"And it told us he was lying in a Western prison cell;

"Chained and waiting for the morrow, - it was thus the letter said, -

Then in air to be suspended by the neck till cold and dead:

"For he had committed murder, - then he said to all, 'Farewell,

Hoping ne'er again to see you, - it can only be in hell.' "

The subject is boldly and originally treated. We recognize the right of literary ladies and gentlemen, founded on custom, to paint us very black indeed; but we are used to being saved at the eleventh hour, and demand it as a right. We cannot, therefore, commend this poem for its sentiment, although the execution is eminently artistic.

THE Packer Quarterly comes to us with its dashing blue covers and neatly printed pages, so enticing withal (we know it is edited by young ladies), that we fain would praise it. But our conscience scarcely permits us to do that, so we content ourselves with criticising what seem to us faults in its articles. The first part is heavily critical and religious; the poems are, to say the least, tame, and after every essay there seem to be printed the words, "Haec fabula docet." What articles are not of this nature are the merest society twaddle. Servant-girls and babies may be very pleasant topics of conversation to these young ladies, but they are hardly the subjects one would choose to drag before the public in an essay for a quarterly, and in such a place thorough discussion of a matter is expected rather than a superficial narration. Besides all this, such articles as "The Moon Hoax" - a valuable piece of information, no doubt - are more suited to the local columns of the daily press than to pages where we have a right to expect something more than mediocrity.

PROFESSOR. Dr. Wayland calls conscience a Faculty; is the term well applied?

STUDENT. I think so, sir, as it always interferes when we are doing any mischief. - Exchange.

THE Boston Journal of Chemistry for May has been received. Its columns, filled with varied information, not only interesting but also useful, are found serviceable to many. To the student of Chemistry it is specially valuable, containing many scientific articles and the latest discoveries.