Notes On Literature, Science And Art.

the Latin monstro , to SIIOAV ) merely shoAvs the time by its hands . In ancient books the word cloche simply stands for a bellthe monks being accustomed to ring a bell at certain periods marked for them by their sun-dials or hour-glasses , aud ' What ' s o ' clock V in old Avriters is often merely

equivalent to the inquiry , ' What hour Avas last struck by the bell V " In the year 1292—Avheu Edward the First Avas forcing John Baliol upon the Scots as a king , and Dante had only made his unhappy marriage the year before—a clock Avas

procured for Canterbury Cathedral at a cost of . £ 30 ; and the great Italian poet a feAV years afterAvards alluded to a clock , or horologe Avhich struck the hours , in the conclusion of tho tenth canto of his Pan-adise , as thus Englished by Gary ( " the spouse of God , ' of course , meaning the church ) ¦ —

" As clock , that calleth up the spouse of God To Avin her bridegroom ' s love at matin ' s hour , Each part of other fitly draAvn and urged , Sends out a tinkling sound , of note so SAveet

, Affection springs in Avell-disposed breast ; Thus saw I move the glorious wheel , thus heard Voice ansAvering , so musical and soft , It can be known but Avhere day endless shines . "

I have quoted this passage in full because it is the earliest mention known in all literature of a clock striking the hours . Our OAVII Chaucer distinguishes between " a clock or any abbey orloge . " But , though 1 may glance from time to time at the amount of historical and scientific

information which iir . Benson has given us in his excellent volume , those whom I may succeed in interesting in the subject will do Avell to buy and study his interesting and instructive " Time and Time-Tellers . " A IIOAV Avhite violet , Avith double floAvers ,

has been raised as a seedling by a gardener of Ghent , and sent out under the impracticable name of Viola , odorata alba fragrantissima plena ; in other Avords , " Violet , odoriferous , Avhite , most fragrant , full . " The Low Countries have been lamous for centuries for the cultivation of

flowers ; ancl , though the old Dutch landscape gardening is far too formal for my taste , no doubt its introduction into England by the Prince of Orange did much for the civilization of " our tight little island . " And if poor Oliver Goldsmith had never done a more foolish thing than

to spend the last penny he had in the Avorld when in Holland over buying a fine assortment of tulip bulbs for his good uncle , the Rev . Thomas Contarine ( a man well Avorth spending one ' s last penny to please ) there would not have been so much

to shrug one's shoulders about after all . But surely the Ghent gardener cannot ho so ignorant of the ways of the world as to imagine that people will not speedil y abbreviate the long , stiff name he has given to his modest flower . The name of

a cabriolet is little knoAvn , even in London , whilst every child knows a cab ; omnibus is shortened into bus ; leading- members of a "literary ancl philosophical society " Avill constantly speak of it to one another as the " lit and phil " ; even the long names of many of the earth ' s greatest men are cut very short ; as , for instance , every well-read man is familiar Avith Horace ,

whilst only a feAV scholars knoAV the name of Quintus Horatius Flaccus . 1 hope , too , that the clay is not far distant Avhen a radical reform will be made in our English spelling , so as to economise the time poor children have to spend in learning to read , much of our present orthography being

realiy as cruel as it is ridiculous . The " Yorkshire Post" says : — "In the district round Ripon , Boroughbridge , Knaresborough , Wetherby , Tadcaster , Aberford , Pontefract , Wakefield , and Doncaster , arable husbandry is in an

advanced state . Beef and mutton are largely made from the seeds ancl turnips Avhich are so thoroughly cultivated , ancl wool of the first quality is raised . In Airdale , Wharfedale , Nidderdale , ancl on the pastures by the banks of the Nidd , the Ure ,

aud the Denvent , the grazing lands are full of the best beef . " And yet we are forced to go to Australia aud NeAV Zealand for tinned cooked meats , ancl glad of carcasses from America , and withal cannot succeed in bringing the price of butcher ' s meat Avithiu the reach of all the peop le . The fact is , the land in England might easily be made to produce double the food