Literary Extracts.

LITERARY EXTRACTS .

TUB EARLY DAYS or ROBERT STEPUENSON . —The exact year of Robert's entry into Rutter ' s school cannot be ascertained , but be was quite a little fellow when he first felt his master ' s cane . The walk over the glebe farm and past the churchyard from the West Moor to Long Benton-street—a distance of about a mile , or a mile and

a hrdf— was a long way for him , and Aunt Nelly used to pity her bairn for having to trudge so far , to and fro . He had not been long at school when the season of harvest came , and Aunt Nelly went out gleaning . Little Robert Stephenson petitioned his father for leave to accompany Aunt Eleanor and the gleaners . George by no

means approved the request , as he argued that be did not pay fourpence , or possibly sixpence a week , for his son ' s schooling , in the expectation that the young scholar should leave his books at the fivst temptation . But the petition was granted in the following terms : —Weel , gang ; but thou maun be oot a' day ; nao skulking , and

nae shirking . And thou maun gan through fra the first to th' end o' gleaning . " On this understanding Robert and Aunt Eleanor started for their vagrant toil , but long before sunset the boy was very tired . Ho kept up manfully , however , aud as he trotted homewards at nightfall by the side of his aunt ho , like her , carried a full bag . At

the gate of the West Moor cabin stood George Stephenson , ready to welcome them . Quickly discerning the effort Robert was making to appear gallant and fresh , the father inquired , " Weel , Bobby , boo did the' come on ? " " Yara wool , father , " answered Bobby stoutly . The

next da }' , bent on not giving in , the boy rose early , and for a second time accompanied the gleaners . The poor child slept for hours under the hedgerows ; and when evening came ho trotted home , bag in hand , but holding on to Aunt Nelly ' s petticoats . Again at the garden wicket George received them , with amused look , and the

same inquiry : " Weel , Bobby , how do the' come on ?" " Mhldlin , " father , answered Bobby , sulkily ; and dropping his bag , ho hastened into the cottage , and was asleep iu a couple of minutes . The third day came , and little Robert did bis bravest amongst the gleaners ; but the day was too much for him ; his pride gave in , and ou lagging

home at nightfall , when he was once more asked by his father , " Weel , Bobby , hoo did the' come on ? " he burst into tears , aud cried , " Oh , father—warse and warse , warse and warso ; let me gan to school agyen . " It was not the time to point the moral of those last three days , but the next day ( Sunday , wheu even gleaners rest ) the

young father took bis'ckild under his arm , and placing him on the knee where he had so often sat , told him to be a good boy over his book , to leave hard work of the body for a few years to his elders , and to thank God that he ( unlike his father ) was not in childhood required to toil hard all day for a few pence . It was a sermon fit for

a day of rest , and from no lips could it have come more appropriately than from the lips of George Stephenson . —The Li / e of Robert Stephenson , F . U . S ., § 'c . By J . 0 . Jeaffreson .

CHARLES BULLER . —The name of Charles Buller , by several resemblances—by his wit , by his death at a moment when his fame was culminating and higher

Literary Extracts.

political honours had begun to come to him , by many qualities described iu Burke's famous eulogy on Charles Townshend—involuntarily recalls to mind that more eminent but less estimable politician . For of Charles Buller it might have been as truly said in the House of Commons , when he had cecsed to adorn it , as it was said

by Burke of Charles Townshend : " In truth , he was the delight aud ornament of this House , and the charm of every private society which ho honoured with his pre . sence . Perhaps there never arose in this country , nor in any other country , a man of a more pointed and finished wit , and of a more refined , exquisite , aud

penetrating judgment . If he had not so great a stock as some have had , who flourished formerly , of knowledge long treasured up , be knew better by far thau any man I ever was acquainted with , how to bring together within a short time all that was necessary to establish , to

illustrate , and to decorate that side of the question he supported . He stated his matter skilfully and powerfully . He particularly excelled iu a most luminous explanation aud display of his subject . His style of argument was neither trite and vulgar , not subtle and abstruse . He hit the House just between wind and water . Burke

qualified his praise of Townshend ' s judgment by a few words which I have omitted— " where his passions were not concerned . " These words do not apply to Charles Buller , and here lay one point of superiority . Charles Buller was also not a trimmer or a weaver . He was au earnest , single-minded , consistent politician . It is

believed that bis political advancement was for some time retarded by the character which he had acquired of a joker ; but whoever thought that under that bright pleasant surface of playful humorousuess there was a character wanting in solidity or strength of purpose , was greatly mistaken . —Macmillan ' s Magazine .

Public Amusements.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS .

ST . JAMES'S HALL . Next to being the greatest man in the world , to be the smallest should seem to be the most enviable of distinctions . The newest aspirant to the latter dignity is a certain Commodore Nutt , who , in company with Miss Minnie Warren , who claims to be not only the tiniest

of her sex , but the most diminutive human being on earth , made his first public appearance in this country at St . James's Hall on Monday , and received a hearty welcome from a very numerous audience . Though , not descended from a race of pigmies , for it is said that his parents were of average stature , Commodore Nutt is

himself infinitesimal . Rarely has an immortal soul been encased iu so diminutive a frame . True to his name , he looks as though he might , like Shakespeare's hero , be " bounded in a nutshell , " and think himself " master of infinite space . " His height is stated to be 29 inches , his weight 24 lbs . and his age 20 years . Of his naval

, achievements history has yet to speak ; but it "will be readily admitted that he is a man of very remarkable presence . He is , however , something more than a dwarf . He is a clever actor , and gives abundant proof that he is not without intellect . On the contrary , he