rests of
morality,' than which there is not a more abused phrase in print. But to
the man of ordinary common sense it would appear that more harm than
good results from them. Where can the viciously disposed man or the
novice in crime apply with better prospects of instruction in the
pursuit of his evil designs than to the columns of the newspaper? It is
perhaps not too much to say that for every two persons whom these
reports deter from crime, there are three who have been either initiated
or hardened in wickedness and sin by their means. This is a matter which
calls loudly for reform; and let it, with all sorrow and humility, be
confessed, one in which the better American journals shine vastly
superior to their English brethren. To the general reader for
amusement's sake only, those scraps _de omnibus rebus et quibusdam
aliis_ with which editors fill up odd corners supply ample
gratification. But those who read for amusement's sake only, or from
mere idle curiosity, are by no means the majority, and a tolerable
insight may be obtained into a man's character and bias of mind by
observing what is the part of the paper to which he first turns when he
unfolds it. The man who is absorbed in business pursuits turns to the
prices of stocks and shares, the values of articles of merchandise, and
the rates of discount and exchange. He will also probably glance at the
'latest intelligence' and the most recent telegrams, but only with the
view of forming an opinion as to how the world of commerce and
speculation will be affected thereby. The politician finds matter to his
taste in the leading articles, the Parliamentary debates and the letters
of foreign correspondents, and, perhaps, after a careful perusal of
them, flatters himself that he has at last mastered the intricacies of
the Schleswig-Holstein question, or has arrived at an understanding of
the Emperor Napoleon's policy in Rome. The scientific man and the
literary man have their attention fixed by the reports of the meetings
of the various learned societies, the accounts of new discoveries and
inventions, and the reviews of new publications. This enumeration might
be extended almost _ad infinitum_, but to sum up briefly, whatever a
man's taste or predilections may be, he will be able to gratify them to
his heart's content.

There is, however, one portion of the newspaper which must not be passed
over without especial notice, and which is so varied in its contents
that i