A Leaf from Punch.
France Is Tranquil.
Signs Of The Times.
When a young lady “has a very bad cold, or else she'd be delighted,” &c., it is rather a dangerous sign that, when once she sits down to the piano, she will probably not leave it for the remainder of the evening.
When a gentleman loses his temper in talking, it is a tolerably correct sign that he is getting “the worst of the argument.”
When you see the servant carrying under her apron a bottle of soda-water into a house, you may at once seize it as a sure sign that some one has been drinking over-night.
When the children are always up in the nursery, you may construe it into a sure sign that the mother does not care much about them.
When a young couple are seen visiting a “Cheap Furniture Mart,” you may interpret it into a pretty fair sign that the “happy day” is not far distant.
When the boys begin to tear up their books, it is a sign the holidays are about to commence.
The Road To Ruin.
The accompanying is a good sketch of the Patent Street-sweeping Machine lately introduced in Paris. The sketch was taken on the spot (represented at A). The want of firmness in the lines of the drawing would seem to indicate some tremor in the nerves of the artist. The invention is not entirely new, having been used in the same city by the uncle of the present owner. The result of the late experiment is represented to have been quite satisfactory. The Constitution, which it was feared would interfere with its operation, was removed by it without any difficulty, so that no traces of it were left.