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THE

KNICKERBOCKER MAGAZINE,

EDITED BY LOUIS GAYLORD CLARK.

THE number for January, 1855, begins the FORTY-FIFTH VOLUME of the KNICKERBOCKER MAGAZINE.

Since the price of subscription has been reduced from FIVE to THREE DOLLARS a year, the circulation of the KNICKERBOCKER has been increased nearly four to one. In many places ten are sold where there was but one before, and through the year it has been steadily increasing. It is now offered as cheap as any of the Magazines, all things considered. Instead of making new and prodigious promises, we submit a few extracts from notices of late numbers, which we might extend to a number of pages.

Those familiar with the Editor's monthly Gossip with his readers, have doubtless, with ourselves, admired the perennial source of its plesant wit and joyousness. In this number The Gossip' holds on its way like some fair rivulet glancing and dancing in the sunshine of a May morning. We used to wonder how Mr. CLARK held out, expecting he must certainly snow brown' in the coming number; but this number gives no sign of exhaustion.-National Intelligencer, Washington.

'Pleasant, genial, delightful Old KNICK.! Thy name is a suggestion of all things delectable; tee sight of thy modest, fresh cover, a balm to spiritual sore eyes; a glance within thee, best antidote for the blues. Thou hast given to kindly humor, to piquant delineation, and to side-splitting fun, a 'local habitation,' without which they might go wandering over the domain of letters, calling now and then where a friendly door opened to them but refusing to be comforted for the loss of their old dear home.—Courier, Burlington Vt.

"The great care evinced in the selection of articles that adorn its pages, is a sufficient guaranty that no contribution meets the eye of the reader but those which are known to be worthy of his perusal. When storms and wild tempests are sweeping o'er our hill-side village in these chill winter hours, and all is drear and desolate without, we ask for no more agreeable companion than the 'KNICKERBOCKER; for while its contents impart valuable information, its sallies 1 genuine wit are a sovereign specific for all fits of the blues or attacks of the horrors, and time passes merrily on.'Democrat, Doylestown, Pa.

The KNICKERBOCKER has been and will be a fact of its own; a genuine living thing, all the more desirable now that the new crop of magazines, filled with articles pirated from English authors, makes fresh home creations more conspicuous and welcome.'-New-York Christian Inquirer.

'No one ever rose from the perusal of the KNICKERBOCKER a disappointed reader. Whatever may have been his anticipations, they have always been rewarded. When he took up a new number, he felt sure of a literary treat; it was no mere showy repast he was invited to. Did he seek the grave or didactic essay, the touching story, poetic gems, or the humorous tale, he was always sure of finding the object of his search. And then, besides, there was the Gossip' of Old KNICK.,' always looked to with eagerness, never put down except with regret that there were not more pages of inimitable random sketches-the Knick-nacks of that repast.'-Courier, Natchez, Miss.

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THE KNICKERBOCKER. New-York: Samuel Hueston. This best, decidedly best, of the American magazines seems to have improved in appearance and in the quality of its literary matter-always good-even upon its reduction in price. It is a luxury of which no man who hes three dollars to spare-and who that has a taste for good reading has not should deprive himself, to sit down in a retired corner, when the mind has been wearied with the perplexities of every day pursuits, and pore over the well-stored pages of "Old Knick." We even now read the old volumes of this work, of a dozen years ago, with more real pleasure than half the new publications of the day. Each number will "bear the wear and tear of half a dozen readings," and then the volume be "worthy of good binding and a place on the shelves," and that is what can be truly said of but few of the magazines of the present day.

The contents of the Knickerbocker are so varied, that almost every one will find something in its pages to please him-to instruct and amuse. The articles are marked by the highesl order of merit, and in a long series of years we have found nothing in this work to which the most fastidious could object. It is a work which should be on the centre table of every family.-Knoxville Times.

Rev. F. W. SHELTON, Author of Letters from Up the River, etc., will be a regular contributor. The best talent in the country will be enlisted, and no expense or effort spared, to make the KNICKERBOCKER more than ever deserving of the first position among our original American Magazines.

TERMS.-Three Dollars a year, strictly in advance-there will be no deviation from this condition; Two copies for $5 00; Five copies, and upwards, $2 00 each. Booksellers and Postmasters are requested to act as Agents. Those who will undertake to procure subscribers will receive favorable terms. Specimen numbers will be sent gratis on application, post-paid.

INDUCEMENTS FOR CLUBBING.-The KNICKERBOCKER and Harper's, Putnam's, Graham's or Godey's Lady's Book will be sent one year for FIVE dollars; the KNICKERBOOKER and Home Journal, for Four dollars a year.

POSTAGE-Two cents per number, prepaid at the office where the work is delivered, quarterly in advance.

All remittances and all business communications must be addressed, post-paid, to SAMUEL HUESTON, 348 Broadway, New-York,

ART. I. ISHAM'S WIFE: AN AUTHENTIC SKETCH,
II. THE PRESS. FROM A POEM ON THE STOCKS,'
III. HARFANG ON BIRDS,

IV. AN EPISTLE TO OLD KNICK.' BY GEORGE,'

V. THE COMPLETE SUSQUEHANNA ANGLER. PART Two,
VI. LINES BY A NEW CONTRIBUTOR,.

VII. OUR YOUNG LADIES. BY AN AMERICAN LADY,

VIII. THE LOST HOPE. BY MISS LOUISE E. VICKROY,

IX.

STANZAS: SEBASTOPOL. BY ISAAC MACLELLAN,

X. OUR LITTLE MAN: A SKETCH. BY REV. F. W. SHELTON,
XL LINES: WOMAN'S GLORY,'

XII. UPPER TENDON: A PICTURE IN A GILT-FRAME,

XIII. THOUGHTS OUT-OF-DOORS. BY EDOUARD DE RAMROD, ESQ.,

XIV. LINES: DEATH OF THE CZAR,

XV. AN ANTI-PROHIBITION EPIGRAM,

XVI. A SHORT CHAPTER ON WATER, BY PROFESSOR JAMES J. MAPES,
XVII. THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS. BY J. SWETT,

XVIII. THE TWO SISTERS: OR LOVE AND PRIDE,

LITERARY NOTICES :

1

17

20

26

28

. 86

39

43

44

45

51

52

55

. 58

61

. 61

64

65

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4. HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE, IN SUBURB AND COUNTRY'

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1. LEAVES FROM OUR CAMP-COMFORT' AND GREEN-MOUNTAIN CONTRIBUTOR,

2. REMINISCENCES OF CHILDHOOD A GRAPHIC SKETCH,

:

3. GOSSIP WITH READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS,

·

1. CONVERSATIONS ON VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY: WAR IN THE WINE CELLAR.'
2. BISHOP STEVENSON, THE RELIGIOUS WHARF-RAT OF PITTSBURGH: REMON-
STRANCE WITH A RAIL-ROAD COMPANY: SCANDALOUS WANT OF POLITENESS IN
A CONDUCTOR. 3. DUELLING AGENCY: MAJOR GOLIAH O'GRADY GAHAGAN'S
CARD TO THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC. 4. A COOL REJOINDER TO A LETTER OF RE-
MONSTRANCE AND DISMISSAL. 5. BEAUTIFUL LINES: ABIDE WITH US.' 6.
HOW CORPORATE COMPANIES ELECT THEIR OFFICERS: SHARP PRACTICE' IN
OHIO. 7. A MIS-SENT LETTER TO THE PEOPLE,' ADDRESSED TO MR. GREELEY
OF THE NEW-YORK TRIBUNE' DAILY JOURNAL. 8. NEW MEDICAL PRESCRIP-
TIONS, IN ANTICIPATION OF THE OPERATION OF THE PROHIBITORY LIQUOR LAW.
9. WHAT CONSTITUTES RICHES: AN AUTHENTIC ANECDOTE OF HON. SECRETARY
MARCY AND JACK SMITH,' A VERMONT BACKWOODSMAN. 10. THE RECORDING
ANGELS: AN EASTERN ALLEGORY: BY MRS. JARED SPARKS. 11. CAPTAIN
SAMUEL BRADY AND CORNPLANTER: A LEGEND OF THE ALLEGHANY RIVER.
12. AN AMATEUR PHRENOLOGIST: A SINGULAR BALANCE OF INTELLECT.'
13. INTERESTING CORRESPONDENCE WITH 'MR. K. N. PEPPER, ESQ:' HIS
VIEWS' IN RELATION TO LITERARY STILE.' 14. LADIES' STOCKINGS: A Day-
DREAM: BY HENRY P. LELAND. 15. JUVENILE GOSSIPRY: A FEW MORE OF THE
SAME SORT.' 16. PRESENTATION OF A SPLENDID BANNER TO THE 'PIERMONT
GUARDS,' CAPTAIN JOHNSON'S CRACK COMPANY.' 17. SAXE'S NEW POEM, THE
PRESS TRIBUTARY LINES TO THE POET: 'I'M GROWING OLD: THE KNICKER-
BOCKER GALLERY: ANECDOTE OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PIERCE. 18. AN
AMUSING SPECIMEN OF AN ENGLISH' NEW-ORLEANS ADVERTISEMENT. 19.
MANY A SLIP BETWEEN THE CUP AND THE LIP: OR, THE STORY OF THE MO-
BILE LOTTERY SPECULATION. 20. NEW SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL:' IN TWO
PARTS. 21. NEW BOOKS, ETC., AWAITING NOTICE. 22. THE NEW-YORK GRAM-
MERCY PARK HOUSE.' 23. A RARE ANECDOTE OF LAWRENCE STERNE AND MRS.
F, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 24. DODGE'S 'ANTI-CHOKING ARCH-VALVE PUMP.'
25. LINES TO THE PARK FOUNTAIN: BY H. P. LELAND. 26. A KNOTTY LEGAL
CASE: ASOLUTION REQUESTED.' 27. BEAUTIFUL LAKE GEORGE, AND ITS HO-
TELS, OLD AND NEW. 28. ART, LITERARY, AND TOWN ITEMS: COSMOPOLITAN
ART AND LITERARY ASSOCIATION: MR. AUGUSTUS BLESSING, THE TONSEUR ET
FRIZEUR' OF ANN-STREET: ARCHIE GRIEVE AND THE ROARING LION' IN HIS
CELLAR ADROIT ADVERTISING: MY CONFESSIONS:'A NEW WORK IN PRESS:
'WHICH 18 ALL AT THIS PRESENT' FROM YOURS, VERY RESPECTFULLY, OLD
KNICK.'

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Knickerbocker Gallery.

New edition now ready, on the best paper, and beautifully printed and bound.

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ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1855, BY

SAMUEL HUESTON,

IN THE OLERE'S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK.

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THE KNICKERBOCKER.

VOL. XLVI.

JULY, 18 5 5.

No. 1.

ISHA M'S WIFE.

In the fine old gubernatorial mansion that gave dignity and beauty to a street which, but for its presence, would have been beyond the verge of the fashionable world, lived the Isham family.

The ancient house had been in the possession of the first governor of the State, a man of mind and will, who dignified his station quite as much as it honored him; a man of intellectual cultivation, pure purpose, and sterling courage, whom the office had sought and compelled and entreated to occupancy, on account of his unrivalled qualifications for filling it to its utmost capacity.

the governor's house

Some time after his death - he died in office was offered for sale; his widow choosing to remove into more retirement than could readily be commanded in the place where such royal hospitalities as marked her husband's time had been dispensed, and Mr. Isham, a man of great fortune, became the purchaser. His grand-son was now in possession of this mansion, and was the father of half-adozen children. His eldest daughters, Lucretia and Ada, were already in society. George, the oldest son, had finished his collegiate course, and gone abroad. Everett was still under governors and tutors, and there were two young daughters yet in the nursery.

The family presented the appearance usually presented where children have been carefully trained for a high station, which is their birth-right. They came of a tranquil race, and an even prospect was before them; no mountain-climbing, no depth-descending for them; no turbulences arising from unmanageable propensities, either for good or evil, might be traced to their door.

George Isham was an unexceptionable youth, whose person, prospects, and attainments gave him unmitigated satisfaction. His character had no marked traits to distinguish him. He had no exuberant animal life, and his taste led him to shun convivial sports and company. He was faultlessly correct in conduct. His temper was as smooth as his long black hair; his character as reproachless as his dress; he would have endured a suspicion of the one with as much equanimity as of the other, and for an equally elevated reason. He went abroad unpossessed of the spirit of enterprise, and would return, if ever he returned,

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without enthusiasm. 'A love of a man was he;' a great many young ladies, who walked in the public places in their newest love of a bonnet,' rendered this favorable judgment; but Tom, the tinker's son, soiled and grim, who brushed his carroty locks, pulled down his shirtsleeves, and made himself decent to chat an hour with the house-maid in the basement over the way, was a prince compared with him. His position and his life were nobler, for his occupancy of them made them so.

There was no material difference between Lucretia and Ada Isham and their brother; but they made more of a sensation in the world, because their training, essentially the same as his, had, though essentially the same result, a different manifestation.

They were women, and we are content-are we not ?-that women should fulfil their destiny, as these young girls had been prepared to do, in adding to the glitter of our rooms on state occasions and other, and smile upon us when we ask them, as lonely Adam in his heart asked of the LORD GOD in the garden a help-mate. Are we not content? then why have we preferred to make wooden troughs to feed from, when it was expected of us that we should fashion costly golden vessels for the altar and the temple of love?

They were tall and handsome ladies. Lucretia had more kindly and considerate ways than her sister, and was more likely to win friends and favor, but there was a pride in her heart which would make of her a quite different being from that of which her young maidenhood was beautifully prophetic, if it were once allowed full sweep. Ada laughed at the ways of the world and surrendered to them, ridiculed society and sought its admiration, satirized her acquaintances but compelled them to troop in her train, and would have died of ennui had the world been a whit less wicked and less foolish than it was. These girls were not vulgar and grossly calculating members of society, but they knew how to deliberate in act with something less than the righteousness of true souls.

What their advantages were to them was indicated in their manner of receiving them. To Everett, their younger brother, these saine privileges, meeting with a somewhat different reception, had a very different proving. His domestic relations, if the same in one respect, were in another more happy, more honorable than theirs. He had been subject to those evils which a renowned author well portrays as falling with peculiar force on the eldest and youngest members of a house. He had not grown over-bearing and presumptuous on the strength of his actual importance in the family, nor riotous and unmanageable in disposition and in will from the excessive indulgence of tenderness, which is so frequently the lamentable fate of the youngest born of the family. He had been left to himself more than the others; in his case it was a salutary neglect, if neglect it could be called. He was sent to school, clothed and fed as became his station, remembered on the holidays, but for the rest allowed to follow the bent of his own inclinations, inasmuch as they interfered in no respect with the comfort of the house, and required no control.

He was of a studious turn of mind, and mature beyond his years; he

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