terests, he every now and then
requires a change of scene and of occupation. Something to divert the
mind from its ordinary series of ideas--something to enable us to lose
ourselves in a temporary illusion, were it only a jocular supposition
of our being something a good deal worse than we are--something, above
all, to stir the hearty laugh, which proves its being good for us by
the very help it gives to digestion--is required at frequent
intervals--all free from what tends to debase and corrupt. Such is the
theory of Amusement; and nothing which does not fulfil that theory
will be effective for its ends. Here is a perquisition somewhat more
startling than that of Xerxes, putting a prize upon a new pleasure.
Happy will be the man who can devise truly available means of
supplying this grand want in our Work-World! It is plainly for want of
some such device that the public-house thrives, and that human nature
is seen in such unlovely forms amongst the lower circles of society.'

It occurs to us, that there can be no social want which society itself
is not competent to satisfy. In the variety of the human faculties,
there are some which immediately tend to give pleasure and amusement,
and certain men possess these in a greater degree than others. The
_troubadour_, the _jongleur_, and the _joculator_, are natural
productions of all time, in a certain proportion to the bulk of their
kind. Accordingly, all through the various grades of society, we find
clever people, exhibiting a gift for music, for mirth-making, for
narration, and for dramatic effect. In the upper circles, these
voluntary and unprofessional powers form the main dependence for the
amusement of the evening. In the inferior walks of life, they are
comparatively lost for want of a fair field to work in: they only find
a vulgar and unworthy outlet in the coarse scenes of the tavern.
Suppose we address ourselves to making arrangements by which humble
society could be enabled to take advantage of the powers of amusement
which lie within itself?

We can pretend to nothing like a scheme, and perhaps so much the
better. We can imagine, however, that in certain circumstances, the
desideratum could be tolerably well supplied without much outlay or
formality. We have coffee and reading rooms already. Say that to such
an institution, we add a music and conversation room; this, as a
beginning. There, when the newspaper or book had ceased to charm, let
a group assemble, a