Literature.

re . His greatest , best , and well-known poem , "The Bridge of ighs , " turns on this point , the home life . "What can be more xquisitcly true , or more hopelessly hopeless than the lines : — " Oh ! it was pitiful ! isenr a whole city full , Home she had none . " His biography is one that requires no lengthened notice . It

my be dismissed in a single paragraph . Sot so , the feelings of a isn't like his , attuned to sorrow * , yet warmly beating with the love ! ' his fellow-creatures . At twenty-five he married , ancl soon after reduced the first series of his " Whims and Oddities . " Then

illowcd his " "National Tales , " "The Dream of Eugene Aram , " in The Gem , " and his " Comic Annual . " The Duke of Devonshire , 1 thanking him for the latter , requested Hood to furnish him with he titles for a door to be covered with false backs of books . He applied two batches , amongst which were the following : " Boyle on Steam ,- " "Pules for Punctuation , by a thorough-bred ' ainter ; " " Annual Parliamenta Plea for Short Commons ;"

, / jamb ' s Kecollections of Suett ; " " The Rape of the lock , ,-ith Bramah ' s Notes ; " " Peel on Bell's System ; " Cursory iemarks on Swearing ; " " Barrow on the Common Weal ; " " In-i-go ii Secret Entrances ; " and " Recollections of Bannister , by Lord - . tniv . "

Afterwards he produced " Tylney Hall , and "The lipping Hunt , " nd then , through the failure of a firm , ivas obliged to take up bis esidence at Coblentss , which he seems to have heartily disliked and ontmually complains of . On the medical men he is particularly severe . " The whole system here seems based on Sangrado's practicedeeding , blisteringand drastics . VerilyI have no faith in the

, , loctors here ; we are sure to see a funeral every day , the population icing only 20 , 000 , including troops . I heard the other clay of a nan having fifty-five leeches on his thigh . One of their blisters . vould draw a waggon . " The German practice ofwh . it is somewhat oddly called "domestic nedicine , " is equally strange in his eyes . Here is what he terms a Coblentz picture :

" Jane in bed , smothered in pillows and blankets , suffered from a errlbly inflamed eye . In rushes our maid and without any warning , suddenly envelopes her head in a baker's meal-sack hot out of the wen ! prescribed as a sudorific and the best thing in the world for in inflamed eye by the baker ' s wife ( there's nothing like leather !) .

What between the suddenness of the attack and her strong sense jf the fun of the thing , Jane lay helplessly laughing for awhile , and heard Gradle coax off the children with * Coom schon babiecoom schone Fannische—mamma kranke ! Encore ! ' I sent a pair of light trousers which were spotted with ink to be dyed black ; after six weeks they came back like a jackdaw , part black , part gray . . I put my hands in the pockets like an Englishman , and they came out like an African's . I think seriouslof iving them to a

y g chimney-sweep who goes by here , full grown , long nosed , and so like the devil I wonder Fanny has never dreamed of him . There were two ; but the other was stoved to death the other day at our neighbour the general's . They lit a fire under him when he was up . Our Dr . B , who was sent for , told mo gravely that he eould not revive him , ' for when he came the man was black in the

face ' . ' I forgot to tell you that when Gradle first proposed the hot flour proscription of the baker's wife , Jane had flattered herself that it was only a little paper bag- of hot flour ; and it was only when she was tucked in that she began to feel what a cake sbe was !"

After two years' residence at Coblentz , Hood removed to Ostend , and whilst there projected " a child's library , " which no man could have undertaken better , for he loved children and know their ways intimatel y . Of the two or three letters inserted in the volume , one is so happy , so kind , and amusing , such as a good friend would write to a child , that no apology is needed for its insertion here

He writes thus . "My clear Jeaunie , —So you are at Sandgate ! Of course , wishing for your old play-fellow , M H , ( he can xilay ,-it ' s work to me ) to help you to make little puddles in the sand and swing on the gate . But perhaps there are no sand and gate at Sandgate , which , in that case , nominally tells us a fib . But there must be little crabs somewhere , which you can catch , if you are nimble enough ; so like spiders , I wonder they do not make webs . The large crabs are scarcer .

If you do catcli a big one with strong claws—and like experiments—you can shut him up in a cupboard with a loaf of sugar , and yon can see whether he will break it up with his nippers . Besides crabs , I used to find jelly-fish on the beach , made , it seemed me , of sea-calves' feet , and no sherry . "The mermaids eat them , I suppose , at their wet water parties , or salt soirees . There were star-fish also , but they did not shine till they were stinking , and so made very uncelestial constellations

" I suppose you never gather any sea-flowers , but only sea-weeds . The truth is Mr . David Jones never rises from his bed , and so has a garden full of weeds , like Dr . Watt ' s ' Sluggard . ' " Oysters are as bad , for they never leave their beds willingly , though they get oceans of " cold pig . " At some seasides you may pick up shells , but I have been told that at Sandgate there are no shells , excejit those with passive green peas and lively maggots . "I have heard that you bathe in the sea , which is very refreshing ,

but it requires care ; for if you stay under water too long , you may como up a mermaid , who is only half a lady , with a fish's tail , — which she can boil if she likes . You had better try this with your Doll , whether it turns her into half a ' doll-fin . ' " I hope you like the sea . I always did when I was a child , which was about two years ago . Sometimes it makes such a fizzing and foaming , I wonder some of our London cheats do not bottle it upand sell it for inger-pop .

, g " When the sea is too rough , if you pour the sweet-oil out of the cruet all over it , ancl wait for a calm , it will he quite smooth , — much smoother than a dressed salad . " Some time ago exactly , there used to be , about the part of the coast where you are , large white birds with black-tipped wings , that went flying and screaming over the sea , and now ancl then plunged down into the water after a fish . Perhaps they catch their sprats now with nets , or hooks and lines . Do you ever see

such birds ? We used to call them ' gulls , '—but they didn ' t mind it ! Do you ever soe any boats or vessels ? And don't you wish , when you s . ee a ship , that Somebody was a sea-captain instead of a doctor , that he might bring you home a pet lion , or calf elephant , ever so many parrots , or a monkey , from foreign parts ? I knew a little girl who was promised a baby whale by her sailor brother , and who blubbered because he did not bring it . I suppose there are no whales at Sandgate , but j-ou might find a , ' seal about the

beach ; or , at least a stone for one . The sea stones are not pretty when they are dry , but look beautiful when they are wet , and we can always keep sucking them ! " If you can find one , x -ray pick me up a pebble for a seal . I prefer the red sort , like Mrs . Jenkins ' s brooch and ear-rings , which , she calls ' red chamelion . ' Well , how happy you must be ! Childhood is such a joyous , merry time ; ancl I often wish I was two or three children ! But I suppose I can't be ; or else I would be

Jeanie , and May , ancl Dunny Elliot . And wouldn't I pull off my three pairs of shoes and socks , ancl go paddling in the sea up to my six knees ! And oh ! how I could climb up the clowns , ancl roll down the the lips on my three backs and stomachs ! Capital sport , only it wears out the woollens . Which reminds me of the sheep on the downs , and little May , so innocent ; I daresay * , she often crawls about on all fours , and tries to eat grass like a lamb . Grass isn't

nasty ; at least , not very , if you take care , while you are browsing , not to chump up the dandelions . They are large , yellow star-flowers , and often grow about dairy farms , but give very bad milk ! " When I can buy a telescope powerful enough , I shall have a peep at you . I am told , with a good glass , yon can see the sea at such a distance that the sea cannot see you ! "Now I must say goodbye , for my paper gets short , but not stouter . Pray give my love to your Ma , and my compliments to Mrs . II , and no mistake , ancl remember me , my dear Jeanie , as your affectionate friend , " Tnos . HOOD . "

Hood at length returned to England , ancl settled at Cainberweli , with a fixed engagement to write in Colburn's " New Monthly , " in which appeared his admirable poe . m ] of " Miss Kilmaiisegg . " Here , however , he was subject to a very serious annoyance by one of those pests to society , a member of what Sydney Smith termed "The Clapham Sect , " a set of those persons who are ever priding themselves on being " righteous overmuch , " and the circumstance came about in tho following manner : —

" During his residence at Camberwcll , a lady called on my father , who had been acquainted with him many years before . He had no very agreeable recollections of her , chiefly owing to having been annoyed before by her unasked obtrusion of her religious opinions upon ' him . Her call , therefore , was not productive of any very friendly manifestation on his part , and after sitting stiffly , and being replied to rather coldly ancl ceremoniously , she took her leave . The samo weelc , however , she wrote him a most unjustifiable attack on his writings ancl religious opinions . She inquired with a kind of