The Book of Curiosities

f boats over the

lebrated p

ODUC

minds, who

reation's w

footsteps

fore him,

, principally out of the reports of history; that is, what is the last and highest pitch to which man's nature, of itself, hath ever reached, in all the perfection of

ction of science, nor discover the secret impulses which nature obeys, yet can we by reading, study, and investigation, dissipate much of the darkness in which we are enveloped, and dive far beyond the surface of this multifarious scene of things-The noblest employment of the human understanding is, to contemplate the works of the great Creator of the boundless universe; and to trace the marks of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness, throughout the whole. This is the foundation of all religious worship and obedience; and an ess

is devoted to Curiosities in the works of Na

an effect, and

eity

that is, or h

that is, or

l that is, o

this immea

tiform; or de

ucid; rapid,

ssing bound!

e, and myste

God is seen in

irit, spirit

aterial organ

een, as man

onishing exp

auty, motion,

f design, ho

e, in their d

ends! consent t

and the wonderful operations of the skill, power, and industry of man in the invention and improvement of the arts, in the co

owers, Storms, &c.; one to Ice; one to Ruins; four to Buildings, Temples, and other Monuments of Antiquity; and one to Basaltic and Rocky Curiosities. The fifty-eighth chapter is devoted to the Ark of Noah-the Galley of Hiero-and the Bridge of Xerxes. The next six chapters detail at length the various Customs of Mankind in different parts of the World, and also explain many Old Adages and Sayings. The next five chapters exhibit a variety of curious phenomena in nature, such as the Ignis Fatuus; Thunder and Lightning; Fire Balls; Wat

rtainment and instruction for the leisure hour, of the Philosopher or the Labourer, the Gentleman or the Mechanic. In short, all classes may find in the present work something conducive

H

F CURI

AP

ES RESPEC

eart-the Circulation of the Blood-Respiration-the Ha

eader, leave al

on, and the p

life can lit

look about us

o'er all this

e! but not w

eds and flow'rs

mpting with f

us beat thi

open, what th

ts, the giddy h

ndly creep, or

alks, shoot fo

manners living

must, be cand

e the ways o

The Curiosities of the Human Body.-The following account i

first the mind, the thinking immaterial agent, must be provided with a place of immediate residence, which shall have all the requisites for

d to receive the different kinds of impression which they will make. In fact, therefore, we see that she is provided with the organs

se purposes the nerves are actually given. They are soft white chords which rise from the brain, the immediate residence of the mind, and disperse themselves in branches through all parts of the body. They convey all the different kinds of sensations to the mind in the brain; and likewise carry out from thence all her commands to the other par

of objects; that she may fly from such as are disagreeable, dangerous, or hurtful; and pursue such as are pleasant and useful to her. And accordingly

for, and the proper directions to its motions, as well as to protect some of the more important and tender organs from externa

d fabric, for that would prevent motion

r, to prevent their dislocation. And this end

another, must have smooth and slippery surfaces for easy motion. This i

shall keep them in their places, unite them, and at the same time allow them to move a littl

give it compactness, and to defend it from a thousand injuries; whic

arious bones so

rame to such pe

figures for t

fix, and joint

all in that ju

trength, and or

ckm

mmunicating her thoughts by some sensible marks or signs, which shall be both easy to herself, and admit of great variety. And accordingly

he injuries which she must commit upon herself, and those which she must be exposed to from without. Therefore a treasure of blood is actually provided in the heart and vascular system, full of nutritious and healing particles; fluid enough to penetrate into t

not be lost, but should be returned again to the heart; and for this purpose the venous system

ot a provision made by fresh supplies. These, we observe, in fact, are profusely scattered round her in the animal and vegetable kingdoms; and she i

short, with all the organs subservient to digestion: the finer parts of the aliments only can be useful in the constitution; these must be taken up and conveyed into the blood, and the dregs must be thrown off. With th

an indefinite length of time. But its duration, we may presume, must necessarily be limited; for as it is nourished, grows, and is raised up to

le to take of this subject, that the animal man must necessar

e circulation: another, the nervous, with its appendages-the organs of sense, for e

, and protection,-the bony compages: another, for the requisite motions of the parts among themselves, as well as for moving f

them so, that they shall mutually receive from, and give helps to one another: and that all, or many of the parts, shall not only answer their principal end or purpose, but operate successfully and usefully in a variety of secondary ways. If we conside

above all human comprehension as to the manner and means of their operation. Thus, a wound heals up of itself; a broken bone is made firm again by a callus; a dead part is separated and thrown off; noxious juices are driven out by some of the emunctories; a redundancy is removed by some spontaneous bleeding; a bleeding naturally stops of itself; and the loss is in a measure compensated, by a contracting power in the vascular system, which accommodates the capacity of the vessels to the quan

ited powers. Besides those internal powers of self-preservation in each individual, when two of them, of different sexes, unite, they are endued with powers of producing other animals or machines like themselves, which again a

6000 ends and aims are to be attended to! The bones are reckoned to be 284; and the distinct scopes or intentions of these are above 40-in all, about 12,000! and thus it is, in some proportion, with all the other part

---How

te, how wond

onder He who

natures marve

and dishonour'd

un

e nations! b

r grateful

raise with

praises

complex fram

rs us in t

n wandering fr

back, and

world let's s

million tongu

ir thankful i

eir Maker's

ears have ceas

is goodness

at mercy ha

d love shall

o devotion towards the all-wise Maker of such a beautiful frame. And so convinced was Galen of the excellency of this piece of divine workmanship, that he is said to have allowed Epicurus a hundred years to find out a more commodious shape, situation, or texture, for any one part of the human body! Indeed, no understanding can be

hrice h

, whom God hath

is image, he

im; and, in r

ll his

lt

siderable assistance from the same German philosopher that was quoted in the last section. Indeed, we sh

e softest affections are reflected without disguise. Hence it may be called with propriety, the true interpreter of the soul, and organ of the understanding. The colour and motions of the eye contribute much to mark the character of the countenance. The human eyes are, in proportion, nearer to one another than those of any other living creatures; the space between the eyes of most of them being so great, as to prevent their seeing an object with both their eyes at the same time, unless it is placed at a great distance. Next to the eyes, the eye-brows tend to fix the character of the countenance. Their colour renders them particularly striking; they form the shade of the picture, which thus acquires greater force of colouring. The eye-lashes, when long and thick, give beauty and additional charms to the eye. No animals, but men and monkeys, have both e

o the same plan. If all things had been produced by blind chance, the countenances of men might have resembled one another as nearly as balls cast in the same mould, or drops of water out of the same bucket: but as that is not the case, we must admire the infinite wisdom of the Creator, which, in thus diversifying the traits of the human countenance, has manifestly had in view the happiness of men; for if they resembled each other perfectly, they could not be distinguished from one another, to the utter confusion and detriment of society. We should never be certain of life, nor of the peaceable possession of our property; thieves and robbers would run little risk of detection, for they could neither be d

laim with a cel

in faculties! in form, and moving, how express and admirable!

e-brows contribute much to the beauty and preservation of this exquisite organ; and the eye-lids more immediately shelter it from the glare of light, and other things which might be prejudicial; inserted in these are the eye-lashes, which also much contribute to the above effect, and also prevent small particles of dust, and other substances, striking against the eye.[2] The internal structure is still more admirable. The globe of the eye is composed of tunics, humours, muscles, and vessels; the coats are the cornea, or exterior membrane, which is transparent anteriorly, and opake posteriorly; the charoid, which is extremely vascular; the uvea, with the iris, which being of various colours, gives the appearance of differently coloured eyes; and being perforated, with the power of contraction and dilatation, forms the pupil; and, lastly, the retina, being a fine expansion of the optic nerve, upon it the impressions of objects are made. The humours are the aqueous, lying in the forepar

-The vi

tly station'd

imperial head'

ded prospect

outworks of i

s palisadoes

noyance fr

ll

ai

e curious org

t with its va

quisite; with

o transmit the

it in its st

and guarded,

d, and needful

ed

s, The Curious Str

ear, with many

erplex'd, to c

repercussive

ll

from the eye hi

quick of appr

th impair the

Hearing-doub

ksp

on by soft and low sounds; the other, by relaxing, prepares it for those which are very loud. Besides the malleus, there are some other very small and remarkable bones, called incus, or the anvil, as orbiculare, or orbicular bone, and the stapes, or stirrup: their use is, to assist in conveying the sounds received upon the membrana tympani. Behind the cavity of the drum, is an opening, called the Eustachian tube, which begins at the back part of the mouth with an orifice, which diminishes in size as the tube passes towards the ear, where it becomes bony; by this means, sounds may be conveyed to the ear through the mouth, and it facilitates the vibrations of the membrane by the admission of air. We may next observe the cochlea, which somewhat resembles the shell of a snail, whence its name; its cavity winds in a spiral direction, and is divided into two by a thin spiral lamina: and lastly is the auditory nerve, which terminates in the brain. The faculty of hearing is worthy of the utmost admiration and attention: by putting in motion a very small portion of air, without even being conscious of its moving, we have the power of communicating to each other our thoughts, desires, and conceptions. But to render the action of air in the propagation of sound more intelligible, we must recollect that the air is not a solid, but a fluid body. Throw a stone into a smooth stream of water, and there will take place undulations, which will be extended more or less according to the degree of force with which the stone was impelled. Conceive then, that when a word is uttered in the air, a similar effect takes place in that element, as is produced by the ston

ription of The Curiosities of the Human

hining sun, no

crimson curta

vegetable, be

n the surface

beneath; thoug

ound stagnati

under to prono

e, within hims

mense, and i

y, so wonde

his providen

ar

g auricle, one of which is situated on each side the base of the heart. The right auricle receives the blood from the head and superior parts of the body, by means of a large vein; and in the same manner the blood is returned to it from the inferior parts, by all the veins emptying their stores into one, which terminates in this cavity; which, having received a sufficient portion of blood, contracts, and by this motion empties itself into the right ventricle, which also contracting, propels the blood into an artery, which immediately conveys it into the lungs, where it undergoes certain changes, and then passes through veins into the left auricle of the heart, thence into the left ventricle, by the contraction of which it is forced into an artery, through whose ramifications it is dispersed to all parts of

by William Harvey, an English physician, a little before the year 1600: and when it is co

ountain whence t

tream that wat

igour, and wa

ticle that m

ugh unnumb

heart, and to

nded

str

rk the vital

mpulsive engin

streams throu

meand'ring lap

purple tribute

news' branchy t

ns in spiral

ves all o'er; o

with nerves the

orm, their fitne

nd arrangemen

ificer

ll

ai

s, with equa

the tender

s in pairs the

e through paths a

finest compl

rds are through

hannels, such

ions, sense, an

labour and co

yle, and anim

ckm

d Interesting Facts concerning Re

e whole internal structure of the lungs is lined by a transparent membrane, estimated by Haller at only the thousandth part of an inch in thickness; but whose surface, from its various convolutions, measures fifteen square feet, which is equal to the external surface of the body. On this ext

es; in an hour, the quantity of air inspired will be 48,000 cubic inches; and in the twenty-four hours, it will amount to 1,152,000 cubic inches. This quantity of air will almost fill 78 wine hogsheads, and would weigh nearly 53 pounds. From this admirable provision of nature, by which the blood is made to pass in review, as it were, of this immense quantity of air, and over so extensive a surface, it seems obvious, that these two fluids are destined to exert some very important influence on each other; a

s, or by the influence of circumstances resulting from our social condition. Its chemical constitution is

ld become noxious. Physiologists have instituted a variety of experiments, to ascertain the amount of the exhalations from the surface of the body. Sanctorius, an eminent Italian physician, from a series of experiments performed during a period of thirty years, estimates it as greater than the aggregate of all our other discharges. From his calculations it would appear, that if we take of liquid an

ve even in the most healthy individuals; but when proceeding from those labou

nant, and when many individuals contribute their respective supplies of effluvia to vitiate it, the atmosphere necessarily becomes satured

the ill effects which they produce, though slower in their operation, are equally certain. They, to a certain extent, pollute the fountain of life, and ultimately break down the

kin. Infectious diseases are communicated by the reception of air in our lungs, impregnated with contagious matter. The influence of the constant respiration of air in any degree impure, is fully evinced in the pallid countenances and languid frames of thos

d assemblies; and when we consider the amount of the exhalations emitted by each individual, and the very offensive nature of those emitted by many; and when, on the other hand, we take into consideration the importance of air to life, and the g

ee offensive. Thus, while, with a fastidious delicacy, we avoid drinking from a cup which has been already pressed to the lips of our friend

he energy of

cease to pour

de forget its

n pursue its

osity we shall consider,

hair of our heads, we shall find them very well worth our attent

he root, being always rather larger, that the root may not be too much confined, and that some space may remain between it and the capsule. The root or bulb has two parts, the one external, the other internal. The external is a pellicle composed of small lamin?; the internal is a glutinous fluid, in which some fibres are united; it is the marrow of the root. From the external part of the bulb proc

vering of the hair, is a peculiar substance, and particularly transparent at the point. In a young hair this sheath is very soft, but in time becomes so hard and elastic, that it springs back with some noise when it is cut. It preserves the hair a long time. Immediately beneath the sheath are several small fibres, which ex

e seen in every thing, even in t

rts of one stu

ture is, and

ro' all, and yet

rth, as in th'

un, refreshes

ars, and blosso

life, extends

vided, opera

soul, informs

erfect, in a

fect, in vile M

eraph that ad

, no low, no g

unds, connects,

o

readers some Ancient and Moder

l it, like the other parts; which they prove hence, that the roots do not turn grey in aged persons sooner than the extremities, but the whole changes colour at once; which shews that there is a direct communication, and that all the parts are affected alike. In strict propriety, however, it must be allowed, that the life and growth of hairs is of a different kind from that of the rest of the body, and is not immediately derived therefrom, or reciprocated therewith. It is rather of the nature of vegetation. They grow as plants do, or as some plants shoot from the parts of others; from which, though they draw their nourishment, yet each has, as it were, its distinct life and economy. They derive their food from some juices in the body, but not from the nutritious juices of the body; whence they may live, though the body be

hall give the following curious Inst

owever, various and indisputable evidences of hairs found in the kidneys, and voided by natural discharge. Hippocrates says, that the glandular parts are the most subject to hair; but bundles of hair have been found in the muscular parts of beef, and in parts of the human body equally firm. Hair has been often found in abscesses and imposthumations. Schultetus, opening the abdomen of a human body, found twelve pints of water, and a large lock of hair swimming loosely in it. It has, however, been found on examination, that some of the internal parts of the body are more subject to an unnatural growth of hair than others. Th

the reader's attention to some Cur

were brought to Rome from Sicily, the 454th year after the building of Rome. And it must relate to a time after that period, what Aulus Gellius says, that people accused of any crime were prohibited to shave their beards till they were absolved. From Hadrian downward, the Roman emperors wore beards. Julius Capitolinus reproaches the Emperor Verus for cutting his beard at the instigation of a concubine. All the Roman generals wore beards in Justinian's time. The pope shaved his beard, which was held a manifest apostasy by the Greek chu

rious account of

k bushy beard. Charles XII. had in his army a female grenadier, who wanted neither courage nor a beard to be a man. She was taken at the battle of Pultowa, and carried to Petersburg, where she was presented to the czar, in 1724: her beard measured a yard and a half. We read in the Trevoux Dictionary, that there was a woman seen at Paris, who had not only a bushy beard on her face, but her body likewise covered all over with hair. Among a number of other examples of this nature, that of the great Margaret, the governess of the Netherlands, is very remarkable. She had a very long stiff beard, which she prided herself on: and being persuaded that it contributed to give her an air of majesty, she

pter with some curious

t or to the left. If a man sneezed at rising from table, or from his bed, it was necessary for him to sit or lie down again. 'You are struck with astonishment,' said Timotheus to the Athenians, who wished to return into the harbour with their fleet, because he had sneezed; 'you are struck with astonishment, because among ten thousand there is one man whose brain is moist.' It is singular enough, that so many ridiculous, contradictory, and superstitious opinions, have not abolished those customary civilities which are still preserved equally among high and low. The reason is obvious: they are preserved, because they are esteemed civilities, and because they cost nothing. Among the Greeks, sneezing was almost always a good omen. It excited marks of tenderness, of respect, and attachment. The young Parthenis, hurried on by her passion, resolved to write to Sarpedon an avowal of her love; she sneezes in the most tender and impassioned part of her letter: this is sufficient for her; this incident supplies the place of an answer, and persuades her that Sarpedon is her lover. Penelope, harassed by the vexatious courtship

P.

ESPECTING MAN

Prolification-Extraordinary Instances of Rapid Growth-Giants-Dwarfs-Kimos-Curious Ac

e between

ely woman! N

per ma

inted fair to

all that we bel

htness, puri

, and everl

wa

ming hands a

------

earth or heave

her amia

l her steps, he

sture digni

lt

ey are no longer women but abortions. They are capable of the sweetest sensibility, the most profound emotion, the utmost humility, and the excess of enthusiasm. In their countenance are the signs of sanctity and inviolability, which every feeling man honours, and the effects of which are often miraculous. Therefore, by the irritability of their nerves, their incapacity for deep inquiry and firm decision, they may easily, from their extreme sensibility, become the most irreclaimable, the most rapturous enthusiasts. Their love, strong and rooted as it is, is very changeable; their hatred almost incurable. Men are most profound; women are more sublime. Man hears the bursting thunder, views the destructive bolt with serene aspect, and stands erect amidst the fearful majesty of the streaming clouds; woman trembles at the lightning, and the voice of distant thunder; and sinks into the arms of man. Woman is in anguish when man weeps, and in despair when man is in anguish; yet has she often more faith than man. Man, without religion, is a diseased creature, who would persuade himself he is well, and needs not a physician; but women without religion are monstrous. A woman with a beard is not so disgusting as a woman w

hat women fill up their appointed circle of action with greater regularity than men, the claim of prefer

calculation of The Comparative

enters into an inquiry, peculiar to himself, in endeavouring to ascertain the principles and commencement of the equality of the sexes. In some families, says he, equality evidently does not hold. In some, the children are all boys; in others, all girls. He next proceeds to take several families, as 20, 30, 40, or 50, in one place, in conjunction; or small villages of 150 or 300 inhabitants. But even then, the just proportion was not yet established. In some years, only boys, in others only girls were born; nay, this disproportion continued for a seri

ulation of ten millions.-3d. Every week in 100,000.-4th. Every month in 50,000.-5th. Every year in 10,000.-6th. And i

the following instances of

79, of three boys, each fourteen inches and a half long, and of a girl thirteen inches: they were all baptized, but did not live twenty-four hours. In June, 1799, one Maria Ruiz, of Lucena in Andalusia, was successively delivered of sixteen boys, without any girls: seven of them were alive on the 17th of August following. In 1535, a Muscovite peasant, named James Kyrloff, and his wife, were presented to the Empress of Russia. This pe

te some Extraordinary I

his extraordinary growth and strength at two years old, which continued to increase with such rapidity, that he soon arrived at the usual standard. At four years old he was able to lift and throw the common bundles of hay in stables into the horses' rack

t every month his clothes required to be made longer and wider; yet it was not preceded by any sickness, nor accompanied with any pain. At the age of five years his voice changed, his beard began to appear; and at six, he had as much as a man of thirty; in short, all the unquestionable marks of maturity were visible in him. Though his wit was riper than is commonly observable at the age of five or six, yet its progress was not in proportion to that of his body. His air and manner still retained something childish, though by his bulk and stature he resembled a complete man, which at first sight produced a very singular contrast. His voice was strong and manly, and his great strength rendered him already fit for the labours of the country. At five, he could carry

arvellous in the northern than in the southern climates, where females come sooner to maturity. In some places of the East Indies, they have children at nine years of age. It seems at first view astonishing, that children of such early and prodigious gro

we shall not, knowingly, deal in fiction or fable. It is from a most resp

his voyage to the Peak of Teneriffe, says, that they found, in one of the sepulchral caverns of that mountain, the head of a gaunche, which had eighty teeth, and that the body was not less than fifteen feet long. The giant Ferragus, slain by Orlando, nephew of Charlemagne, was eighteen feet high. Rioland, a celebrated anatomist, who wrote in 1614, says, that some years before, there was to be seen, in the suburbs of St. Germain, the tomb of the great giant Isoret, who was twenty feet high. In Rouen, in 1509, in digging in the ditches near the Dominicans, they found a stone tomb, containing a skeleton whose skull held a bushel of corn, and whose shin bone reached up to the girdle of the tallest man there, being about four feet long; and, consequently, the body must have been seventeen or eighteen feet high. Upon the tomb was a plate of copper, whereon was engraved, "In this tomb lies the noble and puissant lord, the Chevalier Ricon De Vallemont, and his bones." Platerus, a famous physician, declares, that he saw at Lucerne, the true human body of a subject which must have been at least nineteen feet high. Valence, in Dauphiné, boasts of possessing the bones of the giant Bucart, tyrant of the

the Patagonians likewise, which cannot be entirely discredited, render it very probable, that somewhere in South America there is a race of people very considerably exceeding the common size of mankin

able is the following Cu

New Year's Gift, presented at court by the Lady Parvula to the Lord Minimus, (commonly called Little Jeffery,) her majesty's servant, written by Microphilus, with a little print of Jeffery prefixed. Before this period, Jeffery was employed on a negociation of great importance: he was sent to France to fetch a midwife for the queen; and on his return with this gentlewoman, and her majesty's dancing-master, and many rich presents to the queen from her mother Mary de Medicis, he was taken by the Dunkirkers. Jeffery, thus made of consequence, grew to think himself really so. He had borne with little temper the teazing of the courtiers and domestics, and had many squabbles with the king's gigantic porter. At last, being provoked by Mr. Crofts, a young gentleman of family, a challenge ensued: and Mr. Cr

RANG-

, or Man of the

HUDSON.-

h dwarf who flouris

nd Charles the Seco

he brought from Fr

to the fortunes of King Stanislaus, who lost his property in consequence of that attachment, and who had six children; three dwarfs, and three well grown. What is singular enough, they were born alternately, a big one and a little one, though both parents were of the common size. The little count's youngest sister was much less than him, but died at the age of twenty-three. The count continued to grow till he was about thirty, when he had attained the height of three feet two inches: he lived to see his fifty-first year. He never experienced any sickness, but lived in a polite and affluent manner, under the patronage of a lady, a friend of the family, till love, at the age of forty-one, intruded into his little peaceful bosom, and involved him in matrimony, care, and perplexity. The lady he chose was of his own country, but of French extraction, and the middle size. They had three children, all girls, and none of them likely to be dwarfs. To provide for a family now became an object big with difficulty, requiring all the exertion of his powers (which could promise but little) and his talents, of which music alone afforded any view of profit. He played extremely well upon the guitar; and by having concerts in several of the principal cities in Germany, he raised temporary supplies. At Vienna he was persuaded to turn his thoughts to England, where, it was believed, the public c

hly Review for 1792, being Vol. 7, of the new series. The subject is a revie

irculation with great contempt. The Abbé Rochon, however, has revived them; and has not only given them the sanction of his own belief, but that of M. Commerson, and of M. de Modave, the late Governor of Fort Dauphin. As their op

men, who inhabit the interior part of the great island of Madagascar, and form a distinct nation, called, in the language of the country, Kimos. These little men are of a paler colour than the rest of the natives, who are in general black. Their arms are s

so that their courage being in a duplicate ratio of their size, they have never suffered themselves to be oppressed and subdued by their neighbours, who have often attempted it. It is astonishing, that all we know of this nation is from the neighbou

and did not appear misshapen, nor stinted in her growth, as accidental dwarfs usually are. Her arms were indeed too long, in proportion to her height, and her hair was short and woolly: but her countenance was good, and rather resembled that of an European than an African. She had a natural habitual smile on her face, was good-humoured, and seemed, by her behaviour, to possess

em to be the medium between men of the common size and these dwarfs. Both inhabit the coldest countries and the highest mountains upon the earth. These of Madagascar, on which

heme failed. Yet I had such indisputable information of this extraordinary fact, that I have not the least doubt of the existence of such a nation. The common size of the men is three feet five inches. They wear long round beards. The women are some inches shorter than the men, who are thick and stout. Their colour is less black and swarthy than that of the natives; their hair is short and cottony. They f

procured a Kimos man, and would have brought him to Europe, but M. de Surville, wh

s with the following curious account of

from some tragedy, and particularly out of the Andromeda of Euripides, as if they had been upon the stage; so that many of these pale, meagre actors, were pouring forth tragic exclamations in every street. This delirium continued till the winter following; which was a very cold one, and therefore fitter to remove it. Lucian, who has described this disease, endeavours to account for it in this way:-Archelaus, an excellent player, acted the Andromeda of Euripides before the Abderites, in t

s given us the following curious account of a C

ey were composed of cane, and so light as to be easily lifted up, which was done every night, and formed a security from the attacks of tigers and other wild beasts, with which this province abounds. The chief of the country was in his palace, that is to say-his tree, when the Castilians came among them. On seeing the strangers, he hastened to draw up his ladders, while the Spaniards called to him aloud to descend without fear. He replied, that being unconscious of having offended any one, and having no concern with strangers, he begged he might be suffered to remain undisturbed in his habitation. On this they threatened to cut down or set fire to his tree, and at length obliged

P.

ESPECTING MAN

lmost from Infancy-Wonderful Instances of Adroitness of Persons born defective in their Li

uisitions made

t, as it has been said of some, they learned to hear with their eyes, so it may be said of these, that they taught themselves to see with their hands. Some have been enabled to perform all sorts of curious and subtle works in the nicest and most dexterous manner.-Aldrovanus speaks of a sculptor who became blind at twenty years of age, and yet, ten years after, made a perfect marble statue of Cosmo II. de Medicis; and another of clay, like Urban

e was that of a waggoner, and occasionally as a guide in intricate roads during the night, or when the common tracks were covered with snow. Afterwards he became a projector and surveyor of highways in difficult and mountainous parts; and, in this capacity, with the assistance merely of a long staff, he traverses the roads, ascends precipices, explores valleys, and investigates their several extents, forms, and situations, so

e objects of their mental contemplation, than those who are distracted by the view of a variety of external scenes. Their want of sight naturally leads them to avail themselves of their other organs of corporeal sensation, and with this view

oficients in various departments of science. Indeed, there are few sciences in which, with or without mechanical helps, the blind have not distinguished themselves. The case of Professor Saunderson at Cambridge, is well known. His attainments and performances in the languages, and also

with greater assiduity after he became blind; and, which he thought next to impossible to be performed without sight, that he profess

d therefore ignorant of the letters, appeared so great a miracle to the world, as not only to learn logic,

to deceive a connoisseur, who judged of them by the eye. His sense of feeling was so acute, that he could perceive the least variation in the state of the air; and, it is said, that in a garden where observations were made on the sun, he took notice of every cloud that interrupted the observation, almost as justly as those who could see it. He could tell when any thing was held near his face, or when he passed by a tree at no great distance, provided the air was calm, and there was little or no wind; this he did by the different pulse of air upon his face. He possessed a sensibili

most impracticable attainment to blind persons; and yet instances occur, which shew, t

ated genius, exhibit in poetry the most natural images and animated descriptions even of visible objects, without deservedly incurring the charge of plagiarism. We need not recur to Homer and Milton for attestations to this fact; they had probably been long acquainted with the visible world before they had lost their sight, and their descriptions might be animated with all the ra

onths old, not only made himself master of various languages, Greek, Latin, Italian, and French; but acquired t

suffered by the shock, he pursued the same plan of education in which he had been engaged; and having heard that one Nicasius de Vourde, born blind, who lived towards the end of the fifteenth century, after having distinguished himself by his studies in the university of Louvain, took his degree as D. D. in that of Cologne, h

d assiduity of his application, and by the energy of native genius, not only made incredible advances in mechanical operations, in music, and in the

tentive; so that he was capable of recognizing a person on his first speaking, though he had not been in company with him for two years. He determined with surprising exactness the stature of those with whom he conversed, by the direction of their voices; and he made tolerable conjectures concerning their dispositions, by the manner in which they conducted their conversation. His eyes, though he never recollected having seen, were not totally insensible to intense light: but the rays refracted through a prism, when sufficiently vivid, produced distinguishable effects upon them. The red produced a disagreeable sensation, which he compared to the touch of a saw. As

f blind persons may be so improved as to enable them to perceive that texture and disposition of coloured surf

In former periods we shall find illustrious examples, how amply nature has capacit

hn Hawkins says, his book is equal in value to any now extant in any language. Though he was deprived of sight in his earliest infancy, he did not content himself to delineate the various phenomena in music, but the principles from whence they result, the relations of sound, the nature of arithmetical, geometrical, and harmonical ratios, which were then esteemed essential to the theory of music, with a degree of intelligence which would have deserved admir

th upon the flute and violin so exquisitely, that he was distinguished by Augustus, elector of Saxony. But preferring his native country, Silesia, to every other, he re

ly worthy of public attention. But if vulgar prejudice is capable of blushing at its own contemptible character, or of yielding to conviction, those already quoted are mor

of those who play with her, is to name every card as it is played; and these she retains so exactly, that she frequently performs some notable strokes, such as shew a great combination and strong memory. The most wonderful circumstance is, that she should have learned to read and write; but even this is readily believed on knowing her method. In writing to her, no ink is used, but the letters are pricked down on the paper, and by the delicacy of her touch, feeling each letter, she follows them successively, and reads every word with her finger ends. She herself in writing makes use of a pencil, as she could not know when her pen was dry; her guide on the paper is a small thin ruler, and of the breadth of the writing. On finishing a letter, she wets it, so as to fix the traces of her pencil, that they are not obscured or effaced; then proceeds to fold and seal it, and write the direction; all by her own address, and without the assistance of any other person. Her writing is very straight, well cut, and the spe

remarkable, that we shall distinguish it by the separate title

could thread the smallest needle, with the greatest dexterity; and could execute every sort of needle-work. She played very well at many games at cards, which she distinguished by some little mark, known to herself by the touch, but imperceptible to the sight of any other person. She had learnt, and understood very well, music, geography, geometry, and dancing. She was, indeed, extremely clever; what made her more interesting, she was modest, mild, cheerful, and affectionate. She wrote with a pin, by pricking a sheet of paper, stretched on a frame, and read what she had written, by feeling the pin-marks on the other side

Wonderful Instances of Adroitness of

nts of persons thus maimed by nature have often been the subject of public

arms, whom he saw at Chester, in the reign of Henry II.

1581, exhibited surprising feats of activity in London; such

, born without arms or hands, who could write with his mouth; thread a needle; tie

m's reign, who could comb and shave himself, fill a glass, thread a needle,

ngland, wrote a good hand, (many specimens of which are extant,) and

r, in 1744, and several years ensuing; since which, a Miss Hawtin, from Coventry, born without arms, and

ed a few years ago in London. He was not publicly shewn, but got his bread by writi

arms,-William Kingston, of whom frequent mention has been made in the public papers. He surp

in those of his right. He then wrote three lines as well as most ordinary writers, and as swiftly. He writes all his own bills and other accounts. He then shewed me how he shaves himself with the razor in his toes; and he can comb his own hair. He can dress and undress himself, except buttoning his clothes. He feeds himself, and can bring both his meat or his broth to his mouth, by holding the fork or spoon in his toes. He cleans his own shoes, lights the fire, and does almost any domestic business as well as any other man. He can make hen-coops. He is a farmer by occupation. He can milk his cows with his toes, and cuts his own hay, binds it up in bundles, and carries it about the field for his cattle. Last winter he had ei

hese he procured a ewe. The sale of these procured a ragged colt

render the toes almost as useful as the fingers: the lips are also endued with acute feeling and great flexibility, and may become powerful assistants where the hand

hers are remarkable for defects in natural capacities. The reader will feel inte

d see the cherries at a greater distance than he could, though he could see other objects at as great a distance as they, that is, where the sight was not assisted by the colour. Large objects he could see as well as other persons; and even the smaller ones, if they were not enveloped in other things, as in the case of cherries among the leaves. I believe he could never do more than guess the name of any colour; yet he could distinguish white from black, or black from any light or bright colour. Dove or straw colour he called white, and different colours he frequently called by the same name; yet he could discern a difference between them when placed together. In general, colours of an equal degree of brightness, however they might otherwise differ, he confounded together. Yet a striped ribbon he could distinguish from a plain one; but he could not tell what the colours were with any tolerable exactness. Dark colours, in general, he often mistook for black; but never imagined white to be a dark colour, nor dark to be a white colour. He was an intelligent man, and very desirous of understanding the nature of light and colours, for which end he had attended a course of lectures in natural philosophy. He had two brothers in the same circumstances as to sight; and two others (brothers and sisters) who, as well as their parents, had nothing of this defect. One of the first mentioned brothers, who is now living, I met with at Dublin, and wished to try his capacity to distinguish the colours in a prism; but not having one by me, I asked him, whether he had ever seen a rainbow? he

t striking likenesses, being a limner by profession, and requires for this purpose only once to see the person whose portrait is intended to be drawn, scarcely desiring a single sitting, much less repeated visiting. And what is still more extraordinary, he can, from such a momentary glance, retain the idea of the features, and even the gait and manner of the person, for years

ion of a very remarkable acquire

iarity; because few, if any persons, have learned it by being taught, and we have had no rules laid down for acquiring it. It seems to have been in consequence of this notion, that the name 'Ventriloquism' has been applied to it, from a supposition that the voice proceeds from the thorax

reat and sudden variety and change of echoes would be required; and his own judicious remarks, in the same work, on the facility with which we are deceived as to the direction of sound, are adverse to his theory. From numerous attentive observations, it appears manifest that the art is not peculiar to c

of the human voice by shrillness or depth of tone, rapidity or drawling of execution, and distinctness or imperfection of articulation, which may be instantly changed by holding the mouth a little more opened or more closed than usual, altering the position of the jaw, keeping the tongue in any determinate situation, &c. And every one of the imitations of the ventriloquist will be rendered more perfect by practising t

his hand in, as if to catch it, he imitated the chatter of the supposed struggling animal, at the same time that his own efforts to secure it had a momentary impression on the spectators, which left no time to question whether there was a monkey in it or not: this impression was completed

one; and the imagination of his polite hearers was taxed to supply the calf and three butchers, besides a dog who sometimes raised his voice, and was checked for his unnecessary exertions. It appears, from traditional narrative, that the calf was heard to be dragged in, not without some efforts and conversation on the part of the butchers, and noisy resistance from the calf; that they conversed on the qualitie

iately a female voice is heard, which, from the nature of the subject, appears to be that of the Poet's laundress, who complains of her pressing wants, disappointed claims, and of broken promises no longer to be borne with patience. It is more easy to imagine than describe the mixed emotions of the audience. The scene, however, goes on by the Doctor's reply; who remonstrates, promises, and is rather angry at the time and place of this unwelcome visit. His antagonist unfortunately is n

e; gave the watchman's cry, gradually approaching, and when he seemed opposite the window, Fitz-James opened it and asked what the time was, received the answer, and during his proceeding with his cry, Fitz-James shut the window, immediately upon which the sound became weaker, and at last insensible. In the whole of his performance, it was clear that the notions of the audience were governed by the auxiliary circumstances, as to direction, &c. This mimic had, at least, six differe

tion, and lead the hearers to imagine that the voice proceeds from different situations. When distant low voices are to be imitated, the articulation may be given with sufficient distinctness, without moving the lips, or altering the count

d into the stomach, reflected in some part of the digestive canal, and gave rise to a real echo; but after having attentively observed this curious phenomenon, in Mr. Fitz-James, who represents it in its greatest perfection, I was enabled to convince myself that the name ventriloquism is by no means applicable, since t

ation of the thorax, in proportion to the quantity of air that the lungs should receive. By accelerating or retarding the exit of the air, he can imitate different voices, and induce his auditors to a belief that the interlocutors of a dialogue, which is kept up by himself alone, are placed at different distances; and this illusion is the more comple

that she practised this art before King Saul, and deceived him in the resurre

t, and which the present writer has b

an Jugglers; the following account of which,

hibiting before the English chief at Tannah, I should have doubted the evidence of my senses. I witnessed the fact more than once, and am convinced there was no deception. Finding my tale generally disbelieved in Europe, I suppressed it; but having since read a cle

teel, smooth, and a little bright. Having satisfied himself with respect to the sword, by attempting to bend it; and by striking it against a stone, I firmly grasped it by the handle, and ordered him to proceed. He first took a small phial of oil, and with one of his fingers rubbed a little of it over the surface of the instrument; then, stretching up his neck as much as possible, and bending himself a little backwards, he introduced the point of it into his mouth, and pushed it gently down his throat, until my hand, which was on the handle, came in contact with his lips. He then made a sign to me with one of

possible, in the business. He told me, on giving him a trifle, that he had been accustomed, from his early years, to introduce at first small elastic instruments down his

erformed the above exploit, with many others, almost equ

y particular point. By such attention and perseverance, what may not man effect! Any man, unless he be an absolute idiot, may by these means raise himself to excellence in some branch or other; and what is best of all, by divine assistance, and by unwearie

----Man m

ate activ

ve spring, wil

rtune's load.

er has his

der than his f

heir little Ba

d Assyrian, i

ld the wonder

use immortal

mortal must

eat; the glitte

ortals, or the

un

P.

ESPECTING MAN

ence-Sleep Walking-Sleeping Woman of Dunninald-Instances of Extraordinary Dreams-Poetica

Extraordina

ing James I. when a man was presented to him who could eat a whole sheep at one meal, asked, "What work could he do more than another man?" and being ans

les at once. He ate 500 figs to his breakfast, 100 peaches, 10

i Porco, "Swine's-mouth." His tables were covered four times a day with the most costly viands that either the air

l, ate a whole boar, 100 loaves of bread, a sheep,

men. His practice not being sufficient to supply him with better meat, he fed generally on offals, ox livers, hear

have exceeded those of Nicholas Wood, of Harrison, in Kent, related in Fuller

ls as would have sufficed thirty men. At Lord Wotton's mansion-house, in Kent, he devoured, at one dinner, 84 rabbits, which, at the rate of half a rabbit a man, would have se

ing vice. Be sober; be te

sts with tem

irtue! peace i

o

ission, now introduce some Extr

ears, but was occasionally lifted out of bed. She seldom spoke a word, and took so little food, that it seemed scarcely sufficient to support a sucking infant. Even this small quantity was taken by compulsion; and at last, about Whitsunday, 1763, she totally refused every kind of food or drink. Her jaws now became so fast locked, that it was with the greatest difficulty her father was able to open her teeth a little, in order to admit a small quantity of gruel or whey; but of this so much generally run out at the corners of her mouth, that they could not be sensible any had been swallowed. About this time they got some water from a noted medical spring in Brae-Mar, some of which they attempted to make her swallow, but without effect. They continued their trials, however, for three mornings; rubbing her throat with the water which ran out at the corners of her mouth. On the third morning, during the operation, she cried out, "Give me more water;" and swallowed with ease all that remained in the bottle. She spoke no more intelligibly for a year, though she continued to mutter some words, for 14 days, which her parents only understood. She continued to reject all kinds of food and drink till July, 1765. At this time her sister thought, by some signs she made, that she wanted her jaws opened; and this being done, not without violence, she called intelligibl

very quiet; but when awake, kept a constant whimpering like a new-born weakly infant. She never could remain a moment on her back, but always fell to one side or another; and her chin was drawn close to her breast, nor could it by any force be moved backwa

n sucked out of the palm of her hand a little water, whey, or milk; and this only once or twice a day, and even that by compulsion. She never attempted to speak; her jaws were fast locked, and her eyes shut. On opening her eyelids, the balls were found to be turned up under the edge of the os frontis; her countenance was ghastly, her complexion pale, and her whole person emaciated. She seemed sensible and tractable, except in taking food. This she did with the utmost reluctance, and even cried be

eb Elliot, a visionary enthusiast, who meant to have fasted 40 days, and actuall

autious not to transgress the bounds of temperance. Occasional abstinence is useful

d from the persecutions into the deserts of Arabia and Egypt, lived, healthful and cheerful, on a very little food. Cassian assures us, that the common rate for 24 hours was 12 ounces of bread, and mere water; with this, St. Anthony lived 105 years; James the hermit, 104; Arsenius, tutor of the Emperor Arcadius, 123; S. Epiphanius, 115; Simeon, the Stylite, 112; and Romauld, 130. Indeed, we can match these instances of

et and regimen. Among the brute creation, we see extraordinary instances of long abstinence. The serpent kind, in particular, bear abstinence to a wonderful degree. Rattlesnakes are reported to have subsisted many months without any food, yet still retained their vigour and fierceness. Dr. Shaw speaks of a couple of cerastes, (a

to lose about one ounce.-Indeed, we have instances of men passing several months as strictly abstinent as other creatures. In particular, the records of the Tower mention a Scotchman imprisoned for felony, and strictly watched in that fortress for six weeks; in all which time he took not the least sustenance; for which he had his pardon. Numberless instances of extraordinary abstinence, particularly from morbid causes, are to be found in the different periodical Memoirs, Transactions, Ephemerides, &c. It is to be added, that, in most instances of extraordinary human abstinence related by naturalists, there were said to have been apparent marks of a texture of blood and humour, much like that of the animals above mentioned; though it is not an improbable op

the reader a few rem

e one has been published from a report made to the Physical Society of Lausanne, by a comm

ny of those that are actually presented to his senses, except in so far as they are connected with the dreams which engross him at the time. If, during this state, the imagination has no determined purpose, he receives the impression of objects as if he were awake; only, however, when the imagination is excited to bend its attention towards them. The perceptions obtained in this stat

s Account of the Sleeping Wom

mmunicated to the Royal Societ

r left hand, and by plucking at the coverlet of the bed and pointing to her mouth, a wish for food being understood, it was given her. This she took; but still remained in her lethargic state till Tuesday the 8th of August, being six weeks from the time she was seized with the lethargy, without appearing to be awake, except on the afternoon of Friday the 30th of June.

the surgeons who attended; to whose attestations are added those of Mr. Arkley, the proprietor of Du

some Instances of

persons; such as, that dreaming of eggs prognosticates anger; of the washing of linens, forebodes flitting; of green fields, sickness; of hanging, honour; of death, marriage; of fish, children; and of raw flesh, death, &c. &c. can only be exceeded by the folly of those who put faith in such fooleries. But i

man, was sure she was to be his wife, and did not give up his pursuit till he made her his own. The melancholy part of his dream was soon fulfilled. He lived only 15 months with her; a short, but happy period. His widow, during his life, dreamed with equal exactness of her second husband, whom she did not see till three years afterwards, when the sight of him, at church, in Montrose, disturbed her devotion so much, upon recollecting her dream, that she hardly knew a word the minister said afterwards. Within less than two months, they were introduced to each other; and within four, were married

and attempted to rob him. Whereupon the boy thought he ran to his assistance, and, when he came within a gun-shot of the place, called out some people, who were just going to bed, who put the robbers to flight. He immediately awoke in a fright, and, without waiting to consider whether it was a vision or a reality, ran as fast as he could to the place he had dreamed of, and had no sooner reached it, than he saw his father in the very spot and situation he had seen in his dream, defending himself with his stick against the assassins. He therefore immediately realized his own part of the visionary scene, by roaring out, Murder! which soon brought out the people, who running up to Mr. Aikenhead's assistance, found him victor over one of the villains, whom he had previously knocked down with a stone, after they had pulled h

und their opinions upon the unerring rule of right and truth, which assures us that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without the permission of our heavenly Father, (and who know, that in the sight of Him, with whom there is no respect of persons or dignities, the life of the greatest monarch on earth, and that of the lowest of his subjects, are of equal value,) will laugh at such silly objections, when opposed to well-atteste

is curious,-Poetical, Gramma

ted address to his soul, which is so happily

k of heav'

uit this m

oping, ling'

n, the bli

Nature, ceas

languish

whisper;

pirit, c

is absorbs

enses, shut

pirits, dra

soul, can th

ecedes; it

ns on my e

nds sera

our wings! I

here is th

where is

g a passage from his Pharsalia, in which he has described the wound o

le poem he relates a dream, in which he appeared to be placed next to a beggar, when, having addressed him in th

equal; now t

ill, as thou

ath-bed, that sonnet which is well known,

perishing in a storm at sea, composed f

omb is high-bor

sbands, and ye

ook her. Being next intended for the Spanish Infant, i

ce (says his biographer) that expressed the most fervent d

ook his farewell of all human vanities by a moral ode, entitled, "A ballad

[4]) still hovers round my steps to the very verge of the grave." A collection of son

ve any other viaticum than a poem of Ronsard. When he ascended the scaffold, he took the hymns of this poet, and for his consolation read that on death

the brave soldier said that, "he was sorry he had not limbs sufficient to be nailed to all the gates of the cities

acy against the duke,) from the confessions which the rack might extort from him. Having attempted every exertion for the liberty of his country, he considered it no crime th

is nostris ex

avenger, fr

represent the swans of Cayster singing at their death; and have b

plexion: they may perhaps excite a smile. We h

inuti? of letters. He was more solicitous of his words than his thoughts. It is said, that when he was dying, he

his confessor represented to him the felicities of a future state in low expressions, the dying critic in

h with the utmost composure. He kept feeling his pulse to the last moment, and when he found that life was almost gone,

lf to mathematics. In his last moments, when he retained no further recollection of the friends who surrounded his bed, one of them, perhaps to make a philosop

n an address to the Deity, express the desires and ho

t, the closing

edes before m

on the doubtf

retch my view t

quit this tr

triumph and

ix my ardent

v'd to thee, i

n, but nevertheless proper to be inserted in "The Boo

, Circe and the Syrens, first bewitched with a show of pleasure, and then destroyed. This, like the other parts of Homer's poe

r'd each other

on human

lations. And also out of revenge and hatred, where soldiers, in the heat of battle, have be

etimes produced the same eff

neighbours brought him several beasts, which they killed, mi

killed him, and ate his flesh; but if the party died

ed the eating more human flesh, tha

ims to their deities; and it was an established c

Mr. Petit has a learned dissertation on the nature and manners of the Anthropophagi. Among other things, he disputes whether or no the Anthropophagi act contra

s were those made to prevent men from eating

sent Anthropophagi as u

dog with dog's flesh, he found a repugnance in nature to such food; the former lo

ted from revenge: as death must lose much of its horror among those who are accustomed to eat the de

ter with An Account of a Wi

atest amusement was to see the sheep running, and to scatter them; and he testified his pleasure at this sight by loud fits of laughter, but never attempted to hurt them. When the shepherds (as was frequently the case) let loose their dogs at him, he fled with the swiftness of an arrow, and never allowed the dogs to come too near him. One morning he came to the cottage of some work

AP

ESPECTING MAN

aordinary Instances of Honour-Surprising Effects of Anger-Remarkable E

nstances o

found such a quantity of money, that he thought himself obliged to acquaint his general with it, imagining that so great a booty belonged to him. But he was agreeably surprised, when the Earl wished him joy of his good fortune, and said he did not make the keeping of his word depend on the great or little value of what he had promised.-In the siege of Falisci, by Camillus, General of the Romans, the schoolmaster of the town, who had the children of the senators under his care, led them abroad, under the pretext of recreation, and carried them to the Roman camp; saying to Camillus, that, by this arti

a good distance, to the imminent danger of his life; which a gentleman of his retinue perceiving, drew his sword, and cut the emperor's girdle asunder, which disengaged him from the beast, with little or no hurt to his person. But, observe his reward! "He was sentenced to lose his head for putting the sword so near the body of the emperor; and suffered death accordingly." (Zonor. Annal. tom. 3. p. 155.)-In a little work entitled Friendly Cautions to Officers, the following atrocious instance is related. An opulent city, in the west of England, had a regiment sent to be quartered there: the principal inhabitants, glad to shew their hospitality and attachment to their sovereign, got acquainted with the officers, invited them to their houses, and shewed them every civility in their power. A merchant, extremely easy in his circumstances, took so prodigious a liking to one officer in particular, that he gave him an apartment in his own house, and made him in a manner master of it, the officer's friends being always welcome to his table. The merchant was a widower, and had two favourite daughters: the officer cast his wanton eyes upon them, and too fatally ruined them both. Dreadful return to the merchant's misplaced friendship! The consequence of this ungenerous action was, that all officers ever after were shunned as pests to society; nor have the inhabitants yet conquered their aversion to a red coat.-We read in Rapin's History, that during Monmouth's rebellion, in the reign of James II. a certain person, knowing the humane disposition of one Mrs. Gaunt, whose life was one continued exercise of beneficence, fled to her house, where he was concealed and maintained for some time. Hearing, however, of

nsists of some Extraordi

adopted by the Moors of Africa, and by them was brought into Spain.-The following instance of Spanish honour may still be in the memory of many living, and deserves to be handed down to the latest posterity. In 1746, when Britain was at war with Spain, the Elizabeth of London, captain William Edwards, coming through the gulf from Jamaica, richly laden, met with a most violent storm, in which the ship sprung a leak, that obliged them to run into the Havannah, a Spanish port, to save their lives. The captain went on shore, and directly waited on the governor, told the occasion of his putting in, and that he surrendered the ship as a prize, and himself and his men as prisoners of war, only requesting good quarter. "No, Sir," replied the Spanish governor, "if we had taken you in fair war at sea, or approaching our coast with hostile intentions, your ship would then have been a prize, and your people prisoners; but when, distressed by a tempest, you come into our ports for the safety of your lives, we, though enemies, being men, are bound, as such, by the laws of humanity, to afford relief to distressed men who ask it of us. We cannot, even against our enemies, take advantage of an act of God. You have leave therefore to unload your ship, if that be necessary, and to stop the leak; you may refit her here, and traffic so far as shall be necessary to pay the charges; you may then depart, and I will give you a pass to be in force till you are beyond Bermuda: if after that you are taken, you will then be a lawful prize; but now you are only a stranger, and have a stranger's right to safety and protection." The ship accordingly departed, and arrived safe in London.-A remarkable instance of honour is also recorded of an African negro, in captain Snelgrave's account of his voyage to Guinea. A New-England slo

th, that is curious or wonderful, we hesitate not in

There are also instances wherein it has produced the epilepsy, jaundice, cholera morbus, diarrh?a, &c. In fact, this passion is of such a nature, that it quickly throws the whole nervous system into preternatural commotions, by a violent stricture of the nervous and muscular parts; and surprisingly augments, not only the systole of the heart, and its contiguous vessels, but also the tone of the fibrous parts in the whole body. It is also certain, that this passion, by the spasmodic stricture it produces in the parts, exerts its power principally on the stomach and intestines, which are highly nervous and membraneous parts; whence the symptoms are more dangerous, in proportion to the greater consent of the stomach and intestines with the other nervous parts, and almost with the whole body. The unhappy influence of anger likewise on the biliary and hepatic ducts, is very surprising; since, by an intense constriction of

passion, whose

virtue planted

o ruin proud

trembling a

peech, and eyes

tiger, madder

m'd with more tha

ger stings, dr

rushes apop

ever hurries

of some Remarkable Effe

nsibility. Promises, entreaties, and threatenings, were equally ineffectual. It was at first suspected that these appearances were feigned; but such suspicions gave way, when it was known that he took no sustenance, and that the involuntary functions of nature were in a great measure suspended. The physicians concluded that he was in a state of hopeless idiocy; and after some time they knocked off his fetters, and left him at liberty to go where he would. He received his liberty with the same insensibility that he had shewn on other occasions; he remained fixed and immoveable, his eyes turned wildly here and there, without taking cognizance of any object, and the muscles of his face were fallen and fixed, like those of a dead body. He passed twenty days in this condition, without eating, drinking, or any evacuation, and died on the 20th day. He had been sometimes heard to fetch deep sighs; and once he rushed with great violence on a soldier who had a mug of liquor in his hand, forced the mug from him, and having drank the liquor with great eagerness, let the mug drop to the ground.-Among the ludicrous effects of fear, the following instance, quoted from a French author, by Mr. Andrews, in his volume of Anecdotes, shews upon what slight occasions this passion may be sometimes excited in a very high degree,

table instance of The

his master were known. There he began to trade in a very low way at first, that his obscurity might screen him from observation, and in the course of a good many years seemed to rise, by the natural progress of business, into wealth and consideration; so that his good fortune appeared at once the effect and reward of industry and virtue. Of these he counterfeited the appearance so well, that he grew into great credit, married into a good family, and by laying out his sudden stores discreetly, as he saw occasion, and joining to all an universal affability, he was admitted to a share of the government of the town, and rose from one post to another, till at length he was chosen chief magistrate. In this office he maintained a fair character, and continued to fill it with no small applause, both as a governor and a judge; till one day, as he sat on the bench, with some of his brethren, a criminal was brought before him, who was accused of murdering his master. The evidence came out full, the jury brought in their verdict that the prisoner was guilty, and the whole assembly waited the sentence of the president of the c

ing hour whole

arers, and o

o

P.

ESPECTING MAN

ers-Extraordinary Arithmetical Powers of a Child-Curious Instance

Instance

e active and s

s, and with f

nding, will

distinguish t

, but throug

, supremely

wl

r in which he had composed it. His powers of mind in this respect were really astonishing; and we are told, that in consequence of a wager with one Sienna, he spent a whole day at an auction, and, when it was ended,

ry Surprising Instanc

res, roods, and perches, but even in square inches. After this, for his own amusement, he reduced them into square hair-breadths, computing 48 to each side of the inch. His memory was so great, that while resolving a question, he could leave off, and resume the operation again, where he left off, the next morning, or at a week, a month, or several months, and proceed regularly till it was completed. His memory would doubtless have been equally retentive with respect to other objects, if he had attended to them with equal diligence; but his perpetual application to figures prevented the smallest acquisition of any other knowledge. He was sometimes asked, on his return from church, whether he remembered the text, or any part of the sermon: but it never appeared that he brought away one sentence; his mind, upon a closer examination, being found to have been busied, even during divine service, in his favourite operation, either dividing some time, or some space, into the smallest known parts, or resolving some question that had been given him as a test of his abilities. As this extraordinary person lived in laborious poverty, his life was uniform and obscure. Time, with respect to him, changed nothing but his age; nor did the seasons vary his employment, except that in winter he used a flail, and in summer a ling-hook. In 1754, he came to London, where he was introduced to the Royal Society, who, in order to prove his abilit

tracted from the Annual Register of 1812. It is entitled, Some Particulars respe

er eight years of age, who, without any previous knowledge of the common rides of arithmetic, or even of the use and power of the Arabic numerals, and without having given any particular attention to the subject

ther, encouraged by the unanimous opinion of all who came to see him, was induced to undertake, with this child, the tour of the United States. They were every where received with the most flattering expressions; and in the several towns which they visited, various plans were suggested, to educate and bring up the child, free from all expense to his family. Yielding, however, to the pressing solicitations of his friends, and urged by the most respectable, and powerful recommendations, as well as by a view to his son's more complete education, the father has brought the child to this country, where they arrived on the 12th of May last: and the inhabitants of this metropolis have for these last three months had an opportunity of seeing and examining this wonderful phenomenon, and verifying the reports that have been circulated respecting him. Many persons of the first eminence for their knowledge in mathematics, and well known for their philosophical inquiries, have made a point of seeing and conversing with him; and they have all been struck with astonishment at his extraordinary powers. It is correctly true, as stated of him, th

e, the more difficult he found it to proceed. He was asked the square root of 106929; and before the number could be written down, he immediately answered 327. He was then required to name the cube root of 268,336,125; and with equal facility and promptness he replied, 645. Various other questions of a similar nature, respecting the roots and powers of very high numbers, were proposed by several of the gentlemen present; to all of which he answered in a similar manner. One of the party requested him to name the factors which produced the number 247,483: this he immediately did, by mentioning the two numbers 941 and 263; which indeed are the only two numbers that will produce it, viz. 5 × 34279, 7 × 24485, 59 × 2905, 83 × 2065, 35 × 4897, 295 × 581, and 413 × 415. He was then asked to give the factors of 36

the act of multiplying two numbers together, and in the raising of powers, it was evident (not only from the motion of his lips, but also from some singular facts which will be hereafter-mentioned) that some operation was going forward in his mind; yet that operation could not, from the readiness with which the answers were furnished, be at all allied to the usual mode of proceeding with such subjects: and, moreover, he is entirely ignorant of the common rules of arithmeti

ed, that he did not like to multiply four figures by four figures: but, said he, 'I found out another way; I multiplied 293 by 293, and then multiplied this product twice by the number 15, which produced the same result.' On another occasion, his highness the duke of Gloucester asked him the product of 21,734, multiplied by 543: he immediately replied, 11,801,562; but, upon some remark being made on the subject, the child said that he had, in his own mind, multiplied 65202 by 181. Now, although, i

this respect he might be considered as bearing some resemblance (if the difference of age did not prevent the justness of the comparison) to the celebrated Jedidiah Buxton, and other persons of similar note. But, in the extraction of the roots of numbers, and in determining their factors, (if any,)

ed, by the biographer of that eminent mathematician, that 'he perceived, almost at a single glance, the factors of which his formul? were composed; the particular system of factors belonging to the question under consideration; the various artifices by which that system may be simplified and reduced; and the relation of the several factors to the conditions of the hypothesis. His expertness in this particular probably resulted, in a great measure, from the ease with which he performed mathematical investigations by head. He had always accustomed h

ies which are not even attainable by the most eminent, at a more advanced period of life. Every mathematician must be aware of the important advantages which have sometimes been derived from the most simple and trifling circumstance; the full effect of which has not always been evident at first sight. To mention one singular instance of this kind:-The very simple improvement of expressing the powers and roots of quantities by means of indices, introduced a new and general arithmetic of exponents: and this algorithm of powers led the way to the invention of logarithms, by means of which all arithme

and have formed themselves into a committee for the purpose of superintending his education. Application has been made to a gentleman of science, well known for his mathematical abilities, who has consented to take the child under his immediate tuition: the committee, therefore, propose to withdraw him for the present from public exhibition, in orde

rious Instance of

me well acquainted with the leading propositions of Euclid, reads and works algebra with facility, understands and uses logarithms, and has entered on the study of fluxions. On being examined, he demonstrated propositions from the first books of Euclid; discovered the unknown side of a triangle, from the two sides and the angle given; and solved cases in spher

of a Stone Eater, is given as a f

strong, his saliva very corrosive, and his stomach lower than ordinary, which I imputed to the vast number of flints he had swallowed, being about five-and-twenty, one day with another. Upon interrogating his keeper, he told me the following particulars: "This stone-eater," says he, "was found three years ago, in a northern uninhabited island, by some of the crew of a Dutch ship. Since I have had him, I make him eat raw flesh with the stones; I c

a Poison Eater is said

ccustomed himself, like other Turks, to the use of opium; but not feeling the desired effect, he augmented his dose to a great quantity, without feeling any inconvenience, and at length to

he saw the same man return the next day for a dose of the same quantity. It is said that Lord Elgin, Mr. Smith, and other Englishmen, knew this

count of a very extraordinar

in the lands of the Abbey de Verveins had been entirely lost. It appeared, nevertheless, by ancient deeds and titles, that these springs and reservoirs had existed. A neighbouring abbey was supposed to have turned their waters for its benefit into other channels, and a lawsuit was commenced upon this supposition. M. Bleton was applied to: he discovered at once the new course of the waters in question; his discovery was ascertained; and the lawsuit terminated." M. Thouvenel assigns principles upon which the impressions made by subterraneous waters and mines may be accounted for. Having ascertained a general law, by which subterraneous electricity exerts an influence on the bodies of certain individuals, eminently susceptible of that influence, and shewn that this law is the same whether the electrical action arise from currents of warm or cold water, from currents of humid air, from coal or metallic mines, from sulphur, and so on, he observes, that there is a diversity in the physical and organical impressions which are produced by this electrical action, according as it proceeds from different fossile bodies, which are more or less conductors of ele

pter with some Extraordina

t he had had four wives; with the first of whom he lived fifty years, the second only twenty months, and the third twenty-eight years and two months, and that to the fourth he had been married two years; that he had had children by the three former, and could boast a posterity which consisted of one hundred and nineteen persons, and extended to the seventh generation." He further stated, "that his family had been as remarkable for longevity as himself; that his mother lived until 1691; and that his father, in consequence of having been wounded, died at the age of one hundred and twenty-three, that his uncle and g

P.

ESPECTING MAN

derate Use of Spirituous Liquors. From the Journal de P

duce this effect? One might be induced to give less faith to these instances of combustion, as they seem to be rare. I confess, that at first they appeared to me worthy of very little credit; but they are presented to the public as true, by men whose veracity seems unquestionable. Bianchini, Mossei, Rolli, Le Cat, Vicq. d'Azyr, and several men distinguished by their learning, have given certain testimony of the facts. Besides, is it more surprising to exper

s that she would take no other nourishment, having sat down one evening on a straw chair to sleep, was consumed in the night-time, so that next mo

d been consumed; three fingers were found in the state of a coal; the rest of the body was reduced to ashes, and contained no oil; the tallow of two candles was melted on a table, but the wicks still remained, and the feet of the candlesticks were covered with a certain moisture. The bed was not damaged; the bed-clothes and coverlid were raised up and thrown on one side, as is the case when a person gets up. The furniture and tapestry were covered with a moist kind of soot, of the colour of ashes, which had penetrated the drawers and dirtied the linen. This soot having been conveyed to a neighbouring kitchen, adhered to the walls and the utensils. A piece of bread in the cupboard was covered wit

, the distance from it about three feet. On Saturday morning, the 1st of March, she fell on the floor; and her extreme weakness having prevented her from getting up, she remained in that state till some one entered and put her to bed. The following night she wished to be left alone: a woman quitted her at half past eleven, and, according to custom, shut the door and locked it. She had put on the fire two large pieces of coal, and placed a light in a candlestick, on a chair, at the head of the bed. At half after five in the morning, a smoke was seen issuing through the window; and the door being speedily broken open, some flames which were in the room were soon extinguished. Between the bed and the chimney were found the remains of the unfortunate Cl

dulged to excess in spirituous liquors, and got drunk every day before she went to bed, was found entirely burnt, and reduced to ashes. Some of the osseous parts only were left, but t

, entitled, Le Nouveau Phosphore Enflamme.-A woman at Paris, who had been accustomed, for three years, to drink spirit of wine to such

Her daughter, who slept with her, did not perceive she was absent till next morning when she awoke, soon after which she put on her clothes, and, going down into the kitchen, found her mother stretched out on the right side, with her head near the grate, the body extended on the hearth, with the legs on the floor, which was of deal, having the appearance of a log of wood, consumed by a fire without apparent flames. On beholding this spectacle, the girl ran in great haste, and poured over her mother's body some water, contained in two large vessels, in order to extinguish the fire; while the fetid odour and smoke which exhaled from the body, almost suffocated some of the neighbours who had has

nder the body had been consumed, but a kneading-trough and a powdering-tub, which were near the body, sustained no injury. M. Criteen, a surgeon, examined the remains of the body with every judicial formality. Jean Millet, the husband, being interrogated by the judges who instituted the inquiry into the affair, declared, that about eight in the evening on the 19th February, he had retired to rest with his wife, who not being able to sleep, had gone into the kitchen, where he thought she was warming herself; that, having fallen asleep, he was awakened about two o'clock with a disagreeable odour, and that, having run to the kitchen, he found the remains of his wife in the state described in the report of the physicians and surgeons. The

On her return, seeing her mistress on fire, she immediately gave an alarm; and some people having come to her assistance, one of them endeavoured to extinguish the flames with his hand, but they adhered to it as if it had been dipped in brandy or oil on fire. Water was brought, and thrown on the lady in abundance, yet the fire appeared more violent, and was not extinguished until the whole flesh had been consumed. Her skeleton, exceedingly black, remained entire in the chair, which was only a little

, who was commissioned to make a report respecting her body, found only a mass of ashes, and a few bones, calcined in such a manner, that on the least pressure they were reduced to dust. The bones of the cranium, one hand, and a foot, had in part escaped the action of the fire. Near these remains stood a table untouched, and under the table a small wooden stove, the grating of which, having been long burnt, afforded an aperture, through which, it

nothing but a mass of ashes. Even the most solid bones had lost their form and consistence; none of them could be distinguished except the coronal, the two parietal bones, the two lumbar vertebr?, a portion of the tibia, and a part of the omoplate; and even these were so calcined, that they became dust by the least pressure. The right foot was found entire, and scorched at its upper junction, the left was more burnt. The day was cold, but there was nothing in the grate, except two or three bits about an inch diameter, burnt in the middle. None of the furni

Bouffet, author of an Essay on Intermittent Fevers, that a woman of the lower class, who lived at Place Villars, and who was known to be much addi

from the body, could not be extinguished by water: but I think it needless to relate this, and the particulars of another event which took place in the same to

t of Descartes, we ought to reject the universal doubt of the Pyrrhonists. The multiplicity and uniformity even of these facts, which occurred in different places, and

) The combustion has usually destroyed the person by reducing the body to a mass of pulverulent fatty matter, resembling ashes. (2) There were no signs of combustion in surrounding bodies, by which it could be occasioned, as these were little, if at all, injured; though, (3) The combustion did not seem to be so perfectly spontaneous, but that some slight cause, such as the fire of a pipe, or a taper, or a candle, seems to

bject. The principal fact is, that charcoal and oil, or fat, are known in some instances to take fire spontaneously, an

P.

ESPECTING MAN

Queen Caroline-Edward Wortley Montague-Blaise Pascal-Old Parr-George Psalmanazar-John Case-J

raph

s cattle, which were coming to market from his seat in Essex, and there would he stand disputing with a cattle-butcher for a shilling. If the cattle did not arrive, he would walk on to meet them; and more than once he has gone the whole way to his farm without stopping, which was seventeen miles from London. He would walk in the rain in London, sooner than pay a shilling for a

ling with mankind arose from the sale of his hay; and he was seldom seen, except when he was out gathering logs of wood from the common, or old iron, or sheep's dung under the hedges. He was frequently robbed; to prevent which, he fastened his door up, and got into his house through the upper window, to ascend which he made use of a ladder, which he drew up after him. His sister, w

ied for some time in one of the inns of court, and in the course of his travels had spent several years abroad. On his return, this very accomplished gentleman settled on his paternal estat

ution of retiring entirely from the world, in which he persisted to the end of his life. He took a very fair house in the lower end of Grub-street, near Cripplegate, London, and contracting a numerous retinue into a small family, having the house prepared for his purpose, he selected three chambers for himself; the one for his diet, the other for his lodging, the other for his study. As they were one within another,-while his diet was set on the table by an old maid, he retired into his lodging room; and when his bed was making, into his study; still doing so till all wa

d eat, he cut out of the middle of the loaf, but the crust he never tasted; his constant drink was four-shilling beer, and no other, for he never tasted wine or strong drink. Now and then, when his stomach served, he would eat some kind of sackers, and he sometimes drank red cow's milk, which was fetched hot

were brawn, beef, capon, goose, &c. till he had left the whole table empty; when, giving thanks again, he laid by his linen, and caused the dishes to be taken away: and this he would do, at dinner and supper, upon these days, without tasting of any thing whatsoever. When any clamoured impudently at his gate, they were not, therefore, immediately relieved; but when, from his private chamber, he espied any sick, weak, or lame, he would presently s

ober 29, 1636, aged 84. At his death, his hair and beard was so overgrown, that he appeared rat

hen Bishop of Lincoln; and having taken his degree of M. A. was admitted to priest's orders by Dr. Gibson. After preaching many occasional sermons, he went to London, recommended by above thirty letters from the most considerable men in the country, both of the clergy and laity. He there published Translations of Pliny's Epistles, of several works of Abbé Vertot, of Montfaucon's Italian Travels, in folio, and many original lucubrations. His most generous patron was the Earl of Macclesfield, who gave him a benefice in the country, the value of which, to a resident, would have been above ￡80 a year; he had likewise a lecture in the city; sermons about town; was

native bronze, l

ce, and balanc

ense trickles f

eriods, neither

benches, Henley,

are, and Gibson

orer of the

nce, and zany

or of a weekly paper, called "The Hyp Doctor," for which he had ￡100 a year. In his advertisements and lectures, he often introduced satirical and humorous remarks on the public transactions of the times. He once collected an audience of

is Simon Browne, with his Curi

der the displeasure of God, who had caused his rational soul to perish, and left him only an animal life, common with brutes; that though he might appear rational to others, he knew no more what he said than a parrot; that it was in vain for him to pray;" and as such, he no longer accounted himself a moral agent. Yet he f

t now bespeaks your majesty's acceptance is the chief. Not in itself indeed; it is a trifle unworthy your exalted rank, and what will hardly prove an entertaining amuse

e has for more than seven years been continually wasting away, till it is wholly perished out of him, if it be not utterly come to nothing. None, no, not the least remembrance of its very ruin

hey are sincere, and the main intention corresponds with the appearance; and your majesty cannot take it amiss, if such an author hints, that his secret approbation is of infinitely greater value than the commendation of men, who may be easily mistaken, and are too apt to flatter their superiors. But, if he has been told the truth, such a case as his will certainly strike your majesty with astonishment; and may raise that commiseration in your royal breast, which he has in vain endeavoured to excite in those of his friends; who, by the most unreasonable and ill-founded conceit in the world, have imagined that a thinking being could not, for seven years together, live a stranger to its own powers, exercises, operations, and state; and to what the great God has been doing in it, and to it.

your majesty, with what transport of gratitude would the recovered being throw himse

m,

n Br

ter we shall exhibit is

and a private tutor was employed to recover those rudiments of learning which a life of dissipation, blackguardism, and vulgarity, might have obliterated. Wortley was sent to the West Indies, where he remained some time; then returned to England, acted according to the dignity of his birth, was chosen a member, and served in two successive parliaments. His expenses exceeding his income, he became involved in debt, quitted his native country, and commenced that wandering traveller he continued to the time of his death. Having visited most of the eastern countries, he contracted a partiality for their manners. He drank little wine, but a great deal of coffee; wore a long beard; smoked much; and

rs old; for his father was unwilling to initiate him in that science early, for fear of its diverting him from the study of the languages. At sixteen, he composed a curious mathematical piece. About nineteen, he invented his machine of arithmetic, which has been much admired by the learned. He afterwards employed hi

n his body as they use to be on those who die by suffocation. His heart was great, thick, fibrous, and fat; the blood in the heart, blackish and diluted; the cartilages of the sternum not more bony than in others, but flexile and soft. His viscera were sound and strong, especially the stomach; and he used to eat often, by night and day, though contented with old cheese, milk, coarse bread, small beer, and whey; and, which is more remarkable, he ate at midnight a little before he died. His kidneys were covered with fat, and pretty sound; only on the interior surface were found some aqueous or serous abscesses, whereof one was near the bigness of a hen's egg, with a yellowish water in it, having made a roundish cavity, impressed on that kidney; whence some thought it came, that, a little before his death, a suppression of urine had befallen him; though others were of opinion, that his urine was suppressed upon the regurgitation of all the serosity into his lungs. There was not the least appearance of any stony matter, either in the kidneys or bladder. His bowels were also sound, a little whitish

both died very young. 1564, aged 81, ended the second lease which he renewed of Mr. John Porter. 1585, aged 102, ended the third lease he had renewed of Mr. Hugh Porter. 1588, aged 105, did penance in Alderbury church, for having a criminal connection with Katherine Milton, by which she proved with child. 1595, aged 112, he buried his wife Jane, after they had lived 32 years t

which he spent as freely. In Germany, he passed for a native of Formosa, a convert to Christianity, and a sufferer for it. At Rotterdam he lived upon raw flesh, roots, and vegetables. At Sluys he fell in with Brigadier Lauder, a Scots colonel, who introduced him to the chaplain; who, to recommend himself to the bishop of London, took him over to that city. The bishop patronised him with credulous humanity, and a large circle of his great friends considered him as a prodigy. He published a History of For

, was a noted empyric and astrologer, and looked upon as the successor of the famous Lilly, whose magical ute

n this

Doctor

aid for composing that which

en pills for t

y man's own

all the fools your patients."-"Thank ye," quoth Case; "let me have all the fools, and you are welcome to the rest." He wro

irteen months he knew them perfectly; at three years of age he read Latin, either printed or in manuscript; at four, he translated from that tongue; at six, he read Greek and Hebrew, was master of the prin

hildren, but the tools which men employ: and he appeared to have greater entertainment in seeing the men in the neighbourhood work, and in asking them questions, than in any thing else. One day he was seen (to the distress of his friends) on the top of his father's barn, fixing up something like a windmill: anot

ot the most shocking, situations in which mankind consort. The following anecdote will give a sufficient view of Morland's character, upon which it would give us pain to dwell at greater length. "He was found (says his biographer) at one time in a lodging in Somer's-Town, in the following extraordinary circumstances: his infant child, that had been dead nearly three weeks, lay in its coffin in one corner of the room; an ass and f

like a meteor, and soon vanished away. We shall intr

proofs from the Bible; ecclesiastical history; the institutes; 200 hymns, with their tunes; 80 psalms; entire chapters of the Old and New Testaments; 1500 verses and sentences from ancient Latin classics; almost the whole Orbis Pictus of Comenius, whence he had derived all his knowledge of the Latin language; arithmetic; the history of the European empires and kingdoms; could point out, in the maps, whatever place he was asked for, or passed by in his journeys; and recited all the ancient and modern historical anecdotes relating to it. His stupendous memory caught and retained every word he was told: his ever active imagination used, whatever he saw or heard, instantly to apply some example or sentence from the Bible, geography, profane or ecclesiastical history, the

description, being famous for strengt

firelock, &c. He also could roll up a pewter dish of seven pounds, as a man rolls up a sheet of paper; squeeze a pewter quart together at arms' length; and lift two hundred weight with his little finger, over his head. At Derby, he broke a rope fastened to the floor, that would sustain twenty hundred weight; and lifted an oak table, six fee

er with a celebrated Painter

naturally, that the birds flew down to peck them: Parrhasius, on the other hand, painted a curtain so very artfully, that Zeuxis, mistaking it for a real one, that hid his rival's work, ordered the curtain to be drawn aside, to shew what Parrhasius had done; but having found his mistake, he ingenuously confessed himself vanquished, since he had only imposed upon birds, while Parrhasius had deceived even a master of the art. Another time he painted a boy loaded with grapes; when the birds also flew to this picture,-at which he was vexed, and confessed that his work was not sufficiently finished, since, had he painted the boy as perfectly as the grapes, the birds would have been afraid of him. Archelaus, king of Macedon, made use of Zeuxis's p

P.

ESPECTING MAN

-Anna Maria Schurman-Samuel Bisset, the noted An

raph

natural element. He was frequently known to spend five days in the midst of the waves, without any other provisions than the fish which he caught there, and ate raw. He often swam over from Sicily to Calabria, a tempestuous and dangerous passage, carrying letters from the king. He was frequently known to swim among the gulfs of the Lipari islands, no way apprehensive of danger. Some mariners out at sea, one day observed something at some distance from them, which they regarded as a sea-monster; but, upon its approach, it was known

heard of the bottom of the gulf of Charybdis. He now, therefore, conceived that it would be a proper opportunity to have more certain information. Accordingly, he commanded our poor diver to examine the bottom of this dreadful whirlpool; and as an incitement to his obedience, he ordered a golden cup to be flung into it. Nicholas was not insensible of the danger to which he was exposed: dangers best known only to himself; and therefore he presumed to remonstrate; but the hopes of the reward, the desire of pleasing the king, and the pleasure of shewing his skill, at last prevailed. He instantly jumped into the gulf, and was as instantly swallowed up in its bosom. He continued for three-quarters of an hour

hich required great strength to resist. 2. The abruptness of the rocks, that on every side threatened destruction. 3. The force of the whirlpool dashing against those rocks. And, 4. The number and magnitude of the polypous fish, some of which appeared as large as a man; and which, every where

esirous of having the most exact information possible of all things to be found in the gulf, repeated his solicitations; and, to give them still greater weight, produced a la

astical profession. At the age of 24, he visited Italy, and freely indulged in licentious pleasures. After his return to Paris, he persisted in a life of dissipation, till a long and painful disease convinced him that his constitution

ted to his house all the men of wit about the city. The loss of his health was followed by the loss of his fortune. On the death of his father he entered into a process with his step-mother; and pleaded his own cause in a ludicrous manner, though his whole fortune depended on the decision. He was unsuccessful, and was ruined. Mademoiselle de Hautefort, compassionating his misfortunes, procured for him an audience of the queen. The poet requested to have the title of Valetudinarian to her majesty: the queen smile

stotle and Horace, Plautus and Terence, would have frightened him. He saw an open path before him, and he followed it. It was the fashion of the times to pillage the Spanish writers. Scarron was acquainted with that language, and he found it easier to use materials already prepared, than to rack his brain by inventing subjects. As he borrowed liberally from them, a dramatic piece cost him little labour. The great success of his Jodelet Maitre was a vast allurement to him. The comedians who acted it, requested more of his productions. They were written with little toil, and they procured him large sums. They also served to amuse him. He dedicated his books to his sister's greyhound bitch. Fouquet gave him a pension of 1600 livres. Christiana, queen of Sweden, having come to Paris, was anxious to see Scarron, "I permit you (said she to Scarron) to fall in love

vide suitably for the education of his infant daughter, who gave the most striking indications of talent. From her tenderest years, she discovered a wonderful aptness, and a vehement desire, for acquiring languages. Under the direction of proper masters, she studied at the very same time the Latin and Greek, the French and German; and while the rapidity of her progress excited astonishment

ate disquisitions of that contentious science. After this young lady had attained the age of 14, her father, anxious to forward her ardour for improvement, and willing to gratify her ambition for literary distinction, invited occasionally to his house a number of persons, the most respectable in Milan for their rank and learning. In the midst of this grave auditory, Donna Agnesi made her appearance; and, without resigning the native delicacy of her sex, she maintained a succession of new theses on various difficult parts of philosophy, and handled the arguments with such dexterity and commanding eloquence, as singly to vanquish every opponent that e

is vindicabat Maria Cajetana de Agnesi Mediolanensis." Agnesi now bent her whole attention to the culture of mathematics; and, without guide or assistance, she composed a very useful commentary on L'Hospital's Conic Sections, which is said to exist still in manuscript. In the sublimer departments of that science, her studies were directed by the matured experience of Rampinelli, professor of mathematics in the university of Pisa; but she soon gave proofs of her amazing proficiency, in digesting a complete body

on, and sunk by degrees into the languor of religious melancholy. She studied nothing but Hebrew, and the rhapsodies of the Greek fathers of the church. For upwards of twenty years she denied all access to strangers. The famous Lalande complains, in his "Travels through Italy," that he was not allowed the honour of visiting that prodigy; and Father Boscovick himself, whose religious principles must have been unexceptionable, experienced, notwithstanding his repeated importunities, a similar refusal. Indulging that gloomy temper, sh

eeable manner; and two years after, took no more than three hours in learning to embroider. She was afterwards instructed in music, painting, sculpture, and engraving; and succeeded to admiration in all these arts. Her hand-writing in all languages was inimitable; and some curious persons have preserved specimens of it in their cabinets. Mr. Joby, in his journey to Munster, relates,

ccordingly assisted her in gaining that noble stock of learning, for which she was afterwards so eminent. The Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages were so familiar to her, that she not only wrote, but spoke them fluently, to the surprise of the most learned men. She made a great progress also in the Oriental languages which had an affinity with the Hebrew, as the Syriac, Chaldee, Arabic, and Ethio

1623. Upon which his widow returned to Utrecht, where Anna Maria continued her studies very intensely; which undoubtedly kept her from marrying, as she might adva

stage of the world. To these three divines we may add Salmasius, Beveronicius, and Huygens, who maintained a literary correspondence with her, and, by shewing her letters, spread her fame into foreign countr

e had attached herself to Labadie, the famous Quietist, and embracing his principles and practices, accompanied him wherever he went. She lived some time with him at Altena, in Holstein, where she attended him at his death in 1674. Sh

e bought in London, and he succeeded beyond all expectation. Two monkeys were the next pupils he took in hand; one of these he taught to dance and tumble on the rope, whilst the other held a candle with one paw for his companion, and wi

hem, and squalling at the same time in different keys or tones, first, second, and third, by way of concert. In such a city as London, these feats could not fail of exciting attention. The well-known Cat's Opera was performed at the Hay

most timid, he declared to be as mischievous and bold an animal, to the extent of its power, as any with which he was acquainted. He taught canary-birds, linnets, and sparrows, to spell the name of any person in company, to distinguish the hour and minute of time, and play many other

year translated from the Hebrew into French the Travels of Benjamin of Tudela, which he enriched with valuable annotations. His proficiency in mathematics was so great, that he submitted to the London Royal Society, a scheme for finding the longitude, which, though insufficient, exhibited the strongest marks of superior abilities. He visited Halle with his father in 1735, where he was offered by the university the degree of M. A. The young philosopher drew up 14 theses, which h

he read twenty great folios, with all the attention of a vast comprehensive mind; and the large work which he prepared on Egyptian antiquities, shewed the most judicious and laborious arrangement. In his domestic economy he was very temperate; he at

er with an account of the pr

ing of England, Feb. Treaty of Petersburgh, between England, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, April 11. Buonaparte declared King of Italy, May 26. Buonaparte heads his army against Austria, Sept. 24. Mack's army surrenders at Ulm, Oct. 20. French enter Vienna, Nov. 13. Battle of Austerlitz, Dec. 2. Treaty of Vienna with Prussia, 15. Treaty of Presburg with Austria, 26.-1806, Joseph Buonaparte declared King of Naples, March 30. Louis Buonaparte declared King of Holland, June 5. Convocation of the Jews, July 26. Confederation of the Rhine published, 27. Buonaparte marches against Prussia, Sept. 24. Battle of Auerstadt, or Jena, Oct. 14. Buonaparte enters Berlin, 27. Hamburgh taken, Nov. 19. Berlin Decree.-1807, Battle of Eylau, Feb. 8. Battle of Friedland, June 14. Treaty of Tilsit, July 7.-1808, Joseph Buonaparte declared King of Spain, July 7. Surrender of Dupont's army at Baylen, 20. Joseph Buonaparte evacuates Madrid, 29. Battle of Vimeira, August 21. Conferences at Erfurth, Sept. 20. Buonaparte arrives at Vittoria, Nov. 5. Surrender of Madrid, Dec. 4.-1809, Battle of Corunna, Jan. 16. Buonaparte returns to Paris, 22. War declared by Austria, April 6. Bonaparte heads his army against Austria, 13. French enter Vienna, May 10. Battle of Esling, or Asperne, 22. Battle of Wagram, July 6. Flushing taken by the English, August 14. Treaty of Vienna, Oct. 14. Lucien Buonaparte arrives in England, Dec. 13. Buonaparte's marriage with Josephine dissolved, 16. Walcheren evacuated by the English, 23.-1810, Buonaparte marries Maria Louisa, daughter of Francis II. March 11. Holland and the Hanse Towns annexed to France, July 9. Bernadotte elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Aug. 21. Decree for restraining the liberty of the Press, Dec.-1811, Hamburgh annexed t

AP

ESPECTING MAN

rouse the affections of a mother, in whom all natural affection was extinct, he was destitute of the means of support. Having a strong inclination to literary pursuits, especially poetry, he wrote poems; and afterwards two plays, Woman's a Riddle, and, Love in a Veil: he was allowed no part of the profits from the first; but by the second he acquired the acquaintance of Sir Richard Steel and Mr. Wilkes, by whom he was pitied, caressed, and relieved. But the kindness of his friends not affording him a constant supply, he wrote the tragedy of Sir Thomas Overbury; which not only procured him the esteem of many persons of wit, but brought him ￡200. The celebrated Aaron Hill, Esq. was of great service to him in correcting and fitting this piece for the stage and the press; and extended his patronage still farther. But Savage was, like many other wits, a bad economist. As fast as his friends raised him out of one difficulty, he sunk into another; and when he found himself greatly involved, he rambled about like a vagabond, with scarcely a shirt on his back. He was in one of these situations all the time he wrote his tragedy above mentioned; without a lodging, and often without a dinner. Mr. Hill also promoted a subscription to a volume of his Miscellanies, and furnished part of the poems of which it was composed. To this Miscellany Savage wrote a preface, in which he gives an account of his mother's cruelty, in a very uncommon strain of humour. The profits of his tragedy and his Miscellanies had now somewhat raised him, both in circumstances and credit, so that the world began to behold him with a more favourable eye, when both his fame and life were en

s mother, by publishing the Bastard, a poem, remarkable for the vivacity of its beginning (where he humorously enumerates the imaginary advantages of base birth;) and for the pathetic conclusion

stard's birth! t

ntric, like a

it of faint c

nature's mint

ld, not boast,

smitter of a

rom within, re

a bastard's

unded son, he

ias'd, and hi

t no mother!

me distinguish'd

formed the resolution of applying to the Queen; who, having once given him life, he hoped she might extend her goodness to him, by enabling him to support it. With this view, he published a poem on her birth-day, which he entitled The Volunteer Laureat; for which she was pleased to send him ￡50, accompanied with an intimation that he might annually expect the same bounty. But this annual allowance was nothing to a man of his strange and singular extravagance. His usual custom was, as soon as he had received his pension, to disappear with it, and secrete himself from his most intimate friends, till every shilling of it was spent; which done, he again appeared penniless as before: but he

abble; and not seldom would he walk the streets till he was weary, and then lie down, in summer, on a bulk,-or, in winter, with his associates, among the ashes of a glasshouse. Yet, amidst all his penury and wretchedness, this man had so much pride, and so high an opinion of his own merit, that he was always ready to repress, with scorn and contempt, the least appearance of any slight towards himself, in the behaviour of his acquaintance; among whom he looked upon none as his superior. He would be treated as an equal,

At Bristol, however, he found an embargo laid upon the shipping; so that he could not immediately obtain a passage. Here, therefore, being obliged to stay for some time, he so ingratiated himself with the principal inhabitants, that he was often invited to their houses, distinguished at their public entertainments, and treated with a regard that highly gratified his vanity. At length, with great reluctance, he proceeded to Swansey; where he lived about a year, very much dissatisfied with the diminution of his salary, for he had, in his letters, treated his contributors so insolently, that most of them withdrew their subscriptions. Here he finished his tragedy, and resolved to return with it to London; which was strenuously opposed by his constant friend Mr. Pope; who proposed that Savage should put this play into the hands of Mr. Thomson and Mr. Mallet, that they might fit it for the stage; that his friends should receive the profits it might bring in; and that the author should receive the produce by way of annuity. This kind and prudent scheme was rejected by Savage with c

ich expense he was enabled to defray by a present of five guineas from Mr. Nash at Bath. No bail, however, was to be found; so that poor Savage was at last lodged in Newgate, a prison in Bristol. But it was the fortune of this extraordinary mortal always to find more friends than he deserved. The keeper of the prison took compassion on him, and greatly softened the rig

der would imagine he had never received any other than the worst of treatment in that city. When Savage had remained about six months in this hospitable prison, he received a letter from Mr. Pope, (who still allowed him ￡20 a year,) containing a charge of very atrocious ingratitude; and though the particulars have not transpired, yet, from the notorious character of the man, there is reason

ght have made a respectable figure in life. He was happy in a quick discernment, a retentive memory, and a lively flow of wit, which made his company much coveted; nor was his judgment of men and writings inferior to his wit: but he was too much a slave to his passions, and his passions were too easily excited. He was warm in his friendships, but implacable in his enmity; and his greatest fault was ingratitude. He seemed to think every thing due to his merit, and that he was little oblige

P.

ESPECTING MAN

ipally from the preacher's own words, was first presented to the public in the first volume of "The Pulpit," 1809. Excepting the circumstance of enlarging his name from Hunt to Huntingdon,

ained a good deal of his provincial dialect;" so that many of his "expressions sounded very harsh and uncouth." Of this he complains, with some cause, as it afterwards occasioned numbers of "unsanctified critics to laugh and

my little ones would soon want bread; my business would also run very cross at those times." His earnings did not then amount to more than eight shillings per week. Even when his state grew better, when he got his first "parsonic livery" on his back, he could not study at his ease. "My little cot (he says) was placed in a very vulgar neighbourhood, and the windows were so very low, that I could not study at any of them, without being exposed to the vie

himself says, "to perch upon the thick boughs." Ditton was to be left for London. Yet had poor Ditton not been so unkind to him. "Some few years before I was married," says Mr. H. "all my personal effects used to be carried in my hand, or on my shoulders, in one or two large handkerchiefs; bu

averse to preaching in London, for several reasons. First, because I had been told it abounded so much with all sorts of errors, that I was afraid of falling into them, there were so many that lay in wait to deceive. Secondly, because I had no lea

hance as to the great end he had in view. "During the space of three years, (says Mr. Huntingdon,) I secretly wished in my soul, that God would favour me with a chapel of my own, being sick of the errors that were perpetually broached by some one or other in Margaret-street Chapel, where I then preached. But though I so much desired this, yet I could not ask God for such a favour, thinking it was not to be brought about by one so very mean, low, and poor as myself. However, God sent a person, unknown to me, to look at a certain spo

es; therefore he furnished me with a sword of the Spirit-a new Bible, with Morocco binding and silver clasps. I had got one old cart-horse, (says W. H.) that I had bought with the rest of the stock on the farm, and I wanted two more, but money ran short; and I determined also to have a large tilted cart, to take my family to chapel, and the man should drive it on the Sunday and on lecture nights, and I would ride my little horse. This was the most eligible plan that I could adopt; and on this I determined, as soon as God should send money to procure them. I came to this conclusion on a Friday; and on the next day, toward evening, came two or three friends from town to see me. I wondered not a little at their coming, as they knew that on a Saturday I never like to see any body, and therefore I conceived that they must be come with some heavy tidings; some friend was dead, or something bad had happened. But they came to inform me that some friends had agreed among themselves, and bought me a coach and a pair of horses, which they intended to make me a present of. I informed them that the assessed taxes ran so high, that I should not be able to keep it. But they stopped my mouth by informing me, that the money for paying the taxes for the coach and horses was subscribed also; so that nothing lay upon me, but the keep of the horses. Thus, ins

inguished him from most other preachers. Having formally announced his text, he laid his Bible at once aside, and never referred to it again. Having laid on one side the volume of inspiration, and disdaining the trammels of transcription, he proceeded directly to his object; and, excepting incidental digressions, as, "Take care of your pockets!" "W

Nothing could exceed the dictatorial dogmatism of this famous preacher. Believe him, none but him,-and that is enough. If he aimed thus to pin the faith of those who hear him, he would say over and over, "As sure as I am born, 'tis," &c. or, "I believe this," or, "I know this," "I am sure of it," or, "I believe the plain English of it (some difficult text) to be," &c. When he adds, as he was wont, by way of fixing his point, "Now, you can't help it," or, "So it is," or, "It must be so in spite of you," he did this with a most significant shake of his head, with a sort of beldam hauteur, with all the dignity of defiance. Action he seeme

in the path of tribulation, or in the strong hold of Satan; and (says he) I have heard of them from Wales, from Scotland, from Irela

who says he lives by gifts, will, as he gets his friends, find gifts by which he may live. He died at London, in 1813; and such was the avidi

P.

S RESPECTI

als-Preservation of Animals-Destruc

air, this ocean,

ck, and bursti

gh progressiv

ide! how deep

Being! which f

real, human,

sh, insect, wha

each; from Inf

ee to n

o

o the reader some interesting observations respecting the generation, formation, preservat

he Creator, and chiefly that appointment by which he has regulated the propagation, which is wisely adapted

essing on the new made world. By virtue of this powerful mandate, all the various tribes

ves with a few brief hints upon this subject; and we shall find, that in different

rate cherishing warmth; this fits them for easy gestation, and enables t

his reason, they lay eggs, covered with a hard shell: these, by natural instinct, they sit upon, and cherish till the young be excluded. The ostr

, has ordained that most of them should lay their eggs near the shore; where, by means of the solar rays, the water is warmer,

he stream, where purity and freshness are to be found in the waters: and to procur

ecies of fish whose residence is in the middle of the ocean, are also exempt. Providence has given to

od, and therefore bring forth their young

want of warmth in the parent. Thus the frog, and the lizard, drop their's in shallow waters, which soon receive a genial heat by the rays of the sun; the common snake, in

narrow limits. Yet, in general, we find, that nature observes this order, that the least animals, and those which are most useful for food to others, usually increase with the

aces as may supply their infant offspring with proper nourishment: in their case, this is absolutely necessary, for the mother dies as soon as she has deposited her eggs, the male parent having died before this event takes place; so that no parental care ever falls to the lot of this orphan race. And indeed, were the parents to live, it does not appear that they would possess any power to assist their young. Butterflies, weevils, tree-bugs, gall-insects, and many others, lay their eggs on the leaves of plants; and every different tribe chooses its own species of plants. Nay, there is scarce any plant which does not afford nourishment to some insect; and still more,

well plants, the leaves contract in a wonderful manner into the shape of a head. The water spider excludes eggs either on the extremities of juniper, which from thence forms a lodging that resembles the arrow-head

gnat commits her's to stagnant waters; the flesh-fly, in putrified

deer; another, in the noses of sheep; another still, in the intestinal tube, or the throat of horses. Nay, even insects themselves are generally surrounded with the eggs of other insects; so that there

attention to some particulars re

e,-and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, when we are fashioned secretly in the lower parts of the earth. However, it seems not probable, that one part of matter acting upon another, should produce animal existence, though we grant it may have a strange and unaccountable power in the alteration of matter purely insensible or inanimate. Fermentation may dilate, and extremely alter the parts of animat

ham did Levi; or as one kernel does all those indeterminate kernels that may be thence afterwards raised; the first seeds being doubtless of the same nature with those that now exist, after so many thousand years, the order of time making only an

some are apt to believe it must be similar in the first animals; whereas the finest glasses, which are brought to an almost incredible perfection, cannot discover actual seeds in seeds, or kernels in kernels; though, if there were any such thing as an actual least atom, they might, one would think, be discovered by them, since they have shewn us not only seeds, but even new animals, in many parts of matter where we never suspected them, and even in some of the smallest animals themselves, whereof our naked sight can take no cognizance. As

? The kernel, as before, contains the tree, the tree a thousand other fruits, and ten thousand kernels; the first animal several others; and as many of them as Nature can dispose of, and provide fit nourishment for, are produced into what we may call actual being, in comparison to what they before enjoyed. If it be asked, whether these imperfect creatures have all distinct souls while lurking yet in their parent? we answer, that there is no ne

other savage of the wilderness, are gentle and tender towards their offspring; they spare no pains, no labour, for their helpless progeny; they scour the forest with indescribable rage; destruction marks their path; they bear their victim to the covert, and t

quor of a most delicate taste, and perfectly easy of digestion, t

s as are most concealed, and likely to be free from the attacks of their enemies: thus the hanging-bird of the tropical countries, makes its nest of the fibres of withered plants lined w

females. Pigeons, and most of the small birds which pair, sit by turns; b

should be injured by cold when they quit their nest for food; and when the young are hatched, they s

t bird may digest them easily. And the eagle makes its nest on the highest precipices of mountains, and in the war

hite-throat, and leaves both the incubation and preservation of the young to them. But naturalists inform us that this apparent want of instinct in the cuckoo proceeds from t

r the care of their parents, yet owe this to them, that they ar

f plants, which are produced only in particular animalcula; others on carcases, and some even on mud and dung. For this reason, Providence has ordained that some should swim in certain regions of the watery element; that others should fly; and that some should inhabit the torrid, the frigid, or the temperate zones. Different animals also are confined to certain spots in the same zone: some frequent the deserts, others the meado

ucture of the bodies of animals for their peculiar manner of life, and in giving t

s to suit their different manner of life. The rein-deer has his habitation in the coldest parts of Lapland; his food is the liverwort, which grows nowhere else so abundantly; and as the cold is in that country intense, this useful animal is covered with hair of the densest kind; by this mea

quenching his thirst; for he is furnished with a natural reservoir, in which, when he drinks, he stores up a quantity of water, and has the power of using it in a frugal and sparing manner, when, for his food, he crops the dry thistle of the desert. The bullock delights in low rich grounds, because there he finds the food which is most palatable to

hich purpose their snouts are peculiarly formed. In this e

t: the goat will not feed on monkshood, but the horse eats it with avidity. The long-leafed water hemlock is avoided by the bullock; yet the sheep is fond of it. The spurge is poisonous to man; b

latively so: that is, there is no plant but what is wholesome food to some an

per aliment; but that delicacy of taste and smell, by which they accurately distinguish the wholesome

r eggs. It is evident that they are calculated for this mode of existence; their beaks, their necks, their feet

herefore, is his caterer: when this last has gorged himself, he is pursued by the former, who buffets him till he casts up a part of his prey, which the other catches before it reach

ily destroyed; it grows in great abundance by the sides of roads, and trampling on it will not kill it; it is extremely plentiful in corn-fields after harvest, and gives a reddish hue to them by the multitude of its seeds. Wherever the husbandman ploughs, this plant will grow, nor

d is surrounded, or take refuge in the bottom of pools and lakes, among the reeds and rushes; others still, who have made their observations with more attention and patience than either of the former, allow that the old swallows with their early brood do migrate; but that the latter hatches, which are incapable of distant flight, lay themselves up, and become torpid during the winter; and at the approach of spring, by the wonderful appointment of Natur

o that about the latter end of August they cannot fly, and are therefore obliged to run in the woods; but then the blackberries and bilberries are ripe, from whence th

fact to mankind. This remark applies to such of them as feed on insects, the number of which is

he spring, are found to repair to Lapland. This is a country of lakes, rivers, swamps, and moun

d; at the same time, men are very sparingly scattered over that vast northern waste. Yet, Linn?us, that great explorer of nature, in his excursion to Lapland, was astonished at the myriads of water-fowl that migrated with him out of that country, which exceeded in multitude the army of Xerxes, covering, for eight whole

s the bear, at the end of autumn, collects a quantity of moss, into which he creeps, and there lies all the winter, subsisting upon no other nourishment than his f

during mild weather in the winter, and sleep during the frosts. The bat seems cold and quite dead, but r

or enraged, it emits so horrible a stench, as to prevent any other creature from approaching it: even dogs in pursuit of it, when they find this extraordinary mode of defence made use of, will instantly turn, and leave him undisputed master of the field; nor can any attempts ever bring them to rally again. Kalm, as quoted by Buffon, says, "One of these animals came n

take its prey, were it not endowed with superior cunning to most other creatures. In favour of the serpent, also, there is a terror attending its appearance, which operates with such power upon birds and other s

truction o

produces, preserves for a time, and then destroys all her productions. Man himself is subject to t

forth their flowers, fishes play in the waters, birds sing, and universal nature rejoices. Summer, like middle age, exhibits plants and trees full clothed in green; fruits ripen; and every thin

g every thing is fresh and playful; at noon all is energy and

ly youth; afterwards manhood, firm, severe, and intent on self-preservation; lastly,

mals do not live on vegetables, but there are some which feed on animalcula; others on insects. Nay,

n plants; the fly called musca amphidivora, lives on the tree-louse; the hornet and wasp-fly, on the musca amphidivora; the dragon-fly, on

; the gnat eats the monoculus; the frog eats the gnat;

s only at night, that they may catch the moths,

ich fly about in the open air. The mole feeds on worms and grubs in the earth. The large fishes devour

ive to a great age, for they are subject, from the nature of their diet, to various diseases, which bring them sooner to an end than those animals which live on vegetables. It has been asked, why has the Supreme Being constituted such an order in nature, that, it should seem, some animals are created only to be destroyed by others? To this it has been answered, that Providen

hey would soon fill the air, and, like clouds, intercept the light of

he fields and meadows are quite white with them. Yet the Egyptians are not displeased with them, as frogs are generated in such numbers, that, did not the storks devour them, they would over-run every thing. Besides, they also

e destroys the Norway rat, which, by its prodigious increase,

rinciples of economy; for the Laplander has one way of living, the European husbandman another, and the Hottentot differs from them both; whereas the stupendous Deity is one throughout the globe; and if Providence do not always calculate

, and tracing him through his progressive stages of decay,

insensible, and often several years are elapsed before we find ourselves grown old. The news of this unwelcome change t

ich rather loads than assists it. This is formed of fat, which, generally, at about the age of forty, covers all the muscles, and interru

flows almost as freely through the bones as through any other part of the body; in manhood their size is greatly diminished, the vessels are almost imperceptible, and the circulation is proportionably slow. But in the decline of life, the blood which flows through the bones, no longer contributing to their growth, must necessarily serve to increase their hardness. The channels which run through the human frame may be compared t

ts which in youth are elastic and pliant, in age become hard and bony, consequently the motion of the joints must become more difficult. Th

is now grown more scanty. It becomes thicker and more clammy, more unfit for answering the purposes of motion, and from thence, in old age every joint is stiff and awkward. At every motion this clammy liquor is heard t

very day more rigid; and while, to the touch, the body seems, as we advance in years, to grow softer, it is in reality increasing in hardness. It is the skin, and not the flesh, that we feel on such occasions. The fat, and the flabbiness o

manner conform to our decay. The skin, in youth and health, is plump, glossy, veined, and clear; but when the body begins to decline, it has not elasticity enough to shrink entirely with its diminution; it becomes dark or yellow, and hangs in wrinkles, which no cosmetic can remove. The wrinkles of the body in general proceed from this cause; but those of the face seem to proceed

tion of the fluids is performed with less freedom; perspiration diminishes; the secretions alter; the digestion becomes laborious; and the juices no longer serve to convey their accustomed nourishment. Thus the body

ich occasions death. Women, therefore, ought to be longer in growing old than men, and this is, generally speaking, the case. If we consult the tables which have been drawn up respecting human life, we s

apter with an account

s mode of propagating. The bodies of these creatures may be either cut across or longitudinally, and the pieces will become so many complete polypi. Even from the skin, or least part, cut off from the body, one or more polypi will be produced; and if several pieces cut off be joined together by the extremities, they will perfectly unite, nourish each other, and become one body. This discovery has given rise to other experiments, and it has been found that polypi are not the only animals which live and grow after being cut in pieces. The earth-worm will multiply after being cut in two; to the tail there grows a head, and the two pieces then become two worms. After havin

ion offers itself, which perhaps no naturalist can resolve in a satisfactory manner: How does it happen that the parts thus cut off, can be again reproduced? We must suppose that germs are distributed to every part of the body; whilst in other animals they are only contained in certain parts. These germs unfold themselves when they receive proper nourishment. Thus, when an animal is cut in pieces, the germ is supplied with the necessary juices, which would have been conveyed to other parts, if they had not been diverted into a different channel. The superfluous juices develop those parts which without them would have continued attached to each other. Every part of the polypus and worm, contains in itself, as the bud does

P.

SPECTING ANIMA

Rhinoceros-Crocodiles and Alligators-Fossil Crocodile-The Ornit

number'd fa

ficent, one

nimates to br

eiv'd, heaven

hose who soar

equipoise thro

ents in earth,

d to watch wit

rtion wisely

t, from which t

at

kingdom. This is a Book of Curiosities; and it is our intention to present the reader with a sketch of the most remarka

nd of which each animal has about two ounces; but they appear to have been unacquainted with its habits and economy, with that mental contrivance and practical dexteri

short time, this is effected by the united operation of many, with their fore-teeth, the branches being afterwards cleared by the same process. A multitude of smaller trees are found necessary to complete the fabric, and many of these are dragged from some distance by land, and formed into stakes; the fixing of which is a work of extreme difficulty and perseverance, some of the beavers with their teeth raising their large ends against the crossbeam, while others at the bottom dig with their fore-feet the holes in which the points are to be sunk. A series of these

In the houses of one story only, the walls, which in all cases are plastered with extreme neatness both externally and within, after rising about two feet perpendicularly, approach each other, so as at length to constitute, in closing, a species of dome. In the application of the mortar to their habitations, the tails as well as feet of the beavers are of essential service. Stone, wood, and a sandy kind of earth, are employed in their structures, which, by their compactness and strength, completely preclude injury from winds and rain. The

perty and honesty are universal. Some of their habitations will contain six only, others twelve, and some even twenty or thirty inhabitants; and the whole village or township contains in general about twelve or fourteen habitations. Strangers are not permitted to intrude on the vicinity; but, amidst the different members of the society itself, there appears to prevail that attachment and that friendship which are

le the lower touches, and is somewhat indeed immersed in, the water. This element is not only indispensable to them in the same way as to other quadrupeds, but they carefully preserve access to it even when the ice is of very considerable depth, for the purpose of regaling themselves by ex

t, he would suppose them to be the work of most eminent architects. Every thing is wonderful in the labours of these amphibious animals;

nature. If reason guided their labours, we should naturally conclude that the buildings which they now construct would be very different from those they formerly made, and that they would gradually advance towards perfection. But we find that they never vary in the least from the rules of their forefathers, never deviate from the circle prescri

es that of land animals in substance and flavour; while that of

into the country to enjoy the return of spring; occasionally returning to their cabins, but no longer dwelling in them. When the females have reared their young, which happens in the course of a few weeks, to a state in which they can follow their dams, these also quit their winter residence, and resort to the woods, to enjoy the opening bloom and renovated supplies of nature. If their habitati

e beavers are averse to that association which so strikingly characterizes these animals in general, and satisfy themselves with

uch as worms and insects, and is extremely voracious and fierce. Shaw relates, from Sir Thomas Brown, that a mole, a toad, and a serpent, have been repeatedly inclosed in a large glass vase, and that the mole has not only killed the others, but has devoured a very considerable part of them. It abounds in soft ground, in which it can dig with ease, and which furnishes it with a great supply of food. It forms its subterraneous apartments with great facility by its snout and feet, and with a very judicious reference to escape and comfort. It produces four or f

le in a tadpole state, it is entirely a water animal, for in this element the spawn is cast. As soon as frogs are released from their tadpole state, they immediately take to land; and if the weather has been hot, and there fall any refreshing showers, the ground for a considerable space is perfectly blackened by myriads of these animalcules, seeking for some secure lurking places. Some persons not taking time to examine

n fenny countries, they are distinguished by ludicrous titles,-thus they are styled Dutch nightingales, and Boston waites. Yet there is a time of the year when they become mute, neither croaking nor opening their mouths for a whole month; this happens in the hot season, and that is in many places known to the country people by the name of the paddock-moon. It is said, that during tha

he belly large, swagging, and swelling out; the legs short, and its pace laboured and crawling; its retreat gloomy and filthy: in short, its general appearance is such

everal other countries. But these fables have been long exploded. And as to the notion of its being a poisonous animal, it is probable that its excessive deformity, joined to the faculty it has of emitting a juice from its pimples, and a dusky liquid from its hind parts, is the foundation of the report. That it has any noxious qualities, there seem to be no proofs in the smallest degree satisfactory, though we have heard many s

nts, flies, &c. but it was particularly fond of flesh worms, which were bred on purpose for it. It never appeared in winter, but regularly made its appearance in the spring, when the warm weather commenced, climbing up a few steps, and waiting to be taken up, carried into the house, and fed upon a table. Before it attacked the insects, it fixed its eyes on them, and remained motionless for a quarter of a minute, when it attacked them by an instantaneous motion

ous substances, and conveying them to the mouth; and it is capable of extension and contraction at the animal's convenience. The skin is, in some parts, so thick and hard as scarcely to be penetrable by the sharpest sabre, or even by a musket-ball. These animals are found in Bengal, Siam, China, and in several countries of Africa; but are far less numerous than the elephant, and of sequestered solitary habits. The female produces only one at a birth; and at the age of two years the horn is only an inch long, and at six only of the length of nine inches. The rhinoceros is not ferocious, unless provoked, when he ex

ROS.-Pa

formidable animal are f

nts the Asiatic variety,

ROS.-Pa

Mr. Cumming, the famous hun

the two-horned kind, which i

killed many

lishing their identity. This animal can distinguish, by its sight, only what is directly before it, and always, when pursued, takes the course immediately before it, almost without the slightest deviation from a right line, removing every impediment. Its sense of smelling is very acu

within its reach. The upper part of its body is covered with a species of armour, so thick and firm, as to be scarcely penetrable with a musket-ball; and the whole body has the appearance of an elaborate covering of carved work. It is an oviparous animal, and its eggs scarcely exceed in size those of a goose. These eggs are regarded as luxuries by the natives of some countries of Africa, who will also with great relish partake of

n spring, seizes any animal that approaches within its reach, swallowing it with an instantaneous effort, and then rushing back into its watery recesses, till renewed appetite stimulates the repetition of its insidious exertions. These a

rican princes, chiefly as appendages of royal splendour and magnificence. A single negro will often attack a crocodile, and by spearing it between the scales of the belly, where it is easi

ther quadrupeds. The ancients also thought it destitute of a tongue; an idea equally false. The tongue, however, is more fixed in this than in other animals, to the sides of its mouth, and less capable, therefore, of being protruded.-The eggs of the

seen floating like a log of wood on the surface of the water, and is mistaken for such by dogs and other animals, which it seizes, draws under water, and devours. Like the wolf, when pressed by long hunger, it will swallow mud, and even stones, and pieces of wood. They often get into the wears in pursuit of fish, and do much mischief by tearing them to pieces. They are torpid during winter, in Carolina, and retire into their dens, which they form by burrowing far under ground. They make the entrance under water, and work upwards. In spring they quit their retreats,

ern Alligators is extracted f

s to which he belongs; the back is covered with impenetrable scales; the legs short, with five spreading toes on the fore feet, and four in a straight line on the hinder, armed with claws: the alligator moves slowly, its whole formation being calculated for strength, the back bone firmly jointed, and the tail a most formidable weapon: in the river, he eagerly springs on the wretch unfortunately bathing within his reach, and either knocks him down with his tail, or opens his wide mouth for his

ader's notice, one of the greatest curiosities of its kind,

ne, somewhat like our common slate, but of a coarser texture, the same with that in which the fossil fishes in many parts of the world are found. This skeleton had the back and ribs very plain, and was of a much deeper black than the rest of the stone; as is also the case with the fossil fishes, which are preserved in this manner. The part of the stone where the head l

rument for chewing that is situated behind within the cheeks. Dr. Shaw says it has no teeth, though Mr. Home found, in a specimen examined by him, two small and flat molar teeth on each side of the jaws. The fore part of this mandible, or beak, is covered and bordered with a coriaceous skin, in which three parts are to be distinguished, within the proper integument of the beak. Into these three parts of that membrane numerous nerves are distributed, intended, probably, as the organs of feeling, a sense which, besides men, few mammalia enjoy; that is, few animals possess the faculty of distinguishing the form of external objects and their

vided with an organ for touching, viz. with the integument of the beak, richly endowed with nerves. This instance of analogy in the structure of a singular organ of sense in two species of an

et the marmot enter, leading to two apartments; the largest of these serves the whole family for a chamber, where they lie close together, in a torpid state, rolled up like hedge-hogs, during the cold season, as dormice do in England. When they betake themselves to their winter quarters, after having lined their chamber with soft hay, they carefully stop up the entrance with a sort of cement, which they make of earth, mixed with stones and dry grass. Before they collect the grass, either for food, or f

P.

SPECTING ANIMA

ommon Tortoise-Orang-Outang-The Unicorn-The Comm

uming impio

om, as if aug

not for ad

om

e should also consider that the earth shakes under his feet; that with his trunk, as with a hand, he tears up trees; that by a push of his body he makes a breach in a wall; that, though tremendous in strength, he is rendered still more invincible by his enormous mass, and by the thickness of his skin; that he can carry on his back an armed tower, filled with many warriors; that he works machines, and carries burdens, which six horses are unable to move; that to this prodigious strength he adds courage, prude

ted from Forbes's Oriental Memo

hundred and twenty years. The Indians are remarkably fond of these animals, especially when they have been long in their service. I have seen an elephant valued at twenty thousand rupees: the common price of a docile well-trained elephant is five or six thousand; and in the countries where they are indigenous, the Company contract for them at five hundred ru

upon his neck, to guide him; another sat upon his rump, and assisted in battle; the rest supplied him with food and water, and performed the necessary services. Elephants bred to war, and well disciplined, will stand firm against a volley of musketry, and never give way unless severely wounded. I have seen one of th

o every elephant they appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of mail, and five hundred horsemen of the best: these were ready at every occasion; wherever the

until my sketch was finished; if I wished for ripe mangoes growing out of the common reach, he selected the most fruitful branch, and breaking it off with his trunk, offered it to the driver for the company in the houdah, accepting of any part given to himself with a respectful salem, by raising his trunk three times above his head, in the manner of the Oriental obeisance, and as often did he express his thanks by a murmuring noise. When a bough obstructed the houdah, he twisted his trunk around it, and, though of considerable

ity of the elephant, from ancient

the Greek tongue, Ipse ego h?c scripsi et spolia lettica dicavi. I myself saw, says ?lian, one of them writing Roman letters on a tablet with his trunk; and the letters he made were not ragged, but straight and even; and his eyes were fixed upon the tablet, as one that was serious. And in the plays that Germanicus C?sar shewed at Rome, there were twelve elephants, six males and six females; these were clothed as men and women. At the command of

roper place for introducing

markable one of which was found in the ice,

rom an abridgment of a paper by Dr.

four inches long, of a reddish black colour, a little thicker than horse hair, which he had taken from the skin of the animal: this he gave to me, says Dr. Tilesius, and I sent it to professor Blumembach. No further knowledge has been obtained on this subject, and unfortunately Patagof was not employed by any of our Societies to return to Siberia. Thus was this c

of the climate in which it was found. It is a common practice to preserve meat and berries throughout the winter, by freezing them, and to send fish,

magnitude. The flesh, the skin, and the hair, were in a state of preservation, and it was supposed that the fossil production known under the name of mammoth's horns, must have belonged to an animal of this species. The news of this inte

from the mammoth, on a hill, called Kembisaga-Sh?ta. Schumachof, a Tungusian chief

ars, two friends meet by chance, they then communicate to each other their adventures, their different successes in hunting, and the number of skins they have obtained. After having passed some days together, and consumed the few provisions they had, they separate cheerfully, carrying each other's compliments to their acquaintance, and trusting to Providence

them a wholesome and agreeable food. In 1799, he had constructed for his wife some cabins on the banks of the lake Oncoul, and had embarked, to seek along the coasts for mammoth horns. One day, he perceived along the blocks of ice a shape

nicated this extraordinary discovery to his wife and some of his friends; but the way in which they considered the matter filled him with grief. The old men related, on this occasion, their having heard their fathers say, that a similar monster had been formerly seen in the same peninsula, and that all the family of the discoverer had died soon afterwards. The mammoth was therefore considered as an augury of future calamity, and the Tungusian chief w

end of the fifth year, 1803, the ardent wishes of Schumachof were happily accomplished; for the part of the ice between the earth and the mammoth having melted more rapidly than

and having cut off his horns (or tusks) he exchanged them with

the proprietor was content with his profit from the tusks, and the Jakutski of the neighbourhood seized upon the flesh, with which they fed their dogs during the scarcity. Wild beasts, such as white bears, wolves, wolverenes, and foxes, also fed upon it, and the traces of their footsteps were seen around. The skeleton, almost entirely cleared of its flesh, remained whole, with the exception of one fore leg. The head was covered with a dry ski

, and have still the sole attached. According to the assertion of the Tungusian chief, t

ere the animal had lain so long, had in some degree destroyed the hair. The entire carcase, of which I collected the bones on the spot, is four archines (9 ft. 4 in.) high, and seven archines (16 ft. 4 in.) long, from the point of th

ten persons found great difficulty in transporting it to the shore. After this, I dug the ground in different places, to ascertain whether any of its bones were buried, but principally to collect all the hairs,[7] which the white bears had trod into the ground, while devouring the flesh. Although this was dif

ck has a perpendicular elevation of 30 or 40 toises. Its substance is a clear pure ice; it inclines towards the sea; its top is covered with a layer of moss and friable earth, half an archine (14 inches) in thickness. During the heat of the month of July a part of this crust is melted, but the rest remains frozen. Curiosity induced me

ating pieces of wood which are brought down by the large rivers to the ocean, and collect in masses on the shores of the Frozen Sea. The latter are called Noachina. I have seen, when the ice melts, large

ng to the report of the Tungusians, the animal was, when they

and ligaments from the bones, which were then packed up. When I arrived at Jakutsk, I had th

the size of the tusks, which are from ten to fifteen feet long, much curved, and have a spiral turn outwards. The alveali of the tusks are also larger, and are protruded farther. The neck is shorter, the spinal processes larger, all the bones of the skeleton are stronger, and the scabrous surfaces for the insertio

embles the Indian than the

as sent by Mr. Adams to the late Sir Joseph Banks, who pre

ct the following particular

jecting from the head; through a small perforation in the exterior convexity, appears a bright pupil, surrounded with a yellow iris, which, by the singular formation and motion of the eye, enables the animal to see what passes before, behind, or on either side; and it can give one eye all these motions, while the other remains perfectly still; a hard rising protects these delicate organs, another extends from the forehead to the nostrils: the mouth is large, and furnished with teeth, with a tongue half the length of the body, and hollow like an elephant's trunk; it darts nimbly at flies and other insects, which it seems to

ted, and the skin clouded like tortoise-shell, its shades of yellow, orange, green, and black. A black object always caused an almost instantaneous transformation: the room appropriated for its accommodation was skirted by a board painted black; this the chameleon carefully avoided; but if he a

er with great violence, and very loud sounds. Tortoises attain most extraordinary longevity, and one was ascertained to have lived in the gardens of Lambeth to the age of nearly 120 years. Its shell is preserved in the archiepiscopal palace. So reluctant is the vital principle to quit these animals, that Shaw informs us, from Redi, that one of them lived for six months after all its brain was taken out, moving its limbs, and walking, as before. Another lived twenty-three days after its head was cut off, and the head itself opened and closed its jaws for a quarter of an hour after its separa

nce, until the rainy season has filled the ponds and small lakes, on the borders of which they deposit their eggs, where they continue exposed to the air; they are as large as those of a pigeon; they leave to the heat and the sun the care of hatching them. These eggs have an excellent taste; the white, which never grows hard by the force of fire, preserves the transparency of a bluish jelly. I do not know whether this instinct be common to every species of water tortoises, and whether they all e

, though nearly approximated as to general similitude, are yet specifically distinct. The specimens imported into Europe have rarely exceeded the height of two or three feet, and were supposed to be young animals; but it is said the full-grown ones are, at least, six feet in height. The general colour seems to be dusky or brown, in some ferruginous or reddish brown; and in others coal-black, with the skin itself white. The face is bare; the ears, hands, and feet, nearly similar to the human, and the whole appearance such as to exhibit

g is the chief,) to walk erect on two legs only; and it must be granted, that these animals support an upright position much mor

y, a variety of actions in domestic life. Thus, it has been taught to sit at table, and, in its manner of feeding and general behaviour, to imitate the company in which it was placed; to pour out tea, and drink it, without awkwardness or constraint;

e of sagacity, and was of a disposition uncommonly gentle; "the most gentle and loving creature that could be. Those that he knew on shipboard, he would come and embrace with the greatest tenderness, opening their bosoms

n its native state, and is considered as a dangerous animal, capable of readily overpowering the strongest man. Its swiftness is

g account is extracted from the St. Ja

long entertained; but we are led to the expression of it on the present occasion, by having been favoured with the perusal of a most interesting communication from Major Latter, commanding in the Rajah of Sikkim's territories, in the hilly country east of Nepaul, addressed

the Unicorn is classed under the head of those whose hoofs are divided; it is called the One-horned Tso'-po. Upon inquiring what kind of animal it was, to our astonishment, the person who brought me the manuscript, described exactly the Unicorn of t

a horse, but has cloven hoofs, a long curved horn growing out of the forehead, and a boar-shaped tail, like that of the 'fera monoceros,' described by Pliny.[8] From their herding together, as the Unicorns of the scripture are said to do, as well as from the rest of the description, it is evident that this singular animal cannot be the rhinoceros, which is a solitary creature; besides that, in the Thibetian manuscript, the rhinoceros is described under the name of

emarks on Seals.-Fi

s of defence and subsistence; and when they are fatigued by their excursions, are relieved by being taken on her back. They distinguish her voice, and attend at her call. The flesh of seals is sometimes eaten, but they are almost always destroyed for their oil and skins. The latter are manufactured into very valuable leather, and the former is serviceable in a vast variety of manufactures. A young seal will supply about eight gallons of oil. The smell of these animals, in any great number upon the shore, is highly disagreeable. In the month of October, they are generally considered as most valuable; and as they abound in extended caverns on the coast, which are washed by the tide, the hunters proceed to these retreats about midnight, advancing with their boat as far into the recess as they are able,

d even weeks. They may be observed, not mearly by hundreds, but by thousands, on the shore, each male surrounded by his females, from eight to fifty, and his offspring, amounting frequently to more than that number. Each family is preserved separate from every other. The ursine seals are extremely fat and indolent, and remain, with little exercise, or even motion, for months together, upon the shore. But if jealousy, to whi

y, and the most furious contests frequently occur in consequence of the several claims for a favourite position. It is stated, that in these combats two never fall upon one. These seals are said, in grief, to shed tears very copiously. The male defends his young with the most intrepid courage and fondness, and will often beat the dam, notwithstandin

s twenty feet long; and will produce a butt of oil, and d

extract from the Public Journals o

e, expand as the sun sets, and close at the approach of morning.-Shall we say that all things were made for the gratification of man only, when he is daily taught that some of the loveliest objects

equally proportioned; the sides and back are yellow, with black spots, curiously arranged; a row of black spots on its back, much larger than those on its sides, extending half way of the tail; small round ears, black outside, white inside; around its nose and mouth were long stiff bristles

although its astonishing agility baffled for a considerable time its pursuers' efforts, it was taken. It measured two feet in length, had two heads, and t

illed, this was accounted for satisfactorily. Out of its mouth the tail of another snake was observed to be sticking; on pulling it out, it actually measured five feet three inches. This was the cause of the uneasiness in the living snake; having no doubt been partly strangled by its large mouthful. This great sn

P.

SPECTING ANIMA

essed by some Animals-Remarkable Instances of Fasting in Animals-Extraordinary Adventures of a Sheep-Sagacity of

ion's ample

nsual, mental p

ounts to man's

myriads in th

ight, betwixt e

curtain, and

headlong lio

cious, on the

m the life that

warbles thro'

touch, how ex

hread, and live

e, what sense

herbs extracts

aries in the g

reasoning eleph

d reason, what

arate, yet f

o

r to draw away the dogs from her helpless covey. In the time of nidification, the most feeble birds will assault the most rapacious. All the hirundines of a village are up in arms at the sight of a hawk, whom they will persecute till he leaves that district. A very exact observer has often remarked, that a pair of ravens, nestling in the rock of Gibraltar, would suffer no vulture or eagle to rest near their station, but would drive them from the hill with amazing fury; even the blue thrush, at the season of breeding, would dart out from the clefts of the rocks, to chase away the kestrel or the sparrow-hawk. If you stand near the nest of a bird that has young, she will not be induced to betray them by an inadvertent fondness, but will wait about at a distance with meat in her mouth for an hour together. The fly-catcher builds every year in the vines that grow on the walls of my house. A pair of these little birds had one year inadvertently placed their nest on a naked bough, perhaps in a shady time, not

quiet. Oxen and cows will not fatten by themselves, but will neglect the finest pasture that is not recommended by society. It would be needless to instance in sheep, which constantly flock together. But this propensity seems not to be confined to animals of the same species. Mr. White mentions a doe that was brought up from a little fawn with a dairy of cows. "With them it goes to the field, and with them it returns to the yard. The dogs of the house take no notice of

ly orchard, where they saw no creature but each other. By degrees an apparent regard began to take place between these two sequestered individuals. The fowl would approach the quadruped with notes of complacency, rubbing herself gently against his

particular and repeated proofs of kindness. The bird's notice of the dog was so marked, that I observed it to the hostler; for I had not heard a word before of the history of this benevolent creature. John then told me, that he had been bred from his pin-feather in intimacy with a dog; that the affection between them was mutual; and that all the neighbourhood had often been witnesses of the innumerable acts of kindness they had conferred upon each other. Ralph's poor dog, after a while, unfortunately broke his leg; and during the long time he was confined, Ralph waited upon him constantly, carried him provisions daily, and scarcely ever left him

lity, or the feelings of sympathy, may be added the following instance of fondness

h the cat had supported with her milk, and continued to support with great affection. Thus was a graminivorous animal nurtured by a carnivorous and predacious one! Why so cruel and sanguinary a beast as a cat, of the ferocious genus of Felis, the murian leo, (the lion of the mice,) as Linn?us calls it, should be affected with any tenderness towards an animal which is its natural prey, is not so easy to determine. The strange affection probably was occasioned by that sympathy, and those tender maternal feelings, which the loss of her kittens had awakened in her breast; and by the complacency and ease she derived to he

sentiments and actions prompted by social or natural attachments, brutes seem on many occasions inspired with a superior faculty, a kind of presentiment or second sigh

for the first time followed him up stairs, got under his bed, and could not be got from thence by either master or man: in the dead of night, the same servant entered the room to execute his horrid design, but was instantly seized by the dog, and, being secured, confessed his intentions. Upon what hypothesis can we account for a degree of foresight and penet

tin, seeing the usurper in her house, called for help to expel him. A thousand martins came full speed, and attacked the sparrow; but the latter being covered on every side, and presenting only his large beak at the entrance of the nest, was invulnerable, and made the boldest of them who durst approach him repent of their temerity. After a quarter of an hour's combat, all the martins disappeared: the sparrow thought he had got the better, and the spectators judged that the martins had abandoned the

sina, two mules belonging to the Duke de Belviso, remained under a heap of ruins, one of them 22 days, and the other 23: they would not eat for some days, but drank water plentifully, and are now recovered.-There are numberless instances of dogs remaining many days in the same situation; and a hen belonging to the British vice-consul at Messina, that had been closely shut up under the ruins of

parcel of drifted snow, which remained on the declivity of a hill, a dog he had with him discovered one of the two sheep that had been lost, by winding (or scenting) it, through a small aperture which the breath of the sheep had made in the snow. The servant thereupon dug away the snow, and released the captive from its prison; it immediately ran to a neighbouring spring, at which it drank for a considerable time, and afterwards rejoined its old companions, as though no such accident had befallen it. On inspecting the place where it was found, it appeared to have stood between two stones which lay parallel with each other, at about two feet and a half distance, a

periodical journal, from Salisbury, where the animal died, will, we doubt not, prove interesting to our readers,

the last of which she lost part of one of her horns. After that she traversed the whole of the western extent of Africa, across the equator to the Brazils, and along the Guiana coast of South America to the West Indies; from thence to Ireland, and then home. She was so tame as to feed from the hand, and, like the dog, followed her protector; would dance for a cabbage leaf; preferred the house and fire-side to the stable; for several months was never known to touch hay or gras

nold, of the royal navy, to a lady in Salisbury; where, alas! their fleecy friend died of a bow

the preceding mos

ns had brighten'

deck young Ja

ster's side she

at, and on hi

is, when left o

sea, the distan

c stays the mu

rew demand to

e visits each f

attles, amid

urt; save that

rn, then gently

, she reach'd h

age of war and

ck," her gratef

-white head his

hady grove, th

curely, and s

s shall thy lo

greatest good, a

hopes! at Saru

cken'd, and a

ack, since fate ha

onours of the

ll this just

ch-lov'd sheep

some future b

yet adorn'd th

per, to all i

uman, to good

her had flow'r

ought-to man ga

v'd in fiction

ng her fame in

d, that her no

th to heav'n, fro

share with A

ign'd him in

keys they had along with them: this new spectacle roused the curiosity of people of all degrees, insomuch that the overseers of the improvements which were carrying on in that neighbourhood saw themselves deserted by all their workmen. Desirous to recall them to their

pt one, who escaped the general slaughter, and, unperceived, climbed up a tree, whence he could spy all the proceedings of the villains, who had no sooner

ised to see the animal coming down the tree, and making towards him; the monkey, taught perhaps to reverence people of rank, began to lick his feet, and, by several gestures, seemed to intimate that he had something extraordinary to discover; the animal led the way, and the gentleman followed with his servant. As

coach as well as he could, and arrived likewise at the count's, who, having heard the gentleman's report, sent a proper force after the banditti: they were overtaken, and committed to prison. The grand-general ordered the

give an astonishing insta

is extremely curious, as the planks that form the floor rise with the tide

ce of the foot passengers. This way was well lighted, and a man placed at the end to warn those that approached of their danger. But it so happened, that

ller knocked at the doo

rd, who had long retired to res

ioned his name, wh

come?" said

Why, over the b

on hors

es

t is impossible! however, as

ing the state in which the passage was, he could only attribute the escape of the traveller and his horse to witchcraft. He, however, said nothing to him that night; bu

ler, it is said, was seized with an illne

that we insert the following n

er, and went without any burden. A crack of a whip was a signal for them to set out. The leader travelled a little distance before the rest; and, if he perceived the traces of any stranger, he returned to the other dogs: these either took a different way, or, if the danger was pressing, concealed themselves behind the hedges, and lay close till the patrole had passed. When they arrived at the habitation of

of this dog, and the pleasure which he seemed to take in the music, made him a favourite with the band, who nicknamed him, Parade. One gave him food to-day, another to-morrow; and he understood, by a slight signal, and a word or two, whom he was to follow for his dinner; after which, faithful to his independence, the dog always withdrew, in spite of any caresses or threats. Sometimes he went to

ons of pleasure did I caress these dogs, so useful to travellers! how can one speak of them without being moved by their charitable instinct! Notwithstanding the paucity of our eatables, there was not a French soldier who did not manifest an eagerness to give them some biscuit, some bread, and even a share of their meat. Morning and evening, these dogs go out on discovery; and if in the midst of their wandering courses the echo of some unfortunate creature ready to perish reaches their attentive ears, they run tow

e, change his plates, and carry his wine to him, with the utmost s

o those of the human voice, attempted to teach it to speak. By the perseverance of the lad, the dog acquired the power, we are told, of pronouncing about thirty words. It would, however, exercise this extraordinary faculty only with rel

, in all the contortions of countenance and writhings of the body, from the first access, to that paroxysm which often immediately precedes dissolution. Having thus apparently expired in agony, he would suffer himself to be carried about motionless, as in a state of death; and after a sufficient continuance of th

dly before him. At the command of his master, he would restore to every man his own, without any mistake. Also, when his master asked him which of the company was a capta

P.

S RESPECTI

Nautilus-The Air-bladder in Fishes-Re

The sca

riads cleave th

cean's pathles

ribes that peop

. Edwards, in his History of Birds, vol. I. but of which no specimen is to be found either in the British Muse

ey are formed with regular vertebr?, and small bones all over the body, divided into equal parts; are first darkish, and then gray; and their scales make a beautiful appearance. Whether this animal is, in its perfect state, a species of frog with a tail, or a kind of water-lizard, Mr. Edwards does not pretend to determine; but he observes, tha

e edges, and pierced at the end, which gives reason to conjecture that it breathes by that part. This fish is about five feet in length, and as thick as a man's thigh; but some of them, it is said, are eight or ten feet long. In order to catch birds, it hides itself among the reeds in such a manner, that no part of

us object is,

little Naut

oar, and catch t

o

vided into several apartments. There are seventeen specie

hen this species is to sail, it expands two of its arms on high, and between these supports a membrane, which it throws out on this occasion: this serves for its sail, and the two other arms it hangs out of its shell, to serve occasionally either as oars or as a steerage; but this last office is generally served by the tail. When the sea is calm, numbers of these creatures may frequ

e, of the whole length of the shell. It is supposed by many, that by means of this pipe the fish occasionally passes from one cell to another; but this seems by no means probable, as the fish must undoubtedly be crushed to death by attempting to pass through it. It is much more likely that the fish always occupies the largest chamber in its shell

nt of the fine colour on its inside, which is more beautiful than any other mother-o

ornu ammonis, so frequently found fossil, to be confounded with the thick-shelled nautilus, though the concamerations and general structure of the shell are alike in both: for there are great and

port, to release himself from the mortifying state of employing his life against his country, which, as he said when dying, he was happy to lay down, as he could not employ it against her enemies. He plunged into the water: the Pallas was a quarter of a mile from the shore. A shark perceived him, and followed him very quietly, till he came near the shore; where, as he was hanging by a rope that moored a vessel to a wharf, scarcely out of his depth, the shark seized his right leg, stripped the flesh entirely from the bones, and took the foot off at the ancle. He still kept his hold, and called to the people in the vessel near him, who were standing on the deck, and saw the affair. The shark then seized his other leg, which the man by his struggling disengaged fr

NTURE WITH A

nk of his friend, with a horror and emotion too great for words to paint, he vowed that he would make the devourer disgorge, or be swallowed himself in the same grave, and plunged into the deep, armed with a sharp-pointed knife. The shark no sooner saw him, than he made furiously toward him: both were equally eager, the one of his prey, the other of revenge. The moment the shark opened his rapacious jaws, his adversary dexterously diving, and grasping him with his left hand somewhat below the upper fins, successfully employed his knife in his right hand, giving him repeated stabs in the belly. The enraged shark, after many unavailing efforts, finding himse

n is, it has no effect upon their young ones, which always retreat into their stomachs in time of danger. That digestion is not performed by heat in fish, is equally evident. The coolness of the stomach of these fishes is far greater than the temperature of the water out of which they are taken; or of a

y exercised by the torpedo, which occasionally may be touched and handled without its causing the slightest agitation. When the fish is irritated, however, this quality is exercised with proportional effect to the degree of irritation; and its exercise is stated, in every instance, to be accompanied by a depression of the eyes. When that animal exerts the benumbing power, from which it derives its name, and when it operates by separate and repeated efforts, this is always the case. Both in the continued, and in the instantaneous process, the eyes, which are at other times prominent, are withdrawn into their sockets; a circumstance very naturally attaching both to the condensation and discharge of the subtle fluid. Specimens have been known of this fish weighing fifty, and even eigh

hat the torpedo, in its dying state, communicates shocks in more than usually rapid succession, but in proportional weakness; and in seven minutes, in these circumstances, three hundred and sixty small shocks were distinctly felt. On the same authority (that of Spallanzani) it is reported, that the young

. When the bladder has only one cavity, as in the case of fishes of prey, the motion of ascent or descent takes place slowly, and without a break; because, as they compress the whole bladder at once, the whole body is moved horizontally, upwards or downwards, as the case may be; a circumstance which has the effect of lessening, in consequence of the resistance of the water, the swiftness of those tyrants of the deep. When the bladder has two lobes, as in the case of the carp, which lives on insects, that fish, by expanding the anterior and compressing the posterior lobe, rises rapidly with the head foremost to the surface of the water, or sinks to the bottom with equal expedition, by compressing its two lobes in different ways. The consequence is, an increased promptitude of mo

knife, pressed against each other, and forming a succession of barbs or fringed substances, similar to those on the side of a goose-quill. These gills are covered with a small lid, and with a membrane, supported by cartilaginous threads. Both are capable of being raised and lowered; and, by being thus opened, they afford a passage to the water swallowed by the animal. A prodigious number of muscles give motion to these minute particles. It may appear almost incredible, that the number of particles connected with the respiration of the carp is not fewer than 4386. Of these, sixty-nine are muscles; while the arteries of the gills, in addition to eight princip

no doubt of the fact, nor of the redness of the gills being a consequence of the operation of the air. That redness is exactly sim

Fishes.-In the Philosophical Transactions for 1698, Mr. Robert

est of thunder and rain: the fishes were about the length of a man's little finger, and judged by all who saw them to be young whitings. Many of them were taken up, and shewed to several persons. The field belonged to one Ware, a yeoman, who was at that Easter sessions one of the grand inquest, and who carried some of the fish to the sessions

ater-spout; or brushed off by the violence of a hurricane. The phenomenon, though surprising, has occurre

P.

SPECTING FISHE

hale Fisher

----The

m their las

eldly, enormou

ving land, and

their trunk sp

nd Whale, was first published by Mr. W. Scoresby, jun.

the fins. It is thickest a little behind the fins, and from thence gradually tapers towards the tail, and slightly t

of the head, are from 20 to 25 feet in length, are curved, and the space between them is 9 or 10 feet, by 18 or 20. They give shape to the under part of the head, which is almost perfectly flat, and is about 20 feet

f whalebone. They are not perfectly flat; for besides the longitudinal curvature already mentioned, they are curved transversely. The largest lamin? are from ten to fourteen feet, very rarely fifteen feet, in length. The breadth of the largest, at the thick ends, or where they are attached to the jaw, is about a foot. The Greenland fishers estimate the size of the whale

blow-holes. Their external orifices are like two slits, which do not lie parallel,

yet the whale appears to be quick of sight. They are situa

ense of hearing seem

arrow as scarcely t

long, and seem only to be used in bearing off their young, in tu

th of the animal. By means of the tail, the whale advances itself in the water with greater or less rapidity; if the motion is slow, the tail cuts the wat

ining; in others, it is furrowed, like th

of the under jaw, and a little of the belly, are white, and the junction of the tail with the body gray. Such are the common colours of the adult whale. I have seen piebald whales. Such whales as are below size are almos

e body in large lumps, and carried on board the ship, and then cut into smaller pieces. The fleshy parts, and skin connected with the blubber, are next separated from it, and it is again cut into such pieces as will admit of its being passed into casks by the bung-hole, which is only three or four inches in diameter. In these casks it is conveyed home, where it is

whale is of a fine red colour; that of the old approaches to black, and is coarse, like that of a bul

stomach of one of large size, nothing else was found in it; they were about half an inch long, semi-transparent, and of a pale red colour. I also found a great quantity in the mouth of another, having been apparently vomited by it. When the whale feeds,

hirty minutes at the surface of the water, when nothing disturbs it. In calm weather, it sometimes sleeps in this situation. It sometimes ascends w

and seldom deserts it while life remains. It is then very dangerous to approach, as she loses all regard for her own safety in anxiety for the preservation of her cub, dashing about most violently, and n

. Scoresby's, we shall add

e wounded fish made a long and terrible resistance; it struck down a boat with three men in it, with a single blow of its tail, by which all went to the bottom. The other still attended its companion, and lent it every assi

sticks to its body, as we see shells sticking to the foul bottom of a ship. This insinuates itself chiefly under the fins; and whateve

defence except the tail; with that it endeavours to strike the enemy, and a single blow taking place would effectually destroy its adversary; but the sword-fish is as active as the other is strong, and easily avoids the stroke; then bounding into the air, it falls upon its enemy, and endeavours not to pierce with its pointed be

the whale in the same manner as dogs get round a bull. Some attack it with their teeth behind; others attempt it before; until,

midable; he alone destroys more in a year than the rest in an age, and actually h

sted in the following acc

osing harpoo

seas, the slu

avelins pierce

darts impetuou

l o'er with l

e beneath the

con

n the country; by which means, a ship could bring home the product of many more whales, than she can according to the present method of conducting this trade. The fishery also was then so plentiful, that they were obliged sometimes to send other ships to fetch off the oil they had made, the quantity being more than the fishing ships could bring away. But time and change of circumstances have shifted the situation of this trade. The ships coming in great numbe

ey must come away, and get clear of the ice by the end of August, so that in the month of September, at farthest, th

FISHERY.

e lancing of the whale, who

is last struggles he has brok

ns away with the line with so much rapidity, that he would overset the boat if it were not kept straight. When the whale is struck, the other long-boats row before, and observe which way the line stands, and sometimes pull it: if they feel it stiff, it is a sign the whale still pulls in strength; but if it hangs loose, and the boat lies equally high before and behind upon the water, they pull it in gently, but take care to coil it, that the whale may have it again easily, if he recovers strength: they take care, however, not to give him too much line, because he sometimes entangles it about a rock, and pulls out the harpoon. The fat whales do not sink as soon as dead, but the lean ones do, and come up some days afterwards. As long as they see whales, they lose no time in cutting up what they have taken, yet keep fishing for others: when they see no more, or have taken enough, they begin with taking off the fat and whiskers in the following manner. The whale being lashed alongside, they lay it on one side, and put two ropes, one at the head and the other in the place of the tail, (which, together with the fins, is struck off as soon as he is taken,) to keep those extremities above water. On the off-side of

n board of the Fame, in which he sailed, several rockets, by way of experiment. Success attended his expectation; and little doubt can remain, if they continue to be skilful

Kraken.-This is a most amazingly large sea animal, said to be seemingly of a crab-like form; the credit o

that the water in the same place still shallows on them, they know he is rising to the surface, and row off with the greatest expedition till they come into the usual soundings of the place; when, lying on their oars, in a few minutes the monster emerges, and shews himself sufficiently, though the whole body does not appear. Its back or upper part, which seems an English mile and a half in circumference, (some have affirmed, considerably more than

, and vicar of the college for promoting Christian knowledge; who informed him, that in 1680, a kraken (perhaps a young and careless one, as they generally keep several leagues from land) came into the waters that run between the rocks and cliffs near A

horns, which so crushed the head of it, that it was with difficulty they saved their lives on the wreck, though the weather was perfectly calm, the monster never appearing at other times. His excrement is said to be attractive of other fish on which he feeds; which expedient was probably necessary, on account of his slow unwieldy motion, to his subsistence; as this slow

ich is certainly a very remarkable passage, viz. "Among the rocks about Stockholm, there is sometimes seen a tract of land, which at other times disappears, and is seen again in another place. Bur?us has placed it as an island, in his map. The peasants, who call it Gummars-ore, say, that it is not always seen, and that it lies out in the open sea; but I could never find it. One Sunday, when I was out amongst the rocks, sounding the coast, it happened, that in one place I saw something like three points of land in the sea, which surprised me a little, and I thought I had inadvertently passed them over before. Upon this, I called to a peasant, to inquire for Gummars-ore; but when he came, we could see

possession of the whale's being the largest animal on or in our globe, and the eradication of any long prepossession is attended with something irksome to us. But were we to suppose a salmon or a sturgeon the largest fish any number of persons h

author declaring he has chosen the least circumference mentioned of this animal, for the greater certainty. These vast dimensions, nevertheless, we apprehend will not argue conclusively against the existence of the animal, though considerably against a numerous increase or propagation of it. In fact, the great scarcity of the kraken, his confinement to the North Sea, and perhaps to equal latitudes in the south; th

. Those who affirm they have seen its body, declare, it is more like an island than a beast, and t

s the scarcest as well as the largest in our world; and that if there are larger in the universe, they probably inhabit some sphere or planet more extended than our own, and such we have no pretence to limit; but that fiction

as been said of these animals, would be too credulous; and to reject the p

. XV

SPECTING SERPE

cinating Serpents-The Caterpillar-Caterpillar-Eaters-The Silk

Scor

rests above the

seem to burn t

ils advance to st

ng shore the flyi

and and now the

s with bloody st

gues they brandi

hissing jaws that

yd

scorpion's head seems, as it were, jointed to the breast, in the middle of which are seen two eyes; and a little more forward, two eyes more, placed in the fore part of the head; these eyes are so small, that they are scarcely perceivable, and it is probable the creature has but little occasion for them. The mouth is furnished with two jaws; the undermost is divided into two, and the parts notched into each other, which serve the creature as teeth, and with which it breaks its food, and thrusts it into its mouth; these the scorpion can at pleasure pull back into its mouth, so that no part of them can be seen. On each side of the head are two arms, each composed of four joints; the last of which is large, with strong muscles, and made in the manner of the claw of a lobster. Below the breast are eight articulated legs, each divided into six joints; the two hindmost of which are each provided with tw

and in France, in the ci-devant province of Languedoc, it is one of the greatest pests that torment mankind; but its malignity in Europe is trifling, when compared to what the natives of Africa and the East are known to experience. In Batavia, where th

eir rage against the sides of the glass vessel that contained them. They will attempt to sting a stick when put near them, and attack a mouse or a frog, while these animals are far from offering any injury. Maupertuis put three scorpions and a mouse into the same vessel together, and they soon stung the little animal in different places. Th

to entangle the scorpion in his web, which it immediately began spinning; but the scorpion rescued itself from the danger, by stinging its adversary to death; and soon after cut off, with its claws, all the legs of the spider, a

cruelty to their offspring. He inclosed a female scorpion, big with young, in a glass vessel, and she was seen to devour them as fast as they were excluded; there was but one of the number that escaped the general destruction, by taking refuge on the back of its parent; and this soon after revenged the cause of its brethren, by killing the old one in its turn. Such is the terrible and unrelenting nature of this insect, that it is asserted, when driven to an extremity, that the scorpion will even destroy itself. The following experiment was i

very day more and more into a dark rusty hue. Another female, in a different vessel, brought forth twenty-seven of the same colour; and the day following, the young ones seemed all fixed to the back and belly of the female. For near a fortnight all these continued alive and well, but afterwards some of them died daily; until, in about a month, they all died, except two. Were it worth the trouble, these animals might be kept living as long as curiosity should think proper. Their chief food is worms and insects; and upon a proper supply of these, their lives might be lengthened to their natural extent: how long that may be w

b, which they spin from their bodies, and carry about with them till they are hatched. As soon as the young ones are excluded from the shell, they get upon the back of the parent, who turns her tail over them, and defends them w

twisting around them, and crushing them to death by pressure, after which they devour them, eating till they are almost unable to move; and in that state they may be easily shot. Dr. Shaw observes, that these gigantic serpents are become less common, in proportion to the increased population of the parts where they are found; th

in Africa, a snake was seen of such enormous magnitude, as to prevent the army of Attilius Regulus from the use of the river; and after snatching up several soldiers with its enormous mouth, and devouring them, and killing several more by striking and squeezing them with the spires of its tail, it was at length destroyed by assailing it with all the force of military engines and showers of stones, after it

ded; the strong armour of its scales easily repelling the force of all the weapons that were directed against it: upon which recourse was had to battering engines, with which the animal was attacked in the manner of a fortified tower, and was thus at length overpowered. Several discharges were

the Indians and Negroes of Africa,

last Sunday, at two P. M. something on the surface of the water, which seemed to me to be of the size of a large boat. Supposing that it might be part of the wreck of a ship, I approached; but when I was within a few fathoms of it, it appeared, to my great surprise, and that of my whole crew

inary manner, and advanced toward the ship with open jaws. I had caused the cannon to be reloaded, and pointed it at his throat; but he had come so near, that all the crew were seized with terror, and we thought only of getting out of his way. He almost touched the vessel, and had not I tacked as I did,

the diameter of the body below the neck, is not less than six feet; the size of the head is in proportion to that of the body. He is of a blackish colour, his ear-holes, (ornes,) are about twelve feet from the extremity of his head. I

"Joseph

, May 12

mes and John Mayo, who made affidavit of

and to objects at a little distance, at pleasure. He first reduces the exaggerated idea which has been entertained of this power, and then adduces instances of the effect of a sickening and stupifying vapour, perceived to issue from the animal. A negr

us to those of a snail. A caterpillar, when grown to its full size, retires to some convenient spot, and, securing itself properly by a small quantity of silken filaments, either suspends itself by the tail, hanging with its head downwards, or else in an upright position, with the body fastened round the middle by a number of filaments. It then casts off the caterpillar-skin, and commences chrysalis, in w

ey have always a broad stripe or band surrounding their middle, which is black when the rest of the case is white, and white when that is black. Mr. Reaumur has had the patience to find out the reason of this singularity. The whole shell is spun of a silk produced out of the creature's body; this at first runs all white, and towards the end of the spinning turns black. The outside of the case must necessarily be formed first, as the creature works from within; consequently this is truly white all over, but it is transparent, and shews the last spun, or black silk, through it. It might be supposed that the whole inside of the shell should be black; but this is not the case: the whole is fashioned before this blac

ms the functions of a heart. On each side of this insect are nine orifices, which answer to as many lungs, and assist the circulation of the chyle, or nutritive juice. Under the mouth it has a kind of reel with two holes, through which pass two drops of the gum with which its bag is filled; they act like two distaffs, continually furnishing it with the materials of which it makes its silk. The gum which distils through the two holes takes their form, lengthens into a double thread, which suddenly loses the fluidity of the liquid

f a second time, together with its feet. Within the space of three weeks or a month, we see it fresh dressed three times. It now begins to eat again, and might be taken for a different creature, so much is the appearance of its head, colour, and figure, altered. After continuing to eat for some days, it falls again into a lethargic state; on recovering from which, it once more changes its coat, which makes the third since it issued from its shell. It continues to eat for some time, then, entirely ceasing to take any nutriment, prepares for itself a retreat, and draws out a silken thread, which it wraps round its body in the same manner as we might wind thread round an oval piece of wood. It remains quietly in the bag it has formed, and at the end of fifteen days would pierce it, to issue forth, if it was not killed by being exposed to the h

as instructive to consider it with attention. The t?nia appears destined to feed upon such juices of animals as are already animalized; and it is therefore most commonly found in the alimentary canal, and in the upper part, where there is the greatest abundance of chyle,

r of distinct pieces articulated together, each joint having an organ by which it attaches itself to the neighbouring part of the inner court of the intestine. The joints nearest the head are always small, and they become gradu

and whose direction is longitudinal. These radii appear to serve the purpose of tentacula, for fixing the orifice of the mouth, from their being inserted along the brim of that opening. After the rounded extremity or head has been narrowed into the neck, the lower part becomes flatted, and has two small tubercles placed on each flatted side; the tubercles are concave in the middle, and appear destined to serve the purpose of

ontrary way, but it seemed to be stopped with valves. The alimentary canal is impervious at the extreme joint, where it terminates without any opening analogous to an anus. Each joint has a vas

into the alimentary canal, and is thus made to visit in a general way the different parts of the animal. As it has no excretory ducts, it would appear that the w

y pass along the circulating vessels of other animals. We cannot otherwise explain the phenomena of worms being found in the eggs of fowls, and in the intestines of a

nce the necessity for their being very prolific. If they had the same powers of fecundity which they now possess, and their ova were afterwar

at its full growth is thirty feet long, and composed of four hundred joints, contained a young t?nia composed of this number of pieces; but we have seen young t?nia not half a foot long, and not possessed of fifty joints, which still were entire worms. We have also many reasons to believe, that when a part of this animal is broken off from the rest, it is c

seas, whence it was imported into Europe. It penetrates easily into the stoutest oak planks, and produces dreadful destruction

of small holes; but no damage appears till the outer parts are cut away. Then their shelly habitations come into view, in which there is a large space for inclosing the animal, and surrounding it with water. There is an evident care in these creatures never to injure each other's habitations; by which means each case or shell is preserved entire. These worms will appear, on a very little consideration, to be most important beings in the great chain of creation, and pleasing demonstrations of the infinitely wise and gracious Power, which formed, and still preserves the whole, in such wonderful order and beauty; for if it were not for the rapacity

low, streaked with bands of the same colour as the back. Mr. S. related to me the following circumstances of its being found. In August last, they were sinking a new pit or shaft, and after passing through measures of stone, gray-bind, and blue stone, and some thin beds of coal, to the depth of one hundred and fifty yards, they came upon that intended to be worked, which is about four feet thick. When they had excavated about three inches

P.

ES RESPEC

Great Pelican-The Bird of Paradise-The Ostrich-The Mocking-Bird of America

Peac

acock! what bri

plume, and v

eads them to t

colours to a

tate the spaciou

ves amid the

un

h there is the same. The back and rump are of a green gold colour, glossed over with copper; the feathers are distinct, and lie over each other like shells. Above the tail springs an inimitable set of long beautiful feathers, adorned with a variegated eye at the end of each; these reach considerably beyond the tail, and the longest of them in many birds are four feet and a half long. This beautiful train, or tail, as it is improperly called, may be expanded in the manner of a fan, at the will of the bird. The true tail is hid beneath this group of feathers, and c

e size of those of a turkey. These, if let alone, she lays in some secret place, at distance from the usual resort, to prevent their being broken by the male, which he is apt to do if he find them. The time of sitting is from twenty-seven to thirty days. The young may be fed with curds, chopped leeks, barley-meal, &c. moistened; and they are fond of grasshoppers, and some other insects. In five or six months they will feed as the old ones, on wheat and barley, with what else they can pick up in the circuit of their confinement. They seem to prefer the most elevated places to roost on during the night; such as high trees, tops of houses, and the like. T

ere valued at Athens at 1000 drachm?, or ￡32. 5s. 10d. At Samos they were preserved about the temple of Juno, being sacred to that goddess; and Gellius, in his Noctes Attic?, c. xvi. commends the excellency of the Samian peacocks. When Alexander was in India, he found vast numbers of wild ones on the banks of the Hyarotis; and was so str

abitants of Egypt cannot be thankful enough to Providence for this bird. All the places round Cairo are filled with the dead bodies of asses and camels, and thousands of these birds fly about and devour the carcases before they putrefy, and fill the air with noxious exhalations. The inhabitants of Egypt say, (and after them Maillet, in his description of Egypt,) that they yearly foll

d, like a pendent crest; these feathers rise by pairs, and are longer as they are lower down on the neck; this crest, the bird can erect or depress at pleasure; it is of a dark colour, almost black; the webs are equal on both sides, and rather curled, and the feathers, when erected, somewhat incline towards the neck; the two middle feathers of the tail are twice as long as any of the rest. This singular species inhabits the internal parts of Africa, and is frequently seen at the Cape of Good Hope. It is also met with in the Philippine islands. As to the manners of this bird, it is on all hands allowed that it principally feeds on rats, lizards, snakes, and the like; and that it will become familiar; whence Sonnerat is of opinion, that it might be made us

contrive a small flat square spot on the top of the roof, for them to rest upon, and build their nests. Catholic curates, as well as Protestant ministers, endeavour to allure them to their churches. "I observed (says a French traveller) four or five steeples dignified by such visitors. Th

ks and burning embers. Already the flame began to seize upon her, but, unmindful of herself, she cared only for her offspring, bemoaning their loss, and at length fell a prey to the fire, under the eyes of a sympathizing crowd; pre

y to be found in the warmer regions, inhabiting almost every country of Africa. They build in the small isles of lakes, far from the habitations of man. The nest is a foot and a half in diameter; and the female, if molested, will remove her eggs into the water till the cause of annoyance is removed, and then return them to her nest of reeds and grass. These birds, though living principally upon fish, often build in the midst of deserts, where that element is rarely to be found. They are extremely dexterous in diving for their

great among the latter attach these brilliant collections of plumage, not only to their own turbans, but to the housings and harnesses of their horses. They are found only within a few degrees of the equator. Gmelin enumerates twelve species, and Latham eight. P. apoda, or the greater Paradise bird, is about as large as a thrush. They pass in companies of thirty or forty together, headed by one whose flight is higher than that of the rest. They are often distressed by means of their long feathers, in sudden shiftings of the wind, and unable to proceed in their flight

BUSTARD.

rope, Asia,

part of th

F SOUTH AFR

s easily to distanc

ether in large flocks to the heights, where they find themselves more commodiously lodged. At the time of sitting, there are seldom more than four or five seen together, of which only one is a cock, the rest are hens. These hens lay their eggs all together in the same nest, which is nothing more than a round cavity made in the clay, of such a size as to be covered by one of the birds, when sitting upon it. A sort of wall is scraped up round with their feet, against which the eggs in the outermost circle rest. Every egg stands upon its point in the nest, that the greatest possible number may be stowed

ngs of the above-mentioned enemies, since they very much prefer the new-laid eggs to those which have been brooded. But they seem also to have a more important designation, that is, to assist in the nourishment of the young birds. These, when first hatched, are as large as a common pullet,

upon the least idea of danger. For this reason the quaggas generally attach themselves, as it were instinctively, to a troop of ostriches, and fly with t

e awhile to a distance from the nest, or change so hastily, that any one who might by chance be spying about, could never see both at once. In the day-time, they occasionally quit the nest entirely, and leave the care of warming the eggs to the sun alone. If at any time they find that the place of their nest is discovered, that either a man or a beast of prey has been at it, and has disturbed the arrangement of the eggs, or taken any away, they immediately destroy the nest themselves, break all the eggs to pie

icacy of a hen's egg. It is so nourishing and so soon satisfies, that no one can eat a great deal at once. Four very hungry persons would be requisite to eat a whole ostrich's egg; and eight Africans, w

of sitting, are of very little value. I have, however, at all times of the year, found nests with eggs that have been brooded: the contrasts of the seasons being much less forcible in

ng. Almost all the colonists upon the borders have a little magazine of these feathers laid by, and when they would make a friendly present to a guest, it is generally an ostrich's feather. Few of them are, however, prepared in such a manner as to be wholly fit for the use of the European dealers. The female ostriches are entirely black, or rather, in the

has secured the attention by the most delightful warblings, he will stop suddenly, and surprise them by the quack of a duck, the hiss of a goose, the monstrous note of the whip-poor-will, or any other unexpected sound: he possesses also the power of a ventriloquist, in being able to deceive his hearers as to the direction of the sound. When he is not seen, and while his listeners are looking for the enchanter on the roof of their own

ode of nidification is extremely uncommon. They build in a species of mimosa, which grows to an uncommon size, and which they seem to select for that purpose, as well on account of its ample head, and the great strengt

to approach them. The industry of these birds is almost equal, in his opinion, to that of the bee: throughout the day they appear to be busily employed in carrying a fine species of grass, which is the principal material they employ for the purpose of erecting this extraordinary work, as well as for additions and repairs.-"Though my short stay in the country was not sufficient to satisfy me, by ocular proof, that they added to their nest

istant from each other. The grass with which they build, is called, the Boshman's grass; and I believe the seed of it to be their principal food; though, on examining their nests, I found the wings and legs of different insects. From every appearance, the nest which I dissected had be

y taught to perch on the hand of his master. In a state of nature, he generally builds his nest on the highest tree that he can find, especially on the palmyra, or on the Indian fig-tree, and he prefers that which happens to overhang a well or rivulet: he makes it of grass, which he weaves like cloth, and shapes like a large bottle, suspending it firmly on the branches, but so as to rock with the wind, and placing it with its entrance downwards, to secure it from birds of prey. His nest usually consists of two or three chambers; and it is the popular belief that he lights them with fire-flies, which he catches alive at night, and confines with moist clay or

ning bayas, to give them a signal, which they understand, and send them to pluck the pieces of gold from the foreheads of their mistresses, which they bring in triumph to the lovers. The baya feeds naturally on grasshoppers and other insects, but will subsist, when tame, on pulse macerated in water: his flesh is warm and drying, and easy of digestion. The female lays many beautiful eg

s. These diminutive creatures subsist on the juices of flowers, which they extract, like bees, while on the wing, fluttering over their delicate repast, and making a considerable humming so

rds; they will often enter an open window, and, after a short contest, retire. They sometimes soar perpendicularly to a considerable height, with a violent scream. If a flower which they enter furnishes them with no supply, they pluck it, as it were in punishment and revenge, from its stalk. They have been kept alive in cages for several weeks, but soon perish for want of the usual food, for which no adequate substitute has yet been found. Latham, however, mentions a curious

grains. Its total length is an inch and a quarter. It is found in the West Indies and

eagle's nest, by robbing the eaglets of the food the old ones brought, whose attendance he protracted beyond the natural time, by clipping the wings and retarding the flight of the former. It is very unsafe to leave infants in places where eagles frequent; there having been instances in Scotland of two being carried off by them; but, fortunately, the thefts were discovered in time, and the children were restored unhurt out of the eagles' nests. In order to extirpate these pernicious birds, there is a law in the Orkney isles, which entitles every person that kills an eagle to a hen out of every house in the parish where it was killed. Eagles seem to give the preference to the carcases of dogs and cats. People who make it the

him a present of it; but what its age was, when the latter received it from Ireland, is unknown. The same bird also furnishes us with a proof of

d shields, his attention was fully fixed upon the flesh. He put his foot into the pan, where was a large piece in water nearly boiling; but feeling the smart, he withdrew it, and forsook the piece which he held. There were two large pieces, a leg and a shoulder, lying on a wooden platter: into these he struck his claws, and carried them off, skimming slowly along the ground, as he had come, till he disappeared behind a cliff. But being observed, at his departure, to look wistfully at the large piece which remained in the warm water, it was concluded that he would soon return; in expectation of which, Mr. Bruce loaded a rifle gun with ball, and sat down close to the platter by the meat. It was not many minutes before he came; and a prodigious shout was raised by the attendants, "He is coming, he is coming!" enough to have discouraged a less courageous animal. Whether he was not quite so hungry as at his first visit, or suspecting something from Mr. Bruce's appearance, he made a small turn, and sat down about ten yards from him, the pan with the meat being between them. In this situation Mr. Bruce fired, and shot him with the ball through the middle of his body, about two inches below the wing, so that he lay down upon the grass without a single flutter. Upon l

h was little less than four inches; it was extremely muscular, and covered with flesh. His middle claw was about two inches and a half long, not very sharp at the point, but extremely strong. From the root of the bill to the point was three inches and a quarter, and one inch and three-quarters in breadth at the root

P.

SPECTING BIRDS

on-The Wild Pigeon, its multiplying Power-Singular Bird, inhabiting a Volcano in Guadal

curious bird, with the following w

ous stranger

t on the

repairs thy

thy welc

daisy deck

ain voic

star to gu

the roll

visitant!

e time of

is fill'd wi

among t

oy, wand'rin

he flow'r

curious vo

tates t

pea puts o

st thy vo

guest, in

spring

thy bow'r is

is eve

no sorrow

er in t

ly, I'd fly

, with so

visit o'e

ns of th

k; nostrils surrounded by a small rim; tongue short and arrowed; toes, two forward and two backward; tail wedge-formed, of ten soft f

earing first about the middle of April, and cheering the vicinity of its habitation with that well-known note, with which so many exquisite ideas and feelings are associated. This note is used only by the male bird, and this is the intimation of love. It has been heard, (though very rarely,) like the song of the nightingale, in the middle of the n

koo does not hatch its own eggs, but deposits them in the nest of some other bird. Buffon mentions the names of twenty birds, or more, on which the cuckoo passes this fraud. Those most frequently duped by it, however, in this manner, are the yellow-hammer, the water-wagtail, and t

a hedge-sparrow, and as he could distinctly perceive every thing passing, he was resolved to watch the events which might take place. He soon, with extreme surprise, saw the young cuckoo, hatched only the day before, exerting itself with its rump and wings to take the young sparrow on its back, which it actually accomplished, and then climbed backwards with its burden to the verge of the nest, from which, with a sudden jerk, it clearly threw off its load; after which it dropped back into the nest, having first, however, felt about with the extremities of its wings, as if to ascertain whether the clearance were completely effected. Several eggs were afterwards put in to the young usurper, which were all similarly disposed of.-He observes, that in another instance, two cuckoos and a hedge-sparrow were hatched in the same nest, and one hedge-sparrow's egg remained unhatched. Within a few hours, a conflict began between the two cuckoos f

caught by nets thrown over them without their making an effort to escape. They are trained by the Chinese to fish for them. By a ring placed round their necks, they are prevented from swallowing what they take, and, when their pouches are filled, they unload them, and at the command of their owners, renew their divings. Two will sometimes be seen combining their efforts to secure a fish too large for the management of one only. When thei

ommence its flight, the preparation for which, in this bird, is slow and laborious. The female lays her eggs on the bare ground, never more than two in number, in a hole scratched by her for the purpose, and if these are touched or soiled during her occasional absence, she immediately abandons them. The male is distinguished by a large pouch, beginning under the tongue, and reaching to the breast, capable of holding, according to Linn?us, seven quarts of water. This is sometimes useful to the female during incubation, and to the young before they quit their nest; and it has been observed to be eminentl

e immense and dreary solitudes that surround them, in pursuit of deer or other game, from which they derive their only subsistence. The animals, however, taught by experience to shun the haunts of

und their head. Should two objects at once arrest its attention, it flies from one to the other alternately, with a loud screaming

n, which otherwise they would frequently miss. Is it to be wondered at, then, that they hold the alarm-bird in the highest veneration? It seems, indeed, to have been intended by Pro

able it to enjoy the fruits of its discoveries, and therefore instinctively calls for it, in hopes of being recompensed with a share of the honey, which, we are told, the natives readily allow it; but the alarm-bird appears perfectly disinterested in its labours, it answers no purpose

s, will naturally lead us to the Source and Dispenser of all; and though some parts of the works of Creation are more conspicuously

as well as a more safe one, than any other: he sends out more than one pigeon, however, for fear of accidents. Lithgow assures us, that one of these birds will carry a letter from Babylon to Aleppo, which is thirty days' journey, in forty-eight hours. This practice is very ancient: Hirtius and Brutus, at the siege of Modena, held a correspondence by pigeons; and Ovid tells us, that Taurosthenes, by a pigeon stained with purple, gave notice to his father of his victory at the Olympic games, sending it to him at ?gina. In modern times, the most noted were the pigeons of Aleppo, which served as couriers at Alexandretta and Bagdad. But this use of them has been laid aside for the last thirty or forty years, be

he depth of two inches. Their noise in the evening was extremely troublesome, and so great, that the traveller could not get any sleep where their nests abounded. About an hour before sun-rise they rose in such quantities as to darken the air. When the young pigeons were grown to a proper size, it was common for the first settlers to cut down the trees, and gather a horse-load in a few minutes. The markets at this season, even at Philadelphia, are often overstocked with them; a score of them have lately been purchased for sixpence. But as the land becomes settled, they retire into the back forests, where they are at this day in equal numbers! In North Carolina, wild pigeons or doves pass over the country in such numbers as to darken the air, devouring all kinds of grain in their progress. A large musket, loaded with small shot, fired among them, has killed scores; and boys knock them down with stick

ird inhabiting a Volcano in Guadaloup

d goes to prey on fish. Its flesh is so delicate, (adds Father Dutertre,) that no huntsman returns from the Souffriere without ardently desiring to have a dozen of these birds suspended at his neck. Labat, the colleague of Dutertre, confirms and adds to the account of the latter. "The bird called the Devil, of La Souffriere, has (he says) membranes at his feet like a duck, and claws like a bird of prey, a sharp and curved beak, large eyes, which cannot bear the light of day, or discern almost any object, so that when surprised i

history as a fact, under the titl

rrival of this nocturnal bird in the day-time, caused many speculations: some took it for an ill omen, and were terrified; others smiled, and whispered to each other. As to the Pope, he blushed, was in a sweat, arose, and brake up the assembly. But at the next session, the owl took his place again, fixing his eyes upo

"In the country, where the domestic fowls are accustomed to wander to a considerable distance from the farm-yard, I believe it is no uncommon occurrence for a chicken to make its appearanc

uffers, when she sees her young charge first take to their natural element, the water, has often been observed wit

larm when the ducklings first took to the water; but by degrees she became quite reconciled to their habits, and was accustomed to enjoy herself, in great quietness, on the banks,

to enter it, flew over the pond, and then called them to follow, but all to no purpose. When she found that nothing would entice them to enter the water, she actually seized upon one or two of them, and threw them into it; and, if she had not been

proceeded to the wilds in quest of mates; and, what was remarkably singular, she seemed to have a malicious pleasure in leading them into a snare, and was at great pains to draw them into such situations as admitted of their being easily shot, or otherwise destroyed. She always hatched her young in a peat moss, at some distance from the house, but never failed to bring them to the farm-yard, as soon as they were able to follow her. When this duck was about four years old, the owner was visited by a kinsm

ell. She was shot in the neighbourhood of Biggar, by a gentleman, who communicated the circumstance to the owne

or the brain, one for the beak, and two others for the front and hind part of the head. Towards the end of the fourth day, the two auricles, now distinctly visible, approach nearer the heart than they did before. About the fifth day the liver may be perceived; at the end of one hundred and thirty-eight hours, the lungs and stomach become visible; and in a few hours more, the intestines, veins, and upper jaw. On the seventh day, the brain begins to assume a more consistent form. One hundred and ninety hours after incubation, the beak opens, and flesh appears on the breast. In two hundred and ten, the ribs are formed, and the gall bladder is visib

rmed on the fifth day, it is from the preceding state of the chick. No part of its body could appear sooner or later, without some injury to the embryo, and each of its members appears at the most convenient moment. The wise an

the shell, is found to be heavier than the whole egg was at first. These, however admirable, are far from being all the wonders displayed in the progress of incubation. The microscope, and the penetrating investigations of the curious, have only discovered what comes more immediately under the observation of our senses; whilst the discovery of many things remains for those who are to follow us, or perhaps they may never be known in this state

P.

SPECTING BIRDS

Curious Method of Bird-Catching

s' N

ins my a

ructure of tha

mark it well

that wrought, n

ix, no bodki

in! his littl

ow neatly

rd

and neatness, with no other tools than a bill and two feet? That men can erect great buildings according to certain rules of art, is not surprising, when we consider that they enjoy the reasoning faculty, and that they possess tools and instruments of various kinds, to facilitate their work; but that a delicate litt

here are others, all the parts of which are neatly joined and fastened together by a thread which the bird makes of flax, horse or cow hair, and often of spiders' webs. Other birds, as the blackbird and the lapwing, after having constructed their nest, plaster the outside with a thin coating of mortar, which cements and binds together all the lower parts, and which, with the help of some cow-hair or moss, stuck to it whilst the plaster is wet, keeps it compact and warm. The nests of swa

They construct their nests hollow, forming the half of a sphere, that the heat may be more concentric. The nest is covered without by substances more or less coarse, not only to serve as a foundation, but to prevent the wind and insects from entering. Within, it is lined with the most delicate materials, such as wool and feathers, that the nestlings may be soft and warm. Is it not something nearly approaching to reason, which teaches the bird to place its nest in such a manner as to be sheltered from rain, and out of the reach of destructive animals? Where have they learned that they are to produce eggs, which will require a nest to prevent them from being broken, and to keep them in the necessary temperature? that the heat would not be suff

Contemplative Philosopher. The present compiler acknowledges his obligations to t

know the proper times for their passage, when to come and when to go; as also, that some should come when others retire. No doubt, the temperature of the air as to heat and cold, and their natural propensity to breed their young, are the great incentives to these creatures to change their habitations. But why should they at all change their habitations? And why is some certain place to be found, in all the terraqueous globe, that, all the year round, can afford them convenient food and habitation?-The second remarkable circumstance is, that

own regions. The flight of the wild geese, in a wedge-like figure, has been often observed; to which it is added, by the natural historian of Norway, that the three foremost, who are the soonest tired, retreat behind, and are relieved by others, who are again succeeded by the rest in or

ble at a certain day, like swallows and quails. They decamp at the same time, and it is very agreeable to observe their flight. They

figure, wed

those that follow: but he is charged with this commission only for a certain time, at the conclus

th mutu

their f

ly resort together, from all the circumjacent parts, to a certain plain, and there forming themselves once every day into a dou-wanne,

seek her mate. Our aquatic birds (continues he) are forced by necessity to fly toward the south every autumn, before the water is frozen. Thus we know, that the lakes of Poland and Lithuania are filled with swans and geese every autumn, at which time they go in great flocks, along many rivers, as far as the Euxine Sea. But in the beginning of spring, as soon as the heat of the sun molests them, they return back, and go again to the northern ponds and lakes, in order to lay their eggs. For there, and especially in Lapland, there is a vast abundance of

es in winter in prodigious plenty; but where they breed, and seem to be most at ease, as in Sweden, &c. there are no haws; nor inde

ds with short wings, such as the red-start, black-cap, &c. though they are incapable of such long flights as the swallow, or of flying with such celerity, yet may pass to less distant places, and by slower mov

Returning home, (says Sir Charles,) in the spring of the year, as I came into soundings in our channel, a great flock of swallows came and settled on my rigging; every rope was covered; they hung on one another, like a swarm of bees; the decks and awning were filled with them. They seemed almost famished and spent, and were only feathers and

and are plentiful in another, where they likewise find a temperature of air better suited to their constitution. In support of this opinion, we have the testimony of Sir Charles Wager, and of Mr. Adamson, who, in the account of his voyage, informs us, that,

were only fluttering from the Cape de Verde islands to the continent of Africa; a much nearer flight, but to which they seemed to be unequal, as they were obliged, from fatigue, to alight upon the ship, and fall into the hands of the sailors. And Mr. Kalm, another advocate for the torpidity of swallows during the winter, having remarked, however, that he himself

s of rivers, in the hollows of decayed trees, the recesses of old buildings, the holes of sand-banks, and in similar situations. Among other facts, Mr. Barrington communicated one to Mr. Pennant, that "numbers of swallows

ar, infers from them, that "we must divide our belief relative to these two so different opinions, and co

swallows pass the winter immersed under the ice, at the bottom of lakes, or beneath the waters of the sea. Olaus Magnus, archbishop of Upsal, seems to have been the first who adopted this opinion. He informs us, that "swallows are found in great clusters at the bottoms of the northern lakes, with mouth to mouth, wing to wing, foot to foot, and that in au

n in society; that others, by clinging together with their feet, formed a large mass, and in this manner committed themselves to the deep." Bishop Pontoppidan asserts, that clusters of swallows, in their torpid winter state, have sometimes been found by fishermen, among reeds and bushes in la

is somnif'rou

hs the swallow-

s conceal'd; in

rude, by cold b

ll inserted, c

some, of m

to tell! some

eneath the f

ies of the f

out of the water. The drowsy birds appear on the shore, as if unconscious still of life. Some inhale the soft breeze, like one of the finny tribe exiled from its stream. Some begin to adjust their dish

of respiration. The otter, the seal, and water fowls of all kinds, when confined under the ice, or entangled in nets, soon perish; yet it is well known, that animals of this kind can

the animals themselves. Of all birds, the swallow tribes are perhaps the lightest. Their plumage, and the comparative smallness of their weight, indicates that Nature destined them to be almost perpetually on the wing, in quest of food. From this specific lightness, the submersion of swallows, and their continuing for months underwater, amount to a physical impossibility. Even water fowls, when they wish to dive, are obliged to rise and plunge with considerable exertion, in order to overcome the resistance of the water. Klein's idea of swallows employing reeds and straws as means of submersion, is rather ludicrous; for these light substances, instead of being proper instruments for assi

allows over the Mediterranean. And Mr. Adamson has positively assured me, that during the long stay he made in Senegal, he observed the long-tailed swallow, the same with the chimney-swallow we are now speaking of, arrive constantly in Senegal about the time it leaves France, and as constantly leave Senegal in the spring. It cannot, therefore, be doubted, that this species of the swallow passes from Europe into Africa in the autumn, and from Africa to Europe in the spring; of consequence, it neither sleeps nor hides itself in holes, nor plunges into the water on the approach of winter. There is, besides, another well authenticated fact, which comes in proof here, and shews that this swallow is not reduced to a torpid state by cold, which it can bear to a certain degree, (and if that degree is exceeded, it dies,) for if we observe these birds towards the end of the warm season, we shall see them, a little before their departure, flying together in families, the father, the mother, and the young brood. Aft

we to oppose to the precise testimony of those, who, on the approach of winter, have seen these swallows in troops throw themselves into the water; nay, not only this, but have seen them taken out in nests from beneath the ice? What answer shall we make to those who have beheld them in the torpid state, and seen the

leeping swallow. With respect to the principal objects of this wonderful instinct, that teaches such various kinds of the feathered race to migrate to differe

from wearing against the sharp edge. They have, besides, a small line fastened to the body of the adventurer, by which he gives signals, that they may lower or raise him, or shift him from place to place. The last operation is attended with great danger, by the loosening of the stones, which often fall on his head, and would infallibly destroy him, were he not protected by a strong thick cap; but even this is found unequal to save him against the weight of the larger fragments of rock. The dexterity of the fowlers is amazing; they will place their feet against the front of the precipice, and dart themselves some fathoms from it; with a cool eye survey the places where the birds nestle

ENTURE OF A

t all to no purpose, while, as if in mockery of his dismay, it swung idly in the air, just passing beyond his reach. What was he to do? A projection of rock concealed him from the observation of those above, while the roar of the sea prevented their hearing his cries. If they drew up the rope and found him not there, he knew they would conclude he had lost his hold and dropped into the sea, and he would then be left to star

ne of the boat's crew; the rest are drawn up in the same manner, and each is furnished with his rope and fowling-staff. They then continue their progress upwards in the same manner, till they arrive at the regions of the birds, and wander about the face of the cliff in search of them. They then act in pairs; one fastens himself to the end of his associate's rope, and, in places where the birds have nestled beneath his footing, he permits h

of Birds.-We introduce the subject by the following poetical quotations; whi

----Eve

, tree irreg

ewy moisture,

oristers that

igal of

om

----Eac

r, or secret

bles wild his

ll

ranch the smalle

, and spread the

then the sole

ble: in shadi

night tunes

lt

ai

et poet of th

ight in strains

str

ai

ring renews the

pregnant night

safest shelt

rust her little

osen place, sh

wanders through

harms it each r

pensive mind a

o

shuns on lofty

t, sits silent

romise of a

ng,) bids her

shews 'twas not

imb, she made

ts, her airy win

if from heav'n he

ll

rds of swe

tive boughs th

orest; those of

on skim the gl

sun, ambiti

severa

nst

ey have frequent opportunities of hearing: and their adhering so steadily, even in a wild state, to the same song, is owing to the nestling attending only to the instruction of the parent bird, whilst they disregard the notes of all others that may be singing around them. Birds in a wild state do not usually sing above ten weeks in the year; whereas birds that have plenty of food in a cage, sing the greatest part of the year: the female of no species of birds ever sing

proportionate loudness of its notes. He further observes, that some passages of the song in a few kinds of birds correspond with the intervals of our musical scale, of which the cuckoo is a striking and known instance; but the greater part of their song cannot be reduced to a musical scale; partly because the rapidity is often so great, and it is also so uncertain when they may stop, that we cannot reduce the passages to form a musical bar in any time whatsoever; partly also, because the pitch of most birds is considerably higher than the most shrill notes of those instruments which have the greatest compass; and principally, because the intervals used by birds are commonly so minute,

pera singer. The skylark, in this particular, as well as in compass and variety, is only second to the nightingale. The nightingale also sings with judgment and taste. Mr. Barrington says, that his nightingale began softly, like the ancient orators, reserving its breath to swell certain notes, which thus had a most astonishing effect. He adds, that the notes of birds which are annually imported from Asia, Africa, and America, both singly and in concert, are not to be compare

emptation to insert th

TO THE FEAT

Claverton

balmy ze

ure decks

th vernal ra

his note

warblers,

the noont

cooling sh

s a safe

hop from spr

the mos

d sing the l

here swee

cool trans

kles down

plumes, here d

el in t

rude, to mi

ws his r

s bow, or hu

sequeste

vocal thr

he linne

h dreads no

her pain

l! ah, quit

ant wood

y friendly

ly plaint

harmless red

c bird,

a sure as

that love

r you, ye a

e of fruit

s your frien

d without

se cherries

hese plu

fruit that yo

ter far

s league bet

al int'r

gift of frui

gs be my

av

P.

S RESPECTI

cious task th

llions, tend;

ft air the bus

bud, and with

essence, its

older wing, the

h, or where the

them with the

om

wonders may

nsect-the sa

ittle untaught

in the dark the

anics, they u

curious labyr

strokes of arc

e frame, what be

ckm

Hone

ours of the succeeding winter. The general history of this interesting insect has been amply detailed by various authors, as Swammerdam, Reaumur, &c. &c. Among the most elaborate accounts of later times, may be mentioned that of Mr. John Hunter, which made its appearance in th

ng about the mouth of the hole or door of the hive for some days, as if they had not sufficient room within for such hot weather, which we believe is very much the case; for if cold or wet weather come on, they stow themselves very well, and wait for fine weather. But swarming appears to be rather an operation arising from necessity; for they do not seem to remove voluntarily, because if they have an empty space to fill, they do not swarm; therefore, by increasing the size of the hive, the swarming is prevented. This period is much longer in some than in others. For some evenings before they come o

iately repair to it till they are all collected. But it would seem, in some cases, that they had not fixed upon any resting-place before they come off, or, if they had, that they were either disturbed, if it was near, or that it was at a great distance; for, after hovering some time, as if undetermined, they fly away, mount up into the air, and go off with great velocity. When they have fixed upon their future habitation, they immediately begin to make their combs for they have the materials within themselves. "I have reason," says Mr. Hunter, "to believe that

he comb, are not to be found in the same state (as a composition) in any vegetable, where they have been supposed to be got. The substance brought in on the legs, which is the farina of the flowers of plants, is, in common, I believe, imagined to be the materials of which the wax is made, for it is called by most, the wax: but

urs on different bees, but always of the same colour on both legs of the same bee; whereas a new-made comb was all of one colour. I observed, that it was gathered with more avidity for old hives, where the comb is complete, than for those hives where it was only begun, which we could hardly conceive, admitting it to be the materials of wax. Also we may obs

belly. On examining the bees through glass hives, while they were climbing up the glass, I could see that most of them had this substance, for it looked as if the lower or posterior edge of the scale was double, or that there were double scales; but I perceived it was loose, not attached. Finding that the substance brought in on their legs was farina, intended, as appeared from every circumstance, to be the food of the bee, and not to make wax; and not

f the old comb, and work up into the new cavity at the top. They generally may be guided, as to the directions of their new plates, by forming ridges at top, to which they begin to attach their combs. In a long hive, if these ridges are longitudinal, their plates of comb will be longitudinal; if placed transversely, so will be the plates; and if

humblebee surrounds her eggs. It is probably a mixture of wax with farina. The cells are placed nearly horizontal, but not exactly so; the mouth raised a little, which probably may be to retain the honey the better: however, this rule is not strictly observed, for often they are horizontal, and towards the lower edge of a plane of comb they are often declining. The first combs that a hive forms are the smallest, and much neater than the last or lowermost. Their sides or partitions, between cell and cell, are much thinner, and the hexagon is much more perfect. The wax is purer, being probably little else but wax, and it is more brittle. The lower combs are considerably larger, and contain much more wax, or perhaps, more properly, more materials; and the cells are at such distances a

viz. almost white; but is not so white towards the

called, neuters, to the amount of many thousands; these are the smallest bees in the hive, and are armed with a sting. 3. Drones, or males, to the number perhaps of fifteen hundred or two thousand; these are larger than the workers, and of a dark colour; they make a great noise in flying, and have no sting. The wh

ite worm then makes its appearance, (called indifferently, worm, larva, maggot, or grub;) this larva is fed with honey for some d

sequent eleven months to lay none but these; "and it is only after this period, that a considerable and uninterrupted laying of the eggs of drones commences. When, on the contrary, impregnation is retarded after the twenty-eighth day, the queen begins, from the forty-sixth hour, to lay the eggs of drones; and she lays no other kind during her whole life." It would be tedious to detail the experiments; they were numerous, and the re

fficult is it to offer any plausible explanation of

writings of many authors, they are denominated neuters, but from the experiments of Schirach a

selecting one or two grubs of workers, and of converting them into queens; and that they accomplish this by greatly enlarging the cells o

oidal bottom; for the parts forming the bottom are left untouched. If the bees damaged it, they would lay open three corresponding cells on the opposite surface of the comb, and consequently destroy their worms, which would be an unnecessary sacrifice, and nature has opposed it. Therefore, leaving the bottom rhomboidal, they are satisfied with raising a cylindrical tube around the worm, which, like the other cells in the comb, are horizontal. But this habitation remains suitable to the worm called to the royal state, only during the first three days of its existence: another situation is requisite for the other two days it is a worm. During that time, though so small a portion of its life, it must inhabit a cell nearly of a pyramidical figure, and hanging perpendicularly. The workers, therefore gnaw away the cells surrounding the

r,) "then offered to perform an operation that required both courage and patience, and which I could not resolve to suggest, though the same expedient had occurred to myself. He proposed to examine each bee in the hive separately, to discover whether some small queen had not insinuated herself among them, and escaped our first researches. It was necessary, therefore, to seize every one of the bees, notwithstanding their irritation, and to examine their specific character with the

nd on the issue of a single combat between the claimants; and this conjecture is verified by the observations of Huber. The same hostility towards rivals, and destructive vengeance against royal cells, animates all queens, whether they be virgins, or in a state of impregnation, or mothers of numerous broods. The working bees, it may here be rema

rompt their Amazonian chieftains to the battle; for as often as the queens shew a disinclination to fight, or seem inclined to recede from each other, or to fly off, the bees immediately surround and detain them; but when either combatant shews a disposition to approach her antagonist, all the bees forming the clusters inst

for it is very remarkable, that the workers are never known to attack a queen bee with their stings. If, however, more than eighteen hours have elapsed before the stranger queen be introduced, she has some chance to escape: the bees at first seize and confine her, but less rigidly; and they soon begin to disperse, and at length leave her to reign over a hive, in which she was at first treated as a prisoner. If twenty-four hours have elapsed, the stranger will be well received from the first, and at once admitted to the sovereignty of the hive. In short, it appears that the bees, when deprived of their queen, are thrown into great agitation; that they wait about twenty hours, apparently in hopes of her return; but that, after this interregnum, the agitation ceases, and they set about supplying their loss by beginning to construct royal cells. It

he bodies of the defenceless drones, that they were obliged to turn on themselves as on a pivot, before they could extricate them. The work of death commenced in all the hives much about the same time. It is not, however, by a blind or indiscriminating instinct, that the workers are impelled thus to sacrifice the males; for if a hive be deprived of its queen, no massacre of the males takes place in it, while the hottest persecution rages in all the surrounding hives. In this case, the males are allowed to survive the winter. Mr. Bonner had observed

ommon course, immediately emerge from their cells, as workers and drones do; but the bees always keep them prisoners for some days in their cells, supplying them in the mean time with honey for food; a small hole being made in the door of each cell, through which the confined bee extends its proboscis to receive it. The royal prisoners continually utter a kind of song, the modulations of which are said to vary. The final cause of this temporary imprisonment, it is suggested, may possibly be, that they may be able to take flight at the instant they are liberated. When a young queen at last gets out, she meets

Huber arrives on the subject

will choose that moment for constructing several royal cells." This laying of male eggs in May, M. Huber calls the great laying; and he remarks, that no queen ever has a great laying till she be eleven months old. It is only after finishing this laying, that she is able to undertake the journey implied in leading a swa

ry that instinct should impel the old queen to lead forth the first swarm: for, that she being the strongest, would never have failed to have overthrown the younger competitors for the throne. An old queen, as has already been said, never quits a hive at the head of a swarm, till she has finished her laying

y, at a time of the day when the sun shines, and the air is calm. Sometimes we have observed all the precursors of swarming, disorder and agitation: but a cloud passed before the sun, and tranquillity was restored; the bees thought no more of swarming. An hour afterwards, the sun having again appeared, the tumult was renewed; it rapidly augmented, and the swarm departed." A certain degree of tumult commences as soon as the young qu

uasive, to most country bee-masters, viz. interest. He deprecates the destruction of bees, and recommends to the cultivator to be content with a reasonable share of the wealth of the hive

ns on this curious insect

race of an

common citie

ing cold, they

inter's use the

public magaz

sent new fora

fields abroad, a

ations for the

axen flooring

e future nati

common, common

wings when morn

he city gates

work but with

ion, introduces a sovereign, drawing from it, in a soliloquy, the

***

limbs, and on he

th; from herb to

ow'r, and loads h

ts, robbing those f

lves made poore

lively, and thei

llager had n

flit on pleasur

oit'ring let the

s, and on th

low'r indulge

drinking deep of

ight prepar'd,

e, and, selfis

vate use conve

k first call'd h

ck she brings

. XX

SPECTING INSEC

d B

terer Bee.-The Leaf-cutter Bee.-Curious Account of an Idiot Bo

lothi

ll people's ge

blic, and the

ommon all thei

without co

ever, though a

cells and prope

ry'd laws pres

Nature, and as

o

is principally abridged from Kirby and Sp

grubs without a coating of some non-conducting substance. The parent bee, therefore, after having constructed the cells, laid an egg in each, and filled them with a store of suitable food, plasters them with a covering of vermiform masses, apparently composed of honey and pollen; and having done this, aware (long before Count Rumford's experiments) what materials conduct heat most slowly, s

s a cylindrical hole or tunnel not less than twelve or fifteen inches long, and half an inch broad. Sometimes, where the diameter will admit of it, three or four of these pipes, nearly parallel with each other, are bored in the same piece. Herculean as this task (which is the labour of several days) appears, it is but a small part of what our industrious bee cheerfully undertakes. As yet she has completed, but the shell of the destined habitation of her offspring; each of which, to the number of ten or twelve, will require a separate and distinct apartment. In excavating her tunnel, she has detached a large quantity of fibres, which lie on the ground like a heap of saw-dust. This material supplies all her wants. Having deposited an egg at the bottom of the cylinder, along with the requisite store of pollen and honey, she next, at the height of about three-quarters of an inch, (which is the depth of ea

rub, and consequently a perfect bee, many days before the last. What then becomes of it? It is impossible that it should make its escape through eleven superincumbent cells, without destroying the immature tenants; and it seems equally impossible that it should remain patiently in confinement below them until they are all disclosed. This dilemma our heaven-taught architect has provided against. With forethought, never enough to be admired, she has not constructed her tun

e of which her building is to be composed, united by a cement preferable to ours, she first forms the basis or foundation of the whole. Next she raises the walls of a cell, which is an inch long and half an inch broad, and, before its orifice is closed, in form resembles a thimble. This, after depositing an egg, and a supply of honey and pollen, she covers in, and then proceeds to the erection of a second, which she finishes in the same manner, until the whole number, which varies from four to eight, is completed. The vacuities between the cells, which are not placed in any regular order, some being parallel to the wall, others being perpendicular to it, and others inclined to it at different angles, this laborious architect fills up with the same material of which the cells are composed, and then bestows u

uten. Another, (A. c?rulescens, L.) as we learn from De Geer, forms its nest of argillaceous earth, mixed with chalk, upon stone walls, and sometimes pr

indrical at the entrance, but swelled out below, to the depth of about three inches. Having polished the walls of this little apartment, she next flies to a neighbouring field, cuts out oval portions of the flowers of poppies, seizes them between her legs, and returns with them to her cell; and though separated from the wrinkled petal of a half-expanded flower, she knows how to straighten their folds, and, if too large, to fit them for her purpose by cutting off the superfluous parts. Beginning at the bottom, she overlays the walls of her mansion with this brilliant tapestry, extending it also on the surface of the ground round the margin of the orifice. The bottom is rendered w

utter bees. They differ also from A. Papaveris in excavating longer burrows, and filling them with several thimble-shaped cells, composed of portions of leaves so curiously convoluted, that, if we were ignorant in what school they have been taught to construct them, we

eces is the serrate margin of the leaf from which it was taken, which, as the pieces are made to lap one over the other, is kept on the outside, and that which has been cut within. The little animal now forms a third coating of similar materials, the middle of which, as the most skilful workman would do in similar circumstances, she places over the margins of those that form the first tube, thus covering and strengthening the junctures. Repeating the same process, she gives a fourth and sometimes a fifth coating to her nest, taking care, at the closed end or narrow extremity of the cell, to bend the leaves so as to form a convex termination. Having thus finished a cell, her next business is to fill it,

a curve line, so as to detach a triangular portion. When this hangs by the last fibre, lest its weight should carry her to the ground, she balances her little wings for flight, and the very moment it parts from the leaf, flies off with it in triumph; the detached portion remaining bent between her legs in a direction perpendicular to her body. Thus without rule or compasses do these diminutive creatures mete out the materials of their work into portions of an ellipse, into ovals or circles, accurate

ds, and at once disarm them of their weapons, and suck their bodies for the sake of their honey-bags. Sometimes he would fill his bosom between his shirt and skin with these insects; and sometimes he endeavoured to confine them in bottles. He was very injurious to men that kept bees, for he would glide into their bee-gardens, and, sitting down before the stools, would rap with his fingers, and so take the bees as they came out. He has even been known to overturn the hives for the sake of the honey, of which he was passionately fond. Where metheglin wa

----

siding star

st Wil

Natural

er with an explanation

her at first glance; and long practice has enabled me to seize her instantly, with a tenderness that does not in the least endanger her person. This is of the utmost importance; for the least injury done to her brings immediate destruction to the hive, if you have not a spare queen to put in her place, as I have too often experienced in my first attempts. When possessed of her, I can, without injury to her, or exciting that degree of resentment that may tempt her to sting me, slip her into my other hand, and, returning the hive to its place, hold her there, till the bees missing her, are all on wing, and in the utmost confusion. When the bees are thus distressed, I place the queen

P.

SPECTING INSEC

Wa

fe, why need I

sects, too,

uncontroll'd an

stin'd end spo

stinct Heav'n

son as their s

kill acquire t

rms which natur

r tender pro

tal, while that

d offices com

d them, nor va

ny

f making a general acknowledgment of our obligations to those gentlemen, for the assistance we have derive

ns, and plunder their property. Yet, with all this love of pillage and other bad propensities, they are not altogether disagreeable or unamiable; they are brisk and lively; the

e workers (from which in other respects they do not materially differ) in weight, and lay both male and female eggs: then the small females, not larger than the workers, which lay only male eggs. This last description of females, which are found also both amongst the humble-bees an

he must feed and educate, before they can assist her in her great design. At length she receives the reward of her perseverance and labour; and from being a solitary unconnected individual, in the autumn is enabled to rival the queen of the hive in the number of her children and subjects, and in the edifices which they inhabit-the number of cells in a vespiary sometimes amounting to more than sixteen thousand, almost all of which contain either an egg, a grub, or a pupa, and each cell serving

ber and October, when they pair. Of this large number of females, very few survive the winter. Those that are so fortunate, remain torpid till the vernal sun recalls them to life and action. They then

ss as the drones of the hive. They do not, indeed, assist in building the nest, and in the care of the young brood; but they are the scavengers of the community, for they sweep the passages and streets, and carry off all the filth. They also remove the bodies of the dead, which are sometimes heavy burdens for them; in which case two unite their strength, to accomplish the work; or, if a partner

with great impartiality; part being given to the females, part to the males, and part to those workers that have been engaged in extending and fortifying the vespiary. This division is voluntarily made, without the slightest symptom of compulsion. Several wasps assemble round each of the returning workers, and receive their respective portions. It is curious and interesting to

a sort of grayish paper, which do not touch each other, but have a small interval between each, so that if the rain should chance to penetrate one or two of them, its progress is speedily arrested. On removing this external covering, we perceive that the interior consists of from twelve to sixteen circular combs of different sizes, not ranged vertically, as in a bee-hive, but horizontally, so as to form so many distinct and parallel stories. Each comb is composed of a numerous assembiage of hexagonal cells, formed of the same paper-like substance as the exterior covering of the nest, and, according to a discovery of Dr. Barclay, each, as in those of bees, a distinct cell, the partition walls being double.-Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, ii. 260. These cells, which, as wasps do not store up any food, serve merely as the habitations of their young, are not, like those of the honey-bee, arranged in two opposite

r, there are at the bottom of each nest two holes, by one of which the wasps uniformly enter, and through the other issue from the nest, and thus avoid all confusion or interruption of their common labours. As the nest is often a foot and a half under ground, it is requisite that a covered way should lead to its entrance. This is excavated by the wasps, who are excellent miners, and is often ve

ché, fly off with it to their nest. This ductile mass they attach to that part of the building upon which they are at work, walking backwards, and spreading it into lamin? of the requisite thinness by means of their jaws, tongue, and legs. This operation is repeated several times, until at length, by aid of fresh supplies of the material, and the combined exertions of so many workmen, the proper number of layers of paper, that are to compose the roof, is finished. This paper is as thin as the leaf you are reading; and you may form an idea of the labour which even the exterior of a wasp's nest requires, on being told that no fewer than fifteen or sixteen sheets of it are usually placed above each other, with slight intervening spaces, making the whole upwards of an inch and a half in thickness. When the dome is completed, the uppermost comb is next begun, in which, as well as all the other parts of the bui

rvation of Mr. Knight, in the Philosophical Transactions, (vol. 1. 2d Ed. p. 505;) that if a nest of wasps be approached without alarming the inhabitants, and all communication be suddenly cut off between those out of the nest and those within it, no provocation will i

e seen to enter their nests with impunity. It is then, probably, that they begin to be first affected by the approach of the cold season, when nature

under glass hives, and succeeded so effectually in reconciling these little re

P.

SPECTING INSEC

een Ants-Visiting

ow little they

o dust, and a t

r regard o

e are, if we went

a sluggard, a

f wisdom m

tt

pless larv? and pup?, which have no locomotive powers, these societies consist of females and workers. The office of the females, at their first exclusion distinguished by a pair of ample wings, (which however, they soon cast

qual in number, p. 62; but from Huber's observations it se

es, all the work, as well as the defence of the com

on: and the silver wings, contrasted with the jet bodies which compose the animated mass, add a degree of splendour to the interesting scene. The bustle increases, till at length the males rise, as it were by a general impulse, into the air, and the females accompany them. The whole swarm alternately rises and fal

ds. Each column looks like a kind of slender net-work, and has a tremulous undulating motion, which has been observed to be produced by the regular alternate rising and falling just alluded to. The noise emitted by myriads and myriads of

n the Medway, in the autumn of 1814, when he was first-lieutenant of the Clorinde; which is confirm

in breadth eight or ten feet, and in height about six inches, which I suppose must have been from their resting one upon another." Purchas seems to have witnessed a similar phenomenon on shore. "Other sorts (of ants)," says he, "there are many, of which some become winged, and fill the air with swarms, which sometimes happens in England. On Bartholomew-day, 1613, I was in the island of Foulness, on our Essex shore, where were such clouds of these flying pismires, that we could no where flee from them,

om the summit of the mountain called Pena de Aya, or Les Quatre Couronnes, he and his friends were enveloped with a swarm of ants, so numerous as

r has found incipient colonies,[11] in which were only a few workers engaged with their mother in the care of a small number of larv?; and M. Perrot, his friend, once discovered a small

the nest to re-enter it; (vol. ii. 1071,)-and from M. P. Huber we learn, that, being seized at the moment of fecundation, they are conducted into the interior of the formicary, when they become entirely dependent upon the neuters, who, hanging pertinaciously to each leg, prevent their going out, but at the same time attend upon them with the greatest care, feeding them regularly, and conducting them where the temperature is suitable to them, but never quitting them a single moment. By degrees these females become reconciled to their condition, and lose all des

through the difficult or steep passages of the formicary; nay, they sometimes even carry her about their city: she is then suspended upon their jaws, the ends of which are crossed; and, being coiled up like

gs, and prancing with the others. These frolics they make use of, both to congratulate each other when they meet, and to shew their regard for the queen: some of them walk gently over her, others dance round her; she is generally encircled with a cluster of attendants, who, if you separate them from her, so

to each other information of various occurrences, and use a kind of languag

possible dispatch their treasures, the larv? and pup?, down to the lowest apartments. Amongst those species of ants that do not go much from home, sentinels seem to be stationed at the avenues of their city. "Disturbing once the little

wards them, and, striking their head against them, communicated their cause of fear or anger that these, in their turn, conveyed in the same way the intelligence to others, till the whole colony was in a ferment, those neuters which were within the tree running out in crow

than the rest, continued their potations: upon this, one of those that had retreated, returns to inform his thoughtless companions of their danger; one he pushes with his jaws; another he strikes first upon the belly, and then upon the breast; and so obliges three of them to leave off their carousing, and march homewards; but the fourth, more resolute to drink it out, is not to be discomfited, and pays not the least regard to the kind blows with which his compeer,

often previously send out spies, to collect information. These, as soon as they return from exploring the vicinity, enter the nest; upon which, as if they had communicated their intelligence, the army immediately assembles in the suburbs of their city, and begins its march towards tha

ther in all directions, and perhaps will wander long before they can find a spot convenient for their re-union. No sooner does any one discover a little chink in the floor, through which it can pass below, than it returns to its companions, and, by means of

the house, in which conserves were kept, which they constantly attended till the nest was destroyed. Some in their rambles must have first discovered this dep?t of sweets, and informed the rest of it. It is remarkable that they alway

ir nest. When they had been accustomed some days to this imprisonment, he fastened small threads to the upper part of the pots, and extending them over the water-pans, fixed them in the ground. The sagacious ants soon found

onvincing proof of this: as he has told his tale in a very lively

me go by as ready assistants, if any be weary; and some are the officers that lead and shew the way to the hole into which he must pass; and if the vancouriers perceive that the body of the cockroach lies across, and will not pass through the hole or arch through which they mean to carry him, order is given, and the body turned endwise, and this is done a foot before they come to the hole, and that without any stop or stay; and it is observable, that they never pull contrary ways. A table being cleared with great care, (by way of experiment,) of all the ants that are upon it, and sugar being put upon it, some, after a circuitous route, will be observed to arrive at it; and again departing, without tasting the treasure, will hasten away to inform their friends of the discovery, who, upon this, will come by myriads: you may then, while they are thickest upon the table, clap a large book, or any thing fit for that purpose, upon them, so hard a

But those remarkable organs, their antenn?, are the principal instruments of their speech, if I may so call it, supplying the place both of voice and words. When the military ants before alluded to go upon their expeditions, and are out of the formicary, previously to setting off, they touch each other on the trunk with their antenn? and forehead; this is the signal for marching, for, as soon as any one has received it, he is immediately in motion. When they have any discovery to communicate, they strike with them those that t

nt from the whole series of their proceedings, which all tend to promote the general good. Distress or difficulty falling upon any member of their society, generally excites their sympathy, and they do their utmost to relieve it. M. Latreille once cut off the antenn? of an ant; and its companions, evidently pitying its sufferings, anointed the wounded part with a drop of transparent fluid fro

f some ants, originally belonging to the same nest, that, having been entirely separated from each other four months, were afterwards brought together. Though this was equa

y inform the whole community, as we have seen above, and teach them the way to it. M. Huber, for a particular reason, having produced heat, by means of a flambeau, in a certain part of an artificial formicary, the ants that happened to be in that quarter, af

en suspended to the antenn? or legs of the victor, a trophy of his valour, which, however troublesome, he will be compelled to carry about with him to the day of his death. Their abdomen is also furnished with a poison-bag, (ioterium,) in which is secreted a powerful and venomous fluid, long celebrated in chemical researches, and once called formic acid, though now considered a modification of the acetic and malic;[12] which, when their enemy is beyond the reach of their mandibles, (it is spoken here particularly of the hill ant, or F. rufa,) standing erect on their hind legs, they discharge from their anus with considerable force, so that from the surface of the nest

e rage and fury. It makes no difference to them whether they attack a mite or an elephant; and man himself instils no terror into their warlike breasts. Point your finger towards any individual of F. rufa; i

l its might, d

mediately opens its jaws to bite you, and rearing upon its hind legs,

rritory worth contending for; their droves of aphides being equally valuable with the flocks and herds that cover our plains; and the body of a fly or a beetle, or a cargo of straws and bits of stick, an acquisition as important as the treasures of a Lima fleet to our seamen. Their wars are usually between nests

all one if it be by sickness that this member is disabled,) rather than any real civil contest. The red colonies, (says this author,) are the only ones I could ever observe to feed upon their own species. You may frequently discern a party

the law. It was more probably, however, a champion that had been decapitated in an unequal combat, unless we admit Gould's idea, and suppose it to have suffered because it was an unprofitable member of the community.[14] At another time I found three individuals tha

lvius, after giving a very circumstantial account of one contested with much obstinacy by a great and small species, on the trunk of a pear-tree, gravely states, "This action was fought in the pontificate of Eugenius the Fourth, in the presence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an eminent lawyer, who related the whole history of the battle with the greatest fidelity

panions, who rush in crowds to their succour. Sometimes, however, after suffering a signal defeat, the smaller species are obliged to shift their quarters, and to seek an establishment more out of the way of danger. In order to cover their march, many small bodies are then posted at a little distance from the nest. As soon as the large ants approach the camp, the foremost sentinels instantly fly at them wit

genous to Europe; one of which, thought to have been imported, is come so near to us as Bourdeaux. Their society consists

office of erecting and repairing the buildings, collecting provision, attending upon the female, conveying the eggs, when laid, to the nurseries, and feeding the young l

, and probably are equally active, except that they have

shable by their long and large heads, armed with very long tubulate mandibles. Their office is that of sentinels; and when the nest is attacked, to them is commi

ipation in the labours and employments occupying the rest of the community, that they may be wholly devoted to the furnishing of a constant accession to the population of the colony. Though at their fir

teriorly of innumerable cells, of various figures and dimensions. Others prefer a more elevated site, and build their nests, which are of different sizes, from that of a hat to that of a sugar-cask, and composed of pieces of wood glued together, amongst the branches of trees, often seventy or ei

th being widened at the base, joined at the top into one dome, and consolidated all around into a thick wall of clay, they form a building of the size above-mentioned, and of the shape of a haycock, which, when clothed, as it generally soon becomes, with a coating of grass, it at a distance very much resembles. When the building has assumed this its final form, the inner turrets, all but the tops, which project like pinnacles from different parts of it, are removed, and the clay employed over again in other services. It is the lower part alone of the building that is occupied by th

constantly reside, and, from the smallness of the entrances, which are barely large enough to admit their more diminutive subjects, can never possibly come out; thus, like many human potentates, purchasing their sovereignty at the dear rate of the sacrifice of liberty. Immediately adjoining the royal chamber, and surrounding it on all sides to the exten

nts wanted to remove her eggs, the small nurseries are taken to pieces, rebuilt at a greater distance, a size larger, and their number increased at the same time. In substance they differ from all the other apartments, being formed of particles of wood, apparently joined together with gums. A collection of these compact, irregular, a

the sides, leaving an open area in the middle, under the dome, very much resembling the nave of an old cathedral, having its roof supported by two very large Gothic arches, of which those in the middle of the area are sometimes two and three feet high, but as they recede on each side, rapidly diminish, like the arches of aisles in perspective. A flattish

eries of different diameters. The necessity for the vast size of the main underground galleries, evidently arises from the circumstance of their being the great thoroughfares for the inhabitants, by which they fetch their clay, wood, water, or provision; and their spiral and gradual ascent is requisite for the easy access of the termites, which cannot, but with great difficulty, ascend a perpendicular. To avoid this inconvenience, in the interior vertical parts of the building, a flat pathway, half an inch wide, is often made to wind gradually, like a road cut out of the side of a mountain; by which they travel with great facility up ascents otherwise impracticable. The same ingenious propensity to shorten their labour, seems to have given birth to a contrivance still more extraordinary: this is a kind of bridge, or vast arch, sprung from the floor of the area to the upper apartments at the side of the building, which answers the purpose of a flight of stairs, and must shorten the distance exceedingly in transporting eggs from the royal chamb

s ample arch myriads of vaulted apartments, of various dimensions, and constructed of different materials,-that they should moreover excavate, in different directions and at different depths, innumerable subterranean roads or tunnels, some twelve or thirteen inches in diameter, or throw an arch of stone over other roads leading from the metropolis into the adjoining country, to the distance of seven hundred feet,-that they should project and finish the vast interior staircases or bridges, lately described,-and finally, that the millions necessary to execute such

workmen employed. Whereas, the nests of the termites being at least twelve feet high, and the insects themselves not exceeding a quarter of an inch in stature, their edifices are upwards of five hundred

by the wind, they fill the air, entering the houses, extinguishing the lights, and are sometimes driven on board the ships that are not far from the shore. The next morning, they are discovered covering the earth and waters, deprived of the wings which enabled them to avoid their numerous enemies, and which were only calculated to carry them a few hours. They now look like large maggots; and, from the most active, industrious, and rapacious creatures, they a

royalty is a state of confinement, and so continues during the remainder of their existence. The female, after this confinement, soon begins to furnish the infant colony with new inhabitants. The care of feeding her and her companion, devolves upon the industrious larv?, which supply them both with every thing that they want. As she increases in dimensions, they continue to enlarge the cell in which she is detained. When the business of oviposition commences, they take the eggs from her, and deposit them in their nurseries. Her abdomen now begins gradually to extend, till in process of time it is enlarged to fifteen hundred or two thousand times the size of the rest of her body, and her bulk equals that of twe

when hatched, they are provided with food, and receive every necessary attention, till they are able to shift for themselves. One remarkable circumstance attends these nurseries; they are always covered with a kind of mould, among

ways many, both labourers and soldiers, in waiting, that they may successively attend upon and defend the common father and mother, on whose s

e depth of three or four feet under their nests into the earth, till they arrive at a soil proper to be used in the erection of their buildings. Were they, indeed, to expose themselves, the race would soon be annihilated by their innumerable enemies. If any accident happen to their various structures, or if they are dislodged from any of their covered ways, they are active and expeditious in repairing it; and in a single night they will restore a gallery of three or f

male increases in size, must be gradually enlarged; the nurseries must be removed to a greater distance; the chambers and interior of the nest receive daily accessions, to provi

n: these, to the naked eye, appear like raspings of wood; but when examined by the microscope, they are found to consist chi

bling as fast as they can one after the other; to these succeed a large body, who rush forth with as much speed as the breach will permit, their numbers continually increasing during the attack. It is not easy to describe the rage and fury by which these diminutive heroes seem actuated. In their haste they frequently miss their hold, and tumble down the sides of their hill: they soon, however, recover themselves, and, being blind, bite every thing they run against. If the attack proceeds,

bourers in motion, hastening in various directions towards the breach, every one carrying in his mouth a mass of mortar, half as big as his body, ready tempered; this mortar is made of the finest parts of the gravel, which they probably select in the subterranean pits or passages before described

at the interval of a minute or two, by lifting up his head and striking his forceps upon the wall of the nest, he makes a particular noise, which is answered by a loud hiss from all the labourers, and appears to be a signal for dispatch; for, every time it is heard, they may be seen to redouble their pace, and apply to their work with increased diligence. Renew the attack, and this amusing scene will be repeated: in ru

y divided into two columns, chiefly composed of labourers, about fifteen abreast, and following each other in close order, and going straight forward. Here and there was seen a soldier, carrying his vast head with apparent difficulty, and looking like an ox in a flock of sheep, who marched on in the same manner. At the distance of a foot or two from the columns, many other soldiers were to be seen, standing still or pacing about as if upon the look-out, lest some enemy should suddenly surprise their unwarlike comrades; other soldiers, (which was the most extraordinary and amusing part of the scene,) having mounted some plants, and placed themselves on the points of their leaves, elevated from ten to fifteen inches from the ground, hung over the army marching below, and by striking their forceps upon the leaf, produced at intervals t

They eat the wood nearest the bark, or the alburnum, without attacking the interior, and bore a vast number of holes and irregular galleries. That part of the wood appears moist, and is covered with little gelatinous particles, not un

cell about half an inch in height, and very narrow,) a larva with an enormous head. Two of these individuals were in the same cell; one of the two seemed placed as sentinel at the entrance of the ce

s to form a purse. The viscus used for this purpose is an animal juice, which nature has enabled them to elaborate. Their method of first bending down the leaves, our naturalists had not an opportunity of observing; but they saw thousands uniting all their strength to hold them in this position, while other busy multitudes were employed within, in applying the gluten that was to prevent

r, all the coffers and chests of drawers are laid open, which they clear of rats, mice, and a peculiar sort of insect in that country, called cackerlacks, and of other noxious animals. If any o

nothing extraordinary. It nearly resembles the woodlouse; its body being provided with six feet, composed of several membranous rings, and terminated in a poi

is always equal to the depth he gives to his ditch. When he has determined the space of this opening, and traced the first furrow, he immediately digs a second, concentric to the other, in order to throw out all the sand contained in the first circle. He makes all these operations with his head, which serves him instead of a shovel, and its flat and square form admirably adapts it to this purpose. He also takes some sand with one of his fore feet, to throw it beyond the first f

re to roll down to the bottom, because the brink is made sloping, and thus the sand giving way beneath her feet, she is forced to follow the dangerous declivity till she falls into the power of her destroyer, who, by means of his horns, draws her under the sand, and feasts upon her blood. When he has sucked all the juices from her body, he contrives to eject from his habitation the dr

d. The ant-lion employs itself in preparing trenches even before having seen the animal which they are to ensnare, and which

ructed snare, than in overwhelming them with showers of sand, and thus cutting off all hopes of a retreat? All its actions have fixed principles by which they are directed. The trench must be dug in the sand, or it could not answer the desired purpose; and it must, according to the structure of its body, wor

P.

SPECTING INSEC

Spider-Spider tamed-Curiou

Sp

touch, how ex

hread, and live

o

towards the close of autumn. The aranea diadema being one of the largest of the common spiders, serves to exemplify some of the principal characters of the genus in a clearer manner than most others. At the tip of the abdomen are placed five papill?, or teats, through which the insect draws its thread; and as each of these papill? is furnished with a vast number of foramina or outlets, disposed over its whole surface, it follows, that what we commonly term a spider's thread, is in reality formed of a collection of a great many distinct ones; the animal possessing the power of drawing out more or fewer at pleasure; and if it should draw from all the foramina at once, the thread might consist of many hundred distinct filaments. The eyes, which are situated on the upper part or front of the

regions, and is generally found in dry and sunny plains. It is the largest of all the European spiders; but the extraordinary symptoms supposed to ensue from the bite of this insect, as well as their supposed cure by the power of music alone, are entirely fabulous, and are now sufficiently explo

gether in large numbers. M. Reaumur also computed that 663,522 spiders would scarcely furnish a single pound of silk. Monsieur Bon, however, the first projector, carried his experiments so far as to obtain two or three pairs of stockings and gloves of this silk, which were of an elegant gray colour, and were presented, as samples, to the Royal Academy. It must be observed, that in this manufacture it is the silk of the egg-bags alone that can be used, being far stronger than that of the webs. Monsieur Bon collected twelve or thirteen ounces of these, and ha

e a?rial excursions, the spider ascends some slight eminence, as the top of a wall, or the branch of a tree; and turning itself with its head towards the wind, protrudes several threads, and, rising from its station, commits itself to the gale, and is thus carried far beyond the height of the loftiest towers, and enjoys the pleasure of

. The females, in particular, are of a disposition peculiarly capricious and malignant; and it is observed, that they sometim

iciti plena

Knight, Esq. of Herefordshire, has, in a Treatise on the Culture of the

ejects its web, which the wind readily carries to some contiguous object. Along this, the sagacious insect effects its escape, not however till it has previously ascertained, by several exertions of its whole strength, that its web is properly attached to the opposite end. I do not

of a Spider tamed, given by the Abbé d'Olivet, autho

hen it once exceeds proper limits, becomes the most cruel torture of a recluse individual. He adopted the following stratagem:-Perceiving a spider spinning her web at the spiracle, he undertook to tame her; and to effect this, he placed some flies on the edge of the opening, while the Basque was playing on his favourite bagpipe. The spider by degrees accustomed herself to distinguish the

having, unknown to his keepers, secreted a battalion or two of these hostile implements. The device of Pelisson is more interesting to us, as we learn f

like the plate of a wire-drawer, with a multitude of holes, so numerous, and exquisitely fine, that a space often not larger than a pin's point includes a thousand. Through each of these holes proceeds a thread of inconceivable tenuity, which, immediately after issuing from the orifice, unites with all the other threads from the spinner, into one. Hence, from each spinner proceeds a compound thread; a

Spider, connected with observations on the utility of a

med carefully to avoid each other, retiring to opposite ends of the bottle, which was placed horizontally. By giving it a gradual inclination, the scorpion was forced into contact with the spider, when a sharp encounter took place, the latter receiving repeated stings from his venomous adversary, apparently without the least injury; while, with

carry to their nest. I have frequently seen them drag their prey perpendicularly up the wall, and, although the weight would overcome their united effo

-room, surrounded by an immense concourse of ants; the deck, for four or five feet round, was covered with them; his body and limbs were encrusted wit

times seen the entire skeletons of the snake b

ous reptiles, so troublesome in the torrid zone; and their industry, perseverance, courage, and numerical f

. XX

SPECTING INSEC

ous I

d candles, without their inconveniences; which gives light sufficient to direct our motion; which is incapable

liar instance.-This insect in shape somewhat resembles a caterpillar, only it is much more depresse

the two last segments of the belly: and his observation has been recently confirmed by Miller. This last entomologist, indeed, saw only two shining spots; but from the insects having the power of withdrawing them out of sight, so that not the smallest trace of light remains, he thinks it is not improbable that at times two other points, still smaller, may be exhibited, as Geoffrey has described. In the males of L. splendid

e account given by Mr. Waller, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1684, would seem to have been taken by him in Hertfordshire, is winged; and when a number of these moving stars are seen to dart through the air in a dark night, nothing can have a

the insect is flying, at which time it appears adorned with four brilliant gems of the most beautiful golden-blue lustre: in fact, the whole body is full of light, which shines out between the abdominal segments when stretched. The light emitted by the two thoracic tubercles alone is so considerable, that the smallest print may be read by moving one of these insects along the lines; and in the West India islands, particularly in St. Domingo, where they are very common, the natives were fo

and descended,

th her vest,

t be called, s

ere, confined, tw

By that light

atures of his

g a burning fire-brande in his hande, and ascendeth the next hillock, that the cucuij may see it, and hee swingeth the fire-brande about, calling Cucuie aloud, and beating the ayre with often calling out, Cucuie, Cucuie." He goes on to observe, that the simple people believe the insect is attracted by their invitations; but that, for his part, he is rather inclined to think that the fire is the magnet. Having obtained a sufficient number of cucuij, the beetle-hunter returns home, and lets them fly loose in the house, where they diligently seek the gnats about the beds and the faces of those asleep, and devour them.-Martire ubi supr. Colonies, i. 128. These insects are also applied t

e genus, are luminous: not fewer than twelve species of this family

ntries where they abound, cannot be better described than in the language of the poet abov

-sorrowing

on: but soon di

an it veil'd; i

over swarm'd, a

visible; one wh

adiance upon fl

colours from

s and dark, e

; and anon st

a shower

evening an infinite number of moving lights in the woods, which were merely these insects, they supposed that the Spaniards were advancing upon them, and immediately betook themselves to their ships: a result as well entitling the elatera to a commemoration feast, as a similar good office by the land-crabs of His

respectable inhabitants of the city; a party of whom, on going one evening, were surprised to find the house closely shut up, and their Moorish friends in the greatest grief and consternation. On inquiring into the cause, they ascertained that some of the Lampyris Italica had found their way into the dwelling, and that the ladies within had taken it into their heads that these

this tribe are the F. lanternaria and F. candelaria; the former a native of South America, the latter of China. Both, as indeed is the case with the whole genus, have the material which diffuses their light included in a hollow subtransparent projection of the head. In F. candelaria this projection is of a su

unity of drawing them, placing them upon a table in her lodging-room. In the middle of the night the confined insects made such a noise as to awake her, and she opened the box, the inside of which, to her great astonishment, appeared all in a blaze; and in her fright letting it fall, she was not less surprised to see each of the insects apparently on fire. She soon, however, divined the cause of this unexpected phenomenon, and re-inclosed her brilliant guests in their place of confinement.

ce, he observed on the inner side of the last abdominal segment two minute oval sacks, formed of an elastic spirally-wound fibre, similar to that of the trachea, containing a soft yellow substance, of a closer texture than that which lines the adjoining region, and affording a more permanent and brilliant light. This light he found to be less under the control of the insect than that from the adjoining luminous substance, which it has the power of voluntarily extinguishing, not by retracting it under a membrane, as Carradori imagined, but by some inscrutable change which depends upon its will: and when the latter substance was extracted from living glowworms, it afforded no light, w

s rendered more brilliant by the application of heat and oxygen gas, and is extinguished by cold and by hydrogen and carbonic acid gases. From these last facts, Spallanzani was led to regard the luminous matter as a compound of hydrogen and carburetted hydrogen gas. Carradori having found that the luminous portion of the belly of the Italian glowworm, lampyris Italica, shone in vacuo, in oil, in water, and when under other circumstances where the presence of oxygen gas was precluded,-with Brugnatelli, ascribed the property in question to the imbibition of light, separated from the food or air taken in the body, and afterwards secreted in a sensible form.[15] Lastly, Mr.

e more correct, is left for f

lantern-flies, (Fulgora,) whose light precedes them, it may act the part that their name imports, enable them to discover their prey, and to steer themselves safely in the night. In the fire-flies, (Elater,) if we consider the infinite numbers, that in certain climate

n unobtrus

lowly shade

wish, while

y modest m

. O

. XX

SPECTING INSEC

ation of the Life o

s a small round bag, or case, white within as paper, but without always dirty, and fouled with dust. Here, after a fortnight's rest, the animalcule bursts out, transformed into a perfect flea, leaving its exuvi? in the bag. While it remains in the bag, it is milk-white till the second day before its eruption, when it becomes coloured, grows hard, and gets strength; so that, upon its first delivery, it springs nimbly away. The flea is covered all over with black, hard, and shelly scales or plates, which are curiously jointed, and folded over each other in such a manner as to comply with all the nimble motions of the creature. These scales are finely polished, and beset about the edges with short spikes, in a very beautiful and regular order. Its neck is finely arched, and resembles the tail of a lobster: the head is also very extraordinary; for from the sn

o not lay their eggs all at once, but by ten or twelve in a day, for several days successively, which eggs will be afterwards found to hatch successively, in the same order. The flea may easily be dissected in a drop of water; and thus the stomach and bowels, with their peristaltic motion, may be discovered very plainly, with the veins and arteries, though minute beyond all conception. This bloodthirsty insect, which fattens at the expense of the human species, prefers the more delicate skin of women, but preys neither upon epileptic persons, nor upon the dead or dying. It loves to nestle in the fur of do

gs, or whether they only suck or bite, when they draw blood from the b

cribe Bochart's learned dissertations on the little animal, we shall, for your sa

the ruin of your adorers. Nature has provided it six substantial legs, of great strength, and incomparable agility, jointed like a cane, covered with large hairs, and armed each of them with two claws, which appear of a horny substance, more sharp than lancets, or the finest needle you have in your needle-book. It was a long while before we could discover its mouth, which, we confess, we have not yet so exactly perceived as we could wish, the little bashful creature always holding up its two fore-feet before it, which it uses instead of a fan or mask, when it has no mind to be known; and we were forced to be guilty of an act both uncivil and

the Acts of Copenhagen.-"Pliny represents to us a Greek philosopher, whose chief occupation, for several years together, was to measure the space sk

time, full six years, with exceeding great care, having fed it twice every day with her blood; and when it had satisfied its appetite, she put it up in a little box, lined with silk. In a month's time, being recovered from her illness, she set out from Copenhagen with her flea; but having returned in about a year after, I took an opportunity of waiting upon her, and, among other things, asked after her

lly seen running about them, and devouring them. Numbers of little red lice, with a very small head, and in shape resembling a tortoise, are often seen about the legs of spiders, and they never leave the animal while he lives; but if he be killed, they almost instantly forsake him. A sort of whitish lice is found on humblebees; they are also found upon ants; and fishes are not less subject to them than other animals. Kircher tells us, that he found lice also on flies, and M. de la Hire has given a curious account of the creature which he found on the common fly. Having occasion to view a living fly with the microscope, he observed on its head, back, and shoulders, a great number of small animals crawling very nimbly about, and often climbing up the hairs which grow at the origin of the fly's legs. He with a fine needle took up one of these, and placed it before the microscope used to view the animalcules in fluids. It had eight legs, four on each side; these were not placed very distant from each other, but the four towards the head were separated

piercer, or sucker, is judged to be seven hundred times smaller than a hair, and is contained in another case within the first, and can be drawn in or thrust out at pleasure. The breast is very beautifully marked in the middle; the skin is transparent, and full of little pits; and from the under part of it proceed six legs, each having five joints, and their skin all the way resembling shagreen, except at the ends, where it is smoother. Each leg is terminated by two claws, which are hooked, and are of an unequal length and size. These it uses as we would a thumb and middle finger; and there are hairs between these claws, as well as all over the legs. On the back part of the tail there may be discovered some ring-like division

lling into a roundish cavity, it passes again in a fine stream to another circular receptacle in the middle of the head; from thence it runs through a small vessel to the breast, and then to a gut which reaches to the hin

use is placed on its back, two bloody darkish spots appear; the larger in the middle of the body, the smaller towards the tail; the motions of which are followed by the pulsation of the dark bloody spot, in or over which the white bladder s

P.

SPECTING INSEC

, and the m

uous footst

lustre to an

throne upon the

wp

Ap

, sheath of five articulations, with a single bristle; antenn? setaceous, and longer than the thorax; either four erect wings, or none; feet formed for walking; posterior part of the abdomen usually furnished with two little horns. Geoffrey says, the aphides have two beaks, one

s. The aphides are sufficiently known by the indiscriminate term of plant-lice; they abound with a sweet and grateful moisture, and are therefore eagerly devoured by ants, the larv? coccinell?, and many other creatures, or they would become, very probably, more destructive to the whole vegetable creation than any other race of insects known. If Bonnet was not the first naturalist (as is generally acknowledged) who discovered the mysterious course of generation in the aphides, or, as he calls them, pucerons, his experiments,

an inquiry into their particular natures not a little perplexing; but by reducing them under their proper genus, the difficulty is considerably diminished. We may reasonably suppose all the insects comprehended under any distinct genus, to partake of one general nature; and by diligently examining any particular species, we may thence gain some insight into the nature of all the rest. With this

n spring, proceed from small black oval eggs, which were deposited on the last year's shoot; though it happens that, when the insects make too early an appearance, the greater part suffer from the sharp weather that usually succeeds, by which means the rose-trees are some years freed from them. The same

ertility, that no less than five generations succeed each other in the interval. One is produced in May, which casts off their covering; while the months of June and July each supply two more, which cast off their coverings three or four times, according to the different warmth of the season. This frequent change of their outward coat is the more extraordinary, because it is repeated more often when the insects come the soonest to their growth, which sometimes happens in ten days, when they have had plenty of warmth and nourishment. Early in the month of June, some of the third generation, which were produced about the middle of May, after casting off the last covering, discover four erect wings, much longer than their bodies; and the same is observ

h the aphides abound, but with this difference, that the ants are constant visitors, the bee only when flowers are scarce; the ants will suck in the honey while the aphides are in the act of discharging it; the bees only collect it from the leaves on which it has fallen. In the autumn

ts are, however, still more remarkable, their outward appearance readily distinguishing them from this and all other generations. When first produced, they are not of a green colour like the rest, but of a reddish brown, and have afterwards a dark line along the back; they come to their full growth in about three weeks, and then cast off their last covering, the whole insect being, after this, of a bright yellow colour, the wings only excepted, but after this change they become a deeper yellow, and, in a very few hours, of a

r attacks, than the most humble plant. They prefer the young shoots on account of their tenderness, and, on this principle, often insinuate themselves into the very heart of the plant, and do irreparable mischief before they are discovered. But, for the most part, they beset the foliage, and are always found on the under side of the leaf, which they prefer, not only on account of its being the most tender, but as it affords them protection from the weather, and various injuries to which they would otherwise

, that devour it as quickly as it is produced, it might, no doubt, be collected in considerable quantities, and, by the processes used with other saccharine juices, might be converted into the choicest sugar or sugar-candy. The sweetness of this excrementitious substance, the glossy appearance it gave the leaves it fell upon, and the swarms of insects this matter attracts, led him to imagine the honey-dew of plants was no other than this secretion, which further observation has since been fully confirmed; and not, as its name implies, a sweet substance falling from the atmosphere. On this opinion it is

e upon a leaf, aphides will be found on the underside of the leaf or leaves immediately above it, and under no other circumstance whatever. If by accident any thing should intervene between t

pecies, both with and without wings, desert the willows on which they feed, and ramble over every neighbouring object in such numbers, that we can handle nothing in their vicinity without crushing some of them; while those in a younger or less advanced state, still remain in la

e explosion of gunpowder; it looks like, and is sometimes taken for, a kind of black mildew. In most seasons, the natural enemies of the aphis are sufficient to keep them in check, and to prevent them from doing essential injury to plan

diminished by serving as food for others. On this principle, most animals of this kind have one or more natural enemies. The helpless aphis, which is the scourge of the vegetable kingdom,

y briskly over all kinds of plants; and, if narrowly watched, they will be found to devour the aphides wherever they find them. The same may be observed of the lady-bird, in its perfect state. Another most formidable enemy to the aphis, is a very minute, black, and slender ichneumon fly, which eats its way out of the aphis, leaving the dry

maggot, produced from such eggs, feeds, as soon as hatched, on the younger kinds of aphis, and, as it increases in size, attacks and devours those which are larger. The larva of the hemerolicus feeds also on the aphides, and deposits its eggs on the leaves of such plants a

P.

SPECTING INSEC

e Vegetable Fly-The Boat Fly-The Ephemeral Flies-Bu

rms of insec

ollow Nature'

azure, green, a

lour'd eyes, wi

l, and mark'd wi

son through th

bau

mon Hou

in twenty-four hours, but, in the sun, within twelve hours after it is laid. About half an hour before, annular circles become visible in the egg, an undulatory motion succeeds, the egg opens at the end, and the worm makes its appearance. Its entrance into the world is extremely tedious; for the three or four minutes taken by the worm to work its way out of the egg, are, for it, certainly so many days. It is endowed, on the other hand, with vital powers, which enable it to defy inconveniences which cost other animals their lives. Nothing but turpentine, the general destroyer of insects, kills it in half an hour. On the fourteenth or fifteenth day, it begins to prepare for its transformation into a nymph, and in this form appears at first of a light yell

n, a German naturalist, observes, that the law of retaliation is in some measure established, in regard to these animals; for if they annoy us, they are in their turn persecute

n this head, the last-mentioned natural

es during the summe

hich ma

upposed to be femal

roods prod

the forty females of

n the course of

s 12

hese, or 1,600 female

eighth, t

th eighth, at leas

th, or the forty f

times, the produc

or 1,600 females,

sixth, tw

sixth, o

or the forty female

, and pro

or 1,600 females, l

h, or forty females

e 3

1,600 females, at

single fly, in on

us insects begin their depredations in autumn, as soon as the wheat begins to shoot up through the ground. They devour the tender leaf and stem with great voracity, and continue to do so till stopped by the frost; but no sooner is this obstacle removed by the warmth of the spring, than the fly appears again, laying its eggs now, as has been supposed, upon the stems of the wheat just beginning to spire. The caterpillars hatched from these eggs, perforate the stems of the remaining plants at the joints, and lodge themsel

f war." This terrible insect appeared first in Long Island, during the American war, and was supposed to have been brought from Germany by the Hessians; whence its name. From thence it proceeded inland at the rate of about fifteen or twenty miles annually; and, in 1789, had reached two hundred miles from the place where it

mph of the small libella; but when it is mature, it rises up to the surface of the water, and splits open its case; then, with great agility, up springs the new animal, having a slender bod

from the water, it flies about to find a proper place to fix on, (as trees, bushe

anging on a hedge. I then collected a great many, and put them into boxes; and by s

of the fly split open, and produced the astonishing transformation. In the new fly, a remarkable difference is seen in their sexes, which is not so easy to be pe

s like a little bluish speck, or a small drop of milk, as they sink to the bottom of the river. Thus they continue until they have spent their strength, being so weak, that they can rise no more, but fall a prey to the fish. B

ing the many enemies they have in their short appearance; for both birds and fishes

ur days, it eats nothing, and seems to have no apparatus for this purpose, but brings up with it, out of the wat

lly given of this extraordinary production. But several boxes of these flies having been sent to Dr. Hill for examination, his report was as follows:-"There is in Martinique a fungus of the clavaria kind, different in species from those hitherto known. It produces soboles from its sides; I call it therefore clavaria sobolifera. It grows on putrid animal bodies, as our fungus (ex pede equino) from the dead horse's hoof. The cicada is common in Martinique, and in its nymph state, in which the old authors call it tettigometra, it buries itself under the dea

it were nappy. The elytra, rather large, and crossed over each other, are a mixture of brown and yellow, not unlike the colour of rust, which makes it look cloudy. The under part of the body is brown; and at the extremity of the abdomen are to be seen a few hairs. The feet, six in number, are of a light brown, the two hindermost having on the leg and tarsus hairs that give them the shape of fins, nor are they terminated by nails. The four anterior ones are somewhat flat, and serve the animal to swim with; but at their extremity they have nails, and no hairs. This inse

as Barbut observes, hairy. Nature has provided it with an offensive weapon resembling a sting, which it thrusts out when hurt, from a large opening at the tail. The head is large and hard; the eyes nearly of a triangular form. The nose is a long, green, hollow proboscis, ending in a hard and sharp point, which in its natural posture remains under the belly, and reaches to the middle pair of legs. The outer part of its wings are of a pale flesh-colour, with spots of a dead white; these are long, narrow, and somewhat transparent; they terminate in a roundish point, and perfectly cover the whole body. The triangular piece which stand

d becomes an inhabitant of the air, not to be known as the same creature, unless to those who had accurately observed it before: when tired of flying, or in d

ponds and marshes; and as soon as cold weather sets in, the little worm makes for itself a shell or lodging, where it passes the winter; at the end of which it ceases to be a worm, and enters into its third state, that of a chrysalis. It then sleeps till spring, and gradually becomes a beautiful nympha, or a sort of mummy, something in the form of a fish. At the time of its metamorphosis, the nympha at first seems inactive and lifeless; in six days, the head appears, raising itself gradually above the surface of the water; the body next disengages itself slowly and by

Butt

grims of this

n with unearn'

robes the but

wintry tomb i

bride can eq

her for easy

ead with gentl

flower on bal

to do beneath t

om

atly is it augmented, when I behold this beautiful object through the medium of the microscope! Would any one ever have imagined, that the wings of butterflies were furnished with feathers? Nothing, however, is more true; and what we commonly call dust, is found in reality to be feathers. Their structure and arrangement are adjusted to as perfect symmetry, as their colours are soft and brilliant. The parts which form the centre of these little feathers, and which immediately touch the wing, are the strongest; those, on the contrary, which compose the exterior circumference, are much more delicate, and of an extraordinary fineness. All these feathers have a quill at their base, but the su

nitely delicate fibres, swells into hempen cord. Such is the wonderful difference to be observed between the works of nature and those of art, when viewed through a microscope. The former are finished to all imaginable perfection; the others, even the most beautiful of their kind, appear incomplete and coarsely wrought. How fine a

how he rejoices in his existence, and, in respiring the vernal airs, how he flutters in the meadow from flower to flower. His rich wings present to us the magnificence of the rainbow. How beautiful is he now, who but a little while ago

ev'ry var

ing soft, the g

ich thy spoilin

lls and painted

n more magnif

aze of gems and

ow

all gloriou

h azure, je

isplay; the

ir eyes and

a

e The Metamorphoses of Insec

rm they pass in

rg

le without the aid of a microscope. We now view it furnished with wings capable of rapid and extensive flights; of its sixteen feet, ten have disappeared, and the remaining six are in most respects wholly unlike those to which they have succeeded; its jaws having vanished, are replaced by a curled-up probos

others, of a form and structure entirely different. Nearly the whole body of the caterpillar is occupied by a capacious stomach. In the butterfly, this has become converted into an almost imperceptible thread-like viscus; and the abdomen is now filled by two large packets of eggs, or o

hed itself to a leaf by a silken girth. Its body became greatly contracted; its skin once more split asunder, and disclosed an oviform mass, without exterior mouth, eyes, or limbs, and exhibiting no other symptom of life than a slight motion when touched. In this state of d

then gaily flying to take a more solid repast from a pear or a peach; now gambolling with his comrades in the air, now gracefully carrying his furled wings with

nsect. Then to have been taken out of the water would have been speedily fatal; now it could as little exist in any other element than air. Then it breathed through its tail; now through openings in its sides. Its shapeless head, in that period of its existence, is now exchanged for

fail to meet with in some one of every handful of nuts we crack, would not always have grovelled in that humble state. If our unlucky intrusion upon its vaulted dwelling had not left it to perish in the wide world, it would have continued to reside there until its full growth had been attained. Then it would have gnawed its

und resembling the ticking of a watch, and is supposed to predict the death of some one of the family,

-----A w

d wood, like a

claws, it will bi

christen this w

watch it alwa

those in the ho

un, they will gi

s click, when it s

f scalding-hot

ures the tim

roken, the da

die, and the sic

d to be made only when there is a profound si

osts, or fairies, were wandering around them. Evidently this was one of the death-watches. Latreille observed Anobium striatum, F. produce the sound in question, by a stroke of its mandibles upon the wood, which was answered by a similar noise from within it. But the species whose proceedings have been most noticed by British observers, is, A. tessellatum, F. When spring is far advanced, these insects are said to commence their ticking, which is only a call to each other, to which, if no answer be returned, the animal repeats it in another place. It is thus produced: Raising itself upon its hind-legs, with the body somewhat inc

P.

SPECTING INSEC

eir Uses in the Creation;-from

ures inferior to ourselves, and perceive the immediate cause and necessity of their existence, and how far we have a right to interfere with their economy. That ma

ination, or astonishment at the desolating effects produced by their incursions, unable to give those facts which an industrious and attentive naturalist, with enlarged views, might collect and apply to some useful purpose; for there can be no doubt that Infinite Wisdom would not have permitted these insects to be so numerous as they are, if their existence was not absolutely necessary. To look at a locust in a cabinet of insects, we

vans are calculated to catch the wind as sails, and so carry it sometimes over the sea; and although a single individual can effect but little evil, yet, when the entire surface of a country is covered by them, and every one makes bare the spot on which it stands, the mischief produ

was infested by such infinite myriads of these animals, that, having devoured every green thing, after flying off to sea they were drowned, and, being cast upon the shore, they emitted a stench greater than could have been produced by the carcases of 100,000 men!-Oros. contra Pag. l. v. c. 2. St. Augustine also mentions a plague to have arisen in that country from the same cause, which destroyed no less than 800,000 persons (octoginta hominum millia) in the kingdom of Masanissa alone, and many more in the territories bordering upon the sea.-Less. l. 247. note 46. From Africa this plague was occasionally imported into Italy and Spain; and an historian quoted in Mouffet relates, that in the year 591 an infinite army of locusts, of a size unusually large, grievously ravaged part of Italy; and being at last cast into the sea, from their stench arose a pestilence which carried off near a million of men and beasts. In the Venetian territory also, in the year 1478, more than 30,000 persons are said to have perished in a famine occasioned by these terrific scourges. Many other instanc

was three miles,) and extended to so great a length, as to be four hours in passing over the Red Tower; and such was its density, that it totally intercepted the solar light, so that when they flew low, one person could not see another at the distance of twenty paces.-Philos. Trans. xlvi. 30. A similar account has been given by Major Moor, long resident in India. He relates, that when at Poonah, he was witness to an immense army of locusts which ravaged the Mahratta country, and was supposed to come from Arabia: this, if correct, is a strong proof of their power to pass the sea under favou

ey consisted of two species, G. tartaricus, and migratorius, L.; the first is almost twice the size of the second, and, because it precedes it, is called by the Tartars, the herald or messenger.-Travels, i. 348. The account of another traveller, Mr. Barrow, of their ravages in the southern parts of Africa, in 1784, and 1797, is still more striki

o wander over the country, deriving a miserable subsistence from the roots of plants; and women and children followed the camels, from whose dung they picked the undigested grains of barley, which they devoured with avidit

one of them was to be seen, though there was nothing to prevent their flying over it. Till then, they had proceeded northward; but, upon arriving at its banks, they turned to the east, though all the country north of Arisch was full of pulse, fruits, and grain, exhibiting a most striking contrast to the desolation of the adjoining district. At length they were all carried by a violent hurricane into the western ocean; the shore, as in former instances, was covered by their carcases, and a pestilence was caused by the horrid stench which they emi

of a flame of fire driven by the wind, and the effect of their bite to that of fire.-Bochart. A p

ame, a dark c

ted myriads

whose wings w

ver, headlong

mountain summ

ean in the a

billows on a

s Thalab

earance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots[18] on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle-array. Before their face the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run

aten by the inhabitants. Some French emigrants, who had been directed in this manner, assured me, that when fried, they

in, that matter, however modified, whether in the form of animated or inanimated bodies, is continually undergoing c

r. Now, if we survey those regions which give birth to, and support, the vast clouds of locusts alluded to, our view will be confined principally to the extensive deserts of Africa and Asia; the vegetation of many of which, according to the reports of travellers, is abundant and luxuria

no opportunity of witnessing their manners, from their birth to their final destruction, can scarcely be able positively to decide; but I have no doubt that an intelligent naturalist, (governed by the principles this chapter is inte

is rather from the prejudice, perhaps, of an absurd education, than from any improper or bad quality of the food itself.[19] The inhabitants of several eastern nations have a relish for this diet: and it is recor

f such as are esteemed noxious by the vulgar and the ignorant. In some countries, indeed, their numbers, and the effects p

to the humming of such insects in our country."-"Almost exhausted by fatigue, pain, and heat, I sought shelter in the carriage, sitting in water and mud. It was the most sultry night I ever experienced; not a breath of air was stirring; nor could I venture to open the windows, though almost suffocated, through fear of the mosquitoes. Swarms, nevertheless, found their way to my hiding-place; and when I opened my mouth, it was filled with them. My head was bound in handkerchiefs; yet they forced their way into my ears and n

in regions unwholesome to man, and where the effluvia arising from animal bodies, and from rank decaying vegetable substances, are so abundant, as to form thick pestilential vapours, that would inflict almost instant destruction on the human inhabitant, and most other creatures, if not removed as quickly as they were formed;-bred in such regions, and gifted with functions and propensitie

. XX

SPECTING INSEC

Cheese Mite-The

t creature

news, blood, and

proper functi

le fabric, smal

our penuriou

whale, or cas

rmous terror

ke, and long-ta

differ but in

to a less or

's So

alcu

arge ones. The spring of a flea in its leap, how vastly does it outskip any thing the larger animals are capable of! A mite, how vastly swifter does it run than a race-horse! M. De. L'Isle has given the computation of the velocity of a little creature, scarcely visible by its smallness; which he found to run three inches in half a second: supposing now its feet to be the fifteenth part of a line, it must make five hundred steps in the space of three inches; that is, it must shift its legs five hundred times in a second, or in the ordinary pulsation of an artery. The excessive minuteness of microscopical animalcules conceals them from the human eye.

illions of animalcules, which are discovered in common water, are not altogether so large as a grain of sand. In the milt of a single cod-fish, there are more animals than there are upon the whole earth; for a grain of sand is bigger than four millions of them. The white matter that sticks to the teeth also abounds with animalcules of various figures, to which vinegar is fatal; and it is known, that vinegar contains animalcules in the shape of eel

s account of animalcules produced from an infusion of p

the 26th of May, twenty-four hours afterwards, I examined a small drop of each by the first magnifier of Wilson's microscope, whose focal distance is reckoned 1?50th part of an inch; and, to my amazement, they were both full of animalcules, of a linear shape, very distinguishable, moving to and fro with great celerity, so that there appeared to be more particles of animal than vegetable life in each drop. This experiment I have repeatedly tried, and always found it to succeed in proportion to the heat of the circumambient air; so that even in winter, if the liquors are kept properly warm for two or three days,

nts in all respects, except in the number of legs, which at first amount only to six, the pair from the head not making their appearance till after casting their first skin. The eggs, in warm weather, hatch in about a week, and the young animal may be seen sometimes for a day together struggling to get rid of its egg-shell. The m

de of Fuci. But on the viridis, the fusca, and the grisca, the greatest number of experiments have been made by naturalists, to ascertain their true nature and very wonderful habits. They are generally found in ditches. Whoever has carefully examined these, when the sun is very powerful, will find many little transparent lumps of the appearance of jelly, the size of a pea, and flatted upon one side. The same kind of substances are likewise to be met with on the under side of the leaves of plants that grow in such places. These are the polypes in a quiescent state, and a

ugh some have them an inch, and some even eight inches long. The thickness of their bodies decreases as they extend themselves, and vice versa; and they may be made to contract themselves, either by agitating the water in which they are contained, or by touching the animals themselves. When taken out of the water, they all contract so much, that they appear only like a little lump of jelly. They can contract or expand one arm, or any number of arms, independently of the rest; and they can likewise bend their bodies or arms in all possible directions. They can also dilate or contract their bodies in various places, and sometimes appear thick set with folds, which, when carelessly viewed, appear like rings. Their progressive motion is performed by that power which they have of contracting and dilating their bodies. When about to move, they bend down their heads and arms; lay hold by means of them, or some other substance to which they design to fasten themselves; then they loosen their tail, and draw it towards the head; then either fix it in that place, or stretching forward their head as before, repeat the same opera

of the human body when in action. Though no appearance of eyes can be observed in the polype, they certainly have some knowledge of the approach of their prey, and shew the greatest attention to it as soon as it comes near them. It seizes a worm the moment it is touched by one of the arms, and in conveying it to the mouth, it frequently twists the arm into a spiral line like a corkscrew, by which means the insect is brought to the mouth in a much shorter time than otherwise it would be; and so soon are the

er colour than the rest of the body. In a short time it becomes truncated, and then cylindrical, after which the arms begin to shoot from the anterior end. The tail adheres to the body of the parent animal, but gradually grows smaller, until at last it hangs only by a point, and is then ready to be separated. When this is the case, both the mother and young ones fix themselves to the sides of the glass, and are separated from each other by a sudden jerk. The time requisite for the formation of the young o

longitudinally through the head to the middle of the body, we shall have one formed with two heads; and by again slitting these in the same manner, we may form one with as many heads as we please. A still more surprising property of these animals is, that they may be grafted together. If the truncated portions of a polype be placed end to end, and gently pushed together, they will unite into a single one. The two portions are first joined together by a slender neck, which gradually fills up and disappears, the food passing from one part into the other; and thus we may form polypes, not only from different portions of the same animal,

. XX

RESPECTING

Seeds-Dissemination of Plants-Number of Plants upon

lation furth

world of ve

es their variou

htful taste, a

lants enrich th

e, and some de

w'rs, with diffe

ds unfold thei

ckm

In The Veget

on the earth, or in the air; and some are amphibious, or live equally well in water as upon land. And this is literally the case with vegetables: some of them o

neither roots, stem, leaves, flowers, nor seeds; it derives its nourishment through the pores of its bark. But it may be asked, how is it produced? why is there commonly no kind of herb in the places where this species of fungus grows? and why is the land there dry and full of crevices? These things have never been explained. No plant so much resembles animals, as that species of membranous moss called nostoch; it is an irregular substance, of a pale green colour, and somewhat transparent; it trembles upon the slightest touch, and easily breaks. It can only be seen after rain, and is then found in many places, particularly in uncultivated soils and sandy roads. It exists in all seasons, even in winter; but is never so abundant as after rain in summer. The most remarkable circumstance about it is, its speedy

root and grow in the clefts of rocks, without any soil. Vegetation is sometimes very rapid; of which we have instances in mushrooms, and the common cresses, the seed of which, if put into a wet cloth, will be fit for a salad in twenty-four hours. There are plants that exist with scarcely any perceptible vitality. We often see willows, which are not only hollowed and decayed within, but their external bark is so much injured that very little of it remains; yet from these seemingly sapless trunks, buds sprout in the spring, and they are crowned with leaves and branches. How a

to denote a degree of fermentation; and the farinaceous substance becomes fitted to nourish the tender germ. It has been ascertained by experiments made with coloured fluids, that this substance imbibes a moisture, which, in conjunction with the air and heat, forms a proper nourishment till the plant has acquired strength enough to make use of the juices furnished by the root. The lobes, exhausted of their farinaceous matter, gradually dry, and fall off of themselves in a few weeks, when the plant has no further need of their assistance.-Certain herbs which grow on the mountains are of a very peculiar nature: their duration being very short, it often happens that the seed has

o produce a single plant. When, therefore, we see a seed that we have placed in the earth sprout, we shall no longer consider it as beneath our notice, bu

tchless working

in the seed the

n elegance o

e, and those d

rth, the daught

rth, and charm

wp

y this means are the ripe seeds conveyed to a distance. The seed-vessels of most plants are shut till the seeds are ripe, that so the winds may not scatter them prematurely; and when the proper season arrives, many of these open with such a degree of elasticity as to throw the seeds to a considerable distance. Other seeds have a kind of win

ature allotted for aliment to animals; but it is on condition that they shall sow the seed while they eat it: this they do by dispersing the seeds as they are eating; and also after eating, by voiding many of them unhurt, and even in a better state for vegetation than they were before. T

planted in vast abundance. In our own country, the common rook has been observed, not only to feed on acorns, but to make holes in the ground with the bill, and hide many: probably they mean only to lay in a stock for future necessity by this process; but certain it is, that thousands

, 4000; of poppy, 32,000; of a spike of cat's-tail, 10,000 and upwards; a single fruit or seed-vessel of tobacco, contains 1000 seeds; that of white poppy, 8000. Mr. Ray relates, from experiments made by himself, that 1012 tobacco seeds are equal in weight to one grain; and

delight and refresh us; the trees and bushes, add to these the aquatic plants, some of which exceed a hair in fineness;-we may be able to form some idea of the multitude of plants in the vegetable kingdom. All these species grow up, and are preserved without detriment or injury, each having that place assigned it, which is most suited to its properties. Such is the wisdom displayed in their distribution over the surface of the earth, that there is no part of it wholly destitute, and no part enjoys them in too great abundance. Some plants require the open field, where, unsheltered by trees, they may receive the sun's rays; others can only exist in water; some grow in the sand; others in marshes and fens, which are frequently covered with water, and some bud on the surface of the earth, whilst others unfold themselves in its boso

are agamous, that is, plants which have no sexual organs, such

rope

rate regions

ia, and the adja

rica

ions of America, in

xial Amer

the Islands of the

l 38

d; others open and shut their flowers at certain fixed hours in the day, so regularly as to denote with precision the time of day; some assume a peculiar form during the night, folding up their leaves;

havings of wood. Wild oats, when placed upon a table, will move spontaneously, more especially if warmed in the hand. And the heliotrope, or sunflower, with various other plants, always turns towards the sun. These are incontestable facts, of the certainty of which every person may be easily convinced. From them, some conclude that we ought not to deny sensibility to be an attribute of plants; and certainly the facts which are alleged in favour of such an opinion, give it great appearance of probability. But, on the other hand, plants have no other sign of sensibility; and all that they have is entirely mechanical. We plant a shrub and destroy it, wit

coming out from the side, on short peduncles; the principal stalk has many of those heads of flowers on the upper part, for more than a foot in length; this, as also the branches, is terminated by like heads of flowers; the leaves move but slowly when touched, but the footstalks fall, when they are pressed pretty hard. It is a native of Brazil, (M. pudic

n touched in the night during their sleep, they fall still further, especially when touched on the footstalks between the stems and the leaflets, which seem to be their most sensitive or irritable part. Now, as their situation after being exposed to external violence resembles their sleep, but with a greater degree of collapsion, may it not be owing to a numbness or paralysis consequent to too violent irritation, like the pantings of animals from pain or fatigue? A sensitive plant being kept in a da

sense the chast

touch withdraws

ouds o'erpass t

rembles at the

e through all

urmurs of the g

eyelids to app

reshen'd charms

. XX

PECTING VEGETAB

Tallow Tree-The Paper Tree-The Calabash Tree-Remarkable Oak-Dimensions, &c

, feeding

ated, dwells

wp

coa-nu

atch, common umbrellas, coarse mats for the floor, and brooms; while their finest fibres are woven into very beautiful mats for the rich. The covering of the young fruit is extremely curious, resembling a piece of thick cloth, in a conical form, close and firm as it came from the loom; it expands after the fruit has burst through its inclosure, and then appears of a coarser texture. The nuts contain a delicious milk, and a kernel sweet as the almond: this, when dried, affords abundance of oil; and when that is expressed, the remains feed cattle and poultry, and make good manure. The she

n made at the end, there oozes in gentle drops a cool pleasant liquor, called Trace, or Toddy, the palm wine of the poets. This, when first drawn, is cooling and salutary; but when ferme

pus, which is merely the English name translated into Greek. There

e eatable part lies between the skin and core; it is as white as snow, and of the consistence of new bread. It must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into three or four parts; its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread, mixed with Jerusalem artichoke. The fruit not being in season all the year, there is a method of supplying this defect, by reducing it to sour paste, called makie; and besides this, cocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, and a great variety of other fruits, come in a

enant William Bligh. But a fatal mutiny prevented the accomplishment of this benevolent design. His Majesty, however, not discouraged by the unfortunate event of the voyage, and fully impressed with the importance of securing so useful an article of food as the bread-fruit to our West Indian Islands, determined, in the year 1791, to employ another ship, for a second expedition on this service; and, in order to secure the success of the voyage as much as possible, it was thought proper that two vessels should proceed together on this important business. Accordingly, a ship of 400 tons, named the Providence, was engaged for the purpose, and the command of her given to Captain Bligh; and a small tender, called the Assistant, commanded by Lieut. Nathaniel Portlock. Sir Joseph Banks, as in the for

se of the Windward islands; and the remainder, intended for the Leeward islands, was conveyed to Jamaica, and distributed as the governor and council of Jamaica were pleased to direct. The exact number of bread-fruit trees brought to Jamaica, was 352; out of which, five only were reserved for the botanic

wheaten bread, but with some resemblance to that of Jerusalem artichokes or potatoes. It was mentioned before, that a sort of cloth was made of the inner bark: to this we may add, that the wood is used in building boats and houses; the male catkins serve for tinder; the

several yards from the ground, but which thicken considerably before they reach the surface, and then, striking in, they increase to large trunks, and become parent trees, shooting out new branches from the top; these in time suspend their roots, which, swelling into trunks, produce other branches, thus continuing in a progressive state as long as the earth, the common parent of them all, continues her sustenance. The Hindoos are p

cover a much larger space. The chief trunks of this single tree, each of which in size exceeds our English oaks or elms, amount to 350, the smaller stems to more than 3000, all casting out new branches and hanging roots, to form in time parent trunks. Cubbeer Bur is famed through India for its amazing extent and beauty. The Indian armies frequently encamp around it, and at stated periods solemn festivals are held under its branches, where thousands of votaries repair from various parts of the empire. It is even said that 7000 persons found ample room under its shade. The English ge

Islands. "There are three fountains of water in the whole island of Hiero, wherein the fountain tree grows. The larger cattle are watered at those fountains, and at a place where water distils from the leaves of a tree. Many writers have made mention of this famous tree, some in such a manner as to make it appear miraculous: others again deny

this remedy for the drought of the island. It is situated about a league and a half from the sea. Nobody knows of what species it is, only that it is called til. It is distinct from other trees, and stands by itself. The circumference of the trunk is about twelve spans, the diameter four, and in height, from the ground to the top of the highest branch, forty spans: the circumference of all the branches together is 120 feet. The branches are thick and extended, the lowest commence about the height of an ell from the ground. Its fruit resembles the acorn, and tastes something like the kernel of a pine-apple, but is softer and more aromatic. The leaves of

ually ascends it, and from thence advances slowly to the extremity of the valley, where it is stopped and checked by the front of the rock which terminates the valley; and then rests upon the thick leaves and wide sprea

le or no account of any but what distils from the til; which, together with the water of some fountains, and what is saved in the winter season, is sufficient to serve them and their flocks. A person lives on the spot near which this tree grows,

mountains of Ombrion, are trees resembling the plant ferula, from which water may be procured by pressure. What comes from the black kind is bitter, but that which the white yields is sweet and potable." Trees yielding water are not peculiar to t

amazement, as well as joy, we saw water dropping, or as it were distilling, fast from the end of every leaf of this wonderful, (nor had it been amiss if I had said miraculous) tree; at least it was so with respect to us, who had been labouring four days through extreme heat, without receiving the least moisture, and were now almost expiring for the want of it. We could not help looking on this as liquor sent from heaven, to comfort us under great extremity. We catched what we could of it in our hands, and drank very plentifully of it; and liked it so well, that we could hardly prevail with ourselves to give over. A matter of this nature could not but incite us to make the strictest

aving its peculiar capsule, and a little stone within. This stone is encompassed with a white pulp, which has all the properties of true tallow, both as to consistence, colour, and even smell, and accordingly the Chinese make their candles of it; which would doubtless be as good as those in Europe, if they knew how to purify their vegetable, as well as we do our animal tallow. All the preparation they give it, is to melt it down, and mix a little

of the inner coat are carefully separated from the rest of the bark; they are then placed in lengths of about eleven or twelve yards, one by the side of another, till they are about a foot broad; and two or three layers are put one upon another. This is done in the evening; and next morning the water is draine

s extend almost horizontally, and as they are about sixty feet in length, their own weight bends their extremities to the ground, and thus form an hemispherical mass of verdure of about 120 or 130 feet diameter. The roots extend as far as the branches: that in the middle forms a pivot, which penetrates a great way into the earth; the rest spread near the surface. The flowers are in proportion to the siz

which, in that country, is as fatal to them as the plague, and generally rages during the months of September and October: when the rains have suddenly ceased, the sun exhales the water left by them on the ground, and fills the air with a noxious vapour. M. Adanson, in the critical season, made a light ptisan of the leaves of the baobal; which he had gathered in the August of the preceding year, and had dried in the shade; and drank constantly about a pint of it every morning, either before or after breakfast, and the same quantity of it every evening, after the heat of the sun began to abate: he also took the same quantity in the middle of the day, but this was only when he felt some symptoms of an approaching fever. By this precaution he preserved himself, during the five years he resided at Senegal, from the diarrh?a and fever, which are so fatal there, and which are, however, the only diseases of the place; while other officers suffered very severely, only one of them excepted, upon whom M. Adanson prevailed to use this remedy, which for its simplicity was despised by the rest. This ptisan alone prevents that heat of urine which is common in these parts, from the month of July to November, provided the person abstains from wine. The fruit is not less useful than the leaves and the bark. The pulp that envelopes the seeds has an agreeable acid t

n account of a Rem

does young an

ve, all other

ded limbs the

es, as well as

tempests in his

louds from roun

nder, stormy w

ir fury on hi

ow, and lightni

unk, nor his fi

ckm

scenery, gives the followi

matter indeed to ascertain the age of a tree. The age of a castle or abbey is the object of history: even a common house is recorded by the family that built it. All these objects arrive at maturity in their youth, if I may so speak. But the tree gradually completing its

that handsome tower which is so ornamental to the whole building, this tree might probably be in the meridian of its glory; or rather, perhaps it had attained a green old age. But it must have been manifestly in its decline, at that memorable ?ra, when the tyranny of James gave the fellows of Magdalen so noble an opportunity of withstanding bigotry and superstition. It was a

uckless individual, whom the driving shower had overtaken in his evening walk. In the summer of the year 1788, this magnificent ruin fell to the ground, alarming the college with its crashing sound. It then appeared how precariously it had stood for many years. I

bulk of thirty-six feet in circumference. This extraordinary tree has been known for ages by the name of Fairlop. The tradition of the country traces it half way up the Christian ?ra. Beneath its sh

as size; having been mentioned (according to Sir Richard Atkins) in king John's days, six centuries ago, as the wonder of the neighbou

tlock in Derbyshire, is a yew

of which, four feet from the ground, measures nine yards in circumfer

nder) ascended this tree to reconnoitre; and finding that the king was in great force, and that the Earl of Northumberland had not joined his son Hotspur, he fell back to Oswestry, and immediately after

.

om, close to

feet from

feet from

of the

Mag. vol. l

uate in the park betwe

minence, of

und stretch'd to

er part of it was formerly used as a feeding place for calves, the upper, as a pigeon-house. The late possessor, George Pauncefort, Esq. (in whose family it

wds yearly

mp the cele

template Natur

nial seasons

g, ever since the memory of the oldest inhabitants,

of Java; by Thomas Horsefield, M. D.-From the Seventh Volume of t

remains a mystery. Foersch, who put his name to the publication, certainly was (according to the information I have received from credible persons, who have long resided on the island,) a surgeon in the Dutch East India Company's service

to Europe, where his notes were arranged, doubtlessly by a different hand, in such

in different parts of the island, as well as the description of the poisonous substance itself, and its mode of collection, has been demonstrated to be an extravagant forgery,-the existence of a tree in Java, fr

, is called Antshar, and grows in t

red. A puncture or incision being made in the tree, the juice or sap appears oozing out, of a yellowish colour, somewhat frothy; from old trees, paler; and nearly white from young ones: when exposed to the air, its surface becomes brown. The consistence very much resembles milk, only it is thicker and viscid. This sap is contained in the true bark, or cortex, which, when punctured, yields a considerable quantity, so that in a short time a cupful may be collected from a large tree. The inner bark, or liber, is of a close fibrous texture, like that of the Morus papyrifera, and when separated from the other bark,

itating effect; and it is singular, that this property of the prepared bark is known to the Javanese, in all places where the tree grows, (for instance, in various parts of the provinces of Bangil and Malang, and even at

bark of the Antshar, which were stiffened in the usual manner with thick rice-water, and handsomely painted, for the purpose

very tall tree in Passooroowang, near the boundary of Malang, and very lately I have discovered several young trees in the forests of Japara, and one tree in the vicinity of Onarang. In all these places, though the inhabitants are unacquainted with the preparation and effect of the poison, they distinguish the tree by the name of Antshar. From the tree I found in the province of Passooroowang, I collected some juice, which was nearly equal in its operation to that of Blambangan. One of the experiments to be related below, was made with the upas prepared by myself, after my return to the chief village. I

is disengaged, the effluvia of which, mixing with the atmosphere, affects the persons exposed to it with

surrounded by shrubs and plants; in no instance have I obser

ines and climbing shrubs, in complete health and vigour, adhered to it, and ascended to nearly half its height. And at the time I visited the tree and collected the juice, I was forcibly st

root two scion

to the tree gave me reason to rejoice that it is founded on fiction.

P.

PECTING VEGETAB

hod of Preparing Tea-Antiquity of Sugar-Curious Effects of Cinchona, or Peruvian Ba

cense, herbs, and

uds to Him, wh

umes you, and who

near the Cap

a curious plant is taken

racts itself, and closes by degrees. This is a no less necessary than singular property, which points out the admirable institution of an all-wise Creator; inasmuch as this plant, which is found in the most arid plains, keeps its seeds fast locked up in time of drought, but when th

lie upon the ground; these leaves are more than a foot in length, and about five inches broad in the middle, of a dark green colour, and a fetid scent; among these come out the flowers, each on a scape three inches in length; they are five-cornered, of an herbaceo

anks carry about fictitious images, shaped from roots of bryony and other plants, cut into form, or forced to grow through moulds of earthenware, as mandrake-roots. It was fabled to grow under a gallows, where the matter falling from the dead body, gave it the shape of a man; to utter a great shriek,

at rooted ma

feet, his

shapely for

righted plou

are exposed to sunshine or the shade. The bark of this tree is of a dark green, and the flowers bear a resemblance to our common roses. Some of our party, whose powers of vision were strong, (assisted by a vigorous imagination.) fanci

ted twice or thrice every year. Those who collect the leaves three times a year, begin at the new moon which precedes the vernal equinox, whether it falls at the end of February or the beginning

ut the end of March or beginning of April. Part of the leaves have then attained to maturity; and

the two first crops, and confine themselves entirely to this, the leaves of which are selected with great care, and distributed into classes, according to their size or goodness.-Tea ought to be rejec

of five white petals, disposed in the form of a rose, and is succeeded by a pod, of the size of a filbert, containing two or three small

there are certain places where the tea is of a better quality than in others. Some people give the

of boiling water, in order to soften them; and they are then spread out upon metal plates, and placed o

therefore, large quantities of tea in that country which are excessively dear, there is some also very common, and sold at a low rate. The Chinese

vince of Fokien. There are three kinds of this tea: the first of which, called common Bohea, grows at the bottom of the mountain; the second, called con

e must be taken above all to avoid red leaves, and to choose such as are large and entire. This is also a sign of freshness; for the longer tea is kept, the more it is shaken, which breaks the leaves, and mixes them with a great deal of dust. It sometimes happens, however, that the tea-dust i

ea is very scarce and dear, the Chinese adulterate it, by mixing with it some of the small half-grown leaves, as yet white, which grow on the t

o three sorts. The first is known under the name of songlo tea, but oftener under that of green toukay; the second is called bing tea; and the

er they are, the leaves become more yellow, which is a very great fault. They ought also to have a burnt or scorched smell, not too strong, but agreeable; for when they have been long kept, they have a filthy smell, somewhat like that of pilchards. The French wish to find in g

parts of the world, by the conquest of Alexander the Great. Strabo relates, that Nearchus's admiral found it in the East Indies, A. C. 325. It is evidently alluded to in a fragment of Theophrastus, preserved in Photius. Varro, who lived A. C. 68. describes it in a fragment quoted by Isidorus, as a fluid pressed from reeds of a large size, which was sweeter than honey. Dioscorides, about A. C. 35, says, "that there is a kind of honey called saccharon, which is found in India and Arabia Felix. It has the appearance of salt, and is brittle when chewed. If dissolved in water, it is beneficial to the bowels and stomach, is useful in diseases of the bl

ellers as guests. These apartments contained each eight or ten thousand pounds of bark; and in consequence of its fermentation, the heat was much greater here than in the other parts of the house, rendering the place somewhat disagreeable. One of the beds placed in these rooms, was occupied by a traveller, ill of a malignant fever: after the first day he found h

to be uncorked, and, on examination, was found to possess a slight aromatic taste, to be more tonic, and very superior to common brandy. The coffe

ffects was fresh; and the question whether that of commerce wo

Dumbarton, where it was hand-sewed, and again brought to Paisley, whence it was sent to Renfrew to be bleached; and was returned to Paisley, whence it went to Glasgow and was finished; and from Glasgow was sent per coach to London. The time taken to bring this article to market was three years, from the time it was packed in India, till the time it arrived

o curious articles, not strictly vegetable, denom

al and very brisk. They live upon flies, and catch these insects very dexterously with the two fore feet, which they keep doubled up in three parts, close to their head, and dart out very quick on the approach of their prey; and when they have caught it, they eat it very voraciously, holding it in the same manner as a squirrel does its food. On the outer joints of the fore feet are several very sharp h

substance likewise differs: some are stiff and gelatinous, others fleshy and muscular; but all of them are capable of altering their figure, when they extend their bodies and claws in search of food. They are found in many of the rocky coasts of the West India Islands, and likewise on some parts of the coast of England. They have only one opening, which is the centre of the uppermost part of the animal; round this are placed rows of fleshy claws; this opening is the mouth of the animal, and is capable of great extension. The animals themselves, though exceedingly voracious, will bear long fasting. They may be preserved alive a whole year, or perhaps longer, in a vessel of sea water, without any visible food; but, when food is p

about the size of, and much resembling those of a single garden marigold, except that this seeming flower is narrower at the discus, or setting on of the leaves, than any flower of that kind. I have attempted to pluck one of these from the rock, to which they are always fixed, but never could effect it; for as soon as my fingers came within two or three inches of it, it would immediately contract close together its yellow border, and shrink back into the hole of the rock; but, if left undisturbed for about four minutes, it would come gradually in sight, expanding, though at first very cautiously, its seeming leaves, till at last it appeared in its former bloom. Howe

imbs and mouth are placed, ate a piece of a muscle, offered to it soon after the operation, and continued to feed and grow daily for three months after. The food sometimes passed through the animal, but was generally thrown up again, considerably changed, as in the perfect sea anemone. In about two months, two rows of limbs were perceived growing out of the part where the incision was made. On offering food to this

: as he has not only multiplied their existence, but also renewed their youth, "which last," he adds, "is surely no small advantage." The reproductive power of the Barbadoes animal flower is prodigious. Many people coming to see these strange creatures, and occasioning some inconvenience to a person through whose grounds they were obliged to pass, he reso

st, are truly equal to any thing related by natural historians, respecting the sea-flowers of any other country. To see a flower of purple, of green, blue, yellow, &c. striving to catch a worm, is really amusing." And Mr. Marshall, minister of Brittle, has allotted a section of his Statistical Account of his parish, to animal flowers; wherein he says, "Till of late perhaps it has not been much adverted to, that the animal flower, or water polypus, is even common along the shores of Brittle, Colvend, and very likely round the whole coast of the stewartry of Galloway. The form of these polypi is elegant, and

. XX

PECTING VEGETAB

lower plane

rth and nurtur

ontrivance, m

site or figu

ion of the v

the system,

for bungling

ll

, or M

because, when fragments of them or their seeds were macerated in water, these gentlemen perceived a quantity of animalcules discharged, which they supposed capable of being changed into the same substance. It was an ancient opinion, that beef could produce bees; but it was reserved for Messrs. Wilck and Minchausen, to suppose that bees could produce beef. The former asserts, that fungi

the most perishable of all plants, and it is therefore the most favourable for the generation of insects. Considering the quickness of its growth, it must be furnished with the power of copious absorption; the extremity of its vessels must be more dilated than in other plants. Its root seems, in many cases, to be merely intended for its support; for some species grow upon stones, or moveable sand, from which it is impos

air, are hatched in vinegar, in paste, &c. and wherever they find a convenient nidus for their development? Can it be surprising, then, that the corruption of the mushroom should make the water capable of disclosing certain beings that are really foreign to both? It is not more easy to acquiesce in the opinions of those naturalists who place the fungi in the mi

at of Morison, who conceived that they grew spontaneously out of the earth by a certain mixture of salt and sulphur, joined with oils from the dung of quadrupeds; have now no longer any adherents. Fungi are produced, they live, they grow by development; they are exposed to those vicissitudes natural to the different per

ransparent bodies destined to favour the dissemination and fecundation of these seeds. Before this author, Lister thought he perceived seeds in the Fungus perosus crassus magnus of John Bauhin: the little round bodies that are found in the peziz? and belvell?, at that time, passed for seeds; which did not appear at all probable to Marsigli, considering that the eye, when assisted with the very best microscopes, could perceive nothing similar in much larger fungi. Indeed, these bodies may be the capsules or covers of the seeds, if they are not the seeds themselves. However this may be, Marsigli, observing that fungi were often without roots or branches, and that they wanted flowers and seeds, the means which nature employs for the production of perfect plants, thought himself warranted in doubting whether these beings could be ranked in the number of vegetables. The doubts of Marsigli prompted him to observe the formation of fungi. Their matrix he called situs: he imagined they grew in places where they met with an unctuous matter, composed of oil mixed with nitrous salt, which, by fermentation, produced heat and moisture, and insinuated itself between the fibres of wood; that is, he imagined them the production of a viscous and putrescent humour. Lancisi, in like manner, considered fungi as owing their existence to the putrefaction of vegetables, and supposed them a disease in the plants; but he imagined "that the fibres of the trees were necessary to their production," as is the case in the formation of gal

of species, and consequently a multiplication and propagation by seed. This is not, he says, an imaginary supposition, for the seeds may be felt like meal upon mushrooms with gills, especially when they begin to decay; they may be seen with a magnifying glass, in those that have gills with bla

rudiment of the fungus cannot exist beyond that point in which the development of the filaments of fibrous roots is perceived. He allows, that fungi are nourished and grow like vegetables; but he thinks that they differ very much from them in respect of their origin, structure, nutrition, and rapidity of growth. He says, that the various vessels which compose the organization of vegetab

is confirmed by the constant observation of those people who gather the morelle and the mushroom, and who never find them in the same spots where they had formerly grown. As the generation of fungi (says

bodies. Besides, we cannot deny, that in those bodies which form the limit between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, the organization becomes simple, as the organs destined for nutrition are

s, shoots, and puts forth its leaves, flowers, and fruit, is not less a plant than the palm. The insect that exists but for a day, is as much an animal, as the elephant that lives for centuries. As to the seeds of the fungi, it is probable that nature meant to withdraw from our eyes the dissemination of these plants, by making the seeds almost imperceptible; and it is likewise probable, that naturalists have seen nothing but their capsules. Since, however

ize this latter opinion. But can putrefaction create an organic substance? Nature undoubtedly disseminates through the air, and over the surface of the earth, innumerable seeds of fungi, as well as eggs of insects. The plant and the animal are excluded, when the nidus, in which they are deposited, or the temperature, is favourable for their development. No fortuitous concourse, either of atoms or fluids, could produce bodies so exquisitely and so regularly organized. It is sufficient, to throw one's eye on the beautiful plates which Sch?ffer has published of them, and compare them, by the glass, with the warts and other excrescences of animals, to be convinc

. XX

S RESPECTI

os-Mushroom Stone-The Changeable Stone-A

e things in h

amt of in ou

ksp

teoric

, Chemica, &c. from whence this description is taken.-"On the 4th of September, 1511, at the second hour of the night, and also at the seventh, there appeared in the air, at Milan, a running fire, with such splendour, that, the day seemed to have returned; and some persons beheld the appearance of a large head, which caused great wonder and fear in the city. The sa

st part of a blackish gray. When held in the light in various positions, it discovers a diversity of colours, such as the blue of lapis lazuli, grass-green, apple-green, pea-green, and sometimes, but more seldom, a citron yellow. Sometimes it has a colour between that of red copper and

xible. The former cannot be spun into cloth, and the latter with difficulty. In consequence of its incombustibility, it was very much valued by the ancients for wrapping up the bodies of the dead. In the year 1702, an urn was discovered at Rome, with the bones of a human body wrapped in a cloth made of flexible asbestos. The method of preparing it is as follows: the stone is laid to soak in warm water, then opened and divided by the hands, that the earthy matter may be washed out. This earth is white like chalk,

ies, represent in some measure human ears. The principal colour of these mushrooms is sometimes yellowish, and sometimes of a bright purple, but they are always diversified with spots of a deep orange colour, or reddish brown; and when these spots are recent, and still in full bloom, they produce a very agreeable effect to the sight. But what appears admirable is, that the part of the stalk which remains adhering to the stone when the mushroom has been separated from it, grows gradually hard, and petrifies in time; so that it seems that this fungus restores to the stone the nutritive juice it received from it, and that it thus contributes to its increase." John Baptist Porta says, that this stone is found in several parts of Italy; and that it is not only to be met with at Naples, taken out of mount Vesuvius, but also on mount Pantherico, in the principality of Arellino; on mount Garganus, in Apulia; and on the summit of some other high mountains. As to the form of these mushrooms, their root is strong, uneven, divided according to its longitudinal direction, and composed of fibres as fine as hairs, interwoven one with another. Their

irely peculiar to the hydrophanes. Bergman informs us, that some steatites produce the same effect; and M. Magellan, that the crust of chalcedonies and agates frequently produce the same appearance. Messrs. Buckman and Veltheim were the first who particularly inquired into the nature of this stone, and investigated its properties. Their account is as follows:-"As soon as the stone is put into water, it exhales a musty smell, several air-bubbles arise, and it becomes gradually transparent. Some of the stones become colourless as soon as they are thoroughly transparent; others have a more or less deep yellow colour, some acquire a beautiful ruby colour; and others gain a fine colour of mother-of-pearl, or of a bluish opal. Whatever be the colour of the liquor in which the hydrophanes is immersed, it gains only its usual degree of transparency with the colour peculiar to it. When we look at it in its moist state, we perceive a luminous point, varying its situation a

gh the possession of it has occasioned numerous wars, it has been about eighty years in the possession of the Mathan family. Many years ago, the governor of Batavia sent a Mr. Stuvart to ascertain the weight, quality, and value of this diamond, and to endeavour to purchase it; and in his mission, he was accompanied by the sultan of Pontiana. After examining it, Mr. Stuvart offered 150,000 dollars for the diamond, the sum to which he was limi

ongst ballast stone, thrown from a vessel at an eastern port. When broken, it presented two half heads in profile; all the outlines of feature and hair were perfectly distinct, and the heads were of a darker colour t

. XX

RESPECTING

s-The Peak in Derbyshire-Snowde

he uplifted m

pointed heads i

cliffs their cr

tes, and sever'

ckm

cription Of

ing from its height, and rolling down the side of the mountain with a noise louder than thunder. Dr. Plot tells us of one in particular, which being loosened from its bed, rolled down the precipice, and was partly shattered into a thousand pieces. One of the largest fragments, however, still preserving its motion, travelled over the plain below, crossed a rivulet in the midst, and at last stopped on the other side of the bank! These fragments are often struck off by lightning, and sometimes undermined by rains; but the most usual manner in which they are disunited from the mountain is by frost: the rains first insinuate and find their way between the interstices

e P. M. the weather being very calm and serene. This mountain, which was of a conical figure, destroyed fifty-five cottages in its fall. Fifteen persons, with about one hundred beasts, were also crushed beneath its ruins, which covered an extent of ground of a league square. The dust it occasioned instantly enveloped all the neighbourhood in darkness. The heaps of rubbish were more than three hundred feet high. They stopp

gher piece of ground, driven from its situation by subterraneous inundations, and settling upon the plain below. There is not an appearance in nature that so much astonished our ancestors as these land-slips. To behold a large upland, with its houses, corn, and cattle, at once loosened from its place, and floating as it were upon the subjacent water,-to see it quitting its ancient situation, and sailing forward like a ship,-is certainly one of the most extraordinary appearances that can be imagined, and, to a people ignorant of the po

to hear a hideous confused noise issuing all around from the side of the hill; and their curiosity being awakened, they resorted to the place. There, to their amazement, they found an extent of ground, of nearly five acres, all in gentle motion, and sliding down the hill upon the subjacent plain. This motion, together with the noise, continued the remaining part of the d

uch more dangerous. These are snow-slips, or avalanches, well known, and greatly dreaded by

dred wint

aciers, dark

r precip

ended by

e but thr

wn the stee

will break

bursting,

ly grown to an enormous bulk. Wherever it rolls, it levels all things in its way, or buries them in unavoidable destruction. Instead of rolling, it sometimes is found to slide along from the top; yet even thus, it is generally fatal. Nevertheless, we had an instance a few years ago, of a small family in Germany, that lived for above a fortnight under one

erbyshire, from Moritz's Trave

iles from London, the author thus describes the t

as traversed by rivers and brooks, and inclosed on all sides by hills. In this vale lies Castleton

e through the vale into the street of Castleton, where I found an i

s through the middle of the

side with ivy and other shrubs. At its summit are the decayed walls and towers of an ancient castle, which formerly stood on thi

of the cavern, a man of a rude and rough appearance, who asked me if I w

want to be carried to the other side of the stream; telling me

me as a real Charon: his voice, and the questions he asked me, were not of a kind to remove this notion; so that far from its requiring any effort of im

he told me, all I had to do was boldly to

of a tree that had been cut down, on which

orward a few steps farther, I was astonished by a sight, which, of all others, I here the least expected: I perceived to the right, in the hollow of the cavern, a whole subterranean villag

n I perceived a number of large wheels, on which on weekdays

heel of Ixion, and the ince

the darkness at every step to increase, till at length only a few rays appeared, as if darting through a cre

y. As you go down the gentle descent of the cavern, you can hardly help fancying th

nd earth seem to join in the horizon. We then approached a little door, where an old

ly been traversing the outer coasts of their dominions. The rock was here so low that we were obliged to stoop very much for some few steps, in order to get through; but how great was my astonishment, when we had passed this narrow passage, and

d river, which, from the glimmering of our candles amid the total darkness, suggested a variety of interesting reflections. To the side of this river a small boat was moored, with some straw

e rock seemed to stoop, and come nearer and nearer to us, till at length it nearly touched my face; and, as I lay, I could hardly hold the candle upright. I seemed to myself to be in a coffi

observed on both sides, as we passed along, a prodigious number of great and small petrified plants an

r, was not so broad as the first, as one may see across it to the other side: over this

came to a very small piece of water, which extended i

and slippery, and sometimes so very narrow th

death,-when, all at once, something like music at a distance sounded in my ears. I instantly stopped, full of astonishment, and eagerly asked my guide what this might mean. He answered, "Only have patience, an

from the rock as from a thick cloud, threatening to extinguish our candles, and leave us in entire darkness. It was this that

f of the cavern through the veins of the rock, the

, which seemed to be new or subordinate caverns, all of which we passed without looking into. At length my g

ly be taken for a majestic temple, with lofty arches, supported by be

ne a part, appeared to me at that moment to surpass all the most stupendous

works, my mind became insensibly solemnized; and I felt that it became me silent

top of which Miss Elizabeth Smith, a young lady of uncommon attainments, made an ex

e Welsh mountains, being 3020

as to rise, (for we ascended the mountain on the south west,) Mrs. G. S. was frightened, and seeing a very steep ascent before her, said she would sit down and wait our return. My mother said she would stay with her, and I proposed our all going back together; but my mother very kindly insisted on my proceeding. We therefore divided our provisions; the ladies returned to the hut from which they had set out, and I went on with the guide, who could not speak a word of English. We steered our course more towards the south, and toiled up several mountains, in some parts covered with loose stones, which had fallen from their broken summits, but in general overgrown with different sorts of moss, and a kind of short grass, mixed with immense quantities of the galium pusillum. I picked up a few other plants, but on the whole was disappointed in the botanical way, as I found very little that I had not before met with on the mountains in this nei

over my paper, which the wind renders very difficult, in order to draw another; I look up, and the upper part illuminated by a beautiful rose-coloured light, while the opposite part still casts a dark shade over its base, and conceals the sun from my view. If I were ready to jump into the pit with delight at first seeing it, my ecstasy now was still greater. The guide seemed quite delighted to see me so much pleased, and took care, in descending, to lead me to the edge of every precipice, which he had not done in going up. I, however, presently recollected, that I was in a great hurry to get back, and set off along the brink of the cavity for the highest peak, where I arrived at a quarter past four, and saw a view, of which it is impossible to form any idea from description. For many miles around, it was composed of tops of high mountains, of all the various forms that can be imagined: some appeared swimming in an ocean of vapour; on others, the clouds lay like a cap of snow, appearing as soft as down. They were all far below Snowden, and I was en

ent-water, which lake is far distant from the sea, and high above its level from this circumstance. Skiddaw is reckoned the highest mountain in England. The prospect from its top is very extensive, and, being detached fr

. XX

PECTING MOUNTAI

ovo-Spectre of the Broken-Gauts, or Indian Appeni

ead the airy m

s; his shoulder

mantle

nh

An

Spaniards call them the Cordilleras de los Andes: they form two ridges; the lowermost of which is overspread with woods and groves, and the uppermost covered with everlasting snow. Those who have been at the top, affirm t

n frequently ascended, are much inferior in

y had most to fear from the heat, their greatest pain was caused by the excessiveness of the cold. Their first scheme, for shelter and lodging in these uncomfortable regions, was to pitch a field-tent for each company: but on Pichinca, this could not be done, from the narrowness of the summit; they were therefore obliged to be contented with a hut so small, that the whole of the company could scarcely creep into it. Nor will this appear strange, if the reader considers the bad situation and smallness of the place, it being one of the loftiest crags of a rocky mountain, 100 f

the sea, with their rock, like an island, stationed in its centre. When this happened, they heard the horrid noises of the tempests, which then spent their fury on Quito and the neighbouring country. They saw the lightnings issue from the clouds, and heard the thunders roll far beneath them; and whilst the lower parts were involved in tempests of thunder and rain, they enjoyed a delightful serenity, the wind was hushed, the sky became clear, and the enlivening ra

gathered about some of the other mountains which they had selected for their observations, so that they could not make all the use they desired of this interval of good weather, they left their hut, to exercise themselves. Sometimes they descended to a small distance; and, at other times, amused themselves with rolling large fragments of rocks down the precipice; and these frequently required the joint strength of them all, though they often saw the same effected by the mere

the rigour of the climate supportable, had not the imminent danger of perishing, by being blown down the precipice, roused them every time it snowed, to encounter the severity of the outward air, and sally out, with shovels, to force from the roof of their hut, the masses of snow which were gathering on it. Nor would it, without this precaution, have been able to support the weight

, and walking was attended with extreme pain. Their hands were covered with chilblains; their lips swelled and chopped, so that every motion in speaking drew blood; consequently they were

they were eating, every one was obliged to keep his plate over a chafing-dish of coals, to prevent his provisions from freezing. The same was done respecting the water. At first they imagined the drinking of strong liquors would diffuse a heat th

rmined by geometrical calculations to be 20,282 feet. As all or most rivers have their source in mountains, it is no wonder a great number run down the sides of the Andes. Some hurry along with a prodigious rapidity, whi

volcanic origin. This spot has long attracted the attention of philosophic inquirers, and even excited the curiosity of the vulgar. Various collections of its petrifactions have been made, and a considerable number of labourers are occasionally employed in

. Some of its beds consist of a range of certain species possessing a considerable similarity; while in others, animals of the most opposite habits, and inhabiting different regions of the globe, as well as different elements of nature, are strangely brought into contact, and confusedly blended in one heterogeneous mass. Shell-fish of the rivers and of the sea, corals, fishes of various kinds, insects, bones of different species of birds, remains of elephants, bears, and oth

in height. The gentry who go there to gratify their curiosity, generally drive through it with lighted torches; but the country people find their way with little difficulty, by the light which enters at each end, and by two holes pierced through the mou

flames, which rising extremely high, and darkening the atmosphere, fell down again and formed a circular mound four miles in circumference, and one thousand feet high, with a large cup in the middle. The wind rising afterwards, wafted the

owards the mountain is clad with shrubs, and the little area at the bottom planted with fig and mulberry trees; a most striking specimen of the amazing vicissitudes that take place in this extraordinary country. I saw no

the thirtieth time, and having procured information respecting the above-mentioned atmospheric phenomenon, I was at length, on the 23d of May, 1797, so fortunate as to have the pleasure of seeing it for myself; and perhaps a description

observed, at a very great distance, towards Achtermannsh?he, a human figure of a monstrous size. A violent gust of wind having almost carried away my hat, I clapped my hand to it, by moving my arm towards my head; and the colossal figure did the same. The pleasure which I felt on this discovery can hardly be descri

selves in the same position I had taken alone, we looked towards the Achtermannsh?he, but saw nothing. We had not, however, stood long, before two similar colossal figures were formed over the above eminence, which, after repeating the various gesticulations of our bodies, vanished. We, however, still retained our position, keeping our eyes fixe

NT'S CA

tural columns of basalt, on t

OF THE BROKE

henomenon is often observed in

l be the same when the setting sun throws his rays over the Broken, upon the body of a man standing opposite to fine light clouds floating around, or hovering past him, he needs only fix his eyes stedfastly upon them, and in all probability he will see the singular

qual distances from the sea coast; it is seldom more than sixty miles, commonly about forty, and in one part approaches within six miles. These mountains rise abruptly from the country of Concan,

he river, and is afterwards lost among the hills in the neighbourhood of Burrhampour. In its course along the Tapty, it forms several passes or descents towards that river, from whence it deri

it, towards the east, is a spring of fresh water, which is generally cold, but sometimes is so heated with subterraneous fire, as to rush forth in torrents, with a kind of ebullition like boiling water; equalling that in heat, and sending forth a steam of sulphureous fetid vapours, mixed with l

ported to be inscribed to a considerable extent with innumerable characters, reaching from the ground sometimes to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. These were mentioned by a Greek author in t

ins, named Omer-ridstein; and, says M. Niebuhr, "the pretended Jibbel El Mokatteb, may possibly be in its neighbourhood." Some of these inscriptions were copied by our author, but he does not look upon them to be of any consequence. At length, when M. Niebuhr arrived at the mountain to which the shiek had promised to conduct him, he found no inscription; but on climbing up to the top, he discovered an Egyptian cemetery, the stones of which were covered with hieroglyphics. The tomb-stones were from five to seven feet long, some being erect, and others lying flat; and "the more carefully they are examined, (says he,) the more certainly do they appear to be sepulchral stones, having epitaphs insc

a affirmed it to be so high as to reach above the clouds, which at that time might have been considered a bold assertion; and Martianus Capellinus says, that its elevation was six miles. It was a received opinion

es, hermitages, &c. upon it, that it became in a manner inhabited by a company of religious devotees; and from thence received the name of Mont

eat distance of ninety miles. There is a fine prospect from the top; but, like all other high mountains, the cold on its summit is excessive. It abounds with many different kinds of plants and trees, particularly the pine and fir. In the valleys grows a plant called elegia, whose branches serve to make pens for writing. In short, this mountain is said to be adorned

: "Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that liftest up thy head to the very skies, I advise thee not to be so audacious, as to put rocks and stones, that cannot be cut, in the way of my workmen. If thou makest that opposition, I will cut thee entirely down, and throw thee headlong into the sea!" The directors of this enterprise are said to have been Bubaris,

mixed with sulphur, from all parts of which steam issued. Ascending it, we got upon a ridge immediately above a deep hollow, from which a profusion of vapour arose, and heard a confused noise of boiling and splashing, joined to the roaring of steam excaping from narrow crevices in the rock. This hollow, tog

ust of sulphur breaking, or of the clay sinking with us, was great; and we were several times in imminent peril of being scalded. Mr

etted hydrogen gas. When the thermometer was sunk a few inches into the clay, it rose generally to within a few degrees of the boiling point. By stepping cautiously, and avoiding every little hole from which steam issued, we soon dis

ent within a few yards of it, the wind happening to be remarkably favourable for our viewing every part of this singular place. The mud was in constant agitation, and often thrown up to the height of six or eight feet. Near th

ne. It formed a smooth crust, from a quarter of an inch to several inches in thickness. The crust was beautifully crystallized, and immediately beneath it we found a quantity of loose granular sulphur, which appeared to be collecting and crystallizing, as it was sublimed along with the steam. Sometimes we met with clay of different colours, wh

ay be found. The inconvenience proceeding from the steam issuing on every side, and from the heat, is certainly considerable; but, by proper precautions, neither would be felt so much as to render the collection of the sulphur a matter of any great difficulty. The chief obstacle to working these mines,

extent of about half a mile, is covered with loose clay, into which our feet sunk at every step. In many places there was a thin crust, below which the clay was wet, and extremely hot. Good fortune attended us; and without any serious inconvenience, we reached the object we had in view. A dense column of steam, mixed with a little water, was forcing its way impetuously through a crevice in the rock, at th

n of firm nerves, standing on a support which feebly sustains him, over an abyss, where, literally, fire and brimstone are in dreadful and incessant action,-having before his ey

P.

PECTING MOUNTAI

irst the tow'rin

ales, and seem t

snows appear

ouds and mountai

tain'd, we tr

bours of the l

rospect tires ou

ills, and mounts

anc, in

o the summit of Mont Blanc, undertaken on August 8, 17

summit of Mont Blanc. One of the motives, however, which prompted the attempt, was much weakened by the consideration that I did not possess, and in that country could not obtain, the instruments that were requisite for many of the experiments which I was anxious to make; and the ardour of uncommon curiosity was diminished, when I l

next day to that on which M. de Saussure descended, but was obliged, as on many former occasions, to abandon the enterprise. Having, however, formed my resolution, I sent to the different cottages of the vale of Chamouni, from the skirts of which the mountain takes its rise, to inquire if any of them were willing to go with me as my assistants and guides; and had soon the satisfaction to find that ten were ready to accept the proposal. I engaged them all. Having announced to them my intention of setting out the next morning, I divided among them provisions for three days, together with a kettle, a chafing-dish, a quantity of charcoal, a pair of bellows, a couple of blankets, a long rope, a hatchet, and a ladder, which formed the stores that were req

midst of the wives, and children, and friends, of my companions, and indeed of the whole village of Chamouni, we began our march. The end of the first hour brought us to the Glacier des Boissons, at which place the rapid ascent of the mountain first begins, and from which, pursuing

he ridges between the waves of ice, often concealed, with a covering of uncertain strength, the fathomless chasms which traverse this solid sea; yet the danger was soon in a great degree removed by the expedient of tying ourselves together with our long rope, which being fastened at proper distances to our waists, secured from the principal hazard such as might fall within the opening of the gulf. Trusting to the same precaution, we also crossed upon our ladder, witho

down to eat; but our stomachs had little relish for food, and felt a particular distaste for wine and spirits. Water, which we obtained by melting snow in a kettle, was the only palatable drink. Some of the guides complained of a heavy disheartening sickness; and my Swiss servant, who had accompanied me at his own request, was seized with excessive vomiting, and the pains of the severest headach. But from these complaints, which apparently arose from the extreme lightness of the air in those elevated regions, I myself and some of the guides were free, except, as before observed, that we had little appetite for food, and a strong aversion to the taste of spirituous liquors. We now prepared for r

leave no doubt on my mind, that, if viewed from the summit of the mountain, they would have appeared as fixed points. How improved in those altitudes would be the aids which the telescope gives to vision! indeed, the clearness of the air was such as led me to think that

in particular had opened so much in the few days that intervened between M. de Saussure's expedition and our own, as for the time to bar the hope of any further progress; but at length, after having wandered with much anxiety along its bank, I found a place which I hoped the ladder was sufficiently long to cross. The ladder was accordingly laid down, and was seen to rest upon the opposite edge, but its bearing did not exceed an inch on either side. We now considered that, should we pass the chasm, and shou

y dry. Again I had recourse to the water, and again my throat was parched. The air itself was thirsty; its extreme of dryness had robbed my body of its moisture. The guides were equally affected: wine they would not taste, but the moment my back wa

to my great surprise, an acute sensation of pain, very different from that of weariness, immediately above my knees. Having finished our repast, we pursued our journey, and soon arrived at a chasm which could not have existed many days, for it was not formed at the time of M. de Saussure's ascent. Misled by this last circumstance, (for we concluded, that as he had seen no rents whatever from the time that he passed the place where he slept the second night,

precipices, and during which we were often obliged to employ the hatchet in making a footing for our feet, we reached, and reposed ourselves upon, a narrow flat, which is the last of three from the foot of the small mountain, and which, according to M. de Saussure, is but 150 fathoms below the level of the summit. Upon this platform I found a beautiful dead butterfly, the only appearance which, from the time I entered on the snow, I had seen of any animal. The pernicious ef

last, however, but with a sort of apathy which scarcely admitted the sense of joy, we reached the summit of this mountain; when six of our guides, and with them my servant, threw themselves on their faces, and were immediately asleep. I envied them their repose, but my anxiety to obtain a good observation for the latitude subdued my wishes for indulgence. The time of my arrival was half an hour after ten, s

dy (one of which appears of an altitude but little inferior to that of Mont Blanc) seem to approach his neighbourhood; while those on the other side of the vale of Chamouni, glittering with the sunbeams, are to the view directly below his feet, and affect his head with giddiness. On the other hand, all objects, of which the distance is great, and the level low, are hid from his eye by the blue vap

admirable Hadley's sextant, and an artificial horizon, and I corrected the mean refraction of the sun's rays. T

bly wider. In less than six hours we arrived at the hut in which we had slept the evening before, and should have proceeded much further down the mountain, had we not been afraid of passing the Glacier de la Coté at the close of the day, when the snow, from the effect of the sunbeams, was extremely rotten. Our evening's repast being finished, I was soon asleep; but in a few hours I was awakened with a tormenting pain in my face and eyes. My face was one continued blister, and my eyes I was unable to open; nor was I without apprehensions of losing my sight for ever, till my guides told me, that if I had condescended to have taken their advice, of wearing, as they did, a mask of black crape, the accident would not have befallen me, but that a few days

which the air in the heights I visited produced on the human body, may not perhaps be considered as altogether uninteresting; nor will the proof I made of the power of the lens on the summit of Mont Blanc, if confirmed by future experiments, be regarded as of no account in the theories of light and heat. At any rate, the having determined the latitude

P.

PECTING MOUNTAI

of Vesuviu

d lake that

phur, salt,

oiling tide. Th

agonizing thr

side disparted,

r, burning in

ro' the night,

, a hundred t

up its bed, r

llages, and wo

e their sweep.

lks, and groves

harvest wav'd i

ineyard spread

to nectar,-

ruit, and flow'r

under fire,

ll

ic Mou

tops; one only of which goes by the name of Vesuvius, the other being now called Somma; bu

ell cultivated and fertile, producing great plenty of vines; but the south and west sides are entirely covered with cinders and ashes, while a sulphureous smoke constantly issu

eople lost their lives, among whom was Pliny the elder. It is the opinion of the best judges, however, that this eruption was by no means the first that had ever happened: the very streets of those cities which were at that time overwhelmed, are unquestionably p

Vesuvius, than were to be obtained before. The first great eruption taken notice of by this gentleman was that of 1769, when Vesuvius never ceased for ten years to send forth smoke, nor were there many months in which

ther volcano. During the whole of July, the mountain continued in a state of fermentation. Subterraneous explosions and rumbling noises were heard; quantities of smoke were thrown up with great

cano itself. These clouds of smoke were exceedingly white, resembling an immense accumulation of bales of the whitest cotton. In the midst of this very white smoke, vast quantities of stones, scori?, and ashes, were thrown up to the height of two thousand feet; and a quantity of liquid lava, seemingly

the mole at Naples, which has a full view of it. Several awfully fine and picturesque effects had been observed from the reflection of the deep red fire within the crater of Vesuvius, and which mounted high amongst those huge clouds on the top of it; when a summer storm, called in that country a tropea, came on suddenly, and blended its heavy watery clouds with the sulphureous and mineral ones, which were already, like so many other mountains, piled up on the top of the volcano. At this moment a fountain of fire was shot up to an incredible height, casting so bright a light, that the smallest objects were clearly distinguishable at any place within six miles or more of Vesuvius. The black sto

occasion, though the noise was but faintly heard at Naples. In an instant, a fountain of liquid transparent fire began to rise, and, gradually increasing, arrived at last to the amazing height of ten thousand feet and upwards. Puffs of smoke, as black as can possibly be imagined, rapidly succeeded one another, and, accompanying the red-hot transparent and liquid lava, interrupted its splendid brightness here and there by patches of the darkest hue. Within these puffs of smoke, at the very moment of emission, a bright but pale electrical fire was observed playing briskly about in zigzag lines. The wind was south-west, and, though gentle, was sufficient to carry these puffs of smoke out of the column of fire, an

, and from the silvery blue of the electrical fire, still added to the contrast of this most extraordinary scene. The black cloud increasing greatly, spread over Naples, and threatened the city with speedy destruction; for it was charged with electrical fire, which kept constantly darting about in bright zigzag lines. This fire, however, rarely quitted the cloud, but usually returned to the great column of fire whence it proceeded; though once or twice it was seen to fall on the top of Som

by the showers of stones which fell upon them, and which, had the eruption continued for a longer ti

f the fragments which Sir William Hamilton found in the streets still weighed upwards of 60lbs. When these large vitrified masses either struck against one another in the air, or fell on the ground, vivid sparks of fire proceeded from them, which communicated to every thing that was combustible. These masses were formed of the liquid lava; the exterior parts of which were become black and porous, by cooling in their fall through such a vast space; whilst the interior parts, less exposed, retained an extreme heat, and were perfectly red. In an instant, the town and country about it were on fire in many parts, for there were several straw huts in the vineyards, which had been erected for the watchmen of the grapes, all of which were burnt to the ground. A great magaz

arged: but whilst the eruption was in force, its appearance was too alarming to allow any one to think of such experiments. He was informed also by the prince of Monte Mileto, that his son, the duke of Populi, who was at Monte Mileto on the 8th of August, had been alarmed by a shower of cinders that fell there, some of which he had sent to Naples, weighing two ounces; and that stones of an ounce weight had fallen upon an estate of his, ten miles farther off. Monte M

es; all the windows toward the mountain were broken, and some of the houses themselves burnt; the streets were choked up with ashes, and in some narrow places it was not l

liam Hamilton was 108 feet in circumference, and seventeen in height: this was thrown at least a quarter of a mile clear of the mouth of the volcano. Another, sixty-six feet in circumference, and nineteen in height, being nearly of a spherical figure, was thrown out at the same time, and fell near the former: this last had all the marks of being rounded, nay, almost polished, by continual exposure to rolling torrents, or the still rougher beat of a sea-sho

operations of Vesuvius, with drawings; which shewed, by the comparative quantity of smoke emitted each time, the degree of fermentation within the volcano. The operations of these subterraneous fires, however, appear to be very capricious and uncertain: one day there will be the appearance of a violent ferme

s was also immense. Eruptions of this volcano also took place in 1804 and 1805; but this article will conclude by noticing only the eruption that happened on the evening of the 31st of May, 1806, when a bright flame rose from the mountain to the height of about 600 feet, sinking and rising alternately, and affording so clear a light, that a letter might have been read at the di

uing from it from time to time with a powerful detonation. Vines, trees, houses, in short, whatever objects it encountered on its way, were instantly overthrown and destroyed. In one part, where it met with the resistance of a wall, it formed a cascade o

ike the fused matter in a glasshouse. This eruption continued until September, made great ravages, and was considered as one of the most terrible that occurred within the memory of the oldest inhabitants. Sir William Hamilton observes, that the inhabitants of Naples, in general, pay so little attention to the operations of this volcano, that many of its eruptions pass unnoticed by at least two-thirds of them. It is remarkable to observe, with what readiness

, Dr. Solander, and Dr. James Lind, of Edinburgh. On their first landing, they found a tract of land sixty or seventy miles in extent, entirely ruined by lava, which appeared to have been in the highest state of liquefaction. Havi

as a place with lofty walls and high glazed cliffs, unlike any thing which they had ever seen before. A little higher up they found a large quantity of grit and stones; and still farther, another opening, which, though not deep, descended lower than that of the highest point. Here, they imagined, they plainly discerned the effects of boiling water; though not far from thence the mountain was covered w

r fear of being blown down the most dreadful precipices. On the very summit, they experienced at the same time a high degree of heat and of cold; for, in the air, Fahrenheit's thermometer stood constantly at twenty-four, but

was so much burnt, that it was as light as tow. Its form and colour were sometimes very fine, but at the same time so soft, that it was difficult to remove it from one place to another. The common lava was found in both large and small pieces; as well as a

ivided into three large branches. Further on they perceived an opening, at the bottom of which was a mount in form of a sugar loaf; in throwing up of which, the fire appeared to have exhausted itself. The reason that

describe the celeb

s with dreadf

rsting cloud o

moky whirlwin

plosion to th

bes and furious

bellowing cav

melted rocks

trails wide the

ll her flaming

rt

ase is 180 miles. Over its sides are seventy-seven cities, towns, and villages, the number of the inhabitants of which is about 115,000. From Catania to the summit, the distance is thirty miles; and the traveller must pas

s, and various kinds of fruit trees. Its great fertility is ascribed to the decomposition of lava, and of those vegetables which have been introduced by the arts of agriculture, and the exertions of human i

hich exhibits a pleasing contrast to its white and hoary summits. It is called the woody region, because it abounds with oaks, beeches, and firs. The soil is similar to that of the lower region; the air is cool and refreshing, and every breeze is loaded wi

ice, as well as of torrents of smoke issuing from the crater of the mountain, and by the difficulty and danger of advancing amidst streams of melted snow, sheets of ice, and gusts of chilling wind. The curious traveller, however, thinks himself amply recompensed, upon gaining the summit, for the p

whereby it thus gains an exit, it would rage in the bowels of the earth much more furiously, and make greater havock than it now does. So that, though those countries where there are such volcanoes are usually more or less troubled with earthquakes; yet, were these volcanoes wanting, they would be much more annoyed with them than they now are, yea, in all probability, to that degree as to render the earth, for a vast

ot arraign the almighty Sovereign. However dreadful and destructive subterraneous fires may appear; on proper reflection, it may be inferred that they are as neces

P.

SPECTING GROTT

otto of Guacharo-Snow Grotto-Cave of Fingal-Cave near Mexico-

-Sweet in

ley, rivers, wo

, and shores with

lt

ed it to be still unknown; though, from the information I received, we proceeded into it further than any others, and our entrance into the third newly discovered chambers, or cave, was only prevented by a descent of fourteen feet. This great and astonishing work of God is divided into various apartments, fr

and feeling, are equally overpowered; and, to complete this remarkable assemblage, there are various baths, or cisterns of water, as clear as crystal, divided by partitions, as if a most ingenious sculptor had wrought for some weeks in this subterraneous place of nature. Ten young colonists, with two slave guides, and my servant, were with me. We had a flambeau and a number

re and there, but in one continued stream, covering the whole surface of the bottom of the cave; having this remarkable difference from common vapours, that it does not, like smoke, disperse into the air, but quickly after its rise falls back again, and returns to the earth, or hovers to a certain height, above which it never rises. This fact is ascertained by the colour of the sides of the grotto, which, as high as the vapour ascends, is of a darkish green, but above this it has only the appearance of common earth. As I found no inconvenience from standing in it myself, so I believe no animal, if its head were kept above this mark, would be in the least

name from the small island in which it is situated. The following is M

a low narrow passage, lined on all sides with stones, that, from the reflection of the torches, glittered like diamonds, and displayed the colours of the rainbow. At the end of this passage, our guides desired us to tie a rope about our waists, and then led us to the brink of a frightful precipice. The descent was steep,

t of the torches, we could perceive that we were to plunge into a place encumbered with vast pieces of rough rugged rocks, and that we should be forced sometimes to climb over, and sometimes to creep under them; while on the other side were numerous dark caverns, like so many wells, which if one's foot should slip, would swallow us up. Two of our guides went before us, and as we stood on the edge, we were terrified to see them go lower, till they appeared at a frightful depth beneath us. When they were at the bottom, t

difficulty we could keep ourselves from going too fast, and tumbling over one another. The walls and arch of the roof is as smooth in most places as if chiselled by a skilful workman, and are formed of a glistering red and white granite, supported in several places with columns of

white branches of rock crystal, and might be compared, from the hue of the rock behind, to an immense sheet of amethysts. From the foot of this ladder, we were compelled to slide, face downwards, through ano

itation in descending the ladder. After this, we proceeded upon even ground for about forty yards, when we were again entreated by our guides to fasten the ropes about our waists; not for the purpose of suspending us over a height, but as a means of security against the lakes and deep waters that are numerous in this part of the cavern

two remaining guides assured us, that their companions were safe, and that we should soon be rewarded for all that we had suffered, if we would but advance. Our passage was now become very narrow, and we were obliged to crawl on all fours over rugged rocks, when, hearing a little hissing noise, in an instant we were left in utter darkness. To our inexpressible terror, the guides told us that they had accidentally dropped their torches into one of the pools; but that there wa

rn, 485 yards deep, 120 yards wide, 113 long, and, as near as we could measure by the eye, about 60 yards high, lined on every part with brilliant crystallized white marble, and well illuminated. The roof is a grand vaulted arch, hung all over with pendent icicles of shining white marble, some of them ten feet long, and covered with clusters of the same material, resembling festoons a

ural temple, the ornaments of which are formed of the droppings of water, t

creative powers are displayed in the most obscure, as well as in the most visible part of his works, we

they make two holes for seeing through. They thus swim towards the birds, throwing a handful of maize on the water from time to time, which becomes scattered on the surface. The ducks and other birds approach to feed on the maize, and at that moment the swimmer seizes them

s the Temple and Compagna of Venezuela. Speaking of the celebrated Grotto of Guacharo, in the mountains of Bergantin, M. Lavayse observes, "In every country the same causes have produced similar effects on the imagination of our species. The grotto of Guacharo is, in the opinion of the Indians, a place of trial and expiation: souls, when separated from their bodi

the devil, Muboya; after which they drown their grief with intoxicating beverages: but, if they do not hear the voices of their friends, they express their joy by dances and festivals. In all this, there is but one circumstance that creates surprise

istinguished from other animals by this irresistible foreboding of a future life, in which an Omnipotent Being recompenses the good and punishes evil doers. Whatever may be the modifications, differences, or absurdities, with which

tto was hired, or bought, by the knights of Malta, who having neither ice nor snow on the burning rock which they inhabit, have hired several caverns on Etna, into which, people whom they employ, collect and preserve quantities of snow, to be sent to Malta when needed. This grotto has therefore been repaired within, at the expense of the order; flights of steps are cut into it, as well as two openings from above, through which they throw in the snow, and by means of which the grotto is enlightened. Above the grotto they have also levelled a piece of

tto, and laid upon mules, which convey it to the shore, where small vessels are waiting to carry it away. But before those lumps of snow are put into bags, they are

olutely necessary for the preservation of health; and in a climate, the heat of which is constantly relaxing the fibres, cooling liquors, by communicating a proper tone to the fibres of the stomach, must greatly strengthen them for the performance of their functions. In this climate a scarcity of snow is no less dreaded than a scarcity of corn, wine, or oil. We are informed by

gal, or An-ua-vine, in the Island of Staffa. From Faujas

earance of order and regularity so wonderful, that it is difficult for the coldest observer, and a person the least sensible to the phenomena wh

im who first described it. Those who are acquainted with the character of this illustrious naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, will not be apt to accuse him of being liable to be hurried awa

ars. We were no sooner arrived at this place, than we were struck with a scene of magnificence which exceeded our expectation, though formed as we thought upon the most sanguine foundations. The whole of that end of the island is supported by ranges of natural pillars, mostly above fif

hich a yellow stalagmitic matter has exuded; this serves to define the angles precisely, and at the same time vary the colour with a great deal of elegance, and, to render it still more agreeable, the whole is lighted from without; so that t

the same place by Mr. Troil,

ades of our modern edifices! but when we behold the cave of Fingal, formed by nature in the isle of Staffa, it is no longer possible to make a comparison, and we are forced to acknowledge that this piece of architecture, executed by

the cave of Fingal, on Sir Joseph Ban

s near this, or can bear any comparison with it, either for the admirable regularity of the columns, the height of the arch, the situation, the forms, the elegance of this production of natur

five feet wide at the entrance, fifty-six f

are of the most perfect regularity. Their height, t

qual segments of a circle, which

s, more or less regular, inclining in all directions, closely united and cemented underneath, and in the joints, with a yel

ated, beat with great noise against the bottom and walls of the cavern, and every where break into foam. The light also p

f large truncated prisms, the top of which may be easily walked on. Several of these prisms are jointed, that is,

and some of them have seven or eight sides. I saw several large prisms, on the truncatures of which are distinctly traced the outlines of a number of smaller prisms; that is, th

ight, between which considerable address is necessary to choose one's steps, the passages being so strait and so slippery, owing to the droppings from the roof, that I took the very prudent resolution, suggested by our two guides, to proceed barefooted, and take advantage of their assistance, especially in a particular place, where I h

hout considerable difficulty and danger. I more than once found my attention distracted from the observ

a large sloping space, composed of thousands of broken vertical columns. The bottom was boun

ve, the sea, by one of those uncommon chances which do not happen once

of the water, there is a kind of small cave, which sends forth a very agr

eavoured to discover the cause of this terrible collision. I soon observed, that, a little below the basis which supported the organ-fronted colonnade, there was an aperture which formed the outlet of a hollow, or perhaps a small cave. It was impossible to penetrate into this cavity; but it may be presumed that the tremendous noise was occasioned by a broken rock, driven by the violent impetuosity of the surge against its sides. By the boiling motion of the water, however, in the same place, it is evident that there are several other small passages, through which

ween the angles a yellow stalagmitic matter has exuded, which seemed to define the angles precise

t a calcareous matter, coloured by the decomposition of the iron of the lava, and intermixed with a little argillaceous earth. This stalactites has also very little adhesion, and is, in general, of an earthy nature. In several of the prisms I found some globules of zeolites, but in very small quantity. I also broke off from between two prisms, which were so apart as to admit of introducing my hand, an incrustation

nd twelve feet distant from it, at noon of the 27th of September, fifteen feet; thickness of the roof, measured from the pitch of the arch without to its highest part, twenty feet; interior length of the cave from the entrance to the extremity, o

ll over with a sort of leaf-gold, which had deluded many Spaniards by its promising colour, but they could never reduce it into a body, either by quicksilver or fusion.

pirits and hobgoblins, it occasioned such thundering and redoubled echoes, that the poor fellow, imagining he had been wrestling with some infernal ghosts, soon quitted his station, and thereby left a free passage for some rays of light to enter, and serve him for a better guide. The traveller's sight was somewhat affected by the corrosive acrimony of the mineral dust;

lixiviation. On the head of Current's river are also found several caves from which nitre is procured, the principal of which is Ashley's cave, or Cave Creek, about eighty miles south-west of Potosi. This is one of

ures of the limestone rock which forms the walls of this cave; and several of those in

ent of twelve fathoms deep, at the bottom of which there continually issues from the rocks a considerable current of water. The naked rocks above the entrance are about thirty fathoms high, and the whole ascent

n one or two. It is in length about two hundred yards. At the farthest part of the cavern there is a stream of water, large enough to drive a mill, which passes all along one side of the cavern, and at length slides down about six or eight fathoms among the rocks, and, finding i

s are opened once in seven years, and when a sufficient quantity of this valuable and singular mineral is taken out, they are carefully closed again. In travelling among these mountains, the idea that presents itself to the astonished spectator, is that of the earth having been agitated like the ocean in a stor

eswick Lake. Borrowdale is four miles from Keswick, in passing from which, the traveller has the lake on his left hand, and stupendous rocky precipices on the other; with huge stones, or rugged masses of rock, which have tumbled from above, perhaps rent from the mountain by the expansion of the water in its crevices or fissures, which, c

ea, but through which a man can with difficulty creep. At the north end of it is a cave, twenty feet high, thirty broad, and one hundred and fifty long, containing a space of ninety thou

. XL

ES RESPEC

Peru-Volcanic Eruptions of Mud and

treats pursue t

epths, and view h

use in tunefu

were fram'd, and

tive sun, with

arth transmits i

regnating the

hines with its

ged by subterr

nts, and flows

r dross, the nob

s, and with fres

creation fir

d the world's gr

sis of the ea

ch its fix'd fo

auses they d

lmighty's fiat

ld

the river Tigitonhonha, in the

n the administration of them, who was therefore qualified to furnish me with the amplest information. A fine horse was waiting for me at the door, and I rode up to the house of the governor, who introduced me to hi

ich I was occupied in viewing and examining various parts of the w

across the tongue of land round which it winds, the river being stopped, just below the head of the canal, by an embankment formed of several thousand bags of sand. This is a work of considerable magnitude, and requires the co-operation of a

ructed, that the rotary motion may be altered by changing the current of water from one side to the other; this wheel, by means of a rope made of untanned hides, works two carts, one of which descends empty on one inclined plane, while the other, loaded with cascalhao, is drawn to the top of the other, where it falls into a cradle, empties itself, and descends in its turn. At a work called Canjeca, formerly of great importance, about a mile up the river on the opposite side, there are three cylindrical engines for drawing the cascalhao, l

bles cemented by oxide of iron, which sometimes envelop gold and diamonds. They calculate on getting as much cascalhao in the dry season, as will occupy all their hands durin

etimes water is required only from one corner of the aperture, then the remaining part is stopped; sometimes it is wanted from the centre, then the extremes are stopped; and sometimes only a gentle rill is wanted, then the clay is applied accordingly. Along the lower ends of the troughs a small channel is dug, to carry off the water. On the heap of cascalhao, at equal distances, are placed three high chairs, for the officers or overseers. After they are seated, the negroes enter the troughs, each provided with a rake of a peculiar form, and short handle, with which he rakes into the trough about fifty or eighty pounds weight of cascalhao. The water being then let in upon it, the cascalhao is spread abroad, and continually raked up to the head of the trough, so as to be kept in constant motion. This operation being performed for the space of a quarter of an hour, the water then begins to run clearer; having washed the earthy particles away, the gravel-like matter is raked up to the end of the trough; after the current flows away quite clear, the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards those of inferior size, then the whole is examined with great care for diamonds. When a negro finds one, he immediately stands upright and claps his hands, then extends them, holding the gem between his

ich they are frequently changed while the operation is going on. A word of command being given by the overseers, they instantly move into each others' troughs, so that no opportunity of collusion can take place. If a negro be suspected of having swallowed a diamond, he is confined in a strong room until the fact can be ascertained. Formerly, the punishment infl

abour are from a little before sunrise until sunset, half an hour being allowed for breakfast, and two hours at noon. While washing, they change their posture as often as they please, which is very necessary, as the work requires them to place their feet on

e of the negroes, although the present governor has in some degree improved it, by allowing a daily portion of fresh beef, which was not allowed by his predecessors, yet I am sorry to observe that it is still poor and scanty; and

s were daily covered with a profusion of excellent viands, served up on fine Wedgewood ware, and the state of their household generally corresponded with t

of an unworked place, by comparison with the amount found on working with the part adjoining. These known places are left in reserve, and trial is made of more uncertain grounds. The following observation I often heard from the intendant: 'That piece of ground (speaking of an unw

of the diamond, not a vestige of which could I trace. They informed me, that they often found diamonds cemented in pudding-stone, accompanied with grains of gold, but that they always broke them out, as they could not enter them in the treasury, or weigh them with matter adhering to them. I obtained a mass of pudding-stone, apparently of very recent formation, cemented by ferruginous matter enveloping many grains of gold; and likewise a few pounds weight of the cascalhao in its unwashed state. This river, and other streams in its vicinity, have been in washing many years, and have produced great

operation above forty years; of course there must arrive a period at which they will be exhausted, but there are grounds in the neighbourhood, pa

and he discovered to him the secret. The two friends could not keep their counsel and enjoy their good fortune. They quarrelled; on which the indiscreet confidant discovered the whole to his master Villaroel, a Spaniard. Upon this the mine was worked, and a great number of others were found in its vicinity, the principal of which are in the northern part of the mountain, and their direction is from north to south. The fame of Potosi soon spread abroad; and there was quickly built at the foot of the mountain a town, consisting of 60,000 Indians, and 10,000 Spaniards. The sterility of the soil did not prevent its being immediately peopled. Corn, fruit, flocks, American stuffs, and European luxuries, arrived from every quarter. In 1738 these mines produced annually near ￡978,000, without reckoning the silver which was not registered, and what had been carried off by fraud. From that time the produce has been so much diminished, that not above one-eighth part of the coin which was formerly struck, is now made. At all the mines of Peru, the Spaniards, in purifying their gold and silver, use mercury, with which they are supplied from Guanca V

ount of Volcanic Eruptions of Mud and Salt, in the Island of Java;

n in the plains of Grobogan, fifty pals (or miles) north-east of Solo, a party, of

the Javanese call them. They are situated in the village of Kuhoo, and by Europeans are called by that name. We found them to be on an elevated plain of mud, about two miles in circumference, in the centre of which immense bodies of salt mud were thrown up, to the height of from ten to fifteen feet, in the form of large g

rge globes or bubbles, as the ground was all a quagmire, except where the surface of the mud had become hardened by the sun; upon this we approached cautiously to within fifty yards of the largest bubble, or mud pudding, as it might very pr

ontinued at intervals from about one-half to two minutes. From various other parts of the quagmire round the large globes or bubbles, there were occasionally small quantities of mud shot up like rockets to the height of twenty or thirty feet, and accompanied by smoke. This was in parts where the mud was of too stiff a consistency to rise in globes or bubbles. The mud at all the places we came near was cold

fensive smell. About thirty yards from the lake stood the mud hillock, which was about fifteen feet high from the level of the earth. The diameter of its base was about twenty-five yards, its top about eight feet, and in form an exact cone. The top is open, and the interior keeps constantly working, and heaving up mud in globular forms, like the Bludugs. The hillock is entirely formed of mud which has flowed

ike a pot of water boiling violently; it was shallow, except in the centre, into which we thrust a stick t

rom them quite hot, so that it was most probably inflammable; but we did not ascertain this. We heard the boiling at the distance of thirty yards from the pools, resembling in noise a waterfall. The pools did not overflow; of course the bubbling was occasioned by the r

arshy ground, stretching down to the sea, and surrounded on other sides by low eminences of limestone, or a bituminous shale, is the immediate situation of the springs; they are found in three or four different places of the morass, appearing as small pools, the sides and bottom of which are thickly lined with petroleum, in a viscid state, and, by agitation, easily raised in large flakes to the surface. The most remarkable of these pools is one of a circular form, about fifty feet in circumference, and a few feet in depth, in which the petroleum has acc

n my safe arrival; and pointed to a huge fire, burning for the purpose of keeping the air in proper temperature. Gaining courage by a nearer examination, I walked about the chambers with as much ease as if they had been the apartments of a dwelling-house. The coal is hollowed out in spaces of four yards wide, between which are left pillars of coal to support the roof, ten yards broad, and twenty deep. After exploring a dozen or two of these little apartments, our curiosity was satisfied, as there was nothing more to be seen but a repetition of the same objects to a vast extent. A number of horses live here for years together, and seem to enjoy themselves very comfortably: they are employed to draw the coal from the subterraneous passages to the bottom of the opening of the pit. The machine which raises the coal to the surface of the earth, is worked by stout horses. The coal is brought in strong baskets, made of osier; they contain each 12 cwt. and while one ascen

der the sea. The collieries employ a great number of hardy sailors, who, in their frequent coasting-voyages, are accustomed to face all the dan

P.

S RESPECTI

n-Particular Curiosities of the Sea-On the Saltn

d thou, ma

ld of wonder

dous praise, who

r, or bids your

ions Respecting

e centre of the earth is the common centre of gravity, and that the nature of fluids is such, that they equally yield to equal powers; hence it follows, that where the power of attraction is every where the same at equal distances from the centre, the superficial parts of the water will every where conform themselves to this attractive power, at an equidistant situation from the centre, and, it is evident, will form the surface of a sphere, so far as they extend. The reason then that the sea seems higher than the land, results from the fallacy of vision, whereby all objects, whether on the land

eneral rule among sailors, and is found to hold true in many instances, that the more the shores of any place are steep and high, forming perpendicular cliffs, the deeper the sea is below; and that, on the contrary, level shores denote shallow waters. Thus, the deepest part of the Mediterranean is generally allowed to be under the heights of Malta. And the observation of the strata of earth and other fossils, on and near

where it is rocky, and that the like caverns are sometimes found in the perpendicular rocks which form the steep sides of those fisheries. These cav

ound, on approaching the shores, give some idea of this. The bottom of the plummet is hollowed, and in that hollow there is placed a lump of tallow, which is the first part that touches the ground; and the soft nature of the fat receives into it some part of those substances which it meets with at the bottom: the substances thus brought up, are sometimes pure sand, som

ferent strata, placed one upon another, and mostly parallel and correspondent to those of the rocks, islands, and neighbouring continents. They contain stones of different sorts, minerals, metals, various petrified bodies, pumice stones, and lavas formed by volcanoes. One of the objects which most excited his attention, was a crust, which he discovered under the water, composed of crustaceous and testaceous bodies, with beds of polypes of different kinds, confusedly blended with earth, sand, and gravel: the different marine bodies, which

ugh the northern signs; but the contrary way, after the sun has passed the said equinoctial southward: adding, that when this general motion is changed, the diurnal flux is changed also; whence it happens, that in several places the tides come in during one part of the year, and go out during the other, as on the coasts of Norway, in the Indies at Goa,

f the earth. Secondly, because the quantity of vapours raised from the sea, and falling on the land, only cause a circulation, but no increase of water. It has been found, by calculation, that in a summer's day there may be rai

may ascend above its own level: 1. By the means of subterranean heat. 2. By filtration. 3. By the unequal height of several seas. 4. By the distance of the centre of magnitude from the centre of gravity in the terraqueous globe; the superficies of the Pacific Sea being said to be fur

uriosities of the Sea.-For the following obse

fury, till, dismasted, and their rigging shivered in fragments, they sink, overwhelmed with a weight of waters, or strike some sand-bank, or shelving rock, and are at once dashed to pieces. Sometimes whirlpools, or vast masses of water with a violently circular motion, whirl the unfortunate vessel that fate urges into their vortex, with irresistible force, till the helpless victim sinks an easy prey to the tremendous gulf, and the cries of the unfortunate wretches are

ose from mountains of salt contained in the sea, it would be salter in some places than in others, of which we have no proof. But whatever is the occasion of this saline property of the sea, it is absolutely necessary to accomplish certain ends. It is that which preserves such a vast body of water from corruption, and renders it capable of supporting a greater weight. The colour of sea water is also deserving of attention: it is not every where alike, which perhaps arises in part from its reflecting the colour of the bottom and that of the sky. It often appears dark and black in de

is half a German league. Who is able to number the different species of animals which people the seas? or who can determine their form, structure, size, and properties? How infinitely great is that God who has created the sea! will be the conclusion of all who investigate the subject, and it is not without the wisest reasons that the Creator has made the ocean and the seas to occupy two-thirds of the whole globe. The seas were designed not only to form great reservoirs of water, but by means of their evaporation to be the sources of rain, snow, and various meteors. What wisdom is displayed in the connection which the seas have with each other, and in their continual motion! And it is n

the subject, could not help remarking, that the fluctuations of the ocean itself were scarcely more various than the opinions of men concerning the origin of its saline impregnation. The question does not seem capable of admitting an illustration from experiment; at least no experiments have hitherto been made for that purpose, and therefore we may be the less surprised at its remaining nearly as problematical in the present age, as it has been in the preceding. Had there, indeed, been any observation made three or four centuries ago, ascertaining the saltness of the sea at any particular time and place; we might, by similar observations at the same place and the same season, have been able to know

ive its saltness from the beds of rock salt, which they have supposed to be situated at its bottom; and they are further of opinion, that without such a permanent saline principle, the sea would long since have become insipid from the fresh water poured i

waters, dissolve in their passage through divers parts of the earth, and at length carry with them into the sea. Buffon, and the generality of philosophers, acquiesce in the opinion of Boyle.-"After all, (says he,) it may be observed, that we are inquiring into the cause of a phenomenon, which it may be said had no secondary cause at all. It is taken for granted, in thi

de to discover the saltness of the sea, round the shores of Britain; and prop

ke a clean towel, or any other piece of cloth; dry it well before the sun or before the fire, then weigh it accurately, and note down its weight; dip it in the sea water, and, when taken out, wring it a little till it will not drip when hung up to dry; weigh it in this wet state, then dry it in the sun or at the fire, and when it is perfectly dry, weigh it again: the excess of the weight of the

consideration of a question proposed by Aristotle,-Why are the upper parts of the sea salter and warmer than the lower? Some philosophers, admitting the fact, have followed him in attempting to explain it; whilst others have thought themselves authorized by experiment to deny the truth of the position; and those, perhaps, will argue with the greatest justness, who shall affirm that it is neither generally

emit a stench like a filthy lake, and consequently that none of the myriads of creatures which now live therein could exist. From thence also the sea water becomes much heavi

a few observatio

ould the co

thin itse

erns should it

elighted s

bosom of it

its num'rou

scipline and

tides exert the

t and read

rising su

nks o'er earth's

different paths t

io

the tides is the attraction of the sun and moon, but chiefly of the latter; the waters of the immense ocean, forgetful, as it were,

Atlantic ocean, the water cannot rise on one shore, but by descending on the other; so that, on these shores, at an intermediate distance, it must continue at about a mean height between its elevation on the one, and descent on the other shore. As the tides pass over shoals, and run through streights into bays of the sea, their motion becomes more various, and their height depends on a great many circumstances. The tide that is produced in the western coast of Europe corresponds to the theory above described: thus, it is high water on the coast of Spain, Portugal, and the west of Ireland, about the third hour after the moon has passed the meridian; from thence it flows into the adjacent channels, as it finds the easiest passage. One current from it, for example, runs up

raised to a greater height than in the open and deep oceans that have steep banks; because the force of its motion cannot be broken upon these level shores, till the water rises to a greater height. If a place communicates with two oceans,

from the equator, the water begins to rise and fall once a day; and it is high water at the setting of the moon, and low water at her rising. This daily tide increases for about seven or eight days, and then decreases for as many days by the same degrees, til

ind them. Sir Gilbert Lawson, who served long in the army at Gibraltar, assured Dr. Franklin, that the fishermen in that place are accustomed to pour a little oil on the sea, in order to still its motion, that they may be enabled to see the oysters lying at its bottom, which are there very large, and which they take up with a proper instrument. A similar practice is followed among fishermen in various other parts; and Dr. Franklin was informed by an old sea captain, that the fishermen of Lisbon, when about to return into the river, if they saw too great a surf upon the bar, would empty a bottle or two of oil into the sea, which would suppress the breakers, and allow them to pass freely. The Doctor having rev

P.

SPECTING THE S

---Ador

ghty, who its

sunk, and p

rnal mounds, th

d to waft larg

le, consociate

onds of inter

universa

fection of

tion, is taken from a History of Voyages and Discoveries made in th

us safely, and as it were on the wings of the wind, across immense seas to the most distant shores. The following example may serve for the present to delineate at full length, as it were, the idea above alluded to. But first I must premise, that a huge unwieldy log of wood, with the greatest difficulty, and in the most uncouth manner, hollowed out in the inside, and somewhat pointed at both ends, and in this way set on a river for the purpose of transporting two or three persons belonging to one and the same family, across a piece of water a few feet deep, by the assistance of a pole pushed against the ground, cannot with any propriety be considered as the image of navigation in its first and earliest stage

quisite to add a vast quantity of cordage and tackling; and nevertheless, even all this would not be sufficient for the perfect direction and government of the vessel, if there were not fastened to the hinder part of it, by means of hinges and hooks, a moveable piece of wood, very small indeed, in proportion to the whole machine, but the least inclination of which to either side is sufficient to give immediately a different direction to this enormously large mass, and that even in a storm, so that two men may direct and govern this swimming island with the same, or with greater ease, than a single man can do a boat. But if, besides, we consider, that, in a vessel like this, not a single piece is put in at random, but that every part of it has its determinate measure and proportion, and is fixed precisely in that p

64lb. and that at least upwards of 100 charges are required for each gun, we shall find this to amount nearly to the same weight as the guns themselves. In addition to this, we must reflect, that every ship must have, by way of providing against exigencies, at least a second set of sails, cables, cordage, and tacklings, which altogether amount to a considerable weight. The stores, likewise, consisting of planks, pitch, and tow; the chests belonging to the officers and sailors; the surgeon's stores, and various other articles requisite on a long voyage; as also the small arms, bayonets, swords, and pistols, are no inconsiderable load; to which we must finally add the weight of the crew, which is not very trifling: so that one of these large ships carries at least 2162 tons burden, or 4,324,000lb. and at the same time is steered and governed with as much ease as the smallest boat. Now, the consideration of these circumstances alone, is sufficient to excite the most serious reflections in a contemplative mind; and yet, if such a ship sailed along the coast only, and never lost sight of the shore,

when beat about by the winds, and dashed against each other till they seem transformed into froth and vapour, and the whole surface of the ocean presents to the eye a confused scene of immense watery mountains and botto

pomp and be

g pile in h

freight, the

eft the ves

d it as i

th eastern br

d half the

eigh'd, the s

ov'd the w

ch'd alon

P.

G WATERFALLS, LAKES,

Solfatara-Whirlpool near Suderoe-Maelstrom-G

onds he adds, a

ams the winding

rb'd, the darks

cean roll thei

l'd, they meet t

dant banks, the h

v

ck of the falls crosses them, not in a right line, but forms a kind of figure like a hollow semicircle, or horse-shoe. Above the falls, in the middle of the river, is an island called Grand Isle, about nine hundred or one thousand feet long, the lower end of which is just at the perpendicular edge of the fall. On both sides of this island runs all the water that comes from the lakes of Canada; viz. Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Before the water comes to this island, it runs but slowly,

ive miles. At fort Niagara, when they hear the noise of the fall more loud than ordinary, they are sure that a north-east wind will follow; which is the most surprising, as the fort lies south-west from the fall. Sometimes the fall makes a much greater noise than at others, and this is held for an infallible sign of approaching rain or bad weather. From the place where the water falls, there arises a great quantity of vapour, like very thick smoke, insomuch, that when viewed at a distance, one would think that the Indians had set the forests on fire. These vapours rise high in the air when it is calm, but are dispersed by the wind when it bl

e, is reckoned to be about 300 feet. Below the fall, in the holes of the rocks, are great plenty of eels, which the Indians and French catch with their hands. Every day, when the sun shines, may be seen from ten A. M. till two P. M. below the fall, a glorious rainbow, and sometimes two, one within the other. The more vapours that float, the brighter and clearer is the rainbow. When the wind carries the vapours from that place, the rainbow is gone, but appears again as soon as new vapours arise. From the fall to the landing above it, where the canoes from the Lake Erie put ashore, (or from the fall to the upper end of the carrying place,) is half a mile. Lower than this, the canoes dare not venture. They h

s carried through the centre of its promontory, which unfolds all the interior beauties of the place. Among the distant mountains, Turk appears an object of magnificence; while Mangerton's more lofty, though less interesting summit, soars above the whole. The passage to the upper lake is round the extremity of Mucruss, which confines it on one side, and the approaching mountains on the other. Here is a celebrated rock, called the Eagle's Nest, which produces wonderful echoes; the report of a single cannon is answered by a succession of peals resembling the loudest thunder, and at length dies away among the distant mountains. The upper is four miles long, and from two to three broad. It is almost surrounded by mountains, from which descend a number of beautiful cascades. The islands in this lake are nume

e to different parts of the lake. This lake has an outlet, whence its waters run, forming a whitish muddy stream, into the Teverone, the ancient Anio, emitting a vapour of a sulphureous smell as they flow. The ground near this rivulet, as well as on the banks of the lake, resounds with a hollow sound when a horse gallops over it. The water has also a petrifying quality, covering every substance that it passes over with a hard white stony substance. On throwing a bundle of sticks or shrubs into the lake, they will in a fe

ning spirally, and terminating at the verge of the crater. This range is extremely rugged, and covered with water, from the depth of twelve to eight fathoms only. It forms four equidistant wreaths, with a channel from thirty-five to twenty fathoms deep between each. On the outside, beyond that depth, the sea suddenly sinks to eighty and ninety. On the south border of the bason is a lofty rock, called Sumboe Munk, no

ometimes happens even in the calmest weather: when it is flood, the stream runs up the country between Lofoden and Moskoe with a boisterous rapidity; but the roar of its impetuous ebb to the sea is scarce equalled by the loudest and most dreadful cataracts, the noise being heard several leagues off; and the vortices, or pits, are of such an extent and depth, that if a ship comes within its attraction, it is inevitably absorbed and carried down to the bottom, and there beaten to pieces against the rocks; and when the water relaxes, the fragments thereof are thrown up again: but these intervals of tranquillity are only at the turn of the ebb and flood, in calm weather, and last but a quarter of an hour, its violence gradually returning. When the stream is most boisterous, and its fury heightened by a storm, it is dangerous to come within a Norway mile of it; boats, ships, and yachts, having been carried away, by not guarding against it before they were within its reach. It likewise happens frequently, that whales come too near the stream, an

nt trade-winds from the coast of Africa towards the west; thus producing a constant circulating current. This stream is about seventy-five miles from the shores of the southern states, and the distance increases as you proceed northward. The breadth of it is about forty or fifty miles, widening towards the north. Its common rapidity is three miles an hour. A north-east wind narrows the

ed by the ingenious experiments of Dr. Blagden, published in 1781, who found that the water of the gulf-stream was from six to eleven de

Island emerging from the Sea.-The description is tak

new island, nearly twenty miles in circumference, has been formed within these twenty years. T

seen before: that the first intimation of its appearance had been brought by some Alentians to Captain's Harbour, who, returning from fishing, observed a great smoke issuing out of the sea: that this was the smoke of the volcano, which was then gradually rising above the surface of the sea, and which, in May, 1798, burst forth with a blaze, that was distinctly seen from a settlement called Ma

. XL

ESPECTING BUR

tucky-Hot Springs of Iceland-Hot Sprin

ficer! what

in the wide cr

ey dress their victuals in this way. The flame may be blown out like that of a lamp, but otherwise it continues burning; it smells somewhat sulphureous, or rather like naphtha, but very little offensive. The ground is dry and stony, and the more stony the ground, the stronger and clearer the flame. Near this place they dig out brimstone, and here are also the naphtha springs. But the chief place for naphtha is Swieten Island, a small tract of land on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, and uninhabited, except at such seasons as they fetch naphtha from thence, which the Persians load in their wretched embarkations, without barrels or any other vessels, so that sometimes you see the sea covered with it for leagues together. The springs boil up highest in thick and heavy weather, and the naphtha sometimes takes fire on the surface, and runs lighted or burning into the s

the world; and that if it was resisted or suppressed in this place, it would rise in some other. By the number of temples, it is probable there were formerly a great number of worshippers of fire, as well Indians as Persians: they are called Gouers. At present there are about twenty persons, who reside there constantly, and go almost naked. In summer it is very hot; and in winter they dwell within doors, and keep what fire they please, in the manner above described: they live upon roots and herbs for the most part, and are supposed to attend as mediators for the sins of many who are absent; and by their applications to this fire, in which the Deity is supposed

n of water about six feet in diameter and two feet deep, at the bottom of which issues a stream of gas, which in volume and force is about equal to the blast forced from a common smith's bellows; but there is no cessation of its force, which is such as to create a violent ebullition in the water. Being heavier than common atmospheric air, the gas, on passing up through the water, constantly occupies the surface, which is still the lower part of an indenture in the e

.-From Sir G. Mackenzi

numerous columns of vapour ascending from different parts of it. The first springs we visited, issued from a number of apertures in a sort of platform of rock, covered by a thin coating of calcareous incrustations. Fr

ter up to the height of several feet. Near the middle, and not more than two feet from the edge of the rock, there is a hole, about two feet in diameter, full of water boiling strongly. There is a third hole near the other end of the rock, in which

lar notice. On approaching this place, we observed a high jet of water near one extremity of the rock. Suddenly this jet disappeared, and another, thicker but not so high, rose within a very short distance of it. At first we supposed that a piece of the rock had given way, and that the water had at that moment found a more convenient passage. Having left our horses, we went directly to the place where this had apparently happened; but we had scarcely reached the spot, when this new jet disappeared, and the one we had seen before was renewed. We observed that there were two irregular holes in the rock, within a yard of each other; and while from one a jet proceeded

e a name to this spring, and to

ded to as any thing remarkable. Olafson and Paulson mention, that the jets appear and disappear successively, in the se

at when one of the jets was sinking, and the other beginning to rise, the first rose again a little before it was quite sunk down, and then when this happened, the other ceased to make any efforts to rise, and returned to its former state, till the first again sunk, when the second rose and played as usual. This communication must be formed in such a manner, that it is never complete, but alternately interrupted, first on one side, and then on the other. To effect this without the inte

ated on a stream called Hot Spring Creek, which falls into the Washitaw River, eight miles below. They lie fifty miles south of the Arkansa

is little more than a confused and mighty pile of stones. The hot mountain is about 300 feet high, rising quite steep, and presenting occasionally ledges of rocks; it terminates above in a

inutes. Its temperature is considered that of boiling water, but Dr. Andrews, of Red River, thinks it is not above 200° Fahr. There is a solitary spring, situated seventy feet higher than the others on the side of the mountain, but it is of an equal temperature, and differs i

e. An abundance of beautiful green moss grows at the edges of the springs, and the paths of their waters are marked by a brighter vegetati

idge, dated Feb. 18th. 1746:-"The well, for four or five feet deep, is six or seven feet wide; within that, is another less hole of like depth, dug in the clay, in the bottom whereof is placed a cylindric earthen vessel, of about four or five inches diameter at the mouth, having the bottom taken off, and the sides well fixed in the clay, which is rammed close about it. Within the pot is a brown water, thick and puddly, continually forced up with a violent motion beyond that of boiling water, and a rumbling hollow noise, rising or falling by fits, five or six inches; but there was no appearance of any vapour rising, which perhaps might have been visible, had not the sun shone so bright. Upon putting a candle down at the end of a stick, at about a quarter of a yard distance, it took fire, darting and flashing after a very violent mann

. XL

RESPECTING

Nature's ag

stonish'd isles

thick, blue, su

temporary f

mountain's quive

rash of tumbling

hus the pillar

ocoa by the fie

brittle ten

ead convulsion?

ttering, crashing

ly; and, on t

agony, the

rupture vast,

em in her sea-

ighted are th

quivers in ea

bath'd in de

ds forsake the

frighted, woful

trusty cent

t assign'd, and

cean f

es, passing thei

loud incursio

ming: sudden

le troubled wa

with louder,

whiten, the vext

rapid, dista

ations light

mes, while thund

shrine by night

guilty, and a

ing

e Humboldt's Personal Narrative of Trav

as been the most agitated, are called to mind, it is found, that violent shocks take place equally in dry and in wet weather, when the coolest winds blow, or during a dead and suffocating calm. From the great number of earthquakes, which I have witnessed to the north and south of the equator; on the continent, and in the bason of the seas; on the coasts, and at 2500 toises height; it appears to me, that the oscillations are generally very independent of the previous state of the atmosphere. This opinion is embraced by a number of enlightened persons, who inhabit the Spanish colonies; and whose experience extends, if not over a

AN EARTHQUA

e great earthquake of 1755,

ely destroyed, and 20,

LOOD IN THE DESERTS

sand, whole caravans are somet

o inches and a half immediately before the earthquake of 1770. It is also related, that at the time of the destruction of Oran, a druggist fled with his family, because, observing accidentally, a few minutes before the earthquake, the height of the mercury in his barometer, he perceived that the column sunk in an extraordinary manner. I know not whether we can give credit to this assertion: but as it is nearly i

arid soil. In other parts of the same province, the earth ejects water and petroleum. At Riobamba, a muddy and inflammable mass, which is called moya, issues from crevices that close again, and accumulates into elevated hills. At seven leagues from Lisbon, near Colares, during the terrible earthquake of the 1st of N

k, that in the greater number of earthquakes, nothing escapes from the agitated earth, and that, when gaseous exhalations and vapours take place, they oftener accompany or follow, than precede, the shocks. This last circumstance explains a fact, which seems indubitable; I mean that mysterious influence, in equi

feet high. Similar phenomena have not escaped the observation of the ancient inhabitants of Greece and Asia Minor, abounding with caverns, crevices, and subterraneous rivers. Nature, in its uniform progress, every where suggests the same ideas of the causes of earthquakes, and the means by which man, forg

d lately at Caraccas, and in the West India Islands, a noise like the discharge of a battery was heard a long time after the shocks had ceased. A third kind of phenomenon, the

distances, even across the basin of the ocean, proves that the centre of action is very remote from the surface of the globe. From this same cause, no doubt, earthquakes are not restrained to certain species of rocks, as some naturalists pretend, but all are fitted to propagate the movement. In order to keep within the limits of my own experience, I shall here cite the granites of Lima and Acapulco; the gneiss of Caraccas; the mica-slate of the peninsula of Araya; the primitive thonschiefer

in the peninsula of Araya, and at the village of Marinaquez, the ground did not partake of the same agitation. The inhabitants of this northern coast, which is composed of mica-slate, built their huts on a motionless earth; a gulf three or four thousand fathoms in breadth separated them from a plain covered with ruins, and overturned by earthquakes. This security, founded on the experience of several ages, has vanished; and since the fourteenth of December, 1797, new co

and Caraccas, and the frequency of the oscillations on the eastern and northern coast of Terra Firma, in the gulf of Paria, at Carupano, at Cariaco, and at Cumana, are proofs of the certainty of this opinion. In New Andalusia, as well as in Chili and Peru, the shocks follow the course of the shore, and extend but little inland. This circumstance, as we shall soon

heir houses, swallowed up in the crevices, or drowned in lakes that were suddenly formed. At the same period, the inhabitants of the eastern Antilles were alarmed by shocks, which continued during eight months, when the volcano of Guadaloupe threw out pumice stones, ashes, and gusts of sulphureous vapours. This eruption of the twenty-seventh of September, during which very long-continued subterraneous noises were heard, was followed on the fourteent

ies of the eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna, we can scarcely recognize, notwithstanding the proximity of these mountains, any traces of simultaneous action. It is, on the contrary, undeniable, that at the period of th

very hour when, sixty leagues to the south, the towns of Riobamba, Hambato, and Tacunga, were overturned by an enormous shock. When, in the interior of a burning crater, we are seated near those hillocks formed by ejections of scoria and ashes, we feel the motion of the ground several seconds

of Pignerol, the coasts of Portugal and Greece, and those of Peru and Terra Firma, afford striking proofs of this assertion. The globe, it may be said, is agitated with greater force, in proportion as the surface has a smaller number of funnels communicating with the caverns of the interior. At Naples and Messina, at the foot of Cotopaxi and of Tunguragua, earthquakes are dreaded only when vapours and flames do not issue from the crater. In the kingdom of Quito, the great catastrophe of Riobamba, which we have before mentioned, has led se

t of an Earthquake of Cara

, destroyed many populous towns of the province of Caraccas. It is this branch of the Cordilleras, that forms the Sierra-nevada of Chita, that of Merida de Maracaybo, and the height called La Silla de Caracca; and it is between these three remarkable points that

lic prayers and processions, the sufferings and merits of their Redeemer, that this sad catastrophe had happened. The weather was fine, and the air serene, when between four and five P. M. a hollow sound like the roar of a cannon was heard, which was followed by a violent oscillatory motion from west to east, which lasted about seventeen seconds, and which stopped all the public clocks; the convulsion diminished for some moments, but was succeeded by a more violent shock than the first, for nearly twenty seconds, keeping the same direction; a calm followed, which lasted about fourteen seconds, after which, a most alarming trepidation of the earth took place for fifteen seconds: the total duration about one minute and fifteen seconds. The inhabitants of Caraccas, struck with terror, unitedly and loudly implored the protection of

stroyed; those of Barquirineto, Sanfelipe, and others, suffered considerably. It is to be remarked, that Truxillo, which is situate between Merida de Maracaybo and Sanfelipe, experienced very little damage. At the last place, near the mines of Aroa, the first signal they had of the earthquake was an electric shock, which depriv

r. The river Guaire, which runs through the valley of Caraccas, was greatly swelled soon after the earthquake, and remained in that state for several days. The wa

h the last were remarkably strong. So late as the month of October in the same year, there was a violent shock. The eart

ccas and Laguaira, which caused a general alarm, the inhabitants of each place supposing that the neighbouring town was attacked by the enemy. This roaring noise was distinctly heard

y supposed that event had incurred the displeasure of the Almighty. The clergy, who were enemies to the revolution, as their privileges had been diminished by the new constitution of Venezuela, availed themselves of the disposition o

, The Task, has given us a very accurate and sublime description of

headlong, and t

ie into offe

h putrid verdure

uisance into

, by transform

nd the fixt an

billows, heav

iginous and

s prey insati

d the overthr

of human a

fugitive o

in vain. Th

ted; and, with

ar distant fie

or, and survi

ht the frenzy,

us and o'erb

ty wind, but

waves obey, in

Never such a

gh, and sent o

land scene. Whe

e beach, and, h

sea for safety

refluent wave

ith half h

well as powerful Being, who gives liberty to the powers of nature to range, or restrains them, as m

P.

PECTING WINDS,

ds of Egypt-Tornado-Harmattan-Hurr

re, and circums

rld, resistless

ks of mischief

ge of their te

to the risin

of the bal

alms, where ea

blest appeara

anton Zephyr w

he remnant of

with his offspr

frozen waggo

uster seeks the

v

le Winds

ways blow from the south, and are undoubtedly owing to the motion of the atmosphere over such vast tracts of hot sand, which cannot be supplied with a sufficient quantity of moisture. When they begin to blow, the sky loses its usual serenity, and assumes a dark, heavy, and alarming aspect, the sun laying aside his usual splendour, and becoming of a violet colour. This terrific appearance seems not to be occasioned by any real haze or cloud in the atmosphere at that time, but solely by the vast quantity of fine sand carried along by those winds, and which is so excessively subtile that it penetrates every where. The motion of this wind is always rapid, but its heat is not intolerable till it has continued for so

to stop the nose and mouth with a handkerchief: camels, by a natural instinct, bury their noses in the sand, and keep them there till the squall is over. The inhabit

the sand, to avoid drawing in this pernicious blast with their breath. On his calling out that the simoon was coming, Mr. Bruce turned for a moment to the quarter from whence it came, which was the south-east. It appeared like a haze or fog of a purple colour, but less bright than the purple part of the rainbow; seemingly about twenty yards in breadth, and about twelve feet high from the ground. It moved with such rapidity, that

uth a little to the east, but it seemed to have a shade of blue along with the purple, and its edges were less pe

manner as to give those which were nearest a resemblance of being spangled with stars of gold. The simoom which followed had the same blue and purple app

occupy the vast circular space inclosed by the Nile to the west of their route, going round by Chaigie towards Dongola. The heaps of sand left by them when they fel

six days without varying, so very strong that it raises the sands to a great height, forming a general cloud, so thick that it is impossible to keep the eyes open, if not under cover. It is troublesome, even to the Arabs; it forces the sand into the houses through every cranny, and fills every thing with it. The caravans cannot proceed in the deserts; the boats cannot continue their voyages; and travellers are obliged to eat sand, in spite of their teeth. The whole is like a chaos. Ofte

violent in its effects. It commences very suddenly: several clouds being previously drawn together, a spout of wind, proceeding from them, strikes the ground, in a round spot of a few rods or perches in diameter, and proceeds thus half a mile or

of wind struck the west end of a house, and instantly carried it away, with a negro man in it, who was afterwards found dead in its path. Two men and a woman, by the breach of the floor, fell into the cellar; and one man was driven forcibly up into the chimney corner. These were preserved, though much bruised; they were wet with a vapour or mist, as w

s wind: no dew falls during its continuance, which is sometimes for a fortnight or more. The whole vegetable creation is withered, and the grass becomes at once like hay. The natives take the opportunity which this wind gives them, of clearing the land, by setting fire to trees and plants in this their exhausted state. The d

e noise of cannon; the rain descends in a deluge; a dismal obscurity envelops the earth with darkness; and the superior regions appear rent with lightning and thunder. The earth on these occasions often does, and always seems to tremble; whilst terror and consternation distract all nature: birds are carried from the woods into the ocean; and those whose element is the sea, seek for refuge on land; the frightened animals in the field assemble together, and are almost suffocated by the impetuosity of the wind in searching for shelter, which, when found, is but the prelude to destruction. The roofs of houses are carried to vast distances from their walls, which are beat to the ground, burying their inhabitants under them. Large trees are torn up by the roots, and huge branches shivered off, and driven through the air in every direction with immense

ner in which it acts in this case is by no means known. It seems probable, indeed, that not only h

shall treat of Mons

serving well the

employ their p

ips across th

spread commerce

erve-but have

ing of such ef

nding winds ar

sh the cause of

x months constantly the same way, and

e, yet this is not the case in every part of the terrestrial globe; for in the torrid zone, and some other parts, the wi

and thirty degrees of south latitude, the trade-winds, as they are called, blow uniforml

in sailing southward, they become at last nearly south-east. 3. When the sun is near the tropic of Cancer, the trade-winds north of the equator become more nearly east than at other times, and thos

eminent philosophers: but amongst all the explanations I have seen, there is none in my opinion more agreeable to nature than one given by Mr. John Dalto

air will be received from the neighbouring parts: it will be willingly allowed, that the heat is at all times greatest in the torrid zone, and decreases gradually in proceeding northward or southward; also that the poles may at all times be considered as the centres of cold.

e in the direction of the meridian, either northward or southward, its rotatory velocity will be greater in the former case, and less in the latter, than that of the air into which it moves; consequently, if it move northward, it will have a greater velocity eastward than the air, or surface of the earth

s made to change its directions from the north towards the east: these two masses meeting near the equator, their velocities south and north destroy each other, and they proceed afterwards with their common velocity from east to west round the torrid zone, excepting the irregularities produced by the continents. The equator is not in reality the place of concourse, but the northern parallel of four

e; for we find the irregularities of heat, arising from the interspersion of land and sea, are such, that though all the parts of the atmosphere in some measure conspire to produce regular winds about the torrid zone, yet very striking irregularities are often found to take place. A r

of land and water for heat, the interference and opposition of the two general currents, be considered, it might be concluded almost next to impossible that the winds in the temperate zone should exhibit any thing like regularity: however, notwithstanding this, observations sufficiently evi

HOOTING STAR

xtraordinary shower of these

e view comprises the entire falls

SOUTH-WEST MONSOON

e, that the aqueous vapours which are sustained by the air, from whence come clouds and rains, may be one great cause of irregular winds. It has been determined, from very accurate experiments, that one inch of water when evaporated will fill more than 2000 inches of space: hence it appears that the w

have had little variation either in direction or strength; in this case navigation would have been greatly impeded, and a communication between the two hemispheres by sea, rendered impracticable. On the present system of things, however, the irregularity of winds is of the happiest consequence, by being subservient to navigation: and a general circulation of air constantly takes

the sky assumes a troubled appearance in the evenings, and the monsoon in general sets in during the night. It is attended with such a thunder-storm as can scarcely be imagined by those who have only seen that phenomenon in a temperate climate. It generally begins with violent blasts of wind, which are succeeded by floods of rain. For some hours, lightning is seen almost without intermission; sometimes it only illuminates the sky, and shews the clouds near the horizon; at others, it discovers the distant hills, and again leaves all in darkness; when in an instant it re-appears in vivid and successive flashes, and exhibits the nearest objects in all the brightness of day. Du

rching wind blew like a blast from a furnace, and heated wood, iron, and every other solid material, even in the shade; and immediately before the monsoon, this wind had been succeeded by still more sultry calms. But when the first violence of the storm is over, the whole earth is covered with a sudden but luxuriant verdure: the rivers are full and tranquil, the air is pure and delicious; and the sky is varied, and embellished with clouds. The effect of the change is visible on all the animal creation, and can

ity of the Wind, was calculated by Mr. John Smeaton, the celebrated en

i

e

r.

e

co

1.

} Lig

4.

7 } B

7.

7 } Bri

2

4 } Fre

3

1 } Str

5

8 } Har

6

.35 }

8

rricane, teari

14

a poetical enumeration of the

ortant use t

ends subservie

a?rial active

louds, and vent

earth infection'

holesome rage t

he sea unagi

strides, would

sun, with unpr

grief an eve

pours, lurking

y burn with u

ne air purit

es it pours the

sun direct flin

air his sultr

dness, with u

ain good fro

are extends o'

favours with wh

ons hence, and

ruits in varyi

ture laugh at

ance bless the

AP

SPECTING SHOWE

fects of a Storm-The Mirage-Sand Flood

s, hail,

th' Almi

my winds

cute h

tt

al treasures d

lly'd snow in

e, thro' air thi

shining waste a

hills a virgin

htness glitters

ees reflect

neath the lov

oo

g Showers

e was for some time a horrible darkness, thicker than that of night; after which the clouds broke into thunder and lightning, and there fell a shower of hailstones, or rather (as he calls them) pebble-stones, whi

; some of which contained in the middle, a dark brown matter, which,

did inconceivable damage; not only killing all sorts of fowls and other small animals, but splitting trees, knocking down horses and men, and even ploughing up the earth, so that the hailstones buried themselves underground an inch or an inch and a half deep. The hailstones, many of whi

r: some persons were killed by it, their bodies beat all black and blue; vast oaks were split, and fields of rye cut down as with a sc

ts of a Storm, was communicated to the Dubl

lashes of lightning, and heard some thunder-claps at a distance; that between ten and eleven o'clock, both were very violent and terrible, and so increased, and came on more frequently until a little before twelve o'clock; that one flash of lightning and clap of thunder came both at the same time, louder and more dreadful than the rest, which, as she thought, shook and inflamed the whole house; and being sensible at that instant of a

the wall a smutted scar or trace, as if blacked by the smoke of a candle, which pointed downwards towards another place on the same wall, where a like breach was made, partly behind the place of the looking-glass; that the boards on the back of a large hair-trunk, full of linen, standing beneath the looking-glass, were forced in, and splintered as if by the blow of a smith's sledge; that two-thirds of the linen within this trunk were pierced or cut through, the cut appearing of a quadrangular figure, and between two or three inches over; that one end of the trunk was forced out, as the back was driven in; that at about t

ir-trunk, were thrown about the room, no way singed or scorched, and yet the hair on the back of the trunk, where the breach was made, was singed; the uppermost part of the linen within the trunk was not touched, and the lowermost parcel, consisting of more than 350 ply of linen, was pierced through, of which none was anywise smutted, except the uppermost ply of a tablecloth, that lay over all the rest; there was a yellow tinge or stain perceivable on some part of the damaged linen, and the whole smelt strongly of sulphur; the glass of two windows

upon a large stone on the outside of the wall; beneath this window was a mark, as if made by the stroke of a smith's, sledge, and a splinter of the stone was broken off, of some pounds w

ccount of The Mirage.-F

it is to be seen most distinctly reflected, which is the principal cause of the deception. If the wind agitate any of the plants that rise above the horizon of the mirage, the motion is seen perfectly at a great distance. If the traveller stands elevated much above the mirage, the water seems less united and less deep, for, as the eyes look down upon it, there is not thickness enough in the vapour of the surface of the ground to conceal the earth from the sight; but if the traveller be on a level wit

ften separated from the bodies; and these, once disjoined, dispersed in the air, and did not appear more. Sometimes they were broken near the middle, as if struck with a large cannon-shot. About noon they began to advance with considerable swiftness upon us, the wind being very strong at north. Eleven of them ranged alongside of us about the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest appeared to me, at that distance, as if it would measure ten feet. They retired from us with a wind at south-east, leaving an impression upon my mind to which I can give no name, though surely one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable deal of wonder and astonishment. It was in vain to think of flying; the swiftest horse, or fastest sailing ship, could not carry us out of this danger; and the full persuasion of this riveted me as if to the spot where I stood, and let the camels gain on me so much in my state of lameness, that i

e of the deserts of Arabia. The parish of Fyrie, in the county of Aberdeen, is now reduced to two farms, and above five hundred pounds a year lost to the Errol family, as appears by the oath of the factor in 1600, made before the court of session, to ascertain the minister's salary: not a vestige is to be seen of any buildings, unless a fragment of the church. The estate of Coubin, near Forres, is another melancholy instance. This tract was once worth three hundred pounds a year, but at this time is overwhelmed w

heir country, to the sowing of it on the mobile solum, their sand-banks. My humane and amiable friend, the late Benjamin Stillingfleet, Esq. recommended the sowing of this plant on the sandy wilds of Norfolk, that its matted roots might prevent the deluges of sand which that country experiences. It has been already remarked, that wheresoever this plant grows, the salutary effects are soon observed to follow. A single plant will fix the sand, and gather

nt of the curious phenomenon of a Shower of Gos

d to lie down and scrape the incumbrances from their faces with their fore feet. As the morning advanced, the sun became bright and warm, and the day turned out one of those most lovely ones, which no season but the autumn produces; cloudless, calm, serene, and worthy the south of France itself. About nine, an appearance, very unusual, began to demand our attention; a shower of cobwebs falling from very elevated regions, and continuing without any interruption till the close of day. There webs were not

nter. On one day the warmth shall be that of spring, while on the following day the winter shall break forth in all its horrors; snow and ice are spread in the course of a few hours, and the abruptness of this instant

ers of the poet Metastasio, while residing at Vienna. The passage is very

I still find much amusement here, having been more formed for Arcadian tranquillity than the bustle and magnificence of courts. I am pleased with the silent concord of all existence; the roving about in search of well-known paths, fields, bushes, pastoral borders, and every known object, of which, though the fall of snow has changed the colouring, yet the design is still faithfully preserved. I reflect with sentiments of gratitude, that the friendly forest, whic

P.

ES RESPEC

ncussion of Fields of Ice-Icebergs-Magnitude of Ice

rm'd with terro

e on his uns

tores amid the

ntains he has bu

legions of h

enes, to make t

soil a conqu

share it with

wp

us describes th

, dreary, bl

icy mounta

y the moon'

r rears his

mist, his v

e shiv'ring

f the year, in s

ot

land, or

the Editor of this work from a paper, by W. Scoresby, jun. M. W. S.

ngular, or highly magnificent. The atmosphere, the land, an

nsity; its frequent production of crystallized snow in a wonderful perfection and variety of form and tex

an immense height, terminating in rigid, conical, or pyramidical summits; its surface, contrasting its native protruding dark-colou

th here, from their height, various forms, and the depth of water in which they ground, are calculated to strike the beholder with wonder: yet the fields of ice, more peculiar to Greenland, are not less astonishing. Their deficiency in elevation is sufficiently compensated by their amazing extent

ing the disruption of a field. The thickest and strongest field cannot resist the power of a heavy swell; indeed, such are much less capable of bending without being dissevered, than the thinner ice, which is more pliable. When a field, by the set of the current, drives to the southward, and, being deserted by the loos

orm, the name of patch is applied, and it is called a stream when its shape is more of an

enominated floes: thus, a field may be compared to a pack, and a

he larger masses by the effect of attrition are called

so far separated as to allow a ship to sail freely a

cemented by the frost. Hummocks are likewise formed by pieces of ice mutually crushing each other, the wreck being heaped upon one or both of them. To hummocks, the ice is indebted for its variety of fancifu

ver it without touching, when it might be observed on both sides of the vessel at the same time: this, however, is attended with considerable danger, and necessity alone warrants the experiment, as calves have not unfrequently (by a ship's tou

ice, which comes to be immersed beneath the sur

ght, from the low word bite, to take in, or entrap; because, in this situation, ships are sometimes so caught by a ch

illions of tons in weight, meeting with resistance when in motion, may be better conceived than expressed! The weaker field is crushed with an awful noise; sometimes the destruction is mutual: pieces of huge dimensions and weight are not unfrequently piled upon the top, to the height of twenty or thirty feet, whilst doubtless a proportionate quantity is depressed beneath. The view of these stupendous effects, in safety, exhibits a picture sublimely grand; but where there is danger of being overwhelmed, terror and dismay must be the predominant feelings. The whale-fishers at all times require unrem

ion, in the congelation of the sleet and rains of summer, and of the accumulated snow, partly dissolved by the summer sun, which, on its decline, freezes to a transparent ice. They are as permanent as the rocks on which they rest: for although large portions may be frequently separated, yet the annual growth replaces the loss, and probably on the whole, produces a perpetual increase. I have seen

F GREENLAN

SPITZBERGE

rhanging masses overcoming the force of cohesion; or otherwise, by the powerful expansion of the water, filling any excavation or d

off the land, and, under the form of ice-islands, or ice-mountains, they likewise still retain their parent name of icebergs. I much question, however,

gular flat surface, twenty feet above the level of the sea; and as it was composed of the most dense kind of ice, it must have been 150 or 160 feet in thickness, and in weight about 2,000,000 of tons. But masses have been repeatedly seen in Davis' Straits, nearly two miles in length, and one-third as broad, whose rugged mountain summits were reared with various spires to the height of m

he phenomena of nature which remain stationary. These tremendous spires and towers, of uncertain and brittle fabric, seem to forbid the attempts of travellers to explore the depth between them, or even the rocks and rich

of ice which had received the appellation of Les Montagnes Maudites; or the Accursed Mountains. The gentlemen alluded to took every precaution for securing their safety; but entertaining many well-grounded fears, naturally arising from a first attempt, they did not reach any considerable distance beyond the edge of the ice in the valley of Montanvert, yet their example operated

can be more wonderful than to view wheat ready for the sickle, parched brown by the rays of the sun, and separated only by

at one view, he would observe a vast chaos of mountains and valleys, with several parallel chains, the highest of which are situated in the centre, and the remainder gradually lessening as they retire from it. The central chain he would find to be surmounted by stupendous fragments of rock, towering in rude masses, which bear vast accumulations of snow and ice, where they are not decidedly perpendicular, or do not overhang their bases: on each side he would see the interv

l to the central chain; their upper extremities are connected with inaccessible precipices, and the lower proceed, as already mentioned, quite into the vales. The depth of these astonishing accumulations of frozen fluid vary from eighty to six hundred feet, and they generally rest on an inclined plane, where, urged forward by their own enormous weight, and but weakly supported by the pointed rocks inserted in their bases, they are universally

wing probable theory of the formation of the glaciers. Snow is constantly accumulating in the recesses or depths of the mountains, during nine months of the year, by the usual fall of moisture, and the descent of vast masses,

gealing into a firm body, though not becoming actual ice, which the brilliancy of the projections has induced some philosophers to suppose it to be. M. de Saussure, having explored Mont Bl

m the higher regions, where a dissolution of snow sometimes occurs; and the second arises from the more favourable situation of these parts for reflecting the rays of the sun, and the consequent melting of the snow. From hence downwards,

in for satisfaction, till, having passed through it, the charm ceased. Judge of our astonishment, when we saw before us an enormous mass of ice, twenty times as large as the front of our cathedral of St. Peter, and so constructed, that we have only to change our situation to make it resemble whatever we please. It is a magnificent palace, cased over with the purest crystal; a majestic temple, ornamented with a portico; and columns of several shapes and colours; it has the appearance of a fortress, flanked with towers and bastions to the right and left; and at the bottom is a grotto, terminating in a dome of bold construction. This fairy dwelling, this enchanted residence, or cave of fancy, is the source of the Arveron, and of the gold which is found in the Arve. And if we add to all this rich variety, the ringing tinkling sound of water dropping from its sides, with the glittering refraction of the solar rays, whilst tints of the most lively green, blue, yellow, or violet, have the effe

icicles, broke every thing down by its weight. The rain that fell on the ground immediately became frozen, without sinking into the snow at all. It made an incredible destruction of trees, beyond any thing mentioned in history. Had it concluded with a gust of wind, (says a gentleman who was on the

us on the tops of some hills and plains; while at other places it keeps at two, three, or four feet distance above the ground, rivers, lakes, &c. and may wander a

-908, Most rivers in England frozen two months.-923, The Thames frozen thirteen weeks.-987, Frost lasted 130 days; begun Dec. 22.-998, Thames frozen five weeks.-1035, Severe frost on June 24: the corn and fruits destroyed.-1063, The Thames frozen fourteen weeks.-1076, Frost in England from Nov. till April.-1114, Several wooden bridges carried away by ice.-1205, Frost from Jan. 15 till March 22.-1407, Frost that lasted fifteen weeks.-1434, From Nov. 24 till Feb. 10, Thames frozen down to Gravesend.-1683, Fr

P.

ES RESPEC

culaneum, and Pompeii-Ancient Ruins of Balbec-Ruins

towers, the g

ples, the grea

it inherit, s

ksp

emples, though in miniature. What remains of it, is a single apartment, built of massy stones, of the same kind as those of which the pyramids consist. The length is thirty-two feet, the height eighteen, the width fifteen. A gate at one end forms the principal entrance; and two doors open opposite to each other. The other end is quite ruino

asters within and without, to the number of sixty-two on a side. Within the court are the remains of two rows of noble marble pillars, thirty-seven feet high, with their capitals, of most exquisite workmanship. Of these, only fifty-eight remain entire, but they appear to have gone round the whole court, and to have supported a double piazza. The walks opposite the castle appear to have been spacious. At each end of this line are two niches for statues,

which are some vines and clusters of grapes, carved in the most masterly imitation of nature that can be conceived. Just over the door are discerned a pair of wings, which extend its whole breadth; but the

to the east and west, are two others, besides the fragment of a third. About 100 paces from the middle obelisk, is a magnificent entry to a piazza, which is forty feet broad, and more than half a mile long, inclosed with t

hed with yet greater elegance, than the piazza. The pillars which supported it were of one

rs, placed by couples in the front of the gate facing the palace, two on each side. Two of these only remain entire. They are thirty feet long,

s a piazza supported by six pillars, two on each side of the door, and one at each end. The pedestals of those in fro

h hand is subdivided into six partitions by thick walls. The space between the partitions is wide enough to receive the largest corpse; and in these nich

ing of Naples, in a work of six volumes folio. The epocha of the foundation of Herculaneum is unknown. Dionysius of Halicarnassus conjectures that it maybe referred to sixty years before the war of Troy, or about 1342 B. C.; and therefore that it lasted about 1400 years. The thickness of the heaps of lava, by which the city was overwhelmed, has been much

theatre. Many others were afterwards dug out, and sent to France by the prince of Elb?uf. But little progress was made in the excavations, till Charles, infant of Spain, ascended the Neapolitan

e the workmanship even less excellent than it is: one of them in particular is a very fine piece of sculpture. The collection of curiosities brought out of Herculaneum and Pompeii, consist not only of statues, busts, altars, inscriptions, and other ornamental appendages of opulence and luxury; but also comprehend an entire assortment of the domestic, musical, and chirurgical instruments used by the ancients; tripods of elegant form and exquisite execution, lamps in endless variety, vases and basons of noble dimensions, chandeliers of the most beautiful shapes, pate

o imitate are known. The floors are paved with ancient mosaic. Few rare medals have been found in these ruins: the most curious is a gold medallion of Augustus, struck in Sicily, in the

d, with a lamp in his hand. The streets are lined with public buildings, the painted decorations of which are fresh and entire. There were several tradesmen's shops also discovered-such as, a baker's, an oilman's, an ironmonger's, a wine shop, with money in the till, and a surgeon's house, with chirurgical instruments; also a great t

ornamented with pilasters, joined at their bottom angle by a wall one hundred and sixty feet in length. This front commands the open country from a terrace, on the edge of which we distinguish with difficulty the bases of twelve columns, which formerly extended from one pavilion to the other, and formed a portico. The principal gate is obstructed by heaps

ns to the left, which appear to have been part of the peristyle of a temple; but before we pass thither, we cannot refuse particular attention to the edifices which inclose this court on each side. They form a sort of gallery, which contains various chambers, seven of which may be reckoned in each of the principal wings, viz. two in a semicircle, and five in an oblong square. The bottom of these apartments still retains pediments of niches and tabernacles, the supporters of which are destroyed. On the side of the court they are open, and present only five or six columns totally destroyed. The beauty of the pilasters, and the richness of the frieze of the entablature, are

temple, the primary purpose of the whole structure. It presented to the great court, on the east, a front of ten columns, with nineteen on each side, which, with the other six, made in all fifty-four. The ground on which it stood is an oblong square, on a level with this court, but narrower, so that there was only a terrace of twenty-seven feet

hid. After surmounting these obstacles, we arrive at the gate, where we may survey the inclosure, which was once the habitation of a god; but instead of the solemn scene of a prostrate people, and sacrifices offered by a multitude of priests, the sky, which is open, from the falling in of the roof, only lets in light to shew a chaos of ruins covered with dust and weeds. The walls, formerly enriched with all the ornaments of the Corinthian order, now present nothing but pediments of niches and tabernacles, of which almost all the supporters are fallen to the ground. Between these niches is a range of fluted pilasters, whose capitals support a broken entablature; but what remains of it display

upon some foundations of large irregular stones, a church has been erected; a road appears hewn in the solid rock, for the convenience of votaries, who visited this

; the stone of which, and the other buildings, is the same as that of the neighbouring mountains and cliffs, a conglutination of sea-sand and shells, full of perforations,-of a hard and durable texture, and a deep reddish brown colour. This Doric temple has all its colum

ed in a different mode of interment, and serving as receptacles of urns. One ponderous piece of it lies in an extraordinary position; by the failure of its foundation, o

nging to the temple of Hercules. It stood on a projecting rock above

consists at present of a triple plinth, and a base supporting a square pedestal: upon this plain solid foundation is raised a second order, having a window in each front, and at each angle two Ionic pila

t of two columns and two pilasters, with an intermediate wall, suppo

s calls it the largest temple in the whole island; but adds, that the calamities of war caused the work to be abandoned before the roof could be put on; and that the Agrigentines were ever after reduced to such a state of poverty and dependence, that they never had it in their power to finish this superb

d on the brink of a large fishpond, spoken of by Diodorus: it was cut in the solid rock thirty feet deep, and water was conveyed to it from the hills. In it was bred a great quantity of fish, for the use of public entertainments

Monte Toro, where Hanna encamped with the Carthaginian army, before the Roman consuls drew him into an

conveyance of water; but in no part are there any ruins that can be presumed to have belonged to places of public entertainment. This is the more extraordi

h side the city was surrounded by a triple wall, thirty cubits high; flanked all round by parapets and towers, at equal distances of 480 feet. Every tower had its foundation sunk thirty-two feet deep, and was four stories high, though the walls were but two: they were arched; and in the lower part, corresponding in depth with the foundations above-mentioned, were stalls, large enough to hold 300 elephants, with their fodder, &c. Over these were stalls and other conveniences for 4000 horses; and there was likewise room for lodging 20,000 foot and 4000 cavalry, without incommoding the inhabitants. There were two harbours, which had one common entrance, seventy feet broad, and shut up with chains. The first was appropriated to the merchants, and inc

stood, commanding the south-east shore, with several smaller ones at a little distance from it; the common sewers, which time h

P.

ENT BUILDINGS, TEMPLES, & O

dings, and Library, of Alexandria-Temple o

tructures and

ught, and set o

een too cold in

tions, and the

ence, and the

open wide my

end the va

rms, so boundle

un

llia's Researches, as recor

s circumstances were much better than mine; but he had no superfluous wealth at command, to continue what he had begun, which required a supply beyond his means. Mr. Briggs was the first who generously offered to furnish money for this purpose; and, after a cons

aghos, who bore a share of the expense with the captain. Twenty-one feet below this place they found a grotto, seventeen feet long and four high; and seven feet below this, a platform, from which the well descended two hundred feet lower. The captain went down, and at the bottom found earth and sand; but from the hollow sound under his feet, he judged that the passage must communicate with some other apartment below. He then set some Arabs at work to remove the sand; but the heat was so great, and the candles so incapable of burning, for want of oxygen, that they were compelled to desist. The captain then turned his researches to another quarter, and began to enlarge the ent

o the small temple was a lion, placed as if to guard the approach. Farther on from the front of the sphinx, is a staircase of thirty-two steps, at the bottom of which is an altar, with a Greek inscription, of the time of the Ptolemies. At each side of the altar was a sphinx of calcareous stone, much mutilated. From the base of the temple to the summit of the

them pretty well executed, and in good preservation. In one of the pits he found some mummies, in their linen envelopes, and various fragments of Egyptian antiquity. He also opened some of the smaller pyramids, and from the suggestion of Mr. Briggs to foll

irty days' exertion, he reached the central chamber, where he found a sarcophagus. This chamber is forty-six feet three inches long, sixteen feet three inches wide, and twenty-three feet six inches high. It is cut out of the solid rock, from the floor to the roof, which is composed of large blocks of calcareous stone, meeting in the centre, and forming a roof of the same slope as the pyramid itself. The sarcoph

ber, was an inscription in Arabic, which

the master Ottoman attended this (opening;) and the King Al

from the very rocks around the pyramids, and there is yet stone enough to build many others if required. He is of opinion, that the pyramids were erected before wr

e

base

e down the front, from

ndicu

top to the place

with an account of a surprising

proaching it nearer, it produces an astonishment mixed with awe. One can never be tired with admiring the beauty of the capital, the length of the shaft, and the extraordinary simplicity of the pedestal. This last has been somewhat damaged by the instruments of travellers, who are curious to possess a relic of this antiquity. Learned men and travellers have made many fruitless attempts to discover, in honour of what prince it was erected. The best informed have concluded that it could not be in honour of Pompey, since neither Strabo nor Diodorus Siculus has spoken of it. The Arabian Abulfeda, in his description of Egypt, calls it the Pillar of Severus. And history informs us, that this emperor 'visited the city of Alexandria;' that he granted a senate to its inhabitants, who, until that time, under the subjection of a Roman magis

freak entered into one of their brains. The eccentricity of the thought occasioned it immediately to be adopted: and its apparent impossibility was but a spur for the putting it into execution. The boat was ordered; and with proper implements for the attempt, these enterprising heroes pushed ashore, t

hem to themselves; and politely answered, that the English were too great patriots to injure the remains of Pompey. He knew little, however, of the disposition of the people who were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkish empire risen in opposition, it would not at that moment have deterred them. The kite was brought, and flown directly over the pillar; so that when it fell on the other side, the

tioned, which came down with a thundering sound, and was carried to England by one of the captains, as a present to a lady who had commissioned him to procure her a piece of it. The discovery which they made amply compensated for this mischief; as without their evidence, the world would not have known at this hour, that there was originally a statue on this pillar, one foot and ancle of which are still remaining. The

, who, after the death of the Macedonian monarch, being appointed governor of Egypt, soon assumed the title of king, and took up his residence at Alexandria, about three hundred and four years before Christ. In the thirtieth year of his reign he made his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, partner wi

r the direction of sailors. The building cost 800 talents; which, if Attic, amounted to ￡165,000; if Alexandrian, to twice that sum. The architect employed in this famous structure, fell upon the following contrivance to usurp the whole glory to himself. Being ordered to engrave upon it the following inscription, "King Ptolemy, to the Gods the Saviours,

tis, where a temple was afterwards erected to his honour, suitable to the greatness of that stately metropolis, and called, from the god worshipped there

cles, Euripides, and ?schylus, returned them only the copies, which he caused to be transcribed in as beautiful a manner as possible, presenting the Athenians at the same time with 13 talents (upwards of ￡3000 sterling) for the exchange. As the museum was at first in that quarter of the city called Bruchion, near the royal palace, the library was placed there likewise; but when it came to contain four hundred thousand volumes, another library within the Serapium was erected, by way of supplement to it, and on that account called the Daughter of the former. In this second library, three hundred thousand volumes, in process of time, were deposited; and both libraries together contained the seve

in Egypt.-From Be

e majestic appearance of its construction, the variety of its ornaments, and, above all, the singularity of its preservation, had such an effect on me, that I seated myself on the ground, and, for a considerable time, was lost in admiration. It is the first Egyptian temple the traveller sees on ascending the Nile, and it is certainly the most magnificent. It has an advantage over most others, from the good state of preservation it is in; and I should have no scruple in saying, that it

the goddess Isis, with cow's ears. There is not one of these heads but is much mutilated, particularly those on the columns in the front of the temple, facing the outside: but, notwithstanding this disadvantage, and the flatness of their form, there is a simplicity in their countenance that approaches to a smile. The shafts of the columns are covered with hieroglyphics and figures, which are in basso relievo, as are all the figures in the front and lateral walls. The front of the door-way, which is in a straight line with the entrance, and the sanctuary, is richly adorned with figures of smaller size than the rest of the portico. The ceiling contains the zodiac, inclosed by two long female figures, which ext

, that this temple was built at a later period than the rest, as nothing like it is seen any where else. In the front of the edifice there is a propyl?on, not inferior to the works in the temple, and, though partly fallen, it still shews its ancient grandeur. On the left, going from the portico, there is a small temple, surrounded by columns. In the inside

with each other by a wall, except at the door-way, which fronts the propyl?on. The eastern wall of the great temple is richly adorned with

on, I would venture to say, that it was the habitation of the priests. At some distance from the great temple ar

sians. It was the only one in the country into which the singers and dancers were forbid to enter. This city, reduced to a village under the empire of Augustus, now presents to our view only an heap of ruins, without inhabitants; but to the west of these ruins is still found th

rfectly joined and incrusted as it were one into the other, offer to the eye nothing but one solid platform of marble, one hundred and twenty-six feet long, and twenty-six wide. The walls are covered with hieroglyphics. Here are seen a multitude of animals, birds, and human figures with pointed caps on their heads, and a piece of stuff hanging down

ry, carefully visited this monument on his return from Bengal. He remarked here the gods Jugge

pport the roof of it, and at the angles are the doors of four other chambers, but so choked up with rubbish that they cannot now be entered. T

as in the upper story. The natives say that they correspond exactly with those above ground, and that the columns are as deep in the earth, as they are lofty above

ar to be suspended in the air. The walls, the roof, and the columns of this edifice, have suffered nothing from the injuries of time; and did not the hieroglyphics, by being corroded in some places, mark its antiquity, it would appear to have been newly built. The solidity is such, that unl

much smaller, at the bottom of which is a sort of altar.

P.

CTING BUILDINGS,

t Ephesus-Laocoon

ster. Philo Byzantius tells us, that in this work they used such a quantity of stone, as almost exhausted all the quarries in the country; and these drains, or vaults, are what the present inhabitants take for a labyrinth. To secure the foundations of the conduits or sewers, which were to bear a building of such prodigious weight, they laid beds of charcoal, says Pliny, well rammed, and upon them others of wood: Pliny says, four hundred years were spent in building this wonderful temple, by all Asia: others say, only two hundred and twenty. It was four

d by Marc Antony, so that it took in part of the city: but Tiberius, to put a stop to the many abuses and disorders that attended privileges of this

and Essen?, had a particular diet, and were not allowed to go into any private house. They were maintained out of the profits accruing from the lake Selinusius, and another that fell into it; whi

they solemnized the festival of Diana with great pomp and magnificence, making on

ho regulated the public sports annually performed at Ephesus, in honour of Diana; and w

niche, which, as we are told, the Amazons caused to be made in the trunk of an elm. Such was the first rise of the veneration that was paid to Diana in this place. In process of time the veneration for the goddess daily increasing among the inhabitants of Asia, a

prohibition served only to make his name the more memorable, such a remarkable extravagance, or rather madness, being taken notice of by all the historians who have written of those times. Alexander offered to rebuild the temple at his own expense, provided the Ephesians would agree to put his name on the front; but they received his offer in such a manner as prevented the resentment of that vain prince, telling him, "it was not fit that one god should build a temple to another." The pillars, and other materials, that had been saved out of the flames, were sold, with the

s artists of Rhodes. This relic of antiquity was found at Rome, among the ruins of the palace of Titus, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, under the pontificate of Julius II. and since deposited in the Farnese

h anguish and torture of mind, are yet expressed with such propriety and dignity, as afford lessons of fortitude superior to any taught in the schools of philosophy. The horrible shriek which Virgil's Laocoon emits, is a proper circumstance for poetry; but the expression of this shriek would have totally degraded the statue. It is softened, therefore, into a patient sigh, with eyes turned to heaven in search

ent to Paris by B

endour, is borrowed principally from Herodotus, who had been on

arge bricks, cemented with bitumen, a thick glutinous fluid, which rises out of the earth in the neighbouring country, and which binds stronger than mortar, and becomes harder than brick itself. These walls were eighty-seven feet thi

and width of the ditch may be estimated by the extreme height and thickness of the walls. There were a hundred gates to the city, twenty-five on each of the four sides. These gates, with their posts, &c. were all of brass. Be

es on one side, and the ramparts on the other, encompassed the whole city, and were each of them two hundred feet wide. By the streets crossing each other, the whole city was divided into six hundred and seventy-six squares, each of whic

, formed the communication across the river; and at the two extremities of this bridge were two palaces on the east, and the new palace on the west side of the river. T

infinite number of captives, from the many nations that he subdued.

three hundred and fifty feet. The assent from terrace to terrace was by steps ten feet wide. The whole mass was supported by large vaults, built upon each other, and strengthened by a wall twenty-two feet thick. The tops of these arches were covered with stones, rushes and bitumen, and

eat intended to rebuild it, but was prevented by death from accomplishing his design. Seleucus Nicator built Seleucia on the Tigris, and this city insensibly deprived Babylon of its inhabitants. Strabo assures us, that under Augustus, Babylon was almost forsaken; and

ost stately and renowned in all the world, and situated in the most fruitful country of Shinar, could ever have stood in this place. My doubts, however, on this point, were removed, by the situation, and by many antiquities of great beauty, which are still to be seen, and particularly by the old bridge over the Euphrates, of which some piles and arches of brick remain, so strong as to excite admiration. The whole front of the village of Elugo is the hill upon which the castle stood; and the ruins of its fortifications, though demolished and uninhab

th a full description of an an

ngly without the least intention of forming one habitation out of them. The walls are entirely unornamented, consisting chiefly of gravel and pebbles, daubed over with plaster in a very coarse manner: yet this was the palace of the Moorish kings of Grenada, and it is indisputably the most curious

art of the wall is mosaic, disposed in fantastic knots and festoons. The porches at the end are more like grotto-work than any thing else to which they can be compared. That on the right hand opens into an octagon vault, under the emperor's palace, and forms a perfect whispering gallery, meant to be a communication between the offices of both houses. Opposite to the door of the Communa through which you enter, is another leading into the Quarto de los leones, or apartment of the lions, which is an oblong court, one hundred feet in length, and fifty in breadth, environed with a colonnade, seven feet broad on the sides, and ten at the end. Two porticos or cabinets, about fifteen feet square, project into the court at the two extremities. The square is covered with coloured tiles; the colonnade, with white marble. The walls are covered, five feet up from the ground, with blue and yellow tiles, disposed chequerwise. Above and below is a border of small escutcheons, enamelled blue and gold, with an Arabic motto on a bend, signifying, "No conqueror but God." The columns that support the roof and gallery are of white marble, very slender, and fantastically adorned. They are nine feet high, including base and capital, and eight and a half inches diameter. They are very irregularly placed; sometimes singly, at others, in groups of three, but more frequently two together. The width of the horse-shoe arches above them, is four feet two inches for the large ones, and three for the smaller. The ceiling of the portico is finished in a much finer and more complicated manner t

r. The form of this hall, the elegance of its cupola, the cheerful distribution of light from above, and the exquisite manner in which the stucco is designed, painted, and finished, exceed all powers of descrip

a couple of rooms at the head of the court, which are

ty of tints and lights thrown upon this enfilade, are uncommonly rich. The first hall is the concert-room, where the women sat; the musicians played above in four balconies. In the middle is a jet d'eau. The marble pavement is equal to the finest existing, for the size of the flags and evenness of the colour. The two sisters are slabs, that measure fifteen feet by seven and a half, without flaw or stain. The walls, up to a certain height, are mosaic, a

the dressing-room of the sultana. It is a small square cabinet, in the middle of an open gallery, from which it received light by a door and three windows. The view is charming. In one corner is a large marble flag, drilled full of holes, through which the smoke of perfumes ascended from furnaces below;

e left hand, and on the right into the great audience hall in the tower of Comares; a noble apartment, thirty-six feet square, thirty-six high up to the cornice, and eighteen from thence to the centre of the cupola. The walls on three sides ar

cilitated the intercourse between them, are without number. The most remarkable room below is the king's bedchamber, which communicated, by means of a gallery, with the upper story. The beds were placed in two alcoves, upon a rai

stoves with vapour. The troughs are formed of large slabs of white marble; the walls are ornamented with party-coloured earthenware, and light is admitted by holes in the ceiling. Hard by, is a whispering gallery, and a kind of gallery, said to have been made for

l vaults, said to be the place of burial of the royal family. In the year 1574, four sepulchres

ere brought to refresh it in the hot months of summer; what a free circulation of air was contrived, by the judicious disposition of doors and windows; what shady gardens of aromatic trees; what noble views ove

P.

ECTING TEMPLES,

eum-Colossus

, upon which there are several watch-towers; and it has many gates, some of which open towards the sea-side, and the rest into the city: but the chief gate is one of the latter, which is constantly guarded by a company of capooches, or porters: and in the night it is well guarded towards the sea. The outward appearance is not elegant; the architecture being irregular, consisting of separate edifices in the form of pavilions and domes. The ladies of the seraglio are a collection of beautiful young women, chiefly sent as presents from the provinces and Greek islands, and most of them the children of Christian parents. The brave prince Heraclicus for some years abolished the infamous tribute of children of both sexes,

by land they are put into close chariots, and signals are made at certain distances, to give notice that none approach the roads through which they march. The boats of the Harem, which carry the grand seignior's wives, are manned with twenty-fo

with sabres in their hands, while others go their rounds to hinder any person from seeing them. If any one is found in the garden, even through i

nt of the women, who are ranged in files by the governesses, to whom he speaks, and intimates the person he likes best. As soon as the grand seignior has chosen the girl destined to be the partner of his bed, all the others follow her to the bath, washing and perfuming her, and dressing her superbly, and thus conduct her, with singing, dancing, and rejoicing, to the bedchamber of the grand seignior; and if by a certain time she becomes pregnant, and is delivered of a boy, she is called asaki-sultaness, that is to say, sultaness-m

iod acquires the distinction of sultana-mother; she is till then in the interior of her prison with her son. The title bachl-kadun, or principal woman, is the first dignity o

ian religion has, by its letter or spirit, exploded customs and practices which were the immediate causes of female degradation and wretchedness. It has made marriage pure and honourable, by prohibiting polygamy, and restricting within very narrow limits the dang

and the arts, and deposited in apartments or buildings, either by the commendable generosity of rich indivi

the use of learned men, and the reception of the literary works then extant. According to ancient writers, they were formed into classes or colleges, each of which had

and as we approach our own times, they multiply beyond a possibility of noticing even the most important. Within o

rtists, were select, uncommon, and valuable in the extreme, particularly the Laocoon, already described, and said, by Pliny, to have been made from a single mass of marble; which circumstance has since caused a doubt whether that of the Vatican is really the original, as Michael Angelo discov

f the continent: "I shall conclude this short criticism on the celebrated Venus de Medicis, with the following observation, made by some able connoisseurs, namely, that if the different parts of this famous statue be examined separately, as the head, nose, &c. and compared with the like parts of others, it would not be impossible to find similar parts equal, if not superior, to those of the Venus de Medicis; but if the delicacy of the shape, the attitude, and symmetry of the whole, be co

in the Louvre at Paris, composed with the best collections on the cont

ous, as they are classed in nations, by which means the eye is conducte

s, which are: La Salle de Saisons,-La Salle des Hommes illustres,-La Salle des Romains,-La Salle de Laocoon,-La Salle de l'Apollon,-and La Salle des Muses. The Laocoon, which we have

ed by time, was found, near the close of the fifteenth century, twelve leagues from Rome, at Cape d'Anzo, on the borders of the sea, in the ruins of ancient Antium, a city equally celebrated for its Temple of Fortune, and for its pleasant mansions, erected by successive emperors, which, emulous of each other, they decorated with the most rare and excellent works of art. Julius II. when a cardinal, obt

n chains to those who should thenceforward injure or destroy the marble and bronze records of their country. Le Noir, a man of taste and learning, seized this opportunity of rescuing the French nation from the reproach it had incurred by destroying what was honourable to themselves; and conceived that, though late, it might still be possible to collect whole m

e same subject, "After several hours employed in this second view, I continue of my former opinion, that the spot (formerly a convent) in which these monuments are collected, is infinitely too small; that the garden, meant

eep soli

pensive conte

sing melanc

round of a tasteless citizen, decked out with Cupids, Mercuries, and Fawns." Both

ed to Elias Ashmole, Esq. for an invaluable collection of interesting objects presented by him for their use, and immediately placed within it; since which period it has been called the Ashmolean Museum. The structure, in the Corinthian order of

c integrity, as he views the vast collection which he in common with all his countrymen possesses, "These are individually our own by fair purchase or gift!" Sir Robert Cotton may be said to have laid the foundation of the British Museum, by his presenting his excellent collection of manuscripts to the public; those, and the offer of Sir Hans Sloane's books, manuscripts, and curious articles in antiquity and natural history, for ￡20,000, suggested the propriety of accepting the latter, and providing a place for the reception of both: from this time government proceeded rapidly in forming the plan, and at length every interior regulation for officers, trustees, &c. being made, Montague House, situated in Russell-street, Bloomsbury, was purchased for ￡10,250,

was solely intended for the use of the community: at present, however, no such complaint can be made with truth, as any decently dressed persons, presenting themselves at certain hours, are admitted free of every kind of expense. Admission even to the reading room, is attended with no other difficulty than necessarily follows the ascertaining whether

twelve years in making it; and was at length overthrown by an earthquake, B. C. 224, after having stood about sixty-six years. Its height was a hundred and five feet; there were few people who could encompass its thumb, which is said

T TREES.

DS OF EGYP

they pretended that the oracle of Delphos had forbidden it, and converted the money to other uses. Accordingly, the Colossus lay neglected on the ground for the space of eight hundred and ninety-four years, at the expiration of which period, or about the year of our Lord 653 or 672, Moawyas, the sixth caliph, or emperor of the Saracens, made himself master of Rhodes, and afterwards sold the statue, reduced to fragments, to a Jewish merchant, who loaded nine hundred camels with the metal; so that, allowing e

in the city of Rhodes. Pliny reckons one hundred other colossuses

ics. Obelisks appear to be of very great antiquity, and to have been first raised to transmit to posterity precepts of philosophy, which were cut in hieroglyphical characters

her of eighty eight cubits, in memory of Arsino?. Augustus erected one at Rome, in the Campus Martius, which served to mark the hours on an horizontal dial, drawn on the pavement. They were called by the Egyptian priests, the Fi

ral, and brought from Plumpton quarries, about five miles off; or from Tekly, sixteen miles off. The cross in the town, twelve feet high, is of the same kind of stone. The easternmost, or highest, is twenty-two feet and a half high, by four broad, and four and a half in girth; the second, twenty-one and a half by fifty-five and a quarter; the third, sixteen and a half by eighty-four. Stukeley's measures d

mortised into a round base. They are fourteen feet asunder, and between them is a grave, which is inclosed between four semicircular stones, of the unequal lengths of five, six, four and a half, and two feet high, having on the outsides rude carving, and the tops notched. This is called

's Thumb, six feet high, fourteen inches at the ba

th a description of a Remarkable

e appears in the character of executioner, severing the head from another body; behind him are three trumpeters sounding their trumpets, and before him two pair of combatants fighting with sword and target. A troop of horse next appear, put to flight by infantry, whose first lines have bows and arrows, and the three following swords and targets. In the lowermost division now visible, the horses seem to be seized by the victorious party, their riders beheaded, and the head of their chief hung in chains, or placed in a frame; the others being thrown together beside the dead bodies, under an arched cover. The greatest part of the other side of the obelisk, occupied by a sumptuous cross, is covered over with a uniform figure, elaborately raised, and interwoven with great mathematical exactness. Under the cross are two august personages, with some attendants, much obliterated, but evidently in an attitude of reconciliation; and if the monument was erected in memory of the pe

P.

ECTING TEMPLES,

iburg-Curiosities of Augsburg-Escurial-Florence Statues-

r and age. It is a quadrangular building, with round towers at the angles, measuring thirty yards every way within the walls. The towers and ramparts are solidly built of stone and lime, nine feet thick at the bottom, and eight feet above. The towers are not entire, nor are they all equally high. The western is the highest and largest, and does not seem to have been less than fifty feet when entire; the rampart between them, from twenty-five to thirty. Ten or twelve yards without the walls the ditch begins, which surrounded the castle, from thirty to forty feet broad. The whole building covers about one thousand six hundred yards; and wi

, and often despaired of finishing his design. All this must appear the more surprising, when we consider the dimensions of the different parts of this hermitage, the chapel being sixty-three feet in length, thirty-six in breadth, and twenty-two in height. The sacristy, or vestry, is twenty-two feet square, and the height of the steeple seventy feet. The chamber between the chapel and the refectory, is above forty feet long; the refectory itself is twenty-one long; and the cellar is twenty-five feet long, and ten feet deep. But the hall or parlour is particularly admired, being twenty-eight paces in length, twelve in breadth, a

except one servant. He intended to have carried on his work still farther, but was drowned in 1708, as he was crossing a neighbouring river in a boat, with some company that came to visit him on St. Anthony'

rom wild to agreeable, from the bustle of a town to the solitude of the deepest retirement. The Sanen winds in such a serpentine manner, as to form in its course, within the space of two miles, five obtuse angles, between which the intervening parts of the current are parallel to each other. On all sides the descent to the town is extremely steep; in one place the streets often pass over the roofs of the houses. Many of the edifices are raised in regular gradation, like the seats of an amphitheatre; and many overhang the edge of a precipice in such a manner, that, on looking down, a weak head would be apt to turn giddy. But the most extraordinary point of view is from the Pont-neuf. On the north-west a part of the town stands

f brass; upon the pedestal is the statue of Augustus, as large as life. The fountain most remarkable next to this, is that of Hercules, which is an hexagon bason with several brass figures, particularly Hercules engaging the hydra.-Another curiosity is the Secret Gate, which was contrived to let in persons safely in time of war: it has so many engines and divisions with gates and keys, and apartments for guards, at some distance from each other, where passengers are examined, that it is impossible for the

ilt in a dry barren spot, surrounded with rugged mountains, insomuch that every thing which grows there is owing to art. This place was chosen, it is said, for the sake of the stone wherewith the fabric is built, which is got from a mo

jasper, gems, and other curious stones, surpassing all imagination. This building, besides its palace, contains a church, large and richly ornamented; a mausoleum; cloisters; a convent; a college; and a library, containing about thirty thousand volumes; b

, of six hundred and forty by five hundred and eighty feet, and the height up to the roof is sixty feet all round, except on the garden side, where the ground is more taken away. At each angle is a square tower, two hundred feet high. The number of windows in the west front is exactly 200; in the east front, 366. The orders are Doric and

roof, exhibits a very uncouth style of architecture; at the same time that the domes, and th

hirty-six feet in diameter, and incrusted with fine marbles in an elegant taste. The bodies of the kings and queens lie in tombs of marble, in niches, one above the other. The plan of these sepulchres is grand, and executed with a princely magnificence; but, as a modern traveller observes, in a style rather too gay, too light, and too delicately fitted up, for the idea we are apt to form of a chapel destined for the reception of the dead. The collection of pictures dispersed about various parts of the church, sacristy, and convent, has been considered as equal, if not superior, to any gallery in Europe, except that of Dresden. Formed out of the spoils of Italy, and the wasted cabinet of that unfortunate monarch, Charles I. of England, it contains some of the most capital works of the greatest painters that have flourished since the revival of the art. In the sacristy is an altar called La S

he late king, for the sake of hunting, used to

ne, he looks on his mistress, as if he expected thanks from her, takes the stool again, and sits down with a sad countenance.-There is also the statue of a Laundress at her work, turning the clothes up and down with her hand and battledore, wherewith she beats them in

two bow-shots distant from one another: Walker says, there are forty-five thousand of these towers, (a number rather incredible,) and that the wall extends two thousand miles. It is said, that a third of the able-bodied men in the empire were employed in constructing this wall. The workmen w

ALL OF CHIN

mpire from the incursion

h it is closely united. It is likewise interrupted by the river Hoang-ho; but for others of an inferior size, arches have been constructed, through which the water passes freely. Mr. Bell informs us, that it is carried across rivers, and over the tops of the highest hills, without the least interruption, keeping nearly along that circular range of barren rocks which incloses the country; and, after running about one thousand two hundred miles, ends in impassable mountains and sandy deserts. The foundation consists of large blocks of stone laid in mortar; bu

so close for many miles, that they could hand the materials from one to another. This seems the more probable, as the rugged rocks among whic

e is quadrangular; their length and breadth various; but generally they are about eight perches long, and not more than three in breadth, and have less than a foot of elevation above the surface of the water. These were the first fields which the Mexicans had after the foundation of Mexico; there they first cultivated maize, pepper, and other plants. In time, as these fields became numerous from the industry of the people, they cultivated gardens of flowers and odoriferous plants, which they employed in the worship of their gods, and for the recreation of their nobles. At present they cultivate flowers, and every sort of garden herbs, upon them. Every day at sunrise, innumerable vessels loaded with various kinds of flowers and herbs, cultivated in those gardens,

r with an account of a

ewn under the fabric a vault, divided into four great galleries, into which the light is admitted by windows cut out at the top of each extremity. In this vault are preserved, not in flesh, but in skin and bone, all the Capuchins who have

disposed step above step along the sides of the vault; the head, the arms, and the feet, are naked. A preservation like this is horrid. The skin, discoloured, dry, and as if it had been tanned, nay, torn in some places, is glued close to the bone. It is easy to imagine, from the differe

P.

rk of Noah-The Galley of Hie

the Jewish, Christian, and Mahommedan world; yet its dimensions far exceed any vessel of modern da

e than seven or eight, and others still much less. The Mahommedans say, he had but two years allowed him for this work. Another question sometimes agitated is, what kind of wood is meant by gopher wood? Some think cedar, or box; others cypress, the pine, fir-tree, and the turpentine tree. Pelletier prefers the opinion of those who hold the ark to be made

common cubit of a foot and a half, prove, geometrically, that the ark was abundantly sufficient for all the animals supposed to be lodged therein. The capacity of the ark will be doubled, if we admit, with Cumberland, &c. that the Jewish cubit was twenty-one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight inches. Smellius computes the ark to have been above half an acre in area. Cuneus, and others, have also calculated the capacity of the

the whole year. The former appears, at first view, almost infinite, but if we come to a calculation, the number of species of animals will be found much smaller than is generally imagine

nd the upper for the birds, with Noah and his family; each story being subdivided into different apartments, stalls, &c. Though Josephus, Philo, and other commentators,

etier only makes seventy-two, viz. thirty-six for the birds, and as many for the beasts: his reason is, that if we suppose a greater number, as three hundred and thirty-three, or four hundred, each of the eight persons in the ark must have had thirty-seven, forty-one, or fifty stalls

Lamy enlarges it to sixty-four pair, or an hundred and twenty-eight oxen; so that, supposing one ox equal to two horses, if the ark had room for two hundred and fifty-six horses,

of hay, as usually pressed down in our hay-ricks, weighs about forty pounds; so that a square cubit of hay is more than enough per day for an ox. Now it appears, that the second s

eves. For the former he allows the sustenance of eighteen hundred and twenty-five sheep; and for the latter, one hundred and nine thousand five hundred cubits of hay: all which will

ose of the unknown parts of the earth; adding, that the most expert mathematician, at this day, could not assign the proportions of a vessel better accommodated to the purpose, than is here done; and hence finally concludes, that "the capacity of the ark, which has been made an objection against scripture, ought to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine

apartment were all inlaid, and represented in various colours the stories of Homer's Iliad. The ceilings, windows, and all other parts, were finished with wonderful art, and embellished with all kinds of ornaments. In the uppermost apartment there was a spacious gymnasium, or place of exercise, and walks, with gardens, and plants of all kinds, disposed in wonderful order. Pipes, some of hardened clay, and others of lead, conveyed water all round to refresh them. But the finest of the apartments was that of Venus: the floors were inlaid with agates, and other precious stones; the inside was lined with cypress-wood; and the windows were adorned with ivory, paintings, and small statues. In this apartment there was a library, a bath with three great coppers, and a bathing vessel made of one single stone, of various colours, containing two hundred and fift

sed to be carried to the Pyr?us, or port of Athens. Hiero afterwards made a present of this great vessel to Ptolemy, (probably Philadephus,) king of Egypt, and sent it to Alexandria. As there was at that time a great famine in Egypt, good

ns appointed Hamilcar their general, who not only raised what forces he could in Africa, but with the money sent him by Xerxes, hired a great many mercenaries in Spain, Gaul, and Italy; so that his army consisted of three hundred thousand men, besides a proportionable number of ships for transporting his forces, and the necessary provisions. Thus Xerxes, agreeable to the prophecy of Daniel, having, by his strength through his riches, stirred up all the nations of the then known world, against

pestuous, and the Persian fleet had formerly suffered shipwreck in doubling this promontory. To prevent the like disaster, Xerxes caused this passage to be cut through the mountain, broad enough to let two galleys, with three banks of oars each, pass in front. By this means, he severed from the continent the

pieces, and dispersed or dashed against the shore the vessels of which it was composed: which when Xerxes heard, he fell into such a violent transport of anger, that he commanded three hundred stripes to be inflicted on the sea, and a pair of fetters to be thrown into it; enjoining those who were trusted with the execution of his orders, to pronounce these words:-"Thou

nto grief; he burst into a flood of tears: which Artabanus perceiving, asked him what had made him, in a few moments, pass from an excess of joy to so great a grief. The king replied, that, considering the shortness of human life, he could not restrain his tears; for, of all these numbers of men, not one, said he, will be alive a hundred years hence. Artabanus, who neglected no opportunity of instilling into the young prince's mind sentiments of kindness towards his people, finding him touched with a sense of tenderness and humanity, endeavoured to make him sensible of the obligation that is incumbent upon princes, to alleviate the sorrows, and sweeten the bitterness, which the lives of their subjects are liable to, since it is not in their power to prolong them. In the same conversation, Xerxes asked his uncle, whether, if he had not seen the vision which made him change his mind, he would still persist in the same opinion, and dissuade

nd covered over with earth, having rails on each side, that the horses and cattle might not be frightened at the sight of the sea. The army spent seven days and nights in passing over, though they marched day and night, without intermission, and were, by frequent blows, obliged to quicken their pace. At the same time, the fleet made to the coasts of Europe. After the whole army was passed, Xerxes advanced with his land forces, through the Thracian Chersonessus to Doricus, a city at the mouth of the river Hebrus, in Thrace: but the fleet steered a quite different course, standing to the westward for the promontory of Sarpedon, where they were commanded to attend farther orders. Xerxes, having encamped in the large plains of Doriscus, and judging them convenient for reviewing and numbering his troops, di

d six hundred and ten men, without including servants, eunuchs, women, sutlers, and other people of that sort, who were computed to equal the number of the forces: so that the whole multitude of persons that followed Xerxes in this expedition, amounted to five millions two hundred and eighty-three thousand two hundred and twenty. Among these millions of men, there was not one that could vie with Xerxes, either in comeliness or stature, or that seemed more worthy of that great empire. But this is a poor recommendation, when unaccompanied with other qualifications of more sterling worth. Accordingly, Justin, after he has mentioned the number of his troops, emphatically concludes

. LV

ND ROCKY C

auseway-S

m notes of a mineralogical excursion to the Giant's Causeway, by

uptly on the other side. What we perceive is the land side of the precipice of the Giant's Causeway. It seems to have been a hill of basalt, with nearly perpendicular columnar concretions, cut in two, as it were, by a vertical section, and the half of the hill next the sea carried away. On getting in front of this precipice, which you do by a pass on the west side of it, a most stupendous scene presents itself. The precipice, extending for a mile or two along the shore, is in many places quite perpendicular, and often three hundred and fifty and four hundred feet high, consisting of pure columnar basalt, some of the columns fifty feet in perpendicular height, straight and smooth, as if polished with a chisel. In other parts the columns are smaller, inclined, or bent; and a less length of them strikes the eye. From the bottom of this precipice issues, with a gentle slope of about one foot in thirty towards the sea,

essions between them, covered with large blocks or masses, that seem to have been from time to time detached, and rolled from the precipice. I had no opportunity of perceiving with what rocks the basalt of the Giant's Causeway is connected.

bed about four feet thick, and running horizontally along the face of the basaltic precipice twenty or thirty feet. The ashes are in general observed to lie undermost, and the slags above them. They are covered with a considerable quantity of earth and stones, which all consist of basalt, are of a large size, some of them three or four feet or more in diameter, and the ashes likewise rest on the same sort of materials. What struck me here was, that these ashes and slags are entirely unconnected with any rock or

wood coal, eight feet thick. The coal to all appearance rests immediately on the basalt below, and the ends of perpendicular basaltic columns are seen distinctly to rest on it above. The basalt is not in the least changed by the cont

pillars, forty-five feet long, and vertical, with the longest ones in the middle, and others gradually shortening towa

. Sometimes the cavity is not completely filled with the calcedony or opal; and when that is the case, the empty space is observed to be always the upper part of the cavity, while the rock is in situ. Moreover, the surfac

lesser stones (the highest six feet,) of which only nineteen remain, and only eleven standing: the walk between these two circles is three hundred feet in circumference. The adytum, or cell, is an oval formed of ten stones, (from sixteen to twenty-two feet high,) in pairs, with imposts, which Dr. Stukeley calls trilithons, and above thirty feet high, rising in height as they go round, and each pair separate, and not connected as the outer pair; the highest eight feet. Within these are nineteen smaller single stones, of which only six are standing. Three of the five trilithons at the west end fell flat westward, levelling also in their descent, a stone of the second circle that stood in the line of their precipitation, on the 3d of January, 1797. At the upper end of the adytum is the altar, a large slab of blue coarse marble, twent

lin, the British enchanter, at the command of Aurelius Ambrosius, the British king, in memory of four hundred and sixty Britons, who were murdered by Hengist the Saxon. The next account is that of Polydore Virgil, who says that the Britons erected this as a sepulchral monument of Boadicea, the famous British queen. Inigo Jones is of opinion, th

robably before the time of the Druids; because it was usual with them to place one vast stone upon another, for a religious memorial; and these they often placed so equally, that a breath of wind would sometimes make them vibrate. Of such stones, one remains in the pile of Stonehenge. The ancients distinguished stones erected with a religious view, by the name of Amber; by which was signified any thing solar and divine. The Grecians called them petr? ambrosi?. Stonehenge, according to Mr. Bryant, is composed of these amber stones: hence the n

P.

TING THE VARIOUS C

ting-Female Beauty and Ornaments-Various Modes of Salutation-Maiden-Lady of t

------

be never s

e unmanly, yet

ksp

hich it is not a little curious to observe. The Tartars pull a man by the ear to press him to drink, and they continue torm

the fire. The stranger must bear the excess of the heat, as well as of the repast. He discharges the food from his stomach ten times before he will yield; but at length, obliged to acknowledge himself overcome, he begins to compound matters. He purchases a moment's respite by a present of clothes or dogs; for his host threatens to heat the cabin, and to oblige h

and if he is generous enough to share with him some part of his property. While the guest is employed on his meal, he continues heating the cabin to an insupportable degree, and, as a last proof of the stranger's constancy and attachment, he exacts more clothes and more dogs. The

se, and drinks in another. A Kamtschadale kneels before his guest; he cuts an enormous slice from a sea-calf; he crams it entire into the m

at unobserved. This custom probably arises from the savage, in the early periods of society, concealing himself to eat, from a fear that another with as sharp an appetite, but possessing more bodily strength than himself,

pical repast. They never will eat with any one who is inferior to them in birth, in riches, or in dignity

inds himself without a companion to partake of his meal, he runs till he meets with one; and we a

silk carpets very elegantly worked. They do not make use of plates, or knives and fo

y from each other. At the hour of repast, the members of each family divide; two brothers, t

yards from each other; they turn their backs to thei

spect to Female Beauty and Ornaments,-as will be percei

diminutive as those of the she-goats, and to render them thus, their youth is passed in tortures. In ancient Persia, an aquiline nose was often thought worthy of the crown; and if there was any competition between two princes, the people generally went by this criterion of majesty. In some countries, the mothers break the noses of their children; and others press the head between two boards, that it may become square. T

and long. The Turkish women dip a gold brush in the tincture of a black drug, which they pass over their eyebr

regulated by the rank of their husbands. The custom of boring the nose, as our ladies do their ears, is very common in several nations. Through the perforation are

ld, according to the quality of the person: the wings spread out, fall over the front of the head-dress, and conceal the temples; the tail, long and open, forms a beautiful tuft of fea

hey cover their hair, and seal it with wax. They cannot lie down, nor lean, without keeping the neck very straight; and the country being very woody, it is not uncommon to find them

l. They wear caps or bonnets, from six to ten inches high, composed of the fat of oxen. They then gradual

f the body, or practise a particular ceremony. In these actions there must exist different customs. Every nation imagines it employs the most reasonable ones. This infinite number of ceremonies may be reduced to two kinds; to reverences or salutations, an

left foot, which they passed gently over the right leg, and thence over his face." The inhabitants of the Philippines bend their bodies very low, in placing their hands on their cheeks, and raising at the same time one foot in the air, with their knee bent. An Ethiopian takes the robe of another, and ties it about his own waist, so that he leaves his friend half naked. This custom of undressing takes other forms: sometimes men place themselves naked before the person whom they salute, to show their humility, and that they ar

sons meet after a long separation, they both fall on their knees and bend their faces to the earth, and this they repeat two or three times. They substitute artificial ceremonies for natural actions. Their expressions mean as little as their ceremonies. If a Chinese is asked how he finds himself in health? He answers, "Very well, thanks to your abundant felicity." If they would tell a man that he looks well, they say, "Prosperity is painted on your face;" or, "Your air announces your happiness." All these and many other answers are prescribed by the Chinese academy of compliments. There are determined the number of bows, the expressions to be employed, the genuflections, and the inclinations to be made to the right or left hand, the salutations of the master before the chair, where the stranger is to be seated, for he salutes it most profoundly, and wipes the dust away with the skirts of his r

Halifax began to gain strength, is uncertain. The last is very probable, for the wild country around the town was inhabited by a lawless set, whose depredations on the cloth-tenters might soon stifle the efforts of infant industry. For the protection of trade, and for the greater terror of offenders by speedy execution, this custom seems to be established, so as at last to receive the force of law, which was 'That if a felon be taken within the liberty of the forest of Hardwick, with goods stolen out, or within the said precincts, either handhaband, backberand, or confessioned, to the value of thirteen-pence-halfpenn

s remanded to prison, had a week's time allowed for preparation, and then was conveyed to this spot, where his head was struck off with this machine. I should have premised, that if the criminal, either on apprehension, or in the way of executi

before that time are lost. Twenty-five suffered in her reign, and at least twe

ss bar, on which the felon lays his head, which is kept down by another placed above. In the inner edges of the frames are grooves; in these is placed a sharp axe, with a vast weight of lead, supported at the very summit with a peg: to that peg is fastened a cord, which the executioner cutting, the axe falls, and does the affair effectually, without suffer

he lamb, is declared Lady of the Lamb,-which being dressed by the butcher, with the skin hanging on, is carried on a long pole before the lady and her companions to the green, attended with music, and a morisco-dance of men, and another of women, where the rest of the da

ck, that if the young men of the town can catch a hare, and bring it to the parson of the parish, before ten of the clock on E

nsacted in a whisper; no candle is allowed in the court, nor any pen and ink, but the proceedings are written with a piece of charcoal; and he that holds suit and service there, and does not appear, forfeits double the amount of his rent to the lord of the manor This cour

P.

ING THE CUSTOMS OF

nese-Bacon Flitch Custom at Dunmow, Essex-On the Origin of Rings in

urn Hymen's g

prove his g

experie

ge, rightly

he tender

adise

tt

t is time to go to rest." The inhabitants of Sierra Leone, on the coast of Africa, have in all their towns a boarding-school, where young ladies are educated for a year, under the care of a venerable old gentleman. When their education is completed, they are carried in their best attire to a public assembly; which may be termed a matrimonial market, because there young men convene to make a choice. Those who fit themselves to their fancy pay the dowry; and, over and above, reward the old superintendant for his extraordinary care in educating the bride. In the island of Java, the bride, in token of subjection, washes the bridegroom's feet; and this is a capital ceremony. In Russia, the bride presents to the bridegroom a bundle of rods, to be used against her when she deserves to be chastised; and at the same time she pulls off his boots. Very different were the manners of Peru before the Spanish conq

ature take place. The ceremonies among the present Greeks are no less remarkable. Among other particulars, the bridegroom and bride walk three rounds; during which they are kicked and cuffed heartily. Tournefort adds, that he only and his companions forbore to join in the ceremony; which was ascribed to their rusticity, and ignorance of polite manners. Marriage ceremonies among the Kamtschadales are extremely whimsical. A young man, after making his proposals, enters into the presence of his intended father-in-law. If he prove agreeable, he is admitted to the trial of the touch. The young woman is swaddled up in leathern thongs, and i

was, customary in Wales. On the morning of the wedding-day, the bridegroom, accompanied with his friends on horseback, demands the bride. Her friends, who are likewise on horseback, give a positive refusal; upon which a mock scuffle ensues. The bride, mounted behind her nearest kinsman, is carried off, and is pursued by the bridegroom and his friends, with loud shouts. It is not uncommon on such an occasion to see tw

to shew that a woman is married, or a widow. Another circumstance is, at the birth of every child, to plant a tree in a garden or court-yard, which attains its full growth in as many years as a man requires

lease: marriages with sisters are prohibi

happier state than themselves, are not always familiar with the origin of this institution, and with the whimsical rhyming oath to be taken with the flit

ct few in the married state, was a jocular institution by the monks of a monastery, in the priory of Dunm

es at the church door (which are yet to be seen,) before the priory or convent, migh

observed on a claim made more than a century ago, to this flitch

the seventh of June, in the thirteenth year of the reign of our sovereign Lord William III. by the grace of God,

beth Beaumont, s

Beaumont

Beaumont

umont, s

eler, s

the last past, and upward; and it is likewise found, presented, and adjudged, by the homage aforesaid, that the said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, by means of their quiet, peaceable, tender, and loving cohabitation, for the space of time aforesai

itors, and other officers of the court, proceeded, with the usual solemnity, to the ancient and accustomed place for the administration of the oath and receiving the gammon aforesaid, (that is to say) the two great stones lying near the chur

by custom o

made nuptial

were married

rawls, or cont

e, in bed o

other in dee

ve months' t

ot in thou

church cler

selves unma

ue true, a

oin'd hands i

wife, claiming the same gammon of bacon, the court pronounced the

conditions, w

ccord you do

n of bacon yo

ay with love a

custom of Dunm

ure be ours, the

livered unto the said William Parsley, an

y a gammon was delivered to Mr. Reynolds, steward

ith this prince's ring, and the superintendency of Egypt. Josephus, in the third book of the Jewish Antiquities, says, the Israelites had the use of them after passing the Red Sea, because Moses, on his return from Mount Sinai, found that they had forged the golden calf from their wives' rings. The same Moses (which was upwards of four hundred years before the wars of Troy) permitted the priests to have established the use of gold rings, enriched with precious stones. The high-priest wore upon his ephod, which was a kind of camaieu, rings, that served him as clasps; a large emerald was set, and engraved with mysterious names. The ring he wore on his finger was of estimable value and celestial virtue. Had not Aaron, the high priest of the Hebrews, a ring on his finger, whereof the diamond, by its virtue, operated prodigious things? for it changed its vivid lustre into a dark colour, when the Hebrews were to be punished by death for their sins: when they were to fall by the sword, it appeared of a blood colour; if they were innocent, it sparkled as usual. It is o

rked in the person of Apollonius Thyaneus, who, as a token of singular esteem and great liberality, received one from the great Jarchas, prince of the gymnosophists, who were the ancient priests of the Indies, and dwelt in for

palm of the hand; so that the party could see, without being seen, all manner of persons and things. Gyges, having made trial of its efficacy, bethought himself that it would be a means for ascending the throne of Lydia, and for gaining the queen by it. He succeeded in his designs, having killed Candaules, her husband. The dead body this ring belonged to was that of an ancient Brahmin, who in his time was chief of all. The rings of the ancients often served for seals. Alexander the Great, after the defeat and death of Darius, used his ring for sealing the letters he sent into Asia, and his own

icipated the Matrimonial Ring, therefore

h not at this day what metal the ring be of. The form of it being found, and without end, doth import that their love should circulate and flow continually. The finger on whi

r with an account of an ancie

y were to live till that time next year. If they were pleased with each other at that time, then they continued together for life; if not, they separated, and were free to make another choice, as at first. The fruit of their connection, if there were any, was always attached to the disa

P.

ING THE CUSTOMS OF

Chinese-Ancient Funeral Ceremonies of the Dajakkese-Ancient Modes of

statues of earthenware. Herodotus informs us, that the nearest relations of the dead kept the body a year in their houses, and offered sacrifice and first-fruits during that time to their deceased friend; and at the end of the year, they fixed the corpse in a place set apart for the purpose near their town. The inhabitants of the country above Meroè had various methods of paying respect to their deceased friends. Some threw their bodies into the river, t

urniture in his possession. The manner of interment is as follows:-First, they sprinkle some lime in the bottom of the coffin; then they lay the body in it, taking care to place the head on a pillow, and to add a great deal of cotton, that it may remain steady. The body remains thus exposed seven days; but the time may be reduced to three, if any weighty reason makes it necessary; and, during this interval, all the relations and friends, who are purposely invited, come and pay their respects to the deceased, the nearest relations remaining in the house. The coffin is exposed in the hall of ceremony, which is then hung with white, but some pieces of black or violet-coloured silk are here and there interspersed, as well as some other ornaments of mourning. Before the coffin is placed a table, on which stands the ima

ions and friends, all clad in mourning, and followed by a great number of chairs, covered with white stuff, containing the wives and female slaves of the deceased. These make great show of sorrow, by doleful, yet methodical cries. When they arrive at the burying-place, the coffin is deposited in a tomb appropriated for it, not far from which there are tables arranged in different halls, on which the assistants are entertained with great splendour. The entertainment is sometimes followed by fresh marks of homage to the corpse; but these are often changed into thanks to the eldest son, who, however, answers only by signs. But if the deceased was a grandee of the empire, a certain number of his relations do not leave the tomb for a month or two; but reside in apartments provided for them, and every day renew their marks of grief, with the children of the deceased. The magnificence of these funeral c

e corpse is burnt, in order that he may become the slave of the deceased in the next world. The ashes of the deceased are then placed in an earthen urn, on which various figures are exhibited; and the head of the slave is dried, and prepared in a pec

nd their slaves along with him. The head-hunter then proceeds with his party in the most cautious manner to the vicinity of the villages of another tribe, and lies in ambush till they surprise some heedless unsuspecting wretch, who is instantly decapitated. Sometimes, too, they surprise a solitary fisherman in a river, or on the shore, who undergoes the same fate. When the hunter returns, the whole village is filled with joy, and old and young, me

serve with great care, and sometimes consult in divination. The religious opinions connected with this practice, are by no means correctly understood. Some assert, that they believe that every person whom a man kills in this world,

ad, in which case they are generally despised by the warriors and the women. To such a height is it carried, however, that a pe

lying upon the ground, fasting, or eating upon the ground. They kept themselves close shut up in their houses, covered their faces, and abstained from all work, even reading the law, and saying their usual prayers. They neither dressed themselves, nor made their beds, nor cut their nails, nor went int

external ornaments, put on a coarse black stuff by way of mourning, tore their hair, shaved their heads, rolled themselves in the dust and mire, sprinkled ashes on their heads, smote their breasts with their palms, tore their faces

was Numa's establishment, and took in his whole year. For a widow to marry during this time, was infamous. Mourning was not used for children who died under three years of age. From this age to ten, they mourned as many months as the child was years old. A remarkable victory, or other happy event, occasioned the shortening of the time of mourning. The birth of a child, or the attainment of any remarkable honour in the family, certain feasts in honour of the gods, or the consecration of a temple, had the same effect. After the defeat at Cann?, the commonwealth decreed that mourning should not be worn for more than thirty

ces. Herrera observes, that the last time it was used was in 1498, at the death of prince John. Each people assign their reasons for the particular colour of their mourning: white is supposed to denote purity; yellow, that death is the end of human hopes, in regard that leaves when they fall, and

makes but one family of all that it brings together. It levels the distinctions introduced by policy or prejudice, and disposes men to regard one another as brethren. Here people feel the equality established by nature; here they forget the evils o

ept a domestic, for the purpose of reading during their meals and feasts. Sometimes the chief of the family himself performed the office of reader; and history informs us, that

hat regarded either present events or future contingencies. The Scythians, while at meat, used to make the strings of their bows resound, lest their warlike virtues might be enfeebled or lost in the season of pleasure. People of rank among the Rhodians, by a fundamental law of the state, were obliged to dine daily with those who had the management of affairs, in order to deli

estibules. When luxury reigned in Rome, they had superb halls for their entertainments. Lucullus had many, each of which bore the name of some deity; and this name was a mark which indicated to the servants the expense of th

wers and perfumes on the guests. The Romans did not, as we do, use but one table at their feasts; they had generally two: the first was for the service of animal food, which was afterwards removed, and another introduced with fruits; at this last they sung, and poured out their libations. The Greeks and eastern nations had the same custom, and even the Jews in their solemn feasts, and at sacrifices. The Romans, in the time of Nero, h

mans, says Tacitus, wanted to reconcile enemies, to make alliances, to name chiefs, or to treat of war and peace, it was during the repast that they took counsel; a time in which the mind is most open to the impressions of simple truths, or most easily animated to great attempts. These artless people, during the conviviality of the feast, spoke without disguise. Next day they weighed the counsels of the former evening: they deliberated at a time when they were not disposed to feign, and took their

rs of state, and formed resolutions relating to peace and war; imagining that men spoke their real sentiments with the greatest freedom, and were apt to form the boldest designs, when their spirits were exhilarated with the pleasures of the table. The conversation at these entertainments very frequently turned on the great expl

r posterity, long after they had become acquainted with other liquors, (See Mead.) After the introduction of agriculture, ale or beer became the most general drink of all the British nations who practised that art, as it had long been of all the Celtic people on the continent, (See Ale.) If the Ph?nicians or Greeks imported any wine into Britain, it was only in very small

m. A low table or stool was set before each person, with the portion of meat allotted to him upon it. In this distribution, they never neglected to set the largest and best pieces before those who were most distinguished for their rank, their exploits, or their riches. Every guest took the meat set before him in his hands, and, tearing it with his teeth, fed up

love." Some of the poems of that illustrious British bard appear to have been composed in order to be sung by the hundred bards of Fingal, at the feasts of Selma, (see vol. i. p. 87, 209.) Many of the songs of the bards, which were sung and played at the feasts of the ancient Britons, were of a grave and solemn strain, celebrating the brave actions of the guests, or of the heroes of other times; but the

ainment which lasted from three P. M. to midnight, at which delicacies were served up, which had been brought from Constantinople, Babylon, Alexandria, Palestine, Tripoli, Syria, and Ph?nicia. These delicacies were doubtless very expensive. Thomas Becket (says his historian Fitz-Stephen) gave ￡5, equivalent to ￡75 at present, for one dish of eels. The sumptuous entertainments which the kings of England gave to their nobles a

at dinner. The monks of Canterbury were still more luxurious: for they had at least 17 dishes every day, besides a dessert; and these dishes were dressed with spiceri

eftains were quite astonished at the profusion and variety of provisions which they beheld, and were with difficulty prevailed upon by Henry to eat the flesh of cranes, a kind of food to which t

ting of 3000 dishes, which cost ￡287. 5s. equal in value to ￡4300 in our times. "It would require a long treatise (says Matthew Paris) to describe the astonishing splendour, magnificence, and festivity, with which the nuptials

d divert the company, those of my readers who were not present, would imagine that I was imposing upon their credulity. The following particular will enable them to form a judgment of the whole. The archbishop of York made the King of England a present of 60 fat oxen; which made only one article of provision for the marriage feast, and were all consumed at that entertainment. The marriage feast of Henry IV. and his queen, Jane of Navarre, co

n cold tarts, baked, 4000; in cold custards, baked, 3000; in hot pasties of venison, 1500; in hot custards, 2000; in pikes and breams, 308; in porpoises and seals, 12: spices, sugared delicates, and wafers, plenty. No turkeys are mentioned in this enormous bill of fare, because they were not then known in England. Cranes, heronshaws, porpoises, and seals, are seldom seen at modern entertainments. One of the most expensive singularities attending the royal feasts in those days, consisted in what they called Intermeats. These were representations of battles, sieges, &c. introduced between the courses, for the amusement of the guests. The French excelled in exhibitions of this kind. At a dinner given by Charles V. of France to the emperor Charles IV. A. D. 1378, the following intermeat was exhibited: a ship, with masts, sails, and rigging, was seen first; she had for colours the arms of the city of Jerusalem: Godfrey of Bouillon appeared upon deck, accompanied by several kni

randees retrench somewhat every day out of the regular expenses of their table, dress, equipage, &c. to appear the more magnificent in their lanterns. They are adorned with gilding, sculpture, painting, japanning, &c. and their size is extravagant; some being from twenty-five to thirty feet diameter, representing halls and chambers. Two or three such machines together would make handsome houses; so that in

P.

ING THE CUSTOMS OF

of the Claim and Allowance of the 'Benefit of Clergy' in Criminal Convictions-Curious Tenures-T

ustom of antiquity, such as nobody knows when it begun, or why it

eserved rents or grants of lands or tenements, especially small ones, were usually paid in some

cords in the Exchequer, with the t

femis equorum, pro habenda quadam placea in Parochia St. Cleme

equorum cum clavibus, pro quadam fabrica quam de Rege tene

x horse-shoes, to have a certain place in the parish of St. Cleme

for (or as a reserved rent) a certain forge, opposite to the stone cross, which he holds of th

therefore that must be the first payment. The nineteenth year of Henry the Third falls in with 1234, now five hundred and eighty-eight years ago. In process of time, this pi

d had afterwards a Maypole erected on it

tituted on occasion of the victory obtained by Edward over the French, at the battle of Cressy. That prince, says some historians, ordered his garter to be displayed as a signal of battle; in commemoration whereof, he made a garter the principal ornament of the order erected in memory of this signal victory, and the symbol of this indissoluble union of the knights. And they account for the motto, that king Edward having laid claim to the kingdom of France, denounced shame and defiance upon him that should dare to think amiss of the just enterprise he had undertaken for recovering his lawful rights to that crown

and Allowance of the 'Benefit of

is extracted from 'Chitty's Pract

mportant. That, by a mere form, without the shadow of existing reason to support it, the severity of the common law should be tempered, may seem strange to those who have been accustomed to regard our criminal law as a regular fabric, not only attaining great practical benefit, but built upon solid and consistent principles. The Benefit o

, derived from the text of scripture, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." It need exceed no surprise that they were anxious to take advantage of their dominion over the conscience, to exempt themselves from the usual consequences of crime. To the priests, impunity was a privilege of no inconsiderable value. And so successful was the pious zeal to shield those who were dedicated to religion from the consequences of any breach of temporal enactments, that in several countries they obtained complete exemption from all civil liabilities, and declared themselves responsible only to the pope and his ecclesiastical ministers. They erected themselves into an independent community, and even laid the temporal authorities under subjection. Nobles were intimida

those days of ignorance was able to read, though not even initiated in holy orders, began to demand them, such reading being deemed evidence of his clerical profession. The privileges of the clergy were recognized and confirmed by statute in the reign of Edward the Third. It was then enacted, that all manner of clerks, secular as well as religious, should enjoy the privileges of hol

cceeding reign, probably in consequence of the separation of England from the sway of the Roman pontiff; for all persons, though actually in orders, were rendered liable to be branded, in the same way as the learned class of laymen. But, in the time of Edward the Sixth, the clergy were restored to all the rights of which they were deprived by his predecessor, except as to certain atrocious crimes, which it became n

ad deprived him. To effect this, the party himself was required to make oath of his innocence, though before he might have confessed himself guilty. Then twelve compurgators were called to testify their belief in the falsehood of the charges. Afterwards he brought forward witnesses completely to establish that innocence, of which he had induced so weighty a presumption. Finally, it was the office of the jury to acquit him; and they seldom failed in their duty. If, however, from any singular circumstance, they agreed in the justice of the conviction, the culprit was degraded, and compelled to do penance. As this seldom occurred, and the most daring perjuries were thus perpetually committed, the courts of common law were soon aroused to abridge the power of these clerical tribuna

h, without any exemption, in all cases of simple felony; because, being never eligible to the clerical office, they were not included in any of the extensions of the Benefit of Clergy. No other proof need be adduced to shew the absurdity of the very foundations of the system. At length it was enacted that women convicted of simple larcenies under the value 10s. should be punished with burning in the hand and whipping, exposure in the

herefore, by fifth Ann, c. vi. the idle ceremony of reading was abolished, and all those who were before entitled to clergy on reading, were now to be admitted without any such form to its benefits. At the same time it was sensibly felt that the branding, which had dwindled into a mere form, and the year's im

not excluded from the statutable indulgence, may, instead of judgment of burning in case of men, and whipping in that of females, direct the offender to be transported for seven years to America, which has been since altered to any part of his majesty's colo

t become conducive to its noblest and most legitimate use-the reformation and benefit of the offender. But this regulation, though applauded by Blackstone and other humane writers, after having been continued by several subsequent acts, was recently suffered to expire. It appears from these several modern regulations, that, as observed by Mr. Justice Foster, we now consider Benefit of Clergy, or rather the benefit of the statutes, as a relaxation of the rigour of the law, a condescension to the infirmities of the human frame,

h of Peniston, and county of York, pays yearly to Godfrey Bosvil

ce of finding, for our lord the king, two arrows, and one loaf

ition 'that as often as our lord the king would cross the sea, the said Solomon and h

given him by Edward III. for the service

ice that when the king should abide at Clarendon, he should go into the butlery of the king's palace there, and draw, out of whatever vessel be chose, as much wine as should be needful for making a pitcher of claret, which he

ndred herrings, which are to be baked in twenty-four pies or patties, and deliv

in and ewer to the king by virtue of one moiety, and the towel by virtue of the other moiety of t

of linen and woollen cloth, besides some old clothes from the royal wardrobe. The king's riding-coat was three times a year given to the master of the mews; h

were the most remarkable:-'As much of every cask of plain ale, and as much of every cask of ale with spiceries, as he could reach wit

Christianity, to erect May-poles, adorned with flowers, in honour of the goddess Flora; and the dancing of milkmaids on the first of

he wittenagemotte. It was consecrated to Hertha, the goddess of peace and fertility; and no quarrels might be maintained, no blood shed, during this truce of the goddess. Each village, in the absence of the baron at the assembly of the nations, enjoyed a kind of saturnalia. The vassals met upon the common green around the May-pole

lord of the manor and castle, unless he agrees to redeem it with money; in which case a shoe is made according to his direction, ornamented in proportion to the sum given by way of fine, and

can produce to t

al name, one fore

ccasions. When any part of the family marries, the bride and bridegroom enter the house by this door; and when either of the parties die, the corpse is carried out by the same door. Immediat

. LX

ING THE CUSTOMS OF

Origin of Christmas Boxes-Chiltern Hundreds-Origin of the Term "John Bull"-Origin of the Ol

t, are derived from the Saxon, and signify confession. In the earlier constitution of the church, it is ordered, "That on the week next b

he priest at this season, was

"cocks of the game" to their masters, and entertain themselves with cock-fighting. T

nstitution: it is gradually growing out of use; to which amendment o

led Fastern's E'en, because the foll

rth, collops and eggs being on that day a constant di

ch. The Russians begin their Lent always eight weeks before Easter; the first week they ea

aturday preceding this day is

y parish was rung at ten o'clock, or perhaps sooner, that it might be heard by all, and that they might attend according to the custom then in use. And though we are now Protestants, yet the custom of ringing the great bell in an ancient

pt of old customs seems gaining ground in this country, and those

said that one Simon Eyre, a shoemaker, being chosen lord-mayor of London, made a pancake f

day; which being ever since yearly observed, is called the pancake bell: he made them a large feast of puddings, pies, and

d from the Romans, who went about Rome with torches, and candles brenning (burning) in worship of Februa, the mother of Mars. This was afterwards, by Pope Fergius, converted into the worship of our Lady, and her Son, the Lord

; and these patrons, or benefactors, were called Valentines. After his death he was canonized for a saint, and his feast-day kept on the fourteenth day of February, which was thought to be his birth-day. M

a thousand years standing. The birds too are supposed to choose their mates, and pair, on this day; which, no doubt, is an additional reason to our youth of both

inated on Twelfth-day, and the ploughing season for the new year commenced the first Monday after; on which day, the sock-men (as this sort of ploughmen were then called) were obliged to appear with their ploughs, &c. at a place appointed there, to have them examined, whether they were in a proper condition to perform their lord's work; for ploughs were then scarce, and it was a mark of some c

festival in honour of Janus, and paid their respects at the same time to Juno; but they did not pass it in idleness, lest they should become indolent during the rest of the year. They sent presents to one another of figs, dates, honey, &c. to shew their friends that they wished them a happy and agreeable life. Clients, or those who were under the protection of the great, carried presents of this kind to their patrons, adding to them a small piece of silver. Under August

superstition, had an incredible number of clergy to support, and, among other devices, this was invented as one, and took its name of Mass from the Latin word mitto, to send. This word mitto

indisputable, and every man who has attended to the minuti? of sacred history, must know the fact to be as here re

tection it's safety was committed, and in that ship there was a box, and into that box every poor person put something, in order to induce the priests to pray

f members of parliament accepting the Chilter

nties, parcelled out by the wise Alfred, and now annexe

nacts that a member of parliament who receives a place under the Crown, may not sit, unless re-elected,-accepting the st

tance very soon convinced the master, that he was inferior to the scholar. The musician shewed John a song, which he had composed in forty parts! telling him at the same time, that he defied all the world to produce a person capable of adding another part to his composition. Bull desired to be lef

ins on Saint Swithin's Day, it wil

but the monks, on his being canonized, taking it into their heads that it was disagreeable for the saint to lie in the open church-yard, resolved to move his body into the choir, which was to have been done in solemn procession on the 15th of July. It rained, howev

."-This became a proverb from the repeated blunders of one Obadiah

ily went to bed, the hole was shut by a cover of wood or earth. This practice still prevails among the cottagers in some parts of Scotland, and perhaps in other parts of the kingdom. In the dark ages, when all ranks of people were turbulent, a law was almost every where established, that the fire should be extinguished at a certain time in the evening; that the cover should

tain apprehended misfortunes which rendered his life uncomfortable, gave orders, that every person, on hearing the ignitegium, should repeat the Ave Maria three times. When the appeara

P.

ING THE CUSTOMS OF

of Bells-Curious Baptism-Kalmuck Prayi

ous Cu

xhaustible treasury. The keys of this were committed to St. Peter, and to his successors the popes, who may open it at pleasure, and by transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any particular person, for a sum of money, may convey to him either the pardon of his own sins, or a release for any one in whom he is interested, from the pains of purgatory. Indulgences were first in

follows: "May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy Pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred, then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even for such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see, and as far as the keys of the ho

ed and expiated by them, and the person be freed both from punishment and guilt: That this was the unspeakable gift of God, in order to reconcile men to himself: That the cross erected by the preachers of indulgences was equally efficacious with the cross of Christ. "Lo! (say they) the heavens are open; if you enter not now, when will you enter? For twelve-pence you may redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory; and are you so ungrateful, that you will not rescue your parent from torment? If you had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself instantly, and sell it, in order to purchase such benefits, &c."-This monstrous abuse of i

sion is led on by the Dominican friars, who enjoy this privilege, because St. Dominic, their founder, instituted the Inquisition. Before them is carried the standard of the holy office, in which the image of the founder is wrought in rich embroidery, holding a sword in one hand, and an olive branch in the other, with the inscription, "Justice and Mercy." These friars are followed by the penitents, who have narrowly escaped burning, and who over their black coats have flames painted, with their points turned downwards. Next come the negative and relapsed who are intended to be burnt, and who have flames on their habits pointing upwards. After these follow such as profess doctrines contrary to the faith of Rome, and who, besides flames pointing upwards, have their pictures painted on their breasts, and surrounded by dogs, serpents, and devils, all open-mouthed. Each prisoner is attended by a familiar of the

y of dry furze. The stakes of the professed, or of such as persist in their heresy, are about four yards in height, and towards the top have a small board, on which the prisoner is seated. The negative and relapsed being first strangled and burnt, the professed mount their stakes by a ladder; and the Jesuits, after repeatedly exhorting them to be reconciled to the church, part with them, and say that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at their elbow to receive their souls, and to carry them with him to the flames of hell. On hearing this, a great shout is raised by the people, who cry, 'Let the dogs' beards be made!' This i

surpass all other nations in the magnificence of their ceremonies, and that they commonly season them with a double portion of superstition, I resolved with myself to see it baptized, and with that design I staid all the next day at Veletre. I went to the church in the morning, to take a view of the preparatives that had taken up a whole week's time, which I found to be great and sumptuous indeed. The bell was placed at the lower end of the body of the church, hanging upon two gudgeons, covered with rich hangings of velvet of a violet colour, and the bell itself was accoutred with a kind of robe of the same stuff. There were two theatres built on each side of it for the

izing of a bell: for the prophet David very probably had not the least notion of the baptism of bells. After the psalms were ended, the bishop began the blessing of holy water, to sanctify it in the first place, to the end that afterwards it might sanctify the bell also. This benediction is very long, and no less ridiculous; which being finished, the bishop and priests dipped spunges in it, with which they rubbed over the bell, from the top to the bottom, within and without, being in this r

?' Who having answered that they did, he then asked them, 'Whether the metal of the bell, and the workmanship of it, had been paid for to the artificers?' To which they answered, 'Yea.'-They make this demand, because it had sometimes happened, that for want of proper payment, the workmen have seized and fetched away their bells the same day, or the day after they had been baptized, and have melted them down to be employed to profane uses. The third question he asked of them was, 'Whether they believed all that the Catholic apostolic churches believes concerning the holiness and virtue of bells?' The answer to which was affirmative also. In the last place, he demanded of them, 'What name they desired should be put upon the bell?' To which the lady replied, 'Mary.' Then the bishop took

e read the gospel of 'Mary and Martha.' I supposed at that time that the reason of their reading this gospel was, because the bell was called Mary; but I have since seen, in the Roman ritual, that the same gospel is read at the consecration of all bells, what

ly, where he occasionally visited, being about to baptize their infant, solicited the stranger to stand godfather, which was immediately consented to; and on the appointed day, he appeared splendidly arrayed in his turban and robes, at the sacred font,

outside with allegorical representations, or Indian prayers, and varnished. This cylinder is fastened upright in a frame by the axis; so that the latter, by means of a wheel attached to it below, may be set a-going with a string, and with a slight pull kept in a constant rotatory motion. When this cylinder is large, another, twice as small, and filled with writing, is fixed for ornament at the top of it. The inscription on such prayer-wheels commonly consists of masses for souls, psalms, and the six great general litanies, in which the most moving petitions are preferred for the welfare of all creatures. The text they sometimes repeat a hundred,

ith the help of the stick, in constant motion. Such like prayer-wheels, neatly wrought, are fastened upon short sticks to a small wooden pedestal, and stand upon the altars, fo

and the frame is adapted to be hung up by a cord, in the chimneys of the habitations or huts of the Monguls. When there is a good f

nder is in like manner kept in a constant circular motion. These water kürd? are commonly constructed on a large scale, and maintained at the joint expense of the inhabitants of a whole district. They have a reference to all aquat

under it, the brahmin pinches up a large piece of skin under both the shoulder blades, sometimes in the breasts, and thrusts a strong iron hook through each. These hooks have lines of Indian grass hanging to them, which the priest makes fast to the rope at the end of the cross bamboo, and at the same time puts a sash round the body of the devotee, laying it loosely in the hollow of the hooks, lest, by the skin giving way, he should fall to the ground. The people then haul down the other end of the bamboo: by which the devotee is immediately lifted up thirty feet or more from the ground, and they run round as fast as their legs can carry them. Thus the devotee is thro

rkness, absurdities, and horrors of superstition, b

P.

VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR

A wand'

tuous vapour,

d the cold en

ugh agitatio

say, some evil

blazing with d

az'd night-wand

bogs a

lt

Ignis

seen about burying-places and dunghills. Some countries are also remarkable for it, as about Bologna in Italy, and some parts of Spain and Ethiopia. Its forms are so uncertain and variable, that they can scarcely be described, especially as philosophical observers seldom meet with it. Dr. Derham, however, one night perceived one of them, and got so near that he had a very advantageous view of it. This is very difficult to be obtained; for, among other singularities of the ignis fatuus, it avoids the approach of any person, and flies from place to p

monly they would hover about six feet from the ground; they would also frequently disappear on a sudden, and appear again in some other place. They differed also in size and figure, sometimes spreading pretty wide, and then contracting themselves; sometimes breaking into two, and then joining again. Sometimes they would appear like waves, at others they would seem to drop sparks of fire: they were but little affected by the wind; and in wet or rainy weather, were frequently observed to cast a stronger light than in dry weather: they were also observed more frequently when sn

lainly see by it part of a neighbouring hedge and the water of the river; only in the east corner of it the light was rather faint, and the square figure less perfect, as if it were cut off or darkened by the segment of a circle. On examining it a little nearer, he was surprised to find that it changed gradually from a bright red to a yellowish, and then to a pale colour, in proportion as he drew nearer; and when he came to the place itself it quite vanished. Upon this, he stepped back, and not onl

ould appear again; sometimes, running swiftly along, it would expand itself at certain intervals over more than two or three acres of the adjacent mountains. The atmosphere from the beginning of the evening had been remarkably thick and hazy; and the dew, as they felt it on the bridles of their horses, was very clammy and unctuous. Lights resembling the ignis fatuus are sometimes observed at sea, skipping about the masts and rigging o

death of some person about the house. In general these lights are harmless, though not always; for some of them have encompassed stacks of hay and corn, and set them on fire; so that they became

there is the same difference between a vapour of the ignis fatuus and flame, that there is between the shining of rotten wood and burning coals. But though this seems generally to be the case, there are exceptions, as has been instanced in the vapours which set f

ch putrefaction alone affords. This would account for the ignis fatuus, were it only a steady luminous vapour arising from places where putrid matters are contained; but its extreme mobility, and flying from one place to another on the approach of any person, cannot be accounted for on this principle. If one quantity of the putrid vapour becomes luminous by means of heat, all the rest ought to do so likewise; so that though we may allow heat and putrefaction to be concerned, yet of necessity we must have recourse to some other agent, which can be no other than electricity. Without this, it is impossible to conceive how any body of moveable vapour should not be carried away by the wind; but so far is

tracted towards that place where the electricity was either different in quality or in quantity; but in the natural way, where all bodies may be supposed equally electrified for a great way round, a repulsion will as naturally take place. Still, however, this does not seem to be always the case. In those instances where travellers have been attended by an ignis fatuus, we cannot suppose it to have been influenced by any other power than what we call attraction, and which electricity is very capable of producing. Its keeping at some distance, is likewise easily accounted for; as we know that bodies possessed of different quantities of electricity may be made to attract one another for a certain space, and then repel without having ever come into contact. On this principle we may account for the light which surrounded the woman at Milan, but fled from the hand of any other person. On the same principle may we account for those mischievous vapours which set fire to the ha

6, before daylight. Many of these lights were playing in an adjacent field, in different directions; from some of which suddenly sprang up bright branches of light, somewhat resembling the explosion of a rocket that contained many brilliant stars, if the discharge was upwards, instead o

latter has near one-twelfth of its weight at the surface. From the account given by Mr. Warltire, we should be apt to conclude, that there is a strong affinity betwixt the ignes fatui and fireballs, insomuch that the one might be very easily converted into the other. Electricity can assume both these appearances, as is evident in the case of points; or even when the atmosphere is violently electrified, as around the string of an electrified kite, which always will appear to be surrounded with

fe, and which, when dying, they can reflect upon without uneasiness. "The natural offspring of prevailing superstition is infidelity. Of the truth of this, the present times afford us a lamentable example. Where ignorance and fear once ruled supreme, there has rash philosophy but too successfully planted presumption and atheism. 'Tis the diffusion of pure and solid knowledge, which alone can prese

om of intellectual darkness, which long overwhelmed the millions of mankind: how supremely pleasing, to view them wider and wider sp

Power s

g King! to t

e lift ou

ly; let pure celestial wisdom overspread the earth as the waters cover the sea!-Then shall millions kneel before thee with grateful and enraptured hearts; then shall they rejoice to sing the praises of thee, their Benefactor, their Father, and thei

on Vulgar S

P.

IOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARAN

ire Balls-Terrible Effects of Electrified Clouds-Surprising Ef

ing winds tog

ds his black tr

oud the rending

e furious e

he whole pre

ds and solid

om

ded. If a person happened at that time to be looking on a book, or other object which he held in his hand, he would distinctly see the form of the lightning between him and the object at which he looked. This property seems peculiar to lightning, and to belong to no other kind of fire whatever. In August 1763, a most violent storm of thunder, rain, and hail, happened at London, which did damage in the adjacent country to the amount of ￡50,000. Hailstones fell of an immense size, from two to ten inches in circumference, but the most surprising circumstance attending the hurricane was, the sudden flux and reflux of

directions along both sides; the belly was all white, and the whole head and horns white likewise. The lightning, with which he must have been undoubtedly struck, fell upon the rump bone, which was white, and distributed itself along the sides in such a manner as to take off all the hair from the white marks as low as the bottom of the ribs, but so as to leave a list of white hair, about half an inch broad, all round where it joined to the red, and not a single hair of the red appears to have been touched. The whole belly was unhurt, but the end of the sheath of the penis had the hair taken off; it was also taken off from the dewlap: the horns and the curled hair on the forehead were uninjured; but the hair was taken off from the sides of the

all upon a pied bullock, so as to destroy the white hair, and shew evident marks of burning, leaving the red hair uninjured? He said he never did; nor did he recollect any one that had. He gave an account, however, of a pied horse, belonging to himself, which had been struck dead by lightning in the night time." The explosion was so violent, that Mr. Tooth imagined his house had been struck, and therefore immediately got up. On going into the stable, he found the horse almost dead, though it kept on its legs near half an hour before it expired. The horse was pied white on the shoulder, and greatest part of the head, viz. the forehead and nose, where the greatest force of the stroke came. "The hair was not burnt nor discoloured, only so loosened at th

by the most violent kind of lightning; namely, that which appears in the form of balls, which frequently divide themselves into several parts before they strike. If one of these parts of a fire-ball strike a man, another will not strike the person who stands immediately close to him; because there is always a repuls

encouraged by the presence of their monarch, and the great satisfaction which he expressed at the repetition of Dr. Franklin's most instructive experiments, which discovered and made known the theory of positive and negative electricity, as it is now received, were eager to execute his orders, and make his grand experiment, which promised so fairly to bring this tremendous operation of nature, not only within the pole of science, but in the management of human power. But in the mean time, Dr. Franklin, impatient of delay, and perhaps incited by the honourable desire of well-deserved fame, put his own scheme in practice. His inventive mind suggested to him a method of presenting a point to a thunder cloud at a considerable distance. This was, by fixing his point on the head of a paper kite, which the wind should raise to the clouds, while the wet string that held it should serve for a conductor of the electricity. With a palpitating heart, Dr. Franklin, unknown to his neighbours, and accompanied only by his son, went into the f

snaps as agitate the whole human frame, what may we not expect from a surface of ten thou

ery, Dr. Darwin alludes

sphor light, w

klin sought t

night, incumben

hunder in circ

iron points

monster slumb'ri

able of these on record appeared on the 18th of August, 1783, about nine o'clock in the evening. It was seen to the northward of Shetland, and took a southerly direction for an immense space, being observed as far as the southern provinces of France and Rome. During its course, it appears frequently to have changed its shape; sometimes appearing in the form of one ball, sometimes two or more; sometimes with a train, sometimes without one. It passed over Edinburgh nearly in the zenith, and had then the appearance of a well-defined round body, extremely luminous, and of a greenish colour; the light which it diffused on the ground giving likewise a greenish cast to objects. After passing the zenith, it was attended by a train of considerable length, which, continually augmenting, at last obliterated the head entirely; so that it looked like a wedge, flying with the obtuse end foremost. The motion was not apparently swift, by reason of its great height; though in reality it must have moved with great rapidity, on account of the vast space it travelled over in a short time. In other places

re heard like those of a gun. The people who dwelt on the upper parts of the mountain, not being able to fly fast enough, a great part of the cloud, almost three leagues in circumference, detached itself under them, and was seen at a distance, rising and falling like the waves of the sea, and emitting globes of fire so luminous, th

ch, ran into his box; but both he and it were lifted up and carried into the sea, where he perished. It then traversed a considerable part of the city, and laid in ruins almost every thing that stood in its way. Several houses were laid level with the ground, and it did not leave one steeple in its passage. The bells of some of them, together with the spires, were carried to a considerable distance; the roofs of the churches demolished and beat down, &c. It went off at the north-east point of the city, and, demolishing the lighthouse, is said to have mounted up into the air with a frightful noise, and passed over the sea to Sicily, where it tore up some trees, and did other inconsiderable damage; but nothing material, as its fury had been spent at Malta. The number of killed and wounded amounted to near two hundred; and the loss of shipping, &c. was very considerable."-The effects of thunder storms, and the va

e greatest security against the terrors of a thunder-storm, although no certain one against its effects, is that life of piety and virtue, which is the best guardian of every earthly blessing. The good man, who knows that every event is under the direction of an overruling Providence, and that this life is only a part of his existence, introductory to the bli

lowing lines, written in a midnight thunder-storm, by

guilt with

'ring ca

dread the v

ders thro

y that hand

t'ning st

irtue smil

he blaz

cloud's tre

ning's lu

same All-gr

thes the

e's ever-va

rent way

ternal en

versal

nchanging

ming eth

unes the lin

hes in

ught to scor

gar mind

tastic ter

Narcissa

y all the t

idence

gated an

rdian win

creation's

dread thu

concord of

e the ri

'st thou th

ng world

s in the g

rlasti

the same subject were w

whilst awful m

rth her mournful

ed thunders thre

rents drown the

d lightnings, to

uble horrors

lness creeps

owers in deep

ets to beat;

ying gleam; th

adual, swell

ls, more dreadf

, from thy for

s loud, and me

nd pale supers

train of franti

kness, hence! f

th guilt and

look compos'd

ation, come!

on earth disd

me illumes her

, and spreadin

eaven, to find h

ur'd through the

ty beam, and '

s, sweet music

rifted oaks in

that o'er the

e,-and loves whe

s of fire in a great measure seem to cease; and metals, though kept for a considerable time before a strong fire, will still freeze water when thrown upon them. When the French mathematicians wintered at Tornea, in Lapland, the external air, when suddenly admitted into their rooms, conve

as has been just mentioned. There is only requisite a degree somewhat below 32° of Fahrenheit, accompanied with snow or hail, from which shelter cannot be obtained. The snow which falls upon the clothes, or the uncovered parts of the body, then melts, and, by a continual evaporation, carries off the animal heat to su

ir number died. The Doctor himself, though he had warned his companions of the danger of sleeping in that situation, yet could not be prevented from making that dangerous experiment himsel

ntries, as is particularly the case with the island of Iceland; where the vast collections of ice floating out from the Northern Ocean, and stopped on that coast, are sometimes severa

pand in cooling again. Thus also, though water expands gradually as it is heated, and contracts as it cools, yet in the act of freezing it suddenly expands again, and that with an enormous force, capable of rending rocks, or bursting the very thick shells of metal, &c. A computation of the force of freezing water, has been made by the Florentine a

ances of the fluid, they augmented its bulk, at the same time that, by impeding the motion of its particles upon each other, they changed it from a fluid to a solid. But Dr. Black shews, that these are only air extricated during the congelation; and to the extrication of this air he ascribes the prodigious expansive force exerted by freezing water. The only question, therefore, is, by what means this air comes to be extricated, and to take up more room than it naturally does in the fluid? To this it may be answered, that perhaps part of the heat, which is discharged from the freezing water, combines with air in its unelastic state, and, by restoring its elasticity, gives it that extraordinary force; as is seen in the case of air suddenly extricated in the explosion of gunpowder. The degree of expansion of water, in the state of ice, is by some authors computed at one tenth of it

expansion of the water in the act of freezing, like a ball shot by gunpowder, sometimes to the distance of between four and five hundred feet, though they weighed near three pounds; and when the plugs were screwed in, or furnished with hooks or barbs to lay hold of the inside of the shell by, so that they could not possibly be forced out, in this case the shell was always split in two, though the thicknes

. LX

IOUS PHENOMENA, OR APPEARA

-Fairy Rings-Sheet of Ph

object o

hints to c

a

pex, and produces a noise like the roaring of an agitated sea, sometimes accompanied with thunder and lightning, and also large quantities of rain or hail, sufficient to inundate large vessels; and to carry away in their course, (when they occur by land,) trees, houses, and every

POUTS.-

the great terror of

em by firing ca

g about with great rapidity. It appeared to be as thick as one's finger; and the former sound still continued. When this disappeared, after lasting for about eight minutes, upon turning to the opposite quarter of the sky, we perceived another, which began in the manner of the former; presently after, a third appeared in the west; and instantly beside it, still another arose. The most distant of these three could not be above a musket-shot from the ship. They all appeared like so many heaps of wet straw set on fire, and continued to smoke, and to make the same noise as before. We soon afte

n; and it sometimes diminished a little of its thickness, and again resumed the same, sometimes widening at top, and sometimes at the bottom, exactly resembling a gut filled with water, pressed with the fingers to make the fluid rise or fall; and I am well convinced that this alteration in the spout was caused by the wind, which pressed the cloud, and compelled it to give up its contents. After some time its bulk was so diminished as to be no thicker than a man's arm again, and thus swelling and diminishing, it at last became very sma

turning like a screw, the clouds dropping into it: it threw trees and branches about with a gyratory motion.-One in Deeping Fen, Lincolnshire, was first seen moving across the land and water of the fen: it raised the dust, broke some gates, and destroyed a field of turnips: it vanished with an appearance of fire.-Dr. Franklin su

bserved in the harbour

, As observed at

a. It moved at the rate of about two miles an hour, with a loud sound of rain. It passed the stern of the ship, and wetted the afterpart of the main-sail: hence it was inferred, that water-spouts are not continuous columns of water; and subsequent observations confirmed the opinion. In November, 1801, about twenty miles from Trieste, a water-spout was seen eight miles to the south; round its lower extremity was a mist, about twelve feet high, somewhat in the form of an Ionian capital, with very large volutes, the spout resting obliquely on its crown. At some distance from this spout the sea began to be agitated, and a mist rose to the height of about four feet; then a projection descended from the black cloud that was impending, and met the ascending mist about tw

n an instant appeared as one clear polished mirror, reclining against the aforesaid ridge. On this glass was depicted, in chairo scuro, a string of several thousands of pilasters, all equal in altitude, distance, and degree of light and shade. In a moment they lost half their height, and bent into arcades, like Roman aqueducts. A long cornice was next formed on the top, and above it arose castles innumerable, all perfectly alike. These soon split into towers, which were shortly after lost in colonnades, then windows, and at last ended in pines, cypresses, and other trees, even and similar. This is the Fata Morgana, which for twenty-six years I had thought a mere fable." To produce this pleasing deception, many circumstances must concur, which are not known to exist in any other situation. The spectator must stand with his back to the east, in some elevated place behind the city, that he may command a view of the whole bay; beyond which the mountains of Messina rise like a wall, and darken the back ground of the pictur

ng, given by M. Houel, whose judgment and ver

es. There are sometimes two or three prisms, equally perfect; and they continue in this state eight or ten minutes. After this, some shining inequalities are observed upon the surface of the prism, which render confused to the eye, the objects which had been before so accurately delineated, and the picture vanishes. The vapour forms other combinations, and is dispersed in the air. Different accounts have been given of this singular appearance; which for my part I attribute to a bitumen that issues from certain rocks at the bottom of the sea, and which

examined in a proper season. The position of these fungi led him to imagine that the progressive increase from a central point was the probable mode of formation of the ring: hence he conjectured that the soil, which had once contributed to the support of the fungi, might be so exhausted of some peculiar pabulum necessary for their production, as to be rendered incapable of producing a second crop. The second year's crop would, if this theory be just, appear in a small ring surrounding the original centre of vegetation; and at every succeeding year the defect of nutriment on one side, would necessarily cause the new roots to extend themselves solely in the opposite direction, and would occasion th

that the spark proceeding from a positive conductor, breaks or radiates at about one-third of its course, and strikes the receiving conductor by a central spark surrounded by other smaller ones. The concentric rings produced upon polished metallic surfaces by the strong explosion of a battery, as first observed by Dr. Priestley, appears to be a fact of the same kind; and the forked radiations of lightning are well known. There is related, in the

ard, had holes torn in the ground, close to the trunk; and round one of these trees was a space of six feet in diameter, in which the grass was very much scorched. Another tree on the west was surrounded by a faint ring of burnt or faded grass, which seemed to be occasioned by some earlier stroke, as the vegetation had begun to shoot up again. Another tree, standing on the out side to the south, was surrounded by a ring of twelve feet diameter, and eighteen inches broad. Within the ring the grass was fresh; but on the surface of the ring, the grass and the grou

ace. The vessel presently made its way through this inflamed part of the sea, which enabled the observant navigator to discover that this prodigious light was occasioned entirely by an immense number of small animalcules, which swam at different depths, and appeared to assume various forms. Those which were most immersed in the water, looked like great red-hot cannon balls: whilst those on the surface resembled cylinders of

tion, the animal seems to inflame, and it becomes instantly like a piece of red-hot iron of the most vivid brilliancy. When its phosphorescency declines, it assumes a succession of light elegant tints, that are very pleasing to the eye, such as red, aurora, orange, green, and a

rther of its preparation, than that it was obtained by certain processes from urine, undertook the task, and succeeded. It is on this account that the substance long went under the name of Kunkel's phosphorus. Mr. Boyle is also considered as one of the discoverers of phosphorus. He communicated the secret of the process for preparing it, to the Royal Society of London, in 1680. It is asserted, indeed, by Krafft, that he discovered the secret to Mr. Boyle, having, in the year 1678, carried a small piece of it to London, to shew it to the royal family; but there i

without injury. It dissolves too in ether; and a very beautiful experiment consists in pouring this phosphoric ether in small portions, and in a dark place, on the surface of hot water. The phosphoric matches consist of phosphorus extremely dry, minutely divided, and perhaps a little oxygenized. The simplest mode of making them, is to put a little phosphorus, d

. LX

IOUS PHENOMENA, OR APPEARA

ock Suns-Eclipses-Halo, or Corona; and similar Appear

source of ine

nstance of c

man's imagi

arce avail to c

body how imm

burnings! how i

ght, he darts hi

ds, his system'

lanets the d

s and invigor

ow

account of the spots in the su

eat brilliancy of that luminary is mitigated, and not effaced, by the coloured glass placed between the telescope and the eye. There are in the interior of the telescope, at the focus of the object, some very fine threads stretched crosswise, and moveable parallel to each other, by means of which the distance of the spot from the nearest border of the sun's disk may be ascertained, which determines its position on the disk at the moment o

t more obliquely, and are only seen sidewise; but when in the middle of the disk, they are seen in their full extent. In fine, upon comparing the direction and rapidity of their course, it soon becomes evident, that the supposition of their adhering to the body of the sun is the only admissible one. On thus tracing the route of all those which appear, it is ascertained that they move in courses exactly parallel, describing circles which all have their centre on a common axis, passing through the centre of the sun. The size of these circles varies on different points of the disk, according to the same laws as on a sphere; and the rate of movem

OR MOCK SU

with-a-Wisp, or Jack-wi

the solar clouds permit us to see between their openings. Other astronomers think that the globe of the sun is on fire, and that the spots are merely immense scoria, launched on the surface of that mass by some terrible explosions, of which our terrestrial volcanoes afford but a feeble picture. But whatever may be thought of these conjectures, it seems sufficient

Lindeneau supposes the sun's diameter to be 800,000 miles, 4,204,000,000 feet, or nearly 2000 seconds. We have not, he observes, hitherto possessed any instrument for measuring the diameter of the heavenly bodies to a second. The sun may there

ar Appearances, called,

uns appear in

?bus' chariot

th fair beams to

d with lamps of

such strange p

ure's work, nor

wonder, and wit

en

size with the sun, though not always of the same brightness, nor even of the same shape; and when a number appear at once, there is some difference in both respects among them. Externally they are tinged with colours like the rainbow; and many have a long fiery tail opposite the sun, but paler towards the extremity. Parhelia are generally accompanied with coronas, some of which are tinged with rainbow colours, but others are white. (See Halo.) They differ in number and size; but all agree in breadth, which is that of the apparent diameter of the sun. A very large white circle, parallel to the horizon, generally passes through all the parhelia; and, if it were entire, it would go through the centre of the sun. Sometimes there are arcs of lesser circles concentric to this, touching those coloured circles which surround the sun. They a

and set with him. Once or twice he saw a fourth parhelion, directly under the sun; but this is not common. These facts being constant, are very valuable, and may throw great light on the theory of these remarkable phenomena. Sometimes parhelia appear in a different manner; as when three suns have been seen in the same vertical circle, well defined, and touching one another. The true sun was in the middle, and the lowest touched the horizon, and they set one after the other. This appearance was seen by Maleziew, in 1722. Other appearances similar to this are recited by Mr. Muschenbroek. Sometimes the sun has risen or set with a luminous ta

written by occasion of Three Sunnes' seene, at Tregorie, in Cornwall, the 22nd of December

esse many volleyes of small-shot, and afterwards the like volleyes of ordnance, with so great and yet so distinct noyse, that many of them who dwelt neare the sea, went toward the shore to see what it might meane, as verily supposing there had beene some sea fight neere upon that coast. These severall fearfull noyses were againe and againe renewed in the same order, till at length with an horrible and extraordinary cracke of thunder, there fell in a ground of one Robert Pierce, where there were divers workemen planting apple-trees, (which ground lay neere the house of one Master George Chidley,) a thunder-bolt, if I may so call it, being

Eclipses of th

ys of wand'rin

heav'n above a

various labou

ceed th' Eclip

Geor

itude of the moon does not prevent it, by elevating her orb above, or depressing it below the earth. On the other hand, an eclipse of the moon can only happen when the earth is interposed between the sun and it; for then, if the latitude of the moon does not prevent it, the shadow of the earth may fall on the moon

l give an interesting description of one, by Dr. Stukel

over it; besides, I had the advantage of a very extensive prospect every way, this being the highest hill hereabouts, and nearest the middle of the shadow. Full west of me, and beyond Stonehenge, is a pretty copped hill, like the top of a cone, lifting itself above the horizon; this is Clay-hill, near Warminster, twenty miles distant, and near the central line of darkness, which must come from thence, so that I could have notice enough beforehand of its approach. Abraham Sturgis and Stephen Ewens, both of this place, and sensible men, were with me. Though it was very cloudy, yet now and then we had gleams of sunshine, rather more than I could perceive at any other place ar

es off southward, became very black; the copped hill was quite lost, and a most gloomy night with full career came upon us: at this instant we lost sight of the sun, whose place among the clouds was hitherto sufficiently distinguishable, but now not the least trace of it was to be found, any more than if really absent: then I saw by my watch, though with difficulty, and only by help of some light from the northe

curtain on that side. The horses we held in our hands were very sensible of it, and crowded close to us, startling with great surprise; and as much as I could see of the men's faces that stood by me, they had a horrible aspect. At this instant I looked around me, not without exclamations of admiration, and could discern colours in the heavens, but

e as a black line, and I knew them very distinctly by their shape or profile; and northward, I saw perfectly, that the interval of light and darkness in the horizon was between Martinsal-hill and St. Ann's-hill; but southward it was more indefinite. I do not mean that the verge of the shadow passed between those hills, which were but twelve miles distant from us; but, so far I could distinguish the horizon; beyond it not at all. The reason of it was this; the elevation of ground I was upon gave me an opportunity of seeing the light of the heavens beyond the shadow; nevertheless, this verge of light looked of a dead yellowish, and greenish colour; it was broader to the north than south; bu

running alongside of us a good while together, or sweeping by at our elbows from west to east. Just then, having reason to suppose the totality ended with us, I looked on my watch, and found it to be full three minutes and a half more. Now the hill-tops changed their black into blue again, and I could distinguish an horizon where the centre of darkness was before: the men cried out, they saw the copped-hill again, which they had eagerly looked for; but still it continued dark to

ry plainly, but no other star. Salisbury steeple now appeared; but the clouds never removing, we could take no account of it afterwards; but in the evening it lightened very much. I hastened home to write this letter, and the impression was so viv

night of this was more complete and dreadful: there, indeed, I saw both sides of the shadow come from a great distance, and pass beyond us to a considerable extent; but this eclipse had much more of variety and majestic terror; so that I cannot but felicitate myself upon the opportunity of seeing these two rare accidents of nature, in so different a m

one was observed in 1683, the middle of which was white; after which followed a border of red, next to it was blue, then green, and the outermost circle was a bright red. In 1728, one was seen of a pale red outwardly, then followed yellow, and then green, terminated by a white. In Holland, M. Muschenbroek says, fifty may be seen in the day-time, almost every year; but they are difficult to be observed, except the eye be so situated, that not the body of the sun, but only t

les continued equal, though the diameters of them all were constantly changing. The last of them was very faint; and at a considerable distance was another great white circle, which surrounded the whole. This phenomenon never appeared but in a cloud consisting of frozen particles, and never in drops of rain like the rainbow. When the sun was not in the horizon, only part of the white circle was visible, as M. Bouquer frequently observed afterwards. Similar to this curious appearance, was one seen by Dr. M'Fait in Scotland; who observed a rainbow round his shadow in the mist, when he was upon an eminence above it. In this situation the whole country round seemed buried under a vast deluge, and nothi

iends that were with him, observed a falling star directing its course towards them, and apparently growing larger and larger, but it disappeared not far from them. When it vanished, it left their faces, hands, and clothes, with the earth, and all the neighbouring objects, suddenly illuminated with a diffused and lambent light, but not attended with any noise. During their surprise at this appearance, a servant informed them, that he had seen a light shine suddenly in the garden, and especially upon the s

traits of Bahama, in the autumn of 1799, he witnes

oblong ignited mass, followed by a long luminous tail, which, after three or four seconds, gradually vanished. They were formed, to all appearance, in the air, at an elevation of from thirty-five to sixty-four degrees, none being observed in the zenith, and few to commence nearer the horizon than the first-mentioned angles. At the mean of these elevations, the greatest numbers w

considered it, namely, a nocturnal shower of meteoric stones, it was perhaps fortunate for all on board, that we were not within the sphere of

n Account of Three Volcanoes

on should be indicated by the most characterizing features. Thus, when we see on the surface of the moon a great number of elevations, from half a mile to a mile and a half in height, we are strictly entitled to call them mountains; but when we attend to their particular shape, in which many of them resemble the craters of our volcanoes, and thence argue that they owe their origin to the same cause which has modelled many of these, we may be

sidereal time: The volcano burns with greater violence than last night. I believe its diameter cannot be less than 3″, by comparing it with that of the Georgian planet: as Jupiter was near at hand, I turned the telescope to his third satellite, and estimated the diameter of the burning part of the volcano to be equal to at least twice that of the satellite. Hence we may compute that the shining or burning matter must be above three miles in diameter. It is of an irregular round figure, and very sharply defined on the edges. The other two volcanoes are much farther

s, which frequently adhere to it after it has been some time ignited; and it had a degree of brightness about as strong as that with which such a coal would be seen to glow in faint dayl

ng to the Royal Society. It differed, however, considerably in magnitude and brightness; for the volcano of the year 1783, though much brighter than that which is now burning, was not near so large in the dimensions of its eruption;

P.

IOUS PHENOMENA, OR APPEARA

rora B

ent from

eors shoots: e

s, they all at

own of heav'n,

ick, as quic

hwart, exting

ursing in a

om

ch seem to rise from the horizon in a pyramidical undulating form, and shoot with great velocity up to the zenith. The Aurora Borealis appears frequently in form of an arch, chiefly in the spring and autumn, after a dry year. The arch is partly bright, partly dark, but generally transparent: and the matter of which it

OREALIS.

ry appearance of the A

his expedition to

OREALIS.

Aurora Borealis sometim

ion of Loch Leven, with

nate Mary Queen of S

several hours, without any perceptible motion; and sometimes they break out into streams of stronger light, spreading into columns, and altering slowly into ten thousand different shapes, and varying their colours from all the tints of yellow, to the most obscure russet. They often cover the whole hemisphere, and then exhibit the most brilliant appearance. Their motions at this time are most amazingly quick; and they astonish the spectator with the rapid changes of their form. They break out in places where non

ustic sages who observe them, become prophetic, and terrify the spectators with alarms of war, pestilence, and famine. Nor, indeed, were these superstitious presages peculiar to the northern islands: appearances of a similar nature are of ancient date; and they were disting

to place with incredible velocity, and, finally, almost cover the whole sky up to the zenith, and produce an appearance as if a vast tent were expanded in the heavens, glittering with gold, rubies, and sapphire. A more beautiful spectacle cannot be painted; but whoever should see such a northern light for the first time, could not behold it without terror. For, however fine the illumination may be, it is attended, as I have learned from the relation of many persons, with such a hissing, crackling, and rushing noise through the air, as if the largest fire-works were played off. To describe what they then hear, they make use of the expression, 'The raging

e been noticed in Sweden. Mr. Nairne also, being in Northampton at the time when the northern lights were remarkably bright, is confident he heard a hissing or whizzing sound. Mr. Belknap, of Dover, in New Hampshire, North America, testifies to this fact. M. Cavallo says, that the cracking noise is distinctly audible, and that he has heard it more than onc

eastward, almost to the zenith, and gradually spreading on the whole southern part of the sky. The columns were sometimes bent sideways at their upper extremities; and though in most respects similar to the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) of our hemisphere, yet

by the author of a book entitled, "A Description of Meteors," by W. F. D.D.; reprinted at London, in 1654. The next appearance of a like kind, recorded by Stow, occurred on October 7, 1564. In 1574, as Camden and Stow inform us, an Aurora Borealis was seen for two successive nights, viz. on the 14th and 15th of November, with appearances similar to those observed in 1716, and which are now commonly noticed. The same phenomenon was twice seen in Brabant, in 1575, viz. on the 13th of February, and the 28th of September; and the circumstances attending it were described by Cornelius Gemma, who compares them to "spears, fortified cities, and armies fighting in the air." In the year 1580, M. Masline observed these phasmata, as he calls them, at Baknang, in the count

her observes, that the Aurora Borealis of 1716, which he described, was visible from the west of Ireland to the confines of Russia, and to the east of Poland; extending at least near thirty degrees of longitude, and from about the fiftieth degree of north latitude,

the height to be several thousands of miles; and Mairan also assigns to these phenomena a very elevated region, the far greater number of them being, according to him, about two hundred leagues above the surface of the earth. Dr. Blagden, speaking of the height of some fiery meteors, (Phil. Trans. vol. lxxiv. p. 227,) says, "that the Aurora Borealis appears to occupy as high, if not a higher region, above the surface of the earth, as ma

alls. This ingenious author, however, conjecturing that distinct regions are allotted to the electrical phenomena of our atmosphere, assigns the appearance of fire-balls to that region which lies beyond the limits of our crep

P.

RESPECTING

tles still, has

nge presents

time a spark was drawn from the apparatus. Galvani, surprised at this phenomenon, made it a subject of investigation, and discovered that metals, applied to the nerves and muscles of these animals, occasioned powerful and su

en the effects of electricity and of Galvanism, in favour of the latter term; which is not only applic

are called conductors. To form a complete galvanic circle, take the thigh of a frog, deprived of its skin; detach the crural nerve, as far as the knee; put it on a piece of zinc; lay the muscles of the leg on a piece of silver; then finish the exciting arch, and complete the galvanic circle by establishing a communication by means of the two supporters, by iron or copper wire, pewter, or lead. The instant that the communicators touch the two supporters, a

here exists a simple contiguity between the divided ends. This proves that we cannot strictly conclude what happens in muscular action, from that wh

not entirely interrupted. Humboldt, after having detached the cuticle from the posterior part of the neck and back, by means of two blisters, applied plates

silver on its superior surface, on making them touch each other, an

ubstances, &c. It is observed, that metals, which are in general the most powerful exciters, induce contractions so much the more as they have an extent of surface.

these substances in the living man, blunts, and induces paralysis in muscular action. Immersion in oxygenated muriatic acid, revests the fatigued parts, in being acted on by the stimulus. Animals killed by the repeated discharge of an electric battery, ac

rated from every thing, and even to the instant of incipient putrefaction, are influenced by galvanic stimuli; doubtless, because irritability, in these animals, is less intimately connected with respiration, and life more divided among the different organs, which have less occasion to act on each other for the execution of its phenomena. The galvanic chain does not produce sensible actions (that is, contractions) until the moment it is completed, by estab

en revivified in some degree, and afterwards became sensible to stimuli that before had ceased to act on them. By distributing the metals in an inverse manner, applying zinc to the nerves, and silver to the mus

the muscles or nerves, according to the manner in which these metals are disposed; and this i

greater in proportion to its height; then touch both extremities of the pile, at the same instant, with one piece of iron wire: at the moment of contact, a spark is excited from the extremities of the pile, and luminous points are oft

nds into water, or, what is better, a saline solution, a commotion,

space of a few lines, experience evident changes at the instant the extremities of the pile are touched: the wire in contact with that part of the pile composed of zinc, becomes covered with bull? of hydrogen gas; that which touches the extremity formed by silver, becomes ox

nfluence, platina wire has been melted; gold, silver, copper, and most of the metals, have easily been burnt! the fixed alkalis, and many of the earths, have been made to appear as con

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nces of a ferruginous nature, especially iron or steel bars, the property of attraction: these touched bars he observed to have a peculiar and similar tendency towards one particular point; that when suspended in equilibrio, by means of threads around their centres, they invariably turned towards the same point; and that, when place

luctuated much, when near large masses of iron. The experiments of Gioja gave birth to many others, and at length to a trial of the magnetic influence on the surface of the water. To establish this, a vessel was moored out at sea, in a direction corresponding with that of the magnet; and a boat, having a magnet equipoised on a pivot at its centre, was sent out at night in the exact line indicated thereby; which, being duly followed, carried them close to the vessel that was at anchor. Thus the active power of attraction appeared to be established on both elements, and in the course of time the magnet was fixed to a card, marked with thirty-two points, whereby the mariner's compass was presented to us. The points to which the magnet always turned itself, being generally in correspondence with the meridian of the place where it acted, occasioned the extremities of the bars to be called poles.

important an error in a vessel's course, as to subject her to destruction on those very shoals, rocks, &c. of which the navigator unhappily thinks he steers perfectly clear. To obviate such danger, as far as possible, all modern sea-charts have the variations of the compass in their several parts duly noted down; and in reckoning upon the course steered by the compass, an allowance is usually made for the difference between the apparent course by the compass, and the real course, as ascertained by celestial observation. Under circumstances so completely contradictory, the principle of magnetism must remain unknown: we know not of any hypothesi

r much agitated. This has given rise to the opinion held by some, that the power is a fluid: to this, however, there appear so many objections, that we are more disposed to reject

h pole of one, and the south pole of the other, will, when approximated, be evidently attracted, and will cohere so as to sustain considerable weights. Iron is the only metal, hitherto known, which is capable of receiving and communicating the magnetic power; but quiet, and the absence of contact, in some respects, are indispensably necessary towards its perfect retention. Thus, when a bar has been impregnated, however abundantly, with the magnetic principle, if it be heated or hammered, the power of attraction will be dissipated; or if a tube filled with iron filings have their surface magnetized, by shaking the

th common iron. In fact, the magnetic power may at any time be created by various means: the friction of two pieces of flat and polished bars of iron, will cause them for a short time to attract and to suspend light weights. Soft iron is more easily influenced, but steel will retain the influence longer. Lightning, electricity, and galvanism, being all of the same nature, equally render iron magnetic. It is also peculiar, that when two or more magnets are left for any time with their several north poles in cont

magnet be drawn under it, the needle will follow the course of the magnet. The peculiar affinity of the loadstone for iron, is employed with great success, by those who work in precious metals

, and preserving the same angle or inclination to the very ends of the needles, which should be supported by two magnets, whose ends ought to correspond in polarity with those of the needle. Observe to carry the magnets you press with clear away from the ends of the needle, at l

he great attractor, may be nearest the truth. We are the more inclined towards such an hypothesis, knowing that, at the true magnetic equator, the needle does not dip; and from the well-ascertained fact, that bars of iron, placed for a length of time exactly perpendicular, receive a strong magnetic power, their lower ends repelling the south, but attracting the north poles of magnets applied to them respectively. The direction of the dipping needle was ascertained by one Robert Norman, about two hundred and fifty years ago. He suspended a small magnetic needle, by means of a fine thread round its centre, so as to balance perfectly, over a large magnet: the south pole of the former was instantly attracted by the north pole of the latter. He found, that so long as the needle was held exactly centrical, at about two inches above the magnet

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. LX

RESPECTING T

roides-Extraordinary Pieces of Clockwork-Heidelberg

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gress of science from some particular era, cannot rest till it finds or conjectures a beginning to every art. In all countries where the people are illiterate, the progress of arts is extremely slow. It is vouched by an old French poem, that the virtues of the loadstone were known in France before the year 1180. The mariner's compass was exhibited at Venice, A. D. 1260, by Paulus Venetus, as his own invention. Jo

own in Greece and Arabia, so early as the seventh century; and yet no mention is made of them in Italy till the fourteenth. That they were not known in England in the reign of Henry VIII. appears from a household book of a

ing night; which to this day continues in Germany, Flanders, and England. Galileo was the first who conceived an idea that a pendulum might be useful for measuring time; and Huygens was the first who put the idea in execution, by making a pendulum clock. Hook, in 1660, invented a spiral spring for a watch, though a watch was far from being a new invention. Paper was made no earlier than the fourteenth

he art must have made a very rapid progress when so greatly favoured: but there is a signal proof of the contrary, for so small an edition of the Bible as six hundred copies, translated into English in the reign of Henry VIII. was not

were totally ignorant of that coast beyond Cape Non, in 28 degrees, north latitude. In 1410, the celebrated Prince Henry of Portugal fitted out a fleet for discoveries, which

mals they represent. Archytas of Tarentum, who lived A. C. 400, is said to have made a wooden pigeon that could fly. It is also recorded, that Archimedes made similar automata; that Regiomontanus made a wooden eagle, which flew forth from the city of Nuremburg, met the emperor, saluted him, and returned; also that he made an iron fly, which flew out of his hand at a feast, and returned again after flying about the room. Dr. Hook made the model of a flying chariot, capable of supporting itself in the air. Many other

ontains snuff; but in the other, as soon as the lid is opened, there rises up a very small bird, (for it is only three-quarters of an inch from the beak to the extremity of the tail,) of green-enamelled gold, sitting on a gold stand, which immediately wagging its tail and shaking its wings, and opening its bill of white-enamelled gold, pours forth a clear melodious song, capable of filling a room of twenty or thirty feet square with its melody. The same gentleman exhibited an automaton in England, of the figure of a man, as large as life. It held in its hand a metal style, under which was a card of Dutch vellum. A spring was then touched, and the internal machinery

unctions of a man. Albertus Magnus is recorded as having made a famous androides, which is said not only to have moved, but to have spoken. Thomas Aqu

st celebrated figures of this kind, was constructed and exhibited at Paris, in 1738; and a particular account of it was published in the memoirs of the academy for that year. This figure represents a flute-player, which was capable of performing various pieces of music, by wind issuing from its mouth into a German flute, the holes of which it opened and shut with its fingers: it was about five and a half feet high, placed u

ascend. Seven of these levers directed the fingers, having wires and chains fixed to their ascending extremities, which, being attached to the fingers, made them to ascend in proportion as the other extremity was pressed down by the motion of the cylinder, and vice versa; then the ascent or descent of one end of a lever produced a similar ascent or descent in the corresponding fingers, by which one of the holes of the flute was occasionally opened or stopped, as it might have been by a living performer. Three of the levers served to regulate the ingress of the air, being so contrived as to open and shut, by means of valves, the three reservoirs above-mentioned, so that more or less strength might be give

opper, and in it a steel pivot, which, falling in between the threads of the screw, obliged the cylinder to follow the threads; and, instead of turning directly round, it was continually pushed to one side. Hence, if a lever w

of the proper levers, to exhibit all the different motions of a flute-player, to the admiration of every one who saw it. Another figur

ieces of mechanism, all of which are publicly displayed. The vestments of the figure were then lifted over its head, and the body was seen full of similar wheels. There is a little door in its thigh, which is likewise opened: and with this, and the table also open, and the figure uncovered, the whole is wheeled about the room. The doors are then shut, and the automaton is ready to play; but it always takes the first move. At every motion the wheels are heard; the image moves its head, and looks over every part of the chess-board. When it checks the queen, it shakes its head twice; and thrice in giving check to the king. It likewise shakes its head when a false move is made, replaces the piece, and makes its own move, by which means the adversary loses one. M. de Kempelin exhibited his a

ps his wings, and proclaims the hour, and an angel opens a door, and salutes the Virgin; while the Holy Spirit descends on her, &c. In the latter, two horsemen encounter, and beat the hour on each other; a door opens,

eels that in a manner give life to it) is not the bigness of the 16th part of an inch. The lady holds in her left hand a gold tube not much thicker than a large pin, on the top of which is a small round box, to which a circular ornament, set with diamonds not larger than a sixpence, is fixed, which goes round nearly three hours in a constant regular motion. Over the lady's head, supported by a small fluted pillar not bigger than a quill, are two umbrellas, under the largest of which a bell is fixed, at a considerable distance from the clock, and seems to have no connection with it; but from which a communication is secretly conveyed to a hammer that regularly strikes the hour

ed off his hat, a cock crowed, and clapped his wings, soldiers fought with one another, &c.: but this curious piece of workmanship, with the castle and tow

ivided into three parts. In the first part, the statue of Apollo and Diana shews the course of the year, and the day thereof, being carried about in one year; the second part shews the year of our Lord, and the equinoctial days, the hours of each day, the minutes of each hour, Easter-day, and all other feasts, and the Dominical Letter. The third part has the geographical description of all Germany, and particularly of Strasburg, with the names of the inventor, and of all the workmen. In the middle frame of the clock is an astrolabe, shewing the sign in which each planet is every day, and there are the statues of the seven planets, up

e fourth quarter, that of Christ goes back, and that of Death strikes the hour, with a bone in his hand, and then the chimes sound. On the top of the clock is an image of a cock, which twice in the day cries aloud, and claps his wings. Besides, this cloc

one hundred and forty-four equal parts: here the last will fall to the last hour; the three next above, to the last part but one; the five next, to the tenth hour; lastly, the twenty-three last to the first hour. For since the times increase in the series of the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. and the altitudes, if the numeration be in a retrograde order from the twelfth hour, increase in the series of the unequal numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c. the altitudes c

water ran generally through a narrow passage, from one vessel to another, and in the lower was a

turned out altogether erroneous. The glory of this very useful invention lies between Dr. Hooke and M. Huygens; but to which of them it properly belongs, has been greatly disputed; the English ascribing it to the former, and the French, Dutch, &c. to the latter. Mr. Derham, in his Artificial Clockmaker, says, roundly, that Dr. Hooke was the inventor; and adds, that he contrived various ways of regulation. One way was, with a loadstone; another with a tender straight spring, one end whereof played backwards and forwards with the balance, so that the

ion presently got into reputation, both at home and abroad: and two of them were sent for by the dauphin of France. Soon after this, M. Huygens' watch with a spiral spring got abroad, and made a great noise in England, as if the longitude co

Dr. Hooke's, in the application of the spring to the balance; only M. Huygens' had a long spiral spring, and the pulses and

orth, or some other of his correspondents in England; and this, notwithstanding Mr. Oldensworth's attempt to vindicate himself in the Philosophical Transactions, app

. LX

PECTING THE ART

Ship-Scaliot's Lock, &c.-Praxiteles' Venus-Weaving Engine-Hydraulic Birds-Hersch

certainly known in Greece very soon after it happened, and before any person had returned from thence. Now that was altogether so tedious a piece of business, that conjecture never could have supplied the place of information. A Greek play begins with a scene, in which a watchman descends from the top of a tower in Greece, and gives the information that Troy was taken. "I have been looking out these ten years (says he) to see when that would

from white, a man may hold discourse with his correspondent, without noise made, or notice taken, being, according to occasion given, or means afforded, ex re nata, and no need of provision beforehand; though much better if foreseen, and course taken by mutual con

te it to those in the following station, and so on. These signals may be as letters of the alphabet, or as a cipher, understood only by the two persons who are in the distant places, and not by those who make the signals. The person in the second station making the signal to the person in the third, the very moment he sees it in the first; the news may be carried to the greatest distance in as li

nch army at that time was. An upright post was erected on the Louvre, at the top of which were two transverse arms, moveable in all directions by a single piece of mechanism, and with inconceivable rapidity. He invented a number of positions for these arms, which stood as signs for the letters of the alphabet; and these, for the greater celerity and simplicity, he reduced in number as much as possible. The grammarian will easily conceive that sixteen signs may amply supply all the letters of the alphab

happe having received, at the Louvre, the sentence to be conveyed, gave a known signal to the second station (which was Mont Martre) to prepare. At each station there was a watch-tower, where telescopes were fixed, and the person on watch gave the signal of preparation which he had received, and this communicated suc

n boards, each of which is poised upon an axis in a frame, in such a manner that it can be either placed vertically, so as to appear with its full size to the observer at the nearest station, or it becomes invisible

dug, eighteen hundred paces in length, and two hundred in breadth, conveying into it the Flaminian waters, and building scaffolds quite round it, capable of holding a prodigious multitude of spectators. And indeed the concourse of people was so great, that the emperor was obliged to place guards in all quarters of the city, lest the thieves should lay hold of that opportunity to plunder the empty and abandoned houses. Augustus had frequently entertained the people with fights of lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, &c. but now the new canal appeared all on a sudden co

r, met the Emperor Maximilian a good way off, coming towards it; and, having saluted him, returned again, waiting on him at the city gates. The second, at a feast, whereto the Emperor had invited his familiar fr

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ith a pipe-key to it, weighed but one grain of gold: he made also a chain of gold, consisting of forty-three links, whereunto having fastened the lock and key before mentioned, he

oung man became enamoured of it to such a degree, that the excess of his love deprived him of his senses. This piece of art was so eagerly coveted by kin

uman help. It was an engine that moved of itself, and would work night and day. This invention was suppressed, because it would have ruined the poor people

tops of trees, which, by hydraulic art, and secret conveyances of water through the trunks and branches of the trees, are made to sing and clap their wings; but at the

early two thousand one hundred and eighteen pounds! With proper eye-glasses it magnifies above six thousand times: it is the largest instrument, and has the greatest magnifying power, of any that has been made. By its aid, Dr. Herschell has been able to observe the lightning in the atmosphere of the moon, and has found out several celestial bodies, unknown to preceding astronomers. The whole was finished on August th

a flea, without any seeming difficulty. I weighed it with the greatest care I was able; and found the chaise, man, and flea, were barely equal to a single grain. I weighed also, at the same time and place, a brass chain made by the same hand, about two inches long, containing two hundred links, with a hook at one end, and a padlock and key at the other; and found it less than the third part of a grai

, while the three apostles are sleeping at a distance. In the last, he is shewn dead in the sepulchre, guarded by two Roman soldiers. The intervening scenes represent the treachery of Judas, the examination of Jesus before Caiaphas, the dialogue between Pilate and the Jews concerning him, the denial of Peter, the scourging, and the crucifixion. It is all accompanied by a mournful dirge of music; and the maker, by way of explanation, repeats the passages of Scripture which relate the events he has undertaken to shew. I never saw a stronger proof of the strength of

he mountains of Switzerland, and those of Silesia, over both of which he has travelled in person. In one room he has two very large tables, one raised above the other: on one of them he has ranged all the towns and remarkable places of Germany; and on the other, of all Europe: they are placed according to their respective geographical bearings. The names of the towns are written on a small square piece of paper, and fixed in a slit on the top of a peg, which is stuck into the

, representing the Copernican system of the universe: it is made in such a manner, that the whole firmament of fixed stars moves round our solar system once in every twenty-four hours, and thus always exhibits the stars, in the exact position, relative to our earth, in which they really stand. Internally, he has stationed all the planets which belong

f the ropes distinguish the several voyages which claim especial pre-eminence above the rest. To Columbus, Anson, and Cook, he has shewn a special honour by three little models of ships bearing their names, which are placed upon the surface of his ocean, in some spot of their respective courses. The names of all the other voyagers, and the times at which their voyages were performed, are marked by papers fixed at the points of their departure. Such is the imperfect description I can give you, from a short view of the labours of this really curious man. He must be nearly, or quite seventy years old, and has all his lifetime been

the art of flying possible, but assures us, that he himself knew how to make an engine, wherein a man, sitting, might be able to cenvey himself through the air, like a bird; and further adds, that there was one who had then tried it with success: but this method, which consisted of a couple of large thin hollow copper globes, exhausted of the air, and sustaining a per

sure been brought to bear in the

. LX

PECTING THE ART

e Ductility and Extensibility of Gold-Pin Ma

ore powerful than those made with lenses, because the rays from a mirror are reflected all to one point nearly; whereas by a lens, they are refracted to diffe

ps, besieging Syracuse, (according to the testimony of several writers,) and by the other, the navy of Vitalian besieging Byzantium, were reduced to

eighths of its weight. That of M. de Buffon is a polyhedron, six feet broad, and as many high, consisting of one hundred and sixty-eight small mirrors, or flat pieces of looking-glass, each six inches square; by means of which, with the faint rays of the sun in the month of March, he set on fire boards of beechwood at one hundred and fifty feet distance. Besides, his machine has the conveniency of burning downwards, or horizontally, at pleasure; each speculum be

at last succeeded in the construction of a lens, of flint-glass, three feet in diameter, which, when fixed in its frame, exposes a surface two feet eight inches and a half in the clear, without any other material imperfection, except a disfigurement of one of the edges by a piece of the scoria of the mould, which unfortunately found its way into its substance. This lens was double-convex, both sides of which were a portion of a sphere of eighteen feet radius. It is difficult to form an accurate estimate of the burning

ted power of the lens, on the supposition of an uniform heat over the whole surface of the focus, will be equal to 73,938 degrees. It must be recollected, by those who have an opportunity of examining the effects of this lens, that the external part of the focal light was less intense than that part which was near the centre of it; or rather, that the effect was very much accumulated in the centre; but as it is possible that the refraction of the light and of the caloric fluid may not take p

d like the leaves of a flower, which emitted whitish fumes, and when closed again, bore a polish, and retained its form. Gold remained in its metallic state without apparent diminu

complete metallic form; several of them threw off their parts in sparks, which in most instan

that part in contact with the charcoal, was first melted, when that part which was e

ds, lost a quarter of a grain, became darker in colour, and was attracted by the magnet. Ten cut garnets taken from a bracelet began to run the one into the other in a few seconds, and at last formed into one globular garnet. The clay used by Mr. Wedgwood to make his pyrometric test, run in a few seconds into a white enamel. Seven other kinds of clay, sent by Mr. We

n our own country; but from the failure or the subscription, and some other concurring circumstances, Mr. Parker was induced to dispose of it to Capt. Mackintosh, who accompanied Lord Macartn

hus in fusion, and, withdrawing the hook again, it brings with it a thread of glass, which still adheres to the mass; then, fitting his hook on the circumference of a wheel about two feet and a half in diameter, he turns the wheel as fast as he pleases, which, drawing out the thread, winds it on its run, till, after a certain number of revolutions, it is covered with a skein of glass-thread. The mass in fusion over the lamp diminishes insensibly, being wound out like a clue of silk upon the wheel; and the parts cooling as they recede from the flame, become more coherent to those next to them, and this by many degrees: the parts nearest the fire are always the least coherent, and, of consequence, must give way to the effort the rest make to draw them towards the wheel. The circumference of these threads is usually a

se on Colours, says, that one grain and a half of gold may be beaten into 50 leaves of an inch square, which, if intersected by parallel lines drawn at right angles to each other, and distant only the hundredth part of an inch from each other, will produce twenty-five millions of little squares, each very easily discernible by the naked eye. Mr. Magellan tells us, that its surface may be extended by the hammer 159,092 times. "I am informed, (says he) by an intelligent goldbeater in England, that the finest gold leaf is that made in new skins, and must have an alloy of three grains of copper to the ounce of pure g

to the coarsest of the two stones, being careful at the same time to keep each piece moving round between his fingers, so that the points may not become flat: he then gives them a smoother and sharper point by applying them to the other stone, and by that means a lad of twelve or fourteen years of age, is able to point about sixteen thousand pins in an hour. When the wire is thus pointed, a pin is taken off at each end, and this is repeated till it is cut into six pieces. The next operation is, that of forming the heads, or, as they term it, head-spinning, which is done by means of a spinning-wheel, one piece of wire being thus with astonishing rapidity wound round another, and the interior one being drawn out, leaves a hollow tube between the circumvolutions: it is then cut with shears, every two circumvolutions, or turns of the wire, forming one head; these are softened by throwing them into iron pans, and placing them in a furnace till they are red hot. As soon as they are cold, they ar

derable article in commerce, though there is scarcely any commodity cheaper, the consumption of them being almost incredible. The siz

in pieces of the length of the needles intended. These pieces are flatted at one end on the anvil, by force of a puncheon of well-tempered steel, and laid on a leaden block to bring out, with another puncheon, the little piece of steel remaining in the eye. The corners are then filed off the square of the heads, and a little cavity filed on each side of the flat of the head; this done, the point is formed with a file, and the whole filed over: they are then laid to heat red-hot on a long narrow iron, crooked at one end, in a charcoal fire; and when taken out thence, are thrown into a bason of co

wo men work backwards and forwards a day and a half, or two days, successively; by which means the roll thus continually agitated by the weight and motion of the plank over it, the needles withinside being rubbed against each other with oil and emery, are insensibly polished. After polishing, they are taken out, and the filth washed off them with hot water and soap: they are then wiped in hot bran, a little moistened, placed with the needles in a round box suspended

y Christopher Greening, in 1560, who was settled, with his three children, Elizabeth, John, and Thomas, by Dr. Damar, ancestor of

d with thongs, which passed under the soles of the feet. To put off their shoes, was an act of veneration; it was also a sign of mourning and humiliation: to be

leathern thongs. The calceus was always worn along with the toga, when a person went abroad: slippers were put on during a journey, and at feasts, but it was reckoned effeminate to appear in public with them. Black shoes were worn by the citizens of ordinary rank, and white ones by the women. Red shoes were sometimes worn by the ladies, and purple ones by the coxcombs of the other sex. Red shoes were put on by the chief magist

of Richard II. they were of so enormous a length, that they were tied to knees with chains, sometimes of gold, sometimes of silver. The upper parts of these shoes, in Chaucer's time, were cut in imitation of a church window. The long-pointed shoes were called crackowes, and continued in fashion for three centuries, in spite of the bulls of popes, the decrees of councils, and the declamations of the clergy. At length the parliament of England interposed, by an

f two pieces, and without heels; in which the upper-leather sits clo

cylindrical string is carried, which passes between the great and second toe, and keeps the shoe fast on the foot. As these shoes have no hind-piece, they make a noise, when people walk in them, like slippers. When the Japanese travel, their shoes are furnished with three strings made of twisted straw, with which they are tied to the legs and feet, to prevent them from falling. S

tring for the great toe; so that they can walk without soiling their feet. Some of them have their straw shoes fastened to these wooden clogs. The Japanese never enter their hou

nd water being thrown to extinguish the fire, fell upon the bell, causing the fracture which has taken place. The bell reaches from the bottom of the cave to the roof. The entrance is by a trap-door, placed even with the surface of the earth. We found the steps very dangerous; some were wanting, and others broken. In consequence of this, I had a severe fall down the whole extent of the first flight, and a narrow escape for my life, in not having my skull fractured upon the bell. After this accident, a sentinel was placed at the trap-door, to prevent people becoming victims to their curiosity. He might have been as well employed in mending the

notice. This is somewhat remarkable, considering the difficulty of exactly measuring what is partly buried in the earth, and the circumference of which is not entire. No one, I believe, has yet ascertained the size of the base; this would afford still greater dimensions than those we obtained; but it is entirely buried. About ten persons were present when I measured the part exposed to observation. We applied a strong cord close to the metal, in all parts of its periphery, and round the lower part, where it touches the ground, taking care at the same time not to stretch the cord. From the piece of the bell broken off, it was ascertained that we had thus measured within two feet of its lower extremity. The circumference obtained was s

ssians and people of Moscow maintain, that it was cast during the reign of their empress Anne, probably from the fema

P.

ES IN HIS

nt were noble, and his manners graceful; and even the sound of his voice had in it something uncommonly interesting. On the road he constantly wore a mask made with iron springs, to enable him to eat without taking it off. It was at first believed that this mask was made entirely of iron, whence he acquired the title of The Man with the Iron Mask. His attendants had received orders to dispatch him, if he attempted to take off his mask or discover himself. He had been first confined at Pignerol, under the care of the governor, M. de St. Mars; and being sent thence to St. Marguerite, he was accompanied thither by

king it up, he discovered it to be a very fine shirt written all over. He carried it immediately to the governor; who, having looked at some parts of the writing, asked the lad, with some appearance of alarm, if he had not had the curiosity to read it? He protested repeatedly that he had not; but two days afterwards he was found dead in his bed. The Masque de Fer remained in that isle till 1698, when M. St. Mars, being promoted to the government of the Bastile, conducted his prisoner to that fortress. In his way thither, he stopt with him at his estate near Palteau. The Mask arrived there in a litter, surrounded by a numerous guard on horseback. M. de St. Mars ate at the same table with him all the time they resided at Palteau; but the latter was always placed with his back towards the windows; and the peasants, who ca

s he passed through the court. When he had occasion to see a surgeon or a physician, he was obliged, under pain of death, constantly to wear his mask. An old physician of the Bastile, who had often attended him when he was indisposed, said, that he never saw his face, though he had frequently examined his tongue, and different parts of his body; and that he never complained of his confinement, nor let fall any hint, by which it might be guessed who he was. He often passed the night in walking up and down his room. This unfortunate prince died on the 19th of November, 1703, after a short illness; and was interred next day, in the burying-place of the parish of St. Paul. The expense of his funeral amounted only to forty livres. The name given him was Marchiali; and even his age, as well as his real name, it seemed of importance t

n having bribed the sexton, had the body taken up in the night, but found a stone instead of the head." The natural inference from these extraordinary accounts, is, that the Ir

ould not have been by her husband, who, for some months before, had never been with her in private. The supposed father of this child is said to have been the duke of Buckingham, who came to France, in May, 1625, to conduct the princess Henrietta, wife of Charles I. to England. The private letters and memoirs of those times speak very suspiciously of the Queen and Buckingham: his behaviour at Amiens, whither the queen and queen-mother accompanied the princess in her way to Boulogne, occ

firmed, in a work, entitled, Memoires de Marechal Duc de Richelieu, written by the Abbé Soulavie; in which it is asserted, that "The birth of the prisoner happened in the evening of the 5th September, 1638, in presence of the chancellor, the bishop of Meaux, the author of the MS. a midwife, named Peronéte, and a sieur Honorat." This circumstance greatly disturbed the king's mind; he observed, that the Salic law had made no provision for such a case. By the advice of cardinal Richelieu, it was therefore resolved to conceal his birth, but to preserve his life, in case, by the death of his brother, it should be necessary to avow him. A declaration was drawn up, and signed and sworn to by all present; in which every circumstance wa

have known since was with an intention of seeing a portrait of the king there, and of going secretly to St. John de Las, where the court then was, on occasion of the marriage with the Infanta. He was beautiful, and love helped him to accomplish his wishes. He had captivated the affections of a young housekeeper, who procured him a portrait of the king. It might have served for either of the brothers; and the discovery put him into so violent a passion, that he immediately came to me with the portrait in his hand, saying, Voila mon frere, et voila qui je suis, shewing me at the same time a letter of the cardinal de Mazarin that he had taken out of the box!" Upon this discovery, his governor i

Griffet justly objects, "that it was needless to mask a face that was unknown; and therefore this opinion does not merit discussion."-(Traite de la Verité de l'Histoire, p. 318.) Indeed, it seems totally unaccountable, that so much care should have been taken to conceal a child of the queen b

. LX

N HISTORY, ET

London, has given the following curious account of the Queen o

ground with her chin resting on her knees, the sinews at length became so contracted, that she could not rise from that posture. After her death, they were obliged to enclose her body in a deep square box. Her funeral was attended by two mourning coaches, a sermon was preached on the occasion, and a great concourse of people attended the ceremony. Her portrait adorns the sign-post of a house of entertainment in Norwood, called the Gipsy-House. In an adjoining cottage lives an old

ngland is more uncertain: it is most probable, that it was not till nearly a century afterwards. In the year 1530, they are thus spoken of in the penal statutes: 'Forasmuch as before this time, divers and many outlandish people, calling themselves Egyptians, using no craft nor feat of merchandise, have come into this realm, and gone from shire to shire, and from place to place, i

on record, that thirteen were executed for a violation of this law, a few years

Egypt has been the most prevalent. This opinion (which has procured them here the name of Gipsies, and in Spain that of Gitanos,) arose, from some of the first who arrived in Europe, pretending that they came from that country; which assertion they made, perhaps, to heighten their reputation for skill in palmistry[22] and the occult sciences. It is now, I believe, pretty generally agreed, that they came or

ame idle, wandering race of beings, and seldom professing any ostensible mode of livelihood, except that of fortune-telling. Though the

e space of between three or four hundred years, they have gone wandering about like pilgrims and strangers, yet neither time nor example has made

g events, when the fallacy of their predictions must have been so often experienced, and their ignorance and want of principle so well known. What reliance c

es, soothsayers, and augurs, divining by the flight of birds, the entrails of the victims, or the feeding of chickens, were so many ef

e. About sixty years ago, a celebrated professor of this dark science lived in London, in a place called Frying-pan Alley; and crowds of carriages were daily seen waiting in the neigh

iverpool weekly magazine, entitled 'The

e of such purpose, a society of gentlemen have been making all the preliminary inquiries requisite to a proper understanding of the subject. A series of questions ha

Egypt was the residence of

m any idea of their

Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire, are cont

gipsies in the counties through which they tra

Boswell, Lee, Lovel, Loversedge, Allen, Mansfield, Glover, Wi

ho take up their winter quarters in the same city or town, appear to have some knowledge of the diff

ire, and Northamptonshire, the answers are not sufficiently definite to determine. In Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire, g

s and asses: while others profess themselves to be farriers, smiths, tinkers,

bits of their parents, particularly to mus

baskets with trinkets and sm

d accounts of genealogy, and perhaps indis

re is a marsh, near Newbury in Berkshire, much frequented by them; and Dr. Clark sta

attachment to particular places has prevail

ecting their peculiar language, calling it Gibberish. They know

nd customs in all p

de: but their description of it seldom goes beyond repeating the Lord's Prayer; and only a few

to each other, without any ceremony. A few exc

t teach their c

t one in a thou

. LX

N HISTORY, ET

ica; and they consist principally of persons of merit and consideration. They make no small pretensions to antiquity, for they claim a standing of some thousands of years. What the design of their institution is, seems still in some measure a secret: the members are said to be admitted into the fraternity by being put in possession of a great number of secrets, called the mason's word, which have b

nted, to augment their numbers. In those times, it may well be supposed, that such encouragement from the supreme pastors of the church must have been productive of the most beneficial results to the fraternity; and hence the society rapidly increased. An ancient author, who was well acquainted with their history and constitution, says, "The Italians, with some Greek refugees, and with them French, Germans, and F

the kings of the heptarchy were converted; masonry was patronized by St. Austin; and the Gothic style of building was introduced into England, by numerous foreigners, who resorted at this time to the kingdom. Austin appeared at the head of the fraternity in founding the old cath

ruined by the Danes. Under his successor, Edward, the masons continued to hold their lodges; they were patronized by Ethred, husband to the king's sister, and Ethelwald his brother, to whom the care of this fraternity was entrusted. The lat

this charter all the masons in the kingdom were convened at a general assembly in that city, where they established a grand lodge for their government; and for many centuries afterwards, no general meetings were held

posal of the charity was first vested in seven brethren; but this number being found too small, nine more were added. It was afterwards resolved, that twelve masters of contributing lodges, in rotation with the grand officers, should form the committee; and by another regulation since made, it has been determined that all past and present grand officers, with the masters of all regular lodges, which shall have contributed within twelve months to the charity, shall be members of the committee. This committee meets four times in the year, by virtue of a summons from the grand-master or his deputy. The petitions of the distressed brethren are considered at these meetings; and if the petitioner be considered as a deserving object, he is immediately relieved w

anied with an apron elegantly decorated, and a copy of the book of Constitutions superbly bound. The execution of this commission was entrusted to Sir John Duy, advocate-general of Bengal; and in the beginning of 1780, an answer was received from his highness, acknowledging the receipt of the present, and expressing the warmest attachment and benevolence to his brethren in Englan

hat in proportion as masonry has been cultivated, countries have become civilized, &c. How far this can be depended upon, the fraternity best know. Another advantage, however, seems less equivocal, viz. that its signs serve as a kind of universal language; so that by means of them, people of the most distant nations may become acquainted, and enter into friendship with one another. Th

. LX

N HISTORY, ET

sband returned-Curious Historical Fact

the particulars of the event which, it is

eofric and his Lady, who both died about the latter end of the reign of Edward the Confessor, were buried in the church of the abbey which they had founded. The former seems to have been the first lord of Coventry,

he tax; meaning, that no persuasion whatever should prevail with him, and thinking to silence her by the strange proposal: but she, sensibly touched by the distress of the city, generously accepted the terms. She therefore sent notice to the magistrates of the town, with the strictest orders that all doors and windows should be shut, and that no person should attempt to look out on pain of death. These precautions being taken, the lady rode through the city, covered only with her fine flowing locks. While riding in this manner through the streets, no one dared to look at her, except a poor tailor, who, as a punishment, it is said, for his

, for the l

oventre t

ntess, but in silk, closely fitted to her limbs, and of colour emulating her complexion. The figure of Peeping Tom, in the great street, is also n

to Holland, and should probably be absent three weeks or a month. He was absent from her seventeen years, during which time she never heard from him or of him. The evening before he returned, while she was at supper, and with some of her friends and relations, particularly one Dr. Rose, a physician, who had married her sister, a billet, without any name subscribed, was delivered to her, in which the writer requested the favour of her to give him a meeting the next evening, in the Birdcage-walk, in St. James's Park. When she had read the billet, she tossed it to Dr. Rose, and laughing, said, 'You see, brother, old as I am, I have got a gallant.' Rose, who per

ation during the whole time of his absence! He had two children by his wife when he departed from her, who were both living at that time; but they both died young, in a few years after. However, during their lives, the second or third year after their father disappeared, Mrs. Howe was obliged to apply for an act of parliament, to procu

oper receipts and discharges were found from all persons, whether tradesmen or others, with whom he had any manner of transactions or money concerns. Mrs. Howe, after the death of her children, thought proper to lessen her establishment of servants, and the expenses of her housekeeping: and therefore removed from her house in Jermyn-street, to a little house in Brewer-street, near Golden-square. Just over-against her lived one Salt, a corn-chandler. About ten years after Howe's abdication, he contrived to form an acquaintance with Salt, and was at length in such a degree of intimacy with him, that he usually dined with Salt once or twice a week. From the

￡2000, had not been all spent: indeed, he must have been a good economist, and frugal in his manner of living, otherwise his money would scarcely have held out; for I imagine he had his

g girl in this low occupation, took her into his family as a servant, and, after a short time, married her; but he died while she was yet a young woman, and left her the bulk of his fortune. The business of the brewery was dropped, and the young widow was recommended to Mr. Hyde, as a skilful

the Grosvenor, East Indiaman, was wrecked off the coast of Caffraria, (a district divided from the country of the Hottentots by the Great Fish River,) and that nearly the whole of the passengers and crew perished on the occasion. It was, however, discovered

arance were altogether anti-European. The Landdrost, however, sought to obtain their confidence by a liberal offer of his best services to restore them to their country and friends. But they were unmoved by his solicitations. They stated that they had fallen into the hands of the natives after they had been cast ashore from the wreck; that their companions had been murdered, and that they had been compelled to give themselves i

ns, the accomplished companions of their youth, and all the refinements of life! Among a savage people, they acquire congenial feelings, and their vitiated nature ceases to repine: they love the untutored husbands given to them by fate; they rear their children in the stupidity of Hottentot faith; they designate their wretched

weeks prior to my visiting that coast, that an English vessel had been wrecked on these barbarous shores; that being driven on the sands, a

r, desired the vial out of C?sar's hand, and threw it with such force against the floor, that the most solid metal would have received some damage or bruise thereby. C?sar was not only amazed, but affrighted with the act; but he, taking up the vial from the ground, (which was not broken, but only bruised together, as if the substance of the glass had put on the temperature of brass,) he drew out an instrument from his bosom, and beat it out to its former figure. This done, he imagined that he had conquered the world, as believing that he had merited an acquaintance with C?sar, and raised th

. LX

N HISTORY, ET

ope-Fire of London-Vicar of Bray-Curious Account of the Ceremonies at Qu

st important events sometimes take plac

-going by the fall of an apple, never stopp

the necessity of such a work by the talk of an ignorant country landlord, who thought that rel

n the ice, who made use of their copy-books, rolled up in the shape of tubes, to look at e

ous circumstances, perhaps led him to search, think, and judge for himself, and consult

Boleyn, which was the occasion of England's renouncing the

the North Briton, and its consequences the American war, the French rev

. 1348, the plague became almost general over Europe. Many authors give an account of this plague, which is said to have appeared first in the kingdom of Kathay, in 1346, and to have proceeded gradually west to Constantinople and Egypt. From Constantinople it passed into Greece, Italy, France, and Africa, and by degrees along the coast of the ocean into Britain and Ireland, and afterwards into Germany, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, and the other northern kingdoms. According to Antonius, archbishop of Florence, the distemper carried off 60,000 people in that city. In 1656, the plague was brought from Sardinia to Naples, being introduced into the city by a transport with soldiers on board. It raged with excessive violence, carrying off, in less than six months, 400,000 of the inhabitants. In 1720, the city of Marseilles was visited with this destructive disease, brought in a ship from the Levant; and in seven months, during which time it continued, it carried off not less than 60,000 people. The ravages of this disease have been dreadful wherever it has made its ap

It consumed in its progress eighty-nine churches, the city gates, Guildhall, many public structures, hospitals, schools, libraries, a vast number of stately edifices, thirteen thousand two hundred dwelling-houses, and four hundred streets. The ruins of the city were four hundred and thirty-six acre

a Papist under the reign of Henry the Eighth, and a Protestant under Edward the Sixth; he was a Papist again under Mary, and once more became a Protestant in the reign of Elizabeth. When this scandal to the gown was reproached for his versatility o

cetious chronicle of his Worthies, that this vicar had seen some martyrs burnt two miles off at Windsor, and found this fire too hot for his tender temper. He wa

table, they too retired with the same ceremonies performed by the first. At last came an unmarried lady, (we were told she was a countess,) and along with her a married one, bearing a lasting knife: the former, who was dressed in white silk, when she had prostrated herself three times in the most graceful manner, approached the table, and rubbed the plates with bread and salt, with as much care as if the queen had been present: when they had waited there a little while, the yeomen of the guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with a golden rose upon their backs, bringing in at each turn a course of twenty-four dishes, served in plate, most of it gilt; these dishes were received by a gen

lacksmith. An English vessel lying off what we usually call the Fox Island, several years ago, one of the officers became enamoured of the fair spouse of a son of Vulcan there; a

he fair Russian, made her his wife, and raised her to his throne. He was no every-day king. He was a statesman and a hero, though we should call him a savage. He progressively created a respectable navy of several well-built frigates; taught his subjects to be excellent sailors; raised armies; subdued the surrounding islands; and at the close of a prosperous reign, left his possessions and h

rprised, but asked money for the performance, which was immediately delivered him; and he wrought a thing as singular as ever was seen. For out of a great number of hogs, of several ages, which he got together, and placed under a tent or pavilion covered with velvet, before which

P.

IES OF L

and Perseverance-Curious Account of the Scarcity of Books-Celebrated Libraries-B

leasures, nob

taste and cul

where science

ice to Afric's

re Ph?bus pours

regions of d

ason' which from

an the highest

lasting pleas

live, and teach

g was on bricks, and on tables of stone; afterwards on plates of va

n hieroglyphics, painted on bark. In the same collection are various species, many from the Malabar coast, and other parts of the East. The latter writings are chiefly on leaves. The prophecies of the Sibyls were on leaves. There are seve

. In the shepherd state, they wrote their songs with thorns and awls, on leather. The Icelanders wrote on walls; and Olaf, according to one of the sagas, built a large house, on the balks and spars of which he had engraven the history of his own and more ancient times; while another northern

t eulogium of an excellent work, et cedro digna locuti; that it was worthy to be written on cedar. These tablets were made of the trunks of trees; the use of them still exists, but in general they are made of other materials than wood. The same reason which led them to prefer the cedar to other trees

ress blotting out. But the Romans forbade the use of this sharp instrument, from the circumstance of many persons having used them as daggers. A schoolmaster was killed by the pugillares, or table-book, and the styles of his own scholars. They substituted a stylus made

lack-lead pencils. The Romans used ivory to write the edicts of the senate on; and the expression of libris elephantinis, which, some authors imagin

ancients, which they used to smooth the roughn

; and on those of serpents, &c. were once written the Iliad and Odyssey. The first place where they began to dress these skins was Pergamus, in Asia; whence the Latin name is derived of Pergamen?, or parchment. These skins are, however, better known amongst the authors of the purest Latin, under the name of membrana, so called from the membranes of animals of which they were composed. The ancients

nists call charta, or chart?. Before the use of parchment and paper passed to the Romans, they contrived to use the thin peel which was found on trees, between the wood of these trees and their bark. This second skin they called liber, whence the Latin word liber, a book, and library and librarian, in the European languages, and the French livre for book; but we of northern origin derive our book from the Danish bog, the beech-tree, because that being the most plentiful in Denmark, was used to engrave on. Anciently,

that Cicero once saw, it is pretended might have been a fact, however to some it may appear impossible. ?li

with the most pleasing delicacy and correct resemblance. He read an Italian poem in praise of this princess, containing some thousands of verses, written by an officer, in the space of a foot and a half. This species of curious idleness has not been lost in our own country: about a century ago, this minute writing was a fashionable curiosity. A drawing of the head of Charles I. is in the library of St. John's college, at Oxford. It is wholly composed of minute written characters, which at a small distance resemble the lines o

man trifled half a hour in proving it. A piece of vellum, about ten inches in length and eight in width, pliant and firm, can be folded up and enclosed in the shell of a large walnut. It can hold in its breadth one line, which can contain 30 verses, and in its length 250 lines. With a crow-quill the writing can be perfect. A page of this vellum will then conta

ron," a commentary on several of the prophets. "The Bones of Joseph" is an introduction to the Talmud. "The Garden of Nuts," and "The Golden Apples," are theological questions, and "The Pomegranate with its Flower," is a treatise of ceremonies no longer practised. Jortin gives a title, which he says, of all the fantastical titles he can recollect, is one of t

s, Bread, Gold, Silver, Roses, Eyes, &c.;

bundance; Limones, or meadows; Pinakidions, or tablets; Pancarpes, or all sorts of fruits: titles not unhappily adapted for the miscellanists. The nine books

iritual Apothecary:" we have "The Bank of Faith," and "The Sixpennyworth of Divine Spirit:" one of these works bears the following elaborate one; "Some fine Baskets baked in the Oven of Charity, carefully conserved for the Chickens of the Church, the Sparrows of the Spirit, and the sweet Swa

s of patience, fortitude, and pain. "The Innocent Love, or the Holy Knight," is a description of the ardours of a saint for the Virgin

red sundrie Floures bounde up in one small Poesie; gathered partly by translation in the fyne and outlandish gardens of Euripides, Ovid, Petrarche, Ariosto, and others; and partly by invention out o

rate of Lustleigh, Devon, in the year 1807, finished a work

on-and on the several Virtues and Vices of Mankind; with Occasional Discourses. Being a Compilation of the best Sentiments of the Polite Writers and eminent sound Divines, both ancient and modern,

pages at once; which, with the addition of a press of his own manufacture, he set to work in the year 1795, serving every office himself, from compositor to printer's-devil; and proceeding regularly page by page, he struck off forty copies of the first three hundred pages, half of which he distributed among the rev

for their books of the skins of the deer they killed. These religious were probably more fond of hunting than reading; and, under these circumstances, did not manufacture many volumes. At the beginning of the tenth century, books were so scarce in Spain, that one copy of the Bible, St. Jerome's epistles, and some volumes of ecclesiastical offices and martyrologies, often served several different monasteries. In an inventory of the goods of John de Pontissara, bishop of Winchester, in his palace of Wulvesey, all the books are only septemdecim speciem librorum de diversis scientiis. This was in 1294. The same prelate, in 1299, borrows of his cathedral convent of St. Swithin, at Winchester, Bibliam bene glossatam; i. e. the Bible with marginal annotations, in two large folio volumes; but gives a bond for due return of the loan, drawn up with great solemnity. This Bible had been bequeathed to the convent by Pontissara's predecessor, bishop Nicholas de Ely: and in consideration of so important a bequest, pro bona Biblia dicti episcopi bene glossata, and one hundred marks in money, the monks found

, master John of Lirling, Richard of Luda, clerk, Richard the almoner, the said Henry the vicar, and his clerk, and others: and the said archdeacon gave the said book to God and St. Oswald, and to Peter abbot of Barton, and the convent of Barden." The disputed property of a book often occasioned the most violent altercat

Let no scholar occupy a book in the library above one hour, or two hours at most; so that others shall not be hindered from the use of the same!" The famous library established in the university of Oxford, by that munificent patron of literature, Humphrey duke of Gloucester, contained only six hundred volumes. About the commencement of the fourteenth century, there were only four classics in the royal library at Paris. There was one copy of Cicero, Ovid, Lucan, and Boetius. The rest were chiefly books of devotion, which included but few of the Fathers: many treatises of astrology, geomancy, chiromancy, and medicine, originally written in Arabic, and translated into Latin or French: pandects, chronicles, and romances. This collection was principally made by Charles V. who began his reign in 1365. This monarch was passionately fond of reading; and it was the fashion to send him presents of books from every part of the kingdom of France. These he ordered to be elegantly transcribed, and richly illuminated; and he placed them in a tower of the Louvre, from thence called La Toure

red in silver the history of St. Birinus converting a Saxon king. Among the royal manuscripts in the British Museum, there is Comestor's Scholastic History in French; which, as it is recorded in a blank page at the beginning, was taken from the king of France at the battle of Poictiers; an

hundred thousand volumes, and among the rest, one in which the Iliad and Odyssey were written in letters of gold, on the entrails of a serpent; but this library was burnt, by order of Leo Isaurus. The most celebrated libraries of ancient Rome, were the Ulpian and the Palatine; and in modern Rome, that of the Vatican, the foundation of which was laid by Pope Nicholas in the year 1450. It was afterwards diminished in the sacking of Rome by the constable of Bourbon, and restored by Pope Sixtus V. and has been considerably enriched with the ruins of that of Heidelberg, plundered by count Tilly in 1682. One of the most complete libraries in Europe, was that erected by Cosmo de Medicis; though it was afterwards exceeded by that of the French king, which was begun by Francis I. augmented by cardinal Richelieu, and completed by M. Colbert. The emperor's library at Vienna, according to Lambecius, consists of eighty tho

scraps were printed, to paste over the erroneous passages, in order to give the true text. The book makes a whimsical appearance with these pasted corrections; and the heretics exulted in the demonstration of papal infallibility! The copies were called in, and violent attempts made to suppress it; however, a few still remain for the pu

moting good morals; twelve societies for promoting the learned, the useful, and the polite arts; one hundred and twenty-two asylums and alms-houses for the helpless and indigent, including the Philanthropic Society for reclaiming criminal children; thirty hospitals and dispensaries for sick and lame, and for the delivery of poor pregnant women; seven hundred friendly or

. LX

F LITERATURE.

ry Shoemakers-Imprisonment of the Learned-Singular Customs annually observed by the Compa

the letters N. E. W. S. standing for North, East, West, and South, form the wo

he city of Venice, called Gazetta, which was the common price of the newspapers. Another learned etymologist is for deriving it from the Latin Gaza, which would colloquially lengthen into Gazetta, and signify a little

nice. The first paper was a Venetian one, and only monthly: but it was the newspaper of the government only. Other governments afterwards adopted

newspaper; and the Venetian Gazetta continued long after the invention of printing to the close of the sixteenth century, and even to our ow

spread about defamatory reflections, and were therefore prohibited in Italy by Gregory XIII. in a particular bull, under the name of Menantes,

e epoch of a genuine newspaper. In the British Museum are several newspapers which had been printed while the Spanish fleet was in the English Channel, during the year 1588. It was a wise policy to prevent, during a moment of general anxiety, the danger of

learnt to play on musical instruments in his old age; Cato, at eighty, t

acters of men, at the extreme age of ninety. He o

ed himself late to study. His acute genius, and ardent ap

, and the command of his pen, to his last day; and

ssed in farming, which greatly diverted him from his studies; but a remarkable disappointment respecting a contested estate, disgusted him with these rust

ister, almost at sixty returne

earnt logic, merely for an amusement

may be regarded as a prodigy; at the age of seventy he began to court the Muses, and they crowned him with their freshest flowers.

ifty-fourth year, and finished in his sixty-first: it is on these works his fame is establish

ies in polite literature. He has, however, excelled many whose whole life h

of his time: a singular exertion, noticed by Voltaire, who himself is on

guished themselves, have commenced as late in life their literary pursuits. Ogilby, the translator of Homer and Virgil, knew little

study of the law so late, answered, that indeed he beg

e; yet he gave no public testimony of poetical abilities till his twenty-seventh year. In his sixty-eight

hed his ninetieth year. He alludes, doubtless, to himself in an ingenious device, if it be of his own invention: A vene

employed at this business, and Dr. William Carey, professor of Sanscrit and Bengalee at the college of Fort William, Calcutta, and the able and indefatigable translator of the Scriptures into many of the Eastern languages, was in early life a shoemaker in Northamptonshire. The present Mr. Gifford, the tran

seems not much to have disturbed the men o

composed his excellent book on

confinement, his Com

ry in Portugal, composed his excellen

sued with ardour his studies in the Greek language, in philosophy, a

most agreeable book in the Spanish lan

uction, was written by a person confined in the fleet

, was long confined in the tower of Bourges, and applying himself to his studies, which

re, pursued very warmly the study of elegant literature, and comp

ch he addressed to his son, and where the political reflections will be found not unworthy of Tacitus. This work, h

ch we do not find she ever could equal after her enlargement: and Mary Queen of Scots,

he beginning of the last century. When archbishop Tenison enjoyed the see, a very near relation of his, who happened to be master of the Stationers' Company, thought it a compliment to call there in full state, and in his barge: when the archbishop was informed that the number of the company within the barge was thirty-two, he thought that a pint of wine for each would not be dis

ng, vaulting, or any such harmless recreations; nor having of may-games, whitsun-ales, or morrice-dances; or setting up of may-poles, or other sports therewith used, so as the same may be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or let of divine service; and that women should have leave to carry rushes to the church for the decorating of it, according to their old customs: withal prohibiting all unlawful games to b

ne. The court had their balls, masquerades, and plays, on the Sunday evenings; while the youth of the country were at their morrice-dances, may-games, church and clerk ales, and all such kind of revelling. The severe pressing of this declaration made sad havock among the puritans, as it was to be read in the churches. Many poor clergymen strained their consciences in submission to th

invented, to divert Charles VI. then king of Fran

are to be seen in any paintings, sculpture, tapestry, &c. more ancient than the

ng by name, all manner of sports and pastimes, in order that the subjects might exercise themselves in shooting with bows and arrows, and be in a condit

lican synod. About the same time is found, in the account book of the king's cofferer, the following charge:-"Paid for a pack of painted leaves bought for the king's amusement, three livres

cards in France; and another by Emanuel, duke of Savoy; only permi

the four suits, or colours, as the French call them, to re

esiastics; and therefore the Spaniards, who certainly received the use

ances or pikes; and our ignorance of the meaning or resemblance of the figure induced us to cal

are stone tiles or the like.) The Spaniards have a coin dineros, which answered to it; a

How this suit came to be called clubs is not explained, unless, borrowing the game from the Spaniards, who

er, C?sar, and Charles, (which names were then, and still are, on the French cards.) These respectable

in French cards,) typical of birth, piety, fortitude, and wisdom, the qualifica

n of the Bible, St. Paul is called the knave of Christ) but French pages and valets, now indiscriminately used by vari

ards, because Hogier and Lahire, two names on the French cards, w

tion on a Guinea runs thus:-GEORGIUS III. DEI GRATIA, M

anci? et Hiberni? Rex, Fidei Defensor, Brunswicii et Lunenb

tain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick

. LX

F LITERATURE.

ious Extracts from the Will of an Earl of Pembroke-Curious Letter from Pomare, King of Otaheite, to the Missionary Soci

s to the Late

cklenburgh, Princess of Wenden, Schrouin, and Piotzburgh, and Countess of Schwerin, and the countries of Rostock and Slangard, on her leaving the Territori

e hitherto with transport admired in your Royal Highness, revives our spirits; it assures us, that you will ever from the throne condescend graciously to look back on our town; and continue the patroness of those whose happiness it is to be the subjects of your illustrious Family. We, therefore, in full confidence, give ourselves up to that lively joy excited in us all, on the glorious union to which the Divine Providence has called your Royal Highness, and beg leave to accompany you with our most cordial wishes for your safe journey and continual welfare and prosperity. May the Eternal Ruler of all things, who has appointed this great event

rothea Mari

with each shini

n, without all

ine, whose goo

y parting from

liana Elizabe

f a mighty M

honour of an

oming, Britain

lls to Hymen's

lizabeth T

each divinest

ect, both in wo

osom shall wit

ep whilst gazin

izabeth G

y thy royal C

shall gain fro

grace the sacr

throne in dign

Henrietta

rcies through t

rts the King thy

n the Bride's tra

he Bridegroom'

hea G

each endeari

r soothe the Mo

oyal virtues

ubjects joy s

Elizabeth

ce, receive wi

otte, ever d

klenburg! she

sle new blessi

lizabeth

de! who soon sha

ld again we

increasing w

may fame th

na Sophi

o where Missi

lth and plent

till scorch'd b

wrence rolls hi

nnia's bliss t

le, to earth's

a Elizabe

icious Flavel

otta and his B

sle all blessi

riendly wave to

stiana Elizab

rd's anointed

influence keep

ourish, branche

lter, and fro

Sophia B

brothers' arden

tempt with thee

ueen, thy pers

afety tidings

or

favour more

these barren

both gold and p

ows with myrt

was brought thence to Whitehall by water, in a grand procession. On this

brought by wate

e the oars did

ut the barge;

es of pearl, and

gemen might, wi

thither in he

hus much my thou

water, had she

in the time of the civil wars. It was said that the genealogy of our Saviour might be learned from the

the county of Sussex

Trevor, o

Compton,

Hewet, of