"Thus, with autumnal harvests covered o'er, And thick bestrewn, lies Ceres' sacred floor; While round and round, with never-wearied pain, The trampling steers beat out th' unnumber'd grain." HOMER. Horace further tells us, that the threshing floor was mostly a smooth space, surrounded with mud walls, having a barn or garner on one side; occasionally an open field, outside the walls, was selected for this purpose, yet uniformly before the town or city gates. Such was the void place wherein the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, sat each of them on his throne, clothed in his robes, at the entering in of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. In the marginal reading we are informed, that this void space was no other than a threshing floor; and truly the area was well adapted for such an assemblage, being equally suited to accommodate the two kings and their attendants, and to separate them from the populace. [Illustration: Oxen Threshing Corn.] Eastern ploughshares were of a lighter make than ours, and those who notice the shortness and substance of ancient weapons, among such as are preserved in museums, will understand how readily they might be applied to agricultural uses. FROST FAIRS. In 1788-9, the Thames was completely frozen over below London-bridge. Booths were erected on the ice; and puppet-shows, wild beasts, bear-baiting, turnabouts, pigs and sheep roasted, exhibited the various amusements of Bartholomew Fair multiplied and improved. From Putney-bridge down to Redriff was one continued scene of jollity during this seven weeks' saturnalia. The last frost fair was celebrated in the year 1814. The frost commenced on 27th December, 1813, and continued to the 5th February, 1814. There was a grand walk, or mall, from Blackfriars-bridge to London-bridge, that was appropriately named _The City Road_, and lined on each side with booths of all descriptions. Several printing-presses were erected, and at one of these an orange-coloured standard was hoisted, with "_Orange Boven_" printed in large characters. There were E O and Rouge et Noir tables, tee-totums, and skittles; concerts of rough music, viz. salt-boxes and rolling-pins, gridirons and tongs, horns, and marrow-bones and cleavers. The carousing booths were filled with merry parties, some dancing to the sound of the fiddle, others sitting round blazing fires smoking and drinking. A printer's devil bawled out to the spectators, "Now is your time, ladies and gentlemen,--now is your time to support the freedom of the press! Can the press enjoy greater liberty? Here you find it working in the middle of the Thames!" MAGIC RAIN STONE.