A correspondent of the Times gives the following account of
the carpets he saw at the late Royal exhibition of French manufactures at Paris- " The carpets are superior to the English, in being made of one piece, and of more solid and durable workmanship. But then, the price of that species of labour, and the cost of materials, make them such expensive commodities that none but very wealthy people can afford to use them. There is one at the ex- hibition of about 2,0 feet by •20, the pattern of which is an imitation of a black Cachmere shawl, for which the most exorbitant price of 55,000 francs (2,200/. sterling) is asked."
Pianofortes of a new description, and of a square form, were also exhibited- " The pianofortes have, by being made a foot deeper than formerly, obtained an increase in the size of the sounding-board ; which gives them very nearly all the power and richness of your graml pianofortes, and entirely corrects the de- ficiency of sound but too often prevalent in the last octave of the latter, owing to the narrow width of the sounding-board under that octave. The perfection im- parted by this means to square pianofortes is certainly an improvement ; as their form, both for convenience and appearance, is by all means preferable to that of the grand pianos."
It would perhaps be amusing to a stranger to hear how the cere- mony of reading the Thirty-nine Articles, previously to being presented to a degree, is performed. The Dean of the College invites the young man to breakfast. A couple of Articles are read ; then succeeds a wadding of cold meat ; an interlayer of boiled eggs (if, indeed, the Dean be so munificent) divides the third and fourth ; the doctrine of Predes- tination requires to be swallowed down with a cup of tea; and the Dean reads the newspaper while the candidate reads the remainder. •
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