THE READING. EASEL.
This is an ingenious contrivance foe supporting an open book, independ- ently, of a table, in aposition convenient to the reader; who is thus ena- bled to lean back in a chair, or recline on a couch and read at ease, having both hands at liberty. The apparatus is simple, neat, and very portable; and may be fixed to, or detached from, any chair or sofa in a minute, with- cut difficulty or injury. It consists of an arm, rising, at an angle, from a strip of wood that is fastened by a screw and clamp to the edge of the Chair or sofa. A light rest, or folding-desk, for the book, is attached on one side to the arm, and can be adjusted to any height; as the arm itself may be to any required angle. The whole folds up into the space of half a cubic foot; and being nicely finished, and made of mahogany or some other handsome wood, it is not unsightly in the drawingroom.
This luxurious convenience will be appretiated by all who read much, whether as study or amusement; and its use must tend to promote the health as well as comfort of invalids and persons of sedentary habits, by keeping the body erect and the chest expanded. Only those who have to pore over the huge tomes of bygone days need now be bent double by reading; and even the littdrateur, who reads pen in hand, will find the easel a convenient appendage to the desk. Directions for fixing the frame should accompany the easel; and we would suggest the addition of hinges to the folding-desk, the strain on the velvet lining being too great for the tenacity of glue.
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