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Habits of Great Students. Racine composed his verses while walking about, reciting them in a loud voice. One day, while thus working at his play of Mithrldates, in the Tuilleries Gardens, a crowd of workmen gathered around him, at tract'd by his gestures ; they took him to be a madman about to throw him self into the basin. On his returu home from such walks, he would write down scene by sceue, at first in prose, and when he had written it out, he would exclaim—“My tragedy is done!” considering the dressing of the acta up in verse as a very small affair. Magliabecchi, the learned librarian to the Duke of Tuscauy, on the con trary, never stirred abroad, but lived amidst books. They were his bed, board, and washing. He passed eight and-forty years in their midst, only twice in the courseof his life venturing beyond the walls of Florence; once to to go two leagues, off, and the other time three and a half leagues, by order of the Grand Duke. He was an extremely frugal man, living upon eggs, bread and water, in great mod eration, Luther, when studying, always had his dog lying at his feet, a dog he had brought from Wartburg, and of which he was very fond. An ivory crucifix stood at the table before him, and the walls cfhis study were stuck round with caricatures of the Pope. He worked at his desk for days together without going out; but when fatigued, and the idea began to stagnate, took his guit ir with him into the porch and there executed some musical fan tasy (for he was a skillful musician), when the ideas would flow upon him as fresh as flowers aft r summer’s run. —Music was his invariable solace at such times. Indeed, Luther did not hesitate to say that, after theology, music was the first of arts. “Music,” said he, “is the art of the prophets : it is the only other art, which, like theology,can calm the agitation of the soul, and put the Devil to fight.” Next to music, if not before it, Luther loved children and flowers. The great gnat- led man had a heart as tender as a woman’s. Cilvin studied in his bed. Every morning, at five or six o’clock, he books, manuscripts and papers rried to him there, and had he oo- ion to get out, on his return he dressed and went to bed again to tinue his studies. In his later rs he dictated his writings to see aries. He rarely corrected ally ing. The sentences issued complete his mouth. If he felt facility of position leaving him he for h h quitted his bed, gave up writing composing and went about his loor duties for days, weeks, and thk together. But as soon as he the inspiration fall upon him n, he went back to his bed and s secretary was sec to work forth - Only ^ Brick. om with. Aristotle was a tremendous worker ; etook little sleep, and was constantly etrenobing it. tee had a contrivance y which he awoke early, and to wake was with him to commence ork. Demosthenes passed three onth-i in a cavern by tin sea-side, boring to overcome the defects of his oioe. There he read, studied, and eclaimed. Roussean wrote his works early in the morning; Le Sage at midday ; Byron at midnight. Hardonin rose four in the morniug and wrote tlllat late at night. Rabelais composed his life of Gar- gantua at Belly, in the company of Roman cardinals, and under the eyes of the Bishop of Paris. La Fontaine wrote his fables chiefly under the shade of a tree, and sometimes by the side of Racine and Bolleau. Pascal wrote most of his thoughts on little scraps of paper, at his by rno- lents. Feuelon wrote his Telemach- ln the palace of Versailles, at. the jrand Monarque, when disohargiug ie duties of tutor to the Dauphin. — at a book so thoroughly democratic uld have issued frnn such a source, be written by a priest, may seem rising* * Q ilncy first promulgated his no* of universal freedom of person ade, and of throwing all tuxes land—the germ, perhaps of the h Revolution—in the boudoir of e de Pompadour, knelt down before composing work, and prayed for light iration from heaven. Pope Id oompose well without^it for sometime at the top of his nervous ty, at The History of a Useful Building Material. —Brickmakiug in A uoleut and Modern Times. It would seem so utterly absurd and uncalled for to accuse anything as pro.-aic and notably “stay-in-the- house” as a common red brick of mas querading, that it is very likely that the definition, “a kind of ficti tious stone made of a fatty earth into a parallelepiped,” would float through the ordinary brain some time before it attached itself to “a brick.” Such, however, is the diction ary defini tion of the word. The use of brick as a building ma terial, both burnt and unburnt, dates from a very early period. Burnt brick is recorded in the Bible to have been used in the erection of the Tower of Babel. We have the testimony of Herodotus to the eff-Ct that burnt bricks were made from the clay thrown out of the treuches surrounding Baby lon. These bricks, which were used in building the wall about the city were cemented together with bitumen, and at every thirtieth row, crates of reeds were stuffed ih. Statement! of travellers showed that the Babylonian brick is very much like a tile, being 12 to 13 inches square, and 3£ inches thick. Most of them bear the name inscribed in cuneiform of Nebuchad nezzar, whose buildihgs no doubt re placed those of an earlier age. They were sometimes glazed and enamelled pi various colors. Seoairamls is said by Diodorus to have overlaid some of her towers with surfaces of enamelle d bricks. Bun-dried bricks were exclusively used in ancient times, especially in Egypt, where the manufacture was considered a most degrading employ ment, and as such formed the princi pal part of the occupation of the Is raelites during their bondage, after the death of Joseph. These Egyptian sun-dried bricks were made of clay mixed with chopped straw, which was furnished to the children of Israel by their Egyptian taskmasters, before the application of Moses to Pharaoh in tieir behalf. After this the onliga- tion was put upon them to furnish their own straw, which appears to have been like the last straw upon the camel’s back—too much to be borne. More clearly does the monarch’s des potism shine out when it is remem bered tnat as captives they had no harvests of their own, and that there was in the fields “only stubble.” It appears from the details given, that the Israelites worked in gangs under the superintendence of one of their own nations, who was provided with all the necessary tools, and theu personally responsible for the labors of his men. Borne Egyptiau bricks were made without straw, and are now found as perfect as on the day when they were put up, in the reign of Amunopolis and Thotmes, whose names they bear. Wnen made of Nile mud they needed straw to keep them together, but when formed of clay taken lr on the torrent beds on theeigeof the desert they held to gether without aid. Among the paintings at Thebes, one on the tomb of Rekshara, an oflijer of the court of Thotmes 111. (B. G. 1400) represents the enforced labors of captives, whe^ are distinguished from the natives by the colors with which they are drawn. Watching over the laborers are the “taskmasters,” who, armed with sticks, are receiving the “tale of bricks” and urging on the work. The process of digging out the clay, of moulding and of arranging are all duly represented. The process of manufacture in Egypt was very simi lar to that adopted at the predent time in that country. The clay was brought in baskets from the Nile, thrown in a leeap. thoroughly saturated with water, and worked to a proper temper by the feet of the laborers. This appears to have been done entirely by the (ligbt-ool- ored) captives, the (red) Egyptian shunning the work which must have been oppressive and unwholesome as possible in that hot olimate. The oiay when tempered was cut by an instru ment resembling very much au agri cultural hoe and n oulded in an oblong trough. The bricks were then dried in the sun. BURNT BKICKS were used in Egypt for river walls and hydraulic works, but not to any great extent. Enclosures of gardens or granaries, sacred circuits encompas sing the courts of temples, walls of fortificatlous aud towns, dwelling houses and tombs ; in short, all but les themseL brick and so great was Ihe demand that the E jyptian government, observ ing the profit which would accrue from a mouopoly of them, undertook to sup ply the public at a reduced price, thus preveuting all unauthorized persons from engaging in the manufacture. The Jews learned the art of brick making in Ejypt, and that they used it greatly is proved by the complaint of Isaiah, that the people built altars of brick instead of unhewn stone, as the law directed. The it 'oiaus used bricks, both burnt and unburnt, i,n great profusion, leaving their sun-dried bricks in the air four or five years to* harden. All the great existing ruins of Rome are of this material. At the decline of the Roman empire the art of brick making fell into disuse, but was revived in Italy after the lapse of a few eenturies. The mediaeval, eccle siastical and palatial architecture of Italy exhibits many fine specimens of brickwork and ornamental designs in terra cotta. In Holland and the Netherlands the scarcity of stone ne cessitated a substitute, and led, at an early period, to the extensive use of brick, not only for domestic but for ecclesiastical buildings. These coun tries abound in fine specimens of brick work, often done in two colors com bined, with great taste, and producing a very rich result, as is to be seen in the celebrated examples at Leeu- warden, in Friesland. It is worthy of remark that in the fens of Lincoln shire aud Norfolk, where we would naturally expect the same material to be used, the churches, many of which are exceedingly flue specimens of ar chitecture, are built of small stones, said to have been brought a great dis tance upon jack-horses. Iu modern times nowhere do we find greater per fection in the arts of brick making and laying than in Holland, where most of the fl >ors of the houses aud the streets are paved with bricks. IN ENGLAND. Brickrnaking appears to have been introduced into Eugla nd by the Ro mans, who used large thin bricks or wall tiles as bonds to their rubble con struction ; and such wall tiles con tinued to be fouud in England until rubble work was superceded by regular masonry at about the time of the Nor man Conquest. These tiles were merely a kind of thin brick or plate of baked clay, and were extensively used for covering roofs. They were made very much the same as bricks, only it was imperative that they should be made of the best quality of brick earth. Brick work does not appear to have come Into general use as a building material until the reign of Henry VIII., when it reached great perfec tion, aud some of the finest knlwn specimens were erected. In the reign of Q, leen Elizabeth brick seems to haye been nseu only in large man sions. For common buildings, tim ber framework, filled in with lath and plaster, was generally used, and this construction was much employed eveu when brick work was in com mon use, bricks up to a late period being merely introduced iu panels between the wooden frames. In the rebuilding of London, after the great fire of 1G'36, brick was the material almost- universally adopted, and one of the resolutions of the corporation of the eity of London passed about this time is interesting. It is as fol lows : “And that they (the surveyors) do encourage and give directions to all builders for ornament’s sake, that the ornaments and projections of the front of buildings be of rubbed brick ; aud that all the naked parts of the walls may be done of rough bricks neatly wrought or all rubbed at the direction of the builder, or that th e builders may otherwise enrich their fronts as they please.” It was not till the close of the last century that bricks were suljjct to taxation. After this time the only brick exempt were those made for the purpose of draining wet and marshy land, and they must be plainly stamp* ed with the word “ Drain.” A penalty of fifty pounds was Imposed on every person who UBed these bricks for any other purpose. MODERN BRICKS are made of different materials, day, sand and ashes make excellent brioks, while good brick earlh is found in some localities. Loam and marl in England are considered the best Ingre dients. Upon the materials employed depend the quality of the brick amf the purposes for which it may be used. They are pressed aud dried by ma chinery to a great extent now, though yards are often started *n the c bricks made by manual labor. The finishing and ornamentation, of which so much is done, is, of course, accomplished in larger places where experienced workmen are employed. Trouble is often occasioned by the irregularity in the size of Eastern brick, while those of Baltimore, Phila delphia and New Jersey are invaria bly of the same size. Details in the plans of buildings are often delayed until it is known what kind of brick is to be used. This being the case of Course only in places where only a certain number of whole bricks can be placed, as between window ledge3, sills, caps or stone quoins. The utility of brick as a slang word is not to be denied. To call a man a brick is t > compliment him exceedingly. In one word you tell him that he is use ful, upright, absorbent, retentive, that his family history can be traced far ther than that of most men, and, above all, that he is not made of “com mon clay.” SIMPLE FACTS AinUT BRICKS. 9 The Carpenters' and Builders' Jour nal gives the following faots : An av erage day’s work for a brick-layer is 1500 bricks on outdde and inside walls ; on facings and angles and fin ishing around wood or stone work,not more than half that number can be laid. To find the number of bricks in a wall first find the number of square feet of surface, and then multiply by 7 f »r a 4 inch wall, by 14 for an 8 inch wall, by 21 for a 12 inch wall, and by 28 for a 16 inch wall. For staining bricks red, melt an ounce of glue in one gal lon of water ; add apiece of- alum the size of an egg, then onedialf pound of Venetian red and one pound of Span ish brown. Try the color on the bricks before using., aud change light or dark with the red or brown, using a yellow mineral for buff. ForcOloriug black, heat asphaltum to a fluid state, aud moderately heat true surface bricks and dip them. Or make a hot mix ture of linseed aud asphalt, heat the bricks and dip them. Tar and asphalt are also used for the same purpose. It is important that the brick} be suffi ciently hot, and be held in the mix ture to absorb the color to the depth of one-sixteen h of an inch. Purchased Titles in Brazil. •UdtatUec^trjjJ A few days ago I was served with coffee in a small hostelry, consisting of a low cabaret and a corncrib, by a dusky youug man iu cotton trousers and carpet slippers (nobody wears stockings and but few wear shoes in this country, except the aristocrats, who live in Rio Janelre, Bahia or Pernambuco). After helping himself t' the first Cup he informed me that he was not in the habit of entertain ing travelers, aud had only consented on this occasion because the hour was late aud the next village three or four hours distant. The fact was, he was |*the8onof the Baron de Mouteverde, whose noble fazenda stood on the banks of the R o Verde. I afterward saw this noble fazenda. It was a ruined hut, almost twenty feet square, with nothing inside of it—not eveu a bench—except ii th aud vermin. At another place where I stopped my dinner was cooked ffy a lady— also of dusky hue—who was the Baroness of R . These titles cost about |500, and can be purchased by anybody. Fuzendiuos who send their sons to school in Englaud or the United States—a few are able to afford this advantage — commonly purchase titles for their young men before sending them abroad, in the hope of their being able to “catch” some blonde and confiding heiress of those wintry climes. I met a young English lady in Rio who had been trapped in this way. She said she had had £3000 in funds, the pro ceeds of a legacy left her some years before by a relative, and that she had met a Brazilian “nobleman,” the Baron de B , in London at a re ception given by the Brazilian Minis ter ; that deceived by his title, his apparent good standing in society and his oily manners, she had listened to a proposal of marriage from him, and had married him, after a courtship of three months. Within a month after the marriage the “nobleman” ran away with her money and she had followed him, as she supposed, to Rio, there to find that he had not returned to Brazil, and, worse than lUat lieas a j ojirneyman barber, The Beautiful Duchess of Dev onshire. The best sketch of her when she was in all the bloom of beauty,in 1791, is given by the vivicious Fanny Bur ney, whose admiral le and lively and most dramatic scenes and portraits are scarcely appreciated as they de serve to be. Blie was paving a visit to Lady Bpeucer, then living in Bath, during the season. “Presently followed two ladies. Lady Spencer, with a look and man ner warmly announcing pleasure In what she was doing, then introduced me to the first of them, saying, ‘Duchess of Devonshire, Mies Bur ney.’ She made me a very civil com pliment upon hoping my health was recovering; and Lady Spencer then, slightly, and as if unavoidably, said, ‘Lady Elizabeth Forster. “I did not find so much beauty iri her as I had expected, notwithstand ing the variations of accounts; but I ! fouud far more of manner, politeness and gentle quirtt. Bhe seems by na ture to possess the highest animal spirits, but she appeared to me not happy. I thought she looked op pressed and thin, though there is a native cheerfulness about her which I fancy scarce ever deserts her. “Thtra is in her face, especially when she speaks, a sweetness of good- humor and obligingness that seem to be the natural aud instinctive quali ties of her disposition, joined to an openness of countenance that an nounces her endowed, by nature, with a character intended wholly for hon esty, fairness and good purposes. “Bhe now conversed with me wholly and in so soberly, sensible and q liet a manner, as I had imag ined incompatible with her powers. Too much and too little credit have variously been given her. We talked over my late tour, Bath waters and the King’s illness- This, which was led to by accident, was here a tend subj ot, considering her heading t‘ regency squadron. She was e tremely well bred in all she said h self, and Beemed willing to keep up the subject. I fancy no one has just in the same way treated it with H Grace before ; however, she took in good part, though to have foun me retired in discontent had perha been more congenial to her.” The lady who was with her, a her bosom friend, was a person of ordinary attractions. Indeed she so alluring that Mrs. Gibbon deck that no man could withstand that she could make the Lord Chi cellor come down; from off his w sack. This lady was destined to tak her place, aud to succeed her as Due ess of Devonshire. The poor beauty was at one tim drawn into a strange entanglemen which had well nigh produced th most serious family confusion. 8h# had two little girls, aud was eager for a son and heir, and it has l^gen often r epeated, and there seems litTte reason to doubt the story, that she arranged with her friend to exchange children, and that the Duchess received her fiLnd’s boy. That some such story was connected with the late Duke of Devonshire is well-known. It is public property that the perpetual celibacy of His Grace was the result of an arrange ment by which he was to wear the title by consent for his life.it then passing to his cousin, the rightful heir. Lady Clnr'#tte Campbell learned; “The pr sent Duke of Devonshire ap peared for a length of time to have a sir >ng aversion for his mother in-law, the sometime Lady Dover, and one day, when sbe hung; over him and kissed his forehead, the duke turned away as though he had been touched by a basalisk. But subsequently after his repeated visits to her when she resided chiefly at Rome, his manner entirely changed, and he evinced the utmost pleasure in her society and the greatest affection for her per^n. It was said that this change in his feelings to war 1 her was wrought.by the Daohess having declared to him the secret of his birth, and his being her own ol41d. It 1b also said that this great man oannot marry, Rumor says the Duke is only suffered by the rightful heir to eDjoy the title and estates for hiB lifetime, In order not to disgrace the family by a disclosure of the truth. But possibly the whole of these suppositions are false, ami per haps the Duke has never mar.ied be cause he would not be espoused for the sake of his great name and fortune. This romance in real life was once dramatized under the title o.‘ ‘The False Friends,’ and that by a friend of the Cavendish family ; yet, strange to say, the authoress of the play didmot amir thrlr illi nil HHliaM