. One way is this: They invent a fashion which is strikingly peculiar, and get it into vogue by various arts best known to themselves; for example, very short overcoats, with long waists, which look well on men like Count Rossi whose figure is faultless. Their next movement,

after everybody is overcoated for the winter, is to bring out a garment which differs as much as possible from the one in fashion; that is, an overcoat with skirts to the heels and waist under the armpits. They get half a dozen men of high fashion, who look well in anything, to parade this new invention in Broadway, and make the shortcoated majority appear out of date. The maneuver succeeds; all the dandies are driven to the extravagance of ordering a superflous coat; the tailors smile and the dandies bleed, or their fathers do. Some time ago our tailor tyrants put us all into long waistcoats, and, consequently, into continuations that just lapped over the hips. Suddenly the waistcoats were abbreviated four inches. What was the consequence? Why, of course, the continuations "failed to connect," and he who would not exhibit to mankind a broad belt of white around his waist, was compelled to discard all his store of well saved unnameables. And in vain shall the oldest customer protest and order garments of the last fashion. Consider my reputation, sir, says the tailor, with the air of offended majesty.

A HINT FOR THE UNSUCCESSFUL.

The following, from Claxton's " Hints for Mechanics," will apply with equal force to mercantile men:

As to luck, as I have said before, there is more in the sound of a word which people have got used to than in the thing they are thinking of. Some luck there is, no doubt, as we commonly understand the term, but very much less than most persons suppose. There is a great deal which passes for luck which is not such. Generally speaking, your "lucky fellows," when one searches closely into their history, turn out to be your fellows that know what they are doing, and how to do it in the right way. Their luck comes to them, because they work for it; it is luck well earned. They put themselves in the way of luck. They keep themselves wide awake. They make the best of what opportunities they possess, and always stand ready for more; and when a mechanic does thus much, depend upon it, it must be hard luck indeed, if he do not get, at least, employers, customers, and friends. "One needs only," says an American writer," to turn to the lives of men of mechanical genius, to see how by taking advantage of little things and facts, which no one had observed, or which every one had thought unworthy of regard, they have established new and important principles in the arts, and built up for themselves manufactories for the practice of their newly discovered processes." And yet these are the men who are called the lucky fellows, and sometimes envied as such. Who can deny that their luck is well earned, or that it is just as much in my power to "go ahead" as it was in theirs?

INDUSTRY THE ROAD TO SUCCESS.

It is a proverbial remark, founded on experience and common sense, that Satan will employ him who does not find employment for himself. Industry will secure the confidence and encouragement of good men. What is it that we first inquire after respecting one who is just coming forward on the arena of public life? Brilliant talents may be desirable; respectable connections may have an influence; property may serve as an outfit; but, after all, our real judgment of the man, and our readiness to commit important trusts to his keeping, will depend on something more inherent and personal. We must know that he is industrious and faithful. Without these abiding qualities, capacity, and family, and fortune will seem light as air and empty as a bubble.

It is instructive to ask who they are that rise to the highest distinctions both in Church and State. Flashes of genius and outbursts of efforts usually accomplish but little. We hear much of fair openings and happy beginnings; but in a great majority of instances, the men of persevering diligence bear away the palm. The best talent on earth is that of assiduous application.-Spring time of Life.

THE BOOK TRADE.

1-Select Speeches of Kossuth. Condensed and abridged, with Kossuth's express sanction, by Francis W. Newman. 12mo., pp. 445. New York: C. S. Francis & Co.

No man in so short a time ever made so many speeches. (little more than half a year,) as Kossuth. The number, great and small, exceeded five hundred. His orations, it is well remarked, are a tropical forest, full of strength and majesty, tangled in luxuriance. Unsuited to form a book without abridgment, they contain materials adapted equally for immediate political service, and for permanence as a work of wisdom and of genius. Mr. Newman has in the preparation of the present volume cut short what is of temporary interest, condensed what he considered too amplified for his limits and for written style, pruning down the repetitions which are inevitable where numerous audiences are addressed by the same man on the same subject. But amid all these liberties, he has, we think, retained not only the true sentiments and arguments of the speaker, but his words and forms of thought and all that is characteristic of his genius. The compiler may be regarded, to some extent, a translator as well as reporter; and we are assured that he has received Kossuth's written approval and thanks. The volume has a fine engraved portrait of the Hungarian

12mo., pp. 208. Boston

patriot. 2.-A Defence of the Eclipse of Faith. By its Author. Crosby, Nichols & Co. New York: Evans & Dickerson. We noticed in this department of the Merchants' Magazine, soon after its publication in this country, the "Eclipse of Faith," by Henry Rogers, one of the ablest Edinburgh reviewers. That work was regarded by many as the most effective attack that had been made on the sceptical philosophy of modern times. Prof. F. W. Newman, the leading advocate of English rationalism, whose "Phases of Faith" had been so remorselessly criticised by Mr. Rogers, has thought proper to issue a new edition of his work, in which, besides some modifications in the original text, he has introduced a "Reply to the Eclipse of Faith," and a chapter on the "Moral Perfection of Jesus," all having reference to the arguments of his antagonist. Both the reply and the additional chapter have been included in the American edition of Mr. Rogers' "Defence," in order that the reader may have the fairest opportunity to judge of the merits of the controversy. The discussion has been conducted with great ability on both sides. 3-Poems: Descriptive, Dramatic, Legendary, and Contemplative. By WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, Esq. In 2 vols. 12mo., pp. 346 and 360. New York J. S.

Redfield.

These volumes contain most of the poetical works of the author, including Norman Maurice, a tragedy; Atalantis, a tale of the sea; Tales and traditions of the South; the City of the Silent; Southern Passages and Pictures; Historical and Dramatic Sketches; Scripture Legends; Francesca da Reminicli. Atalantis" is an imaginative story, in the dramatic form, its plot simple but effectively managed, and, like many of his poems, contains much beautiful imagery and fine description. As a poet and novelist, Mr. Simms seems to have been equally successful; and his productions are worthy of the beautiful and enduring form in which they are now being reproduced by Mr. Redfield, the publisher. We prize them as a most valuable addition to our library of standard American authors.

4.-Egeria: or, Voices of Thought and Counsel, for the Woods and the Wayside By W. GILMORE SIMMS, Esq., author of "Katharine Walton," &c. 12mo., pp. 319. Philadelphia: E. H. Butler & Co.

The collection embraced in this volume, we are told by the author, has been the unpremeditated accumulation of years. It consists of aphorisms, in prose and verse-a body of sentiment and opinion hastily derived from excursive reading, but the greater portion grown out of the author's purely individual experience, from patient as well as passing observation. Many of the sentiments and opinions will find a response in every reflecting mind.

5.-Homeopathic Practice of Medicine: Embracing the History, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Diseases generally, including those peculiar to Females, and the Management of Children. Designed as a text book for the Student, as a concise Book of Reference for the Profession, and simplified and arranged for Domestic Use. By Dr. M. FRELIGH, late Resident and now Visiting Physician to the New York Homeopathic Dispensary Association, etc. 12mo., pp. 577. New York: Lamport, Blakeman & Law.

We are not disposed to dispute the statements of the author, that the success of Homeopathy over every other system of medical practice is so well established that it requires no vindication. That we leave to the old school Allopathists. It is certainly a philosophical system, and has been adopted by some of the most enlightened minds, in Europe and America. The present work is highly commended by some of the most distinguished practitioners (some of whom are authors) in the United States. Although an ardent disciple of H thnemann, the author departs in some respects from the strictness of his teachings, as, for instance, in the matter of external applications. The most clear, concise, and explicit language is used throughout, and technical terms and phrases are explained for the benefit of domestic use.

6.-A Year with the Turks; or Sketches of Travel in the European and Asiatic Dominions of the Sultan. By WARRINGTON W. SMITH. 12mo., pp. 251.

The design of Mr. Smith is to give a plain, unvarnished account of a journey through Turkey, and the character of her population. At the present state of affairs, all that relates to this country is invested with more than ordinary interest. The author writes from his own experience, having visited most of the Turkish provinces, and his intercourse with many individuals belonging to that region, gives him an opportunity to judge of the present condition of its inhabitants. This he seems to have done fairly. While exposing the evils existing in this empire from the oppression of the government officials and the lawlessness which prevails in some of the provinces to a great extent, he still has faith in their capability of improvement and elevation, and claims for the people considerable industry and patriotism. His adventures, while sojourning in Turkey, are written in a spirited style. A map is prefixed to the volume, which will aid the reader in fixing the localities, and adds to the value of it. Such a work must be more than usually acceptable, as the attention of the reading public is turned in that direction.

7.—The Catacombs of Rome, as Illustrating the Church of the first Three Centuries. By the Right Rev. WM. INGRAHAM KIP, D. D. 12mo., pp. 212. New York: J. S. Redfield.

The Rev. Dr. Kip, the new Missionary Bishop of California, is known in the Church and in the literary world as the author of a number of popular works connected with the literature and religion of the Church. The Catacombs of Rome are full of interest; but the account of their inscriptions has heretofore been mostly locked up in ponderous tomes in other tongues. Dr. Kip, when in Rome in 1845, became exceedingly interested in the study of these antiquities, and although in the preparation of the present volume he disclaims all attempts at originality, he has imparted to his descriptions the freshness of his own recollections. The volume is copiously illustrated, and published in a creditable style.

8.-Crystalline: or, The Heiress of Fall Down Castle. A Romance. By F. W. SHELTON, A. M., author of the "Rector of St. Bardolph's," &c. 12mo., pp. 202. New York: Charles Scribner.

The powerful imagination and vivid fancy of the author seem to have found in the present production the greatest scope for expansion. A cotemporary, who has probably read the story, says the author has given it the appellation of a romance, and the illusion created by the title is so well kept up that, as we understand, many persons have already read it by mistake for a romance-as in Pope's preface to the Rape of the Lock, many ladies are said to have read the Comte de Gabalis. It has several very pretty and appropriate illustrations.

9.-Advanced Latin Exercises, with Selections for Reading. American Edition. Revised, with Additions 18mo., pp. 162. Blanchard & Lea.

The universal commendation bestowed upon this series of educational classics by teachers and those competent to judge, renders anything more on our part than the mere announcement unnecessary.

10.-Documents of the Constitutions of England and America. From Magna Charta to the Federal Constitution of 1789. Compiled and edited, with Notes, by FRANCIS BOWEN, Alford Professor of Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity in Harvard College. 8vo., pp. 142. Cambridge: John Bartlett.

Professor Bowen has brought together in this volume, to illustrate the rise and progress of the English and American constitutions, the following documents, viz.: Magna Charta; Confirmatio Chartarum; the Statute of Treasons; the Petition of Rights; the Habeas Corpus Act; the Bill of Rights; the Massachusetts Body of Liberties; Confederacy of the New England Colonies; Franklin's Plan of Union of the Colonies; Declaration of Independence; the Virginia Bill of Rights; Articles of Confederation; the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights; and the Constitution of the United States. It forms a most valuable compend of reference for the statesman, and a text-book of constitutional law, on England and America.

11.-Old Sights with New Eyes. By a Yankee. With an Introduction by Robert Baird, D. D. 12mo., pp. 372. New York: M. W. Dodd.

The production of a young New England clergyman, whose modesty constrained him to send it forth without his name. To those who desire to read well written and appropriate notices of the places of chief interest in " Old Europe," Dr. Baird recommends the book without reserve. It is evidently the production of a highly cultivated mind. The style is pure and beautiful, and the descriptions of places and things are exact, concise, and highly interesting.

12.-The Myrtle Wreath; or Stray Leaves Recalled. By MINNIE MYRTLE. 12mo., pp. 380. New York: Charles Scribner.

A delightful volume, containing some seventy tales and sketches, with a few simple and graceful verses, on a variety of topics. The subjects of this anonymous and unpretending writer are drawn mostly from lowly life. The sketches disclose a truthful eye and a skillful hand, and appear as transcripts of actual incidents, characters, and emotions, all evincing true womanly feeling, filled with worthy thoughts and generous sentiments. It is an excellent book to while away the tedium of travel. 13.-History and Rudiments of Architecture. Edited by John Bullock, Architect, Civil Engineer, and Editor of the "American Artisan." 12mo., pp. 234. New York: Stringer & Townsend.

The present work is divided into four parts, embracing-1st, the orders of architecture; 2d, architectural styles of various countries; 3d, the nature and principles of design in architecture; and 4th, an accurate and complete glossary of architectural terms. It is adapted to the use of architects, builders, draughtsmen, machinists, engineers, and mechanics. It is a concise, but at the same time very comprehensive treatise.

14.-Field Book for Railroad Engineers. By JOHN B. HENCK, A. M., Civil Engineer. 18mo, pp. 243. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

This volume, which is done up in the form of a pocket-book for the convenience of railroad engineers, contains formulæ for laying out curves, determining angles, leveling, calculating earth-work, and all other matters connected with railroad surveying. It is copiously illustrated with the usual tables, and appears to be a very complete manual of its class.

15.-The Winter Lodge; or Vow Fulfilled. An Historical Novel, the sequel to Simon Kentou." By JAMES WEIR. 12mo., pp. 231. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co.

An American novel, the scenes laid in the "Far West," if indeed we have at this time any far West. Those who read and admired "Simon Kenton," from the same pen, (and this is a sequel to that tale,) will fully appreciate the merits of this last production of Mr. Weir.

16.-Little Ferns for Fanny's Little Friends. By the author of “Fern Leaves.” With Original Designs, by FRED. M. COFFIN. 18mo., pp. 297. New York: J. C. Derby. We noticed the "great" Ferns in a former number of this Magazine. Strong, good common sense, and wit without vulgarity, runs through every page and paragraph of this popular writer. The sale of some thirty thousand copies of the present volume in less than a twelvemonth is no slight compliment to the genius of the author.