DEBT AND MISERY. "OUT of debt, out of danger," is, like many other proverbs, full of wisdom; but the word danger does not sufficiently express all that the warning demands. To one that is not callous, a state of debt and embarrassment is a state of positive misery; the sufferer is as one haunted by an evil spirit, and his heart can know neither rest nor peace till it is cast out. But as example is at all times more instructive than precept, a living writer shall describe his own feelings when beset with creditors, and may he prove a beacon to the thoughtless ones who are likely to fall into the same gulf.

"Quiet was never my destiny. The first involvement multiplies itself at every move. It destroys the freedom of the intellect and the heart, and drives one into a state of mistiness, which seeks extrication by the very means which augment it. It encourages self-delusions for the sake of momentary peace; and, like inebriety, buys oblivion at the expense of quicklysucceeding pain and sickness. The creditor, who thinks himself sure of his debt at last, delights in giving credit, because he has his debtor at his mercy, makes his own usurious terms with him, and gorges on his blood. He who lives on credit does not dare examine bills; and the creditor charges according to the degree of his own wide conscience. Thus there is a difference of at least cent. per cent. in every article the debtor consumes; and two thousand pounds a-year with him, will not go so far as one in the hands of him who pays ready money, and looks to his accounts.

"Pecuniary embarrassment weakens and chains the mind; and, perhaps, the worst effect of all, is in the indignities to which it subjects its victim. There is no rule of life, therefore, more urgent than to avoid it; nor has a careless man the slightest suspicion of what may be the effect of overlooking a comparatively slight error.

"I lived at a vast expense, without the smallest management; my household was numerous, though not for show; my butcher's weekly bill amounted to a sum that would appear incredible; and my horses ate up the produce of all my meadows and oat-fields, though those which I held in hand were numerous. In short, mine was a sort of 'Castle Rack-rent,' in which all was disorder, and all was waste, while those that plundered me most, and lived on me most, abused me most; and I then spent more in a week than I now spend in three months. Confusion grew upon confusion; and every day it became a more tremendous task to look into things.

"My bitterest enemy cannot condemn the utter thoughtlessness of worldly affairs in which I then lived more than I do. It was a sort of infatuation, which, having once been plunged into, I had not the courage to extricate myself from. I knew not what my income was; but no doubt my expenditure exceeded it by many thousands. I kept very imperfect accounts, and every one cheated me."--BRYDGES' Autobiography..

The principal ingredients in all pottery, and also in porcelain, are, as we have already stated, clay and. flint, combined, in some cases, with a portion of alkali, which causes the partial melting of the flint when at a high temperature.

The materials for pottery are found in great abundance in almost every country. Granite, of which the summits of our highest mountains are formed, contains in its composition, clay and flint in great quantities. The component parts of granite consist of three substances: quartz, a kind of flint; mica, which appears in thin silvery scales, and chiefly consists of magnesia; and feldtspar, which is a compound of clay and flint, with a little potash; this latter (feldtspar) is the most abundant material in granite.

The feldtspar, on account of its containing so much clay and potash, is more readily acted on by the atmosphere; the consequence is, that the granite, having lost this greater portion of its substance, crumbles to pieces, and is washed down by the rains into the valleys and beds of rivers.

The quartz and mica, lying on the surface of the mass in the form of sand, are gradually swept away by the weather, and the feldtspar is left, which is also separated, afterwards, into its component parts; the fine particles of flint are blown away, and the clay remains at the bottom: this is potters' clay, and is of different colours and appearance according to its purity. The common yellow clay contains a In quantity of iron, to which it owes its colour. Cornwall, and other granite countries, great mountains of decomposed feldtspar are found, of beautiful whiteness: this is the pipe-clay of commerce.

The flint with which the makers of earthenware are supplied, is chiefly procured, in England, from the coast of Sussex.

In England, the first-known manufactory of pottery, is believed to have been established at Burslem, in Staffordshire, in the year 1686; but the articles were extremely coarse and rude. A few years afterwards, two brothers, named Eders, or Ellers, who came from Holland, introduced very great improvements; and although the jealousy of the inhabitants soon obliged them to quit England, they were not thrown away, and the manufacture gradually became better. In the year 1763, the whole system was changed by the discoveries of Josias Wedgewood, by whose name, all the better description of English -pottery is still known.

The method of preparing the clay, that is, of mixing together the clay and flint in proper proportions with water, to produce a plastic mass, is the same in principle as that already described in the account of Chinese porcelain *; but, in this country, machinery is employed instead of hand-labour.

The clay being prepared, the potter forms it into various articles by throwing, pressing, or casting. Throwing is only employed in the case of circular Vessels, and the operation is performed by means of a potter's lathe; our engraving represents the workman in the act of throwing the clay, the lathe being turned by an assistant. The operator, placing a lump of clay on the revolving wheel before him, moulds it into the required form with his hands; and in order to ensure an uniformity in the size and curves of a series of vessels, he employs hollow moulds and thin pieces of wood, whose edges are cut in different curves, as modelling-tools. The vessel being now rudely formed into something like the required shape, is removed from the lathe, and set aside to dry. As soon as it has become sufficiently dry for the purpose, when it is in what is called its green state, it is *See Saturday Magazine, Vol. VII., p. 204.

removed to the turning lathe; here it is turned, by means of iron tools, into a more correct form, and its surface is burnished with a smooth steel instrument. In this part of the process the handles and ornaments are fixed on; the parts on which they are to be fixed are previously wetted, and clay reduced to a thin consistence and called slip, is employed for the purpose of, as it were, glueing them on. They are now removed to a drying-stove or oven, which is kept at a temperature varying from 80 to 90 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, and when removed from thence they are rubbed over with a wisp of tow to smooth any inequalities.

Another process is pressing, by which mode all oval vessels are formed. The mould into which they are pressed is made of plaster of Paris, generally in several pieces, so that the different parts of the vessel, when removed from the mould, have to be united by means of pressure, the edges being first moistened with slip.

The third method of producing form is by casting; the clay, in this case, is made into the consistence of cream, and poured into a plaster mould, previously dried. After remaining in the mould a certain time, the liquid clay is poured off. That part, however, which is in contact with the dry mould, has had so much of its moisture absorbed by the plaster, that it is too thick to flow, and remains in the mould, forming a thin coating on the inside, in the form of the article required. The mould and its contents are removed to a stove at a gentle heat, and as the clay loses its moisture, it becomes firmer, and shrinks a little, so as to be easily removable.

The ware, now dry and hard, is fit for the furnace, and is called in this state biscuit.

The kiln or furnace in which the biscuit has to be baked, is a building with a cylindrical cavity and a flattish dome; the vessels are placed in cases or saggers. These are formed of baked clay, and protect the ware from the direct action of the flames of the furnace; but they are not employed in baking. large common red ware.

After passing through the furnace, the vessels are in a fit state to receive the printed designs with which most of our earthenware is ornamented. The designs, which are engraved on copper-plates, are printed at a rolling-press in the usual manner, but the paper on which they are printed is previously rubbed over with

soft soap. The colour employed is ground up with some colourless earthy matter, and with linseed oil. After the design is printed, the face of it is laid on the porous vessel and pressed closely to it; the consequence is, that the colouring matter is absorbed, and when the paper is removed and the surface wiped with a wet sponge, the design appears distinctly on the surface of the pottery.

Almost every description of pottery is glazed. The glaze consists of any substance which will melt at a lower degree of heat than the vessel itself, and forms a kind of enamel; the use of the glaze is to remedy the inconvenience of the porous nature of the baked clay. The glaze, except when salt is used, is formed into a liquid of the consistence of cream; into this the vessel is dipped, and again subjected to the heat of the furnace.

Many substances have been employed as glazes ; some very imperfectly answering the end proposed, and others extremely noxious in their use. The old method of glazing common ware, was by means of salt, which, when thrown into the heated furnace filled it with a vapour; as this condensed, it settled on the vessels, and formed, if not a very excellent, at least a very wholesome covering.

Unfortunately, the glaze most usually employed for common ware, is composed of litharge, a preparation of lead, which melts into a kind of glass at a certain heat. This is dangerous in two ways; first to the workmen, for the fumes are highly deleterious; and secondly, to those who use the vessel in cookery, as the glaze is easily dissolved by acids, particularly vinegar, which converts a part of it into sugar of lead, a very virulent poison. The beautiful gloss formed by litharge, and the low heat at which it melts, are the chief causes of its being commonly used.

The cause of the cracking of the glaze is, that the glaze itself, and the clay of which it is formed, expand and contract in different degrees, by the alternations of heat and cold.

There is one description of common earthenware, called stoneware, which possesses many valuable properties: it is extremely hard and strong, and although not glazed, it is not porous, and has a tolerably well-polished surface. In spite, however, of these excellent qualities, it is seldom employed in the manufacture of any other articles than pitchers, and blacking and soda-water bottles.

THE CITY OF INNSPRUCK, THE CAPITAL OF THE TYROL.

INNSPRUCK, the capital of the Tyrol, is situated in the upper or German portion of that territory, or county, as it is called, at a short distance from the southern border of the kingdom of Bavaria, Its more correct name is Innsbrück, or the Bridge on the Inn; and it stands in a little plain on the banks of that river, about midway between the two extremities of the narrow valley which constitutes the northern portion of the Tyrol, and which is watered throughout its whole length by the Inn. It stands also nearly midway between the sources of that impetuous stream and its confluence with the Danube; "the waters of the Inn," says Mr. Brockedon, “are greater than those of the Danube at the confluence; and the loss of its name in the Danube is an undeserved dishonour." Immediately on the north of the city are the mountains which separate the Upper from the Lower or Italian Tyrol; they rise abruptly above the river to the height of six or seven thousand feet, and are covered with snow in the months of May and June. To the south a plain extends for some little distance, until it is bounded by the famous Mount Brenner, a portion of the lofty chain which shuts out the Upper from the Lower Tyrol, and that portion of it over which is the only road of communication between the two divisions of the county.

Thus situated, the appearance of Innspruck from a short distance is striking and picturesque; or as Mr. Inglis says, "the prospect, approaching it, is superb. The valley of the Inn, from one to about three miles wide, is seen stretching far to the eastward, covered with varied and luxuriant vegetation, thickly studded with houses, and traversed by the broad, rapid, and brimful river; high mountains mostly clothed with wood enclose the valley on both sides, and nearly in the centre of it stands Innspruck, like the monarch of a small but beautiful dominion. The peasants," adds this writer, alluding to the period of his own visit, "were in the fields busy with their Indian corn, which is the staple produce of the valley, and all who have seen this beautiful plant growing in luxuriance, and covering a wide expanse, will admit that a more captivating prospect is not easy to be imagined." As may at once be gathered from this description, there are delightful walks about the city on all sides.

Innspruck is a city of middling size, but is generally spoken of as possessing considerable beauty. "I do not know any town" says the traveller already quoted, "of the same size, that is distinguished for so many handsome buildings within it and in its neighbourhood; nor any one whose suburbs, either in cleanliness or elegance, will vie with those of Innspruck." That part of it which is more properly called the city, exhibits an antiquated appearance, such as may be seen depicted in our engraving; it is ill-built, and put together without any regularity of arrangement. In the suburbs, as the remaining portion of the town is called, there are some fine streets consisting of modern houses, the residences of the noble and the wealthy, The prin. cipal public buildings devoted to civil uses are the town-house, a spacious palace, the residence of the Austrian governor of the Tyrol, which is situated in the Remplatz, a large square decorated with a bronze equestrian statue of the Archduke Leopold.

The churches of Innspruck are its chief attractions. At the head of them is the Cathedral, or Church of the Holy Cross, of which we are told that in one whole day the visiter has scarcely time to do justice to the innumerable works of art contained in it. Among

them is the celebrated tomb of the Emperor Maximilian the First, who ruled over Germany between the years 1493 and 1519; it is said that this monarch was desirous of being buried at Innspruck, but as his body was interred at Neustadt, the Emperor Ferdinand the First erected this monument to his memory in the capital of the Tyrol. It stands in the nave of the church on three steps of veined marble, the highest of which is ornamented with a bordering of arms and trophies finely executed in bronze; it is rather more than six feet in height, about thirteen in length, and seven in breadth. On the top a bronze figure of Maximilian, robed as an Emperor, kneels in suppliant posture; and on the sides of the monument is that which is said to constitute its "inestimable worth and extraordinary beauty,"—a series of four-and-twenty bas-reliefs representing the most remarkable events in Maximilian's life. They are executed in tablets of the finest white marble of Carrara; these are each two feet wide and one and a half in height, and they are separated from one another by single pilasters of jet black marble. Among the subjects represented are the marriage at Ghent, of Maximilian, when simply a prince, with Mary of Burgundy, the daughter and successor of the famous Duke Charles the Rash, and his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle as king of the Romans; the remainder consist of his battles with the Turks and Venetians,—the marriage of his son Philip the Handsome, his sieges, marches, interviews, and treaties. "The sculpture is exquisite," says the author of a Ramble in Germany, "and all the scenes are represented with a fidelity at once minute and animated." Mr. Inglis tells us that nothing which he has ever seen in bas-relief nearly equals this superb work; and from his remarks we infer that the merit of the artist is not more conspicuous in the beauty and spirit of his designs than in the correctness of their details. "The arms and costumes of the different warriors and different nations," he says, are consistent with fact, and so are the bas-reliefs of the cities and castles; the representation of Venice is on marble what Canaletti's are on canvass, and the likeness of Maximilian is preserved throughout all the tablets, differing only in age,"

But wonderful as this monument is, there are objects surrounding it which are not less interesting. Close to it are ranged "a stern and silent company" of eight-and-twenty colossal bronze statues, standing in solemn array "like warriors guarding the tomb;" they represent a number of male and female personages, illustrious in the days of Maximilian and in times preceding, either by their deeds or by their royal birth. Among these are many belonging to the Imperial house of Austria; there are several of its founders, the early counts of Habsburg, together with Duke Charles the Rash of Burgundy,-his father Duke Philip the Good, the Princess Mary, Maximilian's first wife,—the Archduchess Margaret, his daughter, and Queen Joanna of Castile, who married his son Philip the Handsome, and thus brought the crown of Spain into the family of Austria. But besides these, there are others, " to the stranger's eye, of a deeper and more attaching interest." There is the renowned Crusader Gottfried von Bouillon König von Jerusalem,-Godfrey of Bouillon, King of Jerusalem,-clad in complete armour, with the cross upon his breast and the crown of thorns upon his cap of steel;-there is the Gothic king Theodoric, the French king Clovis, who is usually reckoned the founder of that monarchy, and that celebrated hero of our own fabulous history, Arthur king of England. According to one of our own countrymen, it is this collection of